Chapter Eighteen

Minako watched her friend and princess closely as they prepared for their porting to the North Pole. Usagi didn't seem too worried about the events at hand, but seemed rather relaxed and prepared for what would come up and bite their arses. Yet, the golden haired senshi didn't know if this was a good thing or not. For while nervousness certainly was a disadvantage sometimes, it was also a natural reaction to an event you weren't sure how to handle.

Shaking her head, she concentrated on putting up the warmth shields they would need for their little trip. The place where they would be going were very cold.



The four tall senshi had packed themselves into Makoto's van in their civilian forms and was driving towards the latest known address of one Mamoru Chiba. Because while they didn't doubt he had relocated by now, you should always cross of the most likely places first.

Writing down a list of places where her brother could be, Buffy winced as the car took a particularly tight turn on two wheels. Maybe they shouldn't have let Haruka take the driver's seat. Sure, they had a time limit, but it wasn't that tight. She didn't even want to think about how many speeding tickets they had picked up so far. They had gotten the first one just outside the temple, and they had continued from there. A few times, she and Setsuna had even had to tamper a bit with the officers' memories to be let off.

As her best friend made another screeching stop, Buffy sighed before getting out of the car, Michiru on her heals. They had worked out the fastest way to work early in their search - Haruka driving, Setsuna getting and giving information from and to Angelus while Mich and Buffy checked out the area with their minds and eyes. So far, they hadn't found anything important though.

Scanning the apartment building, Buffy used her enhanced sight to look into the windows of the apartment. As far as she could see, it was empty. There were no furniture or anything that suggested that anyone lived there. He had evidently left the place already. But if no one had moved in yet with this being a very popular place to live, it had to mean he had moved out very recently. Which meant that someone might remember where he had gone.

Calling on Michiru's attention by waving her hand, Buffy quickly reported her progress in French. The violinist nodded.

"I'll check out the tenants," she offered. "You tell Haruka and Setsuna. Then you could contact the landlord and see if he left any forwarding address."

Buffy nodded and jogged over to the van, knocking at Haruka's window.

"Hey, Haruka," she said as the other woman winded down the window. "We may have gotten something. It seems like Endy moved out just recently. There's a good chance we may pick up on his tracks here."

The racer nodded.

"All right," she said, glancing back at Setsuna to make sure she had heard. "I'll park the car nearby. Will you need any help?"

Buffy shook her head.

"I'll need the cell phone though," she said. "I need to call the landlord of this place. Do you have the name, Setsuna?"

The woman in the backseat checked her notebook.

"Yes," she nodded, scribbling the name down on a paper and passing it over. "One Okamoto Yuichi. Japanese style."

Buffy thanked her and took the cell phone Haruka offered her before walking away while dialling the number to the directory enquiries. After a short moment, she was forwarded to the landlord. He didn't know anything about her brother's whereabouts though, and she had to disconnect without getting any further information.

Walking back to the car, she slipped into her seat to wait for Michiru with the others.

"No info?" Haruka sympathetically said.

Buffy shook her head, and then they continued waiting in silence. Before a very long time had passed though, Michiru came walking towards them in a fast pace. The excited look on her face told everything they needed to know.

"I have the address," she quietly said as she sat in the van again. "And the best thing is: he's bound to be home. One of the tenants in the building is the younger sister to one of his friends, and she told me that Endymion usually is studying at this time a day. Apparently, he's still living his normal life when not sent on mission by Metalia."

Buffy's face brightened at the news, and impulsively hugged Michiru.

"Thank you," she said, meaning it with all her heart. Then she was back in her seat, looking expectantly at her friend. "Do you know where it is?"

Haruka nodded.

"Yes," she said. "I remember where it is from the city map."

"Then let's go!"



Hotaru and Tenchi had settled in at the temple together with Luna and Artemis. The cats mostly spent their time going over the data on the terminal Tenchi carried with him, reporting anything important to the vampire, while he was sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed, communicating with the two dispatched groups.

Hotaru had settled in by the fire, watching the flicking flames while diving deep into her mind. She now understood how Rei could use the ever-changing fire as her medium. There were something calming about watching the flames dance over the quickly burning wood..

¨Hota-chan!" The commanding voice of Tenchi broke through the mists of her meditation, bringing her back to the real world abruptly. "The Outers are returning with Endymion. Shield this place immediately before the generals get his location."

She didn't even think about what she was doing as she morphed into her senshi self and reached into the empty air to grasp the glaive that was constantly calling for her. All she knew was that her powers were needed. She didn't care about consequences. Sailor Saturn was awakened.

"Scythe Protection," she whispered, directing the power at her will. It surrounded the temple, brought the people within it to sleep and isolated it from the surrounding world. But there was more! So much more power, so much more to.

It called to her; she had to answer the call. It wanted, it desired. It had to get out!

"Death Ribbon." she whispered beneath her breathe already feeling the power build up within. Finally. Finally!

TBC