The tip of Atena's nose smudged the glass as she scrutinized the selection of drinks within. A rainbow of corn syrup and artificial flavors beckoned her, and it was hard, so hard, to choose just one. Behind her, Tomoe fidgeted impatiently. She had narrowed it down to three when a rapid beeping sound from her pocket cut into her deliberation. Without looking, she recognized it as the senshi distress signal.
She thought quickly and swiped her card through the drink machine's scanner several times, feigning frustration. (Nowadays, nearly everyone used the government-issued, DNA-verified "Crystal Cards" to make purchases, and coin or paper money was mostly a novelty. But even in the 30th century, vending machine technology had yet to fully catch up to the trend.)
"Drat! It's not reading. I'm going to go complain to the manager," she told Tomoe.
"Okay, I'll come along!"
Atena shook her head. "Um, no! Please stay here and... make sure nobody buys my Salty Plum Fanta! Okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she rushed out of the lobby.
"I don't think we have to worry about that," Tomoe muttered with a disgusted expression. But Atena seemed very concerned about it for some reason, so she sat down against the wall and waited as patiently as she could.
~*~
"Look out!" Saturn cried as Vesta—no, the robot—fired on Sailor Moon. She made a diving leap and pushed her out of the way, taking the rocket intended for her.
"No! Saturn!" Sailor Moon screamed as her friend disappeared behind a blast of flame and smoke.
~*~
Slowly, struggling against the nauseating ache that seemed to weigh down every part of her body, Souga Miruki opened her eyes. After a few blinks, the familiar, chipped beige plaster of her own ceiling came into focus. Still not quite able to move, Miruki wondered foggily how she had gotten here. The last thing she remembered was that she'd been walking home alone, and had taken a shortcut...
Suddenly, for reasons she couldn't explain, she shuddered. Her mind was warning her not to follow her memory down that shadowed road. That same deep instinct told her that consciousness was a very precious thing. Yes, her last thought had been that she must not pass out. But why?
She gingerly eased herself into a sitting position and looked out the window. The late evening sun slanted over the rooftops, painting the cul-de-sac with the warm hues of sunset. A few early cicadas hummed in the distance. Everything seemed perfectly normal—the neat row of cookie-cutter houses and apartment buildings, the blue crystal-lattice fence around the neighbor's yard, the block of mailboxes at the end of the driveway, the three girls in miniskirts battling a flamethrower-wielding robot.
Wait... what?
In an instant, Miruki sat bolt upright and stared wide-eyed out the window, all aches and pains forgotten as she took in the scene on the street below. The mysterious Sailor Saturn, a senshi normally seen in public only a few times a year, was battling a monster right in front of her house. And she wasn't alone, either. There were two others in pink uniforms who she didn't recognize, though the distinct style of their outfits suggested that they were from the Solar System, or at least somewhere in the Gould Belt. She squinted at one of them, who sported a cone-shaped bun hairstyle that seemed strangely familiar. Was that… a moon symbol on her forehead?
No way! she thought It couldn't be! Sailor Moon is just a legend. But five minutes ago, any Solar senshi other than the seven they knew had been just legends too. Either those two were here from another star system, or she had just uncovered a huge conspiracy. Either way, this was big news.
She scrambled to the closet and fished in her school bag for the camera she used for the school's newspaper. It wasn't there. That troubled her, because she was sure she'd put it right there last time she had used it. But there wasn't time to worry about that now. She gave up, grabbed a notebook, and began scribbling in shorthand, trying to capture every detail of what she was witnessing.
~*~
The impact of the rocket and the explosion that followed would easily have killed a normal human. It was only a small energy shield, conjured at the last second, that saved Saturn's life.
She skidded, rolled into a backward somersault, and somehow landed on her feet. Quickly regaining her balance, she pulled out her glaive and rushed the robot, thrusting the deadly point at its midsection. The robot calmly reached out and caught the blade with one hand, which brought the attacking senshi to a lurching halt. With a twisting motion, she wrenched the weapon from Saturn's grip, injuring her arm in the process, and pulled her in close to knee her in the chin.
Saturn hit the asphalt with a painful cry and stayed down. Ceres was sprawled beside her. Sailor Moon wouldn't offer much resistance with them out of commission. It had been a short fight, Pyrolusite thought with a smirk as he stepped out of the shadows. His little sister had done better than the three of them. Granted, Calomel had only been up against the alpha-stage test, while they were facing the fully-trained, finished product at its highest possible aggression setting.
The pink-haired senshi spotted him and backed up a step. He snickered. "You disappoint me, Sailor Moon," he taunted. "Not only with your weakness, but with your stupidity."
"Who are you? What do you want?" she asked.
He ignored her question and continued to advance on her. The dying sunlight glinted off the robotic enhancement on his left arm. He wiggled his fingers, making a delightful little click-click sound, a cross between a ticking clock and a rattlesnake. She tried to place herself between him and her fallen friends, which only amused him more. As if she could protect them. "Aren't they supposed to be your guardians?" he said with a sneer. On the ground, Sailor Saturn winced, a moment of weakness that did not escape his attention. So he'd hit a nerve.
He stopped beside the robot, and clapped a hand on her shoulder. It was a heavy-handed touch, showing neither the gentleness of a lover nor the protective care of a father, but the pride of a craftsman. "Of course I knew Carnelian could defeat you in battle. But I thought perhaps one of you might at least notice she was an android. You people in Crystal Tokyo are so naïve. All I had to do was sneak her into the hospital and pass her off as an amnesia victim. Everyone felt so sorry for her, they didn't ask too many questions. Getting her into your school was, if possible, easier still. You even accepted her as a sailor soldier, because she had magic like yours." His arrogant grin broadened. "But it wasn't magic, and it won't be bested by magic. This is the power of science!"
Moon shook her head in disbelief. "So the whole time, Akako was…"
"I suspected as much," Saturn admitted with a grim smile. "But why did the monster—" She broke off with a groan as the truth became clear. "Akako was controlling the monster, wasn't she? That's why she was the only one who could defeat it."
"How can we win against her if she's that powerful?" Ceres wondered.
Pyrolusite decided he had basked in their despair long enough. He stepped back, motioning for Carnelian to finish them off. The robot tossed Saturn's glaive aside and calmly took aim. A low rumble filled the air as her flamethrower charged up. Sailor Moon braced herself, prepared to take the blast to protect her friends.
"Get out of the way!" Saturn cried. With the last of her strength, she heaved herself to her feet and tried to push Moon aside. But she was too late. A jet of searing flame boiled forth from the robot's arm…
And was deflected by a wall of white cloth.
Saturn heard Sailor Moon gasp. She cautiously opened her eyes, wondering what had saved them from a fiery death. She too drew a sharp breath when she found herself face to face with the man in the white tuxedo.
"It's you!" they said in unison, Moon's voice excited, Saturn's filled with suspicion.
He nodded, a slight smile on his face. He was holding out his cape to block the fire. Saturn could feel the heat prickle on her skin even from several feet away, yet both garment and man remained unscathed. After a few seconds, the flames died down and he let it fall behind him with an elegant swish.
"Don't be deceived by an illusion and lose hope," he told the senshi as he turned to face an astonished Pyrolusite. "Anyone can appear strong when she's in control. But real strength shines even in adversity."
Pyrolusite and Carnelian took a few steps back, glaring daggers at the man. Now the senshi could see that Carnelian's arm was warped, melted from its own heat. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Saturn dashed to retrieve her glaive. No sooner was it in her hands than Carnelian's true intentions became clear. The android sprinted in a circle around the senshi and the man, her metallic legs pounding against the pavement like a jackhammer. The speed of her movement created a small whirlwind, forcing the group closer together. Faster and faster she ran, until her image began to blur and the sound of her footsteps was a jarring buzz.
Then, all of a sudden, she stopped. More precisely, twelve of her stopped. A row of identical Carnelians surrounded the group in a tight ring. Like mirror images, they smiled and advanced inward in perfect unison.
Ceres voiced their collective confusion. "What the…?"
Deciding that their situation couldn't get much worse, Saturn struck at the nearest Carnelian with her weapon. To her surprise, the blade passed right through the robot's body.
"This one's a fake!"
Ceres's attack met a similar outcome. "This one too!"
Moon frowned, her eyes moving up and down the row. Every one seemed identical. This is no good… which one's real?
As if in response to her distress, Diana's voice sounded from her comlink. "Is everything all right, Small Lady? Pallas told me you might be in trouble."
"Big trouble!" Moon squeaked. "It's the enemy. We're surrounded!"
"Oh my!" Diana paused, thinking hard. A moment of inspiration seized her. "Your tiara might be gone, but you have your Moon Stick. Can you attack with that?"
It was worth a try. Sailor Moon summoned the crescent-shaped wand and held it high.
"Moon Luminous Exaltation!" she shouted. Pink light converged in a glowing ring at the tip of the wand, then burst out in all directions. The ring of Carnelians flickered and vanished.
Ceres looked around the empty cul-de-sac in puzzlement. "They were all fakes? Then where—"
Saturn tensed suddenly. The others followed her gaze skyward just in time to see the real Carnelian diving at them, her body engulfed in a huge fireball.
~*~
Minazaki rocked back and forth on her heels and checked her watch for the umpteenth time. Atena had been gone for nearly ten minutes now. She amused herself by punching random buttons on the drink machine. To her surprise, the machine emitted a short chime and displayed the message, "Transaction Valid," on the small screen above the keypad. She frowned. That was strange… hadn't Atena said it wasn't working?
"Aieee!" came a shout from a nearby stairwell. "Not good, not good!"
No sooner had Minazaki peeked around the corner to investigate than a short, blue-haired sailor senshi in a light blue uniform came charging down the hall. Minazaki stared open-mouthed as the girl rushed past her and out the front door.
She was still in shock when two firefighters and a policeman emerged from the same stairwell. "Hey," one of them called to her. "Did you see a girl in a blue skirt go by just now?"
Minazaki blinked, and blinked again. After a few seconds, she snapped out of her daze. "Awesome!" she exclaimed. Her heart skipped with excitement. A real live sailor senshi! And not one of the ones I've seen on TV, a brand new one! Forgetting the soda and the question she'd just been asked, she ran off in pursuit of the mysterious girl.
The police officer shook his head. "Kids these days…" he muttered.
~*~
"Silence Wall!"
Once again, Saturn's defensive magic deflected Carnelian's onslaught in the nick of time. The android slammed into the translucent force field with a loud crack and rebounded several meters before crashing into the pavement. The fire around her sputtered and died as her flamethrower gave out completely.
Saturn gave the caped man a faintly smug look. "Don't be deceived by an illusion, huh?"
Their would-be rescuer coughed into a gloved hand, looking embarrassed.
But their triumph was short-lived. Carnelian jerked to her feet awkwardly, like a marionette, and marched toward the senshi once more. Behind them, Pyrolusite cracked his knuckles and dropped into a menacing crouch. If his creation wasn't going to take out the senshi on her own, he'd have to take matters into his own hands. He hated having to do things for himself. The human body was so... crude and inefficient. He had long believed that people only did things on their own because they weren't smart enough to build a machine that could do the job better. The sailor senshi had done more than damaged his favorite project. They had insulted his genius, and he would make them pay.
Little miss rabbit-head spun to face him. He flexed his mechanical arm, and the hydraulics responded with a satisfying hiss. Yes, he'd consider this a field test for his other favorite invention.
Sailor Moon felt Saturn's back press against hers, felt the tightening in the smaller girl's shoulder blades as she braced for Carnelian's attack. Beside her, Ceres vacillated between the two threats. The caped man stepped in front of her, shielding her from whatever Pyrolusite had up his sleeve, and in spite of the danger a giddy blush rose to her cheeks. She gave her head a small shake and reminded herself that even if she had a handsome stranger protecting her, she was a senshi and should be perfectly capable of defending herself.
Unfortunately, said handsome stranger was also blocking her view. She heard Pyrolusite's metal fingers clicking together and shuddered. Cautiously, she edged out from behind the caped man, craning her neck to see what their adversary was up to.
At that moment, Pyrolusite and Carnelian lunged in unison. Ceres barely managed to duck the robot's attack, and countered with a knife-hand chop to her ribcage that ended up injuring her hand more than her opponent. Catching Carnelian off balance, Saturn pinned her head to the concrete between the points of her glaive.
Opposite them, Pyrolusite was grappling with the stranger. The Moira's mechanical arm gave him an edge, and he soon overpowered the other man, slamming him into the ground. Sailor Moon grabbed him from behind and made a pathetic attempt to pull him off. Pyrolusite barely glanced at her as he backhanded her. The force of the blow lifted her feet off the ground, and she went tumbling backwards. Through a haze of pain, she heard Saturn's worried cry. She sat up, bruised and disoriented, only to have the stranger's limp form come crashing into her, courtesy of Pyrolusite.
That moment of distraction would cost Saturn. Carnelian rolled sideways, oblivious to the blades biting into her plastic neck, and kicked her captor in the gut. She got to her feet in a flash and wound up to punch Saturn, but Ceres caught her wrist in one of her looped pigtails and yanked it tight.
"It's a slipknot. These things aren't just for decoration, you know," Ceres explained at Saturn's surprised look. Carnelian struggled, and she grunted in pain, but the hair-noose held. She kneed the robot in the back, aiming for her kidneys… but Carnelian didn't have any. Without so much as flinching, she retaliated by flipping Ceres over her shoulder. The next thing Ceres knew, she was face-down and winded on the pavement. She heard Saturn attack Carnelian, followed by a shout and a thud as her friend was felled by the same technique. For a moment, consciousness threatened to desert Ceres, but she would not allow herself to succumb. Carnelian was standing over them, and unlike her master, the android would not pause to gloat…
Sailor Moon felt Pyrolusite lift the man off her. She heard the mechanical arm clench, followed by soft choking sounds.
A sudden, wordless terror sprang from the deepest part of her heart and forced her to her feet. Though she still didn't know the stranger's name, in that moment he was as precious to her as life itself, and her only thought was that she could not let him die. Even before her vision had fully cleared she sprang at Pyrolusite.
The cocky inventor was so intent on snapping his enemy's neck that he didn't even notice Sailor Moon until she was upon him. With a rough shout, she jabbed the blunt end of her wand into the elbow joint of his robotic arm, forcing it between the metal plates until she felt the crunch of gears jamming and fluid lines tearing. The contraption trembled, let out a sputter and a clang, and seized up. Pyrolusite roared in pain and frustration. The caped man slipped from his grip and fell into Sailor Moon's outstretched arms. She eased him to the ground, then rose and faced Pyrolusite, eyes burning with a vengeful rage that seemed out of place on such a pretty, innocent face. Out of place, and disturbingly familiar.
Behind them, Ceres sat up. Her back hurt. Her face hurt. Everything hurt. And now her hairstyle was lopsided. Channeling her frustration into willpower, she stood and faced Carnelian with an angry shout. Her body lit up with a pink aura, and a swirling torrent of flower petals exploded around her.
Carnelian raised her half-melted arm and tried to fire a mini-rocket. It got stuck in the launcher and exploded, burning the plastic "skin" off the side of her body and leaving her arm a twisted hunk of metal. She looked back at Ceres, her expression never changing. Her artificial mind could not comprehend despair. And so she gathered data and evaluated non-existent options the way she'd been programmed to do, right up to the moment of her death.
"Amazones Bouquet Twister!"
A storm of glowing petals poured from Ceres' outstretched palms, surrounding Carnelian in a beautiful, deadly cloud of gold. An intense pink flash illuminated the cul-de-sac. Moments later, Carnelian dropped in a mangled heap.
Pyrolusite growled through clenched teeth when he saw his prized creation fall. He tugged in vain at the wand jamming his mechanical arm. Sailor Moon stepped toward him, one hand raised in a commanding gesture, and the elegant golden crescent atop the weapon began to glow. Frustration turned to panic. He tripped backwards in his rush to get away from her. The force of his landing finally managed to shake the wand loose from his arm, but it was too late to escape.
Perhaps it was the look of fear on his face that shook her, or perhaps it was the realization that her mother would never have sought vengeance over reconciliation, but for whatever reason, Sailor Moon stopped short. She shook her head, as if coming out of a trance, and ceased her attack. "No," she said softly. "It doesn't have to be like this."
Saturn held her glaive at the ready with one hand, but the other she extended toward Pyrolusite. "We don't want to fight with you," she told him. "Open your eyes. You're smart enough to see that what you're doing is evil."
Sailor Moon nodded. "There's something better than the life you know. Come with us. You can start over."
For a split second, Pyrolusite stared at them in disbelief. Then he threw back his head and laughed. "Idiots," he said with a sneer. "I don't need your pretty words or your so-called redemption. You're the ones who will be begging me for mercy in the end!" From inside his jacket he produced a tiny orange capsule. "But you won't be shown any," he hissed. With those ominous words, he shattered the capsule on the ground, unleashing a thick cloud of choking black smoke. While the senshi coughed and staggered around in confusion, he hoisted what was left of Carnelian over his shoulder and fled. By the time the air cleared again, he was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, perfect. Now we've let him escape," Ceres groused, rubbing her watery eyes.
"Ceres," Saturn admonished. "Have you forgotten your own past?"
The look of shame on Ceres's face made it plain that she had not. No one spoke the names, "Cere-cere" or "Mistress Nine" or "Black Lady" (actually, no one ever mentioned Black Lady—Usagi didn't seem to remember any of that fiasco, and her friends wanted to spare her the knowledge of what she had done under Wiseman's influence) but their presence hung in the air like malignant spirits.
Even so Ceres argued, "How many chances can we afford to give him? Innocent people are going to get hurt because we let him escape."
"We'll protect them," Saturn vowed.
"You couldn't protect Souga-san."
The other two senshi winced, and Ceres immediately felt guilty. "I'm sorry," she sighed, feeling suddenly weak as her own doubts surfaced. "It's just… it will be on our shoulders! I'm not sure I can live with that. Can you? Did we… did we do the right thing?"
"Yes," a voice from behind them replied. The stranger in the white tuxedo (which was now grey with soot and grime) had recovered and was back on his feet. "No one will fault you for believing in second chances."
Ceres looked doubtful. "I'll fault myself if anyone else disappears."
"There's no proof those guys were involved with Souga-san's case," Moon reminded her. In truth, she strongly suspected they were, but she wanted to make Ceres feel better. It didn't seem to work.
"If the people of Crystal Tokyo are in danger, I'll help you protect them," the man assured them. He bowed and turned to leave, but Saturn's hand on his arm stopped him.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Not who you think I am," he replied cryptically.
Saturn's hold on him did not loosen. "I think you're pretty suspicious. And I think I'd like to know your name."
"Since you did save my life, I suppose I owe you that much. It's Pegasus Kamen." He plucked his arm from a startled Saturn's grasp. As the senshi watched in awe, a pair of feathered white wings unfurled from beneath his cape.
"Adieu!" he called as he rose into the air. Just then the sun slipped below the horizon, and the deepening shadows of dusk embraced him until he vanished from sight.
"Pegasus, hmm?" Ceres repeated. She and Saturn exchanged meaningful glances.
"Could it be? Helios…" Moon breathed, casting a longing glance in the direction Pegasus Kamen had departed. Her heart skipped in delight at the possibility of being reunited with her childhood friend. But why was he being so secretive?
Saturn frowned, lost in thought. "Maybe. But I still don't trust him," she said at length. "He could be using that form to trick us."
Ceres nodded in agreement. "For all we know, he could be the one behind everything. Isn't it pretty convenient that he's always right there when the enemy appears?"
"Well, so are we," Moon pointed out in his defense.
"Sailor Moon," Saturn said gently. "Sometimes strong feelings can cloud a person's judgment."
"First you say he's not our ally because he never helps us, and then when he does help us you say that makes him suspicious!" Moon protested, her voice rising with her temper.
"All right, I'm not being fair," Saturn conceded. "Because I have strong feelings too."
Sailor Moon couldn't stay angry at her friends, especially not when Saturn gave her that look. She let the subject drop without another word. For now.
Ceres turned her thoughts to something they all agreed on. "This attack was no coincidence. That man and his robot specifically targeted Saturn, before she transformed, and used her to get to Sailor Moon. You realize what this means, of course."
Moon nodded. "They know who we are."
We have to find Vesta and Juno," Ceres declared. "Before the enemy does."
~*~
Osaki Junko was mesmerized.
Even lying unconscious on a hospital bed, with a dark bruise forming on her cheek and matted scarlet hair clinging to her brow, Vesta's civilian form was striking. Normally a sailor senshi's transformation augmented her beauty, but Junko thought this girl was even more stunning out of uniform. (Not that there had been much chance to notice while they were fighting for their lives.) Her deep olive complexion was smooth and perfect. High cheekbones sloped gently down to a small, rounded chin and full lips. Wide, slanted eyes were framed by dark lashes that made them seem even larger.
It took Junko a second to realize those eyes were wide open and staring at her.
"Juno?"
"Junko," she corrected quickly, with a hushing gesture. The last thing either of them needed right now was the mob they were sure to get if some nosy staff member got wind that there was an unknown sailor senshi in their midst. For one, she was an introvert by nature and abhorred being the center of attention. And common sense told her that revealing themselves now would invite far too much unfounded speculation about why new senshi had appeared, where their loyalties lay, how they had been injured, and exactly how much information the royal family was withholding—questions for which Junko herself had no answer, questions that would ultimately lead to mass panic. Thankfully, her senshi title happened to be close enough to her civilian name that most wandering ears would dismiss it as a slip of the tongue.
"Where am I?" the girl croaked.
"At Crystal Hiroo Hospital," Junko replied in her best attempt at a soothing tone. "You passed out."
"Ugh. I remember now. How long have I been here?"
"They had you in the bio-stabilizer for four hours. Then they transferred you down here where you slept for another six. And by the way, I told you so," Junko couldn't resist adding. The pretty redhead—she still didn't know her name—gave her an annoyed look in reply. Junko chuckled, knowing that if things were the other way around, she'd probably have been just as adamant, and fared just as badly.
"How about you?" the girl asked. "You were in bad shape too."
Junko made a pooh-poohing gesture. "They hooked me up with some of those healing stimulants. I'm good as new. Oh, by the way, did you know that it's almost June?"
"What?" the redhead exclaimed. "But that would mean we've been gone for over a month."
Juno nodded. "I know. There must have been some kind of time distortion inside the illusion."
The girl reached out and clasped her wrist with sudden urgency. "Have you been to see the princess?"
"No, I was waiting for you to wake up."
"Go. First things first," she insisted.
Junko shook her head. "I can't just leave you here."
"I promise not to go anywhere until you get back," the girl said, with a rueful glance at the plastic hospital bracelet fastened around her wrist.
"All right," Junko said reluctantly. She crossed the room to an open window and peered out over the pale, glossy rooftops that reflected the starlight. "Think I'll take the quick way out."
In her hands appeared an orb of translucent viridian glass, laced with brown mineral veins reminiscent of tree branches or jagged lightning, and engraved with her asteroid's glyph. Closing her fist around it, she murmured her henshin spell. A cloud of green sparks surrounded Junko's body, and when they cleared, Sailor Juno stood in her place. After pausing on the sill to give her friend one last stern look, she sprang over the edge, landed on an awning below, and disappeared between Shibuya's gleaming crystal spires.
~*~
Though nightfall provided him some cover, Pyrolusite's ragged breathing gave him away as he dragged Carnelian's limp body through the shadowed back streets. Carrying her would have been no problem with his arm enhancement, had Sailor Moon not reduced that to yet another dead weight. For once he almost regretted not spending a little time working out with Ripidolite.
At the edge of his vision, a flash of green and white caught his attention. He turned in time to see a tall, boyish-looking girl in a green sailor suit leap across the gap between two buildings. Pyrolusite couldn't believe his luck—whether it was good or bad, he wasn't sure. One thing was certain: he was going to need backup.
With great reluctance, he reached under the high collar of his duster and pressed a button on a tiny, round pin. The pin was his link to the Moirae's "Cyber-Psionic Communications Network," (or as Calomel had affectionately named it, "Saichuu,") a system that used a fusion of ancient magic and modern technology to create a sort of computer-facilitated telepathy. He only used it as a last resort, not only because it emitted a distinct energy signature that would attract the attention of any senshi or magically attuned person for miles around, but because he was none too eager to talk to the person on the other end.
What do you want, Pyrolusite? Ripidolite's dry, impatient voice inquired.
Have enemy in sight, he thought back. Requesting backup.
He sensed her rolling her eyes. All right, I'll send a golem to the nearest drop point. And use complete sentences, moron. This is telepathy, not a telegram.
After the link closed, he grumbled under his breath. Though he was capable of cohesive and even eloquent speech, it was not something he accomplished without a conscious effort. Unlike his sisters, who had inborn magical capabilities, he was unaccustomed to anyone else having access to his mind, and he preferred to keep his thoughts short and unruffled. But this was Ripidolite, who frequently barged into his room uninvited and then complained about his taste in decorating (or lack thereof.) It should be no surprise that her manners in the psychic realm were not much better.
He flipped open a panel on the back of his wrist, and a tiny LCD illuminated with a map of his current location. At least that part still worked. Presently a blip appeared over a nearby street corner, indicating that Ripidolite's transfer was ready. Hoisting Carnelian over his shoulder once more, he hurried toward it.
~*~
For all the hardships that came with being a sailor soldier, it did have its perks, and the ability to clear a thirty-meter gap between rooftops without breaking a sweat was Juno's favorite. Soaring four stories off the ground, she looked down and savored the thrill.
Halfway to the other side, she saw a thorny tendril burst through the pavement. It coiled around her leg, and it was only by incredible luck and a split-second reaction that she was able to throw her momentum forward enough to grasp the opposite ledge. The vine tugged, digging into her skin. She struggled to hang on. Senshi or not, falling that far was bound to hurt, and Juno decided she had already broken enough ribs this week. Triceps straining, fighting for every inch, she finally managed to fling one arm up over the wall that encircled the roof. The vine pulled hard, nearly causing her to lose her grip. Survival instinct took over and she thrashed. She emitted a weak jolt of electricity from her entangled leg—until now she hadn't realized she could do that—and the vine loosened for a second.
Then it pulled even tighter, and a second one shot up to join it. Glancing downward, Juno saw a pod rising from the hole in the asphalt, like a bulbous, eyeless, green head. It split open to reveal a glistening maw of thorns, dripping with purple sap that gave off the most horrible stench she'd ever smelled. Another jerk of the vines, and she was hanging by her fingertips. The pod opened wider, eager to receive its meal.
Suddenly, a blade of ice cut through the vines around her leg. The plant pod hissed and started to retreat into the ground, but a second blast skewered it. Juno's fingers slipped off the edge, but someone's hand reached out and caught her wrist. Heart pounding, she scrambled back up to safety, and found herself looking at a familiar face.
"Hi, Juno!" Pallas greeted her with a sunny smile.
Juno heaved a sigh of relief. "Boy, am I glad to see you." She glanced down at the monster's remains, which were now a shriveled brown mess, and gulped. "Thanks. If you hadn't shown up just then… I don't know what I would have done."
"Died, probably," Pallas deadpanned. Juno laughed.
They walked together at a more subdued pace down a concrete staircase that descended to the street. "So, do you know where the princess is right now?" Juno asked.
"I dunno. In the Crystal Palace, I guess," Pallas said hesitantly. She scrunched her nose, thinking hard. Suddenly her face brightened. "Hey, I bet Sailor Moon would know! C'mon, I can take you to her."
Juno gave her a perplexed look. "Sailor… Moon? Pallas, there hasn't been a Sailor Moon for over nine hundred years."
"She's our leader, silly!" Pallas giggled.
"Wait, you mean Sailor Chibimoon?" Juno asked. Hadn't Pallas just said she didn't know where the princess was?
Now it was Pallas's turn to look confused. "Who's Chibimoon?"
"You know… rabbit hair, pink uniform, goofy laugh… our leader?" Juno prompted. Surely her companion wasn't that air-headed.
"Oh!" Pallas exclaimed, her face lighting up. "Yeah, that's Sailor Moon."
"You mean she's become Sailor Moon now? Awesome," Juno said with a grin. "I always thought she would someday." She paused, frowning again. "But why did you say she would know where the princess is?"
Pallas wavered. "I, um, just thought she would. You know, cause she's smart."
"Are you feeling all right, Pallas? Sailor Moon is the princess."
Pallas froze, eyes wide with utter disbelief. Slowly, her face twisted into a wide-eyed, maniacal smile. Juno backed up, certain now that something wasn't right.
With a blood-curdling scream, Pallas sprang at her.
~*~
Crouched behind the cobblestone fence of a nearby condo, Pyrolusite looked on as "Pallas" turned on Juno. Perfect. Everything was going as planned, a welcome change from his previous encounter with the senshi.
Until a small gloved hand clapped down on his shoulder. Pyrolusite's head turned with a shuddering jerk, as if his neck had rusted. He found himself face to face with the real Sailor Pallas, and she looked none too happy at having her identity borrowed.
This is not good.
~*~
Shocked and bewildered, Juno barely managed to evade her companion's assault. "Pallas, what's wrong with you?" she cried. Was her friend being brainwashed by the enemy? Or… Juno recalled the two child-like beings who had attacked them inside Petalite's illusion. But Pallas seemed so human, and she had saved her from the monster. Could that really have all been a ruse?
The cluster of thorny green vines that burst from the girl's back were her answer.
With an angry shout, Juno unleashed her magic. "Diamond Storm!"
A crackle of lightning sheared off the end of the vines, but they grew back rapidly. Soon they had completely enveloped the false Pallas. Now the golem's true form revealed itself: a grotesque female shape made entirely of twisted briars, with thorny claws for hands and fat tentacle-like vines where legs should be.
At least a dozen vines lunged for her in unison. Juno leapt out of the way and crushed one under her heel, then fled across the street before the rest could close in on her. The creature extended its arms to grab her. The claws seemed to miss, plunging through the concrete instead. But seconds later, they emerged from below, right in front of her. Juno skidded to a stop and doubled back, scarcely avoiding the briar golem's leg-vines again. She ran for her life, dodging and weaving across the street, with the thorny hands bursting from the ground unpredictably all around her.
Then, all of a sudden, the hands lurched to a stop, grasping ineffectually at the air. In its rush to catch Juno, the briar golem had woven its limbs into the ground so tightly that it could no longer move. Seizing the chance, Juno changed directions and charged straight for her foe.
Before it could untangle itself, the senshi's thunder-charged punch connected with its jaw, tearing its head clean off. Its massive green body collapsed with a crash that shook the building. Within moments it shriveled into the same brown mess as the first plant monster.
When she was positive it was dead, Juno let out a sigh of relief and pretended she'd planned the whole thing.
~*~
For once, Pyrolusite reacted without thinking. He swung the dead weight of his metal arm at Pallas, catching her squarely in the side of the head. But the short, chubby soldier was more agile than he'd expected. She rolled to her feet, rubbing her face in pain, and countered with a blast of ice aimed at his legs. He dodged easily and closed the distance between them. The most important thing was not to give her any breathing room to power up her stronger magic. He had not forgotten that this was the girl who had blinded his sister.
Carnelian's battered body was laying in the corner, concealed behind a neat row of yew shrubs that lined the west end of the yard. Pyrolusite placed himself between Pallas and the robot's remains, determined not to let the senshi destroy what was left of his work. He grabbed a flowerpot and flung it at her. She slid between his legs and came up behind him as the unfortunate decoration shattered against the opposite wall.
That gave her enough time to call on her senshi power. "Gossamer Veil!" she chanted.
He whirled and raised his arm in time to block the shimmering mass she shot from her hands. It wrapped around his arm and started creeping up toward his shoulder. He tried to brush it off, only to find that it stuck to his hand and made a mess of trailing, gooey filaments when he tried to pull away.
But instead of struggling more and becoming trapped as she intended, he used the stuff to his advantage. He sprang at her and grabbed her face with his sticky hand. She kicked and struggled, but couldn't free herself. He bashed her head into the wall. She let out a muffled scream and went limp.
He pried her off with his foot and let her unconscious form fall into the bushes beside Carnelian. Without its creator's energy to sustain it, the goo on his arm soon dissolved. Pyrolusite smirked. Their magic, dependent on such a fragile thing as the will of a teenage girl, was easily broken.
The self-satisfied feeling didn't last long. A bolt of lightning from behind narrowly missed his head. Pyrolusite spun, skin tingling with adrenaline and residual static.
"I'm Sailor Juno, the Soldier of Bonds," his adversary introduced herself. She cracked her knuckles as she advanced on him. "You're goin' down, punk."
"I already know who you are," Pyrolusite said. He added in a mocking tone, "Punk."
The girl shouted something in English that he didn't understand and threw a punch at him. She was much faster than Pallas, but also much more predictable. He evaded the hit. Her fist slammed into the wall with a crack, dislodging one of the smooth river stones. She picked it up and hurled it at him. He dove to the side just in time to avoid having his face smashed in. There was a loud crashing sound behind him. Narrowing his eyes at Juno, Pyrolusite reached for what he thought was the stone.
His fingers brushed sharp plastic and severed wire, and he realized with horror that it was Carnelian's head.
No sooner had he gotten up than Juno swung at him again, landing a glancing blow to his jaw. He stumbled backwards into the hedge. She seized him by the collar, but he grabbed a handful of dirt and flung it in her face. She released him, swearing loudly and rubbing her eyes. His steel-toed boot connected with her gut, and she dropped to her knees, doubled over in pain. He kicked her one more time to make sure she stayed down for a few seconds.
Arrogant though he was, Pyrolusite knew he wouldn't win this fight if he stayed to finish it. Before Juno could get up, he scrambled over the wall and fled, carrying Carnelian's head with him. There wasn't time to grab the rest of her body, but he had the most important part.
Out on the street, he activated the Cyber-Psionic network again. "Ripidolite! Teleport. Now."
She grumbled under her breath. All right, the nearest stable location is in the parking lot of the Crystal Azabu Supermarket by the subway station. I'll have it up by the time you get there. You don't need to speak out loud, you know.
"Shut up," he snapped. Tucking Carnelian's head under his arm, he broke into a sprint. Behind him, Juno was back on her feet. He didn't waste any more time looking back.
Halfway over the wall, Juno hesitated, eyeing the unconscious Pallas. Was this one real? It didn't seem right to abandon a wounded ally. But if this was another fake, Pyrolusite might have left it deliberately to trap her.
Either way, Pyrolusite was getting away. She decided she would come back for Pallas later, after she caught him. With one last glance back at her maybe-friend, she set off in pursuit.
~*~
Minazaki peered up and down the street, searching. At length she sighed in disappointment. She was positive the mysterious blue-suited senshi had come this way, but there was no sign of her now.
A yawn escaped her, and she realized how tired she was. It was dark already. She gulped, anticipating her mother's anger when she got home at this late hour with her homework still not done.
She froze, feeling her heart sink. Homework! She had completely forgotten her group and their science lab! Her first thought was to run back to the hotel, but they had surely finished by now, and Tomoe-san would have gone home. They probably thought she had ditched them, and there was no way they'd believe her if she told them about the senshi…
A moan reached her ears, making her pause. There it was again, behind the stone wall of a nearby garden. Frowning, she pulled herself up and peeked over to investigate.
What she saw made her forget all about her homework troubles. There were two bodies lying on the ground. One was missing a head. The other was her new friend Atena.
Minazaki screamed. In her panic she lost her grip and tumbled forward into the garden. For a moment she lay dazed. When she opened her eyes, Atena was looking down at her. She looked from her to the headless corpse, and screamed again.
Atena took hold of her frantic friend's shoulders and tried to hold her still. "Whoa, chill out! It's not a real person!"
Minazaki stopped screaming. "I-it's not?"
"Nah, it's a robot. See the wires? Just an experiment gone wrong."
The brown-haired girl heaved a sigh and appeared to calm down. "Um, are you okay?" she asked, pointing to a large bruise on Atena's forehead.
Atena touched it and winced. "Yeah, I'll be fine." She forced a laugh. "I'm a little bit clumsy."
Minazaki grinned. "I know what you mean. Happens to me all the time."
If you had any idea… Atena thought, but smiled at Minazaki's attempt to cheer her up.
At that moment, they heard familiar voices calling out to them. Usagi, Seresu, and Hotaru came running down the street. Atena stood on shaky legs and greeted them.
"Thank goodness," Seresu said. "We were worried you two might have gotten hurt in the fire."
Minazaki gave her a puzzled look. "What fire?"
~*~
Pyrolusite ran for his life. He could hear Juno's footsteps behind him, growing closer with every second. She was yelling in English again, and he didn't need to know what she was saying to know she was furious. Unlike the naïve bunch he'd fought earlier, he had no doubt this senshi would kill him if she caught him.
Ahead, in the parking lot, the pale green shimmer of Ripidolite's portal promised safety. Just a little farther… Lungs raw, muscles burning, he forced himself to run faster than he ever had in his life. But Juno was still closing on him. An arm's length nearer and she would have him.
With a final, desperate lunge he threw himself forward and into the circle of light. He vanished in a flash of green, leaving Juno grasping at thin air.
~*~
"…so Kanzaki-san admitted to starting the fire, and the police came and took her in for questioning. But when they got to the police station, her mom was there! And when she saw her, Kanzaki-san suddenly got her memory back, and they were really happy to have finally found each other, and they went back home to, um, Morocco. So Kanzaki-san won't be in our class anymore," Usagi finished her long-winded (and completely fictitious) explanation.
"Wow!" Minazaki exclaimed. "Well, I'm happy for her."
"So are we," Hotaru said. "But anyway, we didn't get a chance to finish the lab, so I guess you and I will have to do it on our own."
"Okay!" Tomoe agreed, trying not to sound relieved at the alibi fate had provided her. "We can go back to my place and work."
After she and Hotaru departed, Atena smiled at Usagi. "That was pretty smooth, Usagi-chan."
Usagi laughed nervously. "I can't believe she bought it."
Seresu shook her head. "I get the feeling that girl would believe anything."
Her eyes widened when she noticed the bruise on Atena's head. "Oh my… what happened?"
Atena frowned and lowered her voice. "Had a little run-in with a bad guy. I'll give you the details later." Seresu and Usagi nodded in understanding.
"Sorry we left without you," Usagi apologized.
"Mm, it's fine."
Then Usagi noticed the robot's body lying in the corner. "Hey! Isn't that Carnelian?"
"Car-what?" Atena asked.
"We'll get everything sorted out later," Seresu said. "Let's get this thing back to the Palace. Maybe the scientists at Mercury-sama's lab could figure out what this thing's made of and where it came from."
Usagi nodded in agreement. "It would sure be nice to finally get some answers."
~*~
Pyrolusite tumbled out of the portal and dropped to his knees, gasping for breath. Though he knew it was physically impossible, he thought his chest might explode. Calomel and Ripidolite stood on either side of him, regarding him with identical smirks.
"Guess your toy robot isn't more effective than I ever was," his younger sister taunted.
Pyrolusite shot her a glare, too winded to voice a retort.
"Take him to get cleaned up," Ripidolite ordered. "I've got other things to do." She spun on her heel and exited the room before Calomel had a chance to object.
Pouting, Calomel stooped and tugged on Pyrolusite's arm, dragging him painfully to his feet. Leaning on her shoulder, he limped to the infirmary.
He staggered over to a bed and collapsed onto the creaky mattress. An antiquated medical droid rolled over and began examining him. Calomel stood by his bedside, staring into the distance with unseeing eyes. He got the sense she was waiting for him to say something.
"You still want to fight the senshi?" he asked.
She nodded. "I'll destroy them all. Starting with Pallas."
"You could die, you know," he reminded her.
"Yeah," she said, with none of the fear he'd expected. "I know. I don't think I realized it before how easy it was. Dying, I mean. I always thought I'd get some kind of… warning first, or something."
He flinched as the droid applied antiseptic to a cut on his arm. "Carnelian wasn't just a weapon," he admitted.
She gasped. "You mean it really was a love doll?"
"No, you idiot!" he snapped. "She was a test of my ability to make artificial life. This is proof that I've perfected the technology." He pressed a strange object into Calomel's hand.
She ran a finger over it, a confused look on her face. It felt like an odd conglomeration of metal and wire, with a smooth piece of glass at one end.
"It's an artificial eye," he explained. "If you'll let me implant it, I can restore your vision."
"I-implant? Ew!" She recoiled and nearly dropped it.
"Is that the thanks I get?" Pyrolusite grumbled.
She swallowed hard. "Sorry, I just… would you have to take out my old eye?"
"Well, yes. It's not working anyway, so why would you want to keep it? So, will you do it?"
"I don't want to look like a cyborg!" she protested.
He sighed impatiently. "Do you want to see again or not?"
She drew a shuddering breath, unable to believe she was actually considering his proposal to let him yank out her beautiful eyes and put a pair of these… things in her head. But if it really worked like he said, she would be able to see again. To reclaim what Pallas had stolen from her might be worth the cost.
A minute passed in silence. At last she reached a decision. "Fine. Just one. You can replace one eye."
Pyrolusite nodded, satisfied if not entirely pleased. "Very well."
~*~
"Three hundred percent. Our error is three hundred percent," Hotaru pronounced, staring dejectedly at the finished lab report.
"Yikes!" Minazaki squeaked. "What happened?"
Hotaru shot her a dirty look. "Somebody kept breaking all our glassware."
Minazaki wilted. "I'm sorry, Tomoe-san. Science just isn't my strong point!"
Hotaru sighed and gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. "It's okay."
Sunahara-sensei did not agree. And for the first time in her life, Tomoe Hotaru got a failing grade.