Title: Original "Usagi is Dead" Part 12
Author: Dark Day For Anime (Mark A Page)
Email: darkdayforanime@hotmail.com
IRC: Mappy on DALnet's #AJAS
Fic Rating: R

--------------------------------------------------------------------

UsAgI iS dEaD uSaGi Is DeAd HiP hIp HiP hOoRaY
by DARK DAY FOR ANIME

Diclaimer - Sailormoon is owned by Takeuchi Naoko and Bandai, so
these characters really belong to them, except ones I made up, in
which case, if I see anyone using them, I'll murder ya! ^_^ (I'm
joking.... Use them to your heart's content, if you can).
Part Twelve
Terminal Skydiving

--------------------------------------------------------------------
IASFU OA FWSS IASFU OA FWSS GOO JUA GOO JIPEST
and again
IASFU OA FWSS IASFU OA FWSS GOO JUA GOO JIPEST
The messages across the atmosphere....
The woman sat in the high-backed gilden chair, staring into
the globe of universality. And what it had to say was not pleasing.
But then, very little had been pleasing since her return.

At that time, she had found life difficult to adjust to. The
process of rebuilding an empire was frought with problems, not the
least was finding all the worlds to which its powers had extended.
There had been so many.

At least she knew where one was.... The world where she had
recovered her true self.... A place known rather simply as Earth,
in the system of Sol. At that time, the regeneration of this
particular Kingdom was underway. And she had attempted to destroy
it.... It was good that she had been stopped. The deaths, that
would have ensued, would have been too much to endure even if she
had no control of her own senses.
And what a powerful, wild system it had been to open the
Empire's resurrection. Its elemental energies only submitting to
the will of the Kingdom that had settled there under extreme
protest.

Where else could senshi like those on Earth be found? She
remembered the Avoscatan wars.... Bewteen this empire and another,
based within a neighbouring dimension.... The part the Earth senshi
and miko played in the defeat of those demons.... Perhaps the
spiritual ancestors of those who existed today. It worried her
that, when she left, there were no miko amongst their number, but
she assumed it was only a matter of time.

Now there were feelings of disorder from that system.
Something had disrupted the process, disquieted the elemental
powers. And she felt a cold shiver spread through her at the
thought of what might happen. She should have been more vigilant,
seen what was, potentially, to come.

It was, of course, foolish to chide herself for things undone.

She looked up at her attendant... An attractive young man
wearing the dark leather garb of one of her senshi. He was standing
some distance away, illuminated in the blue of the sun of the night.
The giant diamond dome, that let in the light gave her the best
possible views of the universe and the galaxies that it contained,
had been built upon her return. She liked it... Had always liked
it, that way. Just like the days before the collapse....

"Sentinel..." She said softly to the attendant. He looked up
at her, having been gazing across the fields that ran from the dome.
She liked the way he looked.... Blond-green hair, green eyes, an
immaculate appearance. He reminded her of her old love. One of the
duties Scimitar had the pleasure of performing, lately.

"Yes my Empress?"
"We must leave the homeworld. A system has chosen to lose
control of itself, and must be retamed."
He bowed. "How soon, my Empress?"
"Within the hour. Round up all the senshi and miko it is
possible for you to find."
"Do you expect trouble?"
"I expect extreme trouble. Events are occuring on that world
that must be quelled, lest they spread further."
"Yes, my Empress." Sentinel disappeared from the dome quickly
through an exit in the south face. She watched him go, rubbing her
forehead.

"Serenity..." Galaxia muttered. "What has happened to you?"
----o
"What did you hope to find?" Said the voice. Naru sat on the
stairs of the Academy library, unable to move. "Did you find out
something about Naiad, or yourself?" The voice paused. "Or perhaps
the both of you? And how did you feel when you found this out? Was
it shock? Horror? Surprise? Amusement? And if so, why do you
think you reacted this way?"

Naru felt tears coming to her eyes, and lifted herself from
the stairs. She stared at her hand. "What are we? Why do we take
this form? What is the nature of our conciousness? Does it have a
form? Does it survive death intact, or does it fade away with the
passing of the body's physical processes?"

"Shutup!" Naru put her hands over her ears.

"Who is watching whom? Did you fall into the pool by
accident, or were you psychologically manipulated into reaching for
her just as she fell in, through you subconcious mind?"

"I can't believe she'd do that.... Not to me!" Those words
were not Naru's, but Tranquility's. She began to race down the
stairs, raw emotion filling her. She tripped and fell when she
reached the third level, and landed, rather painfully, face down on
the floor.

"Pain.... It fills our every waking moment. It drives us to
find a better life. There is no motivating force like it. There is
no force to destroy like it. A double edged blade."

Naru slowly lifted herself to her hands and knees, the world
spinning. She looked upwards, trying to find the source of the
voice. "Where is all this leading to?"
"To death." The voice said, matter of factly. "Everything
leads to the cessation of existence. Even the world upon which we
live... lived... has numbered days, hard though a concept that may
seem to be."

"Stop being philosophical with me!"
"Too late. You're at the mercy of the element of water. It
shall flow through you, and wash the minds together, into a
collective spirit. That is the destiny of all... To return to the
cauldron.... We must return... Only there will we find the truth."

"Leave me alone." Naru staggered to her feet and dashed down
the final few levels....
----o
DCI Rikai stomped into the Juuban District Police Branch
front office, looking like death warmed up. Behind him tagged three
junior officers and a slightly dazed Dr Mizuno.

"What's up? What happened?" DC Aburatsubo, who had been
standing in the front office, talking to one of the female duty
officers, about the strange events that had occured in the city that
day, turned to Rikai. His senior shot him a vicious look.

"We've just been transported halfway across town, kami knows
how, from this good lady's residence, where said 'strange things'
have been occurring. We returned there half an hour ago.... But
nobody was home, so we decided to come back here." He huffed. "Had
to leave a couple of uniforms there, guarding the place...."

"Strange things? As in what?"
"As in the kind of strange things that seem to be involving
that Tsukino brat."
"Oh her.... One of the uniforms managed to grab her not so
long ago. She's being interviewed now. Her parents are in one of
the offices, waiting."

"Wh... WHAT?!?!?!?!" Aburatsubo cringed under Rikai's rage.
"And just who the hell is interviewing her?"
"Uhh... That Akunatsuka guy..."
"AKUNATSUKA!" Rikai fumed. "I told him to stay out of this.
I'll have him strung over the coals!" Rikai charged off, leaving
Aburatsubo, Ami's mother, the three detectives and the front office
staff relieved by his lack of presence. The female detective whom
Ami's mother had latched onto in the preceding events, DI Kawai,
turned to her.
"I guess we should see the Tsukinos. They'll be glad for a
familiar face.... And so shall you, I think."
"I've only occasionally met with them." She replied. "It was
always Ami-chan and Usagi-chan who would meet with one another...."
Tears were forming in the corner of her eyes. "Is what he said
correct? Is Usagi alive?"
"It would appear so." Kawai responded, amazed to see what a
weight that information took from her shoulders. "We'll keep
looking for your daughter, Mizuno-sensei, don't you worry. We'll
find her."
Ami's mother nodded, saying nothing. In her mind, however,
she knew what she had seen... Ami's body literally melting into the
waters of their swimming pool. If what she had been told was
correct, then that Aoi woman had done likewise in an effort to
convince Ami's conciousness to reform, and return, to the real
world.

And yet, despite the obvious signs of damage done to the
house, all was quiet. She could have almost imagined that the
events had never taken place. Almost.

"Woah...." One of the dispatch officers, a young woman in her
early twenties, threw the door open to the dispatch office, staring
out, her headset still partly hanging on to the sides of her head.
"Hey guys, get this.... According to the people in the neighbouring
district, they've found the bodies of up to 700! All dismembered
and all. Around where that school went up...." She looked dazed
for a moment. "I don't think I can take much more of this..." She
promptly slid down the doorway, looking pale. Two of the officers
from the front office partition ran to her and helped her to one of
the seats at the back.

"Dead?" Mizuno's ears picked up. "Were there any survivors?"
Her voice seemed demanding, and Aburatsubo looked at her.
"Yeah.... Most are pretty badly injured, though.... Mumbling
about some monster rampaging through the city."

There was a shudder throughout the building, and everyone
looked at the swinging fluro lights that hung from the ceiling.

"Dammit..." Aburatsubo spat. "What the hell is going on out
there?"

"What is being done with the survivors?" Mizuno was
insistent.
"They're being taken to all the local hospitals. There are so
many that they're short staffed."
"I'm a doctor.... I should be helping them."

Aburatsubo, Kawai and the other two detectives stared at her.
The building was shaken again, and the female dispatch officer
started to let out small, strangulated sobs, holding her head with
her hands. Mizuno pointed to her.

"For a start, I'd remove her from duty. She's reached the
limit her mind can take. Secondly, if hospitals are short-staffed,
then it is a crime NOT to let me help." She shook her head. "The
hospital I work at must be trying to contact me now. They'll be in
fits about my absence...."

There was silence, punctuated by rumblings from outside.
As the nominal second-in-command of the CID office, Aburatsubo bit
his lower lip, indecisively pondering the proposal. A further
tremble made his decision for him.

"I don't know what the hell is going on out there, but I'm
sure the good doctor will be of more use fixing up people than
sitting in this joint."

Kawai nodded to Aburatsubo. "I'll take responsibility for
her, don't worry." She took Mizuno by the arm. "Come on then.
You'll have to show me the way to your hospital."

Her mind now determined, Mizuno allowed Kawai to lead her back
through the front doors.
----o
Naru ran back into the library, searching for Setsu....
Hecate. She had to keep reminding herself. The senshi in training
was sitting at the table where both she and Naru had left their
books. Hecate looked up and smiled, then back down at her book.

"Did you know?" Naru puffed.
"Know what?" Hecate didn't look up from her book.
"That I'd find her up there."
"Yes."

The bluntness of the response stunned Naru. For a few moments
she was without voice, but it came back with a force.

"Is that all you have to say? 'Yes'?" She shook
uncontrollably. "Do you know what I walked into up there? Eh? Do
you know what she was doing up there? Eh? Eh?"
"Yes."
Naru spluttered. "How? Why not tell me?"
"Because there was no reason. It was better you found out now
rather than later. Had this charade been carried on much further,
the sense of betrayal in your.... friendship... would have been far
greater. Did you want that?"

Naru gritted her teeth and felt an annoying twitch in her left
eye. She stormed forward and grabbed her books from the table,
bundling her elbow into Hecate's side rather roughly. Hecate barely
noticed.

She ran from the library... Trying to leave the thoughts and
events behind her. It didn't work.
----o
The man was quite attractive, despite the fact that what he
was wearing looked a tad ridiculous. Well, out of date, anyway.
Victorian era business suits weren't exactly the vogue. But then,
thought Usagi, with the fashion tastes of my newfound travelling
companions, who am I to criticise?

He had introduced himself as Mistral LeFevre, which sounded
suitably European. He even went to the extent of handing them his
business card, maybe to prove his credentials. But a card meant
nothing, and the way his name was spelt looked quite different to
the way he'd pronounced it. He'd said something like Le Fev, when
the name on the card bore a greater resemblance to Le Fever. Even
though it was a silly pretext for Usagi to distrust someone, she
did.

Siren had let him in and he'd bowed graciously to her.
Typical, thought Usagi.... Flatter the good looking ones first with
suave charm. It made Nyanko jealous to see such an attractive man
paying so much attention to her hated rival.... But Nyanko's
appearance had to, surely, have been the most severe of all of them.
She wasn't likely to engender the gentlemanly treatment.

It was Siren's reaction that surprised her the most. Almost
as soon as he'd stooped to kiss her on the hand after gently taking
it, she went cold and snatched it away, turning from him. Crow was
a little angry at her rude behavior.

"Siren! You should learn to be more welcoming of our guests."
She and Siren stared at each other, then Siren, looking hurt, turned
away. Crow turned her attentions to Mistral. "I'm sorry about her
rudeness, Mister LeFevre, please do come in and take a seat. You
said you had some business to speak with us, from your employer,
Lady Scorpia."

"Ah yes, I do apologise for my undue familiarity." Mistral
nodded and stepped over to one of the lounge chairs near the fire.
Crow, Nyanko and Mouse sat opposite him, whilst Siren closed the
door and turned away, leaning against a mantlepiece. For her own
part, Usagi had chosen to distance herself somewhat from the
discussions taking place, but listened intently all the same. She
picked up a leaflet, a flyer, that was sitting in the middle of the
table. It looked like a small information brochure one would find
in an average hotel. But on this one there were images.... Faces
of women, about seven in all. And something about a reward. She
looked away as Mistral began to speak....

"Lady Scorpia, earlier this afternoon, whilst taking lunch,
happened to see your good selves travelling down the main street
from her window in the Hotel Central...."
"And took pity on us?" Mouse sniffed with some humour.
"Aha..." Mistral smiled. "Not quite. You see, Lady Scorpia
is the owner of that fine establishment. She has been for some
seven years now."
"WHAT?" All five stared at him is disbelief.

"What would the owner of a hotel like THAT want with five
young women like us?" Crow leaned forward, gesturing to Mistral.

"I can guess." Siren muttered to herself.

"My employer... requires young women... to act as hostesses
for the functions she puts on. If you haven't noticed, there are
very few young women in this town, and she is desperate to employ
girls such as yourselves."
"As what? Whores for her clients?" Siren sniffed
contemptuously. "I've heard that kinda proposal before."
"Let the man finish." Nyanko turned to Siren, annoyed at
her continued coldness. Usagi eyed her for a moment. She wondered
why Siren was so skittish, even though to her the proposal was
tantamount to suspect.

"Well, if you wish to confirm my story, why don't you see Lady
Scorpia herself. She has invited you all to dine with her at
tonight's function. A dinner held in the honor of the local
governor.... All very above board..."
"Yes, they usually are." Siren muttered. Mistral looked
aside at her a moment.
"I promise you, Miss...?"
"Her name is Siren." Crow gestured to herself. "You can call
me Crow. The girls sitting next to me are Mouse and Nyanko."
"Well, I promise you, Miss Siren, that the offer is not a
mischievous one."
"So? I don't have to listen to it if I don't want to."

Mistral stared at Siren, trying his best to suppress his
emotions. He knew it would be difficult to convince these girls of
Scorpia's offer, and that one of them would most likely be very
offhand in her rejection. There was one in every group of young
women his Lady employed. Not that he cared. For the most part,
women were not his taste. They always ended up disappointing him.

He used to think highly of Scorpia. But in the end, she
proved to be just another woman, even if others within the
organisation still regarded her with esteem. It was, however,
more prudent not to upset her by voicing his opinions. He turned
back to the others, nodding at Usagi.

"And the young lady sitting at the table over there?" Mistral
stared at her. She didn't like the way he did it either, although
for reasons different to that which she had expected.
"Her name is Usagi." Crow raised an eyebrow at Mistral's
gaze. "You seen unduly interested in her. Is she the reason why
your employer noticed us?"

Mistral's reverie was broken. "Ah, I was just remarking on
how very similar she is to the good Princess Serenity."
"Yes, everyone says that."
"Perhaps the Lady Scorpia thought that having someone of such
noble presence would add a touch of class to her establishment. She
is VERY concious of her reputation."

"Yes, she would be." Siren muttered. Mistral chuckled.
"Well, you don't have to give me your answer now. If you do not
wish to attend, that is your decision. We shall have lost nothing
but an opportunity." He stood. "My Lady awaits me. If you feel
like joining her at dinner tonight, then be at the Tudor Room at
approximately seven o'clock. Dress well. As I said, she is very
concious of her reputation." He bowed. "I shall see myself out.
Good day."

And with that, he turned, opened the door and left. Siren
peered out through the doorway, watching him go, then shut the door
as Crow leant her chin in her hand, resting against the arm of the
lounge suite, thinking.

"You don't believe him when he says everything is 'above
board', surely?" Siren held out her hands to her three long-time
compatriots. "I mean, you can see the only reason he was interested
was because of Usagi." She looked over at her.

Usagi was surprised to see the concern on Siren's face. For
all the hostile front the girl had put up when they first came into
contact, her concern seemed to be genuine. Usagi wondered why.

"Of course I don't believe him." Crow shook her head. "You
don't think I'd fall for such obvious smooth talk, do you? I mean,
hell, Siren.... I've been around...."

"But if the offer did have a ring of the genuine about it..."
Mouse leaned back in the lounge suite, corssing her arms behind her
head. "We've done worse for money...."

"But we don't NEED the money. You saw Usagi's pouch." Siren
gestured to the pouch that Usagi had dragged out from under the bed,
placing it on the centre of the table. "We are women of independant
means, now."
"But that's only because of Usagi's arrival. Kami knows where
she got that pouch...." Nyanko stood and walked over to Usagi. "It
just appeared, your backpack I mean, didn't it?"
"Uh, yeah... I didn't have one, remember? You found me as
is. And as soon as we came in here, whammo, I got this thing
hanging over my shoulder, with this pouch stuffed inside."

Nyanko turned to Siren. "Any moment now, that thing could
just disappear the way it appeared. We have no guarentees that we
shall be 'women of independant means' forever."
"I'm willing to take the risk." Siren huffed and sat down on
the bed, sulking. Crow stood and looked at all of them.
"Well, I guess that means we'll all have to make a decision
about this individually. As Mouse has said, we've done worse to
make a living."

"Like what?" They all turned to Usagi, who was frowning at
them. Nyanko shook her head.
"Are you naive, or what? What do you think we mean?" She
crossed her arms and Usagi felt the heavy weight of silence on top
of her.
"You d... don't mean you've...."
"On several planets, yes. How do you think I met Crow and
Siren?" Usagi's jaw dropped.
"NO WAY! I thought you four had only got together when
Galaxia had rounded you up."

"Hardly. I may have been a senshi to my world, but Mau was
not the kind of planet to treat its girls with affection...." She
looked gloomy. "Religious zealotry destroyed the Raj there. The
Princess Nekoma was murdered... And we were left to fend for
ourselves."

"On Chuu, our world was dominated by a corporate structure
that didn't tolerate the powerbase of the Monarchy. So they set up
a covert operation to bring us down. And it worked. The entire
Monarchial system collapsed, and we were forced to flee the planet."
Mouse looked aside as she said that. "Whilst a monarchy in absentia
was sustainable for a period of time, eventually the lack of support
on Chuu itself drove us apart. I was only a senshi in training at
the time. I really had no choices."

"Its been a while now, but on Kaa, we never had the kind of
stable matriarchy that other worlds have had. It was always a
struggle to retain power. And lets face it, as soon as the strings
to the homeworld were cut, it all went to pieces." Crow sighed.
"I've been wandering around the various systems ever since. Its
been a long time."

"Considering its been ten thousand year since the Moon Kingdom
collapsed...." Usagi scratched her nose. "I'd say you've been
wandering a VERY long time. Probably as long as Setsuna."
"Hmm? Who?" Crow frowned.
"You know, Pluto. The tall, green-haired woman who carries a
big stick."
"Oh, her. Yeah, I guess so." Crow began to pace, hands held
behind her back. "I seem to remember meeting her during a gathering
of the various kingdoms, shortly before the fall. Although I
couldn't be sure. There were a lot of people there at the time."
Crow screwed up her face. "Her name was Hecate... Hecate Soth
Drutein. She had only just assumed her position after the old one
had retired to become a lecturer, or something like that."

"For someone with a scratchy memory of events, you sure seem
to remember a lot...." Usagi raised an eyebrow. Hecate Soth
Drutein.... So that was her real name.... Or the name of the
original Pluto she had met. Until Pluto had been reborn as Meiou
Setsuna, she had not mentioned her name. Perhaps that was a good
thing.... The revival of memories... of the likes of her sister,
Naiad Keth, may have been a bit much for her at the time.

Naiad Keth.... She had dropped her in this world to begin
with. She had wondered why... For what purpose, but as things had
progressed, she'd forgotten about them. The adaptability of the
soul amazed her.
And then she was no longer sitting in the room. Instead, she
was standing at the base of a building in an abandoned city street.
She stared around in a sudden fit of disorientation.

Something flew down from the sky, hitting the ground with a
splattering crunch nearby. She cringed when she registered it, and
turned away as droplets of what was obviously blood sprayed over
her.

Slowly, she turned to face whomever it was that had struck the
ground. For a few moments, she thought she was going to go mad.

Minako, or her splattered remains, transformed as Venus, lay
buried in the footpath. She reached forward, as if unable to
believe what she was seeing before her, then looked up. A figure
stood up there, at the top of the building. She could see its
silhouette against the white sky quite clearly. And it looked like
herself.
----o
Usako watched Akunatsuka bawling into her face with the kind
of calm serenity that had simply driven him mad. He'd spent a good
hour trying to get her to answer, make a response, anything, over
the attack on the Buruto station. Memories of all the officers he
had worked with, now dead, filled his mind with an angry
bitterness.... If Tsukino was alive, then it was for certain that
she had something to do with their deaths. And here she was, as
clear as day, sitting in front of him.

And she would just keep smiling, telling him to calm down and
not be so stupid about things. He had almost punched her face in on
at least a dozen occasions.

"Over thirty people saw you leaving the scene of the Boruto
station attack.... you were IN that building when it went up. None
of the officers who were with you at the time survived. You cannot
refute THAT kind of evidence."

Usako sighed. "And I keep telling you, I wasn't at the Buruto
station. I was with a couple of friends of mine. But I seem to
have lost them."

"Oh, how VERY convenient. And just who would these two
friends be?" He held a fist out. The officer accompanying him was
about to warn him of his interviewing behaviour, when the door to
the interview room was flung open.

"AAAAkuNAAAtsuKAAAA!" Rikai charged in, grabbing the burly
man around the collar. Akunatsuka turned and instantly threw him
off.
"WHAT? WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
"A WORD TO YOU! OUTSIDE! NOW!" Rikai pointed to the door.
For a few moments, it seemed that Akunatsuka would punch him. Then
he spat contemptuously and charged out, Rikai following him,
slamming the door. Usako cringed at the sound, the first real sign
that the events taking place were of any import to her.

"Does this happen very often?" She asked the attending
officer. He shrugged.
"I dunno. Must be the way the planets are aligned."
"Oh, you believe in Astrology, do you?"
"Only on days like this."
----o
Akunatsuka paced around the rest room, thumping tables and
chairs. Rikai stood at the door of the room, giving thanks to
whomever was in charge upstairs that nobody was in the room at the
time.

A group of officers had built around the doorway behind him,
watching Akunatsuka's tantrum. He shook his head and stepped in,
shutting the door behind him.

"Why in hell did you STOP ME?" Akunatsuka kicked a chair,
looking back at Rikai. For his own part, Rikai looked down,
containing himself.
"You're out of line and you KNOW it."
"I was assigned with my partner, Kikotsuka Aoi, to investigate
the murder of that girl. Then she turns up at her parents' house,
alive. We take her to Buruto to confirm that she was who she said
she was, and she... and she..."

"What? Did what? Eh?" Rikai crossed his arms as Akunatsuka
shook his head, silently. "We have no PROOF that she was involved
in the blast that destroyed the station you had been posted to."

"PROOF? PROOF? The girl is ALIVE. She is ALIVE after being
in the room that was the epicentre of the BLAST. And you're telling
me that you have no PROOF that she was involved."

"Think about it, man. If she WAS in the room that was the
epicentre of the blast, she couldn't have survived. And I don't
care what you say, I shall NOT believe in the stories of the
supernatural that are running around about her."

"Did you see her? Did you see what she was like when we were
interviewing her? When she started to lose it? She looked
POSSESSED. Possessed by something that was patently insane. I saw
her, I KNOW."

Rikai sneered. "And do you see anything about her now to
suggest that she is 'possessed', hmm?" He waited for a response,
and received none. He kicked the nearest table. "Let me tell you
something, officer Akunatsuka, you may have worked within the force
for a good ten years longer than I have, but I most certainly
haven't seen anything to convince me of the existence of the
supernatural."

"Then you must be pretty blind." Akunatsuka sat in one of the
chairs. "Can't you remember the monster attacks that have been
occuring for the last couple of years?"

There was a rumble, which shook the room. Both Akunatsuka and
Rikai looked up and around, their attention shattered.

"Earthquake?" Rikai muttered.
"More like the shockwave from an explosion." Akunatsuka
scratched his nose. "I remember the blast that sunk the Atakuyo.
Shook everything for a hundred clicks."
"Atakuyo? You mean the liner that was sunk to create an
artificial reef?"
"Yeah, big one, too. Took a lot of explosives to get her
down." He let out a sigh as another rumble shook the room. "Looks
like something is going on out there. Been going on for a while."

"What? More 'supernatural' stuff?" Rikai laughed
contemptuously. "I refuse, patently, to believe in the
supernatural. Even if I was transported halfway across town by Kami
knows what, I refuse."

Akunatsuka turned to him. "And where were you when you
were... transported?" He stared, rubbing his mouth. Rikai
glowered.

"At the Mizuno residence."
"The home of one of the Tsukino girl's friends?" Rikai nodded
mutely. Akunatsuka chuckled. "And why were you there?"
"Her mother had called us.... Apparently the girl had made a
somewhat emotional confession to her, virtually admitting that she
and her friends were involved in the Tsukino girl's murder."

Akunatsuka stared at him, shaking his head. "I don't
understand any of this. I mean, she's sitting in your interview
room, right now."
"And if you'd bothered to listen to anyone, you'd realise that
she has denied that she is Tsukino Usagi.... We're looking into it,
and it seems pretty far-fetched, but under current circumstances, we
aren't ruling anything out."

Akunaatsuka laughed out loud. "And you said you didn't
believe in the supernatural."
"I never said my superiors didn't."
"Then I think you should listen to them. That's why they're
your superiors."

Rikai closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and counted to ten.
He opened them and stood straight. "I think its best if you stay
in here. Either that or go home. You've already had a long day."

"I can't go home.... Not until someone finds Aoi. I know
she's not dead." Akunatsuka ran his hands through his thinning
hair. "She can't be dead. She was further from the blast than I
was."
"We're looking for her. At least I can say they haven't found
her body at the site of the explosion. Well, that they've been
able to find. What with the levelling of the shrine and one of the
local schools..."
"Yes, indeed. Perhaps it might be a good idea to ask if any
of the girls who were friends of the Tsukino girl were seen near
both sites."

"As I said, we're looking into everything." Rikai sighed.
"I'm surprised the feds aren't involved in this already. Maybe
with the way things have gone today, everyones been rattled."

Akunatsuka put his head on the table. "Oooh man, I can still
see their faces. All the people I worked with. The way they looked
when I walked into that station with Aoi and the Tsukino girl. It
was like nothing was going to happen."
"None of them knew anything WAS going to happen."

Akunatsuka raised his head and looked at Rikai pleadingly.
"Just be careful, of that girl. And Kami... Find Aoi for me.
Please, find her..."

Rikai nodded, and turned, opening the door, pushing people out
of the way. He closed it and Akunatsuka could hear him being
questioned by those there. Rikai began to remonstrate with some of
them.

He sat back in his chair and stared at the ceiling as the
station was shaken again, thinking thoughts like it was the end of
the world.
----o
Before she knew what was happening, Usagi was standing in a
park. The buildings that surrounded it seemed to be on fire.
Strange, multicoloured flames.... Despite the scene's somewhat
gaudy beauty, it smelt of the stench of death.

She backed away from the flames, towards a fountain that sat
in the middle of the lawn. Without realising how close she was, she
tripped over the side and fell in, landing on top of someone who was
already there.

Quickly, she pulled herself aside and saw the green-dressed
form of Jupiter, lying face-forward.

She grabbed Jupiter and pulled her around, but it was obvious
that the girl was dead, her face a ghastly pale.

She must have been staring at that face for some time, because
the next thing she knew, the buildings had stopped burning, reduced
to smoking ruins. Usagi pulled Makoto up and cradled her head,
gently stroking it.

Then the waters of blue washed the vision away, and she found
herself floating once more. Floating in that endless ocean, where
up meant the light, and down meant the dark. And neither were quite
what they seemed to be.
"Usagi..." She was being shaken. She looked up and saw
Nyanko staring at her intently. She was back in the room.

She looked around.... All four of the Animates were staring
at her with concern. "Are you alright, Usagi?" Nyanko put her
hands on both shoulders. "What happened? Why did you do that?"
"Do what?" Usagi asked blearily.
"You were wailing... Keening, almost. It was horrible to
listen to." Crow shook her head.

"I... don't know what happened. It was, like, a vision. A
vision of something bad. Of old friends dying. It came to me when
I remembered a name..."

"A name? Of whom?" Crow stepped forward.
"Na... The sister of Hecate Soth Drutein..."

All four opened their eyes wide and stepped back from Usagi.

"The Witch of the Mind..." Crow shook her head. "You have
met her?" Usagi was confused over their reaction.
"Of... course I have. I would have, in my previous life, for
certain, as the Princess Serenity."
"Recently, I mean. Before you came here."
"Umm.... I think I did. I'm sure it was her who dropped me
in this world."

"Oh Kaasta.... Kaa maataakaa baada kaamiktaa." Crow reverted
to her native tongue, turning away. Usagi stared, then, pointing at
her, turned to Nyanko.

"What did she say?"
"You don't want to know the translation. Its not the kind of
language one would use for social chit-chat."
"Of COURSE it isn't." Crow spun to Usagi. "She can't STILL
be alive... Surely..."
"Why? Have you met her?"
"Met her? Of course we've met her. More than once, in our
lifetimes. The woman is the spawn of evil."
"Oh come on, she's not that bad." Siren shook her head. "She
helped my world defend itself against Chaos when she was Aquus
Turia, remember?"

"Yes, and I seem to remember that she'd worked on the mind of
the chaos entity, and drove it stark raving mad." Crow huffed. "I
think the term for what she did is something in the regions of
'mindrape'." Crow crossed her arms as Siren shot her a dirty look.
"Are you complaining?"
"Over a battle between Chaos and the Witch of the Mind? I'd
say I feel just a bit ambivalent."

"Who is Aquus Turia?" Usagi frowned. The expression she got
from Siren was unbelievable.
"Only the greatest Mind-Warrior senshi my world has ever seen.
It was also the previous life she had spent before the one in your
kingdom." Siren drifted off. "Even Chaos could not stand her. How
I wished I had that kind of power."

Usagi shook her head. All this was getting a little too much
for her now. She felt a little faint, tried to stand, but
found herself toppling forward. Nyanko was only just able to catch
her before she hit the floor....
----o
Setsuna stared sadly at the door to her apartment, or lack of
it, shaking her head. "You just can't leave anything in this town,
anymore."
Having changed back to their human forms, the three outer
senshi had made their way to Setsuna's apartment, each taking turns
at carrying Usagi. All three were surprised at the lack of physical
strength that came with the change.
"You should have had better security, Setsuna." said Michiru,
who was standing on the stairway up to the door, holding Usagi's
comatose body.
Haruka, who was leaning against the railing, chuckled. "Why,
Setsuna... I'm sure you should have seen this coming." For a
moment, Michiru thought Setsuna was going to clobber Haruka. She
wasn't likely to win against her, but the thought did seem to pass
her mind.

Then Setsuna smiled and pulled out a wad of papers from the
pocket of her jacket. "I DID see it coming. And I placed the very
BEST insurance policy on it." She flashed the claim form in
Haruka's face. The jaws of both Haruka and Michiru were sitting on
the ground.
"Now, what should I put this down as.... Housebreaking, or
malicious damage caused by monster rampaging through Tokyo...."

There was another explosion some distance away. All three
turned as the flash of light momentarily lit up the darkness,
staggering at the shockwave.

"I most certainly hope that doesn't come this way. I rather
get the impression that it's will has become somewhat severed from
that of its former master."

"What was it again? This Resonator thingy." Haruka leaned
over the railing. There were quite a few columns of smoke rising
over the city, now. Plus the sounds of sirens. In the last couple
of hours, it almost seemed like the emergency services had been
placed on permanent standby.

"Looks like my sister managed to blow it to ratshit, at the
expense of Rei's shrine." Setsuna shrugged. "She really should
have known better. The psychic shock caused to the thing was
enough to cut the link. Now its running by impulse, doing what all
of its kind would do, when devoid of the psychic control of its
host."

"I repeat my question. What was this Resonator creature
again?" Haruka sighed.
"Its a Resonator, of course." Setsuna waved at her
dismissively. Haruka and Michiru ooohed as if that was supposed to
answer everything.

Setsuna pulled out a pen from within her jacket and, leaning
against the railing, started to fill out the form. It was about
then that the sky fell.

It started with a kind of whining sound, like an elongated
cry, hollow and empty. All three looked at each other, and Setsuna
placed the pen and form back into her jacket.
"Doesn't look like I'll get the opportunity to make the
claim." She gestured to Michiru, who looked as if she was about to
collapse under the weight of Usagi. "Put her inside, quickly."

Michiru nodded, and carried Usagi through the open doorway.
Haruka, who had been looking up at the sky, trying to find the
source of the sound, pointed.
"Bloody hell." She croaked as the clouds that floated over
the city were thrown aside by a huge force. Haruka, even with all
the things she had seen during her time as a senshi, had never seen
anything quite like this. Setsuna followed her gaze and nodded.
"And this is just for starters."

The blackness of the night sky above ruptured, splitting and
peeling like exploding flesh. Huge drops of white blood rained down
upon the city, striking buildings but seemingly doing nothing to
them. Then figures, thousands of them, began to fall from the
rupture.

As the rupture split further, over the top of Setsuna's house,
Haruka and Setsuna were entertained by the sight of even more
figures tumbling towards them. Screams and cries of fear filled the
air... From the figures themselves and from people on the ground,
terrified at the sight above them.

"Theres gonna be mass panic. This is BAD." They turned as
Michiru stepped out of the apartment after having lightened her
load. "You were right, Setsuna, this is a brown panty special."

They could hear a pair of screams coming into earshot, and
turned as two figures fell onto the lawn in the small backyard.
For a moment, Haruka and Michiru thought the pair might've been
splattered, but there was a whoosh of air and the two came to a
cushioned stop.

"Are you alright, Chibiusa" Mamoru helped the Chibiusa 4P to
her feet.
"Hai, Mamo-chan." She nodded as she stared into his eyes.
With the dissipation of the size difference, she found Mamoru's
treatment of her to be one more of an equal than a child. Something
she was eternally grateful for.
"Mamoru-kun? Usagi?" The pair turned to see Setsuna, Haruka
and Michiru staring at them. Haruka jumped from the stairway and
ran up to them. "Mamoru-kun, are you alright? Usagi?" Haruka
raised an eyebrow. "She's not a Youma, is she?"
"Why would she be a Youma, Haruka-san?" Mamoru frowned
questioningly. Chibiusa stuck her tongue out at her. "This,
although her appearance may be somewhat deceiving, is Chibiusa."

By this point, Setsuna and Michiru had made their way down the
steps and were beside Haruka. "This is Chibiusa?" Haruka stared at
the 4P. "How is that possible?"
"I'm not sure. One moment she was... Well, she was an Usagi,
the next, its Chibiusa in there."
"Well, where is she now? The real Chibiusa, I mean."

It was about this point that another Usagi fell into the
backyard. Like Mamoru and Chibiusa, she was cushioned by a rush of
air.
"What the f...." Haruka muttered as the Usagi Chief Executive
got to her feet, the cats in both her arms.
"Gomen na sai, Mamo-chan. My arrival was a little tardy. I
had some matters to take care of. The Chief Exec placed the cats on
the lawn. Artemis, who was out cold, lay like a white sack of fur.
Luna, however, with something more like a sense of decorum, took a
few shaky steps forward.
"It would seem that we have lost Minako, Usashin and Aosagi."
She promptly collapsed. This was too much for a kitty in one day.

Mamoru was looking at his surroundings. "Am I really back?
In my world?" He seemed insanely happy.
"Uh... Yeah, right." Haruka took Mamoru by the shoulder and
shook him. "Reality check, Mamoru. Just where did you fall from,
why is there more than one Usagi, and who the hell is it that is
falling from the sky?"
"Ano...." Mamoru pointed upwards. "This may be difficult to
explain."
"Try me. I've just spent a day with Setsuna. Nothing you
can say will make things any worse." Haruka closed her eyes, ready
for the technobabble once more.

"Well, we were trapped in a dimension with a living entity
that is known as The Eternal City. That is where we fell from. All
these others that are falling with us are Usagis. To the max, even.
Excpet for Mina-chan, who, I'm sure, is around here somewhere. I
don't know about Hotaru. It was because of her that this happened."

"Why?" Setsuna frowned. "What did she do?"
"She's just performed a Death Reborn Revolution in the middle
of a dimension that crosses over on itself. What do you think will
happen?"

Setsuna broke out in fits of laughter. They all stared at her
with stunned expressions as she hugged her sides.

"Ano... Setsuna, would you mind sharing the joke?" Michiru
asked quietly.
"Its nothing. Its just that my sister's plan actually worked.
That stupid city tried to use Hotaru to destroy the Destroyers that
threatened it. For millenia, its been hassling people, anybody with
sufficient power, into early graves, to help it. Now its got one
that'll wipe IT out as well." Setsuna shook her fist at the sky
"Sucked in you stupid bastard! How do you like THAT?"

"But what's happened to Hotaru? And what does that have to do
with that big hole in the sky?" Michiru turned to the sky, and was
stunned to see a devastated landscape through it.

"It would seem that the flimsy barrier the city put between
the dimensions was not enough to withstand something like a DRR.
And as for Hotaru's whereabouts...." Setsuna pointed. Against the
white and gray of the landscape and the dimensional tear, they could
see a dark figure floating down.

"Umm.... What if she's still in a pissed-off state of mind?"
Haruka bit her lower lip.
"I don't think so. An attack like the DRR uses up a great
deal of her power. And if she used any attack before that, then it
is likely the best she can manage is to levitate."
"Since when is levitation one of Saturn's powers?" Michiru
looked at Setsuna.
"Since when was transportation one of mine?" Setsuna sniffed.
"We have many powers and abilities we have yet to trawl. Without
the benefit of an institution to teach us these things, we are
having to fall back on the residual memories of our past lives."
Setsuna pointed to Michiru. "Come with me. We should go and
collect Hotaru. Something tells me we may need the more diplomatic
members of our little gathering." She turned to Haruka. "You, find
our guests something to drink and a place to rest. They're going to
need it."

Haruka looked like she was about to complain. "Just do it,
Haruka. We're stretched of our resorces as it is." Setsuna clicked
her fingers at Michiru and the pair of them dashed away towards the
street, transforming as they did so. Michiru looked aside at
Setsuna as the woman began to mutter an incantation.

"Why do we need to be diplomatic with Hotaru? I thought she
was one of us? Most of the time, anyway...."

Setsuna was surprised that she heard Michiru say this without
opening her mouth. "I see you've remembered you telepathic powers,
then." She replied in kind, too busy with the incantation to use
more physical methods of communication.

"I knew about this a long time ago. I'm not as stupid as you
seem to think me."
"I never said you were."
"You seem to act and react as if I were."
"So sorry I'm not perfect."
"You didn't answer my question."
Setsuna mentally sighed as they leapt atop rooves, bounding
from building to building. "Hotaru has been through quite a bit
within the Eternal City.... The dimension seems almost perfectly
designed to disorient all within. I'm afraid Hotaru may no longer
quite know who is friend or foe."

Michiru went quiet as their bodies transformed into light.
Setsuna heard a question just as the rapid transport began.

"Why didn't my powers detect the visions you gave us to be
false? A manipulation?"
"Because...." Setsuna thought for a few moments... "Perhaps
they were not merely visions, but a twisted form of what was to be."

Michiru shivered.
----o
Akunatsuka had been roused by sounds of panic. For a moment,
he wondered why he wasn't in his bed at home.

Of course, he thought, I'm at the Juuban station. He
remembered that he'd decided to crash in the appropriately named
rest room, switching off the lights, he'd lain down on the sofa that
sat in the far corner.

Then another thought hit him... The Tsukino girl... She was
in the building... What if...

He found himself sitting up very quickly. The sounds were
quite clear now. People running about, shouting things. Some
screams, some angry words, some attempts to keep things under
control.... And above it all, a horrible rumbling sound, the likes
of which he'd never heard before in his life. Slowly, he stood,
grabbing his jacket from the back of the nearest chair. Slowly, he
put it on and stepped along the main table to the door.
He opened it, and found the corridor outside empty. Well,
almost empty. Usako stood there, smiling at him.

"Ah, you're awake, I see."
He'd taken a full step backwards. "What the hell are you
doing here? What the hell is going on?" Usako ignored him and
turned aside.
"This is the man who was asking me all those questions." He
turned to see who she was talking to, and went momentarily insane.
There stood two more Usagis... Albeit, with minor differences. One
had her hair dyed red and tied back sans odangos. She also had a
cross scar on her cheek and was wearing a traditional costume,
coloured a brownish-red, from the early Meiji era, complete with
sword at her hip. The other wore a red ninja costume inside a long
white coat, her hair held back with a white headband.

"Akunatsuka-san, may I present Tsukino Usashin and Shinomori
Aosagi, the two friends I was telling you about."

"What the hell is going on here? You can't all be... Can't
all be her...."
"Who? Tsukino Usagi?" Usashin stared at him gravely. For
some reason, Akunatsuka felt the girl's gaze probing into him.
"Y..yes.."
"That girl is dead. We witnessed the crime ourselves."
"Dead? Then who the hell are you?"
"We are genetic copies of her, created in the hope of becoming
her. As you can see, we did not match expectations."

His head was swimming. "What the hell is going on here?"
"Allow me to explain this to you simply, different man."
Aosagi pointed to him. "We were brought into your dimension by a
rift that is currently occuring at this very moment. That is the
rumbling sound you are hearing, only we were cast to a point before
the death of Tsukino Usagi. It was there, by some divine
providence, that we were to witness the defiling of her good self
by those who described themselves as her friends."

"Oh, this is just great." Akunatsuka shook his head. "I'm
not paid enough for this." Akunatsuka's attitude annoyed Aosagi,
and she grabbed him by the collar, thrusting a blade to his throat.
"Wh... What are you doing?"
"Listen to me, different man, you have seen your friends
killed by a beast that has taken the form of Tsukino Usagi."
"A beast?"
"A creature called a youma. It means to kill all in its wake
if it is not stopped."

Something clicked in Akunatsuka's mind. He looked at the
blade, then at Aosagi. The girl removed the blade and stepped back.

"I will have to believe you. Nothing else makes sense." He
looked around at the empty corridor. "Where has everyone gone?"

"When the dimensional rupture occured, the officers of this
station panicked. The whole city has panicked. Very soon, the
military will become involved, and the stakes shall rise. A
declaration of martial law shall be imposed, in the hope of
suppressing the panic. It shall not, however, suppress the Youma
once it has returned." Usashin gestured down the corridor. "I
suggest we make ourselves scarce."
"Where is this Youma creature now?"
"I'm not sure. It could be anywhere. Suffice to say, it is
not here now. The beast has the memories of Tsukino Usagi, and
considers her ex-friends to be her killers. It shall return for
them. Now, if you could please hurry...."

"Why?" Akunatsuka looked at Usashin, who had taken him by the
arm. His answer came rapidly, as one end of the corridor exploded,
dust and cement flying in every direction.

They turned to see the Resonator, larger than before,
thrashing about as it absorbed the mutilated body of one of its
victims, making obscene cackling noises.

"That's why." Usashin muttered. "That creature means us
great harm." It looked it too. All four made a hasty retreat in
the opposite direction. Then there was a short blast, and that end
of the corridor collapsed into dust, the product of an energy blast
from the Resonator.

"Gonna eat you, gonna kill you. Is fun. Will hunt and kill
everything. Hate all. Hate." It slobbered throughout the
sentence. The quartet turned to it and prepared to defend
themselves, Usashin drawing her sword, Aosagi whipping out a blade
on a chain, Akunatsuka taking out his police-issue revolver, and
Usako putting her hands over her head.

They didn't get an opportunity to fight. A figure appeared
before them and stared around as if not knowing where she was.

"Aha!" PalaPala smiled. "I remember what I was supposed to
do now!" She turned to the four. "I'm here to rescue you."
"Then hurry and do it." Usashin pointed to the Resonator with
her sword. The creature was pushing thick reinforced concrete walls
aside to get to them. PalaPala smiled and lifted her right hand
into the air, pointing it at the beast.

"BolaBola Centrifuge...." She said, her words echoing
slightly. Four multicoloured balls appeared above her hand,
spinning like a merry-go-round. "CONCENTRATION POINT IMPACT!" She
shouted, and the four balls glowed with energy, shooting off at high
speed at the Resonator. The blast that ensued was incredible,
easily blowing it several miles from where it started. Fortunately,
the entire blast was concentrated in one direction. Unfortunately,
several billion dollars worth of real estate went up with it.

Akunatsuka watched this with his mouth open. "Th... That was
magic! Real magic!" PalaPala turned to him and giggled.
"No, silly, that's the science of the elements... Of the High
Universal Empire." She pointed at the them. "You can put your
weapons back. It won't be returning for some time."

They did, and PalaPala clapped her hands together, doing her
best to sound chipper. "Well, people, I'm sorry, but I'm going to
have to put you all through the ordeal of transportation."
"Transportation?" Akunatuka mumbled. Then he remembered what
Rikai had told him.... That he had been transported across the city
by who knew who.... "Wait a minute... Will this hurt?"

PalaPala giggled as a sphere of energy surrounded them. "No,
but you'll have the runs for a week."
"Whaaat?" Was all Akunatsuka could get out before all five
disappeared in a flash of energy.
----o
It was quite an attractive morning. A mist covered the desert
landscape, rolling like a wave through the valley that contained
Tomoe's building fortress and the few ruins that lay around it.

The Youma Usagi watched as a flock of birds flew overhead.
The world was, most definitely, coming back to life. It was such
a beautiful sight to watch. She felt tears coming to her eyes.

She had been up all night, sitting on the roof of the
building, staring at the stars. Thoughts passed through her head,
both good and bad. She wanted to remain in this world, to see out
its rebirth.... But destiny dictated that she must return. To the
past. Everything about her life had been guided by that most
universal of powers.... Destiny.

And so, she had made a decision.
----o
Hotaru woke to find Usako lying partially across her. For a
few moments, she wondered who it might be, but the light through the
window, casting across Usako's serene face, told her.

She sat up and groaned slightly. She had a splitting
headache. Rubbing her eyes in the hope that it would take away the
pain. It didn't.

She reached under her bunk and pulled out a bottle of a
noxious-looking brown liquid. She opened the top and took a swig,
her face screwing up at its foul taste. It had the desired effect,
though. After a few more swigs, she felt the headache beginning to
recede. Still, there was nothing as horrible as whiskey first thing
in the morning, even if it was the best cure for a hangover.

She resealed the bottle and placed it back underneath the
bunk. After a few moments of shaking her head to make the alcohol
work faster, and failing, she gently prised her feet in the hope
that she wouldn't wake Usako. It didn't work. Usako's eyes were
open the moment Hotaru started to move, and she sat up, staring at
the sunlight that peered through the window over the bunk.

"Ohayo, Hotaru-chan." She said, sleepily.
"Ohayo." Hotaru replied, surprised to find her voice rather
husky at this hour.
"Did you sleep well?" Usako pushed her hair back and sat on
the edge of the bunk, crossing her hands in her lap.
"Not initially.... I was having strange dreams... Then
things seemed to settle." Hotaru looked at her for a moment. "That
wasn't your doing, was it?"

Usako smiled sweetly. "You looked like you needed a little
help settling down."
Hotaru shook her head and closed her eyes. "You're too kind
to me. I really do wish you wouldn't be."
"I give kindness to whomever I wish to. If I choose you, then
kindness you shall receive." Hotaru chuckled and smiled. No matter
how hard she tried, she couldn't make herself feel angry around
Usako.

Her expression changed to a more solemn one. Usako had seen
this often.... One moment Hotaru was smiling, the next, all that
momentary joy was sapped from her. Disturbing to watch.

Usako placed a hand against Hotaru's arm, and the pair stared
at each other. "I promised you a better future, Hotaru-chan. I
will deliver the peace of mind you are searching for."
"Don't want it."
"Yes you do."
"Don't want the kind of peace you have to offer."

Usako sighed. "Death shall not offer you the peace you are
looking for, Hotaru-chan."
"Don't call me Hotaru-chan. I'm not a kid anymore."
"I'll call you Hotaru-chan if you're going to act like a kid."

Hotaru felt her anger disappear in an instant. She shook her
head. "Stop using that power on me, Usako. I can only get over my
problems by myself."
"How will you get over your problems if you kill yourself
first?" Usako wasn't smiling anymore, and Hotaru sighed.
"Lets not argue, okay? I'm hungry. I can't think with an
empty stomach."

Usako smiled again and stood from the bed. "I can hear the
generator going again. That means there shall be hot water soon.
I suggest we partake in the communal ablutions...."
"Eh?" Hotaru scratched her head. "Its too early in the
morning for that kind of language."
"Very well then. Shall we bathe with the Usagis?"
"Ehhhh?" Hotaru looked at her. "I hate taking a bath with
others. You know that."
"What? You mean you've never bathed with the Usagis before?"
Usako stared at her. Hotaru shook her head.
"I don't like to relate with people that way. If I'm going
to wash myself, I prefer to do it alone."
"Are you afraid of showing your body to others?"

Hotaru facefaulted. "Oh gawwd, its not that, fer Kami's sake.
I just hate having others around me whilst I'm washing myself."

Usako nodded. "Uh-huh. A nudity complex." Hotaru opened her
eyes wide and began to stutter a protest, when Usako took her by the
hand and pulled her off the bunk. "We'll soon cure you of that."
"B..b..b..but I don't wanna. Lemme go!" Usako was
surprisingly strong, and Hotaru found herself in the corridor and
down two flights of stairs before she managed to break free. Usako
turned to her at the corner of the stairwell and stared, making
Hotaru feel very uncomfortable.

"Na...nani?" Hotaru stammered under the glare. Usako shook
her head, sadly.
"Why do you do this? Why do you reject every little bit of
help I offer you?"
"Help?" Hotaru frowned. "What kind of help is dumping me in
a communal bath full of Usagis?"

"The kind of help that forces you to start socialising with
people again. Even if they all look like me." Usako lifted up her
arm and stared at it, then turned to the nearby window and made
faces. "Ah yes, I've still got it. That fresh skin, those good
looks." She raised an eyebrow, looking aside at Hotaru. "Better
looking than you." She chuckled. Hotaru felt her anger rise.

"What do you MEAN, better looking than me? I'll have you know
that, wherever we went together, I had more men turn their heads in
MY direction than you ever had."

Usako waved at her dismissively. "Pshu... Merely a case of
packaging. You can make mutton look good by dressing it up as lamb,
you know?"

The pair stared at each other for a few moments, then burst
out laughing. Hotaru then sighed. "Alright, you win. I'll take
the bath."
"Oh yay."
"But if one of those Usagis gets on my nerves, it'll be the
glaive for them."
"Perish the thought."

Hotaru took a few steps forward, then stopped, turning to
Usako. "What if SHE is there?"
"She won't be."
"How can you be so sure."
"Oh, I know. You'll be surprised how little you will see of
her from now on."

Hotaru scratched her head, then continued on. Usako paused
for a few moments, thinking, then followed.
----o
Within a matter of seconds, and a flash of bright light,
Setsuna and Michiru, in the form of Pluto and Neptune, arrived at
the summit of the multi-storey building that had been close to the
epicentre of the dimensional rift. Michiru looked up at the ruined
landscape that was contained in the alternate dimension, and was
surprised to see little dark lines slowly crawling across the
surface. For a few moments, she wondered what they might be, but
was distracted by Setsuna's voice.

"Saturn...." She looked down as Setsuna approached the dark
figure, sitting on the side of the building. She had to look twice.
The figure was not the Hotaru she remembered. Taller now, perhaps
the tallest of them all, she wore a black minidress with a black
bow on the back, rather than the traditional senshi fuku. She
wondered why the sudden change....

Perhaps some residual effect from the takeover by Mistress
Nine? No, that wasn't it.... This was an inner darkness, of which
Hotaru had barely begun to scratch the surface. The girl's eyes
were glazed over, like the aftereffects of rapture, or a kind of
religious orgasm.

Michiru would have been surprised to find these thoughts were
surprisingly accurate. What Hotaru had just experienced was a full
use of her powers.... With her ultimate survival. The pleasure at
letting these powers go and living to see the results of her
handiwork was a revelation she would not soon forget.

She turned to Setsuna, who had approached her cautiously, and
smiled. "Hello, Setsuna."
"Hello Hotaru." Setsuna answered back, in a surprisingly calm
tone of voice. Hotaru swung her legs around from over the side of
the building and stood. Setsuna watched as she brought the Silence
Glaive around, the weapon fading into a beam of light and
disappearing into her hand.

"I see your weapon of choice has returned to you."
"It felt good to use, once more. Galaxia's efforts to destroy
it were obviously less than successful." Hotaru looked up at her.
"And if that's so, where is your Time Key?"

Setsuna sighed. "I choose not to regenerate it. The priest's
staff I have been using is enough of an avatar for my power. For
the time being, anyway."

"Ah, very good, very good." Hotaru looked up at the
dimensional breach. "Oh dear. So sorry about that. Got a little
carried away there."

"You call that a LITTLE?" Michiru pointed upwards. "I hope
you don't intend to do this every day."

Hotaru looked at Michiru and smiled. "I shouldn't guess that
it will be needed again. The Destroyers that threatened the City
are dead. Mostly."

"And what of the Eternal City itself?" Setsuna looked
upwards. "I see it is beginning to regenerate." She looked back
down again. "I get the feeling it won't be too happy for what you
did."

"So?" Hotaru shrugged, almost giggling. "I did what it asked
of me. It wanted those Destroyers.... destroyed. And so they are."
"But not all of them." Michiru put her hands on her hips.
"No. Sorry about that."

Setsuna smiled. "Don't worry yourself about it. I shouldn't
think the blame for everything that is about to happen should be
placed on your shoulders."

"Indeed, I very much agree. This was not the act of someone
who is given a choice in the matter." Hotaru shivered. "I hate
being manipulated into doing the wrong thing for an ultimate right,
don't you?"

Setsuna nodded and watched as Hotaru placed a hand to her
mouth, licking some of her and the Destroyers' blood off. Little,
almost miniscule, droplets of black covered her all over, but
neither Setsuna nor Michiru recognised what it was.
Then a light struck them.... The light of a helicopter search
light. All three turned, almost without fear, towards the source.
A military vehicle, though Michiru, great, just what is needed in
this situation. Not.

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MOVE." Came a voice
over a loudspeaker as the chopper motioned over the buidling.
Soldiers dropped from the vehicle and landed nearby, aiming
automatic weapons at the trio.

"A bit of overkill, I must say." Michiru sniffed.
"Dangerous overkill." Setsuna shook her head. "We really
can't afford to mess with the military right at this moment."

"DO NOT MOVE. UNDER THE EMERGENCY POWERS ACT, WE HAVE THE
RIGHT TO DETAIN YOU. DO NOT MOVE." The voice over the loudspeaker
instructed. The trio looked at each other, and Setsuna sighed.

"Should we surrender, or leave?"
"Leaving sounds like a good option." Hotaru shrugged.

As the soldiers closed in, Setsuna muttered an incantation,
and in the blink of an eye, the three disappeared in a veil of
light. One of the soldiers let off a couple of rounds, and there
was a cry of pain. Then the light dissipated.
----o
Naru wandered the grounds of the Academy, and discovered just
how far the campus extended. The fact that the huge grounds were
dotted with outcrops of buildings stunned her. She never
contemplated just how many people must have been studying here.
Surely enough to populate a small city....

But then, her mind was on other things. People walked by,
staring at her distant expression. What were they thinking?

There is no leaving the Academy. Once here, you're here
until you graduate, be it good or bad. That would have meant any
student who looked out of it was a potential... Yes, that was it.

Runners.... The name given to Academy students who try to
leave of their own accord. It was a shame on the institution if
anyone did that.... Sooner or later, the authorities would find you
and punish you for bringing the Academy into disrepute... Don't
worry if you didn't belong there in the first place, or if it
damaged your hopes and aspirations....

"I was told you were out here again." Naru felt her hackles
rise.
"I don't want to speak with you, Naiad."
"Tranqs, this is silly.... Look, I'm sorry.... I didn't
expect you to find out that way... About Astute and I... We were
both highly embarassed when my sister told me..."

"And how do you think I feel?" Naru shivered and turned to
Naiad, registering for the first time that they were standing alone
in the middle of one of the Academy's gardens. A mist was rising
around them, illuminated by the ornate lamps that covered the
grounds as the last of the sunlight disappeared.

Naiad looked down and shook her head, obviously not knowing
what to say.
"We've never kept secrets from each other, not since we met.
Why now, Naiad? Why this? You could have told me."
"Did it make you feel jealous?" Naiad stepped forward.
"Seeing me in Astute's arms?"

Naru stamped her feet on the ground. "Damn straight it did.
Astute.... with YOU! Nobody will accept that!"

Naiad's face softened, and she put her hands on Naru's
shoulders. "I'm sorry, Tranqs, but you know how I get, sometimes.
I just can't make my mind up about things. But believe me, I don't
want this to get between us."

"Between us? It's already between us." Well, between you and
Tranquility, Naru thought to herself. For some reason, her thoughts
were being guided by Tranquility's feelings... And suddenly she
felt something REALLY scary was about to happen.

"Don't worry, Tranqs... After all that, you're still much
better than he is."

And with that Naiad kissed her. Passionately. And Naru
responded in kind.... Or, at least, Tranquility did. In Naru's
case, all the alarm bells were going off in her mind. She was in
the poop, neck deep.

"Oh Kami...." She thought. "Stop this train, driver, I wanna
get off...."
IASFU OA FWSS IASFU OA FWSS GOO JUA GOO JIPEST
and again
IASFU OA FWSS IASFU OA FWSS GOO JUA GOO JIPEST
END OF PART 12

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes

Woohoo, finally finished this part.... Pretty hard now considering
how far I'm into the story. I'm getting to the point where I'm
constantly having to look back to make sure I haven't made any
continuity errors. And that's just the "Usagi is Dead" continuity.

In the next chapter of UID, "God from a Machine" (Yes, finally, I
get to use that title ^_^), the Resonator catches up with our
fleeing victims... uh.. heores, and mass destruction results, until
it annoys the Youma Usagi, who has come back to fulfill her destiny.

All comments and criticisms are gratefully received by DDFA at
darkdayforanime@hotmail.com

DDFA, 25th December 1997 (Ho Ho Ho)