Hybrid Theory XP 2

by CnA Productions

Another sidestory because we got behind in writing the main story. This tale takes place during Chapter 21 of Hybrid Theory so reading up until then is required.

Two Years Ago, On a Computer Not Too Far Away...

SAILOR

WARS

Episode 5: Shadows Of Inner Darkness

It is a time of great chaos in the galaxy. Sailor Galaxia's forces, attacking

from her secret base in the Galaxy Cauldron, have finally been forced into a

stalemate in the conquest of the universe. Jurai Tree Ships and Galaxy Police

Cruisers operating together have blockaded the Galaxy against the invasions of

the Sailor Animamates.

This stalemate does not sit well with the most powerful of all Sailor Senshi,

and she strikes still at the undefended planets of the universe to harvest Star

Seeds in her never-ending quest to finally defeat the secret power of Jurai,

take over all worlds, force unending Chaos upon existence in the guise of

universal order, annihilate all opposition, and blow up any worlds where drunk

assholes hit on her in bars.

No, seriously, that last one happened in the actual manga.

Meanwhile, on Earth, the exiled prince of the Jurai Royal Family lives out his

life in relative peace on a backwater world known, unimaginitively, as Earth.

Apparently there was quite a lot happening on this world, regarding things like

vampires and genetically modified monsters and errant Sailor Senshi and a girl

who had been kidnapped by some psychic looney and vanished for seven years. But

he lived mainly outside of that chaos.

Apparently in a few months that will all come to a tragic end. Or sooner, if

Sailor Galaxia has anything to say about it.

(Note: She doesn't.)

C&A Productions Presents

A Time-Buying Sidestory

Hybrid Theory XP... Part 2!

The Untitled

War raged over seventy-five percent of the planet's surface. The rest

was presumably covered by water. Or something. She'd never checked. She walked

along the flaming remains of what was once a city. A few remaining civilians

were running around aimlessly, screaming. Most were being chased by Phages.

Sometimes the Phage would catch them and eat them or electrically shock them or

wrap them up in ticker tape or tickle them unmercifully. Sometimes the Phage

would trip over a rock and the civilian would get away. A few soldiers were

holed up in a nearby building which they had blocked the entrances of. Laser

fire streamed from the windows, ripping into the Phages who screamed and clawed

at the building.

Heavy Metal Papillon sighed. It was so BORING. And the work week had

just begun, too. She hated Mondays.

With the sigh of the refined and elegant being that she was, she

unlimbered her scythe and cleaved the building in two. The surviving soldiers

were immediately set upon by the Phages. Turning her back on the screams,

Papillon ran a hand through her hair. It was dusty, she noticed with a tsk of

disapproval. Unacceptable. Wretched planet.

"You... you did this..."

Oh, one of the soldiers had survived. Papillon scowled. He was

struggling to raise his weapon with his broken arm. The other arm was grabbing

her ankle. TOUCHING her. Also unacceptable.

She raised her weapon to end his miserable life.

"Stop right there!" said a voice which was unfamiliar, but the cadence

of which was unmistakable. And about time, too.

Papillon turned, nonchalantly kicking the struggling soldier away. She

surveyed the newcomer at a glance, pursing her lips in consideration. A fiery

red-head, her Sailor Senshi uniform was predominantly blue-green with darker

blue highlights. Not really the most tasteful combination, Papillon noted

disapprovingly. Certainly lacked the striking visual splendour of her own indigo

and purple colour scheme, nor the bold effect of her translucent pink skirt. It

went without saying that she lacked any feature as distinctive as Heavy Metal

Papillon's glorious, entrancingly beautiful wings.

While Papillon had sized her up, the Sailor Senshi of this planet had

been delivering the standard sort of speech. No real flair for the dramatic

there, either. "...on behalf of the people of Planet Dwarf that you have

destroyed, I will take vengeance!" She was posed in an aggressive, fists-

clenched position that would have been more intimidating had she not been

quite so short.

Papillon decided she must be fairly new to all this, no time to develop

her own individual style. "I'm sorry," she said politely. "I must have missed...

what was your name again?"

"Sailor Dwarf!"

Papillon winced. No melodious ring at ALL. Even if it did seem to fit

with the girl's unimposing stature. "How unfortunate for you," she murmured.

Sailor Dwarf bristled. "What was that supposed to mean?"

Papillon sighed, looking longingly up into the sky. "Why?" she

exclaimed plaintively. "Why must I come to such underachieving planets at this?

I'm surprised it even warranted a Sailor Senshi, really..."

"Hey!"

Papillon favoured her with a glance. She drew back her scythe, careful

to reflect the light of the setting sun from its polished blade. She was

particularly pleased with the way the reflected light highlighted the pattern of

colours on her wings. "Yes, well, I suppose in thanks for you coming to me, I

shall move this along. Allow me to introduce myself." A wind picked up,

fluttering her long indigo hair; she brushed it back with one delicate white

hand. "I am the most favoured servant of the great Galaxia, ruler of the galaxy.

My name is-"

The punch caught her straight in the mouth. She tumbled backward,

smashing into a Phage which had been busy dressing an unconscious soldier in

gaudy women's clothing. Her head cracked into a piece of concrete from the

fallen building, and she sat there for a moment in dazed confusion. Abruptly she

noticed another punch arcing in towards her. With a small scream she rolled

away, and Sailor Dwarf's punch shattered the block she had been lying against.

Heavy Metal Papillon came up to her feet, backing quickly away. "What are you

DOING?" she screeched. "How... how dare you!"

"Let's see how you handle yourself when you're not butchering helpless

innocents, you coward!"

"You... you barbarian! You punched me! A punch! That is NOT the way a

proper Sailor Senshi does battle!"

"Yeah, well, I don't need any of that fancy pyrotechnic stuff to teach

you a lesson. Especially since you lost your weapon!"

Papillon reached up and wiped at her mouth; her hand came away flecked

with a tiny bit of blood. She felt her eye twitch. "Unforgivable!" she growled,

her voice rising to a higher pitch. "Absolutely... completely... UNACCEPTABLE!"

Then she ripped the nearest thing she could lay hands on from the earth,

vaguely realising it was the corner section of the ex-building's foundation, and

hurled it at the hateful girl. Sailor Dwarf's eyes bulged as the huge chunk of

concrete and earth came hurtling towards her. She threw herself flat on the

ground, the projectile passing just barely over her to crash into the ground.

Then she was forced to roll to the side quickly as Papillon tried to crush her

with another large piece of concrete moments later.

"Normally this is where I should attempt to recruit you to our glorious

cause," Papillon snarled as her foe scrambled to her feet. "But for you, there

can be no mercy!" She held up her forearms, placing together her golden

bracelets, the sign of her allegiance to the great Sailor Galaxia. "Give up your

Star Seed and perish, you wretched insect!"

"Who are you calling an insect, butterfly-girl?" Sailor Dwarf taunted,

nimbly sidestepping the blast of white light that arced out from the jewels on

the bracelets. Papillon smiled. The girl, intent on her foe, didn't notice that

the 'missed' blast had in fact struck the injured soldier that Sailor Dwarf had

originally arrived to save. The soldier, of course, didn't have a true Star

Seed. Though the blast did rip out the essence of his being, after a moment its

power faded. With but a thought, Papillon forced the now black and cold Star

Seed back into the man's body, which was then consumed in light as the magical

transformation overtook it.

"Sailor Irony!" Papillon commanded the new Phage. "Restrain her!"

Sailor Dwarf noticed then and whirled to confront her new foe, but too

late. The Phage looked like a hideous parody of a soldier, its sailor skirt a

mud-coloured camouflage pattern, its high heels and lipstick clashing horribly

with its black rifle. "It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a

knife!" it cried out, leaping forward and grappling with Sailor Dwarf. "Don't

you think?"

"Let me go!" she cried. Sailor Irony was no match for her strength, as

she ripped her arms free and decked the Phage with a punch.

"Too late!" cried Papillon in triumph. Her second blast smashed directly

into her distracted foe's back. She screamed, but only for a second, and then

the great glowing jewel emerged from her forehead as her eyes closed and body

went limp.

The Phage eyed the jewel hungrily, but Papillon shoved it aside as she

stalked forward and took the Star Seed. Sailor Dwarf's body faded into motes of

light as her power, the crystallised Destiny of her soul, was removed. Her Star

Seed burned hot and bright in Papillon's hand, as if it sought to fight her

still. Papillon smiled spitefully at it. "I hope Mistress Galaxia gives you JUST

what you deserve. Wretched little girl."

"It's like meeting the man of my dreams," Sailor Irony commented

nonsensically as it sat up again. Heavy Metal Papillon ignored it as she

secreted the Star Seed away and retrieved her scythe. By the time she picked it

up, the process had already begun. It was if the very colour was being leached

from the earth, starting from the place where Sailor Dwarf had been. Plants

touched by the creeping greyness withered and died, becoming grey themselves.

The soldiers touched stopped fighting the Phages so hard, their shoulders

slumped as if they suddenly bore a great weight. Fleeing civilians slowed; some

continued walking aimlessly, others simply sat down against nearby walls. Even

the Phages became less energetically insane.

"And then meeting his beautiful wife," Sailor Irony finished mournfully.

"Why thank you! But I have to tell you that right now there's noone in

my life. Well, that is to say, noone of a romantic nature. I'm not a hermit or

anything, of course."

Papillon spun around. "What are you doing here?"

Aluminum Siren bowed politely to the Phage before turning to face

Papillon. "Why hello, Heavy Metal Papillon!" she said brightly, and bowed again.

"I hope you are having a wonderful day!"

Papillon scowled. Normally she rather liked Aluminum Siren. The girl had

a respectable fashion sense, though she was just a little bit too lanky and

leggy to match the ideal form that Papillon embodied. Also, the x-shaped straps

over her face and seashell necklace were just tacky, no matter the virtues of

the rest of her sea-themed cornflower blue outfit. Some well-meaning fashion

advice had gone unheeded, but despite that, on the whole Papillon found Siren to

be pleasantly mannered, especially in comparison to some of the other Animamates

that served Galaxia. However, she was in no mood for politeness right now. "No,

I'm not. But this miserable planet is finished."

Siren clapped her hands together in delight. "Oh, excellent! You're such

a hard worker, Papillon!"

Papillon crossed her arms, feeling slightly mollified despite herself.

"Of course I am."

"Almost as hard a worker as our senior, Lead Crow!"

Papillon's eyebrow twitched. "Yes, well... what did you want, Siren?"

"Oh!" Aluminum Siren put a finger to her lip, thinking for a moment.

"Oh, yes! Mistress Galaxia sent me to tell you that she has a new mission for

you!" She reached forward and grasped Papillon insistently by the forearm. "It's

very important, so we should go right away!"

"Hmph," Papillon snorted, but allowed herself to be led off. "It had

better be in a less wretched place than this."

OoOoO

Two swords clashed under the azure sky. Back and forth the fighters

danced. The harsh clack of wood on wood echoed across the valley. The only other

sound was the soft rustle of the wind in the trees.

"You obnoxious old bastard! I'll kill you! DIEDIEDIE!"

That, and the screams of one teenage girl.

Rei sighed and leaned against a nearby tree. She pulled a cloth from

inside her oversized gi shirt and wiped her forehead. She cocked her hoe over

one shoulder and watched the fun unfold. She had seen this scene more than a

dozen times already, but it was one of those rare things that didn't grow any

less entertaining upon repetition.

Angel was, of course, in an absolute frenzy. She was leaping from peg to

peg, not even bothering to glance around her environment. There was an

unconscious grace to her motions, an awareness of where she was that Angel never

seemed to lose, no matter how much Katsuhito ticked her off. Her sword flickered

and flashed, producing a staccato clatter as the elder Juraian swordsmen

effortlessly blocked her attacks. He was smiling, his eyes hidden behind the

shine of his glasses.

And he was reading something in one hand. Rei saw his eyes flicker over

to her, and quite deliberately he began to read aloud. "Dear Chris...

"I'm doing very well here at the Masaki Shrine. The forest is much nicer

than that stinky jungle and the caves and the other places you usually have me

train at. I like the people here and they treat me well. I even like the old

fart Katsuhito, though don't tell him that-

"Why thank you, Angel, I never knew you cared."

"Goddamn you! That's private!" Angel shrieked, leaping at him and

slashing down with a huge overhand blow. He stepped to the side and patted her

backside lightly as she flew past. The slight tap was enough to send her

spiralling into a tree. The trunk rocked and leaves fluttered down on top of

her.

"Washuu is really strange. She seems to know everything! But she's

really busy trying to figure out how to defeat some evil alien called Sailor

Galaxia, so I only see her once a week or so. I spend most of my time hanging

out with Katsuhito's other students, a Sailor Senshi named Rei and a space

police officer named Mihoshi-"

"Old man!" Angel screamed, leaping at him again, somehow having managed

to recover quickly. Rei chuckled as Katsuhito managed to deflect her wild attack

again and send her stumbling across the field. She tripped over one of the pegs

in the ground and flailed a bit before falling forward, face-first, straight

into another peg.

"Ouch," Rei muttered in sympathy.

"You should hear what she has to say about you, Rei," Katsuhito said,

waving the sheaf of papers around in front of him. "Want to read?"

"Uh..." Angel slowly picked herself up, and her gaze turned on Rei. It

was flat and cold, and Rei swore she could see flames rising from the girl's

body. Rei shivered and turned her attention back to the old Shinto priest.

"Maybe some other day?" Rei demurred, waving her hands in an attempt to try and

let him know he had crossed a line.

"But it's all mushy and cute-" Angel threw her sword at him. He

sidestepped it as the wooden blade whisked through the air. He smiled at her.

"Now, Angel, you are unarmed." He waved his finger at her disapprovingly.

"No, I just got a bigger weapon," Angel pointed out. Katsuhito blinked,

then turned around just in time to see the tree Angel's blade had sliced in two

finish sliding off its trunk and land on top of him. There was a tremendous

crash and a muffled 'oof' as the old man was buried. Rei winced. If that were a

normal person, she'd be concerned. But Katsuhito was really an alien with

superpowers or something, so Rei thought he would be fine.

And he kind of deserved it. Just a little.

Angel walked over and stuck her hand into the mass of leaves. She

rustled around inside it for a moment, then pulled out her sheaf of papers and

stuffed them down her cleavage. "Stupid old man," she growled and started away.

"Wait up, Angel," Rei said, running after her.

"What is it?" Angel snapped. Rei paused. She considered telling Angel

that there was a perfectly circular red welt in the centre of her forehead, but

decided better.

"I was actually coming to tell you that it's time for lunch," Rei

continued after a moment.

"Oh..." Angel sighed and rubbed her forehead. She paused over the welt,

but continued without seeming to really notice. "Sorry. That old fart brings out

the worst in me, sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Rei asked, smirking. "When was the last time you didn't end

the training session without walking off in a steaming rage?"

"Uh..." Angel looked at Rei helplessly.

"He's doing it for a reason," Rei said, looking away. She frowned and

shifted her hoe, examining the shallow blade with her thumb. "He may be

annoying, but he cares more than he lets on. When he and Washuu were trying to

find out a way to unlock my powers, they tried everything." She smiled. "Finally

they just pissed me off so much I nearly burned the old man to death."

"Wow, that's harsh," Angel murmured.

Rei looked around to make certain nobody was nearby. The woods were

scenic, but empty. She leaned over and whispered to the white-haired teenager.

"Yeah. But DAMN, was it ever satisfying."

Angel had to lean against a tree, she laughed so hard. Rei waited for

the girl to finish, unable to keep from chuckling herself. Finally they

continued on their way. But now that they had exhausted the previous

conversation they moved along in silence. Rei could see Angel looking at her

every now and then. She mentally prepared herself.

"Rei, I was wonder-"

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"You were going to ask me if you could come along the next time I go

outside," Rei stated.

"Well, yes. But I was going to butter you up a bit first. Maybe

compliment that dull hairstyle of yours, get you all happy before I broke the

question."

Rei gave her younger companion a flat look. The girl grinned impudently

as she skipped around in front of Rei. She walked backwards across the uneven

forest floor, her feet somehow finding purchase without a single glance.

"You're one to talk. How can you see with that thing over your eye?" Rei

used the hoe to point at the offending white lock.

"It's a forelock. It's all the rage." Angel paused. "Yoko has one."

"Yoko?" Rei blinked. "The girlfriend from Martial Artist Hunter Zoaman?"

she asked incredulously.

"Yeah," the girl grinned and fished down the front of her training top

again. She pulled out an embossed card. It featured a girl with white hair on

it, in a style similar to but slightly more elaborate than Angel's. "She has

special zoanoid powers and uses them to fight evil and..."

"She's a propaganda tool of Chronos!" Rei snarled.

"Well duh," Angel snorted. "I hate Chronos as much as you, Rei. But just

because it's produced by a soulless evil organization that rules the world with

an iron fist doesn't mean it isn't cool."

"I'm not having this conversation," Rei said, lifting her nose into the

air. She began to use the hoe as a walking stick.

"You're just annoyed because they made you a villain," Angel teased.

"I am not!" Rei snapped.

"Worse yet, they made you the slutty evil witch," Angel said, now

somehow walking backwards while gyrating her hips and bouncing her breasts. "I

hear the direct to video disc contains a five-minute-long transformation

sequence..."

"I wouldn't know," Rei growled.

"I'm certain I could get a copy. Katsuhito would be happy to watch it

with me," Angel said, not laughing but clearly enjoying herself far too much.

"Angel, I should remind you that I can produce fire from my fingertips

before you continue this line of thought," Rei warned.

Angel stuck her tongue out at her and laced her hands behind her neck.

"At least you have a card and everything. How am I supposed to ever become

famous enough to appear if you and Katsuhito never let me go out and do any

heroing?"

"It's not heroing," Rei sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"You go out, blow up some Chronos stuff, kill zoanoids, save hapless

bystanders and pull kittens out of trees, what would you call it?"

"I don't pull kittens out of trees."

"Details."

"I'm not doing any of that to be a hero, Angel."

"Oh? Then why are you doing it?"

Rei paused. "I'm looking for somebody."

"Oh?"

"Sailor Moon." Rei paused. "She's... very important. Very special. Her

power, it's..." Rei looked away. "Never mind. I just follow all the leads I can

find about her. Most of them are in Chronos."

"Washuu could easily pull them out of their computers," Angel pointed

out. "You don't need to get involved at all."

"That isn't the point, Angel!" Rei snapped. "Washuu might be able to

find Sailor Moon, but I have to do it!"

"That's silly."

"Maybe." Rei sighed. "But it's about faith. I... I abandoned my faith,

Angel. I turned away from her in her time of deepest need because I couldn't

handle what was happening. But now I'm going to make up for that. I'm going to

find her and make things right again."

Angel had no witty comeback to that, so they walked in silence for a few

more minutes. Angel even returned to walking alongside of Rei, instead of in

front of her. Rei slung the hoe over her shoulder again. Finally Angel asked,

"Uh, this isn't the way to the house..."

"I know, we're having a picnic under the tree." Rei resisted the urge to

smile evilly.

"A picnic?" Angel blinked. "But... but who COOKED?"

"Mihoshi, of course," Rei said.

"But... but Mihoshi..." the colour drained from Angel's face.

"There you two are!" Mihoshi said, waving to them as they stepped into

the clearing. She was on the tiny island in the centre of the pond. The

spreading limbs of the huge tree hovered over her. It was of a family that was

not quite like anything else on Earth. It most closely resembled an oak, but was

much more majestic than any mere oak had ever been. Its trunk and branches were

beautiful, with bark the colour of warm caramel. Its green leaves were of a

shade that was just slightly different than any Rei had ever seen before, and

they seemed to whisper in the wind. Stepping stones crossed the tranquil pond to

the magnificent tree.

This whole place was holy, Rei reflected solemnly. More so than even the

Sacred Fire of her shrine on Cherry Hill... Rei shook her head. Best not to

think about that.

Mihoshi waved her hand again and began to skip across the stepping

stones. There was a simple picnic set up under the tree, a pink blanket and five

sets of cushions and a giant basket that was steaming slightly. Halfway across

the pond, Mihoshi slipped on something invisible and fell with a startled yelp

into the water. Rei started forward but Angel was there first, helping the tall

alien woman with her exotically tanned but otherwise human-like features out of

the water. Her long blonde hair was plastered to her face now, leaving one of

her inhuman features - her longish, faintly pointed ears - clearly visible.

"Thank you," Mihoshi said, smiling and showing her fang-like canines,

her final inhuman feature. Her grin was large and genuine, the kind of

unaffected smile that only children seemed capable of. It was impossible to stay

mad around Mihoshi for long. Even if she had just (accidentally) burned your

entire manga collection or (accidentally) catapulted your bed into the lake or

(accidentally) released a hundred shaved lab rats into your bed while you were

sleeping. Sometimes you wanted to (accidentally) tie her to a stake

and burn her alive for three days straight. Such feelings always passed quickly.

No matter how much of an annoyance she was, Mihoshi was just so genuinely nice

you found yourself not caring.

"Where's Katsuhito?" Mihoshi asked, looking around.

"Under a tree," Angel replied, grinning.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Mihoshi laughed so hard she pulled Angel into

the pond when she collapsed. Angel sat in the water, spitting water out of her

mouth with as much dignity as she could manage. Finally Mihoshi stopped and

looked at Angel. "Wait, I don't get it."

"Never mind," Rei said, walking to the island. "Let's eat." She looked

at the extra cushion. "Is Washuu going to join us?"

"Mmm-HMM!" Mihoshi nodded. "I went into the lab to invite her and she

said yes she would come!" She paused and touched her jaw with her finger. "She

also said that I ruined five months of work. Also there was a lot of pretty

explosions! But when she finally put down the cannon, she agreed to come out and

join us." Rei chuckled and sat down, before gingerly opening the basket.

It wasn't that Mihoshi was a bad cook. Her food was always edible,

though the kitchen often didn't survive the experience intact. It was just that

Mihoshi was an alien, and she sometimes forgot that Rei and Angel's tastes ran

to the more... terrestrial.

"No need to wait for them," Angel said, drying out her shirt by wringing

it out. She was wearing a tube top underneath, but Rei tried to look away

anyway. She swore Angel had no shame.

"You first," Rei said, pushing the basket full of unidentifiable...

stuff towards her.

OoOoO

It wasn't that Iron Mouse hated her job, exactly. When she'd surrendered

to the power of Galaxia, it had been a simple act of self-preservation. The rest

of the population of her planet? Well, they hadn't been so keen on self-

preservation as Iron Mouse, obviously. Assisting Galaxia in her conquest of the

universe was more self-preservation, though that didn't mean it couldn't be

fun... in small doses. Iron Mouse didn't consider herself a great aficionado of

hard work. But she DID believe, very strongly, in self-preservation. So she

worked (pretty) hard for Galaxia's goals, and did her best to enjoy it. All in

all, she'd done a good job for both aims, and she felt she'd definitely come to

the point of chipperly facing each new assignment. No, she certainly did not

hate her job.

Now, the PEOPLE she had to deal with in her job? That was another matter

entirely.

The highway, one of the major lines heading about fifty kilometers north

from Tokyo, was a mess. Vehicles had been scattered all around, most rended into

pieces, some having flipped off the road in vain attempts to avoid the

devastation. The pavement too was more or less destroyed, by slashes, by acid,

by missed laser beams and who knew what else. Pieces of zoanoids were scattered

here and there. Thankfully, only from the ones who hadn't been finished off yet.

Zoanoids dissolved when killed, a handy clean-up feature that Iron Mouse (not a

connoisseur of up-close death and destruction) appreciated.

And in the middle of the chaos, screaming incoherent epithets and waving

her oversized weapon at every zoanoid who dared come close? Iron Mouse's so-

called partner on this assignment, of course. What a great start to the work

week.

Iron Mouse, for her part, hadn't made her presence known yet. She was

hiding behind a tree a couple dozen meters from the small-scale war on the

highway. The problem with zoanoids was, you killed them, Chronos just sent more.

She'd hoped Heavy Metal Papillon would realise this and run away, but

apparently she was content to kill everything that came within her sight. Of

course. And if the zoanoids everywhere weren't bad enough, by now, quite a crowd

of reporters had gathered, too. Not at ALL good for Iron Mouse's cover if she

leaped out to drag off her so-called ally. Plus they'd have to fight their way

out, and fighting was another of those things Iron Mouse wasn't so keen on.

The problem was that the situation was coming to a head. The zoanoids

had drawn back. Chronos seemed to instill the silly things with no regard for

their own welfare, so that could only mean Papillon had done enough damage to

have some bigger guns called in. And Iron Mouse didn't fancy explaining to

Galaxia why she didn't do a thing while her fellow Animamate was mowed down by

Earth's warriors. Even if the stupid jerk completely deserved it.

The line of zoanoids barely parted in time as a car roared through where

they had been standing, coming from the direction of Tokyo. It swerved to a

stop, and two figures emerged. Iron Mouse hissed and gnawed her nails in

frustration. She knew these two.

They were both Japanese men, looking to be in their twenties. The driver

of the car was the older of the two. His straggly black hair fell down around

his thin-featured face, and his eyes were hidden by reflective black sunglasses.

He wore a snappy black suit, tailored expertly to his wiry frame. He was

grinning viciously. The passenger was somewhat taller than his companion, with

short, artistically tousled hair and a fine-lined face. He also wore black

sunglasses, but his outfit was a more traditional hakama and gi... although it

was also black. The two sauntered forward towards Heavy Metal Papillon, who

watched them with casual arrogance. The crowd of paparazzi muttered excitedly

and there were a few camera flashes.

"And just who might you be, girl?" asked the leader.

Iron Mouse winced, but luckily, Papillon was still too angry to give

them one of her 'proper introductions'. "You're not worthy of my name, dog!"

"Izzat so?" the skinny one sneered. "I don't think she knows who's she

dealing with. Why don't we show her, Ikazuchi?"

A bright blue flash ripped across the field, causing Iron Mouse to

squeak and hide behind the tree. When she ventured to look again, the two

zoanoids had transformed.

The leader, now a hideous fish-like monstrosity with swords for hands,

stepped forward and snapped his arm sideways, causing the air to crack. "Fool

girl, I... I am THANCRUS, hyper-zoanoid and member of the Elite Five, the

greatest warriors on Earth!" He pointed one of his sword hands at her. "What do

you think of that, little girl?"

"Claiming to be the greatest warrior on this planet is not a laudable

achievement," Papillon said with a snort.

"But I am his companion," the much more human-looking monster said,

flicking his hair with one hand and snapping one wrist, causing a clap of

thunder and a shaft of blue lightning to appear in the distance. "Ikazuchi, the

prototype Neo-Zoanoid! With a combat power that rivals even that of a zoalord,

and the skills of the great traditions of this land!" He slowly drew his hand

across his body, forming a crackling blue sword.

"Oh please, teal and powder-blue?" Papillon snorted again. "Hardly the

colours of manly warriors."

"What's wrong with blue?" Ikazuchi shouted, leaning forward and wagging

his sword at her.

"Nothing, but such pale and... quite frankly, sissy-looking blue is not

a very masculine colour."

"Surely you jest!" he shouted, standing back. "I am the pinnacle of

masculine evolution. The ultimate expression of human potential to be handsome

and attract females. Certainly even you must feel the quiver in your heart at

the very sight of my lady-killing smile?" He smiled then, and there was a glint

of light off his white teeth.

Well, those two would be busy for the next few minutes, if she knew both

Heavy Metal Papillon and Ikazuchi. She had to act fast, however, before Thancrus

decided to turn this into a bloodbath. She grabbed a tree branch off the ground

and snuck up to the back of the cluster of paparazzi. She singled out one woman;

she had long brown hair and was wearing a brown vest and huge bell-bottom jeans

with yellow stars on them. The woman was so busy trying to take pictures that

Iron Mouse managed to get her good right behind the ears before anyone noticed.

She was taller than Iron Mouse - not much of a boast - which presented

two problems. One, she had to drag the heavy woman back into the woods. This was

accomplished with some truly heroic effort. Two, Iron Mouse had to fit into her

clothes. This was more tricky. Finally, she decided to just run with it. Maybe

the oversized clothing would make her look 'cute' or something. She peeked out

to look at the two...

"These wings represents my ability to soar over the heads of the

unwashed masses, which gives them more purpose than those glowing beach balls

you have embedded in your arms!"

"Foul woman! These are the organs that generate my mighty lightning!

Dare you mock the perfect form of Ikazuchi, I will not have it!"

"Your perfect form is-"

Still plenty of time.

She ran over to the various satellite vans parked around the periphery

of the carnage zone. One overeager news crew had come too close earlier and been

cleft in twain, but the rest pretty much knew what kind of distance they needed

to stay out of the splash zone of the major metanatural cockfights. She spotted

a man cleaning a camera nearby and marched up to him before hitting him in the

shoulder with all her strength.

"Ow!" he rubbed the arm. "What was that for?"

"You idiot! What are you doing just standing here? This is the scoop of

the century!"

"Huh?" he blinked. "But it's just another..."

"Come with me! We're going to get exclusive close up shots of all this!"

"Are you insane and- wait... who are you?"

Iron Mouse puffed out her cheeks to look more intimidating. For some

reason, that never seemed to work, but she did it anyway. "I'm Nez... Nez..." Oh

crap. She'd spent years establishing her cover identity on this paranoid planet.

She needed to come up with a new ID. "I'm... Nezanaj cough Takawatmashimaru!

Don't question me!"

"Neza-what?"

"Takawaytokamatchi!"

He stared at her. "Didn't you just say 'Mashimaru' or..."

She hit him again and he yelped, rubbing his arm. "Shut up, that isn't

important!" She grabbed him by the arm and began to drag him off towards the

wall of paparazzi. Or that was the plan. Since he was twice her size and weight,

she mainly ended up digging little furrows in the gravel and grunting a lot.

Finally with a sigh he stood up - lifting her off her feet in the process - and

started towards the battlefield.

"If it'll get you to leave me alone, fine."

" Chu Chu Chu!" Iron Mouse laughed, thinking about how much of a genius

she was. She yelled and bullied her way through the crowd, who were more than

willing to let her and her cameraman pass when they discovered she was intending

to enter the field of battle. Probably because "hyper-zoanoids kill yet another

violent psychopath metanormal" wasn't as good a headline as "beloved media

personality struck down in her prime in battle between Chronos and alien space

babe". Iron Mouse snorted. Vultures.

Finally she stopped just behind the arguing Elite Five (er, Two) and

told her cameraman to set up. Thancrus looked back at her. His face was

expressionless, but he looked slightly surprised. Seizing the moment, Iron

Mouse shoved a microphone into his face, "I'm... Nezahmadinejad

Takoyakiandnoodles from... Galax... I mean Solar System TV! I understand you

brave heroes of Chronos are going to kill a woman with giant wings on her back!

Butterfly wings! How do you respond to allegations that you are, in fact,

nothing but a bully beating up a woman dressed like a butterfly?"

"Nobody's saying that!" Thancrus yelled.

"I did! Just now!"

"I'll show you what I think of uppity humans interfering in..." He

paused. "Damn, Purgstall keeps telling us we need good PR..." He lowered his

sword-arm, and Iron Mouse's heart started beating again. "I mean, I have the

greatest respect for the opinions of the media, and of course we wouldn't strike

down an innocent, but... uh, well, she killed a bunch of people."

"A likely story!" Iron Mouse accused, pushing him aside and confronting

Heavy Metal Papillon directly. "And you, miss nice please don't kill me lady,

how do you respond to accusations that you 'killed a bunch of people', as this

obvious zoanoidist put it?"

"Zoanoidist?" Thancrus muttered. "Is that even a word?"

"What trickery is this, Iron Mouse?" Papillon frowned at her. "And what

is with that ridiculous outfit? It's three sizes too big for you."

Iron Mouse began to sweat, again. "Haha! I have no idea who you are

talking about! I am most certainly not the fashionable and lovely Sailor Iron

Mouse, scourge of the galaxy! I'm... Nezuarbysmakesyourhamburg... Oh forget

it!" She spun and flung her clothes to the side, standing revealed in her white

Sailor Iron Mouse costume. "I am Sailor Iron Mouse, and I have fooled you all!"

Ikazuchi gasped. "By Arkanphel! It's a trick!"

"You think?" Thancrus growled.

"And..." Iron Mouse grabbed Papillon's arm."I'msorrybutwe'rejustleaving,

bye!" She stepped backward, into a old-fashioned phonebooth that just happened

to appear out of nowhere behind them. It was a tight squeeze with both of them,

but they could fit enough for the door to close.

"By Arkanphel! They're getting away!" Ikazuchi gasped again.

"Don't just say that, do something about it!" Thancrus yelled, jumping

towards the booth. Iron Mouse squeaked like, well, a mouse and covered her head.

Then there was the familiar woosh of the teleportation chamber vanishing and

placing them somewhere else.

"It's about time you showed up," Papillon said with a snort. "I've been

waiting for you for almost an hour. The people on this planet are ignorant

hicks."

"What were you doing, anyway?" Iron Mouse said as she stepped out of the

booth. It had taken them to the offices of Galaxy TV, so they should be

relatively safe. "Do you have any idea how dangerous this planet is?"

Papillon turned up her nose. "I asked the first inhabitant I met for

directions and the rude creature just zoomed past me without so much as a pause.

Then the second did the same. I know Galaxia told me to be circumspect in this

mission but after three snubs I had to teach the next a lesson."

Iron Mouse blinked. "Were these inhabitants large, made of metal and

running on wheels?"

"Yes, what of it? I have encountered stranger life forms in this

universe. Why the Makaiju of the dark sector galaxy are giant sentient trees

that create a servitor race of green-skinned humanoids who-"

"Those were cars, Papillon," Iron Mouse explained with a sigh.

"No, they were humanoid servitors."

"I meant the 'locals' you killed. They were cars. Transports. They're

sealed from the outside so noise can't penetrate well and they were going too

fast to hear you anyway."

Papillon snorted. "Whatever. What matters is I am here on a errand of

great import. The battle between Galaxia and the Jurai Fleet is at a stalemate."

She smiled, a dangerous smile. "We two are going to end that stalemate, once and

for all!"

Then she broke out into a bout of full blown megalomaniacal laughter,

complete with forming her fingers into claws and waving them randomly at the

ceiling as she threw back her head. Iron Mouse pinched her nose. If she went

along with this plan, she'd likely get killed. If she defied Galaxia, she would

definitely be killed.

It was times like this she wished she had a spine.

OoOoO

"Ah, this looks marvellous," Katsuhito said, smiling pleasantly as he

sat down. Mihoshi idly pulled a leaf from his hair, which he barely noticed. He

pulled a pair of chopsticks out of nowhere and began to dine enthusiastically on

the... whatever it was that Mihoshi had prepared. "Ah, this is excellent,

Mihoshi. You've really improved!"

"I have?" Mihoshi said, blinking.

"Uh, yeah. of course you have!" Angel added. Out of all the people here;

heck, out of all the people she had ever met in her long apprenticeship, Mihoshi

had been the nicest to her. So she felt the need to reply kindly, regardless of

reality. "This stuff is hardly poisonous to humans at all!"

"Yes," Rei agreed, grimacing at the entree at the end of her own

chopsticks. "At the very least, all the stuff you fed us this time is dead."

"By the way, girls," Katsuhito said, putting down his food and frowning

at the three of them, his expression grim and serious. "I must insist that you

clear things with me in the future."

"Hey, if you're complaining about the tree thing, you deserved it, old

man," Angel protested.

"No, no," he waved his hands. "That's all part of the training. I was

referring to your party."

"Party?" Rei said.

"Oh..." he frowned. "So they aren't friends of yours, Rei?"

"Who are you talking about?" Angel said, frowning.

"AH-HAH! We have you at last!"

"Them."

Everyone craned their necks and looked around. A crowd of figures was

emerging from the forest, surrounding the tiny pond on all sides. They were, one

and all, perhaps the strangest group of people Angel had ever seen in her life.

They had hair in every colour of the rainbow, and wore bizarre outfits: here a

nurse, there a policewoman, and over there a disco-dancing queen complete with

platform shoes and a shimmering disco ball for hair. Every single one of them,

including the men, were wearing a sailor collar and a pleated skirt. It was

rather disturbing, actually.

Then the leader stepped forward, or at least that's who Angel assumed it

was. She was taller than most of the others. She had long indigo hair held back

by an elaborate tiara. She was wearing a bikini with a translucent pink skirt

attached, thigh-high stiletto boots and fingerless opera gloves. From her back

grew a pair of faintly luminous butterfly wings coloured violet with black tips.

Strangely enough, she wore a pair of golden bracers on her wrists that didn't

quite fit with the rest of her outfit. In her hand she carried a giant scythe, a

weapon of terror and death as designed by a hyperactive ten-year-old girl with

an unhealthy obsession with pink.

"At last I have found you after all my minutes of searching!" the woman

said, posing with one hand held up to her mouth. "Did you really think you could

escape me? I am the great champion, Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon, guardian of the

Graveyard of Dead Stars!"

"Well, that answer my first question," Katsuhito said, adjusting his

glasses. "Is there something we can help you with young lady?"

She spun her scythe sharply - forcing several of the nearby sailor-

suited circus freaks to duck and leap for cover - and pointed it at the old man.

"Do not feign confidence in the face of your doom, pathetic Earthman!"

"Juraiman."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm from Jurai. The proper term is thus 'pathetic Juraiman'."

"Oh, pardon me." She cleared her throat and swung her weapon around a

few more times - causing more panic in her minions - before pointing it at

Katsuhito in the exact same pose. "Do not feign confidence in the face of your

doom, pathetic Juraiman!"

"Better."

"I have been sent to this backwater planet to collect the Star Seed of

your great superweapon." She struck another pose. Out of the forest around her,

tiny glowing butterflies began to emerge, surrounding her in aesthetically

pleasing patterns. "I am a servant of Sailor Galaxia, who will bring order to

this universe. I am the last scion of the planet Cocoon, destroyed by my own

hand, who will shatter your dreams of defiance with my insurmountable power."

"Oh," Katsuhito looked at Rei. "So, not a friend of yours, I take it?"

"You stupid old man," Rei leapt to her feet. "She's going to kill us!"

Heavy Metal Papillon - just thinking the name made Angel wince -

snorted. "Oh please, I would not sully my hands with such lowborn field workers

as you."

"Field worker?" Rei growled.

"Is that not dirt I see under your nails?"

"I... uh... it is, but..." Rei slapped herself in the forehead. "Forget

it. MARS CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE UP!" There was a flash of red light and fire and

Rei appeared in her abbreviated school girl suit. She posed and pointed at

the evil Sailor Senshi. "Servants of darkness who threaten my home and call me a

field worker deserve to be punished! I, Sailor Mars, will defeat you!"

"Oh, so you're a Sailor Senshi, are you?" Papillon snickered behind her

hand. "Sailor Iron Mouse, appear and deal with this upstart!"

"Do I have to?"

"YES!"

A girl dropped from the trees and landed beside the other Sailor Senshi.

She was short, very much so, and dressed in a white outfit that looked like the

kind of thing a five year old would wear to bed. She had springy white hair

drawn up into two buns that looked like... no, they actually were mouse ears.

Also, she had a tail.

"I..." the girl stared at the four of them. "I'm Sailor Iron Mouse,

champion of... planet..." She trailed off. They blinked at her. "Uh... minions

attack!"

The horde of freaks around them charged forward, splashing across the

pond.

"Minions attack?" Papillon said with obvious disgust.

"I haven't done this in seven years! I'm out of practice!"

Then the horde was upon them and Angel had no more time to pay attention

to the bad guys' conversation. She leapt up, spinning in place and kicking out

at the first three that approached, knocking a circus midget, a piano teacher

and a street vendor-like creature falling back into the press. Rei pulled up her

hands and released a stream of fire which rocketed through the crowd, sending

the monsters scurrying in all directions, many of them jumping into the pond to

try and get away from the flames. Mihoshi made a small sound and jumped away as

a giant man wielding a croquet mallet smashed apart their picnic.

"Hah! Watch this, Rei, I'll prove I'm good enough to fight monsters!"

Angel reached around to pull out her sword and... her hand grasped around for a

few moments. "Umm. Where's my sword?"

"Back at the house, I believe," Katsuhito pointed out. He was using his

bokken to fend off a few more ridiculous-looking sailor monsters. "Also, I think

you threw your other one away."

"Damn it!" she yelled. "This is your fault, old man!" She dodged

sideways to avoid an attack that involved giant pink and blue musical notes

trying to wrap her up like chains and drove her elbow into the attacker's solar

plexus. She then smashed her hand into the thing's jaw as it bent forward,

knocking it out instantly.

"Get behind me then, Angel," Rei said, stepping forward and forming a

long fiery tendril from her hands which she used to drive the monsters back.

"Grab Mihoshi and head back to the house while Katsuhito and I handle this!"

"Forget that!" Angel crowed, slipping around beside her and gut-kicking

another monster - this one a bus driver - across the pond and into the tree with

enough force to cause a few leaves to fall.

"You'll just get in the way!" Rei roared, igniting a woman wielding a

giant pair of tweezers with a snap of her fingers.

"Only because you're only good for wanton destruction!" Angel retorted,

jumping up and doing the splits to kick aside two monsters at once.

"Oh, why thank you, Mr. Baker!"

"Mihoshi, what are you doing?" Angel shouted, twisting and kicking off

another monster to land beside the airheaded alien. The blonde in question was

accepting a large bun from a man with purple skin wearing a giant chef's hat and

an apron (with required sailor collar and skirt).

"Mr. Baker was giving me a bun," she explained, showing Angel the baked

good.

"He's a monster!" Angel said, slapping away the bun. "It's probably

poisonous!"

"Zailor Baker doez not poizon hiz goodz!" the thing roared in a faux

French accent, pulling out a baguette which it held like a fencing foil. "You

have impugned my hon-AIR! En garde, madame!"

"Hey, that's a good idea!" She grabbed the baguette away from him and

kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying away. She then swung the long thin

bread a few times, putting a slash through a nearby rock with it. "Cool."

"Angel, you hurt Mr. Baker!"

"He was a monster, Mihoshi," Angel explained.

"No, he was Mr. Baker, from in town. You can bet he won't sell us

any more of those rice buns you like if you keep kicking him like that."

"That's ridiculous, Mihoshi."

"No, actually she's right," Katsuhito said, suddenly appearing beside

Angel to parry an incoming barrage of razor-sharp ice cream cones. Angel

blinked.

"Did you just say Mihoshi was right?"

"Yes," Katsuhito said. "You see, these are Phages. Sailor Galaxia and

her minions can remove the Star Seed from a human being. Then they can transform

the victim into a dangerous magical monster with powers based on their skills

and talents."

"So these are human beings?" Angel gasped.

"Yes, yes they are and..." Katsuhito paused. "Uh, Angel, that means you

should stop lopping off their limbs."

Angel turned around, waving her bloodstained bread. "What? So they were

once human. So were zoanoids. It's okay to kill them, right?"

"Well, yes, but this is different. These people didn't ask to..."

"Neither did most zoanoids," Angel pointed out with a shrug. "And when

Rei says she roasted them, I don't think she meant she was making jokes at their

expense."

"Uh..." Katsuhito blinked. "Then I order you to stop?"

"Oh fine." She sighed and stepped back. "It's not like they're much of a

challenge individually anyway." She grinned. "So, I'll just take out the

leader!"

"Angel, don't do anything stupid..." Angel was already running across

the shoulders of the Phages by the time he started speaking. He sighed.

"Never mind."

Angel came to the edge of the crowd of transformed humans and leapt. She

pulled her baguette-sword into a double-handed overhead grip and screamed as she

came down towards the tall lithe figure of Heavy Metal Papillon. The woman

raised an eyebrow at her. Then there was a flash of pink and Angel fell back,

still screaming but in surprise this time. She landed in the pond with a splash.

Angel held up her baguette, which had been cleft in two. She blew air

out through her lips and flipped her now-wet hair out of her eyes. "Well, I

should have expected as much."

"Normally I would be so indifferent to such a pathetic attack on my

person that I would not even deign to destroy you, little girl," Papillon

explained, adjusting her grip on her scythe. "But to subject me to the indignity

of using my minion's weapons against me demands that I slay you out of hand."

She struck quickly, and Angel leapt. Water flared up around her, a

waterfall in reverse and Angel spun, skipping off the haft of the weapon and

leaping into the woods. Papillon followed her with the blade, spinning and

slashing. The tree Angel bounced off of split down the middle a millisecond

later, and the branch she swung around was cut from the tree almost before she

left it. It was when the woman rose into the air and began spinning her scythe

around her, ripping the entire forest apart, that Angel began to worry.

"Of course she flies," Angel muttered as she fell to the ground and

rolled under the sphere of death that had formed around the winged woman. "And

she's faster than Kiima," Angel groaned as she rolled further into the woods.

She leapt to her feet again. "At least she doesn't have Kiima's area-destroying

ranged..."

"GALACTICA SCALES!"

The forest exploded, ripped to shreds by spinning purple discs of light

that tore through everything. Angel screamed and ran. There was no complex

tactics or intricate manoeuvring involved, just running for her life.

Finally the forest stopped exploding around her and Angel fell down,

taking deep calming breaths. "I had to say it, didn't I?"

"Urchin!" the sailor woman said as she floated towards Angel. "You

survived my attack? Impressive! But not nearly impressive enough! I will-"

"FLAME SNIPER!"

The woman screamed as the blast of flame sent her flailing through the

sky. She grabbed her wings and began to blow on them, putting out the tiny

fires. Rei landed in front of Angel, holding up her hands with her crimson bow

etched in flames. "Angel, are you insane?" she shouted over her shoulder.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"You singed my wings!" the woman screamed, rising to her feet.

"I'll do a lot more than that!" Rei declared, firing off another flame

blast. The woman snarled and blocked it with a sweep of her scythe.

"'I'll do a lot more than that?' Rei, you have got to work on your hero

dialogue," Angel complained. She busied herself looking for a suitable length of

wood among the torn-up trees to serve as a weapon. Rei, meanwhile, was busy

firing arrow after arrow of flame at the evil Sailor Senshi.

"I'm busy!" Rei shouted.

"You see, a proper hero has to have a dry cool wit," Angel explained,

picking up a good-sized branch. She swung it a few times for balance. "Like, if

the butterfly girl says 'you singed my wings' you respond with 'you know what

they say about moths and flames' or something."

"I am not a moth!" Papillon shouted, blocking another shot.

"That's the point! Comparing you to a moth would annoy you, thus making

you slip up at a critical moment," Angel explained, leaning against a tree that

had been nearly sheared in two. The blasts from Rei were still being deflected

by the arcing sweeps of the woman's pink scythe.

"What a laughable strategy!" Papillon laughed, to demonstrate how

laughable it was, apparently. "I'll crush you both!"

"But we're not the insects here," Angel pointed out with a smile.

"A butterfly is not an insect!" Papillon shouted, her eyebrow twitching.

"Actually it is. Order Lepidoptera of the class Insecta in the phylum

Arthropoda," Rei said.

"Haha!" Angel pointed at the violet-clad woman and bent over laughing.

"You're a flying weevil!"

"Damn you!" Papillon shouted, turning to strike at Angel. Angel ducked

as the blade passed overhead, removing the remaining pieces of the tree trunk.

"Rei, now!"

The blast of fire took the evil butterfly-woman straight in the back,

even as Angel slashed out, smashing her branch into the woman's side hard enough

that the wood shattered into splinters, which immediately burst into flames from

the heat. Angel then slid between her legs and flipped to her feet, landing

beside Rei. She turned to the older woman and shrugged at Rei's raised eyebrow.

"Told you it would work," Angel said.

"Not so fast," Papillon roared, flapping her wings and blowing away the

cloud of smoke that had enveloped her. She was covered in black scorch marks,

but looked otherwise unharmed. "Did you think any of your attacks could even

harm me?"

"Well, I was kinda hoping," Angel deadpanned.

"YOUR HOPES ARE DASHED!" Papillon yelled, charging them and swinging her

scythe, forcing them to leap away in opposite directions.

"That hardly makes any sense," Angel complained.

The evil Senshi snarled and swung her weapon backhand, forcing Angel to

duck. Rei tried to attack but the woman leapt up over her, kicking Rei in the

back and sending her crashing into the dirt. Angel rolled forward, striking with

an elbow, but was blocked with a single palm and thrown to the side as the woman

took another swing at Rei. Thankfully, Rei managed to roll to the side before

the blade bit into her back. Then Papillon laughed as she ripped her blade

through the earth, chasing Rei along the way.

Angel landed with a grunt. Damn, that woman was fast! She kicked to her

feet, spinning and pushing off a stump. She flipped over the woman's head,

punching four times to force the woman to dodge and block, distracting her from

Rei. Rei barely had a chance to get to her feet before Papillon reversed her

scythe suddenly and caught Angel in the chest with the haft, driving her into

the ground with enough force to crater it.

"ANGEL! FLAMING MANDALA!"

Rings of fire orbited Rei for a moment as she posed and gestured,

sending them out in a steady stream at the evil Senshi. Papillon snarled and

rushed straight into the cascade, slicing with her scythe. It tore through the

rings, causing them to tear apart in puffs of smoke. Then she rammed into Rei

hard enough to send her flying.

"Enough of this," Papillon snarled, rising into the air with a wave of

her wings. "Surrender your Star Seed!" She snapped her wrists together and the

golden jewels on her bracer began to glow...

Then a bowl of potato salad slammed into her face. For a moment she hung

there in mid-air, the bowl slowly sliding off but leaving a white goo sticking

to her face. She blinked, causing clumps to fall to the ground like oversized

tears. Angel swore she saw veins bulging in the woman's forehead despite the

culinary coating.

Katsuhito tsked as he approached, tapping his bokken on his shoulder.

"Really, picking on two girls like that. I have to say, it's hardly dignified."

"You..." Papillon spat, sending a piece of potato to the ground.

"YOU!"

Katsuhito flashed HIS smile, that special super-annoying old man

arrogant smile that said he knew more than you and always would. The kind that

made Angel, who was his student and his friend, want to eviscerate him with a

spoon. On Papillon, it had the expected effect. She screamed in incoherent rage

and lanced down at him. Her scythe blurred out of even Angel's enhanced sight,

nothing but a pink shimmer in the air.

Then there was a brown flicker and a loud thunk. For a moment Papillon

floated in mid-air, her eyes wide. Katsuhito was holding his bokken backwards

across his body, deftly blocking her strike. The huge metal blade was being

held back by a simple piece of caramel-coloured wood. Then he dumped a bowl of

noodles in her hair.

What followed was perhaps the strangest fight that Angel had ever seen.

Papillon was a whirling dynamo of destruction, her grand scythe cleaving air and

ground and water with equal ferocity. Katsuhito seemed barely to move, his body

blurring into motion only at the last second to just barely block her strikes or

dodge by a hairsbreadth. He never once attacked her; instead, he seemed to have

gathered up all the unused food of the picnic, and was busy using it in the most

interesting fashion. He slapped her with sandwiches, dumped shrimp-like things

down the back of her skirt and sprayed a can of soda in her face.

Rei frowned. "This isn't good," she said somberly.

"But he's handling her like a child!" Angel said.

"Yes, but not attacking," Rei pointed out. "I don't think he can hurt

her, and he knows it. She's not getting any madder, so why bother at this point

with all the clown antics?"

"Because it amuses him?" Angel replied seriously. Rei blinked. Then

shook her head.

"No, even he can take things seriously if he has to," Rei pointed out.

"Oh..." Angel frowned and rubbed her chin. "Well, then we have to do

something, I guess. You got any ideas?"

"No." Rei looked around. "What happened to all the Phages, anyway?"

"Oh, I dealt with them."

Both girls leapt nearly five feet into the air. Angel clutched at her

heart as she landed. "Washuu!" she shouted, turning to face the deceptively

child-like scientist. Washuu was sitting on a cushion in the middle of the

ground, her huge red pile of hair barely coming up to Angel's waist. She was

eating from a bag of popcorn as she watched the 'duel' between Katsuhito and

Papillon.

"Call me Little Washuu!" she admonished, slapping Angel on the wrist.

Angel hissed and withdrew her hand.

"Little Washuu, how long have you been here?" Rei asked, her voice

edging on the precipice of demanding.

"Oh, most of the fight, really," Washuu replied cheerfully.

"Why didn't you do anything, then?" Angel demanded.

"Oh, you're right. That's been very rude of me." She frowned and stared

at the battle in progress. "Popcorn?" She offered the bag to Angel.

Angel stammered for a bit. Meanwhile Katsuhito seemed to have gotten the

upper hand. He finally struck with his sword, driving the bokken into the bottom

of Papillon's chin and sending her flying up into the sky. The Senshi cursed and

looked down. Washuu waved her fingers at the woman in the air.

"WASHUU!" Papillon gasped in shock.

"That's Little Washuu!" Washuu called out.

"Damn... I'm not prepared to face you!" She beat her wings and propelled

herself backwards into the air. "I'll be back! You fools have not defeated me!"

"See you later!" Washuu called out calmly.

"Shouldn't you stop her?" Rei asked.

"Why?"

"Because she's a bad guy!" Angel screamed.

"But I already have a butterfly collection," Washuu explained.

Angel had no response to that, so she just stared. Washuu rose up and

tossed the bag over her shoulder. A little trash can appeared just long enough

to swallow it as Washuu patted her hands. "Besides, she isn't the real problem.

The problem is what do we do with the hundred people she turned into monsters."

She started back towards the pond. Not having anything better to do,

Angel and Rei followed. Katsuhito came along too, but he remained mostly silent.

When they got to the water, they saw why none of the Phages had shown up for the

fight. Each and every one of them was caught in a huge blob of some sort of

clear yellow goo-like stuff that stuck them in place perfectly. It made the

entire scene look like some macabre circus that had been caught and preserved in

amber.

Mihoshi was giggling and holding a laser gun at the head of the other

Senshi, the white-clad short girl... though she was slightly taller than Washuu,

if you didn't count hair. The girl's eyes widened as Washuu and the others

entered the clearing; Angel refused to look at the giant zone cleared out by

their battle just behind them.

"ACK! It's Washuu!" the little woman cried in genuine fright.

"Yes, I am the great and powerful Washuu!" Washuu said, in a booming

voice. "Fear my immense undefined cosmic powers!"

"No way am I sticking around to fight you!" Iron Mouse shouted, stepping

backward as an old-fashioned telephone booth popped into existence behind her.

Mihoshi blinked.

"Oh, that's a neat trick!"

"It is, isn't it?" Iron Mouse agreed. Angel started forward, but there

were a lot of frozen Phages between her and the island and she wasn't about to

risk touching any of the confining goo. Iron Mouse grabbed the handset of the

phone and held it out towards Mihoshi. "Here, it's for you!" she offered

cheerfully.

"Mihoshi, don't!" Rei shouted, but to no avail.

"Oh? Hello?" Mihoshi grabbed the headset and stepped into the booth with

Iron Mouse. "Hello? Is anybody there?"

"CHUU!" Iron Mouse shouted triumphantly. "You fell for my clever trap!

You better give us the Star Seed, suckers, or she gets it!" Then the door closed

and the booth vanished.

"Mihoshi!" Angel cried, having reached the island a second too late.

"Damn, now what do we do?" Rei said.

"What would you girls do without me?" Washuu said with a sigh. She was

now floating in the air and tapping on a holographic keyboard that had appeared

under her fingers. She glanced at a yellow screen in the air. "What a simple

teleportation system. It only takes them to one place." She snorted. "Amateurs."

She tossed a small device to Angel, who caught it. "Here, this will track them

down. Why don't you three go save Mihoshi while I see what I can do for these

poor souls?"

"You mean, I get to go be a hero?" Angel clutched the device to her

chest.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Washuu waved her hand. "I'd do some speech here

about finding your inner strength or power or child or whatever the buzz word

is, but I actually think you need to tone down the enthusiasm a bit." Washuu

looked at Angel. "Coming from me, kid, that tells you something."

"Hmmm. I wonder what they were really after here?" Katsuhito said. "This

attack seemed too uncoordinated. As if victory wasn't their real objective."

"Maybe..." Rei looked away.

"They just seem like idiots to me." Angel started skipping towards the

house. "Let's go beat them up and save Mihoshi!"

OoOoO

"AAAAH! My arm!"

"Hmm? Is there something wrong? Does it hurt?"

"It's... it's BLUE!"

"Sorry, temporary side-effect. You have to admit it's better than no arm

at all. Darn overenthusiastic kids going around inflicting unthinking violence

everywhere! Why, no daughter of mine would... actually, forget I said that."

"How will I explain this to my wife?"

"Awww, it's okay, she was turned into, I dunno, Sailor Wife Of

Schoolteacher or something. I forget. She's got an eggbeater, maybe Sailor

Housewife? What do you think?"

"Oh my god, you mean that's HER?"

"Yep! But don't worry, none of you will remember any of this anyway. Now

look into the nice red light..."

"What do you mean? Who are y- uuuuugh..."

The former Phage turned around and stiffly walked to a corner of the

lab, lining up with the rest of the healed townsfolk. The lab was an interesting

sight, less... over-the-top than it's owner would lead you to expect. It was

somewhat darkened, lit largely by a soft blue glow emanating from... somewhere.

Large pipes and other equipment of unknown use were scattered around the

laboratory, soaring through the air, or disappearing into the walls, but overall

the room was surprisingly uncluttered and roomy.

Washuu wiped her brow theatrically, then clapped her hands sharply and

moved up to the next entombed victim. "So, moving right along, then," she said

sharply. "Name?"

The Phage struggled vainly at her bonds for a moment. "You will all be

destroyed!" she growled.

"Yes, yes, but what's your NAME?"

"Sailor... Fashionista!"

"Right, right..." Washuu made a few notes on the holographic keyboard

that had appeared in front of her. "Huh, I didn't think there was anybody in

that field in the village..."

"I will destroy you... for your poor fashion sense! And haircut!" the

Phage said hastily.

"Hey!" Washuu said, looking up and pointed accusingly, shaking her

enormous mane of spiked red hair. "I'll have you know my hair spawned a fashion

trend that lasted five thousand years! They even named a nebula after it!" She

paused. "And anyway, you shouldn't talk, with that tacky outfit. It makes you

look like you have wings."

"How dar- that is, you are a fool and your planet and hairdo will be

destroyed! Grr!"

"Yes, yes," Washuu said. She held up a small ball-peen hammer in one

hand. "Now, this'll only hurt for a moment or two... or five or six."

She whacked the Phage on the forehead, right above the veil that

concealed her features. She slumped back, going slightly cross-eyed, and the

amber gel that had been holding her suddenly dissolved away. A great glowing

light gathered at her forehead, and then... nothing.

Washuu blinked. "Wow, that's strange. The corrupted Star Seed should

have-"

"HA!" screamed Sailor Fashionista. Her hand whipped out, grabbing the

little-girl scientist by the shoulder. "Taste my true power! GALACTICA BANISH!"

A great hole in space-time ripped open-

"Hey, that's a hole in space-time!" Washuu commented unnecessarily.

-and with a wail like a thousand dying stars, great black tendrils of

dark power wrapped around her body.

"Not tentacles! I've seen these sort of comics before!" Washuu wailed.

They began dragging her into the portal.

"Nooooo, noooo, I don't wanna go! I'm too young, brilliant, gorgeous,

brilliant, witty, charming and brilliant to die yet!"

The Phage gritted her teeth, and ripped away her veil. "Give up,

Washuu!" the revealed Heavy Metal Papillon crowed in triumph. "Even you can't-"

"That's LITTLE Washuu!"

"Shut up and fall into the abyss!" Papillon growled.

"But it looks so scary!"

"It doesn't matter! This power was granted to me by Sailor Galaxia

herself! Noone can resist it! Not even you!"

"Oh, come on, can't she make an exception just this once?"

"No!" Papillon clenched her fists. Impossible as it seemed, Washuu

almost DID seem like she was holding off the power of the Galactica Banish. She

wasn't escaping, but despite all the straining of the dark power, the self-

proclaimed 'greatest genius in the universe' wouldn't budge. Papillon stalked a

few steps away, looking around, and pointed at a piece of complex-looking

machinery that took up a large section of the wall. "Well, fine, then! I presume

THIS is precious to you! Perhaps I'll just sent it ahead of you, and then if you

ever want it back, you'll have to surrender-"

"Actually, I threw that together one night last year after too much

sake. I think it makes coffee."

Papillon stared.

"Really good coffee. I should remember to actually use it sometime."

"Well, how about this?" She pointed randomly at something else.

"That's the garbage can."

"This, then!"

"...I don't even know what that does. Did Mihoshi leave it in here?"

Papillon stamped her foot in impotent rage. Her plan had been BRILLIANT!

Why did these sort of complications always set in? Then she smiled evilly. "Very

well. Since you persist in being... difficult, I suppose you force my hand... so

to speak."

"That's kind of weak. You need to work on your witty repartee."

"SHUT UP!" She seized one of the glassy-eyed former Phages. "GALACTICA

BANISH!" The portal this time worked much more smoothly, and the hapless ex-

Sailor Schoolteacher was sucked into the void between worlds.

"Well, that just wasn't nice."

"If you want to save his miserable life, you will have to follow him!"

Papillon crowed, pointing at Washuu. "I have sent him to Zero Star Sagittarius!"

"Well, I dunno. He might like it there, after all. Is it a vacation

spot?"

"NO!" Papillon paused for a moment, counting under her breath, before

brushing an errant hair back into place and continuing more calmly. "Zero Star

Sagittarius is the graveyard of the galaxy, the last refuge of the flames of

dying stars. It is a place few have seen, and fewer still have lived to speak

of!"

"Oh," said Washuu. "THAT Zero Star Sagittarius." She paused. "There's

not even air there, is there?"

Papillon laughed. "None whatsoever!"

"Well, I suppose I'd better go, then." Washuu stepped backwards, the

portal snapping shut hungrily the moment her body passed through it.

Papillon ran a hand through her rich violet hair, and laughed. "Fool!

Zero Star Sagittarius lies near the heart of the great Galaxy Cauldron, the seat

of the power of Galaxia! You have given up your life for a single foolish human,

and with your life, so to will perish this very planet!" She looked around

triumphantly. The restored humans stared at her with glassy eyes. The remaining

Phages had stopped struggling in their bonds, but also didn't seem to be paying

any attention. Papillon laughed again anyway, adding a good satisfying hands-on-

hips pose for good measure. It felt good to be triumphant.

Familiar, but good.

But it was, alas, still just the beginning of the work week. Ignoring

the trapped Phages, Papillon located the door and exited Washuu's lab, emerging

in a moderately-sized dwelling of mostly wooden construction. She paused,

glancing back at the door to the lab. It seemed to be ensconced in a nook under

the stairwell of the house, but was in fact far larger than should strictly have

been possible, given that. Well, no matter.

The house was empty. Papillon smiled. It appeared Iron Mouse had

actually managed to carry off her part of the plan and draw the other fools

away. Well, even a pathetic coward could be good for something, properly

directed. Without any opposition, she sauntered out of the house and back to the

site of the previous battle.

The tree stood there. Papillon allowed herself to admire it for a

moment. The Juraian trees were truly magnificent: great glorious boughs and

brilliant foliage, though nothing betrayed the great magical power within.

Though none could match the powers of Galaxia or her consort, total victory had

been hindered by the Juraian tree-ships which formed the backbone of the

Alliance fleet. Though some had been destroyed, the accursed Juraians had

ensured none could be captured... until one had been discovered here, stranded

on this remote planet far from the fighting.

Supposedly, this tree could no longer soar through the heavens.

Nonetheless, with its soul, Galaxia would no doubt discover the secrets of the

trees' power, and from there, destroy them.

Laughing one more time for good measure, she raised her hands, bringing

her bracelets together. A flash of light sprang from the jewels on the

bracelets, arcing into the great tree.

And nothing happened.

Papillon stared.

Then stamped her foot. Again. "DAMN IT! Why is nothing going right

today?"

Muttering, she stalked off to find her scythe, which she had hidden

before disguising herself as 'Sailor Fashionista' and joining the crowd of other

trapped Phages. It looked like she would have to find the man bonded to the

tree, the exiled prince of Jurai, Katsuhito Masaki. And... question him.

Then again, that wouldn't be so bad.

She gave her scythe a few experimental swings, smiling as she began

planning precisely how she was going to force the man to talk.

OoOoO

"I think they were expecting us."

It was a squat tower, five stories high and the colour of fresh fallen

snow. It also had two giant mouse ears, like something from a Disney cartoon

except white, sticking out from both sides. Two huge 'eyes' were on the front,

with eyes pointed down and towards them. The entrance was a huge laughing

rodent's mouth, complete with buck teeth. The tongue served as a red carpet

leading into the structure. A giant pink neon sign above the tower buzzed,

alternately flashing the words "Chuu" and "House" and a large heart.

Angel looked down at the device in her hands and sighed. "Well, this is

kind of useless," she said, stuffing it into a pouch on her belt. She grabbed

her sword and looked over at Rei. "So, what kind of trap is it?"

Rei frowned. She wasn't used to being the 'experienced' one in these

kinds of situations. Angel was looking to her for advice and encouragement,

which was a major responsibility. She didn't want to let the younger girl down.

"It's probably an ambush," Rei said softly. "I should go in alone."

"Oh great, there she goes again," Angel said, rolling her eyes.

"There I go again?" Rei frowned at her. "What are you talking about?"

"You're going all martyr on us." Angel said, leaning forward and poking

Rei in the centre of her bow. "Don't bother denying it, you have that look on

your face."

"Look?" Rei smacked her hand away. "I do not have a 'look'!" She turned

to Katsuhito. "Tell her she's crazy," Rei insisted.

"Well, you do have a look," Katsuhito said, rubbing his chin

thoughtfully.

"I do not!"

"Yes you do. It's that 'oh no, my tragic fate has created angst and now

I must atone through needless sacrifice' look you get."

"How can you even get that specific of a look?" Rei shouted.

"Generally like this," Katsuhito said. Then he removed his glasses and

sighed, staring wistfully off to the side. His eyes shimmered in the light and

his ponytail fluttered forlornly in the breeze.

Rei blinked. "Well, okay, I'll admit that looks kind of forlorn and

martyrish, but I do not get that look!"

"Yes you do!" Angel pointed out. Rei sighed and looked away. "You just

did it again!"

"Well, it's understandable," Rei grumbled, crossing her arms. "If it

weren't for me, none of this would have happened."

"That's silly," Katsuhito pointed out.

"Don't you understand what I'm saying, Katsuhito?" Rei pleaded with him.

"They're after the Star Seed, they said as much themselves! MY Star Seed! The

one that gives me my power! If it weren't for me, none of you would be in

danger!"

"Oh, I understood what you meant, it's just silly," he replied. "You

see, Rei..." He placed a hand on her shoulder in a fatherly gesture and smiled

benignly. "Your powers are so weak and meaningless that I can't see anybody

going through this much trouble just for them!" he explained cheerfully.

Rei was still standing in the exact same pose as the two walked into the

building ahead of her. She felt a vein in her forehead throb painfully. Finally

she clenched her fist and felt the air around her literally raise ten degrees.

"I can't kill him," she told herself. "Not until after we save Mihoshi."

She stalked into the building, seeing that Angel and the old fart were

just in what looked like a lobby. It consisted of a single circular room, with a

huge metal door on one end with a heart - with mouse ears - carved into the

centre of it. There was a huge purple speaker positioned just over the door, and

nothing else in the room except the plush-looking walls and ceiling. Katsuhito

was standing with his hands folded in his sleeves, while Angel stood with her

hand on one hip and her feet widely spaced. Rei resisted the urge to smack

Katsuhito in the back of the head.

"There doesn't seem to be any way to open the door," the grey-haired

monk said somberly.

"Hah. Watch this, old man," Angel said, drawing her sword with a rasp.

"I wouldn't try that!" Everyone looked up at the speaker. A obnoxiously

cute young woman's voice was coming through it, and the speaker vibrated visibly

with each word. "CHUCHUCHU!" the voice laughed. "Welcome to Sailor Iron Mouse's

TOWER OF NASTY PERIL!" There was a pause. "Wait, wait..." There was a rustling

and clanking sound from the speaker. Iron Mouse cleared her throat, causing a

wince inducing shriek of feedback. "Welcome to Sailor Iron Mouse's TOWER OF

NASTY PERIL!" There was a click as if somebody was pushing a button, followed by

a crack and roar of ominous thunder.

"I don't suppose you'd just be willing to hand over our friend and leave

without a fuss?" Katsuhito asked nicely.

"Oh, no, sorry... I mean, NO! CHUCHUCHU! This place will be your doom!"

Rei rubbed her forehead and looked at Angel, who shrugged. "The door before you

is made out of solid adamant, the strongest material in the entire universe! Not

even the mightiest martial artists can break through it, not even the sharpest

sword can cut it! This building has five such doors, leading from one floor to

the next! CHUCHUCHU!

"Behind each door is an increasingly more dire peril! Nefarious traps

and opponents which will test even your considerable skills to the utmost. Even

if you survive one nasty peril, you will only be faced with an even more nasty

peril in the next room, but too tired and drained of resources to possibly

survive!"

"So, you built this place to trap us?" Angel asked.

"You catch on quick!" Iron Mouse's voice replied without a hint of

irony.

"So, in other words, you built a better mousetrap?" Katsuhito said

cheerfully.

Rei and Angel hit him in the back of the head at the same time. He

ducked and apologized as they continued to smack him.

"Gee, even I realise how cheesy that was!" Iron Mouse said reproachfully

through the speaker.

Katsuhito opened his mouth and raised a finger. Angel and Rei glared at

him. He wisely shut his mouth. Angel cleared her throat and looked at Rei

meaningfully. "So, Sailor Iron Mouse, I bet that adamant stuff is expensive."

"Oh yes, more expensive than anything else! It's collapsed in the core

of a neutron star and forged in the gravitation field of a black hole before

being tempered by a gamma ray burst! Not even the most greatest artificers in

the universe can manufacture it without help!"

"So, I'm guessing you didn't make the entire building out of it?"

Katsuhito said, rubbing his chin.

"CHUCHUCHU! Are you crazy? I don't have the budget for that!"

"Right," Rei said.

She stepped to the centre of the room and drew her hand back, forming

the Mars Flame Sniper in her hands. "You fool, I already told you nothing can

destroy my adamant doors!" She frowned and dumped as much mana as she could into

it, trebling the size of the flaming tip in a faction of a second. She kept

drawing on her reserves until the arrowhead was a blinding flare of light that

not even Rei could look into. "CHUCHU! Use all the power you want, all it means

is you will not have enough left for the diabolical challenges..." Rei then

tilted back and pointed the arrow at the ceiling. With a wordless cry she

unleashed the attack. "Oh, fiddlesticks..."

The ceiling vapourised instantly. Then the ceiling after that, and the

ceiling after that. Finally the arrow vanished into the blue sky overhead,

winking out as it cleared the atmosphere. It left a tunnel straight through the

tower.

Angel and Katsuhito were already climbing, jumping from level to level

with easy strides. Rei took a moment to catch her breath before following. She

got to the top level just seconds after they did. The room they were in was

probably the entire top floor. It was wide open with a number of computer

control stations along the walls. Iron Mouse was sitting in one, holding an old-

fashioned microphone-headset combo up to one ear. She was also looking slightly

scorched. She coughed out a cloud of smoke.

"Hechuhechu..." She gave the three of them a big false smile. "I don't

suppose you guys would be willing to go through all my traps? Just so I can

justify the expense report to my boss?" They shook their heads slowly. She

sighed and looked away.

"See Rei, she has the exact same look!" Angel pointed out.

"Will you stop it with that?" Rei snarled. "This is serious! We have to

save Mihoshi!" Rei turned to the mousegirl. "Speaking of which, what have you

done with her?"

"Well... since you asked so nicely!" Iron Mouse laughed and smashed a

button on her console. Nearby, a portion of the wall began to spit out a cloud

of steam. With a loud whirr and click a section indented, revealing that it was

a huge iron door which slowly rose into the ceiling with a grinding clank of

chains and the hiss of hydraulics. The entrance was obscured with a cloud of

steam for a long moment as a shadowy figure stepped forth. "Witness the fate of

those who defy Sailor Galaxia!" Iron Mouse called and gestured. An errant breeze

from the hole in the roof blew away the steam to reveal...

Well, it was Mihoshi. Except she was wearing a giant yellow cone on her

head and clad in a sting bikini that was threatening to fall off at any moment.

Also her skin had turned pink, her eyes had become giant balls of red that

reflected the light and her normally slightly pointy ears had grown out to

almost a foot long each. She also had a sailor collar and a tiny pleated skirt

on her bikini bottom.

"SAILOR KLUTZ!" the Phage said, posing and laughing at them all.

"CHUCHUCHU!" Iron Mouse laughed with her hands on her hips. "How do you

like that, heroes?"

Everyone looked at each other and shrugged. "We pretty much figured that

was going to happen," Angel explained.

"Yeah, I mean, it's kind of an obvious ploy, don't you think?" Rei

pointed out.

"In fact we all agreed that we'd just knock her out until Washuu has a

chance to restore her when you pulled this," Katsuhito finished.

Iron Mouse deflated a little. "Oh... I..." She looked around. "MINION

ATTACK!"

"Sailor Klutz!" the possessed Mihoshi yelled, charging at them.

Katsuhito smashed her in the face with his bokken, Angel ducked to sweep her

legs out and Rei punched her in the gut. Sailor Klutz flew backward, smashing

into the wall hard enough to crack it. Her eyes were spinning around dizzily

when she staggered forward. "Sailor Klutz doesn't feel so good..."

"Well that was useful," Iron Mouse grumbled. Sailor Klutz continued to

wobble drunkenly across the room, the three giving her a wide berth. She frowned

and leapt back, snapping her wrists together. "Then I'll just have to make one

of you into my minion as well!" Her bracelets glowed and a pair of golden bolts

launched forth as she laughed again.

The blasts seemed to scatter across the room randomly, but Rei realised

they were actually homing in on her after a second. She jumped to the side but

the attack followed her in a wide arc. She bit her lip; if those things kept

tracking her, then-

The transformed Mihoshi drunkenly stumbled into the path of the golden

bolts. There was a flash of blinding light and her entire body stiffened as she

screamed. As the light dimmed she fell to her knees and a flower bloomed from

the centre of her forehead. Out of the petal of the flower a shining diamond-

shaped object appeared. "Her Star Seed!" Rei gasped.

Angel walked over and pushed on the Star Seed with one finger, pushing

it down into the flower, which folded around the gem and retracted back into

Sailor Klutz's forehead. There was another flash of golden light and then

Mihoshi was kneeling there, blinking. "Oh, my head..." she mumbled. "I think I

drank too much last night..."

"That's all it takes?" Iron Mouse shrieked. "The transformation's

supposed to be irreversible!"

"It seems that is not entirely true," Katsuhito murmured, rubbing his

chin. "Just in case Washuu ran into any problems, I guess we need her alive,

then. Girls?"

Angel and Rei ran forward, each grabbing one of Iron Mouse's limbs and

pinning her against the wall. The tiny woman was lifted off the floor. She began

to sweat as the two glared at her.

"You know, you're really bad at this," Angel pointed out. "Perhaps if

you help us out, we'll help you find a new career you'd be more suited to."

Iron Mouse looked at her and smiled evilly, her teeth gleaming. "Oh, bad

at this, am I? Chuchuchu! You fool, you don't realise what our real plan is!"

"Why don't you enlighten us?" Rei prompted.

"It's simple." She looked over Rei's shoulder. "I'm the distraction."

Rei looked back, and just say Heavy Metal Papillon floating down through

the hole in the ceiling. Katsuhito was too busy checking over Mihoshi to notice.

Rei opened her mouth to shout a warning, but it was too late. With a vicious

slash of her pink metal scythe, the indigo-haired Senshi knocked Katsuhito

aside. He screamed and smashed into the wall, before slumping down. A pool of

red began to grow underneath him.

"And that is about all you are useful for," Papillon said, raising her

weapon. "Now that I have defeated both Washuu Hakubi and your swordsman, it is

time I taught you two to fear the power of Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon!"

OoOoO

Angel stepped in front of Rei, holding her sword up across her chest.

Now she was back in her element. She'd duelled Kiima for months, and that woman

was ten times the martial artist this ditzy Sailor Reject was. Kiima could fly

better, was a better fighter and even had as destructive a super-attack. True,

Angel had managed to hit the woman exactly once in all their sparring sessions,

but that was back when she hadn't been nearly as good as she was now.

Plus, Heavy Metal Papillon had managed to place herself inside, where

Angel had much more in the way of walls and ceilings to use against her. She

smirked.

"So, the tables have turned, haven't they? CHUCHUCHU!" Iron Mouse said,

laughing as she walked up behind Papillon.

"What are you doing?" the other Sailor asked.

"Well, I thought we could defeat them together and..."

"And nothing. You already had a chance to defeat them. You failed

utterly. Now, you will sit back and watch a real warrior defeat them!"

Iron Mouse blinked and stared at Papillon. Then her eyes narrowed.

"Fine. See if you can beat them without MY help." Crossing her arms, she made a

huffing noise and walked over to the corner.

"That wasn't very clever," Angel pointed out. "At the very least, she

could have been used as a meat-shield."

The violet-clad woman smirked. "Don't be so confident. Today, you

become... a FALLEN ANGEL!" There was a long pause. Angel swore she heard

crickets chirping.

"Uh... that's the best witty repartee you could come up with?" Angel

asked, relaxing her stance a bit.

The woman tilted her head and began to gnaw on her sailor-style collar

as she spoke. "But I spent the entire trip over here thinking up that one," she

muttered.

"It's okay. Not everyone gets to be good at it," Angel soothed. Then she

paused. "What am I doing?" She looked over at Rei. "Hey, will he live?"

"Yes..." Rei stood up. "The wound is shallow but long. I think she hit a

nerve cluster of some kind. It looks worse then it is."

"Oh good." Angel looked back at Papillon. "So, let's see how this goes

when I'm armed with an actual sword!"

She rushed forward, then leapt at the last moment, spiralling up and

over the woman. Her feet pressed against the ceiling and she rebounded to the

side, spinning and landing in a crouch. Whipping her entire body to the side she

slid under a table, kicking it up to provide cover and then abruptly reversed

direction and cartwheeled to the side. Finally she struck, a single perfect chop

to the neck.

It clanged as Heavy Metal Papillon caught it easily where her blade met

its haft. "You know..." She twisted her scythe, forcing Angel to turn her body

to keep a grip on it. "I may not be good at this talking you excel at." Angel

tugged on her sword, but the woman had it caught firmly. "But I am good at

planning. For example, the last time I fought you, I was planning to lose."

Angel gasped as the woman swung her weapon sharply. The hilt of her

sword burned her palm as it was ripped from her grasp and sent flying towards

the wall. In fact, it flew so fast it smashed straight through the wall and

continued going. Angel was so busy staring after it that she didn't see the

indigo-haired woman reverse her sweep and drive the haft of the scythe into her

temple.

After that Angel wasn't quite certain what happened. Stars exploded

across her vision and she was pretty certain she spun a complete three-sixty.

She was also vaguely aware of Heavy Metal Papillon working her over like a

punching bag. From both sides she was struck and crushed. Her body was battered

from side to side, kept from falling by the fact that the blow that would have

knocked her over was immediately followed by a blow that knocked her in the

other direction.

Again.

And again. Until finally the world just dissolved into a grey haze of

pain.

Finally a sharp pain in her scalp brought her vision back into focus.

She was slumped over, and Papillon was holding her off the ground by yanking on

her hair. Angel tried to protest, but only managed to cough and hack. She saw

red drops spatter across the floor, adding to the carnage already there.

Her ears were ringing, so she couldn't hear anything. It gave the next

few moments a surreal quality. Rei was charging towards Papillon, screaming

something. She seemed to be moving in place, charging nowhere in slow motion.

Papillon's scythe snapped up and intercepted a blast of fire. Then she swung it

back around and struck, catching Rei in the stomach.

A red line formed, arcing out from the fire Senshi in slow motion. It

glistened as it flew through the air. Rei's eyes widened, almost comically, as

she fell backward. Her face went pale and her mouth opened and closed like a

fish. Angel felt the bizarre need to laugh.

She realised dimly that she had a concussion.

Red light flashed through the air. Papillon turned, wrenching Angel

painfully. Mihoshi had retrieved her pistol and was firing away. Her face was

not kind or laughing now. Her eyes were hard and her mouth was a thin line. Her

hands were steady as she gripped her weapon with both, firing short, accurate

bursts with the laser pistol. It wasn't even fazing Heavy Metal Papillon. The

bolts just harmlessly blasted into her as Papillon dragged Angel forward, while

pulling back her scythe with her other hand.

Then she realised that Papillon was going to remove Mihoshi's head from

her shoulders with a single swipe. She reached up and feebly grasped at the hand

holding her. She needed to stop it, but she didn't have the strength.

No. That wouldn't happen. She had been trained by the greatest martial

artists in the world. She had seen techniques that normal human beings couldn't

conceive of. She was not about to let something like concussions and probably a

whole set of broken bones stop her. She ground her teeth to hold in the shout of

pain as she seized control of the chi flowing through her body and forced it to

MOVE. This wasn't about muscles or nerves or bones. This was spirit, raw and

pure. She made her entire body a puppet and paid for it with pain.

Then Mihoshi slipped and fell, letting the scythe pass harmlessly over

her. A few blonde strands floated to the floor. Angel had pushed herself to her

feet and was struggling, but got shoved down harshly for her effort. She

released a scream as she collapsed. Papillon released her hair and shoved one of

her stiletto heeled boots into the small of her back.

"-lie down and be quiet," the woman was saying. Angel blinked away

tears. Well, at least she could hear again.

"Mihoshi, stop," Katsuhito said suddenly. Angel turned her head

painfully and saw that he was now leaning against the wall. The pool of blood

around him had stopped growing, and he had his hand pressed into his back, with

the other being used to help prop him up.

"But she's hurting..." Mihoshi said, sniffling.

"No matter," Katsuhito said, his voice serious. "She'll just hurt Angel

more if you continue attacking."

"I'm glad you see the way this works," Heavy Metal Papillon said with a

sneer. "You see, I'm not here for them. I'm not even here for this wretch's Star

Seed," she continued, gesturing to Rei. Rei was cradling her stomach with both

hand, moaning and trying to keep from bleeding too much. "I'm here for you,

Katsuhito Masaki... or should I say, Yosho of Jurai!" Papillon looked around, as

if expecting everyone to be surprised about that.

"I told them all my true identity long ago," Katsuhito explained with a

shrug. Papillon frowned.

"Nevertheless," she continued, "I'm here for the soul of your space-

faring tree. But it appears that your tree does not have its own soul. Which

means that it has passed it on to another. Which means YOU!" She pointed her

scythe at him triumphantly.

"Oh." Katsuhito rubbed his chin with the hand he had been using to brace

himself. "I don't have it."

Angel realised that Papillon was getting annoyed... well, more annoyed.

More importantly, she could sense that the woman was growing impatient with

Katsuhito's game. Sooner or later she'd try and use those bracelets on him...

"Don't be coy with me!" Papillon sneered. "You are that tree's master,

so you must have its Star Seed!"

"Nope, sorry, you'll have to go somewhere else for that," Katsuhito

repeated.

"Don't toy with me, little man! I am Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon, the

most beautiful and powerful of the Sailor Animamates! I personally fought the

great space pirate Ryoko to a standstill!"

Angel glanced over at Rei and Mihoshi. On the one hand, Rei was injured;

badly at that. On the other hand, while Mihoshi wasn't injured, she was Mihoshi.

Somebody needed to do something before Papillon got angry enough to finish off

the injured Jurai prince.

"Oh really?" Katsuhito adjusted his glasses. "Does she still only have

the one power gem?"

"Yes, but don't let that fool you, I can-"

"I defeated her when she had three."

Papillon blinked. "Well... I defeated you, didn't I?"

"Did you? Did you REALLY?" Katsuhito raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! I'm standing, and you're bleeding to death on the floor."

"Hmm. Point. Or am I just faking until you present an opening so that I

can defeat you?"

"You are not!" Papillon shouted.

"Oh really? Prove it. Leave an opening, and then when I don't exploit it

you'll know you really defeated me."

Papillon's eyebrow twitched. "Do you truly think I'm that stupid?"

"Yes?"

"Enough of this foolishness! Give me the Star Seed or I'll kill both of

these girls!"

"I don't have it. My grandson Tenchi has it."

"Your grandson..." Papillon's eyebrow twitched. "Fine. Tell me where he

is. I'll go rip it out of his corpse."

"He's on Jurai." Katsuhito paused. "If you've fought Ryoko, you've

probably met him. Unassuming boy, short black hair in a ponytail, can create the

Light Hawk Wings with an act of will?" The blood drained from the woman's face.

"Ah, I see you have met him."

"That's neither here nor there!" Papillon shouted again. "I don't

believe you. I defeated the great Washuu, so I must be smarter than all you

people."

"You defeated Washuu?" Katsuhito snorted.

"I did! I sent her to Zero Star Sagittarius! The graveyard of dead

stars!"

As Angel watched in frustration. However, movement caught her attention

as Iron Mouse walked over to Rei. Angel grit her teeth. If that bitch tried to

hurt Rei... But the woman only smirked and leaned over the fallen girl. She

began to whisper softly into Rei's ear. Angel frowned, what was going on here?

"Oh. That place." Katsuhito rubbed his chin. "Why is that special,

again?"

"You fool! It is in the heart of the entire universe, the cauldron from

which galaxies are born! But Zero Star Sagittarius is the realm where stillborn

star systems are captured. It is an inescapable miasma of negative energy that

not even Washuu can survive!" She laughed.

"That does sound nasty," Katsuhito agreed.

"Feh. Enough of this! I'll simply rip out your soul and turn you into my

loyal Phage." Papillon set her scythe aside and brought her wrists together.

"Even if what you say is true, I'm certain your grandson will negotiate for your

life!"

The gems on her wrists began to glow, and then Rei acted. She spun in

place, drawing her arm back. She didn't shout or scream or even so much as open

her mouth. The golden blasts emerged from the Animamate's wristbands. Katsuhito

flinched. An arrow of flame erupted from Rei's fingertips, and spiralled through

the air. It slammed right into the dimming gems on the woman's wrists.

There was a single sharp crack. Heavy Metal Papillon gasped and

staggered back. The golden orbs halted in mid-air, hovering just in front of

Katsuhito's chest. There was another crack and this time Angel saw the gems on

her wrist visibly vibrate. A thin line appeared in them, then another. With a

sound like a glass smashing against concrete, the gems shattered.

"NO!" Heavy Metal Papillon screamed. "Lady Galaxia! Save-"

She never finished, as her body seemed to become nothing more than a

human-shaped flash of gold light. Then with a sound that Angel would never

forget, she simply vanished. The balls of light she had summoned vanished with

her. A second later there was a tinkling as the empty bracelets hit the ground.

There was something else there, too, something that looked oddly like a

seashell. But a moment later, both of them dissolved into motes of light and

vanished.

"Good job girls," Katsuhito said, sighing. "But did you have to cut it

so close?"

"Angel!" Mihoshi leaned over her. "Are you okay? Here, let me help, I'm

trained in CPR!" The blonde flipped Angel over and began to pound on her chest.

"ARGH! Stop helping, Mihoshi!"

"Yes, you may want to place the other bad guy under arrest," Katsuhito

said mildly.

"Who?" Mihoshi looked up and everyone else turned their attention to

Iron Mouse, who was trying her best to look inconspicuous.

" Chu? Could we... uh... just forgive and forget?"

"Actually..." Rei frowned. "Without her, we wouldn't have defeated

Papillon."

"That's right! So you should let me go!"

"But she's a space criminal!" Mihoshi asked.

"She told me that the weakness of the Animamates is their magical wrist

bands. If those are destroyed, the Animamate dies from lack of a Star Seed,"

Rei explained. Everyone looked down at Iron Mouse's wrists.

"Except... uh..." She smiled thinly. "My wrist bands are invincible!

They're like Wonder Woman's! They stop bullets and make people tell the truth or

something!" Katsuhito and Rei raised eyebrows in unison. Even Mihoshi did not

look convinced. "That's right, so you can't even kill me if you try and I helped

you, so you should let me go, CHUCHUCHU! I'm so clever!" Angel realised the girl

was talking mostly to herself at this point.

"Nevertheless, we can't let you go until we find out a way to rescue

Washuu." Katsuhito informed her.

"There is no way!" Iron Mouse whined. "Not even the most powerful

beings in the universe can escape it!"

"That's impossible," Angel said. "Washuu's too smart to get caught like

that. Tell her, old man."

"Actually.." Katsuhito rubbed his chin. "When we first met Washuu, she

was caught in an alternate dimension that even she couldn't escape from."

"No!" Angel gasped. "There has to be a way!"

"Uh... nope!" Iron Mouse said cheerfully.

"She's right, there's absolutely no way even I could escape from Zero

Star Sagittarius," Washuu said, crossing her arms.

"See, even Washuu agrees that she can't escape!" Iron Mouse pointed out.

"Damn it... wait a..." Angel looked up at the tiny red-head.

Washuu smiled down at her. "That's why, before I was sucked through the

portal, I just changed the destination." She chuckled. "I would have been here

sooner, but I didn't think you four would really have that much of a problem

with Ms. Fashion Victim." She looked up at Iron Mouse. "Shouldn't you be running

away now?"

"Uh... you're letting me go?"

"Of course." Washuu sighed. "I don't kill people if I can help it,

unlike you or your boss. In fact, if I could I would save you." She held out her

hands. "If you really want, I can try. I can protect you from Galaxia, you know.

Maybe together we can find a way to restore your Star Seed to you, so that you

won't have to be her pawn... until she grows tired of you."

"I..." Iron Mouse looked at Washuu. Then suddenly her face hardened.

"No. I'm not going to fall for your tricks!" She stepped backwards into the

phone booth that suddenly appeared behind her. "You're a fool for not destroying

me while you had a chance!" With a click, the door of the booth closed and the

Animamate vanished.

"Why did you let her go?" Angel demanded.

Washuu sighed. "I just said it, Angel. I don't kill people if I have a

choice. I really do think she can be saved. Maybe if I'd gotten her shortly

after she'd been 'turned' by Galaxia, there might have been enough of her old

personality for me to..." She trailed off. "But no, Chaos has her now. It

infects the bodies of Galaxia's minions just like it does Galaxia herself. If

I'd killed Iron Mouse, I would have just played into that thing's goals."

She looked at the four of them. "Oh man, you people are a mess. I leave

you alone for ten minutes and look what happens." Then she smiled. "Well... I

can fix this..."

"Oh god, please, not the tube again..." Rei moaned.

OoOoO

"So you see, Mistress Galaxia, it was completely her fault!" Iron Mouse

said. She made a dismissive gesture, which she felt truly added to the

presentation. "Heavy Metal Papillon was a complete incompetent! She failed to

dispose of Washuu, failed to kill any of them, and was defeated herself! She

also drew the attention of the planetary authorities! I basically had to run

damage control through the entire operation, and cleverly put the authorities on

the wrong track so they would never track us back to Galaxy TV! Unfortunately,

Papillon botched the operation while I was, uh, that is, occupied with that. She

also forged my signature on my expense account, I think, though of course I

wouldn't have any idea what wasteful thing she might have used it-"

"Enough."

Iron Mouse fell instantly silent, and deciding it couldn't hurt,

immediately bowed deeply to the dark figure on the throne before her. Once,

Galaxia had outshone the gold and crystal of her throne, but in the last seven

years, she had changed. Her once-healthy skin had faded to a dark, almost purple

grey. Her hair, once magnificently golden, was now stained blood-red. Her

uniform, the mark of a Sailor Senshi, still clad her in golden armour plates,

but shadows gathered around it in an almost unnatural way. But she was still the

same person, without question. In the centre of her chest still glittered her

great scarlet Sailor Crystal, shining through the darkness that surrounded her.

And her piercing eyes, crimson like her crystal, also shone from the shadows. On

her wrists, she wore the same bejewelled bracelets as those of her servants.

Iron Mouse had often wondered if that meant Galaxia, too, somehow lacked her

Star Seed. But she'd never had the courage to ask. No one did.

"Sailor Iron Mouse," she stated, and her voice was the same as it always

had been, too. It was the voice that radiated command in every tone and

inflection. It was a voice that had broken more than one strong Sailor Senshi

who had been determined to fight to the death rather than become Galaxia's pawn.

"I am surprised you returned. That is," she said, and her shadowy lips seemed to

smile, "I am surprised you dared return empty-handed."

"B-b-b-b-ut I didn't, Mistress Galaxia!" Iron Mouse stammered. "While

Papillon was busy failing, I... that is, I interrogated Yosho of Jurai! The Star

Seed of his great tree was not on Earth, but in fact in the possession of his

grandson, Tenchi Masaki!"

"And you believed him."

Iron Mouse paused, considering what answer was least likely to lead to

her untimely demise. "I... that is..."

"Did you take his Star Seed?"

"I didn't get a-"

"How can you be certain if you did not? Do you mean to send me on a wild

goose chase? Or perhaps you wish your next assignment to be to track down and

bring Tenchi Masaki to me?"

"I... I..."

"I have no tolerance for failure, Iron Mouse."

She just stared, eyes wide, ears quivering. Galaxia smiled again.

"How fortunate for you that you did not fail, then."

"Oh great Galaxia, please forgive your most humble and obed... chu?"

Iron Mouse looked up from her hasty genuflection. "I didn't?"

Another figure had moved from the shadows behind the throne. Iron Mouse

couldn't see much of him beyond his silhouette, but the glow of his violet alien

eye made his identity clear anyway. "You did not," Z said smugly. "Oh, we gave

you the mission of retrieving the Star Seed and disposing of Washuu; but of

course, that was a task completely beyond your capabilities, so you must have

known your true mission lay elsewhere."

"Of... of course!" Iron Mouse squeaked. She had no idea what the heck Z

was talking about it, but it sounded like a lifeline, so she grabbed onto it

with all her might. "You are so clever, Mistress Galaxia! And Z! Chuchuchu! They

didn't suspect a thing!"

Z stepped a bit further forward. If you ignored the alien eye, and the

pointed ears, and the purple growths on his forehead, and the fangs, he didn't

look so bad in Iron Mouse's estimation. His normal eye looked, well, normal, and

his shock of green hair was kinda fetching. She thought they'd always gotten

along rather well. Right now, she was praying they had. "As you no doubt

guessed, then, the true purpose of your mission was reconnaissance."

Another figure stepped out of the shadows beside him. Aluminum Siren

smiled the same blank, facile smile she always had, nodding her head cheerfully

to Iron Mouse.

"Papillon successfully penetrated Washuu's laboratory, beyond her

defences, and observed her powers directly, as well as those of her friends.

This was all watched by Aluminum Siren. That kind of information is worth a

life... or two. Not that we're displeased you returned with this information, of

course."

"Chuchu!" Iron Mouse laughed weakly. "Of course n-" She suddenly froze.

"Wait, umm... h-how much did she see?"

Aluminum Siren sighed, sweeping a lock of her long, luxurious blue hair

from her face. She was still wearing that face mask Papillon had always

complained about. "Oh, I don't know. I'm still writing up my report, of course.

Why, dear Iron Mouse, was there something you were wondering if I saw?"

Iron Mouse stared at her, sweating.

Siren stared back at her. Her smile was still easy, innocent, cheerful.

But her eyes glittered.

"So, once this information is collected," Z continued, "we will be able

to show Washuu precisely how temporary her victory was."

"No, that will not be necessary."

Z paused. His face didn't look exactly angry at the contradiction, but

the good humour had drained suddenly out of it. Iron Mouse noticed, nervously,

that he still wasn't wearing any bracelets of his own. "Is that so?" he said,

giving Galaxia a sidelong glance.

Galaxia didn't bother to return his gaze. "As long as she remains on

Earth, Washuu is nothing but a bystander. There's no need for either of us to

dirty our hands on her."

"Then what was the point of-"

"If she chooses to involve herself directly, we will now know. Until

then, this war is... adequate." Galaxia smiled oddly. "I wouldn't wish to do

anything to disturb it."

"Of... course," Z said slowly. "But I still believe we should work to

counter her, and the other powers on that planet."

Galaxia raised a hand thoughtfully to her cheek, and Iron Mouse could

have sworn that her baleful red eyes glowed a little brighter for a moment.

"What makes you think I haven't already?"

OoOoO

The forest was tranquil under the azure sky. Leaves rustled in the

breeze and the birds sang for the sheer joy of being alive. The smell of pine

and oak mingled together in a heady fragrance.

This was all lost on the two girls as they tried their best to break

each other's skulls.

"I have you now!" Angel screamed, running across the wooden pegs and

swinging her bokken around her. Rei shifted back and snapped her own sword up,

catching and deflecting the strike to the side. Her baggy priestess robes

billowed around her as she was forced to take steps backward, deflecting a

series of blows from the younger girl. "What's the matter? Slowing down in your

dotage?"

Rei's eyebrow twitched and she braced herself, meeting the next blow

with a hard block rather than a deflecting parry. Angel's sword snapped back,

throwing her off her stride. She tilted back on one of the pegs. Rei yelled and

thrust. The tip caught the other girl straight in the sternum, driving the wind

out of her.

"Damnit," Angel gasped, clutching her chest. "When did you get so

strong?"

Rei smirked and chuckled, tapping her bokken on her shoulder in just the

same way Katsuhito always did. "Come on, Angel. You don't really think you can

beat me. I've been studying with the old man for almost six years now. You've

been here, what... eight months?"

Angel narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, I guess." She stood up and sighed,

letting her sword hang loosely in her grip. "You are the senior student and his

first apprentice. I should expect that-" Suddenly the girl screamed and slashed

out. Rei blinked. There was a breeze on her front. She looked down at the giant

gash that now ran down the front of her gi and into the top of her hakama. The

pants slid off slowly, revealing her red flaring skirt. The bow on her chest

fluttered in the breeze.

"Eh-heh..." Rei rubbed the back of her neck.

"You cheating jerk!" Angel snapped, waving her sword at her. "This was

supposed to be an unpowered training session!" She crossed her arms and pouted.

"No wonder you were able to counter my attacks, with all the magically enhanced

strength." She stuck up her nose. "You don't see me cheating with magic powers."

"That's only because you don't have any," Rei deadpanned. "Also, you

destroyed my favourite robes!" She shouted the last part as she tackled the

girl. Angel yelped and lost her grip on her sword, sending it flying over her

shoulder. They rolled across the field, knocking loose pegs and stirring up

leaves as the wrestled. Of course, Rei had the advantage in raw strength, it

ended with her holding Angel's head under her arm and applying her knuckles to

the girl's brow.

"Think of it as a lesson, Angel," Rei explained. "Expect your opponent

to cheat, and react accordingly."

Angel struggled for a moment, then she smirked. "I did."

Rei blinked again at the creaking sound overhead. She looked up just in

time to see a tree branch falling towards her.

When the stars cleared from her vision, Angel was sitting next to a

tree, laughing her ass off. Rei rubbed her forehead and glared daggers at her.

"Little brat."

"If you can't keep track of your environment, you deserve to get hit,"

Angel grinned.

"Don't get cocky," Rei grumbled. "That almost got you killed against

Heavy Metal Papillon."

Angel's face suddenly fell. Rei held up her hands apologetically. "Hey,

it's okay. I almost did too."

"I know," Angel sighed. She looked off towards the setting sun for a

long moment. "It's just... I thought I was ready. I wanted to tell..."

Her voice dropped off, but Rei knew who the younger girl was referring

to. Unseen, she scowled briefly, but then composed herself, trying her best

'older sister' voice. "I don't think there's any point when you're 'ready',

Angel. When I go out there, I still run all the time into situations I don't

expect. Sometimes I barely make it back. Nobody is ready for any situation. You

just have to do the best you can."

Angel shook her head, and when her voice emerged it was thick with

emotion. "No way. I can't accept that, Rei. People, good people, are dying out

there every day. People who didn't do anything wrong except fight for what they

believed in and those they cared about. People like my mom and dad. People like

you, and me. Entire planets. There's got to be a way to stop it. There's got to

be somebody who can step up and end it all."

"You can't wish for the impossible, Angel-"

"Why NOT?" Angel snapped, whipping her head around to face her. "Look at

us! I've trained with some of the greatest masters in this world and I'm not

even 20. You're a reincarnated magical princess from a beautiful kingdom where

there was no war! The old man's a seven-hundred-year-old prince of another

planet! What's all this power, all this everything GOOD for if we can't make any

difference?"

"Well, Washuu..."

"Washuu's Washuu, sure. She's amazing. But Chronos is still ruling the

world, aren't they? Despite Washuu?" Rei could only nod. "Then she can't do

anything... or she won't. I don't know which. Either way, she's not going to

stop what's happening. But somebody will. Somebody has to." She looked away

again. "One thing's for sure, it won't be either of us, when we're just sitting

here."

"Angel..." Rei said, then stopped as she realised she had nothing to

say. She gritted her teeth. Knowing what to say... it had never been her strong

point. Funny, coming from a Sailor Senshi, but making speeches and changing

minds weren't the same thing.

Sailor Moon would have known what to say.

The thought flew unbidden to her mind. So did another. 'A kingdom where

there was no war...'

It was impossible. Nobody could just bring peace to a world, a universe

as chaotic as this one. Rei would scoff at the thought... until she remembered

that beautiful silver light.

But even if Sailor Moon could be the hero Angel was looking for, it

didn't matter while she was locked away in that terrible, beautiful prison. And

Chris had been the one who'd taken her there, who'd given Akio the key and

walked away, smirking. Rei clenched her fist.

"Hey, there you guys are!"

Both looked over. Mihoshi had entered the training field. She looked far

more worse for wear than either the fight or becoming a Phage had made her. Her

hair was awry, clothes dirty and torn, and her exposed flesh was covered with

scratches. Her hands were behind her back, and she was sporting a huge smile.

"Hey, Mihoshi," Angel said, surprised. "What the heck happened to you?

And where've you been, anyway? You vanished right after we got back home."

"Welllll..." she said, stepping forward. Angel eyed her warily as

Mihoshi got close, and then suddenly she whipped her arms out, causing Angel to

cry out and fall backwards to avoid getting decapitated by... the sword.

Mihoshi was holding a sword. It was a beautiful, polished curved silver

blade, whose hilt sported a jewel the colour of the sea.

"Hey!" Angel said testily. "Be more careful, Miho- hey, that's..." she

trailed off, staring at her sword.

"Surprise!" Mihoshi laughed, oblivious to how she'd nearly slashed Angel

with the weapon. "I found it!"

"But..." Angel stared. "I tried to find it... she must have knocked it

miles away..."

Mihoshi smiled again, blushing a bit. "I wanted to thank you for coming

to save me! So I looked and looked. I guess I'm just lucky!"

Angel stared for a moment longer, then she smiled warmly and took the

proffered blade. "Thanks, Mihoshi. This means a lot to me."

"I'm glad." Mihoshi turned and bowed apologetically to Rei. "I'm sorry I

didn't get anything for you, Rei. But I'm really grateful you came too."

Rei smiled as well. "It's okay, Mihoshi. It's not like I was clumsy

enough to lose anything, unlike some people." Angel stuck her tongue out at her,

but Rei loftily ignored it. "Anyway, it's getting late. Why don't we get back

for supper?"

"Okay! I know what I can do for you and Katsuhito, I'll cook!"

"Uh, actually, that's all right," Angel said hastily. "Why don't you

help me instead?"

Never To Be Continued...?

Epsilon: Unless, you know, you count the events in Hybrid Theory.

Blade: But ah, if there was one massive parallel side-story we'd love to finish

based in the Hyrbird Theory universe, it would be the Sailor Wars.

Epsilon: Indeed.

Blade: Of course, that's never going to happen. Unless somebody pays us.

Epsilon: No, seriously. We'd do it for like $50 (Canadian) per chapter you

wanted us to write.

Blade:It'll star whatever characters you like! We'll even turn them into

lesbians! We're good at that by now!

Epsilon: Tenchi/Seiryo yaoi? For fifty dollars, WE WILL WRITE IT!

Blade: We'll even include series that have no fricking right to be in the

Hybrid Theory mythos! You like Naruto? Dragonball Z? Oh My Goddess?

Epsilon: There is no level of artistic integrity we are not willing to sell out

for fifty dollars Canadian!

Blade: So uh... awkward segue... so, uh, somebody who has only read synopsis'

about Sailor Stars may want to take us to task for perceived canonical

inaccuracies, say, vis a vis the actual status of the Animamates as relating to

being Sailor Senshi.

Epsilon: Let us just say that there is not a single accurate synopsis of Sailor

Stars on the internets.

Blade: Or Sailor Moon Super S. AND I HAVE NOT FORGIVEN YOU FOR THAT,

INTERNETS!11112!

Epsilon: Normally we'd put in the next chapter preview here but, uh, there is

not going to be another one.

Blade: Yup, we did this sidestory because we'd finished Chapter 27 two weeks

before the release date and... hahahhaha... no.

Epsilon: So, this.

Blade: Which we won't be doing again, because apparently I can not complete

these things without losing too much sleep.

Epsilon: Wimp.