AUTHOR'S DISCLAIMER: DO I REALLY NEED TO SAY IT AGAIN? OH WELL I DON'T
MUCH FEEL LIKE GETTING SUED. SAILOR MOON ISN'T MINE SHE WAS CREATED BY
TAKEUCHI NAOKO, AND THE COPY RIGHTS ARE HELD BY PIONEER AND CWI
ET AL. SEAN HUNTER (APOLLO) HOWEVER IS MY CREATION. JUST ENJOY THE
STORY. OH AND ANY COMMENTS (GOOD, BAD, OR INDIFFERENT), FLAMES, AND
YES EVEN DEATH THREATS *CHUCKLES* CAN BE E-MAILED TO ME AT:
BIGMOUTH90@EXCITE.COM.
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APOLLO AND MARS: ETERNAL FRIENDSHIP
CHAPTER TWO: OLD FRIEND, NEW ENEMY (BY INVID HELLCAT)
Centaur of Chiron, Silver Millennium:
As far as the eye could see there was nothing but destruction and death
save four lone female figures. They were sent here to find the answers
to the questions of who or what did this, and why it was done. One of
the female figures approached the decimated castle. The question raging
thru her head was the same as her three associates. "What the hell
happened here?" It was indeed the question of the day. Just yesterday
this was a proud and bustling planetoid small in comparison to most of
the planets and moons, but that didn't matter one bit to those souls
that called it home. 'This place is just as spooky inside as it is
outside' the figure thought to herself as she began to look inside the
castle's remains. The female figure jumped at the sound of her
communicator going off. She activated her communicator and began to
see who was calling her. On the communicator's small video screen the
figure saw a female with sea green hair and eyes staring back at her.
"Damnit Nereid you scared the life out of me." She spat sounding quite
unnerved. "Sorry, Oberon but this is the only way to keep in touch, and
look we're all on edge here. Queen Selenity wants answers as to what
happened here and she wants them as of yesterday. I was only calling
to see if you found anything yet?" Sailor Nereid said in a somewhat
impatient voice. "No, I haven't found anything and if I do you'll be
the first one I call. Oberon out." Oberon snapped back. Just then she
did a one-eighty because she heard an almost cruel sounding laughter
come from behind her. "You're right Sailor Senshi you didn't find
anything, but something certainly found you." In the next instance
Sailor Oberon was laying on the floor unconscious. Nearly an hour later
Sailor Oberon awoke to find a dour faced Sailor Mars standing over her,
and an even more disappointed looking Apollo right behind her. The
three other Senshi that had been sent to Chiron were all seated on one
side of the room. The looks on their faces were of defeat. "You four
did pathetic. You gave yourselves away way too easy. If me and Apollo
were really your enemies all four of you would be dead by now." The
Martian Princess stated sternly. "But we were sent in blind and deaf. We
had no idea what we were going to be facing." Sailor Star Gazer replied
trying her best to sound defensive but it came out as a full-blown
whine instead. "Some cheese with that whine? Point granted though, you
weren't given any kind of advance knowledge of the situation that you
were going into, but that was whole point of this exercise to see how
well you could adapt to a situation like this because in real life you
won't always know what's laying in wait for you." Apollo replied
bluntly. The four Senshi lowered their heads knowing that they had just
botched an important part of their training. "Now get rested up for your
training session tonight. It'll be on the Moon of Sinope and don't be
late." Apollo told the four Senshi as they all rose as one and left for
home. The Solar General and Sailor Mars watched as the four left
and then left themselves.
The Asteroid of Ceres:
Apollo and Mars were sitting down and eating a late brunch. They were
talking about how the training session had gone. "I have to say that
was a huge disappointment Princess. We took them down way too easy."
Apollo said as he took a bite of his eggs. "I know but don't forget when
you and the generals were training me and the other Inner Senshi we
did just as poorly our first time." The Martian Princess reminded
Apollo. He just laughed as he remembered that day. "Yes, I know but
here were some big differences first off when I had you four pull a
similar exercise we outnumbered you five to four, here they had a four
on two advantage. Secondly, you Inners had even less training than
these four did. So, there really isn't much a of a fair comparison to
make here." Apollo retorted glumly. This made the Senshi of Fire walk
over to the Solar General. "Listen big brother these four will be even
better Senshi than we could ever imagine." Mars stated as she took
Apollo's hand in hers and gave him a small smile. He gave her hand a
gentle squeeze and returned her smile. "For the sake of our Kingdom I
hope you're right little sister." He replied a tinge of skepticism in
his voice. Princess Mars just giggled. "You'll see they will be and
sooner than you think." She said as Apollo made a simple reply of I
hope so. The two finished their brunch, and cleaned up the kitchen,
then they headed out for a walk back to the Serpent Road. As soon as
they got out of the door a gray fog returned just overhead and a very
faint laughter could be heard coming from it. Both Sailor Mars and
Apollo stopped dead in their tracks. Rei tightened her grip on Sean's
hand. "Did you feel that?" She asked as she drew in closer. "Yes, I did
and it felt like something pure evil." Apollo responded as they both
took a look around to see if they could find the source. Mars was the
first one to see it. "Sean over head." She said as Apollo looked up to
see the gray fog. Seconds later it descended to the ground. The fog
took on a female humanoid shape. "Who are you?" Mars asked. The fog
just laughed. "Why, I'm surprised that you don't recognize a fellow
Senshi." The creature said in a melodious alto voice. This revelation
made both Apollo and Sailor Mars do a double take. The fog then seemed
to start to take on a more solid appearance it took on more definable
human features. When its transformation was complete the cloud of gray
fog looked completely like a human female. She stood just a fraction
shorter than Sailor Mars. She was dressed in a standard Senshi fuku;
only her fuku's dress was blood red instead of white and the skirt was
tri-leveled midnight blue, blood and black. Her hair was waist length
and frosty white, and her eyes were silver. The bow on the front of her
fuku was solid black with a deep forest green clasp in the middle. Her
choker was blood red with a bone white snowflake in the center, and her
tiara was obsidian with a bone white snowflake in the center of it. Her
boots were knee high, black with blood red trim. Her gloves extended to
her elbows and were blood red with black trim. "Now you should be able
to recognize me I'm Sailor Frost from the Alpha Centauri star system."
She introduced herself casually as she bowed slightly. The Martian
Princess scratched her head. "Sailor Frost? Name doesn't ring a bell."
She replied sounding very suspicious. Apollo looked as impassive as
stone while Sailor Frost spoke. "Right, Sailor Frost vanished with out
a trace back in the Golden Millennium. You expect us to believe that a
Senshi who's been missing for almost a millennium all of a sudden
appears at our feet?" He said beginning to sound impatient. "Really now
has it been that long? Then I guess I have a lot of lost time to make
up for." Sailor Frost snickered. Something in her voice made her sound
like she was on the border of losing whatever sanity she might have.
Hearing Sean's words made Rei remember something that she had almost
forgotten about. "Sailor Frost I remember now. You were sent in as a
peacekeeper during the Jupiter Saturn war. You got caught in a surprise
attack and just vanished no body was ever found." Mars stated matter of
factly. Again this brought another round of laughter from Sailor Frost.
"So, is that what happened to me?" She chuckled. Princess Mars glanced
over at the Solar General and saw a look on his face that she would
rather not have seen. "O.K. what's your game Frost? I'm growing tired
of this nonsensical banter." Apollo demanded anger in his voice. The
tone of Apollo's voice made even Sailor Mars take a step back. Sailor
Frost took several steps back and seemed intimidated by the sudden
outburst. "I'm not playing any game. I merely was asked to invite you
to visit a friend of mine." Frost replied sounding like a chastised
child. It was said that Apollo when angry could intimidate thunder.
Friend and foe alike did everything they could to avoid him when angry.
"Who's this friend Frost?" Apollo said as he took a step forward.
Sailor Frost took half a step back. "She only wanted to see you Apollo
but since Princes Mars is here too I'd guess it be ok to bring her
along." She spoke still sounding afraid of the Solar Guardian. Before
either Mars or Apollo could react Sailor Frost took on her fog form
once again, and then they themselves were surrounded by the fog.
Somewhere Else:
Once the fog lifted both the Martian Princess and the Solar Guardian
knew that they were no longer on Sean's asteroid. What was before them
was a desert and some kind of building could barely be seen on the
horizon. Sailor Frost was nowhere to be seen, but they could hear her
voice. "If you can survive this desert you can then meet my friend.
She's waiting for you in that building that you see off in the
distance." Then all that could be heard was silence. Sailor Mars took
Apollo's hand in hers. "So, what do we do now?" She asked already
knowing the answer. "We go to that building and find out who's behind
all this madness. Well, I've always said that there's no better
training than the real thing, so are you ready? This is sure to be
harder than any training drill I ever put you thru. This will be your
first real test as a Sailor Senshi." He said as he squeezed her hand.
She smiled at him. "I'm ready big brother." She replied confidently.
Apollo smiled. "Good I knew you would be little sister." He responded
and the two started off towards the building.
The Moon of Sinope:
Sailors Oberon, Star Gazer, Nereid, and Rhea were waiting at the place
they were told to be, but their instructor wasn't there. "Maybe he's
testing us going pull a surprise on us when we start to leave." Sailor
Rhea stated cautiously. Sailor Oberon shook her head. "No, there's
something wrong here, but I just don't know what." She responded. "Hey
settle down it's just your imagination running off with you." Sailor
Nereid cut in. Just then a male voice came from behind the foursome.
"I can say one thing its not Oberon's imagination. Apollo and Sailor
Mars have been abducted. Somebody calling herself Sailor Frost said
that she 'invited' them to visit a friend of hers." It was Jedeite
speaking. Behind the four Senshi were the four Generals of Prince
Endymion and Sailor Elemental and Elemental Knight. "O.K. girls listen
up the Inner Senshi and the Outer Senshi have already been scrambled to
try and track them down. You four are next on the list. Star Gazer
you're with me and Kunzite." Zoicite instructed. "Rhea, you're with me
and Malachite" Jedeite said. "Nereid come with me." Elemental Knight
commanded. "Alright Oberon you're with me, and trust me we will find
them first." Sailor Elemental said as she grabbed the younger Senshi by
the arm. "You seem pretty confident that we'll find him." Oberon said.
"Of course he's my fiancÈ." Sailor Elemental replied as her thoughts
drifted back to just a short time ago when she was asked for her hand
in marriage. In fact she had answered Apollo's question before he could
even finish asking it. 'Hang there Sean, we're coming.' She thought to
herself.
Two weeks previous:
Nova and Sean were hiking around the Fire Walker Mountains when Sean
invited Nova and her brother over to his newly acquired asteroid.
Naturally Nova accepted the invite with out any hesitation. "So, who
all will be there?" She asked. "I also invited the Inners and the Outers
but the Outers said they had other plans, the Inners told me they will
be there." Apollo answered. The young couple then continued their hike.
Sean didn't once drop a single hint as to what he was really planning.
The next day Sean and Princess Makoto of Jupiter were busy preparing
the dinner that the Solar General had planed. Apollo had decided to
give the remaining training Senshi the day off from their training
mostly because they were doing better than he had expected them to do,
and he felt that a little time off would be a good thing for both them
and himself. The three other Inner Senshi arrived first, but Sean
wasn't expecting Princess Selenity to be joining them and was a bit
surprised when she did. Bowie and Nova arrived shortly there after.
He showed the collective group around the planetoid needles to say the
parts that had life to them impressed the lot of them. Most expressed
some form of surprise as to why anybody would want what amounted to a
dead planet. The Solar Guardian's only reply was "So, I can have some
time to myself." Princess Naru laughed at the comment. "I'm sorry
General but I just don't see you wanting to spend time away from your
duties." She giggled. "I just said I bought this rock so I can have
time to myself I never said it so I could shirk my duty." He rebuffed
his princes. This brought a round of laughter from the assembled group.
It was shortly there after that Makoto announced that dinner was now
finished. Sean had arranged the seating so that he would be sitting
directly across the table from Nova and next to Princess Rei. During
dinner Rei and Sean would occasionally give each other knowing glances.
For they were only two that knew what the Solar General was going to
do. After the last course of the meal was served Apollo asked to have
everybody's attention. "My friends I asked all of you here tonight
because I have a very serious question to ask one of you here." Nova
kind of perked up she had a feeling in her gut who he was going to ask
what. "As all of you know me and Nova have been an item for a while
now so..." He paused just long enough to get the box out of his pocket.
Nova was grinning like a cat by the time she had seen the box. "Nova,
will you..." He never got a chance to finish his question as Nova
jumped up out of her chair saying yes. The young lovers embraced and
kissed. Sean finally did finish his question by whispering in Nova's
ear. "Share the rest of your life with me." Everybody in the room was
congratulating the newly engaged couple. It didn't take long for the
happy news to spread to all corners of the Moon Kingdom, and the
Elemental Planes. Queen Selenity ordered a special celebration to mark
the couple's engagement, and for once Apollo attended with out any
prompting from Sailor Mars. Also the next day the King and Queen of the
Elemental Planes held a celebration in the couple's honor. To be sure
it was the happiest day of the Elemental Ambassador's life.
Elsewhere, Two Weeks Later:
It seemed like for every step that Sean and Rei took forward their
objective took two back. Both Mars and Apollo had both their physical
senses and their psychic senses on full alert they were expecting to be
attacked with every single step they took. Other than the seemingly
endless walking they had to do the trek across the desert was
relatively, and disturbingly uneventful. Despite that their psychic
senses were screaming. They knew that danger was all around them, yet
there was no physical sign of any of it. Princess Mars was beginning to
become unnerved. "Sean, I'm really starting to get worried here." She
said as stopped walking for a second. Sean turned around and gently
placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry too much Rei otherwise
you'll make too many stupid mistakes, and we can not afford for that to
happen." Sean replied as he kissed the Martian Princess on her cheek.
Mars just smiled weakly, and then gasped in fright as she noticed a
hideous looking avian diving toward them. In her fright she did the
only thing that she could think of to do she shoved Apollo off of her
and out of harms way. Sean was stunned momentarily when he hit the
ground from be pushed. Mars took the full brunt of the creature's
attack. She was knocked off her feet and sent flying backwards a good
twenty feet. She hit the side of a sand dune and lay unmoving for
several minuets. Upon seeing his best friend down Apollo was unhappy to
say the least. The bird turned and stated toward the Solar General.
"Never fight angry, but anger sure can help if you know how to control
it." Apollo mumbled to himself as a lopsided grin tugged at his lips.
The bird let out an ear-piercing shriek as it started a nosedive.
Apollo just closed his eyes and ignored the noise. He pointed a finger
at his attacker. "Solar Wind Gust!" His power immediately sprang to
life in the form of an impossibly strong wind. The avian struggled to
continue it descent but found itself powerless against its onslaught
and was flung backwards and into the same sand dune as Sailor Mars.
The creature was stunned trying in vain to move. Apollo shook his head
as he drew his sword. The scimitar seemed to glow a yellowish-white and
the he felled the blade into the creature's mid section. The bird let
one more shriek, the shriek of death, and then its body dissolved into
dust. The Solar General breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the
Martian Princess groan. He smiled down at her when he saw her eyes
flutter open. "Thank goodness you're all right. I was afraid that I'd
lost you." He stated as he helped his friend to a sitting position. She
rubbed the back of head where she had landed. "You taught me better
than that." She replied in a soft voice. "You going to be able to
continue?" He asked concern in voice. She smiled and responded that
she was. A nagging thought was going thru Apollo's head. 'That creature
was defeated way too easily.' When Rei had asked how the creature was
defeated she drew the same conclusion. They both knew that the danger
was only just beginning, and it would only get worse from here. They
continued their walk. "Big brother what happens if we can't defeat one
of the creatures?" Mars asked. "Don't worry it won't kill us. Sailor
Frost spent too much time bringing us here just to have her flunkies
kill us. We're being tested, and she wants us alive. If for no other
reason than she wants to kill us herself." Apollo spoke bluntly. After
that little skirmish he was more determined than ever to get to the
bottom of what Sailor Frost's true agenda was, and find out who if
anybody she was working for.
Inside the Building:
Sailor Frost was watching the developments she laughed her evil laugh
when she how easily her bird Youma had been defeated. One of her
assistants gave her a puzzled look. "Mistress?" It said its voice more
of a croak of a frog than a voice. "What care I for the masses you
worthless toad." She snapped back knowing what question the creature
had on its mind. After she had spoken, the Youma had fallen silent. The
only sound that could be heard was the laughter of Sailor Frost. "You
two are correct my little bird was only the beginning." She said in
between her laughter. "Don't worry my Queen, I won't let you down, I
will open the path for your triumphant reign over this universe." She
spoke to no one in particular. Even the Youma in the room felt a chill
run thorough out their entire bodies as she spoke. Something evil was
among them something more evil than they would dare to attempt
to comprehend.
Crystal Palace, The Moon:
Two figures stood on a balcony both staring at the Earth. If it weren't
for the fact that one was taller and had whiter hair one would think
that they were identical twins. Concern was evident on both of their
faces. They listened intently to a report coming from the Earth General
Jedeite. "Yes, Majesty all of the search parties have just reported
back, and none of them have found even the slightest clue, nor the
faintest hint of where they could be. Elemental Knight and Sailor
Elemental are taking their search Earth side. The rest of us are
basically spreading ourselves to the winds." He reported sounding glum.
"Very well General Jedeite keep me informed." Queen Selenity responded
her own hopes beginning to wane. The smaller girl put her hand gently
on her mother's shoulder. "Don't worry mother they'll find them."
Princess Selenity said in a soothing voice. But the truth was she
herself was beginning to doubt she turned and walked inside and
silently shed her tears for her missing best friend. "Rei, you've got
to come back to me. I don't know what I do with out you." She cried
softly into an empty bedroom.
Elsewhere:
Three hours had passed since the attack from the bird Youma. Almost six
hours since now since General Apollo and Princess Mars had been
abducted. There had been three more attacks but with a little teamwork
the attackers had been done away with. All of them defeated with the
merest of efforts. The Martian princess was struggling to figure out
why such weak opponents were being sent against them. "As I said before
we're being tested. Yes, they've been weak, but if you've been paying
attention each attack is getting a little stronger." Apollo replied.
Mars nodded her head that did make sense why risk your strongest
fighters if your weaker ones can do the job just as good. Night was
beginning to fall. And the desert was quickly giving up its heat. "We
need to rest we've been traveling and fighting almost six hours
straight now." Apollo said. Mars nodded her consent. "We should try to
find some kind of shelter." She was saying as she took a moment to
look around. She spotted a small outcropping of rocks. "Over there,
those rocks." She pointed over to the rocks that she saw. "Well, let's
check it out first make sure it's not another trap." Just then a
disembodied voice was heard. "Don't worry it's not a trap. I set up a
few such shelters none of my Youma can get inside them, so feel free
to rest as much as you want in them." The voice laughed as it then fell
silent. The two looked at each other both dubious of what they had just
heard. "Sound like a invite to our own funerals." Princess Mars hissed.
"It does indeed." Apollo shot back. "But, I'd hate to disappoint." He
added as he drew his sword and started walking towards the outcropping.
Sailor Mars followed suit. When they got to rocks they found it was
really a cave. What really surprised them was the lack of any danger
they felt from the cave. What they could sense was a powerful magic
that wards off all evil. "I guess Frost wasn't lying after all." Mars
mumbled under her breath. Apollo added his silent agreement. "Still I
don't like this." He said aloud. Nonetheless the two defenders of the
Moon Kingdom made their way inside the cave.
Atlantis Castle, Earth:
Elemental Knight, Sailor Elemental, and the two Senshi in training with
them sat in a large room. The room was superbly decorated with gold and
silver. The floor was tiled with alternating gold and silver tiles each
with the image of an animal carved in them. The walls were solid white
marble as was the ceiling. A golden chandler hung from one side of the
room while a silver one hung from the other. Both had various gemstones
hanging from the bottom. The tables and chairs in the room were made
from the finest wood. The tables trimmed in gold, the chairs in silver.
Portraits of the royal family of the Earth hung from the walls. The
pictures of the Kings were framed in gold. The Queens were framed in
silver, and the princes and princesses in brass and bronze. While
portraits of the whole family were framed in platinum. A couple of
minuets after the four had arrived three people walked out of doors
that had the image of crossing red and white roses on them. The four
Senshi bowed. "Your majesty. Usually it's a pleasure to see you but
under the circumstances..." Elemental Knight left his sentence
unfinished. "Yes, I quite agree. Your request to search the Earth is
granted. And, you're authorized to use any force necessary to apprehend
the party responsible for this unthinkable act." The King of the Earth
stated. The four Senshi bowed again and left to begin their search.
"Father, I wish to join them." Prince Endymion stated. The King gave
his son a quick look. "I know that you consider Apollo a trusted friend
and ally, and there is no arguing the fact, so I give you permission to
join the search. Good luck my son." The King said as he and the Queen
started for the throne room. The prince took four castle guards with
him. Since his Generals were already part of the search.
Elsewhere:
Two more hours had passed and Sailor Mars could get to sleep. She sat
up and saw Apollo sitting up staring blankly into the landscape outside
the cave. A frown tugged on her lips, she knew just by his posture that
something wasn't right. She wasn't sure what it was but something was
bothering the General. She walked up to him and sat beside him. He
didn't look over at her he just held his hand out. She took his hand in
her own, and he sighed. "Big brother, you need to get some sleep." The
Martian Princess said as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He
returned the gesture. "I'll be fine Rei. I'm not used to getting a lot
of sleep." He spoke in a monotone. Rei looked at her friend she knew
this mood of his all too well. Something was on his mind and it had
nothing to do with the situation that they were in now. By far the
three most private people in the entire Moon Kingdom was Sailor Pluto,
Pluto Knight and Apollo. If they didn't want you to know what was
on their mind you had no chance of ever finding out. "What's wrong
Sean?" She asked keeping a hold of his hand. He took a deep breath.
"I'm a man out of place. I live in the wrong place at the wrong time.
You always wonder why I seem to live such a lonely life that is why,
but it's my life so all I can do is live how I must." He said his never
once wavering. Tears began to sting the young Princess's eyes. She
couldn't bear the fact that somebody she loved so much was hurting as
much as Apollo was. "Sean, it doesn't matter your friends like you the
way you are we don't want to be something you're not." Mars replied
as she hugged him. He returned her embrace and kissed the top of her
head. "Sometimes that's not so easy to believe." He muttered as she
held the smaller girl in his arms. "You're never alone Sean. You've got
Nova in your life now, and I'll always be there if you need me." She
managed to say in between sobs. He smiled down at the girl that had
become his little sister. He silently thanked her for being his friend.
For caring about him when almost nobody was willing to. He knew that he
let himself be wrapped up in his duty as a trainer and a bodyguard, but
that was the only way to stave off the ever-present loneliness that was
his life. He gently caressed her cheek drying off her tears. "Come on
little sister you need your sleep. It's only going to be a tougher path
to follow tomorrow." He told her as he gently lifted her off the ground
and to the area where they had made makeshift beds. He laid her down
just as gently as he had lifted her up. He kissed her forehead and told
her to have sweet dreams. Just as he was beginning to turn around to
go back to his own thoughts Rei asked him to stay with her till she
fell asleep. He did so. In fact he laid down next to her. She cuddled
into his embrace like a child would a parent's. A final whisper before
the shroud of sleep over took her. "I love you big brother." Apollo
smiled down at the raven hair Princess. "I love you too little sister."
Then shortly there after he too fell asleep.
TO BE CONTINUED.