A Sailor Moon story by Tim Nolan. ze-mail: nomad@cyberverse.com Please see comments following the story. Obligations. Rating: PG-13+ "Duty is heavier than a mountain, death is lighter than a feather." - Japanese proverb. Prologue. A hollow, booming sound resounded through the castle, and the cracking sound from the gates brought cheers from the attackers outside. He had just enough time to grab the woman he came for and pull them into an alcove. The gates finally were thrown open by the mass of troops that spilled into the courtyard, searching for any survivors of the choking, poisonous cloud of sickly green smoke that was finally dissipating. He had shielded the two of them from the spell that had lain low the defenders after their commander, one of his apprentices, had fallen with an arrow through his chest. The fool hadn't even kept himself properly protected from mundane weapons. Another spell hid them from the view of the attackers, who fanned out to search and pillage the richly furnished keep. It didn't take long for the troops to force the doors to the main keep, where he and the woman hid behind a statue of Hermes in the entrance hall. With all the efficiency that the Atlanteans were famed for, they checked the hall for dangers and then let their king and his retinue in. "Now, my dear, look upon the one that you love. This was a result of his infatuation with that little brat on the Moon. As long as she has his heart in her hand, you'll never have a chance to get him," he whispered in her ear. She had stiffened when the royalty had walked in, but her eyes ignored the finery of the King or his four Generals. She was captivated by the sight of the young Prince, who stood with the four Warlords of Atlantis. The young man wore dark colors to set him off from the clashing hues worn by his father. His uniform was almost as drab as the gray tunics worn by the Warlords, the actual leaders of the troops. The generals, resplendent in their parade ground finery, were little more than cronies of the King. The five old men reminded him of a pack of old peacocks trying in vain to impress each other. He glanced at the woman for a moment. She had been part of a low ranking noble family that had fallen on hard times. She wore a long black dress that was in shreds that would have revealed much except for the cloak her long, red hair made around her body. Her features were pretty enough that she could have captured the young man's heart if she would have learned to be patient in her pursuit of her prey. Instead, she had rushed in and was rebuffed by the young Prince. Her love had turned to hatred and ate away at her soul like a cancer. She fled from the court on the Moon and been recruited by his apprentice at this castle. He had arrived just in time to rescue her, for he could make good use of her pain and anger. She will be an excellent tool in time. "I'll show you how to get him. All you need is a little training in the arts and politics. Do you see the four men in the gray tunics? They are the key to the military, which is the key to Atlantis. Their power comes from their armies, which are aided by the Moon Kingdom." "Those four old men, over there by the King, they're his appointees. They don't have the support of the troops, only that of the crown. They're nominally in charge of the armies and the Warlords, but it's a very unsteady command. All we need to do is to give it a little push..." he said while a ball of chill, white energy formed in his hand. "...and it will all come tumbling down. ICE BOLT!" he cried out and flung it at the King. One of the warlords, the one with long, white hair, had sensed something and had leaped to place himself in the line of fire to shield the King. It was done in vain. The glowing ball curved up and over his diving body and slammed into the chest of the King, knocking the old man to the ground. The young Prince charged towards the statue he hid behind with the other three Warlords in his wake, but he had prepared for this. The gate he had used to come here was still there, and he simply grabbed the woman and stepped backwards into the cool darkness of his study. He slashed out with his hand to break the gate spell to prevent pursuit and walked to the table to pour himself a glass of wine. He took a drink, and then poured one for the woman. She took it and drank while sitting on one of the chairs in the room. He could almost see her mind at work. He'd have to teach her some subtlety in her expressions. "I'll head off the inevitable questions, my dear. The King isn't dead, but he'll be next to useless for the rest of his life. The Generals and the warlords will be at each others throats for several months while the power is re-distributed. Your prince will have to take on more and more responsibilities and that will leave him wide open for all the nobles to try to manipulate him to their own ends. That will leave him little time to see the Princess and give you the opening you need." "Why did you save me?" she asked. That, at least, was a good sign. She was thinking about the situation. It was a good start. "I have my own score to settle with Atlantis and the Moon Kingdom, my dear Beryl. After I train you for the task at hand, you'll be able to walk in and take both him and Atlantis. After that, we'll take the Moon Kingdom. I hope the idea of betraying your home doesn't upset you." The memories came back to her, despite all her efforts to stop them. She had been able to coax the Prince into a few conversations and was so close to catching him she could almost taste him. Then, one afternoon, all her dreams fell apart. The little witch was the source of all her problems. She wanted that blonde head on a silver tray. "No, it doesn't. Not at all." End - Prologue ***************************************************************** Obligations A soft, spring rain had just finished falling. There hadn't been a lot of precipitation, just a light, even downpour that made the streets glow from the reflected lights of the city. The rain had cooled the air slightly, bringing the temperature down to where it was just tolerable when compared to the heat of the day. The clouds were clearing away to the east, allowing the light from the gibbous moon to bathe in soft silver the areas where the neon did not hold sway over the city. It was in one of the fields of silver among the fences of streetlights that a figure crept through a house, carefully trying to avoid making a sound. She had thought her hunger had awoken her, but even the ice cream in the freezer didn't ease what she was feeling. The container was put back in the freezer after only a single spoonful, surely a record for her. Thanks were quietly given to the designers who decided the freezer didn't need a light like the refrigerator did. The young woman slipped around the spot in the hallway by the stairs that always creaked when weight was placed upon it. She had learned that one some time ago. The same long years of experience at nocturnal raids on the kitchen allowed her to move to the stairs without awakening her brother, who now slept in the downstairs room right by the stairs and doorway. He'd make a ruckus if he heard her, just to get her in trouble. The sleeping arrangements had been changed a few months ago, after it became clear their visitor would be here a while this time. Shingo had been put in what was her mother's sewing room, and his old room now housed the person she decided was the source of what troubled her tonight. She crept silently up the stairs, avoiding the slightly loose fifth step, and stopped just outside the room next to hers. Her ears strained to hear any noise from inside, and a few moments holding her breath allowed her to hear the faint whimper from inside. She exhaled quietly and weighed her feelings in her mind. Most sixteen year old girls didn't have this kind of problem, she thought to herself while faintly smiling. At least she would have the advantage of having gotten through many of the worst problems she would have had in the future with her daughter. Knowing who her daughter was and having the chance to help raise her before she was born was confusing, to say the least, but it also gave her hope that it would get better. Chibi-Usa always commented on how close she was to her mother, and sometimes that was the only thing she could cling to in order to make it through the nights of the last few months. The most recent threat they had faced had nearly removed any chance of her having her family. Queen Nephrenia had nearly destroyed them, and Chibi-Usa had faded from sight as the probability of her existing became more and more remote. She and the Sailor Senshi had defeated Nephrenia, and restored her chance of having the little girl, who reappeared as soon as Mamoru had been freed from the Queen's influence. She hadn't fully realized how much the little girl had come to mean to her. It had taken her all this time since then to come to this conclusion. Another whimper from inside the room brought her abruptly to the present and action. She carefully turned the knob, opened the door and slipped into the room. The sheets on the bed were tangled around the girl, who twisted again and again in an effort to move while she cried out once from some nightmare. "Chibi-Usa-chan?" she said softly, laying her hand on the girl's cheek. The girl woke with a start, still obviously caught in the throes of the dream. "Mama?" she said in her clear, high pitched voice as Usagi's heart broke from the pain in her daughter's voice. She could never remember her calling her own mother that. It was always Mommy, or when she was older, Mom. The only person she could ever remember calling that was a vague recollection of her other mother that was more emotions than images. It was probably just the dream, but Chibi-Usa had never called her that before, and to her surprise, she liked it. "It's all right, Chibi-Usa-chan, I'm here. It's only a bad dream," she said soothingly to the young girl while freeing her from the tangle of blankets and then scooping her up into a hug. "It's all right, honey. I'll stay with you, O.K.?" The little girl wiped away a few tears from her eyes as she nodded her assent while Usagi covered her with the pink heart and white rabbit sheets and lay down next to her. The young girl squirmed around so that her head rested on Usagi's shoulder. She gave her daughter a reassuring squeeze and cradled her in the embrace of her left arm. "Do you want to talk about it, Chibi-Usa-chan?" she said, watching her eyes slide closed as sleep once more began to exert its hold on the young girl. "No," the young girl mumbled, "I've already forgotten about it. Thank you for coming in and... checking... on...." The girl fell silent as she went once more to sleep, her breathing a soft, slow cadence that set Usagi's heart at rest. Somehow, she must have felt the fears the girl was having and had woken up. She lay there a long time, trying to sleep, but her thoughts kept her wide awake as her mind raced. She tried counting sheep, but kept on losing track in the several hundreds and finally gave up. Fortunately, it was not a school night and she could sleep in, assuming she ever went back to sleep. "Thank you, Mama," the little girl whispered aloud, lost in some dream of a happy time. The tears came to her eyes, finally, and she lay there and let them spill down her face for several long minutes. She glanced down at the sleeping girl, studying her face. She was so cute when she was like this. Far too often, they were arguing with each other and it was twisted up in anger at her. It had to change, she decided. "Chibi-Usa-chan?" she said softly to the little girl. There was no response, but that didn't matter to her right now. She would have to learn to say this to herself, and to believe it in the times to come, if she really wanted it to change. Like any journey, it would begin with the first step, and that was admitting the problem was there. "I'm tired of all of this fighting, Chibi-Usa-chan. I want to be more like the mother that you need. I won't be able to change overnight, but I will try to be different towards you. This time, when I thought I lost you, I realized how much you mean to me. I want us to be happy together here, you and I and Mamo-ch -... your father. "Please be patient with me, Small Lady. I'm not yet Neo-Queen Serenity, but I'll try to be like her for you. I'll try harder to be the mama that you need here," she said as she stretched her neck down, kissed the sleeping child and brushed her hand over the pink hair. Her guilt assuaged, sleep finally came to her and she joined her daughter in dreamland. Neither of the sleepers heard the faint sound of a set of paws landing on the windowsill. The black cat settled there, the golden crescent on her forehead glowing in the moonlight, and looked at the young woman, clearly startled by this unseen side of her charge and the speech she had just heard. ***************************************************************** "Thank you, Ami-chan. This means a lot to me. I'm glad you're willing to help me on this," the blonde girl said, giving the other a quick, impulsive hug. They both turned and walked up the long set of steps to the temple. At the top, they were greeted by another girl, who had just finished sweeping the courtyard and stood beneath one of the large trees while feeding a pair of crows. "Good morning, Rei-chan," the girl with the short, blue hair said with a small bow in deference to the priestess-in-training. Minako, remembering her manners, also sketched a bow at Rei. Leave it to Ami to give her a lesson in manners, even in dealing with an old friend. "I'm still not sure this will work, Minako," said the girl with the raven hair as they filed up the stairs to her room in the temple. "I thought we would need to have Sailor Moon for this. We've never tried it without her." "It should work, Rei-chan. Thank you for agreeing to help," the blonde girl said as she sat in a chair by a small desk while Rei began to change out of the traditional robes she wore. Ami blushed slightly and looked out the window at the sunrise, squinting slightly to let her eyes adjust to the brightness. "Why is it just the three of us, Minako?" she said as she pulled on her jeans and a sweater. "What about Mako-chan? Why didn't you ask her?" Minako sighed once before answering. "If we are successful, I may not want Usagi knowing what we did. I trust Mako-chan with her life, but I'm afraid that she might say something about this accidentally. I hate to slight her, but I trust you two more to keep it a secret if need be." "I'm not sure I appreciate such a compliment, Minako-chan," Ami said after a few moments of silence, "Not at the expense of a friend." "I'm sorry, Ami-chan," the blonde girl said, coolly meeting the gazes from the other two. "If this didn't concern Usagi, I would have never brought that up. Let's go downstairs, into the courtyard. I'll explain everything there." They went down to the courtyard, the stiff breeze sending their hair flying to one side as they walked. By some inner understanding, they ended up standing around a patch of new stones in the walkway, their color slightly paler than the others. They had used this exact spot several times before as a starting point. That was one of the factors that had led the blonde girl to decide to try this at the temple. Minako looked at them, studying her friends. She was about to ask them to face something they all had an unspoken agreement to not discuss. It wouldn't be an easy thing to ask of them, and she would probably be as hurt as much as they would be if her plan was successful today. Ami had her normal, slightly determined look on her face as she blinked a few times at the rising sun in the east. She wore, at Minako's request, a good, tough pair of jeans and a warm sweater. Her boots were more for walking then hiking, but they would suffice. Rei had on the same type of clothes as Ami, and was patiently waiting for Minako to begin. She wished she had that patience to call upon. If it came down to it, she could spend hours at a single task if it concerned their duties as a Senshi, but Rei could do the same thing in her normal life. If she could do that, her grades would be more like Ami's as opposed to Usagi's. "Again, thank you very much for helping me on this," she began, looking at both of them. "I know it's a lot to ask of you to do something like this without knowing everything, but I can't tell you everything just yet. It'll all be clear when we get there. I know we never did this without Sailor Moon, but we've gone to this place before, and that should help. We've also done things without her before, like the barrier we put up around Mugen Gakuen High School. "Do you remember when we went to that asteroid that Fiore was on?" She waited for both of them to nod in reply. "I was the one who called out the orders to attack that first seed when we used the Planet power, so I think I can get us started. I don't think that we have to have Usagi." Ami nodded, her mind racing through the possibilities. "It's a sound theory, Minako-chan. I'll help you," she said, smiling at the other two. "I'm in as well, Minako. I trust you on this," Rei replied. They looked again at each other, then Rei and Ami reached into their dimensional pockets to take out their transformation wands. "Mercury Crystal Power, Make-up!" "Mars Crystal Power, Make-up!" In a flash of red and blue light, the two girls were gone. In their place stood two of the Sailor Senshi, the wind causing the longer bows on the back of their skirts to flutter wildly. Minako looked at them again, hefted her backpack onto one shoulder and pulled out her wand. "Venus Crystal Power, Make-up!" When the orange light subsided and she was Sailor Venus, she reached out her hands to her friends. They took hers, and each others, forming a small circle around the new and often-replaced stones of the walkway. Eyes closed, they concentrated as they began to faintly glow in the same colors of their tiara stones while Rei and Minako's hair drifted up above them. "Sailor Teleport!" Minako cried out, thinking with everything she had of that one place they did not discuss. The bone-chilling cold was the first thing they noticed. Rei muttered a curse under her breath that a Catholic school girl had no business knowing while Minako changed back to her normal self and started handing out parkas and pants to the others from her backpack. "What is this place, Minako?" Ami said as she pulled on the cold weather gear. "I don't think we've been here before." She continued to look around her, waiting for a snow flurry to clear so she could see around her. Minako and Rei pulled theirs on, with Minako turning back into Venus before getting dressed, but leaving the backpack off. The cold usually wouldn't bother them when they were the Senshi, but the cold here was as much of the spirit as that of the flesh, and the parkas would help ease the mind. "Minako!" Rei suddenly screamed at her in rage and pain as she realized where they were. Ami turned at the outburst and got a look at the terrain as the snow cleared behind them. Her face went as white as the snow, and then she ran off to be violently sick, leaning against a small boulder as she retched. "What the hell were you thinking, you fool! You're as scatter-brained as Usagi, you blonde ditz!" she yelled as she slapped Minako across the face, a red welt coming instantly to the girl's cheek. She hadn't even moved to avoid it, and the fact that there were tears rolling down her face before she was slapped made Rei stop her tirade a few moments later as her anger faded. "I'm sorry, Rei. I had to come here, and this is the only way I could think of getting here," Minako said, her voice close to breaking while she looked down and refused to meet her eyes. "I didn't want to hurt you like this, but I was afraid that you'd say no if I asked beforehand." Rei reached out and pulled the sobbing blonde into an embrace. Minako was very much like Usagi in that both hated to see anyone hurt. It must have been very difficult for her to do this. "I forgive you, Minako-chan. Please forgive my outburst. That was my anger speaking, and my pain. It wasn't my heart." The blonde stepped back, wiping away the tears. She went to her backpack and pulled out a bottle of mineral water and some towels. "I thought this might happen," she said softly to Rei, and went over to Ami, who has just finishing the last of her dry heaves. She nudged the shorter girl slightly and held out the water and towels with a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Ami," she said to her, smiling tentatively. "I knew it would be worst for you, as you were one of the first." After Ami had cleaned herself up, they turned to go back to Rei, but the slight wail of the wind kept them from hearing a whispered chant. An ofuda struck Minako squarely between the eyes, causing her to fall in surprise, landing on her backside, and Ami to burst out in laughter at the sight. "We're even, Minako," Rei said with a glint in her eye before all three started laughing together. Ami helped Minako to her feet while Rei attached an ofuda to Ami and herself. "It pays to be careful in a place like this," the black haired girl said, looking about uneasily. She could feel the evil in this place, the residue was so strong. "Let's get this over with." They started retracing their steps from that fateful day long ago. The first sign that they were on the right path was a patch of reddish snow that almost made Ami lose it again. She forced herself to stop trembling and looked around her. "This was where I died," she said. "That shouldn't be here. The snow should have covered it or been blown away by now." "I can still feel the evil here," Rei replied. "It's like a smell that has gotten into a place after a long time. Let's hurry, everybody." They detoured around the place where Ami had fallen and made a direct course to where Minako had her last moments. It wasn't easy for her to see the place either, due to the memories it stirred, but she seemed to know exactly where to go and was determined to go there. It took several minutes to reach the pile of ice and rocks that marked the spot. Minako began to look around and talk to Ami about what to scan for while Rei leaped to the top of a large boulder and looked to the north, where a small crater could still be made out, the edges blackened and burnt. They wouldn't go there, thankfully, but she had to look at it while she was here. she thought to herself. At the time, she had been yelling and screaming at the poor girl. Now that it was in the past and she was not hurt herself by watching what had occurred, she could appreciate Usagi's strength even more. The Princess didn't act very strong in everyday life, but she always came through when the chips were down. It took Ami several minutes to find what they sought as she walked around with her computer scanning and showing the results on her visor. Minako's instructions weren't that precise, thanks to her poor grades in her science classes and a lack of solid information, so it took a while to find. Eventually, she had to search in reverse, scanning for what wasn't there as opposed to trying to find something that was. Rei was called over to free the sword from a layer of ice, and she carefully melted it loose of the icy grasp. It was made of a silvery, metallic substance that Ami could not identify. Her computer didn't even have a match for whatever it was made of. "Don't touch it," Minako warned the others. "I didn't get it hot, Minako-chan," Rei said, protesting. "It's not the heat, Rei-chan," the blonde replied, steeling herself for the attempt to take it. "It may be harmful to the touch if you aren't the one it's meant for." She reached out, grasped the hilt and hefted it. It was a heavy one, designed for someone bigger than her and far stronger. Mako-chan probably couldn't even use it properly, but Haruka just might be able to. The hilt was almost too big for her to hold on to properly, and she used her other hand to steady her grip. It had twin crescents for a guard, one opening towards the tip and one towards the pommel. After cautioning them to stand back, she walked over to a large rock and took a two-handed swing at it. The lack of resistance as it cut through the stone caused her to lose her feet, falling on her rear for the second time today. Ami and Rei were so impressed by the halved boulder that they didn't even laugh at her plight or her pout. "Minako-chan, what is that thing?" Rei said, surprised at the result. Ami looked at her as well, her eyes betraying her eagerness for the information to help her solve this new puzzle. "It's the Silver Crescent Sword, the twin to the Silver Moon Sword that the Commander of the Guard on the Moon carried." The names seemed familiar to both Rei and Ami, even if they couldn't figure out why, so they didn't have any questions or comments. This often happened with the fragmented memories of their past life. Minako's next statement was the bombshell, however. "This sword is the symbol of the leader of the Sailor Senshi." "What?" Ami and Rei said in unison. Minako smiled gently at them. "Usagi was never one of us in the past as a Sailor Senshi. There was no Sailor Moon in the Moon Kingdom. She's still our leader now, Rei-chan, but I was the leader in the past," she said. Her eyes lost focus and her voice dropped so the other two had to listen carefully to hear the rest. "My dreams were right. It was here all this time." "Dreams, Minako? What kind of dreams?" the priestess said softly, half to the others and half to herself. Minako blinked twice, and seemed to come back to the present. She could see the concerned look that was clearly written in Rei's eyes. "I'm all right, Rei-chan. Thank you for caring." She gave her a warm smile before continuing, "They started when we first began seeing the talismans. The sight of Haruka's Space Sword made me realize that something was missing." "The first dream happened a few nights after that. I had a flashback to when we were preparing for the last battle at the Moon Kingdom, just before Queen Beryl's armies attacked. I remembered drawing it to emphasize to someone the point that I was the one to make the decision, not her. Queen Serenity agreed with me, and she backed me up with her own decree. I figured that if I didn't have it with me, it could only be here." Ami and Rei were quiet for several moments while they tried to see if this disclosure brought any new memories to them. All of their recollections of the Moon Kingdom and the last days of the Silver Millennium were vague and hazy due to their reincarnation in the present. Even Luna and Artemis didn't have many clear memories of the past. All they had to go on was scraps and fragments that fell far short of satisfying their curiosity. "She was so beautiful," Minako whispered. "Now I know where Usagi gets it from. She's just like her mother. You see her and you just have to love her. You don't have any choice in the matter." Rei was still searching inside of herself, so Ami was the only one to see the mischievous twinkle appear in Minako's eyes. "You'd better be careful, Rei. You can push Usagi around, but she'll be more than your match if she takes after her mother," the blonde girl said while smiling sweetly at her intended target. Rei looked up sharply, the color rising on her face until she realized she was starting to fall into Minako's trap. She liked gently teasing the others, and the easy banter put her mind at rest about this journey being a plot by some unknown enemy that had ensnared the blonde. "I do not push her around, Minako. She-" "Is that what we came for, Minako-chan?" Ami said softly, interrupting the others and their 'discussion' that was about to start. At Minako's nod, she went on. "Let's get going. I'm even starting to feel the evil here." They turned back to trudge through the knee deep snow towards the spot they arrived at. Ami weighed the ramifications and considered the possible responses for a few moments before asking a question when they stopped to get their bearings. "What do you want us to tell Usagi-chan and Mako-chan, Minako-chan?" "I'd like to keep her from knowing about this, at least for a while. I don't want her to think that I'm trying to undermine her position as the leader of the Senshi." "What if something happens to her?" Rei said quietly. "What happens then, Minako-chan?" "I hope it never comes to that, Rei-chan. I hope it never does," she replied, sighing and turning back to take the lead for the first leg through the drifts of snow. On the way back, Minako fell slightly behind the others when her turn at the front was done. She didn't want them to know of this one thing, at least not yet. She hated keeping these secrets, but sometimes surprise was the best weapon of all. A secret was only safe when one person knows of it. She grasped the lower crescent on the sword, willing it to come off. It did so with a slight, metallic click. There was no sign of change to the rest of the sword. It now looked like the lower crescent had never been there before. Her fingers found the catch as quickly as if she had used it this morning, and it opened up like a crescent shaped compact, complete down to a mirror in the lid. The big difference, however, was the face of Sailor V looking back from where the reflection of Sailor Venus should be. ***************************************************************** The limousine pulled up to a stop in front of the gates to an old, deserted cathedral. It had been a busy place when the driver was younger, but that was a long time ago. A shift away from Catholicism many years back had doomed the building to a slow fall from grace. A man was waiting there, dressed in a sharp, European styled suit. Like his passenger, this man at the curb was also a foreigner. The difference was that he could tell the man at the curb was from Europe just by looking at him and listening to this voice. He could narrow it down to the exact country in a few minutes of talking to him. The driver's gift with languages was one of the keys to his success. His passenger was altogether another story. They had talked at the start of the trip from the airport, a short exchange of mindless pleasantries until the man had indicated he wished to think for a short time. They hadn't said another word. It was as if the passenger was from another planet. His voice and speech didn't give him any idea of where this man was from. His appearance vaguely hinted at Mediterranean, with short, black hair and a matching, closely cut beard and mustache, but his skin color was a shade too pale an olive for that. The man at the curb paid him, including a generous tip, and sent him on his way back to his garage. They wouldn't require him to return, and the tip was good enough for him to decide to take off early and spend some time drinking sake at his favorite spot. He might even call his wife later on and invite her down for a few. "How did the title search go, Matthew?" the older of the two said. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, or a very well preserved forty, and wore a well-tailored gray suit with a white carnation in the lapel. "Well, Archmage-" he said, but was cut off by a slight wave of the other's hand. "Please, Matthew, we've known each other far too long for titles. Besides which, the organization that we earned them in is long gone," the older man said as they started up the steps. "The owner before the last one was the Catholic church, Jason. About two years ago, a gentleman appeared out of nowhere according to the records that I have access to and bought it with cash from that organization." He paused to hand a photo to the older man. "The gentleman is one Sanjouin Masato. There is no information on him that I can find, so it's obviously a fake identity." The older man studied the picture as they walked to the top of the steps, avoiding the ivy that had overgrown and covered some of the stairway. The man in the picture had a good, strong face and brown hair that was at least down to his shoulders. The only thing that he recalled being different from the last time he had seen this man, aside from the clothes, was the slightly twisted, diabolic cast to his features. He was at some type of athletic facility in this picture, and it was a shot of him standing among the small crowd watching a tennis match that was the photographer's primary objective. They walked in through the doors that Matthew swung open with a minor spell. He was rewarded with a slightly disapproving look, but let that slide by him. It was an old difference of opinion between them regarding the conservation of energy and when to make use of the power. The inside of the cathedral had long been stripped of valuables by the Church before they had let it lapse into disuse. It had been restored recently, although not expertly. Both had studied and visited the great cathedrals of the world and could tell the difference. The object of their visit lay on the floor of the main section of the cathedral. The inside of the arching ceiling had been modified into a hemisphere and was painted flat black. There was a wall built so as to block the light from entering that portion of the cathedral, except that which spilled in from two small doors. A slab of white marble lay there, directly under the center of the ceiling, glowing a pale white in the darkness of the room. Matthew concentrated for the brief moment it took him to invoke his mage-sight while realizing that Jason was already finishing his preliminary examination of their subject. He would never be the equal of the Archmage in the field of analysis. Jason rightly acknowledged no equal in that area. "It's what you suspected, Matthew," the older man said. "The energy pattern is coalescing here, although it's very slow. It would normally take a few more years for it to finish, but I think that we can change that without any problems." "I'm going to check on the progress of the golems and the decoys that Gabriel is working on placing. I want you to bring in four... no, make that six of the captives from the main fortress. Use the gate to get them here and put their life-energy into this pattern. That should give us another tool to use against them. The reappearance of an old enemy should make them go in circles for a while, and that will give us the time to finish the plan properly." Matthew watched the Archmage turn and leave through the front door of the cathedral. He still had work to do here, and he began to compose a list of what he would have to do and what materials he would need for the gate and removing the life from a half-dozen people. He had long ago gotten over having any remorse about their innocence. ***************************************************************** There were several open windows to the large room at this end of the building, with soft light and fast paced music pouring out into the night air. He could make out the sounds of the piano easily, although the one playing the violin was truly exceptional. At some points, it almost sounded like he was hearing two violins due to the complexity of the melody she wove. This must be the place, if he was hearing these two instruments, not to mention the way they wound around each other in a complicated dance, alternating between working with and challenging the other. There were only two people he knew of with that kind of teamwork, even in their music. The drapes were pulled back to let in the breeze, so he lightly jumped up onto a low branch to plan his movement from the cover of the leaves. In the room, the only light was several candles that rested near the grand piano. A young woman sat on the bench, keeping pace with the violinist who sat on top of the piano while occasionally adjusting a small synthesizer that rested on the top of the piano. The violinist was a young woman with turquoise hair that was partially bound with a red ribbon. She wore a soft yellow dress that nicely complemented her hair, and she had her eyes closed while she played. A small white pad of cloth between her chin and the violin was the only item she that didn't blend in with what she wore. She was an epitome of feminine grace, and that made the contrast between her and the pianist all the greater. It looked like a young man accompanied her, but he knew the difference. The girl was tall enough that, with her short, sandy blonde hair and deep voice, she could pass for a man. Even now, she wore the men's clothing she preferred. Tonight, it was a medium blue shirt and white slacks. A nearby chair had a pale yellow jacket draped over it that would complete her ensemble. The gold cross she wore flashed in the candlelight when the pianist reached up to tap a key on the synthesizer and she slowed the pace down. He realized the playing would shortly end, so it was time for him to get in position. The other side of the house would be the best place for his entrance, so he slipped out of the tree and quickly ran around the corner without making a noise. Once there, he listened to make sure they were still where they had been when he moved. The violin had just stopped, and the piano was on the last notes, so he leaped up onto the windowsill and balanced there, his long tail stretched out behind him as a counterweight. The violinist finally opened her eyes to smile at her partner and congratulated her on the composition when he decided to speak. "I'd applaud, but that's a little bit difficult for me. May I come in?" "Certainly, Artemis," the violinist replied. She and her partner relaxed a bit as the intruder turned out to be friendly. He leaned forward, gathering his muscles and judging the distances. At the right moment, he launched into an arc that brought him to a landing next to the two on the piano, and he didn't even have to use his claws to stop. Thankfully, they didn't use too much polish on the piano or he would have been embarrassed. "I believe it's customary to give flowers after a fine performance, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically as he closed his eyes and concentrated. There was no way he'd do that silly backflip for this like Luna would. A pair of roses came into existence at his feet, and he carefully scooped one up in a claw to hold out towards Michiru, who took it with a slight smile on her face. He repeated the gesture to Haruka, who took it but didn't smile. "You two are as good as the girls have been saying. That was very well done." Michiru inhaled the delicate aroma before responding. "These had better not have been from my garden, Artemis. I'm really trying hard to get my roses growing properly again after that sudden chill we had a few months ago." He smiled, or at least as much as a cat can be considered smiling, at the jest and her carefully neutral way of describing the fact that the Earth was nearly frozen over by an attacker from outer space in that 'sudden chill.' "You should talk to Mamoru then. He's surprisingly good at growing flowers, and he's a genius with roses. I'm sure he would be happy to help you." "How did you find us, Artemis? Why are you here?" the other woman interrupted, her voice low and eyes flashing. She wasn't amused by his presence here, he was certain about that. "And make me reveal my sources? Please, Haruka, I couldn't do that," he replied, keeping his voice light and sweet. "Artemis," she growled. "All right, Haruka, I'll tell you," he said, and walked over by one edge of the piano so that he wasn't standing in between the two of them. He sat down and carefully curled his tail around his feet as Michiru swung around to face him, sitting cross-legged on the piano with her violin in her lap. "I'm a cat, Haruka. We're very social animals, and once I can explain that I'm not moving in on their territory, I can get a lot of information from them. You two aren't very subtle about your wealth, so your descriptions and the comparatively small geographic area of the really nice areas of town make it pretty easy. I just narrowed it down to the right areas, and then I hit the streets. "Your violin work is pretty noticeable to a cat's ears, Michiru, and they say that you're very kind to all the animals here. That means it's a popular place for the cats. There aren't that many kind violinists with turquoise hair, so I figured I had the right place." "Cut the bullshit, Artemis. Cats are color-blind. Stop flirting and tell the truth," Haruka said, her voice milder than it had been. She had relaxed somewhat, however, so she was getting over her anger at being discovered. Her joking was a good sign. "It was pretty much just like that, except that you had better tell Setsuna to start changing her tactics on the computer. She really doesn't have any idea how good Ami is with them, or how determined she can be. Ami found a trace of a back door of hers in the school system, and was able to get part of a street name off of a fragment of data. That's what I used to find out your neighborhood, and then I just hit up the local cats. I deleted the information from her computer, by the way, so you should be safe from her finding you, at least for a while." "Thank you, Artemis," Michiru said after she and Haruka glanced briefly at each other and sighed inside. The cat seemed to understand that they didn't want to be traced, at least not now, and was trying to make sure he didn't intrude on their life any more than he had to. "What brings you here tonight?" she continued, reaching over to a table near the piano for her drink and handing Haruka's to her. "This obviously isn't just a social call, or you wouldn't have done this here. We're out in public enough, so you would have done it at a neutral place if that was the case." "Actually, it is sort of a social call," the cat replied. "I want to see if we could form the basis for a relationship between the two teams. I think that we can both offer the other a great deal of help." "Relationship?" Haruka questioned him, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "With the Inner Senshi?" "Haruka," the cat said, the anguish clear in his voice. "Don't do this to yourselves; it's just a lot of unnecessary pain. You were closer than sisters back on the Moon. Surely you remember that, don't you? You can't stay alone forever. You can have that bond, that closeness, with them again. They aren't your enemy just because their beliefs are a little different." "Different, Artemis? Giving up is not just a 'difference of beliefs'. I don't believe in victory through surrender," she snapped at him, her voice rising slightly. "Haruka is right," the other woman said, her voice still the same, but her anger was in her eyes." She gave up and surrendered the Grail to Mistress 9, and if it wasn't for Hotaru, we'd all be dead right now. She got lucky. We're grateful to her, but we can't work like that, Artemis. We've given up too much to surrender and hope it works out for the best." He sighed and waited a few moments to gather his thoughts and let them cool off a little. He'd have to be very careful in his choice of words here. After looking at one, and then the other, he responded. "That's one of the main reasons I'm here. I want your help in showing her that there is a different way of doing things. Your presence alone can do that. She may not like your approach, but at least there will be another viewpoint for her to see." "Can't one of the others do this, Artemis?" Haruka said after a few moments. Her voice had softened somewhat again, and he could see she was relaxing and considering his words, as was Michiru. "We'll hold to our vow, Artemis. We'll protect her. There's no question about that. What about Luna? Usagi will listen to her, won't she?" "I'm afraid she won't listen, even if I could get Luna's help. She won't hurt the Princess, and this may end up being painful for her. I had hoped Minako could do it, since Usagi still looks up to her for being Sailor V." "Minako?" interjected Haruka, clearly surprised. "She's as gentle as Usagi." "I'm sorry, Haruka," Michiru said, looking at her partner, and then at the cat, who seemed to be bothered by bringing this part up. "I don't agree with you on that. She's been doing this on her own for some time now. She's not a lamb, but she's not a wolf, either. Why are you doubting her, Artemis?" Artemis sighed again, and when he spoke, his voice was sad. "You're too perceptive, Michiru. Some days, I think that the mirror is rubbing off on you. It hurts me to think of it, but I've started wondering if she's lost that edge she had when she was Sailor V. I thought that she could be the contrast that Usagi needs around her, but it's like she's been someone else ever since she meet the others." The cat stopped to compose himself, as his voice had thickened slightly while he spoke of his charge. The two woman looked at each other, and then excused themselves for a few minutes. He lay down to await their return, stretching his paws out in front of him, sitting still and regal enough to be a replica of the British lions he had seen all those many years ago in Trafalgar Square, when it was a simpler time. All he had known at that time was the driving need that he couldn't yet understand, and it was the only thing that had guided him. In the small kitchen, the two woman spoke while running the espresso machine to cover their conversation from the sharp ears of their guest. "What do you think, Haruka?" "He's right, I think. She needs us around, Michiru. And,..." the taller one's voice trailed off as she lost herself in thought while getting a pair of cups and three saucers. The other, sensing the pause and some unease, came over to put her hand on the other's shoulder to comfort her friend. "And what?" she said softly. "I miss it, Michiru. Remember what it was like, back on the Moon? I miss that sense of belonging we had. They're more like our sisters than if they were our own blood relatives. I'd like to feel that again, if you would also." "What about all those times where you said that I was the only person that you ever needed, hmmhhh?" she replied in a sweet, dangerous tone of voice. She kept her face straight for a few more moments to tease Haruka before they both smiled and laughed together. She finished putting the service onto the tray while Haruka poured a cup of cappuccino and one of espresso. She still couldn't drink the thick, heavy brew that Haruka preferred. "I think it would be a good idea, Haruka. I'm afraid that most of it still isn't very clear, but I do miss that feeling of belonging. That's a good name for it. Shall we tell him?" They went back into the conservatory, with Michiru carrying the tray with the drinks. She set it down on a table in the far corner, near a pair of couches. They sat down, and after she poured some cream into hers, the rest in the small silver pitcher went into the third saucer, which she put out on the table for their guest. "I think we can agree to this, Artemis, although we'll still have to discuss it with Setsuna. I don't know if she'll have any objections, so it's tentative for now." The cat rose, stretched hard enough to shake, and went from the piano to a couch to the table in two easy leaps and settled down in front of the saucer. He took a few quick laps at the liquid, and then sat up, licking his whiskers briefly. "I don't think that she will have any problems, nor do I think that Hotaru will either. Both will be glad of the opportunity to see Chibi-Usa more, and Hotaru has started spending some time with Usagi as well. They aren't the ones that I was worried about." Haruka grinned ruefully at his summary. "That's sound thinking, kitty. What else can you offer, besides the company?" "Well," he said, taking another lick of cream. "We can also help with your watch over Hotaru. I still spend a lot of time near Usagi and Chibi-Usa, and every time I've seen them with Hotaru, I've seen one of the three of you lurking around somewhere. We can help keep an eye on her, since you're still so worried about her." Michiru was quiet for a moment, considering the implications, but she also saw an opening in his remark to tease him in return for his recognizing their surveillance. She got a little gleam in her eyes that Haruka noticed and smiled at seeing, as she wasn't going to be the target. "Don't you mean spending time with Luna, Artemis?" she said in a sweet tone of voice, enjoying the blush that hit his nose and ears, turning them an even darker pink. They had a good-natured laugh at his expense, which he suffered in relative silence as he lapped up more of the cream. "It has certainly been a change in our relationship," he said when they stopped their laughter. "Now that we know we are going to have a child some day, it certainly has been different with Luna. I guess it's sort of like what Usagi and Mamoru have gone through, in some ways, with Chibi-Usa." "That's enough about me, however. The world won't end due to how she and I are getting along. I'd like you to tell me how it's been going with Hotaru, right after I amend our little agreement." "Amend?" Michiru questioned him. "Yes. I want to add a clause where you give Minako lessons in how to properly care for her guardian and mentor. I could get used to that cream every night." ***************************************************************** He exhaled loudly, allowing the weight to come down to just above his chest. Gathering himself for the effort, he slowly and deeply inhaled, and somehow managed to force his arms straight. They trembled from the effort, but they stayed there. The weight came down, the bar touching his chest this time. He was keenly aware of the weight, this time. he yelled at himself. Once again, although it felt more like his mind had lifted it rather than his arms, he raised the bar again. This time, the bar struck his chest on the way down before he could stop it. The green shirt he wore left a mark on the bar from his sweat, and from somewhere, he found the strength to push the bar up enough to afford him the extra breaths he needed. Teeth clenched, he focused himself on the bar. That was the only thing in his world right now. Just the bar, and the need to raise it one more time. Snarling at himself, and the shape he was in compared to where he should have been, he prepared for one more. The strain in his arms and chest was bad, but nothing compared to the strain on his heart. There was no way he'd fail her by not protecting her, he had decided. Never again. Another inhale, long, slow and steady. At the end of it, his whole being went into lifting the weight with a soft cry of rage. It moved up just a little bit, and he redoubled his efforts, closing his eyes to help him focus on this one thing. Again, unbidden, the image came to him, that of his Usagi standing up against the attack by Nephrenia as bolt after bolt of blackness slammed into her when all he could do was sit there and watch. To his surprise, his elbows were locked, and he was done for the day. He relaxed a little at the thought, and the bar, still slippery from his perspiration, slid from his grasp. He didn't even have time to do anything, even if his overworked muscles could- "I've got it!" a voice rang out behind him, grunting at the end from the pressure of catching the bar before it hit him. He focused his eyes and let himself acknowledge the rest of the gym around him. "Makoto!" he said in surprise, looking up at the girl who stood over him, the muscles and tendons standing out on her arms and shoulders. A lock of brown hair, one of the ones at her temple that wasn't caught back in her ponytail, was brushing back and forth across his face. Realizing his predicament, he quickly slithered out from underneath the weight, which she let fall on the bench. He turned to look at the tall girl, and realized that she was slow in straightening up from the bent-over position that she had been in. "Makoto, are you all right?" he said, his voice full of concern. She'd saved him from serious injury there, if not his life. He silently cursed himself for his stupidity. "I think so, Mamoru. I did feel a little twinge, though. Fortunately, it doesn't feel too bad, but that's it for today for me." She looked around to see if anybody was close to them, and when she decided they weren't, she turned the full force of the anger she was feeling on him. "What were you doing?!?" she hissed at him. "You could have been killed pushing yourself like that. That's way over your normal weight." He hung his head for a moment, and then sheepishly met her gaze. "You were right, Makoto. I was wrong to do that." Surprised by his agreement that he was in error, Makoto realized that something serious had to be bothering him. This wasn't like him at all. Normally, he was careful to a fault, and had even scaled back his motorcycle driving because Usagi had been worried about him. "Do you want to talk about it, Mamoru?" she asked quietly. He looked like he needed it, she thought. At his nod, she continued, "O.K., then. The sauna in ten minutes, you pick up the juice today." They parted, and he went to the locker room to shower off and put on a pair of swimming trunks. After draping a white towel around his neck, he went to the juice bar that was the latest addition to this athletic club. It was tricky, balancing a pitcher of apple juice and two glasses, but he managed to carry them, open the door and sit down in the sauna without mishap. The pitcher and glasses were both made of plastic, with a reservoir of liquid inside that, when allowed to freeze, did a far better job than ice at cooling a drink. When he poured himself a glass, as the heat and steam began to make him sweat, the juice turned briefly into a slush in the glass. He squinted as the door opened, allowing light to spill into the dimly lit, wooden paneled room. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness again, he saw Makoto take a dipper full of water from a pail by the heated rocks and pour it on them, sending steam billowing up into the air. All she wore was a towel wrapped around her, to his consternation. This might be a short conversation, followed by a quick exit. She must have seen a funny look on his face, for she burst into gentle laughter as she approached him and sat down on the bench near him. "Please, Mamoru, don't think anything like that. Usagi-chan is like a little sister to me, and I would never do anything to hurt her." She reached up and took off the towel, revealing, to his relief, a green one-piece with a bit of pink ribbon on the thankfully high neckline. "That's a real... original choice of colors, Makoto," he said with a smile as he poured her a glass, which she accepted and drank from. "Of course, I'm not doing much better," he laughed, indicating the black trunks he wore and the white towel he brought with him. "You know," he said after a moment, still smiling, "If you're not going to act like that, then I must not remind you of your old boyfriend anymore." "Mamoru!" she giggled, and flicked some of the condensation on her glass at him, the cool water a brief shock to his skin. She was right, however. He did feel like he could be comfortable with her here, just like she was indeed Usagi's sister. "I didn't know you were a member here, Makoto," he continued after a drink. "I haven't seen you around here before." "Ami's mom is a member here, and Ami comes down to use the pool. She's up in the pool right now, swimming laps. I came as a guest of hers today." "Ami's here? Should we invite her to join us?" Makoto found this to be incredibly funny, to his surprise, and barely kept herself from laughing out loud. "Ami won't come in here. She couldn't sneak in a book, because the steam is bad for them," she finally said when she caught her breath. "Now, I've got a valid reason for being here. I've been working out more ever since loosing that fight I had with Uranus, just after we first started encountering the daemon eggs. What's your excuse for trying to kill yourself?" He sighed deeply, and drank from the glass, as if trying to work up the nerve to speak about this. "I started really pushing it after this last encounter with Queen Nephrenia. I wasn't there to protect her, like I usually am. I just was left feeling... inadequate after that fight against her. Usagi was so strong, standing up against her like that, and all I could do was sit there and watch her get hurt." "Mamoru, that wasn't your fault. She had bewitched your mind. She captured all the Senshi. It's not like you're the only one who failed. We all did, as much as I hate to say it. Don't blame it all on yourself." "I know, Makoto. But, what if the next time isn't like that? What if it's something that I could have stopped if I had done a better job of preparation? What if I fail her again?" "You're getting paranoid, Mamoru. Putting on all that muscle isn't going to help you in this. You're tall and lean, and if you try to bulk up it will just slow you down. That's just one thing that you will have to accept. You can't change your body like that." "What do you suggest I do, Makoto?" he said, taking another drink. "Learn to live with it, Mamoru. You can't change much about what kind of body you have. I've just about given up being able to buy anything off the rack in most of the styles I like. I'm too tall for most of the brands to fit me well." "I'm not just concerned about what shape I'm in." "I know. As to the other things, well..." her voice trailed off. She was quiet for a few minutes, and he could tell she was thinking about his question. "Back when we first found out who we were, Mamoru, it was a real shock to all of us. We dealt with it in different ways. I was having a real tough time with it one night, so I went to Rei-chan's to ask her about it. This was just after Minako had found us, so I ended up talking with them about it that night because she was at Rei's. "The reason why I'm saying this is because I have a question that I want you to think about. Rei asked me this same one. Who are you?" "Who am I," he said in surprise. He laughed at the question. "Makoto, that's not a hard question. I'm Mamoru Chiba." He could make out her features when she turned towards him, the glow from the rocks illuminating her face and showing the disappointment there. "Are you really just Mamoru Chiba? Is that who you really are?" He opened his mouth to defend his answer, and the words died on his lips. He wasn't just Mamoru. Come to think of it, it was pretty crowded up in his mind. "I think I see your point, Makoto." "Rei saw my problem right away. She didn't have any problem understanding this new side of herself. She accepted it right away, just as easily as if she had found out she liked a new kind of food. Minako told me she had the same kind of problem that I did when she first learned who she was. She said it was a problem until she decided it was just too big for her to deal with and she accepted it. "After that, after I accepted the fact that I wasn't just Makoto Kino, but also Sailor Jupiter, it went a lot easier for me. I had tried to keep myself as two 'different' people, but that isn't true. I'm one person." She paused to refill her glass, and he could see that she was correct. He had been too many people, and he was trying to keep them apart from each other. "I think that you're right, Makoto. I've been holding onto Mamoru Chiba just a little too hard. I don't know why, since I don't even know if it's really my name here. How should I go about convincing myself that I'm Endymion?" She smiled back at him before responding. "You just started, Your Majesty. According to our priestess-in-training, acknowledging that there is a problem is the first step. I think that all you have to do is be yourself, but also, remember that one thing. Remember who you really are." "You've protected her this far, Mamoru. I think that you'll get the rest of the way without any problems. All the Princess wants is for you to love her. After that, she'll be all right." "Thank you, Makot... Mako-chan. I think that this will help." He reached out, draping his arm around her shoulders and gave her a brief, friendly squeeze. "I already feel better just by talking about it. I was letting all these things get to me." "Do you promise not to kill yourself out there?" "Yes, I promise." "Good. My fee for counseling services and saving your life out there is a back rub, since I'm just starting to loosen up from the heat. Usagi says you're pretty good at them." He chuckled as she turned to face away from him and he started working over her shoulders. The muscles there were tight, but they quickly relaxed as he worked down her back, taking the extra time and effort to loosed one knotted muscle that she must have gotten today as she caught the bar he had dropped. "You are pretty good," she said, sighing as he worked out some of the pain she felt. "It's no wonder she likes them. I think I just may have to have you do this on a regular basis." "And why would I be doing it on a regular basis, Makoto? I did promise that I'd take it easy out there. I won't need a rescue every day." "I could tell her about this." "Makoto, that's not a very nice thing to threaten me with," he replied, grinning at the picture his Usako's face would make if she saw this. "Since you just might decide to have me killed, can I make one final request of my executioner?" "What, a request for a last meal if she does try to kill you?" "No, Makoto, although it's a good thought. I was wondering, since you've taken some martial arts classes, if you know of any instructors who will give lessons in a European style sword. I've tried looking around here, but I haven't had any luck." "I'm sorry, Mamoru," she said, turning around to face him again now that he was done. "I don't know any for that style. There are kendo masters all over the place, but I don't think anyone would want to study that style around here. Why do you ask?" "One of my costumes comes with one as standard equipment. I wanted to find someone to study under, or at least practice with. Do you know anyone who might be able to give me a lead?" "I'd suggest Rei's grandfather, as he knows a lot of the old masters around here, and he could probably point you in the right direction. It's a long shot, but you could also try Umino at our school. He knows a lot about anything that's unusual or different, and he was talking to Usagi last year about these people who dress up in armor like they did in Europe in the 'Dark Ages', from what I gathered as she complained to me about it as she stole my lunch." "She stole your lunch? That doesn't sound like her. Doesn't she bring her own?" "Well, not really stole. She eats her own by the first break, usually. I've gotten used to her doing it, so I always put together an extra couple of bento to take with me for when she shows up at lunch. I have one, and she usually finishes the others." "Now that sounds like Usagi." ***************************************************************** The being stirred to awareness as it floated in the perpetual darkness that was the only thing it had known for what seemed to be so long. There was no way to record the passage of time, so it could have been millennia or minutes since it had last been fully alive. It knew that it was probably more than minutes, however, as the process that was bringing him back to life would not be a quick one. Him was correct, he decided after considering the problem of his identity for several minutes, or hours, or years. He didn't know, and there was no business in driving himself mad, if he wasn't already, by trying to keep track of time here. If he could see his beloved stars here in this prison, he could see what had been happening. The same stars had told him of the possibility of his death, and he had prepared for the eventuality. As long as the stone that was buried deep underneath his stronghold was not disturbed, he would live again at some point. He had safely tucked away a small portion of energy that would power the spell of return that was now bringing him back. Time passed, and he became aware of something hastening the process. Something or someone was adding energy to his spell. His bet was on someone. Energy like this wasn't natural, like the power of the stars. It galled him to think of using energy from this source, as it had the taint of blood magic, but he didn't have a choice. It was this or wait for the additional time for his spell to work, and he had been here for what seemed so, so long. At this rate, he would return in a very short period of time. It was a gamble, but he let loose the spell that he had cast, and trusted this new energy to revive him. This way, the source for his spell would not be drained anymore by him, nor would this new source have anyway to track her. He owed her that much, at least. His memories weren't very clear about the manner of his death, but there was one thing that he remembered very clearly. It was the one memory that he had clung to in order to keep his sanity in the blackness. He could still remember her red-brown hair, her blue eyes, and the look of grief on her face that tugged at his heart. ***************************************************************** The walk down to a street where he could flag down a taxi gave him a few minutes to consider the final pieces of his plans. After getting in the car and giving an address to an apartment building, he sat back and looked around him at the city for the first time today. On his earlier ride to the cathedral, he had been thinking of possible changes that could be the result of what he would learn at that place, and the sights of the city had gone past him, unnoticed. He stepped out in front of a luxurious high-rise in a fashionable area when the driver finally reached his destination. Aside from the traffic, this was much like any of the large cities in Europe, but the people were much friendlier. If there was anything left of the place after the events he sent in motion, he'd consider getting a residence here. he thought as he went into the lobby and took a lift to the top floor. 'Lift', he smiled to himself. He'd just spent several weeks in England, and he had picked up some of the slang. As the doors opened at the top, he could hear the blaring noise that composed the music that Gabriel preferred. It was either an American or British band, from what he could make out of the singing, and the style was distinctively heavy metal, although the singer's references to heaven and hell were ironical if you considered the resident of this penthouse suite. Gabriel looked like a denizen of the former, although he had morals that were solely the province of the latter. He opened the door with a key that had been sent to him previously, and winced at the sudden increase in the volume. Fortunately, the source of the music was close at hand, and he reached over to turn down the volume on the sound system. "Hi, Boss!" a young man said as he came out to investigate the change while wiping clay from his hands. "How are you, today? I'd shake, but..." he glanced down at his hands and shrugged his shoulders. "Hello, Gabriel. How has your progress been?" The young man grinned, one of those movie star quality smiles that lit up a room like the sun. He motioned for the older man to follow him into another room, this one clearly an artisan's workplace. "They're almost complete," he said, indicating a shelf with a dozen squat figures on it. "I just put the finishing touches on the last batch and put them in the kiln. Those should be ready for the painting and touch-up work tomorrow, assuming that the crystals took properly. The first one, the initial test, is working fine." "That's good, Gabriel, but did you have to use the David as your model?" Jason asked with a grin. "You're still the best I've seen at golems for a century. I'm sure that the crystals won't give us any problems. What about the other matter I mentioned?" "I've been investigating the new group," the younger man said while washing the clay from his hands and drying them on a towel. "I haven't gotten much until just recently, but it turns out I met one of them a few weeks ago." "That can be dangerous, Gabriel. We don't know much of them or their abilities or plans. That's why we're doing this," Jason said, frowning slightly as they returned to the spacious living room. Gabriel led him to an astronomical telescope that was near one of the large windows by a balcony. There was a motorized control system rigged to it that had three default locations by the tracking controls for the gears that controlled the movements of the reflecting telescope. "I know, Boss. I haven't used anything more powerful than a cantrip outside of the shields that you put up in here, and even then I go to at least about a 100 kilometers out of the area before using anything that isn't an absolute emergency. I'm following your orders to the letter. I do remember what happened to Marcus, after all." "Her name here is Michiru Kaioh. She's a painter, among other things. Quite good, as well. She plays the violin, also well, and the envelope on the hall table has two tickets for a performance tonight. Keep an eye out for a blonde following her around. I think that she may be one of the others, but I haven't been able to confirm it as of yet." "Do you see those three skyscrapers by the waterfront?" he questioned the other, and continued after getting a nod. "They are part of the Mugen Project, a recently built combination business and housing project that was built on reclaimed land and finished about four years ago. There used to be a school called the Infinity Academy at the center of those three. It was part of a high school complex there, but the academy was for the privileged students among the children in the project. The academy building itself was the center of the disturbance several months ago and was destroyed. "The three settings are for three units, one in each tower. I've spotted her at the third unit a few times in the last several weeks, so I'd say they're moving back into this area. I haven't been able to determine if that's a real name or not, by the way. Michiru Kaioh was the name on her paintings at a show, however. The rental records and what I have access to on the government files don't have anything on her." The older man mused on this for several minutes while using the telescope to look at each unit in turn. He turned and took a seat on an overstuffed gray couch that blended well with the rest of the decor. "Please get some tea, Gabriel. Oolong, if you have a good one. This needs some thinking. Obviously, they're pretty good." The younger man nodded and went to start brewing some. When he returned several minutes later, Jason was in the same position as he was when he left. Someday, he'd manage to reach that same inhuman level of concentration that the Archmage did. "Do you mind a question, Boss?" he ventured as he poured two cups of the steaming liquid. "I can understand the level of caution due to the new threat, but why the business with these golems? The first group has been relatively powerful, but they aren't that tough from what I've seen." "Thank you, Gabriel," Jason said while taking a sip. He didn't use a spell to determine if it was poisoned. This was one of the few people, along with Matthew, that he could trust with his life. With Matthew, it was honor and loyalty, but Gabriel had long ago learned not to cross him. A week as a frog can do wonders. "I'm always cautious, and that's why you're building the golems, since we have very little on the second group. They're a decoy, just like the artifacts that the golems will be chasing. The targets will destroy them, but it will take them a while to do it, and those crystals will be sending us information all the while. Both groups seem to have undergone some changes recently, and I want to know what we're dealing with." "That's a lot of power to use up, Boss." "It's worth it for the information. By the way, speaking of power, the node at Stonehenge is still closed to us. I've spent the better part of the last year trying to access it, and still it refuses to allow a tap. Someone closed it, Gabriel. It's the only rational explanation. We've had to switch to utilizing blood magic to keep up our energy levels." "Don't you think that many losses might be noticed?" "No, it won't be. That's why I built the tower where I did. What's a few hundred more people a year compared to the normal amount of deaths each year in that part of the world? I don't like doing it this way, Gabriel. It's so... inefficient," he finished with a shudder at the crude methods that they had to employ, and not at the price. "A few hundred a year? That's an awful lot of energy. As I said, they're not that powerful, according to what I've seen around here." "The rest of the Inner Senshi don't bother me, Gabriel, but the Princess does. She dealt with Beryl and Metallia, so we need to be careful." "From what I recall of the records, those two were also banished at the time of the fall of the Moon Kingdom. I've summoned a few demons, Boss. They aren't that difficult to banish. Once Metallia was out of the picture, Beryl would have been pretty easy to deal with." "Metallia wasn't banished, Gabriel. You know how easy it is to break the spell that forces a demon to this plane. The Princess destroyed all traces of Metallia, even on the infernal planes. She is permanently gone." A low whistle escaped from the younger man, a sure sign of his surprise. He took a drink of the now cooled tea to cover his embarrassment at his reaction. "Gone? Now I understand the need for caution. Jesus, the amount of energy needed to do something like that would be staggering." They were both quiet for several more minutes, with the younger man letting this new information sink in. "Jason," the younger man started to speak. The use of his given name and not the familiar title was a sure sign that he was affected by this revelation. "If the records aren't accurate in what happened to Metallia, what else isn't correct in them about this? How did Beryl manage to control her? You never mentioned her having that kind of power." "She had the power, Gabriel, but not the concentration and the training. It had saved her from being killed by the Atlanteans in order to use her as a pawn to take over Atlantis. She was infatuated with the prince of that land, and he had rejected her. "I showed her how to affect the political situation there in order to soften them up as part of my campaign against the Moon Kingdom. I had been training her in some of the basic spells, but there was nothing about demonology in her lessons. Somehow, she got into my study, got into my records, and attracted the attention of Metallia." "She was no slouch as demons go. How did Beryl do it?" "I don't think that Beryl summoned her, Gabriel. I think that Metallia took her over, or offered her a deal, and jumped the gun in order to have a go at the Crystal. You know what that kind of power would mean to a demon?" "Yes, I do. She'd be crazy not to try. With the Crystal, she would have been able to control the infernal planes. Why were the records false?" "I don't like mentioning that I got caught with my pants down that day, Gabriel. I thought I had everything in control, and the next thing I know, Beryl has all my armies in motion, sacks Atlantis and then hits the Moon. I spent years getting that final strike ready for my attack." "Queen Serenity saved me that day. I had almost all of my resources tied up in moving the troops and readying the sacrifice spells. If Metallia had succeeded, I don't think I could have withstood her if she also had the Crystal. The whole planet would be dead if it wasn't for Serenity sealing away Beryl and Metallia." "I can see why you don't want that in there, Boss. The apprentices would get awfully eager to try their hand against you if they read that you failed somewhere." "I know, Gabriel. I know all too well. I was so close to it that I could almost feel the Crystal in my grasp. If Beryl hadn't done that, I would have been able to keep Queen Serenity from using the Crystal for her defense. The rest would have been a simple matter of numbers. Her Guard and the Sailor Senshi would have taken out most of my troops, but the numbers would have prevailed in the end." "I thought the Crystal was tied into their line, Boss? Doesn't it take a person with royal blood to use it?" "That's their propaganda, Gabriel. I was one of the members of the group that cast the original spell that created the Crystal. My access to it is at least the equal of the royal bloodline, if not greater. I would have been able to keep her from doing anything constructive, and that would remove most of their defenses." "You were close, all right. I don't see how it could have gone wrong, except for Beryl and her interference." "You're right, Gabriel, it would have been mine, but that's the way it goes, sometimes. You can't sit around and wish it turned out some other way. 'If wishes were fishes...'," he said, bringing up part of an old saying. "Anyway, I had better get moving if I want to make it to that concert on time. I'll be in touch, Gabriel." ***************************************************************** "Hi, Rei-chan!" Usagi cried out as she came up the steps and saw her friend in the courtyard. She tried to sound cheerful, but her heart just wasn't in it at this hour of the morning. "Good morning, Usagi-chan. Are you sure you still want to try this?" the dark haired girl replied, smiling at the sight her friend made. Usagi was not a morning person. "Yes, but why does it have to be so early?" "That's the only time the grounds are clear. In a few hours, when we open up, there will be people up here, and it would be too dangerous." She motioned towards the short skirt and blouse her friend wore. "That won't do, Usagi. If a string breaks, it'll hurt if you're not wearing something heavier. I have one of my sets of robes on my bed in my room that should fit you. Go change into it and meet me around the back. I'll get the things set up." Usagi left to comply with her request with a yawn and without any protests. She'd have to remember this tactic if there was going to be an important argument in the near future. She went to the storage shed and pulled open the doors. They still dragged at one point, and she's have to remind her grandfather to fix it again. The hay bales were already in place, as she had been practicing for a while now, ever since she found out what her most recent attack was. It only took a few moments to set up the targets, and the bright colors contrasted well with the drab brown-gray of the small hill behind the temple. It made for a very effective backstop. Usagi stumbled out the back door and made her way over. Rei took one look at her hair and pulled a red ribbon out of the bag she had put there earlier this morning, along with a can of milk tea and a straw. "Here, drink this. It will help get you going," Rei said as she undid the odango her friend wore and began to put her hair in a loose braid. "Rei," Usagi began to protest, but gave up as her long hair showered down around her. "Now I'll have to put it up again later... Oohhh, the tea is still hot, Rei-chan. That's just how I like it. Thank you for remembering." After she finished, Rei took a long, black plastic case out of the shed and opened it up. Usagi came around behind her, curious at what was in the case. It was about six feet long, and had black foam rubber inside of it to protect the contents. "Here's the one that I'll start you on, Usagi," she said, taking a relatively short, light weight bow from one of several there. "It doesn't have too heavy of a pull, so you should be fine." She slung the strap of the quiver around her shoulder and flipped her braided hair to the side to avoid entangling it. It had a score of arrows that were for the bow she had chosen inside of it. Beckoning Usagi closer, she started to explain it. "This is a recurve style bow. The ones with all the cables and pulleys, like that one there, are called compound bows. You hold onto it with your left hand here, and the right hand pulls back the string. I'm left handed at this, so remember that when I show you something." Rei handed it to the blonde so she could get used to the feel, while she took the string out of the case. "Now, it's tough to string one of these, Usagi, so let me do it," she said, taking the bow and hooking the bottom limb around her leg while holding onto the string. With a grunt, she leaned against the top limb and forced it back, in the opposite direction that Usagi had thought it would go, and slipped the loop on the string into the notches at the top. "That's why it's called a recurve, because you bend it back like that. The other type is called a longbow. That's the type you see in the old Robin Hood movies, like the one with Errol Flynn." "Oh, I loved that movie, Rei-chan. Wasn't he just so dreamy?" Rei laughed in response, not at her friend's tastes, but at the far-away look that was suddenly in Usagi's eyes. The actor was certainly handsome, she had thought when she first saw that movie. "That's off the point, Usagi-chan. Now, here's how you hold the arrow and nock it," she said, showing her as she spoke. "To aim it, just look down the shaft for now. You'll learn how to do the rest of it as you go on. Just let yourself relax and shoot." Usagi took a breath, and pulled back the string. As Rei had said, it wasn't too hard, so it went easier than she thought it would. On her first attempt, she decided that just getting it to the target would be good enough. Rei had been in a good mood so far, so she probably wouldn't tease her too much when she missed. There, that felt right. She released the string. "Rei, you're going to catch a fly like that," she said, a little bit of the whine coming into her voice. It must have been awfully bad for her to react like that as she looked at the target through a small pair of binoculars. She couldn't even make out the arrow. "Usagi, what were you aiming at?" the girl said softly. "The center one. Did I kill the hill or something?" Rei took the glasses away from her eyes, and the look on her face was one of surprise, and not scorn. "Bulls-eye, Usagi-chan. Dead center." ***************************************************************** He had just pulled to a stop, turned off the engine and taken off his helmet when a joyous shriek echoed through the air. Several birds, startled by the sounds, took to the sky in protest and flew away to the south. He still couldn't figure out what it was, but it was in the direction of the temple, so he took off at a quick walk. The parking space he used was a few blocks away from his destination, in order to not disturb the tranquillity of the region this early in the morning. There were several small shrines in the area, and he tried to be considerate of the worshippers there. He wasn't very religious, himself, but he respected those who were. The sound of prayers and chants were just audible as a buzz in the background. The sound still had not been repeated, so he had pushed it from his mind as he came to the base of the stairs and started up. Hopefully, this would solve one of his problems. Unfortunately, this was one of his easier ones. The courtyard was deserted, but he could just make out a pair of voices to the rear of the building. "Watch it, Rei! I'll just have to beat you again if you hit the bulls-eye!" A soft, twanging sound was heard, followed by a muffled thump and a sharp, victorious exclamation. "Top that, Usagi-chan!" "All right, watch this one." Another twanging sound, sharper this time, and it was followed by a wail of grief. "You know the rules. You get to recover the arrows. Start walking, girl." As he rounded the corner, he could see Usagi at the back of the property, right by the small hill at the back. Rei was putting down a complex looking compound bow on a portable table by a shed. The girls both wore the traditional robes that Rei usually wore at the temple. "Hi, Mamoru," she said, smiling at him. "Good morning, Rei," he replied, bowing slightly. "I knew you had gotten into archery, but I'm surprised at your partner." "It's part of my training, both with my grandfather and being one of the Senshi. I've been doing it every morning since we got our new attacks. It really helps me." He turned and waved at the blonde girl in response to her happy greeting at seeing him. Rei looked downrange to make sure Usagi was still at the other end before speaking again, this time in a serious voice. "It's sort of scary, Mamoru. She's amazing at this if she doesn't concentrate on what she is doing. If she thinks about it, she'll miss, but every shot were she just shoots without concentrating on the act of shooting is a perfect bulls-eye." "Huh?" he responded, shocked at what he had heard. He would have continued, but Usagi came running up with a handful of arrows. "Mamo-chan! Mamo-chan!" she cried as she rushed into his arms for a hug. "Good morning, Usako," he replied, giving her a quick kiss and letting go of her. He didn't feel too comfortable carrying on like this in front of Rei, as he knew she had been enamored of him for a while and he didn't want to bring up any painful memories for the girl. He had liked her well enough, and still did, but not in the way she had wanted. "I was beating Rei, Mamo-chan," she said excitedly. "You were not beating me, Usagi," the other girl replied. "You hit the bulls-eye more often than I did, but none of your other shots hit anything but the hill. I was always right by the center if I didn't hit it. I have more points." "Hold it," Mamoru interjected, hoping to avoid another friendly argument between the two girls. "How about you two getting changed and we do breakfast, my treat?" They both agreed and ran off to clean up and change. He went to the front steps and sat down to think about the package that had been delivered to him last night. The letter was in his pocket, and while the words were innocent enough, the motivations concerned him. It was just a set of seven tickets for a concert tomorrow night, along with a dinner invitation for the group. Why were they back? What did they want this time? ***************************************************************** "A thirteen year old!" the girl exclaimed in disgust as she stormed into the main sitting room of the suite she shared with the room's other occupant, who was reading a book while curled up on the sofa in a corner. "I was already thirteen once, Setsuna. I don't want to have to go through it again. He even said I was short for my age." The woman put a marker in the book and gently put it down on the glass coffee table in front of the couch. It was an edition of the book that was far too valuable to not treat it carefully. She turned to face the younger girl, who was pacing back and forth, her blue-black hair swinging around just above her shoulders at each turn. "I assume that you didn't like what the doctor had to say, Hotaru-chan. Why don't you sit down and we'll talk about it, all right?" "I don't want to talk about it, Setsuna. I want to change it," the girl said as she flopped down onto a chair. "It's not fair. I'm going to have to go through everything all over. I'm probably even going to be short again. Haruka's tall, you're tall, Michiru is relatively tall, and I'm stuck being the shrimp. God, I'm even acting like a petulant thirteen year old, Setsuna. It's not fair." "I'm sorry, Hotaru-chan, but we don't really know what is happening with you and these changes," she said soothingly, trying to calm down the younger girl. "You still can't remember when you were first possessed, right? Maybe you've reached that point now. At least you're getting a second chance, Hotaru, and you don't have to grow up again." The girl was quiet for a few minutes, thinking it over. The anger on her face slowly cleared away, to the dark green haired woman's carefully hidden relief. When the girl spoke again, her voice had returned to its normally calm tone. "I know. I just don't like the thought of going through growing up again. I remember everything about it, and I'm not looking forward to it. Is that the only doctor you need me to see for everything?" "Yes, that's the only one. I needed someone who couldn't be traced back to us. When we get the letter from his office, I'll be able to finish all the documents and you'll legally be Hotaru Tomoe again. I've got the information on you and your father ready to go, and all the accounts are set up." "Thank you for taking care of him, Setsuna," the girl said, a happy smile finally coming to her face. Hotaru didn't do that enough, in her opinion. "He always liked going up to Hokkaido in the winter when I was young, before all the troubles. Teaching again up there will give him the time to heal and get over all of this." "Please, Hotaru-chan, it was my pleasure. We're like sisters, and we're supposed to help each other out with things. I'm glad that he will be all right, as he's suffered as much as, if not more, than any of the rest of us. He was possessed for a very long time, but it doesn't seem to have any lasting effects." "I glad also, Setsuna. I haven't seen anything that would indicate him having problems, except the look on his face when he saw me all grown up again. I only saw the tears of pain when my mother died. I never saw him cry from being happy." They shared a smile at the recent, happy memory. Professor Tomoe had been very shocked when the infant daughter Setsuna had taken away several days before walked in as a teenager to see him. She had only stayed long enough to make sure that they were all right, and then had left them alone so they could have some privacy at the convalescent hospital he had just been released from a few weeks ago. They had a lot of time to catch up on, for he had been possessed by their enemies when she was still quite young. "I'm going to make some tea, Hotaru. Would you please join me in having some? I'd like to discuss a few things with you," she asked the younger girl. "Certainly. No milk, though. You know how I get from it," the girl replied, reminding her of her intolerance with a wistful smile. "I wish I could drink it, though. It just doesn't taste right without the milk and the sugar." Setsuna left the room with a laugh and went into the kitchen to start the water boiling. She got down one of the silver services and a set of cups and saucers for four people. Michiru and Haruka would be stopping by on their way to Michiru's concert this evening, and there was a bottle of an exquisite champagne in the refrigerator for the occasion tonight. Hotaru had changed out of the school uniform while she made the tea, she saw when she took the tray into the sitting room. The young girl had worn it to the doctor's office in order to help alleviate any concerns he might have had at the unusual request to do a physical on such short notice, and on what could be a very unusual patient. She herself had not been able to find anything physically wrong with the girl, but she was not a trained practitioner. Fortunately, the only thing he had thought was unusual was the color of Hotaru's eyes, as dark purple was a unique color. The girl now wore a simple, knee length knit dress, gray with a black belt. Spending some time with Michiru had done wonders for her fashion sense and she was learning what colors complemented her. Setsuna went over to the table near her, set down the tray and took a seat next to the girl, who poured for both of them. "How have you been feeling, Hotaru-chan? Are you still having any of those weak spells?" she led off. "No, I haven't had any of those for a while. I think that was a consequence of my possession." The girl smiled briefly, took a knife from the tray, and drew it along the back of her arm, making a shallow cut a few inches long. A small amount of blood welled up in the knife's wake. She didn't even wince at the pain, but instead, closed her eyes in concentration, and the cut and the blood faded away, leaving her arm looking like it had never been touched. "I don't even get tired from healing like I used to," she said while she wiped off the knife, wrapped it in a napkin and put it on the tray. "That's good. How do you feel, inside? Has there been anything that's been bothering you?" The girl smiled at the question. So far, this had been a repeat of several different conversations she had with the other two. They were concerned about her, but sometimes the inquisition got to her. "I'm fine, Setsuna-mama," she said with a smile, teasing the woman with the pet name she had given her three caretakers when she was quite younger a few months ago. Setsuna laughed for several moments before speaking. The response from the girl had set her mind at ease, for the humor was a good sign. "I guess I deserved that," she said, still smiling for a few moments before getting serious. "Hotaru, I wanted to try and explain a few things to you, and it's going to be tough because you don't know some things yet. Please, just hear me out on this." "I haven't told you much of our past, and I still don't plan to. It's best that the memories come back to you on their own, which they will over time. Michiru, Haruka, and I have a very important job to do, and sometimes it has to take precedence over everything we want to do. When we first found you, when you were still in the hands of our enemies, we couldn't afford to let them use your powers." "As Sailor Saturn, you have the power to destroy the world. We couldn't sit by and let them make you do that. Don't get mad at them... I mean us, because of this, but Haruka and Michiru and I were in favor of killing you if it came down to that. It's not because we didn't care for you, Hotaru, but because the consequences could be too high." "Kill me?" the girl said in a surprised tone, sounding much more like the little girl she was a few months ago. "Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa?" "Yes, Hotaru. We considered it. We had to consider it, and that decision is part of what we do and the dedication we have for it. They didn't want to, but they would have if it came to that. Fortunately, it didn't. After it was over, we swore an oath to raise you as if you were our own." She held up her right hand, indicating the ring she wore there. It was a silvery metal, set with a piece of polished gray stone, and it was nothing like the fine jewelry that Hotaru had seen them wear on many occasions. "These rings are a symbol of that oath. Now, you've gotten past the point where you need us as parents. We were like sisters once, a long time ago on the Moon. We want you to be part of that again, Hotaru." Setsuna reached into a pocket and took out a small, jewel encrusted box that was pure gold, from the weight, and was set with a pattern of jet and amethysts on the top that resembled a purple ringed sphere floating in darkness. She placed it in Hotaru's hand, and closed her fingers over the box. "We would have done that to you because we cared about you, Hotaru. That's the kind of dedication that you need in order to be with us. You'll need to be willing to abandon everything if it's required, even your sisters, and even your life. Do you think that you can do that, Hotaru?" She smiled in response to the questions, as they had brought back some painful memories of things that she might have chosen to forget, but the pain reinforced her determination. This was what she was supposed to be doing, and despite the pain, she would gladly do it. "Yes, Setsuna. I can do that. I remember our duty. I've done it once already, when I stopped Pharaoh Ninety, and I'm ready to do it again." She opened the box, revealing a ring just like the one that Setsuna wore, and she put it on the ring finger of her right hand, where it fit like it was made for her. "I'm one of the Outer Senshi. It may not be easy, and I may not like it, but I will do my duty, Setsuna," she said with a look of determination on her face. The woman pulled her into a brief embrace, and she felt the tension that had been in her heart slip away. "It's good to have you back, little sister," Setsuna said, wiping away a tear so the girl would not see her crying. She gently smiled as Hotaru started to stiffen at her last words. She laughed, and gave her another squeeze before letting her go. "It's not a joke about your height, Hotaru. You're all my little sisters, really. I've been doing this for a long time, you know." "How old are you, Setsuna?" the young girl asked, curious to find out more about this mysterious person. She usually wasn't around as much as the others were. "Hotaru-chan, you know better than to ask a lady her age," she replied with a laugh. "Besides, I'd lie like crazy to you on that one. Let's just say the Moon Kingdom passed about a thousand years ago, and I'm older that." Hotaru giggled at the joke, which set both of them off laughing again. As they finally stopped, a buzzer sounded to indicate that someone was on their way up from the garage beneath the building. "That must be Michiru and Haruka," the young girl said. "They said they'd be stopping by tonight. What else do you need to tell me about what we do?" "I'll show you the safe houses in the next few days, and explain the security systems to you. When I get your papers finished, I'll set you up with a bank account. There's more than enough in there to get you anything you need." "I always knew that you three were rich, Setsuna, but I never thought it was that much. How much do we have?" the girl asked. "How much do you need?" was Setsuna's reply. "That doesn't answer my question," Hotaru stated, her mind running to work on the possible implications of the cryptic answer. "It does answer your question, Hotaru-chan, but not the way you want. I've been around for a while, and I knew where the wealth of the Moon Kingdom was hidden away on Earth. I've been in real estate for a while, and I've been watching how cities grow for a long time. If I pooled everything together, we could have a good spot towards the top of the Forbes 500 list. Money isn't a concern." The door opened to admit the other two of the Outer Senshi. They were dressed up for a concert later on, and as Hotaru ran over to embrace them, Setsuna caught their eyes and nodded. After swinging Hotaru around in the air like she did when the girl was younger, Haruka went into the kitchen and returned with a bottle and four glasses while Michiru teased Hotaru about her new ring. "To our new sister!" the turquoise haired woman said, and they tapped their glasses together in a toast before drinking, and the chiming sound hung in the air as Hotaru laughed at the taste and the tickling sensation from the bubbles, but decided that she sort of liked it. "Let's get you two dressed," Haruka said after taking another sip and savoring the taste of the rare vintage. "We were able to swing some extra seats and we'll be meeting the other girls after the show for dinner. We're celebrating tonight!" ***************************************************************** The place was deserted this night, unlike the time he came here a few years ago. He didn't have the energy to spare that time to spell the guards into a sleep, like he had done a few minutes ago. His energy reserves were full, and he wouldn't have to do anything to replenish them, unlike the last night he spent in this land. The man stopped for a few moments to let the wave of pain wash over him before he continued. He'd suffered with the knowledge of what he had done to the small family that night at the Abbey for two long years, and tonight, finally, he could begin to atone for his sins in the past. They didn't have the chance to live a full life, but this may help others have what they deserved. Gravel crunched under his boots as he slipped under a gate that was manned by a snoring security guard. She, like the others, would wake up in a few minutes, and none would know what transpired here. The last barricade, a metal fence, stretched all around this place in an attempt to conserve it from the many tourists who came here over the years to admire it, and virtually none knew of the power under their feet. A moment of concentration and a murmured word activated the spell, and with the grace of a cat, he leapt over the ten foot fence to land without a sound on the other side. He brushed a bit of dirt from his jeans and rose, straightening his shirt. Before him stood his objective, a collection of gray stones that befuddled the scientists of the day because they refused to believe the kernel of truth at the core of the old stories. Stonehenge was a mystery to them, but it was an open book to him. The node seethed with power to his mage-sight. Fully tapping this would make him like a god, but he understood the dangers implicit in this all too well. His companion of the last two years had shown him the errors of his earlier ways, and the adage about the corrupting effects of power were all too true. No, he'd just use a tiny amount of the energy there. He sat on the ground, legs crossed, facing north and began the spells he would need. The first was a ward against the possibility of a wave of power from the node itself as he tapped it. The second would allow another to hear him a world away. "I'm ready." The defenses peeled away under his scrutiny like the layers of an onion until he had open access to the power within. Carefully, he channeled a small amount into him and wove it into a portal before him. Far away, another was making sure he went to the correct destination. As soon as he was done, and he felt the opening before him actually going somewhere, he rose, took several steps forward, and then restored the defensive barriers that had thwarted him before. The world he had stepped into was much like his home had been all those years ago, but there was little sign of the intrusion of man. He stood on a game trail, and there were heavier tracks to his left. That was the direction he had been told to go, so he followed as it meandered towards the setting sun. A few hours later, he came to a clearing near a low hill. Time and space were different here, as it would have taken him a few days to walk between the place he left from and where he now was in the other world. There was a small, well-made stone building near the base of the hill, and several gardens surrounded it. A simple, wooden cross was at the head of a mound of dirt, and the farmer in him long ago could see that the grass had not fully grown back over it. The size and shape of the mound made his heart sink. Someone was buried there. A movement caught his eye, and he was halfway into a defensive crouch before he stopped and stood straight, with his arms held out. "I'm sorry, it's a habit," he said to the giant of a man who stepped out the bushes, lochaber axe at the ready. "Hello, Percival." "I see he let you out after all," the big man replied, putting the weapon over his shoulder as he recognized the intruder. "He says you needed my help. What can I do?" ***************************************************************** "It's so nice to have you around during the day, Ami-chan," the blonde girl said as she finished putting most of her hair up into her customary odango and looked at her friend standing behind her. "How did your mom take it when you told her that you wouldn't be taking summer courses this year?" The other girl smiled in response, and resumed weaving the long strands into a thin braid and secured them with a black ribbon that was tied in a bow. "Not too well, I'm afraid, but she came around eventually," the girl replied. Unlike her friend, she matched the color of her dress to her blue hair. She wished she could wear black as well as Usagi. The dark color was a good contrast to her blonde hair. She thought she looked like a bruise when she wore black. "There you go, Usagi. How does that look to you?" Usagi looked at her hair and her friend in the mirror. The two braids were certainly a different approach for her, and made a nice, albeit different look. The rest of her hair was in its two usual long streams that reached almost to the ground. "You're pretty good at that, Ami-chan. I'm surprised, because you said you always had short hair." "I usually practiced on my mom's. I always wanted long, black hair like hers, but I could never figure out where my color came from. I used to do hers when we were together, when she had the time." Usagi saw the brief flash of pain in Ami's eyes, got up, and hugged the girl. She forced her to sit down in the chair and began to run a brush through the other's short, blue hair in an attempt to get Ami's mind off of a painful subject. "C'mon, Ami-chan, don't let it get to you. It's supposed to be a happy night, and I don't want you to be sad." "Thank you, Usagi-chan," she said, patting the other's arm and wiping away a tear that was threatening to run down her face. "Thank you for caring. I'm all right, but it gets to me some days. I don't know how I would have made it if I hadn't met you and all the others." "But you did, Ami-chan, right?" the blonde said with a smile and infectious charm that lifted her spirits. Ami felt herself laugh in response and the sorrow went away. That was the one thing that made Usagi such a good friend. She always wanted everyone to be happy, and she treasured that side of the girl. "Maybe I'll challenge Michiru to a rematch, Usagi," she said. "I've been practicing my swimming and I'm faster than before." "That's the spirit, Ami-chan," a voice said from behind them, startling the two girls at the table. "Luna," they both said. The black cat avoided the attempt by Ami to pick her up and she leapt up to the table. "I'm sorry, Ami, but you do look lovely tonight and I'd hate to shed all over your clothes," the cat said, but leaned into the scratching Ami gave the side of her head so hard that she was looking at them upside down. "I'm glad that you're getting over it, Ami. Do you have any ideas why they might be back?" Ami was about to respond when a loud wolf-whistle was heard from someone downstairs. Makoto's voice called up to them, "Hey, Usagi! You've got some serious competition down here. I bet she'll spend more time with Mamoru-san than you will." Ami and Luna blinked as Usagi moved so quickly as to practically disappear from the room and rush down the stairs. She was confronted with Makoto, wearing a long, sleeveless, burgundy dress, and an embarrassed Chibi-Usa, who was blushing enough make her cheeks match her pink hair. "Doesn't she look great, Usagi-chan? She's getting taller every time I see her," the tall girl said with a broad smile on her face. She was enjoying teasing the young girl, especially as Chibi-Usa had been several inches taller and at least a year or two older when she reappeared after leaving shortly after the encounter with Nephrenia. She was also quite self-conscious of it. As Makoto had said, Chibi-Usa did look incredible in a long black dress that fell to her ankles, and the crush top boots were just visible. It would have been an off-the-shoulder type, except for the thin, spaghetti strap around her neck. She and her future husband were going to be in a tough spot when the girl wanted to start dating later on, and she was thankful that it wouldn't be for a while yet. "Chibi-Usa-chan," she gasped in surprise. "Where on earth did you get that? You look wonderful." The little girl smiled happily, glad that they liked it. "Puu and I saw it when we were shopping a few weeks ago. She dropped it off for me while you were in the bath. I like your braids, Usagi." They smiled at each other, enjoying the warmth that was starting to occasionally replace the bickering that had been the hallmark of their relationship. "Hi, everybody!" Rei and Minako said in unison as they came through the door together, with Artemis in their wake. The priestess wore a smart-looking red dress with a red ribbon as a choker, and her black hair was worn long. The blonde was sporting a lace covered, white affair that must have cost her a fortune, and her tresses were piled up on her head. "I'm sorry we're a little late. I had to drag Minako out of the salon. She couldn't make up her mind on a new style." "Rei-chan," the blonde said in protest, but they all had a good laugh at her. Minako was as fond of trying new hairstyles as she was of trying new clothes. The cats excused themselves to go have a quiet evening while the girls finished touching up their faces and complimenting each other on their outfits upstairs in Usagi's room. Chibi-Usa heard the door bell over their voices and rushed out the room. "That's Mamo-chan," the girl cried out as she went down the stairs two at a time, forgetting she was wearing the low-heeled boots. She slipped on the sixth step, stumbled down the rest, and was caught by a tall, young man just before falling to the ground. "Be careful, Chibi-Usa-chan. We want to go to the concert, little lady, not the doctor's." "Mamoru-san!" the girls called out in greeting from upstairs as they came out, and Usagi ran down for a hug. Chibi-Usa squirmed out of the three way embrace to carefully run up the stairs, and came back down with Luna-P in tow at a more sedate walk. "Chibi-Usa-chan," Usagi called out from the confines of Mamoru's embrace. "Do you want to take Luna-P?" "Yes, Usagi, but not like this," the girl said with an impish smile. "Luna-P, change!" she called out, bouncing her spherical companion like a ball. In a puff of smoke, it changed into a small, black handbag with a golden crescent. "Is everyone ready?" Mamoru asked. At their nods, he ushered them outside with a small grin on his face. There were gasps of surprise and delight at the stretch limousine waiting outside, and the driver holding open the doors. "Mamo-chan! This is so thoughtful of you," Usagi said happily as they got in. "I can't take credit, I'm afraid," he replied, settling down with her at his side and Chibi-Usa climbing up on his lap. "The reservation was part of the tickets and everything." "Mamoru, did she say anything about why they were doing this?" Rei asked him. He shook his head. "No, there was just a package in my apartment with the tickets and all the information and a note that Michiru had signed. I don't even know how she got in, because there wasn't anything broken." "The type of lock you have on your door isn't too hard, Mamoru-san. If I could pick it, I'm sure one of them could have also," Minako said quietly. "Are you sure it was her, Mamoru?" Ami asked, voicing a concern about the safety of this meeting, which she had brought up yesterday when he told them of it. "Yes, Ami-chan, I'm sure. The letter described a meeting that we had just after we found out who they were, when we discussed who they were and what they were doing." "What meeting was that, Mamo-chan? I don't remember them saying anything about that?" Usagi said, trying to recall such an event. "I'm sorry, Usako. They met me when I was alone, just before that one fight where I was saying to them that we were strong because we were a team, even though they might be stronger individually. I didn't want to worry you then with their knowing who I was." "I don't like their knowing all this about us," Rei grumbled. "I haven't felt anything unusual or had any premonitions about this, but I still don't like it. Why are they so secretive?" "Maybe they're changing, Rei-chan, and this is the start of their trying to get closer," Usagi said hopefully. "Hotaru and Puu have been saying they wanted to see me more often," Chibi-Usa responded. "Maybe Usagi is right, Rei-chan." "I hope she is, also, Chibi-Usa," Rei said after a few moments. "Are you feeling all right, Rei?" Makoto said with a grin. "You're agreeing with Usagi on something." ***************************************************************** The two men went into building through a side entrance, with Percival ducking under the doorway. He smiled a little at the sight. It did remind him of someone he knew. "You're a big one, Percival. I had a... an associate who would have loved to fight you. He was as big as you are, and he was constantly complaining about not having anyone to practice against who could challenge him." "Big kid, red hair?" he replied. At the other's nod, he continued as they went through what appeared to be a kitchen, "I saw what she left of him. He was good sized, but he needed more practice." "'Left of him'?" he questioned the bigger man. "As I said, he needed the practice. She took his head off," Percival said while putting a finger to his lips to silence the reply. "He's in here. Try to be quiet if he's asleep." The only light inside was from a fireplace in the back wall, and he could see an old man lying on a straw mattress that was moved close to it for warmth, even though it was pleasant outside. A young boy sat in one corner and glared at him. A dagger sat in his lap in an obvious, but unspoken statement of distrust. "I was worried when I saw the grave out there, Merlin. I thought I might have been too late," he said while sitting down at the spot that Percival had indicated. It put him in a position that allowed the old man to see him easily, and he and the boy to be able to cut him off if he tried something. He sighed to himself. He deserved this, even though it hurt a bit. It would take some work to fully win their trust. "I'll live on a while longer," the old man rasped out. "At least long enough to see this one here is trained properly." The old man looked at the scowl on the boy's face and frowned. "Trust your king, lad. If he released him, we can trust him. There's no way he could get out from the King's reach in that place." The boy scowled for a few moments longer, defying his mentor, and then sheathed the dagger with a petulant sigh. "I don't like this, Master. He was the bad guy. Why do we need his help?" "Hush, boy!" Percival rumbled from his spot in the corner. "If Arthur say that you can trust him, you can trust him." "What did you speak of when you were with him?" the old man asked, turning his attention onto him. "Everything, Merlin. All we could do in there was talk, and he was lonely. We went over everything I had done in my life, and he showed me were I went wrong in all these things, and why. He did a good job of teaching me about it. In turn, I was able to teach him about the depths of the evil mankind is capable of. He's almost like a child in that he can't even conceive of how someone could do things like that." "'He is what is best in men'," the older man replied, quoting a predecessor. "I'm glad the sleep hasn't affected him." "What do you need, Merlin?" he said after a few minutes. "He said it was important." "We have to repay a debt, and that is important to him as well as us. I'm too old to travel, and Percival can't leave here. I won't risk the boy, either. That leaves us with you, I'm afraid, although I think that you'll be a great help in the days to come. I need you to take a warning to Minako Aino in Japan." "I'm sorry, I don't know the name." "Azarite, she's the one who you fought that night. She's Sailor Venus." ***************************************************************** There was something in the air, he thought as he took his seat in the auditorium. A very strange feel, indeed. He glanced briefly at his companion, a young lady the escort service had sent over. She was very pretty, although younger than he preferred, and she seemed to lack the intelligence and maturity that he found attractive in a woman. He should have expected that from a service that Gabriel frequented. She was not the source of it, that much he was certain of. The auditorium had several sections of box seats along the walls, and he was able to make out the one that Gabriel said the girl sometimes sat in. He'd keep an eye out for anyone in there, just to be careful. He was dealing with an unknown, after all. He passed the time with some small talk with the girl in order to keep up appearances to anyone who might have been watching. Let them think he was just some dirty old man out for an evening with a pretty girl. He didn't mind the scorn if it kept him from being noticed. Another wave of that strange sensation swept over him, but stronger this time. He looked around quickly, hoping to catch the source. A slight commotion several rows ahead of him caught his attention. A young man, five young ladies, and a girl had reached their seats and there was a disagreement between the girl and one of the two blondes over who would sit with the young man, who had claimed the aisle seat to give him some room for his legs. "In all the Nine Hells..." he whispered to himself under his breath. The hairstyles of the two arguing had caught his attention and kept it from the young man, and it took him a moment to place him. After all, it had been just over a thousand years ago when he had all but killed the young man's father. The recent pictures always had him wearing a mask, but it wasn't too hard to make the connection. Despite his best efforts, the color drained from his face. If this was Endymion, that would make the blonde girl with the hair just like the Queen... He looked carefully at her, using his mage-sight at a tiny fraction of his capability to verify his hunch. The bonfire of energy he saw confirmed his wildest hopes and worst fears. With a cautious thought, he unwove every protective spell on him as quietly as he could, and all the others, save one very old enchantment. He wouldn't take any chance of being discovered when he was this close to his quarry. It was her. The others sitting with her would be the rest of her court, and that would mean that the others should be here as well. A quick glance up to the box confirmed it. Two women and a young girl had just sat down. His blood froze as he recognized one of them. The green haired woman was there, sitting next to a woman with short, golden-brown hair. "Excuse me, dear," he said to the girl. "I'll be back in a few moments. I just need to make a quick call." He got up and went to the lobby, where the last stragglers were just coming in, and he hurried to a bank of phones. Choosing one at random, he entered the cubicle, closed the door behind him, pulled out a small cellular phone, and stabbed at a button for a pre-set number. "Gabriel, listen to me. This is vitally important," he started speaking, cutting off the greeting on the other end. "She's here, six rows in front of me, and she has the Crystal with her." "What?" the younger man said in shock, and then continued in a more excited tone. "I'll be there in five minutes to back you up. Is Matthew still in-" "Her whole court is here, and even the Prince. I'm not stupid, Gabriel. I could never beat all of them together like this, not without preparation and luck. Don't do anything except the following, and then take everything important and clear out of that place in case she tries tracking us. Burn the place if you have to, but destroy anything that could give her a clue to trace us." "Take the test golem. I know it's not as strong, but send it over here with the instructions to go after the most powerful thing at this place. It won't have any problem finding her. She doesn't have a clue as to using it, and she's leaking power all over the place." "Boss, that one doesn't have a chance of hurting her or the others. Are you sure that's the one? The real ones should be all right to send." "I'm not interested in taking her out right now, Gabriel. If I can just get her to try and use it, I can tap it without her knowing. Give the thing a dagger, or something like that. It's more threatening that way, and get it moving as soon as possible." The younger man agreed and hung up. Jason folded up the phone and put it in his inside coat pocket. This would require a great amount of skill and cunning, but the power requirement wasn't too bad. He reached out with his mind and wove a complex web around his crystal that the girl carried, but never let the two meet, and he took his time so that there was little disturbance. Satisfied with his trap, and that he had not been detected, he returned to his seat just in time for the show to begin. This could prove to be a very interesting performance. ***************************************************************** "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Percival," he said as they walked up the small hill behind the stone house. "I'm glad that you're willing to give me the chance." "The boy will come around, given time. He's young, and he doesn't understand the gray area between the black and the white." From their vantage point, he could see the gardens below him, and he decided to satisfy his curiosity about something. "Who's buried down there? When I first saw the grave, I thought it was the old man." "A couple of old friends, Azarite. They're finally resting in the peace they deserved, all that time ago," Percival replied as they came to the top of the hill and took a seat to catch their breaths. "After the battle at Camlaan, Gwen and Lance lost the will to live after Arthur fell. They lived a few more years, but their heart wasn't in it. When it was obvious that they were going to die, I had the Merlin put them in the sleep, just like the others. They couldn't stop me at that point." "After Arthur forgave them and took you with him, I had the old man wake them up. At least they were able to hear that he had forgiven them, and were able to die happy, if there is such a thing." "So," he replied. "The story has a happier ending after all. I'm glad about that." "Are you ready, Azarite? I'd better show you the way to use the entrance through the tor. It's a bit rougher than the node at Stonehenge, but it's a lot more private. And, one more thing." "Tell her the offer of sanctuary still stands." ***************************************************************** Usagi was wrapped up in the music as Michiru began playing when someone walked across her grave. A cold chill swept through her, and she shivered for a moment. Chibi-Usa was looking around, and she seemed as startled as she was. "Did you feel that, Usagi?" the girl whispered up at her from her spot between herself and Mamoru. Usagi nodded in response and looked over at her love. He hadn't seemed to notice anything amiss, but he caught her looking at him, leaned over a bit and put his arm around her. That made her feel much better. He always knew when she was in danger, and if he hadn't felt anything, she probably wasn't. She turned her attention back to the music and the wonderful mood it put her in. ***************************************************************** He came to in a darkened room. He couldn't make anything out, but the aches and pains he felt were a good sign at the moment. It meant he now had a body, and was no longer adrift in the void. "By the stars," he whispered in gratitude. It had worked. He was alive again. "Hello, General," a voice said cordially as several dim lights came on and he could make out his surroundings and the man who leaned against the wall by a door. Above him were the stars of his planetarium he had built in the cathedral on Earth. Just seeing them opened up the channels to the powers he had been blocked off from for so very long, and he sprang to his feet. Energy crackled at his fingertips to lance out in a bolt of starlight at the source of the tainted energy that had revived him. He could smell the blood on this one's hands. "I'll permit that as a display of futility," the man said, wincing slightly at the pain of blocking the attack. He wore a black suit, impeccably cut, and had his hair slicked back from his forehead. A cold expression was on his face, and he knew he was in for trouble. This man was confident of himself. "You see, General-" "Don't call me that!" he interrupted the other. "I renounced any association with her a long time ago." "All right, Nephrite. I won't call you that if you don't like it," the man replied with a small smile. "I knew Beryl, not well, but enough to not like her. I think I can understand how you feel about her. All that time with her must have been intolerable." "Who are you, and what do you want of me? You brought me back for something, so please tell me what it is." "We discovered that you were coming back on your own, and decided to help you out in exchange for your help in a matter. My name is Matthew. We want you to complete the work that Beryl set out for you, and capture the Silver Crystal. I think that you can do it, now that the constraints Beryl put upon you have been removed." "What makes you think I would do that for you?" he sneered at the man. "You don't have any wards up. I could be gone from here in a moment." "That's true, Nephrite," Matthew smiled and held up his hand. He slowly squeezed it into a fist, and Nephrite dropped to the ground in agony. "You see, I control the energy that keeps you alive. If you don't do as I say, I'll simply turn it off." The pain receded as he sat up and the man walked over to him, and put several photos on the ground next to him. Three of the five were familiar to him, but one of the other two that he couldn't place seemed to be of someone he should recognize. He reached out and picked up the one of the blonde girl he did remember. "That's the one, Nephrite. Sailor Moon has the Crystal, and we want it. If you get it for us, we'll use it to give you back your life. I assume that we have a bargain?" ***************************************************************** The curtain came down after the encore, and the house lights came up, causing them to blink their eyes. "She's as good as ever," Makoto said as she stood and stretched her arms up over her head to help alleviate some of the stiffness she had from sitting for so long. The others had also been similarly captivated, and were also standing up and noticing the slight discomfort. "This place has great sound," Rei commented, "But the seats need to be replaced before I see another show here." There was a chorus of agreement from her friends. "We're sorry to have sentenced you to sitting down here, Rei-chan," a young girl called from the aisle as she wove through the departing crowd. "It was a last minute arrangement, however. We'll get a new, larger box if we're going to do this more often." "Hotaru-chan!" Chibi-Usa cried and ran over to hug her friend, who she had not seen for a while. "You've gotten taller, Hotaru," Mamoru said. "You're as tall now as you were when we first saw you." "I don't want to talk about that, Mamoru," the girl said as a dark look crossed her face for a moment. "I'm still the short one. Anyway, would you please join us in the lounge upstairs? Michiru will be up in a few minutes, and we can talk a bit before dinner." They agreed, and followed the girl to a cozy room upstairs. It was a small lounge that Michiru had purchased the rights to, Hotaru explained. She did concerts there on a semi-regular basis, and liked the room as a place to relax in after doing a show. It was clearly not designed for that many people, but they were friends and didn't mind squeezing in on a few couches. Usagi had commandeered a chair to the left of the door and pulled Mamoru over to stand by her, while Chibi-Usa and Hotaru took a bench on the other side of the door. Haruka was in the far corner with Michiru, who was sitting on the arm of a couch with her hair tied up in a red ribbon to let her cool off. Rei and Minako sat down next to her, and Ami and Makoto took the other couch by Setsuna. "You were very good tonight, Michiru," Chibi-Usa said, smiling at the violinist. "She's right," Usagi chipped in. "You did a wonderful job out there." Michiru smiled back at them and held up her hand to forestall the rest of the compliments. "Thank you, but that's not why we're together tonight." "We were wondering about that," Ami said. "You vanished on us again, just after that run-in with Nephrenia. Why are you back this time, and why are you trying to get closer to us?" "I'm sorry, Ami-chan," Haruka replied, her voice surprisingly tender. "It had to be that way when we first met. We only had the mission, and that was all we were concerned about. Everything else was secondary to that." "We're sorry if we hurt you, everybody," Michiru continued. "I think it kept us from getting close back then, even when we remembered more about who we were back on the Moon." "What do you remember about the past?" questioned Makoto. "We don't have anything that's clear." "It's the same for us," Hotaru replied sadly. "Everything is a bunch of little fragments that don't really seem to fit together. Pluto says it will all come together after a while." All eyes fell on Setsuna, who looked a little uneasy at the stares. "I'm sorry, but I won't tell you about the past," she said firmly. "' Won't ' or ' can't ' ?" Rei challenged the dark green haired woman. "I won't, Rei-chan. It's best if it comes back to you on your own, without my interference-" "That's not fair, Setsuna!" Minako protested. "We have a right to know about our past, don't we?" she pleaded, when a sudden, loud thud cut off her appeal. "That's enough, everyone!" Haruka growled, staring at the original Inner Senshi until they looked away from her gaze, and she put the hand that had struck the wall back in her pocket. "She has her reasons for not telling us, and I trust her enough to accept that they're valid." She took a deep breath, and visibly tried to calm herself before continuing. "We asked you here tonight because we do remember one, very important thing about ourselves from back on the Moon, and we wanted to talk to you about it." "I'll tell them, Haruka," Michiru cut in as the taller girl searched for the right words. "There is one thing that we remember, and it was difficult for us to treat you the way that we did when we first met because of this. We were all sisters at one time. I mean, not from the same families, but we were that close back on the Moon." "Artemis came and visited us about a week ago to ask that we try and get together. He thought that we were all missing out on that same friendship, and we think that he was right." "So that's where he was that night," Minako exclaimed. "He refused to tell me what he was up to." "What we're trying to say," Haruka said, her voice slightly thickened from the emotion she was feeling, "Is that we want to be like that again. I remember some of what it felt to be that close to you all, and I want that feeling again." "We miss you," Setsuna continued, and they could see the tears in her eyes. "It's been so long since we were together. I miss having all my little sisters. It doesn't have to be right away, but could we start being friends with each other again like we used to be?" Ami put her arm around the woman and hugged her, tears in her eyes as well. "I'm sorry to have doubted you, Setsuna. I thought it was a trick of some sorts, or a trap. I never knew that you felt that way." "Of course we will," Usagi said as she wiped away a tear, as did some of the others. "We'd be glad to." Hotaru laughed suddenly, and got a mischievous look to her. "I'm sorry, Your Majesties, but this doesn't include you. This is just for the hired help, I'm afraid," she said happily, but kept her face straight long enough for Chibi-Usa to realize what she was saying and the impact of it. The look of happiness faded away to the point just before the flood of tears came before Hotaru finally smiled at her. "It's all right, Chibi-Usa-chan. I was just teasing you." "Don't worry, Chibi-Usa-chan," Michiru called to her from the other side of the room. "You're part of this as well. We wouldn't think of excluding you." Chibi-Usa brightened up at this news and soon was smiling and happy like the rest of them. Haruka turned to a small refrigerator and took out a bottle. "We'll have a special toast tonight, then," she said, her voice cheerful again. The bottle was presented with a flourish before she put it down on the coffee table next to a tall, slender vase that held a yellow rose. "That's a very special bottle, according to Setsuna." "I think you're a lush, Haruka," Michiru teased her friend. "That's the third time you've come up with an excuse for a drink today." A chill ran down Rei's spine as she realized something as horribly wrong near them, and its attention was focused on Usagi. She surged to her feet to begin to a headlong dive to cover her dear friend. Haruka noticed the change in Rei's face and rushed forward as the door handle began to turn. It burst open as Mamoru felt the danger as well and he shifted into his 'other' tuxedo in a flurry of rose petals. It appeared to be a pale skinned, naked man, and he was carrying a knife as he headed for Usagi. "Ecchi!" Ami cried in shock, not realizing the threat. She hadn't seen the knife. "Moon..." She couldn't get to him in time, she decided. she yelled at herself, letting her sit by the door like that. The cloud of rose petals around the young man gave her the idea. The vase, of course. "...Eternal..." On the run, she grabbed it by the neck and flung it at the intruder in a desperate, side-armed throw that sent the knife flying out of his hand in a cloud of dust as the hand shattered when the white and yellow streak hit it. he thought to himself. There was no way a cane or a rose could hurt what appeared to be stone. Even as he moved, a shimmer swept over him from front to back as his armor appeared. More importantly, his sword, as well. "...Make..." The Space Sword suddenly in hand, she leaped over the diving priestess who would land on top of the Princess to shield her with her body. she said to herself with a grim smile. "...Up!" ***************************************************************** "Can we go now?" the girl exclaimed, a slight whine in her voice. He ignored her and concentrated on the feel of the energies in the room above, where his crystal had gone along with his enemies. It had been quiet to his sight, and he wished he could use a scrying spell to see what really was going on. he almost shouted aloud, and a look of exultation appeared on his face. He yanked the shimmering lattice of energy tightly about the Crystal, and slammed a spear of force into it, guided by the old spell of control he had helped create almost twenty-five hundred years ago. A surge of power filled him, and a sense of pleasure. After so long, I have a hold on it, and no matter what the Princess of the Moon does, I'm not letting go. I have her now. It's just a matter of time. He looked again at the girl. he thought. Pulling out his wallet, he took out a stack of bills and handed them to her. She gasped at the sight, for there must have been a few hundred thousand yen in the stack. "Go back to your agency, and bring back a couple of your girlfriends to my room at the hotel. They'll all get an equivalent amount, and there will be more for you. I'm suddenly in the mood for a little party tonight." ***************************************************************** Her sword bounced off of it, and only gouged out a small chunk, to her dismay as the sense of fear within her grew. Her landing was thrown off by the unplanned recoil, and she sprawled at the thing's feet. Abandoning the sword for now, she hit the ground and grasped at it's legs, hoping to throw it off balance. Fear gripped his heart as he saw her sword barely affect it. He had seen her cut through solid steel with it on one occasion. What could his plain old sword do to it if hers had failed? His fear and desperation channeled every last bit of energy he had into the blade, which began to glow with a yellow light as it started to swing down towards the thing. He was going to be too late, he thought. It was so close to reaching her neck with it's one good hand... A loud, ringing tone came from his sword as it cleaved the thing in two from his overhand stroke, and the blade wedged itself into the floor beneath him. The statue began to decompose at once, but not before he could see a round, shining stone the size of an apple in the middle of it that glowed a sickly yellow color. It, too, had been cut in half, and was dissolving. The feel he got from it sickened him. It felt like something that should have been pure and natural that had been... corrupted. Lights flashed in the room as the others finished their transformations. With the exception of Rei, Haruka, Usagi, and Chibi-Usa, the others now wore their Senshi uniforms. he said to himself. He had heard her saying the words. He looked at her to see if she was all right. She hadn't been touched, but the tears flowed down her face. "It didn't work!" she whispered, shocking the others with the raw agony in her voice. "It didn't work. I tried, and it didn't work. I can't feel the Crystal." ***************************************************************** The one who called himself Matthew had finally left the cathedral, and it was now dark and quiet. The only lights were from the projection system that gave him a view of the stars. Now, he could rest and try to figure out what to do. This was another dilemma for him to face, just like the one that had led him to renounce Beryl. He hoped that this one wouldn't lead to his death. Not now, not when he now had something to live for. Matthew had been correct in one thing, at least. The spells that Beryl had used to control him and the others had greatly reduced their abilities and memories. Things were beginning to come back to him. Now, he could remember a few bits and pieces of how it had happened. They had been in Kunzite's tower late one evening, just after returning from the Moon Kingdom. The Prince had gone there on a diplomatic matter, or at least that's what they had told the old generals. They all knew of his love for the Princess of the Moon and were doing everything in their considerable power to aide him in his courtship. The planned topic was supposed to be about magic. Kunzite was a mage, and the most formally trained of the four, having spent several years under the tutelage of an aged scholar who had emigrated from the Moon. Jadeite was gifted in the use of the gates that led to many of their daring successes in battles. A few months ago, he had been instrumental in their defeating a student of their old enemies when he gated a phalanx of Atlantean troops into the sorcerer's stronghold. Zoisite, who was reclining on a couch with his head in Kunzite's lap, was a specialist in crystals. He was always a dangerous adversary with a host of tricks up his sleeves. He himself was a channeler who could call upon the power of the stars. Together, they had a good understanding of the magic that were their edge in dealing with the rest of the world. Atlantis was a wealthy land, thanks to the trade with the Moon Kingdom, and had attracted many who coveted that wealth. Somehow, they had been sidetracked into a discussion of the Princess' court, and Zoisite's infatuation with one of its members. For the first time, he had spent several hours together with one outside of the carefully orchestrated formal gatherings where they had usually encountered each other before. The Senshi wore a simple white robe, in marked contrast to her colorful battle costume or an ornate gown. He said they had been a bit nervous at first while they stayed near the two royals, who were sitting together in a secluded section of the gardens, but in plain sight of their respective chaperones. In order to pass the time, Zoisite had struck up a game of chess with Mercury when she said she knew of the game. He hadn't expected much of a challenge out of the shy girl, but was soon in the match of his life. One game quickly became six epic duels, with an even split on the results and eager promises of a rematch. It had broken the ice between them, and soon they were regretting the other duties that would require his return to the planet that loomed impossibly large in the sky above. As they relaxed together with a jug of wine, they had discussed these first steps they had made towards friendship. The four had seen the Senshi on a few occasions, but had not interacted with them on anything like a personal basis before this. Kunzite had been enjoying teasing his close friend about his sudden feelings for the blue-haired girl. He had even joked of a double wedding when the Prince had won the hand of the Princess, much to the dismay of Zoisite. That was when she entered the room, a tall lady with red hair who had somehow made it past the wards Kunzite had set against the spies of the Generals. After that, he knew of nothing but the unending nightmare that life became as he was slowly forced to turn against his friends and country for the sake of her mad lust for power. Beryl had even taken advantage of the contact between the four of them and the Senshi. It gave her four very skilled spies who learned much about the Moon Kingdom. If it wasn't for meeting Naru, he would have never been able to break the compulsion. This body was tired and worn out from the struggle to break free, and its needs had been denied too long in the time it took him to return. The demands of his body finally overwhelmed him as he succumbed and fell into a deep slumber. ***************************************************************** In the cold reaches of their system, they conferred. "I am happy for you, brothers and sisters. I am glad that they are all back," spoke the one who was third out, and the place where the other life had originated. They were alive, the nine brothers and sisters, but not like the life on the third. "I must warn you," she continued. "This could pose a danger to all of us." "She is correct," replied the one who was closest in, and the cleverest of all the siblings. "It could be a threat to us if this one learns of the connections between ourselves and the avatars." "My daughter's spirit, which he trapped inside the stone, would become the weapon that would defeat us. She would not like that, and would tell us so if she were alive today." "She is not dead," the largest spoke in his deep voice. "She still lives, inside the stone." "My daughter was trapped when that aspect of her was. Would you give up your freedom for perpetual imprisonment, brother?" she inquired of him, and posed the same questions to the others. There was no response. "What would you have us do, sister?" asked the second out, her voice warm with her concern for her sibling. "I could destroy the threat," said the ringed one. "My avatar could take care of the problem, and she who is third has said that the life on her would survive even that. Then, it would only be a matter of waiting for it to rise again." "That would not be fair to them," said the fourth, cutting off the start of his sister's protests. "My avatar has taught me much of morality. We would be as unethical as the one we speak of." "Siblings, may I speak?" the one who was furthest out ventured. When they had quieted, he continued. "Our avatars are there, in that place. Let them try and figure out what to do in this situation. Their judgments have been sound." There was agreement all throughout, as they recognized the wisdom in his words and agreed to give their avatars a chance. The sounds of space were the only things they heard for a while as they thought upon the recent events. The faint moaning of the solar wind was punctuated by the staccato impacts of particles against particles, and the louder crash of a sizable chunk of rock slamming otherwise unnoticed into one side of the largest one. Finally, it was he who broke the silence to speak. "What of the one who is not an avatar?" "Yes, what is to be done about her?" said the fourth out. "Her welfare is important to all of our avatars." She is important to ones besides the avatars, the one who is third thought to herself with what the humans would call a smile, but she did not let it show. "We stand ready to protect her, as always," said the seventh and eighth, who had been silent until now. As usual, they spoke in their perfect harmony, and turned together towards the one furthest out. "We are ready, brother." "Our avatars may be able to help her," the patient one responded to the chorus of questions from the ones closer in. "They cannot restore what is lost, but they may be able to show her what she still has." ***************************************************************** They stood in shock as Usagi quietly sobbed on Rei's shoulder. The dust that was the remains of the statue was slowly fading away, and Mercury was so moved by the despair written in Mamoru's eyes that she almost forgot to scan it before it was gone. With a snarl of frustration he turned and slammed his fist into a wall. The sound of breaking bone was clearly audible. "I failed her again," he said bitterly as he slumped to the floor, ignoring the pain from his hand. Saturn moved over to help him, but he waved her off. She was about to protest when Haruka spoke. "Mars, is she hurt?" she said. At the small shake of the priestesses' head, the tall girl began issuing orders as she took off her jacket. "Pluto, Neptune, take position outside the door. Saturn, if anyone besides one of us comes through the door, cut them down. Don't wait for an explanation, just kill them. I'm going to get the limo and get us out of here." "Haruka," Ami said in surprise as the woman pulled out her scepter and changed into Sailor Uranus. "What if it's an innocent person who-" "Ami!" Minako snapped at the blue-clad Senshi in a tone of voice that surprised even herself. "She's right. Usagi's safety is our first concern." "I'll call on the cellular when I'm outside the side entrance. Bring her out, but change back to your regular clothes. Saturn, stay in costume but wear my overcoat. We can't rely on firepower here. It'll be better to get away without being noticed," she said as she pulled her jacket back on over her uniform and left the room at a fast walk after tossing a cellular phone to Neptune. She looked enough like a girl who had borrowed her date's jacket to escape anything more than a second glance, unlike the commotion her Senshi outfit would cause. "C'mon," the dark-green haired woman said to Neptune as they changed back to their dresses. "We'll be right outside the door if we're needed. Michiru, if I see that statue again I'm going to go back in time and-" the door clicked shut behind them. "Mako-chan?" Rei called out. "Give me a hand here. I want to get her up on the sofa." Together, they lifted Usagi up and into a sitting position. Ami moved in with her computer at the ready, but Chibi-Usa beat her to Usagi's side and threw her arms around her mother. This brought Usagi out of the daze she had been in as she realized the girl was crying, and she pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'm all right, Chibi-Usa-chan," she said with a game attempt at a smile. "I can't feel the Crystal either, Usagi. I can't change. Moon Crisis Make-up!" she cried out, but nothing happened. Rei sat down next to her friend, put her arm around her to comfort her, and looked over at Mamoru to see why he wasn't here consoling her, like he should have been, but Makoto was standing in the way as she picked up the vase that had broken the statue's hand. "What in the world?" she exclaimed. "This thing is heavy. No wonder it shattered its hand." She tossed it over to Minako, who had taken Ami over to a corner to apologize for using such a tone of voice on her earlier. The blonde dropped it, surprised at the weight, and it landed with a loud clunk on the floor, right next to Ami's foot. Makoto grinned in embarrassment at her yelp of surprise. "It's tooled steel," Saturn said as she went over to the silent figure of Mamoru, who was still sitting on the floor." Haruka was tired of knocking over this one vase she made, so she had a machinist make that one up to look just like it and had it coated with a ceramic composite." She kneeled next to him and looked at the blood coming from his knuckles. "I've never done this with broken bones, Mamoru, but I'm going to try and heal up your hand. Next time, aim for in between the studs, O.K.?" she said with a little smile, trying to cheer him up. The man blinked a few times, as if suddenly becoming aware of his surroundings. He put his hand on top of hers to stop her. "I can do it, Hotaru. You have a tough time with healing people, if I recall. You'll need your energy to protect her if something happens," he said as his good hand began to glow with a golden light. He put it over the injured one, and when he took it away, the only sign that something had happened was a slight, pink cast to his skin. "You're not the only healer among us, Hotaru. Do you remember when you came and gave back Chibi-Usa's heart crystal? I was using this to keep her alive. Now, if you'll excuse me," he said as he shifted back to his normal suit. "I have to go to her." ***************************************************************** She looked about the parking lot as they moved towards the limo. Makoto was pushing her way through the few clusters of people there, and Michiru was bringing up the rear. The others were formed up around Usagi and Mamoru, who had his cape over her shoulders. Setsuna was carrying Chibi-Usa, and Hotaru was scanning the crowd from her spot right behind the Princess looking like a thunder storm ready to break. Minako even had the presence of mind to twist her hair up into an approximation of odango-atama's hair style in order to give any assailants two blonde targets. she said to herself as they got into the limo and she hit the gas. Tires screeching, she cut between a group of people and sped past three limousines that were the same model as what she drove. She had used all her cash that she had on hand to hire the vehicles away from the people who had reserved them for the night and gave thanks she had gotten in the habit of keeping a spare couple hundred-thousand yen on her at all times. The other cars sped after her in pursuit, and would break off every few minutes to try and confuse anyone following them. She took advantage of the big engine to run several lights at high speed, trusting to the experience of hundreds of hours in races at high speeds. The slow pace of normal traffic was like a crawl to her usual self, but it was even more so now. The Formula One rookie driver sensation of a few years ago wasn't at the wheel. It was Sailor Uranus. ***************************************************************** The new modifications and the tune-up Miyuki had done on his motorcycle had done wonders. This time, he was sure he'd catch his nemesis. The machine now boasted a racing engine that she had set to be unmatched at the low end. He'd finally have the acceleration he would need, since the traffic didn't allow him to ever use the top speed it was capable of. He was just finishing up his test drive and was on his way to see his intended when he heard a screech of tires and horns. Glancing to the right, he just saw a black limo sail through the intersection in front of him at what had to be 200 km/h. What galled him even more is that he caught a glimpse of the driver. That had to be her! He goosed the throttle as he turned to follow and slapped the switch for his helmet mounted radio. "Dispatch? Yoriko, this is Officer Nakajima. I'm going on duty. A limo just passed me doing over two-hundred on a surface street. I'm in pursuit!" He put on the lights and siren and took off in earnest, his new machine eating up the distance in no time. There was room on the left for him to pull up next to her, and he gambled that this was an import that didn't have the wheel on the right. It was her all right, but the murderous look she gave him made him slow down slightly and drop behind the vehicle. This wasn't the light-hearted trickster who had plagued him for the past two and a half years. Gone were the smiles, the winks and the waves. It had always been a challenge between the two, but it was in a sense of fun as he strove to bring her in. Now, she looked like she would run him off the road. ***************************************************************** Haruka snarled a curse as the motorcycle officer came up out of nowhere on her left. Sure enough, it was him, and it would happen to be the one time she couldn't afford to deal with him gently. "Michiru," she called out into the back compartment as she hit the lever for the sunroof in the passenger's compartment. "Take him down. He'll follow us to hell and back on that thing." Her partner moved to comply, but Ami lunged forward to knock Michiru back into her seat. "No! We don't have to kill him," she cried out over the wind from the opening above them. "At this speed, he'll be hurt if he falls off. Mercury Crystal Power, Make-up!" Sailor Mercury stood up through the sunroof and grabbed onto the side with one hand to steady herself as she turned to look at the police officer tailing them. The wind was whipping her hair around her, but she was lucky it was short enough to still see behind them. Rei or Minako would practically be blind. They had just finished a turn and were on a long, straight section of road that had few cars on it. It was a good a point as any for this. "Shabon Spray!" A stream of bluish-white mist erupted from her fingers, the wind turning the bubbles into a fog. She kept it up for several seconds, and aimed it high enough to hopefully keep from making the pavement too slick for the motorcycle officer. It took a few moments, but he apparently decided on discretion and started to slow down to a stop. "Good work!" Neptune said as she squeezed up next to her in the opening. The other girl must have changed while she was busy. "Deep Submerge!" she cried, and a ringed ball of blue energy slammed into the pavement behind them to leave most of the roadway around his motorcycle covered in water. "Ami-chan,..." she started to say, but she already had an idea what Neptune wanted. "Shining Aqua Illusion!" Mercury called out, and landed it squarely among the remains of Neptune's attack. The water turned to a patch of ice that should keep him from following. Neptune clapped her on the shoulder as they sat down and Haruka closed the sunroof. "Thanks, Ami," she called out from the driver's seat as she put it in a turn and slowed as she merged into the traffic on the onramp to an expressway. "Michiru, are your parents still going to be out of town for a few days?" "Yes, Haruka. It's a safer place than your homes right now," she explained to the others. "If anyone has been tracking you, they won't know where we're going. If they do, we can still get you off to a safe house while we figure out what's happening." "I'm sorry, Michiru," Usagi replied angrily. "I'm not letting you shut me away from the world in order to protect me." "Please listen to them, Usako," Mamoru said as he put his hand on her arm and tried to calm her down. "They're doing this because they care about you, not because they want to hurt you. Whoever is behind all this is the real enemy here." ***************************************************************** They got out of the limo at a small mansion on a hill in one the best areas of Tokyo. The view from the gardens and the house was a breathtaking panorama of the city below and the stars above. Haruka pulled Michiru aside as the others began moving towards the house as Hotaru showed them the way in. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes, at most. I need to ditch the car, and I've got a bike hidden near here the place I have in mind. If I'm not back in twenty minutes, get out and up to one of the safe houses out of the city. Get out of the country if you can." "Be careful, Haruka. No heroics. I don't want to lose you." The taller girl responded with a crooked grin and pulled her in for a quick hug. "I'm the wind, remember?" she whispered back. "They won't catch me. I called the airport and the helicopter is being pre-flighted if you need it. I'll find you if you have to leave, no matter where you go, Michiru. I don't want to lose you, either." She watched her drive off and stood there with her fears for a few moments before putting them aside and joining the others. As she expected, Hotaru had taken them into the conservatory. She walked up behind the brown haired girl. "Makoto, would you please do me a favor? We aren't going to get to that restaurant tonight, and I think we could all use a bite to eat and some tea. Why don't you go in the kitchen there and put together some sandwiches?" Makoto nodded and went off after corralling Rei and making her lend a helping hand. She told Hotaru and Setsuna to keep everyone occupied and went upstairs to activate the perimeter security, and then to the garage to make sure the car was ready to go. She wasn't as good a driver as Haruka, but she could manage. The van would be cramped, but that wasn't a concern right now. She was turning on the laptop in the van to log into the airport files to check the departing flights when she heard an engine die and the sound of wheels rolling up the driveway a few minutes later. The alarm hadn't sounded, and the engine sounded like an off-road motorcycle. As she suspected, it was Haruka. They embraced and went up to join the others in the conservatory. Makoto had just brought in a tray of sandwiches and put it next to a pair of thermal carafes that held tea and coffee. Usagi must be getting over it, because she was at least nibbling on a sandwich. "We should be safe now," Haruka said around a sip of coffee. She made a face at the taste of it and decided to switch to the tea. "I got rid of the limo and I haven't seen any sign of pursuit. I don't think they're on to us." "Who are 'they'?" Ami questioned. "Does anyone have an idea of what that thing was, or who it might have been?" Her only response was silence. "How are you feeling, Usagi-chan?" Setsuna asked. She took another bite and washed it down before replying. "I'm all right, everybody. I was a little woozy at first, but I feel fine right now, except that I don't have that feel I usually do from the Crystal." "I can't feel it either," Chibi-Usa said from where she sat next to her parents. "You can feel her crystal, Chibi-Usa-chan?" Makoto said in surprise. The young girl took out her broach, and showed them the crystal in it. It was dull and glossy, not the translucent brightness they usually saw. "It's like a person singing a long way away," the girl continued. "I can usually just hear it over the sound of mine." "Usagi, do you normally hear the same thing with your crystal?" Setsuna asked of the blonde girl. "Do you hear hers as well?" Usagi nodded and absent-mindedly reached for another sandwich. "Setsuna, could it be a resonance between the crystals?" Ami asked, her eyes lighting up as she came up with a theory. "To the best of our knowledge, she has the same crystal that Usagi does, except that it's the one from the future." "That's an interesting idea, Ami-chan, but how does it connect with what happened?" Minako asked, slightly puzzled. "What happened to Usagi? Why couldn't she change?" "I don't know, Minako-chan," the blue-haired girl responded as she pulled out her computer and began to tap on the keys as she spoke. "It might help us in figuring out how to fix it, however. Maybe if we fix Usagi's problem, Chibi-Usa will be all right as well. Did you feel anything unusual or different, Usagi?" "I felt something funny during the concert. I felt real cold for a moment and shivered, but it wasn't from being cold, like from the air conditioning." "I felt it too," Chibi-Usa chimed in her high-pitched voice. "It was just as Michiru began playing." "What about when you tried to change, Usagi-chan?" Rei asked, her heart still breaking whenever she remembered the look of pain on her friend's face in that horrible moment. "No, there wasn't anything different, except that when I tried, I realized that I couldn't feel it like I usually do." Ami nodded and got up to pace nervously back and forth a few times as she thought before going over and asking Michiru for a loan of a real computer keyboard. "You're being very brave, Usagi-chan," Hotaru said while she poured another cup for the girl as they took a brief break. Mamoru smiled at Usagi and put his arm around her shoulders. "I'm proud of her for standing up so well. You too, little one," he said as he put his other arm around Chibi-Usa. "You should be proud of them all right," Rei said without a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she stood up. "Their appetites aren't affected by this. They ate all the food. I'm going to go make a few more plates, Usagi," she said with a warm smile at her friend. Ami came back in with Michiru and began to tell her computer how to adapt to what she was now using. In a few moments, she began to type at a furious rate. Michiru went over and sat next to Haruka, who was so deep in thought that she didn't even respond until Michiru waved her hand in front of her eyes. "Earth to Haruka?" she teased her friend. "Sorry, Michiru," she blinked and blushed slightly. "I was just thinking about this problem and how to fix it." "I'm sure we'll come up with something." Ami got up and took a seat near Usagi, set the keyboard on her lap and put her computer on the table next to her. "Usagi, would you please take out your crystal?" "Certainly, Ami-chan," she replied as she pulled out the Crystal in its double-winged broach. It, too, was dull and glossy like Chibi-Usa's. "Chibi-Usa, would you bring yours over here as well?" As the girl came over and held hers out as well, Ami looked at the two and the read-outs on her terminal. "Chibi-Usa, can you tell me anything about the Crystal that your mother gave you?" Chibi-Usa giggled as Setsuna heard the question and turned pale. "I knew you wouldn't let me say anything, Puu. You and my mama already told me not to talk to her about it, no matter what happens. I'm sorry, Ami-chan." "It was worth a try," Ami said with a sigh. "Usagi, I've got my initial scans done. Would you try to transform again?" "I'll try, Ami-chan, but I don't think it will work." "Don't think like that, Usagi-chan, or it never will," Makoto warned her. "Moon Eternal Make-Up!" she called out, closing her eyes in concentration. The Crystal remained dull. ***************************************************************** He straightened his tie as he closed the door behind him, a smile plastered on his face. He'd worn the three girls out, and he still felt full of energy after all that. The elevator to the floor came quickly at this time of the morning, and he admired the faint glow to the east that signaled the coming sunrise. This period of tranquillity just before dawn was truly his favorite time of the day. There was a cab outside, and he had the driver take him to a hotel that catered to traveling businessmen. For some reason, a heavy, Western style breakfast appealed to him this fine morning. He even gave the driver a tip even though the man wouldn't shut up. The man must have been here from New York. Four eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, fresh orange juice, and a stack of buckwheat pancakes later, he walked to Gabriel's new location while he enjoyed the feeling of energy that filled him. This power didn't have the taint of blood magic, nor the fuzziness it sometimes left in the user's mind. This was absolutely a joy to possess, and soon he would have it all. The young man's new residence was clearly not one he had spent much time in, unlike the suite he had seen the day before. This still had the feel of being new, and lacked the lived-in touch. Gabriel was still red-eyed from a lack of sleep after moving all his gear during the night. "Hello, Gabriel. It's a beautiful morning, isn't it?" The younger man summoned up a smile in spite of his headache. "I take it things went well last night, Boss? You look the cat who got the cream." "Better than I could have hoped for. That girl has the power of a god at her disposal, and she treats it like a trinket. You could have done it a week after I started teaching you. Now, there's no way she can stop us." "I'm going to have Matthew set up the trap. I'm still wary of the others, the second group, but their big gun is out of the picture. If all goes well, the problem will come to us to be taken care of." "That's a shrewd idea, all right. When do you want me to start the operation?" "Today, Gabriel. Later on today, let loose the first one and have it go on a rampage. The decoy is in place, and you can finish the rest over the next few days. Today, however, today is the beginning of the end for them." ***************************************************************** Ami set down the cup of cold coffee as she realized the sun was starting to rise up over the horizon. It tasted bad, but it would keep her going. Most of the others had drifted off to sleep at some point while she worked and were scattered around the room. There was one thing this large room didn't lack, and that was plenty of comfortable furniture. She looked around to make sure everyone in the room was still asleep before venting her frustrations. "Damn," she said softly. "Such language, Ami-chan," Haruka drawled, causing Ami to start in surprise and blush red in embarrassment. The girl had been watching through partially closed eyes. "I'm sorry, Haruka-san. Haven't you slept? "Don't be sorry. You're trying, and that's all that counts. No, I haven't slept. I took the first shift, and Michiru will take over for me in a little while. We're going to keep a guard on her until we figure out what is going on." "She won't like that," she warned the other girl. "Tough. She's the Princess, Mercury," Haruka flatly stated, using titles instead of names to emphasize her point. "We protect her, and that's final." "I know that, Haruka-san, but it won't be easy. I just wish I had some good news to tell everyone. I've drawn a blank." "I'm not the scientific type, Ami-chan, but what if we're going about this the wrong way? Is technology the answer to magic?" "I'm not sure, but it's the only thing I have. The scientific method should still work, unless magic doesn't follow the laws of physics. I wish I knew more about what happens to us and why it does, but I don' t know where to begin in regards to working with, or understanding, magic." "Maybe I said it wrong, Ami. I'm still a little fuzzy from a lack of sleep right now," the tall girl admitted with a rueful grin. "Is technology the answer in this case? What if magic is the answer to solving this, even if we don't know much about it?" She stood up and stretched, the wrinkles in her shirt and slacks clearly visible. "C'mon, I've got an idea or two I need to think over, but I need a real cup of coffee. How do you like your mud?" ***************************************************************** "Just five more minutes, Mom..." "Usako!" "I'll be to school on time, Mom. Just let me sleep a few more minutes." It was only when a stubbled cheek brushed against hers and someone kissed her that she realized that she wasn't at home. She sat up, blinking at the clear morning light. "Mamo-chan? It's morning! My parents are going to kill me!" "I'm here, Usako," he said to her as he sat down on the bed."It's time to get you up and moving. Rei called your parents last night and told them that everybody was having a sleep-over at the temple since her grandfather was gone. She and I brought you two up here to one of the guest rooms after you fell asleep. Setsuna just took Chibi-Usa down for a bath, and now it's your turn. You'd better hurry up, or there won't be any breakfast left." "I'm not really that hungry, Mamo-chan," she said, sitting up while holding the sheets to her chest. All she was wearing was an over-sized T-shirt, and while she didn't really feel the need to be modest in front of him, one of the others might walk by the partially open door. "I'm starting to feel scared about this. What if we can't figure out what happened? What if I'm like this forever?" "Usako," he said in a thick voice from what he was feeling. "Don't think like that. Nothing will change between us, no matter what. I don't love you because you're Sailor Moon." He reached out and drew her into an embrace and nestled her head down on his shoulder. "I love you because you're Usagi Tsukino. I'll love you no matter what happens today, or tomorrow, or the next." "Mamo-chan," she sighed, sniffled a few times, and began to cry. He let her get some of the pain and fear out, since this wasn't the wailing she usually indulged in. "C'mon, Usako," he said after a few minutes. "Mako-chan is making a feast down there, and you could use a good breakfast." He stood, scooped her up and carried her into the bath. Just inside the door, he set her down on her feet. "Take a quick bath, Usako." "Will you wash my back, Mamo-chan?" she asked with an impish grin. "Usako!" he exclaimed and blushed. "Mamo-chan," she protested." It's not like-" "Usako," he cut her off quickly. "Now is not the right time for that. Go get cleaned up and meet us downstairs." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and gently pushed her into the bathroom and closed the door. He sighed, and then ran a hand through his hair. A tap on the door made him look up. "Mamoru?" Michiru called out. "May I come in?" "Yes. She just got in the bath." The girl tossed him a set of sweats and nodded her head towards the end of the hallway. "Here's something you can wear, unless you mind that it's Haruka's. It should fit well enough, and I've got some things Usagi can wear. The other shower is free. I'll keep an eye on her, O.K.?" she said with a smile. "Thanks. I need it, and a shave. Would you do me a favor, Michiru?" "Certainly, Mamoru," she replied politely. "Please try not to let her know that you're watching over her. She's starting to feel a little scared. I think she was still in a bit of shock last night, and it's finally sinking in." ***************************************************************** "It's so nice cooking for her, Hotaru," Makoto said as they cleaned up in the kitchen after they had finished eating." I always feel good when she cleans her plate like that. It makes me feel like I've done a good job." "It was very good, Mako-chan," the shorter girl agreed as she finished stacking the last of the plates that she had dried. "But doesn't Usagi eat everything no matter where she goes?" They both giggled for a moment, since they knew it to be true. "She does, but I still like it." "I've got the cups, Mako-chan. Would you please bring in the carafes?" They went into the conservatory, where everyone was sitting together in one corner and recovering from the meal. Makoto had seen the contents of the kitchen and pantry and went overboard with delight at what she had to work with. "Here's coffee and tea, everybody," the brown haired girl said as she sat down. "Thanks, Mako-chan," Chibi-Usa said as she patted her stomach. "I didn't know I was so hungry." "Ami-chan," Usagi asked her friend. "Did you figure anything out?" The blue haired girl sighed before answering. "I'm sorry, Usagi-chan." The blonde girl sat back in the couch with a dejected look on her face that made Ami want to cry. She'd failed her friend this time, after coming through so many times before. "Usagi-chan..." Minako said in a wavering voice, and tears began to roll down her face. "I'm so sorry... we should have done better last night." Haruka sighed in exasperation. She didn't think she could sit through another crying session like the Inner Senshi had been in last night. She caught Setsuna's eyes and motioned for her to come over from where she sat with Chibi-Usa. "Should I?" she questioned her in a whisper. "No, I think I better do this," was the reply. Setsuna took a deep breath and straightened to her considerable full height. "Crying isn't going to help us here, everybody," she said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "We don't think that the statue is what affected her. It never touched her, and none of us saw it attack her in any way. It tried, but we kept it from her." "There's one thing that Mercury didn't try last night, Princess. Where's the Grail?" "The Grail?" Usagi gasped in surprise. Ami slapped her forehead with a look of self-incrimination and whispered a curse under her breath that made Michiru turn pale in her seat next to Ami. "I haven't had to use it ever since Chibi-Usa and I got our new broaches when the Dead Moon Circus showed up," Usagi said, deep in thought. "I thought it was gone." "Things like that don't go away, Usagi-chan," Hotaru said with a little smile." I remember that it dissolved when Mistress Nine put it into the machine that would have brought Pharaoh Ninety to this world, but Michiru told me that you used it almost right after that to become Super Sailor Moon." "Could I make a suggestion before we try anything?" Mamoru asked when he saw Michiru and Haruka start to curl up their hands in preparation for summoning their talismans. "I think we should all be in costume for this, and we should all go out in the garden. There could be some funny side effects, and this is too nice a place to demolish." They agreed and went outside, pausing only to change forms after Michiru assured them that there was complete privacy on the grounds. A small clearing was deemed the best spot by Mercury, who set up her computer to scan the proceedings. Usagi stood in the center with Mamoru by her side in his tuxedo. She took out her broach as the Outer Senshi took out the talismans. Neptune had the Aqua Mirror, Uranus the Space Sword, and Pluto the Garnet Orb. While Saturn didn't have a talisman, she still summoned her glaive and held it for psychological support. The three talismans began to faintly glow in the presence of each other, and Usagi seemed to as well. "Do you feel anything, Usagi-chan?" Mars asked. When she frowned and shook her head, Mars gathered the rest of the Inner Senshi around her. "C'mon, let's try to help her out here." All four girls partially closed their eyes in order to concentrate as the sigils of their respective planets burst into light on their foreheads. A glow surrounded each of them that corresponded to their tiara stones as they directed their energy towards Usagi. Saturn looked at and caught the eyes of the other Outer Senshi. Pluto nodded slightly, and their auras began to glow as well, along with their sigils. "I think I can feel something!" Usagi whispered excitedly as she tried to feel for her crystal. Mamoru looked at her and the strain she was under from the energy and emotions she was feeling due to the link with the others. Then, he saw what he had dreaded. The pupils of her eyes seemed to have vanished, and all he could see was the blue iris. This only happened when she was trying to call upon everything she had, or she was badly hurt. His heart started beating faster as he stepped forward to her. As he reached her and took her hands, his tuxedo changed into his armor without his even willing it to do so. he cried out in his mind as he gathered his energy together and reached out to somehow help her. He blinked in surprise as another set of hands wrapped around his, or at least as far as they could, as his daughter put hers over her parents'. Her eyes had also lost their pupils, but Chibi-Usa's face was calm and composed compared to the strain on Usagi's. The thought of the danger to both of them was the catalyst he needed as the power rushed into him from somewhere, and their joined hands began to glow. Light flashed, a jolt of whiteness that sent the other Senshi to the ground in exhaustion. When it faded, Usagi was standing there holding the Grail with a bewildered look on her face. "Mamo-chan, you did it!" she cried out happily. "Mamoru did what?" Mercury asked her, confused about Usagi's statement. "I was losing it, Ami-chan," the blonde said excitedly, "but Mamo-chan helped, and I think he did almost everything. What should I do now, try to transform?" Usagi held the Grail up over her head and took a deep breath to call out her transformation phrase when Venus darted over and clapped a hand over her mouth to stop her. "Wait, Usagi-chan!" she said in between gulps of air. "I don't know if we'll have another chance at this, so we can't afford to make any mistakes. The healing power of the Grail is based on someone drinking from it." "Minako-chan, that wasn't a question," Neptune stated. "How do you know about that, or if it's even the truth?" "Someone said they gave me a drink of the water that was in the Grail at one time, and I'm very inclined to believe that they were correct." "When did this happen, Minako-chan?" Mercury asked. "It was when I was when I was in England before I met all of you. I had been badly hurt in a fight, and someone used it to heal me. I don't remember much, but I distinctly recall that its effectiveness is based on drinking out of it." Usagi frowned and reached out to the top of the Grail. The lid faded away and she looked in it. "It's empty." "I guess it's as good a time as any," Haruka grinned, got up and handed a bottle to Mamoru that she took out of her space. It was the one that she had shown them the previous night at the concert. "That's from a winery in France that I'm holding in trust for you, Usagi-chan," Pluto explained. "I've kept that place running for a long time and was just able to buy out the owners a few years ago. Their grapes are descendants of the fruit of the vines from the Moon Kingdom." Mamoru took the green glass bottle and uncorked it with the opener on the Swiss army knife that Haruka handed to him from the same space. A heady aroma filled the air around him, and he reached over to pour a small amount into the Grail. Usagi smiled at him and lifted it to her mouth with both hands, winked at him over the rim, and drank. Her winged broach began to glow with a bright light from the Crystal within that made them look away until it faded, leaving a familiar red and gold, heart shaped broach in its place. The song from her crystal burst into a crescendo that filled the silence within her. It was somewhat of a letdown to her, but now, now she knew what to do. "Moon Cosmic Power, Make-Up!" Her outline blurred in a white glow that faded to reveal Sailor Moon. Next to her, Chibi-Usa had undergone the same transformation to become Sailor Chibi-Moon. Her friends clustered around them to congratulate her, their fatigue forgotten in their relief and happiness. Even the Outer Senshi had come closer in to the Inner, their expressions ranging from small, satisfied smiles on the faces of Pluto and Uranus to happy tears from Saturn and Neptune. The wash of emotions from them filled her up, and she felt something inside of her shift in response to the caring and compassion, the friendship and the love she felt from them, and the emotions that were awakened in her in response. "Thank you, my dear friends," she said in a voice that was impossibly warm and calm for her that made Chibi-Usa look up in surprise from her place in her father's arms. "Thank you so very much for caring about us." Her hands glowed as she lifted the Grail above her head. "Crisis Make-Up!" A swarm of glowing butterflies swirled out of the Grail and surrounded them, making all their hearts lighter at the sheer, unexpected beauty of the scene. The sunlight was fractured into countless motes of color that flowed over Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi-Moon, changing their costumes into their Super forms. Just as her change to the more recent form finished, her figure blurred again so that she wore a long, diaphanous white gown and she seemed to glow in the sunlight. The sight of this made the Outer Senshi step back and fall to one knee in salute, a move that the Inner Senshi emulated a few moments later. Endymion sank to his knees in shock at the vision of his love before him, and Chibi-Moon burst out of his arms to run to her. "Mama!" she cried, and the regal woman swept her up into an embrace and swung her around once with a joyous smile on her face before Usagi and Chibi-Usa collapsed together onto the grass in their school uniforms, laughing together with happy tears rolling down their faces. ***************************************************************** The register chimed as she opened the drawer to put the cash in that the young man had given her before he rushed out with the vase in his arms that was a present for his girlfriend. He'd been in a hurry, but he was polite, and the way his face had lit up when he saw the vase she had made had warmed her heart. He was plainly in love. She sighed, wishing love would find her, and went back to the romance novel she was reading. The woman sat down in the nook that gave her a view of the entrance to the store and resumed reading. Her position didn't let her see the back of the store, or how one of the consignment pieces there seemed to shiver for a moment. All was still for a moment, and then the squat man-thing came alive and looked about the room. It had to find something, and that something was mercifully near, its limited intellect told it, remembering the instructions of its creator, the one who it must obey. The small shape began to grow, absorbing the other clay pots, statues and vases, while sending out several tendrils towards a shelf of stylized animal forms. ***************************************************************** "Are you happy now, Haruka?" she said as she changed back and forth a few times to show them that it wasn't a fluke. They were sitting together in one corner of the conservatory, at least the ones who were left. Setsuna had left right after she had returned to being Usagi in order to try and find out what was happening. Mamo-chan had borrowed one of Michiru's cars to take Chibi-Usa and Hotaru over to her parent's house. "I'll be all right now. I don't need to stay in hiding with one of you at all times anymore." "Usagi..." "I mean it, Haruka. Don't make me order you..." she let her voice trail off in her best attempt to stand up to the tall woman. "Order?" she said softly, wondering at the change that was going on in front of her. The Princess was at last starting to show some backbone, it seemed. She'd let Usagi get away with it this time, as it should be safe enough now that she had some of her powers back. She'd let her get strong, but not headstrong. "All right, odango-chan, but we'll still make sure you're not alone until we get some more information." "Haruka-" "She's right, Usagi-chan," Rei interrupted her. "She's right. We can't leave you alone until we know what is going in. It won't be forever," she added at the crestfallen look on her friend's face. "Just let us do this for a few days until we're sure." "Usagi-chan, let's get you home first," Ami added. "It'll be good for you to relax and unwind, and I'm sure your parents and Luna will be getting worried." "All right, Ami-chan," she sighed, knowing that it was just a ploy to get her and Chibi-Usa in the same place so it would be easier to watch over them. She loved them for being so concerned, but when they were scared like this, their safeguards would smother her. "Thanks for lunch, Michiru-san. You're as good a cook as Mako-chan," she said, standing and smiling. "I'm glad you liked it, Usagi-chan. Makoto had already cooked breakfast, and I couldn't ask her to do lunch as well," the other replied. Usagi looked briefly at her friends, who gathered up their bags with the finery that they had worn last night. Michiru's closets had easily supplied them with something to wear that wouldn't attract any unwanted attention, and they left to begin the short walk to a bus stop that would take them to a train that ran by Juban, and would be the easiest way home. ***************************************************************** "How does she look?" Makoto asked as Minako came out in a duplicate of Usagi's uniform that Michiru had given her, and did a quick pirouette that made her skirt and hair fly out to the sides before she stopped in a fashion model pose. "Good, except for the hair," Haruka responded dryly. Makoto grinned in response and went over to the blonde and began to fuss with her hair and a pair of ribbons. Michiru came in and handed her a pair of small, soft rubber balls. "My cousin's kid didn't really need that toy," she sighed as she sat down next to Haruka. A few moments later, Makoto turned back to them. Minako now looked like Usagi's sister, complete down to the slightly shorter, but unique hair. "The bangs are off, but it's the best we could do on such short notice. How long ago did they leave?" "A few minutes ago," Haruka said as she got up to give them their bags with a mischievous smile. "Here you go, odango atama," handing Minako hers. Minako sighed as the others laughed, and then she and Makoto took off to tail the others. If only Rei and Ami hadn't been so quick to insist that they went with Usagi, she could have removed any chance of anyone thinking that she wasn't Usagi. she thought to herself as they ran down the street, ***************************************************************** The bus had been slightly delayed, and it had caused them to miss the train by a few seconds. They had ran in only to see it pulling away from the station. Usagi sighed, and went over to sit on a bench and catch her breath. She purposefully chose a seat that was at the end of the bench, and Ami and Rei seemed to take the hint and gave her a little space as they sat down several feet away from her. Usagi flashed them a quick smile of gratitude, and then closed her eyes to try and shut out the noise of the station in order to concentrate. The others hadn't seemed to be too concerned due to their happiness and relief, but one part of the morning's events had been nagging at her and she wanted to try and think about it. In the past, she had been a princess. On a few occasions since their rebirth in this time, she had taken on that form again. The fight with Queen Beryl and Metallia, she and Chibi-Usa defeating the Wiseman, and when they stopped Fiore's asteroid from hitting the Earth were a few of those times. Somehow, without even knowing why or how she had done it, she had changed back into that princess. This time, however, was very different. She hadn't become the Princess she was a long time ago. For a brief moment, she had become who she was going to be, and that scared her. How could she have known what to do? It hinted at even more depths to her, and she was already starting to feel like she was drowning in them. The memories that would surface out of her past, and the changes that had been happening had slowly made her feel less in control, and this was even worse. Was she even in control of her own destiny? Was this all something that some deeply hidden part of her was doing, and was she just along for the ride? After several more minutes, she resorted to her usual tactic when this started to happen. It was just too big, and too complex for her to understand right now. She knew she wasn't the smartest one in the group. She was fairly bright, but motivation was her problem. The brilliance of Ami eluded her, and she lacked Rei's drive to excel at her studies. Still, she doubted either of them could even figure this one out. As usual, she would try not to let it get to her, and hopefully the answer would come, or at least a hint would reveal itself. Some days, it was all she could do. The days of her just being plain, simple Usagi Tsukino beckoned at her from her the past. It had been so easy then, and it would be nice to go back, even for a little while. The cost of that, she decided a few moments later, would be far more than she would be able to pay. She wouldn't have her friends, the man who loved her, or had the chance to meet her daughter. It was a steep price, but it was more than worth it in the end. ***************************************************************** "Rei-chan," Ami whispered. "I'm worried about her. She didn't even notice that train go by." "I think it's all right, Ami-chan. She went through a lot this morning, and she just needs a little time to sort it all out." The two girls sat together in silence for several more minutes, during which the only sign of life out of Usagi was her breathing. I think she's in a trance, the raven-haired beauty said to herself. She carefully got up and went over to the blonde girl and waved her hand in front of her eyes, hoping to get a response. Nothing. "Ami," she said softly, but not whispered, "it's all right to talk normally. She won't hear anything. She's in a low level meditative state, I think." "We're supposed to sort things out while we sleep," the girl with the blue hair replied. "Maybe that's what she's doing right now. How do you think she feels about it, Rei-chan?" "About being powered down? I don't know, but I don't think that's what is getting to her." She sighed, looked over at Usagi for a moment, and continued. "Did you see her face, just after she got up and realized what she was wearing?" "I caught the change of clothing," she replied, shaking her head. "I missed her face, though." "It was only for a moment, but when Mamoru was hugging her, I saw the fear in her eyes. She's been the Princess before, Ami-chan, but this is the first time that she turned into Neo-Queen Serenity." "The poor thing," Ami whispered. "That must be it. We'd better let her rest, Rei-chan. It's still fifteen minutes to the next train that we can take." "Speaking of rest, Ami-chan," she said as she put an arm around the other girl and gave her a quick squeeze. "You haven't had much. You were up all night, weren't you?" "I'll be all right," she said defensively. "Thank you for trying, Ami-chan," she replied, purple eyes catching blue and holding them. "I know sometimes we take you for granted, and it's wrong, and I'm sorry we do. You're always there for us, Ami-chan, so don't let missing the solution this morning get to you, all right? I saw the look on your face when Setsuna mentioned the Grail." She glanced at Usagi again, got up and stretched her arms above her head for a moment. "I slept, Ami-chan, and I'm still tired. There's a soda machine over there. Do you want a drink?" she asked warmly, fishing in her purse for some hundred yen coins. ***************************************************************** They had seen Usagi wake with a start when the train pulled in, and they had gotten her aboard and handed her a soda. Ami darted through the crowd and had grabbed them a bench to themselves, with Rei taking the aisle seat and Usagi between them. She had kept her distance back at the somewhat deserted station, but now the blonde seemed grateful for the company in the middle of the crowd. Paranoia, Ami sadly thought to herself. They'll pay for this, making her scared of even living her life. The beeping from their communicators brought her out of the grim direction her mind had taken, and she looked along with Usagi as the blonde took hers out and opened it, revealing an anxious looking black cat. "Usagi-chan!" Luna called out. "There's trouble." "Mamo-chan," she whispered, and her face went pale. "He's all right, Usagi. It's not him or Chibi-Usa. There's a monster loose at a shopping center. It just came in on the news." "Artemis," Minako's voice cut over Luna's and the picture on the communicator cut to her. "Where is it at?" "Minako-chan!" Usagi nearly shrieked at the sight of Minako's hair, sending her can of soda the length of the car and drowning out the white cat's reply. The picture changed for a moment as Luna overrode the normal video feed and flashed a picture of a small stretch of stores before Usagi overrode that to get back to the one who was impersonating her. "What do you think you're doing?!" she hissed at the other blonde as Ami pulled her communicator out to whisper on a private line to Luna that she knew the location of the mall and that they were nearby. "Why, Minako-chan? Why are you trying to get yourself hurt? I don't want that to happen to any of you." Rei was startled to see tears in Usagi's eyes, and reached into her bag for her handkerchief. "Usagi-chan," Minako said to the now silently crying girl. "I've been pretending to be you even before we met, remember? I'm an old hand at this," she said in a cheerful tone of voice and flashed a quick 'V' sign with her hand. "I'll be all right, Usagi-chan. A few more times won't hurt." "V-chan..." Usagi started to say, but Minako must have closed her communicator, because it switched to Luna, but the cat was now in a small, gray cubicle that revealed itself to be the interior of a car. Chibi-Usa fell into view for a moment with a gasp of surprise as the picture tilted to the squeal of tires as it went into a turn. "Hold it still, Artemis," Luna said as she reached forward and swung her paw just over their view, and a faint thwack was heard, along with a muffled complaint from the other cat. "We're on our way, Usagi-chan. Mamoru decided to take the girls out for ice cream and a movie, if your parents ask. They like his new car, by the way," she said with all the smile that a cat could muster. "Luna," Ami interrupted. "Our stop is coming up. We'll see you there." "Be careful, everyone. Hotaru has already contacted the others, and they're on their way as well." "We'll see you there, Luna," Usagi said as they stood up and made their way towards the door. ***************************************************************** "I knew she wouldn't be happy about it, Mako-chan," the blonde said as they leaped out of the bus window as it slowed so they wouldn't have to deal with all the others getting on and off. "Stop for a second, Minako-chan," the taller girl with the ponytail protested as she was dragged into a flat out sprint. "We need to change. We'll never make it in time like this." "No time," was the response as she pulled them into an alley and pulled out her wand. "Do it on the run, Mako-chan!" Sailor Venus burst out the other end of the alley, with a wailing girl practically being carried along behind her, and turned the corner to dash off down the street before any of the on-lookers could even react. One, watching her and the speed she was at, was sure she'd never make the next corner. Another, a large man swathed in a battered, dusty trenchcoat and a layer of bandages, dove for cover with a scream of fear at the all-too-familiar sight of two girls bearing down on him like this. At the last moment she leapt to the top of the second story of the building, carrying the other girl. "Minako!" Makoto screamed at her. "C'mon, Jupiter," she laughed as she sped towards the edge of the building. "You can make even better time up here than on the street. It's our own private highway!" Makoto's stomach dropped out from beneath her as the mad blonde pulled her along to the ledge at a dead run and leaped out with an wild laugh. It was even worse as she realized this building was on the side of a small hill, and that it was a couple stories down to the next roof, and she desperately reached for her wand. ***************************************************************** He gathered his thoughts as he wove through the traffic that was moving away from the mall and broke into the clear. Up ahead, a small crowd was forming at one end of the mall as onlookers gathered, and the firemen were having a difficult time getting through. So far, there wasn't any sign of smoke, so they weren't in that much of a hurry. For some reason, his mind kept jumping back to that conversation he had with Makoto at the gym. Accept it, she had said. It seemed to be good advice, but he hadn't followed it very well last night or this morning. He still was thinking of himself as separate individuals, and that had to change if he was to have a chance. Last night, his first thought had been to become Tuxedo Kamen, and it was Endymion who had saved the day. He could just go out there as that, but walking around in armor and sword would cause problems with the authorities that he may not be able to afford. If not that, then what about who he was to become? The vision of his Usako this morning as she became the Neo-Queen gave him an idea. He didn't feel up to taking the mantle of his kingship yet, but it could be a start for him. Those clothes had several medals on them, and although he didn't know of any significance to them, it would do. He closed his eyes after coming to a complete stop and shifted forms, removing the hat from it and adding a small, star-shaped medallion hanging from the white bow tie as he got out of the car. It was a small difference, but it would help him remember. ***************************************************************** Pandemonium reigned at the mall as the three meter tall monster began to methodically destroy another building, working it's way down the row of shops on one side of the mall, ignoring the other. Several police officers had tried to stop it, but their clubs had no effect, and they pulled back. They had withdrawn until some real fire support could make it to the scene, and were trying to get the bystanders out of harm's way. Unbeknownst to them, it had arrived. "Stop! For love and justice, I am the pretty, Sailor-suited... Warrior..." Sailor Moon began in her usual speech, but it dwindled off as the monster totally disregarded her and continued to pound at the corner of the shop as if they weren't even there. "It's ignoring us," Mercury said as she brought up her visor and began studying it from their perch on the buildings across the mall. It was humanoid, stout, and looked like it was made of fired clay. Her scans even confirmed the composition. Other than that, it was totally unremarkable, except that it seemed to have some semblance of life. "It's clay. There's no match to any energies or effects that any of our other enemies have used," she said to the other two. "It's not putting out anything that I can detect." "I don't feel any evil directly from it, but there's a residual feel around it," Mars replied as she leapt down to the ground. "If it's clay, I'm going to impersonate a kiln," she smiled, landing lightly and half turned so that her right shoulder faced it. Sailor Moon landed beside her, followed by Mercury. "Mars, look out! There are more of them," Moon cried out as a dozen smaller ones swarmed out of the wreckage to interpose themselves between the Senshi and the monster. These new ones looked like life sized animals, but were stylized into more abstract forms. They could still make out what they were in some cases, and Mercury was especially concerned about the three antelope and the cheetah. Both animals were known for blinding speed, and it was possible that they would have problems with them. "Mars Flame Sniper!" the red-clad one intoned, and an arrow of flame appeared in her hands, the left drawn back and the right forward, as if she was holding a bow. The bolt of energy crackled as she glanced over at Sailor Moon. "Give the word," she said quietly, focusing in on the large one with all her being in that strange way that still unnerved Usagi after all this time. Mercury gasped as lights flashed on her visor and her computer began to rapidly beep. "There's someone in there!" she cried as a wail of terror rang out when the corner of the building gave way under the assault." Mars-" "Got it!" she cried, letting the arrow fly to crash directly into the middle of the forehead of the large one and causing a small cloud of smoke to billow out from her target for a moment. That ought to do it, she said to herself. It wasn't even a hard shot. "It's still there," Mercury cried out, shoving the other two to the side as the antelope burst forward in formation to dash through the space where they had been standing. "What?" Mars cried in disbelief. "I hit it dead on!" "I think you made it mad," Sailor Moon commented in an ever so slightly sarcastic tone of voice, as it paced forward with the same dead expression, a charred, blackened spot on its forehead, and an unmistakable air of hostility. ***************************************************************** Chibi-Usa had surprised them when they reached the outdoor mall by changing in the car while Hotaru and Mamoru were getting out. The girl slipped out, closing the door and accidentally locking in the cats. She dashed past them, ignoring their cries and disappeared into the crowd. Hotaru stepped back and crouched behind the car, reaching for seemingly empty air. "Saturn Planet Power, Make-Up!" she cried, sketching an ellipse in the air around her with her scepter, and was engulfed in a column of violet light that fell as if from the heavens. Mamoru had already changed as he got out, and she could see Tuxedo Kamen leaping to the roof tops in order to avoid the crowd, although he seemed to have lost his hat in the process. He was too considerate of them at some times, she thought to herself as she sprinted towards the cluster of people, flung herself just over their heads, and snapped her head down as she cleared the front row with an inch to spare. It surprised them, judging from the shouts and gasps behind her as she rolled out of her landing and resumed running without missing a beat. Sailor Chibi-Moon was several steps ahead of her, having been delayed going through the spectators and making a slight detour around a lamp post in front her. Tuxedo Kamen had just landed behind her in a leap from the second story roof, and would just be in position for what she intended. "Tuxedo Kamen-sama!" she cried as she took Chibi-Moon's arm in her right hand and the post in the left, using it as a pivot to swing the girl around and into his waiting arms. She'd be safer there than rushing into a combat zone, she said to herself as she finished the turn and resumed forward, where she saw Sailor Moon, along with Mars and Mercury, being hemmed in between one large assailant and a number of smaller ones. Fingers crooked, she grabbed the Silence Glaive as it appeared and twisted around into a rapid spin as she burst into the pack of smaller ones from the side. ***************************************************************** "They're moving too close and too quick," she cried out, letting her new attack dissipate and preparing her stand-by. She wasn't nearly as certain of its accuracy as she was of the hours of practice in the old one. "Got it," Jupiter replied as she planted her feet firmly on the roof top in preparation. "Pinpoint it is. Sparkling Wide Pressure!" she cried, a crackling, spitting ball of incandescence forming in her hand that she whipped forward in a wicked side-arm to shatter against the cat-thing that was about to jump on Mercury and send it sprawling. "Crescent B-" the blonde responded, but Jupiter grabbed her hands to stop her before she could finish. "It's Saturn," she gasped as the newest Senshi entered into the fray, whirling into the midst of the pack. They watched in shock and admiration as she spun into the pack, moving as surely as if it was a choreographed routine instead of a fight. The expression on her face was one of utter calm as parts of the animals went flying in all directions from the effects of the slashing blade, the hammer-like blows from the base of the haft finishing off the rest. She came to a stop between the monster and Sailor Moon, the glaive leveled and her hair drifting down to settle perfectly into place. Undaunted or unconcerned, it stepped forward. Saturn made a little 'tsk' sound and whipped herself around, quick as snake, letting her arms out to full extension at the end of the spin for getting the most power out of the move. An emotion, shock, finally registered on her face as the blade bounced off of it with a dull, ringing sound and her weapon flew from her numbed fingers to land rattling on the ground. "Sailor Saturn," Sailor Moon cried out in dismay as she pulled her back, narrowly avoiding a massive fist that left a sizable gouge in the cement. They jumped back, as did the other two, but Mars and Mercury leapt up to get a clear shot at the thing. "Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" "Mars Flame Sniper!" "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" The cries rang out as a tumultuous wave of power crashed into their foe, who was forced back a step but otherwise unaffected. "Mercury, we can't hurt it! What's going on?" Mars asked her as Jupiter and Venus leapt down to take up a defensive position in front of the others. "I don't know," she replied, bringing up her visor again. "It's clay. That's the only thing I can detect. This shouldn't be happening." "Sailor Moon," Jupiter called out over her shoulder. "Gotcha!" she called out, pulling her wand out of her dimensional pocket, Saturn having darted forward to grab her glaive and was now safely to one side. She brought it out with a spin and a flourish before staring at her target for a moment. Her hair lifted up as she did a rapid series of spins, ending up on her knees, brandishing the wand. "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" A heart shaped, pink explosion surrounded the creature, causing the others to look away for a moment, and then draw back in surprise. Sailor Moon gasped in dismay at the sight of it bearing down on her again. "It didn't work! It's not fair!" The Senshi pulled back several feet into a more defensive formation as a blizzard of roses flew through the air and broke over its chest like a wave against a rock. Tuxedo Kamen took advantage of its momentary hesitation at his attack to grab Sailor Moon and pull her back behind the others. "Mamo-chan," she whispered. "This isn't going well." "Don't worry, Usako," he murmured back. "We'll stop it." "How did you do that without changing?" she asked him curiously as Saturn leapt in to take the point position in the formation as the creature advanced again. "I am, Usako," he smiled back at her. "I only wore the hat to help me with the disguise, and I don't need to hide from you like I did at first." Or hide from himself, he added silently. ***************************************************************** A huge fist slammed down, passing through her Silence Wall as she had expected, and had positioned herself accordingly. It seemed like nothing they had could affect it. She did have another option to try, but shuddered at the consequence of using that here. Pluto had told her that she may not be able to destroy the world anymore, but she wasn't certain about it. The situation still wasn't bad enough to try her theory. "We can't hurt it directly," Mercury cried out as she turned off her visor and put away her computer. She darted to one side and then sprang into a long, shallow dive in front of it, crossing her arms in front of her and sweeping them out to full extension. "Shabon Spray!" she yelled and directed the full force of it at the ground at the creature's feet and rolled out of the dive. "Try to knock it over. Maybe we can immobilize it until we can figure out what to do." Venus smiled in relief from her position at the back of the line and put her sword back into her dimensional pocket, unseen by the others. She had been about to bring it into play, but she didn't want to upset Usagi by doing it. She was already mad enough at her for one day. "Venus Love Me Chain!" she cried out, swinging the heart-shaped links around one of its legs and tried to pull its feet out from underneath it. It didn't even budge. "Allow me," Jupiter said politely, taking hold as well and both bracing for the effort. This time, together, they got the ensnared leg up off the ground but were still unable to bring it down. Mars came over to help, but the three of them couldn't force it any further. "Neptune Aqua Rhapsody!" a low, feminine voice called out while someone else giggled and a torrent of water slammed into it from behind and to one side, sweeping it off its feet and into the ground with an impact that they all felt. "That's my..." Mercury stammered in surprise, and then blushed as she saw Neptune and Uranus manning a water hose that was hooked to a fire truck, both grinning at the joke. Uranus turned off the hose and dragged another over, tying it quickly about the arm opposite of Venus' chain, and Neptune knotted the other end of that hose around a concrete lamp post. Taking the hint, Venus hooked the other end of her chain around another post and shortened it to tightly bind it down. "What is that thing, Mercury?" Neptune asked as they combined on a blast of the Deep Submerge and Shining Aqua Illusion to try and freeze it in place. "Probably a bigger version of what we fought last night," Uranus said, pulling out her Space Sword and testing the theory. It, too, bounced off the creature, taking out only a small nick that was comparable to what Saturn's Glaive had. Mars warily walked over, pulled out an ofuda and began her chant. "It isn't inherently evil," she announced as the paper strip dropped onto the creature, and then slid off onto the ground. "It may have been made by someone who was, or been around something evil, but it isn't." "How do we kill it, then?" Uranus asked, watching it test the ice bonds that held it on the ground. "We can't keep it here forever." "I think the question is 'Do we kill it'," Neptune added. "Is it alive?" Chibi-Moon asked from where she stood with Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen. "We could take it to the zoo," she ventured to everyone's amusement until a loud, cracking sound caused them all to jump back as the ice on it shattered and it heaved itself to its feet, the firehose ripping in half. Venus cried out in pain and crumpled to the ground as it took a hold on her chain and ripped it apart. "Minako-chan!" Sailor Moon cried out, using the girl's real name at the rush of fear that gripped her heart. She slipped from Tuxedo Kamen's arms and ran towards her friend as Jupiter threw herself onto the creature in a vain attempt to stop it. It shrugged, and Jupiter went flying off to land in an unmoving heap. ***************************************************************** he thought to himself as he waited for Usagi to get clear of it as she and Neptune dragged Venus out of its way. He had to do something here. It didn't seem that the Senshi could affect this monster. He had stopped the one last night, but he wouldn't have the time to shift forms and draw his sword. It was almost on Mercury, who had interposed herself between it and Jupiter. Uranus was sprinting towards the blue-haired girl, but she wouldn't get there in time. Her first move had been to protect Sailor Moon as she ran to help Venus, and that had cost her the time she needed. There was only one thing he could try, and it was an untested gamble. He had heard the girls speak of, and occasionally joined them, in a discussion of their powers, and how they worked. The energy he had used to enable his sword to cleave through the statue last night had been the same he had used to heal himself, or keep Chibi-Usa alive that one horrible night when her heart crystal was taken. Maybe he could do something more like what they did. That energy was inside of him, and he channeled it up into his hands, willing it to accumulate and build until he could hold it no more. "Tuxedo Smoking Bomb!" he yelled, to everyone's amazement, and a bolt of yellow energy smashed through the thing's chest. It staggered on for a few more steps and fell to the ground, slid, and came to a stop just before hitting Mercury. He just had a glimpse of another foully twisted, warped stone that fell out of the hole he had made. "Don't touch... it..." he gasped as fatigue rushed in to replace the adrenaline rush he had been on, and the darkness claimed him. ***************************************************************** "Mamo-chan!" Sailor Moon cried out, racing over to him as he sank to the ground. Sweat had broken out on his forehead, matting down the black hair. His eyes were half-closed. Chibi-Moon was there a moment later, and threw her arms around him, tears running down her face. "Let's get out of here," Mars yelled out, grabbing an abandoned shopping bag and using an empty coffee can to push try and push the stone into the bag. At the touch of the steel can, the stone dissolved into a fine dust that blew away in the slight breeze. "It's gone," she called out and dropped the two items. Uranus ran over to grab Tuxedo Kamen while Neptune picked up Venus. Jupiter was just getting to her feet, shaking her head a few times to clear it. Saturn led the charge through the crowd, most of which had scattered when the monster got back up, and she used some of the anger she was feeling to get that look on her face that made the rest quickly move out of the way. "Neptune, the condos are closest." Uranus called out as she took a key from her pocket and put the man in the back seat of the car she had driven and jumped behind the wheel. Both the Moons had jumped in next to him, along with Mercury in the front, who had her visor up and was already scanning. "Got it," she called back and took the wheel of the other car there, the one he and Saturn had arrived in, using a key from her pocket as well. The others got in with her and the two cars sped off down the road towards the waterfront, taking advantage of the break in traffic caused by an ambulance to race along behind it and then onto an expressway. ***************************************************************** The feel of a slight shaking sensation brought him to, and it was shortly followed by a slight bump and a chime. His eyes fluttered open to try and figure out why someone was carrying him through the door of an elevator. In particular, why a woman was doing it. It was supposed to happen the other way around, last he had heard. "Mamo-chan!" Usagi yelled out excitedly upon seeing his eyes open. "Let me get him to the couch, you two," Haruka scolded the two girls who were hanging on him. She was trying to sound gruff, but it wasn't working today. "Hi, odango atamas," he said weakly to Usagi and Chibi-Usa, whose images were slowly coalescing into one from the several he saw. Right now, seeing those two hairstyles was a big relief to him. "I'm all right, you two. I just got really light-headed for a moment, and now I'm awfully tired, but I'm all right." The elevator opened again, and Jupiter walked in carrying Venus, who was making a crack about saying "I do" that had the others laughing but he just missed. Also on the elevator was a pair of cats. The black one made a beeline to Usagi and leapt up onto her shoulder, perching there and looking at her. "Usagi Tsukino, there had better be an awfully good reason for your wearing that old uniform," Luna said ever so sweetly, with a hint of steel in her voice. "Why aren't you Sailor Moon Eternal?" "I... uh... can't, Luna," Usagi stammered, trying to not meet the cat's eyes. Luna sighed, and then turned to Mercury. "Ami, are they going to be all right?" "Yes, Luna," she replied, changing back to Ami Mizuno in a shimmer of blue light. "Tuxedo Kamen is just very tired, and Sailor Venus fainted at the shock. They'll be all right with a little rest." "That's good. Now, will you all please change back and explain to me just what's been going on here?" ***************************************************************** "They grow up so quickly, Artemis." "Yes, they do. I'm proud of how they came together during all this." "They're also thinking more clearly about things," the black cat said to the white one, leaping up onto the roof of the Tsukino residence from a well-worn route on one of the trees. Both silently proceeded to one of their favorite spots, a flat area right by the kitchen vent that would be pleasantly warm this evening and wasn't illuminated by the annoying new streetlight that was put in a few months back. "It smells good, Luna," the white cat said, the crescent in his forehead glowing golden in the Moonlight. "Are you sure Usagi's cooking?" "Mako-chan is helping her with the curry, and they emphatically told Minako-chan that they wouldn't need her help with it," she replied, leaning over to briefly rub the side of her face against his for a moment. "I can see why. Remember the time she thought she had cut her finger off?" They both laughed for a moment at the memory of the girls frantically looking through a pile of cut carrots for what they thought was Minako's finger. The two were quiet for a few minutes, during which Artemis gently groomed the black cat. Luna had been through a lot today, and he wanted to help her relax a little bit. "She's worried, Artemis. She only decides to try cooking for her family when she thinks she might not get to do it again. A last meal, if you will." "I'm not surprised that she's worried, Luna. That's normal for someone to be worried. She's taking it pretty well. What do you think of their conclusions about what happened today?" "I agree that it's not like one of our earlier enemies. Ami's right in that we don't have enough information yet, but Rei's theory is probably sound. It really wasn't after any people until they attacked it. It started in that one shop and worked its way down the mall. All our other enemies have been after people. This one had pretty much ignored them." "What was it after, then?" Artemis asked her, settling down next to her and stretching out. "Sorry, rhetorical question. I hope Haruka is right about her idea that they can dig that stone out with concentrated attacks on its chest." "Mamoru said that the stone that was in each of them is the key to stopping it," she said after a few moments. "Although I'd like to know just how he knows that." "The rulers of Atlantis have always been skilled at the arts, Luna. It's reasonable that he is too, since he's of that bloodline." "I know," she said with a sigh, and then turned to look at him. "We both saw King Endymion when we were in the future. There was a power in him." "Of course, silly kitty," he responded, and got bopped by her for using the phrase in the tone of voice he did. "Did you think he would just be some pretty decoration for the Queen's court?" "He's handsome, Artemis," a voice said from behind them, causing both to jump in surprise, and Artemis to stop his slide several inches from the edge of the roof. "Not pretty, and definitely not an ornament." "Minako!" he said sharply, dragging himself up and sitting down carefully in an attempt to regain some of his dignity. "He trained you better than that, Minako-chan," Luna said crossly, but amused at his plight. "It's not allowed for you to sneak up on cats." "Makoto's just finishing up down there. It's not pretty, but it's good. Chibi-Usa had named it 'Usagi's Ugly Curry'," she smiled at them. "Luna, why don't you get some while it's hot?" "Me, too," Artemis said, licking his whiskers in a sign of his hunger. "I like curry." "Not you, oh wise feline mentor," she giggled, picking him up. "I need to have a talk with you. We can come back later, there's more than enough." Artemis looked crestfallen as Luna ran over and jumped down onto the balcony of Usagi's room and went in through the window on her way to the kitchen and the smell of the food that was starting to drive him nuts. "I hope this is important," he petulantly asked of his ward as she lightly jumped down to the same balcony that Luna had used and then down to a soft landing on the lawn. She nodded at him and walked off down the street to a nearby park. Minako seemed to have something on her mind as she carried him and wanted some privacy in order to discuss it with him. Finally, she came to a stop in the middle of the soccer field and set him down. The lights weren't on, and although there was a waning gibbous moon overhead, the light from it was soft enough to keep them as a pair of shadows to any onlookers. "Artemis," she said softly. "Look over there for a moment." "Hmm..." he replied, turning his head in the indicated direction. "What am I..." His voice trailed off as a sword was carefully stuck point first into the ground in front of him. ***************************************************************** She took advantage of the fact that it wasn't an urgent message to walk up the long flight of stairs inside the royal tower in the dim, morning light as the sun just began to peek up over the horizon. Several straight weeks of time in a laboratory with Mercury had taken their toll, and she'd have to start working out more to make up for the missed exercise. It was worth it, though. They had, for all intensive purposes, created a whole new field of science with the help of the King. At the top of the stairs, she paused for a few moments to catch her breath before entering the royal suite, nodding at the two guards in their dark blue tunics and silver armor, who stood aside to let her pass. Inside, it was dark in the reception area where their majesties held most of their private conferences that they deemed too sensitive or private for the throne room downstairs. Trusting to her memory, she carefully wove through the several chairs and tables to the stairway that led to the private quarters upstairs. The door at the top of the stairs that led to the bedchambers on the next floor up was closed, so she first detoured towards the small kitchen and two tell-tale signs that indicated someone was up. One was a light shining through the partially open door, and the other was a wonderful aroma that must have came from the same place. Chicken soup, she decided after a few more sniffs. She slowly pushed open the door and poked her head around the corner. Inside, a kettle was emitting a few wisps of steam through it's spigot, right next to a large pot on the stove. Over on the other side of the room, a woman sat in the sill by the recessed window, the clear light of morning making her pale blonde hair and fair skin match the white robe she wore. Serenity had put that spot in just for what she was now doing, looking out over the expanse of Crystal Tokyo below her. A small gray cat, not a kitten, but not yet an adult, was curled up sleeping in her lap, and her left hand held a chipped, cracked, and often repaired mug. "Your Majesty?" she said softly, catching the contemplative look on the woman's face. It took her a few moments to respond as she pulled herself up out of the depths of memory. "I'm sorry, Pluto. I was years away, thinking of Usagi Tsukino." "It's been a long time for all of us since we used those names, Your Majesty." "Pluto," the blonde said with a sigh. "You know that you, above almost anyone else here, don't have to call me that. Sit down, have a cup, and tell me what brings you here this early." The green haired woman sat with a smile and poured herself a cup of tea from the service that was on the table next to her. "I saw the lights on, Serenity. I've been up all night keeping an eye on the flow of the time stream ever since yesterday. There hasn't been anything unusual happening, so it's safe to say that Small Lady made it back." The Queen warmly smiled back at the other woman, and took a sip from the mug of tea. "Thank you, Pluto. I was up all night myself. This is the first time we've had her here for any period of time, since she started going back. I miss her already." "I can tell," she replied, grinning and pointing at the Queen's hand. The mug had a cute rabbit's face on it and 'Chibi-Usa' written on the side in pink. Serenity blushed, and then giggled, a distinct throwback to an earlier time when compared to her usual, warm laughter. "I miss her, too. She needs to be there, though, no matter how tough it will be. She needs to learn how to make friends, and she can't do that here. There were few survivors of the attack by the Black Moon, and they all know who she is, and treat her accordingly." The Queen considered it for a few minutes, idly stroking the fur of the cat a few times. Pluto was right, but it didn't make her like it any better. She wouldn't be able to wake up any more of the survivors for some time, due to the damage that Black Lady had inflicted in her attack. Crystal Tokyo was slowly beginning to recover, but it would take her husband years to supervise the rebuilding. Small Lady needed to be around people now so that she could learn the social skills she would need in the future. "I know, Pluto. I'm still worried, though, just like this one here is," she said, indicating the cat. "Diana had thrown a fit when she was privately told by her and Pluto that she could not accompany Small Lady this time, and it took all the skill of the other two cats and a joint royal decree to ensure her cooperation in the subterfuge of a minor illness that would cause her to be unable to make the journey. The little girl had been sad, but took her Luna-P with her to the past. "She was wailing her heart out all last night," the blonde said. "I let her stay with us, and just finished hand-feeding her a bunch of the chicken. She's very lonely right now, the poor thing." "Mercury and I finished the modifications to it the night before last and installed the new device," she said, and then blushed in embarrassment. "We built that for her, and I missed it the first time. I'm sorry, Serenity. She was almost in danger because of my thoughtlessness." "Pluto, stop it," she said with a warm smile. "You caught it in time. This won't be easy for any of us, let alone her, but she'll be all right." ***************************************************************** "Minako," he exclaimed in surprise. "How... Where?" he asked, turning to face her as she sat down cross-legged, ignoring the grass stains she was sure to get on her skirt. She gave him an absent-minded scratch behind an ear, reached out, took hold of the sword and placed it across her lap. "Why didn't you tell me, Artemis?" "Minako-chan," he began, but his voice trailed off and he shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think I remembered the sword until after we started." "I'm not talking about the sword," she said somewhat sharply. "It's what it represents." It gave a small click as she removed the lower of the two crescents and popped it open. "Moon Power Transform," she whispered, and Sailor V sat before him, the crescent on her forehead practically glowing, and the mask hiding her eyes. "It's the crescent compact you gave me just after we got to England." "I became Sailor V with this to protect her, Artemis. I pretended to be her in order to protect her," she paused a moment, closing her eyes in concentration. "Mikazuki Power, Transform," she murmured, and for a moment it was Usagi he was looking at, resplendent in her gown, before she shifted back to just being herself. "When I finally met them, Usagi was the one they thought was the leader, and I accepted that because I didn't know any better. I made Michiru tell me what you three had talked about that night, Artemis," she said, and his blood grew cold. he sighed to himself. "She knew that we had to take care of this as soon as possible, and she's right. I never liked the fighting. I hated it, but I kept going on because it was my duty, and I was good at it. I had to sit there, and watch them make those mistakes, all because you never told me what this meant," she whispered as she tapped the hilt of the sword. "Mina-" he began, but she cut him off. "Why didn't you tell me I was the leader of the group, Artemis? I was their leader, the one responsible for them, and I had to watch them all get hurt. It would have been different if I had known. We could have stopped them without all the pain and the suffering we went through." "Minako, I-" "I had to feel them die, Artemis," she screamed at him, springing to her feet to tower over him. "Mako-chan died, then Ami, and then me. What came next was worse. I felt what Rei went through, and then Usagi. And it was all because you didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth!" She grabbed the sword from where it had fallen to the ground and sprang away into the darkness far more quickly than he could follow. ***************************************************************** A few hours asleep had revived him to an amazing degree. He must have put too much into his efforts earlier today when he had used a new application of his power to fell the monster that had rampaged through the mall he now walked through. His over-exertion must have led to the fatigue, much like he had just ran a great distance. It was late, around eleven, and the clean-up crews had already done a thorough job in order to let the mall open in the morning. Like so many other things when he and the girls were involved, it was being categorized as a natural disaster by the police. They hadn't even set up barriers for an investigation, and were only keeping people away from the destroyed or damaged buildings. The mall had been open hours after they had left. On the left were the shops that had been damaged. The first one, apparently the one it had started at, was thoroughly demolished. The only clue as to it being a pottery shop was a broken sign that had part of the name of the shop, and the word 'consignment' on it. Next door, in front of him, had been a gift shop, and then a bakery after that. He had no idea who are what these things were, but perhaps he could try and figure out what they were after, or where they might be. Both of the attackers had seemed to be statues, one marble and the other clay, according to Ami. The only common denominator was the fact that each of them had a stone of some sort inside of them, right around where the heart would be on a person. That was what he was hoping to find some trace of. Both of the stones had a strange feeling of wrongness to them. It made him feel a bit queasy remembering them, just like the same feeling he had when he covered a small toxic waste spill for his high school paper. It had been close enough to the campus for concern, but it turned out to be very small, and not an extremely dangerous combination of chemicals. A few people had gotten mildly ill at the shop were the accident occurred, but that was the extent of it. Still, the sight of the oily-looking sludge had nauseated him at the time, even if he could only see it through his camera lens. These stones had the same feel of wrongness to them, like something that was warped and twisted away from what it should have been. Partially closing his eyes to concentrate, he reached out and tried to feel anything that resembled that feeling. He turned around in a slow circle, hoping for some reaction. he cried in his mind as he felt something. It wasn't another warped thing, but it did feel out of place. He rapidly walked to the jewelry store at the end of the mall on his left. He looked again for that same feel, and soon located it. There were several items of jewelry in the display case, and one item in particular had caught his attention. It wasn't one of the precious stones, however, nor anything that felt inherently wrong. It was a piece of clear crystal, cut in the shape of a pyramid that lay among the merchandise on display. There wasn't a price tag on it, either. It must have been put there as part of the decorations in the case. A quick look around showed him that no other people were around. It was tempting to break in to the shop, but that wouldn't be very nice of him, or smart. There were several security cameras in places like this, let alone the ones that covered the mall itself. The shop opened at ten in the morning, and he'd be there to try and purchase the pyramid. Until then, it was another long night staking it out in case someone or something came by to try and retrieve it. He walked away to his motorcycle, drove off and pulled into the parking lot for a new night club that had just opened. He dismounted, locked it up, and walked out the back entrance of the lot, leaping over the security fence after shifting forms. It only took a few moments to run back to the mall, and take up a position on the roof opposite the jewelry shop. ***************************************************************** he wondered as he brought himself out of his sleep. Until recently, they had been relatively quiet, with the exception of when they learned to talk and kept him awake for an eon or two with their attempts to reach him while they conversed among themselves. All seemed well in his domain. They circled around him as they must, due to his size, but their thoughts were no longer as centered on him. It must be that new plaything that had kept them distracted for so long. That thing they called life. He was actually grateful for it, at first. It had occupied their thought for an extremely long time, and afforded him a long respite from their ceaseless attempts at conversation. One of them had chosen a poor location, and was eventually destroyed by her proximity to her brother. She had, however, shown them that they could communicate among themselves before she died. That was the start of his problems. They reasoned that if they were aware, then so was he. All he wanted was quiet, so he ignored them. They still tried to reach him on occasion, but very rarely now. Life gave him peace for a long time. His curiosity piqued, he listened in on them as he studied the surface of the one who was third closest. This life had grown rapidly in all this time, and even he could see signs of it from here. What he saw and heard galled him. No, infuriated was the proper term for what he was feeling. They were created from him, the one they should always respect. Now, all their thoughts were directed towards one type of life and it's actions. Man was what they called themselves, he recalled, becoming aware of the myriad bursts of energy that the predominant form of life constantly flung away from their home on the third closest. This energy had patterns to it, he recalled from what he had heard as he began to awake. It wasn't the random discharge that his creations or he, himself made. No, this was done with meaning. He looked into his memory of what they had emitted and deciphered the pattern. Information. That's what they were sending out to annoy him. Most of it wasn't intentionally hurled out into space, but that's where it went anyway, even if it seemed like they knew, but didn't care. Man was short lived, apparently, but reproduced itself before passing on to let this cycle continue. Most of their lives were spent finding sustenance, at least at first, but their recent enlightenment had enabled them to have more time free for other things, like poking into everything around them in an attempt to see what it was. He was flattered by their investigation of him at first, as it showed they knew and respected the one who had created them. Finally, he came to fully realize the temerity of these upstarts, and his anger grew and grew. They had the gall to try and reproduce his power. Man must think he could supplant him, their ultimate creator. It wasn't even close to the sustained power that he had, and used the tremendously inefficient and inelegant method of breaking things apart as opposed to combining them, but they were looking into that as well. What was almost as bad was that the ones who were created of him. While he had slept, Man had crept out to briefly exist on or near all of them, and had seduced them away from their proper respect. Man would have to pay, as well as the others. They were actively helping Man to grow, without any regards to the consequences. He examined this link between them, and a plan grew in his mind. There was an ideal way to punish both for their transgressions against him. ***************************************************************** "Hi, Luna," the blonde girl said from her perch on the roof just before dawn. "Minako-chan, what are you doing here?" the cat said in surprise, padding over sit next to the girl. Minako looked like she hadn't slept all night, and had been crying. "I took over for Mako-chan a couple of hours ago." "Usagi won't like this. You all told her that you wouldn't do this." "She'll only find out if you say anything, Luna," the girl ventured, obviously hoping to recruit her to a conspiracy. Minako listened to the snoring that came out the window below them, and smiled a moment. "I need your help, Luna." "I'm not really your guardian, Minako-chan, but I'll be glad to try," the cat responded. "Why didn't you two come back last night? The curry was surprisingly good." "We had a fight last night," the girl responded with a sigh. "Then I went out and got into some trouble." At the worried look in the cat's eyes, the girl reached over and put the morning newspaper down in front of her so the cat could see it. "Oh, my!" the cat exclaimed. One of the pictures on the cover was a grainy, slightly blurred image of a woman in white, blue and red hurling a cloud of golden hearts into a group of several gunmen. The banner headline announced Sailor V's return. Silently, the girl put another paper down on top of it. This one proclaimed her starting a war on crime. "Minako," the cat said sharply. "What were you doing?" "Two muggings, a robbery, stopped a suicide, and bagged a drug dealer along with his cronies. I didn't see the photographer, or I would have gotten his camera." She stopped a few moments to sniffle again, and wiped her nose with a handkerchief. "I'll deal with Usagi and the others on this, but will you please try and find Artemis for me, and let him know that I'm not really angry at him? I was hurt and confused last night, but I was never angry at him, Luna, and I want him to know that." ***************************************************************** The girl looked up and quickly gave thanks to whatever spirit was watching over her today. An angel had just walked in, right after she opened the doors, and Hiroe, her boy-magnet co-worker, was running late. She walked over to the dark haired young man. "Hi," she said with a warm smile. "Can I help you... with anything?" she asked, blushing faintly at how she had drawn out the separation between the words and the emphasis on the last one. "Yes," he replied with a friendly smile, carefully looking her in the eyes. "I wanted to purchase one of the pieces of crystal in the display case." She glanced over, puzzled. "I'm sorry, we don't sell any crystal in there." "It's one of the decorations, I believe," he replied, leading her over to the case and indicating the pyramid. "Oh, those," she said. "We've got some over here in this case by the register." "I know," he smiled at her again. "I just had a certain feel off of that particular one." "You must be into crystals," she said as placed it into a bag and went to ring up the purchase on the register. "You could say that," he said at her, grinning for a moment and giving her the money. "You've been a big help to me this morning. Thank you very much." he said as he left, and she watched him walk away with a sigh. She'd put her name and number on a card and slipped it into the bag. Maybe he'd give her a call. ***************************************************************** He was startled to find out it was already Monday morning when he finally awoke from the deep slumber he had gone into after Matthew left him. A sniff of the air told him he was in dire need of a shower, and also a shave, judging from the rasp from the stubble on his chin when he ran his hands over his face to try and get the feel of having a body again. His feet were a bit unsteady, but he made it to the shower without incident. An hour of standing under the hot spray loosened up most of the kinks in his muscles, and left him almost human, he thought with a bit of a smile. Wrapped in a white robe, he ventured into the kitchen to see what of the foodstuffs had survived these two years. Little had, it turned out, but some water slaked his thirst for the time being. What was left just didn't appeal to him. A quick survey revealed that most his clothes were in the same shape as the kitchen. The weather was warm, and it was probably summer, so that called for lighter clothes, and brighter colors. Fortunately, between the remains of his wardrobe and a well-stocked travel bag, he was able to put together an adequate ensemble with the help of a minor cantrip that Kunzite had taught him to clean it. The travel bag held a wallet with identification, and his stockpile of currency in the library was untouched. Gold was one thing the Dark Kingdom had aplenty, and he had brought much with him in order to aid him the first time he had been here. He carefully counted out a million yen and stuffed it in a pocket. A check outside showed that the mechanic had been following his instructions about the care of the red sportscar in the small garage he had built next to the building as part of his renovation. The tires were still full of air, and although it took him a few minutes to lower it off of the hydraulic jacks, the engine turned right over and he sped away to a nearby mall. Clothing first, and perhaps a little present for Naru. ***************************************************************** "I told you I had the right place," she smirked at the woman standing next to her on the roof above a supermarket that was the anchor store for the small shopping center near a public park as the screaming started. A white-gloved hand was extended, and the taller woman placed a 500 yen coin into it. "I guess this means it's time to go to work," a shorter, black haired girl said to the other four on the roof. "Chibi-Usa-" "I know, Hotaru-chan," the little girl with pink hair replied a bit sadly. "Stay up here where it's safe. I want to help you, everyone. I'm supposed to be learning how to be a Sailor Senshi." One of the taller women knelt down next to her, brushing a stray lock of dark green hair aside. "That's the right attitude, Small Lady, but the first thing you have to learn is when to fight at all," she said, putting a comforting arm around the child. "You may not always get to choose when you fight, and when you do you have to take advantage of it." She paused for a moment to look at the determined expression on the girl's face and smiled before speaking again. "Of course, this isn't going to be much of a fight if everything works out right." "It's an experiment, and we're going to dissect that thing," the tallest said, putting her hand on the girl's head and affectionately playing at messing up the pink hair. She sat down, motioning for the others to do the same. "Everybody's running around now, so sit down and keep out of sight." "What?" the girl squawked in protest. "Aren't you going to help them?" "Don't worry, Chibi-Usa-chan," said the woman with the turquoise hair as she put away her mirror. "It's just like the last time. It hasn't hurt anybody so far and it's concentrating on breaking the building. The people have already ran away." "We wouldn't let them get hurt," Saturn said as she smoothed out a wrinkle in her skirt. "It's just that we need to find out if we can stop these monsters on our own." "We also need to find out what it's after," Neptune said as she watched it make its way out of the florist's and into the square on its way to the park as the first sirens were beginning to be heard. "Otherwise, we'll be fighting them for a long time," Uranus finished, catching Pluto's eye. ***************************************************************** "I'm glad you treated me to this lunch today," Makoto said as she set her fork down." Those shrimp were divine. I'll have to see if I can duplicate the recipe at home." The blonde smiled back at her, sitting back in her chair and enjoying the sunlight that fell through the glass roof of the mall to illuminate the patio area of the restaurant. "It's the least I could do, Mako-chan. You stood up for me yesterday and helped calm her down." "Minako-chan, some days you just have to let off some steam. I usually do it at the gym instead of dodging bullets, however." They both giggled at that and sat for a few minutes in silence, broken only by the waiter bringing a small dish of a decadently rich coconut ice cream for the brunette. "This is the one you should try and figure out," Minako said as Makoto savored her first taste of it and moaned in delight. "If I did, I'd gain too much weight. That's awfully good." "Now, isn't this a much better way to spend a Monday than being stuck at school?" The brunette nodded in reply as she kept on eating the ice cream while they discreetly kept an eye out for any cute guys. ***************************************************************** It was amazing what money did to people in this day and age. It only took a few hundred thousand yen notes to get the undivided attention of a few salesmen and a tailor at a men's wear shop, despite the crowds. He walked out an hour later in a much better sportscoat, shirt, and slacks, all in the latest style, and well-fitted to his frame. His body seemed to have lost a few pounds over the years. Hunger began to gnaw at him, but he shoved the thought aside, glad he hadn't eaten earlier in the morning. His first meal should be a chocolate parfait. He had given his word, after all. On his right were several shops where he decided he'd look for something for her, and he strolled over, taking his time and window shopping before deciding on which one to start with. His eye was briefly caught by two pretty girls on the level below him who were being seated in a restaurant. At first, he had thought the blonde might be her, but a closer examination had proved him wrong. It wasn't Sailor Moon, or Usagi, the other name she had used. The brunette caught his attention, however. For some reason, she looked very familiar to him, and he spent several minutes looking at her in a vain attempt to place her before he shrugged his shoulders and went into a jewelry shop that seemed to have a good selection. A half hour later, the two girls were still there as he came out, a tasteful gold and emerald necklace in a case in his pocket. They were good colors for her, although the image of it around the neck of the brunette below him flashed into his mind before being quickly banished with a flush of shame. Still, he decided to go down and at least talk to her for a moment. He knew her from somewhere, if he could just figure out where. ***************************************************************** "Three-hundred and fifteen degrees," Pluto said as she consulted the compass. "Northwest," Uranus and Neptune said in unison, looking in that direction for anything that could be capturing its attention. Aside from swatting aside a police officer who foolishly tried to tackle it, the monster had stayed exactly on that same course. "Got it!" the little girl cried, making a mark on a map and drawing a large, pink marker along that bearing. Both she and the next youngest girl were puzzled at the result, however. "Nothing," Saturn said in surprise. "It's all residential for over twenty kilometers." They mulled it over for a few moments, each trying in vain to come up with some reason for it to be acting in such a matter. Finally, the tallest one broke the silence. "We'll figure it out later. It's in the park, and we won't get a better spot to try and stop it." "I guess that makes me the look-out," Chibi-Moon said, indicating the roof nearest the park and the monster. "I'll be up there watching over everything and I'll have my communicator ready." "Why that one in particular?" Pluto questioned her. "Uh... it's closest to the battle so I can see things the best, I'm out of the way up there, and..." the girl said as her voice trailed off for a moment. "And the roof's low enough for me to jump down from if I have to," she finished quickly, impressed at her quick thinking. "Well done, Small Lady," Pluto said warmly, smiling at the girl, who blushed and then carefully ran off to her vantage point, Luna-P in tow. The others looked at each other for a moment, and then sprinted towards the end of the roof and their foe. ***************************************************************** This wasn't good, he decided. Not at all. The view from his hiding place was very disturbing, to say the least. The General was supposed to be dead, along with everything else from that horrible place he had called home for just over a thousand years. Why was he here, and why now? Furthermore, why was he walking over to her with a smile on his face? He was just about to move in and try to attack him when a young man with unruly, brown hair and thick glasses stopped in front of him, looking at the trio in the patio area. "Sanjouin Masato?" he whispered in shock. "Naru will be-" "Fortunate that I'm here," the man in the denim jacket and jeans said, laying a faintly glowing hand on the young man's shoulder for a moment. "Children shouldn't play with wolves. What's your name, lad?" "Umino," was the mumbled reply as a vacant look took hold of his face. "Now, Umino," the older man continued, steering the other towards the doors at the end of the mall. "You're going to forget about seeing him today. Go see this Naru you mentioned, but remember, I wasn't here, nor was Sanjouin Masato." He got the boy walking away from them, and looked back over his shoulder a few times. Nephrite had stopped once, briefly, on his way to them, and still hadn't attacked. Nudging the lad over towards the doors, he quickly walked over to an information desk and smiled at the young lady there. "Good afternoon. I'm supposed to meeting someone here today, and I can't seem to locate him. Would you please page him and ask him to come over to this desk?" ***************************************************************** "Don't look now, Mako-chan," the blonde said under her breath as she sipped her soda through a straw. "You're being checked out. I think he likes you." "Where?!" she said in surprise, resisting the impulse to look around. "Next level up, on your right," was the reply as the blonde sighed inside. He'd looked at her first, but looked at Makoto far longer. "Brown hair, good dresser, by the jewelry shop." "Oh, he is cute," the brunette said, smiling as she stole a glance upward. "He's walking towards the stairs. I hope he's coming this way." "He is," she squealed as he started down the steps to their level. "How do I look?" "'You look?'" she challenged the blonde. "I was the one he was looking at the most. You said so yourself. How do I look?" she asked, glancing down at her jeans, white T-shirt, and green sweatshirt tied around her waist. They had decided to be casual, and she hoped it wouldn't hurt her chances now. "You look fine, Mako-chan," the blonde said with her mischievous smile. "I was just teasing you. If he doesn't like you, he's... you know." They giggled at that, and then quickly pretended to ignore his approach. ***************************************************************** "Dead Scream," a voice whispered. "World Shaking," another cried out. "Deep Submerge," a third answered as three ringed spheres flew towards each other, swerving at the last moment before colliding to rush off towards their true target as they rapidly orbited a central point. The crackling, seething mass of energy slammed into its chest, sending the humanoid creature to the ground hard enough to leave a depression in the soft ground of the park. There was at least some sign of effect this time, a smoking, blistered area where all three attacks had been concentrated. Before it could even try to come to its feet, Neptune rolled to one side, coming up on one knee with her mirror in one hand and the other held up in the air. "Submarine Reflection," she cried, a torrent of energy surging past and around the creature. There was no change to her perceptive gaze; a good artist misses little. Whatever it was using to resist their attacks, it wasn't an illusion. Her hand swept down in a signal to the others. Uranus charged in from one side of it, her sword raising a shower of sparks from i's impact against the damaged area, and she quickly moved away out of reach, going back the way she came. It had tried to turn towards this new threat, raising an arm towards its most recent assailant. Reading the maneuver, Pluto swept gracefully in past its guard on the other side and rammed the butt end of her staff into its chest, causing a fist-sized section to break off and fall to the ground. She, too, quickly pulled back, although the temptation to stay in close was great. They had managed to start to hurt it. Undaunted, it heaved itself into an upright position and turned slightly towards the two with weapons, ignoring the one with the mirror. She probably didn't rate being as much of a threat as the other two. Good, she smiled to herself. It was reacting to them this time. Her hand came up again in another pre-arranged signal. Pluto and Uranus feinted attacks to occupy it. She launched another 'Deep Submerge' against its back, and it began to turn around. Uranus and Pluto slammed their respective attacks into its front and back, concentrating on the upper body and staggered it, but it finished the turn to advance on her. She put away her mirror and prepared herself as the other two circled around behind her. It came closer, but she waited as two deep breaths were taken behind her and energy accumulated, so much it made the hair on the back of her neck rise. Almost instinctively, she knew when to move. All the hours of training with the others paid off. Neptune darted forward, keeping herself low until springing up and backwards into the air at the last minute. Pluto's whisper was drowned out by Uranus' shout, but both attacks passed just under her feet, striking it in the chest as it reached up for her. The monster was flung back several meters but somehow had managed to stay upright. Its feet had gouged a set of parallel lines in the turf. Their efforts were rewarded as another hunk of rock fell from the fissure in its chest, which was now the size of a volleyball. Neptune, who had lightly landed just behind the other two, frowned as she judged their progress. "This is going to take all day at this rate," she gasped. "It's time to play our ace," Uranus smiled, but without much humor as they ran around and past it to set up for what seemed to be another, similar attack, standing in front of a large tree and facing the slowly advancing monster. The hole in its chest didn't even seem to faze it. ***************************************************************** she thought to herself. Once again, she spat a silent curse at the gaps in her memories. It wasn't enough that she had few good memories as is, what with losing her parents and all, but she had a good feeling when she saw the man who was coming towards them. She just wished she knew why she felt that way. "Hi-" they both said as he walked up, and then blushed and smiled, feeling a little embarrassed. He finally broke the silence after they looked into each other's eyes for a few moments, both searching for something. "Please, don't think this is a cheap pick-up line," he said, still somewhat ill-at-ease from what he was feeling. "This is the first time I've ever seen you, but I feel that I know you from somewhere." "Don't feel bad about it," she said, smiling warmly up at him and wondering why she felt so comfortable with him. "I feel the same way about you. My name's Makoto." He smiled and took the hand she offered as she stood. "Would a Mr. Sanjouin Masato please come to the information booth on the first level?" the public address system cut him off as he was about to speak. "Mr. Sanjouin Masato, please come to the information booth on the first level." "Um, that's for me," he said, looking a bit sheepish. "Would you mind...?" "Not at all. I'll wait here for you." Makoto watched him leave, and it only took her several seconds to realize that Minako was waving her hand in front her eyes. "Earth to Mako-chan?" "Isn't he dreamy, Minako-chan?" She stood up suddenly, smiled at her friend and set off in pursuit, following him at a safe distance. The blonde sighed, reached into her purse to take out some yen, and went up to the cashier. I think lunch is over now, she said to herself, feeling happy for her friend. ***************************************************************** As soon as she made the announcement, he slipped away when her back was turned and into one of the service corridors, racing the length of the mall in a mad dash that would put him right by her, if everything worked out right. He cracked open the door and sighed in relief as he saw her leaving the restaurant. The other girl wasn't with her, but neither was the General. His position in an alcove let him hide from her sight, and he quickly glanced down to the other end of the mall to see the General walking up to the information desk, with the other girl shadowing him. The clicking of her shoes brought him back to the matter at hand. He mentally prepared himself for this. She was much stronger and faster than he in her true form, but he should be able to manage here when she was in her disguise. A deep breath later, he stepped out in front of her, snatched her by the arm and dragged her into the alcove and through the doors. ***************************************************************** The two women in the rear of the formation summoned their attacks, concentrating on making them as big and showy as possible, just to play it safe. It didn't seem to be too smart, but there was no point in taking chances. "Now!" the one in front cried as she stepped forward like she would break in to a run and stopped. The two behind her let their attacks dissipate as they swept around her, weapons at the ready before bounding lightly away in a long, low leap to either side of it. The creature seemed confused for a moment, and that's all it took as a dark shape burst out of the tree. "Silence Glaive Surprise!" the young woman cried out, bringing the now glowing weapon down in an arc, trying to swing through it's shoulder and chest, just like she had been taught by the others, using her momentum to its best effect and now prepared for the possible recoil. This time it didn't bounce as it dug into the shoulder just above the hole the others had made and sheared through most of its chest. There was a flash of yellow light that made her turn her head for a moment, and when she looked back it was slowly toppling to the ground. She stared at it in shock, amazed at how little it was affected as the others walked up to examine the remains. What were these things made of that they could take so much damage? She had been with Setsuna up in Hokkaido looking for a place for her father a few months ago when the other had decided to try and test the limits of this attack of hers after they had hiked up into a deserted area of the local mountains. The local geologists were still trying to figure out why there had been such a localized earthquake along an isolated, previously undiscovered fault line that would have caused the entire side of a hillside to collapse. "I'm sorry," she said sheepishly. "Well," Neptune commented, looking at a thirty meter gouge in the ground and a tree that was missing all the branches on one side along the line from Saturn through the decaying remains of the monster. "At least we know that we can stop them." "Pluto," Uranus added dryly. "Weren't you saying something about needing some landscaping done at one of your properties?" ***************************************************************** "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you," she hissed at him, an all too-familiar knife pressed up against his throat. She had dropped her purse, shoved him against the wall and produced the blade out of nowhere. Just like the time on the tor, he thought with a bemused grin. Plan on her doing one thing and she'd do another. That's why he had lost. "You know what had happened to me, Venus. Do you think I could have escaped from him so easily?" She sighed and stepped back, still holding onto the knife. "What do you want?" she demanded, distrust still in her eyes. "The Merlin sent me to deliver a warning, Minako Aino," he said, using her other name to corroborate his story. "Your princess is in danger from a very old enemy." "Who? Where?" she whispered in shock. "Oracles are never clear," the man replied, shrugging his shoulders. "He said the Prince was the key, whoever he is.." "Nice try, Azarite, but I'm not giving you anything you can use against her. What else did he say?" she said, eyes flashing. "He mentioned sanctuary, but that's not really important right now-" "I'll decide that," she snapped, interrupting him. "You're not in any-" "Listen," he cut in, waving an arm towards the door. "You've got a problem out there. Your friend has a crush on Nephrite." "Nephrite?" "Yes, Nephrite, as in General, as in the third or fourth most powerful person in the Dark Kingdom!" "Mako-chan," she whispered in shock, her eyes wide, and then she dashed through the doors and out into the mall. He, too, turned to leave, but not to follow her. He'd done his part, and there was no way he'd risk a tangle with the General if he could avoid it. If they chose to fight Nephrite later on, that was their concern. ***************************************************************** "'Morning, Mom!" she said brightly as she stepped into the kitchen and turned on the overhead lights. Her mother winced, and then tried a smile. "I'm sorry, Ami-chan. I'd try to be more enthusiastic, but I was just in surgery for over twelve hours and I'm really tired right now." The girl went over and gave her mother a quick hug. "I know what happened, Mom. The head of surgery called to let me know that you were in pretty bad shape because of this one. He said there was nothing you could have done." The woman nodded and set down her drink. "I know, but it still hurts. That poor little boy was just hurt far too badly in the collision, and then it took them an hour to cut him out of the wreckage." "I'm sorry, Mom. Why don't you just go to sleep and get some rest? They've got another doctor covering your next shift, and I'll clean up here after I get back from school. I have to talk with one of my teachers about something," the blue haired girl said as she got her mother up from the stool and into her bed to get some much needed rest. ***************************************************************** He was looking around for what seemed to be one last time for whomever had paged him from this desk. She was just about to walk up to him when Minako skidded to a stop next to her. The blonde was panting and looked afraid. "Minako-chan-" she started to say. "Makoto, we have to go. Now!" she gasped. "Not now, Minako-chan," the brunette protested. "I have to talk to him." "Please, Mako-chan, this is more important," she implored the taller girl. "But..." "Mako-chan, I would never think of doing this to you if it wasn't important. I'd tease you about doing it, maybe, but I would never really do this if it wasn't vital," she said, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm her racing heart. "It's Senshi business, Mako-chan. It's about Usagi, and we need to go. Now. Please?" The taller girl hung her head for a moment, the wistful daydream she had been weaving around the man blowing away in the harsh wind of responsibility. She straightened up, nodded at the blonde, and the two turned and ran down the mall and out the side exit. ***************************************************************** The attendant couldn't remember much about the man who had paged him. He had been very non-descript, apparently. All she could recall was the denim jacket and jeans, and that he was a foreigner. With a sigh of exasperation, he decided that this could wait until a later time, as a young lady was still waiting for him. He walked back past a few stores, looking ahead of him to see if she was still there at her seat, but his only reward was the sight of the two girls running out one of the exits. This wasn't his day, it seemed, but he smiled as he took the black velvet case out of his pocket. There was at least one thing that wouldn't go wrong. The case was put back as he walked to the bakery at the end of the mall near where he had parked earlier. Two of the parfaits were boxed up, and then he stopped at a florist before walking out to his car. ***************************************************************** The walk gave her a chance to think a little bit. So many things had been happening lately that she hadn't the time to stop and try to put them into perspective, and then seeing her mother go through two drinks so quickly this early in the morning worried her. Her mother was a doctor and knew enough to be careful, but it still concerned the girl. For all her life, she could never recall any time her mother had taken losing a patient lightly. She tried her best to dismiss it from her mind and concentrated on the math problem that was confusing her. She wasn't taking any summer classes, but that hadn't kept her from staying up on what would be covered next year, and some of the exercises were deceptively easy. Fortunately, her math teacher considered her his star pupil and would be glad to help her out. The classes were just letting out as she turned the corner by school. She was about to quicken her pace when a red sportscar flashed past her. Her heart suddenly jumped into her throat at the sight of the driver. she said to herself, The car turned into the school parking lot as her blood turned to ice. None of the students or the teachers drove anything like that. She didn't really pay attention to the gossip, but she would have heard about anyone having a car like that. The final piece of the puzzle clicked into place as she sprang forward into an all out sprint for the school. She wasn't in any summer classes herself, but she knew who was, and what he was after. ***************************************************************** He had tried what turned out to be her old school at first, trusting to his memory to find her. After discovering it was closed for the summer, he sat in his car several minutes, establishing just enough of a link to her to enable him to locate her before closing it down entirely. He didn't want her getting the attention of this Matthew character, not if he could help it. There was a danger that she could be traced by this, so he carefully worked in such a way that his target could not be readily identified unless they knew her as well as he. It only took about a quarter of an hour to make his way through traffic to her new school, and he pulled into the teacher's parking lot and stopped in one of the many vacant spaces before getting out and stretching. His body still wasn't fully over the effects of it's long sleep. Now that he was this close, he didn't need a spell or the power of the stars to find her. He could feel her, she was so close. He decided to hold off on the parfaits and just took the flowers with him as he walked onto the school grounds. he said to himself, his sharp eyes catching sight of her on the far side of the school yard. She was sitting underneath a tree, reading a book and balancing a can of soda on one of her knees. He wanted to run to her right then, but there was a fence in the way and he would have to walk around one of the buildings to reach her. He had just turned the corner and lengthened his stride when a blue and white clad figure jumped down from the roof to bar his progress, arms outstretched. "This is getting to be an annoying habit, Sailor Mercury," he said in a threatening tone, frustrated at the delay. "Get out of my way." "No, Nephrite," she said firmly, her visor sparkling into existence over her eyes as she drew her right foot back behind her into an approximation of a fighting stance. "I haven't attacked you because you saved her once before, but I won't let you see Naru-chan." "'Won't let me', Mercury?" he sneered, stepping forward. "What can you do to stop me? Blow some bubbles, perhaps?" She sighed once, and then flashed into a spin far faster than he had ever seen the hesitant, least combative Senshi ever move before. "Shining Aqua Illusion!" she called out as a blast of ice slammed into him, making his vision blur for a few moments. When it finally cleared, he discovered he was sitting on the ground with his back against the building. He felt some pain, but mostly he was shocked at her power, as well as his own stupidity. People can change over the course of a few years. "I took it easy on you with that one, Nephrite," she said as she tapped her fingers against a small, light blue case of some sorts. It must be one of those computers that Jadeite had mentioned. "Don't you understand? She finally got over you and has moved on. She's happy with someone now, someone who loves her." "If you show up now, think of the pain you'll cause Naru-chan. I would think that if you really cared for her, you wouldn't want to hurt her." He crossed his legs, put his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. "She's all that kept me going, Mercury. The thought of her kept me from going mad. I know she still loves me. Please, don't take that away from me. Not now." "I can't take the past away from you, Nephrite, but I won't let you ruin what she has now." He stood up, looking once in her direction and then sighed before turning and walking away, letting the flowers lay on the ground where they had fallen. "This doesn't give me much to live for, Mercury," he said as he departed and she watched him go to his car and get in. It started with a deep roar, but he was very restrained in his driving as he pulled out of the parking lot and out onto the streets, the only sign of his distress being the pink box with the parfaits that was flung out the window. ***************************************************************** The two girls were out of breath after running up the stairs to the temple, where Rei and Usagi had just finished sweeping up some of the leaves and were carefully arranging the pile for burning. It was as much a desire to get rid of them as it was an excuse to roast some of the sweet potatoes that sat on the porch in a bag by Usagi's purse. Mamoru sat next to the purse, but had apparently fallen asleep. He looked tired to the two who had just gotten there. "You're just in time," Usagi said. "We've got some sweet potatoes and Ami's on her way over. She just called." "We've got a problem," Minako announced, trying to catch her breath. "I wish you'd just tell me," Makoto complained. "She had us running every step of the way but wouldn't tell me what it was about. I'd just met this cute guy who reminded me of my sempai." Usagi and Rei had begun to smile at this until Minako cut them off. "Since when does your sempai look like Nephrite?" she said quietly. "Nephrite!" the other three exclaimed, waking Mamoru. "That was Nephrite?" Makoto gasped in dismay. "Minako-chan, you never saw him," Usagi said. "How do you know it was him?" The blonde was about to answer when a shout interrupted her and Mercury came bounding up the stairs. "We've got trouble," she announced, reverting back and sitting down. "I just stopped Nephrite from seeing Naru-chan at school." "He's supposed to be dead," Rei ventured. "He's not dead," Ami said, "but he's going to be desperate. I had to tell him that she's gotten over him." "Ouch," Mamoru added. "He must be hurting." "That, and one other thing," Ami paused to look at each of them carefully. "I scanned him. He's dying." "What!" Makoto nearly shrieked, her eyes going wide. "I don't know how he's back, but his energy levels are slowly but steadily dropping," Ami said as she pulled out her computer and brought up a display. "Think of a person being like the battery of a car. It's energy is used, but it gets re-charged as the engine runs. We do the same thing with food and rest." "So his alternator is broken, Ami-chan?" Usagi asked, to the girl's surprise. "Don't be fooled," Rei informed the others, seizing the opportunity. "If that hadn't happened to her father's car last month she wouldn't have a clue as to what Ami said." Usagi responded by sticking her tongue out at Rei, who reciprocated for a few moments before giving up and flashing a quick smile at her friend. "We have to find him," Usagi decided a few moments later. "I agree with her," Minako said. "He's too dangerous to let wander around until we can find out his real motives." "He's from the Dark Kingdom," a voice added unexpectedly, causing them to jump in surprise. "I would think his motives are perfectly clear." "Michiru," Ami said in surprise, looking at the woman who leaned against a tree several feet away from them. None had noticed her approach. "He's not like that!" Usagi exclaimed in protest. "He saved Naru-chan because he loved her." Rei and Ami nodded in agreement, but the older girl was unmoved. She insisted on joining them, along with Haruka, who came up the stairs at a run a few minutes later, when they went to look in on the former general. ***************************************************************** "So what brought you over this afternoon, Michiru-san?" Ami asked as she brought up a display on her computer to start trying to find the energy pattern she had scanned earlier in the day. Usagi had started roasting a few of the potatoes, just in case it took a little while for the search. Rei was looking on over her shoulder while Makoto was sitting by Usagi, quietly berating herself for falling in love again so easily while Minako tried to console her. Mamoru was inside in the kitchen, making himself some coffee. "I was a little worried seeing you go up the steps in costume, Ami-chan," she replied, seeming to avoid the question for a few moments before continuing, and she carefully glanced back at the group by the fire before speaking again." We came over to tell you that these things aren't unstoppable. We beat one this morning." "That's great, Michiru!" Rei said. "How did you do it?" "We ganged up on it, and just kept hitting it in the chest. Haruka and I have fought together for a long time, so we're used to working together, and Setsuna is smart enough to follow her lead." "So we can hurt them. What was I doing wrong, then?" "You need to hit it in the chest, Rei-chan, not in the head," Ami replied absent-mindedly as she worked, continuing to narrow the parameters. At Rei's urging, Michiru gave her some more details about the fight and how Hotaru had finished it. None of the three noticed the figure who had walked up behind them as they spoke. "Will you two do me a favor?" the older girl asked suddenly. At their nods, she resumed speaking. "Let us tell them about it. Chibi-Usa was there, serving as our look-out, and we don't want them to get the idea that she was in danger." "Don't worry, Michiru," Mamoru said as he handed her a cup and paused to take a sip from his. "Save from when you three tried killing Hotaru at the planetarium, I don't think Setsuna is capable of putting her Small Lady in danger. I think we must have asked her to baby-sit a few too many times in the future," he finished with a warm smile designed to put her mind at ease. "Thank you, Mamoru," she replied gratefully, nodding her head. "She did very well, except for wanting to get into the fight itself. I just wish Hotaru had left something behind for us to look at. She got a little... exuberant at the end." "She, Setsuna, and Chibi-Usa are trying to look for what it was after, but I don't think they'll find anything." Mamoru smiled again and reached into a pocket. "I'm sorry, but I had a long night staking out that mall where we fought, and forgot to mention it earlier," he said, bringing out a small, sealed, plastic bag with a crystal pyramid inside. "I found this later that same night." Michiru gasped when she touched it, and then spent a long minute examining it and looking at its reflection in her mirror. "If it was allowed to continue," Mamoru said quietly as she looked at it. "It would have eventually gone right through the shop I bought this at. I'll go over later on to that park and look for another." Ami's computer began to beep and Usagi groaned, knowing she wouldn't be able to have her snack now. "I've got it," Ami announced, matching the scan results to a map of the city. "I know that place," Rei said in surprise. "It's an old cathedral my school used to run a long time ago. They sold it off a few years ago to some guy who showed up out of nowhere with a lot of cash and..." her voice trailed off as she realized just who it had been sold to. ***************************************************************** "Is this it?" Ami nodded in reply to Haruka's question, and the tall girl pulled the family van over to the side of the road and parked it, muttering a curse under her breath regarding its lack of power and style. All eight of them got out, looking at the driveway a hundred yards ahead that presumable led to the cathedral, the top of which was just visible over the trees that lined the gently curving, hillside road. "Costumes, everyone," Minako said softly as she reached for her wand. "He knows who we are," Usagi protested. "Won't it just provoke him?" "He knows who some of us are, Usagi-chan," Michiru replied as she and the others changed. "Let's not give him any clues as to who the rest of us are." "Let's go," Uranus said, beginning to walk towards that same driveway. "Which one of you two is supposed to have killed him, anyway?" she asked looking first at Mercury and then Sailor Moon, who had just finished transforming. "You certainly didn't do a very thorough job of it." "Zoisite," Mercury replied, still scanning with her visor over her eyes. "Or, at least some youma under his command." "That explains it, then. I knew at least Mars wasn't that sloppy." Mars briefly stuck her tongue out at Moon, who returned the insult until Jupiter pantomimed slapping her in the back of the head as they turned to start making their way up the driveway. The only sounds they heard were the singing of the birds, the low hum of Mercury's computer and the sounds of their feet on the pavement. ***************************************************************** The warning from one of his wards being broken brought him out of the sleep he had fallen into upon returning from her school and crying like he hadn't since he was a very small child. Eight people, and not just some locals. These had power, and since he had met Sailor Mercury earlier in the day, he had a good idea of who it would be. He ran into the center of the cathedral and looked at the stars projected there, calling upon their energy to see what was happening as well as changing his clothes to his usual gray uniform. Four of them were familiar, Moon, Mercury, Mars, and Tuxedo Kamen. Two of the others were on the photos Matthew had given him, another blonde and the brunette who made something stir deep in his mind. He had no idea as to the identity of the other two, but he did recall there being more than just five Senshi in the past. Beryl had counted on only four being present, to her detriment. The two he didn't know seemed to be taking positions up outside the building to keep watch for any attacks or to rescue the others if this was a trap. They must be the other Senshi, the ones who spent little time at the Moon Kingdom. That left the other six to enter through the front door of the building, and he had no idea of what they wanted. It was only a few paces to the projector controls, and the room dimmed dramatically in response to the switches he hit, and the stars came out overhead. "Castor. Pollux," he intoned, and a constellation above him shone for a moment before falling to the ground in a shimmer of sparkling dust that coalesced into two identical, man-shaped forms. "Occupy the two outside until I give you further orders." They bowed briefly, and then vanished as he drew a handful of the shadow around him and stepped back against the wall to await his visitors. ***************************************************************** The six people slowly walked into the main entranceway of the building, carefully looking at the interior for some sign of the occupant. While it wasn't full of spiderwebs, it was dusty, a clear sign that it had not been in use for a while. There were only a few tracks on the floor to indicate any sign of life. "Anything, Mercury?" Sailor Moon whispered, the darkness and fear of facing an old and capable enemy beginning to grip her. The man noticed the change in her voice and moved over to put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Nothing," she quietly replied. "I lost the signal as soon as we came inside." The tallest of the girls put her hands together and cracked her knuckles, the sound making the others jump. "It's brighter in there," she said, pointing towards a narrow door set in what seemed to be a curved portion of wall. "That's probably where he is, if he's here." "She's right," the girl with black hair said, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. "Come into my parlor..." Venus commented, smiling just a little bit, fighting the tension in her own way. "I'll take the point." Venus moved forward, followed by Jupiter, with Mars and Mercury trailing the couple. Inside, they spread out slightly. "It's a planetarium projector," Mercury said, looking at the familiar sight of the heavens above. "It's still accurate, too." "Of course it is, Mercury," Nephrite said as the lights came up slightly and he stepped out of the shadows. "This new technology is a great aid to me." The girls jumped, startled, as the door slammed shut with loud crack that had an air of finality to it. "As she said, welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly. Venus, I presume, and that would make you Jupiter," he said, bowing briefly. "I'm honored." "Why are you back?" Moon asked, managing to keep her voice from cracking. "Well," he drawled, carefully watching all of them. "I had returned for my Naru-chan, but that opportunity seems to have been taken from me, according to Mercury. Since that option is no longer valid, I guess I'll just have to fulfill the directives of those who brought me back. "Give me the Crystal, Sailor Moon. If you do, you can all leave here. I get to live, you don't get hurt, and I'll spare the lives of the two outside." ***************************************************************** he thought to himself as he sipped his tea and reviewed what he had seen earlier while sitting in his study. At least he wouldn't be too bored, he said to himself as he put his feet up on the mahogany desk and leaned back in his chair. Still, for all their power and tactics, they relied on their powers far too much. His trap would work perfectly, and Matthew had just called him to let him know that it was complete. Smiling, he drew upon some of the power he had stolen and spun a few spells, just for the pleasure of it. A tiny, breathtakingly beautiful sprite formed out of a ball of fire to flutter around the room, her gossamer wings leaving a faint trail of light, and she cried out in delight as he created a gown of fire around her for the construct to wear. Another joined the first, and they began to cavort around his study, wheeling through the air in an intricate, joyful dance. Soon, the power will be all mine. ***************************************************************** "You couldn't even take one of my weaker attacks earlier," Mercury began in a ploy to distract him or throw him off balance. "What makes you think you can face all of us together?" "Yeah," Jupiter echoed. Nephrite just smiled. "This is my game, Mercury. My game and my rules, since you were all so kind as to step into the heart of my power. Give me the Crystal, Sailor Moon!" he challenged, taking a step forward. Mars and Mercury stepped forward, just as he planned, to shield her from him. "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" the green-clad one yelled, spinning as a wreath of green leaves formed around her hands. "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" the other blonde called out, a glowing string of hearts appearing around her and coalescing into one that was brought up to her lips to be kissed and then flung forward. New attacks, but a predictable response. "Orion's Spear!" he cried, diving and rolling under the twin gouts of energy from his first two targets. He sprang to his feet in their midst of the four to catch the wooden shaft that fell from the ceiling, the metal point glowing blue in the dim light. A quick twist of his hips swung his whole upper body and slammed the butt of the spear into Venus' midsection, crumpling her over it. The continuation of the swing brought the blade on the other end up and around to the back of Jupiter's neck, although he twisted the haft at the last moment to hit her with the flat. The blow still sent her to the ground as he finished the spin to face the other two, who were just beginning to react. The two unknowns were out of the way, at least. They were the ones who concerned him, he commented to himself as he sprang at Mars. "Mars Flame Sniper!" the red-clad one yelled, a blaze of light forming in her hands to launch a fiery arrow at him. You could always trust the fire-users to have the temper to match the source of their power. "Sagittarius Recurve!" he cried, and the arrow swerved around him to slam into Mercury as he jabbed a clearly surprised Mars in the stomach, dropping her unconscious to the ground. Mercury wasn't hurt, but the arrow had made the attack she had been readying literally blow up in her face and joined her partners on the floor. "As I said, Sailor Moon," he asked again, almost conversationally. "Give me the Crystal. You don't have a chance against me here." "No," the man in black said, stepping forward with a cane extended like a sword. "You forgot your hat," he sneered as the blade slashed the cane in two and his shoulder slammed into Tuxedo Kamen's chest to sprawl him out on the floor. A wand had just appeared in Sailor Moon's hands and he sent this to join the parts of her protector's cane in the shadows against the wall with a negligent flick of the wrist. "This is your last chance," he said to the girl, his brown eyes flashing. ***************************************************************** Neptune could feel the ground seem to shake as their two opponents had slipped past their attacks with ease and slammed Uranus down, using their own weight to help her along. She counterattacked with a snap kick at one's back, but quick as a cat, it moved out of harm's way, along with its partner. Uranus was slow to get up, and she knew this wasn't going to be an easy fight as they closed in on her this time. She was able to avoid the first, only to find out it was a feint to cover the other's attack. A kick from the black, human shaped silhouette took her feet out from under her and the first one dropped its full weight onto her chest just as she hit the ground, and everything went dark. ***************************************************************** "No," she said defiantly. The blow had hurt him, but more in his pride than his flesh. He was just able to shift his weight to one side as he fell back and rolled out to his feet, moving as his tuxedo melted away, leaving his armor as he whipped out his sword and sprang forward, knowing in the bottom of his heart he would be a moment too late. "So be it," the brown haired man said, jabbing forward with the point of the spear at the girl's unprotected throat. "Sparkling Wide Pressure," a voice moaned, but the seething, crackling ball of energy in Jupiter's hand was no less dangerous as she began to fling it forward from where she lay on the ground. "Jupiter, no!" Sailor Moon called out, a tiny droplet of blood rolling down the side of her throat from where just the tip of the spear had nicked her as she looked up at the conflicting emotions on Nephrite's face for a moment, and then a sword ran him through from the side and he and her love collided and fell to the ground in a heap. "Endymion?" Nephrite gasped, spitting up some blood while he realized who it was. "Well struck, lad. You've finally learned to put your heart into it. I... couldn't go through with it, in the end. Naru would have been... most upset if I skewered her friend." Understanding finally dawned in the young man's eyes upon hearing the easy, familiar banter from the now friendly voice of the other man. "Nephrite? Oh, gods..." "Mamo-chan?" Sailor Moon asked as she stood up and came to his side as he knelt near the other man, partially holding him up. "My Liege," he gasped, coughing once and bringing up more blood. "We never wanted to hurt you. She made us... made us do it." "Nephrite..." Endymion cried out, tears running down his face. "Our old foes are back, My Prince. Ask Kunzite... about the magii," he finished, breathing quickly, clearly in his last moments. He struggled a moment, raising his head and turning it to the brunette who had just stood up and walked over. The man smiled. "Jupiter, love... I... I'm glad..." he said, raising his hand towards her before it fell to the ground and he lay unmoving, the same, small smile on his lips and a single tear working its way down one side of his face. "Mamo-chan?" she asked again, softly, as he began to cry, something she had never seen before, forcing the words out among the sobs. "I just killed one of my friends, Usako." ***************************************************************** "Setsuna!" a voice called out, finally breaking her reverie as she stood outside a book store near a table with several volumes and a number of magazines that were on sale. "I'm sorry, Hotaru-chan. What was that?" she asked, blushing slightly. They were already back from getting sodas since Small Lady had gotten thirsty. "It must be her boyfriend," the older girl stage-whispered to the younger one with the pink hair, causing the woman to blush even deeper. "I think you're right, Hotaru-chan," the little girl commented upon looking at her face. "It must be a boyfriend. Look at her face" "He's not my boyfriend," the woman said firmly, trying to win back some of her respect from the two. "I've never seen him before." "He certainly is cute," Hotaru said, watching the man walk away and turn a corner. "'Dreamy' would be the word, with hair like that and those looks. Was he trying to pick you up?" "Hotaru!" the woman gasped, visibly startled for a moment before relaxing with an easy laugh. "His looks are too classical to be cute, Hotaru-chan. Beautiful is much more appropriate. "Anyway, let's get back to looking. It was headed this way," she said, leading the other two towards an apartment complex on the other side of a drainage canal from the small grocery store they had stopped at. ***************************************************************** She had changed back to her regular clothes and started trying to revive the others and get them outside with Makoto's help. The tall girl had a nasty bruise on the back of her neck, but was suffering no other ill effects that she could see. Minako was beginning to come to, as was Rei. Ami seemed to be the worst for wear, but it turned out to just be a case of washing off the soot. Mamoru had wanted to stay with the body, which was beginning to turn into the dust they had come to expect from the Dark Kingdom denizens. What waited outside was the evidence of an even tougher fight. Michiru was sitting with her back against a tree, and was too tired to even try and help Haruka out of the bushes the tall girl was stuck in. Haruka seemed to be content to wait it out and was ignoring the pain from the various branches that were broken and stabbing into her. That hurt far less than what she had been receiving. It took Makoto a few minutes to extricate her, but soon all seven girls were gathered in a loose circle, nursing various bumps and bruises, with Ami fussing over the slight cut on Usagi's throat while putting a small bandage on it. "I haven't felt this bad since Kaolinite and those two tire daemons knocked me into a river," Michiru moaned, swallowing a couple of aspirin from Ami's first aid kit. "You can say that again," Rei said, wincing as she touched the bruise that was beginning to form on her stomach. "What happened to you two?" "We got beat up," Haruka said with a self-conscious smile, obviously reluctant to admit it. "They didn't get past us though," she added. "How did Nephrite ever get so powerful?" Usagi asked now that Ami had finished her work. "He cleaned the floor with us in there." "It's back to regular practicing again, everyone," Minako smiled, and was hit with several handfuls of leaves. She only continued after brushing herself off. "He didn't follow through, but he had us." "He said we had walked into the heart of his power," Ami said. "His attacks had to do with the stars, and we were standing in a planetarium." "That must be it," Rei replied. "Why did he call me his love?" Makoto asked aloud, clearly caught up in her own train of thought. "Mako-chan!" the other Inner Senshi chorused as the brunette realized what she had said and blushed, joining them in a few moments of laughter. The look on the faces of the older girls was one of anything but amusement. "Mako-chan," Michiru said, cutting off the giggling, "I thought you knew." "Knew? Knew what?" "You and he were quite an item," Haruka said softly in a compassionate tone of voice. "All of you and the Generals were... friendly, what with all the time you were together helping the Prince and Princess see each other." "Nephrite?" Makoto asked, still clearly startled, as were the others. "Yes, Mako-chan. Rei-chan was with Jadeite, Ami-chan with Zoisite, and Minako-chan with Kunzite," Michiru replied. "You had all seen each other several times that weren't related to..." "She used them, I'm afraid," Haruka added. "Through them, she used all of you." "You mean," Ami said, her voice beginning to quiver. "You mean that we were-" "No!" Michiru interrupted her in a sharp tone of voice. "Beryl fooled all of us, Ami-chan, not just you. Nobody saw it coming until it was too late." Usagi suddenly stood and walked over to Mamoru, who had just come out the doors and walked towards the group. He looked haggard, which was a big surprise to all present. Normally, he was always in the best of health. "Haruka," he asked quietly. "Would you please give me a ride home? I need to do some things there as soon as possible. Usako, would you please come with me?" ***************************************************************** A massive sigh of relief escaped him as he turned the corner and broke into an easy jog towards a train station. He would just make the next train to a larger station, and from there he would take a high speed train south until he was at least a few hundred kilometers away from Tokyo. After that, he could travel at his leisure, using the spell that Jason had set up for him. It was the least the Archmage could do after this assignment. First the golems, and now this. He found out this morning that he had the dubious honor of attacking a target that even Jason was secretly afraid of. It was the only rational explanation for all these precautions. Guided by a light mind-link spell and the tracking crystal Jason was using at his stronghold, he had spent the afternoon following his directions in order to catch up with her. The woman was with two others, both young girls, and he had followed them for nearly an hour before the two girls left to enter a store. He turned off all his personal enchantments. The only thing he could do now would be to escape via a transport spell that the Archmage was sustaining. One word, and he would be gone. he nervously smiled to himself. He knew he was good looking and had never suffered a lack of attention from the women he had known over the years. She didn't seem to notice him as he walked up behind her as she looked over some books on sale. he sighed. For a moment, he wished she wasn't an enemy. "Good afternoon," he said, taking her hand and giving her his best smile." Seeing you, fair one, will certainly make the rest of the day brighter. I hope we meet again." He held her eyes for just another moment before walking away and down the street to safety. She either missed the silver ring, which he took off and wrapped in a silk scarf as he ran, or didn't understand the significance it would play later on in the spell he would use to defeat her. The train station was reached without incident, as was the switch to a faster one going south. The other commuters were quite startled when just about two hours after leaving one of them vanished into thin air with an audible crack as the air rushed in to fill the emptiness where he had sat. ***************************************************************** The young man clearly looked out of place on the slightly crowded beach. He wore an older school uniform, black trousers and a matching, high-collared shirt. The outfit, modeled on old military uniforms, was a distinct contrast to the swimsuits the other people at the beach wore in the summer heat. A few of the girls started giggling at how foolish he was, but most thought he just looked good, with short, black hair and a single, thin braid that reached to his waist. "Why don't you come and join us?" one called, attracted by his looks and eager to get him into the swim suit she had brought for her now ex-boyfriend, who had failed to show up like he had promised last night and left her here alone while the other girls were having fun with their dates." It must be hot in that. I've got a suit that you can borrow." She glanced over at their chaperone, Sister Shannon, who was still stretched out on her blanket on the other side of the banner that read 'Thomas Aquinas School.' The statuesque redhead, wearing a modest, black one-piece, a gold cross and sunglasses, was certainly much more fun to be with on a retreat like this than the old prunes who taught them during the year. They were fortunate she had volunteered to go with them today, since she would allow them to have some degree of fun. The young man turned towards them and walked over, looking carefully around with his tawny, almost golden colored eyes. It was only when he was close to her that she realized that, in spite of the considerable heat and dark outfit, he wasn't sweating. His fair skin wasn't burnt either, even though he had been out in the sun for some time. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Having fun," she replied, tossing her waist length, wavy auburn hair in a flirtatious manner that she hoped he would like. "It's a retreat for our class so we could come down here and party, catch some sun and relax." "Catch some sun?" "You know," she said, slightly puzzled. "Work on our tans, worship the sun and all that." "That's right," he responded, seeming to be satisfied with her answer. "Some of you put a great value on appearances. Why do you wear that little bit of clothing if you want to get a tan?" She blushed as he indicated the string bikini she wore. "We can't take everything off, you know." "You should," he said a moment later, his eyes glowing for a few seconds. To her utter embarrassment, her suit vanished along with every other one on the beach for a distance of five kilometers in each direction. The shouts and the screams started as she dove for her towel and wrapped herself up in it while the young man turned, still wearing the same clothes. He called out over his shoulder as he walked away. "If you're going to worship me like that, you should do it right." ***************************************************************** The brunette leaned back on the couch after putting the empty carton with the others precariously piled on the coffee table. None of them had been too keen on doing much of anything after the fight earlier in the day and had gone to the condo to relax and recuperate, as well as to enjoy a spectacular sunset from one of the best vantage points in the city. "That's it," Makoto said. "I'm stuffed." "It was pretty good for takeout," Ami commented as she absent-mindedly stacked several of the empty white cartons on top of each other from her seat on a cushion by one end of the table. Rei groaned from where she sat next to her, her head pillowed on her arms and raven hair pulled back in a ribbon. "I ate so much I feel like I'll die," she said, not even raising her head. "You'll get over it, Rei-chan," Michiru replied. "We heal up quickly, and our bodies need the extra energy to do that." She sat on the couch next to Makoto with her head resting on Haruka's shoulder, not as concerned about appearances at the moment. "I always wondered about that," Ami said, reaching over across the table to take a cup of tea from Minako's hands as the blonde had apparently drifted off to sleep, being in the much the same position Rei was in. "It's pretty normal, Ami-chan," Haruka said with eyes closed as she reclined on the couch. "We've been in a few more scraps than you have, so we've had more opportunities to figure it out." "Maybe that explains Usagi keeping her figure," Makoto snickered, setting the rest of them to laughing as the door opened and a woman with dark green hair walked in. "Hi, Setsuna," Michiru said. "Did you get everything settled with Chibi-Usa?" The woman nodded as she took a seat on a cushion at the empty end of the table and opened up a carton of steamed rice to serve as a plate after pouring a small glass of red wine from a partially finished bottle. "Yes, but the Tsukinos are going to start considering Hotaru their daughter before too long. She's staying over there a while tonight, and I'll take the night watch so you can rest. You didn't leave me too much," she commented ruefully, looking at the remaining selection while cracking apart a set of bamboo chopsticks and picking up a piece of barbecued pork from a nearly empty container. "It's not out fault you were late," Haruka said. "We got the food right after dropping Mamoru and Usagi off at his apartment and called you as soon as we got in." "I hope he's all right," Makoto added. "He looked pretty down." "He called Nephrite his friend," Rei replied. "I'd be down, too." "I got the basics of what happened this afternoon from Usagi when she called her parents to explain why she'd be out late," Setsuna said, taking a bite of a spicy-sweet, Szechwan beef dish she liked and putting a few more pieces on top of her rice. "Would someone fill in the details?" Ami started describing the events of the morning and afternoon, with the others occasionally adding or editorializing as she went. Rei was just about to tease Makoto about the upcoming part regarding where Nephrite confessed his love for her when a sharp snapping sound filled a brief silence. "Setsuna! Your hand," Ami gasped as the woman set down the remains of the glass, the stem broken about two-thirds of the way up, and began to shake. ***************************************************************** She sat a long time, watching him as he slept with his head resting in her lap and she softly stroked his hair. He wasn't used to this problem they had with their memories, or at least the effects of a sudden revelation and the emotional stress it could cause. Mamoru had suddenly started crying again when they got to his apartment and couldn't stop, much to his embarrassment. Her sympathy and explanation of her own problems regarding the same issue seemed to help him get over it. They had cuddled for a while on the couch as a small fire dwindled down, and he had finally drifted off, much to her relief. The sleep would help him get over the pain, or at least the initial shock of it. Even in the past, just as today, Mamo-chan didn't seem to have very many close friends. She knew of his friendship with Motoki from the arcade, but that seemed to be his only one here. Maybe it had something to do with losing his parents, or the time he'd spent in the orphanage. She couldn't imagine some couple looking to adopt a child passing him by, but he had told her that none had ever considered him due to the stigma of the head injury he had sustained. As soon as he was able, he had left it to go out on his own. Earlier, he had told her of the few things he could now recall about his previous life and what it was like. As the Prince, much like the situation she had been in on the Moon, their lives were planned for them. He never was allowed to have very many friends due to the political machinations of the various factions of the Atlantean court. His tutors were the ones who had saved him. The Warlords, the real leaders of the military, had been assigned to teach him about warcraft. Instead, the four had become fast friends with the reserved, painfully shy and insecure twelve year old who had been placed in their care. The boy learned the arts of peace as well as war, with them showing him what life was like outside of the palace as well as the truth of what occurred on the inside so he would be a far more capable ruler. The Warlords had many difficulties dealing with the old men who had been put in nominal command of the armies they had forged into one of the finest units this side of the Guards of the Moon Kingdom. The King had done it for political reasons, but the four Generals had begun to use the troops to consolidate their own positions and crush their rivals in the court. Determined to keep anything like this from happening when the Prince ascended to the throne, they had taken it upon themselves to turn him into a strong ruler to counter the ill-effects of the current regime. The Sailor Senshi were her equivalents to his saviors. She hated to admit it, but deep down, she knew she would have turned into a horrible, little monster of a spoiled brat without them. She never had many friends either, save the Senshi, but in her case it was the small population on the Moon and the over-protectiveness of her mother because she was an only child. Often dragged kicking and screaming (sometimes literally) to her duties and studies, the Princess made friends with these young women who changed her life. Under Mercury's tutelage, her studies improved dramatically. Jupiter made the exercising and weapons practice fun. Venus taught her the difference when it was time to laugh and play, and when it was not. And then, the new Mars, chosen just a few months before to fill a vacancy that had been left open for several years, which was an unusually long time, showed her by example how she was to act. The newest Senshi was only a year older than her, but there was a world of difference between the two that she was eager to make up. The Prince who had came to the Moon and captured her heart could have been far different without the help of those four men. It made the fights they had with them all the more tragic as Beryl drove them to capture the Crystal, with him fighting to protect her against the ones who had originally helped them get together. Today, he had killed one of them, and it was breaking his heart. ***************************************************************** Ami ran off to get some bandages as Setsuna continued to sit there, blood falling drip by slow drip onto the table and ignoring it. Michiru and Haruka, by virtue of spending more time with her, could read the tiny signs of fear in her and were truly worried. The most reaction they had ever seen from her was mild anger or regret, but never fear. The others were just startled, as the tall woman always seemed to be able to take anything in stride. "Setsuna," Makoto ventured. "What did Ami-chan say that upset you?" "He specifically said that someone brought him back, right?" she asked in response, turning a compelling stare on the brunette. "Yes," she replied. "He specifically said to ask Kunzite about the magi, correct?" she asked, writing the word 'magi' in blood on the glass tabletop to avoid any confusion. At their nods, she scowled and spat out something in a language that none of them could recognize but was clearly some kind of oath. "It's Spartan, and you don't want to know what it means, to answer your questions. I know who they are, the ones who Nephrite said sent him," she said, taking the tweezers from Ami as she sat down and negligently pulling out a sliver of glass from her thumb. "We're in trouble if they're the ones behind it. The magi were ancient even before the founding of the Moon Kingdom, and they've got an old grudge against us," she stated, looking at the two other Outer Senshi for a long moment before nodding, a motion which they returned. "I'll be back in a few days after I check on the time stream and gather some information." "You can't leave now," Rei protested as the woman quickly wound a strip of gauze over a sterile pad which Ami placed over the cut. Setsuna gave her a cold, piercing stare as she stood that made the younger girl back down. "I must, Rei-chan," she replied, forcing her voice to remain gentle. "They understand the basics of the manipulation of time." Her staff appeared in her hand just before she vanished. "We need her right now," Rei stated, her voice trailing off. "Yeah," Makoto echoed. "How can she leave now?" "Do you think she wants to do this?" Haruka snapped as Michiru put her hand on the other's arm to calm her down. "She has to," she continued as Haruka wisely tried to control her temper. "There are nine others to protect Usagi, but she's the only one who can guard time. It's simple math, Mako-chan." "She wants to be with us more than anything," Haruka added. "She wanted to be with us in the last battle on the Moon and she couldn't. It hurts her to have do this, to stay away." Makoto began to speak, but was cut off. "I ordered her away from the fight," Minako said sharply as she raised her head from the table, her eyes alert. She obviously had not been sleeping. "I sent her away, Mako-chan, because Michiru is right. Setsuna will be back soon with some more information, just like she said. In the meantime, we've got a job to do." The blonde stood and looked at each of them in turn. "Mako-chan, you go and give Hotaru the rest of the night off. She's been with Chibi-Usa all day and can probably use it. Ami and Rei, go make sure everything is quiet at Mamoru's, but don't let her know you're there. Mamoru will figure it out but won't mind. "You two are the cavalry," she stated, looking at the two Outer Senshi. "If we have an old enemy out there who knows who we are, we'll have to be doubly careful. Be ready to move out if any of us call." "What are you going to be up to, Minako-chan?" Ami asked as she picked up her purse and got ready to leave. "I'm going to go find Artemis and apologize to him. We need him right now, and it's my fault he's stayed away for a few days." ***************************************************************** The feel of the blanket sliding over her arm woke her with a start. "Mamo-chan?" she whispered. "I'm sorry, Usako," he smiled at her. He must have woken up after she had fallen asleep and tried to cover her as she lay on the couch. "I didn't mean to awaken you." "It's so warm in here," she said looking at the fire which he had built back up while she undid the top button on the shirt she wore. "The fire light helps, Usako. I need it for this." "What's that, Mamo-chan?" He turned away instead of answering her, went to the fireplace and returned carrying a small glass case. For all its beauty, with a gold frame and beveled sides, the stones that rested on the black velvet inside were remarkably plain. All four were relatively smooth, but not from cutting. It was as if the edges were worn off from years of handling. "I found out I had these right after you beat Beryl," he said, putting the case down on the table in front of him and sitting in a chair so that the stones were between him and the fire. She was slightly surprised, since he never used that chair. Normally, he sat on the couch so she could be by his side. "I don't know why I got these at that time, but I was able to find out what they were for." "It was right after that time, Usako, when I still didn't fully remember who I was, when the part of me that was the Moonlight Knight was helping you. I was here one night, and since it was a little cool that evening, I had lit a fire and was trying to figure out why I had this case. I drifted off to sleep at some point, and when I woke up, they were there for just a moment." He paused a moment to take a sip from a glass of water before continuing. "You could imagine how I felt, since I had no idea who these four apparitions were," he said, spotting the perplexed look on her face and smiling. "I'm sorry, I've always been good at geology. Each of these stones correspond to the names of my four friends. Tonight, I'm just going to try and use one of them." Eyes closed and brow furrowed in concentration, he took several deep breaths before any results happened. Several glowing tendrils of yellowish energy began to drift around him before wafting on some unseen breeze to the case and entering the stone that was second to the left. Moments later, a translucent glow appeared above it, forming into a familiar shape in a few moments. She gasped at the incredible differences in the man she now saw in front of her and the one who had tried and come so close to killing her. Kunzite looked very much the same, with long, pale hair, silvery blue eyes, the gray uniform and white cape. What was so different was the kind look on his face, serious, but with a glimmer of humor behind it where before it had been filled with only scorn and hatred. The only other time she had seen anything different on the face of this old enemy was that last, brief moment when he had called out to Zoisite before dying. "Your Majesties," he said, bowing with a flourish of his cape. "Kunzite..." she stammered, searching for some way to say it. "I'm still dead, Princess," he replied, smiling at her. "Please, don't feel bad about it, nor should you feel responsible for us being like this. It's far preferable to what she made us do." "If you're dead-" Mamoru began to say. "How am I here?" he interrupted. "Remember your training, Endymion. You may not really be calling my spirit back from the lands of the dead when you do this. This could just be how you can let your conscious mind speak to your subconscious. Your mind is providing the images you see, based on what we taught you in the past. Our mannerisms, our words, our knowledge are all things you learned in the past. "Then again," he smiled mischievously. "You're doing this by magic, and you might be bringing me back for a few moments. The important thing is that-" "It doesn't matter as long as it works," the two men said in unison, laughing together for several moments as she marveled at the look on her lover's face. For this brief moment, all the fatigue, the pain and the worries were pushed aside revealing the face she would see on him in the future. "Mamo-chan," she whispered, getting up, sitting on the floor next to the chair, and putting her hand in his. It seemed to bring him back to the present for just a moment. "Nephrite said to ask you about the magii," the young man stated. "Our old foe," the ghost whispered, the anger evident in his eyes. "I knew we had never defeated their master." "They've sent forth strange creatures, ones who can seemingly shrug off all but our most powerful attacks." "Remember your lessons?" Kunzite said again, an image forming behind him of a small courtyard near a round tower. A young Endymion, clad in a sweat-stained brown tunic, stood next to Kunzite, who had taken off his cloak in the midday heat. A short, squat statue stood at the far end, and was the recipient of several bolts of yellow light from the young man. "Golems!" Mamoru exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "We used it because they're so resistant to magic." "And the magi are the ones most skilled at using magic," the older man continued in a few moments. "Jadeite took us there one day to see the remains of their tower. You can guide the others there." "I must go now. My time here is short, I'm afraid, and you've been pushing yourself too hard lately without enough regular practice at the arts to sustain this for much longer. Farewell, My Prince, and take care of her. She needs your strength." ***************************************************************** "What do you think of her idea?" she asked the taller woman as they walked into the park that was the scene of their battle the day before. The Parks Department had already cut down the tree that Hotaru had pruned, and a small bulldozer was filling in the gash in the soil as a truck full of sod waited to disgorge its cargo on this clear, cool morning. "Luna will whip them into shape," she replied to the other. "She questioned us enough as is, so she understands how to do it. As long as they stick to her plan, it will work. Artemis should have been there, though. Tactics is his job." "She tried, Haruka," she added quickly. "She said she finally found him early this morning and apologized. He'll be back around, and Minako won't be so distracted anymore." "She'll be hurt if she won't pay attention, Michiru. Mars almost fried her," she commented as they walked away from a small group of children watching the construction equipment. Luna had gathered them together earlier in the morning for a practice drill after finding out about the results of the fight yesterday. The black cat was in no mood for excuses, and had remorselessly drilled the Inner Senshi in a series of attacks and feints to use the next time they fought one of these 'golems', as Usagi had called it, and to sharpen them up in general after Nephrite gave them such a drubbing. Saturn was the designated target, using her Silence Wall to block their powered down attacks. Venus was clearly not into it, even more so than usual for her, and had nearly been hit by a burst of flame from Mars. "Let my try it from here," Michiru said, closing her eyes for a moment. "Are you sure about this?" "I think so," she replied, opening her eyes and looking around her. "That one that Mamoru found was pretty distinctive in regards to how it felt, so I think I can find another." "You're far better than I am at that. I could barely tell when a daemon was around," Haruka replied soberly, and then grinned, spying a flash of color out of the corner of her eye. "You can come out now, Ami-chan." With a sigh of regret, the girl with the blue hair came out from behind a nearby tree, her computer in hand. "How did you spot me?" she asked, closing the computer so that it now looked like nothing more than a small cosmetics case. Haruka bent down to pretend to tie one of her shoes as a pretext for flipping the hem of Ami's long, light blue dress up a few inches before standing. "Choose wider trees or wear pants, Ami-chan. Trees don't wear pretty dresses that the wind can catch." Ami blushed at the compliment as Michiru playfully punched Haruka in the arm, her normal method of complaining when Haruka acted like this. She also noticed that Michiru had just taken out her mirror. "Did you find anything?" she asked of the woman. "I can't find a thing with my scanners." Michiru smiled as she held the mirror before her, turning in a slow, steady circle before walking sharply to one side with a look of satisfaction on her face. Haruka looked around to make sure nobody was watching before jumping lightly to the lowest branch of the massive tree that Michiru had indicated, settling easily onto the branch as if she had leapt only a meter instead of six. "It's on the same line of travel, all right," she said, looking around her and peering up into the branches. "I don't see anything yet... Wait, I got it," she said, leaning down and smiling at the newcomer. "Ami-chan," she said sweetly, causing Ami to look away for a moment or risk laughing at her tone of voice and the look on her face. "I need you up here." Michiru held her hands together to give Ami a boost like a circus acrobat, enabling her to jump up and just reach the outstretched hand of the one above, who hauled her up on the branch. "It's up there, in that notch in the trunk," Haruka said, pointing it out. "The trunk is too thin up there to hold me, and probably Michiru as well." "It's so nice to be an important member of your team, Haruka-san," Ami ventured as she realized that nobody could see them, with the exception of Michiru below. She reached into her pocket and took out her wand. "I'd hate to get my dress all dirty and ripped, since you like it so much," she said as she changed and began to climb up the trunk while Michiru laughed at the look on Haruka's face. ***************************************************************** He took his hand out and piled the last of the crystals on the table before the young man, who would be the spitting image of an angel if he didn't know him so well. They glowed a bright red, and he could almost hear a faint, chiming sound coming from them that had nothing to do with their crashing into one another. "That should be enough heart crystals," Matthew said, closing the small sack that, in the real world, could never have held all of them. Here, in another realm, it would be able to hold whatever was desired by the caster. "Thank you," Gabriel replied to the projection of Matthew that the man sent from another room in the stronghold, several meters and a world away. "Everything is set and ready to go, correct?" "The trap is ready, in case they show up there. If they do try anything here, the wards will shunt their teleport over to the trap as well. You're safe and secure, Gabriel. Good luck." He closed his eyes momentarily as the figure in the suit faded from view and surveyed the grayness around him to get bearings. It looked featureless to the untrained eye, but with all the power that Matthew had ripped from a hundred slaves and transferred to him, and the spells that enabled him to see here, it was seething with information. It took him only a few moments to detect the flow of events and he willed himself against the flow towards the gates they issued from. ***************************************************************** "He's away?" the older man questioned as he entered the room. "Yes," the younger replied. "We did the transfer while he was partially in the realm of time in order to keep the noise down from the crystals. Blood magic is a bit noisy, after all. She might have heard him if he went in at the start with that much. He's on his way." "Good," he replied, looking at the pattern laid out on the top of the tabletop, clean lines of white sand and candles of beeswax. His mind weighed the calculations a few times before he took out a small paint brush, the kind used for very small details, and began to carefully thin out a sequence of lines. "Jason," Matthew warned. "Don't worry, Matthew," he replied, paying close attention to his work. "I want him to come back, also. He's too valuable to lose. I have to be here when they arrive, and you have to back me up. He was the only choice I had for this. "She, however, is no fool. Even with all his power, and that from the crystals, he may not make it. If he wins, it will take him a few years to get back now. If he loses," he continued, blowing a little more of the sand away at one crucial point. "This will significantly delay her return." ***************************************************************** "Hi, Mako-chan!" the girl cried out as she came into the kitchen with Luna-P floating behind her, joining the brunette and her mother, who sat on the counter in a flagrant violation of the house rules. "Usagi..." the girl said in a mock-threatening tone of voice. "Chibi-Usa-chan," chided the blonde, who pulled the girl up to sit with her to kick her heels and watch Makoto assembling their lunch. "Mom isn't allowed in the kitchen right now, so we can get away with it. Mako-chan was kind enough to volunteer to cook lunch, as long as Mom agreed to take a break. "Now, be quiet, little one," she continued. "I'm trying to get some pointers." "Fat chance," the girl muttered, having been subjected to trying many of her mother's attempts at cooking in the present. "At least she'll eventually learn to cook, Mako-chan. She's pretty good a thousand years from now." Makoto laughed, lifting a lid to stir the carbonara sauce while Usagi playfully put a headlock on the girl and mussed up her hair. "Now, now, you two," she scolded them, grinning all the while. "No fighting in my kitchen, or you won't get any food." In an instant, the two separated and angelically smiled at her. "What are you making, Mako-chan?" the girl asked a few minutes later, after she and Usagi had recovered from a fit of giggling after looking at each other. "We're having Italian food for lunch. Pasta carbonara with saffron, a seafood risotto, grilled vegetables, fresh bread, and a big salad." "Ooohhh," the girl squealed in delight. "That sounds good!" "It does sound good," Usagi agreed with her. "And you'd better watch your portions with this rich food, or we're going to have to start calling you Chubby-Usa." The two stuck their tongues out at each other before laughing again and the girl excused herself to go upstairs to clean up and change. "She's really growing up," the blonde said softly, watching her go. "Forget her," Makoto said. "You've really grown up in the last couple of weeks, and it really shows when you two are together. What's going on, Usagi-chan?" The other girl got down and filled a glass with water before answering. "I got tired of fighting with her, Mako-chan. I'm going... I am her mother, and it's time I started trying to act like it." "That's very considerate and sweet of you, Usagi-chan," Makoto replied, giving her a quick, one-armed hug before starting to chop the olives and onions for the salad and getting Usagi to start crumbling some feta cheese. "Not as sweet as you for agreeing to fix lunch today, since I caught you lurking around here. You had the day shift, I assume?" she dryly asked. "Usagi-chan-" "Mako-chan," she interrupted, laughing. "It's all right. I understand why all this is going on, and I'm trying to get used to it. Chibi-Usa doesn't seem to mind being under guard all the time, so I gather I'll have to get used to it as well. Just promise me one thing, Mako-chan?" "What?" she asked warily. "As long as you're on shift over here, you come in and cook more often. You can watch over me just as well from inside the kitchen..." "Hah!" she laughed back at her friend. "She said you eventually learned to cook, Usagi-chan. No way." "Mako-chan!" Usagi cried out, trying to sound like she was getting picked on, but soon degenerating into more giggling. Finally, a few minutes later, Makoto finished her cutting and tossed the salad as Usagi took the bread out of the oven at her request. "How was Mamoru doing?" "Sleeping like a baby," Usagi replied, taking her seat on the counter again near the stove. "We'll meet tonight at his place to discuss what he learned and what we're going to do." "I hope he's all right, Usagi-chan." "He will be. He's just tired," she replied, lifting a lid and stirring the sauce like Makoto had shown her. "Mako-chan, would you explain to me again why we're having Italian and this sauce is yellow? I thought it was supposed to be red." ***************************************************************** She had just finished looking over the time stream a second time, searching through countless minute details for any sign or trace of interference. No sooner had she reached the decision that nothing had been altered in the past, nor was anything amiss in the myriad possibilities of the present than someone knocked on the gates. Her heart began to race as she considered the implications of that. Euclidean geometry did not hold sway over this place, and anyone who wished to contact her would have to come through the gates, no matter where they came from. The only permanent access was from the palace in Crystal Tokyo in the future, and since Small Lady was in the past, no one else in that time would contact her that way. They'd talk to her in that time. It wasn't a Time Key, either, she decided as sweat broke out on her forehead. The sound and feel was all wrong for one of those, nor did this have the same gut-wrenching feel of the occasion she got too close to herself that one time in the distant past when she was new to her power. The knock sounded again and she realized that she would have to do something about this. The gates, although they were a powerful construct, were quite simple, and if anyone had the power to reach them, they could also force passage through them, given enough time. That was why she was constantly on guard. She got up, walked back several steps and faced the gates, her staff in hand, the Garnet Orb glowing a reassuring red. A wave of her hand opened the gate. A man walked through, confident in himself and clothed in power, a glowing silver ring on his hand. Everything around her turned gray as he attempted to force his perception of reality into hers. She let him, for the moment. The scent/feel of blood filled her, stoking the fires of her anger. "Greetings," he said, as she realized it was the same man who had spoken to her at the bookstore. "You're very presumptuous, forcing your way in here, and given the source of your power and the things your kind did to my sisters throughout the years. What makes you think I won't kill you for this?" He smiled at her again, but this time the effect of it faded as quickly as a wave after smashing against a rock. "I truly wish it wouldn't come to this," he said, his voice just a little sad. "I wasn't lying to you. You probably are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." "It must be tough keeping track after killing so many people in order to amass your power." "Please, Sailor Pluto," he implored her. "Don't fight me. You can't win. Not here, not now. We... I've studied you far too long, and I know your power. I'm prepared for and capable of dealing with anything you can do." She sneered as she motioned around her with her hand. "You may have raw power," she replied, "but your understanding of this is that of a child's if all you can visualize of this place is flat, dull, gray ground and a matching sky." The butt end of her staff tapped the ground once, and her orb flashed red in the dim light, replacing the featurelessness with a chaotic assortment of images and concepts that startled him just a bit. "You have more power than I," she conceded with a nod as she drew herself up to her full height. "A powerful child cannot hope to withstand me, the mistress and creator of this realm. Do you truly wish to challenge me?" "I must," he replied, gathering his energy around him as she assumed a combat stance, her staff held out before her. ***************************************************************** "Hey, furball," she said, affectionately using one of her nicknames for him as he walked up to the stairs at Mamoru's apartment, fervently hoping that he had forgiven her for the outburst the other night. "I'm glad you came." "It's my job," he said, walking past her and into the apartment to join the others for the strategy session, shattering her hopes for a quick reconciliation. She came in after him, closing the door, squeezed in next to Rei and leaned back on the couch. "Aren't we grouchy," Luna commented as the white cat jumped up next to her on the table by the window, her voice pitched far too low for the others to hear. "She apologized, didn't she, Artemis?" "Don't start, Luna," he replied at the same level. "Not tonight, not now." She sniffed and padded over to take a new spot a few feet away, but at least didn't insult him by facing away from him. She was mad at him, but not too mad, he thought to himself as he caught Mamoru's eye and nodded. "Now that everyone's here," the young man began. "Except Puu," Chibi-Usa added. "Except Setsuna," he corrected himself, "we can try to figure out what's been going on. We've all been doing a lot of things the past few days, and it's time we're all up to speed on it." "I'll begin, I guess," Haruka said, "since most of you know this already. These golems can be beaten, if you're patient and work together. Luna showed you what to do, and her ideas will work if you hold up your end." She pointedly looked at Minako as she said the last part. The blonde ignored her. "They're very resistant to our attacks," the young man continued, "but they're not immune. The ones who sent them are called the magii, and the golems are after these objects." He held up one of the two crystal pyramids. "All we can tell about them is that they are magic," Michiru added. "As to their purpose..." she shrugged as her voice trailed off. "I tried a reading on the pyramids, but didn't get anything. What about the ones who sent them? Do you know who they are, Mamoru?" Rei asked. "They're old enemies of Atlantis," he replied. "That makes them enemies of the Moon Kingdom, since we were allies." "Let's go get 'em, then," Makoto said. "We can deal with their golems now." "That's what we need to decide," he said a moment later. "I know where the magii once had a fortress." "He can be the focus of our teleport," Ami added. "We power it, and he'll guide us to them. It should work." "Let's do it, then," Hotaru said eagerly. "Usagi-chan," Michiru asked. "What do you want to do?" "I think we should go," she said, looking at the others. "I want to get this over with." With that remark several conversations started among them as plans were discussed and ideas exchanged until one voice cut across the rest. "Don't you all see that it's probably a trap?" Minako asked loudly. "It's been how many years since they were there, Mamoru?" "At least a thousand," he admitted. "Probably more than that, but it's a place to start, Minako-chan. I'm starting to realize how to recognize magic. Maybe we can get a clue as to who they are or where they are now at." "C'mon, Minako-chan," Makoto pleaded. "We can take them down now." "How many of you want to go?" Usagi asked, forestalling the debate that was about to happen. Seven hands were raised, with Minako, Michiru and Haruka voting against. "We think it's safe," Luna added. "'Sort of safe' is what I said," Artemis grumbled. "I'm not against it as long as you realize that you're there to get information and get out." "That's a three to one ratio in favor of going," Ami reported. "That's it, then," Usagi sighed. "Tomorrow afternoon." She wasn't the only one who was startled when Minako stood and left without saying a word, carefully closing the door in her wake. Artemis glanced at Luna, and then slipped out the window to follow her. ***************************************************************** The man she fought might have been the one who attacked her in the mall a few years ago as she dealt with one of the daemons. The attack he used was the same, a turbulent blast of random temporal energy that would scatter various parts of her across time and space. Her defense against it was the same when she couldn't or didn't want to dodge the attack. She would either deflect his attacks, or wielding her staff like a lacrosse player, catch it in her Orb and send it back at him. The first time she did that, only a lucky dodge had saved him, and he had been far more careful after that. The strain of catching and returning his attacks was beginning to show on her face, which had broken out in a sweat that was beginning to mat down her hair. She had tried a counter-offensive earlier in the fight, only to find that much of his boasting was accurate. Whatever his source, his power and control were sufficient to keep her from taking control of the fight. He wasn't subtle, but he was more powerful. Try as she might, she wasn't able to change the environment after that first time. Fortunately, she consoled herself, dodging a boulder that appeared above her head, he wasn't too skilled at that or she would have been long since dead. "Time Storm!" he yelled, another blast forming between his hands and erupting towards her. She took some small satisfaction in it, because he was apparently tired enough that he needed to use the name as a mantra to aid his concentration. She dove to the left, allowing the Orb to swing up behind her and catch it while hopefully her body blocked his view.