Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Road to Hell ❯ Chapter Eight ( Chapter 8 )

"Geez Artemis, don't do that! You scared the crap of out me!" Artemis grinned unapologetically at Usagi's scowl. "Well, I just thought you'd like to know what I overheard a certain detective tell a certain mayor about a certain plan to brainwash certain people, but since you're obviously not interested, I'll just take my business elsewhere."

Grabbing Artemis by the scruff of the neck, Usagi turned to Mamoru and told him to get the others. Mamoru did as ordered and pretty soon, all were gathered in the tiny living room, waiting for Artemis to deliver his news.

"Well, I was playing dress-up with Gyokuran-" Artemis shot Usagi and Haruka death glares when he heard their snickers. They smiled sheepishly and let the offended kitty return to his story. "Anyway, Kura-chan and I were playing dress-up when the doorbell rang. Sato made Kura-chan and I go upstairs to her room while he and the mayor went into the den to talk. I snuck away from Kura-chan and went downstairs to spy on them. I overheard them going over plans to brainwash the VIPs invited to the party at the Imperial Palace exactly two weeks from today. With the heads of state brainwashed, it makes it easier for Metallion to take over the world without having to steal your powers just yet."

"Shit. This means we have just two weeks to stop Metallion." Serena went into secret agent mode, pacing around the room, reviewing what Artemis had just reported. Just then, Serena heard a muffled squeak on the fire escape. 'Someone's listening outside!' Motioning to the others to shut up, she quietly tiptoed to the window, reached out and grabbed the intruder by the front of their shirt. Haruka immediately rushed over to help Serena haul in the person who was struggling to escape. When they finally won the struggle, Serena and Haruka were astonished and Artemis just about fainted when the intruder was brought to light.

"Bubbles, I didn't know you could talk! I saw you leave the house again, so I followed you on my bike, but you didn't stop running, and this place was so far, and then I almost got runned over by a car, and I'm so tired...." And with that long-winded speech, the little girl plopped down on the floor with a sigh, looking curiously at the people around her.

"Excuse me little miss, who's Bubbles? And what's your name?"

The little girl turned and saw Mamoru kneeling down so that he was at her height level and blushed. 'So it seems that Chibi-Usa isn't the only little girl with a crush on Mamoru. Perhaps this can come in handy later on,' observed Usagi. Pointing at Artemis, who covered his head with a paw she said, "Bubbles is my cat. I found him pwaying in our garbage can two weeks ago so I 'dopted him. He's my bestest fwiend. He never compwains 'bout pwaying dwess up wif me, not like my snotty big bwother. My name is Gyokuran, but my fwiends call me Kura. How come Bubbles can talk? Why is he here? Who are you?" Kura fired her questions so fast the others could hardly understand what she said.

"Hi Kura-chan, I bet you're really tired from biking here all the way from your house, huh?" When Kura nodded, Usagi continued. "Why don't you sit down on our couch and play with the cats while my friends and I talk for a bit. By the way, the other cat's name is Luna."

"My daddy said I'm not s'posed to talk to stwangers." Usagi cocked her head to the side and pretended to think. "Well, Bubbles isn't a stranger. He's your bestest friend, right?" Kura nodded her head vigorously. "Good, if you need anything, we'll be over here by the window talking about boring grown-up stuff."

Kura looked at the couch that seemed to be beckoning her weary body, and nodded. "You pwomise you won't leave me?" Usagi nodded, crossing her heart with her finger, satisfying the little girl. She picked up Artemis and skipped to the couch, where she promptly introduced herself to Luna.

Turning to face the senshi, Usagi sighed. "Well, everything is well on its way to hell in a hand basket. You guys realize we can't let her go home anymore, right? She knows too much." The others agreed reluctantly, uncomfortable with the idea of kidnapping a child, even if it was for her own good.

"What are we going to do? This is hardly the place for a child, and if we force her to stay here, she might try to escape. I hope her father didn't follow her here too," pointed out Mamoru. Realizing what he just said, the girls paled. "Um Kura-chan? When you left your house, did anyone come with you?"

Peering over the couch, Kura shook her head. "No, my daddy was in a secwet meeting with his fwiend and my bwother is sleeping over at his fwiend's house."

"What about your mommy?" Mamoru asked. Kura tilted her head up and pointed to the ceiling. "My mommy is in heaven but my daddy says that she's always wif me." Mamoru and the girls waited before Kura's attention was back on Luna and Artemis before sighing with relief and resuming their conversation.

"So how do we get her to stay without making her suspicious? Do we tell her who we are, or use our aliases?" asked Mina.

"Why don't we ask her later if her son of a bitch father told her the real names of the senshi. If he didn't, then we can use our real names but if he did, we tell her our fake ones," Serena suggested, looking at Kura on the couch who was at the moment regaling the two cats with her repertoire of nursery rhymes and songs. Artemis and Luna listened politely, struggling to keep their faces from cringing when Kura hit the high notes. She chuckled and turned her attention back to the discussion.

"We could tell her that we're part of a secret club and that only big kids can join. Since she has a crush on Mamoru, he can pretend that he wants her to join the club while the rest of us are against it. When she sees that he's on her side and that Artemis is staying here, chances are she'll be willing to stay here too."

"Yeah, since she has a crush on me I could-hey wait a minute! What are you talking about Serena-chan? Kura doesn't have a crush on me. She's just a little girl!" Usagi rolled her eyes at Mamoru's blindness. "Can't you see Kura sneaking glances at you from the couch, dumb-ass? At least she's more subtle about it than Chibi-Usa."

Mamoru glanced at the couch and sure enough, he heard Kura gasp as she ducked her head to avoid getting caught by the object of her affection. Mamoru sighed. 'Why me? First Chibi-Usa, now Kura.' "What if it doesn't work and she still wants to go home?"

"Well then, I'm afraid that we'll have to keep her here forcibly. Maybe even brainwash her with the Crystal into believing that she belongs here with us, but we should use that as a last resort. I'm not comfortable with brainwashing a little kid like Kura though," Usagi said. "We don't know what the effects will be on her developing mind."

"I do. In my world, I was forced to use the Crystal to get some government secrets from a kid a little older than Kura. By the time I was through, the child's mind was so damaged, he didn't know which way was up and which way was down. He just stared at nothing, rocking himself back and forth. He never recovered," Serena said. She turned away for a second, trying to regain her composure. After a few seconds, she said, "it's not one of my fondest memories and his face still haunts me at night. I don't want what happened to that child to happen to Kura. If we have to, we'll just tie her up in the closet or something. It's better to make her hate us than to sentence her to a life as a vegetable." The others agreed. "Besides, if we play our cards right, we'll have her eating out of the palms of our hands."

Deciding to put the plan into action, Usagi sat down beside Kura and placed Artemis on her lap. "Hey Kura, out of curiosity, did your daddy ever tell you the names of the senshi or Tuxedo Kamen?"

Kura shook her head. "Daddy never said anything 'cept that he's looking for them. But you know what?" she asked Usagi. "What, Kura-chan?" Gesturing her to come closer as if she were about to reveal a big secret, Kura whispered in a voice loud enough for the others to hear, "those bad senshi aren't real; they're see through. The mean lady made them appear for my daddy in our living room wif her black necklace. Daddy said I couldn't tell anyone I sawed the fake senshi b'cuz then I'd be in twouble with the mean lady. Am I in twouble for telling you?" Kura smiled when Usagi shook her head. "What's your name?"

"Well, my name is Usagi and these are my friends." One by one, Usagi introduced the senshi and Mamoru to their little guest. "And the cats' names are Luna and Artemis. I don't think Artemis likes to be called Bubbles, do ya, Arty?"

"Oh. How come Ar...Art...Arty," the feline groaned when Kura, in her struggle to pronounce his name decided to call him by his hated nickname. "How come he can talk?"

Encouraged by the vote of confidence Kura had in the senshi, Mamoru sat down on the other side of Kura and put an arm around her, causing her to gasp softly. "Can you keep a secret, Kura-chan?" Kura blushed becomingly as Mamoru smiled kindly down at her. "Luna and Artemis are magic cats and our secret club makes sure the bad guys don't find them. If they do, Luna and Artemis will be turned into dog food."

Horrified, Kura gathered up the cats on her lap, causing them to meow in protest, and cuddled them up to her rather forcibly. "Oh no! I pwomise Mamowu, I won't tell."

Secretly grinning at their success so far, Setsuna schooled her face into a look of skepticism. "I don't know, Mamoru-san. I think she's too small to keep such a BIG secret."

"I can so TOO keep a secwet! You believe me, wight Mamowu?" Kura frowned at Setsuna for doubting her secret-keeping abilities. Thankfully, she still had Mamoru on her side. "Having her here could come in handy, you guys. She's just the perfect size to watch over Luna and Artemis while we do our 'secret club' things."

Michiru pretended to look Kura over thoughtfully. "Hmm, I don't think I want Kura-chan watching over the cats. That's my job and I think it's the funnest job in the world. No, I don't think Kura-chan should join our club."

"Oh pwease, pwease let me be in your club. I pwomise to be good and follow your wules. I've never been in a club before." Kura could feel the tears forming in her eyes, she was so desperate. Deciding to take the game further, Hotaru taunted, "No way. You're just a little kid. Everyone knows little kids like you don't know how to keep secrets."

Resenting the fact that Hotaru, a kid herself, was making fun of her, Kura wracked her brains to think of a way to be let into the 'secret club.' The others watched her curiously as they could practically see the gears turning and a light bulb suddenly flashing above her head. "Fine, if you don't let me in, I'm going to tell everybody about your secwet club. I mean it." To prove the validity of her threat, Kura crossed her arms and scrunched up her face in an angry pout.

Everyone looked at each other in amusement. Here they were, trying to manipulate a four-year-old into 'joining' their club but here she was, turning the tables and blackmailing them to let her in! Needless to say, they were all very impressed. 'This kid would make a great agent when she grows up. She knows how to make the situation work to her advantage,' thought Serena.

Deciding to change their tactics, Usagi forced herself to look scared of the four-year-old tyrant. "Alright Kura-chan, we're friends remember? You wouldn't want to turn Artemis into dog food, right?" Raising an eyebrow, Kura ignored Usagi and faced the window. 'I got her now,' Kura and Usagi thought gleefully.

Haruka knelt down in front of Kura. "Please don't tell anybody about our club. We'll do anything." Kura grinned slyly as she pretended to think about Haruka's offer. "Well Hawuka, there's only one sowution to this. You guys have to let me in the club. I'm not changing my mind."

Turning to Kura, Mamoru said, "If you want to join our club, I'm afraid you're going to have to live with us. You can't go home because the bad guys might hurt you to get to us. Are you ready to leave your family to protect our secret club?"

Kura, as if sensing that there was more to their 'secret club' than they were letting on, nodded solemnly. "Yes Mamowu, I'm weady. I pwomise to keep your secwet and not let the bad guys catch you. My daddy's diffwent now and he doesn't like me anymore. He's always on the phone with the mean lady and he's always having secwet meetings with the bad people. I don't wanna go home."

Usagi's heart went out to the little girl whose father, in all probability, had been brainwashed by Metallion and was now ignoring his familial responsibilities. She scooped up the child into her lap and tickled her stomach, causing Kura to burst into a thousand giggles. Noticing Kura stifling a yawn, Usagi asked, "Kura-chan, would you like to go to sleep now?"

Kura nodded sleepily and raised her arms up to wrap around Usagi's neck. "Usagi-chan, could you tuck me in and kiss me goodnight? My daddy used to do that but now..." Kura started nodding off as Usagi carried her into their bedroom. She changed Kura into one of Hotaru's old T-shirts and tucked her in. "I like you Usagi-chan. You're nice," Kura said as she fell asleep.

Usagi kissed her goodnight and felt tears falling down her face for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. 'This has been the second worst day of my life. My baby was supposed to be born today but wasn't. My family gets 'detained' for questioning and my father gets killed for trying to save my mom and brother. The world is about to end in two weeks and I didn't get invited to the party. Now, I have a new person to worry about.' Giving Kura one last kiss, Usagi got up and rejoined the others in the living room.

"Well, Kura's asleep. I guess she's had quite a workout chasing 'Bubbles' across town." Artemis meowed in righteous indignation as he got up and sat down on Usagi's lap. "She's a great kid, just very energetic. I'm not surprised she was able to bike here all the way from her house. Speaking of bikes, someone should hide her tricycle in case her father is out looking for her, although I very much doubt it."

Mamoru got up and looked out the window. Sure enough, there was a shiny tricycle parked at the bottom of the fire escape. They waited until he was back inside with the bike before they resumed the conversation.

"Did you all catch that bit about the 'mean lady' and the black necklace? I'm willing to bet that Kura was talking about Metallion and that the necklace is how she brainwashes people, including Kura's father," Mamoru said while they all nodded thoughtfully.

Ami chewed on her bottom lip hesitantly, pondering the words that Kura and Mamoru had said. "I bet her necklace is the source of Metallion's power. It's probably how she opens the portals between dimensions. If we destroy the crystal, we destroy Metallion."

"It's not that easy, Mizuno-san. We have to find a way to get close enough to her to be able to do that. We also have to figure out what we're going to do about that party. Do we crash it and make a futile attempt to save everyone from getting brainwashed, or do we try to get the party cancelled so they won't come here at all?" Usagi looked around and heard murmurs of agreement for the latter suggestion. "Alright, we try to stop it from happening. How?"

"By creating chaos. We make Tokyo and the area around the Imperial Palace so dangerous that no one will even dream about coming here. We turn this city into a war zone."

"That's a great idea, Serena-san. I, for one, am glad we're finally going to start hitting back. It's getting tiring just sitting here while that bastard Sato badmouths us. You'd think the senshi never did anything for the city with the way everyone keeps treating us like criminals even though we never did anything wrong." The rage in Makoto's face was something that Usagi could identify with.

"It sucks, doesn't it Kino? To have the very people you protected suddenly turn their backs on you just when you needed them most. I feel your pain but look on the bright side; at least you weren't raped and was literally powerless to stop it."

Makoto looked like she wanted to slap Usagi in frustration. "Listen Usagi. I already apologized for what happened that night. I will never be able to forgive myself for betraying you. When this is all over, I promise you that you can do whatever you want with me but for now, could we please just call a truce?"

Usagi scoffed. "Let's get something straight. I don't call truces with backstabbers. If saving my ass means saving yours, then I'm all for it. But as soon as Metallion is nothing more than a bad memory, I'm out of Japan forever."

"Where do you plan to go, Usagi?" The thought of Usagi moving away once their troubles were over never occurred to Mamoru, and it scared him.

"It doesn't matter, as long as it's youma and traitor free. Look, the sooner we come up with a plan to get rid of Metallion, the sooner I can leave this hellhole so let's get started."

"Okay. We're all agreed that we're going to stop the party by wreaking havoc on the city. How're we going to do that?" Hotaru asked.

"You know, I imagine that Marshal Law isn't very good for gang activity. It was hard to get around the police before but now with Marshal Law, it's probably next to impossible," mused Mamoru.

"Yeah, so what Mamoru? In case you haven't noticed, we've got bigger problems than the inner workings of the gang world," Rei said sarcastically.

"Would you just shut up for a second, Rei. I think Mamoru's on to something," Mamoru shot Usagi a grateful look for defending him, which she pretended not to notice. Haruka frowned at Mamoru and was about to set him straight when she felt Michiru's hand on her thigh, restraining her with little effort. Haruka painstakingly sat herself down again while Michiru gave Mamoru a saucy wink.

"Anyway as I was saying, the gangs probably aren't too happy with the way the government is running things. What if we formed an alliance with Ito's gang, saying that we're starting a resistance movement? Sort of like what we told Kura about having a 'secret club.'"

"I don't know Mamoru, forming an alliance with gang members sounds kind of risky. What if they turn on us?" asked Mina.

Mamoru considered that option for a moment then said, "I'm not saying that we tell them who we are or join their gang. I'll talk to Ito tomorrow and see how he and his gang feel about the Marshal Law and what they want to do about it. I'll suggest to him that we do something about overthrowing the government and that I know some people who feel the same way. I don't think we have to worry about them turning on us if and when we work together. Believe it or not, gang members could be very loyal to those who help them out."

"It's an interesting plan, Mamoru. So let's say they decide to join us, what then?" Setsuna asked.

"Well, we could divide them into smaller groups and spread them throughout the city. We attack different locations in the city simultaneously every day. That should give the police a hard time tracking us down, and plus it would reach the international news. The dignitaries would see that Tokyo isn't safe at this moment and opt to stay put," Mamoru answered.

Despite her bitter feelings towards Mamoru, Usagi couldn't help but feel a bit of pride run through her. 'He hasn't changed a bit from the Silver Millennium. He still knows how to lead an army. Granted, our 'resistance' is a lot smaller than an army but we're still going up against the same enemy from back then. If he hadn't betrayed me, he could have been leading the army of Crystal Tokyo against the Dark Moon Family and who knows what else. It's too bad everything had to change.'

Setsuna looked at her princess looking at Mamoru thoughtfully. 'She's probably remembering the Silver Millennium and how she used to watch Endymion planning for the war against Beryl with his generals. I may not know what's going to happen in these next two weeks, but I know that deep down, she still loves him but his betrayal of her is just too deep to forget. Oh Mamoru, why did you have to screw up a good thing?"

"While you guys are out razing the city, what are you going to do about Kura? She can't be left on her own; she's just a little girl," Luna said. "What are we going to do about her father? I bet he's looking for her now."

Hotaru got a wicked gleam in her eyes and picked Luna up. "But Luna, didn't we entrust her to be the official cat-sitter while we do our 'secret club' things? I don't know who needs a babysitter more, you and Bubbles, or Kura-chan. What do you say Bubbles, you think you can handle watching Kura and Luna for us while we're out?"

"Stop calling me that, dammit!" Artemis still hadn't recovered from the shame of everyone knowing what Kura called him at her home. "We'll figure something out about Kura. As for her father, he's so far under Metallion's influence I doubt he cares about what happens to her. I bet he's going to use this to his advantage and blame Kura's disappearance on the senshi. Tomorrow, I'll go to Central Control and create a new identity for her." Artemis glanced at the clock and saw that it was past 2 am. "Let's get some sleep now, guys. We have a busy couple of weeks planned and we'll need all the rest we can get."

The girls nodded and filed down the hall to their rooms for the night, leaving Mamoru alone in the living room on the couch. Sighing, he made up his 'bed' and lay down but couldn't sleep. 'Usako, please don't leave. I need to be with you. I'll follow you to the ends of the earth and then some just to be close to you. I know that everything's changed between us but you said yourself that you still loved me. I promise you Usako, I'll do everything in my power to get you to trust me again.' He shifted uncomfortably on the lumpy couch and closed his eyes for the night.

Down the hall, in a crowded bedroom, Usagi lay on the bed with Kura between her and Hotaru. She stared at the ceiling in a futile attempt to fall asleep. Usagi thought about Mamoru in the living room and sighed. 'Why does it have to be this way, Mamoru? Why couldn't you just trust me that night? You've always been the keeper of my heart and soul, but...I just can't get past what you did to me. I know that you had my best interests at heart, not like the girls who just wanted to oust me as their leader, and I know that you regretted doing it. I felt it when I confronted you that night at the temple. I felt your pain and guilt when I broke our soul bond. It hurts to know that you thought so little of me that you felt you had to take away my right to defend myself, from the rapist and the senshi. I can't find it in my heart to forgive you for betraying the baby and me, no matter how much I wished that I was still with you. I can't betray my unborn child by forgiving one of her murderers. I'm sorry Mamoru.' Feeling Kura snuggle into her side, Usagi finally released the tension in her weary body and fell into a dreamless sleep.

When Usagi woke up the next morning, she found herself alone in the room. Glancing at the clock, she discovered that it was already 9:30 in the morning. 'Amazing, before I even knew about Metallion's existence, I thought waking up at this hour was too early. Now, I find that it's way too late.' Shaking her head sadly at how much she had changed over the past few months, Usagi made her way to the washroom and got herself ready for the day. Being the last one to wake up meant missing out on a hot shower. 'So that's why they didn't wake me. Sneaky bastards.'

When she was finished with her morning grooming, she made her way to the kitchen and got herself some breakfast. She found that Mamoru and Artemis had already left for the day, leaving the rest of the girls in the apartment. As usual, Setsuna and Hotaru were drilling the inners in the use of their powers, and as usual, Makoto and Rei were complaining all the way.

'This should be entertaining,' thought Usagi as she plopped herself down on the couch. Apparently, Serena, Haruka, Michiru, Luna and Kura thought the same for they were all perched on the couch beside her, watching with expectant faces.

Seeing Usagi on the couch, Kura crawled her way across the many laps that separated them, much to the annoyance of the older girls. "Hi Usagi-chan," said Kura once she was safely ensconced in Usagi's lap. "We woke up but you didn't so Hawuka said to let you sleep in. What are they doing over there?"

"Setsuna-chan and Hotaru-chan are trying to teach the other girls how to use their magic powers. You can't tell anybody about this, okay Kura-chan?" The little girl nodded her head earnestly. "I pwomise Usagi-chan, I won't tell. Wei, Mina, Makoto and Ami aren't doing too well, are they Usagi-chan. Look, they're making Setsuna-chan's face all scrunched up and red."

Sure enough, Rei and Makoto's constant harping was finally wearing down Setsuna's last nerve. "Setsuna-san! I don't see how we're supposed to use our powers when we don't have something tangible to focus our powers through!" complained Makoto.

"Yeah Setsuna-san. Usagi had her scepters as Sailor Moon and she still has the Silver Crystal. Didn't you say that we were supposed to learn how to use our powers through the years and that we're supposed to have talismans to help us channel our powers? Well, where are they?" questioned Rei. She failed to notice the vein throbbing in Setsuna's forehead or how her right eye seemed to twitch in barely contained murderous rage.

"I can't help but notice how we were never informed about having these powers in the first place. Why didn't we learn about this sooner?" Mina asked Hotaru, who was keeping one eye on the complaining Inners while nervously keeping the other on Setsuna.

"..."

"Mina's right. If we were informed of this a few years ago, you wouldn't even have to worry about teaching us this stuff. It seems to me that your teaching techniques could use a brushing up," Ami now joined in the complaining, more frustrated at her lack of progress than with the inadequate lessons.

The audience on the couch cringed when they saw Setsuna's ever darkening face. Kura snuggled closer to Usagi and Haruka held onto Michiru's hand. Even Luna sought refuge on Serena's lap.

Setsuna had finally reached the end of her tether. She had been trying to cram a few years worth of lessons on how to wield one's planetary powers correctly in a few weeks. "You think my 'teaching techniques need brushing up?' You think it's easy having to put up with a bunch of whiners like you day in and day out? You guys don't even try! You wonder why you never learned about your powers before now well, I'll tell you. You guys didn't deserve it. Queen Serenity and I had long decided to let you earn your powers rather than let you have it without the proper training."

The Inners gulped nervously as they had never seen the usually calm Time Guardian so angry before. "You say you want your talismans? Fine, I'll give you your talismans." With that rather ominous statement, Setsuna stalked into the kitchen and started banging drawers around, apparently in search of something. The girls heard a triumphant "Yes!" before they saw Setsuna marching back to the living room with four chopsticks in hand.

"Here." Setsuna thrust a single chopstick in each of their faces, which they took hesitantly. "Here are your royal scepters your highnesses. Now just imagine your power flowing through you and into your 'wands.'" The girls on the couch snickered.

"If all else fails, you guys could stab the youma. Or if you're lucky, the youma will just die of laughter before you guys even start your attacks," Haruka laughed, tears threatening to stream down her face. Michiru poked her in the ribs before she too, burst out laughing.

Hotaru pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "Okay you guys, Setsuna-chan may be onto something. The important thing to focus on is your power, not the kind of scepter or object you have with which to channel it. Now cut the crap and focus, dammit! We are going up against Metallion in two weeks and if I have to drag your asses to the battle, so help me, I would. Now raise your chopsticks in the air and think about how badly you want Metallion dead. I want you to imagine that that egg on the table is Metallion's ugly ass head and blow it up to kingdom come. Stop staring at me like you don't understand what it is I'm talking about and do what I say! NOW!"

The stunned girls around her gulped nervously and slowly raised their chopsticks in the air. They closed their eyes and focused their minds on the importance of annihilating Metallion from the world once and for all. To their amazement, especially the 'students', the chopsticks began to glow faintly with each girl's planet colour while the egg started to shake. 'I can't believe that shit about the chopsticks actually worked,' thought Rei when the egg shattered, spraying everyone within a one-metre radius of the kitchen table with bits of shell and yolk.

Setsuna looked smug as she surveyed the damage. 'Teaching techniques need brushing up, my ass.' She reclined in her seat with her arms behind her head and watched as the other girls started cleaning up. "That's enough for today. Tomorrow, we move on to pushing the couch across the room using your minds. Oh Ami, you missed a spot."

Shaking her head in amusement, Michiru channel surfed rapidly and stopped when she saw a picture of Kura on the news. "Hey Luna, why don't you take Kura-chan into the room so you could teach her the secret club song."

Luna turned pleading eyes up to Michiru before sighing. "Come on, Kura-chan. You have to learn the secret song." When they were gone, Michiru turned the volume up.

"Last night, in a bold move, the senshi have kidnapped Sato Gyokuran, the four year old daughter of police detective Sato Ueda, from their home," the anchorman announced. "Gyokuran's bedroom window was found smashed and her cat 'Bubbles' was found dead. Early this morning, Sato-san received a package of photos of the little girl bound and gagged, with the senshi in the background. The last of the gruesome photos shows Gyokuran, known as Kura by her friends and family, lying dead in a pool of blood with Sailor Moon standing over her, holding a bloody knife. Sato-san has condemned this as an act of cowardice and revenge for leading the taskforce against the senshi, and says that he will not rest until the Sailor Senshi are brought to justice not just for murdering his daughter, but for their crimes against the citizens of Japan."

The girls looked at each other in disgust as Michiru turned off the TV. They stared at each other disbelievingly while in the background the heard the strains of Kura and Luna singing "fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight, with the magic cats to help fight, they are a super, secret club," before they started laughing uncontrollably. Artemis chose this moment to leap into the apartment from the fire escape, causing the girls to laugh harder.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Shutting his mouth after the girls motioned for him to stop talking, he heard Luna sing, "They will never turn their back on a friend, they are always there to defend...." Rolling his eyes, he said, "I've changed Kura's identity. She's now Watanabe Hitori and Mina's little sister."

"That's great Artemis, but Sato just announced over the news that the senshi are responsible for the kidnapping and murder of his daughter," Usagi explained. Artemis wasn't surprised. He had an inkling that Sato would use Kura's disappearance as a way to gain public sympathy while at the same time, smearing the senshi's reputation even more. "I just hope that Mamoru makes some headway with his little gang buddy."

At that exact moment, Mamoru was standing in an alley with his friend Ito, pretending to smoke a cigarette and drinking his bottle of Asahi beer, talking shit. Finally, when he felt he couldn't stomach any more beer, he decided to make his move. "Hey Ito-kun, how're things going with the gang?"

Ito took a deep drag of his cigarette and let the smoke out through his nose slowly. "How the fuck do you think it's going? Business has been shit. We can't ship our stuff out without the damn police sniffing our asses even more than they used to. I swear, the boss is shitting bricks cuz our merchandise isn't going no where."

Mamoru pretended to look around before turning back to Ito. Lowering his voice, he asked, "Don't you just wish someone would do something about this stupid Marshal Law?"

Ito snorted. "Hell yeah, but the police are making even sneezing in public damn difficult. The boss is talking about forming a temporary alliance with the rival gangs to kick Sato's ass."

'This is going even better than I hoped. They're already talking about forming their own resistance.' Mamoru contorted his face in a way he hoped would make it look mysterious. "Well, if you're really serious about overthrowing the government, I know some people. I'm part of a small resistance group, hoping to get rid of the Marshal Law. We could always use some help."

Ito thought about Mamoru's offer. This was his chance to rise in the ranks of his gang but he had to be careful before presenting an idea like this to the boss. "A resistance group, eh? Well, what have you guys done so far?"

Mamoru thought quickly. "Well, a few weeks ago, we swarmed some police officers and beat the shit out of them. Then we broke into the police station, screwed around with their computer system and managed to delete some important information about raiding our neighbourhood. We broke into the mayor's office and set fire to his files before the fire department was called."

"If you guys did all that shit, how come it wasn't on the news?" Mamoru swore inwardly. He didn't expect Ito to ask such shrewd questions. "Isn't the media controlled by the military now? Everything they say has to be approved by the government. If the Prime Minister allowed news of the failure of the military to leak out, they'd lose the support of the public. The entire reputation of the government is at stake. We're hoping to recruit more people who are just as fed up with the Marshal Law as we are so we can move on to bigger things. We want to shake up Tokyo and everyone who runs it."

Ito was convinced. Joining Mamoru's resistance would give their gang a chance to fight back and get rid of the government that's out to ruin everything his gang had worked so hard to build. "Hey listen Mamoru, why don't I talk this over with the boss and I'll give you an answer tomorrow morning? I think he'll be interested in what I have to say."

Mamoru agreed and the two parted ways. Mamoru looked both ways before stepping out into the sidewalk and making his way back to the apartment. 'I hope Ito manages to convince 'the boss' to join our group. It would make our lives much easier if things went according to plan for once.' With that little prayer, Mamoru started to climb the rickety metal ladder that led to the window of their apartment. Squeezing through the window, he called out a greeting to the occupants when he felt something crash into him. Looking down, he saw that it was Kura hugging the life out of his left leg. Scooping her up, Mamoru asked how her day was.

"Oh Mamowu, guess what. Setsuna-chan got mad and gave the girls chopsticks b'cuz they didn't have wands. Then they used their chopsticks and made the egg go splat! It was so funny, you should have been there! Then Luna-chan taught me the secwet club song. It's really good. Wanna hear it?" Mamoru looked lost for a minute then, ruffling her hair, said maybe later. "Besides, if it's a secret song, you shouldn't sing it out loud."

Seeing Usagi passing by, Kura leaned over in Mamoru's arms and asked Usagi to take her, who more than willingly complied. "Wemember Setsuna-chan's face when she got mad, Usagi-chan? It was all red and squishy." Kura giggled in remembrance.

At Mamoru's questioning look, Usagi explained the events of the day, causing another round of laughter between the three. Usagi paused in her laughter to observe the scene. Kura was in her arms and Mamoru was by her side. 'We almost look like a family.' She unconsciously took a step back when she heard footsteps coming from the hallway. Turning around, she saw that it was Minako, who had apparently just stepped out of the shower, for she had a towel wrapped around her head turban-style.

"So Mamoru-san, how did things go with your friend?" Mina ruffled Kura's hair affectionately, who jumped down from Usagi's arms to follow Artemis, who she saw trying to sneak past her, into the bedroom. The three remaining adults watched Kura chase Artemis shouting, "I sawed you, Arty! You pwomised to pway wif me!"

"Ito told me that his boss was planning to unite with the other gangs to cause shit for the police. That was when I told him about us. He fell for it, hook, line and sinker. By the time I was done, I had him thinking we were Tokyo's answer to the mafia. I made up all this shit about how we torched the mayor's office and roughed up every police officer we ran into. He's back at their hideout trying to convince 'The Boss' to join our group. He's going to let me know tomorrow what the decision is, and if my manipulation skills are still up to par, our little band of delinquents will be expanding, so be prepared to meet up with the gang tomorrow."

Usagi smirked at Mamoru's self-assurance. "My, my, someone's a little cocky today. You better hope Ito's as dumb as you make him sound or we have to go back to the drawing board."

"He better fucking convince his gang leader to join us after all the beer I had to drink today! It wasn't even noon yet and I had already downed 3 bottles. Not to mention all the cigarettes I had to pretend to smoke. I smell like a damn smokestack."

Minako patted him mockingly on the shoulder. "You're such martyr, Mamoru! Go change out of those smelly clothes and get yourself some food. I don't think it was so smart drinking on an empty stomach."

For the rest of the night, they all sat idly in the living room tossing around ideas about what they would to Metallion once they got her in their clutches. Kura, who had been dying to show off how quickly she had learned the 'secret song', had somehow managed to convince the cats to sing it with her. By the time they were done with their concert, Mamoru had tears rolling down his face and the girls were shaking with laughter. An hour later, Mamoru noticed that Kura had fallen asleep on his lap and passed her on to Usagi, who took her to bed. The rest of the girls followed Kura's example and turned in for the night.

The next day, Mamoru arrived at the designated meeting spot where Ito excitedly told him that his gang had agreed to meet Mamoru's friends today at The Sunset Strip, a local strip club a few blocks away from where Mamoru and the girls lived in a half hour.

"When you get inside, just go upstairs and knock on the door three times. We'll be expecting you." Mamoru agreed and rushed home to tell the girls. Usagi was reluctant to leave Kura alone by herself with just the cats for protection but in the end, agreed to go when everyone, including Kura, insisted that they'd be fine.

Once again using the sewers, they finally reached their destination. Seeing the inside of a strip club was a new experience for all of them except Mamoru, who had taken Motoki to one to help him get over Reika's departure for Africa a few years ago. The girls were astonished to see that some of the dancers were probably around their age.

Mamoru led the blushing group of women towards the stairs and knocked three times on the door at the top. The door opened and they were allowed to enter the spacious, and surprisingly tastefully decorated, room. There were rich leather couches arranged around a mahogany coffee table, a pool table and Usagi even saw some of Michiru's paintings hanging on the walls. Her look of surprise was mirrored on Michiru's face who had seen them too.

Mamoru struggled to keep his eyebrow from rising. 'They must have been doing well before all this started to happen. Who says crime doesn't pay?' He introduced Usagi and Serena as their leaders to the all-male gang, who immediately started hooting and catcalling at all the girls in their lounge. Suddenly, one of the bolder men reached out to fondle Serena's breast. Before his hand could reach its destination however, Serena grabbed it and used it to twist his arm behind his back.

The men were shocked to see such a small woman restraining a man over six feet tall but obviously they never knew about Serena's secret agent/senshi background. The man in Serena's hold continued to struggle so, reaching out to the table closest to her, Serena grabbed a beer bottle and smashed it against the table. She held up the jagged end of the bottle to his throat. "Ready to say 'I'm sorry?'" He gulped nervously and started to nod.

Just then, Usagi whipped out her switchblade and threw it at another guy in the corner, pinning his collar to the wall. Mamoru and the senshi turned to Usagi who started walking towards the man to retrieve her knife. "I believe you dropped this?" She bent down to pick up a ten-inch hunting knife that he had dropped on the floor. "You weren't going to use this on my sister, were you? Good, cuz the next time I see a weapon in any of your hands," Usagi said, addressing the entire room, "raised against us, I won't miss." She took the hunting knife and grazed it over his throat before throwing it to Mamoru, who caught it by the handle as if he had been expecting it.

Ito approached the girls cautiously with a middle-aged man whom he introduced reverently as Okata-sama. "I apologize for the behaviour of my men. Believe me, they will get what is coming to them later on."

"That is not necessary, Okata-san. I believe we have taken care of the problem. Why don't we just discuss what we came here to discuss? I take it you have considered our offer to form an alliance against our common enemy." Serena asked.

Okata nodded his head. "Yes. While it is not in my nature to trust outsiders, I believe joining your resistance movement is a most prudent course of action. Together we will help each other pull out the thorn that is the law in my side, and the thorn that is Sato in yours." Bending his head lower so that only Usagi and Serena could hear him, he whispered, "eh, senshi?"

Usagi hissed sharply and Serena tensed her body, ready to spring into action in case they needed to bid a hasty retreat when they heard Okata chuckle softly. "I'm right aren't I? You are the senshi. Don't worry, girls. I'm the only one in my gang who knows your secret and I swear I won't tell a soul. I am glad to see that you have finally decided to fight back. I have a feeling that you have been set up in this whole nasty business, am I right?" The girls, reassured that they had found another person in their corner, nodded their heads as one.

Settling down on the soft broadloom carpet, they started to talk about their plans to cause their private revolt. The gang of 32 members, including Okata, was divided into 8 groups of 4. Each 'cell' was to accomplish a different task before moving on to another part of the city. They decided to make all their plans for the upcoming week and a half right then and there, for communication between the different cells would be most difficult. Mamoru and the girls stayed there for about six hours, finalizing their plans with their co-conspirators before Usagi realized that Kura had been alone for so long.

Okata walked them to the door. "Good luck, senshi. I hope we all accomplish what we set out to do." He bowed to Mamoru and the girls and headed back up the stairs.

Lifting up the manhole cover, Mamoru spared a last glance at the club. 'Good luck to you too, Okata-san. I have a feeling we're all going to need a lot of it to defeat Metallion once and for all.' With that, Mamoru lowered himself into the sewer to follow the rest of the girls back to their home, preparing himself mentally for what was to come. "Watch out Metallion. We're going to kick your ass all the way into oblivion."