Version 1.0 - 8th Jul 1998
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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 and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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 senshi 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 the base of her
neck.
Then all her resistance left her as she was filled with a
strange kind of pleasure....
----o
Miki stood, held in place by the crowd on the train, staring
mindlessly at the passing view. To her, it was like watching
prerecorded events.... As if this was what she was destined to see,
enforced by some unseen hand.
She had started to hear a voice since her encounter with the
two young women. Not their voices, of course, for she had heard
them talk in conspiratorial tones inside her own mind as she had
hurried away, trying to removed herself from their presence by some
instilled fear she couldn't quite understand.
No, this voice had the ring of death about it. Almost like
the hollow cry of the wind.... A kind of ghostly echo of what had
been, and what still wanted to be. She knew this didn't make any
sense, even to herself, but for some reason, the voice was getting
louder, and more insistent. Like a warning.
She did her best to ignore the voice, feeling the strain in
her arm as she clutched the strap that hung from the ceiling of the
train carriage. Even with all the people around her, keeping her
upright, she didn't feel quite stable enough to rely on the force of
sheer numbers to keep her from falling.... And she was feeling
quite faint at this point in time.
She kept having fits. Seizures, where she would suddenly be
somewhere else, in a body that felt quite a bit shorter than the one
she currently inhabited. She wasn't sure whose body it was, but she
was sure it wasn't hers. She could SEE it wasn't hers, every time
she saw her reflection.... Right from the moment she'd woken up, to
every single time she'd pass by a window. She'd stare in abject
curiousity at the tall figure of the girl she knew, but couldn't
quite work out how.
After elbowing another train pervert in the solar plexus, for
attempting to rub himself against her thigh, she opted to move
through the crowd, pushing herself further from the door. She was
scared of the door. Something bad would happen if she stepped from
this train. She tried to put it out of her mind, knowing this to be
sheer paranoia on her part. Why would anything bad happen to her if
she stepped out through the door, onto the platform beyond. And
yet, the fear would not leave her.
All of this was fed by the voice. Now louder than ever.
Louder, even, than the sound of the train, or the voices of the
other passengers. not that many people were talking. Rail travel
in Tokyo tended to be an amazingly dehumanising experience, even at
the best of times, and the vast majority of the patrons were staring
into space with that classic "I'm on a train again" vacancy that she
remembered so well from her childhood, when she used to catch the
train to and from school.
How long ago was that now? She couldn't quite tell. She was
sure that she'd already been through the rigours of university, and
passed. Bachelor of Arts, with a degree in Statistical Analysis.
She also had a job. A dispatch officer, in the central office of
the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. So what was she doing on
a train, making her way to a college where she had classes in
cooking and nursery, backpack full of books held tightly in one
hand?
She couldn't cook. She HATED cooking, in fact. The best
she'd ever achieved in the gastronomic arts was filling up a cup
noodle with hot water and waiting the compulsory three minutes for
heaven. And as for nursery.... She couldn't tell the difference
between a chrysanthemum and a sauersob.... Who would choose two
such disparate subjects to study, anyway?
"I would." Said the voice, louder than ever, now.
"Be quiet." Miki muttered to herself, getting some strange
looks from a woman who was standing in front of her. There was a
sigh from the owner of the voice.
"And who are you to tell me what to do?"
"Please.... You're embarassing me..." Miki was redfaced as
the woman turned away from her. "See, she thinks I'm nuts. Talking
to myself like this...."
"It doesn't matter what that projection thinks. It has no
thoughts of its own. It merely emulates what you think it should do
in this situation."
Miki swallowed and closed her eyes. "Go away."
"I can't. Not anymore."
Miki was about to punch herself in the head to stop the voice
when she heard, and felt, the train pulling into a station. She
began to panic. All those earlier feelings, about something bad
happening to her if she got off the train, returned.
"Why are you panicking so?" Asked the voice.
"The door...."
"What about the door?"
"Get me away from it. I don't want to get off the train."
"Well, you don't have to."
Miki opened her eyes again and blinked. There were several
people staring at her, now. Strange, fearful expressions. People
terrified of whom they had come into contact with. yet another poor
soul who had finally lost it in the morning rush. Miki felt a cold
sweat running down her forehead.
She turned away from the stares, trying to ignore them. For
some reason, the voice remained silent a the train pulled into the
station. As it stopped, the automatic doors flew open, and a vast
wave of people flooded out onto the platform. Miki momentarily felt
herself being dragged towards the open exit. She panicked, and
grabbed hard onto a pole along the far row of seats.
People wanting past her growled with annoyance and almost
bowled her over in their attempts to reach the doorway. In time,
however, the wave subsided to a trickle, with the majority of the
train's patrons disembarking. Miki relaxed, seeing that the
carriage was now almost entirely empty. She continued to stare at
the open doorway, however, fearful of the open air....
The doors glided shut, and she felt the train begin to move
on. She relaxed, letting out a long breath, as she sat herself down
on the nearest seat, now totally devoid of passengers.
"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Said the voice from a
short distance away. Miki, whose head was hanging in exhaustion,
looked up, slightly, and saw a figure. The figure of a tall young
woman. She continued to look up the figure until she reached the
face, and realised she was looking into the reflection of herself,
ever since she had woken up in that strange bed, in that strange
house.
"Who.... Who are you?"
"My name is Kino Makoto. How very nice to meet you, Watanabe
Miki."
----o
Part Twentysix
A Deadly Choice in Life and Death
----o
"Oooohhhhh...." Usagi could see waves of red and black,
washing across her eyes. Warm waves, feeding upon dark desires
within Usagi's own mind as she felt her blood run from her body.
The sound of Naoko, swallowing her blood, made her shiver. An
uncontrolled impulse of masochistic desire.
And then it stopped. Rapidly and disconcertingly. Usagi felt
a slow trickle of blood, running from the rapidly healing would in
her neck. Those waves of red and black started to recede, and the
room came into focus once more.
It was then that she realised that Naoko was no longer holding
onto her. She looked around, dazedly, trying to find where the girl
had got to.
There was a gagging and coughing sound from the floor in front
of her. Looking down, she saw Naoko, on her hands and knees, trying
her best not to empty the contents of her stomach on the carpet.
The girl turned and looked up at Usagi, her face now extremely
pale, which made the blood that ran freely from her mouth all the
more horrifying. Naoko's eyes studied Usagi with a mixture of shock
and disappointment. From somewhere deep inside, Usagi's emotions
emulated that disappointment.
"You...." Naoko swallowed.
"Why did you stop?" Usagi croaked.
"Your blood...."
Usagi put a hand to the now almost invisible wound. "What
about my blood?"
"It's pure." Naoko put a hand to her chin and did her best to
wipe the blood away. Usagi knelt down to her, feeling concerned.
"Thanks...." She looked around for something to clean Naoko
with. Naoko shook her head.
"I don't mean pure in that sense. Your blood isn't...."
Naoko paused, not knowing how to say this.
"Isn't what?" Usagi frowned.
"You're one of us.... No, more than that...."
"Eh?" Usagi frowned, then remembered where she was. "You...
You're a VAMPIRE! A KYUUKETSUKI! AN AKUMA!" Usagi was about to
back away, finally coming to her senses, realising what was going
on, when Naoko gripped her arm, refusing to let go.
"I'm an akuma, am I?" She leaned forward, towards Usagi, a
sick smile on her face. "What does that make someone whose blood is
pure?" Naoko breathed heavily, then lowered her head to the floor,
bowing. "Forgive me, great one. I didn't know."
"Eh?" Usagi put up her hands, not understanding Naoko's
sudden change in attitude.
"I have wounded you.... Attempted to feast upon your bodily
tissue. Forgive me, great one."
"N... no.... That's alright. I wasn't hurt or anything, as
long as I won't turn into a vampire or anything...."
"You shall not, great one."
"Why do you keep calling me 'great one'?"
Naoko lifted up her face, confusion and.... Usagi could see
it, now. A sense of fear. "Because your blood is pure. It is
inedible to half breeds like myself. You are safe from the horrors
that live in this place."
----o
"Wha... Wha wha wha...." Miki's jaw hung at an almost
comical depth from the rest of her face as Makoto smiled at her. It
was not an entirely pleasant smile, however, since the girl's face
was a great deal more drawn and haggard than Miki's version had
been.
"I see you are having a little difficulty in understanding
what is going on here."
"That.... might be understating the situation, slightly."
Miki swallowed, thinking that it might not be such a bad idea if she
did get off the train. The next stop couldn't have been that far
away, surely.
"Yes. I expected as much. I just wanted to see you, face to
face. I'm sorry about the way I introduced myself to you.... I
hadn't quite got the hang of this death thing, yet."
"This death thing?" Miki shivered. "Excuse me, but I think
I'm going to be sick. Would you mind stepping out of the way in
case I decide to make a mess of your clothing?" Miki put a hand
over her mouth and turned away, closing her eyes.
"You can't get away from me so easily, Watanabe-san. We're
fused together, you and I, forever and ever. It was an accident,
you see.... The Heart Crystal made the decision for us...." Makoto
realised that Miki wasn't listening. "Even if you close your eyes
on me, you can't escape the fact that I am inside your own head."
"Alright, already. Enough. Just who the hell are you?" Miki
turned on Makoto, baring her teeth in quite a ferocious little
snarl. At least, that is how it seemed to Makoto.
"No need to be so nasty about it. As I said, I had no control
over the choice of host for the Jupiter Heart Crystal."
"The Jupiter Heart Crystal?" Miki's expression turned a shade
paler. "I seem to remember something about a Heart Crystal...."
"You're a young policewoman.... A member of dispatch....
They don't allow Japanese Policewomen to do any REAL police work.
Doesn't that make you angry, thinking that you weren't likely to get
any further than dispatch?"
Miki shook her head. "I was... contented... to stay where I
was, thankyou very much."
"And why was that, hmm? Because there happened to be a subtle
form of pressure placed upon you by other members of the force.
This is what you are and this is what you remain...." Makoto
laughed. "I would never have accepted that. I would have busted
heads until they promoted me." And to prove a point, she punched a
fist into her other hand. Miki sighed and shook her head.
"You'd never understand. It's not as if I was given much of a
choice. Any woman who has gone on to specialised departments has
been able to only under a form of special dispensation. The rules
have always placed women out of the line of fire.... And I wasn't
about to bend those rules. It's not worth it...."
"What do you mean, it's not worth it? Why are you so content
to sit back and allow others to make your decisions for you?"
Makoto crossed her arms and shook her head. "Do you know who I am,
girl? I'm Sailorjupiter, that's who. I never allowed myself the
luxury of playing the weak, anaemic little Japanese doll that some
individuals seemed keen to shape me as...."
"Looking at you, I'm not surprised."
"That's beside the point. I stood for something. And now,
you are also going to have to stand for something, because you
aren't going to get the opportunity to choose. The Heart Crystal
chose for you." Makoto turned aside, looking at something. Miki
followed her gaze.
Sitting a short distance away, at the other end of the
carriage, was Sailorjupiter. Not the distinctive form of Makoto
as Sailorjupiter, but rather a shade in the green, white and pink
senshi fuku.... An indeterminate form that stared ahead with eyes
of glowing white.
Miki swallowed as Sailorjupiter turned to her, staring at her
with those glowing eyes. Eyes filled with power and energy, waiting
to explode onto the world once more. And she felt frightened by the
figure, trying to will it away. So it vanished.
Makoto shook her head, turning back to Miki. "You're
hopeless, you really are. How could you reject her? How could you?
She chose YOU, of all people. You CAN'T reject her now. Not when
there is so much to do.... So much to achieve..... What can it be
that is holding you back? What kind of life have you lead that
stops you from becoming her?"
Miki turned to where Makoto had stood, but the girl had
vanished into nothingness. She felt no sense of disorientation by
this.... It was almost as if she was expecting it. One big fait
accompli, driven by the one who now shared her mind. The train
started to dissolve....
And then she was no longer in the train. Instead, a monument
stood before her, its cold white stone glaring in the sunlight. And
on the monument was the name Watanabe Shinnosuke. It was her
father's grave.
A sense of emotional deadness ran through her, distracting her
from the fact that she was still sitting on the train seat. She
stared at the monument for several moments, trying to reconcile
these feelings with what she thought she should be emoting. But
then, this WAS her father's grave. Her papa's grave....
"Papa..." Miki stood from the seat, leaving her backpack
behind. She turned around, and found the seat and bag to be gone,
replaced by the tranquility of the graveyard.
The warm sun cast a comforting glow throughout her surrounds
as she surveyed the silent scene. Not even the birds dared to speak
in this sacred place. She hated it here, even though she had
visited it many times.
"Your father's grave." Makoto placed a hand on Miki's
shoulder, appearing from nowhere. Miki turned to her, not
necessarily surprised by Makoto's sudden presence.
"Indeed." Miki said flatly.
"So we share something in common. I lost both of my parents
when I was young." Makoto smiled softly.
"I'm sorry...." Miki murmured. "It must have been hard for
you."
"It must have been hard for you, too, losing your father."
Makoto looked at Miki, quizzically, trying to work out why the girl
was being so matter of fact about this.
"He died when I was young. Perhaps five or six years of age,
I can't be sure. Mama never told me much about him."
"You seemed rather calm about it all...."
"Don't misunderstand my reactions." Miki stepped up to the
monument, touching it. "Ours had been quite a well off family.
That is one of the reasons I had such a comprehensive education. My
Grandparents, you see.... They wanted to have a Grandson, but were
denied this when their only child died not long after my birth. So,
instead, they gave everything they would have given to that Grandson
to me." Miki smiled, strangely. "In a strange kind of way, I
benefited from Papa's death...." Miki looked aside at Makoto.
"That might seem a rather heartless thing to say."
"No.... For someone who never really developed a close
emotional attachment to a parent, I'd say it would be expected."
Miki was silent for several moments, mulling over her
thoughts. "What is the purpose of bringing me here? How did I come
to be here, anyway?"
"You're not actually here. I merely looked through your
memories, and found this featuring rather largely amongst them."
Miki turned to Makoto. "Where am I, then?"
"In a hospital. The doctors are trying to revive you after
my old Heart Crystal inserted itself into you."
----o
Miriam Bartholemew stepped away from the entrance to the
observation booth, satisfied with the way the re-education program
on Michelle had started.
She studied her clipboard for a few moments. It was time to
see how the Aino girl was going, again. The momentary lapse she had
undergone should have passed by now....
"Doctor Bartholemew..." She turned to the voice of her
understudy, Sono Kei, as the young woman paced briskly up to her.
"What is it?" Miriam asked, her no-nonsense tone trying to
counter the worried expression on Kei's face.
"The Aino girl...."
"What about her?" Now Miriam was worried.
"She's climbing the walls of her holding cell. Apparently, so
she says, she saw a ghost and wants out in a big way."
"A ghost?" Miriam frowned. "A psychologically-created
manisfestation of the security system?"
"I don't think so. This was a definite apparition, according
to her description. And the way she's acting, she'll set off the
security system badly enough to kill herself."
"Oh for the love of...." Miriam rubbed her face. "Very well,
I was intending to speak with her, anyway. Leave this to me."
----o
"That's.... nice to know." Usagi swallowed. "I've been
nothing BUT attacked by strange things ever since I entered this
place...."
"I would be willing to be your servant, if you give me your
total forgiveness." Naoko looked hopeful. "I shall follow you
wherever you go."
"Whoa, hold it...." Usagi's brain started racing. "Half an
hour ago you were toying with my mind...."
"I didn't realise... the depth. I should have seen it when
you emulated the control wave I used on the halfbreeds in the
holding cells...."
Usagi swallowed. "Yes, well.... That's.... I mean, some
like to think of me as the messiah, and all that, but I'd really
rather not be...."
"Yes. Messiah. That's it. You're a messiah. A messiah for
our kind."
"Umm.... That's kind of taking it a little too far, you
know.... I don't like it when people refer to me in those kinds of
words...." It was too late. Naoko was on her feet, bringing Usagi
with her.
"A messiah to free our kind from the oppression we've faced
since the coming of the Others...."
"Hoi hoi hoi...." Usagi was surprised by the girl's strength.
"Take it easy."
"I must tell Papa.... I must tell him what Sailormoon truly
is.... I must tell him." Naoko let her go and spun, dancing around
the large, empty space of the main room, then turning back to Usagi
as she reached the door. "You just wait here, now. I shan't be
long." And before Usagi could say anything, Naoko was out the door,
it slamming behind her.
Usagi stood in the middle of the room, stunned with disbelief.
"What... What is going on here?"
"I'm not sure, Princess."
Usagi came close to leaping halfway across the room when she
heard the sudden, soft tones of Setsuna, standing behind her.
"P.... Pluto..."
"Hello, Princess."
"When did you...? How long have you...?"
"About five minutes ago, around about the time she took the
bite." To underline her point, Setsuna clamped her teeth together.
"I wondered about whether I should stop her. I had a feeling it
would end the way it did."
"Why did she stop? I mean, she's a vampire and all, isn't
she? I mean, they really exist...."
"Yes, they really exist."
"Why haven't we ever encountered them before?"
"Because they're kept in check, of course."
"Kept in check by what? By The Sacred House?"
"In a nutshell, yes." Setsuna shrugged. Just then, the
alarms that had been ringing monotonously within the Sacred House
compound chose to cease and desist. Both Usagi and Setsuna turned
to the doorway, nervously.
"What was all that about?"
"The alarms? Well, it's a long story. Perhaps I can tell it
to you as we make good our way out of this place..."
"What do you mean, out of this place? Minako is in here,
somewhere." Usagi clenched her fists. "We're in here, now. We
might as well help her get out."
Setsuna closed her eyes and took a breath. "I'm sorry,
Princess, but that won't be possible."
"Why not?" Usagi pressed her face up into Setsuna's. "She is
my friend. OUR friend. And WE don't leave OUR friends behind!"
"I'm sorry, Princess, but it is best if we leave her in here
for the time being...."
Before they could argue the point anymore, the doors to the
room were flung open. Both spun, expecting to see some kind of
fascist security guard of some sort.
Instead, they came face to face with the ball of flesh that
had pursued Usagi throughout the holding cell compound when she had
been disabled by the fumes of the blood liqueur.
"What.... What is that?" Setsuna backed away with Usagi as
the ball started rolling into the room, its many eyes staring
eagerly in their direction.
"It's... a bit hard to explain.... That vampire girl called
it Cthulu Kanzaki...."
"So that's Cthulu...." Setsuna swallowed. "I thought that it
had been put back in its cell...."
"So did I...." Usagi croaked as the pair were backed into a
corner by the ball of flesh's advance....
END OF PART 26
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Next Chapter is REALLY "A Pox On Both Your Houses".... I just had
some housekeeping to get out of the way, first, before I launched
into that part of the SIU storyline.
Sorry I took so long with this chapter.... Terminal boredom in the
writing process of some of this story's scenes held not only this
one back, which I was determined to be the next major thing I did
put out, but also UID II and AtB, which are next on the list of
things that NEED TO BE DONE....
Anyway, I've limited myself to a few set pieces in this chapter, and
shall do the same for the next, which should involve Mhaere
convincing Pagan that she can prove what she says about Lysithea and
his desire to open the gateway between Earth and Nemesis. I will
also include a couple of characters who have quite a bit to do with
events 25 or so years in the future.... When Tokyo is being guarded
by a group of women, called the Attacked Mystification Police
Department....
_________
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net
/\
\/ \/
\___________/
/_/ \_\ PU
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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 and Silent Mobius are owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Kia
Asamiya, Michitaka Kikuchi, Bandai, Studio Tron, Kadokawa and
Kodansya. All other characters were thought up by me.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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 senshi 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 the base of her
neck.
Then all her resistance left her as she was filled with a
strange kind of pleasure....
----o
Miki stood, held in place by the crowd on the train, staring
mindlessly at the passing view. To her, it was like watching
prerecorded events.... As if this was what she was destined to see,
enforced by some unseen hand.
She had started to hear a voice since her encounter with the
two young women. Not their voices, of course, for she had heard
them talk in conspiratorial tones inside her own mind as she had
hurried away, trying to removed herself from their presence by some
instilled fear she couldn't quite understand.
No, this voice had the ring of death about it. Almost like
the hollow cry of the wind.... A kind of ghostly echo of what had
been, and what still wanted to be. She knew this didn't make any
sense, even to herself, but for some reason, the voice was getting
louder, and more insistent. Like a warning.
She did her best to ignore the voice, feeling the strain in
her arm as she clutched the strap that hung from the ceiling of the
train carriage. Even with all the people around her, keeping her
upright, she didn't feel quite stable enough to rely on the force of
sheer numbers to keep her from falling.... And she was feeling
quite faint at this point in time.
She kept having fits. Seizures, where she would suddenly be
somewhere else, in a body that felt quite a bit shorter than the one
she currently inhabited. She wasn't sure whose body it was, but she
was sure it wasn't hers. She could SEE it wasn't hers, every time
she saw her reflection.... Right from the moment she'd woken up, to
every single time she'd pass by a window. She'd stare in abject
curiousity at the tall figure of the girl she knew, but couldn't
quite work out how.
After elbowing another train pervert in the solar plexus, for
attempting to rub himself against her thigh, she opted to move
through the crowd, pushing herself further from the door. She was
scared of the door. Something bad would happen if she stepped from
this train. She tried to put it out of her mind, knowing this to be
sheer paranoia on her part. Why would anything bad happen to her if
she stepped out through the door, onto the platform beyond. And
yet, the fear would not leave her.
All of this was fed by the voice. Now louder than ever.
Louder, even, than the sound of the train, or the voices of the
other passengers. not that many people were talking. Rail travel
in Tokyo tended to be an amazingly dehumanising experience, even at
the best of times, and the vast majority of the patrons were staring
into space with that classic "I'm on a train again" vacancy that she
remembered so well from her childhood, when she used to catch the
train to and from school.
How long ago was that now? She couldn't quite tell. She was
sure that she'd already been through the rigours of university, and
passed. Bachelor of Arts, with a degree in Statistical Analysis.
She also had a job. A dispatch officer, in the central office of
the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. So what was she doing on
a train, making her way to a college where she had classes in
cooking and nursery, backpack full of books held tightly in one
hand?
She couldn't cook. She HATED cooking, in fact. The best
she'd ever achieved in the gastronomic arts was filling up a cup
noodle with hot water and waiting the compulsory three minutes for
heaven. And as for nursery.... She couldn't tell the difference
between a chrysanthemum and a sauersob.... Who would choose two
such disparate subjects to study, anyway?
"I would." Said the voice, louder than ever, now.
"Be quiet." Miki muttered to herself, getting some strange
looks from a woman who was standing in front of her. There was a
sigh from the owner of the voice.
"And who are you to tell me what to do?"
"Please.... You're embarassing me..." Miki was redfaced as
the woman turned away from her. "See, she thinks I'm nuts. Talking
to myself like this...."
"It doesn't matter what that projection thinks. It has no
thoughts of its own. It merely emulates what you think it should do
in this situation."
Miki swallowed and closed her eyes. "Go away."
"I can't. Not anymore."
Miki was about to punch herself in the head to stop the voice
when she heard, and felt, the train pulling into a station. She
began to panic. All those earlier feelings, about something bad
happening to her if she got off the train, returned.
"Why are you panicking so?" Asked the voice.
"The door...."
"What about the door?"
"Get me away from it. I don't want to get off the train."
"Well, you don't have to."
Miki opened her eyes again and blinked. There were several
people staring at her, now. Strange, fearful expressions. People
terrified of whom they had come into contact with. yet another poor
soul who had finally lost it in the morning rush. Miki felt a cold
sweat running down her forehead.
She turned away from the stares, trying to ignore them. For
some reason, the voice remained silent a the train pulled into the
station. As it stopped, the automatic doors flew open, and a vast
wave of people flooded out onto the platform. Miki momentarily felt
herself being dragged towards the open exit. She panicked, and
grabbed hard onto a pole along the far row of seats.
People wanting past her growled with annoyance and almost
bowled her over in their attempts to reach the doorway. In time,
however, the wave subsided to a trickle, with the majority of the
train's patrons disembarking. Miki relaxed, seeing that the
carriage was now almost entirely empty. She continued to stare at
the open doorway, however, fearful of the open air....
The doors glided shut, and she felt the train begin to move
on. She relaxed, letting out a long breath, as she sat herself down
on the nearest seat, now totally devoid of passengers.
"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Said the voice from a
short distance away. Miki, whose head was hanging in exhaustion,
looked up, slightly, and saw a figure. The figure of a tall young
woman. She continued to look up the figure until she reached the
face, and realised she was looking into the reflection of herself,
ever since she had woken up in that strange bed, in that strange
house.
"Who.... Who are you?"
"My name is Kino Makoto. How very nice to meet you, Watanabe
Miki."
----o
Part Twentysix
A Deadly Choice in Life and Death
----o
"Oooohhhhh...." Usagi could see waves of red and black,
washing across her eyes. Warm waves, feeding upon dark desires
within Usagi's own mind as she felt her blood run from her body.
The sound of Naoko, swallowing her blood, made her shiver. An
uncontrolled impulse of masochistic desire.
And then it stopped. Rapidly and disconcertingly. Usagi felt
a slow trickle of blood, running from the rapidly healing would in
her neck. Those waves of red and black started to recede, and the
room came into focus once more.
It was then that she realised that Naoko was no longer holding
onto her. She looked around, dazedly, trying to find where the girl
had got to.
There was a gagging and coughing sound from the floor in front
of her. Looking down, she saw Naoko, on her hands and knees, trying
her best not to empty the contents of her stomach on the carpet.
The girl turned and looked up at Usagi, her face now extremely
pale, which made the blood that ran freely from her mouth all the
more horrifying. Naoko's eyes studied Usagi with a mixture of shock
and disappointment. From somewhere deep inside, Usagi's emotions
emulated that disappointment.
"You...." Naoko swallowed.
"Why did you stop?" Usagi croaked.
"Your blood...."
Usagi put a hand to the now almost invisible wound. "What
about my blood?"
"It's pure." Naoko put a hand to her chin and did her best to
wipe the blood away. Usagi knelt down to her, feeling concerned.
"Thanks...." She looked around for something to clean Naoko
with. Naoko shook her head.
"I don't mean pure in that sense. Your blood isn't...."
Naoko paused, not knowing how to say this.
"Isn't what?" Usagi frowned.
"You're one of us.... No, more than that...."
"Eh?" Usagi frowned, then remembered where she was. "You...
You're a VAMPIRE! A KYUUKETSUKI! AN AKUMA!" Usagi was about to
back away, finally coming to her senses, realising what was going
on, when Naoko gripped her arm, refusing to let go.
"I'm an akuma, am I?" She leaned forward, towards Usagi, a
sick smile on her face. "What does that make someone whose blood is
pure?" Naoko breathed heavily, then lowered her head to the floor,
bowing. "Forgive me, great one. I didn't know."
"Eh?" Usagi put up her hands, not understanding Naoko's
sudden change in attitude.
"I have wounded you.... Attempted to feast upon your bodily
tissue. Forgive me, great one."
"N... no.... That's alright. I wasn't hurt or anything, as
long as I won't turn into a vampire or anything...."
"You shall not, great one."
"Why do you keep calling me 'great one'?"
Naoko lifted up her face, confusion and.... Usagi could see
it, now. A sense of fear. "Because your blood is pure. It is
inedible to half breeds like myself. You are safe from the horrors
that live in this place."
----o
"Wha... Wha wha wha...." Miki's jaw hung at an almost
comical depth from the rest of her face as Makoto smiled at her. It
was not an entirely pleasant smile, however, since the girl's face
was a great deal more drawn and haggard than Miki's version had
been.
"I see you are having a little difficulty in understanding
what is going on here."
"That.... might be understating the situation, slightly."
Miki swallowed, thinking that it might not be such a bad idea if she
did get off the train. The next stop couldn't have been that far
away, surely.
"Yes. I expected as much. I just wanted to see you, face to
face. I'm sorry about the way I introduced myself to you.... I
hadn't quite got the hang of this death thing, yet."
"This death thing?" Miki shivered. "Excuse me, but I think
I'm going to be sick. Would you mind stepping out of the way in
case I decide to make a mess of your clothing?" Miki put a hand
over her mouth and turned away, closing her eyes.
"You can't get away from me so easily, Watanabe-san. We're
fused together, you and I, forever and ever. It was an accident,
you see.... The Heart Crystal made the decision for us...." Makoto
realised that Miki wasn't listening. "Even if you close your eyes
on me, you can't escape the fact that I am inside your own head."
"Alright, already. Enough. Just who the hell are you?" Miki
turned on Makoto, baring her teeth in quite a ferocious little
snarl. At least, that is how it seemed to Makoto.
"No need to be so nasty about it. As I said, I had no control
over the choice of host for the Jupiter Heart Crystal."
"The Jupiter Heart Crystal?" Miki's expression turned a shade
paler. "I seem to remember something about a Heart Crystal...."
"You're a young policewoman.... A member of dispatch....
They don't allow Japanese Policewomen to do any REAL police work.
Doesn't that make you angry, thinking that you weren't likely to get
any further than dispatch?"
Miki shook her head. "I was... contented... to stay where I
was, thankyou very much."
"And why was that, hmm? Because there happened to be a subtle
form of pressure placed upon you by other members of the force.
This is what you are and this is what you remain...." Makoto
laughed. "I would never have accepted that. I would have busted
heads until they promoted me." And to prove a point, she punched a
fist into her other hand. Miki sighed and shook her head.
"You'd never understand. It's not as if I was given much of a
choice. Any woman who has gone on to specialised departments has
been able to only under a form of special dispensation. The rules
have always placed women out of the line of fire.... And I wasn't
about to bend those rules. It's not worth it...."
"What do you mean, it's not worth it? Why are you so content
to sit back and allow others to make your decisions for you?"
Makoto crossed her arms and shook her head. "Do you know who I am,
girl? I'm Sailorjupiter, that's who. I never allowed myself the
luxury of playing the weak, anaemic little Japanese doll that some
individuals seemed keen to shape me as...."
"Looking at you, I'm not surprised."
"That's beside the point. I stood for something. And now,
you are also going to have to stand for something, because you
aren't going to get the opportunity to choose. The Heart Crystal
chose for you." Makoto turned aside, looking at something. Miki
followed her gaze.
Sitting a short distance away, at the other end of the
carriage, was Sailorjupiter. Not the distinctive form of Makoto
as Sailorjupiter, but rather a shade in the green, white and pink
senshi fuku.... An indeterminate form that stared ahead with eyes
of glowing white.
Miki swallowed as Sailorjupiter turned to her, staring at her
with those glowing eyes. Eyes filled with power and energy, waiting
to explode onto the world once more. And she felt frightened by the
figure, trying to will it away. So it vanished.
Makoto shook her head, turning back to Miki. "You're
hopeless, you really are. How could you reject her? How could you?
She chose YOU, of all people. You CAN'T reject her now. Not when
there is so much to do.... So much to achieve..... What can it be
that is holding you back? What kind of life have you lead that
stops you from becoming her?"
Miki turned to where Makoto had stood, but the girl had
vanished into nothingness. She felt no sense of disorientation by
this.... It was almost as if she was expecting it. One big fait
accompli, driven by the one who now shared her mind. The train
started to dissolve....
And then she was no longer in the train. Instead, a monument
stood before her, its cold white stone glaring in the sunlight. And
on the monument was the name Watanabe Shinnosuke. It was her
father's grave.
A sense of emotional deadness ran through her, distracting her
from the fact that she was still sitting on the train seat. She
stared at the monument for several moments, trying to reconcile
these feelings with what she thought she should be emoting. But
then, this WAS her father's grave. Her papa's grave....
"Papa..." Miki stood from the seat, leaving her backpack
behind. She turned around, and found the seat and bag to be gone,
replaced by the tranquility of the graveyard.
The warm sun cast a comforting glow throughout her surrounds
as she surveyed the silent scene. Not even the birds dared to speak
in this sacred place. She hated it here, even though she had
visited it many times.
"Your father's grave." Makoto placed a hand on Miki's
shoulder, appearing from nowhere. Miki turned to her, not
necessarily surprised by Makoto's sudden presence.
"Indeed." Miki said flatly.
"So we share something in common. I lost both of my parents
when I was young." Makoto smiled softly.
"I'm sorry...." Miki murmured. "It must have been hard for
you."
"It must have been hard for you, too, losing your father."
Makoto looked at Miki, quizzically, trying to work out why the girl
was being so matter of fact about this.
"He died when I was young. Perhaps five or six years of age,
I can't be sure. Mama never told me much about him."
"You seemed rather calm about it all...."
"Don't misunderstand my reactions." Miki stepped up to the
monument, touching it. "Ours had been quite a well off family.
That is one of the reasons I had such a comprehensive education. My
Grandparents, you see.... They wanted to have a Grandson, but were
denied this when their only child died not long after my birth. So,
instead, they gave everything they would have given to that Grandson
to me." Miki smiled, strangely. "In a strange kind of way, I
benefited from Papa's death...." Miki looked aside at Makoto.
"That might seem a rather heartless thing to say."
"No.... For someone who never really developed a close
emotional attachment to a parent, I'd say it would be expected."
Miki was silent for several moments, mulling over her
thoughts. "What is the purpose of bringing me here? How did I come
to be here, anyway?"
"You're not actually here. I merely looked through your
memories, and found this featuring rather largely amongst them."
Miki turned to Makoto. "Where am I, then?"
"In a hospital. The doctors are trying to revive you after
my old Heart Crystal inserted itself into you."
----o
Miriam Bartholemew stepped away from the entrance to the
observation booth, satisfied with the way the re-education program
on Michelle had started.
She studied her clipboard for a few moments. It was time to
see how the Aino girl was going, again. The momentary lapse she had
undergone should have passed by now....
"Doctor Bartholemew..." She turned to the voice of her
understudy, Sono Kei, as the young woman paced briskly up to her.
"What is it?" Miriam asked, her no-nonsense tone trying to
counter the worried expression on Kei's face.
"The Aino girl...."
"What about her?" Now Miriam was worried.
"She's climbing the walls of her holding cell. Apparently, so
she says, she saw a ghost and wants out in a big way."
"A ghost?" Miriam frowned. "A psychologically-created
manisfestation of the security system?"
"I don't think so. This was a definite apparition, according
to her description. And the way she's acting, she'll set off the
security system badly enough to kill herself."
"Oh for the love of...." Miriam rubbed her face. "Very well,
I was intending to speak with her, anyway. Leave this to me."
----o
"That's.... nice to know." Usagi swallowed. "I've been
nothing BUT attacked by strange things ever since I entered this
place...."
"I would be willing to be your servant, if you give me your
total forgiveness." Naoko looked hopeful. "I shall follow you
wherever you go."
"Whoa, hold it...." Usagi's brain started racing. "Half an
hour ago you were toying with my mind...."
"I didn't realise... the depth. I should have seen it when
you emulated the control wave I used on the halfbreeds in the
holding cells...."
Usagi swallowed. "Yes, well.... That's.... I mean, some
like to think of me as the messiah, and all that, but I'd really
rather not be...."
"Yes. Messiah. That's it. You're a messiah. A messiah for
our kind."
"Umm.... That's kind of taking it a little too far, you
know.... I don't like it when people refer to me in those kinds of
words...." It was too late. Naoko was on her feet, bringing Usagi
with her.
"A messiah to free our kind from the oppression we've faced
since the coming of the Others...."
"Hoi hoi hoi...." Usagi was surprised by the girl's strength.
"Take it easy."
"I must tell Papa.... I must tell him what Sailormoon truly
is.... I must tell him." Naoko let her go and spun, dancing around
the large, empty space of the main room, then turning back to Usagi
as she reached the door. "You just wait here, now. I shan't be
long." And before Usagi could say anything, Naoko was out the door,
it slamming behind her.
Usagi stood in the middle of the room, stunned with disbelief.
"What... What is going on here?"
"I'm not sure, Princess."
Usagi came close to leaping halfway across the room when she
heard the sudden, soft tones of Setsuna, standing behind her.
"P.... Pluto..."
"Hello, Princess."
"When did you...? How long have you...?"
"About five minutes ago, around about the time she took the
bite." To underline her point, Setsuna clamped her teeth together.
"I wondered about whether I should stop her. I had a feeling it
would end the way it did."
"Why did she stop? I mean, she's a vampire and all, isn't
she? I mean, they really exist...."
"Yes, they really exist."
"Why haven't we ever encountered them before?"
"Because they're kept in check, of course."
"Kept in check by what? By The Sacred House?"
"In a nutshell, yes." Setsuna shrugged. Just then, the
alarms that had been ringing monotonously within the Sacred House
compound chose to cease and desist. Both Usagi and Setsuna turned
to the doorway, nervously.
"What was all that about?"
"The alarms? Well, it's a long story. Perhaps I can tell it
to you as we make good our way out of this place..."
"What do you mean, out of this place? Minako is in here,
somewhere." Usagi clenched her fists. "We're in here, now. We
might as well help her get out."
Setsuna closed her eyes and took a breath. "I'm sorry,
Princess, but that won't be possible."
"Why not?" Usagi pressed her face up into Setsuna's. "She is
my friend. OUR friend. And WE don't leave OUR friends behind!"
"I'm sorry, Princess, but it is best if we leave her in here
for the time being...."
Before they could argue the point anymore, the doors to the
room were flung open. Both spun, expecting to see some kind of
fascist security guard of some sort.
Instead, they came face to face with the ball of flesh that
had pursued Usagi throughout the holding cell compound when she had
been disabled by the fumes of the blood liqueur.
"What.... What is that?" Setsuna backed away with Usagi as
the ball started rolling into the room, its many eyes staring
eagerly in their direction.
"It's... a bit hard to explain.... That vampire girl called
it Cthulu Kanzaki...."
"So that's Cthulu...." Setsuna swallowed. "I thought that it
had been put back in its cell...."
"So did I...." Usagi croaked as the pair were backed into a
corner by the ball of flesh's advance....
END OF PART 26
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Chapter is REALLY "A Pox On Both Your Houses".... I just had
some housekeeping to get out of the way, first, before I launched
into that part of the SIU storyline.
Sorry I took so long with this chapter.... Terminal boredom in the
writing process of some of this story's scenes held not only this
one back, which I was determined to be the next major thing I did
put out, but also UID II and AtB, which are next on the list of
things that NEED TO BE DONE....
Anyway, I've limited myself to a few set pieces in this chapter, and
shall do the same for the next, which should involve Mhaere
convincing Pagan that she can prove what she says about Lysithea and
his desire to open the gateway between Earth and Nemesis. I will
also include a couple of characters who have quite a bit to do with
events 25 or so years in the future.... When Tokyo is being guarded
by a group of women, called the Attacked Mystification Police
Department....
_________
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/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net
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