[FFML] [SM] Sailor Moon 4200: Chapter 13 - Part A

[Angus MacSpon]

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SAILOR MOON 4200:  What has gone before
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Crystal Tokyo was destroyed in the year 3478.  Civilisation fell; a dark
age began.  Now, the year 4200 is a time of renaissance, and the city of
Third Tokyo is defended by a new generation of Senshi.  Some of them are
old faces, reborn yet again.  Others are newcomers.  But all of them are
in trouble -- because the enemy that annihilated Crystal Tokyo was never
defeated.  And it is waiting for them ...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In recent chapters:
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* 'S' Division learn Itsuko's true identity and -- believing that she is
working with the Sankaku -- try to arrest her. * With the aid of Sadako,
she escapes to an emergency bolt-hole. * Miyo is forced to join her, and
has to leave her current school. * Itsuko secretly visits a black-market
"fair" to buy new identity papers for herself and Miyo, but 'S' Division
see her there and threaten her again. * The next night, she goes back to
the Olympus to retrieve the sacred fire; however, Hiiro's team are ready
and she is finally arrested. * The Senshi come to the rescue, but Sailor
Jupiter is nearly killed by a new prototype anti-Senshi weapon. * Then a
group of vitrimorphs attack, and all seems lost ... until the arrival of
some unexpected, but long--awaited help ...
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      S   A   I   L   O   R       M   O   O   N       4   2   0   0
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                             by Angus MacSpon
                            macspon at ihug.co.nz
        http://shell.ihug.co.nz/~macspon/fanfic/sm4200/index.html
                     Comments and criticism welcome!

             Based on "Sailor Moon" created by Naoko Takeuchi
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     C H A P T E R   T H I R T E E N
                          The Face of the Enemy
                            (New Moon Rising)
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The Sunday morning sun poured down on central Third Tokyo, glinting off
a myriad of windows.  Down in the street, a faint breeze stirred a few
stray pieces of litter.  The sky was clear and blue, though a low bank
of cloud on the horizon promised a later change in the weather.

In the Council Chambers, reflected light shone through the windows of
the chairman's office, casting a brilliant band across the wall.  The
air conditioning made a faint, steady drone in the background.  The two
people in the office paid no attention to either.

"It becomes," observed the chairman, "an interesting political problem."

Number Twelve shot him a look of amused scorn.  "How you do love to
posture," she said.  "Political problem!  As if _that_ matters."

"Oh, but it does," he insisted.  "If the government were to fall, you
would be put to some inconvenience, would you not?  Stability benefits
us all.  And, of course ..."  He put on a placating tone.  "As matters
stand, _we_ are in the driver's seat.  It's always better to be the
champion than the underdog."

"You think so?" Twelve said sardonically.  "In the first place, you
forget our true goals.  Champion or underdog, it makes no difference.
All that matters is pushing our pawns in the right direction, and that
can be done just as effectively without wasting time on _political_
problems.  As I believe others have shown in the past."

She gave him a rather nasty smirk before continuing.  "In the second
place, stability is also irrelevant.  One might have thought that the
Fall would teach you _something_.  Because, in the third place ... were
your precious government to topple, it would inconvenience the Master
not at all.  We would simply push from a different direction."

"I did not mean it would inconvenience the Master," said the chairman
quietly.  "I meant it would inconvenience _you_."

Twelve stared at him for a moment.  Then she laughed.  It sounded
surprisingly natural at first: almost human, in fact.  Then it changed,
taking on a colder, harsher note, like the grating of stone, before
breaking off suddenly.  She regarded him with dark, reptilian eyes and
said, "The two are one and the same."

"I wonder," he murmured.  But he could not meet those eyes for long; he
had to look away.

To give himself a moment to think, he stood and went to the bench at the
rear of the office, and filled a fine bone china cup from the teapot.
It was Darjeeling, and black-market; the idea of illicit tea in the
Council Chambers amused him at times.

Absently, he picked up another cup and made an interrogative gesture to
Number Twelve.  She gave him a flat, chilly stare that brought him to
his senses immediately.  "I do not eat or drink," she said.

There was an almost pitying derision in her tone, as if she felt sorry
for his weakness.  The chairman wondered at it for a moment.  How did
she survive?  The Master must sustain her.  Surely?

Returning to the desk, he sat down once more, taking a single sip of the
tea and then forgetting it.  "Irrelevant or not," he said carefully,
"the political problem remains.  The Serenity Council rules in the name
of the Queen, and until her return.  It's in the constitution; we can
hardly resile from it.  If she returns, she could order us to step down
... and take up the reins of power herself."

He regarded Twelve levelly.  "Would that," he asked, "be enough of an
inconvenience to bother you?"

He was spared her answer when a knock came at the door.  A young man in
a plain dark suit came in, bowed, and then laid two folders on the
chairman's desk.  He bowed again and left briskly.

"At last," Twelve grated.  She picked up one of the folders and started
to leaf through the report within.  The chairman followed suit.  They
read for a time in silence.

"Well," the chairman said at last.  "It could have been worse, I
suppose."

"Worse?" said Twelve.  "It was a _triumph_."

The chairman looked down once more at the report.  It spelled out, in a
fair amount of detail, the events of the previous evening.  He had known
part of it already, and he liked the full story even less.

"Mm.  Quite," he murmured.  "But for whom, I wonder?  Them, or us?"

Twelve smiled, and in her eyes there was an avid, wolfish glee.  "Both,"
she said, and laughed.  "This only makes it better.  Every battle they
win makes our victory more certain ... and what triumph could be better
than one your enemy wins for you?"

The chairman stood up from his desk -- making a small grunt of pain as
the motion flexed his hands -- and went to the window, looking out with
a thoughtful expression.  "I'm not so sure," he said.  "After all,
triumph or not, you still hadn't planned on _her_ appearing --"


                             ****************


Eight hours before:

There were three doors in the darkened office of the Olympus Gymnasium.
All three were open.  One, hanging on broken hinges, led out into the
corridor.  The second door was normally hidden, but now it stood ajar,
allowing a thin red line to shine across the office floor from the
little room where the sacred fire burned.  The third door led into
Itsuko's apartment suite.

All activity in the office had come to a halt.  Everyone's eyes were
fixed on the two figures that stood in the third doorway, silhouetted
against a pale, glimmering halo of light.  One was a masked man: tall,
dark and dressed all in black, an archaic top hat on his head and a cane
in one hand, his long cloak swirling about him.

Before him was a slender girl with a golden tiara on her forehead.  Her
costume was just as ancient: a sailor fuku, in white, blue and red.  The
words she spoke were a challenge so well-known it was legendary.  In
another's mouth it could have sounded hackneyed, even ludicrous.  But
there was a ring of conviction in her voice that left those who heard it
in no doubt that she was there to fight for justice ... and love.

"Princess of the Moon Kingdom and heir to the throne of Queen Serenity
of Crystal Tokyo, I will right wrongs and triumph over evil.  And in the
name of the Moon -- I'll punish you!"

The moment was pregnant; it seemed to stretch forever.  As the watchers
held their breaths, the girl took one step forward, and opened her mouth
to speak again --

And then Sailor Venus seemed to explode.  "_Ya-HOOOO_!" she shouted,
punching the air in joy.  Then, grinning wildly, she launched herself
across the room in an almost feline bound, springing up and wrapping her
arms around a vitrimorph's head.  "Get it, Sailor Moon!" she yelled.
"Get it!"

For an instant the room froze again, though this time for a very
different reason.  A moment later, and the stillness became chaos.

                                  --**--

Sailor Uranus ducked to her left, manoeuvring behind the vitrimorph that
threatened Itsuko.  It reacted instantly, whirling and lashing out at
her with ponderous force.  But the arm it struck with ended in a clean
stump; its hand had been sliced off by Moon's attack, seconds before.
The stump whistled harmlessly past her face, leaving the vitrimorph
standing foolishly.

Uranus did not hesitate.  She leaped back nimbly and cried out her
attack: "Music of the Spheres!"  In the dim light, the beam was clearly
visible; it struck the vitrimorph's head dead-centre.  The monster froze
for a second, almost seeming to shudder.  It made a strange moaning
sound, almost animal-like.

Then it moved again, surprisingly fast, reaching down with its remaining
hand to pick up a chair and throw it at her with stunning force.  Uranus
tried to dodge, but the range was too short; there was no time.  She
felt a single instant of panic.  Then the chair caught her across the
ribs and knocked her flying.  She crashed into the wall by a row of
filing cabinets and slid to the floor, stunned.  The room spun about
her.  Before she could move again, the vitrimorph was standing over her,
its hand raised to smash down.

With a sharp, flat crack, two shots rang out.  A pair of tiny holes
appeared in the centre of the vitrimorph's forehead, surrounded by a web
of fine cracks.  The vitrimorph paused; it almost seemed puzzled.  Still
half-dazed, Uranus looked around.  Not far away, the tall blond man from
'S' Division lowered his gun and shouted at her, "Move, you idiot!"

[Weren't we supposed to be fighting these guys?] she wondered muzzily.
Then her instincts took over.

She rolled to her feet, barely in time to avoid the massive crystal fist
that sent three filing cabinets into oblivion.

                                  --**--

As Uranus fired her attack, Itsuko clapped her hands over her ears with
a cry of agony.  The Music of the Spheres was a sonic beam, and in these
close quarters the sound seemed to cut through her head like a buzz-saw.
The pain was incredible.  She staggered back, almost blinded by it,
still clutching her head long seconds after the sound had stopped.  When
she finally dared to lower her hands, she saw that they were stained
dark with blood.

She leaned back against the wall, suddenly giddy.  Her knees did not
want to support her.  She sank into a crouch, and fumbled her way into
dubious shelter behind an overturned chair.  Around her, the madness
continued: a vicious, close-quarters battle fought in the dark.
Impossible odds; but the Senshi had no choice other than to fight.  When
did they ever?

It wasn't completely dark, though.  There was a thin light spilling into
the room from the sacred fire, and a dull red flicker from the
smouldering papers on the floor that had been set alight earlier, when
Jupiter's powers went mad.  But there was something else, too: a soft,
pearly glow, coming from the door where Sailor Moon had entered.  What
was that?  Certainly not an electric light.  It was dim, but she could
almost think that, little by little, it was getting brighter.

She glanced around blearily.  On the far side of the room, half-visible,
Sailor Mercury fired another Ice Spear into the vitrimorph with the
rose in its eye.  With a muffled crunching sound, a palm-sized piece of
its head was ripped away.  It paid no attention; its return blow missed
Mercury by a hair.

Meanwhile, the vitrimorph that Venus was wrestling reached up to pull
her away.  She twisted like a cat, avoiding its hands and still shouting
at the top of her voice.  Before it could get a grip on her, she swung
down head-first, slipping deftly between its legs to come up behind it.
She cried out her attack -- and as her chain formed, she looped it
around the vitrimorph's neck and started trying to throttle it.

Itsuko goggled at the sight, and shook her head.  [I have _got_ to have
a talk with that girl,] she thought.

[If she survives, that is.  And if I do.]

                                  --**--

Sailor Mars hung in the background, waiting for a chance to act.  Going
unnoticed was something that she was very good at.  So was patience.
Both of them, for her, were survival skills.

Dhiti had shown her that she had a new skill, though: concentrating
heat.  A few days before, she'd used it to help destroy a vitrimorph
like the ones they fought now.  If she was careful, if she picked the
right moment, she could help her friends.  She could be one of them.
She could be powerful.

She could be worth something.

The idea thundered in her mind.  The chance to show, finally, that she
was not a born mistake; to do something that would scream at the world,
"I am not a failure!"  It burned in her ... like fire.

All she had to do was wait, and watch.  And pick her moment.

There was someone else doing the same thing, she saw.  (She was good at
seeing things.  She might hang back, but she kept her eyes open.)  A
burly man with a heavily-stubbled face; he stayed in the shadows, a gun
in his hand, and he watched intently as Senshi and monster whirled and
spun through their battle-dance.

Then, across the room, Sailor Mercury tried to dodge another blow from
the vitrimorph she was duelling.  In the dark, her foot came down on a
fragment of ice from one of her own attacks, and skidded.  She cried out
and started to fall -- and the vitrimorph reacted instantly.

The man reacted faster.  His gun barked, once and again.  Shards of
crystal flew from the fist that was raised to smash Mercury.  The
vitrimorph froze, then swivelled to face the new threat; but already the
man was gone, fading back into the shadows.  Mercury scrambled clear and
fired off another ice spear, and the battle resumed.

Sailor Mars watched it all.  Part of her raged with shame and envy,
thinking that if only she were stronger, she could have been the one to
save Mercury.  Another part of her, secret and buried far below the
surface, thought that she rather liked the burly man.  But the rest of
her, the Iku on the surface, simply watched -- and waited.

Her moment came at last.  There was a pile of loose papers in front of
the desk that had somehow caught fire.  The flames had been spreading
slowly, no more than a thin line of orange-red creeping across the
sheets, but now they were finally catching the carpet alight as well.
Bright yellow tongues of fire began to dance.  And, as if in answer to
her hopes, one of the vitrimorphs -- rocked back by an attack from
Sailor Uranus -- stepped squarely into the flames.

Mars took a breath.  Unbidden, a memory returned from the previous
Wednesday, after the battle at the mall: of Suzue, her eyes wide, after
they heard what Mars' attack did.  ["You'd better be very careful,"] she
had said.  ["You could burn down the whole city."]

[I can be careful,] Mars vowed silently.  [Just watch me.]  Then she
raised her hands and called out, low but clear: "Burning Mandala!"

Thin lines of light swirled about the vitrimorph.  Sparks leaped
futilely from its crystalline body.  And then, to her horror, the fire
at its feet flickered once ... and went out.

Sailor Mars stared down at her hands.  Her lips moved soundlessly.

She had failed.  Again.

                                  --**--

Miyo awoke in a dark, silent void.  She felt terrible; her whole body
ached, and her neck and forehead throbbed as if burned by fire.

She tried to make sense of what had happened.  She had gone to the
Olympus as Sailor Jupiter and confronted the men holding Itsuko
prisoner.  They had refused to let her go.  She had made threats.  And
then --

Something had moved behind her; something touched her neck.  An instant
later, her powers ran wild.  It was as if the whole of her Jupiter Power
had triggered at once -- not in a controlled manner, like when she
transformed or used her attacks, but wild, open-throated, the entire
power of a world channelled through her body in one savage overload.
There was no way to escape it, no way to channel it somewhere safe; just
endless convulsing pain, until oblivion claimed her.

She thought about how Sailor Neptune had died, during the Fall.  Had
Michiru burned the same way?

But somehow, it seemed that Miyo had survived.  Father Jupiter looking
after his daughter, perhaps.  She felt as if she had been plugged into
the National Grid, but she was alive.  Where?  In a hospital, perhaps?

She opened her eyes -- and as if she had thrown a switch, the world
exploded into being around her.  A confused jumble of moving shadows
filled her vision; a roar of sound assaulted her ears.  Her mind reeled,
unable to grasp what she was seeing.  Then, in one sharp moment, it all
snapped into focus around her.  She was lying on the floor in Itsuko's
office; the room was only dimly lit; and there were people fighting all
around her.

She groaned and tried to get up.  Her body would not obey; she could
barely manage more than a twitch.  The motion sent a wave of nausea
through her and she groaned again.

"Stay down," said a voice in her ear.

Miyo turned her head and saw a man crouched at her side, watching the
battle intently.  His face was in shadow ... and he was holding a gun.

She jerked at the sight and tried to roll away from him.  It worked a
little better this time; she managed to turn halfway over before he
caught her by the shoulder and pushed her back down.

"Don't be a fool," he rasped at her.  "If you attract their attention,
they'll kill you."

As he spoke, he turned his head a little and his face caught the light.
She recognised him: he was the man who had been arresting Itsuko when
she'd arrived.  The man who'd given the order to take Jupiter down.

Furiously, Miyo wrenched herself free of his hand and managed to get up
on one elbow.  It was easier to move now; the anger seemed to help.  She
had, she saw, been pulled back into a corner of the office, out of the
way of the battle.

That was just as well.  She goggled for an instant as she saw _four_
vitrimorphs together, and the other Senshi locked in battle.

With a grunt of effort, she forced herself to sit upright, bracing
herself against the wall.  The man with the gun reached for her shoulder
again, then hesitated and withdrew his hand.

"Damn it," he whispered, barely audible above the noise of the fight,
"be sensible!  Stay out of the way and I'll protect you --"

"Protect _me_?" she hissed back.  "Damn you, I'm a warrior!  I don't
need protecting, I need to fight!"

Something in his face changed -- it was almost a flinch.  Then, in a
voice that was queerly matter-of-fact, he said, "I don't think the
others need your help right now.  Not since ... _they_ arrived."

"'They' --?"

Then Miyo saw the couple he was talking about, and forgot to finish her
sentence.

                                  --**--

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen.  They came in fighting side-by-side: he
with calm efficiency, she with unalloyed passion.  When Sailor Venus
looped her chain around a vitrimorph's neck and tried to hold it in
place, Moon leaped forward, dodging a blow from a second crystalline
monster, and threw her tiara again.  The first enemy managed to duck,
flipping both Venus and her chain over its head in the process, but the
tiara hit it in the shoulder and gouged out a wedge of crystal the size
of a fist.

Behind her, Tuxedo Kamen moved in to take on the vitrimorph she had
dodged.  The cane he had held earlier had somehow become a sword; now he
fought with a cool economy of motion, blade in one hand and a rose in
the other.  His cape swirled about him, distracting the eye and making
it hard to follow his movement.  The top hat, as absurd in this day and
age as a doublet and hose, seemed glued to his head.

Moon caught her tiara once more and stood for a moment in what was
unquestionably a pose.  The monster Sailor Uranus was duelling nearby
aimed a fist at her, but at a warning shout from Tuxedo Kamen, Moon
dodged out of the way.

As she did so, her feet somehow became tangled together and she fell
flat on her face with a startled yelp.  A fraction of a second later,
another massive crystal fist whistled through the spot where her head
had been.

Uranus hit the offending vitrimorph with another Music of the Spheres,
giving Moon time to stand again.  She gave Uranus a quick, embarrassed
grin, and repaid the favour with another Moon Tiara Action.

This one caught the vitrimorph dead-centre.  It let out a howl that
almost seemed to contain words, and disintegrated into a pile of dull
crystalline rubble.

Behind her, Tuxedo Kamen finished off the monster he had been fighting,
by throwing his rose into its face and then smoothly beheading it with
his sword while it was distracted.

With two of the massive creatures gone, there was room to breathe in the
office, and they started to relax.  Then, to everyone's dismay, the
remaining pair began to move faster.  The ponderous, almost clumsy
quality of their actions seemed to vanish, and abruptly the arena became
more dangerous than ever.

The other Senshi had seen this rapid escalation before, but Sailor Moon
was visibly thrown by it.  She froze for a moment, her body stiff with
shock.  The vitrimorphs seemed to recognise her surprise, for without
warning, the one that had been fighting Sailor Mercury suddenly wheeled
about and charged directly at her.

She started to lift her tiara once more, but too slowly.  In a heartbeat
the monster was towering over her, one hand theatrically poised to
slam down.  Moon stared up at it, her eyes enormous, her mouth open --

-- And several things happened at once.  A fusillade of shots rang out
from four separate guns, starring the crystalline form.  A rose planted
itself in the vitrimorph's shoulder.  A razor-sharp bolt of ice struck
it full in the back.  And a slender figure leaped out of the shadows and
knocked Moon aside, sending her sprawling to the floor some distance
away.

With Moon out of her line of fire, Uranus fired her own attack once
more.  The Music of the Spheres seemed to light the vitrimorph up from
within, before it burst into a cloud of glittering shards.

That left only one enemy, and they made short work of it.  Venus lassoed
it with her chain and held it in place; Mercury and Uranus battered it
from either side ... and Sailor Moon, rising shakily from where she had
been thrown, bisected it with her tiara.

                                  --**--

A deep silence fell in the ruins of the office.  The survivors looked
around at one another.  None of them spoke; there was no sound except
for their rapid, heavy breathing, and a distant crackle from the sacred
fire in the next room.  The odd light coming from the apartment door had
intensified further; they could now see each other clearly.

Moon caught her breath and reached down, helping the girl who had
tackled her to her feet.  "Sailor ... Mars?" she said tentatively.

The girl nodded meekly.  Moon smiled at her and said, "Thank you."  Mars
flushed and looked away, and Moon blinked; but before she could pursue
the matter, Sailor Venus bounded up to the two of them, Uranus hot on
her heels.

 From the moment Moon had appeared, Venus had been burning with a hot,
giddy joy, so strong that she could hardly keep from shouting in glee.
She wanted to jump up again and whoop in triumph; she wanted to sing, or
dance, or break something.  Sailor Moon was here at last; their leader
had come and everything was finally going to be all right.  Their
victory was certain now; the enemy would fall in no time, and oh, she
wanted to yell out her delight!

What she said was, "Hi there.  Glad you could make it."  She tried to
keep it cool, play the whole thing casual, but the effect was somewhat
spoiled by the way she could not help grinning, so widely that it
threatened to split her face.

Sailor Moon gave her a rather uneasy smile in return.  "Thank you," she
said cautiously.  "You're ... Venus, right?"

"Right!  Listen, you --"

Venus was cut off as Sailor Uranus arrived.  The girl looked giddy,
half-afraid.  "Is it you?" she asked Moon in a hushed voice.  "Is ... is
it really you?"

If anything, this made Moon look even more nervous.  "Yes," she said,
"it's me.  Why, who were you expecting?"

"Oh, Blessed Lady," Uranus whispered.  That was a strange thing to say;
but Venus had no time to think about it, for at that moment a new crisis
exploded on the other side of the room.

                                  --**--

Itsuko was moving, even as Sailor Moon reached a hand down to Mars.  Her
head still throbbed, and her mind swam chaotically -- so many things had
happened, so much to try to take in at once -- but one thing loomed
paramount over the rest.  She pushed her way out from her bolt-hole and
scrambled across the floor, toward the corner of the office ... and the
girl who lay slumped against the wall, her face a ghastly chalk-white.

"Miyo-chan," she said urgently.  "Miyo-chan, are you all right?"

One of the 'S' Division men -- Captain Hiiro -- was kneeling beside
Miyo, gun in hand.  His eyes narrowed as Itsuko approached, and he
started to raise his weapon.  Then he appeared to think better of it.
With an almost inaudible sigh, he stood up and stepped away from the
girl.

They exchanged a brief look as he rose.  Hiiro was the one who had
started all this ... but he was also the one who had pulled Miyo to
safety, and stayed by her to defend her.  It changed things, but how
much?

Deliberately, she turned her back on him and knelt by Miyo's side.
"Miyo-chan?" she repeated.  "Can you hear me?"

Miyo looked up at her.  A thin trickle of blood ran from her nose, and
for a moment, her eyes did not seem to focus.  Then they cleared.  She
looked up at Itsuko with a twisted, painful grin and said, "Hiya,
Itsuko.  It's a mess, isn't it?"

Itsuko managed a smile of her own.  "I've seen better," she admitted.
"Think you can stand?"

Miyo tried, and sank back with a gasp.  "Give me a minute."

"Take your time."  Itsuko touched her shoulder gently, then rose again
and turned to Hiiro.  "As for _you_ --" she began.  But she got no
further, for at that moment, Sailor Mercury came up to them.

The dark-skinned girl was limping, and sported a spectacular number of
cuts and bruises.  Her hair was wild and tangled.  The ribbon on the
front of her uniform had been torn away by a blow that must have come
within millimetres of gutting her; only a thin, tattered strip of blue
remained.

She seemed oblivious to her wounds, though.  Her gaze was fixed on Miyo,
her face intent, her eyes burning.  She came onward, mouth open to
speak, and then came to a sudden halt, glancing uncertainly at Hiiro.

In an instant -- Itsuko looked on and could only shake her head in
admiration -- the tension erased itself from Mercury's face, and she
said in a voice of calm solicitude, "Are you all right, Miss?  What
happened to you?"

Miyo gave a ragged chuckle.  "Don't bother, Mercury.  He already knows
who I am.  He saw me change."

Mercury's eyes narrowed.  "Did he now?"  She gave Hiiro a hard glance,
then looked back to Miyo.  "What _happened_?  It wasn't the vitrimorphs;
you were already out cold when we arrived --"

"'S' Division," Itsuko put in.  She could not keep a touch of bitter
spite from her voice.  "They used some kind of device on her, made her
powers overload --"

"Itsuko, _no_!" Miyo cried out.

Itsuko looked down at her, startled.  "What?" she began.  Then something
made her turn back to Mercury.

She was just in time to see the moment of cold, black rage that washed
across Mercury's face.

In an instant it was gone, and there was only calm interest in the
girl's eyes.  "Is that so?"  She turned to face Hiiro and asked
politely, "Would you care to explain?"

Hiiro looked back at her, his face blank, his eyes impenetrable.  After
a pause that was barely noticeable he said, "No.  Not really."

Mercury's expression did not change at all.  "I don't think you heard
me," she said, her voice still calm.  "I said, would you care to
_explain_?"  And then, in one swift motion, her hand came up, pointed
directly at him, almost touching his forehead.  Her words became a rasp
of fury.  "Before I blow your fucking head right off?"

Itsuko froze.  Suddenly Miyo's warning was all too clear ... because
Itsuko could see the murderous truth in Sailor Mercury's eyes.  The girl
was serious.  One ice spear was all it would take, and she was
hair-trigger ready to do it --

Hiiro said, "No."

Mercury stiffened.  "What?" she demanded.  "What did you say?  You
_want_ me to kill you?"

"I said, no," he repeated.  "I won't justify myself to you, girl.  I did
my duty.  Now you go ahead and do yours."  After a deliberate pause he
added, in a tone of sour disgust, "If that's what you really think it
is."

He folded his arms and glared at her, his eyes cold and impassive.
Waiting.

Mercury stared back at him.  "You -- you --"  She faltered, confused.
Her hand wavered.  For a breathless second it looked as if she might
back down.

Then the rage was back in her face.  Her hand steadied, the fingers
spread almost like claws.  "All right," she snarled.

"Mercury, don't," Miyo pleaded.  "They were _helping_ us.  Itsuko, tell
her!"

"Sailor Mercury," Itsuko said carefully.  She knew the fury that Dhiti
was feeling.  She had felt it herself, more than once.  A single wrong
word was all it would take to set Mercury off.  "You --"

Then, another factor.  A dark man appearing out of the darkness, so
swiftly and smoothly that none of them saw him coming.  Big and burly,
his face rough and unshaven ... and the gun he held to Mercury's temple,
cold and bright.

"Back off, little girl," he said.  "Right now."

The words froze in Itsuko's mouth.  She did not know what to do.  The
Senshi were tough, yes; but a bullet in the head at close range would
probably kill Mercury all the same.  But what could she --

"No," said Hiiro.  "Kuroi, no.  Stand down.  That's an order."

And a new voice said, "All of you, stand down."

Sailor Moon.

They froze, a living tableau: Hiiro, his arms folded, grim and defiant.
Mercury, burning with rage, her hand outstretched to attack.  Kuroi,
cold and dangerous, ready to shoot.  Itsuko and Miyo, looking on
helplessly.  And the impossible girl, Sailor Moon ...

She came up to Sailor Mercury, her movements calm and unhurried, and
laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.  "I don't think you should do that,"
she said softly.

Mercury stared back at her, the moment of stillness broken.  "Why not?"
she asked.  She sounded almost petulant.

"Because ..."  Moon paused.  "Because revenge doesn't help.  In the end,
it will only hurt you more than him.  He might be dead, but you'll have
to live with it -- always."  She blinked, once.  "In time, it will
poison you."

"I --"  Mercury's hand wavered.  She looked ... hunted.  "I don't even
know you," she whispered.

"I know.  But still."

They held each other's eyes for a moment longer; and then Mercury looked
away and snarled, "Oh, damn it, anyway."  All at once, the strength
seemed to drain out of her.  Her arm dropped to her side, and she sagged
back.  As she did, Kuroi stepped back from her, his gun vanishing into
some hidden pocket.  Mercury paid no attention; she flopped to her knees
at Miyo's side and said, "You _sure_ you're all right, Hayashi?"

Miyo smiled at her wearily.  "I will be."

                                  --**--

Captain Hiiro made a quick decision and turned away from Mercury.  He
shot Kuroi a look, and saw the man nod in understanding.  Hiiro returned
the nod, and then gave all his attention to the newcomer.  The living
legend.

She looked like ... something out of a fairy tale.  She seemed to glow,
almost to sparkle.  But she was there, real; he had seen her fight.  He
had seen her destroy, almost effortlessly, a massive crystalline monster
that was immune to bullets.

He weighed his options, estimating chances.  The mission was shot to
hell, that was for damn sure.  How to salvage the situation?  What would
Colonel Shiro want him to do ...?

"Ma'am," he said.  Suddenly, he felt unspeakably tired.  "With your
permission, I'll see to my people and we'll be on our way."

Sailor Moon regarded him with clear blue eyes.  Her gaze was an
uncomfortably searching one, and he found himself squirming mentally.
"What's your name?" she asked suddenly.

He blinked.  "Uh.  Hiiro, ma'am," he said.  "Captain Hiiro Yoichi, 'S'
Division."

"Thank you."  Another moment under that frank, open look.  "Why are you
here tonight, Captain?"

Hiiro saw no point in denying it.  "To arrest Hino-san, ma'am."

"Who?"

"Uh ... Pappadopoulos-san.  Pappadopoulos Itsuko."  He controlled his
reaction to the question.  _That_ was an interesting admission.  Sailor
Moon didn't know who Pappadopoulos really was?

"Oh.  And why were you arresting her?"

"Charges of criminal conspiracy and treason, Ma'am.  Also fraud and a
few others."

"_Really_?"  Sailor Moon's eyebrows shot up, her poise momentarily lost.
"Wow."  She stole a quick glance at Itsuko, then looked back to Hiiro.
At last, regaining her calm, she said, "All right.  You and your people
can go.  I'm afraid I can't let you take Pappadopoulos-san, though."

Hiiro nodded; he'd expected that.  He thought about saluting as he
turned away from her, but decided not to.  Legend or not, he was damned
if he was going to salute a teenage girl.

He checked the rest of the team.  Kuroi was fine, of course.  Aoiro was
bleeding from a scalp wound, and looked to have taken some minor cuts
and bruises, but he looked steady enough.  Mitsukai was the worst off;
she was limping, and held her shattered wrist in the crook of her good
arm.  She looked to have some electrical burns, too.  Her face was pale
and beaded with sweat, and she was taking quick, shallow breaths.

He told Kuroi and Aoiro to help her out.  As they lifted her gently in
a two-handed seat carry, he turned back for a moment.

As he'd expected, Pappadopoulos was looking at him.  "This isn't over,"
he told her quietly.  "You're still wanted ... and we _will_ find you."

She lifted one eyebrow, but did not reply.  Her face was unreadable; her
gaze never wavered.

He nodded once more to Sailor Moon, who had watched the exchange with
obvious interest, and followed Kuroi and Aoiro out.  The office door
hung loose on broken hinges, but he closed it as far as he could behind
him.

Outside, the corridor almost completely dark, but he could just make out
the shadows of the other three, waiting for him.  He opened his mouth to
speak to them --

And a sudden glow of pastel light washed over the four of them, freezing
them in place; and a voice that was not a voice spoke directly into his
mind.  [[I'm sorry, Captain ... but I can't allow you and your friends
to remember all this.]]


                             ****************


"After all," the chairman said, "triumph or not, you hadn't planned on
_her_ appearing."

The vulpine glee on Twelve's face faded.  "True," she admitted.  "We
miscalculated slightly.  After all, we are still only half-awake, the
Master and I.  But what of it?  We _wanted_ her to appear; and even if
we did not expect it last night in particular, I see no reason to be
dissatisfied."

"Yes, yes, I know.  Still ... I wonder," the chairman repeated.  "They
managed to surprise us.  In a small, unimportant way, perhaps, and one
that was ultimately to our benefit.  But what if they do it again?"

Twelve's grin returned.  "That's what makes life interesting.  Let them
have their moment!  The final victory will be all the sweeter."

"There is that."  The chairman looked around at her and licked his lips,
a quick, almost nervous gesture.  "Why _four_ vitrimorphs, though?
They've never faced more than one before.  It seems like overkill."

"Obviously not, since the Senshi won," Twelve said sardonically.  "But
then, _her_ arrival wasn't the only surprise last night, was it?  There
was the ... most interesting device that your men were using."

"I'm afraid I don't follow you."

"No?  I hope not ... for your sake."  For just an instant, there was a
terrible, dark look in Twelve's eyes, one that spoke of an endless,
insatiable hunger.  The slow pulsing of the jewel in her forehead
quickened, and then steadied.  "Let me be clearer, then," she went on.
"The Interdiction Controller used against Sailor Jupiter ... and, I
believe, developed by 'M' Division.  How did _that_ come to be there?"

The chairman frowned slightly.  "I know of the project," he admitted.
"I did not authorise its use."

"Then it would seem you have some investigation to do!  Tell me," she
said, her voice hard and flat, "when were you planning to inform _me_ of
this ... project of yours?"

"When it was ready to be tested!" he snapped back.  He closed his eyes,
calming himself, and in a more controlled tone said, "I had not been
informed that the prototype was this far advanced.  I still have no idea
how 'S' Division got hold of it.  I will be investigating both questions
today."

He gave Twelve a quizzical look.  "Why are you concerned, though?
Surely it was to our benefit last night?  Knowing that we have an
effective weapon against them may even spur the Senshi on a little
harder --"

"Fool," Twelve rasped.  "Why do you creatures keep imagining you are
permitted to _think_?  Can you not see that a signal that disrupts a
Senshi's powers will interfere with a vitrimorph as well?  How could it
_not_?  When I realised what you'd done, I sent in as many vitrimorphs
as I could ... not to attack the Senshi, but to _destroy that machine_!"

He stared at her.  "Interfere --"

"Fool, I say!"  Twelve's voice was full of contempt.  "Do you _want_ to
see an army of vitrimorphs running wild, completely out of control?  You
have no conception of what you're tampering with!  You will see to it
that all development of the Interdiction Controller is halted, is that
clear?  All records of the project will be erased. You'll see to that
personally!"

"I ... yes."  The chairman's mind raced.  The implications of what he
had just been told --

"_And_ --"  Her eyes flashed, and for an instant the jewel in her
forehead lit up with a sickly pale glow.  "You will find out who gave
that prototype to 'S' Division.  And then I will pay him or her a
visit."  She gave a thin, hard smile, wolf-like once more.  "You had
best hope it was nobody important."

He listened to her with outward equanimity, and bowed his head in silent
obedience.  Inwardly, he winced, knowing that he had just heard a death
sentence pronounced.  He only hoped that she made it quick.

Another part of him, though, still churned with the news she had given
him.  [Interfere with a vitrimorph ... out of control!]  If the
controllers somehow affected the Master's control ...  Somewhere deep in
the private recesses of his mind, in a place that he hardly dared
acknowledge still existed, he found himself thinking that having such a
device might be no bad thing.  If he would find a way to preserve the
project -- put it undercover, hide it somewhere Twelve would never think
to look --

Then, with a burst of dismay, he remembered that the Master could hear
his every thought.  Hear, and punish.

He stood stock-still, eyes closed and fists clenched, and waited for the
bolt to descend: for the icy cloud to close over his thoughts, and the
cold, cold voice to pronounce judgement in his mind, and the torment to
begin.  Already, his hands burned in remembered agony.

But nothing happened.  He waited, and nothing happened.

"Well?" said Twelve impatiently.  His eyes snapped open in shock.  "Do
you remember after all?  Something else you may have accidentally
'forgotten' to mention before?"

He shook himself mentally, trying to remember what they had been talking
about.  Calmly, he said, "Ah, no.  I'm afraid not.  But I will certainly
investigate and give you the results as soon as may be."

She snorted.  "Weasel," she said, her voice rich with contempt.  But her
anger was redirected, and he breathed a silent sigh of relief.

What had happened?  Why had the Master not reacted to his moment of
rebellion?

A thought came to him suddenly, so unlikely that he almost rejected it
out of hand -- and yet, so enticing that he could not help but cling to
it.  Since Twelve had undergone her second initiation and become the
Master's hand incarnate, the Master had not controlled _him_ even once.
Could it be -- was it just possible -- that the Master had limits?  That
while he controlled Twelve so absolutely, he could not divide his
attention to watch the chairman as well?

Could it be that -- in a limited, but very real way -- the chairman was
free?

He had no more time to consider the matter.  Twelve went on, "I am still
waiting for an explanation of _why_ your division was developing the
controller at all -- in particular, without the Master's knowledge."

"Surely that's obvious?" he asked smoothly.  "One does not put all one's
eggs in a single basket.  I decided that we should at least investigate
whether other ... options might be effective.  I saw no point in raising
the matter unless the results seemed promising."

She sighed.  "You still seem to be under the impression that initiative
is to be desired."  Fixing him with a baleful stare, she went on, "Let
me be plain, then: _all_ decisions relating to the Senshi are the
prerogative of the Master alone -- and, through him, of me."  The jewel
on her forehead pulsed once, and her eyes began to glow a cold, pale
green.  He recoiled at the sight, even as she added, her voice rising to
a roar, "You are a useful tool, true, but you are not indispensable.
Further indiscretions will not be tolerated!  _Is that clear enough for
you_?"

An icy wind swept through the office.  Loose papers swirled about the
room in a mad flurry.  The walls themselves seemed to groan under the
onslaught.  In the centre of the whirlwind, Twelve hovered, her feet
half a metre off the floor, her eyes and jewel blazing with power.  A
foul smell filled the air.

Half-blinded, in sudden mortal terror of his life, the chairman threw
himself to the floor before her.  All his hopes of the previous moment
were forgotten, washed away in the face of the demon before him.  He
bowed his forehead to the floor, trembling, his heart beating wildly,
and waited for the end.

The wind died away.  A quiet voice said, "Get up, fool."  He raised his
eyes and saw Twelve sitting back in the chair before his desk, leafing
idly through her folder once again as if nothing had happened.  The
floor was littered with papers.

Shakily, his heart still in his throat, he climbed to his feet and
lurched back to the desk himself.  As he was sitting, Twelve said
casually, "I trust that your pet scientist had nothing to do with the
controller's development, at least."

"My --?"  It took him a second to change mental gear, and longer to get
his voice under control enough to be able to speak normally.  "Oh.  No
... no. 'M' had nothing to do with it."

"Good.  I know how you like your little hobby.  We wouldn't want to have
to deprive you of that, would we?"  She gave him a malicious smirk, and
threw her folder down to the desk.  "All right, that's all.  Let me have
that name by this evening, and I'll take care of your blunder.  As for
the rest, I think we'll give the Senshi a few days to settle down before
the next att--"

She was interrupted by a sudden, urgent knock at the door.  Before
either of them could speak, it was flung open and the same messenger who
had brought in the reports earlier entered.  He looked agitated.  He
hurried over to the chairman and handed him a single sheet of paper,
then left even more quickly, bowing three times as he closed the door.

Twelve watched him go with lazy contempt.  "He looked like a mouse
making a delivery to the cat.  Maybe I should follow him and ... extend
the metaphor."  She laughed at the thought.  Then she glanced back at
the chairman.  "What now?  Some dreadful new crisis?"

The chairman skimmed the sheet quickly, and froze.  He read it again.
"Yes," he said, "I'm afraid so.  It seems they were busier last night
than we thought."


                             ****************


"Criminal conspiracy and fraud?" said Sailor Moon.  Her eyes were wide
and innocent ... but was there a glint of mischief in them?  "Wow.
_Really_?"

"Of course not!" Itsuko snapped.  "The whole thing is an idiotic
misunderstanding."  She glared down at the girl in the blue, white and
red seifuku.  "But I think we have more important things to talk about,
don't we?  You have some questions to answer, young lady."

Moon seemed to wilt.  "Oh," she said in a small voice.  "You know,
then."

"Know?"  Itsuko hesitated.  She had a sudden feeling that she was
missing something.

"I'm sorry," Moon went on glumly.  "But I just never _dreamed_ that you
and Miyo-san would get involved in this.  I still don't see why --"

"'Miyo-san'?" repeated Itsuko, her eyes narrowing.  "What -- wait a
minute.  How do you know her name?"

Moon gaped at her.  "But you said ... I thought you --"

"Who _are_ you?"

"She is Sailor Moon," said a man's voice.  A low, thrilling voice,
filled with sincerity and passion.

Even as she turned, Itsuko knew who she would see, and cursed herself.
They had forgotten him again, just as they always seemed to forget him.
The faceless one, the eternal outsider, never quite part of the team and
yet always there to back them up when he was needed ...

And he still spoke like a cornball.

In the shadows on the far side of the room, something stirred; a patch
of darkness seemed to detach itself from the rest, and became a tall,
slender young man in a perfectly-tailored black tuxedo and top hat, a
white domino mask covering his upper face.  An opera cape swirled about
him as he advanced.  The sword he had wielded earlier had vanished; he
once more bore an elegant black cane under his arm.

"Sailor Moon," he repeated in the same vibrant tone.  His gaze swept
over them all, ending on the new Senshi.  The girl stepped forward to
meet him, her eyes widening.

He raised a hand to cup her cheek lightly, then dropped it again.  "At
last," he said huskily.  "You are here, and the true light of love and
justice returns to the world."

"Who _are_ you?" whispered Moon.  "Are you the one who keeps leaving me
roses?"  He towered over her; even without the top hat he would have
been much taller than she.  She looked very small in his shadow.  But
his words were gentle, even tender, and her face showed no alarm.

"I am the one who has been waiting for you," he said softly; "and now,
inevitably, the fates have drawn us together.  Don't you see it?  Can't
you feel that we are destined for one another?"

At that, Moon's composure was finally shattered.  "I -- I don't know,"
she stammered.  In the dim light, her eyes were very big.  She sounded
half-afraid -- and half-rapt.  "I do feel ... something ..."

He stepped closer.  "Then let me remind you," he murmured.  He lifted
one arm and swept his cape around her, drawing her to him.  Even as
their bodies met, his other hand touched her chin, lifting her face up,
as he lowered his lips to meet hers.

Sailor Moon stiffened; then, slowly, she relaxed and melted into his
embrace.  Her arms crept around his back.

The kiss lasted several eternities.  Then the two parted.  Sailor Moon
was breathing fast, and her cheeks were flushed.  Tuxedo Kamen's face
was unreadable beneath his mask, but his own chest rose and fell
quickly.  He stood facing her for one more moment, as if wrestling with
himself; but then, with a sudden bound, he sprang across the office and
placed one foot smoothly on the sill of the open window.  There he
paused, and looked back one last time at Moon.

"Truly," he whispered tenderly, "the moonlight carries a message of
love."  Then he turned away, ducked his head to step easily out of the
window, and was gone.

                                  --**--

"Wow," said Sailor Venus sardonically.  "What a smoothie."

Sailor Uranus had been staring after Tuxedo Kamen, open-mouthed, but at
Venus' words she shook her head sharply, the spell broken.  She ran to
the window and looked out.  A second later, she turned back.  "Nothing,"
she reported.  "He's gone."  She shook her head, looking almost
shell-shocked.  "I ... well.  I've read the old stories, but I never
expected him to be like _that_."

"I know," Moon sighed happily.  She had a silly little smile on her
face.  "Wasn't it just the most _romantic_ thing you ever saw?"  Across
the room, Sailor Mars nodded silently, three times.

Uranus hesitated.  She wanted to agree.  She knew all the legends,
virtually by heart; she knew that the story of Serenity and Endymion had
been one of history's greatest love matches, the subject or the
inspiration for countless songs and epic poems.  The two of them had
been role models for a thousand romantic leads in plays and viddies, and
for young teenagers, for centuries.  How could she lie to Sailor Moon,
of all people?  Yet now that she had seen the man for herself --

"No," she said, resolute.  "I don't know about romantic ... but it may
have been the corniest."

"Oh, pooh."  Moon did not seem in the least bothered.  "You're probably
just jealous."

"What?  I -- I am not!"

"Good," Moon said, grinning.  "'Cause he's mine, and you can't have
him."

"I --"  Uranus spluttered to a halt, the blasphemy of the suggestion
forgotten in a surge of indignation.  "What makes you think I'd _want_
him?" she demanded.

After all, she had Minoru.  And Minoru was _quite_ satisfactory, thank
you, even if the two of them had not actually gotten anywhere yet.
Admittedly he was not as good-looking as Tuxedo Kamen; nor did he have
that electrifying voice -- or those beautiful hands -- or that ... that
utterly perfect butt ...

She broke off the train of thought, unaccountably flustered, and
wondered what was wrong with her.

"So was he any good?" put in Venus, thankfully not noticing her
confusion.

"Oh, was he!" said Moon enthusiastically.  "Maybe there's something to
those stories about fate after all.  You know, I think he's been leaving
me flowers?  I keep finding them outside my door."  She paused, and her
brow wrinkled.  "It's funny, though.  I didn't expect him to have a
pony-tail."

"No," said Venus thoughtfully.  "Or the accent."

                                  --**--

Miyo and Sailor Mercury exchanged a glance.  Mercury started to speak;
but Miyo shook her head and murmured, "Not now."

There would be time later to go over the implications; time to work out
what to do about it.  Time to kick themselves for the enormity of their
mistake.

After all, the truth had been staring them in the face all along.  They
had simply overlooked it, over and over again, because the answer had
seemed so obvious.  The two boys even looked alike, if you ignored their
hair; but they had managed to miss that too.  It was not until they
heard him talk that the truth became inescapable.

Tuxedo Kamen had spoken with a strong Eirish accent.

                                  --**--

"I think," Itsuko said, "that we're getting off-topic."

"We had a _topic_?" she heard Mercury mutter distinctly.  "Damn, I must
not have gotten the memo."  She turned her head to glare at the girl,
and was gratified to see Miyo clout her on the side of the head.

Itsuko returned her attention to Sailor Moon.  She was suddenly unsure
what to say; the only things that came to mind seemed trite and
altogether inadequate.  She settled for giving the girl a short bow and
saying, "Welcome.  I'm glad you've come at last."

It seemed to surprise Moon, who gave her a puzzled look and said, "But
I thought you said you --"

She got no further; abruptly she was surrounded by girls, all trying to
speak and ask questions at once.  Even Miyo joined them; Mercury helped
her to her feet, and while she was visibly unsteady at first, she seemed
to be recovering fast.

When Moon saw the tall girl, pale and tottery but smiling nevertheless,
she broke away from Sailor Venus -- who was now talking so fast she was
almost unintelligible -- and said, "Miyo-san!  Are you all right?  I'm
sorry; I saw you were hurt, but I kept being ..."  She waved a hand
around the room helplessly.

"I'll be fine," Miyo reassured her.  "Uh ... you know who I am?"

"Yes, of course," Moon replied.  Her eyes widened suddenly and her voice
dropped to a whisper.  "Are you an international criminal, too, like
Itsuko-san?"

Miyo started to answer, but then realised that she had no idea what to
say to that.  Mercury, alas, had no such failing.  "'Criminal' is such a
harsh word, don't you think?" she said, dropping an arm around Moon's
shoulders smoothly.  "Okay, sure, Hayashi robs banks in her spare time,
and she likes to blackmail elderly women.  But is that so bad, really?"

"Uh.  Yes?" Moon hazarded.

"_Dhiti_!" yelped Miyo.  "Don't listen to her, Sailor Moon, she's always
like this."

"I think I was starting to guess," Moon said dryly.  Mercury dropped her
arm, pretending to look hurt.  "But Miyo-san, what _happened_?  Why were
those men hurting _you_?"

"Eh?"  Miyo shook her head.  "Why do you think?  I was trying to save
Itsuko.  I told them I'd put a lightning bolt up their asses if they
didn't let her go."  She saw the increasing confusion in Moon's face and
added, "Well, I _am_ Sailor Jupiter."

Moon gaped at her.  "_You_ are?!"

Itsuko watched, growing more puzzled each moment.  Sailor Moon obviously
knew both her and Miyo, but she kept on avoiding saying how, or from
where.  But who knew both of them?  She had the maddening feeling that
she was missing something terribly obvious --

"Of course," Miyo answered.  Her eyes narrowed slightly and she said, a
little brusquely, "And who are _you_?"

"And how did you even know to _come_ here?" put in Venus.

Moon glanced around at the interruption, and looked faintly embarrassed.
"Well, actually, I was already here.  I was asleep just down the hall.
The noise woke me up when you started fighting."

[Already _here_?!]  And then, at last, Itsuko knew -- and she started to
laugh, at the irony of it.

The girls looked up at her, surprised.  Still chuckling, Itsuko came
forward and put her hand on Moon's shoulder.  "All right, but the
fighting's over," she said.  "It's about time you changed back, don't
you think?"  She paused, and then added, "... Ochiyo-chan?"

Moon stared at her for a second longer.  "But if you knew, why did you
pretend you --?  Oh, never mind."  She shimmered abruptly, and became a
teenage girl wearing rumpled pyjamas.  She was perhaps a fraction
shorter than average, with a round face and long, dark brown hair in a
pony-tail.

For just an instant, as she changed, a golden symbol glowed on her
forehead, then faded away.  But it was not the crescent that Itsuko had
expected; it was a plain golden circle.  A full moon.

Miyo and Sailor Uranus both stared at her, apparently thunderstruck.
Miyo blurted out, "Ochiyo-san?  But -- you --"  Then she, too, began to
laugh.

"You know her, too?" said Uranus, her eyes still wide.

"We --"  Miyo stopped laughing, then snorted and started to giggle
again.  "We sleep together, once a week."

Ochiyo gave her an incredulous, almost panicked look.  "We do not!" she
protested.  "I mean ... in separate beds!  Separate beds!"

Uranus groaned.  "I don't even want to _know_," she said, in apparent
pain.  Then she, too, detransformed, and abruptly knelt at the startled
Ochiyo's feet.  "Princess," she said, "I am Sailor Uranus."

Ochiyo gaped down at her.  "Itagaki-san?" she said.  "But you --"  She
broke off suddenly, her eyes narrowing.  "All right," she went on in a
very different tone.  "Thank you.  But please, don't kneel.  And don't
call me 'princess'."

"But -- uh, yes, ma'am."  Suzue bit her lip as she stood once more.  "I
mean, Aizawa-san."

"You know each other?" put in Venus, interested.

"We go to the same school," replied Suzue.  At the same moment, Ochiyo
said, "She's in my Home Ec class."  They glanced at each other, and
Ochiyo grinned.  Suzue did not.

Itsuko watched the exchange, mentally frowning.  There was something
funny going on there.  Maybe the two did not get along?  That could be a
problem.  She was distracted, though, as she saw Sailor Mercury lift her
head and whisper in Miyo's ear.  She was just close enough to make the
words out: "Wow, she even wears elegant _pyjamas_."

Miyo shushed Mercury hastily, but she was hiding a grin.  Itsuko had to
repress a smile of her own.  Like them, she had noticed before that
Suzue tended to be a bit of a clothes-horse.  Her night-dress, of a very
sheer dark green material, fit the pattern.

Meanwhile, Sailor Mars had taken Suzue's place.  She did not kneel; she
detransformed and then bowed deeply.  "Ma'am.  I'm Kodama Iku," she said
in a low voice.  "I -- they say I have to be Sailor Mars, but I'm not --
I'm not very --"

Ochiyo shushed her, and studied her with what Itsuko, watching, thought
was an unexpectedly shrewd eye.  Then she said, "You saved my life
tonight."

"I --"  Iku tried to look away, then visibly steadied herself.  "Yes."

"You could have been badly hurt yourself."  Ochiyo smiled suddenly, and
touched Iku under the chin.  "I don't think you have anything to be
ashamed of."

"But I --"  Iku trailed off.  Very softly, she whispered, "Thank you."

As Iku retired, Venus took her place, grinning.  "Sailor Venus," she
said jauntily, and let her transformation drop.  "And, uh, my name is
McCrea Bethany.  Um.  People just call me Beth, mostly.  I, er, suppose
you can call me whatever you want ..."

Ochiyo gave her an odd look, as if trying to match this suddenly
diffident girl with the Senshi who had been chattering away so excitedly
a minute before.  "Aizawa Ochiyo," she said, a trifle warily.  "Pleased
to meet you."

Then it was Mercury's turn.  She gave Miyo a wink, and stepped up to
Ochiyo.  "Hi," she said.  "I'm Sharma Dhiti, Sailor Mercury."  She
detransformed.  "And I have to say, you --"

She broke off.  Everyone was staring at her.

She looked down at herself.

Then she let out a high-pitched, incoherent squeak, tried frantically to
cover herself with her hands, looked around desperately, and dove behind
Itsuko's desk.

The others all watched her go, still staring.  After a moment, Suzue
said thoughtfully, "The weather _has_ been warm lately."

Miyo sighed.  "She always has to make a spectacle of herself."


                             ****************


Hiiro and his team climbed wearily into the van and buckled themselves
in.  Aoiro took the driver's seat and started them back toward 'S'
Division headquarters.  They drove for a while in silence, the pale blue
of the streetlights flicking across their faces.

"So," said Hiiro after a little.  "_That_ went well."

Kuroi snorted.  "What do you expect?" he demanded.  "You want us to walk
into the middle of a pitched battle?"

"Don't be silly."  Hiiro shook his head.  "Damn it -- I wanted to get
there _ahead_ of Pappa-san.  We could have set up a trap and taken her
nice and quietly.  Instead we arrive and find her and the Senshi already
fighting giant monsters!  _Not_ what I had in mind."

"Yeah."  Kuroi grumbled for a moment under his breath.  "What were those
fucking things, anyway?"

"Why don't you go back and ask Pappa-san?"

"Funny man."

"Yeah."  Hiiro made a sour face.  "Goddammit.  I lost the Interdiction
Controller, too.  Shosuke's going to be pissed."

"The which-what?"

"A little something I borrowed from an old friend.  Should have come in
useful if we'd had to fight the Senshi.  But one of those crystal things
knocked it out of my hands as we went inside, and I saw it get smashed."

"Oh, yeah.  Your friend at 'Q' Division.  I remember you mentioned."

"I'll have to buy him a drink.  Sometime after I work out exactly how
I'm going to report all this."

Aoiro glanced around, his hands still on the van's steering bar.
"What's to report?" he said.  "We arrived, we saw Pappadopoulos and the
Senshi fighting monsters.  We saw the monsters get their asses kicked.
Then we went away again before the Senshi noticed us and decided to kick
our asses too."

"So _you_ write the report," said Kuroi sardonically.  "You're halfway
finished already."

"We do have one bit of news, anyway," said Hiiro.  "They had another new
Senshi."

Nobody answered.  Sailor Moon; none of them wanted to say the name.  And
Hiiro had a pretty strong feeling that nobody at headquarters would be
pleased to read it in his report, either.  If _she_ had finally arrived
on the scene ... what came next?

In the rear of the van, Lieutenant Mitsukai listened to the others talk,
but did not try to join in.  From time to time, she rubbed her wrist
absently.  She kept having a nagging feeling that it should be hurting,
for some reason, but she could not think why.  After all, like the rest
of the team, she was in perfect health.


                             ****************


Ochiyo ducked out of the office and returned a few seconds later with a
light yukata, which she threw over Itsuko's desk.  A hand reached up to
grab it and, after a minute, Dhiti rejoined them.  Her face was flushed
with embarrassment.

"Um," she said.  "I ... don't quite know what to say."

Miyo cleared her throat.  "It's not actually all that different from if
we were at a public bath, or a hot spring," she pointed out.

"Yes it _is_, Hayashi.  ... But thanks."

Dhiti looked around the room.  Some of the others had suspiciously
straight faces, or were trying to hide a smirk of some description --
like old poker-face Pappadopoulos.  Others weren't even trying.  Iku
was actually crying with laughter, in almost total silence.  Okay,
_that_ was weird.

Suzue just looked pained.  No surprises there.

"Right," Dhiti said.  She coughed self-consciously.  "Um.  So, as I was
saying --"

That was too much for Ochiyo.  Her face twitched, and then she pitched
forward and exploded in a bray of laughter.  She wrapped her arms around
her middle and shook with it, for all the world like a rag doll.

Dhiti watched her dubiously.  She was starting to feel just a little
annoyed.  Playing the fool was one thing, but doing it by mistake was
another.  Flashing the whole team was _definitely_ another.  Peevishly,
she said, "Come on, it wasn't _that_ funny."

With some difficulty, Ochiyo managed to get herself under control.
"It's not that," she gasped.  "It's -- it's just that I suddenly
recognised you.  You're the Masked Avenger!"

"I'm the --?"  Dhiti froze, suddenly remembering.  Then, helplessly, she
started to laugh herself.  "That was _you_?"

"That was me."  Ochiyo wiped her eyes, and chuckled again.  "I never did
find out what that was all about.  Maybe this time someone can explain
it to me."  She cocked her head at Dhiti, a glint in her eye.  "But tell
me: are you going to steal things or return them, this time?"

"Umm."  Dhiti looked down at herself.  "I may have to steal this yukata.
Or borrow it, at least."

Ochiyo waved a hand in the air.  "Help yourself."

"Very generous," growled Miyo.  "Considering it's _my_ yukata."

"Excuse me."  Beth cleared her throat.  "Could the rest of us ask ...
what are you talking about?  Who's the Masked Avenger?"

The glint in Ochiyo's eye sharpened.  "Ah," she said.  "Now that's a very
interesting question."

"Hey!  They don't need to know about that!" Dhiti said hastily.

"No?" Ochiyo purred.  "Well, perhaps later."

"What happened to your hair?" asked a timid voice.

They looked around, surprised, at Iku.  The girl shied back half a step
at the movement, but went on, "I -- I thought you were supposed to ..."
She trailed off, holding her hands up on either side of her head.

Suzue nodded and added, "I'd been wondering about that too, actually.
After all, traditionally Sailor Moon --"

"Traditionally?  You want me to wear my hair in odango?" interrupted
Ochiyo, lifting her hands to her head to mime the shape.  "In this day
and age?  Ha!  _She_ wanted me to try them, too, but --"  She rolled her
eyes.  "Please.  Just shoot me."

"_You_ could wear them instead, Suzue-chan," Dhiti suggested in an arch
tone.  "Just to keep up tradition, of course."

Suzue gave her a cold look.  "I think not."

"No, you wouldn't, would you?" murmured Ochiyo thoughtfully.

Itsuko coughed to draw their attention.  "Excuse me," she said.  "Maybe
we should consider moving out of here?  It's pretty late, after all, and
maybe not such a good idea to be standing round in --" she sighed "-- a
wrecked office.  We're lucky we haven't drawn attention already, with
all the noise we've made.  Though I suppose losing the lights helped --"

"Oh, that wasn't luck."

"Eh?"

"I turned the lights off," Ochiyo explained.  "At the mains.  That was
right after Tuxedo Kamen arrived -- he came in my window, actually.  I
don't know how _he_ knew what was going on."  She grinned at the memory.
"Anyway, then _she_ told us that _she_ could make it so people wouldn't
notice what was happening upstairs.  But that we ought to make a
dramatic entrance.  So I turned off the lights, and we --"

"Wait a minute," said Miyo.  "Who's this '_she_'?"

Ochiyo paused.  "That's a little hard to explain --"

And a voice that was not a voice echoed in their minds.  [[SHE ... IS
ME.]]

                                  --**--

The light in the office changed.

That light ... it had begun as a faint, pearly glow spilling in through
the open door, silhouetting Sailor Moon against a luminous halo.  But it
had grown in Moon's wake, gradually brightening until it filled the
office, increasing so slowly and subtly that they barely noticed it.
Now it was everywhere.  And now --

It rippled, like light seen through a multihued layer of water, filling
the room with delicate, pastel shades.  Then it began to gather
together: as if a cloud of pure radiance had filled the room, but was
now condensing into a ball that hung in midair, drawing inward and
growing ever brighter as it did so.

As it shrank, the ball began to change its shape, taking on form and
definition.  For an instant, it separated into two and became a great
pair of eyes, gazing serenely down at them.  Above the eyes, the air
seemed to split open and a golden crescent hung there, glowing
brilliantly and flooding the office with a surge of colour.

At the same time, they all felt a surge of something powerful wash
through them: an overpowering sense of potency, but at the same time, of
wonder and passion.  They felt peace, and love, and pure happiness.

Then the eyes and crescent were gone.  The hazy form taking shape in the
air drew in on itself once more -- and suddenly, in an eye-blink, it was
over.  A dim light still filled the room from some indefinable source,
and by it they could all see the form that stood before them.  A young
girl -- younger than any of them, perhaps no more than fourteen -- in an
archaic sailor-suited school uniform, smiling happily at them.  A girl
with long blonde hair done up in odango, and a face that all of them
knew at once.

Another blink, and she changed.  Suddenly she was older, perhaps their
own age, wearing a different uniform.  But her smile never changed.

Another blink.  She was an adult, now, and held a pink-haired infant at
her breast.  Her smile was infinitely tender.

Another.  She was a winged queen, tall and elegant, radiant and
majestic, holding a glittering jewel that filled the air with a silvery
glow.

One more shift -- and a strange form was before them, a translucent
globe holding something that looked like an unborn child.  It hung in
the air, staring back at them with vast, curiously ageless eyes, silent
and enigmatic.  Yet somehow, the feeling of peace and serenity never
left them.

"What ... what is that?" whispered Beth.

"It's --"  Itsuko shook her head, and sighed.  "It's the Star Child from
_2001: A Space Odyssey_," she answered.  To the shape, she said, "Stop
it, Usagi-chan.  You're being silly."

They all heard its laughter.  [[Dearest Rei.]]

Then the globe was gone, and the queen stood there once more, tall,
golden-haired, winged and beautiful, clad in a long, flowing white robe.
She smiled at them, and though her mouth never moved, her voice was
clear in their minds.  [[Welcome,]] she said.  [[Welcome to you all, my
children and dearest friends.  I'm so glad to see you at last.]]

Around the room, they each had their own reactions.  Beth's eyes grew
wider and wider, and she found herself smiling helplessly.  Dhiti stood
very still, and let out a sigh of pure contentment.  Iku closed her
eyes, feeling as if she were basking in the welcome, and was startled to
find her cheeks wet with tears.  Suzue swayed on her feet and then
collapsed to her knees, her face pale.  She reached up and touched her
forehead, tracing a curve there.

Miyo saw Suzue's strange reaction and wondered at it, but only for an
instant.  She was too distracted, filled to overflowing with incredulous
joy, to think of other things.  Her friend was back.  Tsukino Usagi.
Queen Serenity.  Friend, teammate, leader, ruler; oldest, dearest, most
treasured.  Usagi.  Somehow, improbably, back from the dead.

Almost in unison, she and Itsuko took one faltering step forward, arms
flung wide to embrace her --

Then the queen held up a hand, and they faltered to a stop.  [[No,]]
Serenity said.  [[I'm sorry, but that's not possible.]]

"But ... why?" asked Itsuko, her voice raw and half-choked.  "What's
wrong?"

[[I'm dead, Rei-chan.  You can't touch me; I'm not really here.]]  After
a moment, the queen added, [[I'm sorry.]]

Itsuko stared at her, the glimmer in her eyes belying the look of mulish
rebellion on her face.  "It's always something with you, isn't it?" she
whispered; and, amazingly, she smiled through her tears.

Miyo was holding back tears of her own, but she managed to keep her
voice steady as she asked, "Are you ... some kind of hologram, then?
Like that one of your mother on the Moon?"

Serenity shook her head slowly.  [[No.  I am here, in spirit.  During
the battle against the enemy, I bound myself to the Ginzuishou to
preserve it from the enemy's control.  Too closely.  When they killed
me, a part of me stayed behind -- still locked inside.]]

"Inside the Ginzuishou?"  Miyo wrinkled her brow.  "But ... well, where?
Where is it, then?"

[[I don't know,]] the queen said calmly.

"You don't _know_?" flared Itsuko.

[[It is dark where I am ... dark, and cold.  I cannot see where it is.
There is nothing to see.]]  The golden figure paused.  [[I can send my
spirit out, for a little while, but not everywhere.  Only to places
where there is light.]]

"But it's dark here, tonight," Miyo protested.

[[Not that kind of light.  I mean the light of a pure heart crystal.
The light of a starseed.  The light of a Senshi.]]

She looked around the room, her gaze falling on each girl in turn.  Her
voice sharpened suddenly.  [[Now pay attention, all of you.  I have been
watching you for some time, and there are things I must say to each of
you.  So listen --]]

                                  --**--

[[-- Listen,]] she said to Miyo.  [[I have divided us away from the
others for a moment.  None of them can hear what you and I say.]]

Miyo glanced around, and saw that the other girls were frozen in place,
caught like statues in mid-motion.  She was amused at first, but when
she noticed that they were not breathing, either, it became a little
disturbing.  "You've ... stopped time?" she asked.  "How?  I thought
that was one of Setsuna's tricks, and she was forbidden to --"

[[Not quite.  It isn't time that I've frozen, but them.  I can't do it
for long, but it's harmless enough.  They won't even notice that it's
happened.  As for _how_ ... that doesn't really matter.  I've had quite
a while to learn things, that's all.]]  She studied Miyo for a moment
and then suddenly smiled; and with that, her face took on a radiance
that was dazzling.  [[But we're wasting time.  Oh, Mako-chan, I'm so
glad to see you again.]]

Miyo found herself smiling fondly in return.  "Me too, Sere-chan.  Me,
too."  She tossed her head and brushed hair from her eyes, which were
unaccountably moist.  "Can't you stay?  Isn't -- isn't there any way to
bring you back for good?  If we could ..."  She trailed off uncertainly
as she saw the queen shake her head.

[[No.  I'm sorry.  I could send some of you on to a new life, Mako-chan,
but how could I send _myself_?  And even that much went wrong.]]

"It wasn't your fault," said Miyo firmly.  Then: "Are -- did any more of
us make it?  Or am I the only one?"

[[You have already met one other.]]

It took Miyo a few seconds to realise what the queen meant.  Then she
said, "Mamoru."

[[Yes.  Be kind to him, Mako-chan.  He will find it difficult, when his
memories awaken.]]

"Artemis thought it might be kinder not to --"  Miyo broke off.  "No,
that's not an option, is it?  He's becoming Tuxedo Kamen already.  If he
doesn't remember why, he needs to."

[[I'm afraid so.  It will not be easy for him; he will have to make his
own happiness, in this life.  But this isn't what I needed to talk to
you about.]]  Serenity paused, and looked her straight in the eye.  [[I
have to ask, Mako-chan: is it well with you?]]

"I --"  Miyo froze.  "What do you mean?"

[[You know what I mean.  Mako-chan, I'm so sorry!  I tried to send you
on to a better life -- all of you.  But I've seen what's happened to
you, and it seems like I've just made things worse than ever --]]

"Stop that!"  Miyo glared at her.  "Stop that right now, or, spirit or
not, I'll ... I'll give you a good shaking!  This isn't -- how can you
even _think_ it's your fault?"

[[Mako-chan,]] Serenity said.  [[Three lives now ... and you've lost
your family in all three.]]

"That's my father's fault, not yours.  And --"  She hesitated.  "And
it's even my fault, a little.  I knew how he hated lying, and I still
never told him.  He had a right to be angry."

[[You're saying that you're to blame for being disowned?]]

"No!  He was wrong.  He was --"  Miyo shook her head.  "I can't find the
_words_ for how wrong he was.  But I ... I'm not innocent, either."  She
grimaced.  "Maybe it's just my destiny, to be without a family."

[[And yet, whether they have disowned you or not, you have parents ...
and also two brothers and a sister.]]  Serenity's voice in her mind was
very soft.  [[Do you really believe you've lost them all?]]

She froze -- and suddenly she remembered, and the blood drained from her
face.  "Fujimaro," she said.  "And Miliko, too.  I gave Fuji-kun my comm
number -- but Itsuko and I had to move in a hurry, and I never -- oh,
no, he probably thinks I've --"

[[You must do what you think is best,]] the queen said.  [[But don't
give up on them too easily.  Family ties should not be discarded
lightly.]]  She paused.  [[Or other ties,]] she added.  [[Ties between
teammates, for example.]]

Miyo blinked.  "What do you mean?"

[[I see that relations between you and Rei-chan have improved.]]

"... You knew."

[[Not at the time.  Later, when I had ... time to think, I realised the
truth.  I realised many things.]]

"Well, you can stop worrying," Miyo said firmly.  "Rei-chan and I have
talked it out, and we're okay again.  All right?"  She made a wry face.
"Life's too short for grudges.  She might still be immortal -- but I
doubt that I am; not any more.  It's time to make the most of life,
instead of dwelling in the past."  She hesitated, and then added, "Maybe
Hotaru had the right idea, all along."

[[Perhaps,]] said Serenity.  [[It's something I've thought about, now
and then.  And yet, life _is_ precious ...]]  She shook her head, and
her face grew more sombre.  [[Mako-chan ... I'm running out of time.  I
have to go, and this isn't the reunion I wanted.]]  She gave her a sad
smile.  [[Can you forgive me?]]

Miyo returned the smile.  "You have to ask?"

But then her smile faded.  The memories crowded in: joyous days in
Crystal Tokyo; schooldays in Juuban Junior High; being bridesmaids at
each other's weddings.  They were all so close, so easy to touch, as if
they had been only yesterday.  Darker times, too: bloody battle in the
snowy arctic wastes, as they fought to enter Beryl's realm; the
apocalyptic final struggle as the crystites invaded the Crystal Palace;
a dozen others.  But always, light or dark, happy or sad, this woman had
been the focus of her life -- whether her name had been Usagi or
Serenity.  To have to say goodbye again was more than she could bear.

"Will I ever see you again?" she asked in a small voice.

[[I can't answer that,]] Serenity told her.  [[Perhaps.  Yes, perhaps
one more time.  But Mako-chan ... whether we meet again or not, it will
make no difference.  You will always be in my heart.  You will always be
my tall, proud, strong sister.  And I will always love you.

[[That will have to be enough.]]

                                  --**--

[[-- Listen,]] the queen said to Ochiyo.  [[I have divided us away from
the others for a moment.  None of your friends can hear what you and I
say.  Whatever you tell them of what happens is up to you.]]

Ochiyo nodded.  "All right," she said firmly.  And waited.

Serenity chuckled.  [[Always so direct.  You're very different from your
elder sister ... and yet I believe that the two of you would have been
friends.]]

"Princess Usagi?"  Ochiyo paused to think this over.  At last she said,
"What was she like?"

[[Well, I'm not the most objective person to ask,]] the queen admitted.
[[You might be better off asking Makoto-chan or Rei-chan.  She was ... I
don't know what to say.  Chibi-Usa, we called her when she was young, or
Small Lady.  How she hated those names, when she grew up!  She was smart
and she was funny and affectionate.  Very stubborn, very determined,
very headstrong.  And she could be incredibly obnoxious when she wanted
-- though she mostly grew out of that, thank goodness.]]  The mental
voice grew wistful.  [[But oh, how we fought!  Almost constantly, when
we were young, when she visited me in the past.  Perhaps it was because
we were too much alike.  Later, though, when she was older and we could
put that aside ... we became friends.  What was she like?  She was
smarter than me, I think, and stronger-willed; and she was physically
stronger, too -- she got that from her father, I suppose.

[[What was she like?  She was a daughter to be proud of.  That's what
she was like, Ochiyo.]]  Serenity looked thoughtfully down at the girl.
[[Was that what you wanted to hear?]]

"I'm not her," said Ochiyo quietly.

[[No.  You're very different.  Truthfully, I think you take after your
father more than me -- in your looks, and your personality.  That's not
a bad thing; as I recall, I was rather fond of those looks and
personality.]]  A flash of impish smile.  [[Never doubt that we would
have loved you no less than your sister ... had you been born.]]

Ochiyo shook her head.  "I still don't understand that part.  When I
first saw you, you said I'd been reborn in this time.  But how?  You
only had one daughter!"

[[Yes,]] said the queen.  [[But I was pregnant when I died.]]

Her daughter stared at her.  After a little, she said, "Oh."

[[Four months along when the attack began -- you weren't even showing
yet.  Only Ami-chan knew about it; we hadn't told anybody else yet,
because --]]  Serenity hesitated.  [[Well, I'd had some problems.  A
series of miscarriages.  But you were doing fine, and we planned to make
the announcement during my birthday celebrations.  Obviously that never
happened.]]

"So," said Ochiyo slowly, "I wasn't even born yet, and you sent me into
the future --"

[[-- To be born now, at last.  Yes.]]  The queen's voice was very
gentle.  [[I could not save Small Lady.  Should I have let both my
children die?]]

"I have to say, I prefer the alternative."  Ochiyo smiled for an
instant, then grew more thoughtful.  "But it's a lot to take in.  Hey --
what was my name going to be?" she asked suddenly.  "Had you decided?"

[[Not finally.  We were thinking about 'Hikari.']]

"Hmm.  Kind of old-fashioned.  I'm not sure if I like that or not."

[[I'm sure you would have coped,]] Serenity said dryly.  [[Ochiyo, I
know this must seem strange: talking to a stranger who says she's your
mother, when you already have a mother and father -- parents you've
known and loved all your life.  Believe me, I know how that feels!  But
for you it's different.  I at least had a few memories, however vague,
of my past life; but you don't _have_ a past life.  I ... could
understand, if you feel that it's not --]]

"Relevant?" suggested Ochiyo.  Her face was almost expressionless.

[[-- Yes.  I am laying claim to a kinship that, for all intents and
purposes, may not matter to you.  Whether you realise it or not, you may
feel that this is the only life you have ever lived, and that you are
under no obligations to a past that you had no part in.]]

"You sound like you're trying to talk me out of this.  If you're that
worried, maybe you should have mentioned this _before_ you gave me the
brooch!"

The queen was silent.

"Obligations to a past life?  What about _this_ life, then?" Ochiyo
demanded.  Suddenly she was angry with the golden woman.  Kinship be
damned, did the queen really think she was so shallow that she might
just turn her back and walk away?  It was almost insulting.  "You made
me Sailor Moon!  I have the power to fight those -- those crystal
things, and you think _that_ isn't an obligation?  You think I could
walk away from that?  Well, forget it!  You have some pretty strange
ideas, lady!  What the hell kind of queen were you, anyway?"

[[The kind,]] said Serenity, [[who is prouder of her daughter than she
can say.]]

"Oh, I get it.  Some kind of character test."  The girl shook her head,
scowling.  "I always hated that stuff on the viddy, and it isn't much
better in real life."

A ghostly hand brushed her cheek.  There was no physical sensation, but
she felt a strange kind of tingle inside her head.  [[You have
passion,]] Serenity said.  [[That's good.  Cling to it.  And forgive me,
if I'm ... concerned for you.  That is a mother's prerogative, always.]]

"And now we're back to you being my mother again."  Ochiyo looked up at
the ghostly figure and said, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm going to
call you that.  I don't even know if I'm ever going to see you again.
But --"  She paused.  "I don't hate you.  And I'm glad we could talk
again."

[[As am I.]]  Serenity smiled for a moment.  [[Ochiyo, there is one more
thing we must discuss.  Something that ... may affect things.  Or may
not.  I don't know -- but you should be aware of it, at least.]]

"All right," said Ochiyo cautiously.

[[You're aware that, before Crystal Tokyo fell, I bound myself to the
Ginzuishou.  For two months I used it constantly, working to keep the
enemy from controlling it.  My whole spirit -- my _self_ -- was
virtually joined to it.  Making myself a conduit for its power.]]

Ochiyo had not, in fact, been aware of this; she had not heard the story
of the Fall as the others had.  But all she said was, "Okay.  And so?"

[[So, you were in my womb for those two months.  If I was filled with
the power ... you were, too.]]

"... Oh.  _Oh_!"

[[Yes.  I truly don't know what it means.  Whether it might have had any
lasting effect on you or not.  But you may want to bear it in mind ...
along with everything else you've heard today.]]

Again Ochiyo felt that ghostly touch.  [[And now ... farewell, daughter.
Go with my blessings -- and my love.  Always.]]

                                  --**--

[[-- Listen,]] the queen said to Beth.  [[I have divided us away from
the others for a moment.  None of your friends can hear what you and I
say.  Whatever you tell them of what happens is up to you.]]

"Okay," said Beth cautiously.  She glanced around and noticed that the
other girls were inexplicably frozen in place.  It was odd, but no odder
than anything else that had happened tonight.  "Uh ... what did you want
to talk about?"

[[This and that,]] Serenity replied, smiling faintly.  [[McCrea Beth,
you have been a surprise to me.  I don't think I've ever heard of a
Senshi trying to train herself the way you are.]]

"Oh."  Beth thought about it.  "Er, you mean the cat thing?  Because
that was sort of Bendis' idea.  And I've _told_ her that humans just
don't do that sort of thing, but she --"

[[No, not that.  I mean your new reading habits.]]

"Oh," Beth said again, this time with some surprise.  The books were
just something that had seemed like a good idea at the time.  It had
occurred to her a few weeks ago that as a Senshi, she was likely to get
into a wide range of situations where a little inside knowledge might
help; so she had decided to do a little private study.

In practice, since she could only guess what situations might actually
arise, her reading had been rather haphazard.  She had read books on
martial arts.  She had read medical textbooks (and only later realised
that practical first-aid manuals might have been more useful).  She had
read books about psychology and architecture, and books about botany and
code-breaking and book-binding and hydraulic dams and symbolism in
traditional Indian folk-tales.  Some of them had been quite interesting;
some had been completely over her head; and quite a lot of them had been
stupefyingly boring.  So far, though, she was persisting.

"You don't think it's going to help, then?" she asked cautiously.

[[No, I d--  That is --  Actually, I have no idea.]]  The queen gave her
an impish grin.  [[It might be completely useless.  Or, who knows?
Something you read might save your life someday.]]  She chuckled.  [[I
recall a Senshi who once told me that learning something new is always
worthwhile, even if you never use it at all.]]

Beth thought about this.  "That doesn't make any sense," she complained.

[[That's what I said, too, and Ami-chan got quite upset with me.  She
had some funny ideas about books ...]]  Serenity gave a ruminative
pause, then went on, [[I'd say, carry on with it if you want to.  It's
original, at least ... and I think originality might be your strength.]]

"Oh, not me," said Beth.  "Sailor Venus is the original one, not me.  Or
Bendis."  Honesty made her add, "Or maybe Dhiti-chan."

[[Ah?  Well, I won't discuss Dhiti with you,]] the golden woman told
her.  [[That's for you to decide.  As for the other ... hmm.  I have to
thank you for being a friend to Bendis.  I think she's been looking for
a friend like you all her life.]]

The idea was a pleasing one.  "You've met Bendis, then?"

[[I've watched the two of you work together, though she has never seen
me.]]  Serenity sounded a little sad for a moment.  [[But I knew her
grandmother Diana well, and of course her great-grandmother Luna.  Luna
was ... almost like another mother to me.  When I learned how she died
...]]  Another pause.  Then the queen seemed for draw herself up,
forcing a more cheerful expression.  [[But we were talking about
originality.  Yes, Bendis is inventive.  It comes with her age, perhaps!
But don't sell yourself short, Beth.  You have much to offer yourself.]]

Serenity stopped suddenly and frowned, as if she were debating with
herself.  At last she went on, [[That brings me to what I really wanted
to say to you, and I'm afraid it may be a difficult thing for you to
hear.  Beth, a minute ago you said something rather odd.  You told me
that Venus is the original one ... not you.]]

"Oh, but I didn't mean ..."  Beth trailed off.  What _had_ she meant?
It was always so difficult, trying to think about Venus.  She knew the
answer, truly; it was on the tip of her tongue, but --

The queen was watching her with an oddly sympathetic expression.  She
reached out to touch Beth gently on the forehead, leaving only a faint
tingling sensation, and said, [[Have you told the others yet?]]

"Told --?"

[[Have you told them who you are?  Don't you think it's about time they
knew the truth?]]

"But they do know who I am!  I'm -- I'm --"  She faltered: suddenly,
crazily, uncertain.

[[Some of them think that you are Aino Minako reborn.  Or, at least,
that a part of you is.]]

"What?"  Beth stared at her, dumbfounded.  "I don't understand."

[[I think you do.]]

"Is ... is it true?"  Beth was not sure if she wanted to hear the answer
-- or dreaded it.  Either way, she found herself holding her breath as
she waited.

[[That is a very interesting question.  It is not, sadly, one that I can
answer for you.]]  Serenity's eyes were compassionate.  [[I could tell
you to believe in yourself, but that's what you have to learn, isn't it?
Instead, take courage.  The truth may be difficult for you to bear, but
you can do it.]]

Very softly, she added, [[You will find, in the end, that that is where
true heroism begins.]]

                                  --**--

[[-- Listen,]] the queen said to Dhiti.  [[I have divided us away from
the others for a moment.  None of your friends can hear what you and I
say.  Whatever you tell them of what happens is up to you.]]

"Hmm," said Dhiti.  "So I could tell them you said anything at all, and
they'd probably believe me?"

Serenity chuckled.  [[Or perhaps none of them would believe you, even if
you told them the truth!  You do inspire a certain ... scepticism in
others, Sharma Dhiti.]]

The girl grinned back.  "I am good at it, aren't I?" she replied, not
without a certain satisfaction.  "You'd be amazed how often it comes in
useful."

[[Ah?  But useful for what, I wonder?  For keeping others at arm's
length, perhaps?  You do seem reluctant to let others get too close.]]
Serenity gave her a long, level look, her head tilted slightly to one
side.  [[You build a barrier of humour around your heart ...  Are you so
afraid of what might happen, if you let people in?]]

"Wrong."  Dhiti shook her head.  "That's not it at all.  Far too
simplistic, Queenie-chan."  She grinned, not at all perturbed by the
golden woman's words.  "You know, it's funny.  I had almost this same
conversation with Artemis, last week."

[[Oh?  And what conclusion did the two of you reach?]]

"That people are complicated.  There aren't any simple, pat answers."
She shrugged.  "What did you expect?  I know who I am.  It doesn't
bother me."

[[You really think you know who you are?  I wonder.]]

"Oh, now you're just being pointlessly obscure."  Dhiti cocked her head
up at the queen with a smirk.  "I like that.  I'll have to try it, next
time I want to annoy Suzue-chan."

The queen shook her head.  [[You make light of everything.  Why try to
annoy her?  Mightn't it be a better idea to be her friend, instead?  She
needs friends, you know.]]

"But that's what I'm _doing_."

[[Oh?]]

"I --" Dhiti started; but then she broke off.  She was silent for some
time, debating with herself.  At last she said, "All right, then. You
really want to know who I am?  I'll tell you.  I'm the Court Jester,
that's who!  Ready to poke fun at everyone.  The girl nobody takes
seriously.  The one who can do anything, say anything -- even the things
nobody else dares to say."  She looked defiantly up at the queen.  "So,
yeah, I make light of everything.  But also ... I'm the one who gets
Suzue-chan so worked up that she actually breaks down and acts human
once in a while.  I crack jokes at Iku-chan until she forgets to be
scared, and sometimes she even smiles!  And when Hayashi gets too wound
up, I bug her until she _relaxes_ a little."  Her voice had risen as she
spoke, growing more passionate; but then, all at once, she broke off and
sighed.  "It was an honourable calling, once."

It was Serenity's turn to be silent for a little.  [[You take a lot on
yourself,]] she said.

"Oh, well, maybe."  Dhiti grinned suddenly.  "That's who I am today,
anyway."

[[... Eh?]]

"Tomorrow, maybe I'll go back to just being the resident smart-ass.  The
day after that, who knows?  Maybe a lion-tamer."  She gave the golden
woman an impish look.  "Didn't you hear?  I'm as slippery as ice."

[[But -- you're just --]]

"Had you going, though, didn't I?"  She chuckled.  "Come on,
Queenie-chan.  Life's too short to be stuck doing just one thing, and I
want to do _everything_!  Sure, I might try out the Shakespearean clown
thing for a while, but as a profession?  Nahh."

Serenity shook her head.  [[I don't know.  You _are_ slippery.  I think
you meant more of what you said than you want to admit.  And I think ...
I think that ...]]

"Yeeesssss?"

[[I think that I _definitely_ don't want you to call me 'Queenie-chan'
any more.]]

Dhiti burst out laughing.  "Touche!  A very palpable hit."  She winked
slyly.  "I took fencing for a while, you know."  Then she cocked her
head up at the queen and said, "Hey, did you notice that all the others
aren't moving?"

[[I may have had something to do with that.]]  The queen smiled.

"Oh, and here I thought something mysterious was going on.  Pity.
Still, it's a good trick.  Boy, if I could do that, the things I could
get away with!  I don't suppose you could --?"  She saw Serenity's
expression and grinned.  "Didn't think so.  Oh, well, easy come, easy
go.  You know, this whole thing is _such_ a shame."

[[Oh?  Why?]]

"You're a ghost, right?  You can't touch anything?"

[[That's right.]]

Another sigh.  "Otherwise, I'd ask you for your autograph.  It'd be
worth a _fortune_!"

Serenity chuckled, and shook her head.  [[If I could, I'd give it to
you.  Dhiti ... listen for a moment.  You spend your life on dazzle and
flair, always trying to blind everyone with your intelligence --]]  She
paused.  [[Or, no, not your intelligence.  With your cleverness.  It's
not the same thing, is it?]]

"If you say so."  Dhiti frowned.  "What's your point?"

[[You _do_ use it as a shield, whether you admit it or not.  Beware,
Sharma Dhiti.  Someday, you will have to open your heart at last.]]
Serenity gave her a sombre look.  [[Doing so may lead you down some dark
roads.  I wonder, will you have the courage to walk them to the end?]]

Slightly unnerved, Dhiti tried to shrug it off.  "Hey, don't worry.  I
told you; I'm as slippery as --"

[[As ice, yes.]]  The queen nodded.  [[But then, that's always been your
problem, hasn't it?  What happens when you want to _stop_ slipping
away?]]

                                  --**--

[[-- Listen,]] the queen said to Iku.  [[I have divided us away from the
others for a moment.  None of your friends can hear what you and I say.
Whatever you tell them of what happens is up to you.]]

Iku's mouth opened and closed soundlessly.  She hunched herself back,
her eyes lowered and her arms closing around her body, and said in a
tiny voice, "Yes, your majesty."

Queen Serenity studied her for a little, her eyes compassionate.  At
length she shook her head and said, [[There are so many things I'd like
to say to you ... but I'm not sure how much is wise.  I'm not sure, to
be honest, that I've got the right.]]

"I ..."  Iku raised startled eyes to meet the queen's for an instant,
and then flinched away again.  "I don't understand," she whispered.

The queen smiled in reply.  [[Don't worry.  It's not important; not yet.
For now ...  Kodama Iku, I should start by saying how grateful to you I
am.  You don't know how much it means to me, that you've joined the
other girls.]]

The girl's head shot up, so startled that, for a moment, she forgot to
be afraid.  "_Grateful_?" she burst out.  "But -- but I --"

[[Yes.]]  Serenity's voice was grave.  [[For, Iku, you alone, out of all
of them, had a choice.  The others were all born to their roles ... but
you, you could have said no.  And you chose to help them anyway.]]

Iku stared back at her, uncomprehending.  She did not understand this;
none of it made sense.  Chose to help?  Her mind swam.  She had not
helped; she had failed in her attack earlier, just as she always failed.
And the queen was _grateful_?

"You're making fun of me," she whispered.

[[No,]] said Queen Serenity.  [[Never.]]

The sincerity in the queen's voice was unmistakable, and suddenly, it
was just too much.  Something long-buried and almost forgotten, deep
within Iku, boiled up inside her.  "I don't help them!" she cried out.
"I just get in the way.  I ... can't do anything right!  I'm just
worthless ..."  She fell to her knees, her eyes cast down, her voice
shaking.  Hot tears stung her eyes.  In a voice filled with bitter
acceptance, she repeated, "I'm worthless."

She knew it was true.  She had heard it so many times before.

For a moment there was no reply.  Then she heard the queen say, [[It is
hard for you, I know.  That's to be expected.]]

"Why?" she wept.  "Why?"

[[Because you are not truly one of my Senshi.]]

Again, she froze.  The words rang in her years, a hollow thunder that
echoed and re-echoed in her skull.  She felt numb; empty.  This was it:
the blow she had been waiting for for so long; the ultimate rejection.
She had never truly understood why the other girls had wanted her in the
first place, but here, at last, she had the truth.  It had all been a
mistake.  Of course it had.  A voice, all too familiar, rang in her
memory: [Who would ever want _you_?]  And she knew that it was true.

"I'm not," she repeated dully.  And, slowly, she climbed to her feet
once more.  She could bear this, too; she could continue.  What was one
more blow, to her?

[[No,]] Serenity said.  [[Truthfully, I don't know _what_ you really
are.  You must have realised that some power is calling you, some
destiny that you're being summoned to answer.  I don't know what that
might be.  And yet ...]]  She paused, and there was soft amazement in
her voice.  [[And yet, when you offered yourself -- when you picked up
the henshin wand and spoke the transformation phrase -- the Mars Power
accepted you.  _Accepted_ you!  Iku, you were born to be something else,
not Sailor Mars ... but the power responds to you anyway, of its own
free will.  I don't think that's _ever_ happened before.]]

It ... wasn't a rejection?  It was something ... else?

"It doesn't respond to me," Iku said, her voice filled with bitterness.
"No matter how hard I try, it doesn't work."

For the first time, the note of gentle sympathy left the queen's voice.
[[Yes,]] she said sharply.  [[And we both know why that is, don't we?]]

Iku's head snapped up in startled indignation.  "No," she protested.
"No, it isn't _my_ fault!"

[[Isn't it?]] insisted Serenity.  [[Is it so surprising that the power
might be unwilling to serve someone who fears it?]]

"But -- I --"  Iku faltered to a stop.  "You said it accepted me," she
finished weakly.

[[And so it did.  I wonder why?]]  The queen looked thoughtful for a
moment.  [[I wonder if it isn't trying to help you -- to give you a
chance to become what you need to be?]]

"I don't ... know what you mean ..."

[[Hmm.  It doesn't matter for now, I suppose.]]  The golden woman gazed
down at Iku, her face still pensive, and nodded.  [[Iku, we both know
the problems you have.  I can't say that facing them will be easy; it
would be a lie, and we both know that, too.  But I'll tell you this: if
you want help, you are surrounded by people who will do their utmost to
give it.  All you have to do is ask.]]

Iku bit her lip.  [All you have to do is ask ...]  The idea was so
tempting, so seductive; she longed to say yes, to reach out a hand then
and there.  To be wanted ... to be _free_!

Then she thought of what she would have to do -- to open herself up, to
reveal herself like that -- and in an instant, her moment of shining
hope crumbled to ashes.  She could only shrink back in horror from the
idea.  It was more than impossible; it was simply inconceivable.

For a little while there, she had stood tall; she had spoken to the
queen the same way ... well, the same way a proper girl would.  But it
was better to understand the truth; better not to reach for what could
never be.  She knew the truth; she had been told it a thousand times.
Better to just accept it.

"I can't," she said.  "They've got more important things to do.  They
shouldn't have to bother with someone like me ..."

[[As long as you think that, you'll be trapped in your cage,]] Serenity
told her sadly.  [[Did you ever think that perhaps they would _like_ to
bother with you?]]  She shook her head, and sighed.  [[If you will not
ask, things will have to take the other path after all.  It's a darker
road, and it leads to a great deal of sorrow.  But we all make our own
choices; and in the end, there is hope ...]]

"What do you _mean_?" Iku asked desperately.  "How do you know all these
things?  I don't understand!"  The last came out in what was almost a
wail, an infant cry of protest.  And then, very softly at the end: "What
am I?"

[[I know because before I died, I bound myself to the Ginzuishou --
joined myself to the living light.  It's a wonderful way to purify and
clarify your thoughts ... the only downside is that you have to die to
do it.]]  The queen smiled for an instant, then grew serious once more.
[[Since then, I have had a great deal of time to watch the world -- and
think.]]

She paused.  [[Iku ... I don't know what you are.  I'm sorry.  In the
end, when you have become what you must become ... I hope that you will
come back and tell _me_.]]

                                  --**--

[[-- Listen,]] the queen said to Suzue.  [[I have divided us away from
the others for a moment.  None of your friends can hear what you and I
say.  Whatever you tell them of what happens is up to you.]]

Suzue heard the words of the Holy One with awe, joy and not a little
dread.  Her chest was tight, her head swimming, and her knees felt
disturbingly weak.  She struggled for calm.  One should not show fear
before one's goddess.

She knelt, her head lowered.  "Blessed Lady, I am your servant," she
said humbly.  "Command me as you will."

Queen Serenity regarded her with solemn eyes, her face thoughtful and
calm.  At last she said, [[Rise, faithful one.  You need not bow to
me.]]

In fact, Suzue would have preferred to stay kneeling.  It was easier to
control herself that way; also, it de-emphasised the fact that she was
wearing a rather daring night-dress.  But she could not disobey, of
course.  "Your will, Blessed Lady," she said, and rose smoothly.

[[Thank you.]]  The queen studied her for a moment longer.  [[You _are_
faithful, I think -- to your beliefs, and to what your heart tells you.
These are good, worthy attributes.]]

Words of praise from her deity.  Unexpectedly, Suzue felt a prickle of
tears in her eyes.

[[It is a shame,]] Serenity continued, [[that you cannot open your heart
enough to trust your teammates.]]

"What?" Suzue blurted out in surprise, then blanched as she realised how
rude she was being.  "Uh, I'm sorry, Holy One -- ah, I mean -- um.  I'm
sorry.  I don't understand."

[[You are not alone in that.]]  The queen smiled for an instant, then
became serious once more.  [[I mean that you have not trusted them
enough to tell them who you are.  And _what_ you are.]]

"Oh."  Suzue bit her lip.  Of all the things in the world that she
dreaded having to face, this one ranked among the highest.  To have it
brought up by Queen Serenity, of all people ...  She looked away, her
face reddening.  "I --"

[[Are you ashamed?]]

"No!  Of course not.  I'm proud of who I am.  How could I ever be
ashamed of serving you?" she asked, almost pleading.  "It's -- I'm --"

[[Well?]]

"... I'm afraid," she admitted.  "Blessed Lady, you know what most
people think of us.  They call us names; they hit us; they think we're
crazy!  When I tried to tell people at school, years ago, they -- no,
that doesn't matter."  Despite her words, she could not help shivering
at the memory.  "Even now, I can't even talk to my own best friend about
the most important thing in my life!  Not even to my boyfriend --"

[[Hush.]]  The queen held up a hand and Suzue fell silent, breathing a
little hard.  [[I know,]] Serenity continued, [[I know what trials you
face.  I know what it costs you to maintain your beliefs.]]  Her voice
held warmth and sympathy; but even so, there was a note of reproof in it
as she said, [[But Suzue, that does not excuse you, does it?]]

"... No, I suppose not," Suzue admitted.  "I ... I did try to tell
Beth-san, a few days ago, but ... well, that didn't work.  And when I
told Itsuko-san -- I mean, Hino-sama -- she said --"

[[Yes, I know.  Dear Rei-chan.  She has quite a temper, doesn't she?]]
Unexpectedly, the queen chuckled.  [[You should hear some of the names
she used to call _me_.  'Odango-atama' was one of the mildest.]]

Suzue stared at her.  "H-Hino-sama used to ...?"

[[Oh, yes.  She was quite the fireball -- and still is, when she wants
to be.  I used to annoy her deliberately, sometimes, just to see her
explode ... but I'm getting off the topic.  You've made up with her
since then, haven't you?]]

"Yes ... mostly.  We've talked a few times, and I think we've more or
less decided that we can disagree without fighting.  And I think she
_does_ know the truth, really; she just doesn't want to admit it."
Suzue gave the queen a quizzical look.  "Why is that?  She was your
friend; why doesn't she --?"

[[That is for you and she to discuss.  For now, there are other things
you need to consider.]]  The queen paused.  [[Suzue, I am not telling
you that the other Senshi will take your news kindly.  Some of them may
not be troubled by it; others may react badly.  But I _do_ know one
thing: they have stood by you and fought by your side, and they deserve
your trust.  And if you cannot trust them, how can they ever become your
friends?]]

"I ... suppose so."  Suzue was silent for a moment.  "Still, it's hard."

[[Many things are.  That does not make them less important.  Have a
little faith, Itagaki Suzue.  They are worth it.]]

Suzue swallowed.  "All right.  I'll do my best."

[[I know you will.]]  Serenity paused.  [[My advice would be to tell
them soon.  The longer you leave it, the worse it will be.  But it's up
to you, of course.]]

"I will."  Suzue blinked several times rapidly, and then said in a rush,
"Blessed Lady, may I ask?  Why does it all have to be this way?  Why
don't you just ... reveal yourself, and set everything to rights?"

The question seemed to take the queen aback, and she did not reply for
some time.  At last, quietly, she said, [[Because I _must_ not.  Suzue,
the battle against evil should be fought by human hands.  Always.  How
else can people learn, and grow?]]  Serenity shook her head.  [[You
can't just tell people what to think; you can't _make_ them do the right
thing.  That only leads to --]]  She broke off suddenly, and a look of
profound grief passed over her face.  [[That leads to a world full of
disaffected exiles on the planet Nemesis ... and even greater evil later
on, when they want to return home.  At least, that's what happened when
I tried it.]]

"But that wasn't your fault!" protested Suzue.

[[No?  Not all of it, perhaps; but I began it.  Now I know better.
There is no easy solution to evil, Suzue, except to fight it.  That
applies to you and your church, too.  If you value your beliefs, you
need to be prepared to fight for them.]]

Suzue thought about that.  Then she nodded.  "We will," she vowed.  "We
do."

[[Good, then.]]  Serenity looked down on her, smiled, and reached out to
touch her cheek gently, a ghostly touch that left a tingling sensation
in its wake.  [[Yes, I think you will do well.  You remind me of Haruka,
a little.  You both seek absolutes ... and you're both not afraid to do
what you have to do, to find them.  Only beware, my faithful Suzue, of
what that might lead you into.  Remember that the ends never justify the
means -- never.  That's something that I think Haruka couldn't truly
understand.]]

Suzue knelt once more, her eyes never leaving the golden queen's face.
"Yes, your majesty.  I'll try."

The queen smiled back down at her.  [[Then I can ask no more.]]

Suzue smiled in return.

                                  --**--

Itsuko watched, a little bemused at first, as six silent conversations
took place before her, one after another.  It took her a while to notice
that as each girl spoke with Serenity, all the others were frozen in
place.  It was strange, and rather funny, to see.  She wondered how long
it would last; and she wondered why she was not being frozen with the
rest of them.

Then she noticed something else, and her blood began to boil.

By the time the last girl froze back in place and the luminous eyes of
the queen turned to her at last, she was as angry as she'd ever been
with Serenity ... or Usagi.  She barely even noticed as all sound in the
room around her took on a curiously flat, anechoic quality.  She strode
forward to face the queen, and let her rage spill over.

"You didn't tell her, did you?" she demanded.

[[Rei-chan,]] said Serenity.

"Don't call me that, damn you!  Don't you try to soothe me!  Just answer
the question.  Look at her!  You talked to her and she's all smiling,
happy.  She called you her goddess and _you didn't deny it, did you_?"

[[No, Rei-chan.  I didn't.]]

The plain, unvarnished answer almost brought Itsuko to a stop.  There
was none of the evasiveness or guilt that she had expected; just a
simple agreement.  As if ... Serenity had expected this confrontation.

"_Why_?" she hissed.

[[I'm sorry, Rei-chan; I know you don't approve.  But there were many
reasons.  Perhaps the biggest is that I am not certain that she would
have believed me.]]

Itsuko stared.  "... What?" she said stupidly.  Then her eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?  You're her fucking goddess and you think
she wouldn't _believe_ you?"

[[She didn't believe _you_,]] the queen pointed out.  [[Rei-chan, Suzue
is an intelligent girl who has been brought up in a very unpopular
belief system.  She has gone through a great deal of hardship for her
beliefs -- more than you may know.  She has certainly thought about
whether those beliefs might be wrong, many times.  This isn't just
something she's been taught; it's a faith she has _chosen_ to keep.  I'd
have thought you would understand the strength of that.]]  She hesitated
and added, [[Suppose a Jew encountered a burning bush that spoke to him
and told him that everything he believed was wrong, and he should go and
become a Buddhist instead.  Do you think he'd believe it?  Or would he
think it was a trick?]]

"Well of course he --"  Itsuko broke off.  "Damn it, it's not the same!"

[[Isn't it?]]  Serenity smiled.  [[As you wish.  Let me suggest another
reason, then.  Supposing I did convince her that she was wrong.  How do
you think she would feel?]]

"I don't _care_," Itsuko muttered sullenly.  "Oh ... she'd be upset, I
suppose.  Angry, maybe."

[[Betrayed, I think, might be closer.  Rei-chan, what would she do?]]
The queen paused for a moment, but then went on before Itsuko could
answer.  [[Do you think she could go on being a Senshi?  Continue
working with a group who were a living reminder of the mockery her life
has been?  Could she really do that?  Or would she leave?]]

"I ... don't know," Itsuko admitted.  She bit her lip.  "She ... might
stay.  She knows how important this is."

[[Yes.  She might.  But I think it would poison her, even so.  Whether
she could overcome that ... I don't know.  It's a hard thing to ask.]]

The queen fell silent, her eyes on Itsuko calm and unyielding.  Itsuko
tried to glare back, but in the end she found that she could not.  She
looked away, grimacing, and sighed.  "Is that all?" she grumbled.

[[Not quite.  It's just a feeling I have, Rei-chan ... that somehow, for
some reason, in the time to come she is going to _need_ her faith.  Why,
or how, I don't know.  I can't see the future.  But I believe that
things happen for a reason ... and that means there's a reason that
Suzue is who, and what, she is.  And who am I to meddle with that?]]

Itsuko shook her head.  "But she _worships_ you, Usagi-chan.  She thinks
you're a goddess!  How can that be right?  How can you _stand_ it?"

[[By realising that what she and her church are doing has no effect on
_me_ at all.  It affects only them ... and the effect is not altogether
a bad one.  Genuine faith seldom is.]]

"That's not --"

[[And by looking at what _else_ Suzue is... and seeing that, regardless
of what she believes, she is not unworthy.]]  Serenity gave her a
crooked smile.  [[She _is_ an intelligent girl, Rei-chan.  She's been
thrust into the middle of a great adventure that's a direct extension of
everything she believes in, and she's surrounded by people who are the
stuff of her legends.  What do _you_ think is going to happen?  I think
that, in the end, she'll understand the truth.]]

"When ..."  Itsuko gave her a quizzical look.  "This isn't you.  When
did you become such a deep thinker?"

Serenity laughed.  [[I've had a long, long time, with nothing else to do
but think.  No TV to watch ... no manga to read ...]]  She winked.

"Oh, you."  But Itsuko found herself smiling back.  "So what _did_ you
tell her, then?"

[[I gave her ... what she was able to accept.  Let it rest there,
Rei-chan.  If you want more, ask her yourself.  For now, there are other
things we need to discuss.]]

Serenity paused, and gave Itsuko an unexpectedly piercing look.  At the
same time, almost imperceptibly, something seemed to change in the room
about them.  But Itsuko had no time to try to analyse it, for the queen
went on at once.  [[It's nearly time for me to leave, Rei-chan.]]

"What?  But --"

Itsuko broke off in dismay.  For all her sardonic comments about how
deep the queen had become, still this short time had been like the old
days all over again: arguing, laughing, making up -- rediscovering the
joy of each other's company.  And it was nearly _over_?

She groped for words, but nothing came.  "No," she said.  "You can't
go!"

[[I can't stay.  Appearing for this long has been difficult, and I won't
have the energy to do it again for a long time.  But even apart from
that ... sooner or later, I have to go.  You know that.]]

"But I --"  Something was happening inside her.  A soft, insistent pain
in her chest; a lump in her throat.  Her breath, quickening.  The room,
the entire world seemed to be rushing away from her.  All that was left
was Serenity.  Golden hair and odango.  Golden crescent moon on her
forehead.  And the smile, the warm golden smile that had warmed her,
filled her life for centuries.

"No!  You can't leave again _now_!  Not so soon!  Not when --"  Her
voice cracked.  "Not when I haven't said -- said --"

[[Yes?]]

"I --"

[[Just say it, Rei-chan.  Just say it.]]

"Oh, gods," she whispered.  "Don't go, Usagi-chan.  I need you.  I --"
Almost, she could not continue -- but then she looked up, into the eyes
of the queen ... and at last, after so long, she finally managed to say
the words.  "I love you."

[[Oh, Rei-chan.  Dearest Rei.  That was so hard for you, wasn't it?]]
Serenity took a step forward, reached a hand up to touch Itsuko's
forehead.  Itsuko felt nothing; but suddenly her legs would not support
her and she fell to her knees.  Dimly, she realised that she was crying.

[[Rei-chan ... don't you think it's about time you grew up?]]

Itsuko did not understand at once.  Then the words sunk in, and hit her
as if she had been slapped on the cheek.  Her head snapped up in shock.

"... What?"

[[I'm dead, Rei-chan; I've been dead for seven hundred years.  And all
this time, you've been pining for me?]]  The warmth in Serenity's eyes
had disappeared; in its place was a deep, pitying sadness.  [[Waiting
patiently, clinging to a few precious remnants of the past, and hoping
I'd find a way to come back and make it all better.  'Keeping faith' --
is that what you called it?  For seven hundred and twenty-two years?]]
She shook her head.  [[How can you do that to yourself?  It's
grotesque!]]

"But --"

[[Meanwhile, you cut yourself off from the world.  Always moving on,
always hiding, never letting anybody get close to you because your eyes
are fixed so firmly on the past that you haven't got any time for the
future at all.  No wonder you stopped seeing visions for so long!  I'm
surprised the sacred fire didn't reject you completely.]]

"No," Itsuko protested feebly.  "It's not like that!"

[[Then what is it like?]] the queen insisted.  [[Tell me, Rei-chan; tell
me what you've been doing with your life.  Tell me your plans.  Your
hopes.  Your dreams.  You used to have big dreams, Rei-chan; do you
remember?  Of helping people, at your temple.  Of being a singer.
Instead you hide yourself away in this ... this gymnasium of yours; you
run the occasional aerobics class and try to pretend you're happy.  Is
that what you wanted, when you were young?]]

That was too much.  "Of _course_ it isn't!" Itsuko exploded.  "Damn it,
_you_ know what happened!  I lost the temple and everything else when I
became your Senshi.  You -- you took them all away, all my dreams ...
you didn't leave me _room_ for anything else!"

[[Nothing except your precious fire; you held onto that.  I even helped,
a little, because I thought it would make you happy.  But that's over
now, isn't it?  You're not a Senshi any longer.  You're free now; you
have been for centuries, free again to follow any dream you choose.  So
what have you done, Rei-chan?  What dreams have you followed?]]

Itsuko closed her eyes.  Her anger had already faded, replaced by a
deep, centuries-old weariness.  "_This_ dream," she said sadly.  "The
dream that it might all start again; that the enemy might return, and
the Senshi come back to fight him ... and that I might be able to help
somehow.  And that someday I might even see your face again."

Slowly, a little heat came back into her words.  "And yes, I call that
'keeping faith' ... and am I so wrong?"

[[But is it enough for you?]]

"What?"

[[Is it enough to satisfy you?  To fulfil your life?  Rei-chan, is it
enough to make you happy?]]

Again, Itsuko did not reply.  She could not.  The moment stretched on
and on; she struggled with herself, trying to find an answer -- any
answer, anything to fill the silence and the yawning void that seemed to
have opened up inside her.  The pain was back, worse than ever.  At
last, almost inaudibly, she whispered, "No."

[[Then what is it you do want?]]

"I ..."  She felt as if she were suffocating.  Her breath was coming in
short gasps.  "I want ..."

And then, with a burst of grief, she had it.  "I just want to be with
you again.  Oh, gods, Usagi-chan, I've missed you so much!  And it's
been so long, and -- and I'm so tired of living, and I don't want to be
alone any more ..."

And she fell to the floor at the queen's feet, and wept.

Serenity watched her for a time.  Then, slowly, she bent down until she
was kneeling, her face at the same level as Itsuko's.  Very, very
softly, she said, [[I can't come back, Rei-chan.  I'm sorry.  It's just
not possible.]]  And then: [[But you can be with me again if you want.]]

Itsuko looked up with sudden, incredulous hope.  "How?"

[[I think you know how.]]

She gazed into the queen's face for a moment that seemed to last
forever.  Then she said, "What do I have to do?"

Serenity held out a hand, palm-up.  [[Just reach out and take my hand,]]
she said gently.  [[Your immortality will be over, and you will join me
here in the heart of the Ginzuishou.]]

"... Forever?"

[[For as long as we have.]]

Itsuko hesitated.  "And -- and what will happen to the others?
Mako-chan?  The other Senshi?"

[[That won't be your concern any more.  They will have to do without
you.]]

She squeezed her eyes shut.  A few last tears ran down her cheek.  Her
fists were clenched on her knees.  Patiently, the queen waited for her
to answer; the outstretched hand never wavered.

Sadly, she said, "I can't do it, can I?"

[[Oh?]]

"I can't leave them.  I can't just ... walk away."  She tried to smile
up at Serenity.  "Oh, I know they don't really need me.  It's their
world now and I shouldn't begrudge them that.  But I still ... I still
think I can do something.  I might be able to help.  And --"  She shook
her head, her mouth twisting in bitter resignation.  "I've come this
far.  I'd ... kind of like to see it through."

The queen smiled back, and with one flowing motion she stood once more.
Itsuko followed her.  [[Rei-chan -- I'm so proud of you,]] Serenity
said.  [[Promise me, then.  Promise me that you won't keep shutting
yourself away.  When all this is over, move on.  Grow.  Start to live
your life again.  Look ahead of you, instead of behind.  Will you?]]

"I'll try," Itsuko promised, and sniffed.  Her nose was running, for
some reason.

[[All right.]]  The golden queen regarded her with affection ... and
evident approval.  [[Then there are only two things left for me to
say,]] she told her.  [[The first is 'good-bye.'  We may meet again,
once, before this is all over, but I don't think we'll have a chance to
talk.  Good-bye, my precious Rei-chan; be well, and be happy.]]

Itsuko nodded.  "I love you," she said quietly.

[[I love you, too.  You've always known that, haven't you?]]

"... Yes.  Yes."

[[Good.  And ... when you see Mamo-chan again, give him a message from
me.  Please?  It would be best, coming from you.]]  Serenity smiled
fondly.  [[Tell him I love him ... and that he should move on.  We'll be
together again in the end -- and I can wait.]]

"Mam-- Wait, you're saying that Tux--?"

[[Hush.  The second thing I have to tell you, Rei-chan ... is your
punishment.  For selfishness.  For shutting the world out, and hiding
from yourself for all these years.]]

Itsuko's eyes widened.  "Uh -- now wait a minute --" she began, but the
queen continued remorselessly.

[[You remember that while I spoke to each of the girls, the rest were
frozen?  Well, your punishment is this: I unfroze them all several
minutes ago.  They've heard everything you and I have said since then.]]

"-- WHAT?!"

[[Good-bye, Rei-chan.  Good-bye, Mako-chan.  And all of you.  I love you
all; remember