Standard disclaimers apply. Most of these characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi, and rightfully belong to her. I'm only borrowing them for a while. New characters, and this story, belong to me. Ask before you use them. :)

AN: This series takes place after the first season, and is intended to replace the Doom Tree arc. It's the first part of a rather long set of series I've planned, based primarily on the anime but gradually diverging from and going beyond it. I'll also note now that this is a rewrite of a series I completed a good five years ago (and gods did it need rewriting). But anyhow, hope you enjoy this one.

Notations:

"..." indicates speech

'...' indicates thought

Italics indicates vision/dream sequence


Hearts of Darkness

Part 1: Reawakened Memories

by JG Chan

A biting gale howled across the barren arctic plains, driving snow before it in blinding flurries, slowly sculpting the landscape. Although the polar region was generally a cold, dry place, this particular area has been continuously wracked by storms for over a month now. In fact, the storms began not too long after five very special young girls came here to face their destiny.

As the stars watched silently from the lightening sky overhead, a form emerged from the chaotic elements. Snow started to pile up in certain places, hardening to ice as it grew in size, infused with a strange aura. The laws of gravity were suspended as the snow expanded and connected above a network of frozen walls, forming a single floor of a vast structure.

This strange phenomenon continued for many hours, as spires of white ascended like claws to rend the heavens. Finally, as the sun peeked over the horizon for the first time in six months, its light reflected off of the thousands of polished crystal surfaces of the new structure. Grander than any palace on Earth, it stood in massive, frigid glory, its bright walls drawing attention away from its jagged and spiked architecture.

At the heart of the newly-risen fortress, a tall, armoured figure sat upon a diamond throne, laughing in satisfaction. The chilling, cruel sound filled those cowering before him with terror. The regal figure rose to his full height. Standing eight feet tall, he glared at the ranks of his servants arrayed before him and began to speak. His voice was cold as the ice outside his palace, yet his eyes held passion burning like the fires of hell.

"Hear me, my warriors! Now the time has come for our dark kingdom to rise once more! This world WILL be mine, and nothing will stand in the way of our power! The Dark Kingdom WILL triumph!!"

As the army of creatures before him roared their approval, the new lord of the Dark Kingdom smiled with all the warmth of a corpse. "And to ensure our victory," he finished to himself, "I have a little present for those pretty little Sailor Senshi..."


"AAAAAAHH!! I'M GONNA BE LATE AGAIN!!"

A young raven-haired miko looked up from her sweeping in surprise as a blonde, odango-wearing figure dashed past the Hikawa Shrine.

"There she goes again," Rei sighed. "It's the same thing every morning...wait, today's Sunday! Jeez, she must have been more asleep than usual."

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Rei saw the blonde girl trudging back the way she came, slumped over with a large sweatdrop over her head. The miko giggled quietly to herself. There was just something about that girl's antics that stirred a familiar warm feeling within her, though she couldn't tell what it was, exactly. She shrugged, and went back to her chores.


Back at the Tsukino home, two old friends were lying on the roof, enjoying the sun and chatting quietly. At the moment, Artemis was trying hard to hold back his amusement as Usagi dragged herself inside again, intent on returning to bed as soon as possible. Finally, as the door closed, he couldn't hold it in any longer and collapsed laughing.

"That girl is getting more scatterbrained every day!" Luna groused, ignoring the white cat's laughter. She wasn't too happy about having been thrown off the bed this early on a Sunday. "When is she going to grow up?"

"C-calm down, Luna," Artemis replied, trying to follow his own advice. "She's only fourteen, after all. Let her enjoy her life. She certainly deserves it, after what she's been through."

"I guess you're right. Besides, I couldn't do anything anyway; she forgot all about the Sailor Senshi after that last battle."

"It's just as well. Hopefully, they'll get a few more weeks before we have to reawaken their memories..."

Luna looked sharply at her companion. "What do you mean by that?"

"You don't remember, Luna?" Artemis blinked. "The Dark Kingdom wasn't only Beryl and Metallia, you know." His face took on a grim expression. "There'll be more coming from that place, and none of it will be pleasant."

Luna sighed. 'Poor Usagi,' she thought. 'Soon you'll have to face the horrors of the Dark Kingdom again. I just hope we'll be able to pull through this one, too.'


Darkness reigned within the cells in the depths of the new Dark Kingdom fortress. Some of it was simply the absence of light, while an equal part was writhing, malevolent soulstuff, the shades of youmas and generals long gone. Over all of them hung the shadow of evil that pervaded the kingdom, even after Metallia's fall, drawing power from the anguish of lost souls. Any normal human even glimpsing this scene would go mad with fear. Indeed, it is for this reason that Beryl had used this place as a prison.

At the back of the maze of dank corridors was a faint luminescence. Its source was a large block of crystal, securely chained to the wall and surrounded by an oppressive aura. All around it shadows flew, moaning and screeching. None of this, however, could penetrate the crystal, wherein a man rested, not quite at peace.

He was walking slowly through a quiet garden. The flowers were in full bloom, carpeting the ground in rainbow colors. Behind him, a silver palace rose in all its glory, and faint sounds of revelry could be heard from inside. He smiled, slightly envious. Immediately upon their arrival, his charge had disappeared from sight, and he knew exactly what the boy was up to. It seemed like everyone around him had found love, and he was left behind,
alone.

'At least they're happy...' he thought, though he couldn't quite shake a sense of loneliness deep in his soul. Surely he deserved happiness, as well?

A soft sound interrupted his train of thought, and he unconsciously reached for his sword. 'Overtrained fool,' he chided himself, relaxing. 'No one could have penetrated the security of this place, not when so many important people were here.'

He followed the sound to a secluded spot in the garden, where a bench had been set up for couples to enjoy the view of Earth hanging like a jewel in the starry sky. The person sitting there at the moment, however, was alone and in no condition to enjoy the view.

He listened to the soft sobbing for a few more moments before deciding to show himself. As he approached the bench, he thought there was something familiar about the blue-black mane of hair and red and black silk dress in front of him. His suspicions were confirmed when he got close enough to see the girl's tear-streaked face.

"P-princess? What are you doing here?" he blurted out in surprise, then quickly bowed properly.

"Hmm? Oh, it's you, Colonel." The princess quickly wiped at her tears, facing away from him. "I...just wanted to be alone for a while, that's all."

A flash of insight hit him. "Is it about that last battle?"

She nodded silently, eyes still averted. He could see the slight trembling of her shoulders as she tried to hold in her emotions. His sense of courtesy told him to excuse himself and leave the girl in peace, but instead he sat down next to her. She glanced up at him, startled.

"He spoke of you often, you know..." he said softly, staring at the Earth. "Every time one of us talked to him long enough, he somehow managed to pull the conversation back to his Princess. It kept him grinning, even when things started to look bad..."

"R-really?" she asked, a strange catch in her voice. He frowned. Was that...guilt?

"Yeah..." he answered simply. Silence fell, turning awkward some moments later when he couldn't figure out what else to say. Glancing back at her, he suddenly noticed how closely together they were sitting, and jumped to his feet with a yelp.

"I-I'm s-sorry, Your Highness!" He bowed deeply, not daring to look at her face. "I did not mean to be so forward. Please forgive me for my offense!"

The princess blinked at him, then smiled slightly. "Don't worry about it, Colonel. I know you meant well." Rising, she glanced at the palace. "Would you mind escorting me back inside? I could use a drink right now."

"Of course, Your Highness," he replied, still staring at his feet. His companion watched him speculatively for a moment, then linked her arm with his, forcing him to stand upright. The two exchanged a hesitant smile, then slowly made their way back.

Back in the hellish prison of the Dark Kingdom, the block of crystal glowed more brightly. If the shadows around it were sane at all, they would have noticed the tears that appeared in Jadeite's eyes, the first in many centuries.


"Game Over!"

Usagi twitched slightly at the upbeat voice announcing yet another loss for her. Behind her, Motoki was gaping at the screen, not quite believing his eyes.

"Usagi-chan...did she just beat you perfect again?"

He received a dark look in response and quickly went back to the counter, while Usagi turned to her opponent, a young girl about her own age with long blonde hair tied with a red ribbon.

"Up for another match?" she asked a bit testily.

"Sure," the other girl replied, grinning, before flashing a V-for-Victory sign. "No one beats me at Sailor V games!"

"Hmmph, that's my line..." Usagi grumbled, searching her bag. It was Tuesday afternoon, and Usagi had come to the Crown Arcade as she often did, eager to try out the new Sailor V fighting game (and to forget the test Haruna-sensei had sprung on them). Unfortunately, she had found an unfamiliar girl already ensconced in the top rank, and try though she might,
she couldn't get close to dislodging her.

After a few moments of searching, Usagi sweatdropped and deflated from defiance to dejection. "Looks like I'm out," she sighed, starting to turn away. "Might as well go home..."

"Huh? Hey, wait, wait!" The other girl quickly overtook her, and reached out to hold Usagi by the shoulders. "Come on, don't get so depressed, it's just a game." She grinned cheerfully. "And you did really good for your first time! Tell you what, why don't we get some ice cream? My treat."

The smaller girl perked up at the mention of ice cream. "Really?"

"Sure. Oh, my name is Aino Minako. Nice to meetcha!" She did a quick, half-serious bow which Usagi returned, giggling.

"Tsukino Usagi." She flashed a quick grin at Minako, before heading eagerly to the counter to get her treat. Minako was about to follow when a voice spoke from the booth next to her.

"You really should be careful when you offer Usagi-chan sweets, Aino-san."

Minako turned to see a green-eyed brunette smiling at her, and gave her a curious look.

"She sucks them down like a vacuum," the brunette explained, still smiling. "She ate an entire batch of cookies I baked, once, and still managed to scarf down her lunch."

"I'll keep that in mind. You can call me Minako, by the way. Are you two from the same school? Your uniforms are different..."

"The school didn't have anything in my size," the brunette replied, blushing slightly, before offering her hand. "I'm Kino Makoto. Nice to meet you."

Minako took the hand and shook it, as Usagi returned with a triple scoop of ice cream and began chatting with her friends. A sense of easy familiarity fell over the group, even though to their knowledge, they hadn't known each other for very long. Soon after, they exchanged phone numbers and went their own ways, promising to meet up again later.

Elsewhere in the game center, a man looked up from the game he had been ostensibly playing and stared after the departing girls, his shockingly black eyes narrowing in thought. He seemed to have come to some kind of conclusion a moment later, and headed to the back of the room, vanishing into the shadows. He had one more thing to do before heading back.


Rei knelt in front of the fire, her eyes closed. The room was silent save for the subdued crackling of the sacred flame, as it danced unresponsively before her. Though it was only mid-afternoon, the closed doors kept most of the room in shadows. She could faintly hear Phobos cawing at something outside.

Sighing, she rose and stretched. She had been having strange dreams lately, dreams of herself crying in what appeared to be a palace garden, and speaking with a man. Each time the scene had brought out a strange sense of familiarity, like a memory, yet each time the man's face was blurred. Unable to figure them out, she had tried to divine an answer from the fire, but today had been her second failure.

'Though failure might not be accurate,' she thought to herself. 'I get this feeling that I should be waiting for something. Something important...'

Hearing familiar footsteps outside, she got up and slid the shoji open just as Yuuichirou was about to knock. His knuckles froze about two inches from Rei's nose, and she quirked an amused eyebrow at him. That was joined by a smirk when he eeped and jumped back, missing the edge of the walkway and ending up sprawled on the ground.

"Did you want to see me for something, Yuuichirou?" the miko asked almost playfully. The man on the ground blinked, trying to gather his wits, while Rei absently noted that she could actually see his eyes from this angle. Light blue ones.

"Uh," Yuuichirou replied after a second, "there's a customer out front who wants to buy an ema, and we're out. And the storeroom was locked, and your grandpa's out somewhere."

She frowned. "I thought you were supposed to bring more out this morning."

"Umm..."

"...Never mind. Come on." She turned away and walked towards the back of the shrine, a sheepish Yuuichirou in tow. A quick detour to get the spare keys from her room, and soon Yuuichirou was carrying a case of the wooden wish plaques back to the front. Rei followed, figuring she would apologize to their customer herself.

They reached the front area just outside the main shrine building where they usually had their gift stand. A girl about Rei's own age was waiting patiently, reading, and the miko approached her while Yuuichirou re-stocked the stand.

"Excuse me, miss. I'm Hino Rei, one of the caretakers of this shrine. I'm sorry about the trouble earlier, it was a mistake on our part not to have the ema ready."

The blue-haired girl smiled back. "Don't worry about it, Hino-san," she replied, eyes modestly downcast. Rei shook her head, though.

"In any case, I'd like to offer you the ema for free."

"Oh, no, I couldn't do that!"

"I said it's okay!" Rei giggled, took the blushing and protesting girl by the hand, and led her back to the stand. Handing her the wooden plaque and a brush, she then resolutely turned her back to the girl before any money could be offered.

The blue-haired girl stared at Rei's back for a moment, then glanced uncertainly at Yuuichirou, who was grinning widely. A small smile graced her face then.

"Thank you," she said simply. Writing her wish on the ema, she went over to the board and hung it up. Turning, she bowed to Rei and Yuuichirou, then headed for the gate.

Rei watched the girl leave. There was that feeling of familiarity again, though not as strong as with the blonde. Glancing at the ema, her expression became calculating. Yuuichirou looked at her and sweatdropped, easily imagining the two chibi-Reis arguing on her shoulders. Eventually, the miko made up her mind and moved to the board.

"Oh well, I'll have to see them when I take them off, anyway... 'May Ryo-kun have a safe trip back. Mizuno Ami.' Aww, how nice."


"M-my Lord...!?" Peridot stammered from where he was kneeling, barely containing his surprise.

The dark figure did not stir from his obsidian throne. His eyes, however, shone brighter with annoyance, and his voice was colder than ever. "Is your hearing failing in your old age, General? Or did you simply wish to make me repeat myself?"

"Of course not, my Lord! I am honoured to accept this mission. I swear I will not fail you!"

"Indeed you shall not," the dark lord whispered as his underling slowly backed away. "For your own sake."

His plan was perfect. It had taken him years of research and months of personal labour to obtain the small artifact which he had entrusted to Peridot, but it was well worth it. After all, its power had been clearly proven even during the Silver Millenium. There was no way that the Sailor Senshi could escape destruction now.

With a creak of moving armor, the dark lord rose and headed for his chambers. Passing a guard youma, he gave his orders without slowing. "Once Selenite returns from his reconaissance, have him come to me."

"Yes, Lord Adamantite!"


SATURDAY

Usagi, Naru, Minako, and a somewhat reluctant Ami were at the mall after their half-day of classes was over. Usagi and Naru were mostly window shopping, while Minako was scanning the visible male population with equally appreciative eyes. Ami followed her classmates and their friend, a look of uncertainty on her face.

"Um, Tsukino-san, I really should be studying now..." she began, but Usagi spun around and cut her off.

"Ami-chan! I told you, it's 'Usagi-chan'. Besides, it's the weekend, and everyone knows it's wrong to study on weekends!" She nodded sagely to herself, while the others sweatdropped. "Now, you're going to pick the next store we go to, and you're going to enjoy yourself like the rest of us."

Ami hesitated a moment, then pointed out a store. Grinning, Usagi turned around...and face-faulted.

"A bookstore," she sighed. "Ami-chan..."

"Well, maybe they have manga too," Minako suggested. At that moment, though, her eyes caught something. "Umm, why don't you guys go on without me?" she said distractedly. The other girls stared after her as she headed straight towards a particularly cute guy sitting at a nearby table. Usagi huffed in exasperation.

"Come on, Usagi-chan, let's just go in," Naru said, patting her friend on the shoulder. The blonde acquiesed, a slight pout still on her face, and turned just in time to bump into someone exiting the store.

"OWW! Hey, watch where you're going!" Usagi sat rubbing her rear end as she glared at the man whom she had bumped into. She guessed that he was a few years older than her, at least. He was tall and quite handsome, with dark, unruly hair and rather intense blue eyes. Eyes that were currently staring at her with a strange expression in them.

"Excuse me? You're the one who should pay more attention." He offered her his hand, but she ignored it and got up by herself.

"Hmmpf! I have better things to do than to talk with creepy guys."

"Like trying to hold your head up with those two odangos on it?"

"You..." Usagi turned her baleful gaze from the slightly amused Mamoru to the giggling Rei, who had just joined the growing crowd around the pair. "What's so funny?"

"He's right, you know," Rei answered, catching her breath. "Those do look like odangos. So, were you late for class again, Odango-atama?"

"WAAAAAAAH! You guys are so mean!" Usagi collapsed again, streaming tears.

"Usagi-chan? What's going on here?" Makoto demanded, having been drawn by the commotion as she finished with her groceries. Seeing her friend in tears, she seemed ready to fight. Naru quickly pulled her aside to explain before things got out of hand.

Around them, the crowd was slowly growing. A small white cat with a crescent moon marking padded in among the spectators, drawn to its ward's side by a sense of foreboding. Further back, a middle-aged man stood unobtrusively observing the scene. He was bald, with a face reminiscent of a vulture's. He absently fingered the small object in his pocket, which pulsed with energy.

'Quite a promising scene,' thought Peridot. 'Perhaps all these people would enjoy a little more...entertainment.'


"RRRAAAAAAARGH!"

All the shoppers turned towards the source of the noise. Then, all of them started screaming and running in random directions, away from the abomination suddenly in their midst. It was covered in brown fur and had the head of a lion. Its massive claws appeared sharper than any blade, as did the row of spines on its back. It stood over a head taller than a human even in its hunched posture. In the confusion, Usagi was separated from Naru and found herself huddled in a service corridor with four other girls and one white cat.

"WAAH! A monster!"

"Shut up, Odango-atama, or it'll hear you," Rei snapped quietly.

"How could something like that have appeared out of nowhere?" Ami whispered.

"I'm more worried about how we'll get out," Minako said, peering around the corner. "That thing has us blocked off from the exits."

Artemis peered around to see if anyone was nearby. Seeing no one, he decided to act, and moved forward to nudge at Minako, startling her.

"Artemis? What are you doing here?"

"There's no time to talk. We have to beat that chimera before it can do any more damage." Artemis motioned to the creature in question with its head, as it gleefully ripped into a storefront, shattering glass and display pieces. The girls just gaped at him.

"Did...did that cat just talk?" Makoto asked incredulously.

"Yes, I did," Artemis answered calmly. "Now don't move."

Five faint beams of golden light shot from the crescent moon on his forehead and connected with the five girls. Their eyes glazed over for a moment as a rush of memories assailed them. Than, as one, they snapped out of their daze.

"I...I remember everything now," Rei said.

"So do I," Ami added. She looked at Artemis. "Does this mean we must fight again?"

"I'm afraid so. The Dark Kingdom is severely weakened without Metallia, but they aren't giving up yet."

"But..." Usagi began, her voice shifting into whine mode.

"No time for that, Usagi-chan," Minako interrupted, still looking out the doorway. "We have to get rid of that thing before it hurts anyone."

The other girls nodded, and all raised their hands, a familiar brooch and pens forming within them.

"MOON PRISM POWER"
"MERCURY POWER"
"MARS POWER"
"JUPITER POWER"
"VENUS POWER"
"...MAKE UP!"

The five Sailor Senshi rushed out of their hiding place and surrounded the monster. Sailor Moon stepped forward.

"The mall is a sanctuary for weary students after a long week of school. But you ruined everyone's weekend, and now you'll pay! For love and justice, I am the pretty sailor-suited soldier Sailor Moon, and defender of people's right to shop in peace. In the name of the Moon, I'LL PUNISH YOU!"

"You're sure she had to remember the speeches too?" Mars muttered to Artemis. Before the cat could respond, the creature crouched and sprang at Sailor Moon, claws outstretched. Sailor Moon squeaked and quickly rolled aside, her hand going to her tiara.

"MOON TIARA ACTION!"

The glowing disk flew unerringly towards the creature, but its reflexes were lightning-fast. It spun around, knocking the disk away with its claws. Then, it roared and pounced on Sailor Moon again. She barely avoided getting her head crushed beneath its massive paw.

"Sailor Moon!" Jupiter yelled. She ran towards the monster and flung herself hard against its side, sending them both rolling away from Sailor Moon. Unfortunately, Jupiter ended up on the bottom. The creature quickly had its paws around her throat and proceeded to strangle her.

"CRESCENT BEAM!"

The beam of light smashed the creature in the face, knocking it off of Sailor Jupiter. It tried to get up again, shaking its head.

"Alright guys, combine our attacks!" Mars shouted. Moon and Mercury nodded, the former still a bit shaky.

"FIRE SOUL"
"SHABON SPRAY"
"MOON TIARA ACTION!"

The attacks wrapped around the tiara in a veil of super-heated steam, the projectile slicing cleanly through the monster's chest. It roared one last time before crumbling into dust.

"Moondusted!" Sailor Moon cheered.

"Good work, girls." Artemis joined them. "You haven't forgotten your training. Now, why don't we head to the shrine and have a talk?"

The girls nodded and ducked back into the side passage to de-transform. None of them noticed the floating green eye in a corner that was silently observing them. As they left, Peridot reappeared in a shadowed corner, smirking evilly. "I've got you now, Sailor brats..."


Jadeite's mind snapped into sudden consciousness, leaving him disoriented and confused. He was still within the same black void that had been his prison for these past months, while his body lay encased in crystal. There was nothing here with him, nothing to see, nothing to feel, only the same oppressive silence as before. That is, except...something was different. He could not tell what, but he knew something important had occurred, something irrevocably tied to his own fate...

"Finally awake, Jadeite?"

A voice. After so long, he almost couldn't understand that he was hearing something. His mind cleared, he reached out with it across the void, trying to locate the voice.

"Do you remember?"

The voice was male, and it seemed to come from everywhere at once, and it was strangely echoing itself. As he thought about the question, Jadeite found that he could indeed remember; he recalled his entire life spread over ten millenia, from his childhood on Earth until his final battle with the Sailor Senshi and his imprisonment by Beryl. He mentally shuddered at some of the things he had done in the interval.

"But that won't happen anymore. Beryl's spell is broken. You are free."

'Free?' Jadeite thought. 'How can I be free when my body is still in this crystal?'

"There are people out these who will help you, when the time is right. Remember...you know who they are."

'The Sailor Senshi...'

"Yes."

'But why would they help me? I was their enemy, after all.'

"That is something you must determine on your own. I will not interfere more than I must." A pause. "I must leave you now. Rest well, my friend, for your fighting days are not over yet."

The presence was gone. Jadeite could find nothing in the void other than his own spirit. As he relaxed into a meditative state, he turned his last question over in his mind. There was an extremely obvious possibility, he knew...but he also knew that things change after such a long time, not to mention death and reincarnation. The person she was now will not be the same person she was then.

Shaking off that line of thought, the blond general focused inward. Had his feelings for her changed as well? Now that he could remember everything, he decided that they had not. And that was enough for him.

Back in the crystal tomb in the physical world, Jadeite's lips silently formed a name. "Rei..."


"Well?" the armoured shadow on the throne asked. His eyes smoldered maliciously, as if daring Peridot to say even one wrong word. The bald general easily got the message.

"All is going well, my Lord," he reported. "I have been able to learn the identities of the Sailor Senshi. It will take no more than a week to determine the best recipient for our little...'gift'."

"I'm pleasantly surprised, my dear general," his master drawled, his voice still cold. "You have earned my trust and accomplished what Beryl's lackeys were never able to do. Proceed with the mission."

"Yes, my Lord."

As Peridot left the throne room, the dark lord smiled slightly. 'I'm going to win,' he gloated silently. 'I will destroy the Sailor Senshi, and achieve the great conquest that Beryl let slip through her fingers!'

"I wouldn't celebrate yet, my Lord Adamantite."

The dark lord whirled around, armor clinking and energy crackling in his fist. From the shadows at the back of the chamber emerged a handsome man dressed in the standard grey uniform of a Dark Kingdom general. His black hair was streaked with a lock of silver in front, and his eyes were pools of blackness. He wore a neutral expression, but his tone was lightly and unmistakably mocking.

Adamantite settled down when he saw who had dared address him so insolently. "Have you suddenly become a mind reader, Selenite?"

"I've been around long enough to recognize that smile." Selenite stepped onto the dais. "I would not place too much faith in Peridot, my Lord. He is growing overconfident. One small slip is all it would take to put him at the mercy of the Sailor Senshi."

"That matters little. Peridot is but a small part of my plan. His failure would not seriously disrupt our efforts. He is merely to keep those children occupied, until my real power can be brought to bear."

At that, Adamantite erupted with evil laughter, his flaming eyes dancing fiercely as he faced his general. "We have all the advantages, Selenite. Beryl was powerful, but she was born human and too blindly loyal to Metallia to save herself. I will bring us back from the brink of the precipice that she carved, and grasp the glory promised to us twelve millenia ago."

Selenite nodded impassively at his confident master. "I suppose so..." he agreed, his face unreadable, before fading back into the shadows.

To be continued...