Episode 27:
The Millennial Ball

     Once the three Warriors had stepped through the portal, it closed behind them, leaving them in an immense hallway. At first they thought they were stranded, but a gentle, yet familiar, voice spoke to them from the shadows.
     "Greetings Warriors Saturn, Pluto, and Universe," the voice said, "I see you are well disguised as to not alert others to your true identities."
     "Yeah, I guess so," Derek said, "but I feel so out of place."
     "Ditto," Adderson said, This is the first time I've had long hair for quite some time."
     Derek and Alex looked over to see Adderson running his fingers through feathered black hair. Alex snickered and went to play with his rat tail, only to find it gone. He immediately broke down in tears.
     "Don't worry about it," the voice said, Disguise Power alters your outward appearances, but the effects are not permanent. Once you transform, your hair will return to normal."
     "Luna?" Alex asked. From the shadows stepped a tall woman with dark, flowing hair in a style similar to Catsy's, a yellow and black floor length gown, and a crescent moon on her forehead.
     "Yes, that's me. Even without the form you know me as being, I'm the same person."
     "So, what's the reason we were summoned here?" Derek asked.
     "There is inside info that something is going to go down," Luna said, "though I was hoping for Warriors Hellfire, Arctic Chill, Thunderbolt, FireStar, and Nova." Sweat drops formed on Alex's, Adderson's, and Derek's heads.
     "Thanks for making us feel so welcome," Adderson whined sarcastically.
     "Oh Luna," another female voice called. They all turned around to see Queen Serenity running towards the group. "Luna, are these the minstrels that you told me about?"
     "Um... yes your majesty," Luna stammered, "these are... "
     "Sir Ross of the house of the stars," Adderson said, dropping to one knee.
     "Sir Mathias, of the kingdom of Saturn," Alex said, following suit.
     "And Sir James, of the kingdom of Pluto," Derek said, following the other two to one knee.
     "I'm sure you'll be perfect," Queen Serenity said, winking at the group, "Don't worry, your secret is safe. But if trouble starts, you know what to do."
     "Yes your majesty," the three said telepathically.
     "Luna, show them to the ballroom," Queen Serenity said as she trotted off, "I must find Serena."
     "Follow me," Luna said, walking down the hall. The three Warriors turned minstrels followed Luna, gazing around at their surroundings. They were in awe at the sheer size and decoration of the palace. After a few minutes they reached the grand ballroom. The minute they walked in they almost collided with Prince and Princess Venus, who were taking a turn around the floor. After saying their apologies, Luna led the three over to the rest of the princes and princesses and introduced them.
     "Ladies, gentlemen, these are some wandering minstrels whom our majesty asked to play for you," Luna said, "These are Sir Ross, from the house of stars; Sir Mathias, from the kingdom of Saturn; and Sir James, of the kingdom of Pluto."
     "Pleased to meet you," everyone said. Just then Prince Saturn leapt to his feet and exclaimed, "I gotta perform right now!"
     "Need some accompaniment?" Alex asked.
     "Sure. A saxophone / oboe duet would be awesome!"
     The two walked to center stage, where Prince Saturn was handed a brilliant gold - toned saxophone with little violet jewels on the bell which formed the symbol of Saturn. He took it in hand and Alex whispered to him, "Follow my lead."
     "What are you going to play?" Prince Saturn asked.
     "Trust me. You'll know when you hear it."
     He put his oboe to his lips and began to play "Love Will Be Our Guide". Once he finished the first stanza, Prince Saturn played the solo second stanza. They then played the third stanza together. Once they finished the piece they took a bow and received a standing ovation. Alex motioned for Adderson to come up on stage and whispered in his ear, "Kefka's Theme". He then turned to the audience and said, "And now, for your listening enjoyment, a Saxophone, Oboe, and Flute trio."
     As Adderson was about to press the flute to his lips, the doors burst open and in filed a large platoon of Negaverse soldiers. The three Warriors turned minstrels dove behind the stage and waited to see what would happen.
     "Protect the princesses at all cost!" Prince Jupiter shouted, drawing a long sword and charging towards the soldiers.
     "Right!" the other princes shouted, drawing assorted weapons. They then rushed at the Negaverse soldiers, only to get thrown back into the crowd. The princesses then rushed to the front line.
     "Mercury Bubbles... Blast!"
     "Mars Fire... Ignite!"
     "Jupiter Thunder Crash!"
     "Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"
     "World Shaking!"
     "Deep Submerge!"
     "Dead Scream."
     "Death Ribbon Revolution!"
     The attacks felled many soldiers, but the princesses were eventually overcome with exhaustion and had to withdraw from the fight. The soldiers then surrounded the royalty and many of the guests, taking them hostage. From their viewpoint the three Warriors turned minstrels could see this and they decided it was time to fight back. They produced their transformation items and waited.
     "On three we jump," Alex said.
     "Ok," Adderson and Derek nodded.
     "Ready? Steady. Three!!"
     The three leapt into the air, their power items above their heads. They shouted their transformation phrases and powered up.
     "Saturn Super Nova Power!"
     "Universe Life Power!"
     "Pluto Nova Power!"
     "TRANSFORM!"
     There were three flashes of light and from that came Super Warrior Saturn, Warrior Universe, and Warrior Pluto. They landed on the stage, all striking dramatic poses.
     "You had better take a hike," Warrior Saturn said, "Otherwise, prepare to fight. I'm Warrior Saturn and on behalf of these lovely ladies I'll punish you!"
     "I'm Warrior Pluto, and on behalf of the powers of time I'll turn the clock back on you!"
     "I'm Warrior Universe and I'll use the powers of the cosmos to vanquish you!"
     "Saturn!"
     "Pluto!"
     "Universe!"
     "STAR WARRIORS!"
     "Wha... who?!" the soldiers stammered. The three Warriors fell over when they heard this.
     "Prepare to get your butts kicked!" Princess Mars said.
     "Yeah," Princess Jupiter said, "You're heading for a fall!"
     "How so?" one of the soldiers asked.
     "You'll see," Warrior Saturn said, "Ring Shot!"
     A mass of flame rings flew through the air and slammed into the soldier's chest. Everyone turned to see Warrior Saturn, who was collecting ice energy in one fist and lightning into the other fist. Warrior Saturn then shouted, "Ring Shot!" again, punching both fists forward and releasing two types of rings, which first electrocuted the soldiers, then froze them in solid blocks of ice. Once this was done, more soldiers rushed forward and proceeded to attack the three Warriors.
     "Gravity Wave!"
     "Chronos Cyclone!"
     "Shockwave Slash!"
     The three attacks mowed down some soldiers while lifting others into the air. Once the soldiers were out of commission, the guardians of Princess Mars used their combined powers to send the soldiers back to the Negaverse. Once the ballroom was cleaned up, the assorted princes and princesses began to question the warriors.
     "Who are you guys?" Princess Mercury asked.
     "We're from the future," Adderson said.
     "We're the Star Warriors," Alex said, "the male counterparts to the Sailor Senshi."
     "Which means you would have our spirits inside of you," Prince Neptune said.
     "Yup," Derek said, looking at Prince Pluto, "we actually look a bit like you."
     "No kidding," Prince Pluto said, looking Derek over, "But I don't think I would have dyed my hair that brilliant shade of blond." A sweat drop formed on Derek's head.
     "How did you get here?" Princess Serena asked, stepping forward.
     "I can answer that," Luna said, stepping out of the shadows with Artemis at her side.
     "Luna, you have something to do with this?" Serena asked, turning to her guardian.
     "Yes princess, I'm afraid so. Your mother asked me to bring some Warriors from the future here in case the Negaverse attacked."
     "And the queen wanted Warriors Hellfire, FireStar, Thunderbolt, Arctic Chill, and Nova," Artemis added. Luna elbowed him in the ribs.
     "They ended up with us," Adderson said, "We were at the beach when the portal opened."
     "Which was after I gained my Super Warrior power up," Alex said. A mass of gasps came from the crowd. "What's going on?"
     "You're a Super Star Warrior?" Princess Mars asked.
     "You could say that."
     "And you are going to receive yours right now," Queen Serenity said, stepping to the head of the crowd. She gave Derek and Adderson some new transformation pens, similar to Alex's, with stars surrounding their symbols.
     "Warrior Pluto, Warrior Universe, shout the phrases I tell you to and you'll gain your Super Warrior transformations.
     "For Pluto it's Pluto Super Nova Power.
     "For Universe it's Universe Rebirth Power.
    "Now, shout your phrases and transform to gain your full and rightful powers."
     "Universe Rebirth POWER!"
     "Pluto Super Nova POWER!"
     Adderson's armor melted away and his body glowed and shimmered black and gold. A cloud of cosmic dust formed behind him, igniting and exploding in a brilliant flash of light. From the explosion stepped Super Warrior Universe, clad in jet black armor with gold accents, black and gold gauntlets, jet black baggy slacks, and black leather boots with gold highlights. On his back rested a scabbard of black leather with golden wire work and a black and gold strap. On his hip rested a dagger of gold and silver in a smaller scabbard of the same style of the larger one. In his hand he held the gravity blade - a long sword of silver and black with a hilt of gold, silver, and black and a light green jewel in the end. In his left ear rested three earrings, all gold hoops with silver stones set in them.
     Derek's armor melted away and his body shimmered black and garnate red. Dark ribbons of energy wrapped around his arms, chest, legs, and feet. There was an explosion of light and from that stepped Super Warrior Pluto, clad in garnate red armor with black and gold accents, black, gold, and red gauntlets, jet black baggy slacks, and black boots with garnate and gold accents. On his hip rested a scabbard of red and black leather with gold and silver metal working. Inside the scabbard rested the Plutonium blade, which was a medium sized sword which consisted of a silver blade with a gold and black hilt and garnate jewels set into the hilt guard. He held his staff in his right hand, his left hand behind his back. In his left ear rested a gold hoop and a ruby stud; in his right ear rested only a ruby stud.
     "Holy crap!" Alex exclaimed, "Your armor is keen gear!"
     "Wow," Derek and Adderson exclaimed as they looked at themselves, "This armor rocks!"
     Just as they said that their visors automatically materialized, signaling them to trouble by displaying outside energy readings. They looked the displays over, then motioned for the others to follow them outside. They, along with the princesses, exited the castle at a dead run and confronted Queen Beryl and a large part of her army of darkness.
     "Well, well, well," Queen Beryl said, "the ditzy blond brings in some good looking and quite powerful outside help. I hear they bested a good portion of my elite guard."
     "And we're going to stop you from destroying this place," Adderson said, drawing his sword and holding it so the hilt was about level with his nose.
     "Who might you be? I've never seen anyone dressed like you before."
     "I'm Warrior Saturn," Alex said, "And on behalf of the ringed planet I'll kick your butt into oblivion!"
     "I'm Warrior Pluto," Derek said, "and I'm going to turn back the hands of time on you and your army of darkness."
     "I'm Warrior Universe," Adderson said, "and I'll make it so you were never created!"
     "Such petty speeches," Beryl said, mimicking a yawn, "Really, I have no time for you three." she added, waving her hand and creating a force wave which knocked the three onto their butts and against the steps. The princesses ran to the front of the line, each changing from their ball gowns to their Sailor uniforms.
     "Prepare to run," Princess Mars shouted to the Warriors.
     "What?" Alex exclaimed, a little puzzled by what Mars had just said.
     "Don't argue," Princess Jupiter said, "Just do it."
     "Yeah," Princess Saturn said, "We'll cover you."
     "If you're sure you can handle it," Derek said, "Let's make like a fetus and head out!"
     The three Warriors ran inside the palace, charging head long into Luna and Artemis as they entered. They turned around to see the princesses battling Beryl's army and vanquishing them without much trouble. The Warriors turned back to Luna and Artemis and Alex said, "I think the princesses can take care of themselves if they work together."
     "You're absolutely right," Artemis said, "the girls are something else when they work together. Alone they're strong, but together they're practically unstoppable."
     "As they should be," Queen Serenity said, "You have shown them how easy it is to overcome your troubles when you work together."
     "Can we go back to our own time now?" Derek asked.
     "Yes, you may. Luna, open the portal please."
     Luna waved her hand and a gateway opened, the beach the three Warriors had left earlier appearing on the other side. The three bowed to the queen, Luna, and Artemis before stepping through the gateway. Once they were safely on the other side it closed and sealed shut.
     "Well, we're back," Alex said, yawning and stretching in the sun which beat down on them.
     "How do you think they fared?" Derek asked.
     "Pretty well, I'd say," Adderson said. The other two turned to see that Adderson was watching some sort of transmission on his visor. "Tune your visors to setting 7 22."  Derek and Alex did so and they viewed an image of Queen Serenity, Luna, Artemis, and the princes and princesses.
     "Greetings Star Warriors," Queen Serenity said, "If you're wondering how the battle went, we won." She then gave a little victory sign, which the other people with her mimicked. "Give our best to the future Sailor Soldiers and Warriors. This is Queen Serenity and her court signing off."
     "Cool beans," Alex said as the transmission ended. The minute he said that, though, his visor, along with the visors of the other two, began to pick up some evil energy readings.
     "Shit!" Derek said when he saw the power readings, "Another big bug!"
     "And this one's attacking the van," Adderson said, "The girls are NOT going to be happy about this."
     "Let's go and kick that bug into another dimension," the three said before they teleported. They reappeared a couple seconds later on top of the van, each striking a dramatic pose before drawing their weapons and attacking the attacker.
     "Silence Glaive Justify!"
     "Death Slash!"
     "Phoenix Strike!"
     Alex's attack struck the bug with an energy shockwave, which hurled it halfway across the parking lot. Derek's attack, though being a dark power which used his sword, drained the bug's energy to a near fatal level while somewhat recharging the three Warriors. Adderson's energy attack took on the shape of a phoenix, which struck the bug and burned it to a cinder. With the bug gone the three teleported back onto the beach, reverted back to their mortal forms, then returned to the university, where they continued to be bored. But now three of the Warriors had their super power ups, with more yet to receive theirs.

To be continued...
<on to next episode?>