Cyber Angels in Punch That Clock!

by Zero

            In the year 2010 the Prince of the Mythril Star Empire, Daegon, arrived on Earth in secret with a small fighting force of elite warriors, bent on world domination. Unfortunately Daegon knew his warriors would lose in an all-out attack against mankind but has a powerful invention that would give him the edge he needs: the Time Nexus, which he can use to absorb temporal energy from living creatures, then empower himself and his followers to make them invincible!

            Rachel Hammond, talented scientist, learned of the coming of the Black Prince by his twin brother Draco, who'd come to Earth to protect humans as he believed the planet wasn't worth conquering and would work better as an ally. Daegon and Draco both lack support from their mother, Empress Ishtar, thus must fight to prove which one of them is correct. Draco, lacking an army, came to Rachel as he knew she could be trusted. Combining Mythril Empire techno-magical potential with that of human female biology allowed Rachel to create five magic crystals that could turn ordinary girls into powerful warriors capable to defeating Daegon's own forces. These warriors would be known as... The Cyber Angels!



Daegon's Fortress

            Hidden underneath Metro City's great lake rested a massive black spaceship which had become anchored there and converted into the Black Prince's fortress. The inside was about as inspired as the prince's title: Black metal walls, black marble floors and black marble pillars with red carpets everywhere. On board were dozens of powerful warriors the prince had collected from all over the Empire, with only himself and a handful of his servants actually resembling humans. Additionally Daegon, being the spoiled son of Queen Ishtar, had several serving girls, all of whom he made wear white togas and nothing else.

            "Your failures are beginning to annoy me, Celeste," rasped Daegon from his imposing throne, crafted from the finest black metal. The Black Prince wore heavy plate armor with golden Japanese dragons for shoulder epaulettes and a silver eight-pointed star in the center, the symbol of the Empire. His hair was wolf gray and a long scar ran across the bridge of his nose, a present from his brother when they'd been younger. The prince's eyes glowed red, indicating his body was full of temporal energy that he could use how he saw fit.

            "I assure you my prince, my next plan will work," declared Celeste, bowing low before the prince. Being a servant of a lustful man, Celeste's clothing consisted of a purple armored halter-top with spiked shoulders, a matching armored thong and a black cape carrying the Empire's symbol on the back. A tattoo of the ace of spades rested under Celeste's right eye, her blond hair was styled in a ponytail weave and her eyes gleamed pale green. On her forearms she wore black leather gloves that nearly reached her elbows and matching stiletto-heeled boots on her feet. Encircling her waistline was a wide red ribbon that acted as a belt, a small purse-like pouch attached to it. "Humans are always looking for bargains, and being able to tell time is also important to them," grinned Celeste. "The devices I had Timer build will work perfectly."

            "You had best not fail me again..." warned Daegon, glancing behind his throne. Standing on his left was a green-skinned serving girl with long, darker green hair, yellow lips and purple eyes. Daegon smiled and pointed at the woman. Eyes widening, the girl turned to flee but it was too late. A red beam of light lanced from Daegon's finger to hit the back of the girl; she froze solid in mid-run, her face making a mask of horror with her arms in front of her, her legs well apart. The beam remained on her for a few moments as the girl's body flashed red before the light dissipated and the girl remained as she was, motionless and stiff, drained of her temporal energy by the prince's gauntlet. Without temporal energy creatures could not travel through time, thus could not age, move, breathe or even think, being reduced to organic statues. When the deed was done two more green-skinned girls came to quickly carry their fellow unfortunate servant away.

            "A warning?" asked Celeste with a smirk.

            "Yes, plus she was supposed to bring me another drink and had not done so," grinned Daegon, glancing over at another serving girl, a human they'd captured when they'd first arrived on Earth. Getting the message implied to her, she quickly scurried off to get the Black Prince his drink.

Metro City Mega Mall

            "Come on Kagome!" called out Yumiko Itachi, standing with her friends and fellow Cyber Angels as their leader, Kagome Uzumaki, hurried to catch up. All five girls were eighteen years old and in their last year of high school, all wearing the blue and white schoolgirl outfits assigned to them. Yumiko was Angel Pink and possessed shoulder-length light brown hair that she combed to her left but let it hang over her ears. Around her neck on a golden chain rested her pink diamond, the techno-magical device that allowed her to transform into her heroine alter ego. Each of the girls had a similar diamond with their corresponding color. Their mentor, Rachel Hammond, had chosen them due to their skill at blending into a crowd and their athletic ability, all five having ÔAÕs in physical education. White Prince Draco had also recommended them on their pure, if sometimes superficial, hearts. Yumiko was a fine example of a clichŽ Japanese schoolgirl, being overly perky while somewhat short in stature and carrying a handbag with chibi characters on it.

            "Sorry, I wanted to check out that window display," apologized Kagome, reaching her friends. Kagome, Angel Red, had her hair done in a high blond ponytail that curved slightly down to the small of her back. While average in height Kagome had a strong build, being a member of the school track team. She wasn't entirely sure why she was the team leader, however.

            "I don't blame you; those new dresses look amazing," offered Miyuki Honda, Angel Yellow. Miyuki and Yumiko were best friends, having been so since second grade, and shared a lot in common. Miyuki even had a similar hairstyle to Yumiko's but her hair was a bit darker and she liked it combed behind her ears. Miyuki was also of average height while Yumiko was the shortest of the five Angels. The pair worked together on the graduation committee and had even developed a fighting style together.

            "Come on, this is a big sale for something useful, lets not get distracted by fashion," insisted Sakura Tokichiya, Angel Blue and the group's voice of reason as well as the tallest. The black-haired beauty was usually serious, speaking of practicality, and constantly had her shoulder-length hair combed straight and perfectly surrounding her head save for her face. Sakura was on the school martial arts team and a master of the gun staff.

            "Whatever, lets just get shopping!" exclaimed Aimi Hokimazu, Angel Green and the resident shopaholic. Aimi possessed long blue hair going down to the small of her back, a red bow in the back. Not only was she the team's material girl, she was also the co-captain of the school's cheerleaders and was very vocal about school activities. With the five girls assembled, they entered the newest store in the mall: Gearsmith Clocks, which was having a massive sale on clocks and watches of all varieties.

            "Welcome my dear girls!" exclaimed a blond woman in a simple black dress and green apron, greeting the heroines as they entered the store. Dozens of people were buying up the hundreds of clocks around the store, all at discounts ranging from fifty to eighty percent off. Some were simple, some were themed and others looked like they were made out of nothing but jewels. "Trust me, when you buy one of our clocks you'll never lose track of time ever again! They don't lose even one second a year and last for over one hundred years without needing to be wound!"

            Within moments the saleswoman had managed to convince each girl to buy a watch or clock. Aimi bought a silver one that would have normally cost hundreds of dollars, but the sale made it only in the fifties and since she had her rich father's credit card it was not a problem. Sakura, as usual, had gone conservative, getting a simple black one. Miyuki and Yumiko had, also as usual, gotten the same thing: a pink cat-shaped watch that was incredibly cute. Kagome was fine with her own watch but had decided to buy a new clock for her mother's bedroom since when her dad had moved out he'd taken the clock with him for some reason. Kagome was still having a hard time dealing with the divorce, never mind the bizarre things her dad had claimed as his own before leaving for New York.

            "Did Rachel want to see us today?" asked Sakura as the five stood in the massive line-up to pay, the saleswoman having gone away to help another customer.

            "Hmm?" muttered Kagome, distracted from staring at the store mascot. The mascot was a giant clock, specifically a meter-wide gold pocket watch complete with cover but no chain. Black arms and legs stuck out from the sides and base of the costume with gold gloves and boots over them. Kagome had, for a small moment, wondered if it was a servant of Daegon but quickly cast the suspicion aside, reminding herself not every ridiculous-looking being in the world was a monster. "No, she and Draco were working on something and didn't need us."

            "Well none of us really have the scientific experience that they do," admitted Miyuki, glancing over at Yumiko who has hopelessly squealing in delight with Aimi about her new watch.

            "I'm just more worried about the essays we have to do in English class tomorrow," groaned Kagome, Miyuki nodding in agreement while Sakura, in typical fashion, merely shrugged.

Uzumaki House

            Kagome had been up most of the night going over essays on her laptop in her room and had fallen asleep at her desk. Still wearing her school uniform, the blond Angel Red blinked and lifted up her head, which had been buried in her arms. Her screensaver of colorful tropical fish swimming around hid the computer's internal clock, so Kagome wiggled the mouse as she groaned, her face feeling a bit flat. The screensaver vanished to a tropical sea desktop and a clock in the corner that told the Cyber Angel that it was eight-forty in the morning. "Oh no!" screamed Kagome, leaping up in alarm. School started at nine and was at least ten minutes away on foot, meaning she needed to leave right away. As fast as she could, Kagome grabbed the notebook and texts laying on her desk, shoved them into her backpack with her writing tools and raced out of her room.

            Downstairs in their small house was Kagome's mother, a blond like her daughter but her hair up in a chopstick bun, sat in a white fluffy robe reading the paper on the couch in the sitting room. "Morning mom, bye mom!" exclaimed Kagome, quickly kissing her mother on the cheek before heading out the door, surprised not to get a response.

            "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" Kagome kept exclaiming as she ran down the sidewalk, which was almost completely empty. It was past rush hour however so the only people who would be around were those late for work or school, as most businesses didn't open until nine either. Only a few similarly late students and a couple of joggers were to be seen by Angel Red as she kept up her fast-paced run, managing to make it over halfway before slowing to a walk for a breather. Still, she'd managed to run most of a kilometer in less than two minutes, which was a fairly good record, since the average person walked one in roughly ten if it wasn't a straight line.

            Kagome's phone chirped inside her purse as she moved, but she managed to fish it out without stopping. "Hi Sakura, how much trouble am I in?" asked Kagome, having seen the caller ID.

            "Not as much as Yumiko and Aimi; they didn't even answer," revealed Angel Blue, who was already in homeroom. "I told them wasting all that time shopping wasn't going to help. Where are you?"

            "I feel asleep studying, I should make it, I've still got twelve minutes and I'm getting close," declared Kagome, managing to hide her puffing. A somewhat overweight boy in a blue male-styled uniform zipped by, miniature chocolate balls falling out of his back pockets as he did, which got Kagome to smile.

            "Well hurry up; Ms. Ratsumori is already here and she seems antsy, she's been fiddling with the new clock," observed Sakura. "Oh, Yumiko just arrived. Hurry up, a good leader should never be late for anything."

            "Thank you for reminding me," groaned Kagome as the school came into view. Metro High School 14, nicknamed ÔLittle TokyoÕ, was where all the Japanese students of the city went for a proper, homeland-equivalent education. While Metro City was revolutionary, having been built on the coast of North America as the first true Pacific Ocean international city, it had become somewhat segregated in terms of schools. Few non-Japanese teenagers went to Little Tokyo, and the same could be said for most of the other schools in the city. Only near the center were the true multicultural facilities, but they were more expensive due to the diverse staff needed. True multiculturalism was coming, slowly, but forcing it was causing resistance. Still, Metro City had a population of over thirty million people, a world record, and in terms of ethnicity Caucasian was not the majority, the populace being more or less evenly split between Asian, Mexican, and American; with the first and last categories also featuring many sub-divisions themselves, thus making the three most spoken languages in Metro City English, Spanish and Chinese, with Japanese as a close forth. Signs in the city were required to display all four official languages, which was a bit awkward.

            Kagome found it odd that no one was standing outside as she entered Little Tokyo; the building was a basic metal box like most of the commercial buildings in the area. The hallways were also empty, Kagome noted, giving her chills as he found her homeroom, R1-09. Quietly, Kagome slid open the rear door, a traditional Japanese wooden one, and crept into the classroom, only to then stop and gasp in surprise.

            Ms. Ratsumori, age twenty nine, was standing in front of the class, a red book in her hands, her mouth open as she looked down at it. Ratsumori was a stunning woman, possessing silky black hair she tied tightly behind her head in a low ponytail and librarian glasses that made her look quite charming. She stood there in a red conservative skirt and vest with a white blouse underneath, looking fairly serious. However, Ms. Ratsumori wasn't moving, nor was anyone else in the class. Everyone had the same matching red book, one on history, open on their desks, but it wasn't always consistent. One brunette had it half-open, her left hand holding that side of the book straight up. Yumiko, who sat in the back in between Mayuki and a handsome dark-haired boy, had her arm raised, concern on her face, and her book nowhere in sight. Mayuki was looking at her friend with her usual disapproving expression, biting her lower lip with unequal eyebrows, her own book right in front of her. Up at the front of the class Sakura had her own hand slightly raised, her legs crossed at the ankles while her left to fingers indicated she had a question. The scene remained totally still like this as Kagome stood there, blinking.

            "Oh no!" exclaimed Kagome, suddenly realizing what was going on. In the past, Daegon had sent some of his servants to gather temporal energy, and when they did the victim would end up standing motionless like a statue. It seemed now however the prince's latest scheme had worked on a much bigger scale. Kagome's face went completely white; having nearly been there earlier, when she realized her mom must have been drained, too. Panicking, Kagome stepped out the classroom and ran around the school, but all the classes were the same: motionless students and teachers, a school of statues. Deciding she needed to alert Rachel, Kagome walked outside of the building and called her mentor.

            "Yes, I'm aware of the situation," confirmed the American scientist on the other end of the call. "Beam in, Draco and I will explain."

            With a whimper, Kagome hung up. Never had another Cyber Angel been drained of time energy before, and sometimes the victims couldn't be saved. Those were hard times for Kagome and her team, as those people would never be returned to normal until Daegon was defeated. "Cyber Red, transport home!" exclaimed Kagome, touching her red diamond. Immediately her body flashed red and she vanished from sight, leaving anyone who'd witnessed the event to think she'd been vaporized by some red beam.  Today, no one was moving and able to see her transport.

Cyber Angel HQ

            Rachel Hammond was a scientific genius, only thirty-four, but having developed inventions far beyond the typical scientist. Her special lab was built underneath the Metro City clock tower, a special tribute as her doctor's thesis had been on temporal physics; plus it had been built with the help of their alien friends to ensure secrecy. Up until a short time ago she'd been looking for a way to use diamonds as a sort of energy, but when White Prince Draco had arrived she'd shifted gears entirely. The lab featured white walls and a blue marble floor with rows of computer equipment and desks as well as five pillars, each a different color. Draco and Rachel had combined the diamond technology with Draco's own energy devices, which appeared like magic to humans, and powered them through the central pillars. The colors weren't necessary; it was just to help them remember whose was which. In the northwest corner of the room was a black circle where Kagome appeared with a red flash as she beamed in.

            "Good, you're here," noted Rachel, sitting at her desk. A natural redhead, Rachel's hair always carried a bit of a wave to it while her eyes were a dark blue, bordering on being brown. As usual the scientist was dressed conservatively, wearing blue slacks, a white blouse and black-striped tie along with a lab coat and thick glasses. Ideally Rachel didn't even need the glasses, as she only had a difficulty with reading when it was dark and this lab was well lit, but she'd apparently grown fond of them.

            "What's going on, Rachel?!" exclaimed Kagome, visibly shaken, dropping her backpack and purse. "Daegon's never hit on a scale this big before!"

            "That's because he didn't try creating miniature time collectors before," revealed Prince Draco, appearing in the northeast corner of the room from a doorway of light, four forms floating behind him. Miyuki, Sakura and Yumiko were in the same poses as at school Kagome saw, but now without desks or books, while Aimi was posed a bit more unusually. Angel Green was leaning back, wearing only a couple of towels wrapped around her waist and the other her hair, her hands held behind her head and a relaxed smile on her face. Draco himself was a handsome man who appeared to be in his early twenties, wearing white ÔhanfuÕ robes with the Mythril Star Empire's symbol in the center. Draco's hair was snow white, thick and shaggy as it hung freely, his eyes crystal blue and he had a diagonal scar face-left of his left eyebrow. When they'd been children Draco and Daegon had supposedly dueled for some prize and scarred each other, something Draco claimed to regret.

            "Miniature time collectors?" asked Kagome, confused, but Rachel held up a clock that looked familiar to Kagome.

            "This is the one you got your mother," revealed Rachel, causing Kagome's blood to go cold. "It drained her energy overnight, and by this morning she was cleaned out. Every classroom in Little Tokyo has one, and those watches you all bought didn't help either. Aimi froze in the bath because her watch was in the same room as a clock her mother bought. Over half of the Japanese sector was drained overnight."

            "That's insane!" exclaimed Kagome, stumbling backwards only to be caught by Draco. "With that much temporal energy, Daegon could-!"

            "Do nothing; its not nearly enough for him," sighed Draco, patting Kagome's shoulders. "He needs all of Metro City, minimum, to achieve his goals. The collectors were just meant to make the job easier. I'm sure Daegon also chose Little Tokyo specifically to make sure he got you girls out of the way first. Without you running around active, his minions can just zip around freely draining all the energy they want."

            "But he missed one," grinned Rachel, nodding at Kagome as the other four floating Angels came crashing down next to their pillars, the three seated ones laying on their sides. "They lost energy recently so we should be able to restore them. Draco collected the clocks and watches so I can probably reverse the drain and get them moving again, but until then you're on your own."

            "Good thing there's no-" began Kagome, getting cut off as an alarm went off and a red light began flashing on the ceiling. "I knew I shouldn't have started that sentence," groaned Kagome. The alarm meant one of Daegon's minions was attacking the city. On the south wall a flat screen came to life, revealing the threat thanks to Draco's special scanning device. On screen was what looked like a giant gold pocket-watch with arms and legs that were made of black leather, dancing around like a sumo wrestler. There were no visible eyes; only the clock's hands which were dead center and both on twelve. As Kagome, Rachel and Draco watched, pedestrians in an open plaza ran from the creature as it spun around, a white flash billowing from the clock, which struck everyone, freezing them instantly as their energy was drained.

            "Timer," muttered Draco, clearly concerned. "He's the only one that could creature a device like these clocks. He used the technology that was used to build him that shell he's wearing to create small copies. Without him they won't work. Daegon's overconfident and now we can get him!"

            "Alone?" whispered Kagome, uneasy. While some of Daegon's ploys had involved one or more of the Angels, including herself, being disabled in some way, never had Kagome been alone. Even worse, Timer, it seemed, could drain people with ease, making him much more dangerous than her previous opponents.

            "Hey," Draco said softly, putting his hands on Kagome's shoulders again. "Don't worry; you're Angel Red for a reason. You should be able to handle him, but we'll try to have the others ready to come help as soon as we can. You can do this Kagome, we believe in you."

            "... Thank you," breathed Kagome, stepping towards the teleporter. "Angel Red, Cyber-Change!" shouted Kagome, and immediately her body shone red, a hue of energy bathing everything below her neck. First came her feet, appearing in red leather stiletto boots that stopped just below her knees. Next was Kagome's waist, going from a full skirt to a flimsy one that barely covered the front and back with gaps on either side that revealed most of the lower hip area, though her private bits were covered by red panties. Following above her waist was the tube top, starting slightly above the belly button and possessing sharp peaks that went well up and over both breasts. Finally came the jacket, a tight one made of the same red leather as the red of the rest of the outfit that stopped just below where the top began, fully covering Kagome's arms. The red diamond pendant transformed as well, becoming a jewel set in the center of her tube top right below her cleavage. A small red baton also appeared clipped to the back of Kagome's skirt as she entered the teleporter.

            "Cyber Red, Transport to incident!" voice-commanded Angel Red, vanishing in a flash of red light.

Harrison Plaza

            Kagome, now working under the alias of Angel Red or Cyber Red, found herself in a large cement plaza with a large triple fountain in the center and several benches nearby, this was the plaza outside of Harrison Mall. Timer was there, waggling his arms in glee as droves of people of mixed ethnicities all stood like statues, their temporal energy completely drained. Some were stuck running, some were just standing there like they'd been ambushed. All in all there was at least eighty people there and Kagome was worried about the safety of all of them as her fights with Daegon's minions tended to get violent. "Fire scepter, appear!" shouted Angel Red. Immediately a bent wooden staff with a crystal ball on top appeared in Kagome's hands and burst into flames as she advanced towards Timer.

            "What the – an active Cyber Angel?!" exclaimed Timer in surprise, jumping down from the fountain. "Celeste said we'd frozen you all! Oh well, no time like the present to fix a broken clock!" As Timer finished his sentence a white beam lanced out from his center as Angel Red rolled sideways, avoiding the blast and causing it to strike fleeing pigeons that promptly became immobilized, fixed in mid-air as if they had been put on wires.

            "Crimson... Flame... Slash!" screamed Angel Red, raising her scepter and having a stream of flame project from the crystal as it came crashing down, the fire blasting Timer and causing his left arm to ignite.

            "Argh, burnt leather!" hissed Timer, dropping and rolling.

            "Return everyone's energy, or I'll destroy you!" warned Angel Red, advancing.

            "He he he... nice threat, but you're all alone!" pointed out Timer, putting out the flames on his arm. "You can't destroy me by yourself! You need all five to be here!"

            "That's..." muttered Angel Red, trailing off and hesitating. Timer seized the opportunity, leaping up and kicking her scepter aside. "Hey!" shouted Angel Red right before getting punched and flying into the fountain.

            "Tisk tisk, you got all wound up and now you're out of time!" laughed Timer, firing another blast. Angel Red tried to move but couldn't, discovering the frozen water had embedded her legs and made her unable to move her feet. In a vain attempt to resist, Kagome raised her arms in an X-shape to shield herself, closing her eyes. When the blast faded, Angel Red remained exactly where she was, her diamond going dark as she was drained of temporal energy.

            "That'll teach you to mess with Timer!" cackled Timer, dancing around the fountain and its new statue with glee.

            "I think your time is up, Timer!" shouted a new voice from the roof of the mall. Spinning in surprise, Timer saw that the speaker was none other than Angel Yellow, who stood up top with the rest of her team, minus Angel Red. On the far right was Angel Blue, holding a long black stick with a bucket-like object at one end. Next to her was Angel Green, who held open paper fans in her hands. Next was Angel Yellow, the team's sub-commander for situations like the present when Angel Red couldn't act, a jagged orange boomerang resting in her tight grip. Finally next to her was Angel Pink, a white stick with a golden bell on the tip. All four wore styled leather outfits like Angel Red but color-coded appropriately.

            "Water Staff!" shouted Angel Blue, hefting her weapon.

            "Wind Fans!" echoed Angel Green, raising her own armaments.

            "Earth Bell!" exclaimed Angel Pink with a grin, twirling her own staff.

            "Lightning Boomerang!" concluded Angel Yellow, raising her weapon aloft. "Cyber Angels, strike!" Upon Angel Yellow's orders the four leapt from the rooftop as one.

            "And... pause!" laughed Timer, firing a beam right as the four jumped. All four Cyber Angels, weapons raised, plummeted directly into Timer's attack before even hitting the ground, becoming fixed in the air with their legs and arms bent, their faces serious as they'd been intending to make up for being frozen earlier, only to make themselves easy targets. All four of their diamonds, in the same place on their costumes as Angel Red's, had also gone dark.

* * *

            "I keep telling them, imitating those shows on television just leaves them open to stuff like that," sighed Draco, standing within viewing distance of the scene, hidden behind a chest-high brick wall with Rachel beside him. "And of course this time we can't just destroy a clock and call it a day."

            "What do you mean, can't you just destroy Timer to restore them?" asked Rachel, confused.

            "There's a reason I don't fight Daegon's minions myself," Draco told his companion with a sad expression on his face. "Killing a member of the Empire without a trial is murder and that revokes my title, forcing me to leave and giving Daegon the planet. Still, he technically can't harm me and his technology won't get past my armor."

            "So where does that leave us?" asked Rachel, hefting a device she'd brought. Resembling a nail gun with an antenna for a tip, it was a temporal quick-charger, which could give someone who'd been drained a few minutes of energy. If Rachel could get close enough to use it on the frozen Angels, their diamonds would recharge and those would recharge them, making Timer's destruction not necessary for their reanimation.

            "I'll draw his attention by hurting him, but not destroying him, so you can save the Angels," declared Draco, back flipping over the wall and materializing long white spear with a rifle grip at one end before he landed squarely in front of Timer.

            "Ah, the cowardly prince has shown himself," mocked Timer, seeing his new foe. "Taking your energy will greatly please your brother!" Timer's body flashed a beam once again, but as Draco had predicted nothing came of it, the White Prince proving as much when he slashed Timer with his weapon, cracking the glass protecting his clock hands. "Argh, my face!" screamed Timer, stumbling backwards. Draco moved to press his attack.

            Taking the opportunity, Rachel ran over towards the scene and used a frozen blond bystander as a prop while she aimed her device. The blond was standing there in a purple T-Shirt, black mini-skirt and white sandals, a brown purse slung over her right shoulder as she held a French fry to her mouth, the other hand holding a package of them. The blond had short hair with a miniature ponytail in the center of the back, the rest going down to the base of her skull. Rachel used the woman's left shoulder to brace her arms. "Okay Angels, here goes nothing," muttered the scientist, pulling the trigger. Nothing visually occurred, only a sound pulse was heard as the weapon worked. All five immobilized Angels were in Rachel's line of fire, but for a moment she worried nothing would happen.

            Angel Red moved first, falling forward as her feet were freed from the now-moving fountain before her body could move again. The heroine quickly got up just in time to see the other four Angels unfreeze and fall to Earth right in front of her. "You're okay!" exclaimed Kagome, happy to see her friends were all right.

            "Rachel and Draco destroyed our new watches and the classroom clocks; that freed us," explained Angel Blue, standing and letting her weapon disappear. The rest of the team did the same, all of them reaching for their batons in unison. ÒBut we fell for that cheap dramatic entrance trickÉÓ

            "Ow, stop that, you jerk!" exclaimed Timer as his hour hand tumbled from his shattered face, Draco having scored a direct hit.

            "Thank you Draco, we're fine now!" called out Angel Pink as the five girls came running up beside Draco, their wands at the ready.

            "Then what do you say – you take him down?" suggested Draco, causing all five girls to smile and raise their wands.

            "Wait, lets talk about this... don't get I get a time-out?" asked Timer, visibly shaking.

            "Pink!" exclaimed Angel Pink, the tip of her baton glowing her color as she stood on the outside right.

            "Green!" exclaimed Angel Green, her baton glowing as she stood on the outside left.

            "Yellow!" next came Angel Yellow, her weapon following the pattern.

            "Blue!" continued Angel Blue, her wand doing the same as the others.

            "Red!" finished Angel Red, stepping in front of Draco and completing the row, Angels Yellow and Blue on either side of her.

            "Uh oh..." whimpered Timer covering his body with his arms.

            "ANGEL LOVE BEAM!" screamed all five Cyber Angels. Instantly five colored beams fired out and formed a single, pure white blast that washed over Timer at the speed of light. After a few moments the beam faded and Timer was gone, nothing but whitish ash left behind that soon vanished in the breeze.

            "Woohoo!" cheered Rachel, then accidentally got elbowed as the woman she'd been using as a brace turned around in surprise.

            "Oh, I'm sorry!" gasped the blond, bending over to help the scientist. As soon as Timer had been destroyed everyone and everything previously frozen by Timer's flash attack resumed moving, some even unaware of what had happened.

* * *

Daegon's Fortress

            "Well done Celeste; never have I seen such a failure snatched from the jaws of victory," hissed the Black Prince sarcastically from his throne as he sat with his servant before him, an onyx goblet in his left hand. "You made sure all five Angels bought a clock from you and even had them all drained, immobilized, and completely helpless but you stood by while my brother ruined your plans! Why?!"

            On her knees, Celeste bowed her head low. "I did not think that the White Prince or his ally would be able to do anything to stop Timer," explained Celeste, but in response, Daegon crushed his goblet and threw the moist flecks at her.

            "You lie; I know of your affections for him!" boomed Daegon, causing his court to go quiet in shock. "You cannot bear to face him in battle so you stood by when you were perfectly capable of preventing that meddlesome scientist from saving her precious Cyber Angels! You have been judged guilty of treason!"

            "No, my prince, please!" begged Celeste, her eyes wide with fear as she attempted to stand. Daegon wouldn't hear it however, gesturing with his left hand. A familiar red beam projected from Daegon's hand and washed over his supposedly loyal lieutenant, immediately stealing all of the energy he'd granted her and leaving her a mute statue, her left knee still on the floor with her hands spread away from her body, her mouth open in protest.

            "Black Valkyrie," Daegon summoned next, as the court erupted in laughter and applause. A pink-haired woman with long bangs wearing an identical costume to those of the Cyber Angels stepped forward from the huddled masses of Daegon's court, her silver eyes gleaming as she eyed the frozen Celeste.

            "I serve you, my master," offered Valkyrie, going down on her knees like Celeste had before her.

            "You shall lead the next attack; pray you do not fail like your sister has countless times before you," warned Daegon.

Little Tokyo Park

            "Ice cream always cheered me up," sighed Kagome as she sat on a park bench next to Draco, both of them in street clothing. Draco was wearing a white suit with a red tie while Kagome wore her uniform. Both had double-scooped cones of vanilla ice cream and they were on an empty dirt walkway in the middle of the tree-filled park, the ice cream vendor having gone on in search of more customers.

            "I'm so sorry, Kagome," offered Draco, sincerely. While Timer had been destroyed, three specific individuals had lost their energy completely. One was Aimi: Angel Green, which meant if she was ever separated from her diamond she would become frozen until they were reunited. The second was Ms. Ratsumori, her homeroom teacher, and the last was her own mother. All three had been exposed to the time collectors for too long and ended up sucked dry.  They had no diamonds to give them energy, so as statues they remained.  Only once Daegon was defeated could they return to normal, but they still didn't know where his ship was hidden.

            "I know, Draco, and thank you," whispered Kagome, looking down at her ice cream and unsure if to continue. Tears began to form in her eyes but a comforting arm was put around her shoulders. Surprised, Kagome looked up at Draco who was in turn looking at her with soft eyes. Feeling her heart flutter, Kagome closed her eyes as Draco slowly leaned in.

            "Hey Kagome, Draco, there you are!" shouted Yumiko, coming into view down the path with the other Cyber Angels. Caught off-guard, Kagome and Draco immediately jumped apart, their faces red.

 

The End


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