Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ What Worth a Leaf in a Storm? ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

"There now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Makoto nodded her head approvingly. It had been only the work of a few minutes silent thought for Ami's eyes to brighten and a decisive declaration of, "I have a plan," to come about.

"Mako-chan," Ami said, her bottom lip turned in a light pout, "Turn around."

"What?"

"Turn around, I said."

Makoto stared at her for a second longer, then shrugged and spun about on one heel. Her hands were clasped behind her back and she whistled a short bar of music, just because it felt like the sort of thing one should do when clueless and turning about. Far be it for her to ask questions; after their talk just now this seemed like a wonderful occasion to display some of that trust she had stressed to Ami. Some odd shuffling reached her ears, and wondered what Ami was rummaging in behind her. She couldn't resist asking one little question along those lines, but it only got her a brusque, "you'll see" in response.

"Hold this." A brief order sounded from directly behind her, and Makoto had to work not to jump. She hadn't heard Ami approach. A cloth-wrapped bundle was shoved into her hands. She automatically started to bring it back around before she thought Ami might not want her too, but upon hearing no objection went ahead and had a look. Picking at the cloth, Makoto gazed questioningly at it for a few seconds. With a start, she realized that these weren't any spare scraps of beige cloth. Her eyes widened like saucers, and she spun about, no matter what Ami had said.

"Ami-ch--"

"Mercury Crystal Power, make up!"

Makoto saw a light and her vision barely seemed to ripple, or shimmer, like the surface of a clear pond in a sudden gust of wind. By the time her eyes could focus from her whirling about, Sailor Mercury stood before her. Makoto's breath caught as she looked at Mercury's face; her eyes were closed and her faced composed to an image of complete serenity, with lips gracefully curving up at the edges to form a beautifully modest smile. There was a little oddness, in that Makoto could see a gradual bleeding out of tone around Ami's shoulders and thighs, where there had been cover before. They hadn't full-body applied the skin dye, so right before the short fuku sleeves and extending a few inches below the skirt were Ami's usual pale skin, looking almost ghostly in contrast. Bright blue eyes opened and held the image together for a split-second, and then a glint of mischievousness shattered through her calm expression and she grinned more impishly.

"Can I get those back?"

Makoto broke from her brief reverie, and she looked back to her hands. Her face grew hot, and she shoved her arms forward to Ami, head turned and refusing to make eye contact. Ami just laughed, a chiming, light little sound, and Makoto felt Sailor Mercury take back her khaki top and bottom. Taking a brief respite from her grumpy little embarrassment, Makoto grinned wryly at her friend trying to work the shirt and shorts over her padded sailor uniform and skirt. It quite obviously wasn't working well, though Ami managed to make them fit to some degree or another. Makoto still couldn't contain her laughter at the uncomfortable-looking and decidedly more lumpy Mercury.

"You look..." Makoto really didn't want to say "ridiculous," even if it were the first thing that had popped into her mind, "What are you doing with yourself?" She asked instead.

Mercury looked embarrassed as she looked herself over, "We need Sailor Mercury here, but bright white and blue are a little bit easier to see coming than these khakis, I thought this would work..." Makoto enjoyed a fresh flurry of giggles at her expense. That cool, composed Mercury knew how odd she looked only made Makoto more amused. Mercury coughed, and tried in vain to regain some of the tranquility of moments before. She failed spectacularly. Makoto, seeing her try, decided to relent anyway.

"Good thinking. It, ah, doesn't really matter how you look, if the object is to not be seen." Makoto thought she had done quite a respectable job in trying to sound serious, but Mercury raised an eyebrow at her as if guessing at her continued mirth. She smiled prettily, however, and picked her pack back up.

"Ah, Mercury."

"Yes?"

"Your gloves, and boots too," Makoto pointed. Mercury looked down for a moment, frowning in consternation. then she laughed, and tugged the gloves off.

"Blue," Makoto said in surprise.

"So they are," Mercury replied, looking at her perfectly painted fingernails. She amused herself with trying to pick the color off, but it didn't seem to be polish, or at least not like any polish she or Makoto had ever used. "The perfect manicure, hidden under gloves all this time," Mercury smiled.

"And the boots? They're probably not as noticeable, but if you're trying to be camouflaged it couldn't hurt."

"Right." Sailor Mercury sat down on the loamy ground and put a hand to either side of one of her boots. "I'll just take these off and put on my other..." She stopped.

"What's the matter?"

"My hiking boots," Ami put a tired hand to her temple, "I transformed in them. Somehow, it doesn't feel like this should be so complicated." Makoto just shrugged. Mercury pulled her gloves back on and changed back. Ami was pleased to find that the lumpy over-clothing she'd made of the khakis fit right back into place when she transformed back, and they went through the process all over again, this time setting the boots off to the side as well. Makoto held her clothes with her back turned again, this time not knowing how to feel about knowing what was behind her--and wondering a bit at why somebody she'd been to hot springs with would ask her to turn around now, Ami still had her undergarments on, even--but relieved at some level that she wasn't having to try to hide and amount of ogling. Ogling wasn't polite, really, and Makoto knew that she would have been quite rude had she been turned around.

"Ah, Mako-chan?" Mercury asked a short time into the process, as she was down on the ground again trying to pull off a boot.

"What's up?"

"Could you help me with this boot?" She sat on the ground, smiling apologetically and scratching her cheek with one little crooked finger. Makoto rolled her eyes, and knelt to help her. The boots were more difficult to get off than she expected. They were rather form-fitting, and Makoto got the distinct impression they weren't exactly made to come off. Ever. They managed it (finding the world's finest pedicure as well) and she laced up her still new-looking brown hiking boots instead. They stored the boots and gloves in one of the packs.

"So what happens if you change back without putting them back on?"

"To be honest, Mako-chan, I'd rather not find out. It might be because I feel like I'm breaking some unspoken senshi rule about the uniform, or it might be because I'd rather not have everything I've learned of physics invalidated just yet."

"You mean any more than it already has been?"

"Hush." Mercury frowned with mock severity and turned to the surrounding foliage. One hand reached to her temple, and Makoto saw the edge of her visor flash into existence. From her angle, she could just see inside the device, and make out tiny characters scrolling around and symbols flitting about the screen. Mercury turned to her, and there was only the transparent blue pane. "Now that I'm thinking more clearly, this seems like it should have been obvious. I'll screen for human presence as we go along. We'll still have to move quietly, but this should help even the odds with those familiar with this place."

"Should we make an effort to only travel at night, or anything like that?"

Mercury considered it. "No, no I don't think so. We'll make more noise in the dark, and sounds seem to carry rather oddly at night. I'd feel more comfortable taking cover at night and catching our rest, where we can be the ones still and listening for intruders."

"Makes sense to me." Makoto nodded. "Lead the way."

 

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Later that evening as the tawny sun began to fade through the overhead leaves, Makoto chose a place to set up "camp." It seemed something of an insult to camps everywhere to call it so, but she thought it sounded better than "sleeping bags under a tree and a couple of low plants." They didn't make a fire, of course, not that they needed it for warmth. The nocturnal skylights were brighter than Makoto would have thought, she was a little pleased to find. It wasn't much, just enough to make out the outlines of closer objects, but that was infinitely more comforting than the inky blackness she had been privately dreading.

When it came time to decide who would take first watch, Makoto was only too grateful to agree to the second. Mercury mentioned a little self-consciously that she'd had plenty of time to rest when she'd kept to the bunk during the riverboat trip. Makoto was just glad that she'd take the shift that would get lighter at the end. Mercury had her visual light filters, but Makoto was a little uneasy at the thought of straining her ears and eyes for anything suspicious when she wasn't even sure what she was trying to detect. She laid atop her sleeping bag, not unzipping it. She couldn't putting herself between any more layers of cloth than her clothing, in this climate, and only modesty and protection kept those on. For the moment, it was just something to keep her from laying on the dirt, and hopefully keep a few bugs off. She didn't hold out much hope for that, the sort of bugs that she and Ami had seen commonly on the forest floor the whole trip weren't the type to let a little thing like an inch or so of elevation keep them from a meal of delicious senshi, but she hoped it would help. Makoto watched Mercury settle down as comfortably as she could in a depression among the roots of the nearby tree.

"G'night."

"Good night, Mako-chan. Sweet dreams."

Whether she had them or not, any dreams at all fled instantly when Makoto was shaken awake in the dead of the night. She yawned--quietly as she could--and arched a back stiff from the lumpy, hard earth and loam. She rolled over and pushed herself up, blinking in the darkness.

"Mercury?" She whispered, disoriented and unable to recall where anything had been. A touch on her shoulder directed her to the tree Mercury sat at, and Makoto sat at her side.

"You ready to catch some shuteye?"

"I'll stay up with you a few minutes, to help you wake up."

"Good call." Makoto nodded, mind still filled with cotton balls and cobwebs. This was hardly the situation or locale for restful sleep, and getting only a few hours was stretching things that much thinner for her. She sat there with Mercury, dredging herself up to a state of wakefulness until she didn't think sleep was possible again if she'd tried. She told Sailor Mercury that it was fine to trade off now. Her friend crept out from the tree, but instead of crawling onto the sleeping bag as Makoto had expected, she heard her rummaging around in the packs.

"Hungry?" She whispered.

"No." Came the hushed reply, "Mako-chan, do you think you could help me find my gloves and boots?"

"Wait, why?"

"So I can change back."

"You need to change back?"

There was a silence. "I... I don't know. Don't I? I never really thought about it."

Makoto considered. Strange, the peculiarities of being a senshi that had never really come up until now. Had one of them ever gone to sleep while transformed?

"I'm not sure either."

"If I try to fall asleep, mightn't I just transform back when I'm relaxed enough?"

"We never changed back when we got knocked unconscious or anything," Makoto pointed out.

"There's still a good deal of stress on the body in that situation," Mercury argued. "Shock and injury isn't the same as fatigue and sleep."

"So why don't you just change back? Why look for your stuff?" Mercury didn't answer, but somehow Makoto felt her discomfort with the idea. "Don't tell me you're still on about the physics?"

"The idea doesn't sit well with me, that's all," Mercury said, and Makoto could almost hear her lips twisted in a pout. She rolled her eyes, hidden in the dark.

"Fine, fine. I think I just stuffed them in with my other change of clothes." Makoto lurched forward to her hands and knees and scrambled over to help the Senshi of Wisdom protect her delicate sensibilities as to the nature of reality. After they'd managed to force her feet back into the boots, which was very nearly more difficult than getting them off in the first place, Ami bid her friend a fond good morning. Makoto figured it must be a bit past midnight, then. The morning came with a sense of relief, and the sun did the job of waking Ami for her. Makoto noticed that she hadn't seemed to have been sleeping well, but chalked it up to the environment. When Ami sat up blinking, though, she sported a grimace that had little to do with waking up early. Makoto watched her friend start, and begin searching through her pack rather intently.

"Hungry?"

"No," Ami replied shortly enough to give Makoto pause.

"Ah, the toilet pa--"

"Not that either."

A look of relief spread across Ami's face, and she ran with surprising speed into the trees with whatever she had found. When she returned she didn't look much more comfortable. She pulled a small bottle from her medical pack and swallowed a couple of pills with a sip of water.

"You okay, Ami-chan?"

"Cramps."

Makoto politely asked no more questions; thankfully her own had been relatively short and endured for the most part during the calm drive to Cuiaba. They ate a cold, hurried breakfast and Ami got undressed, then Mercury got dressed, and she continued to lead the way. Though she obviously tried to continue the hot, arduous march indifferently, Makoto occasionally saw a pained look cross Mercury's features. If her friend thought it unusual that Makoto suddenly became a little more supportive and a little less argumentative for a few days, she gave no sign.

It was in the middle of the third day that Makoto started to wonder about just where they were and how long it was going to take to get where they were not. Indeed, she started to consider whether their two unwilling informants had been misleading them, or were originally misled themselves somehow.

"No, Mako-chan. Or at least, not yet. We'll be here two or three more days before we actually arrive. We would have gotten there already had we went straight, but I'm taking us on a less direct path. If they know we're coming, let's not give them any help finding us."

Makoto reluctantly determined that if Mercury were going to willingly subject herself to this without a word of discontent, she could certainly follow without complaint. Without vocal complaint, at any rate. She couldn't know if Mercury was doing the same, but Makoto found it perfectly fair and reasonable to complain in her own thoughts about heat and bugs and sore feet. Also the delightful tree roots, which Makoto darkly suspected were gaining an irritating sentience and mobility, one that allowed them to insidiously slither whilst she slept so that she awoke to the most awkward and painful positions upon them.

Mercury soon began to speak of odd electromagnetic readings she was getting; odd, anyway, for an empty jungle. Makoto was both encouraged and concerned at her friends conjecture that this likely meant they had gotten accurate information and that some headquarters, or at least large base, was nearby, but it was worrisome to think that they had such an infrastructure that supported extensive electrical activity.

The first time that Mercury actually did find somebody made for an intense few hours. Makoto was walking without any other care than the usual one regarding her feet, when Sailor Mercury stopped stock-still and rigid as a pole. Quick enough on the uptake, Makoto knew better than to suddenly start asking questions. She paused alongside her, and looked at her friend's eyes until they slid slowly to the side and met. Mercury slowly shook her head in a tiny motion. Makoto wasn't sure what was going on quite yet, but until she was told more directly otherwise she figured that she was probably supposed to just stay still now.

And stay still they did; for what seemed an unbearably long time to Makoto. Mercury started to slowly move, keeping her eyes fixed in the same direction. Following her snail-crawl pace, Makoto was relieved when the Sailor Senshi beside her breathed a heavy sigh of relief and slumped against a nearby tree.

"What's going on, Sailor Mercury?" Makoto asked now, still whispering.

"I located somebody up in a tree not a hundred feet away," she answered, "I don't think he saw us. I didn't see him move, at least not while we were standing still. We'll skirt around this area from now on." She frowned, "All the interference from this brush and the wildlife isn't making things any easier, especially as I have to try and scan everywhere. This may be all the warning we ever get, Mako-chan."

"Gotcha. We should, ah, try and move more quietly, then."

"Probably."

The second occasion was actually the same day, and when Makoto said something about it Mercury confirmed that they were within two miles of their destination. Fortunately her scanning was able to catch the spotter on the other side of a small clearing, lending a short boost to her range with a gap in interference.

"So do we go in this evening," Makoto asked as they slunk around to avoid the sentry, "Or do we wait another night and start off fresh?"

"Tomorrow evening," Ami said. "We'll take a day to rest up and go in during the evening. We need a rest, and people tend to be biologically most alert in the morning, whatever their sleep schedule."

"Huh, I didn't know that."

"You pick things up here and there."

They found another secluded patch of brush to hunker down under to take their rest. As Makoto drew out another small supply of travel food for a small but satisfying supper, she felt a nagging tug in the pit of her stomach that she recognized all too well.

"Are you feeling better, Mercury?" She asked.

"Now that my period's over, yes. You never hear people talking about that in adventure stories."

"Not often, you don't," Makoto agreed. "Glad we're finally coming to the last few pages of this story. All that's left is to bust in with the power of love and justice and give them all a good spanking for being so rambunctious. Then we can get home."

"Yea, I suppose we can..." Mercury broke eye contact as she said this.

"You okay, Sail...?"

Mercury suddenly lay back on the ground with her head on her pack. She closed her eyes and sank into her bag. It took Makoto a moment to realize that she had transformed back; the boots and gloves in her pack must have gone away as well. Ami's eyes opened.

"I guess the universe didn't implode, though the thought of my things just vanishing from existence still makes me go cold all over, for some reason."

Makoto almost said something, but shook her head and smile. Smiled until Ami looked to her again with the same somber expression that she'd worn a moment before.

"We get to go home, huh, Mako-chan?"

"I'm looking forward to it," Makoto answered sincerely, "The kids are probably missing their sensei. At least I can hope they are, I kinda miss them, and my kitchen as well. At least I can't say I've been neglecting my exercise regimen."

"No," Ami chuckled, "You can't that. Perhaps I will stay around for another day or so after we get back. I miss your kitchen too."

"Another day or so?" Makoto raised a curious eyebrow in her direction before realization dawned, "Oh, Ami-chan, I hadn't....

"We both have lives to get back to." Ami agreed sadly. Makoto had been troubled at the realization already, but the reciprocated sadness in Ami's voice made it heartbreaking.

"I think I'll be sure to call you this time," Makoto asserted a little lamely, for lack of anything better to say. Her friend's lips twitched upwards.

"That would be nice."

"I'm not giving up our friendship again," Makoto continued more firmly, "Not for some silly little fears of mine."

"Fears, Mako-chan?"

"Nothing that matters right now," Makoto answered softly, but with a note of finality and an inner grumble at herself.

"I've really liked being with you again, Mako-chan."

"Me too."

As she said that, a good deal or reality seemed to catch up with her. Impulsively, Makoto reached out pressed Ami's hand to her lips for a long few seconds, a rare display of actual worry in her eyes, and none of it for herself. "Tomorrow is going to be dangerous," she said, invalidating her earlier bravado.

"Yes it is," Ami said simply. A great many things that Makoto wanted to say rushed through her mind. Instead, she just squeezed Ami's hand tightly, and from the warm smile Ami favored her with, she thought she was understood.

 

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When the sun rose the next morning, Makoto found it rather hard to keep any of her senses focused on the outside. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around them, and she lay her cheek atop them and watched Ami. Every once in a while something struck Makoto, in these rare, calm moments in which they were able to look forward and know that conflict approached. Ami looked so terribly fragile.

Even seeing her own hand in the corner of her eye was a strange experience. Her hand, that she knew was stronger than most, that she had seen afire with arcs of her guardian's power, looked a good deal more the flesh and blood that it was. Her entire body felt pitifully inadequate, delicate, so easy to damage. This wasn't something she ever wanted to think about, but years of training in martial arts had taught her two things about her body. Firstly, that a great many limitations were in her own mind, and secondly, that a great many limitations were not. No amount of physical or mental or physical control yet had allowed somebody to bounce a bullet or turn a knife point from bare flesh. She could dodge attacks, she could subdue opponents, but all it would take is one time getting caught off-guard or one lucky shot, and she would be gone. Makoto smiled sadly at Ami's peacefully sleeping form; she wanted her friend to have a super-human protector, but all she could offer was her own mortal self.

A sigh whispered through her lips and she buried her eyes in the back of her arms for a moment. She was no stranger to fear, for herself or her friends. It was more an encouraging old friend in her heart than any insidious presence chipping at her resolve. It was a reminder that she loved her friends, and that she had something to live for. As long as you looked fear squarely in the eye, and with respect, it respected you back. They'd had a few spats, especially where love were concerned, but she and fear generally got along fairly well. What people called courage was just facing the danger or problem with fear standing right by your side; not behind you nipping at your heels or in front of you supporting your enemy. Makoto allowed two shining tears to gather in her eyes and fall to moisten her dusty arms. This was something that didn't happen often with her, but these two uncommon tears represented to her the torrents that would come if she let anything happen to Ami. Then she raised her head and faced the forest with eyes that perfectly reflected its vibrant greenery. An easy smile tugged at her lips, a soft, fluid warmth spread through her as her worries melted away. She knew what was to come and what might happen, but there was no way she was going to allow her own worries to fulfill themselves by distracting her.

For right now, there was nothing dangerous going on. They were just a couple of tired, dirty, and a touch hungry young girls alone in the rainforest, resting up from a long hike. There was absolutely nothing in Ami's cute face to suggest that anything evil--or even mildly annoying--was nearby. Makoto bid fear a fond, apologetic farewell for a short while, and let herself believe that for a while.

 

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"So, any new bits to your plan you'd like to dramatically reveal now, Ami-chan?" Makoto asked from around a mouthful of sweet, dense bread.

"Not until we get there. I have no idea what the base even looks like, except that I think it's underground."

"Underground, really?" Makoto had somehow been expecting a structure squatting low and imposing in the middle of the forest. That was a little silly of her to think, in retrospect, as that would be hard to hide under treetops. Why couldn't it be some little more-or-less permanent encampment, though?

Ami nodded. "Anything else would be much to easy to stumble across, really. There are low-flying aircraft all over the place, crop-dusters or private shuttle services. The canopy may be thick, but it's not impenetrable. All it would take is one sighting and off-hand mention from a pilot to send their operation scurrying away. Besides, I didn't know what to make of the electrical and metallic readings I was getting for a while during our hiking, but they do seem to support this theory."

"So how do we go about finding it?"

"I know the location well enough. I'm sure that when we get closer it'll reveal itself." Ami looked a little dubious about the prospect, but it seemed sound enough to Makoto. You couldn't plan out every little detail. "We might want to transform now, as well." Ami said, reaching into her pocket. Makoto nodded and reached for her henshin as well.

"Jupiter Crystal Power, make up!"

"Mercury Crystal Power, make up!"

The flimsy, physical shell she was so worried about that morning filled throughout with a stolid resolve and resilience. A white rush of heat blazed through her body and melted away the ache in her muscles while a cool, moist breeze ruffled her hair in the otherwise hot, still air, carrying with it a sweet scent of rain that filled her nose and cleared her mind of fatigue. A more minor pleasure, the bright fuku she wore was clean and fresh, a welcome change from the increasingly gamey clothing she had been wearing for more than a few days without a wash. Jupiter felt her lips stretching back in a smile from the tingles of static crossing across her bare flesh and tickling the hair on her scalp, and she found herself closely watching Sailor Mercury's expression, and wondering what sensations she experienced when transforming that she always wore that same expression of absolutely content serenity. And, as she could think of no reason not to, she asked.

"What does it feel like?" Mercury echoed. "Um... I'm not sure how to describe it. Like I've been immersed into ice water, but it's not unpleasant. It's revitalizing and brisk and refreshing. It's like I've been cooled to..." Mercury looked suddenly embarrassed, "I don't know how else to put it, but like my mind, heart and soul has been cooled to optimal operating temperature.

"Optimal... operating... temperature," Jupiter reiterated, disbelievingly, but then she laughed. "Coming from Sailor Mercury, I can believe that."

"It feels different for you, then?" Mercury asked curiously.

"Just a little. It's like getting hit with everything a hurricane has to throw all at once, and enjoying the hell out of it." Sailor Jupiter flashed her a confident grin, and almost laughed aloud at the incredulous expression on her face.

"And you laughed at me for my explanation," Mercury mumbled none too quietly, then gave Jupiter a speculative look. "Hey, your hair is back to normal."

Jupiter reached up, eyes wide with astonishment, "Why, so it is. I wonder why?"

"We can worry about that later," Mercury said, obviously curious but with more pressing concerns on her mind, "Let's get going."

 

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"There's nothing here." Sailor Jupiter felt and uncontrollable urge to point this out as they stood looking into a small clearing, no more than a few yards in diameter, from back some small distance into the trees. The space was small enough that the branches on the surrounding trees arched overhead and formed a ceiling. This was the closest unusual land feature to where Mercury said the entrance to the headquarters was supposed to be, so they were both hunkered down close to the ground, watching.

"The metallic readings are stronger here, though," Mercury argued softly. "I'd bet that the grounds thinner here, there's got to be an entrance."

"So how do we find it?"

"We don't. I don't know what kind of precautions they may have taken. We'll wait until one of those lookouts comes back to get relieved."

"How long will that take?"

Mercury shrugged helplessly, and Jupiter fought back a groan. She tried to make herself as comfortable as possible while she waited. It was probably no more than a few hours until Sailor Mercury warned of somebody approaching, and they heard careless footsteps on the loam a minute later. Sailor Jupiter tried her best to stay absolutely still, and convince herself that they were hidden in the brush. She tensed to run out as soon as an entrance was open, but she felt a hand on her arm and looked to see Sailor Mercury mouthing, "don't move."

Jupiter raised an eyebrow questioningly, but Mercury just gave her a warning look and turned back to the clearing. Jupiter watched in triumph as he stood there, and a section of ground quite literally rose up as though it were hinged on one end, which it probably was, and he walked down what appeared to be a flight of stairs. They heard the mumble of a few exchanged words and a laugh, and a woman walked up the stairs and strode off into the forest. Mingled with the triumph was a helpless frustration, though, as Mercury had kept a cautionary hand on her shoulder the entire time. When the door closed with a low-whoomph!-Sailor Jupiter turned to her irritably, though she waited until the leaving female lookout was definitely out of earshot before she whispered,

"A little late to go in now, isn't it?"

"That was reconnaissance, Jupiter," her friend replied sweetly. "There's a camera pointed right at that entrance."

"How do you know that?" Jupiter asked, surprised. Sailor Mercury just tapped at the blue glass over her eyes, and Jupiter nodded sheepishly.

"Fine. Why don't I shut up a moment, and you tell me what else you noticed?"

"These are probably timed events that the enemy has memorized, or they've got some other to let them know somebody is up there, but I can't figure out what it would be. I don't see any detection equipment out here, and it would have to be an incredibly fine instrument that could tell from vibrations or something that there was a person walking up here, instead of any other large forest animal."

"So we have until the next lookout exchange?"

"Yes. Also, did you notice something about those two? I couldn't hear what they said, but they were laughing, and they weren't being at all cautious about coming here or going away. They don't seem to be alert to any threat. Maybe we got lucky with those two back in Manaus, or these guys just don't believe there's anything to worry about."

"So we have cameras, a time limit, and careless enemies. What do we do about all this?"

"We have plenty of time to get something together, so let's get comfortable and go over it," Mercury answered.

 

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Sailor Jupiter had already gone over the plan so many times that when Mercury gave her a sharp nod to signify that somebody was coming, she didn't feel alarmed or excited or anything, more just relieved to get this over with already. This newcomer, another woman, stood for a moment, and the ground opened like it had before. She walked down and they heard a brief exchange of curt greetings. The fellow who walked out was as careless as anybody had been so far, and just started walking away into the forest without even a glance around. Luck was on Jupiter's side, he walked perpendicular to the entrance, away from the camera's sight. Sailor Jupiter counted his steps. One... two... three, she was going to have to time this perfectly, and absolutely needed the element of surprise.

"Flower Hurricane!" She hissed. Even as she spoke, she was already headed towards him, running nearly as fast as the gust of wind that flared in his direction. A swirl of bright flower petals and sweet aromas spun around him, flapping his clothing and making him squint his eyes. He gasped a startled oath and jerked his head around to the sides as though to find the source of this sudden disturbance, but by then Jupiter was on him and he was summarily rendered unconscious. She lifted him like a large rag doll and tucked him away into some undergrowth, hopefully to stay undisturbed.

"Now, Jupiter," Sailor Mercury nodded.

"Sparkling Wide Pressure!" As she spoke the release and the lightning ball in her hand flared to life, Sailor Jupiter focused and did her best to throw only a small fraction of the power. The result came as a low-energy projectile flying into the entrance and, instead of exploding and ripping a hole whatever it hit, scattering as a ripple of arcs across the metal walls. Sailor Jupiter hissed and gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the burning sensation crawling up and down her arm and the involuntary twitching of her fingers.

"It worked, the camera's out!" Mercury crowed, not noticing anything wrong with her companion. The pair rushed into the stairs, just as it came crashing down. Mercury paused a moment to allow thawing of her ice and the door groaned gratefully as it fell closed. They saw the woman who'd walked down a short way down the hall, back turned to them and shaking her hand before her face. Trusting to luck, Sailor Jupiter and Mercury took the first side door they found and passed as quietly as they could through it into another, shorter hallway that led to a "T" intersection, with another door to their left before it.

Sailor Jupiter turned to her and shrugged, as though to say, "Well, what now?" Mercury considered, and pointed to the door, miming taking a picture with her hands. Jupiter figured there were more security cameras directed through the intersection ahead. Mercury stuck out an arm and barred her way forward, so Jupiter let her take the lead. Her friend opened the door carefully and backed away, eyes wide behind her visor.

"Camera?" Jupiter mouthed, and grimaced when Mercury nodded yes. She knelt down and gathered energy into her palm again, this time with her left arm, as the right still felt less than recovered. Even with the result expected, she still sucked air sharply between her teeth and pushed down a low moan as her arm protested the use it had been put to, and this time Mercury noticed.

"What's wrong, Sailor Jupiter?" She asked, but Jupiter shook her head wordlessly and pointed to the door. Mercury remembered their situation, and ran in. Sailor Jupiter followed and saw her friend go straight for the camera, pulling out her little computer. In a matter of seconds, she had a panel off of the camera and a few of the wires rerouted through her computer and was typing away. Nodding in satisfaction, she carefully disconnected herself from and reassembled the camera. Then she turned to Sailor Jupiter with a look that said she wouldn't be dissuaded from her question this time.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, really. All the power I'm not using has to go somewhere, and there aren't many places to put it."

Mercury's eyes widened, "You're not just using less?"

"Doesn't work that was, but it's not a problem," Jupiter insisted. "Not something I want to do often, but I'm used to dealing with electricity."

"That's right," Mercury mused, "You're not immune to the power you focus, you're just rather resistant to it. I'm sorry, I hadn't really counted on that."

"Stop that," Sailor Jupiter snapped irritably at her apologetic expression, "Instead of apologizing, how about you tell me you fixed the security system so I don't have to do it again?"

"Oh!" Mercury looked back at her modified security device, "Yes. I repaired this one and broke my way into their system. I shorted out a few other cameras, and set this one to a safe loop of old footage. The others should come back online soon, as well, so hopefully they'll just suspect some kind of freak electrical disturbance."

"That woman in the hall--"

"Will corroborate that, she got a little shock to her hand, probably had it grazing a wall. The door isn't blown off it's hinges, and there aren't scorch marks lining the halls." Mercury smiled, "In other words, none of the usual signs that the Senshi of Lightning has been through."

"Fantastic, we're in and have room to breath. Now what?"

"I don't know yet," Mercury admitted. "We can move around more safely, though. I gave myself remote access to the security system, so I can set any camera to looping footage for a minute as we walk by."

"I don't suppose you were able to do anything nifty like appropriate an electronic map of the place?"

"No such luck. We move carefully from here, and see what we can find. Discovering the source of the enemy's wealth or finding their leaders has to be our priority, otherwise we could have just called in Millennial Army to take care of this. If they find out we're here they're either going to do their best to hunt us down, disperse across the continent, or both."

Jupiter nodded. She already knew this, but Mercury was just trying to get them both focused and thinking about their objective, and she could hardly fault her that. They crept into the hallway. Sailor Mercury took the lead, being a little smaller and less conspicuous, and having a little more warning of danger from environmental data that human senses couldn't touch. It only took a few minutes of tense, hushed skulking for Jupiter to start feeling bored, though. From Mercury's posture, she could tell that her friend was a little unnerved by the inactivity around them.

"This doesn't make any sense, Sailor Jupiter." She shook her head as she closed another door after peeking within. "There's no guards, there's nobody in the sleeping quarters we found, nobody in the mess, nobody just walking around. Where is everybody?"

"Maybe they're, erm, taking their vacation?" Jupiter suggested, shrugging her shoulders helplessly. Mercury gave her a whithering look. "Well, you asked." Jupiter said defensively. Mercury chose not to reply, and they started off again, somewhat less quietly than before. As they wandered more deeply into the headquarters, of indeterminate size, however, a light murmuring started to become audible; kind of like a stiff breeze through a dense forest, thick and low-sounding. Curious and cautious once more, they started taking whichever hallways and turns that seemed to go into the direction of the sound. It became clearer as they approached until it resolved to the unmistakable buzz of chatter from a large crowd.

"Seems this would be the place," Mercury noted as they reached a pair of double-doors.

"How can you tell?"

"It says, 'meeting hall,' on it."

"Oh."

Jupiter cracked the door open, only to look into a short hallway with another set of doors at the other end. She threw the doors open wide to burn through a little bit of irritation, and she and Mercury walked quietly through and ever so quietly opened the door, freezing after there was just enough of a gap to see and being still, watching for any sign that they had been spotted. No heads turned in the direction of the door, so they slowly inched it open a little bit more until they could see the room and took up positions to see what was going on. The low stage at the front of the room was empty, and the gradually inclining tiers of seats were packed with people. Sailor Jupiter saw her friend scanning intently over the crowd.

"There are hundreds upon hundreds of people in there," Sailor Mercury whispered, "At least four, perhaps as much as six, I think. It's hard to estimate."

"I wonder if they're armed?"

"Does it matter?"

"It might, you never know."

They continued watching, not knowing what they or the audience was waiting for. They very nearly missed the point wherein that which they awaited arrived, so unassuming was the entrance. Jupiter and Mercury were busy scanning the audience, and it was only by chance that Mercury happened to look across the stage, and direct Jupiter's attention there as well. A figure was walking slowly across the thick metal floor, the soles of heavy boots drumming a steady beat, not hurried nor leisurely. It was dark in the room and dark was this man, from the jet-black hair smoothed back across his scalp and neatly trimmed on his face, to his deep, rich olive complexion. A dark cape fluttered at his heels and flowed around crisp, military-type dress. That got Jupiter's immediate attention. It was a rare man that could walk around in a cape without looking ridiculous, and he was managing it; this fellow she would keep a wary eye on.

He stopped in the center of the stage. There was no podium or any indication that it was the center, but if Jupiter were to measure end to end she would have sworn he would end up in the exact center. He stood quietly, and his audience hushed in a matter of seconds. He raised his head, and though he must have been at least fifty paces away, when his face swept over the crowd and seemed to stop for just a moment, pointed in their direction, Sailor Jupiter felt like she could see every line and shadow on his face, and couldn't help a release of adrenaline squeezing an icy fist around her stomach; those deep, inky black eyes seemed like they knew everything about her, and they were indelibly amused with her efforts. She shook her head, wondering why on earth she would think such a thing, and her eyes found Mercury's. Her friend nodded, troubled, and Jupiter knew she'd had the same, inexplicable reaction.

They looked back into the chamber, and thankfully he kept his eyes straight forward. Then he began to speak in a rich, mellifluous tone. Jupiter's breath caught in her throat for a moment; there was a lilting, musical quality to his voice that had nothing to do with his language, Jupiter felt it would have sounded the same whatever language he spoke in, and it was captivating. Behind him, a monstrously large projector screen slowly brightened to life, and text began crawling across the screen, in more languages than Jupiter could identify. She could see English, and Portuguese from all her time here; there was also Chinese and Korean, she was surprised to see, but not nearly so much as the Japanese right near them, so that Mercury did not have to translate for her.

"My brothers and sisters, my sons and daughters, my fathers and mothers;" He said, voice throbbing with emotion, "Well pleased am I to see all your faces this day. There are many here whom I have never had the pleasure of meeting face to face, who have only recently felt the burning desire for justice and right that all here have felt, and have only recently come into the knowledge that others share their sentiments and work for change."

Some kind of welcoming ceremony for new recruits? Jupiter wondered.

"In the long millenia of mankind's presence on the Earth, through our crudest tribal interactions and the conflicts of our most 'glorious,'" He said the word with distaste, and the feeling was echoed among the audience's crude laughter and other outbursts, "empires," he continued, "There has been one, and only one true law of the land. 'Might makes right.' Do I not speak truth?" He gazed out at the audience, and not a voice raised in dissent. "So right is indeed formed from might alone? Justice comes from strength at arms? We all are made equal from the power of a few? This is the history's own truth."

Now voices called out in protest, getting into the spirit of the speech. "You don't agree?" The speaker said, mocking surprise, "But what of this golden age we live in, all thanks to the glorious might of Crystal Tokyo?"

A single voice cried out, more clearly than the rest. Jupiter couldn't understand the language, but knew that it wasn't Portuguese, or even Latin-based. Even so, the speaker answered. "You say that you've seen no gold in your homeland, though your life stretches back before the time of our Silver Millennium? Is this true for more of you, are your homelands too, untouched by the supposed richness of this golden age?" The audience called out seemingly as one, in firm agreement.

"I'm not surprised. The world has never been right, for that folly of history. Yet here we see it repeat. Who rules the Silver Millennium? Did the people rise as one and select the most intelligent, most capable, most caring and sympathetic of the people to rule?"

Negation roared through the chamber.

"No!" He shouted along with them, the tone of his voice refusing descriptors of harshness and maintaining a purity that poured like honey into one's ears. "He and she that were selected were the strongest, the most powerful. Then, indeed, it's not even them. We've seen this stone they seem to guard jealously, their Silver Crystal. Therein lays their power, their legitimacy; not even from any virtue or power of their own, but from that which they possess. AS if that was not enough to convince you, who surrounds our so-called Queen at all hours?"

The roar of hundreds of voices roared through the confines of the hall, and though the accents and languages were many, the word came through,

"Senshi!"

"Yes! A small group of young upstarts who also share in some ineffable power. These girls would have you believe them heroes, but all they are is oppressors! Stormtroopers! A tiny bunch of individual egos who, by their mysterious and fearsome powers, have dominated the Earth that belongs to us all under the guise of 'peace' and 'prosperity.' And yet, as you have said here this day, this prosperity seems to be conspicuously absent from us. Ah, but what about peace? This one is easy to answer, how peaceful are all of you feeling at the moment?"

Though she certainly expected it at this point, Jupiter felt her heart fall slightly at the furious, bloodthirsty agreement of the crowd in response to all of the vicious slander he'd just slathered all over her loved ones.

"Excellent! We know our enemies. We, who come from so many places all over the world. I see here Brazilians and Colombians and Koreans and Americans and Mexicans and Germans and Russians..." his voice, powerful thought it was, was still not amplified and fell under the increasing yells of recognition. His lips continued moving regardless, and text continued scrolling on the screen, in some apparent recognition of all the nationalities of those present, including Japan.

"We can throw off the yolk of these Crystal Tokian oppressors." Jupiter looked at the strange word with raised eyebrow. He was probably trying to avoid saying "Japanese" or anything that might alienate his allies, but Sailor Jupiter thought that "Tokian" looked rather funny, personally. The audience took it seriously enough, though. "We know our lands! We can fight on our lands better than they can. We will throw away the invaders, and when we can proudly raise hour heads and say, 'This is my country,' when standing upon our soil, then we bring the fight to their home. Crystal Tokyo is correct about one thing; the riches of the Silver Millennium are for us all, but if they will not give it freely as a just party would, we will take it, and it be firmly in our right to do so!"

For the duration of his speech he almost seemed to grow, becoming more present and powerful as he went, but now he lowered his head and his cape draped around his shoulders, obscuring the majority of his body in black and shadow. He soaked in the adoration of his people, and it was only at this point that Sailor Jupiter realized that, though he started with talk of meeting newcomers, he had not even said his name. This was all about those he addressed, and he'd done it so skillfully that they hadn't even noticed. She assumed that some here must know the name of their leader, it would be ridiculous to go about unidentified as a leader, but it was an impressive oratorical display nonetheless. The audience quieted, and he raised his head once more.

"It will begin here. Thanks to recent actions on our part, Crystal Tokyo has become aware of our existence. As you might imagine, they are... concerned, that somebody would be so bold as to challenge their power. And even so, they underestimate us!" Though he spoke with the same air of command as before, there was some uncertain muttering in the audience from the many who had no idea of what he spoke. Sailor Jupiter felt her stomach slowly tying itself into a knot, though, and tried to convince herself that it couldn't really happen like this. Not like some suspenseful television drama.

"They think us so insignificant that they need not armies nor military might to bring us down. What weapon does our enemy have that they put such faith in? You said it before, all of you, as one tongue. The senshi. The senshi have been sent to destroy us." There was a collective gasp in the audience; whatever their enthusiasm the moment before the exploits of the senshi had become rather legendary. "Two of them, in fact. This is all our enemy believes us to be worth, the casual errand of a pair of their soldiers. I say we show them better. I say that these two guests will learn our worth."

The audience began to muster its courage again, faces looked to the side and behind, finding security in their fellows. A few tentative affirmatives called out, swelling to a good din of agreement and fading away.

"Then look behind you now, for our guests are here."

To Sailor Jupiter's horror, the doors swung open of their own accord, revealing she and Mercury knelt in the hallway, blinking like deer caught in headlights.

"Welcome, friends," the man spoke in fluent Japanese, "Class is now in session."