Among Friends, Part 10
Stolen Allies
By Taerir

All Sailor Moon references are the property of their respective owners. Any concepts, characters, world names, plotlines, and so on not found in the Sailormoon television series or manga are the property of the author, Taerir, copyright 1999. No duplication is permitted without written permission from the author.

When Mamoru regained consciousness, he kept his eyes closed for a few moments to give himself time. He remembered leaving Usagi to walk home while he searched for… something. After a few moments of strained, groggy thought, he remembered. It seemed as if the enemy he had been searching for had found him instead.

Finally, he opened his eyes.

The woman seated before him would have looked innocent enough, if she hadn't taken such a regal air. With violet-black hair framing her face and dark blue eyes, the woman certainly was beautiful, but there was something subtly profaned about that beauty. While the normal human might not have caught such a thing, the radiated energy caused Mamoru to inwardly shudder, although he showed nothing on the outside.

The woman smirked. "So the sleeping idiot awakens. Your senses weren't very sharp last night, Tuxedo Kamen. Does your head hurt?"

Mamoru ignored the question and hardened his expression. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"My name is Nami," the woman replied. Batting her eyes, she continued. "And I want what any girl wants: a little respect, a bit of revenge, and more power than I have right now. That little girl you spend your time protecting has more power than she could ever know how to use, and so do all her little friends."

Mamoru began to speak, but Nami held up her hand to keep him quiet. Uncertain why he was even obeying her, he let her speak further.

Nami crossed her arms and continued. "But there is even more power than that to be harnessed. You've heard of the Gates, I presume?" She pursed her lips and awaited Mamoru's nod. "I thought as much. More than half of them are unprotected at the moment, without their Guardians awakened. With the power from those Gates, I can overturn the awakened Guardians as well, and then destroy your precious love and her pretty little crystal."

"You'll never get away with it. It's not as simple as you make it sound," Mamoru insisted. "How do you have all this information about us, anyway?"

"You broadcast it as if you were an open book," Nami sneered. "Even with such power, most of you have such weak minds."

The insult finally spurred Mamoru to anger, and he glared at this woman. "So what do you plan to do with us and our 'weak minds?'"

"One thing at a time, my dear," Nami laughed, rising from her seat. "First, I'll convince you to join me. How long do you think that blonde of yours will hold up without you by her side?"

"She's done it before, and made it through fine," Mamoru informed her coldly. "I'd never join your side willingly, and the brainwashing scheme has been tried on me before. Don't you think it's a bit unoriginal?"

"Not if it works."

"Brainwashing me has never caused a final victory before."

Nami strolled forward until she was directly in front of Mamoru, and leaned over so that her face was directly in front of Mamoru's own. Her voice was low and taunting. "The others who tried it were not me, now were they?"

Until this point, Mamoru had not been aware of Nami's pent-up fury. It now seemed to flow against him like a physical being. Nami breathed out a small, cold laugh and smirked.

"Are you uncomfortable, my dear?" she questioned, feigning concern. "Well, we can repair that easily enough. You do look so terribly frightened."

His voice trembling, Mamoru fought to control it. For the first time since awakening, he truly wondered what this woman could do. "I would kill myself before I hurt the senshi."

"No, you wouldn't," Nami murmured, her voice deceivingly calm. "Once I'm finished with you, you will beg me for the chance to destroy them. No more games."

An ice-blue flash emanated from her eyes, and in one swift movement, her hands were at Mamoru's temples. At the first light touch on his mind, Mamoru struggled mentally. Nami's mind, though, seemed something between a brick wall and a tidal wave, and Mamoru felt his will being carelessly pushed away.

You fool, came Nami's voice in his mind. That was the last he remembered.

Nami smiled as she ruthlessly blocked away Mamoru's memories of goodness and light. This was the part of her mission she truly loved. It gave her utmost power over the mind of another, to shape as she saw fit. For all his talk, the young man had been completely helpless in the end.

Almost finished turning Mamoru's mind, Nami added some finishing touches of her own. We might as well make things interesting.

Satisfied that her mind control was fully in place, Nami moved her hands away and stepped back to admire her handiwork. Mamoru's eyes opened slowly, still their usual blue but now holding a look that was somehow more vacant.

He groaned, glancing around for a moment until his eyes rested upon Nami. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck."

"You've taken a nasty bump to the head," Nami informed him, smiling at him. "I told you not to defend me, of course, but you insisted. Just a moment and I'll finish fixing it, now that you're awake."

With a quick gesture, Nami laid a hand on Mamoru's head and drew out the remaining pain. Mamoru released a sigh of relief and rose from his chair.

"You always know how to make things better, my love."

Usagi drummed her fingers on a restaurant table impatiently the next evening. She had made plans with Mamoru over a week ago to meet for dinner tonight. This time, she hadn't even been late, and had been rather proud of that accomplishment. But now, it was forty-five minutes late and there was absolutely no sign of Mamoru. Usagi's stomach growled in protest.

She rose from her seat, dug a few coins from her purse, and headed for the nearest pay phone. Pointedly, she tried Mamoru's phone number first. There was no reply. With a huff, she called Rei instead. Usagi did not spare a single moment after Rei's phone greeting.

"Rei, have you seen Mamo-chan?" she demanded. "He's late for dinner."

"Why would I have seen him?" Rei snapped back. "Can't you keep track of your own beloved 'Mamo-chan?'"

Usagi sighed. "I called his place, and he wasn't there."

"Well, he's not here either, Usagi," the other girl proclaimed. "Try somewhere else."

The two hung up, as Usagi continued to mutter to herself.

"No, I am not going to march to the shrine and tell Rei off," she told herself firmly. "I am going to find out where Mamo-chan is, and then I am going to drag him here for a romantic dinner." Brightening at the thought, Usagi dialed the numbers of everyone else she knew until she ran out of her already-meager supply of pocket change. No one, it seemed, had seen Mamoru.

It wasn't like him to forget her like this. In fact, it was strange that no one had seen him at all that day. Usagi might have been indignant if she wasn't so worried. Sighing, she gathered her things and left the restaurant.

A quick visit to Mamoru's apartment revealed that he was indeed absent.

Amid the panicked thoughts in Usagi's head, one statement summarized them all: Something wasn't right.