Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Senshi: Gathering of the Five ❯ Chapter 8

Senshi: the Gathering of Five

Part Eight

Makoto Kino smiled to herself slightly as they reached the gates to the amusement park. Beside her, Ami Mizuno studied the area around them, her gaze intense. The little black cat sat on Ami's shoulder, her fur ruffled a bit.

"It looks like they're here," Makoto murmured, the eerie near silence of the park washing over them. Rides, happy yelling, music, nothing was coming from the normally active place.

"Let's move in, then," Ami murmured as they pushed through the gates. There was an odd charge to the air, an strange electricity.

"There!" Makoto pointed to where a figure lay on the ground.

"Be careful," Luna barked, but both women ignored her.

Ami hurried over, reaching into the bag that she carried to pull out an odd little visor, cables leading into the bad and attached to her laptop. The icy blue visor fit over her eyes, and touching the side seemed to activate it. She studied the still form for a moment, taping the keys of her laptop, then rose, looking towards the center of the park.

"The other youma, and more victims, are there," Ami said grimly as she put her laptop away, but kept the visor on.

"That might have been a disguised youma, playing possum," Luna growled at the two angrily. The little cat's body shifted, her form sliding to become the black haired woman, "Could you be a bit more cautious, next time?"

"I can handle it, Luna," Makoto smiled slightly, "keep an eye on Ami, not me."

Ami raised an eyebrow at that, but she didn't say anything. She looked at Luna, "Is there any way we can help the victims?"

"She's just been drained of energy," Luna looked down at the fallen, "she'll recover, especially if we slay the youma that did this."

"Then let's do it," Makoto shrugged as they moved on into the park.

The deadly quiet of the park surrounded them, even as the fallen people grew in numbers. The Ferris wheel soon loomed above them as they made their way through the stalls and game booths. A rustle and from the roof a figure leapt at them.

Makoto moved without thinking, the taller girl shoving Ami aside even as she took the impact, rolling to cushion the force. The pink haired little girl smiled happily, revealing gleaming fangs, then she lunged for Makoto's throat. The child's strength was inhuman, struggling frantically to reach the bare throat even as she fought to keep her back.

Ami reached into her bag, pulling out an oddly designed little gun. "Can you get it away from you?" she asked frantically.

"I'll try," Makoto bit out. She got her hands under the struggling child, pushing away with all her strength and sending her up into the air.

Ami aimed and fired! There was a flash of white, a burst of pure cold, and with a thump the demon spawn dropped to the ground. The ice block sealed it from head to toe, the oddly cute fanged creature gazing out in an expression of frozen surprise.

"I'm impressed," Makoto managed, rubbing at her throat. Ami and Luna helped her to her feet, and the tall fighter looked at Ami with a certain respect in her eyes, "What was that you used?"

"The gun throws a chemically altered form of liquid Nitrogen," Ami explained as she walked over to the frozen youma. She kicked at the ice block, and the thing crumbled to dust.

"What was that about me keeping an eye on her?" Luna asked Makoto with a slight smile.

Makoto decided not to answer that.

Ami tapped the side of her visor, a slight frown on her face. "There's another youma out there," she said seriously, "much more powerful than that one."

"Hopefully, I'll fair better against that one," Makoto smiled slightly.

The three of them only took a few more steps forward when they all felt it, a deep feeling of pure revulsion. From the very top of the Ferris wheel the figure descended, his long reddish hair flowing around him as he flew. He was almost handsome looking, if you could ignore the utter contempt that he gazed out at the world with.

"And I thought I was done," he murmured, "but it seems a few more sheep are wandering about, ready to be harvested."

"Not likely, Nephrite," Luna answered coldly.

"Senshi," the one called Nephrite murmured to himself softly, an odd sphere of milky light floating in the air beside him.

"How good are you fighting blind?" Ami murmured to Makoto softly.

"Pretty good," Makoto answered in a whisper.

Ami suddenly smiled, "Good." She suddenly flung a little capsule on to the ground between them and Nephrite, and a cold fog billowed out, engulfing them all in whiteness.

"What in the.." Nephrite started, looking about him wildly.

Makoto moved like the wind, appearing right in front of the startled young man. The first blow broke his nose, sending black blood trickling down his face as he tried to raise his guard. He threw punches in return, but she dodged and weaved like the wind.

"Aaah!" Nephrite cried out in pain, feeling a sharp, stabbing strike in his upper back. Turning around he caught a glimpse of Luna, the dark haired young woman carrying more throwing blades in her hand. With a soft growl of rage he began to shift, his body expanding, skin stretching outward as he shed his human shape.

Ami raised her weapon as the change began, then Makoto cried out at her, "No! I want to fight him once he's fully changed." Completely ignoring that Ami chose to fire, clipping him in the arm with a burst of cold.

His eyes wide with panic Nephrite gestured, space seemed to tear, and a portal opened. "Damn you for your interference," he cried, his one arm hanging limply at his side. But before he could step through Luna struck, tearing the glowing globe from his side.

"You will not claim your prize, creature," Luna gloated.

Nephrite was furious, "I will see you die for this, once the Oni awake you will all pay." With that he was gone, the portal fading away.

Ami's visor worked, collecting data that she quickly relayed to her laptop. "A few more like that," she murmured softly, "and we'll know where their base is."

Makoto pouted, "You could have let me fight him a bit, first."

"Breaking his nose didn't count?" Luna asked her as she shifted back to cat form. The glowing orb that Nephrite had been carrying quickly dissipated, the energy swirling back to return to the people that it was taken from.

Makoto shrugged, "That was just the warm-up."

"Look at it this way," Ami sighed, "once we find their home base, you'll likely have all the fighting you can handle."

"Don't be so eager," a strange voice agreed, "the war has barely begun."

Looking up they saw her standing on top of one of the deserted stalls. Long blonde hair blew in the breeze like a flag, the skirt of her sailor fuku ruffling in the breeze. Her face was shadowed, her eyes hidden by a simple white mask. On her shoulder, a familiar looking white cat crouched.

"Artemis," Luna murmured softly.

"Who are you?" Makoto demanded, bracing herself for another fight.

Ami reached out to lay a gentle hand on the larger girl's arm, "According to my scans, she's not one of the youma."

"No, I'm not," the blonde smiled slightly. "I was worried I was going to need to save you," she added, "but I'm glad I was wrong."

"Come down here," Ami offered, "so we can talk."

The blonde shook her head, "You're not ready for that, not yet." She smiled at them suddenly, "My name is Sailor V, and we will meet again!" With that she almost seemed to vanish, disappearing into the darkness of the night.

To be continued...