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Chapter Five

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Concealed by the smoke and standing in the shadow of a construction vehicle, the minion of darkness watched the aftermath of the chaos caused by the gas explosion.

The busloads of homeless Juuban residents had pulled out, and were being moved to emergency shelters in another ward. The Sailor Senshi, the red-haired woman, and another woman had vanished mysteriously amid the confusion. All that was left were military men and workers.

"A powerful lady with darkness in her soul...this could be useful to me..."

The beeping of a digital watch startled the minion. "Oh my gosh it's late and the stores are gonna close before I get my master's game!"

With a flash, the minion of the shadows rushed off to carry out her orders.

"So the cover is I went with her to a hospital elsewhere in Tokyo," Mizuno-sensei said as she paced at the foot of an infirmary bed.

Her daughter nodded, continuing to silently scan the woman on the bed with her visor and computer, trying to determine something, but unsure what.

"So this is your new home?" the doctor asked conversationally, glancing around. "Very nice...a little chilly, though..."

"Infirmary temperature increase two degrees Celsius," Mercury said absently. The room became slightly warmer.

"Ami-chan?" the Senshi's mother tried again. "Is something wrong?"

Finally, Mercury looked up and sighed, deactivating her visor and rubbing her forehead. "No, Mother," she said. "Well...yes and no. I'm just..." She sighed. "How's the little girl doing?"

"I checked on her a few minutes ago. Sailor Saturn managed to heal most of the damage. I gave her a few stitches, and she should be fine."

The woman on the bed stirred. "Ugh..." She squinted at the ceiling. "Where am I?"

"Kaori-san," Mercury said softly. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Remember? There was...fire...gas main blew up. I was trying to free a little girl who got trapped..." She blinked. "Sailor Mercury?"

The Senshi nodded. "Yes. You fell unconscious."

"The girl! Is she—"

"She's perfectly fine. One of the other Senshi healed her leg, and she's going to be just fine."

A sigh of relief. "Good." She frowned. "Am I where I think I am?"

"Where do you think you are?" Mercury asked gently.

"Is this...the Crystal Palace?"

Mercury nodded. "Hai."

Kaori tried to sit up, grimacing. Mercury and the doctor gently pushed her back down. "What am I doing here?"

The other two women shared a glance. "Sailor Mercury thought it would be best to bring you here, in light of certain...events."

"What events?"

Mizuno-sensei sat down on a chair near the bed. "Kaori-san, do you happen to remember what happened right before you passed out?"

The redhead frowned. "The girl was crying, and she was...trapped. There was another explosion, and a big piece of metal, coming right at us, then..." She shook her head. "That must be when I blacked out." She looked up at the doctor. "Am I...how bad am I hurt?"

Mizuno-sensei laughed softly. "Relax, Kaori-san. You're perfectly unharmed. In fact, it was you who saved the little girl's life."

Mercury peered intently at the pale woman. "Kaori-san...have any of your memories returned? Any at all?"

"My memory..." The redhead's brow furrowed. After a long moment, she sighed. "Nothing. I still...I just can't remember."

"Hmm." The Senshi frowned. "Well, get some rest, Kaori-san. We'll come check on you again later."

As the two women left, Mizuno-sensei turned to her daughter. "So what were you checking on so intently in there?"

"Just trying to get some readings on her power while I had the chance," the blue-haired Senshi replied. "My computer can't make any sense of her, and most of her power is latent aside from her healing factor...the most I can tell is what we already know. Whatever she is, I don't think anything can kill her." She sighed. "I only hope that she stays as friendly and nice as she is right now, because if the old Kaolinite wakes up, we may all be in a lot of trouble."

"Well, you beat her before, right? I mean, if she does turn bad..."

Mercury shook her head. "What good's it do to beat an enemy that'll just keep coming back?" She sighed. "Besides, it's not her power that makes her dangerous, it's her determination to wipe out the entire human race..."

Mizuno-sensei couldn't think of a response to that.

In the suite of the Senshi Commander, Aino Minako sat at a vanity table more suited to a twelve-year-old girl than a woman who wielded the power of Sailor Venus, brushing her long, luxuriant hair.

A soft voice spoke up behind her. "What's wrong, Mina-chan?"

The young woman sighed, setting aside the brush and turning to face her long-time partner. "I'm just trying to figure everything out, Artemis."

The small white cat padded over and hopped up onto the cushioned bench. "You? Thinking this much? That's something I never expected."

Minako smiled slightly and cuffed the cat gently on the head. "Silly kitty," she said. Looking down at her hands, which were folded across her lap, she shook her head. "It's just...everything. Serenity, Endymion, Jadeite, the Palace, Juuban, Kaolinite, Small Lady...even you and Luna..."

"I know, it's all happening so fast. It's almost impossible to keep track of everything that's happened this week," Artemis replied. "You've been doing a great job, Mina-chan. I can't think of anyone better suited to being Senshi Commander than you."

"But I...it's just really hard. I haven't had a moment to breathe since this all started. And without Serenity's help, I'm not sure I'm doing things right..." She trailed off and stiffened suddenly as a pair of strong arms embraced her. Eyes wide, she looked up...and into the storm-grey eyes of her long-time friend's human form.

"Stop worrying and doubting yourself, Minako," Artemis said softly. "You've always been strong and decisive, even when things were at their worst...every step you're taking now is the right one. Everyone trusts you. They know that even though you can be a little...flaky sometimes, you're best suited to making the big decisions. You're just like Serenity in that regard...everyone can count on you to know what to do."

"But I can't count on myself!" Minako cried, burying her face in Artemis' long white hair. "It's hard...everyone looks to me for the answers, and I'm just guessing what to do next..."

Artemis smiled. "Many great leaders throughout history became great leaders because they were very good guessers."

Minako giggled, and wrapped her arms tightly around the knight. "Thanks, Artemis." She sighed contentendly. "Mmm, you're warm like this..."

A Japanese businessman sat in a small lounge at the international airport in San Francisco, quietly drinking sake and watching the people who came and went with disinterest.

Earlier, a corporate aide had apologized profusely, but informed him that the private jet was in severe need of maintenance, and would not be safe to fly to Japan. Further, the first optimal choice of a first-class flight to Tokyo on any major airline would not be for several more hours.

Fortunately, Goro was a patient man. He decided to make use of the intervening hours collecting information via the news broadcasts on the television in the lounge. Much coverage was being given to the bizarre situation in the heart of Tokyo, and his interest in the events there went far beyond mere commercial concerns.

Behind his dark glasses, Goro's eyes burned red. The Senshi would not be facing an ill-prepared enemy when he confronted them. Time was on his side...

An intelligence officer met with the Diet in a secret session.

"What do you have to report?" the Prime Minister asked.

The intelligence man set a folder on the table. "The identities of the Sailor Senshi."

The various politicians glanced around at each other. "Their identities?"

The man nodded. "Based on everything learned from the Senshi themselves and the location where the Crystal Palace appeared, my team has learned, with certainty, who these girls are."

One of the ministers folded his hands. "Does that really matter at this point?"

"It might," the Minister of Foreign Affairs said. "Continue, please."

The man pulled out a sheaf of papers and began passing them around. On each sheet of paper was a simple list of names. "At the time of the appearance of the Crystal Palace, a wedding was taking place at the shrine formerly occupying those grounds. The bride was one Tsukino Usagi. Based on accounts from the Senshi themselves, this leads us to believe that she is their leader, Sailor Moon...or as they now call her, Neo-Queen Serenity. The late King Endymion, of course, is the groom, Chiba Mamoru.

"The other names on the list are the known female guests whose age matches the age range estimates of the Sailor Senshi. We pulled school identification records from the area and compared them to photos of the Senshi, and while some..." He frowned. "Some force prevents us from making an exact comparison, a psychic specialist was able to clearly match each Senshi to a guest on that list."

"Okay, so we know who they are. What's the use of that? Does it matter at this point?"

The Prime Minister shook his head. "Even if we were planning to start a war with these girls, which we are NOT, the only point of knowing who they are would be if we intended to use their families as leverage. To employ such Yakuza tactics would be shameful and dishonorable." He sighed. "Thank you for your report, you are dismissed."

As the intelligence man left, the Minister of Foreign Affairs asked, "So...what are we going to do?"

The Prime Minister shook his head. "The reports from Juuban are not good. Clearing the rubble and laying new foundations and streets alone would take months, perhaps well over a year. This isn't even considering the fact that the cost of reconstruction, if funded entirely from our relief budget, will cause significant financial damage." He glanced at the information from the meeting with the Senshi, and at the other papers scattered across the table. "I believe...the only option we have is to agree to what the Sailor Senshi have asked for. With...provisions."

The meeting hall that had been host to the reconstruction conference earlier that day now saw a steady stream of soldiers and construction workers, having been converted into the headquarters of the relief effort in the ruined Juuban district. Trucks of materials streamed into the area, and construction vehicles made steady progress in clearing rubble and unearthing damaged foundations. A large majority of the work, however, was being done by the two Senshi who were presently demolishing the foundation of what had been a large shopping center.

"WORLD...SHAKING!" Uranus slammed a fist into the ground, and workers watched in fascination as a huge stone slab erupted from the ground, shattered into giant chunks. Smirking, the short-haired Senshi called out, "Your turn, Jupiter!"

"Yosha!" Pumping a fist and grinning, the tall, chestnut-haired Senshi posed a little for the crowd of men before unleashing her attack. "And now...Multiple Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

Uranus rolled her eyes as Jupiter unleashed six blasts at once. Within seconds, the broken foundation was reduced to a heap of gravel and dust.

"Whew," the tall girl said as she admired her handiwork. "I need to rest a bit after that."

"That's what you get for showing off," Uranus remarked. She looked around at the mostly-clear terrain. "Still, we did get a lot done here for just having worked a few hours."

"Yeah, I—huh!?" Jupiter broke off as an enormous cloud of dust rose in the horizon, drawing nearer. The soldiers around the worksite became uneasy, and weapons were hastily checked.

"I think we've got company," Uranus said.

A silhoutted figure appeared in the dust. "Sailor Senshi, bringers of the chaos and sworn enemies of the darkness! I greet you, and come bearing a gift...a gift of..." There was a hesitant pause. "A gift of Tokimemo Advance? No wait, that was for my master...what was it I brought the Sailor Senshi..."

Uranus and Jupiter looked at each other in confusion.

"Oh yeah!" The figure in the dust jumped up and down for a moment, before apparently posing dramatically. "I bring you a gift...of death!"

The two Senshi sweatdropped. "Whoever you are, just...go away, alright?" Jupiter shouted. "We're not in the mood to kick your ass right now."

"Too bad! You're going to have to kick my ass! Err...I mean, I'm gonna kick YOUR asses! Yeah!" The voice from the dust cloud rose as the figure within made a gesture familiar to the two Sailors. "Dark Cross Power, Make-UP!"

With an explosion of chaotic, swirling light, the cloud of dust cleared to reveal a girl with long blond hair and green eyes, dressed in an odd parody of a Senshi costume: a low-cut black bodice, a pink collar and bow, broad mint-green shoulderpads, a white skirt, and mid-calf black boots.

"Who in the world are you supposed to be?" Uranus wondered.

"I'm so glad you asked!" the mystery girl said, performing a variety of silly poses, which included mooning the two Senshi. "Zouo to hakai no, seira-fuku ankoku senshi Sailor XL! Daakurosu ni kawatte, korosu yo!"

Uranus and Jupiter stared blankly at her.

A lieutenant walked over to the two Senshi, rifle in hand. "Sorry to ask, but uh...is she one of you guys?"

Jupiter shook her head. "Not hardly."

"Of course I'm not one of them!" Sailor XL shouted angrily. "I'm their sworn mortal enemy, sent to destroy them by my dark lord Irupara-sama!"

Uranus sighed. "Alright, alright, let's get this over with. WORLD..."

"Matte, matte!" The dark Senshi waved her hands frantically. "That's not how it works! You don't get to fight me yet! You have to fight my minions first!" She rolled her eyes. "Mou, you guys have been doing this for how long, now? You should know this already."

"Is she for real?" Jupiter asked.

"She's a complete and total lunatic," the older Senshi replied.

"Oh, come on, come on, fight my minion! Please?" Sailor XL cried.

Jupiter rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright! We'll fight your minion. If you promise you won't make a break for it and run away while we're fighting."

"Wai! XL-chan promises!" Reaching into her cleavage, the dark Sailor pulled out a deck of cards. "What to use, what to use..." Drawing five cards from the deck, she began to look them over. "Ah! That one!" She placed the card on the ground face-down, then leaned over and tapped the center of the black cross on the back. "I'll play the Black Magic Woman, Hayate!"

The card began to glow, and a girl with curly lavender-blue hair rose out of it, spinning gracefully. With pale skin and amber eyes, the beautiful girl wore a low-cut, dark purple leotard that left her shoulders bare, with knee-high boots and wristguards of the same color. A blood-red half-skirt and cape hung from her back, and she held a short wand with a curly golden top in one hand. As she fully emerged from the card, she bowed. "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

"Don't bow politely to the enemy! Destroy them!" Sailor XL shouted.

"Hai." Stepping forward, she smiled sadly at the two Senshi. "Gomen nasai, but I must kill you now." She raised her wand...

"Be careful, Jupiter," Uranus warned. "She may be a tough opponent."

The wand fell from Hayate's hand as she doubled over with a sudden coughing fit. "Oi, what's wrong with you, Black Magic Woman Hayate?" Sailor XL asked.

"Gomen...nasai...I'm not very strong..." Blood trickled from the mage's lips as she collapsed to the ground, dead. Her card glowed and her body faded away.

"..." Jupiter offered.

"..." Uranus replied.

Sailor XL collapsed to her knees. "Waaah! My minion is useless! And I'm hungry! And I don't wanna die! And my master still hasn't gotten his game!" Standing, she posed dramatically. "Listen up, Sailor Senshi! You may have won today, but the Dark Cross will dominate the light and turn the chaos into neverending night!" She frowned. "At least, I think that's right...ANYWAY!" She flung a smoke bomb at the ground. "Goodbye, Sailor Senshi!" When the smoke cleared, she was gone.

"...that was...insane and pointless," Uranus said at length.

"Yeah. Anyway, it's almost night, we should be getting back to the palace."

The long silence in the room was broken by a soft flash of orange light from Venus' assistant module. "Lady Venus, the Prime Minister of Japan wishes to meet with you."

Minako looked into Artemis' eyes. "It's time," she said.

He nodded. "Good luck, Mina."

Shortly after sunset, the programming on all television and radio stations in Japan was interrupted. //We apologize for this interruption, but we have a special news bulletin to share this evening. We go now live to a press conference with the Prime Minister...//

//People of Japan, good evening, and please excuse this interruption. I have here with me Sailors Venus, Mercury, and Pluto, acting on behalf of their queen, Neo-Serenity. Meetings have taken place between our government and the Senshi, and a solution has been reached to the Juuban reconstruction problem which we feel will be favorable for all concerned parties.

//It is the decree of the office of the Prime Minister and the Diet that, effective this day, the government of the nation of Japan officially recognizes the sovereign nation of Crystal Tokyo, a monarchy, under the rule of Neo-Queen Serenity, with Her Ladyship Sailor Venus acting as chancellor.

//It is also the decree of the office of the Prime Minister and the Diet that, effective this day, the territory formerly known as Azabu-Juuban is hereby peaceably surrendered to Crystal Tokyo by the government of the nation of Japan as a goodwill gift to a newly allied nation.

//However, all relief operations funded by the government of Japan for the territory formerly known as Azabu-Juuban are now terminated. From this point forward, the sole responsibility of financing and executing the reconstruction of this area lies with the government of Crystal Tokyo.

//All Japanese citizens who wish to remain in the territory once it is rebuilt will be asked to file for citizenship in Crystal Tokyo. The forms and procedures for this change of citizenship will be made available within a week's time. Private Japanese enterprises are encouraged to accept construction contracts from, and establish business offices in, the city-state of Crystal Tokyo, as this will benefit both their economy and our own.

//I'm sure you all have many questions about this monumental occurrance, but we ask that you be patient. All details will be made available to the public over the course of the next few weeks. Both the governments of Japan and Crystal Tokyo appreciate your support during these troubled times, and we ask that those interested parties help make this transition as smooth as possible. Thank you, and goodnight.//

The Sailor Senshi and palace courtiers stood around the rear courtyard of the palace, watching the sky as fireworks blossomed brilliantly above, lighting the night with beautiful blooms of color.

"Is it right to celebrate like this?" Hotaru wondered.

"It'd look strange if we didn't," Pluto replied. "Besides, it's healthy. Fireworks cheer you up."

"Mmm," Michiru noted. She nestled against Haruka's chest. "Yes, I always feel warm when I watch fireworks with someone I love."

Haruka chuckled, tightening her embrace on the shorter girl. "You know, July Fourth is a big holiday in America."

"That's right, it's their Independence Day," Ami added.

"And now, it's also our Independence Day," Minako said from where she stood beside Artemis. "I wonder if this is fortunate, or merely the next disaster in the making?"

"Don't think that way, Mina-chan," Makoto said. "We'll do our best and take each day as it comes, and hopefully everything will work out alright in the end. That's all anyone can do."

The last blossom of fire faded from the sky. The group filed back into the palace, ready to rest after a long, eventful day.

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