Heritage
Chapter 4:
"We'll be leaving in fifteen minutes," the guard announced as he brought breakfast, "Be ready by then." Since the brig had been destroyed during the battle last night, Mamoru and the others were assigned to a guarded tent, after all they were still under custody. At least they were put separate from the other two prisoners.
"I believe it's about time we gave our thanks to Artemis-kun," Minako suggested, "It was his quick thinking what save the day."
"I was just lucky," the disguised cat replied humbly, "The rest of you, along with Menmaht-san, did the real work." He fiddled with the spoon before talking again. "The general's a noble man, there's no doubt about that. But, should we trust him?"
"It's hard to tell," Mamoru answered, "While the terrorists follow Pharaoh 90, the soldiers in this army use the same spears and uniforms as the ones we faced back in Tokyo."
"Which means Menmaht-san belongs to the side that has kidnapped Hotaru-chan," the white-haired one concluded, "This is complicated, we better wait until we reach the capital and reunite with the others."
"Either way, I'm keeping my guard up," Haruka said, "That girl might strike again at any moment. As strong as she might've seemed, I'm certain we didn't even see a fraction of her might."
"She was frightening, to say the least," the longhaired girl added, "Even without that mask, I'll bet her face is just as expressionless." She tapped her spoon on the tray. "I have the feeling Nieduan is going to be our biggest worry, we better learn as much as possible about her." The guard returned after a while, announcing that they were about to leave. The Japanese heroes were going to ride on two of those mechanized animals the rest of the way, Minako and Artemis got on one, Mamoru and Haruka on the other. Menmaht gave the order and they started moving.
"Matte!" Minako called, "What about them?" She noticed that the ones that had fallen last night were just lying there.
"We're leaving them, of course," one of the soldiers answered, "We were born from the desert and the desert claims us." The young girl looked overhead, the buzzards were already gathering.
"Do me a favor, Artemis-kun, if something should happen to me, insist on cremation."
*****
A separatist fort:
Nieduan touched her head where the shield had struck, the wound was almost healed, and by tomorrow there wouldn't even be a scar. She didn't feel bad about being beaten, she wouldn't have felt good about succeeding either, she'd been trained not to allow anything to affect her. There was a knock at the door.
"One moment!" The pale girl reached for her mask and put it on. "You may enter." A sixteen-year-old boy with regulation buzz-cut hair came into the room.
"Miss Nieduan I-Yikes!" He turned away in a hurry, the beautiful assassin was toweling herself dry. She didn't seem to notice, so he composed himself and delivered the message. "Ahem, the lieutenant requests your immediate presence in his office."
"Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes," the pale girl replied as she started braiding her extra-long hair, "You may leave now." Although calm, her empty voice was enervating.
"Yes, Miss Nieduan." Just as he was about to open the door, he took the chance and glanced over his shoulder. She might kill me for this, but she is a vision worth dying for, he thought as he left.
A few minutes later, fully clothed and fixed up, the pale girl entered her superior's office. Two men were waiting for her, one was wearing a white coat and was standing beside the desk, the other was dressed in dark-blue uniform, looking out the window.
"You called for me, Lieutenant Simm?"
"Yes, Nieduan." The man at the window went to the front of his desk. "In all my years in the army, I've heard hundreds of excuses, and to be frank, I was expecting to hear at least one from you." The petit girl remained unfazed as he came closer. "Why did you fail last night?"
"I was overpowered and badly wounded, Sir. I had to escape in order to stay alive."
"I see." Simm started yelling at her face. "You are a soldier in Lord Sarkoz' army! Your miserable life is worth nothing! When you receive an order, you carry it out to the end, or the end of you!" Nieduan remained still.
"She was following orders, Lieutenant," the old man in white spoke up, "She's been trained to obey, but mostly to survive. If odds become too much, she must retreat."
"Maybe so, Dr. Noom, but I don't care. When Nieduan was brought into my command, she became my property, she acts by my rules and discipline." The officer turned to her once more. "As exceptional as your performance has been this last month, even if this is only your first mistake after a perfect record, I will not make exceptions, you must respond for your failure." A large man with a whip tied around his bare torso entered. "Escort her to the yard." He did so, with notable nervousness, Simm and Noom followed.
"Nieduan is no ordinary soldier," the latter reminded, "A lot of time and resources have been invested into making her the perfect fighter and assassin, Pharaoh 90 himself oversaw the first years of her training. If she were to loose her life while under your supervision, you will end up begging to have yours ended."
"You're authorized to stop me, yours is the last word in whatever decision that concerns her."
"Oh no, I won't stop you. This could turn into a learning experience for the child," the old scientist chuckled, "and for you."
"Hey, Kemm, you survived!" a young girl greeted as the teen who had taken the message to the death-huntress approached. Since Kemm was a recently transferred cadet, he was the one bullied into running errands concerning Nieduan, a task everyone dreaded given her bloody reputation. "So, gimme the news. Did she look angry after failing her first mission since her arrival? Damn bitch, so perfect in everything she does." The blue-haired boy sat down beside her with a glazed stare. "Kemm?"
"She was…taking a bath," he responded, his friend's eyes went as wide as saucers, "I'm serious, Batt, she was coming out of the tub, not a stitch on her."
"Kemm, you devil!" The girl grabbed him by the neck and gave him a noogie. "I didn't know you had it in you."
"Hey, it's not like I did it on purpose. And I didn't see that much, just…umm," His face went bright red, "enough."
"I'll bet," Batt chuckled, "Is she pretty?"
"Quite, lots more than you, which is easy to accomplish."
"Ha, ha, very funny. Well, I'm going to miss you, I'll even hold a minute of silence in your memory. 'Cause, dude, she's going to kill you."
"Nah, she's not the maniac everyone makes her out to be." Kemm took a pensive position. "Now that I think about it, she must've known I was going to see her naked the moment I entered her room, she just didn't mind."
"Good point. She's never in any sort of mood, so it's logical to think she wouldn't be embarrassed either. Isn't there anything that affects her?" Batt tapped her teeth with her fingernail and glimpsed ahead. "We're about to find out." She pointed towards a part of the wall, distinguished by chains and bloodstains on the floor. Nearly everyone in the fort had taken their turn there, and had the scars to prove it. Now, the death huntress was being taken. The buzz-cut girl rubbed her back. "I never thought I'd see the day. How long do you think she'll last?"
"After the stories we've heard, who knows," Kemm responded, "I do know it's a shame to ruin that body."
"Knock it off."
A crowd gathered as the executioner shackled Nieduan and lowered the upper part of her outfit. Lieutenant Simm stood on a platform and addressed the troops.
"For failure to complete an assignment, commissioned by Lord Sarkoz himself I will add, Nieduan is to be whipped until loss of consciousness." He turned towards her, "Do you understand the reason for your punishment?"
"Yes, Sir," the pigtailed girl plainly answered. The large man stepped away, gripped his whip, threw back his arm and… just stood there.
"Begin!" the gray-haired lieutenant snapped.
"Y-yes, Sir." The executioner tried again, but couldn't gather the courage. Noom sighed and shook his head.
"Nieduan, please assure your fellow soldier that he has nothing to fear, there will be no reprisals."
"I will not harm him," the pale girl complied, "I have no reason to." The executioner still couldn't carry out his order.
"I'll do it!" A tall man with an angular face volunteered. "What matters is whipping her, there's no difference in who does it." Simm raised an eyebrow, this soldier was known for using excessive force and abusing those who were helpless, it was obvious he wanted to do this for his own satisfaction.
"Very well, take the whip." With an insanely eager smile, the tall man grabbed the weapon and cracked it. "And maintain decorum!"
"Uh, yes, Sir." Even after calming down, the first lash sounded like a thunderclap, causing everyone present to wince, but not a peep came from Nieduan. "Though girl, eh? You'll be wailing soon enough."
'Soon' never came, over half an hour passed and Nieduan remained motionless and silent. Some stayed, curious to find out how much longer she could last, most left, unable to keep witnessing this inhuman act.
"By the nine gods, her skin is practically gone!" Batt gasped, "She can't be human." Kemm was standing beside her, gritting his teeth and clenching his fist.
"This must stop." He took one step and his friend pulled her back.
"Are you crazy? Simm will have your head!"
"This isn't discipline, this is sadism," the blue-haired boy stated, "I won't allow Nieduan to suffer much longer."
"There's nothing you can do," the young girl insisted, "besides, they're almost done." Indeed, three more lashes and fatigue claimed victory.
"I can't go on!" the tall man panted, rubbing his aching arm. "My shoulder feels like it's about to come off." No one could believe it, the only one who wasn't surprised was Noom.
"Do you see how strong Nieduan is, Simm? How durable we made her?" the old man asked, "You can no longer doubt her value." The gray-haired officer would not admit defeat.
"As strong as she may be, her competence is still to be proven." He tossed the keys at the kneeling man and barked out his orders, "Release her, afterwards, you are dismissed." The soldier unwillingly obeyed.
"Don't you dare laugh, bitch," he growled once he reached her. Her silence was taken as an insult, and his anger made him imagine mocking faces under that mask. The mask, no one had ever seen what was under it, and countless tales had been told. Some said Nieduan had had an accident with that staff of hers, burned the skin off; others that some gladiator she fought during her training years was the one who had scarred her, stomped on her head and grounded it against jagged rocks. Then he realized her hands were bound, it was the perfect opportunity to uncover the truth. He grabbed the mask and pulled it away. "Not ba-Ugh!" His head was twisted 180º, the fool had found the trigger for Nieduan's fury. Quickly, she put the mask back on.
"With your permission, Commander, I shall retire to my quarters." An astonished Simm simply nodded.
"She snapped those chains as though they were string," he gasped, "She could've freed herself at any time." He narrowed his eyes at the old scientist. "Is there something else you're keeping from me?"
"Plenty, but you'll find out in due time."
*****
The Capital:
It was late afternoon when the ship docked. Usagi and her friends, along with Samenat and her bodyguard, disembarked.
"This is where we part ways," the brown-haired woman said, "I wish to thank you for your company, I enjoyed myself immensely."
"You're welcome Samenat-san," the mocha-skinned one replied, "I trust we'll meet again."
"Whoa, check it out!" The young maiden directed everyone's attention towards a castle on top a hill, overseeing the whole city. "The one who lives there must be the richest in Kaeruh."
"The one who lives there owns Kaeruh," an amused Samenat corrected, "That's the imperial palace."
"Where the queen lives?" Ami asked.
"Uh-huh. Quite a work of architecture, a large part of the structure is underground. And as minister, I both live and work there." She put on her white cape. "Speaking of which, I'm running late. Goodbye everyone."
"Sayonara, Samenat-san," the blonde replied cheerfully. The female quartet headed to where they could talk freely. "Well, now we know where to start our search for Hotaru-chan."
"Hai, and we're going to need an amazing plan to even get close," Ami said, "The place must be heavily guarded."
"If the queen does know something about Hime-chan's whereabouts, it's as secure as a cookie jar on the kitchen floor," Setsuna countered, "The question is: How are we going to get in there?"
"Why not introduce ourselves as who we are?" Usagi proposed, "Negotiating with foreign rulers is what a princess is supposed to do, ne? And it's always best to start with the open-hand approach."
"What if they turn out to be our enemies and try to steal the ginzuishou?" Rei questioned, "We shouldn't let them know who we are until we learn more about them."
"The first thing we should do is call the others and see if they've arrived," the shorthaired one pointed out. She turned on her communicator. "Haruka, do you copy?"
"Shh, not so loud!" There was a slight pause. "We have to be cautious, if the guards find out what we're up to, we're toast."
"Guards? Mamo-chan, where are you?"
"Well, Usako, several things occurred and we ended up in the slammer." The girls looked at each other in surprise.
"They must've followed Mina-chan's plan," the raven-haired girl wagered.
"I heard that. And before you start your belly-aching, I'll have you know we already have a plan. In his original form, it's easy for Artemis-kun to sneak around and find his way outside, then he'll be able to let you inside, and once we're reunited, we can start our search for Hotaru-chan. We've got a hunch she's in here, at the maximum security levels."
"Hai, we came to a similar conclusion," Rei replied, "And where is the prison? Can you give us any indication?"
"It's on the eastern side of the palace," Artemis answered, "The place is two in one, living quarters for the queen and military headquarters, and that's where we're being held."
"Now that's a favorable coincidence!" Setsuna said, "Very well, let's rendezvous midnight. As for the rest of us, let's go find a motel."
*****
The Palace, throne room:
Samenat made it her duty to inform her ruler about the battle that occurred during her voyage up the river, she also commented about her new friends, and received quite a surprise.
"They are the senshi!?" The longhaired woman could hardly believe her ears. "I would've expected that from Setsuna, Rei, or Ami, but never Usagi."
"You might consider that to be a trait. Do you have any way of contacting them?"
"No, but I did give them my card. If we're lucky they'll call soon."
"Hmm, it's more likely they'll try to break in before doing that. Better alert the guards."
*****
Palace dungeon:
"Hey, did you guys really fight the death huntress and survive?" Rumors spread like wildfire, and the senshi acquired quite a bit of fame in a matter of hours. The rookie guard was very eager to confirm the story he heard.
"I thought talking to the prisoners was forbidden," Minako teased.
"Aww, come on, what harm could it do?"
"First of all, you heard wrong," Mamoru pointed out, "We only watched from the brig, the ones who fought were those two girls and that man in black, along with General Menmaht."
"Who's the death huntress exactly?" the racer inquired, "She sounds like some ghost story to scare children into behaving."
"Stories are all we've got," the young man confessed, "There are several versions about her origin, for example: that she's a demon summoned from another dimension; others say she happens to be Pharaoh 90's bastard child; in my opinion, she's a highly-advanced golem, like the one Bob built."
By golem he must mean android, Haruka thought. "Do you know anything that's fact?"
"Sure, several assassinations during the last five months. She's murdered scientists, sponsors and military leaders; each strike of hers weakens our defenses." He sighed worriedly and started murmuring, "Can her majesty stop her? Can she really bring the war to an end? As legendary as her power may be-"
"Yo, Tim, what's taking so long?" a voice called from the hallway.
"You better leave before we get you into trouble," Haruka suggested.
"Right." The rookie waved goodbye. "Good luck at the trial tomorrow."
"This Bob person must be a scientist like the late Prof. Tomoe," Artemis guessed, "Why doesn't he simply build stronger golems? Then there would be nothing to fear from Nieduan."
"If he did that, the enemy would respond with bigger and stronger weapons," the dark-haired man replied, "it's a vicious circle, a deadly one at that."
"Personally, it's hard to take a guy named Bob 'seriously'," Minako said. She got comfortable. "Let's go to sleep. We've got a big job ahead of us, especially you, Artemis-kun."
"Hai," the man from Mau agreed, "Goodnight, minna-san."
*****
"Boy, security's really tight around these parts," Sailor Moon whistled. She and the senshi had been forced to change hiding places four times so far. "It's plain to see they've got a war in their hands."
"Hai, although they are handling it more maturely than many countries on Earth," the water senshi said, "where paranoia's so high that they shoot down mosquitoes with Uzis."
"Hai," Pluto agreed, "there's tension for a while, nothing happens, so they relax and that's when they're struck again, then the alarms are raised and so it goes."
"Heads up, someone's coming," Mars warned. They hid just as two guards, man and woman, came running down the street.
"I'm certain he came down this way," he huffed.
"Are you sure it was a pammul?" his partner asked, "The ears were rather big, and I've never seen a white one before."
"Hey, he was small, furry and talked, that's proof enough for me."
"Whatever you say, bud." She looked around once more and shrugged. "Eh, it's probably long gone by now. Let's get back to our post." Mercury waited a little before calling out for their feline friend.
"Artemis-kun, you can come out now." The white cat appeared from behind a trash can.
"Whew, Luna-chan's right, I gotta exercise more." He looked up at the senshi. "How was the cruise?"
"To be honest, the food was awful," the time senshi answered, "everything else was four stars. Did you find out how we can enter the palace?"
"Hai, through the ventilation system. Follow me, we'll meet with Mina-tachi and find Hotaru-chan in no time."
*****
Twenty minutes later:
"Artemis-kun, this is the third time we've been through here," the Moon princess huffed, "Do you even know where we're going?"
"I know where we want to go," the white cat assured, "however, I'm no longer positive of how we're going to get there."
"Oh, for crying out loud," Mars grumbled, "That's it, I'm getting out of this sardine can." She started melting off the screws on one of the vents.
"Matte!" Mercury pulled her away, "We can't walk around in the open, we'll be captured."
"At least we'll be able to move," the fire senshi countered, "and without a reference point, we'll be crawling in circles all night."
"Fine, let me check first," the azure-haired senshi activated her visor and scanned the area, "the coast is clear, so I guess it's safe."
"Either way, I'm risking it," Pluto said. One by one the senshi climbed out through the vent and figured out where they were.
"This looks like a sort of art exhibit," the senshi leader noticed as she checked out the weapons, busts and crests on the wall, "To be precise, dedicated to great fighters of old."
"Hai, and look at this statue," Mercury called, "It's just like the one we saw at the plaza." It depicted a young girl holding a lance, with long ribbons running down her back. "She must have been their grandest heroine, probably still is."
"If she's so famous, then she must be powerful," Pluto figured out, "I hope we never have to face her." They approached the door cautiously. "A room with so many valuables must be protected. Mercury, can you find out what type of security system it is?"
"I already did." The azure-haired senshi pointed at the statues. "Those are golems, the moment we enter their line of vision, they'll attack, and if we strike first, we'll activate the alarms."
"Then let's confuse them," Artemis proposed, "You girls hide and leave everything else in my paws." Unseen thanks of his size, the white cat opened the door, and just as he had planned, the robots were activated. It didn't take long for the guards to arrive.
"How come malfunctions always happen in the middle of the night?" one of them grumbled, "There's no one here."
"Hey, it could've been one of my kind," a pammul said as she jumped to the floor, "we're experts at sneaking around."
"And how's a little thing like you going to carry anything?" a white-haired man challenged.
"Umm, pumping iron?" Everyone laughed as they went into the room, and just when they were far enough from the door…
"Shabon Spray!" Using the magical fog for a cover, the senshi made their escape. "Here's the plan: we go outside, wait for the commotion to end, and retake our search. Artemis-kun, will you be able to remember the way?"
"My sense of direction isn't that bad." They came to a screeching halt, right in front of a squadron. "My luck, however, does not improve."
"It's them!" one of the guards shouted, "The senshi!"
"No confrontations!" Sailor Moon ordered, "Mercury!"
"Shabon Spray!" Once again, the four heroines and cat ran through the mist, but things didn't go as planned.
"Yaah!" Mars slipped on a patch of ice, which she had no idea where it came from. A guard came up and took her by shoulder.
"Listen, there's no need-Whoa!" He was barely able to avoid the fireball, it hit the roof, causing the roof to crumble.
"Kuso, now I've done it!" Mars had only thrown that attack as a reflex, but their opponents had already gotten the wrong impression.
"We were ordered not to fight," a soldier said as he gripped his spear, "but you're really asking for it!"
"Gomen," the Moon princess apologized as she picked up her friend, "but we really must be leaving. Mercury, if you don't mind."
"Okay, but this is becoming monotone. Shabon-Nani?" A pammul hopped onto her shoulder, and before the water senshi could react, he breathed out a gas cloud. It was impossible to avoid inhaling it, and she fell to her knees paralyzed.
"The queen wants to see you, one way or another you're going to-Whoa!" Pluto grabbed the scaly critter by the tail and flung him away.
"Believe me, we don't want to fight, but we won't surrender either. Death Scream!" The purple orb blew the wall open. "There's our way out, come on!" Just when the time senshi was about to cross the hole she made, a ricochet right in front of her nose stopped her.
"These beams aren't lethal, but their effect is very unpleasant." The heroines recognized the man in red, Sketh. "Now, let's all put an end to this clowning and-" He saw someone approach. "Your majesty!" In a flash everyone knelt and placed their fist on their chest to salute. Sailor Moon, who was looking away, took a deep breath and prepared herself.
"I might as well do my best to mend this fiasco." She turned, cleared her throat and bowed her head. "Your majesty, watashi wa Serenity no hime, Princess of the Silver kingdom."
"(giggle) No need for introductions, your highness, I'm perfectly aware of who you are." The senshi recognized that voice, but they couldn't believe it, even after she came into view.
"It can't be!" Sailor Moon gasped.