Disclaimer: What's mine is mine, what isn't, isn't. Don't steal.
So I took a little longer updating then I might have liked, but nothing too unbearable, right? Another short chapter, don't worry though, we'll be hitting the meaty ones soon.

And another thing I can't let go unnoted; the demotion of dear Pluto.
I dedicate this chapter to the smallest and recently downgraded planet on the further reaches of our little system. You'll always be a planet in my eyes.

R&R

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"A skilled decoy can throw your enemies off your trail. A master decoy can survive to do it again."
-Gerrard of the Weatherlight
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,.,.,."You must be Tenoh-sama, yes? Of course you are, of course you are! Thank God you've come! Right this way, Tenoh-sama!"
,.,.,.Haruka reluctantly followed the excited priest, glancing back once more at a forlorn looking Kazi, who was eyeing the grass with distrust. Haruka made a mental note to take him far outside the village to feed.

Chapter 25: Classical Feint

,.,.,.Against probably her better judgment, the tall blond had made her way to the silent town, confirming her suspicions of the presence of plague. Chalk crosses on doorways, oddly clean streets, signs of fire all along the road, and most blatantly, an official sign in the city of the town, asking for aid while warning to flee at the same time, a rather mixed message to be sure
,.,.,.Haruka noted her judgment had been lacking somewhat as of late. Pinpointing the moment at which her sense had fled as she stepped into the dimly lit church, the blonde let out a sigh carrying the words,
,.,.,."I blame Feril," just far enough to reach the priest's ears. The man turned, expression hopeful.
,.,.,."So you truly are a favorite of the Lady of Tern?" he asked. "We had requested the aid of Honorable Sir Bladesong, but with things as they stand now, we had little hope of any response. We were overjoyed to hear you were coming since he could not. Though because the missive bore the Moon Kingdom's seal, I did not think…" the poor man trailed off, taking her bewildered silence as a sign that he had somehow offended her. "That isn't to say we did not take Lady Feril's word as truth, of course." He stammered, holding up his hands helplessly. "She promised her aid, it is not our place to question the form in which it travels."
,.,.,.The priest lowered his head dejectedly.
,.,.,.Haruka opened her mouth to correct the man, that Feril hadn't sent her, but closed it again when the thought struck her like lightning. ,.,.,.Did she really know who was behind this mission? Feril's hand had appeared elsewhere more then enough times to make her suspect.
,.,.,.The blonde suddenly found herself angry; tired and frustrated with the fact she'd been shuffled around like a pawn in some game the players considered to be beyond her feeble powers of comprehension.
,.,.,.Haruka realized the priest had been watching her apprehensively and concerned for some time now while she had been in combat with her thoughts.
,.,.,.'We'll see who comes out on top in this little diversion.' She decided, putting on her best regal air. Haruka had not spent her entire childhood a street rat and knew something of the games played among those who could afford them.
,.,.,.'We'll see who is a pawn…'

,.,.,.Queen Serenity eyed the board before her distractedly, the pieces scattered about as they moved toward their inevitable miniature battles. She knew the Court would be aghast to find her playing a game when envoys from surrounding realms waited to be heard, lands seized by plague and strange violence. But her absent opponent was silently insistent that their little tradition be acknowledged, to the point of eliciting ire in the Queen towards the unwavering will of her old friend.
,.,.,.Yet even in the face of this irritation, a slim, exasperated smile escaped her royal visage. She knew full well her friend's intent in demanding her attention in something so trivial as this game in such a serious time. The Queen had few other releases for her thoughts and energy these days, no one to truly talk to with all her dear ones gone from the palace, no real way to relax. It was this distraction, which commanded her full attention even for a few meager moments, that broke her away from the grind of routine, the onslaught of duties required by her post; it served to allow her some sort of rest from it all, however temporary.
,.,.,.As graceful fingers descended to grasp one of her own painstakingly crafted crystal game pieces, (an old gift from her current opponent, a set the envy of any player) she noted absently her friend's favorite piece, the Fateful Eye, wasn't in current play, but lingered in an obscure area of the board, unused. She wondered at this as this as she moved her own favorite, the Elegant Diplomat, towards the only unclaimed piece on the board and half the object of the game to obtain.
,.,.,.She stepped back, examining her play almost wistfully, as though willing her opponent to appear, to respond. No one materialized, the board was still. Serenity hadn't truly expected anything to happen, but wouldn't have minded if it had.
,.,.,."Majesty?" came the servant's tentative call, letting the Queen know her brief escape had ended. She sighed inwardly, checking the mirror as she passed, her royal mask back in place.
,.,.,.As the door closed behind the lonely Queen, one of the stone pieces, belonging to her opponent miles and miles away, rose by some unseen hand and moved across the board. The piece known as the Loyal Hands made its way to the unclaimed piece as well, the game piece known as the Standing Element.

,.,.,.Michiru's head pounded as she worked to steady her breathing and calm her racing heart. The aqua-haired girl glanced out through the space between the circled carriages and carts of their caravan.
,.,.,."Is that a fucking chimera!"
,.,.,."It seems to be a setting-things-on-fire-while-eating-our-supplies chimera, but I could be mistaken. I've never inquired about their reproductive system, it might be impolite."
,.,.,."That was clearly an adjective, not a verb."
,.,.,."Either way, both could fit."
,.,.,."Except the meaning I intended was evident due to emphasis and tone, therefore, you were purposely misconstruing my words."
,.,.,."It just ate your lead pair."
,.,.,."Mother --!"
,.,.,.Michiru blocked out the rest of the conversation, trying to form a plan. In doing so, she caught the sound of the Three Lights, speaking in hushed tones as the watched the beast from the shadows near by.
,.,.,."Elios-sama's out cold, I don't know what happened." Yaten reported.
,.,.,."Too many witnesses, what should we do?" Taiki thought aloud. "If we don't do something soon, it may get out of hand…"
,.,.,.'This isn't out of hand?' Michiru wondered silently, pressing against the side of the carriage, listening closely.
,.,.,."If we asked Michiru-san-" Seiya began, before being cut off by a livid Yaten.
,.,.,."Have you lost your mind!" Michiru heard the white haired boy hiss. "Do you have any idea what would happen to us if we got her involved!"
,.,.,.She could hear Taiki trying to calm him down.
,.,.,.'"Involved"? It's just a chimera…' she thought, almost incredulous and forgetting her own concern about the creature from moments before. But Michiru had a sneaking suspicion they trio wasn't just referring to this attack.
,.,.,."She's one of us!" Seiya shot back.
,.,.,."She's one of them!" Taiki interjected viciously.
,.,.,."We're all Senshi!" Seiya practically snarled and Michiru felt her blood run cold as a tingle ran up her spine to come buzzing into the base of her skull, to the point where she could barely register the rest.
,.,.,."You're talking like the princess." Yaten's scowl was audible. "You know they never saw us like that. If she got her memories back now, if she awakened, she might very well kill us as."
,.,.,."And if she didn't, I have little doubt the lady would, upon finding out we'd muddied up her little game." Taiki mused darkly.
,.,.,."You talk like she's Uranus." Seiya muttered. "Neptune was far more level headed, even if she was suspicious of us."
,.,.,.'Neptune…' Michiru's eyes were wide now, the feeling in the back of her skull creeping with all the weight in the world to the front, extending out from her spine to her limbs and very fingertips, filling her with this sense of parallel being.
,.,.,."No, she was more subtle. Uranus could be level headed, she was just a bit of a bit-" Yaten added helpfully, drowned out by a sudden unholy bellow from the beast Michiru had all but forgotten, laying waste to their caravan.
,.,.,.Someone, it seemed, had had the brilliant idea of shooting it with an arrow. And while this might have been a wise move for a lesser beast, it failed miserably at its intended task against the chimera. On the other hand, it succeeded quite stunningly in pissing the legendary creature off.
,.,.,.Michiru barely caught the movement of the men who'd been running commentary, one with a bow in hand, fleeing the scene, as the chimera roared and fire leapt to its jaws as it settled on a target:
,.,.,.Seiya, Taiki and Yaten.
,.,.,.The aqua-haired girl felt the heat on her skin before she even had a chance to register the beast had launched its fiery assault, but her body was already moving with a stance of a world she couldn't remember, though she'd played it out in this life many times before. Her arms were over her head before she could stop herself, the words leaving her lips with more confidence then she'd ever known, a feeling that these elements had been hers to command for eons.
,.,.,."DEEP SUBMERGE!"
,.,.,.The sphere of water hit the ball of flame barely a yard from the three and the air erupted with billowing, blistering mist that smelled of the sea. Michiru's clothes pressed against her and the mist condensed on her skin, damp and warm.
,.,.,.Reflected in the fog she'd created, lights nearly blinded her, coming from the direction the boys had been in moments before, along with cries Michiru couldn't make out over the enraged bellowing of the chimera.
,.,.,.But even in the mists, Michiru could still make out the outlines of three figures, glowing from head to toe, wrapped in an orb of light. At first glance, eyes narrowed to peer through the fog, she thought them to be the boys, but as she looked again, she made out the distinct female nature of their forms. Rather nude female forms. But that changed quickly enough as what she later decided was a uniform appeared on each of the three women.
,.,.,."Sailor…Senshi…" she breathed, staring in awe, her heart beating in her chest so that it pounded through her entire form. And quite suddenly, it was like the breath had been pulled from her body and she felt suspended, weightless and surreal…
,.,.,.And then her head exploded.
,.,.,.Her hands flashed up to her forehead as she fell to her knees, eyes clamped shut in pain. It felt like her skull was splitting right down the middle and a strange green-blue light was escaping through her eyelids from where her hands were covering her forehead. She could barely hear the women announce themselves, would not recognize their speech as the same she'd heard when the demons attacked the school until she returned to consciousness some time later. The rush in her mind overtook her and her world went black as she fell, out well before she hit the ground. The last thing that remained burned in her vision was the sight of a trident, so horribly and wonderfully familiar, shining in the dark.

,.,.,.Miles and miles away, deep in the dark recesses of an underground labyrinth, a figure stumbled and fell to the ground, drained and suddenly fearful. Cracked lips parted to loose the words of the spell in a croak of a voice, lost from lack of sustenance and utter exhaustion.
,.,.,.And as the spell fled to go find its target, the ancient being crashed into unconsciousness, similar to the one that had claimed Michiru.
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And there it is, ladies, gents and all that lies along that specttum. R&R. I'll work on getting another update out soon. Reviews more regular chapters.