[FFML] [SM] Sovereign of the Spirit: Chapter 3

[Bastion]

Okay folks, I hope you like this.  This one might be the best chapter,
content-wise, I've written to date (which unfortunately, isn't saying
much ^^;;;).

Previous chapters and fanart can be found here:
http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/133054/
Or
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1264475/1/Sovereign_of_the_Spirit

Further fanart can be found on Setsu-P's Deviant Art site:
http://sailor-p.deviantart.com/
She likes it when you comment on her work.  I recommend doing so,
she's a pretty good artist.

Anyway this is a raw, (I repeat RAW) version of this chapter and
probably wrought with minor mistakes.  Feel free to pick them out and
such, it would be much appreciated.  Final revisions will be posted on
Mediaminer and Fanfiction.net later.

Enjoy and review!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sovereign of the Spirit

Written by Bastion
Original character design by Setsu-P
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 3:  A Test of Will, an Acceptance of Memory, and a Rejection of Heart
-----------------------------------------------------------------

The destruction was massive.  In all her battle tested years, Haruka
could only remember the catastrophic collapse of the Mugen Academy
being more complete and deadly.

"How many did you find?"  Haruka jerked her head up towards her team 
mate.

Haruka examined the smoldering ground once again with calm
detachment.  "Four or five by my count."

Michiru landed gracefully next to her.  "About ten scattered around
the grounds."

The blond woman pursed her lips.  "That's less than last few."

Her green-haired companion nodded absently as she surveyed the
damage.  "Fortunately."

Closing her eyes, Haruka found it difficult to ignore the death and
destruction around her.  It was obvious to her that this could only be
the work of a Senshi.  No one else could lay waste to an entire shrine
grounds so quickly.  Pluto had warned them they were dealing with a
powerful fire Senshi, but she hadn't expected something so malevolent.

Once again, Haruka observed the burnt corpses partially concealed
beneath the ashes of what was once the shrine.  Who were they?  Were
they priests or priestesses tending to the shrine?  Were they visitors
praying for good fortune and long lives?  Before they were just
casualties but now they were people who had their lives cruelly
snatched away from them.

It made Haruka reflect back on her life before they had met Usagi.
Back then they worked with a single purpose of eliminating demons, no
matter who got in their way.  Whether or not those demons had taken
possession of a person the circumstance didn't matter.  The ends
justified the means; that was their credo.  It hadn't been until they
had betrayed Usagi during their battle with Sailor Galaxia that she
had reconsidered that particular credo. Now those they had sacrificed
for the greater good rested heavily on her soul.

"So this is what happens when a Senshi loses her way?"  Haruka intoned
somberly.

"Haruka?"

Sighing, Haruka turned her head slightly to see the worry on her
lover's face but found little comfort in it.  "Michiru, what if it was
us?  What if we hadn't gained control of ourselves back then?  Would
we have gone on a rampage like this?"

"Haruka."  Michiru barked.  Haruka winced, Michiru rarely did that.
"What's done is done.  We can't regret what's happened in the past.
We have a mission and if we don't complete it, more innocent people
are going to die."

Facing Michiru, Haruka stared into her hardened dark emerald eyes.
Feeding off their resolve, Haruka ruffled her short blonde hair,
feeling a little embarrassed at the reprimand.  In response, Michiru
smiled warmly and gently caressed her cheek briefly before her
allowing her serious demeanor to return.

A smile flickered across Haruka's features.  Michiru was such a
kind-hearted soul.  But with a sigh, the blonde woman let reality
intrude upon their little interlude.

"We've been lucky so far that the casualties haven't been high, but
I'm worried she's going to target a park or an office building or a
school."

Michiru nodded.  "I agree, but there doesn't appear to be an obvious
pattern and she strikes so quickly that she's gone when we arrive."

Haruka pursed her lips and a chill ran down her spine.  "Except that
she's focusing on Shinto shrines."

Michiru's eyes lit up and her concerned gaze met Haruka's.  "Has she
struck any shrines in Juuban?"

"Not yet."

"Do you think she's searching for Mars?"

"It's a possibility.  Pluto said that she's a Senshi of fire.  It
might be her mission to eliminate her doppelganger."

"I think it's time we pay Rei a visit."

"Yes, let's."

-------------------------------

'What are those fools doing?'  Yuki's hard gaze peered over the book
she'd been skimming.

Looking over to a rack filled with thin glossy books, Yuki observed
her two… compatriots, Zeus and Aphrodite.  The taller one, Zeus, was
standing stoic to one side, hovering protectively over her much more
attractive and curvaceous partner, Aphrodite.  Yuki knew that
Aphrodite was up to mischief again just by that strange glint in her
fiery orange eyes.  Throughout her life, Yuki had very few regrets
(like the times she'd irrevocably damaged some of her more 'delicate'
experiments) but now she was beginning to regret coming to this
bookstore.

Suddenly, like a lioness pouncing on an elk, Aphrodite captured
Yuki's gaze and gave her a smoldering and sultry look.  Immediately, a
rush of heat filled Yuki and her heart beat faster.  The book nearly
fell out her shivering hands.  She grew flush all over and her knees
began to buckle.  The unexpected flood of erotic emotions were almost
too much for her and she threatened to fall like a heap of sexually
charged goo willing to be taken by any one who felt fortuitist.

'St-stop it, Aphrodite!'  Yuki implored mentally, teetering on the
brink of no return.

A small beguiling smirk formed on the redhead's face, making her look
even more appealing.  'I would reframe from calling us fools in the
future or at least think more quietly else next time I'll have you
orgasm so hard you'll burst an artery, my dear Herm.'

With that, Aphrodite broke eye contact and immediately the sensation
disappeared as quickly as it came.  The reddish tint on her skin faded
to its original pale grayish color.  Adjusting herself and clearing
her face of a few annoying strands of white hair, Yuki's features
hardened back to their detached and aloof familiarity.  Finally, she
fixed her glasses upon her nose using her middle finger with
purposeful meaning.

Zeus barely even acknowledged the exchange, her eyes scanning the
store alerted to any potential threats.  Nonplussed, Aphrodite just
skipped off towards a girl that looked like animals had nested in her
hair.

Narrowing her eyes, Yuki closed the book on particle fission
disappointed, but not surprised, this world's technology was slightly
less infantile than Canyon's Edge.  Off to the side, she could
overhear Aphrodite engage that mousy girl.

"Why hello there."  The redhead purred.

"Uh, hello."  The girl meekly replied.

"What's your name?"

"Yo-yomiko."  She stuttered.  The nervous twit must be shivering, what
a weak minded fool.

Yuki frowned.  Aphrodite could have this effect on people with
something as simple as her voice.  It infuriated Yuki that she
couldn't crack open that skull of hers to see what made that
fascinating brain of hers tick.  It wasn't that she couldn't, oh no.
Her eyes darted to the looming, muscular frame of Zeus.  There would
be consequences if she even attempted to harm a hair on Aphrodite's
body.

"Sachiko."

Aphrodite twirled around from the mousy girl and gave Yuki the most
radiant smile she could.  It was so sweet it almost made Yuki visibly
ill.

"We're done here, Sachiko."  Yuki stated.

Aphrodite pouted.  "Ah, you mean we're leaving already?  Just as my
friend Yomiko and I were just warming up to these dusty old books.
Weren't we, Yummy?"

The girl's heavy blush was obvious under her large, thick-rimmed
glasses and it spread down her neck all the way down to the high
collar of her dress shirt.  She looked downward as she hugged a thick
volume closer to the brown vest that covered her chest.  "Uh, yes."

"Oh she's so shy!"  Aphrodite jumped behind the girl, pinching a
cheek.  "It's so cute!"

Yuki stifled a sigh at the redhead's antics.  They really didn't need
to be drawing attention to themselves.

Aphrodite smirked as her hands roamed.  "And she's got some of the
biggest boobies I've ever seen!  They don't grow them like that in
Canyon's Edge!"  She exclaimed lewdly juggling the masses under the
girl's vest.  The girl, oddly unperturbed at the molestation, moaned.

She continued her machinations a little while longer and added.
"Plus, you'll like this Herm, Yumiko *loves* books!  Don't you Yummy!"

"Yes I do."  The once shy Yomiko unabashedly groaned.  "I love books!"

As the pair continued their little show, Yuki chose to ignore them
and instead eyed the racks beside Zeus and almost immediately zeroed
on a headline printed across one of the loose stack of papers.

'Shrine Arsonist still at large,' read the bold-faced type.  Leaning
slightly, Yuki examined the smaller text below.  'Police and residents
are worried as a string of arsons at shrines across the immediate
Tokyo area.  It is inconclusive whether the incidents are related but
residents are weary.'

'Fascinating.'  Yuki continued to scan the column of text.

Straightening up, the white-haired woman pushed her glasses back up
her nose and brushed back that annoying thread of hair.  Moving past
Aphrodite and the small crowd of male onlookers, Yuki made her way to
the exit.

As she reached the door, Yuki glanced back towards Aphrodite and Zeus.

'You two continue the search for the Sovereign of the Spirit.'  Yuki
broadcasted mentally.  'I have some… investigating to do.'

-------------------------------


"Man, Isisu are you alright?"  Ken asked as he and his tall,
light-haired number-one model (well Miss Meiou only trusted him with
one) walked towards the shrine.

"Oh yes."  The woman replied quietly and looked away.

Ken blinked; was she blushing?  Nah.

"You're not sick or anything?  I mean we can reschedule this shoot for
another day."

In truth, he prayed she wasn't sick because he was sure his editor,
Ichigo, would have his head.  Then again, the woman looked like a
wreck.  Her eyes typically clear and resolute, appeared cloudy and
confused, scared even.  It was the most emotion she'd ever shown in
all the years he'd known her and it kind of freaked him out.

As if she'd offended him, Isisu hopped back, waving her arms.  "Oh,
no!  I mean, you went through a lot of trouble to set up the location
and getting the photographer, oh, and getting the clothes.  I wouldn't
want to cause any of those hard working people problems just because
I'm not feeling like myself.  Hehehehe."

Ken raised an eyebrow.  Did Isisu just giggle?  Now he truly was 100%
freaked out.

"Are you *sure* you're alright?"

At that moment, Ken locked eyes with Isisu and he thought he saw
something flash across them, like she recognized something.  Before he
had a chance to interpret what it meant, Isisu turned away.

"Uh, I'm just nervous."  She said shyly, another blush surfacing on
her tan skin.  "I'll be fine, really."

Thoroughly confused, but pressed for time, Ken decided not to pursue
the issue further.

"If you say so."  Ken sighed wearily as they continued their journey
to the shrine.

When they arrived, the shrine was crawling with crew members running
about following the orders of the photographer.  Bypassing the madness
and chaos, Ken easily picked out Rei and her grandfather dressed in
their ceremonial robes.

"Hihi!"  Ken waved to the pair.  The priest waved back, looking very
happy at all the excitement going on around him while his
granddaughter, though she did smile tightly, didn't appear as
enthusiastic.

Remembering how explosive the girl's temper was, Ken turned to the
priest and bowed deeply.  "Thank you very much for allowing us to use
your shrine for our photoshoot at the last minute.  It means a lot to
us and the magazine."

The short merry old man and offered a wry smile.  "Oh it's nothing at
all!  Sometimes peace is nice but every once in awhile a little
excitement helps break the mood.  It's like I always say, if not for
the distractions in life there would be no need for meditation and
without meditation how can one reach nirvana!"

"That would explain why you keep falling asleep during meditations."
Ken heard the raven-haired girl mumble but then immediately added
sweetly, (well maybe a little too sweetly for his tastes), "and I
especially want to thank you for talking my grandfather into doing
this."

A predatory glint appeared in the priestess' eyes and Ken recoiled
slightly.  "Of course, I was totally, completely, and vehemently
against the idea at first but since Grandpa is the priest in charge
here, what else could I say?"

"Ah."  Was all Ken could manage and he couldn't help but notice that
her nails were tensed.

Boy did those sharp talons looked like they might hurt.

Bowing and backing away, Ken stammered urgently.  "Ah! I won't waste
any more of your time!  I need to attend to my model and see where the
photographer is!  Again thank you very much!  Now if you will excuse
me!"

Ken gave one last fleeting glance back at the priest and his
granddaughter, just to make sure no talons were descending upon him,
and wandered the shrine grounds for his illusive photographer.  The
search proved difficult mostly because he and Isisu had arrived after
the rest of the crew.  Currently said crew was busy scurrying about
trying to set up lighting and prepping certain areas.  And they also
were too busy to take notice of Ken.

"Uh, excuse me."  Ken started as a young man carrying a pair of large
reflexive panels walked by mechanically.

"I'm sorry ma'am."  Ken trailed off as a nervous girl ran by clutching
some folders to her chest.

Ken sighed, slumping, his large dress shirt billowing out. Resuming
his search, Ken made his way to a young man seated near one of the
prepped areas laying something out on a blanket.  He appeared in deep
contemplation.

He hesitated as he took note of the black interlacing tattoos on his
upper arms and neck.  The jagged pattern appeared to criss-cross his
arms and snaked around his neck.  The pattern continued up to his
forehead along a scalp of bright red hair that had been pulled tightly
back.  The red hair had been put into a bun allowing ruffles of red
spikes to fan out behind his head.  Overall, the young man looked a
little out of place among the crew, most of whom did not have any
visible tattoos much less large intricate and loud ones like this
young man's.

Unfortunately, he was also the only person not busy rushing about.
Having little choice, Ken, with great trepidation stood over the
tattooed man and cleared his throat.

The man slapped his hands on his crossed legs and glared up.  Ken
fought the urge to make flight and smiled weakly.

"Uh, I'm sorry.  My name is Ken Ishida."  Sometimes telling people
his
name helped.  He hoped it would help him this time.  "I'm looking for
a man named Renji.  He's the photographer on this shoot and I can't
find him anywhere."

The tattooed man frowned.  "I AM the photographer, you moron!  I'm Renji!"

Ken just stared at him.

His red spiky locks bristled.  "I was the apprentice of the famed Saki
Itabashi."

Ken wanted to raise an eyebrow at the man but the name did ring a
bell.  "Oh, yeah, Isisu worked with her some days back."

"Such disrespect."  Renji grumbled, collecting his equipment from the
blanket.  "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to touch base with you."  Ken put on his best
professional smile and got right down to business.  "Your model for
this shoot is a woman named Isisu Saito."

Renji rubbed his chin.  "The leggy number that strolled in here a few
minutes ago?  Yeah I already met her.  I had her change into her first
outfit a while ago."

"Ah."  Ken pursed his lips.  "I have been given explicit instructions
by Miss Meiou herself that she is to be treated with upmost respect."

Renji made a face.  "Who's Meiou?"

"Setsuna Meiou."  Ken said, aghast.  "She owns the magazine."

"Whatever."  Renji stood, raising a hand.  "I don't care who 
she is.
All I care about is getting the shoot done, collecting my paycheck,
and getting home in time for my hot date tonight."

At that Renji wiggled his eyebrows which had an interesting affect on
the tattoos along the top of his forehead.

Feeling slightly offended (and admittedly a little jealous) Ken made a
sour expression.  "Mr. Renji, with all due respect please behave.
We're all professionals here and representatives of the Meiou
Corporation.  Please reframe from making any more lewd comments."

"Whatever, dude."  The redhead snorted as he adjusted the lens on his
camera.  "Anyway, your leggy number is ready."

Ken looked up and saw Isisu approach, self-consciously tugging on the
clothes that hugged her slim body.  He couldn't understand it, why was
she so nervous?  She'd done this many times before in skimpier outfits
than this without blinking an eye.

"Is there something wrong, Isisu?"  Ken whispered into her ear.

"No!"  Isisu squeaked, backing away like he was on fire or something.
"I'm, uh, I'm kinda nervous is all."

Giving her his most reassuring smile, one that he felt he didn't use
often enough; Ken tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder.  He
cringed when she flinched.  Deciding discretion was the better part of
valor, Ken gave her some space and tried to suppress the urge to fawn
over her when she looked up at him doe-eyed.

"Don't worry," he soothed, "You'll do fine.  Just relax and
follow Mr.
Renji's directions and everything will be just peachy!"

"God you sound so gay."  Ken frowned and narrowed his eyes at the
photographer's comment.

Gritting his teeth, Ken counted to ten and then exhaled very, very
deeply.  "Anyway, Isisu, don't be nervous.  I'll be here and I'll
make
sure nothing bad happens to you, okay?"

Like a small child prior to her first piano recital, Isisu let what he
had said soak in and then a small tentative smile formed on her lips.
The breath hitched in Ken's throat when she did and for a moment he
thought the world had stopped on its axis sending everything on its
surface propelling into space.  Awed seemed like such a terribly
inadequate word at the moment.

Now a blush rose on Ken's cheeks and he made a hasty exit.  "Ahem,
well, uh, good luck, Isisu."

Isisu's smile grew and she happily nodded.  Ken staggered away to
vanish behind the scenes, his knees suddenly as sturdy as tapioca
balls.

Once all of the people were in place, the shoot began in earnest.  Ken
watched with interest from afar.  Things were going smoothly until
Renji began barking orders to Isisu when her poses were not to his
liking.  Then it went downhill from there.  Already jittery, the
increasing frustration of the photographer made Isisu even stiffer and
the distress was evident on her face.

"Argh!"  Renji roared after yet another ruined picture.  "You've
got
to be the worst model ever!"

Seeing his charge cower as the red-head stomped about ranting and
cursing at her, prompted Ken to take action.

"Mr. Renji!"  Ken spoke with the loudest, meanest voice he could.

The glowering photographer pinned him with a withering stare.  "What?!"

A chill of fear ran up Ken's spine; however he would soldier on, for
Isisu's sake!  "I, uh, already told you that you are to be
professional with Isisu!"

"I would be *if* she was a professional!"  Renji bellowed, the veins
in his forehead doing weird things to his tattoos.  "There are
amateurs more qualified than her!  She might have a nice face, great
legs, and a fine ass, but she is not model material!"

Ken firmed his lips and narrowed his eyes once again.  "You good sir
have gone over the line!  You will apologize to Isisu!"

"The hell I will!"

"Then you leave me with little choice!"

"What are you going to do?  Sic 'Miss Meiou's death brigade on me!?"

Suddenly an explosion brought their argument to an abrupt halt.

"That didn't sound good."  Ken gulped.

---------------------------------------

Rei could have gone without all the excitement around the shrine.
She was already on edge from the meeting Luna had called a few days
ago about being on guard because 'something was going to happen' as
she put it vaguely.  Of course when pressed for more details, the
little talking black cat wouldn't breath another word saying that she
needed to confirm a few things first before telling them everything
she knew.

On top of that, there were those attacks on the shrines had her
pretty nervous.  Though she was a seasoned Sailor Senshi and she was
pretty sure she could fend off an assault of a small battalion by
herself, Luna's warning made her wonder about the nature of these
attacks.  Had another great evil found its way here?  Did one of their
past enemies returned?

Doing fire readings did her little good and offered no clues as to
what was going on.  It was like the spirits were hesitant to give her
answers.  She never had experienced that before.  What would make the
spirits from behind afraid?

Of course, what had raised her hackles the most was the daily visits
from Michiru and the blonde heartbreaker, Haruka.  That blonde woman
always knew which buttons to push on her and did it with that flirty
smirk of hers.  God, it was a good thing Yuuichirou had gone out of
town to visit with relatives this week or she wouldn't have heard the
end of it.  Sometimes she wondered if Haruka did that just to see her
squirm.  Aside from that though, it bothered her that they always had
some reason to drop by the shrine.  They never had before unless for
official Senshi business and it was another thing that made her
cautious.

Thus, her grandfather's timing couldn't have been any worse than
allowing that worm, Ken Ishida, to do a photoshoot on the shrine
grounds.  Now the place was an utter madhouse as people were running
about wildly asking Grandpa about what was where and where was what.

And that Ishida had the audacity to apologize with that fake, flighty
smile of his after pulling rank on her by convincing Grandpa to
consent to this.  She had been particularly proud of herself for not
clawing out his eyes.

So with all the activity going on at the shrine, Rei just wanted to
get away and collect her thoughts.  Something major was going down and
she needed to get to the bottom of it.

As Rei made her way back to the shrine, she caught the tall woman
staring at her.  The way she was looking at her made her feel uneasy,
like she was being evaluated or something.  The woman didn't seem at
all hostile, however that look made her feel like there was a judgment
being made against her.

Knowing that if she lingered around, she wouldn't be able to bite her
tongue around the woman, who she discovered was named Isisu, Rei
decided to attempt to her chores and maybe do another fire reading.
She was about to settle down in front of the sacred fire when her
senses went wild and then an explosion shook the wooden structure.

Rei immediately jumped into action and bounded out onto the grounds,
her henshin stick in hand.  Years of experience had taught her that
when she heard things like explosions or screaming people, it usually
meant it was a job for the Sailor Senshi.

 "Mars Crystal Power, Make Up!"

The priestess didn't stay still this time as rings of fire wrapped
around her body to form her Senshi uniform.  She had been fortunate no
one was around the shrine building or else she would have given them
quite a show.  Of course it would have been the last thing they'd ever
see before she'd incinerate them.

As the last rings of flames dispersed to reveal her completed
uniform, Rei wasted no time taking one large leap after another.  A
fog of black smoke quickly enveloped her and it made her eyes water
and nose itch.  Not far ahead, she could some of the people from the
photoshoot trapped by the raging fire.  It appeared that two people
were trying to drag a third unconscious person to safety.

"Sailor Mars!"  Despite the dire situation, Rei had to control
herself from smirking when Ken ran up to her.  "Thank goodness you're
here!"

"Are you okay?"

Ken blinked.  "Uh, yes."

Rei immediately tuned out the blond man and assessed the situation.
Splayed out on the ground was a large red-headed man with a gnarly
knot on his tattooed forehead.  Nearby was a large branch that she
assumed had knocked him out.  Kneeling next to him was that woman,
Isisu, who now was giving her a cold, hard glare.  The glare confused
Rei but she pushed that to the back of her mind, first she needed to
get them to safety.

"You, uh, think you could help me pick him up?"  She asked.

Isisu narrowed her eyes.  "Your wish is my command, Sailor Mars."

She could hear Ken gasp.  "Isisu!  Come on, she's here to help us."

"Of course she is."  Isisu answered all the while keeping her hard
red gaze on Rei.

It was unsettling how Isisu's eyes seemed to penetrate the priestess,
almost as if the pale-blue haired woman known Rei Hino was Sailor
Mars.  It was like Isisu, who was earlier judging her, now was
condemning Sailor Mars.  More explosions, closer this time, prodded
the priestess into action.  She'd revisit this issue later.

They had just dragged the limp man out of the fiery den of trees when
another explosion sent debris everywhere and tangling.  Hastily
lowering the man to the ground, Rei spun around.  She had to put a
stop to this before the shrine and the grounds around it were nothing
but a patch of scorched earth.

As she did so, Rei could see a woman emerge from the wall of flames.
Fallout from the fire caused the black cloak around the woman to dance
about giving Rei a view of the dark bodice underneath.  Red strings
that formed a clover pattern over her chest which covered a sailor
collar supporting the bodice.  A gust of wind also ruffled her dark
brown bangs revealing a glittering tiara.

A feeling of dread fell over Rei as she realized this was the big
something that Luna was warning her about.

The mysterious woman stalked towards her, her dark, wild eyes sizing
her up as well.  When they came upon her uniform, she grinned widely.

"So you're the one the spirits have been clamoring to."  She declared,
raising her arms.  "I should have known they would seek out the High
Priestess of Mars."

Rei gasped and threw her hands up, ready to attack.  "Who are you?
Are you another Senshi?  Or are you another Phage?"

"A Phage?"  The woman snorted and then scowled.  "I'm hardly 
anyone's
lackey!  Can't you see how the spirits run away from?  Or are your
powers so weak that you can't see it?"

Cautiously, Rei scanned the area but couldn't see anything definitive
with the glare from the fire.  She wasn't sure what she should be
looking for and felt somewhat ridiculous for even trying.

"You can't seem them, can't you?"  The woman shook her head and
relaxed her stance.  "You hardly seem worth the fight."

Her pride wounded, Rei let her temper gets the better of her.  "What
do you mean, I'm not worth the fight!?"

A predatory grin spread on the woman's face and without another word,
she rushed forward.  Suddenly Rei's world exploded in pain as she
received a kick to her abdomen that stole her breath and a punch to
her cheek that sent her tumbling end over end until a tree stopped her
momentum.

Dazed, Rei lifted herself to her feet just as this… this Senshi
gripped her long raven locks and yanked.  The woman peered at her and
smirked.

"I said you weren't worth the fight, but I didn't say anything about
not killing you."  The woman rasped in excitement and yanked her away
from the tree while flickers of a flame materialized in her hand.

"Oh I'm definitely worth the fight."  Rei gritted her teeth, the pain
was intense, but she refused to be defeated.  Rei threw up both hands
on either side of the woman's head and shouted her attack spell.
"BURNING MANDALA!"

The woman shrieked letting go off Rei's raven mane.  Just in front of
her, the woman was hopping around like mad trying to extinguish her
torched bangs.  With her opponent distracted, Rei gave the Senshi a
few jabs and a swift kick to the solar plex.  She was a firm believer
in karma.

Stumbling about for a moment, the mysterious Fire Senshi regained her
footing and roared in anger.  "I am Sailor Ares and I'm going to
fucking tear you apart!  CHAOS FLAME!"

Then the air around the woman ignited.

---------------------------------------

Haruka was leaping like mad so much so Michiru had trouble keeping
up.  They both were making their way to Rei's shrine to make their
casual daily visit when they heard an explosion and resulting fire
ball.  Neither wasted any time and immediately (and discreetly)
transformed thoroughly convinced their target had struck.

The dark wisps of smoke were definitely from Rei's shrine and
Haruka's heart leapt into her throat.  At each previous attack, the
casualties had only been strange faces, innocent faces sadly, but
strangers.  Now there was a possibility that one of her friends would
be among those faces and it made Haruka's blood run cold.

"Uranus!"  Michiru's call made her realize that her green-haired
companion had caught up to her.  "What's our ETA?"

Turning her head as she leapt to the next tree branch, Haruka
replied.  "I would say about-"

An errant branch cut off the rest of her sentence, grabbing her
ankle.  Hissing from the unexpected pain, Haruka gracefully landed on
the grass below the tree.

Michiru was next to her in a second, concerned.  "Are you okay, Haruka?"

Grabbing her ankle, the blonde woman gave an experimental squeeze and
felt a tinge of pain but it wasn't anything serious.  However, there
no telling how it effect her speed.  "Yeah I'll be fine."

"Who did that?"

Haruka noticed they were in a rather secluded area near the shrine and
she noticed the smoke from the fire was growing thick around them.

"I don't know, but we need to hurry before Ares destroys the Hikawa Shrine."

"Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune!"  A voice boomed behind the pair.

The sounds of rustling leaves and the groan of wood caught their
attention.  Haruka watched amazed as several trees surrounding them
uprooted themselves and lurched forward.

"We cannot permit you to pass!"  The voice of the trees rumbled in unison.

Shaking her head, Haruka muttered.  "We don't have time for this."

"You will and you shall let us pass!"  Michiru shouted back to the
trees, getting in position to defend herself.

"Then you leave us with no other option."  They boomed.

Haruka followed Michiru's lead and dodged the swing of a large limb.
Jumping back, Haruka decided it was time to strike back.  Raising her
palm into the air, she gathered the winds together into a dense
spiraling ball.

"World Shaking!"

Clenching her fist, Haruka slammed her hand into the ground sending
the ball screaming its way to one of the trees.  The sentient lumber
bent from the impact and then fell away motionless.  Unfortunately,
her victory was shorted lived as another tree took its place.

"This isn't going to get us nowhere!"  She shouted to Michiru who
was
hopping around like mad avoiding the striking branches.

"I concur."

"Trees just don't suddenly come to life."  Haruka reasoned to her
partner in a tone more casual than belied how frantic she was jumping
about.  "Someone's behind this!  We stop them, we stop the trees!"

Michiru exchanged a look with Haruka and nodded.  "Got it!  Do me a
favor and keep me covered.  This will only take a moment."

Both Sailor Senshi put some distance between themselves and the
trees.  Once situated, Haruka stood guard as Michiru summoned an oval
shaped hand mirror.

"Submarine Reflection!"  At her command, the mirror glowed.  Michiru
studied the surface before she pointed to a place just over the
blonde's shoulder.  "Over there!"

That's all Haruka needed to know as she charged up another attack.

"World Shaking!"

Haruka watched as the twisting ball closed in on its target and
strike.  Instantly the heavy smoke that choked the air lifted slightly
revealing a woman with long dark hair that nearly covered her body
like a thick coat.  The woman was oddly composed, calmly smoking from
a long pipe and paying the pair little care.  Before giving the
stranger another thought, Haruka glanced over her shoulder to make
sure the trees had stopped.  Once she couldn't see any movement from
them, she regarded their new threat.

"I had intended only to distract and maybe maim you."  The woman took
a long leisure drag from her pipe.  "But you had to go and break my
spell.  Now I'm afraid I will have to resort to dismemberment of minor
appendages to insure you don't interrupt."

Just from the sound her voice, Haruka's hair stood on end.  Her
senses were going haywire warning her she was in grave danger.  This
woman just wasn't some ordinary lackey or youma.  She wasn't even a
demon.  This creature oozed an amount of power she'd only experienced
on very rare occasions.

"We need to be very careful, Neptune."  She murmured.

"I know."  Her green-haired companion replied.

Sensing the need to take action, Haruka made the first move before
the woman could make any moves against them.

"World Shaking!"  Another ball rumbled towards the mysterious woman.

With a flick of her wrist, the woman transformed her smoking pipe
into a folded fan and batted Haruka's ball away.

Haruka had anticipated as much from their new opponent and had
summoned her scimitar, the Space Sword, with every intention of taking
her off guard.  Unfortunately, a solid wall of dirt burst from the
ground and blocked her strike.  An instant later, the wall lower with
the woman waiting behind it with two fingers extended.  With a snap of
her fingers the air around Haruka exploded into flames.  She had
little time to scream as she felt her body launch into the sky and
painfully skip along the grass.

"Haruka!"  She heard Michiru exclaim.

In the background, she could hear the woman's bland voice.  "Very
foolish, Sailor Uranus.  I am the Demon Harutaki.  Attacks such as
those will not harm my person."

Though it felt like a million needles were poking every inch of her
exposed skin, Haruka sat up only to witness Michiru charge.

"Michiru!"

In the blink of an eye, a crackling whip of electricity materialized
in Harutaki's hand.  Michiru had no chance of escaping as it snapped
towards her and wrapped around her waist.  Michiru gave up a startled
yelp and her body twitched and flopped around like a fish out of
water.

"Stop this now!"  Haruka bellowed and swung her sword calling out
another attack.  "Space Sword Blaster!"

An arc of energy flew from the glowing sword as Haruka put all she
had into her swing.  The arc sped towards Harutaki splitting the earth
like a boat thrown calm seas.  The Demon, on the other hand stood
still, spinning her whip into a spiraling circle.

Just as the arc reached her, the crackling, electric spiraling circle
solidified into a grey plate and the attack harmless ricocheted off
it.  Uranus gaped at the display.

The plate remained suspended in the air and shrunk until Harutaki
took it in one of pale hands transforming back into her long pipe.
She expected there to be a smug firmly on the woman's face, but Haruka
found she still wore the same disinterested expression she had when
they began this battle.

'This isn't a battle.'  Haruka thought.  'This is a lesson in pain.'
       
Without warning, a heavy tree branch slammed into her back, throwing
her down into the dirt face first.  Twisting her head, the blonde
could see Michiru struggling to free her hands from the grip of
another tree.  She could hear the grass rustle as footsteps just out
of her sight came towards her.

"We still have some time to waste."  Harutaki announced like she was
hosting a business meeting.  "Where should I start?  An arm?  A hand?
Maybe a finger or two?  You don't need all ten fingers do you?"

With all her might, Haruka couldn't free herself of the tree limb now
burrowing her deeper into the soft ground.  Not one to give up the
fight, Haruka stubbornly closed her fist when she felt Harutaki's
deathly pale slim fingers grab her wrist.  However with a squeeze,
Haruka's fingers involuntarily shot out and strained stiffly.  Turning
briefly towards her restrained hand, she could see the dark-haired
Demon regarding her fingers with a katana.

"I think I'll start with the index finger and work my way up from there."

"NO!"  Haruka cringed at Michiru's scream and turned away.

When she did, she noticed the large ball of water gathering about in
bound her hands.  "DEEP SUBMERGE!"

For once, the attack must have taken her by surprise because the ball
of water splashed everywhere soaking Haruka and Harutaki.  Suddenly
the pressure on her back relaxed and Haruka wasted no time to jump to
safety.  She flexed her hand that had been under the woman's control a
moment ago and watched fascinated as the woman had remained unmoved
from her position.

Soon, Michiru joined her as they waited for the Demon to make her
next move.  As they waited, Haruka noted that the air around them
clearing up considerably and could make out the area around just
beyond the trees.

"What is she waiting for?"  Michiru asked under her breath.

Wiping an errant drop of water from her face, Haruka shrugged.  "I
have no idea.  She seemed intent on chopping off my fingers I'm
surprised she let me go."

"You think it was the attack?"

"Want to give it another try?"

"My pleasure."

With a start, the soaking woman shot to her feet and nearly tripped
over her own feet obviously disoriented.  Her breathing was ragged and
deep.  Her red eyes were wide, obviously confused, but she refused to
express it any further than that.  Then her crimson gaze darted to
them and tensed.

That had been enough for Michiru.  "DEEP-"

Harutaki's eyes widened even further as more water gathered in
Michiru's hands.  The woman reacted and stretched out one of her hands
away from them where the smoke thickened.

Instinctively, Haruka had her Space Sword ready for another offensive
from Harutaki but was stunned when the woman reached into the swirling
smoke and slipped into it.

"-SUBMERGE!"  Michiru finished, launching another ball of water.

However, the last wisps of Harutaki's dark hair had disappeared into
the smoky portal as the ball zipped past.

The pair paused and they exchanged a look.  While peering at
Michiru's beautiful emerald eyes, Haruka finally spoke in almost a
smooth pur.  "So I assume your love for my fingers is what won the
day?"

Michiru narrowed those emerald orbs and pursed her lips.  "We don't
have time for this, Haruka.  We've got to help Mars!"

In stiffed body language that Haruka knew meant business, Sailor
Neptune beckoned the blonde to follow towards the billowing columns of
smoke just past the cover of trees.

Haruka didn't waste another moment and raced off like feather in the wind.

----------------------------------

Isisu tried her best to push back those old painful memories which
still felt fresh, but upon realizing that the priestess was the
Princess of Mars only burst open those gates allowing the bitterness
and resentment to settle in.

Surprisingly, the Princess didn't recognize her and Isisu figured
that perhaps the Marian had forgotten her since she didn't have the
memories of her last incarnation.  Cyrus had mentioned that some of
the stronger starseeds, especially those of Sailor Senshi, could be
recall memories of past lives.

'Oh Cyrus.'  She thought forlorn.  'Did you meet the same fate as the
rest of Queen Serenity's Court?  Will you remember me when we meet
again?'

Those thoughts flitted through her mind while she endured the
photoshoot with that rude redheaded photographer.  She literally
swooned when Ken swooped in and came to her rescue.  He looked so much
like Cyrus at that moment standing so tall and brave.  Then it hit
her, maybe Ken was Cyrus' reincarnation.

Then came that explosion.  "That didn't sound good."

Isisu frowned and doubt began to creep in.  This wasn't the Cyrus she
remembered.  Her Cyrus would have jumped into action and helped her
fend off whatever evil being was causing all this destruction.  Of
course, she would have jumped into action immediately, (which was part
of the reason why she knocked out the photographer when he was
distracted), except that Ken didn't.  Instead he clamored for that
damn Sailor Mars like a lost puppy when she graced them with her
appearance.  Her smugness with them, Ken especially, made her blood
boil.

So Isisu just watched as this Sailor Ares and Sailor Mars beat the
living daylights out of each other.  For awhile she found it rather
cathartic.  However, even though Mars was putting up one heck of a
fight, she was definitely losing.  There was something about this evil
Senshi that gave her greater power.  Her senses could definitely feel
it.

Isisu became alarmed when Ares tossed Mars into the shrine as did Ken.

"Sailor Mars!"  He shouted and Isisu had to restrain him from rushing
towards her.  The blond turned, astonished and flustered.  "Isisu,
what are you doing?  I've got to help Sailor Mars somehow!"

That did it.  Isisu narrowed her eyes, a fire as bright and as
intense as the blaze around them burned in them.  Ken instantly
recoiled when he saw that fire and cooled his ardor.  Without any
hesitation nor a care in the world that Ken would know her secret,
Isisu decided could no longer stand for this.  Even though she
resented Serenity for making her suffer for over a thousand years
alone in the coldness of open space, she couldn't allow a fellow
Senshi to get killed.  Her conscience wouldn't permit her to anyway.

Reaching into the small purse she had brought with her, she took out
the small piece of smooth green stone.  She threw the Jade Crescent
into the air.

"Dimension Soul Charge!"

Unlike the first time she had transformed in her bedroom a few nights
ago, Isisu waited impatiently for the fog that wrapped around her form
to materialize into her uniform.  Irritated, she snatched the World
Spear as it expanded from the Jade Crescent and marched over to the
battle.

"Isisu?"  She sighed and only turned her head to the gaping blond man.

"What Ken?"

Through strands of pale-blue hair she could see Ken open his mouth
and then close it several times.  Isisu closed her eyes.  She didn't
have time for this.  She'd take care of this later.

Another blast of flames erupted from the shrine and a badly singed
and beaten Mars skid to a stop at her feet.  She shifted her red gaze
down to the injured Senshi and then to the angry one charged at her,
several spears of flames twirling around her at her command.

Ares apparently didn't acknowledge her prescence and didn't bother to
alter her attack or approach.

'Does she have any sophisticated technique at all?'  Isisu mused as
she quickly recalled her strict training at the hands of Setsuna's
mother.  Calmly she lifted her staff and summoned her defense spell.

"Spatial Shield!"  A weird tingling crawled up her skin when she felt
the fabric of space around the tip of the spear condense and
concentrate to form an invisible shield.  She smiled slightly; she had
forgotten how good that felt.

"Ugh!"  The psychotic dark-haired Senshi grunted as her body collided
with the barrier.

Feeling somewhat satisfied, Isisu looked down at her opponent who was
sitting in the dirt and staring daggers at her.  That passed quickly
when a dull ache blossomed in her forehead, severely distracting her.

"Who the fuck are you!?"  Ares growled.

"I am Sailor Dis.  The Guardian of the World Gate."  She answered
evenly as the dull ache spread.  What was going on?

"I don't care who the hell you are."  Ares rose and dusted off the
dirt from her long skirt and bandages.  She tensed her hands, igniting
a pair of fireballs above her palms.  "You're so fucking dead."

Isisu ignored the now agonizing pain in her brain and prepared for
another assault.  Running through a catalog of memories, she recalled
another spell.

"Weight of the Worlds!"  With an out-stretched hand she commanded the
gravity around Ares to increase.

"Urk!"  Ares appeared to nearly bite her tongue off as the flames in
her hands extinguished.  However the woman resisted the force pulling
her down.  "I.  Will.  Get.  You."

This wasn't good, Isisu thought as she perspired profusely.  With
Ares resisting, she could feel her hold on the spell waning.  She
couldn't understand why she felt so weak.

"You call yourself a Guardian!" Queen Metallia's screeching voice
taunted during Isisu's foolish attempt to destroy the Dark Kingdom
alone.  "You're too weak to be a Guardian!"

Isisu cringed at that memory.  An instant later she felt something in
her snap and all of her power drained away.  She couldn't recall much
else after that until her trial in front of Serenity's tribunal.  It
had been so painful to endure their accusing stares and the pain from
that memory only added to the physical throbbing throughout her body.

Then she remembered how badly she wanted the pain to just go away.
As they encased her in that ice, she somehow had been able to will it
away.  Just that thought made something in her shift, like she was
pushing hard on a large heavy door.  Then she felt it slid and
suddenly a little bit of the pain went away.  She mentally gave
another shove and more pain drained from her body.

'That's it.'  Now she pushed with all her might, she wanted this pain
vanquished completely.  Once the pain was gone then she could deal
with all these unsettling memories.

Finally, something inside her cracked and a strange sensation washed
over her.  It was neither bad nor good just a pressure that was
releasing from her forehead.

As soon as the sensation passed, Isisu felt nothing aside from the
clothes on her body or the smooth jade stone she now held in her
hands.

'It appears I have reverted back.'  She observed.  'This is
unfortunate as well as unexpected.'

Isisu lifted her gaze as she heard Ares chuckling.  The evil Senshi
had reignited the flames in her palms and had on a predatory grin,
much like those of a jackal.

"It looks like your luck has just run out, Guardian."  She continued
chuckling when her eyes widened in surprise.

"Amaunet's Breath!"  Isisu turned and immediately recognized the
blond man standing beside her, his sword sending his attack towards
her opponent.

"Cyrus."  She whispered.

Meanwhile, Ares barely had a moment to raise her arms in defense
before the three arcs of energy plowed into her.  When it was done,
three deep gauges had been carved into the dirt in front of Cyrus.

"Are you okay, Isisu?"  The woman just stood there as she gathered
her thoughts.

"I feel a little winded and tired but otherwise I am in good health."
 She said dryly.

Cyrus raised an eyebrow at her and appeared to want to say something
when Ares burst back onto the scene.

"I love this!"  Ares sputtered her eyes wide and crazed.  "The more
of you keep appearing, the more destruction we can orchestrate
together!  Let the chaos commence!  CHAOS-"

"Heart of Ice!"

Ares' mouth hung open and her body froze as ice crawled up her legs.
A woman in a black uniform similar to that of Ares appeared beside the
Fire Senshi.  She wiped away a strand of her white hair smoothing it
back with the rest tied tightly behind her head.

She turned to the psychotic Senshi.  "I see you've stirred things up
here, Ares."  The dull, pale skin of the woman glowed in the raging
fires as she placed a gloved hand on Ares' shoulders.  "However, we
can't let you go and kill yourself in some illogical rampage to
satisfy thpse homicidal urges of yours."

Cyrus, his sword tensed and ready to fight, slowly approached the
pair.  "Who are you Senshi and where do you come from?"

Her steely grey eyes studied them for a moment as if calculating
their strengths.  Then she answered.  "I am Sailor Hermes and I am a
member of the Dark Senshi.  That is all I will tell you but be
comforted that you will get better acquainted with the rest in the
near future.  Portal open."

At Hermes command, a darkened mirror materialized next to the pair of
Dark Senshi.  Hermes pushed her partner, none too gently, through the
reflective surface, rippling as the icy statue disappeared within.
Cyrus leapt at the pale woman, but she also had disappeared through
the rippling surface and the mirror faded from existence.

"Damn it!"  He cursed swinging his sword at where the mirror had
been.  "This isn't good.  I didn't recognize her Star Seed."

"Um."  Isisu turned towards the meek voice and saw Ken, blood totally
drained from his face with a hand raised.  "Would anyone be willing to
explain to me what just happened?"

'This is unfortunate.'  Isisu commented mentally stealing a glance at Cyrus.

--------------------------------------------------

"Ugh, I don't know how you can tolerate these cram schools, Umino."
Naru made a face as she and her boyfriend made their way to her home.
"Weekends are meant for lounging and having fun.  Not more school.
That's what weekdays are for."

Umino chuckled, which had the effect of unsettling his large glasses.
 Immediately he adjusted them and nearly tripped over a rock in the
process.  Naru groaned internally.  It looked like she was going to
have to drag him to the eye doctor in order to him to replace those
coke bottles on his face.  Why he insisted on keeping them all these
years were beyond her, it was obvious he needed new ones.  Maybe this
time he'd get contacts.

Naru's heart fluttered at the thought of seeing Umino's face
unblemished by his glasses.  He had such beautiful eyes.  She
especially loved looking into them when they…

The redhead blushed furiously and eagerly made plans.  They had
nothing going on next Tuesday.  Then they could go to that nice
restaurant-

"What's that?"  Umino's question stirred Naru from her plans.

Focusing on the brown haired boy next to her, she followed his finger
up towards the darkening sky.  Something flickered and then fell to
the ground just behind some trees.  The mysterious object landed in a
peaceful and quiet explosion of light.

Both of their mouths hung open for a moment and Naru exchanged a
quick glance with Umino.  Naru grinned at his anxiety, that boy never
did have a sense of adventure.  Oh well, half the fun was dragging him
with her when there was something too irresistible for her curiosity
to ignore.

She grabbed his hand.  "Come on scare-de-cat!"

"Wait, Naru," Umino protested vocally, but he didn't resist her pull.
 "Don't you think this is a bad idea when you consider everything that
happened to us over the years?"

Not breaking her stride or her grip, Naru shot back.  "Bah, nothing
has happened to us in the last few years and anyway, nothing bad is
going to happen this time."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I don't know, after having so many, I kinda got a sixth sense for
these things."

"Yeah, right."  Naru heard her boyfriend mutter and frowned.  Oooo,
she was going to make him pay later.

They made the rest of the journey in silence as she came upon the
site where the light landed.  Carefully, the pair stepped into the
brush and gingerly pulled away branches.

"Doesn't appear like anything landed here."  Umino murmured, studying
the surrounding vegetation.  "There is no sign of a crater or any kind
of fallout."

"Oh my goodness!"  Naru gasped, covering her mouth.

"This doesn't make any sense!"  Umino exclaimed as he peered down
at
their feet.

Naru couldn't believe it, but at their feet was a very young and very
naked girl curled up comfortably and sleeping soundly.  Quickly, she
took care of the first order of business.

"Umino!  Cover your eyes and give me your jacket!"

"Ack!"  Naru soured her face at her boyfriend's delayed reaction.
Once he had his back to them with his jacket extended like an olive
branch, he spoke again.  "What are we going to do with her?"

"I guess," Naru covered the slumbering girl and gently moved aside
some of her pale blue hair, "we take her to my house and call the
police."

-End of Chapter 3-

Author's Note:
Well another chapter in the bag.  I really want to thank Setsu-P for
inspiring and motivating me to get this one out the door so quickly.
She's drawn up some mean fanart for this project, that it shouldn't be
missed.  She has been constructing a website just for this story
filled with drawings of various characters.  Once it's finished, I'll
include it in the next chapter I post up.

So onto the next chapter where the Inner Senshi finally meet the
Dimension Guardian, Setsuna gets bitched out, Ares makes a startling
discovery, and Naru and Umino discover that maybe being minor
characters wasn't such a bad thing.

Until next time, folks!

*************
Disclaimer:
*************

Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi.

All original characters are owned and copyrighted by Setsu-P (c) 2008.
They are being used with owner's expressed permission.