Shin Kidou Senso Tsuki no Wing (New Mobile War Wing of the Moon) A Sailormoon/Gundamwing Crossover by Heero & Marj. Edited by Duo, Fizzy-chan and Chibi-imp CHAPTER ONE: THE METEOR THE GIRL AND HER CAT SAW The Gate of Time . . . A huge, foreboding white door, carved with scriptures and the symbol of the Moon, surrounded by clouds and darkness. Where it led when it opened, no one knew. No one, except for the lone guardian that stood near it, her long, white staff serving as the key to the unknown. No one knows exactly how long the Guardian of Time had retained her constant vigil over the Gate, wary of intruders who attempted to cross the sacred area without her permission and disrupt what was done or was to be done. With neither rest nor companions, she watched the clouds and the darkness that led to nowhere, standing on the fog-hidden floor, the Time Staff held in her hand. At least, that was what Sailorpluto was supposed to be doing. New intruders had come and gone. She had fought them but had been overwhelmed. Now, lying badly bruised on the ground, she watched them enter the forbidden door that they had managed to open. Pluto's knowledge of time predicted when they would appear . . . a time where everything could be easily lost. "The five disrupters of time have arrived . . ." she whispered before she lost consciousness. "A time paradox slips into place once more. Be careful, princess. Beware . . ." Meanwhile, five comets approached the present-day earth at alarming speed. . . ***** A stern, middle-aged man gazed at the printout in his hand. "You say that this was taken just a couple of minutes ago?" The printout contained pictures of an unusually bright, unnatural comet streaking across the blackness of space. "Yes, sir. From the looks of it, I'd say that it'll probably be entering the atmosphere in the next . . ." The brown-haired assistant wearing a lab coat with a logo of NASA glanced at his watch. ". . . 10 minutes." "Hmm . . ." The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes. "And you say that this thing has absolutely no metallic reading?" "Yes, sir. If it had, then we would have detected its location already." The assistant looked at his superior, worry evident in his face. "What's the relative touchdown point?" "Pacific Ocean, about 100 km off the east of Japan." ***** It was already nighttime at the Hikawa Ginga, a shrine located on top of Sendai Hill in the Juuban district of Tokyo, and yet a miko with black hair and piercing purple eyes still sat in front of the sacred fire. She meditated, asking the gods about the uncomfortable vibes that had been bothering her for quite some time. Even though she had been sitting for over an hour, her legs hurting, her body sweating from the heat of the fire, she had received no answers. Without warning, the sacred fire in front of her suddenly blew up and died, startling her. Taking note of the recent premonition of misfortune, she rekindled the ashes of the fire and started her prayers anew, words feverishly coming out from her mouth. Yet the gods still paid no attention to her call. Finally giving up, Hino Rei moved from the shrine to her grandfather's house just behind it, changing from her red and white shrine robes into her pajamas, thinking all the while about the ignorance of the gods to not respond to her prayers. Things were not going well. Something was bound to happen soon. She embraced the sweet call of sleep, only then to be given the message of what was to arrive . . . Five enormous shadows with glowing green eyes loomed over her and the Sailor Senshi. One had an arm that was fashioned into the shape of the head of a dragon. Another one had two scimitar-like weapons gleaming wickedly in the dark space of Rei's dream. One shadow carried a long arm that spurted out fire, while another carried a large scythe that resembled death. Rei's attention, however, was focused on the shadow with the wings of a bird, its weapon raised high above her and the Senshi. And to her horror, the weapon was swung down. Rei instinctively raised her arms to protect her face. Everything was covered in a blinding, white light . . . She woke up. Sitting on her bed and clutching her blanket close to her, she placed a hand to her forehead and tried to calm her wildly beating heart. She laid back in her covers, staring at the ceiling of her room, worry creasing her face. ***** While one worried, another dreamed. In a window of a two-story house situated near one of the main streets of Minato-ku, Juuban, Tokyo, a blond girl's blue eyes stared at the starlit sky, absorbed in a fantasy which she might never have in real life. Or *would* never have. Seated on the window ledge beside her was a white cat with a crescent moon on his forehead who was gazing at her worriedly, half-concerned about his charge's present thoughts and the other half concerned about her mental state. The girl could be very unpredictable sometimes - so childish and carefree outside, but so mature and sensitive inside. If he had not known her for more than three years, then it would be difficult for him to understand why there seemed to be more to her than her insane, boy-crazy exterior. As of now, he could see that the look on her face was one of longing. And he knew exactly what she longed for. "Mina . . ." the cat started. Aino Minako sighed. "When, Artemis?" she asked. "When will I find the love of my life?" Artemis rolled his eyes. "You know, if you spend less time hunting for boys and actually become serious with one, maybe you'll get lucky." He watched as Minako started tracing figures on the windowsill. "I became serious with one, Artemis. Look where I ended up." "For Kami-sama's sake, Mina, if you think all serious relationships would end up like the one you never had, then you might as well be an old maid for the rest of your life! Which is quite long, might I add." Minako glared at him. "You could at least cheer me up." "Not if you're going to complain about the same thing almost every day." Artemis noticed her frown before she resumed watching the sky. "Look at it this way. With the length of your life, you probably have a few hundred centuries to look for the one that you think would be right for you. Don't be in too much of a hurry. I'm definitely not." She gave him a small smile. "Arigato." A bright shooting star streaked across the sky. And she made a wish. Minako's gaze fell at Artemis. <. . . and *please* don't tell me that the only man who would qualify for this is my cat!> Giving herself a short nod, she smiled more widely and watched as the shooting star disappeared from the sky. ***** Unknown to Minako, the very same shooting star that she saw had decreased its speed as it fully entered Earth's aerospace, the bright light of the heat surrounding it due to the atmosphere fading away, revealing a strange, four-winged craft shaped like a bird, with a long, protruding part on its head. The alien craft made a slight brush-off with the ocean surface beneath it, as it adjusted itself to the planet's gravitational forces. From inside its cockpit, the pilot, wearing a strange, body-hugging black suit with a slightly elongated helmet, silently looked at his surroundings, feeling the heavy gravity of the planet for the first time. Taking off the helmet, a young boy with somewhat unruly dark hair and blue eyes stared at the vast blue of the ocean before him from the cockpit. Issuing a mental command to the console beside him, a hologram suddenly appeared in the air before him, showing various photos of five girls clad in tight, body-hugging sailor suits and short skirts, together with strange foreign characters beneath each picture. A loud beeping sound suddenly alerted the boy to the presence of other vessels in the area. Another hologram replaced the previous one, this one showing eight small dots and four larger ones in a green screen with grids. the pilot mused, ignoring the interlopers as his craft sped towards its destination . . . ***** "Sir, the F/A-18's have visual contact of the object," the radio operator said as the captain, an experienced white-haired veteran clad in a white captain's uniform walked over to him. "Good," the captain affirmed. "Where's it headed?" "Sir, it's headed for Japan, or at least that's what I think, judging from its direction, Sir." The captain bit his lip as soon as he received this information. "Have you tried to contact its pilot?" "Yes, sir. But the pilot wouldn't answer. We've tried to communicate with it ten times already, each with different frequencies, but it still won't respond," the radio operator responded. The captain sighed before announcing in a loud voice, "I am now declaring the unidentified object to be of hostile intent. All hands on battle stations. The Super Hornets have permission to engage." ***** "Roger, Delta One," the pilot of an F/A-18 responded, as he accelerated his plane, taking the lead, while assuming attack formation. "All right, boys. Time to kick Darth Vader's ass." Some of the other pilots snickered at the comment as the entire squadron shifted their positions to attack formation, all the while increasing their speed. Soon, the object came within the planes' firing range. With a definite lock-on, the lead pilot pulled the trigger on his control stick. His plane released a missile from its wing, the deadly projectile blazing over to its unmoving target. "Direct hit!" As the missile hit its target, resulting in a large mid-air explosion, his wingman's voice came up in his radio. "You wasted the damn thing's . . ." but trailed off as the explosion cleared, revealing the object still intact, without any sign of damage. Without warning, the craft slowed down as it suddenly folded its wings upwards and underwent a seemingly impossible transformation. What had looked like a bird-like plane before was now a giant, humanoid machine with a distinctive two-horned crest on its forehead and pair of metallic wings on its back, carrying a huge crimson shield on its left hand, and a huge rifle on the other. The pilot of the lead F/A-18 stared at the thing before him in disbelief. He was snapped out of reverie as the mecha suddenly turned around, its green eyes flashing eerily, and swung its rifle towards them. "Oh, fu -," the lead pilot didn't have time to complete the curse as the rifle emitted a loud, almost high-pitched sound and a very large, golden beam of energy suddenly burst out of its muzzle, destroying the entire squadron, including him, in one shot. Inside the giant machine, the boy laughed madly as his adversaries were reduced into ash by the enormous bar of golden energy. Gazing towards the location of the ships, he thought, ***** "Sir! We've lost contact with the F/A-18's!" The radio operator exclaimed, standing up all of a sudden, a shocked look on his face. "What!?" The captain cried out, before each of their escort destroyers in front of them suddenly erupted in huge explosions, the shock waves causing the entire aircraft carrier to shake violently. "What the hell was that!?" Regaining his balance, the captain managed to bark out a few commands to the crew within the vicinity before a giant humanoid mecha suddenly landed on the aircraft carrier's deck, carrying a huge saber with a green, flickering blade of energy on its right hand and a red shield with a rifle on the other. Staring at the metallic giant from inside the control tower, the captain had no time to react as it instantly fired a barrage of shots from two muzzles hidden near its shoulders, destroying everything on the deck of the carrier, including the control tower, in seconds. Releasing another round of shots, this time at the carrier's body, the huge machine spread its wings and took off to the air before the entire carrier exploded in a huge ball of flame. His machine hovering in midair, the boy surveyed the burning wreckage of the ships in the area from inside the cockpit, a merciless smile creeping towards the edges of his mouth, as the metallic giant turned around and switched back to its previous bird-like shape, continuing its journey towards the country known as Japan . . . ***** A tall girl yawned as she raised her hands high above the air and stretched, the school bag she held grazing against the green ponytail tie that held her brown hair. She sighed as she brought her arms down, her mind not focused on school but on the bed that she had left in her apartment earlier that morning. Just when she was about to enter the gates of Juuban High School, her green eyes caught a familiar blue-haired figure who had just entered the school campus moments earlier. She smiled. "Ami-chan!" Mizuno Ami was startled at first, but her intelligent mind quickly deduced that the voice she heard was her friend's, so she calmly turned around to face her. "Ohayo, Mako-chan!" "Up early again, I see," Kino Makoto said amusedly, walking faster until she was right beside Ami. "You *know* I'm always early for school, Mako-chan. I don't like being late - I may miss something that I was not able to read. Don't you look forward to your classes?" Makoto smiled. Ami was probably the only girl she knew that attended school so eagerly. "Wouldn't want to miss a moment of them!" she said, laughing. Deep inside, though, Makoto was grimacing at the thought of actually enjoying anything other than home economics class. Suddenly, a loud rumbling was heard not so far away. When Ami and Makoto turned to look at the source of the sound, a blond blur ran past them, covering them in a cloud of dust left behind in her haste. By the time the cloud lifted, both girls were holding their handkerchiefs and were wiping their faces. "Masaka . . ." Ami said, disbelief filling her voice. "I'll give you one guess who that person was," Makoto dared. Ami looked quite confused. "What could she be doing here this early in the morning?" Seconds after the blond blur ran past Makoto and Ami, she came to a screeching halt just as she was passing in front of the school clock. She looked at the time, stared at her watch, screamed in frustration, and promptly fainted. "Minako-chan!" the two girls shouted in concern as they ran towards the girl. "An hour . . ." Minako was mumbling as soon as they knelt beside her. She had an indescribable look on her face, the tone of her voice not sounding the least bit happy. "Artemis set my watch and my clock forward an *hour*!!!" Both Ami and Makoto tried to stop themselves from laughing, or at least tried to hide their giggles. "Iyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!" the blond girl complained. "I thought I was already late!! Artemis!!! How could you do this to me?!?" Standing up, Makoto helped Minako get back on her own two feet. "Here, fix your hair. It's messy." Minako wiped the dirt from her uniform, accepted the comb from Makoto and fixed the red ribbon that was holding her hair back from her eyes. "Kami-sama, when I get home, that cat is definitely going to get it!!" The three girls started their way down the hallways of the school, stopping by the wooden lockers near the door. "Maybe he just wants you to get to school early for once? You know, you should be grateful for that . . ." Ami suggested as she took out her white and blue school shoes from inside her locker. Minako was still pouting as she slipped on her shoe and tapped the tip on the floor to make sure it was on securely. "Of course, only you would say that, Ami-chan," she grumbled. Ami blushed. When they turned around, they caught sight of a young guy with very dark green - almost brown - hair, and deep, Prussian blue eyes. He was opening his own locker, his face completely devoid of any emotion other than the serious look in his eyes. "Kakkoi . . ." Makoto whispered as the boy walked passed them without as much as a look their way. Ami nodded. Minako, however, had yet another fascinated expression on her face. And what usually accompanied that fascinated look was trouble. For the others anyway. Before the others knew what she was up to, she was already walking beside the boy, her best smile on her face. "Ohayo gozaimasu!" No response. He just walked on ahead. Minako stood still, a bit speechless over the lack of remark. The questioning look on her face was quickly replaced by determination as she chased after the boy again. "Ne, I haven't seen you around, so you're new, right?" Either he was deaf, or he didn't want to talk to her. "It's still early. I could take you on a tour around school." The first two times, Minako could forgive. But the third time around of being ignored, she became *very* irritated. "You know, you could at least show a little appreciation when someone offers you their help. Just a "thank you" would be nice," Minako said, stopping and finally giving up, a not-so-amused expression on her face. Without warning, the boy paused a few meters in front of her. She half expected him to apologize, but instead she was greeted with a glare that made her step back. "If you have nothing important to say, then I suggest that you keep your mouth shut," the boy said before leaving her behind once again. Minako blinked, confused and humiliated, wondering what it was she had said that made the boy act so rudely. Both she and Ami were left dumbfounded, while Makoto scowled at the guy's back. "Baka!! What has she ever done to you?!?" she shouted. But the boy turned around a corner and never looked back. Makoto was still fuming when they entered their classroom. "That guy made it seem like he was the king of the world!" she said, slamming her school bag on the table. "Yeah, well, some people have reasons to be like that. Maybe he just wanted to be alone," Ami suggested as she arranged her books beneath her table. Minako turned around from where she sat at the front of the teacher's table to face her friends. "It's okay, Mako-chan. No need to bother yourself about that." "Always the optimistic one, huh Minako-chan?" Ami asked. "Always," Minako said, flashing a toothy grin. Almost an hour later, the teacher entered the room and started the roll call. Makoto's eyebrows went up as she noticed an empty desk a few chairs away from her. She shook her head and smiled softly. "Tsukino Usagi!" the teacher called. Nobody answered. Just after the teacher marked this certain student as absent, the aforementioned girl suddenly came barging through the sliding door of the classroom in a blond blur similar to Minako's. She came to a stop just in front of the teacher's desk, her long blond pigtails drooping beside her, her mouth taking in huge gulps of air. "Tsukino Usagi . . . *pant* *pant* . . . present, sir!" the blond girl said as she brought up her right hand in a salute. The teacher gave her a disapproving look - which Usagi had already grown used to by then. ""Late" is more like it, Tsukino-san." Just when Usagi was about to go through one of her many excuses about why she was late, the teacher stopped her and ordered her to sit down. A few seconds later, the sliding door opened again, and in stepped the boy that Ami, Makoto and Minako saw earlier. Ami and Minako gasped, while Makoto looked none too pleased. "Class, I'd like to introduce to you a new student. He arrived in Tokyo a week ago and is going to be going to school here. I want all of you to make sure he feels comfortable in this class, all right?" Turning to his new student, the teacher asked, "Why don't you introduce yourself?" "Heero Yuy des. Yoroshiku," the boy said simply, as the students whispered amongst themselves, particularly the girls, with the teacher hushing them before telling the new student to take his seat. Unfortunately for the girls of the class - except for the one who already knew him anyway - the only seat that was available was the one in front of the teacher's desk. Right beside Minako. Minako decided then and there that maybe she had offended him earlier and he deserved an apology. "Sumimasen, Yuy-san . . ." she said in a small voice as he sat down. "Gomen if I said something wrong earlier . . ." Her voice trailed off as she noticed that Heero did not seem inclined to listen to her, let alone face her. Minako made a face as she drew her attention away from him and to her teacher's lecture. In the meantime, she had her studies to worry about . . . ***** "Heh heh . . ." Usagi opened her obento and took out her glinting chopsticks. Bowing slightly for a while, she raised the chopsticks high above the air, dove them neatly into the pile of rice her mother had prepared for her, and started devouring her food *very* messily. Ami and the others were also holding their obento and chopsticks in their hands, but they kept staring at their friend, sweatdrops on their heads, seeming a bit embarrassed to be there. "You would have thought we'd have gotten used to it by now . . ." Makoto said as she absent-mindedly bit into a shrimp from her lunch. It was lunchtime, and the four girls were sitting under a huge tree in the gardens of Juuban High School, an area they were lucky enough to have claimed. Makoto had laid out her picnic blanket, and all four were on it, chatting and eating like they usually did. Minako was laughing along with the others when she noticed a figure nearly hidden under another tree in a secluded corner of the garden. "Ara! It's Yuy-san!" "Will you please stop paying attention to him whenever you see him?" Makoto asked almost too calmly as she brought down her obento and picked up her thermos. "He obviously doesn't want to pay any attention to you." "Hmm? Da re?" Usagi asked, intrigued, yet it was not enough for her to stop devouring her food. "Heero Yuy, the new student," Ami informed her. "He's standing under the tree near the building." Makoto drank from her thermos before glaring slightly at Heero's direction. "Stay away from him, Usagi-chan. He's probably going to be the rudest person you'll ever meet." "Aw, c'mon, Mako-chan," Minako said, giving her friend a skeptical look. "He's a new student. I just don't think he's ready to make friends yet. He needs time to adjust!" Ami smiled. "Out of all of us, you should be the one able to relate to him, Mako-chan. *Everyone* thought you were rude when you first moved to Juuban Junior High. Even you didn't look for friends right away." Makoto shrugged. "That's because nobody wanted to talk to me. At least when Usagi came, I didn't tell her to shut up, like he did with Minako-chan." "If fact, she even offered me some of her lunch!" Usagi said. Everyone else groaned. Suddenly, Usagi brought down her obento and chopsticks, clapped her hands three times in front of her, and bowed. "I'm done!" she announced. Ami handed Usagi a table napkin. "That's nice . . . please wipe your mouth, Usagi . . ." "Gomen!" After wiping her mouth and drinking from her own thermos to wash down the food she had eaten, Usagi stood up, amidst the surprised looks of her friends. "Yoshi! Let's see if we can ask Yuy-san to join us!" Makoto closed her eyes and shook her head, a hopeless look on her face. "Do you always have to make friends with every new student?" Minako shrugged. "Oh, you know Usagi-chan. She's more optimistic than I am!" Usagi hadn't even taken a few steps towards the newcomer when she suddenly exclaimed. "Eeeeeeh???" "Doshite no, Usagi-chan?" Makoto asked worriedly as she, Ami and Minako stood up. Usagi turned around to face her friends. "He's . . . he's . . ." "What?" Minako prompted. "He's . . . just eating a loaf of bread and a bottle of milk for lunch!!!" The others face-faulted. They were so busy scolding Usagi afterwards that they didn't notice that Heero knew they were talking about him. Finishing the loaf of bread and the bottle of milk that was indeed his lunch, he walked away from his corner of the garden and reentered the building. he thought grimly as he walked though the nearly empty corridors of Juuban High. Unknown to Heero, Minako was able to see him leave, her thoughts reverting back to the rude boy that for some reason had captured her interest so much. she thought, smiling to herself. ***** Pearl Harbor, Hawaii . . . A single, white seagull landed on the edge of a pier, searching for food, as dozens of U.S. Navy ships lay docked in the area, huge, lumbering, modern-day sea monsters basking in the afternoon sun. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it, Admiral?" A middle-aged man wearing a typical U.S. Navy uniform turned to his companion, a heavyset, older man with a shock of white hair at his temples contrasting with his dark hair. "Indeed it is, Captain," the admiral responded, as the two took a stroll in the grounds of the U.S. Navy facilities. Then, suddenly, the ground shook violently, causing the two men to lose their balance as the sounds of several explosions rocked the air. "What the hell is going on!?", the admiral barked at a nearby cadet, as he and his companion regained their balance. "Sir! Something's attacking the -" The cadet was cut off by another explosion, this time, behind them. The two men threw themselves on the ground, shielding their heads from the debris of the recent blast raining down on them. Standing on shaky legs, the two turned towards the source of the previous explosion just in time to see several Navy warships being cut in half by a dark shadow beneath the surface of the sea. "What the . . ." The captain exclaimed, as the huge shadow rose from the water. Both the admiral and the captain stared with a mixture of both surprise and horror at the thing that had single-handedly destroyed several Navy warships. It resembled a huge, humanoid machine with a pair of spikes connected to an unusual forehead crest carrying a large, wicked-looking scythe with a long, flickering, green blade of energy in its right hand. Its green eyes glowing eerily as it continued to destroy the remaining warships in the area, as well as the Navy facilities. "Admiral, we have to get out of here!" The captain cried frantically as another uniformed Navy cadet running towards them caught their attention. "Sir! There's a chopper waiting at the other side of the barracks. Please hurry!" The two men nodded, as they hurried towards the barracks. Scrambling towards the waiting Navy chopper, they were quickly ushered inside, the helicopter taking off as soon as they were seated. "What the hell was that thing?" the admiral asked the captain as soon as they were airborne. "I don't know, Admiral, but . . . " The captain's voice trailed off, a shocked look forming on his face, as he stared out the window behind the admiral. Turning around, the admiral saw the metallic giant, a distance behind the helicopter's current location, its gaze firmly fixed on *them*. Without warning, it raised its left arm. A strange armament that looked like a small shield seemingly hummed to life as its front end suddenly parted and emitted a green spike similar to the scythe's blade. The admiral had no time to scream as the weapon suddenly came hurtling at them, slamming into the helicopter, completely destroying it, including its occupants. The giant mecha stood silently, its huge scythe leaning on its shoulder, as its shield returned to its original position on its left arm. Inside its cockpit, a boy with long braided brown hair that stretched down to his back, smiled grimly. "Die . . . Everybody who sees me must die . . . " ***** Andrews Air Base, Maryland, USA . . . The peace and silence of the night was unexpectedly shattered as several aircraft hangars exploded into huge balls of flame, creating a vast, red hue in the dark night sky and illuminating most of the base. "What the hell . . . !?" An Air Force colonel came out of the barracks, only half-dressed, as he stared at the huge fires that were outlined in the night sky like enormous giants of flame. Hearing a huge, metallic step behind him, he turned around. His mouth dropped open as he stared at the crimson giant that he assumed had caused the explosions. It stood approximately 17 meters high, and carried a huge, gattling gun on its right arm. Raising its weapon, it destroyed some of the other remaining buildings with a single sweep of shots across the area. And to the colonel's horror, the thing abruptly swung the weapon towards the building behind him. His body was consumed in the resulting explosion . . . As if inspecting the damage it had caused, the metallic giant's green eyes scanned the area, looking for something . . . or someone . . . Suddenly, the mecha's head turned to the side as it spotted several, almost invisible lights in the distance. Opening its shoulders to reveal several arrays of hidden missiles beneath, it released over a half a dozen of the deadly projectiles at the incoming attackers, more than enough to decimate the entire squadron. As its enemies were reduced to rubble by the deadly shower of missiles, the mecha walked away slowly, the pilot within it sighing deeply as he removed his helmet, revealing the face of a boy with short, brown hair, very long bangs and a pair of emotionless eyes. " . . . Battle Record 001. Target has not yet been found. This is Trowa. That is all . . . for now . . . " ***** Somewhere in the Middle East . . . Golden waves of sand filled the air as a light sandstorm whipped up the desert's surface with its moderate winds, making it very hard for the pilots of eight Iraqi fighter/bombers to see more than a few meters in front of them, thereby making their mission even more difficult. "[Shit! How am I supposed to look for the damn thing in this crazy weather?]" The lead pilot grumbled to himself as he scanned his surroundings, or at least tried to. "[Cool down. From what I hear, the guys upstairs must be desperate to find that thing if they dispatched us in this kind of climate.] His co-pilot, although not too pleased with the mission, was at least more agreeable to it. "[But how do we set about looking for some 'secret weapon of the Americans' if we don't even know what it looks like? You know, we might have -]" The lead pilot was interrupted as the plane beside him erupted in an explosion. The squadron was suddenly bombarded with a barrage of shots coming from what seemed like moving masses of earth. "[Shit!]" The pilot cried, as he desperately tried to maneuver his craft, narrowly evading the shots directed at him. As the sandstorm unexpectedly cleared, the lead pilot, together with another jet, lone survivors of the entire squadron, armed their weapons to retaliate towards their unseen enemies . . . . . . and stared dumbfounded at what had seemed to be shifting masses of earth a while ago. Dozens of huge, brown humanoid machines, armed to the teeth with machine guns and rifles, stood on the golden sands of the desert, their weapons all pointed at *them*. A lone, white giant stood in front of the multitudes of the brown. It had a long crest in its two-horned head, stretching all the way to the back. Two, thick cylinders that seemed to be handles of some sort of weapon stuck out from its back. On its left forearm was a shield with two, pincer-like claws on its front. "[Please surrender now. I do not want any useless bloodshed.]" A soft, almost feminine voice came out of the pilot's radio, speaking in perfect Iraqi. He assumed it to be from the white mecha. "[F**k you!]" The lead pilot responded as he and the pilot in the other surviving jet almost simultaneously released their missiles at the white mecha, which seemed to be the leader of the troop of mechas. Suddenly, the white mecha took to the air, coming towards them at a very fast speed, evading the missiles. Hands reaching over the two handles on its back, it swung its curved, crescent-shaped blades at the two jets, neatly slicing them in halves, before they exploded in midair. As the white mecha landed back on the desert, the pilot within it - a boy with light eyes and pale blond hair - removed his eye goggles as he stared sadly at the burning wreckage of the two jets that fell to the ground. " . . . I told you to surrender . . . " ***** East China Sea, off the coast of Shanghai, China . . . A once proud fleet of Chinese naval battleships now laid in ruins, burning wreckage and debris floating on the surface of the sea, as a lone, white giant stood on the deck of what seemed to be a large cruiser, or rather, what was left of it. Swinging its long, elongated arm, vaguely shaped like a dragon, towards a burning control tower, the giant mecha's green eyes glowed eerily as its arm suddenly lurched forward, smashing through it. Then the mecha's head abruptly turned towards the direction of two bombers heading towards it and swung its dragon arm at them. Without warning, the arm shot out from the mecha's elbow, a thin golden line trailing behind it, and slammed through the body of the lead bomber as it discharged a golden shot of energy at the other, completely eradicating the attackers in mere seconds. From inside its cockpit, a boy that seemed to be of Chinese origin, with chinky eyes and black, slicked-back hair ending in a short ponytail just above the collar of his white, Chinese-style coat, gazed at his surroundings with an air of pride and confidence. "Ore wa Wufei. I will not run, nor hide . . . not until this battle, this war is over." ***** Golden rays of sunlight poured through a large, open window as a dignified-looking man, seemingly in his late-twenties, gazed out at the beautiful scenery outside, admiring the emerald grassland and the cerulean sky, the beauty of nature in all its splendor. Sighing deeply, he glanced back towards the open holomonitor on the large, ornate table in the spacious room. A large, domed ceiling made of translucent glass filtered the sunlight that flowed into the room filled with treasures of the past, giving it a somewhat majestic atmosphere. "So, the Gundams have arrived in the past . . . " " . . .Treize-sama?" The image of a striking woman above the holomonitor - with long, brown hair done up in a strange hairstyle - looked at the man anxiously as she adjusted her glasses, the troubled expression on her features not very fitting for a woman of her stature, a high ranking military official of OZ and a very strict and exacting one at that. "Iie. It's nothing, Lady Une." Treize calmly walked over to his desk, and took a rose from the jade vase with carvings of leaves on top of the ornate table. Staring at the rose in his hand, he once again turned to Lady Une. "What of Lunar II's actions?" "They have been quiet so far . . . " Lady Une had a skeptical look on her face. ". . . but I suspect that they have already found out about Operation Meteor." "Is that so?" Treize put the rose back into the vase. "We'll leave matters as they are. It is still too early to show our hand. Tell Zechs and Noin to carry through their monitoring." "Hah. De wa . . ." The image of Lady Une atop the holomonitor, her right hand raised in a salute, faded away as Treize sighed once more. Striding over to the open window once again, he sat down on its low ledge and held out his hand as a small, blue-colored bird with a red crest on its forehead landed on it, staring innocently at him with its black eyes. "It has begun . . . the battle that will decide the fate of two worlds . . .the war that may lead to a new beginning, or to the end of everything . . ." ***** The image of Treize slowly winked out of existence as Lady Une lowered her salute. Casting a glance at a jade vase similar to Treize's, except for the fact that it was decorated with carvings of flowers instead of the carved leaves of the latter's, she sighed deeply. It had been a gift from him to her. Reaching towards the back of her head, she slowly undid her brown hair and let it fall down her back. Carefully removing her glasses, she stared at the reflection in the mirror in front of her, a bold, mature and determined woman ready for everything, and yet, also a scared little girl fearful of the things that lay ahead. ***** In the gymnasium of Juuban High School that afternoon. Usagi, Ami, Makoto and Minako's physical education class for that day was self-defense. Makoto and Minako were not really listening to their sensei, since Makoto already knew judo and Minako was pretty sure she could take care of herself. Ami was, of course, paying utmost attention and taking down notes, while Usagi . . . well, Usagi was Usagi, and although she was trying hard to listen, her brain was telling her that she was *very* bored and that she was not looking forward to any more classes after this. "I will be choosing two students for a mock match. Heero Yuy, please step on the mat," the sensei said. Makoto suddenly smiled to herself. "Sensei! I volunteer!" she said, raising her hand. Usagi, Ami and Minako stared at her as if she had lost her mind. Soon, both Makoto and Heero were facing each other on the mat in the middle of the gym. Makoto thought as she placed herself into a fighting stance, glaring at her opponent. Heero, on the other hand, simply stared at the tall girl in front of him. He knew the moment he saw her step onto the mat so confidently that she was quite experienced in physical combat. He narrowed his eyes as soon as he realized that the girl was playing it for real, judging from the glare she was giving him. The girl moved . . . Just as Heero had expected . . . As soon as Makoto managed to grab Heero's arm, she suddenly felt a sharp pain from her left arm as it was seemingly yanked out of its socket and twisted over her back. Resisting the urge to scream in pain, she blinked her eyes, just in time to see the floor of the gym rapidly approaching as Heero moved his leg quickly to sweep her and roughly shoved her facedown onto the ground. While Heero had Makoto pinned down on the mat, the girl completely immobile under his hold, he leaned down until his face was so close to her ear, she could feel his breath coming out of his mouth. "Don't *push* me," he whispered harshly before releasing her and heading to his place behind the rows of students surrounding the mat. Usagi, Ami and Minako quickly headed to the middle of the mat where Makoto lay just after their teacher made sure she was all right. "I know why you volunteered. If this was a real battle - which it *definitely* seemed like - he could have seriously injured you! Don't *do* this for me, Mako-chan!" Minako said, obviously upset. Makoto could only stare in the direction Heero had gone, ignoring the words of her concerned friends. ***** "Will that be all?" a salesgirl asked the girl with wavy, shining, shoulder-length green hair and her sandy blond-haired companion. Kaiou Michiru nodded politely as Ten'ou Haruka accepted the package handed to them. "Yes, that's all. Arigato." "Please come again!" the salesgirl said as the couple walked further down Juuban district's shopping center. Just as they were passing by an appliance store, the television that was displayed on the window - which until then had been showing a certain shojo anime - suddenly featured a newscast that delivered distressing news. ". . . hours ago, Pearl Harbor and Andrews Air Base in America, as well as a patrolling Chinese Navy Fleet, have been devastated by an attack from unknown forces. Eyewitnesses and survivors said that they saw giant "robots" hovering over the area before the attack. Investigators are trying to link these new developments with the recent air strike that destroyed a squadron of F/A-18s and three US Navy Ships near Osaka the previous night . . ." Haruka frowned as they watched the news. "This doesn't look good." Michiru nodded, staring at the hand-held mirror that she held dearly in her hands. The face of the mirror was dark, and for a moment the shadow with the shape of an unknown giant with glowing eyes could be seen. This image was quickly replaced by the sigil of Neptune, and the sign faded all together, as if the mirror was ordinary in the first place. She looked up and stared at her partner. "The sea is starting to churn." The couple entered Haruka's sports car and headed on their way home. As soon as Michiru opened the door to their house, though, an unexpected visitor greeted them. Meioh Setsuna was in their living room, sitting comfortably on one of the sofas. "Welcome home." Haruka quickly relieved herself of her baggage. "Setsuna . . . what . . . ?" Setsuna stood up, her long, dark green hair flowing gracefully behind her, her serious red eyes moving between Haruka and Michiru. "A force was able to move past the time gate and has entered this world. Danger has arrived in this solar system . . . ". . . and the Outer Senshi are needed once more . . . " ***** Darkness . . . Pitch-black darkness was what Heero encountered as he entered the cockpit of his Man Machine. Just as the hatch closed, various mechanical hums suddenly filled the air as he sat down on the pilot seat. His surroundings quickly changed from the void of darkness that had once enclosed the entire cockpit to an infinity of glowing white flashes. He placed his palms on the glowing orbs beside his seat, feeling a familiar jolt in his body, as his surroundings once again changed, this time, turning into the lush green of the forest where he had hidden his Gundam. "Synchro . . . kanryou . . ." The peace and serenity of the forest suddenly disturbed, the birds in the trees taking off in the air, as the huge Man Machine with the distinctive head and large, metallic wings on its back stood to its full height, towering above the trees that surrounded it. The Gundam suddenly spreads its wings as it took to the air, taking the shape of a bird as it switched over to its other form, blazing across the sky towards the city called Tokyo . . . ***** Rei was studying silently when a blond head suddenly moved in front of her and distracted her. "Ne, Rei-chan, why don't you have an elevator built here so that we don't have to climb that stairs all the time? Or how about changing the stairs into an escalator?" "Don't start, Usagi," Rei growled, pushing her friend's head down towards the table. "Honestly. How did you get to that topic, anyway? Aren't you supposed to be doing physics?" "She was . . . until we got into this example that involved elevators . . ." Ami said, smiling as she used her ballpoint pen to point to the picture of three elevators in the book she was holding. The five girls were at Rei's house in the Hikawa Ginga conducting their regular study sessions - something they had never quite stopped doing ever since they had started getting together a year before to study for the high school entrance exam. Class had just ended an hour ago, and they were all - with the exception of Ami - trying vainly to focus their attention on their studies, instead of on something else. Usagi's mind kept wandering, sometimes to unimportant things but mostly towards her black-haired, blue-eyed boyfriend Chiba Mamoru. This didn't stop Ami from tutoring her, though, since she had already gotten used to her friend's behavior towards studying. Makoto, however, had a very serious look on her face. Her mind kept thinking about Heero, and how suspicious she had become of him ever since that morning. Minako, on the other hand, was thinking of how she would be able to make him open up to them. Or was wondering when he would finally notice her moves towards him and take her out on a date. Rei was mentally going over her dream the previous night when a huge explosion jolted her back to her senses. "What was that?" Usagi asked, standing up in concern. The five girls all rushed to the window just in time to see several buildings crumbling into ash several blocks away from Sendai Hill. "Kami-sama . . . what's going on?" Ami whispered. Two cats with crescent moons on their foreheads entered the room by jumping through an open window. "Minna, something is attacking Tokyo!!" Artemis announced frantically. Minako rolled her eyes. "We know that, Artemis. It's obvious!! But what is it?" "We don't know. But whatever it is, it's costing human lives! There's no time to waste! Minna, henshin yo!" Luna ordered. Usagi took out her heart-shaped brooch, while Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako raised four sword hilts with the sigil of their respective planets encased within a crystal ball set within a pair of wings just on top of the hilt. Seconds later, five senshi with sailor collars, tight body fitting suits and short skirts stood where five schoolgirls were, moments ago. The Inner Senshi rushed to the scene of the incident. As soon as they arrived, though, they quickly skidded to a stop and stared, dumbfounded, at the cause of the menace. A giant, humanoid robot with a pair of metallic wings on its back, a distinctive, golden crest on its forehead, and another pair of miniature wings on the sides of its head, stood towering over them. It carried a red shield on its left arm and a huge armament that could only be a rifle in the other, as it made its way through the streets of Juuban, smashing anything in its way. Sailormars - Rei - stared at it in shock. The thing looked exactly like the shadow that had killed the Senshi in her vision. ***** " . . . Sento Level . . . Target kakuni . . . Haijou . . . kai shi . . . " The giant machine's gaze suddenly swung towards the Senshi. Then, without warning, it brought up its left arm and thrust its enormous shield, at a speed seemingly impossible for its size, at the five sailor-suited girls. "Abunai!" Sailorjupiter - Makoto - shouted, leaping away as the shield's edge slammed into the pavement where the five senshi were standing. She turned around to check on her friends - who were all standing on guard far from the site of impact, save for Eternal Sailormoon - Usagi - who was lying in the oddest and most impossible position ever conceived. "Ko no!!!" Jupiter stared angrily at the metal giant, concentrated, and used her most powerful attack. "Jupiter Oak Evolution!!" The huge machine made no move to evade or defend itself as the storm of deadly projectiles advanced towards it, the emerald energy leaves impacting on its face. Jupiter waited for the resulting explosion, but was shocked when her attack seemed to dissipate against the giant's metal surface. Turning its head towards the one who had released the attack, the machine's eyes flashed eerily, as it discharged several volleys of what seemed to be energy bullets from two hidden muzzles on its head. "Shimatta!" Jupiter exclaimed, running for cover. She narrowly evaded the gunfire as she dove towards the ground and rolled near a truck that had fallen on its side, just as the rain of deadly shots reached it . . . Jupiter landed roughly after being thrown off by the resulting explosion. "Where the hell is the Japanese army when you need it?!?" she asked herself, a pissed-off look on her face, as she picked herself painfully from the ground.Scanning the area for the nearest cover, she ran towards the back of a building just as another hail of energy bullets bombarded the vicinity. "Jupiter!!" Sailorvenus - Minako - called out from her hiding place as she watched her friend run behind a brick building to evade the gunfire. Turning to Sailormercury, she asked, "Well? Did you get anything?" Mercury - Ami - shook her head as her fingers flew desperately over the tiny keyboard of her small computer. "No! My computer is registering nothing!!" Venus leaned over and made a face as she saw the screen of her friend's computer. Although she couldn't understand most of what was shown, she *could* understand the many "UNKNOWN" messages it displayed. "There must be something . . ." "Well . . . that thing does have an enormous amount of magical energy within it," Mercury answered as she pressed a key and glanced at the energy meter shown on the screen. "That's a load of help," Venus said as she turned her attention back to the battle, just in time to see the machine gazing directly at them. She let out a short squeak before grabbing an unsuspecting Mercury - who was still typing - and quickly dragging her out of their hiding place before another wave of gunfire reduced what was once their cover into rubble. Hiding behind another nearby building, Venus breathed a sigh of relief as she released Mercury's arm. "That was close. For a minute there I thought we weren't going to make it!" The wall they were leaning on suddenly shook. They winced as the building continued to shudder and collapse under the heavy artillery being used on it by the white giant on the other side. "We're not safe yet!!" Mercury shouted over the deafening sounds the explosions made as she and Venus scampered away from the falling building. Mars, upon seeing that Venus and Mercury were in danger, took advantage of her position behind the mecha by calling out her attack. "Mars Flame Sniper!" Flames of energy danced around her, creating a bow that was invisible to the naked eye. A crimson arrow materialized upon the energy bow, as Mars aimed at her target and released the flaming missile, blazing its way towards the back of the giant machine. Upon contact with the white giant, the arrow seemingly winked out of existence, harmlessly dissipating against its metal surface, just as Jupiter's attack did. The huge mecha then turned around slowly, its eyes flashing once more, as it seemingly gazed at the red-skirted Senshi, who braced herself for an attack. All of a sudden, the mecha swung its shield at the Senshi of Fire, who leapt backwards to avoid being hit. Though she had barely managed to evade the enormous armament, she was not prepared for the strong force that had been created by the momentum of the swing. The powerful draft caught her in mid-air, slamming her into the wall of a nearby building. "Mars!" Sailormoon, having recovered from her position earlier, shouted as her friend collapsed into a heap on the ground. Glaring at the huge mecha while taking out her Moon Scepter, she used her strongest attack. "Silver Moon Crystal Power Key!" The golden rays of light from the Moon Scepter surrounded the white giant, which stood still against the attack. The rays of light seemed to glow brighter before suddenly turning into multitudes of white feathers, as the attack took effect. The huge giant froze afterwards, not moving an inch. Sailormoon slowly smiled, thinking her attack had worked. That was why she was paralyzed with shock and fright when she saw the mecha's eyes flash once again, this time seemingly brighter than before. When the Senshi saw that Sailormoon's attack was not effective, they were so stunned that they were not prepared when the mecha took out a long cylinder object from its shield, a green, flickering blade of energy suddenly emerging from one end. Raising the saber-like weapon, the huge mecha brought it down in a huge arc towards the still unmoving princess . . . "Look out!! Sailormoon!" Venus instinctively dashed from her place beside Mercury and vainly tried to reach her. Just when she thought that the blade of energy was going to slash through Sailormoon, a blur tackled the paralyzed girl. Sailormoon and Tuxedo Kamen rolled on the ground, narrowly avoiding the blade's path as it made an enormous gash in the road. Venus leapt over the somewhat huge chasm created by the blade as she made her way towards the fallen couple. "Tuxedo Kamen-sama . . ." she said, kneeling on one knee beside them. "Sailormoon, daijoubu?" Tuxedo Kamen asked as the rest of the senshi gathered around them protectively. "Un," Sailormoon nodded. Tuxedo Kamen helped her up, their attention wearily focused on the white giant, standing unscathed before them. "What are we going to do now?" "The five of us will have to combine our attacks," Venus said, standing up, not taking her eyes off the mecha. Jupiter looked a bit skeptical. "Do you think it would work? None of our regular attacks - not even Sailormoon's - even made it flinch! How about the Sailor Planet Attack?" Venus shook her head. "Executing it will take too long - we'll be dead before we finish! Combining our regular attacks is the only option we have left! It *has* to work! Do it now!!" "Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" "Mars Flame Sniper!" "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" "Venus Love And Beauty Shock!" "Silver Moon Crystal Power Key!" The attacks of the Senshi blazed through the air towards the giant machine. The combined might was enough to make the mecha draw back a little as it contacted with its chest, before they dissipated once again, leaving no mark or dent on the machine's armor. The Senshi faltered when they saw what little effect their combined attack had made on the mecha. Flashes of energy shots burst from two large hidden muzzles located at what could be considered its collarbone, making them brace for another attack. Unexpectedly, the gunfire was showered in a flare of lethal intensity at the building behind them, causing huge masses of concrete to collapse upon them. Knowing that they had no time to run or avoid the deadly shower of heavy matter, all the Senshi could do was stare at the falling concrete as it descended in an incredible speed towards them. Venus raised her hand in the air and called on her powers in a final attempt to save herself and her friends. "Crescent Beam Shower!!" A single bright yellow beam emitted from her pointed finger, travelling at great intensity at first, but then suddenly separating into multitudes of rays moments before they collided with the falling matter. Although the Senshi were still buried under the pile of debris, the beams had shattered a number of the falling concrete pieces above them, somewhat minimizing the damage of what could have been a fatal attack. Mercury opened her eyes, feeling a bit disoriented with her surroundings. She slowly tried to move, wincing as pain shot up from her bruised arm, which she had used to cover her head. Pushing a slab of concrete away, she managed to sit up and look around her. The rest of the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen were in a state that was similar to hers - alive, yet bruised, injured, and extremely tired. Turning her head, she stared almost hopelessly at the huge giant, which, upon noticing that they were still alive, walked slowly towards them. She closed her eyes, waiting for the final attack to come . . . ***** Heero gazed silently at the fallen Senshi from the cockpit of his Man Machine, Wing. He had not expected them to be this easy to defeat, especially with the information he had been briefed with before the start of the operation. Nevertheless, a small, grim smile crept into Heero's features as his Man Machine approached the Sailor Senshi, the Beam Saber in its right hand flaring menacingly . . . "Sayonara, Sailor Senshi . . ." The huge machine raised its weapon, its eyes flashing at the Senshi one final time before bringing down the energy blade . . . . . . just as a sudden, loud beeping caught the attention of the boy inside the mecha. He halted the descent of the Beam Saber on the defenseless Senshi. A green holoscreen came up in the air beside Heero. "A energy-space distortion field!?" A strange whirring sound pierced the air as a gaping white hole suddenly appeared in the sky, the clouds around it swirling like a massive cyclone. From within the hole came out a huge, gray battleship together with over two dozen blue-gray mechas armed with shields and rifles. Instantly, the Man Machines all blazed towards Wing, their rifles armed and ready. ***** Mercury opened her eyes to the incessant beeping of her mini-computer. she thought as she glanced at the information shown on the screen. The almost deafening sound of the air being pierced by a dimensional portal of immense size and the arrival of a legion of many other humanoid machines escorting a huge, unknown spacecraft made the senshi look up to the skies in horror. ***** It took Heero only a moment to ascertain the identity of the new intruders. "Lunar II, ka?" With that, Wing took to the air, taking into its left hand its huge rifle, charging into the midst of its enemies. "Twenty-eight Geminas type Man Machines, and a Krepier Class Cruiser . . . Kan tan da." ***** "Now's our chance!" Tuxedo Kamen said as he watched the giant machine turn its attention from them and lift off from the ground, heading towards the midst of the battalion. "Everybody get out of here!!" The senshi painfully picked themselves off from the ground and ran for safety in a dark alley, de-transforming as they arrived. After seeing that everyone was safe, Chiba Mamoru returned his attention to the skies, where the ensuing battle was taking place. ***** Dispatching the nearest Man Machines with the a barrage of gunfire from its two Machine Cannons, Wing quickly reduced the number of Geminas with deft strikes from the Beam Saber. "Back Wing Funnel . . . ha shin. " The white mecha suddenly spread its wings as two large spokes that were once part of the wings suddenly opened up, detached themselves from the back of the machine, and blazed over to the remaining Man Machines. Within seconds, the entire Man Machine battalion was eliminated by the discharges from the two funnels, before they returned to the back of Wing. "One more . . . " Verniers flaring, the white giant flew towards its remaining target and raised the huge rifle in its left hand, pointing it at the battleship at that had begun firing its main cannons at the winged mecha, which had evaded the beams of energy easily. With a definite lock-on, Heero released the trigger and a huge golden beam, larger than even the battleship's fire, burst out of the rifle's muzzle, and enveloped the entire battleship in its wake, destroying it in an instant. As the resulting explosion from the cruiser's destruction erupted in the air, Heero glanced at the city below, particularly where he had last seen the Senshi. As he had expected, the sailor-suited girls had used the opportunity to escape while he was fighting with Lunar II's Man Machines. "The Senshi have escaped. Location has been discovered by Lunar II. Ninmu shi pai. I will retreat for now." With that, Wing reverted to its bird mode and flew away in a blazing trail towards its unknown destination. ***** "Where did those machines come from?" Mamoru asked, holding Usagi close to him. She was still trembling from the fight, her knees still too weak to support herself. "Ami?" Rei looked inquiringly at her friend. Makoto stood beside Ami as her hands flew on her mini-computer, which was luckily undamaged from the battle. "My computer had detected a dimensional shift in the area before those other alien craft arrived . . . maybe the machine we were fighting decided that that matter was more important." "More important than destroying us and leveling the entire city, I wonder?" Minako said as she surveyed the damage caused by the battle. All the structures in the avenue they were in and in nearby streets were either damaged or completely destroyed. Her gaze landed towards the ruins of a fallen building, where she saw something that made her so repulsed, she retreated to a corner and heaved. In the background, sounds of sirens filled the air as police vehicles and ambulances started to arrive at the scene, too late to save the lives that were lost. Usagi took a deep, shaky breath, the hand that was tightly clutching Mamoru's shirt slightly loosening. "Now what?" Makoto tiredly wiped her brow with the back of her hands. "Whatever it is, can we do it tomorrow?" Rei looked up from assisting Minako in the corner. "She's got a point. We're all tired - we could use some rest." "My computer managed to record the battle data. I'll look into it tonight and maybe we will have some useful information tomorrow," Ami said. Usagi nodded wearily. "Tomorrow at your place, Rei-chan?" "Right after school." "Better inform Luna and Artemis about this," Makoto told Usagi and a slightly pale Minako as they cautiously walked out of the alley, mindful of the police that had surrounded the area. Minako shrugged. "They're bound to ask about it anyway," she said quietly. "Will you be there, Mamo-chan?" Usagi asked, a pleading, almost desperate look in her eyes. Mamoru nodded slowly, knowing that their current situation was very serious and that his girlfriend needed support after going through a terrible trauma. "Are you sure you girls are going to be all right?" He asked as they reached a fork in the road where they would each go on their separate ways, Usagi still leaning against him. The four other girls smiled weakly. "We'll be okay, as long as that monster doesn't come attacking anytime today again," Rei said. "Or anytime for the next few hundred years!" Makoto added. Saying their good-byes, the girls walked away from the scene of the battle, the familiar feeling of being driven into the middle of an unwanted war with the safety of the world in their hands taking place inside them once more. ***** Treize entered a seemingly familiar domed room studded with crystal pillars and ornate walls, not minding the dozens of high ranking military officials seated at a large round table, their harsh gazes all directed at him. "Treize Khushurenada. We have all been waiting for you." A stern gray-haired man in his late fifties wearing an ornate black OZ uniform and seated at the head told him as Treize reached an empty seat near the end of the table. "My apologies, Dechem-sama. I was caught up in . . . some trivial matters that needed immediate attention," Treize replied, removing the black cloak slung upon his shoulder. As Treize sat down, another middle-aged man, this time wearing the traditional brown OZ uniform stood up and glared at him. "Treize! This has been the third time you have been late this month! Don't you have any respect for Dechem-sama!? Don't you dare think that it's because of the fact that you're the youngest among all of us here that you can be so cocky! " A glare from Dechem, the one seated at the head, effectively silenced any more from the man, as the latter sullenly took his seat. "Treize. Do not be late. Ever again." "Hah," Treize said, nodding his head a little. "Then let us start the meeting, gentlemen." The surroundings suddenly changed from the marble white of the palace walls into the deep blackness of space, as the entire area was shrouded in a black, protective soundproof barrier to prevent any undesirable intrusion. "Now for the first subject . . ." A man in white sitting at the right of Dechem whom Treize knew as Galba Harman, the son of Dechem, announced as soon as the protective enclosing was activated. A hologram of the Earth appeared mid-air in the middle of the table. Five distinctive red comets suddenly emerged from the darkness of space, and entered the Earth at different locations. "Operation Meteor was a success, the five Gundams we sent have successfully landed in the past." Murmurs filled the room as the men talked amongst themselves, seeming to forget the presence of their supreme leader before them. Despite of this, Dechem merely gazed upon them, a dark gleam glimmering in his eyes, as he mused about his even darker plans. Dechem silently laughed to himself. ***** Treize gazed silently at Dechem, ignoring the constant murmurs of the men around him, his features slowly creeping into a small, yet grim smile. Author's Notes: Marj: Ha!! I'm done! Finished! Thanks to our five-day weekend, I was able to do this, do my Physics paper, finish Final Fantasy II (about time, too!!!), and work on the graphics of my program to make it look cuter!! *^^* The translation note for today is *loooong* . . . kind of made up for the last one, eh? Anyway, here you go: abunai - dangerous / look out arigato - thank you baka - stupid / jerk daijoubu - are you all right da re - who de wa - by your leave doshite no - what is it gomen - sorry hah - yes, sir ha shin - launch haijou kai shi - begin extermination kami-sama - god kanna ra zu - whatever it takes kan tan da - easy konno- - why you - konno hoshi no buki . . . ka? - the weapons of this planet? kakkoi - cool kakuni - sighted masaka - it can't be / impossible minna - everyone / everybody ninmu kaishi - begin mission ninmu shi pai - mission failed ninmu ryoukai - mission acknowledged obento - lunch box ohayo (gozaimasu) - good morning onegai - please ore wa - I am sayonara - good-bye sensei - teacher sento level - battle level shimatta - damn sumimasen - excuse me synchro kanryou - synchro accomplished yoroshiku - pleased to meet you Next time, we should keep an open mind about using Japanese sentences . . . (looks at Heero with a knowing glance) Ugh! I wracked my brains to finish this chapter before school starts an hour and thirty minutes from now! Anyway, send your comments and constructive criticism to me and to Heero-kun, whose address you'll find a few paragraphs below this. Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon, its characters and its story belong to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha, Nakayoshi, Toei Animation and all those other companies out there with copyrights to it. But the story you're now reading is ours, so please respect our request that you take nothing here that doesn't belong to you and claim it as your own. Domo arigato gozaimasu! Heero: *Sigh*. . . 3 AM and I still have a morning class tomorrow . . . Duo: Well, they don't call you "Suicide Boy" for nothing. *snickers* Heero: *elbow connects with Duo's face rather hardly, as Duo slumps to the ground, dazed* Shut up, Duo . . . Heero: Email to for comments and criticisms. Gundam, Man Machine, and other related terms and characteristics are properties of Sunrise and Sotsu Agency. All the other terms and descriptions not theirs are properties of the authors. If you try to steal them . . . Omae wa korosu . . . Marj: Giving me another sentence to translate, why don't you??? Anyway, "omae wa korosu" means "I'll kill you." So . . . uhh . . . better do what he says if you know what's good for you!!! But really, Heero-kun, you *are* just kidding about that final line of yours, right? Heero: . . .