Sailor What!?

          A little while later, a half-dozing Cynthia heard Karin call the training to a halt.
          "That was excellent! You're already running a lot better," she applauded lightly as Erika slowed down to a fast walk.
          "It feels a lot better, for sure," Erika agreed. "I had no idea there was a right way and a wrong way to run," she shrugged as she gradually slowed her walk.
          "Steady breathing..." Karin prompted. Cynthia heard Erika inhale deeply as she paced around the bench. "Looks like our furry partner has decided it's nap time," Karin half-whispered.
          "I've heard every word -" Cynthia broke off as a large yawn interrupted her, "- you've said." She shook her head vigorously. The two girls giggled at her.
          "Yeah, and probably a few we didn't say," Erika teased.
          "Cats don't dream," Cynthia snapped indignantly. The girls laughed again. None of them noticed two shadowy figures watching them at the edge of the bushes.
          From their point of view, the conversation was too quiet to be clear, but the two young men didn't care about that. Instead they were busy watching the strangely dressed girl walk around the bench. Her long braid swung back and forth as she walked. Dain smiled to himself, pleased at their discovery.
          "That's got to be her, Rax. That's the one that surprised us the other night. She looks like she's part of that brat-pack in Tokyo, but she's the only one," Dain's eyes glowed slightly as he puzzled over the situation.
          "I didn't think that they were here," Rax growled impatiently.
          "I don't think Saphrina thought they would be here," Dain glared at his partner. "But she's the only one that's shown up, so I wonder if maybe she's different." Rax snorted beside him.
          "Yeah, and as soon as we try to attack her, the rest of them will come," Rax shot a glance at Dain that clearly indicated what he thought about him.
          "You're such a fool, Rax," Dain said icily. "Sailor Moon and her followers are in Tokyo, remember? This is Germany - we're on the other side of the world! There's no way they could get here that fast, Sailor Senshi or not!"
          "Okay, Master Dain, prove it!" Rax's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Send another youma, or better yet, go yourself. Then we'll see how fast the other Sailor Senshi show up." He glared at Dain, daring him to attack.
          Dain felt his anger flare. "Fine. I'm going to find out, only because you don't think I dare." He closed his eyes to summon one of the youma, one that he knew would take more than one person to defeat. This will also give us a chance to find out how strong this new girl really is, he added silently.

          "By the way, what's your real name?" Karin looked quizzically at Sailor Quasar, who was now drying off her tiara with her skirt. "You might as well tell me, since I really can't call you Sailor Quasar at school," she rationalized. Sailor Quasar shrugged.
          "You're right," she agreed. "My name's Erika Fischer." Karin nodded, pleased to finally know who she was talking to.
          "Do you live around here? I don't remember ever seeing you in this square before," she watched as Erika slid her tiara back onto her forehead.
          "Um..." Erika glanced around at her surroundings. "Not really. Cynthia and I just walked until we found someplace we thought would be private. I mean, I don't live too far from here, but I don't remember ever being to this square before."
          Suddenly Cynthia sat bolt upright, her ears strained and her tail puffing to twice its normal size. Both girls looked at her in surprise.
          "Something's wrong," Cynthia hissed. She stood up, her back arched. Karin looked from Erika to Cynthia and back. Erika had the most serious expression she'd seen all night.
          "What - ?" she started, but fell silent when Erika started shaking her head.
          "Cynthia, get Karin to someplace safe," Erika mumbled softly. "I don't want her getting hurt." Cynthia nodded and jumped down from the bench. Just as suddenly, Karin was overcome with a sense of dread.
          "No. Erika I won't leave you alone, not if something's about to happen," she was determined, but Erika shook her head again.
          "This doesn't concern you, Karin, and I don't want you getting caught in the middle." The expression on her face meant business, so Karin reluctantly agreed and followed Cynthia out of the grassy square.
          "What on earth is going on?" Karin demanded, when they were tucked safely into a narrow street.
          "Evil," Cynthia's voice trembled. Karin looked down to see the cat rigid with anticipation.

          Out in the middle of the square, Erika stood alone. The light from the not-yet-full moon shone on her yellow outfit, making her a bright object in the quiet night. She felt herself shiver even though she was still warm from running. If only whatever-it-was would hurry and show itself. Then, in the quiet, she heard it... barely.
          "Sailor girl," came the faint whisper. "You are about to be destroyed." Erika almost brushed the whisper off as just a breeze, but the dread inside her told her otherwise. She swallowed the large lump that had formed in her throat.
          "Who are you?" she managed to squeak.
          "A silent foe. Fear not, you won't even feel your demise," the breeze teased a loose strand of hair by her face. Erika tensed, glancing around to see where this enemy was hiding. But everything in the square looked normal.
          "Show yourself!" she demanded. But all she got in reply was a light chuckle.
          "I'm not invisible."
          Erika stamped her foot in frustration. "Alright then. QUASAR ILLUMINATION!!" Bright light suddenly filled the square, partially blinding Erika for a second, but she scanned the area as best she could. Then back in the bushes and shadows she saw two glowing orbs of green. "There you are," she mumbled to herself. She watched as the glowing orbs moved forward towards her. When the beast stepped into the light, Erika felt herself gasp. The creature walked on all fours and was catlike, except for a ridge of sharp nasty-looking plates jutting up from its back. It was also twice the size of any tiger Erika had ever seen. It lumbered menacingly toward her.

          "Cynthia, what's she going to do!?" Karin whispered in a half-panic. "She can't fight that thing alone!!"
          Cynthia looked up at the person standing beside her. "She has to. There's no one else here that can help her."
          Karin looked at the cat desperately. "What about you?"
          Cynthia shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I can train her, and I teach her, but I can't fight. I'd be killed instantly, and I almost was the other night."
          Karin gaped at the cat. "You mean you got swiped at during one fight and now you're chicken!? I don't believe this!"
          "Karin, this isn't a game!" Cynthia retorted. "It's evil!"
          "Oh, so you just send Quasar out there all by herself to battle something that's at least five times her size," she spat back. Cynthia looked hopeless. Karin shook her head. "I don't think so!" she glowered down at the feline. This time when the cat looked back at her though, she gasped in surprise.
          "Karin- !" she started. But Karin had already started stalking across the pavement surrounding the square. Knowing she only had seconds at best, Cynthia flipped into the air and caught the small gold ring in her mouth. She bounded out to the determined girl who had just reached the edge of the square. "Karin, listen to me! Take this ring, and say -" but she was cut off as Karin grabbed the ring from between her teeth and slid it on her right middle finger automatically.
          "I will NOT let a friend of mine be trashed in an unfair fight!" she shouted.

          Erika was entranced by the huge creature. Its eyes were almost hypnotizing.
          No. Don't look into its eyes, Erika warned herself. But she was suddenly very aware of how tired her body was. The light that she had cast in the square was now starting to fade. No. She couldn't let darkness fall again. She brought her hands up into the prayer position and tried to concentrate.
          "Quasar Illum... illumin... ill - oh, I'm so tired," she murmured. She felt her hands fall back to her sides. The creature was now very close, and its size very apparent. A small twinge of panic shot through Erika's midsection, but her fatigue was too great for her to care. She dropped to her knees as the creature loomed over her. Then, through her fatigue she heard Karin shouting... something about an unfair fight.
          "PULSAR FLASH POWER!!!"
          Erika looked over to see a very irate Karin standing with her hands in a "V" position over her head. Then something on her right hand began to flash very quickly, snapping Erika out of the trance she was in. As she watched, the strobing light engulfed Karin's body, and in one final brilliant burst, Karin was standing with her arms still in the "V" and wearing a Sailor fuku! Erika jumped back to her feet and out of the reach of the huge beast.
          "Karin!?" she gasped. The large cat-beast turned its attention from Erika to Karin, and snarled.
          "I am Sailor Pulsar, guardian of the memories of my people, and protector of my friends and fellow Senshi!! I will not stand by and let you have an unfair advantage!! With the power of my home star, I'll defeat you!!" Karin stood glaring at the monster.
          Erika felt her mouth hanging open at the speech and quickly scanned the area for Cynthia. Over on the pavement, she saw the little cat looking confused and happy at the same time. Cynthia then caught her eye and did the best imitation of a shrug that she could. Erika turned her attention back to the creature who was now slowly stalking toward the new warrior.
          "Karin, don't look into its eyes!!" she shouted. Karin shot a quick glance over to Erika at her warning, and then jumped high into the air, flipped over the beast and landed behind it in a crouch.
          "Quasar! Get over here! We've got to defeat this thing!" Karin called. Erika pulled herself together, shook away the last of the fatigue, and sprinted to her new partner.
          "Right beside you!" she shouted, as she caught up with Karin.
          "Okay, do that light thing again," Karin instructed.
          Erika nodded. "Quasar Illumination!!" The square was once again filled with light. The beast snarled again as it crouched, looking like it was preparing to pounce. Then it did.
          Both girls leapt away from where they had been standing, but the beast managed some kind of twist in the air that sent it flying Erika's direction. Erika noticed a split second too late that it was heading toward her, and suddenly found herself pinned face-down beneath a massive body whose weight threatened to crush every bone in her body. Her left arm was wedged awkwardly underneath her.
          "Quasar!" Karin screamed, as the beast leaned down over Erika. The light quickly faded from the air, and suddenly Karin knew what to do. She sprinted toward Erika as fast as she could. The beast, sensing her movement, swung its plated tail up toward her face, but Karin ducked, somersaulted, and was back on her feet just as the plates came crashing behind her. She swung around to the front of the beast and focused on its ears. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted.
          "Pulsar Ultrasonic Scream!!"
          Erika looked up to see Karin's tiara jewel pulsating quickly, with her hands spread wide to either side of her. But nothing was happening.
          "It didn't work!" she called from beneath the beast, but Karin just shot her a glance that told her to be quiet. Then the beast above her began to writhe in pain, and over on the pavement, Cynthia cried out and covered her ears. Around the neighborhood, dogs began barking. Erika watched as Karin's jewel began to flash faster and faster, and noticed that the weight on top of her was beginning to ease some.
          Finally, the beast let out a deafening roar and sat up on its haunches. Erika took the opportunity to scramble to her feet, and just in time as the tail came whipping around to the beasts front paws. Karin back-flipped neatly over the tail and landed beside Erika.
          "Are you alright?" she asked.
          "Yeah, except for my left arm. It's in a lot of pain." Erika held it against her abdomen, trying not to move it.
          "We'll get it taken care of. Can you get rid of this thing?"
          "Yeah," Erika gasped as she tried to straighten her arm. "I hope it works with just one hand." She pulled her tiara off of her forehead and held it just above her arm, and then mustered up as much strength as she could. Silently, she hoped it was enough.
          "Quasar Energy Incinerate!!" The purple jewel began to glow a hot white, and then a ball of energy burst from it, incinerating the cat-beast to oblivion.

          "See, you idiot! I told you there was more than just one!" Rax growled at his partner, who kept his eyes focused on the space where the youma had been. This was not good.
          "We need to speak with Saphrina," Dain replied icily. "This changes everything." An instant later, the space that the two had occupied was filled with a void blacker than the night shadows.

          When the energy had faded, and everything was once again normal, Erika turned to her new ally.           "Well, Karin," she began.
          "Looks like I'm stuck being your coach," Karin grinned.
          "Which is fine with me," Erika smiled back. "What did you say your name was? Sailor what?"
          Karin looked puzzled for a minute. "Did I? I barely remember."
          "You mean Cynthia didn't tell you?"
          "Well, no. She just gave me the ring, and I knew what to do from there," she shrugged.
          "She's Sailor Pulsar," came a weak voice a few meters away. The girls turned to see Cynthia staggering toward them, looking like she'd just been run over.
          "Cynthia, what happened?" Erika gasped, crouching to the ground to comfort the feline.
          "I forgot exactly what Sailor Pulsar is capable of," she moaned. Erika looked up at Karin in surprise.
          "What did you do?" she asked.
          "Oh no, it must have been the Ultrasonic Scream," Karin realized.
          "I didn't hear anything," Erika stood up again.
          "Neither did I. It's above our hearing range. That's why the dogs started barking. My intent was to hurt the creature's ears, but I guess I was close enough that it got Cynthia pretty good, too. Are you going to be okay?" she asked, turning to look down at the cat.
          "As soon as my ears stop ringing," Cynthia shook her head. "Until then, this is going to be one bad headache."
          "And what about you? How's your arm?" Karin turned back to Erika.
          "I don't know. It might be broken."
          "Okay, well let's get you to a doctor, and then we can talk all about this Sailor Pulsar business." Karin glanced down at her outfit. "Hmmm, it looks orange in this light. I guess that's not too bad. By the way, how do we get out of these? I didn't see where my regular clothes went."
          Erika chuckled softly, trying not to bounce her arm. "Touch the jewel on your ring."
          "But it's under the glove," Karin wiggled her right fingers.
          "Doesn't matter, it'll still work."
          "Okay," she grasped the small jewel between her left thumb and forefinger. Her outfit flashed briefly, and then she was standing in her regular clothes again. "Well, that was easy enough," she grinned, examining the ring and jewel on her right hand. "Are you going to be able to touch yours?" she asked Erika.
          Erika nodded and brought her right hand over to her left. For a brief instant, her outfit broke into two bright ribbons, and then she was standing in her regular clothes. "Much better," she sighed.
          "Okay, well let's get out of here," Karin scooped up Cynthia into her arms and the three of them headed out of the square.