Secrets
Chapter 12 - The Trap

    The New Year's cards were delivered shortly after they had all had breakfast. Most of them were for Usagi and Mamoru, but a quick glance showed that Rei had quite a few as well. Soon after she had moved in, the two of them had persuaded her to send letters out to everyone she knew, informing them of her change of address. Nevertheless, they stopped off at the shrine grounds on their way to the Tsukino residence. Regular mail to the shrine was being forwarded to the apartment, but sure enough there was a bundle of New Year's cards sitting in the mailbox. As always when Rei came to the grounds, her two crows Phobos and Deimos flew over and perched on the nearest branch, greeting her noisily. As always, she would spare a moment to talk to them. Usagi remembered how overjoyed Rei had been to find them alive and well, the first time she had come here to visit the ruins. It had made what could have been an agonizing experience bearable, and had given Rei a well needed boost. The two guardian spirits didn't have much to guard now. The burned rubble of the house and the shrine building had been cleared away, in preparation for the rebuilding that was planned for the spring. The police still kept a constant guard over the site. It wasn't clear what they were guarding, but Rei had explained that for various political reasons they were very sensitive about the Hikawa shrine.
    The three of them walked back down the long stairway to the parked car, and continued on their way. Usagi was suddenly remembering the last New Years. It had been the first since she had moved in with Mamoru, but they had still spent the day at her parents' house. That was the year Usagi had hit upon the idea of inviting Makoto over for the day. She had wanted to kick herself for not having thought of it years ago. Makoto had no family to share the day with, and as she had told Usagi later she usually visited her parents' grave, then went by herself to one or more shrines to offer the traditional prayer for good luck in the coming year. But she had been happy to accept the invitation, had enjoyed spending the day with Usagi's family. It had long since become obvious to Usagi's parents that her four closest friends had become like sisters to her, so they always treated the girls just like family. It saddened Usagi that Makoto was not with them this year. Ami had said she would drop by the hospital today and wish her a happy new year. Usagi had wanted them all to go, but Ami had convinced her Makoto should only have one visitor at a time. Usagi wasn't quite sure why, but she was willing to trust Ami's judgement. Well, next year would be the beginning of the new millennium, even though Ami said that technically that wasn't until 2001. They would all have to plan something special.
    Usagi rang the doorbell, and her mother answered. "Happy New Year mom!" Usagi chimed.
    Her mother smiled warmly. "Happy New Year, kitten. Come in, everyone." She stepped back to let them come in and take off their shoes and jackets. Usagi was happy to see that Rei wasn't bothering with formalities, no longer endlessly thanking Usagi's family for the invitation each time she came here. They had managed to get her out of that habit in the past few weeks.
    Usagi shuffled into slippers. "Did the cards arrive?"
    "Yes, some time ago," her mother answered. "We haven't even unbundled them yet. A lot of yours are probably still being sent here, so we waited for you."
    Usagi's expression brightened. "Does that mean I still get to sort through them?"
    "Of course, that's still your job." Ever since she had been old enough to read them, Usagi had loved being the one to sort through the New Years cards, reading out the ones that were to the whole family.
    "You look really beautiful, Ikuko-mama," Rei said. Mamoru was quick to agree.
    Her mother blushed slightly. "Thank you." She really did look wonderful. It was her habit to wear a very colourful formal kimono on this day. But she didn't put her hair up, which was good since as far as everyone was concerned the long, wavy blue-tinted hair looked best when cascading loosely down her back. Usagi and Rei would be changing into slightly less elaborate ones when they all went out later today to visit a shrine. That was about as long as Usagi could stand wearing one of those things. On top of the discomfort, they made certain biological functions essentially impossible. Usagi had never had the nerve to ask just how her mother was able to wear one all day. It would probably have led to a lecture on enduring hardships silently.
    Usagi's mother ushered them all in to the living room. Usagi's father and her brother Shingo were already there. Shingo was reclined on the floor near the TV, it looked like they had been watching one of the splashy New Years celebrity programs. "Hi Dad, Hi Shingo!" Usagi called out, waving. "Happy New Year!" There were greetings all around. Shingo was dressed casually as were the other three younger people, but Usagi's father was in his best suit, also something he traditionally did on this day. Usagi spotted the thick bundle of cards sitting on the coffee table. "Boy, your pile is still a lot bigger than ours."
    "A lot of those are obligatory cards from my business associates," her father said.
    Usagi giggled. "Yeah, I always used to hate those, they were the boring ones with no pictures or anything."
    "Oh, I expect you'll be getting more of those each year," her father said. He glanced at Mamoru. "Your husband is very quickly establishing his credentials and becoming more well known."
    "Well, I don't know about that ..." Mamoru said.
    "Oh it's true!" Usagi cut in. "We're always running into people who have read his articles. They're always telling him how good they are." Even that Smith-san from the Order, she thought. That got her to wondering exactly where he was right now. She had told him where she would be today, but he had assured her that he would maintain a discrete distance. Other than the times he checked in with them, he had been essentially invisible, though presumably always nearby.
    "Usagi was telling me you had submitted an article to an English- language publication," her father said.
    "That's right," Mamoru said. "A friend of mine helped me with the translation and I submitted it to Foreign Affairs. I'm not too hopeful, but we'll see."
    "Nonsense," Usagi's father said, smiling warmly. "You're very highly spoken in our firm as well. I think your voice deserves to be heard in the English-speaking world as well."
    "Thank you, Kenji-papa," Mamoru said. Usagi took his arm and snuggled up to him, very pleased with herself. Her father's attitude to Mamoru had been guarded since she had formally introduced him to her family, around the time she had started college. He had expressed misgivings about their age difference right up to her wedding. But since the wedding he had warmed to her husband considerably. Her mother had spoken to her privately once, telling her how proud her father was of the way Usagi and Mamoru were helping their friend through her time of grief. That more than anything had convinced him that Usagi and her husband really were ready for whatever hardships their marriage might throw at them.
    "Shingo seems to be following your lead," her father continued. "He won another essay contest at school this month."
    "Really?" Usagi said. "That's cool!"
    "It was just within my own school," Shingo said. "No big deal, really." Despite his nonchalance, Usagi could sense the pride he felt. He had always been a better than average student, but it seemed that in his high school years something had inspired him to really excel. He was doing things like editing the school paper, the sort of thing he would have avoided like the plague in middle school. Their mother was very pleased of course, but in private she fretted over how he didn't seem to be taking much interest in girls anymore. 'Count your blessings' Usagi had countered.
    "I'd like to read your essay sometime, if that's okay," Mamoru said.
    Shingo couldn't hide how pleased he was. "Sure. I've got spare copies, I can give you one before you leave."
    "Rei," Usagi's mother said. "I know you have a lot of your own cards to go through, but would you like to help Usagi sort through ours first?"
    "Yes, I'd love to," Rei said. Usagi had been hoping her mother would suggest that. Her brilliant plot to turn them all into Rei's surrogate family was proceeding very nicely. Usagi divided the pile of cards in half, and they got to work. While the others either chatted or watched TV, they divided up the cards into piles for the people they were addressed to. Whenever one of them came across a card that was addressed to the whole family, Usagi or Rei would stop to read it aloud to everyone.
    Usagi came across a particularly striking one. The picture on the back was a very simple but elegant brush painting in black ink, the beautiful pattern suggesting rather than showing cranes flying over wind- swept grass. "Wow, this one wasn't printed, it was hand painted." She flipped it over. The New Years greeting was a poem written in beautiful calligraphy. The style was lovely, but very hard to read. No return address either. "I think it's for Shingo. Rei, can you read that?" She pointed to what appeared to be the signature.
    Rei leaned over and looked. "It's a different character than I would have thought you were supposed to use, but I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be read 'Hotaru'."
    "That's mine," Shingo said. He got up to his knees, reached over and snatched it out of Usagi's hands. "Thanks."
    Well, he really seemed to be in a hurry to read that one, Usagi thought. And now that she thought about it, he'd gotten a similar card last year, though without Rei's help Usagi hadn't been able to read the name. So that was how you pronounced it.
    Usagi blinked. *Wait a second.*
    "Aha!" She thrust her arm out, pointing at her little brother. "I've found Hotaru's secret boyfriend!"
    Shingo glared at her. He didn't really look angry, just annoyed. "A little louder onesama, I think the neighbours might have missed that."
    "Hotaru?" their mother asked. Their bewildered parents were both looking alternately at one of their children and then the other.
    "It's from Tomoe Hotaru, isn't it?" Usagi asked.
    An ironic smile. "Only took you two years to figure that out, onesama?"
    "Hotaru?" their mother repeated.
    "Two years?" Usagi cried. "You've been her boyfriend for two years and neither of you even told me?"
    He shrugged. "You never asked."
    "Hotaru?" their mother repeated.
    "You must remember Hotaru," Usagi said, turning to her suddenly very attentive parents. "She would come by to visit Chibi-usa when she was living with us here."
    "Chibi-usa?" Her mother put a finger to her chin and cast her gaze upwards, thinking. Usagi wondered if she was having trouble remembering. When Chibi-usa had left four years ago to go back to the thirtieth century, Usagi had asked her not to wipe the memory of her visit from her family's memories. Instead, they remembered her as a distant cousin who had come to live with them in Tokyo for a while. But since then their memories had been tampered with by an even more powerful spell cast by Galaxia's spirit in the form of Chibi-chibi. Those memories had been wiped, and Usagi suspected some of the memories of Chibi-usa had gone with them.
    Usagi decided she might have to jog their memories. "You know, the really pretty girl from Infinity Academy?"
    "Oh, her!" her mother said. She turned to their father. "You remember dear, the nice quiet girl who would come over and visit Usagi's cousin."
    "Yes," her father said hesitantly. "Yes, I remember her. Though I remember her being somewhat older. Almost Usagi's age in fact."
    Her mother frowned. "Yes, that's right."
    Usagi froze up. *Oops.*
    "Her health was poor back then," Shingo cut in. "She had a serious accident when she was small, and it took her a long time to recover. She was pretty thin and had to wear these warm bodysuits, it made her look taller and older. She's the same age as me."
    "Is she well now?" their mother asked. From her tone she might as well have gone ahead and asked "Is my little girl well?" Usagi blinked, her head spinning. Thirty seconds and their mother was already thinking of Hotaru as a potential daughter in law. Mothers really could be scary sometimes. Usagi was just starting to get her head around this, to realize all the little signs she had missed. The way they danced at her wedding, the casual yet familiar way they greeted each other whenever Hotaru had been over visiting Usagi.
    Shingo smiled. "Yes Mom, she's just fine."
    "So why have we never seen your young lady here?" their father asked.
    "Well, we don't exactly go out a lot," Shingo said. "She goes to a private academy, so she's even busier than I am. We've mostly just been writing letters."
    Yes, those mysterious letters, Usagi thought. Another thing she had missed. A lot of things were making more sense now. Shingo and Hotaru. Wow.
    "Well, whenever she can spare an evening we should have her over for dinner," their mother said. "I only remember her vaguely, I'd love to meet her again."
    "Oh, you'll just love her!" Usagi enthused. "She's gorgeous and brilliant and just the nicest girl you could ever meet!"
    "The name Tomoe sounds familiar," their father said.
    Usagi froze again. In her enthusiasm she had let her guard down, was letting things slip without thinking. But she had to say something.
    "Her father is a well know physicist, Kenji-papa," Rei cut in. "He was the dean of Infinity Academy before it burned down. I understand he was injured in the accident there, it's possible he took his early retirement for health reasons."
    "Oh my," Usagi's mother said. "No wonder she's going to a private academy, coming from such a distinguished family." She was looking very, very eager now. Eager to meet this great catch her son had made. Yes, mothers could definitely be scary.
    "If she was a good friend of Usagi's cousin, perhaps we have a picture of her in one of our albums," her father suggested.
    Usagi was in firm control now that Rei had given her a quick respite to collect her thoughts. Time for damage control. "I think I might have some pictures," Usagi said. "But they'll be in one of my albums. Do you want me to go have a look?"
    "Jeez, you don't need to do that right now," Shingo said.
    "If you have any, I'd like to see them," their mother said, ignoring him completely.
    "Okay, I'll go look," Usagi said, getting up.
    "I'd better go help you," Rei said. "I don't know how you manage it, but you keep that room looking like a disaster area faster than Ikuko-mama can clean it, even though you're not even here once a week."
    "Oh thanks," Usagi said, feigning resentment. "I suppose you think you can find things in my room faster than I can?"
    "Well, I did take an Archeology course in my extra year at Thomas Aquinas, I think that qualifies me to search through your closet." They both showed their tongues, and everyone laughed.
    "You two go ahead," Ikuko said. "I'll finish sorting out the cards."
    Usagi led Rei up to her room. When she had closed the door behind them, Rei gave Usagi a look that was both stern and sympathetic. "You really should be more careful what you say," she said in a low voice.
    "I know," Usagi said, also keeping her voice down. "If you hadn't covered for me I might have really blown it."
    Rei dismissed her guilt ridden self criticism with a gesture. "Never mind that. You don't have any pictures of Hotaru from when she was little, do you?"
    Usagi shook her head. "No, I've at least done that right. All the pictures I have are from when she looked at least as old as when Chibi-usa met her. Any others I gave to Setsuna."
    "Well, that should be okay, then. We should still flip through whatever album you're going to take down, just in case."
    "Right." The albums were in fact very easy to find, Rei had probably just been looking for an excuse to come make sure Usagi didn't mess up again. Usagi felt no resentment about that, just gratitude. They flipped through an early picture album, and found a few of Hotaru, usually with Chibi-usa. Many of them were really nice pictures taken by Mamoru when they had gone on a cherry blossom viewing picnic. She looked older than the thirteen years she was supposed to be at the time, but not so much so that it was impossible to think of her as being that age. And she looked so much better in the later pictures Usagi had of her, much less thin and pale. That would distract from the fact that she really didn't look five years older than in the old pictures. "I'll take these two," Usagi said, selecting two albums, an old and a new one. "When they see the more recent pictures, maybe they won't even want to look at the old ones. I guess we should go."
    She moved to get up from where she was kneeling on the carpet, but Rei took a hold of her arm, just firmly enough to get her attention. "Usagi, what's wrong?"
    Usagi was about to say that nothing was wrong, but could see from Rei's expression that wouldn't wash. She sighed. "It's been a part of my life for so long now that I don't even think about it any more. I mean, this secrecy, lying about all these things that I can't really explain to them. I don't know why, but suddenly it's been bothering me."
    "I guess it's always been hardest for you," Rei said, squeezing her arm gently. "You've got the biggest family, and even though you're living on your own you're still so close to them. It's understandable you would feel bad."
    "Rei, we never told the rest of you, but Mamo-chan and I were thinking of telling them when we went to announce our wedding day."
    Rei frowned. "You mean, tell them everything?"
    "Well, at least who Mamo-chan and I really are. We talked a long time, but eventually decided against it. I mean, back then we didn't know about this new enemy. It looked like it might be years before I needed to be Sailor Moon again, so maybe there was less point in telling them."
    "And now?" Rei asked gently.
    Usagi shook her head. "I've just had this feeling for a while now that things are going to change for all of us. I mean, things are already changing. I don't just mean what's happening in the world, though that's scary enough. I mean, there are more people who know about us now. It's not just our little secret any more. I just can't shake the feeling that there's no going back now."
    "Usagi, it's up to you, but I think you should wait a while. At least until we've settled our current business. Then you can step back and really think about it."
    Usagi smiled. "Don't worry, I would talk to you all before I decided on anything like that. And you're right, I probably should wait. To tell you the truth, as much as I've wanted to tell them the truth, I've been dreading it too. I guess I'm still a coward."
    Rei took her hand, looked intently into her eyes. She took a slow, deep breath before speaking, a sure sign that was was coming was a difficult thing for her to say. "Usagi, when you think the time is right, don't tell them with any fear of how they will feel about you. I told you that grandpa found out who I am just before he passed away. When he realized who I was, when I saw the look on his face ... that will always be the proudest moment of my life."
    "Rei-chan ..." Usagi was grateful beyond words, but more immediately she was worried about how Rei was feeling.
    But the bittersweet nostalgic look faded, to be replaced by a warm smile. "Come on Usagi, they're probably wondering what's happened to us."
    When they went back down, everybody took a long break from reading cards to gush over the pictures of Shingo's girlfriend. They all did a fine job of thoroughly embarrassing him.

    *****

    As far as Shoji was concerned, the Animal Kingdom was a glorified petting zoo, and not much of one at that. Yes, they had a few mildly exotic animals here, some monkeys and such. But mostly it was just barnyard animals. And lots and lots of cats and dogs. After all, this was also supposed to be some sort of animal shelter. From what Hitomi was telling him, the owner was an eccentric heir to a family fortune who cruised the back alleys of Tokyo in an old beat-up car, picking up abandoned kittens and puppies and such. There were signs everywhere encouraging the guests to adopt one of the poor, adorable little creatures. Since they had arrived here about three hours ago he had seen more than one family walk out of here, each kid smiling from ear to ear as they held their brand new furry little friend. But after slowly working their way through practically every pen and every kennel in the place, Yui was starting to look bored and Hitomi was starting to look tired.
    **How you hanging in there, 'Tomi?** Shoji asked.
    **Still okay,** Hitomi said. **Though I'll probably have a massive headache tomorrow.**
    **I'll have to get Shoji to give you one of his patented face massages,** Yui said. **It really helped me after that rough 'port I did last week.**
    **I might just take you up on that,** Hitomi said. She had gained the attention of the dog whose cage she had been peering into. She locked eyes with it, and as usual it froze in place while her eyes glowed. After just a couple of seconds the glow faded and the dog went to examining the other humans standing outside its cage as if nothing had happened. They worked their way down the line of cages. They looked very much like they were searching for a pet of their own, which was just what they had intended. Once or twice one of the volunteers working here had approached and politely asked whether they needed any assistance. Hitomi had just sent them away with a stare and an equally polite 'No thank you' that had permanently directed their attention elsewhere.
    They had gone back outside and were headed to a pen of white geese when Akechi's voice came in an open sending. **Hey, everyone. No panic, but I think you're being followed.**
    They all made a point of not reacting. Shoji just walked up to the pen and leaned on the fence, looking casually at the gaggle of geese.
**Yeah?**
    **Two men. Looks like one of them's headed closer. He's not in a hurry, probably just wants a closer look.**
    **To confirm who we are,** Shoji said. **So they do have pictures, just like we thought.**
    **Should I keep going?** Hitomi asked.
    **Sure,** Shoji said. **Even if he figures out you're up to something, at this point that's fine with us.** Hitomi came up beside him. He could feel her putting out the warm, comforting emanations that would attract the animals to her. After a few moments, the milling geese were all congregating around their end of the pen. One of them looked at Hitomi. Then another. Then another. With herding or flocking animals, she could get a group thing going. Pretty soon they were all looking at her. The kids watching from the other side of the pen seemed very interested in this curious phenomenon. So did the man walking slowly by, who was actually doing a fairly good job of just giving them the odd inconspicuous glance. He avoided eye contact completely. **Akechi, that him?**
    **Yeah.**
    **Okay, when 'Tomi's done with this batch, we'll call it quits. Just follow us out the exit.**
    **Sounds good.**
    The glow in Hitomi's eyes brightened for a moment. Then it faded, and the geese started milling about at random again. The kids on the other side of the fence looked a little glassy-eyed, but soon recovered. Residual effects. That man had not reacted at all. Presumably he hadn't been looking at Hitomi at the wrong time, so he was clueless about what had just gone down. Shoji waited for the man to put some distance between them before slowly leading the two girls to the exit. He didn't see or feel Akechi moving up behind them, nor had he expected to.
    **They'll probably follow us out.** Akechi said.
    **That's fine, we'll just duck into that alley like we planned.**
    They did exactly that. Without a word, Akechi materialized behind them. Shoji stepped behind Yui and put his hands on her shoulders. Akechi and Hitomi each took one of her hands. In a flash they were in their living room. Yui kept hold of her white-haired friend's hand. **You okay, 'Tomi?**
    **Yeah. I think I'll go soak in the tub for a bit.** There was a sheen of sweat on her face that Shoji had noticed developing as the day progressed. She really had been pushing herself.
    **So you figure you can switch them on and then back off again?** Shoji asked her.
    **Yes, at least most of them. You figure we should go tonight?**
    **Nah, they'll probably be watching that place for weeks. Tomorrow should be fine.**
    **Senpai, why does she need to turn them off again?** Yui asked.
    Shoji chuckled. **Well, assuming the Sailor Senshi take the bait, we want at least one of them left alive. That's the whole point, right?**
    **Oh yeah, right.** She grinned. **If that Mars bitch is there, can I take her?**
    **Whatever you want, Yui-chan.**

    *****

    Ami sighed contentedly, a sound that became a gentle moan as Ryou's fingers dug deeper into the muscles of her shoulders. "Mmm. That feels wonderful."
    "Hard day at work, ma'am?" Ryou asked. It was a running joke, talking to her like a customer at a health spa while he did this for her.
    "Mmm Hmmm. Had to help move an anesthetized patient off his bed for surgery. He must have weighed a hundred and twenty kilos at least." She spoke in a slow, soft voice, Ryou's attentions almost coaxing her into a dreamlike state.
    "Must have been pretty fat. Was the surgeon able to find what he was looking for?"
    "Not funny," Ami said, her tone implying that it didn't matter. "That's a serious problem during surgery on overweight people. One of the reasons I tell you to watch your weight."
    "Oh, I don't have a problem there, since all I have to eat is my own cooking."
    "Your cooking is fine," Ami said, her mind only half on the conversation. She was lying on her stomach, the side of her head lying on a pillow, her arms stretched out over her. She was on their futon, that being about the only appropriate place in her little apartment for a massage. She was covered by nothing but a light summer blanket over her hips, the space heater nearby keeping it warm enough that she wouldn't get a chill. Her injured muscles had fully recovered, so these massages were no longer necessary for any therapeutic purpose. But Ryou had continued doing this whenever they had the chance, which was fine by her. Besides, more often than not this led to her returning the favour, which would get them both in the mood for something more intimate, a trick she had learned well from her previous lover. Ryou had originally moved in to play nursemaid for her, but it had become a more or less permanent arrangement, he using his old place mostly for storage. Neither of them minded the cramped quarters, but they had already started looking for a slightly bigger place that would be more or less convenient for both of them.
    The sound of her communicator chiming brought Ami fully awake in an instant. Without being prompted Ryou moved off his position astride her back, letting her slide over and grab the wrist communicator from off her pile of neatly folded clothes sitting on the tatami mats nearby. She flipped up the cover, an act that would signal the sender that she was ready to receive. The white dot in the centre of the dial was flashing, meaning the signal was from Usagi's communicator. Mars and Saturn's tiny sigils on the dial were already glowing. Venus' sigil started glowing almost immediately. That had no doubt been what Usagi had been waiting for before speaking. "Everyone, the Ancients have been spotted walking towards the Animal Kingdom," Came Usagi's anxious, tinny voice. "They'll be there in less than ten minutes."
    "On my way," Ami said. She winked at Ryou. "We'll have to continue this later, duty calls." She got to her feet, dressed in naught but her panties. Dress first? No, just be sure to remember her state of undress before she transformed back. Minako had forgotten that once, probably would have walked out of that alley in her birthday suit if the others had not commented that she must have been in the shower when the call came. Ami willed her transformation pen straight into her hand. She had found that with practice she didn't need to reach behind her. She lifted it over her head, and the flash of shimmering clear blue light came, sending the rush of power up and down her body. In an instant she had transformed into Sailor Mercury.
    Ryou stood beside her now. They joined hands. "Wish me good hunting," Mercury said.
    "Good hunting," he said absently. His wistful smile broadened. "It's been a while, I'd almost forgotten what you looked like." There was a hint of something else in his eye. So, he really liked her in this outfit. On impulse, she leaned forward and kissed him. Her body responded with alarming speed, almost overwhelming her. She broke it off quickly. It looked like they were both surprised by her reaction. She smiled sheepishly, her breathing a little heavier now. "Sorry, my senses are heightened when I'm Mercury."
    "Really?" It sounded like he found that fact very interesting.
    She pointed at him. "Don't even think about it. I'd end up either drowning or freezing us." As Minako had found out once, she neglected to add.
    "We can talk about it when you get back." His expression sobered. "Ami, I have a feeling what you're doing tonight won't be easy. Be careful."
    She knew better than to press him for details. His precognition only worked so far. "I will." She jumped lightly to the little window and opened it. She leapt straight out and onto the opposite roof. Since yesterday they had half expected to be called to the Animal Kingdom, so she had the route will mapped out. It was in their immediate neighbourhood, so there was no point going to the shrine to teleport, the Senshi would simply converge directly on the Animal Kingdom. Hotaru was staying at Makoto's nearby apartment, after Ami had identified herself to the landlord as Makoto's medical proxy and had introduced Hotaru as a friend of hers. They had decided on that yesterday, after two of Saori's plainclothesmen had positively identified three of the people captured on Umino's security camera. They had not attacked anyone, but had appeared to be searching the grounds. Presumably for their next target. The police had promptly lost them, probably because they teleported. The small part of Ami's mind that was not devoted to manoeuvring over the rooftops and walls reviewed the plan. Now that the enemy had been spotted in the same place again, they were presumably going after their target. By now the police had evacuated the few people who normally spent the night on the grounds. In their place, Takada-san would be waiting for the Ancients. Supposedly he had a very nasty surprise for them.
    When she was within a couple of blocks, she went down to street level and opened her communicator. "This is Mercury. I'm nearby."
    "They've gone over the front gate," Usagi said. She was keeping her voice down. "We're all at the back gate."
    "On my way." She ran down the narrow streets, making her way around to the back of the grounds before approaching. It was a narrow alleyway that ran along the brick wall that marked the back of the property. Sailor Moon, Mars, Venus and Saturn were already there. So were the refugees. They had dropped their glamours, so they were not in their human form. They had warned Takada that they dropped their glamours when going into combat to conserve energy. So everyone involved in this operation were briefed that they would be working in collaboration with Sailor Senshi, and also with extraterrestrials. Ami could only guess how Saori had explained that one. But apparently she had, for she was standing there with two of her fellow officers. At least she presumed they were her officers, for they were without the shades worn by Smith and the three Suits who waited with him nearby. She had to wonder how those four could see, the alleyway was dark enough as it was. The gate in the wall was open, but there was a building right in front of it, blocking their view of the grounds. Presumably this was a service entrance.
    Nobody spoke. They all were looking towards Saori, who appeared to be waiting to hear something on her headset. Waiting for word that the trap had been set. Ami glanced at the various people congregated here. Naturally, everyone was tense and anxious. If the police agents or the agents from the Order felt unnerved by the presence of Senshi or E.T's, they were just working with it.
    There was a flash of red light from the grounds and a *whump* like a great fire suddenly being ignited. Saori put up her hand. *Wait for it.* After three of Ami's quick heartbeats, Saori nodded. "Now!" They poured through the gate, by previous agreement following Sailor Moon's lead. She led them around the left side of the building and into the open ground beyond. *Just follow the red light,* Takada had said. When they had all cleared the building and fanned out, Ami could see what he meant. The great flaming red pentagram blazing three meters over the ground lit up the whole area with a ruddy glow.
    The four Ancients were directly underneath it. Great sparks like lightning snaked up and down between the shimmering spherical barrier they had around themselves and the glowing pentagram that bore down on them, making sounds like downed high tension cables. Ami got the impression that barrier was the only thing keeping the Pentagram from falling down on them and consuming them. Takada had said there was some chance it would do just that even before they had a chance to put up any kind of barrier. Since they were still there, it meant that Takada's spell was performing its secondary function: preventing them from moving or teleporting out of it. That meant they were moving straight into plan B.
    The Senshi, Thetan and K'theelm formed a rough arc centred on the trapped Ancients. On their right, Smith and his three companions were levelling big revolvers at the ESPers. That surprised Ami. They had all seen the disastrous outcome when two of Saori's agents had confronted the Ancients. One of them would have died, had it not been for Saturn's speedy intervention. She had to presume they only meant to use the guns if the PK barrier went down. Saori and her two agents were holding back, but to the left of the Senshi four uniformed officers were running over to take up position. Ami spared a closer look at the bulky weapons they had put to their shoulders. Saori had mentioned them. Tasers, apparently powered up ones that might even disrupt the PK barrier as a last resort. Ami shifted her gaze back to the enemy. Their eyes were all glowing, she could even see the ones behind the shaded glasses of the white haired girl. It was hard to read their expressions at this distance and under the crackling light show, about all she could tell was that they were all crouched down, ready for action. Takada said that his spell would make any attacks of theirs backfire on them. Either they knew that or it was taking all their power just to keep up their shield.
    Takada also walked up to take his position in line, right beside Sailor Moon. "I'm going to explain the situation to you," he called out to the Ancients. He threw three objects out towards them, they landed on the ground under the pentagram but just outside the PK barrier. Three metal rings, each about fifteen centimetres across. "You have two choices. First choice, you levitate those rings inside your barrier, I know you're capable. They're power suppressors. You put them on and I activate them. When your barrier collapses, my spell will descend and bind you. It won't be pleasant but you'll live to tell about it. Second choice, we stand here and wait until my spell starts to run out of steam. When it does, I give the signal for everybody here to hit your barrier with everything they've got, on a count of three. I have no idea what would be left of you after that and I don't really care. I'd suggest you make up your minds quickly."
    The white haired girl drew herself up to full height, as if taking in a deep breath. She shouted, her voice having a resonating quality as if it were being amplified somehow or as if it were accompanied by an echoing voice in Ami's head.
    "Action!"
    Everybody tensed up. Something was wrong. After a moment, Ami realized what it was. The sounds of the animals in the pens around them were growing louder. Ami had already been vaguely aware of their making a ruckus, no doubt alarmed by what looked like a fire in their midst. Now it sounded like they were being driven mad.
    A fence to their left shattered, making everybody look. A stampede of howling monsters came bearing down on them.
    Within seconds, all the pens, cages, and buildings around them were being reduced to splinters, shattered by the screaming monstrosities that were breaking out of them. Some ran on all fours, others flew, a few even ran on hind legs. They seemed to be growing and spouting more tusks, claws and fangs even as they converged on the humans. They all had glowing red eyes full of raw animal hatred. Their cries and roars were deafening.
    Ami spotted one of Smith's men take a bead on one of the charging monsters. Good God, conventional weapons were all but useless against creatures like this, didn't they even know that much? The gun went off, with not as much flash or noise as Ami would have expected. The humpbacked doglike monster barely seemed to notice the impact on its wide chest, but a split second later bluewhite lightning whipped out of the impact point, turning in on the creature and enveloping it. The thing screamed piteously and fell to the ground, convulsing horribly. So they were using very unconventional ordinance.
    Everyone fired at once, bullets and Senshi attacks and taser wires going out in all directions. Ami took two precious seconds to scan in all directions, looking for an opening. There was none, they were surrounded. Without an escape route, putting up a screen of fog would be worse than useless. Instead she shot at the most immediate threat, calling up her Aqua Rhapsody and sending shimmering blue streams of supercooled gas at a flock of great screeching birds that were bearing down on them. Most of them plummeted to the ground, their frozen bodies shattering just in front of her. The ones at the edge of the area effect also fluttered to the ground. The ones that moved flopped about, crying in agony. The red glow was gone from their eyes, and they were shrinking before Ami's eyes, changing. The live ones were changing into what looked like geese.
    There was a pause after the first volley, like Ami everyone was probably hoping the wholesale slaughter would discourage the others, send them running. But their attack seemed to just enrage the creatures all the more, they were only delayed as long as it took to leap around and over their fallen brethren. Ami sent another Aqua Rhapsody splashing over a group of misshapen sabre-toothed cats running straight for her at alarming speed. Their bodies also fell and shattered. Some who had half succeeded in leaping away were rolling on the ground mewling, their heaving breaths sending out clouds of steams as their half frozen lungs laboured. Scanning for new threats, she noticed that the creatures were giving the glowing pentagram a wide berth. Ironically, Takada's spell was protecting the Ancients. She had noticed a sound like colossal hooves becoming louder, and could feel it like an earthquake now. A massive unicorn three meters at the shoulder came galloping around the pentagram, crying with a sound like metal being shredded, foaming at the mouth, tearing up the ground with its great hooves. At sight of the beleaguered humans it lowered its head and charged. Ami sent a tightly focused Aqua Rhapsody straight into it. The colossus tumbled and fell, rolling on the ground. It's frost-whitened body twisted and gyrated, kicking up great streams of dirt with its wild thrashing. The smaller animals behind it gave it a wide berth, it would take them a few moments to move around the colossus going through its noisy death throes. Ami made use of the momentary respite to look back and check on her companions. She looked at Sailor Moon just in time to see the rod in her hand grow to its full three meter length. The Teal. She meant to unleash the Silver Moon Crystal Power, release the animals from their berserker rage. But she didn't notice the thing like a black dire-wolf leaping at her from behind. Ami screamed, already knowing it was too late.
    A glaive went streaking through the air, its long blade sinking into the creature's side.
    Its forelegs stumbled and its massive head slammed into Sailor Moon's back. She went down and the dire-wolf fell on top of her. Ami ran as fast as she could. An even faster white and violet streak shot out in front of her. Saturn grabbed the bobbing shaft of her Silence Glaive, twisted it and cut across the soft underbelly, gutting the animal. Half a second later Ami drove a flying kick into the flailing creature's neck, crushing its windpipe. She leaped over its head, grabbed the scruff of its neck and with a cry of effort pulled the still quivering carcass off Sailor Moon's still form. Ami knelt next to her Princess, probing gently with her hands. She willed her visor into existence, and the translucent field wrapped around her eyes. In two heartbeats she had her diagnosis. Nothing broken, no major bleeding, no internal injuries. Brain waves showing wakefulness, just dazed from the impact. Ami wanted just to stand over her and protect her. But it was the rest of them who needed Sailor Moon's protection, needed her power. Ami grabbed her and pulled her roughly into a sitting position. "Usagi!" she shouted. "Usagi, you've got to try it again!"
    Usagi's eyes were starting to focus again. "Okay ... will ... in a minute."
    Ami was about to yell that they didn't have a minute when she heard Saturn shout a warning. What could easily have been the dire-wolf's mate was charging them. Two disembowelled things like great wildcats lay at Saturn's feet, indicating what had been keeping her busy in the past few seconds. The second dire-wolf leapt. Saturn drove the butt of her glaive into the ground and angled the blade up. The blade and half the shaft disappeared down the creature's throat, stopping it dead. Remarkably, Saturn stood her ground. One of her hands was practically in its mouth. She wrenched what little of the shaft she still had to play with out of the furrow it had cut in the earth, and with a savage cry yanked her weapon out of the thing's great gaping maw, twisting and cutting as she pulled. It dropped with a horrible gurgling sound, vomiting a great stream of dark blood. Saturn turned to them, her wild, violet eyes locking on Sailor Moon. "I'll guard your back, Princess. Please help us." She faced away from them again, her bloodstained glaive held at the ready. Usagi picked up her teal, which without her will directed to it had reverted to its short length. Ami helped her to her feet, all the while trying to scan for threats. Her eyes caught moments of horror. Venus delivering a spin kick to a razor-fanged dog, snapping its neck. Mars leaping to avoid two creatures who had jumped right through the sheet of flame she had thrown at them, both of them now burning brightly from head to tail and not seeming to care. Saori rapid-firing her gun into the open maw of an injured wildcat trying to limp to one of Saori's fallen comrades. Thetan closing a great wolf in a bearhug, crushing its ribcage. K'Theelm flying one of the policemen out of the grounds, great screeching birds clawing at his shimmering force shield. Three misshapen wolves fighting over the shredded carcass of another policeman. Her companions were all caught up in their own battles, unable to see that they were all being separated, being lost in a sea of monsters alive and dead.
    Sailor Moon was preparing to unleash her power again, the Teal growing in her hands. Two knuckle-walking baboons came loping at her and Ami, now the most obvious targets in the area. From another direction a pack of something like hyenas came running. They would be here before Sailor Moon was ready, and Ami couldn't get them both. She ran straight out between the two groups of monsters, screaming as she went. It was the worst tactical position but the one most likely to divert their attention from Sailor Moon. It worked all too well. The baboons leaped into the air with a speed that belied their bulk, the hyenas angled in on her. She just kept running. The analytical part of her mind told her she was checkmated, dead no matter what she did.
    Three globes of light came streaking down like meteors. Gold, blue and silver hit the baboons, the hyenas and a charging sabretooth she hadn't noticed, all within a second. They disintegrated, and Ami was assaulted by the shockwaves of the explosions all around her. Coming under artillery fire must be something like this, she thought.
    Uranus, Neptune and Pluto landed all around her, seeming to come out of nowhere. Without a word they each faced a different direction and called out their attacks. Earth Shaking, Deep Submerge and Dead Scream went shooting out as three more globes of energy streaking along the ground, cutting great swaths through the swarming monsters. Scores of them screamed and died. Uranus and Neptune immediately ran towards Venus and Mars respectively. Ami saw Uranus run straight at a great horned bull that Venus was trying to dance around. She launched another Earth Shaking at point blank range, literally blowing it in half.
    Pluto came up beside Ami. "The Princess will free these creatures from their madness," she said, her eyes scanning their surroundings, taking in the scene of horror with implacable calm. Ami turned to look back at Sailor Moon. True to her word, Saturn had guarded her back. She stood atop a pile of felled monsters, her glaive held high. Ami shuddered. This was how Rei must have seen Saturn in her dream years ago, seen her in her guise as the Senshi of Destruction.
    The pentagram and the Ancients were gone. Takada's spell must have reached its limit, letting its four captives make good their escape.
    Sailor Moon's long Teal glowed, and a penumbra of silvery light shimmered around her. She threw back her head and called out the words of healing. "Silver Moon Crystal Power!" Light exploded around her. She disappeared behind a dazzling sphere of silvery light that raced out at them, swallowing everything in its path. Ami flinched as it came at her, but she hardly felt it, except maybe as a warm tingling that washed over her body. Inside the swelling sphere of power it was light as day. It flowed around and through everything in its path. The monsters touched by it all glowed a brilliant silver, then suddenly they weren't monsters anymore. They were just cats and dogs and other animals, blinking and looking around as if wondering what had been going on.
    In a matter of seconds it was over. The ruins of the Animal Kingdom were dark again, lit only by the moon and the stars and a few small fires. The cacophony of howling was gone, to be replaced by nothing but the sound of Ami's own laboured breathing, the blood rushing through her head. The stench of blood and scorched flesh was overpowering.
    There were voices now. More police and more Suits. Some of the former held assault rifles with flashlights attached. Somewhere in Ami's tangled memory of events was a recollection of having heard automatic weapons fire. Saori's backup trying to fight their way towards their trapped companions. Right now it was the flashlights on their weapons they were using, as they searched among the slaughtered creatures for their wounded. Which was what Ami should have been doing. "Pluto, I should go see if anybody needs my help."
    "I understand. I'll stay with the Princess, she shouldn't be alone."
    She was right. Ami had seen the look in Usagi's eyes, the pain of her empathy for the innocent creatures driven to madness by the Ancients' horrible powers. She would be devastated by what had happened, what she had seen. Ami forced herself to focus on the task at hand. Her visor was still in place, she used it to scan her surroundings. Almost immediately she spotted life signs, something alive underneath one of the huge, misshapen corpses. She ran over there. It was a Suit, half visible under the furry bulk that pinned him. Ami put her arms under the massive corpse and rolled it off the man.
    Smith grinned up at her. "Thanks. Damn, that thing was heavy."
    "Are you hurt?" Ami asked. Her scans were already showing him to be in fairly good shape. Then she saw his arm, and the great gash dribbling more blood into the already soaked earth around it.
    "Damn thing got a good swipe at me before it dropped."
    "I'll take care of it," Ami said. She tore off the already shredded sleeve of his suit jacket and shirt, both exposing the wound and providing her with material for a tourniquet. First priority was to at least slow the bleeding until he could get better treatment. She went to work quickly but methodically.
    "What exactly was that anyway?" Smith asked.
    "You mean the light? Sailor Moon did that. It's ... a sort of exorcism."
    "I thought that was Mars' specialty."
    "Well, Sailor Moon's power is more like a purification."
    Smith grunted as Ami tightened the tourniquet. "Sure purified the hell out of this place."
    "Let's get you up a bit." Ami helped him into a sitting position, leaning back on the dead creature for lack of anything better, laying his arm across it. The bleeding was just a very slow trickle now. She looked around. The police were helping other wounded, it looked like some of them had first aid kits. They were all busy, but they should be working their way over here soon. A few flakes of snow were beginning to fall. She turned back to Smith. "You've lost a lot of blood. Not enough to go into shock I don't think, but I'll stay with you until other help arrives."
    "Thanks. Your people all okay?"
    "Yes." She had seen all the Senshi alive and well in the few seconds that Sailor Moon's power had lit up the area.
    "Really went to hell in a handbasket, didn't it?"
    Ami had no idea what to say. She focused on something concrete. "What sort of bullets do those guns of yours use?"
    "That's classified." He suddenly started laughing, but it soon turned into a cough and a wince. "Oh, that hurt. Sorry, automatic reaction. Fact is, I have no idea how they work, we just get these little charms from our Tibet branch. I'm not sure if head office even tells them why we want them exactly zero point four four inches in diameter. We just fit them into shell casings."
    Ami looked at the .44 Magnum revolver lying on the ground nearby. "Magic and technology," she said softly.
    "Ever heard of Clarke's Law?" Smith asked.
    Ami looked at him in surprise. After a moment, they were both smiling. "Yes, I have."
    "Take my word for it, he's right. It's all just different ways of getting the job done." His attention was diverted by something behind Ami. She turned to see Takada walking over. He was cleaning off the blade of his long katana with a cloth. The Masamune that Rei had talked about. He opened up his overcoat and carefully lowered the blade into a black scabbard that hung under the coat. He crouched down next to Smith and Ami. "I'm happy to see you two alive and well."
    "You done a head count?" Smith asked.
    Takada nodded. "Suzuki and Watanabe are dead."
    "I'm sorry. We got separated."
    Takada shook his head. "My fault, we walked right into this one. Should have known better."
    "And Saori's people?"
    "Four dead. Another one ... probably won't make it."
    That got Ami's attention. "What sort of treatment is he getting?"
    "Saturn and Jeneth are with him."
    "I should probably go see if I can help." She didn't have their healing powers, but her sensors might come in handy.
    "Go ahead," Takada said. "Everyone else has been accounted for and treated. They're over there."
    Ami walked in the direction Takada had pointed. She noticed Pluto walking towards her. For a moment Ami was angry, wondering why Pluto wasn't with the Princess like she said. She spotted Sailor Moon, and suddenly she understood. Tuxedo Mask was holding her, speaking softly to her. Yes, of course he would be here, he would have sensed her mortal danger. But not even he had been able to slip in unannounced, not through the hellish stampede the Ancients had instigated. By the time he had fought his way anywhere near her it would have been all over.
    Pluto and Mercury both stopped and regarded one another. "Why did you come?" Ami asked.
    "We heard Usagi's broadcast signal," Pluto said. "We guessed you had set a trap for the Ancients."
    Ami wondered whether Usagi's forgetting to exclude them from the signal had been accidental or deliberate. She suspected even Usagi couldn't be sure. At any rate, there was another matter Ami felt compelled to address. She fixed her gaze firmly on Pluto as she spoke. "Thank you for saving my life."
    "You're welcome."
    "I need to go see if I can help Saturn."
    "Of course."
    Ami continued on her way, walking quickly. Pluto followed at a respectful difference. Ami hated what she was feeling, the contempt, the coldness. It felt dirty, unwholesome. Regardless of what had happened, it felt utterly wrong. She put that in the back of her mind as she began to assess the scene she approached. Saturn and Jeneth knelt over their patient, a young policeman sprawled on the ground. Ami's heart sank. There was far too much blood. The wounds exposed by the tears in the uniform had been healed just sufficiently to staunch the bleeding. Saturn's touch was now directed to the man's heart. The blue aura around her hands was barely visible, her power was being directed deep inside the man now. The same could be said for Jeneth, her black-nailed hands cradling the man's head, little dim blue auras at her fingertips suggesting at the power she was projecting. They had attracted a small audience with their life and death struggle. Uranus and Venus stood to one side. Two of the officers with assault rifles stood on the other, providing some extra light with their flashlights. One of them had claw marks across the front of his uniform, exposing the flak jacket underneath. They were both spattered in blood. It looked like Usagi's purification had come just on time to save them.
    But not on time to save their companion. Ami retracted her visor, it had already told her that the man was beyond hope.
    Jeneth withdrew her hands and leaned back. "I'm sorry, we were too late," she said softly.
    Saturn shook her head stiffly, still intent on her task. Ami could now see more clearly the signs of the effort she was straining under. She was sweating, shaking slightly, her whole body tense. "No. His heart is still beating."
    "There's almost nothing for it to pump," Jeneth said. "If you withdraw your power, it will stop."
    "But I can feel it," Saturn insisted. "I can feel it beating."
    Jeneth regarded her for just a moment. Then she got up and walked over to the man's other side. She crouched down and very gently laid her hands on Saturn's arms. "Saturn. Saturn, it's over."
    "No."
    "Saturn!" The young girl started, surprised at the sharp tone and at having her arms tightly clamped. Her concentration broken, the glow around her hands faded. "You have to let him go." Jeneth stood up, drawing Saturn with her. She stepped over the body between them, all the while keeping a firm grip on Saturn's arms and a firm lock on her eyes. "You have to let this one go." Saturn was still shaking, her breaths coming ragged, almost as sobs. It looked like she was trying very hard not to cry. Her eyes darted furtively back down to the man she had just seen die, but settled back on Jeneth's alien face. Her expression was harder to read without her glamour, but Ami could still see the signs of her compassion. In just the couple of times the two healers had met, they had taken to each other almost immediately. Jeneth wasn't just advising a younger healer, she was consoling a friend.
    After a few moments, Saturn calmed down a bit. She swallowed and nodded. "Okay. Okay." Ami could hardly believe this was the same death- dealer she had just seen reduce a stampede of screaming monsters to a pile of carcasses. Now she was just Hotaru again. She lowered her hands, and Jeneth let them go. She turned to face the two armed men who still stood watching the little tableau with stoic expressions. "I ... I'm sorry. He's dead."
    The one whose uniform was shredded just nodded. "Thank you." Whether for telling him or for trying to save his companion's life was not clear. They both seemed determined to maintain an air of grim authority, but Ami could see how spooked they were. Like they had suddenly found themselves on another planet. "You've all helped us a great deal," he continued. He suddenly glared at Uranus. "Though *some* of you could stand to work on your fire control."
    Uranus returned his stare coldly, her arms crossed. "I missed you by a full meter, just as I intended. It was the two oversized pit bulls coming behind you that I was aiming at." The man didn't seem inclined to respond. He turned and walked away, his companion following close behind. They headed to where Ami could see Saori speaking with another of the armed officers, no doubt to tell her she had lost a fifth man.
    Ami noticed that Venus looked particularly distressed. She walked over to her, which got her attention. "Venus, are you okay?"
    "It was just like the first time I fought them, when they made those birds attack me. I should have seen it, I should have seen why they lured us here."
    Ami shook her head. "Nobody could have guessed they could do this on such a scale."
    "Could they do this to people as well?" Uranus asked. Ami caught the tone of the question. She was looking for possible threats, wondering if they could trust the people around them.
    "Maybe," Ami said. "I suspect they had to do something to these animals ahead of time, that's why they were here so long yesterday."
    "Poor things," Venus said. "I know we didn't have any choice but-"
    "Don't you touch me!"
    They all turned to where Saturn's shout had come from, just a couple of meters away. Pluto had just taken a step back, still holding up the hand Saturn had just slapped away, but no longer reaching out. "Look at what they've done!" Saturn said, gesturing wildly around her. "Look at it! Those people are monsters! How could you have helped them? How could you possibly have made friends with them?" She shook with rage. Jeneth still stood behind her, but was not inclined to intervene on a matter between Avatars.
    Pluto's calm did not waver. "The people who did this are no friends to anybody, not any more. They have been renounced by their own family. The one who leads them has been renounced by his own mother, my friend."
    "You told us that already," Saturn said, glaring up at the taller Senshi. "What difference does that make?"
    "The difference is now I don't just suspect it, I know it to be true," Pluto said. "Kaori has told me everything."
    "So your friend finally told you her name?" Saturn asked bitterly.
    "I've always know it. But a few days ago we decided to fully confide in each other."
    "What the hell does that mean?" Venus asked, coming up beside Ami. "My God, you haven't told them our identities have you?"
    "No," Pluto said, her gaze shifting to Venus. "Only mine, which she already knew."
    "Oh fine." Venus turned to look at Uranus. "A piece of friendly advice for you and Neptune. Usagi thinks these ESPers are looking to take the soul of one of us, which is the best theory I've heard. Pluto seems to have developed a death wish, I'd suggest you move out of her house before they come calling." Unspoken was the assumption that Pluto's soul being taken was of no concern to her.
    "Kaori will tell nothing to her son," Pluto said sternly. "I told you, she has renounced him utterly. In fact, she wants to help us hunt him down."
    "Fine," Venus said. "Did she tell you where he's hiding out?"
    "She doesn't know."
    "Then maybe you should tell her thanks but no thanks. We'll just send her his head if she wants something to bury."
    "How does she think she can help us?" Ami asked. She could tell that Venus was speaking just out of anger, not really thinking about what she was saying. She discretely reached out and took Venus' hand.
    "Many of the Ancients have the ability to detect the presence of their own at some distance. When their Matriarch hears that the rogues have taken more lives, it is likely she will order a manhunt. They may have more success than we would." It looked like she wanted to say more, but instead she turned her attention to the two people who had just approached.
    Takada bowed. "My apologies for the interruption. I am Takada, director of the Japan office of the Hidden branch of the Order. This is my colleague, agent Saori Nagashima, whom I believe is known to all of you." So she really is part of the order now, Ami thought. "I believe I have the pleasure of addressing Sailor Pluto and Sailor Uranus," he continued, looking in turn at each of the Senshi he had correctly identified.
    "That's correct," Pluto said. Her tone and expression implied she was wondering why she should be talking to him at all.
    "Takada-san and Saori-san have been helping us track down the rogue Ancients," Ami explained to Pluto. "They are part of the same order Mars worked under as a child."
    "I see," Pluto said. She turned to Takada. "I believe you are acquainted with a woman among the Ancients named Megumi."
    "And her son Akira, yes," Takada said. "Regretfully, I have not seen either in some time."
    Ami suspected Pluto was probing him, confirming he was who he claimed. "Perhaps we can change that," Pluto said. "I've spoken with Megumi's sister Kaori. She and I would like to arrange for us to hunt down the rogues together."
    "So I heard you mention," Takada said. "I'd very much like to talk about that."
    "Yes, I think we should," Pluto said.
    "You'll have to pardon me," Saori suddenly said. She turned and walked over to intercept a man who was walking towards the group. Ami recognized him as one of the officers who had been waiting in the alley behind the grounds. One of the survivors. Either Saori really wanted to talk with him or she didn't want him to hear what the others were talking about. Ami also noticed Mars and Neptune approaching from a different direction. She suspected they had been helping with the wounded.
    "This is probably not the best place," Takada said. "I've called for the cleanup crew, they will start arriving in a few minutes."
    "Cleanup crew?" Uranus asked.
    "An emergency response unit," Takada said. "We've worked quite closely with them in the past. Not too many people know about this unit, it was created by the city government soon after the Starlight Tower incident. They specialize in discrete cleanup and disposal at incident sites requiring such attention. My colleague Saori will stay and coordinate their operations with the police, but I think the rest of us should leave here as soon as possible."
    "You're talking about doing a coverup," Venus said.
    "Put plainly, yes."
    "I agree, we should go," Mars said. "I want to get the Princess out of here right away." There was an edge of urgency in her tone, but the sadness Ami saw convinced her it wasn't necessarily Usagi's physical safety she was concerned about.
    "I'll inform Thetan and K'Theelm," Jeneth said. "If you'll pardon me."
    "My thanks," Takada said to her. "More than one of the men here owe their lives to you." She nodded and left them.
    Now that there was no longer an immediate emergency and they were about to go, something else occurred to Ami. "I've been hearing some animal cries," Ami said.
    "Some were hurt before the Princess could purify them," Neptune said. "I've put down a few that were beyond help." Ami frowned at Neptune's cool tone. She hoped that she would never get to a point where she could even pretend not to be upset over taking a life. But she knew that wasn't fair. She knew Neptune well enough to realize how this would bother her, she was just very good at hiding it.
    "Our cleanup crew will be able to bring in resources to take care of the rest," Takada said. "Heaven knows the poor creatures have suffered enough already." He turned to Ami. "Mercury, I wonder if I can ask you to tell Pluto how I can be contacted."
    "Of course," Ami said.
    "I'll contact you as soon as I have any news of the Ancients," Pluto assured him.
    "Thank you. Then, if you'll all excuse me." He turned and left.
    Ami's attention was caught by Saturn walking closer. She had been quiet since her run in with Pluto. Ami could see that she had calmed down. But she looked no less upset. "Setsuna?"
    Pluto looked a bit surprised at Saturn's gentle tone. "Yes?"
    "I'm sorry about what I said. What happened here wasn't your fault, I know that."
    Pluto smiled. "It's very nice of you to try and tell me that. But we both know otherwise. All this blood is on my hands."
    "No, it's not."
    They all turned to where Usagi's voice had come from, behind Sailor Pluto. Sailor Moon closed the short distance between them, Tuxedo Mask walking beside her with his arm and cape held around her shoulders. Where the eyes behind his mask were cold as steel, Sailor Moon regarded Pluto with compassion. "I know you could never be friends with anybody who could do ... this." She waved at the scene of devastation around them. "You and your friend were betrayed, it's not your fault."
    "We allowed ourselves to be betrayed," Pluto said. "I can't expect forgiveness for the suffering I've caused." She looked at Mars while she said that part. "All I can do now is what I should have done in the first place." Without warning she sank down to one knee and bowed. "I am yours to command, my Queen. Though I have no right to ask, will you accept me back into your service?" Ami saw that Uranus and Neptune had done the same. All three of them knelt in identical positions of solemn respect, awaiting the judgement of their Queen.
    "Pluto ..." Sailor Moon stepped closer to the kneeling Senshi, Tuxedo Mask stepping aside and letting her go. She bent and reached out her hand. Hesitantly, Pluto took it and allowed herself to be drawn back up. Sailor Moon embraced her, closing her eyes and resting her head against the taller woman's shoulder. "You didn't even need to ask." She stepped back just enough to be able to look up into the astonished Senshi's eyes and smile. Uranus and Neptune were still kneeling, but now they were looking up at their queen with wonder and what Ami would describe as desperation. Without another word, Sailor Moon gave them the thing they so desperately needed. She walked over to Uranus, drew her up and embraced her, then did likewise for Neptune. Their faces showed their joy and gratitude more openly than Pluto's had. Uranus seemed on the verge of tears. Nobody spoke, nobody wanted to interrupt this act of absolution. Ami suddenly felt ashamed of having treated Pluto so coldly, ashamed of ever having thought that Pluto's love for their Princess was any less than her own. Theirs had been an error in judgement, that could always be forgiven.
    Sailor Moon looked around the assembled Senshi and frowned. "Where are Jeneth and the others?"
    "They're probably gone by now," Venus said. "They weren't hurt," she said to answer her unspoken question. "Takada-san told us we should probably be leaving as well, he has people coming in to clean up here."
    "Pluto told me somebody had been hurt."
    Nobody spoke for a moment. Ami realized nobody had told her yet. And it was dark, she probably just hadn't noticed the body lying on the ground a short distance away. Ami released Venus' hand, stepped closer to Sailor Moon. "Usagi, I spoke with Takada-san. Agents Suzuki and Watanabe were killed."
    Usagi gasped. "Oh no ..." Ami recalled she had only met the two agents once at the Order's stately office, where they had been introduced as two of the men who would be shadowing the Senshi. Like Takada and Smith, she suspected they were working under assumed names. She found herself wondering if they had families, and if so whether they would ever know the true story about how the two men had died.
    "Saori lost five of the men she brought with her," Ami continued.
    Sailor Moon looked shocked beyond words. Tuxedo Mask approached and put an arm around her shoulders again. "Usako, we should do as Takada asked and leave," he said very softly. "There's nothing more we can do here."
    After a moment, she nodded. "Okay. I'd like to see Saori first, make sure she's okay."
    "She's just over there," Mars said, pointing to where Saori appeared to be talking with Takada and the officer who she had moved over to speak with some minutes earlier. The snow was coming down more heavily now, it was a bit hard to see. Sailor Moon started walking in that direction, but hesitated. Either she was unsure whether to interrupt what they were doing, or was unsure what to say to Saori. But Saori glanced over towards them as if she had been keeping an eye on the Senshi, and she noticed Sailor Moon looking at her. She said something to her two companions and walked briskly towards Sailor Moon and the others. As she approached, Ami could see the anxiety in her expression. Not grief over her fallen comrades, something else had shaken her.
    Sailor Moon stepped up to her and took her hand. "Saori, I'm so sorry."
    "Thank you," Saori said. She accepted Usagi's sympathy with grace, but there was obviously something on her mind, something that could actually supersede the grief over her fallen comrades. "I've just had some disturbing news. When we called for backup to help secure the area for the cleanup crew, we found out there is none available. All available units have been called out to seal the airports and to seal off the cities with international airports, including Tokyo."
    "What?" More than one of them had involuntarily exclaimed all at once.
    "A pandemic has broken out in the Indian subcontinent. Thousands have died in just a few hours. It's almost certainly one of the biological weapons various factions there have been threatening to use. But it's gotten out of control. It may have even spread beyond the subcontinent."
    "My God ..." Ami breathed. Just this morning she had heard a news item about people falling sick in the Punjab, but it had been little more than a footnote in the day's events. And now in just half a day it had come to this. Her heart beat faster in response to the cold facts that the analytical part of her mind was calmly feeding her. Even if the virus acted that quickly, if it was so widespread then it could easily have worked its way here by now. It might already be too late.
    "There are two things I can tell you that aren't generally known," Saori continued. "The first is that we are as certain as we can be that the pandemic has not reached here."
    "How can you be sure?" Ami asked. "Without full knowledge of the virus or how it was spread, you can't possibly know."
    "That's the other thing," Saori said. "The director told me the Order and other agencies do have full knowledge of the virus. It is something that was developed in secret by the former Rising Wind. Somebody there must have gotten their hands on it."
    Ami's stomach lurched at mention of Rising Wind. The company under whose guise Gwendolyn Ingolffson had plotted to put the world under her domination. The Drakon from an alternate reality that the Sailor Senshi had defeated years ago. Lafarge, the man who had come to their aid from that same alternate reality, had warned them of the pandemic she had put in place as her final option. Her doomsday weapon. He thought he had destroyed all traces of it. If he was wrong, then ... "Saori, do you know if anybody has been studying this virus properly?"
    "Apparently we have," Saori said. "But there's still no cure or vaccine. All we can do is isolate it and let it run its course."
    Run its course. Even if it was restricted to the Indian subcontinent, that was a billion people. More. Ami felt sick. She barely noticed Venus coming up beside her, barely registered the fact that they were holding hands again.
    "We're not going to be advertising these facts," Saori said. "For obvious reasons we don't want everybody on the continent knowing that the Japan islands are a close, safe haven. But you can at least try and assure your families that they are safe. You should all go as soon as you can." Just in case we're wrong, Ami could almost hear her saying. Just in case all our days are numbered.
    "Thank you," Sailor Moon said quietly. She looked to be in shock.
    "I have to go now," Saori said. She reached out and squeezed Sailor Moon's arm. "It'll be okay." She turned and left.
    Mars came up to Sailor Moon's other side and took her hand. "Come on, let's go see your mom and dad. They'll feel a lot better if you're there."
    "Okay," Sailor Moon said. Her eyes were vacant, like she was barely aware of what was going on. Ami thought about something Rei had told her long ago, about how Usagi seemed to have an infinite capacity for empathy, for feeling the suffering of others.
    Ami shuddered, wondering what it could be like to die a billion deaths.
    "Take care, everyone," Tuxedo Mask said. He and Mars led Sailor Moon away towards the back entrance to the grounds.
    "Mercury."
    Ami turned to see Pluto standing nearby. "I'm going to tell Kaori about what's happened here," she said. "Beyond the immediate need of hunting down the rogues, I think we all need to talk seriously about how we're going to protect our people."
    "You're talking about the palace," Venus said just an instant after Ami also realized what Pluto was talking about. "I don't believe it. You still think you can save the world with that damned thing, don't you?"
    "Venus," Ami said sharply. She continued more gently. "Minako, she's right. We have to plan for the worst. And the palace may be more than just a bolthole for us. You felt its power just like I did, even when it was under siege. With that power behind her, Usagi may be able to do things we can barely imagine."
    "I don't buy it," Venus said. "She can already perform miracles, what more do you expect this palace to do for us?"
    "The Seed Crystal is an artifact from the time of the Silver Millennium," Pluto said. "It may contain within it knowledge as well as power."
    "So power is knowledge," Venus misquoted. "Why don't we just rifle through Gwen's old files while we're at it, find out what else we can unleash on the world."
    "Venus, we should at least talk about it," Ami said. She couldn't understand why her friend was so upset. It was like she knew something the others didn't. "But now isn't the time. We're all tired, we should go home."
    "Especially you, Venus," Uranus said. "You were almost dropping from exhaustion, when the Princess saved us."
    Venus' expression softened. "I guess you're right. Thanks for your help. Though you didn't need to be so messy about it." Ami remembered the vision of a monster being hit by the World Shaking, splitting apart in a shower of blood and uncoiling intestines.
    "I thought you weren't shooting at it because it had a shield."
    "I wasn't shooting because I'd probably have passed out if I did."
    "I'm sorry if what I did disturbed you," Uranus said. There was no irony in her manner.
    Venus smiled sadly. "After seeing what was left of the ones Saturn put down, I don't think anything would disturb me." She suddenly seemed to become aware of Saturn's presence, who had been standing quietly slightly apart from them. "Um ..."
    "It was to protect the Princess," the young girl said simply. "I would do anything to protect her."
    "We all would," Neptune said, coming behind her and putting a hand lightly on her shoulder. Saturn turned and smiled at her.
    "Saturn," Pluto said. She stepped closer. "We are all walking the same path now, the path that you had the courage to choose when I did not. I would ..." For the first time Ami could remember, she seemed to be at a loss for words. After a moment she just sighed. "Hotaru, we've missed you. Won't you come home?"
    Saturn smiled shyly. "I'd like that."
    Ami saw it was time to leave them. She squeezed Venus' hand and turned to her. "We should be going."
    "Right. Luna and Artemis will be getting worried, I should go let them know what's happened."
    "Take care, you two," Neptune said, waving.
    "Neptune," Ami said. "It's been a long time since we've gone for a swim."
    Her look of surprised slowly turned into a warm smile. "Yes, I've gotten out of practice. It's just no fun without you."
    "You're right, it's just not the same. I've only been doing laps because of doctor's orders."
    "Are you back up to speed?"
    "Why don't you come find out? Tomorrow at the usual time?"
    "I'll look forward to it."
    As they were walking away arm in arm, Ami caught Venus giving her a look. "What?"
    Venus leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Ami, you're a treasure."
    Ami remembered to wait until she was home before transforming. She and Ryou picked up where they had left off, she telling him about what happened while he worked the tension out of her tired muscles. He had been watching news of the pandemic on TV, but she asked him to turn it off. He correctly judged her mood. When she was relaxed, he just wrapped her in his arms and let her fall asleep.

    *****

    No wonder cops don't have a sense of humour, Minako thought. If I had to do this for a living, I think I'd be crabby too.
    She looked at her reflection in the window of the building she was staking out, a glass skyscraper that towered over her. She made a face. The disguise pen was making her look like a bookish student. Ugly glasses and everything. She doodled on the sketchpad she held angled in front of her.
    Artemis peeked out of the bag hung on her shoulder. "I hope nobody gets a good look at that, they'd figure out you're no architecture student."
    "Hey, I'm getting warmed up, that's all. Just you wait, I'm going to do a rendering of that building over there that will blow your socks off."
    "I don't wear socks. And that building's ugly."
    "Then I'll just have to bring out its inner beauty."
    "Well its inner beauty will have to stay hidden for now, I see our target approaching. Three o'clock."
    "Got it." She folded the sketchbook closed and casually moved away from the target area. She didn't think Setsuna had any way of seeing through her disguise pen's illusion, but there was no point in taking chances. There was no need to follow her at this point. If she was in this part of town, Minako knew exactly where she would be going. Her favourite club, on the upper floors of this very skyscraper.
    Five minutes later, Minako entered the building. She looked rather different now. Her jeans and warm jacket had been replaced by a very dark business suit with knee-length skirt and black heels. The tote bag had transformed into a black case, something like what a doctor might carry. The final touch was the shaded glasses. The Interpol badge she flashed looked very convincing. The way Artemis had described it, everyone around her saw what she wanted them to see. However it worked, it was good enough to get her through.
    They were alone on the elevator as it took them up. "This isn't going to work," came Artemis' muffled voice.
    Minako hit the bag. "Shut up," she hissed. Not likely they had microphones in the elevators, but you never know.
    The hostess at the restaurant was also suitably impressed with her badge. "How can I help you?" she asked.
    "You have a Meiou Setsuna dining here, is that not correct?"
    "Yes, she just arrived."
    "I have been assigned to watch her, for her own safety. She is aware of the situation, but it is a matter of some delicacy. She does not wish to upset her dining companion."
    "I'm sorry, this is very irregular ..."
    *Yeah, no kidding.* "Miss, this country is under emergency conditions." She leaned closer. "I would like to be able to report that I have received your full cooperation."
    "Uh ..."
    "A table where I can see them clearly, but far enough to be discrete."
    After a moment, the hostess looked at her registry. "Right this way."
    Takada is right, Minako thought. People in this country really will cooperate with anyone who flashes a badge. She was shown to her table. Minako pocketed the shades as she walked. Their job was done. True to her word, the hostess had given her a table where she could watch from a discrete distance. She just looked once to confirm her target's location. Within seconds a waiter came and she ordered whatever sounded cheapest. Probably will cost more than her monthly food budget, she thought. Goodbye faithful credit card, it was nice knowing you.
    She heard a soft pop as Artemis forced open the bag sitting on the floor next to her. "This is the stupidest thing I ever heard of," he whispered.
    "Shut up," Minako whispered back. "It worked, didn't it?"
    "She's probably already called the *real* police," he said.
    "No she hasn't. I intimidated her completely. Now shut up and get back in there."
    A few minutes later, the hostess led a woman to Setsuna's booth. Minako allowed herself just a little smile. *Kaori, I presume.*
    The lunch went on for over an hour. When it looked like Kaori was about to leave, Minako flagged down a waiter, gave him her credit card and told him she was in a hurry. She got it back in less than thirty seconds, just in time to follow Kaori out. They shared an elevator down to the parkade. Minako had no idea whether these people could read minds. She ran through a few of her tunes in her head as they rode the elevator. Minako walked over to her motorcycle. She was only licensed to ride a low- power bike, hopefully this woman didn't have a Porsche or anything. After a quick look around she morphed back to her student guise. She put her bag into one of the bike's saddlebags. Artemis popped his head up. "You still got her?"
    "Yeah, I saw her go into a car. She'll be heading by here any moment." She picked up the helmet and put it on.
    "So she did get here by car. Does that mean she can't teleport?"
    "Maybe. It sounds like they've all got different powers. Ami was talking to Setsuna about it this morning, she told me a bit about it. Some of them can only teleport from places where it's easier for some reason." She saw Kaori's car approaching. She strode the motorcycle and fired up the engine. They exited the building right after Kaori. Parking cost a fortune, she barely had enough. Traffic was fairly congested, even though the ban on movement out of the city had been lifted this morning. That was a mixed blessing. It made following rather tricky, but it did mean she didn't need to push the little bike beyond its limit. That is, until they got out onto the highway. She doggedly stuck with her prey, going much faster than the bike was really intended to go. Somehow, it held together. Kaori led her along country roads up into the hills. When she pulled her car in to the gate of a walled property Minako just kept driving by, making note of the location.
    Minako grinned. *Now I know where you live. If you screw us around, you'll be damned sorry.*
    They were almost out of gas by the time they pulled into the little station. After fuelling up, Minako decided to let her poor bike cool down for a bit. She bought a warm drink at a vending machine and went to sit on a safety barrier by the road near the station, where she could look out over the city below, barely visible through the haze. She opened up her jacket a bit. It was a little warmer today, last night's snow had mostly melted already.
    Artemis poked his head out of the bag she had brought with her. "That was the bike ride from hell. I thought we were goners."
    "Well, we got what we came for. We got our insurance."
    "I'm going to feel damned silly if this Kaori person invites all the Senshi to her house for dinner tomorrow."
    Minako took a gulp of coffee and milk from her can. "Well if she's prepared to do that then why are she and Setsuna still playing spies? We would never have found them if Hotaru hadn't told us about this club Setsuna likes." Minako had figured that must be the place she would have her meetings with her Ancient contact, and that they would be meeting the day after the disastrous battle with the alleged rogues. She had been right on both counts.
    "I don't know. I'd like to think Pluto and her friend are coming clean."
    "I'd like to think so too." She didn't need to add that the jury was still out on that one. Otherwise they wouldn't be here. Now that she could relax from the hunt, her mind drifted to another matter. "I really wonder where this Cyrus character fits in, though. You still think he's for real?"
    "He definitely knows stuff that only one of us could have told him. Stuff that none of us would just go tell any Tom, Dick or Harry."
    "Well, he's definitely in the Shibuya listing, like he said. I'm tempted to give him a call. But I think I'll give Setsuna the benefit of the doubt before I go looking for the skeletons in her basement. Give her friends a chance to show us an act of good faith, show us they're really on our side."
    "How long?"
    "Couple of days." She finished off her coffee. "Come on, let's hit the road."

    *****

    Shoji and Yui were sitting up in bed, watching the little television. It was almost never used, normally the only television they watched was rented movies on the big television in the living room, and even then only movies that were subtitled for Yui's benefit. He'd always bristled at the fact that Japan had never developed a closed captioning system like the Americans had. Even CNN International was only captioned in English, which didn't do Yui much good. So normally they never watched the news.
    But it wasn't every day you could sit down and watch a billion people die.
    **Senpai, how are they getting these pictures?** Yui asked.
    **From reporters trapped in India or Pakistan when all the borders were closed. They send the pictures out by satellite.** They were grainy, unsteady pictures taken at high magnification from high-flying helicopters. In the worst hit areas the hospitals had long since been swamped. The streets were lined with bodies.
    **Are they all going to die?**
    **Probably. They think some areas might have been isolated on time. But there's so many people moving around over there, it's probably hopeless.**
    The pictures were interrupted by a press conference. The little guy in the suit reading from his paper looked like he'd just gotten all his grey hairs in the past twenty-four hours. Maybe he had. Shoji's jaw dropped open. "By the First Ancestor..."
    Yui looked up at him. **Senpai, what's wrong?** She must have felt him speak, through the vibration in his chest.
    **You remember I told you about that city in China that the plague spread to?**
    **Yeah?**
    **They just dropped nukes on it an hour ago.**
    She just looked at him. **Does that mean the plague won't spread here?**
    **Maybe.**
    **Is there going to be a big war?**
    **Maybe.**
    They continued watching, and Shoji kept up a running commentary. There were rumours of outbreaks all over the place, but it was becoming harder and harder to sort fact from fiction. More and more countries were closing their borders or imposing news blackouts or both. There were rumours of a secret meeting of world leaders where they were performing triage on the world's nations, deciding which areas could be saved and planning to forcibly isolate the rest. There were rumours that the whole thing had been planned as a colossal act of genocide. As the day wore on there were more rumours and less facts.
    Eventually, Shoji and seen enough. **Yui, we need to talk to my mother.**
    She frowned. **Why?**
    **She knows one of the Senshi, I'm sure of it. Knows where to find her. That's the only way she could have known about those aliens and known about Hikawa shrine.**
    **You still think finding one will help us?**
    **Yeah, they're the key to getting the palace, I'm sure of it. And we're going to need the palace, maybe real soon. At least one of them has powers like we've never seen before.** After they had teleported away from the Animal Kingdom, Hitomi had watched the rest of the battle through the eyes of one of her possessed doves. Right up to the point where that big ball of light swept over the place and broke the animals' berserker state.
**We're running out of time and running out of options.**
    **But if we go there, your mother will take us to the Matriarch.** She didn't need to say why that wasn't an option for them.
    **Not if we go at the right time.**
    **What do you mean?**
    **Come on, let's go see Akechi and Hitomi and I'll tell you all about it.**
    They were in the living room, watching the same program Shoji and Yui had been. Hitomi looked scared of what she was watching. They were holding hands, something Shoji had never seen them do before. They looked a little awkward and self-conscious. **What's up, Shoji?** Akechi asked.
    Shoji told them his plan. It didn't take much convincing.
    Just a little before sunset, they all put on their jackets and gathered in the big living room again. They took their usual positions around Yui. **Beam us down,** Shoji said. It was a running joke that had worn thin a long time ago, but Shoji thought the time was right to resurrect it.
    A moment later they were standing in a tiny clearing in woods full of thick underbrush. The rock they had teleported onto was covered with dirt and dry leaves. There was no way to tell it was there if you didn't know. Years ago he and Yui had taken a flagstone intended for one of the gardens, taken it and buried it here. That was back when she could only 'port between two of the specially picked and treated stones. It was one of their secret places. She had teleported them in and out of here so many times she could do it in her sleep now.
    Shoji pointed. **That way.**
    **I remember,** Yui said. She applied her power and the underbrush parted before them. Even with that to help it was not easy going. They had to twist and turn a lot, avoiding the thickest bushes. But before the sun could set, they had worked their way to where they could just glimpse a bigger clearing ahead. Shoji turned, and exchanged a nod with Akechi. He moved aside and Akechi made his way through the rest of the underbrush to the clearing beyond. Then he vanished.
    The three of them crouched down and waited. Just at sunset, Shoji could just glimpse another figure moving into the clearing. In the darkness and through the brush it was impossible to see well, but Shoji knew who it would be.
    Shoji didn't even see it happen. Akechi's sending was barely detectible, so worried was he about being overheard. **It's done.** The three of them made their way through the bush and emerged into the clearing.
    Shoji's mother lay peacefully in front of the shrine to the First Ancestor, the one she prayed alone at every day right at sunset. She lay right where Akechi had dropped her. Shoji smiled. "Sorry Mom. This won't hurt a bit." Yui hadn't heard him of course, but she didn't need to. Without prompting she moved over and extracted Kaori's life force. She held it out for Shoji and Hitomi to examine. They both looked for a good long time. "You done?" Shoji asked Hitomi.
    "Yeah."
    Shoji nodded, and Yui carefully restored Kaori's life energy to her. With the little kaleidoscope of lights gone, the clearing was lit only by the fading twilight..
    **Well?** Shoji asked.
    **She's going to be meeting with Sailor Moon tomorrow at noon. Some really posh place in Roppongi. She's been there before, I have a clear picture of the building and the room they're going to be in. She hasn't told anyone, not even the Matriarch.**
    **Matches with what I got. Akechi, can you make sure she's out until tomorrow afternoon?**
    **Yeah, that should be no problem.**
    **We can't leave her here,** Yui said. **She'll freeze.**
    **I had no intention of doing that,** Shoji said. **Can you 'port us directly to that onsen we like around here?**
    **I can do it, but it'll be harder from here, the shrine has a disruption field around it. The sensitives in the house will probably detect us leaving.**
    **Now that we're done here, it doesn't matter,** Shoji said.
    **Why the hot springs?** Hitomi asked.
    **We're going to book a room for a couple of nights, put up a Do Not Disturb sign and let Mom sleep it off there. By the time she wakes up, we'll have gotten what we want.**
    Yui looked worried. **Senpai, they won't like what we've done. Even if we've got the Senshi, they won't let us near the Seed Crystal.**
    Shoji grinned. **I've got an idea, but we'll talk about it later.**

End Chapter 12