Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ How Bad ❯ Awesome Senshi Powers ( Chapter 6 )

A/N: Hmm, this chapter is pretty action-packed. I tried to make it good and long to make up for the wait…

 

Chapter Six: Awesome Senshi Powers (or lack thereof)

 

“Demands?” Shading his eyes, the ringleader looked upwards. He had a funny expression on his face; in fact, he sounded as though he hadn't actually expected to get this far.

 

“Yes,” boomed the voice, “What do you want?”

 

“Oh, yeah… Freedom to the asteroids!” He raised one fist in the air, eyes ablaze with obsessive foaming-at-the-mouth passion. Okay, maybe `obsessive foaming-at-the-mouth passion' is too strong of a term, but he did look highly enthusiastic.

 

“That depends on the will of all the other planets in this solar system. Earth can't guarantee any such thing.”

 

“What?” squealed another voice. It sounded familiar… “Of course we can!”

 

“Um…” the original voice-from-above dropped to a quieter tone, nearly inaudible, “We really can't, Your Highness. We don't have that kind of authorit—“

 

“They have my baby! Do something!”

 

“Your Highness, please calm down. I'll—“

 

“NOW!” She growled. The echoes of her voice reverberated throughout the room. All thoughts of Gaia as a happy-fluffy-rug-piddling poodle fled from my mind.

 

“Uh…” the voice cleared its throat, “Release the hostages!”

 

“Not until we get what we came for!”

 

“In no uncertain terms, we cannot guarantee the freedom of the asteroids. It's simply not within our power.”

 

“What are we gonna do now?” (“Wad ahr be gonna do dow?”) asked our old friend, Sneezy the germ-ridden clown.

 

“Wait, wait! Let me think!” The ringleader tore at his hair in frustration.

 

“You want I should kill her now, boss?” The strongman asked.

 

I winced as the point of the blade slipped down a few uncomfortable inches.

 

“Not yet…” The ringleader massaged his temples, “Okay boys, conference!” And then, to us, “Nobody get any funny ideas or you-know-what!” He made a slicing motion across his throat, accompanied by the appropriate sound effect, in the universal signal for swift, yet painful death. The ringleader held out Endymion's struggling form like a magic talisman as the three of them huddled up.

 

The waiting was the worst part. It felt like they were talking for hours. At first, I thought about the situation at hand. I mean, now that it was apparent that the thing they wanted was impossible, what would happen to us? I could've asked the dignitaries, but I was afraid that they'd have only too many stories of hostages that had outlived their usefulness. The three assassins couldn't very well just walk away from all this, either. They had gone too far to turn back.

 

One would think that the threat of my immanent demise would be enough to occupy the foremost of my mind for days, but this was not the case. After a while, the gravity of the situation must've been too much for my tired brain to handle. As time went by, my mind slipped to more mundane matters (for example, there were exactly thirty-two tiny scratches on the table I was sitting on) and then to downright insipid matters (what makes those little green bits in the soup always stick to the back of your teeth? If you try to fail and succeed, what did you just do? And, whose idea was it to call the wife of an earl a duchess? Why not an earless? I mean, the wife of a duke is also a duchess, so it's like having the same word for two completely different things… then again `earless' is such a funny word, but that could just be because we're all so used to duchess… still the title is already taken and it could lead to confusion…)

 

While I was deliberating the merits of duchesses versus earlesses, the ringleader finally straightened and walked over to the impromptu skylight.

 

“Alright, we have a new demand.”

 

“State it.”

 

“We want to see the king.”

 

“Fine!” came Gaia's voice.

 

“I don't think that would be wise,” said a third voice who could've only been King Phaeton himself.

 

“Now, Phaeton … you get in there and save our son RIGHT NOW!”

 

“Not just that king!” The ringleader called. “All the kings, from every planet. And the queens too.”

 

“But that's preposterous!” came the voice, “They would never agree to that!”

 

“Saturn doesn't have a king or queen,” grumbled Set. “We have the Psychopomp.”

 

The ringleader glared at him. “Okay, fine. And the Psychopomp of Saturn.”

 

“And Mars has a High Priestess…well, several High Priestesses now, do to the

Seceding of Phobos and Deimos, but—“ started Azar.

 

“And the High Priestesses of Mars, all three of them,” said he, through gritted teeth.

 

“Actually, there are seven,” Azar said, “It is really a very amusing story…”

 

“Three, seven, eighty-billion if you like, we want all of them!”

 

“Venus has a Magistrate!” Put in Marietta.

 

“Shut up, all of you! We want the leading authority (or authorities) on every planet. Here, in person.”

 

“This is madness!” the voice exclaimed.

 

“Those are our demands,” the ringleader said, plainly.

 

“And just how do you propose we do that?” The voice was getting a tad snippy now. It seemed that it had completely lost control of the situation. (I could've sympathized, had it not been my own life on the line.)

 

“Blackmail, bribery…tell them all you're hosting a ball then throw them down,” he shrugged, “we don't care how you do it, just do it. That is, if you ever want to see the Crown Prince alive again!”

 

Pause.

 

Another long, frightening pause.

 

“Um…” the voice from above droned.

 

I could tell that this was not a good sign.

 

“Well?” The ringleader tapped his foot, “Hurry up. We want to get this asteroid thing sorted out.”

 

“Could you see your way to releasing a couple of the hostages?”

 

“What?” He blinked.

 

“Just one or two? Four or five, even? I mean, you have fifteen people down there. Do you really need all of them?”

 

This is what diplomacy has come down to? But the voice-from-above did have a point. What did they need me for? I wasn't a public figure or anything. As Kunzite so helpfully pointed out, I couldn't even be assassinated.

 

“Er…well, I guess not…” the ringleader mused.

 

Good, good, I thought. Now release the innocent nurse maid! And at least a few of the children, while you're at it. Can Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite and Jadeite be assassinated? Hmm…they're not Endymion's royal guardians yet, right? Well, at least, they aren't on duty per se. But, then again they will be eventually …so does that make them political figures?

 

“So you'll release a few of the hostages?” The voice asked, hopefully.

 

“We-ell, we could always kill off some of the unnecessary ones…” the ringleader said, doubtfully.

 

No! Bad idea! Bad idea!

 

“See, it's like I said,” mumbled Franz, “the girl, and then a few of the kids.”

 

Hold on just a minute, now! It was dawning on me that this could really, truly be the end. To my surprise, just underneath the fear, I felt genuine anger. It was somewhat noble of the assassins to want to free the asteroids, but they were going about it all the wrong way. Innocent people shouldn't be harmed. I decided that, public figures or no, it wasn't fair to kill a bunch of little kids, especially over a political cat fight they barely understood. Zoisite was only two! How could you kill a two-year old because you don't like the way the higher-ups are handling the universe, (even if said two-year old does bite like an angry wolverine)?

 

Apparently, the voice-from-above was thinking along the same lines.

 

“The Imperial Crown of Earth highly discourages the killing of innocents,” said the voice, all business once again. He seemed to be on firmer ground here; I figured that this was closer to the sort of thing negotiators were used to dealing with. “If you want to get out of this with your own lives, we advise that you not take anyone else's.”

 

That was true…supposing the assassins killed us all, they'd definitely be executed. No question about it. But, providing that everyone escaped from the situation unscathed, there might be some chance of a lighter punishment.

 

Fifty or sixty years of hard labor sounded good to me.

 

Of course, if they harmed one hair on Endymion's head, Gaia would see to it that they would suffer for the rest of eternity and beyond.

 

The ringleader swallowed. I wasn't sure if he was familiar with Queen Gaia's darker side, although I would've staked a lot of money on the idea that he was familiar with the typical punishment for treason.

 

I hoped that the assassins weren't getting desperate. Desperation can force men into making hasty, unfortunate decisions. That was the last thing we needed.

 

At this point, I was pretty sure that help from above would not be forthcoming. We were at an impasse; the king's men couldn't try and save us, because, if they did, the assassins would kill Endymion, and the assassins couldn't release us because, if they did, the king's men would arrest and/or kill them.

 

However, while I didn't expect any actual aid, I was still surprised that the voice-from-above wasn't trying to do something to ease our minds, if not the situation. The voice seemed to have been making some headway in negotiating for the freedom of at least a few of us…maybe he could still convince the assassins to let the Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, and Jadeite go. (Unfortunately, I knew that Endymion's cause was near-hopeless—he was their primary bargaining chip. I doubted they would be willing to part with him.)

 

Even if the voice couldn't manage it, I thought it would make me feel a little better to know that he was trying.

 

Yet, for some reason, the voice wasn't saying anything at all. I strained my ears, listening.

 

There was something going on up there; loud scuffling noises floated down from the hole in the ceiling that the assassins had made. Somebody was having a conversation, but they weren't making any effort to let it be heard by those of us down below.

 

“No… please let me…” I caught snippets of it, but couldn't make sense of them.

 

“…I don't think…”

 

“You listen to me right now!” Queen Gaia's voice blared, this time as loud as the voice-from-above had been. She must've taken his megaphone.

 

The assassins jumped, faces tilting skyward.

 

“You let my son go right now!”

 

“No!” hollered the ringleader. “Not until our demands are met.”

 

“You have no demands! This nice young man here… what's your name again, dear?” She paused, “Evander… well isn't that a nice name? Your mother picked it? Yes, anyway,” she cleared her throat, “Evander has already explained that your demands are impossible to meet. So, I don't see why you won't just give this silly thing up right now so we can all get on with our day.”

 

“Your Highness,” If I listened hard, I could make out the voice-from-above, aka Evander. “Please allow me to handle…trained professional…could be dangerous for you to…”

 

“No, I want to talk to these nasty ruffians myself, thank you very much!”

 

“But…”

 

“We won't give up on our goal!” called the ringleader. “Free the asteroids!”

 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something that nearly made me gasp. I caught myself just in the nick of time, luckily. I knew that I couldn't draw any attention to it, or all hope was lost.

 

“Give me my baby!”

 

Closer … closer… the assassins were distracted. They wouldn't notice what was going on until it was too late. My heart pounded so loudly that I was sure it would give the plan away.

 

“Freedom to the asteroids!”

 

Please, oh please, hurry! I willed myself to remain still.

 

“It can't be done! Free my baby!”

 

“Not until the asteroids are no longer threatened by the greedy monarchies of this solar system!”

 

My eyes darted from the assassins, to the hole in the ceiling, and then back to the corner of the room, where our salvation was, with any luck, approaching. The deed would be tricky because of me and Endymion. The assassins probably wouldn't be able to make it to the other hostages in time, but we were directly in the range of fire.

 

“…” Gaia paused, presumably thinking, “Okay, the asteroids are free!” she said, finally. “Now give me back my baby!”

 

I resolved to make it as easy as possible for her. She knew that I knew, by this time, and I managed to catch her eye. I tried not to let my vision linger for too long, lest the assassins notice what (or rather who) I was staring at.

 

“You're just saying that! How do we know the asteroids are really free?” The ringleader retorted.

 

Maybe I could fall forward, off the table. If I could do it at the exact moment she sprung, the strongman behind me wouldn't be able to immediately stab me. Slowly, cautiously, I began to inch towards the edge of the table, making ready for the leap. It would hurt, no doubt, but, if I could do it right, at least I wouldn't be dead.

 

“Hand over the Crown Prince!” So much for that tactic. Gaia should get points for trying though.

 

She got nearer and nearer and I held my breath. Okay, I told myself, just give a quick hop at the right moment…hold your legs still so you don't kick any of the boys in the face…

 

I couldn't see Sneezy or the strongman. The ringleader was off to the left of my field of vision, very nearly out of my sight, so I wouldn't be able to see exactly how she was going to manage it. By my estimation, she'd need to take all three out at once so that they couldn't retaliate.

 

I wondered how she was going to do it without hurting me or the boys.

 

“Never!” cried the ringleader, and just at that moment, Sailor Pluto leapt out from behind him, bringing her staff down upon his head. I took my cue and launched myself onto the floor.

 

I groaned as my knees connected with the carpet, praying that I hadn't broken anything. Should I run? Should I stay where I am? Various scenarios filtered through my mind at super-speed.

 

I envisioned the strongman chasing me around the room, brandishing the knife. Then again, I realized, he could also stab me as I sprawled on the floor, precisely at the boys' eye level, no less. File that one under `traumatizing childhood memories', why don'tcha'?

 

I made a split-second decision and leapt to my feet, jumping over the discarded toys that lay around the room like miniature hurdles.

 

“That's it!” encouraged Oksana, “Give `em a good run for their money!”

 

Legs pumping, I raced to the opposite side of the room, trying to put as much distance between myself and the knife as possible. The strongman was close on my heels, panting heavily.

 

“Oh, this is good!” said Marietta, as I passed her chair.

 

“Is there always this much…excitement?” asked Nestor, shifting uncomfortably.

 

“Sometimes,” replied Marietta, “But there's usually more blood.”

 

Not helping.

 

Oh no, oh no, oh no, I'm going to die! Run faster, run faster! I urged. I had never moved like this in my entire life, and I hoped that I would never have to again. Soon I ran out of space on the far side of the room and I found myself making a sharp right, sending me careening back towards the ringleader.

 

Uh-oh. I had gathered so much momentum by this time that I couldn't stop if I wanted to. (Not that I did, mind; remember that I was still being chased by a knife-wielding maniac.) The ringleader was already getting to his feet, one hand on his head, rubbing the sore spot.

 

Endymion wriggled in his grasp, hollering as loud as he could. He did that five-year old thing, the one where they make their whole bodies go completely limp, and he slid out of the assassin's grasp like greased rubber.

 

I grabbed him by the arm and bolted, bowling the ringleader over in the process.

 

“`Malthea! You're ripping my arm off!”

 

“Sorry!” I cried, panic-stricken, “We need to run faster, though!” I scooped him up and dove, just as Sneezy snatched for his arm. Sailor Pluto came up behind the germ vector, knocking him out with a crazy martial arts-ish move that must've taken some time to perfect. I couldn't describe it if I tried—at this point everything was a horrible blur.

 

The dignitaries were hollering encouragements, the boys screamed, and the remaining assassins howled in pain and/or rage, and I panted, and all the while Gaia was yelling down the hole.

 

“What's going on down there? Are they hurting my baby? Somebody tell me what's going on!”

 

“Please stay away from the hole, Your Highness!” Evander shouted, loud enough for me to hear, but still not as loud as Gaia.

 

Oh no, the last thing we needed was for Gaia to fall down the hole in the ceiling and break her spine.

 

I huffed and puffed as I made it around the perimeter of the room for what seemed like the thousandth time. I was so not in shape for this kind of thing; frankly, I wasn't sure if an Interplanetary Games grade athlete was in shape for this kind of thing.

 

Sailor Pluto, for her part, was relying on pure brawn for this fight. Earlier, I'd expected her to use some of her Awesome Senshi Powers. I'd never seen anybody use her Awesome Senshi Powers before, so I'd been looking forward to it. Then again, Sailor Pluto was very very powerful, and her Awesome Senshi Powers might've been a little too Awesome for a hostage situation. As much as I wanted to see some amazing magical feats, I also didn't want to get caught in the attack and end up as a charred smear on the carpet.

 

Besides, I was concentrating so hard on running that I probably wouldn't have gotten a good view of the Awesome Senshi Powers, anyway.

 

In fact, I was concentrating so hard on running that I barreled into the mammoth wall of meat that was the strongman.

 

So not the smartest thing I've ever done.

 

Sailor Pluto looked up from her business with the by now quite dazed ringleader and rushed over, but it was too late.

 

“I got `em!” He yelled, delighted. One gigantic hand was wrapped around my arm. Struggling, I dropped Endymion.

 

“Run!”

 

He made a break for it, and for a minute it looked like he was going to make it. Sailor Pluto stopped dead in her tracks as the strongman grabbed Endymion by the leg, his knife clasped between his teeth.

 

I was dumped on the ground unceremoniously. The strongmen pulled the knife from his mouth and pressed it to Endymion's throat. (And to think, when I left the moon, I'd wanted excitement!)

 

“What are they doing down there?” Gaia bawled.

 

No one could find the voice to answer her.

 

Thinking quickly, Sailor Pluto ran to her empty chair and dragged it over to the still-stunned ringleader. She lifted him by his wrists, forced him into the chair, and tied him up with the rope that she herself had left dangling in two broken pieces only minutes before. For good measure, she poised her staff just above his head.

 

“Release the Crown Prince,” she said to the strongman, “Or I'll kill your leader.”