Secrets



Chapter 13 - Retribution



	Setsuna had shown them to a private dining room looking out
over the city.  It was not Japanese style as Rei had expected,
but western style, with a massive dark wood dining table
polished to a liquid sheen, surrounded by four elegant leather
chairs.  There was easily room for at least two more chairs, but
no doubt Setsuna had specified seating for four.  It was about
time for their fourth to arrive.  Rei glanced at Usagi, who was
sitting at the end of the table staring out the window.  She
hadn't touched the appetizer.  Actually none of them had.  Rei
didn't have much of an appetite.  Like just about everybody, she
and Usagi and Mamoru had spent much of the day yesterday
watching the reports of the pandemic.  Usagi had been very
quiet, which worried Rei.  When Setsuna had called to suggest
this meeting with Kaori, she had agreed in toneless
monosyllables.  And Rei couldn't get much more out of her, other
than getting her to agree that Rei should come along as well. 
Rei wanted to see this woman with her own eyes before she would
decide whether Kaori could be trusted.

	Rei had an idea what was making Usagi so unresponsive.  Behind
all this scrambling and plotting was the silent dread that it
was all pointless, that this horror of the Drakon's making would
consume them all, leaving a dead world behind.  Saori had called
them last night, to tell them what the Order had found out,
which was precious little.  Their various contacts whispered of
plans being executed, of hidden order behind the apparent chaos.
 It seemed that the global triage process was more than just a
rumour.

	"I called my mom this morning," Usagi abruptly said to nobody
in particular.  "She said Hotaru's at her place today."

	"Hotaru?" Setsuna asked.

	Usagi nodded, still staring out the window.  "Visiting Shingo."

	"That's nice of her."

	It occurred to Rei that Setsuna probably didn't know. 
"Setsuna, she and Shingo have been seeing each other for two
years now."

	Setsuna did look surprised.  "I had no idea."  She smiled. 
"I'd been wondering who this mysterious young man of hers might
be."

	"I wonder if she's going to tell him," Usagi said.

	"What do you mean?" Rei asked.

	Usagi finally looked at her.  "I mean about being Sailor
Saturn.  Maybe she wants to tell him the truth, before it's too
late."

	"Usagi, don't," Rei said gently.  "What's happening is
horrible, but it's not the end of the world.  We'll make it
somehow."

	"I was going to tell them," Usagi continued, ignoring what Rei
had said.  "That night, and then yesterday, I said to myself I'd
finally tell them.  But I chickened out, just like I always do."

	"You have plenty of time to make that decision, Usagi.  Don't
rush yourself."

	"I'm sure Hotaru isn't going to force your hand," Setsuna said.
 "She would never reveal something like that without asking you
first."  She turned to Rei.  "So how long have you known about
those two?"

	"We finally figured it out on New Years," Rei said.  "She sent
Shingo this beautiful-"  She heard the little pop just as
Setsuna's eyes darted over in Usagi's direction.  Rei whirled
around and saw the ESPer girl standing beside Usagi.  She
touched Usagi's shoulder and they both vanished.

	The two of them were on their feet already, but they could just
stand there in stunned silence.  Rei shook with fear and rage
and panic.  It had been the girl who had killed her grandfather.
 She had Usagi.  *They* had Usagi.  She looked down on the
floor.  Her mind had barely registered that the girl had tossed
something down before vanishing.  Rei went down on her knees and
picked up the piece of paper that lay there.  She held the note
in her shaking hands, her heart racing.  She read it.



	The Princess is now ours, and soon the Palace will be ours.  If
you try to take either from us, it will mean your deaths.



Kaori



	Rei heard Setsuna come around the table to where Rei was still
kneeling, reading and rereading the note.  She stood over her. 
"Rei, what-"

	Rei had her against the wall in two seconds.  "YOU FUCKING
BITCH!  YOU SOLD HER OUT TO THEM, DIDN'T YOU?  YOU LET THEM HAVE
HER JUST SO SHE COULD MAKE YOUR FUCKING PALACE FOR YOU!"

	She threw Setsuna to the ground.  They were both panting, Rei
from blind rage, Setsuna from complete shock.  Rei pointed down
at her.  "On my mother's grave, I swear if anything happens to
Usagi, there will be no words to describe the way I'm going to
kill you."  She strode to the door and flung it open with a
crash.  The club employees she passed all shrank back from her. 
Even the impeccably polite hostess in the lobby thought better
than to say anything to her.

	She rode the elevator alone.  By the time she left the
building, she had tucked her rage away in the place where it
could simmer, waiting to be released only when the time was
right.  She flipped up the face of her communicator.  Mercury
was the first one she called.  "Ami, we've got a problem."



	*****



	Himiko ate a spartan lunch, as she had for nearly a century. 
In her childhood it had been forced upon her, not from poverty
but from her mother's disdain for personal indulgence.  As an
adult, Himiko had stuck to her austerity by choice.  It had kept
her healthy long after most of her many children had passed
away.  She had never regretted steering the family to a more
aggressive engagement of the modern world.  But she would be the
first to admit the negative consequences.  Over the years many
of the family had been seduced by the modern world's extravagant
wealth and its vast array of indulgences.  Many began to grumble
at the rules and the discipline that had kept the family
together and focused since the long before the beginning of
recorded history, to the point where the ranks of the black
sheep were swelling.  From the beginning Himiko had depended on
their shared legacy, the Power, to be the thing that would keep
them together, the thing they could never share with any
outsider.  Only the women could pass down the Power, and it
seemed to be such that outsider blood could not dilute it.  As
always, outsider men had brought fresh blood into the family,
but only their children would ever be Ancients.  Generations in
their hundreds had crumbled to dust, but the Power remained as
strong as ever.

	And now, finally, it might be coming to an end.

	News of the plague the outsiders had unleashed upon themselves
came from people in Sapporo who could do long distance telepathy
with their brethren here at the Matriarch's house.  The family
had always wondered why she was so rigid about keeping the
conveniences of the modern age out of her household.  It was
very simple, really.  She wanted to ensure that some core of the
family knew how to endure without the outsiders' toys.  In case
they were not there one day, in case this empire of modern magic
collapsed like so many others had.  As it might very well soon
be doing.  Only this time, it might take the Ancients with them.
 The powers that be were already beginning to claim that their
draconian measures had halted the plague's advance, already
beginning to declare victory.  Of course they had to seal off a
fifth of their numbers, condemn them to certain death.  Well, it
was no different than what Himiko would do, faced with the same
choice.

	In light of what was happening, the news Kaori had brought her
yesterday seemed almost trivial.  Her son had killed seven more
people.  Hardly worth the risk and effort of bringing them in. 
Of greater concern was the risk that their actions might bring
the Ancients into direct conflict with these Sailor Senshi Kaori
had been telling her about.  But supposedly they understood that
Kaori's son was a rogue, and they actually wanted to work
together to hunt them down.  She had agreed to let Kaori go
listen to what they had to say.  If they really could help bring
the Palace into being as they claimed, then in light of recent
events an alliance was beginning to look more and more appealing.

	When she had indicated she had finished eating, the young man
who had been acting as her human telephone came into the room
and knelt before her.  "Matriarch, I bring grave news from the
household of your granddaughter Kaori."

	"Yes?"  She had been keeping her eye on the situation in Tokyo.
 The city had been sealed off for only a day, and everyone was
being assured it was as safe as anywhere else in the country,
but things were changing now at blinding speed.

	"Your granddaughter did not return from her prayers at the
shrine of the First Ancestor last night.  She has not been seen
since.  They have called all the other households, but nobody
has seen her."

	"What?  Have they searched around the shrine?"

	"Yes, Matriarch.  They believe your granddaughter teleported
directly from the shrine last night.  Several of the people in
the house detected it.  But nobody knows where she might have
gone."

	Kaori would never teleport from a shrine.  It would be an
affront to the First Ancestor.  "Have Aiko meet me in the
Crystal cave without delay."  She got to her feet.

	"Matriarch, I'll send somebody-"

	"I'm perfectly capable of walking there myself.  Off with you."

	"Yes, Matriarch."  He bowed and left, leaving the door open for
her.  She made her way to the back of the house and exited into
the garden.  Snow covered the branches of the two great trees,
but the garden had been carefully cleaned.  She walked to the
flagstone beside the cliff and teleported into the caves.  She
walked down the winding tunnel to the cave of the Seed Crystal. 
There were several of the precognitives here.  Many had been in
and out since yesterday, trying to glimpse visions that might
help them know what the future held, the future of this world
now teetering on the brink.  They all bowed to Himiko as she
entered.  She ignored them.  None thought to question the reason
for her waiting here.  The reason came just a few minutes later,
one who in Himiko's estimation was worth all of this lot put
together.  Aiko held onto the arm of the young man Himiko had
sent to fetch her.  He led the blind girl over to her.

	"How may I help you, Matriarch?" she asked.  Her white,
sightless eyes focused more or less on Himiko's face.  Aiko's
aura vision could easily locate and identify people she was
familiar with.

	"My granddaughter Kaori has vanished.  She teleported directly
from her shrine to the First Ancestor and has not been seen
since.  I need you to tell me what this means."

	Aiko was silent for a couple of minutes.  Then she spoke in a
clear but toneless voice.  "The son steals the secrets held by
the mother.  He sends another in her place, to betray a friend."

	Himiko thought on that for a moment.  "Thank you, Aiko.  Boy,
take her back to the house and then bid all my senior guardsmen
to assemble in the main hall."

	"All of them, Matriarch?"

	"All of them."

	He bowed, and gently led Aiko back to the tunnel.  Himiko
followed them.  They had almost reached the tunnel when the
shouts of alarm came from behind.  Himiko spun around as fast as
her old bones would allow.

	The deaf-mute girl Yui was standing beside the Seed Crystal. 
She had done the impossible, she had teleported directly into
the Crystal cave.  She reached out and touched the crystal.

	There were more cries now, of shock and outrage.  "Damned
renegade!" the young man behind her bellowed.  "How dare you!"

	Yui's eyes began to glow, and the crystal seemed to glow more
brightly to match them.  Her lips spread into a feral grin. 
With her other hand she waved.  **Bye be.**  She vanished.

	There was utter silence for a moment.  Then Aiko screamed.  She
could not have seen what happened, but to her aura sense it must
have seemed much as it had to those with eyes.  It must have
seemed like the lights went out.  It was still not all that
dark, so Himiko's eyes took only a moment to adjust.  The Soul
Icons did not shine quite as brightly, now they had nothing to
resonate with.

	The cries of panic soon began.  **Enough!** Himiko sent out,
bringing them to an abrupt end.  She could not let them know
that she felt exactly as they did, felt as if her whole world
had started crumbling around her.  She turned around.  "Boy, get
Aiko out of here and assemble my guardsmen as I instructed."

	He led the whimpering girl into the tunnel.  Before she
followed, Himiko took one more look into the cave.  Looked at
the hole in the cave floor where the Seed Crystal had sat
unmoving since the days of the First Ancestor.  The hole was
deep.  The Crystal was bigger than she had supposed.



	*****



	The feeling washed over Mamoru for just a fleeting moment.  It
was so familiar, the mortal dread at the core of his being
telling him that his Princess was in danger, that she needed
him.  Even after he understood what it meant, why it happened,
it had never lost any of its primal urgency.  It would send him
running to her, guided and driven by a compulsion utterly
impossible to deny.  But before he could even react visibly, the
sensation was just a memory, utterly gone.

	"Sorry, Mako-chan.  For a minute there I thought Usagi was
calling me.  She's off meeting that ESPer friend of Setsuna's. 
I guess I'm more nervous about it than I was willing to admit. 
But Rei is with her, I'm sure she'll be fine."  He kept on
reading to her, but he continued to be distracted.  It must have
been his imagination, but it had seemed so real.  As he had
said, it must have just been nerves.

	He was just about getting to the end of the chapter he was
intending to finish off today, when he heard the door open. 
"Just a second, Mako-chan."  He marked the book, put it on the
little table and looked to see who it was.  "Rei."  He was on
his feet immediately, walking over to her.  She looked utterly
devastated.  "Rei, what's wrong?"

	She took his hand.  "Mamoru, they betrayed us.  They've got
Usagi."

	"What?"  He thought his heart had stopped.  He wasn't even sure
if he had really spoken aloud.

	Through the fog of panic and dread, he half heard Rei continue.
 The despair in her eyes made the calmness of her voice an utter
lie.  "Kaori never showed up.  She sent that girl who killed my
grandfather instead.  The girl just touched Usagi and they both
vanished.  It all happened in a second.  I've called the others,
we're meeting at our place."

	*All happened in a second.*  "Rei, I felt it," he said.  "I
felt it when it happened, just for a second.  But I ignored it. 
Why don't I still feel it?  Why ..." he gasped.

	She gripped his arms roughly.  "No!  Don't even think it!  If
she was gone you would feel it, we both would!  You know that! 
They've just taken her somewhere far away!  That's all it means!
 You have to believe that!"  She shook him with each sentence. 
The tears were flowing down her cheeks.  She barely was able to
choke out the last words.  Then somehow they were in each
other's arms, and it felt like she wanted to crush him.  "Oh
God," she whimpered.  "I'm so scared."

	The shock was slowly giving way to fear.  Those monsters had
his Usagi.  The same monsters who had slaughtered Rei's loved
ones, had casually ripped the souls out of holy places and out
of people with equal disdain, had turned gentle animals into
bloodthirsty monsters.  They had his Usagi.  His own tears now
fell, tears of fear and loss, but also tears of rage at traitors
now twice damned.  There was only one thing that kept him from
breaking down completely, the knowledge of one thing that could
save the one who was more than life to him.  After a while,
after he had calmed himself enough to find the words, he broke
their embrace and just held Rei by the shoulders, looking down
into her eyes.  "Rei, she'll be okay.  She's the Princess, she
can take care of herself.  Even when she has to fight alone,
she's always pulled through."

	"We have to try and find her."

	"We will.  Come on, let's go."  He went over beside Makoto's
bed again, put the book he had been reading back into his
briefcase and snapped it shut.  He turned to see Rei standing
beside him.

	"Can you wait just a second, Mamoru?  I ... I'd like to talk to
Mako-chan."

	"Sure."  He stepped aside to let her come next to their friend
lying peacefully on her bed.

	Rei took her hand.  "Mako-chan, I don't know how much of that
you heard.  These ESPers we've been fighting, the Ancients,
they've kidnapped Usagi.  I'm sure she's okay, though.  They
want her alive, so that they can make her create the Palace for
them.  We have to go find her.  I wish you could come with us,
we've never needed you more.  But I promise you, we'll bring her
back to you."  She released Makoto's hand and turned to face
Mamoru again.  "Let's go, the others will probably be there
soon."

	"Usagi?"

	Mamoru could see from Rei's expression that she had heard it
too.  A barely audible croak.  Her eyes darted about the room,
as if she expected to spot some hidden intruder.  Then she
gasped.  "Kami-sama ...."



	*****



	Rei had called her at the worst possible time.  The word had
just come in, a nerve gas attack initiated by some doomsday
cult, hundreds of casualties.  They had started to arrive
minutes later, and the hellish work had begun.  Ami had to keep
reminding herself that she was not a doctor yet, no matter how
competent she was there were some things she was not allowed to
do, had no business doing.  She was only here because they
desperately needed an extra pair of hands.  But as the day wore
on, and everyone was getting swamped, the rules and the pecking
order mattered less and less.  By the time things were starting
to get back under control, about the only thing she was not
doing was putting signatures on death certificates.  Not all the
ones that were brought in had made it.  On this smaller scale
just as on the global scale, triage was just a fact of life.

	Feeling utterly drained, she fought her weariness and changed
quickly.  On the way there she called Rei again.  "I got out as
quickly as I could.  I'm on my way."

	"It's okay," Rei said.  "We just got here ourselves."

	"Did something happen?"

	"We can talk about it when you get here."

	There had hardly been any time for it all to sink in.  Usagi
was in the hands of those killers.  She only got the barest
outline of what happened from Rei.  But she just couldn't
believe that Setsuna would actually sell Usagi out to the
Ancients.  There had to be some mistake, something they were
missing.

	Rei answered the door at the apartment.  She looked like she
had been crying.  She greeted Ami and they embraced.  Ami closed
the door behind her and turned to face Rei again.  Her
expression was odd, like there was something she wanted to say
but didn't know quite how.  "Rei, has something happened?  Have
you heard anything about Usagi?"

	"No.  But we might know where she is."

	"What?"

	"Ami ... why don't you come in, we need to talk for a bit
before we go."  Her manner was still odd, not urgent or angry as
Ami would have expected.  Rather than trying to figure this out,
Ami just slipped out of her shoes and followed Rei into the
living room, peeling off her jacket as she went.  Minako and
Hotaru were sitting there.  Ami looked around.  "Isn't Mamoru
here?"

	"He's in the kitchen," Minako said.  "Mamoru!" she called out. 
"Ami's here."

	So they had been waiting for her to arrive before they started
planning.  She felt bad about having made the decision to stay
at the hospital.  She had thought there would be little they
could do right away, how had they found out where Usagi might be?

	Mamoru came into the room, his hand held lightly on the
shoulder of his other guest, who walked in with him.  Ami's
mouth dropped open, and she stopped breathing.

	Makoto smiled.  "Hi Ami-chan."

	"Mako-chan...?"  Makoto nodded, as if trying to assure Ami that
she was real.  She walked towards Ami.  Then Ami's vision swam
as tears welled up in her eyes.  "Mako-chan!"  She practically
leaped at Makoto, who caught the shorter woman easily in her
strong arms, stepping back just enough to soften the impact. 
Ami buried her face in Makoto's breast and gave full vent to her
feelings of joy and relief, and to the long denied grief that
she could finally let go of.  She cried just like a little girl,
loudly and uncontrollably.  In light of this miracle, she could
finally admit to herself that she had given up all hope long
ago.  To her it was just like having a friend come back from the
dead.  She pulled back and looked up, blinking her tears away,
desperate to see her friend's face again.

	Makoto smiled in understanding.  She must have seen the hints
of doubt in Ami's eyes.  "I'm okay, Ami-chan."  She cradled
Ami's face in her hands, kissed her forehead.  "Honestly, I'm
okay."  She was slightly hoarse, as if still getting the hang of
using her long silenced voice.  But Ami could see her friend in
the twinkling eyes, the knowing smile.  She really was back.

	Ami pulled her close and crushed Makoto to her breast again. 
"Onesama," she whimpered.  Makoto held her close, stroked her
hair.  They stood like that for some time, Ami's sobbing much
more restrained now.  When she was done she stepped back again,
but they still held each other.  Ami looked to left and right to
see all their friends standing around them.  Mamoru had an arm
around Rei, and Minako was hugging the shorter Hotaru tightly
from behind.  In all their eyes Ami could see the same
expression, the shared joy of seeing their own tearful reunions
with Makoto repeated before their eyes.  Ami turned her
attention back to Makoto.  "But how?  What happened?"

	"Rei told me that Usagi needs our help," Makoto said, as if
that explained everything.

	"You ... heard her?"

	"I think I heard all of you.  I may even remember bits of what
you were saying to me."  She grinned.  "Except what you were
reading.  I remember thinking how nice your voice is, but I had
no idea what you were saying.  It was so comfortable just lying
there, I felt like nothing could ever hurt me again if I just
stayed there and did nothing.  I probably would have just faded
away, if all of you hadn't come to me every day."

	Ami shook her head.  "I'm so sorry, I had given up on you."

	"But you still came," Makoto said.  "Just like everyone else."

	"It was Usagi who gave us hope," Ami said.  "She never doubted
that you'd come back to us."

	Makoto's expression sobered.  "That's why I came back.  I have
to go help her now."

	Ami frowned.  "Mako-chan, you just came out of a coma.  You
should still be in a hospital."

	She just smiled.  "That's what all the doctors said.  I said
I'd give them two hours to try and find anything wrong with me. 
They couldn't."

	"That's not quite true," Mamoru said.  "She's still pretty
weak."

	"Which means she's more or less down to human level instead of
an Amazon goddess," Minako said.

	"And she's barely been able to keep down what little solid food
she could eat," Rei added.  "We've been feeding her a mouthful
at a time."

	"That's fine," Makoto said.  "I'm meaner when I'm hungry, as
those bastards are going to find out."

	That reminded Ami of Rei's earlier statement.  "Rei, you said
you might know where Usagi's been taken."

	"Yes, and we can thank Minako for that."

	Minako flashed a dangerous smile.  "Two days ago I followed
Setsuna to where she meets that ESPer woman.  Then I followed
Kaori back to her home.  That's got to be where she's keeping
Usagi."

	"But how do you know it was her?"  Ami asked.

	"That girl dropped off a note before she disappeared with
Usagi," Rei said.  "It was from Kaori."  She recited the note
from memory.

	Ami thought about that for a moment.  "It sounds like she wants
the Palace for herself.  She must have betrayed Setsuna as well."

	Rei's expression darkened.  "She did look surprised."  That
seemed to be as close as she was willing to come to admitting
any doubt about Setsuna's guilt.

	"It doesn't matter," Minako said, stepping away from Hotaru. 
"We're all ready and we have our target.  Let's get going."

	"Shouldn't we tell the others?" Ami asked.  They hadn't had
much contact with the refugees or the Order these past couple of
days.  The latter was not shadowing them at the moment, having
lost key agents and having their hands full with other matters.

	"Protecting the Princess is our job," Minako said.  "Besides,
Takada is friends with one of them, he may still think we should
go bargain with them or something.  We don't have time for that."

	"We can only rely on each other," Rei said.  "That's what all
this has taught me."

	Ami had warning bells going off in her head.  Somehow this just
didn't feel right.  She desperately wanted to call Ryou, tell
him everything, get his feelings on the matter.  But Minako was
right, they didn't have time.  There was no telling what the
Ancients might be doing to Usagi.  "Okay, let's go."



	*****



	"I think we should just go there," Haruka said.  "Find out what
the hell is going on."

	Setsuna shook her head.  "If Kaori really isn't at her home,
nobody else there will know me.  They would have no reason to
tell us anything."

	"Are you still convinced she's not involved?" Michiru asked.

	"Yes."  Setsuna pointed at the note lying on the coffee table. 
"That note is not from her.  It's nothing but a very crude
setup."

	"Then where is she?" Haruka asked.

	Setsuna sighed.  "I wish I knew."  She had been calling Kaori
constantly, both at her cellular number and at her home.  She
had been leaving messages at the latter place.  But there had
been no response.  She was considering calling Takada from the
Order, have him talk to Kaori's sister.  Maybe she would know
something.

	Of course there was no point calling any of the Inner Senshi. 
By now Rei would have them convinced she was behind the
kidnapping.  They would probably just as soon kill her as talk
to her.  And she had little doubt that Hotaru was with them.

	"She must have had a reason for missing your meeting," Haruka
said.

	Setsuna had waited there nearly an hour.  Kaori never showed
up.  "Something's happened to her.  It's probably her son's
doing.  In his mind the Palace may be the ultimate sanctuary. 
He may think it can save him from this plague."

	"He may have the right idea," Michiru said.  "That could be the
meaning of my vision.  The palace surrounded by darkness.  The
only refuge of life in a dead world."

	"So I suppose he intends to ask the Princess would you pretty,
pretty please make me a nice crystal palace."  Setsuna could
easily see through Haruka's sarcasm, could hear her trying to
convince herself that Usagi would come to no harm.

	"Maybe Haruka's right and we should go to Kaori's house," 
Michiru said.  "If she's missing they may be worried about her
too.  If we tell them what we know, maybe they'll help us try
and find both her and the Princess."

	"It would sure beat sitting around here waiting," Haruka said.

	"They're very secretive," Setsuna said.  "Especially now they
might not even let three strangers past the front gate.  But
maybe it's our only option."

	Setsuna set the phone to forward any calls to her cellular. 
She gave Haruka the keys to her Cressida and told her where to
take them.  She could have traced Kaori's number to her address
a long time ago, and most likely Kaori could have done the same.
 But it was only recently that they openly exchanged addresses. 
Setsuna had hoped to meet her friend's family under better
circumstances.

	Minutes after leaving the house, her cellular rang.  She
flipped it open almost before the first ring was done.  "Setsuna
here."

	"It's me."

	"Kaori, where are you?"

	She spoke quickly but calmly.  "I just got home.  I was
attacked last night.  I think it was my son.  I woke up in a
nearby hotel an hour ago.  His friends may have probed me for
information."

	"They did," Setsuna said.  "Yui came to the club in your place.
 She took Usagi."

	"Oh my God," Kaori said.  "I should have seen this coming, I
let my guard down."

	"It doesn't matter now," Setsuna said.  She felt bad about
being so brusque, but they didn't have time.  "Listen to me. 
I'm on my way there right now, I wanted to enlist your family's
help in finding you and the Princess.  Your son has made it look
like you and I are behind the kidnapping.  The only way we will
be able to convince the Sailor Senshi otherwise is if we can
find the Princess and bring her to safety.  You have to talk to
the Matriarch, or to anyone who will listen.  Tell them that
what your son is doing is endangering them all.  If you can't
stop them and bring them in then the Ancients may be facing a
war with the Senshi, the Order, the police, the
extraterrestrials and whatever other allies they can gather.  If
it comes to that then there won't be anything that you or I can
do about it."

	There was just silence for a few moments.  Setsuna's words must
have had their intended shock value.  "I understand.  I'll await
your arrival, then I'll address the household.  Then I'll go see
the Matriarch."

	"I'll see her myself if that's what she wants.  You can have my
transformation pen as a token of good faith, whatever it takes
to make her listen."  Haruka turned around and glared at her for
just a moment.  She obviously did not like what she was hearing.

	"Setsuna, if your gentle Princess comes to harm I'll never
forgive myself."

	"We need to move as quickly as possible," Setsuna said, trying
to ignore he friend's obvious distress.  "Can you contact other
households, maybe get their sensitives out looking for the
renegades right away?"  There was silence.  "Kaori, can you hear
me?  Are you still there?"

	"Something's happening," Kaori said hesitantly.  "I sense fear.
 Something's wrong."

	Setsuna was wondering what to make of this.  Then there was a
sound coming over the phone, like an explosion.  "Kaori, what's
going on?"  There was the sound of a sharp impact.  Like the
phone receiver hitting the floor.  Kaori wasn't there anymore. 
Setsuna thought she heard some other sounds.  A muffled
staccato.  There was static, then the line went dead.

	Michiru turned around to look back at her.  "Setsuna, did you
lose the connection?"  Her tone implied she suspected it was
something more serious.

	"Haruka, get us there as fast as you can," Setsuna said.

	She didn't even ask why.  The engine roared, and Setsuna was
pushed back into the plush upholstery as Haruka brought them up
to double the legal speed limit.  "Do you have any idea what's
happened?" Michiru asked.

	"Not really," Setsuna said.  That wasn't true.  She did have a
good idea what was happening.  But she prayed she was wrong.

	Even approaching the gate at breakneck speed, it was obviously
twisted and askew.  It had been blown open, but not enough to
pass a car.  "Crash the gate," Setsuna said.

	"Right."  Haruka would know about the enhancements to the car,
including the solid steel bumpers.  She slowed down just enough
to be able to turn into the drive without losing control.  Which
for a driver of her calibre meant she hardly slowed down at all.
 Setsuna braced herself, wishing she had thought to transform
into Pluto first.  The impact was not quite enough to drive her
face into the front seat.  The gate flew open and Haruka tromped
down on the accelerator, sending them speeding up the twisting,
tree-lined drive.

	"I see smoke up ahead," Michiru said.

	"We're too late," Setsuna said.  "Haruka, slow down.  We don't
want to appear as a threat.  They'll be panicked enough as it
is."

	"Panicked by what?" Haruka asked.

	"We'll see soon enough."

	They came out of the woods and onto the vast open space that
surrounded the sprawling house.  Setsuna leaned forward to get a
better look through the windshield.  It looked like the
aftermath of a terrorist bombing.  An entire wing of the house
was just smouldering ruins.  There were people lying all over,
others who appeared to be helping some of them and others just
standing or wandering in a daze.

	Two men came running down the gravel road towards them.  They
looked anachronistic, with traditional workman's half-kimonos
and sandals.  "Stop here," Setsuna said.  When Haruka had
complied, Setsuna opened the door and stood up behind it.

	The men came to a stop a few meters away.  "What business have
you here?" one of them asked.  His accent suggested one of the
northern provinces.

	"My name is Setsuna.  I am a friend of Kaori's.  I was just
speaking to her on the telephone, but we were cut off, it
sounded like there was trouble.  I can see that there was.  Can
you tell me if Kaori is well?"

	"She is unhurt."

	"Do you want us to fetch help for your wounded?" Setsuna asked.

	"No, that won't be necessary."

	"Then may I please see Kaori?"

	The man hesitated.  "She told us to admit you when you
arrived."  He obviously did not like the idea.  "You'll have to
follow me."

	"Thank you."  She closed the door.  She turned to Haruka, who
had opened her window.  She was looking a bit shell-shocked.  It
must be dawning on her what had happened here.  "Let's go."

	"No," the man said.  "The others wait here."

	Setsuna nodded.  "Very well."

	Haruka snapped out of her shock in an instant.  She fixed
Setsuna with a cold stare.  "You sure?" she said, barely audible.

	"I'll be fine."  Setsuna walked towards the men, and the one
who had been speaking turned to lead her down the lane.  The
other stood on the driveway as if he could bar the automobile's
way with his own body.  The first man led her through the thick
of the carnage.  There were not as many dead as she had
originally supposed.  And the injuries were different than she
would have expected.  The wing of the house in front of her had
clearly fallen under Senshi attacks.  But the people being
comforted, tended and watched over by their brethren mostly
seemed to have fallen from physical attacks.  They nursed hurt
or broken limbs, or what were probably broken ribs.  It made
sense actually.  Setsuna could imagine Mercury advising the
other Senshi, applying her cold, mechanical logic to the
tactical situation.  *Move in close and engage them hand to
hand.  Pit our strength against their weakness.*  Some of the
Ancients had powers to rival their own, but in a close fight
none of them could hope to match the speed and strength of a
Sailor Senshi.  The dead ones were probably the ones who had the
most dangerous powers and had the chance to display them.  Most
of those had grieving family around them.  Setsuna's eyes were
drawn to one man in particular, his sightless eyes staring up
into the grey sky, his expression showing nothing so much as
astonishment.  Setsuna shivered.  He had been gutted with a
large blade.  The Silence Glaive, no doubt.  She could imagine
the sight he had taken to his grave, a delicate young wisp of a
girl who moved almost too fast for the eye to see, wielding a
pole-arm as if it were a rapier.

	The man led Setsuna into a wing of the house that had been
untouched.  Even here, injured and bewildered Ancients huddled
together.  The ones that noticed her passage reacted to her in a
variety of ways.  Indifference or fear or puzzlement or
suspicion.  None questioned the man who led her.  She had
noticed a few other men similarly dressed, they more than anyone
appeared to be taking charge of things.  The man led her up a
set of stairs and down a hallway to a door.  He stopped in front
of it and turned to face her.  "You will approach no closer to
her than I do.  She may trust you but I do not."

	Perhaps he knew that she was a Sailor Senshi.  His feelings
were understandable.  "I understand."

	He opened the door and she followed him in.  It was a casual
family room.  Kaori was sitting on a couch.  She looked dazed. 
An old man had an arm around her shoulders, and was holding her
hand.  The man leading Setsuna moved in front of them, but kept
some distance.  True to her word, Setsuna simply stood beside
him.  It took a few moments for Kaori to notice them.  "Setsuna
...?"

	"Kaori, are you hurt?"

	She just shook her head.  She wasn't being strictly truthful. 
Setsuna could see bruises on her face.  But her physical pain
was nothing to what Setsuna was seeing in her eyes.  Through the
haze of shock she seemed to finally glean the fact that her
friend had come to see her.  "I'm sorry ... Setsuna, this is my
father."  The man regarded her with a grim expression, but one
that held more sadness than anger.  Kaori had talked a bit about
her father in recent weeks.  She had painted a picture of a
quiet, gentle man who cared for little but gardening, poetry and
bird watching.

	"Can you tell me what happened?" Setsuna asked.

	Kaori shook her head.  "I ... I don't think I can."

	"I saw it," her father said.  They looked at each other
briefly, an exchange that may or may not have been telepathic. 
Kaori just bowed her head, letting her father take the burden
from her.  He looked back to Setsuna.  "I was in the garden when
they arrived.  Like a children's story come to life, five of the
Sailor Senshi and one man all dressed in black."

	"Five?" Setsuna asked.  "Was one taller than the rest?"

	"Yes.  There was one in green, half a head taller than any
other save the man."

	*Jupiter.*  "What did they do?"

	"They arrayed themselves in front of the house, like a
besieging army come to challenge the castle walls.  People came
out of the house and the gardens, myself included.  The one with
light hair like a foreigner, she addressed us with a voice full
of anger.  She accused us of things we had no knowledge of,
demanding the return of somebody we did not know.  Some of the
young men gathered in front of them, demanding that they leave. 
The girl who spoke shouted that she would show us that they
'meant business.'  She pointed over our heads, and a bolt of
light jumped right out of her finger towards the house.  It
destroyed a chimney.  One of the young men must have thought it
a precursor to an attack.  Somebody ... I'm not sure how to
explain."

	"I understand about the powers of the Ancients," Setsuna said.

	He did not react to that news other than to continue. 
"Somebody attacked them with a plasma bolt.  But it bounced off
a shield they had set up in front of them.  They reacted
immediately.  It was like the elements themselves were assailing
us.  Fire and water and lightning and sunlight all rained down
on us at once.  Most of the people in front of them had time to
put up shields, but even they fell before the attack."

	He paused.  He was no longer able to meet her gaze.  "Then they
were among us.  They were everywhere and nowhere.  I was knocked
to the ground with little more than a touch from one of them. 
They headed straight for the house, all leaping in through
windows, shattering them.  I could hear them attacking the ones
within.  All I could think was, thank the First Ancestor I did
not hear the scream of children.  They had already been taken to
safety.  Those of us who resisted them were put down with
crippling blows too fast to see.  Those who resisted most
strongly were killed.  The part of the house they swept through
caught fire.  They might have levelled it all, had my daughter's
call not come.  She sent out a signal for us to throw ourselves
to the ground in surrender.  The Sailor Senshi stopped their
attack when they saw this.  In fact, the one in blue even saw
fit to douse the fires they had set.  They were rough with those
they helped from the ruins, but no longer provoked they did not
go out of their way to harm anyone.  They gathered in front of
the house again, calling my daughter by name, demanding she show
herself.  When she presented herself, the one in red spoke for
the first time, demanding the return of one she called the
Princess.  Kaori tried to explain that no such person was here,
that she knew nothing of the matter.  This simply enraged the
woman further.  She screamed that it was all lies.  She shook
Kaori, hit her, threatened to kill her.  I am sure that she
would have done it.  But the man approached them.  He had eyes
that were utterly cold, wore a formal outfit from another
century, bore himself with the pride of one with old memories. 
I thought him surely one of the vampyre, and these women the
furies he held under his thrall.  But rather than goading her
on, he spoke gently, showing the enraged woman that Kaori must
be telling the truth.  They all seemed to come to this
realization.  They said little, but the news affected them
deeply.  They may have felt some regret for what they had done. 
But I believe what bore most heavily on them was that the one
they were seeking was not here, their thoughts were for her.

	"It was at this point that men from other households began
arriving.  Somebody must have gone to seek their aid.  Seeing
this, the one with light hair called for the others to leave
with her.  They left as they had arrived, bounding across the
field far too quickly for any to even think of pursuit.  With
them gone, all thought turned to helping those who had been
hurt.  I brought my daughter here.  That was but minutes before
you arrived."

	Setsuna nodded.  "They realized too late that your grandson is
the real culprit."

	"I have no grandson," the man said with an icy voice.

	Kaori finally looked up.  "Setsuna, it wasn't their fault. 
They were set up, just like we were."

	"By now they are looking for Shoji and his friends, looking for
our Princess," Setsuna said. "That is what we should be doing."

	"How do you know what they would be doing?"  The man next to
Setsuna asked.  She looked at him, her expression grave. 
Suddenly his eyes went wide.  He practically leapt away from
her, putting himself between her and the others.  "You're one of
them!  You're one of those demons!  By hell, I ought to kill you
where you stand!"

	He suddenly jerked, as if having been struck.  He turned to
face Kaori, who was looking at him with a pained but stern
expression.  "How could you have let her in here?"  The man
asked her.  "After what they've done!"

	"Enough," Kaori said. "Move aside."  After a moment, the man
did as he had been ordered.  "Setsuna, I'm sorry but I think you
should leave."

	Setsuna looked down at her.  "Kaori, is there no hope?"

	She shook her head.  "We've failed."

	Setsuna tried to think of some way to turn this tragedy around.
 But Kaori was right, they had come to the end of the road. 
There was no way to salvage this.

	Kaori addressed the man, whose eyes never strayed from Setsuna
for more than a moment.  "See to it that she is taken safely
from the grounds."  She met Setsuna's eyes again.  Setsuna could
read her old friend's face like a book.  She knew what Setsuna
knew.  There was no avoiding a war between their people.  The
two of them might never see each other again.  Setsuna had
little idea what she could say.

	**Yui has taken the Seed Crystal.**  Setsuna blinked.  She
hadn't known Kaori could do that without their touching.
"Goodbye, Setsuna."

	"Goodbye, Kaori."

	**Take care, my friend.**

	  The man seemed reluctant to turn his back on Setsuna.  She
solved the problem by preceding him from the room.  There were
more men in peasant clothes and less chaos now.  They all eyed
her suspiciously, but none challenged them.  They made it back
to the car unmolested.  The man's counterpart had not moved from
his place in front of the car.  "We're leaving," Setsuna said to
Haruka as she passed by.  Haruka started the engine without any
further prompting.  Setsuna got into the back seat again, and
Haruka turned the car around.  Setsuna could see her eyes in the
rearview mirror, she seemed to be spending most of her time
watching the mirror warily, even when they were making their way
back down the wooded lane.  While they drove, Setsuna gave them
a shorter version of the account Kaori's father had given her.

	"I didn't think they had it in them to do such a thing,"
Michiru was moved to say.

	"They're frightened and desperate," Setsuna said.  "They're
much closer to the Princess than we are.  I think that's true of
Hotaru as well now.  They're lost without her, and they will
stop at nothing to get her back.  And they've learned the
lessons we've taught them, learned them all too well.  They'll
show no quarter to anybody who they even think might keep them
from getting her back."

	"But they must realize now that you had no more to do with her
kidnapping than your friend did," Haruka said.

	"I'm not sure that matters," Setsuna said.  "I've sowed the
seeds of mistrust, and now we are all reaping the results."

	"Surely they'll accept our help," Michiru said.  "It's a matter
of the Princess' life.  Nothing could be more important to any
of us."

	"They acted alone today," Setsuna said.  "I doubt they've even
told the refugees or the Order about what they planned.  They no
longer fully trust anybody but each other.  That must be why
they went to such effort to track down my meeting with Kaori."

	Michiru frowned.  "What?"

	"That must be how they found Kaori's house.  I even have an
idea when it happened.  There was a person near us at our last
meeting who might have been one of the Order, or maybe even one
of the Inner Senshi using the disguise pen.  They've been
betrayed once too often.  They're closing ranks."

	"Setsuna, how much about us did you tell Kaori?" Haruka asked.

	"I know what you're thinking.  She knows enough to be able to
locate us, but she will die before she reveals that information.
 Despite what has happened, I'm quite certain their Matriarch
will concentrate her efforts on locating Kaori's son, rather
than trying to retaliate against the Senshi.  She must realize
it is his actions that are driving events.  And I can only
imagine how they regard the theft of the Seed Crystal.  Next to
that, a few deaths are probably inconsequential."

	"If they find the Princess first, what do you think they would
do?" Michiru asked.

	"I wish I knew.  I'm sure Kaori will do everything she can to
ensure her people that the Princess is no threat to them.  But
she may or may not be able to do that."

	"They may decide they want the Princess for the same reason as
the ones they're trying to hunt down," Haruka said.

	Setsuna sighed.  "That's a definite possibility."

	Little more was said on the way home.  It seemed there was
little they could do.  Setsuna considered calling the refugees
or the Order.  But it was probably best they learned of these
events from the Inner Senshi, with whom they were much closer. 
Assuming that had not already happened.

	Not long after they got home the telephone rang.  It was
Setsuna who answered it.

	"Hello Setsuna.  It's Daniel."

	It was the last person she expected to hear from.  "So, you
tracked me down."

	"It wasn't easy.  But I've been living under false identities
since the birth of writing paved the way for government
bureaucracy."

	"Actually, I've been thinking of calling you.  A lot has
happened since we last spoke."

	"I know.  Our old friend Artemis has been telling me all about
it."

	Setsuna was only mildly surprised.  "So you've found them too."

	"I ran into Artemis quite by accident and told him how to
contact me.  It wasn't until today that he decided to actually
speak with me.  He told me the other Sailor Senshi just launched
an attack on the Ancients."

	"I know.  I tried to stop it, but I was too late."

	"I promised Artemis I'd do what I can to help.  Can I come
over?"

	Setsuna sighed.  "I'd like nothing more than to see you again. 
But I've messed things up about as badly as I possibly could. 
I'm not sure either of us can do anything at this point."

	"We'll talk about it."



	*****



	Minako wanted to die.

	She had never felt such shame and regret in all her life. 
Years ago, she had once felt something like this.  It was after
she had allowed herself to be seduced by Ingolffson, after she
had realized just what the Drakon had been compelling her to do.
 And now her lack of judgement had cost innocent lives once
again.

	They had gone their separate ways soon after moving a safe
distance from Kaori's house.  Mamoru and Hotaru took Makoto to
go and brief her more fully on what had been happening while she
was in a coma.  There were people who had to be told about what
happened.  Rei went to inform Takada, Ami to inform Jeneth. 
Minako did not envy either of them their tasks, but as far as
she was concerned she had the worst of it.  She had to go home
and tell Luna and Artemis of her folly.  She had to tell them
how she had gone off half-cocked and led the Sailor Senshi to
murdering innocents.  They had been shocked, but not angry at
her as she had expected them to be.  Minako had told the others
she would call Setsuna, but confessed to the two cats that she
could not bring herself to face the woman she had called
traitor.  Artemis had solved the problem by suggesting he
contact Setsuna's mysterious friend Daniel.  They had listened
in on the conversation over Minako's speaker phone.  Daniel
agreed to see Setsuna, he seemed to think he could help in some
way.  They weren't exactly sure how, but they were content to
let him pass the news on to Setsuna and the others.

	When Minako showed up at Mamoru's apartment with the two cats
in tow, all the others were already there.  Hotaru was applying
her healing touch to Makoto's wrist again.  Jupiter hadn't even
told them about her broken wrist until after they were safely
from Kaori's house, much to Hotaru's distress.  She had mended
the broken bones on the spot, but said she was still working on
the surrounding tissue, getting the swelling down.  That had
been the worst of their injuries, but none of them had gone
unscathed.  Despite their following Mercury's advice on close
combat, some of the Ancients had managed to get a few shots off.
 Individually, some of them gave as good as they got.  If most
of them had not panicked and run, if their defense had been at
all coordinated, the outcome could have been very different.

	The others confirmed they had performed their tasks and come
here as agreed.  Rei said Takada had seemed more disappointed
than angry.  And of course as far as the refugees were concerned
it had all just been a tragic mistake, the Avatars could do no
wrong.  Minako told them about Daniel.  Nobody commented on the
fact that she and Artemis had not told anybody about him before.
 Of course she had been wary of telling even Hotaru about him,
that was just symptomatic.  Just another thread in the web of
deceit.

	They had just been sitting watching CNN.  Victory against the
pandemic was being tentatively declared.  Those responsible for
unleashing the plague had designed it to run its course quickly.
 Nobody could even guess at the death toll yet, though it was
certainly in the hundreds of millions.  In many places the
quarantine of the infected region was being assured by what they
were politely referring to as "chemical interdiction."  Entire
borders would be unapproachable for days because of the volume
of deadly poisons that had been dumped there, in fear that any
infected people would slip through.

	Minako wondered when somebody would start talking about it. 
Eventually she just couldn't stand it.  "My God, what have I
done?"

	"It was a mistake," Makoto said.  Following Ami's advice she
was repeatedly squeezing a tennis ball with her sore hand.  Her
voice still had a bit of a rough edge to it, as if she had a
sore throat.  "That bastard set up his own mother to take the
fall for what he did."

	"And I fell for it," Minako said.

	"We all did," Rei said.  "I believed what I wanted to believe,
just as they intended."

	"They played on our love for Usagi," Makoto said.  "They knew
we'd lash out at anyone we thought was harming her."

	"It's no excuse," Minako said sharply.  "Usagi would never have
just gone in there shooting the way I did.  I didn't even give
them a chance to explain themselves."  And I killed one of them
with my own hands, she thought.  The girl who had tossed Jupiter
against a wall with an invisible force blast had looked barely
sixteen.  She hadn't even seen Venus until after her sternum had
been driven into her heart.  Maybe she hadn't seen anything at
all.  Her face was about the only thing Minako had been seeing
since then.

	"We were all tricked the same way," Ami said, putting a hand
lightly on her leg.  "We had to act on what information we had. 
And we did give them a chance to explain, it just went badly,
that's all."

	Minako looked into her eyes.  No Ami, you're not fooling me,
she thought.  I saw the doubt in your eyes.  If it had been you
leading us, you would have checked your facts first.  And we
both know it, that's why you feel sympathy but no shame.  Minako
did not say any of these things, she didn't need to.

	"We need to get her back," Rei said.  Minako was struck by the
simple declaration, one without urgency or desperation.  Minako
saw that Rei was avoiding looking at her.  Then she understood.

	"But where do we even look?" Makoto asked.

	"That's not what Rei means," Minako said.  "Without Usagi,
we've lost our way already.  Without her to guide us, we're just
loose cannons.  We're just killers."  She realized that without
even thinking she had been examining her open hands, as if
expecting to see blood dripping from them.  With an effort she
looked across at Rei instead.  The expression on her face
confirmed Minako had been right about her meaning.

	Ami squeezed her leg gently.  "Mina-P."  Minako looked into her
stern face.  "I want you to answer a question honestly.  If
Usagi could have saved all those millions of people who died in
the plague by giving her life in exchange, would you want her to
do that?  Would you let her do that?"

	The answer came to her immediately.  Minako was shocked at the
answer she found in herself.  She looked away.  "No," she
whispered, shaking her bowed head almost imperceptibly.

	Ami came closer, put an arm around her.  "Minako, I feel the
same way.  I have no idea what I would do in a situation like
that.  I'd like to think that I would do the right thing.  But I
already know how I would feel.  I would want to protect her, no
matter what the cost, even if she didn't want it.  That's
nothing to be ashamed about.  As long as we think about what
we're doing, we have nothing to feel guilty about."

	"But I didn't think," Minako said bitterly.

	Ami took her hand.  "Minako, we made a bad mistake.  We're
going to make more.  We're in a war, and innocent people are
probably going to get hurt no matter what we do.  Usagi told us
a very long time ago,  if we know we tried to find the best way,
that should be enough.  Maybe we could have done a better job,
but we did try to get her back without hurting anybody, we
really did.  We're not gods, we can't expect to always just go
out and make everything better."

	Ami still held her tightly.  Minako just leaned a little closer
until their heads were touching.  "I just hope she's okay,"
Minako said very softly.

	"If they were hurting her, I would know it," Mamoru said.  "No
matter how far they had taken her, I'm sure I would know it." 
Nobody spoke.  Minako looked around at her friends, and came to
the conclusion they were all thinking the same thing.  They
might have to just wait until the rogue Ancients tried to harm
or kill Usagi, then Mamoru's instinct would lead them to her. 
But would it be on time?

	"She'll know that we're looking for her,"  Hotaru said. 
"She'll find some way to lead us to her.  When we know where she
is, maybe we can teleport right there."

	"We probably can," Ami said.  "We've done it without Usagi
before."

	The doorbell rang.  "That'll be dinner," Mamoru said, getting
up.  "It's past dinner time and most of us haven't even had
lunch, so I ordered something in."

	Eating dinner was surprisingly comforting, even with Usagi's
disappearance hanging over their heads and the news reports of
the unimaginable catastrophe coming in over the television.  Ami
fussed over just what and how much Makoto should eat.  It
actually made Minako smile, seeing her practically hand feeding
the taller woman.  As Jupiter she had more than held her own,
but it was obvious she was still not at her full strength.  Her
presence was about all that kept Minako from falling into utter
despair.  Minako was beginning to realize just how much she had
been missing Makoto, missing both her warmth and her strength.

	They were just about finished cleaning up after supper when the
doorbell rang again.  Mamoru went to answer it, and came back
into the kitchen just a few moments later.  "Minako, there's a
man at the door claiming to be Daniel Churchland.  He asked for
you by name."

	Minako frowned.  "Setsuna must have told him my name."

	"And told him where we'd probably be," Rei said.  She did not
look happy.  The tension in the room suddenly went up.

	Artemis leaped up onto the kitchen counter.  "He must have
gotten back into Setsuna's favour, if she's telling him all
that," he said.  "When I met him, he was snooping around her
house just like I was."

	"Did he say what he wanted?" Minako asked Mamoru.

	"Only that he had some news from Setsuna."

	"You figure we should hear him out?" Makoto asked.

	"Since he's here, we might as well," Minako said.  "He already
knows about us, and now he knows at least Mamoru's identity and
mine, I guess there's not much point hiding the rest."

	"He had an odd look on his face," Mamoru said.  "Almost like he
recognized me."

	"He claimed to have met me before," Artemis added.

	"Maybe he met us all ..." Rei said.  She had a faraway look in
her eyes.  Minako knew how she felt.  They already knew somebody
from the Moon Kingdom, but somehow they all thought of Setsuna
as being ever unchanging.  For somebody other than the Guardian
of Time to really be that old, it was just unimaginable.

	"At any rate, I'd better go let him in," Mamoru said.

	"Maybe I'd better go, since he asked for me," Minako said.  She
walked over to the hallway.  The man standing patiently in the
entranceway was a tall caucasian with wavy brown hair down to
his shoulders.  He bowed as she approached.

	"Good evening."

	"Good evening.  I'm Minako."  She wasn't sure what, but
something in his look or his manner was reminding her so much of
Setsuna.  He had the expression Mamoru had described, of
recognition.  "I suppose Setsuna told you who I really am."

	There was just a hint of a smile.  "Even if she had not, I
could hardly mistake you.  Your new parents' blood has left its
mark, but even if my memories are faded I still see the same
Sailor Venus I knew so long ago.  Setsuna told me nothing but
your name, but in fact I had already heard of you.  I see you're
still fond of singing."

	"Yes ..." Minako answered, surprised at the statement.

	"I didn't think that would have changed."

	Minako really wanted to ask more about that, but now was not
the time.  "You'd better come in, everybody's waiting.  I'll
take your coat."

	"Thank you."  She led him into the living room.  Everyone was
sitting except Mamoru, who stood waiting to greet his new guest.

	"I'm Chiba Mamoru," he said.

	"Endymion," Daniel said.  "I wasn't sure, I had only met you a
few times.  Relations with the Golden Kingdom were already
strained when I served Queen Serenity."  He chuckled at the
blank looks he got.  "Forgive me, but seeing you is stirring up
some very old memories, and I tend to ramble at such times."

	"Well, you should know everybody here," Minako said.  "In a
manner of speaking," she quickly added.  It had not been a
challenge, she had just said it without really thinking how odd
it would sound.

	"I believe so."  He looked first at Ami.  "Mercury."

	"Yes," Ami said.  "I'm Mizuno Ami."

	"I remember you as a gentle scholar, your wisdom was without
equal.  This new age of wonders must suit you well."

	"I ... suppose it does," Ami said hesitantly.  Minako could
guess how she felt.  It was very odd, talking to somebody who
knew you before you had been reincarnated.

	He looked at Makoto.  "Sailor Jupiter."

	"Yes.  I'm Kino Makoto."

	"When I was searching for the Sailor Senshi, I had thought to
find Jupiter among the ranks of the world's athletes or
adventurers.  You were always the one to push yourself beyond
even your own great endurance."

	Makoto smiled.  "I guess I chose a different path.  I own a
restaurant."

	He raised an eyebrow.  "Indeed?  It must be truly exceptional,
you were never one to be satisfied with halfway measures."

	"Yeah, I tend to be pretty stubborn."

	He looked next at Rei.  "Mars."

	"Right.  I'm Hino Rei."

	Daniel frowned.  "Then it was your grandfather who died at
Hikawa shrine."

	"Yes."

	"I'm very sorry.  I imagine the others who died must also have
been known to you."

	The pain showed only for a moment.  "They were ... friends of
mine, yes."

	He turned to Hotaru.  "Forgive me, but I must suppose that you
are Sailor Saturn."

	"Yes.  I'm Tomoe Hotaru."

	"I never had the pleasure of meeting you," Daniel said.  "In
fact neither had anybody in the Moon Kingdom, you were something
of a legend.  Your awakening was always thought to be a
harbinger of great change, of endings and beginnings."

	"I serve the Princess," she said simply.  "That's the only
destiny I care about now.  I will shatter worlds in her defense
if I must."

	For the first time Minako saw Daniel's implacable calm waver
just slightly.  He had been reintroducing himself to people he
had not seen in millennia as if it were the most normal thing in
the world.  But what Hotaru had said seemed to have disturbed
him.  She could hardly blame him, he probably knew as well as
they did what the Senshi of Destruction was capable of doing. 
He turned his attention to the two cats sitting on the coffee
table.  "Luna, Artemis, cold sleep seems to have treated you
well, you both look the same as ever.  Artemis, we only spoke
briefly, but I could tell you've changed little.  When we first
met you had me fooled, I thought you really didn't remember me."

	"Well, I'm not sure that I did," Artemis said.  "Our memories
of that time are very incomplete.  We were barely able to
recognized the Sailor Senshi when they awakened.  But the more
you talk, the more I think I should know you."

	"I agree," Luna said.  "In fact, I remember you being a friend
of Pluto's, though I certainly can't recall your name."

	He smiled sadly.  "I was called Cyrus back then, and she was
called Ferine.  She discarded that name when she became Pluto. 
That was when we went our separate ways."

	"You said that you had news from her," Mamoru said.  He
indicated the chair at the end of the coffee table.  "Won't you
sit down?"

	"Thank you."  He walked over and sat down as invited.  Minako
and Mamoru also took their seats on opposite couches.  Then
Daniel continued.  "Setsuna arrived at Kaori's house with Haruka
and Michiru shortly after you had left.  She was able to talk to
Kaori and find out what had happened."

	"So they already knew," Minako said.  She was troubled by a
picture that suddenly came into her head, a picture of Setsuna
showing up at her friend's house only to see the charnel house
her sisters had made of it.

	"Yes," Daniel said.  "Both she and Kaori understand that you
were victims of a terrible deception.  I believe Kaori told you
how her son found out where the Princess would be."

	"Yes, she did," Rei said.  "Though we still can't be sure how
much of it to believe."

	"Setsuna believes it to be true," Daniel said.  "It's very
unlikely that Kaori would be able to lie to her even if she
wanted to."

	"From the sounds of it they were lying to each other for
years," Rei said.

	"They told each other half truths for many years," Daniel said.
 "That's quite different.  Be that as it may, I believe Setsuna
is right.  At least she sincerely believes that only the rogue
Ancients are responsible for the kidnapping."

	"She's lied before," Rei pointed out.

	"She cannot lie to me," Daniel said.

	"And why not?" Rei challenged.  "She wouldn't even tell you
where she lives, you said you had to find that out for yourself."

	"I'm not saying she trusts me with the full truth, I'm simply
saying that I would be able to tell if she were lying.  Just as
I can tell if anybody is lying.  It's a gift I developed in the
Moon Kingdom and have perfected over the centuries."

	"Interesting," Rei said.  "How does that work?  If my
grandfather had your gift, would he have known who I am?  Or
would he still have died without knowing?"

	"He did find out, before he died," Daniel said.

	Rei glared at him.  "Only at the very end.  I was very ashamed
of having kept it a secret."

	"No, you were very proud that he finally knew."

	"I was going to tell him.  I was planning to tell him at the
same time I told him that Yuichirou and I would be getting
married."

	"Yes, you were."

	"And my Father as well."

	"No, you would never tell him."

	"Why not?"

	"I don't know."

	"Is it because I think he drove my mother to her grave?"

	Daniel regarded her with a neutral expression.  "Shall I answer
that?"

	"Go ahead."

	"Rei," Mamoru interrupted.  He put a hand on her shoulder.  "I
think you've made your point."

	She looked at him, then back to Daniel.  "I apologize.  That
was uncalled for."

	Daniel smiled.  "If you wanted to test me, we could just get a
deck of cards and play poker for a while.  I used to make a
great deal of money that way."

	"I can imagine," Minako said.  "You'd really clean up.  So how
are you making your money these days?"

	"I spend much of my time working as a private tutor," Daniel
said.  "Though that's mostly for personal reasons.  I have
little need to work for a living these days.  I invested my ill
gotten gains a long time ago, and compound interest is a truly
marvellous thing."

	"Did Setsuna tell you anything else?" Mamoru asked.  He looked
like he wanted to get the conversation back on track.

	"Just two things.  The first is something Kaori told her.  The
rogues have stolen the Seed Crystal.  Judging by what Kaori has
told her these past few weeks, they would consider that a crime
far worse than murder.  They will be hunting down the rogues
just as mercilessly as you will."

	"That confirms why they wanted Usagi," Ami said.  "They must
think she can make the Crystal Palace for them."

	"That makes sense," Daniel said.  "In a perverse way, I suppose
we can regard that as good news.  It means they would be
unlikely to harm her."

	"You mentioned two things," Minako said.

	"Yes."  His hard, all-business expression softened.  "And this
last point I would know to be the truth, even without my gift. 
She said to tell you that she loves you all very much, and that
she would gladly give her life today if that would undo all the
grief that her capital errors have brought upon you.  She knows
that she dare not ask, but the thing she wishes for above all
else save the safety of the Princess is your forgiveness."

	It was Rei who broke the silence first.  "I've already
condemned her once when I shouldn't have.  More people have died
because of that.  Usagi has always been able to forgive even her
most bitter enemies.  I'm willing to follow her example."

	"Me too," Minako said.  "Her mistakes were no worse than mine. 
People in glass houses shouldn't throw bricks."

	"If she wants to help Usagi, that's good enough for me," Makoto
said.

	"She never needed my forgiveness," Hotaru said.  There was a
sort of distant, wistful note in her manner.  Minako had the
feeling she wasn't thinking only of recent events.

	The smile that Mamoru exchanged with Rei said better than any
words that they were in agreement.

	"If it's okay with everyone, I'd like to call her," Ami said. 
She suddenly looked awkward.  "Uh ... Takada said he'd like to
meet with us tomorrow and talk about how we'll try and find the
rogues.  I think Setsuna and the others should be there too.  I
mean-"

	"You don't need to explain," Makoto interrupted.  She was
smiling warmly.  "You should talk to her, she'd really love to
hear from you."

	Ami smiled.  "Okay.  Mamoru, could I use your phone?"

	"You can use the one in the bedroom if you like," he suggested.

	"We'll let you arrange things," Minako said, smiling
encouragingly.  The parting with the Outer Senshi had been
hardest on Ami, she really liked Setsuna.  This would be
something of a personal reunion for them, they deserved some
privacy.

	"Perhaps I'll be going," Daniel said to Mamoru.

	"Churchland-san?"  They all turned to Hotaru.  She had been
very quiet up until now.  "Do you remember much about Princess
Serenity?"  she asked.

	"Yes, I remember her very well," Daniel said.  "She brightened
up the court like a beam of silvery moonlight.  I cherished
every moment spent in her presence, as did everybody."

	"Could you tell us about her?"  She asked.

	"I'd be happy to do that sometime," Daniel said, somehow making
his meaning clear.

	"Daniel," Mamoru said.  "You don't need to worry.  Not thinking
about her isn't an option for any of us, any more than not
breathing is.  I'd love to hear about her life in the Moon
Kingdom.  We all would."

	"That's right," Rei said.  "If she was half the character then
that she is now, I'll bet you've got some very interesting
stories to tell."

	"Well, I might have one or two."

	After Ami came back from making her phone call, they found out
that he had more than one or two stories.  It would have gone on
all night had it not been such an exhausting day for everybody.



	*****



	Shoji had been getting worried for a while.  After teleporting
the Seed Crystal, Yui had collapsed.  When he finally got her to
wake up, she had been barely coherent enough to tell him about
the excruciating pain in her head.  He had carried her to their
bed, and for hours had been alternately applying damp cloths to
her forehead and giving her face and neck massages.

	Now, finally she was starting to respond.  The tension was
going out of her, and she would answer with more than a barely
detectable sending when he asked her how she was feeling.  He
even got her to sit up and take something to drink.  When her
eyes started to focus on things again and she no longer had a
vacant look on her face, he finally gave her a kiss.  **Well
done, Yui-chan.  You did it.**

	She smiled.  **It was just like you said it would be.  I
touched the crystal and there was this rush of power.  I felt
like the first time I took a temple's life force, only way
better.  I felt like I could 'port it to the moon.**

	**Yui, I've warned you about thinking things like that.**

	**I got it here, didn't I?**

	**Yeah, you sure did.**  Yesterday he had finally confessed to
her his dark secret: as a child, he had once sneaked into the
crystal room and had done the unthinkable.  He had touched the
Seed Crystal.  They had always been told that anyone who did
that would go up in flame.  He had felt a burning fire, but one
that nurtured him rather than consumed him.  He felt certain
that Yui would feel the same thing, that it would give her the
strength to teleport the massive artifact all the way here.  He
had been right.  But being a channel for that kind of power had
almost been too much for her.  He had really been scared, it had
been all he could do not to go into hysterics.  But now
everything was fine, all the pieces were in place.

	**I don't remember anything before you brought me here,** Yui
said.  **Did I get it to the right place?**

	**More or less.  You want to go see?**

	**Sure.**

	They walked into the attached garage and Yui's eyes went wide. 
**Wow, it almost goes up to the ceiling!**

	**Yeah, it's a good thing there's a steepled roof.**  The
spires of the crystal were thrusting up between the roof
trusses, the tallest spires almost reaching the roof.  Nobody
had thought the crystal below the ground was that big.  It might
have been a near thing, often when there were obstructions like
that it would throw a teleport way off.  It practically filled
the big double garage, though there was more than enough room to
walk around it.

	Yui walked up to it.  **This is cool.  We're probably the first
ones to see the whole thing.**

	**Well, the first ones in a very long time, that's for sure.**

	**Where are Akechi and 'Tomi?**

	**They're with our sleeping beauty.**

	**You want to do her now, Senpai?**

	**Do you feel up to it?**

	**Sure.  Now that my headache's gone, I feel pumped again. 
Besides, my part's easy.**

	**Okay, let's go.**

	They went up to Hitomi's room.  She and Akechi were sitting
together on the floor, leaning against the foot of her bed and
watching her little television.  CNN, naturally.  Things were
looking a little better on the plague front today, which was
kind of an odd thing to say with half a billion outsiders lying
dead and stinking in the streets.  It could still get out of
control again and who's to say there wasn't somebody with
another one of those bugs ready to go.  Well, that was what this
little operation was all about.

	**Hey Yui-chan,** Hitomi said, standing up.  **How you
feeling?**

	**Good.  I saw the crystal, it's way cool!**

	**You did a good job parking it between the rafters.  I don't
know what we'd have done if it had ended up in the front yard.**

	**Or the neighbour's yard,** Akechi said.  **That would have
been pretty tough to explain.**

	**How's our princess?** Shoji asked.

	**I scanned her just a few minutes ago,** Akechi said.  **Still
out like a light.**

	Shoji looked over at the woman lying peacefully on the bed. 
Akechi had stunned her about one second after Yui teleported her
over here, she probably had no idea what hit her.  So this was
the legendary Sailor Moon.  It occurred to him that he didn't
even know her real name, she must have one.  She didn't strike
him as much.  It was hard to believe this was the one who had
turned all of Hitomi's berserker animals with one shot.  She
looked so serene, he couldn't imagine her hurting a fly.  But
Lord, what a dish.

	He gasped as Yui grabbed his crotch.  **You're thinking naughty
thoughts again, Senpai.**

	He batted her head playfully.  **Yui, not in front of the
kids.**  They all laughed.  **Anyway, all my naughty thoughts
are about you.**

	**That's better.**

	**Akechi's been ogling her too,** Hitomi said.  **Can't blame
either of you, she almost makes me want to change my lifestyle.**

	**Seen better,** Akechi said.  **Hair's too dark, for one
thing.**

	**It's blonde!** Hitomi said.  **About the only one with
lighter hair is me.**

	**Yeah, I know.**  

	They smiled at each other.  So, he was giving her indirect
compliments now.  Oh well, slow progress was better than no
progress.  **Yui wants to do her now,** Shoji said.  **Hitomi,
you remember all the stuff we talked about?**

	**Sure.  Ready when you are.**

	Yui walked over to the side of the bed.  She raised her hands
over the comatose woman.  After a moment, a kaleidoscope of
light motes floated up from her body and gathered between Yui's
hands.  They all just stared in silence.  **Wow,** Yui
eventually said.

	It was the most gorgeous thing Shoji had ever seen.  No life
force from a holy site could even compare to it.  Rather than
dancing about at random, the motes of light swirled about in
fractal patterns that formed and dissolved and reformed.  Shoji
felt as if he wasn't looking at an object, but rather a gateway,
a hole leading into some realm of pure energy that just went on
forever and ever.  He blinked, shook his head.  **Whoa.  I think
we've got the real thing here.**  Yui brought it around so that
he and Hitomi could get a better look.  He could feel its
presence, it was almost as intense as the crystal itself.  He
raised his hands to it as if basking in the warm glow of a
bonfire.  **Man, I don't think a soul can get more ancient than
that.**

	**You going to try reading it?** Akechi asked.

	**Give me a second,** Shoji said.  He leaned closer.  It was
hard, the psychic equivalent of trying to interpret a double
exposure negative.  **It's like there's two sets of memories. 
One of them is really weird.  Like she's on the moon or
something.  She's been in big battles with some sort of
monsters.  Real Wrath of God stuff.**

	**She knows about the crystal palace,** Hitomi said.  **She's
seen it.**

	**Seen it?** Akechi asked.  **You mean in a vision or
something?**

	**I'd almost swear she's seen it right before her eyes,**
Hitomi said.

	**Yeah,** Shoji said.  **That's it alright.  But this is all
really hard to sort out.  Almost like a really bad schizophrenic
Yui and I did once.  She's Sailor Moon and this girl and a
Princess and a Queen, except somehow she understands it all,
they're all really her.**  He backed away.  **Whoa, this is
giving me a headache.**

	Hitomi backed away as well.  **I think she's the one.**

	**She's definitely the one,** Yui said.  **Her soul looks
exactly like the Seed Crystal told me it would look.**

	**You figure she'll respond to your touch?** Shoji asked Hitomi.

	**Yeah.  She's still an animal, after all, she's got no
defense.  It'll be even easier than doing those black sheep.**

	**Okay, do your stuff.**

	Hitomi stepped up to the dazzling life force that Yui held up
to her, and bent down over it.  She spoke aloud, but Shoji could
also hear her voice resonating in his head, coming off the naked
life force like an echo.  "Listen very closely.  My name is
Hitomi.  I'm your friend.  There are some very important things
I need to tell you ..."





End Chapter 13