Episode 36:
A friend in need
or
The Real Power of Friendship

     It was after Christmas and Alex West was working on putting the family Christmas tree away.  As he was taking down the decorations and putting them in their respective boxes he was listening to his Project A-ko CD soundtrack.  About midway through the song "In Your Eyes" an image of Adderson in trouble flashed through his mind.  As he gasped and stumbled he knocked a nearby crystal ball to the floor, shattering it into hundreds of pieces.  He quickly set down the decorations he had in his hands and dropped to his knees, recalling how vivid the image was.
     "Alex honey, are you all right?"  Mrs. West called from the kitchen.
     "I'm.... fine mom,"  Alex replied, catching his breath, "I just have this feeling Adderson is in trouble."
     "Adderson?  Isn't he at boot camp?"
     "Yeah, he is.  But I can't help feeling he's in some sort of trouble."
     Just then the phone rang.  Alex sprang into the air, sailed over his mom's recliner, grabbed the cordless phone, and went into a roll, landing in a cross legged sitting position.
     "Hello.  Yes, this is he.... you don't say.  I will be there as soon as possible."
     As soon as Alex hung up he stuck his head into the kitchen.
     "Mom, I'm going out for a while.  I don't know when I'll be back, but I will be sure to call before I head back."
     "Ok honey.  Should I wait up for you?"
     "No.... it might be very late when I get in and you have to work tomorrow.  I love you,"  he called as he threw on his jacket and ran into the night air, his braided hair trailing behind as he ran down the hill.  'Adderson, I'm coming for you buddy,'  he thought as he leapt into the air, 'I'm coming for you.' echoed through his mind as he phased between.  A couple seconds later he appeared outside the main security gate of the boot camp.
     "So this is where my bud ended up,"  he said to himself as he looked at the immense compound, "no wonder the military life is tough... this place is scary."
     Just then a group of floodlights flashed on, blinding him temporarily.  Alex shielded his eyes and was just barely able to make out a lone female dressed in army fatigues.  She had an MP arm band and a rifle pointed in his direction.
     "Don't shoot,"  Alex said, putting his hands into the air, "I'm here to check up on a friend of mine."
     "Name?"  the woman asked, stepping closer.  Upon closer inspection she looked to be about 25, with auburn red hair pulled up in a tight braid under her cap.  Her green - blue eyes sparkled with familiarity.
     "Um.... Adderson Ross Martin.  I'm Alexander West."
     "Pleased to meet you Alex,"  the woman said, "or should I say Warrior Saturn."
     Alex gasped, swallowing convulsively when he heard the woman mention his alter ego.
     "Don't worry.  You probably don't recognize me in this get-up, but I'm Sailor Pallas."
     "Pallas?  Boy, am I glad to see you."
     "Please, call me Bethany, or Lt. Starling.  Private Martin is in the infirmary.  I will explain what happened when we get there.

     The walk to the infirmary was a long one, but Alex managed to keep up with Bethany's pace.  Once they entered the infirmary and Adderson's hospital room Lt. Starling closed the door and locked it behind her in order to get some privacy.
     "What happened was this.  Pvt. Martin saw some of his buddies were in trouble, and against all that the drill sergeant shouted at him he transformed into Warrior Universe and saved his platoon mates.  When he landed the drill sergeant lunged at him and managed to tear away his amulet.  The loss of the amulet caused his transformation to reverse so he returned to normal clothes, but he still had his gravity powers, and attempted to use them to shield himself.  Unfortunately the drill sergeant was strong enough to break through the shield and pound him within an inch of his life, when several senior officers pulled the sergeant off of your friend here."
     "Damn,"  Alex gasped, looking at his battered and bruised teammate, "he hasn't really been through half of what I've gone through in the past five years."
     "Start at the beginning,"  Bethany said, pulling up a couple chairs.  Alex took one and set it beside Adderson's bed.  He took Adderson's hand in his and began his tale.
     "As you know, 1000 years ago was the Silver Millennium."
     "Which was where Queen Beryl and the army of the Negaverse first appeared."
     "Right... anyway, in 1992 they reappeared, and Sailor Moon and the Sailor Soldiers were needed.  They threw Beryl back to the Negaverse and defeated her army.  After that Alan and Ann appeared with the doom tree.  In the end Sailor Moon healed the tree and sent them on their way to a new life.  Then came Rubeus, the four sisters, and the dark moon family."
     "Where do you come into this?"
     "Well, I was already part of a group of people called the Mutant Crew.  All of us were born with special powers, but in 1995 we first received our sailor powers.  That was when our high school band teacher was possessed by the Negaverse.  Luna gave us our pens which allowed us to become Neo - Sailor Soldiers.  A while later, when we teamed up with our future counterparts, some of the female members of the group gained the ability to transform into Sailor Soldiers.  Much later on when we were fighting to save the world I gained the ability to become Sailor StarDancer, and some other people gained the ability to transform into the Star Senshi."
     "And this was??"
     "Back in 1996... or was it 1997... anyway, Sailor Moon and the Sailor Soldiers, Sailor Io and the Moon Senshi, and Sailor Pluto and the Outer senshi joined the main attack force in 1997.  Since then we've battled against the Negaverse, Rubeus and Jedite several times, Prince Beryl, and currently against the angels."
     "Angels?"
     "It's a long story.  Back during the fall festival a new evil appeared... at first we thought it was Parasite Eve, but then an angel attacked.  Fortunately Adderson, my friend Derek, and I can summon Evangelion armor.  We learned more about the angels from Asuka Langly Sohryu, who transferred to the university to learn more about us."
     "We have the full data file on her, Shinji Ikari, Touji Suzuhara, and Rei Ayanami, plus Units 00, 01, 02, 03, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, and 12."
     "Do you have the information or Warrior Orion yet?"
     "Not yet.  Nor do we have all about Warrior Universe."
     "Warrior Universe appeared during our stay in Tokyo."
     "Was this before or after you gained Warrior powers?"
     "After... many months after.  Anyway, Jedite and Rubeus thought they could destroy us since they downloaded a file off of the internet which was supposed to have all the information about every Warrior and Sailor Soldier, and Adderson was the one who set up the site, leaving out Warriors Moon and X and Sailors Phobos and Deimos on purpose.  To top it off he pretended to be under their spell and gained the ability to transform into Warrior Universe.  Since the day he joined there have been a LOT of strange adventures, including when you, Ceres, Vesta, and Juno joined.  Around that time the first Warrior Ganymede joined the group, but he turned out to be under an evil spell."
     "Hence the need for the second Warrior Ganymede."
     "Yup.. that was why Jack is now Warrior Ganymede and Andrew is Warrior Orion."
     "And Orion is the most recent addition to your group?"
     "Yeah... as near as I can figure.  But we still don't know everything about you, Vesta, and Ceres."
     "Trust me, you will find out in time."
     Just then there was a loud pounding at the door, followed by a harsh male voice, which vaguely resembled nails on a chalk board.
     "Lieutenant Starling, open this door this minute!!  I want to see the patient!"
     "Quick, hide,"  Bethany whispered to Alex.  She then turned to the door, "In a minute."
     "No, NOW, before I kick the door in."
     Alex dove beneath the bed.  As soon as he was under the bed the sergeant burst in, throwing Bethany onto her butt.  The sergeant marched over to Adderson's bed and grabbed the limp body by the throat.
     "I'm going to teach you to disobey orders,"  he growled, making a fist and drawing back to punch the unconscious person.
     "I don't think so,"  Alex said from beneath the bed, flipping around and kicking the sergeant feet out from under him.  As the sergeant fell Adderson fell onto the bed in a mass of limp limbs.  The sergeant stared at Alex with righteous indignation, snorting smoke from his nostrils.  "How dare you attack an officer in the United States Army!!"
     "How dare you attack a defenseless person,"  Alex snarled back, gaining his feet.  The sergeant looked at Alex's black sneakers, the baggy blue jeans, the black turtle neck visible under the bright red jacket, and sneered, "You're out of uniform soldier!"
     "I'm not a soldier in your army,"  Alex snarled back, red hinting in his eyes.
     "You're coming with me,"  the sergeant shouted, lunging at Alex.  Alex leapt into the air, performed a head stomp, rebounded, performed a forward flip, and landed next to Bethany.  He spun around in time to see the sergeant flying through the air.  The sheer momentum of the large man caught Alex off guard and the pair flew into the hallway, where the sergeant grasped hold of Alex's hair.  "You also need a hair cut!"  the sergeant spat in Alex's face.
     "How dare you touch my hair,"  Alex said, wrapping one hand around the sergeant wrist.  He applied pressure until the sounds of tendons coming close to snapping filled the air.  The sergeant didn't show any pain in his face, but there was fear and pain his his eyes.
     "You're strong for a little pussy."
     "You haven't seen strong yet,"  came from behind them.  Alex glanced past the sergeant head to see Adderson standing in the doorway, supported by Bethany.  "Leave him alone!"
     "Well, Private Martin, you're about to see me destroy this little piece of shit who thought he could tangle with Sergeant Pain."
     "We don't think so,"  Alex, Adderson, and Bethany said at the same time.
     "Star Crystal Power!!"
     "Universe Rebirth Power!!"
     "Pallas Cosmic Power!!"
     The three transformed into their super powered alter egos and prepared to defend themselves.
     "Release him now,"  Sailor Pallas said, drawing a pair of daggers and crossing them before her face.
     "What will you do if I don't?"
     "You don't want to find out,"  Warrior Saturn said an antenna extending from his right gauntlet.  Electricity sparked around the antenna, forming a fairly large sphere of electrical energy.  "If there is one thing I learned from Warrior Thunderbolt it's how to form energy spheres.  THUNDERBALL!!!"
     The ball of thunder energy struck Sgt. Pain in the head, hurling him across the hall and through the wall of the room.  Pallas and Universe helped Saturn to his feet and the trio entered the room and looked out the window to see Sgt. Pain reveal his true form - an angel.
     "Damn, this sucks!"  Saturn exclaimed, "We're no where near the university or an Eva launching station."
     "So, didn't you tell me you have Evangelion armor?"  Pallas said.
     "That's right,"  Saturn said, "Universe, do you think you have the energy to summon it."
     "Even though it feels like Second Impact is going on in my head, I think I can manage it,"  Warrior Universe said, managing a half smile.
     "Ok, for old times sake let's get out there and kick some ass!!"
     The trio leapt through the window and landed on the icy ground, slipping and sliding before regaining their footing.  The pair of warriors struck battle stances, their armor glowing and energizing.  The energy fields expanded, eventually forming and solidifying Evangelion Units 07 and 11.  The pair of Evas struck poses and prepared for battle.

     Central Dogma was relatively boring on that day.  Maya, Ritsuko, and Misato were sitting around, each doing something relaxing.  Misato was absorbed in a video game.  Ritsuko was working on a crossword and sipping an herbal tea.  Maya had her feet up on the control board, asleep.  It was the sudden alarm which caused Maya to wake so abruptly that she fell off of her chair, which startled Ritsuko to the point where she spat her tea all over Misato's new jacket.  Misato turned to scream at Ritsuko when all three looked at the main screen and saw another angel was attacking.
     "What's the status??"  Misato asked.
     "We can't get an affirmation on whether it's an angel or a Negaverse youma,"  Maya responded, "The blood type is reading... green."
     "GREEN?!"  Misato and Ritsuko exclaimed simultaneously.
     "That's what I said,"  Maya replied, "the blood type is definitely green."
     "What does that mean?"  Misato asked, turning to Ritsuko, "Is it a new type of angel."
     "It's worse than that,"  Ritsuko said, "It means it's an angel with properties of a youma."
     "Do we have any Evas in that sector?"  Misato asked frantically.
     "Not normally, but right now I'm reading Units 07 and 11 in that area, and both are powered up and ready to go,"  Maya said.
     "Adderson, Alex, do you copy?"  Misato asked, punching the communications button.

     "Adderson, Alex, do you copy?"  Misato's voice said over the communicators.
     "We read you Misato,"  Alex said, "But right now we're busy with an angel."
     "That's no angel,"  Ritsuko said, "it's true it's got the angel's blood type, but it also has the blood type of a Negaverse youma."
     "AT Field to maximum!"  Adderson shouted as the angel / youma attacked.  Both Evas rocked with the blow of the cannon drill attack.
     "Misato, we'll get back to you in a minute or two,"  Alex said as Unit 11 drew its progressive sword, "right now we have to defeat this angel."
     Misato broke the connection and Units 07 and 11 prepared to attack.  Unit 07 produced its progressive axe and lunged at the angel.  When the angel dodged, Unit 07 hurled the axe in the direction of the angel.  The axe spun at a rapid speed, turning into a sort of disc.  The whirling blade struck the angel, but the blade deflected off of the angel's AT field.  The blade returned to Unit 07's hand and Unit 07 returned the blade to its thigh.
     "We need an attack plan,"  Adderson and Bethany said simultaneously.
     "Don't you think I know that,"  Alex said, "Hmmmm..... Adderson, remember our special properties."
     "Like when we had to rescue the others and copied several attacks from the other warriors,"  Adderson said.
     "And I've been able to do it most of my life,"  Alex said, "Let's rock and roll!!!"
     The pair of Evangelions turned toward the angel / youma and prepared to do battle.
     "Venus Melt My Heart STRIKE!!!"
     Unit 11 was surrounded by three gigantic chains of hearts, all dancing like charmed snakes.  Alex said, "There is your target boys.  Take it out!" and the chains snaked toward the angel, wrapping around the angel's arms and legs.  As Unit 11 held the angel still, Unit 07 reached into its shoulder mounted weapon pod and pulled out a large hilt, which it held before its body.  From the hilt came a massive energy sword, which Unit 07 pointed at the angel.  As Unit 07 moved in to strike, the angel expanded in size, shattering the bonds which held it and throwing the pair of Evangelions on their backsides.  The angel then lunged forward, grabbing both of the Evas around the throats and squeezing.
     Inside the entry plugs the pilots felt their airways being cut off.  Alex and Adderson fought desperately to avoid blacking out, their throats visibly crushed by the unseen force of the angel's hand.  Bethany, who knew nothing of how to pilot an Eva, reached around Adderson's half limp form and took hold of the control handles.  Unit 07 lurched forward, grasping at the angel's forearm and applying pressure in a last ditch attempt to break free before both pilots lost their lives.

     "Status of the pilots is critical!"  Maya exclaimed.
     "Where is Unit 12?"  Ritsuko asked, trying to figure out what to do.
     "Warrior Orion is in the entry plug and the plug has been injected.  Unit 12 is powering up now."
     The image on the screen showed Unit 12 in the cage, the Eva's  gold, brown, and forest green armor glistening as the fluid of the lake was drained.  The metallic whine of hundreds of lock bolts could be heard over the roar of machinery.  Once free Unit 12 lurched forward and leapt into the air, winking out of sight as it teleported.
     "I hope he knows what he's doing,"  Misato said, "Otherwise we'll lose three brilliant pilots."
     Just then Makoto Hayuga burst in, his long hair a mess.  It was obvious he had been running.
     "What's wrong Makoto?"  Ritsuko asked.
     "Unit 12 has taken the Particle Bomb missile launcher!"  Makoto exclaimed, "It's armed to the teeth.
     'With that missile launcher the angel doesn't stand a chance,'  Misato and Ritsuko thought simultaneously, grinning at the images of destruction that flowed into their heads.

     As several large tentacles emerged from the back of the angel, Unit 12 emerged from the teleport, a progressive spear raised high above its head. Andrew brought the spear down, raking the blade down the angel's spine, bone fragments and sparks flying as the spear tip slashed downward.  The angel, distracted from Units 11 and 07, released its death grip and instead turned its attention to Unit 12.
     Once the angel turned its back on Units 07 and 11, Alex and Adderson dissolved their Evangelion armor and they, along with Bethany, floated down to the ground.
     "We need to atomize this angel FAST!!" Adderson said.
     "I'm thinking, I'm thinking,"  Alex said, shaking the cobwebs from his mind, "We can't always depend on the Evas, we know that much."
     "Which means we rely on our powers,"  Adderson said, drawing his sword.  He turned toward the angel, who was in the process of trying to decapitate Unit 12, and shouted, "Hey you giant pain in the ass!!"  The angel turned its head to look at the minuscule creature who dared to speak to it in such a tone of voice.  Once Adderson had the angel's attention he continued to shout, "Yeah, you.  I'm gonna... no.. WE'RE going to teach you not to mess with the Warriors or the Sailor Soldiers.  GRAVITY SLASH!!!"
     Adderson's sword glowed a brilliant gold as energy flowed into it.  As he slashed through the air, the energy was released in the form of a massive gravity shockwave, which struck the angel's legs and threw it off balance.  As the angel stumbled back, it released Unit 12, which dropped to the ground, sending a tremor though the ground.  While the angel was regaining the balance Unit 12 teleported back to cage 7 and Warrior Orion stood where the brilliant behemoth once stood.
     "Well, I'm here," he said, looking at the angel, which quickly regained its balance and composure, "well, looks like you've got you a live one," he added as the angel curled its hand into a fist and proceeded to crush Warrior Orion.  When the fist came within three feet of Warrior Orion it met with some resistance in the form of an AT Field.
     "Is he an angel?"  Bethany asked, staring in awe at what she had just witnessed.
     "He's part angel,"  Alex sighed, "We're still not sure how he came into being, but we're glad for his ability to use an AT Field."
     "A little help here knuckle head!!"  Andrew shouted in an irritated tone of voice, his hands above his head holding the giant fist away from his body.
     "*sigh* all right,"  Alex said, lifting into the air and producing his glaive.  He circled around to the angel's face and stared into the large, glowing red eyes.  He grinned evilly and said, "Prepare for a massive hot foot.  HEAT WAVE!!!"
     Alex spun his glaive around above his head, creating a tornado funnel of sorts.  The high velocity winds created by the funnel suddenly exploded in a super heated air wave, which threw the angel across the compound and into a row of barracks.  From the debris came hundreds of soldiers, all in various states of undress.  Bethany groaned at the destruction, but recovered and drew her daggers.  With blinding speed she ran to the angel's extended arm, leapt onto the back of the hand, and raced up the arm, eventually stopping on the shoulder.  She looked the monster in the eyes and said, "You're gonna pay for that! Giga Slash!!"
     An antenna emerged from Bethany's tiara, electrical energy channeling into the jewel and forming a ghostly aura about her body.  She crossed her arms before her body, the blades of the daggers pointing downward.  She then crouched down and slammed the blades into the angel's shoulder, the energy channeling through her body and racing through the angel's body.  Blue blood sprayed from several places as the angel's body was over charged with electrical energy.  At the last possible moment Alex leapt onto the angel's body, shoved his glaive into the near critical body, and teleported himself and the angel into space.  From the ground Sailor Pallas and Warriors Orion and Universe could see a brilliant explosion, followed by an equally wonderful light show.  Once all the fireworks died down several rings of iron formed, Warrior Saturn appearing before the rings vanished.  From the coating of blue blood on his body the others figured out the angel put up some resistance to being hurled into orbit.
     "Well, that takes care of Sergeant Pain,"  Adderson said, reversing his transformation back into normal street clothes.  Bethany, Alex, and Andrew did the same so they looked like four normal people.
     "What are you going to do now?"  Alex asked, looking his best friend in the eyes.
     "I'm going to stay here and complete my training."
     "With my help, of course,"  Bethany said, grinning and pulling her auburn hair back in a bun.  She took a pair of pencils from her jacket pocket and stuck them through the bun to keep it in place.
     "Well, Lt. Starling, Private Martin, I guess this is good-bye for a while,"  Alex said, saluting the pair Sailor Moon style.  The other two returned the salute and returned to the half destroyed compound.
     "What was up with that?"  Andrew asked, puzzled by what had happened that night.
     "I'll explain it to you later,"  Alex said, staring into the night sky.  When he saw a shooting star he made a wish. 'May Adderson and Bethany be protected from whatever evil we will encounter in the future and may they be readily available to help defend the earth from the evils that exist.'
     Once Alex finished making his silent wish he bid Andrew farewell and vanished between.  When he emerged from the icy stillness of the teleport he found himself a couple feet from the ground.  He groaned and landed in a deep snow bank, sighing as the cold flakes slipped down the back of his collar and down the back of his shirt.  He stared at the sky and sighed, wondering just what new type of trouble was in store for him, the Warriors, and the Sailor Soldiers.

 To be continued......

    "In the next episode, it's the night of a big concert at the university. When the music starts, the action starts to heat up because not one, not two, but THREE angel / youma mixes attack, sending the Warriors and Senshi into action. Stay tuned for 'As the Band Plays On' and you're bound to get more fan service."