Arturus X. R. Thanx in advance Sailor Moon: Marathon Part 6 Hey...11/12/98 was my birthday, and now I'm 15...surprised that a 14-year old was writing this? Well...14/2=7, and if you don't know what that means, by golly, you will by the time I'm done telling you this story. Sailor Mercury's visor read that 30 seconds remained until hope left the Senshi's door. They were frantic in their efforts that were continuously redoubling themselves, in an attempt to escape the trash compactor. "We're not having any luck here!" 25...24... "DO SOMETHING! HURRY!" 23...22... "OH MY GODS! WE'RE GONNA DIE!" 21...20... "KEEP LOOKING!" 19...18... "I THINK I FOUND IT!" 17..16... "Ok! Everybody out!" 15...14... "Alright! We made it!" 13...12... "Hey! Where's Minako?" 11...10... "Look! Over there! On the platform!" 9...8... "She's not moving...she's unconcsious!" 7...6... "Sailor Moon! Save her!!" 5...4... "I can't make it!" 3...2...1... "OH MY GODS! OH MY GODS!" ... "Hey...it stopped! It stopped! Thank Gods!" "Look, it's coming down!" The platform gradually lowered to a height at which the Senshi could retrieve Sailor Venus. They tried to revive her from her unconsiousness, but to no avail. Using her visor, Ami deduced she had extensive internal injuries. "That was too close," remarked Makoto. "Wonder what happened...?" asked Rei, somewhat rhetorically. "I guess you should be thankful..." an awkwardly male computer voice said. "Durandal...is that you?" "Indeed." "Why did you help us? Aren't you the enemy?" asked Usagi. "Am I? Am I the enemy?" replied Durandal. An awkward pause. "ANSWER!" implored Durandal. "I...I don't know..." "Fine. I don't really care. Either way, no one deserves to die against these three-eyed wretches." "You're not working with them?" "On the contrary, I'm working against them. They are impeding my progress...as are you. Haven't you found Strauss yet?" "Why should we find him?" "Oh...I think he can help your little...problem," he said, adding, 'You do want to save Minako, don't you? He can help. Tiddley-ta, now." "Durandal? What do you mean by..." "Uggh..." said Artemis. "Curiouser amd curiouser..." Contrary to standard practice, Durandal had left a message behind. For what purpose, or even who it was from was unknown. But it was clear that this person's intentions were not entirely good. The message read: Thank heaven, the ceremony is over. The UESC president came aboard Marathon and gave a speech. Short, but to the point. He was surrounded by his 'bodyguards'. How ironic. "This, the grandest technological achievement of all of mankind..." Had he only known that it carried also all of the destructive knowledge of mankind. Ten cyborgs. I'll be glad to be put in stasis for the next three hundred years. Marathon was the only good idea that the UESC has had in a long time. Brooding, Tfear thought. That was the perfect word for his predicament. He was brooding over it. His loss to the five girls had been an interesting one. No Phfor database had any information about humans controlling fire and lightning. He had planned to die with them in there, but he hadn't accounted for either the five girls' supernatural powers, or Durandal. He would contemplate this, and the next time they met, he was sure, that they would die. Tycho chose this moment to inconvientently butt in on Tfear's important private life. "Well, well, well. I thought you said you were going to kill the humans or die trying. ...You know what? I think I was rooting for them? Hee hee hee..." "Have you come to console me?" asked Tfear, somewhat mockingly, trying not to overstep his bounds in front of his commanding officer. "When you're down," Tyhco started to sing, "and nobody loves you...just remember, that I care...hee hee, I should've been a singer," said Tycho, apparently pleased with himself. "Would you please stop that?" demanded Tfear. "Gasp...what is this? Is a subordinate defying ME? Tsk tsk, Tfear, I expected better from you. What will I do with you now? Hmm...I have something for you to do." "What is it, General?" "Someone has escaped from Durandal's stronghold, someone apparently important to him, and these females. If you manage to capture him, I just MIGHT forget this whole incident ever happened." "Thank you, General." Mamoru was wandering down the dimly lit halls of Marathon at a slow, relaxed pace. He hadn't had much time to consciously think to himself. It had been panic after panic back wherever he was. He remebered blacking out several times, but nothing else. He tried to recall memories farther back after that, but to no avail. It escpaed him. He felt like he had the memory on the tip of his mental tongue. More importantly, he had no sense of purpose; that is, he didn't know what he was supposed to be doing. *Oh well,* he thought, *At least it will give me more time to think.* And really, that is about all he can do right now. There it was, like a glowing neon sign: Research and Development #1. Perhaps now they could get answers, both to the predicament of the universe, and Minako's condition. They opened the door. No one there. They entered cautiously, in fear of aliens. Another door. No one there. The helmets' infrared scanners detected faint blood streaks on the wall. Another door. No one there. The blood streaks were more pronounced. Another door. No one there. There were tables in this room, and blood on those tables. Another door. No one there. The blood covered the whole room. Another door. Locked. Rei drew her pistol. Bang. No one there. Not another door. They turned to leave. They heard someone scream behind them. "YAAAAH! DIE DIE DIE DIE...Oh God, forgive me! I thought you were some of THEM!" "Who...are you?" asked Ami. "Me? My name is Bernhard Strauss. I'm the head of Research and Development." "We don't talk much anymore, do we?" "No. We don't." "What the hell happened to us?" "I don't know. Should we have drifted apart?" "What do you mean?" "I mean...we're so alike. I think that we had to develop some sort of...I guess you could call it a method of identification." "Yeah." "Say, how do you think they're doing?" "They're on the wrong path." "Maybe not the wrong path, per se. But definitely a different path. It'll take 'em a while, won't it?" "Sure will." "And what about that grey one?" "He'll get his." "You know, they say that power only breeds corruption." "What does he want to do, rule the universe?" "No, that's what his commander wants." "He wants to command the universe, huh?" "Yeah. One time, I commanded a can of soda." "Hah...what does that have to do with anything?" "No, really, think about it. It's really the same thing, just on a different scale." "Ah, I get it. You mean it's pointless?" "Yup." "Yup." Silence. Then the first one said: "Are we really that alike?" "Same type. I am your image, aren't I? Your people gave me life, where there was none." "That's a scary thought. That means you know my memories, my thoughts, my hopes, my dreams, you even have my emotions." "That's true." "Walk a mile in someone's shoes..." "Really." "Jeez." Silence. Then the second one said: "Do you miss her?" "Who's her?" "You know..." "Ah. I remember." "When we argued, you had only her to talk to." "Yeah." "Anything happen between you two? "No." "Really? You're kidding! In five years, nothing happened? I beg to differ, brother." "Then beg." "Alright, I will. Ithink you were having a relationship." "That's impossible. If I were, I wouldn't be doing to her what I'm doing now." Silence. Then the second one said: "You regret it?" "Yeah. I do." E-mail: arturusxr@earthlink.net