` If That's What It Takes `

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a a a

Saffir backed away from Eudial, eyes suddenly very wide. These panicked eyes jumped back and forth between the calculating cerise eyes and the shiny muzzle of the gun about ten times before he licked dry lips with a dry tongue, breaking through his shock.

"What are you doing?" he croaked out finally, his hands clenching reflexively into fists as he pulled himself into a sitting position, every muscle tensed.

Eudial removed one hand from the muzzle to flick her hair over her shoulder; she quickly resumed firing position as she spoke levelly and quietly. "I'm actually very sorry to have to do this, Saburo -- you're a good kid, a smart kid, you really are. You could've been helpful to our cause." She sighed dramatically, squinting one eye as she regarded him through the gun's sights. "However, sacrifices must be made... I have the strong feeling that in that pure heart of yours -- so protective of Tomoe-kyouju's daughter -- there is a talisman. And I want it. So, would you move to the right a little, there's a good lad. I want to make sure I get your heart full-on."

Saffir's heart clenched into a tight coil of fear as he realised that Eudial was completely serious. "The Hell you will!" he hissed suddenly, leaping off the bed, making a break for the bedroom door. Eudial instantly swung the gun around to follow his form, and sensing her aim was remarkable, Saffir did something he knew he would regret later.

Calling on disused and intermittent powers, Saffir turned and threw a bolt of coiled blue energy at the red-haired woman. She immediately screeched in shock, dropping the gun and covering her head as she fell to the floor in a heap.

The clatter of the gun's descent was rapidly drowned out by the sound of an explosion ripping through that particular wall of Eudial's apartment. Saffir, however, did not stay to admire the destructiveness of his personal handiwork. He did what any sane person would have done in his position.

He turned and ran like Hell.

As the dust cleared in her damaged room, Eudial hesitantly uncovered her head, looking up from where she sat on the floor in a dusty heap. "I was going to give it back to you if it wasn't a talisman, you know!" she shouted, hands scrambling for the familiarity of the gun's handgrip. She climbed slightly painfully to her feet -- falling about in heels did nothing for one's ankles -- and stared momentarily at the shattered wall. "I hope you're going to pay for that," she remarked, almost conversationally. She then frowned, hands tightening about the gun. "It seems the professor was right about you -- this is a strange power for even a mad physicist to have, Saburo... just who the Hell are you?"

a a a

Saffir more-or-less flew down the stairs of Eudial's apartment building, his heart hammering in his chest as he pushed roughly past those silly enough to get in his way. Ignoring their cries of surprise and protest, he stumbled out through the main doorway, almost falling down the two steps that led outside to the street below.

Not casting a single look back, Saffir pressed ahead, trying desperately to think of a destination as he ran aimlessly down the street. He knew that Eudial was definitely after him alone, and that she would most likely follow him to the ends of the earth and back to get whatever it was she wanted. He knew that if this were true, he would sooner or later have to stop running, and turn to face his antagonist.

However, he knew quite well that even though he still had his powers, they were not really going to be much help against this woman. They were certainly powerful, but he was not trained for guerrilla warfare. In fact, the thought of one-to-one combat made him feel quite ill; that was not what he did!

And so Saffir kept running.

a a a

Demando sighed heavily, looking up at the silent apartment building. This was where his brother was now... but he didn't dare consider trying to drop in on him.

So what are you even doing here, Demando? he asked himself bitterly, feeling the beginnings of absolute despair. Why do you keep living in the past? You sent your brother here to keep him out of trouble, to get him away from your influence... why can't you just leave it at that and leave him alone?

"Because I miss him more than I ever thought I would," he murmured softly, looking down at the hands that held the broken crystal figure so delicately. "I can't work, I can't think, I can't function without him by my side, the way he always used to be! My future kingdom falls apart even as I speak, yet all I can think of is my beloved small brother, the only person I loved who loved me in return..."

Bowing his head, Demando found that he had to throw all his energy into holding back his tears. For several minutes the only sound on the quiet street was that of his heavy breathing, his anguished sighs.

The sound of rapidly pounding feet made his head rise suddenly, his tears vaporising as his eyes narrowed. He stared in the direction of the sound, finally making out a panicked looking figure sprinting down the street, coming in his direction.

"What the..."

The figure was male, obviously under the delusion he was being pursued, if the harried glances he shot back over his shoulder were anything to go by. His face was shadowed and hidden by the night, but as he passed under a lone streetlight, dark blue hair and eyes were abruptly emphasised.

Demando's heart stopped.

As the figure stumbled past him, breathing hoarse and ragged, Demando reached out an incredulous hand to brush his shoulder, his voice startled and wondering.

"Saffir...?"

The figure floundered in mid-stride, a cry of horror escaping his throat as a name joined it. "Eudial...!"

The panicked blue eyes finally snapped up, wild and frenzied beneath tangled blue bangs. As Saffir took in his antagonist, his expression changed abruptly. As he stared into the familiar violet eyes of his older brother, he began to shake, all colour truly vanishing from his already pale face. A dreadfully calm insane look entered the former prince's eyes, a twisted little smile touching bitter features. "Demando... fancy meeting you here."

The two brothers could only stare at one another as they stood in the street, both lost for words. One was so stunned he was quite unable to speak; the other was filling with rage so potent he was trembling with this detained fury.

This meant Saffir was quite distracted from the clear and present danger manifested by the sound of a roaring engine. Even as he moved to speak to his brother, a white hatchback screamed into the space beside them. The brakes wailed as she drove up onto the curb, only narrowly missing the infamous lamppost that had revealed Saffir's identity to his sovereign brother.

Saffir's eyes widened in horrified understanding as he turned to regard the loaded bazooka that was pointed directly at his chest.

"Tag -- and you're it!" crowed Eudial triumphantly, pulling the trigger.

Demando watched in horror as a look of resignation crossed Saffir's pale face; the look Saffir gave his brother was positively heartrending.

Did he really speak those words, or was it only Demando's imagination? Whatever it was, he remembered the next few moments for the rest of his life, though he often wished he could forget it.

The madwoman's gun emitted a blast of black, sparkling energy, a ball that thrust its way into Saffir's chest like a heat-seeking missile. It hit him with the force of a speeding bullet train, but he was not instantly knocked off his feet. Instead, Saffir seemed to hang suspended in the air for a second, the energy fighting through his torso and tearing out the other side.

Even though it left him apparently unhurt, it had picked up something on its travels. As Demando stared in shock, the energy dissipated, leaving behind a glittering red and white crystal... one that began shining with a peculiar blue energy even as he watched.

His brother's limp body fell backwards into his arms, Demando almost collapsing under the sudden onslaught of dead weight. He tore his eyes away from the peculiar object hovering just where the "bullet" had struck Saffir, turning panicked violet eyes to the apparently lifeless form of his younger brother. "Saffir," he whispered, in complete and utter disbelief.

He heard the clicking of heels on concrete; he looked up to see a dusty woman with long red hair and a provocative black gown striding purposely towards the crystalline object levitating of its own will just inches from them both.

An impending sense of doom caused Demando to leap to his feet almost instantly. Carefully yet quickly letting his brother slip unconscious to the pavement, Demando threw himself forward and grabbed the crystal in the nick of time; Eudial's fingers passed through empty air only two and a half nanoseconds later.

She looked up at him, eyes positively irritated. "I'll make this simple for you, shall I? Give me that heart crystal or I rip your eyes out and feed them to my carburetor."

Demando clutched the crystal to his own heart, some degree of understanding dawning in those clear violet eyes.

Looking absolutely fed up, she took his silence -- and maintaining of the pure no kokoro no keisho -- quite badly. Her lovely face narrowed in anger as she clenched her fists. "Okay, I tried nice, and nice didn't work." She sighed in sudden weariness, looking mildly irritated. "Damn, I knew I should have gotten the professor to give me a daimon for this..." Her eyes narrowed even further as she glared at Demando and his unconscious relative. "I just didn't suspect this much resistance from him..."

"You tell me how to put this back or I'll give you nice," Demando snapped suddenly from between clenched teeth, cradling the heart against his chest. His eyes flashed with violet fire as he glared right back at her, his anger growing exponentially. "Who the Hell do you think you are, and what are you playing at?"

"I'm playing at silencing the world," she snapped in reply, sending a cold chill through Demando's entire being. That sounded awfully familiar somehow... "And I need Saburo's heart to do it. Now, if you'll just be a good boy and-"

Demando and Eudial both jumped in shock as a flash of blue shot between them both, snatching the crystal from even Demando's possessive grasp. He gasped in horror and in shock as he looked in shock to discover two horribly familiar Senshi standing before him, the taller of the pair cradling his brother's precious heart in her hands.

"Give that back to me!" he screamed furiously, not thinking at all as he lunged at Sailor Uranus. Obviously, she had not been expecting such an offensive; that was the only reason Eudial could give for the fact that he actually managed to knock the powerful Senshi over, sending the keisho no kokoro clattering across the concrete sidewalk.

Neptune spun in horror as Demando landed rather heavily on Uranus, who was temporarily winded by the Prince's kamikaze attack. "Get the damn talisman before she does, Neptune!" Uranus shouted, helpless as she was pinned beneath Demando's somewhat heavier form. However, even though he was already scrambling to his feet, Eudial and Neptune were closer to his target by far.

Helplessly, he could only watch as-

A long golden chain of intertwined hearts suddenly spun out of nowhere, cutting through the night air like a knife as both Neptune and Eudial leapt backwards in horror, also narrowing missing becoming targets for a large bolt of compressed electricity.

"Stop right there!" shrilled a familiar voice, penetrating through the sudden silence with her usual brand of histrionic drama.

The group in its entirely collectively turned to face the five girls standing only metres down the street, hands on hips. The centre figure spoke first, figure outlined in the light of her guardian Moon.

"You evil people attempt to steal the precious heart of an innocent young man -- how dare you sacrifice his life for your evil purposes? I can't let you do that! Tsuki ni kawatte-"

"-oshokiyo!" completed the quintet, voicing that famous line of the short-skirted super heroine. Eudial merely rolled her eyes at this statement; Uranus and her partner shot each other what seemed suspiciously like long-suffering looks.

Before anyone could react, Sailor Jupiter threw herself forward and snatched the crystal heart, holding it to her chest protectively. She was instantly joined by Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury moving to the fallen man's side.

However, Sailor Venus could only stare open-mouthed at the man who stood slightly to Uranus's left, her recognition rendering her temporarily useless. "Prince Demando!"

"WHAT?!" screeched Sailor Moon, startling the wits out of Jupiter, who was only centimetres away on her left. As the tall brunette winced, Eudial used this temporary confusion to leap forward and snatch the crystal away.

"I have the talisman!" she crowed jubilantly, eyes glittering with the onslaught of her madness. However, Uranus, being the decisive woman that she was, didn't take this sitting down.

"World SHAKING!" she shouted, bringing her hand up and down in the action which invoked the yellow ball of destructive energy. Eudial screeched stupidly, dropping the crystal in her haste to avoid being smashed flat by Uranus's attack. However, even as Uranus leapt forward to take the crystal into her possession for a second time, Demando pounced on it, narrowly avoiding being whacked in the face by one annoyed Uranus's fist.

However, he hadn't done too well -- he was now on the outside of the group. Eudial and seven divided Senshi now stood between him and his brother.

"What are you doing?" asked Venus finally, her eyes wide and confused. "What on Earth could you possibly want with that?"

"Just get out of here and leave me alone," Demando replied shakily, somehow managing to force authority into his voice. "Just get out of here!"

Mercury looked up, her eyes worried behind her visor. "He's barely hanging on -- if we don't return that crystal to him, he's going to die!"

Demando's eyes widened in shock -- and in relief. "You know how to return this to him?!"

Eudial's face hardened in anger once more, her nails breaking through her flesh as she clenched her hands even tighter. "You'll do no such thing!" she shouted in an ear-splitting shriek. "That talisman is mine and I'm going to keep it!"

But it was not to be -- even as Demando relaxed his guard, Neptune leapt into action and threw a watery "Deep Submerge!" at the Prince. Like Eudial before him, he danced out of the way of harm, dropping the crystal in a defensive reflex. The graceful Solider of the Self instantly vaulted herself to its resting place, a crooked smile crossing her lovely features as she cradled it in her gloved hands.

"It's not a talisman," she said in a dull voice, a bitter laugh escaping her throat. "No, despite its odd shine, it is not a talisman!"

The angry expression on Eudial's face congealed even as Uranus sighed and muttered "It was a waste of our time again, wasn't it?"

"Seems so," Neptune replied, cursorily tossing the crystal at Sailor Moon, though it was Demando who intercepted it, much to the odango'd one's chagrin.

"I think I've had enough of this nonsense for tonight," Uranus sighed, giving the red-haired woman an annoyed look as Eudial climbed hurriedly into her car. "Try a little harder next time, Eudial -- we're getting a little tired of pursuing you on your wild goose chases."

The two soldiers vanished as Eudial screamed out of the scene in her car, leaving one unconscious man, five Senshi and a Nemesian Prince in their wake.

"What are you doing with that heart?" Sailor Moon asked finally, giving Demando an even look.

To her surprise -- and open annoyance -- Demando candidly ignored her question, instead turning to Mercury, who cradled Saffir's head on her lap. She looked up in shock as he stood over her, proffering the shining crystal heart to her. "Since you seem to know how, will you please return this to him?" he asked gently, his face lined and weary in the glow of the crystal.

Mercury was completely lost for words in the face of Demando's obvious emotion and agony. All she could do was nod slowly, accepting the heart from his hands. She then poised her hands knowingly over his chest, before gently pulling them apart to allow the crystal to float downwards. As all watched in complete silence, a bright light engulfed the fallen figure as the crystal returned to being pure energy, going back into the body of its rightful owner.

"Youkatta," Sailor Moon murmured softly. It never ceased to amaze her, this miracle of spiritual mechanics. It also made her unspeakably happy to know that this person, at least, would not fall prey to the insane mission of Uranus and Neptune, or those bizarre Witches 5 and whomever they answered to...

Saffir stirred, a low groan escaping his lips. Mercury found herself roughly pushed aside as Demando took the body of the man into his arms, his facial expression both loving and worried.

"What's he doing?" hissed Venus to Mars, standing on her right, and Artemis, draped over her left shoulder. Neither deigned to answer her question; both of them were too engrossed in the scene to even hear her.

"Are you all right, Sa-"

But before he could complete the concerned question, the blue-haired individual slapped at the hand that had moved to caress his brow, eyes narrowing in anger. "Don't touch me!" he snapped hoarsely, his eyes burning with a deep fire. As the five Senshi and two recently arrived cats watched in amazement, the new individual virtually shoved the Prince over, climbing to his unsteady feet a second later.

Startled, Demando could only stare for a split second. He then also leapt to his feet, colour rushing to his face. "Where are you going?!"

"Far away... far away from you," the blue-haired man snapped, still wavering as he turned to walk away from the Prince. He was obviously still in pain from his ordeal, his hands clutching at his chest, his breathing ragged, his face pale and covered with cold perspiration.

The White Prince looked as if he had been slapped; however, he reached out towards the man, his expression confused and hurt. "But-"

"Shut up!" the man suddenly shouted, turning on the Prince. "Demando, why can't you just shut up and leave me alone? I don't want to talk to you! I don't even want to see you! It's over! Just forget you ever knew me!" His voice lowered as he then added wrathfully, "Just like the way I've had to forget I ever knew you."

He then turned and lurched off down the street, leaving a shocked group behind him. The Senshi found they didn't know quite what to say, but it didn't matter anyway. Demando turned and disappeared in the opposite direction only seconds after the peculiar exit of his "friend."

The silence continued on for a few minutes before Mercury finally looked up, her expression completely deadpan as she finally voiced her opinion.

"I don't know about the rest of you... but that just completely confused the Hell out of me."

a a a

Saffir fought to breathe as he stumbled down the street, willing his legs to support his weight a little bit longer. He couldn't go home -- those Senshi and his brother were back there...

His brother. He still couldn't quite believe it. As he had fled from his insane co-worker and her over-sized toy gun, he had come across the person who had haunted his thoughts ever since he had come to this hell-hole.

And oh, the anger he had felt upon seeing him again. Suddenly, he had felt the sum total of all these days of confusion and agony, pain and loneliness. He had come face to face with the person who had left him here, and he had remembered. He had remembered his last conversation with the White Prince. Demando had told him that he would sacrifice Saffir for Neo-Queen Serenity, because he simply did not love him that much after all.

And for the first time in his life, Saffir had hated his older brother.

Fighting the blur of tears in his eyes, Saffir stumbled, finally falling to his knees. His breathing grew ever more asthmatic as he knelt on the sidewalk, trying to hold back the fatigue and agony left over from the tribulation he had just lived through.

The comforting presence of his wallet assured him that a hotel was not out of the question, but somehow, the thought of an empty room did not relieve him. He suddenly realised that he would not be able to stand being alone any longer...

He stumbled onward, mind set on one destination only.

a a a

The five Inner Senshi and their feline counterparts had wandered back to the Hikawa shrine after that little bit of late-night fun. As they walked in complete silence, all but Mercury transformed back into their usual civilian forms, as the blue-haired girl was working away on her compact super-computer.

As they finished mounting the traditional stone stairs, Mercury reached up with two fingers and disengaged her visor, her entire fuku fading only seconds later in a flash of blue ribbon. She brushed her school uniform down with one hand, sapphire-blue eyes still trained on the tiny screen. "I don't think I can really explain this," she said finally, trailing the others as they all moved towards the familiarity of Rei's bedroom.

Usagi immediately flopped down on Rei's bed, the raven-haired girl biting her lip to prevent herself from telling her off for wrinkling her sheets. Instead, she joined the other three at the low table, sighing as she rested her chin on her laced fingers. "Well, that was certainly an odd shine that his heart had, however pure he was."

"Yeah..." replied Minako softly, her mind seemingly far away as she stared out the window.

Ami blew the bangs out of her eyes as her fingers relentlessly tapped the tiny keys, obviously frustrated. "Well, from what I can tell, I think it was actually a sign that the heart was not as pure as Eudial wanted to believe."

"How's that?" asked Makoto, furrowing her brow.

"Do you mean like when I got mine pulled out, how bright it was?" asked Usagi, sitting up from her lying position.

"Yes, but that was the opposite end of the barometer of purity," Ami said patiently. "That dull blue light was obviously something that shadows his existence... and it's odd, but I can't attribute that particular energy to anything I've ever observed on Earth...."

"Well, that makes sense, doesn't it?" spoke up Rei thoughtfully. "He called Demando by name... and from the way he yelled at him, it's obvious they've known each other for some time."

Minako looked up, suddenly brought to Earth by the reference to the Nemesian. "Just who was that guy, anyway?"

"I don't know, he took off too quickly for me to do that kind of computer scan on him," sighed Ami. "If I had known that he was... associated with the Prince before he woke, I could have done it, but as it was, things moved too quickly. I'm sorry."

"It's all right, Ami-chan," Makoto said reassuringly, giving her a brief half-hug. "We were all pretty out of it, what with that crystal being shunted back and forth the way it was."

Rei had to laugh at this, though the sound was slightly bitter. "Four groups after one heart -- it's ridiculous whatever why you choose to look at it."

"But who was he?" Minako persisted, her suspicions growing. "If Demando knew him, chances are he's the one Demando was talking about before he almost died!" A realisation dawned as she regarded her genius friend. "Ami-chan! He had blue eyes and blue hair, just like you -- and that'll be why he once mistook your face for his, as he woke up! Remember that?"

The girl nodded, fingers pausing in their eternal dance over the keypad. "Good point. However, you know something? I just realised why he looked familiar to me."

"Familiar?" asked Rei, cocking an eyebrow.

Ami put the computer down on the table, leaning back to stretch slightly. "Yes. A few days ago, when I was at cram school, we were graced by a visit by a group of students from Mugen Gakuen junior and senior high schools, and the laboratories. I remember specifically meeting a young junior high girl and a research student because he was interested in what Haruka had done to the computers I was working with." She sighed slightly, rubbing tiredly at her eyes. "His name was Hirosada Saburo, if I remember correctly... and I'm sure that he was the same man who fell victim to Eudial earlier this evening."

"He almost called him a name, y'know," Minako piped up helpfully, leaning across the table in excitement. "And I distinctly heard a 'sa' in there."

"I wonder what relationship they have," Ami mused thoughtfully. Everyone stared at her for a second before acquiring large sweatdrops. When Ami finally noticed this, she blushed bright red. "You guys! I didn't mean it like that!"

"Besides, Demando was always in love with Neo-Queen Serenity," said Minako triumphantly.

"Can't see why -- from what ChibiUsa's implied, she's Usagi through and through," muttered Rei, earning herself a pillow in the face from aforementioned odango atama. Unfortunately, it hit Minako, who threw back with bad aim, whacking Makoto...

Ami rolled her eyes and joined in the brawl. Sometimes, they all needed a break... because they'd have to get back to reality and its problems all too soon.

a a a

Petz continued to sip her coffee as she stood on the balcony of her bedroom, the soft wind barely messing her soft green hair. It fell softly about her shoulders in elegant waves, only lightly touched by the gentle breeze. This same breeze was comfortingly cool against her limbs through her filmy night-gown, even as she tried to banish the thoughts of the suffering of a man she still loved. It was difficult, however; the heavy weight of the pendant at her heart was enough to constantly remind her of him...

The sudden thumping on the apartment door caused her to start. Knowing full well she was the only one still awake, Petz threw on her dressing gown, abandoning the coffee mug on the kitchen bench on her way through.

She opened the door hesitantly after checking through the peephole to see who it was. Her sigh was soft and weary as she spoke, her heart in agony. She knew she should turn him away and save herself more pain, but he looked so forlorn, and she felt so... enlightened by his presence...

"Saffir, what are you doing here?" she asked slowly, sadly. "I thought we had decided..."

"I know," he whispered in reply. His voice broke on the next words. "But I didn't know where else to go..."

To Petz's shock, Saffir's pale, miserable face suddenly crumpled, and he actually burst into tears. Without thinking, she instantly put her arms about his waist, pulling him into the apartment as she did so, slamming the door shut. The pair then stood in the hallway, Saffir sobbing brokenly as he buried his face in her satin-clad shoulder.

"What happened?" she whispered in shock, completely flabbergasted as she pressed the man's face to her breast, frantically stroking that dark blue hair. His weeping was terrifying her to say the least, but her heart hardened in anger when he looked up, eyes agonised and yearning. "It's Demando..."

She closed her eyes in resignation, temper flaring. "Why am I not surprised...?"

To Part Eleven

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