Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Project Tempest ❯ Accepted Under Circumstances ( Chapter 5 )

General Shower walked swiftly into the “enemy base” at the center of the forest. The results were in and he wasn’t at the least bit happy with any of them.

“Twenty-three percent failed at least one section of the multiple choice tests making them automatically cut from the eligibility list, sixty-two percent of the ones that passed want nothing to do with training for war, and ten percent of them didn’t even make it through the obstacle course! How the hell am I supposed to get soldiers with results like this?” he said as he threw his papers into the air.

The men following him paid no attention to it and kept walking with emotionless facades.

“And to top that off, there’s probably only one soldier in that five percent tile that can possible scratch one of my soldiers. Do you know how much training we would have to get for the ones that actually made it through? Do you know how much money we have to waste just to be able to get these amateurs ready for the war simulator which can’t even be considered as honorable preparation for a fight on the real battlefield?” he yelled. “I might as well just start recruiting kindergarten students!”

Soon he was standing on a high platform overlooking all of the people that had made it to the enemy base before the timer went off and was glowering with anger as he saw multitudes of them getting bandaged up for injuries that they had acquired. The General had thought the obstacle course to be child’s play, so you could imagine how enraged he was when he had seen quite of few of the people crying from minor breaks. After all he had expected each and every one of them to come out with maybe just a few scratches or small bruises from the paintball guns, but not with broken or detached limbs!

“Pathetic,” he said as he stood there. He couldn’t understand why or how they could be so weak. This course was so easy that all they had to do was look for the enemy base. All that stuff about his soldiers capturing them was just motivation to keep them moving so that they didn’t know that it was so easy. The General had specifically ordered that his soldiers not attack or capture anyone unless they were looking for trouble. He had declared to them that there was to be no fighting with any of these test takers at any time. So why on Earth were there so many injured people sitting there below him? They barely had to do anything! The challenges they faced were the heat, loud noises, and possibly another group that had a hidden agenda, other than that the test should have been a breeze.

Makoto fell slowly to the ground and all seemed to be lost. She was distraught and could see nothing, she felt nothing…It was dark to her and she could only find anguish inside, something that had somehow seemed familiar. She had been like this before, but when?

She sat there not knowing what to do next. Get up? No, it was no use; but she sure couldn’t just sit there sulking. After all sulking did nothing but waste time and energy so she willed herself up. She dared not look back for fear that she might see one of those annoying guys and get angry. Then when she was angry she’d start another fight, and the last thing she wanted right now was a fight.

She sighed deeply and despite herself, she turned around. To her surprise there was no one there! She looked around and realized that she was drifting in some weird place. It was dark and dimly lit in there. She looked around and saw a large mirror with an ornate border of gold that was beginning to rust. She looked in it and saw something quite different than what she saw this morning. Inside the mirror was a girl of medium height and a petite figure. She had sapphire blue eyes with matching hair that was short and neat and she was wearing a school uniform.

Makoto continued to stare at the image that shown in the mirror and couldn’t help but feel a sense of recognition, though she had never met the girl. It was strange, she could’ve sworn that she knew her from somewhere but couldn’t quite remember how. As she stood there the image in the mirror dissolved to reflect a tall tan green-eyed girl with long tresses of golden brown curls that hung from her head in a ponytail. She stared skeptically at it and then watched as the girls eyes in the mirror shimmered. It looked like a small surge of electricity or something crossed her emerald irises and Makoto somewhat felt a small shock run through her body too. Quickly she averted her eyes away from the mirror and rubbed them as if she was trying to rub away the vision of this place. Unfortunately it didn’t work.

She looked back at the mirror and saw the same reflection she had seen when she woke up this morning. She stood tall with gray eyes that made her face look paler than it really was, her dark chocolate hair fell limply down to her mid-back and she sighed. People had always discerned her as a lifeless robot because of her gray eyes and pale skin. They had given her a hard time about her feeble pale skin and her seemingly depressed expressions that she wore everyday. It wasn’t until she met Amy that she had lightened up a bit, but before that she was a loner and the pinpoint of all jokes.

She had come a long way with the help of Amy. She had gained more confidence, groomed more, smiled every now and even found out that she knew how to laugh which was a truly shocking revelation. Though Amy didn’t really talk much, was shy and reserved, she still had a lot to do with the development of Makoto’s personality. It seemed that all Makoto really needed was someone to confide in and who would understand and be able to give her the support she needed; and Amy had proved to be able to do all of that. She was there when Makoto needed her, she listened, she understood and she encouraged her. There was never a time that Makoto could remember Amy ever failing to be there as every ideal friend would be. Makoto had really treasured their friendship; after all, Amy was the only friend that was ever there for her. Amy was like a sister to her and well, she was pretty much all Makoto had.

“I need to find her,” said Makoto as she finally pulled herself together.

“Indeed you do,” came another voice.

Makoto turned quickly at the new voice and winced as she was reminded of the injury received just minutes ago.

“You’ve been under a lot lately,” said the figure before Makoto. She was the same height as Makoto and stood there holding a tall staff that resembled a key. On the top of the staff was a heart shaped symbol that held a dark ruby in the center. The lady seemed to be somewhere in her low twenties and had crimson eyes that surely could not belong to someone as young as her. Her long green hair flowed down to her lower back and half of was pulled into a bun.

“Who are you?” asked Makoto in a defensive mode.

“I’m here to help you, Makoto,” she replied calmly. Her voice was soft but stern and had a hint of control in it as well as a calm reserved tone. It was unlike any voice that she had ever heard before. Was it even possible for someone to sound quiet, gentle, stern, calm and powerful at the same time?

Makoto scoffed at her response and looked at her doubtfully.

“You don’t believe me,” said the girl in the same soft but stern voice.

Makoto ignored the girl’s statement and examined her. “How did you know my name?”

“I know everyone’s name, Makoto. It is my business to know it.” She answered.

“Who are you?” asked Makoto.

The lady sighed deeply and turned. “Follow me,” she said as she looked back at Makoto. Makoto hesitated but ended up following her anyways. They came up to a large stone basin that looked like a well. It was filled with what seemed to be water, but that was not what the girl had brought Makoto to see. Instead she walked over to a darker area of the place and was lost in the darkness for a while. She emerged a few minutes later holding some strange objects. She then walked up to Makoto and placed it on the well and it turned out that the “water” inside it was solid.

“What is all this stuff?” asked Makoto as she stared at the objects in front of her.

“We’ll get to that soon, Mako-chan,” Makoto looked up at her shocked. No one ever called her that, not even Amy. She was struck with a sudden feeling of warmth that almost, almost made her smile and she just shook it off.

“First,” said the girl. “Let’s get through introductions. I’m Sailor Pluto the protector of the time gates and overseer of Earth. In recent years, the responsibility of watching and protecting the innocent from ‘supernatural’ forces has fallen to me. It may not mean anything to you now, but in due time, you will come to understand why I brought you here.”

“You brought me here?” asked Makoto with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course, how else do you think you would’ve gotten here?” asked Sailor Pluto. Makoto then nodded at the logic and started to introduce herself.

“Well, as you already know, my name is Makoto. I’m a human being with no significant role in life,” she said with a shrug.

“That, my dear, is where you are wrong,” said Sailor Pluto as she grabbed hold of her staff. “Here, let me see your wounds.”

Reluctantly, Makoto showed her the injuries that she had collected and felt a sudden sting around her body. She flinched and felt a warm surge go through after the sting. When she looked down she couldn’t see any blood and the cuts in her shirt were gone. She then felt for injuries and didn’t find any.

“How did you-”

“It’s the power of time,” she said cutting off Makoto. “I just returned your body to the condition it was in before you got into those fights.” she said with a shrug as if it was normal.

Makoto then scoffed at the manner of carelessness that Sailor Pluto had used to explain this concept of “the power of time” and imagined being able to have powers like that. Why, she’d be thrilled if she had any kind of powers at all. Sure she imagined there was some responsibility in having power, like how Spider Man was and all but to have powers! The concept was so…exhilarating.

“Now,” started Sailor Pluto. “I understand that Amy Mizuno has been kidnapped and you have been looking for her, yes?”

Makoto nodded and stared in awe.

“What?” asked Sailor Pluto.

“Do you work alongside with the police in finding kidnapped people? Is that how they solve all of those unsolved mysteries?” she asked.

Sailor Pluto laughed lightly at Makoto’s present innocence. “No, this is the first time I have brought anyone here on behalf of a kidnapping.”

“Oh,” said Makoto in response. “So why would you bring me?”

“Patience dear Mako-chan,” said Pluto again and Makoto cringed. “I have brought you here to help you as well as to get help myself.”

“How so?” asked Makoto becoming suspicious.

“You want to find Amy and so do I but there are complicated circumstances of which we have to work in. You see, the one who has kidnapped Amy is human but he has a ‘special’ force that supports him that is not so human. They have allied themselves together and to be honest it would have done them better to form these alliances earlier but to our luck they hadn’t thought of it until now, but that’s beside the point. They have captured Amy in order to construct a weapon of mass destruction, to say the least. They have caused much trouble and I have tried to demolish their plans on my own but it seems that I’m going to need much more help than I had anticipated. This is the closest that they have ever been to success, and believe me dear, their success is quickly increasing.”

As Pluto finished Makoto just stood there with a look of incredulity. “And how exactly am I supposed to help?” asked Makoto incredulously.

“I need you in that school,” said Sailor Pluto. “I cannot find anyone else to fill this role but you, Makoto. I have someone already who is helping me and she is strong and witty, but she doesn’t quite have the determination that you do. You’ve been driven these past few days with the desire to save your friend, Amy. This mission is important to you and your motives are necessary in order to stop the enemy. Our main goal now is to get Amy out of there before she builds the weapon they need. Once they get that weapon Makoto, there will be no stopping them.”

The room went quiet as the stood there for a while. Makoto was still trying to register all of this into her head but it just wasn’t coming out right. Half of her was melting at this sudden opportunity to be a part of a team with a mission and the other half was logically explaining to her all of the possible mishaps that might take place if she was to accept Sailor Pluto’s request. Sure it was a once and a life time opportunity, but why her? She couldn’t do anything right and the explanation that Pluto gave her wasn’t very convincing for Makoto.

“Makoto,” said Pluto and Makoto looked up. “All I ask is that you help me find Amy and safely return her home. I’m not asking you to save the world, just Amy. It’s the same mission that you had before I brought you here; I just want to help you succeed.”

Makoto nodded. Pluto was right, it was the same mission and no matter what, Makoto would not rest until she found Amy. All Pluto did was give her more information and open her up to a whole new world of magic and supernatural beings. The only thing different now, was that Makoto felt more imperative about saving Amy.

“Okay,” said Makoto. “I’ll do it.”

Pluto smiled and continued to speak. “I am sending you back now to the school, except this time, you never had that fight with Duo and Wu-Fei in the forest.”

“What do you mean?” asked Makoto.

“I’ve altered things slightly so that you will be accepted into the school. The group you were in will not have encountered the soldiers and you will all have made it to the enemy base.” explained Pluto.

“Okay,” said Makoto. “So, is that it?” she asked.

“Not quite,” said Pluto. “We still have these to talk about,” she said as she motioned towards the well in front of her. Makoto’s curiosity about the objects then rose as she examined them.

“This,” said Pluto as she lifted a necklace that held a smaller version of her key on it. “It's a necklace for you. You will be able to use it to get here when you need me in person. It will not work with anyone else but you and will not allow anyone to travel with you either. Even though it only works for you, I would ask that you not lose it.”

With content Makoto took the necklace that was offered to her and put it on. “Wow,” she said as her face lit up.

“Also,” said Pluto. “This here is a weapon for your use. It’s a complicated piece but I’ll eventually show you to use it to its fullest potential. It is much stronger than it looks,” she said as she saw Makoto look at it in skepticism. It was a pen and two bracelets. They were silver and beautifully decorated, but not exactly weapons of great complexity or power.

“What am I supposed to do with them?” asked Makoto as she put the bracelets on and placed the pen carefully in her pocket.

“If you quickly roll the bracelets to the tip of your fingers and pin it with your fingers and flick your wrists, the bracelets will change to form a certain weapon. Try it.” she said as she watched Makoto.

Feeling a little goofy, Makoto tried doing as Pluto said and yelped as a sudden pair of blades popped up narrowly missing her abdomen. The blade was thick and narrowed to a sharp point where it shined reflecting the dim light that was within the place. Embedded on the blade were intricate designs that caught the eye. The blade curved around the outside of Makoto’s hands and there was a handle connected to the side of each blade and Makoto gripped it securely in her hands.

“Wow,” said Makoto in amazement. “How do I put them back in?”

“The same way you get them out,” replied Pluto. Makoto then flicked her wrists and the bracelets reappeared.

“What does the pen do?” asked Makoto as she anxiously pulled it back out of her pocket.

“It’s a universal key,” replied Pluto. “It’s not quite as cool as the bracelets, but it’s worth holding onto. It writes like a regular pen though in blue ink. You just unscrew the top, pull out the tube holding the ink and twist the bottom of it counterclockwise. Then you place it in the key hole and when you here a click, turn the key and that’s it.”

Makoto then did as Pluto had said and was disappointed when she looked around and found that there were no locks to try it on.

“Is that all?” asked Makoto.

“No, there’s still this,” said Makoto as she lifted a pair of earrings. They were beautiful rose earrings that seemed to strike a hidden memory in Makoto’s mind but she shook it off. “They used to belong to an old friend of mine,” said Pluto as she frowned a little.

“They’ve been modified since she’s owned them though. I changed them to match the functions of a friend of mine’s earrings. If you touch them a certain way then a visor will appear in front of your eyes. It can be used as protection goggles or to analyze an area that you’re in. It does many other things, but I can tell you later. To take them off, you just hold on your earrings and it’ll go.”

Makoto once again tried the new device and loved it! The visor was green and she was reminded of the Matrix.

“Oh, and one more thing,” said Pluto as she remembered something. “These earrings are also communication devices. I used to use watches, but being as your wrists are already preoccupied with those bracelets I added a sort of cell phone like feature to the earrings. There’s a small earpiece that appears when you twist the clasp behind your ear. All you have to do is talk and I’ll be able to hear you.”

“You mean I don’t have to speak into anything?” asked Makoto.

“Nope,” said Pluto as she shook her head.

“Cool.” said Makoto in response.

“Well, that’s all for now Makoto,” said Pluto. “I just need to introduce you to someone and then you guys can go back to the school. Oh and before I forget, I would also like to set up times where I can give you further training in using these weapons, because as you will soon find out, the bracelets aren’t exactly like any other pair of weapons. Yeah, they’re bracelets, but the weapons that appear when you call them aren’t normal…”

“How so?” asked Makoto.

Pluto then looked at her for a while and looked down in contemplation. “I’ll explain it to you later, but for now, I just want to know if that would be okay for you to meet me for further training. These people that are holding Amy captive range from humans to super mutants, if you may, it is important that you be ready for them.”

Makoto nodded. “Yeah, I’ll do it. After all, I need all the help I can get.”

“Good,” said Pluto. “Then I’ll contact you later about that.”

“Did I miss anything?” came a new voice. Makoto then turned to see another tall lady in her low twenties with short sandy blond hair and navy blue eyes.

“Haruka,” said Makoto as she saw her walk up.

“Makoto,” said Haruka with a nod as she approached the two. “So Pluto, what’s the plan?”

As Pluto filled her in Makoto just stood there looking around. She had been surprised to see Haruka pop up but after a while she shook off the shock. She gingerly ran her hand around the brim of the well and watched the liquid looking substance in the center of it stir. It began to light up in a bright green color that seemed to pull Makoto in. She stood there staring at it and could see the outline of some sort of stick. It began to clear up to show a green pen with a gold symbol on top. It was a backwards four and she watched as it began to change. Slowly, an orb formed at the top of the stick and displayed the same backwards 4 in it. It sprouted wings and a pink handle emerged from the side of the stick and soon only the orb was green and the stick that it was propped on was sugar pink. Makoto’s hand slowly began to reach for it and it seemed as if the stick was coming closer to her. The tip of her fingers reached the top of the liquid looking substance and broke through the barrier. Her heartbeat quickened with excitement as her whole hand was in there and she could almost feel the stick. It began to glow brighter as her hand got closer and she took a deep breath as she opened her hand to grasp it and then-

“Makoto,” said Haruka and Makoto jumped pulling her hand out of the well and staring at Haruka startled at the sound of her name. “We’ve gotta get back to the school.”

“Oh,” stammered Makoto as she looked back at the well. It was clear again and she looked away in disappointment.

“Call if you get anything new and if you need me,” said Pluto. Haruka and Makoto then nodded and within seconds Haruka and Makoto found themselves in the enemy base at the school.

“That was pretty easy to get through,” said Curtis as he sat down on a box next to Makoto.

“Yeah, that was,” agreed Haruka and Makoto just nodded. What a day it was for her. She then looked up at the platform and saw the General from before pacing. He looked upset and a little agitated. He finally stopped pacing and looked down at all of the students that had made it to the base and scoffed. With that he walked away with two lines of soldiers behind him, two of them which Makoto had recognized. She then sighed and followed her team to go look at the test results, though she didn’t look because she already knew she was in.

“Hey,” yelled Haruka as she broke through the crowd. “You’re rooming with me and Rylie.”

With a nod Makoto then got up and followed Haruka to the dorm that they would share with Rylie. She was lagging behind when Haruka stopped and told Rylie to go ahead of them.

“You alright?” she asked as she stood there waiting for Makoto to catch up.

“Yeah,” replied Makoto. “I’m just tired that’s all.”

“Well, when we get to the dorm you can take a nap.” said Haruka as she looked at her watch. “It’s 12 in the afternoon now.”

‘12!’ cried Makoto in her head. ‘Only 12!’ She sighed as she lowered her head and began to drag her feet.

“Aww, come on.” said Haruka as she walked along side Makoto. “It wasn’t that bad a day.” Makoto looked back up at her pessimistically and shook her head.

“It may be normal for you to have days like that, but for me, it’s not so normal.”

Haruka then gave a fake laugh and her eyes glazed over as she was forced to remember old times that she had missed so much. She then frowned as she looked down pained at the memories and forced it to the back of her mind.

“Plu,” she said in a low tone. “Told me to help you train. She says we should probably work on hand to hand combat with each other. I hear you’ve got raw talent.”

Makoto looked up at this and shrugged. “I’m not that good.” she said. “I’m careless when I fight and don’t pay much attention to the injuries I get.”

Haruka nodded and lightly jabbed Makoto in the left arm (or so she thought she jabbed her lightly, but Makoto was left trying to rub the pain away).

“Don’t worry kid,” she said with a large grin. “I’ll teach how the real fighters play.” There was a sudden glint in her eyes that Makoto didn’t like, but nonetheless, she was glad that she would have someone to teach her to fight better. They finally made it to the dorm and placed their bags in the front living area. There was a small kitchen connected to the front living room that seemed a little too cramp for Makoto’s liking. Then there was a large window that filtered in a lot of sunshine from the outside. Finally, there was the room that had a bunk bed and a twin sized bed in another corner.

“Who gets the twin size in the corner?” asked Makoto.

Rylie stood there looking at Haruka and Haruka just shrugged.

“I really don’t care which bed I get, just as long as its comfortable.” Said Haruka.

Makoto then nodded and said, “Yeah, I don’t really care much either.”

“So can I take the twin size?” asked Rylie and the others nodded yes to her question.

“I got top bunk,” called Haruka as she jumped to the top.

“I guess that leaves me with the bottom bunk,” said Makoto as she plopped onto the bed. It was amazingly soft and she practically fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

“Don’t wake me up,” she muttered as she went off to sleep. Haruka, who was currently on the top bunk, laughed and stayed on her bed staring at the ceiling with her arms behind her head thinking.

“Are you guys just gonna stay in here?” asked Rylie as she began to unpack her stuff.

Haruka then looked over at Rylie and shook her head.

“Nah, I’m gonna go explore,” she said as she jumped off her bed. She then grabbed her coat and stopped at the door. “You wanna come?” she asked.

“No, you can go ahead,” replied Rylie. “I’ll probably end up going to that seminar tonight.”

“What seminar?” asked Haruka.

“It’s one for all of those that are interested in training to fight. General Shower is supposed to be there to explain what the class is about.”

“Oh,” said Haruka as she stood there thinking for a moment. “Well, have fun.” With that said she walked out into the hall. She made her way through to a deserted part of the school. She then pulled out the necklace that was under her shirt and took it off. The key on the chain then grew to fit the key hole that Haruka had put it in and when there was a click, she turned it and opened the door.

“Back so soon?” said Sailor Pluto as Haruka walked in and closed the door behind her.

“There’s just something bothering me,” said Haruka slowly.

Well, that’s all for now. Please review and tell me what you think. I want to know what you think. Anyways, happy holidays everybody! I hope finals and such went well and that you guys can all relax. It’s the holidays! Be happy and have joy! Well that’s all, I’ll try to update soon. Bye!

Oh yes, and please remember that I don’t own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing. See ya!

P.S.

The next chapter will have more interaction with Amy and hopefully it will be good, I still haven’t written it yet so wish me luck. Anyways, if there’s anything that was confusing, then tell me and I’ll try to explain it in an email or even in the next chapter. Until next time…