Secrets
Chapter 5 - Refugees from the Stars

    "So what happened then?" Usagi asked.
    Minako had paused just long enough to take a bite from one of the cookies Makoto had brought to the meeting. "Then K'Theelm went to make tea, and we all sat down and talked. Say, these are really good, Mako- chan."
    "Thanks," Makoto said. She smiled. In the past, a comment like that in the middle of discussing Senshi business would have prompted Rei or Ami to chide her for not staying focused. But over the years, they had learned to tell when Minako was really letting her capricious nature get the better of her.
    They all sat on cushions around the long, low table. It was their usual meeting place, the dining room in the residence of Rei's shrine. The big room easily accommodated the seven of them. Plus of course the two cats. All the Senshi were here, except for Haruka and Michiru, who had gone overseas again. The sliding panels along both sides of the room were open so that the breeze would offer some relief from the heat of the summer evening. Everyone was dressed for the heat, mostly in shorts. The exception was Setsuna, who wore a suit with a knee length skirt. Makoto wondered how she could sit like that in this heat and not even sweat. Must take practice.
    Minako was continuing the story she had called this meeting for them to all hear. "So anyway, the first thing I asked them was where they come from. They said it was a planet really far away. It had some long name with no vowels that I couldn't even pronounce. They came here five years ago when their planet was destroyed by Galaxia."
    "Their whole planet was destroyed?" Usagi exclaimed. "That's horrible!"
    "It was only one of many," Setsuna reminded her. "Galaxia's armies of possessed Senshi probably laid waste all the inhabited planets in the galaxy save this one."
    "I know that!" Usagi said, visibly upset. "It's still horrible. They're all alone." Her face suddenly lit up. "But wait a minute, they're not alone! Galaxia sent all their friends back to their planet!"
    "Or is in the process of doing so," Setsuna said.
    "Minako, did you tell them anything about our battle with Galaxia?" Ami asked.
    Minako shook her head. "No. I sort of wanted to. I mean, like Usagi said, they think everyone else on their world is dead, right? I think they have a right to know what happened. But I didn't want to tell them anything much until we all had a chance to talk. About all I said was that there were other Senshi besides me and we defeated Galaxia four years ago."
    "So what have they been doing here for five years?" Rei asked.
    "Thetan is a monk at a Buddhist temple. It sounds kind of like he had a similar title on his home planet. But he also had some sort of combat training. Jeneth is working as a doctor."
    "You mean she's impersonating a doctor?" Ami asked. She sounded rather disturbed at the idea.
    "Well, she doesn't use any of our medicines. She heals sort of like Hotaru does, I saw her do it. She's just using her identity so that she can get into hospitals."
    "What sort of things does she cure?" Hotaru asked.
    "I really didn't ask. Sounds like terminal patients. Maybe cancer or something."
    "I'd have no idea how to do that ..." Hotaru said, her voice trailing off and her eyes becoming unfocused. Makoto got the impression that Hotaru wanted very much to meet this alien healer.
    "Anyway, K'Theelm is some sort of engineer, it sounds like he's mostly doing computer programming right now. That's how they pay for their apartment and stuff, he does programming jobs for people he talks to on the net. It's all done anonymously, he gets paid in binary cash."
    "Digital cash," Ami corrected her.
    "Right. So they were all living peacefully when suddenly Thetan goes to this temple that's been destroyed. He said he could tell right away that it was attacked by some sort of ESPer. K'Theelm has some scanner thing sort of like what Ami uses, and he used that to figure out that it was two or three ESPers. Well, it seems that Jeneth is a sort of ESPer too, so a few days ago she sensed this thing happening and they all flew out there. There were only three ESPers that time, but they had about as much luck as I did last night. The ESPers fought them off, then teleported away. Last night she sensed it again, but this time it was all over by the time they got there. All they saw was me shoot down those possessed temple guardian birds."
    "Who are doing just fine, by the way," Artemis interjected.
    "I thought you ate birds," Usagi said, looking at him suspiciously.
    Artemis flashed a toothy grin. "I do on occasion. But never guardian spirits. Professional courtesy. I can't vouch for Luna of course."
    Luna sniffed, turned her nose up. "I know enough not to hunt guardian spirits. Whatever do you take me for?"
    "So what was your impression of them?" Makoto asked Minako.
    "Well, it sounded like they were all being honest with me. I mean, they even showed me the human forms they've been using to disguise themselves. They've got this thing called a glamour that makes them look human. Sure would have fooled me, let me tell you. They even offered to work with us, help us catch these ESPers."
    "Do you really think they can help?" Rei asked.
    "Yeah, I think they would be a big help. Especially Jeneth, she can sense these attacks happening right across the city. I only found those ESPers because of dumb luck. Without Jeneth, we may never catch them, unless we can come up with some other way to detect these attacks."
    "Did they say whether they intended to continue hunting down the attackers?" Setsuna asked.
    "Well, actually, they *asked* me if they should. I mean, they were kind of apologetic about acting on their own like that, sort of like they needed our permission. They said they hadn't known whether the local Avatars were aware of what was going on."
    "Avatars?" Usagi asked.
    "That's me," Minako said, pointing at herself. "I mean, us. That's what they call us. I'm not clear on the details, but it sounds like on their planet there were people like us. Except everyone knew who they are, I guess sort of like the way we were in the Silver Millennium. And they didn't call them Sailor Senshi, they called them Avatars."
    "So in effect they were acknowledging your authority over them," Rei suggested.
    "Yeah, big time. I really felt like they would have done anything I asked them to. Anyway, about all I said was that they shouldn't act on their own until I meet with them again. I promised I'd call soon and arrange another meeting."
    "You think we should?" Usagi asked. "I mean, meet with them?"
    "Yeah. Like I said, they could be a big help. And I think we can trust them."
    "Well, they were right about the shrines that were destroyed," Rei said. "I was at the first one that was attacked. The one where Miho used to work. It's just like they said, it was like the soul was ripped out of the place. It was horrible."
    "Is Miho doing okay?" Makoto asked. She already knew the answer, but could sense Rei's temper rising to a slow boil. She was hiding it well, but Makoto could see she was upset over this business of the shrines. She needed to be diverted.
    Rei's expression softened, and she smiled a little. "Yes, she's very happy here. And she's worked out very well for us." It hadn't taken much for Rei to convince her grandfather that they should take the pretty young shrine maiden in at their own shrine, now that hers was gone.
    "Has it occurred to her where all those leaves go in the autumn?" Makoto said, gesturing out at the trees visible through the open sliding doors, the ones that surrounded the shrine.
    Rei's smile looked a little more genuine now. "I'll break it to her gently."
    "Did I miss something?" Usagi asked.
    "Ask me later," Rei said.
    "Okay, be inscrutable," Usagi said good naturedly. "Anyway, I agree with Minako, we should meet with these three people."
    "Should we all go?" Ami asked.
    "Hmmm ...." Usagi took a moment to consider that. "Well, the way Minako describes it, they were kind of intimidated when they found out she's a Senshi. Or ... what did they call her... an Avatar."
    "That's a fair statement," Minako agreed.
    "Then maybe just a few of us should go. I think they'd feel more comfortable. Minako and I should go. Rei, maybe you should come to."
    Rei nodded. "Agreed." There was no need to explain why. Rei had a sixth sense about people's character that none of them could match.
    "Princess, I'd like to go as well, if you'll permit."
    They all looked at Setsuna. Her expression was unreadable, just her usual implacable calm. Her tone had been pleasant but neutral.
    Usagi looked to be a bit surprised by the request. "Sure, that would be okay."
    "Maybe we should even go tonight, if everyone's willing," Minako suggested.
    Usagi shook her head. "Minako, you hardly got any sleep last night and you had a hard day at the studio. It can wait for tomorrow."
    Minako smiled. The empty pot of coffee behind her was mute testament to what was keeping her awake. She looked grateful, and not inclined to argue. "Okay. Jeneth said if we gave her a few hours notice she would treat us to a meal. Their dining room would be a little tight for seven, but not too bad."
    "Oh, then lets definitely make it a dinner date!" Usagi said, her face suddenly lit up. "Maybe she makes exotic foreign dishes."
    "Usagi, she's from another *planet*," Rei said wearily. "We'd better all hope she sticks with domestic cuisine." They both showed their tongues at each other briefly, and everyone else laughed. Their legendary raspberry duels of earlier days had gradually evolved into this slightly more civilized form.
    "Does six tomorrow sound fine?" Minako asked. The other three indicated it was. "Then I'll give Jeneth a call."
    "You can use the phone in the living room," Rei said. She stood up. "I'll walk you there. Oh, and you had probably better transform before you call. Your voice is different when you're Sailor Venus. I'll make sure nobody interrupts you."
    "Oh, I forgot!" Usagi said. "We'll all be going there as Sailor Senshi."
    "Well of course," Rei said. "They're expecting to see Sailor Senshi, we can't very well go there like this."
    "I know that," Usagi said indignantly. "How am I supposed to sit down to dinner with those great huge wings on my back?"
    Rei sighed heavily. "We'll put you at one end of the table and the big guy at the other end. For the love of all the Kami, just don't ask them to show you around their apartment, you'd end up knocking everything over."

    *****

    Eiheiji temple was a long way from Tokyo. Even though it was one of the most famous temples in Japan, somehow Shoji had never managed to make it out here before. Despite himself, he found that he really liked the place. You certainly couldn't ask for a better venue. The sprawling temple complex was spread out along the steep slope of a mountain. The temple buildings were all surrounded by big, ancient trees which hid any other sign of civilization. Walking up and down the covered stairways that led to the various buildings in the complex was like walking through history. Some of these buildings looked a thousand years old. Others looked like they had been put up yesterday. He could hear a chorus of voices chanting nearby, as services were conducted. Elsewhere, tour guides recounted the long history of the temple, in at least three different languages that Shoji had heard. The whole thing gave the impression of a work in progress, a truly living place of worship and enlightenment.
    But maybe not for long.
    After a little more wandering, he met up with Akechi and Hitomi again. They were leaning on the railing of one of the covered wooden walkways that connected the different buildings. They were looking out at a great oak tree that hugged the rocky slope above them. Shoji followed their gaze. In a moment he found what they were looking at. A squirrel had locked eyes with Hitomi. It looked like she had it under her spell. Shoji just kept his distance, not wanting to disturb her. A couple of groups of tourists walked by, oblivious to what the strange white-haired girl was doing.
    After a couple of minutes, the squirrel turned and ran down the branch on which it had been perched. It scampered down the trunk of the great oak and hopped across the rocks that led the few meters down to the walkway. It jumped up to the walkway and shimmied up one of the ancient wood posts that held the open roof up. It ran along the balcony railing, straight into Hitomi's outstretched hand.
    "Hello, little one," Hitomi said to the animal, which was up on its hind legs in her palm, once again locking eyes with her. She held out her other hand, and the squirrel jumped over onto it. It went up on its hind legs again, staring up at her. Then it jumped back into her other hand, did the same. It kept doing this, over and over, as fast as it could, as if under some strange compulsion. Shoji heard Akechi chuckle lightly. He smiled. Besides Yui and him, 'Tomi was about the only one he knew who could make Akechi do that.
    "Having fun?" Shoji asked as he approached them.
    Hitomi looked over at him and smiled in greeting. She was in a white dress and white sneakers, as usual. About the only part of her that wasn't a shade of white was her round wire rimmed glasses. They were tinted blue, to slightly soften the colour of her irises, colored red by her albinism. She was a similar build to Yui, just a bit taller. She wasn't exactly pretty, but her face had character, Shoji had always liked it. As did Akechi, obviously. The two of them weren't exactly an item, but they got along very well together. Which for both of them was an achievement.
    Hitomi glanced back at the squirrel. It immediately scampered up her arm and perched on her shoulder. She promptly ignored it. "So I take it Yui isn't done yet?"
    "I looked in on her about ten minutes ago. She's still at it." Which meant she was still sitting cross-legged in front of that huge statue of the Buddha, eyes clenched shut, trying to get in touch with the temple's life force.
    "That makes it nearly two hours now," Akechi noted. "Not a very good sign."
    Shoji sighed. "No, it's not. She thought it might just be because this place is so spread out, but I doubt that. It's something different."
    "She said she felt a very strong life force here," Hitomi said. "Even I feel it."
    "Feeling it is one thing, locking onto it is another," Shoji said.
    "It was almost getting easy for her, with those places in Tokyo," Hitomi said.
    "You call that easy?" Akechi asked, indignant.
    Hitomi smiled up at him. "I mean, before the weirdos turned up."
    Yes, the weirdos. That Sailor Senshi showing up out of the blue had really spooked Yui. Which is what had led them all the way over here to Fukui prefecture. Yui had never been here before, so teleportation was out of the question. They had taken Shoji's car over here and checked in to a hotel, making a trip out of it. Shoji had quite liked the idea. With Yui 'porting them all over Tokyo all the time, he didn't get much chance to do any serious driving, except when he and Yui would just cruise around for fun. And if they could take a Soul Icon from the temple over here, maybe there would be fewer weirdos to bother them than there appeared to be crawling around Tokyo right now.
    "You figure we should try another place?" Akechi asked.
    "I suppose we could," Shoji answered. "I doubt it would be any better. She said this was the strongest life force she had ever felt, bar none. If she can't lock on to this one, not much chance of this working anywhere else."
    "But what's different in Tokyo that would make it easier?" Hitomi asked.
    "I've got some ideas about that," Shoji said. "Anyway, I think it's about time Yui gave up on this one, I want to go tell her before she wears herself out."
    "Okay, let's all go," Hitomi said.
    "You're going to look damned silly, you know, with that squirrel on your shoulder."
    "I'm keeping him. If any of the other animals object, I'll tell them to go climb a tree."
    Shoji laughed, because he knew she meant that literally. They all walked along the walkway and up the open stairway that led to the ancient temple building where they had left Yui earlier this morning. It had stopped drizzling, so they could walk out to the building without getting wet or putting up a PK barrier.
    Yui sat alone on the floor in front of the great black statue, as they had left her. She was using her folded jacket as a cushion. Still, it couldn't have been too comfortable, sitting there all this time. Since she had started, people seemed to be avoiding this particular temple. Even animals could probably sense the extremity of her effort. To Shoji, the tension in the air was palpable.
    **How's it going, sweetie?** he said, crouching down beside her and sending the gentlest of messages.
    She started, coming out of her trance. She took in a couple of slow, deep breaths. She opened her eyes and looked at Shoji, utterly despondent.
**I'm sorry Senpai, it's no good.**
    **Well, might as well give up on it. We tried.**
    **I just don't understand it,** Yui said, the weariness and frustration clear on her face and in her sending. **I know it's there, but I just can't see it, like I can with those places in Tokyo. It's like ... I don't know, like there's a big light on over there that lets me see them, but over here it's dark.**
    **A big light, huh? Yeah, that's likely the problem.**
    Yui frowned. **What do you mean?**
    **Ever since the Weird Shit started in Tokyo about five years ago, a whole bunch of sensitives started talking about how something in the city had changed. A lot of them described it as a big lamp that lit up the city for their inner eye, the same way the sun lights it up for your regular eyes.**
    **Yeah, I've heard of that,** Hitomi said. **I kind of feel it too. Animals are easier to take, over there. I can still see into their souls over here, but I have to look harder.**
    **So what do we do?** Yui asked. **These Soul Icons aren't doing as much good as we thought. It's the ... what did you call it?**
    **Law of diminishing returns,** Shoji said. **The more we've got, the more we need to make the vision any clearer. Since neither you nor any of the other sensitives has seen anything new in the vision, we'll probably have to get a few more.**
    **Which means operating in Tokyo again,** Akechi said, obviously not happy about the idea.
    **Maybe,** Shoji said. **I think we should turn this into an extended vacation. We can spend a few days wandering around the countryside, and let Yui try out a few other temples. In the meantime, we can think about how to do this better. If we do need to go back to Tokyo, then by that time we'll have thought up lots of things.**
    **I'm game,** Hitomi said. Like the others, she didn't really have a job or anything she needed to worry about. She could do much the same thing to a human bank teller that Yui did to an ATM, so money really wasn't a problem.
    **That's settled then.** Shoji stood up and reached down to help Yui up. She got up awkwardly, her legs still cramped. She bent down and massaged them a bit, then picked up her jacket and put it on.
    She sent out the telepathic equivalent of a squeal when she saw what was perched on Hitomi's shoulder. **'Tomi, he is so cute! Can I hold him?**
    The two girls cooed over their new pet for a while. Well and good, Shoji thought. Just the thing to take their mind off the weirdos waiting for them back in Tokyo.

    *****

    Setsuna walked into her favourite Roppongi restaurant. It was part of a club which was strictly members only. Naturally, the hostess recognized her immediately. The young woman smiled in greeting as Setsuna approached. "Good day, Meiou-san."
    "Good day," Setsuna replied.
    "We have your table ready. I understood you were to be having a guest joining you for lunch today."
    "That's right. I gave her name, she will be arriving shortly. I'll go sit down now, you can just show her in."
    "Of course. Right this way."
    She was escorted to her table, a booth that was in a dark corner, isolated, where she would not be disturbed. Half a minute later, a waiter came with the drink she had pre ordered.
    She was about halfway through her drink when she saw her friend being escorted towards her table. She stood up to greet the other woman.
    "Good day, Kaori-san. It's been a while."
    "Yes, it has. Thank you for inviting me." Like the Sailor Senshi, the Ancient was dressed to the nines, pretty much a requirement for even entering this place. Setsuna marvelled at how well she looked, one would hardly guess she was in her forties. Ancients tended to age well, especially the women who passed down the Power in their blood. Which was a rather ironic thought for someone like Setsuna to be having.
    The waiter arrived just seconds after they were both seated, and told them what was available. They ordered, and he left them. A few seconds later, another waiter came with the drink Setsuna had pre ordered for her friend.
    "So how was your week in the Pacific?" Kaori asked.
    "It was very nice. Everybody had a good time. Poor Jupiter had to leave a couple of days early to take care of something back home."
    "Nothing serious, I hope?"
    "No, quite the contrary. Her business ran into good fortune all of a sudden. She had to go back and make sure the increased volume was being dealt with properly." And that was as specific as she was going to get. The identities of the other Senshi was strictly off limits, they had agreed to that very early. Kaori nodded in understanding. This relationship of theirs had gone on for years now, but it was still a very delicate game for both of them.
    "That's good to hear. I know you were worried about anything happening here while you were all away, as I was. I'm glad you all had a chance to relax together, but I feel better now that you're back."
    "Thanks for keeping your eyes open while we were away."
    "Not at all. It's been so long since there's been anything requiring the attention of the Senshi, I suppose we were just being paranoid."
    Setsuna took another sip from her drink just then, as if for emphasis. "Actually, young Venus came across some trouble night before last."
    Kaori looked mildly surprised. As she had said, it had been a good long time since the Senshi had faced any paranormal adversary. "Really? I hope she's alright."
    "Yes, she's fine. I was talking to her last night. Her familiar had sensed something was amiss, so she went out to see what was happening. She found a temple that had just been demolished. There were four people there, two young men and two young women. One of the latter had extracted the life force from the holy place, precipitating its collapse. When she challenged them, one of the men assaulted her with weapons of fire. The other woman unleashed two monstrous birds on her. The other man nearly caught her unawares, he seemed to have some means to make himself invisible. By the time she fought the birds off, the four people had vanished. Teleported away, it seems."
    "I see."
    "The other Senshi are very concerned about this. The Princess may very well decide to intervene." Kaori would know that she was referring to Sailor Moon, and that Setsuna, as Sailor Pluto, owed allegiance to the Princess.
    Kaori stared down into her drink for a little while. Setsuna just waited.
    When Kaori looked up at her again, her expression was grim. "The young man who used the fire is my son. The young lady who took the temple's life force is his fiancee. The others are friends of his."
    Setsuna was not really surprised to hear this. She already knew that Kaori had a son. She didn't know his name, but she knew a fair amount about him. She knew that his specialty was use of fire. She knew he was engaged to a deaf mute girl with exceptionally strong powers. And she knew that Kaori was worried about how the both of them were fitting in to outsider society.
    "Since you know what they are doing, I must assume they are doing this with your approval," Setsuna said. There was no reproof in her tone, it was just a statement of fact.
    "With my reluctant approval, I must confess. They also have the support of the Matriarch, to some degree."
    The Matriarch. That was a person they rarely talked about. Kaori guarded her identity just as jealously as Setsuna guarded the identity of her Princess. Setsuna knew virtually nothing about her, except that she appeared to be the undisputed leader of their family.
    "Then I must also assume there is some purpose behind this activity."
    "There is. As the life force from each new temple is brought into the presence of the Crystal, we have found that the telepathic image it transmits becomes clearer and clearer." She looked troubled, as if wondering if she should say more. The Crystal was another thing she gave only vague hints about. She seemed to revere it even more than she revered the Matriarch.
    "Why is that image so important?"
    "My Son seems to believe it points the way to a great source of power."
    "Have you seen the image yourself?"
    "Yes."
    "Is it something you would be willing to share directly?"
    Kaori stared at her for a moment. She obviously knew what Setsuna meant. It's something they had done a few times in the past. More as a gesture of good faith than as anything with practical use.
    Kaori nodded. "Very well." She held out her hand. Setsuna took it in her own, and closed her eyes. She emptied her mind the way Kaori had explained to her in the past. This was Kaori's specialty, the ability to bring out latent psionic abilities in others. It hadn't taken Setsuna long to learn to receive telepathic images from Kaori.
    What Kaori didn't know was that Sailor Pluto had been trained to ward against psionic probes a very long time ago. If she had tried to read Setsuna's mind, she would have been stopped cold. To Kaori's credit, she had never tried.
    Setsuna could feel the link forming between them. She opened her mind to receive the image being sent. It was remarkably clear. And remarkably familiar.
    They severed the link. Setsuna opened her eyes and released Kaori's hand. Out of courtesy, she gave Kaori a few moments to recover. It was harder on the Ancient, she had to do most of the work.
    "Did you see it?" Kaori asked.
    "Yes, very clearly. A great crystal palace, rising up into a black sky."
    "My son is convinced that if we can secure the life force of more holy places, the Crystal will show us how we can bring the Palace into being. He believes it to be a great source of power. A sanctuary."
    "I see." Kaori didn't need to explain that last part. One thing they were both open about was their worry over the chaos that had been unleashed on the world, and what it would mean for Kaori's family and Setsuna's adopted family. The desire for a sanctuary in the times to come was something they both understood.
    Setsuna took a moment to sort out what she needed to say. As always at these meetings, she chose her words carefully. "I can tell you a few things. The palace is familiar to me. It is what you said, both a source of great power and a sanctuary. Bringing it into being is a worthy goal, and would be a remarkable achievement. I must ask you this, though. Can you think of no other way to achieve this than to attack more shrines or temples?"
    "Believe me, Setsuna, I have driven myself to distraction trying to find another way, as have others. All to no avail. If we are really to do this, it seems my son's method is all we have."
    Setsuna nodded. "That is unfortunate."
    "Setsuna ... I don't want our loved ones to come into conflict."
    "I'll do what I can to make sure that doesn't happen."
    "Is there anything I can do?"
    "I can't ask you to give me specifics, but can you tell me if your son is planning to move again soon?"
    "No, not for several days at least."
    "Then I'll try to see that they are not interfered with. I have to warn you about one thing, though. If they ever actually harm anybody, then all bets are off. The Senshi would come down on them hard and it would be out of my control."
    "I understand. The Matriarch has impressed upon them that harming innocents will not be tolerated. I think they've taken that to heart."
    "Let's hope they have." Setsuna relaxed, let her expression soften. "Now, do tell me about this new garden you're planning for your place."
    Soon their first course arrived, and they were discussing less weighty matters. Out of necessity, the two women had to keep some distance between themselves. But once they had defined what they could and could not discuss, they had found themselves becoming quite good friends. These careful exchanges of information had proven useful to both of them in the past. But over the years Setsuna found herself looking forward to these meetings more and more.
    Very soon after they parted company, Setsuna sat down in the club lounge and drew her cellular phone out of her handbag. She tapped the key that called a present number and waited. "Haruka, it's me ... I'm sorry, I imagine you must have been sleeping ... Oh, I see. My apologies ... No, everybody's fine. The reason I'm calling is I've found the reason for Michiru's vision ... Yes, that one ... It's not something we should discuss on the phone ... No, it doesn't need to be right away, but it would be best if you two were back here within the week ... Yes ... Yes, that would be fine ... We'll discuss that when you get back ... Thanks. My regards to Michiru, tell her I'm sorry for the intrusion ... Goodbye."
    Setsuna put away her cellular and checked her watch. Plenty of time to make their appointment with the supposed extraterrestrials. She was not looking forward to it, not looking forward to what she would have to do there.

    *****

    Daniel Churchland drove his silver Cressida sedan up to the gate of his customer's residence, noting that it was closed. That had been instituted in the last couple of weeks. It was just a sign of the times, his customer was hardly the only one hunkering down, hardly the only one becoming more security conscious. On top of everything else that was going on, this business of the temples, for all the attempts to keep it under wraps, really seemed to have struck a nerve with this country's people. It seemed like he was being asked to show his passport and visa more and more often.
    He reached out the window and pressed the buzzer. The speaker next to it crackled. "Yes?" came a tinny male voice.
    Daniel looked at the tiny video camera. "Daniel Churchland, here for my usual appointment."
    "Thank you, please proceed." Daniel heard a rattle ahead, and slowly, the wrought-iron gate slid aside. He pushed the switch to close the car window, and proceeded down the long driveway to the mansion. The gardener was already at work in front of the house, he noted. Maintaining a carefully manicured lot this size would easily keep at least one man occupied full time.
    He parked in a designated area at the side of the house. He took his briefcase, locked his car and headed back around to the front door. Though he was employed by the household, his position was such that he was not asked to enter via the servants' entrance. Not that he would care, such things had long since ceased to matter.
    The butler who answered the door recognized him, of course. He led Daniel down the long hallway to the usual room. He opened the door for Daniel and stood aside. As usual the butler's manner was at the same time excruciatingly polite and utterly cold. It was unusual for a gaijin to be hired by such a distinguished household, so he often found his caucasian features raising eyebrows among other servants of the households he worked for. But in just the few years he had been in the country he had developed enough of a reputation that his credentials were not questioned.
    The room he entered faced east and had tall, wide windows opening up onto the garden, so it was lit brightly by the rising sun. The two children who sat on cushions at the low table near the window turned to look at the sound of the opening door. As one, they rose, turned to face him and bowed to their tutor. "Good morning, Sensei," they said.
    "Good morning Gen," Daniel said to the boy of eight. "Good morning, Yuriko," he said to the slightly younger girl. He walked over to the table, put down his briefcase beside it, sat down at a third cushion and gestured for the children to do likewise. He indicated with a smile that the formalities could now be dropped. "I see you're still going through the newspaper. Have each of you found something?" It was his habit to have each of the children he worked with read through the day's newspaper and find at least one item for them to discuss. It was somewhat above their reading level, but he always encouraged them never to be afraid to make mistakes and ask questions.
    "I found something!" Yuriko said, shooting her hand up.
    "Fine, would you read it to us, please?"
    She already had her section of the paper open to where she wanted, so she started reading immediately. When she had her first problem with the reading of a set of characters, Daniel slid over beside her and started giving her help. It was a fairly short article describing in a very matter-of-fact, low-key fashion the mysterious destruction of yet another temple in Tokyo.
    "And why did you pick this article?" Daniel asked. "What did you find interesting about it?"
    Yuriko grinned. She pointed to a part towards the end of the article and read it again, slowly and carefully. "One resident is reported having seen a young woman dressed in a white and orange fuku running towards the temple at around the time it is believed to have collapsed. The eyewitness report was consistent with others who have reported these unusual sightings in Juban area in the past few years." She turned back to Daniel, still smiling brightly. "That's what the papers always say when somebody sees one of the Sailor Senshi. And she was in orange, so it must be Sailor Venus!"
    Gen groaned. "Yuriko, you're supposed to read something *serious*."
    "It is serious!" the boy's sister shot back. "It means the Sailor Senshi are fighting the bad guys again."
    "The Sailor Senshi aren't real," Gen said haughtily. "Everybody knows that."
    "They are too!"
    "Okay, that's enough," Daniel said gently. "It doesn't really matter whether they're real, that's not the point. The point is, the eyewitness probably believed they had seen a Sailor Senshi and had said so to the reporter. But the reporter didn't want to say that in his article. You were able to read between the lines and make a good guess as to what it really meant. Very well done. Gen, do you have something for us?"
    He did. It was somewhat longer and more involved. Even though Gen was one year more advanced, he had bitten off a bit more than he could chew, Daniel had to help him out with quite a few of the words. It was a piece on a border clash in Southeast Asia that seemed to be quickly escalating into a full scale war.
    "And why did you pick this article?" Daniel asked. As he had told the children many times, his criterion for a reason was something outside the article itself, some other point to relate the article to.
    "In history class in school, the teacher there told me that this border they're fighting over isn't supposed to be there. It's only there because that's how the western countries divided up their colonies. If it wasn't for what the old western empires did, there might not be a war right now."
    Daniel nodded. "There is some truth to that. But it's only a half truth, at best. In fact, there are many reasons for that border to be there, both because of the local physical geography and the human geography. In fact, that border existed almost exactly as it is many times in history. People were fighting over that border four thousand years ago."
    Gen frowned. "Four thousand years?"
    "Yes, that's right."
    Gen shook his head forcefully, his expression grim. "You must be wrong."
    Daniel raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"
    "My history teacher at school says history there started only about two thousand years ago."
    "State your position more clearly, please," Daniel said, with just a hint of sharpness in his tone.
    Gen took a moment this time, spoke more carefully. "He says that nobody knows what was happening in those countries that far back. There aren't any books or anything that old."
    Daniel nodded. "That's correct, there is no record of the history of that region older than about two thousand years."
    "So how do you know there was a border there four thousand years ago?" Daniel could see the triumph in Gen's eyes. He had actually tripped up the Sensei.
    "Well, it looks like you got me. Now, how to explain this?" Daniel rubbed his chin dramatically for a moment. "I guess there's nothing else to do." He looked all around the room, his expression grim and nervous, as if making absolutely sure they were all alone. Both children had looks of growing puzzlement on their faces, unsure what to make of his behaviour. He leaned forward, gestured for them both to come closer. They looked at each other briefly, each wondering if the other knew what was going on. Since neither did, they both slid closer.
    "Can the two of you keep a secret?" Daniel asked in a low, conspiratorial voice.
    They both nodded vigorously, their eyes wide, their faces full of anticipation. He was surely going to tell them one of the Big Adult Secrets.
    "The fact is, Daniel Churchland is not my real name."
    "It's not?" Gen asked, his voice also very low but with a tone that implied *is that all?*
    "No, it's not. I've gone by many, many names in my life. But my real name is Cyrus."
    "Cyrus what?" Yuriko asked.
    "Just Cyrus. I was born in a kingdom that is older than any kingdom you ever read about in a history book. When I was a young man, I had a spell put on me that kept me from ever growing old. All the people I knew then have long since died, and the city I was born in crumbled to dust thousands of years before the Egyptians built their pyramids. I have wandered across the Earth since then, teaching people about the history I have seen with my own eyes. I know that border existed four thousand years ago because I was there."
    The two children stared at him for a few seconds longer, then looked at each other. Abruptly they both fell over, heaving with hysterical laughter.
    "That's a very silly story!" Yuriko declared, being the first to recover from her laughing fit.
    Daniel smiled. "Yes, it is a silly story, isn't it?"
    Now Gen also sat back up. "Sensei, did you expect us to believe that?"
    "No, Gen, I didn't."
    "It couldn't possibly be true," Yuriko said, not sounding as indignant as her brother sounded.
    "No, I expect not. Anyway, enough of that. I want you both to read me the essays I asked you to write."
    "Me first!" Yuriko said, already reaching for her notebook.
    Cyrus made a mental note of the name of the other shrine which had been mentioned in the article Yuriko had read, the first shrine to be destroyed under mysterious circumstances. Later he would do some research, find out when it had happened. It was a long shot, but if these Sailor Senshi were who he thought they were ... his long search might finally be over.

    *****

    Jeneth stirred the simmering contents of the pot a bit more, gave a little more time for the spices she had just added to mix in. She ladled a little bit of the broth into the tiny saucer she used for tasting. Seemed okay. "K'Theelm, could you come taste this and tell me what you think?"
    "Okay, just a moment." K'Theelm was at the counter behind her, cutting the fish they just got for the sashimi.
    "You know, they did say there would be only four of them," Thetan said suggestively, watching them from his seat at the dining table. His own eating habits being remarkably spartan, he had been rather overwhelmed by the elaborate preparations his two companions were making. He had quite properly decided to just stay out of their way.
    *Only four,* Jeneth thought. Yes, just four Avatars coming for dinner, that's all. Nothing to be nervous about, nothing at all.
    "We want to have a large variety available," K'Theelm explained as he cleaned off his knife, done with the sashimi. "For all we know, their eating habits may be as restrictive as yours."
    "I believe Venus-san indicated they were ... flexible."
    "That's Sailor Venus," Jeneth corrected him. She paced the kitchen nervously as she spoke. "Or just Venus, as she said. I assume we can just address the others as Mars and Pluto. I'm not sure about their leader, somehow Moon doesn't sound right."
    "Best stick with Sailor Moon," K'Theelm suggested. "That's how she's referred to in the popular media." He walked over to the steaming pot, and carefully ladled a small amount into another of the tiny saucers. "Mmm. Yes, I think it's just right. We can let it simmer." He put the lid over the pot, turned the element down a notch. "Looks like everything's ready, good timing."
    "Yes." Venus had assured Jeneth they would arrive at exactly the appointed time. Just a few minutes now. Jeneth took off her apron and hung it up. "It was such short notice, I wish we had thought to rent a larger place for a night. We're so cramped here, they may be used to much better."
    "Venus actually complimented you on your choice of apartments," Thetan reminded her.
    "That's true." Venus had seemed quite comfortable here, maybe it would be okay. "She seemed remarkably young, I wonder what the others are like?"
    "I think we'll be finding out very soon," Thetan said, getting up from his chair at the end of the table.
    "You sense something approaching?" K'Theelm asked. He was now standing with them in the dining area.
    "Yes, I think they're here."
    Thanks to Thetan's warning, Jeneth did no more than flinch when the four women dropped down onto the balcony outside the sliding glass doors.
    Venus caught sight of her immediately. She smiled warmly and waved. Jeneth did likewise. Venus looked just as she had the first time they had met, a pretty young woman with sparkling blue eyes and long blonde hair tied back with a big red ribbon. The outfit she wore bore a superficial resemblance to many of the uniforms the school girls in this country wore. The white bodysuit that covered her upper body seemed to cling to her like a second skin, yet softened the lines of her body as if there were some padding or, as K'Theelm had speculated, flexible armour. The orange collar, short orange pleated skirt and the purple ribbon at her breast was what made it resemble a school uniform. But there were embellishments that marked the outfit as something quite different. The orange sandals, for instance. The white gloves that went to her elbows and ended with what looked like ribbed elbow pads. The little transparent wings at her shoulders. The tiara that held a glowing jewel at her forehead. And of course the oversized yellow ribbon at the small of her back, whose ends trailed almost down to her knees.
    Jeneth quickly sized up the other three women. The first was a raven- haired beauty with dark eyes and a stern, wary expression. Her outfit was identical to Venus', except for being red wherever Venus' was orange or yellow. If the depictions in the media which K'Theelm had shown them were correct, this would be the one called Mars. The second could almost have been mistaken for Venus, except her hair and eyes were slightly darker. And her hair was done up in pigtails that Jeneth would swear came close to touching the ground. Her outfit was a little more flamboyant as well. The skirt was white with blue and yellow along the hem. She wore red knee-high boots which matched the ribbon at her breast. The dark blue of her collar matched that of the skirt, and the transparent wings at her shoulders were a bit larger. The ribbon at her back was a translucent mauve affair that fluttered down even lower than her pigtails. Sailor Moon, presumably. By process of elimination the fourth one must be Pluto, on whom K'Theelm could find no information at all. She was tall with dusky skin and long, green- tinted black hair. But for the little red heart-shaped ornament at her breast, her outfit was all black and white. Her disturbing red eyes locked on Jeneth's for just a second before continuing their calm, methodical scan of the room. Jeneth suppressed a shiver. There was something very different about that one, something that set her apart from the other three. Jeneth's eyes saw a beautiful young woman, but everything else was telling her that she was looking at something as ancient as the stars. Even more so than the others, her aura had a depth and richness that it seemed could not possibly have been developed over a single lifetime.
    They had no idea the Senshi were going to show up like this. Thetan was quick to adapt. He walked to the glass door, and bowed low as he slid it aside. "Welcome, Sailor Senshi. You honour us with your presence."
    "Thank you," Venus said, doing a quick bow but never losing that friendly smile. "Sorry for dropping in on you like this." She giggled. "Sorry, I can never resist that joke."
    "Please come in," Thetan said, stepping back towards his companions and beckoning their guests to enter. Venus led them in. She was very relaxed, as she had been two nights ago after she had gotten solid ground back under her feet. Sailor Moon smiled shyly, looking a little nervous. Mars and Pluto wore neutral expressions. They were both still watching the room and their three hosts warily, the latter managing to be a little less obvious about it.
    "Let me do the introductions," Venus said. "This is Sailor Moon, our leader."
    "Pleased to meet you," the young woman with the pigtails said, bowing. Jeneth took a closer look at her ... and was barely able to suppress a gasp. It hadn't been obvious at first because it was so deeply hidden. But looking at her aura close up was like looking at a fractal pattern, it gave the impression that it went on forever, infinite in all directions. Jeneth's heartbeat quickened. *She is the one. She must be the one who drew us here.*
    "This is Sailor Mars." The severe young woman nodded curtly. Her gaze was almost as disturbing as Pluto's.
    "And this is Sailor Pluto." Again, just a curt nod.
    "I am Thetan of the Warrior Caste," Thetan said, bowing again.
    "Jeneth of the Healer Caste," Jeneth said, doing likewise.
    "K'Theelm of the Engineer Caste. Welcome to our home."
    "Thank you," Sailor Moon said. She smiled in an impish way that reminded Jeneth so much of Venus' manner. Already she could see they were alike in more than just looks. If she could find an appropriate time, she would have to ask them if they were related. "It's a bit late to be saying this, and I hope it doesn't sound silly, but ... welcome to Earth." Her expression suddenly changed, as if having just become aware of something. She sniffed. "Boy, something sure smells good."
    Jeneth thought she heard Mars make some sound. She spared a look at the raven-haired Senshi to find her barely suppressing a look that seemed to mix indulgent amusement with long-suffering sadness.
    "Venus told us you'd be joining us for dinner," K'Theelm said. "We took the liberty of preparing a modest meal, I hope you'll do us the honour of joining us."
    They did. Over dinner, the Senshi asked them all a barrage of questions. Sailor Moon, like Venus, seemed to be just curious about the sort of lives they had made for themselves here on Earth. Mars and Pluto were also friendly and polite, but their questioning seemed a little more calculated and systematic, they listened a little more intently to the answers Jeneth and her companions gave. Remarkably, the Senshi asked nothing of their own dead planet. Jeneth wondered if this was something they had all agreed on beforehand, out of consideration for their hosts' feelings. She considered volunteering some story of their home world, but decided to follow the lead of the Senshi and avoid the topic.
    Sailor Moon managed to devour more than any three of them, all with great enthusiasm and repeated words of praise and gratitude. Avatar or no, Jeneth was really beginning to worry about her becoming ill. They certainly wouldn't have many leftovers to put away.
    "That was simply delicious!" Sailor Moon enthused after polishing off the last of her dessert.
    "I'm glad you liked it," Jeneth said. "Do you have any room left for tea?"
    "Absolutely."
    After everyone was served, Mars discretely cleared her throat. Sailor Moon glanced at her, and they exchanged barely visible nods. From her place at the end of the table, Sailor Moon looked back at her hosts, her expression a bit more serious now. "Jeneth, K'Theelm, Thetan, there are some things I think you ought to know. I mean, about what happened when Galaxia came to Earth."
    "Venus explained to us that you defeated her," Thetan said.
    "Well, it wasn't quite that simple. You see, Galaxia was actually possessed. A very long time ago, she had defeated a being that we know only as Chaos. Eventually, it corrupted her, and she started taking the Star Seeds from people all over the galaxy. By the time she got here, by the time I fought her, she had been taken over completely by Chaos. The two of them together were too powerful, there was no way I could defeat them."
    "I'm not sure I understand," Jeneth was moved to say. She glanced at her two companions. K'Theelm also looked puzzled, but she saw a glimmer of comprehension in Thetan's eye, as if he had some idea where this was going.
    "All I did was to undo what Galaxia did so long ago," Sailor Moon continued. "I set Chaos free. Without a host to bind it, Chaos spread out through the galaxy, the way it had been in the beginning. Galaxia was also set free, she went back to her normal self."
    "Her normal self?" Thetan asked. Jeneth could hear a slight edge, a deeper resonance in his great voice. He was not happy about what he was hearing.
    "Thetan, Galaxia was not a bad person at all. What she tried to do was good, she tried ridding us of Chaos forever. But she couldn't do it, probably nobody could do it. She couldn't help what happened."
    Thetan sighed deeply, shook his head. "Forgive me, I don't doubt what you say is true. But so many people, so many worlds have paid for her folly, I cannot find it in my heart to forgive. If I may ask, what judgement did you make upon her?"
    Sailor Moon shook her head. "I didn't punish her. I just asked her to undo what she did. I asked her to return the Star Seeds to their homes."
    Jeneth felt utterly lost and bewildered. The magnitude of what the Avatar had said was just sinking in. "Sailor Moon ... " she said hesitantly. "Do you mean to say, you asked Galaxia to guide their souls to their final resting places?"
    Sailor Moon looked puzzled by the question. She was interrupted by Mars. "Perhaps I can explain," the red-clad Senshi suggested. "As Sailor Moon said, we couldn't defeat Galaxia when she was possessed by Chaos. We tried, but we were defeated. Pluto, Venus and I all had our Star Seeds taken." Mars waited a moment as the implications of that sank in. She nodded, probably in response to the look of shock and comprehension Jeneth felt must be on her face right now. "That's right. After Sailor Moon set her free of Chaos, Galaxia was able to restore us from our Star Seeds. She is the most powerful Senshi who ever lived, if she could do that for us then we have no reason to believe she couldn't do the same for the countless other people whose Star Seeds were taken."
    Again, there was silence. Jeneth had no idea what to say, this was just too much to grasp all at once.
    "I'm not sure I see how she could do that," K'Theelm said. Jeneth looked at him. She could see and hear hints of what he felt, the disbelief and the hope that just refused to die despite that disbelief. But his engineer's mind was in full command right now. "Our world was laid waste by the forces Galaxia unleashed," he continued. "Even if she could somehow bring everybody back, restore their bodies from their Star Seeds, they would have no world to live on."
    "Having the Star Seeds under her protection gives Galaxia great power," Pluto said. "Especially those of the Senshi, whom you call Avatars. I believe it would give her the power to restore worlds, as it gave her the power to destroy them. If she goes to your world and restores your own Avatars, I believe that under her guidance and lent her strength, they could restore your world to a livable state."
    "It could not be done quickly," K'Theelm said, his natural scepticism still in play.
    "No, it could not," Pluto agreed. "Though perhaps it would not take as long as you might think. Since your own world was attacked just a year before Galaxia arrived here, it was likely one of the last places she attacked. If she follows the logical course, it will likely be one of the first places she visits. With the power of all the Star Seeds behind her, she would be able to move very quickly among the stars. In fact, I think there is a good chance she may have visited your world already."
    "Oh Spirits ..." it was too much. Jeneth buried her face in her hands, broke down and wept. To think of the blasted rock that was her home, restored, to think of all her friends and family, alive again. It was too much.
    "Jeneth ..." K'Theelm put his arm around her. His voice was husky, he sounded as overcome with emotion as she was. Perhaps because of the bombshell the Senshi had dropped, perhaps because of her own reaction. Jeneth knew how he hated to see her cry.
    "Jeneth, it'll be okay." Another voice, another arm around her. Sailor Moon. "Whenever you're ready to go home, your friends will all be there waiting for you. I'm sure of it. Believe in Galaxia. She brought my friends back to me, I'm sure she'll bring yours back to you."
    Jeneth sniffed, dried her eyes with a napkin. "Thank you," she breathed. She took Sailor Moon's gloved hand, kissed it, beyond caring about any impropriety. "This is a miracle, we never dared hope," she sobbed.
    "I'm glad we were able to tell you what really happened," Sailor Moon said. Her other arm was still around Jeneth's shoulder. "I'm just sorry it hadn't been sooner."
    Jeneth looked from the Avatar to her friend ... no, her brother in all but blood. He smiled lovingly at her. "We can go home, Jeneth. I can take us all home." His voice was steady again. Sometimes Jeneth envied him the benefits of the symbiont, which could drain the physical effects of emotional stress out of his system at a moment's notice.
    Sailor Moon had stepped back, letting them share the moment privately. Thetan was behind his two companions now. He gently rested one great hand on each of their shoulders. "Yes, we can go home." He turned to face the Avatar, who had gone back to stand by her chair. "Sailor Moon, Avatar ... words fail me. It is as Jeneth said, you have worked a miracle. For this, my life is yours. Command me."
    Sailor Moon's eyes went wide, her mouth dropped open. She couldn't have known the full significance of a member of the Warrior Caste speaking those words. But it was as if some warrior's instinct allowed her to understand at least partially. She nodded in acknowledgement. "This probably isn't a good time for us to talk, we should leave you for today."
    "No, please stay," Jeneth said. She reached up to her shoulder, laid her delicate hand over Thetan's massive one, feeling as if she could really draw strength from it. "You came here seeking our aid, we simply can't turn you away."
    "Are you sure you'll be okay, Jeneth?" Sailor Moon asked gently. "We can always come back and talk some other time."
    "I'll be fine, thank you," Jeneth said. "Now more than ever, I'd like to help you fight these criminals who are desecrating your holy places."
    "I concur," Thetan said. He withdrew his hand from Jeneth's shoulder, and went to resume his seat at the end of the table. "We don't know when they may strike again, perhaps even this very night. Please, tell us how we may best serve you."
    Sailor Moon resumed her seat at the other end of the table. "Okay. I guess we should plan how we're going to work together."
    "Before we continue, I have a question, if I may."
    They all turned to face Pluto, who was seated near Thetan. She was looking to Sailor Moon, as if for permission.
    "Of course, Pluto," Sailor Moon said. "What is it?"
    She turned to Thetan sitting beside her. "I'd like you to tell me everything you know about Galaxia's attack on your planet."
    "Pluto, why are you asking them about that?" Venus asked, sounding almost angry.
    Pluto turned to look at Venus, not reacting at all to her challenge. "What we see happening here in Tokyo is much like what is happening all across the world, it is simply a symptom of the Chaos that was unleashed from Galaxia's hold. I have been trying to understand the nature of this force as best I can, in order to better combat it. Everything I learn about how this force works, however irrelevant it may seem, may point to another weapon that can be used against it."
    "Pluto, that's fine but I don't think this is the right time," Sailor Moon said sternly.
    "Especially considering the shock we just finished giving them," Mars said, also sounding none too happy.
    "Your pardon, but if you think it will help I will be happy to recount what we know," Thetan said. "It happened very quickly, and we had a very limited view of what happened, so the story will not be long in the telling." He looked to Sailor Moon. She nodded and gave her assent.
    Thetan began his tale. "Our own world had been in communication with several neighbouring worlds for centuries. Some of them had also devised means of travelling between the stars. Our first warning of Galaxia's advance was when the small but steady traffic from one of those worlds suddenly ceased ..."

    *****

    Five years ago, another part of the galaxy

    Thetan swung open the heavy wooden door and emerged from the squat stone building that served as their living quarters. The cold north wind bit into him, barely kept at bay by his woolen cloak. It was an early autumn this year. The farmers in the valley far below would be racing to bring in their meagre crops before they withered. They would be depending on shipments from the northern hemisphere more than ever this year. Everyone would still eat well, but by no means extravagantly.
    He made his way up the narrow path that hugged the edge of the cliff face. He rounded an outcropping, and the temple proper came into view. It was a somewhat larger dark stone building, surrounded by what was the largest piece of flat ground for miles around. Which wasn't saying much. It was sufficient for the exercises he and the other temple warriors performed each day. And for the rendezvous he was now hurrying to keep. He pulled his knapsack tighter to him, making sure it was secure as he rounded a particulary narrow, treacherous part of the pathway. More than one careless traveller had plunged to his death from here.
    The path led onto the tiny plateau. Other than the few little tufts of scrub grass that hung precariously to the rocky ground, the only sign of life was the five other warriors lined up in front of the temple, waiting for him. Not much of a sign of life, since they were standing like statues. Like him, they wore heavy cloaks to offer some protection against the cruel wind, and had knapsacks slung over their shoulders.
    As Thetan approached, the first in line stepped forward. "Command me." He was a big man, even bigger than Thetan. And with even more scars. >From his formality, you would hardly guess the two of them had seen a hundred battles together, from the vampire killsweeps to the assaults on the pirate asteroids. He was a stickler for protocol, as always.
    "A shuttle will be arriving shortly to take us to the greater L-4 fortress. We will be making ourselves available to the Guards legion there. They have been instructed to be at a higher state of readiness, and are calling in extra forces. We will find out more when we arrive."
    Thetan took his place at the head of the line and waited with the others. He gazed up into the sky. *You'd better be here on time, old friend, I feel like I'm about to freeze off my-*
    The thought was interrupted by the sight of a vessel emerging from around the mountain to his left. It curved around gracefully, and descended towards the plateau. These shuttles the Engineers concocted always reminded Thetan of great fish. Supposedly that was not a coincidence, though how exactly a fish could be of any use in constructing an airship was quite beyond him. The grey surface of the vehicle was featureless but for the two round sensors up front like great bulging eyes, and the various fins that supposedly helped it cut smoothly through the air. Four of those fins were now swinging lower as the shuttle approached the ground. Despite the vicious winds, the shuttle came down smoothly to the ground. Thetan smiled. There were very few pilots who could make a landing under these conditions look so easy.
    Thetan stepped out of line and walked out towards the shuttle. As he approached, a slit in the leathery grey hull parted and dilated open. The pilot stepped out into the opening, but ventured no further. Thetan walked up the fin and smiled in greeting. "Well met, K'Theelm."
    "And you, Thetan," the slender man said, clasping his hand. "Spirits, how can you live here?"
    "It only gets really bad in mid-winter."
    "I know, that's why I try to get assignments in the northern hemisphere then."
    "Are you ready to take us up?"
    "When you are."
    Thetan turned and bellowed an order to be heard above the wind. The five warriors strode out to the shuttle, and they all embarked. After seeing that they were all secure, K'Theelm led Thetan into the cockpit. Thetan settled his bulk into the copilot's harness. In a pinch, he really could fly one of these beasts, more or less. Had done it under fire more than once. But right now, he was happy to leave that to the expert. The round glass plate in front of each of them showed a panoramic fish-eye view of the terrain around them. K'Theelm had told him you got used to seeing the world this way after a while. He found that hard to believe. There was a slight lurch as K'Theelm coaxed his vehicle into the air. He did not require the crude controls that Thetan would have needed, he talked to the beast strictly through his symbiont. The one embedded under his skin-tight pilot's suit.
    Thetan waited until they had cleared the mountains and were in a clear ascent which required little of K'Theelm's attention. "I called your house yesterday, your father told me you'd already been called to duty."
    "Since day before yesterday, in fact. I've been shuttling warriors everywhere. It's not just the orbital fortresses, everybody is on alert. >From the activity I've seen, I'd say all the reserves are being called up."
    "*All* of them? Spirits, that hasn't happened since the Mad Avatar rebellion." And that had been centuries ago.
    "Funny you should mention that. Yesterday I shuttled none other than the Storm Planet Avatar to the lesser moon."
    Thetan frowned. "Why did she not teleport herself? Did she look ill?"
    "No, but she did look very spooked. I didn't ask any questions, of course. But you know what they say about some of the Avatars' powers, they can call upon them only when they're all in link."
    Which meant that one of the Avatars could no longer link with the others. "Do you think one of them has been assassinated?"
    "A coup? No, I've been all over cislunar space and haven't seen any actual sign of fighting, just preparations. Me, I think it's got more to do with losing contact with the Great Dragon Star."
    Thetan had heard about the mysterious drop in traffic from that star a few days ago. But he couldn't imagine an actual threat coming from such a distance. Only Avatars and certain very gifted pilots could transport themselves and at best a tiny vessel over such distances. An attack on a planet as heavily defended as this one would be suicide. "What makes you say that?"
    "When I got called up, they were specifically asking for pilots who had made the run to Great Dragon. I almost got that detail myself, but got assigned to high priority shuttle runs instead. I figure they sent somebody over there with a Sensitive in tow to scan the whole system, check things out. Either they came back and told the Avatars something scary or they haven't come back at all, which is even more scary."
    "I wish we knew more. A lot of people have been on edge lately. In the village below our temple, there's a very gifted Precognitive. She hasn't been able to work for days, she's been wracked with nightmares she doesn't understand."
    "She's not alone, I've heard a few stories like that. Just a moment, I need to prepare for our jump." The view on the glass plates had gradually changed, the blue sky slowly turning black and the stars appearing as they left the atmosphere. Now the view changed abruptly, the stars and the planet below taking on a red hue. Other objects showed up as bright red spots. The beacons on all the orbital stations that guided the pilots. "This is the pilot," K'Theelm said, his voice suddenly amplified and resonating through the vehicle, no doubt also into the passenger compartment where the other warriors were strapped into the harnesses. "We are about to make our jump to L-4." The view swung over until one of the red points was centred on their view. Thetan was always tempted to close his eyes at this point, but he knew that only made it worse.
    In the blink of an eye, the great fortress loomed before them. It took just a moment for the vertigo to subside.
    And another moment to realize the fortress was under attack.
    "What the hell are those?" K'Theelm shouted. He switched the screens back to normal vision, then zoomed in on one of the tiny figures buzzing around the great sphere. It was moving fast, they just got a glimpse. An alien woman in a strange uniform, surrounded by a battle aura and a spherical force shield. A jewel on her forehead blazed brightly. As she swooped by, she shot something out of great metal bracelets, balls of energy that slammed into a gun emplacement, destroying it. Alien Avatars. It could be nothing else. But there were dozens of them.
    "Do we run?" K'Theelm asked. Now they were in a combat zone, the warrior was automatically in command of the vessel.
    "Try and dock us, quick as you can. Get us in, then get yourself out. Warp to the nearest fortress." That is, assuming the nearest fortress was any safer. Spirits, what the hell was this?
    K'Theelm dove straight in. The curved surface of the fortress leapt out at them. The first docking port they came to looked badly damaged, so they sped along the surface to the next one. There was a lot of damage, most of the outer sections had probably lost their air by now. The organic hull's self-repair was being completely overwhelmed.
    Thetan was the first to spot the alien Avatar swooping in on them. His shout of warning came just as he saw her bracelets flare. There was a thunderclap and the ship lurched violently. "Release a cloud!" Thetan shouted.
    "Done." There was a gentler concussion as the bladders burst, filling the surrounding space with an inky black cloud. Under its cover, flying blind, K'Theelm dove even closer to the fortress, hugged close to it. He dove into one of the really big docks, the ones for the slow boats. Good, that might offer some protection.
    "I'm taking us into one of the cargo locks."
    "Aren't there docks for skiffs in here?" Thetan asked.
    "We can't dock. Thetan ... we lost the airlock."
    Rage and shock wrestled for dominance in Thetan's mind. K'Theelm meant the passenger section. They were all dead. His entire command. Even before they got onto the battlefield. *Old friend ... rest in peace. I will avenge you.*
    K'Theelm manoeuvred the wounded ship inside a cargo lock. On his command, the transparent field came up behind them and the compartment filled with air. "K'Theelm-"
    "I'm coming with you. She's too badly damaged to warp, and you may need a protective shield."
    That was true. There was no time to argue. "We'll report to the war room, assuming we can make it there." Thetan unstrapped himself from the harness. They were weightless now, so he just pushed himself up to the ceiling.
    "This way," K'Theelm said. A small section of the hull beside the pilot's seat dilated open. Emergency exit. Yes, the pilot would want to avoid the horror that lay in the compartment behind them. Understandable.
    They made their way along narrow corridors, pushing themselves off walls or proceeding hand over hand along ropes, as need dictated. The air was hot and rank, the corridors only dimly lit by a few of the glow plugs. The veins in the living matter of the walls heaved and pulsated. The fortress was straining to repair itself and cool itself. It looked to be a losing battle.
    They found one of the great spoke corridors that led straight to the core of the fortress. Traffic was much heavier here, it was pandemonium. Thetan noted wounded Warriors and Engineers being led towards the interior. Some of them were comatose, but showed no sign of injury.
    "Thetan! It *is* you!"
    Thetan recognized the man sailing up the wide corridor in the opposite direction. A Guards officer he had served under once. They both killed their momentum, as did K'Theelm. "Well met, Centurion."
    "And you, Warrior." They ducked into the entrance of a side corridor, so as not to block the way. "Did you just arrive?"
    "Yes, we were on our way to report. This is K'Theelm, our pilot. Our shuttle was attacked, we were the only survivors."
    "I'm sorry," the Centuriou said, placing a hand on Thetan's shoulder. His expression showed he understood what that meant. But a moment later, his expression hardened. "Communications are being jammed, I have need of a first class Warrior and Engineer for an important detail, I was going to seek aid from one of the other units. Will you serve?"
    "Command me."
    "This way." They continued their way further down into the interior. There was some modest drop in the heat and the pandemonium as they went. The Centurion led them down a number of side passages. From the number of checkpoints they passed, they were headed into a very highly secure area. The white helmets and holstered power wands of the last set of guards marked them as the personal guards of the Avatars. They were admitted entrance. Symbols on the wall of the corridor beyond marked it as an area that afforded artificial weight. The three of them oriented themselves properly, and were drawn down to the floor with increasing force as they proceeded. Very few sections had such a luxury, it was very draining on the fortress' systems. As the door at the end of the corridor dilated open, Thetan felt growing trepidation.
    Which was as nothing to what he felt at the sight that greeted him.
    It looked like a much smaller version of the war room. Round glass plates of all sizes covered the walls of the round room, walls that merged into the ribbed, dome ceiling. There were just a few ornate chairs in the room. Thetan had heard that such a place existed. A private council chamber for the Avatars and their advisors.
    A mattress had been rolled out on the floor. On it lay the Ring Planet Avatar in her battle uniform. She looked dead or unconscious. Presumably the latter, since a red-haired woman in a Healer's tunic was kneeling over her, probing the Avatar's face with her hands. The Healer's aura was blinding, she was applying an incredible amount of energy, probably enough to kill an ordinary mortal.
    Thetan's heart leaped into his throat as he noticed the heavy silver bracelets the Avatar now wore.
    The Centurion bowed to the other occupant of the room. "I have brought aid, as you instructed, Mistress. The Warrior Thetan, and the Engineer K'Theelm."
    The Greater Moon Avatar smiled weakly. "Thank you, Centurion." The leader of the Avatars did not look well. Her slim form was slumped in the great wooden chair. Her bluegreen hair, normally done up in elaborate rings, spilled around her shoulders in tangles. Her white robes were torn and blackened in places. There were bruises on the delicate grey skin of her face and arms. She had one hand on the sceptre that lay on one arm of the chair. Somehow, Thetan had the impression it was being held at the ready in its capacity as a weapon, not as a badge of office.
    She beckoned for Thetan and K'Theelm to approach. "Time may be short, so I will be brief. Two days ago, I sent the Ring Planet Avatar on a mission to the Great Dragon Star. Today, she returned. As leader of the army which now assails us. She came to our fortress on the Lesser Moon, where I was in council with the other Avatars. She demanded our surrender. She told me she now serves Galaxia, who means to rule all the stars of the galaxy."
    The Avatar seemed to shrink into herself, her voice became lower, with a slight quiver. "We ... fought her. All the other Avatars were slain. Only by their sacrifice was I able to subdue whatever is possessing the Ring Planet Avatar. For she is possessed, unable to control her own actions."
    Thetan felt a shiver of sick fear. *All the Avatars ... slain.*
    "I brought her here, barely on time to avoid this attack of the alien Avatars," the Greater Moon Avatar continued. "This is our strongest fortress, it may buy me the time I need to free my sister from her tormenter." She fixed her eyes on K'Theelm. "Engineer, please offer assistance to the Healer. Your symbiont may see things she cannot. Try to find a way to remove her bonds without ... harming her."
    "I will do my best," K'Theelm said, bowing. He turned to walk over to where the Healer still tended the Ring Planet Avatar.
    "Warrior, your task is simple. If the Star Planet Avatar awakens and she is still possessed, I will bind her with the sceptre. I have already found out that I will only be able to do that for a few seconds. My other sisters paid for that lesson with their lives. In those seconds where she is helpless, I want you to gather all your ki into a kinetite, come behind her and detonate it at the base of her skull. Do you understand?"
    It took a few seconds for that to register. "Avatar ... is it your intention that I kill her?"
    "Yes. If I can, I will let her live the last day of her life under her own free will. If I cannot, I will see to it she does not live as a slave." She sighed, closed her eyes, rested her forehead against her hand. "It's all I can do."
    "Avatar, is there no hope?"
    She opened her eyes and gave a sad smile. It looked like she understood, he hadn't missed her reference to 'the last day of her life.' She gestured to the glass plates that surrounded them. "See for yourself." Thetan glanced up at the screens ... and soon what was happening in the room faded into the background. Half the screens were blank, and more were winking out as he watched. Those that remained all showed scenes of horror. The alien Avatars were everywhere. The floating fortresses, the colonies on the moons and planets, the cities on the planet below, all were under attack. The crazed berserker women, glowing with power, destroyed all in their path. Nothing could stand in their way, the few who offered resistance could only watch as any weapon launched at the twisted Avatars simply bounced off their shields. Wherever they swarmed, hellish black clouds gathered around them, blotting out the sun. And they hunted down all those who were flushed out of the structures they destroyed. Blasts of energy from their bracelets cut through men, women and children, striking them down. Thetan noticed something he had thought to be his imagination. "By all that's holy," he breathed. "Is that their souls I see being taken?"
    "The Ring Planet Avatar called them Star Seeds," the Greater Moon Avatar answered. "I fear hers has been taken as well, and all I try and do for her will be in vain."
    "Avatar, I fear that is true."
    Thetan had not even noticed the Healer moving up next to him. He had been dimly aware of her and K'Theelm exchanging murmured words as they conducted their examination. She looked infinitely tired, as if barely able to stand even with the much reduced weight afforded by this room.
    "Then you cannot revive her, Jeneth?" the Avatar asked gently.
    "I searched and searched, but her soul is not there. Her body lives, but only as a puppet. Even if the ... even if K'Theelm can free her from her bonds, it will not bring her back. It will undoubtedly kill her. I'm sorry."
    The Avatar closed her eyes. For just a moment, Thetan could see it on her face. The last of her sisters, lost to her. When she opened her eyes, her expression had hardened. "Centurion, the screens show me that Galaxia's army has begun boarding the fortress. Your unit is no doubt being deployed, you should be with them. I release you from my service."
    The Centurion hesitated. "Mistress, if I may-"
    "These two you have brought, I would have stay with me. Your place is elsewhere."
    Her words brooked no argument. The Centurion bowed and turned to go. When the door sealed behind him again, she turned to Thetan. "I perceive you would join him, Warrior."
    She spoke truly. But Thetan did not feel it proper to ask. "I am yours to command."
    "Engineer," The Avatar said, raising her voice to be heard by K'Theelm who was still bent over the Ring Planet Avatar. "I would speak with you."
    K'Theelm, stood, walked quickly over and bowed. "Avatar, I have no news, the bonds that have been placed on her still confound me."
    "Don't concern yourself," the Avatar said gently, smiling as if to assure him no failure was implied. "Tell me, is your symbiont capable of star travel?"
    "Yes, Avatar."
    "And its capacity?"
    "Two others besides myself."
    She nodded. "Fine. Then I have a task for the three of you. Go to the Kinmoku system and seek audience in the court of Princess Fireball. Their planet is furthest from the galactic centre, and least likely to have fallen under attack yet. Tell them what has transpired here. You three have seen close up, each in your own way, what Galaxia was able to do to one of our Avatars, and to our world. They may very well face imminent attack themselves. I have little idea what they can do to prepare, but we owe them a warning if we can give one."
    Thetan went down on one knee. "Avatar, I implore you-"
    "No." She stood up, held her sceptre close to her breast. Thetan could feel power building in it. "I will ... release my sister from her burden. Then I will help my people as best I can. Engineer, there is a jump corridor set up between here and a transit station in the great comet cloud. Your symbiont will be able to detect it easily. Please prepare yourself."
    "Yes, Avatar." K'Theelm had a somewhat glazed look on his face, as if it was finally sinking in that they were leaving their doomed home behind. Probably for the last time. But he was doing as ordered. Thetan could sense the power building in his symbiont as K'Theelm prepared it for flight.
    The Avatar smiled, looking briefly at Jeneth then at Thetan. "May the Spirits watch over you." She walked past them and went to kneel next to her comatose sister. Thetan knew what she was preparing to do. It seemed she would be waiting until they left. At any rate, their audience with her was finished, there would be no more words.
    "Warrior ..." He turned to face the Healer, getting a good look at her for the first time. She looked younger than he would expect for one with the magnitude of power she had displayed earlier. She was trying to hide it, but she was terrified. "I confess I've never flown ... in ... like-"
    "In a protective bubble?" Thetan said softly.
    "Yes. Is there ... anything I need to do?"
    "No, K'Theelm will do the work." He smiled. "Don't worry, K'Theelm has flown me like this many times, to farther places than Kinmoku. We're safe in his hands."
    "I'm ready," K'Theelm said just loud enough to be heard. Suddenly they were all walking on eggshells, not wanting to disturb the Avatar as she prepared herself to do the unthinkable.
    Thetan looked at Jeneth. She swallowed hard and nodded. She was ready. Thetan took her hand, and led her to stand in front of K'Theelm. In moments, the protective barrier appeared around them. The feeling of weightlessness came, and they floated up into the air.
    "I've got the jump point," K'Theelm announced. "We're ready to go."

    *****

    Five years later, Tokyo

    All thought of their current problems were swept aside as Mars sat utterly enraptured by this strange tale of faraway worlds.
    "We made it to Kinmoku," Thetan continued. "But we found the planet surrounded by the black clouds that Galaxia's hordes had unleashed on our world. Jeneth and I could sense the horrors that were transpiring below. We could think of nothing other than to continue in the same direction. That area was uncharted, so K'Theelm was flying blind. His symbiont could take energy directly from the stars, and Jeneth showed us how we could obtain nourishment from it. But we are no Avatars, so we could not live like this indefinitely, we needed to find a planet we could live on.
    "We were near despair by the time we felt your presence here," Thetan said, now looking at Sailor Moon.
    Sailor Moon blinked, looked rather confused. She pointed to herself. "You detected ... *my* presence? From way out in space?"
    Thetan smiled. "As the healer will attest, your aura is like nothing we have ever seen. Looking at you now, I feel as if I see the whole of time and space laid out before me, a pattern of perfect order and harmony going on forever. It extends over this whole city, then sends more nebulous tendrils over all of the Earth, then sends out tendrils still more delicate to encompass all the planets. If the vision of our inner eyes were more sensitive, I don't doubt we would see that same pattern repeated at even wider scales, reaching out to encompass the galaxy and the Universe."
    "Oh."
    "Sailor Moon, are you well?" Jeneth asked hesitantly.
    Sailor Moon lost her glazed look, started as if coming out of a trance. She laughed nervously. "Uh ... yeah, I'm fine. Just fine. Sorry Thetan, please go on."
    "Well, the rest you know. We settled down in the city that held the source of this aura, just as we've told you."
    "There's something I've been wondering about," Mars said. "Were you never tempted to try and warn anybody about what was coming?"
    "Certainly," Thetan said. "But we couldn't find anyone who we thought would even believe us, much less be able to do anything about it. We thought surely the aura we detected must be from an Avatar. And of course, this city had come under attack by very powerful mystical energies more than once, and somebody had fought them off. But we could never find who that might be. K'Theelm had even speculated that the legendary Sailor Senshi may in fact be the ones. But ... your pardon, but until we met up with Venus two days ago we had no reason to believe you were anything but legends."
    "We like to keep a low profile," Venus said. "Mostly for the sake of our families. Sorry, I guess that made us kind of hard to track down."
    "I quite understand," Thetan assured her. "On our world, when an Avatar awakens to her powers and assumes office, her family is kept under guard lest the Avatars' enemies try to harm them. It's only right you would want to spare your own families that burden."
    "Well, operating in secret has its advantages," Venus said, winking at him. "Anyway, thank you for telling us about what happened on your world. Don't take this the wrong way, but I enjoyed the story even though it was such a sad one. I hope you can tell me some happier stories about your world sometime."
    "I would be glad to," Thetan said, smiling in return. "Right now, we would like to know how we can be of service to you."
    "I'm not sure it would be proper for us to ask for your service," Pluto said.
    Mars turned to her, having no idea what she was talking about. "Excuse me?"
    Pluto still addressed herself to the three aliens. "After what we have heard, I'm not sure it would be right for us to ask you to stay here any longer than you need to. Galaxia has no doubt restored your world as best she can. But she has hundreds, maybe thousands of worlds to restore. She probably can't afford to spend any more time at any world than she has to. She is most likely doing little more than returning each world to a livable state, and reviving the people from their Star Seeds. If I were her, that is what I would do, so that I could help as many worlds as quickly as possible. After she leaves your world, there will be much work to restore your civilization to what it was, probably many generations of work. They will need all the help that they can get. Clearly you are all very powerful and highly skilled in your own fields. They will have great need of warriors, healers and engineers. I would think your duty lies with them, not with us."
    They all seemed at a loss how to respond to this. Jeneth glanced at Sailor Moon, as if seeking guidance from her. But she looked even more taken aback by what Pluto said. "I ... didn't really think of that," Sailor Moon said slowly. "But Pluto's right, you're probably needed more on your own world. And from what Venus told me, these new enemies are no more powerful than others we've faced. We can take care of them ourselves, like we always have."
    "For the moment, it's a moot point," K'Theelm said. "I never thought we'd be leaving this world again, so a long time ago I directed my symbiont to put its star flight functions into dormancy. It will take me weeks to regenerate those functions and test them properly. In the meantime, please consider us at your service."
    "That's great," Venus said, sounding very relieved. "Until Mercury can figure out our own way of detecting these attacks, Jeneth can find them for us."
    "Mercury?" K'Theelm asked.
    "Oh yeah," Venus said, giving her head a rap with her knuckles. "I guess we haven't told you yet. There are more of us. There's Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. One for each planet, you know. Except Sailor Moon, she's kind of a special case."
    Mars suppressed a smile. Sailor Moon had given her veto power over whether they would trust the extraterrestrials with knowledge of the other Senshi. Her nod to Sailor Moon just before they explained what happened to all the Star Seeds had been her green light signal. Her impressions of them were very positive. And she found that the more they spoke together, the more she was getting to like all of them.
    "I see," K'Theelm said. "Is Mercury an engineer of sorts?"
    "Oh yeah," Venus said, rolling her eyes. "She's a mega-ultra-hyper engineer. And a doctor too, I think you and Jeneth will love her to death."
    "Venus, I don't think Mercury's medical skills will be relevant," Mars said, giving her a cold gaze. She was trying to obliquely suggest that Venus shouldn't be talking about their civilian identities.
    The apologetic look on her face indicated she understood. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyway, we should probably get her to rig up some way for you to contact us. Hopefully she can have it ready before sunset tomorrow, that's about the time all these attacks have been happening."
    Mars nodded. "Jeneth, when you detect an attack, how accurately can you place it?"
    "From a distance, I can only tell what part of the city. I have to get closer to be more accurate."
    "I can fly her to any part of the city in a matter of minutes," K'Theelm said. "Regretfully, my symbiont is best at long distance travel, so short distance jumps this close to a planet are out of the question."
    "It sounds to me like you should keep on doing what you have been doing," Mars said. "Just contact us as soon as you detect an attack and give us a more accurate position as you approach. Then we can come back you up as quickly as we can."
    "I think you're forgetting something," Pluto said. "Jeneth is a noncombatant. Even if she is willing, I don't think we can in good conscience ask her to enter a combat area. And she should not be left alone either, we know that these people can teleport whenever and wherever they want. The only safe solution I see is to have K'Theelm fly her close enough so that she can pinpoint the location, communicate that to us, then keep her at a safe distance."
    "I can keep us cloaked as we fly," K'Theelm reminded her. "We can approach without being detected."
    "Venus told us that your cloak is not perfect. And they may learn to see through it. My own feeling is that as soon as Jeneth thinks the attackers are any less than a kilometre away, you should keep her at that distance until we've made sure there is no further threat. Nobody but us should engage them directly."
    "I agree," Sailor Moon said. "We can't ask you to do more than that."
    Jeneth looked somewhat troubled, almost angry. Mars could almost believe she resented being coddled like this. But she just nodded. "If you think that's best."
    "These attacks take just a few minutes," Mars said. "We'll be hard pressed to get there before it's all over."
    "We'll have to do the best we can," Pluto said simply. "That is, assuming we decide to do anything at all."
    Mars glared at her openly. She was becoming very annoyed at how Pluto kept playing naysayer. "What do you mean?"
    "I have to question whether these attacks fall under our domain."
    "What do you mean, our domain?" Venus asked. She sounded almost as annoyed as Mars felt.
    "These criminals have some rather unusual powers, but they are in fact human. Their crimes are serious, but hardly constitute a threat against humanity. The purpose of the Sailor Senshi is to protect humanity from external forces that threaten its existence. This hardly applies."
    Mars couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Pluto, you can't expect us to do nothing just because of some technicality."
    "It's more than a technicality, it goes to the very meaning of our existence. Is it really our role to seek out human wrongdoers and bring them to justice?"
    "This is different!" Venus protested. "I fought them, remember? They were no ordinary humans, let me tell you."
    "What is ordinary? There are a great many people with paranormal powers, some families have it in their bloodline. They've always been around, but the few I've met taught me that they tend to be very secretive. That's why virtually nobody knows about them. I have seen people with the sorts of powers you describe. I assure you, they are as human as anybody else."
    "That doesn't sound like a good enough reason for not doing anything," Venus said.
    "I'm not suggesting nothing should be done," Pluto said. "I'm suggesting it's a matter for the proper authorities, not for us."
    "You mean the police?" Mars asked. "What can they do? They don't even know what they're facing. Besides, you know what they're like in this city. Anything looks just a little bit strange, they just back off and hope somebody else will take care of it, namely us. Then they go back and clean up the mess and tell everybody it was just some freak accident. They won't do anything, we're the only ones who can stop this."
    "That may be so," Pluto said. "Nevertheless, I don't think this warrants our attention. Whoever these people are, they seem to be little more than a combination of arsonist and art thief. They simply demolish shrines for their mystical energy or whatever you wish to call it. It's hardly worth putting ourselves at risk over."
    "How can you say that?" Mars snapped. "What they're doing is an abomination! The Earth has a soul just like we do, and they're ripping pieces out of it. If that doesn't fall under our domain, then what does?"
    Mars felt Venus squeeze her leg under the table. She was on the verge of turning and snapping at her too, when she realized what she was doing. She was losing control. She had been prepared to say a great deal more, but she bit it back. She just continued to glare at Pluto. Silently, she recited the mantras she would use to calm herself.
    "Pluto," Sailor Moon said. "Are you saying you won't help us?"
    "I am saying that we have no reason to get involved in this matter. I can only tell you what I think is right. Of course, I will abide by whatever decision you make."
    "I see." Her voice was quiet. She looked troubled. Mars felt so much like telling her there was no decision to make. But she already felt bad about having lost control like that. However unreasonable Pluto was being, she was raising legitimate concerns.
    "Pluto, I think you're right," Sailor Moon said with what sounded like great reluctance. "Technically, this isn't Sailor Senshi business. But I can't just sit by and do nothing. And I think Mars and Venus feel the same way."
    "Damned right," Venus said.
    "So we'll proceed as planned. But each of us has to decide whether we're going to help. I'm not going to ask anyone to take part in this if they don't think it's the right thing to do. Pluto, you've already told me what you think, and I accept that. I won't ask you to do anything further."
    "I am still opposed to this," Pluto said. "You are putting yourself at risk. But since you've framed it that way, I can hardly object. I'll contact Saturn and the others and let them know what you've said."
    "Fine, I'll contact Mercury and Jupiter. Thetan, by tomorrow I'm sure we can come up with some way for you to contact us. I can't thank you enough for helping us like this."
    "Not at all," Thetan said. "I wish we could do more than just sniff out the enemy four you."
    "No, Pluto's right. It's your job to protect Jeneth. I'd feel awful if anything happened to any of you before you went back home. Don't worry, with your help I'm sure we'll wrap this up long before you leave."
    "Perhaps we should adjourn for today," Pluto suggested. "Many of us have early morning engagements."
    *Gods, she's really talking like some damned corporate lawyer today* Mars thought. She didn't want to say anything here, but she was almost as mad at Sailor Moon as she was at Pluto. This was so typical of her, deciding not to decide.
    But once again, Pluto had raised a legitimate point. They said their goodbyes, and the Senshi left the way they had come in. They went back to the roof, across a couple of blocks over the rooftops, then back down to street level. In a secluded alley, they all transformed back. Usagi's transformation took just that extra second longer. She had managed to figure out how to transform into Super Sailor Moon instead of Eternal Sailor Moon, solving the problem of walking about with those great huge wings. Since that was no longer her natural form, it took extra concentration to shift in and out.
    "I'll contact Haruka and Michiru tomorrow," Setsuna said. "Can I assume they are free to make their own decision?"
    "Of course," Usagi said.
    "Fine, then I'll probably talk to you again tomorrow. Good night." She turned and walked out of the alley onto the street, headed towards where her car was parked.
    "That was cold," Minako muttered. "She was just full of attitude today. Couldn't get her to agree to anything. You ask me, you should have just told her she's helping us whether she likes it or not."
    "I couldn't do that," Usagi said. "She is right, you know. If Artemis hadn't heard those crows, we might never have gotten involved in this in the first place. It was just a fluke."
    "So what?" Venus protested. "Jeez, most of the enemies we fought we just stumbled onto by accident. This is no different."
    "Anyway, let's head for the car," Usagi said. They started walking towards where Usagi had parked Mamoru's car. "We won't be getting home until late, so I'll see if I can meet with Ami and Mako-chan tomorrow. They're both morning people, God help me, I'll probably have to meet them for breakfast."
    "I'm sure they'll back you up on this," Rei said. "But the others will probably follow Pluto's lead. They usually do. I just don't understand why she's being so pig-headed about this."
    "She pretty much told us why," Minako said bitterly. "She doesn't care about a few temples being demolished."
    "At least not enough to do anything about it," Rei said.
    Usagi sighed. "I guess she has her reasons."
    "Yeah," Minako said. "Problem is, we usually never find out what those reasons are until after it's all over."

End Chapter 5