39: "Come Together"

Pulling herself over the ledge was the easy part. Even reconciling with the loss of her powers wasn't so bad, after she had caught her breath, crawled back inside Rei's apartment, meditated for a moment or two, and raided the pantry for some sake. The long empty silence and the warmed ceramic cup helped relax and focus her mind, and what she used that augmentation for became her greatest challenge. Setsuna immediately set herself to getting in touch with the other Senshi, assuring them of her health, adding a few bits of advice and comfort to those she was closest to (and a wistful smile when she sent the e-mail to Rei). She then dove into Mesopotamian lore like one possessed, determined to wheedle every last tidbit she could about their new foes. Setsuna didn't know what to make of the situation, or how it might be affecting the others; all she knew was that the Senshi had been caught off guard and defeated, and they only had ignorance to blame.

After a few hours passed with no contact from anyone, Setsuna realized that all cellular services had been cut off—the god's way of limiting mass communication. They couldn't very well take over if the city could coordinate anything against them in secret. She still had wireless and satellite, but several days later, the gods figured out how to disable that as well, and so Tokyo was thrown into the dark ages, and with the streets monitored very carefully, people could not meet or even travel so freely, and anyone stepping out of line was taken away to some unknown fate

All this put a terrible wrench in Setsuna's plans. She had meant to research their enemies to the fullest, then rally the Senshi, share what she had learned, and hopefully use that for a counterattack. Losing her powers almost seemed like the least of her worries when compared to losing her tactical edge. Oh, one could certainly visit a library and look up ancient West Asian gods, but how were the Senshi to know how their contemporaries were faring, or where they should go, or what they should do? They were all scattered now; Setsuna wasn't even sure if some were alive. She had hope, of course, and faith, but no facts. Haruka and Michiru were the only ones that replied to her, and that had been days ago. The Senshi of time—former Senshi of Time—had no way of knowing about her companions, and that tore her up more than anything.

Calm. She must stay calm. She meditated quite often, clearing her mind and focusing her thoughts as she once did, ages ago it seemed. She finished about half a bottle of sake, mentally reminding herself to buy Rei another—hmm. A thought just occurred as she made that mental note. The four Senshi closest to Usagi always congregated in the same place, and the variation of those places had varied little over the years. While they could no longer meet at Rei's shrine, and Makoto's former house presently had different occupants, the Crown Game Center and Fruit Parlor was still standing, now fully owned and operated by Unazuki Furuhata. If even one of the Senshi had the same idea as her, they'd go there, if only to inquire about everyone else. Setsuna decided to pay the old haunt a visit, and invented a pretense for her unwarranted vagrancy.

As she expected, a small force of about seven or eight of those armed soldiers marched her way, one carrying a standard and the others armed with various ancient melee weapons. The one with the standard addressed her, its voice cold and harsh.

"Servant, what is your reason for leaving your home?"

"I need to do some shopping. Will you permit me to do this?"

"You will have an escort, servant. Take what you need and hurry along."

"I also thought I'd stop by the Crown Game Center, if it's not too much trouble."

"It most certainly is. Our masters have not scheduled any games for today."

"I meant ones I might enjoy in private. I'm sitting in my friend's apartment with nothing to do."

"Regardless, we will not permit you this."

"May I visit the library and check out some books, then?"

"You will have an escort, servant. We will carefully monitor what you borrow."

"Thank you," she said coldly. Setsuna felt utterly embarrassed being followed around by these pompous goons, but even if she still had her powers, there was little she could do. Those who resisted or fought back were publicly beaten, or killed outright if their crime was terrible enough, and dragged off screaming and wailing.

There were at least three guards for every employee at the store, and four for every entrance and exit. Admittedly, theft was nonexistent, and any complaint or disorder was met with a brandished weapon, but it was too high a price. Setsuna was "allowed" to shop for twenty minutes, then shoved on her way. The Crown Game Center and Fruit Parlor was not far from the store, and she eyed it hungrily.

"Look, there it is. Can't I step in for a moment?"

"That is not the library, servant. On your way."

"Could I at least walk by? I need to stretch my legs, and it's only an additional half-kilometer or so."

"No lollygagging! On your way."

"But a friend of mine is-" She was silenced as something sharp dug into her back. Setsuna dawdled out of a fiendish hope that Unazuki could come out and see her, but her slow gait came at a cost. She was jabbed again, much harder this time, forced to pick up the pace. As she winced, she heard another team of guards badgering someone.

"On your way, servant. Head directly for your residence and stay there until the appointed hour."

"I just asked a question about my brother and sister-in-law! Can't I get any news?"

"Silence! On your way—and keep those children quiet."

Setsuna risked a look, seeing Unazuki stumbling out of the parlor, pushing a stroller with two groaning infants. Their eyes met across the distance, each recognizing the other. Setsuna gave her a meaningful nod, and Unazuki nodded back.

"Hurry up now. You've already wasted enough time."

"Take it easy, these groceries are heavy. I don't suppose you'd volunteer to help me carry them?"

"No talking! Now move!" Setsuna hurried along, not daring to look back. She didn't need to. Although neither woman had spoken a word, their expressions implied everything. Unazuki knew what she needed to do, and she would take care of it to the best of her ability. Now they had a chance.

Now, they could begin to take back their city.

…...

Tokyo was almost completely overrun by the soldiers, but that didn't mean people never took chances at sneaking around, nor did it mean all their attempts were unsuccessful. They were natives, after all, and this was familiar territory. The soldiers, for all their vigilance, relied too much on their numerical superiority and not enough on their attention to detail. One could slip through the grid if one knew the right path—or, in Rei Hino's case, if one had rediscovered a natural inclination for clairvoyance. She never expected her strange talent to return after so many years of silence, let alone at such an opportune moment, and she certainly didn't think to use it to aid her escape.

Once she was away from the safety of the senate building, she had relied on her natural stealth, athletic ability, and discipline to sneak past the throngs of soldiers. She noticed they seldom covered the rooftops, and sought refuge on higher ground whenever she could. Eventually she spotted a few lookouts up above and shimmied her way down the surface via drainpipe. She looked around and decided her best option was a narrow alley, but something told her that would be a fatal mistake. Thinking it was merely intuition (feminine or otherwise), she gave the path a more studious look. She had four roads available, two congested with enemies and one that led to a dead end. The alley was her only option, and it was empty and dark. Nothing could be better. She crept closer to the passage, and was assaulted again by feelings of danger. She couldn't describe the sensation; it just seemed like a part of her was giving off these warnings.

Carefully secluding herself, Rei picked up an empty soda can she found and threw it in the alley. No sooner had it clattered on the floor did seven soldiers spring out, their weapons drawn. Rei stiffened, crouching. They remained on high alert for about fifteen seconds before slowly withdrawing. So, the apparent safety of the alley was actually an ambush, and she would have been caught in it were it not for her latent psychic abilities.

"I'll be," she whispered. "Okay, if I can't go through there, where should I go?" She waited for an answer but didn't get anything. She decided to test the dead end, and ventured in slowly. Only three walls, a large trash bin, and an empty breeze awaited her. "Well?" she said, feeling exasperated. Rei frowned as she realized she was talking to herself, and became angrier when she realized she had actually expected an answer. She was about to give up and walk away when her foot tapped something not made of stone, a manhole. While she didn't think something so prevalent as Tokyo's sewer system would escape the enemy's notice, she doubted there would be much in the way of force down there. Crinkling her nose and swallowing her pride, she knelt down and pulled on the manhole with all her strength, gradually prying it away. It didn't smell nearly as bad as she had feared, mostly thanks to the citywide restoration several days ago, but she'd still need a shower before all this was over.

Rei entertained the idea of encountering alligators or ninja turtles as she traveled down there, but reigned in her focus when the path began to diverge. She could walk or drive to Juban Primary with no trouble on the surface, but without a map or a keen sense of direction, she would be in trouble. Thankfully, her precognition came out in full force, almost acting like a spiritual guide as she picked her way through the passage. Skip two, make a left, head straight, make a right, into here, another right, out here. Wait a second: head out? Rei estimated she had only been underground for half an hour at most. Walking to Juban took much longer, and her pace was normally greater than the tentative stride she was going now. Yet there was no mistaking the urgency her precognition was giving her, so she she grabbed the nearest ladder and headed up.

Even though Rei trusted her clairvoyance, she still peeked around carefully before fully emerging. The passage had led her into one of Tokyo's subway stations, further compacting her doubts. She didn't yet understand the full breadth of control her enemies had, but she figured the subways would be heavily guarded. They were, of course, but sometimes excess turns against itself: there were plenty of soldiers but just as many people, and Rei found she could easily blend into the crowd. She got out of the sewers, found a bathroom, cleaned herself up, and soon became another anonymous Japanese woman pushing her way through the throngs. It was too easy.

She squeezed her way back to the surface, tensing up as she passed a pair of guards. They paid her no mind, so she got her bearings and found the landmarks that would lead her to Juban. It was tricky trying to hide herself once she was on the surface, because now she was being watched, and acting suspiciously usually got one imprisoned. An opportunity came as a young woman began arguing with the soldiers over her right to shop, and as much as Rei wanted to help, the distraction was too good to waste. She dove into a slender alleyway and sidled through the other side, where she saw lines of soldiers marching. A quick look up revealed a fire escape, so she braced herself against the two walls and slowly climbed her way up. The escape was rusty and secured poorly, amplifying every step with ear-splitting noise. Even Rei's nimbleness found itself overwhelmed as she picked her way up and vaulted onto the roof. There, she ran into two observers.

She had perhaps a fraction of a second to react. She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind: "Oh, thank goodness! The whole building's on fire! I just barely managed to get out!"

"Calm down, servant. Stay here and wait for help." The two soldiers began climbing down the escape, but Rei couldn't resist pushing them over the edge, nor could she resist smiling when their bodies cracked on the surface below. With only seconds to spare before an investigation took place, she bolted for it, leaping from one rooftop to the next, infinitely thankful she hadn't worn heels. As Sailor Mars, she could've crossed a kilometer this way, but as Rei Hino, well...

She got the stuffing knocked out of her as she attempted a chasm-spanning jump, barely flinging her arms over the ledge and catching herself. Although the impact was painful, at least she had lived through it, so she pulled herself over, risking a break. She distinctly heard several soldiers shouting and giving orders, and imagined legions climbing up the stone walls to intercept her. Despite her thudding heart, aching lungs, and bruised torso, she pressed on. Intuition told her to return to the surface, so she found another fire escape and bounded down. As she touched down, her eyes met the empty black slits of one of the enemy, and he quickly called for reinforcements.

"So much for intuition," she grumbled to herself, dashing away. More of the soldiers convened around the first, many giving chase but a few circling around, trying to cut off her escape. Rei darted heedlessly through the streets, no longer caring where she was going or how lost she had gotten; she just wanted to stay ahead of these goons. She tore through a fast-food restaurant, vaulted past an open market, crashed through some hedges, made a sharp turn down a street...

And ran smack into one of the soldiers, knocking him flat.

"Whoa! Sorry!" Panic overtook her, and she knew she was doomed. Rei quickly hid herself in another alley, but felt her stomach sink as it wound into a dead end—and with no manhole or anything else to save her. There was a fence she could conceivably climb, but it was laced with barbed wire. Three of the enemy cornered her, one slowly advancing while the other two hung back.

"Come with us immediately. Resist and you will die."

"Haven't you pigs ever heard of subtlety?" she gasped. She looked around for something to fight with. She still had her car keys, for what little good they'd do against these armored goons, and there was the fence she could possibly throw them against, providing they only attacked her one at a time. In her present state, she'd never be able to defeat all three, and running was completely out of the question, even if she wasn't already out of breath. She panicked as the soldier came in closer, forcing her against the fence. He was so close now that she could see her reflection in his armor.

The tension broke as one of the soldiers standing guard crumpled into an unresponsive pile, struck hard from behind. The one advancing on Rei turned his back for just a moment, but she seized the opportunity and crashed her palm against his neck. As he fell, she stole his weapon, and joined forces with her unknown savior as they both took down the last one.

"Thanks," she panted, "you saved my... Ami!"

Dr. Mizuno stood there, breathless and glowing. Rei wasted no time in embracing her.

"Am I glad to see you!"

"So am I! I didn't expect to see any of the others. Are you all right?"

"Terrible," she grinned, unable to suppress her happiness. She let go of her friend and slapped her on the back. "How'd you find me?"

"By being in the right place at the right time, I suppose. And finding something heavy in a trash can helped, too." Rei looked down and grinned at the bent pipe Ami was carrying. It would be useless now as a weapon, but it had served its purpose well. "But let's not stay here any longer. We need to find someplace private to talk."

"I think I know just the place, but it's going to be a little smelly. Think you can lift a manhole?"

Ami blushed as she smiled at her weapon. "Maybe our friend here can help."

The sewer was no less foul than when Rei had left it, but the air was sweet as she caught her breath and waited for her trembling pulse to settle. In the meantime, Ami told her story: about how she had been at police headquarters examining a charred corpse when one of the gods swept in, stealing her powers and forcing the chief to submit to his will. She had stayed behind just long enough to calm the other officers down and try to explain the situation—then, in typical Senshi fashion (and atypical Mizuno fashion), she slipped out and made her way to Juban Primary, stopping only once to save a lifelong friend. Rei couldn't help but smile warmly despite her concern.

"I could almost kiss you, Ami. I had my powers taken away as well, and the senate building got torched. I think most everyone else got out safely; my father tried keeping in touch with the outside while we still had phone service. Oh, by the way, have you been able to contact the others?"

She shook her head. "I know my original idea was to go to Juban and make sure Usagi and my mother were safe, but lately I've been reconsidering that. I don't have any proof that my idea's a bad one, and there's nothing that prevents me from going... It's just a feeling I have." She chuckled softly and winked. "Perhaps that night of passion wasn't the only thing we shared." Rei blushed; this was uncharacteristic of both of them. She blamed Minako for drawing out Ami's hidden "talents". Even someone as bashful, soft-spoken, humble, and meek as Ami could be influenced by their flaxen-haired vixen.

"Speaking of that, I think my psychic powers helped guide me to you. They told me where I should go and I followed them. I had my doubts at first, but I suppose my faith was rewarded. Anyway, let me see if I can verify those feelings of yours. I don't suppose you have any matches with you?" Ami gave a start. She had forgotten that's Rei's abilities worked best when she had a fire to concentrate on.

"No... Oh! Oh my goodness, this is embarrassing." She sheepishly dug out a lighter and carefully studied it. When she handed it to Rei, she noticed Slavic symbols on it.

"Is this Nastya's?" A nod.

"Sometimes she forgets to have a light with her, so I volunteered to hold onto one of her spares for her. I guess I forgot to give it back when I broke up with her."

"You broke up?" Ami nodded numbly. Rei studied the lighter for a moment, deciding not to add anything. She went back to the surface and found some scrap paper and a cardboard box, and soon had a timid fire going.

It felt strange to sit and meditate before a fire again. Oh, all the old rituals and chants came back to her immediately, and there was certainly a feeling of nostalgia to it, but... It felt very peculiar. Hikawa Shrine was gone. Grandfather was gone. Rei had donated all her miko outfits to a museum. Ten years had gone by since she last attempted this. It was different than coming back to Sailor Mars; they were both distinct parts of her whole self, but this was more "Rei" than "Senshi". It was a Hikawa family tradition that went back...oh, generations, perhaps, probably to the warring feudal era, before Tokugawa came around. It was altogether melancholy sitting there, gazing into the fire, her mind wandering on what all this meant: for her, for the Senshi, for the moment, for history. A tear came trickling down.

"Are you okay?" Ami whispered. Rei smiled sadly and nodded.

"It's been awhile," she whispered. A lash of realization snapped her out of her emotional reverie, and she bolted upright, the visions becoming manifest. "I see something," she announced. "There are gigantic glowing people moving around the city. They're looking for something. One of them went into a hospital. I can't tell which one, though. I can see...death. No, wait, that's not right. It's not the action, but the personification. And an emptiness. There's...some kind of hole there. Death, a hole, a hospital, a glowing person... That's all." She deflated as the fire went out, beads of sweat matting on her forehead. While Ami's scientific mind was as far removed from this supernatural phenomenon as it could be, she took Rei's visions seriously, and even believed she knew what they meant.

"Death is Hotaru. Unless she went there for personal issues, there's only one other reason she'd visit a hospital."

"Usagi." Rei swallowed. "It showed an empty space. Is that because she's in a coma?"

"There's no way to know for certain. But if one of those creatures visited Juban, and was looking for us... Could it have been the same one that stole our powers?"

"I didn't get that impression. It sounds like we both faced the same person; he had a strong warlike countenance to him. This one...not so much. It sort of felt like I was looking at...well, Usagi again, but at the same time, something very different."

"Well, if it's one of those gods, I'd say that was Sin, or Nanna, the moon god. But if he was looking for the Senshi, and not Ninurta... Rei, when you saw 'death', did Hotaru immediately come to mind?" Rei grunted, caressing her forehead, her chest, and her stomach. She stretched and began pacing around.

"That's very difficult to say. I think it might have been the action and the persona. Hotaru's involvement isn't clear, but it's possible. I really feel as though someone has been killed, though. Hell, it might have been Hotaru."

"Sailor Saturn? Not likely."

"Like I said, it wasn't very clear. Regardless, it doesn't look like going to the hospital is a good idea. They're looking for us now, that much is certain, and if they find us..."

"But my mother's there," Ami whispered. She trembled, looking like she was about to be sick. Rei quickly flew to her side and wrapped compassionate arms around her.

"I can't tell you what to do. If you believe this is the right course of action, I won't stop you. I'll even help if you need me. But...something tells me we have to stay away. We need to find everyone else, set up a base, think about how we're going to get out of this." Ami didn't say anything. She didn't even move. She just needed to be held, and loved, and carried through this dark time. Rei had done that for her before; she was glad she was there to do it again.

And then, a bombshell. "I really envy you. I wish I had known my mother. All I have are vague memories, faded photos. You're so lucky." She kissed Ami's forehead, looked into her eyes. Both women had tears on their faces.

"It's my turn," Ami whispered vaguely, after some minutes of silence. She slipped out of Rei's grasp and headed to the ladder.

"For what?"

"To find something we can use. For the fire."

"I'm not sure I follow..." She turned around, smiling warmly.

"It's going to be difficult finding everyone if we can't reach them through normal means. I guess we'll have to rely on paranormal ones. I'll be back shortly."

…...

Minako waited patiently as the guards filed in, unlocked her cell door, surrounded her, and escorted her out. She stood with an air of superiority—almost a smugness—as they unlocked Nastya's door, then Makoto and Motoki's. Aside from Makoto's limping, they filed out of the prisoner's ward without delay, and were led to the dungeon's main office. There, they were thrown before a decorated soldier, obviously one in charge of the lesser minions, who only answered to the gods. The foursome bowed in greetings; the officer stood, removing his helmet, revealing a face glowing with soft white light, his eyes shining sockets, his hair constantly flowing, as if it were underwater.

"I understand you have something you wish to say."

"Yes, sir," Minako said. "It's about the Senshi. You see, we know who they really are."

To be continued...

Author's notes:

I can't believe I passed up the opportunity for a Sailor Moon/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover. I'm so ashamed.