Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Brooch ❯ Chapter 13

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The Brooch
By Jason C. Ulloa


Chapter 13


Outside Hikawa Jinja Proper, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 7, 1992. 9:13 A.M.


Setsuna sighed to herself as she exited the Hikawa Jinja. The situation with the priests and miko was
under control, so she wasn't needed anymore. It was just as well, since she really didn't like staying
away from the children at the Orphan's Quarters for very long.

Outside the Hikawa Jinja Proper, she stretched her arms in the air wearily with a quiet groan. It had
been very exhausting; she was already tired and it was still morning.

She was about to start heading back down to the Orphan's Quarters when she noticed Ryoku coming up the
steps looking deep in thought. The expression on his face was one she had never seen before in the
time that she knew the young Blade. She had seen him looking somber before, but there was sensation of
brooding that seemed to radiate from him through the way he carried himself.

"Ryoku-san?" she called out as he approached her.

Ryoku jerked back as if startled. "Setsuna-san?"

She smirked with a hint of amusement. "Did I startle you, Ryoku-san?"

"A little," he replied, regaining his composure. He nodded toward the jinja. "How're things inside?"

"It's under control now," she told him. "The bodies of the dead priests and miko are being carried out
and a burial site is being prepared for them. The remaining priests and miko are being cared for as I
speak."

"I see," he nodded absently as he glanced past her at the jinja. "That's all I needed to know."

Setsuna gave him a concerned look. "Is everything all right?" she asked. "You looked worried a moment
ago."

He frowned for a moment before shaking his head. "Don't worry about it, Setsuna-san. I just had a lot
on my mind."

"Want to talk about it?"

Ryoku looked away slightly and sighed. "This is kind of a personal problem for me, Setsuna-san."

"Is this about your three girlfriends?" she asked with less of the teasing tone she usually put into
it.

He gave her a flat look. "Normally, I don't mind it when you call them that, but right now, please
don't refer to them as that."

Her expression grew more concerned. "Did something happen, Ryoku-san?"

Ryoku regarded her for a moment before hanging his head and sighing. "My 'three girlfriends' - as
you're so fond of calling them - have told me that they love me, all within hours of each other."

Setsuna raised an eyebrow at him. "So, it took them actually telling you for you to figure it out? I
didn't think you were that dense."

He gave her another flat look. "No, I figured it out before that," he replied dryly. "The reason why
I'm so preoccupied is because I have to figure out which one I really love so that I can give them an
answer."

"You don't know which one you love?" she asked, surprised. "And you've know them all for how long?"

"I've had other things to worry about!" he retorted tersely. "There's a war to fight! I can't be
spending a lot of time worrying over less important problems like my own love life."

She regarded him seriously. "You've never even given it any thought before now?"

He looked away and sighed. "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't."

Her expression became confused. "I don't understand."

This time, he hung his head. "My problem isn't about figuring out which one I love. I already know the
answer to that."

Setsuna blinked. "You do? So, what's the problem, then?"

Ryoku was about to reply when a familiar voice spoke first. "Sorry I couldn't be of any help," Sailor
Moon said as she waved to someone inside the jinja. She turned around and stopped dead in her tracks.

"Something wrong?" he asked as he followed her gaze. "Setsuna-san?" he said, noticing that Setsuna had
a puzzled look on her face.

"Do I... know you from somewhere?" Setsuna asked, frowning uncertainly.

"Pria?" she said, partly to herself as she stepped forward.

"Pria?" Ryoku repeated, confused. "You mean, Setsuna-san?"

"Wait," Setsuna interrupted as she stepped toward Sailor Moon. "Do you... know me?" she asked
hopefully. "Do you know who I am?"

Sailor Moon blinked. "What...?"

"Setsuna-san is suffering from a case of amnesia," Ryoku told her. "When she first came here, all she
could remember was her name."

She considered Setsuna carefully. "I see," she said after a moment. "Setsuna-san, you wanted to know
how I know you, right?" The dark green-haired woman nodded hopefully. "All right, then." She turned
to Ryoku. "Ryoku-san, would you and Setsuna-san return to the Orphan's Quarters and wait for me in
Setsuna-san's office? We can talk there without interruption."

"Understood," he nodded. "We were headed back there anyway." He turned to Setsuna and gestured for her
to precede him.

"But...," Setsuna protested.

"Don't worry, Setsuna-san. She won't be long."

She gave Sailor Moon another look, and then nodded. "All right. I've waited this long for some answers.
I can wait a few more minutes." She turned and left with Ryoku following close behind her.

_________________________________________________________________


Orphan's Quarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 7, 1992. 9:20 A.M.


Setsuna leaned back in her chair at her desk as she quietly sipped at her tea. Ryoku sat in another
chair next to her desk, holding a cup of his own.

"It feels like I haven't had a chance to sit down and relax in years," he said quietly as he stared
into his cup. "So much has happened in such a short amount of time."

"Considering what has happened, it feels like things are going to change soon," Setsuna replied
thoughtfully. "Like the end of an era or something."

Ryoku looked at her. "You know, that doesn't sound like you, Setsuna-san," he remarked.

"Too gloomy?" she asked.

"A little. Still, considering our situation, it's hard not to get a little gloomy every now and again."

She nodded as she took a sip from her cup. "Speaking of which, what were you about to say when that
girl showed up?"

"You mean, Sailor Moon?"

"Yes. You said you already figured out who you love, but you problem was something else related to
that."

He stared back down into his cup. "I don't know if I feel right talking about this," he said quietly.

"Ryoku-san, you know I'm here whenever you need help," she said amiably. "Whatever you have to say can
be kept between the two of us. You know I'd never reveal anyone's secrets, especially yours."

A quiet knock sounded on the door, catching their attention. "Later," he said quietly.

She nodded. "Enter," she called out, setting down her teacup.

The door opened, admitting a familiar blonde-haired girl. "Please excuse the interruption," she said
as she closed the door behind her.

Setsuna blinked. "Usagi-chan? Is there something you needed?"

"I thought you wanted to know about your past, Setsuna-san," Serenity replied with a smile. "You still
want to know, right?"

The nurse stared at her in wide-eyed confusion. "Usagi-chan? That was YOU?"

"Well... yes and no," she replied as she grabbed the chair next to Ryoku and dragged it opposite of
Ryoku so that she could address both of them at once. "Ryoku-san could probably explain it better than
me, anyway."

"You knew about me all this time and you never told me?" Setsuna exclaimed heatedly, pushing herself
to her feet as she rounded on Ryoku.

"You misunderstand," he replied calmly. "She means I can explain about her situation, not about your
past."

"Oh," she said as she sank back down into her chair. "I'm sorry, Ryoku-san. It's just that I'm a
little anxious. This is information that I've been searching for for years."

"Don't worry about it," he replied, shaking his head understandingly. "Anyway, what I'm about to tell
you may be hard to believe at first, but this is all true."

"My past is a blank slate to me, Ryoku-san," she replied quietly. "At this point, I don't care how
unbelievable my past is. All I want to know is the truth." She turned to Serenity with a serious look
on her face. "That's all I care about. I want to know who I am."

"I understand, but this has something to do with that," he explained.

"First of all, the girl you see before you right now is not Usagi. Her name is Serenity. Serenity was
the princess of a kingdom that existed on the Moon millennia ago, but she, along with her people were
killed at the hands of the Dark Kingdom. Apparently, her mother, the Queen, used some powerful magical
artifact that managed to simultaneously seal away the Dark Kingdom and send the souls of her subjects
forward in time to be reincarnated in this time. As you can probably guess, I know this because I've
just recently discovered that I was one of these subjects.

"At any rate, Serenity was supposed to have reincarnated as Usagi, but something happened when she
was attacked by Youma before she arrived here. Instead of Serenity's soul merging with Usagi's as it
normally would, she manifested as a separate personality instead. So, she's still Usagi, but
Serenity's the one we're speaking with right now."

Setsuna glanced between Serenity and Ryoku for a moment. "You're right, Ryoku-san. I do find this hard
to believe." She reached for her teacup and took a small sip. "Are you two trying to tell me that I
may have been part of this kingdom on the Moon from which she hails?"

"You always were very astute," Serenity remarked. "Yes, you were once a part of the Moon Kingdom.
Pria, Princess of Pluto, also the Sailor Senshi of Time and guardian of the Gates of Time, Sailor
Pluto." She paused for a moment and frowned broodingly. "However, unlike the rest of my Sailor Senshi,
I know that you were at your post guarding the Gates of Time when the Moon Kingdom was destroyed."

"Wait a minute," she interrupted, setting her teacup down and gesturing for her to stop. "So, you're
saying that unlike everyone else, I didn't die with the rest of your kingdom? If that's true, then
that would make me thousands of years old! That's impossible! I'm only 21 years old!"

"The Gates of Time is a place that connects the past with the future," Serenity explained. "The portal
allows travel from one time to another, and because of this, time does not pass. The guardians of the
Gates of Time remain ageless unless they leave their post. Such cases where they leave their posts are
rare; usually they're dire emergencies, even worse than the destruction of my kingdom."

Serenity stood up. "And if you're still finding what I'm telling you hard to believe," she began as
she stepped past Setsuna's desk and picked up her broken staff, placing it directly in front of her on
her desk, "then this is all the proof I need to show you that I speak the truth."

Setsuna's eyes remained transfixed on the broken staff in front of her. "You know what this is?" she
asked, her voice a bare whisper.

"The key to the Gates of Time, held by its guardian, Sailor Pluto," she stated, staring directly into
her eyes. "I believe I may have an idea of what may have happened five years ago."

Ryoku blinked. "You do?"

"Think about it, Ryoku-san," she replied flatly. "She told Usagi that she came here five years ago,
broken and bleeding, clutching this staff. Besides her powers, that staff is Sailor Pluto's main
weapon and her main focus for operating the Gates of Time. The fact that it's broken the way it is
indicates that she had left the Gates of Time to try to combat the return of the Dark Kingdom, as none
of my Sailor Senshi had awakened at this point. She fought bravely but was overwhelmed in the end and
almost died. With her staff broken and her memory lost, she became Meiou Setsuna, an ordinary girl
without a past." She turned to Setsuna. "Does any of this bring back any memories, Setsuna-san?"

Setsuna sat quietly in her chair with her head down and eyes closed. "I... I'm not sure," she
hesitated. "Some of what you say sounds right and it feels very familiar, but...."

"But?" she coaxed concernedly.

"But, I can't really see myself as a warrior," she told her. "I've studied medicine and worked as a
nurse for so long that I'm not sure if I could even become this Sailor Pluto you say I am."

Serenity's features fell as she looked from Setsuna to her staff. "Well, you could possibly become
Sailor Pluto again, but there'd be a problem."

"A problem?" Ryoku asked. "What do you mean? All she needs is a transformation wand, right?"

"Well, the transformation wand will let her transform, but a lot of her power set as Sailor Pluto is
tied to her keystaff," Serenity explained. "Without it, she won't be able to use most of her powers,
especially time travel."

"What?" Ryoku exclaimed. "Time travel? One of your Senshi had the power to traverse time and
neither you nor your mother told me about it? I could've saved thousands of lives back then if I had
known about it! Hell, this entire war could've been stopped before it started with that power!"

"Who said I didn't try?" Setsuna said, her hand resting on the top half of the broken staff.

He whirled around to regard Setsuna curiously. "Are you remembering something?" he inquired.

"I think so...," she said hesitantly. "It's hazy, though. Like...." She brought her hands to her face
as she shook her head. "It feels almost as if I don't want to remember. Like, I'm afraid that if I do,
something bad will happen."

Ryoku suddenly stood up. "I think this's enough."

Serenity turned to Ryoku as Setsuna removed her hands from her face. "What? What do you mean?"

"We shouldn't be pressuring Setsuna-san to remember everything right away," he told her. "I know you
want to revive all of the Senshi as soon as possible, but even if she did revive, she wouldn't be
complete without her staff's power, would she?"

"No, she wouldn't," she admitted. "The best she could probably do is use a slightly weaker version of
her main attack, Dead Scream. Her main powers would be unavailable to her until her staff is repaired."

Ryoku turned to Setsuna. "Setsuna-"

Setsuna cut him off with a raised hand. "I know what you're going to say, Ryoku-san. You're worried
about me becoming a Sailor Senshi with less than full strength, right?" She gave him a fond smile.
"I've known you for five years now, even before you became a Shishu Blade."

She gazed down at the staff in front of her with a slightly despondent look on her face. "As
preposterous as all this sounds, somehow I know it is true, even if I can't remember it," she added as
she gently traced the ornamentation that adorned the top of her staff with her hand. "As such, I have
a duty to uphold as Pria, Sailor Senshi of Pluto."

"Not Pria," Serenity amended. "Setsuna. As far as I'm concerned, you've been reincarnated along with
the other Senshi." She smiled. "So, you're now Meiou Setsuna, Sailor Senshi of Pluto." She turned back
to Ryoku. "Is that all right with you, Jovan?" she asked, stressing his former name.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "If she is determined to reassume her duty as Sailor Pluto, I
suppose I can't refuse her," he shrugged. "I guess I'll go find Luna and Artemis and see about them
giving her a transformation wand."

"Thanks, Ryoku-san," Serenity said as he left. He waved in response as he closed the door behind him.

"I suppose I should tell you who the other Senshi are," Serenity said, musing to herself.

"I would appreciate it," she said as she reached over for her teapot. "Would you care for some tea?
I've already brewed green, but I have other kinds if you'd prefer something else."

"That's fine," Serenity said as she received a teacup from Setsuna. "At any rate, I suppose I should
start at the beginning. First of all, there's myself, or rather Usagi. She's Sailor Moon, the leader
of the Sailor Senshi, however, for the most part, I've been handling the transformations and the
actual fighting. Usagi has yet to become Sailor Moon."

"I... see...," she said as she sipped her tea thoughtfully.

"Next, there's Mizuno Ami, who's Sailor Mercury."

"Ami-chan's a Sailor Senshi?" she exclaimed, sitting up straight in her chair.

"Yes, but she can't transform yet. Her inability to speak bars her from her ability to transform.

"Next, there's Hino Rei, who's Sailor Mars."

"Rei-chan, too? But-"

"She's still recovering from surgery? Yes, I know," she replied. "Fortunately, Sailor Senshi heal at
an accelerated rate. Additionally, she's already been healed to an extent by another means that I'll
get to later.

"Next, there's Aino Minako, who's Sailor Venus."

"Minako-chan?" This time, Setsuna set her teacup down. "Does Ryoku-san know about them?"

"He does."

"That's so strange," she remarked, shaking her head. "What're the odds of those three all being Sailor
Senshi?"

"Considering their past lives, I'm really not that surprised at all," Serenity said with an amused
smirk. "It almost seems like they're continuing from where they left off, at times."

Setsuna gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it," she said dismissively. "At any rate, aside from you, the final Sailor Senshi
that I've found is Tomoe Hotaru, who's Sailor Saturn."

"What?"

Serenity blinked in surprise at Setsuna's tone of voice. "Something wrong?"

"Hotaru-chan is a Sailor Senshi?" she asked, her voice still in a low, heated tone. "For how long?"

"Since yesterday. This morning was her first battle against the Dark Kingdom. She did very well for
her first battle."

"And when were you going to inform me?" she inquired.

"I'm telling you now," Serenity replied, growing concerned at Setsuna's hostile tone.

"Only because I'm a Sailor Senshi," she countered. "If I wasn't, when were you planning on telling
me that Hotaru-chan was going to be risking her life fighting Youma?"

"Pria, calm yourself," she said sternly. "You know-"

"My name isn't Pria!" she shot back. "It's Setsuna!"

"Don't be unreasonable!" Serenity shouted. "You, of all people, should know of the dangers we're
facing here! The Dark Kingdom destroyed our kingdom easily, despite the incredible resistance Jovan
and the Sailor Senshi managed to throw at them. Mother's Ginzuishou only managed to seal them away,
instead of destroying them. Right now, if the Dark Kingdom were to concentrate their strength on us,
they could easily destroy us and there would be nothing I, or anyone else, could do."

"So, why do you need Hotaru-chan?" she demanded. "Why does she have to fight?"

"Because she is Sailor Saturn," Serenity answered calmly. "Hotaru-chan chose to become Sailor Saturn
or her own free will, Setsuna-san. I never forced her. In the battles to come, I will need the help of
all of the Sailor Senshi in order to defeat the Dark Kingdom and save humanity. I cannot do it alone
no matter how powerful I become.

"This is war, Setsuna-san. If we don't use everything we have when we can, we're leaving ourselves
open. The Dark Kingdom will have no qualms about doing whatever they need to win. Right now, they're
so confident in their eventual victory that they aren't even trying anymore. As soon as they realize
that we pose a serious enough threat to take seriously, then they won't hold back when they storm our
sanctuary like they did the night before last. And when that happens, Hotaru-chan won't be the only
child in danger."

"I won't let that happen," Setsuna growled.

"I know you won't," she agreed. "I won't let it happen, either. But I need help to make sure it
doesn't. You, Ami-chan, Rei-chan, and Minako-chan won't be enough. I need ALL of my Sailor Senshi.
Please understand that if I had a choice I wouldn't want Hotaru-chan to have to fight, either. But I
don't have that luxury."

Setsuna stared at Serenity for a long time in silence. "I wish I could say that I would be glad to let
Hotaru-chan help us as Sailor Saturn, but I still don't like it," she replied as she sat back in her
chair with a heavy sigh. "She's almost like a daughter to me, just like Ryoku-san is almost like a
little brother to me. Those two have been my family for the last five years and I don't want to lose
either one of them."

"You won't," Serenity stated firmly. "If Ryoku-san's anything like his previous incarnation, Jovan, he
wouldn't let anything happen to her, or to anyone he cares about."

Setsuna nodded. "I know," she said with another sigh as she looked down at her broken staff again.
"Why does it always have to boil down to a lesser of two evils?"

"Such is the nature of war, I suppose," Serenity shrugged.

A light knock on the door caught their attention. "Enter," Setsuna replied as she picked up her teacup
again.

"It took me a while, but I found them," Ryoku said as he entered the room with Luna perched on his
shoulder and Artemis cradled in his arms. "Turns out that the young children love playing with these
two. Fortunately, Naru was there to keep them from playing too rough."

"So, you're Sailor Pluto?" Luna asked, her tone slightly reverent as she bowed her head slightly. "It
is an honor to meet you."

"A talking... cat?" Setsuna said, completely bewildered.

"What's with the display of awe?" Ryoku asked Artemis curiously.

"Even during the days of the Silver Millennium, we've always had a Sailor Pluto who was assigned to
guard the Gates of Time," the white cat explained. "The thing was that the assignment usually lasts
over a thousand years and that once she is at her post, she cannot leave, save for emergencies, so the
likelihood of ever meeting Sailor Pluto was almost impossible. The only person that could ever freely
meet with Sailor Pluto was Queen Serenity, and that was usually only concerning issues that had to do
with the Gates of Time. Besides, guarding the Gates of Time was considered one of the most important
duties of the kingdom, next to actually ruling the kingdom."

"I see," he said, nodding slightly. "So, who's got Pluto's transformation wand?"

"I believe Artemis has access to it," Luna said as she hopped down from his shoulder.

"How're your legs?" Ryoku asked as he set Artemis down.

"They're getting better," he replied, stepping gingerly. "I think I can handle a leap if I'm careful
of how I land." With that, he performed a spinning backward leap into the air. At the apex of his
leap, a dark green wand appeared and fell to the floor with a light clatter. Before Artemis could land
on the hard floor, Ryoku caught him and gently set him down.

"Better than hurting yourself again," he said with a grin as he picked up the wand and held it out to
Setsuna.

"Thanks, Ryo-kun," the white cat said gratefully.

"So this is it?" she asked as she accepted the wand. "How does it work?"

"When you want to transform, you must raise the wand over your head and call out your transformation
phrase," Artemis explained. "After that, you'll transform into your Senshi form. Afterwards, your
transformation wand will act as a link between you and the planet that you draw your powers from."

"Pluto," Setsuna said.

"Right," he confirmed.

"So, what's my transformation phrase?"

"'Pluto star power, make-up,'" Luna said.

"Interesting phrase," she commented dryly. "It sounds so...."

"Juvenile?" Ryoku supplied. "Immature? Puerile? Silly?"

"Something like that," she sighed as the two cats glared at him.

"Shut up, Ryoku-san," Serenity grumbled. "It's not like I chose that to be the transformation phrase,
anyway."

"Who did, then?" he asked curiously.

Serenity blinked and furrowed her brows in deep thought. "Now that you mention it, I'm not really
certain. Luna? Artemis?"

"I believe it had to have been the person or persons responsible for creating the Sailor Senshi's
power sets," Luna said after some thought.

"However, the creation of the Sailor Senshi predates most of our working knowledge," Artemis added.
"Besides, a lot of our memories from the Silver Millennium are still unaccounted for."

"I see," Setsuna said as she glanced down at her wand. "Well, I'm going to try to use this thing."
She stood up and held the wand over her head. "Pluto star power, make-up!" A brilliant light filled
the room as she transformed. Once the light faded, Sailor Pluto stood in place of Setsuna.

"Anything feel familiar?" Ryoku asked.

"Yes... and no," Sailor Pluto replied uncertainly as she looked herself over. "It does feel familiar,
but it feels weaker, like you said it'd be."

"If you want, maybe I can help you get accustomed to your new powers," Ryoku offered. "I think I can
remember something about how the mechanics of Pluto's Dead Scream works."

"I'd appreciate it," she said gratefully. "But first, how do you change back?"

"Just concentrate on your self-image and will yourself to change back," Serenity told her. "I can't
really explain it better than that."

"I'll try it," Pluto said as she closed her eyes. Her Senshi uniform wavered and shifted as they faded
away and were replaced by the clothes Setsuna was wearing before.

"I'm glad to have you on the team, Setsuna-san," Serenity said as she stood up. "I'll leave you and
Ryoku-san to discuss when you are going to join the other Senshi in their training sessions. I just
need you to remember one thing: make sure that no one finds out that you're a Sailor Senshi."

"I understand," Setsuna nodded.

"Thanks," Serenity said with a grin. "Anyway, it feels like Usagi's beginning to wake up again, so I
think I'll just let her wake up in her room."

"Have a good rest," Ryoku said as she turned to leave. "And thanks again."

Serenity nodded. "I hope you get your memory back soon, Setsuna-san. It'd be nice to speak with
someone who remembers my kingdom as well as I do." With that, she left the office and closed the door
behind her.

_________________________________________________________________


War Room - Former Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan.
August 7, 1992. 9:50 A.M.


Titus smirked darkly in the darkness as she sat in Jadeite's throne, waiting. A Mage appeared before
her, bowing slightly, before straightening itself and peering forward as if trying to get a good look
at her.

"You are aware that Jadeite-sama is currently touring his holdings and that he has placed me in charge
here, are you not?" she inquired coldly.

"Yes, Mistress!" the Mage replied as it jerked back.

She smirked again, knowing that the Mage wouldn't see it anyway; her face - not to mention most of her
body - was completely obscured by darkness.

"Listen well," she said as she leaned back in the throne and folder her hands in her lap. "I want you
to gather ten slaves at random from all areas of the palace, three male and seven female. Bring them
to the entrance of the palace and leave them there. Once you are done, you may resume your normal
duties. Finally, I will be busy undertaking a project for Jadeite so make sure that everyone in the
palace knows that I am not to be disturbed while I am in here. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mistress," the Mage bowed again.

"Good." She was about to dismiss the Mage when an idea struck. "Wait. For one of the seven females,
there is someone in particular I want you to get. I want you to get the girl with the long, aquamarine
hair from among Jadeite's personal slaves and bring her to the entrance along with the other nine. That
is all."

"Yes, Mistress," the Mage acknowledged and left.

Titus grinned darkly after the Mage left. Yes, this should work nicely.

_________________________________________________________________


Entrance - Former Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan.
August 7, 1992. 10:15 A.M.


Michiru watched the Mage warily as it left. She had been taken from her quarters by a Youma before,
but it was always a sentry, or on some rare cases, a Hunter. To have a Mage fetch her from her room....

Something was up.

Haruka was just about to leave to go back to work when the Mage came to take her away. Seeing that it
was a Mage instead of the usual sentry, Haruka all but demanded to know where she was being taken. The
Mage just looked at her and told her to come as well.

"I don't like this," Haruka grumbled. "Something bad's gonna happen. I can feel it."

Michiru sighed. "Haruka, you've been saying that for the last fifteen minutes. Enough already."

Haruka snorted and folded her arms across her chest. "Still doesn't change the fact that something's
gonna happen. I mean, why would they gather all of us here, anyway?"

Michiru glanced around looking at all the people gathered at the entrance to the palace. She didn't
recognize any of the people with her, but she knew they had to be slaves working somewhere in the
palace. "Do you recognize any of them, Haruka?"

"Only a few," she replied. "The men are Shinohara Daisuke, Iwata Hiro, and Yamaguchi Shuichi. They all
work out in the fields, like me. The blonde, the redhead, and the brunette talking together and the
blonde standing around by herself, I don't know, but I do know the black-haired girl and the other
redhead. The black-haired girl is Amano Hiromi and the redhead is Kagurazaki Sanae. I know Hiromi from
the fields as well, but Sanae used to be an apprentice glassblower back at her old jinja before
Jadeite destroyed it and took her prisoner. I know her because her boyfriend works with me in the
fields."

She nodded absently, watching the departing Youma out of the corner of her eye. Haruka didn't tell her
much about working in the fields, except that it was how they grew most of the food that they ate.
Their diets were vegetarian, mostly because their Youma masters didn't care to try and raise
livestock. As a result, a few people initially got sick due to lack of protein. Fortunately, as more
slaves were taken to the palace, eventually one of the slaves managed to bring crops that had the
protein that they needed; like soybeans, for example.

There was one thing she was sure of, even if Haruka didn't tell her about it. If they didn't work fast
enough or hard enough, they got beat. They probably either used the Whip Hunters or gave the sentries
whips to use for beating them. When she had seen Haruka's bloody back before, she had asked her what
had happened. Haruka said there was an accident in the fields and, at the time, she was inclined to
believe her. However, one night, she had happened to see Haruka's back and discovered that not only
did she have scars from that first night she came back with her back completely bloody, her back was
covered in scars, most of which looked like the kind that would be left by a whip. Haruka still
refused to speak about the scars, even after she inquired about them again. Haruka told her that it
was nothing that she needed to be concerned about, since there was nothing that could be done about
it. Seeing that Haruka wished to deal with her situation on her own, she decided not to ask her about
it again.

"Listen up, all of you," a voice echoed as a figure appeared a short distance away from the entrance
to the palace proper. Even though the figure was too far away to be able to notice any detail about
her, they knew she had to be one of the elite Youma. Ordinary Youma do not appear out of thin air, not
even Mages.

"As of right now, Jadeite-sama has left me, Titus, in charge of his palace while he is out surveying
his domain," the long-haired female Youma announced. "As such, I have decided that in order to
impress upon you humans the fact that my rule is just as absolute as Jadeite-sama's, I am going to use
all of you as an example.

"Now, I'm not as wasteful as some Generals other than Jadeite-sama, so fortunately, you aren't going
to be torn asunder by the sentries or Hunters," Titus continued. "Instead, I am going to use you for
my entertainment." Titus waved her hand, causing the palace gates to open behind them.

"The Hikawa Jinja is several kilometers to the south," she stated as she folded her arms beneath her
breasts. "All of you are permitted to flee to the Hikawa Jinja with no interference from me or any
Youma in my control, meaning all of them."

At this declaration, some of the group glanced back at the open gate reluctantly. "What's the catch?"
Haruka demanded boldly. "I know you're not going to let us go, just like that."

"How very astute of you," Titus remarked smugly. "Indeed, there is a provision to my little offer. You
must reach the Hikawa Jinja within thirty minutes. If you have not reached the Hikawa Jinja by that
time, then you will be fair game to any Youma that finds you. If you manage to survive five minutes
after that.... Well, I can only wait for so long."

"And what makes you think we'll go along with your game?" Hiromi shot back angrily.

Titus was silent for a moment, making some of the others very nervous. "Would you rather I kill you
all now?" she asked in a soft, light tone that managed to sound highly menacing nonetheless. "I can
always get some more slaves for my little game."

Everyone remained silent.

"Good!" Titus said cheerily. "Well, your thirty minutes have just started, so you'd all best start
running! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The long-haired Youma faded away as she laughed amidst the mad scramble
for freedom.

Part one of her great plan had just been set into motion.

_________________________________________________________________


Orphan's Quarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 7, 1992. 10:20 A.M.


After Serenity had left, Ryoku had informed Setsuna that he was going to go check up on the
newly-formed border watch and that he would be back sometime later in the afternoon. He gave the
residents of the Orphan's Quarters a quick update of the whole situation involving the barrier, the
priests and miko at the Hikawa Jinja, and the possible length of time that they might be vulnerable
to attack. The report frightened some of the younger children, but all in all, he felt that they had
a right to know about what was going on. He was ultimately responsible for them, after all.

There was really no need to check on the border watch as it had just recently been formed over an hour
ago, but right now it was as good an excuse as any to ensure no one came to bother him. He preferred
to be alone to think. Considering the situation with Ami, Rei and Minako, he was going to need to
focus his full attention on it. He felt that it was a good thing Serenity interrupted when she did,
since he probably would've ended up revealing something he wasn't ready to admit to yet. He would
speak with Setsuna about it when he felt ready.

Locking himself in his room would only go so far to isolate him from interruptions. Some emergency
would always come up that would require his attention and even though he trusted Setsuna to handle
things in his stead, sometimes there would come problems that would only be resolved if he were
involved. If he wanted to ensure that nothing would interrupt his brooding reflections, he had to go
somewhere no one could bother him.

He had to leave the jinja itself.

Normally, all he would have to do was to just stay near the barrier since no one came out that far,
but since the barrier was down and there were border sentries being posted, he had to go even farther
to reach his required solitude.

Passing the border watch was simple. All he had to do was tell them that he was going out on patrol.
Since they knew he was a Blade, they would let him by without incident. Besides, the watch was there
to protect against Youma coming in, not people going out.

There was one thing that the watch was instructed to enforce, which was the rule that no Blade may
pass without a method of signaling for help. He had already guessed that such a rule would be put in
place - especially considering the way he got injured last time, when he first met Sailor Moon - and
had procured a flare gun before he left. Once the watch saw that he was in possession of a flare gun,
he was allowed to pass.

The farther out from the jinja he went, the more ruined and dilapidated the buildings and roads
became. A lot of buildings had completely crumbled, leaving nothing but exposed and rusting pipes and
steel girders. Roads were peppered with pockmarks and paint that was faded to the point of vanishing
completely. Wrecked vehicles occasionally dotted the streets here and there, each demolished hulk
showing no indication that it had once been a color other than the reddish-brown of rust.

It was eerily quiet, as usual. There weren't any breezes today, which surprised him. Considering the
fact that there weren't any structures higher than four or five stories still standing - and those
four or five story buildings were all but collapsed as it is - it was a lot more windy than it used
to be. Furthermore, the wind served to help mask Youma movements, so occasionally Mages would whip up
an artificial wind every now and then, to catch Shishu patrols off-guard. That tactic worked very well
after the fall of the Meiji Jinja, but nowadays they had learned how to discern real wind from
artificial.

After a few minutes of jogging, Ryoku came across a tall five-story structure which used to be at
least five times as tall as its remains. On a whim, he ducked into the structure and ascended all the
way to the top. Once reaching the fifth floor, he found a piece of concrete rubble that was flat
enough to sit on and stared out through the broken glass at the blasted cityscape while trying to make
sense of his entangled situation.

_________________________________________________________________


Chiyoda-ku/Minato-ku border, Tokyo, Japan.
August 7, 1992. 10:42 A.M.


It had been at least ten minutes since they had reached the southern end of Chiyoda ward and crossed
into Minato ward and twenty-two minutes since they had started running. Upon unspoken agreement,
everyone had split up and started taking their own paths to the Hikawa Jinja. Everyone, except for
them, that is.

"Haruka... I can't... keep up... this pace... for very long," Michiru gasped between breaths.

"We've got no choice," she replied, considerably less exhausted than her counterpart, although she was
starting to breathe hard herself. "You know we can't make it to the jinja in the time we have
remaining, so we've got to get as close as we can and hope that a Shishu patrol finds us. Otherwise,
we're going to die."

Michiru nodded grimly and redoubled her efforts, although the strain was becoming visible. Rivulets of
sweat poured down both girls' faces as they ran as fast as they could, or rather, as fast as Michiru
could. At first, Haruka had ran full speed, but as soon as she noticed that she was leaving Michiru
behind, she had slowed enough to let her catch up, then matched her pace the rest of the way. Michiru
had argued between breaths for Haruka to run as fast as she could and save herself, but she merely
told her to save her breath for running, effectively ending that argument.

A rustling sound over to her right caught Haruka's attention. She quickly scanned the area around
where she heard the sound, but there wasn't anything there. 'Are they already closing in?' she
wondered frantically to herself as she fought to keep from panicking. 'Damn! They're supposed to leave
us alone for another seven or eight minutes! Fucking Dark Kingdom! I should've known they wouldn't
stick to their word.'

As she ran, Haruka scanned her surroundings, looking for something she could use as a weapon when
their time finally ran out. Most of the rubble around her was eroded asphalt, crumbled concrete, or
rusted and bent pipes and girders. The occasional vehicle she passed provided no usable makeshift
weaponry, either. The metal was far too corroded to be useful. Besides, pulling anything off of the
vehicles would take time they didn't have.

Straight ahead, Haruka sighted what had to be the remains of the Aoyama Reien. From what she could
remember, that old cemetery was around the midpoint between the palace and the Hikawa Jinja. It was a
good sign, however, they were quickly running out of time.

"Haruka... we're... halfway there...," Michiru gasped.

"I know, Michiru," she replied, holding up a hand to forestall her from speaking any further. "We need
to make it to the cemetery before our time runs out."

"Why?"

"We need a place to catch our breath. The place is wide open, so we'll be able to see them coming when
our time is up. Besides, I'm hoping that I can find something there that I can use to fight back when
they do come."

"Do we... have... a chance-?"

"Against the Youma?" Haruka finished. She grimaced. "Not really, but we don't have much of a choice
anymore." Her features hardened intensely. "It's fight or die." Behind her, Michiru grimly nodded her
agreement.

The pair reached the entrance to the cemetery a minute later. Haruka gestured toward the center of the
cemetery where a mausoleum quietly stood. The building was, surprisingly, still intact despite the
wrack and ruin the rest of the surrounding areas were subjected to. The mausoleum showed signs of wear
and neglect. Rust covered the door hinges and handles, the edges of the walls were jagged where several
small pieces crumbled away, and pockmarks dappled the entire structure accentuated with streaks of
reddish-brown that ran down from the roof like tear tracks.

"I don't know if this is symbolically the best place or the worst place to make our stand," Michiru
remarked after she caught her breath.

Haruka shrugged. "Either way's fine by me," she replied as she jerked a thumb behind her. "Look over
there. See that hill in the distance?"

"Sendai Hill?" Michiru asked hopefully.

"I think so," she replied with a nod. "It's in the right direction, at least. How're you feeling?"

"I think I'll be ready to go again in a few minutes," Michiru replied.

Haruka frowned. "We might not have that long," she said as she looked around. "There's about a minute
left before-"

A resounding roar echoed seemingly everywhere at once, causing both girls to jerk back, startled.

"Never mind," she corrected herself grimly. "Time's already up."


=================================================================


Author's Note: I know this chapter is shorter than my usual chapters, but this was too good of a
stopping point not to use. At any rate, the Sailor Senshi are slowly gathering at the Hikawa Jinja.
For those keeping score, the current roster consists of Sailor Moon, Venus, Saturn, and Pluto, with
the identified, but inactive Senshi being Mercury and Mars. Makoto is still in her coma, but is
showing signs of waking, and Haruka and Michiru are en route to the Hikawa Jinja. But, how long will
it be until they are all awakened? Only time will tell. Next chapter will bring you the conclusion of
Titus' great hunt, as well as Part Two of Titus' Great Plan.


Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko
Takeuchi and a bunch of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended.

Questions? Comments? Anything?
Email: jasonulloa (at) hotmail (dot) com

Copyright© 2004, 2007 Jason C. Ulloa
All Rights Reserved.