The Senshi Files: Silver Warden (OLD VERSION)

by Irritus185

NEW VERSION WILL BE POSTED. SENSHI FILES FORUM ADDED.

5. File 05: Fire Storm

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon nor Dresden Files. If I did, Moon would not be so useless, and fans would burn me at the stake for destroying Harry's awesomeness

The Senshi Files: Silver Warden
File 05: Fire Storm
By Irritus185/Raithe

In stories, the heroes always arrived at the scene of the crime just as it was taking place, thereby foiling the villain's plans and saving the day. This time was apparently no different.

After a few more seconds of high-speed travel, I broke free of the trees and into a play park separated from the neighboring road and residential area by a low stone wall and containing a decent amount of playground equipment scattered about it. More importantly, it also contained what had to be the source of whatever it was I was feeling.

Zoicite (or whatever his name was – assuming it really was a 'he') stood about fifteen or so feet away, looming over a young girl who couldn't have been older than seven- or eight-years-old. For her part, the girl was standing protectively in front of what I assumed to be one of Mister's distant relatives, the huge, greenish-grey-furred (the heck?) cat peeking out from around her and hissing menacingly. There was another ten feet between her and the wall.

And that was literally all the analysis I had time for; Zoicite hadn't noticed me yet, and I needed to take the opportunity get the girl to safety fast, before the creep had time to do... whatever it was he did to people. The cat could fend for itself for the time being.

I closed the gap as fast as I could, slowed myself enough that I could grab the girl without giving her a severe case of whiplash, then started accelerating again as I dashed away towards the wall; a waist-high chunk of stone doesn't make for the best cover, but it's better than nothing. Just as I started my jump, however, a yell came from behind me, and I was hit in the back with a wave of force that technically made me faster, but I really wish it hadn't.

With my timing thrown off, what should have been a natural twenty on a jump check turned into a fumble, and my feet and ankles clipped the top of the stone. From there, physics took over, and I found my head rushing to meet the unforgiving ground.

I desperately twisted my body, trying to ensure that I was between the girl and the street. A moment later, the back of my head slammed against the asphalt hard enough to leave cracks, followed swiftly by a few more impacts all over my body as Isaac Newton made me his personal plaything. The girl's arm smacking me in the face was just the cherry on top.

The good news was that the ordeal hadn't actually hurt all that much. I'm pretty sure I'd be sore for a while, but whatever protective spells were on this embarrassing outfit apparently extended to my entire body – no need to worry about a cracked skull or brain damage. The bad news was that the impact was still enough to knock the wind out of me and make me see stars. I just laid on the ground for a few moments, trying to force my body and mind back to mobility before Zoicite decided to make a follow-up attack. The girl squirmed out of my grasp, but rather than run away from the creepy psycho, she started running back towards him, yelling about some sort of butler, of all things.

And then the feeling of wrongness intensified, and the cat started yowling in pain.

The sound spurred my recovery, and I forced myself to feet, noting what was happening in the process: a large black crystal was hovering over the cat, a dark pulse of energy radiating from it. The cat was convulsing and yowling as a hole opened up in its chest. Stars and stones, he's been after the cat this whole time?!

Aaand the kid was still running towards them, apparently determined to stop whatever was taking place. Hell's bells, was everyone in Juuban suicidally brave?

Thinking fast, I lunged forwards, grabbed ahold of the girl's dress to pull her behind me with a barked order to run, and then leapt to the top of the wall and prepared to throw a lightning bolt at Zoicite's head. It wasn't until I was already committed to the attack that I remembered just how damnably slow it was.

The warlock glanced my way as I began to spend an eternity charging up, but instead of sending another spell at me he just turned back to his ritual, an expression of exertion painting his face. Lucky me, this was apparently the sort of thing you couldn't just pause and boot back up later.

And thus, the two of us found ourselves locked in a very short race to see who could finish their spells first... and it was a race that I lost.

He grabbed the purple gem that emerged from the cat and promptly vanished, just moments before lightning tore through the space he had been occupying. A second later, a blast of force knocked me off the wall and sent me to the ground inside the play park, though this time I was able to turn it into a roll, ending up half-way to my feet and facing my attacker, who was hovering ten feet off the ground and wearing the most infuriating smirk I had ever seen. He could even give papa pointers.

He gave me a mocking salute and vanished again, and I whirled around, trying find where he'd jumped to before I was caught off guard again, but all I saw during several seconds of frantic searching was the little girl peeking out from behind the park wall, and her giant cat lying on the ground, its great chest heaving in and out.

A giant cat which I could only assume was about to change into a monster, like the man from the day before. That same aura of darkness was already beginning to envelope it. And I knew there was nothing I could do to stop the process.

Hoping like hell that Zoicite really had run off, I racked my brain to try to form a plan. Priority one was to see to the safety of the little girl. Priority two was to keep whatever the cat was about to transform into in check until someone more equipped to deal with the situation arrived. I didn't want to have to kill an innocent victim, though if it came down to it that might be my only choice.

Oh, and not dying during this whole ordeal would be a nice bonus.

So, here's the plan: I grab the girl (who was once again starting to clamber over the wall in order to rush to the cat, crying about a red butler or something), plop her down a good distance from the monster, get the thing's attention, and then... then... then I wing it. Perfect.

Well, it was the best I had. I put part one into effect, grabbing up the kid as she dropped down even as the cat's transformation began, its feline body twisting and elongating as it yowled out in what must have been horrendous pain. I couldn't help but shudder at the sound, feeling rooted to the spot and holding the girl tight against me as much for my own comfort as for hers.

Finally, the screeching stopped, the dark aura subsiding to reveal the monster the cat had become.

It stood on two legs like the feline version of a loup-garou, its face an odd cross between cat and wolf, its body lithe but clearly muscled, and its paws tipped with wicked-looking claws. It must have been at least as tall as papa, though the slight hunch in its stance made it hard to tell. Its body was covered in fur, most of it the same grey-green as it had been as a 'normal' cat with the addition of black stripes, but its mane and long tail instead sported thick, pitch-black hair that I'm sure could function as armor. A loose necklace studded with fangs hung from its neck, and it wore a golden collar, bracelets, and leggings. Altogether, it made an intimidating figure – certainly scarier-looking than the last monster had been.

It turned towards us, a growl rumbling in its throat, looking us over as if sizing us up... and I could tell just looking at the way it held itself that it was fast – maybe fast enough that I would never be able to outrun it, not even with a decent head-start.

OK, time to revise the plan – hold on to the kid and start taking evasive action. It was going to be dicey, but all I had to do was keep it busy until papa arrived. He couldn't be that far behind, could he? I prepared myself to leap out of the way of the chat-garou's inevitable pounce.

And then the girl in my arms did the worst thing possible.

She screamed.

The high-pitched shriek of terror tore through me like a frozen knife. My heart-rate skyrocketed, my breath doing its best to keep pace, and the bottom dropped out of my stomach as the beast loomed larger and larger in my vision and I felt smaller and smaller, yells of fear and pain from strange people I couldn't see filling my ears, the smell of blood and worse overwhelming everything so I couldn't think, I couldn't move, I was all alone and I needed help I needed someone to save me I needed papa I...

I don't really have a clear memory of what happened next. The next thing I knew, I was flying backwards through the air, a too-familiar mix of numbness and pin-and-needles in my right arm. The chat-garou was in flight as well, but going much faster and in the opposite direction, trailing little tendrils of smoke as it went. Presumably, I'd managed to hit it with a lightning spell at extremely close range, the force of it launching both of us away, but I'll never know for sure.

I landed on my back and simply stared at the sky for a few seconds, panting, trying to get my mind and emotions back under control. Gradually, I became aware of the small form still clutched in my left arm.

And she wasn't moving.

Fear from the past gave way to a different sort of fear altogether as I turned all of my attention to her still form, followed by a moment of relief when I felt her chest expand and contract with breath. Thank god. The shock had knocked her unconscious, and she'd probably need to see a doctor (and maybe a therapist) when this was all done, but things could be much worse.

Shakily, I forced myself upright once more, turning to view the creature lying some dozen or so yards away, beginning to raise itself to its own knees. There was no help for it; I'd have to put it down permanently, while I had the chance, to keep it from hurting anyone else.

Steeling myself for what I needed to do, I began to gather my will.

"Stop right there! This is a place where innocent children are meant to... Again? Jupiter, how come the bad guy never acts right when you're here?"

I felt my eye start twitching as both the monster and I turned to look at the newcomers – Usagi and Ami (knew it!) - who stood at the tree-line, both wearing the damn miniskirts, both making ridiculous poses, and neither of them actually taking the opportunity to help the situation.

Oh for the...

---

That girl was so grounded once I got a hold of her.

The second she shot off, I chased after her, but even with my ridiculously huge strides it wasn't long before she was completely out of my sight and clearly heading towards something she wasn't prepared for. And considering she noticed it when she was wearing the suit, it most likely had something to do with those Dark Kingdom goons. I briefly wondered if she was too old for a spanking for the heart- and headaches she put her old man through.

I closed my eyes and extended my senses, hoping to pinpoint where Makoto had run off to. Even if she ran in a straight line, having to dodge around trees or buildings would move her off course enough that we would each end up somewhere completely different. Slowly, the same unique ping of my daughter's energy came from somewhere slightly to the left of me. It was faint and a bit different, but that was probably because the suit helped to mask her energy signature. If I wasn't so familiar with her, I'd probably mistake it entirely.

After running for a bit, I jumped over a string of tall bushes, only to almost smash bodily into a young woman on the nature path. Twisting myself, I managed to avoid hitting the girl and having a meeting between my face and the ground.

"Ah, are you alright?" she asked, breathing a bit heavily and startled.

Still gathering my balance, I responded, "I'm fine, miss. Are you? I didn't hit you, right?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm alright." She shot up straight, as if suddenly remembering something. "But there's a bigger problem! The senshi are fighting! We have to leave before we get caught up!"

I froze. "Wait, what?" I swung my face around. "Where?" I asked frantically.

She pointed a ways off down the path. "There was this cloaked man just down that wa-hey! Where are you going?" she shouted as I rushed in the direction she was pointing. "It's dangerous!"

"Don't worry, I'm a professional!" I yelled over my shoulder, picking up speed.

Maybe it wasn't Makoto fighting. Maybe... Pfff, who was I kidding? Even if the other senshi were involved, expecting my little sparkplug to not stick her nose into the business of someone being naughty was an exercise in futility. And what kind of father would I be if I wasn't there to tend to her booboos, wipe her nose, and disintegrate with extreme prejudice any baddie that made her cry?

Even so, what was up with the Japanese and their weird fashion sense? I mean, Molly might've have been getting into the whole punk chic deal and dying her hair, but at least she only colored parts of it instead of the entirety of waist-length locks. And such an unnatural green outside of the fairie courts, at that.

...I decided to file that thought away for later.

I arrived at the scene of the crime in short order. The path opened up to a large, open space, with several benches scattered around the perimeter of the square and what I assumed to be a public bathroom settled in one of the corners.

And lo and behold who I found waiting there for me - Mr. Saturday Morning Villain himself. Zoe was standing in the center of the plaza, holding a crystal similar to the one he'd pulled out of that average Joe the day before, only this one was a dark purple. He was examining it in the sunlight, with an inordinately pleased look on his pretty-boy face. I gritted my teeth at the implication that someone else was now victim to him. Wait, did that mean that Makoto was...?

My feet crunched on some gravel, catching Zoe's attention. He turned to face me, that familiar look of contempt and condescension plastered on his face, only for it to morph into something more enraged as he recognized me.

"You!" he snarled.

"Yeah, me, what-whoa!"

Whatever witty comeback I'd planned on saying was cut short when he sent a blast of force magic at me, forcing me to dodge to the side and take cover behind one of the concrete benches, whatever protection that provided.

"Do you have any idea how much you've interfered?"

"Aw, but Zoe, I thought you'd be happy to see me," I cooed endearingly, making sure to squat to keep my body covered by the bench. "After all, we were such good friends when we last met. You even left a good-bye present for me."

"Ah, yes," he said. I peeked over the bench only for him to nonchalantly throw another blast, though at least this one was smaller. "I was wondering how you survived my youma. I assume the senshi saved your worthless hide?"

"Yeah, sure, let's go with that," I mumbled. Well, that was good; he thought those girls had destroyed his pet monster, which meant that he wasn't aware I was a magic user yet. Which meant I was primed for a good surprise round if and when he let down his guard. "Anyway, why the unpleasant greeting? Did I ruin that pretty face of yours? I swear, it was just the way we Americans greet raving psychos."

"Hmph! Your words betray your incompetence and lack of any wit. As if an attack by a monkey like you would harm me in any way, shape, or form. Besides, the gifts bestowed to me by our master Metallia would fix any such falsehoods even if they did happen."

Oh? Is that what you called bleeding all over yourself like a skateboarder who face-planted off the half-pipe? "If that's the case, then what's up, doc?"

"Because, you insipid vermin, your ungraceful actions have foiled my plans!"

...what? No, seriously, what? Did he just say what I think he said?

"Although you may only be a mortal, and not even a minor threat like those accursed senshi, you have managed to become much more of a thorn in my side with one action than those simpering brats ever could!"

Oh... Oh god... It hit me. I mean, it really just hit me. I wasn't just dealing with a classic bad guy who didn't know to keep his mouth shut. I was dealing with a cardboard cutout of a villain, the kind of character needed to explain basic do's-and-dont's to kindergarteners. The kind of person that shouldn't psychologically exist because of how one-dimensional their thought processes were.

"Because of you, all my plans have been set back by who knows how long, and dearest master Kunzite will be ever so disappointed in me. I will make sure your punishment rings out in the depths of the void for all eternity!"

I was dealing with a anthropomorphic cliché... and he was monologuing.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

"No, but I have the feeling you're going to tell me."

"Humph," he tutted, throwing his long ponytail back over his shoulders. "I suppose it would only be fair to explain to you the extent of your crimes so that you are fully aware of what you have committed and therefore can fully appreciate what I will do to you as punishment."

"Oh, joy." I looked over the bench again and did not find another force punch to the face.

Zoe seemed content to let me stand up and wait for my atonement while he read me my list of crimes. Actually, that worked out in my favor, because it meant that he would willingly hand over much needed info and that he didn't see me as enough of a threat to keep me continually taking cover. Probably thought he could wipe me out with a thought. Keep thinking that, buster. Timer just started on how much longer I'll take your crap before I figure you're no longer useful and set you on fire.

I stood up and brushed dirt off my duster, surreptitiously putting a hand in the front pocket to take a hold of my blasting rod. With my other hand gripped around my staff, I pointed at the large crystal in his hand. "So, I'm guessing it has to do with those crystals you've been yanking out of peoples' chests?" He blinked and looked at me with a newfound curiosity. And that's that when my birthday, Christmas, and Cinco de Mayo all came at once.

Even starting right into his eyes, I didn't feel the slightest pull of a soulgaze.

Oh Chuckles, you have no idea how happy you just made me.

Not realizing in the slightest that I now had carte blanch to flay him with the primal forces of the universe, Zoe sprung into an arrogant rant. "Ah, so you were able to put enough brain cells together to figure out what I'm after?" At my thunderous look, he smiled slimily. "No need for such dirty looks, though it does fit that ugly visage of yours. I retrieved this rainbow crystal from a cat, of all things. To think, one of the seven great youma hiding out in a dirty beast." He laughed airily, holding a hand to his mouth. When he finished, he leered at me. "Ah, not that you would know, but the great youma are creatures beyond your wildest ken, each with a rainbow crystal imprisoning their soul."

Yeah, yeah, I'd gleaned that from Luna's secretive mumblings. Get to the blasted point, already. "So, how exactly did I... foil your plans?" Stars and stones, it was physically painful to say that unironically. "Seems to me like you got them well enough on your own."

His leer turned into an impetuous sneer. "I was getting to that, you mangy cur!" He retrieved another crystal from his outfit, one that I recognized as the black crystal he'd dropped along with that red one from the first time we met. "This is supposed to lead me to the next rainbow crystal, or at least it was, but because of your cowardly ambush, the thing doesn't fulfill the one purpose it had!"

That would explain the sparks I saw emitting from it when it hit that rock. So, his doomsday device radar was on the fritz? Quick, call the nearest mad scientist! "Seems like it's working pretty well to me. You found your next one easy enough."

"Oh yes, it shows me my next target, but it doesn't linger nearly long enough for me to find the rainbow crystal before it jumps to the next one! And the next one! And the next one!" Huh, so it was stuck on shuffle. Sucked to be him. "And because that witch Serenity sealed away all of the great youma's essences, I cannot find their presence unless I am right on top of their location!"

He whipped a finger out at me. "So you see, mortal, you have made my mission much more complicated than need be, and because of that, you will pay with your very life!" He clasped his hands together and looked up reverently, almost praying. "Oh, master Kunzite, I am so sorry to be of such little use to you. But do not worry, soon I will regain my honor and return to your side triumphant once more!"

And... he was gone. Well, at least he seemed sufficiently distracted babbling on-and-on about this Kunzite character for me to at least piece together his ramblings into a cohesive collection. From what I could tell, that black crystal acted as a dousing rod for those 'rainbow crystals,' each of which sealed away some nasty demon. That made their importance twofold: one, there were several other human-shaped demon-prisons wandering around the greater area of Azabu-Juuban. And two, the crystals had to be packing some major mojo to seal away one powerful demon each.

That meant that until these other crystals were wrapped up, or their holders were brought into protective custody, Makoto and the others would be in constant danger having to fight these demons off. So I needed to find these 'great youma' first, but to do that with any kind of efficiency I would need the power of that black crystal.

Which meant I needed to take out Zoe as quickly as possible, besides the fact that his ramblings were starting to feel like a spike to the brain.

"...that worthless Jadeite and traitorous Nephrite could not even match a modicum of your power. Even that slime Nephrite's one chance at greatness failed to show anything of value. To think that I would be beholden to this broken bauble so that I may prove my worthiness to you. Hmph, the death I gave him was too good for-"

Hell's bells, he was still talking? Yeah, I think I'd let him continue on with his egotistical ramblings long enough.

Time's up, Zoe. "Fuego!"

He had just enough time to look dumbfounded before a gout of fire roared through his location. Yeah, idiots like him never really expect anyone to actually interrupt their monologues. He made it easy!

...Too easy. I had already started to throw myself forwards when a shout came from behind me, followed swiftly by a wave of force that caught me full in the back. With my split second of preparation, though, I was able to turn it into a controlled tumble. I was back on my feet in moments, bringing my blasting rod to bear on the cheating warlock.

"Ah, I hadn't realized that Serenity had-" he began, but I really wasn't inclined to let him start yammering again, and sent some more fire his way. He teledodged out of the way once more, but this time I was expecting it, whirling around the instant the spell let loose, aiming my staff at his materializing form, and sending my own invisible blast of force his way with a yell before running to the side in case of a counter-attack.

And it was a good thing too, as it seemed he'd expected me to pull that, dodging to the side as soon as he materialized so my attack hit nothing but air. For his part, he formed a dagger out of nothing and chucked it my way, but failed to correct for my movement. The dagger flew by way too close for comfort anyway (I had a brief impression of some sort of black crystal) and then it caught the trailing edge of my duster and tumbled out of sight.

Of course, the bastard had taken the opportunity to vanish again, and by the time I found him a second or so later, he'd charged up his hands with some sort crackling black energy.

Yeah, that's never good. As he stuck his arm out towards me, I opted for the 'preemptive dodge' strategy again, hurling myself to the side just as the attack went off...

...Was that a bunch of flower petals? Why the hell would oh dear god!

Imagine the sound of fingernails on a blackboard. Now, multiply that by a thousand. Now, imagine they're all inside your brain. That's what that attack felt like, and it had missed me by a good two feet!

The sheer, shrieking wrongness of it tore my thoughts to shreds, leaving me with nothing but my instincts to act on.

Thankfully, my instinct in this sort of situation is to set things on fire.

Sprawled on the ground and half-blinded from psychic pain, I unsteadily lifted my blasting rod in his direction and forced out, "Fuego!" A not-at-all concentrated cloud of fire covered the entire area. I didn't care about hurting him, I just wanted to distract him while I brought myself back to fighting shape.

The effort cost me in my current state as my vision darkened further for a split-second, but I could already feel the mental noise retreating and my thoughts returning. I started getting back up.

And was immediately knocked back to the ground when a boot kicked me in the side, the impact painful even through the protection of my duster. I landed on my back this time, getting a wonderful view of Zoe as he prepared to skewer me with a sword made from the same material as the knife. I rolled out of the away of the initial thrust, feeling the blade scrape across the enchanted leather covering my back, and then was sent rolling further by another force spell, losing my grip on both my staff and my blasting rod in the process.

As I tumbled, trying to regain control, I noticed whenever I was facing the right way that Zoe had teleported again, this time placing himself in my path, sword raised high, ready for another strike. The bastard was playing with me, like a cat with a mouse.

Alright, no more mister nice guy. As I tumbled close enough, I lashed out with my arm, adding force of muscle to the centripetal force of my roll, whipping my fist at him even as he started to bring down his sword, and smashed the nut right in the nuts.

The effect was instantaneous, as the impact arrested the majority of my momentum and caused him to let go of the sword while a grunt of pain about two octaves higher than normal escaped his lips. He staggered back a pace or two before falling onto his ass. Ha! Call-shot-to-the-nuts beats phenomenal cosmic powers every time!

I got to my feet and shook off my dizziness as he literally hissed, clutching his crotch with both hands. "You would DARE-" he squeaked out, before I thrust my fist towards him and prepared to trigger one of my force rings. Too bad it turns out massive testicular trauma wasn't enough to stop him from teleporting at a moment's notice. He mixed it up this time by appearing about ten yards away in the same direction, launching another knife my way (though with considerably less accuracy, this time).

Yeah, this wasn't working. I'd run in blind, underestimated his strength and skill (though so far no indication I'd underestimated his intelligence as well), and gotten myself injured and disarmed on top of that, and all I had to show for it was a single lucky blow to an admittedly sensitive area. Time to come up with a distraction and beat a tactical retreat back into the woods.

"Stop right there, Zoicite! Attacking people in the sanctity of nature is not the way of love and justice! Against someone who..."

Well, so much for that idea. I glanced to my right, to see a girl in a red miniskirt posing dramatically.

"Hey!" I shouted. "Less posing-"

---

"More shooting!"

"Wha-"

Another roar that seemed to shake the ground around us. The chat-garou'd gotten back to its feet and made another lunge at me, covering the distance between me and it with nearly a single step. Again, my heart pounded in my skull, my breath coming too quick for me to collect myself.

"Damnit!"

I dove to the side, cradling the unconscious young girl as best I could. Unused to the extra weight, I hit my shoulder and rolled. As the world spun around me, I could hear two distinct shouts of power rip into the air.

"Moon Tiara Action!"

"Shabon Spray!"

When I managed to get into a kneeling position, I saw Usagi's stupid princess tiara transform into a blazing aura of light and curve in on the monster. The beast made a small jump back and easily avoided it, but it appeared that the assault was meant more as a distraction than anything else. The actual attack came from the unassuming Ami instead.

In a matter of seconds, a heavy fog blanketed the entire area. Or at least, I think it was supposed to be fog. I was pretty sure fog was supposed to be hard to see through, and it wasn't supposed to look like a bunch of bubbles tightly-knit together. I could see through it with no problem, but it was like I wasn't supposed to - a hint of opaqueness at the outskirts of my vision. Was it a water-based veil of some kind?

Whatever it was, it might not have worked on me, but it definitely worked on the chat-garou. The creature was swiveling its head back and forth, trying to get a bead on where I and the others were. Seeing that I had a moment's rest from being attacked while carrying precious cargo, I took the time given to race over to my (for the time being) allies.

"Jupiter!" Usagi said brightly. "It's great to see you here! We could definitely use the help to purify this new youma."

I looked at her, then Ami (who was wearing this weird, blue see-through visor that belonged in a B-list sci-fi flick), and then finally Luna, who was warily watching the chat-garou from Ami's shoulder. "Well, can't say that I'm angry for getting back-up, either. That thing nearly took both me and the girl out."

Luna split her attention from the beast to me. "Girl?" she asked quickly, eyes darting down at the unconscious form in my arms. "Is she ok?" Her eyes melted in concern. My opinion of her went up a couple notches for asking about the girl first. Careful, moon cat, you might make me not not like you if you keep this up.

"She's breathing," I said carefully. "She'll probably have a heck of headache and a lot of bruises when this is over, but I think she'll be fine. Anyway, bug, mean, and ugly is another of those crystal youma you were talking about. Zoicite just ran off with its crystal."

Luna's eyes narrowed, like she was probably gonna chastise me for letting Zoicite getting away, but thought better of it. Smart move, moon cat. "What can you tell us about it? Origins? Strengths? Weaknesses?"

"Used to be a cat; that girl's, I think. Quick as greased lightning and probably hits like a semi. Really aggressive and violent, too. First thing it did was attack me the second it transformed." I carefully steadied my stance as I spared a glance at it. It was still rooted in place, its eyes darting all around and ears flicking back and forth. "So I'm kinda wondering why it's not attacking us right now."

"It can't tell where we are because of the veiling effect of my spell," Ami answered. She swallowed when I looked at her. Looked like she was still a bit nervous around me after the blowout earlier that morning. Couldn't really blame her. The row Rei and I'd gotten into wasn't all that fun to watch and probably worse to be involved in. Still, she gathered up her nerves and continued. "Shabon Spray not only blocks the vision of anyone not in a senshi suit, but it also dampens and spreads out sound. To the youma, anything we say sounds like it's coming from all directions, so it could't triangulate our location even if it had echolocation like a bat."

"Which means it can't find us in this veil?" She hesitantly nodded at my odd choice of words, and I grinned fiercely in response. "Awesome. That should make this a lot easier, then."

"What are you-" Whatever Ami was going to ask was cut off when I shoved the girl at her. Ami scrambled to properly hold on to her.

"Get her to a safe place," I ordered. I turned and planted my feet, prepping for the only spell I had. I briefly considered canceling my transformation to gain access to spells that were actually worth a damn, but decided against it when I realized that it would probably just leave me blind in the fog. "A couple attacks and it won't be able to hurt anyone ever again."

"Jupiter..." Usagi's voice was a bit anxious. "What are you planning to do?"

"Fry that monster to a crisp," I said plainly.

"You can't!" she cried.

"Like hell I can't!" I growled. I summoned the power for an attack, the air around me starting to crackle as the requisite storm clouds began to gather above. "That thing nearly killed that girl. No way am I just letting it wander about to hurt some other little girl."

"But it's that little girl's cat!" Usagi pleaded. "Are you going to kill her pet?"

"That thing's not her pet anymore, Usagi," I said coldly. "It stopped being her friend the moment it tried to rip her head off."

"But we can heal it, turn it back to normal! It doesn't have to be killed!"

"And if that fails? I'm not going to take that chance." The call of thunder reached my lips. "Su-"

"No!" Usagi jumped in between me and the chat-garou.

"Damn it, you idiot! What are you-"

"You are not going to kill it! It didn't do anything wrong! If anything, Zoicite's at fault for making it this way! I am not going to let some innocent animal be killed! I'm going to purify it, and that's that. Understood?"

Usagi looked up at me, eyes steely and unbending. It was the look of someone fused to their ideals and unwilling to let anyone step on or over them. The look of someone that refused to step down even if everyone was against them.

I knew those eyes. I saw them everyday in a hero I respected more than life itself. So I was the first to blink.

"Fine," I relented, my teeth grinding in frustration. "Use that healing spell of yours. Just be sure that..." I trailed off, staring past her.

"Jupiter?" Usagi questioned softly, confused at my reaction.

I was focused on the chat-garou. Its nose was in the air, sniffing and snuffling. Slowly, it lowered its head and faced us. Its eyes looked in our direction, though not focused directly on us.

It knew. Ami's veil might have prevented it from tracking us via sight or sound, but it didn't completely stop its ability to smell.

It knew where we were.

"Dodge!"

The words were barely passed my lips when the beast bent its knees and propelled itself forward.

There was a split second of confusion from the others before we all scattered in different directions, the chat-garou landing where we had once been. Its nosed twitched again as it sniffed out our scents before locking onto its prey and dashing off.

It was going after Ami... and therefore also the girl.

It was going after the little girl. It was going to hurt the little girl. It was going to kill the little girl.

Like hell was I going to let that happen! I wasn't going to let any little girl be hurt ever again!

"Supreme Thunder!"

The power I'd gathered but hadn't had the chance to release finally found its intended target. The chat-garou sensed it coming, but wasn't able to completely dodge, the lightning bolt striking its legs and causing it to hit the ground hard. Its legs twitched from the shock, but it wouldn't be long before it managed to get back up again and complete its dark quest.

I charged another spell, pacing towards it as I did. I wouldn't give it the chance.

"Supreme Thunder!"

Another lightning strike hit it center mass, causing the creature's entire body to spasm. It fell flat against the ground, trying to get back to its feet. It was still moving, which meant I wasn't done yet. I wouldn't be done until it couldn't get up - ever again. Someone called out to me, but I ignored them.

I had justice to serve. Still moving forwards, I started charging again

"Supreme Thunder!"

The monster reached out a shaking, oversized paw towards Ami and the girl. Even in the face of its oncoming demise, it was still focused on nothing more than trying to chase down and wipe out its quarry. Just like a monster. Well, too bad. I wasn't going to let it.

Another call, another pointless attempt to get my attention. Nothing was going to distract me from this. Nothing was going to divert me from my life's mission - to eradicate all the things that feasted on the innocent.

My hand raised again to call on my powers. I didn't care how tough this thing was, I'd just keep blasting it until it stopped moving. I wasn't going to take any chances, though. I collected as much power in the spell as the suit would let me and aimed directly for it, intent on turning it into a blackened crisp.

"Supreme Thun-"

"Mako!"

Something hit me from behind, arms wrapping around my torso, squeezing me for all it could. The spell sputtered in my grasp and spilled away, little arcs of lightning going everywhere. I froze. Did it have friends? Was it going after me now? Did it think that I was suitable prey for-

"Mako, it's okay! It's going to be all right! You don't have to push yourself anymore!"

That voice. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked down. There was Usagi, looking up at me with tears in her eyes. I blinked.

"Usagi..." I said. My voice was trembling. Why was I trembling? "What are..."

"It's going to be fine, Mako. You don't have to keep doing this! The youma's not going to hurt anyone! You don't have to... have to..." She sniffed, tears already starting to course down her face.

I looked at the chat-garou. It was still on the ground, still stunned from all my attacks. But now I was able to see the damage my strikes had done to it. Its fur had been singed black all over, with small bald spots where my bolts had hit it. What could have been blood oozed from its wounds, the cauterized flesh preventing most of it from leaking. Its jewelry and bangles were in pieces, shattered all over the place.

I looked at my hand, outreached for one last attack. It was shaking. No, it wasn't shaking; my entire body was. And then, it hit me all at once.

Like a marionette with its strings cut, I fell to my knees. My arms crossed my chest and I clutched myself for all my worth. What... what had I been doing just now? What had I done? What had I been about to do?

I was going to... going to... My thoughts raced to the first crystal youma I'd come across. It was a monster, yes, but there had been a person inside - a living, breathing person. A person who, until Zoicite had ripped the crystal from his body and forcibly transformed him, was just your average Joe trying to live their life.

This youma had been a cat, that little girl's beloved pet.

And I had been about to kill it without a second thought.

"Wha... what am I..."

"Shh..." Usagi murmured, bringing my head to rest on her chest. "It's okay, Mako. It's all going to be okay. We're here for you. I'm here for you. You're not alone anymore. You don't have to rely on yourself. You don't have to cling to just your papa. There are others who care for you. Others who will always be by your side, just like him."

That voice. Only a select few had that voice, that tone that could relax me, make me feel like a child, wrap me up in security, and make all the nightmares go away. That voice that I would go to hell and back for. And she... Usagi...

I didn't realize it till now, but my cheeks felt moist. Putting a hand to my face, it came back wet. Was I... was I crying? The hero? Heroes weren't allowed to cry. Only... only babies were...

"Let it out, Mako." Again with that voice. Usagi put her forehead on top of my head. "Just let it all out."

And the dam burst open.

I'm sure it was a very touching, very beautiful scene, me weeping into Usagi's warm embrace. However, the effect was somewhat diminished when it became clear that the chat-garou had taken the time granted to it by my emotional breakdown to start recovering from the blasting I'd given it and change its target – to Usagi and me. And... holy crap, steam was actually wafting off of it as its burns healed and flesh re-knitted itself.

There was a low-pitched but very audible growl from its direction, and the two of us froze as the beast settled back into its launching position and then sprang at us. Surprisingly, Usagi acted almost immediately and chucked her tiara at it.

No, not her shining tiara spell; I mean she just outright took her pretty-pink-princess tiara and hurled it with all her strength at the chat-garou. Hey, I think it's become quite clear that while an absolute sweetie and prime cool-down hugger, Usagi was not one for planning on the fly. The headpiece harmlessly bounced off its snout, but I think the action was so out of left-field, even for the chat-garou, that it just paused at the ludicrously futile attempt.

That pause was enough for me to finally get my stuff together. It was trying to harm Usagi now, my friend, and there was no way that was going to happen now that I'd finally gotten a hold of myself. Usagi's girlish squeak of fear at the chat-garou's restarted attack shifted into one of surprise as I swept her into a bridal carry and jumped myself into mini-orbit, completely evading its blind swipe.

I gently landed far to the beast's right. Usagi looked up at me, blinking cutely at the sudden change in position. "Mako...?"

My lips curved. It was still a little forced, and it didn't go up all the way to my eyes, but the cocky grin I'd practiced over years was finally making its comeback. "Don't worry, I think I'm okay for now." I blushed, averting my gaze. "Um, thanks for that, Usa-" I set my mouth into a thin line and shook my head. "No, thank you, Sailor Moon."

Usagi's eyes went wide for a moment before she let out one of the most subdued girly screams ever. She shook her head furiously, so much that I was afraid it would go flying off her shoulders and one of her pigtails managed to wrap itself around my face (ack, hair in my mouth!). "Unn! You're welcome, Jupiter!"

Maybe I didn't believe in this whole reincarnated warrior shtick. Maybe I didn't back the noble cause of the sailor senshi. Maybe I wasn't fit to be called one of their own, a protector of the solar system. But I did know one thing.

Usagi was my friend, and come hell or high water, I was going to help her. And that was enough for me.

"So, uh..." I smiled nervously. "Can I let you down now?"

Usagi started. "Oh, of course!" She hopped down from my arms and twirled in place once. "Well, that's that! So! As sailor senshi, let's purify that youma! Wah!"

Seemed like the chat-garou had locked onto our scent again, because it tried to pound us into paste a second time. We both dodged in different directions, and the creature paused, sniffing the air again to try and decide which of us to go after. Which turned out to be neither, because it went in a completely different direction, soon followed by a small shriek of surprise.

"Mercury!" Usagi shouted. Another reiteration of "Moon Tiara Action" was called out, the glowing disc zooming in on the back of the youma's head.

It responded by literally backhanding the spell, causing it to ricochet and dig a large divot in the ground. At the very least, it stopped the chat-garou from moving any further, and from the nasty burn mark on the back of its paw (this one not caused by me), it certainly couldn't just ignore the attack completely. The youma sniffed the air again, looking back and forth for any new incoming attacks. With no more forthcoming, it warily took a step forward.

And then dodged when my lightning blast nearly took its arm off. Darn it, it was starting to learn! I hated when they did that! Papa did, too, because it made it that much harder to take them down when they started to correctly guess what was coming next.

"Mercury!" Usagi shouted. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Ami responded. "But it would appear we're in a bit of trouble. I hid the girl, but it looks like the youma has tracked down her scent, and it won't be long before it finds her."

Oh... oh, that wasn't good. Of course, outright announcing that the creature had pretty much located its mark wasn't all that bright, but I don't think Ami was dumb enough to do that unless she felt that there was really no point in trying to hide the fact any further. Unless we ended this on the better side of now, and Usagi managed to purify it, odds were the youma was going to find the girl sooner rather than later.

Those odds were then heavily skewed when the little girl woke up from whatever hiding spot Ami had stashed her and immediately started calling for that stupid butler of hers. Her voice galvanized the youma into action, and it shot off in the direction I assumed the girl and Ami were in.

Ami's panicked shout of, "Hey, wait, get back here!" did not bode well either, especially when I saw that the little girl had dodged her grasp and blindly run out of the children's playset she'd been hiding and into the general warpath of the youma.

The youma that was now less than ten feet from the girl.

My mind froze in shock and despair. There was nothing I could do to stop what was about to happen. The suit's one spell was too slow, I didn't have enough time to transform and use one of my normal spells (not to mention I'd probably miss in the fog), and the youma was closer to the girl than me.

That didn't mean I wouldn't try. With all my strength, I kicked off the ground, reaching out. I didn't care that I was too far. I didn't care that I was too slow. I didn't care that another thousand variables meant I wouldn't make it in time.

All I could see was the youma reaching out for the girl, ready to tear her to shreds, revel in her blood, soak in her fear and cries and pain. A little girl, watching as she died at the hands of some horrible supernatural beast.

But I was too late. It didn't matter if it was by less than a second or by several. I was too late as the chat-garou swept the girl up in its rippling arms, squeezed her to its chest, and started licking her face while... purring?

What.

The girl giggled in delight as she hugged the youma's overly-large muzzle for all she could, laughing as it cradled her like some delicate piece of china, its gruff chufflings almost reminding me of Mouse... if Mouse was five-hundred pounds of walking murder.

"Rhett Butler!" the girl cried happily, shrieking as the chat-garou laid another sloppy lick on her face, creating a monster of a cowlick from her primly manicured hair.

"...what just happened?" I asked blankly.

"It's love!" Usagi declared, landing next to me with a fist raised in glorious triumph. The fog began to clear, so I no longer had that strange psuedo-filter over my eyes, and I was able to see just how pure and sincere her expression was.

I just gave her a blank stare, completely unable to comprehend the scene that was occurring in front of me. "What?"

"It's love!" she repeated. "The power of love managed to cut through the dark magic cast on the poor innocent cat! Even in its corrupted state, it managed to hold onto the beloved image of its master and resist the evil temptation and influence of the youma hiding in its soul! And so, even if it became a monster, it managed to still want to love and protect its adored master, and the little girl was able to see through it monsterish form to see the true identity of the kitten she always loved!" She pumped both her fists again, a smug and pleased look of victory on her face. "Once again, love and justice wins the day!"

"While this is all very touching, I believe we should take the chance to purify it," Luna said dryly. "I doubt the girl will be able to take her pet home as it is now."

"Oh! Right!" Usagi pulled out that same infinitely-more-girly wand from some unknown (and unseen) pocket of her suit and raised it to the sky. "Moon Healing Escalation!" she chanted, spending a few seconds making a large circular motion.

From the circle, shining stardust flowed and landed on the youma and, just like with the first crystal youma, it erupted in a pillar of light before reverting back to its original shape. I could swear I even heard the thing yowl 'refresh' in a nasally tone as it did so.

Once back to its normal form, the little girl latched onto it even harder, squeezing the creature like it was some kind of squeaky toy. The cat took it in stride, eyes bulging only slightly as its tail straightened with every constriction.

And I? I just stood there motionlessly. "What is this, I don't even..." I groaned as I rubbed my eyes tiredly. "You know what? Forget it." I looked over to Usagi and Ami, who were currently crouched over the girl, alternating between cooing over the adorable scene and asking the girl questions like if she was okay and where her home was.

Luna, however, ignored the scene and hopped onto my shoulder. I was so out of energy I didn't even try to shake the moon cat off. She curled her tail around my neck and whispered into my ear quietly so that the others wouldn't hear.

"Now do you see why the sailor senshi are needed? Without Moon's purification, the youma would have to have been destroyed, and we wouldn't be witness to this heartfelt scene right now."

"Why do I have the feeling there's more to it than that?" I asked rhetorically, mouth drawn in a tight line.

"Perhaps because there is." She shrugged. "Still, that does not mean that the senshi are useless. Of course, they are young and inexperienced, but that does not mean there is no hope for them. After all, everyone has to start somewhere. You did, didn't you?"

"I also had a great teacher," I said.

"Perhaps," she acquiesced. "But think about it this way. The senshi come when they are needed. Without them, many would fall victim to the Dark Kingdom's machinations. Many innocent lives would be cut short. And besides, they were here when they needed to be. You were here. Do not believe that is simply serendipity." She stretched her head up. "It's destiny."

"I don't like the idea that something's already been decided for me. Heroes don't do things simply because they're supposed to."

"No, but I believe you're looking at it wrong. Destiny does not force one along a selected path. Destiny simply creates the circumstances and allows the one in the situation to make the choice on whether or not to follow it."

"Still sounds like a load of crock. And besides, it doesn't seem like I'd really have much of a choice in this sort of situation," I grumbled, unwilling to relent the point, even if, deep down, I somewhat agreed with her.

"Sometimes, what defines a person is not the path that they choose to take, but rather the paths that they won't take. After all, if heroes only chose the easiest path, the world would be a much poorer place."

I couldn't say anything to that. It sounded like something papa would say. After all, he knew the importance of a hard decision.

I just wonder if he ever regretted it.

We were quiet for a few minutes until something tickled my nose. I turned my head slightly to look at Luna, my mouth softly quirked. "You smell like candy."

If cats could blush, Luna would've, stammering as she almost fell off my shoulder. She regained enough of her composure, coughing into a paw and looking off to the side. "It's bubble-gum-scented. Usagi insisted," she said firmly, but there was a hint of affection to her tone.

I said nothing. I just laughed.

The sailor senshi, huh? Maybe... maybe this wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

I mean, I always did want to be a superhero, right? This was just a different branch of heroics. But still...

Something really had to be done about the dress code.

---

"W-what?" she stuttered, clearly unprepared for the person she was saving to berate her.

"Either shoot or run, but don't stand there posing like a moron! In fact, just run! You're just going to get your butt handed to you if you don't!"

The hesitation left her as fire flared up in her eyes. "What was that?!"

"I said run! You can't take this guy!" I yelled back at the defiant senshi in exasperation. I noticed Zoe starting to smirk and... oh crap. "Move!" I started running towards her.

"Don't you dare tell me what-" The rest was cut off when that weird flower-petal-migraine attack hit her square in the chest, too distracted to notice in time. At this distance, the mental shrieking from the attack was reduced to a mere static that I could easily power through, but my own panic over Mars' condition more than made up for it.

Panic quickly gave way to anger as I helplessly watched her get blasted several feet backwards before crashing into and through one of the benches. I turned back to the sneering asshole with murder in my eyes.

"Oh? And what do you intend to do without your tools? Don't think I'll let you recover them," he jeered, thus giving me ample time to pour power into my spell. You see, I don't actually need focus objects to use my magic; they just make it easier. And not so collateral damage-y.

"Fuego torrens!" I screamed, shooting a continuous jet of fire from my outstretched palm, not nearly so concentrated as I could make with my rod but deadly nonetheless – and smelling faintly of brimstone. I knew the smug bastard would dodge, and I didn't want to waste time putting together another spell.

He zipped to the right, and I turned to follow him, a torrent of hellfire-enhanced magic still spouting from my hand. His eyes went wide and he started to fly away, my flames tracking him across the sky, but I knew I couldn't keep this up much longer.

Finally, the spell gave out, and I gasped, my vision momentarily blurring from the effort. Zoe came to a stop as well, eyes narrowing. "How many more tricks do you have, I wonder?"

I put on my best smirk. "I don't know, how many more times will I have to blast you? Let's find out!"

His expression hardened, a black knife materializing in both hands. I got ready to show him a new trick, extending my left arm and shaking out my shield bracelet – which, as the name implied, helped me create shields of pure force.

Turns out I didn't need it. "Fire Soul!" Zoicite blinked out of existence as another wall of fire – coming from behind this time – shot through the space he'd until recently occupied. I spared a glance at the source and saw Sailor Mars crouched on one knee where she'd fallen, hands together and fingers extended in the shape of a gun, and looking none the worse for wear.

Huh, so those things do offer a good deal of protection – and a shield against that psychic attack, too. Good to know.

More than that, though, I saw her expression – a mix of anger and determination that brooked no argument or compromise, one that I had worn often enough myself. And I knew what it meant, too: there would be no convincing her to run.

Damn it. One more innocent to protect.

I couldn't help but wonder if she was thinking the same thing.

"Zoi!" Another force push from Zoe came at her from my left, but she leapt out of the way, landing about ten feet from me in a crouch facing him and immediately starting to charge up another spell. He wasn't going to give her the chance, but I wasn't going to give him the chance, sending another gout of flame his way and forcing him to dodge again. Mars and I quickly scanned the area, and she eventually zeroed in on a spot behind me and to my right. And apparently she could charge the spell while adjusting her aim, because she yelled the incantation and let off another burst almost as soon as she found him.

I threw myself to the left, but I needn't have bothered; Mars was smart enough to keep the flames a good distance away from me, so all I got was an uncomfortable wash of heat.

Right, I hated to do it, but she could take care of herself for a few seconds. With Zoe's attention focused on her, I scrambled over to where my rod and blasting rod lay, grabbing them up and returning my full attention to the fight.

I turned around in time to witness another blast tear through the sky, Zoe nonchalantly teleporting a few yards to the side and beginning to charge that petal attack again. On her end, Mars stood her ground as she began recharging her own. Hell's bells, had the girl never heard of staying mobile?

Well, I couldn't have that. I pointed my staff and yelled, "Ventas servitas!" A gale whipped through Mars's lingering fireball and sent it careening straight into the nutjob's side.

That attack connected, and he screamed in pain for a moment before vanishing from sight again, leaving burning scraps of cloth behind. When he reappeared to about fifteen feet to the side, though he had a nasty-looking burn on one arm, he was very much not on fire.

"Oh, come on! Cheater! Crap like that shouldn't even be legal!" I yelled at him, dashing to cover the ground between myself and Mars.

"Shut your mouth, you filthy-" The idiot took the bait again.

"Fire Soul!"

"Son of a-"

He vanished again, but I had reached Mars and was already making my next move. "Vento giostros!" I swept her latest fireball up in a whirlwind that covered everything around the two of us starting about five feet out (and would probably set some things on fire, but oh well), so I'd hit Zoe no matter where he popped up.

The Senshi glanced up at me and opened her mouth as if to say something. Then her eyes widened, and she yelled, "Look out!" instead. I had just enough time to realize that I'd forgotten to cover the area above us before she grabbed me and leapt clear, avoiding the blast of oh god!

My brain restarted a few moments later to reveal Mars pointing her fingers at Zoe, who was wearing an expression that somehow combined rage with smugness... and forming another of those daggers in his hand. I knew where this was going. He vanished again and reappeared my peripheral vision, already preparing to send the dagger flying as he came into existence.

I didn't have time to make a shield, even if I was in the right state to put a decent one together. So instead, I opted for the next best thing: myself and, more importantly, my armor-like duster.

I tackled Mars to the ground and twisted myself between her and oncoming doom, managing to jerk her aside just as the dagger hit what would have been her head, but was instead my shoulder. And it hit with enough force to go through the spell-enforced leather and bite a half-inch into my flesh before coming to a stop and simply disappearing.

Ow. I've had worse, but I was going to feel that in the morning.

Mars managed to take my sudden tackle in stride, orienting towards Zoe and firing off her spell even as she fell sideways. A backblast of heat just this side of painful washed over me as she did.

The girl was back on one knee almost as soon as she hit the ground, already finding Zoe's newest location and charging her next attack. Still on the ground myself, I pointed my blasting rod in the general direction she was aiming and sent out my own diffused, wide-spread blast. She spared a quick glare for me and went back to scanning, still charging her spell, releasing it a second later as I struggled to get to my feet.

Then she simply grabbed me and hauled me up with an exasperated grunt. Yeah, glad none of my friends were there to see that.

Both feet firmly on the ground, I sent yet another gout of flame at Zoe and positioned myself at Mars's back, scanning for his next position while she did the same on her side.

"So, you're Makoto's father?" she asked, voice strained with the exertion of splitting her attention.

"What gave it – fuego! – away?"

"A tall, weird foreigner dressed like out a Western just happened to be wandering around and walked into what's supposed to be our fight?"

I bit my tongue at that. Now was not the time to start chastising the girl on the stupid amount of danger she and the others were putting themselves in. "Yeah, well, Zoe's pretty miffed at me right now, and I don't think he'd mind venting on his archenemies in the process."

"What did you do to him - Fire Soul! - to make him so angry, anyway?"

"Oh, I bruised his..." I paused momentarily when I remembered I was talking to a girl my daughter's age, using the time I spent creating another fireball to come up with an appropriate response. "...ego."

"I can see that. The Dark generals are pretty pompous, so letting the winds out of their sails is pretty insulting." She let out another of her attacks, Zoe teledodging once again like the dirty cheater he was.

"You don't say..." I think I did a little more than let the wind out of his sails; I might've slashed them up a bit, too.

"Well, at least you seem to know a bit about what you're doing," she sniffed haughtily. "Fight magical psychopaths often?"

"Little girl, you have no idea..."

By this point, our fight had mutated into what was basically a game of whack-a-mole. Except, you know, with more fire. Zoe would pop up, one of us would launch a spell at him, he'd teleport, lather, rinse, and repeat. One of Mars's missed fireballs hit the bathroom – I'm not sure how it had survived this long – and set it ablaze. I was just happy that it wasn't my fault, for once.

We weren't actually trying to hit him (or at least I wasn't - I can't speak for Mars), it was just a play for time until one of us came up with a real plan. And it needed to be soon: I didn't have the apparently limitless stamina granted by the suits and was already feeling winded from all the magic I was flinging around. To that end, I was limiting myself to low-power fire spells (fire always came easier to me than the other elements), but I doubted I'd last another few minutes. And Mars could not keep this up on her own, not with how slow on the draw her magic was; I was getting in two or three spells for every one of hers.

Zoe appeared on my right, arms outstretched in front of him. I sent some more flame at him, waited just long enough to make sure he didn't simply dodge, and went back to scanning the area with Mars.

Which meant that we were completely unprepared for the blast of force emanating from that same position, knocking us to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

As I scrambling to try to get my feet under me, I saw him protected behind a half-dome of translucent purple energy, the last dregs of my fire bleeding off at its edges. His expression was almost manic with assumed victory as he raised one arm towards the sky. I guess he had a few extra tricks, too.

I leveled my blasting rod at Zoe once more as he brought his arm downwards... and was slammed into ground by unseen force, hard enough to drive the breath from my lungs. A grunt to my side told me that the same had happened to Mars.

And the force just wouldn't let up, grinding me down, locking my limbs in place. I could just make out Mars starting to force herself to her knees when the force redoubled.

"Hmmm... you appear to have finally reached your limits," Zoe simpered. "Just like you pathetic mortals to fail just when you really needed to stand strong. Still..." He slashed his free hand to the side, and the dome disappeared. Damn it, he was mocking us! "You did provide me with a modicum of amusement. I suppose that's something to put on your epitaph once I rid this earth of your insipid scrabbling."

"F... Fuck... You..." I managed to grind out. Stars and stones, it was getting hard just to breathe.

"Spoken with the words of a true waste of flesh and spirit." His grin twisted into something dark and mad as he raised his arm again, the force not relenting in the least. "Goodbye, senshi and magician, it was fun while it lasted."

'My host, there is still time!' Lasciel's urgent voice echoed through my head. 'Take up the Coin! I can show how to summon it even now!"

Damn it (literally). I did not want to sell my soul, but if I died here, there'd be no one to protect Makoto, and I couldn't see any other way out of this unless a miracle occurred.

As if on cue, a miracle occurred.

Just as Zoe chopped his hand down, no doubt to unleash whatever finisher he had planned for us, he yelled in surprise and pain, dropping to the ground as the force disappeared entirely. I couldn't do more than lie there, gasping in relief.

He growled in rage, turning to face something behind him and revealing a… rose? The hell? He reached behind him and wrenched it free – which seemed to take far more effort than it should have - and crushed it in his grip before tossing it away.

A moment later, he jumped backwards as a man in the douchiest costume I'd ever seen jumped at him from one of the nearby trees, a black cane smashing down at him. Clad in a tuxedo, black top hat, flowing red-lined black cap, and a white domino mask – he would not have been out of place at a costume ball. Of course, this being a battlefield, he most definitely was out of place.

Meh, at least he'd actually ambushed the guy, even if his choice of weapons left much to be desired.

Mars had gotten to her feet, but instead of immediately joining in on the assault, she raised her hands to her face, her face aglee and eyes sparkling. "Tuxedo Mask!" Her voice was oozing with girlish delight. Wait, what just happened to miss Firebrand?

Tuxboy tilted his top hat briefly in her direction, giving the shiniest lady-killer smile I'd ever seen. Seriously, I think his teeth were reflecting sunlight. "Sailor Mars, it is so good to see you once more. I saw you were having a spot of trouble and decided to cut in on the dance." He even tossed a free rose at her for good measure.

What? No... no buddy; you were doing so well just then. Don't mess up now.

"Ah, Tuxedo Mask, I was wondering if you would arrive." Zoe formed that black sword of his and parried another cane strike.

"But of course, Zoicite! In the name of love and justice, I will put a stop to your evil!" Ah, so that's what male Senshi look like. I swear, if I ever start talking like that, I'm going to ask Murphy to just shoot me and put me out of my misery.

The fight went on for a few more seconds, until Tuxboy managed to knock Zoe's sword aside with a one-handed sweep, lunging in with his off-hand with a strike to his chest.

It was too bad it didn't work. Zoicite barely flinched from the blow and merely grabbed Tuxboy's overextended arm, tossing him several yards away like a ragdoll. A sadistic sneer crossed his face as he charged up for another spell at Tuxboy's prone form.

"Fuego!"

"Fire Soul!"

It should go without saying that ignoring two enemies in favor of another one is a stupid, stupid, stupid thing to do.

Our combined fireballs took him completely off-guard, and there was a moment of intense screaming that spontaneously cut short. I immediately started searching for his next assault.

"Did... Did we get him?" Mars asked Tuxboy.

Yeah, keep dreaming, honey. Crazy bastards like him never seem to die when you kill them. But at the very least, I couldn't sense even the smallest bit of his magical signature, and trust me, it'd be hard not to when it felt like I was biting into a raw-fish-and-sludge sandwich. He'd probably skipped town the second he realized that his chances at victory sunk to an abysmal score after Tuxboy entered the scene.

"I doubt it," he said. "The dark generals are notorious for being as hardy as cockroaches. But nevertheless, they will eventually face the unerring sword of justice!" He twirled his cane around once for flourish.

"Tuxedo Mask..." Mars said dreamily.

Oh boy... Mars was checked out in Lala-land. She might've been pulling a Zoe just then, but at least she had the excuse of being a teenage girl looking at a teenage-girl-hearthrob, and wasn't some power-hungry warlock who had a disturbing amount of gender ambiguity.

Now that things had managed to calm down a bit, I was finally able to get a good look at Mars. Like Makoto, she had on one of the least-rational outfits I'd ever seen, looking like it belonged more in a fetish magazine than on some middle-schooler. Its color scheme was red and white to Makoto's green, and it made me exceedingly uncomfortable to look at her too long. She looked... generic. Pretty, but generic. If you asked me to pick her out of a crowd, I doubted I'd come close… unless she was wearing that outfit, of course.

Now, which of those girls who Makoto met most fit her description? I took a closer look, that feeling of white noise that was the suit's mental safeguard trying to knock me off track starting to build, but I was determined to power through it this time. Bringing the full force of my mind and will to bear, I eventually reached the conclusion that should have been obvious to begin with.

I mean, really, how could it not be Ami?

Mars finally managed to collect enough of herself to step out of her reverie of Tuxboy to ask, "But what are you doing here, Tuxedo Mask?" She perked up and looked down bashfully. "Did you come here just to see me?"

He laughed richly. "As lovely as it was to see you, Sailor Mars, I'm afraid that this was more business than pleasure. I just came across the other senshi fighting off one of Zoicite's crystal spawn and, realizing what that meant, rushed here to prevent him from fleeing any further."

My eyes shot wide open. "They were fighting a youma?" Were Makoto and the others okay? Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have let her out of my sight! I took a step forward. "And you just left them to fend for themselves?" I growled menacingly.

Tuxboy's smile softened into a sympathetic one. "There's no reason to worry, sirrah; by the time I'd arrived, they were already in the process of cleansing the pour soul. They appeared to be in healthy spirits. I felt my strength was more warranted here, so I came without interfering."

My shoulders sagged in relief. That was good. At least now I could unabashedly tear into my daughter without feeling guilt that she'd just come from some traumatic experience. Rei, however, realized what the other fight implied.

"Zoicite!" she cried. "He got another rainbow crystal! Damn it, he got ahead of us again!"

Tuxboy chuckled heartily. "Do not be so hasty." He waved his hand and, like a stage magician pulling flowers from thin air, the purple crystal Zoe had been holding onto popped up from his fingertips. "He is not nearly as good as he pretends to be."

I whistled under my breath in appreciation. Seems like that failed strike wasn't such a failure after all. Impressive. Tuxboy gave me an appraising look, and the crystal disappeared from between his fingers. I briefly considered trying to wrestle the crystal from his control. He definitely wasn't on Zoe's side, but given Mars's pleased surprise at his arrival, he didn't seem to be a constant comrade of theirs either. So an unknown side was taking one-seventh of a magic superpower with him.

Normally I would stop that shit right there and then, but I had the compound problem of a fresh adversary who'd just sword-fought Zoe to a standstill; Mars, who would probably attack me if I jumped her desired boytoy; and me still trying to catch my breath and reset all my joints after playing 'human pancake.' So the odds were not quite in my favor. I decided discretion was the better part of valor and didn't try to test my luck against two characters who seemed to deal with the shattering of magical laws – the physics-type laws, not the snicker-snack-type - as the norm, rather than hax.

Tuxboy lifted his cane in my direction. "And you, sirrah? I was not aware that more from the Silver Millenium had been reborn in this time." I couldn't tell because the opera mask was covering a good portion of his face, but he seemed genuinely interested instead of suspicious of my powers.

I opened my mouth to deflect his question, but was beaten to the punch. "Oh, he's Jupiter's father," Mars said with all the forced nonchalance of a student trying to insert themselves in the popular kids' clique.

Damn it, Ami! Your schoolgirl crush was not helping me at the moment!

"Jupiter's father, you say..." Tuxboy rubbed his chin. "Then, if he's not a reincarnated soul, how was he able to manifest that fire spell? Surely mortals today can't use the magic of the Silver Millenium."

Once again I tried to answer to shift the heat, and once again Mars surrendered valuable information like it was tissue paper packets. "Oh, he's a wizard. Apparently they're all over the place, nowadays." I could hear her eyes roll.

"Truly? That is fascinating indeed. Tell me more about these 'wizards."

Seeing that I wasn't going to be able to stop Mars from telling Tuxboy everything Makoto had told her without having to resort to lots and lots of duct-tape, I shifted my attention from her blasé shattering of the masquerade to search for something much more critical at the moment.

When Tuxboy impaled Zoe with the killer rose, it'd gone deep enough to get a layer of blood on the flower. With luck, the fire Mars and I'd been flinging around hadn't gotten close enough to the crushed flower to dry out the fluid. If it was still in good enough shape, the amount of preparation I could make for my next fight with Zoe would be astronomical.

I might be strong with evocation, the blasty-blasty branch of magic, but my actual control of the stuff was rudimentary at best. I had lots of power, but not much discipline. It's the main reason why every time a fire mysteriously flared up in Chicago, Murphy was immediately on the line, giving me the third degree. I could fling around force spells and fireballs that would make even the hardiest of Jedi jealous, but ask me to open a door with my magic without ripping it off its hinges? Sorry, please try again.

However, my thaumaturgy, well... that was a different story entirely. Thaumaturgy was the hush-hush type of magic. It involved a lot of prep, a lot of time, and a lot of work, but when the ball really got rolling, there was very little you couldn't do with it. Divination, curses, remote spell-casting - all of these were possible and more. Thaumaturgy worked on the concept that if you create a symbolic link between one thing and another, you can then cast a spell on the one you have and have it follow the link to the other. If you want a good example, I'd managed to tie up a rampaging loup-garou (a cursed being that would make Zoe soil his britches) using some old twine, a Snoopy doll, and a heavy dollop of its blood.

Suffice to say, I was proud of my thaumaturgy, and for damn good reason.

Of course, I actually needed something that was once part of the thing I was trying to affect, hence the blood. If I could just get a sampling of Zoe's blood, there would be little I couldn't do to him. Of course, down that way lied madness and death (for me), so I couldn't go too crazy with it.

I was able to find the rose still glistening with Zoe's blood in some shrubbery off the side of the plaza. Disturbingly enough, it seemed like the blood wasn't evaporating at all and actually seemed to cling to the rose's stem like a living creature. Well, monster blood for a monster being, I suppose.

I walked back over to Mars and Tuxboy, shoving the rose into a plastic baggy I'd been carrying around in my backpack. I raised my eyebrow in true Spock fashion at their strange looks. "What?" I said as I pulled the ziptag tight.

"Why are you taking the rose?" Mars asked warily. "And is that blood? What are you going to do with that?"

I shrugged. "Souvenir."

She sputtered. "Why would you take a bloody rose for a souvenir?"

Tuxboy put his hand on her shoulder. When she shyly turned to face him, he gave another lady-killing smile and said, "Perhaps is has something to do with his brand of magic. Am I correct?" I gave him my patented 'I-know-something-you-don't-and-it-annoys-the-piss-out-of-you-don't-it?' smile that always got the ladies and gentlemen aiming for my throat. He lifted his nose. "I see. Very well, it appears my time here runs short and I must be going. Ta to you, Sailor Mars, Sir Dresden."

Before he could dashingly dash off, I stopped him with, "Wait!" When he turned, I asked, "You mind telling me where the others were fighting? I have to go get my daughter and give her a good talking to."

"But of course." He pointed with his cane down a path. "They're a few hundred meters in that direction. They shouldn't be hard to find. And now, I must be off." And with that he was gone with the most perfect flowery-pretty-boy exeunt possible.

I rolled my eyes at the way Mars watched his vanishing form and turned to walk down the path. I had a few words to spare Makoto, and I had the feeling that she had a few to give me as well.

My retreat was halted when Mars brusquely called out to me. "Hey, wait a moment, where do you think you're going?"

I looked over my shoulder and smiled accordingly at her flustered expression. "I'm going to go have some words with my daughter. Is there a problem with that?"

Mars pouted and stomped a high-heel down, though not hard enough to crack the concrete like Makoto had earlier. "Don't you even have anything to say?"

My smile grew wider. "About what?"

"Like how I saved your life!"

My smile melted back into a smirk. "Funny, I thought it was Tuxboy that save both your and my pretty little behinds."

"Don't call him that," Mars fumed. "And you know what I'm talking about! When I saved you when I first got here!"

I turned around completely and crossed my arms across my chest, my staff tucked under my armpit. Even though she had to crane her neck to look up at me, Mars didn't back down in the slightest, jutting our her lower lip for extra effect. "Correction," I said. "You blundered into a situation and made it worse because I then had to cover you. I was ready to get out of there none-the-worse-for-wear when you ran in and drew Zoe's attention."

She huffed and threw her hair over her shoulder. Seriously, did people with hair that long go to classes for that? Because the girl had perfected it to an art form. "Humph, you mean you were going to run away."

I chuckled heartily, noting that my flippant attitude was just cheesing her off even more. Good, I felt it was needed to throw her off a bit. "I prefer to call it a 'tactical retreat.'"

"Whatever," she scoffed. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be a grease mark on the ground."

"And if wasn't for me," I retorted. "You'd have a nice chuck of obsidian right where your fifth vertebrae should be."

"I can take care of myself!" she shouted impudently. "Zoicite might be tough, but he's still pretty flammable. One more Fire Soul, and he'd be down for the count!"

"Oh, I have no doubt about that," I said. Mars made to respond, but her words petered off when she was realized I wasn't badmouthing her. I smiled at her confused look. She actually looked cute, reinforcing the fact that she was still in middle school. "I'm not ignoring the power of your spells, though you might want to work on your aim a bit." I pointed at the now crumbling ruins that had once been the public restroom. Yes, I'm aware of the hypocrisy, but she wasn't. Her lips slammed shut and a furiously crimson blush overtook her cheeks. "Heck, you could probably match some of the younger wardens with the way you throw fire around."

"Then what's the problem?" she asked petulantly.

"Besides the fact that your tactics stink?" I asked. "Seriously, have you never heard of firing on the run?"

"I... I never needed to before," she claimed. "The youma before... Just one shot, and they'd be beaten."

"Which shows you're inexperienced." She let out another string of denials at me. I felt a sudden pain in my sinuses and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Look, you're what, twelve, thirteen?"

"I'm fourteen!" she yelled. Upon realizing she'd given up possibly vital information, she slapped a hand over her mouth. "I-I mean-"

"Which is exactly the problem," I said. I took a long step forward, and Mars almost took a step back as I proceeded to loom over her with my freakishly tall stature. "It doesn't matter that you have powerful abilities. It doesn't matter that your suit is one of the biggest cheats imaginable and turns you into the magical equivalent of the Energizer Bunny. What matters is that you're still a child... which means you shouldn't have to be in this situation in the first place."

And that was the crux of the entire issue. Makoto, Ami, and by extension the rest of the senshi, were extremely powerful magic users; their magic could easily rival those in the White Council in raw power alone. But that wasn't why I was so adamant about getting them to stop fighting, to leave it to those who were more experienced and used to situations like this.

The fact of the matter was they were children, and they had the god-given right to live like children. Not take up a stance against eldritch abominations. Not risk their lives when older people who had less to lose could take their place. And definitely not be conscripted as hell-blasted child soldiers.

That was all there was to it - nothing more, and nothing less.

Mars looked at me strangely as I continued. "You're kids. Act like them. Fall in love, go to school, gorge yourself on junk food, waste away in front of the television. Don't risk your life on some stupid crusade because someone told you to. For heaven's sake, let adults be the ones to make stupid decisions and risk their lives for some vague goal. It's our prerogative, damn it."

Mars said nothing, but the tension in her shoulders began to flow out. "You're not going to stop us, you know. Just because you've been fighting longer doesn't mean you can just tell us what to do."

I let out a smile that showed a few too many teeth. "Then I guess that means I'm just going to have to keep butting in until you start listening." I turned around, ignoring her outcries of annoyance. "Oh," I threw over my shoulder. "And if you thought Sparky was stubborn, you have yet to see how far I'd go. After all, who do you think she got it from?"

I could hear Mars trying to come up with a pointed response and failing utterly. As I walked away, I could make out what could have been a small string of invectives as Mars stomped on the ground. Shortly after, a shadow passed over my head, but I refused to look up and catch a rather skeezy upskirt shot. I was rewarded for my valiant efforts with a frustrated Mars landing in front of me and barring my path.

"Don't think this is over, because it's not!" she spat out, intent on getting the last word in, before she darted in the direction that I was heading. Soon, she was out of sight.

It looked like the glove had been cast down. I was now at daring odds with a girl with a strong sense of justice and an independent streak a mile wide. Who would win this clash of wills between a world-weary wizard-detective and an upstart group of magical girls who, while their hearts were certainly in the right place, needed a big reality check?

I had the distinct feeling I would win this contest. No one beat me when it came to being pigheaded, after all. I chuckled and shook my head before ambling down the path. Ah, the perils of a wizard/father were never over...

---

A/N (Irritus): And the fifth chapter is done! First (real) battle scene! Hopefully it was to your liking. Also hopefully, it quelled a lot of complaints about this being a bashing fic. The senshi rocked the house here, whether it was pulling a Dresden and burning down infrastructure, or rolling a natural 100 on an Empathy check. Also, in case you didn't notice, there are more hints about there being something seriously wrong with Makoto. Harry is aware of this, there's just some things you can't solve by punching it in the face (or Zoe's nards). Also, it's finally shown just why Harry is so adamant about the senshi fighting, though if you were aware of his personality, it'd already be clear just why he was so pissed they were fighting in the first place earlier on.

One last thing, both sides showed their philosophy for getting involved and fighting, and the thing is - neither one of them is wrong. Weird, huh? The fact that it's actually really difficult to quantify the human condition and the motivations behind it? Well, quasi-philosophical bullshit aside, onto the next chapter - in which there will be even more talking! Huzzah!

A/N (Raithe): I like team-based fight scenes. Can you tell?

…That line took pretty much all of my brain-power. I'm gonna go dose myself with cold medicine and crawl back into bed, now.