It was a relatively boring Saturday on campus and Alex West was making the most of it by catching up on sleep. Later on he officially got up for the day and decided to do his laundry. On his way past the men’s room he stopped to admire himself in the mirror.
     “Man, I am totally styling,” he said to himself as he scoped himself out in his favorite Philadelphia Eagles T-shirt, baggy black wind pants, and black sneakers, “I’m definitely sporty.” he then made his way to the stairwell. The minute he opened the door he heard Asuka’s voice.
     “Oh Alex, it’s terrible!” she cried, leaping down the remaining stairs into Alex’s arms.
     ‘The last time I heard that it was about Mina’s pimple,’ he thought to himself, “What’s wrong Asuka?”
     “It’s horrible! It’s horrendous!”
     “What is it? Did an angel destroy part of campus? Did a fire break out in Central Dogma? Are you pregnant with Kaworu’s child?”
     Asuka gave Alex a dirty look for the last remark, then replied, “No, it’s worse than all of those.”
     “Well, what’s so horrible?”
     “The cable’s out and Saturday anime is about to begin!”
     A large sweat drop formed on Alex’s head. He sighed and asked, “What’s on this week’s edition?”
     “They’re showing Slayers volume one and I haven’t seen it yet!”
     “I think Drew has that one on tape,” Alex sighed, “he’s up on the ninth floor.”
     “And just HOW do YOU know he has it?”
     “Because I borrowed that tape from him before I borrowed the other tapes from my friend Tom.”
     Just then three of Alex’s floor mates burst through the door, knocking Alex and Asuka down. Alex leapt to his feet and whipped around, righteous indignation in his eyes. He pointed at his floor mates and chanted the words to a spell.
     “Deliver oh winds at my command the power of lightning into my hand. Digger VOLT!”
     A lightning bolt flew from his hand, striking the trio and zapping them with enough power to power half of the hall. the trio collapsed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, smoking rising from their bodies.
     “Woah,” Asuka gasped, “where did you lean that spell?”
     “I haven’t got a clue,” Alex said, a little startled by what he had just done, “I think I picked that one up from Slayers star Lina Inverse.”
     Asuka groaned at his reply, said, “Whatever. I’m audi!” and took off up the stairs, leaving Alex once again to his own activities.

     Later that day Alex was napping peacefully when his communicator started pinging. He rolled over and hit the snooze button. A couple of minutes later the communicator pinged again. This time he hit answer call and then end before rolling over to go back to sleep. A couple of minutes later the communicator pinged again, three buttons glowing this time. He rolled over, picked up the communicator, and answered the call. He was immediately hit with a long string of obscenities from three people.
     “Dammit Alex, what’s the big idea of hanging up when there’s an emergency?!” Asuka bellowed
     “What’s wrong now?” Alex asked through a yawn, “I was taking a nap.”
     “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?! We’re being invaded by aliens and all you can ask is ‘What’s wrong?’!!”
     “We’re being attacked by aliens?” Alex repeated. When the cobwebs finally cleared from his mind he exclaimed, “Why didn’t you say that we were being invaded in the first place?!”
     “Calm down there A-ko,” Drew said, “we’re safe for the moment. People are keeping to their rooms.”
     “Actually they’re in stasis lock,” a mysterious voice said. A ghostly sort of woman appeared in Alex’s room, solidifying into a woman with waist length blue - black hair pulled up in a top knot, red - violet eyes, and a tall and thin frame. She was dressed in jeans, sneakers, a T-shirt, and a tight denim jacket.
     “Who... are you?” Alex asked, backing up to the door.
     “I’m Aurora Rama, a.k.a. Sailor Ceres,” the girl said, blowing a stray lock of hair from her face, “pleased to meet you, Warrior Saturn.”
     “Oy la bamba,” Alex sighed. He opened his door and immediately came face to face with one of the aliens. The creature roared, slobber covering Alex's face. Alex backed up, gagging with revulsion, and began to incant another spell.
     “Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows. Buried in the flow of time. In thy great name let those who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess. Dragon SLAVE!”
     A large energy globe formed around Alex’s hands, which he hurled towards the alien. The globe exploded into an energy bolt that caught the alien in the chest and sent the disgusting creature hurtling down the hall and into the door of room 117. When the smoke cleared Aurora and Alex could see blood splattered all over the wall and a large hole in the alien’s chest.
     “Do you think it’s dead?” Alex asked, walking over to the alien.
     “I don’t think you should do that,” Aurora said.
     “Why not? Don’t you think the Dragon Slave spell killed it?”
     The alien’s eyes snapped open and it growled, a clawed hand moving towards Alex. Alex gathered some energy into a sphere and chanted a spell while backing away.
     “Source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson flame. Let thy power gather in my hand. Fire... BALL!”
     He hurled the energy sphere at the alien. The fireball expanded and struck the alien in the chest before exploding, destroying the alien and covering part of the hall in blood.
     “You just HAD to do that, didn’t you?!” Aurora snarled, her face flushing bright red.
     “Yup,” Alex said, a half assed grin on his face. He took on a more serious tone and asked, “How many more of those things are on campus?”
     “Last I heard from surveillance and Central Control, they numbered in the 20’s and 30’s, but they multiply fast.”
     Alex groaned before taking out his communicator and activating it. “Alex to all Warriors and Sailor Soldiers on campus or within teleport range. We have a code red emergency. Repeat; code red emergency. There are between 20 and 40 aliens on campus, but there might be a lot more. Requesting backup. Repeat; Send backup!”
     “Alex, what the hell is up with aliens or angels always invading or visiting on Saturday?!” Asuka bellowed over the communicator.
     “Asuka, you wouldn’t happen to have any firearms in those boxes of yours, would you?”
     “I’m sure I have a few stored away. Why?”
     “Lock and load,” Aurora said, “these things are nasty and considered very dangerous.”
     “And make sure Drew has a gun or two,” Alex added.
     “All right. Asuka out.”
     Once Asuka signed off Alex looked to Aurora, who had her transformation pen in hand. Aurora nodded as Alex hoisted his right hand to the sky. They then transformed.
     “Star Crystal Power!”
     “Ceres Cosmic Power!”
     Once the pair transformed Alex took an instrument the size and shape of a pocket sized video game system from behind his back. He flipped back the front to reveal the smaller holographic screen and assorted buttons. He punched a couple of these buttons and an electronic blueprint of the dorm appeared on the screen, spiraling around on its axis until they had a side view of all of the floors, including the basement.
     “Whatcha doing?” Sailor Ceres asked, peeking over Saturn’s shoulder.
     “Utilizing the blueprints of the building to track the aliens in the dorm.”
     As he said that several red blips appeared, each one moving through the floors. “A-hah! I knew it. There’s one on each floor in each tower.”
     “Plus it looks like a nest in the basement.”
     “Which means a new queen to deal with.”
     “We’ll fix that when we get to it.”
     Just then Alex’s floor mates Adam and Joe stuck their heads out of their doors and bellowed, “Murph! Talk to me!” Saturn blew smoke from his nostrils and as Tim, a.k.a. Murph, stuck his head out of his door to reply he was met by Saturn’s icy stare and a flare arrow aimed at his face.
     “Say anything and I will make sure you end up being dinner for the aliens who are currently infesting the building. My advice would be to keep silent, keep to your room, and take a nap.”
     “Umm...” Tim stammered, trying to figure the best course of action.
     “Tough choice, isn’t it? Personally I don’t much care if you live or die. You and those others really annoy me and I’m jut getting sick of it. But I’m sworn to protect the innocent, even though you’re not so innocent, so just go into your room, lock the door, and hide under the bed, O.K..”
     Tim groaned and retreated into his room to take Saturn’s advice. Joe and Adam, upon being met by silence, bellowed, “TALK TO ME!”
     “I’ll talk to you,” Saturn said as he leapt from the side hallway and hurled a fireball at Joe, sending him out the somewhat newly repaired window. He then whipped around and hurled another fireball at Adam, sending him through the door at the end of the hall and into the wall in the elevator lobby.
     “That wasn’t very nice,” Ceres said, stepping out of the bike closet.
     “They had it coming for a while,” Saturn said, shrugging and sighing, “besides, I only used half of my normal power.”
     “You’re not going to turn into Dark Warrior Saturn again, are you?”
     “Nope, which is good since I can’t stand that guy.”
     Just then a loud growl came from the hallways around them. The pair turned to see some aliens making their way towards them, jaws open, saliva dripping, and claws raking against the concrete blocks that made up the walls.
     “Looks like it’s time for action once again,” Saturn said, charging up for a Fireball. From outside came a couple of battle cries.
     “Orion’s Spear!”
     “Comet Shot!”
     Energy spears crashed through the window in the opposite side hall, striking the alien and burning it to a cinder in an explosion of light and heat. The lava dagger flew through the window that Joe had crashed through and struck the alien, vaporizing it instantly. The dagger clanged to the ground after the alien was destroyed, smoke issuing from where it lay. Following their attacks were Warriors Orion and Ganymede, both wondering why the aliens were attacking.
     “Why the hell are these... THINGS... back?” Warrior Orion asked.
     “I’m wondering the same thing,” Warrior Ganymede said, retrieving his dagger.
     “I have no idea,” Saturn said, shrugging, “but they’re breeding in the basement.”
     From the stairway came the sounds of laser fire, cursing, and bodies tumbling down stairs. A couple of moments later Asuka and Drew burst through the door, guns blazing. Green blood sprayed from the doorway as several more aliens bit the dust.
     “Die you bastards!” Asuka screamed, both barrels blazing, her eyes narrow slits, a slightly sardonic grin on her face. When she was sure the beast was dead she released the triggers, blew smoke from the barrels, and holstered them on her back, a massive grin on her face.
     “Did you enjoy that?” Warrior Orion asked, crossing his arms, his left eyebrow arching.
     “Yup,” Asuka said, giving a victory sign. Saturn, Ceres, and Ganymede fell over.
     “We killed about ten on our way down,” Drew said, “and there are still more coming up the stairs.”
     “Or so they think,” Saturn said, reaching into a pouch and pulling out a handful of capsules marked ULT. He kicked open the door and hurled the capsules in. When the capsules shattered the Ultima spell was released. The familiar blue energy domes struck the aliens and destroyed them instantly. Unfortunately the aliens were hatching faster than the warriors could keep up with, and that meant trouble.
     “We’re out numbered!” Orion exclaimed as the group fell back to the windows, an army of aliens filling the hallway.
     “We’re going to need a LOT of backup,” Saturn said, taking out his communicator and punching all of the emergency buttons for the Warriors and Sailor Soldiers.

     At boot camp the wrist mounted communicators belonging to Adderson Martin and Bethany Starling pinged. Since they were in the middle of helping each other with sit ups Bethany answered the call. Once they were briefed on their mission they slinked away to the shadows and transformed before teleporting to the university.

     In NERV’s Central Dogma the pager belonging to Ariel Nagasi pinged. She adjusted her uniform and stepped into the hall before pulling out her cel phone and tuning it to a special frequency. Once she was filled in on what was going on she asked Maya and Makoto to keep an eye on things while she stepped out for a bit. She ducked into an elevator where she transformed and teleported to the university.

     All over campus and in other campuses and towns communicators pinged, beeped, and rang. Those who owned the communicators ducked into closets, bathrooms, etc. and answered the call. Once they had their mission they explained to their bosses, dates, etc. how something of critical importance came up and they would get back to them later. These people then ducked outside and transformed before heading off to vanquish evil yet again.

     Outside of the dorm where Alex, Drew, and Asuka resided more Warriors and Sailor Soldiers appeared with the smaller group.
     “Is this absolutely necessary?” Sailors Phobos and Deimos asked in unison, “We were on a hot date with a pair of cute guys.”
     “We need your powerful attacks,” Sailor Ceres said in a tone to make anyone’s ego swell, “the shock wave and tornado will be helpful against these aliens.”
     Just then one of the beasts leapt towards the window, only to collide with another fireball. The fireball exploded, coating the hall in more alien blood. Alex turned back to the group, a bigass grin on his face. “Now that you’ve seen what you’re up against, think you can take them out?”
     “I don’t know about that,” Warrior Europa said, “they seem pretty tough.”
     Asuka groaned and said, “Will you guys act like men. Don’t give up before the fight begins. Look at us! We’re dainty little girls and we’re still fighting!” All of the warriors fell over a moment later.
     “Go figure,” Sailor Pallas said, “men.... I’ll never figure them out.”
     At that moment several aliens leapt from the roof. As they dove some met a fiery doom thanks to Warrior Hellfire’s boomerang attack. A couple of others got a kick from Warrior Thunderbolt’s Thunderball power and Warrior FireStar’s star laser. Unfortunately they missed a couple, which touched down and made tracks towards Sailor Ceres.
     When Sailor Ceres saw the aliens charging towards her she screamed loud enough to cause glass to reverberate. Everyone within earshot turned to see her pinned against a tree, the aliens tearing at her fuku.
     “Leave her alone you pervert!” Asuka bellowed, pulling the guns from the holsters and unloading thirty rounds of high density ammo into the back of one of the aliens. The alien turned around, stooped down, and roared into Asuka’s face. Asuka stared into the alien’s eyes, raised the gun in her right hand, and pulled the trigger. The alien’s head exploded, splattering brains and other parts of the anatomy all of the ground.
     At this point an alien dropped down behind Asuka, wrapped its arms around her, and leapt in through a fourth story window with the now screaming Asuka in tow.
     “Asuka!” Drew and Alex shouted.
     “Alex! Drew! HELP!” Asuka screamed, her voice trailing off as the alien ran away with its prize.
     “Looks like we have another mission,” Adderson said, “destroy the aliens first and rescue Asuka second.”
     “Asuka can handle herself,” Derek said.
     “Plus she can kick some ass if she needs to,” Andrew added.
     “So where the hell do we start looking for our targets?” Rachel asked.
     “First we need to pinpoint where there are heavy concentrations of aliens,” Ami said, activating her computer and visor. Once she had all of the coordinate data she shut down the visor. “O.K., here’s the breakdown. Alex, Adderson, Jason, Drew, Dennis, Dan, and James stay in this area and find some way to destroy the queen. Derek, Rich, Matt Heath, May, Nicole, Crystal, Jess, and Cathy are to take the mini dorms and the train tracks. Bryan, Michelle, Tod, Steve Huff, Alison, Alyssa, and Dorrie are to hold down fort at the field house. Matt Emmerton, Steve Young, Ryan, Dave, Susana, and John Lynn are stationed down by A-lot and the gym. Nate, Nick, Jack, Josh, Darren, John Kersey, Ariel, Jordan, and Aurora are to be positioned out towards Fraternity Row. Jubilee, Roxy, Bethany, Mina, Lita, Alexandra, and Rei Hino are to take the woods. Lizz, Jenn, Serena, Mike, Juliet, Joss, Tony, and Lydia will take the north half of campus. Brad, Rachel, Justin, Doug, Chris, Eddie, Ana, and Ryan Trombi are to take the southern half of campus. I’ll stay here and feed you coordinate data as I get it.”
     “Right!” everyone said, breaking into their groups and taking off for their positions. the real mission was about to begin.

     Team one consisted of Alison, Alyssa, Dorrie, Bryan, Michelle, Tod, and Steve Huff, who took up their position at the field house. Across the street they could barely make out the forms of team two, which consisted of Matt Emmerton, Steve Young, Ryan Shackett, Dave, Susana, and John Lynn. Each person in team two gave team one the thumbs up sign, and team one returned the salute.
     “Come in team one. Do you copy? Over.”
     “Yeah Ami, we read you,” Alison said, “what are the coordinates of our targets? Over.”
     “Team one, your targets are five hybrid aliens within the field house structure.”
     “Repeat that Mercury,” Steve said.
     “There are five hybrid aliens in the building. According to the info I downloaded about the ones who took Asuka they’re intelligent enough to single out the weaker members of your group and pick them off, therefore weakening the whole.”
     “We’ll avoid them at all possible costs,” Tod said, unclipping his whip from his belt.
     “O.K.. Report in once you have finished your objective,” Ami said, “Mercury out.”
     Once the transmission ended each of the members of team one activated their ear mounted communicators and drew their weapons. They then opened the doors and entered the field house.
     “This place is big,” Dorrie commented.
     “And dark,” Alison added as the doors slammed shut behind them.
     “And scary,” Alyssa added, fear tingeing her voice.
     “Everyone, hold still,” Tod said. Once everyone was still he flailed his whip about, the stars glowing and shedding light on the area around them. He cracked his whip forward, the stars spreading in an outward pattern. There was a sickening THWACK as the razor sharp blades buried themselves in something thick. He drew back, the whip coiling in his hands and the thing the whip found falling to the ground before them with an audible THUMP. Steve took a dagger from a small scabbard on his right hip, the blade glowing and shedding light on the area. What they saw before them was horrific.
     On the ground before them lay the body of one of the hybrid super aliens. As they viewed the extra large body they gasped in horror. The head wasn’t the usual size - it was smaller and had a more human face. The body was taller and more human and the tail was very small, almost non existent. The smell of the creature was enough the make the group gag.
     “Think we got it?” Alyssa asked.
     “I don’t know,” Bryan said, poking the creature with his pike, “I think we did, but I can’t be sure.”
     “I’ll make sure we got it,” Steve said, handing the glowing blade to Tod. He then held his hands, palms together, energy crackling around his fingers. A small sphere formed between his palms, quickly growing to the size of a softball, then to the size of a volleyball. Steve shouted, “Thunderball!” before slamming the sphere against the alien. the body shook as the electricity ran through its body, then the body bulged out, the smell of burning flesh filling the air. Once the body stopped vibrating the group looked at the barely recognizable remains of the alien body, wisps of smoke curling towards the ceiling. Steve crossed his arms and shook his head defiantly at the body.
     “Now I’m sure we got it,” Steve said, taking his dagger back from Tod.
     “Where are the rest of the aliens?” Michelle asked.
     “Let’s see,” Tod said, taking a mini computer similar to Alex’s from his belt. He flipped back the top and a blueprint of the field house spiraled onto the screen, stopping at the top view. Four red dots appeared on the screen, all centered in a large area, which the blueprint read as the gymnasium.
     “According to these readings the aliens are in a fairly concentrated area,” Tod said, “meaning we could probably take them out in a couple of attacks.”
     The group took a couple more steps and the lights around the gym began to click on. Steve resheathed his sword and struck a battle stance. Tod, Bryan, and all of the Sailor Soldiers also struck battle stances. From the balcony above dropped one of the aliens, ready for some easy prey. Everyone except for Steve, who stood ready to defend himself, moved out of the way. Steve braced himself and caught the alien by the forearms, the sheer momentum driving the duo through the floor and into the ground.
     From inside of the crater came some human shouts of pain, followed by some screams from the alien. There was a brilliant flash of light before smoke poured from the hole. From the smoke stepped Steve, three massive gashes in his left cheek and others in his armor’s chest plate.
     “They’re gonna pay for what their friend did to me!” Steve snarled, forming an orb of electrical energy between his hands, “Thunderball!”
     He hurled the sphere at the aliens, who managed to dodge the attack with ease. Steve twitched his fingers and the orb boomeranged around, barely missing the wall and following the aliens like a heat seeking missile. The aliens stood by a wall, and when the orb zoomed in to obliterate them, they leapt into the air. The orb struck the wall and exploded, opening a hole to the outside.
     “Damn,” Steve cursed, “how can anything move that fast?!”
     “Wake up Steve!” Dorrie shouted, her wind whip forming in her hands, “Wind Whip!”
     She brought the tornado down, striking one of the aliens across the back of the head, breaking its neck instantly. The body continued towards Alyssa, who shrieked in horror before blasting the body with her shockwave attack. The body exploded, spraying the opposite wall of the room with blood, insides, skin, and bone. The second alien, upon seeing the first one destroyed, charged towards Alyssa. It leapt through the air, only to wind up impaled on the end of Bryan’s pike.
     “Hello there,” Bryan said sarcastically to the snarling beast on the end of his pike, “Fancy meeting you here. Good-bye!”
     Bryan leapt into the air, holding his pike to the sky. Once he reached the apex of his jump he swung his weapon downward, sending the angry alien hurtling towards the floor.
     “Deimos Tornado Strike!”
     Alison’s tornado caught the alien just inches from the ground and hurled it skyward. One the alien’s second trip down Michelle took out her deep aqua mirror and pointed it at the alien.
     “Submarine Reflection!”
     A generous stream of water poured from the mirror, striking the alien and sending it flying across the room and ultimately pressing it against a wall, the pressure holding it in stasis. Bryan pointed at the floor beneath the alien, a circle of energy glowing beneath the alien.
     “Magma Strike!”
     Bryan turned his hand palm up and lifted his hand towards the ceiling. The glow beneath the alien increased in intensity until it exploded in a geyser of lava and energy, burning the alien to a cinder and destroying what remained. Once the attack ceased, Michelle broke off her attack and put her mirror away. They then regrouped to see what to do next.
     “Did we get all of them?” Dorrie asked.
     “I got one, Steve got another, and we just vaporized two more,” Tod said, “and Ami said there were five of them, so that leaves one.”
     “Where is it then?” Alyssa asked.
     From above them came an unnatural screaming. The group looked to the ceiling in time to see the fifth alien release from its hand hold and plummet to the ground.
     “Not again,” Tod groaned, pointing towards the alien, his index finger glowing, “Fireball.”
     The alien burst into flames shortly before crashing head - first into the floor. The rest of the group looked at Tod with inquisitive looks.
     “How did you do that?” Dorrie asked.
     “I have no idea,” Tod said, shrugging.
     “Well, we finished our task,” Steve said, activating his communicator, “Ami, this is team one. We have completed our mission objective. What now?”
     “Team one, this is Mercury. Maintain position until the other teams check in. Mercury out.”
     The group, after hearing Mercury’s instructions, sat around the flaming carcass, took out some marshmallows, and roasted them while singing campfire songs.

     “Group two, come in. I have some information for you.”
     “We read you Ami,” John said, “the rest of the group is here also,” he added, looking t Matt Emmerton, Steve Young, Ryan Shackett, Dave, and Susana, who were sitting around, all bored out of their minds.
     “The information is regarding your targets.”
     The minute she mentioned the possibility of action, everyone was on their feet and gathered around John.
     “What’s up with our targets?” Matt asked.
     “Your targets are five hybrid and five battle class aliens,” Ami replied, “uploading all available data to your computers. Once you have neutralized targets maintain position until the other groups check in. Mercury out.”
     Once they broke connection, each person produced their weapons and prepared to move in. They charged at the revolving door, only to collide face first with it. They backed off to try the other doors, only to find all of them locked.
     “We need a way in,” John said.
     “I’ll bust us in,” Ryan said, a small red brown bubble forming in the palm of his hand, “Nitro Bubbles Blast!”
     He pitched the bubble forward, causing it to expand in size and explode into many other bubbles, which struck the windows and doors, shattering them instantly. Once the smoke cleared the group entered the gym area and were immediately attacked by three of the hybrid aliens. The three beasts roared before one charged headlong at them, one split off to the left, and the third split off to the right.
     “Ally OOP!” Susana said, vaulting over the charging alien. The alien, unable to stop in time, slammed head first into a support beam. “Damn, that has GOT to hurt!”
     The alien backed away from the support beam, turned around, and fell over on its back, its legs in the air. Susana decided to put the poor beast out of its misery.
     “Dead Scream.”
     The energy orb struck the alien and vaporized it instantly. Susana then turned around in time to see the other two aliens advancing upon her. She screamed in horror, holding her staff before her body to protect herself. Seconds before the aliens would collide with her, Matt and Steve leapt in front of her and attacked.
     “Flaming Fissure!”
     “Mars Flame Sniper!”
     Matt slammed his axe into the ground, opening a fissure. Flames and magma spewed from the crack, burning one alien to a crisp. the alien dropped into the fissure before it sealed over. Steve, on the other hand, drew back the string on his flame bow, an arrow of fire forming. He released the arrow, which struck the second alien in the shoulder. The second alien was quickly engulfed in flame and dropped to the floor, dead.
     “Scratch three targets,” John said, perking his head up as a heavily armored alien dropped from the rafters to the ground before them. The alien possessed a heavier build than the other aliens, with foot long spikes on each shoulder, a tail with a two edged blade attached to the end, and seven inch claws on each hand. The alien snarled and whipped around, aiming the tail for John’s head. John managed to block with his gauntlets, cursing as a couple of jewels shattered from the impact.
     “Must be one of the new aliens,” Dave said as an antenna extended from his left gauntlet, “Jupiter Plasma Bolt Chain!”
     A thunderbolt struck the antenna, forming an energy whip. He cracked the whip, striking the alien in the back and shocking it with 10,000 volts of energy. When the alien turned it attention to Dave, John produced his lance and pointed it at the alien.
     “Arctic Winds!”
     The end of the lance glowed a brilliant blue before the freezing cold winds of the arctic tundra were unleashed on the alien, freezing it solid in a matter of seconds. Once the new alien was frozen, John took out his computer and scanned the image into the database. He also added all known info about the battle tactics of the alien. Once this was finished he turned to Dave and said, “Blow it up.”
     “With pleasure,” Dave said, the antenna extending from his gauntlet once again, “Sparkling Wide Pressure!”
     The thunderbolt struck the frozen alien, shattering it into thousands of pieces. Each piece shattered to dust, which was blown away by some unseen wind. The Warriors and lone sailor soldier reorganized their thoughts in time to see two more aliens, one hybrid, one warrior class, go their separate ways, the warrior going to the hockey rink, the hybrid going to the gym.
     “Do you think we’re being set up?” Ryan asked, puzzled at the aliens behavior.
     “Fairly good possibility,” Steve said, “unfortunately we have no choice but to split our forces and go after them.”
     “Which means three on three and three on three,” Susana said, “those arena's odds I enjoy thinking about, considering our enemies.”
     “Ryan and I will take the hockey rink,” Dave said, “you four take care of the ones in the gym.”
     “You sure you can handle them?” Matt asked.
     “Yeah, of course,” Ryan said, turning to enter the rink.
     “I’m coming with you,” Steve said, “you might need someone who knows how to play with fire.”
     “Welcome aboard,” Dave said as Steve caught up to them. Dave turned to the other three and said, “Good luck.”
     “Thanks,” Susana said sarcastically as she, John, and Matt turned to enter the gym.
     As soon as Dave, Steve, and Ryan entered the hockey arena they knew there was going to be trouble. Out on the ice sat one of the warrior class aliens. Flanking the rink on each side were two other warrior class aliens. The three aliens looked at the warriors and simultaneously sneered.
     “I don’t think they like us,” Steve said, drawing his flame bow and notching a golden arrow. As he drew back the arrow, the arrowhead burst into flames. He took careful aim and released. The arrow soared through the air and struck the alien on the left flank in the left shoulder, the momentum driving the shaft into the alien’s shoulder clear to the flights. The alien screamed in pain as the energy stored in the arrow exploded and tore its body to pieces. Blood and guts sprayed everywhere, leaving the other two aliens to gasp and roar in horror.
     “Haha, dusted!” Steve cheered, jumping for joy. He quickly changed his tune when the alien on the right flank leapt through the air and landed on the back of the other. A black, mysterious fog formed around the pair. Through the fog the three warriors could barely make out the merging of the bodies. There was blinding flash of light and from the fog stepped the improved alien, with two heads, four arms, four legs, a HUGE body, and a twin set of tails, each equipped with the deadly blades.
     “Oh crap!” Ryan exclaimed as the alien leapt from the ice in their direction.
     “We’re toast!” Dave said as he dove to the ground.
     “I doubt it,” Steve said, leaping off to the side. He continued to leap until he was over the ice. A set of skates appeared on the bottom of his boots as he dropped to the ice. Once he was on the ice he produced his flame bow, notched a golden arrow, and drew back the, the arrowhead bursting into flames. He took careful aim and released. The arrow sailed through the air and struck the alien in the back. Unfortunately the alien as protected by a force field and the arrow clanged to the ground behind it.
     “Crud!” Steve huffed, “That’s not possible!”
     The alien turned its attention to Warrior Mars long enough for Ryan and Dave to get away from the door and regroup on Steve’s left and right flanks. Ryan produced his flame thrower and pointed it at the alien. Dave formed another disc of thunder energy, which he tossed from hand to hand. Steve called upon one of his attacks.
     “Mars Napalm Bolo Engulf!”
     A sea of flames formed around his body, plumes of fire spouting into the air and forming discs. The discs reformed into a swarm of fiery bolos, which he sent at the aliens. The bolos struck the force shield, slowly cracking and eventually shattering it. With the shield down, Ryan and Dave attacked.
     “Raging Inferno!”
     “Sparkling Wide Pressure!”
     The thunderclap struck first, shocking the alien with a few thousand volts of electricity. The flames from the flame thrower struck next, the temperatures soaring to solar levels and setting the alien ablaze. The alien fell to the ground, dead, the flames burning away the flesh and turning it into a large puddle of plasma, ashes, and charred bones. With the threat neutralized the trio exited the hockey rink and entered the gym area, where Susana, John, and Matt were battling the three hybrid aliens.
     The minute they entered they could see the results of the battle, due to the frozen areas, the destruction caused by the sonic blasts, and burn marks and hardened lava flows. Unfortunately there were no alien bodies or remains among it.
     “Do you get the feeling the hybrids are smarter than we took them to be?” Steve asked.
     “What would give you that idea?” Ryan asked sarcastically.
     As they stood in amazement, one of the hybrids leapt from around a corner, followed by John, who was followed by a second hybrid, who was followed by Matt, who was followed by the third hybrid, who was followed by a very upset Susana, who had loaded herself down with some heavy artillery. When Ryan, Dave, and Steve saw this sweat drops formed on their heads.
     “Die! Die! Die!” Susana screamed, pulling out a pair of gattling guns and unloading a few hundred rounds into the hybrid in front of her. When the alien went down she leapt into the air and performed a drill kick to the creature’s head, cracking its neck and squashing it like a bug. She rebounded off and continued ahead at a dead run, catching up to Matt in a matter of seconds. She pulled out her chain guns again, only to have them jam. She cursed under her breath before pulling out a BFG (big f*cking gun) and began to charge the energy pack.
     “Get back here!” Matt shouted, hurling his axe at the alien in front of him. The blade spun through the air and cleaved the alien in half at the waist. Matt continued forward at a full run, jumping through the air and performing a head stomp, leaving the impression of the soles of his boots on the alien’s head. The upper body pitched forward, landing face first on the ground and skidding a few feet before coming to a stop. Matt continued to run, catching up to John at the precise moment his axe began its return trip. He caught his axe and held it before his body, the blade glowing with energy. John’s lance was also glowing with energy.
     “Hellfire Beam!”
     The energy built up in the axe was released in a beam cannon attack, which missed the alien’s body by a mile, but atomized and cauterized the right arm.
     “Black Ice Flow!”
     John plunged his lance into the ground, releasing the energy. An ice flow formed behind the alien, which quickly caught up to and overran the alien, freezing it and much of the ground in solid ice. The frozen alien pitched forward and shattered, hurling bits and pieces of frozen flesh and guts everywhere. Matt and John, who were still in motion, hit the ice and skidded into Dave, Steve, and Ryan, causing a five body pile up. A sweat drop formed on Susana’s head when she saw this.
     “Bravo,” Susana said sarcastically, applauding.
     “Funny,” Matt said, “really funny.”
     “I thought it was.”
     “Did that take care of our part of the mission?” Dave asked.
     “I think so,” John said, pulling out his communicator, “Ami, this is group two. Targets have been neutralized and we’re holding our position.”
     Once they reported in, Team two decided to try their hand at figure skating on the ice left over from John’s attack.

      “Team three, this is Sailor Mercury. I have your mission data.”
     Team three, which consisted of Nate, Nick, Jack, Josh, Darren, John Kersey, Ariel, Jordan, and Aurora, were all chilling across the street from the entrance to Fraternity Row. Being as bored and hungry as they were, they ordered some large subs and sandwiches to be delivered to their position. They were in the middle of eating when Darren’s communicator beeped. He put down his foot long meatball sub long enough to answer the call.
     “Yeah, what?” he said through a mouthful of sandwich.
     “Repeat that Darren. I didn’t quite understand that.”
     Darren swallowed his mouthful of food and repeated, “Yeah, what?”
     “Your targets are seven warrior class aliens. I’m now uploading all known data to your computers. Once you have completed your mission, check back in.”
     “Roger that Mercury. Over and out.”
     Once the communication was terminated, Darren turned to the others and said, “It’s PARTY TIME!”
     “Rule number 28 of the guide says that when the enemy is in the vicinity, destroy the vicinity since it saves time on searching,” Jack said, chuckling.
     “Well, if that’s what the guide says, then that’s what we do,” Ariel said, “life sign readings?”
     “None besides our targets,” Nick said, “which means it’s save to unleash our full powers.”
     “Galaxia Gun!”
     “X Wave Cannon!”
     “Tornado Strike!”
     “Magma Hammer!”
     “Breaker Beam!”
     “Flame Cutter!”
     “Gaav Flare!”
     Nick and John took some red materia from their pouches and summoned their respective creatures.
     “Dragon who sleeps in the cold of space, awaken and freeze my enemies solid. Ice Dragon!”
     “Mystic being sleeping in the flow of time, I call you forth here and now to erase my enemies from the face of this earth. Flame Sphinx!”
     The first attack to fully commence was Darren’s Galaxia Gun, which he fired at the nearest frat house, vaporizing it and its neighbor instantly. Jordan’s wave cannon knocked out one building and its two neighbors. Nate’s Tornado Strike created a twister which swept through part of the street, destroying six more buildings. Josh’s Magma Hammer erupted beneath one house, destroying it before the lava plume arced over and crushed the neighboring building. Ariel’s Breaker Beam knocked the foundation out from two houses, causing them to crumble. Jack’s Flame Cutter created a disc of fire energy which struck a house repeatedly, causing it to cave in upon itself. Finally, Aurora’s Gaav Flare tore down the street, striking one point at the end and exploding into a shockwave which struck other buildings, crumbling or vaporizing them. The Ice Dragon and Flame Sphinx appeared and attacked whatever remained before they vanished, satisfied.
     “Well, no life signs of any sort here,” Nick said, scanning the area once his esper left, “I guess we’re done.”
     Darren pulled out his communicator and activated it. “Team three calling Mercury. We have completed our mission.”
     “That was fast,” Ami gasped, “O.K., maintain position until the other teams check in. Mercury out.”
     Once they broke connection, team three turned their backs on the smoldering wreckage and sat back down to finish their meal.

     “Mercury calling team four, I have your mission objective.”
     “This is Sailor Mars. We read you Mercury. Wassup?”
     Rei Hino, Jubilee, Roxy, Bethany, Mina, Lita, and Alexandra were sitting in the dark of the woods, awaiting their call to action. The moment they received Ami’s call they sprang to attention, each ready to destroy the evil which had grasped the campus.
     “Your targets are ten warrior class aliens, plus one large power reading at the edge of the woods.”
     “We’re on our way,” Lita said enthusiastically, “team four out.”
     Once they broke connection they realized just how dark the woods were at night.
     “Guys, I’m a teensy bit nervous about this,” Alexandra said, “it’s so dark and those aliens could be anyplace.”
     “I’ll illuminate these woods,” Jubilee said, firing off some plasmoids which floated toward the sky before intensifying their brightness. From the shadows they could see several pairs of glowing red eyes.
     “We’re surrounded,” Bethany said, drawing her daggers and channeling electrical energy into them, causing the blades to glow a brilliant golden yellow.
     “This really stinks,” Rei said, forming a fireball at her finger tips and backing up. The other girls also stepped back to back, striking battle stances. From the shadows came five of the warrior class aliens, fangs dripping with saliva, eyes blood crazed, tails swishing back and forth, the light glistening off of the blades. The aliens snarled, showing off mouthfuls of razor sharp teeth.
     “We’re in for it now,” Roxy said, forming an orb of gravity energy between her hands.
     “Not if we can vanquish them before they do us in,” Lita said, forming a disc of thunder energy and tossing it from hand to hand.
     “A stand against these mutant slimeballs,” Alexandra said, her Deep Space Sword forming in her hand, the blade glowing with energy.
     “Which gives us more reason to take them out as soon as possible,” Mina added, producing her love chain and spinning one end around.
     “To right wrongs and triumph over evil, and that means them!” Jubilee said, “Let’s RUMBLE!”
     The seven sailor suited soldiers leapt into the air, followed by the warrior class aliens.
     Jubilee and Roxy took on one of the aliens. The beast swung its tail towards Jubilee, only to have its attack blocked by Roxy’s gravity shield. When the alien withdrew its tail, Roxy dropped the shield so Jubilee could hit the alien with an attack.
     “Shine Aqua Illusion!”
     The attack met with a burst of flame breath, evaporating it instantly. The resulting steam caused Jubilee’s and Roxy’s hair to frizz and curl. Roxy took the sphere of gravity energy and heaved it at the alien.
     “Gravity Wave!”
     The sphere exploded into a shockwave which hurled the alien towards the ground. Unfortunately the alien whipped around at the last minute, the tail catching Jubilee across the chest, tearing open her fuku and gashing her stomach. Roxy saw what the creature did to Jubilee and formed another sphere.
     “Gravity Crush!”
     She lobbed the sphere at the alien, striking it in the hindquarters. The sphere exploded, enveloping the alien in a pocket of high gravity, which gradually increased until all that remained of the alien was a pancake. She then turned her attention to Jubilee, who was clutching her side in pain.
     “You going to live?” Roxy asked, helping her friend down to ground level.
     “I think so,” Jubilee said, “just don’t call dibs on my stereo just yet.”
     “I won’t,” Roxy replied, forming a protective dome of gravity around them.
     Mina and Lita found themselves at the mercy of one of the aliens. This particular beast thought an all out tooth - and - nail assault was in order, and it tried, only to end up with a mouthful of Mina’s love chain. When the beast swung its tail around it ended up with Lita’s powerful arms around the main part of its tail. Lita swung the beast around several times before hurling it into the sky. When the beast reached the peak of its arc Mina and Lita let loose a couple of powerful attacks.
     “Sparkling Wide Pressure!”
     “Venus Melt My Heart Strike!”
     The thunderclap struck the alien, shocking it with enough energy to knock it senseless. The trio of chains pierced the alien's chest at three points before twisting together and pulling backward, tearing out the creature’s chest. The remains then exploded, bringing the second alien to an end. Mina and Lita then descended into the trees to avoid another target.
     Rei took on one of the aliens in a one on one battle of wits, strength, and sheer power. The alien moved in to shoulder ram Rei, only to have her flip over its head. Instead of turning around it swung its tail at Rei, who blocked it with her flame bow. She drew back the bow string, an arrow of flame forming. She shouted, “Mars Flame Sniper!” before releasing the arrow. The arrow struck the alien in the tail, severing the blade and sending it tumbling to the ground. the alien roared in pain before turning around and releasing a blast of fire breath, which engulfed Rei. From the flames emerged Rei, now clad in her flame armor.
     “Holy cow!" Mina, Lita, Jubilee, and Roxy all exclaimed in unison when they saw this.
     “The girl’s gone postal!” Lita exclaimed.
     “Do you think she needs help?” Mina asked. Her answer came in the form of Rei’s ultimate armor attack.
     “Ifrit SLAVE!”
     A massive beam of flame energy was released from the golden arrow notched in Rei’s bow, striking the alien and vaporizing it instantly. The four on the ground and in the trees looked up at Rei, who returned her bow to a catch on her armor before sending it back into sub space. Once she touched down she gave the sign for victory. At that moment Alexandra and Bethany charged by, followed closely by the last two warrior class aliens. Behind those two were another five aliens, who stopped to snarl at the five girls. Rei, Mina, and Lita took off at a dead run, followed close behind by four of the five new aliens. The fifth went to attack Roxy and Jubilee, only to crash head first into Roxy’s shield. When the alien wouldn’t give up, Jubilee took her ice harp and utilized her super sailor attack.
     “Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!”
     She plucked a tune on the harp, the last note releasing a freezing cold blast which froze the alien solid. Once the alien was stopped, Roxy used a gravity wave to shatter it. with that alien finished, the pair rested, awaiting the return of their teammates.
     As for the other five Sailor Soldiers, they were being followed by six of the warrior class aliens. Alexandra produced her deep space sword, leapt into the air, and attacked.
     “Space Sword... BLASTER!”
     The blade glowed with energy. As she slashed downward, the energy was released in the form of an energy blade, which cleaved one of the aliens multiple times, destroying it almost instantly. The other four girls turned around and let loose with their own attacks.
     “Mars Napalm Bolo ENGULF!”
     “Venus Melt My Heart Strike!”
     “Sparkling Wide Pressure!”
     “Volt Blaster!”
     The four attacks struck the remaining aliens, vaporizing them on impact. Once the afterglow died away, the five Sailor Soldiers returned to where Roxy and Jubilee were waiting. When they arrived they realized Jubilee had activated her VR visor and was scanning the surrounding areas.
     “You find anything of interest?” Rei asked, squatting down next to Jubilee.
     “Nothing yet,” Jubilee sighed, “that large energy reading that Ami mentioned isn’t showing up on the scans.”
     “Are you positive?” Alexandra asked, “Try widening the search grid.”
     “I’ll try doing that,” Jubilee said, punching a couple of keys on her computer. A couple of seconds later she gasped before pushing the make call button on her communicator. “This is Jubilee calling teams one and two. There is an alien queen moving towards A-lot, which is in your jurisdiction.”
     “We read you Jubilee,” Tod and Susana said in unison, “we’ll see what can be done. teams one and two out.”
     Once they ended the connection, team four moved to positions in the trees until they were needed or until Sailor Mercury gave further orders.

     Team five, which consisted of Derek, Rich, Matt Heath, May, Nicole, Crystal, Jess, and Cathy were hanging out near the mini dorms, which were a fairly short distance from Alex’s residence hall, which was also the staging ground of the alien take over. While Sailor Mercury was uploading data to the other groups, they figured out what their targets were and where they were hiding.
     “We’ve already checked the mini dorms,” Cathy sighed, stretching the kinks out of her back and shoulders.
     “And the results were?" Derek asked.
     “Completely empty of any and all aliens,” Jess groaned, “they’re making fools of us.”
     “Any idea of where they are?” Rich asked, drawing his ice dagger and idly twirling it in his fingers.
     “There are a couple of ideas,” Crystal responded, spinning her spear around like a staff, “they either followed the train tracks....”
     “Or they’re hiding outside of the buildings,” May finished, adjusting her hair band, “take your pick.”
     “Well, their queens are centered on the campus,” Matt said, “so my guess would be that they’re still in the area.”
     “You’re probably right,” Derek said. At that moment they heard something near their area. In a matter of seconds each person had their weapons drawn and ready for a fight. From the shadows advanced three warrior class aliens, two hybrids, and five normal aliens.
     “This is pathetic,” Rich sighed, holding his sword before him and charging it with energy.
     “I agree,” May said, producing her lava dagger.
     “Bor-ring!” Nicole said, digging the blade of her glaive into the ground and slashing forward, creating a shockwave which struck a pair of the normal aliens, vaporizing them instantly.
     “East winds which blow have you as their source,” Jess chanted, “into my hands now ignite all their force. Flare ARROW!” An energy bow and an arrow of flame energy formed in her outstretched hands, the bow sparking in and out of space. She released the arrow, which split into many smaller arrows. The multiple arrows attacked the aliens, destroying one of the normal aliens, wounding the other three, weakening the hybrids, and deflecting off of the armor plating of the warrior class aliens.
     “I think we’re sunk,”  Jess sighed.
     “I doubt it,” Rich said, his hand and sword above his head, “You who crosses between sky and earth. Raging water, gather in my hand and give me power. Demona CRYSTAL!”
     The beam of ice energy which fired from his sword struck the two hybrid aliens, freezing them solid. The remaining warrior class and normal aliens continued to advance upon them, though.
     “I think we’re sunk,” Rich said, agreeing with Jess.
     “Will you two grow up,” Crystal, Cathy, and Nicole said in unison, all charging for attack.
     “Crystal Seed!”
     “Venus Love Me CHAIN!”
     “Silence Glaive Apply!”
     Crystal plunged the tip of her spear into the ground, causing spires of crystal to erupt and impale the warrior class aliens and one of the normal aliens. Cathy whipped her chain around before sending it in a large arc, which struck the impaled aliens, shattering the crystal spires and throwing them to the ground. The blade of Nicole’s silence glaive glowed, a large globe of energy forming around it, a pressure wave expanding outward and cracking the pavement. She held her glaive above her head, a moment of deadly silence before she arced the blade downward, shattering the silence with a massive explosion that struck the seriously wounded aliens and vaporized them instantly while blowing a large crater in the ground. With two of the four remaining targets gone, Cathy turned around and shouted, “Matt, Derek, May, you’re up!”
     “Right,” Matt, Derek, and May said in unison, charging for attack.
     “Flame Claw!”
     “Dead Scream.”
     “Stones Burning Blood!”
     Matt’s attack consisted of him putting on a dragon claw, charging it with fire energy, and launching himself forward. He slashed at the aliens as he flew past, raking the blade across their bodies and engulfing them in flames. Derek’s Dead Scream put the first alien out of its misery and shattered the frozen aliens. May’s attack caused lava to bubble out of the ground and surround the remaining alien, char broiling it instantly. With the last of the aliens gone, each person shouldered their weapons before dropping to the ground, bored once again. When Mercury’s message finally came through, they had already finished their mission, which surprised Ami to the point where she sighed and signed off to give info to the other groups.

     Group six, consisting of Lizz, Serena, Mike, Juliet, Joss, Tony, and Lydia were positioned before T-hall in the north part of campus. Serena, as usual, was whining about being bored. Lizz and Tony were exchanging notes on the latest dance moves. Mike and Lydia, in an effort to improve their skills, were sparring, leaving Joss and Juliet to strategize some sort of an attack plan. When their communicators pinged, each person took them and activated them.
     “This is group six,” they said in unison, “What’s up?”
     A sweat drop formed on Ami’s head as her image appeared on the communicators’ small screens. “Well, I guess I can skip the formalities. Your targets are seven warrior class aliens and eight hybrid aliens.”
     “You’re kidding, right?” Lizz asked, “I mean, fifteen aliens against our group of,” she started counting their ranks, “seven. These odds don’t seem too fair.”
     “For once I agree with you,” Ami replied, “however, that is the way they’re distributed. I wish you luck and I will check in with you later. Mercury out.”
     Once Ami ended the transmission the four warriors and three sailor soldiers looked at one another and shrugged.
     “Where do we start looking?” Lydia asked, snapping her bubble gum against her teeth.
     “I think we should take to the air and look from there,” Joss suggested. When he was met by silence he sighed and said, “Or not.”
     “How about we wait here?” Lizz asked, “I mean, it can’t get any worse, can it?”
     At that moment Mike leapt to his feet, his sword in hand, the blade glowing an eerie silver in the moonlight. Tony and Joss were on their feet in a matter of seconds, their weapons drawn and glowing with energy. Lydia and Lizz soon followed in suit, finally joined by Serena and Juliet. From the shadows came the seven warrior class aliens, crawling on all fours, their eyes glowing a menacing blood red, their tails swishing back and forth, cutting through the air.
     “Crud!” Tony said, his trident filling with energy, “Tidal Blast!”
     The water which was produced from the trident struck with supersonic force, cleaving one of the aliens in half. Tony, who was surprised by this turn of events, held his trident like the hilt of a giant sword. He swung the trident and the watery “blade” like an expert swordsman, cleaving another two aliens into many pieces before he fell back to catch his breath.
     “Looks like it’s my turn,” Joss said, holding his sword above his head. Around the blade formed a small cyclone of gems, which soon formed a fairly large twister. Joss swung his sword behind his head before swinging it toward the aliens.
     “Gem Cyclone Slash!”
     The cyclone struck one of the aliens, not only slicing it with the energy blade, but with the many sharp gems as well. The alien who was struck by the attack fell to pieces a couple of seconds later, spraying green blood everywhere. The four remaining aliens turned on their fallen comrade and began to drink the blood and eat the flesh.
     “Guh-ross,” Serena gasped, holding her hand to her mouth.
     “Now is our time to strike,” Lydia said, producing her weapon, the Pegasus spear, which consisted of a long pole with a golden tip in the shape of a unicorn’s horn. As she held the point towards the aliens the horn began to glow a brilliant gold - yellow, which was followed by a burst of rainbow light, which surrounded Lydia’s body. She leapt into the air and dive bombed one of the aliens, driving the spear head through the creature’s neck, shattering its spine. She rebounded and dove at another, kicking through its shoulder and upper chest. She rebounded off of the ground, a nearby wall, then dove at the same creature, swinging  her spear at the creature’s head. There was a sickening WHACK as the creature’s head left its shoulders to fly into a wall. Lydia then back flipped to the back lines to clean up.
     “That leaves two,” Mike said, his sword charging with energy. From the shadows came the eight hybrid aliens, causing a large sweat drop to form on Mike’s head.
     “Ooooh... will you give us a break?!” Lizz exclaimed, channeling energy into the talisman bracelets on her wrists, “Skygate!”
     Sheets of lightning cascaded around one of the hybrids, eventually cleaving it in half. Lizz pointed at the second alien, her finger tip glowing. “Point Flare!”
     A beam of fire flew from her finger, striking the alien and engulfing it in flames. She leapt into the sky and cast another spell on the third alien.
     “Dark Gear!”
     Twin triangles of dark energy formed on either side of the alien, spinning around its body and draining its life energy.
     “Now for the coup de gras,” she said, the jewels in her talismans glowing blue, “Hexagon Myst!”
     Twin triangles of water spiraled through the air, combining above the alien to form a six pointed star. The star spun through the air, draining the alien, striking it several times and eventually cleaving the poor beast into pieces before vanishing. Lizz dropped to the back line, exhausted from the strain the spells placed on her.
     “That leaves six aliens,” Juliet said, taking out her moon mace, “Silver Moon Crystal Power KISS!”
     The laser which fired from the jewel in the moon mace struck the two remaining warrior class aliens, weakening them and stunning them. Juliet turned her head towards Mike and shouted, “They’re all yours big boy!”
     “My pleasure, my lady,” Mike said, bowing to Juliet before leaping into the air. He held his sword above his head, the blade glowing brighter. He swung downward, releasing the accumulated energy. “Crescent Slasher!”
     The energy beam struck the paralyzed aliens once each before Mike swung the sword in another direction, the energy beam reacting like a whip, slashing the aliens in half. He swung a few more times, making sure the aliens were thoroughly destroyed. When he was satisfied with the results he dropped back and said to Serena, “All yours.”
     “WHAT?!” Serena exclaimed sarcastically before producing her super sailor wand. She charged the jewel in the end with energy before releasing an energy attack.
     “Moon Gorgeous Mediation!”
     The beam struck two of the aliens, vaporizing them instantly. She swung the wand towards the other two, nailing one head on, missing the other completely. The one she struck exploded in a shower of blood and gore, spraying the immediate area with insides and whatever. The one she missed made a beeline for her, only to be slashed to ribbons by several swords. Once Serena ceased her wailing she saw Mike, Lydia, and Joss standing above her, blood dripping from their swords.
     “Um... thanks guys,” Serena said, regaining her composure.
     “Your safety is one of our top priorities,” Joss said, smiling, “and we DID finish our mission.”
     “Oh yeah,” Tony said, “we finished them good,” he added, motioning to the bloody remains.
     “Ami will be glad to hear that,” Lizz said, taking out her communicator, “Team six reporting in. We finished our objective. Team six signing off.”
     Once they reported in they returned to what they were doing before they fought the aliens.

     Team seven, which consisted of Brad, Rachel, Justin, Doug, Chris, Eddie, Ana, and Ryan Trombi were positioned midway between Frat Row and T-hall. Rachel was complaining about getting stuck with the lower class warriors. Brad and Justin were restraining Doug, who was ready to open a can of whoopass. Ana and the Sailor Starlights were standing off to one side, embarrassed to acknowledge the others. By the time Ami finally reached them they were ready for some real action.
     “What are our targets?” Rachel asked, excitement in her voice.
     “Umm... I hate to tell you this, but your only target is a queen alien,” Ami said, stumbling for the words.
     “WHAT?!” everyone exclaimed. Before anyone else could complain the queen stepped from the shadows. Everyone gasped because she was absolutely HUGE. Three stories of pure evil, with claws as long as an average sword, huge teeth, and a ton and a half of bad attitude and PMS.
     “Holy crap!” Doug exclaimed, drawing his sword, “We have our work cut out for us!”
     “I agree,” Rachel said, unclipping her chakram, “Halo Laser Slash!”
     The chakram whizzed through the air, enveloped by a laser beam, and struck the queen in the left shoulder, only to lodge there. Rachel turned to the others, shrugged, and said, “You’re up.”
     “I’ll finish this,” Brad said, drawing his sword and charging it with dark energy, “Shadow Slay!”
 He slashed downward, releasing the accumulated energy in the form of a cloud of poison gas. The queen inhaled and blew the gas back at the heroes, who leapt out of the way in time to watch a tree shrivel up and disintegrate.
     “Concentrate attacks on its head,” Eddie shouted, “Star Gentle Uterus!”
     “Star Serious Laser!”
     “Star Sensitive Inferno!”
     Unfortunately for the Sailor Starlights, the queen whipped around and struck them with her tail, hurling them through the air and into the side of a building. The three crumpled to the round, unconscious.
     “You’re going to pay for doing that to my friends!” Ana screamed, producing her hammer, “Breaking Monolith!”
     She charged the head of her hammer with energy before she slammed it into the ground. From around the alien queen giant stones grew to tremendous proportions before breaking, dumping tons of rock onto it. Once the attack subsided, Ana turned to the others and said, “Finish this queen sized pain!”
     “With pleasure,” Doug said, taking a piece of red materia from his pouch and holding it to the sky, “Mystic bird of ancient times, awaken now and vanquish this foe who opposes us. Thunderbird!”
     A beam of light shot from the materia, piercing the clouds above the campus. the clouds began to swirl in a clockwise direction, ultimately breaking a hole through to the night’s sky. From the clouds came the thunderbird, screeching in such a way as to make hair stand on end and back winging to stay aloft. The thunderbird channeled energy into its talons, forming twin lances of electricity. It heaved the lances at the pile of rubble which contained the queen, piercing it from two angles before belching a beam which channeled a few gigavolts of energy through it. Once the thunderbird finished its attack it vanished.
     “Do you think it’s dead yet?” Brad asked.
     “If it’s not, this will finish it,” Rachel said, drawing her sword. The blade glowed with rainbow colors before she whipped it around several times and slashed downward.
     “Rainbow Borealis Slash!”
     The energy in the sword was released in the form of a rainbow, which split into multiple energy blades. The blades circled around the mound for a couple of seconds before homing in and piercing the mound multiple times. From behind the mound came several more attacks.
     “Thunderball!”
     “Mars Napalm Bolo Engulf!”
     “Magma Strike!”
     “Sparkling Wide Pressure!”
     “Venus Melt My Heart Strike!”
     “Phobos Shockwave Strike!”
     From behind team seven came an extremely large beam of flames, which was Aurora’s strongest attack.
     “Gaav Flare!”
     The seven additional attacks struck the pile and began to melt the rock, pierce it, or blow it up in some way or another until the mount hiccuped and returned Rachel’s chakram. Rachel caught her weapon and returned it to her belt before she dropped back, giving Justin enough time to hit the already critical mound with a Digger Volt. The mound exploded, spraying everyone with rock or alien guts or a combination of the two. Once the shower died away, Rachel looked at teams one, two and three and asked, “What are you doing here?”
     “We were in the area and thought we would help,” Aurora said, grinning from ear to ear.
     “Jubilee instructed us to help out,” Susana and Tod said, giving victory signs.
     “Well, thanks for the save,” Doug said, “that queen was really copping an attitude.”
     “Mercury calling groups one through seven, draw back towards the third area of campus,” came over the communicators, “prepare to provide backup for team eight.”
     “We’re on our way,” came from all over campus as the warriors and sailor soldiers packed up their stuff and began a lengthy retreat towards area three.

     Meanwhile, group eight, which consisted of Alex, Adderson, Andrew, Drew, Jason, Dennis, Dan, and James, were sitting outside of Alex’s residence hall, their weapons drawn, all prepared to attack anything alien. When group eight heard that the other seven groups had finished their mission objectives Alex looked to the others in his group and they simultaneously leapt into the air towards the roof, Jason and Dan lifting Drew with them. Once they reached the roof of the tallest tower the found the trap door to the tenth floor. Alex produced his glaive, stabbed the blade between the door and the frame, and applied pressure. When he began to have trouble getting enough leverage, Andrew and Adderson each took hold of the glaive and pushed until the door broke free of its hinges and popped open. Unfortunately there was an alien sitting beneath the trapped door, which began to crawl out of the opening.
     “Die you bastard!” Drew shouted, pulling out a pair of plasma blasters and pumping the alien with enough energy to power the dorm for a couple of days. The alien dropped to the ground, dead, its flesh smoking. Everyone turned to Drew, who blew the smoke from the barrels of his guns before reholstering them.
     “Minus one alien,” he said, giving a victory sign.
     “Scanning the area,” Alex said, pulling out his mini computer and calling up the blueprint. “We’re going to have a hell of a time taking all of these aliens out,” he said after a minute.
     “Well, nothing to it but to do it,” James said, producing his star staff.
     “In full agreement,” Dan said, unclipping his bow and notching a golden arrow.
     “Group eight LAUNCH!” Alex shouted, imitating Ritsuko and Misato. The members of group eight dropped down the trapped door, one after the other, with Alex bringing up the rear. The door to the tenth floor was pried open slowly and eight people poked their heads around the corner in a comical manner. They could hear the alien snarling and drooling; they just couldn’t see it from that angle.
     “Andrew, you and James are with me,” Alex said, slipping into the hallway, “we’re going to hunt us an alien. Dan, you, Dennis, and Drew slip around to the other stairwell and take out any aliens who get in your way. Adderson and Jason, maintain position here and take out anything that doesn’t have a human energy reading.”
     “Right!" everyone replied before moving into position.
     Andrew and James, along with Dan, Dennis, and Drew, slipped out into the hall with Alex, careful not to make any sounds which might alert the aliens to their presence. Dennis and Dan drew their swords as Drew unholstered the pair of hand held chain guns he had strapped to his back. The trio quietly slipped around the corner to the left of the door, only to run face first into a pair of the aliens.
     “DIE!” Drew screamed, pulling the triggers on his chain guns and unloading several hundred rounds of ammo into each alien before releasing. The bodies of the aliens fell backwards, smoking from the heat produced by all of the lead which filled their bodies.
     “Nice shootin’, Tex,” Dan said, imitating a Texas accent.
     “No time for compliments,” Dennis said, scanning the area with his computer, “According to this there are several incredibly angry aliens in the stairwell and they’re advancing on this position.”
     “Then let’s give them a warm welcome,” Dan said, forming a fireball in each palm.
     The trio made tracks for the stairwell opposite of the one they came in by. When Dennis kicked the door open there were several snarling and drooling aliens awaiting them.
     “Bombs away!” Dan shouted as he hurled the fireballs into the stairwell. The three dove out of the way as the fireballs exploded, engulfing the stairway in solar level flames. Several unearthly screams filled the area as the aliens were burned to a crisp. When the flames died down they timidly looked into the smoldering stairwell, and, upon seeing no movement, entered and began to descend.
     Meanwhile, in the other stairwell, Adderson and Jason were instantly ready for battle when they heard several snarling aliens advancing up the stairs.
     “I think we’re in business,” Jason said, putting his palms arms length from his body. When the first couple of aliens turned the corner he shouted, “Spinning Shards!” A silver blue cloud formed before his palms. From the cloud flew five or six crystalline shuriken, which struck the aliens and cleaved them to pieces. From behind the two fallen aliens came several more.
     “Holy wind,” Adderson chanted, “wind which blows gently across the land. Let all things be filled by your pure breath. Van REHL!”
     He knelt and placed one palm to the ground. From where he touched came several tendrils of ice, which wrapped around the aliens and formed icy prisons. Jason took his sword and held it before his body when he saw this. The blade began to vibrate as he called upon his attack.
     “Resonance Shatter!”
     The aliens inside of the ice began to vibrate in synch with the vibrations of Jason’s sword. Eventually the ice began to crack and shatter, destroying the aliens with it.
     “That takes care of those ugly creatures,” Jason said, vaulting over the broken bodies before him.
     “Any idea as to how many aliens are left in the building?” Adderson asked.
     “No clue, but eventually we’ll hit bottom.”
     As the other five descended to destroy the alien threats on the other floors, Alex, Andrew, and James kicked open the door to the bathroom to find three of the warrior class aliens awaiting them.
     “No chance for a second opinion, right?” James asked, producing his star staff.
     “Nope,” Alex said before he incanted a spell, “East winds that blow have you as a source. Into my hands now ignite all your force. Flare ARROW!”
     He held his hands like he was holding a bow and arrow. An arrow of flame formed, an energy bow sparking in and out of space. He released the arrow, which streaked through the air and struck the head alien. Unfortunately the Flare Arrow reflected off of the alien’s armor and struck a wall, blowing it open.
     “Perfect time to find out their armor can reflect spells,” Alex grumbled, stepping backwards while forming an orb of blood red energy between his hands, “Dragon of darkness who sleeps in the inferno. Lend your roar to burn my enemies to ashes. Gaav Flare!”
     He hurled the orb at the aliens before ducking behind the wall. The orb struck the lead alien and exploded, engulfing it in flames. A couple of seconds later the alien collapsed in a pile of smoking flesh and bones. The other two aliens charged towards the door, only to encounter another spell.
     “Dill Brand!”
     A small nuclear explosion struck the aliens, hurling them into the hall and into a wall. The aliens stumbled backwards, grumbling something in their language. Alex, Andrew, and James drew their swords and began cleaving the pair of aliens to pieces. With those aliens finished, Alex knelt down and placed his palm to the floor. He called upon a spell which caused a hole to appear in the floor and the ones below them, extending to the basement and the queen, “Bephis BRING!”
     “All aboard,” Alex said, leaping through the hole. James and Andrew shrugged before following Alex. As they neared the end of their plummet they slowed until they gently floated to the ground. Once they landed they were immediately surrounded by hundreds of aliens.
     “We’re in trouble, aren’t we?” James asked, forming a force shield with the jewel in his staff. Andrew used his AT Field to reinforce the shield.
     “We’re just temporarily set to defense,” Alex said, holding his sword with the blade in his palm.
     “What are you planning?” Andrew asked, weakening under the strain of maintaining the AT Field with so many fists pounding against it.
     “A little trick I learned,” Alex said, concentrating. Dark energy began to gather around the blade of light moments of later, turning the blade black. “Darkness beyond blackest pitch, deeper than the deepest night. King of darkness who shines like gold upon the sea of chaos. I call upon thee and swear myself to thee. Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess....”

     “Miss Lina! Miss Lina, where are you?! We have an emergency!”
     “I’m here Sylphiel,” Lina Inverse yawned before leaping down from the comfortable rafter where she had been napping, “What’s wrong now?”
     “Somebody’s invoking the Giga Slave,” Sylphiel Nels Raada explained as Lina stretched the kinks out of her back. From the shocked tone of voice the shrine maiden used and the look of terror on Lina’s face it was something big.
     “The Giga Slave?! Are you nuts?! Even if somebody knew the words they don’t know what they mean!”
     “Well, there is somebody who not only knows the words, but knows what they mean and how to properly cast the spell without fear of annihilation.”
     At that moment Gourry Gabriev, Zelgadis Greywords, and Amelia Will Tesela Seyruun burst into the cabin.
     “We came as soon as we heard,” Amelia said, “where is the person who dares to use the forbidden spell?!”
     “Yeah Sylphiel, where is this person?” Lina asked, sarcasm in her voice.
     “They are in the year 1999. A powerful warrior by the name of Alexander West is invoking the spell in a last ditch effort to vanquish some horrible evil.”
     “And how did you come into this information?” Zelgadis asked.
     “I looked into my crystal ball,” Sylphiel said, taking out her crystal wand. The crystal glowed a brilliant blue before an image took shape.
     “He’s no amateur,” Lina said, absorbed in the image, “he knows exactly what he’s doing.”
     “But he’s casting the most powerful spell in black magic... the one which can destroy the planet if cast wrong,” Zelgadis said, “what are we going to do?”
     “We need to teleport to his location and give him a hand.”
     “We WHAT?!” Amelia exclaimed, “Is this in the name of justice, or do you want some action?”
     “This is strictly in the name of justice,” Lina said, smiling, “besides, he can’t hold out forever against those monsters.”
     “We know the drill,” Zelgadis said, setting up a wind barrier, which Lina reinforced. Amelia cast Levitation as Sylphiel cast a teleport spell of her own construction.
     “Spirits of the ancient gods, come to our aide. Guide us to the future, to assist a great warrior in distress. The flame of justice burns brightly, and we fight in that name. Great spirits, send us on our way. TELEPORT!”
     The air around them began to bend and warp, sucking the bubble in and guiding it to 1999 AD, to the location of the epic battle which was just beginning.

     “.... Giga SLAVE!”
     Alex leapt into the air and swung the blade of his sword downward, releasing the accumulated dark energy. The black thunderbolt struck many of the aliens, vaporizing them instantly. The energy continued to strike aliens until Alex broke off the spell and dropped back to catch his breath. At this moment Adderson and Jason burst out of the door to the right of the group. A couple of seconds later Dan, Dennis, and Drew joined the fun from the left door.
     “And the situation is...” Dan began to say, but was cut off when one of the aliens charged in his direction. He dodged and the alien collided with a wall and was knocked unconscious. “That has GOT to hurt.”
     “I can imagine,” Drew said, unloading several hundred rounds from his chain guns into the swarm of aliens, “Eat blazing death!”
     “This is going to take forever,” Dennis said, mowing down several aliens with his Atma weapon, “at the rate we’re going we’ll never reach the queen.”
     “We might if we tap into our elemental abilities,” Alex mused, “I’m shadow, Adderson is earth / gravity, Dan is fire, James is light, Jason is crystal / earth, Andrew is light also, and Dennis is light / ice.”
     “Which is pretty impressive,” Drew said, “but how will that help us?”
     “It’ll help because each of you can use spells of your element to a greater degree,” a woman’s voice said from behind the aliens. Time and space bent and warped as a bubble containing five people emerged. The bubble burst, depositing its five passengers on their feet.
     “Prepare to fry you ugly creeps!” a short woman with red hair shouted, “Source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let your power gather in my hand. Fireball!”
     She hurled a fireball into the middle of the alien group, blowing ten away with one shot. When the aliens turned around to face the newcomer Alex raised his left hand above his head, bracing it with his right hand.
     “You who crosses between sky and earth. Raging water, gather in my hand and give me power. Demona.... CRYSTAL!”
     Alex pointed at the aliens after incanting the spell, releasing a beam of arctic wind. Whatever the beam touched was frozen solid and shattered under its own weight. The ranks of the aliens was by ten more with that one spell.
     “Well Miss Lina, you were right about him,” a short girl with black hair and big blue eyes said, “he can wield spells with great precision and power.”
     “Incoming!” a tall blonde man dressed in blue armor exclaimed as ten more aliens emerged from a side hallway.
     “Why is it they keep coming after me?” Alex grumbled as he powered up for another attack. The jewels in his gauntlets glowed before releasing energy in the shape of rings. The rings circled around his body on several levels before he raised his left hand into the air, his index finger extended. The rings centered around his hand until he shouted, “Ice Ring Strike!” before bringing his hand down and sending the rings towards their targets. The rings slammed into four of the aliens, hurling them through the wall and into the laundry room.
     “Nice shooting!” Lina exclaimed as she, Gourry, Amelia, Sylphiel, and Zelgadis joined the warriors.
     “Thanks,” Alex said, grinning from ear to ear. The other warriors fell over.
     “Who are you?” Dan asked, regaining his feet.
     “I’m Lina Inverse...”
     “The famous sorceress, the bandit killer, the dragon spooker,” Drew said, adjusting his glasses.
     “Why the hell does everyone call me the dragon spooker?!” Lina screamed. The aliens who were sharing the room growled. Lina turned towards them and screamed, “Shut the hell up already! We get the point!!” The aliens ran off whimpering.
     ‘Wow, she has such a way  with the creatures of darkness,’ Alex mused. Lina then turned to Alex and said, “Where did you learn to cast the Giga Slave?”
     “A trick I picked up,” Alex said, “just like most of the spells I know.”
     “Do you know what the words mean?”
     “Yup. You’re calling upon the Lord of Nightmares to give you the strength to destroy those who stand before you.”
     Lina stumbled back when she heard this. How the heck could someone like Alex know the meaning of the words to the spell. Even she was afraid to admit it, but calling upon somebody stronger than the dark lord Shabrinigdo frightened her.
     “Lina, wake up Lina,” Gourry said, poking Lina in the shoulder, “you awake?”
     “Yeah, just thinking about something,” Lina said.
     “You think Asuka is still alive?” Dennis asked, causing Drew, Alex, Andrew, and Adderson to jump.
     “I completely forgot about her,” Drew said, a sweat drop forming on his head.
     “According to the scanner the queen has turned the rec. room into her nest,” Alex said, his gaze transfixed on the tiny screen of his computer, “Asuka’s life signs are there too, but they’re erratic.”
     “She must be scared out of her mind,” Sylphiel said. All the warriors looked at her.
     “Oops, my bad,” Lina said, a sweat drop forming on her head, “I’d like to introduce Gourry Gabriev,” she said, pointing to the blonde man, “Amelia Will Tesela Seyruun,” she added, motioning to the girl with the black hair, “Zelgadis Greywords,” pointing to the man with the stone blue skin and wire hair, “and Sylphiel Nels Raada,” she finished, pointing to the dark haired girl who had spoken, “these are the people who fight....”
     “In the name of justice!” Amelia exclaimed, causing everyone to fall over.
     “Actually we came because Alex invoked the Giga Slave,” Sylphiel said, “Please Mister Alex, don’t use that spell again. It’s a terrible spell.”
     “I’ll try to avoid casting it again,” Alex said, “now we need to save Asuka!”
     The warriors, plus the five newcomers, took off at a dead run, bowling over anything which got in their way. When they reached the nest, they were stunned to see just how disgusting the rec. room had become. Black - yellow webbing was all over the walls, hanging from the ceiling, and attached to the floor. Around the room sat hundreds of eggs, some larger and thicker than others. Around the outer edges of the room lay large piles of discarded eggshells. Near the back of the room, against the wall, was where Asuka had been strung up. She was covered from neck down in a cocoon of the same webbing which covered much of the room.
     “Asuka!” Alex exclaimed, running towards his friend.
     “Hold it!” Gourry said, grabbing Alex’s cape and pulling. Alex fell onto his butt a moment later with an audible THUD.
     “What’s the big idea?!”
     “It could be a trap,” Lina said, “the queen may be off to one side, waiting for us to go charging to Asuka’s rescue and turn us into dinner for her babies.
     “What a gruesome idea,” Amelia said, “dinner for alien babies.”
     “So what do we do?” Jason asked.
     “YOU use your spinning shards attack to cut her free,” Lina said, “Zel, when she drops, you run and catch her really fast. As soon as you get back we battle the queen.”
     “Sounds like a pretty good plan,” Jason said, holding his hands, palms up, above his head. “Spinning Shards.” A silver blue cloud formed above his hands, which spit forth seven or eight crystalline throwing stars. The throwing stars struck the webbing around Asuka’s body, cutting it and disintegrating it. As soon as the webbing completely disintegrated Asuka dropped into Zelgadis’ waiting arms. Once Asuka was caught Zelgadis was a blur of blue and white as he returned to the Warriors and his friends. The minute he returned, the queen stepped from behind the corner where she had been hiding and roared a blood curdling roar.
     “How the hell did something like that get in without us seeing it?!” Alex exclaimed.
     “Perhaps a tear in the fabric of time and space permitted entrance into your rec. room, where it began to breed,” Gourry said to everyone’s amazement.
     “Would you mind repeating that Gourry?” Lina asked.
     “Repeating what?”
     “It figures,” Amelia sighed, “he’s brilliant one minute and back to normal the next.”
     The queen roared once again and several eggs burst open to reveal more of the Warrior class aliens. The new aliens growled, snarled, and drooled as they charged at the group of warriors, only to run head first into a barrier and bounce off.
     “Where did the shield come from?” James asked.
     “From us,” Zelgadis asked, indicating himself, Amelia, and Sylphiel, “hit it with something before the shield breaks.”
     “With pleasure,” Alex said, tapping into the power of the chaos emeralds embedded in his gauntlets. A ghostly aura formed around his body as he flipped through the air, propelled himself off of a wall, and punched the queen in the gut, propelling it across the room and through the wall.
     “That opens up a LOT of options,” Lina said as they charged after the alien, “because...”
     “You can’t use spells like the Dragon Slave underground, right?” Drew said, getting a stunned reaction from Lina.
     “Well, you could say that,” Lina said when she recovered her composure.
     “Where did that damn queen alien go?!” Andrew demanded, “It’s not like something that big and ugly can just vanish into thin air!”
     “And to add to that, where are the warrior class aliens?” James asked. The ground before them erupted a moment later as the queen and the other aliens burst forth, ambushing and surrounding the heroes.
     “This is peachy,” Lina said, beginning the incantation for a spell, “Dragon of darkness that sleeps in the inferno. Lend your roar to burn my enemies to ashes. Gaav Flare!”
     As she spoke the spell, a sphere of blood red flames formed in her hands. She hurled the sphere at an alien and dove for cover. The sphere struck the alien and exploded, engulfing it in dark flames and burning it to a cinder.
     “Time to take out the trash,” Alex said, producing his glaive and launching himself into the air. Dark energy collected in the blade, turning the gleaming blade midnight black. He shouted, “Giga FLARE!” before swinging the weapon downward. At the bottom of the arc the accumulated energy was released in the form of a dark thunderbolt, which struck the ground among the aliens before exploding into an expanding wave of energy and solar intensity heat. Several of the lesser aliens were felled by the attack, but they were quickly replaced by some of the stronger aliens.
     “This could take forever,” Adderson said, charging his sword for his attack.
     “I know the feeling,” James said, also powering up for an attack, “Venus Melt My Heart Strike!”
     “Gravity Cutter!”
     The three chains and the energy blade struck one of the warrior class aliens, first wrapping it up, then slashing it in half. Once the attacks finished, though, the aliens began attacking the heroes again. The warriors and the slayers tried their hardest to stay one step ahead of the alien menace, but they were slowly worn down to minimal energy.
     “I’ll be the first to admit that we need help,” Alex said, his chaos emerald energy almost depleted.
     “And how are we going to get help?” Dan asked, three huge aliens pounding against his solar barrier.
     “Like this.”
     Alex concentrated some of his remaining energy into his palm, forming a small sphere of light. He hurled the orb into the sky, where it exploded in a blinding flash. “Now all we do is wait for help to come.”

     From all across the campus select members of the elite teams rushed to the assistance of team eight. From team one was Bryan, Tod, Steve Huff, and Michelle. From team two was Steve Young, John Lynn, Ryan, and Matt Emmerton. From team three was Jack, Ariel, Darren, Josh, Aurora, and Nick. Team four was busy with Jubilee’s injuries so they sent Roxy and Mina. Team five sent Derek, Rich, Crystal, and Matt Heath. Team six sent in Mike, Lizz, Joss, and Tony. From team seven came Doug and Rachel. Ben Ross and Jenn Lynn showed up in the nick of time to help their friends. The select group met up with one another a short distance from where the battle was being waged until they were sure everyone was there.
     “We got here as fast as we could,” Tod said, huffing to catch his breath, “anyone know why Alex summoned us?”
     “Could be due to the fact that the alien forces are wearing them out,” Crystal said, pointing toward the army of darkness and the few heroes of justice who were battling.
     “We gotta help them!” Steve Young said, producing his flame bow. He notched a golden arrow and drew the string back. Once he drew the string taut he took careful aim, the arrowhead bursting into flames. He released the arrow, sending it on its way. The arrow struck one of the warrior class aliens in the hindquarters before detonating, engulfing the alien in flames and burning it to a crisp.
     “I hope that got the message across,” Rachel said, unclipping her chakram from her belt. As she said that the entire army of darkness turned around and began to advance on the larger group.
     “I believe it did,” Tony said, his trident forming in hand, “because they’re after us now.”

     “What the hell?!” Lina exclaimed as the aliens turned around and began to walk off, “Come back here you lousy pains in the butt!”
     “Where do you suppose they’re going?” Drew asked.
     “I’ll take a look,” Alex said, hovering off of the ground. When he reached a height he could see well form he shouted down, “Help has arrived. Unfortunately they’re the new targets.”
     “Which gives us the chance to utilize some high level magic,” Lina said, beginning an incantation, “Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows. Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows. I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand. Dragon.... SLAVE!”
     The resulting beam struck several of the aliens before exploding into an energy dome, which quickly dissipated. The remaining aliens split up, half going after the larger group, half turning to go after the person who cast the spell.
     “Rats,” Lina exclaimed, “it didn’t exactly work as I had hoped.”
     “Let us try one Miss Lina,” Amelia said, indicating herself and Zelgadis, “Ready Mister Zelgadis?”
     “Ready Amelia, “Zelgadis said as the two recited the incantation. “Source of all souls which dwells in the eternal and the infinite, ever lasting flame of blue...”
     “All power hidden deep within be called forth here and now.”
     “Rah TILT!”
     The beam of astral energy struck about one third of the alien group, vaporizing them instantly. The remaining aliens, though, began charging at the group.
     “We’re screwed!” Andrew said, unfolding his AT Field. The aliens bounced off of the shield before tearing through it with their claws.
     “They’ve never done that before!” Alex exclaimed, stumbling backwards.
     “Make them stop! MAKE THEM STOP!” Andrew screamed as the levels of his mind were torn asunder with his AT Field.
     “Let them eat blazing death!” Asuka shouted, unloading several volleys of ammo at the aliens. The ammo struck a force shield of sorts and clanged to the ground.
     “They’ve never done that before either,” Jason said, reading the shocked expression on Alex’s face, “Right?”
     “Absolutely correct,” Alex said, “how are we going to defeat something like that?”
     “By working together,” Sylphiel said, “Mister Alex, these creatures must be stopped before they destroy the world.”
     “We’ll try Sylphiel,” Alex said, “but first we need to get our reinforcements.”
     “Easily arranged,” Lina said, “Everyone, huddle together. You know the drill, right?” she asked Zel, Sylphiel, and Amelia. When she got nods from all three she said, “O.K., let’s do it!”
     Zelgadis cast a wind barrier spell, which Lina reinforced. Sylphiel added a protection spell, with Amelia adding Levitation. The result was a rapidly rising bubble, which floated them over the aliens. Once they passed over the army of darkness the bubble descended and burst, depositing the group of heroes with the reinforcements from the other seven teams.
     “About time you got here,” Jack said.
     “Yeah,” Aurora added, “we were about to start the fun without you.”
     “I’m glad you didn’t,” James said, “we wouldn’t want to miss the destruction of this menace.”
     “So how exactly are we going to defeat them?” Roxy asked.
     “Full out attack,” Alex said, his gaze fixed on the advancing army, “give it everything you’ve got.”
     “That’s a plan if ever I’ve heard one,” Lina said, channeling energy into her amulets, “Dragon...”
     “Lina, you’re out backup in case we can’t do it,” Alex said, stopping Lina in mid spell.
     “Oh? What do you want me to do?” Lina asked, breaking off her spell.
     “Take this,” he said, giving Lina his Star Sword, “If we fall or it gets too hot use this and summon the Giga Slave.”
     “O.K., I understand,” Lina said, nodding, “Good luck.”
     “Let’s MOVE!” Ben shouted as everyone drew their weapons and mingled with the army of evil.
     “Eat this!” Asuka screamed as she dodged a clawed hand while unloading several rounds of ammo into the midsection of an alien.
     “Monovolt!” Amelia shouted, striking a pair of aliens with a somewhat powerful thunderbolt, rendering them out of action.
     “Like I said before,” Dennis said, “this could take forever.”
     “And I agree,” Andrew said, backing up next to Dennis, “we can’t take them all out at this rate.”
     “Well, we need to do something fast,” Drew said, backing up to the other two, “we’re getting pounded.”
     “I’ll try to break us a path,” Alex said, joining the other three. He held his hands about hip length apart, palms facing, “Source of all souls which dwells in the eternal and the infinite, ever lasting flame of blue. All power hidden deep within be called forth here and now. Rah TILT!”
     As he spoke the incantation, a sphere of blue white light formed between his palms. When he spoke the command words the sphere exploded into an energy beam, which mowed a path through the aliens. The path, though, stopped when the queen blocked the beam with an energy shield.
     “At least we know we can mow the smaller ones down no sweat,” Matt Emmerton said, pointing his all ready glowing axe at the aliens, “Hellfire Beam!”
     Matt’s attack burned a large gap in the ranks of the aliens. When he broke off the beam attack he slammed his axe into the ground.
     “Flaming Fissure!”
     A large crack formed in the ground, which erupted into a geyser of magma, which burned away more of the aliens before sealing over.
     “Sooner or later we gotta take out the queen,” Gourry said as he cleaved a pair of aliens in half with the sword of light, “or at least attempt a strike.”
     “But first we need to get rid of most of these foot soldiers,” Crystal said, sliding under one of the aliens and kicking it where it counts. The alien went down for the count as Crystal regained her feet. She produced her spear and plunged the head into the ground. “Crystal Seed!”
     The ground beneath them rumbled before spires of crystal erupted beneath the aliens, skewering some and wounding others. Zelgadis looked at what Crystal had done and used a spell of his own.
     “Earth beneath me, submit to my will,” he said, gathering energy into his palm. He knelt down and smashed the energy into the ground, “Dug Haut!”
     Large spires of stone erupted beneath the aliens, skewering some of those that Crystal’s attack had missed and wounding others in the process.
     “Way to go Zel!” Lina exclaimed, leaping into the air, “Now it’s my turn. You who crosses between sky and earth. Raging water, gather in my hand and give me power. Demona Crystal!”
     The icy beam which Lina cast at the aliens froze those it touched in a block of ice. Once she landed she turned to Steve Huff and said, “Hit them with a thunderbolt!”
     “All right,” Steve said, drawing one of his swords. he pointed it at the frozen aliens, energy crackling around it. “Digger Volt!”
     Energy continued to spark around the blade, collecting in the point and forming a sphere before exploding forth as a large bolt of chain lightning. The lightning bolt struck the frozen aliens, shattering them instantly.
     “According to my calculations,” Amelia said, “we have cut the alien army down to one fourth of what it had been. At this rate we will soon be able to defeat them.”
     “We can accelerate the process,” Tony said, “Can’t we guys?!” He was met with a resounding cheer from the rest of the warriors.
     “Team one’s up first,” Tod said, unclipping his whip from the catch on his belt, “Let’s show the rest how it’s done.”
     “Right,” Michelle said, producing her deep aqua mirror and pointing it at the aliens, “Submarine Reflection.”

     “Yup, just as I thought,” a small woman with waist length light blue hair said. She was dressed in a violet cloak, which showed off her thin and well defined frame when she moved. She was looking through Alex’s computer visor at the space in the rec. room of the dorm where the queen alien had made her nest.
     “What is it Schala?" Tony asked, trying to look over Schala’s shoulder at the readings. By this time he, along with the rest of the warriors and sailor soldiers, had changed back to normal street clothes.
     “There is a very fine tear in the fabric of time and space,” Schala said, sliding the visor up onto her forehead, “it’s so fine that you can’t see it from this angle,” she continued, pointing straight ahead, “but if you were over or under it you would be able to see it quite easily.”
     “That’s a new way to tear space,” a young man with spiky red hair said. He was dressed in a blue shirt, white pants, and brown boots. From his belt hung a katana sword. He had accompanied Schala on her trip to the future.
     “Very true Crono,” Alex said, turning to the young man, “it’s a first for me also.”
     “But can it be sealed?” Lina asked.
     “Yeah,” Asuka said, “I don’t want any more aliens showing up uninvited.”
     “Sure, I can seal it quite easily,” Schala said, “it’ll just take me a minute to recite the spell.”
     As Schala recited the spell, her pendant glowed. The space around the tear also glowed the same color as the pendant. As she said, “Planar Seal!” there was a small explosion which quickly dissipated. As soon as the smoke cleared, Schala slipped the visor down over her eyes again.
     “I think that takes care of everything,” she said, grinning with the satisfaction of a job well done.
     “Are we sure we got rid of all of the aliens and the eggs?” Amelia asked.
     “One way to tell,” Sylphiel said, her crystal wand growing in her hand. She stared into the crystal ball for a couple of seconds before saying, “We got all of them.”
     “That’s a relief,” Alex sighed, stretching out his arms and his back, “so I guess you’ll be heading home now?”
     “Um... we have a slight problem with that,” Sylphiel said.
     “What was that Sylphiel?!” Lina demanded.
     “We’re sort of stuck here for a little while because that teleport spell takes a lot of power and I need a lot of time to regenerate.”
     “Well, you could probably hang out in my apartment for that time,” Adderson said, “I’m sure the super wouldn’t mind five new people moving in, plus it’s large enough for the six of us with some room to spare.”
     “Thank you Mister Adderson,” Amelia said, “we’re grateful for your offer.”
     “Yeah, thanks Adderson,” Gourry said.
     “It’s my pleasure,” Adderson said, smiling. As the Slayers and Adderson walked off, the said, “But I have a few house rules. First, now Dragon Slaves or other magic is to be used in the apartment with the exception of healing spells and maybe a low level light spell or elemental spell, since if something breaks I have to pay for it...”
     “Oh well,” Jason said, shrugging, “he asked for it.”
     “And he’ll probably get his fair share of it,” Alex said, checking his watch. Upon seeing the time he turned on his hell and made a fast break for the door. “I’ll see you guys later... I have some work to finish.”
     “Later Alex,” Asuka said, waving as Alex made tracks for his room. When she turned around again everyone had gone their separate ways. “Bloody unbelievable! Everyone left already. Oh well,” she added, shrugging and heading back for her room, “It’s been one heck of a day and I’m tired!”

     “In our next episode, Alex gets fed up with his floor mates and heads for the virtual arena to blow off some steam and increase his knowledge and techniques. The trip is a long and difficult one, as he soon finds out, but isn’t the trip the best part of getting there? Stay tuned for The Road to the Arena and you might get some fan service in the process.”