"Hockey Night in Tokyo" By Lucas Bates Part 3 Copyright 1996 [Continued from Part 2] -**- "Tuxedo Mask!" Sailor Moon said. "He's come to save us!" "Don't count on it, Sailor Moon. He's working for them now. Look at the rose. It's black." Sailor Jupiter said, pointing at the rose imbedded in the ice. "You should listen to her, Sailor Moon. I serve the Negaverse now." Tuxedo Mask crossed his arms. "I should have known you would have shown up and ruin my plan again, Prince Darian! I should kill you here and now." Malachite materialized over the ice. Darian shook his head. "You'd think you'd learn that by now, Malachite. Or is your head just a little too thick?" He chuckled. Malachite growled. "One of these days, human, I will get you for this." He turned towards the Sailor Scouts. "Now Sailor Moon, I want that crystal. Give it to me, and you and your friends will go unharmed." "Do you honestly think we'll ever give it to you, Negasleaze?" Sailor Moon asked. "You will, once you discover that there is no way out of this arena. All of the doors are sealed. No way in, no way out. You'll die in here if you refuse to give me the crystal." Malachite laughed. "Guys, I have an idea," Venus whispered to the others. "Why don't we throw this trap back at him?" "What do you mean?" Sailor Mercury asked. "I mean, let's challenge those brainwashed players to a hockey game, winner takes the Silver Crystal." "Are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean, could we be better than they are?" Mars inquired. "It's always a possibility, but it's our only option. We're outnumbered here, and fighting our way out might not be successful." "Sounds better than doing nothing. Let's do it." Jupiter agreed. "What do the rest of you think?" Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars all agreed. "Great! Now, let's go get them!" Venus said triumphantly. "Hey blondie!" Venus addressed Malachite. "We challenge your hockey team to a match against us, winner takes the Silver Crystal! On one condition though: all of you must play fairly, no cheating!" "An interesting proposition, Sailor Brats." Malachite considered it. "Very well. We agree. The game will commence in 20 minutes." He disappeared. Venus turned back to the other Scouts. "Where are Luna and Artemis?" "Uhh, back in our bags, I think." Sailor Moon said, glancing in the direction of their seats. "Actually, we're right here." Luna said from behind them. Everyone spun around. "Where'd you come from?" Jupiter asked. "We had to try to find a way onto the ice. The glass is too high." Artemis answered. "Well, now that you're here, could you fill us in on our little hockey team back on the moon?" Venus said. "Well, from what I can remember, you were the captain and center for the team. Sailor Mars was the left wing, Sailor Jupiter the right wing, Sailor Mercury was the goalie-" "I was the goalie? Why did I get put there?" A puzzled Sailor Mercury asked. "You didn't like the aggressiveness involved in the sport. The only way Sailor Venus could get you to play was to be the goalie. And Sailor Moon was the defense." "Wait," Venus said. "That's only five. There are six positions!" "The other defenseman was... Prince Darian." "We can't play without him, then. Do you think he would join us?" Mars asked the rest of them. They all looked over at the one who was once a valued ally. His face showed no emotion, and he seemed to be gazing at nothing in particular. Sailor Jupiter skated over. "Tuxedo Mask, we need another player. Will you help us, like you have always helped us before?" He shifted his gaze to the tall brunette standing in front of him. He seemed to consider it for a moment. Serena noticed - for no reason, it seemed - that they were almost the same height. Finally, he answered. "I will help you, Sailor Scouts, but not because I am defending you. I'm sure you know by now that I don't like Malachite or his ways. I do this only to try to defeat him for my own gain." "Good," Sailor Venus said. "We have a team. What do we do for equipment?" Jupiter held her transformation pen, looking at it. "Can't these things turn into hockey sticks or something?" She said with a small grin. "That would be one of the most peculiar uses for those I've ever seen. Although," Luna said, "I don't see why they don't work like that..." Sailor Mercury skated over to one of the player benches. "Over here!" She yelled. "There's some unused equipment we can use right here." Each of them sifted through the pile of equipment, taking what they needed. Mercury got into her goaltender padding, and took a goalie's stick. Everyone else took a stick, and a helmet. They began to practice. -**- Shortly after, Malachite reappeared. "Well, I suppose it's time to begin our little game. I hope you're ready to be defeated!" He saw Tuxedo Mask in among the Sailor Scouts. "Well, well. If it isn't Prince Darian! I'll enjoy seeing my slaves defeat you, too!" "I think you're underestimating these girls again, Malachite. In the end, that's going to be your undoing." Tuxedo Mask shot back. "We'll see. Let the game begin!" Before Malachite could make an exit, Sailor Venus yelled, "Hey Bleach Brains! Remember, no cheating!" "I wouldn't dream of it." Malachite hid one hand, which had two fingers crossed. He disappeared. While they were practicing, Luna and Artemis had left to find the officials. It turned out that they hadn't made it out of the arena, and were hiding. The two cats managed to coax them out, and watch over the game. Luna said that Malachite hadn't gotten to them. It also seemed that the 3 officials were startled by the talking cats in front of them. That added to the difficulty of bringing them out. The referee called for the face-off. The blonde-haired captain of the Sailor Scouts team, and the ugly monster captain of the Negaverse team skated to center ice. Venus put her stick on the ice, and looked up at her counterpart. "Let's play some hockey." The ref dropped the puck, and the game began. Venus got the puck, and passed it back to Sailor Jupiter, who was the right wing. She skated towards the opponents' net, and passed it to Mars. She got it, and passed it to Venus. They had discussed strategy before the game, and planned some moves. The passing went on for over a minute. By then, the Wolves were getting frustrated. The Scouts had been in the attack zone for over a minute now. One of them tried to check Jupiter, but she passed it to Venus, and then skated out of the way. She then skated after him, and sandwiched him into the boards. Finally, Sailor Mars had a clear shot at the goal, and sent the puck flying. The goalie got it in time, but the Wolves now had control. The Negaverse team started towards the Scouts' net. They had a hard time maintaining control over the puck, due to constant blocking courtesy of Tuxedo Mask. One of them shot it at the net. Mercury proved to be a good goalie, because she deflected it off her stick. The puck slid away, and was picked up by one of the members of the Negaverse team. He started towards the net, but Sailor Moon, trying to maintain her balance after being checked, skated towards him and snatched the puck. She passed it to Sailor Mars, and skated back. "Very good, Sailor Moon. You make a very good defense player." Tuxedo Mask complimented her. She smiled. "Thanks!" After a few minutes of play, the Wolves regained control of the puck and scored on Mercury. However, by the end of the period, Mars and Venus had both scored one goal each. The siren blared, signaling the end of the first period. -**- [Continued in Part 4]