“Not so fast, you creeps!”
With a brilliant flash of light and a crackle of electricity, the Blue Cyber Space Warrior appeared between the two terrified boys, his glowing Cyberblade at the ready. With the flick of his wrist, the blade extended to its full length, lashing out like a whip and disintegrating the nearest creature into ash.
“Carl!” the two boys squeaked out, grateful that help had arrived just in time.
“Y-you gotta stop this guy, o-or we’ll be little kids forever!” Luke whined with tears in his eyes, backing away in fright.
“Geez, are you kidding me… I can deal with these creatures on my own, but that wizard…” Carl hissed, his grip on his blade tightening as more and more shadow creatures began to materialize around them. “He’s tougher than he looks, and if I-”
A bolt of magic whizzed past Carl’s head, missing by only an inch. “...And if I get hit, I’m just as screwed as you!” Carl finished angrily.
“Well, it’s not like we can help! I mean, just look at us!” Alex pouted childishly. “Even if we had our Power Watches, we’d be way to weak now that we’re just kids…”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that…”
A deep voice emanated from Carl’s Power Watch, and the hazy face of Zardak materialized on the watch’s surface. “The watches will still work, despite your age reduction,” the interdimensional being said calmly. “In fact, they might become even more effective…”
That was all that Carl needed to hear, and with a superpowered leap forward he slashed at the magical barrier that protected Luke and Alex’s bags, focusing the Cyberblade’s dimensional energies to crack the barrier down the middle. Carl snatched up the watches and tossed them over to his two regressed friends, who grabbed them out of the air and slapped them around their wrists.
“Let’s Cyberize!” the exclaimed, blushing at how much more ridiculous their catchphrase sounded coming out of their ten-year old mouths.
The air swirled around them and colored lights flashed, and their oversized clothes began to disintegrate and reform around their shrunken bodies. A warm energy flowed through their bodies, filling them with the strength and confidence that they were used to, rather than the childish terror that had gripped them after being transformed.
“Cybersailor Red, ready to fight!” Alex exclaimed, with Luke following up with, “Cybersailor Black, back in action!”
“...Hold on, what?” Carl muttered, his eyes widening when he saw the effect that the Power Watches had upon the two regressed warriors. Rather than their usual armor, the two boys were dressed in cute sailor boy style outfits, with tiny shorts that showed off their legs, floppy and colorful collars with long ribbons that trailed behind them, and brightly-colored sailor caps perched jauntily upon their heads. Rather than powerful interdimensional warriors, they looked more like cute magical boy superheroes from a fairly questionable anime. “Zardak, what the hell is this…!?” he shouted into his Cyber Watch.
“The Cyberdimensional energy that powers your abilities affects people differently depending on factors like gender and age,” their leader’s voice replied calmly. “Puberty, in particular, changes how the energy is focused, resulting in the different manifestation you are seeing.”
“...Umm, I guess that makes sense…” Carl conceded. “But, what were you saying earlier, about them being ‘even more effective’ now that they’re like this?”
“Think of it this way… The same amount of Cyberdimensional energy as always is diffusing into their bodies,” Zardak explained. “But now, they are much smaller than before. The same amount of energy, but focused into a smaller container…”
Suddenly, the ground around Carl, Luke, and Alex exploded, sending them flying into the air and landing with a thump in the grass. As they pulled themselves up and brushed the dirt off of themselves, Vortagar floated closer with his staff raised high.
“Enough talking, you brats!” Vortagar snarled, raising his staff and beginning to charge its crystal with dark magic. “I won’t miss next time!”