-3 Doors Down �Duck and Run�
Haruka whirled around and stuck her head out of the door to investigate the screams. A moment later she had pulled it back in and reported that the Soul Stealers were indeed attacking the practicing teams. �There�s about six of them,� she said, pulling her henshin stick out.
�Six? Sure they�re weak� but six?� Koby thought in a panic, but nodded her head firmly, as did Michiru. They too whipped out their henshin sticks and prepared to change.
�Uranus Planet Power!�
�Neptune Planet Power!�
�Centauri Star Power!�
A silvery aura surrounded Koby and a breeze felt only by her gently blew her long hair out of the ponytail she had put it in for soccer practice. A small smile formed on her lips and she shut her eyes as she began to spin around. The silver glow around her began to spread outwards and grew brighter and brighter until it had reached a blinding point and Koby was no longer visible. Suddenly, the light all rushed back into Koby�s body and she stopped spinning. Koby stood dressed in her uniform, hair down, with her feet shoulder width apart and her hands on her hips.
Beside her, Uranus and Neptune stood holding their own poses.
�Let�s go,� Neptune said, leading the way out of the door.
The three ran out onto the field, and prepared to face the monsters.
�Stop right there you evil fiends!� Uranus cried, standing with her arms crossed. On her right, Neptune held the same position, as did Centauri on her left.
The six monsters briefly looked up from their prey and hissed. �Who are you?� one of the snake-like humanoids asked.
�Glad you asked. I�m Sailor Uranus, and I�ll punish you in the name of the sky and earth!�
�I�m Sailor Neptune, and I�ll punish you in the name of the water!�
�I�m Sailor Centauri, and I�ll punish you in the name of the distant stars, and because you�re really ugly.�
Uranus and Neptune glanced over at Centauri with their eyebrows raised.
�Hey,� Centauri said, shrugging, �it�s true.�
�I won�t ask,� Neptune said with a shake of her head. �Let�s split up.�
Uranus and Centauri nodded, and dashed off to handle the Soul Stealers. Centauri fought to remain composed as she watched people she knew from the boys� and girls� lacrosse teams and the soccer team lose their souls to the Soul Stealers greedy gazes.
�Distant Starlight Beam!� she cried, shooting a blinding beam of light at the two Soul Stealers nearest her. The wide beam struck them both in the face, and when the light had faded, they were blinking their narrow eyes furiously, trying to overcome their blindness.
�Good job!� Uranus called from off to her right. �I�ll finish one off, you get the other.� Centauri prepared to do her Centauri Cosmic Cyclone attack while Uranus raised one hand into the air and gathered a ball of orange-yellow energy between her fingers. �World Shaking!� she shouted, then brought her hand to the ground, releasing the ball of energy.
The ball bounced and flew at the creature, hitting it at the same time Centauri�s white spiraling beam smashed into its target. Together, the two Soul Stealers hissed and died.
�We�ll get the charms later,� Uranus told Centauri before rushing off to fight another monster.
Centauri nodded and spun around, searching for her next opponent to battle. She saw Neptune forming a ball of blue colored energy in her hands and aiming it at a Soul Stealer in front of her. �Deep Submerge!� she shouted.
As the ball flew towards its target, Centauri saw a monster slightly behind Neptune prepare to shoot its own energy beam at Neptune.
�I don�t think so,� Centauri growled through clenched teeth. She took a running start and launched herself into a boot-covered kick aimed at the backstabbing snake creature. After flying several feet in the air, Centauri�s foot connected with its upper chest and sent the enemy flying into the chain link fence surrounding the field before it could complete its attack.
Neptune watched as her opponent burst into tiny Soul Stealer pieces and vanish, then looked over her shoulder at Centauri. �Thanks,� she said with a smile.
Centauri winked and sent a halfhearted Cyclone at the fallen Soul Stealer. It evaporated instantly with a screeching hiss. �No pro��
�No problem,� she meant to say, but was unable to finish.
A Soul Stealer off to her left had seen what she had done to its companion and hadn�t exactly been thrilled. In retaliation it had sent its own beam of energy at Centauri.
The beam hit her dead on, and with a sharp cry she was thrown backwards over the fence.
Centauri landed on the metal bleachers with a loud thump. Her entire front side felt incredibly hot and it hurt to move. �Sort of like a really bad sunburn,� Centauri thought as her head stopped spinning. She then became aware of a deep-seated tugging inside of her.
�What?� Centauri thought as she frantically tried pushing herself off of the bleachers. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. �How is it getting my soul?� she wondered as she struggled to stand up and fire an attack at the Soul Stealer.
From what seemed like a long way off, Centauri heard Uranus defeat her second opponent with another World Shaking.
�Don�t give up,� she mentally encouraged herself. �Keep going.� Centauri managed to push herself up from the bleachers and half stand up. She stumbled forward and began to raise her hands. She meant to say �Centauri Cosmic Cyclone� but instead she croaked out a �Help me.�
Neptune, however, did not need the hint. She was already halfway through her Deep Submerge attack. �Deep Submerge!� she screamed before the ball of energy hurtled into the Soul Stealer.
In an instant it was gone, leaving Centauri gasping for breath. Seconds later Neptune had jumped the fence and was at Centauri�s side.
�Are you alright?� she asked concerned. �What was wrong?�
Centauri took a deep breath. �I�m fine now,� she said as she regained her footing. �When it hit me I felt like it was sucking my soul from me or something. But it wasn�t anywhere near me.�
Frowning, Neptune reached over to support Centauri as she lifted herself over the fence. �Perhaps their attacks serve two purposes,� she mused. �They hurt and steal your soul. Interesting��
Uranus chose that minute to come running up. �I broke all of the charms,� she announced, showing them a handful of snapped snake charms.
�Right, I better change and pretend to just be getting back from the bathroom,� Centauri said.
�Good idea,� agreed Uranus as she chucked the charms into a nearby trash can. �We all should.�
In a swirl of light the three detransformed and headed their separate ways. Koby rushed out to the field where her teammates were beginning to stir.
Haruka and Michiru headed off of the field and to Haruka�s car.
�I think we�ll skip training today,� Haruka said lightly as they walked away.
�She has proven to be quite adept at handling her skills,� Michiru agreed. �But I think that we learned something rather intriguing about the Soul Stealers today.�
�Oh?� Haruka said with raised eyebrows. �What�s that?�
�Koby got hit by one of their energy attacks and she says it felt like it was stealing her soul as well as acting as a regular attack.�
Haruka caught on immediately and dropped her eyebrows into a frown. �They�re more dangerous than we thought then. That explains how they�re able to attack several people at once. Just aim one attack at a whole group and then go looking for more. Effective. Deadly. We�ll have to be more vigilant now.�
Michiru nodded her agreement as they got into the car to wait for Koby. They had come to pick her up for their daily training session, but would just be giving her a ride home today. �Perhaps we should call the rest of the Senshi tonight and let them know what we�ve found out.�
�Good idea.� Haruka stretched out in her seat and waited for Koby�s practice to end.
Chapter 9
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