If you wish to comment on my story, either positively or negatively, please contact me at treetop@voicenet.com. Sailor Moon and all related characters are the property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toei Animation and DIC. Sailor Sirius is the property of Sharon Williams. Any references to Vulcan are the province of Gene Roddenberry and Paramount Studios. So, please, don't sue me because I haven't any money. I do this strictly for entertainment purposes, not copyright infringement.
The Adventures of Talia and Tanya:
Volley Into Danger
by Jeffrey C. Branch
Epilogue
Rating: PG
The first sensation Sailor Vulcan experienced when she came to was a soft hand firmly holding hers. The warmth of that hand felt very soothing to her. As Vulcan's awareness sharpened, she realized that her head was resting in somebody's lap. Looking up, she saw Sailor Sirius smiling sweetly at her.
"Hi," said a kneeling Sirius, her smile of relief widening after Vulcan opened her eyes. Words couldn't describe how happy the Star Scout was to see her best friend alive and well.
Vulcan sat up and warmly returned Sirius' smile, equally pleased to see her partner. "Hello, Tanya. How long was I unconscious?"
"I don't know. I only just got here a few minutes ago." Sirius saw how drawn and exhausted Vulcan looked, and that worried her. "Don't take this the wrong way, Tal, but you look like crap. Are you okay?"
"Relatively speaking." Vulcan then saw the scorched area of Sirius' body suit and the exposed and reddened flesh. "What happened to you?"
Sirius shrugged, trying to act casual. The memory of the violent battle with Arsenal haunted her. "Nothing much. While you were doing the mind meld thing, a youma tried to crash the party. We fought, I waxed his ass. Same old same old. I heard Dino bellowing when I got here. Where'd he go?"
"Back into the lake. Hopefully, the creature is on its way to the open ocean," Vulcan replied as she rose to her feet and smoothed her skirt before helping Sirius up. "I believe I was able to impress upon her that she would be better off far away from land. And away from man."
Hearing that, Sirius' eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "'Her'? Hold on a minute! That....thing was female?"
Vulcan nodded, mildly amused with the look of shock on Sirius' face. "Yes. And pregnant. You look astonished. Surely you know that all life on this planet is either one gender or the other. Given everything we have experienced as Sailor Scouts, should my revelation about the creature surprise you?"
"No, it shouldn't. And that's what worries me," said a frowning Sirius who then shook her head. "Jeez Louise! This sure is one heck of a crazy business we're in, huh, girlfriend?"
"I would agree with your assessment. In the meantime, we should make for the lodge. Aoki and Chris might need assistance."
"No, we don't," came a voice from the woods. The Scouts turned at the sound of the voice and saw Aoki and Chris enter the clearing. Chris walked up to Sirius and the couple silently stared at each other for several long moments before they embraced.
"Oh, Ti! I'm glad you're all right! I was worried sick about you!" said a teary eyed Chris.
"Same here," said an overjoyed Sirius. "I didn't know you still cared!"
"Of course I do, you twit. You mean everything to me," said Chris, wiping his eyes. "Tanya, I was afraid to say this three years ago, but I can say it now: I've been in love with you from the moment we met, and my feelings about you haven't changed a lick."
Hot tears spilled from Sirius' eyes as she smiled fondly at Chris and placed a hand on his cheek. Her own heart tugged from the feelings she still had for him. Feelings she knew she could never fully return because of Yaten. And that revelation hurt her. Terribly. "I know, Chris. I know."
"What sort of situation did the two of you face at the lodge?" a curious Vulcan asked Aoki. She saw, and felt the emotional anguish her partner was in and sought to get her mind off the subject.
"Well, by the time Chris and I got there, only two terrorists were watching over the crowd. We managed to overpower them," Aoki replied. "The other goons must've been sent after you, and the dinosaur. We didn't see any of them on our way here, so I'm guessing they didn't make it."
Vulcan nodded. "You are correct. They did not."
"We also saw one big, honking brute with guns everywhere on his body. Looked like something out of a sci-fi flick. Did he come this way?" Chris asked.
"He did. But he wasn't around for long," the Star Scout replied gruffly. Going from Chris to her battle with Arsenal wrenched at her soul. "Please, don't ask me to explain what happened. I'd rather not talk about it."
Chris gave Sirius a long, searching look. He was still having trouble getting used to the idea that his old girlfriend was a costume clad heroine. In the meantime, Vulcan had surreptitiously positioned herself behind Chris and Aoki. "Part of the job, huh?"
Again, Sirius nodded. "Yeah. Basic Superhero 101. Spare civilians the gory details about the fights we get into."
"What about that dinosaur? We heard him roaring while looking for you two," said Aoki.
"The animal has returned to the lake. It will not return," Vulcan replied.
"Then I guess the show's over, huh?" Chris asked.
"Not quite. There is still one last act to be played out," said Vulcan. She then clamped her fingers on the necks of both men and squeezed. With a soft grunt, Aoki and Chris crumpled unconscious to the ground.
"Oh, great! Now you pinch 'em!" Sirius grumbled disgustedly at Vulcan. "That's like locking the vault door after the bank's been robbed! Problem is, they'll still know our secret identities when they wake up!"
"No. They will not." As Sirius looked on, Vulcan knelt beside the men and placed her fingers on their foreheads. Closing her eyes, the alien Scout concentraed and whispered one word: "Forget."
"What the hell did you just do?" Sirius demanded.
"I altered their memories of the last thirty minutes, removing all references about us as Sailor Scouts, and the existence of the animal."
Sirius scowled at Vulcan. What she heard didn't sit well with her. "Tal, I love you like a sister, but I don't like the idea of you messing around with somebody's mind. Least of all Chris."
"I understand your misgivings, Tanya. You may rest assured that I was equally reluctant to take the action that I did," Vulcan replied stonily. "As a telepath, I of all people know that the mind, and thoughts of another are absolutely sacrosanct. But, it was the only way to keep certain secrets safe."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Sirius with a resigned sigh. "But, riddle me this, Batman: why'd you blank the guys' memories about Dino?"
"Common decency. If Chris were a total stranger instead of a close friend and told you that he had seen a live dinosaur, how would you have reacted to such an outlandish claim?"
"Knowing me, I'd laugh in his face and say he was....crazy." Sirius' eyes widened as the realiziation set in. "Okay. I get it. Save them from being humiliated because no one would believe them. You don't miss a trick, do you?"
Vulcan shook her head. "I believe in being thorough. In the meantime, we should change back. I used only partial strength on my neck pinch, so Aoki and Chris will awaken quickly, approximately thirty seconds from now. And I hear the sound of people headed this way from the lodge. I do not want to blank the memories of over a hundred people if we are seen in our....working clothes."
The next several hours were extremely hectic for everyone at the lodge. Once Aoki, Chris, and the girls, having transformed back into their civilian guises found the SUV that contained the jamming equipment and deactivated it, the police were called in to retrieve Rainer and the injured Desjardins.
After Aoki told his superiors about the terrorists who stormed the camp, a squadron of two dozen armed SWAT officers combed the woods for any other the remaining criminals. But, other than the wrecked and burning SUV that contained the immolated bodies of five men, no other terrorists were found, leaving the authorities to wonder what had happened. Only Talia and Tanya knew the truth, that the terrorists had been killed by Arsenal and the dinosaur, but the girls kept that grim secret to themselves.
While the captured Frenchmen and the hostages ranted to the authorities about Arsenal, nobody believed them as not everyone on the police force knew about the evil aliens that the Sailor Scouts fought against. Talia and Tanya, watching the scene said nothing. Even newspaper and television reporters, having followed the police to the lodge to get the story of the terrorist siege were skeptical of the eyewitness accounts about the weapon laden brute that threatened all their lives. And still, Talia and Tanya kept quiet.
It wasn't until late in the afternoon that the excitement had died down and things returned to some semblance of normalcy at the lodge. A meeting held by Mrs. Slaughter to determine whether the group should stay to finish the weekend was held, and almost unanimously, everyone wanted to remain and do what they came here for: to have fun and play volleyball.
Down by the shore, Talia, alone with her thoughts stared out at the water, wondering about the creature. The Vulcan teenager felt a sharp, emphatic pain in her heart as she recalled the crushing loneliness she felt through her mind meld with the creature. Continuing to stare, Talia barely heard a throat being softly cleared. Turning to her right, she saw Tanya standing next to her. The pretty black girl smiled warmly at her.
"Penny for your thoughts, partner," she said.
Talia returned her friend's smile before returning to stare out at the water. "I was thinking about the creature. I experienced the depth of it's emotions, of how incredibly lonely it was, being the last of its kind, forever lost in a strange new world. I cannot help but wonder if it will survive."
Tanya shrugged. "Well, stranger things have happened in this world. And the ocean is pretty darn big. Hopefully, she will make it."
"That would be a good thing." Talia then gave her friend a long stare. "What about you, Tanya? How are you doing after Chris' revelation earlier?"
"We talked a short while ago. I told Chris that while I still have strong feelings for him, my heart belongs to Yaten. But, we'll always be very good friends, and he's cool with that." Tanya paused to chuckle. She needed to laugh after her nightmare with Arsenal. "As a matter of fact, he's heard of The Three Lights and asked if I could get the guys' autographs!"
Tanya then turned serious, her features etched from concern. "What about you, Tal? Your face was wet from tears when I found you. That mind meld must've took a lot out of you emotionally. Are you okay?"
The Vulcan teenager nodded, her heart warmed from Tanya's concern for her. "Yes. It was quite a taxing experience from an emotional standpoint. But, I will be fine. Thank you for caring."
"De nada. You're my best friend. It's my job to care about you," said Tanya, taking Talia's hand in hers and giving it an affectionate squeeze. "It looks like we've all come through this with flying colors."
Talia effected a haughty expression. "Of course we did, Tanya. From the very beginning, there was never any doubt in my mind that we would."
The ebon beauty snorted good naturedly at Talia. "Yeah, right. Y'know, Tal, you should seriously consider going into politics when you grow up."
"Politics? Why?"
"Because you've gotten awfully good at slinging b.s.!"
As Tanya brayed from laughter, Maddie jogged up to the girls. There was a look of deep tension on her face. "There you are! I've been looking for you guys! We've got a major situation brewing back at the lodge!"
"What are you talking about?" Tanya asked.
"Cynthia wants to play us again! And she's sweet talked Chris and Aoki into being her teammates!" a worried Maddie replied. "She's boasting all over the place that she'll wipe the floor with us! Talk about uncool! We've gotta accept her challenge! You guys up for it?"
"Are you kidding? You better believe I am!" said a grinning Tanya as she cracked her knuckles. The prospect of returning to some badly needed normalcy and playing volleyball excited her greatly. "How 'bout you, Tal? Feel like whippin' some rich girl butt again?"
Talia nodded, allowing herself to be swept up in Tanya's infectious euphoria. And it felt good to her. "To quote the popular catchphrase of a famous professional wrestler....'Hell, yeah'!"
Maddie laughed out loud. "Tal! You are so-ooooo cool! C'mon, guys! Let's go lay the smack down on Cindy!"
And the trio jogged back to the lodge to join everyone else in having fun.
THE END