Previews: Watch Iczelion! It is the most awesome anime ever! Its better than Sailor Moon in many ways. I like it. See it! Sailor Cynic: Swerves of Fate by Beky Sarver Episode 3: Monsters, Indeed Prologue: Last week on Sailor Cynic, we learned that Akane Tendo has a Senshi-related gift, and she joined the Senshi. They trained together in mock battles again. Ami and Setsuna went and talked to Ryo, who had already precogged the encounter. Ami discovers some mysterious fact about time that the author has decided to reveal some other time. In the meantime, Ryo is now Mercury Knight. Also, the theme song has been updated. * [Opening Song: St. Elmo's Fire] [Chibi Senshi growing up; Naru and Usagi giggling together] Growin' up, you don't see the writing on the wall Passin' by, movin' straight ahead, you knew it all [Makoto's parents dying; Rei's father marched off in handcuffs; Naru's father dying;] But maybe sometime if you feel the pain You'll find you're all alone, everything has changed [Usagi meeting Luna; Ami and Rei's first transformations; Makoto hoisting Game Machine Joe shadow, symbol of Jupiter on her forehead; Minako arriving in the darkness] I can see a new horizon underneath the blazin' sky I'll be where the eagle's flying higher and higher Gonna be your man in motion, all I need is a pair of wheels Take me where my future's lyin', St. Elmo's Fire [Fighting poses against youma stolen from the first season (Season of SC #0 in continuity) and first couple of episodes] Play the game, you know you can't quit until it's won Soldier on, only you can do what must be done [Senshi face Malachite and Zoisite as Beryl appears in the air] You know in some way you're a lot like me You're just a prisoner and you're tryin' to break free [Harley transforms into warrior gear; wielding the Silver Sword; standing by Zoitan; Setsuna and Makoto fighting back to back, Outers and inners mixed] I can see a new horizon underneath the blazin' sky I'll be where the eagle's flying higher and higher Gonna be your man in motion, all I need is a pair of wheels Take me where my future's lyin', St. Elmo's Fire [Senshi getting tired, then getting up and fighting again.] Burning up, don't know just how far that I can go [Hyperspace meadow with arabian palamino horses grazing] Soon be home, only just a few miles down the road I can make it, I know I can [Mamoru, Zoitan, Jedaite, and Ryo fighting for their girls] You broke the boy in me, but you won't break the man [Xalen, Saeblin, and Faolin observe from the multicolored space of the time warp; Pics of them in warrior dress; Crowns around their heads] I can hear the music playin', I can see the banners fly Feel like you're back again, and hope ridin' high Gonna be your man in motion, all I need is a pair of wheels Take me where my future's lyin', St. Elmo's Fire [Big, bright, jagged Z flashes] * Setsuna, Ryo, Jedaite, and Ami were sharing lunch at a nice diner, reminiscing. Ryo's eyes widened as Jedaite's and Setsuna's unfocused. They screamed in unison, "Ami! Down!" She ducked just as a beam of energy passed through where her head had formerly been. In seconds, the four had transformed to meet the threat. The youma like creature stood about seven feet tall. His structure was bony, yet animal like. He shot another beam from his eyes. Mercury began scanning immediately. "We're in luck! His specialty is psychic attacks. He's immune to everything... except time attacks." The three time masters attacked in unison, pen and staff meeting Time Key, as Sailor Pluto whispered, "Dead Scream." The blast threw the creature back, obviously surprising it. A large black spot appeared on its chest. Otherwise it seemed fine. It shot off some more psychic beams. Jedaite dodged skillfully. "Fast Forward!" His odd sounding attack showed no physical manifestation for a few seconds. Then, almost imperceptibly, the creature began to age before their eyes. Unfortunately, this also enabled the monster to thrown attacks out much more quickly. A stray beam or two his Setsuna, but Sailor Pluto proved quite resistant to the beams. Her brother and betrothed were likewise unnaffected. The same could not be said of Mercury's Sailor. She was lying on the ground, looking terrible. Her fuku was scorched. Mercury Knight leapt in front of her, gesturing with his pen. "Time Whirl Wall!" The creature finally collapsed into dust. Of course, due to Ryo's protective wall, strange beams of light shot out at different times in history, causing rumors of ghosts to permeate the area. Ryo, detransformed now, clutched his love to his chest. "We'll get you taken care of, Ami." Jedaite chuckled. "I don't think you'll have to." Ami's eyelids fluttered, and she detransformed. She gave Ryo a quick peck on the cheek, then blushed terribly and scrambled up. "I'm sorry..." He put a hand on her mouth. "I know what you're going to say. Don't be sorry." Setsuna put in. "You two *are* engaged. You might enjoy acting like it once in a while." The two scrambled apart, beet red. Then Ami laughed. "I guess you're right, Setsuna-san." Setsuna smiled, but her eyes were troubled. Something odd was going on. * Meanwhile, in the Aino residence, Akane, Minako, and Rei were pounding on game controllers, attempting to beat the others' characters to pulp. Zoitan was watching, an amused gleam in his eye. "Its a good thing Luna and Artemis are coming back from vacation in a few days. You guys haven't been getting anything done." Akane asked, "Luna, Artemis? Who are they?" "Hah! You're dead, Akane!" Akane turned back to the tv to see that she had been killed by Rei in her moment of distraction. She pulled out her hammer. "I'll show *you* dead..." Minako looked around furtively. "You're *sure* they went on vacation, right? I get this strange idea that someone's watching me..." Rei grinned as she tore apart Minako's character. "Don't worry, Minako. Not even animals can hide from my sixth sense. Ha! I win! They're nowhere around." Zoitan frowned. "I hope Harli gets along with them better when they return." Akane was puzzled, and began to gesture threateningly with her mallet. "What are you talking about?" Rei started in on the computer's characters. "Luna and Artemis are our guardian cats, from the moon. They got us started." Zoitan added, "Harley has a grudge against Artemis because he was instrumental in preventing the Moon from voting on Zephyr's behalf." Minako blinked. "He was? She never mentioned it." Rei snorted. "She wouldn't. Well, he's changed." Akane was still dubious. "Talking cats?" Usagi's voice arrived. "That's what I thought when I met Luna. Even after I transformed, I was convinced it was some wacko dream." Mamoru grinned at her. "And quite a dream it has turned out to be, my love." Harley pushed her way through them. "Stop the mush, lovebirds." The mood broken, Usagi glanced at Minako. "Do you have any food around?" Rei chuckled. "You could time your watch by Usagi's appetite. The second hand would move every time she got hungry." They all laughed, except Usagi. "Hey! That's not fair." Zoitan grinned. "In answer to your question, there's pretzels downstairs." "Eee!" Usagi ran down the stairs. Mamoru joined Zoitan, Minako, and Rei in another game of Mortal Kombat #10. Meanwhile, Akane and Harley moved over to a small couch that was in Minako's room. (Being a model funds these fun accesories.) As they talked, Harley began leafing through Minako's broad library of video game guides. She had more Pocket Monsters than anything else. Minako owned all four versions of the game, and had five strategy guides. Akane looked over her shoulder. "Um, Le-chan, doesn't that look sort of like that crab you guys fought last week?" Harley blinked. "Yeah. Kind of." She gestured to Rei. "Come here." "But I'm winning!" She wilted. "Oh, fine." She dropped her gamepad and came over. Surveying the picture, she frowned. "I'm not sure." She turned the page and gasped. "But *that* one is exactly like that huge bird." Harley nodded. "You're right." Akane laughed. "Come on guys, its got to be a coincidence." Ami, Ryo, Jedaite, and Setsuna took that moment to walk in. They were breathing hard. "Another monster." Ami explained. Harley raised an eyebrow and handed her the book. "See if you can find it in here." The four gathered round. Ryo nodded. "That's it." Usagi arrived, her arms full of chips. She stumbled into Jedaite, knocking him back and causing him to drop the book. She looked at the picture. "Um, guys, why are you staring at a picture of a Mewtwo?" Mamoru laughed. "Usako, you can remember the name of all 150 Pocket Monsters, but you can't remember the capital of France?" She frowned. "Well, there's really 151, but the Mew is only in the yellow. Um, that's Louvre, right?" Ami laughed. "No, Usagi-chan, the Louvre is a palace in Paris, the capital." Usagi snorted. "Whatever. So, why were you looking at it?" The room sobered instantly. Minako got out, "Ami, Setsuna, Jedaite, and Ryo just fought this monster." Zoitan added, "And we've identified the crab and the bird too." Minako nodded. "A Kingler and small Aerodactyl." Akane asked, hesitantly, "You mean... we've been fighting Pocket Monsters?" Ami was the only one to speak. "I suppose I'd better program my computer." * [COMERCIAL BREAK, YOUR SHOW WILL BE BACK IN A FEW MINUTES] Scene: A calm park. Geordi Laforge is in the holodeck with a lady friend. She smiles. "Geordi, can I ask you a small favor?" He nods. "Could you use 1-800-COLLECT when you call me? It save me nonexistent money." Geordi. "Of course. How silly of me." They kiss. Even in the 24 century, its better to use 1-800-COLLECT. * The entire group was gathered in Makoto's apartment, who'd been brought up to speed on events. Harley smiled. "Its time for some more training." Akane asked, "Then why are we inside?" Harley smiled egnimatically. Then she relented. "This is how it goes. These Pocket Monsters are usually especially vulnerable to one or two of us. It makes sense for us to practice transferring energy so that whoever has the best attack can attack with all our might." Setsuna nodded. "I agree." Mamoru asked, "Did you find any cause for these odd occurences?" All three time types shook their heads. "No. It doesn't seem related to the time stream." Ami shot off a quick glance at them, one full of curiousity and knowledge that no one ever had. Setsuna nodded quickly. Harley's raised an eyebrow at the silent exchange, but didn't pry. Instead, she closed her eyes. The others followed suit. Above her outstretched hand materialized golden energy. "To Usagi." The golden ball flew, then hovered by Usagi's broach. Usagi smiled. "To Minako." The ball that flew had turned white, and was double the size of the first one. In fact, as it bouced from person to person, it continually changed color and became larger. Then, finally, it made its way from Zoitan to Ami. Ami considered what to do with this power. Then she shrugged, and released it. The power surged back to its owners. They all opened their eyes. Makoto frowned. "There's got to be a better way to do that." Zoitan's eyes lighted up. "There sure is! Mako-chan, do you have some masking tape?" Mamoru took some from a nearby table and tossed it to him. "What are you considering?" Zoitan busily made a line down the middle of the room. Now the attendees were divided neatly in half. "Volleyball." Grins were shared. This could be fun. The new ball was about the size of a handball, formed with the tiniest bit of each person's energy. An hour layer, shouts could be heard. "Hiya!" "Hah!" "Uh!" "Dive!" "It's only a flesh wound!" Jedaite smiled. "My serve." He "grabbed" the ball and swatted it across the line with his palm, towards Harley. Harley "bumped" it back, so that it was headed towards Setsuna. Setsuna seemed to catch it, and it rocketed away from her in the form of three smaller balls. The smaller balls were easier to manipulate, but more people had to do so. Ryo, Ami, and Rei caught them. Ryo dissipated his, causing the others to let their's dissipate. They looked askance at him. Ding-dong. Ryo grinned. "I must be psychic." They all laughed. Meanwhile, Makoto answered the door. Yuka stood there. "Are you Makoto Kino? Makoto nodded. "Yeah. That's me." Yuka smiled. "Oh, good. My friend Harley said to drop these two off at your place." She held out two familiar cats. Makoto thanked her, and Yuka left. Usagi and Minako leapt in concert. "Luna! Artemis!" Usagi continued, "How was your vacation, and.." Luna smiled. "It was very nice. Setsuna-san has very nice taste. Did anything of note happen?" After a long period of silence, someone did explain the current difficulties. "Oh, my." Luna said. Artemis agreed. * Sailor Cynic Says! (substitute starred by Akane, because Harley wasn't around again) Akane: Hi there. I'm Akane Tendo, of the Senshi style of martial arts. I'm filling in for Le-chan because she's shy. :(muffled groans) Akane: Ahem. Anyway, today we learned that we're fighting these cute guys from Pokemon... Ami: Erm, Akane, that's Pocket Monsters. Akane (scowlin): Whatever. Well, we'll probably do something about the problem soon. Ranma: You might if you stopped hitting people and let some discussion happen, you macho violent chick. Akane: (takes out mallet) You don't even have a line in this story! How dare you be here? (sounds of a bicycle) Shampoo: Strong husband do whatever he want in Jocketsuzuko! Ranma: Anyway, Xanth got in last week. She doesn't have lines either. Akane (seething): Whatever. See you next week! Author: Maybe having Akane do these things is not such a great idea... I'll have to draft someone else next time.