S.I.U. - The Sailor Investigation Unit
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All
other characters were thought up by me.
I hope I'm not sued for writing this. I'm not some ripoff merchant,
using other people's ideas for personal gain. I'm just a poor
little know-nothing fanboy. I leave the ripoffs to professionals
like Anya Romanov. ^_^
--------------------------------------------------------------------
There was another creaking sound, this time closer. Both
girls turned towards the doorway.
"There IS someone in here." Rei clutched Hotaru's arm.
"That was too soft to be a footstep."
"But there is someone, or something, moving through the
residence....." Rei was on the edge of panic. "I don't want to
end up like Makoto.... Oh KAMI no...."
Rei stood and started to back away, her arm held by Hotaru.
"No, Mars. If there is someone in here, we must FIGHT them."
Something brushed against the door, and they both turned,
trembling with fear and anticipation.
"Mars? Saturn? What are you doing in a dark room?"
"We've been looking for you everywhere."
Both Senshi looked down at the two small feline figures
that stood in the doorway.
"Luna... Artemis... thank KAMI it's only you." Hotaru
answered, breathing a sigh of relief.
"ONLY us?" Luna frowned. "What on Earth has been going
on here?"
Before Hotaru could answer, she felt Rei's arm go limp, and
turned in surprise as the fire senshi fainted, falling to the floor.
"Mars!" Hotaru managed to grab her before her head hit. She
cradled Rei, gently lowering her head down as Luna and Artemis ran
to her side.
"You really MUST explain to me what has been going on. We
can't seem to find anyone."
"There.... Are reasons for this...." I just wish I knew what
most of them were, Hotaru thought to herself.
----o
Part Eighteen
To One in Paradise
----o
The flower orchard was the most peaceful place within the
walls of the Sacred House. At least, it was to Tani Naoko.
After the eventful day she had just endured, a few hours of
quiet contemplation within the orchard was just what the doctor
ordered. Not that she needed a doctor, much.
She knelt upon the small dais meant for such contemplation,
set off to one side of the orchard, and stared across the rows of
the red flowers, with their black stems, growing in the thick, rich
dark soils of their homeland. Each row was lined with the complex
watering system required to allow the temperamental flowers to
blossom, along with the carefully modified air conditioning, to give
the atmosphere that special crispness the flowers liked so much.
Given both, they would blossom all year round.
The flowers used to grow within the valley that the Tani clan
hailed from. Its properties, as an additive in the production of
Vasculin, was discovered after much research into their affliction.
At least, that was what they'd called it, then.
Since that time, and with the advent of better production
methods, there was no longer the need to hunt fullblood humans for
their blood (she always chuckled at that.... If they were
fullblood to begin with, then they were pretty empty by the end.
Vampiric humour. Had to love it).
Not that it meant they weren't required to learn how to drink
properly. There were individuals, pure humans, who had been bred
for the specific purpose of training the Tani's and others like them
on how to drink.
The common term for these were "bleeders". These were people
capable of losing vast quantities of blood without ill, and with the
ability to replenish that supply over a remarkably ahort period of
time.
She took a breath and filled her senses with the bouquet of
the blossoms. It almost felt like they were talking to her, calming
her.... A flower had no thoughts, no emotions, yet it could burst
into life with such intense beauty....
"Sukoiiii.... Look at all the flowers in here...."
"Shh."
"There isn't even any sunlight. How do they get them to
grow?"
"Those lights, set in the ceiling, are all these flowers
need."
"I haven't seen flowers like these before. Are they roses?
Or are they chrysanthemums? They look like both."
"They're neither. It would take too long to explain, and we
don't have the time."
"It's so pretty in here. Can't we stay a while?"
"There is someone in here. If they catch us..."
"Oh shit."
"And have you forgotten your friend? We can't just hover
whilst they could be doing the most unspeakable things to her...."
"Sorry.... Its just that.... the atmosphere in here. It's
so.... So...."
Naoko turned aside and peered at the two newcomers, standing
on the gantry that ran along the wall to her left. She recognised
one, immediately, as Lysithea Caprice. All her alarm bells went off
at once, but she maintained her composure. The other she recognised
as the girl who was attacked within the coffee shop.... The one
Jacquie described as Sailormoon.
Only this time, she WAS Sailormoon. Naoko faced forward and
closed her eyes, reaching out with her senses.
"You can feel the atmosphere in here?"
"Sure. It's like they're talking to me...."
There was silence. Naoko could tell Lysithea was deep in
thought.
"Well, I guess we can split up from here." he said,
eventually. Sailormoon's voice was disbelieving and incredibly
whiney. So much for the calm composure of a famous superhero.
"What do you mean, split up?"
"Shhhh....."
"Sorry."
"That's alright. They way to where they are holding your
friend is through the door on the other side of the orchard."
Liar, Naoko thought.
"All the way over there? How do I get past that girl?"
"Extremely quietly, if you can manage that."
"Like I didn't already know you were here." Naoko whispered
to herself. If it wasn't so sickening to listen to, Naoko would
have laughed.
She peered aside at Sailormoon, taking note of the girl's
lovely skin tone. She licked her lips.
----o
Kurabuto stepped into the autopsy observation room, guiding
Miki and Kaji through the door. "Keep an eye on her, will you,
Akunatsuka. We don't want her getting up to any mischief." He
stepped back through the door, closing it behind him.
Kaji put a hand on Miki's shoulder. "How are you holding up,
there? Would you like anything?" Miki turned to him, her face
betraying her emotions.
"A lawyer might help. I'm not hungry." She shook her head.
"Why in hell did I let Aoi do what she did?"
"It's too late to ask yourself that kind of question. What's
done is done." He smiled. "I think we better sit down. You almost
look like you're going to collapse."
"I didn't join the force to be some lawgiving glory hog, you
know.... It was just a job, right? Right?" She looked at him,
pleadingly. Kaji was surprised by her expression.
"Well, I...."
"I never intended to go any further than the front office and
dispatch. My mother always worried about her only daughter being a
cop.... I didn't want to upset her, or anything...." Miki broke
down. Kaji guided her over to a chair and sat her down.
"Listen.... All that will, most likely, occur is that you
shall be given a warning by the internal investigation branch. It's
not like you're going to be fined or imprisoned or sacked, or
anything like that."
"But it goes on my record of employment.... How am I going to
live with this?"
Kaji sighed. "Look, I've got black marks on my record, right?
It's not as if I really care about them."
"But others care. People who can make your life difficult
when it pleases them, in the hierachy. I don't know if I want to
work under that kind of stress."
Kaji sighed, shaking his head. "You're making a mountain out
of a molehill, Watanabe-san...."
"Am I?" She looked at him, sternly.
----o
Setsuna and Carey wandered along the hallway, side by side.
Setsuna didn't like some of the looks she was getting from some of
those they passed.
"It must be your healthy skin tone." Carey chuckled. "Always
a good attractor for the Tanis and their inlaws."
"It's not that I'm worried about."
Carey shook her head. "Oh my dear Setsuna.... This is the
Sacred House, remember? We value life in here."
"So what about that little event down at the dockyards?"
"Hmm? The dockyards?" Carey blinked, then frowned. "Oh
that. You know about that, do you?"
"Quite." Setsuna pursed her lips as they paused at an
intersection with another hallway. This hallway was larger than the
one they had been walking along and had lines running down its
length. At one end was a pair of large doors. Setsuna turned to
Carey. "I do believe twentytwo dockyard workers were killed,
there. Going to take a lot to cover that up."
"Damn your precognition." Carey said, without expressing any
emotion whatsoever. Setsuna shook her head, chuckling.
"So, with Sherrie out of the picture, all of Lysithea's plans
shall be for nought." Setsuna paused. "I'm impressed with the
depth of your arrogance."
"Thankyou." Carey bowed slightly.
"And now that this is the case, he will be left with no
alternative other than to kill you."
"Of course." Carey shrugged. "I expected as much."
"And he is now within the walls of the Sacred House, looking
for you...."
"....Devoid of the knowledge I have just given you. Thus he
shall not try to kill me. Immediately, anyway."
"And you have him exactly where you want him.... In the midst
of enemy territory." Setsuna could do no more than shake her head,
pitifully. "If anyone finds out that you were responsible for
manipulating Sherrie to stop taking her medication...."
"....I'll be in a hell of a lot of trouble. Yes, I know. But
honestly, do you think I really care." Carey took a breath. "Now,
we both have our problems, and they are both situated within the
bounds of the Sacred House. Need I say that we, at the very least,
call a truce until we achieve a solution."
"A truce?" Setsuna shot Carey a disbelieving look. "And what
would that entail? You launching into me as soon as Lysithea is
dealt with?"
"I could have launched into you the moment we first bumped
into each other. Remember, it was I who saw you first. I could
have just sneaked up behind you, and...." Carey ran a finger across
her throat. Setsuna was in no doubt she was speaking the truth.
"So why didn't you?"
"Curiosity, I guess. I felt your presence within the
Compound, and I wanted to know why you were here."
"Haven't you heard the old adage about curiosity, yet? What
if I had launched an attack into you?"
"Ah, but you didn't, did you? I wonder why." Carey smiled.
Setsuna shot her a piercing stare.
"Venus." Carey's smile didn't fade at Setsuna's suggestion.
"So, you haven't broken through the mental blocks I have placed in
her mind."
"Only a matter of time. And lets face it, the girl is so
stupid, she answers just about every question we ask her."
Setsuna cringed. "Shit."
"Shit indeed. Are all of you Sailorsenshi as stupid as she?"
"I'm sorry. She is something of an exception."
"So what does that make your Princess?"
"A lot brighter than you think. Sooner or later, she's going
to work Lysithea out. And then...."
"And then?" Carey rubbed her chin with fascination.
"And then.... Well, she isn't the Princess for nothing,
Carey. Even if she isn't fully aware of what she is able to do."
Alarm bells rang at the end of the hallway with the large
doors. Both Setsuna and Carey turned as emergency lights flashed
and the huge doors slowly folded open.
They stepped back and watched as vans and box trailers, from
the scene at the dockyards, rolled past.
"You really should have pedestrian lights here...." Setsuna
chuckled.
"Quite." Carey nodded.
----o
"You can take your shower, now." Pagan peered from the
doorway to the hall, towel wrapped around vital portions of his
anatomy. Aoi and Mhaere looked up at him as they tended to Ami.
"And wipe those smiles off you faces. This is embarrassing enough
as it is." He leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms.
Aoi stood up and padded across the room, smiling at him as she
walked around him. "Was it as good for you as it was for me?" She
chuckled and made distance between them before he could react. He
shook his head, sighing.
"So, you're the one who snatched me from the bottom of the
harbour...." Pagan looked down his nose at Mhaere.
"You could say that, but I'm afraid we don't have the time to
discuss it." She gestured to Ami. "I'm afraid she requires your
healing power, immediately."
"Hmm?" Pagan stepped over to Ami's side and knelt, placing a
hand over her face. "Indeed, she does. She has bleeding around
the brain."
"Eh?" Mhaere looked at him, disbelievingly.
"No matter. I can deal with little problems like that."
"I'm glad you're describing it as a little problem."
"I've had to deal with worse." Pagan said grimly as he closed
his eyes. A warm glow surrounded the hand that was placed, fingers
outspread, on Ami's face. "This shall take about an hour. I can't
guarentee what her mental state shall be like when I'm finished.
There has been some brain damage, and despite the fact that I am
capable of healing neuronic material, the damage can lead to a loss
of learned information."
"As in?"
"Much of what she has learnt since early childhood. It will
cover most aspects of her learning, from higher intellectual
processes to social skills. The damage may be limited to one
particular subgroup of information, or a sugical loss of information
packets."
"You speak as if her mind was a machine." Mhaere shrugged.
"Not a machine. But a vitally important aspect of one."
Pagan said, softly, concentrating. "So, tell me.... How did you
know I was buried in mud up to my eyeballs at the bottom of the
harbour?"
"Hmm.... An accident, really. I happened to be watching over
what my sister is up to from the other side."
"The other side?" Pagan glanced at her, then opened his mouth
in a silent "oh".
"Yes, Nemesis, I think it is referred to in this world. Quite
a nice place, actually, if one removes the less sociable aspects of
society over there."
"Hmm.... So how long have you been over there?"
"Can't say, actually. Time has a tendency to become
immaterial in that world." She stood and crossed her arms.
"Anyway, I saw you were having a bit of a problem with my sister,
stupid girl that she is. Allowing herself to be manipulated like
that into ceasing her consumption of the Vasculin drug."
"I heard that you also ceased to take the drug."
"Hmm.... But I stopped of my own accord. Certain members of
the Sacred House wanted to see what would happen if they allowed the
becoming process to continue. They didn't like what they found, so
they shut off my bestial index."
"Ouch...."
"Indeed." Mhaere smiled.
"And that caused you to bridge the gap bewteen the two
worlds...." Pagan shook his head. "How very clever of them."
"Indeed. But it was a blessing in disguise. Once within
Nemesis, the atmosphere there gave me the opportunity to take
control of my powers, completely." She chuckled. "The fault lies
within the bestial index itself.... The genetic coding is
imbalanced in the bean sidhe.... It is only with the reprogramming
of that coding, through immersion in the Nemesian atmosphere, that
fixes the problem."
"Something they're obviously going to have to do with
Sherrie." Pagan said, resignedly. "How long does it take?"
"It depends on the subject, themselves. It could take years.
Maybe nothing more than months or days. As I said, it is hard to
tell the passage of time over there." She smiled. "Anyways, I hope
you managed to wash all of that mud from every portion of your body.
Be a waste if you ended up getting poisoned by all the toxic
chemicals and heavy metals down there."
"Thanks for your concern." Pagan growled.
"Yes, well, you were the idiot who decided a substance thicker
than air was a nice place to hide from a being who could launch
sonic attacks."
"So sue me." Pagan turned to her. "So, how does it feel to
be working with one of the 'enemy'?"
"Enemy?" Mhaere frowned.
"Yes. I'm Coven, and you used to be House." He smiled. "And
how will that fit the Kikotsuka woman and this girl here into the
bargain?"
"Oh come on. You don't honestly think things like that really
matter much, anymore?"
"Of course they matter. The differences between the Coven and
the House are basic and fundamental. They represent differing
points of view on how life and society should be maintained."
"To me, Pagan, they both look exactly the same. The two sides
of the same coin." She sneered at him. "I've spent time within the
world of Nemesis, watching the actions of both groups, and I have
come to the conclusion that the little underground war that exists
between them is nothing more than a waste of energy and lives."
"Easy for you to say. I have friends within the Coven. Some
of them have died for the ideal of free will and self-control of
their lives." He turned back to Ami, not wanting to face the
pitying expression on Mhaere's face.
"Do you really believe that is what the war is about? My
friend, have you never heard of the manipulation of ideals? The
people who run both groups use those ideals for their personal power
games. Why do you think members of both committees have positions
of power within the political and financial landscape of this
country?"
"I may seem stupid to you, Mhaere Meehan. But I happen to
believe in those ideals. And God help me, if I find anyone has been
manipulating those ideals within the upper echelons of the Coven,
then they will live to regret their actions."
Mheare paused, thinking. "Yes.... I believe in your
idealism. But should one place the energy of their idealism in a
group such as the Coven?"
Pagan did not answer that.
----o
Kurabuto stood in the autopsy room, watching Makoto's heart
crystal bubble and smoulder in the small tray the coronial
pathologist had placed it for further study.
"It started about six hours ago. I thought it might have been
some kind of reaction to the air, so I took a sample and studied it
under the microscope. There is no doubt about it.... this is
living human tissue.... And it is dying." The pathologist shook
his head. "I wish we'd had the opportunity to run more tests on
it before this started to occur."
"My Kami...." Kurabuto leaned down and looked at the crystal
closely. The pathologist put his hand on Kurabuto's shoulder.
"Be careful. We don't know what some of those gasses it is
emitting are."
Kurabuto lifted himself up and stepped back. "Well, keep a
watch on it. The last thing we need is for it to explode in our
faces."
It exploded.
----o
Kaji and Miki fell to the floor as the glass window, that
looked out onto the autopsy room, was shattered into a thousand
fragments, flying past and cutting them, eventually implanting
into the rear wall.
Miki let out a cry of panic as flames and sparks flew through
the now open space where the window used to be. Kaji tried to
shield Miki, but not before a large bolt of plasma-like energy
struck her in the chest. She screamed as she clawed at the molten
lump, slowly seeping into her.
Kaji looked on helplessly as the glow disappeared, leaving a
burn mark on the front of Miki's uniform. She fell to the floor,
unconcious. Kaji leaned down and pulled open the top of her
uniform, expecting to see her hideously burned. But there was
nothing. Her skin was unmarked.
Looking nervously around to see if anyone saw him doing this,
he lifted her off the floor and carried her towards the doorway. He
could hear fire alarms sounding throughout the building, and the
sprinkling sound of the fire jets within the autopsy room.
With difficulty, he managed to open the door, and held it with
his foot as he inched his way from the room. He looked down the
corridor to see Kurabuto and the pathologist, hacking and coughing
on the floor, outside the doorway to the autopsy room.
Footsteps caught his attention, and he turned the other way to
see people running towards the scene, some with guns at the ready.
He desperately needed a drink.
END OF PART 18
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Chapter - "Sweet Seduction"
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net
Version 1.0 - 6th May 1998
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME (Mark A Page)
Disclaimer - all characters pertaining to the series Bishoujo Senshi
Sailormoon are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Bandai and Kodansya. All
other characters were thought up by me.
I hope I'm not sued for writing this. I'm not some ripoff merchant,
using other people's ideas for personal gain. I'm just a poor
little know-nothing fanboy. I leave the ripoffs to professionals
like Anya Romanov. ^_^
--------------------------------------------------------------------
There was another creaking sound, this time closer. Both
girls turned towards the doorway.
"There IS someone in here." Rei clutched Hotaru's arm.
"That was too soft to be a footstep."
"But there is someone, or something, moving through the
residence....." Rei was on the edge of panic. "I don't want to
end up like Makoto.... Oh KAMI no...."
Rei stood and started to back away, her arm held by Hotaru.
"No, Mars. If there is someone in here, we must FIGHT them."
Something brushed against the door, and they both turned,
trembling with fear and anticipation.
"Mars? Saturn? What are you doing in a dark room?"
"We've been looking for you everywhere."
Both Senshi looked down at the two small feline figures
that stood in the doorway.
"Luna... Artemis... thank KAMI it's only you." Hotaru
answered, breathing a sigh of relief.
"ONLY us?" Luna frowned. "What on Earth has been going
on here?"
Before Hotaru could answer, she felt Rei's arm go limp, and
turned in surprise as the fire senshi fainted, falling to the floor.
"Mars!" Hotaru managed to grab her before her head hit. She
cradled Rei, gently lowering her head down as Luna and Artemis ran
to her side.
"You really MUST explain to me what has been going on. We
can't seem to find anyone."
"There.... Are reasons for this...." I just wish I knew what
most of them were, Hotaru thought to herself.
----o
Part Eighteen
To One in Paradise
----o
The flower orchard was the most peaceful place within the
walls of the Sacred House. At least, it was to Tani Naoko.
After the eventful day she had just endured, a few hours of
quiet contemplation within the orchard was just what the doctor
ordered. Not that she needed a doctor, much.
She knelt upon the small dais meant for such contemplation,
set off to one side of the orchard, and stared across the rows of
the red flowers, with their black stems, growing in the thick, rich
dark soils of their homeland. Each row was lined with the complex
watering system required to allow the temperamental flowers to
blossom, along with the carefully modified air conditioning, to give
the atmosphere that special crispness the flowers liked so much.
Given both, they would blossom all year round.
The flowers used to grow within the valley that the Tani clan
hailed from. Its properties, as an additive in the production of
Vasculin, was discovered after much research into their affliction.
At least, that was what they'd called it, then.
Since that time, and with the advent of better production
methods, there was no longer the need to hunt fullblood humans for
their blood (she always chuckled at that.... If they were
fullblood to begin with, then they were pretty empty by the end.
Vampiric humour. Had to love it).
Not that it meant they weren't required to learn how to drink
properly. There were individuals, pure humans, who had been bred
for the specific purpose of training the Tani's and others like them
on how to drink.
The common term for these were "bleeders". These were people
capable of losing vast quantities of blood without ill, and with the
ability to replenish that supply over a remarkably ahort period of
time.
She took a breath and filled her senses with the bouquet of
the blossoms. It almost felt like they were talking to her, calming
her.... A flower had no thoughts, no emotions, yet it could burst
into life with such intense beauty....
"Sukoiiii.... Look at all the flowers in here...."
"Shh."
"There isn't even any sunlight. How do they get them to
grow?"
"Those lights, set in the ceiling, are all these flowers
need."
"I haven't seen flowers like these before. Are they roses?
Or are they chrysanthemums? They look like both."
"They're neither. It would take too long to explain, and we
don't have the time."
"It's so pretty in here. Can't we stay a while?"
"There is someone in here. If they catch us..."
"Oh shit."
"And have you forgotten your friend? We can't just hover
whilst they could be doing the most unspeakable things to her...."
"Sorry.... Its just that.... the atmosphere in here. It's
so.... So...."
Naoko turned aside and peered at the two newcomers, standing
on the gantry that ran along the wall to her left. She recognised
one, immediately, as Lysithea Caprice. All her alarm bells went off
at once, but she maintained her composure. The other she recognised
as the girl who was attacked within the coffee shop.... The one
Jacquie described as Sailormoon.
Only this time, she WAS Sailormoon. Naoko faced forward and
closed her eyes, reaching out with her senses.
"You can feel the atmosphere in here?"
"Sure. It's like they're talking to me...."
There was silence. Naoko could tell Lysithea was deep in
thought.
"Well, I guess we can split up from here." he said,
eventually. Sailormoon's voice was disbelieving and incredibly
whiney. So much for the calm composure of a famous superhero.
"What do you mean, split up?"
"Shhhh....."
"Sorry."
"That's alright. They way to where they are holding your
friend is through the door on the other side of the orchard."
Liar, Naoko thought.
"All the way over there? How do I get past that girl?"
"Extremely quietly, if you can manage that."
"Like I didn't already know you were here." Naoko whispered
to herself. If it wasn't so sickening to listen to, Naoko would
have laughed.
She peered aside at Sailormoon, taking note of the girl's
lovely skin tone. She licked her lips.
----o
Kurabuto stepped into the autopsy observation room, guiding
Miki and Kaji through the door. "Keep an eye on her, will you,
Akunatsuka. We don't want her getting up to any mischief." He
stepped back through the door, closing it behind him.
Kaji put a hand on Miki's shoulder. "How are you holding up,
there? Would you like anything?" Miki turned to him, her face
betraying her emotions.
"A lawyer might help. I'm not hungry." She shook her head.
"Why in hell did I let Aoi do what she did?"
"It's too late to ask yourself that kind of question. What's
done is done." He smiled. "I think we better sit down. You almost
look like you're going to collapse."
"I didn't join the force to be some lawgiving glory hog, you
know.... It was just a job, right? Right?" She looked at him,
pleadingly. Kaji was surprised by her expression.
"Well, I...."
"I never intended to go any further than the front office and
dispatch. My mother always worried about her only daughter being a
cop.... I didn't want to upset her, or anything...." Miki broke
down. Kaji guided her over to a chair and sat her down.
"Listen.... All that will, most likely, occur is that you
shall be given a warning by the internal investigation branch. It's
not like you're going to be fined or imprisoned or sacked, or
anything like that."
"But it goes on my record of employment.... How am I going to
live with this?"
Kaji sighed. "Look, I've got black marks on my record, right?
It's not as if I really care about them."
"But others care. People who can make your life difficult
when it pleases them, in the hierachy. I don't know if I want to
work under that kind of stress."
Kaji sighed, shaking his head. "You're making a mountain out
of a molehill, Watanabe-san...."
"Am I?" She looked at him, sternly.
----o
Setsuna and Carey wandered along the hallway, side by side.
Setsuna didn't like some of the looks she was getting from some of
those they passed.
"It must be your healthy skin tone." Carey chuckled. "Always
a good attractor for the Tanis and their inlaws."
"It's not that I'm worried about."
Carey shook her head. "Oh my dear Setsuna.... This is the
Sacred House, remember? We value life in here."
"So what about that little event down at the dockyards?"
"Hmm? The dockyards?" Carey blinked, then frowned. "Oh
that. You know about that, do you?"
"Quite." Setsuna pursed her lips as they paused at an
intersection with another hallway. This hallway was larger than the
one they had been walking along and had lines running down its
length. At one end was a pair of large doors. Setsuna turned to
Carey. "I do believe twentytwo dockyard workers were killed,
there. Going to take a lot to cover that up."
"Damn your precognition." Carey said, without expressing any
emotion whatsoever. Setsuna shook her head, chuckling.
"So, with Sherrie out of the picture, all of Lysithea's plans
shall be for nought." Setsuna paused. "I'm impressed with the
depth of your arrogance."
"Thankyou." Carey bowed slightly.
"And now that this is the case, he will be left with no
alternative other than to kill you."
"Of course." Carey shrugged. "I expected as much."
"And he is now within the walls of the Sacred House, looking
for you...."
"....Devoid of the knowledge I have just given you. Thus he
shall not try to kill me. Immediately, anyway."
"And you have him exactly where you want him.... In the midst
of enemy territory." Setsuna could do no more than shake her head,
pitifully. "If anyone finds out that you were responsible for
manipulating Sherrie to stop taking her medication...."
"....I'll be in a hell of a lot of trouble. Yes, I know. But
honestly, do you think I really care." Carey took a breath. "Now,
we both have our problems, and they are both situated within the
bounds of the Sacred House. Need I say that we, at the very least,
call a truce until we achieve a solution."
"A truce?" Setsuna shot Carey a disbelieving look. "And what
would that entail? You launching into me as soon as Lysithea is
dealt with?"
"I could have launched into you the moment we first bumped
into each other. Remember, it was I who saw you first. I could
have just sneaked up behind you, and...." Carey ran a finger across
her throat. Setsuna was in no doubt she was speaking the truth.
"So why didn't you?"
"Curiosity, I guess. I felt your presence within the
Compound, and I wanted to know why you were here."
"Haven't you heard the old adage about curiosity, yet? What
if I had launched an attack into you?"
"Ah, but you didn't, did you? I wonder why." Carey smiled.
Setsuna shot her a piercing stare.
"Venus." Carey's smile didn't fade at Setsuna's suggestion.
"So, you haven't broken through the mental blocks I have placed in
her mind."
"Only a matter of time. And lets face it, the girl is so
stupid, she answers just about every question we ask her."
Setsuna cringed. "Shit."
"Shit indeed. Are all of you Sailorsenshi as stupid as she?"
"I'm sorry. She is something of an exception."
"So what does that make your Princess?"
"A lot brighter than you think. Sooner or later, she's going
to work Lysithea out. And then...."
"And then?" Carey rubbed her chin with fascination.
"And then.... Well, she isn't the Princess for nothing,
Carey. Even if she isn't fully aware of what she is able to do."
Alarm bells rang at the end of the hallway with the large
doors. Both Setsuna and Carey turned as emergency lights flashed
and the huge doors slowly folded open.
They stepped back and watched as vans and box trailers, from
the scene at the dockyards, rolled past.
"You really should have pedestrian lights here...." Setsuna
chuckled.
"Quite." Carey nodded.
----o
"You can take your shower, now." Pagan peered from the
doorway to the hall, towel wrapped around vital portions of his
anatomy. Aoi and Mhaere looked up at him as they tended to Ami.
"And wipe those smiles off you faces. This is embarrassing enough
as it is." He leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms.
Aoi stood up and padded across the room, smiling at him as she
walked around him. "Was it as good for you as it was for me?" She
chuckled and made distance between them before he could react. He
shook his head, sighing.
"So, you're the one who snatched me from the bottom of the
harbour...." Pagan looked down his nose at Mhaere.
"You could say that, but I'm afraid we don't have the time to
discuss it." She gestured to Ami. "I'm afraid she requires your
healing power, immediately."
"Hmm?" Pagan stepped over to Ami's side and knelt, placing a
hand over her face. "Indeed, she does. She has bleeding around
the brain."
"Eh?" Mhaere looked at him, disbelievingly.
"No matter. I can deal with little problems like that."
"I'm glad you're describing it as a little problem."
"I've had to deal with worse." Pagan said grimly as he closed
his eyes. A warm glow surrounded the hand that was placed, fingers
outspread, on Ami's face. "This shall take about an hour. I can't
guarentee what her mental state shall be like when I'm finished.
There has been some brain damage, and despite the fact that I am
capable of healing neuronic material, the damage can lead to a loss
of learned information."
"As in?"
"Much of what she has learnt since early childhood. It will
cover most aspects of her learning, from higher intellectual
processes to social skills. The damage may be limited to one
particular subgroup of information, or a sugical loss of information
packets."
"You speak as if her mind was a machine." Mhaere shrugged.
"Not a machine. But a vitally important aspect of one."
Pagan said, softly, concentrating. "So, tell me.... How did you
know I was buried in mud up to my eyeballs at the bottom of the
harbour?"
"Hmm.... An accident, really. I happened to be watching over
what my sister is up to from the other side."
"The other side?" Pagan glanced at her, then opened his mouth
in a silent "oh".
"Yes, Nemesis, I think it is referred to in this world. Quite
a nice place, actually, if one removes the less sociable aspects of
society over there."
"Hmm.... So how long have you been over there?"
"Can't say, actually. Time has a tendency to become
immaterial in that world." She stood and crossed her arms.
"Anyway, I saw you were having a bit of a problem with my sister,
stupid girl that she is. Allowing herself to be manipulated like
that into ceasing her consumption of the Vasculin drug."
"I heard that you also ceased to take the drug."
"Hmm.... But I stopped of my own accord. Certain members of
the Sacred House wanted to see what would happen if they allowed the
becoming process to continue. They didn't like what they found, so
they shut off my bestial index."
"Ouch...."
"Indeed." Mhaere smiled.
"And that caused you to bridge the gap bewteen the two
worlds...." Pagan shook his head. "How very clever of them."
"Indeed. But it was a blessing in disguise. Once within
Nemesis, the atmosphere there gave me the opportunity to take
control of my powers, completely." She chuckled. "The fault lies
within the bestial index itself.... The genetic coding is
imbalanced in the bean sidhe.... It is only with the reprogramming
of that coding, through immersion in the Nemesian atmosphere, that
fixes the problem."
"Something they're obviously going to have to do with
Sherrie." Pagan said, resignedly. "How long does it take?"
"It depends on the subject, themselves. It could take years.
Maybe nothing more than months or days. As I said, it is hard to
tell the passage of time over there." She smiled. "Anyways, I hope
you managed to wash all of that mud from every portion of your body.
Be a waste if you ended up getting poisoned by all the toxic
chemicals and heavy metals down there."
"Thanks for your concern." Pagan growled.
"Yes, well, you were the idiot who decided a substance thicker
than air was a nice place to hide from a being who could launch
sonic attacks."
"So sue me." Pagan turned to her. "So, how does it feel to
be working with one of the 'enemy'?"
"Enemy?" Mhaere frowned.
"Yes. I'm Coven, and you used to be House." He smiled. "And
how will that fit the Kikotsuka woman and this girl here into the
bargain?"
"Oh come on. You don't honestly think things like that really
matter much, anymore?"
"Of course they matter. The differences between the Coven and
the House are basic and fundamental. They represent differing
points of view on how life and society should be maintained."
"To me, Pagan, they both look exactly the same. The two sides
of the same coin." She sneered at him. "I've spent time within the
world of Nemesis, watching the actions of both groups, and I have
come to the conclusion that the little underground war that exists
between them is nothing more than a waste of energy and lives."
"Easy for you to say. I have friends within the Coven. Some
of them have died for the ideal of free will and self-control of
their lives." He turned back to Ami, not wanting to face the
pitying expression on Mhaere's face.
"Do you really believe that is what the war is about? My
friend, have you never heard of the manipulation of ideals? The
people who run both groups use those ideals for their personal power
games. Why do you think members of both committees have positions
of power within the political and financial landscape of this
country?"
"I may seem stupid to you, Mhaere Meehan. But I happen to
believe in those ideals. And God help me, if I find anyone has been
manipulating those ideals within the upper echelons of the Coven,
then they will live to regret their actions."
Mheare paused, thinking. "Yes.... I believe in your
idealism. But should one place the energy of their idealism in a
group such as the Coven?"
Pagan did not answer that.
----o
Kurabuto stood in the autopsy room, watching Makoto's heart
crystal bubble and smoulder in the small tray the coronial
pathologist had placed it for further study.
"It started about six hours ago. I thought it might have been
some kind of reaction to the air, so I took a sample and studied it
under the microscope. There is no doubt about it.... this is
living human tissue.... And it is dying." The pathologist shook
his head. "I wish we'd had the opportunity to run more tests on
it before this started to occur."
"My Kami...." Kurabuto leaned down and looked at the crystal
closely. The pathologist put his hand on Kurabuto's shoulder.
"Be careful. We don't know what some of those gasses it is
emitting are."
Kurabuto lifted himself up and stepped back. "Well, keep a
watch on it. The last thing we need is for it to explode in our
faces."
It exploded.
----o
Kaji and Miki fell to the floor as the glass window, that
looked out onto the autopsy room, was shattered into a thousand
fragments, flying past and cutting them, eventually implanting
into the rear wall.
Miki let out a cry of panic as flames and sparks flew through
the now open space where the window used to be. Kaji tried to
shield Miki, but not before a large bolt of plasma-like energy
struck her in the chest. She screamed as she clawed at the molten
lump, slowly seeping into her.
Kaji looked on helplessly as the glow disappeared, leaving a
burn mark on the front of Miki's uniform. She fell to the floor,
unconcious. Kaji leaned down and pulled open the top of her
uniform, expecting to see her hideously burned. But there was
nothing. Her skin was unmarked.
Looking nervously around to see if anyone saw him doing this,
he lifted her off the floor and carried her towards the doorway. He
could hear fire alarms sounding throughout the building, and the
sprinkling sound of the fire jets within the autopsy room.
With difficulty, he managed to open the door, and held it with
his foot as he inched his way from the room. He looked down the
corridor to see Kurabuto and the pathologist, hacking and coughing
on the floor, outside the doorway to the autopsy room.
Footsteps caught his attention, and he turned the other way to
see people running towards the scene, some with guns at the ready.
He desperately needed a drink.
END OF PART 18
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Next Chapter - "Sweet Seduction"
DDFA ayanami@internode.on.net
Version 1.0 - 6th May 1998