World Shaking: Chapter 8 Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission. *** World Shaking - A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide - Chapter 8: The Weight of the World. Is It True That Girls Have Small Shoulders? It was with more than a little frustration that Haruka found herself in the same hospital bed she had occupied only a few days before, eating what passed for a 'nutritionally balanced' lunch. The worries of the night before had been cut away by the serious, mechanical way she had been examined - and rather too invasively for her liking - in order to corroborate Ami's diagnosis. And corroborate it they did. She was to suffer bed rest and observations for another few days at least to make sure that the bleeding stopped properly and that there were no signs of the abruption worsening, or anything that might prompt such a thing. For all the fuss she made about it, the bed rest wasn't actually that bad a proposition. Haruka had long since given up trying to be physically active, and the prospect of a good comfy chair became more and more appealing after going anywhere. She might be driven mad with boredom, and with the effort of getting herself upright each time she needed to go down the hall to the ladies room, but the excuse not to drive herself to be somewhere else and get on with things was guiltily welcome. Not that she would nearly admit as much. Especially not when she had just given an interview on how things were going so well, and that she had already got over her abduction at the now closed Midnight Garden. When the gossip press got wind of this they would be champing at the bit to print *something* suspect following Karasuro-san's article. She let herself yawn and finished her overly processed lunch. Her battery of tests had lasted well into the night, once they had woken her midwife and dragged the poor woman in to help out. Haruka didn't really like her, but no-one needed to be called back into work at 11pm to deal with a potential emergency. Not that said potential had been fulfilled. As Ami had reassured her, neither she or the baby were in any real danger as long as the condition didn't worsen. That was also more than incentive enough for Haruka to accept her bed rest. She wasn't about to do anything that might cause problems for Miranda. That was the name she had decided on for her daughter. Miranda. Its relation to her position of Sailor Uranus was only incidental, and she'd been amused when she had looked into the name to make sure it didn't mean anything unfortunate in its native English tongue. She had originally considered it when thinking on names from the theatre, and remembered the sole female role in Shakespeare's tempest. Her own English had been pretty poor when she had attended the play, but the name was pretty and fitted the naive, honest girl, who should have been capable of great things if only she'd had her freedom. And it could be easily spelt with Kanji without mangling the sound of it at all, which was why she'd liked it to begin with. "How are you feeling, Haruka-chan?" Haruka's head shot up to find that she had a visitor. Either she had been too lost in her own thoughts to notice, or Setsuna had not bothered to use the door to enter her room. "Where have *you* been?!" It was all Haruka could think to ask, being startled so suddenly. "Here and there." Setsuna's face remained friendly, but not happy or content. "Looking for our shadowy new friend. Checking in on you. I've been a little too busy to come home." "Couldn't you at least have turned up to the last meeting? The girls have been wondering what could have been worth your silence. I have too." Setsuna shook her head. "This isn't a business visit, Haruka-chan. It's better that you don't know why one evil is preferable to the other. I'm just here to see you." "Then you'll have to put up with me asking. What evil could have been worth putting Minako or myself through that?" When Setsuna didn't reply, Haruka pushed. "What, Pluto? What *could* have been worse for us than that?" Setsuna's answer was simple. "Us. Venus is a strong girl. She will recover, and she will grow from this unfortunate experience. Who would have offered the rest of us the same escape after blinding us with gilded servitude?" "The Shadows would have taken us instead? All of us?" Setsuna shook her head. "Not all, but enough to make the fight leave its scars on us all." She let out a sigh, and forced her smile back onto her face. "So, how *are* you feeling?" "Better now. Still a bit sore. And I'm definitely feeling fat. Thanks for asking." Finally satisfied, Setsuna's smile grew less tight. "Good. She'll thank you for it." Then to Haruka's surprise she turned to leave, Sailor Pluto's garnet topped staff in her hand as if by magic. "Hey, Setsuna? Can't you stick around and chat for a bit?" "I would, but you have a visitor." The Gates of Time filled Haruka's vision for a moment as Setsuna stepped through them, but no sooner had they closed behind her and vanished than there was a knock at the far more ordinary wooden door to the room. "Uh, come in?" A blonde head poked in, followed by the rest of Minako. "Uh, hi. I heard you decided to pop back for a bit, so I thought I'd come and visit, before they let me out of here." "Oh, they're trading us, are they?" Minako smiled. "Yep, giving us the swap. Personally, I think I'm getting the better end of the bargain though," she said, looking at Haruka's empty lunch tray, "but hey, maybe I can get Mako-chan to smuggle you in something good." *** The evening in the Aino household was a subdued one that day. Usually all three of them had something to say, be it Yokozuki's complaints about his work, Kikon's neighbourhood gossip or Minako's latest update on life, love and semi-stardom. This time though, her parents were just glad to have her back, and said so in as many words. Beyond that the dinner passed between them with little more than Yokozuki's complements on his wife's cooking. The two of them had been less... vibrant, was the work Minako would have used, since the whole Seiji incident, and the same softening of their arguments and explanations seemed to hit now that she was out of the hospital. They didn't know she had been one of the Shadow children, of course. The details on the news were all about the victims, with the blame laid squarely at the feet of 'supernatural' forces, and supposedly only the Sailor Senshi could really understand those. Instead she had simply been caught up in the incident, as had all the other kidnapping victims. Even Marya was absolved of any wrongdoing, most likely for the sake of her company's face than any real understanding or sympathy on the police's part. Often Minako would have given her eyes, teeth and other metaphorical body parts for the chance to blurt out what she had really been doing on those late nights out. This time, however, she was grateful for the chance to keep it inside. Running around pretending to be one with the shadows while out cat burgling or helping abduct worthy people was definitely not a high point of her career as a superhero. At best getting caught up in something with the Senshi again might help Aino Minako's stage and screen career, but she hadn't spoken to her agent yet. They had a meeting that week to discuss her next job, since the curtain had fallen indefinitely at the Midnight Garden. The quiet was unnerving though. After the relieved hugs and 'welcome homes' it seemed far too depressing for lively people like them. "I thought I'd go out tomorrow night," she said, making sure to keep her cheer in her voice. "We were all supposed to be helping Mako-chan out with her studies, but what with being laid up and all I haven't gone over recently." Her mother looked at her with a pang of worry, but she did at least seem relieved to hear her sounding more liker her old self. "Oh, are you sure you want to be going out so soon? You only just came home. And Artemis followed you back, too." "Oh, he can laze around the house for the both of us! But Rei-chan's been filling in for me - not that she'd refuse Mako-chan's company these days - but I heard that her Grandpa got admitted to hospital and everything, so I aught to repay the favour, don't you think?" "Yes, we're sorry to hear about Hino-sensei." Her father bowed his head slightly as he sipped at his soup. "We should go and visit him one evening." Minako blinked in surprise. "Really?" Her father nodded, his face as set as ever. "He is a good host. And we shouldn't leave the Tsukino's to do all the visiting." "Jeez, this social club of yours is all kinds of connected, huh? Anyway, it's alright if I go and see Mako-chan?" Her father gave her a slightly puzzled look. "You haven't felt the need to ask permission for the last few years. Has something changed that we should know about?" "Huh? What? No, no, of course not," Minako babbled, stacking her plate and bowl out of the way. "It's just polite, isn't it? That's, uh, my post-crisis resolution. Politeness." As if to emphasise the fact she bowed low at the table before rising. "Thank you for the food. Now I'd better go and feed Artemis." Yokozuki and Kikon just shared a look as she left, wondering how much of what they suspected about Minako's ordeal and her sudden meet up with her friend tomorrow might be true. The answer, unbeknownst to them, was a quite a lot. *** Artemis accepted his bowl with more restraint than usual, but it wasn't through any reluctance on his part. Surprise was part of it. Minako rarely brought his food in for him like this any more, and she certainly hadn't sat to pet him while he ate in years. He wasn't complaining, it was very nice to feel so doted upon, but it did make him wonder what was going through her mind. Minako, for all her obvious concerns, had remained chipper and amenable all day. Life seemed to be going on as it always had, and that was something that he wanted to encourage. Second guessing herself wouldn't do her any good, and while he hoped that she felt comfortable enough to share any worries she had with him, he knew that she had the other Senshi to lend her an understanding ear. He was an advisor more than a confidant really, and as the Senshi had grown up their need for advisors had lessened. Which made the questions he wanted to ask taste bitter. If she was content to accept that she had done what she thought was right, and that no-one blamed her for her actions under he Shadow's influence, then dredging all that up again was a large price to pay for the slim chance to unearth something important about their new foe. A big price in his book at least. Luna didn't see things quite his way, but then she had never been shy to grill Usagi on anything and everything that she thought necessary. Still, Luna was right. Minako was made of strong stuff. "Minako-chan, if you don't mind me asking, about the Shadow; Did you talk to it?" Minako did pause in stroking him, sitting on the floor against her bed. "Huh? Talk to it?" "Yeah. It was a thought Luna and I had. Did it talk to you? It had a lot to say once it had possessed Ono Ryu-san, apparently." "Humm. If it was talking, it didn't use words. It didn't give us instructions on its grand plan, if that's what you mean." Artemis had to smile at the plain honesty in her voice. "I guess that was too much to hope for. But you never got the feeling that it was alive?" Minako paused in her soft, repetitious stroking. "... I did, but I thought I was imagining it. None of the others felt that way. Even Marya-sempai. But it wasn't like I thought it wanted anything. It was more like the feeling you get when we become Senshi. Confidence, power, adrenaline. It was familiar like that, but more... personal. It liked being with the others, I think. It might have known they were all supposed to be together, and keeping *us* together was the best it could manage." Informative, but not the answer Artemis had been hoping for. "But no intentions? No strange ideas coming to you?" "Besides stealing and kidnapping?" Minako quipped, a little darkly. "No. They were Marya-sempai's idea. The plans came from her. I guess I can't speak for the others, but I just wanted to help her. If anything was strange, it was how loyal I felt. I still do - I mean they're my friends and co-workers - but still can't believe I helped abduct people for the recruitment drive." Artemis nodded and took another mouthful of the jellied meat. "Well, that might be useful in itself," he said with he mouth full. "Except the 'family' lead sort of falls apart since the first thing he did was attack his own daughter. Still, worth keeping in mind when you face him again." "Yeah. I have been thinking about it, Artemis. If I can remember anything, I let you all know. I just can't think of anything that would be useful. It's so annoying!" "I know, don't worry about it." He stepped away from the bowl and leaned into her hand. "You're still up for a patrol with Mako-chan tomorrow?" "You bet. It'll be good to be out there again, to remind me of the kind of person I'm supposed to be." "I think just being you is enough, Minako. It always has been." "Heehee, sweet talker. Are those the lines you use on Luna?" "Are you kidding? If I tried anything like that I'd get a claw across my nose. She does *not* take flirting well. I'll melt her eventually, and we'll have a pretty grey kitten to bring up, but until then I'm playing it safe. I want to be a father without having to suffer courtship scars!" *** In ward 3.44, past the rotating plain clothed police guard and under the electronic gaze of a state of the art state of the art surveillance system, Ono Marya slept the night away. She had not so much twitched an eyelid since she and her Shadow victims had been rushed into the hospital, and that night was no different. Her pale, strong face remained stoic, her arms strapped to her sides for reasons that only the most senior of police and the Sailor Senshi knew. She had still been a villain as her dead father had felled her. A villain who had seen then her folly, perhaps, but an enemy of the Senshi none the less. Maybe she could be saved, or maybe she had already reclaimed her humanity in her last few moments of consciousness, but she was still an unknown quantity, and even Sailor Moon had agreed that caution was needed. At least until she woke up, and they could speak to her. But she did not show any sign of waking. She was the very first victim of an energy drain who had not recovered, or died, from the trauma, both in Mizuno Katsura's and Sailor Mercury's experience. She had received many visitors, from Katsura-sensei and the Senshi to the police, eager for answers and a recovery estimate, to the people she had kidnapped or lured away and called family. Their unnatural affection for her and for each other still lingered, but she was unable to hear the well wishing or the conflicted reproach in their words. The drip at her bedside kept her nourished, but after more than a week in a coma she had remained pale, and grown too lean for her tall, strong frame. A patch of gauze covered the eye that had been pierced by the shrapnel of her destroyed Shard, concealing the sliver of green crystal that remained embedded in the back of her eye socket. The doctors had tried to remove it, but the attempt had caused her vitals to dive with such suddenness that they had abandoned the idea entirely until her condition improved. If there was a trace of energy left in the thing, that might have been all that was keeping her going. Until then Marya still did not stir, and did not dream. She didn't hear the exasperation of Detective Tokuno, the soft reassurance of recovery from a hopeful Aino Minako, or feel the freezing winter air that flowed across her when her room window opened that night. Only it wasn't opened from the inside. A black, shape flowed in from the window ledge to stand upright as a man, and stepped forward into sight of the hidden camera taped underneath the room's utilitarian dresser. It never saw a thing. The form's shining black shoes tapped soft and clean against the white flooring, and from the pockets of an immaculate black suit appeared strong, well manicured hands. The hands of a man used to dealing in meticulous details, and wanting his appearance to reflect such. Crouched at the windowsill was the hunched form of Professor Tomoe Souichi, but he merely watched with a broad rictus grin upon his shadowed lips. His enjoyment was vicarious. Tonight it was Ono Ryo who would deal with family matters. "A lesser man would have cast you aside more roughly, my dearest child. How you survived I do not know, but I will not begrudge you such tenacity. I speaks well of you, as it does of me. But you led those who would have killed me into your home, and brought me together in such a state that I had to flee, rather than deal with you and your enemies properly. You did worse than fail. A failure in your plans could have been salvaged. But there are no second chances for me since you succeeded so incompetently. I must work with what little power I have, and I have *you* to thank for that. "So, there will be no second chances for you, daughter. If I am your play's 'Dracul', then I shall finish your life, and call you my Vampiru!" So saying Ono Ryu took Mayra's shoulders in his hands, and sunk his teeth into her neck once more. This time there would be no life left in her flesh, of that he would be sure. And in keeping with his word, he would not let her die so easily. A black miasma swelled from his hands as he released her, and it crawled across Marya's hospital gown to sink into her skin. "Consider it a 'gift'," Ryu said, a very professional contempt dropping from his tongue. "I will not keep that part after you sullied it. To think, you would give a piece of me to a *bat*." He reached into his suit pocket again, and this time tossed Vesper's small, lifeless form onto the bed. "I trust you will have thought about your failings by the time we meet again." Then he turned and headed back to the window. Souichi stepped aside, still crouched there, to let him pass. "So, you would like to be addressed as 'Dracul', then? Heh heh, an interesting choice, very interesting indeed." "Yes, Berserk. The Ono line died here tonight. Their names have no more meaning." *** Usagi received the call from Haruka at 8am, and within the hour both she and Mamoru had arrived at the hospital, having made their excuses with work or school colleagues. It might not have prompted such urgency if it had not come to her Senshi communicator - all of their communicators - instead of via cell phone, but either way the news was alarming. Ono Marya had vanished during the night. Rei and Makoto were already there when Usagi and Mamoru arrived, Haruka filling them in on what details she knew. "The nurse went in to change her drip, and that was the first they knew of it. The whole thing drew quite a crowd from this hall before the police could get it closed off again, so it's not going to be a secret for long. It might be worth one or two of the Sailor Senshi putting in an appearance, if only to get some info out of the cops. Having her disappear out from under their noses has put them in a foul mood." "We can manage that," Mamoru said, putting himself and Usagi forward. "If Mercury can join us that would probably help too." Usagi readily agreed. "Is there anything else they've said?" "Not the police. The nurse who found them said there was blood on Ono-san's pillow, but the bed was made and the monitoring equipment and I.V. needles had been tidied up by the cabinet. Plus the watch on the door has been pretty diligent, 24-7. Whatever Pluto told them, it kept them on alert ever since they brought her in." Rei gave her a small, dark smile. "You've been keeping tabs on them?" "I have to get out of this bed every now and then. Apparently Miranda's coping well, so 'gentle exercise' is the new order of the day, which means walking down the hall and back whenever the nurses decide it's time for some." "We ought to talk to Mizuno-sensei as well," Makoto added. "But if the Shadow came back for her then... who knows." At the same time Usagi stepped over to the chair Rei sat in and offered her a smile. "How's Grandpa?" "Sleeping," came the measured response. "I shouldn't keep coming early, but with school and the shrine..." "Mum and I can come help out again, if you want. I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Rei shook her head. "No, it's fine. I've put up some shorter opening times, so I can get to college. I just wish the antibiotics worked faster. I keep turning up expecting him to be better already." Usagi leaned down to give her a hug. "He'll get better, Rei-chan. And how about Mamo-chan and me come and help out, when Mako-chan is at work. Rei pouted, but only a little. "You don't need to, it's fine. But if you want to come a say 'hi' some time I won't stop you." *** The hidden security cameras turned out to be more informative than Usagi or Mamoru had guessed, and thankfully the police, however guarded, were more than willing to receive opinions from the Senshi again. This was clearly still their territory. Detective Tokuno sped the film through to the pertinent parts, and it was at the midnight mark that Marya's unmoving form stirred. However, just before that point he pointed out the new, slight wave of the privacy curtain by the bed. "Whatever it was," she short, aging detective said, "it had to open the window." Then when her body did move it was not of her own accord, but rose from the shoulders, her head still lolling back as if being lifted, and without provocation or resistance a trickle of blood then appeared at her throat. Sailor Moon actually gasped to see it, remembering just the same thing being done to Marya before, by the Shadow-Ryu. Though he could not be seen on screen, it must have been him. Minako had claimed that those holding the Shadow's power could pass unnoticed by the eyes of any and everyone around them. That went as far as recording equipment as well. A dark tone seeped across her chest and neck a moment later, and then she fell limp. A few seconds later and something pale dropped from thin air onto the bed. "That was it," Tokuno explained. He wound on the film again. "We didn't find whatever that object was that appeared at the end, and nothing else happens for the next three hours." And just as he said, the footage that sped by consisted of nothing by Marya's body in her bed, once again limp. "Did he kill her?" Sailor Moon asked, peering at the image behind the speeding lines on the TV. "Who took the body?" "If your Shadow is a 'he', then he didn't come here to kill her. Watch." A moment later he dropped the footage back to normal speed. For several seconds nothing happened, and then Marya stirred again. But this time, it was of her own accord. She searched about, clearly bewildered, before seeing the pale thing that had rolled down into her lap. She stared at it for a moment, on the brink of tears, before scooping it up and pulling the IV needle from her arm. She stepped out of bed like a woman on a mission, a film of inky blackness covering her before fading from the camera's sight altogether. "Then she makes the bed, while invisible mind, and lets herself out of the window. I've never seen anything like it." Tokuno turned to Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen. "I trust you can provide some assistance in explaining *something* that's on these tapes?" Tuxedo Kamen nodded, clearly affecting an air of confidence that he didn't feel. "Something, at least." It was nice that the crazy superhero in dinner dress wanted to reassure him, but better would have been some clear answers. The Pluto woman had been knowledgeable, but unhelpfully vague. Now these two - the apparent heads of the Sailor Senshi to some degree - were looking for answer just as he was. Then Sailor Moon turned to him, a sad look on her face. The kind of face that looked like her heart was ready to break on someone else's behalf. "Can I see that part where she wakes up again?" He couldn't deny a request when it was made like that. These people might have been crazy, but they did at least seem sincere. *** That afternoon those with the free time congregated at the Hino shrine again, at Luna and Artemis' request. Haruka had to remain in her ward room and Hotaru had school to attend, but of the others Makoto was the only one who could not in good conscience shrug off their education or work. Mamoru had already called in sick, and Rei was grateful for an excuse to close the shrine and skip college for a good cause. The end result was a much larger turnout than Luna had expected. She had just wanted to bounce Artemis' ideas around, rather than call a full strategy meeting, but since even Setsuna was in attendance she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Currently, our nightly excursions haven't been proving very useful," she explained to the quiet throng. It was no secret that their mission morale was low, and she didn't dwell on it. "However, between us we *have* been keeping most of the city monitored. Given that our enemy is so heavily inclined to keep itself hidden, and how easily it was able to visit Ono-san last night, we can't rely on catching it in the act." Artemis spoke then, to explain his hypothesis. "You've all been good at tracking down enemies before, but those enemies had no real way of concealing their activities. At least, not from you. But this time I don't think that the Shadow is out to actively *attack* anyone." Rei frowned at this idea. "What about my visions? We were all attacked by this Shadow there, along with so many other people." "That depends on how you define 'attack'," Luna replied, understanding Rei's resentment at the implication. "From what Minako- chan has told us about that Shadow," all eyes turned to Minako, who smiled nervously, "and the readings Ami-chan has shown us in the past, this Shadow doesn't 'attack' in a way that leaves energy traces. Any violence or 'vampirism' that we have seen might even be incidental." Artemis clearly agreed, and Luna was glad to have him jump in again to back up her explanation. "The Shadow is an individual, but one that can possess multiple victims. A family, with a shared essence if you will. After what it did to Ono-san, it might be trying to rebuild that family." Ami's brow furrowed as Artemis spoke, though she waited for him to finish before voicing her thoughts. "So far the only real anomalies I have picked up have been those coming from the Shadow itself, like the ones I found when it fled the theme park. I did find them again in Ono- san's hospital room, but no sign of an energy attack or magic, and they diffused once the signal got out onto the street. Trying to track one Shadow signal is difficult - they disperse into background readings very quickly it seems - but tracking multiple targets; that would confuse my computer even more." Usagi looked over to Setsuna, standing quietly in the corner. "So, when Rei-chan saw it attack us, it might have been recruiting us after all." Setsuna didn't bat an eyelid. "We would all make for powerful tools, if we were unwary." Minako sighed, clearly unhappy as to where the conversation was going. "But if we can't track them properly, how do we stop them? Stake out the victims we know about from Rei-chan's vision and just call in backup when they turn up? That's a bit much, even for us." "Yes, it would be rather impractical," Luna agree. "But we can at least check on them. Ono-san might have been the first, but the Shadow has had almost two weeks to act so far. More practically, we should start monitoring more efficiently, and build up a map of where these trace Shadow readings are appearing." She looked to Ami. "Unfortunately that means sending you out as often as is feasible, since you computer is our only way of analysing and storing that data. But if you can teach the rest what to look for we may be able to spread the work out. Artemis and I can be checking up on our potential victims." Ami only nodded. "I can go. It's our most sensible option so far. The sooner we can analyse where they move, the sooner we can narrow down their likely hideout. I have a reasonable amount of data already, so I can program in the correct parameters. Everything else is just data collection and detective work." "Good. Thank you Ami-chan." Then Michiru spoke up unexpectedly. "One thing that worries me." She spoke to Usagi. "The Shadow came and 'possessed' Ono-san. Possibly killing her in the process. We might not have seen him on that tape, but you make it sound pretty clear that she was left to come around on her own, and make her own escape. Why? Why not take her to their 'hideout' then and there?" Usagi shook her head. "I don't know. But she wasn't happy about waking up. Maybe that's why?" "Maybe she already knew where to go," Mamoru suggested. "That, or the Shadow doesn't know if it can trust her yet. Unlike Ono Ryu-san, Mayra-san clearly had her own will when she awoke." "Unless Ono Ryu-san had always been a power crazed, immortality seeking megalomaniac behind his businesslike image." Michiru's voice was a dark as her idea. "We're assuming this Shadow has control of him, but that wasn't the case with you, Right Minako-san?" "That's... right. But that wasn't the father Marya-sempai talked about. I can't believe that is him. She loved him." *** "Ami-papa? What are you actually doing?" Hotaru wasn't usually one to break a silence lightly. She found small talk awkward unless she was around more garrulous girls like Usagi or Minako, but after being left out of the Senshi meeting and then coming home to such a quiet house left her feeling a little lonely. And it wasn't as though there was nothing going on. These recent nights without Haruka around had been quiet and punctuated more by polite small-talk than by the sort of friendliness that Hotaru had become used to from her collection of parents. However, the meeting seemed to have lit a new fire in Ami's engine and she sat as Sailor Mercury behind the closed curtains with her computer in her lap and ever-changing expressions of puzzlement and intrigue on her face. Sailor Mercury looked up from the computer, clearly surprised to have been called by her real name. None of them ever used their names when in Sailor Senshi guise, partly for security's sake, but also because they never really felt like themselves when playing superhero. Certainly, Tomoe Hotaru would never have brandished a glaive at anyone even if she'd had access to it, and likewise Sailor Saturn's determined righteousness was something that Hotaru had only ever felt as a flicker of hopefully justified anger. "This should be a program to help correlate the Shadow readings we have with our search patterns from night to night. It would be able to build up a map of result decay and projected movement patterns for me, but that would require me to take all the readings myself." Hotaru understood the pertinent points of that. "So you would have to be out searching every night?" Mercury nodded, her eyes already drifting back to her small screen. "Yes. And I get enough complaints that I study too much already, so I wouldn't mind delegating the data collection when I can." Sitting with them in the lounge, a large novel in her hands, Michiru chose speak up at last. She had spent the entire afternoon in her studio, and re-appeared to make dinner for them once Hotaru had got home. But, besides the day to day mothering that she gave Hotaru she had remained unusually impassive. "Hotaru-chan, Sailor Mercury needs to work. The rest of us would help if we could, but until she can tell us how then we *can't* help, and the more we distract her the less sleep she'll get tonight." And finally a touch of that family humour slipped back into her voice. "You know what she's like when she has a problem she can't solve." Hotaru smiled in agreement, but didn't voice it. "So who is out watching tonight?" "Rei-chan and Makoto-chan volunteered, with Minako-chan." That Rei had gone was a foregone conclusion. She, Michiru and Ami were the only ones among them with something beyond their normal senses of danger to guide their efforts, so the three of them had worked in rotation for the last few weeks. "So I go out tomorrow night?" Rather than Michiru, it was Mercury who replied to that. "If I can get this program finished, we should all go. I can teach you how it will work, and transfer the necessary programs to your communicators so you can take your readings with those. They won't have nearly the range or the versatility of my computer, but it will mean we can *all* take the necessary readings, and cover just as wide an area if we are thorough." "As long as you don't work too late and burn yourself out," Michiru chided. "You've been typing for seven hours straight, including through dinner." "Don't worry. The sooner it's done, the sooner I can relax. I just need to get my head around the energy parameters and how to apply their instances to my time map. After that programming in the data merging should be simple." Well, if it was important than Hotaru just had to trust that she knew what she was doing. "Just don't stay up too late, Ami-papa." Again, the name her parents had given her drew Mercury's head from her screen, if only briefly, and brought a smile to her face. "Don't worry, I won't." *** Above a certain beauty store, long, uncertain days had turned into longer concerned weeks for Berthier of the Black Moon sisters. She was not the eldest of them, or the prettiest despite her occasional claims to the contrary. She was, however, a good contender for most intelligent sister, and that intelligence had bred in her the desire to move on with her human life and make the most of what Sailor Moon had given them. She still had options, a smart tongue, and what she couldn't succeed at legitimately, she could always cheat at. Men liked a woman with a bit of bite to them, and Berthier was always willing to oblige as long as she came out on top. Likewise, having her veneer of humanity stripped away hadn't affected her as much as it had worrisome Koan or stoic Petz. If she had her powers back then they were hers not to use, and they did ensure that her drinks were always properly chilled. Less useful in winter, but she was already looking to summer time, beaches, and thronging nightclubs. What she didn't like was being kept ignorant. Staying informed was how a girl like her made sure she kept on winning, be it on the dance floor or in the stockroom. Keeping abreast of ever changing fashions, opinions, and social allegiances meant knowing when to gamble, when to ask sweetly, and when to walk away with a confident smile. And, as those unsettling days had become weeks, her sisters had started to keep secrets again. Calveras seemed to have changed little, still partying by night and boasting through hangovers the next day - if she came home - but Petz had become bolder now too. The return of her unnatural stamina and Dark Thunder had swelled both her confidence and her ego, taking her out each evening without so much as a word. Then she would rise from bed the following mornings more chipper than Berthier had ever seen her. That scared her. Petz didn't do 'chipper'. She had *never* done 'chipper'. Likewise little sister Koan's enthusiasm for human life had become a worried shadow of its former self with the return of her Dark Fire. For her to be so quiet now after being the animated face of their store for so long meant that she was either genuinely depressed - in which case Berthier didn't really know how to help her - or else the girl was up to something. Thankfully, her going out with Petz over the last fortnight pointed to the latter, and that was something Berthier could deal with. She also had a reasonable idea what the pair had been doing. It was no secret that the Sailor Senshi had been sighted regularly around Tokyo again, leading to all manner of rumours and supposition, but so far without causing any incidents. Given her sisters' shared affection for the super heroines the conclusion was now obvious. And it pissed Berthier off that they had been getting away with it for weeks without her being informed! They could at least have asked if she wanted to join them in their vigilante hunt to help the Senshi out. She probably wouldn't have agreed, especially if she had a hot date that night, but it still would have been nice to be asked! This time Berthier wasn't going to let them wander off without a confrontation. Reverse psychology be damned, she was going to join them just out of spite, and there was nothing they would be able to do to stop her. Standing in the doorway to the shop stock room, and the back entrance to their apartments, Berthier greeted the guilty pair with a feline smile once the clock struck twelve. "Sister Petz, were could you be going that this hour again? And Koan, really, you were supposed to be the conscientious one." Koan didn't look happy at being caught, but Petz crossed her arms and smiled, unbearably smug. "Bertie, you finally found out about our little escapades? Koan caught me weeks ago. Care to join us for a dance and a drink then?" Berthier's nonchalance snapped apart under that weight of smug. "Don't try that with me, *sister*. If you were dancing you'd come home black and blue from tripping on your own feet! You know what I think? I think a little of that Dark Thunder went to your head, and now you're creeping around behind the Sailor Senshi's backs, pretending you'd do them some good if you found them in a pinch." Petz's haughtiness faded into a heavy, strong look of confidence. "That's what you think, is it?" Berthier just stared. She knew she was right. Petz had all but admitted it, and she wasn't going to lose a staring match when she had the upper hand. Even if Petz was bigger than her. But it wasn't Petz that was going to outdo her. Koan only had to step forward with that honest, resolute look on her face, and Berthier's defence fell. "Berthier, what if we *can* help? It's not Sailor Moon's fault that we couldn't be made fully human again. But she tried, she gave us a chance. And now we have the power to repay her. Whatever they're looking for, we can help find it." Berthier sighed, her resistance gone. So much for that. "Why don't you just *tell* them you're helping?" The reply came from behind her, out in the back street. "Because then they'd be worrying about us as well, instead of just their enemies." Outside Maxill, Kaizi and Shivis stood, their human disguises hiding their true appearance from the world, but not limiting them to human senses or abilities. "All we can do is keep our eyes and ears open," Koan explained, "but that's something. And we, at least, can defend ourselves. The humans can't." Berthier shook her head and dusted down the front of her blouse. "Alright. Fine. Where do we start?" *** It was little more than tradition that dictated where the Black Moon Sisters and youma began their separate searches. There were plenty of parks, shopping arcades and the like the remained open through the night, and it was in those sorts of places that they themselves had stalked their own prey once upon a time. Berthier hardly thought it efficient or sensible behaviour, but with little else to go on but their own instincts she followed her sisters' lead none the less. "And what about Tyra-chan? Is she in on this too?" "No," Koan admitted. "Sister Petz started bringing the others along when they showed an interest, but Tyranya... You know." True, the youma's commander was hardly the rock she had once been. Perhaps that was the reason Calveras and Berthier herself hadn't been let in on these escapades. They had never shown any inclination or interest in doing so. Berthier had won that race to get herself involved, and she rather liked it. While the Youma kept their civilian guises to go about the city the sisters took to the rooftops, aping the Senshi's approach to long distance city travel. Wearing dark, though still fashionable dress they were difficult to spot against the night's sky, allowing them to watch Tokyo's open spaces from a distance before moving on. Petz expect them to check on three whole districts before the night was out, and at their pace that was certainly feasible. It was nothing compared to the Senshi's sweeps of the city, of course, but then Koan and Petz had recently spotted them all with monitoring devices that had previously been Mercury's exclusive domain. As such they never stopped in any one place for more than a minute or two before moving on. "And they didn't spot you?" Petz smirked. "Of course not. I'm no amateur, and they aren't looking for us." As the night wore on however the search lost its appeal. There was nothing to find, and none of the sisters knew what they should be looking for. They dealt in life energy, not whatever it was the Senshi were monitoring across the city. "Big sister, what exactly do you hope to find?" Berthier yawned. The watch on her wrist said it was three in the morning, and she was inclined to believe it. "There's something out there," was Petz's reply. "And it must know the Senshi are looking for it. It isn't expecting us." "But if the Sailor Senshi can't even find it with their equipment how do you ever expect to?" Petz clearly had no good answer to that, but Berthier guessed she would have said it was better than doing nothing at all. Koan, on the other hand, had a better suggestion, and slowed in her running across the roofs. "Like that," she said, pointing down to street level. Below them was a posh looking Christian chapel, and in its forecourt knelt a single robed figure in front of a grave. "That looks suspicious enough to me." Bethier and Petz went to join her. "It... could just be a cosplayer?" Berthier guessed, still not convinced despite the oddness of the sight. "At three in the morning?" Petz was more convinced. "You have good eyes little sister. This might be the break we've been after." With that she leaped down onto the wall around the private graveyard, and the other two followed. The cloaked figure was covered almost entire by her robe, but they could see that her hands were dirt stained from clawing at the earth. Though out of sight of the figure, the three sisters could just make out the female voice, muttering to itself. "Don't worry, Vesper-chan. I'll take good care of it for you now. You just rest with Mother, and I'll see you soon." The voice hitched, clearly not done mourning, but Marya stood, finally revealing her face from under her hair. "And I'll make use of my second chance. I'll make him regret thinking he could 'spare' me like this." She swung around to march away, but stopped stiff, suddenly catching sight of Berthier and her sisters even in the dark, behind their gravestones. Marya snarled, the drying tears clearly forgotten and she leap back to land above them on the spire of the church. Petz and Koan followed without a thought, but from below Berthier watched as Marya's caped form vanished, leaving her sisters lost on the church roof. "How did she get away?" Petz cursed once she returned. "We were right behind her." Berthier's thoughts were on more pressing matters than blame and supposition though, and she pulled her cell phone from her hip-bag. "Never mind that. Sailor Moon needs to know that this woman was *here* of all places, and if there is a trail to follow then it is still fresh." *** It was while Tsukino Usagi was being woken at that ungodly hour by her mobile phone that one Ooyama Rika, second year degree student and volunteer social worker, jerked awake at a similarly harsh sound. She blinked wildly into the darkness of her apartment's one bedroom, her heart racing after being woken from so deep a sleep. The doorbell continued to ring for several second before cutting out and leaving her to collect herself and let out a frustrated sigh. "Uuugh. Who on earth could that be?" She looked over to her watch, sitting on its little stand by her bed. "Three am? What? Stupid pranks. What about people who have to get up in the mornings, you bums? Go get a job if you can't get into school." She wrestled her head back into her pillow. Hopefully those young drunks would just harass the rest of the floor and move on. Sadly that was too much to hope for, and the doorbell rang again, just as long as last time. 'Ignore them,' Rika told herself, pulling her pillow over her head. 'They'll go away. Why pick *now* to act up?' Her anger was more than justified, not only at the delinquent behaviour, but because she really didn't need the extra stress. Ever since one of the five men she was supposed to visit had vanished her work for the social services office had turned into more of a chore than a personal moral victory. The police had even been called in, and as the one to make visits to Mr Tomoe she had been made to give all manner of evidence to prove that she hadn't been behind his disappearance. Sure, he could be creepy at times, and a bit inattentive of his surroundings, but he wasn't even close to being on her list of 'cases she would rather not have been given'. The man who had kept feeding the local rats in his basement, yes, that was a month of her life she would never get back, and how glad she was that he had been taken into full time care after all. The absent minded ex-professor though? He was actually nice to help care for. *Had* been nice to care for, she correct herself. Hopefully he hadn't got himself into any trouble. But that wasn't her case any more, and she'd given back his keys. Then, as she settled properly into her duvet, a dull *thunk* brought her back to full wakefulness again. That had been too clear to be next door. That was her kitchen window, except that she was on the third floor! With her heart now racing for an entirely different reason she drew herself slowly from her bed. This was absurd, probably just a bird that hit the window, but after living in that little apartment for a year and a half she could have sworn that it sounded like the window latching itself *open*. The thing was a little sticky, and difficult to get moving without going all the way one way or the other. And if someone was breaking into her apartment somehow, she couldn't just ignore it. But what *could* she do? She reached for her phone, deactivating the speaker. If need be she could call the police at a moments notice, silently. If need be. Maybe she was still being silly. Even so she couldn't go back to bed after hearing that, and the repeated attempts at her doorbell. Out in the little hallway that partitioned up the flat she could see a light coming from the kitchen. Not the main light, but the fridge? Someone *was* in there! She gripped the phone, slowly dialling for the emergence services even as she peeked silently around the door. A tall man in a long white coat stood stooped inside her fridge, humming to himself before straightening up. The light from the refrigerator only lit his body, but even so a pair of large, round framed spectacles flashed brightly on his nose. Even in the half light of her fridge, she would have recognised those glasses on such a thin frame anywhere, and her thumb paused on the dial button. "Tomoe...-san?" The man-shadow called Berserk turned, his hands full of unprepared food, and a crescent smile appeared on his dark lips. "Ahh, Rika-chan. You have a wonderful refrigerator, my dear. Good nutrition is so important in leading a healthy, active lifestyle." The lanky, white-haired man made a few half-squats, as if to emphasise his point. Rika could only stare in amazement, not knowing what else to think. "Are you okay, Tomoe-san? Are... Are you wearing a lab coat?" The Berserk looked down at himself, the grin still fixed unmoving to his face as he advanced on her, placing foodstuffs meticulously on the worktop as he went. "Why, yes my dear. Proper kitchen and laboratory safety is also very important, you know. And I think it looks rather fetching on me actually. Aha, haha, ahahahahHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!" *** Though it sometimes felt like it, Sailor Pluto was not as often accused of having her priorities wrong as, say, Sailor Uranus or Sailor Moon. That pair, in particular, were the ones whose snap decisions could be argued against in the heat of the moment, or whose moral fortitude was not to be swayed no matter the circumstance. Instead, Pluto's choices came back to visit her after the fact, with the benefit of hindsight to temper those who might accuse her of coldness or arrogance. Having ones choices proved correct before having to answer for them was easier on the conscience, she found. Not that she often answered for herself, even if it might have been required. Mystique was preferable to proof of fallibility. Sometimes though, once in a blue moon, sentiment would win out. Had she joined the call to hunt down Marya it might have improved their chances of catching her. Not guaranteeing them, but it would have helped greatly. Instead Marya would go free, to confuse their hunting for the weeks to come. She was an unknown quantity, yes, but no longer a danger. An angry and frustrated Shadow being, but one whose wings had been clipped hard by her dark father. In exchange, Pluto was likewise free to roam as she wished that night, and to visit a friend who might otherwise have spent the night alone. "Hino-san. Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Grandpa Hino smiled up from his bed, looking very old. Each breath came as a dry whistle from his throat, and he licked his lips to try and wet them. "I thought I heard Rei-chan, waking me up. Just a dream, I guess." Sailor Pluto stood straight at his bedside, Garnet Rod in hand, but her voice was soft and kindly. "Yes, just a dream. Rei-chan is needed tonight." "I see it on the TV. You are all so busy, every night. I don't envy her." There was no point in pretending to deny it, of course. He had known that Rei was Sailor Mars when he had realised her own identity, if not before. And he had never said a word. Now, though, there was no need for pretence. "She is a strong girl, Hino-san. And a good soldier. You don't need to worry." "Good." The old priest closed his tired eyes. "You'll look after her though, won't you Pluto-san? When the time comes. I know Mako-chan will. She's such a nice girl. I'm glad they became friends." "We will, of course." "... Thank you." In the silence that followed Grandpa Hino seemed to drift back to sleep, so Pluto reached for a chair and brought it to his bedside. It was a surprise when he spoke again. "Pluto-san? Should I be afraid?" Pluto paused, surprised for a moment. What a thing for a priest to ask her. "No, I don't think so." "Good. I didn't want to let her down." "You didn't," she replied, taking his hand. "Your raised her well." His wrinkled old face creased into a smile. "I'm glad." His wheezing breath became heavy again as he did finally fall asleep, and Sailor Pluto pulled her chair closer, to stand her vigil once again, until the end. *** To Be Continued... *** Please send any comments and constructive criticism to: nutzoide@nutzoide.net They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers. (c) Nutzoide 2009-2011 http://www.nutzoide.net