Endless Winter
chapter 5 - endgame.

    It was early morning when Alexander West padded down the hallway in the mini dorm known as Eaton and pushed open the door into the lounge. His headphones were pumping out loud dance music as he bebopped the short distance from the doorway to the refrigerator. He opened the door and proceeded to rummage through the assortment of containers until he found his prize - an unopened bottle of FIRE.
    “... And it's all mine,” he said to nobody in particular as he broke the safety seal and tossed it in a nearby wastebasket. He popped the top, taking a swig as he turned around to look out the large window on the opposite side of the room. He performed a somewhat inelegant spit take, spraying the floor, desk, and nearby couch with luke warm drink. The bottle fell to the floor, landing with a dull CLUNK as his footsteps echoed through the empty room. The door crashed open and slowly hissed shut, a second slam coming from the door to his bedroom. He had a mission, and he’d need the help of friends across the country to make sure that the force known as the Wind Princess wouldn’t win, that her plans to freeze the entire planet in and endless winter would not succeed, and that she would be sent screaming into oblivion.
    Outside, large flakes of snow were drifting to the ground, and a fairly nice accumulation was growing. Students took detours from classes to go outside and paste one another with snowballs, make snowmen, and have one last slide down a hill before spring resumed. When the gentle snow flurry turned into a raging snowstorm people began to get a little worried, but put aside any bad thoughts since they were well prepared for just such an emergency. Yet, when the winds picked up and began to blow at speeds in excess of 45 MPH and the snow came down along with sheets of rain, sleet, and hail, the populous of the college town knew that something greater than they could comprehend was happening.
    “This is a force five storm alert for the town of Durham and all surrounding towns. The winter storm in the area is increasing in force as we speak, and is expected to have hurricane force winds and incredible amounts of snow and hail in a very short period of time.”
    All stations on the television and radio had similar warnings for other areas of the country, not just the Durham or New England regions. Across campus people who possessed powers beyond those of a normal human prepared for the worst, and set out on a mission to keep the campus from being buried, blown away, or flooded out.
    “All non essential students and personnel are to leave the area immediately. Leave the protection of the campus to those who know what they’re doing.”
    Bulletins like that, as well as phone calls and voice mail, instructed students on what to do and where to go for safety from the weird weather. Some students were tempted to disobey the warnings and resume having fun, but when thunder and lightning joined the already raging storm, and a small trickle down a hill suddenly became a raging river, they knew that they had to get to the safety of the larger buildings in higher parts of the campus and town.
    In one corner of the campus stood Lina Inverse, her hair blowing wildly in the wind, her cape billowing out dramatically as she brought her talismans into alignment in preparation of firing off something of great magnitude. Her talisman bracelets were glowing as she began to perform the motions for the spell and  spoke the arcane incantation, her voice straining to be heard above the roar of the mighty wind.
    “Lords of darkness of these four worlds, as thy words as my bond, grant me all the power, grant me all the strength which you possess. Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows. Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows...”

    In a second corner of campus stood Alex, his goggles fogging and dripping with rain, his hair beginning to mat to his forehead by the rain and snow. His cape billowed out around him as he levitated off of the ground, his arms spread, his neck cranked to the sky, a whirlwind forming around him as he began to incant a spell. Raw elemental power flowed through his body as he summoned necessary energies together for this awesome spell.
    “Let the winds blow like there is no tomorrow. Let the waters of the world surge and swell. Let the lightning split the sky and crumble the earth. By my abilities to command the elements, let all who oppose me be destroyed by the power you and I possess...”

    In a third corner of campus stood Zelgadis Greywords, his cape billowing out as he prepared to cast his spell. Behind him stood Amelia Will Tesela Seyruun and Sylphiel Nels Raada, who were working to cast a protection spell around the mini dorms in the area.
    “Mister Zelgadis, make sure you don’t blow any of the incantation,” Amelia said, “we can’t afford to have this cul de sac fill up with water, since this is where Mister Alex lives.”
    “You just worry about your own spell,” Zelgadis said as the talismans of angelic light around his wrists began to glow, “Sylphiel, just how well can you direct a protection dome?”
    “I’ve got that down to a science,” Sylphiel replied, smirking. “Why?”
    “You’re going to want to keep the domes confined around the buildings as much as possible.”
    “Right! Amelia, let’s make sure nothing gets destroyed here.”
    “I’m with you Miss Sylphiel. Mister Zelgadis, let’s do this!”
    Zelgadis held his hands above his head, his palms facing as a globe of blue energy formed between them. He closed his eyes, a light wind blowing up around his body, sending his cape billowing above his head as he spoke the incantation for his spell. “Never underestimate the destructive power of nature, for what may be beautiful one minute can become deadly the next. I call upon the powers of thunder and lightning, wind and rain, to strike down all who dare to oppose me. Goddess of the sky, deliver your smiting blow...”

    In the lowest depths of the castle belonging to the Wind Princess sat the dungeons. Though some of the most inhospitable rooms by far, they were now the home of four people, who were formerly some of the princess’ highest ranking officers. Now they spent their time pooling their powers to eavesdrop on the outside world.
    “Do they know what they’re doing?”
    “I sure hope so. They have three of their best spell casters working on this task, and they should be able to defeat this storm in no time flat.”
    “But what if they fail?”
    “You’ve seen what they can do in battle. If they fail they have friends who possess great powers like them, and they can cover as backup.”
    “But what will happen to us if they fail? The Wind Princess has already seen that we’re a bunch of failures.”
    Chilla, Frigidera, and Frezon turned to Icezer, who was huddled in a corner of their cell, hugging her knees to her chin.
    “They won’t fail dear,” Chilla said as she took a seat next to Icezer, “they can’t fail. They’re too strong to lose to someone like our spoiled princess.”
    “I agree with Chilla,” Frigidera added, taking a seat on the other side of Icezer, “We’ve all faced them and put up good fights, but in the end it wasn’t enough.”
    “Let’s hope that the Warriors and Sailor Soldiers can come out on top,” Frezon said as they huddled together. “That is all we can do from here.”

    “We have incoming.... all directions... and they’re hostile!!”
    “That’s just the way I like it. You guys ready?”
    Matt Emmerton glanced at those who were assigned to his company for this battle. Richard had already transformed into Warrior Arctic Chill in order to access his computer visor. Michelle and Erika were there, as were Rini and Diana. Susana and Steve had arrived together. Tod arrived with Nicole, and Jenn had arrived with Rich. Each person nodded, producing their transformation item. Their mission: to defend the town of Newport from the forces of the Wind Princess.
    The group stood atop a hill on the John Stark Highway that overlooked the supermarket, the International Hut of Pizza, and a few other stores. All around them was silence. Not a single car drove past them. Not a single person was to be seen for miles around. People had buckled down for this storm and prayed for the best. Now it was up to these nine to make sure that the town was not lost beneath a giant snow drift.
    “How many minutes until visual confirmation?” Steve asked as he glanced around, the hair on the back of his neck beginning to stand on end from the energy which was rapidly filling the area.
    “Confirmation in less than two minutes,” Rich replied, his visor blinking something to his left. He turned in that direction, more readings blinking onto his visor. “Umm.... you’re not going to like this, but visual confirmation to the east will be within the next thirty seconds.”
    “Then we have no other choice but to transform now,” Susana said, the gem in her Pluto pen shimmering. “Pluto Crystal Power.... Make UP!”
    “Neptune Crystal Power... Make UP!”
    “Uranus Crystal Power... Make UP!”
    “Saturn Crystal Power... Make UP!”
    “Moon Crisis Power... Make UP!”
    “Starblaze Star Power.... Make UP!”
    “Flame Crystal Power Transform!”
    “Thunder Crystal Power Transform!”
    “Light Crystal Power Transform!”
<music: Uranus & Neptune followed by Star Power Make UP!>
    Colored light engulfed each of them, flashes of light bringing forth Sailors Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Pluto, Starblaze, and Mini Moon along with Warriors Hellfire, Thunderbolt, and FireStar. Each person finished their transformation in some pose or another. Weapons were drawn or produced as a veritable army of snow dancers and ice drakes appeared out of the clouds, bringing with them arctic cold winds and blinding sheets of snow. The Senshi and Warriors leapt skyward, each one prepared for a long and difficult battle ahead of them.
    “Blazing Blade Boomerang!”
    The flaming disc blazed through the sky, leaving a trail of red light in its wake as it slashed a path through the army of ice drakes and snow dancers. The winds around them began to increase in intensity, an icy chill accompanying them. A moment later snow began to join the wind, creating a blizzard over the town when it was supposed to be a warm spring day.
    “Comet Strike!”
    Several small fireballs sailed through the air, joining midway to their target to form a larger fireball that collided with an ice drake, destroying it in a cloud of snowflakes. The fireball exploded into several smaller fireballs that struck surrounding snow dancers, wounding them.
    “Dead Scream.”
    A ringed ball of energy screamed through the center of a formation of snow dancers, obliterating all in its path. Several more followed suit, creating an opening in the army that filled the sky.
    “Moon Gorgeous Mediation!”
    A ray of colored light mowed a large hole in the ranks of the snow dancers. Sailor Mini Moon, who was on the commanding end of the attack, looked at the other sailor senshi and warriors who were with her before saying, “I don’t think we can do this on our own guys.”
    “Mini Moon’s right,” Warrior Hellfire said as he landed and clipped his ax to his back, “we’re going to need to conserve what power we have until somebody finds a way to nip this advancing army in the bud.”
    “If you guys can get me high enough, I might be able to blast a hole in their ranks that’ll give us a tactical advantage,” Sailor Saturn said, spinning her glaive about.
    “If you’re thinking of the Silence Glaive Surprise, forget it,” Sailor Neptune said, “we can’t afford to have our chief defensive expert out for the rest of the battle.”
    “I can handle myself,” Saturn replied, biting back a loud rebuttal, “I’m not the struggling weakling any more. I can do this. Just trust in my powers.”
    “I don’t want you to get hurt,” Mini Moon said, hugging Saturn around the waist, “you’re my best friend. If you get hurt...”
    Several blasts of icy wind struck around them, freezing the ground solid. The four warriors moved to the outermost positions, their armor glowing as they formed a protective dome around the rest of the group. FireStar turned his head to the sailor soldiers, a look of grim determination on his face. “I don’t care what you guys do as long as you do it quickly. We’re out of practice for a power shield.”
    “Then send me skyward,” Saturn said, patting Mini Moon on the head. She looked at the grim looks of the other three senshi. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I can send some of them packing and be back before the boys get too tired.”
    “Then upward you go,” Sailor Uranus said, cupping her hands, “go on kid. It’s your moment. Light up the sky for us.”
    “Thanks Uranus,” Saturn said as she set her foot in Uranus’ hands and leaned on her shoulder for support. “Whenever you’re ready.”
    “Then up... you.. GO!”
    Uranus put all of her energy into the launch as Pluto and Neptune prayed for a happy ending to this event. Saturn cleared the dome, gaining an extra boost from the warrior’s energy. When she reached the peak of her jump she spun her glaive around, the blade glowing, a globe of energy forming around it. She cried, “Silence Glaive.... SURPRISE!” before swinging the glaive in a downward arc. There was a split second of silence before an expanding sphere of energy tore through the sky, illuminating the town below to noon daylight conditions. Any snow dancer or ice drake unlucky enough to be within a 80 meter radius of the caster found themselves destroyed. The globe gradually diminished until Saturn was left in midair. A second after that she dropped ground ward.
    Though still conscious, she was greatly weakened by the invocation of her most powerful attack. However, she managed to pull off a perfect landing in the midst of her friends. An energy dome formed around them, and the warriors crouched down to catch their breaths.
    “Saturn, you were wonderful!” Mini Moon said, hugging Saturn. “That was the most powerful one yet!”
    “Mini Moon, you’re embarrassing me,” Saturn protested as she was hugged repeatedly, “C’mon. I’m not gonna die if you let go of me.”
    “So what’s our next plan of attack?” Thunderbolt asked as he watched the approaching army. Around the dome the snow was beginning to pile up, and by the time he had finished his thought there was about half a foot surrounding them.
    “We survive,” Sailor Pluto said, looking at the approaching army as well. “That’s all we can do until somebody comes up with something better.”

    “These are the conditions all across the planet. Florida is getting snow... in what should be ninety degree weather. In California surfers are advised to stay inside and turn up the heat because the waves aren’t too friendly. In Thailand there are reports of upwards of four feet of snow and ice thus far...”
    “The African Sahara, once thought unable to receive any snow, is now getting it at the rate of an inch every five minutes. Every place north of the equator that would normally be having spring and summer like conditions are getting snow. South of the equator they’re also getting snow. Heck, on the equator itself they’re getting snow....”
    The televisions in the window of the electronics store showed scenes of the places being talked about and the falling snow that they had in common. Cassi Drolland, Heather Riccona, Dawn Welling, and Will Arrowney were on their way home from the store when they stopped to watch the news. Cassi nearly dropped her bag of groceries when she saw Cancun, Mexico receiving snowfall that was piling up like there was no tomorrow.
<music: Super Metroid: Spore Spawn battle>
    “Guys, something has to be done about this,” she said as flakes of snow began to fall around them.
    “Well, I’d say we’re in for something,” Will said as people around them began to notice the snow, “and judging by the way people are looking at the snowfall, it’s going to be coming very soon.”
    Several blasts of arctic wind struck people in the streets, freezing them in blocks of ice. A pair of women made of snow landed nearby, and the four blinked in awe. They glanced to each other and nodded before producing transformation pens from their coat pockets. These they held aloft while shouting henshin phrases.
    “Cassiopia Star Power...”
    “Centaur Star Power....”
    “Ursa Star Power...”
    “Nebula Star Power...”
    “TRANSFORM!!”
<music: ‘Star Power, Make UP!’>
    Ribbons erupted from Cassi’s pen, wrapping around her body like liquid fire as her clothing melted away. The ribbons solidified into blood red carapace armor with a brilliant white under suit, mid calf high boots of blood red with shin guards of white, and bracers of a similar color with glowing white stones. The blood red shifted to a deep forest green, the stones and her under suit changing to a pale blue to offset the fiery color of her hair. A spear formed in her hands, and this she spun about like a baton before training it upon her enemy.
    Glowing dust flowed from Will’s pen as his body became energy. The dust melted around his body as the constellation of Centaur formed behind him, the dust solidifying to form baggy gray pants, black leather boots, and a silvery tunic with black and gold trim. He reached up to the sky as a glowing ring encompassed each of his wrists, and the rings spanned downward, forming bracers of a pale blue. The rings continued downward, forming shoulder and chest armor of the same color. The rings formed one large ring that spanned down his legs, forming shin armor. When the ring touched the ground it sparkled and changed into a ball that floated up to Will’s hands. He grasped this ball, and his bow formed out of it.
    Green light flowed from Dawn’s pen, and this floated about her body, shimmering like glitter in sunlight. Her body was cast into shadow, a glowing green outline forming in the darkness. A glowing circle formed around her feet before quickly spanning the height of her body, vanishing above her head in a shower of the same glitter. She was now clad in female style battle armor of a metallic green with golden accents, and this covered her chest, shoulders, hips, shins, and forearms. A skintight body suit of golden cloth had formed beneath her armor, and there was a diamond shaped cutout around her navel, which showed off her belly ring. She clapped her hands together and slowly pulled them apart, a glowing sword forming. When the sword was fully formed she grabbed the hilt, spun it a couple of times, and brought around behind her back.
    The sky went dark around Heather as her transformation took effect. Her hair ribbon melted away, her blue hair billowing around her face as an unseen wind blew from behind her. She spun around and held her hands to the sky, a globe of blinding light forming in her hands. This sailed high into the sky and exploded into a shower of golden glitter, which floated down and wrapped around her body, forming a silver battle dress and golden boots, as well as a flame orange bow in her hair. A second wave of glitter floated up from the floor, forming reddish gold shin armor, hip armor, chest armor, shoulder armor, and a crown of silver with a flame red jewel set into the front. A whip formed in her hands, and this she lashed about before catching it and stretching it in front of her body, a wry grin forming on her face.
    With their transformations complete they struck battle stances, each bringing their weapons to a state of readiness. Before them and around them stood, or floated rather, several snow dancers, each ready to lash out with their icy cold attack and put these four warriors on ice. Ursa and Cassiopia leapt into the air, weapons drawn and glowing. They lunged at the snow dancers, striking down their enemies with flawless strikes and equally flawless efficiency.
    “Cosmic Fire STRIKE!”
    Nebula spun her whip about over her head, a circle of fire forming at the perimeter of the spin. She cracked her whip through this circle, the lash splitting the circle and sending two intertwining streams of fire into the midst of a group of youma. The attack struck and exploded outward, melting the snow dancers instantly.
    “We need to find an open area to fight in,” Centaur said as he cart wheeled out of the path of an icy spray and bumped into one of the frozen people.
    “Where do you suggest we find one of those?” Cassiopia asked as she flipped through the air and landed on the shoulders of a snow dancer, her weight bringing her target down onto her back. She spun her spear above her head and drove it through the snow dancer’s head, ending yet another enemy’s existence.
    She glanced up to find a large concentration of icy blasts barreling down upon her. Before she could react a wall of energy formed between her and the attack, and she squinted into the blinding glare to see a young man wearing orange and black armor standing in the path, his violet dyed hair blowing gently in the shock waves. “Hey Cassi, you could attack at some point, ya know,” he said, smiling at her.
    “Night?” she asked. The figure nodded. “All right. The gang’s all here!” she cheered, leaping onto the young man’s shoulders and vaulting high into the air, her spear glowing brilliantly. Four ghostly copies of her formed in the air around her, and the five of them dove at the attacking forces, all crying, “Rosario Impale!” as they touched down, stabbing their spears into the ground. A cross shaped energy wave exploded from the area inside the strike points, instantly erasing their adversaries.
    “Soul Eraser!” Centaur cried as twin globes of energy formed around his bow and spiraled around in space. He drew back the string of his bow, a large glowing arrow forming. He released the arrow as the two globes exploded into twin energy beams that continued to spiral around the arrow as it, too, exploded into a column of energy. These three beams struck a small group of snow dancers and obliterated them where they stood. When the attack finished he backed up to regroup with the other four.
    “So, what brings you around?” Nebula asked, giving Night a somewhat evil glare, “I thought you had class today.”
    “Canceled,” Night said as he moved his barrier around them to form a dome. “I mean, Durham is currently qualifying for disaster funding.”
    “So first we save Dover, and then we go and help rescue Durham?” Ursa asked. Night nodded. “I figured as much.”
    “And the smallest journey begins with a simple step,” Centaur said dramatically. The other four sighed.
    “Centaur, my friend,” Night said, putting his hand on Centaur’s shoulder, “You really need to get out more.” He grew more serious before adding, “Let’s kick these ice queen’s butts!” The others nodded before leaping back into action.

    Back in Durham, Alex concentrated on the center of the storm blowing above, the energies from his spell already taking effect. ‘I gotta aim this just right,’ he thought as the lenses of his goggles blinked up readings for the trajectory required to destroy the storm. “Sky to earth, earth to water, water to fire, fire to sky. An endless circle like the power I draw from the elements. Goddess of the sea and sky, unite your powers now!”
    He closed his eyes for a split second before screaming the attack name. “MAELSTROM!”
    A raw wave of energy was released from his hands as he brought them up above his head and touched the heels of his palms together. A reverse storm brewed in the sky, large bolts of lightning striking at the storm. He gritted his teeth as his elemental energy was drained by the spell.
    “Alex, you need to adjust your trajectory by vector point zero-three-seven to the west and point three-niner-two to the south,” came from his wrist mounted communicator.
    “I read ya, whoever you are,” Alex said, performing the required adjustments. A moment later the sky went white as the storm began to break up. As the spell ran its course the mage began to drop to the ground, exhausted. “Damn,” he cursed under his breath as the storm came back stronger than it had been moments earlier, “power drain. Reserves are almost tapped as well. I need to keep this going until I can get some assistance.”
    He clenched his teeth and redoubled his efforts, the urge to pass out prevalent and very evident in the front of his mind, yet he never gave it a chance to fully surface. “They’re counting on me. My friends, my family. The entire world even. I can’t fail them. I just can’t. I won’t. I will not admit failure!”
    The glow put out by the spell was blinding for a moment, and then began to fade away to nothing yet again. ‘I won’t admit failure. I won’t admit failure. I won’t admit failure.’ ran through his mind as he began to crumple to the ground. His last conscious thought was, ‘I think I might have failed.’

    “.... By the power you and I possess!” Lina said, finishing her spell incantation, a great buildup of dark energy forming around her wrists and in her talismans. She brought her hands back, small globes of darkness glowing between her palms. She thrust her hands forward and shouted, “Dragon... SLAVE!”, the globes between her hands glowing brighter before they exploded into a wave of dark energy that struck the clouds where Alex’s spell was taking effect and added to the destructive force.
    ‘I need to make sure this holds,’ she thought as she poured her strength into casting the spell, ‘goddess of light, lords of darkness, anybody who’ll listen to me, including the Lord of Nightmares, please grant me the strength I require to save this town, this state, and the world.’
    She felt a sudden surge of power, and this she channeled into the spell. The beam increased in width, illuminating her face in a weird sort of back light as it tore through the sky. A scream built up in her throat, and this she let loose without regret.
    ‘This power. This force. This must be the power of a true believer in a cause,’ she thought as she continued to pour her energy into the spell. ‘I believe. I believe.’ “I BELIEVE!”

    Nick and Mackenzie were standing in a relatively dry place on campus, watching the fireworks that lit the sky like the brightest day. Mack had his arms crossed behind his head as he leaned against a wall, his glasses low on his nose. A sudden beep woke him from the daze he was in. He slid up his sleeve and answered the incoming call on his communicator.
    “Mackenzie, we need your help,” Amelia said, her face appearing on the screen.
    “Amelia?” Mackenzie asked, blinking.
    “We’re in over our heads,” the princess continued. “The storm appears to be increasing in intensity instead of weakening, and our offensive teams are growing weaker by the moment.”
    The communicator beeped again as Lina’s face replaced Amelia’s. “Hey Heatwave, we could use one of your Nova Flare’s right about now.”
    “I need Alex’s Solar Flare tech for that one,” Mackenzie replied.
    “You may have to do it on your own, little bro.,” Nick said as he uncoiled from where he was leaning against the wall. “Alex’s Maelstrom spell is growing weaker by the moment, meaning that the caster must be growing weaker as well.”
    He pointed to the corner of campus where Alex stood, and Mackenzie could see that there the storm was just as strong as it had been earlier, if not stronger. The magical field from the Maelstrom spell was barely visible, even though it should have been one of the brightest things in the sky due to the power of the spell. “Bloody hell. Do you think he’s dead?” Mackenzie asked, sliding his shades up onto the top of his head.
    “Not dead.... but most likely feeling majorly drained from the energy required for the spell,” Nick said as he pulled his coat shut. “We might as well go and offer him some backup and support.”
    “Right,” Mack said as he closed and tied his trench coat. “Backup and support. Gotcha.”
    They splashed across campus, leaping large puddles and stopping every few moments behind a tree or under an outcropping to get away from the rain and snow that began to soak through their coats and shoes. Somehow, through sheer determination and sheer will they made it to Alex’s location in time to see the mage crumple fully to the ground, great sheets of water crashing down against his body. In a flash the two mutants were by his side, Nick creating an ice wall above them to get the rain off of their backs, Mack checking Alex’s vitals.
    “Nick, he’s not breathing,” Mackenzie said.
    “You remember what mom told us to do in a situation like this,” Nick said, icy blue light reflecting off of his sunglasses and face.
    Mackenzie racked his brains for a moment. Sure, mom was a registered nurse and worked mega hours at the hospital. Sure, she’d made sure that her sons knew what to do in case somebody stopped breathing or drowned or were bleeding or pretty much anything. “Mouth to mouth,” he said after a moment. Nick nodded. “Oh brother. I pray that Alex never remember what I’m about to do,” he sighed, prepping Alex for rescue breathing. He pinched the mage’s nose shut, tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and pressed his mouth to Alex’s before releasing the breath. He pulled back, waited a moment to see if there was any effect, and when there wasn’t he repeated.
    After three or four breaths Alex coughed, blinked a few times, and let loose an ear piercing yowl that caused Nick to lose concentration for a few seconds so that the ice wall broke around them. Mackenzie fell backwards onto his butt and skittered a couple of feet away, out of range of Alex, who looked like he could kill.
    “What... what did you just do?” Alex coughed. “You... you little pervert. You kissed me while I was unconscious, didn’t you?!”
    “I just saved your ungrateful life,” Mackenzie spat, “the least you could do is thank me. And if you even *think* of telling Monet that I had my lips pressed to yours I’ll fry your sorry butt faster than you can say ‘I didn’t know what was going on’!”
    Alex mused for a moment, then looked up at Nick, who sighed and shook his head. “O.K.,” he said after a brief pause, in which they could hear the storm raging around them, “thank you for saving my sorry ass. I guess I was more tired than I realized from casting that spell.”
    “Think you can manage a Solar Flare?” Mack asked as he rose to his feet and helped Alex to his.
    “Lemme see.... I’m mega drained on energy, so yeah, I think I can manage.”
    “You two might want to hurry up with that,” Nick said, “it looks like Lina and Zel are running out of energy as well.”
    Mackenzie and Alex stood back to back, heads bowed, hands before their bodies, palms facing. A glowing ball of red light formed between Mack’s hands, and one of swirling orange formed between Alex’s. The two leapt skyward, maneuvering back to back, the energy balls they held now above their heads. These twin globes united with a flash of flame, and in unison they cried, “NOVA FLARE!”
    An expanding wave of intense heat tore through town, melting snow and drying the pavement instantly. Some small patches of old and dry brush ignited, only to be extinguished a moment later by the pouring rain. A column of solar plasma and living fire rose into the sky from the blast point, tearing the storm apart on every level possible and imaginable. The sun broke through the clouds, which were scattering and vanishing since they could no longer maintain cohesion due to the intense power given off by the combo attack.
    Down on the ground Nick was shielding his eyes from the blinding light with his crossed arms. His communicator beeped, and he shut his eyes against the glare as he answered the call.
    “Hey Nick, I think maybe you should tell those two to lay off on the heat attack a bit,” Lina said as her image appeared on the screen. “I swear I’m gonna roast to death from that heatwave.”
    The communicator beeped again and Zel’s face replaced Lina’s. “Tell those two that the storm’s breaking up and they can back off.”
    “Wish I could,” Nick sighed, “only problem is that I think they fried their communicators when they released that massive heatwave.”
    A moment after he said that Nick and Alex landed, both dropping to their knees, their breathing heavy, sweat on their brows. “I’ll call you guys back after I give these two an intense cool down.” he said as he clicked the communicator off. His palms glowed as he summoned an icy breeze to wash over Nick and Alex.
    “Dude, that’s mega cold,” Alex said after a moment.
    “I don’t think my body will ever know hot or cold again,” Mack sighed, sitting cross legged in the breeze. “Damn.... how much power did you put into that Solar Flare Alex? I thought I was going to either burst into flames or wind up naked from my clothes burning off.”
    Alex chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “A hahahahahaha.... funny you should say that. The Solar Flare is my near fatal attack, meaning when I’m at my weakest it’s at its strongest. That maelstrom made me pretty weak, so the attack strength...”
    “Was increased exponentially,” Nick mused. Alex nodded at him. “No wonder there was an explosive heatwave at the beginning of the technique. With that much energy I’m surprised you didn’t immolate the entire campus.”
    “Forget the campus,” a familiar voice growled. All three turned to see Lina, Zel, Amelia, and Sylphiel wearing clothes that were a little too tight. Alex burst into laughter when he saw this. Nick and Mackenzie simply sighed and bowed their heads.
    “Mister Alex, this isn’t funny,” Amelia protested. “I swear if I move I’ll split a seam.”
    “Forget splitting a seam,” Lina growled, “I can barely breathe.”
    “Mister Alex, Miss Lina, Miss Amelia, this is no time to be arguing,” Sylphiel said, “we have to go and assist in the final assault on the Wind Princess’ castle.”
    “Who’s arguing?” Alex asked through his laughter, “Oh man.... if you guys could see yourselves....”
    “Alex, now is not the time to be laughing,” Zel said, picking Alex up by his collar. A loud tearing sound filled the air, and Alex’s laughter increased in volume. Zel turned and looked behind to see that the seat of his pants had split, revealing the black bikini underwear he wore. He blushed crimson, as did Amelia and Sylphiel, who were standing behind Zel.
    “O.K..... change of plans,” Lina said, averting her gaze, a blush on her face as well, “first we go and change into something better fitting, and then we figure out what comes next.”
    “Deal,” Zelgadis said, taking his cape off and wrapping it around his waist. “How embarrassing.”

    In darkness illuminated only by computer screens sat Draco, Vesta, Pallas, and Ceres, all monitoring conditions across the globe and the conditions of the battles occurring elsewhere in the world.
    “We need a response team in a heavily wooded area stat,” Vesta said into her ear mounted microphone. “Wind caster preferably.”
    “We’re on it,” came her reply from Phobos and Deimos.
    “Response team seven, please teleport to following coordinates for backup support. Delta Charlie seven zero niner,” Draco said before leaning back and rubbing his eyes. “Oh man, if this keeps up my eyes are gonna fry from looking at screens in an ill lit room.”
    “You could be out fighting the forces of evil with the others,” Vesta said, sliding her eyepiece up onto her forehead.
    “Yeah,” Draco said, shrugging, “but you need somebody to help with command control. How else are we going to manage so much at one time?”
    “This is Luna,” came over their ear pieces, “Password - kitty wants her catnip.”
    “Does kitty want to be fed?” Ceres asked, using the code words for the encoded transmission.
    “Kitty craves her kibble with milk,” was the reply before Luna’s image appeared on their screens. The guardian was in her human form, and the transmission integrity was grainy at best. “Guys, we’ve reached the outer perimeter of the Wind Princess’ compound. We could use some Sailor Power here as soon as humanly possible.”
    “We’re stretched to the extreme Luna,” Pallas replied, “but we’ll see if we can spare some for you.”
    “Just hur....”
    The transmission cut off, and digital snow crackled on the screens. Pallas looked at the others, who looked back at her with blank looks on their faces. “Serena, Mina, Rei, Ami, Lita, prepare to dispatch to the last recorded coordinates of Guardian Team. Repeat, prepare for dispatch.”

    “Dispatch?!” the five senshi said in unison as they received the transmission from command control.
    “Luna? Artemis? Diana?” Mina and Serena said in unison.
    “We need to hurry up and help them,” Rei said, holding her transformation pen aloft. “They kept us in reserve for just such an emergency.”
    “And this is an emergency if there ever was one,” Lita said, also holding her pen aloft. “Serena, Mina, we can still help them if we hurry.”
    “Yeah Serena, c’mon,” Mina said, elbowing Serena in the side, “we have to be strong and brave.”
    Serena nodded. “Right. I’m in. Rei, start us off please.”
    Rei smirked. “With pleasure, princess pain in the neck. Mars Crystal Power!”
    “Mercury Crystal Power!”
    “Venus Crystal Power!”
    “Jupiter Crystal Power!”
    “Moon Cosmic Power!”
    “MAKE UP!”
    Five flashes of colored light brought forth the inner Sailor Senshi - Sailors Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter. All five joined hands in a circle before concentrating on where their guardians were fighting the hard battle. Rainbow light encircled them as they whispered, “Sailor Teleport.” They melted away into thin air, leaving broken pavement where they had been not thirty seconds earlier.

    In the frozen north, near the last coordinates of the guardian force, a ring of rainbow light appeared. This spanned down to the ground and vanished, leaving five sailor suit clad girls in the icy cold of the arctic. Sailor Mercury instantly clicked on her visor and began to take readings on the surrounding area.
    “Where are they?” Sailor Moon asked, her teeth chattering from the cold.
    “Will you give it a rest Serena,” Sailor Mars growled in her ear, “We’re in Sailor form. We really can’t feel the cold or the biting wind. We just think we can.”
    “Well, this feels real enough to me,” Sailor Moon replied as she hugged herself and shivered. “I’m going to turn into a sailor flavored popsicle if we stay here any longer.”
    “Guys, I think we found the guardians,” Sailor Mercury said, crouching down and brushing some of the snow aside. What she uncovered was a young woman with long wavy black hair and dressed in a yellow dress.
    “Luna?!” Sailor Moon cried, crouching down to help uncover the woman. “Luna, speak to me. Luna, can you hear me?”
    “Serena?” the woman asked weakly.
    “We’re all here Luna,” Sailor Venus said as she and Jupiter crouched next to her, “What happened here?”
    “The Wind Princess.... her army... they overpowered us,” Luna said as she struggled to sit up. Sailor Mars crouched down and set Luna’s head on her lap to give her some leverage. “I don’t know what happened to the others.”
    “They’re here all right,” Sailor Mercury said, scanning the rest of the area. “I think we found Artemis and Spirit... those two drifts over there.”
    Sailors Venus and Jupiter walked over to where Mercury pointed, crouched down, and began to brush the snow away. Both let out startled cries as the forms of a young man with long white hair and a young woman with black and brown hair were uncovered.
    “This is horrible,” Sailor Moon cried, “who could have that much power? Who?!”
    “I could,” a child like voice said on the wind. “I am the wind princess, and you are in my territory now.”
    “This is bad guys,” Sailor Jupiter said, taking a step back, “I don’t know what her power level is, but even I can feel it.”
    “And that’s not saying much for what I’m feeling right now,” Sailor Mars said, shivering visibly, “This is too much for even us to handle.”
    “They put up a brave fight,” the Wind Princess’ voice echoed across the land, “but, alas, I was far too much for them. And I shall prove to be too much for you.”
    “Then we go down fighting as well,” Sailor Moon said, her moon kaleidoscope appearing in her hand. “For Artemis. For Luna. For Diana. For all of the guardians and for the people of the earth. We will punish you!”
    The wind seemed to stop for a moment, an unnerving silence filling the air. The Sailor Soldiers looked at each other and shrugged, since none of them could make heads or tails of the pause.
<music: ‘B.T.’ - from the .hack//sign OST>
    “May as well take a moment to call in some backup,” Sailor Venus said, taking her communicator from behind her back. She looked at Artemis again, a knot forming in her throat as she punched in the code for their command center. “This is Mina calling Chaos Control. Mina calling Chaos Control. Is there anyone there?”
    “This is Ariel. What’s wrong Mina? You sound... upset.”
    Tears began to stream down Mina’s cheeks when she glanced at all of the wounded guardians, especially Artemis. “Our guardians.... our friends... they’ve been injured in their campaign against the forces of the Wind Princess. They... they may leave us at any moment.”
    There was a pause on the receiving end before Ariel replied. “I’m dispatching Alex, the Andrews brothers, the Slayers, and...”
    Ariel hadn’t even finished her list when a very frightened looking Alex phased out of subspace, followed by Warrior Orion, Nick, Mackenzie, and Lina & company.
    “Star!” Alex cried, dropping to his knees near his fallen guardian. “Star, what happened?”
    “Ambushed,” Star replied, his face twisting in pain, “there were so many snow dancers. They overwhelmed us.”
    The guardian turned his head and coughed, crimson blood spattering the pure white snow by his head. Alex bowed his head, his hands clenched into fists, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
    “Chaos Control, pull everyone out,” he said, his voice as cold as the ice and snow around him.
    “Come again?!” several voices said around him.
    “Pull everyone out. Sylphiel, I need you to cast resurrection spells on the guardians,” Alex instructed, rising to his feet, fire flashing in his eyes.
    “We’re not going,” Mackenzie said, stepping forward, “you need some serious firepower, and we’re here to back you up.”
    “We’re not leaving either,” Sailor Mars said, standing with the other four Sailor Soldiers.
    “Miss Sylphiel, please help Artemis,” Sailor Venus pleaded, “Please.”
    Sylphiel looked at those who were affected deepest by the injury of the guardians and nodded. “I’ll do my best,” she said, “you go on ahead. We’ll catch up with you shortly.”
    “Let’s get going,” Nick said, slipping his sunglasses on, “Alex, you’d better transform.”
    “Way ahead of you,” Alex said, hoisting his right hand aloft, the gem in his ring shining a brilliant violet. “Star Crystal Power!”
    Stars swirled around his body as his transformation commenced, rings of energy spiraling around his head and feet. These spanned across his body to his waist, where they met and vanished, his armor and warrior outfit having formed in their wake. The chaos emeralds in his gauntlets and the hilt of his sword glowed as he began to extract the raw power from them.
    “I’m detecting multiple incoming in your area,” Ariel’s voice said over the communicator.
    “Amelia, barrier spell,” Sylphiel said as she began to work her healing magic.
    Snow dancers by the thousands began to phase out of thin air, filling the sky in a matter of seconds. Warrior Orion and Mackenzie struck battle stances when they saw the sheer number of enemies. The other members of the party either struck stances or stood staring in awe. Warrior Saturn cracked his knuckles, the air around him glowing green from the chaos energy he was absorbing.
    “Sailor Soldiers, Warriors, and Slayers,” an icy cold female voice said from all around them, “Leave my home now and let me be or suffer the same fate as your guardians.”
    “We won’t leave until your butt has been kicked!” Lina shouted into the wind, “Whoever you are, we’ll defeat you!”
    “I’ve already introduced myself to the five who first arrived, but since you insist on arriving at different times, I am the wind princess,” the voice said, “and I am all powerful. Snow Dancers, attack!”
    The air was suddenly filled with blizzard attacks, giving those on the ground little room to move or dodge. A dome of energy melted out of thin air around them, blocking all of the incoming attacks without wavering.
    “When I drop the dome you guys get your licks in,” Orion said, his eyes glowing silver with the use of his angel ability.
    “Gotcha,” Zelgadis nodded, glancing at Saturn and the others, “Just give the word.”
    Orion counted down five seconds, then dropped the barrier. Those who were attacking leapt into the air, their powers manifesting as they reached the peaks of their jumps.
    “Burning Mandala!”
    “Jupiter Oak Evolution!”
    Rings of flame as well as leaves and electricity filled the air, striking down snow dancers in a circular area and opening up a space long enough for a couple of other people to gain more altitude.
    “Solar Flare!”
    “Nitro Dagger!”
    “Burst Rhondo!”
    An expanding globe of flames pushed many snow dancers back while a hail of ice shards tore through many of those who didn’t get out of the way in time. A spray of fireballs joined the nitro daggers in decimating the ranks of the wind princess army.
    “Venus Love Me Chain!”
    “Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!”
    “Moon Gorgeous Mediation!”
    A chain of glowing hearts whistled through the air, tearing in half any snow dancer who got in the way or knocking pieces off of them during the pass. Several sprays of icy cold water struck down various snow dancers, and a ray of rainbow colored light cut through the air, clearing the way for two more people with high powered attacks.
    “Dragon Slave!”
    “Chaos Beam!”
    A glowing blood red ray of magical energy and an equally large ray of chaotic green magic intertwined their way through the sky, tearing snow dancers apart left and right. The two casters snapped their hands back and punched forward, adding powerful pulses to their rays, increasing their destructive yield for the final strike at their target.
    “Chaos Beam?” Lina asked, looking at Saturn, who was glowing chaotic green as he drained energy from the chaos emeralds at an alarming rate. “Woah..... um, Alex, you might want to lay off the chaos power for a bit.”
    “She hurt Star,” he said through gritted teeth, “and I’m going to make her pay for what has transpired.”
    “Alex,” Star gasped weakly, his body glowing, “I’m.... I’m sorry. Forgive me.”
    Alex looked over his shoulder in time to see Star fade into sparkling bubbled. A moment later the other guardians followed suit, filling the air with beautiful glittering bubbles.
    “No,” Alex, Serena, and Mina gasped in unison.
    “You shall soon join them,” the Wind Princess cackled, “Snow Dancers, destroy them!”
    Serena’s outfit shimmered, disappearing for a moment as a new transformation took effect. “Moon Eternal Power!” she cried, angel feathers blowing up around her body, forming a more colorful version of her sailor uniform, a set of angel wings forming on her back. A large mace with a silver crystal formed in her hands, and this she spun before pointing it at the Wind Princess.
    Alex’s armor glowed and vanished as a secret power was unleashed. Armor of jet black with golden trim and blue archaic runes formed and joined with his body, a glaive possessing a black head with a golden blade possessing the same blue runes forming in his hands. Electricity crackled around his body as the spikes on the elbows and shoulders of his new armor increased in size.
    “Two new transformations?” Mina asked, blinking back tears.
    “You remember what happens to Serena whenever there’s something big to accomplish,” Rei said, pressing her hands together in prayer fashion with the index fingers pointing upward, a globe of fire forming. Mina nodded. “Well, apparently the same thing happens to Alex.”
<music: ‘Dogfight (English version)’ - MOVE>
    “Even fancy new powers won’t defeat me!” the Wind Princess cackled, a blizzard tearing through the area. “You lose!”
    “Where is she?!” Alex demanded, the blade on his glaive crackling with electricity, a globe of pure lightning forming, a ring of light forming around that. “She can’t hide forever!”
    “And we can’t keep firing wildly,” Ami said, taking a deep breath, “We’ll burn out long before we find her. None of us can keep this up indefinitely.”
    “Silver Moon Crystal Power KISS!” Sailor Moon cried, the crystal in her mace glowing as she waved it about. A hail of angel feathers and silver magic tore through the blizzard, effectively pushing it back towards what was hopefully the source of the evil.
    “Tempest Strike!” Alex cried, swinging his glaive in the direction Sailor Moon was attacking. The ringed ball of lightning tore through the sky, using the sailor attack as a conduit to the target. Something beyond the blizzard exploded, the blizzard increasing instantly increasing in force.
    “Looks like we know where to attack,” Mina said, shielding her eyes, ice chips cutting into her legs. “The only question is will we live to attack again?”

    Down in the dungeon the four generals of the wind princess listened to the battle raging outside. Icezer had already decided that they had to do something to help the Sailor Soldiers and Warriors, but didn’t have a plan of attack. Frezon had a plan of attack, only he couldn’t figure a way out of the dungeon. Frigidera and Chilla knew ways out of the dungeon, only the door had a magical seal that was repellent to their attacks.
    “I think all hope is lost,” Icezer pouted, punching the door. “Not even a combined attack from all four of us has had any effect.”
    “The Snow Dancers don’t listen to us any more,” Chilla sighed, taking a seat. “We’re as good as rotten.”
    “Why don’t we just try a teleport?” Frigidera suggested.
    “The cell is repellent to any sort of magic, and that will keep us in here,” Frezon sighed. “Face it, we’re a lost cause.”
    “If we keep thinking like that then all truly is lost,” Icezer said, leaping to her feet. “We need to help them defeat our princess and bring back whatever good is left within her. She used to be kind and caring, and somewhere along the line something happened to change all of that!”
    “Maybe if we tried a combined teleport,” Frigidera pondered.
    “Worth a try,” Chilla said, taking his hand. “Frezon, you in?”
    Frezon was silent for a moment. Icezer looked over her shoulder at him as she took Frigidera’s other hand and nodded to Chilla. “I’m in,” the youngest of the generals said. “Frezon, we’re waiting on you.”
    “I’m in,” Frezon said quietly, taking Icezer’s and Chilla’s free hands. He looked up at the other three, cold determination in his ice blue eyes. “Let’s help them to spank our naughty princess.”
    All four bowed their heads and summoned their energies into a single point in the center of their circle. The bubble that formed grew and surrounded them, pulling them inside before it shrank and vanished out of existence.

    Outside the castle, behind the lines of the battling Sailor Soldiers and Warriors the bubble reappeared, expanded, and deposited the four generals before shrinking out of existence again. All four looked around, blinking as the raging blizzard engulfed them as well.
    “Air barrier,” Chilla said, swishing her right hand up, a wall of wind forming from the swing. The wall expanded forward, battling back the blizzard while uncovering the Sailors, Warriors, and Slayers who were half frozen from the attack.
    “Cure Water,” Icezer said, bowing her head, tears falling from her eyes. These vanished in midair, reappearing above the fallen combatants. The tears fell onto the fallen, infusing them with a recharge while healing their wounds.
    “What the heck hit me?” Lina asked, sneezing. She looked up to see the four generals and grumbled, “Great, more asses we have to kick.”
    “We’re not here to fight,” Chilla said, continuing to expand her barrier. “And you can thank us for the curative water that just saved your lives.”
    “Why should we thank you?!” Alex demanded, stumbling to his feet, his hand still clutched around his glaive, “Your princess killed our guardians and she’s trying to freeze the world!”
    “And we battled you and won,” Rei said, fire swirling up around her, “Why shouldn’t we off you where you stand?”
    “Because you need help,” Frezon said, stepping forward. “Our princess wasn’t always like this. She used to be kind, gentle, and loving, creating beautiful ice sculptures with her powers. We don’t know what happened, but somewhere, at some point, something happened and her personality did a complete one-eighty, turning her into.... well, this.”
    “We were only following her orders when we attacked you,” Frigidera explained. “We thought we were doing the right thing, but after our defeats, we realized that what we were doing was wrong and that we had to correct our mistakes.”
    “And time in a dungeon gives you lots of time to think,” Icezer sighed. “That was where she threw us after all of us had been defeated in battle. Not much fun if you ask me.”
    “You traitors!” the Wind Princess’ voice echoed, large shards of ice forming inside the blizzard. “I’ll kill all of you!”
    “If you want to hit her, aim at that point where something exploded before,” Frezon said. “That’s where she’s built an amplification tower for her powers. There are special crystals built into the tower that amplifies the power of anyone who possesses powers of ice, wind, and water.”
    “Why are you telling us this?” Mina asked, her eyes full of hate as she focused on Frezon.
    “We want to make things up to you, make things right,” Chilla said, holding out her hand, “If you can’t trust us, then all will be lost. Your lives. Our lives. The lives of your friends. The entire world.”
    It took a few moments for the words to sink in, but once a connection was made, Mina took a step forward and grasped Chilla’s hand. “Welcome aboard,” the sailor soldier of love and light said with a smile.
    “Venus?” Serena asked, arching an eyebrow at her friend.
    “It’s all right,” Mina said, “I have this sense when it comes to people, and I trust them.”
    “There’s still an army of snow dancers, a raging blizzard with ice shards, and a spoiled princess brat who needs punishing,” Lina growled, her talismans glowing, “Where do we begin?”
    “You begin by allowing us into the battle,” Sailor Saturn said as she, the outer sailors, and the star warriors appeared. “Newport is safe once again.”
    “So’s Dover,” Warrior Night said as he appeared with Centaur, Cassiopia, Nebula, and Ursa. “And according to Chaos Control, you guys saved Durham.”
    “Yup,” Mackenzie said with a smirk, “we did.”
    “And nearly immolated the entire area with their attack,” Nick sighed, giving Mackenzie a smack upside the head.
    “All in a day’s work,” Mack chuckled, flashing a victory sign. Nick simply bowed his head in shame for ever admitting that Mackenzie was his younger brother.
    “So all we have to do is strike where the blizzard is coming from?” Serena asked, her moon mace extending to its full length.
    “Yes,” Icezer nodded, “That is all.”
    “Then I say we strike now,” Alex said, lightning surrounding the head of his glaive once again.
    Warriors and Sailors alike took up battle stances, weapons phasing into existence, all glowing with ethereal power. Side by side with mages possessing awesome powers the energy in the area was intense; electric; giving strength and hope to anybody who felt it.
<music: ‘Dogfight’ - Move>
    “Snow Dancers, obliterate them!” the Wind Princess commanded, the army of several thousand or several hundred thousand snow dancers all obeying the command, diving towards the senshi and warriors below to interfere with the activation of attacks.
    “Burst Rondo!” Lina cried, a hail of fireballs flying from her hands as she fell onto her back, her aim somewhat erratic, but just about every spell bolt finding a target. A pair of snow dancers breezed over her body, requiring the sorceress to cease casting her spell to press her arms to her sides. “Damn,” she growled, “they’re not going to let us fire off anything big, are they?”
    “Nitro Dagger!” Nick cried, a globe of ice blue forming in his palm. He held this above his head and closed his eyes as the globe sent a hail of razor sharp ice shards flying into the oncoming army. “They won’t stop until we’re weak or dead,” he said, adding more power to his attack output.
    “No giving up,” Mackenzie said, his body glowing flame red as he summoned the energies essential for his attack. “Heatwave!” he cried, the air around him gaining a two hundred degree temperature boost in a matter of seconds. All around him snow dancers melted and lost cohesion, body parts falling through the high temperature zone only to melt once they hit the ground.
    “Once more into the fray,” Sailor Saturn said as Sailor Uranus sent her skyward again, her glaive humming as she summoned the destructive energies required for her ultimate attack. “Silence Glaive Surprise!” she cried, arcing her blade over her head, a split second of silence filling the area before a tremendous explosion blasted a hole in the ranks of the snow dancers.
    “Crescent Beam Shower!”
    “Jupiter Oak Evolution!”
    “Burning Mandala!”
    Brilliant rays of orange light, leaves of energy as well as lightning, and rings of fire tore through the army as well, opening a breathing space for some of those who required more time to summon their attacks.
    “Sub Zero Beam!” boomed across the land as what could only be described as a frozen funnel screamed through the air, smashing snow dancers apart on its way to strike the forces of good.
    “This is gonna hurt,” Warrior Orion commented, activating one of his powers. “Saggitarius Recurve!” he cried, waving his hands in front of his body, a wall of force rippling from his fingers. He braced for the impact, feeling it with every molecule of his body as the Wind Princess’ attack tore through his recurve and smashed him into the ground.
    “Orion!” Alex cried, his lightning armor vanishing to be replaced with his warrior armor. “Silence Wall!” he cried, spinning his glaive, a barrier forming between Orion and the snow attack. He gritted his teeth as he too felt the brunt of the attack with his barrier.
    “Double Silence Wall,” Sailor Saturn called, touching her glaive to Warrior Saturn’s, inherently doubling the strength of the barrier long enough for Warriors Hellfire and Thunderbolt to pull Orion from the crater he had been smashed into.
    A metallic hum filled the air as Orion activated his defensive Angel power, an energy barrier forming between them and the attack.
    “How do you like the taste of my attack?!” the Wind Princess cackled, “This is only the low setting. I doubt you’ll survive the higher setting!”
    She cackled louder, the beam that was striking Orion’s barrier growing in intensity. Orion arched his back and screamed, his eyes glowing a blinding silver as he struggled to maintain his barrier without tearing his own mind apart.
    “Absolute Terror,” Sailor Moon said quietly, pointing her moon mace at the source of the beam, the silver crystal glowing. “If we’re going to win, we have to combined our powers.”
    Warrior Saturn looked up from where he was crouching next to Orion and nodded. “Then let our powers combined,” he said, rising and crossing his glaive with the moon mace. He bowed his head and summoned the powers of the chaos emeralds into his body. The seven emeralds phased out of his bracers and the end of his sword, reappearing in the air around the end of his glaive and the moon mace.
    “We get one shot and then we’re extra tasty crispy,” he said, making sure that senshi and warriors the world over heard him.
    “This is more intense than when we battled that Princess Snow Kaguya,” Sailor Mini Moon commented. “There’s no room for screw ups.”
    “We’re here for you Sailor Moon,” Sailor Mars said as the sailor senshi took up positions around their princess. “Mars Crystal Power...”
    “Venus Crystal Power!”
    “Jupiter Crystal Power!”
    “Mercury Crystal Power!”
    “Moon Crisis Power!”
    “Saturn Crystal Power!”
    “Uranus Crystal Power!”
    “Neptune Crystal Power!”
    “Pluto Crystal Power!”
    The sailor senshi bowed their heads and joined hands, auras the color of their sailor powers forming around their bodies, an ethereal wind tossing their hair about as their energies combined and flowed into Sailor Moon’s crystal. As the silver crystal began to glow, so did the chaos emeralds, their powers flowing into the moon crystal as well.
    “Any idea of what we’re witnessing?” Mackenzie asked, pulling his shades down over his eyes as the intensity of the light around them grew to blinding proportions.
    “Something very unique and probably a once in a lifetime thing,” Lina said, charging her amulets.
    “And to think we have front row seats,” Zelgadis said, his own amulets of angelic light glowing.
    The warriors in the area nodded to one another and bowed their own heads, auras of magical energy in their own colors forming around their bodies, ethereal wind blowing through their hair as they prepared to give their energies to win the battle.
    “Starblaze Star Power!”
    “Orion Eclipse Power!”
    “Night Eclipse Power!”
    “Ursa Star Power!”
    “Cassiopia Star Power!”
    “Centaur Star Power!”
    “Nebula Star Power!”
    “Firestar Nova Power!”
    “Thunderbolt Nova Power!”
    “Hellfire Nova Power!”
    “Arctic Chill Nova Power!”
    These powers that were freely offered flowed through Warrior Saturn and Sailor Moon, gaining power from the two focus points before combining in the silver crystal and chaos emeralds.
    “Don’t we have power of our own to offer?” Amelia asked, pulling her bells of angelic light from behind her back. The archaic symbol on the bells glowed as she began to ring them, offering her own power of justice in hopes of winning the day.
    “Lina?” Zelgadis asked, glancing at the sorceress. He smiled when he saw the redhead with her head bowed and hands clasped, the amulets of angelic light and the demons blood talismans glowing as she offered her own magical powers to the flow. “No need to say anything more,” he muttered to himself as he bowed his heads and held his sword in front of him, the blade glowing white as he offered his magic to the accumulation in the area.
    Colored lights from all directions flowed across the frozen tundra, all centering on the two focus points who were beginning to glow a blinding white from the combination attack that was forming.
    Behind the senshi and warriors the four generals of the ice princess looked at each other and nodded in agreement that they had to help bring their princess back to their senses.
    “Sailor Moon, Warrior Saturn,” Chilla said, stepping forward, “We’re going to go and see about punishing our princess.”
    “But you’ll get stuck in the blast area,” Sailor Moon said without taking her eyes from the glowing gems in front of her. “We can’t lose you now that you’re on our side.”
    “It’s our decision to lay our lives down in order to set things right,” Frigidera said. “Please Sailor Moon, you must believe that this is the only way.”
    Sailor Moon was silent for a moment, then turned and favored the generals with one of her trademark smiles of leadership. “All right,” she said, her voice wavering slightly, “it was nice getting to know you, ya know.”
    “Take care meatball head,” Icezer said, winking at Sailor Moon before vanishing in a shower of snowflakes.
    “Always be true to yourself,” Freezon said, bowing formally before vanishing as well.
    “I’m not good with good-byes,” Frigidera said, scratching the back of his head nervously. “But take care of yourselves and don’t forget us.”
    Frigidera vanished, and Chilla blew a kiss to everyone before vanishing as well. Sailor Moon turned her full attention to the globe of iridescent silver magic forming from her crystal and the chaos emeralds. “Hey Alex, what do you think this attack will be called?”
    “Something having to do with unity,” Warrior Saturn said, glancing over his shoulder to see Nick and Mackenzie preparing to offer their energies to the attack. “We have mutants, sailors, warriors, and Slayers here all offering their powers to defeat the Wind Princess. I can sense Aeris and Celia sending their powers as well, so we know that this blast is going to rock her world.”
    “Then let it be set into motion,” Sailor Moon said as she began to lift off of the ground, “My friends, now is the time to strike!”
    “UNITED GALACTIC....” voices from across the globe cried as the silver moon crystal began to discharge its accumulated energies. “ATTACK!!” echoed from pole to pole as a ray of pure silver light poured from the silver crystal, the ring of chaos emeralds sending a rainbow of energy into the crystal’s attack.
    Snow dancers within the vicinity of the magical field were instantly erased from the sky, and any who attacked those within the energy field found they no longer existed following contact. The silver crystal’s attack met the Wind Princess’ attack, beginning a battle of wills for the fate of the planet.
    “I won’t let you win!” the Wind Princess howled, pouring all of her energies into her own attack. The blizzards around them waned and puttered out as the energies for their summoning was poured into one single ray of freezing cold power.
    “We’re not giving up either,” Sailor Moon said through gritted teeth, “All of us have friends and family who we’re fighting to protect. We’re doing this for them, and for Luna, Artemis, Diana, Star, Tara, Spirit, and Chloe. For all those on the earth who need someone to look out for them. We. Will. Not. Waver!”
    The beam from the silver crystal grew in intensity, battling back the Wind Princess’ attack. A standoff of epic proportions was imminent as both sides struggled to be the ones to come out on top.
    High above the Wind Princess the four generals reappeared, nodding to each other as they formulated a silent battle plan. They glanced down at their princess, nodded again, said their good-byes to each other, and blinked out, reappearing in a circle around their princess.
    “What are you doing here?!” the Wind Princess demanded, her eyes flashing icy hate at each one of them.
    “We’re here to stop you and help the senshi and warriors to save the world they love,” Freezon said, joining hands with  Chilla and Icezer.
    “You’ve hurt too many people and lost sight of what’s important,” Frigidera said, completing the circle by joining hands with the two female generals.
    “You were like a mother to me,” Icezer said, tears forming in her eyes, “then you got all mean and stuff and weren’t any fun any more. I want my old princess back, and together we’re going to do that.”
    She nodded to the other three, and as one they summoned their powers into one concentrated point, forming a bubble around the Wind Princess that trapped her and cut off her access to her attack. The four generals bowed their heads and silently said good-bye to the world of the living.
    Sailor Moon’s attack struck the bubble, exploding in a display of lights that set the heavens ablaze with all the colors of the northern lights and rainbow. From north to south the damage that had been done by the Wind Princess’ display of power was undone, giving the world a feeling of rebirth and peace for a little while.
    ‘Thank you, my friends,’ ran through Sailor Moon’s mind as the powers of love and justice set things right. ‘Thank you so very much.’
    And all faded to white.

    The morning after the epic battle with the Wind Princess was clear, sunny, and finally somewhat warm. People across the globe enjoyed a return to normal weather and temperatures for that time of year.
    “And we owe the Sailor Soldiers a thank you and a debt of gratitude, since they fought whatever was causing this strange weather...”
    “All over the globe the weather has returned to normal conditions. In other news...”
    “Good morning Durham. This is Derek Taylor, your DJ of the moment. Just wanted to wish all of you in the surrounding area a wonderful day.”
    “And what a wonderful day it is,” Alex commented as he stepped out of his dorm, the sun reflecting off of his cats eye sunglasses. His jacket was open, and he enjoyed the warm breeze that played through his hair. He smiled, adjusted his shades, and began his walk to class.
<music: Song of Mana - Legend of Mana OST>
    <as the song plays, scenes of people enjoying the revamped weather flash onto the screen in montage format>
    -In Durham Lina, Zel, Amelia, Gourry, and Sylphiel run to meet Alex, all dressed for the warm and comfortable weather. A heavy duty wind hits them as they come together, and Sylphiel’s dress blows up, resulting in a Marilyn Monroe moment. Lina sighs, as does Amelia, before their group heads off for breakfast and class.
    -In Newport Rich, Tod, Nicole, Susana, Reeny, and Steve enjoy some quality park time. There’s still a bit of snow on the ground, which is more or less a sopping mess. Rich, Susana, and Steve are sitting on a park bench, the breeze playing with their hair as they talk animatedly about the battle and new tactics. A snowball hits each in the face, and they look at Tod, Nicole, and Reeny, who take one look at the reactions of the other three and dash off for safety.
    -In Dover Darren, Heather, Dawn, Will, and Cassi are relaxing in the sun. Cassi has some of her teen magazines open around her, and she’s in heaven drooling over all of the hot guys. Darren and Will are engaged in a game of chess, even though neither one has any clue as to what they’re doing. Dawn’s reading a romance novel, and Heather’s reading War and Peace. The camera pans over their shoulders to reveal Dawn reading a Shakespearean play, and Heather reading a trashy romance novel.
    -In Pennsylvania the sun is shining brightly upon the training camp. Ariel, Bethany, and Adderson are sitting around a table, enjoying steaming mugs of cocoa or coffee. Ariel’s talking about something when a snowball smacks her upside the head and dribbles into her coffee. She turns to face (and glare at) Aurora and Roxy, who are making faces at them and pointing to their butts as if to say ‘Hit me with your best shot’. The three at the table look to each other and nod before running after Aurora and Roxy, who have since exited running.
    -The final scene returns to Newport and the Cherry Hill Temple, where the sailor senshi are all recovering from their part of the final battle while setting up monuments for their fallen guardians. Rei, Serena, and Mina are in the courtyard, each one setting flowers of various types on the feline sized gravestones while saying prayers for the departed. Lita steps out of the temple and calls to them about cookies and tea being ready, and the three girls rise and silently make their way inside, Lita patting each one on the shoulder and offering words of encouragement and a reassuring smile that they’d find a way to bring the guardians back.
    The scene fades out on Lita pulling several strands of hair back behind her ear as she looks at the grave markers and bows her head, saying her own little prayer that they’d find a way to bring their friends back.

    The End.
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