The shadows of the uppermost struts of Tokyo Tower pulsed and warped, absorbing one large blob of darkness and disgorging another.
Berthier arched her feline spine, stretching her claws as she fully emerged into the foul brightness of the human world.
Calaveras had warned them that Cooan had been sniffing around near the Mobius Driver. Lord Jadeite had left explicit instructions to contact him if the Senshi came within spitting distance of the concealed device.
Inwardly, she hoped the foolish traitor would return on her watch. She was aching to taste the black blood of her former broodsister.
She crouched low on an iron girder, fiery red eyes fixed on the concrete horizon.
Beside her, the device thrummed, the collected human life energy pulsing and strobing within its containment core.
*Let those fools come,* Berthier thought with a sly inward grin. *I'd love to see their faces when they discover Lord Jadeite's little surprise...*
Rei returned home from the park to find her grandfather speaking to a grim-faced, portly man in a brown suit with an outdated fedora. His face was square, his nose hooked; he had a small, stiff, stern mustache and sharp eyes. He had a notebook in hand, which he was consulting periodically. After a moment, the two men bowed to one another, and the large man turned to leave. He tipped his hat politely to Rei as he descended the steps, got into the car parked at the curb, and left.
Rei approached her grandfather cautiously. "Jijiue?" she prompted.
The elder priest smiled. "It's nothing important, Rei-chan," he insisted.
"That man..."
"A police inspector," her grandfather replied dismissively. "He was just delivering some news of no consequence."
"Jijiue...police inspectors rarely deliver news 'of no consequence'," Rei rebuked, arms folded.
The priest sighed. "No, I don't suppose they do. Or at least, not intentionally...ano yarou is dead. And good riddance."
Rei blinked. "Aritsuka?"
"Un. Like I said, good riddance."
"Sou ka." Rei paused, frowning. "How? Just out of curiosity."
"You know what sort of dogs he ran with," the old man shrugged. "He died exactly how I said he would." He smiled encouragingly. "Pay it no more heed, Rei-chan."
"Hai, Jijiue."
And, for the time being, she did exactly as told.
She had more pressing concerns. Any thoughts or feelings related to her father's death could wait until after she'd carried out her mission.
* * * * *
Cheap takeout food, Mamoru decided, had its good points, even when you were more than capable of affording finer fare on a daily basis.
He sat at the kitchen table in his apartment, eating a plain and somewhat greasy teriyaki burger and sipping a cola with too little ice. Spread out before him on his left was legitimate coursework; spread out on his right, leaflets about several gems which could potentially be the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou.
He sighed heavily as he swept a disparaging gaze across the latter. *No closer. Six months I've been at this, and I'm no damn closer. And now I'm not even the only one looking for the damn thing...what the hell have I gotten myself mixed up in?*
His eyelids were growing heavy; taking a last bite of his burger and draining the remainder of the cola in one gulp, he tossed everything left of his takeout dinner into the rubbish, swept the papers spread across the table into two piles, and lumbered off to the bedroom.
He knew the dreams were coming. Best to get them over with so he could actually rest...he had a busy night ahead.
* * * * *
When Makoto returned to her apartment, she noticed an unfamiliar car parked in the street. When she arrived at her floor, fumbling her keys out of her pocket, she saw Chiba Takeshi standing just outside her apartment door, several folded cardboard packing boxes leaning against the wall beside him. He nodded to her. "Kino-kun," he greeted.
"Chiba-sama? I wasn't expecting—"
The middle-aged man smiled. "Hanako and I discussed it after you left, and agreed that the best time to get you moved in would be this evening, because it's Sunday." He nodded to the packing boxes. "I doubt we can transfer all of your belongings in one evening, but we can definitely get the essentials in one trip."
Makoto blinked. "Eeh...hai." She flushed, and bowed. "I feel like I'm troubling you unexpectedly..."
"Nonsense," Takeshi chuckled. "Truthfully, my wife has taken an intense liking to you after only two meetings. Even though we're hiring you as a maid, I personally believe she misses having someone around to mother." He shrugged. "So if she takes on, please do not be embarrassed. In any event, by the time we pack your things and drive back, your room should already be set up."
Makoto's eyes widened. "That soon?"
"I have a friend who owns a furniture store and owed me a favour," the Chiba patriarch said nonchalantly. "It'll be a fairly basic setup, but it should suit your needs."
The tall girl bowed once more, struck speechless. Numbly, she moved to open the door, collecting a packing box as she opened the apartment.
* * * * *
"I'm sorry we monopolised your entire Sunday, Masato-kun," Kamekona Sato said to the young, exotic man as the two men plus Kamekona's wife exited an upscale French restaurant. It was quite late in the evening; the streets were emptying out as people wandered home to sleep off the weekend before returning to the drudge of work.
Sanjouin Masato shook his head, long oily curls flouncing about behind him. "Not at all, Shachou," he said smoothly. "I quite enjoy spending time with you. I am also pleased to see you are both in much improved spirits."
"Well, not having to worry about that cad from the gala anymore has taken a lot of strain off from both of us," Kamekona's wife said airily.
"Oh?" Masato raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps that is not something we should speak about," Kamekona hissed to his wife in a warning tone.
She blinked. "You're right, I..." She trailed off, then waved a hand dismissively. "It's Masato-kun, we can trust him."
"Mm."
The oily-haired playboy looked rather bemused. "Now I am quite curious," he said.
Kamekona coughed. "We were recently paid a visit by Sai—" he frowned. "She said she doesn't want to be called that, didn't she?"
"Hai. But then, she never did say what we should call her, did she?"
"Sailor Moon?" Masato asked, both eyebrows raised.
"That's what the news media calls her. She seems to REALLY hate that name." Kamekona's wife giggled girlishly.
Kamekona himself coughed quietly, then continued, "She had a rather...unusual story to tell. That thief is apparently looking for something specific. It seems he's targeting rare gemstones that fit a certain description, but if they aren't the one he's looking for, he puts them back where they belong and doesn't bother with them again."
"He never got his hands on the real Oasis Lament," his wife added, "but we showed it to that strange girl, and she said it isn't the one he's after. She said if he does try to steal it again, we should just let him take it, because he'll know it isn't the right one and give it right back."
"That sounds...dubious," Masato commented.
"I agree, but she seemed absolutely convinced, and she mentioned he'd gone after the Platina Selen also, and when one of the other Senshi stopped him from taking it, he didn't try again. He knew it wasn't the one he wanted."
"So after her little visit, we were a little unnerved," Mrs. Kamekona picked up, "but after we thought about it, we decided to take relief in what she said. Something about her...just felt genuine, honest."
"Hmm." Masato's head tilted down, brow knitted in thought. "Well, I certainly hope your intuition about her is correct, and that her assertions concerning the safety of your treasure are on the mark." He glanced at his watch. "I have truly enjoyed my time with you today, but I must take my leave now. Tomorrow looks to be rather busy."
"Of course. Goodnight, Masato-kun."
"And to you as well."
* * * * *
Makoto sat in the spacious furo with Chiba Hanako, relaxing and letting the hot, lightly sulfured water ebb the tension and stress from her body.
"Fairly basic" had turned out to be a room nearly as big as her apartment, with a Western double bed, a large teak wardrobe, a maple desk and chair, and her own private water closet, as well as an alcove with a mini-fridge, a cupboard, and space for a microwave and hot plate. She had been positively overwhelmed, to the delight of her new employers.
And now, she was enjoying the most heavenly bath she had had in years.
"It's more like an onsen than a furo," she commented.
Hanako laughed. "We have one of those gadgets that adds sulfur and minerals to the water as it heats," she said. "Usually only the big resorts have those, but..."
She didn't need to finish the thought; over the past few hours, Makoto had become quite accustomed to the bare fact that the Chiba family was ridiculously wealthy. She sighed contentedly again, slipping further down into the water.
*Damn, but I'm gonna love working here.*
* * * * *
One hour before midnight, Hino Rei met a small black cat in the shadows behind the bus stop nearest Hikawa. They nodded to one another; Rei silently transformed into Mars. Luna leapt up and perched lightly on her shoulder; suppressing a shudder, the Senshi of Fire beat her powerful raven wings and took to the sky, headed in the direction of the brightly glowing tower at the heart of the city.
"Exactly how are we to dispel whatever protections have been placed upon the hidden device?" Mars asked.
"It's your average glyph barrier," Luna replied. "You're a priestess, you know how to construct barriers. It shouldn't be too hard for you to figure out how to remove one."
"I am only familiar with Shinto wards and barriers," Mars pointed out.
"True, but it's the same basic principle. Besides, if all else fails, you can just pump fire into it until it runs out of power and collapses."
"Likely leaving me with very little stamina should the enemy appear to engage us," Mars pointed out, frowning.
Luna shrugged. "Incentive to figure out how to break it without brute force."
Three minutes later, they arrived at Tokyo Tower, and ascended to the roof level of the upper observation deck. Mars stopped, slow beats of her wings keeping the two of them aloft. Her eyes narrowed. "Yes, I sense the barrier. And the evil within."
"Berthier," Luna hissed, ears flat.
"Your fellow youma?" Mars asked.
Luna nodded grimly. "She will need to be dealt with once the barrier is down," she added. "It would be unwise to land on the Tower itself until Berthier is removed."
"And there is no guarantee she will not call for backup," Mars added. "But first, the barrier." She hovered closer, eyes closed, stretching her spiritual senses to their limits. "You were correct," she announced a moment later. "I can indeed sense the power that sustains this barrier, and..."
Mars clasped her hands together, index fingers extended, and began to chant. As she did so, kanji formed from flames emerged from her fingertips, circling her.
"Rin. Pyou. Tou. Sha. Kai. Jin. Retsu. Zai. Zen."
Her violet eyes snapped open, and the circle of kanji locked in place.
"AKURYOU TAISAN!!"
The flaming kanji rushed forward, slamming into several points along the framework of Tokyo Tower with an incongruous wood-striking-wood sound. The sigils flared, revealing several inky black glyphs; the runes warped, wavered, and burned to ash. The air shimmered, and with a loud, fizzling static sound, the barrier fell away—revealing a couple of things which most certainly did NOT belong on Tokyo Tower.
A black demon panther sat primly in front of what could only be described as a misshapen mess of rough, brown stones, cut into vaguely geometric shapes and pieced together like a demented pile of Tetris blocks. Thick ropes of black, tar-like slime connected the various stones, arcs of dark power crawling along them and into the structure. At the centre of the asymmetrical conglomeration was a rough cylinder formed from three hovering pieces of brown rock; the cylinder strobed and thrummed with bright, shimmering power.
"Welcome, Mars. Welcome, Cooan. Are you prepared to die?"
Wasting no words, Mars formed a longbow of flames, drawing back the crackling "string" as a blazing arrow formed. "FLAME SNIPER!" she shouted, launching the arrow. The youma dodged; the arrow scorched the tiles of the roof.
Luna launched herself from the Senshi's shoulder, erupting into her panther form as she landed on the Tower. With a snarl, she dove into a shadow, disappearing; a moment later, she emerged behind Berthier, slamming into her with the force of a linebacker. The other youma skidded in an ungainly sprawl, emitting a startled yowl.
"FLAME SNIPER!"
The second bolt struck Berthier square in the face; she hissed angrily. "You little—!!"
"FLAME SNIPER!"
The next bolt caught Berthier in the side, knocking her against the brown device. As she rose dazedly, Luna charged again, eyes blazing. Unable to regain her footing in time to guard, Berthier was sent sprawling, tumbling side-over-side toward the edge of the roof.
Mars swooped in close with a powerful flap of ebon wings. "FLAME...SNIPER!"
Berthier's eyes widened as she struggled to defend herself, but her footing was unsure; the scorching arrow nailed her in the throat, sending her flying over the edge. She yowled violently as she fell away into the dark night.
"Well, that's one problem taken care of," Luna muttered. She moved closer to the device, studying it, tail-tip twitching. "Hmm."
Mars landed noiselessly beside her. "The energy at the heart of this device—it is human life-force."
"Hai," Luna agreed, nodding. "It is as I suspected. This is a draining machine, designed to siphon human energy over a broad range."
"Then this device must be destroyed immediately," Mars concluded.
The panther shook her head. "We can't be sure what will happen if we try breaking it. I need to examine this thing thoroughly before we take further action."
Mars nodded, folding her arms. "Very well. Proceed."
* * * * *
A hissing, yowling fireball erupted from a patch of shadow. "Lord Jadeite," Berthier rumbled, "the Driver has been—"
Jadeite promptly vanished without so much as an acknowledgement.
* * * * *
Luna inspected the twisted, mismatched mess of jagged brown stone and ropy tendrils of dark slime, brow furrowed. "This...is bad," she rumbled.
"What is?" Mars asked, wings ruffling idly.
"This damn thing's rigged with a trap," Luna spat. "If we even TRY to shut it down..." She shook her head. "Serenity needs to know about this. Immediately."
"I'm afraid I can't allow that," a male voice spoke.
Luna's fur bristled. "Lord Jadeite," she hissed, turning, wary fear in her crimson eyes.
"Cooan," the blond Shitennou said mildly. "And Mars, we meet again."
Mars' eyes narrowed dangerously, and a bolt of fire snapped into her hand, forming the shape of a sword.
"Mars..." Luna warned softly. "Serenity's orders..."
The flying Senshi stiffened, then nodded. "Right." Her flaming sword vanished abruptly. "Another time, lord of demons."
Jadeite raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, did I not make myself clear? Neither of you shall leave here alive." Abruptly, a crackling, hissing ball of dark energy formed in his hand, and before either could react, it slammed into Luna, sending her crashing into the superstructure of the Tower.
"Service to the enemy has weakened you, Cooan!" Jadeite called, preparing another blast. As he released it, Mars moved between him and the youma, erecting a shield of flames; she was pushed back half a metre by the impact of the dark energy, but her shield held.
Jadeite raised an eyebrow. "You defend that which you are bound by duty to destroy?"
"Her knowledge of you and your kind makes her a useful ally," Mars retorted, reforming her shield into a blazing longbow. "Until she has outlived that usefulness, she shall remain. FLAME SNIPER!"
"Too slow!" Jadeite responded, teleporting out of the path of the fiery arrow. He launched another dark blast at Mars; she reformed her bow into a sword and parried it, sending it careening off into the night.
"Luna! Escape!" Mars called.
"Take care not to die," the panther responded, slinking into the shadows and vanishing.
"And now you have decreased your numbers. A tactical error."
"Quite the contrary," Mars replied. "She is incapable of flight, and thus would have been a liability." The flying Senshi darted out of the path of yet another dark blast, returning fire with a flaming arrow. Once more, Jadeite teleported away, reappearing two metres in front of her and charging with a smokey crystal epee. Mars ducked awkwardly, reforming her fiery sword in time to parry the followup attack. She lunged under Jadeite's guard, kicking him in the stomach, then disengaged with a furious beat of her wings, flinging herself several metres backward. Two more Flame Snipers forced Jadeite to dodge hastily; he recovered in time to teleport away from the third shot, appearing behind Mars and nailing her in the back with a solid strike. The flying Senshi let out a pained shriek and began to fall.
Jadeite smirked. "And now, to end this..."
* * * * *
From the roof of Foot Town, Luna watched the aerial confrontation with concern, which grew into alarm as Mars was struck down and began to fall. "If she dies..."
A bright blaze of flame lit the night; Mars had recovered from the hit just in time to block a killing strike from Jadeite. She began to fly high and away from the Tower; within seconds, Luna had lost sight of the two specks in the night sky.
"Be safe, Mars..."
* * * * *
Despite the terrible ache in her back and the burning pain of unaccustomed exertion, Mars was outpacing her relentless pursuer. However, she feared the worst if Jadeite managed to land another solid hit. *I need to escape...but he's persistent...*
"You cannot elude me forever, Senshi!" Jadeite called. "Your death is inevitable! Surrender yourself to the reality of your fate!"
"The Princess has commanded me to live, and live I shall!" Mars replied. She tried once more to form her flaming bow, but the effort of sustained flight was beginning to drain her powers. She barely had enough strength to continue dodging Jadeite's attacks; if this went on much longer...
And then, she realised something.
*Jadeite isn't FLYING. He's FLOATING.*
She turned to face her adversary, slowing her wings and holding her position. Jadeite disappeared, then reappeared slightly closer; another dark energy blast soared past her.
There was no mistake: Jadeite's attacks were getting slower and weaker. *He can't fly. He can only teleport and hover. That's got to be taking a lot more out of him than flying is taking out of ME...*
With new determination, Mars began flying erratically, forcing Jadeite to repeatedly teleport, not giving him a chance to aim an attack. In the still night, she could hear him begin to swear irritably as he struggled to keep up with her unpredictable movements. *Yes...I can wear him down, force him to retreat...*
A firm, terrible pressure on her ankle made Mars look down, just as a heavy weight made its presence known, forcing her to double her efforts to stay aloft.
Jadeite had grabbed her ankle.
"I commend you for such a valiant effort," he called up to her, "but this little game ends now." His epee materialised in his free hand.
Mars' eyes widened. *If he...there's no way I can avoid...*
"Take heart in the knowledge that yours shall be an honourable death," the Shitennou continued.
Mars scowled. "As I have already said, I have no intention of dying this night!"
"Admirable. But the choice is no longer yours to make." Jadeite adjusted the grip on his sword, preparing to thrust upward and impale her.
"Yes...it..." Mars grunted through clenched teeth, struggling as the weight of her unwanted passenger fully took its toll on her; they were beginning to descend. Focusing, mustering all of her remaining strength, she reached within herself for the core of fire, grasped the power of Mars firmly, and expelled everything she had left in one intense conflagration. "...IS!"
Jadeite's eyes widened. Mars' body had erupted in a fiery corona; he could see nothing but flames. The searing heat travelled down the Senshi's legs, burning his hand through his glove. He dispelled his sword, now needing both hands just to maintain his grip on his winged foe. He began trying to climb her leg, intent upon grabbing onto her torso and forcing her out of the sky.
Mars' eyes blazed white-hot through the inferno as she clenched her fists. An intense blue-white pulse of flame pushed down from her body, enveloping her legs in a deadly flare. Jadeite screamed as the flames burned away his gloves and blackened his hands; his grip loosened and he began to slide down. He scrabbled desperately to maintain his grasp; ultimately, the intense heat was too much for him. With one last, desperate grasp, he caught hold of Mars' shoe...
...which slipped off her foot with ease, leaving the blond Shitennou in freefall.
* * * * *
Mars landed heavily on the roof of an arcade some distance from Tokyo Tower. Panting, she probed at her ankle, grimacing at the bruise there. Idly wondering at what the loss of her shoe would entail for future transformations, she gingerly stood, slowly flying down to street level; ducking into the darkened entranceway of the arcade, she reversed her transformation. Digging her phone out of her purse, she sent a quick e-mail to the other Senshi, then dug out change to buy a cold drink from a vending machine. The display on her phone had marked the time as midnight exactly; she would need to rest up, transform again, and fly herself home.
And pray her grandfather had not noticed her absence.
* * * * *
Jadeite shakily dug himself out of the wreckage of the bicycle rack he had landed on. Mars' attack had not inflicted much actual damage, but even for one of the Shitennou, a three hundred metre fall is guaranteed to hurt—and, galling as it was to admit to himself, he had exhausted far too much energy pursuing Mars to break his fall.
As he levered himself into a seated position atop the ruined bike rack, he glanced at the glossy red shoe still clutched in his charred, blistered hand. "Hmm...didn't I read this in a human fairy tale once?"Somewhere nearby, a clock announced the stroke of midnight. Mars' shoe disappeared in a flash of fire, leaving only a faint wisp of smoke.
Chuckling ruefully, Jadeite stood, dusted himself off, and walked casually into the neon Tokyo night.
* * * * *
Nephrite was leaning against the recessed entryway alcove of the apartment mansion where the Shitennou had acquired residency in the human world. Curls of smoke drifted lazily up from a cigarette held lightly between two fingers of his right hand. He glanced up, noticed Jadeite calmly approaching, and raised his left hand in silent salute. He took a long drag from his cigarette and exhaled a plume of smoke. "Hail, brother."
"Mm-hmm," Jadeite responded absently. He raised an eyebrow. "What's with the cigarette?"
"Among the humans, I assume the guise of a wealthy, debonair man of worldly pursuits. Blackening one's lungs with this cancerous rubbish is an expected affectation of such a person." He flicked ash on the pavement in a disinterested manner.
Jadeite shook his head, chuckling ruefully. Then, after a moment, he said, "Here, let me have one."
Nephrite raised an eyebrow, but removed a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket with a shrug, then passed it and a book of matches to the blond Shitennou. Jadeite tapped a cigarette out of the pack, lit it, and took a drag, mirroring Nephrite's relaxed pose. He tilted his head back and exhaled smoke into the night air.
The long-haired Shitennou observed him, eyebrows raising even farther. "Twould seem, brother Jadeite, that thine evening has been...eventful."
"I've just been defeated by Mars," Jadeite admitted curtly, drawing again on his cigarette. An inch of chalky ash crumbled away, scattering on the pavement. "Hmm. That's not too bad. I think I see the humans' attraction to these things."
"It does seem to aid one in collecting one's thoughts. A particularly self-destructive form of meditation, as it were." Nephrite flicked away burnt ash expertly, then appraised Jadeite more critically. "By Mars, you say? Unaided by her sisters-in-arms?"
"Un. Zoicite's going to have a field day with this one." Jadeite shook his head, taking another long drag. "Hope your day went better than mine."
"Alas, no. I have long suffered the pompous human and his shrill mate for naught."
"You've confirmed what you overheard the Princess tell them?" Jadeite asked curiously.
"Indeed. Brother Zoicite infiltrated their abode whilst I occupied the humans today. It is as the daughter of Serenity said. Alas, this places us in a rather untenable situation." He examined his cigarette, saw that it had burned clear to the butt, and idly flicked it onto the sidewalk.
"Mm." Jadeite gazed upwards. "This just wasn't our day, I suppose."
"And the device? Is it compromised?"
Jadeite chuckled darkly. "Oh, they know it's there. But that traitorous cat noticed the trap. The Senshi don't strike me as stupid enough to risk killing every human in Tokyo trying to shut it down."
"No, I would expect not."
The blond Shitennou stretched, then flicked his cigarette butt onto the sidewalk. "I'm going to rest now." Raising a hand in salute, he turned and walked into the building.
Nephrite stood in the alcove for several minutes, silently watching the discarded butts smoulder, then faded from view.
* * * * *
A thick, silver mist surrounded her.
She padded through the cool, misty darkness, feet bare; despite wearing only a thin white silk shift, she felt no chill from the dense fog.
A faint, muffled sound echoed in the still mist.
She paused mid-step, straining her ears.
*karankoron*
"Hello? Is someone there?"
No response. Cautiously, she took another step into the mist.
*karankoronkarankoronkarankoron*
She tensed, turning this way and that, eyes darting warily from side to side.
"Please...where am I? Who are you? What—"
*karankoronkarankoronkarankoron*
Fear, annoyance, and a faint flame of anger warred in her as the mist pressed in, the chill beginning to seep at last through her gown. "If you're trying to scare me, it isn't working. Show yourself. Answer me!"
*karankoronkarankoron*
The sound seemed to be growing closer, but the echoes were distorting her perception. What was clear, however, was that whoever it was, they were moving more quickly now.
*karankoronkarankoronkarankoron*
She tensed; it WAS getting closer. "Who ARE you?!" she shouted into the fog.
*karankoronkarankoronKARANKORONKARANKORONKARANKORON*
A dark, indistinct shape abruptly appeared directly before her. Through the fog, she could just make out what appeared to be a single large, gleaming, pearlescent eye.
Sudden fear made her hesitant, indecisive. She took a cautious step backwards.
The dark shape wavered. A drift in the fogbank obscured it. When the mist thinned once again, it was gone.
In the distance, the faint echoing karan-koron clack of geta gradually faded into mere memory.
