Sailor Moon V * The Dark Adventures of the Sailor Scouts Episode Nine * "The Princess of the Moon" "Susan!" the voice said sharply through the sudden haze that was fogging her mind and blurring her senses. "Don't you dare pass out on me now, dammit, wake up! C'mon, I said wake *UP!*" "I'm awake," Susan muttered as she lifted her head up from her arms. The throbbing in her back was slowly fading as the powerful painkillers started to have an effect, numbing both her agitated nerves and her brain. Mercury snorted as she emptied the pan into the sink and set it back down at the base of Susan's spine. "Convince me," she retorted as she refilled the needleless syringe with more of the light-blue antiseptic. "Open your eyes and keep them open. Otherwise I'm going to have to turn off the morphine drip so I know you're not going to slip into a coma or worse. Now hold still." Susan just sighed before wincing in pain as the antiseptic was carefully squirted around the edges of her broken wings. "Must you do that?" she gasped. "I told you, it will heal on its own in a matter of hours." "Do you WANT an infection?" Mercury shot back as she continued cleansing the jagged wounds. "Look, I know you're special and all that, or at least you like to think you are, and I know how fast you heal cuts, so I'm not going to try to suture anything shut for you. However, you're still dripping blood on my clean white floor, so until you decide to stop doing that I'm going to keep sterilizing everything so I don't wind up with some superstrain of bacteria or something trying to take up residence in a spot of dried demon blood and eating a hole in the mop as I try to get rid of it. Now HOLD STILL!" Susan just sighed again as the redhead prattled on about how she already had her hands full dealing with her newborn and trying to reassure both Saturn and Mars that being pregnant really wasn't anything to lose sleep over. "My point exactly," the bleeding succubus said when she finally was able to get a word in edgewise. "Your time is quite valuable and thus shouldn't be wasted on doing something that will completely take care of itself in seventy-two hours." "Oh, so now I'm wasting my time trying to take care of you and your broken wings?" Mercury said archly. "You're the dingbat who got them broken in the first place, and by doing something stupid at that! You're how old again, two hundred something?" "Something like that," Susan muttered, already seeing what was about to come down the proverbial pipe. "Well, if you don't settle down and wise up, you won't live to see three hundred," Mercury growled as she rinsed more of the wounds with the antiseptic. "Jupiter's daughter is only four, but even she knows that you stop and look at what's on the other side of a warp gate before you jump through it." "It's a touch difficult to do something like that with time-travel," Susan protested quietly, gasping as another sharp bolt of pain shot through her back from the solution making contact with exposed nerve endings. "I suggest you learn how to make it easier," Mercury retorted. "You of all people should know to look before you leap. Tell me again what got you?" "It's called a van," Susan tried to explain as calmly as she could. "In the latter part of the twentieth century, Earth's technology succeeds in making an internal-combustion engine economical enough to allow mass-production for usage in personal transport vehicles. One design is for a multi-passenger transport, and apparently I had the misfortune of emerging from the temporal flow right in its path." Mercury snorted in remote amusement. "So basically you got yourself run over by a large rover," she observed dryly. "Something like that," Susan conceded with a sigh, knowing that it would probably be a very long time until she heard the end of it. "So how'd those future humans react, anyway?" Mercury inquired casually. "It's not every day you have to stop and pull a winged demon off of the front of your rover because you somehow managed to run over her careless butt...." "I slipped back into to the timestream as soon as I was able to do so," Susan sighed. "I don't think they had any true idea of what they hit, and even if they did, it happened so far into the future as to be irrelevant. The time period and location in question had a reputation for wide-spread popular usage of certain hallucinogens by specific groups, so it's possible that the incident will be passed off as 'tripping out on a bad shroom.'" Mercury smirked. "Unless you left a dent that has to be explained...." "Unlikely," Susan countered. "This was before they started building the frames from aluminum and the bumpers from plastic." "Mmm hmm," Mercury said absently. "Tell you what, I'll be nice and skip the lecture this time, seeing how a dog that was as smart as a rock in a box could learn from this one just by watching from the sidelines." "I appreciate your kindness," Susan said demurely. "I'm sure you do," the redhead said in a voice as dry as a barren desert. "Hopefully this will teach you more than a few lessons about life, Susan." Susan chuckled quietly to herself. "And what other lessons are to be gleaned from this, aside from watching where you walk?" she inquired. "That people care about you, for one," Mercury said in an edged tone. That drew a hard blink from Susan. "I was not aware that there was ever any doubt about the matter," she pointed out. "You're not aware of a lot of things," Mercury grumbled as she refilled the syringe yet again. "Look, we all know you're a decent person at heart, even if you act odd at times. And I'm not talking about seducing the guards, either," she added. "That one is easy to understand. Hell, I've been tempted to have a few pelvic muscle kinks worked out by one of the cute ones every now and then myself, but that was years ago and not anywhere close to the point. No, don't do that!" she yelped as Susan's wings started to flex. A strangled cry leapt out of her lips as a fracture was forced back into alignment with a sharp snap. "Aaaaahhhh! That.... ow.... that really wasn't intentional," Susan whimpered, her red eyes wide and starting to tear up. Mercury just sighed in resignation and picked up her hand-held medical computer. "So much for that," she groused as she studied the new readings. "Huh. Well, damn, that actually set the bone pretty straight. Good, means I won't have to try to split the bastard. Oh, what the hell.... You might as well go ahead and fix the other three while you're busy ignoring my advice to hold still so you wouldn't exacerbate the wounds." "Thank you, Doctor," Susan sighed as she took a deep breath and steeled herself. The muscles in her back spasmed again, resulting in another three sharp snaps of broken bones being reset and a truly agonizing wave of pain. "Damn," Mercury said as her eyebrows arched up. "Worked like a charm. I wish I could reset broken bones that easily. I'd pat you on the back, Lady Pluto, but that would probably be a bad idea right now. Wait, don't exhale! Hold it! Hold it.... hold it..... now." Susan gasped quietly as her breath left her lungs in a mad exodus, only to nearly choke on the sheer volume of air that rushed to fill the vacancy in her chest. "W.... Why was I supposed to do that?" she wheezed as she tried to breathe evenly. Mercury paused for a moment before she shrugged. "No reason, really, I was just being a bitch on impulse. Smile, Susan, it won't hurt that pretty face of yours, honest. You're still bleeding on my floor, you know. If you don't stop that in the next five minutes, I'm going to start a transfusion so you don't end up bleeding out on me." The succubus blinked hard and cast a dubious look over her shoulder. "I think the constant stream of antiseptic is interfering with my body's attempt at clotting," she suggested. "Who's the doctor here?" Mercury demanded as she crossed her arms. "The way I see it, as long as you're in my office and bleeding on my floor, you're my patient and you do what I tell you to. Which includes sitting still and listening to me try to get you to open your eyes about a few things." Susan just sighed yet again and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and putting her head in her hands. "Very well, Doctor, I assure you that you now have my complete and totally undivided attention," she said wearily. "Good," the redhead said primly as she eyed the dark red blood that was continuing to ooze out of the various lacerations in Susan's leathery wings. "I know you're only half-human and that you have a demon's psyche to try to cope with, but being half-human doesn't mean you only have half of a human's needs as well. We all know you're lonely, Lady Pluto, but you won't let anyone try to get close to you. And whenever you do, it's always just for sex." "Doctor, please...." Susan sighed. "Sit and rotate, I'm not finished yet," Mercury growled, drawing a very startled blink from the succubus. "You need to quit acting like we're not good enough for you or something. Yes, you're from an advanced race, or at least in some aspects, but you're still one of us. You're a Sailor Scout like me, and that means we're on the same team. We have to be there for one another in our times of need, even if we don't particularly feel like it or otherwise care." The redhead sighed quietly and closed her hand-held computer. "You think I don't know you can mend on your own? Give me some credit, I probably know just as much about how your body operates as you do, and that includes most of your demonic side as well. The reason I'm in here with you is because one, I'm worried as hell since, demon or no, broken bones aren't something you casually brush off, and two.... you're one of us. So what if you're able to take care of yourself all by your lonesome? I can do that too, but I still take comfort and solace, and even happiness, in knowing that everyone else has my back if I can't do it and need to scream for backup. You'd be surprised how well such feelings help you make it though a really tough day. If you let them," she added in a quiet tone as an after-thought. Susan said nothing as Mercury carefully pulled the IV drip out of her arm and began to pack everything away. "Doctor...." she said very quietly as the bottle of antiseptic was capped and filed away. "You'll be fine," Mercury replied. "The bleeding just stopped, and I can already see signs of both muscle and bone recovery. I would strongly suggest you try to keep your wings as perfectly still as possible over the next few days, but I'm a physician and not a veterinarian who knows how wings work, so just take that one for what it's worth. Now get the hell out of my ward." Susan blinked hard and sighed once more. "With all due respect, Doctor, your bedside manner could use a little work," she grumbled as she stood up. Mercury paused in the doorway. "If my mannerisms are all that bad, Lady Pluto, then why am I not suffering from a lack of friends like you are? Yes, I'm a little gruff with my patients, especially when it involves blatant and unpardonable stupidity, but I still know how to connect with people. Perhaps you should try to do the same," she said before she vanished from sight. Susan was quiet for a long time as she looked around the empty medical ward. Perhaps she's right, she thought before she blinked. Wait, why am I here? How did I get here? This isn't right.... And with a deep grunt that she more felt than heard, she slipped out of the realm of subconscious dreams and fully woke up. It took a few seconds to reorient herself to her surroundings, suddenly remembering that she was still sitting in the chair on Earth instead of in the Moon Kingdom of the past. "What is it?" Myst asked quietly, startling her. Susan blinked and looked over at the table. "Just a memory in the form of another dream," she murmured. She raised an eyebrow as she noticed that Myst was curled up in a nearly perfect sphere with only her ears, whiskers, and tail protruding to give any indication that she was a cat instead of a fuzzy gray plush ball. "Were you sleeping?" "I think so," Myst said after a moment. "I'm not sure." "How can you not be sure?" Susan inquired as she carefully leaned back. The bones in her wings hadn't fully mended yet and she was still in a moderate amount of pain, but it was a definite improvement compared to how she had felt before she started her nap. She made a face as her wings twitched reflexively, flooding her nerves with more raw pain. That the sensation was caused more by severe muscle stiffness than torn ligaments and twisted muscles was of scant comfort to her as she struggled to keep herself from making any noise. "I didn't dream, if that's what you mean," the Shinma replied quietly. "But neither was I aware of any passage of time. I thought we were just talking a few minutes ago, then you fell asleep and my mind began to wander." She made a soft noise to herself, knowing that there were days in which a dreamless sleep was far preferable to being held at the mercy of whatever it was that one's subconscious felt like putting the mind through. "Time is like that," she said demurely. "It can slip past you without you knowing it, but it can also drag you along and make seconds seem like hours. Perhaps I was more tired than I thought," she added as she studied the wall clock. "I believe that sunrise is a little less than an hour from now. Goodness, you must've been tired too...." Myst gave her an apologetic look as she continued yawning. "I'm sorry," she rasped once she was finished, flicking her tail. "That was unexpected." Susan shrugged absently, only mildly regretting the movement as it sent a dull wave of pain through her sorely abused muscles. "It helps to flush out the lungs and add a small increase of fresh oxygen to the bloodstream. You do have a bloodstream in that form, correct?" she inquired with idle curiosity. "I should," the kitten replied, making a sour face as she suddenly yawned again. "I'm not sure how well I copied this form from your memories, but I apparently did it well enough to not stand out from the other Lunar cats." Susan nodded and slowly stood up, ignoring the towel as it fell away from her chest to expose her state of undress. "I take it you've been able to get along with Luna and Artemis?" Myst wrinkled her nose. "They're sometimes as hard to understand as you and the humans are," she grumbled. "But I haven't run into any problems with them. I don't understand why they enjoy spending so much time sleeping in that bird nest with Ra'vel, however. It doesn't make sense to me." A small smile touched Susan's lips. "It's a cat thing," she murmured as she took a deep breath and carefully worked the kinks out of the rest of her muscles, trying not to flex her wings any more than necessary. She knew it would probably be another day or two before she could safely assume her human form and absorb her wings, but she wasn't overly bothered by the limitation. "If you say so," the Shinma muttered. "It doesn't matter as long as you're reasonably comfortable with your environment," Susan said lightly. She sighed as she finished stretching and started to repack the medical kit lying on the table from yesterday. "And you would be surprised at how much.... happiness such comfort can bring," she said in a very quiet voice, suddenly reminded of the memory-dream. Myst blinked at the change in her expression. "Are you okay, Susan?" "I will be," the succubus replied quietly as she finished her task. "How I feel right now is of little importance when compared to the magnitude of our situation. Come, I need to get dressed so as not to offend the others and then start breakfast. They're going to need all the energy they can get." "All we need to do is find Serena, right?" Myst ventured as she hopped down from the table and followed Susan down the residential hallway. "In theory," Susan sighed. "But what has ever been as truly simple as it appears to be at first glance? Finding the Princess is only half the problem they face. The other half, of course, is seeing if they can keep both her and themselves alive long enough to return here...." * * * * The night-watch supervisor looked up as Dragoon Commander K'tal stormed into the Operations center. "Fair morning, Commander," she said in a gentle tone, surprised to see him at this hour. "You're up awful early today...." "This is insane," he fumed as he strode across the room to the master console and keyed his ciphers into it. "What the hell was she thinking? If this doesn't start a war, nothing will...." "Sir...?" the crew chief said, blinking in confusion. "Hold that thought, Chief," he growled as the computer validated him and granted him full access. He immediately brought his entire fist down hard on a button and turned his attention to the communication system. "Attention, this is Dragoon Commander K'tal," he said into the speaker as every single display in the Headquarters Complex took on a flashing yellow border. "I am declaring a system-wide level-2 alert status for all sections. I repeat, this is a level-2 alert declaration. I want a full department head meeting in the conference room in fifteen minutes. Master Chief D'Nina report to Operations immediately. Commander K'tal out." "Sir," his night-watch supervisor protested. "I haven't received any sort of threat information on any circuit or system. What's going on here?" "I said hold that thought, Chief," the Dragoon growled. "Communications, verify the presence of a single triple-band carrier wave modulating between the X and Z matrix feeds. Don't bother trying to pinpoint the source, just tell me if you can spot it." "One moment, sir," the junior-grade communications lieutenant replied. "D'Nina to Operations," the speaker crackled. "I'm on my way." "Lieutenant?" K'tal prompted with quiet urgency. "Confirmed, sir. It's actually a composition of three different carrier waves along a single guide path, but it's definitely a frequency-hopper and an energetic one at that. I can't hold any of the signals for more than a split- second before it jumps to another frequency band. The signal strength isn't all that powerful, but good luck trying to get a position fix on it." K'tal replied with a word that none of the night-watch crew could remember hearing used since a cadet had gotten a sensitive part of his anatomy caught while shutting the heavy access hatch on a console several months ago. "Oh, by the NegaForce, what was she THINKING?" he sighed up at the ceiling. "How many signals are there?" "Just one being modulated across the bands, sir," the officer reported. "Great, just p'takh'enn great," K'tal muttered. "We're in for it now." "Sir, are you okay?" the crew chief ventured. The door hissed open to admit a very bleary-eyed Master Chief D'Nina into the room. "Status?" she inquired as she tried to make her way over to her console without bumping into anything or anyone. "K'vesen," K'tal said bluntly. "I'm listening, Commander," the senior chief replied archly. "Ael'ien just woke me up to inform me that she just received a verified report that Sailor Moon has been taken hostage and is currently being held at the Imperial Castle," he said as evenly as possible. "I just checked for the presence of their communicators and found one of their signals. As I'm led to believe they're carried with them at all times, I have every reason to presume that there's a lone Sailor Scout somewhere in the Negaverse right now. And if it really is Sailor Moon, she won't be by herself for much longer. Now do you see why I think we're all about to be in very serious trouble?" "Ay'cha navidshi," D'Nina breathed. "Are you serious?" K'tal just sighed and rubbed his temples. "No, Chief, I just went to the trouble of declaring a level-2 alarm so I could rouse you out of bed." "Now is not the time, Commander." "Tell me about it, Chief." The night-watch chief cleared her throat nervously. "Sir, I'm not sure I understand what the problem is. I thought being able to capture Sailor Moon was a good thing, considering what she did to Queen Beryl." K'tal and D'Nina shared a look. "In a purely objective and very narrow scope, yes," K'tal said very slowly. "However, you have to keep in mind three very important facts. First, while she is their leader, Sailor Moon is not the only Sailor Scout. Second, you can count on the others coming over here to get her back in very short order. Third, and this is the part that greatly bothers me, you can bet your paycheck that they will be in an evil mood when they do so. And after their last pair of visits to our part of the planet, maybe now you can understand why I am concerned for the health and well-being of everyone in the immediate region." "I think I understand, sir," the chief replied, her complexion turning dangerously pale. "So now what?" D'Nina inquired warily. K'tal sighed. "One thing at a time, Chief. Right now, you and I have a department head meeting to attend in a few minutes. Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you might want to bring a diaper with you, as what I have to say in there is probably going to shock the navidshi out of everyone." It took D'Nina several seconds to figure out how exactly she should reply to that one. "The voice of experience, Commander?" she ventured in a guarded but respectful tone. K'tal just snorted dryly. "Let's just say I almost had to change my own underwear on the spot when I heard it," he replied quietly. "Communications! I want a constant monitoring of that frequency-hopping signal. I don't care if you can get a lock on it or not, but start broadcasting a Raid Warning if more such signals suddenly crop up out of nowhere. Kick it up to a level-1 alert if you hear of anyone coming under attack by anything for any reason, but until I say otherwise, we're staying at level-2 for the present." "Copy that, sir," the Communications officer replied nervously. "Come on, D'Nina, let's get this over with," K'tal grumbled as he headed towards the door. "I'll be in the conference room," he called out over his shoulder. "If navidshi hits the fan before I get back, worry about taking all appropriate defensive action first before worrying about calling me to tell me about it. Carry on," he added as he left the room. "And you said nothing ever happens at night," the ensign at the Tactical console muttered to the Communications officer. "Stow it, kids," the night-watch chief sighed. "Just mind your panels, watch that communications array, and if you need to use the bathroom, now is probably a very good time to do so." "Copy that one, chief...." the ensign muttered quietly. * * * * "She did WHAT?" the Chief Engineer blurted out. K'tal just sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I can't say for certain that it was Rune, but the bottom line is that someone just captured Sailor Moon and had her brought to the Imperial Castle." "Downside?" Quartermaster V'Lan inquired in a neutral tone. "You have GOT to be kidding me," another senior officer sighed. "Q, this is the leader of the Sailor Scouts we're talking about. Assuming she doesn't gut the castle on her own from the inside, you know the others are going to be coming to get her. It'll be like last year all over again." "Perhaps, perhaps not," V'Lan replied. "We know they coming. They not sneak into Complex again." "No, they just might decide to flatten it instead while on their way to dissect the Imperial Castle," the other officer countered. "This is far from a trivial matter, Chief." "It gets better," K'tal said quietly, drawing a collection of extremely uneasy and wary looks. "What I am about to tell you is, for the moment, to be kept within this room. I spoke with General Al'vexi about this yesterday, and I have no reason to doubt this new information. We all know that Sailor Moon is the princess of the Moon Kingdom. What we didn't realize about her is that she's half-denizen." The noise in the room came to a complete halt so quickly that the silence almost echoed. "She's what?" Lieutenant Asrial growled very quietly, her fur puffed up at a right angle to the skin beneath. "Sailor Moon is half-human and half-denizen," K'tal said calmly. "Again, this information came to me directly from General Al'vexi, and while I can't discuss how it came into her hands, I have every reason to believe that it is the factual truth." D'Nina just rubbed her sinuses, suddenly feeling her age. "Now I see why you warned us to use the bathroom first," she observed. "Actually, chief, that was just the warning shot," K'tal said in a flat tone. "The true surprise is who her father is purported to be. I will not lie to you.... I find this one highly unlikely at best and demanding of a genetic test to determine the truth, but I likewise cannot dismiss this claim out of hand simply because of its audacity." There was a flat growl from Asrial. "Let's hear it," she said in a wary tone, her tail lashing back and forth like a whip. K'tal sighed and braced both hands on the table. "Her mother was Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom. Her father was Captain Raijen." There was a dead silence before one of the officers burst into a fit of laughter. "That's a good one, sir," she laughed. "May I point out to you that the Captain died a good thousand years before we even discovered we could open a dimensional portal to Earth." K'tal nodded and leaned across the table. "That is true, Lieutenant. I should like to point out two things, however. First, Commander T'Cer had his life-crystal in her possession when she went along with the first contact team to the Moon Kingdom. And second, their Imperium Silver Crystal is just as powerful as the NegaForce is, and is likely capable of awakening his spirit if it so chose to do so." He nodded in seriousness as the laughter abruptly died away, the humorous expression slowly becoming replaced with a sobering look. "As I said, this is simply too extraordinary a claim to accept at face value, but at the same time I can't just brush it off as nonsense. A simple genetic test can determine if this is true or not, and you can bet your life that I am going to do everything in my power to see that this test is done." "What if true?" V'Lan spoke up, clicking his beak quietly. "Sailor Moon would be Captain's daughter." "Now you see why this one has me all tied up in a knot?" K'tal said very quietly. "I want to hear what each and every one of you thinks about this. Just for the sake of argument, let's assume that it's all true, that Sailor Moon's father is Captain Raijen." "So what?" Asrial said with a flat growl. "She is still our enemy, after what she did to Commander Shar-Tei and Queen Beryl." D'Nina shook her head slowly. "She did nothing to Shar-Tei," she pointed out. "That was a duel between Shar-Tei and Tolaris. And as for Queen Beryl, you have to admit that the fact that the Sailor Scouts finally led a direct assault on her shouldn't be a surprise in the least." "So what do you think, D'Nina?" K'tal asked quietly. D'Nina blinked and gave him a guarded look. "I think, Commander, the one who most urgently needs to answer that question is you. What do you make of this revelation?" she asked slowly. K'tal looked around the room, meeting the eyes of everyone in turn before sighing and reaching under the table. Several eyebrows arched up in surprise and concern as he withdrew the old but still fully functional firearm from its hidden housing, briefly checking it before laying it down in the center of the conference table. "I hate it when he gets all theatrical like this," the Chief Engineer muttered beneath his breath, drawing a sour chirp of agreement from V'Lan. "At ease, Chief," K'tal said calmly. "This is for when I tell you about how I intend to commit treason and order the rest of you to assist me. In the event that you don't see things my way, you're obligated to denounce me as a traitor and have me executed on the spot. The shell should still work." The room got deathly quiet once again as nervous glances were discreetly exchanged. Everyone shifted their attention to the chief engineer as he leaned forward and carefully picked up the weapon. He quickly looked it over with a critical eye before partially disassembling it, pulling out the single shell and studying the condition of the firing mechanism. He reassembled the weapon and cocked the hammer back before pulling on the trigger. The sharp click of the falling hammer echoed quite clearly in the room, indicating that it still worked. Satisfed, he reloaded the shell into the firing chamber, cocked the hammer back once again, and very carefully laid it back down on the table. "Let's hear what you have to say, Commander," he said, his voice betraying no hint of emotion whatsoever. K'tal nodded in understanding and took a deep breath, ready to give what just might be the last speech of his life. "I've been in contact with Tolaris since Shar-Tei lost her duel with him. I know some of you view that act as treason in of itself, and if it is, so be it. He has been with the Sailor Scouts since his exile from the Negaverse, so he more than anyone else would truly know about them, about what drives them, and what they will do. "Late last night I received a rather unexpected and urgent communique from Aerlin of Mar'ken, whom I'm sure most of you have heard of. He informed me that he was conversing with Colonel Azi'mar of the Training Division earlier when they had a surprise visit from Sailor V, of all people. "I am not privy to what was said, mind you, but the end result was that Sailor V warned them that the Sailor Scouts would try to get Sailor Moon back in the morning. To try to prevent unnecessary death and destruction, she had asked if they could do anything to help make things easier on everyone. She also mentioned that she and the others didn't want a fight and were willing to simply turn around and walk away if they could get Sailor Moon back, alive and unharmed. "Tolaris and the others will be appearing in the village at sunrise in an attempt at solving things peacefully. It is my intention to be at the village as well. I had already planned on visiting the village today to talk to Aerlin about a few personal issues, but that was before the news of Sailor Moon's capture became public and we all went into crisis-mode. "Sailor Moon is half-human and half-denizen. That makes her special in the history of both our worlds, the very first of her kind. That she is also a royal princess and the daughter of a man I personally admire and respect, or at least that I believe she is, makes her all the more special to me. And the fact that returning her to her world can help prevent a catastrophe in our own world is not something I can easily dismiss. "It is my intention, as the Dragoon Commander, to assist Commander Tolaris and the Sailor Scouts in getting Sailor Moon back and returning her to Earth. That would constitute high treason according to the law. However, I believe that allowing a disaster to take place that could otherwise be avoided by a simple act is the true treason, and that is not something I could easily live with. However, I can't ask any of you to betray your world as well, nor can I ask you to do anything you yourself can't live with, but know this.... I will try to help Tolaris and the Sailor Scouts." The silence after his speech seemed to stretch on for an eternity, no-one else daring to move or even breathe loudly. Then in what appeared to have been incredibly slow motion, the chief engineer leaned forward and picked up the old projectile weapon. He very carefully pointed it up at the ceiling as he put his thumb on the hammer and eased it out of the ready position. "Theatrical p'tai," the chief muttered as he set the firearm back down on the table. The rest of the group looked at one another before seeming to sigh with relief in unison, quickly followed by a series of abashed looks. "Let me get this right," Asrial growled very quietly, causing everyone to blink hard with renewed tension. "Sailor Moon invades our world, twice, kills our Queen and our Commander, and now we're supposed to help her?" K'tal and the engineer traded looks before K'tal made a subtle gesture with his head. The engineer raised an eyebrow before he reached out to the firearm once more, putting his hand over it and sliding it across the table to end up falling into the surprised Felinoid's lap. "Rrrrrrrr?" Asrial growled warily. "How many times has our world invaded theirs?" K'tal said very quietly. "How many Dragoons were involved in the invasion of the Moon Kingdom? How many of us have gone to Earth to observe them, or to help set up traps for them? What makes the balance even, and when does it tilt to the other side? What is it going to take to end this between our worlds? The way I see it, we can try to put an end to this now. I don't want to fight them, Lieutenant. That may sound insane, as the odds are at least ten million to four if you don't count their immediate allies, but I still don't want to fight against them. I don't see any good coming from fighting them, but I see a lot of good coming from trying to help them. If you don't see it that way.... well, the laws are quite clear and will be on your side if you feel you have to do something about it. You might even get a medal from Rune. It's up to you, Lieutenant, this will probably be the ideal moment to take care of it before it can start." The jet-black Felinoid studied the weapon in her hands before she looked around the room, her tail slowly lashing back and forth. "Little Q," she said quietly. "Would you call him a traitor for this?" V'Lan sighed and slowly shook his head. "Issue of Sailor Moon's father not relevant now," he replied. "Greater harm than good if allow this madness to persist. True threat is not Sailor Scouts, but within." "Concurrence," another officer spoke up very quietly. "Things have been extremely quiet on Earth since Rune decided to leave them alone. Just between you and me, I'd rather keep it that way." Asrial's ears flicked back in surprise. "Why?" she inquired in a guarded tone. "You of all people lost so much to them...." "Yes, both my husband and our child died in the line of duty when those Sailor Scouts attacked the Imperial Castle," she replied distantly, not looking at anyone. "He knew the dangers when he signed up for the service, and I knew it when I took him as my life-mate. We made sure to explain it to our daughter when she expressed a desire to serve. How many of us have lost loved ones in conflicts and wars? All part of the risks of being a soldier. I don't hold anything against them on a professional level.... they did what they had to do, just as we did what we had to do. Which is why I will still do what I have to do as a subject of the crown and a Dragoon until I die myself." K'tal idly scratched his chin. "Speaking of which, you're in the window for re-enlistment, aren't you? Think we can talk about this later?" Everyone just blinked hard before exchanging glances and shaking their heads. "K'tal...." D'Nina started to say before sighing. "Nevermind." "Bah," Asrial spat as she set the weapon on the table, flicking her ears back in disdain. "We're probably all going to get court-martialed on charges of conspiracy for this." "That's a very likely scenario," K'tal pointed out. "And unless you shoot me in the head, you'll be going along with this conspiracy to try to save our world from an unnecessary war. I made an oath to serve and defend our way of life, and if it ends up costing me my life.... well, as the chief just pointed out a few moments ago, I knew the risks when I signed up. At least in this case I'll know my death has some meaning." "Spare us the bad acting, Commander," the Chief Engineer grumbled. "Just keep us all as informed as possible so we can in turn keep our sections on the line. Now tell me again why we're at a level-2 alert status?" K'tal's breath left his lungs in a soft whoosh of relief. "Just in case I'm wrong, Chief. Yes, by all rights I shouldn't be heading out to a trading village in the middle of a no-navidshi alert and preparations for a hostile invasion, but you know why I'm going and what I hope to accomplish. Master Chief D'Nina will be given full authority while I'm gone, so if a new crater appears in the west you won't have to wait for the computer to decide if I'm truly gone before it opens itself up to her." "I'm coming with you," D'Nina spoke up, causing K'tal to blink hard. "Uhh, Chief, I kind of need you here...." K'tal tried to say. "For what?" D'Nina scoffed. "Phase Authority can't be transferred like that, and even if it could I'd still need a secondary authority." "The Chief Engineer...." "Will be busy in Engineering and can't leave his section to try to help oversee Operations," the Master Chief interrupted. "And if we're both gone, who'll be in Operations, then?" K'tal countered. "What, you don't trust your staff to handle things on their own? We're in a level-2 alert status at his very moment, and the entire senior staff is away from their collective posts," D'Nina said flatly. "And before we left Operations, you told them to act as necessary first and to tell you about it later. Why can't that be a valid instruction for another hour or two?" "The risks, Master Chief...." "Do I need to shoot you just to shut you up? I'm coming with you, K'tal, whether you like it or not," D'Nina said as she crossed her arms. She cast a sidelong glance at the Chief Engineer, who was leaning back in his chair with his arms neatly folded behind his head. "Don't mind me, Chief, I'm just enjoying the entertainment," he drawled in his native Outreaches accent, drawing a barely repressed snicker from one of the other officers. "Now then, if you two are finished, I've got work to deal with down in the basement. Let me know how it goes, okay?" K'tal just looked up at the ceiling with resignation. "Just do us all a favor and keep the reactors warmed up. All three of them," he added. "Just call it a hunch, chief, nothing more." "Copy that," the engineer replied as he stood up. "Assuming that the two of you are going to be running off and I have to stay put in Engineering, who exactly is supposed to be watching Operations? Regulations require that I have to be kept informed of that, you see...." K'tal and D'Nina looked at one another before giving an extremely brief glance at Asrial. They both seemed to shake their heads in unison before they turned to cast an appraising look at the lone avian in the room. "Sir?" the Dragoon Quartermaster said very warily. "Little Q, old friend," K'tal said slowly, "When was that last time you stood post in Operations...?" * * * * Susan looked over her shoulder as Leda made her way into the kitchen, raising an eyebrow as she saw the distinctly bleary look in the brunette's slightly-bloodshot eyes. "Good morning," she said quietly, carefully drawing her wings tighter against her body to make as much room as possible. Leda grunted softly in response as she yanked the refrigerator door open. She promptly stuck her head inside and started digging through the collection of bottles and pitchers on the top shelf, trying to clear a path to the back wall. She finally found what she was looking for and took a step back, holding a nearly empty plastic bottle containing a dark blue liquid. Susan blinked as the cap wasn't so much twisted off as ripped away before Leda tilted her head back and essentially poured the contents down her throat. "Dare I inquire what that was, or even if you should be drinking it?" she asked once the brunette had emptied the bottle and pitched it into the trash. She was answered with a disturbingly loud belch, followed by a deep sigh of satisfaction and relief. "A denizen blend of vegetable juice," Leda replied in a scratchy voice. "Doesn't taste all that good, but it has one hell of a kick to it. Not alcoholic, but it feels like it once it gets into your guts and the burning sensation starts up. A raw way to wake yourself up, but damned if it doesn't work wonders. Better than caffeine," she added with a yawn. "So what kind of mess are you making in my kitchen?" Susan just shook her head to herself and returned her attention to the stove burners. "Left-rear pot is for oatmeal, right-rear is hot water for the syrup and various drinks, eggs are in left-front skillet, right-front is for the pancakes, the bacon, sausage patties, and hashed browns are still roasting in the oven, and the toaster should be finished at any moment now." Leda blinked hard as the toaster promptly dinged and ejected four slices of perfectly toasted bread. "Damn, you cooking for an army this morning?" she said as she stacked the toast on a nearby plate and reloaded the machine with another four slices of bread. "You will all need as much energy as you can get," Susan pointed out as she stirred the oatmeal with one hand while carefully remixing the pancake batter again with the other. "And I figured that a wide variety of choices would ensure that everyone would find enough of what they like." Leda edged her way around to be able to peer over Susan's shoulder without coming too close to her obviously damaged wings. Even though none of the bones were visible or seemed to be broken anymore, the massive holes blown through nearly two-thirds of her wing surface clearly indicated that she still had a long way to go before she was fully healed. "You want any help with this, or do you have it under control?" Leda asked as she eyed the bowl of pancake batter. She picked it up and took a careful sniff before setting it down and opening up a cabinet door. She searched for the small bottle of vanilla extract and found it half-hidden behind the box of baking powder. "Needs a little more," she explained as she unscrewed the top and put a few drops of the extract into the batter. Susan gave her a measured look for a moment before shrugging in dismissal. She knew how to cook, of course, but was also fully aware that the recipe she had used was half a millennium old and occasionally needed a little extra. The saving grace usually came from the syrup, as the super-sweet taste tended to mask whatever incidental flavorings the pancakes ended up with. "So what made you decide to learn how to cook like this?" she inquired as she stirred the scrambled eggs. "Truthfully?" Leda said, hesitating slightly before looking for a spoon to taste-test the oatmeal. "Neither of my parents could really cook worth a damn, and all the restaurants and take-out trips were getting old, so I just decided one day to see what I could do about it. Had a few talks with some friends, traded notes and recipes, then sat down to give it a shot. I was surprised when my parents started carrying on how the stuff I cooked was super- delicious and all that. "I just passed it off as them praising their daughter like all parents do, but when I was asked to cook dinner for some guests and got the exact same reaction from everyone.... well, it just kinda hit home. I like being able to make people happy like that, or at least satisfied with good cooking. It sort of grows on you after a few years, I guess. Umm, no offense, Susan, but this oatmeal is just begging for flavor," she added in an apologetic tone. Susan did her best not to let her disgruntled disappointment show. "If you have any suggestions for improvement, you are of course quite welcome to make them," she said in a somewhat restrained and diplomatic tone, absently smoothing out a wrinkle in her open-backed gown. "Sure," Leda said as she retrieved a pair of jars from the spice rack. "Hard to go wrong with a dash of cinnamon, at least in oatmeal, and a dash of orange peel to add a touch of zest," she explained as she unscrewed the lids and added a small amount of each spice to the mass of oatmeal. "Speaking of cinnamon.... what'd you use when you scrambled those eggs?" "I wasn't aware that one added anything to scrambled eggs," Susan pointed out, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly. "Aside from some ketchup, but that is a choice made only once it's finished and is on the breakfast plate." Leda shot her an odd look. "You're seven hundred years old and no-one ever told you about adding a splash of milk when you scramble the yolks? It smoothes it out a bit and helps make it easier to stir in a dash of cinnamon or anything else for extra flavor." "When you are focused on running a kingdom, some of the subtle nuances of the culinary arts tend to escape your attention," Susan observed in a tone as dry as some deserts. "I will attempt to remember that for future usage." Leda chuckled quietly. "Hey, I'm not trying to bust on your cooking," she replied. "As far as I'm concerned, you're doing a hell of a lot better than I can, seeing how you're watching four.... five.... six? Six things all at the same time. I couldn't keep track of that many without burning something. Oh, and how's the meat doing?" Susan sighed very quietly and took a step back, reaching down to open the oven door in the process. The smell of bacon and sausage promptly wafted up, making both women slightly hungry in simple anticipation. The smell of roasted potatoes drifted up a moment later, prompting a satisfied hum from Leda. "Oh, yeah, I think they're done," she cooed as she looked around for the oven mitts. "Hey, where'd you hide the.... WATCH IT!" she yelped as Susan reached in and grabbed the baking sheet with her bare hands. "Here," Susan said calmly as she pulled the sheet out and set it down on a heating pad. She closed the oven door and switched off the heat before she caught the look on Leda's face. "Yes?" she inquired idly. "How the hell did you do that without burning yourself?" Leda demanded, her green eyes dangerously wide. "That thing had to be at least four hundred degrees!" "Three hundred seventy-five," Susan corrected absently. "Still!" Leda protested, glancing at Susan's unharmed hands. She looked over at the baking sheet and held her hand a few inches above it, blinking hard as she could feel the wave of heat rising up from it. Susan shrugged in dismissal as she switched off the burner beneath the skillet loaded with scrambled eggs. "I may only be part demon, but I still possess a demon's resistance to heat and fire. I can hold that cooking sheet in my bare hands for a number of seconds before I start to feel anything, but it would eventually burn me if I held it long enough. Brief exposures to such things as normal fires and moderate sources of heat are only inconsequential at worst, but I am just as vulnerable to sources of extremely high heat such as plasma and volcanic lava as anyone else would be." "Damn," Leda said quietly, blinking in surprise. "That must be nice. I gave up years ago trying to keep track of how many times I burnt myself while working over a stove or with an oven." "It has its advantages," Susan allowed as she spooned the scrambled eggs into a waiting bowl and lowered the heat on the oatmeal burner. Leda glanced over her shoulder as she heard a noise behind her, raising an eyebrow as a decidedly rumpled Alex poked her head into the doorway. "Oh, man, something smells good in here," she purred. "What happened to you?" Leda inquired, studying the imprint lines on the blonde's face. "You sleep face-down on a corduroy pillow or something?" "Hmm?" Alex grunted as she brought her hand up to her face, wrinkling her nose as she felt the subtle imprints. "Bah, just a rough night of sleeping." "You need to wash up," Leda observed as she started to help Susan scrape the hashed browns off the cooking sheet and onto a separate plate. Alex just rolled her eyes. "Thanks, hon. You look like you need to make out with a sponge yourself, or at least run a comb through that bird's nest you have tied to your head." "Out," Leda grumbled over her shoulder. "I'll call you when we're done." Maze chuckled quietly to himself at the look on Alex's face as she made her way back to the table and sat down with a heavy thump. "I told you that bothering Leda was a bad idea," he said languidly. "I thought you knew by now not to harass her this early in the morning?" Alex just shot him an unamused look. "I wasn't harassing her, I was just trying to see what smelled so damn good. I'm really hungry for some reason." She heard someone come up behind her and felt a pair of hands lightly squeeze her shoulders. "That was fast, love," she said as she absently reached back to caress her visitor. Her aim was a little low, however, and her hand ended up brushing across a rather sensitive spot, eliciting a soft hum of pleasure. Maze raised an eyebrow. "You know, you need to be more careful when you do something like that," he said in an odd tone. "At least when in public." "Huh?" Alex said in confusion, her voice taking on a faint edge. "What, I can't show her a little affection now and then?" "Nope," Maze sighed as he took a deep sip of his morning mug of ma'cha. "What the hell?" Alex demanded crossly. "What's your problem?" The Dragoon just shook his head. "I know love is blind, Alex, but you still need to look over your shoulder every now and then," he said, making a gesture with his mug. Alex gave him a suspicious look before twisting her head to look. Her eyes promptly doubled in diameter as she saw a face hovering three inches away from her that was certainly not Michelle's. "I love you too, snoogums," Mina said in a honeyed tone, squeezing Alex's shoulders again before leaning forward to kiss the tip of her nose. She then giggled and took a quick step back to avoid most of the explosive reaction she had just triggered. "GODDAMMIT, MINA!!" Maze chuckled very quietly to himself as he felt the table vibrate from the sheer force of her voice. "That wasn't very nice of you, ne'ana," he said casually as Mina quickly crossed to the other side of the table and sat down next to him. "Morning, dear," Mina purred quietly as she leaned over to give him a decidedly deep kiss. There was a heavy sigh as Leda poked her head out from the kitchen. "So what'd she do now?" she called out, raising an eyebrow at the scarlet color on Alex's fuming face. "Nuffin, sunshine," Mina called out as she leaned back from Maze. "Just worry about breakfast, okay? We'll handle the Viking." Maze just shook his head again as Leda rolled her eyes and disappeared back into the kitchen. "I guess it's a little late to warn you, Alex," he said as the blonde continued to fume to herself. "Mina's been in a disturbingly playful mood since she woke up, and it's starting to scare me now." Mina pouted and shot him a hurt look. "You didn't mind when I woke you up," she pointed out. Maze chuckled as he reached out to run his fingertips through Mina's mane of long blonde hair. "Of course not," he purred quietly. "However, you almost put me back to sleep doing that. You really should save those kinds of moments for lazy weekend mornings when we can truly savor them." "Fine, see if I do you again like that...." Mina sulked, drawing a pale green blush from the denizen and a startled look from Alex. "Nevermind, I ain't gonna ask," Alex sighed after she stopped to think about it. She felt a gentle caress on the back of her neck and tensed, but quickly relaxed when she felt a pair of lips brushing against her skin and was able to identify the hands wrapping around her waist. "Ah, so there you are," she purred quietly, reaching up to run her fingertips through the soft mass of aquamarine hair. "Morning," Michelle quietly murmured in her ear. "I could hear you from the bathroom. What'd Mina do to upset you?" Alex snorted quietly. "Try to take your place," she muttered as Michelle took an empty chair next to her. "Watch out, she's really a screwball today." Maze promptly reached out to clamp his hand over Mina's mouth. "Don't," he said casually. "Save it for another day, beloved, we've got a lot to do after breakfast and antagonizing your teammates won't help us any. Oh, don't do that," he moaned quietly as a mischievous look entered Mina's blue eyes. Alex and Michelle exchanged wary glances before Alex sighed quietly. "I take it today is one of those days already?" she grumbled. Maze removed his hand from Mina's mouth and looked at his palm. He gave the blonde a weary look before glancing around the table for a napkin. He sighed as he realized there weren't any readily available and he settled for wiping his hand across his pants. "Something like that, yes," he replied with a slightly sour expression. Everyone looked up as Leda and Susan began carrying out the plates and silverware, setting up places at the table before laying out several large heating pads. "So what's for breakfast?" Maze inquired as he casually swiped the nearest napkin and cleaned off his hand, actively ignoring the impish look on Mina's face. "A little of everything," Susan said lightly. "More like a lot of everything," Leda added. "Hope you kids are hungry." "Bring it on, babe," Alex promptly replied. "Almost ready," Leda promised as she cast a quick glance down the empty residential hallway. "So where's everyone else? Wait, nevermind," she said as she caught a glimpse of people starting to emerge from various bedrooms. She turned around to head back into the kitchen when she paused and looked over her shoulder at the still-smiling Mina. "You're up awful early," she said in a slightly guarded tone. Mina gave her a charming smile. "It's one of those mornings where being up early puts a smile on your face," she said in a cheerful tone. "Or at least it lets you put a smile on someone else's face." Leda blinked hard as Maze promptly choked on his ma'cha, the green blush on his cheeks turning visibly darker. "Yeah, whatever," she said, not wanting to even bother trying to figure out what hidden double-meaning was in Mina's words this time. "Anyway, like I said, we're almost done, so just sit tight and don't drool. Morning, Darian," she added as she brushed past him on her way back to the kitchen. "Morning," Darian said quietly as he sat down. Alex blinked and gave him a concerned look. "Hey, you okay?" "Rough night," Darian replied, not looking up at anyone. "Oh, cheer up," Mina said, giving him a warm smile. "We'll get her back for you, just you wait and see. Good morning, lovebirds!" she gushed as Ami and Tolaris entered the living room and headed towards the table. "Morning," Ami replied in a guarded tone as she glanced at Alex. "You're up unusually early today, Mina. How are you feeling?" Mina just grinned at her. "Ready to take on the world." Ami blinked at the enthusiasm in the blonde's tone and just sighed to herself. "Let me guess," she muttered, "Susan woke you up earlier when she dropped the skillet or whatever it was, and instead of going back to bed you decided to turn on your hot-chocolate machine and drink the entire pot all by yourself?" "I did not!" Mina replied indignantly. "I saved a cup for Maze." "Oh, lord," Alex groaned, drawing a whimper of agreement from Michelle. "You overdosed on sugar, didn't you?" Mina made a face at her. "I can handle my hot chocolate quite well, thank you very much," she said archly. "The prosecution rests," Maze muttered into his nearly empty mug, drawing amused looks from the rest of the group and a raspberry from Mina. "Chow time!" Leda announced as she and Susan started carrying the loaded plates and trays over to the table. "We can probably make more of whatever it is that you want, but I'll be surprised if that will be necessary...." "Goodness," Ami blinked as she saw how much was being laid out. "Hot damn," Alex said, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the stack of pancakes. "Sue made pancakes again! Gimme...." "Whoa, easy," Leda protested as she was nearly shoved aside. "I take it that they're your favorite or something? Hang on a sec, Ami," she added as she saw her reaching for the bowl of oatmeal. "I didn't put a lot of cinnamon in that, so let me go get you the jar if you think it needs more." "Thank you," Ami replied as she started scooping. "Not a real favorite so much as a rare treat," Alex replied as she put a moderate stack of pancakes on her plate. "Oh, wow, they really smell good this time. Get a whiff of this, hon," she said to Michelle as she passed her one of the fluffy pancakes. "Oh!" Michelle breathed as she inhaled. "Yes, they do smell wonderful. Susan, did you change the recipe?" The corner of Susan's mouth twitched in mild annoyance as her wing muscles decided to spasm on their own, almost brushing against Maze by accident. "I didn't change it so much as add a new ingredient," she said calmly. Tolaris gave Ami's bowl of oatmeal an odd look as she began to sprinkle a light layer of sugar over it. "What's that smell?" he asked very quietly. Ami blinked and leaned over her bowl, sniffing carefully. "Ohh! Leda, what did you mix in with this? It smells wonderful...." Leda smiled as she set the container of cinnamon down on the table next to Ami's elbow. "Just a hint of cinnamon and orange peel," she said casually. "Susan made most of this, however, so you'll have to direct compliments and complaints to her. Darian, you should try the sausage." "I will," Darian said quietly as he accepted a scoop of hashed browns and a dollop of oatmeal from Tolaris. a quiet voice echoed in their minds as Whisper came into the room, her hair still slightly damp from an early-morning shower. She paused and cast a glance over her shoulder down the hallway before she resumed her walk towards the table. Maze edged the chair next to him back a few inches and started to pour some ma'cha into a mug for her. "Problem, Captain?" he inquired casually. Whisper shook her head as she sat down. "Thank you. No problem, just a brief mental prod for Ra'vel. She's moving slower than usual today for some reason, that's all." "Speaking of slow," Leda said as she sat down at an empty spot. "What's taking Rei so long? I thought she'd be out here by now...." "Rei is out on the deck," Susan said as she took the empty seat next to Darian. "I'm not sure what she's doing, but I can sense a moderate amount of spiritual energy being focused by her." Leda blinked in surprise before she stood up with a sigh. "Well, shoot, someone should tell her that breakfast is ready." Whisper's telepathic voice echoed in everyone's head as she tasted some of the scrambled eggs. "Oh," the brunette said quietly as she sat back down, giving the sliding glass door a measured look. "Is she...? Nevermind," she sighed as the door promptly slid open to admit the priestess into the room. "Morning, Rei," Ami said as she approached the table. She paused as she saw the look on her face and felt a sudden chill creep into her blood. "Rei?" she ventured in a guarded tone, causing the rest of the group to pause and exchange suddenly uneasy glances. "There were three demons," Rei said in without preamble in a disturbingly calm and quiet tone, her bottomless black eyes fixating on Michelle. "I was able to feel the spiritual imprints left by each. I can account for Susan and the other succubus, and I know Alex didn't leave such a trail, but that still leaves one more set of imprints unaccounted for." "What's the problem, babe?" Alex said in a guarded tone as she set her silverware aside, aware of the look in Rei's eyes and the increase in nervous tension it was starting to cause in Michelle. "Michelle was the only other person out there," Rei replied, her intense gaze never leaving Michelle's face. "The only explanation I can think of is that Michelle is a demon herself." "What?" Alex spluttered in shock. Beside her, Michelle started to whimper and edge away from the priestess to hide behind Alex's shoulder. "Are you on drugs or something?" the blonde growled. "That's a load of horsecrap! Mich isn't a demon, you fool, Sue's the only one!" "Rei?" Susan said in a careful tone. "Michelle is just as human as you are. I don't know what you felt outside, but she is certainly not a demon." Rei barely blinked as she reached into her robe, slowly pulling out one of her spiritual wards. "Then testing it should be easy and painless. All she has to do is hold this." Both Ami and Susan blinked as the paper ward suddenly became as rigid as steel, giving off a chilling aura that they could feel even from a distance. "Rei...." Ami said in a warning tone as she edged back. "What are you doing? Stop that...." "I'm getting to the bottom of this," Rei said calmly as she started to advance towards Michelle. Alex blinked as Michelle whimpered loudly and started to pull away from her. "Hey, whoa, easy," she said, trying to reassure her. "Mich, just calm down, it's only a piece of paper." "No...." Michelle whimpered. "I can feel it...." "Can you, now?" Rei said, still using a dangerously soft tone. "This is merely a defensive ward, it shouldn't affect you unless you are tainted with evil. Ami and Susan can feel it, of course, but no-one else seems to be able to except for you. Now why is that?" "Stop it...." Michelle cried out, flinching violently as Rei continued to move closer to her with the ward. "Hey, back off!" Alex snarled as she shot to her feet, interposing herself between Rei and her lover. "I don't know what the hell you're doing, but you had better turn that damned thing off right now!" "Alex," Susan said quietly as she stood up, her eyes narrowing. "Rei has a point, she shouldn't be feeling that ward if everything was fine. Now that the matter has been brought to our attention, Rei, you may turn your ward off now. You are correct in your assertion that I can feel it, and I assure you that it is a most uncomfortable sensation." The priestess shot her a noncommittal look for several seconds before she turned her attention to Ami. Her expression remained utterly impassive as she studied Ami's state of nervousness at the situation before she looked back over at Michelle. "Please stop it," Michelle whimpered, visibly shivering. "I don't know what's going on, and I don't remember anything from last night. Please...." "Rei," Tolaris spoke up calmly, drawing a look from the priestess. "You don't need to use that ward anymore. You have my word that we're not going to go anywhere until we solve this one." Rei looked back at Michelle before she made a gesture with her hand. The ward's ink suddenly burst into dark green flames that quickly spread to the rest of the parchment. She casually tossed the burning paper aside, watching as the ward was reduced to mere ashes before it could land on the floor. "What the hell is going on this time?" Leda said quietly, her green eyes narrowed with suspicion and uncertainty. "Hey, can you pass me some toast?" Mina spoke up as she casually scooped some oatmeal into a bowl. She paused in mid-motion as the rest of the group gave her odd looks of disbelief. "What? I'm hungry...." she protested. "Maze, honey, can you do me a favor?" Alex sighed. "Just reach up and make sure she doesn't have that bow tied too tight around her head," she said, gesturing to the ever-present bow tied up in Mina's blonde hair. "Rei?" Susan asked carefully as she walked over to Michelle. "As I said, Michelle is entirely human, so your accusation is a non-starter. I am rather sensitive to spiritual energies myself, but most likely not to the same degree that you are. Please tell me exactly what you felt out on the deck." "Three sources of evil," Rei replied in a slightly edged tone, her gaze still sharply focused on Michelle. "Two were very alike, one stronger than the other, and I could trace them both to the point where the railing is broken. The third is not nearly as strong and seemed to remain centered in one place, right around the spot where Michelle fell unconscious." "Easy, babe," Alex said in a soothing tone, trying to get Michelle to calm down enough to quit the soft but constant whimpering noises she was making. "Can you feel it now?" Susan asked in a gentle tone. "I'm not sure what I feel right now," Rei replied, casting a sidelong look at the succubus. "I had a hard time sensing everything outside because of your presence. I can barely differentiate Ami's presence from yours at the moment, and she's only a few feet away from me." "Susan?" Tolaris called out as he rose to his feet, visibly concentrating on something. "Can you see auras?" "Of course I can," Susan replied before she looked over at Michelle. Her wings suddenly seemed to spasm uncontrollably for a moment before she managed to calm herself down. "I.... see what you mean, Commander," she said in an eerily calm tone. "Sue, don't get all mysterious on us like that," Alex growled, resisting the urge to whip out her saber. "Start talking." "Something's wrong, isn't it?" Michelle whimpered quietly. "I'm not sure," Susan replied gently. "Your aura seems to have taken on a darker color than usual, which usually is an indication that something could very well be wrong." "Wait...." Darian said slowly, drawing a collection of surprised looks. "I remember Myst saying something the other day about how she said Michelle's aura felt different. Something about how it was layered instead of blended like mine and.... and Serena's aura," he said after a momentary hesitation. Everyone blinked hard as Susan spat out a word in an unknown language. The sheer harshness of the eldritch tone made her voice rasp as if her vocal chords were coated with coarse sand, causing half the group to wince. "Damn, Sue, what the hell was that?" Alex asked with a sour look. "Michelle, hold still," Susan sighed as she extended her wings out, the gaping holes between the bones becoming even more prominent. Small sparks of energy began to collect along her wings, following the paths created by her blood vessels and being drawn down to the small of her back. "Susan...?" Michelle whimpered with nervous uncertainty as she tightly held onto Alex's arm, her eyes darting frantically around the room. "Just take it easy, love," Alex said gently as she rubbed Michelle's arm in comfort. "Everything will be fine...." "No, go away!" Michelle yelled as she suddenly seemed to explode into a panic. She lurched away from Alex and turned to run down the hall, her eyes taking on a faint red coloring. There was a quick blur of motion as Rei darted past Alex, knocking the blonde down as she tried to grab Michelle's arm. Michelle suddenly twisted around and lashed out, grabbing the front of Rei's robe and almost literally tossing her halfway across the room with a vicious snarl. "Grab her!" Susan cried out as she started to draw energy out of the air as rapidly as she could, hampered in the collection process by the damage to her wings. "She's being possessed!" Michelle was turning around to run again when the air shimmered for an instant as Whisper teleported directly behind her. The telepath reached out and pinned Michelle's arms to her sides, gasping at the effort it took as Michelle began to struggle violently against her. "Leave me alone, let me go!" Michelle sobbed, her aquamarine eyes glowing with crimson light that seemed to burn from within. "Stay back," Susan rasped as both Mina and Ami started to charge forward. "Let me handle this...." "Exorcism?" Mina panted, her stiletto in hand and giving the struggling Michelle a deeply worried look. "No," Susan replied quietly as the energy that she was collecting started to visibly flow through the rest of her body, illuminating her blood vessels. "I don't know what has a hold on her, but merely driving it out will only allow it to take up residence somewhere else. I will draw it out of her and into myself first, then try to deal with it from there." "Rei, are you alright?" Tolaris whispered urgently as he tried to rouse the stunned priestess lying on the floor. He was rewarded with a quiet moan as she curled up into a ball, trying to protect herself from some spiritual threat that she could still feel. "Wait!" Alex gasped as she finally managed to get to her feet. "Sue, what the hell is going on? What are you doing?" "LET ME GO!" Michelle screamed as she continued to fight, trying to jam her elbow into Whisper's ribcage. She suddenly tensed and screamed again as the telepath hit her with a psi-spike in an effort to reduce her resistance, the burst of searing pain seeming to lance through her entire nervous system in a single, massive spasm. "Stop it, you're hurting her!" Alex yelled as she reached up, drawing her saber out of the dimensional sheath and charging the telepath. She had only taken a few steps before she slammed into the energy shield Maze erected in front of her. The effect was like hitting a rubber wall, the enraged Viking essentially bouncing back as the hemispherical barrier briefly bent into an oval shape. The shield returned to a normal shape as she hit the ground, gasping hard as the wind was knocked out of her. She somehow managed to retain her grip on her Soul Saber, but was otherwise too stunned to do anything with it. "Hold her still!" Susan commanded as she darted forward to Michelle, her hands coming up to hold the possessed woman's head perfectly still. She then leaned forward and kissed her deeply, allowing her to send her demonic powers into Michelle's soul as she sought to separate the innocent from the corrupt. Their auras suddenly flashed into view, a dark green surrounding Susan while a vibrant aquamarine sharply edged in black formed around Michelle. "What the hell is she doing?" Leda demanded, reflexively dropping into a defensive martial arts posture. Mina cast a quick glance over at her, her mouth set in a thin line. "You don't want to know," she said in a low-pitched tone, casting a momentary glance at Ami before returning her attention to what Susan was doing. Everyone blinked as Susan suddenly inhaled sharply, her wings suddenly sweeping backwards as she succeeded in tearing the dark core out of Michelle's soul. The faint glow of sparks along her veins suddenly turned as black as night as she drew the possession out of Michelle's body and slowly began to devour it. Michelle's body twitched like a puppet having its strings cut as Susan's demonic kiss sifted through her entire soul, filtering out the impurities and restoring her aura to its natural aquamarine color. It was a disturbingly sensual process to watch as Susan's lips moved in a slow rhythm, drawing an instinctive response from Michelle. They continued for several long seconds before Susan finally released her hold and took a step back, her eyes glowing like beacons and her tongue coming out to lick the faint golden residue on her lips in an almost erotic fashion. The red glow in Michelle's eyes vanished as if a switch had simply been turned off, her aura pulsing briefly before fading from view. She made a deep moaning sound that raised the hair on everyone's arms as she slumped to the ground, her eyes rolling up into her head as she passed out. "Susan!" Ami called out, horrified at the scene she was witnessing. The succubus brought her hands up and slowly clenched them into fists, the black sparks flowing along her veins seeming to move faster with each passing second. "I have it under control," she rasped. "I don't know how it was able to possess a protected soul like hers, but I have removed it from her. She should regain consciousness in a few moments." "Sue...." Alex moaned as the worst of the daze faded, allowing her enough strength to lift her head from the floor to look around. "What happened?" "Need any help, demon?" Mina said in a wary tone, still tightly holding her stiletto in one hand. "I've got some holy water and a few wafers of the Host in my room if you need them...." Susan shook her head and replied in the same eldritch language she had used earlier, making her voice sound dangerously raw. "It is under control," she added in her native human language. "This shouldn't last much longer." Maze grunted quietly as he moved to stand behind Mina, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Susan, is the immediate crisis over?" he asked as he glanced over at Whisper trying to gently rouse Michelle. Susan tilted her head at a slight angle. "Yes, I believe it is," she replied, her voice seeming to grow stronger. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, causing her wings to twitch and shiver. The black points of light slowly began to disappear one by one, the individual motes seeming to pop like bubbles before being absorbed into her veins. Her aura slowly began to fade from view, the color pulsing slightly in time with her heartbeat. "That's relieving to hear," Maze said in a wary tone. "Can you explain to us what exactly went on, then?" "Rei?" Tolaris said quietly again, gently shaking her shoulder. "I'm fine," the priestess sighed as she very slowly uncurled herself, her eyes still tightly closed. "She hit me with some sort of negative energy when she threw me. I think I just need a moment to recover, that's all...." Susan turned around, her eyes still glowing brightly with power. "Rei, I strongly suggest you try to purge yourself of any lingering negative energy," she said, still slowly absorbing the black motes of energy. "She was possessed by an umbra, and while they aren't usually as dangerous as other sources of demonic possession, they can still cause significant spiritual harm if you're not prepared for them." "An umbrella, what?" Alex inquired as she rose to her feet, still quite disoriented by her forceful encounter with Maze's energy shield. "Eww," Mina shivered. "Umbras are nasty critters." Leda gave the blonde an odd look. "More lore from your grandmother?" "Yeah," Mina sighed, still shivering lightly. "I've heard a few things about them, and you really don't want to run into one in a dark alley. Not that you want to run into any sort of demonic evil period, but you still get the idea." There was a soft moan from the floor as Michelle regained consciousness. Alex immediately crossed the room to kneel down at her side, still holding her saber in one hand and keeping a very wary eye on Whisper. "Easy, love, just stay still for a bit," she said soothingly as she used her free hand to gently squeeze Michelle's hand. "W.... What happened?" Michelle murmured softly as she struggled to open her eyes. It took several seconds of effort before her eyelids finally parted enough to let her focus on her surroundings. Susan suddenly drew her wings in against her body as tightly as she could before she flexed them outwards to their full length. The remaining motes of black energy surrounding her were suddenly cast away like a fine layer of dust being blown off an old book, quickly fading into nothingness. "You had been possessed by an evil force," the succubus explained calmly, shaking her wings gently for several seconds before folding them back against her body. "You alright?" Tolaris asked gently as Rei gingerly stood up. "I'm fine," the priestess replied in a subdued tone. She made sure she had full control over her balance and muscle coordination before she reached into her robe and pulled out another spiritual ward. She held it tightly as she muttered a quick prayer, causing the black ink to take on a golden hue. Ami blinked as a sudden chill swept past her, causing her to turn around to locate the source of the disturbance. "Rei, what are you doing?" she asked in a concerned tone. She suddenly flinched as the ward gave off a pulse of golden light, sweeping across the length of the room in an instant and causing her skin to tingle somewhat unpleasantly. "Hey!" she protested as a severe headache promptly took up residence in the front of her skull. "Sorry, just clearing the air," Rei apologized quietly as she readjusted her hold on the now-useless ward, holding just the bottom corner by the tips of her fingernails. The parchment seemed to smoke slightly before it erupted into green flames with a soft whoosh. She was about to toss it into the air to finish burning when her hand was suddenly enveloped in a small whirlwind, tearing the ward from her grasp and extinguishing the odd green fire. "There has to be a better way of disposing of those," Tolaris observed as he directed the summoned dust-devil towards the fireplace to dump the ashes. Rei just shook her head. "I'm not doing it. They always seem to combust with green flame whenever they counteract evil energies and influences, and I don't know why. I wish it would stop, however, as I've already burnt myself a few times because of it." "It might be the ink you've been using," Susan suggested gently, trying to ignore the headache that was besieging her as well. "Once this is all over, perhaps we can sit down and go over the exact process you've been using, as I must confess to being deeply curious as to how you've managed to craft such potent spiritual wards." Mina just shook her head as she headed back towards the table. "It's all in the wrist," she muttered. "Does it matter right now? Just peel Michelle off the floor and give her a cold compress if she has a headache. Umbras are nasty bastards, but if Susan just ate it, then that should be that. And since we're talking about eating things, I'm getting really, really hungry, so can we get back to breakfast and reheat the pancake syrup? It's gotten cold now." "I'm fine," Michelle muttered as Alex and Whisper gently pulled her to her feet. "Mina's right, I do have a headache, though...." Whisper just sighed. "That was my fault, I gave you a psi-spike when you were struggling around like that. How's your memory?" Michelle blinked at the question. "My memory? It's fine.... I think," she added hesitantly as she paused for a moment. "Wait...." "Careful, hon," Alex warned her. "If you stop to think, you might forget to start again. That's happened to me a few times, too, so be careful. Girl, you had better be opening your mouth to yawn," she added over her shoulder, giving Leda a dangerous glare. Leda blinked and gave her an unamused look. "Or what, you'll try to start a fight or something? Cork the attitude for once, not everyone jumps at every single opportunity to make a comment about someone." "Captain?" Tolaris prompted gently as he and Ami resumed their seats at the table. "Is everything okay?" Whisper sighed quietly as she looked at Michelle. "I'm not sure," she replied. "Michelle, would you be willing to let me try to examine your mind for a moment to see if there is anything I can do about your memory?" "Whoa, wait," Alex said as she stepped between Michelle and the telepath. "First you try to blow her brains out, then you want her to hold still so you can dig around in her mind?" She paused and blinked as she felt Michelle's arms sliding around her waist, gently hugging her. "It's alright, Alex," Michelle said quietly. "I want to know what just happened, and more importantly why. Something feels like it's missing, and I don't like that feeling." "After breakfast," Alex said flatly, casting a mildly suspicious look at Whisper. "Mina's right for once, breakfast is getting cold and I really hate cold pancakes. Come on," she said as she gently pulled her along and headed back towards the table. Whisper raised an eyebrow and was about to say something when she heard a noise behind her. She turned to look and raised the other eyebrow at the sight of Ra'vel walking down the hallway with all three cats curled up in her arms. "Idle curiosity, Lieutenant," she said slowly. "Have they been keeping you company, or have you been keeping them company?" The avian laughed softly and chirped a casually cheerful reply as she carried the cats into the living room. She set them down on the coffee table before heading over to the last unoccupied seat at the table, clicking her beak in greeting to the group. "So nice of you to join us," Tolaris said dryly. "Hey!" Mina protested around a mouthful of oatmeal as Artemis came over and promptly hopped up onto the table next to her. "Get away from me, I don't want you shedding into my oatmeal. This is some delicious stuff, by the way, don't know what you added but it's awful good.... WHAT?" she demanded as the white cat leaned over to whisper very quietly in her ear. Everyone exchanged glances as Mina sighed and closed her eyes, listening to whatever it was Artemis had to say. "It's there for a reason, okay? I'm not going to be the one carrying it or using it, so you can relax now. Here, try the sausage and tell me how it tastes," she said as she picked up a sausage link and jammed it in his mouth. "Not even going to ask," Alex muttered as she picked up her fork, eyeing the stack of pancakes with a faintly ravenous look in her blue eyes. She glanced over at Michelle and blinked at the expression on her face. "Something still bugging you, babe?" Michelle sighed and looked down at her plate. "No, it's not that," she said quietly, studying the mass of butter and syrup slowly oozing across her own pair of pancakes. "I shouldn't be eating this. This is all going to go straight to my hips and thighs," she muttered. She blinked and looked over to her left as Leda made a show of leaning back and giving her legs an appraising look. "Yes?" she asked in a careful tone. "Michelle, I wouldn't worry about it," Leda said dryly. "Yeah, there are probably enough calories on the table to make all of us shudder to think of the next time we stand on a scale, but be realistic. We'll probably end up burning it off inside of two hours once we enter the Negaverse. Speaking of which...." "Eat," Tolaris said calmly. "The sun won't rise in the border region for another two hours, so we have plenty of time to plan our approach. Eat and rest up while we still have the time to do so. We can talk after breakfast. Ami?" he added in a slightly tired tone. Ami blinked and paused for a moment, holding the jar of cinnamon over her oatmeal. "Hmm?" "Not so much, please," he said gently. "I know you love cinnamon, but it is not something I happen to care for." "So don't eat it, then?" she suggested, arching up an eyebrow. Tolaris shrugged and sipped his ma'cha. "I'm not kissing you if you're going to leave an aftertaste again," he replied casually. He glanced out of the corner of his eye as at least three people promptly choked on whatever it was they were eating, drawing looks of mild reproachment from everyone else. Ami gave him a poisonous look as she set the jar of cinnamon aside, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson color. "We'll talk about this later," she said in a slightly glacial tone. Myst just sighed and looked over at Luna, idly watching the group from the vantage point of the coffee table. "Are you SURE I'll get used to this?" she said to the black cat, her tail lashing back and forth. "I'm not sure I'm used to this," Luna muttered with a sigh. * * * * Serena groaned quietly as she slowly drifted up from the fog of sleep. A voice started to register on her mind and she tried to roll over onto her side, hoping it would go away. Oh, man, this is a rough morning, she thought with another soft groan. My whole body aches.... "I said wake up," the voice persisted in a somewhat unkind tone. Serena sighed and rolled back over onto her back. "Aww, Luna, leave me alone," she protested quietly. "It's not a school day, so let me sleep...." "Let me try the direct approach," the voice said flatly. "Get up or you will find yourself taking a permanent nap. So what will it be, hmm?" The harshness of the tone finally sunk into her mind, triggering an alarm and shocking her into full consciousness. "What...?" she moaned as she opened her eyes, only to find herself staring at the business end of a disturbingly large pistol. "Good morning, Moon Princess," General Rune said in a faintly edged tone as she aimed the barrel of her sidearm at the blonde's forehead. "So nice of you to finally wake up." Serena's eyes promptly tripled in diameter as she realized what was going on. "What?" she gasped as her heart started to lurch in her chest. "Y-Y-You!" "Welcome back to the Negaverse, Sailor Moon," Rune replied. "It's been quite awhile, hasn't it?" "What? How...." Serena whispered in shock as her eyes darted around the medical ward. She glanced down and realized that the brooch containing the Imperium Silver Crystal was still pinned to her blouse. The fact that her blouse was unbuttoned and a medical monitoring probe was taped to her chest just below the edge of her bra were minor details at best, but the mere sight of the Crystal was enough to focus her thoughts. "Get away from me!" she cried as she brought her hand up. "Moon Crys...!" she started to say, only to abruptly fall silent as Rune cocked the hammer on her weapon. The device made a very ominous clicking sound, the barrel never wavering from the center of her forehead. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Rune said in a casual tone. "I don't know how fast you can summon your powers, little girl, but I doubt even an instantaneous transformation would protect you from a bullet at this range. And don't think I won't hesitate to pull the trigger and put you out of our collective misery." Serena blinked hard and slowly moved her hand away from the brooch, her blood seeming to freeze solid with the realization of her situation. "What do you want?" she whispered, her voice dangerously unstable. The medical monitor next to her started chirping quietly to itself, warning anyone who cared that her heart-rate was becoming dangerously unstable. Rune gave her a deadly smirk. "Hand over the Imperium Silver Crystal," she commanded. "Once we're sure you won't be able to pull any tricks on us, we'll take you to see the NegaForce and let it deal with you as necessary." "What?" Serena blurted out, her hand reflexively coming up to grasp the brooch again. She tensed as Rune's grip suddenly tightened on her weapon, the unwavering barrel still pointed directly at her forehead. A soft white glow began to seep out from beneath the Crystal's protective cover, bathing her hand in a gentle warmth. Rune blinked and scowled as the sign of the Moon began to glow a faint golden color on Serena's forehead. "I'm warning you, child, I will have you executed right here and now if you don't cooperate. Give me the Crystal." "You can't touch it, can you?" Serena said softly, her voice taking on a faintly musical aspect. "It has its own power beyond my own, the power to protect itself. Even if you kill me, it will not allow the likes of you to lay your filthy hands on it...." Serena flinched and screamed as the gun went off, blasting a large crater in the wall next to her. A chunk of plaster sliced across her cheek, leaving a thin cut behind that started to ooze blood. She very slowly opened her eyes and glanced up at Rune, her eyes reflexively starting to water from the pain. "Last chance, Princess," Rune snarled as she reloaded the firearm with a sharp jerk of the housing, loading another round into the chamber. "You can either hand over the Crystal now, or we can have it removed from your corpse. I prefer the latter, of course, but I promised a friend that I would give the diplomatic approach a chance before I kill you. Now.... give me the Crystal." Serena tightened her grip on the brooch, feeling the warmth increase as the Crystal started to glow brighter. A sense of inner peace descended upon her and she stared back into Rune's eyes. She knew that her life was probably only moments away from ending, but she also knew that her death would release the full power of the Imperium Silver Crystal in an uncontrolled outburst that would likely obliterate the entire castle, if not the rest of the Negaverse. "If you kill me," Serena found herself saying in her oddly musical voice, "You shall only bring ruin to your world. I am more of a threat to you dead than I am alive, for nothing would then stop my friends from destroying this world to end the threat to Earth. You shall not have the Crystal." "Suit yourself," Rune snarled as she centered the barrel on the blonde's forehead and pulled the trigger, aiming for the glowing crescent mark. The golden sigil seemed to flash into blinding brilliance in an instant, a powerful shockwave rippling out as the bullet emerged from the barrel at a sub-sonic velocity. The projectile met the wave of energy and was forced to one side, altering the ballistic path just enough to avoid the solid bones of her skull. The round impacted with the wall behind her instead, but only by a fraction of an inch. Serena screamed as the bullet grazed her temple, leaving a gash behind that immediately started to drip blood. A faint spray of crimson was splashed on the wall immediately behind her, surrounding the small crater left by the bullet's passage. Rune hissed sharply and blinked hard, trying to clear her retinas of the purple after-images caused by the burst of blinding light. She waited until she could focus again before trying to look over at the princess, her eyebrows arching up in surprise at the realization that she had somehow missed at a distance of six feet. "Incredible," she said in an awed tone, watching in amazement as Serena slowly reached up to touch the side of her head. "You're a lot harder to kill that I had realized. No wonder Beryl had so many problems with you...." The blonde yelped as her fingertips brushed across the raw and bleeding wound. She pulled her hand away, glancing in dismay at the thick coating of red blood on her fingers. She looked up at Rune with tears in her eyes, no less surprised at the development than Rune. Rune just shook her head. "No matter, I made a backup plan just on the hunch that you would somehow surprise me. Let's see how well you can cope with this one, girl," she said as she turned around and made a signal through the transparent windows. The doors promptly hissed open and a bound figure was roughly shoved into the room. He stumbled and fell hard onto his face, but not before Serena was able to get a good look at him. "Darian!" she cried out, her eyes widening in horror. "What did you do to him?" she demanded. "Leave him alone!" Rune gave her a dark smile as she grabbed his shirt and hauled him to his feet. "And what do we have here, hmm?" she said casually as she yanked him over to a chair and shoved him into it. He fell into the chair with a gasp, one side of his face badly bruised from an earlier beating. He slowly looked up, his haunted eyes making contact with Serena's before widening in surprise. "S.... Serena?" he whispered. "Silence!" Rune commanded as she slammed the back of her fist across his jaw, rocking him back. "Stop it!" Serena screamed as she tried to bolt upright, only to discover that her legs had been secured in place using several straps. Beside her, the medical monitor chirped another warning as her blood pressure started to spike as well, fully half of the readings outlined in flashing yellows and reds. "Careful, little princess, you might hurt yourself," Rune said over her shoulder as she grabbed a length of elastic cord off a table and securely tied him to the chair. "Guess who we found last night? He apparently was foolish enough to come into the Negaverse to look for you. Alone, too, oddly enough, but I'm not going to waste any more time asking him why." "What are you doing?" Serena sobbed quietly. "Please, let him go...." Rune finished her task and turned around to face the blonde. She very slowly reloaded another round into her weapon before extending her arm out, pressing the muzzle against the side of his head just above the ear. "Here's the deal, girl," she said very slowly. "You either hand over the Crystal, or you can watch as I blow his brains out all over the wall. It's your choice, of course, but I don't think your defensive power will be able to protect your beloved Prince Darian from a point-blank shot." "No...." Serena breathed, feeling her throat constrict. The glow between her fingers suddenly flashed red, sending an agonizing wave of pain throughout her entire body. She gasped as she leaned forward, clutching her abdomen and setting off the rest of the medical warning alarms. "It's your choice," Rune repeated, nudging him with her firearm. "Make a decision and soon, because my patience is running thin. The Crystal or his life." She lifted her head up to glare at the denizen. "You're bluffing," she gasped quietly. "You won't kill him, he's your Crown Prince. You need him." Rune shrugged with indifference. "We can easily cut off his k'vesan and extract the genetic material we need," she said off-handedly. "Granted it is significantly easier if he is around to help, but it is not a requirement. I am warning you, my patience with these games is at an end. Now then, do you want to see for yourself that I'm not bluffing, or are you going to hand over the Imperium Silver Crystal?" Serena struggled to breathe as she stared at the scene before her. His chin was pressed against his chest with his eyes closed. A small trickle of dark red blood was oozing from the corner of his mouth where Rune had hit him, the droplets falling down his chin to leave a dark stain on his pants. The images and memories suddenly rushed through her mind.... the day they first met a lifetime ago at the hospital, all the times she ran into him after school, all the fighting they did, the realization of one another's identities during the final confrontation with Zoicite, the first time he kissed her, the times they spent together, lying next to one another in bed, the times she tried to get close to him and was gently rebuffed, the argument the day before, the realization of his affair with Queen Beryl.... The crimson glow beneath her fingertips grew stronger as her mouth set in a thin and bitter line. She loved him, and yet.... A wave of pain suddenly washed over her, tainting her vision red and causing a hollow roaring sound in her ears that threatened to deafen her. "You're.... bluffing...." she panted as she struggled to sit up straight. Rune sighed and pulled the hammer back, the sharp click echoing loudly in the small medical ward. "You willing to bet his life on it, girl? I will not say this again. Give me the Crystal!" Serena glanced over at his face as he looked up at her, his eyes filled with sadness. "Serena," he whispered very quietly. "You know I love you." She blinked hard as his words echoed in her mind, reminding her of how he had said those words the last time they were alone in their bedroom.... right before he rejected her yet again. Pain unlike anything she could remember ever feeling before surged into her abdomen, shattering what little control she had left over her emotions. "Go to hell," Serena whispered, her eyes as cold as arctic ice. Rune blinked at her tone before she sighed. "Him first," she said with a shrug as she turned her head away and pulled the trigger. The echo of the gun going off seemed to last for an eternity in Serena's mind, her entire world coming to a complete and total halt as the far side of his head erupted in a shower of blood, brains, and bone fragments. The far wall was immediately bathed in an unholy pinkish-red mass that slowly began to slide down towards the floor. There could be no doubt that the wound was instantly fatal. Darian was dead. Her eternal love, who had crossed the boundaries of space and time to be reunited with her after their unjust death in the Moon Kingdom a thousand years ago, had just been slain. He was dead. She wouldn't feel his touch again, or hear his voice, or do any of the countless things they had done before in the past, or any of the things she had wanted to do with him in the future. Her prince was dead. She couldn't blink as the sight tried to register on her mind, unable to accept the fact that his body was now completely lifeless. His head hung down listlessly, a visible hole in one side of skull and the opposite half almost entirely blasted off by the impact of the powerful bullet. Serena was as still as a statue, her blue eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. She was far beyond being in shock, as her conscious mind was now in a deadly struggle against not just her senses but against reality itself. Her lower lip began to tremble slightly as her cortex went into extreme overload, the synapses in her brain firing thousands of times per second as it tried to manage and cope with the sheer force of her will slipping into denial. Rune slowly turned around to survey the damage, wrinkling her nose at the mess on the wall. She glanced down at her arm and sighed quietly as she saw how much of the blood and gore had splattered her arm. Head shots always were disturbingly messy, she thought before she looked over at the princess. She blinked as the medical monitor started chirping a warning, flashing every single bio-reading in red. She carefully edged closer to take a closer look, her eyebrows arching up as she realized that the printed trace of the blonde's brain waves looked more like a seismograph during a magnitude 9.8 earthquake than a reading of a living brain. Serena's brain continued to race almost literally at the speed of light, processing and trying to sort out the uproar caused by billions of impulses being sent across her nerves. Unable to accept not just what her senses were trying to tell her but what her core of reason was saying as well, her sanity didn't so much fall apart as explode into shards and fragments. Her mind hadn't even begun to collapse in on itself yet before her aura reacted to the new threat. Her will, the core of her very being and the force that kept the power of the Imperium Silver Crystal in check, simply could not accept the dissolution of her structured mind as a viable defensive measure. Her aura turned inside-out, attempting to wrap her conscious mind in a sort of protective cocoon and hold her sanity together. Faced with a catastrophic conflict of control and the physical structure of her brain overheating to fatal temperatures from the sheer volume of neural impulses, unable to escape her senses and effectively prevented from rejecting the world around her with the veil of insanity, her mind had only one option left to protect itself. Tapping into the most fundamental of instincts for self-preservation, her mind withdrew itself into as small a space as it could, walled off all neural connections save for the one pathway that controlled her autonomous functions, and physically shut down the rest of her brain. Rune blinked as the blonde twitched once and seemed to relax, her breath quietly leaving her lungs in a gentle sigh. The sigil on her forehead ceased glowing and faded to a dark gray color, the life seeming to vanish from her blue eyes as if a plug had been pulled. Her body succumbed to gravity, falling backwards and landing hard on the pillow with a hollow thump. Her eyes stared up at the ceiling, her gaze utterly empty and completely devoid of any sign of life. The medical monitor on the cart suddenly began to emit a constant tone as the EKG reading became flat, flashing a blue border around the screen. "Huh," Rune said quietly to herself, realizing that the signals meant that her guest had just gone into full and complete cardiac arrest. "I take it you didn't like that one, did you? Oh, well, so much for diplomacy...." She blinked and turned around as the doors hissed open to admit a visibly upset Master Healer Maq'i. The ancient healer paused for a split-second to take stock of the situation, her gold eyes doubling in diameter at the sight of the blood-spattered wall. She cast a furious glare at Rune as she charged over to the bed. "MOVE!" she snarled as she quite literally knocked Rune over in her haste to reach the blonde's side. She immediately slapped a button on the medical console before leaning over the princess' body, placing both hands over the motionless heart muscle. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, sending her as much of her healing energy as she could muster into Serena's chest and trying to coax the muscle into restarting on its own. Rune blinked in surprise as she found herself ptanka-first on the floor, a deep throbbing pain assaulting her backside and a cloud of sparks floating in her vision. "How dare you...." she started to say as she rose to her feet, making sure to activate the safety lock on her firearm. "HOW DARE YOU!!" Maq'i snapped over her shoulder. "I will NOT have any of this in my medical ward! *GUARDS!*" Rune blinked again as the door suddenly hissed open, a pair of Red Wings standing in the archway with their hands on their weapons and a very uncertain look in their eyes. "Master Healer?" one of them ventured, a sickened look on his face as he saw the corpse sitting in the chair. "Remove General Rune from the medical ward immediately," Maq'i snarled as she tried to increase the energy flow to the princess' stalled heart. "She is not to be let back in until I say so. That is a direct order from the Chief Medical Officer of this facility." "You're out of line," Rune snapped, her body tensing up. Maq'i blinked as Serena's heart finally responded to her healing energy, resuming a sluggish but viable rhythm on its own. She quickly turned to the medical monitor, examining the readings with intensity before casting a flat glare over her shoulder. "Guards, I am the Chief Medical Officer and you have been given a direct order based on emergency medical authority. Now get her out of here before she can try to kill my patient again!" The guards exchanged wary glances before they turned to Rune. "Ma'am, we have to comply with her order," the senior one said in a detached tone. "You need to leave this facility immediately." Rune cast a furious glance at Maq'i's back before she snorted in disdain. "We will see who is in charge around here," she muttered darkly as she headed for the door. She paused in the archway and turned around, looking at the body still tied to the chair. "You two, pick that up and take it to the next ward. I will take care of the rest myself." The guards exchanged glances again as Rune brushed past them, not overly sure what to make of the situation. They both turned to look at Maq'i as she sighed and made a gesture of idle dismissal. "You had best do as she asks," the Healer said in a weary tone. "Do not be concerned, there is more to this than it seems to be. Damn her," she spat quietly as she studied the brain-wave trace. She frowned as she realized that the needles hadn't twitched since her heart stopped and continued to draw a perfectly flat line. Both Red Wings blinked hard as she started to curse in a decidedly harsh dialect of the denizen language that was of Felinoid origin. "Master Healer?" the junior guard inquired carefully. "Carry that out of here," she said with a gesture to the corpse. "The instant you are done, contact General Al'vexi and ask her to come here as soon as she possibly can. We have a problem here," she said in a worried tone. "What should we tell her?" the senior guard asked as he gingerly stepped around a puddle of pink ooze on the floor and prepared to lift the chair up by the legs, motion for his partner to grab the other side. Maq'i sighed and turned back to the monitor, casting a saddened look at the blank stare on the princess' face. "Tell her that the Moon Princess has been stabilized, but that her mind is beyond my help. She needs a telepathic healer now, and that it might already be too late." The guards nodded in understanding. "We'll get her for you," the senior Red Wing promised as he and his partner lifted up the chair holding Darian's body and began the very distasteful process of moving it over to another room. * * * * Rune watched in silence as the guards gingerly set the chair down and left the ward in moderate haste. Sighing softly, she rose to her feet and crossed the room to lock the door. She then went back over to the chair and began to untie the elastic cord that kept him upright. "You can wake up now," she said in a casual tone. "I'm.... awake...." the corpse whispered, his lips barely moving. Rune paused at the unusual tone. "Are you okay?" she inquired. She made the mistake of glancing up at the side of his head, her stomach turning as she could see straight through the path made by the bullet to see the paint on the wall opposite her. "...No," he replied faintly. She just sighed and yanked on the knot, causing the cord to come loose. He promptly slid out of the chair and onto the floor with a hollow thump, the pinkish-red contents of his shattered skull splashing out with a sickening semi-liquid slurp. "Yeech," Rune gagged as she looked away. "Must you be so.... realistic?" "Not.... pretending...." he whispered. Rune blinked hard and whirled around to look. "What?" "Explain.... later.... trying.... to.... change...." Rune gave him a concerned look as she slowly sat down in her chair, trying to figure out what he was saying. She blinked as she heard a faint sloshing noise start up and the tips of his fingers suddenly began to melt into a dark pink goo. The melting effect seemed to spread with agonizing slowness, crawling up his arms one inch at a time. It took several seconds before the effect could spread to the rest of his body, melting and oozing together to form a single puddle of protoplasm. It was a rather disgusting process to watch but Rune continued to observe anyway, grateful for her decision to put off breakfast until after her confrontation with Sailor Moon. The puddle drew itself together and started to take on a rough humanoid form. It took another few seconds before rough details could be discerned, an elbow joint here, a kneecap there, a few muscle curves elsewhere. It must have been a full minute by Rune's reckoning before real details were visible, fingers and toes becoming identifiable, hair starting to take shape on the head, and the swells of feminine breasts forming on the torso to denote its gender. The pink goo suddenly shivered and solidified all at once, forming a layer of skin and congealing into the nude figure of Agent M. Rune's eyebrows arched up slightly at how well-toned the metamorph was in her natural form. She figured that M could be as busty or as firm as she felt like being on a given day, but it was not often that a woman of M's age could keep herself in such a seemingly youthful condition. "How do you feel?" Rune asked carefully. M didn't move at first, her eyes still closed. Very slowly, she lifted her arms up to touch the sides of her head, gently probing the solidity of her skeletal structure. "Section nine of my contract, paragraph four," M said in a very unsteady tone. Rune blinked at the unexpected reference to her contract. "Which is...?" she prompted. She had it on file, of course, but she would have to take it out and look at it for the finer details of a given section. "An exit clause," M moaned quietly, trying not to move as her brain seemed to throb in time with her pulse. "As of now, I am terminating my employment with you. It's been fun, general, but I think I've had enough of this. Ohhh, this hurts...." Rune snorted quietly. "I thought you said you could do this." "I said I might be able to," M countered quietly. "As I pointed out last night, it is extremely difficult to overcome an ingrained bias when it comes to assuming a given form. Especially when it involves rewiring the neural paths to the brain and spine. I thought I had shifted my cortex into a new physical structure I formed in my abdomen, but apparently I didn't do a very good job in setting up the neural paths. I went into shock back there, you know." The general raised an eyebrow. "So how are you feeling now?" "What do you think?" M sighed. "I have a killer headache. Literally. Let's be honest here, how well do you think you'd be feeling if someone put a gun to your head and blew out half of your processing neurons?" Rune just grumbled quietly to herself. "Should I contact a Healer?" she inquired in a slightly weary tone, casting a discreet glance at the clock. "If you think it'll do any good," M muttered as she finally opened her eyes and tried to focus on the ceiling. "I think I just need to lay down in a dark corner of my quarters for a day or two, that's all." The general snorted in contempt and stood up. "I will arrange for you to receive a suitable bonus for your cooperation in this effort," she said calmly. "I think you should take a few days off to reconsider your request to exercise the exit clause option, but the decision is ultimately up to you. No matter which you decide, you have my personal gratitude for your exemplary service," she added with genuine feeling as she turned to leave. "Rune...." M said slowly as she struggled into a sitting position. She blinked and glanced down at her naked body, grumbling very quietly to herself. Her skin started to ripple for a moment before reforming into a standard but nondescript jumpsuit. "Yes?" Rune inquired mildly with a glance over her shoulder. "What happened back there?" the metamorph asked with concern. "I wasn't paying close attention as I was trying to keep myself alive, but I heard an alarm going off. What was it?" Rune sighed and leaned against the locked door. "Apparently she thought I was bluffing, as she seemed shocked when I supposedly executed her lover. She was so shocked, in fact, that she went into cardiac arrest on the spot." "What?" M said, her head snapping up to give Rune a startled look. "You have to be kidding me, she's simply too young to have a heart-attack!" "Fine," Rune shrugged in dismissal as she palmed the lock open. "You can talk to the Master Healer if you don't believe me." "Rune, wait," M persisted. "I've studied these humans for years now. It would take a massive amount of trauma to cause her heart to simply stop like that, and I don't believe that head wound you gave her was sufficient. Humans are psychologically unstable creatures, at least from our perspective given their wide range of volatile emotions and short lifespans. It's possible that the shock of seeing her prince executed in front of her could result in mental damage of some kind." "So what's the downside?" Rune replied with another dismissive shrug. "I could care less if she lives through this or not. I only want the Imperium Silver Crystal from her, that's it. And if we can't get to it while she is still alive and able to defend it...." M just rubbed her sinuses as Rune deliberately left the rest unsaid. "If you think you can do it," she muttered quietly. "That is no longer your concern, Agent M," Rune replied flatly. "You may consider yourself on medical leave for the next seventy-two hours, after which I expect to hear from you concerning your final decision to continue working for me or not. Until then, I suggest you rest well. Headaches tend to linger if you keep thinking too hard," she added lightly before she left the room. M just laid back down on the floor and sighed quietly, still trying to make sure that her reconstituted neural pathways were fully functional. This is getting out of hand, she thought. Something isn't right with this, and I think it's time I found out just what the t'zarn is going on around here.... Taking a deep breath, M began the somewhat slow and currently painful process of dissolving her physical body into a gelatinous form. She waited until she was quite sure that all of her cells were mobile enough before she crawled over to the air vent and oozed inside, disappearing into the countless miles of ducts that crisscrossed the Imperial Castle. * * * * "Are we finished yet?" Alex asked for the fourth time as she waited for everyone else to complete various post-breakfast activities. Leda stopped in mid-motion to give her a venomous glare. "You ask that one more time and you're going to be wearing this thing," she growled as she picked up the nearly empty pot of oatmeal and carried it to the kitchen sink. "Patience, Alex," Susan admonished her quietly. "Some things should not be rushed, and an event of this magnitude is one of them." The blonde just sighed and crossed her arms. "Look, this is the Princess we're talking about, okay? She's been their prisoner for how long now? They could have done all sorts of unspeakable things to her already, and you know as well as I do that, present company aside, the Negaverse would just love to do precisely that!" Maze just sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "She has a bit of a point," he said quietly. "I don't know about the Negaverse as a whole, but I can think of a few people sadistic enough to do that...." "As you were, Lieutenant," Tolaris said flatly. "It's the truth, Commander," Maze pointed out. "Be that as it may, there's no use in dwelling on it now," Tolaris said. "What we need to focus on now is going in there and getting her back without doing any more harm than is necessary." Leda quietly returned from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "So what's the game-plan again?" she asked warily. "I'm waiting for Mina to return first," Tolaris said, giving Maze an odd look. "She did say it would only take a moment, right?" "Don't look at me," Maze shrugged. "I just thought she was going to get something from her room...." "I was," Mina said as she emerged from the residential hallway, slightly winded from moving with haste. "Sorry it took so long, I think Artemis got pissed and hid it under the bed." There was a snort of contempt from the ball of white fur in Darian's lap. "I did not," Artemis muttered, lashing his tail back and forth. "Anyway," Mina said as she looked over at Michelle. "Hey, Michelle, you have a moment?" Michelle blinked in surprise and seemed to hesitate, hovering directly behind Alex's shoulder. "Yes," she said, still clearly rattled from the earlier incident. Mina just gave her a reassuring smile as she moved over to her. "Relax, you should like this one. I kinda figured you were the timid type and all, so I picked up a special friend for you, just in case you needed an extra bit of oomph if we get in a fight. Here," she said as she held up the small device. "What the hell is that?" Alex asked, staring at the pronged box. "A tazer?" Ami said, blinking in surprise. "Bingo," Mina grinned. "See, this little beauty packs a serious punch. All you need to do is press the button here to activate it and then jab these prongs at your opponent. It'll give off a major jolt of electricity that'll leave them stunned for a few seconds." Michelle blinked and regarded the device carefully. "Umm...." "Michelle?" Susan spoke up from the table. "Think of it as mimicking the power of an electric eel." "Ohhh, I get it!" Michelle said, her eyes widening in understanding. She carefully took the tazer from Mina and looked it over. "So I just push this button here, right?" "Hold that thought, babe," Alex said as she hastily took a few steps back. "I love you dearly, but I don't need to get jabbed in the butt by accident with an electric eel-in-a-box." Michelle giggled quietly as she pressed the button. She blinked hard and nearly hit the ceiling as a powerful spark of electricity arced between the two prongs. "Eeep!" she squealed, almost dropping the device. "Easy, it's supposed to do that," Mina assured her. "If you know how an electric eel stuns its prey, then I think you can imagine what it'd do to an opponent trying to spank you stupid." Leda just shook her head. "That explains a few things about Sailor V," she observed in a dry tone. "Nah," Mina said with a wave of her hand. "That's just Maze being a very naughty boy some nights." There was a weary sigh as Maze's head dropped down to encounter the flat surface of the table. He muttered something in his native dialect, drawing a comforting pat on his shoulder from Ra'vel. "Anyway," Mina continued as she held out a small fanny pack. "I'm not sure if that'll fit in your Lunar Space pocket, but if it doesn't you can keep it tucked in here. See, this goes around your waist and fastens in the front like this," she said, demonstrating with a second pack. "Huh," Alex said quietly as she came back over to study the pouch. "Hey, what exactly is this stuff made from, anyway?" "Nylon and velcro," Mina replied. "I'll explain later," Susan said before Alex could ask. "Hmm, this could be useful," Alex said as she fastened the pouch around Michelle's waist. "Have to check this out later when this is over." "Here," Mina said as she gave a third fanny pack to Ami. "Don't give me a hard time about the contents, I have my reasons for having them as well as having you carry them. You just need to learn to trust my instincts." Ami blinked and gave her a very wary look before she unzipped the pouch and peered inside. She remained frozen for several seconds before looking back up at the blonde, her eyebrows arched clear up to her hairline. "Yes, that is what you think," Mina sighed as she looked up towards the ceiling. "Like I said, you just have to trust me on this one, okay?" Ami looked back down at the pouch and sighed heavily before wordlessly zipping it shut and strapping it around her waist. She glanced up and caught the curious look on everyone's faces, slowly shaking her head in reply. "You don't want to know," she said in a very quiet tone. "Okay," Alex said slowly as she surveyed the room. "NOW are we ready?" "We should be," Tolaris said slowly. Susan gently cleared her throat. "If I may, Commander, I am expecting a messenger to arrive in very short order with a response from Lord Hades." Whisper tossed back the last mouthful of ma'cha and set her mug back down on the table. "Well, at least we can go over the basic plan until he or she gets here," she pointed out. Tolaris nodded in understanding and looked around the room. "Okay, the general plan consists of three parts. The first is to enter the Negaverse and meet with Commander K'tal in the border village of Mar'ken. Hopefully he will be able to help us determine Serena's location and the best venue for entry. "The second part of the plan is the actual infiltration of the site where she's being held at. This will of course be a complete unknown until we get more information from K'tal, assuming he can help us. As we will then be doing things 'by the seat of our pants' as you humans say, I can't even begin to estimate the hazards and problems we may encounter. "The third part is actually getting back out of the Negaverse with Serena in hand. By this point, however, the entire military will probably have been made aware of our presence and will most likely already be attempting to engage us. Hopefully we will be able to open up a wormhole as soon as we find Serena, but there are locations in which that won't be possible. Our goal will then be to take her to a place where such wormholes can be opened and egress from there as a group." Leda shrugged. "That doesn't sound too bad," she observed. There was a soft thump as Luna hopped up onto the table. "It may sound simple, Leda, but I strongly doubt that will be the case," she cautioned. "You have to keep in mind that your Sailor Scout powers might not be available to you, as we don't know the condition of the Crystal yet. Or, for that matter, what Serena's condition is." "Tell us about this village," Rei spoke up for the first time since they resumed eating breakfast awhile ago. "It's a rather small village, to be honest," Whisper explained. "It is on mostly flat terrain with the edge of the forest on the western boundary. It is not uncommon to see one or two cargo transports in the field just north of the village, but most trading is on a small-scale done in local kiosks. A small military presence is possible, but it will be patrol-sized elements at worst. No heavy armor or aircraft." "That's a relief," Leda muttered. "Kinda hard to tornado-kick a tank and have it do something other than scratch the paint and bruise your heel." "No fighting unless absolutely necessary," Tolaris said sternly. "Our first goal is information-gathering. I suggest not transforming right away once we enter the Negaverse, the better to try to keep a low-profile. I think we can get away with posing as a small clan on a day-trip to a trading post. Ra'vel can pass as a guide, which is not uncommon in the slightest as we will be within range of a few prominent avian clans." "Ooo, ooo, question!" Mina said as she bounced on her toes for a moment. "Do you think we could indulge in a little trading while we're there? I've still got a few diamonds that Dyvach coughed up the other day, so I should be able to find a local dealer who can make me a deal for some denizen currency, right?" Tolaris and Maze exchanged glances for a moment. "Well...." Maze said in a thoughtful tone as he scratched his chin. "She can speak the language fairly well, and she did manage to avoid raising too many eyebrows last night...." The Dragoon commander sighed quietly to himself. "Mina? Keep in mind that we're there for a purpose. If you can do so without causing a scene, I don't have a problem with the idea. Keep in mind that you could put us all in very serious trouble if you expose anyone by accident." "Trust me," Mina grinned cheerfully. "We're in trouble," Leda sighed, drawing a quiet grunt from Rei. "Amen to that," Alex added with a shake of her head. "Oh, poo, listen to you spoilsports...." Mina huffed. Everyone suddenly tensed as the alarm klaxon went off. "Level 2 Danger: Tachyon particle warning, jump-gate activated inside sensor perimeter," the flat voice of the computer warned in a monotone. "That would be a planar shift," Susan said demurely. "I believe that our guest has just arrived. Would someone be so kind as to answer the door?" The group exchanged glances before a soft chime echoed throughout the cathedral. "What's that?" Alex inquired, looking up at the ceiling. "Boss?" Maze asked, giving Tolaris an odd look. Tolaris shrugged in response. "I think that's the doorbell, but to be honest I don't ever recall hearing someone use it." Everyone blinked as Darian gently moved Artemis and Myst out of his lap, setting them on the couch cushion next to him before getting up and answering the door. He stopped and blinked hard at what he saw before he took a step back, making a gesture to their visitor. "You!" Alex gasped, her eyes going wide as she recognized the woman. "Good morning," Megan said casually as she entered the cathedral, giving Darian an appraising and openly sultry look. "I like the architecture," she mused as she looked around, her massive wings flexing slightly. "Relax, Rei," Susan said calmly as the priestess hissed in shock at the sight of Megan's demonic wings. "May I introduce my sister, Megan," she said to the room. Everyone blinked hard and turned to stare at her. "Your sister?" Alex said slowly, her jaw falling open. "Half-sister," Megan said archly, the tiny pair of wings on her head fluttering briefly. She was wearing the same attire she had worn when Susan first met her, consisting mostly of a wide purple ribbon around her waist that came up to cross her breasts and a pair of black panties beneath a knee-length black loin-cloth. "You never told us you had a sister!" Alex protested forcefully. "I didn't find out myself until two days ago," Susan replied in a calm tone, giving the upset blonde a moderate look. "You were with me when I met her for the first time in the present-day Moon Kingdom." "Susan!" Megan said sharply, her ruby eyes widening in shock. "What in the Burning Hells happened to your wings?" Susan just sighed quietly and flexed her damaged wings. "I assure you that you and I will have the opportunity to discuss it at length in the near future," she replied. "We have more important matters to concern ourselves with at the moment, however." Megan gave her sister an odd look as she carefully folded her wings back. They were easily twice the size of Susan's wings and could brush the floor by accident if she wasn't careful enough. "I'm not sure what is going on, but I know that the entire pantheon is in an uproar," she said, glancing around the room. She paused and did a double-take as she saw Ra'vel. "Speaking of not being sure about things...." "This is Lieutenant Ra'vel of the Negaverse," Susan explained. "She and the other denizens are here in our universe to assist us. This is Commander Tolaris, Lieutenant Maze, and Captain Whisper." "Morning," Maze said casually. "Oh," Megan replied, slightly nonplussed. "So you're the invaders who started this whole mess." "That is not the case," Susan sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. Everyone suddenly blinked as there was a flash of light as a young girl warped into the room. "Hope I'm not late...." she panted, tugging a few minor wrinkles out of her somewhat form-fitting leotard. "Level 2 Danger," the computer suddenly reported as alarm klaxons went off. "Tachyon particle warning, jump-gate activated inside sensor perimeter." "Lisa," Megan sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "How many times have I told you never to teleport into a crowded room?" "Whoops," the other succubus said, blushing furiously. "I'm sorry...." "And this is my other sister, Lisa," Susan said dryly. "Hi, everyone!" Lisa said cheerfully as she looked around the room. "I think I'm going to be sick," Leda muttered quietly. The purple-haired succubus blinked and looked over at her. "Oh, don't do that," Lisa said, making a sour face. "Umm.... who are you, anyway?" "My name's Leda," the brunette replied in a wary tone. "Zeus' avatar," Susan added, causing the other two succubi to blink hard. "Whoa...." Lisa said, her voice taking on a nervous edge. "Sorry, didn't mean to be rude or anything...." Alex just shook her head slowly. "Sue, you're going to give me a major headache if you don't sit down and sort this out real quick." Megan just raised an eyebrow. "Introductions would be nice." "Good idea," Lisa said, nodding her head with enthusiasm. "Can you start with that hunk over there?" she said, gesturing to a visibly wary Darian. "He looks like he can be a lot of fun if he puts his mind to it...." Susan didn't bother looking behind her to see who was gently rubbing her upper back in comfort. "That is Prince Darian of Earth," she said in a gentle tone. "He is not to be touched, is that clear?" "Awwww," Lisa pouted, giving Darian a disappointed look. Susan just shook her head and continued with the introductions. "This is Ami Mizuno, avatar of Mercury.... Leda Kino, avatar of Jupiter.... Rei Hino, avatar of Mars.... Mina Aino, avatar of Venus.... Alex Ten'ou, avatar of Uranus.... and Michelle Kaiou, avatar of Neptune. Oh, and this is Luna, that is Artemis, and the gray kitten is Myst," she added with a gesture to the cats. "Ah, so there you are," Megan observed as she glanced at the Shinma. "I was wondering what happened to you." "What happened?" Lisa inquired, walking over to the couch to get a better look at both Darian and the gray kitten. "Careful," Megan warned her. "That's not a cat." Lisa froze in mid-motion, her arms out-stretched to pick Myst up. "Ummm, then what is she?" she inquired carefully, giving Darian a worried look. "Does it matter who or what she is?" Darian replied in a faintly edged tone, causing everyone else to blink in surprise. Lisa regarded him very carefully before looking down at Myst. "Okay, so what are you, then?" she inquired calmly, giving Darian a dismissive shrug. "Shinma," Myst replied quietly, visibly wary of the succubus. "Huh," Lisa said slowly, giving Artemis a measured look. "He's just an ordinary cat, though, right?" "Hardly," Artemis muttered sourly, causing Lisa to blink hard. "Hey, how'd you learn how to talk?" she blurted out, her eyes wide. Susan sighed quietly. "You may converse with them later, Lisa. We have more important matters to deal with at the moment. Megan, do you have a reply from Lord Hades, by chance?" The pure-blooded succubus sighed quietly. "I think so, but I'm not privy to what the answer itself is. He said you would know what this means," she explained as she carefully untied a small black silk bag from the edge of her loin-cloth and tossed it across the room. Susan gently caught the bag before it could bounce off of her chest, her eyebrows arched up to her hairline. "Interesting," she said to herself as she untied the silk strings and peered inside. "Well?" Mina prompted, tapping her foot impatiently with curiosity. "So what is it?" Susan merely turned the bag upside-down and held it over the table. She then spoke a single word, her voice rasping in her throat as she forced her vocal chords to pronounce the harsh syllables. Everyone gathered around the table to watch as a series of small black triangles started to pour out from the bag. The pieces began to organize into a geometric shape, much like a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. The process took about a full minute to complete before the last piece popped out from the bag and fell into place with a soft click, leaving behind a ten-sided box that sparkled as if it were cut from polished onyx. "Wow, that's pretty," Mina observed. "Pretty spooky, you mean," Alex replied. "How'd they all fit into that little bag, anyway?" "Magic," Lisa chimed in with a small smile. "Multi-dimensional physics," Susan countered. "It's hardly magic." Darian just shook his head. "Any sufficiently advanced science, when seen by the uninitiated, is indistinguishable from magic," he quoted softly. "I forget who said that, but they have a very valid point." Leda shrugged. "Well, both Rei's spiritual powers and the denizen Chaos Factor can seem like magic if you're not paying attention, so why not?" "So what's in the box?" Mina inquired, her eyes burning with curiosity. Megan just shook her head slowly. "Does the name 'Pandora' mean anything to you, little girl?" she said archly. "This is not Pandora's Box," Susan countered as Mina's blue eyes promptly doubled in diameter. "Granted the structure is similar, but I assure you that relic is kept in quite secure hands. What this box holds is a gift of power," she said, her voice dropping to a soft tone as she lifted the lid up. Nestled inside were ten exquisitely crafted rings, each one different than the next. A large gemstone was prominently set in the center of each ring, a faint glow visible deep within the heart of each gem. The rings themselves had been made from a variety of rare and precious ores, a curious and unique blend of silver, gold, platinum, adamantium, titanium, and cinnabar. "Hey...." Lisa protested as she tried peering over Ami's shoulder. "What exactly are those? I've never seen anything like them before. Your aura feels odd, by the way," she said quietly to Ami. Susan sighed. "Leave her alone, she's a denizen vampire." Lisa blinked hard and looked at Ami, drawing a rather wary look in return. "Huh," the succubus said slowly after a lengthy silence. "You don't look like a noble vampire...." Megan raised an eyebrow. "And this is supposed to be Hermes' avatar?" she asked Susan, giving her a dubious look. "What happened?" "Hey, why don't you two back off for a few?" Leda suggested in a dangerous tone as Susan sighed heavily again. "I don't give a good goddamn if you are her sisters, you don't just walk into our house and start giving us grief over what we've been through. After all, I didn't see your butts there to give us a hand while we were busy saving the world...." "ENOUGH!" Susan said, closing her eyes and trying to slow her breathing. Rei looked at the rest of the group for a few moments before she slowly reached out to touch one of the rings. "What sort of power do they have?" she asked softly as she felt a very strong tingle beneath her fingertips. "Elemental," Susan said quietly. "Pure, raw elemental domain power. As Lord Hades has sent this to us, I am of the impression that we are being given temporary use of their power. Rei, the Ring of Fire is off to your right, the one with the dark red ruby." Rei looked up at her for a moment before moving her hand to pick up the ring. The band appeared to have been forged from a mix of titanium and the oddly-colored cinnabar, while the gemstone could easily have been a four-carat ruby of the highest quality. The priestess studied the glow in the depths of the gem before she carefully slipped it on the ring finger of her right hand. Rei's expression suddenly went vacant for a moment before she blinked, the sign of Mars briefly flaring into view on her forehead. She looked down at the ring on her finger with amazement, her eyebrows arching up to her hairline. "Well?" Mina prompted her with a gentle nudge. "I see," Rei replied in a distant tone. "The cost associated with using this power is.... not to be taken lightly, but still...." Alex sighed and started to roll her neck around. "Okay, Chancellor," she said in a bored tone. "Tell us what's going on this time." Susan opened her mouth to reply but was pre-empted by Rei. "She's right," the priestess said quietly. "These rings contain raw power associated with our elemental domains. I remember now how to unleash my Firestorm Rage, but it requires a tremendous amount of energy and is not a trivial undertaking." "Rei, are you alright?" Ami asked gently as she slipped her computer out of her Lunar Space pocket and began to scan the priestess. "No," Rei replied calmly, drawing a sharp look from Ami. "But at least I understand a little bit more now." "Okay," Leda said slowly as she looked into the container. "So do we each get one or what?" Susan reached inside and carefully gathered up several of the rings before she turned to the rest of the group. "For the moment, yes. This is the Ring of Lightning," she said, giving a gold ring inset with a large emerald to her. Leda carefully put the ring on and froze in place, the sign of Jupiter momentarily flaring on her forehead. "Oh, wow," she breathed a moment later. "What kind of fruit did this juice come from? Damn...." Mina raised an eyebrow. "You alright?" The brunette glanced down at the ring before shaking her head. "Dunno. Like Rei said, this is some powerful stuff. I really want to see what this Lightning Barrage thing can do, but it feels like some awfully heavy artillery to be calling down on a whim...." Susan nodded as she held up a ring fashioned from a blend of silver and platinum, inset with a brilliant orange garnet. "I would not recommend using it unless you are in a dire situation. Mina, this is the Ring of Light," she said, holding out the ring to her. "Oooo, this is sooooo pretty," the blonde cooed as she accepted the ring and slipped it on. She blinked hard as the sign of Venus abruptly flashed on her forehead and she reached out to grab onto the nearest solid object. "Hey, hey, hey, watch it," Alex protested, trying to keep her balance as Mina's weight on her arm threatened to tip her over. Mina let go and looked at her fingertip carefully. "Wow," she said in a hushed tone, examining the way the light was reflecting off of the manicured nail. "Divine Retribution indeed. This'll put a dent in someone's day...." "Ami," Susan said next, holding out a silver and titanium ring inset with a large dark-blue sapphire. "This is the Ring of Ice." Ami looked at the ring carefully before accepting it, blinking as it felt unusually heavy in her hand. She gently put the ring on, gasping as her blood seemed to freeze solid in her veins. Knowledge imprinted itself on her mind, unlocking hidden memories and awakening the secrets of the Arctic Blizzard in her soul. She blinked as she suddenly found herself engaging in a quick but fierce battle with her vampiric nature, the inner darkness trying to surge into full consciousness before becoming dormant once again. The clash of willpower only lasted an instant, but the effort was enough to leave her feeling exhausted on the inside and more than a little empty for some reason. "Yeow!" Lisa yelped as she stumbled back, bumping hard into Tolaris and almost sending them both tumbling to the floor. "What now?" Megan snapped, narrowing her eyes. "You couldn't feel that?" the purple-haired succubus sniffed as she stood up straight, giving Ami a wide-eyed look. "I thought her soul was going to explode for a moment!" Ami looked down at the ring on her finger. It was a little gaudy in her opinion, but she couldn't deny the tremendous feeling of power it contained. "That.... probably wasn't too far off the mark," she said quietly, wondering why her vampiric nature had reacted so strongly a moment ago. "Great," Alex sighed as Susan turned to her, holding a pure silver ring inset with a vibrant yellow topaz. "You're making me very leery of trying to wear one of those things, you know," the blonde added. "This is the Ring of Wind," Susan said gently as she gave the ring to the edgy blonde. "The choice is yours whether to wear it or not." Alex looked down at the ring with a neutral expression, visibly fighting with uncertainty. She blinked hard as Michelle snuggled up behind her, both arms sliding around her waist to grab both the ring and her hand at the same time. She held her breath in edgy silence as Michelle kissed her neck softly, holding the blonde's hand steady as she put the ring on. The breath left Alex's lungs in a soft whoosh as the sign of Uranus began to glow on her forehead, her blue eyes widening as the power coursed through her body. "Oh, baby, maybe you're right...." she said in a husky tone. Michelle giggled and turned her head around to give her a proper kiss, gently squeezing the blonde's hand in her own. "It looks good on you," she whispered in reply when they broke apart. Leda glanced over in time to catch the curious look on Lisa's face. The succubus made a discreet gesture, pointing back and forth between Alex and Michelle with a questioning look in her eyes. Leda replied with a helpless shrug and a nod, drawing a look of satisfied understanding from Lisa. "Michelle," Susan said as she held out a ring made from a blend of silver, platinum, and titanium inset with an aquamarine. "The Ring of Water." Michelle accepted the ring and looked at it for a moment, seeing how the gemstone sparkled in the light. She carefully put it on her hand and became perfectly still, her eyes widening as the sign of Neptune began to pulse on her forehead for several seconds. She blinked and suddenly whimpered, giving Susan a hurt look. "I.... I don't think I can use this," she breathed. "I'd need to harness an ocean, and the sheer destruction it would cause...." "Easy, love," Alex murmured quietly as she rubbed Michelle's back. "You don't have to use it if you don't think it'll help." "She's right," Leda said quietly as she studied her ring. "These things are some pretty heavy guns to be using. You sure this is a good idea?" Maze chuckled quietly, drawing an assortment of odd looks. "You have to be kidding," he said with bemusement. "Keep in mind we're about to sneak into the Negaverse, and if we're not real quiet about it we'll be going up against at least a sixth of the entire military if not more." "Ugh," Mina sighed. "Don't remind me." "Susan?" Tolaris asked quietly. "Which one is that?" Susan held up the last ring she was holding, composed entirely of dark adamantium and inlaid with a dark green zircon. "This is the Ring of Shadow," she said quietly before slipping it onto her finger. She closed her eyes as the sign of Pluto flared into existence on her head for a few moments. "While I am unable to accompany you on your mission, I can still probably make use of this power some other time." "So what are these other three?" Mina inquired as she looked inside the unusual geometric box. "The Rings of Earth, Death, and Life," Susan explained. "The domain of elemental Earth has never been granted to a Sailor Scout, so its powers are of no use to any of us. The power of Death has always been the domain of the House of Saturn, which is unfortunately lost to us now." Alex snorted quietly. "You'd think that Death would be your particular ball of wax, not just Shadow," she muttered. Susan gave her a faintly amused look. "While I find Death to be rather intriguing in of itself, my House is only concerned with the souls of the Dead once they're dead. How they wind up as such is of no major importance to us." "Thanks, Sue, that's a real comfort to know," Alex replied acidly. "And the Ring of Life?" Rei asked quietly. "The Royal House," Susan answered. "I'm surprised you had to ask." "Good, take it with us," Leda spoke up. "We can give it to Serena once we find her. Mina, you're closest." "Already ahead of you," Mina replied as she reached in to pick up the shiny platinum ring with a truly brilliant white diamond inset in the center. "Here, Darian, you carry this," she said as she gently pitched it across the room. "You can have the honor of putting it on her finger." Darian said nothing as he reached up to catch the ring. He studied it for a moment before he looked back up at Susan. "Maybe someone else should give this to her," he said very quietly. "Gee, your Highness, don't act too happy to have it," Alex grumbled. "Or are you afraid of something happening?" "Serena was just mad earlier," Leda said with a soft sigh. "Trust me, she'll be glad to see you again." There was a small blur of motion as Artemis crossed the room and hopped up onto the table. "You girls might be reading too much into this," he said with a flick of his tail. "After all, how would you react if the guy in your life walked up to you and handed you a diamond ring like that?" "Whoa...." Mina said, blinking hard. "He's got a point." "Especially if it contains the gift of Life," Rei added softly. Alex just rolled her eyes. "Oh, give me a break. Darian, just be a man and give her the ring once we find her. We can worry about sorting out any misunderstandings later once we're all back here in one piece." "Ami?" Susan spoke up. "You look like you want to say something...." "What?" Ami blinked. "Oh, umm.... I was just thinking that sometimes it might be better to avoid any misunderstandings entirely. Keep in mind that's probably what started this whole mess to begin with." "Darian?" Michelle said quietly. "You do want to marry her one day and start a family eventually.... right? Do you still love the Princess?" The silence that followed her question seemed to hang in the air like a lead weight. All eyes turned towards Darian as he visibly hesitated, still staring down at the exquisite diamond ring he was holding in his hand. "You've got to be kidding me," Leda said softly, her shoulders drooping as the realization of the situation started to sink into her mind. "Darian, what the hell happened between you two?" "Have you ever had doubts before?" Darian said very quietly. "Not about the other person in your life, but about yourself? About your worth, about how much you can possibly bring into this?" "Your Highness," Susan said slowly, "Now is not the time for this...." "Hold this," Mina said as she removed the Ring of Light and handed it to Maze. She then walked over to Darian, idly tugged out a wrinkle in his shirt, flexed her wrist a few times, and then proceeded to slam her fist right into the center of his stomach. "Mina!" Ami cried out as Darian coughed and sank to his knees. The blonde ignored her and reached out to grab Darian's collar with both hands, yanking him up to eye-level. "Listen very closely," she said in a very soft tone. "In five minutes, we are going to take a shot at kicking open the gates of Hell itself in order to find and rescue Serena. If you're too busy wallowing in self-pity and doubts, then you need to keep your butt right here with the demon and the cats because you'll only get in our way. We're trying to save her, and I'll be damned if I'm going to go to all the trouble of doing so just to watch you cut her heart out because you don't care enough to return the depth of her love for you. If you don't love her anymore, I suggest you get the hell out of here while you're still in one piece and don't let any of us ever see you again. Or are you finally going to wake up and start acting like the man that she fell in love with and the rest of us have come to deeply respect and even love for ourselves as a true friend?" she added gently. The silence lasted for several seconds before Darian was able to reply to her. "Are you trying to tell me something?" he said in a near-whisper. Mina just sighed quietly. "Maybe I should have kicked you in the balls instead," she grumbled. "C'mon, I know you're really not this dense.... You coming with us or not?" "Do I have time to think about this?" Darian hedged. "Sure you do," Mina replied cheerfully as she glanced up at the clock on the wall. "You have exactly three minutes and fifty-three seconds to decide before either myself or Tolaris opens the wormhole to the Negaverse." Alex sighed and squeezed Michelle's hand gently. "I think I would have kicked him in the balls," she muttered quietly. "Is this for real?" "Susan?" Rei said quietly. "Will any harm come to him if he wears that ring he's holding?" Susan blinked hard at the thought. "I don't believe so, but he certainly wouldn't be able to make use of its powers...." "Rei, what are you up to?" Ami asked in a wary tone. The priestess ignored her and put a gentle hand on Mina's shoulder. "Let him go, he knows what he needs to do," she said in a soft tone. Mina stared back at her for several long seconds before she looked up at the ceiling. "Rei, whatever are we going to do with you?" she said with a theatrical sigh before releasing her hold on Darian's collar. "Here, he's all yours. Try not to break him, okay?" Myst sighed and looked over at Artemis. "These humans are so strange," she protested sourly. "You're telling me," the white cat muttered, shaking his head. "Hey, I'm half-human," Lisa pouted. "And you're just as strange," Megan pointed out. "I beg your pardon," Susan interjected dryly. "Begging usually works better when you're on your knees," Mina observed. "You know, much like Darian still is...." Darian just gave her a disgruntled look as he slowly stood up, making a face as a joint popped somewhere along the way. He looked over at Rei before he looked down at the ring still tightly held in his hand, sighing quietly to himself as he tucked it away in his pocket. "Are we finished yet?" Alex said in a bored tone. "Well, what's it going to be?" Mina said as Darian absently rubbed his stomach. "And don't look at me like that, I didn't hit you that hard." "I'm coming with you," Darian said quietly, giving Rei a sidelong glance. "And yes, I know what I need to do." Leda just sighed and rubbed her temples lightly. "Took you long enough," she groused. "Don't know what you've been thinking lately, but it was starting to make me worry." "Myst?" Susan said quietly. "Would you please go with Darian? I think you can learn the most from him at this point." Megan raised a delicate green eyebrow. "You're taking a Shinma along on an assignment like this?" she asked archly, the wings at her temples starting to flutter madly. "I'm not, they are," Susan countered with a look of her own. "Myst has proven to be a very reliable ally and has very much earned my trust." "If you insist," Megan replied with a sigh. "Stop that," she added as she gently patted her hair, causing the tiny wings to hold still. Mina and Rei exchanged glances before the blonde shrugged helplessly. "Don't look at me," Mina sighed. "I never heard of a succubus with two sets of wings like that." "What, this?" Megan inquired, gesturing to the tiny bat-like wings on her head. The wings began fluttering again and the succubus sighed. "I think he wants out anyway. Hang on," she said as she began fussing with her hair. "Now what?" Alex muttered, warily watching Megan's movements. Everyone blinked hard as she removed something from her hair and held it up. Sitting upright on her finger was a small black bat, nervously fluttering its wings before stretching them out and holding perfectly still. "What the hell is that?" Leda asked, her eyebrows arched up in surprise. "A hair ornament?" Whisper suggested. "Exactly," Megan said, lightly running a fingertip along the bat's back. The bat flapped its wings for a few seconds and seemed to fall backwards. It held onto her finger with its feet, ending up in an upside-down position with its wings folded up against its body. "This is Balregu." "That's amusing," Maze grunted quietly. "That's crazy," Mina countered. "Does that mean you want to give it a try?" Leda smirked. Susan smiled gently. "Actually, he'd probably find it easier to use your barrette as a perch than Mina's bow," she said, gesturing to the ever-present green barrette in Leda's ponytail. "Maybe once we get back," Leda replied in a sarcastic tone. "They're fun," Lisa spoke up. "They take a bit to train properly, and I don't like them enough to wear them all the time like Megan does, but they have their uses." "Here," Megan said, holding out her finger to the brunette. "He's quite tame and utterly harmless. Unless you're an insect," she added. Alex sighed heavily and reached out to snag Tolaris' arm. "Be a dear and just open up that swirly thing for us," she grumbled. "We'll come back to get the goofballs later." "Five minutes," Maze promised before Tolaris could open his mouth. "You girls might want to use the bathroom first, as we have no idea how long this will take or when we'll be able to find a toilet more civilized than a bush." Maze just blinked as the room seemed to empty within thirty seconds of his poignant reminder. "Huh," he said quietly as he looked around the room, seeing only himself, Tolaris, Darian, the cats, and the three succubi left. "That was rather disturbing. I've never seen Ra'vel move that quickly without food being involved...." Darian just laughed very softly to himself. "I remember seeing this one happen before," he said. "Remember the last time we went in?" "I do," Tolaris said with a nod and a faint smile. "Men," Luna muttered quietly, flicking her tail back and forth as she eyed the small bat still hanging from Megan's finger. "If I may offer a word of advice, Luna?" Susan said demurely. "Trying to talk to succubi about men is.... not wise in polite company." "That's pushing the term," Maze chuckled, drawing a dour look from both Tolaris and Darian. "As you were, Lieutenant," Tolaris sighed. Darian blinked as Myst hopped up onto the table next to him, looking at him with her pale red eyes. "I take it you want to come with me?" he asked as he absently started to scratch her behind her ears. "It might be prudent," Susan advised, flexing her wings gently. "Your wings!" Lisa gasped hard, her own wings twitching hard in shock. "Later," Megan said curtly. Darian looked over his shoulder at the demonic sisters. "You two don't get along too well, do you?" Megan shrugged absently. "Same father, different species of mothers," she said simply, as if that explained everything. "Think of it as a cultural and social bias in demonic society," Susan said in a flat tone, giving Megan a decidedly unamused look. "They tend to view a fruitful union between a human and a demon as being.... unworthy." There was a soft grunt behind them as Leda came back into the room. "Bet you'll have a lot to talk about while we're gone," she said with a soft grunt. "I'm looking forward to it," Lisa babbled happily. "I've heard so much about Susan, but never got the chance to meet her until yesterday. WHOA!" she yelped as she saw Myst suddenly turn into an inky black ooze that started to crawl up Darian's arm. "Hey, what's she doing?!" "It's okay," Darian said quietly, watching with curiosity and a moderate degree of trepidation as the decidedly warm and squishy mass spread across his entire arm. It seemed to sink into the fabric of his sleeve like water in a sponge before the wriggling quit and the color changed to match. "That felt weird," he observed, experimentally flexing and twisting his arm. "What did?" Mina inquired as she bounded back into the room. "You don't want to know," Darian replied, causing the blonde to blink. "Ooooooooookay...." "Can you do me a favor?" Megan asked Leda, holding out her finger again. "Can you let him outside for a few minutes? I think he has to fly around and grab a quick bite to eat." Leda blinked and regarded the bat very carefully before she held out her own finger and lightly brushed it against the bat's feet. She watched as the bat carefully let go of Megan's finger and grabbed onto her instead, still hanging upside-down. "Huh," Leda said as she headed for the porch, keeping a wary eye on the bat the entire time. "He's awfully light, you know...." "Hey, where's she going?" Alex said as she strode back into the room in time to catch Leda heading outside. "I think she's walking the bat," Maze said lightly. "Brave woman," Alex commented, giving Megan a sidelong glance. "I pounced a bat once," Artemis said with a large yawn. "Caught it in a tree taking a nap. They're feisty little bastards, though. He almost busted my eardrum with his screeching, not to mention how many times I got slapped in the face before he finally flew away." "Bitch-slapped by a bat?" Alex chuckled. "Now that's a first...." "That will be enough, Alex," Susan sighed quietly. "Beats being bat-slapped by a bitch," the white cat muttered darkly. "Excuse me!" Mina protested sharply. "There's no excuse for you, babe," Alex smirked. Luna just sighed and exchanged weary glances with Susan. "At least they seem to be getting along just fine," the cat said in a gentle tone. "So how'd you learn to talk?" Lisa said as she sat down on the couch and picked up Artemis. "How'd you learn how to talk?" Artemis shot back, causing the succubus to blink with surprise. "I'm a Lunar cat, we can all talk like humans." Darian glanced over his shoulder as Ami and Michelle emerged from the hallway. He blinked hard as he realized that Michelle was visibly trembling and that Ami was gently holding her wrist. "Is something wrong?" "Mich!" Alex said, her eyes widening. "What's wrong?" "I remember," Michelle blurted out as she darted across the room and into Alex's arms. "I remember what happened.... Oh, god, Alex...." she whimpered. "Hey, whoa, take it easy, love," Alex said as she rubbed her back gently. Ami looked over her shoulder as Rei approached, a small frown tugging on her lips as she saw the unreadable mask of guarded emotions on her face. "Rei, is something wrong?" she asked quietly. The priestess just shook her head. "We'll see," she replied, her voice completely empty of any hint of emotion. Susan stood up and walked over to Michelle. "What do you remember?" she asked in a gentle tone, lightly laying a hand on her shoulder. "It.... it happened twice," Michelle sniffed, wiping a stray tear away. "The first time was when we were back in the Moon Kingdom. I heard a voice, and I don't know why, but I went into the Palace and took Queen Serenity's brooch, the one she used to use before she became Queen...." "I see," Susan said in an eerily calm voice, her expression slipping into a neutral mien that was disturbingly similar to Rei's. "And the second time was last night, when you gave her the brooch?" she asked gently. "Yes," Michelle whimpered quietly. "Susan, I'm so sorry...." Susan shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Michelle. The brooch isn't worth much, aside from mere sentimental value. I don't know why someone would go to all the trouble of having it taken, but I will try to find out while you and the others focus on rescuing the princess." Ami blinked and glanced over at Rei, getting a neutral look in response. An icy chill started to crawl down her spine as something told her that Susan knew far more about the brooch's value than she was letting on. The air shimmered briefly as Whisper teleported back into the room. She looked around and blinked as she felt a sudden tension in the air, then frowned as she saw Michelle tightly clutching Alex for emotional support. "Michelle, are you okay?" she asked gently. "She merely remembered what went on last night," Susan said calmly. "I'm not entirely sure what to make of the situation, but I can say with certainty that it has no impact or bearing on the importance of finding the Princess." "I see," the telepath replied, raising an eyebrow at the way Susan framed her reply. She glanced around the room and did a quick head-count. "So we're just waiting for Ra'vel and Leda to finish up?" "I'm here," Leda said in a flat tone as she stalked back into the room. "Oh, my," Mina gasped, bursting into a fit of giggles as she saw the bat perched upside-down on her barrette. "Shaddup," the brunette grumbled. "He went flying around, almost took a dump on my foot, and then decided to land on my head." She paused as she saw the array of looks she was receiving and sighed. "What?" she asked Ami. "That actually looks pretty good on you," Ami replied, tilting her head to observe the small black bat. His was holding his wings out, making it seem as if her barrette had been tied up with a dark bow. "No, I'm serious," she added when she was growled at. "Heh," Artemis chuckled as he curled up in Lisa's lap. "So who wants to start with the bat jokes? I can come up with a few...." "Not now, Artemis," Susan chided him gently. Leda sighed and shook her head rapidly, trying to dislodge the bat. It wobbled precariously for a few seconds but held on tight, refusing to be moved from its new perch. "C'mon, this isn't the kind of fashion statement I wanna make, you know? Ami's the vampire, she can wear the bat," she grumbled. Megan laughed softly to herself as she held out her hand and made a very peculiar whistling noise. The bat immediately let go of Leda's barrette and flew around the room, circling her hand several times before swooping in for a landing on her finger. "Thank you," Leda sighed, giving the still-giggling Mina a dark look. "Spoilsport," the blonde grinned. The air shimmered again as Ra'vel teleported into the room. She made a sour chirping noise to herself as she fluffed up her feathers, giving Rei a somewhat unhappy look. "What?" Rei blinked. Maze coughed discreetly. "She said something about the toilet seat." "But I didn't move the toilet seat!" Rei protested. "I think that's the problem," Maze said, scratching his head. "I won't even pretend to understand it either, I'm just telling you what she said...." Michelle reached up to clamp her hand around Alex's mouth just as she took a deep breath. "Don't say it," she said quietly. "We know you're ready." "Awwite, awwite," Alex grumbled around her hand. Tolaris looked around the room carefully before he sighed softly. "Well, unless anyone has anything to say...." he said as he held up the small purple Silkworm crystal. "Commander?" Susan said as she picked up Luna and sat down next to Lisa on the couch. "I hate to say this, but the Imperium Silver Crystal must be brought back, even if that's all you can accomplish. This universe will begin to deteriorate after awhile without it, and thus is of more significance than the Moon Princess...." "What the hell?" Alex blurted out. "Sue, how can you just...!" "We will bring both back," Tolaris interrupted, laying a hand on Alex's shoulder. "It might take a day or two, but we'll find a way." "Please, be careful," Luna pleaded quietly as the wormhole irised open a few feet away from the Dragoon. "We'll do our best, Luna," Leda sighed as she eyed the landscape through the swirling maelstrom. "Bleah, just look at those storm clouds...." "Okay, kids," Maze said as he clapped his hands together. "We're all just one big, happy clan on our way to check out a local trading post, so let's not do anything out-of-character that'd get us killed...." "See you guys later," Mina waved before she stepped into the wormhole, followed by Leda and Whisper. "Second thoughts?" Tolaris said very quietly to Alex as she stared at the wormhole and the alien landscape beyond. The blonde just sighed and glanced over at Michelle. "I suppose you could put it that way," she muttered. "C'mon, babe, let's get this over with and go find the Princess." Michelle whimpered in response and held her hand tightly as they stepped through the wormhole and into the Negaverse. Tolaris cast a quick glance over his shoulder at Ami before following the women into his native world. "It'll be alright," Ami said quietly to Darian. "We'll find her." "That's not what bothers me," he replied distantly before he strode past her and disappeared into the dimensional vortex, followed by Ra'vel. Ami blinked hard and glanced over at the priestess. "Rei...?" "Ask me later," she replied quietly before she walked over to the portal and stepped through it, leaving just Ami and Maze left to go. Maze sighed and made a motion. "Come on, Ami, we can sort this out as we go along. I know something isn't right with Darian, but we can't stop to take a breather now. You ladies behave while we're gone, okay?" he said to the succubi as Ami sighed and entered the wormhole. Megan raised an eyebrow. "And if we don't?" Maze paused for a moment before shrugging helplessly. "Well, just don't do it around the reactor unless you like the taste of raw anti-matter. Susan, don't worry, we'll bring Serena and the Crystal back." "Take care, Lieutenant," Susan replied softly as Maze stepped into the wormhole. The swirling vortex suddenly collapsed in on itself and vanished, leaving no trace of it ever having existed. Megan just shook her head as she carefully wedged Balregu back into place on the perch tied in her hair. "And those were the avatars of the pantheon?" she muttered. "You have to be kidding me." "I kind of liked them," Lisa spoke up as she ran her fingertips through Artemis' fur. "They seem like fun people to be around. Susan, are you okay?" Susan sighed and leaned back, spreading her wings enough to avoid hitting them against the back of the couch. "Not really," she admitted. "Something about this bothers me greatly. Who would send an umbra to possess Michelle, have her steal Serenity's brooch, and then send a succubus to pick it up? And why the brooch to begin with?" "Power?" Megan suggested casually. "That usually is why an artifact is stolen from its resting place." "But only the Celestial Houses can use that kind of power," Susan pointed out. "And even so, what in the name of Creation can it be used for anymore? The brooch lost its power when Serenity assumed the throne as Queen...." "Oh, my, you must like this," Lisa giggled as Artemis began purring very loudly in response to her caresses. Megan just rolled her eyes and glanced over at Susan. "You're half-human like she is, see if you can teach her anything useful," she muttered before she drew her wings in and plane-shifted out of the room. Susan frowned at the sudden departure, ignoring the monotone voice of the cathedral's computer as it reported an alarm about tachyons. She glanced over at her half-sister and sighed, realizing that her life probably just became even more complicated. Lisa looked up at her and sighed. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I know I'm not like her at all, which is frustrating for the both of us. I just.... don't like how she does things sometimes, that's all. I can't help it." Susan nodded in understanding. "It's your human nature," she replied, trying very hard not to remember the decades of struggle she had to endure to adapt to demonic society and still live with her conscience. "It is a.... most persistent part of you, but it has its uses," she conceded. "You've got the persistent part right," Lisa muttered. Susan smiled and held out her hand. "Come, my long-lost sister, we have much to talk about. And seeing how I probably won't be going anywhere for at least several more hours, why not spend the time getting to know one another?" Lisa blinked hard and looked at her as if she had suddenly grown an extra appendage. "You know...." she said slowly, "I think you're the first person in a century to say something like that to me. All of the other succubi just want to play around and poke fun at my heritage...." "I know," Susan replied. "I had the same experiences growing up." "What.... was it like?" Lisa ventured carefully. Susan sighed and looked down at the black cat in her lap, her ears perked up and listening very intently. She glanced over at Lisa's lap and saw that Artemis was in a very similar pose. "Well, that's certainly a long story," she warned her sibling. Lisa sighed and folded her wings back before gently leaning back against the couch cushions. "Lady Persephone said I was to remain with you until the Moon Princess was returned. Unless you had an objection, of course." "Which I don't," Susan pointed out with a soft smile. "Which means I have the time to listen," Lisa finished with a dry grin. Susan nodded and made herself comfortable. "Very well," she said quietly. She was silent for several moments as she tried to decide where to begin, then after taking a deep breath, she began to talk about her memories as a mere child growing up in the Moon Kingdom, long before she learned she was far from what she seemed to be.... * * * * Nop'tera paused before the locked cargo bay doors, a soft sigh escaping her lips as she tried not to think about what was about to happen. She knew that his loyalty to her was beyond question, but he would still seek to get under her skin in some way or another. It was his twisted nature to do so, which is one of the reasons she still kept alive and imprisoned as her chief interrogator instead of having him executed for his crimes so long ago. She often wondered if her fondness for Felinoids as a species had anything to do with it, as well as with a few of her other choices in the past, but she just as often tried not to dwell on it. She blinked and snapped out of her reverie as the comm-link on her belt chittered. She cast a curious glance upwards at the nearest bulkhead speaker, wondering what was going on that she couldn't be summoned over the internal broadcast network. Frowning slightly, she unclipped the tiny device and held it up to her head. "Nop'tera," she said simply as she opened the link. "Ma'am, this is the Watch Officer," the voice replied calmly. "We have just received a confirmed report of shots having been fired inside the Royal Medical Suite, and that the Moon Princess had been wounded." Nop'tera just closed her eyes as her dark temper suddenly flared up. Her lips pulled back in a snarl that clearly exposed her fangs, and it took her a great deal of effort not to crush the comm-link in her bare hand. Her other hand tightened around the blue spider-silk gown she was carrying, putting an incredible amount of stress on the rare and exotic fabric. She inhaled deeply through her nose for several seconds before asking, "What is the status of the Princess?" There was a slight pause before the watch officer replied. "Ma'am, the security team on duty reports that they were instructed by the Master Healer to summon General Al'vexi and inform her that the Princess has been stabilized, but that she needed a telepathic healer. I have no further information on the Princess' condition." "Understood," Nop'tera said in a level tone. "Keep me informed of any changes in her situation." "Copy that," the voice replied. "Watch Officer out." The vampire looked down at her hands, idly watching the tremors slowly abate as she got her temper under control. She clipped the comm-link back on her belt and waited until she was absolutely sure she was composed before she began to punch in her access code to the bulkhead lock. She knew that she had to be as calm as possible in his presence, but she also knew it was a mostly futile effort as he could easily smell her emotional state. The lock flashed a dark green color before the doors slowly parted with a deep pneumatic hiss. She sighed to herself as she stepped into the converted cargo bay, moving just far enough inside for the sensors to allow the doors to close behind her. The anteroom was a rather small chamber, with only a single couch set on one wall and otherwise devoid of any furnishings. The room was cut in half by vertical bars made from one of the toughest metal alloys known to her. A door was set into the bars at the far end of the room, and the doorway beyond the bars was shrouded by a curtain of beads. Her wait was a very short one, as only a few seconds had passed before the curtain of beads was parted by a large Felinoid. His fur was a pleasant shade of silver and banded with sky-blue stripes, a distinctly unusual color scheme for a Felinoid. He paused for a moment as he recognized his visitor, the tip of his tongue coming out to briefly flick across his whiskers as he approached. "Fair morning, my General," Dark Blue purred in a silky tone as he reached the bars, his tail casually lashing back and forth. He seemed to be moving with a slight limp, something that faintly bothered her for some reason which she couldn't quite pin down. "Morning it is," Nop'tera replied. "Fair it is not." Dark Blue made a soft purring noise to himself. "Such is the burden of command," he said quietly. "Have you come here, then, to allow me the honor of taking your mind off of the weight that enshrouds your shoulders?" he asked, his tail arching forward to slip between the bars and wrap around her wrist. "You know why I'm here," she replied in a faintly edged voice. "Mmmmm, a pity," the Felinoid purred quietly. "How long has it been since you found relaxation in my presence, or comfort in my touch?" Nop'tera ignored the bait. "Are you finished with her?" she asked in a level tone. A small smile tugged on the corners of what passed for his lips. "Surely you of all people know that my work is never finished," he replied. "I must say, however, that I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with your slave.... even if she is a human," he added casually. She was unable to prevent her eye from twitching briefly. Very few people knew of Freya's heritage, and she made a great effort to ensure that those who found out were encouraged to keep that secret to themselves. "Your gratitude is noted," she said as calmly as she could. "In exchange, however, you are to keep that knowledge to yourself. I shall be most displeased if others hear of it from you, am I understood?" "Understood perfectly, my General," he replied in a slightly subdued tone. His tail gently pulled upwards on her wrist, bringing her hand up against the metal bars. She watched impassively as he leaned forward to nuzzle her hand, not concerned for her safety in the slightest. She knew that he would never dare physically harm her, but the psychological concerns were another matter entirely. He paused as he saw the neatly folded gown she was carrying in her other hand. "Is that to be a gift for her?" he inquired gently, his tail letting go of her wrist and very lightly brushing against the fabric. "I figured she would need something to wear," Nop'tera intoned quietly. A soft laugh escaped his lips as he straightened up to look into her eyes. "I see you know me too well," he purred, his yellow-on-black eyes never leaving the featureless yellow expanse of hers. "You may rest assured that I wasn't too rough with her, as per your instructions. May I take that to her?" Nop'tera stared at him for a moment before she reached up and slipped the gown between the bars to him. "Bring her out here as soon as she's ready," she instructed. "Of course," Dark Blue replied as he accepted the gown. He paused as he very gently rubbed the material between his fingertips, his eyebrows arching up in surprise at the feel. He carefully sniffed it for a moment before he looked back up at her. "If I may, my General, what material is this? I have never seen anything like this before," he purred in genuine amazement. "It is from the Renn homeworld," she replied. "They call it spider-silk, as it is woven by a domesticated species of arachnid-like creatures. It is not easy to come by, even in their world, so do be careful with it." "Assuredly," he nodded as he carefully smoothed out the wrinkles he had made rubbing it. He inhaled the scent of it again and looked up at her with a small gleam in his eye. "It is decidedly soft and pleasant," he purred. "Much like your minion herself, as well as the scent of her musk...." It took Nop'tera a great deal of willpower not to try to reach through the bars to wipe the expression off of his face. Even so, she was unable to keep the tips of her fangs from showing as her jaw set at the thought. "I had her brought here for a purpose," she said in a dangerously calm tone. "And that purpose is finished. Bring her to me." "And that purpose was to teach her the error of her ways," he purred back at her in a languid tone. "I assure you that she has learned a few lessons in my care and will not likely repeat her past behavior. Again, I must thank you for the honor of being able to.... discipline her." The purr in his chest deepened as he leaned against the bars, his tail coming up to lightly tickle the base of her throat in a gentle caress. "And if she ever needs to be disciplined again, for whatever reason, I would ask.... I would even beg you.... to let me have my way with her again...." Nop'tera knew that she could enter the room if she needed to, and that he most likely knew by now how to leave the cargo bay if he so chose. She also knew that, at this very second, the bars were just as much there to protect him from her as they were there to protect her from him. She leaned forward until their noses were almost pressed up against one another between the bars, a dangerous look in her featureless eyes. "You are stalling, Dark Blue," she said flatly. "Bring her out here. Now." "Stalling?" he replied, his voice dropping to a mere whisper. "Please, my General, I am only trying to convey to you the depth of my gratitude for this unique opportunity." He reached up and lightly ran a finger along the length of her jaw, making sure to keep the claw tucked in. "Not since I took you have I found someone even half as deliciously.... exquisitely.... warm and inviting to play with as I found her to be. I envy you very much right now, being able to savor her on a nightly basis. Thank you from the depths of my very soul for sharing the experience with me." The only thing that kept her from tearing his tongue out as he brushed it across her throat was the simple fact that the gesture felt good. She could feel the blood pressure pounding throughout her body in reaction to his words, and she knew that she had to put an end to his game now before she wound up violently ending his life in twenty seconds. "I will not say this again," she rasped. "Bring her out here. NOW." He smiled gently as he stepped back, knowing exactly where the line was. "As you command, my General," he purred softly as he turned around and limped his way past the beaded curtain. Nop'tera let her breath out and stepped away from the bars, knowing that she had let him get the best of her yet again. She waited until she was sure that she had full control of her breathing before she turned around and took a seat on the couch. She knew that it would be a minute or two before he brought Freya out to her, and did her best not to spend the time thinking about what he most likely would have done to her slave. She looked up at the sound of the beads being parted, blinking as she saw Freya in the spider-silk gown. She had purchased it awhile ago and planned on saving it as a gift for a special occasion in the future. She wasn't sure why she decided to bring it with her today, but she was awe-struck by the way it clung to her slave's body like a second skin and emphasized her womanly curves. Her gaze hardened as she realized that Freya's eyes were so thoroughly bloodshot from constant crying as to almost appear to be a solid red. Her pale blue hair seemed to have been hastily combed, still in a visible disarray. She stared down at the carpet as she moved over towards the locked gate, her hands tightly clasped in front of her and trembling faintly. Nop'tera sighed quietly as she stood up and went over to the gate, keying in her cipher code on the lock. The door clicked and rolled back just long enough to allow Freya to slip out before slamming shut with a hollow boom. The sound of the lock engaging seemed to echo in the room, putting a strange smile on the face of the Felinoid standing in the beaded doorway. "Thank you, Dark Blue," Nop'tera said in an emotionless tone as she took Freya's elbow and guided her towards the exit. "I will let you know if I need your services again." "The pleasure was all mine, my General," the Felinoid purred quietly as he gave her a small bow, the maddeningly soft smile still on his face. "Pleasant day to the both of you." Nop'tera said nothing as the bulkhead door hissed open, offering an exit from the imprisoned Felinoid's lair. She turned around and ushered her slave outside, not looking behind her as the doors closed behind them with a heavy pneumatic thump. "Do you need to see a Healer?" she quietly asked her trembling slave. "No!" Freya exploded, jerking her head up as if she had been touched by a high-voltage wire. Her outburst faded as soon as it had come, leaving her in a far more subdued demeanor. "No, I.... would just like to.... to return to our quarters and take a shower," she said softly. Nop'tera paused and looked at her closely, a faint frown tugging on her lips as Freya refused to look her in the eye. "Did he hurt you?" she asked, already knowing the answer but keenly interested in how she would reply. "It's nothing," Freya whispered. "I've dealt with such.... punishment in the past. Please, forgive me, General Nop'tera.... I.... I know I deserved to be punished like that, but.... I-I'm fine, please don't worry about me, it won't happen ever again, I promise...." "I know it won't," Nop'tera said softly as she gently cupped Freya's chin in her hand. "You have rarely given me problems, Freya, and so it is not very difficult for me to forgive you once you've been properly disciplined. Come now, let us return to our quarters so you can get dressed. I hadn't realized that the gown was this ethereal when I bought it for you." Freya blinked and glanced down at the fabric that she could barely feel. The lighting in the hallway was different than in Dark Blue's lair, revealing far more of her outline in detail than she would have liked. "It's beautiful," she whispered, rubbing the collar between her fingertips. "What is it?" "Spider-silk," Nop'tera said gently. "A gift from the Renn homeworld." Freya blinked and finally looked up at her, her bloodshot eyes slightly damp and swollen from her tears. "Spider-silk?" she breathed. "But this must have cost a fortune, and I'm not...." "Enough," Nop'tera said softly, laying a gentle fingertip on her slave's trembling lips. "You know I rarely value things for their material wealth, whatever that happens to be. You are worth far more than a fortune to me, as you are quite unique and utterly priceless. Yes, you disappointed me earlier, but that has already been dealt with and will not be brought up again. And for every time you've managed to disappoint me in the past, there have been far too many times to count where you've pleased me beyond words. I haven't forgotten this, and neither should you. I still need you, Freya." Freya stared at her for a moment before the tears started to flow once again. She silently moved forward and embraced her mistress, trying not to make any sound as her sobs started to gently heave in her chest. Nop'tera sighed and wrapped her arms around her, holding her gently in the middle of the hallway. She knew that few people, if any, came this far below the flight deck for anything other than business, and that those who happened to do so would actively forget the image if they saw her holding her slave. "Are you hungry?" Nop'tera asked quietly. Freya tensed slightly before gently easing away and looking at her. "A little," she admitted, a faint tint of color rising to her cheeks. "I should be fine with just a cup." Nop'tera nodded in understanding, knowing that Freya was referring to the substance that the synthesizer in her quarters could produce for her. It had taken several years for Freya to create a viable formula, and even longer for her to balance all the various enzymes that her human body needed that couldn't be found in either denizen or Renn foods, but the synthetic blood that she had come up with was enough to satisfy her vampiric needs. Nop'tera has to repress a shiver as she remembered sampling the synthetic stuff for herself at various stages. Freya had been using the same formula for the plasma base for almost a full millennium, modified with flavoring as her whims and moods desired, and Nop'tera still had yet to fully get used to the odd taste. It tasted nothing like Freya's blood, which the chemical analyzer kept insisting was identical in raw composition with the exception of a few denizen enzymes that come from a lifetime of eating denizen cuisine. "Let us go, then," Nop'tera said as she guided her down the hallway and towards the nearest lift that would take them back up to the residential deck. "I have to return the Imperial Castle in short order, and I want you to be at the controls of the molecular warp portal while I'm gone. Don't worry," she said as Freya gave her a concerned look. "I don't expect any trouble, but I am merely taking a precaution as I expect to meet with Rune again." "I understand," Freya said quietly. "When will you go?" "Once you're ready," Nop'tera replied. "I am not looking forward to this one, Freya, so you need not rush through your shower on my account." "Thank you," Freya whispered in reply, glancing away and looking like all she wanted in life right now was a bar of soap and a lot of hot water. Nop'tera focused her eyes on the lift control panel, knowing just what she had been put through at Dark Blue's hands and how much she had wanted a shower herself after a similar experience of her own in her dark and ancient past. Sighing quietly, she instructed the lift to take them up and away from the deck where she had confined a few others, each with an evil heart and a twisted soul like Dark Blue. She knew that she really should have executed them all a long time ago given the nature of their crimes and the danger they posed, but she kept them alive and sealed away because of the way each one could perform a unique function if she ever needed them to. The lift door silently closed, cutting her off from the thoughts that always managed to sink into her mind when on the lowest of decks deep within her home on the airborne carrier V'ral. * * * * The guard sighed quietly as he puffed on a cheap cigarette, idly looking around the landscape. "This is so boring," he complained to his partner. "You always say that," she replied, making a face as a cloud of the vile smoke drifted in her direction. "And you need to quit smoking that navidshi while on duty. It reeks." "Bah," he grunted as he took a slow drag, making sure not to exhale it in her direction. "You get used to it after awhile. I have," he pointed out. "Still," she muttered as she glanced over the trail behind her. They both blinked hard as a swirling blue vortex opened up several feet away from them without warning. "Wha...?" he said, the cigarette almost falling out of his mouth. A girl with long blonde hair stepped out of the wormhole, followed by a somewhat tall brunette and a woman with pale green hair. They looked around for a moment before they spotted the two guards, a look of tension suddenly crossing the older woman's face. The blonde merely smiled and headed over towards the guards. "Good morning!" she said cheerfully in an oddly accented Eastern Frontier dialect. "You wouldn't by chance happen to know which way it is to the border village of Mar'ken, would you?" The guards glanced at once another before they both pointed behind them in unison. "Stay to the right on the trail," the female guard said carefully. "Oh, good," the girl replied with a smile. "Seems we didn't get lost this time. Over here!" she called out as another blonde girl stepped out of the wormhole, holding the hand of a girl with aquamarine hair. They were shortly followed by an older man with shoulder-length dark hair who didn't look to be overly happy about something. The new arrivals visibly hesitated before the woman with pale green hair put her hand on the shoulders of the girls holding hands and said something to them. The brunette was already walking over with a slightly guarded expression on her youthful face. "Is something wrong?" she said in the same dialect, but with an audibly scratchy accent. "Nope, the village is up that way," the blonde gushed, pointing excitedly up the street. She looked behind the other girl as a young man stepped out of the wormhole, followed by an avian and a girl with long black hair. "Come on, this way!" she called out to the new arrivals. "Let's go already!" "Calm down," the older woman said as she approached, using the Eastern Frontier dialect but with a heavy Outreaches accent. "We'll get there soon enough, so just relax. Clan excursion," she explained to the guards in an apologetic tone. "She's been bouncing off the walls for a week." "Have not!" the blonde protested, crossing her arms and pouting. The guards exchanged looks again before shaking their heads. "I know the feeling," the male guard said, casually keeping his cigarette behind his back. "C'mon, Dad!" the blonde suddenly yelled as a blue-haired girl and a man with spiky purple hair stepped out of the wormhole. The swirling vortex closed behind them, leaving them all standing on the well-worn trail. The rest of the group exchanged guarded glances as the purple-haired man approached the guards, making a gesture for the avian to follow him. "I said take it easy, okay?" he grumbled good-naturedly with a Central Plains accent. "Excuse me, but which way is it to the village of Mar'ken?" he inquired. "This way!" the blonde insisted, pointing up the trail. The female guard chuckled quietly to herself. "Stay to the right on the trail when you reach the junction, as the left side will only take you to the landing strip." "Ah," the man replied, nodding his head. "Thank you very much. Okay, everyone, let's get going. No running!" he added sharply as the blonde turned and was poised to take off. "Aww...." she protested. "Kids these days," the woman with pale green hair chuckled as she ushered the two hand-holding girls past the guards. "No patience whatsoever...." The guards watched as the girl with long black hair slipped her arm around the young man's arm as they walked past, giving them slightly curious looks but otherwise not seeming to be concerned. The man with dark hair waited for the blue-haired girl to catch up with him before he gestured down the trail, pausing for a moment. "Excuse me," he said in the same odd Eastern Frontier accent as the blonde girl. "I know this is none of my business, but you really shouldn't be smoking that on duty. It sorts of creates a bad impression." The female guard had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing at the look on her partner's face. "Habit, sir," he muttered as he dropped the cigarette on the ground and stamped it out. "I know the boss doesn't like it, but when you're out in the middle of the woods and all...." The man just smiled knowingly and nodded his head. "Thanks for pointing us in the right direction," he said as he gave him a friendly clap on the shoulder before following the blue-haired girl down the trail. The guards watched as they gathered together in a group and set out down the trail at a slow and leisurely pace. "Well?" he said quietly once he was sure they were out of earshot. She just shook her head. "That was definitely surreal," she said after a moment. "If I didn't know better, I'd say they really were just some local clan out for a morning trip to the market. And right next to us, too...." He looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. "And what's to say we don't know better?" he pointed out. "Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to me." She looked back at him and sighed quietly, reaching into the chest pocket of her uniform and pulling out the picture cards they had been given earlier. "Even if you ignore the fact that it looked like a Silkworm-class portal and not your typical jump-gate, did you even look at their faces?" "I did," he replied, glancing down the now-empty trail. "Some of them were real cute, too. That kid with the girl on his arm is one lucky boy...." "Stow it, you horny p'tai," she grumbled. She held up the picture cards and spread them out so all the images were visible. "See? Five for five. If that wasn't them, I'll have my eyes stitched shut since they obviously don't work anymore." "I saw," he sighed as he reached for his comm-link. "I don't know how to tell one avian from the next, but anyway.... Team Four to Station Two," he said as he thumbed the transmit button. The reply he got could easily have been mistaken for static if one wasn't paying close attention. "Tell the boss we have contact. Positive ident on all five pictures, part of a group of eleven heading north to the village." The static seemed to erupt from the speaker again and he shot it an odd look. "How's two feet away grab you? I said we positively identified them. I even had the Dragoon Commander say something to me about the cigarette, now how many other people would get all anal about that?" She winced in sympathy as the comm-link seemed to explode into furious static. "Not the smartest thing to have said," she told him as he held it as far away from his ear as he could and still listen to the irritated voice. "Yeah, yeah," he grunted at her before flipping the microphone back on. "Copy that. Team Four out," he said, making a sour face as he clipped it back onto his belt. "They said the boss wants us to stay put for another hour or so before heading back. That way, we don't tip anyone off who's watching." "Wonderful," she groaned as she rolled her eyes. He shrugged. "Hey, you were the one who was giving me a hard time about being bored earlier," he said with a hint of dryness. "Stow it," she grumbled. "Well, if you were bored before, you're going to love it now. Five dollars says things are going to get really interesting, really quickly now that they're here." "No bet," he chuckled as he reached down and picked up the remains of his cigarette. He lit it with a small spark of energy from between his fingertips and inhaled deeply. He paused and gave her a measured look. "Four hours from now," he suggested. "Hah!" she laughed. "Two at the most. Split the difference?" she said as she dug out a five-dollar note and held it up. "Deal," he said as he activated the timer on his watch and reached into his pocket to pull out an identical bill. "And so it begins," he smirked. * * * * "Look," Leda said with a sigh. "I think you did a wonderful job, okay? Hell, you had me convinced, and I know the plan and all, but I still think you had entirely too much fun with that." "So what?" Mina countered. "It worked, didn't it?" "That remains to be seen," Maze pointed out, glancing behind them once again out of wary reflex. "I still think we're already in trouble, though." "How do you figure that?" Leda inquired warily, looking over her shoulder as well. She noticed that Rei was still holding onto Darian's arm, both of them looking deeply lost in introspective thought and probably operating on auto-pilot as they walked along the trail. "The uniforms," Whisper sighed. "You caught that too, huh?" Maze asked. "Please," the telepath shot back. "I know the military just as well as you do, Lieutenant." Alex frowned as she listened to the back-and-forth banter. "Okay, so you guys want to share with the rest of us what the problem is?" she prodded in a flat tone, absently squeezing Michelle's hand. "Those were uniforms from the Northern Mountain Division," Maze explained. "The problem is, we're thousands of miles from the northern borders. The only local patrols you'd expect to see around here are from the Western and Central Divisions." "Maybe they took a wrong turn?" Leda ventured. "Colonel Azi'mar's division is based in the North," Maze pointed out. "And that is what has us worried," Whisper finished for him. "Great," Leda sighed. "I don't know, guys," Mina said slowly. "I get the feeling that, while our one-eyed wonder is keenly interested in keeping an eye on things, such as it were, I really don't think he'll actually try to get involved. He doesn't come across as a seriously hands-on kind of guy...." "We wish," Maze muttered dryly. "Or have you forgotten that he was once one of the elite of the elites? Believe me, those Special Forces teams are VERY hands-on in most situations." Leda shot him an irritated look. "You're not exactly making us feel any better about this," she grumbled. She blinked and leaned to one side to look past Alex and Michelle. "Hey, everyone hang on a sec. Where's Ami?" Everyone abruptly halted and turned around, blinking in surprise as they realized that Ami had slowed down considerably and was barely walking at all. She was staring down at her computer and communicator, examining the readings with a level of concentration deep enough to be almost oblivious to the rest of the world around her. Leda sighed and headed back down the trail, casting a reproving look at Tolaris as she passed him. "Gimme a hand here, now is not the time for her to be focused like that," she grumbled. "Someone could start shooting at us and she wouldn't notice until she got tagged in the head." Ami completely failed to notice Tolaris and Leda as they moved next to her, her focus still centered on the signal readings her computer was picking up. She yelped and almost dropped the device as a hand was passed in front of her, interrupting her line of sight to the tiny display and causing her head to snap up in surprise. "What?" she blurted out, her eyes wide as she tried to calm down. Leda just sighed and shook her head. "Stay with us, bookworm. Ignoring the world around you is not a good idea, especially in this place." "What were you doing?" Tolaris inquired, gently rubbing her shoulder. Ami blinked and looked down at her computer. "What? Oh, right.... I was trying to figure out how far away Serena's communicator is. The signal is gone at the moment, but I'm still able to pick up a faint pulse from her transponder every so often and I'm trying to determine how much of the signal loss is from distance and how much is due to background interference. It's definitely not a linear signal, as the curvature of the planet is too great, so I was...." "We get the idea," Leda sighed as she gently took her by the elbow and began to pull her along the trail. "C'mon, we know you can chew bubblegum and walk at the same time without ending up face-down on the pavement, so you can probably play with your toy computer while you walk as well." "I've almost got a working model," Ami said absently as she went back to staring at the display. "If we assume she's in the very center of the castle where the shielding effect is most concentrated, I should be able to construct a static-over-distance matrix to account for probable variables in the expected reduction in signal strength and apply that to the current readings...." Both Alex and Michelle gave her an odd look as she wandered past them, still muttering to herself. "Hey, is she okay?" Alex asked with a concerned look. "She didn't smack herself in the head somehow or anything, did she?" "She's fine," Mina sighed. "That's just how she gets when a complicated problem bites her on the butt and she has to stop and try to figure it out. Rei gets awfully quiet when she's thinking, Leda tends to hide in the kitchen and make desserts when she's got something heavy on her mind, and Ami tends to get all pscyho-analytical on you. You get used to it." "Sometimes," Tolaris muttered. "You're kidding, right?" Alex blinked. "We wish," Mina replied with another sigh of resignation. "Huh," Alex said slowly. "She was never like that before...." "Should we ask about how the pillow talk goes?" Darian asked quietly. "Be nice, D," Alex smirked. She paused and glanced over her shoulder at Rei again. "Rei, dearheart, you can let go of his arm now. Rei? Hello?" "Huh?" Rei said, blinking hard as she snapped out of her reverie. "What?" "Let go of the prince," Alex sighed. She blinked as Michelle poked her in the ribs and she looked over at her. "What now, hon?" "Just leave them alone," Michelle said quietly. "What?" Alex said with a startled look. "I'm just saying.... Hey!" she protested as Mina suddenly stopped in front of her. "Dammit, blondie, watch what you're doing!" "Hush!" Mina hissed, gesturing for everyone else to remain quiet. She listened intently for a moment before she looked over at the tree line several yards away. "I thought I heard something...." Ra'vel clicked her beak very quietly as she fluffed her feathers, staring hard at the same stretch of trees. "You're not the only one," Whisper said in a low tone. "Ra'vel and I heard it too." "Aw, crap," Alex sighed as she edged away from Michelle and started to reach for her saber hidden in the dimensional sheath on her back. "Any ideas on what it is?" Everyone suddenly tensed as there was a rustling noise from the line of trees, sounding as if something fairly large was moving around. "Options?" Tolaris whispered as he moved a few feet away from Leda, tiny arcs of lightning starting to form along his arm. "It's not a denizen," Whisper replied. "I can't sense its mind very well, but I don't think it's a predator of any sort." "Well, shoot," Leda muttered. "That only rules out half the things that would kill us if we got close enough to them." The rustling sound suddenly got louder before a large creature emerged from the trees. It was roughly the size of an ostrich, with long but solidly muscled legs and a disturbingly large beak. The coloring was mostly brown with rather vivid yellow highlights, seeming to blend in reasonably well against the background of trees. It paused and lifted its head up from the ground, looking at the group with open but guarded curiosity. "Wow," Alex said, blinking in surprise. "Now that is a big bird...." "W-W-What?" Mina stammered, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. "But.... but.... but...." "Okay, so what is it?" Leda inquired. She glanced over at the stuttering blonde and gave her an odd look. "Take it easy, okay?" "But.... but.... but...." "That is what we call a vep'tera," Maze explained calmly, watching as the large bird seemed to lose momentary interest in the group and resume moving the foliage around with its beak to look for food. "But.... but.... but...." Mina stammered as she slowly raised a finger to point at the large bird, her hand visibly shaking. "What the hell?" Alex frowned. "What's the problem, girl?" "BUT THAT'S A CHOCOBO!!" Mina blurted out, startling the group and causing the vep'tera to jerk its head up to stare at her. "A what?" Darian asked, giving her a confused look. "Whoa, wait a minute," Leda said slowly, giving the denizen bird a very careful look. "You know...." Maze carefully put a hand on Mina's shoulder. "Easy, ne'ana, it's just a common vep'tera that roam around this part of the planet. There's probably a good ten million of them living in the wild...." "Bullcrap!" Mina retorted, still staring at the bird. "I've been playing the Final Fantasy games since they came out, and I know a chocobo when I see one. And THAT is definitely a chocobo!" she babbled, pointing a shaky finger for emphasis. "Damn, she's right," Leda added with a soft whistle. "That looks exactly like those yellow birds in those console games of hers...." "Okay," Alex said slowly. "So does that mean you can tell me if it'll try to bite us or something?" Whisper shook her head as Maze tried to get Mina to calm down. "Vep'teras are rather intelligent birds," she explained. "They're easily domesticated and are quite often as friendly as they are curious, as they're not hunted by too many predators. This looks like a wild one, but it probably won't bother us." "Huh," Alex replied. "Seems a little dirty, but otherwise he's not all that bad-looking. Can you ride them?" "If they've been properly trained as a mount and you're not too heavy, then yes," Tolaris answered. "I rode one a few times in my youth, they're not overly difficult to handle or deal with." "C'mon, Mina," Maze sighed. "It's probably just a coincidence...." "Oh, like the lightsaber was?" she shot back with a faint growl. "Fine, then we'll just see how he sounds. Okay, Choco, chirp for me!" she called out to the vep'tera before she put her fingers to her mouth and made a peculiar whistling noise. "Oh, boy," Leda said as the bird's head suddenly shot up and started to stare hard at the group. "I think you got his attention...." Ra'vel gave Mina an odd look, clicking her beak a few times. "Yeah, I know," Maze said slowly. "That WAS awfully close to how they sound." "See?" the blonde challenged. "Now how would I know about that unless someone from YOUR world came over to OURS and brought that with them? C'mon, let me hear you sing, pretty bird," she said before making the whistling noise again. The vep'tera promptly replied with a warbling noise of its own as it slowly began to approach the group, looking at them with open curiosity. "Oops," Alex said. "Hey, is this going to pose a problem?" she said, warily eyeing the bird's approach. "It shouldn't," Tolaris replied as he seemed to relax. "Granted they can put up a serious fight if they're mad or cornered, but they're otherwise not anything to be concerned about. It's probably just curious about us." "There you go," Mina cooed quietly, whistling at the vep'tera again. She smiled as the bird warbled in response and drew closer, making very soft noises to itself. "Come here, baby, I'm not going to hurt you. Woo, you're a little big for a chocobo...." Leda just shook her head slowly. "This is crazy," she muttered. "Careful," Maze warned as Mina held her hand out towards the vep'tera. "Aww, he won't bite," Mina replied absently. "He knows I'm too cute to be bird-food. Hey, how you doing?" she said softly as the vep'tera craned its neck to sniff her hand cautiously. Alex glanced over at Michelle, raising an eyebrow as she noticed the soft smile on her face. She looked up at her and blushed faintly, squeezing her hand gently. "I think it looks cute," Michelle said quietly. "It's a giant bird, babe," Alex replied. "Birds might be cute as babies, but just look at the size of that thing...." "Aww," Michelle cooed quietly as Mina lightly rubbed her hand along the vep'tera's beak. "Just look at that...." "Okay, really quick question," Leda said hastily, causing everyone to look at her. "You guys remember that little hairy thing we ran into the last time we were in here, right? The rat-something?" "Rakketh," Tolaris replied. "Why do you...? Oh," he said quietly. "What?" Alex said warily. "Why are you looking at me like that?" "Michelle, listen carefully," Whisper said in a calm tone. "I want you both to remain perfectly still and keep your eyes on me, okay?" Both Alex and Michelle immediately blinked hard, a suddenly frightened expression crossing Michelle's face. "W-What is it?" she whimpered, doing her best to stare straight ahead at the telepath. Alex glanced down at the ground and froze in place. "Oooookay," she said in a deceptively calm tone. "Two questions...." "I told you not to look," Whisper grumbled. "That is a rakketh, and no, it can't hurt you," Maze replied gently. "What?" Mina said as she turned around, still carefully scratching the cooing vep'tera's head. She blinked as she saw the disturbingly hairy pest on the ground right between Alex and Michelle. "Oh, ick, not that thing again," she said, making a sour face. "Tell you what," Alex said as she slowly withdrew her saber. "If it's really that harmless, why don't I just take care of this thing right now...." "Alex...?" Michelle whimpered in a near-panic, still staring at Whisper and trying as hard as she could to resist the impulse to look down. "Relax, babe," Alex replied calmly as she prepared to strike. "Hey, hang on a sec," Mina said suddenly. "You think a chocobo would be interested in having something like that as a snack?" The denizens all paused and looked at one another. "Well...." Maze said slowly, "To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what they eat." "Try it like this," Leda said as she crossed her arms. "Ra'vel, I've seen you eat stuff similar to this before, would you consider that edible?" Ra'vel shot her an unamused look and clicked her beak several times as she telepathed a suitable reply. "Hey, I was just asking," Leda chuckled. "Well?" Mina prompted. The brunette shrugged. "If you want to try feeding the bird, go for it." "Guys?" Alex said carefully, still poised to strike. "Hold that pose," Mina said quickly as she turned to look at the vep'tera. "Come on, this way," she said gently as she started to move back, making a follow-me gesture. "Got something yummy for you...." "We hope," Leda added. "See?" Mina said as she waved her hand at the hairy creature still parked between the two very nervous girls, trying to get the vep'tera's attention. "Look what we found...." The vep'tera took a few steps forward before it saw the rakketh and became perfectly still, staring at it intently. It began to approach the creature in very slow motion, appearing quite willing to take its time. "Mich, honey, relax," Alex said quietly, squeezing Michelle's hand. "No, don't watch the bird, keep your eyes on Whisper instead. That's it, love, you just have to trust me on this...." "In another time and place," Darian said slowly, "This could be funny." "Hey, I'm having fun," Mina replied quietly, watching the vep'tera stalk the hairy rakketh. "Babe, you're the kind of girl who'd have fun at your own funeral," Alex pointed out, casting a mild glance over her shoulder. She blinked as she felt something brush up against her ankle and deliberately avoided looking down. "Aww, crap, don't tell me that's what I think it is," she muttered, a sickened expression crossing her face. "Three guesses," Leda sighed. "Just hold still, he's almost ready." "Bird, hurry up," Alex said lightly. "Oh, damn, this is giving me a royal case of the willies.... WHOA, HEY!" she yelped as the vep'tera suddenly lunged forward, neatly plucking the rakketh off of her ankle in a fluid movement. "Solves that problem," Maze observed as the vep'tera stood up straight, several hairy legs poking out from its beak as it started chewing. "DON'T!" Alex said firmly as she clamped her hand over Michelle's mouth just as she got a good look at what was left of the pest. A very high-pitched whimper could still be heard from her throat as she reflexively cried out from her fear of spiders. "Easy, dear, it's toast now. See? Oh, gross," she added as the vep'tera made a crunching noise and a blue fluid began to leak from the edges of its beak. "Yeech," Mina muttered, flinching as the vep'tera noisily swallowed its snack and licked its beak. "That was almost not worth the effort just on the mess factor alone...." "Is that it?" Rei said quietly as the vep'tera paused and looked around the area, trying to see if anything else was within range. "Should be," Maze said carefully. "Good," Rei replied. "Then maybe we should get back to trying to find Serena so we can get out of here." Everyone blinked and looked at one another with faintly guilty expressions on their faces. "She's got a point," Tolaris said gently. "Okay, so what do we do about him?" Mina said, gesturing to the bird. It made a soft cooing noise as it moved over to her, reaching up to nip at the bright red bow in her hair. "Hey, watch it!" she protested. "Looks like you made a new friend," Darian observed quietly. "Cool, can I keep him?" Mina said, her eyes brightening. She blinked as nine sets of eyes looked back at her with identical reproving expressions and she just sighed. "Aww, c'mon, it was just an idea...." "Let's go," Maze sighed as he turned to head up the trail and almost ran over Ami. He took a quick step back and blinked hard as he realized that she was still completely focused on her computer readings, not seeming to have the slightest clue as to what was going on around her. "You have GOT to be kidding me," Alex muttered as she sheathed her saber. "Mich, where's that eel-in-a-box? Maybe a jolt from that will help...." "Ami?" Leda said gently as she walked up to her and gently nudged her in the shoulder. It took six nudges and twenty seconds before Ami finally blinked and lifted her head up from the display. "Yes?" she inquired, giving her a curious look. Leda cast a sidelong glance over her shoulder before she sighed and took a step to the side. "Have you met Mina's new friend yet?" she asked wearily. "Mina's new...?" Ami said in confusion before she saw the vep'tera. Her eyes promptly doubled in diameter, much to the mild amusement of the rest of the group. "My goodness!" she gasped. "What is that?" "Walk," Leda sighed as she started to push her down the trail. "We'll explain as we go. You really should pay more attention to what happens around you, Ami, that could have been something really nasty...." "What? But where...?" Ami started to say, still staring at the bird. "Sorry we're late, your Highness," Alex said to the open air as the group resumed walking. "We got side-tracked by a giant bird. No, really, Mina said it was the most adorable thing, so of course we had to stop and feed it...." "No, don't do that," Mina said as the vep'tera started to follow her. "I can't take you with me, so you'll just have to stick around here. Ohh, don't chirp at me like that," she said mournfully as the vep'tera warbled at her. "You're breaking my heart...." Maze and Tolaris just exchanged weary glances. "What am I supposed to do with her?" Maze asked Tolaris in an obscure temporal dialect that he was sure that they both knew but none of the humans did. Tolaris shrugged helplessly. "Like I know what to do with her," he said with a subtle gesture at Ami, who was still staring at the vep'tera in wonder. "Relax, Lieutenant, we'll sort this out eventually." "And the vep'tera?" Maze inquired. "Take him with us for now," Whisper spoke up. "Can't hurt, can it? If nothing else, I'm sure the villagers at Mar'ken will know how to deal with a wild vep'tera." "If he is wild," Tolaris pointed out. "He seems rather complacent to me. I'm not sure if he can tell the difference between a human and a denizen, but he's acting rather casual about this...." "What, think this is a trap?" Maze said, blinking hard. "I can't sense a fully sentient mind," Whisper reminded them. Tolaris sighed and shrugged. "I don't care for odd coincidences, you all know that," he muttered. Alex shot a glance at Darian as she tried listening to the conversation behind her. "Darian, you seem to know some of the language. What are they talking about?" she asked in a low tone. Darian shrugged. "No idea, I don't recognize any of the words. Take it easy, they can all be trusted. They're probably trying to figure out how to ditch the bird without overly upsetting Mina or something." "Bah," Alex grunted quietly, rolling her eyes at the dawning purple sky as they continued to walk. "Bird-brains of a feather...." * * * * The avian clicked his beak quietly as he walked across the length of the room to stand next to the communications officer. "You have problem?" he asked in a gentle tone. The junior lieutenant looked up from the console and sighed quietly. "I'm not sure, Quartermaster," he admitted. "I've been monitoring the bands that Commander K'tal told me to, and I'm starting to pick up a faint increase in what appears to be random static. The only catch is that it only appears in the three zones that our mystery frequency-hopping signal is using. I can't really determine the cause or reason, or even if there is an increase." V'Lan hummed quietly and idly smoothed out a stray feather before he gave the young officer a casual look. "Guess," he said simply. "Sir?" the officer replied, blinking hard. "What your intestines telling you?" V'Lan said calmly, adding a series of soft chirps for emphasis. "I not concerned with formals, I can deal with raw guess. Among my tribe, shamans use entrails to portent future, analyzing what sacrificial guts tell them. What your intestines telling you?" The communications officer blinked again before he took a deep breath. "Sir, if I had to guess, I'd say that the static is caused by signal sources very similar to the first one, but are probably so far out of effective range that we can't get a reliable reading. What we might be seeing are microsecond bursts of the most energetic of signals, which are still barely at the edge of our sensor's detection radius." "Mmm," V'Lan chirped quietly. "Assume that is true. Rough distance?" "Over the visible horizon at the very least," the lieutenant replied. "Good," the avian replied as he turned around and began to slowly walk around the room again. He paused as he felt a stare on his wings and twisted his head around to look. "Yes?" "Quartermaster, should we do anything about this?" the communications officer said in a slightly guarded tone. "Why?" V'Lan replied casually. "We know the Sailor Scouts are coming," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "We know, or at least reasonably assume, that their communication devices operate within those frequency bands. Doesn't that mean they're here if we're starting to pick up stuff other than the first signal?" V'Lan turned around to face him, tilting his head at a slight angle. "You have only supposition," he pointed out. "Intuition good for sorting logic, but not good for basing decision. You show proof, I act. Otherwise, we perch. Trick to reading entrails is sorting portent from navidshi, and I not want to make mistake by opening up intestines and only get stench." "Copy that, Quartermaster," the officer replied in understanding. V'Lan snapped his beak quietly in amusement and moved back over to stand behind his shoulder. "Send message to K'tal," he said very quietly in his ear. "You say 'raid watch'. Two words, not say more. He understand meaning." "Sir?" the officer hesitated. "Aren't we supposed to warn the rest of the military if we pick up something?" The avian held up a finger. "We have not enough facts to warn military, but intestines tell me we send quiet chirp to K'tal's ear. That, and they tell me now is good time to use toilet. You have floor, Lieutenant," he said with a quiet chirp as he headed towards the closest bathroom. "Right...." the junior-grade lieutenant said to himself, shaking his head to clear the unnecessary mental image and reaching for his comm-link. * * * * "There it is," Mina said quietly as they came out of a curve in the trail and saw the village just a short distance ahead. "Oh, wow, it looks a lot different in daylight than it does at night...." "Is that a village or a carnival?" Leda inquired, her eyebrows arching up in surprise. "Do they have enough tents?" "Most of the traders are nomadic," Maze explained. "They drop by a known trading post, set up a tent for a few days to peddle their wares, then they pack up one evening and are long gone by the next dawn." Alex nodded her head in understanding. "Now that's a large bazaar." "Actually, Mar'ken is listed as only a small-to-moderate village," Whisper pointed out. "You should see the size of the Grand Frontier post that sits on the junction point between the Central, East, and Southern regions." "That's your idea of small?" Leda said, blinking in surprise. "More moderate than small, but yes," Tolaris replied. "Guards," Rei pointed out quietly as they got close enough to see a group of four armed soldiers standing just outside a ceremonial archway that led to the village proper. "Just act casual," Maze said reassuringly. "They're just there to act as local police in case anyone decides to get unruly. As long as you behave, they probably won't give you a second look unless you're really cute." Mina giggled quietly. "I guess we're in trouble then," she said with a smile. She blinked as the vep'tera made another casual attempt at pecking at her hair ribbon and she sighed. "Will you stop that already? I keep telling you, it's not edible." The vep'tera warbled at her before it fluffed up its feathers, creating a small cloud of dust and feather particles. "Yeech," Alex coughed, waving her hand in front of her face. "We need to run this bird through a stream or something. Talk about needing a bath." "Later," Tolaris said, warily eyeing the local security patrol. "So how are we going to do this?" Maze asked quietly. "I figured I would focus on finding Aerlin and K'tal while the rest of you look around the village," Tolaris replied. "I'm not sure how well we're set on supply situation is back at the cathedral, but I figured that while we're here, we can at least get a good idea of what sort of prices we can get for a future visit." "Sounds like a plan," Maze said, nodding his head. "Alex?" Whisper spoke up. "You and Michelle should stay with me. I can probably pass for Michelle's mother at a casual glance, so that should help if we run into any minor problems about identities." Alex glanced over at Michelle and received a nod in reply. "Alright, I think we can go along with that," the blonde said slowly. "Okay, people, it's showtime," Mina said, flashing them all a smile as they drew close enough to the archway to be heard by the guards. "Morning!" she called out to them. "Morning, miss," one of the guards replied in the softly accented Western Forests dialect of the denizen language. "Welcome to Mar'ken. Is that your vep'tera?" he inquired with a gesture. Mina paused for a moment before sighing. "Actually, no. We ran across him on the trail back there and he started following us. We figured that one of the villagers here would know what to do with him." "Ah," the guard replied. "Just make sure he doesn't get into trouble or anything, as the owners are liable for what their pets do." "We'll keep a close eye on him," Maze promised as they continued to walk past the guards and into the village. "Well, that was painless," Leda commented quietly in the denizen language. Tolaris shrugged. "I told you they wouldn't bother us. Everyone should avoid using your human language from this point on, as it could start to raise suspicions if it's overheard." Alex and Michelle both blinked a second later as Whisper began to start a running translation, using her telepathic powers to "speak" directly to their minds. They gave each other a cautious look before nodding in unison to the telepath. "How's your mastery of the language?" Ami quietly asked Rei and Darian. "Rough, but passable," Darian replied slowly with a noticeable accent that Ami couldn't immediately place. "Just don't ask me to get.... complicated," he added, hesitating as he tried to find what he thought was the right word. "I can manage," Rei said softly. She looked up as Ra'vel approached and chirped quietly at her. "Sure, I don't mind," the priestess replied. Ami nodded. "Good, don't let her out of your sight," she said before she turned to head after Tolaris. "She's in a mood," Darian observed quietly, watching her leave. Ra'vel telepathed to them. "That's true," he admitted with a soft sigh. the avian inquired, clicking her beak softly as they wandered over to a nearby stall. He paused in mid-motion, suddenly acutely aware of Rei's gaze on the back of his neck and reminded of her confession last night. "I don't doubt her in the least," he said slowly. "I just.... don't know about me." "Fair morning," the middle-aged woman said as they approached her stall. "Fair morning," Rei replied quietly as she examined the small jewel-boxes that were apparently for sale. "What kind of wood is this?" "Tir'ba," the woman replied. Ra'vel telepathed. "Hey, wait up!" Leda said as Mina headed off in a random direction. She hustled briefly to catch up, trying to keep an eye on both the vep'tera and the excited blonde at the same time. "Relax," Mina said as she approached a vendor. "Excuse me!" "Fair morning," the old man replied cheerfully. "Fair morning to you, too," Mina said with a smile. "I need some help here. We just arrived, you see, and we happened to pick up a friend along the way," she said, gesturing to the vep'tera as it started to wander around with Maze right behind it. "Do you know anyone I could talk to about figuring out what to do with him?" "Hmm," the old man said, rubbing his chin as he glanced over at the bird. "Is he tame or wild?" "We don't know," Mina replied. "We think he's wild, but he's more than a little friendly, so...." "Ah," the vendor nodded. "You should talk to T'Nari, she just returned yesterday with a small herd of tame vep'teras and might have had one or two wander away from her. You can find her at the far end of the village, on the north trail heading to the landing field." "Oh, thank you," Mina said with a genuine smile of relief. "C'mon, let's go see if we can find this T'Nari person," she said to Leda. "I can have a guide take you there," the vendor offered before he turned and looked around at the various denizens wandering the streets. "Oh, that's okay," Mina said. "I'm sure we can find her easily enough." "N'Geela!" the vendor shouted, waving his hand. Leda blinked as she saw Mina suddenly go pale. "You alright?" she said in a low tone as she leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "Remember that Felinoid I said I ran into?" Mina muttered, casting a very edgy glance over at the approaching black-banded dark green Felinoid. "Oh, hell...." the brunette sighed. "Fair morning, Ulan," N'Geela purred as she arrived at the stall. "So it seems," the vendor replied with a soft chuckle. "I have a favor to ask of you. These young ladies found a vep'tera on the trail this morning, and I'm thinking it could be one of T'Nari's. Could you take them to see her for me?" "Of course," the Felinoid replied as she looked over at Mina and Leda. "Hi," Leda said casually. N'Geela dipped her head slightly in response. "This way," she said, her tail arching around her to point towards the north. She blinked and looked over to her right. "Is that him?" she inquired, pointing with a claw to the vep'tera as it tried to stick its head in a tent, barely being held back by Maze and another denizen. "D'oh," Mina sighed. "Yeah, that's him. C'mon, bird, get over here!" she called out before making a curious whistling noise at the vep'tera. N'Geela blinked. "That was a good imitation of their mating call," she said in awe, causing Mina's eyes to widen. "Mating call?" she blurted out, her jaw sagging open. "Ha!" Leda gasped, bursting into a fit of giggles. "No wonder he likes you so much, he probably thought you were offering him a good time." "Give me a break," Mina grumbled. "That's what they sound like in the game." She paused as she noticed that N'Geela was giving her a rather intense look. "Umm, is something wrong?" she ventured. "You have an unusual accent," the Felinoid said slowly. "Leave her alone," Leda grunted. "She grew up in a strange family." "You're one to talk," Mina countered with a pout. "Strange," N'Geela commented. "Your accent almost sounds Felinoid." Leda shrugged casually. "Yeah, so I spent some time living with one," she said as she started to stretch. "It sort of grows on you after awhile. So which way to this vep'tera farmer or whatever she is?" "Oh, yes, T'Nari," N'Geela said, blinking as she was reminded of her task. "I'm sorry. She's this way," she said as she began leading them towards the northern trails. "Come on, pretty bird," Mina cooed as the vep'tera approached. "Let's go see if you're as lost as the rest of us...." "As if she has to ask," Leda muttered to Maze as he joined the group. "Oohhhhh," Michelle breathed very softly as she came to a sudden stop, almost throwing Alex off-balance as she pulled her over to look. "Just look at those gemstones...." "Yeah, babe, they're pretty," Alex grumbled. "Probably pretty expensive, too. Damn, what's that smell?" "Fair morning," Whisper greeted the avian vendor in her native Outreaches dialect. She blinked as he replied telepathically before she nodded, relaxing as she was able to communicate in what was for her a more natural fashion than having to pick and choose from a variety of regional dialects. "Keep your voices down," Whisper said very quietly to them in English, still mentally conversing with the vendor about who to talk to about making a few bulk-purchases of common supplies. Michelle very carefully lifted up a dark green pendant on a fine chain, holding it up to the light before contrasting it to her wrist. "Too dark," she sighed as she gingerly set it back down. She blinked as a bracelet caught her eye, seeming to have been made from a topaz-like mineral. "What's this?" she quietly asked Whisper. The telepath asked a quick question aloud and got a series of soft chirps in response. "Glass, would you believe?" she translated. "This is glass?" Michelle replied, blinking hard. "Everything you see here is glass," Whisper pointed out. "Almost all of the avian tribes have at least one skilled craftsman who does nothing but make such trinkets for trade with other tribes and the general population. If you look close enough, you can see how the colors are blended together and formed in such a way as to appear to be mineral in origin. It's a very delicate art, really, but it is still a very popular craft to learn." "Wow...." Michelle breathed, looking closely at the individual grains of color and how they formed streaks in the bracelet. "They're so beautiful." Alex just shook her head, blinking hard as she saw Leda and Mina talking to what appeared to be a giant cat walking upright on her hind legs. "Holy crap, will you look at that? That is one big kitty...." Whisper's psionic voice said in her mind. "Hmm?" Michelle said as she lifted her head up to look. She blinked hard and almost dropped the bracelet she was holding. "Goodness!" "Hey, careful with that," Alex chided as she gently took the glass trinket from her and gently set it back down. "C'mon, hon, this is glass we're talking about. You can sneeze hard and it'll fragment." Michelle looked back at the glass collection and sighed wistfully. "I still think they're pretty," she pouted quietly. Alex just sighed as she cast a quick glance at the avian vendor. "Hon, stop and think just where we are, and more importantly, why we're here." Whisper's voice suddenly echoed in their minds. "Thanks, Mom," Alex muttered sourly. She blinked as Michelle suddenly swerved off in another direction, heading towards a denizen vendor who was hawking similar shiny trinkets. "Aw, c'mon, Mich...." "Alex, come look at these.... they're so beautiful!" Ami sighed quietly as she looked around the small crowd as they continued to thread their way along the seemingly random arrangements of booths, stalls, tents, and the like. "Where are we going?" she asked quietly. "I believe his house is over there," Tolaris replied as he moved aside to allow a black Felinoid with bright red stripes to pass. "And if not, then I'll just have to ask someone where we can...." "Tolaris!" a voice called out, causing them both to freeze solid in their tracks. He blinked hard and was starting to turn to look when an elderly woman came up to him and wrapped him in a tight embrace. "There you are! I haven't seen you in ages, how are you?" she babbled. Ami felt her blood turn to solid ice as the old woman whispered something in his ear, causing him to visibly tense for a moment. "I'm fine," he said as he seemed to relax. "You know me, always busy working...." "Shame on you," she chided him. "You should still find time to visit us now and then. And this must be Ami!" she said as she turned to face her. "Oh, my, just look at you, I haven't seen you since you were a baby. Come here and give your Aunt D'Nina a hug...." Ami hesitated for a moment before she caught the subtle nod from Tolaris. She very carefully stepped forward, blinking hard as she was given a decidedly tight hug by the old woman. She felt her hands lightly brushing across her back and hips in several places, causing her to blink again as she realized that she was being frisked in a very efficient yet inconspicuous manner. "If you value your life, you will play along with this," the woman said very softly in her ear before she stepped back with a broad smile on her face. "Oh, my, you've gotten strong lately, haven't you? Come, come, your uncle is just waiting to see the both of you...." Tolaris just chuckled very quietly. "We're coming, take it easy," he said as he took Ami by the hand and followed the old woman towards a row of houses. "So how have things been?" "Oh, listen to you," she fussed as she opened the door. "Even when you're not working, you're always wondering what's going on. Settle down for once, it's been so long since we've seen you. This way," she said with a gesture. Ami nervously followed her inside, wondering how the charade would play out. She blinked as Tolaris closed the door behind them and burst into a fit of laughter. She glanced over her shoulder at him, not entirely sure what to make of the situation. "I had no idea you were such a great actor," he said to the woman. "Stuff it, Commander," the woman grumbled, giving Ami a deeply guarded look. "Right now, we have an awful lot to be concerned about. This is the girl who changed your views about the world, isn't it?" Tolaris just shook his head ruefully. "Ami, I would like to introduce to you Master Chief D'Nina of the Dragoon Legion. Chief, this is Ami Mizuno." "Well met, Ami," D'Nina said gently. "Fair morning," Ami replied hesitantly. "Not exactly fair, child," D'Nina sighed as she gestured to the room on the left. "They're both waiting for you. This way." Tolaris and Ami entered the small study where they found a wizened old man sitting behind a large desk. Another man wearing the dark blue uniform of the Dragoon Legion was standing over his shoulder, pointing something out on a map spread out on the desk. They both looked up as Tolaris approached, identical looks of intrigue on their faces. "I guess you really are in one piece after all," the younger of the two men observed ruefully. "I try to remain that way," Tolaris replied dryly. "You know you that by meeting with me, you could wind up in a lot of trouble," he pointed out. The uniformed Dragoon snorted quietly. "Which is nothing compared to the trouble we're all in right now. I see you brought a friend with you," he added as he looked over at Ami. "This is Ami," Tolaris explained gently. "Ami, this is Commander K'tal of the Dragoon Legion, and this is T'ian Aerlin of Mar'ken." "Please, Commander," Aerlin sighed quietly. "You may dispense with the formalities. Welcome, both of you. Please, have a seat," he said, making a gesture to the chairs opposite the desk. "I trust you are a Sailor Scout, young lady?" Ami hesitated before nodding. "Yes, I am," she said quietly. "Indeed," Aerlin mused quietly. "I met with Sailor V last night. She is a most intriguing young woman, if somewhat of a rogue. Thank you for agreeing to come see us." "I don't mean to be rude," Tolaris said gently, "But time is not on our side. K'tal, do you know where they have her?" K'tal nodded curtly. "Royal Medical Suite of the Imperial Castle." "Right in the middle of everything," Tolaris sighed. "Commander...." K'tal hesitated, glancing over at Ami. "I just received a report of an incident this morning, shortly before you arrived here. It seems Rune tried to interrogate her or something...." "What happened to her?" Ami blurted out, her eyes wide. "What's her condition?" "Downgraded to critical," D'Nina spoke up from the doorway. "We know that she's half-denizen and undergoing the Chaos Factor evolution, and it's making things very difficult. We don't know the specific medical details, only that she is currently on aided life-support." "Commander Tolaris," Aerlin said slowly. "There is a question I asked Sailor V last night that she wasn't able to answer for me. As D'Nina has just reminded me, we know that the Moon Princess is half-denizen. What we don't know, or at least I don't, is who her father is." "Is that truly important?" Tolaris asked. "It might be," Aerlin replied calmly, giving K'tal a measured look. "Let me just say that the information would go a long way in helping to clear up the overall picture that has formed in my head since last night. I am hesitant to hazard a guess at this point, given the ramifications such an.... accusation might entail." "How can we get inside the Imperial Castle?" Ami asked Tolaris, ignoring the rest of the denizens. "If she's in critical condition...." "Take it easy," Tolaris sighed, laying his hands on her shoulders. "The Royal Medical Suite is probably the most fortified area of the whole castle." "Actually, that would be the Chamber of the NegaForce," K'tal spoke up. "That's under a lot of solid rock, remember?" "Not now, Commander," D'Nina sighed. "You can't use a wormhole," Tolaris thought aloud. "They probably have all of the wormhole wards activated around the castle waypoints as well, so we will probably have to open one up as close as we can on the outside and make our way into the castle...." K'tal coughed lightly. "We still have a waypoint left open," he pointed out. "Have to, seeing how both D'Nina and I are all the way out here...." "Can we use it?" Tolaris asked in a faintly guarded tone. K'tal shrugged absently. "I won't look down the hall if you don't make any noise to suggest that someone is trying to sneak past us." "Why are you helping us?" Ami asked quietly. "I'm not trying to sound ungrateful, but I just want to know why you're going to all this trouble." K'tal and D'Nina shared a look before the Dragoon commander sighed. "To be perfectly honest? I know who her father is," he said simply. "I'm not sure I can sleep soundly at night if something happened to her and I might have been able to prevent it. That, and I know how important she is to both our worlds." There was a soft sigh from Aerlin as he leaned back in his chair. "If you are aware of her father's identity, K'tal, would you be kind enough to share it with an old man such as myself?" he prodded. "Much like the young lady here, I too am more than slightly curious as to what motivates you to do something of this magnitude." "I think, Uncle, that is for the Sailor Scouts to reveal," K'tal said in a neutral tone, giving Ami a level look. Ami blinked and exchanged glances with Tolaris. He nodded slowly to her and she took a deep breath. "Serena's father was Captain Raijen," she said in a soft tone. "It seems his life-crystal was brought to the Moon Kingdom when your world first visited it, and somehow his spirit was animated for a period of time." Aerlin merely arched his eyebrows up in surprise. "Astonishing," he said after several seconds of contemplative silence. "Forgive me for having to ask you, but extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. What sort of proof do you have to validate this?" Ami pulled out her computer and held it up so he could see the display. "These are the results of a detailed genetic scan I took of her yesterday," she said as she accessed the data records from the medical scan she had performed. "These genomes here are human, but these over here are clearly denizen. I know this doesn't show much, but it proves that she's half-human and half-denizen if nothing else." "Wait," K'tal said quickly. "You already have a genetic sample? Can I get a copy of that? We can run it through the medical archives and do a very simple comparison to the data we have on Captain Raijen. If you're right, all of the denizen genomes should be virtually identical to his." Ami blinked and glanced down at her computer. "I'll need access to a data terminal to upload it," she hedged. "Fine, we'll get you that," K'tal said as he pulled his comm-link off of his belt. "Go find your friends and meet me outside the west gate, I'll have them open a wormhole into the Headquarters Complex staging area from there." K'tal blinked and almost dropped the comm-link as it chittered loudly in his hand. "Uh-oh," he muttered as he flicked the channel open. "K'tal." "Operations," the voice replied from the speaker. "Sir, you and Chief D'Nina need to return here immediately." "Who stepped on what, Lieutenant?" K'tal inquired warily. "There's been another incident in the Royal Medical Suite...." * * * * Rune sighed as the doors parted with a hiss, allowing her entry into the medical suite. "What is going on here?" she demanded. General Al'vexi looked up with a disgruntled expression. "You mean now, or the reason I called you in here?" she grumbled, turning her head back to eye the readings on the medical monitor. The monitor started to emit a low tone and flashed a yellow border around the screen. "She's crashing again," she warned the elderly Healer hovering over her. "I see it," Maq'i sighed as she took two steps back, making sure she was clear of the Princess' body. The alarm changed pitch as the computer decided that her heart rhythm was too unstable and began to charge the capacitors, producing a distinctive high-pitched whine. "Defibrillating now...." The monitor gave off a warning beep before it discharged the capacitors, sending a strong shock to the electrodes taped in place on the Princess' bare chest. Her whole body jerked briefly before relaxing, the warning tone falling silent as the heart rhythm was restored to its previously sluggish state. "Problems?" Rune inquired mildly as Maq'i leaned back over the Princess and resumed trying to use her healing powers on the girl. "The Chaos Factor is still trying to become active," Al'vexi explained. "It's disturbing her heart rhythm, and under normal circumstances it wouldn't even register as a blip on a scanner. Unfortunately, she's barely hanging on as it is, and even the slightest change throws her heart off-rhythm." "A pity," Rune said without the slightest hint of remorse. "So why are you here, anyway?" Al'vexi cast a glance at the bed before gesturing to the doors. "In the outer chamber, if you please," she said very quietly. Rune blinked in surprise at the request but complied, stepping through the double doors and taking a seat in the nearest chair. "What did you do to her?" Al'vexi demanded as soon as the doors closed behind them, preventing Maq'i from overhearing their conversation. Rune raised an eyebrow at the question. "I merely showed her what would happen if she didn't hand over the Imperium Silver Crystal," she replied. "By mock-executing the Prince?" the retired telepath hissed. "That was a shock to her, Rune. So much of a shock that her mind not only collapsed, but dug a hole for itself and crawled inside. She is completely catatonic at the moment, and I'm not sure if a recovery is even possible." "And?" Rune inquired mildly. "If you expect me to lose any sleep over this, you are sadly mistaken. I wouldn't even have bothered to waste the resources with keeping her on life-support." "Do you even know who she is?" Al'vexi shot back. "Killing her would not be a very wise thing to do, General Rune. Yes, I know the danger she poses, but she is not capable of doing anything right now. Her mind is essentially switched off and is barely able to maintain her autonomous functions." "Is there a point to this?" Rune said flatly. "I have better things to do with my time than spend it fretting over a mere child who is as good as dead." The retired general took a deep breath to calm herself before letting it out in a deep sigh. She reached into her pocket and carefully pulled out a small glittering object, holding it up to the light. "This is why I called you down here, to get this," she said gently. Rune's eyes widened as she recognized the spherical gem. "The Imperium Silver Crystal!" she breathed. "How...?" "We had to remove her blouse entirely the first time she crashed," Al'vexi explained in a low but calm tone. "For some reason, the Crystal didn't resist us when I took the brooch off, nor did it resist me when the brooch came apart and I caught the Crystal before it could hit the floor. I can feel the power inside this stone, and I would just as soon not hold it for one second longer than necessary. Here," she said simply as she handed it over to Rune. Rune wordlessly accepted the gem, her eyes still wide with wonder. "So we meet again," she murmured softly to it, cupping it in her hand. She carefully extended her powers outward, probing the crystalline structure for weak points and to examine its composition. "I shattered you once, but I see you have been reforged. Strange that I can't find your resonance anywhere. No matter, you are mine now...." She winced and almost dropped the glittering crystal as a massive surge of energy seemed to lance through her skull. a voice boomed in her mind, momentarily overwhelming her and leaving her briefly stunned. "What.... what was that?" Al'vexi gasped, her own senses reeling from the powerful psionic burst that had blown through her mental shields as if they simply didn't exist. "That was the voice of the NegaForce," a voice said behind them, causing them both to suddenly whirl around. "I don't know who it was directed to, but I suggest that someone should do as it asks." "General Nop'tera," Al'vexi said quietly with a bow of her head. "As long as I have served the NegaForce, I have never heard it use such a.... forceful method of contacting anyone." "Neither have I," the blue-skinned general admitted, her featureless eyes riveted on the Imperium Silver Crystal. "However, I am far from surprised to learn that it can project its thoughts across this great a distance. Such an entity would almost be expected to possess great powers. Is that what I think it is, General Rune?" "If you mean the Imperium Silver Crystal, then yes," Rune said quietly. "It's beautiful," the vampire said in a soft tone. "Strange how it bears a remarkable resemblance to both the NegaForce and the Renn's WorldStone. I wonder if they are all related somehow.... In any case, General Rune, I would like to caution you against holding it for too long. Even in the depths of slumber, a force such as that can cause untold destruction on a mere whim." "Indeed," Rune murmured, still gazing at the glittering gem. "It seems that the NegaForce would like to see this for itself, however, so I trust you will forgive me for not lingering here any longer than necessary...." "General Rune," Nop'tera interrupted suddenly, "Perhaps General Al'vexi should take the Crystal to the Chamber of the NegaForce, as there are some matters of importance that you and I still need to discuss. Immediately," she added in a gentle but faintly edged tone. "Al, would you be so kind as to take this to the NegaForce?" Rune said as she casually handed the Crystal back to the suddenly wary telepath. "I'm sure the Keepers won't have any objection to your presence under the circumstances." "Very well," Al'vexi replied quietly, giving both women a guarded glance before she headed towards the exit. "Guards," Nop'tera said. "Escort the General to see the NegaForce, and see that she is not delayed in the slightest." "Yes, ma'am," the senior guard replied crisply as he and his partner fell into step behind Al'vexi, leaving Rune and Nop'tera alone in the outer ward. Rune raised an eyebrow as the doors hissed shut behind them. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a decidedly imperialistic attitude?" she said in a casual tone. "When an order is given, General Rune, it is with the expectation that it will be obeyed," Nop'tera replied in a flat tone, her lips pulling back just enough to expose the points of her fangs. "I find myself becoming increasingly annoyed with the casual manner in which orders are being followed around here. Perhaps my return has come at an opportune moment, as it seems the military is in dire need of being reformed as an institution with a greater focus to be made on discipline." "Perhaps," Rune allowed. "Or perhaps it is merely an issue of perception on your part. I see no pattern of insubordination or a disregard of authority in the military, at least not in this immediate region, and I have not heard of any reports from the other regional commanders about such concerns within their ranks. Or is there something specific you have in mind?" she added. "What have you done to the Moon Princess?" Nop'tera asked in a low tone, unconsciously exposing more of her fangs as her temper started to flare again. "You are out of line," Rune replied flatly. "I thought this was made very clear to you earlier.... I am in command here, and if I see fit to have her interrogated or whatever, using whatever methods I desire, then that is how it will be. I am aware of the NegaForce's desires, but I am also fully aware of how much latitude I have and I will exercise that latitude at my discretion. If there is a concern, I will answer to the NegaForce itself and no-one else. Is that clear, General Nop'tera?" she snarled, her own temper starting to fray at the edges. "She is under my protection," Nop'tera hissed back, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "You yourself granted that. I have no objections to her being interrogated, but I most certainly object to her being shot at. That is not how you deal with captives, certainly not how you deal with royalty, and that is definitely NOT how one goes about obeying the NegaForce's wishes to keep her alive to bring about the birth of our future Queen!" Rune blinked hard, not having been yelled at like that by a subordinate in a very long time. Her right hand clenched into a fist as she began to gather her powers together, growing a sliver of crystal the size of a small needle in the palm of her hand. The crystal began to grow at a phenomenal rate as she fed more energy into it, doubling in size in a matter of seconds with a nearly silent cracking sound that she could feel rather than hear. "I will not say this again," Rune said in a very soft tone. "You are not in charge here, I am. It is only out of respect of your literally countless years of service in the military that I won't have you hauled before a tribunal for insubordination for this outburst. If you wish to institute a series of reforms in the military to increase discipline, I can appoint you to perform such a task with a relatively free hand, but only if you are able show some of that discipline yourself. You may speak freely with me, Nop'tera, but only if you show the proper degree of respect due to a superior officer, and you will certainly not tell me what to do," she said, her voice starting to rise with each passing moment. "I do not care if you do so formally or informally, but you will show me the respect I am due as the Commander-General of the military. Is that understood?" she roared. "Respect?" Nop'tera said in a quiet tone, her eyes narrowed down to mere slits of featureless yellow. "I am at least three times your age, child, so let us talk of respect for your elders. I have been a full general for the past three thousand years, twice as long as you have even been alive, so let us talk of respect for seniority. I have conquered an entire star system whose inhabitants were technologically on par if not outright superior to me, using a moderate force of thousands against an army of millions, where you have yet to conquer a single planet of third-rank humans or even get past just six of their warriors with all of your forces, so let us talk of respect for your superiors." Rune gasped hard as Nop'tera's hand shot out, grabbing the front of her collar and yanking her up on her tip-toes. She leaned forward until they were almost nose-to-nose, the vampire's lips pulled back in a snarl that left her fangs prominently exposed. "Do you really wish to cross me, child?" she hissed. "I have killed more Renn with my bare hands than you have years of life, I have brought nations to their knees and humbled a world, and in doing so I have earned the respect of many. Show me you are worthy of my respect first, then we can talk about how I will show it to you." She pulled Rune even closer, tightening her grip on her collar. "If you enjoy keeping your blood in your veins and your soul tethered to your flesh," she warned in a deathly whisper, "You will learn to heed the desires of the NegaForce, no matter how minor they may seem to you. It said that we could settle the issue of who is really in charge between the two of us. Be careful how loosely you interpret its wishes, lest I take just as loose a view on how to deal with you." "As you wish," Rune said flatly as she summoned all her energy together. Fueled by both rage and fear, the crystal seed she had been crafting suddenly ballooned in size, becoming an extremely sharp-edged weapon. She thrust her hand upward, driving the point of the crystal into Nop'tera's chest as deeply as she could. She gasped as she misjudged her grip on the crystal weapon, her hand sliding upwards when she encountered resistance and slicing her palm open on a razor-sharp edge. Nop'tera gasped hard as she tried to jump back, her yellow eyes widening into near-perfect circles. That gave Rune enough leverage to grab the weapon with her other hand and shove harder, causing the very tip of the crystal to emerge from the vampire's back. Neon-yellow blood immediately began to spill forth from her chest, blending with the dark color of her tunic to create a truly hideous stain that rapidly expanded downwards. Rune barely had time to blink before Nop'tera's hand lashed out, catching her squarely along the jaw in a blow that came dangerously close to taking her head off entirely. She stumbled back and fell on her backside, her eyes never leaving the pulsing wound in Nop'tera's chest. The vampire's breath began to gurgle in her lungs as an almost luminescent yellow froth started to form on her dark blue lips. Lung shot, Rune thought as she struggled to regain her footing. A searing pain exploded across her hand as she tried to brace herself, the deep wound further tearing and erupting in a cascade of blood. She snarled a curse as she immediately tried to apply pressure to the major artery in her arm, trying to reduce the amount of blood flowing to the ruptured blood vessels in her hand. She glanced up as she caught a flash of motion in the windows an instant before a series of alarms erupted around her. She blinked hard as the archway to the inner ward started to sparkle and a deep electric hum filled the air around her. Containment field, she thought with a scowl as a series of blast shields began to roll into place over the doors and windows. Maq'i's sealing the inner bay.... damn her! Rune looked up as Nop'tera collapsed to the floor, a large pool of the slightly luminous blood forming around her. Her breath was coming in gasps, each movement of her chest accompanied by a liquid sound as her lungs filled with blood. She somehow managed to lift her head up to glare at Rune, her eyes conveying a feeling of pure hatred that she was unable to audibly express. "So much for superiority," Rune spat, suddenly feeling light-headed. She blinked as Nop'tera's hand came up to touch a gemstone on her belt, her body becoming enveloped in a strange blue field of energy a moment later. Rune's eyes widened as the gravely wounded vampire suddenly dissolved in a sparkle of blue light, leaving only the massive pool of blood behind. A teleport?! Rune mentally gasped, knowing that there were at least four layers of dimensional warding and psionic shields surrounding the Royal Medical Suite which should have prevented all forms of teleportation. She spat a foul curse as she realized that Nop'tera just might survive her wounds, which would result in a very lethal backlash. The outer doors of the ward hissed open as a full squadron of armed and upset security guards barged in. They immediately rushed over to her side, two of the guards pitching their weapons into a corner before trying to tend to her wounds. "General Rune, what happened?" the senior guard demanded, giving both her and the sealed inner ward deeply concerned looks. "Nop'tera," Rune gasped, blinking as her mouth seemed to be reluctant to work properly. She didn't think it was broken or dislocated, but as her senses were starting to swim in a small circle, it was somewhat hard to tell at the moment. "She tried to kill me and take over...." "Get a Healer in here, now!" the senior guard barked. "You, second drawer on your right, as much gauze as you can find. K'ves, that's arterial blood.... Get a tourniquet on her arm, now! Move, before she bleeds out on us!" "Contact Admiral Si'ren," Rune whispered. "Declare a level one alarm and deploy the ForceWard crystals immediately. All divisions are to target the Red Wing carriers with everything they have, but are not to fire unless they start to show hostile intent. Declare a planet-wide NP Watch and warn for all personnel to take the appropriate precautions." "Copy," one of the security guards said as he whipped out his comm-link. "Stay with us, ma'am," the senior guard said, lightly shaking Rune's shoulders as she slumped to one side. "I will not die this easily," Rune assured him in a quiet whisper, her entire body suddenly going cold. She could feel the warmth seeping out of the deep slice in her hand, reminding her of the last time something had severed one of her arteries. "Attention, attention," the speakers started to blare around her as she slowly slid into unconsciousness. "This is a Level 1 planet-wide Emergency. I repeat, this is a Level 1 planet-wide Emergency...." * * * * "Ay'cha navidshi!" K'tal gasped, almost dropping the comm-link. "Tell me you're joking, please!" "We wish, sir," the Operations officer sighed. "You and Chief D'Nina need to get back here right now, Commander, and with all due respect, I mean right k'vesi now. Sir." "Copy, Lieutenant," K'tal said, fully willing to ignore the rather coarse breach of protocol in this case. "Stand by." "Venta," the speaker replied. "K'tal...." Tolaris said in a deeply concerned tone. "We've got a few moments to think," K'tal replied, his hands starting to visibly shake. "If nothing else, the Red Wings will need time to spool up the carrier and take off. They're simply too close to the Castle to just open up on it. Same with the castle defenses, simply too close. If they're smart, they'll ramp up their engines to maximum before they try to take off, that way they'll put some distance between them as quickly as possible." "We still need to get in there," Tolaris pointed out. "Commander Tolaris," Aerlin said quietly. "I am not sure if I understand the magnitude of this development, but right now we appear to be heading into a rebellion, if not an outright civil war. Attempting to enter the Imperial Castle at the moment is probably unwise at best." "It doesn't matter," Ami countered quickly. "We have to go in to find Serena. They're distracted with whatever is going on and won't be too worried about her, so we might as well make the best of this." K'tal and D'Nina looked at one another for a moment before K'tal sighed. "Very well," he said quietly before suddenly wincing in pain. "Ow, not so loud," he muttered to himself as he pressed one hand to the side of his head, his gaze seeming to go vacant. "Commander!" D'Nina said sharply. Tolaris raised an eyebrow in concern. "Telepathic attack?" "Not really," K'tal sighed. "Just a very upset Captain Ael'ien yelling in my mind's ear. I'll explain later, assuming we live long enough to have a few minutes for idle explanations. Okay, Tolaris, I'm going to trust you and the Sailor Scouts on this one. I can probably help you get in, but the odds are not overly optimistic that I'll be able to get you ladies back out." "K'tal...." Tolaris started to say before being cut off by Ami. "Thank you," she said quickly. "Meet you at the west gate, you said?" K'tal held up his comm-link. "K'tal to Operations." "Operations." "Wormhole in five minutes, west gate of Mar'ken," he said quickly. "Copy, it'll be there," the Operations officer assured him. "Out." "I'll tell the others," Ami replied as she whipped out her communicator and immediately began to open up channels. Tolaris raised an eyebrow as K'tal started to chuckle quietly to himself. "Something amusing?" he inquired carefully. "Not really," K'tal replied. "I had a gut feeling that today wasn't going to be what you'd call a fun day. Sometimes, I hate being right...." * * * * "Ahh, so there you are," T'Nari chuckled as the vep'tera trotted forward, cooing softly at her. "Indeed, this one is one of mine. He's usually quite good about not wandering off when we make camp, but sometimes something will catch his interest and he won't pay attention to anything else until he has it figured out to his satisfaction." Leda smirked and shook her head. "Trust me, we understand that one all too well," she said ruefully. "Oh, don't do that," Mina sighed as the vep'tera warbled at her before trying to peck at her hair bow yet again. "Look, I'm glad you're not lost or anything, but you still need to quit that." "He seems to like you well enough," T'Nari observed. "Did you feed him anything, by chance?" "Only a stray rakketh we had to pull off someone's ankle," Mina replied, drawing a chuckle from both T'Nari and N'Geela. "Food is always the best way to a man's heart," the elderly denizen said with a twinkle in her storm-gray eyes. "Don't look at me like that, young man, you know there is some truth to that," she added as Maze just sighed. "If you insist, ma'am," he muttered with a wry smile. "Come now, off with you," T'Nari said as she put her fingers to her lips and made a curious whistle, gesturing with her other hand to the fenced area behind her pavilion tent. The vep'tera chirped back at her before it trotted off, casually hopping over a low section of the fence to rejoin the small herd of vep'teras in the distance. "Aww...." Mina sniffed with a sad smile. "Easy, girl," Leda sighed. "It's just an oversized ostrich." "It's a chocobo," the blonde muttered darkly. "Still," Leda started to say before her communicator beeped quietly. She blinked and gave the rest of the group a slightly wary look. "Excuse me," she said as she slipped her communicator out of her Lunar Space pocket and stepped away from the group. "I must thank you for finding him for me," T'Nari said. "I know it is too late for the morning meal, but would you be able to join me for lunch?" "I'm sorry," Mina sighed, shaking her head. "We're only passing through for a bit before heading back. We're on a schedule, you see, but we'd love to come back another day when we know we'll have more time." "Well," T'Nari replied slowly, "I have one more migration to do before I settle down for the rest of the season, but I should be here for most of...." "Mina!" Leda called out as she ran back to the group. "We've got four minutes to get to the west gate before they open a wormhole!" "Sorry, gotta go," Mina said quickly as she flashed a brief smile at the elderly rancher. "Hate to run like this but.... HEY!" she yelped as N'Geela's hand suddenly shot out to grab her wrist. She blinked as she felt sharp claws pressed hard against her, coming dangerously close to breaking the skin. The Felinoid carefully leaned forward and sniffed her intently. "So it really is you," she hissed in a low tone, her tail lashing back and forth like a whip. "I thought that accent sounded familiar...." "N'Geela!" T'Nari said sharply. "What are you doing?" "She's one of the Sailor Scouts," N'Geela growled, her ears folded flat against her head as she stared hard at the blonde. "Hey now...." Maze started to protest before Mina cut him off with a gesture of her free hand. "Yes, N'Geela, it's me," Mina replied calmly. "I told you we'd be coming back in the morning, and you also know why." Leda blinked hard and looked behind her as chaos started to erupt in the marketplace, punctuated by a pair of bursts of light that could only be Sailor Scout transformations. "Aww, crap, there goes our cover," she grumbled as she cast a wary look back at the Felinoid. "Not that I think it would have lasted another five seconds, but still...." "You two are Sailor Scouts?" T'Nari gasped, her eyes going wide. Mina just sighed and looked up at the sky. "Yes, we are, but we're only here to rescue our kidnapped princess and not to start trouble with anyone. Look, do you truly think we'd have gone to all the trouble of trying to return a missing vep'tera if we had bad intentions? We're not evil people, honest. C'mon, furball, lemme go, time is running out...." Maze gave the elderly denizen a pained look. "Tell you what, I'll come back later if you want, assuming I'm still alive later, and explain this whole mess to the both of you. I'm a Dragoon, or at least used to be, and we're all in this one together. You just have to trust us." "A Dragoon?" T'Nari said, blinking in surprise. "Then do you know...?" "Hey!" a voice yelled in English in the distance, causing everyone's heads to turn. "C'mon, you pinheads, quit screwing around and transform!" Sailor Uranus yelled as she ran through the marketplace, followed by a slightly winded Sailor Neptune. Whisper was trying to keep pace behind them, pausing every so often to apologize to an upset vendor or startled patron as she went past. "We're working on it!" Mina yelled back in an irritated tone before she turned back to N'Geela. "Look, all hell is breaking loose and we can't stick around to pet the vep'teras anymore. I don't mean to be rude, but I'm going to have to hurt you if you don't let go of my arm, girl. I've got to rescue one of my best friends from General Rune's clutches, okay? I'll be back one day, I promise. Lunch sounds good, and I kind of like that chocobo of yours...." "N'Geela," T'Nari said in a quiet tone. The Felinoid glared at her for a moment before she turned her attention back to Mina. She made a dangerously soft growling noise before she let go of the blonde's wrist and took a step back, her tail still violently lashing back and forth. "Thanks," Mina said as she reached into her Lunar Space pocket and pulled out a silvery wand. She was about to hold it up to the sky when she blinked and took a good look at it. "Aww, crap, I knew I forgot something! *REI!*" she screamed over her shoulder, looking for the priestess. Leda just shook her head. "What are we going to do with you?" she sighed as she held her Jupiter Wand up. "JUPITER POWER!!" * * * * "What?" Darian said, blinking hard as he stared at Ami's image on the tiny communicator display. "No time to explain," Ami said rapidly. "Just transform and get over to the west gate as soon as you can. We only have three minutes until a wormhole opens, so get moving!" "We're on it," he replied before he closed the channel. "Rei...." "Right behind you," the priestess said as they started running towards the west. Their progress was hampered by both the crowd and the haphazard way all of the kiosks and tents were set up. They both blinked as there was a loud squawk behind them, glancing over their shoulders in time to see a shadow pass over them as Ra'vel launched herself into the air and flew west. Darian sighed and shook his head, pausing only long enough to remove the dark red rose he had tucked away in his jacket. The petals started to act as prisms as he focused his mind, turning a myriad of dazzling colors as he began to transform into the caped figure of Tuxedo Mask. The crowd around him began to react with alarm and slight panic, starting to retreat into the nearest tents and forming a path for him. He blinked as he caught sight of a column of water surging into the air in the distance, quickly followed by a small tornado in roughly the same location. A sudden realization popped into his mind and he cast a glance over his shoulder, frowning as he saw that Rei hadn't transformed yet. "Rei, use your wand!" he called out as they continued to run. "If I had it!" she growled back, causing him to blink hard at her tone. Uh-oh, he thought, suddenly remembering the scene back at the cathedral where Rei had tossed her Mars Wand into Serena's lap before leaving the group. Mina had later picked it up and said that she was going to try to convince Rei to take it back, but he couldn't remember hearing about how it turned out. He blinked and refocused as he caught a harsh electrical glare in the distance off to his right. Realizing what it was and what it meant, he made a sharp right turn that caught Rei by surprise. She made an abrupt course change of her own to avoid running into him and nearly ended up slamming into a large black Felinoid with dark red stripes. "Excuse me!" Rei snapped, both at Tuxedo Mask and the Felinoid as she got her bearings and started running again, catching up with him after a few more seconds of dodging around upset denizens and brightly-colored tents. "Mina!" Tuxedo Mask called out as he spotted the blonde standing next to Sailor Jupiter and Maze. "Took you long enough, pyro," Mina growled at Rei as she approached, the priestess' wand still tightly held in the blonde's hand. "Decision time, Rei. You plan on rejoining the team or do you still want to tough it out on your own? Well, speak up, what's it going to be, we don't have time to..." She blinked hard as a silvery object came flying through the air, beaning her square in the middle of her forehead. "OW, DAMMIT, THAT HURT!" she yelped as the Venus Wand bounced off of her, the silvery cylinder spared from hitting the ground only by Maze's quick reflexes. "Shut up and get moving," Rei snarled as she snatched the Mars Wand out of the blonde's grasp and promptly held it up. "Mars Power!" Jupiter sighed and looked over at the visibly wary denizens. "You'll have to excuse her, it's that time of the month again," she apologized to T'Nari and N'Geela as they flinched from the sudden surge of fire surrounding Rei. "I.... see...." T'Nari managed to say in a level tone, her jaw hanging open and her eyebrows arched clear up to her hairline. "What'd I do to her?" Mina demanded as she accepted her Venus Wand from Maze, still rubbing the red mark on her forehead. She blinked and yelped again as she was suddenly picked up from behind and slung over a shoulder like a sack of wheat. "I said quit screwing around and transform!" Sailor Uranus snarled as she began to jog as fast as she could, carrying Mina along with her and casting a measured look at the visibly shocked N'Geela. "Come on, we don't have time to play with the cat. Damn, you're heavy...." she puffed. "PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!!" "Excuse us," Sailor Neptune panted as she ran past the group, breathing hard and still trying to catch up with Uranus. "Alex, wait up!" she pleaded. Jupiter looked around the group and sighed. "Our reputation is so ruined right now," she grumbled, shaking her head ruefully before heading after the still-screaming blonde. Tuxedo Mask was about to say something when Sailor Mars grabbed his arm and started to drag him off at a fast pace. "Don't just stand there," she growled. "We only have sixty seconds left! GET MOVING, I SAID!" "Ma'am, thank you for your hospitality," Maze said casually, casting a sidelong glance at the wave of pure chaos heading towards the west gate. "I assure you that, if your lunch invitation still stands, they will be far more behaved when they get around to accepting. You two have a wonderful day," he said with a smile and a wave before he took off jogging at a brisk clip. T'Nari and N'Geela looked at once another in silence for what seemed to be a minor eternity before they both sighed in unison. "That was.... profoundly disturbing," T'Nari said carefully. "I take it all back," N'Geela muttered. "Sailor V seemed to be a shining example of sanity compared to the rest of them. Those WERE the Sailor Scouts, right?" she ventured hesitantly. "So it seems," the elderly woman replied. She blinked as she saw another Sailor Scout go running past, followed by at least two Dragoons. Her eyes grew wider as she recognized one of them and called out to her. "D'Nina!" The Master Chief looked over and slowed down briefly. "Can't talk now, T'Nari, we've got an emergency!" D'Nina called back. "The Sailor Scouts?" T'Nari inquired breathlessly. D'Nina visibly hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "No, don't worry about them, they're not the problem. I'll explain later!" she promised before she picked up the pace and disappeared around a corner. "Well," the vep'tera rancher sighed quietly, "I feel better now." "What?" N'Geela said, blinking hard. "Who was that?" "An old friend from my youth," T'Nari replied. "She's a senior member of the Dragoon Legion these days, and if she doesn't think that the Sailor Scouts are a concern at the moment, then I'm inclined to trust her judgment." The Felinoid blinked against and growled very softly to herself, her tail still lashing back and forth but at a much slower pace than before. She looked over her shoulder as she heard an odd sound, blinking as she realized that it was caused by a vep'tera hopping over the low fence and taking off at a brisk trot towards the west. "Hey, he's loose again!" she called out. "Oh, what is he doing now?" T'Nari sighed. "He usually doesn't give me problems like this and he almost never leaves the herd like that when we're here at the village.... N'Geela, can you chase him down for me?" "Alright," N'Geela replied as she dropped to all fours and started chasing after the rogue vep'tera. The rancher sighed again and looked back at the marketplace, able to hear the excited buzz of conversation over what had just happened. She paused and blinked as she saw a stooped figure approaching at a casual pace, holding a large staff for support and idly puffing on a pipe. "Uncle Aerlin!" she called out to the village elder in greeting. "Ahh, T'Nari!" Aerlin replied with a smile. "Fair morning to you." "Chaotic morning is more like it," she shot back with a wry look. "Do you have any idea what just happened?" Aerlin chuckled quietly and leaned on his staff. "Oh, I think I might be able to make an educated guess," he said with a slow puff on his pipe and a mysterious smile that made T'Nari wary of what he was smoking this time. * * * * The door to sick bay slid open, allowing both Ar'kanis and Sor'en to make their way into the outer room of the medical facility. "Where is she?" Sor'en demanded of the nearest medical technician. "Still in surgery," she replied, pointing to a large display monitor that was showing various vital signs. "She's lost a lot of blood and they're still trying to drain her lungs without killing her, so don't bother them right now. General Ar'kanis, over here, please." "Sor'en, return to the bridge," the armored denizen instructed her, his helmet making his tone sound deathly cold and flat despite the echo. "Go to general quarters and get the engines ready, but you are not to start spooling the rotors just yet. We will take no direct action until I say so, only make ourselves as ready as possible." "For what?" the brigadier inquired sharply. "I'll let you know when I know," Ar'kanis rumbled. "Until then, we must be as vigilant as possible. Now go." "But...." There was a sharp snort from within the confines of his helmet. "I know you're worried about your mother, Brigadier," he said in an icy echo. "But I know she has lived through worse. Now put your personal feelings aside and go see to your duties before inaction gets us all killed." Sor'en blinked hard and snapped to attention. "Yes, sir!" she replied, giving him a brief salute before scrambling for the door in haste. The medical technician went over to a small stasis cylinder and lifted the lid, allowing Ar'kanis to peer inside. "We recovered that from her chest," she explained as they both stared at the crystal shard covered in two colors of denizen blood. "And the blood?" he inquired in a level tone, eyeing the way the yellow had started to mix with deep red to produce a ghastly shade of orange before becoming a tableau of frozen motion caught in suspended animation. "Typing it now," the technician replied as she closed the lid to let the laser scanners continue their analysis of the blood. "I doubt we have it in our records, but I can query the castle's medical servers to see if we can get a DNA match. Whoever did it, or at least who bled all over the handle, is probably in a world of hurt right now as the blood in question is saturated with fresh oxygen." "Arterial blood?" Ar'kanis suggested. "Looks to be that way," the technician nodded. The armored general grunted softly to himself, his massive wings flexing absently. "Where is Lady Freya?" he inquired. "Assisting with the surgery," she replied. "We're having to use a very light acid to keep the general's regeneration ability busy so it doesn't close the chest incisions on us while we're draining her lungs. We have a written order on file as to who is allowed to use the acid on the general, and Lady Freya is one of the few denizens on the list." Ar'kanis grunted again. "Can I converse with Freya?" "Unwise," the technician cautioned. "They're all very busy in there." They both looked up at the ceiling as the lighting took on a slight but still noticeably crimson highlight, a very faint humming noise filling the air. The call to general quarters was all but impossible to miss elsewhere, but the alarm was deliberately kept as unobtrusive as possible in sick bay so as not to startle anyone working on something delicate when it went off. "I will be on the bridge," he rumbled. "Inform me the moment Nop'tera regains consciousness, even if she's still in surgery." "Understood, sir," the technician replied with a nod of her head. "I'll let you know as soon as I get an ID on the blood sample." "Thank you," Ar'kanis said quietly before he turned around and left the medical center. A wall of harsh noise and flashing red lights greeted him as he stepped into the hallway, reminding him that the rest of the carrier was now at General Quarters and that they were all in a high degree of danger. The lift ride to the bridge was a rather short one, and it wasn't even a full minute after he left sick bay that he found himself entering the central nexus of the carrier's command structure. "Status report," he called out, his voice taking on a chilling echo inside his all-encompassing helmet. "Sir, Engineering reports one-twenty on all reactors and rising!" "Security to bridge," the wall-mounted speaker crackled, "All bay doors have been closed and sealed shut." "Sir, all rotors are locked as ordered by Brigadier Sor'en." "Keep them locked," Ar'kanis replied. "Do not show any external activity until I say so. Communications, hail the Imperial Castle," he instructed. "I want to talk to a flag officer as soon as possible." "Aye, sir," the communications officer replied as he turned to his panel. He blinked as a light lit up on a console and he turned back to the general. "Sir, we are being hailed by the castle." "If it's not a flag officer, ignore it," Ar'kanis said coldly. "I want someone with both authority and responsibility." "Aye, sir.... Sir, I have Admiral Si'ren on the frequency." Ar'kanis grunted softly to himself. "On the main screen," he ordered as he took a step forward and looked up at the giant video monitor set at an angle on the ceiling. The monitor seemed to blink for a moment before the image of the white- haired admiral appeared. "This is Admiral Si'ren hailing the V'ral," she said in a flat tone. "This is General Ar'kanis," he replied. "What is the meaning of this?" Si'ren blinked and raised an eyebrow, seeming to be caught off-guard by the directness of his reply. "That is my question to you, General," she said in a guarded tone. "Where is General Nop'tera?" "Recovering from an assassination attempt," he spat. "We have a blood sample of her attacker and request your assistance in identifying it so we can ensure that this crime will not go unpunished." "And what of Nop'tera's attempt on General Rune's life?" Si'ren countered acidly. "I think she has a lot of explaining to do at the moment, Ar'kanis." "An attempt on Rune's life?" the armored figure said slowly. "Tell me, was she wounded?" "She's still unconscious in Medical," the admiral replied with a frown. "With a wound on her hand from holding a crystal weapon?" Ar'kanis added in a decidedly mild tone. Si'ren blinked but remained silent for a long time, staring hard at the armored figure and ignoring the subtle reactions of shock and confusion from both her staff and his. "Something's not right about this," she finally said in a deeply guarded tone. "General, do you have a secure communications line where you and I can continue this in private?" "Datalius," Ar'kanis promptly replied. "Very well," Si'ren said with a nod. "I don't know what is going on, but I have my orders as I'm sure you have yours. The V'ral is to remain docked at the landing field until further notice. Attempt to take off and you will be landing again the hard way. I will contact you shortly on the Datalius line. Imperial Castle out." Ar'kanis said nothing as her image abruptly winked out, leaving a heavy silence behind that seemed to suffocate the bridge. "Communications," he said in a calm tone. "Contact the Visage and the Veil. Instruct them to prepare to launch on very short notice, and to do so as unobtrusively as they can manage. All sub-surface units are to stand to and be ready to put to sea along with the carriers. Send a message to both the tank battalions and the fighter squadrons to prepare to stand to, and warn the commanders that they may be on their own for awhile if we can't have them picked up from the parade grounds and the landing fields." "Copy, sir," the communications officer replied as he turned to his panel and started typing up a series of message dispatches. "Sir?" the helmsman said in a guarded but respectful tone. "Can you tell us what the t'zarn is going on around here?" "Someone tried to kill General Nop'tera," Ar'kanis rumbled darkly. "It may have been Rune, but it may have been someone else as Rune appears to also be severely wounded. I am not about to draw any conclusions until I have more facts, but I will make sure we are ready to meet any threat from any source. Brigadier Sor'en, you have the bridge. I will be in Nop'tera's office," he said as he turned around and headed towards the lift. "I have the bridge, aye, sir," Sor'en replied crisply. The silence on the bridge lasted for a mental ten-count after the armored general had left. "Ma'am?" the Tactical officer asked warily as the rest of the morning watch started to exchange visibly uneasy looks. "As you were," Sor'en replied sharply. "I won't lie to you, I don't know any more than you do, but I'll tell you one thing.... nobody threatens the Red Wings or tries to assassinate General Nop'tera without experiencing the most severe of repercussions," she said ominously. "Copy that one, ma'am," the helmsman said, drawing grim looks of agreement and determination from the rest of the bridge. * * * * "Is that everyone?" Mercury panted slightly as she caught up with the group, leaning on one of the gate's support columns for a moment. She paused and blinked as she noticed that both Venus and Mars were flushed crimson with repressed anger for some reason. "And are you guys okay?" "Just peachy, babe," Uranus grunted, pointedly ignoring the flat glare coming from Venus. She looked over as the rest of the Dragoons caught up with them, all slightly winded from running halfway across the village. "Okay, so where's the portal? How much time do we have left?" Mercury blinked and looked down at her computer for a moment. "Four.... three.... two.... one.... mark." Precisely on cue, the air directly between the gate's support columns seemed to suddenly explode outwards, irising open into a swirling blue maelstrom. Jupiter whistled softly to herself. "Timing is everything." "We strive for accuracy in our work," K'tal said as he strode up to the wormhole. "Sailor Jupiter, I presume?" Jupiter raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, that's me. Do we know one another?" "Dragoon Commander K'tal," he replied casually. "I've heard about most of you, of course, but we can save the formalities for later. Excuse me for a moment," he added as he stepped through the wormhole. "Sir!" the chief watching the console said as he snapped to attention as K'tal emerged from the wormhole. "You're relieved of duty," K'tal said with preamble, causing the chief to blink hard. "Go sit in the corner and take a nap, that's an order." "Sir??" the chief stuttered. K'tal paused and glared at him. "You heard me, step away from the control panel and take a nap." "Y-Yes, sir," the chief replied as he slowly backed up, his eyes wide with disbelief. K'tal turned around and stuck his head through the still-open wormhole. "Alright, make this quick, okay? Everyone inside," he said before he took a few steps back. "SIR!" the chief suddenly called out in alarm as Jupiter and Venus emerged from the wormhole. "SAILOR SCOUTS!!" K'tal sighed and crossed his arms. "Chief, I thought I ordered you to sit your ptanka down and take a k'vesi nap. Now you know as well as I do that one doesn't see or hear anything when they're sleeping, correct?" he said in an edged tone, giving the upset chief a meaningful look. "But, sir...." the chief protested, watching with extreme trepidation as the rest of the Sailor Scouts emerged from the wormhole. He blinked hard as Tolaris stepped into the staging area. "C-C-Commander Tolaris?" "As you were, Chief," Tolaris replied calmly. "But.... but.... but.... but...." Jupiter sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Not this one again," she grumbled. "Venus, you're closer to him than I am, can you slap him around for a few to work the cork loose? He seems stuck." "Ignore him," K'tal said wearily as he rubbed his sinuses. "He's in the corner taking a nap, so he's just having a very vivid dream, that's all." "You let them sleep on duty?" Tolaris inquired mildly, giving the chief a subtle wink of understanding. "You've really let the standards slip around here, K'tal." "Yes, I know," K'tal sighed as he slapped his wrist. "Bad Dragoon." "Oh, not him again!" Uranus grumbled as a curious warbling noise filled the staging area. Everyone turned around in time to see the vep'tera hopping out of the wormhole, his eyes wide with wonder as he looked around. He caught sight of Venus and cooed at her, trotting over to idly peck at her hair bow. "No, stop that!" Venus sighed. She grabbed the bird's head and planted a light kiss on his beak. "Listen, you're adorable as hell and I promise I'll come back to say hi one of these days, but you really have to go now." "Someone give me a hand here," Jupiter grumbled as she walked over to the vep'tera and tried shoving him towards the wormhole. The bird refused to budge and hissed at her, fluffing his feathers up. "Think we should have Mars barbecue him?" Uranus suggested. "Jupiter can whip up a nice honey glaze, and he'd probably taste like chicken...." "Umm.... excuse me...." N'Geela said hesitantly as she poked her head into the wormhole, giving everyone a deeply guarded look. "I'm trying to take him back to the village...." "You may want to remain right there," Whisper advised her gently. "We'll toss him back through the wormhole in a moment. Oops.... Sailor Jupiter, you really don't want to grab him right there...." "Commander K'tal, what have you gotten us in to?" D'Nina sighed, shaking her head. "Lieutenant Ra'vel, can you help them get him out of here?" "Hey, watch the beak, you dumb bird!" "Well, don't yank his tail like that and he won't bite...." "OW, OW, GET THE HELL OFF MY FOOT YOU OVERGROWN CANARY!!" "Maybe I should poke him with my saber?" "Yeah, that'll really make him cooperate.... Venus, watch it!" "No, don't eat my chest bow, that's still attached! Ow, let go, let go!" "You want some help with that, babe?" "Gee, ya think?! Ow, let go, I said! Goddamn it, chocobo, LET GO!" "Damn, my foot hurts, little bastard.... No, get away! OW, NOT AGAIN!" "Tear the fabric and I Crescent Beam you in the head, bird! Stop it!" "Neptune, honey, you and Mercury should stand over there so you don't end up getting *OOOOOOOF!*" "Wing-slapped in the face like that? Watch the toes, watch the toes!" "Oh, christ, it's tearing! Bird, I ain't kidding about the head-shot!" " Something like that. Damn, that sucked...." K'tal and Tolaris just looked at one another before shaking their heads in wonder. "Okay, while we have a few moments...." K'tal said slowly. "Just open the access tunnel," Tolaris replied. "You don't need to get involved in this any more than necessary, we'll take care of the rest." "My ptanka," K'tal shot back. "This is Raijen's daughter we're talking about, remember? You truly expect me to just sit here and twiddle my thumbs?" "Sir?" the chief blurted out, still keeping a watchful eye on the frantic situation with the vep'tera and the Sailor Scouts. "Lieutenant Maze, will you go explain the concept of a nap to him?" K'tal muttered with a gesture. "This one really needs to stay off the books." "Not a problem, Commander," Maze replied cheerfully as he crossed the room and gave the chief a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Hey, Chief, long time, no see. How's the life-mate and daughter?" "Uh, they're, uh, doing fine, sir...." "Listen, this might seem like a crazy nightmare to you...." "Dammit, if he steps on my foot one more time, I'm gonna nail him!" "Well, don't grab him from behind anymore and he won't do that...." "Ah.... ah-hah.... hah.... thank you.... for.... letting go.... ow...." "Hey, don't bring him over here, shoo! Shoo! Go away!" "And I know they have a bit of a reputation for being dangerous women and all, but do they seem all that dangerous right now? I didn't think so. But back to my original point. We're here for a reason, a very, very good reason that I can't tell you about now but I swear upon my honor that it's something that the Code of Conduct would fully approve of...." "So anyway, Tolaris...." K'tal continued. Tolaris held up a finger. "You have a division to run, and drawing the entire Legion into the middle of a situation like this would not be the best thing to do." "This is a matter of honor," K'tal said quietly. "I know," Tolaris replied with a nod. "Which is why I know I can trust you to help us if we need it, and to otherwise stay out of our way." The chaos in the room all seemed to come to a sudden stop as the lights abruptly turned crimson and a klaxon began blaring around them. "Raid Warning, Raid Warning," the speakers crackled an instant later. "Dragoon Legion to all military units, we are declaring a Raid Warning at this time. I repeat, this is the Dragoon Legion declaring a Raid Warning to all military units." "Should we ask?" Jupiter said in a dangerous tone, eyeing the momentarily distracted vep'tera. It made a muted warbling chirp as it looked around the room with visible uncertainty in its eyes. K'tal grumbled to himself as he strode over to the nearest console and punched a button. "K'tal to Operations." "Operations," a voice promptly replied. "Sir, we have just detected a massive increase in signal strength among the communication bands that we know the Sailor Scouts use. A Raid Warning has been issued as per your orders." K'tal blinked and cast a glance over shoulder, giving the group a very embarrassed look. "Copy that, Lieutenant," he managed to say in a level tone. "Keep an eye out for any activity, we don't want those Sailor Scouts getting anywhere close to this area, now do we?" "Copy that. Sir, we are.... wait, what? Say that again? Er, sir, can you stand by for a moment?" "Venta," K'tal said in a guarded tone as he hit the mute button. "Wait, don't upset him," he said as the vep'tera wandered back over to the still-open wormhole, eyeing it curiously. "See if he'll just walk out of here." "Wish I could walk right now," Jupiter muttered as she flexed her foot. "Sailor Mercury?" Tuxedo Mask said quietly. "I have an idea.... do you think you can hypnotize him and convince him that leaving would be wise?" Mercury blinked and gave the vep'tera a measured look. "Well, I can give it a try, if you want.... Wait, Mars, what are you doing?" Mars just sighed impatiently and took a step forward to stand directly behind the vep'tera. She made a quick snatching motion and the bird let out a decidedly piercing squawk before it lunged through the wormhole. There was a loud yell from the other side as N'Geela was essentially run over, accompanied by a series of disoriented and disgruntled chirps. "You can close the wormhole now, Commander," D'Nina said calmly, raising an eyebrow as Mars handed her a somewhat large vep'tera feather. "Excuse me, dear child, but what should I do with this?" "Don't know, don't care," Mars grumbled. "Glue it to your armor," K'tal suggested. "You know, give it a bit of a stylized look. No?" he added innocently as D'Nina gave him a venomous look. "Well, you can always make Asrial's life a living hell, seeing how she's rather violently allergic to vep'teras...." "Then you can rebuild the hallways after she sneezes," D'Nina replied with a decidedly unamused look. "She'd be sneezing every ten seconds, and you know as well as I do that the inside superstructure isn't designed to effectively cope with sustained hurricane-force winds." "POSTAL WATCH!" the speaker suddenly crackled with a palpable note of urgency. "Operations to Commander K'tal!" "Ay'cha navidshi," K'tal spat as he started flipping switches on the control panel. "K'tal here," he said tersely as the wormhole suddenly closed. "Sir, the Northern Mountain Division has just declared a Postal Watch and reports that they've been given orders to spin up a pair of Type-4 ICBMs. We also have an unverified report that the ForceWard crystals are being laid out around the Imperial Castle at this time, but so far no signs of activation." Uranus frowned and crossed her arms as she waited for Whisper's to finish her telepathic translation of the denizen language. "Why do I have a very bad feeling about this?" she asked Tuxedo Mask. "What the hell is an ICBM?" "Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile," Tuxedo Mask replied in a low tone. "Those are bad news because they can be launched from the other side of the planet and have the disturbing habit of being tipped with nuclear warheads." "Hey, whoa, wait," Jupiter blurted out. "You saying someone's trying to flip us the nuclear finger?" "Lieutenant, we'll be right up," K'tal said into the speaker. "Listen carefully.... I need you to unseal Junction Seven and open the hatch to the tunnel. Don't argue with me," he added as he heard an intake of breath. "I will explain later, just open the k'vesi thing and do it now. K'tal out." "Tolaris...." Mercury said in a deeply worried tone. "Take it easy, all of you," Tolaris said in a calm tone. "First of all, a Postal Watch just means a nuclear-capable delivery vehicle is being prepared, that's all. It doesn't mean that a weapon will be fired or that it will be a nuclear weapon if one is launched. Second, while everyone probably knows by now that there are Sailor Scouts somewhere in the Negaverse, they don't know where, so nobody is aiming at us. If anything, they'll be aiming at the Red Wing's carrier." "Or so we hope," K'tal muttered quietly. "Not now, K'tal," Tolaris said sternly. "Trying to hit the carrier this close to the castle is dangerously close to mass-suicide. Rune's ForceWard barrier just might be able to stand up to a nuclear explosion, but even she wouldn't dare risk it. Having her put up the barrier is actually an incredible stroke of luck for us." Maze paused and raised an eyebrow. "How do you figure that one?" "Simple," Tolaris replied. "It means Rune will not only be completely occupied with sustaining the barrier, but it also means that the inside of the Imperial Castle will be protected against virtually any outside attack, so we won't have to worry about someone lobbing cruise missiles at us." D'Nina just shook her head slowly. "Against outside threats, certainly, but that won't hamper any of the internal security forces," she pointed out. "Leave them to us," Sailor Mars said in a dangerously quiet voice. "Yeah, what she said," Venus added, still trying to figure out what to do with the nearly-shredded remains of her chest bow. "Wait, what about this place?" Tuxedo Mask spoke up. "If we're close enough to the castle to walk over to it, what would happen if someone starts bombarding the region? You have shields that can deal with that, right?" All five Dragoons exchanged silent glances with one another before K'tal shook his head. "It all depends on what they throw at us, your Highness. Yes, I know who you are," he added as Tuxedo Mask blinked hard. "We can discuss it later, but you've got a point. We do have defensive shields, but they're more for energy weapons and conventional munitions. If someone dumps a popper into Nop'tera's lap and she's still parked on the landing field, we're all going to get one hell of a case of sunburn." "Phase Three?" Tolaris asked very quietly. "That's up to the chief," K'tal said, gesturing to D'Nina. "She's the one holding the keys to that particular lock, not to mention the one who'll be in the driving seat when it comes time to fire up the mains." "Commander K'tal, you insult me," D'Nina said flatly. "I've spent enough time in the simulators to have absolute confidence in my abilities, and I am certainly not going to allow this facility to remain in harm's way if I have a say about it." "Just checking, Master Chief," K'tal replied in a subdued tone. "Darian?" Neptune said hesitantly. "Is something wrong?" Everyone looked over at Tuxedo Mask, blinking at the remote look on his masked face. "It knows," he said quietly. "It knows I'm here." "The NegaForce?" Mars inquired in a near-whisper. The wall speaker suddenly made a harsh noise, causing everyone to blink. "Operations to Master Chief D'Nina," the voice said, clearly unnerved for some reason. "Uh-oh," K'tal said quietly as D'Nina pulled her comm-link off her belt. "D'Nina." "Chief, I just received a personal message for you," the Communications lieutenant said slowly. "From Colonel Azi'mar, flagged Priority One. Move. That's the entire message, chief, just the one word. Move." Uranus blinked hard as K'tal, D'Nina, Tolaris, Maze, and the staging area chief all began to mutter the exact same thing in near-perfect unison. "Do I even want to ask?" the blonde said to Whisper in a low tone. "Standard Dragoon default profanity," the telepath replied tersely. "Tolaris, get them out of here, now!" K'tal snapped once he was finished swearing and had gotten his pulse under moderate control. "I can't start this unless I've got the Junction Seven bulkheads resealed, so get moving!" "This way!" Tolaris said with a sharp gesture as he started running down one of the corridors of the Dragoon Headquarters Complex. The Sailor Scouts all exchanged guarded glances before they took off after him, leaving K'tal, D'Nina, Ra'vel, and the staging chief in the room. "Why are you still here?" K'tal asked Ra'vel as he and D'Nina headed for the corridor that would lead back to Operations. He paused in mid-motion and cast a glance over his shoulder. "Your nap is over, Chief. Wake up, get back to work, and forget that you saw ANYTHING in here, got that?" "C-C-Copy, sir," the chief stammered, his eyes still dangerously wide. K'tal blinked as Ra'vel chirped back a response, her feathers fluffing up as she followed him into the hallway. "You sure about that?" he asked, giving the avian a measured look. He smirked as she chittered back at him, sounding very much like a very irritated parakeet instead of a humanoid owl. "That's fine with me, you know I can always use the extra help around here. Just as long as Tolaris doesn't think you're bailing out on him. Welcome back." D'Nina just shook her head to herself as they darted down the corridor. "Let's just hope this home-coming doesn't turn into our funeral," she muttered as they piled into the nearest stairwell. * * * * "I said WAIT, dagnabbit," Venus panted as they came to a momentary halt outside the pneumatic doors that led to the access tunnel between the Dragoon Headquarters Complex and the Imperial Castle. "You still haven't explained why you went running like that, and I think we lost Ra'vel in one of the turns or something." "Ra'vel is either heading towards Operations or to one of the maintenance nodes in Engineering," Maze explained. "Wait, why?" Jupiter asked, suddenly wary about the situation. "I thought she was coming with us?" Maze and Tolaris exchanged glances before Tolaris sighed. "Things just became a little more complicated," he explained quietly. "Whisper should be able to show you how to get to the Royal Medical Suite from here." "Hey, watch it!" Mars protested sharply as Mercury suddenly elbowed her aside and came up to Tolaris. "You're not coming with us?!" Mercury said, her eyes widening. "Azi'mar knows something we don't," Tolaris replied gently. "I'm willing to bet that's why he warned us. That he sent the message to D'Nina personally instead of K'tal has another meaning entirely." "And that is...?" Mercury prompted him. Maze sighed. "Odds are good we're about to get shot at," he said as he leaned against the bulkhead behind him. "And since a Postal Watch was already issued, it stands to reason that nuclear weapons will be used. Seeing how we can't absorb one with our shields, we have to use a different tactic. I think someone once said that the best way to block any attack is to simply not be there when it strikes." Venus frowned. "You just lost me on that one," she pointed out. "We're going to move this facility," Tolaris said simply. "Just like that, huh?" Jupiter inquired with a scowl. "Just gather up everyone outside, do a few knee-bends to limber up, then everyone grabs hold of the foundation and carries it over to someplace else?" Tolaris shook his head. "It's complicated, but it can be done. However, now is not the time for...." The alarm klaxon started blaring again, causing everyone to tense. The lights turned red and began pulsing in time with the klaxon. "POSTAL WARNING!" the ceiling-mounted speakers began blaring. "I repeat, a Postal Warning has just been issued. Ballistic launch from the north on a polar track, unable to extrapolate target or warhead, rule-of-thumb impact estimated at thirty-five minutes. Prepare for a Phase-Three evolution and regional evacuation." "What?" Jupiter gasped. "Someone just launched a nuke?" "What's a nuke?" Uranus demanded. Mercury reached out to grab Tolaris by the collar, yanking him down until they were eye-level with one another. "You're not staying here," she said in a tone as cold as arctic tundra. "This is my world," Tolaris replied calmly. "The people in this building are all my friends and subordinates. You're here to save Serena, and I have every intention of helping you do that. But I simply can't turn my back on my division when they're being threatened like this. I have to help them." Venus just looked at Maze, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Let me guess, you're going to play the hero as well, right?" she said flatly. "Now's not the time to argue, ne'ana," Maze replied softly. "I'm going to kill you," Venus muttered beneath her breath. Tolaris reached out to mash his fist against the control panel, his eyes still completely focused on Mercury. "Captain, time is now of the essence," he said as the massive doors hissed open, revealing a long but well-lit tunnel entrance. "The castle should be shielded against any attack, so only worry about finding Serena. You should have forty minutes to do so, assuming the target is the castle's landing field." "Don't do this to me," Mercury said very softly, her eyes starting to fill with tears. "Don't you even dare...." "You know I love you, Ami," Tolaris replied. "And believe me, I fully intend to return to Earth and to you as soon as I can. Here," he added as he reached into his pocket with his free hand and held out the Silkworm crystal from the cathedral vault. "You should be able to open a wormhole directly to Earth from inside the medical ward. This shouldn't take too long. Now go." "Tolaris...." Mercury protested. She blinked hard as he said something to her in his native dialect and she closed her eyes for a moment. "Fine, you have forty-eight hours before I come back here to find you," she snarled as she snatched the purple gem from his hand and darted down the tunnel. "Hey!" Jupiter protested sharply before she started running after her. "Goddamn it, don't blow a fuse on us now! Mercury, slow down! Mercury!" "We'll take care of business on our end," Tuxedo Mask said as he gestured for Uranus and Neptune to follow Mercury. "You guys be careful, okay?" "We will, your Highness," Maze replied. He was about to say more when Venus grabbed his collar with both hands and pulled him down into what could only be described as a deeply passionate and soul-searing kiss. "Come on," Whisper said as she ushered Mars down the tunnel, casting an irritated look over her shoulder at the lovebirds. "Today, kids," she grumbled as Tuxedo Mask began jogging down the tunnel. "Forty minutes is not nearly as much time as you think it is when we're running against a clock. Especially one with a nuclear deadline. Time to go, Venus." "You better stay alive long enough for me to kill you," Venus pouted as she pulled back. "I'll get you for this. Crazy bastards, both of you," she muttered before she sighed and headed down the tunnel to try to catch up with the rest of the group. "Question, boss," Maze sighed as Tolaris closed the access hatch and began to seal the interlocks. "Do we really know what we're getting ourselves into with this?" Tolaris paused in mid-motion and cast a slightly disturbed glance at his best friend. "I know what I'm getting into," he said slowly. "If you don't know, or aren't sure about it, maybe you should go with them." Maze sighed again and slowly shook his head. "And miss all the fun?" Tolaris just rolled his eyes as the interlock sealed itself with a heavy thump that shook the entire deck. "May I remind you that Postal Warnings are, as a rule, never fun in the slightest. Come on, I need to seal the junction before K'tal gets upset. This way," he said as he and Maze darted off to try to help save the Dragoon Legion from whatever was coming. * * * * Rune didn't open her eyes as the door hissed open, instead trying to keep her concentration focused on the giant crystal shard in front of her. Her hand was tightly bandaged from her fingertips up to her forearm, and a small stand holding an IV drip was right behind her shoulder. "Have you gone mad?" Admiral Si'ren said in a near-whisper as the door closed behind her. "You're putting us all in grave danger, Rune." "I know what I'm doing," Rune replied calmly. "The warhead is nuclear, but the fuse has been removed. There will only be a conventional explosion, but it will appear to be fully armed to everyone and thus force them to react in one fashion or another. The V'ral will leave the airfield, and as soon as they clear the perimeter...." "Enough," Si'ren cut her off sharply. "And what about Nop'tera?" "What about her?" Rune said, her tone still perfectly calm. Her mind was in an almost meditative state at the moment despite the pain she was in, trying to mentally map out the array of specially-designed crystals being laid out around the castle perimeter. When energized and tied together by her powers over crystals, they would form an almost invincible barrier that would protect everything inside the perimeter from everything else outside of it. "I am in charge, Admiral," Rune said simply. "She said she wanted to settle the issue between us, so she got her wish. Assuming she lives." "I just finished speaking with General Ar'kanis," Si'ren growled. "They have your blood all over a crystal shard he says was used to try to have her assassinated." "I defended myself," Rune said with a very soft sigh. "Si'ren, you're starting to disturb my concentration here. If you are unsettled by matters, you may apply for a leave of absence which I will grant without bias. I may need a week off myself after this is settled once and for all," she added in an almost casual fashion. The white-haired admiral blinked and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Is this how you really want things to be, Rune?" she asked softly. "Yes, Admiral, I do," Rune replied without hesitation. "Very well," Si'ren said quietly. "With your permission, General, I will be in Operations to oversee the castle defenses." A faint smile touched Rune's lips. "Thank you, Admiral. I won't forget your support in such a dark hour of need. Carry on." She sighed very quietly as the door hissed shut behind Si'ren, leaving her alone once again with only her thoughts and the crystal core for company. Is this how I want things to be? she thought as she tried to stabilize a gap in the crystal's energy matrix. Of course not, I'd much rather that Nop'tera either simply retire or have the decency to die, but if this is how she wants it, how she wants to try to take control of what is mine.... so be it. The web of energy she was weaving finally settled into a stable pattern, finding a natural harmony within the crystal structure sitting in front of her. She began to channel all of her internal energies together, drawing upon the power the Chaos Factor had given her to re-create the pattern using the network of crystals outside. The crystal core in front of her began to glow brightly, the crystals outside starting to send out small tendrils of energy to link with their neighbors and form the beginnings of a protective barrier. * * * * "Susan, are you sure you're alright?" Lisa said carefully as she twirled her nunchaku around in a tight arc, keeping a wary eye on her sister. "I'm fine, I assure you," Susan replied as she paused for a moment and waited for her vision to refocus. She wasn't entirely sure if the weakness was from her still-healing body or from the pair of blows to the head from the rubber-coated nunchakus, but it was enough to make her reassess her ability to defend herself in her current situation. "We can stop if you want," Lisa persisted. "This is just supposed to be practice, remember? Megan will kill me if I end up hurting you...." "Susan?" Luna spoke up from her perch in the corner. "I think it's clear that you are not presently able to focus on this. You should call it a day." Susan paused and regarded Lisa carefully, absently twirling her staff in one hand. Her sibling's skill with the weapon had taken her by surprise, and the martial arts style Lisa had used was something she honestly couldn't ever remember encountering. The price she paid for discovering the adaptability of the wooden nunchaku had been two somewhat solid lumps on her head despite the caution of both women, giving her a mild but decidedly distracting headache. "Perhaps you're right," Susan allowed with a soft sigh, taking a step back and relaxing her combat stance. Lisa's shoulders slumped with relief as she flipped her nunchaku into the air and caught both shafts with one hand. "Whew, you were really starting to make me worry," she said with a half-smile. "I mean, I'm not sure how much harder you could have pushed yourself, considering you're still healing." Susan raised a delicate green eyebrow in response. "I appreciate your concern, Lisa, but I am quite capable of determining where my limits are at." "Was that before or after you got your wings blown out?" Artemis muttered quietly, earning a solid thump on the nose from Luna's tail. Lisa cast a reflexive glance at the holes still visible in Susan's wings and tried not to shudder. "I think I only tore my wings once," she said, her own wings shivering lightly. "And that was from trying to learn how to glide and falling into a tree. Can you fly, Susan?" "No," Susan replied as she set her staff against the wall and walked over to the pair of cats perched on a low table. She raised an eyebrow at Artemis as she picked him up with one hand and grabbed the towel he had been curled up on with the other. "I don't have enough wing surface to provide aerodynamic lift for flight, but like yourself I have just enough to permit a moderately shallow glide. And yes, learning how to glide was an experience that was more than a little painful for me as well. Excuse me," she said to Artemis as she gently set him back down next to Luna. "No problem," Artemis replied, casually eyeing how much of her feminine curves were left exposed by her attire. She had changed into the ribbon-like adornments that most succubi tended to favor, as it left just enough to the imagination to drive most men wild with desire. It also left her wings free and permitted an unrestricted range of mobility, which was the only reason she had bothered to change before her practice session with Lisa. "Ouch," Lisa winced in sympathy as she picked up the other towel lying next to Luna and draped it over her shoulders. "Break anything in the process, by chance?" Susan gave her sister a small smile. "Only my pride," she said as she wiped the thin sheen of sweat from her forehead. "And now that you mention it, I do recall ending up in more than a few trees myself. I almost broke my nose once when I had the misfortune of breaking the worst of one fall face-first. The worst part was how it took two days to get all the sap out of my tear-ducts without tearing anything. That was highly unpleasant, I assure you." "Yeech," Artemis muttered, shivering at the thought. "Could be worse," Lisa countered as she set her nunchaku on the table and started towelling her hair. "I almost ended up having carnal relations with a cactus plant once. I was THIS CLOSE to landing crotch-first on one, and I was only saved by a sudden gust of wind. And I don't mean your normal green cacti, I mean the big red ones growing out in the Bloodsand Desert with the needles out to here," she added, holding her hands a good eighteen inches apart. Susan paused and cast a distinctly unsettled look at the purple-haired succubus. "Yes, I can see how that would be.... unsavory. You didn't get scratched by one, did you?" Lisa shook her head emphatically. "Oh, no, I know about the toxins they hold. Left a gouge in one of my boots, but I didn't let it touch my skin." "That's good," Susan said demurely as she sighed and leaned back against the wall, making sure to fold her wings as flat as they could so not to put too much of her weight on them. Both Luna and Artemis flicked their ears forward at the same instant as they heard the sigh. "Susan, are you sure you're alright?" Luna inquired in a gentle but worried tone. "Physically, I'm fine," Susan replied quietly. "I am probably not nearly as able-bodied at the moment as I would like to be, but that will improve with time and sufficient rest. I'm deeply worried about the others, however, and about the Princess." "They haven't been gone that long," Lisa pointed out, spreading out her wings and pumping them slowly to create a light and cooling breeze. "A lot can happen in just the span of several seconds," Susan warned her. "You would be amazed at what sort of events can unfold if given time...." * * * * "Ohh, christ," Venus yelled as the tunnel started to reverberate with the sound of something heavy being moved. "What's that noise?" "Probably a protective bulkhead being lowered!" Whisper yelled back as the group unconsciously picked up the pace, pushing themselves to the limit. The only one who wasn't laboring at the moment was Sailor Uranus, who was actively trying to balance her natural impatience against keeping a moderate pace that wouldn't end up hurting anyone. "Yo, heads up!" Jupiter called out as they approached another partition. Unlike the last four they had encountered, however, this one was outlined by rotating orange strobes as the bulkheads slid shut. "Aw, crap," Uranus snarled, "We're too far away. Damn it, damn it, damn it.... DAMN IT!" she added as the junction finished sealing itself with a thump that shook the floor hard enough to rock everyone's sense of balance. "How...." Mars panted as they reached the sealed bulkhead and came to a stop. Everyone seemed to lean forward in unison, resting their hands on their knees and trying to catch their breath. "How much.... farther?" Whisper telepathed, breathing too hard to be able to use her vocal chords properly. "Time, Mercury?" Jupiter puffed, watching as the blue-haired Sailor Scout consulted the countdown timer on her miniature computer. "Twelve minutes, seventeen seconds," Mercury replied. "That's a guess, however, as I haven't heard any updated information...." "Reset your clock," Whisper suddenly spoke up. "Fourteen minutes until impact coming up.... four, three, two, one, mark." "Got it," Mercury said instantly as she punched a button. Uranus raised an eyebrow. "You know something we don't?" she said in a faintly edged voice. "Psi-Net broadcast," the telepath replied. "I'll explain later. I've got bad news and really bad news. The bad news is that the warhead reads as being a fully armed nuclear device, so a Postman warning was just issued a minute ago over Psi-Net. The really bad news is that the missile just tipped over and is now in the re-entry phase with the east airfield as the target." "And that's right outside, I take it?" Jupiter inquired warily. "Unfortunately," Whisper sighed. "Aw, crap," Venus spat. "Look, we've got to get Serena and get the bloody hell out of here really quickly. Just how thick is this door? It looks more like a fire-stop than a blast door.... Think we can blow through it somehow?" "With what?" Jupiter puffed. "I left my supply of C-4 in my other pair of panties. Or are you packing a surprise we don't know about?" "Honey, we know you're a C-cup," Uranus pointed out. "But I think you need to recheck your size, because I know you're not a size 4." "C-4 is a type of plastic explosive," Tuxedo Mask said calmly. "Mercury, are your bubbles strong enough to blast down these doors? You saw how they closed, we should be able to blow the seam out without bringing it down on top of us or anything." "I can try," Mercury said as she put away her computer and took a deep breath. "Everyone stand back." "Uh, Mercury, dearheart, maybe you should let me try this," Uranus said slowly before Neptune grabbed her elbow and pulled her back. "Hey, easy!" Mercury closed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her, focusing her thoughts together into a single point. "Mercury Bubbles...." she said as a swirling blue bubble formed in front of her. The bubble swelled up until it was the size of a beach-ball before she flung her arms out, releasing her hold on her powers. "BLAST!!" The partition made a hollow ringing sound as the bubble popped against it to release a rich and dense fog into the immediate area. The ringing noise quickly faded away, however, leaving the protective doors unscratched in the slightest. "Oooooookay," Jupiter said slowly, nonplussed by the lack of progress. "That was amusing, babe," Uranus said with a faint smirk. "Now, you want to do me a favor and step back so I don't blow your skirt off with this? It wouldn't bother me, mind you, but now is not the time for Darian to be growing wood, if you know what I mean...." She took a step forward, not paying attention to the soft thump of Tuxedo Mask's head against the wall or the soft pat of Jupiter's hand on his back. She closed her eyes and concentrated, drawing power from the air around her. "Uranus Shockwave...." she intoned as she made a fist. Energy began to gather around her hand, forming a visible ripple of excited air. She raised her arm up and brought it down in a sharp motion, launching the ball of energy forward like a baseball pitcher throwing a fast one. "IMPACT!!" The ball of energy created a visible wave of disturbed air as it streaked across the distance to the partition, slamming directly into the center seam where the two halves of the door met. The sound of metal being bent echoed quite clearly in the tunnel, causing everyone to wince. "Whoops...." Jupiter said quietly as they were momentarily blinded by the fog as it was kicked up by the powerful blast. "Mercury, can you do something about this fog of yours? Oh, thanks," she added as it abruptly vanished. "Oh, screw you," Uranus muttered as she was able to clearly see what her attack had done to the doors. A large circular depression had been imprinted on the doors, allowing them to see between the now-broken seam. The rest of the partition was still intact, however, still blocking their path. "Well...." Tuxedo Mask said slowly. "Can you do that again?" Uranus sighed and glanced over at him. "If you give me a few minutes first, your Highness. I sort of put an awful lot into that one, and I can't just fire those off like Sue can pitch her energy balls or whatever they are." "We don't have a few minutes," Mars pointed out in a flat tone. "Okay, new tactic," Venus said as she reached behind her and started to dig around in her Lunar Space pocket. "C'mon, where is it? It should be.... ow, sharp, sharp.... damn it, that hurt.... Aha, got it!" she cooed as she brought her hand back up, holding the hilt of her borrowed plasma sword. "Huh," Uranus grunted. "That's the glowing sword thing, right?" "Yup," Venus nodded as she took a step forward, making sure she was clear of everyone before thumbing the ignition switch. The beam of plasma promptly arced out with a loud hum, slowly turning from bright white to a vibrant orange color after a few seconds. "Careful, this is unshielded, so don't get too close to me," she warned. "Wait," Whisper said slowly. "You're going to use that to try to burn a hole through the partition doors?" Venus paused and cast a glance over her shoulder. "Hey, if you have a better idea, now's the time to speak up. Otherwise, just stand back." Jupiter just shook her head as the rest of the group edged further away from the blonde with the glowing sword. "This should get interesting," she commented. "Aim for the left door first," Mercury called out, holding her scanner at arm's length to scan the partition. "It started to fracture along some sort of flaw and should be easier to cut.... no, just a little higher.... there, now down at a shallow angle.... just a little deeper...." "Yick," Uranus coughed as the acrid tang of molten metal filled the air, accompanied by a steaming hiss as Venus started to slice through the door. "What the hell is that smell?" "Heavy sulphur compounds," Mercury replied absently, trying not to inhale too deeply through her nose. "Venus, now start heading down...." "I see the cracks," Venus called out over her shoulder, her eyes narrowed to slits and watering heavily from staring into the harsh plasma glare. "Ow, this is starting to hurt...." Uranus just shook her head. "Quit whining, you pinhead, and just use your visor to filter the glare out!" "What visor?" Jupiter inquired slowly, giving Uranus a strange look. "I thought only Mercury had one of those...." Uranus just shook her head in amazement. "Honey, can you show her?" she said over her shoulder, giving Neptune a slightly amused look. Neptune smiled shyly and tapped the aquamarine gemstone set in the center of her silver tiara. A band of aquamarine light promptly formed over her face, solidifying into a pale-green visor that was virtually identical to Mercury's Virtual Visor. "Now hold up!" Venus protested as she momentarily quit cutting, carefully holding the orange lightsaber away from her body with one hand. She glanced up at her own tiara and carefully tapped the orange garnet gemstone, blinking hard and swearing loudly as a band of orange light promptly formed over her eyes. "Jesus H. Christ, of all the crazy surprises!!" "Well I'll be damned," Jupiter said, her eyebrows arched up in surprise. She immediately reached up to tap her own tiara's gemstone, frowning as nothing happened after several seconds. "Hey, what gives? Work, dammit...." "Sorry, babe," Uranus replied with a smirk. "Susan said only four Sailor Scouts have them.... Mercury, Venus, Neptune, and Saturn. Venus, can you quit talking like an ocean sailor and finish cutting us a path?" "Sorry!" Venus called back, muttering something acidic beneath her breath as she resumed cutting. She blinked as the visor suddenly darkened, trying to compensate for the harsh glare of unshielded plasma and melted metal. "Do you have ANY IDEA how useful this would have been had we known earlier?" she fumed as she finished carving a massive chunk out of the left door. "Just cut faster!" Mars growled impatiently. "How much time do we have?" Tuxedo Mask asked quietly. "Eleven minutes, forty-nine seconds," Mercury replied. "You know," Uranus said slowly, "I don't think we'll have enough time to pull this off if we encounter any more resistance...." "Worry about it later," Jupiter snorted. Tuxedo Mask shook his head slowly. "She's right," he pointed out. "The castle is pretty large, and even if it was totally empty, it'll take time to make our way up to the fifth floor." "That's a bunch of bullsh...." Venus snapped, the rest of her words being drowned out by the sound of the rest of the right door falling down onto the ground. "...ing well know it!" Uranus raised an eyebrow. "Hon, you want to run that by us again? I think we missed a few words in there." "Shut up and MOVE!" Mars snarled as she darted around the blonde and began to run down the tunnel, making sure to steer well clear of both the white-hot edges of the freshly cut metal and the searing glow of Venus's plasma sword. "Damn, what's her problem?" Uranus fumed as the group followed her at as rapid a pace as they could manage. Venus snorted as she closed down the plasma sword. "I'll explain later," she grumbled. "Okay, I see the archway up ahead.... Whisper, which way?" "WATCH IT!" Mars suddenly screamed as she flung herself against the left wall. A burst of energy lashed out from somewhere within the staging area, blasting a small crater into the spot where Mars had been only moments ago. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as everyone applied the proverbial brakes. Mars quickly scrambled back away from the wall, narrowly avoiding being hit by another blast of raw energy that left a second crater in the wall. Venus charged forward, her hand held out and the twin crescents of energy merging together at her fingertip. She immediately saw what the problem was and kept running, aiming up towards the ceiling while darting back and forth in an erratic pattern to avoid becoming the next target. "Venus Crescent Beam SMASH!" she yelled as she lashed out with her powers. There was a shower of sparks as the security device was blown completely off of its mount, plummeting to the ground in a smoking ruin. Venus quickly looked around for similar devices, a deep frown forming on her face as she couldn't spot any others. "Wait, that's it?" she said slowly. The whole castle suddenly started to reverberate with security alarms, a dark red color infusing itself into the surrounding lighting. "Great," Jupiter snarled. "Now we're really in for it." "This way!" Whisper called out, pointing towards a set of double doors. The group started to charge for the stairwell when Uranus noticed that Tuxedo Mask hadn't moved from his spot in the tunnel archway. "Darian, what the hell are you doing?" she yelled back, causing the rest of the Sailor Scouts to pause and look back at him. He looked around the staging area, seeming to study the collection of small tunnels, double doors, and platforms for wormhole entry. "This way," he said quietly, pointing towards another small tunnel. "What?" Whisper blurted out, her eyes widening. "That leads to one of the Security annexes! They've probably got a squadron heading through the tunnel on their way here already!" "I know," Tuxedo Mask replied calmly. "Trust me," he said as he started jogging towards the tunnel entrance. "What the hell?" Uranus demanded. "Is he alright?" "Come on," Mars said as she turned around and started to follow him into the Security tunnel. Mercury and Jupiter exchanged wary glances before they sighed in unison and went after him as well. "I hope he knows what he's doing," Venus growled as she started running, drawing a heavy sigh from Uranus and a quiet whimper from Neptune. "HEY!" a voice suddenly yelled from one of the other tunnels, causing the group to pause for a split-second. "Ay'cha navidshi, SAILOR SCOUTS!" "Bloody freaking hell!" Venus snapped as she turned around to take aim with her fingertip. "Someone back me up, I need time to recharge!" "Neptune Tidal Wave," Neptune blurted out, holding her arms out as she focused her powers. A wall of water suddenly rose up behind her, reaching up to brush the ceiling high above them. "SUBMERGE!" she cried out as she threw her arms forward, sending the wall of water around her body and gushing down the tunnel in a massive surge of slightly salty green water. Both Venus and Whisper blinked hard as there was a sharp cry of surprise, followed by the somewhat garbled screams of the security team being washed back down the tunnel. "Oh, that was just beautiful," Venus cooed as she quit trying to recharge her Crescent Beam. "That'll slow 'em down for a few, and probably only left them with mild bruises. C'mon, we're not out of the woods yet!" she said as she started after the others. The trip was a very short one as they rounded a steep curve and almost ran over the rest of the group. They were gathered together just outside a closed partition in a small lobby of sorts, decorated with stone statues of various denizen warriors. "So what took you so long?" Jupiter growled as she watched Tuxedo Mask examine a statue of a nude female warrior. "Neptune had to flush the toilet," Venus panted. "Yeah, whatever that meant," Jupiter sighed. "Yo, cape boy, quit playing with her tits!" she called out as Tuxedo Mask pressed both fingertips against the statue's rather prominent nipples. "I'll give you a feel later if you're that hard up for some action, but now is NOT the time to play.... around?" Everyone blinked as there was a loud clicking sound and part of the wall started to slide back. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Uranus said, her eyes arched clear up to her hairline. "A secret tunnel or something?" "Queen Beryl's bodyguards use it a lot," Tuxedo Mask said quietly. "They have a whole network of tunnels and passages they use to keep tabs on both her and those they deem in need of constant monitoring. This way," he said as he slipped inside. "Fondle a statue and the door opens up," Jupiter said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Someone had a twisted sense of humor, alright...." "Wait, what's that sound?" Neptune suddenly said, cocking her head at an angle to try to make out an almost inaudible noise. "Footsteps," Mercury said tersely. "Everyone inside, quickly!" Whisper grumbled quietly as she followed the group into the decidedly narrow passage. "This explains more than a few things," she muttered. "I had no idea these even existed. Ow, careful!" she protested as she found herself suddenly crammed into very tight quarters. "How did you know about this?" Venus inquired as she scrambled inside and tried to make herself as thin as possible to make room for Mars. "Beryl showed me one night," Tuxedo Mask replied. "Is that everyone?" "C'mon, move it, I can hear them coming...." Uranus grunted, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for Mars to move aside. She blinked hard as the partition door started to slide open and she dove for the passage, ignoring the sharp protests of the group as she forced her way inside. "Quickly, close the door before they see us!" she hissed. Tuxedo Mask released the catch on the door mechanism, causing it to close with surprising silence just as the first of the security guards came charging through the junction. The guard completely failed to notice the stone wall as it slid back into place, running up the tunnel and heading towards the castle's main staging area. "That was close," Jupiter muttered quietly. "Speaking of close," Venus said, her voice pitched two octaves higher than normal, "Someone is standing on my foot AND has their hand up my skirt...." "Whoops, sorry!" Mercury apologized quickly. "Hey!" Mars snapped. "That's my leg, you fool!" "No, I think that's my leg," Uranus retorted. "Then who's grabbing my leg?" "Damned if I know, I just know it's awful tight in here...." "Sorry, girls, I don't remember it being this tight before." "Guys, I can't breathe, someone needs to move." "Move where? I've got walls on two sides, I got Mercury in front of me, at least I think that's Mercury as these don't feel like large breasts...." "HEY! That's me you're grabbing! Stop that!" "...and I'm really hoping that's Neptune's hand I feel on my backside." "I'm not touching anyone...." "Oh, swell." "I think that might be me...." "Honey, we can talk about giving you a piece later, but for now can you just get your hand out from there?" "I said get your hand off my chest, damn it!" "Give me a moment.... I think we need to head that way." "Wait, which... ooof! Sorry, didn't mean to put my leg there...." "I can kill you later, just don't do it again, okay?" "Well, I'm trying not to, but I'm about to rip off that roaming hand if it doesn't stay the hell out of my skirt! Darian, that better not be you." "It's not." "Well, then who the hell is it?" "Wait, maybe that is me.... Is this you?" "Uh, Neptune? That's not Uranus' butt you're grabbing...." "SORRY!" "I think I am, but I can't move until I get this weight off my chest." "Ever consider reductive surgery for that?" "She's an A-cup, you twit, now leave her alone!" "C'mon, it was only a joke...." "What's with your fixation on everyone's bra size, anyway?" "We can laugh about this later, guys, we've got work to do." "Mercury, just shove her out of your way, that should free up enough space for us to get out of this sardine can. Wait, who's poking me in the back?" "If that's you, then guess who's the one blocking my way?" "What, me? Oh, crap.... wait, lemme see if I can...." "We're wasting time!" Mars snapped. "Just shut up and HOLD STILL!!" The silence lasted for a few seconds before it was broken by a heavy grunt as Mercury succeeded in edging out from behind Jupiter. That allowed Jupiter to take a step back and untangle herself from Venus, which in turn made enough space for everyone else to get situated properly. "Ow, that hurt," Venus protested quietly, rubbing a kink in her back. "How much time is left?" Jupiter demanded. "And which way?" "Left," Tuxedo Mask said. "There should be stairs just beyond that turn in the distance." "Seven minutes, fifty-three seconds," Mercury said quietly. "So start moving," Uranus snapped as they made their way through the very narrow passages as quickly as they could. * * * * "Phase Two transformation completed," the computer reported in its flat monotone. "Took you long enough," K'tal grumbled quietly as he rechecked his status boards. "Where are we at, people?" he called out over his shoulder. "Sir, the booster cut off seventeen seconds ago," his Tactical officer reported. "Estimate time to impact in.... fourteen minutes from three, two, one, mark." D'Nina shook her head. "That's going to be cutting it awfully close," she pointed out quietly. "The shields should be able to cope with the initial EMP wave, and I emphasize should, but if we get caught in the shockwave that'll be it for the shields." K'tal just shrugged helplessly. "So we just have to make sure we're not still hanging around when it goes off. Easy concept, Chief. Don't roll your eyes at me like that, you know there isn't anything I can do about the time factor for this." "Five for the phase transformation, five for resynching with the computer, and don't ask me about the main engines," D'Nina sighed. "You're in my way, Commander. Move." "Yes, ma'am," K'tal replied as he hastily moved away from the auxiliary control panels. He looked up as the doors to Operations slid open, admitting a visibly weary Dragoon Commander Tolaris and Dragoon Lieutenant Maze into the command center. "What kept you?" he called out. "I'll explain later," Tolaris grumbled. He paused as the entire staff seemed to blink hard and suddenly look over at him at the sound of his voice. "Commander Tolaris...?" the Communications lieutenant said, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. "As you were," Tolaris replied with a sigh. "Yes, I'm alive and in one piece, but that will likely change if you all don't return to your panels and get us out of here." "But, sir, I.... I mean, who...." another technician spluttered. "Chief, I said watch that k'vesi missile!" K'tal spat. "Worry about what to do with Tolaris later, okay? D'Nina, whenever you're ready," he added in a far softer tone as he turned back to his second-in-command. D'Nina sighed and keyed in a complex string of ciphers into the panel. "Computer," she said calmly. "Recognize Dragoon D'Nina, Master Chief, sole authority for Phase Three transformation." "Voiceprint recognized," the computer replied at once. "Initiate Phase Three transformation sequence," D'Nina said. The computer chittered to itself before beeping at her. "Warning: Phase Three transformation requires suspension of central computer core protocols and activation of a type-3 neural matrix," it advised her. D'Nina took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Computer," she said very slowly, "Initiate manual override of main computer core using sequence three protocols, authorization D'Nina nine eight four five one two three five one nine seven six one one. Process and execute." The computer chittered to itself for several long seconds before it made a gentle chiming noise. "Override accepted," it said simply. "Phase Three sequence commencing. Warning: Computer core suspension in five minutes, all systems will be rerouted to neural matrix on completion." "Let's get this over with," D'Nina sighed as she typed in a final series of keystrokes on the pad. "D'Nina, are you sure you can do this?" K'tal asked very quietly. The master chief cast an unfriendly glance over her shoulder at him. "I may be old and just a little tired these days, Commander," she said in a flat tone, "But I am still capable of performing my duties." K'tal said nothing as the wall panel folded back, revealing a decidedly comfortable plush chair set in a small niche. A large helmet with a pair of large cables was resting on the cushion, connected to some device on the back of the chair. He watched as D'Nina strode over to the chair and picked up the helmet, slipping it over her head before she sat down and tried to relax. "When was the last time you ran an exercise for this?" Tolaris asked very quietly as he came up to stand behind K'tal's shoulders. K'tal snorted quietly. "I've never been able to schedule an exercise like this since I was put in charge," he replied with a faintly bitter edge to his voice. "It's a little hard to clear your calendar for anything longer than a lunch break with some flag officer without a mandate from both Training and Internal Review. Just between you and me, I think IR completely forgot about our little trick, so filing a request for a 'non-standard' exercise is more trouble than it's worth. Why are you here, by the way?" "Saving our collective ptankas," Tolaris sighed. "I know you're short- handed at the moment, so I figured we could help." K'tal blinked and gave him a sidelong glance. "What about saving Raijen's daughter?" he asked in a guarded tone. "Again, just between you and me, I think her life is a touch more important at the moment than mine or yours." "The Sailor Scouts are working on that," Tolaris replied. "If they can't do it, I seriously doubt I would be able to make a difference." K'tal snorted quietly. "Trust them that much, hmm?" "With my life, Commander, and without hesitation," Tolaris said softly. "We'll have to talk about this later," K'tal muttered. "If you want to help, I can deal with that. Lieutenant Maze!" he called out across the room. "Sir!" Maze replied crisply as he lifted his head up from one of the auxiliary consoles. "Haul your butt down to Engineering and keep an eye on the computer core, I don't want it to crash on us just because we switched CPUs on it," K'tal ordered. "Understood, sir," Maze replied with a brief salute before he headed for the door. He paused momentarily as it opened before he reached the sensors, ending up almost being run over by a jet-black Felinoid. "Oh, there you are," he said casually. "How's life?" "YOU!" Asrial hissed, her eyes widening with surprise. "You traitor...!" "ASRIAL!" Tolaris snapped as the Felinoid started to lunge for Maze's throat with her claws splayed. She froze in mid-motion and came dangerously close to losing her balance, saving herself from a face-first encounter with the floor by grabbing onto the nearest solid object with her tail. "Whoa, hey, careful!" a maintenance tech yelped as her arm was almost yanked out of its socket, struggling furiously to retain her balance while supporting Asrial's weight at the same time. "Commander Tolaris?" Asrial breathed, her ears perked up and her eyes becoming even wider than before. Tolaris sighed heavily. "I wouldn't call giving me a hand on Earth for a few months as traitorous activity, but we can sort that one out later. It's good to see you again, Lieutenant. Now can you let Maze go about his business so we don't have a computer malfunction in four minutes?" Asrial blinked hard and cast a decidedly leery gaze at Maze, uncoiling her tail from the technician's arm before starting to lash it back and forth like a whip. "Yes, sir," she growled quietly, her ears flicking back. Maze chuckled quietly and lightly grabbed her tail as it swung over in his direction. "Nice to see you too," he said dryly, giving the tip of her tail a very gentle squeeze before letting go and disappearing into the hallway. "Stations, people," K'tal reminded the rest of the Operations staff. "We still have a Postman on the incoming." Tolaris paused and glanced around. "So which station do you want me to grab?" he inquired. K'tal shrugged casually. "My exec is busy plugging her brain into the computer core. I need a new one, at least for the time being." "A new brain or a new exec?" Tolaris inquired. "Tell you what, Tolaris, you can step outside and start putting a new coat of paint on the bay doors for the north entrance," K'tal sighed. "And if you wait ten minutes, you'll probably have the old coat blasted off for you and then your workload will be cut in half." Tolaris smirked. "If that's all we lose from the blast, I'd be more than happy to accept the job. How long until impact?" he called out. "Approaching the eleven-minute mark, sir," Tactical replied. "D'Nina, how are you doing?" K'tal asked calmly. "Almost there," D'Nina whispered quietly, her eyes completely covered by the helmet's visor. "Just waiting for the core to finish the physical changes before it yields control, then I can take over. Two more minutes at most." Both Tolaris and K'tal nodded in understanding. "Take it easy, chief," K'tal said gently. "We can spare a few seconds if you need them, just as long as we get this right the first time." "I'm working on it, Commander," the master chief sighed quietly. "Sir!" the Tactical officer called out. "You better come see this." Tolaris and K'tal exchanged wary glances before making their way over to his station. "Spit it out, Lieutenant," K'tal said in a leery tone. "The Red Wing fighters are all taking off from the south airfield," he reported, pointing to the visual radar display. "The only thing is.... there's nobody inside of any of them!" Tolaris raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Drones?" "Maybe an automatic recall function," K'tal suggested. "Keep an eye on them, Lieutenant, and keep a closer eye on the V'ral. They're probably ready to get the hell out of here as well. What about the Red Wing armor units?" The tactical officer consulted his displays for a moment before shaking his head. "No discernable reaction, sir. No life-forms aboard any of them, and no detectable activity from the engine plants." "That shouldn't be a surprise," Tolaris pointed out. "Armored units like tanks should be able to weather a nuclear blast far better than aircraft. At least, assuming the blast isn't dropped on top of them. How far away are the armored units from the airfield?" "One moment.... Sir, they're on the far east edge of the parade fields." K'tal blinked. "That's awfully close to the airfield," he pointed out. "Ten minutes!" someone else called out. "Sir, the V'ral's main engines are ramping up," Tactical reported. "No change in the local gravity field as of yet, but the tail rotors are starting to spool up and they've apparently just unlocked the deck rotors." "No surprises there," Tolaris commented. "Keep a close eye on them," K'tal ordered. "Something tells me Nop'tera has quite a few tricks up her sleeve, so be prepared. Status of the castle's shields?" "Still charging," a technician replied. "Estimating that the ForceWard barrier is at forty-percent and climbing." "This'll give Rune a headache, if nothing else." K'tal muttered. "We're all going to have a headache in a few minutes," Tolaris observed, drawing looks of resignation and deep sighs from the rest of Operations. * * * * "Sir!" someone called out. "All wings are now airborne and are heading well south of here. No air traffic problems to report as of yet." Ar'kanis nodded his head. "Excellent," he rumbled. "Send the signal to the armor units to trigger the ground anchors. Hopefully they will remain in place and we can pick them up once the worst of the radiation has decayed." Brigadier Sor'en snorted quietly in disdain, her attention focused on the remote control panels in front of her. "Good luck scrubbing them down later," she muttered as she tried to keep her wing in a tight formation. The aircraft were not overly difficult to fly by remote, but they still required constant focus and attention. "We don't have replacements," Ar'kanis reminded her. "Much like our final few battles with the Renn, we must protect what little we have left. We can replace radiation-damaged armor easily enough, but it will take far longer to construct new tanks and aircraft. Engineering!" "Sir!" the bridge engineer reported. "Reactors are at ninety percent and will be ready for flight operations in five minutes. Gravity shield generators are fully spun up and can have us at neutral in thirty seconds. Main engines are still spooling up and will reach maximum thrust capacity in forty-seven seconds. Deck rotors are still in idle mode as per your orders and can be spun up to maximum in three minutes of your order." "Very good," Ar'kanis said, nodding his head in approval. "This is a new record for an emergency cold start, is it not?" "I'll have to check, sir, but it could be," the Engineer allowed with a hint of a smile. "We will indeed check later," Ar'kanis assured him. "Tactical!" "Sir, stealth mode is ready at your command," the Tactical officer said. "Very good indeed," Ar'kanis rumbled as he picked up his comm-link and thumbed it open. "Ar'kanis to Nop'tera." "Nop'tera," the somewhat raspy voice replied. "We await your command for lift-off," he reported. "Very well," Nop'tera's voice replied. "Hold until I say otherwise, and be ready for a last-second exit. How much time is left?" "Time until impact?" Ar'kanis promptly called out. "Seven minutes, thirty seconds!" someone replied. "Seven minutes, my General," Ar'kanis said into the comm-link. There was a faintly amused grunt from the tiny speaker. "You know better than I do right now where our safety margin lies. If I am not back by then, you are to take the V'ral out of here without hesitation. That's an order, Ar'kanis," she added with a steel edge to her voice. "As you command," Ar'kanis rumbled quietly. "We will send you a signal thirty seconds before we reach the margin limit to remind you." "Thank you," Nop'tera rasped. "Nop'tera out." Sor'en cast an irritated glance over her shoulder. "What is she doing, anyway? She should still be in sick bay, or if she insists on being up and about, at least the bridge...." A soft rumble emerged from his helmet, sounding like a city caught in the grip of a massive earthquake. "Worry about your squadron, Sor'en," he sighed. "I will worry about the V'ral and your mother will take care of whatever it is that she deems to be of importance. She will not fail us." "I hope not," Sor'en muttered. "But a nuclear blast can really ruin your day, no matter who you are...." "Sir!" the Tactical officer called out. "The Dragoon Legion building is changing shape again." "Oh?" Ar'kanis inquired mildly. "What are they doing now?" "I don't know, sir," the officer replied candidly. "It's along the east end of the facility this time, and it doesn't look like the cannon barrel they apparently have on the west end. You know, if I didn't know better...." "Which you just said you don't," Sor'en muttered to herself, drawing a faintly amused look from Ar'kanis. "...I'd say those look like engine nacelles being opened up...." * * * * The ground beneath the Dragoon Headquarters Complex began to rumble for the second time in ten minutes as another set of massive motors started up, pushing a pair of giant steel platforms up from the ground and away from the space between the central and eastern spines of the building. The space was barely freed from the loose cover of dirt and topsoil before the entire east wing of the Complex began to split in two, the north and south spines slowly folding inward to run parallel to the main axis. Once the end of the main axis was exposed, several protective covers were folded up and withdrawn, revealing the exhaust ports of half a dozen truly large engine mounts. Conical shrouds were slowly extended around the ports, directing any outgoing flow of gas or plasma well away from the rest of the facility. A faint rumbling sound began to emerge from the business end of the vents as wisps of heated gas began to drift up from within their depths. The entire building began to vibrate ominously as it was slowly pushed up from the ground on a massive platform. More steel platforms began to rise up and push the surrounding earth away, slowly exposing the rest of the building to the outside air for the first time in a number of years. It became obvious that only the first three sub-floors were still attached to the building, the remaining four seeming to act as the lifting mechanism that carefully raised the complex into the air. The central pair of spines began to extend outward and unfurl, slowly forming into a pair of oblong yet functional wings suitable for atmospheric flight. The design made the complex seem like a flat-ended oval when viewed from directly overhead, as no less than three orbital sensors were doing at this very moment. The platform continued to rise until it was level with the surrounding landscape, leaving the Dragoon Headquarters Complex standing six stories tall in the somewhat cool morning air. "Phase Three transformation completed," the flat monotone of the computer reported. "Initiating core dump now...." "Here we go," K'tal said softly as he focused his gaze on D'Nina. The elderly Dragoon didn't hear him. Her mind had long ago shut off her senses as she tapped into her powers of Chaos, reorganizing the way her brain processed impulses and made use of her synapses. There was a sudden silence in her mind as her cortex did the equivalent of a reboot, taking a step back and looking at the physical structure of her brain in a new light before it started to direct the impulses again. Rarely-used neural paths suddenly became active, waking up and briefly firing randomly before settling down into an organized hierarchy that quickly made use of surrounding neural clusters. The new clusters became part of a quickly-growing superconscious, a brain so deeply attuned to itself that it was able to fully utilize every single neural fiber and physical structure with almost maximum efficiency. D'Nina's brain was now, in essence, a living super-computer that was able to process as much information and data as the main computer core buried three floors below her. The helmet she was wearing began to scan her now-hyperactive brain, keying in on certain nodes of activity and creating a quasi-psionic link to her mind. Once the interface was satisfied that it had access to what it determined was an appropriate neural network, it contacted the computer core an informed it that it was now ready to assume control. [Core dump complete, end code 04. Transferring master CPU.] D'Nina blinked as the "lights" were suddenly switched on. Her normal senses no longer registered on her mind, superceded by the neural impulses she was receiving directly from the computer core. Instead, she could "see" what the computer could see, able to access its memories and stored data rather than the meager pile of neurons in stasis inside her brain. She wasn't able to remember much about herself, where she came from, what her past was like, or even her deceased daughter's name. That information was stored in the organic brain, not in the central processor's cache. She could research it if instructed to, but she had no need to do so now. She knew her designation was D'Nina, that she was a Dragoon, and that she had a job to do. the wall speaker suddenly said. Everyone blinked as they heard D'Nina's voice over the circuit, although her lips didn't move as she continued to sit in the chair. Her body hadn't moved a single muscle in the past five minutes, save for the automatic beating of her heart and the rise and fall of her chest as she slowly breathed. "System status, Chief?" K'tal asked the computer panel. D'Nina's computerized voice replied. "Who's watching the clock?" K'tal asked over his shoulder. "Four minutes, thirty seconds in.... three, two, one, mark." "Ay'cha navidshi, this is going to be close," K'tal sighed. "D'Nina, you have full authority to do whatever you need to do to get us out of here, and I don't care if that means we lose a coat of paint or dent a landing strut." D'Nina replied simply.
"Everyone take a seat on something solid," Tolaris warned the rest of the Operations staff. "K'tal, maybe you should...." "Got it," K'tal said as he reached for the nearest communications panel and activating the system-wide function. "Attention, this is Commander K'tal," he said as the two-tone, three-note whistle sounded throughout the complex. "We are about to relocate this facility to a safe area, so everyone is advised to grab hold of something solid as soon as the mains turn over. Don't worry if the deck rattles, we're built to handle this. Stay with me, people, we're not about to become toast any time soon. K'tal out." "Engineering to Operations! All reactors are at maximum and the coolant is keeping them as cold as they'll ever be, so don't expect much more out of them," the chief engineer reported. "Plasma spark in five, four, three, two, one, ignition!" The exhaust ports for the main engines promptly began to glow white as superheated gas was vented, accompanied by a truly earth-shaking rumble. The pressure of the exhaust suddenly multiplied by a factor of fifty a few seconds later, blasting a long furrow in the ground behind the Complex and sending a very hard shiver through the rest of the structure. "Yo!" Tolaris yelped as he was almost thrown off-balance. He recovered quickly and moved over to take a seat next to the Communications lieutenant, taking over part of the auxiliary functions and channel monitors. "Yo?" K'tal echoed, giving Tolaris a curious look as he firmly held onto his console. "What's the translation of that supposed to be?" "Sorry, that's Sailor Jupiter's influence," Tolaris sighed. "And to be perfectly honest, I don't think there's a direct translation even in their language. It usually just serves to draw attention to something." "Okay," K'tal said, shrugging in helpless dismissal. "Three minutes!" the Tactical officer warned. "Master Chief?" K'tal said. "Whenever you're ready...."
D'Nina replied without any trace of emotion. K'tal grunted quietly. "I'm not liking the math for this," he muttered as another sharp shiver rocked the facility. "Eighty seconds is not a lot to play around with when nuclear warheads are involved." "It could always be worse," Tolaris offered, drawing a sidelong glance from the Communications lieutenant and a flat growl from Asrial. "Sir!" Tactical suddenly spoke up. "The V'ral's deck rotors are spooling up, and I'm reading a fluctuation in the local gravity field. It looks like they're getting ready to move." "I don't like this," K'tal said. "They're going to be cutting it even closer than we are, and something tells me that Nop'tera is doing that for a reason. That makes me worry in ways you can't imagine." "I think I can imagine a lot," Tolaris replied with a raised eyebrow. "Good, then just imagine how your human friends are doing," K'tal said. "I really hope they know what they're doing...." * * * * "Four minutes until impact," V'Kreeth said quietly. "The V'ral appears to be ready to launch at any moment, and the Dragoons have fired up their main engines." "Thank you, V'Kreeth," Rune said absently as she continued to focus her attention on the ForceWard barrier. "Tell Si'ren that she may fire at will once the V'ral is beyond the minimum safety margins." "Ma'am, the defenses are unavailable as long as the ForceWard barrier is in place," the shadowy bodyguard reminded her. "The barrier will be dropped as soon as they're clear," Rune replied. "As I told Si'ren, I had the fuse removed from the triggering mechanism so that the warhead would read as fully nuclear. There will be no catastrophic explosion, and the small crater the landing field can be easily paved over within a day." "General Rune?" Moirah said as she lifted her head up from her comm-link. "I just received a personal message from Colonel Azi'mar, marked as Priority One and to be delivered to you without delay." Rune sighed as she could feel the headache start to develop in her skull from splitting her concentration. "Well, what is it?" she grumbled. "Concentrate." Rune paused for a moment. "That's it?" she said slowly. "Yes, ma'am, just a single word. Concentrate," Moirah replied quietly. It took a few seconds for the realization to sink into Rune's mind as to what the message truly meant. "Ay'cha navidshi...." Rune breathed, the color completely draining from her face in an instant. There was a very soft sigh from V'Kreeth. "The fuse didn't get removed, did it?" he said calmly in a tone that very few people could ever remember hearing from him. "I gave the order to remove it," Rune whispered as she shut her eyes as tightly as she could and focused her powers with every single ounce of inner strength. The ForceWard barrier immediately began to grow stronger, the thin and translucent outline of the shimmering shield starting to thicken and take on a milky-white aspect. Moirah came up to stand next to V'Kreeth, laying a hand on his shoulder with a saddened look in her eyes. "Can you recall the missile or cause it to self-destruct?" she asked quietly. "No," Rune said almost inaudibly. "It's in the re-entry phase, and the heated corona of gas around it is creating an ionized field that will block any such signal trying to reach it." "Are you strong enough to shield us from the blast?" V'Kreeth inquired with disturbing calmness, reaching up to gently squeeze Moirah's hand. "I don't know," Rune whispered. "I guess we'll find out soon, won't we?" * * * * "Goddamn sonofabitch ankle-breaking stupid piss-ant bleeding dusty smelly rat-bastard stairs," Uranus puffed in a low monotone as she continued to leap up the stairs two at a time. "How many more of them are there?" "Almost.... there...." Tuxedo Mask puffed. "Hah.... ah-hah...." Venus gasped. "Landing.... nice, level landing...." "I said keep moving!" Mars snapped as she dodged around Venus and darted into the small corridor. "Tuxedo Mask, which way?" "Lemme.... think...." Mars whirled around with a vicious snarl. "Damn it, we don't have time for this! Which way to the medical ward?" "Look," Jupiter panted as she reached the landing and leaned on the wall for a few moments. "If you don't calm down and give us a moment, I swear I'm going to kill you. Now shut the hell up and let the man think." "Left," Tuxedo Mask suddenly blurted out. "Ignore the first exit on the right, we want the second exit. That should put us almost within sight of the Royal Medical Suite." "Go," Mercury prodded as she reached the landing, casting a quick glance over her shoulder as Neptune and Whisper labored up the stairs. "We're right behind you." "Damn," Uranus puffed quietly as she ran after Mars. "I know I'm in good shape, but still.... What'd Rei have for breakfast that I didn't? I want to take a hit off of that energy high she's on...." "A big bowl of Bitchflakes," Jupiter growled. "With extra-sour milk." "That's.... just the.... PMS.... talking...." Venus huffed as they ran as fast as they could along the narrow passage. "She's.... fine...." "C'mon, vampire, shake the lead out!" Uranus yelled over her shoulder. "That's it," Jupiter growled as they darted past the first tunnel branch. "When this is over, you and I are going to have to sit down and butt heads or something about this. Leave Mercury alone." "Ow, ow, ow, cramp," Venus whimpered as she started running at an awkward pace. "Dammit, this hurts.... Huh?" "Mars Fire.... IGNITE!!" "YEOW, WATCH IT!" Uranus blurted out as she braked hard at the sight of a wave of fire suddenly roaring out of the passage exit up ahead. "Great," Jupiter muttered. "Five bucks says she didn't know how to open the door, so she got impatient and tried to burn it down." "We'll see," Venus said tersely as she pressed herself against the wall and carefully peeked around the corner. She blinked hard as she saw that a large hole had been blasted through a wooden partition that had apparently served as the secret passage doorway. A visibly furious Mars was standing in the entrance with her arms crossed, small wisps of smoke still drifting up from her fingertips. "Well?" Mars demanded. "Which way now?" Venus sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I'll pay you once we get back home," she grumbled to Jupiter. She blinked as the floor seemed to start to vibrate gently, a deep rumbling sound reaching her ears that was more felt than heard. "Uh-oh, this doesn't feel too good...." "Thrusters," Whisper said tersely as she caught up with the group. "Very large cruiser thrusters, probably the V'ral. Mercury, how much time is left?" "Four minutes," Mercury replied. "Tuxedo Mask, which way?" "There," Tuxedo Mask said, pointing to a large archway. "C'mon!" Jupiter yelled as they charged for the archway. The doors hissed apart as they approached and they stormed inside, looking around frantically. "Damn it, where is she?" Venus growled. "Try this one!" Uranus said as she banged her fist on the sealed inner doors. She yelped as there was a metallic hum and sparks erupted around her fist where it had touched the metal. "Ow, what the hell was that?" "Containment field," Whisper replied quickly. "C'mon, open, open, open," Venus babbled rapidly as she tried poking at the security lock. "Dammit, I don't have time to figure out how to pick this, does anyone have any...?" "Move it," Jupiter snarled as she crossed her hands in front of her. The lightning rod unfolded from her tiara and began to crackle dangerously as she focused her energies. "Jupiter Thunder.... CRASH!!" "Holy crap!" Venus yelped as she dove for the floor, narrowly avoiding being electrocuted as Jupiter sent the thunderbolt through the lock. A strong stench of fried electronics suddenly filled the room as the containment field made an erratic humming noise before collapsing. "Got it!" Uranus yelled as the door started to hiss open. She immediately dove through the door, turning herself sideways to clear the ends. She landed on her shoulder and rolled, coming to rest on one knee and whipping her saber out in a single motion. "Hey, get away from her!" she screamed as she saw an elderly woman leaning over the Princess. Uranus darted to her feet and was about to lunge across the room when she was completely knocked over by Sailor Jupiter. "No, not her, you fool, that's the doctor!" Jupiter blurted out. "Trust me!" "What the hell?" Uranus shot back as she tried to regain her balance. "Three minutes!" Mercury called out. "What is the meaning of this?" the elderly woman cried out, interposing herself between the unconscious princess and the rest of the group. "Maq'i, it's me, Leda!" Jupiter said quickly. "We have to get her out of here, right now! Someone crack open a wormhole, quickly!" "On it," Venus said as she fumbled around in her Lunar Space pocket for the Silkworm crystal she had 'borrowed' from Jedyt. "Oh, damn, where is it?" "Leda?" Maq'i said, still warily eyeing the Sailor Scouts. "Master Healer, please," Jupiter replied as she crossed the room. "We can sort this out later, we have to go, now. Damn, what is all this crap?" she said, eyeing the sensors and electrodes taped to Serena's bare chest. "She is in critical condition," Maq'i replied, causing Mercury to abruptly change focus. "What?" Mercury blurted out. "What happened?" "LATER!" Mars snapped. "Jupiter, just grab her and let's go!" "Something's missing," Tuxedo Mask said quietly, looking around the room. Everyone blinked as the far end of the room was suddenly filled with a cascade of blue sparks. The sparks quickly merged together and coalesced into into a humanoid figure, the light fading away to reveal the imposing figure of General Nop'tera. "Now what?" Uranus snarled, bring her saber up to the ready. "A vampire!" Mercury gasped, her expression going pale as the sight of blue skin and featureless yellow eyes suddenly reminded her of the last time she had encountered a denizen vampire. Nop'tera blinked as the situation registered on her mind. "Wait...." she said in a rasping voice, steadying herself against the wall. "You are the Sailor Scouts, correct?" she said in English, her words marred by a faintly Arabic accent. "Nop'tera!" Maq'i called out. "They are here to evacuate the princess, nothing more!" The general nodded in understanding. "That's why I came here. Very well, if they can take her back to Earth and to safety, so be it. You must be Sailor Mercury," she added as she stared at the blue-haired Sailor Scout. "You and I need to talk when time permits. I will send an emissary to contact you on Earth later. Take care of the Princess, she is very important to all of us," she said calmly before pressing a gemstone on her belt. "Huh?" Mercury blurted out. "How did you....? WAIT!" "What the hell?!" Jupiter growled as Nop'tera was enveloped in another cascade of blue sparks and vanished from the room. "Someone please tell me this will make a hell of a lot more sense later...." Mercury blinked hard as her computer made a warning beep. "No time, we only have sixty seconds left! Jupiter, grab Serena and let's get out of here! Neptune, through the wormhole, now!" "The Crystal isn't here," Tuxedo Mask suddenly said, causing everyone to pause and blink hard. "It's with the NegaForce." "Christ on a crutch!" Venus blurted out. "Look, we'll have to come back and get it later. Everyone through the wormhole, quickly!" "Sorry we're so late, Serena," Jupiter grumbled as she yanked the wires out of the medical monitor and carefully picked up the blonde. "Come on, time to go.... Damn, you're heavy...." "Darian, where the hell are you going?" Uranus blurted out as Tuxedo Mask turned around and started to head for the door. "Argue later, just move!" Mars snapped at Venus. "Get her out of here," Tuxedo Mask said over his shoulder. "I have to go talk to the NegaForce. I'll be back with the Crystal later, I promise." "Bullsh...!" Venus started to say before Mars rammed her shoulder into the blonde's back, shoving her through the wormhole. "What do you think move means, bimbo?" Mars growled as she stepped aside, making room for Jupiter. "Maq'i, come with us!" Jupiter said as she carried Serena over to the swirling wormhole and stepped inside. "You're crazy, Darian, you're absolutely crazy!" Uranus screamed as Maq'i and Whisper darted into the wormhole, leaving only herself, Mars, Mercury, and Tuxedo Mask behind. "Darian!" Mercury cried out. "Use this!" she said as she tossed him the Silkworm crystal Tolaris had given her. Her computer suddenly began to beep very loudly. "Ten seconds! Guys, we have to close the wormhole! Come on!!" "JUST GO, DAMN YOU!" Mars screamed at Mercury. "Aw, screw it," Uranus sighed. "See you in hell, babe," she said as she pushed Mercury through the wormhole. The vortex spiraled shut a second later and vanished, leaving her alone in the medical ward with Tuxedo Mask and Mars. "On the floor," Tuxedo Mask advised as he quickly crouched down. "I know the NegaForce won't allow this castle to be destroyed by a nuke, but it's still going to be a very bumpy ride...." "For the last time," Uranus grumbled as she huddled next to him, giving Mars a leery look as she sighed and curled up on his other side. "What the hell is a nuke?" She was promptly answered as the floor suddenly heaved violently and the entire medical ward became as black as night. * * * * "Where's the Princess?" Freya blurted out as Nop'tera rematerialized on the transport platform, the human's pale violet eyes dangerously wide. "Safe," Nop'tera gasped as her abdomen started heaving violently. "Get us out of here!" she commanded before she stuck her head in the bucket. "Freya to Bridge!" Freya called out as she slapped the communications panel. "She's back, get us out of here! Nop'tera, you're bleeding again!" "I'll live," Nop'tera gasped as she quit vomiting, a sour expression her face as she saw the streaks of fluorescent yellow blood in the bucket. "Just hold on.... Urk!" she gasped as the deck suddenly seemed to drop out from beneath them, triggering another wave of nausea. "Medical team to the cargo transporter!" Freya said as she opened a new channel. "Freya, it's just blood from earlier," Nop'tera said, still gagging. "Thirty seconds until impact!" the speaker crackled. "Hold on tight, Red Wings, this is going to get rough...." * * * * "Tactical!" Ar'kanis barked. "Engage cloaking! Helm! All back full, take us up as soon as we're clear of the castle! Move it!" "All back full, aye sir!" the helmsman said as he yanked the throttles back as far as he could. The V'ral promptly began to shudder violently as the massive tail rotors ramped up as fast as they could. The deck rotors began to ramp up half a second later, lifting the carrier up just far enough from the ground to avoid dragging the landing struts across the airfield. "Cloak engaged!" the Tactical officer reported. "We are invisible!" "Maximum lift, now!" Ar'kanis ordered as he grabbed onto one of the deck pylons that crisscrossed the ceiling overhead. "Helm, you have free rein to do whatever you need to do!" "Aye, sir!" the helmsman replied as he yanked the collective back as hard as he could. "Someone gimme an all-call!" "Set!" the Communications officer replied. "Thirty seconds!" Tactical warned. "Thirty seconds until impact!" the helmsman yelled into the nearest open microphone. "Hold on tight, Red Wings, this is going to get rough! Thirty degree up-angle on the starboard planes and twenty on the bow! HANG ON!" The deck creaked loudly as the V'ral suddenly rose up at a very steep angle, trying to keep its nose as high in the air as possible as it made a sweeping turn to the left. There was a mad scramble on the bridge to try to remain seated as the gravity shields weren't able to fully compensate for the change in inertia, sending countless items tumbling throughout the length of the airborne carrier. "C'mon, ne'ana, you can do this...." the helmsman grunted as the engines started to strain. "Hold together just a little longer.... I hope your boys in Engineering have those shields ready!" he called out to the bridge engineer. "Ten seconds!" "We'll find out," the engineer grumbled. "So much for faith," the helmsman sighed. "Five! Four! Three! Two!" "Postman! Special delivery for General Rune!" someone called out. A red-hot glimmer suddenly streaked down from the sky at a truly unholy velocity, and then the entire horizon became a brilliant, blinding white. * * * *
D'Nina reported in a flat, emotionless tone. "Chief, just get us the hell out of here," K'tal said flatly, trying not to let anyone else hear the sound of his teeth rattling from the force of the vibrations. the voice replied as the roaring sound promptly doubled in volume and the floor surged slightly beneath their feet. "SIR!" the Tactical officer called out. "The V'ral is starting to lift off and.... Sir, they just engaged their radar-evasion screens! They just dropped off my scope completely!" "Joy," K'tal grumbled. "That's going to put a kink in things. Helm, try to extrapolate their probable flight path and make sure we don't come anywhere near it! All we need is to have a mid-air collision, followed by having what's left roasted in a nuclear blast. That would REALLY ruin my morning!" "And it's not ruined already?" Asrial muttered to herself. "I just had a thought," Tolaris said in a guarded tone, turning around to cast a glance at the tactical station. "Does anyone remember when was the last time we actually lifted off outside of a simulation drill?" "You have to be kidding me," K'tal replied back. "NOW you ask this?" "Thirty seconds until impact!" Tactical warned. D'Nina said. "I'm afraid to ask what she just said!" K'tal said over the roar as the complex's main engines all belched superheated plasma in unison, creating a somewhat hideous scorch mark on the surrounding landscape. "We're about to find out!" Tolaris shot back as the floor suddenly tilted at a very steep angle. "Hang on, when the blast hits it'll try to knock us back down to the ground, so be prepared!" "Shields are at maximum!" the Chief Engineer reported over the speakers. "Time to see if we did everything right...." "Such faith," K'tal grumbled. "Impact in five! Four! Three! Two! One! MARK!!" The Dragoon Headquarters Complex suddenly shuddered violently as it was tilted over to one side and the floor dropped out from under everyone's feet. * * * * Megan waited patiently as the sound of the doorbell rung throughout the front part of the keep, a deep gonging sound that was probably more suited to a monastery than a noble's residence. Her wait was a surprisingly short one, as the echoing chime had barely faded away before she heard the distinctive sounds of a lock being withdrawn. She absently smoothed out a wrinkle in her ribbon-like attire as the door swung back, revealing an imposing figure looming in the doorway. Most people would have mistaken him for a golem, a soulless creature seeming to have been carved from clay with an excessively muscular body and very roughly-developed facial features. She knew better, of course, but only because of her personal dealings with the door guardian in the past. "Good morning, Cale," she purred softly to him, flexing her wings gently. "The mistress is busy," he said very slowly, his deep voice sounding like gravel and seeming to start somewhere around his colon. A small smile crossed her face. "I'm not here to see your mistress," she said lightly, giving him a sultry look. "But I ask that you give her my most sincere regards all the same." The guardian didn't move a muscle. "I am also busy," he rumbled. "A pity," Megan mused. "However, I am not here to see you either." That made him blink, a simple gesture with his eyelids that seemed like a shout of surprise to those who were well-acquainted with his utterly impassive and emotionally-withdrawn nature. "State your business," he said after several moments of heavy silence. Megan sighed quietly. "Do you happen to know if Lorelei has returned from her assignment on Earth yet?" she inquired calmly. "I am not concerned about what her business was, I merely wish to make sure she is alright." It took far longer than usual for the guardian to respond to her. "I was not aware of any succubi having been dispatched to the mortal plane recently," he said at an even slower pace than usual. Megan frowned slightly and raised an eyebrow. "Be that as it may, Cale, do you know where Lorelei is right now?" she asked in a faintly guarded tone. "I do not," he rumbled. It was decidedly difficult to tell his moods by listening to the deep, sepulchral tone of his voice, but those who knew him would have been able to pick up on the very slight change in pitch. "When was the last you remember seeing her?" Megan asked quickly, a look of guarded uncertainty crossing her face. "I'm asking for a good reason, as my sister got into a serious fight with another succubus while on Earth and it seems that an important relic was stolen during the confrontation. I'm not worried about my sister, but I just spoke with Lord Hades and he informed me that the relic needs to be recovered as soon as possible." "Two days ago," Cale said simply. "She departed in the evening and I do not remember seeing her since. I will ask the mistress if she is aware of any of this. Remain here," he instructed as he started to turn away. He paused as he caught sight of someone inside the keep and he bowed his head in greeting. "My lady," he rumbled softly. Megan blinked hard as the door swung open wider, revealing a well-dressed noble standing next to her servant. "Countess MacDara," Megan murmured as she knelt down on one knee before her. "I was wondering who was here at this hour," the countess mused quietly as she glanced at the horizon. The sun had risen a few hours ago, but the thick shroud of fog blanketing the entire region rendered the searing rays virtually harmless. All that was visible was a very indistinct circle of bronze in the cloudy sky, giving off just enough light to allow the keep to contrast with the dreary, muted grays of the demiplane. "Is everything alright with your master, my dear?" she inquired gently. "It is, my lady," Megan replied graciously as she slowly stood up, the decorative wings at her temples fluttering for a moment. "I apologize for the disturbance, but I was trying to locate one of your servants, a succubus named Lorelei." The countess blinked and regarded her very carefully. "I have not seen her in two days," she said slowly. "In fact, I am starting to become rather concerned with her disappearance myself. May I ask why you are concerned as well?" Megan took a deep breath and choose her words carefully. "Last night on Earth, a succubus stole a relic that was in the possession of an avatar. My sister confronted her and was sorely wounded, and the succubus managed to flee with the relic. I do not know anything about this succubus, but I saw Lorelei on Earth two nights ago looking for something on your behalf." The countess' mouth suddenly set in a thin line. "I did not give her my permission to travel to Earth," she said flatly. "Whatever she was doing was not with my sanction or my knowledge. Do you believe she was the one who stole this relic?" "I don't know, my lady," Megan admitted frankly. "But if Lorelei wasn't on Earth doing your bidding, then I am more than a little curious as to what her true purpose was." The noble woman nodded in understanding. "You may tell Lord Hades that I will contact him if I find her. This is a most disturbing discovery, my dear, but I thank you all the same for bringing this to my attention. Please send my personal regards to Lisa, and that I wish her a speedy recovery." "I will, my lady," Megan replied. "However, Lisa wasn't the one who was injured, Susan was. She seems to be almost fully healed, save for her wings, but she is...." "Susan?" the countess interrupted sharply, her green eyes widening. "Do you mean the avatar of Lord Hades?" Megan blinked at the forceful reaction before nodding her head. "Yes, my lady, she is. I don't know the details as of yet, but I do know that she has returned to us and that the Portal of Time is now reopened under her control once again." The countess sighed and turned to face her door guardian. "Cale, how in the Burning Hells did that one slip past me?" she demanded. "You instructed us last week not to disturb you for anything short of an apocalypse," he rumbled quietly. "You have yet to instruct us otherwise." "Oh," the countess said, blinking in surprise. "Yes, I suppose I did say that, now didn't I? Was that last week? Strange how easily one loses track of time when you're preoccupied.... No matter. Megan?" "My lady?" "Please tell Susan that I am pleased to hear of her return and that I will contact her as well if I find out anything about this matter," the countess said with a faint sigh. "And if you happen to see Lorelei before I do.... do me a favor and escort her to me immediately." "As you command, my lady," Megan said demurely with a deep bow. "Come, Cale," the countess sighed again. "There is still so much to do, it's driving me to distraction. Good day, Megan." "Good day, my lady," Megan replied as she stepped back, watching as the keep's door closed with a heavy thump. She turned around and spread her wings, launching herself into the darkened skies without another word. She grumbled quietly as the weight of the situation grew slightly heavier on her shoulders, knowing that things had just gotten interesting.... and even more unpleasant. * * * * Lisa yawned quietly as she leaned back against the couch cushions, making sure she didn't crush her wings with her body weight. She had Artemis in her lap and was idly running her fingertips through his fur as she watched Susan set up her paint easel. "So how exactly do you do this, anyway?" she asked in a curious voice. "I usually do a quick pencil-sketch in a notebook first," Susan explained as she held up a well-used tablet. "That allows me to get a general idea of what I have to work with before applying any paint, plus it cuts down on the time the model has to hold still for me. I then do a very light pencil trace on the canvas, then begin the actual painting." Lisa nodded in understanding before sighing wistfully. "I wish I could draw like that," she said, gesturing to Susan's tablet of pencil sketchings. "I can keep a steady hand when I really need one, but I just can't seem to be able to visualize everything in my head when I try to draw." "It does take a fair amount of practice," Susan allowed as she started to do a quick sketch. "However, I do realize that not everyone is able to paint or draw well enough to be generally viewed as aesthetically pleasing." "Art is subjective," Artemis spoke up from her lap. "I once sat through a study session between Ami, Rei, and Mina about comparing works of art for a class assignment. You'd be surprised how much room there is for disagreement on what looks good and what doesn't." Susan nodded absently as she continued to sketch. "While there are no set standards for aesthetics, there are still some socially and culturally agreed- upon concepts of what is beautiful, or attractive, or eye-catching, or worth a second look," she explained. "Talent is described by some as the ability to consistently fall within the range of common values shared by the majority." There was a quiet chuckle from the chair next to Susan. "And one need not be an artist to be an art critic," Luna observed with a smile, drawing a mild look of dry amusement from Susan. "They should be if they are to be taken seriously," Susan pointed out as she completed the sketch and turned her focus to the blank canvas. "I find it somewhat reprehensible that someone would try to denounce a given piece of work that he or she is unable to even attempt to create in the same category on their own. It is not enough to be an artist, as there are many types of art to choose from. Just because one can paint doesn't bestow any authority when the category in question becomes pottery or singing, for example." Lisa giggled quietly. "Now I know I can sing," she said with a smile. "Can't do much else, though, as I'm not very good with musical instruments." "Those just take time and patience," Susan assured her as she started to very lightly sketch on the canvas. "I can play the cello rather well, but it took me a full century of practice to achieve a moderate degree of success." "Huh," Lisa said slowly. "I usually try an instrument like a trumpet or a horn. Think I should be trying something else entirely?" Susan paused to think for a moment. "Woodwind instruments are always pleasing to the ear," she suggested with a casual shrug. "I personally don't recommend a flute, but perhaps something like a bassoon or an oboe would be to your liking." "Saxophone," Artemis spoke up. "It's kind of like a trumpet, but with a wider range of what Mina calls musical emotions. Blues, jazz, romance, you name it." "Oooh, I like soft jazz," Lisa purred. "Maybe you're right...." Everyone blinked hard as a glowing blue wormhole suddenly opened up at the far end of the living room, triggering a security alarm. "Level 2 Danger," the monotone voice of the computer reported. "Intruder Alert, Section 5, unknown wormhole detected." Susan bolted to her feet as Sailor Neptune emerged from the wormhole and immediately moved well away from the swirling maelstrom. "Neptune!" she called out, absently tossing her tablet aside and accidentally smacking Luna squarely on the golden crescent mark on her head. "We got her!" Neptune gasped as she whirled around. She blinked hard as Sailor Venus suddenly came flying through the portal, windmilling her arms furiously before landing face-down on the floor. "Venus!" Artemis yelped as he launched himself out of Lisa's lap. "What happened?" "Goddamn it," Venus growled as she rolled over and sat up. "What'd you do that for, huh?" she yelled back through the wormhole. "Move it," Sailor Jupiter said tersely as she stepped through the vortex, still cradling Serena in her arms. "Off the couch," she growled, "I need to set her down before my arms give out." "Here," Susan said as she stepped forward to help the brunette carry the catatonic blonde over to the couch. "What happened?" "Move it!" Whisper said urgently as she came through the wormhole with Maq'i in tow. "Susan, this is Master Healer Maq'i, you have to trust her to take care of Serena for the moment." Susan and Maq'i both paused, blinking hard as they saw one another. "If you insist," Susan replied after a slight hesitation. It took Maq'i another moment to get past the gaping holes in Susan's demonic wings before she nodded in response and hurried over to the couch to examine Serena again. "Where are the others?" Luna asked quickly as she hopped up on the coffee table, trying to get a good look at Serena while keeping out of everyone's way. "Should be right behind us," Jupiter said, glaring at the wormhole. She blinked hard as Sailor Mercury stumbled through the portal, her eyes wide with tension. "Close it!" Mercury yelped as she tried to retain her balance. "What?" Venus blurted out. "But...." "CLOSE IT NOW!!" Mercury screamed, her vampiric fangs clearly visible. The wormhole promptly collapsed in on itself and vanished, leaving a dead silence in the room that seemed to last for a minor eternity. The silence was broken by the sound of Mercury's computer making a very hard beep, causing her to raise a fist and smash it hard against the wall. "What just happened?" Susan demanded. "Where are the others?" "Darian, Mars, and Uranus stayed behind," Mercury said in a very quiet tone. "He said that the Imperium Silver Crystal is with the NegaForce, and that he was going to try get it." "Alex stayed behind?" Neptune gasped, her eyes doubling in diameter. "But what about the missile?" "Wait," Artemis said very slowly. "What missile?" "Someone tossed a nuke at someone else," Jupiter growled. "Problem is, they were aiming right next to the castle." "WHAT?" three voices said in shocked unison. "We can explain it later," Mercury said tersely as she stood up and went over to Serena with her computer in hand. "Master Healer, tell me what exactly is wrong with her?" she asked gently as she started to scan the blonde. Maq'i sighed and gently wrapped her hand around Serena's wrist, sending what was left of her healing energies into her once again. "Physically, she is in the grips of the Chaos Factor," she replied quietly. "If her mind was still intact, this shouldn't pose much of a problem." "Wait, wait," Jupiter suddenly said. "Run that past me again? What's wrong with her mind?" "She is completely catatonic," Maq'i explained gently. "Rune apparently staged a horrid execution of her lover in front of her very eyes, and the shock caused her mind to withdraw and collapse. I've had to keep her on life-support since then as her autonomous functions are prone to instability." Venus frowned as she bent down to pick up the white cat. "What's that supposed to mean? I need to talk to you in a bit," she added to Artemis. Mercury blinked hard as her computer suddenly started to make a strident warbling noise. "Her heart rate is faltering," she blurted out. "She's probably crashing again," Maq'i grunted. "Quickly, do you have a defibrillator here?" "Oh, crap!" Venus blurted out, her eyes going wide. "I don't know if we have one in the medical kit. Whisper!" "We don't," Whisper replied quickly. "I need an energy source," Mercury said as she looked over her shoulder, her eyes darting back and forth as she searched for something suitable. She glanced over at Jupiter and something went click in her mind. "Jupiter! Get over here!" "Wait, what's going on?" Neptune whimpered. "I'm here, what do you need?" Jupiter said quickly as she knelt down next to Serena and Mercury. The computer made a flat beeping noise and Mercury snarled to herself. "Charge your tiara," she said tersely as she stripped off her elbow-length white gloves. "Mercury!" Susan said sharply. "That's too powerful to try to use!" "You have a better solution?" Mercury snapped back, the points of her vampiric fangs showing. "I need a jolt of energy to nudge her heart rhythm back to normal, and I need to do it before it quits on us entirely!" "Mercury...." Jupiter said in a guarded tone. Mercury grabbed her by the collar and pulled her close, her lips curling back to fully expose her tiny fangs. "We don't have time for this! Just do as I say and CHARGE YOUR TIARA!!" she screamed. "Oh, god...." Venus whispered quietly as Jupiter jerked her head back and closed her eyes. The lightning rod extended from her tiara and began to spark with energy while Mercury quickly removed what was left of the electrodes and other sensors from Serena's chest. "Everyone get back," Mercury warned as she made sure that nothing metallic was touching Serena's body. She cast a final glance at her computer before setting it on the coffee table and looking around to make sure that Maq'i was far enough away. "Ready?" she asked Jupiter. "You're going to kill all three of us," Jupiter muttered. "You're grounded, you'll be fine," Mercury shot back as she placed one hand between Serena's breasts, directly over her heart muscle. She then took a deep breath and made a fist, touching the back of her hand against the highly charged rod on Jupiter's tiara. Mercury blinked as she suddenly saw Venus' deeply concerned face looking down at her, slowly waving a hand back and forth in front of her eyes. "Huh?" Mercury grunted quietly, trying to fill her suddenly aching lungs with air. "You with us now?" Venus said quietly, watching Mercury's pupils react to the changing light as she passed her hand back and forth to create a shadow. "What.... what just happened?" Mercury said, blinking hard. "You zapped the crap out of yourself, that's what happened," Venus replied with a deep sigh. "The good news is that it worked, Serena's heart is back to normal, at least for the moment. Jupiter is bitching about a headache now, and you've been out cold for the past.... two minutes," she said as she glanced up at the nearest clock. "Sailor Mercury, are you alright?" Luna asked quietly as she gently nudged her with a paw. Mercury paused for a moment to listen to what her body was saying. She gently pushed Venus out of her face and tried to rise into a sitting position, blinking hard as the task seemed to be three times harder to do than before. "I think so," she said hesitantly as she looked around the room. Jupiter was leaning against the wall with a deeply disgruntled look on her face. She caught Mercury's glance and cast a glare in her direction, raising one hand to flip her off. Neptune was hovering beside her, trying to see if the brunette was alright and blushing furiously at the hand gesture aimed in Mercury's general direction. "Yeah, she's fine," Venus grumbled as she gave Jupiter a sidelong glance. "Serena's still out like a light, but that old woman says that she's fine. At least in a physical standpoint," she added. "Whisper is trying to see if she can do anything at the moment." Mercury blinked and nudged the blonde aside, looking over at the couch. Susan was gently wrapping Serena's nude body in a white sheet while Whisper had both hands lightly pressed to Serena's temples. The telepath's expression was every bit as blank as Serena's as she tried to examine her mind, a sight that deeply bothered the vampire. "Mercury?" Susan said quietly as she watched the blue-haired Sailor Scout slowly rise to her feet. "Are you alright now?" "I guess so," Mercury replied hesitantly. The succubus nodded and sighed quietly. "Please don't do that again," she said in a weary tone. "We appreciate the gesture, of course, and we're quite grateful that it worked as intended, but electrocuting yourself is not a very healthy course of action." "Or electrocuting someone else," Jupiter growled quietly. Venus rolled her eyes. "Take a pair of Tylenol or something," she said over her shoulder. "Or would you rather have skipped the headache and had Serena's heart quit on us entirely?" "Speaking of which," Maq'i spoke up quietly, "We still need to find an automatic defibrillator. Her heart rhythm will start to destabilize again in another fifteen or twenty minutes, and I'm afraid I'm simply too exhausted to keep it steady on my own." "We have to take her to the hospital," Mercury replied immediately. "We don't have that kind of equipment here. My mother should still be on duty in the ER at this hour, so she might be able to help us." Susan quickly shook her head. "Taking her to an Earth hospital is not a viable option. Too many questions would be raised and I cannot permit that. As soon as Whisper is finished, I will place the Princess in temporal stasis until the others return, at which point we can sort out our options." "A stasis field won't do anything," Maq'i pointed out. "We had her in a stasis field once already and she still managed to crash on us." "I said temporal stasis, not medical stasis," Susan countered. "While I cannot stop the flow of Time completely, I can slow it down to the point where five minutes inside the field can take five hours outside the field. It is a temporary measure at best, but Time can be bought if truly needed." "But at what price?" Lisa asked quietly as she moved next to her elder sibling. "Lady Persephone tried explaining the mechanics of it to me once, but it never really sank in." Susan sighed quietly and shook her head. "Do not concern yourself with the price, Lisa," she replied gently. "Yes, there will be a cost, but we are dealing with the last living member of the Royal House of the Moon. I can keep her suspended for a few hours, which should be enough time for us to determine a better course of action." Jupiter grunted quietly. "Think you can find some medical jumper cables on the black market?" she said to Venus. "You have to be kidding me," Venus replied, blinking hard. "This is some seriously expensive medical hardware we're talking about, not some moderately- priced prescription drugs." Jupiter merely shrugged. "Raid an ambulance when nobody's looking?" she suggested. She blinked as Mercury scowled at her and she returned the look with open irritation. "Hey, it was just a thought, okay? Back off." "Ami?" Neptune said cautiously. "Do you think you can use your medical computer to do something similar? I know it can put out a pulse of sorts if you give it enough time to build up a charge." Mercury shook her head. "The capacitors aren't strong enough to hold the kind of charge I'd need to restart a heart." "Capacitors!" Venus blurted out, her eyes widening. "Neptune, you still have that taser I gave you earlier, right?" "Oh!" Neptune blinked as she started digging around in her Lunar Space pocket. She pulled her hand out a moment later, holding the small device in a very careful grip. "Yes, here it is." "Good, don't let that out of your sight," Venus sighed in relief. "That might work," Mercury cautioned her. "But I don't think we can use it indefinitely. We still need an electrocardiogram and a defibrillator." "Oh, man," Jupiter sighed as she put her face in her hands. "Of all the times for Dyvach to wander off. I bet he could build them for us." "Hmm...." Venus said slowly, a thoughtful look crossing her face. Jupiter and Mercury promptly exchanged wary glances, neither overly comfortable with the prospect of having to cope with one of the blonde's rather creative ideas once again. "If I can get you some hardware, do you think you could rework it into a suitable device?" Venus finally said. "That depends on an awful lot," Mercury replied in a guarded tone. "You think using Ether will help?" Lisa suggested. She blinked hard as she got seven sets of confused looks in response, quickly followed by a gasp of realization from Susan. "Yes, that should work!" Susan said quickly. Her gaze became slightly unfocused as she turned her thoughts inward, thinking extremely rapidly about the suggestion. "Run that past me again?" Jupiter said slowly. "I thought ether was an anesthetic," Venus added. "As soon as the others return, I will take you all to my keep situated in the Border Ethereal plane," Susan suddenly blurted out. "Once there, we can tap into the Ether to create what we need to monitor Serena's condition. While purely ether-based constructs will degenerate over time, we should be able to keep the devices coherent long enough to bring her out of this." "If that is possible at all," the elderly Healer warned gently. "While I can take care of her body, her mind is quite beyond my skills. I had General Al'vexi examine her mental condition and I was given the impression that it was possible she might never recover from the trauma." Whisper suddenly blinked hard and refocused on her surroundings. "If I ever see General Rune again, I will personally vent the contents of her skull out through her ptanka," she growled very quietly to herself. "Damn her...." "How is she?" Mercury inquired gently. "That depends on your perspective," the telepath sighed. "Her physical brain structure is in perfect condition. The synapses are all there and will work if instructed to do so, and her memory is fully intact. That's actually part of the problem, as I was able to see what she saw right before her mind collapsed." "Hang on a second," Jupiter grumbled. "If telling us about it is anything like the time you showed us how we got killed in the Moon Kingdom, I think I'll just pass on the explanation." "So what happened?" Venus said urgently. "Rune tried to shoot her," Whisper said, closing her eyes. "And when that didn't work for some reason, the gun was put to Darian's head and Rune demanded that she hand over the Imperium Silver Crystal. When she refused, Rune pulled the trigger." "Whoa, wait," Jupiter blurted out. "Darian was with us the whole time." "Rune apparently used a stunt-double or a mimic of sorts," Maq'i said in a hushed tone. "Either way, the Princess couldn't have known it wasn't her Prince, and the end result was.... realistic, if nothing else." "We don't want to know, do we?" Jupiter asked warily. "No, dear child, you don't," Maq'i sighed. "The shock of it all sent her into full cardiac arrest, and I've had a hard time keeping her heart rhythm stable since. I believe the instability is caused by the Chaos Factor, but it is very hard to rule anything else out as she is completely catatonic and can barely maintain her autonomous functions on her own." Susan sighed quietly as she made a snatching motion, grabbing her staff out of thin air and causing both Maq'i and Lisa to blink hard in surprise. "Everyone please step back," the succubus said as she removed one of the large red gemstones that adorned the base of the heart-shaped loop on her staff. The gem began to crackle quietly with tiny bolts of black energy as she gently set it down on Serena's chest, bunching up the sheets around it to prevent it from rolling off from Serena's breathing. "Hey, what are you doing?" Jupiter questioned in a guarded tone. "I'm going to put her in temporal stasis," Susan explained as she stepped back and began to concentrate. Her staff began to hum and vibrate gently in her hands, causing the gem to produce a curious hum in response. The arcs of black energy started to play along Serena's body for a few seconds before the interior of the gemstone seemed to erupt in a silent explosion of energy. An inky barrier of darkness suddenly surrounded the couch, causing all motion to cease inside and tainting everything with a sickly gray pallor. "Do not touch the barrier," Susan advised softly, her face slipping into a visibly weary expression as she sat down in the nearest armchair. "While it might not hurt you, it could severely disrupt the flow of Time inside and that could prove most harmful to the Princess." "What the hell did you do?" Jupiter inquired as she stared at the dome of energy surrounding Serena. Next to her, Mercury immediately reset her computer and tried to scan both the barrier and the blonde princess. A soft growl of frustration rose up from her throat a second later as she couldn't get any sort of reading from either one. "As I said, I slowed down the flow of Time for her," Susan explained in a somewhat tired tone. "Imagine Time as a river, and we are all going with the currents at the same pace. Now imagine the river flowing around a rock in the way. The rock is still being pushed along, but at a far slower rate when you compare it to the original flow. For the moment, Serena is encased in the temporal equivalent of that rock. Time can never be stopped completely, but it can be slowed down considerably for a short period of time." Maq'i sat down in the other armchair and studied her carefully. "Are you alright, dear child?" she asked in a concerned tone. "Wings are nothing new to me, nor are occasional holes in them, but you look to be under a considerable strain all of a sudden...." Susan gave the elderly Healer a wan smile. "It takes a lot to keep the temporal stasis field in place," she said quietly. "And yes, I am still trying to heal from last night, but that is a secondary concern. While we seem to have a few moments to catch our collective breath, why don't the rest of you sit down and explain to me just what happened since you left this morning?" "Well...." Venus said with a heavy sigh. "It started out like this...." * * * * "Ow...." K'tal grumbled as he peeled his face off of the console in front of him. He glanced down and grunted as he saw the small specks of blood that had dripped out of his nose. He knew that nothing had been broken when he had landed face-first on the console, but seeing your own blood when you weren't donating it in a lab was never a good sign. "Status report!" Tolaris gasped as he rose to his feet, trying to ignore the searing pain in his lower back. D'Nina's voice replied over the speakers. "I'll take it," K'tal replied. "I can deal with an acid bath, but it'll have to wait until we're out of this mess. Tactical, talk to me!" "Sir, all external sensors are offline," the officer replied with a sigh. "The EMP wave damaged half the nodes and completely knocked out the regional communications network. The helm is essentially flying blind right now since we can't even see where we are or where we're going." "D'Nina...." K'tal said in a worried tone. she reported. "Just don't run us into anything," K'tal sighed. "Communications, do what you can, as soon as you can," K'tal instructed his Communications officer next. "We probably won't get much until we clear the blast zone and leave all this radioactive stuff behind. And speaking of which.... Tactical, do we have any readings on the NP warhead, by chance?" "Low-yield, sir," the officer reported. "Looks to be one of the new ones with the short decay periods. Nothing like the Outreaches blast, however, and I can't give you a firm estimate until I get these sensors back, but I'd say that we should have decay-to-zero in about three weeks." Tolaris grunted quietly. "Let's hear it for low-yields," he muttered. K'tal shrugged in dismissal. "Just means we should be able to use the docking machinery when we head back home next month. Until then, we need to find a suitable place to set this thing down and start scrubbing the hull to get rid of the radiation. It might decay away in three weeks, but a lot of radiation damage can still happen in the process." "Copy," Tolaris replied as he started pulling up geographic charts on his auxiliary terminal. "Assuming we still have a home next month," Lieutenant Asrial growled to herself. "That blast might have destroyed the storage bays and the docking clamps." "They're underground, remember?" K'tal reminded her. "Yeah, we left a big gaping hole in the landscape when we left, but the shockwave should have blown right over it without disturbing anything. We'll still need to scrub it down, of course, but everything should still work fine." "Only if you like glow-in-the-dark ceremonial armor," Asrial muttered. K'tal shrugged. "Nothing crucial got left behind in the storage bays, Lieutenant. Things were organized that way for a reason, after all." D'Nina reported. "Okay, one moment," Tolaris said as he typed the information into his panel. "Helm, come about to bearing three-four-four and increase altitude to ten angels." D'Nina replied. The deck started to tilt a moment later, gently easing up on the left side as the airborne complex made a slow turn to the right. "So where are you taking us this time?" K'tal inquired casually. "I figured we needed to set down somewhere open," Tolaris explained. "We need a large source of water within range to supply the scrubbers, and having some protective cover wouldn't be a bad idea at this point. There's a desert plain in the Northern Mountains that fits the bill, with a small valley river at the northern edge." "Ahh, yes, Sector Seven," K'tal mused. "There's a repair facility in the area too, correct?" Tolaris nodded. "A small one, but as we don't need many repairs, or at least not at the moment, it should suffice." "Good," K'tal replied. "Communications, as soon as you can find a valid communications network to tap into, I want you to contact the Sector Seven's chief and advise her of our situation. After that, try to hail the Imperial Castle at regular intervals. I don't expect to hear a response anytime soon, but we can at least try. Who's got the alternate command post at the moment?" "Southern Division," Tactical replied. "Lieutenant-General Olox." "Bleah," K'tal grunted. "Self-righteous p'tai.... Hail him as soon as you get an open frequency, let him know we're in one piece and what we intend to do for the visible future." "There's a question," Tolaris said quietly. "What do you intend to do?" "Damned if I know," K'tal sighed. "I know the Imperial Castle wasn't damaged by the blast as I can still hear Ael'ien inside my skull, so we know that both Rune and Si'ren are alive. Command will default to Olox until the regional communication nets are regenerated, which shouldn't take longer than a day or two. I suppose we'll get our orders after that, but until then I'm going to take care of this division." "What about General Nop'tera?" Tolaris prodded him. "If we survived the blast, I don't see why the V'ral wouldn't. And in either case, there are still two Red Wing divisions parked somewhere in the polar oceans to deal with." K'tal sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "One crisis at a time, Tolaris. Or would you prefer that I keep my plate fully loaded at all times?" "We're alive and the blast is behind us," Tolaris pointed out. "That's one crisis dealt with. Just because we're in limbo doesn't mean we can quit trying to figure out what else we need to do for the future, both short-term and long-term." "Alright, Commander," K'tal said as he clasped his arms behind his back. "If you have any suggestions, the floor is yours for the moment." Tolaris raised an eyebrow in response and sighed very quietly. "We know that Rune ordered the missile launch and that it was aimed at Nop'tera. Past history, both recent and ancient, tells us that Nop'tera will not let this act go without serious retaliation. I've been out of touch for awhile, but even I know a brewing civil war when I see one. You yourself warned me of this very possibility." "Tell me about it," K'tal muttered with a dour sigh. "So the question is, what sides do we take on this?" Tolaris continued. "Don't suppose we can sit this one out?" K'tal suggested. There was a soft growl from one of the maintenance panels. "Tell me he's not that naive," Asrial muttered softly to the Tactical officer. "As you were, Lieutenant," Tolaris said sternly. "Unfortunately, I doubt that Rune will allow us that luxury. She will most likely order us to assist her in some fashion or another, probably in a direct-assault context as we are currently mobile and in possession of a particle-wave cannon." D'Nina reminded him. K'tal merely shook his head. "That can be fixed easily enough, Chief. Tolaris is right, I suddenly have a bad feeling about being mobile right about now. Okay, try it like this, Commander.... what side would you be on?" "Whichever side ends up being in the best interests of our division and the Negaverse as a whole," Tolaris said simply. "And not just our world, but Earth as well. Keep in mind we have our Crown Prince and Raijen's daughter living there now," he reminded him. The silence in the room was so sudden it echoed. "Crown Prince?" Asrial asked in a dangerously soft tone. "What Crown Prince?" Tolaris and K'tal exchanged glances for a minor eternity before Tolaris sighed quietly. "I think it's time we told them the full story," he said in a very soft tone. "I can understand why Rune would want such information to be kept as quiet as possible, but under the circumstances...." K'tal made a gesture. "You probably know more than I do right now, so it is up to you. I can call a department head meeting if you want." "No," Tolaris said, shaking his head gently. "This is something for the entire Legion to hear for themselves. Give me an all-call, please," he said to the Communications lieutenant as he picked up a hard-wired comm-link. He waited for the familiar two-tone, three note whistle to quit echoing along the bays and corridors of the airborne complex before he began to speak. "Attention all personnel, this is Dragoon Commander Tolaris...." * * * * Maze smirked as he looked up at the ceiling speaker. "Told you," he said to the Engineering chief with a smirk. "Took him long enough, though. Any bets that this'll be one of those 'rally the troops' speeches?" "I know about you and wagers," the chief grunted back. "No bets." "Spoilsport," Maze chuckled. "As you've probably heard by now," Tolaris' voice echoed throughout the facility, "I am indeed alive and in one piece. As some of you have also heard, both Lieutenant Maze and Lieutenant Ra'vel have spent the last few months on Earth with me in technical exile. The three of us have returned here to the Negaverse to achieve a goal, which is nothing less than saving our homeworld from what will most likely become a civil war. "Some of you may call our motives into question or denounce us as traitors to the throne, the military, and to the Legion. I should like to point out that only I have been charged with such a crime and was found guilty by my own admission. The only crimes Maze and Ra'vel have committed is following their consciences in aiding an old friend in a time of need. No denizens were harmed by them, none lost their lives because of their actions, and to my knowledge there was only very minor property damage as a result of their assistance. "If there is anyone to be called a traitor, it is me. I am the one who knowingly and willingly defied Queen Beryl's orders when I spared the lives of Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury so long ago. I refused to kill them simply for protecting their world against an unprovoked invasion, similar in concept if not in scale to the invasion of their original world, the Moon Kingdom. For that crime I was branded a traitor and sentenced to exile for eternity, first frozen in crystal, and later to Earth after I was freed from my prison. "During my time on Earth, I have come to know the humans quite well and have become friends with the Sailor Scouts. I've learned much about them and about their past, much as I have gotten to know a great number of my fellow Dragoons throughout the centuries. I count them among my closest friends as I count a number of you as well, and it is because I know them so well that I am able to come here today on their side with a clear conscience. "The Sailor Scouts are defenders of their world, nothing more. They are, in fact, the very same ones whom we encountered in the Moon Kingdom a thousand years ago. Queen Serenity sacrificed her own life to ensure that they would be reborn a thousand years later, once again to protect their world from whatever would try to encroach upon it. They fight against us only to protect Earth, not to destroy us or our way of life. I have witnessed this for myself, seen life from their perspective and through their eyes, and the core of honor in me that has been instilled since the first day I joined the Dragoon Legion cannot fault them for what they do. "It is true that they are here in the Negaverse today, and that I came with them of my own free will with the intent of helping them. They are here only because someone from our world struck at them first, hurting them in a way they simply cannot ignore. Their leader, Sailor Moon, was kidnapped yesterday, taken prisoner and whisked away to the Imperial Castle. While no true soldier would allow the capture of their leader to stand unchallenged, Sailor Moon means far more to both them and us than we could have even imagined. "Her name is Serena, and she is the Crown Princess of the Moon Kingdom. Yes, the very same Moon Kingdom that was destroyed by our world a thousand years ago. There was no Sailor Moon back then during the invasion, but Queen Serenity sent her slain daughter's soul into the future. The Queen gave her own life to give the princess the power to protect Earth in the hopes that it would never experience the same destruction as her own kingdom, and so a new heroine was reborn, drawing up on the memories and powers of the Moon to try to defend her new world. "Queen Serenity, however, never told her daughter how she came to be, how it was that she was born. It was a secret that Sailor Moon wouldn't find out for herself until she came into the Negaverse with me several months ago. She knows now, however, and it is time for her past to be revealed to all. "A thousand years ago, a Dragoon was with the first contact team when they entered the Moon Kingdom for the very first time. She had with her the life- crystal of our founder, Captain Raijen. This much is beyond all doubt as she recorded that fact herself in her journals. She was unaware, however, of the power of the Imperium Silver Crystal and what it could do. "Sometime during their visit, Captain Raijen's spirit was reawakened and reanimated by the Imperium Silver Crystal. T'Cer even encountered him herself once but was unaware of his true identity, as she wrote in her journals about the 'unusual, yet oddly familiar' escort who was accompanying Queen Serenity at the time. He shortly became more than an escort, however, as it was Captain Raijen who brought comfort to Queen Serenity after the tragic death of one of her young Sailor Scouts. "Crown Princess Serena was born nine months later," he added quietly. The air in Engineering had fallen perfectly still as everyone suddenly quit breathing in unison. The only sounds that could be heard were the soft but distinctive thrums of the reactor cores and the low monotone roars of the main engines. "Ay'cha navidshi," someone breathed very quietly in the silence. "Is he serious?" "Sailor Moon," Tolaris' voice continued, "Their kingdom's Crown Princess, is in reality the half-human, half-denizen daughter of Captain Raijen. I have seen this personally for myself, beyond all doubts. I have seen with my own eyes the genetic results of Sailor Mercury's scans, heard with my own ears the confessions of not only the spirit of Queen Serenity but of Captain Raijen as well, still sealed within his life-crystal. I have felt for myself the power that Sailor Moon draws upon, the power that could only come from the blood of two worlds flowing in her veins. "I did not know this when I first met her, or when we first clashed in battle on Earth so long ago. Neither of us knew this when we became friends, or when she and the other Sailor Scouts insisted on accompanying me back to my homeworld to retrieve the few personal belongings that I truly treasured and felt was worth the risk of obtaining. Maze and Ra'vel didn't know any of this when they accepted my trust of the Sailor Scouts as their own, taking my word as an article of faith that they meant no harm or bore any ill-will. "I knew none of this when I became her friend, and the revelation of her heritage only strengthened the bonds between us. I cannot ask any of you to do the same as of yet, to do as Maze and Ra'vel did earlier by taking me solely at my word and placing a great deal of trust in her or her friends. All I ask is that you give me the opportunity to prove this all to you, to prove that she is not only half-denizen and the Captain's daughter, but that she means this world no harm and can be trusted." Maze slowly shook his head. "I told you it'd be one of his 'rally the troops' speeches," he muttered. "A little long-winded, but that's the boss' style for you...." The Chief Engineer just grunted quietly. "Quiet, he's not done yet." "Sailor Moon is not the only one that harbors a deeply shocking secret," Tolaris continued, "And again it is something our world is responsible for. I'm sure you all know about Prince Darian by know, the mysterious consort of Sailor Moon's who is known on Earth as Tuxedo Mask. He was a prince from one of the Earth kingdoms who was with his beloved princess during the invasion of the Moon Kingdom, and after his death his soul was also sent into the future to be reincarnated by Queen Serenity's sacrifice. "I am also sure you are all aware of what transpired shortly before the death of Queen Beryl, how General Zoicite severely wounded him before Sailor Moon's very eyes and had his dying body brought before Queen Beryl. His mind was erased by the Psi-Corp while his body was regenerated, his will broken and enslaved to Queen Beryl's whims like a pet on a leash. His kidnapping was the final act that caused the Sailor Scouts to escalate the battle and bring it directly to our world after months of conflict on theirs, ultimately leading to Queen Beryl's death. "It was during this time, when Prince Darian was under the mental control of the throne and the Psi-Corp, that Queen Beryl took him to see the NegaForce. The NegaForce imprinted itself on his soul, imbuing his human body with the power of denizen Chaos and allowing him to give a child to a denizen woman. He later did just that, as it turns out that our queen had become pregnant with Darian's child just a short time before her demise." "No way," another engineer said slowly. "No k'vesi way...." "There are medical records to prove this," Tolaris' voice continued from the speakers. "They are sealed at the highest levels of classification, but there is documented proof of this. I have seen for myself the mark of the Crown Prince of the Negaverse upon his head. I was not there when his memories were unsealed and he was allowed to remember all that he had done, but I saw the emotional aftermath. There is no doubt in my mind that Prince Darian of Earth has been anointed by the NegaForce as the Crown Prince, and that has ramifications which are almost unthinkable. "Consider this.... Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon are lovers, and will most likely seek to start a family together in the future. The powers of the royal bloodlines are hereditary, of course, but what if they were to have a child together? From her would come the power of the Moon Kingdom and the Imperium Silver Crystal, and from him would come the power of the NegaForce. All that power would be consolidated into one young woman, a child who would also be born with both human and denizen blood in her veins and Chaos in her genes. "Both worlds, Earth and the Negaverse, could be united under her hand, and be united peacefully. Consider this.... no more invasions of Earth, no more loss of life on either side, a free and fair exchange of resources, of ideas, of cultures, languages, information, knowledge, experiences, emotions.... Can any of you imagine this? I have a very hard time thinking about it myself, but I certainly cannot just brush this off as a mere fantasy, as a long-shot bet against astronomical odds. This is a very real possibility, and I for one am not able to just sit back and watch events unfold as they may. "It is my intention to help the Sailor Scouts in their endeavors, to both protect their world and to protect their future. Their future and our future. A future that will not come to pass if we fail to protect Sailor Moon from any harm. She is a very special woman to me, not because she is a Princess, not because she is the daughter of someone important, but because she could be the one holding the key to a peaceful and prosperous future for all of us. "I do not know what the immediate future will bring, however, as I do not know what General Rune intends to do or how General Nop'tera will react after what has just happened. I don't know how events will unfold in our world, if we will be able to sort this out on our own or if all will be torn apart by a civil war between two halves of the military. We will just have to see how it goes, one step at a time. "What I do know, however, is that I will not sit idly by and let the dice roll around at random. I will do whatever it takes to see this end as quickly as possible, and I will do so with the best interests of my friends, my fellow Dragoons, and my homeworld at heart. I will act alone if I have to, as it is up to each of us to do what we feel is the right thing, but do not doubt that I will act when necessary. If I have to go against General Rune's orders and commit true treason to save the hope for the future, then so be it. But I will do so with a clear conscience and without any regrets. "Someone once said that the only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing. I cannot say that I am qualified or able to judge what is good and what is evil, but I will do my best to make sure that should evil flourish, it will not be from inaction by a good man. History can later judge who is right and who is wrong, but we have to make it to the future first for what happens now to be judged as history. "It is up to each of you to decide what to do, but know that no matter what you decide I will fully respect and honor your wishes, and that I have always and will always continue to be proud that I had the opportunity to count myself among your number as a member of the Dragoon Legion. Thank you all for the honor of being able to address you once again. Commander Tolaris out." Maze raised an eyebrow as the speaker clicked off. "Chief, is that a tear I see in your eye?" he said lightly. "No, that's sweat," the Chief Engineer grumbled quietly. "In case you haven't noticed, there's the equivalent of a stellar core's worth of heat in those reactors right now, and it's getting awfully warm in here." Maze discreetly waved his arm behind him, making a note of the ambient temperature of the air in the compartment. "I think I see your point," he said casually, trying not to smirk at the blatant lie. "Tolaris has always been able to deliver a good speech, don't you agree?" "What command-level officer isn't?" the chief grunted. "Well, Chief...." a technician started to say. "That speech of yours last week about the maintenance records...." "Stow it, kid, before I show you how to clean an active plasma filter," the Chief Engineer growled. "Without a hardsuit." "So what do you think, boss?" another engineer called out. "I think you guys need to get back to work," the chief sighed. "C'mon, you crusty rakketh," the engineer protested. "Even if only half of what he said is true, it's a serious kick in the k'vesan. And I don't think he's lying about anything. What do you make of it?" "How much of that have you seen, Maze?" a technician added. Maze sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "You've got to be kidding," he said. "Yes, I've talked to Raijen's spirit myself. Yes, I've seen the sigil on Darian's forehead. And yes, I've seen the results of a DNA analysis of Serena's blood. She's half-denizen, he's the Crown Prince, and the sheet of radiation outside the hull is proof we're all in for a very interesting ride." The Chief Engineer grabbed an oil-rag off of his desk and wiped away the moisture stains on his face and neck. "Isn't that an Eastern Frontier curse?" he grunted. "May you live in interesting times, or something like that?" Maze chuckled and patted the chief on the back. "Hey, at least we're all alive. Which is more than what I can say for Sergeant Dae-Ral's little rock garden that she kept outside the southern entrance gates...." "Hey, great!" another engineer chuckled. "Glow-in-the-dark rocks! We can use 'em down here for when Flat-Foot over there trips over another power main and kills the lights. Again." "HEY!" someone protested. "Rocks aren't supposed to glow," the chief sighed. "Speaking of which, we need to develop a plan to scrub the hull before the radiation starts eating a hole in the plates. Any ideas where we're going?" "Hell in a handbasket?" a tech suggested under her breath. "No, no, we just escaped that, remember?" her partner replied. Maze shrugged casually. "We'll find out, chief. Have a little faith in the boys upstairs." "We'll see," the chief grunted. "Fair enough," Maze nodded. "Oh, and about Sailor Moon...?" "Like I said, we'll see, Lieutenant," the Chief Engineer said quietly, unconsciously echoing the same sentiment being expressed in various ways by other Dragoons throughout the suddenly hushed Dragoon Headquarters Complex. * * * * "Darian?" Sailor Uranus said quietly once she was absolutely sure that the floor was finished tossing them around like dice on a casino table. The lights were still completely out, leaving the room in absolute darkness. "Rei?" "I'm here," Mars replied quietly. "I think I'm here," Tuxedo Mask coughed. "You guys alright?" Uranus inquired as she considered trying to figure out just which direction was up at the moment. She was lying on her side and in what she had the nagging suspicion was an intimate embrace with someone else, as there was something incredibly warm and soft beneath her fingertips. "I'll let you know as soon as the room stops spinning," he sighed. "Umm, I don't mean to be rude, ladies, but who's got their hand in my pants?" "I'm sitting on my hands, so it's not me," Mars grumbled. "Oh boy," Uranus sighed. "D, hold still for one second.... this you?" she asked as she carefully flexed her fingertips, squeezing the warmth she was feeling. "I don't feel anything moving," Tuxedo Mask said in a guarded tone. There was a harsh cough before a voice rasped, "That's me." "Huh?" Uranus blinked before she recognized the voice. "Myst!" "That hurt," the Shinma moaned quietly. "That really, really hurt." "At least you're alive, sweetie," Uranus replied as she tried to pick her up. She blinked hard as she heard a decidedly liquid sound and felt something rather cold and slimy slap against her wrist. "Uh, are you sure you're okay?" "Give me a moment," Myst rasped. "I got forced out of the demiplane by all that energy, and I'm still trying to restructure my body." There was a soft grunt from Tuxedo Mask. "Maybe it's a good thing that we can't see you right now," he mused. "Hey, who's grabbing me this time?" "Sorry, that's me," Mars apologized quietly. "I think that's your arm up against my stomach, then. No, don't move just yet," she added. "Erk," Uranus gagged as Myst's body suddenly became a gelatinous mass that started oozing down her arm. "Honey, warn me before you do that, okay? This feels so gross right now...." "Speaking of feeling things...." Tuxedo Mask said in a low tone. "Just hold still, I'm almost done," Mars promised. "Doing what?" he prodded. Uranus just sighed quietly. "Kids, get a room or something. We can play doctor later once we're back on Earth. Hey, that's my arm you're feeling up," she grumbled as she felt a gentle squeeze on her elbow. "That's Myst, not me," Mars replied. "Okay, there should be only one more button left, at least that I know of...." "Sailor Mars?" Tuxedo Mask inquired in a faintly edged tone. "Why are you unbuttoning my shirt?" There was a sigh of frustration from the darkness. "Because I think my chest bow somehow got tangled in your jacket and I'm trying to find which one of the buttons it's caught on. Now hold still." "Give it up, girl," Uranus sighed. "These bows do pop off, you know." "When you can work the clasp, which I can't because it's all tied up.... Ahh, there we go," Mars said as there was a soft whisper of moving fabric. "Oh, so that's what that weight was," Tuxedo Mask replied as he felt the tension in his chest suddenly evaporate. "I was starting to get worried." "Speaking of being worried," Uranus replied, "Does anyone have a light? Candle, glowstone, torch, don't matter to me so long as I can see what's going on around me. AHHHHH!" she yelped as her arm started to luminesce. "Goddamn it, Myst, *WARN ME* before you do something like that!" "Spooky," Tuxedo Mask commented at the sight of her skin seeming to glow on its own. He glanced down at his shirt and grumbled quietly to himself as he noticed that most of the buttons had been undone, exposing his undershirt. He then glanced over to his side and blinked hard at how he was pressed up against Sailor Mars. "Whoops...." "Don't worry about it," Mars replied softly as she finished adjusting her chest bow and rested her hand on his. "I'm against the wall, so you need to move first." The shadows in the room seemed to whirl around madly as Uranus scrambled to her feet, still staring down at the way Myst was glowing on her arm. "That isn't exactly what I meant, hon, but I love you all the same. Think you can make it a touch brighter in here?" Everyone blinked as a swath of darkness suddenly split across the glowing skin, forming into a crude pair of lips. "Bright assssss can be," Myst said in a hissing whisper. "Bah," Uranus grunted as she looked around the darkened medical ward for anything of interest. "It'll have to do. Look, I don't know what's going on between you two, but can you guys quit cuddling up on the floor? We've still got work to do." There was a soft grunt of protest from Tuxedo Mask as he rolled over onto his stomach and started to get up. "First her, now you?" he muttered. "Who spiked the water with estrogen? HEY!" he yelped as Mars frowned and delivered a casual kick to his exposed backside. "Serves you right," Uranus observed. "Let's see you put up with these cramps," Mars grumbled as she unsteadily rose to her feet. "And don't give me any nonsense about pain medication, they don't work. Trust me, I've been using them." "Whoops," Uranus said, blinking in surprise. "So Mina was right and you really are being a bitch because you're on the rag?" "Excuse me!" Mars snapped. "Later, ladies," Tuxedo Mask sighed as he stood up straight. "Let's just get out of here first and find the stairs. It's a pretty good distance to the Chamber of the NegaForce from here." Uranus blinked and crossed her arms, casting a truly bizarre pattern of shadows on the wall. "Hey, listen, care to clue us in first about that thing before we go tromping in there? I don't know what this NegaForce thing is, but I don't really like the sound of it." "Our world has the Imperium Silver Crystal," Tuxedo Mask said simply. "This one has the NegaForce. I've met it before, and I know what it wants. I don't think it's overly interested in either of you, but I can't say for sure how it'll react. You two should head back to Earth." "Right," Uranus scoffed. "Why in the hell do you think Rei and I stayed behind with you? To catch a quick feel in the dark?" "I love him," Mars said very quietly. "Eh?" Uranus coughed, blinking hard. "Say that again?" "I'm here because I love him," Mars replied softly, not looking at Tuxedo Mask. "I wasn't about to run away and leave him alone inside the Negaverse." "Oh, boy," the blonde sighed. "Honey, you know you're just asking for trouble, right? Yeah, he might be in the doghouse with Serena at the moment, but you know they'll patch things up soon enough. Right, D?" "I don't know," Tuxedo Mask said very quietly. "Waaaaaaaait, wait, wait," Uranus said, blinking hard again. "This isn't a sick joke or anything, right? Gallows humor in a dark room? You're serious about not loving Serena anymore?" Mars sighed quietly. "We can sort this out later. We should go before the rest of the castle realizes that we're still here." "Darian, just wait a moment," Uranus persisted. "I thought you already cleared the air when Mina slugged you in the guts. If you didn't come here for the Princess, then why are you still here?" "I don't know," he repeated quietly. "Right now, however, we need to get the Imperium Silver Crystal back from the NegaForce, and I still remember the way to its lair. Now you can either come with me or head back to Earth, but I am leaving here," he said evenly as he headed towards the still-open archway. "Rei, sweetie, this is crazy," the blonde whispered to the priestess. "Yes, it is," Mars admitted calmly as she started to follow Tuxedo Mask. Uranus stood perfectly still as she watched them leave the room and turn around the corner. "Aww, crap," she grumbled as she sprinted after them and headed into the corridor. "Hey, c'mon, slow down for a sec...." * * * * Rune lifted her head up as the doors hissed apart, watching impassively as Fleet Admiral Si'ren entered the room flanked by four armed security guards. The white-haired admiral's face was marred by a deep frown, only adding to the lines and wrinkles of age already visible on her forehead. "General Rune," Si'ren said in a level tone. "Do you have any idea what you have just done?" she demanded. "I ordered them to remove the fuses," Rune whispered quietly. "The whole conversation was recorded and is on file." Si'ren nodded curtly. "I know, I checked. That is why I'm only placing you under house arrest pending a full investigation instead of having you put in shackles and thrown in the brig. Regional communications networks are down for hundreds of miles, and we are still under an ionization blackout from the radiation. The external count is well over five hundred and it looks to stay that way for a couple of weeks. The radiation shields failed for the eastern Security annex, so now a good two-thousand men and women are dying as we speak. We're still trying to decide if it'll be five digits or six for the death-toll out beyond the outskirts of the Imperial Castle." "I ordered the fuses removed," Rune whispered again, slowly shaking her head. "This wasn't supposed to happen, this wasn't my fault...." "Internal Review will make that determination," Si'ren said coldly. "For the moment, you are relieved of command under the authority of Article Nine, Section Forty-Four. You are hereby placed under house arrest in your personal quarters. Armed guards will be outside at all times, and they have orders to shoot to kill if you attempt to escape. You are aware of your judicial rights regarding such tribunals, and you may seek access to a military adjutant if you so desire as per military law. Do you understand, General?" "I do," Rune said quietly as she stood up. "Si'ren.... get to the bottom of this," she pleaded. "You know I would never order a nuclear strike against our own people." "I believe you did just that already," Si'ren replied flatly. "But it is not up to me to make that determination. Captain, escort General Rune to her quarters and lock her inside. You know the procedures." "Yes, ma'am," the Imperial Guard Captain replied quietly. Si'ren said nothing as Rune was led away by the guards, her gaze focused on the still-glowing crystal core that powered the ForceWard barrier that was keeping the bulk of the radiation away from the castle. She knew that there was little danger at the moment, as the radiation shields between the castle walls and the barrier would be able to block the wave of radiation that would wash over them as soon as the ForceWard's protection failed. "V'Kreeth," she said quietly to the pool of shadows in the corner. "You and Moirah will probably be called by IR as character witnesses." "Expected," V'Kreeth replied, his voice sounding like dry leaves being brushed over stone. "I strongly doubt they will find her at fault for this." "They won't," Si'ren said quietly. "It will fall on whomever failed to remove the fuses. She was quite clear about that in her orders to the missile facility. The only question will be how deep will the blood be once Internal Review determines whether it was a willful violation of orders or a case of criminal neglect. Regardless, there will be a public execution for this." "So who is in command?" V'Kreeth inquired. Si'ren sighed. "Technically me, but with this ionization blackout making communications impossible, it will default to the alternate command post. I believe it is currently General Olox of the Southern Division. I will try to contact him as soon as possible, but it could be days before the communication grids are restored. Damn it, why did she use an NP-4 if she just wanted to scare Nop'tera into moving? An old NP-2 or even an NP-1 would have read the same, and there wouldn't be nearly as much radiation...." "Perhaps we should ask the missile facility?" the shadowy bodyguard said in a casual tone. "Unless Rune specified a warhead type or yield, it would be at their discretion, correct?" "Someone is going to answer for their discretion," Si'ren growled in a low tone. "Assuming Nop'tera lets us live long enough to find out the story. I keep expecting to hear another Postman warning at any moment now, just popping out from behind her radar-evasion screens without warning to finish us off." V'Kreeth shook his head slowly. "You are correct in the sense that she will respond, but she is far from being a stupid woman. She is probably very confused right now as to why this happened, and she will not attempt to strike back until she is confident she understands the situation. One doesn't try to detonate a nuclear warhead in one's lap without something to gain that would offset any incurred losses, and she will try to discern that first. If she reaches the conclusion that it was a true accident, she may not feel the need to strike out at all." "Let's hope so," Si'ren replied. "Otherwise, this is going to be a very short investigation...." * * * * "You left them behind with a nuclear warhead about to detonate outside?" Susan gasped as she shot to her feet, her eyes dangerously wide. "Do you have any idea what kind of danger you left them in?" Venus sighed and crossed her arms. "Did I look like I had a choice when I was basically booted through the wormhole?" she said crossly. "I don't know what Darian was thinking. I'm sure I know what Mars was thinking, but don't bother asking me about it as it's a bit academic at this point. And I have yet to figure out if Uranus even thinks to begin with, let alone how." "I doubt they're dead or even wounded," Whisper spoke up. "The castle's defenses includes some of the heaviest shields the military has, and Rune was energizing her ForceWard barrier, which makes the other shields look weak by comparison. Can it withstand a point-blank shot from a nuclear missile? I'm not sure, but my money is still on the blast and radiation shields." Jupiter sighed as she leaned back against the wall. "Why don't we just cut to the chase here?" she growled before biting into a dark red apple. "You either trust Darian to know what he's doing or you don't. Which is it?" Susan sighed heavily as she flexed her damaged wings, drawing yet another concerned glance from Maq'i. "You don't understand the position I'm in," the succubus said in a quiet tone. "Lord Hades specifically told me to protect the Imperium Silver Crystal first, Darian second, and Serena third. I am unable to enter the Negaverse to perform my duties myself, so I must rely on the skills of others. That has never sat well with me, even when the others in question are people whom I explicitly trust." "Doesn't sound like trust to me," Jupiter muttered around a mouthful of apple. "Don't get me wrong, I try to live by the 'want it done right, do it yourself' concept as well, but if it's out of your hands, worrying about it is only going to give you some righteous gas cramps." Susan shook her head gently. "This isn't a simple errand or task we're dealing with, this deals directly with the fate of the Universe. The Imperium Silver Crystal *MUST* be recovered, or the entire fabric of space-time will begin to unravel at the seams." "And you don't think Darian can do it?" Jupiter inquired archly. "C'mon, the man isn't stupid by any stretch of the imagination, and he's got two Sailor Scouts with him for backup. If anything hits the fan, Mars will probably end up barbecuing the opposition and Uranus will slice-and-dice what's left." Susan raised an eyebrow. "And when the opponent is an intangible, such as an atmospheric threat or exposure to radiation?" she countered. "And you think you could cope with them yourself if you were there?" the brunette snapped, pushing herself off of the wall and absently tossing the apple core over to Neptune. Neptune caught the core by reflex, wrinkling her nose in distaste as she held it by the stem and looked for a suitable place to dispose of it. Susan closed her eyes and took a deep breath, very slowly exhaling through her nose. "No, Sailor Jupiter, I couldn't," she said very quietly, "I am just as vulnerable to radiation as anyone else." Venus sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I thought you were in charge of running the Moon Kingdom?" she inquired gently. "If so, surely you of all people would have had to delegate various tasks to people and trust them to be able to take care of them to your satisfaction." There was a hollow laugh from the green-haired succubus. "Indeed," she mused quietly. "I still tended to personally see to the more important tasks on behalf of her Majesty, however." "May I ask you a question, Susan?" Maq'i spoke up quietly. "I don't know much about humans, as I had never met one up until I encountered Leda a couple of months ago." "Long story," Jupiter sighed as she found herself on the receiving end of a few curious looks. "Short version is that I picked up a bacterial infection in the Negaverse and she was called in to flush it out. I'll explain later." "Very well," Susan replied as she sat back down. "I must caution you, however, that I am not entirely human and thus may not be able to answer your question to your satisfaction." The elderly healer shook her head gently. "You already have, dear child. I was curious as to why you and your sister had wings when none of the other Sailor Scouts did." "We're demons," Lisa piped up as she stroked Luna's dark fur. "Half-demon," Susan corrected her gently. "Our father was from a species of winged demon called an incubus, and our respective mothers were humans." "Ah," Maq'i replied in understanding. "Strange, I was led to believe that only humans lived on Earth." "Tell me about it," Venus muttered beneath her breath, drawing a subtle poke from Artemis' tail. "It is a complicated story," Susan said demurely. "Suffice it to say that demons and the like live on an alternate plane of existence, and that we can cross back and forth between planes as needed. Think of it as somewhat like dimensional shifting, but in more of a metaphysically vertical sense instead of a horizontal one." Jupiter shrugged. "Well, that one went screaming over my head," she said with a silent sigh. She glanced over at Mercury and frowned lightly. "Hey, Mercury, you alright?" "Leave me alone," Mercury replied quietly, staring glumly down at the display on her computer. "Any readings on Serena?" Artemis asked from Venus' lap. "No," Mercury replied flatly. "The energy field doesn't even register on my sensors, so I can't even determine if she's even breathing or not." "She is," Whisper assured her. "I've been watching her the entire time. It takes a few minutes for it to happen, but I can see her chest rising and falling at a steady pace. Slowly, of course, but she's still holding up." Jupiter sighed and leaned back against the wall. "So tell us again how you're able to control Time like that?" she inquired in an idle tone. "That will take days," Neptune interjected quickly before Susan could even draw a breath to reply. "I think I understand the general concept of how Time flows and how it can be controlled if you know what you're doing, but some of it is still beyond my grasp even after all these years." "I'm curious, Captain," Maq'i said in a thoughtful tone. "I can't recall a single instance of a denizen being able to control the flow of Time in any fashion. Do you happen to know of any?" Whisper blinked at the question. "Well, let me think," she said slowly. "Jedyt did once," Mercury spoke up quietly. "This was before we met Rei, so none of the others would remember this, but he tried to trap me and Sailor Moon in a time-space bubble where the laws of physics were a little...." "Twisted?" Venus suggested. "Like a pretzel," Mercury grumbled. "Try asynchronous. I was starting to get arthritis, Sailor Moon's hair was slowly turning gray, and we were both scared we were going to start suffering from menopause before we managed to get out of that place." "Oh, I remember that one!" Luna said. "If memory serves, he was relying on a device to warp Time instead of using his denizen powers, though." "A change in physics shouldn't equate to a change in Time," Susan pointed out. "While the two are intertwined, they usually aren't affected in the same way if one should happen to be altered somehow." "Usually means sometimes it happens," Venus countered with a shrug. "True," Susan conceded with a slight tilt of her head. She sighed softly and leaned back in the armchair, closing her eyes as a visible wave of weary exhaustion briefly crossed her features. "Hey, you alright?" Jupiter blinked, giving Susan a concerned look. "Stress from maintaining the temporal field, nothing more," Susan replied demurely. "I assure you that I can keep the princess in stasis for another few hours, so you need not be overly concerned for my well-being at the moment." Mercury made a nearly silent grunting sound as she switched scanning modes on her computer and aimed the sensor suite in Susan's direction. "You need to eat something," she said a few seconds later. "Your blood sugar levels are dangerously low at the moment." "I can handle that," Jupiter said quickly as she headed into the kitchen. "The water should be finished boiling anyway. Anyone want something like hot tea or ma'cha?" she asked over her shoulder. "Ma'cha, if you please," Maq'i replied graciously. "Hot chocolate," Venus said with a faintly ravenous smile. "What kind of teas do you have?" Lisa inquired. Jupiter paused for a moment to think. "What kind do you want?" she said with a helpless shrug. "We must have four different kinds of grab-bag bulk tea bags that someone picked up at a discount wholesale market or something, and that doesn't even take into account Rei's herbal collection. Just name what you want and I can probably find it for you." "Cherry apple tea?" the purple-haired succubus asked in a hopeful tone. Jupiter chuckled quietly with amusement. "And here I was trying to brace myself for something hard," she replied. "Sure, just give me a few minutes. Who else wants what?" "Lady Grey, if you please," Susan said. "Ma'cha will suffice," Whisper added. "Same," Mercury replied distantly, still focused on her computer. "With a cinnamon stick, right?" Jupiter prodded her gently. She only got silence in response and shook her head. "You really need to quit spacing out like that," she muttered as the blue-haired girl gave no indication of having heard her, focused instead on a sensor reading of apparent interest. Neptune gave the brunette a small smile as she followed her towards the kitchen. "Cherry apple sounds interesting for a tea blend," she said quietly. "You mind making a cup for me as well?" "Not at all," Jupiter replied as she opened the spice cabinet and started sifting through the various boxes and containers. "Okay, raw ma'cha for the denizens and Mercury.... hmm, running low, have to add that to the shopping list.... Cinnamon stick, don't see how she can stand to have it that strong, but ma'cha begs for flavor to begin with, so anyway...." Neptune blinked as the kettle on the stove started whistling quietly as the steam started to escape at a rapid velocity. She cast a quick glance at Jupiter before she turned off the heat and carefully picked up the kettle. "Oh, good, plenty of both Earl Grey and Lady Grey tea bags," Jupiter said to herself as she set a small box down on the counter. "This should keep her happy for a few days. Let's see, what else.... Hmm, apple, that might be a bit hard to.... oh, here's some. Cool. And I know Rei has cherry around here somewhere...." "Leda?" Neptune said quietly, a note of nervous tension creeping into her soft voice. "Hmm, this might be black cherry...." Jupiter said absently as she took a tentative sniff of the jar's contents. "What's up?" "Do you really think they're alright?" Neptune asked. "Susan seems pretty upset that they stayed behind, but no-one else seems to be overly bothered by it. Except for Ami, but I know she's worried about Tolaris." Jupiter sighed quietly and picked up another jar with a 'cherry' label on it. "It's called trust, girl, a concept that I'm not entirely sure Susan is able to fully grasp. Darian knows what the hell he's doing, and I have faith that both Mars and Uranus do as well. He knew the dangers and stayed behind for a reason, and while I don't believe it was solely to retrieve the Imperium Silver Crystal, I still trust the guy. It's like what Mercury told Tolaris, we'll give 'em time to do what they need to do, but we're going to go back to check if we don't hear from 'em by a certain time." Neptune said nothing as she watched the brunette set out several mugs and began to fill small porous envelopes with various tea blends. "Are we going to go back in there, then?" she finally asked after about a minute of silence. "If we have to," Jupiter replied calmly. "Me, I'm inclined to give them an hour or two to take care of business and get back here. Remember, it took us almost two hours to get Serena back, so I figure we'll give them that long before we get real antsy. So if we don't hear from them by.... say, noon, we try to go back in there and see what's happening. Keep in mind we still have to try to take care of Serena first." "I'm worried about her," Neptune said with a very soft whimper. "Bah," Jupiter grunted. "Look, Serena is a tough girl. She was handing out butt-kickings to the Negaverse like it was going out of style all by her lonesome awhile ago, back before the rest of us knew we were Sailor Scouts. I don't know what to make of this denizen blood problem of hers, but that doesn't change who she is, and it certainly doesn't change any of our feelings for her. Like I said earlier about trust and faith, we have faith in Serena's ability to deal with this crisis, and we're here to lend her a hand if she needs it. You can pour the water now," she added. Neptune blinked and looked down at the kettle she was absently holding, a faint blush spreading across her face. "Oh! Sorry," she blurted out as she started to fill the mugs with steaming-hot water. Jupiter chuckled and gently patted her on the shoulder. "Take it easy, I know you're also worried about Alex. Just have a little faith in her as well, okay?" "I do," Neptune replied quietly. "I'm still worried, however." "I know," Jupiter sighed. "Still, not much we can do at the moment, so excessive worrying is only going to give us all upset stomachs. Speaking of which, maybe I should whip up a quick snack for Susan.... Hmm, what goes well with tea?" "Fruit?" Neptune suggested. "Mmm, there's a thought," Jupiter purred quietly as she went over to the refrigerator and opened the door. "Fruit, fruit.... how about fruit preserves on toast? Loaded with sugar, not too hard on the body...." "That should work," Neptune replied as she finished filling the last mug. She paused for a moment and counted the mugs, a light frown crossing her face as she came up one short. "Umm.... are we missing someone for the tea?" she asked hesitantly. "Nope," the brunette replied as she stuck her head inside the fridge and began searching for something. "Three cups of ma'cha, including Mercury's stick of cinnamon, two cups of cherry apple tea, and one cup of Lady Grey." "What about Mina?" Neptune said after a moment of sifting her memories. "D'oh," Jupiter grunted quietly. "Forgot about the hot chocolate. There should be some instant-mix packets up in the cabinet, assuming she didn't use them all up and didn't tell anyone. Aha, here we go. Grape, strawberry, and le'un preserves. Those berries have a serious kick to them," she added as she stood up with the jars of fruit preserves in her hands. "Should go well with those English muffins we have in the freezer. Take a bit to thaw and toast, but the tea should keep 'em occupied until they're ready." "Le'un?" Neptune echoed with uncertainty. "Good berries," Jupiter replied casually as she opened the freezer to retrieve two packages of English muffins. "Potent bastards when you let them ferment, however. Maze gave me a slug of the stuff awhile ago. Almost peeled off the lining of my stomach, but it was well worth it." "Ewww...." Neptune shivered. "C'mon," Jupiter said as she set the mugs on a tray. "Let's get everyone their tea before it gets cold. Don't look at me like that, girl, I'm just as upset about things as you are, but we can't let it get to us. We just have to hold on tight and trust the others to handle business." "I hope so...." Neptune whimpered quietly. * * * * "Listen carefully," Tuxedo Mask said very quietly as he held his hand over Sailor Uranus's mouth. "There are two Keepers up ahead, door guards for the tunnel to the NegaForce. I can probably get us past them as long as everyone plays it cool. No talking trash, no waving the saber around, and no yelling. If things end up going downhill and we start getting shot at, that's another issue entirely, but don't give them a reason to get excited, okay?" "I get the picture," Uranus grumbled quietly as she gently pushed his hand away from her mouth. "So before we go sneaking in there, you want to tell us what your plan is so we can try to keep up with you?" "I'm here to see the NegaForce," he said quietly, casting a glance over at Sailor Mars. "You two are my escorts, and I won't take 'no' for an answer if they balk at me having company along. A few people here know that I'm supposed to be their Crown Prince, so I want to see just how far I can push it." "Just as long as it doesn't come back to bite us on the butt, D," Uranus sighed as she replaced her saber in the dimensional sheath on her back. Mars watched with remote interest as the hilt seemed to fade from view the instant it left Uranus' hand. "Everyone ready?" Tuxedo Mask asked as he put his hand on the mechanism that would open up the secret passage into the main corridor. Mars said nothing for a moment, absently rubbing her thumb along the odd metal band of the Ring of Fire. Even through her gloves, she could feel a sort of lingering heat in the ring, as if it was still cooling from being forged by whatever powers had created it. "Let's go," she finally said very quietly. "Right behind you, D," Uranus added. He nodded and released the metal catch, causing the door to edge back and slide to one side. He carefully poked his head into the corridor to see if anyone was around before stepping into it, motioning for the girls to follow him. He stepped to one side and waited for them to exit before he ran his hand along the pair of lit sconces framing the hidden archway. He found the small protrusion at the base of one of them and pressed his thumb against it, causing the wall to silently reseal itself behind him. "That's still bothersome," Uranus muttered, casting a sidelong glance at the now-hidden passageway. "Let's go," Mars said quietly again, warily looking around the corridor. "That way," Tuxedo Mask said as he pointed towards a sharp curve at the end of the corridor. "They'll see us the moment we make that turn, and it's a good hundred yards to the access doors." "Wonderful," Uranus grumbled as she started following him, keeping a very wary eye behind her the entire time. "Nothing like being out in the open to make your day. Can we say sitting duck?" "Sailor Uranus?" Tuxedo Mask sighed softly. "Just walk in silence." Uranus raised an eyebrow at him before glancing over at Mars, blinking at the somewhat irritated and hostile look she received. "Fine, be that way," she muttered to herself. They reached the curve after a few moments and he stepped into the hallway without hesitation, continuing to walk along as if he owned the place. Mars followed him after only a slight pause and took up position behind his left elbow. Uranus sighed and shook her head to herself before following suit and falling into step behind his right elbow. "Oh, crap," Uranus whispered quietly as the two door guards became quite tense at their approach. They both seemed to be elderly women, each holding a rather large staff with a decidedly wicked-looking curved blade at the end. Mars grunted very softly in reply, knowing that the glaives were not just for decoration and that they were just as lethal in the hands of the guards as they might have been in the hands of someone much younger-looking. "Halt!" one of the Keepers called out in a decidedly ancient dialect of the denizen language, holding her weapon at the ready. Tuxedo Mask stopped well out of the polearm's reach and removed the white demi-mask that was hiding his face. "Stand aside, Keeper," he said in a quiet but level tone using the modern version of the dialect. "You know who I am, and you know why I am here." "Prince Darian," the other Keeper replied with a slight bow of her head, her watchful eyes never leaving the group for an instant. "We were told to expect you and to grant you entry. Your.... escorts, however, are not allowed to pass," she said, almost spitting out the word 'escorts'. Tuxedo Mask snorted quietly in contempt. "You expect me to go unarmed or without protection, then?" he challenged calmly. "Last time that happened, I was held captive and brainwashed by your kind. They will come with me, Keeper, and I will see that they do no harm except in my defense." Uranus growled very quietly to herself in frustration, not able to make any sense of the words being used. "What's he saying?" she whispered to Mars, scowling as she only got an irritated flick of a hand in response. "Our instructions are absolute," the first Keeper replied as she narrowed her eyes and readjusted her grip on her glaive. "You may pass, they may not." "You dare defy your Crown Prince?" Tuxedo Mask said flatly. "We obey the NegaForce, not the throne," the first Keeper replied with a scowl. "Nor do we answer to fledglings who cling to the ankles of Queens." "Sounds like someone is getting pissed," Uranus muttered to herself as she kept her eyes on the bladed ends of the polearms. "That looks like it'd make a nice birthday present for Susan. If she ever told us just when it was," she added, drawing another irritated glance from Mars. Tuxedo Mask removed his silk tophat and concentrated, causing the sigil of the NegaForce to appear on his forehead. "Does this look like the mark of one who needs a Queen?" he said in an edged tone. The Keepers blinked hard and briefly exchanged glances, not entirely sure what to make of this new development. They blinked again as the massive stone doors opened up behind them, allowing a figure to exit the ancient tunnels. "Well, this is a surprise," Al'vexi said calmly as she recognized Tuxedo Mask. "I wasn't sure if our paths would ever cross again. Well met, Prince Darian." Tuxedo Mask blinked hard as the memories suddenly rushed back to him, a deep pit of ice forming in his guts. "You...." he said quietly, too stunned to say or think of much else. Al'vexi paused and gave him a measured look. "You remember me?" she said with a slightly puzzled look. "That's another surprise. I expected the mind block to fragment eventually, but surely not this soon...." Tuxedo Mask's mouth set into a thin line as he put his hat and demi-mask back on. "Let's just say someone had the questionable kindness to unlock that particular gate for me," he said in a low tone. "Unlock it?" Al'vexi echoed, blinking hard. "But who...? Oh, nevermind, I think I know who did it," she sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Darian, who is this woman?" Uranus grumbled. "General Al'vexi, formerly of the Psi-Corp," Tuxedo Mask said flatly. "Retired general," Al'vexi corrected him. "I've had my fill of life in the military, so I decided to retire while I was still alive." Uranus and Mars exchanged suddenly wary glances. "Psi-Corp, huh?" Uranus said in an edged tone. "Sounds to me like you were involved with erasing his memories or something unsavory like that...." The corners of Al'vexi's mouth curled up in a faint smile. "Something like that," she replied lightly. "I erected most of the memory blocks myself, so I guess you can say I got to give Darian a new perspective on life." "I said no fighting," Tuxedo Mask said sharply as he reached out, grabbing the blonde's wrist just as she was starting to reach for her saber. He stared at her until she blinked and looked away with a sigh, tugging her wrist free from his grasp and keeping it at her side. "Something to be said for good training," Al'vexi observed casually. "So tell me, your Highness, what brings you down here?" "You know why I'm here," Tuxedo Mask replied. "I can think of two reasons," the telepath said. "I just can't decide which reason it is. I know they're here to get their precious Imperium Silver Crystal back," she said with a gesture of her chin to the two Sailor Scouts. "But as for you.... I'm not so sure." "Something to think about before you go to bed each night," Tuxedo Mask replied with a faint note of contempt. "Again, you know why I'm here, and I'm taking them with me when I go to see the NegaForce. Now stand aside." Al'vexi raised an eyebrow at his tone. "Or what, child, will you try to hurt me? Turn your little Sailor Scouts loose to attack me?" Tuxedo Mask snorted quietly. "I'm no fool, General, I know what you can do with your powers of the mind." "I'm starting to dislike this situation," Uranus complained quietly. "D, I thought you said you could get us past this crap...." Tuxedo Mask turned around and shot a dark glare at her. "So you want me to open up a portal so you can go home?" he said, causing both Sailor Scouts to blink hard at the sudden shift in his mood. The sigil on his forehead started to glow brighter, becoming faintly visible around the edges of his demi-mask. "I see someone is in an imperial mood," Al'vexi said with amusement. a voice boomed in their minds without warning. "It seems I am not the only one irritated at the delay," Tuxedo Mask said calmly. He watched as the Keepers exchanged deeply worried glances before they slowly relaxed their stances and moved to stand on either side of the still- open tunnel doors. "I do not fault you for your adherence to duty, Keepers," he said to them as he started walking towards the doors. "But perhaps you should take heed when one ordained by the NegaForce speaks." Mars and Uranus glanced at once another before warily following him past the elderly Keepers and a slightly nonplussed General Al'vexi. "It is just me, or does he sound like he just lost a screw?" Uranus whispered to Mars. Mars shook her head slowly in response and continued to walk, still keeping a close eye on the denizens. "Prince Darian," Al'vexi called out. "Leave us alone, General," Tuxedo Mask said testily. "I have business to attend to. Good day," he added as he continued to walk down the ancient stone passageway without looking over his shoulder. "Nice can-opener," Uranus commented to one of the Keepers as she passed, still somewhat impressed with the design of the glaive. She ignored the openly poisonous look she got in response as she followed Tuxedo Mask down the hall. She cast a glance over her shoulder as the doors started to close, framing a visibly disturbed General Al'vexi in the archway. The doors closed a moment later, cutting them off from the rest of the Imperial Castle. "How far is it to the NegaForce?" Sailor Mars said quietly as she looked around. She spotted an unused torch hanging in a sconce and picked it up, focusing her mind and powers together until it ignited with a soft whoosh. "Good idea, babe," Uranus said as she cast about for another torch. She frowned as she didn't see any and sighed quietly. "Typical," she muttered. "Almost a mile," Tuxedo Mask said absently. "There's a fairly shallow downslope ahead, but it persists until we're almost at the chamber itself, so watch your step." "Darian, you okay?" Uranus asked gently. "You seem a little snippy all of a sudden, and that's really not like you. Tuxedo Mask snorted very quietly in contempt. "Ask me again later," he replied quietly. "I've got a lot on my mind now for some reason." "Anything you want to share?" Uranus persisted. "No," he said succinctly, causing the blonde to frown. He then began to walk at a slightly faster pace, putting a bit of distance between him and the two Sailor Scouts. Uranus sighed softly and glanced over at Mars, her frown deepening as she saw a look of uneasy concern etched on the priestess' face. "Something also on your mind, hon?" she asked very quietly. "It can wait," Mars replied softly with a subtle shake of her head. "For now, we have to keep focused on getting the Crystal back. We can worry about Darian once this is all over." Uranus grumbled quietly as Mars increased her pace and brushed past her. "Yeah, something is definitely wrong with this," she muttered as she began to walk at a faster pace to catch up with the others. * * * * "So who's the architect?" Uranus inquired absently as Mars held the torch up higher, casting shadows all around them and illuminating the massive stone doors that stood between them and the Chamber of the NegaForce. Tuxedo Mask paused and cast a sidelong glance over his shoulder. "You're starting to put Mina to shame when it comes to babbling on just for the sake of hearing your own voice, and that's saying a lot," he said in an edged tone. Uranus blinked and frowned at him. "So what's that supposed to mean?" Mars sighed and held the torch over her wrist as she looked down at it, acting as if she was checking a wristwatch. "Yeah, I think it's about time you shut the hell up," she said calmly, glancing up to glare at the blonde. Uranus scowled and crossed her arms, the corner of her mouth starting to twitch spasmodically. "Fine, then let's just get this over with," she growled quietly. "So how do you open the door?" Tuxedo Mask said nothing and merely took a step back, watching as the stone doors swung open of their own accord. He waited until they had fully opened before he stepped into the small chamber, glancing around before looking towards the small pedestal. "Wait...." Uranus said slowly as she saw two glittering gemstones seeming to hover in mid-air. A very faint glow surrounded the Imperium Silver Crystal as it floated a mere inch above the stone surface, while an almost blinding aura of gold surrounded the gemstone hovering much higher above the pedestal. "That's the NegaForce?" the walls seemed to say, sounding more like a deep rumbling echo than an actual voice. "They're identical," Mars whispered in shock, her gaze captivated by the stark similarities between the Imperium Silver Crystal and the NegaForce. "Not quite," Tuxedo Mask said as he removed his hat and demi-mask once again. His tuxedo started to shimmer before it seemed to melt and resolidify into the suit of dark-colored armor he had worn so long ago when he had last visited the Moon Kingdom. "They are both the ultimate powers of their worlds, but the NegaForce is not the same as the Crystal." Both Mars and Uranus blinked at his sudden transformation. "Darian, are you sure you're alright?" Uranus prodded him gently. "Quiet," Prince Darian replied in a soft but commanding tone. "I don't suppose you will just let me take the Crystal and leave?" he called out. the NegaForce replied. "Leave.... him.... alone...." the voice of Queen Serenity said in a very soft whisper. Her image took form a moment later, seeming to be little more than a transparent ghost of her former self. Her face was contorted by the effort it took to project her spirit, the strain of some unknown power quite clearly evident on her usually smooth-lined face. "Your Majesty!" Uranus blurted out as she darted over to her. She tried to brace Serenity's arm and almost fell on her face as her hands passed right through the almost invisible spirit. The floor shook gently as the NegaForce sighed. it inquired. "Then try to crush us," Serenity whispered, managing to somehow summon the strength to stand up. "You can't, can you? For all your boasting, you are still unable to defeat us. We are in a stalemate and you know it." "Your Majesty, please take it easy," Uranus urged her gently, completely dismayed at how ill the queen looked. Mars took a step forward, edging herself between Darian and the glowing sphere of the NegaForce. "What do you want from us?" she asked quietly. "Why do you keep attacking us? We have done nothing to you." it explained calmly. "How about we strike you a deal?" Uranus said over her shoulder, giving the golden gemstone a flat look. "You stay on your side of the universe, and we stay on our side. You know, like it used to be before you invaded?" the voice boomed from the walls. "You claim to be able to see into our souls," Darian said. "Why don't you look into them now and see how much of a threat we truly pose to you?" the NegaForce replied with a faint note of amusement. Mars blinked hard as the words registered on her mind, her eyes doubling in diameter and her complexion going pale. She glanced over at Darian just as he cast a moderate look over his shoulder. Their eyes met for what seemed to be a minor eternity before she looked away, her lungs suddenly burning as she realized that she had been holding her breath. the voice of the NegaForce continued. "Back off, firefly, and leave her alone," Uranus growled. The floor seemed to shake gently as a soft laughter filled the air. "Enough of this...." Queen Serenity whispered as Uranus became as white as a sheet. "You know our desires, all of them, and do you see any desire for your destruction among them? No! You KNOW we only desire to live in peace, that we would never invade your world or anyone else's. Even now, after all you and your kind have done to us, we do not seek your destruction. We only wish to be left alone, without intrusion by other worlds!" the NegaForce said simply. "Then why?" Mars whispered. "Then why do you continue this?" "So it's us or you, eh?" Uranus snarled, her hands curling into fists. the NegaForce replied. "Let me guess," Darian said bitterly. "That's where Serena and I come into the picture, right?" "What?" the spectral image of Queen Serenity frowned. "What deal?" "I've been asking that question for awhile now, your Majesty," Uranus muttered quietly to her monarch. "Thing is, Darian won't talk about it." "Sailor Uranus," Darian said quietly. "Give me your saber." Uranus hesitated briefly before reaching up to her shoulder, withdrawing the jeweled weapon from the dimensional sheath. She gently flipped it up into the air and caught it by the blade, offering the hilt to him. "Careful, D, it has a wicked edge to it," she warned. "Yes, I know," he replied. "In fact, I'm counting on it." "Wait, what are you doing?" Mars blurted out. Darian looked down at the saber for a moment before he looked up at the glowing sphere that was the embodiment of the NegaForce. "I'm putting an end to this," he replied flatly. "I'm taking the Imperium Silver Crystal with me and I'm heading back to Earth. In exchange for leaving us alone, I will give you what you want in due time." the NegaForce inquired mildly. "Queen Beryl is dead," Darian spat. "Your bloodline is gone, and the essence of Chaos in my soul is the only hope you have to avoid oblivion. If I die before I have a child, you die with me, and at this point I don't see how that would be a bad thing." "Darian...." Uranus said in a warning tone. "So here's the deal," Darian continued as he raised the Soul Saber and held the edge against the base of his throat. "Let us go back to Earth, with the Imperium Silver Crystal and the understanding that we are to be left in peace, or I put an end to things here and now." "Darian, no!" Mars screamed, her eyes wide. "HEY!" Uranus gasped, equally as horrified. The NegaForce was silent for several seconds. it finally said, the walls barely rumbling from the subdued tone. "You claim to be able to see into our souls," Darian said flatly. "Look into mine and tell me again that I'm not ready to slit my own throat to put an end to this. It might end up destroying our world, but I'm taking you and the Negaverse with me. Look into my soul!" he demanded. "Tell me what I have to lose at this point! TELL ME!" The chamber became deathly quiet for several long seconds as both the NegaForce and the other Sailor Scouts tried to take stock of things. The image of Queen Serenity was crying silently, ghostly tears flowing down her spectral cheeks to splash into nothingness as they hit the floor. the NegaForce said in a very quiet tone. Darian nodded slowly as he let his arm fall to his side. "You know I will one day return here to deliver your princess," he said softly. "But it will be on my terms and on my schedule. Earth is off-limits to you from now on. Maybe one day there will be a unification between us.... but not today. Leave Serena and her friends alone, understand?" The soft laughter returned, tainted with an audible degree of bitterness. Darian snorted in contempt as he held out the saber to Uranus. "Believe me, nothing would please me more than to be replaced by someone else. I grow weary of this burden already." the deep voice rumbled with open disdain. Uranus cast a concerned glance at Darian as she accepted the saber. "You want to grab the Crystal, hon?" she said quietly to Mars. "You're closer than I am, and I'd rather not be anywhere near that.... thing." Mars stared at the glowing gemstones for a moment before she very slowly moved forward and picked up the faintly glowing crystal. She looked at it in her hand for a moment before glancing over at the golden NegaForce, still very deeply disturbed by the similarities. "Let's go," Darian said quietly as he pulled the Silkworm crystal out of his pocket. A swirling blue portal opened up behind him a few seconds later, offering a means of escape from the small stone chamber. "Prince Darian...." the ghostly image of Queen Serenity said softly. "We can talk later, your Majesty," Darian said quietly as he gestured for Uranus to enter the portal. He watched as Uranus cast a saddened look at the spectral queen before walking through the swirling maelstrom, quickly followed by Sailor Mars. The ghostly image abruptly vanished as the Crystal was carried through the dimensional vortex and back over to Earth. the voice rumbled quietly as Darian started to step through the portal. Darian remained silent as he entered the portal without looking back, knowing that the image of the golden gemstone would forever be seared into his memory as its power was forever seared into his tortured soul. * * * * "Where exactly do these berries come from?" Susan inquired as she finished her fourth le'un-covered English muffin, idly wiping her fingertips on the napkin in her lap. "They have a decidedly pleasing flavor." "The Western Forests," Whisper replied as she nibbled on her own English muffin. "They're easily grown throughout the entire Negaverse, but the best berries are still grown in various patches in the Western Forests." "Weren't we just there?" Neptune asked carefully. "At the very edge, yes," Whisper answered. "Right on the border with the Central Plains. The forests get thicker as you go west, and the soil is of a much higher quality there than anywhere else on the planet." Jupiter chuckled quietly. "Hey, if we ever go berry-picking, we'll make sure to pick up a crate or two for you." "Oooh, that reminds me!" Venus blurted out, sitting up straight in her chair and almost dumping Artemis out of her lap. "There's a couple of orchards not prohibitively far from here that should be opening up to the public in a few weeks. Anyone think they'd be interested in going fruit-picking?" Jupiter snorted quietly and took a sip of her blackberry tea. "Ask us in a few weeks," she grumbled. "We're still not sure about the rest of today." "Hey, I'm just planning for the future, that's all," Venus shrugged. Everyone blinked as a swirling blue portal suddenly opened up in the far corner of the living room, accompanied by a warning klaxon and an announcement from the cathedral's computer. "About time!" Jupiter blurted out as she came off the wall, almost spilling her mug of tea over Lisa's wings. "Hey!" Lisa protested as she was almost bowled over by Neptune. "You're alright!" Neptune gasped as she darted forward to embrace Uranus as the blonde stepped out of the portal. "Where's everyone else? What about the Crystal?" she demanded breathlessly. "Easy, love," Uranus sighed as she kissed her cheek and stepped aside. "They're right behind me. See?" she added as Mars stepped through the wormhole with the Imperium Silver Crystal in her hand. "Hey, what the hell is that?" Uranus asked as she frowned and gestured to the utterly dark shell surrounding the couch. "I put the Princess in temporal stasis," Susan explained quickly as she rose to her feet. "Mars, is everything alright?" "I don't know," Mars sighed quietly. "We got the Crystal back, and Darian should be right behind me...." she trailed off, casting a very intense look at the blue wormhole. "I'm here," Darian said softly as he stepped through the wormhole. The swirling vortex promptly collapsed behind him, leaving no trace of having ever existed in the first place. "Darian, you're bleeding!" Mercury said sharply as she spotted the small rivulet of blood oozing across his throat. "What happened?" "Hmm?" Darian said, blinking in surprise. He touched his fingertips to his throat and looked down, sighing very softly to himself as he saw the dark crimson stains. "I guess it was sharper than I had thought," he muttered. "Dammit, D!" Uranus fumed. "Don't you *EVER* do that again, you hear? I told you the blade was sharp. And what the hell were you THINKING? Rei and I almost wet ourselves back there!" Darian said nothing as he concentrated, reversing the energies shrouding his body and causing his dark armor to dissolve. The sparkles drained away from him, disappearing into the nothingness that they had been summoned from when he had transformed into Tuxedo Mask. "Later," he said simply, causing the blonde's nose to wrinkle with barely repressed outrage and anger. "Has anything been done about Serena yet?" "She's in stasis for the moment," Mercury said as she grabbed a napkin and tried to wipe the blood off his throat. She blinked as he leaned away from her touch, a slight frown forming on his lips. "Hold still," she demanded as she tried cleaning the blood again. "Leave him alone," Mars said quietly as she continued to stare at the small gemstone she held in her hand. Her suit began to glow softly before it started to melt, slowly sliding off her body in translucent droplets that ran down her arms and across her chest. The glow brightened for an instant before it faded away entirely as her transformation reversed itself, leaving behind her ever-present red skirt and robes from the temple. "Hey, you okay?" Jupiter blinked, noticing the deeply bothered look on Rei's face. "You guys aren't hurt or anything, are you? Aside from that nick on Darian's throat, at least. What'd you do, anyway, stop to shave?" "I got what we came to get," Darian replied tersely. "Just leave it at that for the present. Should I ask what that is?" he added with a gesture to the dark dome still encasing the couch. "A temporal stasis field," Susan replied. "The Princess is still in need of medical care, and we aren't able to provide it right now. However, now that you have all returned, I can take us to a time and place where we stand a good chance of being able to help her." "Hey, hey, hey, stop that!" Uranus suddenly blurted out as her Sailor Suit started to glow and melt, slowly dissolving in an identical fashion as Sailor Mars' suit had done earlier. "Chancellor!" "Uh-oh," Jupiter muttered as her suit started to glow as well. "Someone help me out here, I don't like this...." Susan cast a sharp look at the gemstone in Rei's hands, scowling as she saw a faint red glow in the very depths of the Crystal. "Andromeda...." she muttered with resignation. "Damn you, why now?" Several dull flashes of light lit the room as the Sailor Scouts were all drained of the energies needed to maintain their transformations, essentially forcing them out of their empowered states. "Oh, gross...." Mina shivered as the last vestiges of her suit turned completely liquid and ran down her legs before evaporating completely. Both Whisper and Maq'i blinked in confusion, watching the process with uneasy expressions. "What just happened?" Whisper asked carefully once she was sure that there was no imminent danger. "A very long story," Susan sighed quietly. "Suffice it to say that the Imperium Silver Crystal is apparently able to act of its own volition at the present, and that is not a welcome development. This will persist until we find a way to restore Serena to consciousness, and soon." Maq'i shook her head slowly. "Only time can heal such wounds, and even then it is not a given. In the meantime, we need to find a device capable of independently maintaining her heart rhythm and monitoring her condition." "Wait," Alex interrupted. "What's wrong with her heart?" "With her heart itself, nothing," the ancient Healer replied. "She is, with the exception of the Chaos Factor still trying to awaken, physically in quite excellent health. Her mind, however, has been traumatized to the point of catatonia and is simply not connecting to the rest of her body well enough to maintain her autonomous functions." Alex, Rei, and Darian all blinked hard in unison before turning to cast identical looks of concern over to the black shell of energy surrounding the couch. They were able to see past the veil of darkness to make out Serena's outline, lying on the couch and seeming to be frozen in time. "Whisper...." Rei said quietly. "I tried," the telepath replied calmly. "Rune faked a quite vivid scene where Darian was executed in front of her, and that caused her mind to do the equivalent of curling up in a ball and walling off the rest of reality. The physical structure of her mind is quite intact, including her memories. I've placed a veil of sorts over her memory of the incident in question, trying to make it seem like a hazy dream, but I can't seal it off. The emotions around it are simply too strong to permit a block, and that is.... Well, let's just say it's only the second time I've run across memories that were protected by emotions to such a degree," she added quietly, giving Darian a neutral look. "Why do I feel a sudden chill?" Leda muttered as she noticed the look on Darian's face. "Humor me for a moment," Darian said to Whisper, his voice devoid of any hint of emotion. "Exactly which memories of mine were you and Al'vexi unable to seal off back then?" "The memories of how much Serena's love meant to you," Whisper replied in a very quiet tone. "That's what broke through the persona we had constructed for you, the one that put you under Beryl's control." Mina just shook her head. "You people have to be kidding me," she said. "How many times does someone have to say this before it sinks in? Love knows no bounds, love conquers all, our love is stronger than Death...." "Our love?" Leda echoed with a faint note of confusion. "Whoops, that one was from Dracula," Mina replied with a faint blush. "She has a point, your Highness," Susan said gently. "Your love for the Princess and her love for you was able to transcend the boundaries of both Time and Death. It should come as no surprise that it was also able to pierce the veil of the senses and awaken you from an enforced mental slumber." "Umm...." Lisa said hesitantly, flexing her wings slowly. "I don't mean to sound clueless or anything, but I thought Death was somewhat final and all. How exactly can emotions overcome that?" "Resurrection and reincarnation," Susan replied calmly. "The power of the Imperium Silver Crystal is such as to allow both to occur." "Wow...." the younger succubus breathed, her eyes going wide. "No wonder the pantheon was in an uproar over its loss." "Guys?" Leda said archly. "Can we talk about this later? We have more important things to do, like figure out what to do about Serena. I'm starting to get a chill just from looking at her like that...." "Susan?" Michelle asked hesitantly. "You said you were going to take us somewhere once we were all here?" "Yes," Susan replied with a slightly weary sigh. "I am going to have to sequester the Princess outside the flow of the moment so to minimize the level of disruption to her life here on Earth. I will explain the mechanics of it later. I need all of you to gather around the couch as soon as I release the Princess from the stasis field," she said as she stood up straight, her staff materializing out of thin air to rest in her hand. "All of us?" Ami asked suddenly, drawing several surprised looks. "What's the problem, hon?" Alex asked in a slightly guarded tone. "What about Tolaris and the others?" Ami replied. "Someone should be here in case they happen to return, which can be at any moment. That, and leaving the reactor unattended might be a bad idea." There was a slight pause as glances were exchanged before Whisper sighed. "She has a point," she said. "I'll stay here, as I know the most about what to have the computer do in case of a reactor problem." "Hey, wait," Leda protested. "We need you to come with us to help Serena get her mind all sorted out, remember?" "I'm sorry, Leda, but there is nothing I can do," the telepath said with a sad shake of her head. "At the moment, she doesn't really have a mind to try to connect to. Once the core of her consciousness decides to come out of its shell, she should regain self-awareness in a matter of seconds. Regaining full consciousness should take a bit longer, of course, but there's not a whole lot I can do for her." "Understood," Susan replied quietly. "Luna, you and Artemis should stay here as well. You must trust me," she said, holding up a hand to forestall the protests visible on both cat's faces. "I have no idea how long we will remain sequestered outside the normal moment of Time, but I will bring them all back here to this era in a few hours by your perspectives." "Hey, speaking of cats...." Alex muttered as she gently flexed her arm. "Myst, honey, you can come out now. Oh, yeech," she added as the skin of her arm seemed to melt. "Is that normal?" Maq'i inquired carefully as she watched the Shinma ooze down the blonde's arm to puddle on the floor in a pinkish mass. She blinked as the puddle suddenly contracted and took on the shape of a gray Lunar kitten. "That depends," Alex grumbled. "The definition of 'normal' has gotten awfully warped around here in the past three days. It's expected by now, just put it like that. Feel better, hon?" she added as Myst yawned. "Somewhat," the kitten replied. "I think Myst should come along with us," Susan spoke up. "While I do not believe we will encounter any outside influences while in the Border Ethereal, I have never had a large group of people visiting my keep at a given time and would feel more at ease if I had someone else there who is as attuned to such ethereal energies as I am." "Now wait just a minute," Mina blurted out. "You don't want Artemis or Luna along, but you want to take the kitten?" "Yeah, what's up with that?" Leda added. Susan sighed and sat down in the armchair with a somewhat hard thump, a wave of weariness crossing her features. "I am merely concerned with how the passage of Time will affect them," she replied quietly. "I would just as soon not put them under any unnecessary temporal stress from being take outside of the moment, even for a few hours. You may think of it as being along the same lines of thought when we reactivated our transformations two days ago. I am not excluding them out of malice, but out of concern for their well-being." Artemis and Luna exchanged glances before sighing in unison. "It's okay," Artemis spoke up. "We understand. We don't like it, but we understand," he added with a lash of his tail. "What about me?" Lisa spoke up. "Can I come along, or would I just be in the way?" "You will not be in the way, but I don't think you should come along with us," Susan replied slowly. "In fact, I think it would be best if you were to return to the Underworld and report to Lord Hades. Make sure you tell him that we have both the Crystal and the Moon Princess back, but that I am going to take her outside the normal flow of Time until she can recover." "Whatever that means," Alex grumbled quietly, drawing sour nods from Leda and Mina. "Stop that," Rei suddenly said, still staring down at the Imperium Silver Crystal in her hands. The red glow surrounding it was starting to pulse like the beating of a heart, sending faint tingles through her fingertips. "Uh, is everything alright?" Mina asked carefully. "Damn you," Susan whispered quietly, drawing startled looks from the rest of the group. "Rei, listen to me.... The Crystal is attempting to exert its influence, independent of the will of the Royal House. You cannot control it, but as you are still a Sailor Scout it will listen to whatever you have to say. Try to pacify it if possible, as now is not the time for it to interfere." Rei blinked hard and glanced up at the succubus. "What?" "Try to reason with it," Susan urged her gently. "Open your mind, it can hear your thoughts if you concentrate when holding it. The rest of you gather around the couch, Time is suddenly in very short supply," she said as she very slowly stood up, her face marred by sudden lines of exhaustion. "I don't like this," Alex said quietly as she moved towards the dark dome of energy surrounding Serena. "I really don't like this." "You okay, Master Healer?" Leda asked Maq'i as the elderly woman made her way over to the couch. "I am," Maq'i replied. "Much like your winged friend, I too am more than a little exhausted by recent events. I am still able to tend to your princess, however, so don't become too concerned on that account." Everyone blinked as the black dome suddenly seemed to shrink in on itself like a collapsed bubble. Tiny ripples of energy continued to play along the unconscious blonde's body for several seconds before vanishing back into the red gemstone still nestled on her stomach. "Whoa," Mina breathed softly as an icy breeze swept past her. The shock left as soon as it had come, leaving them all feeling faintly chilled. "What was that?" "Temporal energy," Susan whispered as she slowly walked towards the couch, leaning heavily on her staff. "The flow of Time had to rebalance itself, much like the surface of a pond has to calm itself after being disturbed by a thrown rock. I'm fine," she added as she felt Ami's hand on her elbow. "Your energy reserves are almost non-existent," Ami protested as she held up her computer. "I don't have a choice," Susan replied quietly. "Serena must be kept in isolation until she has recovered. Everyone grab hold of my staff," she said as she held it out, resting the looped end on the edge of the couch. She then reached down to pick up Serena's hand, gently wrapping it around her staff. "Tell us again where we're going?" Alex said warily as she leaned forward to touch part of the staff. "Or better yet, when?" "Hey, watch the toes," Leda growled as Mina pressed against her in order to reach the staff. "The where is my keep in the Border Ethereal," Susan answered as she did her best to make room for Ami and Darian. "The when is roughly three hundred years in the past." "Wait, what?" Mina blurted out. "We're going to go back in time?" "Sorry about that," Rei apologized quietly as she shifted her weight and accidentally stepped on Darian's foot. She blinked as he sighed and wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her steady. "Just hold on," he said quietly, glancing down at the glowing red gem. "Yes, we are going to be moving through Time," Susan explained. "If you ask me about it later, I can try to explain the concepts to you." "You always say that, Sue," Alex muttered. "Except it rarely makes sense when you start babbling on about twelve ways to describe Time. What'll it be this time, the string or the river theory?" "C'mon, I'm getting a cramp from this," Leda growled as she tried to hold onto the staff while leaning over the couch at a dangerous angle. "Does everyone have a solid hold?" Susan called out. "I think so," Michelle replied, leaning over the couch in an awkward way to grasp the staff. "I can't keep this up for too much longer, though...." "Myst, get your tail over here," Alex said to the kitten. "Just hop up onto Ami's shoulder, she's short.... don't glare at me like that, hon, you know I'm not trying to be mean." "Here," Ami sighed as she bent down to grab the gray kitten by the scruff of her neck. She very quickly hauled her up and set her down on the bridge of hands holding the silvery staff. "There, now hold on," she added. Susan waited until Myst's tail had coiled around the staff before she took a deep breath and turned her focus inward, drawing together what little energy she had left. The staff began to hum sharply as it began to fold both space and Time around them, drawing them into a conduit with a bright flash of light. "Hey!" Lisa yelped as she was blinded by the temporal flash. She waited until she could see again before glancing around, blinking hard at the sight of the empty couch. "Huh. Well, I suppose they'll be okay now...." Whisper sighed and shook her head rapidly, her eyes wet with tears. "Is it just me, or was that flash far brighter than usual?" she inquired. "Bah," Artemis grumbled. "That was just from ten people doing it instead of just Susan. Is it cold in here, or is it just me?" he added with a shiver. "It's just you," Lisa said absently as she tugged on the front of her red leotard, studying the faint outlines of her nipples. "It's not that cold in here. At least it's not cold to me." Luna just sighed and looked up at the ceiling, wondering yet again why she had to put up with such things. "I hate this," she complained quietly. "First Serena is kidnapped, so we spend the night worrying about her. Then they all go running off into the Negaverse, so we worry about them. Now they're off to some other location, leaving us behind to do nothing but worry some more." "Don't start," Artemis muttered sourly, flicking his ears back. "Well...." Lisa said slowly. "I have to get back to the Underworld to tell Lord Hades about this, but I should be able to take you along for a short trip. Want to come with me?" The fur on Artemis' tail promptly puffed up with fright, making it seem like his tail was twice its usual size. "No, thank you," he managed to reply in a casual tone. "I'll skip the trip to Hell, if you don't mind, but thanks all the same for the thought." Lisa shrugged in dismissal. "Just thought I'd offer. Umm.... you said your name is Whisper, right?" she asked Whisper. "It is," the telepath replied. "Would you be interested in coming with me?" Lisa offered. "I'm fairly sure Lord Hades has never met a.... what's your species again? Sorry, I must have missed that one," she apologized. "Denizen, and I can't go anywhere as I'm here to watch the reactor and wait for the others to return," Whisper reminded her gently. "But as Artemis said, thank you for the offer." "Oh, whoops, that's right," Lisa blushed. "Sorry about that. Well, I'm not sure if I'll be back here on Earth anytime soon, but it's been nice meeting you three." "Believe me, it's been interesting meeting you as well," Whisper replied. "Hopefully you can return one of these days, as it seems there is a great deal we can learn from one another." Lisa smiled, her wings briefly fluttering with e