--------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
It all happened in a matter of seconds. Amaki had placed both
of his arms around the girl and tried to lick her ear, when his arms
fell onto the floor in a spray of blood. The girl was standing back
from him, holding a pair of bloodied fans, a vicious expression on
her face. It was a couple of seconds before both Amaki and the
conductor realised that the unfortunate pervert no longer had any
arms.
Before Amaki could scream out in pain and terror, the girl had
taken his head clean off, watching with satisfaction as it bounced
off the seat and rolled onto the floor. Amaki's body continued to
stand for a few seconds more, fountaining blood from the stump of a
neck, before it fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut. With
a flourish, the girl slapped the fans shut and whipped them back
into the sleeves of her kimono. She then looked up at the conductor
and smiled, leaving him in no doubt as to what he SHOULDN'T do at
that point.
She picked up Amaki's briefcase, still standing against the
seat where he had left it, and handed it to the conductor. "So
terribly sorry to have messed up your train, but I'm in a bit of a
hurry, and I truly cannot abide by perverts. What about you?" She
stared at the man, smiling sweetly as he failed to answer, not
really knowing how to answer in such a situation. "Ah, yes, I see
you're not one used to such violent behaviour. I apologise if I've
upset you, or anything. It was my upbringing, you see...." She
giggled and turned her head to the windows as she saw the approach
of a station. "Ah, this looks like my stop." She turned back to
the conductor and bowed, slightly. "Konbanwa."
"K... konbanwa." The conductor replied as the train came to
a halt at the station. The girl trotted over to the door and waited
as they opened up to the platform. She then alighted and
disappeared into the night.
yes, the conductor had seen many things in his years of
service. This one was going to make, at the very least, an entire
chapter, if he ever got round to writing up his memoirs.
----o
Part Thirtythree
Purity of Blood
----o
Gigelf placed his hands upon the floor of the dais, and
whispered words known only to himself. Lysithea watched from the
centre of the Grand Hall as the entire room erupted into a
succession of circled hexagrams, rolling around the hall, then
forming one giant hexagram over the top of the dais, centering on
Gigelf himself. With another flash, Gigelf stood, energy blowing
the billowing folds of his robes around him. The hexagram
disappeared in an instant.
Gigelf stood back as the energies died down, breathing
heavily. "The place is set. The door shall open here...." He
turned as a pair of altars rose from the middle of the dais,
stopping at a predetermined height as he rested against the main
altar, feeling decidedly ill. "Now go.... Prepare West for the
ceremony...." He waved in Lysithea's direction, who nodded and
leaned down to pick up Carey's body from the floor.
At that moment, Lysithea registered the presence of another
in the Grand Hall. He ignored her, knowing the confrontation that
was to come between Gigelf and Fuyuka.
Hazuki Fuyuka, the raven-haired beauty whose family had been
one of the founding members of the Coven, and the woman whom the
Coven had betrothed to Gigelf, was not one to be trifled with, as
the hapless mage had found out to his chagrin.
She did NOT agree with the method the Coven had chosen to open
the door between the dimensions of Earth and Nemesis. Not that she
could do much about it, especially in terms of dissuading the High
Council of the Coven from this path. The one person she DID have
control over was Gigelf, for Fuyuka knew Gigelf better than anyone,
including Gigelf Liqueur.
He hauled Carey into his arms and stood, trying to avoid
Fuyuka's gaze as he approached the doorway, running her gauntlet as
he strode past her. her eyes were like laserbeams in his back as he
left the Hall.... He could, almost, feel the pain....
Fuyuka gave up on Lysithea fairly quickly. She knew better
than to try and remonstrate with him. He was nothing, in her eyes,
but a parasite on Gigelf, and more.... He was one truly dedicated
to the opening up of the doorway.... A truly committed servant of
the Coven. It was impossible to deal with the kind of reckless
idealism that existed within the likes of he.
She turned back to Gigelf, who hadn't moved from the moment
he had rested against the main altar, not even as much as
registering her presence. Fuyuka was concerned at the energy he was
expending to complete his task, physical, spiritual and mental.
This failure to register her was a sure sign that he was collapsing
under the pressure. At least, to her keen eyes, this was what it
appeared to be.
She took a few steps towards the dais, watching Gigelf, his
figure, bent double over the altar, almost shabby and
disheveled.... She could feel him, collapsing inwards.... She had
read it in the cards.... They told her everything, about their
relationship, about their destiny.... There were times she wished
she didn't have the gift. They told her too much.
"You wished to speak with me?" His tired voice echoed around
the hall. At least he wasn't a complete basket case.
"You really intend to kill that woman for our purposes?" She
leveled her gaze as he turned to face her. His eyes appeared
sunken in his pale face. "Her and another. Is that the price you
want to pay for achieving our founders' goal?"
"Their sacrifice... is worth it. You insult your forefathers
by questioning the methods."
----o
"Unit Three to Control Central, we have secured our allotted
sector. Fifteen dead, no casualties from our side. Over."
"Control Central to Unit Two, are you in sight of the Sacred
House Compound main building? Over."
"Unit Two.... We have the main building in sight....
Everything looks open from here. Over."
"Control Central to all Units, begin moving into the Compound
in five minutes. Eliminate all in your way. Over."
----o
"G.... Go is dead?" Aoi sat in the front passenger seat of
Kaji's car, as stunned as he.
"That's what.... Ariamu told me.... Shimazaki went to his
house not that long ago after he'd gone missing from the station....
They think Katarin might have had something to do with the murder of
Mizuno's mother. He might have even killed her, himself, and ran
afterwards."
Aoi swallowed as Kaji slammed his door shut, more forcefully
than was really necessary. He leaned back in his seat, staring at
the roof.
"The links that this case has.... It's getting more
complicated by the moment.... This whole thing is more than just a
murder of a Sailorsenshi.... If the information that Shimazaki was
given by Katarin before his death, then this whole mess involves the
Shiranui Yakuza...."
"So where do the Sacred House and the Coven of Atrocity fit
in?" Aoi asked, quietly. Kaji thought this over for a few moments.
"We're talking about a Yakuza family, here.... A group that
has a network of connections to business, government and a variety
of other organisations that can operate as effective forms of money
gathering. Both the House and the Coven would be registered as
religious movements in Japan, and therefore nominally immune from
the scrutiny of the tax department.... The Yakuza and various other
criminal organisations have been using religion as a tax dodge for
years, and there is little, if anything, that the authorities can do
about it as long as they keep up the front of being official
religions.... Hell, I've investigated money laundering schemes that
have involved cults that worship nothing more substantial than a
lump of rock discovered in the founder's front garden...."
"Are you trying to say that organisations as old and powerful
enough to hide themselves completely from public view, despite their
size, are nothing more than fake cults founded for financial
purposes?"
"I don't know if the average member thinks of them in this
capacity. Someone who is dedicated to what appears to be a worthy
cause can blind themselves to the truth of the organisation's
management.... And if an arm of that organisation is attacked, in
any way, by an extraneous force, then the reaction of such a
powerful body would be to hunt down and destroy that force.... In
this case, the Sailorsenshi."
"So the Shiranui Yakuza is just an arm of something greater?"
"Hmm.... Not so much an arm, considering the size of the
Shiranui. By taking on the Shiranui Yakuza, the Sailorsenshi
attacked a fairly central part of a larger body. Shimazaki was sent
a message, by Katarin, that Shiranui Kimi was somehow involved in
the murder of Kino Makoto...."
"More intimated than explicit." Aoi rubbed her forehead.
"All this is giving me a headache."
"Yes, well, I sincerely doubt that Kino's murder was the
preserve of the Shiranui Leader's daughter. Shiranui Midan is not
beyond using his own child as a vehicle for the needs of whatever
power it is that has kept his family in control for this long...."
----o
"And you insult me by bringing them to my notice." Fuyuka
spat, words that struck Gigelf with the force of a whip. "I am not
here to argue the virtues of my ancestors, Gigelf.... For they,
too, would be horrified that we are partaking in this travesty, an
orgy of murder, not only of the two unfortunates whom you shall
sacrifice upon the commencement of the ceremony, but those who exist
within the walls of the Sacred House."
"They are, and always will be, even if they are our
brethren." Gigelf sighed. "There are many within the Sacred House
who are kept under lock and key. By doing this, we shall free
them."
"Have you never thought of WHY they are kept under lock and
key?" Fuyuka threw her hands in the air. "They are dangerous,
Gigelf. They are crossbreeds with the very lowest forms of the
Lucifer Folk.... Beings which are more decerebrate monster than
intelligent lifeform...."
Gigelf paused, closing his eyes. "I cannot believe what I'm
hearing from you, Fuyuka.... You sound like a member of the Sacred
House.... Your words are a product of their philosophies."
"Maybe they are.... I'm still a member of the Coven, I shall
always be a member of the Coven. But freedom for our kind cannot be
at the cost of the lives of others, at the deaths of our very
souls...." Fuyuka looked around searching for her words. "Can't
there be a middle ground, upon which both the House and the Coven
can step?"
"Reunification of the two movements, you mean?" Gigelf
chuckled. "I seem to remember that happening, many times in our
long histories. Remember the Kyoto Pact of five hundred years
ago? How long did that last? Come on, you can tell me...."
"Three months.... So what? This is a crossroads we are
talking about, Gigelf.... This isn't like Kyoto of five hundred
years ago.... This is now, an age where we can totally annihilate
each other with mutual pleasure."
"All the better, then, that we finally break the deadlock, is
it not. Once we have opened the doorway, the pettiness of human
conflict shall end. We will create a new era." Gigelf shook his
head, sadly. "There will be no messiah for us to follow, Fuyuka my
dear. We must make our own destiny.... Even if it be the wrong
one."
----o
"The monster was ME, and I LIKED the monster.... It wanted me
to KILL.... TO KILL...." Miki backed away in wide-eyed fear as
Makoto advanced on her, once more.
"You have GOT to be KIDDING?" She said, half-facefaulted.
"That is so.... So cliched...."
"Oh? Really?" Makoto giggled. "The others are just starting
to find out what monsters lie within them. Venus has already
started down the track.... Mercury has been reformed into a
beast... Saturn is recovering into one...." Makoto raised her head
and laughed. "Monsters exist within us, because each and every one
of us were born into the right families.... Family lines that
contain the genetics of beasts.... Beasts from a world where magic
is indistinguishable from science.... Nay, it is even a form of
nature.... A world where solid forms and bodies are despised, for
blood is the natural form, and the container of all magic." She
stared into her right hand, then lifted it up to her mouth.
Miki was contemplating the pinch method of waking up, as she
watched Makoto bite heavily into her hand, tearing away at the flesh
with her teeth. Blood poured from the rends, then started to circle
her form, droplets spinning in orbits as they emerged. Miki watched
the grisly pattern with a mixture of awe and nausea. Makoto lifted
her hand away from her mouth, licking the blood from her lips.
"I love the blood." She whispered. "It is OUR form. OUR
being.... This pitiful vessel within which I was born.... I
despise it so much.... I want to unify, and spread, across the
planet, with the blood of others.... But because I am grounded into
this form, I cannot...."
"What are you?" Miki swallowed. "You Sailorsenshi? Just
what are you all?"
"A question I might ask of you, Watanabe Miki...." Makoto
smiled. "After all, it wasn't because you had the powers of a
Sailorsenshi that my Heart Crystal chose to meld with you...."
----o
"Unit two to Control Central.... Have gained access to the
West Wing.... Have not met with any major resistance.... Moving
through into the maintenance storerooms, over...."
----o
"Well, I think you can safely assume that she used the train
to get here...." Haruka took a breath as she watched the ambulance
officers carrying away Amaki's remains on a covered stretcher, in a
secluded corner of the railway station's carpark.
"Whatever the case, we can assume that she alighted from the
train a few stops earlier.... It would have taken the conductor who
saw her kill the man a little while to alert the driver of the
train." Michiru crossed her arms as she turned to Haruka. "Well, I
don't think we should stand on the railway station roof all night.
It's not only cold in a senshi fuku, it's also rather wet.... Not
that I mind getting wet or anything, I can think of better
places...." She chuckled as Haruka facefaulted.
Seconds later Uranus and Neptune made a rapid exit.
----o
"What do you mean, the compound is under siege? That's
impossible!" Gen stared down the subordinate who had brought him
the news, then started to pace through Carey's office, hands behind
his back.
"No, not impossible." Joachim crossed his arms as he stared
down through the still shattered main windows, down at the
Operations control room, where various messages of distress were
coming in from across the Sacred House compound, met with total
chaos and confusion by those trying to deal with it. "The Security
System, a large portion of it, was generated by Carey herself."
Joachim adjusted his cloak and doffed his wide-brimmed hat, turning
to Gen. "I dare suggest that an evacuation of the compound might
be in order."
"Ridiculous! RIDICULOUS!" Gen threw his hands into the air.
"After all these years, to simply abandon the Sacred House? With
everything we have in here? Never!"
"Otosama...." Naoko, who had been sitting in the corner of
the office, having received an earbashing from her father after the
affair with Usagi, stood and clutched the sleeve of her father's
traditional dress. "With Carey gone.... We can't... We can't..."
"NO!" He snapped at her. She backed away, stunned at his
ferocity. Seeing the fear in her eyes, he softened, slightly.
"Naoko-chan.... What was the basic tenet you were taught by the
educators, from the moment you were born?"
"The.... the Sacred House is my home.... It is the House of
my soul, and must be protected at all costs...." Naoko turned as
she felt someone take her arm. She was met with Jacquie's smile.
"Protected at all costs." Jacquie placed a hand upon Naoko's.
"Remember all the times we had to repeat that, together, with all of
our friends?" Naoko swallowed at Jacquie's words, her face
dropping.
"They're just words, though...." Her voice was almost
imperceptible. "This is reality.... This is the truth.... The
only home I have ever known...."
"It IS a dramatic change, however...." Joachim crossed his
arms. "A change in the way the Coven have acted, all these years."
"What do you mean?" Gen frowned.
"Usually, they'd try to take prisoners of Sacred House
members. As we would of theirs.... For re-education, so to speak.
It seems rather wasteful, on their part, that they'd be so willing
to kill anyone on sight."
"Perhaps the force that has been sent in is not entirely
Coven. I would not put it past them." Gen shook his head. "To
send in the JSDF or some other hired force.... It's too cliched and
obvious an idea, even for the Coven to contemplate."
"Then, perhaps those who are profiting from the Coven's
existence, then, as many members of the Diet do from the existence
of the Sacred House." Joachim chuckled, darkly. "The financing of
a religion, or a form of religion.... A great way to escape the
clutches of the tax office in this country."
"What is he talking about, Otosama?" Naoko blinked at her
father. Gen peered aside at her, then casually waved her aside.
"There are many methods to fund the infrastructure of an
organisation such as the Sacred House, Naoko-chan.... You may
understand, one day."
"If that day ever comes...." Naoko pulled herself closer to
Jacquie for comfort.
----o
"What are you trying to say?" Miki shivered. "That your
Heart Crystal merged with mine because I am.... what YOU are?"
"You have a lineage.... similar to my own." Makoto turned and
looked upwards as her blood started to dance in strange, juggling
movements, above her head. "A Dragon of Energy.... Perhaps....
Capable of emitting electrical discharge.... One of the reasons the
spirit of Jupiter chose MY body to inhabit.... Now that body has
been killed, the spirit had to find another of like abilities."
"What spirit of Jupiter?" Miki started to feel dizzy.
"The spirit of the original Sailorjupiter.... A being
immeasurably older than you can imagine.... By a divine power of
unknown origin, Jupiter was saved by the great Queen Serenity, and
her spiritual energy cast into a body that was able to defend itself
until she could, once more, come to the fore and take control...."
Makoto' hands dropped, and the blood fell into a circle around her.
"But that was not to be.... I was betrayed, before I could truly
take control...." She smiled, bitterly. "Betrayed by those who
have already accepted the darknesses of their physical forms into
themselves."
Miki wasn't listening to Makoto's musings, however. She was
more concerned with her part in all of this. "But... Are you
trying to tell me that some kind of monster exists within me?" She
clenched her fists. "That's bullshit, my parents were human."
"Oh, they both looked human enough, indeed.... But inside....
Inside.... Yes, it sometimes takes two of like blood to produce one
of greater purity.... I believe your blood is of sufficient
purity... for transformation to occur...." She flexed her fingers,
and the circle of blood started to melt and reform, lines whizzing
around the circle into figures and symbols.... A vast hexagram
forming around her. "If that transformation is successful, I may,
finally, be able to have my revenge upon those who killed me."
"You intend to use my body.... For purposes of revenge?"
Miki shook her head. "Never.... This is MY body.... I won't allow
it!"
Makoto giggled. "We shall she how long you keep that frame of
mind, my dear.... Perhaps experiencing my death might change your
views, what do you say?"
Miki took a step back. "No...." She held up her hands as the
blood hexagram was completed. A glow of energy rose from beneath
Makoto's feet. Miki covered her eyes as the glow became unbearable.
And then nothing.
----o
"What do you want?" Mercury confronted the strange individual
who had emerged from the limousine, a man, dressed in a full dinner
suit. The car had first pulled alongside her, then across her path,
up onto the footpath, as she wandered along the quiet street in a
contemplative mood. Actually, she was contemplating whether she
should raid the Japanese Reserve Bank at the time, so it was no
great loss, and considering Japan was in recession, there probably
wouldn't have been a hell of a lot for her to raid....
Anyway, the car blocked her path, which angered her a little,
as she hated it when cars blocked her path. She'd always been too
polite to say anything about it, but this time she ran around to the
driver's door, wrenched it off the side of the car, pulled out the
car's chauffeur and started laying into him with the kinds of
attacks that would have done a professional wrestler proud.
Before she could do too much damage to him, the strange
passenger of the vehicle stepped out from the back, and interrupted
her effort at chastising the transgressor of Mercury's unwritten
laws. "Do you mind.... Drivers like he are extremely hard to
find." The passenger placed a hand on her shoulder. She slapped
the hand away and stood back several paces. From there, she
interrogated him with the aforementioned question.
"What do I want?" The passenger helped the hapless chauffeur
to his feet. "Why, I want you, Sailormercury.... Or, let me put it
this way.... I have been interested in employing you and your
Sailor friends for quite some time.... I have need of your powers."
"Need of MY powers, or the powers of my so-called friends?"
She sniffed contemptuously. "They all think I'm weaker than they.
Well, you know what I've done, tonight? You see all the destruction
I've wreaked? They won't be calling THIS Sailorsenshi the weak link
in the chain anymore." She put her hands on her hips and laughed
maniacally.
"Ano.... I didn't mean to express doubt in your abilities,
Sailormercury. You are obviously VERY powerful.... But I have been
keeping tabs on your activities, tonight.... And I wanted to say...
I have NEED of someone like you...."
"What for?" Mercury ranged up on the passenger and his
chauffeur. The chauffeur cringed at her presence. "And who are
you, anyway?"
"I...." The passenger swallowed, using up as much of his
reserves of bravery as charm. "I am Manakuto.... A highly esteemed
member of the Diet Assembly, and of an organisation called the Coven
of Atrocity...."
"Coven of Atrocity?" Mercury rubbed her chin. "Sounds cool.
Do you kill and maim lots of people for fun and profit?"
"Ano...." There were times in Manakuto's career, as a master
manipulator, where he genuinely began to worry about the things he
would get himself into, most especially the people he had to
associate with.
END OF PART 33
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I begin the paragraphs with a lot of questions, don't I? ^_^;; Too
many people not knowing what the hell is going on. I wonder if
everyone who has read this story up to this point is having the same
trouble.... Ah well. On to the next chapter, which is entitled
"Ghost Lighter", named as such for no known reason other than that
the large Mokona plushy that sits on my computer told me to. ^_^
You shall submit to the evil power of kawaiiness.... You shall say
"PU".... @_@
_________
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net
/\
\/ \/
\___________/
/_/ \_\ PU
Version 1.0 - Tuesday October 27th 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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
It all happened in a matter of seconds. Amaki had placed both
of his arms around the girl and tried to lick her ear, when his arms
fell onto the floor in a spray of blood. The girl was standing back
from him, holding a pair of bloodied fans, a vicious expression on
her face. It was a couple of seconds before both Amaki and the
conductor realised that the unfortunate pervert no longer had any
arms.
Before Amaki could scream out in pain and terror, the girl had
taken his head clean off, watching with satisfaction as it bounced
off the seat and rolled onto the floor. Amaki's body continued to
stand for a few seconds more, fountaining blood from the stump of a
neck, before it fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut. With
a flourish, the girl slapped the fans shut and whipped them back
into the sleeves of her kimono. She then looked up at the conductor
and smiled, leaving him in no doubt as to what he SHOULDN'T do at
that point.
She picked up Amaki's briefcase, still standing against the
seat where he had left it, and handed it to the conductor. "So
terribly sorry to have messed up your train, but I'm in a bit of a
hurry, and I truly cannot abide by perverts. What about you?" She
stared at the man, smiling sweetly as he failed to answer, not
really knowing how to answer in such a situation. "Ah, yes, I see
you're not one used to such violent behaviour. I apologise if I've
upset you, or anything. It was my upbringing, you see...." She
giggled and turned her head to the windows as she saw the approach
of a station. "Ah, this looks like my stop." She turned back to
the conductor and bowed, slightly. "Konbanwa."
"K... konbanwa." The conductor replied as the train came to
a halt at the station. The girl trotted over to the door and waited
as they opened up to the platform. She then alighted and
disappeared into the night.
yes, the conductor had seen many things in his years of
service. This one was going to make, at the very least, an entire
chapter, if he ever got round to writing up his memoirs.
----o
Part Thirtythree
Purity of Blood
----o
Gigelf placed his hands upon the floor of the dais, and
whispered words known only to himself. Lysithea watched from the
centre of the Grand Hall as the entire room erupted into a
succession of circled hexagrams, rolling around the hall, then
forming one giant hexagram over the top of the dais, centering on
Gigelf himself. With another flash, Gigelf stood, energy blowing
the billowing folds of his robes around him. The hexagram
disappeared in an instant.
Gigelf stood back as the energies died down, breathing
heavily. "The place is set. The door shall open here...." He
turned as a pair of altars rose from the middle of the dais,
stopping at a predetermined height as he rested against the main
altar, feeling decidedly ill. "Now go.... Prepare West for the
ceremony...." He waved in Lysithea's direction, who nodded and
leaned down to pick up Carey's body from the floor.
At that moment, Lysithea registered the presence of another
in the Grand Hall. He ignored her, knowing the confrontation that
was to come between Gigelf and Fuyuka.
Hazuki Fuyuka, the raven-haired beauty whose family had been
one of the founding members of the Coven, and the woman whom the
Coven had betrothed to Gigelf, was not one to be trifled with, as
the hapless mage had found out to his chagrin.
She did NOT agree with the method the Coven had chosen to open
the door between the dimensions of Earth and Nemesis. Not that she
could do much about it, especially in terms of dissuading the High
Council of the Coven from this path. The one person she DID have
control over was Gigelf, for Fuyuka knew Gigelf better than anyone,
including Gigelf Liqueur.
He hauled Carey into his arms and stood, trying to avoid
Fuyuka's gaze as he approached the doorway, running her gauntlet as
he strode past her. her eyes were like laserbeams in his back as he
left the Hall.... He could, almost, feel the pain....
Fuyuka gave up on Lysithea fairly quickly. She knew better
than to try and remonstrate with him. He was nothing, in her eyes,
but a parasite on Gigelf, and more.... He was one truly dedicated
to the opening up of the doorway.... A truly committed servant of
the Coven. It was impossible to deal with the kind of reckless
idealism that existed within the likes of he.
She turned back to Gigelf, who hadn't moved from the moment
he had rested against the main altar, not even as much as
registering her presence. Fuyuka was concerned at the energy he was
expending to complete his task, physical, spiritual and mental.
This failure to register her was a sure sign that he was collapsing
under the pressure. At least, to her keen eyes, this was what it
appeared to be.
She took a few steps towards the dais, watching Gigelf, his
figure, bent double over the altar, almost shabby and
disheveled.... She could feel him, collapsing inwards.... She had
read it in the cards.... They told her everything, about their
relationship, about their destiny.... There were times she wished
she didn't have the gift. They told her too much.
"You wished to speak with me?" His tired voice echoed around
the hall. At least he wasn't a complete basket case.
"You really intend to kill that woman for our purposes?" She
leveled her gaze as he turned to face her. His eyes appeared
sunken in his pale face. "Her and another. Is that the price you
want to pay for achieving our founders' goal?"
"Their sacrifice... is worth it. You insult your forefathers
by questioning the methods."
----o
"Unit Three to Control Central, we have secured our allotted
sector. Fifteen dead, no casualties from our side. Over."
"Control Central to Unit Two, are you in sight of the Sacred
House Compound main building? Over."
"Unit Two.... We have the main building in sight....
Everything looks open from here. Over."
"Control Central to all Units, begin moving into the Compound
in five minutes. Eliminate all in your way. Over."
----o
"G.... Go is dead?" Aoi sat in the front passenger seat of
Kaji's car, as stunned as he.
"That's what.... Ariamu told me.... Shimazaki went to his
house not that long ago after he'd gone missing from the station....
They think Katarin might have had something to do with the murder of
Mizuno's mother. He might have even killed her, himself, and ran
afterwards."
Aoi swallowed as Kaji slammed his door shut, more forcefully
than was really necessary. He leaned back in his seat, staring at
the roof.
"The links that this case has.... It's getting more
complicated by the moment.... This whole thing is more than just a
murder of a Sailorsenshi.... If the information that Shimazaki was
given by Katarin before his death, then this whole mess involves the
Shiranui Yakuza...."
"So where do the Sacred House and the Coven of Atrocity fit
in?" Aoi asked, quietly. Kaji thought this over for a few moments.
"We're talking about a Yakuza family, here.... A group that
has a network of connections to business, government and a variety
of other organisations that can operate as effective forms of money
gathering. Both the House and the Coven would be registered as
religious movements in Japan, and therefore nominally immune from
the scrutiny of the tax department.... The Yakuza and various other
criminal organisations have been using religion as a tax dodge for
years, and there is little, if anything, that the authorities can do
about it as long as they keep up the front of being official
religions.... Hell, I've investigated money laundering schemes that
have involved cults that worship nothing more substantial than a
lump of rock discovered in the founder's front garden...."
"Are you trying to say that organisations as old and powerful
enough to hide themselves completely from public view, despite their
size, are nothing more than fake cults founded for financial
purposes?"
"I don't know if the average member thinks of them in this
capacity. Someone who is dedicated to what appears to be a worthy
cause can blind themselves to the truth of the organisation's
management.... And if an arm of that organisation is attacked, in
any way, by an extraneous force, then the reaction of such a
powerful body would be to hunt down and destroy that force.... In
this case, the Sailorsenshi."
"So the Shiranui Yakuza is just an arm of something greater?"
"Hmm.... Not so much an arm, considering the size of the
Shiranui. By taking on the Shiranui Yakuza, the Sailorsenshi
attacked a fairly central part of a larger body. Shimazaki was sent
a message, by Katarin, that Shiranui Kimi was somehow involved in
the murder of Kino Makoto...."
"More intimated than explicit." Aoi rubbed her forehead.
"All this is giving me a headache."
"Yes, well, I sincerely doubt that Kino's murder was the
preserve of the Shiranui Leader's daughter. Shiranui Midan is not
beyond using his own child as a vehicle for the needs of whatever
power it is that has kept his family in control for this long...."
----o
"And you insult me by bringing them to my notice." Fuyuka
spat, words that struck Gigelf with the force of a whip. "I am not
here to argue the virtues of my ancestors, Gigelf.... For they,
too, would be horrified that we are partaking in this travesty, an
orgy of murder, not only of the two unfortunates whom you shall
sacrifice upon the commencement of the ceremony, but those who exist
within the walls of the Sacred House."
"They are, and always will be, even if they are our
brethren." Gigelf sighed. "There are many within the Sacred House
who are kept under lock and key. By doing this, we shall free
them."
"Have you never thought of WHY they are kept under lock and
key?" Fuyuka threw her hands in the air. "They are dangerous,
Gigelf. They are crossbreeds with the very lowest forms of the
Lucifer Folk.... Beings which are more decerebrate monster than
intelligent lifeform...."
Gigelf paused, closing his eyes. "I cannot believe what I'm
hearing from you, Fuyuka.... You sound like a member of the Sacred
House.... Your words are a product of their philosophies."
"Maybe they are.... I'm still a member of the Coven, I shall
always be a member of the Coven. But freedom for our kind cannot be
at the cost of the lives of others, at the deaths of our very
souls...." Fuyuka looked around searching for her words. "Can't
there be a middle ground, upon which both the House and the Coven
can step?"
"Reunification of the two movements, you mean?" Gigelf
chuckled. "I seem to remember that happening, many times in our
long histories. Remember the Kyoto Pact of five hundred years
ago? How long did that last? Come on, you can tell me...."
"Three months.... So what? This is a crossroads we are
talking about, Gigelf.... This isn't like Kyoto of five hundred
years ago.... This is now, an age where we can totally annihilate
each other with mutual pleasure."
"All the better, then, that we finally break the deadlock, is
it not. Once we have opened the doorway, the pettiness of human
conflict shall end. We will create a new era." Gigelf shook his
head, sadly. "There will be no messiah for us to follow, Fuyuka my
dear. We must make our own destiny.... Even if it be the wrong
one."
----o
"The monster was ME, and I LIKED the monster.... It wanted me
to KILL.... TO KILL...." Miki backed away in wide-eyed fear as
Makoto advanced on her, once more.
"You have GOT to be KIDDING?" She said, half-facefaulted.
"That is so.... So cliched...."
"Oh? Really?" Makoto giggled. "The others are just starting
to find out what monsters lie within them. Venus has already
started down the track.... Mercury has been reformed into a
beast... Saturn is recovering into one...." Makoto raised her head
and laughed. "Monsters exist within us, because each and every one
of us were born into the right families.... Family lines that
contain the genetics of beasts.... Beasts from a world where magic
is indistinguishable from science.... Nay, it is even a form of
nature.... A world where solid forms and bodies are despised, for
blood is the natural form, and the container of all magic." She
stared into her right hand, then lifted it up to her mouth.
Miki was contemplating the pinch method of waking up, as she
watched Makoto bite heavily into her hand, tearing away at the flesh
with her teeth. Blood poured from the rends, then started to circle
her form, droplets spinning in orbits as they emerged. Miki watched
the grisly pattern with a mixture of awe and nausea. Makoto lifted
her hand away from her mouth, licking the blood from her lips.
"I love the blood." She whispered. "It is OUR form. OUR
being.... This pitiful vessel within which I was born.... I
despise it so much.... I want to unify, and spread, across the
planet, with the blood of others.... But because I am grounded into
this form, I cannot...."
"What are you?" Miki swallowed. "You Sailorsenshi? Just
what are you all?"
"A question I might ask of you, Watanabe Miki...." Makoto
smiled. "After all, it wasn't because you had the powers of a
Sailorsenshi that my Heart Crystal chose to meld with you...."
----o
"Unit two to Control Central.... Have gained access to the
West Wing.... Have not met with any major resistance.... Moving
through into the maintenance storerooms, over...."
----o
"Well, I think you can safely assume that she used the train
to get here...." Haruka took a breath as she watched the ambulance
officers carrying away Amaki's remains on a covered stretcher, in a
secluded corner of the railway station's carpark.
"Whatever the case, we can assume that she alighted from the
train a few stops earlier.... It would have taken the conductor who
saw her kill the man a little while to alert the driver of the
train." Michiru crossed her arms as she turned to Haruka. "Well, I
don't think we should stand on the railway station roof all night.
It's not only cold in a senshi fuku, it's also rather wet.... Not
that I mind getting wet or anything, I can think of better
places...." She chuckled as Haruka facefaulted.
Seconds later Uranus and Neptune made a rapid exit.
----o
"What do you mean, the compound is under siege? That's
impossible!" Gen stared down the subordinate who had brought him
the news, then started to pace through Carey's office, hands behind
his back.
"No, not impossible." Joachim crossed his arms as he stared
down through the still shattered main windows, down at the
Operations control room, where various messages of distress were
coming in from across the Sacred House compound, met with total
chaos and confusion by those trying to deal with it. "The Security
System, a large portion of it, was generated by Carey herself."
Joachim adjusted his cloak and doffed his wide-brimmed hat, turning
to Gen. "I dare suggest that an evacuation of the compound might
be in order."
"Ridiculous! RIDICULOUS!" Gen threw his hands into the air.
"After all these years, to simply abandon the Sacred House? With
everything we have in here? Never!"
"Otosama...." Naoko, who had been sitting in the corner of
the office, having received an earbashing from her father after the
affair with Usagi, stood and clutched the sleeve of her father's
traditional dress. "With Carey gone.... We can't... We can't..."
"NO!" He snapped at her. She backed away, stunned at his
ferocity. Seeing the fear in her eyes, he softened, slightly.
"Naoko-chan.... What was the basic tenet you were taught by the
educators, from the moment you were born?"
"The.... the Sacred House is my home.... It is the House of
my soul, and must be protected at all costs...." Naoko turned as
she felt someone take her arm. She was met with Jacquie's smile.
"Protected at all costs." Jacquie placed a hand upon Naoko's.
"Remember all the times we had to repeat that, together, with all of
our friends?" Naoko swallowed at Jacquie's words, her face
dropping.
"They're just words, though...." Her voice was almost
imperceptible. "This is reality.... This is the truth.... The
only home I have ever known...."
"It IS a dramatic change, however...." Joachim crossed his
arms. "A change in the way the Coven have acted, all these years."
"What do you mean?" Gen frowned.
"Usually, they'd try to take prisoners of Sacred House
members. As we would of theirs.... For re-education, so to speak.
It seems rather wasteful, on their part, that they'd be so willing
to kill anyone on sight."
"Perhaps the force that has been sent in is not entirely
Coven. I would not put it past them." Gen shook his head. "To
send in the JSDF or some other hired force.... It's too cliched and
obvious an idea, even for the Coven to contemplate."
"Then, perhaps those who are profiting from the Coven's
existence, then, as many members of the Diet do from the existence
of the Sacred House." Joachim chuckled, darkly. "The financing of
a religion, or a form of religion.... A great way to escape the
clutches of the tax office in this country."
"What is he talking about, Otosama?" Naoko blinked at her
father. Gen peered aside at her, then casually waved her aside.
"There are many methods to fund the infrastructure of an
organisation such as the Sacred House, Naoko-chan.... You may
understand, one day."
"If that day ever comes...." Naoko pulled herself closer to
Jacquie for comfort.
----o
"What are you trying to say?" Miki shivered. "That your
Heart Crystal merged with mine because I am.... what YOU are?"
"You have a lineage.... similar to my own." Makoto turned and
looked upwards as her blood started to dance in strange, juggling
movements, above her head. "A Dragon of Energy.... Perhaps....
Capable of emitting electrical discharge.... One of the reasons the
spirit of Jupiter chose MY body to inhabit.... Now that body has
been killed, the spirit had to find another of like abilities."
"What spirit of Jupiter?" Miki started to feel dizzy.
"The spirit of the original Sailorjupiter.... A being
immeasurably older than you can imagine.... By a divine power of
unknown origin, Jupiter was saved by the great Queen Serenity, and
her spiritual energy cast into a body that was able to defend itself
until she could, once more, come to the fore and take control...."
Makoto' hands dropped, and the blood fell into a circle around her.
"But that was not to be.... I was betrayed, before I could truly
take control...." She smiled, bitterly. "Betrayed by those who
have already accepted the darknesses of their physical forms into
themselves."
Miki wasn't listening to Makoto's musings, however. She was
more concerned with her part in all of this. "But... Are you
trying to tell me that some kind of monster exists within me?" She
clenched her fists. "That's bullshit, my parents were human."
"Oh, they both looked human enough, indeed.... But inside....
Inside.... Yes, it sometimes takes two of like blood to produce one
of greater purity.... I believe your blood is of sufficient
purity... for transformation to occur...." She flexed her fingers,
and the circle of blood started to melt and reform, lines whizzing
around the circle into figures and symbols.... A vast hexagram
forming around her. "If that transformation is successful, I may,
finally, be able to have my revenge upon those who killed me."
"You intend to use my body.... For purposes of revenge?"
Miki shook her head. "Never.... This is MY body.... I won't allow
it!"
Makoto giggled. "We shall she how long you keep that frame of
mind, my dear.... Perhaps experiencing my death might change your
views, what do you say?"
Miki took a step back. "No...." She held up her hands as the
blood hexagram was completed. A glow of energy rose from beneath
Makoto's feet. Miki covered her eyes as the glow became unbearable.
And then nothing.
----o
"What do you want?" Mercury confronted the strange individual
who had emerged from the limousine, a man, dressed in a full dinner
suit. The car had first pulled alongside her, then across her path,
up onto the footpath, as she wandered along the quiet street in a
contemplative mood. Actually, she was contemplating whether she
should raid the Japanese Reserve Bank at the time, so it was no
great loss, and considering Japan was in recession, there probably
wouldn't have been a hell of a lot for her to raid....
Anyway, the car blocked her path, which angered her a little,
as she hated it when cars blocked her path. She'd always been too
polite to say anything about it, but this time she ran around to the
driver's door, wrenched it off the side of the car, pulled out the
car's chauffeur and started laying into him with the kinds of
attacks that would have done a professional wrestler proud.
Before she could do too much damage to him, the strange
passenger of the vehicle stepped out from the back, and interrupted
her effort at chastising the transgressor of Mercury's unwritten
laws. "Do you mind.... Drivers like he are extremely hard to
find." The passenger placed a hand on her shoulder. She slapped
the hand away and stood back several paces. From there, she
interrogated him with the aforementioned question.
"What do I want?" The passenger helped the hapless chauffeur
to his feet. "Why, I want you, Sailormercury.... Or, let me put it
this way.... I have been interested in employing you and your
Sailor friends for quite some time.... I have need of your powers."
"Need of MY powers, or the powers of my so-called friends?"
She sniffed contemptuously. "They all think I'm weaker than they.
Well, you know what I've done, tonight? You see all the destruction
I've wreaked? They won't be calling THIS Sailorsenshi the weak link
in the chain anymore." She put her hands on her hips and laughed
maniacally.
"Ano.... I didn't mean to express doubt in your abilities,
Sailormercury. You are obviously VERY powerful.... But I have been
keeping tabs on your activities, tonight.... And I wanted to say...
I have NEED of someone like you...."
"What for?" Mercury ranged up on the passenger and his
chauffeur. The chauffeur cringed at her presence. "And who are
you, anyway?"
"I...." The passenger swallowed, using up as much of his
reserves of bravery as charm. "I am Manakuto.... A highly esteemed
member of the Diet Assembly, and of an organisation called the Coven
of Atrocity...."
"Coven of Atrocity?" Mercury rubbed her chin. "Sounds cool.
Do you kill and maim lots of people for fun and profit?"
"Ano...." There were times in Manakuto's career, as a master
manipulator, where he genuinely began to worry about the things he
would get himself into, most especially the people he had to
associate with.
END OF PART 33
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I begin the paragraphs with a lot of questions, don't I? ^_^;; Too
many people not knowing what the hell is going on. I wonder if
everyone who has read this story up to this point is having the same
trouble.... Ah well. On to the next chapter, which is entitled
"Ghost Lighter", named as such for no known reason other than that
the large Mokona plushy that sits on my computer told me to. ^_^
You shall submit to the evil power of kawaiiness.... You shall say
"PU".... @_@
_________
/ @ \ DDFA (The Right Dishonourable Mark A Page)
/ / ^ ^ \ \ ayanami@internode.on.net
/\
\/ \/
\___________/
/_/ \_\ PU
Version 1.0 - Tuesday October 27th 1998