Sailor Moon/Dragonball Z: Specter of Revenge
Author's Note: This is one of my first attempts at a fanfic alone, let alone a crossover story. In the DBZ timeline, it takes place somewhere between the end of Garlic Junior's attempted takeover of Earth and before the arrival of Cyber Frieza. In the Sailor Moon timeline, it occurs in the future, in Crystal Tokyo. I'm more of a Dragonball Z fan than a Sailor Moon watcher, but thanks to some friends I think I know enough about it to write a good story. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Final Desperation
Trevor Fields slammed the heavy steel door behind him, throwing his hand up on the wall and desperately feeling for the locking device. As his black-gloved hand finally landed on the activation switch and the defensive shield rose outside the door to temporarily block off the ruthless invaders, Trevor breathed a grateful sigh of relief. Catching his breath from the long sprint, he started thanking the heavens that he had been granted at least a few minutes of reprieve from the fierce onslaught. Ever since the first of them arrived, the demonic warriors had spared them no mercy, given them no chance to breathe. And for him, a soldier on the battlefield, that meant perpetual hell.
And I'm not the only one...
Sheathing his sword for the moment, he bent down to examine his comrade who had been injured during the rough excursion to the building. Just one look at the scorched, cracked, blood stained armor of Seth Victor was enough to make Trevor cringe. His entire midsection had been almost totally pierced by one of the attacker's energy beams, still giving off wisps of smoke and the stench of burning flesh and blood.
"Can you move?" Trevor asked with slight optimism.
Using the steel wall as a brace, Seth pushed himself slightly upward with an agonizing groan, but painfully slumped down again, regretfully succumbing to his wounds. "Sorry, Trevor, he got me good with that energy attack. I can't believe I didn't see it coming..."
"Don't worry, you got here alive," Trevor pulled out a small rag and managed to sponge up some of the seeping crimson fluid from Seth's body. "I've got to admit, even I didn't think you'd make it, let alone take out a few of those freaks in the process."
Seth managed a slight chuckle as he coughed up another gob of blood onto the clear crystal floor. "Well, if I'm going to die, I might as well take a few with me."
"Don't say that!" Trevor barked as he wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead. "You're not dead yet. Wounds can be healed, my friend."
"Huh," Seth coughed. "Not in the middle of a battlefield with no medical equipment. Remember, most of that has been pretty much used up by now."
Trevor sighed, grudgingly knowing that Seth was right. The situation had been looking more dismal by the day ever since the brutal war had begun. It had only been a short time after the Nemesis crisis when the youthful queen of Crystal Tokyo, the leader of a brave new world, had become the target of a new enemy, and this time, they were unknowns - foreign mercenaries with more powerful energy-manipulation skills than anyone ever imagined. Their first strikes against the kingdom were quick, unexpected, and ruthlessly efficient. Within days, a quarter of the unprepared Tokyo Special Forces had fallen, and most of the main city had been occupied. There hadn't been any demands, no motives for launching a mass annihilation campaign against the young kingdom, but one thing had become certain from the very first skirmishes between the warriors and small Tokyo special forces: they had the upper hand. And every day left more and more dead in the path of the strange assassins. Even the Sailor Soldiers, the most powerful and certainly the most courageous fighters in the kingdom, seemed helpless before the mysterious warriors. In any perspective, the kingdom was on the verge of total collapse at the current rate.
Hence, our mission here today.
Trevor wasn't one hundred percent certain about the queen's special orders to him and Seth, but she had said that it was of utmost importance that they pull through, for it could've meant the turning point in the war.
I don't see how crossing the city to the communications tower is going to help turn this fight around...but if the queen said it was important...
"Do you have the disk?" Seth asked.
"Yes," Trevor pulled the shiny circular disk from his pouch. The queen had given it to him by her own hand, instructing him to download the information into a probe in the tower and to send the probe out into space. He hurried across the small empty room toward the storage bays implanted into the wall, hoping that at least one probe still remained in the launch tube. He didn't want to have to go to the trouble of constructing a new one from scratch.
As the panel whooshed open, Trevor smiled in relief as one undamaged probe remained ready to launch. Opening the data port, Trevor inserted the disk into the slot and started the download of the queen's vital information into the memory banks.
"It's starting," Trevor reported to his fellow soldier. "In a few minutes, it'll be ready to launch."
Seth slowly lifted his drooping head, fatigue and grogginess evident in his glazed eyes. "Good...then we can finally...win this war??"
Trevor dropped down next to Seth, wiping away some more blood from his friend's horrendous wounds. "I don't know what information the queen put on that disk, but if she's confident that the recipients of the message can save this planet, then I guess all we can do is go along with it and pray that she's right."
Seth let out a small laugh. "Heh, heh...always loyal to the queen...this war hasn't changed you one bit, old friend...why, I'd bet that you'd take one of those energy blasts for her."
Trevor returned a small smile. "I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't take a thousand of them for her. She's our queen; it's my duty to protect her foremost. I only regret that I couldn't stay back with the palace unit to safeguard her. I don't know why, but the closer she is when I fight these demons, the more determined I am to protect her, and the more vigor runs through my blood."
"I think we're all like that now..." Seth agreed. "She's not really a queen, but more like to mother to all of us...she can warm the soul of the most stone-faced soldier. I think...that each of us...owes her quite a bit in that respect..."
"All the more reason for us to protect her, especially from these monsters," Trevor nodded. "But I guess we are serving her best in this critical mission. If it's as important as she said, then--"
Suddenly, Trevor's radio started beeping loudly, surprising both soldiers. Trevor pulled the radio out of its pouch and accepted the incoming transmission. "Field Unit Gamma Nine, Trevor Fields reporting," He said into the transmitter with slight trepidation. Nobody would contact a unit through an open channel unless it was an emergency. "What's going on?"
"Home Unit Alpha Five, Royce Benson...are you receiving, Gamma Nine?" Trevor recognized the voice as one of the palace guard captains, a good friend of his.
"Yes, I am receiving, Alpha Five," He replied. "We've penetrated the location and the download has begun. The probe will launch in minutes. How go things back at the palace and the queen?"
Benson paused in his response. "They've......taken her."
Trevor felt his blood begin to freeze and his skin turn pale at the three words. From the look of shock of Seth's face, Trevor knew he felt the same.
"H...how??"
"I'm sorry, Trevor," Benson solemnly apologized. "They attacked out of nowhere and from all sides. We tried our best to hold them off...but there were too many. It looked well organized...they knew exactly where to hit our blockades and where we were hiding the queen. They took her and retreated."
Trevor felt his heart begin to sink. His queen...he hadn't been there to protect her...and now she was gone...dead, prisoner, it didn't seem to matter anymore.
"What about casualties??"
"Over three-quarters of our palace defense team was killed before the enemy retreated. The Sailor Soldiers were slightly wounded, but they are recovering now. The king...was critically wounded in the fight. He's unconscious now...we don't know if he'll recover or not at this point..."
Trevor felt like he was going to throw up. His voice was shaky as his trembling fingers pressed the transmitter button once more. "Very well, Alpha Five. We'll finish this and return to assist you. Until then...take care of the princess and the others. The queen would want it that way."
"You got it, friend," Benson replied before terminating the link.
Trevor dropped the radio to floor, not bothering to turn it off. "Well...as if things couldn't get any worse...the queen is gone...the king is injured...who's left to lead the war besides the Sailor Soldiers?"
"The...queen..." Seth began coughing hoarsely, spurts of blood shooting out of his mouth as he slumped further down to the floor. Trevor immediately scrambled through his bag, searching for any first aid equipment he could find.
"No...don't bother with me anymore, Trevor...my sight's starting to go...I think...I may be..."
"No!" Trevor cried, lifting Seth's head up with his hands. His eyes were looking faint and distant, and his paling skin told Trevor that the life was leaving his friend. "Don't die on me, Seth! We have to finish this together, right beside our queen!"
Seth managed to focus his large brown eyes on Trevor for a short instant, a smile forming on his face. "Sorry, friend, I can't go with you this time. My...time on the battlefield...has been well spent...and I will go to my grave...happy that...I could serve...my queen...until the end..."
"Seth..." Trevor's empty feeling of helplessness began growing as his friend kept drifting further and further away.
"But promise me...you'll finish this mission...and pray for me...that it saves this world..."
Trevor nodded. "I promise, kid," He smiled.
"Glory...to...the......queen......" Seth's eyes rolled back and closed, his head dropping down onto the crystalline floor with a dull thud.
"Rest in peace, Seth," Trevor laid his body onto the floor. "I'll get them for you!"
"How courageous," A soft female voice commented from the shadows.
"Who's there?!" Trevor bolted upward, drawing his steel sword and glancing around at the darkened areas of the chamber for signs of an armored enemy soldier. "Show yourself!"
Several seconds passed in silence, Trevor's grip on his blade tightening.
Suddenly, the voice spoke again, as calm and gentle as before. "At ease, young soldier," she said again. "You have nothing to fear, I am not your enemy."
Trevor let out a bold response. "How am I supposed to know that? Besides, if you were on our side, how come you stood there and let my friend die without even trying to help me save him?"
The reply was hesitant but firm. "There was no way to save him. We have no medical supplies, no healing powers of any kind at our disposal. I'm sorry, I wanted your comrade to live as much as you did, but it would have been a wasted effort."
Trevor's eyes lowered, hating to admit that she was right. "Then, who are you?" He demanded.
His gaze shot into the far-left corner of the room as he heard a woman's heels begin to click on the floor. From out of the shadows stepped a tall, beautiful lady with long black hair highlighted with shades of dark green. In her hands was a long, elegant, garnet-tipped staff that sparkled softly in the room. Her crimson eyes were filled with intelligence and somewhat of a warm charm that told Trevor that she was no ordinary person. Looking at the outfit she was wearing seemed to confirm his hunch: it was the white and dark green suit of a Sailor Soldier. However, she wasn't any one of the soldiers that he had seen before.
Wait a second... Trevor's mind clicked as he recalled what he had learned about the more elusive and somewhat xenophobic Sailor Soldiers from the outer planets. While Neptune and Uranus he knew well, there was another who was said to be the guardian of the time continuum.
"Sailor Pluto, I presume?" Trevor ventured a guess, sheathing his blade.
The mystery woman nodded. "Yes, I am the guardian of time as well as faithful soldier to NeoQueen Serenity. I must admit that I am surprised you recognized me. I am not well known among even the queen's most loyal followers."
"We soldiers have our ways," Trevor replied with a smirk. "Besides, the princess speaks the world of you a lot, and because of that, how could we not know about the illustrious guardian of time?"
Pluto chuckled a bit at the mention of the queen's kind-hearted daughter. "She always was a sweet girl. I must visit the palace sometime to see her and the others."
"I'm afraid that the morale among the others won't exactly be high," Trevor regretfully explained.
Pluto lowered her head, her smile melting into a sorrowful frown. "Yes, I know of the enemy's recent abduction of the queen, and I am angered that even my power cannot free her. But I can still sense her pure energy, so I know that she is alive and unharmed. The question is what the enemy wants with her."
"A good question, indeed," Trevor agreed, reorganizing his bag and checking his supplies. "But tell me, why have you come here?"
"I have come here to aid you in your mission," Sailor Pluto explained. "You have done extremely well in making it here and readying the probe for launch, but I sense that you're not fully aware of the critical nature of this task."
"So the queen explained it all to you?" Trevor arched an eyebrow in pleasant surprise, looking over at the probe. After all of the trouble he'd gone through for this probe, he was glad to finally get some answers regarding it. "Then tell me, what is this all about? Who is this data meant for?"
"It is quite complicated and it took much consideration on the part of the queen and myself," she responded, taking a seat on one of the benches built into the wall. "In fact, it is something that goes against almost everything I stand for as guardian of time."
Trevor dropped down next to his bag, sorting through the contents while paying close attention to Sailor Pluto. "You're saying that this has to do with time travel??"
"Yes. As you know by now, before the war broke out, these probes were perfected for temporal travel. They were originally supposed to be used for galactic exploration and security, but the war changed their purpose once the queen had conducted some research into Earth's past."
"Earth's past?" Trevor asked in confusion. "What does the former world have to do with this enemy?"
"It's not connected in any way with our invaders," Pluto continued. "But with our inability to counter the awesome powers that our enemies possess, the queen has reluctantly decided to search for assistance from an outside source in Earth's past."
"But will reinforcements make a difference though? You Sailor Soldiers are the most powerful defenders of Earth that ever existed. Who out in the timeline could possibly be stronger than you that we haven't learned about before from the queen?"
"Indeed we had defended Earth well in our times on the battlefield," Pluto nodded. "However, we were not the only ones who possessed such power and determination to keep the planet safe from enemy clutches. At around the same time as the Sailor Soldiers were beginning to appear, more battles were being waged in other areas of the world involving a group of freedom fighters known as the Z Warriors."
"Z Warriors?" Trevor leaned forward, his attention being drawn more and more by Pluto's explanation. "What kind of fighters are they, like you?"
"No, quite different from our powers," Pluto shook her head. "While we draw our powers from our respective planets, these fighters are very well learned in multiple martial arts techniques. In fact, they are so powerful that most of them could even destroy entire planets with no effort."
"What?!" Trevor gasped in utter shock. "T...that's impossible!!"
"I reacted similarly when the queen told me about these fighters," Pluto admitted. "Even I found such power hard to fathom, but it is true. As far as the warriors are concerned involving this horrible war, however, we hope that this message reaches them and that they can come forward in time to help assist us."
"But why the probe?" Trevor inquired, looking over at the humming object, the data download still
not complete. "Couldn't you just return to their time and tell them face to face?"
"I could, but I'm afraid that the sheer crisis of our situation wouldn't come across as effectively without visual data. Besides, with the horrible enemies that have fought with them, they would likely suspect me as one of those same monsters if I went alone."
Trevor scratched his chin, his confidence still not behind the intricate plan. "But how do we know that these guys will even help us? If they're so powerful, they might just side with the invaders, the stronger force of the two of our armies. It would seem natural for beings of similar strengths to join together."
"The queen assured me that though they possess awesome power, most of the fighters have pure hearts, more interested in using their powers to safeguard the innocent from evil. And with such power on our side, the tide of this war could shift dramatically."
Trevor had to agree with her on that point. "I'd certainly like to think so," he remarked. "It just seems that as of late, the strength factor has never been in our favor - we've been the underdogs in every struggle since Crystal Tokyo was born. But it would be nice to have some of our fighting spirit back...but I take that the others don't know about this plan,"
"No, because of the volatility and uncertainty of such a plan, it would be best not to instill more concern into the minds of the other Sailor Soldiers or the remaining Special Forces members. For now, only you, Captain Benson, the queen, and myself had known of this plan."
The disk popped out of the data port of the probe, download complete. Trevor stood up and removed it from the slot, staring at the probe with trepidation. Endless possibilities of the scenarios that could have played out after he hit the launch button flooded his mind. All of them ended up at one of two conclusions: sealing the fate of Crystal Tokyo, or a counterattack strong enough to repel the demons infesting their kingdom.
I never thought it would come to something like this. But if this were to backfire... He stared over at Pluto, who still looked slightly uncertain for the same reason, and with good cause. He could understand her resentment to such an act - who knew what kind of ill effects it would have on the timeline itself, the very life stream that Sailor Pluto had sworn to protect. But suddenly, one last fact occurred to Trevor that brought a smile to his face. The queen had located these warriors herself, and she had good judgment when it came to decisions affecting her people. If she thought that these Z Warriors weren't trustworthy, she wouldn't have sent him through hell to send a distress call to them.
"She knows what she's doing," he declared as he pocketed the disk with an optimistic smile. "When it comes to things like this, the queen never fails. And if these warriors arrive...I suspect that they won't either!"
Pluto smiled and nodded. "So trusting and loyal, Serenity must be proud to have soldiers like you."
"She's been a loving queen for as long as I can remember," Trevor said, memories of the queen's happy times resurfacing in his mind. "I'm just doing what's right, what she deserves for all she has given us in the past."
He kneeled down next to the probe and began prepping it for the launch sequence. "So, suppose these guys get the message and decide to help out. How do they get here?"
"That is another reason why the queen consulted me about this plan," Sailor Pluto explained. "Enclosed in the message is the location where they can meet me should they decide to answer our plea. I have already spoken with an old friend of mine in that era, and he has given me his assurances that they will show up."
"A friend in a different time zone who knows both you and the Z Warriors?" Trevor remarked. "Boy, what would we do without you, Sailor Pluto?"
She chuckled in response. "Thank you, but my efforts are wasted unless these fighters respond to this message."
"And if they don't...?" Trevor asked with anxiety.
"...Then I don't see how we can come back and win this war, let alone rescue the queen," she sorrowfully answered. "The probe seems to be ready now."
Trevor slammed the activation switch, causing the spherical pod to drop into a hollow launching tube from its resting position against the wall. Pressing another series of button commands on the panel next to the launcher, the orb was propelled upward through the tube, and Trevor saw from the skylight that it had gotten out safely and was now rocketing its way up into the starry void.
"Good, they didn't spot it," Trevor commented with a bit of relief as he relaxed his body. "Well, it's all in your hands now, Sailor Pluto."
"Yes," she nodded, shaking Trevor's hand. "Will you be all right here? I'd hate to leave you stranded in this wasteland."
Trevor allowed himself a bold laugh. "Don't worry about me, Sailor Pluto, I can survive out here for a while until I run into another field unit. Besides, with the prospect of getting some leverage in our favor for a change, I'm in a fighting mood!"
"Soldiers never change, no matter what era of time," she sighed with a warm smile. Taking her staff in her left hand, she tapped the floor a few times, the sound echoing against the walls of the chamber even louder than usual. Suddenly, a red spark formed in front of her, expanding into a swirling vortex of volatile energy. "Farewell, brave Trevor Fields. Please be careful!"
"I will! Take care!" He gave one last wave to Sailor Pluto before she disappeared into the vortex. The swirling energy pool then shrunk to the size of a small ball and disappeared with a bright flash, leaving Trevor in silence.
Suddenly, a loud banging on the entrance snapped the spell, drawing Trevor's mind back into reality. A horrible realization then occurred to him.
Oh great, they've must've seen the probe launch after all and want to take out the source...
Trevor drew his sword and took up a fighting stance, keeping his iron gaze on the door. The outer shield wouldn't hold against their powerful blows, and soon they'd be all over him, a gang massacre to say the least.
But they won't take me without casualties.
Suddenly, the door exploded inward, sending fiery debris everywhere. As Trevor recovered from a
few sharp bits of metal jabbing him in the chest and ribs, he resumed his fighting stance and faced the ruined door, knowing that a mob was waiting for him behind the curtain of black smoke. But he didn't care at all - if this was to be his last battle, he wanted to make it count. Since Sailor Pluto was hopefully bringing back reinforcements, he could rest in peace more easily, knowing that the queen would be safe with the combined powers of their army and the Z Warriors.
Godspeed, Sailor Pluto, glory to the queen!!
With a cry of rage, Trevor charged forward.
Author's Note: This is one of my first attempts at a fanfic alone, let alone a crossover story. In the DBZ timeline, it takes place somewhere between the end of Garlic Junior's attempted takeover of Earth and before the arrival of Cyber Frieza. In the Sailor Moon timeline, it occurs in the future, in Crystal Tokyo. I'm more of a Dragonball Z fan than a Sailor Moon watcher, but thanks to some friends I think I know enough about it to write a good story. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Final Desperation
Trevor Fields slammed the heavy steel door behind him, throwing his hand up on the wall and desperately feeling for the locking device. As his black-gloved hand finally landed on the activation switch and the defensive shield rose outside the door to temporarily block off the ruthless invaders, Trevor breathed a grateful sigh of relief. Catching his breath from the long sprint, he started thanking the heavens that he had been granted at least a few minutes of reprieve from the fierce onslaught. Ever since the first of them arrived, the demonic warriors had spared them no mercy, given them no chance to breathe. And for him, a soldier on the battlefield, that meant perpetual hell.
And I'm not the only one...
Sheathing his sword for the moment, he bent down to examine his comrade who had been injured during the rough excursion to the building. Just one look at the scorched, cracked, blood stained armor of Seth Victor was enough to make Trevor cringe. His entire midsection had been almost totally pierced by one of the attacker's energy beams, still giving off wisps of smoke and the stench of burning flesh and blood.
"Can you move?" Trevor asked with slight optimism.
Using the steel wall as a brace, Seth pushed himself slightly upward with an agonizing groan, but painfully slumped down again, regretfully succumbing to his wounds. "Sorry, Trevor, he got me good with that energy attack. I can't believe I didn't see it coming..."
"Don't worry, you got here alive," Trevor pulled out a small rag and managed to sponge up some of the seeping crimson fluid from Seth's body. "I've got to admit, even I didn't think you'd make it, let alone take out a few of those freaks in the process."
Seth managed a slight chuckle as he coughed up another gob of blood onto the clear crystal floor. "Well, if I'm going to die, I might as well take a few with me."
"Don't say that!" Trevor barked as he wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead. "You're not dead yet. Wounds can be healed, my friend."
"Huh," Seth coughed. "Not in the middle of a battlefield with no medical equipment. Remember, most of that has been pretty much used up by now."
Trevor sighed, grudgingly knowing that Seth was right. The situation had been looking more dismal by the day ever since the brutal war had begun. It had only been a short time after the Nemesis crisis when the youthful queen of Crystal Tokyo, the leader of a brave new world, had become the target of a new enemy, and this time, they were unknowns - foreign mercenaries with more powerful energy-manipulation skills than anyone ever imagined. Their first strikes against the kingdom were quick, unexpected, and ruthlessly efficient. Within days, a quarter of the unprepared Tokyo Special Forces had fallen, and most of the main city had been occupied. There hadn't been any demands, no motives for launching a mass annihilation campaign against the young kingdom, but one thing had become certain from the very first skirmishes between the warriors and small Tokyo special forces: they had the upper hand. And every day left more and more dead in the path of the strange assassins. Even the Sailor Soldiers, the most powerful and certainly the most courageous fighters in the kingdom, seemed helpless before the mysterious warriors. In any perspective, the kingdom was on the verge of total collapse at the current rate.
Hence, our mission here today.
Trevor wasn't one hundred percent certain about the queen's special orders to him and Seth, but she had said that it was of utmost importance that they pull through, for it could've meant the turning point in the war.
I don't see how crossing the city to the communications tower is going to help turn this fight around...but if the queen said it was important...
"Do you have the disk?" Seth asked.
"Yes," Trevor pulled the shiny circular disk from his pouch. The queen had given it to him by her own hand, instructing him to download the information into a probe in the tower and to send the probe out into space. He hurried across the small empty room toward the storage bays implanted into the wall, hoping that at least one probe still remained in the launch tube. He didn't want to have to go to the trouble of constructing a new one from scratch.
As the panel whooshed open, Trevor smiled in relief as one undamaged probe remained ready to launch. Opening the data port, Trevor inserted the disk into the slot and started the download of the queen's vital information into the memory banks.
"It's starting," Trevor reported to his fellow soldier. "In a few minutes, it'll be ready to launch."
Seth slowly lifted his drooping head, fatigue and grogginess evident in his glazed eyes. "Good...then we can finally...win this war??"
Trevor dropped down next to Seth, wiping away some more blood from his friend's horrendous wounds. "I don't know what information the queen put on that disk, but if she's confident that the recipients of the message can save this planet, then I guess all we can do is go along with it and pray that she's right."
Seth let out a small laugh. "Heh, heh...always loyal to the queen...this war hasn't changed you one bit, old friend...why, I'd bet that you'd take one of those energy blasts for her."
Trevor returned a small smile. "I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't take a thousand of them for her. She's our queen; it's my duty to protect her foremost. I only regret that I couldn't stay back with the palace unit to safeguard her. I don't know why, but the closer she is when I fight these demons, the more determined I am to protect her, and the more vigor runs through my blood."
"I think we're all like that now..." Seth agreed. "She's not really a queen, but more like to mother to all of us...she can warm the soul of the most stone-faced soldier. I think...that each of us...owes her quite a bit in that respect..."
"All the more reason for us to protect her, especially from these monsters," Trevor nodded. "But I guess we are serving her best in this critical mission. If it's as important as she said, then--"
Suddenly, Trevor's radio started beeping loudly, surprising both soldiers. Trevor pulled the radio out of its pouch and accepted the incoming transmission. "Field Unit Gamma Nine, Trevor Fields reporting," He said into the transmitter with slight trepidation. Nobody would contact a unit through an open channel unless it was an emergency. "What's going on?"
"Home Unit Alpha Five, Royce Benson...are you receiving, Gamma Nine?" Trevor recognized the voice as one of the palace guard captains, a good friend of his.
"Yes, I am receiving, Alpha Five," He replied. "We've penetrated the location and the download has begun. The probe will launch in minutes. How go things back at the palace and the queen?"
Benson paused in his response. "They've......taken her."
Trevor felt his blood begin to freeze and his skin turn pale at the three words. From the look of shock of Seth's face, Trevor knew he felt the same.
"H...how??"
"I'm sorry, Trevor," Benson solemnly apologized. "They attacked out of nowhere and from all sides. We tried our best to hold them off...but there were too many. It looked well organized...they knew exactly where to hit our blockades and where we were hiding the queen. They took her and retreated."
Trevor felt his heart begin to sink. His queen...he hadn't been there to protect her...and now she was gone...dead, prisoner, it didn't seem to matter anymore.
"What about casualties??"
"Over three-quarters of our palace defense team was killed before the enemy retreated. The Sailor Soldiers were slightly wounded, but they are recovering now. The king...was critically wounded in the fight. He's unconscious now...we don't know if he'll recover or not at this point..."
Trevor felt like he was going to throw up. His voice was shaky as his trembling fingers pressed the transmitter button once more. "Very well, Alpha Five. We'll finish this and return to assist you. Until then...take care of the princess and the others. The queen would want it that way."
"You got it, friend," Benson replied before terminating the link.
Trevor dropped the radio to floor, not bothering to turn it off. "Well...as if things couldn't get any worse...the queen is gone...the king is injured...who's left to lead the war besides the Sailor Soldiers?"
"The...queen..." Seth began coughing hoarsely, spurts of blood shooting out of his mouth as he slumped further down to the floor. Trevor immediately scrambled through his bag, searching for any first aid equipment he could find.
"No...don't bother with me anymore, Trevor...my sight's starting to go...I think...I may be..."
"No!" Trevor cried, lifting Seth's head up with his hands. His eyes were looking faint and distant, and his paling skin told Trevor that the life was leaving his friend. "Don't die on me, Seth! We have to finish this together, right beside our queen!"
Seth managed to focus his large brown eyes on Trevor for a short instant, a smile forming on his face. "Sorry, friend, I can't go with you this time. My...time on the battlefield...has been well spent...and I will go to my grave...happy that...I could serve...my queen...until the end..."
"Seth..." Trevor's empty feeling of helplessness began growing as his friend kept drifting further and further away.
"But promise me...you'll finish this mission...and pray for me...that it saves this world..."
Trevor nodded. "I promise, kid," He smiled.
"Glory...to...the......queen......" Seth's eyes rolled back and closed, his head dropping down onto the crystalline floor with a dull thud.
"Rest in peace, Seth," Trevor laid his body onto the floor. "I'll get them for you!"
"How courageous," A soft female voice commented from the shadows.
"Who's there?!" Trevor bolted upward, drawing his steel sword and glancing around at the darkened areas of the chamber for signs of an armored enemy soldier. "Show yourself!"
Several seconds passed in silence, Trevor's grip on his blade tightening.
Suddenly, the voice spoke again, as calm and gentle as before. "At ease, young soldier," she said again. "You have nothing to fear, I am not your enemy."
Trevor let out a bold response. "How am I supposed to know that? Besides, if you were on our side, how come you stood there and let my friend die without even trying to help me save him?"
The reply was hesitant but firm. "There was no way to save him. We have no medical supplies, no healing powers of any kind at our disposal. I'm sorry, I wanted your comrade to live as much as you did, but it would have been a wasted effort."
Trevor's eyes lowered, hating to admit that she was right. "Then, who are you?" He demanded.
His gaze shot into the far-left corner of the room as he heard a woman's heels begin to click on the floor. From out of the shadows stepped a tall, beautiful lady with long black hair highlighted with shades of dark green. In her hands was a long, elegant, garnet-tipped staff that sparkled softly in the room. Her crimson eyes were filled with intelligence and somewhat of a warm charm that told Trevor that she was no ordinary person. Looking at the outfit she was wearing seemed to confirm his hunch: it was the white and dark green suit of a Sailor Soldier. However, she wasn't any one of the soldiers that he had seen before.
Wait a second... Trevor's mind clicked as he recalled what he had learned about the more elusive and somewhat xenophobic Sailor Soldiers from the outer planets. While Neptune and Uranus he knew well, there was another who was said to be the guardian of the time continuum.
"Sailor Pluto, I presume?" Trevor ventured a guess, sheathing his blade.
The mystery woman nodded. "Yes, I am the guardian of time as well as faithful soldier to NeoQueen Serenity. I must admit that I am surprised you recognized me. I am not well known among even the queen's most loyal followers."
"We soldiers have our ways," Trevor replied with a smirk. "Besides, the princess speaks the world of you a lot, and because of that, how could we not know about the illustrious guardian of time?"
Pluto chuckled a bit at the mention of the queen's kind-hearted daughter. "She always was a sweet girl. I must visit the palace sometime to see her and the others."
"I'm afraid that the morale among the others won't exactly be high," Trevor regretfully explained.
Pluto lowered her head, her smile melting into a sorrowful frown. "Yes, I know of the enemy's recent abduction of the queen, and I am angered that even my power cannot free her. But I can still sense her pure energy, so I know that she is alive and unharmed. The question is what the enemy wants with her."
"A good question, indeed," Trevor agreed, reorganizing his bag and checking his supplies. "But tell me, why have you come here?"
"I have come here to aid you in your mission," Sailor Pluto explained. "You have done extremely well in making it here and readying the probe for launch, but I sense that you're not fully aware of the critical nature of this task."
"So the queen explained it all to you?" Trevor arched an eyebrow in pleasant surprise, looking over at the probe. After all of the trouble he'd gone through for this probe, he was glad to finally get some answers regarding it. "Then tell me, what is this all about? Who is this data meant for?"
"It is quite complicated and it took much consideration on the part of the queen and myself," she responded, taking a seat on one of the benches built into the wall. "In fact, it is something that goes against almost everything I stand for as guardian of time."
Trevor dropped down next to his bag, sorting through the contents while paying close attention to Sailor Pluto. "You're saying that this has to do with time travel??"
"Yes. As you know by now, before the war broke out, these probes were perfected for temporal travel. They were originally supposed to be used for galactic exploration and security, but the war changed their purpose once the queen had conducted some research into Earth's past."
"Earth's past?" Trevor asked in confusion. "What does the former world have to do with this enemy?"
"It's not connected in any way with our invaders," Pluto continued. "But with our inability to counter the awesome powers that our enemies possess, the queen has reluctantly decided to search for assistance from an outside source in Earth's past."
"But will reinforcements make a difference though? You Sailor Soldiers are the most powerful defenders of Earth that ever existed. Who out in the timeline could possibly be stronger than you that we haven't learned about before from the queen?"
"Indeed we had defended Earth well in our times on the battlefield," Pluto nodded. "However, we were not the only ones who possessed such power and determination to keep the planet safe from enemy clutches. At around the same time as the Sailor Soldiers were beginning to appear, more battles were being waged in other areas of the world involving a group of freedom fighters known as the Z Warriors."
"Z Warriors?" Trevor leaned forward, his attention being drawn more and more by Pluto's explanation. "What kind of fighters are they, like you?"
"No, quite different from our powers," Pluto shook her head. "While we draw our powers from our respective planets, these fighters are very well learned in multiple martial arts techniques. In fact, they are so powerful that most of them could even destroy entire planets with no effort."
"What?!" Trevor gasped in utter shock. "T...that's impossible!!"
"I reacted similarly when the queen told me about these fighters," Pluto admitted. "Even I found such power hard to fathom, but it is true. As far as the warriors are concerned involving this horrible war, however, we hope that this message reaches them and that they can come forward in time to help assist us."
"But why the probe?" Trevor inquired, looking over at the humming object, the data download still
not complete. "Couldn't you just return to their time and tell them face to face?"
"I could, but I'm afraid that the sheer crisis of our situation wouldn't come across as effectively without visual data. Besides, with the horrible enemies that have fought with them, they would likely suspect me as one of those same monsters if I went alone."
Trevor scratched his chin, his confidence still not behind the intricate plan. "But how do we know that these guys will even help us? If they're so powerful, they might just side with the invaders, the stronger force of the two of our armies. It would seem natural for beings of similar strengths to join together."
"The queen assured me that though they possess awesome power, most of the fighters have pure hearts, more interested in using their powers to safeguard the innocent from evil. And with such power on our side, the tide of this war could shift dramatically."
Trevor had to agree with her on that point. "I'd certainly like to think so," he remarked. "It just seems that as of late, the strength factor has never been in our favor - we've been the underdogs in every struggle since Crystal Tokyo was born. But it would be nice to have some of our fighting spirit back...but I take that the others don't know about this plan,"
"No, because of the volatility and uncertainty of such a plan, it would be best not to instill more concern into the minds of the other Sailor Soldiers or the remaining Special Forces members. For now, only you, Captain Benson, the queen, and myself had known of this plan."
The disk popped out of the data port of the probe, download complete. Trevor stood up and removed it from the slot, staring at the probe with trepidation. Endless possibilities of the scenarios that could have played out after he hit the launch button flooded his mind. All of them ended up at one of two conclusions: sealing the fate of Crystal Tokyo, or a counterattack strong enough to repel the demons infesting their kingdom.
I never thought it would come to something like this. But if this were to backfire... He stared over at Pluto, who still looked slightly uncertain for the same reason, and with good cause. He could understand her resentment to such an act - who knew what kind of ill effects it would have on the timeline itself, the very life stream that Sailor Pluto had sworn to protect. But suddenly, one last fact occurred to Trevor that brought a smile to his face. The queen had located these warriors herself, and she had good judgment when it came to decisions affecting her people. If she thought that these Z Warriors weren't trustworthy, she wouldn't have sent him through hell to send a distress call to them.
"She knows what she's doing," he declared as he pocketed the disk with an optimistic smile. "When it comes to things like this, the queen never fails. And if these warriors arrive...I suspect that they won't either!"
Pluto smiled and nodded. "So trusting and loyal, Serenity must be proud to have soldiers like you."
"She's been a loving queen for as long as I can remember," Trevor said, memories of the queen's happy times resurfacing in his mind. "I'm just doing what's right, what she deserves for all she has given us in the past."
He kneeled down next to the probe and began prepping it for the launch sequence. "So, suppose these guys get the message and decide to help out. How do they get here?"
"That is another reason why the queen consulted me about this plan," Sailor Pluto explained. "Enclosed in the message is the location where they can meet me should they decide to answer our plea. I have already spoken with an old friend of mine in that era, and he has given me his assurances that they will show up."
"A friend in a different time zone who knows both you and the Z Warriors?" Trevor remarked. "Boy, what would we do without you, Sailor Pluto?"
She chuckled in response. "Thank you, but my efforts are wasted unless these fighters respond to this message."
"And if they don't...?" Trevor asked with anxiety.
"...Then I don't see how we can come back and win this war, let alone rescue the queen," she sorrowfully answered. "The probe seems to be ready now."
Trevor slammed the activation switch, causing the spherical pod to drop into a hollow launching tube from its resting position against the wall. Pressing another series of button commands on the panel next to the launcher, the orb was propelled upward through the tube, and Trevor saw from the skylight that it had gotten out safely and was now rocketing its way up into the starry void.
"Good, they didn't spot it," Trevor commented with a bit of relief as he relaxed his body. "Well, it's all in your hands now, Sailor Pluto."
"Yes," she nodded, shaking Trevor's hand. "Will you be all right here? I'd hate to leave you stranded in this wasteland."
Trevor allowed himself a bold laugh. "Don't worry about me, Sailor Pluto, I can survive out here for a while until I run into another field unit. Besides, with the prospect of getting some leverage in our favor for a change, I'm in a fighting mood!"
"Soldiers never change, no matter what era of time," she sighed with a warm smile. Taking her staff in her left hand, she tapped the floor a few times, the sound echoing against the walls of the chamber even louder than usual. Suddenly, a red spark formed in front of her, expanding into a swirling vortex of volatile energy. "Farewell, brave Trevor Fields. Please be careful!"
"I will! Take care!" He gave one last wave to Sailor Pluto before she disappeared into the vortex. The swirling energy pool then shrunk to the size of a small ball and disappeared with a bright flash, leaving Trevor in silence.
Suddenly, a loud banging on the entrance snapped the spell, drawing Trevor's mind back into reality. A horrible realization then occurred to him.
Oh great, they've must've seen the probe launch after all and want to take out the source...
Trevor drew his sword and took up a fighting stance, keeping his iron gaze on the door. The outer shield wouldn't hold against their powerful blows, and soon they'd be all over him, a gang massacre to say the least.
But they won't take me without casualties.
Suddenly, the door exploded inward, sending fiery debris everywhere. As Trevor recovered from a
few sharp bits of metal jabbing him in the chest and ribs, he resumed his fighting stance and faced the ruined door, knowing that a mob was waiting for him behind the curtain of black smoke. But he didn't care at all - if this was to be his last battle, he wanted to make it count. Since Sailor Pluto was hopefully bringing back reinforcements, he could rest in peace more easily, knowing that the queen would be safe with the combined powers of their army and the Z Warriors.
Godspeed, Sailor Pluto, glory to the queen!!
With a cry of rage, Trevor charged forward.