~Noy Telinú~
Warning: falling in love with non-main characters can lead to utter disappointment. Mostly due to lack of screen time. Complaining about it only works in large numbers.
You have been warned….
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Chapter 8: Doo doo doo doo
Minako and Rei, two high school girls and secret protectors of Tokyo, walked tiredly back to the home of Rei's grandfather, a Shinto shrine all the way over in Minato. Both were injured due to their last battle against Youma, with Rei getting the worst of it. Fortunately for them, their Senshi planetary super powers made them much tougher than ordinary schoolgirls and thus they were alive and able to walk despite their injuries.
Minako opened the door to see a white mooncat resting on a pillow, left front leg in a cast.
The cat sighed in relief. "Thank goodness…"
Minako smiled and petted him. "I'm not dying on you."
Rei sat down, rubbing her wounds. "It was far too close, again."
"Yeah." Minako looked downward, but immediately lifted her head back up. "But you don't become a heroine without scrambling some Pop Tarts."
The mooncat rolled his eyes. "I am not even going to bother."
"Spoilsport." Minako frowned.
"Why are you so happy anyway?" the mooncat asked. "Not that I hate it, but I haven't seen you so positive in a while…"
Minako smirked. "It's because we found another Senshi, Artemis!"
Artemis's eyes widened. "That's great! Where is she?"
Minako's eyes went blank and she turned chibi. "I don't know. She kinda left after dusting the Youma."
Artemis blinked and turned to Rei.
"I'm still not sure if she is one or not," Rei answered, deep in thought.
"What?!" Minako waved her arms excitedly. "Why not?!"
"Because I felt threatened around her," Rei admitted. 'Although I felt more danger from that van that almost hit us, so maybe I'm too tired to concentrate properly.'
Minako huffed, frowning with a chubby, chibi face. "I think you're just jealous because she finished off the Youma."
Rei narrowed her eyes. "I am not! This is serious…"
Artemis tapped his paw to his chin. "Can you describe her at all?"
Minako was chibi again, eyes blank and a giant smile on her face. "Nope!"
Rei's eye twitched.
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Meanwhile, in a secret laboratory in the Dark Kingdom… Which really wasn't a kingdom since there was no king. In fact it was more of a queendom, really…
"This is not like her at all," an eyepatch-wearing Youma mused aloud, hunched over a computer and studying readings.
"I'll say," another Youma agreed, this one having only one arm. "Maybe she's dead."
The first Youma frowned. "That's… unnfortunate. And disturbing. 882, I want a search of her last known location, and do so stealthily. If she was found by the Senshi, then that means we are too close to their location."
882 nodded and teleported away.
"Oh, Slade…" a Youma wearing a red and black jester costume sang. "Whatcha doin'?"
Slade snarled. "I still don't see why you call me that."
"Well, you're missing an eye for one…" the Youma pointed out. "And you like being in the shadows…"
"Shut it, 9001," Slade ordered.
9001 pouted. "Why should I? My dear, sweet Poison Ivy is missing and you won't tell me where she is. Yet you allow one-armed Wolvie to go investigate instead of me!"
"She's dead," Slade answered. "She hasn't reported in for over forty-eight hours. The only cause would be her death by the hands of the Senshi."
"EEEH!" 9001 beeped. "Wrong! That's what they want you to think!"
Slade didn't believe her for a second. "Highly unlikely."
"It's not!" 9001 complained. "If my love was dead, my heart would know it!"
Slade sighed. "This is why you are so low on the totem pole."
"No, it's because I'm so young, 388…" 9001 stuck her tongue out. "Now let me go find her!"
"No, you'll give away our presence. We need to stockpile our energy for the Queen." Slade glared. "Unlike the general of the Far East, I want to keep our operations secret from the Senshi. By keeping away, we can keep them from leveling up, making the Senshi easier to crush when we are ready to invade the Earth."
"Is that why you used Christopher Robin to lure them out?" 9001 rolled her eyes.
Slade frowned. "I thought we were calpable then. And V was supposed to be the last Senshi. But now I know. By what I've learned there are at least five Senshi. This is not the time for foolish actions."
9001 lay on a table and pouted. "It's not foolish. Unleashing these creations… That's foolish."
Slade ignored her and went back to work.
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Rei sat up and left the room. "You should go home; think about how we'll find that girl. I'll see what I can do here."
"Don't push yourself too hard," Minako warned, looking serious. "That's Artemis's job."
The cat did his best to ignore the remark, having been used to it.
Minako waved and picked up her cat, placing it on her head and leaving the shrine.
"I do hope it is a Senshi," Artemis mumbled on top of Minako's head.
"Shhh!" Minako placed a hand over her cat's mouth. "Not in public! I have an idea though, oh yes, an idea! Haha!"
"And what would that be?" Artemis was skeptical.
Minako giggled and winked, flashing a V sign with her fingers. "Just a simple phone call…."
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Rei knelt in front of the fire, eyes closed. She was dressed in a clean shrine maiden outfit and was calming herself. That was easier said than done due to having bandages wrapping her left leg, right arm, and around her forehead. But she was used to it ever since she became Sailor Mars.
'No. I must focus.' Rei started breathing more slowly. 'Inner peace… Inner peace… Empty your mind. Empty your mind of everything except the fire and your breathing…'
Rei opened her eyes dramatically and stared into the fire. Suddenly, she saw things within its flames.
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There was a blue light, a bright blue light filling up her vision. Soon it took up only half of her vision as yellow light filled the other half. Sailor Venus stood posed in front of the light with a smirk.
Then a third light appeared, a darker blue color next to Minako. Then a fourth, deep purple light with an image of herself right in front of it. Then an aqua-colored light appearing next to her own reflection.
Silhouettes appeared in front of the other lights, all obviously Senshi. The middle light glowed brighter and brighter, outshining the others.
Finally, the figures rose and grew, combining into one giant, glowing light. The light became dimmer, revealing a giant helmet, light behind it.
"You are not alone," it seemed to say, despite not moving at all.
That's when the light came back and glowed as bright as the Sun, obscuring everything.
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Youma number 882, with only one arm, arrived on the scene of the last known location of Youma 8001. The plant-loving green Youma was, of course, no where to be seen.
882 studied the cut vines and wrecked plant life. 'A battle. Very deadly. Empty containment units, not good. Two distinct Senshi. I can smell it. Same one from last time, no doubt. Similar damage, that's for sure. Yet no sign of her remains. This area is blocked by buildings, no way they would be disturbed in here. Not a trace of damage at all. Unlike myself. Odd. Very odd.'
882 continued the investigation, making a mental note of the damage to the walls when, suddenly, a strange smell was in the air.
'Here… Near these plants. These oddly shaped plants. Not natural at all. The smell of a human male. It's all over it. But why? 8001 hates dealing with males. And why does this set of vines look like a chair? Peculiar indeed.' 882 saw tracks on the ground. 'Ah, Mau. Once again the Senshi use Mau. Typical Senshi cruelty. Never think- What's this?'
882 saw something sticking into the side of one of the buildings surrounding the site.
It was a rose. A red rose that was fading.
882 snarled. 'A human male, an ally to the Senshi. Most likely in love. Pathetic. As if they are capable of… Ah, of course… Easier to track, non-magic. Find, the lovestruck male, find the Senshi. Assuming he's still alive.'
882 smirked and teleported.
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Rei was still staring at the fire, her thoughts slowly coming back to the present.
'So they are Senshi… Or at least allies. But what is with that helmet? I never saw anything like it. Should watch out for that.' Rei stood up and took care of the fire before going back inside.
She went to her room and closed the door behind her. Soon she was standing before a pet bed on the floor next to her own bed.
"You should be asleep, little guy…" Rei smiled at the small black pig in the bandanna sitting and watching her. "What are you doing still awake Ares?"
The pig yawned and curled up again, quickly falling asleep.
Rei frowned. 'You aren't supposed to be this well behaved, boy. This year has been full of surprises, hasn't it? Magic and monsters… Those were sure unexpected for my first year as a high schooler.'
She sat on the edge of her bed and watched the pig sleep for a short while before pulling out her communicator.
"Mina, I had a vision. We're not alone," Rei whispered into her video phone communicator.
Minako was on the other end, giant smile on her face and Artemis sitting on her head. "So aliens do exist after all!"
"Shhh!" Rei narrowed her eyes. "No, I mean the Senshi we saw. They're real. I trust in the fire."
"So they're aliens?! Hehehaha! Wait! What if they've come to steal our hot guys away from us?! It's no fair!" Minako complained. "No fair, I tell you! How am I supposed to compete with exotic aliens!?"
Rei's eye twitched in frustration and she hung up. 'What did I do to deserve this?'
The shrine priestess turned her attention back to her companion, still asleep on the pillowy bed near her feet.
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882 suddenly appeared before 'Slade' and 'Harley' to file a report.
"There is no sign of 8001. The place is trashed and unusable. However, I may have a lead on where the Senshi reside," 882 explained.
Slade nodded, thinking about the next course of action, when Harley spoke up.
"Hey, Wolvie! I see you're nicer now! Good dog! Yay!" Harley smiled and giggled. "Or good wolverine or whatever your species is. Well, I guess we are all really Youma and…"
*Snikt*
"Shut your face if you know what's good for ya, 9001," Wolvie growled.
"Enough," Slade ordered. "You may pursue the lead. However, if a Senshi spots you, follow Protocol Grievous. Understood?"
Wolvie withdrew his claws and nodded before teleporting away.
When 882 was gone, Slade turned to Harvey.
"You continue to be a nuisance." Slade narrowed his eye in irritation.
"Nah, man, I'm just making sure we're having fun! Fun times! With weapons! Can I save Ivy, please? Pleasepleasepleasepleasepwease?!" Harvey begged.
Slade frowned. "No. Far too risky."
Harvey pouted. "Meanie."
"I do not want to report another dead Youma to the Queen," Slade explained. "If you really want to go to where the energy source is, I have an errand for you. Though I doubt I can actually trust you with it."
"You can trust me, Mr. S!" Harvey promised, pleading her case. "I will do a good job. Mmmmhmmm."
Slade gave in. "Fine. Find the whereabouts of 1019, bring 1019 back, and do not look for the remains of your fallen comrade."
Harvey saluted with one hand while she hid her other hand with fingers crossed behind her back. "Yes, sir, Mr. S, sir!"
Harvey teleported away.
Slade wrote down some notes and went back to work.
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Minako bounced her legs off the edge of her bed, manga in her hands and a smile on her face.
Artemis, who sat on the other side of the manga, was irritated.
"You seem to be goofing off. Again. We have work to do!" Artemis frowned.
"The aliens can do it," Minako waved off, flipping a page.
Artemis's eye twitched. "Stop dodging responsibility!"
*Flop*
Minako closed her manga.
"I am not." Minako looked serious. "My role has changed. I need to keep hope and have fun until we find the princess. It also keeps Rei on her toes. Bouncing boobs keep the lesbians in the bay."
Artemis had his eyes crossed. "Uh… What? Never mind about that; why do you think that your role has changed? Acting like this can get you killed."
"Oh, don't worry about Venus. But when I'm Mina, I have fun!" Minako giggled and winked. 'Besides, it distracts me from the gravity of our situation.'
Artemis closed his eyes and sighed. 'I hope Luna is having an easier time, wherever she is.'
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Author's notes: the 8th wonder of the world the backstory of the other characters kinda! :O sorry for the delay, computers breaking, people moving, Pop Tarts burning... So sorry!
What new adventures await the Senshi now? Will there be Yuri?! Find out next time cuz imma Text.
