Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Pretty Soldiers ❯ Act 25 - mugen deux : Interaction ( Chapter 25 )

       He surveyed his kingdom from the immense picture window, a glittering expanse of human synthetic and fabrication. Rushing back and forth like ants below him were his people, those he was sworn to defend from enemies. And yet they had slipped in past the perimeter like a thief in the night, the Trojan horse given as a gift to the lowly peasant to ensure the door would remain open. Failure.
       When he had first opened his eyes and realized who he was, it had been too late. Those distant bells, the chiming to announce the approaching danger, rang in his ears as the centuries had caught up. No longer was he simply the human being, but an alien; a defender of the kingdom, gone with the passing of time and memory. And the subtle burn upon his brow…
       But he had no clue what to do about it, and had continued to live his life. He ran in track and field, played softball, worked his way with conviction into the seat of a racecar and won hearts. Like any other teenager, he worried incessantly about the upcoming exams at the end of 9th grade, though he was an intelligent and highly regarded student, and couldn't possibly fail any test set in front of him. His mother was proud of him as always, enough for his long-buried father's sake as well.
       And then the loveliest girl had walked into his life, with her perfect poise and her cool, inviting smile. Aspiring to the loftiest heights as he did, she was already a legend with her violin, having recorded two CDs and played foreign houses. He had seen posters of her on the walls, her painted image just as dazzling as the real thing. Tutored at home by an Englishman from New York, she had never set foot within a school building, and she had been at his softball game with one of those tutors to experience the energy of such a sport for a paper she was writing.
       He had seen her face in the middle of a play at second base and was thrown over onto his ass when he failed to move and catch the ball, and the runner plowed him down. So he could justifiably tell people she had knocked him out cold with her beauty.
        Waking in the hospital, his head still ringing, he found her sitting at his bedside, having waited for hours. And it was amazing how she seemed to glow as she took his hand, a translucent halo of aqua green that he had never seen before; but he had seen it, hadn't it? In his dreams, as a soldier standing next to her, meeting for the first time before the blinding light and the endless darkness… "Neptune," he had moaned, astonished.
       "Uranus," she answered, entwining her fingers in his. "Ohisashiburi desu."
       It had indeed been a long time; thousands of years.
       Just the two of them on the streets, partners against the rising enemy, seeing with their own eyes the strange creatures that were the product of evil. Then, they were not immense black monsters attached to their human wombs, trying in vain to create something new; no, those were the prototypes, smaller creatures with no hosts, escaped or released. In the first days, they had to beat the things with fists and feet, unable to release the powers they knew they had. More than once, both of them had been injured.
       And then they'd had the dream, and that lovely lady had told them the words to use, the magic words that would bring out their powers and transform them into their true selves. Ah, but she had been most beautiful, with hair the colour of moon beams, and eyes the same dazzling silvered grey. A true queen, with such presence…
       So they had reached into the sky, towards their faraway planets, and yelled into the heavens those magic words and felt themselves change, and grow. Taller, stronger, faster. Two legendary sailor soldiers.
        Now they could destroy the creatures with no effort, calling on those powers they now remembered from another lifetime, though they were in essence their weakest. Night after night they traveled in stealth, together, unnoticed amidst Tokyo's secretive life, reluctantly parting before the dawn to continue their own charade of normalcy. And they wouldn't admit to each other why they were so anxious to meet again at twilight, they had jobs to do. It would only get in the way.
       Then the unseasonably warm winter came, and they chased a creature for hours, unable to catch it - it was fast as a cheetah, even with their enhanced speed - until it disappeared into the gates of a new school building inside of the recently constructed Infinity zone. Here, space was warping beneath their feet, colliding by forces they couldn't identify. But it was alien; it was evil; here lay thy enemy. And it was also still heavily barricaded and blocked off.
       With such warm weather came the sudden tsunami off of the bay, an unnatural event followed by the freezing temperatures that came merely a week later, plunging the city into chaos. Fighting the crowds, they had escaped to safety within a changing room inside of a posh clothing store, forgotten as people ransacked the store and beat each other to death. Transforming and killing everyone didn't seem to be a viable option, and so they waited, falling asleep in each other's arms and awakening to find everything reasonably restored. To the point where they'd had to bribe a clerk not to call the police on them, thinking them thieves for hiding in the room together.
       But they still had no plan to confront their enemies.
       At the race track one day, she with her violin, en route to a recital, and he preparing to race, they were approached by an American with an unusual proposal; he wanted to sponsor them in their pursuits. Two talented teenagers were excellent for his business, and he wanted to entice more to his company, helping them create their careers and make them all wealthy. He would pay for their living quarters if they wanted them, fund their careers, and all for a modest fee in return, plus commercial benefits.
       Faced with such a prospect, the two agreed. Immediately separating from their families using excuses and promises, they took his word and had him procure them a condo each in the Delta, planning to live alone as professional soldiers. Then they vied for the right to enter Infinity Academy to finish 9th grade, and were accepted on basis on their talents and intellect. On their entrance forms they used the surnames they had taken for their new lives, having discarded the old forever; Ten'ou, and Kaiou. They had meaning; and they suited their mission.
       Their benefactor remained anonymous, paying for their rent and utilities, while they prepared for their new school and their true mission, remaining merely partners whenever they came together to fight. Otherwise, they saw little of each other as usual, living their separate lives and watching their personal wealth grow. In the daytime, they had no reason to speak in those lengthy halls, did they? Their true reason for even looking upon each other was the mission.
       Of course, when she then extended the invitation for him to come to dinner at her condo, a strange time to do so when they were both streaked with unidentifiable junk, he was not at all hasty to accept. Not at all. It was merely the extension of their business hours.
       And they didn't get drunk on the vintage wine she uncorked for dinner, because that would smack of ill repute. No, they had merely eaten her lavish meal, sipped leisurely of the alcohol, and talked politely of their mission and what they had to accomplish. Nevermind the memory of them staring at one another all night long, and finally, that touch of hands as they had done in the hospital, and the kiss…fumbling fingers and the tease of hair against their skin. Sweat mingling with embarrassment, and confusion, hasty words whispered in the darkness on her couch, the bed…
       So they weren't merely partners, but lovers now, after all that spent denial. Their secrets were nothing; she accepted him, and he cried openly in her arms. Driving at breakneck speeds in his new Ferrari, they parked far outside of Tokyo to look upon the bay, each hearing a meaning in the sounds of the sea and the sky. Teasing her as she played her violin for his enjoyment, he surprised her by joining her with the piano, pulled away as she remarked on his handy skills.
       Together they dreamed, seeing again that first gathering as they stood together in the vast world, having only seen it once before, and then as children. Together they completed the picture, and they turned to see another standing next to them, younger than them by perhaps a year or two, again no one they had ever seen. Wasn't that how they were to function, separated by the span of light years and empty space? Yes; and they were never supposed to meet, because it meant tragedy….
       "The talismans!" the third soldier said, and they watched in amazement as the light gathered. As always, the dream ended there, but that first night they awoke in unison, sweaty and rumpled, pressed together by lines of hip and thigh, they knew what they had forgotten. Mystified, they had lifted their hands, watching as the objects took shape in the air, called from where they couldn't ever understand. And heavy with power.
       But that was a remote concern, because they had not the third soldier, and consequently, could not summon that frightening light and oblivion. Their true mission was already underway, their infiltration successful; here were their enemies, masquerading as teachers and students, frightening in their power. And the owner of the school was just as suspicious and terrible, always staring at the student body with that one good eye like a cyclops searching for its meal, the other eye, crystal fakery, frozen on that one spot in space eternally. They knew instinctively now that to defeat their enemy was to prevent that third soldier from appearing, called by the trigger of a losing battle.
       Sure of their victory, he wanted to celebrate by visiting the arcade, hearing of the new racing game they had installed. It was a little joke of his, visiting the city's arcades and soundly beating them with his professional instinct; surely she'd go along with him. She allowed him his little eccentricities with that secretive smile and toss of her hair that always captivated him. Even when he allowed his eye to roam, and she hers, they always cleaved together, knowing they were perfect for each other by simple virtue of their predicament.
       So he had gone into the arcade, and seen the vision of the lady in his dream.
       But she was sunny blonde, with crystal blue eyes; but it was she! She as a young girl! He had almost faltered, but then he watched her smile, cloistered with her friends, and he felt something tug at his soul. A sensation only his lover outside had given him, that first meeting; and though he scanned the other girls, feeling the same thing, it was in lesser value. Perhaps his lover had been right; they were not the only ones to awaken.
        And that girl smiled so prettily…
       Like a princess.

      "Re-e-ei-cha-a-a-a-an! Moshi moshi!" A set of knuckles lightly rapped her on the crown of her head, and the dark-haired shrine girl all but bolted upright, gasping. Usagi shrieked, falling backwards onto the dirt and grass as Rei blinked, delicately wiping sleep crumbs from the corners of her eyes. "Mou, Rei-chan! Don't do that!"
       "Then don't knock me on the head like a ripe melon," she replied in mild irritation, sliding from the car seat to stretch out the kinks. Sitting in the third seat of the Expedition, crammed between a wriggling Usagi and Minako, the other girls in the second seat while Mamoru got to ride shotgun, was not very comfortable for any length of time. She had blessedly fallen asleep somewhere around Nagoya, lulled by the sound of Chibi-Usa singing in a clear, sparkling voice for Mamoru's favour. Her last conscious thought was bemusement; did Usagi have the same lovely voice, or was it Mamoru?
       Asleep, she had tumbled down into a dream that was less a dream than a memory; but that was impossible. Her high heels sank into the thick dust as she stared around, disturbed, recognizing the ruins that were not quite as ruined as she had last seen them. Turned to that toxic stone, yes, and blasted and toppled in places where the earthen army had viciously brought the walls down, but not completely.
       Voices.
       Turning, she had to shield her eyes from the light of the sun, with that particular side turned towards it now, instead of at the earth; dazzled, she could see only three silhouettes in front of her, looking around in the same slow, ostensibly confused fashion. "This is…impossible! How could the light of our queen be extinguished?" one of them said, a female with a husky voice; wasn't it called a whiskey voice?
       "Everything extinguished," another said, again a female, but with a mellifluous voice that was pleasing to the ear, utterly woman. "The collapse of Jupiter is not, however, explained by this event; where are the four guardian soldiers? If they've fallen in battle, their spirits would be free to find new hosts, and yet, Jupiter is as if dead. And Mars is faring no better. What would we witness if we were to visit Mercury, or Venus' colonies?"
       "I noticed it as well," the third woman agreed, her voice ringing with an air of familiarity to Rei, gesturing with her hand. "As though the spirit was not in fact released. This is all wrong."
       Was this still the result of that 'time residue' Alex had mentioned as perhaps causing their dreams of the Silence in the future, and now this dream of the past? Rei had never seen this event happen, because she had been dead. Killed. Murdered, even, in the thick of battle. And this was akin to her walking over her own grave. She could see the bodies surrounding them, a disgusting tableau of death that even the black and white images of sixty years ago paled in contrast to. The Nazi party had not used demons and magic to murder.
       Limbs were scattered, separated from bodies by vicious ripping, great maroon geysers still marking the dust from arterial spray. Gaping holes in chests, ribs cracked open and hearts missing, eyes punctured and leaking clear fluid. Many were missing portions of their head, as though the demons had eaten them like crisp apples. The earthen army was just as badly mauled, though it looked to be the work of scavengers than attack; such creatures held no loyalty to the freshly dead. It was only the lunar army, dressed in their white and silver uniforms, whom had fared so badly while alive.
       She made a choking sound, and with realization came the acknowledged stench, thick and meaty and wet; a tang that gathered in the back of the throat and stuck. Spinning around to face the darkness of the universe, she could see the bodies stretching almost to the very steps of the castle, and the rainbow colours that marked…
       Iie.
        Stepping back, she spun back around resolutely to see those three shadow silhouettes again, hearing the mellifluous-voice remark, "How sad that we've finally met, only to pursue our secondary function. Living alone for so long on those barren worlds…"
       "But that was our purpose," the whiskey-voiced woman interrupted, and Rei frowned as she was reminded, perplexingly, of the game center. "Our presence is a danger. Even now, close as we are, the power resonates, eager to create the key."
       "Yes," the third woman sighed, sounding weary, even pained. She held herself through it all with a strange posture as if shouldering the weight of the world, leaning on a tall pole. "To defend the outer perimeter of the kingdom, that was your mission. Mine, to guard the gate, a thankless task. Those functions kept us apart, ignorant of one another's faces. We were never meant to come so close unless the trigger had been pulled."
       The pulled trigger.... Rei wondered what the trigger was in their current lifetime, bringing about the Silence. What could be so devastating and enormous as the death of an intersystem kingdom in the 21st century? The destruction of the United States, perhaps? They certainly qualified as a monarchial power to be reckoned with, and from their constant troubles she'd read about in the foreign papers, it could happen easily.
       But would a terrorist attack really be big enough to warrant the release of the god of ruin? Magic was the guiding force behind the fall of the Silver Millennium, not human weapons. And if these three were the ones who called forth that glaive-wielding form through their power, then surely it would take that sort of magical cataclysm to replay history once again.
       She felt it like a fist to the gut suddenly, as the magic of the kingdom ceased to exist within their frame of reference. Closed off, denied to them, she realized suddenly what the pulled trigger had been, in that far-away lifetime; the loss of the Ginzuishou's primal magic. Imagine the loss of oxygen to the planet Earth; that was what Rei could liken it to. The death of Queen Serenity, and the spirit of Princess Serenity locked away, giving the crystal no heir, no body to interface, no one to work through. It was being effectively silenced, and sent away.
       Then, the third woman whispered, "The talismans!" and against the sun Rei could see coloured lights appear, aqua and royal blue. Holding up their hands, the two gripped their unique talisman, perhaps two weapons, or merely jeweled ornaments; the dark-haired shrine girl was unsure. Power breathed through the air as they came into being so close, most likely the first time in centuries, perhaps ever. And it was a strange magic they were summoning, neither good nor evil; neutrality. The most dangerous of all.
       Within the air, a body began to take shape, curled like a fetus in the womb on its side, arms and legs entwined around the length of the glaive. Rotating upward, the figure took on more definition as it stood, holding the weapon in its right hand. Glowing amethyst on its brow was a sigil, an alchemist's scrawl Rei recognized but could not interpret. "Awakened…" the whiskey-voiced woman said, for all of her strength sounding absolutely terrified.
       "We've done our duty. Now, the death for us, and this world," the mellifluous voice whispered, dropping to her knees.
       Standing tall, the god of ruin spun the glaive above her head, aiming it with one hand down at the ground. "It won't be so terrible. For your loyalty, it will come quickly."
       So calmly, the third voice remarked, "But my true mission is not yet at an end."       
       Rei cried out as the weapon dropped.
       And then came the whirlwind; the furious blast of air and furnace heat, scouring the surface. Though it passed through her as though she were no more than a ghost - and in effect she was - she still flinched, bringing up her arms. But in that split second before impact, she saw the third invoke a power she had seen recently, summoning a door into space-time; and Pluto's face was visible in that light before she disappeared, leaving the Silence to consume the kingdom. And with it, her momentary comrades, who faced their deaths bravely, not even screaming as it tore them apart.
       Like a hurricane the power traveled past, leaving destruction in its wake, and she saw the unique spirits of the three dancing upward into the universe, presumably to seek out their new hosts. But they never made it past the artificial atmosphere; leaving a trail behind like the children and their breadcrumbs, the Ginzuishou was just the tiniest sparkle against the blue of Earth's oceans, and it was this trail that ensnared the three spirits. Tangled like fish in a net, they followed their princess and her people to a new destiny.
       Surrounding the dark-haired shrine girl was ruin and desolation.
       And that was when she woke up.

      Awake, the dream evaded her attempts to completely remember it, which was unusual; perhaps the time residue was wearing off finally, and taking these visions with them. She was not without her own powers of precognition, and would promptly call upon the flames once she was home. Until then, she thought it better to not mention this last dream, and that was easy; from her years of being regarded as a freak, she had taught herself to keep quiet anyway, as she had her last vision. Which, in hindsight, wouldn't have mattered a whit if she'd spoken of it. Hmm. Here's hoping she wasn't being cursed with useless visions.
       Thoughtfully, she looked around, breathing in deeply. It seemed wonderfully propitious that Ami's father had invited them all down to his show in Ise, which was nice, but it also gave Rei the opportunity to visit the Ise Jingu to mark her 15th birthday. Not to mention take a stroll through the national park as well, and perhaps meditate. Yes, that sounded appropriate.
       And then she was all but tackled over by Minako, who practically yelled in her ear, "Hey, obaa-sama, are you coming or not?" and hooked her arm through Rei's, dragging her off towards the hotel where they would spend the night. Because it was a Saturday with its half-day of school, they had left Tokyo promptly after classes, and even so it was early evening in Ise when they arrived. In a few hours the gallery would open for Ami's father's show - or rather, for the Classical Japanese Art show in which he happened to be - and they would see that, then go to bed. Tomorrow they'd do whatever they wanted until it was time to leave.
       Though Rei had to extricate herself from Minako's grip of death and go back to pick up her overnight bag, which was still sitting in the open trunk.
       The lobby of the hotel was immaculate, tastefully decorated in Japanese motif, but entirely modern. Potted bamboo stood at the doorways, a concrete pond swam with colourful fish; the workers attending the needs of the patrons were dressed in simple yukata and wooden geta. Entranced, the girls left the actual obtaining of rooms up to Mamoru and Alex, wandering like simpletons through the lobby to view all of it. Chibi-Usa in particular was overwhelmed, and she had to be restrained from putting her hands in the pond to touch the fish. Such traditional patterns had all been destroyed by the ice, and Tokyo was quite modern from what she'd seen; this was like entering another world entirely.
       Apologizing to the clerk, who was twitching with the effort to not become upset at the hotel's expensive fish almost being injured, they hauled ass to the elevator, escaping the poor man's wrath.
       "Next time, we leave Chibi-Usa home to take care of the three whimpering kitties," Alex muttered, recalling their devastation at being left behind.
       "Oh, Artemis can handle it! He claimed he'd never travel with me again after being almost eaten in China!" Minako blithely replied, waving it off.
       "Eaten?!"
       "Well, barbecued cat is a delicacy over there…."
       "NA-ANI!?"
       "Minako, you're scaring the children."
       On the fifth floor, they tumbled out, hauling their overnight bags with them down the hall as Alex, wielding three electronic key cards, opened three doors at the end of the hall. "Here we go," Alex sighed, tossing her bag into the room she'd unlocked last. Then she held up her hand for silence, gesturing sharply when Usagi and Minako wouldn't shut up. "Listen up: we've got three rooms, and all of them open into one another. I assume the happy couple and their darling little girl want a room to themselves, so the four of you can either crowd into the second, or share with me."
       Peeking in, they saw that the two rooms allotted to them were far more than they expected, with Japan's propensity for tiny cracker boxes to save on space, and entirely foreign in design. The beds were raised mattresses in solid wood frames, full size, two each. And even if they didn't want to share the beds, the couches looked comfortable enough to do justice, the rugs plush and soft to fall asleep on. Definitely world-class accommodations.
       "I call the window pillow!" Minako crowed, bounding through the door to gracefully belly flop onto the furthest bed, arms and legs akimbo. Rolling about on the sheets - which were freshly washed and smelling oh-so-wonderfully of fabric softener - she posed on her side, flashing the victory sign. "Ne, ne, who's with me!"
       "Ano…" Ami and Rei exchanged rather uneasy looks, and not altogether for the same reasons. The blue-haired genius could just imagine a night with the long-haired blonde; loud TV all night long, defeating her chances to study. The dark-haired shrine girl, on the other hand, was anticipating the snoring she had heard in the car, and icy feet.
        Makoto shrugged, hefting her bag and padding in, her younger years at the hellish institution Tokyo laughingly called an orphanage preparing her for one more night of sharing a bed. And this time, she assumed whoever it was, they wouldn't be so damn foolish as to short sheet her bed. She too collapsed onto the bed, stretching to test its length, unconvinced that it would be sufficient; she was mildly elated to find four inches to spare.
       Again, uneasily, Ami and Rei exchanged looks.
       Then they glanced into Alex's lone room, with its similar two beds and comfy couches.
       Clearing her throat, Ami ventured, "Ne, Alex-san? Can Rei and I share your room?"
       "Demo sa-a, Ami-chan, you need to share this room!" Minako pleaded. "We're in need of educational tutoring! Only the girl genius can train us to grab that easy-going future in the high school of our choice! Instruct us!"
       Squeaking, the blue-haired genius fled into Alex's room without another word, escaping as the tall red-head was all but on her knees laughing. Embarrassed Rei followed, taking it as assent, noting the time on the clock as being around six thirty. All of them had to be ready in an hour to go to the gallery, which she could already visualize as being a hefty chore.
       Brushing off the idea of sleeping on a thick, elevated mattress - she disliked being so high off of the ground, and it was hell on her back - she chose a relatively clear corner of the room to set her bag down, untying the rolled-up futon she'd brought with. Aware that Ami was watching her with some curiousity, she coolly smoothed out the flat mattress and its blanket, taking the pillows from the couch to complete her bed. They were rather lumpy, but they'd do; she wasn't about to deprive her roommates of any from the beds.
       Alex closed the door, scooping up her bag still flung on the floor to toss it again; this time onto the other free bed. Dressed in fresh black khaki pants, a red button-down, and black tie, she was ready to go; all she removed from her bag was the coat, unfolding it to reveal a length that reached nearly to the floor, with only a single button. Slipping it on, she said, "You two have an hour to get dressed and ready, unless your father is expecting us to be fashionably late, Ami…?"
       "Iie. He hoped we would arrive early," Ami replied, holding a bundle of pink in her hands. "If we come too late, he'll have no time to talk with us."
       "But this isn't entirely his show, is it, Ami? He's sharing the gallery with two other local artists." Rei stood, holding her change of clothing in her hands, black and white. With the blue-haired genius making no move towards the bathroom, she took the first steps to commandeer it; though she was not a prude, and had no qualms of changing in the main room, she doubted Ami was the same way. No doubt she would have embarrassed the girl.
       Though this was a girl whose approach to life sometimes bordered on the clinical. No doubt she would have been embarrassed, but it would have been more out of seeing a friend nude than seeing just the pure nudity. The breakers would have engaged, her perceptions would kick in, and she would have seen merely just skin and a body like everyone else. But the sentiment, if she knew, would have been appreciated.
       Turning away as the door closed partially, enough to shield Rei modestly from the bedroom, the blue-haired genius said, "Two others, yes. A young boy my father's told me of, and a miko from the temple. But my father is the celebrity at this event, it's the name Mizuno that will be bringing the crowds." She spoke of her father's celebrity without egotism, matter-of-factly. It didn't matter to her that he was famous on the island for his work; he was simply her father, whom she cared about, that happened to paint beautifully. And did it matter? Truth be told, she was now - as the soldier Sailor Mercury - in a way just as famous as Mizuno the classical painter.
       A clicking doorknob caught her attention, and she saw Alex opening the door to step outside, a pair of sunglasses in her hand. "I hope he still has the time to talk to you. Many children with such famous parents don't have that joy." Slipping the glasses on, the mirrored lenses completely obscuring her lapis eyes, she exited and closed the door behind her. Ami, pondering the statement, wondered as to what brought that on; fingering her dress, she thought back to when her father had simply been her father, still living in the sterile jungle of Tokyo with them. Her father was as clinical towards life as she tended to be at times, yet he was also simple; being famous, seeing his name on the walls of Japan's finest galleries and museums produced little more than a shrug. And he never treated her as anything less than his only, cherished daughter.
       Of course, that also depended on how long she could keep her secret…
       …how long she could continue to lie.

      "Professor, I must protest this course of action."
       "Protest duly noted, Kaolinite. Now be quiet and tell me where we are!"
       "I wish you would have listened to me and taken the train. That noodle shop in Hikone is what got us lost! You had to stop for a bowl, and another…"
       "Kaolinite, if you do not cease and desist with berating me, I, the master of the superhuman, the god of science as now unknown, will beat your head in and throw you out of this Toyota. And your second utilization will be imperfect, and I will perhaps then transplant you into the body of a chimpanzee just to make it interesting! Now TELL ME, you incompetent assistant and magus, where in the name of the Master we are."
       Silence. There was a sound of paper being shuffled as Kaolinite briefly considered trying out her new trick on the professor; it wasn't very technical - mostly consisting of ramming her staff up his ass and twisting - then considered the pain inherent when their master retaliated. She truly loathed the man next to her; and for the life of her, she couldn't remember why she had even respected him in the first place, before their ascension. Iie, but that was a falsehood, she could recall it easily; in re-donning the identity of Kuromine Kaoli for the benefit of the herd, she knew where that respect had come from. Sometimes, Kaoli could come back to life and make her feel that useless emotion, which Kaolinite loathed.
       Tracing the road on the map with her finger, she silently calculated the kilometers they had already driven after Hikone, then watched the signs flying past to catch the name of a nearby town. Finally, after gritting her teeth and counting to two hundred as the professor's tapping fingers colored her world red, she ground out, "About five kilometers from Ise. Professor."
       "Excellent!" Now the man was all smiles and cheer, though it was a rather remarkable front in that it was entirely hollow. Rather like a bubble; pretty to look at, but see-through and empty. There was nothing there at all, nothing but a relentless calculating mind that just happened to be stuck in the body of a human being forced to do the dance of interaction with others of its species. "It's about time. I'm getting hungry."
        Kaolinite bit her tongue, trying desperately not to remark that it was his damned stomach that had gotten him lost just an hour ago. Instead she looked into the back seat, eyeing the two girls slumped against opposite sides of the car, deep asleep and not looking too comfortable. Both of them seemed innocent in youth, though they were of varying age, the oldest perhaps sixteen. Though they were students, the elder was also an instructor of etiquette at the school, presumably part of the program that allowed such gifted students to teach their peers if so qualified. And though some of those instructors did benefit, it was for the most part trickery.
       "Eudial," she said quietly, reaching back to touch her pointer finger against the girl's forehead. "Wake up. We're almost there." A black star appeared where skin met skin, and like a machine turned on, the girl's eyes opened in succession. Red as finely polished ruby, they blinked once, then narrowed into focus.
        "Kaolinite. You didn't have to force my awareness. I'm capable of awakening on my own." In unconscious irritation she flipped back one of her ponytails, a red that matched her eyes and was complimented nicely by her burgundy Mugen uniform.
       The car swerved suddenly as the professor quite cheerfully cut off a Hyundai, either unaware or uncaring of the compact's spontaneous flight across the median and into oncoming traffic. It created quite the merry bonfire as three other cars slammed into it, though Kaolinite and Eudial were too busy holding on for dear life; driving with the man was more nerve-wracking than the possibility of failing the master. Not for the first time they wished they were as used to it as the fourth occupant, who continued to sleep despite her head rolling back and forth sharply on her neck.
       "…you couldn't have waited until he parked!?" Eudial hissed, fingers digging into the seat.
       "Be quiet, witch, or your mission will be ending prematurely-"
       "Before or after he buries the front end into the scenery!"
       Once again, Kaolinite lamented the Witches' brazenness, which seemed all the worse when they were in their 'normal' identities and they knew she couldn't just simply strike them dead. The last time she'd tried, the students had panicked and stampeded, and wiping all of their minds of the incident had been irritating. Especially when she found a couple of the boys harboring rather obscene fantasies involving her and a garden of cucumbers.
       "So, where are we staying?" The professor slowed down in the middle of the road to watch the buildings, paying no attention to the sudden klaxon of horns behind him and several people screaming at him to Fucking Drive His Goddamn Car, or variations on the same theme. Likewise, he ignored Kaolinite's foot pressing down on an imaginary gas pedal on her side of the car.
       "A hotel right by the shrine," Eudial answered, resisting the urge to leap between the front seats and slam the pedal down for him. There was no need to mention which shrine; Ise was not a place you asked such particulars unless you were a foreigner.
       "Oh, that one?" So saying he yanked the wheel, clipping the front of a Kia, speeding unnecessarily as he pulled into the hotel's lot, nearly killing what looked to be one of the hotel's many staff in the process. Parking in a No Parking zone, he braked, and remarked, "Drivers certainly are assholes on the road these days, aren't they, Kaoli-kun? Did you see that woman try to cut me off?" She ground her teeth, trying again, resolutely, not to say a word.
       Behind him, the fourth occupant yawned, opening eyes the colour of amethyst to survey her surroundings. "Ne, papa, are we there?"
       "Hai, Hotaru, we're here. Come on, let's go everyone!"
       The four of them exited the vehicle, making quite the little group of visitors; the professor in his usual white lab coat, dress shirt and tie, and slightly stained slacks, next to Kaoli in a tasteful red sheathe dress and heels. Eudial in her Mugen uniform, wrinkled from the car ride down. And Hotaru, in a black dress with long sleeves, and matching stockings, effectively covering her from foot to neck. The colour leeched what faint blush her skin had, effectively bleaching her to the white of a ghost, though some would call her a beautiful china doll. Her hair, cut to fall evenly at her shoulders with bangs coyly fringing her eyes, was blue-black and soft as silk, the colour of a raven's wing. But she held herself straight, her entire posture speaking of her withdrawal from society, and as such most would also ignore her outright. She was simply another demure Japanese female.
       Within their group she seemed lost, following like a complacent animal; but only the most astute observer would notice her eyes roaming from side to side beneath her bangs, aware of her surroundings despite her hesitancy to be involved with them. Kaoli and Eudial, walking in front of her with brisk steps, were far bolder in their sightseeing, both of them curling their right hands at their sides into readiness for a protective spell if need be. The professor ignored everything, walking with big steps as if he owned the place, that strangely empty smile on his face as they entered through the double doors and the clerk was in sight.
       "May I help you, sir?" the clerk asked, raising an eyebrow at the assemblage of four. If the group of teenagers who had nearly destroyed the fish had been a sight, this was worse. The red-haired woman looked as though she had a night of flirtation and drinking planned, and had dressed appropriately for it; her skirt barely reached mid thigh, and dipped almost obscenely at her breasts. Her younger counterpart in her demure uniform had caught the eye of an elderly letch across the lobby, exiting the elevator, though she seemed almost too old to wear it in an actual class. The man was at least reasonably outfitted, though there was no science lab within the local prefecture. And the raven-haired girl…how pretty she was.
       "I have a reservation. Tomoe." The professor pushed his glasses up with a forefinger, the crystal of his fake eye shining rainbow prisms onto the clerk's paperwork. What a strange thing. Who in the world would have a fake eye made of crystal? The clerk turned away, puzzling over it as he rapidly tapped at his computer, bringing up the correct information.
        Confirming the reservation, the clerk said, "Ah, Tomoe Souichi-san, we're pleased to have you with us. Three rooms, on the fourth floor." Clicking the enter button, the printer began to quietly spew out the necessary paperwork, several pages worth.
        Kaoli, meanwhile, had placed herself by the pond, watching the fish swim. Only Eudial saw her hand move, hearing the quiet splash of a daimon egg compound being poured into the water. The fish seemed unaware of this new development, and Kaolinite turned away calmly to allow the compound to do its work. Though the utilization of daimon was all for the Master in his name, she was allowed to have a little fun; creating daimon out of fish and letting them run amok in Ise would be good entertainment. Such tiny creatures were no doubt simple to utilize, even if they ultimately failed.
       Later, as they carried their baggage upstairs to their rooms - Kaoli was forced to share with Eudial, a necessity that would no doubt make her suffer - she mused over the reason behind their trip here; the lure of another genius student whom the professor was intent on recruiting for the school. As administrator of Infinity Academy, she, the professor, and Eudial made up the committee that would be visiting the boy tomorrow, though she was still unsure how they planned to go about asking his family to move so far across the island. Hotaru was simply here because she asked to come with; and because the professor wanted to keep an eye on her, with her frequent 'fits.' Thoughtful, the imperious red-head watched the raven-haired child close her door, sparing a venomous look for Kaoli's eye.
       In her own room Hotaru unpacked her small bag, pulling out the clothes she would wear tomorrow, and her night gown, looking up with a frown as she caught herself in the mirror. She touched her chest unconsciously, disgusted with what she saw, as she always saw; a twelve-year-old body that resembled nothing of a twelve-year-old, taller and more developed. Her father kept telling her it was compensation for the years to come, but she hated it, seeing this body in the mirror. Peeling back her sleeves she examined her skin clinically, seeing the faint lines and tracery, everything she covered up. Disgusting. Inhuman.
       She could hear Kaoli-kun and Eudial - Yuuko-san, as she knew her - arguing in the next room, faint enough to be intelligible. Arguments she had no doubt slept through in the car, and for that she was glad; she disliked Kaoli-kun to begin with, and had no particular need to hear her whining. Though she couldn't quite put her finger on the source of her dislike - perhaps it was the red-haired woman's intrusion into their private life, as though taking the place of her dead mother - it was nonetheless acute.
       Their arguing crested, and Hotaru felt another strong pang of disgust. When would it be time to get rid of that loud-mouthed harpy? How she loathed this position! The time would come not soon enough, and then she would no longer be confined to her prison, but free in this new world… She smiled into the mirror, lips curling into the sharpness of a triangle, an utterly disturbed grin. Pushing at her prison.
       And the pain hit her then, slamming her down onto her knees as she cried out, huddling as she gripped her head. Her body robbed of breath, her lungs hitching as she tried to suck in air, she rolled onto her side, writhing as the fit took over her every function. Twisting onto her other side she reached atop the bed blindly, desperately searching inside of her bag as the fit grew worse. "Ittaaii!" she choked, finally grabbing the smooth bottle.
       Pulling it out, she fumbled with the cap, dispensing with any measurements and simply taking a swig. Nearly choking on it, she curled back into a ball, eyes screwed shut as she rocked, unaware of the rest of the medicine soaking into the carpet. Riding the waves of pain, feeling them ebb; crying, she felt it at last recede, though with one last spasm to remind her that it would be back. This was the price of survival, and she once more felt it too great a price to continue paying for the rest of her life.
       Struggling up, she leaned on the bed for support, shivering as the world came back into focus. Her fallen bottle was picked up and capped, though it was empty and useless; but her father would refill it for her. If only she could slip a bit of strychnine into the mix and poison herself, any kind of fatal drug, ending all of this suffering with one quick swallow…ah, but she was a coward.
       Knocking at the door. When she said nothing, her father opened the door, immediately noting the medicine soaking into the carpet as she sat on the bed, looking away. "Hotaru, are you alright? Did you have another fit?"
       "Hai, papa," she responded softly, rolling the bottle between her hands. "The medicine took longer to stop it…perhaps I'm building a tolerance to it. Could I do such a thing, papa?"
       He crossed the room to lift the bottle from her hands, noting the dosage. Strangely, he seemed to smile as if satisfied, though when he looked to her he had nothing but concern written upon his face. "No, Hotaru, it merely means I'll have to make it stronger to compensate. Daijoubu; when we return home, we can perform those tests. We'll achieve perfection, Hotaru, it's only a matter of time."
       "Hai, papa." Staring into the palm of her hand, she heard him step away, pausing at the threshold.
       "Hotaru, the student we've come to meet is having his work shown in a local gallery tonight. So we've decided to meet him there; would you like to come with us?"
       She lifted her eyes slowly to note her change of clothes, which included a black long-sleeve top with a frilly purple collar, dressy enough for such an outing. Thoughtful, she nodded, aware of his lengthy stare, and continued to watch the bedspread as though it was fascinating as he exited and closed the door. "Perfection…"

       It was merely a comfortable walk from the hotel to the gallery, and a nice night out. So they opted to leave the vehicle and travel those few blocks on foot, as they were all wearing reasonable footwear in which to take that walk. And it was entertaining watching poor Mamoru being literally sandwiched between two females, who were both pleading with him to take them shopping tomorrow before they left.
       Ami, though she wouldn't say it openly, was excited to be seeing her father's show, as the last had been so cruelly interrupted; as well, she was excited to see him in good health. Having called him that night upon arrival from the 30th century, she had been somewhat surprised to find out that a burst water pipe coupled with slightly rotten finger food had been labeled the culprit of the ruined show. He had assumed her to have left for home early, because he simply did not remember anything after Berthier's formal attack. She, of course, made no effort to dissuade him of the idea, though it wounded her to lie. A course of action she had been taking far too often lately.
       In a place renowned for its Shinto shrines, the gallery was of course entirely devoted to the classic beauty of Japanese painting, for which her father was renowned in such artistic circles. How sad, she often realized, that he put so much love and attention into his work that it had eclipsed his marriage and his family; though her parents had not formally divorced by law, it was effectively so. He simply never came home after leaving all those years ago for his atelier in the forest, so far from Tokyo. Ami didn't even remember the last time her mother and father had even been in the same room together.
       Did they even love each other anymore?
       Such terrible thoughts. Frowning, she banished them to the back of her mind, suddenly aware of the tall red-head looking at her curiously; she shook her head, looking up past the girls to see the art gallery coming into view. "There it is, minna; the gallery is just ahead."
       "Maybe this time we'll get through this night without someone being attacked," Alex commented dryly, remembering through another's eyes that first gallery, attempting to wrench open the doors… It was rather strange to 'recall' with such clarity this other life she had not exactly lived. Remembering the sudden fear that her friend was in danger, like an echo in her subconscious.
       "But it would be so boring if nothing happened!" Makoto lamented, not altogether serious, but not altogether looking forward to a long and dreary night of staring at framed paintings of the real thing. She would have rather walked through the forest and felt the bark of the trees, listened to the birds singing, and smelt the flowers; not seeing them painted in less-than-vibrant reproduction in pigments on canvas.
       Beside her, Minako snorted loudly. "Iyaa, do we need any more trouble? It's been nothing but work, work, work for months! We need a break from saving the world. These two days are going to be our last chance to enjoy ourselves before throwing ourselves full throttle into a new battle! Karaoke, boys, all the pleasures of a teenager!"
       "Minako, you enjoy those 'pleasures' no matter what the situation." Rei sounded opposed to the long-haired blonde's concept of fun, but they had come to regard that as normal; Minako did, however, brush it off with a gesture and a wink.
       This close to the gallery, they ceased conversation to look upon the understated building with admiration, cleverly built to resemble a feudal mansion and set far back from the road. Rock gardens and green gardens led the visitors the entire way to the door, sprinkled with clean ponds full of lotus and noisy creatures. Bamboo rustled in the gentle breeze. Makoto's cry of admiration was not the first, but it was the loudest and most appreciative; she almost opted to stand out here the entire night, begging Ami's forgiveness.
       But up ahead, a doorman noticed them, and slid open the screen, allowing the soft light to flood out into their eyes; they were caught. Bowing for his kindness in opening the door - though he was paid - they slipped in one by one to find that while the inside was tasteful, it was entirely modern, with track lighting and shiny floors. "Irasshai mase," he said stoically, sliding the screen shut after them. "Welcome to the Hakubutsugakusha Bijutsukan."
       Already there was a crowd, despite the fact that they had, against all odds, made it with half an hour to spare. The upper-class, avant-garde types who milled around with fine wine and champagne in their hands, gesturing expansively as they critiqued artwork they themselves could never produce. Ami felt her face tighten into an unconscious grimace at the sight, though she hastily put on her usual placid expression as someone stepped out towards them.
       It was her father's agent, a booming, large man from America who spoke Japanese atrociously and always smelt of sweat and unpleasant deodorant. "Amy!" he thundered, mispronouncing her name as always, turning every head in the gallery to witness the poor blue-haired genius being crushed against his ample stomach. Instinctively, the entire group jumped back, presumably to avoid a similar predicament. "How are you? Your father worries about you, alone in that city!"
       "I'm not alone Beerunarudo-san," Ami said to his chest, stumbling as usual over the clumsy syllables of his name, "mama is with me. And now, my friends…"
       "Friends?" Ami was grateful as he peeled her off his expensive suit, breathing in a half-lungful of fresh air; his personal smell usually permeated at least three feet around him at all times. "You have friends now, little Amy? Finally!"
       The entire gallery, having realized it was just that crazy gaigokujin Bernard again, turned back to their drinks and scathing commentary. Not that he even seemed to notice they had drawn a crowd to begin with. He set the blue-haired genius aside, literally hoisting her off her feet an inch or two and putting her down at his side as one might a vase, and viewed her friends speculatively. None of them seemed too pleased at being appraised; Chibi-Usa was clinging to Usagi and Mamoru like a spider monkey, reminded disturbingly of how she had been treated back home. Scrutinized.
       "Bernard-san, is that my daughter?" Mizuno appeared at the large man's left, dressed in the same suit they had seen him wear at the last gallery; most likely, it was the only one he owned. He looked healthy, recovered from Berthier's attack, though out of his element. "Musume-chan, you look beautiful as always, in the prime of strength."
       Ami smiled, plucking at the hem of her dress self-consciously. She always thought her father kind for telling her what she considered a casual deception, never once accepting that she was, indeed, a lovely young woman. Gesturing towards her friends, she said, "Otou-chan, you've met Mako-chan, Usagi, Minako."
       "Hai. Hajimemashite."
       "And these are also my friends: Hino Rei, Chiba Mamoru, Chibi-Usa, and LeBeau Alex." She indicated the four with a wave of her hand, and they nodded, waved, and stared at Mizuno in greeting. The painter bowed.
       "Hajimemashite. Demo sa, 'LeBeau' is not Japanese. Are you a French woman?" Mizuno asked the tall red-head as he straightened, with a curious lift of his brow. He couldn't even guess why his daughter would be friends with a foreigner, though he, and she, were far from disdainful of them.
       Staring off at a painting on the near wall, she tilted her head to regard the painter, shaking her head. "American. Not that it's a thing to be proud of, nowadays." So saying she glanced back at the art, motioning towards it. "Is that yours, Mizuno-san?"
       They all looked where she was pointing, to see a watercolour of what looked to be, at first, merely wild foliage. But then slowly, all of the parts assembled into their proper shape, and a ruined tumble of skyscrapers and vehicles appeared beneath their blanket of greenery. Flowers bloomed in profusion, winding their way around fallen and leaning light poles, opened in a riot of colour. It was beautiful, seeing nature reclaim what had once been; but it was also terrifying as to what had led to such destruction.
       Lightly scratching his forehead, making the usual gestures of pushing his hat back - a hat he habitually wore, but obviously had forsaken in the name of ritual tonight - Mizuno nodded thoughtfully, slow to respond as if recalling the process of creating that very piece. "Hai. Though I usually paint the beauty I see around me, the wild growth and unrestrained plant life, this came to me suddenly one day. I was struck by the possibility of such an organic process, of civilization tumbling again into ruin and being swallowed."       
       "And what a ruin that painting is, I couldn't agree more!" Bernard foppishly dismissed it, though his slurred and misspoken Japanese took a few seconds to translate. "No one wants to see that in a gallery of dull grass and flowers."
       "Why not?" Alex interrupted him, and he looked vaguely irritated as she spoke more fluently than he. "The world is always moving in cycle. Sooner or later, such an image would come to pass, even if in the distant future. And for nature to reclaim the planet, to clean it up and make it fresh…to fix the mistakes humanity has made." Ignoring the surprised looks she was receiving from the group, she strode forward to inspect the work closer up, Mizuno following slowly.
       "Exactly, LeBeau-san. Humanity is ignorant of the damage it causes this planet. For the planet to finally reclaim everything, make all green and living, it would be lovely." Mizuno smiled suddenly, though it was an innocent, naïve smile. "You like my painting?"
       She touched a hand to the plaque that bore the name: 'Organic Rebirth.' Framed in simple wood, it was, as always, understated. "A lot. How much are you asking for such a piece?"
       Anyone could recognize the glimmer in Bernard's eye, then; it was never Ami's father who set the price on his work, he would have been happy to give them away. The large man was the one who marked them so outrageously, haggling for higher prices and bigger venues. He stepped forward, taking point as Alex turned to eye him coolly. "Perhaps a bit too much for such a young lady. Why, Mizuno's painting are works of classic art!"
       The tall red-head chuckled as if to say, Poor man, you don't understand a thing, folding her arms. Standing straight, she actually rose above his head; he reached her nose. "Bernard, we're going to have words," she said in English, bending down slightly to look him in the eye as she lowered her voice. "You know my father. I recognize your name and your…collection."
       All of them were surprised to see the large man turn pale. None of them fully understood what Alex was saying, but it was obvious that they were not completely kind words. "Don't underestimate me, as you did him. But as I have patience, I'll allow you to rescind those words and answer me truthfully; or your collection will be spread to the five ends of the earth within a week, I promise you this. Now," she laughed calmly, switching back into Japanese, "what are you asking for it?"
       Mizuno, recognizing what was most likely going to be a drawn-out haggle, turned towards his daughter with a smile, shrugging. "Gomen ne, musume-chan, but it looks like your friend is going to give Bernard-san the fight of his life. Go with your friends through the gallery and look around; I'll find you later."
       With varied and slow shrugging, the group did indeed disperse, allowing Alex and Bernard to argue. Usagi, Chibi-Usa, and Mamoru went one way, hand in hand, looking like the happy family they would become, soon in the future. The girls went the other, Minako looping her arm within Ami's to pull her with, as she seemed hesitant to go. "Ne, ne, Ami-chan, you should relax! If sensei buys one of your father's paintings, that would be wonderful!" the long-haired blonde crooned, swinging the hapless Ami around the corner with her.
       "And it is a lovely painting," Makoto murmured, eyeing a painting that showed the serene view of a lotus pond. "But to happen from such ruin…"
       "But isn't that the thought of so many people? That humanity is destroying the planet? So many might think that such ruin is a blessing," Minako countered thoughtfully, slowing her pace. "With so much chaos in the world today, would a fresh start be so terrible?"
       The dark-haired shrine girl gestured for them to lower their voices with a swipe of her hand, purple eyes regarding the sparse crowd around them growing slowly larger. "How can we even speculate on such events anymore?" she whispered, stopping in front of a sculpture of a lucky bamboo. "We've seen what can happen in the future. Glimpses, again, of a similar fate. What would these people around us, Mizuno-san as well, say if they knew what we know? Would such disaster be beautiful then?"
       Sighing, the tall brunette said, "And we can no longer dream, can we?"

       On the other side of the gallery, Chibi-Usa had fallen down the rabbit hole into wonderland. Wide-eyed and mystified, the pink-haired child rose on tiptoe to look at yet another painting, completely forgetting the two standing behind her, slightly anxious to move on and finding this all not anything spectacular. Usagi had produced a lollipop from a pocket and was sucking it, despite Mamoru's sighing; the dark-haired prince himself was indifferent to art in general, because it held no real interest for him. Not in this sterile mode of interpretation, anyway; classical artwork always made him think of a photograph. No imagination at all.
       But the pink-haired child didn't remember such things as cameras and classical painting. The ice had taken care of almost all of humanity's creations, including the museums and galleries and schools. She knew that Mercury had been instrumental in rescuing what they could from the ruined city, and that she had traveled outside of Crystal Tokyo on expedition convoys to explore the frozen world and excavate. Deep within the palace sub-floors were rooms Chibi-Usa had only glimpsed into, full of these treasures. But nothing she could tangibly remember.
       Here were those watercolours she had seen so hastily, oils on canvas, sculptures of bronze and marble and jade. The creations of humankind, their imagination lain bare by their handiwork. Now they still existed, undisturbed by the ice and cold, for all to see.
       So beautiful.
       "Chibi-U-U-sa! Are you done looking yet?" Usagi was tapping her foot by this time, wary of leaving the child alone, but wanting - desperately - to move onward. She played with the stick of her candy impatiently, scratching her head.
       "But it's so pretty, Usagi! Nothing like this exists in the 30th century….all of it was destroyed."
       "Not so loud, Chibi-Usa," Mamoru whispered in her ear, giving her a smile as she turned to face him. "But it's alright. Usa and I can go on alone. Just meet us at the front door after you're done."
       "Mamo-chan! We can't just leave the kid alone!" the odango-haired blonde hissed, looking from side to side. "What if she gets into trouble?"
       The dark-haired prince sighed, marveling at how his princess was so protective of their future offspring, yet often unwilling to admit it. "Usa, she'll be fine. We're not in Tokyo." He reached to take her hand, directing her to his front as he called back, "Remember, Chibi-Usa, the front door!"
       It didn't matter; she'd turned back to the painting. Waving vaguely at them, she leaned forward, pink eyes narrowing as she searched through the details of the work, finding such funny little things like beetles and worms hiding beneath the leaves of the tree and in the grass. "Sugoi," she whispered. "It's like an entirely different world…"
       "…full of the creatures we step on daily, unaware or uncaring," a soft voice said behind her. Yipping, Chibi-Usa spun around, aware suddenly that she had not thought to bring Luna P with her, that she was generally defenseless; but when she saw the pale girl standing there, looking just as hesitant as she, Chibi-Usa relaxed. "Gomen nasai. I didn't mean to intrude on your space," the girl sighed, turning away to leave.
       "Daijoubu! You just surprised me, that's all. You can stay!" Chibi-Usa reached forward unconsciously to take the girl's hand, to stop her from walking away, and was startled by how cold it was. Pale as marble her skin was, leeched further by the black of her clothing; but if she had worn anything bright, pastel, she would have looked ridiculous. The happiness of a sunny day was not a world she belonged within.
       But her eyes were so brilliant despite her pallor, twinkling amethyst that seemed alive; it was as if her body were dead, but her soul was burning with life. How unusual. And her face; it seemed strangely familiar, yet the pink-haired child couldn't place it.
       Releasing the girl's hand, Chibi-Usa pointed up at the painting. "You see them?"
       The girl nodded, hugging the backs of her arms. Clearly, she was not comfortable in the crowd, flinching as someone accidentally brushed her sleeve. Yet, there was also a hardness in her that was disconcerting, visible for a split second when she looked at the people, as if she wished nothing more than for them all to die. Her face changed, her posture; and when she looked back towards Chibi-Usa, she was gentle. "Hai. I often see details others do not; papa says I'm very perceptive. All of this artist's paintings have these tiny creatures, showing that there is more to the grass and trees than leaves and bark."
       "I think it's interesting. My teacher gave us an assignment to find some worms for a science class, to put them in a glass cage with dirt so we can watch them. And they're amazing! They change the dirt, and dig tunnels, and they have no legs and feet, but they're still so important to the earth! I've never seen such a thing before in my life," Chibi-Usa recalled, thinking back to that assignment. And she never had seen such a thing; a princess, after all, did not go out and dig up the dirt to find those crawling insects.
        Blinking, the girl stared at Chibi-Usa as if she wasn't sure that she was serious. Slowly, she began to smile, turning to cover her mouth as she laughed, trying to remain polite. The pink-haired child realized then what silliness she had spoken of, and began laughing too, which prompted them both to laugh harder. Behind them, a businessman and his wife eyed them as if they'd committed a sin by being too loud, frowning. That really did it; the girls were all but on their knees laughing then, despite gaining more confused and angry looks. But, for the nature of their laughter, you simply had to be in on the moment.
       Slowly winding down, Chibi-Usa giggled, "Usagi Small Lady Serenity. But everyone calls me Chibi-Usa."
       "Hotaru." They rested on their knees, looking entirely out of place amidst the well-dressed crowd, still giggling. "Do you want me to call you Chibi-Usa too?"
       "I'm used to it! Even though I'm most definitely not 'chibi.'"
       Crawling up to their feet, they roamed together into the next wing, where a young boy and girl were surrounded by a considerable crowd. Both of them paused, unwilling to infiltrate such a group; as one, they decided to back up, choosing a different room that was filled with true plant life amidst the paintings. Most of them were amazing displays of bonsai. Above their heads, a skylight showed the pale, distant stars. "I always wished I could create such lovely plants," Hotaru remarked as she gently touched the leaf of a maple. "To bring life…"
       "Hai, hai," Chibi-Usa agreed, running her hand against a fir. "So much greenery exists here; I'm used to seeing nothing but ice and snow from my window, cold and lifeless. No one seems to understand how marvelous it all is!" She paused, looking back at Hotaru as she realized that she was rambling in the presence of a civilian, a normal human who had no idea of what the future brought; but the raven-haired girl seemed oblivious, sniffing at a miniature rose.
       Of course, she had hardly implicated the future; for all Hotaru knew, she could have been from a colder, northerly climate that was used to constant snow. Chibi-Usa mentally kicked herself, frowning at the small twist of a willow tree. This secret identity thing was going to take a bit of getting used to.
       Then again, Hotaru seemed to be friendly enough, perhaps even trustworthy. Chibi-Usa had never known such kindness from anyone close to her own age before her trip; all of the children seemed content to mock her, turning their backs on their future sovereign. But Hotaru was kind and gentle, and how could she not be? She didn't know who the pink-haired child was. Still, it made her feel good; perhaps, she had made a friend.
       Though there was still that feeling that she'd seen Hotaru before, even if she had never met her before this day. And she couldn't recall the raven-haired girl being alive in Crystal Tokyo, fur surely she would have seen her on the street. If she lived here in Ise, that cancelled the notion that she had seen her in 21st century Tokyo. So if none of those options, then what? Why did it hound her so badly?
       "Hotaru! Hotaru!"
       "Kaoli-kun?" The two girls looked up as Kaoli-kun appeared in the doorway, in the same red dress she had ridden down in, affecting a caring smile. Hotaru, much to Chibi-Usa's surprise, seemed almost violently upset at the sight of the woman; angry. "Kaoli-kun, what do you want? Are you giving papa the impression that you can replace mama by looking for me?"
       "Hotaru, how can you say such a thing? Your father has been looking for you, and he asked me to help," the red-haired woman replied, looking wounded.
       "You simply wish to enter a domain you aren't welcome in!" And there it was again; that spontaneous, awful twist of the face, though Chibi-Usa was at such an angle she couldn't fully appreciate it. But she could tell it was there by Hotaru's rigid posture, poised as if to laugh or strike the red-head down. "Magus," she hissed, an unfamiliar word to the pink-haired child. Kaoli-kun's expression stiffened, stilling into the contemplative bleakness of the frozen tundra; the warmth had turned cold.
       "H-Hotaru-chan?"
       As if she were a puppet whose strings had suddenly been cut, the raven-haired girl slumped onto her knees, hitting the floor with a peculiar thump of her skull against the tiles before either could catch her. Chibi-Usa tried, she did, but Hotaru fell heavily, so quickly she couldn't even hope to reach her. Instead, she dropped beside Hotaru, visibly frantic and desperate; she had no idea how to check if her new friend was alive, or how to stop any bleeding, or even prop her up. Medical knowledge had been Mercury's forte. So she hesitated in touching Hotaru, hands shaking, as she begged, "Hotaru-chan, Hotaru-chan!"
       This was a first for her, but not something she had planned on when preparing for her second trip into the past. She simply had not once considered anyone just dropping unconscious in front of her that wasn't a sailor soldier.
       Kaoli-kun, she realized belatedly, was long gone, and they were still alone in the forested room. Not too surprising; the room was small, and from the lack of direction markers, was not part of the gallery show. No help from the avant-garde herd mentality. Chibi-Usa bit back a whimper, wondering where the red-haired woman had disappeared to, and pulled back the sleeve of her top.
       The watch on her wrist was a piece of 30th century crystal technology, the one advancement mankind had made since the ice; in all other respects, the 21st century was superior to its future. Things like fluorescent lights, working automobiles, nuclear and coal and gas powered energy…all of it was experiencing the terrible twos all over again. Her mother had pushed instead for a new technology that would be beneficial to their rescued planet, and never ending; crystal. Luna P had been one of the first experiments with the power source. The entire palace was run by crystals, and a generator for the city had been in the final stages before the Black Moon had destroyed everything.
       But the watch - a chronometer - resembled a 21st century plastic toy, one that a child would find in a cereal box. Sugar pink and with the faceplate of a bunny rabbit, it flipped open to reveal a hologram of the accurate time and temperature if she desired it, or in simple analog; and it also functioned as a communicator to link with the other soldiers. But that particular hologram function was not changeable, showing a face of the person - or persons - on the other end. The desire to use it and call for help was tempting, but what if Hotaru woke up and saw it? Or worse, Kaoli-kun? How could she explain such a thing?
       She didn't have to wait any longer, as Kaoli-kun appeared in the doorway, along with a man in a lab coat. The new urge to get up and flee as his gaze dropped to her was sudden, and quelled just as quickly; she was a sailor soldier, for the love of the kami! Soldiers didn't run in the face of danger, or abandon their friends. But the way she looked at her, it was the same way she remembered Mercury looking at a stubborn machine; as if he were mentally stripping away her surface, imagining how to disassemble her and fix the problem. "Hotaru-chan…" she babbled stupidly, caught by his eyes - iie, she realized anew with horror, his single eye - as she knelt there, useless.
       "Yes, my Hotaru," he said casually, as if remarking on the sun being warm, or water wet. "She suffers from these spells, you see, after a particular accident…" he added with just a touch of remorse, as if it were his cross to bear, and pushed his glasses up more firmly onto his nose with his index. "If you will excuse us, little girl, we'll take care of my Hotaru now."
       "But, but…" Chibi-Usa looked from him to Hotaru's face, creased in uneasy sleep. "Will Hotaru-chan be alright?"
        Kaoli-kun stepped forward, taking the pink-haired child's arm uncomfortably, pulling her up onto her feet. "The professor is capable of solving the problem," she said coolly, leading her towards the entranceway. "Thank you for watching Hotaru in his absence." Unceremoniously pushed from the room, Chibi-Usa had no time to protest further as Kaoli-kun decisively turned away, effectively closing her out. And as she stood there alone, the gallery full of people who either ignored or didn't see such a scene, she felt the numbing shock wear off, and the cold, sickening sensation of helplessness overtake her. As it had, watching her mother fall. Seeing everyone she cared for beaten. Viewing her beautiful city after it tumbled into ruin.
       And now, unable again to aid those who had gained her heart, even in the span of minutes, she fled through the rooms despite her blurring vision and out into the night.

       Sunrise came with the gentle chiming of bells, and Rei felt her spirit swell with joy to acknowledge the simple ceremony of dawn. Clad in her robes she finished her mediations, vacating the simple shrine the hotel had for such guests, smiling as she released her joy in the thought of a simple haiku towards the heavens in thanks. Almost no one else was awake at this hour, save for the management, and her sandals sounded almost thunderous upon the tiles as she walked the hallways for the elevator. Behind the desk, the night manager, just finishing up his shift, nodded to her, though his eyes remained on her a bit longer than necessary.
       A man at the pond tipped his hat to her, carefully wheeling off with a large cart full of supplies and a stack of boxes atop, finished with his early cleaning. He had surprised her when she had gone down to the shrine hours ago, planning for a lengthier meditation than normal to celebrate her visit. Even in his work clothes, dirty and well patched, he had knelt in respectful prayer next to her, silent and still as a priest, until he had taken leave of her to do his job.
        Ascending, Rei stared at her blurred reflection in the elevator doors, her features slightly more pinched and worn than usual. Spending the night dealing with arrogant, disrespectful beings always wore her down; it reminded her of the parties her father had taken her to for his political party. So many faces, none of them real.
       It didn't help that Ami's father and his words had disturbed her, more than they should have. That he would be stricken suddenly with the image of ruin, overtaken by nature to such a degree; though the sight of the ruin frightened her, it was the fact that he had even imagined such a vision. Did it possibly mean something? Or was it her paranoia?
       Sighing, she exited the elevator as the doors slid open, banishing her face, and padded towards her door. As on the bottom level, all was quiet, everyone still asleep. Sloth, in her opinion, unhealthy and disgusting. She passed her prince and princess, mildly surprised to hear no snoring from behind their door, only to hear it from Minako and Makoto's room. Though it was to be expected; Minako had snuck too much champagne for her tolerance. They had been carrying her entirely by the end of the block, giggling.
       Opening her door, she slipped into near-darkness, everything reduced to watery shadows that seemed inconsistent with reality. In one bed, Ami was a pale blob amidst black bedclothes, an arm flung over her head; her sleep was strangely restless. Rei felt a surprising kindredship for the blue-haired genius now, effectively abandoned by her father despite his love for his only child. So she was concerned for her sleep, and came closer to gently set Ami's arm down at her side, adjusting the blankets around her body. Murmuring in syllables that were either entirely garbled by sleep, or not of a language Rei recognized, Ami rolled over.
       Alex's bed had been slept in, or perhaps simply sat on; the sheets were rumpled, but not much used. The tall red-head was nowhere to be found, and had been gone since Rei had woken up, hours earlier. She frowned; despite her friends and their obvious trust of the American, she still had her reservations. Having no memory of her from the Silver Millennium only justified her feelings, though a tiny voice in her head chastised her for assuming; after all, her memories from that life could fill a thimble. But it was something, a sense she couldn't put her finger on.
       The tall red-head always remained that one step away from them, an arm out of reach, as if she were afraid to touch them. In fact, Rei couldn't recall a time she had really set hands on them at all for any lazy amount of time, except for Pluto as she lay dying. That charming, secretive smile she wore like an old skin seemed to captivate everyone she flashed it to, though never with them; but more than once, Rei had felt that charm warm her briefly, like a flashlight turning off as it came close.
       She was an unknown in this world of soldiers and enemies as far as Rei had seen, and that tantalizing bit of history she had given them had been barely a scrap. Taking this room to share with her had been more of a desire to watch the tall red-head than to avoid having to deal with Minako's antics, and it galled her that her subject had managed to elude her.
       Washing her face for a second time in the bathroom, she changed out of her robes and into her second change of clothes; black jeans and a red T-shirt with a picture of Mr. Spock giving his famous hand gesture. It had been a silly present from her grandfather, and despite herself, she often wore it. Smiling briefly at the image in the mirror - she had read somewhere that it was actually a Jewish signal - she brushed her hair, tying it back loosely. No makeup, of course; that was absurd.
       Later, walking briskly towards the Ise Jingu, she watched the cars going past, life slowly waking up in the city. In centuries past, it would have been simple carts and the pounding of feet on the dirt; now, it was aluminum and rubber over asphalt and concrete. But the result was the same, she mused. Only now it was dirty and loud.
       As she passed beneath the red torii, she caught a glimpse of the worker from the hotel, pushing his half-empty cart in the same manner as before. She waved despite herself, and was pleased to have it returned; in this city, she was not the unusual girl with her psychic powers, but another visitor. In this shrine, she was also not the miko, but a safely anonymous worshipper of the Shinto faith. So for her own pleasure, she took the slow tour around the grounds, marveling at how lovingly everything was maintained, despite its size; though her grandfather often said the simplest joys were nature's intent, he would have been beside himself with envy at the sight.
       Ringing the walkways were spaced ponds full of elegant, colourful fish, much in the same way that the hotel had their pond; entranced, Rei squatted in front of one of them, watching the fish swim. They puckered their mouths at her, turning in slow, lazy circles as though they had all the time in the world. "I envy you," she sighed, tracing her fingertip against the stones edging the water. "You have no mission to fulfill, no duties that bind you into a new life against your will. All you have to do is swim and eat and finally die and nothing in-between."
       "You could resist your duty, Rei," someone said behind her, "but would it make you any happier, knowing what you know?"
       Angry, the dark-haired shrine girl twisted around as she stood on her feet, to face an unsurprisingly sunglassed Alex. She didn't appreciate anyone sneaking up on her, and the look on her face told of her displeasure. "Alex-san, how thoughtful of you to join me," she said pleasantly, though she was anything but. "Are you perhaps a faithful Shinto, or just shadowing me like a criminal?"
       Rei was slightly more miffed to see her sharp words had no effect on Alex's face, though one of her unnamed talents was for pissing people off. "Contrary to whatever vile thoughts you have about me, I was actually here to take in the scenery. I didn't expect you to finish your meditation for another hour."
       "I have no such thoughts," Rei replied coolly, fingering a loose strand of her hair. "I was merely curious. After all, you were gone before I even left this morning."
       "I don't sleep much." Then, sighing, Alex said, "You know, I expected this to be a lot easier."
       Eyes narrowing, Rei asked, genuinely curious, "Nani?"
       The tall red-head shrugged, folding an arm across her ribs as she re-adjusted her sunglasses with the other. "Stepping back into your lives. Being the wise mentor again, though gods know I'm not the teacher my own teachers have been. I anticipated a bit of adjustment, but not like I've had to deal with. Usagi, Minako, Makoto, even Ami to a degree; they've at least come to terms with me being here. But you, Rei, you hate me. Or at least, you seem to think I'm some evil creature with some diabolical scheme in mind."
       "Hardly diabolical, Alex-san. But I do admit hesitancy to trust someone who seems at a perpetual distance from all of us." Rei stepped away, withdrawing into the privacy of the foliage, reaching up to touch a branch out of need for reassurance. "Especially when you wield fire as do I, and yet you're not a sailor soldier. You obviously hold other powers as well, which you haven't told us of; and frankly, as I did Minako's scheme, I distrust yours."
       Alex made a sound between a laugh and a cough, muttering something oath in English under her breath. Glancing away, she watched the slow walk of a priest across the stones, head bowed in personal prayer or thoughtfulness; he stopped to confer with a miko dressed in the red and white robes that Rei was usually so comfortable in. "It's habit, Rei. Just like your psychic powers that you don't exactly go out of your way to advertise. In most of the civilized world, it's not smart to let people know what I can do. And frankly, not that it's any of your business, I couldn't do jack shit with them anyway up until recently, and I'm still a bit clumsy in using them. Being physically dead for a couple centuries does that to a body."
       Water burbled behind her as Rei frowned, slowly digesting her words. How often did she wish she hadn't been born with such abilities? And how often did she wonder in these last months if they had not been because of her reincarnation as Sailor Mars, but because Hino Rei simply had such powers alone? It was true that she had tried to keep them a secret, but her goodwill had betrayed her when those people spread the rumours and half-lies. None of the other soldiers had such powers she had witnessed in their normal lives, and so she had not discussed her own at length with them. They couldn't know.
        Finding lost objects, precognition; no normal person could do such a thing. And yet, in America, in Great Britain, people were as plagued as she, headlines in the newspapers continually screamed. The Japanese scoffed, they had no such widespread problems, but it happened every day somewhere else. Was Alex one of these unfortunates, just like her?
       There was a louder babble of water, and Rei was hit by the sudden sensation of malicious intent; unfocused, evil. From the pond rose that humped black creature from the Crown, gaping maw wide and sharp. "In Ise, the enemy's attacking us!?" she whispered, stunned into backward motion as the tall red-head spun around.
       "What the hell is that thing?" Calling fire to her hand, she flung it out in the form of a whip, striking it across its presumed face; burnt creature did not smell good. And by the sound it made, it was not happy to be so randomly injured. "Into the bushes, girl, transform!" she ordered, bringing her arm back for another strike. Rei, for once, followed orders, dropping into the lush greenery to flip open her wrist communicator.
       The creature flopped out of the water, its tiny host flopping frantically on the stones as it suffocated in the air. Despite that, the atavistic monster managed to throw itself forward, slamming into the tall red-head as she jumped back attempting to evade it, squashing her onto the ground. Teeth sank into her arm as power flooded the air from Rei's transformation, and Alex screamed, shoving at the black weight on top of her. Surprisingly - or not, depending on the viewpoint - it didn't budge, and continued to gnaw on her. "Why does my power keep failing me when I fucking need it!"
       "Fire Soul!" Scorched flesh again; the teeth only partially withdrew as the creature spasmed in its own death throes, ripping Alex's shoulder further; she placed her hand against its forehead and this time, it flew across the courtyard, colliding with a wall.
       Mars bent immediately to help the tall red-head up as she held her shoulder, blood welling out between her fingers. "Shit and fuck me, this hurts," Alex growled, picking up her sunglasses from the ground and placing them back over her eyes. "Don't tell me that was one of those creatures you destroyed at the Crown."
       "Hai. Though here, in Ise? What would the enemy want?"
       "Besides the marvelous scenery and excellent architecture, I couldn't imagine."
       Whatever the dark-haired shrine girl was going to say was lost in another spray of water, as three more creatures sprang from the pond, looking appropriately pissed.

       Kaolinite clenched her teeth and her fists and tried not to scream as she waited for the water to resolve itself again into a calm pool. She hated being away from her scrying pool beneath the lab, which gave her crystal clear reception; this was merely a secondary means, when she had nothing else. But even footsteps in this building disturbed the water just the tiniest bit that she could sense, and it dimmed her picture.
       Eudial was impatient behind her, still in the guise of Yuuko down to her socks; but the look in her eyes was of a darker magic. "Magus Kaolinite, perhaps it's nothing."
       "Of course it is, Eudial. As a mere witch, you can contemplate the mysteries of the universe and its paths so much better than me. I'm being silly." The contempt in her voice was unmistakable, and Eudial unconsciously took a step back, loosely clutching her hand to call her lesser staff if need be. Kaolinite regarded this move with mockery, ignoring Eudial totally as she looked back into the finally calmed waters.
       And she saw the dim energy signatures of her daimon fish, which brought a smile to her face; but two more signatures appeared, rendering all else pale by comparison. "Masaka…here, in Ise!?" She quickly gestured, fingers moving into the appropriate twists and dips to call up a location of the source of these signatures, frowning; how could the fish have moved away so quickly? Surely they would still be in the lobby wreaking havoc, but she heard nothing amiss. A last jab brought up a picture of the Ise Jingu, rippling despite the still liquid. "Eudial!"
       "Hai?" Though Eudial couldn't properly read such scrying pools, she looked over Kaolinite's shoulder anyway, curious. To her, the picture looked like emblazoned loop scrawl on the water's surface, though the language was decipherable enough to spell out the location for her benefit.
       "Do you still desire to attain the rank of Magus? To reap the benefits of our crystal? To find those planetary lights and execute them?"
       Eudial smiled eagerly, and now she did call forth her lesser staff to exchange identities, hardly upset to lose her uniform for the dress and heels of a witch. "I won't fail you, Magus Kaolinite. If the sailor soldiers are indeed here in Ise, I will bring you their souls for the Master. The light close to the source of the Taioron Crystal as well!"
       Both of them paused. In unison, they looked up at the ceiling, hearing the sudden faint stampede of pairs of feet in a rush, stomping for the elevators. When it was over, they exchanged a moment of perfect agreement; they hated humans. Life would be so much simpler after their Master had arrived and claimed the planet for their new world. "Sou yo," Kaolinite muttered finally, slapping a hand against the rippled surface of the water to disturb it further. "Their souls will nourish the Master. Now go! And make it fast, witch; we're on a schedule." She didn't plan on sitting through another session of wrong turns because of the professor's efficient stomach.
       The red-haired witch scowled at Kaolinite's tone, but nonetheless bowed in respect for her command. Placing two fingers against the sigil of star and infinity on her staff, she muttered the intonation that bent space to her wishes, opening a door in the middle of the bathroom directly onto the grounds of the shrine. Through it, both women could see the three daimon that had risen from the water after their comrade had been destroyed, using their host bodies to leap from pond to pond in an amazing display of intelligence.
       One howled in pain as flames slammed into its back, flinging it across two ponds into the very last, its jaw colliding with the stones. Teeth like knives went flying as they snapped on impact, and it rose, bleeding and aggrieved, to fling itself towards a red-suited soldier. "A sailor soldier!" Eudial observed brilliantly, pausing. The theory of fighting a celestial avatar was all good and well on the drawing board, but now, actually faced with the prospect, she was feeling a little overwhelmed.
       But it passed, as all unnecessary emotions were wont to do, and she stepped through the door with an arrogant twist of her compact body, snapping her fingers to close the way behind her. Satisfyingly cutting off Kaolinite's clearest image of the oncoming battle as well. It was a good thing too, because she would have never lived down what happened next, as one of the daimon went airborne again. That was to be expected; but as it passed her by, the scorching flames that had sent it on its way singed off a good portion of her hair before she even realized it had followed the daimon. She froze, seeing the sailor soldier and another, dressed in an officer's uniform, and realized, sickeningly, that she was now partially bald in front of the enemy.
       Oh. They would pay.
       The daimon died in pain behind Eudial as she leveled her staff at the two soldiers, howling out an incantation. It didn't matter that she nearly killed the two remaining daimon with the blast of plasma that rocketed off, but the satisfaction she gained in seeing her enemies barely fling themselves out of the way. "It doesn't matter how you run from our daimon, sailor soldiers!" she shrieked, steadily ignoring the wetness dripping down the side of her face. "Though I'm at a lower level then my fellow witches, I am a Death Buster! I am Eudial, the warrior of flame! For the Master, I'll have your soldier's souls!"
       "We like them right where they are, thanks; tax purposes. You understand." The Crystal Guardian was holding what looked like a simple rock, as far as Eudial could see; but when it left her hand, it had become a glowing magenta, and the witch threw herself into the pool as the world exploded.
       Not that they could savor their victory, as the two daimon sprang again, sacrificing their hosts as they took advantage of the distraction and tackled both soldiers onto the stones. It wasn't a gentle landing; the impact slid them several feet back, ripping cloth and flesh before they slammed into a decorative concrete plant pot, awkwardly and desperately trying to keep those jagged teeth from skewering them. They were lucky the daimon had no claws on their multiple appendages; but it took all of their strength to hold those maw open and at arms' length.
       "Guardian-sama, now would be a good time to do something miraculous!" Mars choked, her arms trembling with the effort. As Rei, this wouldn't have been possible, but as Mars, even she had her limits when wrestling with huge demonic creatures. She couldn't do this much longer, soldier's strength or no.
       The tall red-head wasn't faring any better, though she was stronger than her student; and more flexible, perhaps, as she managed to bend nearly in half to jam her boot against its bottom lip to help her struggle. "All out of miracles, sorry. I told you," she grunted, managing to shove her other boot up into the roof of its mouth, "I was having problems. Well, this is one of those rosy times."
       "What kind of mentor are you!?"
       "Fallible!"
       Mars' daimon was inches away from closing its teeth on her wrists, and slowly dropping. She cried out as her left wrist began to burn with the effort, struggling desperately to hold the jaws open. Next to her, the Crystal Guardian braced back against the planter, both hands now free, and shoved as hard as she could; the daimon uttered an inhuman shriek of pain as its jaws cracked and dislocated. It reared back, dragging the tall red-head with it as she grabbed Mars' ankle; both girls were flung over its head and out of danger as the daimon threw itself onto its back in agony, its fish host unable to breathe.
       Eudial, still crouched in the pond, watched with interest as they collided with a cherry tree, shaking multitudes of dying blossoms into the water. Prophetic; as she was showered with the browning petals, she saw the last daimon give up the fight as well, spasming once before lying still on the stones. "Why is the utilization such a failure? They should be perfect daimon, not these unworthy vessels!" she raged, stomping out of the pond to retain her dignity and remove herself from the blast radius as she aimed her staff.
       The Crystal Guardian and Mars were in no condition to argue with her; both were limp in the thickest branches, unconscious from striking the very limbs that had saved them from a sudden drop. No doubt they'd be sporting some serious goose eggs on their skulls if they survived this fight. Eudial held her staff horizontal as she placed her fingers on the sigil, preparing the incantation to harvest their spirits, when she heard the crackle of electricity.
        How lucky that she was soaking wet.

       "How could the enemy be here in Ise?" Mercury commented as Eudial did a jerking, epileptic dance from Jupiter's attack, despite its relative low power level. (They didn't want to kill her, after all, just make her hurt a lot.) Her goggles were having trouble scanning the red-haired witch, a worrisome problem considering that the goggles automatically adjusted for any problems their attacks caused. Whatever Eudial was, her body structure was evasive enough that Mercury couldn't even estimate her temperature.
       Venus stepped forward, power glowing in her hand like a miniature star. "Let's ask her when she's come to! Ruining our day off, that's rudeness; and attacking Rei-chan and sensei is even worse!"
       The red-haired witch, her remaining hairs now blackened at the tips and standing up in places, proved just how rude she was by decimating the stones beneath their feet.
       It was not a pretty sight, as they were forced to frantically run out of the way; Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus one way, Tuxedo Kamen, Moon, and Chibi-Usa the other. And the crater left behind was going to take a lot of explaining to the shrine management, though they were wisely somewhere safe, and doubtless happy that a hole was all they had to worry about. "All right!" Sailor Moon sputtered, withdrawing her new weapon to point at Eudial. "I was hoping to have peace for just a little longer, to spend happy afternoons with my prince, and you had to ruin it! The pretty soldier Sailor Moon won't stand for this!"
       "Neither will the pretty soldier Sailor Lady Moon!" Chibi-Usa added, posing in much the same way as her mother, sans heart moon rod. Unfortunately, she didn't get the reception she expected.
       Eudial scoffed, saying, "Lady Moon? Who named you that, you little pink-haired shrimp?"
       "Ano, Lady Moon?" Jupiter muttered, sotto voce across the courtyard.
       "That seems rather unusual for a soldier's name," Mercury agreed.
       Venus, in contrast, blasted the red-haired witch with a Crescent Beam, sending her dancing back about ten paces. "No matter! Whoever you are, baldy, you have a lot to answer to! And you're outnumbered," she added casually, as if it weren't obvious.
       Eudial sneered at this, though she unconsciously patted at her bare scalp at Venus' comment. It didn't matter, however; she was soaked, singed from the electricity, a knee scraped from her flight. She wasn't about to hit any posh after-hours club anytime soon. "My title is Eudial, of the Witches 5, of the Death Busters. Your deaths will be unfortunately quick, for my Master desires your pure souls!" So saying she twisted her staff to two o'clock, sending another blast of plasma their way.
       Again they scattered, through Mercury was quick to produce fog, a cold condensation that froze Eudial to the bone. Angry at this development, the red-haired witch realized she was blind, with no useful magic to sense them; she spun around and around, cursing. "Delaying the inevitable, sailor soldiers?"
       "Flower Hurricane!"
       "Venus Love Me Chain!"
       The blast of flower petals took her by surprise, and she was stunned to realize that they either could sense her, or anticipated her predicament; as the attack flung her down, a rope of golden links snapped around her staff, yanking it from her hand and away into the mist. "Iie, that's not possible!" she cursed. "Against one of the Witches 5, such power should be easily defeated!"
       On her feet with a decisive twist of her body, she chased her staff through the dissipating fog, unable to call any power without it. Before her loomed a sudden shape; Mercury. Neither had time to react before they collided, though the blue-haired genius instinctively grabbed her collar and rolled onto her back, kicking up to throw Eudial over her head. Wherever it came from, she had no idea, but it accomplished her objective beautifully. But the sudden shout of "Mars Snake Fire!" and the bright blast of fire that struck Eudial's body was not expected in the least.
       The body that dropped was charred and hideous, visible clearly as the fog receded. The gathered soldiers saw Mars and the Guardian sitting up in the tree, both looking woozy but entirely awake. "It's about time," the tall red-head remarked.
       "The bus wouldn't let us on," the dark-haired prince said, a bit miffed.
       Venus poked at one of the daimon bodies with Eudial's staff, frowning at their state; apparently, the creatures couldn't live without a host, which was an effective solution, but hardly feasible. They couldn't go around killing people. It was, however, strange to see that the creatures had managed to overtake ornamental fish, of all the living organisms in Ise.
       Of course, that was when Eudial's charred corpse decided to suddenly bloat and transform into something worse; another one of the creatures. And this time, there was no body attached by spine, but a whole daimon rearing on its legs and regarding them all with very obvious dislike. "Kami-sama, she changed into one of those creatures!" Sailor Moon gasped, staring in horror at the atavistic monster.
       "Sailor Moon, use your new rod!" Chibi-Usa sounded scared, which wasn't surprising; but she was trying very hard to keep it hidden, even as she inched back behind Tuxedo Kamen. Her early silent mantra of a sailor soldier not running in the face of danger seemed inspiring when she wasn't actually in any danger. "'Moon Spiral Heart Attack'! That's its name!"
       "It's already told me that," the odango-haired blonde replied rather matter-of-factly, leveling the heart moon rod at the Eudial daimon. It jerked as Venus and Jupiter attacked it with their power, turning away from Sailor Moon entirely to leave its back open. And even as she was reciting the words, she could feel her own power amplified in the weapon, and could only imagine what the effect would be: "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"
       Messy.
       Pieces of Eudial streaked the stones as the attack tore her daimon body apart. As well, the staff in Venus' hand shattered, tinkling like volcanic glass at her feet, the star and eternity sigil fading into smoke. Kaolinite, bent over her scrying pool, barely noticed the pain as she put her fist through the wall at seeing the witch's demise; though she wouldn't miss the brat, her failure pissed her off. A Death Buster, defeated by weak avatars! The Master would be displeased.
       Rippling, the water obscured the soldiers coming forward to stare at the remains, unsure of what to say. A name for their new enemies; and another body on the ground.