Mark Latus Sailor Moon Expanded : Crystal Tokyo Saga Sidestory 1 The Babe Wore Blue By Mark Latus Introduction I don't usually write introductions to my fanfics but as this is the first one to appear under the SME tag I thought a few words of explanation were in order. This story is set a few days after Andy Combs "Crystal Renegades" concludes. Don't worry, there's no spoilers for CR in this story. Now as anyone who's been reading "Crystal Renegades" already knows (and if you haven't been reading it, why not?) the Dark Kingdom Renegades are still around in the era of Crystal Tokyo. So is Magnesite. If you've been reading the DKR stories from the beginning that name might seem familiar. He appeared in the first DKR story "Refugees", more recently in a brief note at the end of "Crystal Renegades part 1". Here's a brief recap. Warning - It will serve as a spoiler for "Refugees" if you're planning to read that. This isn't essential info, you could just go read BWB without the background. S P O I L E R S P A C E Magnesite was the Renegades' boss in the Dark Kingdom. Both a Humphrey Bogart lookalike and fan of all his movies he was the villain of "Refugees". At the end of which he suffered the suitably ironic fate of falling into his own Eternal Sleep Crystal which was sculpted into a replica of the Maltese Falcon. That was supposed to be his first and last appearance. After that he was supposed to vanish into the limbo reserved for fanfic characters whose time is done. But some characters won't go gentle into the good night. They wait until you're offguard then scream, "I've got a great idea for a new story!" The crazy inspiration takes root and you realize the only way to get it out of your mind is to write the story. So I started writing BWB between other projects. I thought after this story was done that would be it for Magnesite. He'd make a cameo appearance in the war against Nemesis, get killed and that would be that. But Andy decided to expanded our shared fanfic universe and brought in some very talanted folks. Currently we've got Frank Barr, Sam Ashley, Doug Helm, Christian Gadeken and Ben Harrison on the roster. You've already seen Frank's "Trenchcoat Mask" and you'll be seeing SME projects coming from the others. Check out the homepage at: http://www.texas.net/~android/sme_main.html So the Magnesite concept started bouncing between us and it turned out weird inspirations were contagious. Let's just say you'll be seeing a lot more of Magnesite in the future. More on that in the afterword but for now why don't you check out the story? Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Magnesite! Crystal Tokyo Saga Sidestory The Babe wore Blue - Another case from the files of Magnesite, PI by Mark Latus Part 1 - The Client There's a light drizzle outside but the black sky doesn't darken the streets. After all this is Crystal Tokyo, the city of lights. This burg's always illuminated. The only real darkness around is the kind that lives in human hearts but there's still no shortage of that. I should know, my name's Magnesite and I'm a PI. Okay I'm overdramatising. It's hell being a grim and gritty kinda guy in a warm and cuddly society. Utopia is a rotten place for a seedy business like this. I'm just lucky divorces still tend to be messy or I'd be starving. Those and the really minor lost property cases the police won't touch keeps me going. Probably won't touch them because there's so few of them in this city. Not that CT really needs any more than it's got. Why the hell won't the crime rate rise? I don't even have a decent adversarial relationship with the cops. Whenever my investigations cross theirs they don't warn me not to interfere. They tell me to go ahead if it makes me happy and to cheer up a bit. Darkness! Sometimes they even share their evidence with me! Whatever happened to hate, prejudice, envy and intolerance? Now those were human traits I could respect. There's no shortage of them outside CT but I'm not allowed to leave the city. It's like after I died instead of hell they sent me to Disneyland. If it wasn't for the few decent cases I've had over the centuries and the occasional feud with Mars the tedium would have finished me off years ago. People are too damn trusting these days. A delegation shows up from a previously unknown world and do the papers start screaming about invasions, abductions, experiments or any of that other stuff aliens are supposed to do? No, it's all gushing over them like they're celebrities and reminding people to be extra nice to these Nemesians (or Nemesites, or Nemes). Makes me sick. I suppose technically I'm an alien. While my distant ancestors were human I wasn't born on this planet. But does that panic people? Hell no. Matter of fact one of the Senshi isn't human and another of them's married to a Dark Kingdomer. Does that upset people? Nope, it's just minor trivia in a magical kingdom. Makes me long for the 20th century when people around here were xenophobic, paranoid and scared of outsiders. Metallia! I was a big shot in the Dark Kingdom, I could have been a General! Now I find missing puppies to keep body and soul together and the SOB who stabbed me in the back is a royal advisor. Where's the justice? I need a drink. I tipped the cheap whiskey back and felt it burn through the mucus lining of my throat on the way down. At least I should have except I don't have a mucus lining. Hell I don't even have a real body anymore. This stuff can't get me drunk, I don't need any kind of physical sustenance. But it's part of the image, like the cigarettes, the fedora and my trenchcoat. Even if I'm almost the only one left who remembers that. I can't believe how few people these days have heard of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. I dropped the bottle back on the desk. As always it was cluttered with newspapers and paperwork. Somehow the paperfree society never quite caught on. The bottle sits next to the replica Maltese Falcon. Calcite's less than subtle hint to keep my nose clean. Some guys really carry a grudge. It's been nearly 1000 years for Metallia's sake! Ok so I tried to take out him, the rest of the Renegades and the Senshi. But I didn't actually kill anyone and I still feel 700 years in that lousy crystal was excessive. Hell if it wasn't for me would he ever have met Venus? I'm sort of their matchmaker. Speaking of which I saw in the paper the other day his wife skewered him in some sort of sparring accident. An unconfirmed report said he was hospitalized and near death which makes me feel cheerful. Who am I kidding? I'll never get that lucky. Yet as I think that I'm glancing from the replica falcon to the framed Casablanca poster. Behind there is a safe holding the real stuff that dreams are made of. A pearl beyond price. I was lucky once. Partially anyway. I lost the girl but I got the bird. Not the best ending but a very Bogie one. But I doubt Calcite's going to croak. Just like the Senshi those damn Renegades have a habit of surviving. Only one of the other Kingdom survivors I've got any respect for is Margrave. Now she is something, the last real youma. The Renegades don't count, they're genetic freaks who should have been strangled at birth. I'm not flesh and blood anymore. Whatever I've become I don't count as a youma anymore. I've been called a solidified psychoplasm ghost. That's about the best description I'll get. Margrave's been a real inspiration to me. Like her I need human energy. She needs it to stay alive, I need it to stay corporeal. Without it I fade to a phantom. And that gets old real quick. So like her I set up a business offering humans my services in exchange for some of their energy. Different services from hers obviously. Want someone shadowed? Find out if your spouse is cheating on you? Track down the lowlife who ran out on you? I'm your man. I've got a bag of tricks that make me the best PI on the planet. Certainly the best in Crystal Tokyo. Okay the only one in Crystal Tokyo. Anyway by the terms of my parole I'm confined to happyville here. Lousy spoilsports, just once I'd like to visit California. San Francisco, LA, Chinatown ... it'd be sort of a pilgrimage. Well it had been a while between cases and I was starting to feel kind of hungry when the babe walked in. Just cause I'm made of psychoplasm doesn't mean I don't appreciate women. Especially this one. I've always been a leg man so I appreciate those outfits. Whoever designed the Senshi uniform either felt the same way or figured most of their opponents would be male so the added distraction would help. She was wearing her hair longer than she used to, it's a nice complement to the blue outfit. A lot of people say it's between Mars and Jupiter for best figure. Me, I think she's got the best overall proportions. Long tanned legs that you can imagine wrapping around ... "I'm aware people tend to fantasize over the Senshi but they're usually a little less blatant about it." She didn't look amused. Damn! I was narrating out loud again. Her stern expression suddenly dissolved into a coughing fit and she rushed to the window. Ignoring the rain she stuck her head out and breathed deeply. She left the window open as she ducked back inside. Running a hand through her damp hair she asked, "How can you breathe in smoke this thick?" "Breathing's for wimps!" Well that sounded tough enough but the truth is I didn't notice. Like I said the cigarettes are just for effect. I don't notice the smoke as I don't need oxygen these days. A side effect of being composed of psychoplasm. I'll have to watch that. I must have been overdoing it lately. Now I knew why my last potential client went green when he walked in and then fled the building. "I see. A smoke detector would be a good investment." Damnit! I didn't mean to say that out loud. This is what comes of spending centuries in isolation reliving every Bogie film ever made. Lucky I didn't go nuts. Though I occasionally suspect my memory has been a little warped. For example I remember my final farewell to Queen Beryl while the Senshi were invading the Kingdom. We looked at each other and you could she was ready to stay with me rather than go with Endymion to ambush the Moon Princess. But I told her that if she did she'd regret it. Perhaps not today, or tomorrow but one day she'd regret it for the rest of her life. In a crazy place like the Dark Kingdom the problems of two youma didn't amount to a hill of skulls. So she went off with Endymion to fight the Senshi. I went looking for Calcite to find out why he wasn't on the front lines and ran into Titanite. Which is how I got stabbed in the back, literally. Now I know that some of that definitely happened but parts of it are way too close to "Casablanca". Then there's the fact that my memories of the quest for the silver crystal are a close parallel to the hunt for the Maltese Falcon. I've seen artists impressions of Queen Beryl and she doesn't look a thing like Mary Astor in those. "Excuse me, are you done with your introspective brooding yet?" Damn, I've been ignoring my client. "Sorry about that. Take a seat." "With a skirt this short I prefer to stand." "Suit yourself." Time to get my brain in gear. She's here in Senshi uniform but Sailor Mercury retired as an active Senshi before my revival. Lately she's been better known as Lady Mizuno, Dean Emeritus of CTU. That doesn't change what she is, just her dressing habits. So she's wearing that to hammer home how important this is. But why would she need to hire a PI? Particularly one who tried to kill her back in the twentieth century. Could be she's looking to set me up for the big sleep. Except why wait so long? Revenge is a dish best served cold as somebody once said. Play for time. "It's your nickle, babe." She looks puzzled for a moment then remembers payphones. After a moment she says, "I need someone ... investigated." She sounds hesitant. Is it hiring a PI or hiring me? "That's why most people come to me sweetheart." Afraid her boyfriend's stepping out on her? Wonder who he is? "Cleaning up people's romantic messes is what keeps me going ..." "It's not a personal matter, it's a criminal one!" She sounds offended at my suggestion. Or maybe she didn't like being called sweetheart. Something really doesn't add up here. "So why come to me? Why not go straight to the police? You may have stepped down as a Senshi but you're not without influence. Besides say the word and I'll bet her gracious majesty would put you back on the roster in an instant. Hell if you didn't want to rejoin officially all you'd have to do is show up at police HQ dressed like that. They'd be falling over each other to help you out." Matter of fact I think there's an adult video using that premise. There's still a small hentai market for animated simulations of the Senshi performing a variety of indecent acts. Part of Sailor Polaris's job as PR & media liason is stamping them out when they creep in from outside CT. But they keep sprouting up again. My personal favorite is the one with Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, the octopus and the bathtub full of lubricant. Well I can't watch Bogie films all the time. As Mercury's still choosing her words rather than glaring at me it looks like I'm not narrating out loud anymore. "This is a matter of some delicacy ... and not without risk. While Crystal Tokyo's police are dedicated men and women they are ill equipped to deal with paranormal criminals." This is getting intriguing but still doesn't add up. "So why not have a word with our old buddy Rei? She's in charge of internal security, well equipped to fight paranormal goons and probably eager for a little action after centuries of sitting on her duff." Matter of fact I know she is. Rei was very quick off the mark when she got wind of that mess three years back. The fact I'm still walking around proves she never figured it out. I start to think about someone I met back then but squash the thought as youmalike. She's gone, forget her! If I look a little wistful Mercury doesn't notice. She's too busy considering how to answer me. "I ... would rather not involve Rei at this time. There are certain tensions among the Senshi right now and she might act prematurely. Also there is the risk of a security leak at the palace." "So what? Even someone as paranoid as me finds it hard to credit anyone in the palace working against Serenity. Especially after all this time." "That isn't exactly the problem." She's looking for the right way to phrase this, there's things she doesn't want me to pick up. "The man I want investigated has both personal power and top level connections ..." There aren't many men in this town with para-abilities and political clout. I can't see the King being a suspect so that leaves ... oh boy! If it's who I think it's a mixed blessing. On the one hand I'd like to get Calcite busted. On the other he could reshape me into something truly unpleasant and lock me in that form for centuries. I don't want to wake up tomorrow as a urinal. Mercury plows on, "... he's also a pillar of the community. No one's about to suspect him of treason." "Errr this man ... does he by any chance have a sister in the Senshi and a Senshi wife?" "No!" So it's not Calcite. "But he has two cousins who match those descriptions." My jaw hit the desk. I hate losing control of my body like that, it makes me look like a cartoon! Guess I'm really surprised! I stuffed my tongue back in quickly, grabbed my chin and slotted my jawbone back into place. Mercury's face seemed to have acquired a very large sweatdrop. I'm truly astonished ... him?!! "Pyrite?" That weakling? Ok so he's not weak by human standards, matter of fact he could break a human in two with little effort. If he did that kind of thing which he doesn't because he's Renegade and they're a pack of wimps. I shook off the automatic Renegade distain, perfectly natural youma viewpoint though it was. Fact of the matter is I wouldn't want to tackle the other three Renegades these days even if I was running on full power. Which I haven't in centuries as I can't drain lifeforce at will to energise myself. I can still shapeshift and teleport though the latter takes quite a bit of juice. I could do one or two maximum power energy bursts before I became immaterial so I'm not much on heavy offensive capability. On the positive side I'm very hard to kill and can reshape parts of my body into edged weapons. I'd like to carry a gun but in Crystal Tokyo the best I can have is a replica .45 that does sound effects. Which I'm not allowed to display in public anyway. I really hate this town. Anyway the point was that Pyrite's a different case from the rest of the DKR. His powers are focused more towards R&D than combat. Mercury was waiting for me to calm down. I put my brain in gear, this could be very good for me. I couldn't see Pyrite doing anything treasonous but I'd get paid for the investigation anyway. Senshi energy would last longer than the human variety and it's been a very long time since I had the chance to taste it. "I'll take the case." She didn't look very grateful, matter of fact she looked like she thought she might be making a big mistake. A quick rummage around in the pile on my desk produced a dogeared contract. "Read this over and if the terms are agreeable we can get down to specifics." My terms are well known but you've got to be careful when you feed on life energy. Another thing I've learned from Margrave is humans can doublecross you. Which is why I always get it in writing. "This looks fine." She hands it back, not being dumb enough to sign it without the specifics of the investigation filled in." "So what can I do for you lady?" I leaned back in my chair and gave her my best cynical look. "Where to begin ... you've heard about the delegation from Nemesis that's visiting?" "I read the papers ..." Glad they still do hardcopy, video doesn't fit my style. "... mainly bigshots and a few followers; Rubeus, Saffir, Emaraldess. Sounds like a jewelry exhibit! Why don't they have sensible names?" "Like Magnesite, Jadeite or Nephrite?" "Right!" She looks amused, must be some Senshi thing. "So what's the connection?" Here we go, she's looking apprehensive. "A member of the Nemesis delegation visited CTU yesterday. Their technical consultant, a man named Ambir. I took him on a tour which included the research labs. In hindsight a mistake but we've always included those and I couldn't let on that we knew anything was wrong ..." She clams up suddenly, looks like she just let something slip. but what? After a moment she resumes talking. "While we were in Pyrite's lab he mentioned some potential implications of his omniversal unification theory..." Pyrite's been working on that thing for a very long time. I hear it's so escoteric that aside from Mercury maybe three other people in the world can understand it. My client's still going, "... Ambir was very interested and Pyrite would elaborated if I hadn't invoked research security. Then Ambir said he'd heard Pyrite was interested in crystal magic, took out a gemstone and invoked a droid." "Droid?" "It's an AI construct centering on the energy matrix created by the crystal. The matrix field forms a pseudomatter within its containment grid." "Huh?" "You turn it on and you've got a servant." "Oh. Sort of instant youma." "If you like. Now Pyrite was acting very interested but Ambir said the technical details were classified. Then Pyrite suggested trading his research for droid technology. I blocked that by saying all research exchanges would have to go through the council of Senshi and require royal approval. I thought that was the end of it but I noticed them talking together later." She pauses for a moment so I make a guess at what she wants. "So you want me to see if Pyrite's planning on ignoring the red tape and making his own swap with this Ambir?" She nods. "And stop him if he is doing a trade!" "No!" "No?" "If he is selling that research then I don't dare stop him. It's possible that it's the final key to ... certain events. Normally I wouldn't worry about him doing anything foolish but things are ... a little more complicated than usual. I'm not sure how much he knows ... if he thinks it's all predestined he might think, 'where's the harm?' No, there's no way he know about ... " She clams up suddenly. There's something going on I'm not supposed to know about. She tries again, "What's worse, if it is part of the sequence then he has to be allowed to sell us out." I'm not following this at all. Best I can figure is Mars has had a vision and they're trying to make sure things go the way she saw. Alternately they're trying to prevent something from happening. The way I understand it the future isn't fixed so all a seer gets is possibilities. "So if you don't want him stopped then what do you want me to do?" She's composed herself and she's got a cold expression. "I want to know if he does trade information with Ambir or any other Nemesian. Maybe it's inevitable but that doesn't exclude responsibility. I want a report on what he does during the next week and I want it 100% honest!" "I'll ignore the insinuation (like I'd be dumb enough to do something so blatant. Last thing I want to do is give the Senshi or the Renegades justifiable cause to get me purged by Serenity). If that's what you want then I can handle that. When do I start?" "Within the hour." "Fine. While I'm filling in the details you can give me a description of this Ambir ..." She drops her trademark minicomputer on the table. It's displaying a man in his mid 30's (assuming normal aging) with green eyes and short curly purple hair. I wonder if this machine's an antique but she's hanging onto it for sentimental reasons. Or is it still impossible to duplicate? "... I may need access to secured areas of the campus so if you can provide a security override ... sorry I forgot, Crystal Tokyo, everything on the campus is open." "Actually no, we keep the research labs secured. That's mainly to prevent anyone wandering in, accidentally hitting the wrong button and ruining months of work." She tosses something on the table, a ticket sized card about as thick as a piece of paper. "That'll get you into anywhere ... it'll also log your usage so don't try anything funny." Good. This'll save me having to walk through walls. Besides Pyrite might have sensors up to watch for me. In case I ever try to finish what I started back in the 20th. No, that's not really paranoid. Grow up in the Dark Kingdom and you know everyone else is out to get you. Old habits die hard, or not at all. She signs the contract and snaps the computer closed. "I'm counting on you." With that she heads for the door. I watch her backside as long as I can on her way out. As she didn't turn and slap me I guess I'm still staying quiet. Soon as the door closes I head for the filing cabinet. Yeah I know I could store a global library in the same space but that's not my style. I slid open the "R" drawer and begin looking through the Renegade files. There it was, "Azurite/Pyrite". I didn't bother giving them individual files. After I was freed and started this office I began tracing what the other youma had been up to over the centuries. Naturally enough I was curious. I flipped open the file. Starting from the beginning here's what I know about the two of them since our Dark Kingdom days. The older records are a bit sparse, a lot of them were lost in the chaos but I think I've reconstructed it well enough. Following my ill fated revenge scheme there were sporadic sightings of Sailors Polaris and Arcturus along with Calcite's secret ID. There was quite a bit of Arcturus merchandizing and even a quickie movie which the critics panned. Then they all dropped out sight for years. Gone without a trace. Supposedly those Sailor Polaris Dark World movies tell where they were but I figure those things are pure misdirection. Upshot is they vanished and the number of Senshi in Tokyo decreased temporarily. Not that there was any shortage of Senshi back then. At one point there were about a dozen running around. Anyway skipping ahead to the 21st century we have the Dark Times and the DKR reappears under their aliases. When Crystal Tokyo's founded things calm down a little. We're back to the original five Senshi ... actually four Senshi and Queen Neo-Serenity. Uranus and Neptune are around somewhere but not active in day to day operations. Shortly after that there's an announcement that Sailor Polaris is joining the Senshi officially and Serenity's named Calcite a royal advisor. Both have been given titles! Lady Titanite takes charge of the palace's media relations and Lord Calcite is constantly being sighted alongside Sailor Venus. No word on Sailor Arcturus. Pyrite and Azurite have disappeared again but both are proclaimed citizens in absentia. Far as I can tell they spent the next century travelling the world. Azurite was working as an actress under a variety of names and glamours. As for Pyrite ... back then the world was struggling with the reappearance of magic. A researcher who understood it was worth his weight in gold. If I've figured out his aliases correctly then he helped at least half a dozen countries convert to a mixed technology/magic based economy peacefully. At any rate it's a fact they reappeared in CT about a hundred years later. Coincidentally just as Calcite and Venus's first (and longest) marriage was self destructing. Ironically they decided to hold their own wedding. A little pointless as they'd been living together over a century by that point but they made their union official. I'd guess they did it for two reasons. Firstly for Serenity's sake, she's somewhat old fashioned and a great believer in marriage. Secondly it was their way of proclaiming they were through hiding and back to stay. Far as I can tell they're as stable as Serenity and Endymion. Assuming that's not just a PR facade and I really have to wonder what happens behind the scenes. Enough cynicism, back to the case. Pyrite joined the faculty of CTU, and Azurite decided to try the academic life. She enrolled, got her PhD in Anthropolgy and wrote that book. She's picked up a few other degrees since then and been through a few careers. Pyrite's pretty much stayed in the same field, magic research and dimensional studies except for a century he spent doing genetics work, reason unknown. One child born in the 25th century, dropped out of sight age 18, whereabouts unknown. No death certificate and he should have his parents longlivety so he must be around somewhere. Nothing else worth noting. Doesn't tell me a lot about why Pyrite'd suddenly go wild over ET technology. Assuming Mercury just hasn't leapt to some paranoid conclusion. What I'm really wondering is why she's so worked up and what she's hiding from me. Why doesn't she just invoke security and have Pyrite's access to his research suspended? Or have this Ambir deported. Why not just block the whole thing and leave me out of it? Why let this potential research swap happen when she so obviously doesn't want it to occur. A lot of questions, no answers and no guarantees of finding any. Plus there's the risk that I'll find out too much and set myself up for a fall. I'm probably way out of my league here, when you mess with the giants you risk getting stepped on. I'm just one little guy against something that reaches into the highest echelons of Crystal Tokyo society! Finally! I've wanted a case like this for years. Hell I'd probably do it for free just so I could be a real PI again. I got a taste of what that's like a few years back and I liked it. Let's get over to the campus and see what's cooking. This town is finally getting interesting. Down these clean streets a youma must walk ... end of part one Next : We backtrack to the 27th century and the revival of Magnesite Part 2 - The Flashback. Credits Sailor Moon and related characters created by Naoko Takeuchi Crystal Tokyo Saga created by Andy Combs Magnesite, Margrave & the DKR created by Mark Latus Ferrite created by Frank Barr Philip Marlowe created by Raymond Chandler Sam Spade created by Dashiell Hammett I think that's everyone Crystal Tokyo Saga Sidestory The Babe wore Blue - Another case from the files of Magnesite, PI by Mark Latus Part 2 - The Flashback I could teleport to the campus in a second but I don't like to waste power unnecessarily. It's been a millenium since I could risk draining people at random to recharge. During a very few of my more serious cases I've had the chance to ... best not to think about that. Around here you never know when you'll run into a telepath. There's public transit but I'm not really in a hurry. It's a long walk to CTU but that gives me time to think. I still can't work out what's going on. Course it's still hard to believe I'm working for a Senshi. Except for for my old buddy "Don't-Call-Me-Rei" for the most part they've left me alone since my revival. Which is fine by me. Much as I hate to admit it these days they're way outta my league. What I've never been able to figure out is why they revived me in the first place. They could've just torched the statue or left me locked in it forever. Instead Serenity says I've suffered enough, cuts me loose with a full pardon for past crimes and just a few restrictions on my movement. Why'd she do that? How do you figure out a queen like her? Beryl was easy to understand; obey and don't fail or else! That made sense to me. Serenity? I'll never understand what makes her tick. Just what happened back then anyway? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Serenity's throneroom -- Closed session -- Mid 27th Century "Excuse me your majesty, would you mind repeating that?" From her place at Serenity's side Sailor Polaris had to admire her brother's composure. In his place she'd be fighting a losing battle against loudly asking Serenity if she'd completely lost her mind. Serenity smiled brightly and said, "I've remembered that Magnesite's containment crystal is due for renewal. Instead of reinforcing it I'd like you to set him free." Calcite maintained his respectful stance and nodded. "That's what I thought you said." After a moment he added, "...your majesty." Serenity wasn't too keen on the excessive formality that protocol forced on her and tried to make the closed sessions of the advisory council as informal as possible. However Calcite had an automatic tendency towards formality. A side effect of spending his formative years under a monarchy where disrespect to the throne was synonymous with committing suicide. The bombshell Serenity had just dropped had shaken him enough to forget any casualness. At any rate while he'd sounded calm enough she'd known her brother a very long time. She could sense the apprehension behind the controlled expression. It was also obvious to her from the way the brother and sister-in-law were ignoring one another that they wouldn't be getting back together again anytime soon. Titanite suppressed a sigh, well it could be a lot worse. At least they weren't shouting or fighting. There were just the six of them in the chamber, Luna and Artemis being absent on some errand of their own and Endymion occupied with routine administrative matters. She stood with Makoto to Serenity's left, Rei and Minako flanked Serenity on the right. Calcite stood before the throne silently wishing he wasn't in Crystal Tokyo. It hadn't been his intention to return for several more years but Ti had contacted him to let him know that Katrina, the youngest daughter of their most recent family, had decided to get married. She'd asked her aunt to get her father to attend the ceremony. Katrina was 30, her parents had separated about 8 years earlier, and had been hoping her marriage might help reconcile them. Titanite had managed to talk her out of seating them together. One thing she'd learned over the centuries was that trying to get Calcite and Minako back together prematurely was a very bad idea. The last thing you need during a wedding was a crossfire starting. Verbal or otherwise. They'd been seated on opposite sides of the cathedral with a lot of family members between them. That had kept the peace. The marriage had been a big affair, like all Aino clan family gatherings. Given the longlivity inherited from Calcite you got quite a crowd with children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great-great grandchildren and so on. Not to mention all their spouses and significant others. The ceremony had gone smoothly and Calcite had been preparing to resume his wandering once he had taken care of an old chore. The crystal imprisoning Magnesite would remain secure for at least another five years but he might as well take care of it while he was in the city. But before he could deal with the matter he'd received an invitation from Serenity to attend this session. Serenity's request had been about the last thing he'd expected. "If you don't mind my asking ...?" "... Why bring this up all of a sudden?" Serenity smiled. "Simple enough. Frankly I'd forgotten all about him but I was doing one of my sweeps a few days ago when I sensed something odd." Calcite nodded, while Serenity was linked to the city and could sense anything serious happening there were a lot of minor things she'd miss. So she'd periodically do what she called a "Deep Sweep" and scan the city in depth. She'd found she was unable to verbally explain what she did to anyone other than to call it "interfacing with Crystal Tokyo". But after each sweep she'd have a host of suggestions for small things that needed repair, replacement or improvement to make life better or easier. Suggestions rather than orders but people tended to treat them that way. It was very hard to refuse her anything which was currently giving Calcite some distress. Serenity continued, "I sensed an unusual mind which seemed to be thinking in black and white images. So I took a closer look and saw a statue of a glass bird with a little figure embedded in it. It was sitting in the palace's secure vault. I was curious so I asked Rei about it. She checked the records and found out what it was and who'd put it there." "But you haven't sensed him in sweeps before now?" "No. It could be something to do with the timing." Calcite nodded again. "The crystal is approaching renewal time. It must leak telepathically towards the expiry point." A real eternal sleep crystal was designed to permit mental emanations. Queen Beryl had enjoyed the despair and horror given off by the crystal's occupants. The copy Magnesite had created sealed in everything. No one knew what he'd been thinking about all these centuries. "That's my theory." Sailor Mars grimaced slightly and Serenity amended her remark. "Actually it was Rei's theory." "Your majesty I would recommend that it is in the best interests of Crystal Tokyo for me to reinforce the crystal and for you to forget about this matter." "Rei recommended the same thing." Mars nodded emphatically. "But I've chosen to ignore her advice and follow my conscience." A slightly pained expression crossed the face of Crystal Tokyo's internal security director. "Her advice is sound, your majesty. I still advise the same actions." "I'm afraid I'll have to ignore both your council." Titanite shot Rei a quick glance. If she'd had advance warning she could have come up with a dozen great reasons to leave Magnesite exactly where he was. Rei made a palms up gesture, it was out of her hands. Serenity continued, "He's been in there since ... well whenever it was back in the 1990s. It seems cruel to keep him a perpetual prisoner." "You do remember how he got stuck in that crystal in the first place?" "Yes (actually no but Rei reminded me while saying we should keep him sealed away) but that was a long time ago. I'm giving him the chance to reform." Calcite tried to marshal a new argument. Before he could speak Serenity said, "Calcite, please don't try to tell me that non Renegade youmas can't live peacefully in Crystal Tokyo. After all Margrave's being living here without causing problems for centuries." Rei muttered something uncomplimentary under her breath. She'd never liked having the catwoman running free and considered her lifestyle immoral if not actually illegal. But she couldn't deny the youma wasn't a threat to Crystal Tokyo and had long ago downgraded Margrave's security status from "Class 1 Potential Security Risk" to "Basic Pain in the Butt". "Margrave's a lot smarter than Magnesite ever was. Not that that's hard." That got a brief chuckle. "Seriously Margrave knows she's not now and never was a match for the Senshi. That's why she'll never make herself a threat. Besides as long as she doesn't rock the boat no one tries to block her barter system and she's very keen to keep her life extended. Magnesite's a different case." Serenity shrugged, "According to the records you were able to immobilize him singlehandedly once you knew what you were dealing with. Considering how much your powers have grown since then are you really saying you can't handle him?" "... ah, that's true your majesty but ..." "Calcite I can understand you don't want to do this. If it's really a problem for you I can ..." Calcite sighed. "Serenity, I pledged my loyalty a long time ago and I have never regretted it. If this is truly your wish then I will free him." He paused a moment. "However as an advisor to the throne I must again ask you to please reconsider. Not on my behalf but on behalf of the welfare of the citizens of Crystal Tokyo." "I appreciate your concerns but I'm afraid my mind is made up." "Very well your majesty. With your permission I'll wait two days before releasing Magnesite. I'd like to warn Azurite and Pyrite beforehand as he bears both of them a grudge. Also I'd like to consult with Pyrite about setting up some security precautions." "Of course." Calcite noticed Sailor Polaris trying to catch his eye. "Additonally if you can spare my sister for the day it'll be handy to have another psychoplasm manipulator on hand." "Certainly." No one caught the slightly mischevious glint in Serenity's eye. "In fact I'm sure I can spare Minako which would mean three psychoplasm shapers on hand." A very large sweatdrop appeared on Sailor Venus's forehead. Calcite's cheek acquired a brief tic but his voice was firm. "That's ... very generous of your majesty but I'm sure Sailor Polaris will be more than sufficent." "Still ...." Minako's voice cut Serenity off. "I'm sure Lord Calcite knows what's necessary and would request my presence if necessary." Minako thought for a second. "In fact I have wednesday free so I can fill in for Ti while she's busy helping my husb .... her brother." Serenity sounded thoughtful. "Hmmm, if you already have the day free it'd make more sense to send you." Another crack appeared in Calcite's composure, Minako's sweatdrop was back. "I ... uh .... oh wednesday, you said wednesday didn't you! I'm sorry I was thinking of thursday. How stupid of me, I have no end of things to do wednesday! I'm sorry but I'm far too busy to help out, much as I'd like to. I'm so silly, what a scatterbrain!" Both Makoto and Rei nodded which didn't improve her mood. Minako glared at Calcite, daring him to comment. He didn't rise to the bait. Instead he simply said, "I think Titanite would be the better choice. Especially considering her personal stake in the matter." Old memories had resurfaced for Titanite and she surpressed a slight shiver. No, you'd never forget the man who tried to murder you when you were a near powerless teenager. Well a lot had changed since then. Just let Magnesite try something and she'd be glad to show him what she could do these days. Calcite noted the uncharacteristically vengeful look on his sister's face but didn't comment. It was, after all perfectly understandable. Serenity sighed and murmurred, "Obviously it's way too early for you two." Somewhat louder she proclaimed, "Very well. Titanite's obviously eager to serve." "Very good your majesty. If there's nothing further ...?" "No, that should be it." "Then I'll set the wheels in motion. With your leave ...?" Serenity nodded. Calcite bowed low then straightened up and vanished. Minako scowled. "Showoff! He could have just used the door." Everyone ignored the remark. "Do we have any other business or am I free for the rest of the day?" Titanite shook off her memories. "There's the dedication of the new shuttle to Crystal Station. But it's not essential for you to attend. They'll be happy to settle for any of us. If you like I can take care of it as I'll be coordinating the coverage onsite." Serenity snapped her fingers. "That's right you reminded me about that yesterday. I better attend." She vanished. Titanite didn't notice as she was using her palm computer to call up all the details. "Ok, well I've arranged a schedule if you'd like to ..." She realized Serenity was gone. "What the ... it doesn't start for an hour yet! We need to finalize the setup for a royal public appearance ..." Titanite stopped addressing the empty throne and, wearing the exasperated look that the former Sailor Moon could still easily induce, teleported without bothering to add special effects. The three remaining Senshi looked at each other. Rei chuckled. "Guess this audience is done." "Good. I've got a lot of stuff to do. Very important. I'll be busy for days." Minako stalked off wishing she could fling open the palace doors instead of them unobtrusively receding. Rei watched Minako go and shook her head. "Guess our favorite on-again off-again couple won't be together again anytime soon." Makoto looked thoughtful "Oh I don't know. I'd say give them a few years and they'll be declaring themselves inseparable again." "Yeah, right! You're still a hopeless romantic. It'll be at least a decade." Makoto smiled. "Care to bet on that?" Rei grinned back. "You never learn do you? You're on. Usual stakes?" "Fine by me. What's your wager?" "Oh no. You proposed the bet. You declare first." "Okay ..." Makoto briefly considered the wisdom of betting against a psychic but dismissed it. Rei needed time to get a future vision and even then it was only a probability. Still better allow some leeway. "Five years and they're together again. What do you say?" "Ten. At a minimum but I'm saying ten." "The closest to the time wins, same as always." "Sure." They were shaking hands to seal the bet when the door slid open. Minako stalked in. "Forget my palmtop." She grabbed the cardsized device from a sidetable and stalked out again. The door slid shut silently. There was a brief embarrassed pause broken by Makoto. "Think she overheard us?" Rei shrugged. "Impossible to tell, she was already worked up." As it was exactly seven years and six months later that Calcite and Minako were living together again Titanite would suspect that she had overheard them gambling. Rei and Makoto were still bickering over who had won a century later. The reason Titanite heard about the bet at all was lying on a windowledge overhead. The white and purple cat was relaxing, enjoying the feel of sunlight through the window. It didn't carry a crescent moon mark and would have been assumed to be one of the several dozen ordinary cats that prowled the palace. Which was exactly what she wanted. Margrave opened an eye and regarded the two Senshi. This had been a most interesting afternoon, she wondered if anyone else was in the betting pool. However Serenity's decision had the possibility of being potentially dangerous on a personal level. She'd have to have a word with Titanite later on. In the meantime she was feeling indolent and going to take a short nap. That evening in Titanite's apartment Margrave (having resumed her normal form) told Titanite what she'd overheard. Ti had to admit it topped her story about spending the afternoon preventing the well meaning Serenity from creating a public relations fiasco. "Wonder how long that's being going on? And why they never invited me to place a bet?" Margrave shrugged. "Probably afraid you'd have inside information. Or, more likely, that you'd blow the game." Titanite shook her head. "Well let's keep quiet about it for now. With those two they might stay apart longer than normal out of stubboness. Or get together way too early to spite them." "If you like." Titanite studied her visitor. "You gave in way to easily. You should have spent the next few minutes implying you'd try to drive Minako ballistic by telling her. So the question is, what do you want from me?" Margrave looked shocked, "Kitten, how can you think I'd be so manipulative?" Titanite maintainted her gaze and Margrave laughed. "Okay getting serious for a moment there is something I want." She paused for a moment and her expression became serious. "I'd like to be present when you wake up Magnesite." Ti started. Keeping her voice casual she asked simply, "Why?" "A variety of reasons, first ... this doesn't go beyond these walls?" "Do I ever gossip about our private talks?" "Sorry, silly question. Guess I'm a little edgy. Well first of all I feel a little sorry for him." Margrave was very careful to keep her softer side under wraps. It didn't fit in with her self image. Titanite was the only one who saw her like this. Calcite had got close but she'd managed to distract him from seeing her like this. Besides that had ended a very long time ago. She plowed on, "He's going to be waking up one of the last of his kind, actually the only one of his particular kind, in a city run by the Senshi. Senshi whose powerlevel is about 1000% greater than he remembers. Talk about a stranger in a strange land. I can ... relate to that to an extent." Margrave fell silent for a moment then grinned. "Of course I don't expect any pity to last long beyond his revival. Far as I can remember he was your basic arrogant midrange youma boss. Back in the Dark Kingdom I was waiting for the day Calcite took him out and seized his territory. Which brings us to the second reason, I want to see his face when this sinks in." Titanite didn't look amused which was unusual for her. Margrave remembered a few things she'd been told after the fact. She was wondering if she was alienating Ti when her friend asked, "So what's the main reason?" "I've got a pretty good life these days. I'm free to pursue my pleasures without interference, the Senshi ignore me and since I'm regarded as exotic rather than dangerous I never lack for donors. That could change rapidly. If Magnesite does something stupid he could cause a panic regarding youmas. The Renegades are above suspicion. I'm not. I don't want to live my life with every move scrutinised. And I definitely don't want men scared of me so they won't give me life energy. Immortality has to be the biggest addiction of all time. If I can't get energy given voluntarily I'm scared of what I might do. I'm even more scared what would happen when the Senshi found out. Even you! The welfare of the citizens has to be your first duty, right." "Margrave I ..." "That's okay. Sorry for sounding so serious." "I'm in a serious mood right now." "I gathered. Anyway the upshot of all this is Magnesite has no reason to attack me on sight. Which he does for the rest of you. So he might be willing to listen to reason. The fact I've thrived in CT might get through to him." "It could be dangerous. Very dangerous." "Compared to some of the things we've been through? Besides you'll all be waiting to bail me out of trouble. Even Azurite would do that if it means getting a shot at Magnesite." Titanite sighed. "All this time and two you still can't get along. I'll never understand why." "Inerta for one thing. Why change after all these centuries? For my part I can't understand why Cal sticks with Venus. Or vice versa." "Love's complicated." "So I found out ..." By unspoken agreement they dropped the topic. Ti was the next to speak. "I don't really have many memories of the Dark Kingdom. There's nothing I really want to remember. Except for the food ..." She managed to stop herself before she got distracted into talking DK cuisine. She paused a moment as she considered what she really wanted to say. Then resumed, "I always had big brother, Azure, Pyr and you as a buffer. So I never lived in it the way you guys did. I guess it shaped you all in a way I avoided so it's part of you the way it never was part of me. But a few things stick in my mind. Magnesite is one of them." Her eyes lost focus as the ancient memory resurfaced. "That last day in the Kingdom he came very close to cutting my throat. Our first few weeks in Tokyo I woke up screaming almost every night. I kept having these terrible nightmares. A mix of fear and guilt, the guilt cause Cal had to kill again to protect me. At least as far as we knew he'd killed Magnesite. That and because I thought I'd abandoned you to die. With me in the state I was in four was all the gate could handle and he didn't have any time to look for you. When Cal had set up our warpgate I kept pestering him about bringing you along. He told me he was going to bring you in at the last minute so Azure couldn't object and you wouldn't ... well doublecross us." Margrave nodded, a perfectly reasonable precaution. "In retrospect he may have been lying to me. He wanted to bring you but the gate was a rush job and it could barely manage the four of us. So I don't know ..." "He did the best he could. Old news, not worth bothering about. Besides everything worked out." That was definitely the sort of thing Margrave could never say publically. "Go on." "Well the nightmares faded and I started sleeping through the nights. Must have been a relief to Cal as I'd begged him to let me sleep in his room which he let me do as I calmed down a lot quicker if he was handy." "Wonder if you made Azurite jealous? Sorry, go on." "I moved back to my own bedroom, got on with my life and learned to face the occasional bad dream. I was busy learning to fit in so I stopped thinking about the Kingdom. After Magnesite attacked I stopped having the dreams all together. It was impossible to be scared of a paperweight." Margrave smiled, remembering a few uses she'd found for the immobilized youma boss. "But I've never forgotten him. I'm half hoping he does try something wednesday so I can pay him back." "Ti ..." Margrave's voice was low and urgent. "...if anything happens when he's freed let Calcite handle it. He's better at this sort of thing and he won't make it personal. I don't doubt you can wreck Magnesite if you have to but that's not the problem. A vendetta may not do Magnesite any good but it definitely won't do you any good." "But ..." "Ti you don't want to let the Kingdom into your heart at this late date. Like you said it shaped the other Renegades. But they turned out all right despite that. Even, though I hesitate to say it, Azurite." "I ..." Margrave was looking worried. "Okay if it'll make you happy I'll let Cal have first shot if something happens. By the way you turned out all right as well." Margrave put on an expression of mock amazement. "Me? I'm a vampiric nymphomaniacal catwoman. Ask anyone." Titanite had to laugh. "If you insist. Despite that I'll get Calcite to let you attend the awakening." "I owe you one." "Forget it. What are friends for?" Two days later Calcite and Sailor Mars were walking through the lower levels of the palace. Neither looked happy. As they walked Rei studied the bookslate Calcite had given her. Grudgingly she said, "Well if this all works as it's supposed to everything should be secure." "Pyrite says it will and he's usually right about this sort of thing. We moved his equipment in yesterday. Everything's functioning fine but he's rechecking it for the tenth time right now." Rei grunted an acknowledgement. Hidden security devices unobtrusively scanned them down to the molecular level and let them pass unmolested. They stopped before a huge set of doors that appeared to be gold tinged steel. In fact they were far stronger and could shrug off mage level magic assault. At Rei's command the forceshields deactivated and the doors swung open silently. Rei preceeded Calcite into the vault. They hadn't been in here together since he'd last renewed the prison crystal about 300 years ago. Around them pedestals of various sizes held artifacts the Senshi had accumulated throughout their careers. All of them had one thing in common, they were dangerous, too dangerous to be kept anywhere less secure. But there might be greater danger in not having them available if the need arouse. Rei stopped before what appeared to be a transparent crystal statue of a falcon with a tiny figure frozen where its heart should be. She sighed, "I still think this is a really bad idea." "You're not alone, none of the Renegades like this. But it's what Serenity wants and she's generally right." "I know that! I've known her longer than you!" She sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. It just gripes me letting a potential menace loose." "Look on the bright side. At least if he does do something stupid we can take care of him permenantly." "True." Calcite picked up the statue and unsealed the cannister he'd been given. Dropping it inside he closed the lid and checked the indicators. Contents secure. A bit of overkill but he wasn't taking any extra chances today. He nodded to Rei and they headed out on foot. Until they were out of the security fields teleporting was impossible. A necessary precaution against anyone sidestepping the security system. He noticed Rei was quietly studying him. "Something wrong?" "No, just speculating. I envy you and Minako." Calcite snorted, "Come on. Half the time, like right now, we're either actively avoiding each other or at each others throats." "It's the other half I envy you. That and your family." "You'd be better off envying Serenity and Endymion, or Azurite and Pyrite. They make much better couples. Certainly more stable." Of course neither of them had kids. With one exception that nobody spoke about. Azurite and Pyrite was understandable, they'd chosen not to have any more. At least until they understood what went wrong. The King and Queen were another matter. He'd never been able to understand how the Silver Crystal could enable a human and a Renegade to have children despite vast genetic differences but couldn't cure Endymion's sterility. As it wasn't public knowledge he didn't talk about it but he wondered sometimes. Only thing he could think of was Endymion was immune to the Crystal's effects somehow. That his own powers blocked the ginzuishou's influence. At least to the extent that repairing the damage would require draining Serenity's lifeforce enough to kill her. He shook off the speculation. "I'm not the easiest person to live with, but neither is she! Frankly it'll be years before we're back together again." Rei nodded, "That's what I thought." "Why so happy?" "Huh ... er ... private joke." A minor mystery but he had enough to concern him today. He took his leave of Sailor Mars and teleported to the chosen site. She shook her head and headed back to her office by more conventional means. She'd never understand how anyone could maintain a single relationship for centuries. Especially one as problem filled as those two had. The training center stood on an artificial island constructed on the outskirts of Crystal Tokyo. It was the size of an olympic stadium. In fact it was occasionally used as a stadium but it hadn't been built for sports. The walls were nearly unbreakable and reinforced by several layers of forceshields. The domed roof and the floor beneath the artificial floor were the same. It had been built centuries ago so that those with paranormal abilities had a place they could hone their powers without risk to the general public. Occasionally there would be a demonstration of Senshi abilities which was why there was seating available. Today the spectator stands were retracted and the center was empty except for a figure in the middle of the practice field. Pyrite rechecked his equipment yet again. Everything was running as smoothly as it had been half an hour earlier. It looked more like an art exhibit than a security device. Four green crystal pillars two meters tall arranged in a square formed the central element. Gems of various sizes orbited him then shifted to prearranged positions at his command. He realized he was being excessive, even if Magnesite somehow emerged at full power, combat ready and the others didn't react, this would hold him. If it didn't ... his hand brushed the device strapped to his left forearm. He'd reviewed his old recordings and custom made this. If need be it would disrupt Magnesite's matrix and turn him into a rapidly dispersing energy field. He wasn't a violent man but in the two days since Calcite had told them about this he'd been remembering an unpleasant incident a long time ago. One he'd avoided thinking about for centuries. Nearly being beaten to death qualified as one of his worst memories. Indeed without Renegade resilience he'd have been crippled, assuming he'd survived the assault. He felt Calcite's teleport signature and turned to greet his cousin. Calcite nodded in response and placed the cannister within the square. After staring at it suspiciously for a moment he stepped back to talk to Pyrite. "Azurite's not here yet?" "She had a few things to take care of. She'll be along in a few minutes. She's definitely not going to miss this." That was an understatement. Azurite's response to Serenity's decision had been rather vocal. Boiled down it was that while, she would reluctantly admit, Margrave fit in without causing major problems Magnesite was a different matter. It hadn't been merely her own dislike of her one time boss, she'd also discussed the different psychologies. Margrave was a lowlevel youma, used to knuckling under to more powerful individuals. She might not like it but had enough survival instinct to stay under control. Magnesite was a different matter. He'd spent much of his life playing dominance games with the others at his powerlevel. He chafed under the control of others and schemed endlessly to advance himself. Not the sort of individual to emerge ready to live quietly. Assuming he didn't emerge totally mad after centuries of isolation. Valid concerns but this was what Serenity wanted. Hopefully she'd have sensed if he was insane. Which reminded Calcite, she'd said he was thinking in black and white images. What did that mean? Titanite (in full Senshi regalia) and Azurite materialized in a swirl of cherryblossoms. Azure didn't use special effects so she must have let Ti handle the jump. Looked like Margrave was a noshow. Fine, they could activate the teleport blockers and get ready for the awakening. Pyrite looked up from his equipment and nodded to the new arrivals. "Morning Ti, Margrave", he muttered distractedly. Calcite did a doubletake, both Titanite and Azurite froze. "Impossible. How'd he know from over there?" Calcite blinked, Azurite had acquired Margrave's voice. Pyrite turned to look. "Oh I see, you're using a glamour. It's a good likeness." "Uh thanks." Azurite dissolved to be replaced by Margrave. "How'd you know I ... How you know Margrave not Azurite?" Calcite sighed, all these years and she still kept using that cute third person speech pattern. Pyrite didn't seem to notice. "I've got my perceptions highly focused as I don't want to miss anything today. So I looked through your glamour straight to your real aura. Margrave's aura equals Margrave." "Margrave see ... Pyrite stronger in own way. No can fool by illusion anymore." "Margrave, there's nobody here but us so you don't have to overdo the cute. Besides it really grates on Azurite's nerves." "Calcite spoilsport. That damn fine reason Margrave keep talking like this." She caught his look and sighed. "All right, all right. By the way I understand you're still on the outs with Minako. Maybe it's time to indulge in a little nostalgia?" Few could resist her when she looked and sounded like that. Calcite was one of the few. "You know it's things like this that shake my selfconfidence. You don't have to act you're under a vow of celibacy when you're not with her. Particularly with me." "You're right, I don't have to. I choose to." "I am never going to understand you two." "Not surprising, no one does. I don't think we understand it either." Azurite flickered into existence and she immediately locked gazes with Margrave. After a brief mutual glaring contest they fell into their normal pattern of ignoring one another apart from the odd random comment. Pyrite activated the blockers and Margrave disappeared in the direction of the toilets. Azurite walked over to join her fellow Renegades. "Sorry I'm late. A minor conflict with my publisher." Titanite frowned, "I forget. What exactly are you doing these days?" "Historical romance novels. He felt my portrayal of 20th century life was too unpleasant and the people were politically incorrect." "In short they weren't living by CT standards?" "Right. Looks like it's rewrite time. Or maybe I'll just drop it and try something else. I've been thinking of going back to painting. Maybe acting, haven't done that in centuries." Titanite looked thoughtful a moment then beamed. "Hey how about a new show. "The Adventures of Sailor Arcturus"? We set it in the 20th and recycle your book into the run of the series. Besides everyone's heard of the other Senshi. Outside of us who remembers her?" "Probably no one but that's fine with me. I never synched into the Senshi lifestyle. Not that I wouldn't help defend this place if the need arose but I don't need a costume for that. I haven't worn that outfit in centuries." Pyrite was still giving most of his attention to the containment system which was why he muttered without thinking, "At least not in public." Calcite forebode to comment and one look at Azurite convinced Titanite not to ask. "Everybody ready?" At the others' nods Calcite re-entered the square and opened the stasis cylinder. Placing the statue in the exact center of the cage he stepped out. Pyrite made a minor gesture and the pillars glowed to life. The forcefield made a faint shimmer in the air on the five open sides. Pyrite verifed the sixth field was active just below the turf. The cube was secure. Calcite summoned his shaping abilites almost without effort. His mind reached out and touched the statue. The pattern was obvious, to unbind it would be the work of moments. He looked over to his sister. Her expression was one of total concentration. He "felt" her touch the crystal then move away. She was ready. Titanite took a deep breath. Time to face her personal demon. Margrave loped back but stopped several metres behind her. "Let's do it!" Her brother nodded and the statue rippled. It became translucent and then simply disappeared. At least visually, the energy remained sealed within the field. The tiny doll sized figure began to expand as it absorbed the power. Magnesite's protomatter form expanded to its original size. Injuries inflicted on the body centuries earlier and frozen by the crystal began to close. His clothing (actually just part of his body) began to change becoming a very old fashioned white jacket and shirt. Sprawled on his back the figure remained still. A minute passed ... then five. No sign of any movement. Still as a statue. Then the eyes flickered open. He stared upwards but showed no other sign of reaction. "Why's he studying the stadium roof?" "He isn't. The field's opaque on the inside. All he's seeing is the barrier above him." Azurite frowned. "Do you suppose he's catatonic? He might have been a vegetable for centuries." Calcite answered without looking away. "No, Serenity detected some form of mental activity. However he hasn't perceived anything new for a very long time. How long before the outside world registers is anyone's guess." "Yeah. Calcite smart. Azurite stupid as always." Azurite turned to glare at the catwoman and missed seeing Magnesite's mouth open. He drew in his first breath in centuries and spoke. "You played it for her you can play it for me." A pause. "If she can stand it I can. Play it." The voice rolled on talking to somebody who wasn't there. At least not outside of Magnesite's mind. All five watchers had the same thought. It had been a very long time but he didn't sound right. Pyrite raised a hand and a hovering bookslate flew into his grasp. He studied it and nodded. Titanite looked away from the cage to ask the equally bewildered Margrave, "What the hell is he talking about?" "Casablanca." Everyone turned to look at Pyrite. He turned the slate so they could all see the words crawling across the screen. An underhand toss sailed it over to Calcite. He glanced at it to see the name Rick highlighted in red. Besides it glowed a line of dialogue that matched Magnesite's. There was a pause as Magnesite awaited an unheard answer. Calcite glanced down the screen to find the next line of Rick's dialogue. Magnesite began to speak again. Parroting the line word for word. "Guess this explains the black and white imagery Serenity saw." Azurite shook her head in disbelief. "I knew he was obsessed with Bogart but this is ridiculous! He's reliving old movies instead of his own memories. Wonder if he's even capable of thinking about anything else anymore?" Pyrite studied the sprawled figure. "It's been a long time since he had any outside stimulus, not that there's much in there. I suggest we wait and see if there's any change. I also suggest we keep the dome sealed just in case this is some sort of masterplan to make us underestimate him." Calcite looked at him. "You do remember who we're talking about?" "Yes but I'd rather overestimate him just to be on the safe side. I have no intention of giving that SOB another shot at Azurite or anyone else." Several hours later Magnestite was nearing the end of "The African Queen" when his voice began to waver. He trailed off in the middle of asking the german captain to marry him to Katherine Hepburn's character and began to look around the enclosure in puzzlement. After a few minutes he stood up and began to pace around the cage banging on the shieldwalls. From the way his gaze darted around it was obvious he couldn't see beyond the walls. Margrave ditched the pizza she'd been holding and joined the others who'd also abandoned lunch. No great hardship. As the dome was still sealed there wouldn't have been anything to eat had Pyrite not had the foresight to pack them. Unfortunately he'd forgotten the lack of cooking facilitites. Azurite had warmed them up with a carefully modulated plasma ball. She'd somehow managed to make Margrave's both burnt and stone cold. Margrave had silently added another point to Azurite's tally in their centuries long oneupmanship contest and stoically eaten the pizza. Complaining would have given Azurite another point. Instead she'd just begun plotting her comeback move. Magnesite's expression changed as he kept hammering on the cage. Initially confused he swiftly shifted to anger. Shortly after that he began looking worried. Now he'd stopped and was standing there staring at his hands. Titanite frowned, had she just seen through Magnesite? "Is he looking kind of insubstantial to anyone else?" Pyrite nodded. "He's shifting been solidity and transparency. It looks like we overestimated his energy reserves. Repairing himself then simply existing must be using up the last of his power. I'd estimate he'll be a phantom in 30 minutes and continue to degenerate from there." "Not quite what Serenity wants." Calcite shrugged. "Unfortunately there's not a lot we can do to stop it. I won't break the seal to the outside while he's still potentially lethal but it looks like he'll fade out before we've convinced him of the value of peaceful coexistence. He needs human lifeforce to stabilise and that's something none of us can provide." "Luckily one of us has some foresight!" Margrave grinned and bounced a small clear crystal in one palm. Yellow light flickered within. Titanite made an "ah" of comprehension which left Calcite no wiser. "What's that?" "Part of my reserve against want. I prefer to take my lifeforce fresh but I've always thought it handy to have some spare around. So every now and then I ... gorge. The energy I can't use right away gets stored in one of these battery crystals. Just in case I ever have a stretch where I don't feel like entertaining. They were very useful a few centuries back while I was recovering from some major injuries." Azurite's face twisted and she looked away. Pyrite hurried to her side. Margrave threw the pair a contemptuous glare. You didn't think I'd really forgotten the little psychopath, mommy dearest? Only reason I never mention him is because I don't like to think about him either. She suppressed the automatic rage as the old memories returned. Shouldn't have said that, in truth she knew it wasn't really their fault. But she couldn't ignore the fury when she remembered him. Or the helpless fear. Some things were far too serious to use in her feud with Azurite. This was the worst of them. Fortunately someone would seek to distract her and she could let it drop. Calcite decided a quick change of subject was in order. "Where'd you get that anyway? It doesn't look like the batteries you brought back from New Camelot." "Those things? They ran dry about fifty years after we got back and I couldn't recharge them. No, these were built for me." "Who by?" This should be fun. "Pyrite." "WHAT!" Azurite had just snapped out of her funk and was glaring at Pyrite. Margrave awarded herself a point. Time to increase the tally. "I asked your dear husband nicely and he agreed to make them. I'm good at being persuasive." She gave one of her excessively smug grins which increased Azurite's temperature. Azurite took a moment to slam a lid on her temper before speaking. "Why haven't I heard about this before?!" "Because you overreact when Margrave's involved in anything." "I DO NOT OVERREACT! ... Ahem ... Why'd you make them in the first place." "Oh it wasn't for nothing. I promised him future considerations." As Margrave had rather expected Azurite was giving Pyrite a very hostile look. "You had better have a damn good explanation and I'd like to hear it in the next ten seconds." "Look it was nothing like that ... I was just thinking that a few centuries from now ... that is a few centuries from now back then so anytime around now really ... " Pyrite decided to ditch the multiple tenses. "As Margrave's a unique case in life extension a future study comparing her biologically to my original study would be very useful. But due to the mutual antipathy between you there's no reason to think she'd cooperate with me. She'd refuse hoping I'd blame you for losing the opportunity to compare the data. I swear that's all and after all this time you should know me better than that." Azurite's face softened and she looked embarrassed. So Margrave decided to throw a little gas on the fire. "It's true I'm in your husband's debt. Over the years I've made a few offers to discharge it by other means. I'm sure he'll accept one of them sooner or later." "You little ... you really think any man's going to just jump into bed with you if you so much as wink at them!" "Most will. There's a few holdouts ..." Margrave nodded at Pyrite and Calcite, "... but that won't last. My extended lifespan has given me a certain perspective, a patience most of my kind lacked. I can wait. Sooner or later Calcite will realize Minako just isn't worth all the trouble. As for your husband ... it must be getting boring sleeping with the same woman for centuries, right." "Uh ... no. I ..." "No need to disemble, we're all adults here. If it'll help I'll wear a leather Senshi costume." Azurite looked pretty close to exploding and Margrave got ready to dash behind Calcite. "ENOUGH ALREADY!" Titanite rarely yelled so that got everyone's attention. "Fascinating as this all is we've got other cats to skin." She jerked a thumb at the cage. "You do remember Magnesite, right?" With a few embarassed mutters the others shuffled back around the enclosure. Magnesite was flickering between solid and translucent with increasing frequency. Margrave handed the battery to Titanite. "Hang on to this until I signal." She took a deep breath and moved to the wall behind Magnesite. "Okay I'm ready." Pyrite nodded and began doing something to the floating stones then gave the thumbs up signal. The wall was now permeable from this side but solid on the inside. "Do me a favour Calcite?" "What?" "If I scream toast the bastard." "Count on it." Margrave eyed the wall for a moment. Don't want to back out with Azurite watching. I'm a cat not a chicken. She stepped forward and everything went orange. Then she was through and surrounded by featureless orange walls. Magnesite sensed her entry and turned to face her. He studied her for a few seconds before speaking. "Pardon me, but can you spare some energy for a fellow youma who's down on his luck?" The voice was a near perfect match. "I think I see a pattern developing. Spare? No. Charity's for humans and Renegades. Loan? Well that I can manage but you're in my debt and we're surrounded by witnesses. Willing to take it on those terms?" Magnesite didn't have enough time left to argue. Even with a low class youma. "Yes." "Then we have a deal." She raised a hand and a crystal sailed through the wall behind her. She caught it and set it to discharge. A gentle toss lobbed it towards Magnesite. It passed straight through his hands, hit the floor and glowed. "Bon apetit!" Magnesite shifted from fading ghost to solid. He began prodding at himself to ensure he was material. Margrave smiled at him. "Welcome to the 27th century. I'm here to tell you the facts of life ..." Several minutes later Magnesite was regarding her with total disbelief. "You expect me to swallow all of that?!" "Not right away. But once you're out of this cage and you see who and what is out there I expect you'll come around." "I beat them once. I can beat them again." "Uh huh" Margrave didn't look impressed. "Way I heard the story you only succeeded because you used a misdirection strategy, drained a lot of humans to gain power, learned the Senshi's secret ID's and finally attacked them one on one. Now everybody knows who and what you are and you're running on very low reserves. Not to mention everyone's got a lot more experience and a helluva lot more power." He wasn't convinced. Margrave grinned, she couldn't wait to see his expression when he found out just how outclassed he was. "You have no idea what you'll be up against. Let's start with the Renegades. Unlike the Senshi they didn't get quantum leaps in power then have to learn to use them. Instead they've been slowly but steadily growing in power all along. There's a theory that 'cause of their bloodlines they're serving as the terran guardians by default but I've never really bought that. As to how tough they've got ... now how to put this in terms you'll understand? Got it! If Kunzite somehow returned from the dead and took on Calcite one on one I would not bet on the guy with white hair." Magnesite paled. "Next there's Titanite ... not quite as powerful as her brother and hasn't developed her abilities with the same intensity but she's still no one you want to cross. Ti's one of the least vindictive people I know. But she's willing to make an exception in your case. She gained her psychoplasm manipulation abilities a long time ago. I guess it's between her and Minako as to who's number two after Calcite. The important point is she's way beyond where Calcite was in the 20th. Back then I hear he froze you singlehandedly. Azurite ... I imagine it's difficult to maintain a solid form in the middle of a plasma hurricane. Pyrite'll have a dozen ways of tracking you and at least a half dozen of destroying your matrix. Without that you're just a fading cloud of energy." Magnesite just stared at her. This was going to be good. "Now for the bad news. Remember how we thought the Senshi were dangerous back in the Dark Kingdom? Well if we'd had any idea what they were really capable of we'd have sealed the dimensional gates and spent all our time praying they didn't come looking for us. As for Serenity ... her Sailor Moon days were a long time ago. You don't even want to think about about challenging her now." "So to summarize, go out there fighting and the only way you get out of here is through the Renegades. That's nearly impossible. Beat them and you'll have the Senshi on your case. As Titanite's become official as Sailor Polaris they'll be looking for blood. Killing friends, comrades and, in one case, an inlaw isn't going to sit very well with them. Not to mention Minako thinks she's the only one allowed to blast Calcite. In the incredibly unlikely event you beat them, the odds of which are too infinitesimal to calculate, you'll have to face Serenity. If Metallia herself couldn't do the job do you think you can even last a second against her?" His expression was one of total disbelief. A little shock therapy was called for. Margrave turned to face the wall. "I think it's time to let him see what's he's up against!" Therewas a momentary pause then the walls disappeared. The Renegades had spread out to each cover a side. His senses no longer blocked Magnesite sensed the powerlevels of the foursome. His jaw dropped. Literally. His head remained in place, features fixed above the upper lip. His stunned gaze was locked on Calcite in shock. His chin fell like a stone stretching his pseudoflesh after it. On impact his tongue darted out and unrolled to a length of about a metre, passing between Calcite's feet. For a moment nobody said anything. Then Titanite spoke. "You know, this always looked cute in cartoons. But actually it's fairly disgusting." Calcite nodded, "At least his eyeballs didn't pop out of their sockets." Margrave looked to the ground. "That's got to be the second longest tongue I've ever seen." Azurite winced a little. "I don't really think we want to hear the rest of that story." Through all this Magnesite had stayed frozen in place. Now his senses seemed to return. The extended tongue slithered backwards into the gaping maw. Magnesite knelt down. His stretched flesh sliding back as he did this. He grasped his chin and shoved upwards. His face snapped back like released elastic and returned to its normal dimensions. He glanced around at the hostile looking Renegades trying to form a coherent statement. Then he flung himself to the ground in the traditional youma posture indicating both a plea for mercy and sheer terror. As it had never worked on Beryl no one knew why it had become traditional. It seems hope springs eternal even in the breast of a youma. Calcite considered leaving him like that for a few hours (or days) but remembered he was supposed to be one of the good guys. "Get up Magnesite, there's no need to grovel. I have a few things to add to what Margrave told you. Then we'll take you to the palace. I'm told Queen Serenity wants to give you a personal welcome at her conveniance. While Calcite was giving Magnesite a brief overview of Crystal Tokyo and the severe consequences of breaking certain laws Titanite retrieved her communicator. Her signal to Mars was answered immediately. She must have been waiting for it. "Everything's under control Rei ... Yeah I wasn't counting on how long it would take him to snap back to normal. I suppose I should say awareness I think he's a few bricks short of a full load ... Well he looks like he's in shock and that's just from sensing us. Meeting the original Senshi should finish him off. Hopefully anyway ... You're right I do sort of resent this, but I trust Serenity so I'm sure she knows what she's doing ... That doesn't count ... Okay that was an error in judgement but she meant well ... I'm sure she's not trying to complicate your life ... Frankly Rei you'd be unhappy if she didn't give you anything to complain about ... Uh huh, right. Well I guess we're about ready to bring him over. So where ...? You're kidding! But what about security? ... No I'm not trying to tell you your job! ... Couldn't talk her out of it huh? ... Yeah I know. Well with everyone present there won't be a lot he can do. Okay I'll tell them." Titanite sighed and folded the communicator back into its' hyperpocket. Calcite had finished talking to Magnesite. His former boss looked like one unhappy camper. Her brother turned to her, "So what's the word?" "Seems Serenity's eager to greet the new addition to CT. We're to teleport directly to the throneroom's transport chamber." Calcite just nodded. He looked resigned but not really surprised. He turned to the very nervous looking Bogart clone. "It's time for you to meet Queen Serenity. I'd advise you to show her the same respect you'd show Queen Beryl. Ti, we'll both take him?" She nodded and they both seized an arm. Something occurred to Titanite. "Azure ... on second thoughts Pyr, could you bring Margrave along. If we all teleport she's stranded out here." Margrave grinned and slunk towards Pyrite. Until she was intercepted by Azurite. "I'll bring her." Margrave pouted. "Everybody ready? Then let's go!" A moment later the center was empty. They rematerialized in the alcove set aside for visitors arriving via teleportation. Titanite stepped out and headed to her post. Calcite allowed her a few moments to get into position then nodded to the major domo. "Potential citizen Magnesite, Lord Calcite and party to see her majesty Serenity I of Crystal Tokyo." "Enter and be welcome." Still gripping Magnesite's arm Calcite marched him toward the thrones. It was a full court, Serenity and Endymion on their thrones flanked by Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Polaris. Luna and Artemis had taken their traditional posts before the King and Queen. Ami was in the first row but she was there as Dean Mizuno not Sailor Mercury. Pyrite, Azurite and Margrave slid into the empty spaces beside her, the first two whispering greetings to to her while Margrave glanced around with undisguised curiosity. It wasn't often she got to attend these sessions in her own form. Calcite made a respectful bow to Serenity and Endymion then moved back three paces behind Magnesite. Magnesite's nature made it easy to sense the power they possessed. With difficulty he kept his form from falling apart from the shock. That could get him executed for disrespect. At least as far as he knew. The youma stood there frozen somewhere between amazement and terror. His flesh and clothing rippled like turbulent water. Serenity smiled. "Please don't be afraid. Come closer." For a moment he stood locked in place. Then he muttered, "Bogie wouldn't cringe", and stepped forward to meet his fate. "Welcome to Crystal Tokyo." It looked like the queen would be doing all the talking. Endymion's face showed a weary resignation, like it or not he was stuck with this situation. But he'd learned to trust Usako's instincts so hopefully this would all work out. Or at least not end in disaster. Magnesite tried to think of the appropriate response. There was always begging for mercy but that had never worked on Beryl so why bother? He might as well salvage the little dignity he had left. Of all the thronerooms in all the world he'd had to walk into this one. He realized he was muttering and said quickly, "Thank you, your majesty." Now what? Lay on the flattery and she wouldn't vaporize him? "Hopefully that won't be necessary." Damn, he hadn't meant to say that out loud. "I imagine it's a side effect of your long imprisonment." Or that. Serenity kept talking so he must have stopped narrating. "Now I imagine you're wondering why you've been freed?" Well yes. Did they need an expendable assassin or something along those lines? "As you've been imprisoned for nearly 700 years I've decided to give you a second chance." "A second chance?" He tried to work this out. It just didn't make any sense to him. "We've found that youma can integrate peacefully into Crystal Tokyo society so I decided to give you the chance to do likewise." Rei's expression darkened a bit at this statement and she glanced involuntarily at Margrave. Magnesite digested this for a moment then spoke, "In case you don't know Ser ... your majesty I need human life-energy to maintain my existence. Which rather limits the possibilities of my fitting in." "Not at all." Magnesite started in amazement. "Margrave also requires human life-energy to maintain her longelivity. While it is a violation of our laws to steal it, which qualifies as assault with intent to kill, there is nothing preventing someone giving you part of their lifeforce. It is a central tenet of Crystal Tokyo that citizen's lives belong to them alone. What they do with them is their business." Magnesite tried to work this out. "Why would anyone willingly give a youma their energy?" Serenity colored slightly. "Uh, you'll have to ask her yourself." Rei scowled at Margrave who gave her a self satisfied grin in return. "At any rate if you can get them to donate energy to you there is no problem. I realize that it might take you some time to work out suitable arrangements. Fortunately there is a short term solution. Ami ... Dr. Mizuno?" Ami rose to her feet and addressed Magnesite. "After I heard of your impending revival from a long term collegue ..." She indicated Pyrite. "... it occurred to me that you are a unique entity, sentient psychoplasm. There is very little data about your nature let alone how you can even exist. So as a temporary solution in exchange for letting us study you at Crystal Tokyo University's xenobiology department we have volunteers who will supply you with energy." Pyrite avoided making any cynical comments about the volunteers. Promising extra credit in exchange had brought a wave of interested students. However all except the ones hovering near the failing point had walked away when they heard Margrave wasn't the subject of the study. Serenity beamed as though everything had been worked out. "So you should have plenty of time to think about what you'll do after that." Magnesite nodded as he tried to absorb all the implications. One think was clear, he needed an answer fast. "Oh there is one more thing. As you have the potential to be very dangerous I'm afraid we have to limit you to living inside Crystal Tokyo. It's purely a precaution and hopefully unneccessary but until you've demonstrated your trustworthiness you're confined to this city for the public good. "I'll always have Paris." "Uh ... yes." With that comment Serenity dismissed Magnesite to Ami Mizuno's custody and moved on to the next item on the days agenda. Several weeks later Margrave was prowling through the corridors of CTU's Biological Sciences building reveling in the attention she attracted. The scent of male hormones filled the air, at least for one with her enhanced senses. There were also quite a few hostile looks from girls whose boyfriends were paying far too much attention. She purred as the gazes followed her. Dream on boys, you just might get lucky. Still she wasn't trolling today, she had a destination in mind. What no one knew was that she was a frequent visitor to the campus. Under a variety of glamours she'd been reading her way through the more mindbending books and journals. Similarly she'd gone through a wide variety of classes over the centuries. None of which she could do as herself without ruining her reputation. Lately, since she'd got her cat form stabilised she'd begun observing Ami Mizuno's personal lab. She'd have done the same to Pyrite's but he knew about her other form. As he was the expert in youma biology she'd had him check that shapeshifting wasn't going to cause her unforseen side effects down the line. All the tests came back fine. The door ahead opened and both Pyrite and Ami emerged along with a graduate student. The student was guiding a hoverchair with a beefy young man slumped in it. While he looked like he worked out regularly he currently looked weak and tired. Energy drain! She recognised the signs well. To her experienced eye she'd say a rapid drain technique. Pyrite nodded towards the door, "He's waiting for you." He was sliding a small crystal rod into his shirt pocket. Margrave considered flirting but as Azurite wasn't around to get worked up she decided not to bother. No sense in unnecessarily alienating her doctor. She made a quick goodbye and stepped inside. Magnesite was regrowing his fingers. At her inquiring glance he said, "I got a little carried away so Pyrite broke the contact with the drainee rather forcefully. Didn't think he was that violent." "Remember you aren't flesh and blood. That's just a temporary inconvenience to you. Beside if he hadn't Mercury would have invoked her powers to stop the drain. Would you have preferred that?" Magnesite shuddered, "No!" "You're learning." After a pause she said, "I see you use a rapid draining technique." "You don't?" He seemed skeptical. Surely the smart thing to do was get their energy before the human changed his or her mind. "Nope. I prefer a slow drain over a longer period. It's less of a shock to the system and handled correctly it's an erotic experience for both involved. Which keeps them coming back for more." She gave a sultry smile. "Matter of fact I've developed this theory about vampires ... well no matter that's not why we're here. You've thought about my advice?" "Yes. It's not my lifestyle. And without feeling anything myself it'd be purely mechanical and get mind numbingly boring." "Pity, with your shapeshifting I'll bet you'd have been popular. So any other ideas?" "You're still willing to help me?" She nodded. Suspiciously he asked simply, "Why?" "As I've said purely out of self interest. If you start rampaging it reflects badly on me. I'm just keeping my furry butt covered." "Beryl would never have lowered herself to your level to survive." "True. You will note Beryl has been dust for centuries while I am still young, desireable and enjoying life. Plus I get to drive Mars crazy simply by existing and being beyond her grasp. The thing to remember is their laws bind them as well as us." Magnesite might have continued the argument but instead, with a bit of effort, he said, "I require your assistance." At her inquiring look he continued, "I've thought about what I can do to ... earn energy" He stumbled a bit over the last bit. It was difficult to give up on the idea of simply stealing it. "But it's going to need some ... help to set up." Margrave considered. If he'd managed to admit this much maybe, just maybe, he'd fit in enough to at least enough to survive. Which would certainly be in her best interests. "What are you planning?" He told her. After a few moments she said simply, "I see." Keeping her face straight with some difficulty she said, "If I get this set up you're in my debt. Not just for the energy you already owe me, I may want the occasional ... favour." "Tell me who and I'll break his legs for you." "Keep your voice down! Nothing like that!" I can handle my own legbreaking if it comes to that. I'm going to have to remind him that we're probably being recorded in here. Aloud she said, "We'll leave the favours undefined for now. But you'll owe me." He nodded in agreement. "Good. Now there's a week or two left in the study? Excellent. That'll give me time to get this set up." She knew just who to ask. "A private investigator? Magnesite?" Calcite sounded very surprised. Heads turned in their direction then swung away as the other patrons tried to pretend they weren't interested. Margrave picked at her salad and reflected that there'd been no shortage of covert observation. This restaurant wasn't one of her usual haunts, she preferred smaller, more intimate cafes. But Calcite wanted a large, open, well lit one so there'd be no hint of misinterpretation if the vid tabloids tried to make an issue. It'd also make it clear they'd arrived and left separately. Not wanting to mess up this meeting she'd agreed to his terms. Funnily enough Calcite was the co-owner of her favorite restaurant. With Titanite he'd been operating "Renegades Haven" at a loss since it opened centuries ago. It was the only restaurant in Crystal Tokyo, in fact on Earth, to specialize in Dark Kingdom cuisine. When they'd returned to this dimension in the 21st century they'd brought samples of Dark Kingdom flora and fauna, once believed lost forever, with them. After settling into Crystal Tokyo and establishing a farm for the special conditions it required Titanite had begun her campaign to introduce Dark Kingdom cuisine to the world. Apart from Jundroot none of it had ever caught on. Attempts to convert her fellow Senshi to the joys of traditional youma cooking could be best described as mixed. Disasterous might be a better choice of words. Still Titanite never gave up. She remained convinced that if people just tried the food with an open mind they'd experience the unique flavours and like it. While the former was certainly true there was very little repeat business. Every now and again it became chic for the adventurous to eat there but the craze never lasted. Titanite had personally trained several generations of chefs. Fortunately Keiichi Aino, one of Calcite and Minako's children had come of age about two and a half centuries earlier and become head chef at the restaurant. He liked both the challenge of correctly preparing the unusual dishes and the light workload as the restaurant had very few regulars. Given his long lifespan and assuming he didn't get bored they wouldn't need a replacement for centuries. Calcite had long ago given up both trying to interest Minako in Dark Kingdom food or even mentioning it out loud in her presence. He generally only ate there when on his own for one reason or another. On the rare occasions they ate there together Minako stuck firmly to the small alternate choces menu. Margrave was one of the very few regulars. At any rate Calcite had turned down the Haven as not public enough so she'd settled for this place. Which was taking its sweet time in bringing her the stuffed salmon she'd ordered. But she hadn't asked him to meet her so he'd treat her to a meal. Money wasn't a problem for her, her instructional videos always sold well abroad. Back to the issue at hand. "That's right, Magnesite's decided to try being a PI. If you think about he'll have few advantages in surveillance what with shape shifting, teleporting, being able to walk through walls and a few other parlor tricks." "Don't know if the other PIs will take kindly to us dumping an overpowered amateur in the market." "What market? I checked and the profession's gone extinct in CT. So starting up he'll have novelty value going for him. Hopefully that'll last long enough for him to learn the ropes and become a real detective. Also I've got a client to throw his way." "Oh?" "Yeah, guy I know who's afraid his wife's being unfaithful." Calcite looked at her for a moment. "A guy you know who's afraid his wife's cheating on him?" Margrave shrugged. "I don't make moral judgements. Bad for business." Calcite muttered something noncommittal so she added, "A girl's gotta make a living. Which is literally true in my case. I stop working, I stop living." "You generally tell people it's recreation not work." "True. I'm a firm believer in mixing business and pleasure." "So to paraphrase an old expression; 'Some are born immortal, others have immortality thrust upon them.' Then there's a select few who steal immortality and have fun doing it." Margrave laughed. "Not bad. Mind if I use that?" "Feel free." He paused to sip his wine, a dry Pinot Chardonay, 2599. "None of which answers the question, 'why are you telling me this?'" Margrave stopped toying with the salad (which was too heavy on the dressing for her tastes anyway) and got serious. "Because you've got the right kind of influence in both the palace and the police department to set this up. He's gonna need various licenses, a couple of contacts on the force, startup funds and who knows what else. You can set this up a lot easier than Ti. Besides I'd rather not impose on her for this given her extreme dislike of Magnesite." "She doesn't have a monopoly on that." Margrave looked him in the eyes and said simply and without guile, "Please Cal. For old times sake?" Because she'd simply asked rather than trying to seduce or manipulate him into agreeing Calcite sighed and nodded his consent. He'd have to pull a few strings, call in a few favours and avoid his sister until the deed was done. Margrave gave a genuine warm smile and raised her glass in salute. Two weeks passed. Calcite carefully opened the door labelled "Magnesite : Discrete Investigations Ltd." ready to drop the packages cradled in his other arm at the slightest hint of trouble. Nothing abnormal happened and the trenchcoated Magnesite glared at him from behind the empty desk. The place was littered with packing materials from the furniture boxes Magnesite had spent the morning opening. "You call this a PI's office?" "What's wrong with it?" "What isn't? Look at this place!" "Seemed fine when I chose it. Bright, spacious, nice view ... though it's hard to find a bad one in CT. Brand new furniture. Perfect for a new business." "Exactly! Who's going to come to a PI who looks like a corporate exec? People are going to mistake me for a motivational councilor. There's no ambiance. Where's the stained couch? The battered desk? The cigarette burned carpet? The cramped rundown office? The murky watercooler? The empty whiskey bottles, the cockroaches the size of rats, the general atmosphere of disillusionment and betrayal? How am I supposed to operate like this? Has living in happy-happy-joy-joy-land turned your brain to mush?" Calcite kept a reign on his temper. "The only reason you've got an office at all is a mutual acquaintance talked me into setting you up in business. She convinced me you'd be a lot less trouble this way. So I'm doing this for her sake. If you want other quarters arrange them yourself when you've got some money. Though small and grubby's a little hard to come by in CT. The fact is I have absolutely no obligations to you and quite a bit of malice." "The feeling is mutual." "That being said I've been asked to convey Queen Serenity's appreciation of your attempts to become a useful and productive member of Crystal Tokyo. She sends her best wishes for your future endeavors and hopes you enjoy your new life. Personally I think you'll last a year max before you freak out and do something stupid." "And when I do you'll be waiting, right?" "I considered it. I was planning to cancel my travel plans and stick around watching you. But I thought about it and realized that would mean I've got no faith in Rei's ability to handle you. Internal security's her job and I have no wish to insult her. Besides I imagine she's rather glad to have a potential security risk to watch. Things have been fairly quiet the past few centuries so I doubt she wants to share you." "The past few centuries?!" "You're in the same situation as Margrave. Potentially immortal as long as you keep getting energy. You'll learn to adjust to the new timescale. In the unlikely event you last that long." "I'll survive. If only to rub your nose it!" "Well I don't exactly wish you luck, but I thought I'd bring you an office warming present." Calcite gently placed the cylindrical package on the desktop an slid it over. Magnesite eyes it dubiously. "What's this?" "Just a little something to help with the atmosphere." Magnesite didn't look reassured. "Just open it, it won't explode." "Allright, let's see ... too heavy to be a bottle but it's about the right size. Just tear this off and ..." Magnesite stared openmouthed at the black birdshaped statue. Calcite chuckled. "One of my granddaughters is a sculptress so I had her carve this. It was a bit of a rush job but it's as exact a scale as we could manage. I'm not sure the weight's right but ..." "Haha, very funny." Magnesite looked distinctly unamused. "Just think of it as a reminder of possibilities if you step off the semi straight and narrow. Like Margrave you're in a bit of a gray area so you'd better find the boundaries quickly." "Why do you care if I get myself zapped?" "I don't. But you might hurt a few people in the process and I'd prefer that not to happen. Anyway this should help with the ambiance. This won't." With that he dumped the remaining package on the desktop. It was obviously lighter and bent a bit. "This is from Titanite." "She sent me a present?" Magnesite looked amazed. "Yes. Now open it." "I don't know ..." "Just open it. NOW!" Magnesite reached for the wrapping paper dubiously. It probably wasn't a bomb, not with Calcite in here with him. But what could it be? According to Margrave Titanite bore him a grudge and wasn't leaving CT anytime soon. The last of the paper slid away to reveal ... a light brown teddybear in a green trenchcoat and fedora. "His name's Sam." "My ... how adorable." Magnesite was studying Sam with loathing. Calcite nodded, ignoring the tone. "Yep, Sam's got two purposes. First is he's a mascot for this place." Magnesite resolved to tear it apart as soon as Calcite left. "Second, he's another possible future." "What?" "I believe you've been told Ti has psychoplasm shaping abilities? Well if she hears you've stepped over the line she's planning to reshape you into a copy of Sam then lock you into that form. Which'll probably have a negative impact on your business." Magnesite's expression had switched from disgust to horror. "I'd advise you to take care of Sam. Don't want to upset Ti, right?" Magnesite nodded mechanically. "Well I must be going. I'm sure you're anxious to settle in and get to work." Calcite headed for the door, the reflection in the glass showed Magnesite frozen in place, staring at his new mascot. A strange payback but not unsatisfying. The door closed behind him and he started down the corridor. Then Rei stepped round the corner in full Senshi costume. "Afternoon Rei, here to hire Mr. Spade?" Rei looked blank for a moment then nodded. "I've read the overview Titanite provided. To answer your question I'm here to introduce myself, I suppose I should say reintroduce myself, to our new model citizen and make it very clear he doesn't want to cross me." "In short put the fear of God into him." "Fear of the Senshi actually. To be more specific the fear of me." Calcite looked solemn. "I'm sure you'll succeed wonderfully. While you might not appear so the casual observer I know you are, without doubt, the most terrifying member of the court." Rei looked a little puzzled. "Uh thanks, I guess." Calcite shook her hand and headed up the corridor. Now the trick was to keep looking serious then get around the corner and teleport before the penny dropped. Rei was opening the office door when it hit her. She turned around and bellowed, "WHADDA YOU MEAN I'M SCARY!". No one there. She shook her head. Contrary to popular opinion Calcite had a healthy sense of humour. No one who didn't would have lasted a week with Minako. She turned back to the office which appeared to be deserted. Magnesite's head emerged from behind the desk, "Dropped my pencil." He slid back into his hastily vacated chair and studied his visitor cautiously. After a few moments it became obvious he wasn't going to start a conversation so Rei took the initiative. "Nice teddybear." Magnesite scowled and dropped Sam into a desk drawer which he closed far too hard. "Been a long time Rei." "That's Sailor Mars, director of Crystal Tokyo Security to you." "Gotcha. So what can I do for you Rei?" She fumed but didn't blast him. Magnesite started to feel his confidence returning. Okay so he was stuck living in this lunatic asylum under their idiotic rules. On the positive side Margrave was right, it worked both ways. They were constrained by their own laws. Long as he didn't break their rules they couldn't touch him. "The trick", she'd told him, "is to learn how far you can bend them and stop just short of breaking them." "For starters you can stop calling me Rei." "Sure. Say I never thought to ask before but why exactly do you champions of justice and all that's good dress like cheerleaders? It doesn't exactly strike fear into evildoer's hearts. Fantasies maybe but ..." Rei reached across the desk, grabbed Magnesite by the collar and pulled him towards her. She glared into the startled youma's eyes and said coldly, "This is not going to be the start of a beautiful friendship!" She was right. End of part 2 Next : Enough background, back to the plot. Jundroot created by Sam Ashley for "Encyclopedia Metallia" but the rest of this mess is my work. Crystal Tokyo Saga Sidestory The Babe wore Blue - Another case from the files of Magnesite, PI by Mark Latus Part 3 - That Yellow Eyed Bastard! (With apologies to Frank Miller) Being inorganic I don't sleep but I need to enter a dreamstate about once a week. Otherwise being permenantly aware and active starts to get on my metaphorical nerves. When I dream I have this recurring nightmare that Walt Disney has taken over the world and turned it into a bright and happy place where people burst into song at the drop of a hat. Then I wake up and I'm living in Crystal Tokyo. I can't decide which is worse. On my way to Crystal Tokyo U. I made a few changes. The rain had stopped and the sun was back out so the trenchcoat would be very conspicuous. Wonder if it's just Ferrite and me who still wear them? At any rate by the time I arrived I no longer looked like the trenchcoat wearing Bogart clone that's my normal guise. Just another bright cleancut young man wearing one of those ugly puffy shirts that's the latest fad. Or at least they were, there aren't as many as I expected. It's easy to pick out the locals on campus. Look around at the faces and you'd think they were all clones. You can tell the students from outside the city easily enough. They're the ones who cluster together and keep looking around distrustfully. Wondering why everyone else is so carefree. Or what drugs produce that braindead, euphoric expression and where they can get them. The Crystal Tokyo look is known worldwide. See it outside the city and you know you've got an easy mark. But Metallia help you if you try to pull a scam on one of the immortals. I take a quick glance at the bulletin board. Concert listings, club announcements, graphics by the art students and personal ads scroll by. No sign of anyone complaining about issues. Whatever happened to activism? There's got to be something left to protest in CT. Or hidden multinational conspiracies to unearth. Actually there are those Berylist loonies. They've got a few local converts but they're mainly found outside Crystal Tokyo. But I find it very hard to take seriously any group who claims my former Queen was a benevolent monarch. Even weirder if she'd won she'd have saved the world from the excesses of the 20th century through technology rather than magic. At least according to the true believers. Still they have a great conspiracy theory about how the Senshi set her up through a group of rebel youma. The rebels smuggled an H-bomb into the Kingdom then cleared out before it blew. The Senshi made up the story about attacking the North Pole and death and resurrection after the fact when all they really did was lie low in Tokyo for a few months. In exchange for nuking Beryl the rebels were rewarded with positions of power when the Senshi reintroduced magic and conquered the world. I forgot to mention the Senshi are supposedly running the whole world from behind the scenes through a variety of secret societies. When I look at these theories I remember why I'm so cynical about humans. They're all crazy. Serenity makes no effort to ban those cretins from exporting their idiocy to CT. All she's said on the subject is "People are free to believe whatever they like. No matter how stupid." The exception to this the nasty version which postulates an affair between Calcite and the 13 year old Sailor V under the cover of their "battles" in England. There's an even nastier version which claims it resulted from a frustrated incestuous desire for his sister. Funny thing is that's one rumour Margrave won't spread. Must figure it'd backfire on her somehow. At any rate those two get banned under the obscenity laws and Titanite's legendary for her diligence in tracking media promoting those ideas down. That and the "Sailor vs the Overfiend" video series. Takes that very personal for some reason. Places outside CT that publish hardcore Berylist material seem to suffer accidents while Calcite's out wandering the world. But that's just a coincidence, right? Long as I'm here I punch a couple of general inquiries into the board. Nothing that'll set off any alarm bells. Just offices and the hours of a few profs. Here we go, Interdimensional/Extraterrestrial Studies, Advanced Magsci and a little Xenobiology. Must keep him busy. Speak of the devil ... my timing seems to be just about perfect. I click the board back into random display and watch the pretty pictures flow by. Loitering here seems to have worked. There's my man right over there. From over here there's nothing to distinguish him. At first glance you take him for some sort of assistant prof/technomage geek. Walking across the campus without noticing anything around him, all his attention on the bookslate in his hand. Occasionally he drops it and grabs one of the others hovering beside him and the old one takes it's place. Only the freshmen still gawk and it won't take them too long to get used to him. He's a definite fixture on this campus. Hell, he's been on the faculty longer than all the centuries old trees that line the walkways. That's a lot of tenure. From a distance he looks unremarkable. Short dark hair, no ornamentation beyond a gold ring with a blue stone (azurite, what else?) and a yellow and black outfit that's meaningless to anyone who doesn't know late 20th century pop culture. The last of the Trekkies. Praise the Abyss. How any youma (even a renegade) could mold their life around a human fiction is beyond me. Bogie's different. And I'll mangle anyone who suggests otherwise. With that thought I return my unobtrusive attention to my pigeon. Get a bit closer and you'd wonder if there's any significance to having painted his fingernails black but that won't tell you anything. It's the eyes that do it. Get close enough to look in those golden orbs and you'll know. Once you get past wondering about the color you'll see the ages in there. All the centuries he's witnessed come and go while remaining virtually unchanged. If you're human you'll experience a sudden knowledge of your own mortality as you contemplate how brief your existence is to him and the others who span the centuries. That's why there's a campaign to make all immortals wear dark glasses in public and his students try to avoid making eye contact. They also stay out of the front rows in his lectures but that's an even older tradition. He's walking along undisturbed. They all know when he looks like that nothing can distract him. At least that's what I think until the girl heads on an intercept path. She's obviously an outsider, definitely not the good girl type CT is so famous for. Still if she got into CTU she's either very bright, magically gifted or both. Girls like that make me wish I was still flesh and blood. Short spiky orange hair, a figure hugging red halter and skintight green leggings. I'd guess her 18-19 somewhere in that range and definitely looking predatory. She plants herself firmly in his path and waits. I think he's going to walk straight into her but he stops at the last minute and looks at her quizically. "Scuse me Dr. Pyrite, I was wondering if I could talk about my grades ..." Her voice is smooth as honey and has an Osaka accent. She's radiating her intentions loud enough to dazzle a blind man. Not that's she's going to have much luck as he's been pairbonded for centuries. Even if he's interested he's not stupid or crazy enough to step out on Azurite. At least that's what I think until I hear him respond. He knows what she wants and he likes it. Not exactly a shock to someone in my line of work. First thing you learn is undying love's a joke. Which is good because it generates a lot of business. What's shocking is that Pyrite is willing to doublecross a woman who can throw plasma hurricanes. Guess centuries with the same lover get incredibly boring. Interesting and I'll have to mention it to Margrave. A juicy bit of gossip like this should cancel one of my debts at least. Also she can get the rumour into circulation without it backfiring on us. I don't try to eavesdrop directly. Just drift by while glancing at my bookslate as though I'm reviewing something. I'll miss some of it but I hear enough to confirm this isn't the setup for a document swap. Transcribed it would sound pretty dull. It's all a matter of listening to the tone of voice and for the double endentres. Wonder if I can get Azurite to hire me for the divorce work? Assuming she doesn't just barbeque him on the spot. At any rate I don't want to show too much interest in them. It's not what I'm being paid for and I don't want to compromise my real investigation. If Pyrite thinks he's being watched that'll make him harder to track. Right now I think Mercury's jumping at shadows more than ever. If Pyrite's started messing around with co-eds then it's no wonder he's acting different. If ... when Azurite finds out about this there'll be hell to pay. Yes I'm definitely going to talk to Margrave. One interesting thing. He's agreed to tutor her tomorrow evening. She was clearly after tonight, mentioned already having a study room booked. But he claimed to have unbreakable plans for this evening. Some big faculty meeting he can't get out of. She pouts (she does a very god pout) and he promises to make it up to her tomorrow. With that she slinks off and he heads on his way looking a lot more alert than before. From my look at the board earlier it's time for him to get back to his office and listen to his students. Who undoubtably are the technomage geek elite you'd take him for. I suppose I should give him a little regard. He did survive 24 years in the Dark Kingdom. Of course that was a very long time ago and even back then he was the wimp among the adult renegades. For what it's worth I know where to find him for the next little while. So I'd better go acquire a few faces. I begin to amble in the general direction of Administration. The sign on the Human Resources Office says closed for lunch and is counting down the time until it reopens. A cheerful recording repeats the message for benefit of any illiterates who somehow got on campus. I do a quick aura scan to see if there are any eager beavers still inside. No life signs. Good. The door's locked but that's not a problem. Normally I'd just ghost through but that shouldn't be necessary. It'll also make for a test of this passkey. The door hums open without delay and I lock it behind me. All the computers are still on and linked. No password lockouts, just a variety of excessively cute screensavers. Guess they're depending on the doorlock and people's decency to prevent them doing anything to CTU's database. My they're trusting. The computers are voice activated and probably encoded to each individual user. Luckily by law they still have keyboards. Wouldn't be polite to make machines that discriminate against the mute and stutterers. A little typing and I'm into the personel files. Here we go, today's absences. Forget anyone with anything serious or long term. Just the goof offs and 24 hour flu types. That gives me five names to choose from. I memorize the vital stats and images and as much of the notes as I can. I can't help noticing the security guard, Yuri Angel, is down for chronic absentism. Given just how little happens on this campus it's one of the cushiest jobs in the world. Goofing off from it takes some doing, probably more effort than showing up for work. There's a note he's missed two appointments with the employee motivational counsellor and to remind him to attend the third. Anywhere else in the world they'd just say, "Fire the lazy bum!". Still it could be a useful identity. In the meantime I reset the screen and head out five minutes before lunch ends. I head over to the dimensional studies building and make it to the janitorial storage & administrative section [largish closet]. A moment's concentration and I'm Yoko Kimua, who's at home resting with a mild flu. Or rather a serious flu which has been treated by a university healer. Why they're so concerned about the health of menials is something I've never quite grasped. It's one of those human things. However I notice they didn't restore her to full health. As they don't let high magic out of the labs instantaneous recovery isn't an option. I've noticed there are definite limits to Serenity's benevolence. Like Margrave I exist in something of a gray area. So it's always been in my best interests to learn just what and where those limits are. I've never been able to decide if assuming female form qualifies me a crossdresser. Even if it does I can't afford to be squeamish. This is a tough business and you work hard to scrape up enough energy to keep going. You do what you have to survive in this business. Sam would have understood. Funny thing, what with both magic and technological surveillance and countermeasures becoming so advanced plain old eavesdropping is back in vogue. Unobtrusive listening is once again the most certain means of spying and most people still act like staff are deaf. Which is why I'm currently looking like an early 40's woman with a bowl haircut. I power up a pair of floor polishers, squat white cylinders about a foot wide, and they rise to six inches off the floor with a soft hum. I grab the keypad and punch in the fifth floor then follow them to the elevator. Once we get there they start gliding over the almost spotless hallway eradicating any dirt foolish enough to let itself be tracked inside. I amble along checking the cleaner's flawless work ready to provide human reasoning power if the crystbots run into something they aren't programmed for. Wonder if Kimua ever gets the urge to get her own hands dirty and actually clean anything herself? Probably not, 20th century fiction to the contrary people enjoy magic doing most of the drudge work. A life of leisure seems preferable to backbreaking, "self validating" work. So far there's no sign of people getting sick of our little paradise. Maybe if they lived for centuries it would get a bit tedious but the average human lifespan isn't that extended from a thousand years back. Think it's about 100-110 something like that. Humans just aren't built for longer, at least not without massive redesign. And after that genewar mess in the 23rd efforts to improve the human genome are banned everywhere. Seems they've caught on that designing their successors is a bad idea. Morons! The youma derived from humans (though we didn't like admitting it) and we had no love for our ancestral stock. Anyway humans don't have anything to complain about when it comes to aging. They don't get senile anymore (at least in CT) and they get about double the average youma lifespan. Margrave's a typical youma but she learned how to cheat her limits a long time ago. While I've been doing my philosopical musing I've managed to get myself close enough to see Pyrite's office. The door's open but there's no sign anyone but him. About what I'd expected. A desk covered in printouts and bookslates, various crystals (some glowing) serving as paperweights and a few framed pictures. Azurite and his fellow Renegades I'd imagine. Packed shelves lined with ancient musty texts with names like Hawking, Einstein, Rosen, Godell and others. I wonder if I was still breathing when some of those were written? A wallscreen in back displaying some constantly changing image. No sign of trek memorabilia apart from his cup which is labelled, "Archcharns di mroph paw Scotty, maneri uyrel'kt ompari uvarnei" Which translates literally from youma'shak as "Warpgate me [from] location current Scotty, there is evidence none of sentience here." Must have been a gag gift from a collegue with a translation program. Maybe someone who helped translate his magic/physics texts. As for the man himself? He's sipping coffee from the mug and pondering over some journal. Occasionally he hums a snatch of music. Very relaxed. Doesn't look like a man on the verge of committing high treason. Fine by me. Mercury's paying the bills so I don't mind wasting time on this investigation. Speaking of whom guess who emerges from the elevator? She ignores me as I start the second sweep of the hallway and heads for Pyrite's office. I figure I can do one more sweep then start on the ceilings. Normal stakeout I'd just get close enough to get an aura lock then follow that from a distance. But normally I'm not tracking an energy sensitive. Luckily I know from past experience he can't see through my form shifting. This isn't disguise magic, I meet someone and I can replicate them exactly. I can fool thermographics, retinal scans and a host of other sensors. Blood tests, DNA scans and soul reading are a a different matter as those require either flesh and blood or the right soul. No disguise is perfect. Meantime I'm in the perfect position to overhear their little exchange. Hope she's not about to complicate things. What am I saying? Bright as she is she's still a dame. Of course she'll muddy the waters. While clients are essential they're also the main source of aggravation. Luckily I can't get ulcers or any other stress related problems. Being psychoplasm has definite advantages. "Afternoon Ami." He sounds cheerful and relaxed. Getting used to the informality people take with their superiors was a struggle. If he'd talked to me like that back in the Dark Kingdom I'd have ... well I wouldn't have killed him as Calcite my loyal (Hah!) deputy found him very useful but I'd definitely have hurt him. Not that he ever gave me reason to, he always gave me the expected, "you're tougher and meaner than me so I hear and obey" deference we expected from our subordinates. Now he's talking to his boss, one of the Sailor Senshi, with a familiarity that would have got him crippled back then! What's worse is she shows no sign of offense. Name of the Abyss how does this crazy city keep running? "Good afternoon Pyrite." She sounds cool and formal. From the glimpse I steal of his quizical expression that's not normal. Great! She's going to put him on guard and make my job a lot harder! Dames! Wait a minute there's nothing to put him on guard over. Mercury's just gone paranoid, remember? I was starting to take this seriously when it's just that Mercury's a little cracked. Centuries of putting up with Serenity, Venus and Polaris would break anyone's sanity. "Something bothering you?" She flinches at the question then answers, "Just a few variables I can't nail down. Also my new assistant is ... a bit of a trial. Highly intelligent but her outlook's a bit ..." "Twisted? If we're talking about who I think we are." "Yes, it's her." "Finally decided to stop playing dumb. Good luck. You're going to need it with her working for you." He's sounding amused and Mercury seems to be loosening up a little. She looks a little mischevious. "Maybe I should loan her to you. She mentioned she's been following your work for a long time." "No thanks. I'd prefer not to die at my wife's hands. Besides do you really want to give her access to my tools?" "Perhaps not." There's a momentary lull then she says, "About Ambir ..." "Friendly guy." He holds up the bookslate he'd been studying. "He sent along some general information on Nemesis technology. It looks fascinating. I'd guess it's a blend of Silver Millenium leftovers and what they've evolved for themselves. I can't wait for Serenity to approve scientific exchange!" He turns off his enthusiasm long enough to ask, "Is that why you're here?" "In a sense ... I understand there are a few hangups on the diplomatic end. Questions are being raised about if the Nemesians know anything about the lost space expeditions. They don't feel they need to answer to us about their spacial activities, seem to think it's a resurgence of terran imperialism or something equally ridiculous. So it'll be some time before we negotiate any scientific or cultural exchanges." "Pity. Shame we have to go through all this rigmarole. Science should be above this petty bickering. Just one big union people striving to understand the universe. Otherwise you fall into the same trap as the Dark Kingdom with nobody cooperating and people continually reduplicating the same work as they won't share their discoveries for others to build on. I had a hell of a time working in that situation. I'll never know how many of my discoveries had already been made centuries earlier by someone who hid their research so it was lost when they died. Or else got themselves killed somehow before it got to the archives. I'm just glad the basics were available to access so I didn't have to start right from square one." Mercury was studying him. "You've got a sizeable body of work already. There's no shortage of things for you to explore in your chosen fields. Why are you so entranced by droid technology?" "Several reasons. Firstly Ambir claims droids are fully sentient AIs. I'd like to test that. If it's true that's a great leap forward. We both know that to date both terran magic and technology have failed to replicate human consciousness let alone develop something new." "I admit that worth investigating but ..." "Secondly (he didn't seem concerned about interrupting her) having droids would have a number of advantages to both Crystal Tokyo and the outside world. There are a number of hazardous occupations that could be done by droids and prevent a lot of death and injury. Deep space exploration has turned out to be extremely dangerous. So much so that there aren't any efforts to expand further out into the system. Except for that maverick Irons corporation but no one takes them seriously. Ridiculous considering back in the days of Silver Millenium our mutual ancestors could travel the whole system. We should be moving to reclaim the other worlds then aim for the stars ... sorry I'm getting off track." "I still think you've watched too much Star Trek." "No doubt, but the sentiment is heartfelt. Besides if Earth doesn't begin efforts to reclaim the system there's nothing to stop the Nemesians from getting there first." "WHAT!" "Well it makes sense. They've already got spacecraft capable of traversing the system. If they want to expand and they don't have FTL capability then it's simpler to recolonize the solar system. If it's possible to restart the ancients' life support systems on the various worlds then it's easy to establish settlements. Even if they're unworkable terraforming ... I should say Nemesisforming should be possible with existing levels of technology. Transport ice from the asteroid belt, use it to provide water and make air on Mars ... let's see orbital mirrors to warm things up and melt the ice, crack water for the oxygen, use the hydrogen for fusion reactors to add to the planetary heat ... Well I'm getting sidetracked again but you get the idea." He paused when he noticed the stricken look on Mercury's face. "My God you're right! I've been thinking all along that they'll have to steal it but they can take it from us just be outpacing us! Damnit I should have supported Ferrite when he pushed for a space program. Why'd I let my feelings get in the way?" "I'm sorry I don't quite ..." "Huh! Oh it's nothing. Just ... old business. You think droids would be useful for Crystal Tokyo?" A fairly obvious attempt to change the subject. Mercury was mixed up with Ferrite? He didn't mention that. Of course we didn't exactly spend much time discussing our personal lives. "There would be uses. For example we could replace Jupiter's soldiers with droids. In case they were ever needed which would you rather sacrifice, droids or people?" Mercury looked a bit twitchy, Pyrite didn't seem to notice. "Or we could use them for police, at least for the officers dispatched to reports of violence. Save lives if there was ever any trouble they had to put down." "Pyrite this is Crystal Tokyo. Our police are mainly there to provide directions to tourists and make people feel secure." "Still things happen occasionally. I remember one time a few centuries back they got a report of an assault and ..." His voice had hardened before trailing off. "Is that what this is all about? Pyrite, it wasn't your fault! Or Azurite's. He chose his own path." "Did he? I wonder if he ever had any real choice. Funny, my one time playing Frankenstein. I wanted to create life and I produced a monster." His laugh was hollow and I figured I'd milked this cleaning routine for all I could. I shut down the 'bots and directed them back towards the elevator. Pity, it sounded like something had happened some time back that messed him up seriously. Something Mercury knew about but didn't bother telling me about. Question is just how much did it (whatever it was) screw with his head? Enough so he'd do something stupid to get hold of technology that could prevent a recurrance without delay? Hard to say. Pyrite's a near immortal, very longlived rather than unaging, but still accustomed to taking the long view. What's a few years ... Hell! A few decades ... to him? Me? I've never been part of that mindset. Probably 'cause I have to hustle to keep going. I didn't get immortality handed to me at birth. I still can't believe that the youma least likely to survive in the Dark Kingdom got the longest lifespans. I figure it was some sort of sick joke on Serenity's part. In which case she had a sense of humour I could appreciate. Anyway the point was he wasn't likely to be in a hurry about anything. Odds are still Mercury's paranoid. Even as I tell myself that I'm remembering that she was obviously hiding things from me. Lots of clients don't give you the full story. Biggest example has to be Ferrite not mention that his missing person was ... No! I'm not going to think about her. Out of sight, out of mind. That's the way to play the game. She never really meant anything to me, all I wanted was her energy. It was that simple. That's all. End of story. I've got to stop distracting myself like that. Lucky I didn't start narrating out loud again. Focus on the case. Clients often conceal stuff. Not that I really care about their failings but leaving holes complicates things. So just what does Mercury know about Pyrite that's got her so edgy? What if she's not crazy? What if he's really thinking treason? A chance to bust Calcite's cousin and rub his nose in it. That would be sweet. Meantime best to put the 'bots away and use a new face. I'm going to be sticking to you like glue Pyrite. This could pay off bigger than I thought. It's that thought which keeps me going through a very long and boring afternoon. The day wears away slowly and Pyrite does nothing more interesting than look over some journals and talk to a few grad students. I wonder if the terms they keep throwing around actually mean anything or are just there to impress the uninitiated? I also wonder how you can do this for centuries without losing your mind? Maybe you can't. Perhaps I finally have a motivation for his alleged betrayal. Meanwhile I run through most of my staff faces and borrow the guises of a couple of students. Still nothing interesting happens. Mercury's paying me anyway but I have to say that it's a big disappointment. Office hours are ending and Pyrite's starting to pack up. This could get complicated. If he teleports home then I'll have to follow. Problem is, for me, teleporting burns up quite a bit of energy. Mercury's paying expenses (wonder if she understood that clause) but until I collect I'm draining my own reserves. What's worse is tracking teleports is difficult with my current status. If he goes home fine, I know where he lives. If he teleports anywhere else how do I follow him? Anyone else I could aura tag but he's an energy sensitive. It's quite possible he'd be able to spot one of my energy markers. Should have hit Mercury up for some sort of undetectable spy gizmo ... what am I saying? This is Crystal Tokyo. They don't make those kinds of things here. If they did Rei would have used them on me and that mess back in '78 would have landed me in a world of shit. Not that she didn't try to bug me but those things were detectable. Think about the present idiot! The problem is tracking Pyrite. Who could probably sense any bug planted on him anyway. Maybe I'll have to risk tagging him and just pray to Saint Humphrey that he doesn't sense it. I'm still thinking along these lines when the kid shows up. Dressed in an illfitting sweatshirt and jeans, looks like one of the outsider students. Red hair, blue eyes, dubious look, typical outsider freshmen. Nothing particularly distinguishing about him. And yet ... It's unnoticeable to the casual eye but he's carrying a lot of muscle behind those baggy clothes. If you know how to look there's a balance to his movements that doesn't fit with the obvious sloppy walk. He's put a lot of effort in appearing careless and harmless but I'd say he's trained in some form of martial arts. A definite wolf in sheep's clothing. Look at that he's heading straight for Pyrite's office. This case could be getting interesting. Currently I'm hanging around the lobby looking like an edgy student waiting for his prof to arrive and wondering if he's got the right day. Which, in case anyone asks, I haven't. I was careful to pick one who's gone to a conference in Tahiti. There was a note about that on her door but I removed that first time I went up to knock. At any rate I've given this body a great set of ears. So I can hear everything from down here. Pity I can't see much apart from the odd glimpse but I don't want to seem interested. Just a guy absorbed in his own problems, that's me. "Dr Pyrite ..." Something a little odd about his accent. Reminds me a bit of those goons I shot a few years back. Never did find out just who the hell they were. If Ferrite knew he kept it to himself. Meantime the kid's saying, "I was wondering if I could talk to you about some of these assignments?" I risk a glimpse and see him produce a bookslate which Pyrite waves away. "I make it a point to know my students at least by sight if not by name. I've never seen you before." "Quite true ..." the hesitancy's gone from his voice and there's a definite control in his tone. "... My name is Rhineston (is there a pattern developing here?) I've been sent by a mutual acquaintance. If you'd examine this slate all will be explained." I guess he does 'cause the next thing Pyrite says is, "I see. Well this all seems fine but why didn't Ambir come himself?" "He decided it best to minimize his appearances on campus. He felt your Sailor Mercury was paying him a little too much attention." "Really? Sounds a little paranoid but Ami is a bit close to the palace to approve of sidestepping a few of the rules. Even if it's not going to hurt anything. So why didn't you bring the crystals and schematics with you? We could have run the exchange right now?" Sonofagardinel! She's not crazy! I might have known a career academic wouldn't have any concept of real world consequences. Especially after centuries cacooned in CTU. This is great! Hold on ... he hasn't actually done anything wrong yet. There's still the chance this is some sort of sting operation Rei's running. Pretty unlikely as I can't see her leaving her old buddy Ami out of the loop but it could happen. Besides Rei is nowhere near that subtle. Calcite maybe but he's not running internal security. Rei's the "blast first, think later" type. I've often wondered if they've had to cover up her accidentally frying the odd innocent bystander. So odds are this is for real, it simply hasn't happened yet. Anyway I'm not here to stop this, just to witness it. "I'm simply Ambir's bodyguard. He'd like to examine your data and determine it's genuine before handing over any of our technology." "That'll take him a few years but I'll provide a few choice equations to take a look at. However the background material's very dense and until he's mastered that the full applications are highly limited." "I'm sure that'll be fine. If you'd like to fetch your material we can proceed to the exchange site." "It's down in the main lab. I imagine you'd like to accompany me?" "If that won't arise suspicions." "This is Crystal Tokyo. There's nothing odd about me giving students tours of the facilities. Particularly this one." "Really? I would have thought an interdimensional research facility would be high security." He sounds a little suspicious. "Many people would. At least anyone from outside Crystal Tokyo. High security isn't a well regarded concept around here." "I've noticed." Definite hint of contempt there. A man after my own heart. Or whatever I used to have to pump blood. Youma anatomy tended to be highly variable. They head for the stairs at Rhineston's insistance. Everyone takes the elevators so they'll be less likely to be seen together. Soon as the door closes behind them I shift to the Yuri Angel identity and use the passkey to call an elevator. Security override gives me an express to the lab section. It's underground but that's not going to make a lot of difference if they blow holes in the fabric of reality and something with lots of tentacles and a name with very few vowels crawls through. I'm surprised Serenity lets them mess around with this sort of thing. The elevator pings and I've arrived. Time to look like a semi-conscientious security guard doing his minimum on his appointed rounds. The passkey opens the door and I head inside. I waste a moment gawking at the hardware then duck behind a console for a nap. Anyone who knows Angel won't be surprised at this behaviour. I hear the door open and two sets of footsteps. "Incredible!" Rhineston sounds impressed. "Looks very advanced doesn't it?" "Indeed. What does all this do?" "Not a damned thing." "Excuse me?" Pyrite's statement seems to have surprised him. It certainly surprises me. "This is all just a stage set. We're an Interdimensional Studies Department so we needed a lab full of weird and wonderful equipment. But Queen Serenity has decreed dimensional travel dangerous and sealed Crystal Tokyo's dimensional gate point. Which was the nexus point in this solar system. The only point from which you could access every other reality is closed." "Then dimensional travel is impossible?" "Only in Crystal Tokyo. It's possible at the other gatepoints around the world but they're a lot harder to use. Also you can't access all the other universes. You'd get about a dozen or so to choose from. The equipment would be a lot bulkier or would take high level magic abilities. That level of technology and/or magic is not yet found outside of Crystal Tokyo. At least not in this dimension, anyone arriving from outside is a different matter. We aren't allowed to run dimensional experiments outside of the city. Due to a large number of side effects associated with dimensional travel I'm happy to obey that injunction. So all our work here at CTU is theoretical based on data I gathered prior to Serenity's sealing off the nexus point. While it's something of a loss to science personal experience makes me agree with her decision." "But we needed a lab to look good so I designed this one based on the engine room of a fictional starship. That's the warpcore in the center of the room, over there's the dylithium ..." "You mean this is all for show?" "That's right. But it certainly looks impressive doesn't it?" He doesn't wait for an answer. "And it puts on an impressive array of special effects. Gives us something to scare the first year students with. How quickly they see through the facade helps us evaluate them. The depressing thing is the number who don't question it and simply take our word as gospel. People around here are just a little to credulous. Still that's what comes of living in paradise." He crosses over to a wall panel and slides it to the side to expose a safe. "Then you don't have a functional dimensional warp technology?" "No. All the warpkeys were dismantled and destroyed a long time ago. Besides they were useless with the nexus point closed." "Closing this nexus point didn't cause any problems?" "Not at all. While it's been there all along it never had to be opened. But quite a few centuries ago an ... accident caused a dimensional tear. Now, thanks to Serenity, nothing short of the Ginzuishou can reopen it." This is not necessarily a bad thing for any dark powers out there. If I was an extradimensional invader I'd want to manifest anywhere in the world except Crystal Tokyo. Around here the powers of darkness have a lousy track record. Pyrite removes what looks like a black lacquered briefcase. As his hand touches the handle there's a small flare of red light. Rhineston starts, losing his cool for a moment. "What was that?" "Aura bonding. If this case leaves my possession or anything happens to my lifesigns the case automatically destroys its' contents. It'll also trigger the destruct if forced open or on my command." Rhineston definitely doesn't like that. He sounds a little surprised when he comments, "That sounds a little paranoid for around here." "I wasn't born here. Let's just say that in my homeland I learned it's a good idea to take a few precautions when making a trade." "A sensible attitude and not one I expected to encounter. I will not underestimate you again." Which makes me wonder if he was thinking of a onesided exchange and walking out of here alone in possession of Pyrite's data. Pyrite doesn't seem too concerned. He either missed the implication or he hasn't forgotten everything he learned in the Kingdom. The life of research scientists was a little more exciting back home. And getting tenure was murder ... or took a few at the least. Just after thinking that I made a mistake. I shifted position slightly to get a better look. I thought no one would notice but I'd underestimated Rhineston. "We have company." His voice was quiet and he'd stepped back so he could watch both Pyrite and my position. Careless of me but I'd anticipated discovery and provided a few props of my own. I unfolded myself from my position holding half a donut and a coffee while dropping a slate playing a lurid (by CT standards anyway) video. I nodded to Pytite, "Evening doc." He frowned for a second as he searched through his memory. "Ah yes ... officer Angel. Hard at work keeping the campus safe as always." Definite touch of humour. Obviously didn't see the need for campus police period so why worry about a goofoff like Angel? "Yep, just keeping an eye on your gizmos. Wouldn't want anyone walking off with one of them." The smallest thing in here has to weigh 300 pounds. "Well keep up the good work. Shall we go?" The last part was addressed to Rhineston. He was looking at me with definite suspicion. "One moment doctor." He was sounding like a deferential student again. The man could move quietly and quickly, he was almost on top of me before I realized how close he'd got. "If I could just ask you why ..." His hand slid inside his jacket then straight at my heart in one smooth motion. I barely dodged the humming needle, he was that quick. I grabbed his wrist and twisted. Or tried to, while I'm stronger than human so was he. The point began edging back towards me. I was close enough to read his aura. Just like those other freaks two years back. Not quite human. Something different, something alien. Nemesian? Perhaps. I'd never met one. Or maybe I had but I hadn't known it back then. Meantime I had other worries. I didn't know what effect that needle would have on me but I didn't want to find out it was lethal the hard way. I drew more energy to increase my strength and the held him in place. His free hand slammed for my face and I barely blocked it with my other hand. Stalemate. It looked like we were stuck here until his endurance ran out or my energy reserves faded and I couldn't hold him anymore. Then a sledgehammer caught me in the chest and spun me halfway across the room. I went down hard and gasped for air. What the hell just happened? I forced myself to my knees and saw Rhineston gliding towards me with his needle ready. Before he got there the sledgehammer struck again. A lot harder. My ribcage buckled inward as something tore through my chest. Bony spears imploded and shredded my lungs into bloody fragments as one of my aorta's ceased to exist except as mush. On it's way out my back several of my vertabrae went with it leaving an exit wound you could toss a softball through. Blood sprayed everywhere. Somehow I stayed on my knees long enough to see the pen sized crystal rod that ripped through me return to Pyrite's hand. It doesn't have a drop of blood on it. "Sorry but this is necessary." He sounded apologetic as he tucked the rod back into his shirtcuff. Thank you Pyrite, I'll bet that would be a great comfort to the real Yuri Angel. I tried to give him my opinion of his necessity but all I did was bring up a mix of blood and my lungs. I guess he decided to put me out ofmy misery because suddenly there was another rod in his hand. Before I get a chance to get a good look a beam from it ripped my front open. I rained intestines then slumped over into the spreading blood puddle and just stared at him from the ground. I stop moving but I keep leaking fluids. Rhineston (who'd somehow avoided the spray) turned to Pyrite with a barely contained anger. I suspect his selfcontrol was more a product of a newfound appreciation of Pyrite's capabilities than respect. His voice was icy. "Why did you do that?" "You were trying to kill him weren't you?" Doesn't sound concerned about turning me into chopped meat. Maybe he's finally beginning to act like a youma. "He knew too much. Even if he had no idea just what he'd learned anyone who talked to him might have deduced what's going on. But this would have killed him without any mess!" He was gesturing with the needle. "It would have looked like a natural death from heart failure." "You didn't seem to be having much luck." "He was stronger than I thought." "Humans can demonstrate hysterical strength in life threatening situations." "I've heard that but this is the first time ... Well no matter he is dead. I'm surprised by your ruthlessness." "This exchange will save countless lives in the future. Against that what's the life of one man? I can't afford to jeapordize this." Sounds like a human viewpoint, youma never bother with justification for killing. Guess it's true, Renegades think like humans. "I'll seal the lab and cleanup the ... remains when I get back." "Don't bother." Rhineston's just removed something the size of a cigarette box from his belt. "I never got a destruct implant so I've had to carry this damn thing around with me all the time. I'll be glad to be rid of it. Ten second fuse. When it detonates it'll destroy all organic matter in the vicinity. I've already adjusted it for a wide field. I planned on taking as many of my killers with me as possible. If you please doctor, Ambir is waiting." Pyrite takes a last look at me then leaves shaking his head and muttering something about cruel necessity and rewritting security records when he gets back. Rhineston looks for signs of life but seems convinced I won't be running away. The device splashes into the blood right before my unblinking eyes. "Ten, nine, eight, sev..." Rhineston's counting down as he leaves. It's funny really, I would have said Pyrite was the least dangerous of the Renegades. It's always the quiet ones. I'm still reevaluating him when the bomb goes off in my face. To be continued? For anyone who's wondering about that comment after the title here's the explanation. The title was inspired by one of Frank Miller's "Sin City" comic series, namely "That Yellow Bastard". For that matter the overall story title was inspired by another Sin City comic, "The Babe Wore Red". No particular reason except I like the series and I couldn't think of any place less like [Ba]Sin City than Crystal Tokyo. Crystal Tokyo Saga Sidestory The Babe wore Blue - Another case from the files of Magnesite, PI by Mark Latus Part 4 - The Tough Guy Somedays life is good. You meet the girl of your dreams, blow a few people away, stick your client with a lifedebt to Margrave (did I ever mention that to him?), assist some major property damage, drive Sailor Mars wild and get away with it all scot free. Somedays life is bad. The girl you've fallen for (against all logic and youma nature) leaves the city with another man and you can't follow. Leaving you with nothing but a song and the memory of a kiss. Somedays life is really bad and you wind up lying in a pool of your own blood, your intestines spilling out, a hole in your spine you could drive a truck through and a bomb goes off in your face. This was a really bad day. All things considered this wasn't shaping up to be one of my more successful cases. I'm glad it takes more than massive traumatic bloodloss, paraplegia and disembowelment to slow me down. Soon as my eyes cleared from the bomb's flare and I was sure Rhineston wasn't coming back to check his handiwork I began reabsorbing the blood. After all this stuff was simply psychoplasm like every bone and organ in my body. So a bomb designed to vaporize organics doesn't even rate a tingle. It's a side effect of the shapeshifting. I've never met Angel so I couldn't replicate him. Instead I turned into a human male, copying some guy I met centuries ago then replaced his face with Angel's. I shifted the external appearance a little to match my model's profile and the job was done. Thing is it's an exact replication so I get insides filled with a copy of the source's organic bits. So I'm full of organs that don't serve any purpose and pseudo blood. Which was handy because it made it look authentic when I got shot. Now all I have to do is shove everything back in, close the hole and get moving. This mess'll shift back into position and repair itself automatically unless I shift again in which case it'll melt and become part of my new form. I grab a handful of goop and start tossing it back inside. Wonder what this thing with all the tubes hanging off it is? The pancreas maybe? Well who cares, I'm in something of a hurry so I stuff it back in without trying to find where it fits. I'm a little engrossed in my chore so I don't hear the door open. However I do hear the shriek. I look up, my hands full of intestines to see a genuine CTU security guard screaming her head off. Then, in the best cliche tradition, she faints. I drop my piping and dash for her, managing to catch her before her head hits the ground. Last thing I need is her cracking her skull or anything along those lines. I don't know, these CT kids are really wimps. Think I was five years old when I saw my first disembowelling and all I did was wipe the mess off my face then go on playing. "Beat the runt", "Kick the freak" or one of our other childhood games. Happy, simpler days. Anyway I'd got myself refilled and closed the wound. Time for a fast exit. "Hi-my-name-is-Yagami-I'm-here-to-help-you" was still out cold which would simplify things. When she comes round she'll see no sign of a dead coworker and decide she dreamed the whole thing. Or she'll be traumatized for life and be seeing an analyst for the next ten years. The citizens of our fair city have always struck me as a little on the fragile side. Long as everything stays perfect then no problems. But if paradise ever ends there'll be a city full of basketcases. Perhaps I'm underestimating them and they'll show unacknowledged strength under fire. Not that that's likely to happen. Ferrite implied hard times are coming. Maybe in the rest of world but I can't see anything scratching Crystal Tokyo. Not as long as Serenity's got the Ginzuishou. A millenia ago she took out my homeworld and god. I don't like to even think what she's capable of doing by now. Yagami's no concern of mine. Must have heard the commotion and come to check it out. Or she was doing her regular rounds. Lucky for her she didn't come by earlier or she'd have got the same treatment Rhineston tried to give me. Still that had a definite up side. I "tagged" him during the fight so I'm able to track his aura. They've got a lead of about a kilometre so it looks like they aren't teleporting. Excellent, that'll make my job a lot easier. I revert back to my initial student guise and focus on the tag. Good, I've got a clear location. It's time to follow. I could teleport directly to Rhineston's location but that would be pretty stupid. Instead I have to match my mental map of the city to it and hope I've got a teleport point nearby. As jumping blind is the sort of thing only a complete idiot or a Senshi (is there a difference?) would do I've memorized a lot of reentry points around Crystal Tokyo. There's a teashop nearby. That should put me within 50 metres of them. A thought and I'm there. Just wish I'd remembered exactly what my emergence point was. The door bangs open as I fall out of the closet in a tangle of brooms, mops, sponges and with my foot stuck in a bucket. Seems to be my day for custodial artifacts. Whoever runs this place must be a traditionalist. I pry the bucket off my foot ignoring the bemused looks of the five old ladies. I could try to distract them with a "coming out of the closet" joke. Perhaps not, the expression might have become meaningless centuries ago. Instead I toss everything back inside and close the door then saunter to the washroom. I walk through the empty toilet and continue straight through the outside wall. At least I try to but my pockets catch. I slid back and remove my cigarettes, the passcard and my audiorecorder. I can only ghost myself and these aren't parts of me. The windows open and there's still no auras in the alley so I toss them through. Then complete my walk and scoop up my junk outside. During all this the source has moved on a bit. From the speed it seems they're walking. Now I just have to find them. I miss them the first time but spot them on second glance. Over there! The native in the blue tunic showing the tourist around! Pyrite's using a glamour to blank his distinctive eyes and fingernails. Apart from that and a small addition to his nose he's unchanged. Just enough for any acquaintance to take him for someone who resembles Pyrite but not very closely. Rhineston's playing tourist and gawking at everything. The perfect way to cover his outsider look. Everyone knows all outsiders who visit Crystal Tokyo look like that. That look will be all anybody asked to describe him later remembers. They don't seem to be in any hurry as they amble along. I follow them for three blocks then take a left as they go right. I step into a receiving alley and shift to an unexception female form. Make it too attractive and you make yourself noticeable. For clothing I add one of those sailorsuits that are all too common. This is what comes of making Senshi into role models. If I inspired people to wear trenchcoats Rei'd probably charge me with corrupting youth. Wonder what my least favorite senshi's up to right now? Probably watching the Nemesians like a hawk and praying they'll do something wrong. No, that can't be right. Rhineston's not being followed by anyone other than me and if he'd been under surveillance they'd have grabbed him soon as he "killed" me. But he's not human, at least not exactly. Definitely far stronger than normal and the brief glimpse I got of his aura at close range could indicate paranormal abilities. Well paranormal for humans, they could be commonplace on Nemesis. Half an hour and four faces later we arrive at our destination. The "Tsukino Shingo Memorial Park", one of the dozens of immaculate greenspaces that dot this city. All of them perfectly blended into the urban environment for maximum aesthetic value and suggesting the harmony of man with nature. Just one of many things that I really hate about this city. Everything has to be so damn ... perfect! If at least one of them was full of broken pop bottles, discarded chip packets and had a pond filled with used condoms maybe I could stand it. Looks like the deadly duo don't share my opinion as they walk through the gate (beautiful wrought iron suggesting a rosebush) without pausing to retch. The name of this park rings a bell vaguely ... probably named after one of Serenity's non-immortal friends or family. As it's become a very a nice day there's no shortage of people around. But because of the large number of parks it's not overly crowded. The usual idyllic scene; couples pushing babies in carriages, young lovers on the park benches making the seniors wish for their youth back, kids playing with balls and other non-negative toys (most CT kids have never even heard of toy guns let alone seen them), two homicidal maniacs heading to the west ... Damn, I nearly lost them. I can't believe I was starting to take this stuff seriously. Soon as I'm done I dig out those Senshi porn tapes Margrave smuggled in and try to think very nasty thoughts. It's getting bad when you have to work on keeping a negative attitude to utopia. This should come naturally to a youma. I light a cigarette and inhale the smoke. Nasty habit, now this is more like it. I remember to exhale before anyone notices I'm not actually breathing. That's usually second nature. Think I'm a little shaky. Getting blown apart like that messes with the part of my subconscious that still can't accept I'm not flesh and blood anymore. I manage to keep my people in sight while avoiding any noticeable surveillance. Which is how I catch a glimpse of Pyrite doing something to the infoplaque beside him. Those things are the closest things we have to security devices around here. They monitor the park and flag any potentially life threatening situation. Around here that consists of toddlers walking into the ankledeep ponds and old farts pushing themselves too hard. They also let parents locate the kids after they wander off. They're tied into the main CT network but all they access is weather predictions and sports/cultutal events/entertainment information. I wonder if Pyrite's using it to check the park for anyone he knows when the synthesised voice comes over the unobtrusive hidden speakers. "Your attention please ladies and gentlemen. We regret that health regulations require us to temporarily close the park while we check the water for a possible algae infestation. This poses no threat to either humans or animals but could damage the plantlife. Therefore we ask you to please exit the park in an orderly fashion while the matter is investigated." I notice both Pyrite and Rhineston are now wearing badges proclaiming them members of the CT health and hygiene board. There's some grumbling but everyone packs up and start flocking quietly to the exits. Bunch of sheep. In my day ... No! I can't distract myself now. I have to witness the exchange! This must be it. A public place Pyrite chose with good visibility for Ambir and no concealed police hidden among the people around them. Better conceal myself before the crowd thins out and Ambir arrives. I don't think I'll use the audio recorder. No saying what kind of detection technology the Nemesians have so I'll have to settle for witnessing it. If necessary I'll undergo soulreading to verify my story. For a chance like this it's worth the unpleasantness. Let's see, no people are going to be left here apart from those two so I'll need a complete transform. With that in mind I dump the inactive recorder and my cigarettes in a nonrecyclables bin. Think stuff in those gets collected, converted to energy (without pollution of course) and added to the central powergrid. There's a definite rattle as non recyclable garbage is in short supply these days. At least around here. Maybe I can retrieve them later. I check my pockets for anything else that isn't part of me and come up with the passkey Ami gave me. I'd say its' usefulness has ended so I pitch it. There's an empty planter nearby that'll be perfect. Soon as it's all clear I jump in, absorb my clothes back into my body, raise my arms above my head and change. My toes extend and become brown roots digging into the soil. My feet and legs fuse together to form a thin trunk as my chest contracts and becomes circular. My arms become main branches as my fingers grow and become sub-branches tipped with green leaves. As this is happening my facial features disappear and my skull grows upward becoming a tapering trunk. The brown from my roots spreads over the rest of my body as my skin roughens. There we go, a perfect oak sapling. Just awaiting a little more growth before its' transplant to along the walkway. It's a little tricky to describe how I perceive things (you gotta be bark covered to truly appreciate it) but I sense Pyrite and Rhineston nearby as they finish checking the park. "Nobody left but us." Pyrite sounds confident. Sensing auras is one of his speciality. Nothing to sense here except plants. "So it seems." Rhineston agrees cautiously while waving an eggshaped blue crystal around. Looks like it doesn't pick me on though he does stop walking long enough to glance at me. "What's this thing?" Pyrite takes a quick look and tells him, "It's a tobacco plant." Tobacco plant? Guess botany's really not his field. The important thing is they pass me by without notice. The two of them cross to the clearing where a few kids were playing soccer earlier. Pyrite stands there holding his briefcase and looking as though he's patiently waiting for a bus. Rhineston rechecks the whole area before he's finally convinced it's all clear. He produces something which has to be a communicator because there's a swirl of light and Ambir appears before them. Pyrite and Ambir exchange greetings and commiserate each other about how unfortunate it is politics gets in the way of scientific exchange, how science is above such petty bickering, academic brotherhood ... yadda, yadda, yadda. It's almost like listening to one of those egghead conferences. So far nobody's mentioned killing anybody while setting up this exchange. Either Rhineston's got his own reasons for keeping it quiet or this sort of thing's common on Nemesis when you want to preserve secrecy. Rhineston does make some comment about Pyrite being worthy of being a Nemesian scientist which startles Ambir momentarily. He recovers fast but he's watching Pyrite with a bit more respect. In response to Pyrite's inquiry Ambir produces a flat box about six inches long. Inside the box are three small jewels (green, red & blue) nestled in grey foam and a larger transluscent crystal. Ambir pulls the green gem free and tosses it into the air shouting something like, "Come forth droid Marsellis." There's a flare of light and we're looking at a green woman wearing a leotard made of sheet music who's left arm ends in a trumpet. Ambir explains that this is a battle droid capable of ultrasonic attack. The red gem will produce a hazardous enviroment/exploration droid while the blue one is a general purpose unit. Pyrite shows a lot more interest in the crystal which Ambir says is a data storage unit. He's obviously surprised when Pyrite nods and picks up the crystal. It glows faintly and Pyrite smiles then asks some sort of technical question which amazes Ambir. Pyrite tells him he's seen encoded crystals before. I guess that means both Nemesis and the Dark Kingdom derived the technology from Silver Millenium's. I gather he's only had time to skim the surface as he looks unhappy when Ambir takes it back. Must be time to keep his end of the bargain. The surface of his case ripples and extudes a bookslate. He hands it to Ambir and says it contains a few choice samples of his research. He's still holding onto the case very tightly. I guess it's good stuff because Ambir looks ecstatic. He displays what I guess is some sort of equation and starts talking in gibberish. Pyrite seems to understand and starts talking the same sort of nonsense. I make out the terms dimension, quantum interface, warp, Einstein-Rosen and few others but none of it seems to make any sense. The two of them continue to jabber away and Rhineston's expression changes from wary alertness to boredom. That changes suddenly. I get a faint tingle, close to what I get when there's a Senshi nearby. Either my range has increased and I'm picking up a Senshi some distance away or it's a Senshi operating at low power. There's only one Senshi I know of who doesn't keep her powers constantly armed and ready. What's she doing here? I'm not alone. Pyrite glances sideways just before Rhineston does. He mutters something to Ambir then disappears towards the trees. Ambir produces another gemstone with swirling colors. He tells Pyrite not to worry as no other unexpected guests will be arriving. Then he resumes asking questions. Pyrite shrugs, turns back to Ambir and answers him. Meantime the tingle is getting closer. Ami storms down the walkway looking very unhappy. She's ditched her senshi fuku in favour of a blue sundress. If she didn't look so mad it would be rather an attractive picture. She grabs the trashcan and hisses, "What the hell are you playing at? I've got a hysterical woman who's claiming to have seen a dead man in the labs about the time you left! This isn't why I hired you!" She's talking to a trash can? I was right the first time. She has gone nuts. Then it strikes me. She thinks that's me transformed into a garbage can. But why? Wait a minute that's where I ditched the passkey! The passkey she had ready for me and gave me so willingly. She planted a tracer in it so she could track my movements. That machavellian little blue haired minx! Acts so cute and innocent but ... you know my respect for her has just gone up a notch. Didn't count on this at all. Meanwhile she continues to berate the trash can for it's failings and I'm finding it all rather amusing. Until Rhineston glides up behind her. She doesn't notice and starts to shake the can for not answering back. Rhineston silently produces his needle and continues towards her. Looks like he favours the professional underhand thrust upwards with a blade to the amateur's overhand downward stab. I doubt the blade leaves a physical mark if its' effects are to simulate natural death but it must be a habit. Definitely a man used to weapons. Seems so much better than those goons Ferrite and I ran into. They were cannonfodder, this man is an expert killer. Mercury's still showing no signs of having noticed him. He's taking a lot more care with her than her did with Yuri Angel. But there he was expecting a quick kill of a very weak opponent. He knows not to take chances with a Sailor Senshi. He's about to kill my client. And she hasn't paid me yet! My left branch shifts back to an arm and aims at Rhineston. I reform my mouth and yell "BEHIND YOU" at the same instant I throw a hasty energy pulse. Rhineston reels back dropping his needle but looking unhurt. Ami's just turning around looking very confused and sees Rhineston behind her. She opens her mouth to ask what's going on as I blast Rhineston a second time. At least I try, the bolt splashes harmlessly off a shield. He pulls one of those crystal guns out of nowhere and returns fire. I manage to dodge his shot but my dive to the side just succeeds in tipping over the planter. Right now I'm Magnesite PI from the waist up and tree on the bottom half. So I'm still rooted to the damn planter. I manage to roll away from his second burst dragging the pot with me as I frantically retract my roots back into feet. He shifts aim and it looks like he has me cold with his third shot. I'm about to find out if I can survive this particular energy weapon. There's a flare of light to the left and I see Ami's clothing melt away and replaced with her sailor fuku. I'd probably enjoy it a lot more if I wasn't about to die. Luckily Rhineston's seen it too. He spins from me to drop the more dangerous opponent. "Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" For an instant she seems to be ... playing a harp? Then Rhineston goes spinning down the path in a blizzard of snow and ice. Ambir and Pyrite have turned towards the confusion. Pyrite has Ambir's box and Ambir's holding Pyrite's case so it looks like the exchange was made. Pyrite takes in the scene then gets that narrow eyed concentrating look that means he's about to teleport. Nothing happens and he turns to say something to Ambir. Then he goes flying as Ambir fires his gun (where'd that come from?) into Pyrite. Pyrite sprawls on the grass but the lifeglow indicates he's still alive. Ambir looks towards us, a gun in his right hand, that glowing crystal in the left and the briefcase that caused all this mess at his feet. He studies us but doesn't fire. Beside me Mercury triggers her visor and the blue band covers her eyes. "The crystal blocks teleports and is projecting a forcefield over this area." Ambir's comment about no more gatecrashers makes sense. The lights in the crystal are flickering faster now. I'll bet it's running out of power. Large forcefields need a lot of juice and there's got to be a limit what you can pack into a crystal that small. I figure I've got a couple more medium energy bursts left. If he's got a personal shield I probably can't hurt him but it should distract him. "I'll break left. When he tracks me you deepfreeze him!" Mercury gasps in sudden realization. Her voice is low and urgent. "No, wait! He's got to get away or the whole sequence could collapse!" I have no idea what that's supposed to mean but I nod. At which point I start to think instead of just reacting and the true horror of what I've done strikes me. I just saved the life of one of the sailor senshi! What the hell was I thinking about! Sweet Chandler if anyone ever hears about this my youma credibility will hit zero! I can't believe I did that. Sure she owes me energy but ... yeah that's it! I just reacted instinctively to save my dinner. It doesn't indicate any kind of nobility on my behalf. Any other day of the week I'd happily have watched Rhineston stab her. Besides who's gonna believe I'd do something heroic? Now if I can just keep Mercury from saying anything then I'll be all right. Speaking of Rhineston it seems he's not out of action after all. He suddenly comes flipping past us in one of those multiple somersaulting leaps ninjas keep doing in the movies. He comes to rest between us and Ambir. His hair seems frozen in place and there's frost on his clothes but otherwise he seems fine. "Ambir get out of here! I'll hold them!" He's weaving his gun between the two of us. "Very well!" Ambir drops his crystal and twitches his gun slightly to the side before firing. The back of Rhineston's head explodes and he begins to topple forward. We're gaping at the sight when the crystal hits the ground and shatters. There's a massive flare of light and the park goes white. My eyes adjust to the glare almost instantly. No Ambir! Instant exit meaning teleports work again. Rhineston's sprawled on the grass and obviously won't be getting up again. Pyrite's still down but he's beginning to move. Either Ambir underestimated his shield (if he raised it) or he wasn't trying to kill him but simply wanted him out of the way. Didn't Pyrite say something about his case self destructing if he died or gave the order? Maybe Ambir didn't want to take the chance he'd fry his papers and try to bluff us. But he couldn't risk Pyrite's death having the same effect. I've used up more power than I like on those energy bursts but I decide to expend a little more. Hey I'm on an expense account and Mercury has to reimburse me (I rewrote my contracts slighty after dealing with Ferrite, not that I regret the bonus I accepted in the least) for energy expended on her behalf. My senses extend to try and track Ambir's teleport. Damn! Nothing but static. He's set off something that scrambles any traces. Rhineston won't be talking. Must be why Ambir dropped him. Dead men tell no tales. Well I'd say Rhineston was the type of fanatic prepared to die on behalf of his planet. Probably wasn't expecting to do it this way though. Mercury stumbles and grabs my elbow. She holds on for a few more seconds until her vision returns then releases her grip. I give her a brief rundown on what I've learned. She nods then says, "I shouldn't have planted that tracer on you but Rei had raised some doubts in my mind about your credibility. I nearly ruined everything by following you. I'm sorry" Yeah that's what it's like in this game. Your clients don't trust you and you spend your days tracking the worst kinds of scum. It's a lousy way to make a living. "Surely it's not that bad?" Damn! I'm talking out loud again. And I was doing so well. Meantime Mercury's looking at me and her expression's hard to read. "If you hadn't intervened Rhineston would have killed me. I owe you my life." "Only parts of it. Reread the contract." I do that with a Bogie sneer. Hopefully she'll drop the subject. No such luck. "That's not what I mean. I shouldn't have been here at all and you saved my life. How can I repay you." "Don't mention it." She doesn't get it so I try again. "Don't mention it. TO ANYONE!" She stares at me for a moment then smiles slightly. "I believe I understand. Your secret is safe with me." I'll just have to hope her word's as good as Ferrite's. But I don't see anything funny about this. Meantime I see movement. Pyrite sits up looking a bit dazed. It takes him a moment to notice us towering over him. He looks up at Mercury who's got a very cold expression. "Ami ... that is Sailor Mercury ... Uhm ... I imagine you'd like an explanation for what's going on here?" She doesn't say a word just holds out her hand. After a moment of staring upward in confusion Pyrite realizes he's holding Ambir's box. He hands it up to her and she snatches it. Ignoring him she turns to face me. "Magnesite, watch him!" With that she stalks over to the late Rhineston. I haul Pyrite to his feet and Ami calls, "I said watch, not rough up!" I nod and keep a grip on his collar. Pyrite steadys himself and I sneer, "Make my day, try to escape!" He seems to be regaining his self control. "I won't run. I'm not the type to try great escapes. Looks like I'll have to face the music." "That's right!" I'm relishing this. "High treason. You'll get the chair for this." He looks at me and says mildly, "Magnesite, this is Crystal Tokyo. We don't have the chair." "Okay then you'll get the Cutie Moon Rod. That's better. It's time to take the Big 'Moon Princess Halation'!" I was wrong earlier. This is going to be a great day. End of part 4 To be concluded Crystal Tokyo Saga Sidestory The Babe wore Blue - Another case from the files of Magnesite, PI by Mark Latus Part 5 - Time and Punishment It's a small select crowd in the throneroom this time. Serenity's on her throne facing us looking as clueless as usual. Pyrite's not restrained but he isn't going anywhere. He's surrounded by Mars (who's looking very hostile), Jupiter and Venus (who look very confused) and Polaris. Titanite's obviously thinking this is some sort of misunderstanding that'll be cleared up in a few minutes. It'll break her heart when she finds out we've got him cold on high treason. Thoughts like that keep me warm at night. As for the rest of our merry little crew we've got Mercury and me to their right while Calcite and Azurite are to the left. My client can't seem to decide between anger and disappointment. As for Pyrite's better (or at least more dangerous) half? It's pretty obvious Azurite's not going to just stand there and watch Serenity vaporize her husband. To the trained eye it's equally obvious Calcite's positioned himself to block her if she tries anything. Now unless Azurite's forgotten all her combat skills she's got to know this. Meaning she'll have to choose between dropping her oldest friend or trying to save Pyrite. Which also means fighting through the Senshi so it's a lost cause before she even starts. Not that she's going to let common sense get in her way. True love ... I always said it'll earn you the big sleep. After all love's the prime cause of tragedy. It outta be outlawed. I'm smarter than them. I don't need it. I don't need it all. Calcite's expression is hard to read. My opinion? Much as he loves his cousin if Pyrite's guilty then he's going to stand by his oath of loyalty to Serenity. No matter how much it tears him apart inside. It's hard not to smile. Life doesn't get much better than this. The only alarming thing is that two people in here don't look worried. Serenity and Pyrite. In Serenity's case that could be attributed to her total disconnection from reality. But why isn't Pyrite scared? He made no effort to resist (which was a shame) and surrendered to Mercury without a struggle. She brought us (along with the late Rhineston) into the palace through a restricted transport pad (which I'll have to remember) and called for a closed session. She also had the park cleaned up and reopened. The good citizens of CT wil never know anything out of the ordinary happened there. Makes you wonder what else has been covered up over the centuries. Probably nothing but I can dream can't I? Aside from the people in this room no one in CT knows Pyrite's a traitor. At least none of the locals. Wherever Ambir disappeared to he'll have passed the word on to his lords and masters. I doubt he's still in Crystal Tokyo. To much risk Serenity could find him. Unless he's become valueless and got the same treatment he gave Rhineston. Ami's just finished her account of what happened in the park. Without mentioning my little blunder thankfully. Looks like Serenity's ready to pronounce judgement. This is going to be good. "Well Pyrite it appears you have betrayed both Crystal Tokyo and myself, turned research over to a potentially hostile power which could enable them to cause great havoc in the near future and temporarily deprived the citizens of the use of Shingo memorial park." I can't help noticing she didn't mention his blowing large holes through me. Pyrite doesn't seem particularly worried. "That's all true your majesty ..." Titanite gasps and Azurite's about to interrupt his confession, "... but I'd like to point out this is a first offense and I've been a model citizen until now." Azurite starts to say something about stress and a psychologial exam when Serenity raises a hand. Azurite shuts up not wanting to make things worse and we all lean forward to hear her judgement. "It's certainly true that your record has been spotless until now so it's a shame to spoil it over this one incident. So I'm letting you off with a warning ... ahem; Don't do it again. Case dismissed. Any other business?" Serenity beams at us and looks around the room. I think Pyrite's the only one not frozen in shock. Calcite breaks the silence after a few moments. "Your majesty ... Serenity, I have the funny feeling this isn't exactly news to you." Serenity simply smiles. "Calcite, you do have a tendency to paranoia." "A side effect of my upbringing." His voice is dry. "While your mercy is well known this is a little too extreme." Everyone else, myself included is still looking bewildered. Next to me Mercury is muttering "But ... but ... but..." Serenity spreads her hands. "You know me well Calcite. You're quite right I did know all this was going to happen. I had a private meeting with Pyrite and ... an old friend recently to discuss his betraying us." Rei snaps out of her confusion. "I didn't know about any meeting. And I keep track of everything that happens in the palace. If Pyrite had arrived unannounced or you'd gone to see him I'd have known." She turns to stare at Pyrite who answers mildly, "I didn't get here under my own power. It seems she can evade your detection systems." He gets an abstracted look. "I'd like to review the palace security systems if I could. Perhaps I can suggest a few improvements?" Serenity looks a little a little guilty. "I'm afraid Rei that your sensors aren't exactly accurate about watching me. I know you're just doing your job but I like my privacy. So I used the ginzuishou to ensure your sensors give you readings that make you feel secure." Rei twitches slightly. "I don't believe this! How long has this been going on!" "Ummm ... since sometime in the twentysecond century when I discovered just how closely you were watching me. Sorry." Rei's looking very twitchy. Eight hundred years of watching shadows. I'd laugh but I think she'd incinerate me on the spot. Rei contains her anger (Hey Serenity is her queen after all) and decides to changing the subject fast. "Who's this mystery woman you two are hinting about?!" "Me." All eyes turn to the dame at the back of the room. Dressed in a senshi costume and carrying a staff taller than herself. Except for me it seems everyone here recognises her. Most look surprised except for Rei who mutters, "Figures!" She strides through the gawking crowd toward the throne and gives Serenity a respectful bow. Then at Serenity's nod she joins the queen on the dias and turns to face us. I thought I had this whole thing worked out. A nice straightforward case of a fuzzyheaded academic screwing up cause he never thinks about the real world. Except if he did it by royal order then nothing adds up. I'm trying to put all the pieces back together. Who the hell is she? I've seen pictures of Uranus and Neptune and she doesn't look like either. Anyway the costume's wrong. Next to me the dazed Mercury says, "Pluto?" and I've got a name. Sailor Pluto! Never heard of her. She addresses us all and things get more confusing. "As you've all just guessed I arranged with Serenity for Pyrite to trade with Ambir. I'd visited him shortly before their first meeting and asked him to show extreme enthusiasm for Nemesis's droid technology." "Which wasn't hard as it's fascinating stuff. A whole new field of crystal magic ... sorry didn't mean to interrupt." Pluto smiles faintly and continues. "After that I brought him here for a meeting with Serenity. I'd already met with her concerning not telling Mercury the Renegades were now aware of what is to come in the near future." Mercury makes a choking noise and grinds her teeth. What was that supposed to mean? She's a more powerful psychic than Mars perhaps? What are the attributes of Pluto anyway? I'll have to do a little research. Assuming I get out of here intact. This time Rei interrupts. "Wait a minute! Ami already knew that." "No I didn't!" Mercury sounds royally pissed. Perhaps appropriate considering the source. Rei's looking bewildered. "But ... Serenity told me she'd told you. I was feeling this tremendous relief because it wasn't just us anymore. Also I wouldn't have to watch myself saying the wrong thing around Ti and Calcite." She turns to Serenity, "That's what you said and I always know when you try to lie to me because you're so bad at it!" Serenity's embarrassed. "Actually Rei I told you I was going to tell her which was true. I just didn't say when." Rei's standing there with her mouth hanging open and Mercury seems to be reaching the boiling point. Jupiter says, "But I assumed Ami knew!" Venus nods and Pluto says, "That was the whole point." Mercury gives Pluto a very cold look. "You wanted me to make a fool of myself?!" "No." Pluto seems complete unruffled. "I needed you to perform certain actions to ensure the sequence of things to come. The Black Moon Family needs some of Pyrite's dimensional research. With it added to their own theories they will be able to construct a crude timegate. Very crude as it will be extremely limited in where and when it can access." Calcite asks, "By that you mean twentieth century Tokyo?" What the hell is going on here? What in Chandler's name is a timegate? She nods and Calcite just looks more confused. "But that means this whole sequence can't begin without that betrayal. Which wouldn't have happened without your intervention. And if they don't build the timegate then none of the past BMF history happens so the whole timeline's different and Crystal Tokyo as it exists now never happens so there's never anything to betray?!" "That's essentially right." Are they talking about time travel? Calcite looks like he's getting a headache. "But that means there's this whole self contained loop in time. How the hell could it start in the first place." "I'm afraid you wouldn't understand. That's not a slur on your intelligence. I merely mean than you perceive time in a linear fashion so events like this are very difficult to comprehend." Calcite sighs and massages his forehead. "I've known about this stuff for under a week and I already hate it." Venus seems to decide there's no need to keep guarding Pyrite and steps over to join her husband. Azurite swaps places with her. From the way she's glaring at Pyrite I'd say she's not happy. Calcite's cheers up a bit after Venus joins him. Next thing he says is, "One thing I still don't get is, if they go back and change history don't they disrupt their own timeline? They have to know they'd be creating a paradox!" Pluto shakes her head. "There's a slight misunderstanding about what the BMF's plans were and will be ..." Huh? "Let's stick to past tense. Their intention was not to conquer twentieth century Tokyo but to introduce a hidden corruption. The magical equivalent of a computer virus set to trigger at a certain point. By the thirtieth century all Crystal Tokyo would be infused with the corruption. Then they'd simply return to their own time and send the activation signal and Crystal Tokyo would fall or even cease to exist." Mercury nods as though it confirms something she's long suspected. Other than that there's quite a few blank expressions in here. Particularly Serenity's. Meanwhile Azurite's glaring at Pyrite. "So you didn't think you could trust me with this! Well why should you? After all we've only been together for about a millenium!" The sarcastic tone gives way to one somewhere between worry and anger. "I've been going out of my mind worrying about what you've got your fool self into!" "I asked him not to discuss this with anyone outside the three of us." Azurite turns to glare at Pluto. "The best way to ensure everyone acted normally was if no one outside of us knew anything." Azurite's about to make some sharp rebuke (she probably resents the implied insult to her acting skills) when Pyrite cuts her off. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you but you know I wouldn't have done this without good reason. Just as I know you wouldn't keep a secret from me without a similarly good reason." The mild answer seems to strike home as she flinches. For a moment I expect her to make some sort of angry remark before she sighs and softens. "You have this annoying habit of sounding reasonable before I can get properly mad." At which point she kisses him and his remaining guards step away. Looks like everything's forgiven. Damn! I was really expecting to enjoy today. Pluto nods like everything's under control and vanishes. "Just a minute!" Everyone turns to look at me and it occurs to me that reminding them I'm present isn't the smartest move I've ever made. Bogie wouldn't cringe, soldier on! "What everyone seems to be forgetting is Pyrite put a lot of holes in one of the campus police. That causes a few gasps but Pyrite says, "That was you Magnesite. So there wasn't any harm done." "You didn't know it was me!" Weasal out of that one. He does. "If I hadn't known it was you I wouldn't have been so violent. I'm not noted for my bloodthirstyness. Also there was a certain satisfaction in blowing a few holes in you. Even if it meant only a temporary inconveniance to an energy being." "What's that supposed to mean?" He looks thoughtful. "Well, I seem to remember this youma who nearly beat me to death while looking like Queen Beryl." I'm suddenly on the sharp end of a lot of glares. As these people can blast holes through mountains that's not good. There's a slight quiver in my voice as I remind them, "That was centuries ago. Besides I was pardoned for my ... activities back in the twentieth. Anyway that's avoiding the issue. How'd you know it was me?" "The same way I knew you were that student in the puffy orange and purple shirt. The one who was spying on me and ... another student who wanted to talk about her grades." He's glossing over the jailbait. I'll bring her up later. "Incidentially those shirts went out of style last semester. After that you were the janitor sweeping the hallway outside my office, then you were the ..." He goes on reeling of all my disguises. How the hell did he spot me? I don't use disguise magic, I shift shape! It's impossible to tell who I really am. "Lastly you were that ridiculous oak sapling in the park." "Hold it. I did a great oak sapling." He gives me one of those superior smiles. "The average oak tree doesn't have a lit cigarette clutched in it's branches. I'm surprised you weren't wearing a hat." Everyone laughs except Mercury and me. Damn, talk about amateurish. I was still holding it when I changed. I forgot it wasn't part of my body so it wouldn't shift with me. Getting shot must have shaken me up more than I thought. Looks like I drastically underestimated his sensory powers. Evidently he can detect now no matter what form I'm wearing. That also explains the "tobacco plant" crack. Maybe I can still salvage this. "That doesn't change the fact it took energy to repair myself. Which means you owe me." He doesn't seem worried. "Not to worry. You still owe Margrave for the lifeforce she provided on your revival. Now Margrave owes me a debt and Azure wants it cleared. So I'll have her cancel your debt to her which'll end any obligation she has to me. Then everybody's happy." I'm not happy but I'm stuck with this. Especially after Serenity says that it seems fair. Metallia in Abyss I cannot believe things have turned out this rotten. I'm not even really clear with Margrave 'cause I still owe her a few favours. Which isn't so bad as every private eye should be entangled with at least one femme fatale. But the point is I was looking forward to seeing a Renegade vaporized today. Even if I'd have to endure a silly catchphrase. I wonder if they ever topped, "Moon Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss"? I've got one more chance to rain on their parade. "Well that clears that up but there's one more thing I turned in this investigation that puts a few blemishes on your character." I address the room at large but I'm really aiming for Azurite. "If Pyrite's such an all around good guy why was he messing around with that student? And don't try to tell me it was nothing! The air was thick with double endentres!" This should be good. Stepping out on a woman who can generate plasma hurricanes should get messy! Everyone turns to look at Pyrite in confusion. Except I feel a sudden sinking sensation when I realize Azurite doesn't turn a hair. She sighs and says, "This student ..." She seems to change as a glamour activates, " ... Did she look anything like this?" Yeah it's her all right. Standing there wearing Azurite's clothes. Azurite's appearance flickers back to normal and she mutters, "Moron." Serenity looks confused. "I don't understand." Azurite looks a little surprised. "Just a little game your majesty. Every now and again I figure a little variety doesn't hurt so I'll show up wearing a glamour. Lately I've been feeling more alive than I have in years after ... Well anyway it's an old game of ours." She gives Pyrite a mock glare, "And if I ever manage to seduce you and you don't give some hint you know it's really me you're a dead man." "Fair enough." Serenity is still looking confused. "I'm afraid I don't understand." "Uhm ... well over a long haul with a single partner a certain monotony can develop. Some people fight it by raising families or having really spectacular breakups." Venus is about to say something but Calcite stops her. "We don't get quite that extreme but ... well you must know what I mean." Serenity still has that puzzled look. "Not really. Why should I ever feel bored with Endymion?" Sweet Marlowe preserve us! I think she's serious. Can't be. Nobody, but nobody can be that content! Azurite's looking somewhat awed. "Yes, well ... I guess we don't have your ... uh ... strength of character. At any rate a little roleplaying never hurts to keep things interesting." Titanite chimes in, "That's absolutely true. I remember this one time a few centuries back I dropped in very unexpectedly on Cal & Mina ..." Both of whom suddenly look very alert and are trying to signal Sailor Polaris to shut up. "Anyway Cal had dug out his old Dark Lord outfit from his days in England and Minako was wearing most of her Sailor V costume ..." Her voice trails off as she finally registers the twin glares directed at her. "Uh right, I sorta promised not to mention that. Ah ... could you all kinda forget I said that?" From the grins around this room I'd guess not. Venus is looking somewhat red. Calcite's got a much better poker face but his eyes are promising his sister some unspecified retribution. Wonder if she got any pictures? At any rate he decides a change of subject is in order. "If we can return to the issue at hand we have a dead Nemesian to deal with. To be more specific an unknown Nemesian as he wasn't part of the delegation. Rei?" "So do you still have that dark lord costume?" Calcite gives Rei a look that could blister paint. "Don't be so grumpy. Well as Calcite said our mystery man wasn't part of the delegation. Ami you examined him and confirmed he was a Nemesite?" "Not exactly. I just did a cursory examination. Enough to know he's not a terrestrial human. There are definite variations from the human norm. Hardly surprising as they've been cut off from Earth since the fall of Silver Millenium and adapting to an alien world all that time. A more detailed examination ..." "No." Everyone turns to look at Serenity. She doesn't raise her voice but there's a definite hint of iron. "We have no idea of the beliefs of these people regarding their dead and we will not commit sacrilege. He is clearly deceased and that is all we need to know." She looks directly at Mercury. "He is not to be treated as an experimental subject and will be returned forewith to our guests for transport home and the appropriate rites." Mercury is about to protest the loss to science but Serenity looks unyielding. She subsides and nods. Say what you like about Serenity I have to admit she's a classy broad. On another note it's a lot handier when the dead disintegrate. You don't need to worry about beliefs or a fancy funeral. All you need's a dustpan. Rei resumes. "I've discussed this matter briefly with Calcite prior to the hearing. Security's my job but as it'll be his worry in a few years I thought it couldn't hurt. We've come up with two possibilities for this Rhineston's presence. The least worrying is he arrived here on Demand's ship. While they were approaching Crystal Tokyo he teleported from the ship to a secret location. You were scanning the ship after it entered our airspace so you'd have sensed a teleport from it into Crystal Tokyo. So he landed somewhere else. Perhaps elsewhere in Japan, perhaps outside. Then he entered the city by more conventional means." Calcite adds, "The bad news about this is he might not have been the only agent they dropped this way. In fact sending in a single infiltrator wouldn't make sense. Meaning there are others out there somewhere. However the alternative is worse." Rei nods. "The alternative is that he was already here. Perhaps he was dropped on Earth years ago as a deep cover agent. In which case there's no saying how many Nemesians are already at large on Earth or how far they've infiltrated." Jupiter breaks in, "Wait a second! Okay they may look human but they're bound to make slips an earthling wouldn't!" Venus chuckles. "Oh really? I know of a pack of youma who lived undetected in Tokyo without anyone who wasn't a Senshi finding out. And they'd have stayed undercover and undetected if Sam Spade over there hadn't shown up pretending to be the generals." Polaris chips in, "They could use our method. Don't try to look like a local, be a foriegner. Then when you screw up it gets put down to because you're an ignorant outsider rather than not a human being." Rei sighs. "Yeah, it's a security nightmare. Especially as we can't let on we know anything's wrong yet. We're going to have to quietly check all immigrants to Crystal Tokyo in the past century. Beyond our borders there's not a damn thing we can do about it." So the Senshi know the Nemesians are hostile but are putting up a front of cordiality. I'm impressed. I had no idea they were this machavellian. Calcite tells Serenity, "We know that Nemesis is divided into a variety of competing houses. I imagine Ambir will turn out to be a double agent infiltrated into Demand's household by a rival family. No doubt intent on upsetting the establishment of peaceful diplomatic relations between Crystal Tokyo and the Black Moon Family. At least that's what Demand'll tell us very shortly. Who knows? It could even be true and Demand will take be taking the data from Ambir by force. Or Ambir's clan will trade it to the BMF in exchange for an alliance. Or perhaps Ambir's a triple agent and the rivals only think they infiltrated him. There's no end of possibilities. According to what Ti's learned deception is something of an artform on Nemesis." "Perhaps we can find him and ask him?" Calcite manages not to laugh. "I would guess that he's long gone from the city by now. Unless he has no further use to his masters in which case I imagine we'll get an invitation to see his body. Killed resisting arrest or whatever the euphumism is on Nemesis." Rei concurs. "I agree. At any rate this whole trial was a farce Pluto set up so we can cut Pyrite loose and get back to normal." Calcite shakes his head. "I'm afraid not." "Why the hell not?" Azurite sounds annoyed. "Because whoever on Nemesis Ambir was working for believe Pyrite's been arrested for treason and they've stolen valuable data. If he shows up back at CTU they'll know something's wrong. They'll suspect the data is worthless and junk it. Meaning everything falls apart." He sighs. "'Consider the other three of you your trump cards' she said. So cousin it looks like you're going to be our ace in the hole." Pyrite frowns. "I don't like the sound of that." "Then you'll hate the rest. Ami?" "Yes?" "I need you to announce that Dr. Pyrite has taken ill and will be temporarily unavailable to teach his classes for the next little while. Don't make a big deal about it just find a few substitutes." Pyrite doesn't get it. "I don't get sick anymore that you do Cal!" "Exactly. Anyone who looks into the matter will learn this and realize the story's fake. So obviously because you've got relatives in high places we're trying to spare ourselves a scandal. They'll realized you must have actually been imprisoned or executed and this is just a cover story for public consumption. Now as to what you'll be really doing ..." He looks back to Ami. "You have the droid crystals and data he traded for?" Ami nods. "Cal they wouldn't give us functional weapons we could use against them. Those must be defective somehow! Either the droids they produce are faulty, easily disabled or will turn on us if given the appropriate signal. The data on the crystal's probably worthless too. Enough factual bits to make it seem credible but mainly garbage." "I quite agree. But they're examples of Nemesis technology. You're going back to weaponary R&D just like the bad old days. We'll set you up in a secluded lab. Everything you need supplied but no one outside this room gets to see you for the next few years. You'll be taking those things apart and deducing back to first principles. From there I want you to learn everything you can deduce about Nemesis crystal magic and come up with countermeasures. When the war starts and they send a droid army against us I want to be able to press a button and make the damn things spontaneously combust!" "Tall order. Lock myself in a lab for years and come up with miracles?" "Are you kidding? I can see you practically salivating over the chance to mess around with a new technology. When you get like this it's dragging from away from work that's the problem. Oh what the hell, we'll let Azurite drop by for the odd conjugal visit." "My, you're generous." Azurite chuckles and whispers something in Pyrite's ear. His eyes widen and she nods in affirmation. Wonder what she just said? After all I'm a professional eavesdropper. Rei's looking my way. She shakes her head then faces Mercury. "Why the hell did you hire him anyway? He's a nutcase who thinks he's living in a detective movie. You could have just come to me." Mercury just looks at her for a moment. Then she explodes. "Like hell I could!" Everyone's staring. This has been building for some time. You've got to watch the quiet ones. She's ranting away loudly. "Ever since Demand showed up you've all been on edge! Mako! You've been planning and cancelling military exercises every five minutes. Minako nearly kills Calcite in one of those idiotic duels they keep fighting. How the hell did you two lunatics decide swords equal foreplay!" She's on a definite roll. "Serenity you've been doing everything you can to avoid facing this mess. Rei, your entire staff has been walking on eggshells around you. Anyone makes the slightest mistake around you and you bite their heads off. God I saw how you treated that lieutenant who had a button undone! Marine sergeants scream less! The only really rational person I've met all week is a youma catwoman!" She shuts up and the room is very quiet. After a few deep breaths she says. "Sorry, I've been under a lot of stress lately." Various insincere remarks about not worrying about it follow. "Getting back to your question Rei, I couldn't run the risk that you'd overreact and interfere with Pyrite's ... with what I suspected was Pyrite's treachery. That could have caused a time paradox. The same with everyone else who knew what was going to happen. That brought it down to Polaris and Ferrite. Because she's related I couldn't ask her and Ferrite's left the city again. I needed someone capable of investigating and countering paranormal threats. Magnesite fit the bill perfectly. Demented as he is he's a first rate detective." Thank you so very much. At which point Rei looks up from her whispered conversation with Titanite. Mars and Polaris start to stroll my way. Rei's smiling as she says, "I can understand your logic Ami. However it leaves me a bit of a security problem. There's one person in this room who learned far too much." "You're crazy Rei! I have no idea what's going on. I haven't figured out that time travel is possible ..." Damn! I just had to say that. Titanite's looked a little more malevolent than usual. "Not to worry. I'm sure a model citizen like Magnesite will be willing to agree to a few precautions." "I do believe you're right Polaris!" Rei turns to Serenity. "I'd like you to erase Magnesite's memory of the past day or two. That'll plug the security leak." Serenity looks uncertain. "I don't like to interfere with people's minds. Especially if they haven't done anything wrong." Rei just smiles. "Not to worry Serenity. I'm sure Magnesite will volunteer for the procedure. After all it's in the public good." She turns back to me. "Isn't that right?" Titanite's close enough to whisper, "It's that or the teddy bear option!" Just as quietly Rei says, "You'd be amazed what I can get away with under the state of emergency statues." They could be bluffing. No, it's too damn risky to call it. Better salvage what I can. I announce (louder than I have to), "I'm agreeable under two conditions." Both Senshi scowl as Serenity asks, "What are they?" I tell them the first and everybody stares. Except Serenity who says, "Certainly. Ti, I believe that would fall under your office?" "Uh yeah ... I mean yes your majesty. I'll set the wheels in motion once we're done here." Rei looks at me. "So what's the second condition?" "There's the small matter of my fee ..." She glares. "You are really pushing it!" "Stop it Rei!" We all turn to Mercury. She's composed herself again. "I made a contract with Magnesite and he's honoured his end. So I must honour mine and give him what we agreed." "But the investigation was worthless!" "Not really. It's set Pluto's sequence in motion so both fortunately and unfortunately events will unfold as they must." With that she crosses over to me. "You'd better get on with this while you still remember." One should never turn down a dame who offers herself. Pity I won't remember this. Rei growls, "I'm watching you. Don't try anything funny." I tune her out and place my hands on Mercury's shoulders. She nods and I start the drain. Her energy carries a flavour of cool springwater. Refreshing. She's delicious. Shame I won't remember this. I'm feeling charged up as I let her go. She staggers a little but fends off Rei and Titanite. "It's been ... interesting." "Likewise. Maybe you can remind me about this after whatever exactly is going to happen is over." "Perhaps." Just like a dame. Never a straight answer. Well let's get it over with. I look over to Serenity. "I'm ready." ***************************************************************************** There's a light drizzle outside but the black sky doesn't darken the streets. After all this is Crystal Tokyo, the city of lights. This burg's always illuminated. The only real darkness around is the kind that lives in human hearts but there's still no shortage of that. I should know, my name's Magnesite and I'm a PI. Wonder why I thought that? It's actually a clear evening. Must have dozed off but I don't remember deciding to snooze. While I don't need sleep physically I do mentally. Otherwise being aware twenty four hours a day every day adds up. So I take a break now and then to dream. Can't remember what it was about. Funny that. What's even stranger is I feel energised. I've obviously eaten recently except I know I haven't. What the hell is going on? That's when I realize my desk is tidy for the first time in decades. Someone had sorted through everything. There were three letters I didn't remember lying in front of me. The first was in youma'shak which is pretty strange. It was from Margrave and said I was square with her for the energy I borrowed way back when. It also reminds me of a number of other debts I still owe her for. One of which is really the responsibility of a former client who also favoured trenchcoats. The second is from the office of Sailor Polaris. According to this a free festival of all the Bogart films ever made will commence on Friday at the Juuban Civic Auditorium. The last is from Sailor Mars and thanks me for agreeing to have my short term memory erased in the interests of security. There's also some things about the penalties for attempting to break the seal on my memory. Which she doesn't think I can do anyway. Well, well. This is very interesting. A quick rummage through the file cabinet shows it's been searched. Anything pertaining to a recent case is gone. I didn't expect it to be that easy. I sigh theatrically and reach for the bottle. I'll bet I'm being watched so it's best to act like I've given up. So I'm going to act beaten. For now. Until surveillance eases up. Then I'll begin retracing my movements the past few days and figure out what I learned that was so alarming. It's hard not to smile. Perfectville has some deep dark secret that they had to bury. Now that intrigues me. This town isn't as boring as I thought. Down these clean streets a youma must walk. Who is not himself clean or afraid ... I think interesting times are ahead. For all of us. End Afterword : That concludes the first adventure of Magnesite PI but it's by no means the last. It turns out I'm not the only Bogie and Sailor Moon fan among the talented (if twisted) folks who make up Sailor Moon Expanded. Throughout the story you'll have noticed reference's to a meeting with Frank Barr's "Ferrite", perhaps better known as "Trenchcoat Mask". That story will be told very soon. Watch for "Case of the Missing Senshi" by Frank Barr, with a few bits by yours truly and Sam Ashley. After that keep your eyes peeled for Magnesite's exploits during the war with Nemesis. "Casablanca Revisted" is coming. After that? Well we'll see. Funny how a character conceived as a one time villain can take on a life of his own. Thanks to all the folks at SME for all the weird and wonderful inspirations. Check out the page at: http://www.texas.net/~android/sme_main.html and look up their work. It's all good stuff. You can also check out my DKR fanfics (shameless self promotion!). That's all for now folks. Mark Latus Jan 10 1997