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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"What about my blood?" Usagi swallowed, pulling the covers
even further over her body, frightened by the sudden lascivious tone
in Naoko's voice.
"Well, the one sure thing about the blood of Others.... It
is as much a part of their physical body as an arm or a leg. It can
be controlled and manipulated like a physical limb. However, if
your blood is human, it is nothing more than a substance to carry
oxygen and various necessary vitamins and minerals."
"So what? Do you just cut me and see if I can move my blood
about? I've been cut, before..."
"No, that's not the way, although that could work....
However, I am in the unique position of being sensitive to certain
bloodtypes." Naoko stopped, her back turned to Usagi so she
couldn't see her smile.
"So..." Usagi sunk into the covers. "...How...?"
Naoko half-turned her head. "Your blood.... I must drink
it."
----o
Part Twentyfive
Myocardial Infraction
----o
"LET ME GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" Ami thrashed and kicked as Aoi
pushed her into the loungeroom, her arms bent behind her back in the
best armlock Aoi was capable of.
"Try and seduce him behind our back, will you?" Aoi growled.
"You've changed from the little wallflower who came to me, earlier
today, trying to confess to your friend's murder."
"What murder, bitch?" Ami sneered into Aoi's face. "Oh, you
mean that dumb bitch, Makoto. She deserved to die. YEAH, THAT WAS
IT! She deserved to snuff it. My mom killed her. Stuck the gun up
to her head and pulled the trigger. Bang bang, bye bye Mako-chan."
Ami thrashed about, laughing insanely.
"Oh gawd...." Mhaere shook her head as she and Pagan stepped
from the kitchen. "What the hell did you do to her when you fixed
her up?" She turned to Pagan, who shrugged.
"Damned if I know. All I did was fix up the damage to her
brain." He sighed. "Maybe much of the damage wasn't caused by the
accident."
"You mean she's had brain damage since birth?"
"Maybe not so much as damage.... A mere intellectual
dysfunction will present itself to me as brain damage. Poor wiring
up of the brain before she was born.... Can cause all sorts of
emotional disorders."
"She's supposed to be one of the smarter members of the
Sailorsenshi. How can she have such a problem."
"Autistic savant." Pagan sighed. "Or someone suffering from
a high functioning form of Aspergers Syndrome. The social
disability is not as severe, but the intellect, on certain subjects,
is WAY out of this world."
"Hmm...." Mhaere turned back to Aoi, who was now wrestling
Ami into the hallway, heading towards the bedroom.
"So...." Pagan cleared his throat. "If you didn't cross the
gateway to see your sister, since she's going to have to go the way
of you, why did you?"
"Hmm?" Mhaere turned to Pagan in surprise. "Oh, for....
particular reasons."
"As in what?"
Mhaere sniffed. "That friend of yours.... Lysithea Caprice?"
Pagan frowned. "What about him?"
"He wants to open the gateway to Nemesis. I mean fully open
it. The Lucifer Folk are beckoning to him." She shrugged. "Not
that you would disagree with that. After all, you ARE a member of
the Coven, and it is within the Coven's charter to bring Earth under
their heel."
"Bull.... That's not what the Coven is about."
"So what is it about?" Mhaere stepped forward, sneering in
his face, displaying a full set of rather predatory teeth. "What is
it about, or don't you give it much thought?"
"It's.... It's about... Free will for those with the
blood...." He swallowed. "For our kind, against those who wish to
kill or dominate us...."
"And you honestly believe that?"
"Many of us do."
"But not everybody. Have you ever questioned the council that
controls the Coven's activities?"
Pagan brushed Mhaere aside. "Don't get so close to me."
"Why? What about me frightens you? My femininity? The
closeness to the Others which I represent? Or maybe because I look
like Sherrie?" Mhaere shook her head.
"Maybe you do look a lot like Sherrie. Maybe you do, but you
are not her. I might have felt something for her at one stage, but
things have changed."
"Yes, she's an invisible carnivore that may, at this very
moment, be running amok." Mhaere closed her eyes for a second. "I
stand corrected, she WAS an invisibl carnivore that was running
amok, she's now no longer in our world."
Pagan shuddered as he stepped away, looking at the still
unconcious form of Gwen. "Don't make fun of my feelings."
"Sorry.... Habit." Mhaere opened her eyes and turned to him.
"Did Sherrie like you, though?"
"I think she did, to begin with. But she was.... Stolen away
by Tani Rumiko...." He chuckled, bitterly. "You get so used to
girls rejecting you, but you never think it's because they might not
like guys.... Well, it was always hard to tell with Sherrie."
Pagan went silent and he looked at the floor, mute thoughts
passing through his mind. He was surprised when he felt Mhaere's
arms wrapping around him.
"What are you....?"
"Don't worry, boy..." Mhaere whispered in his left ear, a
soft expression on her face. "I don't have Sherrie's ambivalence in
these matters...."
Mhaere nibbled on his ear, gently.
Pagan began to wonder why he never had more than one
girlfriend in High School....
----o
"Iyaaaa! Hentai! Sukebe!" Usagi buried herself in the
covers of the bed as Naoko burst out into laughter.
"You really are the most gullible person, you know that?"
Naoko doubled over, clutching her middle.
Usagi peered out from under the covers with daggers in her
eyes.
----o
"He's awfully late, you know." Setsuna sighed as she leaned
against the viewing window in Carey's office. "How long have we
been here?"
"A couple of hours." Carey didn't turn from her monitor,
sitting at her desk. "According to this, Sailorvenus may be
resisting the Vasculin we gave to her."
"Eh?" Setsuna looked up at her, as did Joachim, who was
sitting in a large leather chair at the far end of the room, hands
behind his head.
"Hmm.... According to Doctor Bartholemew, she started to go
through a mini-becoming process when placed under pressure."
"What kind of pressure?" Setsuna stepped forward. Carey
looked up at her, smiling.
"Oh really, Set.... All the good doctor wanted was a little
basic information on her, nothing to get upset about." She turned
to Joachim. "So what do you think? May she present a danger?"
"I don't think there has been an occasion, at least in the
last half century, when someone has been able to resist the
vasculin." He sat forward and rubbed his chin. "It might be an
interesting study.... Her Sailorsenshi powers might be trying to
counter the effect."
"Hmm.... A defensive mechanism in the powers themselves.
Would you know anything about this, Setsuna?" Carey turned her head
very suddenly to Setsuna, making the elder senshi jump with
surprise.
"Uh... I couldn't really tell you about such things."
"No, of course not. Not that you'd tell me even if you did
know. You're in the habit of keeping trade secrets."
"Of course." Setsuna turned aside.
Joachim looked from one to the next. "What ARE the two of you
talking about?"
"Speaking of which, have your people found.... 'her', yet?"
Setsuna didn't turn as she asked the question.
"I do believe the holding cells were found to be open.
According to the information I have here. She must have passed
through there at some stage. Most of those who escaped have been
rounded up, although they are having trouble getting Cthulu Kanzaki
back to his cell. He seems rather pleased with himself, for some
reason."
Setsuna shivered. "Oh Kami, I hope very much she didn't get
the smooch treatment from him...."
Carey smiled, turning back to her monitor. Joachim sighed and
stood. "Will the pair of you just tell me what the hell is going
on, here?"
"Oh, it's nothing, Joachim. Setsuna, here, is Sailorpluto,
and she is looking for Princess Serenity."
"WHAT?" Joachim's jaw dropped as Setsuna spun.
"Oh, that's just great. Tell everyone, why don't you,
especially the Chief of Staff."
"Well, I am Chief of Operations. It is my duty." Carey
giggled as Setsuna crossed her arms with annoyance.
"How... Did you let her into the compound?" Joachim ranged
up on Carey. She turned and looked up at him, grinning.
"Come off it. Do you think I'd let HER in willingly? Give
her some credit, not that I ever would. She managed to sneak in
here all by herself."
"So..." Joachim turned to Setsuna. "This is what she looks
like.... I've always wondered if the stories were true."
"What stories?" Setsuna squinted at Joachim untrustingly.
"About the hair." He pointed to his head. "I must say, it is
a rather unusual shade of green."
"British racing green, I think would be the correct term.
Looks good on cars, but people...." Carey snickered, making Setsuna
point at her, threateningly.
"So. Now you know. What are you going to do?" Setsuna
sniffed raising her nose at Joachim haughtily.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing. There is really no point. The Security System
shall prevent you getting out." Joachim smiled and walked back to
the leather chair, dropping himself into it heavily. Setsuna
watched him, carefully.
"Oh..." Carey said, suddenly, her smile disappearing from her
face. "There is a message here from Doctor Popplewood....
Apparently someone has taken some of the Blood Liqueur Base from the
control laboratory."
"Hmm...." Joachim nodded. "Does he have any idea who?"
"Well, according to this, the last few people to have been
through the labs are being checked now...."
There was a blast of white smoke from behind Carey, and the
entire office was filled with the choking vapour. Setsuna covered
her mouth with a hand, her eyes stinging, and took a few steps back
in surprise, hitting the window. She could hear Joachim coughing as
well, his footsteps coming across the floor towards the desk.
There was a short cry, and Setsuna was blown through the
window by a force wave. She fell back into the operations centre,
much to the surprise of the operators within.
Alarms started to sound immediately as a couple of the
operators helped Setsuna to her feet. She looked at them, dazedly,
as they started asking her questions that she couldn't quite
understand in her state of mind.
----o
Usagi stepped out from the bed as Naoko sat on the carpeted
floor of the bedroom, giggling, confirming Usagi's suspicions that
she was in the presence of a lunatic.
Slowly, she crept past the girl and towards the walk-through
wardrobe. "You'll find a large assortment of clothes in there,
Sailormoon.... By the way, what's your real name?" Naoko looked
up at her as she came to a dead stop in mid-step, turning around
slowly, sweatdrop on her forehead.
"Uhh... yeah, right, whatever you say."
"Take your time. I can wait." Naoko waved at her, happily,
and pulled a small remote control from the sleeve of her gown. With
the press of a button, part of the wall slid away, and a large
television screen appeared, showing scenes of the damaged autopsy
room within the Tokyo Metropolitan Police building. "Tsk.... The
things that happen in the world, today...." Naoko shook her head.
Usagi swallowed and stepped into the wardrobe.
----o
Setsuna gazed up at the window, high above, and saw the smoke
pouring out of the office. Suddenly, her mind snapped into gear.
"...Happened?"
"Are you alright?"
"Ano...." Setsuna looked at the operators, two young women
and a man, all dressed in black and gray uniforms. For a moment,
they went silent. She took the advantage. "The Chiefs of Staff and
Operations are in there! Quickly, sound the general alarm! The
compound is under attack!"
"Yes ma'am!" They chorused, and took off in different
directions. Almost within seconds, she could hear klaxons blaring
from all around. She turned back to the observation window.
"Lysithea Caprice.... You are a sly one." She said between
clenched teeth. Then she vanished into thin air.
----o
Minako lifted her head from the pillow and stared around the
room, able to hear the blaring sirens, but only through the muffling
effect of the walls of her holding cell.
"That don't sound good." She sniffed and wiped her nose.
"Yeah, it sounds like a bitch." Said the voice of the woman
who was standing on the right side of her bed. Minako nearly fell
from it as she scampered for the shelter of the other side.
Lifting her head over the edge, she saw a red-headed woman
looking down at her. The woman was dressed in a black jacket and
miniskirt, which she was dusting down as if she was dirty.
"Who the hell are you?" Minako managed to get out at last.
The woman looked down at her, half-smiling.
"Who indeed."
----o
Kaji's car came to a screeching halt near a bus stop, outside
the front of the Hikawa Shrine. He undid his seatbelt and opened
the door, staring over the wall at the shrine grounds beyond.
He stepped from the car and closed the door, softly. The
street seemed to be fairly quiet at this time of the night. Well,
she WOULD choose the quietest time to do her dirty work.
Nakano Miyuki.
Just thinking of the name made him shiver.
Slowly, he locked the car and replaced his keys in his pocket.
Then, with the same slow deliberation, her pulled his service
revolver from underneath his overcoat, pulling the collar tightly
around his neck as he felt the rain through his thinning hair.
Then there was a cry of shock and a couple of gunshots. He
could hear footsteps and voices coming from within the shrine
grounds.... The sound of running feet, of rustling bushes. And
then a vast ball of flame that set an entire thicket of trees
alight.
And he gave a lot of second thoughts about going through with
this....
Steeling himself, he ran through the front gate of the shrine
and began to make his way up the stairs....
----o
Fitchner sat within the coffee shop, staring into his coffee
with the kind of distant glance that virtually invited people to ask
his life story. At least, that was what Manakuto felt as he stepped
through the front door.
"Irasshai mase...." The waitress at the counter bowed to him.
"Ah, Dietman Manakuto, how pleasing to see you again." He smiled at
her and nodded his head in return, then made his way over to
Fitchner, who hadn't showed any sign of acknowledging his presence.
"May I sit with you, Martin?" He said, standing a respectful
distance away. Fitchner almost leapt from his seat in surprise,
then gestured to the seat on the other side of the table with a
forced smile.
"Please do, please do...." Manakuto bowed, and removed his
overcoat, wrapping it in a small bundle and placing it in his lap
after sitting.
"I heard you were moping here all day." Manakuto began.
Fitchner looked at him, strangely.
"From whom?"
"Nearly everyone who knows you in my office. When I got back
from the session, I was given a full briefing on your presence
here." Manakuto gestured to the coffee shop.
"Well, it was near the Diet building, and I really didn't feel
like doing anything else, today...."
"Michelle, hmm?" Manakuto raised his eyebrows, inviting a
reply. All Fitchner did was nod. "I know how you feel, Martin, but
you can't let it affect you like this..."
"I couldn't think of anything else to do. It was so long....
So long since I heard her voice. After I left your office today, my
legs just went to jelly. I couldn't go any further. I still
can't." He looked down at the coffee again. "I keep wondering
where she is. What she is doing now...."
----o
Michelle paced the holding cell, taking a few deep breaths,
then sat down. She'd repeated these steps ever since she had
recovered and found herself in this place.
She'd seen neither hide not hair of anyone since. It was like
a form of torture, being left alone in a small, dark room. It
wasn't uncomfortable, or anything, but it was sparse.... Black
walls and a gray, carpeted floor, with the only light coming from
what appeared to be a skylight. Only it couldn't be a skylight,
because it had been near the end of the day when she was last
concious and a couple of hours had to have passed since. At least
she could hear something.... Like the muffled sound of klaxons. It
worried her even more.
She wondered where Nobuhiro and Pagan were. She wondered if
they were even alive. She couldn't imagine Nobuhiro going down
without a fight, although she got the feeling that he was in the
same building as she, somewhere. Not a good sign, really.
She drummed her fingers on the carpet. Surely someone had to
appear, sooner or later, and gloat over her capture. Sooner or
later. Being a member of the Coven, and one with a viable
bloodline, they were likely to try and work their re-education upon
her. She didn't like the thought of that. Still, she had been
stupid enough to get herself caught, so what could she do?
Where were they? She bit her lower lip. They were certainly
taking their time. They would have detected movement within the
holding cell, by now. They would have detected that she was in a
concious frame of mind. Why didn't they show themselves?
She stood again and started pacing. There wasn't really
enough room to pace. It was just small enough to be annoying. She
hit one wall with a fist when she reached it, then repeated the
action against the opposite wall. She repeated this every time she
came face to face with one of those walls. Those black walls.
Those solid black walls to which there was no visible way in, or
out.
She thumped a wall with both of her fists, feeling the depth
behind it. It felt thick and impenetrable. How did they get her in
here? How was she going to get out?
She looked up at the skylight. Oh, surely not. Maybe the
ceiling opened up, somehow. She could have been placed through the
top of the room. And yet, the more she thought about it, the less
likely it seemed to be.
She began to panic. The light was starting to get darker.
The walls around her seemed to be closing in. She ran to one and
started pounding her fists against it.
"Let me out! I demand to be let out of here!" Despite the
words, her voice was anything but commanding. An edge of fear made
them croak from her throat in a manner that only confirmed her worst
fears about herself.
She was clausterphobic.
She hated these confined areas. The light was dimming even
further, now, and the walls were looming closer. To her, it seemed
like the final moments of life. Darkness and death closing in, no
escape. She screamed and beat herself against the walls, scratching
wildly.
Light. All through the room. She was lying on the floor on
her side, her hands and face were bloodied. She was shivering
uncontrollably as she lifted her face to greet the figure that was
sitting on the other side of an observation window.
"Well, we have made a right mess of ourselves, haven't we?"
Doctor Bartholemew shook her head. "We've already had to patch up
two or three people tonight. Looks like you're going to have to be
added to the list, does it not?"
Michelle made some rasping noises from her throat. To her, it
seemed like a logical question. Bartholemew merely shook her head,
sadly.
"Doesn't look like we're going to get a lot out of you,
tonight. I think you're in line for a transfer to the control
labs." Bartholemew looked like she was going to stand, when she
paused and turned back to Michelle. "Umm, I thought I should tell
you, your father is in the presence of a member of the Coven. It is
likely that that person shall lead him to his death."
Michelle's eyes opened, and she crawled towards to partition,
staring up at Bartholemew, untrustingly. Bartholemew shrugged.
"Well, we could save him. The ultimate decision will be up to
you, of course. Now, I don't want to see anything happen to him.
But all the same, if you wish for him to die, then you can just
remain where you are and continue to suffer the...." Bartholemew
smiled. "....The darkness within this holding cell. I'm quite sure
you'll be able to suffer it for a little while longer, no?"
Michelle lifted herself up and started to scrabble on the
partition, a beckoning expression on her face. Bartholemew sat
back, satisfied.
"There's a good girl."
----o
Usagi peered out of the wardrobe, scratching her head. She
was now dressed in a red and black kimono that was a size too small
for her. It was the best she could find.
The other thing she found was her senshi fuku.... Or, at
least, its tattered remains. She held it rather sadly as she
listened, over the sound of the television.
Naoko turned to her, yawning. "What is it?"
"Do you hear something?"
"Hmm?" Naoko blinked, and listened herself. She then stood
and cocked her head to one side, trying to pinpoint the sound.
"Sounds like a general alarm. Something big must have happened."
"Like what?"
"Oh, incipient nuclear strike, that kind of thing." Naoko
giggled and hopped over to Usagi, dragging her from the wardrobe.
"Now, don't you look just a picture in that." She smiled, throwing
a couple of arms around the reluctant blond. She then noticed what
Usagi was holding. "Hmm.... Pity about that."
"How did you get it off me?" Usagi blinked. Naoko smiled and
leaned forward, pressing her face into Usagi's.
"Now wouldn't YOU like to know?" She giggled again, then
caught sight of Usagi's neck....
Usagi sighed and tried to take a step back. "You can let go
of me now. I'm not going to run away." When she couldn't pull
herself from Naoko's grasp, she dropped the ruined fuku and tried
to push her away. "Let me GO! I said I'm not into that...."
Usagi's heart skipped a beat as she felt Naoko's lips pressing
against the base of her throat. "Hey!" Usagi swallowed. "Hey,
stop that. It's not funny. Stop it, I said!" Usagi pushed harder
against Naoko, but the girl's grasp was like steel, holding her
tightly.
Then she heard Naoko take a deep breath, and felt a sudden,
sharp stabbing sensation, pushing its way into her throat.
Then all her resistance left her as she was filled with a
strange kind of pleasure....
END OF PART 25
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, you all knew Naoko wasn't going to resist forever, didn't you?
^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^
Next Chapter - "A Pox on Both Your Houses"
DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page) ayanami@internode.on.net
Version 1.0 - 11th Jun 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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"What about my blood?" Usagi swallowed, pulling the covers
even further over her body, frightened by the sudden lascivious tone
in Naoko's voice.
"Well, the one sure thing about the blood of Others.... It
is as much a part of their physical body as an arm or a leg. It can
be controlled and manipulated like a physical limb. However, if
your blood is human, it is nothing more than a substance to carry
oxygen and various necessary vitamins and minerals."
"So what? Do you just cut me and see if I can move my blood
about? I've been cut, before..."
"No, that's not the way, although that could work....
However, I am in the unique position of being sensitive to certain
bloodtypes." Naoko stopped, her back turned to Usagi so she
couldn't see her smile.
"So..." Usagi sunk into the covers. "...How...?"
Naoko half-turned her head. "Your blood.... I must drink
it."
----o
Part Twentyfive
Myocardial Infraction
----o
"LET ME GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" Ami thrashed and kicked as Aoi
pushed her into the loungeroom, her arms bent behind her back in the
best armlock Aoi was capable of.
"Try and seduce him behind our back, will you?" Aoi growled.
"You've changed from the little wallflower who came to me, earlier
today, trying to confess to your friend's murder."
"What murder, bitch?" Ami sneered into Aoi's face. "Oh, you
mean that dumb bitch, Makoto. She deserved to die. YEAH, THAT WAS
IT! She deserved to snuff it. My mom killed her. Stuck the gun up
to her head and pulled the trigger. Bang bang, bye bye Mako-chan."
Ami thrashed about, laughing insanely.
"Oh gawd...." Mhaere shook her head as she and Pagan stepped
from the kitchen. "What the hell did you do to her when you fixed
her up?" She turned to Pagan, who shrugged.
"Damned if I know. All I did was fix up the damage to her
brain." He sighed. "Maybe much of the damage wasn't caused by the
accident."
"You mean she's had brain damage since birth?"
"Maybe not so much as damage.... A mere intellectual
dysfunction will present itself to me as brain damage. Poor wiring
up of the brain before she was born.... Can cause all sorts of
emotional disorders."
"She's supposed to be one of the smarter members of the
Sailorsenshi. How can she have such a problem."
"Autistic savant." Pagan sighed. "Or someone suffering from
a high functioning form of Aspergers Syndrome. The social
disability is not as severe, but the intellect, on certain subjects,
is WAY out of this world."
"Hmm...." Mhaere turned back to Aoi, who was now wrestling
Ami into the hallway, heading towards the bedroom.
"So...." Pagan cleared his throat. "If you didn't cross the
gateway to see your sister, since she's going to have to go the way
of you, why did you?"
"Hmm?" Mhaere turned to Pagan in surprise. "Oh, for....
particular reasons."
"As in what?"
Mhaere sniffed. "That friend of yours.... Lysithea Caprice?"
Pagan frowned. "What about him?"
"He wants to open the gateway to Nemesis. I mean fully open
it. The Lucifer Folk are beckoning to him." She shrugged. "Not
that you would disagree with that. After all, you ARE a member of
the Coven, and it is within the Coven's charter to bring Earth under
their heel."
"Bull.... That's not what the Coven is about."
"So what is it about?" Mhaere stepped forward, sneering in
his face, displaying a full set of rather predatory teeth. "What is
it about, or don't you give it much thought?"
"It's.... It's about... Free will for those with the
blood...." He swallowed. "For our kind, against those who wish to
kill or dominate us...."
"And you honestly believe that?"
"Many of us do."
"But not everybody. Have you ever questioned the council that
controls the Coven's activities?"
Pagan brushed Mhaere aside. "Don't get so close to me."
"Why? What about me frightens you? My femininity? The
closeness to the Others which I represent? Or maybe because I look
like Sherrie?" Mhaere shook her head.
"Maybe you do look a lot like Sherrie. Maybe you do, but you
are not her. I might have felt something for her at one stage, but
things have changed."
"Yes, she's an invisible carnivore that may, at this very
moment, be running amok." Mhaere closed her eyes for a second. "I
stand corrected, she WAS an invisibl carnivore that was running
amok, she's now no longer in our world."
Pagan shuddered as he stepped away, looking at the still
unconcious form of Gwen. "Don't make fun of my feelings."
"Sorry.... Habit." Mhaere opened her eyes and turned to him.
"Did Sherrie like you, though?"
"I think she did, to begin with. But she was.... Stolen away
by Tani Rumiko...." He chuckled, bitterly. "You get so used to
girls rejecting you, but you never think it's because they might not
like guys.... Well, it was always hard to tell with Sherrie."
Pagan went silent and he looked at the floor, mute thoughts
passing through his mind. He was surprised when he felt Mhaere's
arms wrapping around him.
"What are you....?"
"Don't worry, boy..." Mhaere whispered in his left ear, a
soft expression on her face. "I don't have Sherrie's ambivalence in
these matters...."
Mhaere nibbled on his ear, gently.
Pagan began to wonder why he never had more than one
girlfriend in High School....
----o
"Iyaaaa! Hentai! Sukebe!" Usagi buried herself in the
covers of the bed as Naoko burst out into laughter.
"You really are the most gullible person, you know that?"
Naoko doubled over, clutching her middle.
Usagi peered out from under the covers with daggers in her
eyes.
----o
"He's awfully late, you know." Setsuna sighed as she leaned
against the viewing window in Carey's office. "How long have we
been here?"
"A couple of hours." Carey didn't turn from her monitor,
sitting at her desk. "According to this, Sailorvenus may be
resisting the Vasculin we gave to her."
"Eh?" Setsuna looked up at her, as did Joachim, who was
sitting in a large leather chair at the far end of the room, hands
behind his head.
"Hmm.... According to Doctor Bartholemew, she started to go
through a mini-becoming process when placed under pressure."
"What kind of pressure?" Setsuna stepped forward. Carey
looked up at her, smiling.
"Oh really, Set.... All the good doctor wanted was a little
basic information on her, nothing to get upset about." She turned
to Joachim. "So what do you think? May she present a danger?"
"I don't think there has been an occasion, at least in the
last half century, when someone has been able to resist the
vasculin." He sat forward and rubbed his chin. "It might be an
interesting study.... Her Sailorsenshi powers might be trying to
counter the effect."
"Hmm.... A defensive mechanism in the powers themselves.
Would you know anything about this, Setsuna?" Carey turned her head
very suddenly to Setsuna, making the elder senshi jump with
surprise.
"Uh... I couldn't really tell you about such things."
"No, of course not. Not that you'd tell me even if you did
know. You're in the habit of keeping trade secrets."
"Of course." Setsuna turned aside.
Joachim looked from one to the next. "What ARE the two of you
talking about?"
"Speaking of which, have your people found.... 'her', yet?"
Setsuna didn't turn as she asked the question.
"I do believe the holding cells were found to be open.
According to the information I have here. She must have passed
through there at some stage. Most of those who escaped have been
rounded up, although they are having trouble getting Cthulu Kanzaki
back to his cell. He seems rather pleased with himself, for some
reason."
Setsuna shivered. "Oh Kami, I hope very much she didn't get
the smooch treatment from him...."
Carey smiled, turning back to her monitor. Joachim sighed and
stood. "Will the pair of you just tell me what the hell is going
on, here?"
"Oh, it's nothing, Joachim. Setsuna, here, is Sailorpluto,
and she is looking for Princess Serenity."
"WHAT?" Joachim's jaw dropped as Setsuna spun.
"Oh, that's just great. Tell everyone, why don't you,
especially the Chief of Staff."
"Well, I am Chief of Operations. It is my duty." Carey
giggled as Setsuna crossed her arms with annoyance.
"How... Did you let her into the compound?" Joachim ranged
up on Carey. She turned and looked up at him, grinning.
"Come off it. Do you think I'd let HER in willingly? Give
her some credit, not that I ever would. She managed to sneak in
here all by herself."
"So..." Joachim turned to Setsuna. "This is what she looks
like.... I've always wondered if the stories were true."
"What stories?" Setsuna squinted at Joachim untrustingly.
"About the hair." He pointed to his head. "I must say, it is
a rather unusual shade of green."
"British racing green, I think would be the correct term.
Looks good on cars, but people...." Carey snickered, making Setsuna
point at her, threateningly.
"So. Now you know. What are you going to do?" Setsuna
sniffed raising her nose at Joachim haughtily.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing. There is really no point. The Security System
shall prevent you getting out." Joachim smiled and walked back to
the leather chair, dropping himself into it heavily. Setsuna
watched him, carefully.
"Oh..." Carey said, suddenly, her smile disappearing from her
face. "There is a message here from Doctor Popplewood....
Apparently someone has taken some of the Blood Liqueur Base from the
control laboratory."
"Hmm...." Joachim nodded. "Does he have any idea who?"
"Well, according to this, the last few people to have been
through the labs are being checked now...."
There was a blast of white smoke from behind Carey, and the
entire office was filled with the choking vapour. Setsuna covered
her mouth with a hand, her eyes stinging, and took a few steps back
in surprise, hitting the window. She could hear Joachim coughing as
well, his footsteps coming across the floor towards the desk.
There was a short cry, and Setsuna was blown through the
window by a force wave. She fell back into the operations centre,
much to the surprise of the operators within.
Alarms started to sound immediately as a couple of the
operators helped Setsuna to her feet. She looked at them, dazedly,
as they started asking her questions that she couldn't quite
understand in her state of mind.
----o
Usagi stepped out from the bed as Naoko sat on the carpeted
floor of the bedroom, giggling, confirming Usagi's suspicions that
she was in the presence of a lunatic.
Slowly, she crept past the girl and towards the walk-through
wardrobe. "You'll find a large assortment of clothes in there,
Sailormoon.... By the way, what's your real name?" Naoko looked
up at her as she came to a dead stop in mid-step, turning around
slowly, sweatdrop on her forehead.
"Uhh... yeah, right, whatever you say."
"Take your time. I can wait." Naoko waved at her, happily,
and pulled a small remote control from the sleeve of her gown. With
the press of a button, part of the wall slid away, and a large
television screen appeared, showing scenes of the damaged autopsy
room within the Tokyo Metropolitan Police building. "Tsk.... The
things that happen in the world, today...." Naoko shook her head.
Usagi swallowed and stepped into the wardrobe.
----o
Setsuna gazed up at the window, high above, and saw the smoke
pouring out of the office. Suddenly, her mind snapped into gear.
"...Happened?"
"Are you alright?"
"Ano...." Setsuna looked at the operators, two young women
and a man, all dressed in black and gray uniforms. For a moment,
they went silent. She took the advantage. "The Chiefs of Staff and
Operations are in there! Quickly, sound the general alarm! The
compound is under attack!"
"Yes ma'am!" They chorused, and took off in different
directions. Almost within seconds, she could hear klaxons blaring
from all around. She turned back to the observation window.
"Lysithea Caprice.... You are a sly one." She said between
clenched teeth. Then she vanished into thin air.
----o
Minako lifted her head from the pillow and stared around the
room, able to hear the blaring sirens, but only through the muffling
effect of the walls of her holding cell.
"That don't sound good." She sniffed and wiped her nose.
"Yeah, it sounds like a bitch." Said the voice of the woman
who was standing on the right side of her bed. Minako nearly fell
from it as she scampered for the shelter of the other side.
Lifting her head over the edge, she saw a red-headed woman
looking down at her. The woman was dressed in a black jacket and
miniskirt, which she was dusting down as if she was dirty.
"Who the hell are you?" Minako managed to get out at last.
The woman looked down at her, half-smiling.
"Who indeed."
----o
Kaji's car came to a screeching halt near a bus stop, outside
the front of the Hikawa Shrine. He undid his seatbelt and opened
the door, staring over the wall at the shrine grounds beyond.
He stepped from the car and closed the door, softly. The
street seemed to be fairly quiet at this time of the night. Well,
she WOULD choose the quietest time to do her dirty work.
Nakano Miyuki.
Just thinking of the name made him shiver.
Slowly, he locked the car and replaced his keys in his pocket.
Then, with the same slow deliberation, her pulled his service
revolver from underneath his overcoat, pulling the collar tightly
around his neck as he felt the rain through his thinning hair.
Then there was a cry of shock and a couple of gunshots. He
could hear footsteps and voices coming from within the shrine
grounds.... The sound of running feet, of rustling bushes. And
then a vast ball of flame that set an entire thicket of trees
alight.
And he gave a lot of second thoughts about going through with
this....
Steeling himself, he ran through the front gate of the shrine
and began to make his way up the stairs....
----o
Fitchner sat within the coffee shop, staring into his coffee
with the kind of distant glance that virtually invited people to ask
his life story. At least, that was what Manakuto felt as he stepped
through the front door.
"Irasshai mase...." The waitress at the counter bowed to him.
"Ah, Dietman Manakuto, how pleasing to see you again." He smiled at
her and nodded his head in return, then made his way over to
Fitchner, who hadn't showed any sign of acknowledging his presence.
"May I sit with you, Martin?" He said, standing a respectful
distance away. Fitchner almost leapt from his seat in surprise,
then gestured to the seat on the other side of the table with a
forced smile.
"Please do, please do...." Manakuto bowed, and removed his
overcoat, wrapping it in a small bundle and placing it in his lap
after sitting.
"I heard you were moping here all day." Manakuto began.
Fitchner looked at him, strangely.
"From whom?"
"Nearly everyone who knows you in my office. When I got back
from the session, I was given a full briefing on your presence
here." Manakuto gestured to the coffee shop.
"Well, it was near the Diet building, and I really didn't feel
like doing anything else, today...."
"Michelle, hmm?" Manakuto raised his eyebrows, inviting a
reply. All Fitchner did was nod. "I know how you feel, Martin, but
you can't let it affect you like this..."
"I couldn't think of anything else to do. It was so long....
So long since I heard her voice. After I left your office today, my
legs just went to jelly. I couldn't go any further. I still
can't." He looked down at the coffee again. "I keep wondering
where she is. What she is doing now...."
----o
Michelle paced the holding cell, taking a few deep breaths,
then sat down. She'd repeated these steps ever since she had
recovered and found herself in this place.
She'd seen neither hide not hair of anyone since. It was like
a form of torture, being left alone in a small, dark room. It
wasn't uncomfortable, or anything, but it was sparse.... Black
walls and a gray, carpeted floor, with the only light coming from
what appeared to be a skylight. Only it couldn't be a skylight,
because it had been near the end of the day when she was last
concious and a couple of hours had to have passed since. At least
she could hear something.... Like the muffled sound of klaxons. It
worried her even more.
She wondered where Nobuhiro and Pagan were. She wondered if
they were even alive. She couldn't imagine Nobuhiro going down
without a fight, although she got the feeling that he was in the
same building as she, somewhere. Not a good sign, really.
She drummed her fingers on the carpet. Surely someone had to
appear, sooner or later, and gloat over her capture. Sooner or
later. Being a member of the Coven, and one with a viable
bloodline, they were likely to try and work their re-education upon
her. She didn't like the thought of that. Still, she had been
stupid enough to get herself caught, so what could she do?
Where were they? She bit her lower lip. They were certainly
taking their time. They would have detected movement within the
holding cell, by now. They would have detected that she was in a
concious frame of mind. Why didn't they show themselves?
She stood again and started pacing. There wasn't really
enough room to pace. It was just small enough to be annoying. She
hit one wall with a fist when she reached it, then repeated the
action against the opposite wall. She repeated this every time she
came face to face with one of those walls. Those black walls.
Those solid black walls to which there was no visible way in, or
out.
She thumped a wall with both of her fists, feeling the depth
behind it. It felt thick and impenetrable. How did they get her in
here? How was she going to get out?
She looked up at the skylight. Oh, surely not. Maybe the
ceiling opened up, somehow. She could have been placed through the
top of the room. And yet, the more she thought about it, the less
likely it seemed to be.
She began to panic. The light was starting to get darker.
The walls around her seemed to be closing in. She ran to one and
started pounding her fists against it.
"Let me out! I demand to be let out of here!" Despite the
words, her voice was anything but commanding. An edge of fear made
them croak from her throat in a manner that only confirmed her worst
fears about herself.
She was clausterphobic.
She hated these confined areas. The light was dimming even
further, now, and the walls were looming closer. To her, it seemed
like the final moments of life. Darkness and death closing in, no
escape. She screamed and beat herself against the walls, scratching
wildly.
Light. All through the room. She was lying on the floor on
her side, her hands and face were bloodied. She was shivering
uncontrollably as she lifted her face to greet the figure that was
sitting on the other side of an observation window.
"Well, we have made a right mess of ourselves, haven't we?"
Doctor Bartholemew shook her head. "We've already had to patch up
two or three people tonight. Looks like you're going to have to be
added to the list, does it not?"
Michelle made some rasping noises from her throat. To her, it
seemed like a logical question. Bartholemew merely shook her head,
sadly.
"Doesn't look like we're going to get a lot out of you,
tonight. I think you're in line for a transfer to the control
labs." Bartholemew looked like she was going to stand, when she
paused and turned back to Michelle. "Umm, I thought I should tell
you, your father is in the presence of a member of the Coven. It is
likely that that person shall lead him to his death."
Michelle's eyes opened, and she crawled towards to partition,
staring up at Bartholemew, untrustingly. Bartholemew shrugged.
"Well, we could save him. The ultimate decision will be up to
you, of course. Now, I don't want to see anything happen to him.
But all the same, if you wish for him to die, then you can just
remain where you are and continue to suffer the...." Bartholemew
smiled. "....The darkness within this holding cell. I'm quite sure
you'll be able to suffer it for a little while longer, no?"
Michelle lifted herself up and started to scrabble on the
partition, a beckoning expression on her face. Bartholemew sat
back, satisfied.
"There's a good girl."
----o
Usagi peered out of the wardrobe, scratching her head. She
was now dressed in a red and black kimono that was a size too small
for her. It was the best she could find.
The other thing she found was her senshi fuku.... Or, at
least, its tattered remains. She held it rather sadly as she
listened, over the sound of the television.
Naoko turned to her, yawning. "What is it?"
"Do you hear something?"
"Hmm?" Naoko blinked, and listened herself. She then stood
and cocked her head to one side, trying to pinpoint the sound.
"Sounds like a general alarm. Something big must have happened."
"Like what?"
"Oh, incipient nuclear strike, that kind of thing." Naoko
giggled and hopped over to Usagi, dragging her from the wardrobe.
"Now, don't you look just a picture in that." She smiled, throwing
a couple of arms around the reluctant blond. She then noticed what
Usagi was holding. "Hmm.... Pity about that."
"How did you get it off me?" Usagi blinked. Naoko smiled and
leaned forward, pressing her face into Usagi's.
"Now wouldn't YOU like to know?" She giggled again, then
caught sight of Usagi's neck....
Usagi sighed and tried to take a step back. "You can let go
of me now. I'm not going to run away." When she couldn't pull
herself from Naoko's grasp, she dropped the ruined fuku and tried
to push her away. "Let me GO! I said I'm not into that...."
Usagi's heart skipped a beat as she felt Naoko's lips pressing
against the base of her throat. "Hey!" Usagi swallowed. "Hey,
stop that. It's not funny. Stop it, I said!" Usagi pushed harder
against Naoko, but the girl's grasp was like steel, holding her
tightly.
Then she heard Naoko take a deep breath, and felt a sudden,
sharp stabbing sensation, pushing its way into her throat.
Then all her resistance left her as she was filled with a
strange kind of pleasure....
END OF PART 25
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, you all knew Naoko wasn't going to resist forever, didn't you?
^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^
Next Chapter - "A Pox on Both Your Houses"
DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page) ayanami@internode.on.net
Version 1.0 - 11th Jun 1998