Sailor Moon Silver Legacy

Act IX: Comrades in Arms (Part 2)

Minako scanned her surroundings. This part of the mall's ground floor space included an empty food court, a deserted seating area, some unmanned stalls, and an obnoxiously large and noisy fountain. She knew that on occasion, the open space was used for performances and exhibitions, but there were no civilians in the vicinity. Given the uproar, people had obviously fled in search of cover.

As such, there were few obstacles for her enemies to hide behind and no potential victims that might be caught in the crossfire. She still wouldn't be able to use her more powerful abilities without bringing the building down on herself, but the location was as good a spot as any for the fight.

Minako was resolute. In addition to the grotesque, dough-like Youma re-forming before her, three more enemies were about to converge on her location. She had to keep them busy here, while Ami continued with evacuation efforts.

"Mercury," she spoke confidently into her communicator. "If they're coming for me, it's your opportunity to get people out. Don't worry about me. Focus on opening holes in the barriers at the mall exits. You'll probably find people gathered around them, conscious or unconscious, so the police will be able to start evacuating them. If I'm still alive when you're done, support me without revealing yourself. If not...don't be a hero."

"Sailor V..." Mercury started uncertainly as if to object.

Minako removed her wrist device, let it drop to the floor, and stomped it beneath her fuchsia pump before her partner could finish. She took a breath and prepared herself. Within seconds, she sensed a new presence and turned to find a hulking Youma barreling down on her.

A stack of car tires in place of an arm was drawn back and ready to strike. There was no chance of blocking such an attack, so she had to dodge. Unfortunately, the enemy behind her had finished its reconstruction, and stretched a doughy limb around her right ankle to prevent her escape.

Minako reacted instinctively, severing the hindrance with a beam as she cartwheeled out of the way with less than a second to spare. The force of the tire Youma's punch made her hair flap as if caught in a breeze, and its impact reduced a nearby pillar to rubble. As she created some distance, noting that this Youma was plainly a close combat-type, she was startled by a rapid crescendo of whirring from behind her.

Sailor V turned, pre-emptively adopting a defensive posture with her arms crossed over her chest, but the action was useless. She was blown away by an unseen force and sent spinning through the air until her back collided with a wall, and she was pinned by the powerful gale. Squinting, she caught a glimpse of her newest opponent. Its head, if it could be considered one, resembled a desk fan.

"Hold her there, Airhead," boomed a deep voice before the tire Youma appeared again, using its massive arms to bound toward the trapped soldier like a gorilla on all fours.

As much as she tried, Minako couldn't escape the wind tunnel that held her in place. It was all she could do to take a breath. The bulky monster was steps away. It was going to jump into the path of the fan creature's horizontal twister, which would only make its punch more devastating. She watched helplessly as it jumped to deliver the blow.

Minako closed her eyes and braced herself, but the impact didn't follow. Not the one she had expected, at least. She had dropped to the floor, no longer pinned to the wall by the constant air pressure.

"What's going on?" she heard one of the Youma exclaim.

Upon opening her eyes, she was momentarily confused before realizing the power had been cut, plunging the mall into darkness. Grateful for what was surely Ami's handiwork, Minako immediately seized the opportunity of the blackout to change location, feeling her way along the wall as her eyes adjusted. Behind her, she heard the unmistakable sound of the big Youma wildly smashing everything in reach.