Secrets
Chapter 9 - Separate Ways

    Setsuna couldn't shake the feeling that something was different. It was her first meeting with Daniel since the attack on Hikawa shrine, so perhaps it was just her. Dinner was wonderful, as usual. Daniel treated her to yet another forgotten delicacy of another long lost people, told her tales of ancient kingdoms, some of which she had known only as legend. She had stories of her own to tell, which he eagerly devoured, as much the avid listener as she had known him to be. After just a handful of meetings, they had just barely scratched the surface of their long lives.
    When they went to sit down in his living room with their drinks, she was certain something was wrong. It wasn't just her.
    "Setsuna, you haven't mentioned anything about the Ancients' latest attack," he abruptly said.
    "Latest attack? There have been none, not since the last time we met."
    "I'm talking about Hikawa shrine."
    Setsuna frowned. "Isn't that the one that burned down?"
    "So the papers have been saying," he said with a quick, dismissive gesture.
    Setsuna hadn't been planning to say anything about the incident to him. She told herself it was because she was protecting the identity of one of her fellow Sailor Senshi. A part of her had to admit she had other motives. "Do you have some reason to believe the Ancients were involved?"
    "They killed three people," Daniel said, ignoring her question. "They're not just demolishing shrines anymore. Maybe they're after bigger game. Maybe they're after human souls."
    "Daniel, why are you assuming they are responsible?" Setsuna asked, really wondering why he was drawing that conclusion. "Is there something you're not telling me?"
    "No. Quite the opposite. You knew they were involved."
    Setsuna's eyes narrowed. "What makes you think that?"
    "Does the Princess know about this?"
    Setsuna was becoming very irritated at having her questions ignored, at being interrogated. She put down her drink and fixed her old friend with a stern look. "Daniel, I think you had better explain."
    He nodded. "You're right, I owe you an explanation. It's very simple, really. You can't lie to me anymore."
    "Meaning what?"
    "Meaning, more precisely, that nobody can lie to me." He leaned back. She could sense him slipping into his role as educator. "It's something I was working on even in the time of the Silver Millennium, something that Queen Serenity took enough of an interest in to grant me my extended lifespan. It involves a certain amount of sorcery, a certain amount of close observation. With centuries of experience, I've been able to perfect the ability. It's saved my life many times, as you might imagine. My own spells are nothing to your own abilities as a Senshi, so I've had to rely on this ability to keep me out of situations where I'd be unable to defend myself."
    "Are you telling me you can read minds?" Setsuna said. She was surprised to find how fearful she was at the prospect. She was sure she could detect any psionic probe, but still...
    "No, it's not psionics," Daniel said. "After centuries of taking it for granted, I'm really at a loss to explain it. Best to think of me as a walking lie detector. As far as I know, an infallible one."
    For just a brief while, Setsuna had been entertaining the thought that he was bluffing, that this was an elaborate scheme to coax more information from her. But all the evidence indicated otherwise. She recalled him being fascinated with the idea, even before they had parted company so long ago. And he really did seem to be able to see through her deception.
    "Then I guess there's no point in denying it. Yes, the Ancients were responsible for the attack on Hikawa shrine. And for the deaths."
    "Does the Princess know about this?"
    "She knows that the ESPers they have been hunting are the same ones who burned down Hikawa shrine."
    "Is that all?"
    His tone implied that she was hiding something. Which of course, she was. The Senshi had lost three friends to the attack ... and might yet lose one of their own. "I'm sorry, I can't say more than that."
    He nodded in acceptance. "Do you plan on moving against the Ancients?"
    "If the Senshi catch those responsible for the deaths, we will ... deal with them."
    "That's not what I mean," Daniel said. "Are you going to try and find the cause of this madness? The Seed Crystal?"
    "I think you already know the answer to that."
    He regarded her with the same look of judgement she recalled from so long ago. Since the day of their reunion they had managed to set aside their disagreement over the Ancients and the merits of awakening the Seed Crystal. Now, it looked as if all that had suddenly changed.
    "Then you still wish to see them bring the Crystal Palace into being," he said.
    "Yes, that is still my hope."
    "I see." He looked aside for a moment. There was no longer any anger in his expression, just regret. When he met her gaze again, it was with a look of resolve. He had come to some decision. "Setsuna, right now you are the one person in the world with whom I can be completely honest. That means a great deal to me. So I will be honest with you now. I plan on seeking out the Princess and the other Sailor Senshi and telling them all that you have told me. Assuming I can do that, I plan on trying to convince them to find the Seed Crystal and bury it forever, and to help them do that in any way I can."
    Setsuna shook her head slowly. "Daniel, I can't let you do that."
    "Then you will have to end my life."
    Setsuna gasped. Her heart skipped a beat. What shocked her more than his statement was her own reaction to it. She found herself judging whether he was likely to be able to do as he had said. Whether she would have to do as he had suggested.
    An image came into her mind, of him lying before her, his body broken by the force of the Dead Scream.
    Setsuna came to her feet. After a moment she brought her shaking under control. She looked down at him with her burning red eyes. She spoke with a voice that was cold as the abyss. "I'm afraid I'll have to leave now."
    He nodded. Still, there was just the look of profound regret. "I'll see you out."
    I wasn't even thinking about it, Setsuna told herself over and over as she drove home. I wasn't even considering it. He must know that. That's why he was not afraid. He must surely have known that.

    *****

    "That was great, Rei-chan!" Usagi said, setting her chopsticks down. "I always look forward to the days when you do the cooking."
    "You done already?" Rei said, glancing at Usagi's empty plate. "I hope you managed to taste that, especially since you had two helpings to our one."
    "Oh, she tasted it, believe me." Mamoru assured her. "Remember the morning I put too much salt in the miso soup? Who was the first to notice?"
    "Mamo-chan, I thought you'd had an accident with the salt shaker or something. I just about choked!"
    "It tasted okay to me," Rei said. "It's amazing how refined your tastes are, seeing how you always eat like a starved wolf."
    "I do not!" Usagi insisted. "I've just got a weird metabolism, that's all."
    "Well, it must be infectious, then," Mamoru said. "Ever since you moved in people have been telling me I eat like I'm catching a train."
    "Right," Rei said. "I think I've gained weight since moving in, just watching her."
    Usagi glared at them both. "Well, tomorrow I'm doing the cooking, so you'd better be nice to me."
    "An idle threat," Rei said. "You have to eat the same thing we do, you and your refined tastebuds." Usagi displayed her refined tastebuds, prompting Rei to do likewise.
    Mamoru sighed. "Are we ready for tea?"
    "Oh, right!" Usagi said. Her face suddenly brightened. "We can use that new tea set Rei got for us! Mamo-chan, we got it at this wonderful little shop she'd never taken me to before ..." While she gave Mamoru a blow-by-blow account of today's shopping trip, Rei took the opportunity to start clearing away the dishes. The cook had cleanup detail, as per previous agreement.
    As she walked into the kitchen, Rei let her lips curl into the fond smile she had been holding back. It was hard to believe that just three short weeks ago her life had been an utter ruin, that she had been closer to despair than she had ever been before. Hard to believe it was just that recently Usagi had to hold her each night, let her cry herself to sleep, soothe her when she would wake up screaming. Where Usagi had been a soft shoulder to cry on, Mamoru had been a rock to anchor herself against. It had been his gentle insistence that had prompted Rei to enter fully into their lives. She helped them with the shopping and the chores. She went with them to dinner, to movies, to visit Usagi's family. She helped Usagi with her homework, even did some research for one of Mamoru's articles. She went with them to visit Makoto, to take turns reading to her. In every way, they made her feel as if she had always been here, as if she belonged here as much as they did.
    The only thing that kept it from being utterly perfect was the certain knowledge that one day it must end. And of course, their anxiety over their stricken friend, still lying in a coma.
    There were little things Rei did to assure herself that she was not getting too comfortable, that she was not tempted to make this a permanent arrangement. She would keep her friends informed of the plans to rebuild the shrine, assure them that she intended to move back there one day. A couple of times already she had found some excuse or other to stay at Makoto's apartment for a night, make sure the place was being maintained, ready for Makoto's return. They accepted her excuses, but it was understood this was to give the newlyweds a chance for some privacy. With those compromises in place, they had all become very happy with the arrangement. Rei just thought of herself as being in a holding pattern, sharing an interlude with her dear friends until she could land again, resume her own life.
    On Usagi's insistence, Rei deferred doing the dishes and went to make tea with the new set Usagi had been enthusing over. It was identical to the set that had been destroyed in the fire ... not the old one that was worth half the gross domestic product, but the one she would always use when her friends visited. She had given it to them as a memento, a reminder of the time they took her grief and washed it away, turned it into a happy interlude shared by the three of them.
    Over tea they talked about the shrine. After the police were done, various experts had descended on the place in hopes of salvaging as many of the priceless artifacts as they could. In the past few days Rei had spent some time helping in these efforts. She had been astonished at just how much had actually survived. Mostly things that wouldn't burn, of course. When the new shrine building was erected, it would hold many of the holy relics that the original building had. And of course it would still have its soul. The ESPers had not taken that.
    Rei had just managed to get a grumbling Usagi to crack open her books and continue writing her psych essay when the doorbell rang. Not wanting to give Usagi a chance at a distraction, Rei firmly pushed her back down into her seat and went to answer the door herself.
    Setsuna smiled warmly. "Good evening, Rei-san."
    "Good evening," Rei said. Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru stood behind Setsuna in the hallway. Rei's mind was suddenly cast back to the last time she had seen them all, at her grandfather's funeral. Still devastated by her loss, she had at least had the presence of mind to hide her feelings of resentment and betrayal, to make it clear that she was laying no blame. At least she hoped she had made that clear.
    "I'm sorry for dropping in unexpectedly like this," Setsuna continued. "There's something we need to discuss with you and the Prince and Princess. I hope we haven't caught you at a bad time."
    "No, not at all," Rei said. There was a bit more life in her voice now, as she recovered from the surprise of seeing them all there. They all looked more or less relaxed, so there was obviously no emergency. But Rei felt hints of tension. They were all nervous about something. "Please come in."
    As they all entered, Usagi came walking down the hall. She smiled as she saw who it was. "I thought I heard your voice, Setsuna-san. Hi everyone!" she waved, and the others all greeted her all at once. "What brings you out here all of a sudden?" Usagi asked.
    Rei put a hand on her shoulder. "Usagi-chan, why don't you ask them that when they've all sat down?" she said gently. "It's a bit cramped for them here."
    Usagi blushed. "Oh, right." The entranceway in front of the step up was pretty crowded for four. "Sorry, please come in." She turned around. "Mamo-chan, its Setsuna and the others! Can you put my books away?"
    "Just close them and leave them on the table," Rei called out. She crossed her arms and smiled at Usagi. "She'll be using them again just as soon as our guests have left."
    Usagi sniffed, muttered something about just trying to make the place look presentable.
    "Sounds like you're really whipping our Princess into shape," Haruka said as she stepped up into the hallway. "I was afraid married life would make her soft."
    Rei winked, finding herself responding to Haruka's friendly manner. "Not while I'm around." She had been afraid they would be awkward around her, and was relieved to see they were not.
    As Haruka walked past them to greet Mamoru, Hotaru stepped up to Rei and took her hand. "You're looking much better, Rei-san," she said softly.
    "I'm feeling a lot better," Rei said, squeezing her hand back. "These two have been taking really good care of me."
    "I think we just missed each other last week," Michiru said, putting a hand on Hotaru's shoulder and smiling at Rei. "When we went to visit Makoto-san, the nurse told us she had just been visited by a very pretty young lady with purple eyes." She winked. "I think the nurse has a crush on you."
    "I didn't know you had visited her," Rei said, having been wondering about that recently. "That was very sweet of you."
    "Let's not stand around," Usagi said, waving her guests into the living room.
    "Hi everyone," Mamoru said, interrupting his conversation with Haruka. They all waved and greeted him.
    "Rei, why don't we make some more tea?" Usagi suggested.
    "That won't be necessary," Setsuna said, raising her hand and getting everyone's attention. "We won't be long, but I do have something important to tell you." Her tone immediately lifted the level of tension in the room. Rei had been right, they were nervous about something.
    "Okay," Usagi said, looking just a bit puzzled and concerned. She put her arm around Rei and steered her to the middle seat of the couch, where Rei sat down between Usagi and Mamoru. That had become her normal place, since the days when they had still been working to ease her through her grief. Setsuna took a spot in the middle of the opposite couch, flanked by Haruka and Michiru. Hotaru took the chair at the end of the coffee table.
    Everyone was looking to Setsuna to break the silence that descended on the room. The Guardian of Time locked eyes with Rei, astonished her with the intensity of the pain that suddenly showed in her expression. "Rei, what I have to say is mostly for you. Not so long ago I tried to convince you that you should not pursue those creatures who were demolishing this city's holy sites. I said that they did not pose enough of a threat to merit our attention. I could not have been more utterly wrong. You and the others who came to harm have paid the price of my folly. I have come to beg your forgiveness."
    Something was wrong. She was hiding something, they all were. But Rei didn't have time to think about that. They still deserved an answer. "Setsuna, you did what you thought was right." She looked around at the other Senshi. "You all did. You couldn't have know what would happen. Of course I can forgive you."
    Setsuna's expression did not change. "Rei, the fact is I should have known what would happen. From the beginning I suspected who these people really were. Now I know. They are an ancient group of paranormals whose ancestors I have had contact with in the distant past. I already knew how dangerous they could be, what they were capable of."
    "Setsuna, why didn't you tell us?" Usagi asked. Her question was an innocent one, asked with the expectation that there must have been a good reason.
    "I believed that what they were taking from the holy sites was something needed for their survival, and that once they were done they would stop. I thought the least dangerous course was to let the attacks run their course, let the attackers go back from whence they came. I was wrong. Now, it appears they are seeking human souls, and we are all in danger."
    While Setsuna was addressing herself to Usagi, Rei glanced at the other Senshi. They were hiding it well, but they were all very ill at ease. Especially Hotaru. Against her will, Rei found herself recalling her strange meeting with the two members of the Order, the things they told her. A sudden feeling of dread gripped her, she was almost nauseous. She hadn't even allowed herself to think it ... Usagi would have been devastated to know she could even consider such a thing. She still refused to believe it.
    But she had to find out.
    "Setsuna, why would they suddenly need spiritual energy from holy places?" Rei asked abruptly.
    Setsuna seemed taken aback by the question. "I can only speculate. They could be using it as healing energy to treat or rejuvenate one of their number. I have known them to be able to make use of such energy in the past."
    "Would it have anything to do with the Seed Crystal?"
    Setsuna's expression did not change. But Rei heard sharp intakes of breath from the others. And Setsuna had heard it too. After a moment, Rei could see it in her face. She knew she had been caught in Rei's trap.
    "Seed Crystal?" Mamoru asked. "What's that?"
    "I think you'd better ask Setsuna," Rei said, her gaze not wavering from Setsuna's eyes. They stared at each other in silence.
    "Setsuna, I think you should tell them," Hotaru said.
    Setsuna glanced at the young girl. Her expression showed no anger, just disapproval and disappointment. She sighed. "Very well." She cast her gaze across the three people seated opposite her, but as she spoke she addressed herself mainly to Rei, as if she were the one owed an explanation. "The people who have been attacking the shrines are called the Ancients. For some years now one of them has been an acquaintance of mine. She has kept this relationship secret from her people just as I have kept it from you. Shortly after these attacks began, she informed me that a group of Ancients, including her son, was responsible for these attacks. I don't know where you heard of the Seed Crystal, but all I have been able to learn about it is that it is a magical artifact that probably dates from the time of the Silver Millennium."
    Again, there were indications of surprise from the others. It looked like they hadn't heard that part before. "So it does have to do with this crystal," Rei said.
    "Yes. By feeding this energy to the crystal, they hope to turn it to its true form, which is the Crystal Palace."
    "My God ..." Mamoru breathed. He'd obviously hit upon what Setsuna meant just as quickly as Rei had.
    Usagi leaned forward, looking over at Mamoru, frowning in puzzlement. "Crystal Palace? You don't mean ... ?"
    "Crystal Tokyo," Rei said, glaring at Setsuna. "That's what this is all about. You want them to make the Crystal Palace for us. You want it now, so that you can put Usagi on the throne."
    "What?" It sounded like this had all sunk in for Usagi too. "Setsuna, is this true?"
    "That's part of the truth," Setsuna said.
    "The part you can't hide anymore," Rei said, no longer caring how that sounded.
    Setsuna ignored her. "Princess, I have done this for a reason. If the Ancients do not bring the Palace into being now, it may never happen. And the Palace may be all we have to protect us in the coming Dark Age."
    "What dark age?" Usagi said, sounding almost frantic. "What are you talking about?"
    "Is there something else you haven't told us?" Mamoru asked. His voice was level, but cold.
    "Nothing you can't see for yourself," Setsuna answered. "This civilization is on the verge of collapse. It may happen quickly or slowly, but we are likely to be facing a new age of barbarism. The power provided by the Palace may be the only thing that will allow us to survive that age, and to build a new civilization in its wake."
    "So you've been helping the Ancients?" Rei asked, already knowing the answer, dreading it.
    "I've been trying to see that they are not interfered with."
    "Is that why you told them about the refugees living in 3-chome Shinjuku?"
    Setsuna no longer looked surprised. "You seem to be remarkably well informed, Rei-san," she said softly.
    "Oh My God!" Usagi said, her hands shooting up to cover her mouth for just a moment. "Setsuna, you didn't tell them where Jeneth lives, did you?"
    "Only the district," Setsuna said. "So that they could better block her aura vision."
    Usagi shook her head, shocked beyond words. "Setsuna, how could you?" she breathed.
    "Pluto, you had no right to do that," Mamoru said. His tone matched the cold formality of his use of her title. "You may have reasons for not helping us, but to actually aid one of our enemies is unforgivable."
    "Setsuna," Usagi said. Everyone turned to her. She looked wounded. "Setsuna ... after all this time, you still don't trust me, do you?"
    Setsuna's lip quivered. She was plainly holding back intense emotion. "Princess, I'm sorry, but I knew you would try to stop them. I couldn't-"
    "Of course I would try and stop them!" Usagi shouted. "What they're doing is wrong! It doesn't matter why they're doing it, it doesn't matter about the Palace! It's wrong!" She thrust her arm out, pointing at Hotaru, but still railing on Setsuna. "Just like not giving Hotaru the Holy Grail would have been wrong! Just like letting her *die* would have been wrong!"
    Setsuna had gotten control of herself again. Her old calm, inscrutable expression had returned. "Princess, I'm sorry but you don't understand. It's the same as before, you don't understand the ultimate risk of doing what only looks like the proper thing."
    Rei shot to her feet. "How .... dare ... you."
    Nobody spoke. Setsuna's poker face wavered. The warrior in Rei's soul smelled the signs of fear. Setsuna's mouth opened to speak. "Rei-"
    "Get up."
    After a moment, Setsuna did as Rei had ordered. Rei's voice was low and even. "How dare you talk to your Queen that way. You will apologize to her immediately."
    Setsuna held her ground. "No Mars, I will not. Not until I know she understands what needs to be done."
    Rei's arm shot straight out at her target, too fast to see. It could only have been blind instinct that allowed Setsuna to move her own arm up, to deflect the blow that would have crushed her windpipe.
    There were cries of alarm. Everybody was on their feet in an instant. Rei felt both her arms being seized.
    "Who the hell are you to tell her she doesn't understand?" Rei shouted at the top of her lungs. The only thing stopping her from following up on her attack was that she was being held by the two people in the world she could never, ever raise a hand against.
    "Rei, stop it," Usagi said as gently as she could.
    Rei ignored her. "How many times does Usagi have to save all our lives before you'll finally get it?" She shouted. "She *knows* what's right, knows it better than you ever did! You're the one who doesn't understand!"
    Setsuna stared at her with wide eyes, panting, her arm still held up in the same defensive position. It looked like she understood that her long life had very nearly come to an end right here. Rei's vision blurred. She clenched her eyes shut. No. She absolutely would not cry, not in front of that walking garbage.
    The effort of holding back her frustrated rage was too much. Her legs threatened to give out. Mamoru and Usagi eased her down onto the couch, still keeping a firm grip on her. She shook violently, refusing to give in. She would not shed one tear, not one.
    "Setsuna, I think that you had all better leave right now." Usagi's tone was firm, but calm and more than a little apologetic. How could she, Rei wondered. How could she apologize to that filth? But Rei already knew the answer. It was because she was Usagi.
    She was vaguely aware of people walking away. Then Hotaru's soft voice, right in front of her. "Usagi-"
    "Please, Hotaru. Not now." Again, firm, but imploring. After a moment, footsteps leading away again. A few more moments, and a door closing. They were gone. The ones who had killed her three loved ones were gone. The ones who had killed the man who had raised her, and the man who had made love to her, and the girl who had idolized her, they were gone now.
    She let the tears fall. The two of them held her more gently now, saying nothing. After a few minutes, she found a voice again. "Damn them," she rasped, still shaking uncontrollably. "Damn them .... damn them forever ... damn them to hell ... damn them."
    That night, Usagi had to hold her for a very long time before she could drift into a fretful sleep.

    *****

    **Should you really be doing that, Senpai?**
    Shoji hadn't heard Yui approach. His eyes were clenched tight and he was focused on pulling himself up to the bar just one more time. His arms quivered, threatened to give out. But he managed to touch his chin to the bar. He let go, allowed himself to drop down onto the mat.
    He opened his eyes, saw Yui standing in front of him, looking very worried. He grinned at her, panting, flexing his arms. **Exercise is the best thing. It hurts a little less each time.**
    **Can I see it?**
    It wouldn't look any different than it had this morning. But he indulged her, as he always did. **Sure.** He pulled his sweat-stained T- shirt over his head as he walked over to the bench that held his freeweights. He tossed the shirt across the bench and sat down. Yui bent over him and had a look at the where the arrow had hit him a month ago. There was no scarring to speak of anymore, so Shoji no longer bothered putting anything on it.
    **It still hurts?** she asked.
    **I just feel it a bit when I work out. Doesn't exactly hurt anymore.**
    **I still think you should have seen a doctor.**
    **We talked about that. The papers even said one of us was hit with an arrow. Any doctor would get suspicious if he had read that.** He pulled her close, and she wrapped her arms around him in response, tucking his head under her chin. **Besides, 'Tomi fixed me up well enough.**
    **Yeah. I'm glad she's with us, but I still feel bad about getting her in trouble.**
    Shoji would have argued that they weren't exactly in trouble anymore. At least as long as they avoided any place they were likely to meet other Ancients. Hitomi hadn't been directly involved, but being a close friend of Yui she would have been sought out, would have been asked questions, maybe under a mind probe. They would know she had given her approval to the attack. The only reason she hadn't been there is they thought it would be a walk in the park. They hadn't even been planning on taking Akechi along, but he had insisted, probably trying to make sure they didn't do anything he would consider too risky. He had proven less than reliable at watching their backs, but had come through in the end, redeemed himself by dropping that chick in the sailor suit. ** 'Tomi doesn't mind,** he said.
**Probably thinks this is fun.** He tickled her. **Isn't this fun?**
    She giggled. **Sure, it's like a permanent vacation.**
    Since she and Hitomi had perfected their different ways of obtaining the outsiders' currency, their whole lives had been a permanent vacation. But Shoji knew what she meant. They all considered this house to be their vacation spot. Shoji had obtained it a couple of years ago and only told Yui, his best friend and Yui's best friend, swearing them all to secrecy. As well as their private little vacation spot, it was their insurance. A bolthole, if they ever needed one. As it turned out, they most definitely had needed a bolthole.
    **And we can still go back to Tokyo any time we like, so it really isn't much different,** Shoji said. Their house was in the rolling hills of Chiba district, just across the bay from Tokyo, so it was a short drive. They still avoided any obvious places, just in case grandma Himiko had a really serious manhunt going.
    Yui let go of him and went to sit down on the bench beside him. She looked troubled again. **Senpai, we haven't really talked about what we're going to do next.**
    **Well, I've been giving that some thought,** Shoji said. He'd had plenty of time to think while he healed. **I figure what you said before was right. The Sailor Senshi are the ones with the ancient souls, the ones the Seed Crystal is looking for.**
    Yui frowned. **Yeah, so?**
    **So, there are supposed to be five of them. Well, maybe four now. If we found one, we can find another one.**
    **They're really strong,** Yui said, fear showing on her face and in her sending. **It was really hard trying to pull her life force out, almost like pulling it out of a temple. And their spells nearly went through my shield.**
    **We just approached them all wrong,** Shoji said. **Now that we know how strong they are, we just have to make sure we catch them by surprise. When we find another one, we wait until she's out somewhere alone, let Akechi stun her and let you teleport her somewhere we can take her life force in peace.**
    Yui shook her head. **Senpai, I really don't want to do this anymore. What do we need that stupid Palace for anyway?**
    **Haven't you been watching the news, Yui-chan?**
    She shook her head. **Trying to read English captions is a pain. That's why I watch cartoons. It doesn't matter what they're saying.**
    **There are so many wars now, CNN has live reports just about 24 hours a day and they still can't cover much of it. It's almost routine now. But this morning sure wasn't routine. They dropped a nuke in China just a few hours ago.**
    **They've used nukes before.** Which was true. Both sides in the civil war had used nuclear weapons several times already.
    **Yeah, but this one was a civilian target,** Shoji said. **A whole city. Poof, gone. More dead than at Hiroshima. The world is becoming a scary place, Yui. If it all falls apart, we may need that Palace. You've seen it in the vision, felt its power. Its probably indestructible. The ultimate fallout shelter.**
    **But grandma Himiko has the Seed Crystal.**
    Meaning she would never let them near it, Yui didn't need to add.
**She has the Seed Crystal,** Shoji said. **But we may be able to bring her the means to turn it into the Crystal Palace. She'd have to take us back into the fold for that.** And Shoji had other ideas for how to get around that little problem. But now was not the time.
    **Maybe Kaori-mama would help us if we told her we're looking for the Senshi.**
    **I doubt that,** Shoji said. He suspected that his mother had some information on the Senshi, and probably those aliens too. The way she had helped him avoid them, the way she had known about the battle at Hikawa shrine, she had to know something. He had been considering trying to contact her, but the risk was too great.
    **So are you going to talk to some of the black sheep again?** Yui asked.
    **Sort of. We might try something a bit different, this time.**
    **Like what?**
    Shoji smiled. **'Tomi has an interesting idea. Let's go talk to her.**

    *****

    For the first time in his life, Mamoru felt like he really wanted to kill somebody.
    It had all been going so well. Rei had put the catastrophe behind her, had managed to pick herself up again. It had looked like their elusive enemies were scared off, maybe for good. The only thing hanging over their heads was poor Makoto, and Usagi pretty much had everybody convinced it was just a matter of time before she was back among them. Mamoru was starting to believe that they could all put their lives back in order again.
    Then yesterday it had all fallen to pieces again. Treason had done its worst. Her worst. Mamoru really felt like he wanted to kill somebody. A certain somebody.
    But life went on, and it being his turn today he was busy in the kitchen, putting away the dishes and the dinner leftovers. Usagi and Rei were sitting in the living room. He could barely hear their murmured conversation. Usagi had stayed here with her all day today. Rei had been asleep when Mamoru got back from talking with magazine editors he was working with. When she woke up, she certainly had been in much better shape than the previous night. Usagi had worked her magic again.
    The doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Mamoru called. He wiped his hands dry on a towel hanging over the counter and went to answer the door. It was their expected guests. "Hi everyone, come on in."
    "Thanks," Minako said. She stepped in, and Ami followed, closing the door behind her. They each had one of the cats on their shoulder.
    "Mamoru, how is Rei doing?" Ami asked very quietly. She and Minako both looked worried. Usagi had already told them the basics of what had happened last night, including Rei's reaction.
    "She's a lot better now," Mamoru assured her. "Come on, I'm sure she'll be glad to see you."
    She was. Rei got a long hug from Minako, then from Ami. "You're not limping anymore," Rei observed.
    "I'm pretty much back to normal," Ami said. "My speed swimming is back up to par too." Under normal circumstances, she probably would have commented that it was time to challenge Michiru to a race again. But these were not normal circumstances.
    "Did you visit Mako-chan today?" Usagi asked.
    "Yes," Ami answered. "She's still doing fine." Which was her way of saying there was no change in her condition. "That reminds me." She opened up her purse and pulled out a pocketbook. "This is what I've been reading her. Did you want to take it when you go tomorrow?"
    "Sure." Usagi took the book and looked at the cover. Her face fell. "Oh, ick. The World Economic Crisis? Ami, we're supposed to be helping her wake up, not helping put her to sleep."
    "I think it's shock therapy," Minako said. "Mako-chan will get so sick of this book she'll sit up and tell Ami to shut up and leave her in peace."
    "It'll put *me* to sleep," Usagi muttered, looking dubiously at the book.
    "Well why don't you stick with what you were reading before?" Ami suggested. "Give her a variety."
    "That sounds like a good idea," Usagi said with more than a little relief, returning the book to Ami. Mamoru found himself smiling. Usagi was not letting any of them even contemplate the possibility of Makoto not waking up. Even Ami, with her cold logic and her knowledge of Makoto's real chances was being swept along with Usagi's unshakable faith.
    They all sat down, and the cats jumped up onto the table. Luna walked over near Rei. Everybody went silent, having taken this as a signal that it was time for the discussion they had all come here for.
    "Rei, I have to be honest with you," Luna said. "After Minako explained what Usagi had told her, I used her communicator to contact Setsuna."
    "Behind my back, no less," Minako muttered.
    The black cat turned her head and gave Minako a cross look. Minako returned it unflinchingly, but said nothing more. Luna turned back to Rei. "According to her, you tried to kill her last night."
    "I'll wager that's the only truthful statement she made," Rei said.
    "And you have nothing more to say about that?" Luna asked.
    "Only that I'm not proud of what I did. I brought myself down to her level. I convinced myself that I was justified in killing her."
    "No you didn't," Usagi said sternly. "Luna, she didn't mean to do that, she was just angry. You can't blame her, after what Setsuna did." Mamoru felt it inappropriate to add that he had felt like killing her himself.
    "Usagi, I'm not trying to judge anybody," Luna said, more gently now. "Now that you've all come of age, it's no longer my place to judge any of you. I was only trying to clear the air, to find out where we stand, so that I would know how to advise you."
    "How to advise us on what?" Ami asked.
    "On how to deal with a death vendetta between two of the Sailor Senshi."
    Nobody spoke for a few moments. Luna turned to face Rei again. "If Pluto wants to kill me, she's welcome to try," Rei said. "Otherwise, we don't have a problem."
    "I see. I'm sorry Rei, but you know I had to ask."
    "Yes, Luna, I know." She reached forward and gently smoothed down the fur on Luna's head. "As usual, you're just looking out for Usagi. How could I fault you for that?"
    "Just for the record," Artemis said, "After she talked to Setsuna, Luna described to me in great detail just what she would like to see happen to that traitorous liar. It wasn't anything I'd care to repeat among you youngsters."
    "There you go treating us like kids again," Minako said. "Probably won't be any different when we're all a thousand years old."
    "Oh, I don't know, I figure you'll have started to grow up by then."
    "Enough, you two," Luna said. "Crystal Tokyo is a long ways off, we have more immediate concerns."
    "Crystal Tokyo is what this is all about," Minako said. "Setsuna has her big plan for kick-starting her new world order. So what are we going to do about it?"
    "I think we need to find these Ancients she told us about," Usagi said.
    "Right, they need to be stopped," Minako said.
    Usagi shook her head. "No, that's not what I mean. Yes, we have to find the ones who attacked Rei, make sure they can't hurt anybody else. But we also need to see if they can help Mako-chan."
    "Help her?" Minako asked. "They're the ones who tried to kill her!"
    "Usagi has a good point," Ami said. "Even if we have to force them, the Ancients may be able to tell us something that will help Mako-chan."
    "But we have no idea where or how to look for them," Mamoru reminded her.
    "We can ask Setsuna," Minako said. She looked around at the incredulous stares she was getting. "Well whatever she's done she's still a Sailor Senshi and she still owes allegiance to the Princess. If she doesn't want to tell us what we want to know, we make her tell us whether she likes it or not."
    "You can't force somebody to tell the truth," Rei said. "Setsuna made her feelings clear last night. She doesn't trust any of us. She won't let us jeopardize her master plan. If we go to her, we'll just get her usual web of half-truths that won't lead us anywhere."
    "Then we're pretty much stuck," Minako said. "She's about our only lead."
    "Jeneth can still detect them when they attack," Usagi reminded her.
    Minako sighed. "Usagi, no offense intended to Jeneth, she's really putting everything she's got into this. They all are. But that hasn't done us any good so far, we'll always be one step behind the Ancients. No doubt we have Pluto to thank for that, she's obviously helped them somehow."
    "We may have another lead," Rei said. "The two members of the Order I met with may know more."
    "Usagi mentioned them," Ami said. "Aren't they the ones who told you about the Ancients?"
    "Yes. They mentioned the Seed Crystal, and they correctly identified the district where the Refugees are living. I couldn't tell them that, of course. I haven't contacted them since, perhaps it's time I did."
    "I've really got to wonder about them, though," Mamoru said. "I mean, mister Takada and mister Smith? Those have got to be assumed names."
    "Yes, they're using false identities," Rei said. "They definitely know about the Order, I'm quite sure they're not lying about being a part of it."
    "What do you think they could tell you?" Ami asked.
    Rei smiled, seeing the worry in Ami's face, knowing the question she was really asking. "Don't worry Ami, I'm not proposing to transform in front of them and ask to form an alliance. In fact, I'm not sure how I should approach them. We may need to give some thought to that."
    "We can't tell them about Jeneth and the others," Usagi said. She looked around at the blank stares she was getting. "Well, this Order is like an Earth defense command right? They may think the Refugees are some sort of alien invaders."
    Rei chuckled. She patted Usagi's knee. "Usagi, you're priceless. But I guess you're right, we'll have to be careful what we tell them."
    The doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Usagi said. She got up and walked to the door.
    "You've never said much about the Order," Mamoru said.
    "That's because I don't know much," Rei said. "The only member I ever knew well was my Sensei. She never told me much other than training me as a Fire Oracle and telling me the Order had many others like me around the world. After she died, I had some contact with them. I've even thought about joining, but somehow that just never happened."
    "They've asked you?" Mamoru asked.
    "A couple of times. My maternal grandmother was a member. My mother probably would have been too, but she had a weak constitution and really couldn't take the strain of doing fire readings."
    Mamoru was about to ask more, but noticed Usagi returning to the room. She was not alone. Everyone else looked up, obviously as surprised as he was. Usagi smiled. "Look who's come to visit," she said gently, her arm wrapped around her guest's shoulders.
    Hotaru stood stiffly, her eyes downcast. She looked up at them and forced a smile. "Hello."
    "Come sit down," Usagi said, trying to tug her along.
    "Usagi ..." Hotaru put a hand over Usagi's.
    Usagi stopped, seeing the stricken, imploring look in Hotaru's face. She took a step back, just holding Hotaru's hand now. "Hotaru, what's wrong?"
    "Usagi, I have no right to expect you to forgive me or to trust me, so I won't even ask." She raised a hand and shook her head, stopping Usagi's obvious intent to object. "I betrayed you, just like they did. I can't ask you to just forget that." She glanced over at the others, her eyes lingering on Rei. "I can't ask any of you to forget that." As she spoke her tone became more urgent, almost desperate. She turned back to Usagi. "I just want to help you. I don't expect it to change how you feel about me or the rest of us. Even if you still hate me I'll understand. But I want to help you hunt down the Ancients. It was wrong for me not to fight them, not to protect the people they were hurting. I'll do anything, just let me-"
    "Hush." Usagi put a finger up just a centimetre from Hotaru's lips, stopping her before she could work herself into a frenzy. She ran her hand lightly over Hotaru's straight black hair, looking so much like a mother comforting her child. "Hotaru, you didn't even need to ask. You're always welcome, you know that."
    Hotaru appeared to be searching for words, thinking she needed to say more, unable to believe it could really be that simple.
    Rei stood up, getting Hotaru's attention. She smiled and gestured to the empty seat opposite her. "Hotaru, why don't you sit down and we'll talk about what we need to do."
    Hotaru took a step toward her. "Rei-san, I-"
    "No." Rei raised a hand, shook her head. "No blame. We're all following our Princess now, that's all that matters."
    The anxiety on Hotaru's expression faded away. She just smiled, not even bothering to try and find words. At a gentle prod from Usagi, she went to sit down. Mamoru caught Usagi and Rei exchange a glance. Usagi smiled and winked at her. There was more than gratitude in her expression, there was also pride. Mamoru felt it as well. He could only imagine how difficult it was for Rei, to at least try and forgive.
    They spent a while bringing Hotaru up to speed on what they had been talking about. She was able to pass on a few more things that Setsuna had told her about the Ancients. They began to make their plans.

    *****

    It was getting rather cold to be lunching outside. Still, it was an unusually warm day for November, and Ami had never been bothered much by cold. So she sat in the deserted outdoor section of the campus cafeteria, her jacket and the noonday sun keeping her more or less comfortable. It was her normal lunch, which was to say she held the sandwich she was eating in one hand while she flipped through a textbook with her other hand. She wasn't exactly behind on her work, but she wasn't as far ahead as she normally liked to be. She had spent two days in a hospital, then three more at Jeneth's apartment, being tended by her and by Hotaru. They had fixed her up to the point where she could get around, albeit painfully, could go back to school again. Losing that many days on her accelerated program could have been disastrous, but her professors were all cutting her the slack she needed. Best of all, Ryou had been doing everything he could to nurse her back to health. Ami smiled as she thought about how grateful she should be for that. Were it not for him, Minako probably would have insisted on taking the role of nurse angel. Her heart was in the right place, but she seemed to be under a curse that corrupted any domestic chores she tried to do. She could make a whole house uninhabitable in minutes, and had done so on more than one occasion. In her public life she really played up being a walking disaster area, her fans thought it was all very cute. Of course, none of them had ever experienced Minako's health care from hell.
    Ami focused on her reading again. As usual, she finished her sandwich and washed it down with her canned drink with no conscious thought, hardly taking her eyes off her book. As usual, when somebody approached her she wasn't aware of it until they were right on top of her. The presence did not register on her until it dawned upon her that somebody had been standing nearby for about a minute. She looked up. Setsuna stood there, calmly watching her, her hands in the pockets of her long autumn coat. "May I sit down?" she asked softly. Ami averted her eyes, knowing full well what must be showing on her face. She nodded curtly. After a moment, Setsuna moved over and sat across the little round table from Ami.
    Ami marked her place in the book and closed it. She still didn't look at Setsuna. It was a few moments before she began speaking. She didn't bother trying to mask the bitterness in her voice. "To know the good is to do the good. Ever since I was old enough to understand what that meant, I believed it. I really believed that the more I knew, the more likely I would always do the right thing. I thought that wisdom and virtue were one." They sat in silence for a while. There was no response. "Setsuna, what do you want?"
    "I'd like you to tell me what you think I should do to make things right again."
    Ami met Setsuna's gaze. "Go to Usagi. All of you. Tell her that you were wrong. Tell her everything you know about our enemy. Help us fight them."
    "Do you really think that would make things right?"
    "I don't know. Maybe it won't fix anything. Maybe she'll never trust you again. You could hardly blame her. You came to her full of apologies but still weaving your same web of half-truths. You made it pretty clear you don't think she's capable of leading us. I don't know if you can ever undo that. All I know is you have to try."
    "But do you think that would make things right?"
    Ami perceived she was asking a different question now, had some idea what she was getting at. "All I know is, we need to stop the Ancients from hurting anybody else. I don't know what will happen after that. If you know more, why don't you enlighten me?" Her question was a challenge, not sarcasm.
    "I can tell you this. If you succeed in stopping the Ancients from taking any more life force, be they from holy sites or from people, you may very well prevent them from bringing the Crystal Palace into being. That may mean that we have no future in Crystal Tokyo. It may mean we have no future at all."
    "That's a lot of theorizing," Ami challenged.
    "Yes, it is. In the absence of more facts, all I can do is play the odds. If you move against the Ancients, the odds of our having a future goes down."
    Ami shook her head. "I'm sorry Setsuna, I won't play dice with people's lives. What they're doing is wrong and we have to stop it."
    Setsuna's red eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Her expression darkened. "Ami, tell me something. Do you regret having destroyed the last remnants of the Dark Kingdom? Do you regret having killed innocents to ensure our world's safety?"
    Memories long beaten down suddenly came surging back. Images of grey- skinned men and women screaming and dying at her hand. Images of a young boy, smiling in gratitude at his killers as he slowly faded away.
    Ami's hand balled up into a fist. She suppressed her shaking, started breathing evenly again. "Setsuna ... damn you."
    "Ami, I knew how much that would hurt." Her sympathetic manner did absolutely nothing to abate Ami's anger. "Hate me if you must. Just realize that you are faced with the same decision now as you were then."
    Ami shook her head. "They attacked my friend, they slaughtered her loved ones. I can't let that go unpunished."
    "Then punish them if you must. But-"
    "No," Ami said, cutting her off with a gesture. "No compromises. If we defeat the ones who attacked Rei and others come out of the woodwork to continue their dirty work, then we'll fight them too. If the only way to stop them is to kill them all and destroy this Seed Crystal of theirs then so be it. Nobody has the right to steal human souls, whatever the reason."
    Setsuna looked unmoved. "You've made your decision."
    "I have."
    After a moment Setsuna got up. "Then I'll be leaving, I'm sure you've got work to catch up on." She walked around the table and looked down at Ami. "Ami, I hope we can still stay in touch."
    "If you're in danger and have need of us, we're always ready to help. That hasn't changed."
    Setsuna shook her head. "You know that's not what I mean," she said softly.
    "Yes, I know."
    Setsuna hesitantly reached out a hand. "Ami-"
    "Setsuna, please don't touch me." Her voice was colder than any ice storm Mercury had ever unleashed. Setsuna froze, her hand just centimetres away. She looked like she had just been stabbed.
    After a moment, she stood straight again. Now there were only hints of the shock and pain her face had shown. "I see." She averted her eyes. "Goodbye, Ami."
    "Goodbye."
    Ami watched her go. Then she immersed herself in the cold hard facts of membrane physiology until it was time for her next class. She got up and told herself it really was time to start eating lunch inside. It was becoming harder to read. Obviously the cold was making her eyes water. Obviously.

    *****

    Michiru bowed yet again, and the cries of 'Encore!' went on, punctuating the thundering applause. Ever her own harshest critic, even Michiru had to acknowledge that she had outdone herself tonight. She had played with an intensity that astonished her, making the violin cry out with joy and anguish and passion. She could see it in their faces, how her own roiling, confused emotions had poured out, filling the hall, resonating with all who listened. She felt spent, felt she had nothing more to give. And she was anxious to be home, to be with her sisters. But she couldn't leave them like this. One last piece. She brought the violin back up into position. The noise level gradually dropped, and people took their seats again, watching her eagerly. She began to play.
    It was something quite different, a new piece she had only just heard at a concert some weeks ago during her tour of the Black Sea. It was by an obscure but brilliant Russian composer, and she had instantly fallen in love with the piece. Despite constant practice she was still unsure about a public performance, but decided to risk it. When she had first heard it she knew instantly what he was trying to express. He was lamenting the suffering of his people, the long, futile civil war that was ravaging his land, pitting brother against brother. Yet strung through the overbearing pathos of the piece was a strand of hope, so subtle as to be subliminal but unmistakable nonetheless.
    As Michiru played, she quickly realized her mistake. But it was too late, she couldn't stop now. Inevitably, the piece was taking on an utterly different meaning for her. It evoked the pain of a family divided by lies and betrayal, of dear friends finding themselves on the opposite sides of a bitter conflict. It expressed the anguish of having seen friends suffer, of knowing that she could have prevented it, of wondering if forgiveness and redemption could ever be possible.
    Tears flowed down her cheeks from her closed eyes. Desperately she looked inside herself, but could not find what was missing. No matter how she tried, she could not find that golden strand of hope. The pathos ruled unchallenged.
    When she was done, there was only silence. She just held her instrument at her side, stood with head bowed and eyes closed. She could not bring herself to look. She knew what she would see in their faces. In this age when they needed it more than ever, she had wanted to give them a small gift of hope. Defeated by her own despair, she had failed even that.
    After a while, applause started. Polite, restrained. Tomorrow the critics in the audience would no doubt be clutching for superlatives, declaring her encore to be the highlight of the concert. She didn't care. She bowed and left the stage quickly.
    It was a rare occasion for her to be driving herself home. As happened every now and then, she had a concert on the same day that Haruka was racing. She couldn't help worrying that Haruka's own anger and frustration would make her careless and distracted as well. But she knew there was one place Haruka would never lose her head. When sitting behind a wheel, she was always in control. Michiru smiled sadly to herself.
*Maybe if you had been watching me tonight, I could have looked in your eyes and found that golden thread of hope.*
    Michiru drove through the front gate and approached the house, wondering at how dark it looked. It was too early for everybody to be in bed yet. She parked the car in the garage, expecting to see Hotaru there to greet her. More often than not she would be there, when the security system announced that one of them had opened the gate. Maybe she had turned in early. Michiru took her violin case off the floor of the van, locked up and headed into the house.
    The hall lights were on, as usual. The living room was lit dimly by a single lamp. Setsuna was sitting on the couch, her back to Michiru. She appeared to be alone, and she didn't respond to Michiru's entry. Michiru was about to speak, but noticed Setsuna was slumped over a bit. It wasn't her habit to doze off in the living room, but it looked as if that's what she had done. Treading lightly, Michiru walked around the couch.
    Setsuna was staring into space. Her hand rested on the table beside the couch, near a half full brandy snifter. There were four open bottles of cognac on the coffee table in front of her.
    *Oh boy.*
    Setsuna finally looked at her with heavy-lidded eyes. "Welcome home." She spoke very slowly and carefully.
    "Thanks," Michiru said automatically. She put her violin case down on the table. "You okay?"
    "Fine."
    Michiru gestured at the bottles. "You must have gotten an early start."
    "I skipped dinner."
    "You ....? After four bottles, I'm surprised you're conscious."
    "Three." The hand that wasn't resting by the snifter moved slowly to point at the last bottle in line. "Help yourself."
    Michiru picked up the bottle and squinted at the label. "This looks about a hundred years old."
    "Three hundred."
    Michiru blinked. She put it back down very, very carefully. "It must be pretty valuable."
    "Worth more than this house."
    Setsuna was not given to exaggeration. So that meant ... *shit*.
    Michiru slumped down heavily into the chair behind her. "Setsuna ... would it be indelicate of me to ask what has prompted you to consume eighty million yen worth of liquor?"
    Setsuna moved her hand again, her more or less steady finger pointing at the other end of the table. There was a long, folded piece of paper there. Michiru reached over and took it, unfolded it. Her eyes had adjusted to the dim light now, so she instantly recognized Hotaru's beautiful, flowing calligraphy. "What's this?"
    "Read it and you'll see." Michiru complied.
My dearest Setsuna, Haruka and Michiru:

    Please forgive me for not speaking to you in person. But this is very difficult for me, and I think putting my words down on paper is the only way I can explain myself properly.
    Yesterday, I went to the Princess and asked her to let me help her fight the Ancients. She has accepted me, and I plan to help her in any way I can. I have done this with full knowledge of the possible consequences of my actions. I understand that we may be extinguishing the last hope of Crystal Tokyo ever being founded. The Princess understands this too, we all do. But we have made our decision to fight them, to stop them from harming any more people, whatever the cost.
    Please don't think that I hold any of you in anything less than the highest regard. Even if you help the Ancients to avoid us, I will understand that you are doing it for what you consider good reasons. I know you are fighting for our world's future. And I know that you would never, ever willingly do anything that would put the Princess in danger. I may very well be putting her in greater danger by my own actions. Yours may be the correct path, but I find that I can no longer walk that path.
    Until this matter is behind us, I hope you'll understand why I think it's best that I live elsewhere. Even if you would still have me, I don't think it would be right for me to ask you to live with me when I am unable to accept the course you have set. Today, I packed what things I really need and took them to my father's house. He has accepted the story that I simply want to visit with him for a while. I hope I can bother you have the rest of my things sent over at your convenience.
    I know you must be very disappointed with me, and you have every right to be. If you wish to talk, I am willing to listen. But please understand that I have promised the Princess to follow her lead on all things, and I will not break that promise for anything.
    Needless to say, if you ever have need of Saturn, her help is yours without question or condition.
With love and respect, your friend and sister, now and always, Tomoe Hotaru

    Michiru looked up from the letter to find Setsuna watching her. "Have you spoken with her?" Michiru asked.
    Setsuna shook her head slowly. "Found that when I got home."
    And started hitting the bottle for the first time since they had met? No, it didn't make sense. Then something else occurred to Michiru. "You mean when you got back from seeing Ami."
    "Among other things."
    "It went badly didn't it?"
    Setsuna just went back to staring into space. That pretty much answered Michiru's question. "I saw Haruka's car. Does she know?"
    Setsuna nodded. She lifted her snifter up, brought it slowly and carefully to her lips and took a good swallow from it. She resumed her former position, still as a statue. She almost made getting drunk on seventeenth century cognac look like a tempting prospect. A peerless aesthetic experience that conveniently dulled all pain. But she guessed Setsuna was not the one who needed company right now. "I think I'd better go see her." She stood and picked up her violin case. "At least don't fall asleep here, okay?" Another nod. Michiru sighed. She turned and headed for her bedroom.
    The bedroom was also dim, lit only by the reading lamp on Haruka's side of the bed. Haruka was sitting up in bed, wearing the truncated T- shirt and briefs that she favoured for bedclothes. She smiled and put a marker in the book she was reading. Michiru recognized it. One of those dreadful books on the nature of evil that Ami used to read. Haruka usually had little interest in those books, she must really be depressed. Well, at least it was better than getting dead drunk. "Welcome back," Haruka said. She got off the bed. They linked hands and kissed. "Did you talk to Setsuna?" Haruka asked.
    "Yes, though I doubt she'll remember in the morning. She showed me Hotaru's letter."
    "She was sitting there when I got home. She was already on the second bottle."
    "She's started the fourth now," Michiru said.
    Haruka shook her head. "It's a real shock, but still I'm surprised she's taking it so hard."
    Michiru sighed. "Well, at least she didn't start in with the absinthe."
    Haruka raised an eyebrow. "We still have some of that left?"
    "Haruka ..."
    "Sorry." Haruka took her violin case, took it over to the closet for her. "Did your concert go well?"
    "It will get good reviews, I'm sure."
    Haruka reached up and put the violin case in its usual place on the closet shelf. She turned and looked at Michiru again, frowning. "You played that new piece as an encore, didn't you?"
    Michiru nodded. "I don't know what I was thinking." She didn't have to say more. Haruka would know what that piece would mean for her, even if she had forgotten.
    She walked up to Michiru, kissed her again. "I'm sorry, it might have been different if I was there."
    Michiru smiled. "I suppose you won today, you always drive best when you have frustration to work off."
    "Yeah, I did." She cocked her head. "Michiru, did Setsuna look ... okay?"
    Michiru knew what she was really asking. "I think she's just going to finish her fourth bottle and sleep it off, she won't go skinny dipping in the fountain or anything." She turned around. "Can you unfasten this?"
    Haruka helped her with the dress. "I felt sort of bad leaving her, but it really looked like she wanted to be alone."
    "She does," Michiru said. She slipped out of the dress. "It's not in her nature to cry on anybody's shoulder. Until she came across us, she couldn't even tell anybody who she really was. That lasted for centuries. For her, dealing with things by herself comes as naturally as breathing."
    "I thought maybe that had changed now," Haruka said. She walked back to the bed, leaned back against the upright pillow again. "I mean, we've all been together for four years now."
    "Four years is nothing to her," Michiru reminded her. She opened a drawer and selected a night dress. She didn't feel like taking another shower today, she'd just go wash up. "From her point of view, we more or less just met her."
    "I find that hard to believe," Haruka said. "I mean, if she's so used to being alone, why is Hotaru's moving out hitting her so hard?"
    "It's not just that." Michiru said, laying her nightdress on the bead and heading for the attached bathroom. "She met Ami today. It sounds like it didn't go well."
    Haruka got up from the bed and followed her to the bathroom, evidently deciding she didn't want to be shouting across the room. "About all she told me about that was Ami has no intention of changing her mind about the Ancients. They're going to hunt them down, and to tell you the truth that's fine with me."
    Michiru switched on the bathroom light and walked over to the sink while Haruka leaned against the door jamb and crossed her arms. They continued to talk while Michiru removed her makeup and washed. "Haruka, we all want to hunt down the ones that attacked Rei, that's not the issue. Hotaru didn't leave us just to go seek revenge."
    "Yeah, I know," Haruka said. "She can't accept the price of gaining the Palace." She was silent for a moment. "So you think it's the meeting with Ami that's shook Setsuna up?"
    Michiru noted how Haruka had steered away from the topic of Hotaru. "Well, it was a pretty serious one two punch for her," she said. "Of the inner Senshi, Ami was definitely the one Setsuna was closest to. I think they were becoming better friends than either of us realized. But for all her kindness, Ami can be very uncompromising. She probably won't have anything to do with Setsuna anymore. Or with us. You know, I suspect Setsuna came home with the intention of asking Hotaru to go talk to Ami, leverage her gratitude over Hotaru's healing her."
    "God, do you think so? I couldn't see her being so ..."
    "Manipulative?" Michiru finished for her. She chuckled. "You ought to know better. Still, coming home and finding that letter must have been the last straw. All the people who looked up to her have abandoned her now."
    "I still look up to her," Haruka said, sounding a bit defensive.
    "So do I. But we look to her for guidance for more or less intellectual reasons. Hotaru was like a daughter to her, Ami like a little sister. That's a lot different."
    Haruka was silent for a while again. "I know she's made her choice and I can accept that, but do you think we could persuade Hotaru to come over here? I mean, just to talk?"
    Michiru had seen this coming. "What would we talk about?"
    "Well ... I think it's important we all know there are no bad feelings. I mean, writing a letter is all very well, but we should talk about it too."
    Michiru finished washing, took a towel and dried her face. "Haruka, if she came here now there's probably something else we'd end up talking about, something we should have talked about a long time ago, but never did."
    Haruka frowned. "What do you mean?"
    Michiru walked into the doorway and looked closely at Haruka. "I mean the time we tried to kill her."
    It took a moment for her meaning to register. "Michiru, she already knows about that. She got all her old memories back when Nephrenia reawakened Saturn."
    "Yes, but we never *talked* about it. Not in all this time. We just assumed it wasn't necessary, assumed she understood. Maybe we were wrong."
    Haruka shook her head. "You don't think it's really because of that, do you?"
    "No. But think about it. If we bring her here and one of us starts lecturing her about how the end justifies the means, where do you think that's going to lead?" Michiru could see that Haruka understood now. She turned and walked into the bedroom, stripping out of her underwear as she went. "It's either that or the business of the Holy Grail that Usagi was shouting at Setsuna about. As usual, the Princess cuts right to the bone. The fact is, if it was up to us, Hotaru wouldn't even exist now. We both know that."
    "Michiru, she was a stranger to us then."
    "She was no stranger to Small Lady or to the Princess. They were the first ones to show her love, not us." She walked over to the bed and took her nightdress. Haruka was looking very thoughtful. When she finished dressing, Michiru walked over to her and they joined in a loose embrace.
    Haruka looked intently into her eyes. "It was such a short time, with her growing at such a horrific speed. But she may have been the closest thing to a child we'll ever know. And then we just took it for granted she'd always be here."
    Michiru nodded. "And now she's gone."
    "Why did it take me this long to regret being away from her most of these past few years? We shouldn't have been watching her grow up by long distance."
    Michiru smiled. "She was always so glad to see us come back, I guess we figured that was enough."
    "After this business is over, I think we should try to make things different. For all of us."
    "Haruka, I have a feeling that when these events have played themselves out, things will be very different for all of us, whether we have the Palace or not."
    "Right. But as long as we're all still around to protect the Princess, that's the important thing." She looked away as she said it, her expression grim. Michiru could feel her tense up.
    Michiru put a finger next to Haruka's chin and very gently coaxed it around so that they were looking at each other again. "You don't need to hide it you know. I love our Princess just as desperately as you do."
    Haruka's body relaxed a bit, and her stoic expression gave way to the pain. "God, what I wouldn't give just to see her smile again."
    They embraced tightly. "I know," Michiru said softly. She kissed Haruka's ear, stroked her hair. "There's a wall between her and us again. It's killing me too." They stood like that for a while. "You ready for bed?"
    "It's a bit early, but I guess so." They climbed in and Haruka killed the light. Michiru snuggled up next to her. "You figure Setsuna's passed out yet?" Haruka asked.
    "I doubt it. I'll go check in about an hour or so. If she's out, I'll put a blanket over her."
    "In an hour? If you plan to be up in an hour, what are we doing in bed?"
    Michiru sighed. "Light of my life, sometimes you can be thick as a brick."

    *****

    Artemis sat on the ornamental stone lantern and peered in the window. It amazed him that people who were so security conscious didn't even bother closing the blinds. Michiru had given him quite a show. Of course he had to sneak into the back yard to see it, something that would have been quite difficult for anything bigger than a cat.
    Now that the lights had gone out, his feline senses came into play. After a little while his mouth spread in a sharp-toothed grin. *I'd always wondered about that.*
    Setsuna was the only one not in bed, and judging from what she had consumed she certainly wasn't going anywhere. There was nothing more to see today. Time to go deplete the local rodent population. It was really too far to go back to Minako's place each night, so he would have to just live off the land.
    Only Minako and Luna knew about this stakeout. The consensus of the group had been that there was little point in trying to seek information from Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Later on, Minako had pointed out to the two cats that there were ways of getting information, and then there were ways. Luna hadn't liked the idea of keeping this a secret. But when working your way through a web of deceit, sometimes it was necessary to play the game. They might just get lucky and find out about Setsuna's contact with the Ancients. For now, the less people who knew about this, the better.
    Artemis wiggled his way between two of the bars of the big black iron gate that gave entry to the property. As he padded down the sidewalk, a man emerged from the little walkway that separated Setsuna's property from the next. Time for the kitty-cat routine. Artemis stopped, gave the usual wary, curious cat look and meowed.
    The man looked down at him as if he had never seen a cat before. He took a couple of steps closer and crouched down. Artemis was thinking of bolting. Then the man's puzzled expression was gone, and he smiled. "Hello, Artemis. I thought that was you."
    *Don't lose it.* Artemis meowed again, keeping up the facade while he tried to figure out why he should know who this was.
    "I don't imagine you'd recognize me. We only met once or twice, and it was a very long time ago. I was called Cyrus back then, but now I go by the name of Daniel Churchland."
    A very long time ago? No, he couldn't mean ... what the hell was going on here?
    "Setsuna told me you've been working mostly with Venus. At a guess, I'd say the Princess has found out Pluto was deceiving her, and you're here to try and find out what she's really up to. Am I right?"
    Artemis just meowed again, keeping up the routine. This was hitting him too fast, he had no idea what to make of it.
    The man who called himself Daniel smiled sadly. He stood up straight again. "I understand, you have no reason to trust me. Especially since I am a very old acquaintance of Pluto's, you'd expect my loyalty to be with her. But the fact is, my old friend is taking a very dangerous course, and I'd like to help steer her from that course, whether she wishes it or not. She and I have parted ways ... once again. Before that, she confided in me, told me her plan. Put simply, she wishes the Ancients to make the Crystal Palace for her, so that she can put the Princess on the throne of a new Moon Kingdom. She means to demolish the world as we know it and bring about a new order built on the Old Powers. We need to stop her. I guess I'm here for much the same reason you are. I had a hell of a time hunting down her place. But you see, I've had to live the same lies that she has, all these centuries. I know all the tricks."
    After a moment the man shrugged, as if accepting he wouldn't be getting any response. "If you change your mind and want to talk, just look up Daniel Churchland in the Shibuya listings, you'll find my number there. Please give my warmest regards to the Princess and the Sailor Senshi. Tell them I would very much like to meet them again." He turned and walked away.
    Artemis just stood there and watched him go. It was hell, resisting the urge to go talk to the man. But it would be too risky, he just didn't know enough about him, in fact didn't know a damn thing about him other than that he had to be an acquaintance of Setsuna's. "Curiouser and curiouser," he muttered.

End Chapter 9