Usagi sat on a bench in front of the station, shivering slightly. An unseasonable chill had settled in, and the early morning mist didn't help matters.
"Yo, Usagi," Makoto greeted tonelessly as she emerged from the station. She plopped down next to the tea-haired girl and handed her a can of hot milk tea.
"What's so important you needed to talk this early and couldn't explain it over the phone?" Usagi asked. Makoto's rather odd call the night before had left her tossing listlessly most of the night.
"It's..." Makoto paused. "This is hard," she grumbled. "I'm not sure how you'll take this."
"What?" Usagi asked. "Did something happen with Chiba-san-tachi?"
Makoto shifted. "Something like that."
The shorter girl paled. "They didn't...they didn't fire you, did they?"
"Iya," Makoto replied, shaking her head. She took a long sip from her own can of coffee, then sighed, faced Usagi directly, and said, "Your iinazuke is Tuxedo Kamen."
"...WHAT?!" Usagi shrieked.
"Mamoru-dono is that damned thief," Makoto said sourly.
"Uso..." Usagi breathed. "Are...are you sure...?"
"Obasama sent me over to his place to check up on him," Makoto said. "He hasn't been answering his phone since Thursday. She gave me the spare key. He wasn't home, so I...I went in." She paused, grimacing. "Dozens of pamphlets and flyers about museums and jewel exhibits. The tuxedo jacket and the damn mask on his bed. It's him alright."
"Sonna..." Usagi breathed. Suddenly, she paled. "Demo...if he's Tuxedo Kamen, then...!"
"The Shitennou have him," Makoto finished with a scowl. "And now we don't have a choice."
"Un. We have to save him. Dammit," Usagi sighed. "Like things weren't screwed up enough..."
* * * * *
//Meet on the roof of Osa-P. We're rescuing Tuxedo Kamen.//
"Ryoukai."
* * * * *
//Meet on the roof of Osa-P. We're rescuing Tuxedo Kamen.//
"Are you serious?!"
//Hai. I'll explain later.//
"Okay..."
* * * * *
//Meet on the roof of Osa-P. We're rescuing Tuxedo Kamen.//
"Wakarimashita, Tsukino-hime."
* * * * *
The Senshi assembled on the roof of Osa-P shortly before noon.
"What has motivated you to change your mind about rescuing the thief?" Mercury asked.
"Yeah, that's what I wanna know," Venus added, arms crossed. "Far as I'm concerned they can stuff his ass."
"Jupiter discovered Tuxedo Kamen's true identity last night," Serenity replied. "He is Chiba Mamoru."
"Your fiance," Mercury said, raising an eyebrow.
Venus gasped. "Holy shit..."
"This gravely complicates matters," Mars opined.
Serenity stood facing away from the others, fists clenched and trembling at her sides, "I don't particularly like him. I like him even less now that I know he's that bastard thief. But..." She sighed. "For various reasons, I can't let the Shitennou harm him."
"Do you suppose...they know his connection to you?" Mercury asked quietly.
"I don't know," Serenity replied. "But that doesn't matter. As I said, we no longer have a choice. We MUST rescue Mamoru-san."
"Then we must make our plan quickly," Mars said. "This will be a difficult mission."
"Moreso than you realise, Mars." Luna appeared on the roof alongside the Senshi.
Serenity faced the youma, arms folded. "Luna, I need to know everything you know about the Shitennou. Everything."
* * * * *
"I have retrieved His Highness' raiments of guise," Nephrite said as he entered the room where Mamoru was being held.
"Excellent. Prepare him."
"At once, Lord Brother." Nephrite paused. "There is a matter of concern."
"Oh?"
"An unknown person gained access to our liege's residence at some time in the evening," Nephrite replied. "A basket of food and a note had been left there."
Nephrite handed Kunzite a note written on a small slip of paper; the elder Shitennou studied it thoughtfully. "It is signed 'Mako-chan'...a lover, perhaps?" He walked over to Mamoru and knelt before him. "Identify this person."
"Identify yourself up the ass," Mamoru said.
Kunzite's eyes glowed. "You will answer."
Mamoru's eyes glazed over. "Kino Makoto," he said tonelessly. "She is a friend of my iinazuke, recently employed by my parents as a maid."
Kunzite nodded. His eyes dimmed; Mamoru slumped, eyes clearing. "So this person is a mere domestic, and of no consequence." He tossed the note in Mamoru's lap dismissively. "Then if you will, Brother Nephrite..."
* * * * *
Following Luna's briefing, the Senshi stood in contemplative silence. "We will have to be extremely careful," Mars summarised, "if we are to survive this battle."
"We still lack one crucial piece of information," Mercury said. "We do not know where the Shitennou are planning this confrontation."
Serenity frowned. "Jadeite said we would have no trouble finding them..."
"Yeah, and he said something about all of Japan watching..." Jupiter added.
"Perhaps we should all return home for the time being," Mars said. "If indeed the Shitennou are preparing a public execution to lure us into a trap, no doubt the location will be revealed in a highly accessible manner."
Serenity nodded. "Right. Everyone, keep your eyes and ears open. Luna, search everywhere you can think to search. We'll meet back here at sunset." The Senshi dispersed; Luna leapt gracefully from the roof, melting into a pool of shadow in the alley below.
* * * * *
Mamoru grunted as he searched the hidden sleeve pockets of his jacket for anything he could use to free himself with, and came up empty.
Somehow, Nephrite had managed to dress him as Tuxedo Kamen without untying him; apparently, his work clothes had been emptied of all his tools beforehand.
As if sensing his thoughts, Nephrite smirked down at him. "Think not so low of me that I would fail to remove your implements of larceny," the Shitennou said. "I assure you, Prince Endymion, at this moment you are completely helpless." As Mamoru writhed in pain (why does hearing that name make my head hurt?), Nephrite added, "Your only hope of salvation is that the Senshi will elect not to allow you to perish."
Mamoru groaned. "Fat chance of that," he said. "If I'm the bait for a Sailor trap, then you've already lost. They don't give a rat's ass about me."
Nephrite raised an eyebrow. "We shall see."
Another man entered; Mamoru recognised him as the one he had seen in the Kamekona suite—the one he and the Sailor Senshi had nearly killed. "Ah, Brother Zoicite," Nephrite said. "You look well. I am pleased at the rapid speed of your recovery."
Zoicite nodded to him. "Our Lord Brother used up too much energy healing me, but I'm not going to complain." He walked over to Mamoru, crouching in front of him. "We meet again, kaitou-kun. I hear you're that stuck-up brat Endymion reborn." At Mamoru's wince, Zoicite grinned and punched him in the nose. "That's for the gun thing," he said.
"Save it for tonight," Jadeite admonished from a corner of the room. He glanced out the window. "It's about time to start."
* * * * *
At precisely 15:00, every television signal in Tokyo was disrupted. Every digital advertising sign ceased to display the programmed advertisements. Internet connections across Japan were hijacked; all online computers and phones were redirected to a streaming video, with the browsers and shutdown functions locked.
Nearly ninety percent of all citizens in Tokyo and thousands more throughout the rest of Japan watched as four men in grey uniforms appeared on their screens, a stiff black velvet curtain draped behind them.
//On behalf of the Shitennou, I extend welcome to all who are viewing this broadcast,// the man with long white hair, a flowing white cape, and a deep, cultured voice said. //Control of thine television frequencies, Internet connections, and other forms of broadcast media will be returned upon the conclusion of this night's spectacle.//
The man with short blond hair and green eyes stepped forward. //Princess Serenity. I trust you and your Senshi are watching. Listen carefully.//
The four men parted to reveal a man tied up on the ground behind them. He wore a black tuxedo and a white silk domino mask. //As I informed you yesterday, Tuxedo Kamen is our prisoner. Tonight, when the moon rises, we will kill this man slowly, and all of Japan will watch. The only way to prevent this is for you to surrender yourself to us.//
//At sunset, we will reveal our location. At that time, we expect thee to come. Come alone, come with thine Senshi, it matters not to us,// the first speaker said. //I promise thee this, Princess Serenity: whether thou acceptest our invitation or not, tonight, the people of this world will witness death.//
The image faded from every screen, but control over the receivers was not relinquished. Instead, it was replaced with a countdown.
In the family room of the Tsukino residence, Usagi's jaw tightened.
In an upscale apartment mansion, Mizuno Sayoko sat staring at the screen, face frozen in a horrified expression. "What...?" She turned to her daughter, who sat beside her, eyes hard and cold behind her glasses. "Ami-chan..."
"There will be no televised murder, Okaasan," the girl said in a calm, cold voice. "We have already decided to rescue Tuxedo Kamen, and the Shitennou will not defeat us."
Sayoko nodded, swallowing heavily. "Be...be careful, Ami-chan."
At Hikawa Jinja, Rei and Mina locked gazes and nodded firmly, then returned to their homework. Neither of them could focus on the study materials.
At the Chiba estate, Makoto paused in sweeping the floor. "Okusama," she said, "I have plans for the evening. I will finish up the housework and prepare dinner, of course."
Chiba Hanako tore her eyes away from the television. "Are you sure you want to go out tonight?" she asked. "After...all that...things are likely to be crazy tonight."
"I'm not going anyplace where I'll have to worry about all that," Makoto said. "Anyway, I can take care of myself. Please don't worry."
"Well...alright. Just be careful."
* * * * *
Chaos reigned at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters as officers and detectives rushed to and fro. The Chief Inspector in charge of Major Crimes was busy conferring with a number of representatives of the various media outlets, who were frantically relaying information back and forth to their home offices.
"Where is it coming from?"
"We don't know! We can't trace it!"
"Can't you shut it off?"
"Moushiwake arimasen! Something is preventing access to the transmitters! The Internet providers can't cut their signal, either! Everything is frozen!"
"Dammit...! There's got to be SOMETHING we can do!"
"There is," a crisp voice intruded. "We allow the Sailor Senshi to deal with it."
All activity froze; the sharp click of stiletto heels rang out as the detectives and media representatives stared at two people striding through the throng. One was the tall, broad-framed, square-jawed, scarred Superintendent of Police. The other was a young, beautiful woman with long hair and sharp eyes. It was this woman who had spoken.
"Sakurada-san," the head of Major Crimes said, "surely you aren't serious..."
"We have been looking for a way to learn more about these Senshi," the woman replied. "These...'Shitennou'...have called them out. Regardless of the illegal piracy of television and Internet signals, their only intended victims are apparently the Senshi and the wanted criminal Tuxedo Kamen. My recommendation is to allow this to continue, and then arrest whoever remains standing after the fact."
"I concur with Sakurada-san's plan," the Superintendent said. "Until after the confrontation between these suspects and the Sailor Senshi, we will take no action unless citizens with no stake in this are threatened."
"But...!"
"Keibu-san, this is quite different from the incidents on Monday," Sakurada said sharply. "The very fact that these men have perpetrated such a wide-scale disruption of the media indicates they are operating on a level beyond our comprehension. Any attempt on our part to intervene would jeopardise the lives of our officers, and potentially risk the lives of innocent civilians." She shook her head. "No...at this time, our best option is to observe, not confront."
The inspector sighed. "I can only hope you're right."
* * * * *
As the sun began to dip below the horizon, the countdown clock was replaced with the same visual of the Shitennou and their hostage from earlier in the afternoon.
//Princess Serenity. We will now reveal our location.// The black curtain was swept away to reveal the elegant ballroom at the Yamagoto Tower Hotel.
Usagi gasped. "Uso..."
//No doubt thou wilt recognise this as the place where thou first battled the jewel thief. It is only fitting that his fate be decided here. Appear before us within the next two hours,// Kunzite said. A countdown clock appeared in the corner of the screen. //People of Tokyo, for the remainder of the evening, thou shalt bear witness. If the Senshi appear, thou shalt witness their destruction. If they fail to appear, thou shalt witness the death of Tuxedo Kamen. Princess Serenity, we await thee.//
Ikuko sat watching raptly, twisting a towel in her hands. "Do you think...they're really going to kill him in front of everyone?"
When Usagi didn't answer, she turned and found she was sitting by herself on the sofa. "Usagi-chan?"
* * * * *
Serenity was already on the roof of Osa-P when the others arrived. "Lord Kunzite is not without irony," Luna purred from the shadows.
"What about all the people in that hotel?" Jupiter asked. "You don't think they—"
"No point worrying about that now," Venus said.
"She's right," Serenity said. "Whatever the Shitennou have done, we'll just have to deal with it when we get there."
Grimly, the group departed.
* * * * *
"Please! Back away from the barricade! Minna-san, please disperse for your own safety! This is an order from the police! Disperse!"
During the evacuation of the hotel, a group of men had piled out of a news van half a block away and hauled out a massive television screen, which they carried up the steps; within ten minutes and despite police protest, they had erected the screen where it could easily be seen from the street. Crowds of spectators had flocked to the hotel like seagulls to a loaf of bread. The officers' attempts to clear the area met with failure, as a horde of civilians had gathered outside the Yamagoto Tower Hotel. The Chief Inspector and Sakurada were on the scene; the former surveyed the chaos with disapproval, while the latter was calm and dispassionate.
"We need to get these people out of here," the inspector grumbled.
"That's not likely to happen," Sakurada replied. "Stupidity is a universal constant."
There was a sudden change in the crowd noise. Excited shouts and cheering broke out. Sakurada and the inspector looked around; Sakurada pointed at something approaching above the heads of the crowd. "There!"
A tremendous cheer erupted as the Sailor Senshi landed at the front doors of the hotel. The inspector stormed up to them, flashing his badge to their leader. "Please explain this occurrence!" he demanded.
"There's no time for that now," Serenity said. "More importantly, do the Shitennou have hostages other than Tuxedo Kamen?"
"Not as such," the inspector said. "They have not prevented entry or egress; we evacuated the hotel within forty minutes of the sunset broadcast. There's some sort of barrier preventing access to the ballroom."
Serenity nodded. "Then if you will excuse us." Before the inspector could say another word, the Senshi marched through the front doors of the hotel, to thunderous applause from the crowd.
* * * * *
"Welcome, Princess Serenity."
The black miasma of energy which filled the doorway of the ballroom split open to allow the Senshi to enter. As soon as they were inside, the barrier sealed itself again.
"Don't do anything they tell you to do!" Tuxedo Kamen shouted. "It's a trap!"
"We know it's a trap," Serenity said. "We didn't come to surrender. We came to fight."
Jadeite snorted. "As expected of this new age's Princess Serenity," he said. "You are indeed fierce."
"Before that, there is something important thou must do, unless thou wishest this man to die immediately," Kunzite said.
"I don't believe your story about him knowing where the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou is!" Serenity said.
"What thou believest is irrelevant. Thou shalt release the spell binding his memory."
"Something is off here," Venus whispered. "I've got a feeling—"
"The thief is in no danger," Mars said suddenly. "They need him alive. I cannot say exactly why, but the sense I get is they are desperate."
"It doesn't matter," Serenity said. "We drag this out however long it takes to get him out of here, we try to kill these bastards if we possibly can..."
"Well, Princess?" Jadeite asked. "What's it to be?"
"What is your true intent in abducting this man?" Serenity countered.
"The truth?" Jadeite asked, chuckling. "Defeat us, and perhaps we will tell you. Or, you can simply Awaken him now, and find out for yourself."
"Don't do it!" Tuxedo Kamen cried. "I'm not important!"
"No, you're not," Serenity replied. "But you had to go and get yourself kidnapped by our sworn enemies, so we're here to save you. But after this, you have many things to answer for."
"Enough of this," Zoicite said. His sai appeared in his hands.
"Agreed," Nephrite said. A long crystal halberd appeared before him; he grasped it and twirled it expertly.
"Then to arms, my brethren?" Jadeite said, even as his crystal epee appeared.
"To battle, then," Kunzite agreed, a massive crystal battleaxe appearing in his hands.
"Alright, here's the plan," Serenity whispered. "Things are about to get really ugly here. One of us needs to get to Tuxedo Kamen and untie him. Be careful he doesn't get hurt in the crossfire."
"Right," the others nodded.
"Then...CHARGE!!" Serenity rushed the Shitennou, unleashing Crescent Moon blasts that were parried or evaded. Mars took wing, her flaming sword forming as she descended upon Jadeite. Mercury unleashed a hailstorm of Piercing Ice at the Shitennou. Jupiter's electrified vine snapped and popped over her head as she let out a war cry. Venus joined Mercury in providing covering fire with her Love Machine.
Mars swept low, engaging Jadeite. As their duel moved away from the group, Venus and Mercury charged Nephrite, forcing him to give ground with a combined assault. His halberd kept them at bay, but the combined onslaught of their attacks pressed his defenses. Jupiter's vine snapped around Zoicite's wrist and flung him across the room; still recovering from the previous battle and hampered by the enclosed confines of the ballroom, Zoicite's speed advantage was nullified, and he was forced to engage Jupiter directly, which put him at a severe disadvantage. Serenity took on Kunzite, lashing out with Half Moons whenever she could, while evading the surprisingly swift, powerful strikes of his axe.
"Thou art skilled," Kunzite said. "I see now how thou hast foiled my brethren at every turn."
Serenity dropped to the side, evading an overhand strike; while Kunzite was still following through, she grabbed the haft of his axe and tore it from his grasp. Grunting from the effort, for the weapon was far heavier than she had expected, she threw it high into the air. "FULL MOON!" Her attack struck the axe, shattering it; shards of sharp crystal rained down. Wasting no time, she followed up with a triple spin kick to the eldest Shitennou's abdomen, then fired off a Half Moon point-blank into his face. Kunzite snarled as he was driven back, hands flying to cover his eyes.
"Lord Brother!" Nephrite swept his two opponents' feet, leapt over them, and charged to Kunzite's side, driving Serenity back. This turned out to be an error, as a massive ice crystal impaled him through the back. As he staggered, Serenity kicked him in the face, then appropriated his weapon.
A hailstorm of crystal shuriken and kunai bit into Serenity, Jupiter, Mercury, and Venus as Zoicite became a tornado of death, spinning on one toe and spraying weapons in every direction. Jupiter grunted and dropped to one knee as cuts opened on her face and arms. Mercury and Venus dropped flat to the ground; Serenity did her best to parry the weapon storm with her stolen halberd. "Jupiter! Catch!" She threw the weapon to the tallest Senshi, who caught it, and in a smooth motion, slashed deep into Zoicite's thigh, ending the effeminate man's attack.
By this point, Kunzite had recovered; he began hurling blasts of dark energy at Serenity, who countered with her own attacks. The two were evenly matched; with the threat of Zoicite's hailfire abated, Venus and Mercury re-engaged Nephrite, driving him into a corner of the room.
Blackened chips of crystal flew from Jadeite's epee as he repeatedly parried Mars' attacks. The flying Senshi was far more aggressive than she had been during their previous battle; there was little Jadeite could do but wait out her stamina. Inwardly, he knew that he was likely to be the first to fall.
Zoicite wasn't ready to give up; despite the wound, he brought out his sai again and rushed Jupiter. His injury slowed him down; she grabbed him by the wrist and spun him around, slamming him face-first into the floor. Looking around and thinking quickly, she picked Zoicite up and hurled him at Kunzite; the two Shitennou went down in a tangle of limbs. "IMA DA!" Jupiter shouted.
Nodding, Serenity raced over to Tuxedo Kamen and bent to untie him. As their eyes locked, a jolt seared through Serenity's mind like electricity. "What...?" she whispered.
The thief's eyes widened. "Princess...Serenity..." He screamed, clutching his head.
Kunzite sat up. "AWAKEN HIM, SERENITY OF THE MOON! AWAKEN ENDYMION OF ARCANUS!"
"En...dymion..."
A column of blinding silver light erupted from the floor, surrounding Serenity and Tuxedo Kamen. The Senshi and Shitennou stoppped fighting. "What the—?" Venus gasped.
Jadeite laughed. "It has begun!"
