Disclaimer: I don't own a single, sodding thing.
The massive doors to the Kaiba mansion moaned as a dark figure quickly slipped through the small opening into the black abyss of the estate's grand hall. Tip toeing with extra care, the figure scurried across the room.
"Mokuba, you're late." A cold voice barked as countless lights were illuminated, exposing the culprit.
"Gomen nasai, nii-chan." The oh so mysterious dark-figured Mokuba said.
"Where were you? I don't want you out at night by yourself!" Kaiba scolded. He glided over to his brother as if to intimidate him with his size.
"Seto! I'm not a little kid anymore! I'm a regional champion duelist! I can take care of myself!" Mokuba whined. 'With a little help from a friend' Mokuba added in his mind and smiled to himself.
"You're only sixteen." Kaiba glared at him.
"Exactly! And what were you doing at my age? Throwing tournaments and fighting bad guys and evil monsters! I NEVER GET TO HAVE ANY FUN!" Mokuba nearly leaped up and down as he flailed his arms in protest.
"Only because some idiots kidnapped my little brother to lure me into it." He stared pointedly at Mokuba. "The Kaibas have many enemies and only a wall wouldn't recognize you."
"Walls are smarter than most evil powers. You never know, they just might pick me out." The young Kaiba said cockily.
"Not funny. You're getting quite the attitude; some day it's going to land you in a pile of trouble." Seto pointed out. The two brothers began walking towards the grand staircase in the center of the hall.
"Look who's talking about attitude! You've been getting pretty good at sticking your foot in your mouth lately, Kaiba." Mokuba said maliciously.
"Watch your mouth." The older Kaiba's eyes narrowed dangerously. He would never raise a hand against his younger brother, but the little twit did get a mouth on him once in a while.
Mokuba softened immediately. "Gomen again, nii-sama. I'm tired, and I'm not thinking." Mokuba apologized as the duo turned down a dimly lit corridor.
"If you would have been in bed, you wouldn't be tired because you'd be sleeping. That's what tired people do. Just what was so important to keep a tired person out of bed?" asked Seto as he quirked an eyebrow.
"I was out."
"Where?"
"Around town."
"Liar."
"………"
"Well?" Seto pressed with narrowed ice blue eyes.
"Okay, I surrender. I was at Yugi's." Mokuba inched away from his brother's side, afraid of his reaction.
"Why?" Cue quirked eyebrow.
"Duel Monsters business. I was interested in a card." Mokuba tried. The two entered the master study. The walls were lined with mahogany wood book shelves. Computer gadgets littered the shelves where books would normally be and various screens flickered with data, numbers and strategies.. A handsome desk sat at the center of the room, housing Seto Kaiba's infamous laptop.
"Nice try. You're a billionaire and the KaibaCorp heir. You don't need to go to the Kame Game Shop for just a card." The older Kaiba said as he took a seat in his squishy leather chair, long fingers interlaced intellectually.
"Don't worry nii-sama, everything turned out alright." Mokuba beamed while respectively standing in front of the desk.
"Alright? For things to turn out alright something had to have gone wrong." He challenged dangerously.
The raven haired boy whistled innocently. "I..er…may have been followed."
"Are you serious?" The brunette roared.
"Yes."
Seto looked like he had something else to say, but the younger boy interjected first.
"It was really brilliant Seto! There was this girl who could wield fire and she was super fast and super strong and she had super powers and she was super pretty! Her name was Sailor Mars! Can we make her into a duel monsters card, please Seto!" Violet eyes turned into sappy puppy ones.
That was it. It was official: his brother had lost it. "Super powers? Oh gods Mokuba, you know I hate this hocus pocus ludicrous." His ice blue eyes hardened as did his voice.
"But it's TRUE Seto! I promise!"
"I don't believe in fairy tales Mokuba. I've seen plenty of pretty girls and the only power they exhibit is greed. Now go get your pajamas on, and say hello to the onii in your closet while you're at it." The older Kaiba grunted.
"You are such a tyrant Seto! Life is right in front of your nose and you can't see it! Seeing isn't always believing; believing is seeing! There are many things in the world that are and you just refuse to see them! I know what I saw and I saw there was a pretty soldier that was watching over me tonight. She was real." Mokuba stomped out of the triumphantly.
The CEO gently massaged his temples.
"Can things get any worse?" He asked the silence.
"Tea!" Rei burst through the elevator at the apex of her company. The young brunette girl was seated neatly at her desk.
"Yes, Hino-sama?" She asked with alertness.
"No need for formalities. Listen, I know I promised you orientation, but I only have time to acquaint you with the Hino database. We have a task of utmost importance to complete today." Rei ordered purposefully as she closed the distance between herself and desk. Quickly, she commandeered Tea's computer terminal.
"What I'm about to tell you is all you'll need to know for these next few days. All you do is click on this." She opened a file while Tea watched over her shoulder. "From there, you have access to all of the company's inventory, registry, factions, etcetera. What I want you to do is search for any mechanical device produced with any part of a name or alias 'E.S. Asher'. I want a full report and any information you find."
"No problem." Tea replied confidently.
"Have any meetings been scheduled for today?" The CEO asked.
"You have a endorsement request from the Von Schroeders.. and a seminar at two with KaibaCorp-"
"Cancel. This is our only project today." Rei ordered with a wave of her hand.
"Nani? But why is this so important, if it isn't too bold to ask?" Tea's cerulean eyes blinked cluelessly.
"I have a vested interest in this machine. It's programming may have went haywire." Rei stood and made way to her office.
"Is it becoming a civil threat?" Tea asked with concern. She was no stranger to machines that went amuck. The memory of Noah and Dartz's monsters were still very real in her mind.
"Yes." Rei responded grimly and entered her office.
"Then there is no time to loose." Tea muttered. Her own experiences with evil, bad guys, and machines gone wild told her that this could get ugly. She could see Rei was a good person, and if Rei was worried, Domino should be too.
Mother and daughter walked hand in hand along Domino city's downtown. Both were enjoying a cone of ice cream. A black neko ball and a black cat, a mirror image of the ball, followed them faithfully.
The foursome paused for a rest as they sat down on one of the benches.
"Usagi-mama? Can we go to Rei's temple next so I can get some good luck charms for fall and see Rei? I haven't seen Rei-san in so long." The younger bunny asked earnestly. She offered some of her cone to the black cat who licked it graciously.
"We can get charms at another temple. Rei is too busy right now to run the temple. I'm afraid it is going to be closed soon." Usagi said sadly. She never believed in sugar coating a situation in front of her daughter, who had seen just as much battle as she had.
"It can't close! I still haven't finished my Judo lessons with Rei! Who else is going to give me sweet treats because my mommy eats them all at home?" The pink haired girl stared pointedly at her odango-haired mother.
"What? I do not eat all the sweets! I barely get any because you eat them all!" Usagi pointed an accusing finger at her daughter and polished off the ice cream to make a point.
The cats sweat dropped.
"You do too! I do all the hard work of making them too because you would burn down the house if we let you near an oven! I had to hide the matches!" Rini argued and finished off her own ice cream.
"I would not burn down the house! When was the last time the oven caught fire!" Usagi crossed her arms childishly and sulked.
"Last week when you tried to make chocolate chip cookies! It was good daddy was there because we had a Fire Soul in our kitchen." Rini said a matter-of-factly.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
The two were inches apart glaring daggers at each other comically.
"Eh, Bunnies?" The black cat interrupted. Both paused in mid war and turned towards the brave soul that dare interrupt one of their sugar fights. "Have you noticed that this street has been entirely emptied!" Luna hissed.
The two girls looked around. Indeed, downtown Domino, par to Times Square in New York City, was empty. A small fog had settled in.
"This is creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy." Usagi wailed.
"I don't like this." Rini muttered.
"Be super alert!" Luna warned. Both girls' heads snapped to the ready.
"Surrender and you will not be harmed." A monotone voice commanded.
Before Usagi and Rini had time to register anything, a tall figure swooped down upon them.
"Hino-sama!
"Enter."
Tea rushed in. "Good and Bad News. I found the registry for E.S. Asher!"
"And?"
"It was a war machine built by your father and Gozaburo Kaiba themselves. It was recently…misplaced by KaibaCorp a week ago."
'WHAT? That doesn't make any sense! It attacked Mokuba! I saw it happen! He's a Kaiba isn't he? Why would their father's machine attack his son? Shouldn't they're be some safeguard keeping the creator safe, especially if it's a war time machine and the creator might be the only person able to shut it down if need arose. Usually, that's how technology works.' Rei battled in her mind. She wasn't a war strategist for Serenity-hime for nothing.
"Gozaburo Kaiba…where is he now?" Rei asked pensively. Her slim, gentle hand had come to caress her chin in thought.
"Erm…well. He's uh….been…. deleted." Tea stuttered and shifted uncomfortably. How do you explain that someone turned himself into a computer program along with his true son and sucked you into their virtual world, tried to kill you and in the end you were forced to delete them?
"It's a story. You see, Gozaburo Kaiba was this terrible man. When Seto Kaiba, his adopted son, tricked him out KaibaCorp's ownership, he turned himself into a computer program out of shame. Well, about three years ago, he returned to kill the Kaibas, and we, as in my friends, the Kaibas and I, had to delete him." Tea explained.
"Are you sure you deleted him?"
"We witnessed his terminal explode and sink to the bottom of the sea. I'd say so." Tea was growing irritated. Was Hino Rei challenging that she and her friends were not possibly capable of defeating Gozaburo Kaiba?
"Calm down. I believe you. But before we raise any alarm we have to get all the facts straight.' The senshi of fire soothed.
"Oh, did I say that out loud? I didn't…I mean… I didn't think you were discrediting me...I…." Tea stuttered. She didn't think that out loud, did she?
'Oops. Must have let my mind drift. No more mind reading.' Rei reprimanded mentally.
"I'd like to meet your friends. We can't be too sure that they haven't seen or heard anything different from you." Rei finalized the order when she scooped up her purse sunglasses.
"Let me call them and tell them we're coming." The brunette said forlornly.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Two differently pitched sopranos wailed as two girls and two cats bolted through Domino downtown in a breakneck dash. Strangely, there were no people in the city's busiest quadrant. The small drone of a hover hummed dully behind them but its origin could not be seen.
"Do something! You're Sailor Moon!" Rini shrieked as she was running wildly beside her mother.
"Well why don't you just feed him a cookie since you're so good at that. If you can subdue my appetite this should be cake!" Usagi snapped back.
"Shut up! I'll just call Makoto-san or Rei-san who are both USEFUL!" Chibi declared and whipped out a small watch as Usagi tripped and fell flat on her face.
"Why does this always happen to me!" She wailed. Rini doubled back for her mother. The roles of parenting had been reversed.
"Shuush! Do you want to be found? I'm calling for help!"
"Whatever. Do you want to call an ambulance as well? I think I broke my face." The blonde whimpered and massaged her nose.
A dense mist slowly began to seep between the two girls. Both gave an involuntary shudder.
"Neither girls are answering…" Rini whispered, afraid even the slightest noise would wake whatever evil was after them.
"Well, we are senshi. Maybe we should transform." The blonde suggested with a nonchalant shrug.
"Maybe you should have suggested that in the first place?"
Rini slapped her forehead in disgust. Honestly, she really never knew why she was related to that bimbo.
In the mean time, Usagi had picked herself up and began dusting off dramatically. "Alright you fiend, you've messed with the wrong girl!"
After a few moments of dramatic transformation, Sailor Moon and Mini-Moon had replaced Usagi and Rini.
"We just have to find him." Sailor Moon declared in her triumphant pose.
"That's always a good place to start." Mini-moon baited. She started walking in the opposite direction.
"What are you doing! You don't even know if you're going in the right direction." Sailor Moon wailed in her usual whining voice as she trotted after Mini-Moon.
"I think that burning tree is a right good sign." Mini-moon pointed to flames dancing above the nearby park canopy.
"I agree." Sailor Moon said, sobering up.
They entered the park without much event. The swings were still and the see-saw shuttered in the dusk wind. Silence was banished only by the toyland's squeaky hinges.
"Kami-sama I will nightmares about this for weeks." Mini-moon muttered.
"There!" cried Sailor Moon suddenly. She darted towards a nearby bush.
"What do you see?" Mini-Moon asked, still standing in the middle of the playground.
"A shadow."
Mini-Moon surveyed the playground, suspecting the dark side of each object. Her gaze idly fell upon her own shadow on the ground – her own darker half – that could be their very enemy at this point. As if it were a dream, her shadow slowly spread like quicksilver liquid to a shadow three times her size. The warm sunset she could feel on her back melted away into stagnant cool.
Cautiously she turned around. She met a white-haired man with hazel eyes. His oddly constructed hands wrapped around her neck and his thumb dug into her pressure point. Her body felt limp, so she screamed.
Sailor Moon whirled around and her heart fluttered into her mouth. That man appeared to be strangling Rini.
"Let her go!" She demanded.
"Do not resist and she will not be harmed." His robotic voice purred.
Sailor Moon, soldier of love and justice and a future mother, was torn. Her scepter had unconsciously been summoned but it clattered to the ground. She wouldn't have a little girl harmed for victory. Her principles had never sacrificed anyone and they were not about to.
"What do you want?" She whimpered.
"I need your assistance."
"For?"
"Acquiring a valuable item."
"You want me to steal? Forget it. You don't need help from me for that."
"Negative. One of your kind has already interfered. The battle was crippling and indecisive. Continuation of these battles limits my output by sixty percent. You must intervene."
"You speak like a robot with no heart." Sailor Moon whispered, with sadness and pity in her voice.
"That is precisely what I am." He peeled back his bodysuit to reveal a mechanical arm with gears and technology shining through the clear exoskeleton.
"I…."
"You have ten seconds to comply."
"I…" Sailor Moon's eyes glazed over with tears for what she was about to do. Then, she was saved by a rose.
Tuxedo Kamen's unusually sharp roses struck the robot in the hand. Asher's attention was momentarily diverted to the masked man.
"Give her back. Or else." He demanded and launched himself at the robot.
Without compromising his grip on Rini, Tuxedo Kamen was kicked in the stomach by Asher's foot. Using his momentum, Tuxedo Kamen recovered in a back flip. Asher took this reprieve to rearrange himself for battle. Once ready, the two charged at each other, swinging limbs furiously. Tuxedo Kamen's human speed was too slow for Asher's unnatural reflexes. He was eventually thrown back to a tree with little energy to carry on.
"You failed to comply."
Then the second miracle happened.
"Love-me chain!"
A golden chain of hearts wrapped around E.S. Asher's neck and lifted him into the air, as he dropped Rini.
"Venus!" Sailor Moon cried with happiness as her comrade joined her side.
The senshi of love tossed the robot high into the air with her chain. "Here's a little poetry in motion." She teased. Gravity had been fulfilled and a disoriented E.S. Asher hit the ground, on his feet but slightly off balance.
"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Icy diamond pebbles swirled through the air and engulfed E.S. Asher in ice without a word of protest from the robot.
"Mercury!" Sailor Moon wailed as she embraced the last of the arrivals. "Thank you." She rushed to scoop a weakened Mini-moon into her arms.
The aqua haired girl flashed a genuine smile. "I was on my way to the airport when my computer picked up this disturbance. I never had such readings as I did from this creation. The wavelengths suggest it's acting autonomously." Mercury explained.
"You mean it's thinking for itself!" Venus verified with disbelief.
"I won't know for sure until I can run some tests. I'll postpone my return to France." Mercury demanded.
"You don't have to do that Ami." Tuxedo Kamen warned.
"No. I miss Japan. I won't be able to sleep until I know I've done my part. In the mean time, perhaps Rei's company has a cryofreezer where we can keep this monstrosity on ice."
"Let's go see her right away." Mini-moon piped up. "it's too hot here. He'll melt."
"I've got my limousine nearby. I was on my way to a press conference when I saw the disturbance. There should be enough room in the backseat." Venus offered.
"Right." Everyone agreed.
Two girls, Rei and Tea, left Hino Corporations as they headed for the Kame Game Shop as planned. As they left, they didn't see a black limousine glide to the sidewalk across the street, nor didthey notice it slowly following them. Somewhere in the pit of her belly, Rei could feel an icy glare upon her back.
Delayed is an understatement. Plan on an update really soon. Once again, thank you all so much for your interest. Don't forget to review; I love feedback!