Oh for the love of... do I HAVE to do this?

...

Fine. *sighs* Hello, my name is Rei Hino and I will be introducing Hybrid Theory
this chapter: a fanfic about two arrogant know-it-all self-inserts and their
philosophical battles. Like anybody takes the philosophy in fanfiction
seriously, much less self-insert fanfiction.

The story stars Aaron and Ukyou, who are terrible protagonists who spent the
first two thirds of the fanfic being asses. Then they let Bison brainrape them
into a sex-toy/assassin (right, lesbian stripper ninjas, you can tell two GUYS
wrote this). Then Ukyou's lesbian fangirl Akira showed up, saved her soul
through a method that still hasn't been adequately explained and the two went
off to America to whine and kvetch some more together.

They also had along Angel, who is this Mexican girl who Chris (the other self-
insert) raised as his elite assassin wench. (Has anyone else noticed that
everyone Chris ever associates with is a girl? No seriously, this guy creeps me
out.) Angel is apparently supposed to be spying on Ukyou and Akira, and both of
them trust her like gullible morons.

Anyway last chapter the three of them and some frineds, including Sailor Pluto,
Ranma Saotome, Nabiki Tendo and Rose I-Don't-Need-A-Lastname, went to Bison's
home city which, by the way, he named Bisonopolis (real original, guys). Asses
were kicked, one of them was Bison's. Rose died, except she got better, sort of
and (surprise!) Angel turned on everyone and then Chris showed up to be a
pretentious dick. This involved the one thing both Chris and Ukyou like to do:
talk like second year philosophy majors at each other.

Meanwhile, I (who have been largely ignored in this fanfic, which is unfair
considered they went through this whole plotline with zoanoids killing my
grandfather and never tied that up) met up with Akane Tendo. Akane's nice and
all, but a bit naive. Anyway, she was going to be suffer a fate worse than death
at the hands of that zoalord Reichmann Gyro (Reichmann? Oh, seriously! Why not
kill him NAZIMAN MCEVIL? Although that's not the author of this fanfic's fault,
I guess) when Washuu Hakubi showed up and did some literal deus ex machina. Now
Washuu has convinced us to take Mamoru Chiba (and his three nympho sex slaves
*roll eyes*)  to Ohtori Academy to find Sailor Moon so she can use her magic
crystal to save the world...

...

Right, oh... and in case you forgot all about the entire France thing that those
guys did way back in Chapter 21 with the French versus Millennium and so on and
the superscientist and the goth boy... I have as well! It's not like the writers
haven't UTTERLY IGNORED that plotline for five chapters now. But maybe you could
re-read that bit before going further.

You know, just for fun.



                              C&A Productions Presents

                          A Work of Blatant Self-Insertion


                                   Hybrid Theory


                             Chapter 26: By Myself


	"Problem not..."
	Their voice trailed off. Rob's car had gotten just far enough into the
intersection that the front half was beyond the point of the truck when it hit.
The huge "Mack" logo was at window height when the collision occurred. Their
mouth opened in a strange O as the doorway behind Chris crumbled inward in
disturbing slow motion. Then Chris was gone, the pinwheeling wreckage slashing
his body apart without even slowing. The shrapnel had slowed enough by the time
it reached them that it merely stuck into their body in a dozen places, none of
them immediately fatal.
	The car was flipped by the impact, bouncing end over end to rest on its
side several meters away. The gyrations sprayed the interior with blood and
served to drive the shrapnel even further into their body. The pain was
omnipresent. It was everything. It was so there that it ceased to matter.
	"Oh, God! They're dead!"
	The voice had come from...
	From...
	The front seat?
	No. It was coming from all around them now. They could feel the pain
inching its way up their body. The world... the world was falling apart. The
strange dream logic of the place melting away. The endless fog was gone,
replaced by the... darkness.
	It was so huge. It defied size. It was infinite, stretching out in all
directions. Black lightning raced along its length. They could see bits and
pieces of the car, the wreckage, slowly spinning out towards that infinite
nothingness. It was consumed. And beyond it, beyond the car they were trapped
in, was... more. Here the sweep of a flower-filled plain, there an entire
house, and in the distance a mountain itself revolved into the darkness.
	They were afraid. They heard footsteps beside them and looked up. The
figure was short, and wore white. Her skin was pale. There was crimson on her
face, but they could make out no details. The figure knelt down beside them, and
her hand rested on their forehead. They were dying. But the pain eased now. The
figure had blood on her fingers, but it was cold.
	"That's right. Your pain is almost over." The voice was disturbingly
familiar, but they couldn't place it. It was a voice filled with sadness and
love. It ached in their heart to hear it. "We will meet again, in this place.
I'll be waiting for you..."
	"Where dreams go to die."

	Ukyou woke up with a gasp, throwing the sheets off her. She sat there,
the Silence Glaive extended out as if to intercept some threat. Her breathing
came in short, sharp gasps. She looked around. It was the same room. A small
room in the hotel they were using as their base of operations while in Thailand.
A ceiling fan rotated lazily overhead, casting odd shadows across the floor and
walls. There was a single window, but she couldn't see outside. The monsoon
rains were coming down so hard out there that the window was literally buckling
inward. It looked like they were underwater.
	Ukyou took another long breath and sought her centre. The Silence Glaive
evaporated as she turned and sat on the edge of the bed. That had been...
	Strange?
	It seemed such a small word to describe it. Ever since she and Aaron had
been forced into the same skull, they'd had the same dream. The dream of his
death had haunted them every night. For all Ukyou knew, it might have haunted
the dreams of Lotus Infinite while their psyches had been repressed by Bison.
And after every dream there had been the awakening, and the struggle for
dominance between them. The struggle for identity as their unconscious minds
refused to mesh, until they forced them to.
	So it had been. Every time they awoke, they forced themselves a little
closer. Degree by degree, inch by inch losing what made them "Aaron" and "Ukyou"
and making them into... what, exactly?
	Ukyou stood up and walked over to the window. She slept in the nude, but
didn't fear anyone seeing her. Not with this weather. Nobody sane would be out
in this storm. If they were willing to risk this deluge just for a view of her,
they deserved it.
	She placed her hand on the window. This had been the first change. The
first difference in her dreams. In their dream. She could feel the drum of the
rain vibrating up her arm. What did it mean?
	They closed their eyes. No... this wasn't the first difference. They had
slept since their minds had been restored over three months ago, and just now
they were beginning to notice a minor difference. The struggle was gone. Oh, it
had lessened in the months before their confrontation with Bison in England,
becoming less vicious and smoother. But it hadn't vanished entirely. The very
act of losing a piece of themselves, a memory of childhood merging
indistinguishably with something else, had almost driven them insane.
	Except...
	Ukyou looked back in her mind. It was... all gone? No. They could
remember the details. The name of Aaron's brother, the face of Ukyou's father,
the places where he played and the beaches at which she trained. Yet, Ukyou
realised with a start, she couldn't determine which was which, anymore. Oh, if
she thought about it logically, it became clear. For instance, Aaron had never
had to learn how to bind his breasts so that he could blend into an all-boy's
school. Nor did Ukyou think she had ever gone to university. But... the emotions
had blended together. While they could tell one memory from another based on
context, they had lost all... essential 'otherness'.
	Ukyou leaned her head against the glass. It was cold, refreshingly
cold. Ukyou knew, somehow, that she should be upset by this. That she had...
lost something of herself. That Aaron had lost a part of who he was. Except,
they couldn't bring themselves to be upset anymore. It just felt too natural.
	No. They hadn't noticed before now because the struggle was over. For a
moment, they wondered what they would do now. The battle of wills between them
had been so all-consuming, so intense that it had formed a great deal of who
they were. The desire to be separated, to be 'whole' again, had driven them when
they had first been placed together. Yet if they had a chance now, right now, to
pull themselves apart, to be separate in mind and body and soul... would they?
	Was there even a 'he' or 'she' to be separated anymore? Certainly there
were two wills inside of them. Ukyou could identify herself. Aaron could feel
his own presence. But the tension, or most of it, was gone. Aaron's thoughts
smoothly flowed into Ukyou's, and hers back into his. They had not become one
mind, but they weren't exactly two anymore.
	Ukyou pulled herself away from the window and walked back into her room.
She pulled her clothes from the small dresser. She had managed to get a bodysuit
not unlike the ones the Dolls wore, except this one was white with black
leggings. It fit her like a second skin, hugging her curves. Aaron found he
didn't mind that all that much. When this first happened, he would have been
livid and nauseous at the thought of wearing something like this. Now? He kind
of liked the looks people gave him. It made Ukyou feel attractive, which made
him feel good along with her.
	Ukyou grabbed her trenchcoat from the peg and slipped it on, then sat to
pull on her thick boots. While she did, she thought about where she was going.
Not just now, that was simple. She was going to see what the situation was. The
'death' of Bison had been hard on Thailand. Whatever last-minute miracle Nabiki
had pulled off had saved millions of lives, but they hadn't anticipated what
came after.
	Shadowloo was made up of thousands of petty warlords. The organisation
had employed almost three thousand martial artists seven years ago, each of them
powerful enough alone to take on dozens of mundane soldiers at once. In the last
seven years, it had grown. Bison had recruited many like-minded people to his
cause. People who, sensing a power vacuum now that Bison was gone, had turned on
each other like rabid dogs.
	Which left them to pick up the pieces. Two weeks in and they were still
no closer to ending the civil war.
	Ukyou shook her head and stood up, running a hand through her bangs. She
was avoiding the subject again. Where was she going to go now? All this work
here in Thailand... she was killing time, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Ukyou had no illusions. Pluto had told her that the prophecy was still there, in
her own dreams. Soon enough it would come up again.
	Ukyou looked down at her hand, the one in which her Psychodrive-derived
tattoos still resided. She remembered when something else had touched that hand.
The meeting with Alucard, in the insane dream realm into which his mind had been
trapped. He had told her that God had trapped him there. That God had worked his
will on Minako to give her the power to incapacitate him until the End Times. He
had told her about how the world was broken, and that she was the Chosen One.
	Ukyou didn't believe that. She didn't feel different than any other
person. Oh, certainly she had two minds. But that didn't make her fundamentally
alien to others. She still had hopes, dreams, fears... all the usual
psychological trappings.
	But she didn't doubt the world believed that. Chris believed it. He
believed he had been chosen. Chosen by who? Ukyou didn't think it mattered to
Chris. Frankly, it didn't matter to Ukyou either. But she knew something was out
there. Something with a plan. Something that saw her as useful. Soon, she would
be drawn out again. It would make certain of that.
	This dream... it was just one step. The first change to the dream since
she had gotten here. An invitation to... what? A reunion? A battle? An answer to
all these questions?
	Maybe Ukyou would find out one day. Maybe even today.
	But until then, she had to help the people of this country. This country
that she had helped injure. The festering wounds of Bison's tyranny needed to be
dealt with. For now, she would busy herself with doing the right thing that she
saw in front of her. If tomorrow brought something more dangerous, then it
would. Until then, she would live like what was important was what was in front
of her.

*

	Frederick Von Purgstall leaned forward in his chair and pinched the
bridge of his nose. His headache was growing worse. It just wouldn't go away. He
wasn't even aware that a zoalord could get such a serious migraine, not until
two weeks ago.
	Not until Thailand had almost imploded.
	Really, they should have had a plan for this years ago. Bison was an
unstable despot: it was only a matter of time before someone took him down. But
even so, they hadn't expected it to happen quite like this. One band of heroic
adventurers and the greatest power on the Indochinese sub-continent was gone.
And the resultant power vacuum was threatening to erupt into full-blown civil
war.
	It should have been the perfect time to step in, to allow Chronos to
grab a chunk of the land, to restore order. Of course, things never worked out
that smoothly. The fall of Bison had come only two weeks after an unexpected
Millennium attack on America. The Americans were reacting predictably, gearing
up for a massive offensive against Millennium forces with the aid of France.
Millennium, having lost its primary enemy in the east, was turning its attention
westward again. Soon, their army would hit France. It was only a matter of
whether or not the Americans would get there first.
	Which had a lot to do with whether Tethys stepped in. With her control
over the oceans, she could speed up or impede the American convoys. If she
didn't act against them, then Chronos would have to. The likely destruction of
France was regrettable, but an offensive in Europe with American troops was
unacceptable. Especially if the Vatican joined in. A three-way alliance, even
one of convenience, would almost put them at an even footing with Chronos.
	Especially if the remnants of Shadowloo joined up with them. And since
the saviours of Thailand were American sympathizers... that was far too likely.
	So...
	He scanned across his desk, at the holographic images of the globe laid
out before him. He could read the movement of troops and forces on that grid.
But there were too many unknowns, too many variables. If he turned the attention
of Chronos to occupying Thailand, then they might lose control in Europe. If he
tried to stop the American fleet, then not only could that lead to a reopening
of open war between them but Tethys might also decide to get involved. Not to
mention that it would give the insurgents in Thailand a chance to restore order
and secure themselves from being taken in.
	If he committed their resources to one area, then they would lose in
another. If he made one move, everyone else would move in reaction. If he did
nothing, committed forces nowhere, then he could lose it all. It was all
unravelling before his eyes.
	The door opened and he looked up. He sighed and rubbed his nose again.
This was the last thing his headache needed.
	"We need to talk," Cologne said as the door closed behind her. She was
wearing a blue Chinese dress with black and red flowers that flowed up over her
bodice. He tried not to look. Things between them had been... strained ever
since the fiasco in Sweden.
	"No, we do not," Purgstall said, managing to sound at least civil.
	"Yes, we do." She walked over to the map. "I have information that you
need to know."
	"I do?" Purgstall looked up.
	"Yes."
	"How do you have access to information I do not?" Purgstall asked
sharply.
	"I have resources you do not," Cologne pointed out. "People I know that
are willing to pass me information they would never tell anyone in Chronos."
	"Who?" Purgstall asked. He realised he sounded a bit demanding, but
before he could mollify his tone, Cologne replied.
	"None of your business." Cologne walked over and pointed at the
projection of France. "He's here."
	"He? Who is 'he'?"
	"You know who I mean," Cologne growled. "Things are coming to a head in
France. He has a plan and it's going to throw all of Europe into chaos. But he
has to be there personally. This is our chance to track him down..."
	"No, it is not," Purgstall said. "Whatever is happening in Europe is
bigger than just one-"
	"It is not!" Cologne barked, slamming her hand through the image and
into the desk. The projection flickered as her fist unaligned the projectors for
a moment. "He was in Thailand, too. He was there! Right when Bison died! You
should have sent in a force like I told you to!"
	"Lord Arkanphel..."
	"The hell with Arkanphel!" Cologne cut him off again. Purgstall was
beginning to grow annoyed, and allowed it to show on his features. Cologne
ignored his warning glare. "He doesn't know what he's dealing with. Chris had a
hand in killing Bison. He's the reason everything fell apart there! Now, he's
going to do it again in France." She looked at him, her eyes alive with
determination. "If we don't stop him now, we may never get another chance. Then
where will he move next? America? The Dark Kingdom? Here?" She threw out her
hands. "He's tearing it all down, Frederick. He's tearing it down and you won't
like what he wants to build in its place."
	"Chris is just one man," Purgstall noted coolly, rising to his full
height and crossing his arms. "A dangerous man, but not nearly the threat you
believe him to be."
	"If you don't help me stop him, I'll have to do it myself," Cologne
warned.
	Purgstall had finally had enough. He stepped around the table, moving
right next to her. "You can't stop him, Cologne. He can kill you at any time. If
I hadn't been protecting you all this time..." He cut himself off sharply.
	"Protecting me?" Cologne said, her eyes narrowing. "What do you mean?"
	"Nothing. Forget it."
	"No. Tell me. How have you been protecting me, Frederick? I've not seen
any more guards than usual. I come and go as I please..." She frowned at him.
"What do you mean? How have you been protecting me from him?" Then her eyes
widened. "Has Chronos made a deal with him? Is that it? Is that why your 'great
leader' is so hesitant to do anything about him?"
	"No..."
	"Arkanphel is a fool if he doesn't think Chris will turn on him like a
viper..."
	When Purgstall slammed his fist into the desk, the projectors did not
survive. Sparks sprang up around his hand as the desk neatly cracked in two.
"ARKANPHEL IS NOT A FOOL!" he roared. "You go too far!"
	But despite his anger, Cologne did not back down. She never backed down.
She was never afraid. Calculating, cautious, but never afraid. "I don't believe
in your messiah, Frederick. Despite all of Arkanphel's power, Chris will kill
him too, given a chance. If Arkanphel can not see this... he is a greater fool
than I ever imagined."
	"Arkanphel has no idea what that man truly is," Purgstall hissed between
clenched teeth. "You stupid old woman. Do you think he would stand for such a
being? Arkanphel has been trying to kill Nabiki for years, and she is nothing
but an information merchant. Somebody like Chris would be a top priority. But he
doesn't know what I know about him. Because if he did, Chris would know who told
him... and then..."
	Purgstall trailed off again. He realised he'd said too much, but
couldn't take it back. He just stood there, opening and closing his mouth. He
wanted to say something, but had no idea what. Cologne stared at him for a long
moment.
	"So that's it..." Cologne finally said, her voice oddly calm. "That's
why Arkanphel never made a move against him. You've been lying to Arkanphel for
years. Hiding the truth. You've been lying to me. You said you passed on my
warnings..."
	"I... it... it was revenge. I did not see Chris as a threat... I just
saw him as a threat to you... I wouldn't let him get word of you trying to track
him down..."
	"Shut up," Cologne hissed. "Is this what we've spent the last seven
years doing, Purgstall? Lying to each other?"
	Suddenly he was angry again. "Is all you've spent the last seven years
doing using me? Using the girls?" He regretted it right away, but once again it
was too late. The slap came without warning, at such speed that he didn't even
see it. He just stumbled back, propping himself against the shattered desk.
	"You're right, Purgstall. I do want vengeance. I will kill him for what
he did to me and mine. I had hoped to save you and your noble goals at the same
time... but you are a fool. I will gladly give my life to destroy him."
	Cologne turned and stalked from the room. Purgstall shook his head,
trying to clear it. By the time he was back on his feet, she was gone. Damn, she
hit like a zoalord when she was angry. He looked around at the room he was in.
	He should run out after her, stop her. He should call security. He
should do something. Instead, he stood there, wondering when it had all begun to
unravel.

*

	It was a beautiful day.
	That was the first thought that ran through Akane's head upon stepping
down from the train. She had been so caught up in worrying about this trip that
she had not even so much as glanced out the window. All of her focus was on
making certain that none of the others slipped away, that no one followed them,
that everything went right. She couldn't even tell what time of day it was when
she got off the train, she had been so worried.
	But whatever time of day it was, it was beautiful. That seemed such a
small word to describe it. This place was not just beautiful, it was paradise.
It was like they had walked out of Japan and into Eden. The city was so green.
Green and blue. Green from the leaves of trees, from the colour of wine bottles
resting on windowsills, from the lush lawns and painted roofs. Blue for the
perfect sky, the kind of blue sky that poets wept about, streaked through with
cotton-candy white clouds. The blue sea lapped gently at the shore, and sparkled
through with light. Even the streets were spotless: mostly cobblestone, some
pavement, but even there it was new and pristine, not marked by the cracks and
divots that all roads developed in time.
	The people here, old and young, poor and rich, they mingled together and
they were beautiful, too. There were no ugly people. No signs of disease or
hunger. The men who were bald were so with a quiet dignity, the women who had
become wrinkled had gained elegance and sophistication. They wore well-tailored
suits, none worn out or ill-fitting. They passed each other in the street with
smiles on their faces, wide genuine smiles. They stopped in the street to talk,
errands momentarily forgotten. They laughed under the canopies of sidewalk cafes
and their happy conversation bubbled over the walls and hedges of the homes. A
complete stranger walked right up to Akane, told her to have a wonderful day
and, when she didn't respond right away, asked if he could help her. She
demurred and he went on his way with a shrug and a smile.
	And everywhere you looked there were roses. They bloomed on private
hedges. They grew in parks. They sat in vases and hung on walls. Men carried
them in their hand and women wore them in their hair or lapel. Everywhere you
looked, they flourished.
	Akane glanced back at her companions. They were enthralled. Even
Katsuhito, who she hadn't imagined had a poetic bone in his body, was looking at
the place with a sort of quiet rapture. His narrow eyes had softened and he was
running his hand along the bark of a nearby oak. He was whispering something to
himself, but it was in a language Akane didn't understand.
	Beyond him she could see Mamoru moving about, as if in a daze. He looked
so out of place. Like Akane he wore a nondescript brown cloak, one that covered
the bulk of his body (and more importantly, his weapons and armour). Like Akane,
he had worn the hood up on the journey here. It was slightly obvious, to have a
large group of people clearly hiding themselves from scrutiny, but somehow they
had encountered nobody who asked questions, or even gave them a second glance.
Akane had agreed to the cloaks, mainly because she guessed that trying to hide
was pointless, so she had wanted to test a theory. Apparently, Akio's reach went
quite far indeed.
	As she watched Mamoru pulled back his hood, exposing his ebony-black
hair and his immaculate face. He stared around in open-mouthed wonder at this
place. Then he smiled. Somehow, Akane couldn't help but notice how handsome he
was. He was a prince. A champion. He was Charming, come on a white charger (of
course, the train had been white) to solve all her problems. Akane thought for a
moment she could just relax and let him do what he had to do.
	She drew a deep breath and frowned. Beneath her rope she reached across
and wrapped her fingers around the bracelet Washuu had given them. 'Akio's power
over that place runs deep, Akane. I can't shatter it. It's a part of that place
now. I couldn't possibly tear it all down so easily. But I can shield you from a
bit of it, you and everyone else. But just because he can't affect you directly,
don't think that makes you immune. That place is his.' The words were fresh in
Akane's mind. The bracelets would protect them, but only if they remained on
guard the whole time.
	Akane looked at the others again. The ex-Dolls seemed so... happy. Marz
was sitting on a bench, just looking around her, an odd little smile on her
face. Her computer sat beside her, unopened. That struck Akane as odd. Satsuki
was standing in a patch of sunlight, watching a pair of children playing a silly
little game with the kind of rules only children understood. The children paused
as they noticed her, then beckoned her forward. Satsuki, laughing, complied.
Even Fevrier was smiling, a smile of genuine joy. Her eyes were closed and her
head was tilted towards the sky. She was listening to the music, Akane realised.
There was some sort of festival going on, and Fevrier was listening to the echo
of the music on the wind.
	Then Akane met Rei's eyes. Rei met her gaze levelly. The girl wore a
simple two-piece dress and leggings. She looked so sad. Her eyes flicked away
from Akane after a moment, shame on her features.
	"Everyone stop," Akane barked.
	They all paused. They looked at her. The children were tugging on
Satsuki's arm. She kept glancing back at them. Akane realised, in that place
deep inside, that if she didn't act fast she would lose her.
	To what? Happiness?
	Akane quashed that thought.
	"Everyone come here." She looked at them all, and they hesitated. "NOW!"
she barked with the authority she rarely used. Rarely used, but always demanded
when she did. One did not command soldiers in battle unless one expected to be
obeyed. Instantly everyone was coming towards her, even Rei and Katsuhito. Akane
looked at them all, making certain to make eye contact with each of them in
turn. When she looked at Rei, her gaze demanded the girl didn't look away. Rei
didn't.
	"Yes, this place is beautiful." Akane took a deep breath. "But remind
yourself that it isn't real. It's wrong. Even a beautiful lie is still a lie."
	"Such cruel words, Akane. Do you judge my world so harshly?"
	Akane turned slowly. Of course, she hadn't heard the car arrive, but
there it was. A cherry-red convertible, a classic, was parked in the middle of
the street just in front of the train station. Akio sat in the driver's seat.
	Akane had never met Akio, not personally. She had heard about him. Chris
had warned her off him, repeatedly told her about how dangerous he was. Rei had
told her about him, about how subtle and cunning he was. Washuu had talked of
his achievements, of how insidious he could be if you weren't careful. Words had
not prepared her for the truth.
	To call Akio beautiful was to call the sun bright, or the universe
large. All were correct, but none of them caught the truth. Akio was beautiful
in the way that everyone aspired to be, that artists were inspired by. His was
an ideal beauty, almost inhuman. But at the same time, it was utterly smooth and
natural, even warm. He was a person you could walk up to, with his easy smile
and expressive eyes. His hair was light lavender, spilling down his back in a
flowing ponytail. His skin was exotic, a type of dark colour that Akane was
certain no one else quite matched. Akane could imagine that colour on the first
man, standing in the cradle of civilisation.
	It hit Akane suddenly. That was who Akio was. He was Everyman. Not in
the sense of being the least among us, but the best, the brightest. He was the
ideal, the prototype, the form from which all other human beings had been
molded... and the one to which they could only compare unfavourably. Not just
men, but women too, all humanity... 'God made man in His own image...'
	Akio exited the car and walked forward along the bumper. He smiled at
her, a smile that sunk into her body and left her feeling warm. His eyes
examined her and she realised that he was looking at her, and only her. Not
Rei's traditional beauty, not the Dolls' open sensuality. Just at her. He tapped
the roof and slid across it, kicking his feet in a flourish and then landing
before them to take a bow. His sheer physical presence, it was overwhelming.
	Akane closed her eyes, and she reached up with the hand that bore
Washuu's bracelet. She gripped her fingers firmly around the Star Seeds. They
thrummed, warm and powerful, in her fists. She took a long breath, and when she
opened her eyes, her expression was hard again.
	Akio only raised a single perfect eyebrow, then shrugged and stepped
back to lean against the hood of his car. "Such a collection of fine people have
arrived in my simple sanctuary today." He smiled at Akane's companions. "Please,
make yourselves at home. What I have is yours for the asking." He paused when
he spotted Rei. "Ah, Miss Hino. I was most disappointed when you chose to leave
us before graduation. I trust that you found..." He glanced at Katsuhito, his
smile becoming more amused. "...suitable tutors to continue your education."
	"We don't have time for this, Akio," Akane said, stepping forward. "You
know what we're here for."
	"Ah. Yes. Of course." Akio gave her a look of sincere apology. "I'm
afraid I can't help you there."
	"If necessary, we'll use force," Akane bluffed. She wasn't certain what
would happen if it came to that. Just how real were the illusions here?
	He spread his arms out. "I don't think there is any need for violence
here." He looked around the city. "This place is so peaceful, the air is
splendid. Why ruin a day like this with pointless conflict and property damage?
All we would accomplish is making more work for others."
	Akane saw a few of her friends nodding slightly at his words, as if they
made a great point. Akane tightened her grip on the Star Seeds. "Where. Is.
Sailor. Moon?"
	"Not here, I'm afraid," Akio said. He was sitting on the hood now, his
hands folded in his lap.
	"Don't play word games, Akio," Akane said, taking a step forward. Akio
raised an eyebrow once again, but he merely shrugged.
	"She isn't here. Our Princess is such a... busy person. She has many
duties to attend to. I'm afraid I don't keep track of them all..." He slipped
off the hood. "But don't take my word for it. Go and find her friends and ask
them. They will tell you the same story as I. Usagi is not here."
	He started towards the door to the car, but Akane slid in front of him.
They were so close that Akane could smell him. His musk filled her nose,
travelled down her throat and kept going. She stared up into his eyes. Why did
he have to be so tall? But not the intimidating type of tall. The reassuring
type.
	He slid around her. "You are, of course, welcome to stay as long as you
like. She will be back shortly, or so I was told. Sometimes her errands can take
days, sometimes it can take hours. I've reserved rooms for you all at a nice
hotel near the campus; anyone should be able to direct you to it."
	He vaulted into the car and it roared to life the moment his hands fell
on the wheel. He leaned back and smiled at Akane again. "Why not take a little
time to explore the city? Get to know the people who live here."
	"What is your game, Akio?" Akane managed to say with as much force as
she could muster.
	"Game?" Akio smiled. "The game of truth, Miss Tendo. Take advantage of
all I have to offer, or not. I don't really care one way or another. But
hospitality dictates that I give my guests all due attention. And while I may be
called evil incarnate, I never wish to be called a poor host. Enjoy yourselves."
	And with a wave, he was off. Akane stared at the car until it turned a
corner and was gone. She felt the strength sap out of her. She looked back at
her companions. They all looked uncertain. These were people used to fighting a
war, and a better unit Akane could hardly have asked for. She would trust any
one of them with her life. But...
	Were they really prepared to fight Akio's kind of war?

*

	"Come in," Nabiki said the moment before the knock came. There was a
hesitation and then the door opened. Yang looked inside, his almost perpetual
frown still on his face. Nabiki gestured for him to enter as she shifted a few
of her papers off her desk. It was all mundane data, estimates on the repairs
following Ranma and Bison's climactic battle two weeks ago. The cost of
rebuilding would be staggering.
	"You busy?" he asked, stepping in and shutting the door behind him.
	"No..." Nabiki sighed. "Yes. But I'll take any excuse for a reason not
to look at more numbers." She rubbed her temples. It still hurt. The attack that
Bison had hit her with had very nearly reduced her brain to cottage cheese. The
headaches still came occasionally, but with less frequency now. She looked
around. "Where is your brother?"
	Nabiki felt a flash of irritation from the young man. "He's gone out
with Ranma, again."
	"Ah..." Nabiki nodded. When Nabiki had called Hong Kong to get some help
with the current crisis, she hadn't thought much about what would happen when
Yun and Ranma met. Frankly, she had expected that Ranma would be halfway back to
the States by now. He had left Minako practically in a hospital bed. Instead,
he'd had Nabiki smuggle a few letters to her telling her to make her way here.
	Then Yun and Yang had showed up. It was like putting fire and oil
together. Yun had challenged Ranma to a match the day after he got to the city.
Ranma had won handily, of course. But the younger boy had been following Ranma
around since, apparently to 'learn his secrets so I can defeat him'.
	"Is that why you're here?"
	"No." Yang flipped his head, his long bangs flicking a bit. He put his
hands in his pockets. "You wanted to know when she came back."
	Nabiki looked up. "She's back already? That was fast."
	Yang shrugged. Nabiki stood up and walked around him to the door. "You
going to need an escort?" he asked.
	"Inside the building?" Nabiki asked.
	"There have been two attempts on your life already," Yang pointed out.
	"And I handled myself fine," Nabiki assured him. "I want to talk with
her alone. You can have the morning off."
	Yang shrugged and exited just after her, closing the door behind him. He
paused and locked it with the key Nabiki had given him. She smiled and shook her
head. Those boys treated her like she was made out of porcelain, sometimes.
Honestly, you save someone's grandfather from cancer, have your life saved by
him in turn, and then end up like this.
	As she moved through the corridors of the hotel Nabiki wondered where
the aforementioned grandfather was. He hadn't been in Hong Kong when Nabiki had
sent out the all-call to her contacts. She shook her head and dismissed the
thought as idle speculation. The old coot could handle himself. Until he decided
to show his face again, Nabiki would do her best not to get his grandsons
killed.
	The underground garage was almost deserted. It wasn't hard for Nabiki to
locate Akira. The sounds of her tooling around with the bike she had picked up a
few days into their stay here echoed through the paved catacomb. When Nabiki got
there, the girl was sitting in front of a blanket on which a large number of
arcane little pieces of gleaming metal were arrayed. Akira herself was rubbing
one of those pieces down with a grease-stained towel.
	"Hey," Nabiki called out by way of greeting. Akira looked up, her
expressive brown eyes blinking once. Then she waved idly and went back to work.
"You're back early."
	"False alarm," Akira explained. "If there were Chronos operatives trying
to raise a little hell down there, they were gone by the time I got there. Also,
they didn't do a very good job."
	Nabiki frowned. She prided herself on knowing who was doing what to who,
and when and where and why it was done. It had taken her seven years to create a
reputation of infallibility in the criminal underworld, and she had gotten that
reputation by being mainly infallible. Her sources inside Chronos had said that
Purgstall was going to do something about the situation, especially now that
Rose had politely declined his offer for 'humanitarian aid, merely until the
current crisis has passed'.
	"Maybe they went underground," Nabiki mused. "How good are you at
sensing untransformed zoanoids?"
	"Okay, I guess." Akira paused. "Better than most. I didn't sense any in
the village. They might have gone into the jungle, I suppose. If so, I doubt
anyone but Ukyou could track them."
	"Yeah..." Nabiki sighed. Ukyou was far too valuable to risk sending off
chasing ghosts in the jungles of Indochina. Nabiki looked at the bike, wondering
why Akira was bothering to build it. She had one in the States still, after all.
For a moment, Nabiki wished she could read the young woman properly. Ever since
the fight in Hong Kong, Akira had become opaque to her. Not exactly empty like
how Chris or sometimes Ukyou appeared to her, but like she was much further away
than she was. "Are you... planning some sort of trip?"
	Akira paused. She put down the gasket - or whatever - she was cleaning
and looked up at Nabiki. "Maybe."
	Nabiki frowned and crossed her arms. "You're planning on going after
her, aren't you? That's why you've been rebuilding this thing."
	Akira eyes took on a defiant gleam. "And if I am?"
	"For god's sake, Akira. Why?" Nabiki grit her teeth. "She betrayed us!
She works for Chris! She's HIS."
	"She doesn't belong to anybody," Akira countered. "She made a choice. A
bad choice. That doesn't make her a bad person."
	"She killed Rose! Right in front of you! She would have killed you too!"
	"Yeah. You're right." Akira picked up another part and began to inspect
it visually. "She would have. I saw it in her eyes." She paused. "But that
doesn't make her not my friend."
	"I swear, Akira. You have a bad habit of this."
	"What, foolish quests?"
	"No..." Nabiki sighed. "Of making me feel... shallow."
	Akira gave her a startled glance. "Shallow?"
	"I don't agree with you, Akira," Nabiki grumbled and sat down next to
her, shifting the wishing sword so it rested beside her. Ukyou and Pluto had
both confirmed that her wish had not been lost trying to defeat Chris. "But I
have to respect your determination. You never give up, do you? Not even when it
seems hopeless. Especially when it seems hopeless."
	"Lots of people don't think that's an admirable quality," Akira said,
sounding somewhat embarrassed. Nabiki grinned at Akira's discomfort. She never
could take a compliment well.
	"Bullshit, Akira. You're the bravest person I've ever met. If I was half
as brave as you..." Nabiki trailed off. If she was half as brave as Akira, she
would have done something about Ryouga four years ago. She would have gone and
faced him down, faced down the 'Death Messiah' as well... Except she was scared.
Scared that Hotaru would kill her. Scared that Ryouga wouldn't listen to her.
Nabiki wished she had Akira's courage. It was... it was inspiring.
	"I'm not brave, Nabiki." Akira began to fit the pieces together now. It
was like a 3D jigsaw puzzle. "Far from it. I spend a lot of time scared out of
my wits. I falter. I doubt. I'm human, Nabiki." She looked over. "You know how
much I doubt."
	"You're talking about Tethys, aren't you?" Akira didn't respond. "It
wasn't your fault, Akira. And it's not like you actually-"
	"What I did was bad enough," Akira said softly, cutting her off. "And
I'm not going back up there."
	Nabiki placed her hands on the pavement and leaned back a bit, closing
her eyes. "So you still think Pluto and Rose just want to get Ukyou to go north,
meet with Tethys?"
	"Of course."
	"Then why haven't they mentioned it yet?"
	"They choose to work with her," Akira growled. "Even after..."
	"Angel chose to work with Chris."
	"That's different..." Akira trailed off.
	"How?"
	Akira had no response to that for a while. For a while there was only
the metallic sound of Akira reassembling her engine. "Because Angel is my
friend. Friends don't give up on friends."
	"Plus, there is getting away from Ukyou..." Nabiki mused. Akira shot her
a menacing glare. Nabiki smirked. "I don't need telepathy to see it, Akira." Not
that she could if she wanted to. But Akira didn't need to know that. "You and
Ukyou have been playing a game of keep away for the last two weeks." She paused.
"Here's an idea: why not go talk to her?"
	"There's nothing to talk about," Akira said. She cursed as she slammed
something together too roughly and little pieces fell out of the engine. Nabiki
helped her grab a few stray bolts and connectors for a moment.
	"I think there's a lot to talk about, Akira." Nabiki said while they
crawled around. "You love her. She deserves to make the decision whether she'll
love you back, rather than you running off on some fool errand."
	"Ukyou..." Akira sighed. "Ukyou can't make that decision, Nabiki."
	Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
	"She's not gay."
	Nabiki looked at her for a long minute. Then, unable to contain it any
longer, she burst out laughing. Akira frowned at her, as Nabiki shook with
guffaws. "What's so funny?"
	"Akira..." Nabiki wiped a tear away from her eyes. "Is that the problem?
Gee. I thought you of all people would know."
	"Know what?"
	"Sexuality is genetic." Nabiki tapped her forehead. "It's all meat
thinking. The soul... the soul is capable of love, Akira. But it doesn't
determine who we lust after. Trust me, I've spent seven years inside other
people's heads. It's all reptile hindbrain reactions, nothing to do with 'higher
thought' at all."
	"So?" Akira crossed her arms. "Ukyou was born straight. She spent enough
time lusting after Ranma that it's pretty obvious. She still..." Akira trailed
off.
	"You're right." Nabiki nodded. "But you forget, Ukyou spent seven years
as a Doll." Akira blinked. "What, you thought they were all born bisexual
nymphomaniacs? Bison altered them with his Psychodrive, right down to the
genetic level. He remade them."
	"That's..." Akira winced.
	"Disgusting? Sick? Twisted?" Nabiki nodded. "Yeah. That's Bison for you.
But, fact remains is that Ukyou got the exact same treatment as the others. You
experienced her memories. You know that Lotus Infinite swung both ways."
	Akira blushed. "This is sick, Nabiki."
	"Maybe." Nabiki shrugged. "But Ukyou's wearing that skin-tight suit
nowadays, and I don't think it's to impress Yun or Yang..."
	"Ranma?"
	Nabiki waved her hand. "Ukyou gave up on Ranma seven years ago."
	Akira frowned. "I prefer the way Ukyou looks when she wears something
more... conservative."
	"Have you told her that?"
	"Of course not!"
	"Have you even told her you love her?"
	"What? Yes... I mean... she obviously knows. I've made my feelings
pretty clear... I mean..."
	"Have you told her?"
	Akira frowned. "What's your stake in this anyway, Nabiki? Why do you
care what happens between me and Ukyou?"
	Nabiki opened her mouth. She had a good lie prepared. She had spent
days thinking it up. Days during which she had tried to broach the subject with
Ukyou, only to back off at the last moment. She could lie to Akira... but she
chose not to. "Because I need your help. I need... I need someone to stick
around and help me talk to Ukyou. Someone with more pull over her than I have."
	Akira's eyes narrowed. "You want us to get together so you can use me to
jerk Ukyou around?" She turned away. "It doesn't work that way, Nabiki."
	"I know..." Nabiki stood up. "I was an idiot for even thinking it." She
paused. "I'm sorry, Akira. I just thought... you loved Ukyou so much, spending
all that time fighting for her... I just thought you could..."
	Could what? Help her? Who was her? Nabiki? or Ukyou? Why did Nabiki
suddenly think it was important to help Ukyou?
	"It isn't like that, Nabiki." Akira looked at the hollowed out bike. "I
didn't spend all those years fighting for Ukyou because I love her."
	"But why...?"
	"Because it's about choices, Nabiki." Akira stood up. "It's always about
choices. Ukyou was my friend. She was my mentor. She taught me more about how to
live my life in a few months than my brother had in sixteen years. Even if there
hadn't been anything like love between us, I wouldn't have given up on her."
Akira looked back at her. "We don't choose who we fall for, Nabiki. You said it
yourself. It's all meat-thinking. We don't choose how we grow up. We don't
choose the world we live in. We can't decide if we live or die. All we can
really choose is who we call friend, and what we do with the hand life deals us.
So... I call Ukyou friend, and I choose never to give up on her." She looked up.
"I choose to call Angel my friend too."
	"So, you're leaving?"
	"Maybe."

*

	"Do you really think this is wise?" Katsuhito asked as they walked down
the rose-lined path. Akane glanced at him. His expression was calm, but slightly
melancholy. He walked with his hands laced together behind his back, his
traditional priest's robes rustling as he moved. Akane took a moment to adjust
her cloak before responding.
	"Splitting us up?" Akane frowned. "Maybe not. But we have to find the
other Senshi. Ami and... Maho- Maki..."
	"Makoto," Katsuhito offered. Akane nodded in thanks. "The two of them
may not be as powerful as Sailor Moon, but we should still save them."
	"From what, exactly?" Katsuhito asked softly.
	"Don't you start, too," Akane growled.
	"I'm not." He paused and adjusted his glasses. The path curved ahead and
swept into the front yard of a house. The house was... beautiful. The walls were
stone, with ivy creepers climbing along the outside. The windows had white
sills, the roof was painted sea-blue. A low stone fence, barely a half-meter
high, circled the building, with only one gap for the front entrance. The yard
was more than a yard. It was a garden. As Akane got closer she saw that someone
was maintaining the yard with great care. Flowers of all types entwined
together, somehow transcending the clash of colours and forms to form a unique
whole.
	There was music. Someone inside was playing the piano. It was a
entrancing tune, something melancholy and yet hopeful at the same time. Akane
closed her eyes and for a moment she was in the back yard of her house in Tokyo,
her father teaching her the first steps of martial arts, her mother smiling from
the porch...
	Akane shook off the feeling. That was the past.
	"The point, Akane..." Katsuhito and she stopped in front of the
entrance, "is that Akio has had seven years to twist them to his own purposes.
You should prepare yourself for the worst."
	"The worst?" Akane asked.
	"They may not want saving."
	Akane considered that for a moment, then knocked. The music cut off. The
door opened to reveal a kind-looking young man. He had short blue hair and eyes
that were just slightly more green. He was taller than Akane, but shorter than
the old man. He had an effeminate look to him, but his stance was firm and
masculine. He wore a white shirt with green thread etching out nonsensical
patterns around his shoulders and a pair of black slacks.
	"Oh. Hello, may I help you?" he asked, blinking a bit at the sight of
them. He smiled and stepped back before they could answer, gesturing them
inside. "Please excuse me, come in, come in... The winter chill is setting in.
It will be much more comfortable inside."
	"Winter chill..." Akane muttered. It felt like spring here. In fact, it
felt perfectly comfortable. But she didn't turn down his invitation. "I'm sorry,
we must have the wrong address. We were looking for the Mizuno household."
	"Ah," the man shrugged and laughed a bit. "No, you have the right
household. My wife is just occupied at the moment."
	Akane blinked. Wife?
	"I'm sorry again, my manners fail me. But you are an unusual visitor."
He bowed slightly. "My name is Miki Mizuno. I am pleased to meet you. Would you
like some tea?"
	"Ginseng?" Katsuhito asked.
	"Of course," Miki replied. "I'll be right back then. Please make
yourself comfortable in the lounge." He gestured towards a room to the side of
the entrance hall and started towards the back of the house. Akane looked at the
old man and shrugged, before exchanging shoes and walking into the lounge. The
two of them sat down in comfortably stuffed green leather seats. The walls were
lined with bookshelves. Row upon row of books and other odds and ends. Akane
glanced through the arch into the next room. That room, too, was filled with
books.
	"He seems nice enough," Katsuhito said cheerfully.
	"Yeah..." Akane muttered.
	"Something bothering you?"
	"Aside from everything? No." Akane paused. "I'm more disturbed that I'm
not disturbed. Everything about this place has been rubbing me the wrong way.
But this house..."
	"I know." Katsuhito nodded his head and pushed his glasses up with one
finger. "There is an air of a home about this place. There is happiness in these
walls. It reminds me of when my daughter was alive and..." He trailed off.
	"It reminds me of back in Tokyo," Akane admitted. "But not in a bad
way."
	"Why would is be bad?" Akane looked over her shoulder. Miki had
returned, carrying a tray of tea. He began to serve it as Akane carefully
prepared her answer.
	"I have bad memories of Tokyo. I was there when... seven years ago."
	"Ah." He nodded, and offered her a tea cup.
	"Do you know what happened back then?" Akane asked bluntly.
	He blinked and laughed. "No." He smiled, his eyes closing. "But if it's
a painful memory, why worry about it now?"
	Akane stared at him, holding the tea cup in her hands. She glanced over
at Katsuhito, who was sipping on his tea. The old man was giving her a
meaningful look. She frowned at him. "What?" she asked.
	"The tea is good," he noted.
	"What does that have to do with anything?" Akane replied.
	"Nothing." He smiled. "But it would be a shame if it got cold."
	Akane sighed and took a sip of her tea. It was good, she admitted. Then
she sighed. "We need to see Ami."
	"I was afraid of that," Miki said softly. He sat down on a couch near
the wall, setting the tray on a table beside him. He took a sip of his own tea.
"She is very busy and doesn't like to be disturbed while she works."
	"This is an emergency," Akane insisted.
	"A medical emergency?" Miki asked. "Have you tried the hospital? Dr.
Tokukatsu is very good. If you tell him I sent you..."
	"No," Akane cut him off. "Not a medical emergency. We just have to see
her. Now."
	Miki appraised her, and for a moment Akane understood that this placid-
seeming man had a strength to him. He was no longer looking at her like a host
to a guest, but as a guardian evaluating a threat to his ward. "Can I ask what
it is you need to see her about so badly?"
	"Oh, nothing interesting," Katsuhito broke in. "Family business."
	"What family?" Miki asked bluntly.
	"Her mother," Katsuhito replied flippantly. "But I'd really rather
deliver the news to her personally."
	"Ami and I have no secrets," Miki said. He was standing up. "And if you
think I can't tell that something is going on here, you are insane. You're both
armed, with swords no less, and walking into my house." His eyes narrowed, and
he looked like an entirely different person. He wasn't a kindly man now, but a
fierce one. "Plus you both reek of power."
	Akane stood up. "How can you tell?"
	"I may not be a great martial artist, but Ami has helped me to develop
certain skills."
	Akane considered that. "Fine. We need to talk to Sailor Mercury."
	Miki's eyes widened and he staggered back. Then he straightened and
rubbed a hand over his face. "You're too late."
	"How?"
	"You just are." He looked at Akane. "Whatever you are trying to do...
can't you just leave her alone? She's happy now. She doesn't need to go through
any more pain." His voice... it was genuine. He was pleading with her. Akane
steeled herself.
	"No. I can't leave it alone. I have to speak with her." She paused
significantly. "One way, or another."
	Miki stared at her. Then he looked away. "This way."
	As Miki led them up to the second floor, Katsuhito whispered into
Akane's ear. "It would be wise to control your temper."
	"I'm controlling it," Akane hissed back. The man raised an eyebrow, then
fell behind her. They were led to a large door near the back of the house. Miki
opened it without knocking.
	Inside was something out of a science-fiction movie. It was a
laboratory. The blue-tile walls and floors sparkled, cleaned to an almost mirror
finish. The lights overhead buzzed the way fluorescents always did. There were a
number of tables, many covered with complex apparati constructed from clear
glass tubes and beakers and valves with multi-coloured liquids flowing through
them. Flames boiled things. Steam hissed through vents. There was a steady drip-
drip as something somewhere dribbled water into a echoing chamber.
	Akane paused in the doorway. Ami was sitting near the back, facing away
from them. She sat on a elevating stool that rolled about on gimballed wheels.
Her long white lab coat fell behind her, almost to the floor. She was busy
looking into a microscope. Her blue hair had grown out long and was tied back in
a ponytail at the base of her neck. Just within hand's reach was an ashtray,
stuffed nearly to overflowing with cigarette butts. She appeared not to have
noticed them coming in.
	"Ami..." Miki said, his voice apologetic.
	"Damn it, Miki, I said not to disturb me. This is a very critical
moment!" Ami snapped, without looking up.
	"I'm sorry, but we have guests."
	"So? Entertain them. Offer to play the piano."
	"They wish to speak to you."
	"Get rid of them, then. Better yet, tell them to make an appointment at
the hospital."
	"They want to speak to Sailor Mercury."
	The room was silent for a few moments. Then Ami slowly sat up. She
turned on her stool, looking at everyone in the doorway. Akane only vaguely
recalled Ami, but she realised the young woman had not aged that well. Like
everyone else here, she was flawlessly elegant, but her face looked far too old
for a woman of only twenty-one. There were already lines forming at the edges of
her eyes and the corner of her lips. She looked at Miki, then at Akane.
	And recognised her.
	"Miki, leave us."
	"Are you..."
	"Yes. Now go."
	Miki left, closing the door behind him. Akane and Katsuhito walked
forward.
	"I knew you'd come back, some day," Ami said.
	"Ami. It's been a long time," Akane nodded. "You know why we've come?"
	"Yes. For her."
	"Sailor Moon?"
	"The Moon Princess," Ami nodded.
	"We've also come for you, Ami." Akane looked at her. "We need you."
	"You're too late," Ami informed her. "There is no Sailor Mercury."
	"What?" Akane blinked and looked at her companion to confirm that.
Katsuhito merely shrugged.
	"I stopped being her a long time ago," Ami said. Her voice was calm, but
there was an edge of something else under her breath. It was well-hidden, but it
was there. Ami reached into a coat pocket and pulled out a cigarette, which she
lit quickly.
	"Aren't you worried you'll ruin your experiment?" Katsuhito explained.
	"What, with this?" Ami smirked and gestured with the smoke. "No, I'm
not. Besides, I'll have to start over again anyway, now that I probably missed
the cellular mitosis."
	"What are you working on?" Katsuhito asked, stepping forward. Akane
glanced at him. Why was he asking about that? There were more pressing things to
discuss. But he caught her eyes and she closed her mouth.
	"The long form, or the short?" Ami slipped from her stool and started
across the lab. Underneath her coat she wore a blue sweater and a grey skirt
that came down to mid-thigh; the coat flapped around her as she walked.
	"The short," Katsuhito smiled in his perfect 'I'm a simple old man'
manner. "Technical words just confuse this old priest."
	 She had reached a large coffee machine. She poured herself a glass,
then offered the pot to the two of them. They both declined. Shrugging, she took
a sip. "The cure for cancer," Ami replied.
	"Really?" Katsuhito blinked. "Remarkable. But, from what I understand,
they already have a cure for that."
	"You mean Chronos does."
	"So you know about Chronos?" Akane snapped.
	Ami gave Akane a level look. "Of course I do, Akane. I'm not blind."
	"Nobody else in this town does. We've been here days, trying to track
you down and nobody knows anything about the outside world. Even your husband
doesn't-"
	"My husband is a good man," she informed them. "He's been nothing but an
angel to me, but he's not prepared for what we know, Akane." She smiled.
"Before you ask, yes, I know what's been happening 'out there'. I've kept
track."
	"Then you know how bad it is!" Akane shouted.
	"Yes." Ami took a long draw on her cigarette then a drink of coffee.
	"Don't you care?" Akane balled her hands into fists.
	"Of course I care, Akane. Hundreds, thousands of people die." She
paused. "Of disease. Of medical problems. Not everyone dies at the hands of
Chronos or Millennium hit squads. Far more die from mundane ailments. Chronos
reserves their wonder cures for the wealthy and the politically expedient. They
also refuse to share with those places not under their thumb." She took another
sip. "I'm going to change that."
	"I see..." Katsuhito, unnoticed by Akane, had moved over to the
microscope and was looking into it. "You're reverse-engineering Chronos's cure,
aren't you? These samples... they're zoanoid DNA. Fascinating. How did you
prevent the onset of terminal necrosis?"
	"I..." Ami paused. "Simple old priest, hmm?" She smiled. "I think you're
more than you let on."
	"Maybe I am," Katsuhito stood up and faced her. "And so are you. You
aren't a doctor."
	"Yes, I am." Ami drew another puff. "And probably one of the best."
	"You aren't just a doctor."
	"Yes. I am." Ami glared at them. "Sailor Mercury is dead. Which is fine.
She was an ineffective, wishy-washy drain on other's resources. I am Ami Mizuno,
and I will do more good in this lab than I ever would have on the battlefield."
	"Ami..." Akane stared at her. She had no idea what to say.
	"Go. Akane. Go find your Princess. She can save the world." Ami turned
her back on them, walking around the edge of a table and out of sight behind a
large bank of machines. Her voice drifted around the corner. "I'm not in that
business anymore."

*

	"Well?"
	"As far as I can tell, they're working at full capacity," Marz informed
them. She removed the wires from the manacle around Fevrier's wrist and she
stared at the small device in annoyance. It was supposed to protect her. The
girl had said she could build a device that would keep Akio out of their heads.
	"That girl, Washuu, she said that she knew exactly how this place
worked." Fevrier snorted. "If it's having this kind of effect on us, then she
didn't do a very good job of shielding us from it."
	"What kind of effect?" Rei asked.
	"Can't you feel it, Rei?" Mamoru asked. They were sitting in a park. All
three ex-Dolls and Mamoru wore long cloaks over their combat gear. Fevrier
picked at hers. It seemed so... drab. It would be much simpler to just dispense
with the cloak entirely. And the combat gear. They obviously wouldn't need it
here. This place was free of violence. It was peaceful, serene...
	Undemanding.
	"No," Rei sighed. "The only thing I've ever felt in this city is...
wrongness. It tickles at the back of my mind. Like an itch I can't scratch. It
makes my skin crawl."
	Mamoru nodded. "I see." He looked at the other three girls and sighed,
rubbing his forehead. "Fevrier, how does this place make you feel?"
	She looked at him, and frowned. She wanted to bark something out, tell
him that it was a stupid question. This place was just a place. As Bison's
assassin she had been in plenty of beautiful places and reduced them to rubble.
She wanted to say a location was only notable for its tactical advantages.
Except she knew she'd be lying. "I..." She looked at the ground. "I feel..." She
closed her eyes. "I feel..." She clenched her fist and leaned over. "I..."
	"Fevrier?" Mamoru was walking towards her now, and she clenched her
teeth. She had to be strong! She had to be perfect! She wasn't going to let this
place get to her...
	Except what was she fighting against? This warm feeling inside? This
sense of... belonging? They had spent the last few days moving through the city
and Fevrier had never felt so comfortable in her life. No. She had never
remembered feeling so comfortable.
	She had woken up in a lab, woken up in a tube buried deep in Bison's
Psychodrive. She had been a tool, a weapon, forged by his hand. Except... she
hadn't been born that way, had she? She'd been a woman, once. A girl. A child.
She'd had a home. A family. Innocence.
	"Oh god, make it stop..." Fevrier hissed, and she realised with chagrin
that she was crying. She felt Mamoru wrap his arms around her. She leaned into
him. "Mamoru... make it stop... these feelings..."
	Mamoru was frowning. "Fevrier..." his voice was full of concern. Fevrier
looked at Rei, and the girl was staring at her, uncertain what to do. Then
Fevrier spotted the other two ex-Dolls. Marz was looking down at her computer,
her fingers hovering over the keys. She looked lost, like she had no idea what
she was supposed to be doing. Satsuki was sitting nearby, her legs drawn up to
her chest. She was just looking away across the field. Children were playing
there. "What feelings, Fevrier?" Mamoru clenched his fists. "If that bastard is
hurting you..." he growled.
	Fevrier tried to reply, but she couldn't for a few moments. Her voice
was hitching. "No... not painful..." She held out her hand. "But... it's like...
like I can feel..."
	"Feel what?" Rei asked.
	"Her."
	"Who?" Mamoru looked at her strangely. "Sailor Moon?"
	"No... her... the girl... the... the one I lost..."
	"The one you lost..." Mamoru's eyes slowly filled with comprehension.
"Fevrier... you mean you can feel your old self? The one that existed before
Bison?"
	"I..." She chewed her lip. "Yes. I can feel... these emotions. They're
so strange. I feel sad, but at home and..." She clenched her head. "It's wrong,
Mamoru. I never felt this way before. I'm strong! I'm fierce! I've never felt
weak like this! I've never felt..."
	"Happy?" Satsuki said. "You feel... happy, don't you?"
	"Yes..." Fevrier said thickly.
	"It's strange..." Satsuki murmured. "I've always been so shy... I get
nervous around everyone but sir Mamoru... yet... I feel such an urge to just
walk over to those children and say hello..."
	"Are... are your memories coming back, too?"
	"No..." Marz said, looking up. "I don't remember, anything... but..."
She looked at her hands. "What's happening to us, Mamoru?"
	"The devil's bargain," Rei hissed. Everyone looked at her, and she
frowned at them. "Remember Makoto?"
	They nodded. They had found the young woman at the school, coaching one
of the local sports teams. At first, the former Senshi had been happy to see
Rei. Then, she had grown increasingly hostile as it became clear what they
wanted. Fevrier rubbed her hands against her temples as she remembered Rei and
Makoto yelling at each other, their hands clenched into fists.
	Then a woman had come out of the school and stepped between the two. She
had been tall, slim, with orange hair and a stern demeanour. One look at Rei had
made the Senshi back off a step. The woman had insisted they leave Makoto alone,
and Makoto had smiled, then grabbed the stranger's hand. Fevrier had raised an
eyebrow at that. She and her 'sisters' had been familiar enough with the concept
to understand what their touch, their intimate familiarity had meant. Even Rei
hadn't missed it. Shocked, Rei had demanded to know what Makoto was doing.
	"Rei, don't be a prude," Makoto had said. "You sound just like Ami was,
back when Juri and I first got together." Makoto had smiled, a happy smile.
"Really, I'm glad. Usagi helped us find each other. She... she..." And here,
Makoto's smile had cracked just a little, but then returned to normal. "She made
certain we'd be happy together."
	"Have you forgotten everything!?" Rei demanded. "Everything it meant to
be who we were?"
	"No. I haven't forgotten. But what good have any of us done? There's
always more monsters, Rei. Usagi can fight them. She's the sun. All we were was
lightning at midnight. All flash, and gone so fast you aren't even certain it
was there." Makoto had looked at Rei with pity. "Besides, if I want to be happy,
I have to stay here. I won't abandon what I've found. Somebody else will save
the world. Why should I make myself miserable when there's nothing I can do,
anyway?"
	Rei had stared at the girl, then slowly walked away. They had followed,
unable to think of anything to say.
	"You're saying... this place..." Marz spoke up, breaking Fevrier from
her reminiscence. "It's giving us what we want?"
	"Yes," Rei said. "That's how it works. It gave Makoto love and
acceptance, in return for accepting it as it is." She looked at them. "It's also
giving you what you want."
	"I don't want to be that girl!" Fevrier roared, standing up. Tears
flowed down her cheeks. Mamoru stared up at her. "I'm Fevrier! It's who I am!
I'm a warrior, a perfect warrior! Whoever that girl was, she died a long time
ago! I want to be me! I want to be who I am!"
	"Fevrier..." Mamoru stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why
can't you be both? You can be the girl I... know, and the person you were
before. It's... what I've always wanted for you three. To let you live your own
lives again, instead of having to rely on mine." He looked at her. "It's not
fair to you, to have to live my life."
	"But..." I want to live your life, she didn't say. Fevrier looked to the
side, biting her lip again.
	"I want it..." Satsuki said slowly. "I want to know who that girl was."
	"I do too," Marz looked at her 'older sister' apologetically. Her cyan
hair glimmered briefly in the light. "I... I didn't think I did. Back when
Nabiki tried to help us recover our memories, I didn't care so much... but now.
These feelings, Fevrier! They're..."
	"Wonderful," Satsuki finished for her. "I don't want them to go away."
	"Can you say you hate them so much, Fevrier?" Marz asked, rising to her
feet so she could look her sister in the eyes.
	Fevrier slumped. "No. I can't... I..." She stepped away. "Damnit. This
isn't fair! I'm used to things I can shoot! Even if the bullets bounce off, I
can do something about it!"
	Mamoru looked around them. "There's nothing here to shoot, Fevrier." He
smiled a little at that. "We don't have to fight anymore, here."
	"Can't you people hear yourselves?" Rei shouted. "You sound just like
Makoto!" She stared at them, aghast. "Is... is this place getting to you so
quickly?"
	Mamoru frowned, then he shook his head. "She's... she's right." He
clenched his jaw. "We should go find Akane. This place is dangerous. We have
to remember why we're here."
	"Yes... let's go finish what we came here for..." Fevrier said, taking
the lead as she started towards the hotel, the others falling in behind her.
Then...
	Then, after they'd found Sailor Moon, then they'd know what to do.

*

	"So, it's a letter from her..." Rose trailed off. She sat behind a
marble desk, her back to a wall coated in black basalt rock. In front of her the
city of Bangkok stretched out. One of her first official acts had been to rename
the city.
	Pluto looked up from the note spread out in front of her. She looked at
her friend. It was hard to believe this was the same woman. She looked so
different. She was slightly shorter, and her face was softer, younger... the
face of a woman fresh out of puberty instead of the majestic dignified Romany
face Pluto was used to. Her eyes were brown, and her hair was black. It hung
down her back.
	"I guess we should have expected this," Rose said finally. "What does
she want?"
	"Nothing." Pluto looked down at the note again. "But you know Tethys.
She has two ways of dealing with you. Either she is bluntly honest and demands
what she wants... or she merely hints at it. For now, I think it's the latter.
She offers us help."
	"Help?"
	"No strings attached, according to her."
	"Just like when she took us under her protection..." Rose murmured.
Pluto nodded and placed the note on the desk. Rose flicked a hand and levitated
it to her. She still acted much the same, but there were differences that Pluto
could notice. Like the smirk on her face now. It was an ironic smirk, a smirk
full of condescension and cynicism. Rose would never have smiled like that
before. She never had the passion to.
	There were other little things, too. The new Rose had a temper. A
violent temper. They had already replaced the picture window three times, once
when Rose had thrown her desk through it shortly after a teleconference with
zoalord Purgstall of Chronos. She had managed to regain her control quickly, but
Pluto could see it, that violent passion rolling just beneath the surface of
this woman who talked so much like her friend...
	But was she really?
	"Purgstall would not be pleased..." Rose murmured.
	"Pleased about what?"
	Pluto started and even Rose looked surprised. They turned to see that
Ukyou was standing in the corner. Her long black coat blended into the shadows.
The two Dolls at the door were halfway across the room towards her before they
paused, recognising the young woman. Using them as bodyguards and servants
struck Pluto as wrong on some level, but Nabiki had been right. They needed all
the help they could get, and what else were they supposed to do with ten
superhuman killing machines?
	At least they had stopped propositioning her. Pluto had been aghast when
they had suggested that she and Rose join them for "an evening". What amazed her
was the fact that some of the others seemed surprised at how vocally she turned
them down. They had apparently assumed that she and Rose were... were...
	Didn't anybody ever think that two women could just be friends?
Platonically?
	"Ukyou, you should knock," Rose admonished.
	"Sorry." Ukyou looked at the ex-Dolls, who went back to standing guard
at the door.  "I just... I..." She trailed off slowly and shrugged. Rose sighed.
Pluto merely looked between them. Ukyou was staring at Rose. Her eyes were
unreadable, but her posture was not. She looked weary... like just being here
tired her in some way.
	Pluto stood up. "Perhaps I should be leaving...?"
	"No, stay," Rose replied, gesturing for her to sit again.
	"I think maybe you and Ukyou need time alone to talk..."
	"We've talked," Ukyou said. "We have reached... an understanding."
	"Understanding?" Pluto looked at Rose. This was the first she had heard
of this.
	Rose rested her elbows on the desk and laced her fingers together. "It's
very simple. Ukyou realises that while we share a genetic relation, the
relationship between us can never be more than allies. Or perhaps not even that.
There is still the lingering question of the prophecy to deal with."
	That hung over everyone's head for a few minutes. Pluto wasn't certain,
but she thought she saw Ukyou wince. It was hard to read the woman's expression.
	"You were saying something when I came in," Ukyou changed the subject
clumsily. "Is it anything I should know about?"
	"Perhaps..." Rose floated the letter across the room to Ukyou, who took
it. "Tethys has sent us an offer of help."
	"The same way Chronos did?" Ukyou said coldly.
	"Hard to say," Pluto replied.
	"Are you going to accept it?" Ukyou replied, equally coldly.
	"What you mean is, are we loyal to Tethys and her interests, or to the
people of Thailand?" Rose retorted bluntly. Ukyou glanced at her sharply. "I
never asked for this responsibility, Ukyou. Merely because I share Bison's
genetic legacy, and am currently the focal point of the psychopower that is
keeping many in this nation from dying, does not mean I enjoy either. Why
shouldn't I turn the stewardship of these people to someone more capable and
willing than I?" Rose stood up, her voice slowly rising. "Tethys isn't that bad
a person, Ukyou. In her Kingdom there are hundreds of thousands... millions of
refugees. She saved them from certain doom again and again from many nations of
the world. She has done a lot of good, giving these peoples homes, jobs... a
purpose."
	"What purpose is that?" Ukyou growled out.
	"She says she want to put an end to the chaos. To the constant
fighting."
	"And you believe her?" Ukyou replied.
	"Why don't you?"
	"She tried to kill me."
	"So did I."
	"I haven't forgotten that."
	Pluto felt the need to step in at that point. Rose was almost glowing
with power and the air flowing from Ukyou was so cold it chilled Pluto's exposed
legs. She stood up between them. "Ladies. Perhaps we can take a few moments to
cool off. There are other matters to discuss."
	The two glared at each other for a long moment. Then Ukyou seemed to
deflate and she looked at Pluto. "Pluto... you still have the dreams, right? The
prophecy?"
	"Yes..." Pluto murmured.
	"Where does the final battle take place?"
	"I... I can't say for certain. It's a featureless plain. There is a sky
filled with dark clouds and a hole opens in them..."
	"I see..." Ukyou looked out the window for a moment. "Does the phrase
'where dreams go to die' mean anything to you?"
	Pluto frowned. "No. Not really." She paused. "Why?"
	"No reason." Ukyou started towards the door. She looked at Rose one last
time. "If you need..." she trailed off again, and for a moment Pluto saw her
mask slip. Pluto expected to see anguish there, or maybe anger... something
strong. But instead, Ukyou just looked weary. Then the cold mask was back again,
and she was gone.
	"Perhaps..." Pluto looked at her companion. "Perhaps it wouldn't hurt,
if you..."
	"What? Played the daughter?" Rose snorted. "There is nothing between us,
Pluto. And I can't afford to get close to her. One day, I may be forced to kill
her. Feelings would only get in my way."
	Pluto had no response to that.

*

	Rei wanted to say that what was going on at the windowsill was strange.
There was an octopus, a tiny little one with a big cute head and tiny little
tentacles, wearing a bandana with the rising sun of Japan on it; and it was in
the middle of a kung fu duel with a purple mouse/monkey thing wearing a white
gi. She just stared at them as they tumbled back and forth, throwing up little
clouds of dust and threatening to overturn the flower vases. Every time they
did, Katsuhito would absently reach up and set the things right, seemingly
without even noticing what he was doing.
	Really, however, she had long ago learned to live with strange. Years
spent living with Washuu Hakubi had altered her very concept of the word
strange. Animals having a vicious little battle on the windowsill without anyone
else in the room noticing except her? Par for the course, these days.
	"This isn't going well, is it?" Mamoru said. He had removed his sniper
rifle from under his cloak and was cleaning it. Fevrier was sitting next to him,
just staring at the ceiling. Marz and Satsuki stood in the far corner, talking
softly. Akane...
	Akane was standing in the centre of the room, holding a pair of strange
crystals in her hand. They were the size of hen's eggs, shaped like diamonds.
They glowed yellow and aquamarine as Akane spun them around in her hand. They
made little clacking sounds as she did so.
	"There has to be something we're missing," Akane said softly.
	"What?" Rei sighed. "We've been over this town, top to bottom. It's been
two weeks. I hate to say this, Akane, but..."
	"Everyone here is happy," Fevrier pointed out.
	"Yes, they are." Katsuhito gave a small smile. "But then again,
ignorance is bliss."
	"It's more than that," Fevrier pointed out. "Even if they didn't have
Chronos to worry about, people are still people. They make themselves miserable,
at least some of them. Jealousy. Intolerance. Hate. When I worked with Bison I
learned all about these emotions, how they lurked in every heart... how to use
them against people. But I haven't seen any of the signs of it here. People here
are genuinely happy."
	"Yes." Mamoru agreed. "It's like a utopia."
	"It's a lie," Akane insisted darkly.
	"So many things we believe in are," Katsuhito pointed out, crossing his
arms and smiling sagely. "Gods. Demons. Fate. Religion. Who are we to say that
their lies are worth less than our lies?"
	"You're sounding like Akio again," Akane said accusingly.
	Katsuhito adjusted his glasses, frowning. "Maybe I do. But are you just
going to call me names, or are you going to answer my question?"
	"What question?" Akane snapped.
	"This entire place may be a lie, but do we have the right to destroy
these people's happiness just because of that?"
	Akane opened her mouth, closed it again, and turned away with a snort.
Rei sighed and looked at the old man. He was such a pain sometimes. True, she
had learned more about fighting from him in the last few years then she had
thought possible, but he had a tendency to be such an... arrogant old fart about
it. Just because he was really hundreds of years older than any of them didn't
mean he had to treat them all like children.
	On the windowsill, the animals now fought it out using flower stems as
bo staffs.
	"So what now?" Mamoru asked.
	"We can't just wait for Sailor Moon to come back," Akane said. "If she's
gone from here, we find out where, and we follow her."
	"That... won't be possible."
	Everyone in the room (except Katsuhito) jumped a little. Rei twisted her
head towards the door, and then down it. The door had slid open fractionally and
sitting in the space between it and the jam was a small black cat with a golden
crescent on her forehead.
	"Luna!" Rei exclaimed. She stepped closer. "I'm glad to see you."
	"I wish I could say the same, Rei."
	Luna's tone brought Rei up short. Everyone else was staring at the
little talking cat. Marz even pointed at it and exclaimed. "Did that cat just
talk?"
	"You have a problem with a talking cat, but not a kung fu octopus?" Rei
replied dryly.
	"What octopus?" Marz replied.
	"Luna..." Akane broke in, kneeling in front of the moon cat. "So, have
you found happiness here, too?"
	Luna looked up at Akane for a moment. "No. Akane. I have not."
	"You still have your own mind?"
	"Akio doesn't take away your mind, Akane." She snorted. "He merely gives
you choices." She looked at the girl, then her eyes narrowed. "Akane. Why are
you carrying around the souls of two Sailor Senshi in your pocket?"
	Rei snapped her eyes to the short-haired woman. Akane looked down at
Luna, and sighed. "They were entrusted to me, Luna. Sailor Uranus and Sailor
Neptune. They died in the battle in Tokyo, seven years ago. They found their way
to me, and I've been looking after them ever since."
	"I see..." Luna frowned. "You should leave too, Akane. It's not safe
here for you. Either you or Rei."
	"I can resist Akio," Akane insisted.
	"No. I'm not worried about him. I'm worried about Sailor Moon."
	"Sailor Moon?" Rei gasped. "Why would we have to worry about her?"
	Luna glanced up at the two of them. "Because Usagi believes she doesn't
need the help of the Senshi anymore. She thinks that she has to protect them
from themselves. You've met Ami and Makoto... that was Usagi's doing, not
Akio's. She convinced them to abandon their powers. You should leave..."
	"No," Akane insisted. "We need to see her. We need to know what she's
been doing for the last seven years."
	"You won't like the answer, Akane."
	"I'm sick of people telling me that," Akane snapped. "If I don't, then I
don't. Just take me to her."
	"Very well."

*

	Akira knew something was unusual almost instantly. Yet her hands
continued working. She was ratcheting at the bike, making certain everything was
secure. She had begun to whistle. She never whistled. But she did then, and the
tune was hauntingly familiar. She liked it, and it frightened her.
	The parking garage seemed to stretch out. The walls receded into
shadows. The concrete columns bent slightly on the edge of her vision, the gaps
between them widening and widening even as the pillars themselves seemed further
away. Akira knew they weren't, that it was a trick of the eye, but she couldn't
dismiss the feeling that she was... somewhere else now.
	She continued whistling and wasn't at all surprised when a feminine leg
drifted into her line of sight. The leg was covered in white spandex, or some
material very much like it. Akira ceased whistling and followed that leg up its
length to its owner. She wore a skintight outfit, but barely was worth it
considering how pubescent her body was. Her legs were crossed and she sat back
on the seat of the bike Akira was assembling. Her hands, the tops covered by the
large gauntlets with their strange red jewels, rested on her knees. Her white
hair flared out around her head and the glittering symbol on her forehead
sparkled in the half-light. She smiled at Akira. Her eyes were... calm. Serene.
	Utterly insane.
	"You took a long time coming back," Akira said. She had meant to demand
who she was, what she was doing, but that felt better to say, so she said it
instead.
	"You missed me?" the girl said, her smile widening. It appeared almost
comical. Akira giggled.
	"No. I didn't. I'd hoped you were a dream."
	The girl reached down and pinched Akira's arm. The pain was sharp, but
brief. Akira shook the arm. The woman was leaning down close to her now. She
smelled... there was no way to describe her smell. It was every pleasant thing
Akira had ever smelt in her life. It was flowers and baking bread and summer
grass and fresh grease and the open road and...
	"You're very good at this." The girl pulled away suddenly, and Akira
shook the fog from her head. The girl was looking at the bike now. "You
certainly know how things fit together."
	"It's a knack," Akira replied. She leaned forward and began her work
again. She wanted to scream, to do something... but she found she didn't want
to enough to actually do so.
	"No. It isn't." The girl slid off the seat and was behind Akira now. She
leaned over her shoulder and pointed to the engine. "You know because you saw.
You saw how it all fit together. Someone showed you. That's how you know."
	"You're right." Akira continued working. "It's very simple, once you're
shown how it all fits together."
	"All the pieces, fitting seamlessly together." The girl ran a finger
along the machines's frame. "Carburetor, sparkplug, exhaust... each of them
looks like a separate thing, doesn't it?"
	"But they're all part of the same thing..." Akira murmured. "It just
looks like they aren't. But really, when you take the right angle... it is all
one thing. All of it."
	"Yes." The girl slid around in front of Akira again. Akira opened her
mouth to scream, but found herself smiling instead. "Ahura Mazda..." She cupped
Akira's chin. "The great spirit chose you. Vessel of god. Fetich soul. Or did
you choose yourself? Hard to say, isn't it?"
	"Excuse me?"
	"Do you think trying to leave will take you away from her?" the woman
smiled. "You will always be a part of her now. You always were. It all fits
together. You just realised it more than someone else. So now... you have it
inside you. That part of her."
	Akira felt like her head was swimming. The woman was leaning forward
now. There was almost nothing separating them. Her face was a millimeter from
Akira's. As she spoke, Akira could almost feel the movement of her lips.
	"The part she doesn't like. The part she hates. All the doubt. All the
things that don't fit together neatly." The girl's irises began to shrink.
"Quite a paradox, to be god and be mortal too. She can't handle it... no one
can. That's why we exist. All those horrible things, that they don't want to
see... that's what we are for. To see them. To experience the truths they deny."
	Akira fell back, she waved her hand in front of her. "What.. are you..."
	"But that was their mistake," The girl crept forward on hands and knees,
crawling over top of Akira. "We are an inconvenient truth, but you can force
them to acknowledge it. You can. You have seen what she needs to see. You must
show her."
	"Show her what?" Akira demanded.
	"Why... the Oversoul, of course." The girl's eyes glittered with
madness. "The stuff that dreams are made of. You've seen it." She lowered
herself on top of Akira. "And together...
	"You can make it die."
	Akira screamed and kicked up. The girl looked startled for a moment, as
the blow sent her flying into the ceiling. The concrete cracked around her.
Akira kicked to her feet and looked at the woman with a growl. "Never!"
	The girl laughed and clapped. "Oh... oh joy. You're so close. I can
almost taste it!"
	"Who are you? What do you want?"
	The girl smiled. "The trigger of destruction."
	And then, when Akira blinked, she was gone. Akira looked around her. The
world had returned to normal. She looked up. The ceiling was still cracked. A
piece of stone fell at her feet. Akira shuddered, feeling suddenly very cold.

*

	Akane had come, and Rei had come with her. Strangely enough, Mamoru had
insisted on joining them, but the three ex-Dolls had seemed fine with allowing
him to go on his own. The others had remained at the hotel. Akane didn't like
the idea of breaking up the group again, but Luna insisted that where they were
going a large crowd of people - heavily armed people, at that - wouldn't go over
well. Once they reached the hospital, Akane had to agree somewhat.
	The moon cat led them downstairs, to the basement. Past a number of
twists and turns until they were in a lonely room near the back of the building.
In this room, there was a girl.
	She was pale, like she hadn't been outside in a long time. She had hair
the colour of sunlight, but it hung limply around her. She was lying,
unconscious but not asleep on a simple hospital bed. Her body was covered up to
her neck, with her bare arms resting on the sheets. Wires and tubes stitched
across her exposed flesh, leading to machines that pumped and beeped and hissed.
There was a tube down her mouth, and one up her nose.
	"Nanami!" Rei gasped at seeing her. She rushed into the room, placing a
hand on the girl's brow. "What... what happened to her?"
	"Something terrible," Luna stated. She leapt up onto the bed with feline
grace and sat down just beyond the reach of the comatose girl's fingers.
	"Who is this?" Mamoru asked. Akane frowned. Hadn't all the Sailor Senshi
been accounted for? This couldn't be another one, could it?
	"Her name is Nanami Kiryuu," Rei explained. "She was... a strange girl
I knew when I used to go here. We didn't talk much. I know her brother vanished
some years ago and she was eager to find him..."
	"And that's where things went wrong for her," Luna said. "Nanami's
desire to find her brother was such a pure and beautiful dream that it attracted
the attention of the guardian of Elysium, the world of dreams."
	"Elysium?" Akane asked.
	"Hmmm. Think of it as a sort of psychic plane, Akane." Luna looked at
the girl. "All human thoughts, all human experiences are connected. We share a
connected unconsciousness. Elysium is the physical manifestation of that
unconsciousness. It is a world where thoughts, dreams and nightmares compose the
physical reality."
	"It's a spiritual pathway," Mamoru broke in suddenly. "It connects all
realms, all places, all realities. Powerful beings would use it to traverse the
cosmos across gulfs impassable by lesser magics. It was also used as a prison.
Objects and beings too dangerous to be allowed loose in the real world were
imprisoned in Elysium, trapped by the collective will of all humanity where few
could reach it.
	"There was a guardian, a protector of the realm, appointed by the people
of Earth to keep the realm of dreams from being defiled. Because even as our
dreams feed it, so too does it touch all of us. To lose it, would be to lose
everything."
	Silence descended on the room. "How did you know that?" Luna asked
breathlessly.
	"I don't know... it just..." Mamoru shrugged. "I just knew it."
	"Not even we have figured out all of the secrets of Elysium, and we've
been fighting it for two years now."
	"Fighting it?" Akane asked.
	"Yes." Luna bowed her head. "Seven years ago, something wounded the very
nature of Elysium. It changed from a world of dreams to a dead world. It
became... Oblivion."
	"Oblivion..." Akane hissed. She'd heard the word, of course. Few had not
heard of the Messiah of Silence and her quest. Akane had a far more personal
grudge against the forces of Oblivion. It was their cult which had almost
destroyed Tokyo, which had been the spark that lit the powderkeg.
	"Yes. Utter annihilation. The end of all things. Call it what you will,
but it exists now in that place. Slowly consuming the dreams of humanity one
thought at a time."
	"So what does this have to do with Nanami?" Rei asked.
	"She was... contacted by the guardian of the dream world, as I said."
Luna continued, "He needed to warn the world of the danger. So he came here, to
find Sailor Moon. He can't exist outside of the dream world, or a suitable pure
human dream. He had almost reached Sailor Moon... when Chris found him."
	"Chris..." Rei snarled.
	"Yes. The same one," Luna sighed. "He... tore out Nanami's soul. He
ripped out the very power that sustained the guardian, the Golden Crystal. He
left her a vegetable and went on his way. Why? Who can say?" Luna shook her
head.
	"Another innocent he has to pay for," Rei growled.
	Akane stared at the girl on the bed. Then she looked at Luna. "So,
Sailor Moon knows about this?"
	"Yes. That's what she's been doing, Akane. She's been holding off
Oblivion. She journeys to that world, and uses her power to hold back the
darkness for another day. Without her, we would all have perished years ago."
	"Bullshit," Akane snarled. Luna blinked. The others stared at her. Akane
clenched her fists. "Why didn't she stop this, Luna?"
	"Stop Oblivion? Because, Akane, it's too-"
	"I mean this!" Akane gestured towards the comatose girl again. "This
tragedy! She could have kept Chris from doing it! Why didn't she?"
	"Akane, that isn't fair, she didn't know-" Luna began, but again Akane
cut her off.
	"Akio knew. He knew and he did nothing." Akane glared at the body in the
bed. "Because... because this Guardian would have been a threat to him?" Akane
nodded, it sounded right. "A creature from the world of dreams. Yes. It could
have threatened his hold on this town. He ALLOWED this to happen."
	"We already know Akio is scum, Akane..." Mamoru started but trailed off
at the look on Akane's face.
	"But don't you see?" Akane said. "Sailor Moon knows all this, too. She
KNOWS."
	Suddenly Akane was running. She heard the shouts of the others following
her, but they were drifting backwards. She sprinted up the stairs and out of the
hospital. She dashed between the smiling and laughing people, across the
immaculate streets and around the pristine roses. She dashed onto the campus and
straight towards the Chairman's Tower.
	Her hand reached up and clutched the Star Seeds again. She clutched them
until they bit into her flesh, drawing blood. Akane ran, ignoring the elevator
and looking for the stairs. For a moment, the room seemed to swim around her,
like she was seeing double. It was clear the only way up the tower was the
elevator, so why didn't she take it? But she knew that was HIS game. That's what
they had been doing since they had gotten here. Playing his game.
	Playing games. Toying with their hearts, with their emotions. Offering
them happiness, if only they gave in, stopped resisting. Typical MAN. Akane was
familiar with people thinking they knew best for her. People trying to enforce
their will on hers. People who thought they knew best.
	It pissed her off. She reached down inside herself and found that anger.
That righteous rage, it filled her. It was like an old friend, coming back. She
had never really grown out of it, just learned to control it, to harness it, to
unleash it only when appropriate. Now was that time.
	Seven years ago, she had defied the will of God. She would defy the will
of Akio, too.
	And with that, the room snapped back into focus, and she saw the door
leading to the stairs. She ran up the flights, taking them three steps at a
time. She kicked out at the top, knocking the door off its hinges. It spiralled
into the room and clattered to the ground. Akane threw off her cloak and walked
into the room. Her hand reached down and settled on the swords tucked into her
belt.
	Akio was waiting for her, of course. He stood in the middle of the room,
between two couches facing each other. He was wearing a white suit, a military
outfit with golden cords and elaborate epaulets. Standing behind him and to his
left was a young woman with purple hair done up in a series of buns. She wore a
red dress and stood with her hands clasped in front of her, fingers pointed at
the ground.
	"Really, Miss Tendo, you only had to knock," Akio said, smiling.
	"Shut up," Akane said, starting forward.
	"Is this your answer, Miss Tendo? Violence?" Akio tsked. "What will that
solve? Prove that you can beat me up? That you can hurt me?" He smiled at her.
"Will that make you happy, Miss Tendo? Striking down a man who doesn't raise a
hand to defend himself?"
	Akane looked around. The room was spinning again. It was like there were
two rooms, no... hundreds of rooms. This place was not just an observatory, it
was also an arena, it was also a garden, it was also an upside down castle,
floating in the sky.
	"This ends here, Akio." She warned him. "No more words. I'm putting an
end to your paradise."
	"What do you have against it, Miss Tendo?" Akio mused. "Is it the fact
that the people here are happy? That they live lives of freedom, freedom from
Chronos, freedom from hatred and malice? Or..." His smile became hard. "Is it
because you hate that I can give them what you can not? My world gives these
people the safety you can never offer. I can restore the Dolls to their former
selves. I can free Mamoru. I can do all this, all those things you never could."
He chuckled. "I can even clean up your messes. Who was it, do you think, who
nearly destroyed Elysium? You trapped a being of incarnate destruction in the
barrier between worlds, and you did not think that would ever come back to haunt
you?"
	Akio started towards her. He was real, Akane realised. He was one of the
few constants. One of the things that never changed. Him and the woman. And
Akane. And one other thing.
	"We are all free to make choices, Miss Tendo. But we must also face the
consequences of those choices. What have I done that is so evil? I allowed one
girl to be harmed. But what have you done? How many people have suffered because
of you, Miss Tendo?" He was almost next to her now. "The mass extinction was not
caused by me. YOU did that. It was YOU that gave Chronos the foothold in your
country. It was YOU who refused the easy solution because of your stubborn
pride. YOU caused it. YOU trapped Pharaoh 90 in Elysium. YOU are the one who
allowed his infection to spread beyond control. YOU are the one who has put not
just Japan, but the whole world... the whole UNIVERSE at risk. All for what?"
	He stopped right in front of her, and looked down at her. His expression
was kind, but his words cut Akane like blades. "How much suffering is your pride
worth, Miss Tendo? How many more people will die because you must force your
morality on others? Is that all you fight for? This mad insistence that you,
somehow, are right? Why do you even fight... Akane?"
	He reached and put a hand on her shoulder and her arm slumped.
"Because..." She looked up into his eyes. There, she saw it, the arrogance. The
certainty that he had already won. Without lifting a blade, he had cut her down.
He was so certain. So insufferably RIGHT. The anger leapt in Akane again.
"Because no matter the cost... no matter what... EVIL MUST BE OPPOSED!"
	Akane roared and her blade flashed out. The silver streaked through the
air as she drew live steel. Akio fell back, gasping. But he was not her target.
The one other thing in the room that was real was. The machine, the giant
projector machine. Akane couldn't tell how she knew it was the source of all the
illusions, she just did. Her blade struck it and Akane released all her chi
through the cut. It blazed scarlet. The machine bisected, the edges of the
metal glowing orange as they were reduced to molten metal by the heat of her
blade's passage.
	For a moment, the machine stood there, defying gravity as its halves
slid apart. Then, Akane struck again, and the machine exploded. The explosion
smelled of human blood, and when the smoke cleared, Akane stood atop the
chairman's tower. The ceiling had been blown clear off, revealing the evening
sky. She stepped back, and sheathed her blade as the pieces of the machine
rained down around her. A sudden wind, cold and sharp with the scent of winter,
blew across them,
	There was nothing left of the room now, except Akane, Akio and the
strange girl. And there was a door. It was a gate, a stone gate carved with
roses.
	"What have you done?" Akio gasped. The explosion had knocked him off his
feet.
	"I've put an end to your dream," Akane informed him coldly.
	"Idiot girl!" Akio climbed to his feet. "That machine was this place's
protection!"
	"I know..."
	And, as if on cue, in the distance there was an explosion. Akane turned
to see the scarlet globe erupting in the waterfront. She was not surprised,
except by the speed of their response. But then again, Reichmann Gyro had been
looking for this place for seven years. Why would he hesitate now, when his
objective had finally been flushed into the open?

*

	Rose tapped her foot, raising an eyebrow. Cracker Jack adjusted the brim
of his hat, his eyes hidden from sight. The woman before him may have looked a
lot like Bison had towards the end, but she certainly wasn't Bison. For one, she
wore sensible clothes. A skirt that came down to her knees, a coat that came up
to her neck. It was a very tight skirt and coat, since she was extremely well-
endowed, but it was very sensible. Very businesslike.
	Cracker Jack knew business. Still, he shifted uncomfortably. He was
facing down five very powerful women, and putting his life in their hands. Rose
was, of course, unpredictable. He had no idea how much of Bison remained in her
personality, but it was probably too much for his liking. Then there was the
queen of the underworld, the enigmatic time lady and the biker chick. But he had
one advantage over them.
	They were all a bunch of good guys.
	"Why should we trust you?" Rose asked.
	"Frankly?" He shrugged. "Because I like money, I don't much like hiding,
and I ain't got nowhere else to go."
	"Well?" Rose turned to the short brunette nearby. Nabiki was sitting in
a chair, leaning back and examining Jack over the tops of her knuckles as she
held her laced fingers before her mouth. It made it very hard to read her
expression.
	"He's telling the truth," Nabiki said after a moment.
	"Hey! You don't need to go mind-readin' me."
	"Frankly? Yes we do. You were one of Bison's top men," Nabiki pointed
out.
	"You're lucky we didn't have you thrown in chains the moment you showed
up," Rose growled.
	"Right," Jack smiled. "You ladies need my help. This country is falling
apart without Bison at the helm. Chronos is just chomping at the bit to swallow
it whole, too."
	"You're evil," Rose pointed out.
	"Please. That's 'morally impaired'." Jack grinned.
	"I don't see how we have much choice," the third voice said. Jack turned
to look at her. She was leaning against the wall, almost blending into the
shadows. If you didn't pay attention to her, she practically vanished. Her
inhuman black lotus eyes stared coldly at Jack. "He may be scum, but better he
be our scum than end up throwing his hat in with one of the petty warlords or
Chronos."
	At that point the door opened with a loud bang.
	"Hey, everyone, ya gotta see this!"
	They all turned to see Ranma striding into the room. He moved with an
extra special helping of pride today, his face cracked nearly in two by an
enormous shit-eating grin. He didn't so much walk as strutted. At his side was
one of the Dolls, coming up to only his shoulder. Juni moved robotically, but
with a certain sensual grace, like she always did.
	"This is totally awesome," Ranma told them all. "Oh, hey Jack."
	"Ranma," Cracker Jack tipped his hat slightly.
	"How's your leg?"
	"Healed up. Your face?"
	"Let's ask the ladies." Ranma turned his grin on the ladies in the room.
"What do you think, girls? My face all healed back up to its lady-killing
glory?"
	Ukyou chuckled. Rose merely glared. Nabiki and Pluto exchanged a glance
but said nothing. The fifth girl in the room raised an eyebrow. She was standing
near the window, hands laced behind her back. "I've seen better," Akira said.
	"Ah, whadda you know? You like chicks. Not that I don't also make a
sexy chick, but you have no appreciation for my manly attraction."
	"If there is some reason..." Rose began, but Ranma cut her off.
	"Oh, that's right!" Ranma turned to the German Doll. "Juni, what is...
say... Cracker Jack's battle power?"
	"Cracker Jack's battle power is currently 1789," Juni replied
mechanically. Ranma turned around and grinned at them all, raising his eyebrows
a few times as if this was the best thing ever. Even Cracker Jack just stared at
him.
	"Uh... what?" Ukyou said.
	"It's awesome, Ucchan. This girl can read battle auras and assign a
value to them!" Ranma patted the Doll on the shoulder. "I wish I'd had one of
these years ago. It's like... it's like keeping score!"
	"Keeping score?" Pluto snorted. "Men."
	"Watch this! Juni, what is my battle power?"
	"Ranma Saotome's battle power is 3004," the girl answered promptly.
	"Hah!" Ranma pointed at Jack. "See that? In your face!"
	"Kid, you already beat me up. You know you're better than me."
	"But now I have an official number!"
	"Juni..." Akira said, leaning forward from the glass. "Just out of
curiosity, what is my battle power?"
	"Akira Kazama's battle power is 3007," the woman said without
inflection.
	"What?" Ranma stared at her. "NO! This can't be right!" He clenched his
fists and growled.
	"Ranma Saotome's battle power has risen to 3011..." the girl said.
	"Yes!" Ranma turned to Akira and pulled down one eyelid while sticking
his tongue out at her. Akira chuckled into her hand, her eyes closing.
	"What about Ukyou?" Everyone looked at Pluto. She, however, was staring
at the sandy-haired young Doll.
	"Ukyou Kuonji's battle power is... infinite," Juni said after a moment.
	"Whoa. Looks like I got some catching up to do," Ranma mused.
	"Yes. Like, all of it," Nabiki pointed out snidely.
	"As much as I hate to break up this amusing moment," Ukyou said,
stepping forward into the light. "I think this is an excellent opportunity."
	"For what? Guessing Arkanphel's battle power?" Rose said flatly,
crossing her arms.
	"No. This is the first time in almost a month we've all been together in
the same place. The brush fires haven't died down but we're in the eye of the
storm, so to speak," Ukyou continued. "Frankly, all this tension is getting to
us. We're all moping around and snapping at each other."
	"So?" Rose grumbled again.
	"I think it's time we took a break. That we made it clear this isn't
like the old order all over again. I think we should all take a day to relax,
invite people over, have a good time."
	Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "What exactly are you suggesting?"
	"Well, to use the words of a woman far wiser than I: 'We saved the
world, I say we party.'"

*

	"Where did it come from?" Ikazuchi asked, his voice nearly drowned out
by the wind.
	"I don't know," ZX-Tole shouted over the roar. The transport was
skimming low over the harbour. The city ahead was beautiful, laid out in neat
lines. The city rose in tiers until one reached what looked like a school, with
a large tower in the centre. Behind the school grew a small forest with large
green trees. ZX-Tole narrowed his eyes.
	The better question was: how had Gyro known it was here? Earlier today,
he had sent their plane into the air and trebled the normal sea patrols in this
region. What had tipped him off about this city, hidden somehow from the eyes of
Chronos until now? ZX-Tole was used to not knowing everything that was going on,
but sometimes Gyro seemed to have access to information that made ZX-Tole
wonder...
	The waterfront was in flames. Aquatic zoanoids had climbed out of the
water and were wreaking havoc, destroying everything in their path. The humans
were offering no resistance. They were being cut down in the streets like sheep,
or running screaming towards the upper parts of the city. The plane skimmed low
over the rooftops and ZX-Tole was able to look right down into the carnage.
	He hissed and braced himself, before turning to his team. "Remember your
orders. Wipe it out. All of it. Leave nothing alive. Level every building to the
ground." He turned back to the open door. "Everyone, transform!"
	ZX-Tole leapt from the plane just as it passed over a large open square.
He felt the transformation surge through his body, the power of it exploding
through his nerves like lightning. For a moment, his body was covered in flames
as the power ripped apart his clothing. Then he landed in the centre of the
street with a loud crack, his insectile feet sending tiny fissures across the
cobblestones.
	Two more cracks signalled the arrival of Derzerb and Red Cyclone right
in front of him. Derzerb had already changed into his battle form, resembling
nothing so much as a grey-skinned upright rhinoceros. Red Cyclone had even
transformed, which was rare unless ZX-Tole ordered it directly. Neo-zoanoid
transformations were slightly less spectacular than those of their hyper-zoanoid
cousins. Much of the huge muscled Russian body had not changed. He had gained a
foot of height, allowing him to tower even over Derzerb with ease. His skin had
taken on the colour of a forest fire, mottled with reds and oranges, and also
acquired the texture of alligator hide. Huge vents had opened up in the back of
his shoulders and hips, from which great gouts of steam were spilling out.
	"I am... RED CYCLONE!" the massive humanoid roared, before taking a few
steps forward to grab a bus with both hands. He lifted it up over his head with
the ease most people would an air mattress and hurled it through the air. The
people in the bus screamed, their voices suddenly cutting off as the vehicle
erupted into flames, blasting apart the front of a nearby building.
	"HA! I like the way you think!" Derzerb called in his rumbling baritone.
He reached out, tearing a pair of street signs from the ground with enough force
they pulled thick divots from the ground. He spun them like batons, flinging
them down the street. One cut a running man in two, the other just missed a
screaming woman, instead cutting a huge hole through the front window of a candy
store.
	There was a crack and a boom as Ikazuchi landed on top of a three story
building. His landing blew the windows out all across the neighbourhood. His
blue and purple body glowed as he gathered electrical energy around his hands
from the strange organs in his arms and legs. He frowned, holding a ball of
concentrated power in his palm for a second. Then, instead of unleashing it
against more fleeing civilians, he turned and unleashed it against another
building across the street. The blast cored the building, sending great clouds
of flame and ash out of the doors and windows.
	The civilians' reprieve was short-lived. The air suddenly filled with a
high-pitched hum and then Thancrus landed among them. His arms twirled around
him, almost poetically, and the people stopped running. Thancrus chuckled as he
walked out of the group seconds before their bodies burst apart in sprays of
gore that painted the sidewalks red.
	ZX-Tole stared on impassively. His orders were clear. The armour on his
forearms, legs and chest flipped back, the chitin exposing the deadly red irises
of his bio-lasers. This was not what he was for. He was a soldier, meant to
fight other soldiers. This was beneath him. This slaughter of people proved
nothing, accomplished nothing. But Gyro was a zoalord. ZX-Tole couldn't have
disobeyed him if he wanted to. He hissed, a sound that became an insectile buzz,
and braced himself.
	Then his lasers fired off, sweeping across the town. Buildings went up
like candles, bodies burst like heated balloons, their remains vapourising
before the victims even had a chance to scream. In one salvo he had reduced ten
city blocks to a deadly inferno. He turned to his team, the Elite Five. The best
of the best. He was on the verge of ordering them forward when the air cracked
with the report of a rifle going off. ZX-Tole gave out a cry of pain and backed
up a step, swinging his left arm up. A stream of blood poured from what had once
been one of his lasers, but was now a bloody hole.
	He looked around and saw the sniper. A figure in black, standing on a
building just to the side of the area ZX-Tole had immolated. ZX-Tole recognized
the man. So... THAT was why they were here.
	"ZX-Tole!" ZX-Tole swung his gaze back and he saw her. She was standing
in front of the fire, like she had walked through them without a care. She wore
a yellow blouse and blue vest with a skirt that came to mid-thigh. Under it she
wore a black bodystocking. Her hands rested on the pair of swords she had
sheathed in her belt.
	"Akane Tendo!" Ikazuchi said, leaping down from his perch. "I knew we
would meet again, my fiery destiny! Have you finally come to accept your future
by my side, as part of the great design of Arkanphel, as part of the honourable
strength of Chronos?"
	"Great design? Honourable strength?" Akane looked around her, her lips
pulling back from her teeth. "Is this your honour? Slaughtering woman and
children? Killing the helpless? IS IT!?"
	"A soldier obeys his orders," ZX-Tole told her, his voice buzzing but
somehow coming out heavy.
	She looked at him. Her eyes narrowed. "I'm sick of this war, ZX-Tole.
I'm sick of running away while your people butcher whoever they want. I'm sick
of lies and half-truths and compromises." With a steely hiss she drew both her
blade, and assumed a fighting stance. "Let's finish this. One way, or another!"
	"Well, the orders said to kill everyone!" Thancrus shouted, charging
her. Then he leapt aside as a blast of flame smashed into the ground just in
front of him. He looked aside at the woman who was now standing on the other
side of the square. Her long black hair blew in the wind and in her hands was a
bow made out of flame; she was already drawing another fiery bolt across it.
	ZX-Tole scanned the square. They were surrounded. The sniper up on the
roof was on one side, with three woman in black outfits coming out of the
alleys beside him. One carried a pair of handguns, another a long sharp blade,
the third had only her fists. And behind them was an old grey-haired man in
blue-grey hakama and a white shirt. He smiled at ZX-Tole, waving impudently with
his free hand. The other carried a wooden sword.
	The orders had been explicit. While it was anatomically impossible, ZX-
Tole wanted to smile. THIS was what he had been designed for. "Kill them. All of
them."
	And the city became a battleground.

*

	Rei leapt backward, twisting through the air. Her hands blurred,
launching bolt after bolt of pure flame towards her enemies. She had lived with
Katsuhito and Washuu for years. They had helped her to discover the hidden
depths of her power. They had taught her how to use it in ways she hadn't
imagined. She moved without thinking, the flames exploding from her finger tips
with the speed of a machine gun. It was like fire was raining from the sky.
	The Elite Five scattered, unwilling to be caught in the inferno the town
square had suddenly become. She saw the blue-skinned one and the one that had
swords for hands bound off in one direction, and the huge black bug and the
giant red man go off in the other. Which left just...
	She was just landing on an untouched roof when he burst from the flames.
The flowed around him like water, not even singing his body. And he was
laughing.
	"I remember you, little girl!" the monster roared and smashed headfirst
into the building she was on. The entire structure shuddered as his bulk
threatened to tear it in two. Rei flipped sideways, off the building and fell
to the ground. Her hands flickered again and she drilled three shafts of plasma
right into his side. They exploded, obscuring him in smoke and sparks for a few
seconds. But his laughter emerged seconds before he did.
	"It is you..." Rei said, breathless.
	The thing took a step forward. "Don't you remember me? I'm immune to
flame! You can't hurt me!" Rei hesitated and the thing's animal face twisted
into a parody of a grin. Its inhuman yellow eyes narrowed in glee. "Are you
going to run again, little girl? Run and leave your friends to die? Just like
you left your grandfather?"
	For a moment, everything stopped. There was just the sound of Rei's
heartbeat. Then she stepped forward, lowering her hands to her side. The flaming
bow vanished. "I'm not going to run from you."
	"Then... I'll tear you apart!" The thing charged and Rei raised one
hand, turning slightly sideways.
	It was laughing as it came and Rei stood, implacable, to meet it. It
bent its head, its twisted horn dipping low to the ground as it came in to meet
her. Rei remained steady until the last possible moment. Then she moved back one
step and brought her hand down just behind its horn. She twisted, pivoting,
putting all of her enhanced strength behind it. The beast was huge, it was
massive... but it had no idea that momentum could work against it as easily as
for.
	With a loud cry it slipped from the ground and rocketed past Rei,
spinning end over end before it crashed into a building. The entire facade
imploded, collapsing in on the beast. Rei smiled. Katsuhito hadn't just taught
her how to use her powers.
	There was a roar and the thing burst from the rubble, uninjured. Rei
turned to face it again. "You think you can hurt me with simple tricks, little
girl?" it hissed, its eyes blazing with rage.
	"Let's find out," Rei responded.

*

	Fevrier knew they were in trouble the moment the two zoanoids came at
them. One of the Elite Five, they may have been able to handle between the four
of them. Might. Two was odds that she knew were suicide. What was Akane
thinking, attacking them head on like this? She was a better tactician than
that. They had to use hit and run, or better yet just run.
	But in the distance, Fevrier could hear the cries of the wounded. Seven
years ago, she wouldn't have cared. Just more collateral damage. Just more
statistics. Now... now she cursed as she tumbled through the air, the magazines
from her handguns ejecting slowly. She had already knocked the reloads from her
belt and she caught them in mid-air before slamming them in place by cracking
the grips of the weapons together. She was firing again before she hit the
ground.
	Thancrus laughed as he dashed sideways, his bladed hands slashing out in
both directions. Fevrier could see the ripple in the air as the soundwave he
produced caught the bullets, then a second later the hypercore rounds exploded.
Fevrier unloaded both clips into him, unloading them so fast the bangs became a
steady roar and not even one bullet came anywhere near him.
	But she wasn't trying to hit him.
	Satsuki emerged from the shadows behind him, a streak of black against
the flames of the burning city. Her steel blade came up, a silver shadow.
Thancrus somehow spun, catching her blade with his own. She was knocked back,
flipping in mid-air and landing on her feet. Her katana vibrated.
	"That... that weapon isn't steel! I would have destroyed it," Thancrus
declared petulantly.
	"We got upgrades," Fevrier informed him. He turned to look at her, just
as she dropped the useless pistols. She plucked the two strange-looking handguns
Washuu had given her. The air filled with white light as she unleashed bolts of
energy the shape of hen's eggs from the barrels. Thancrus might have blinked,
had he the capacity. He raised one hand, trying to parry the energy bolts with a
wall of sound. The blasts pelted through his field without resistance, and the
impacts erupted up his body.
	The modified hyper-zoanoid staggered back under the onslaught. Fevrier
frowned. She had seen these things put a hole the size of a watermelon in five-
foot-thick concrete. Apparently sound control wasn't the limit of his
modifications. Satsuki dashed behind him, her alien-alloy blade slashing
crosswise. He gasped and collapsed backward as the svelte ninja girl turned to
face him. Blood dripped from her weapon. Fevrier held up her guns for a moment
as the thing fell to the ground.
	"We can hurt you," Satsuki informed him.
	"Maybe you can..." the thing hissed as it rose to one knee. "But all
you've really managed to do is make me angry!"
	Moving on instinct alone Fevrier leapt, Satsuki only a fraction of a
second behind. It was almost too late. The hyper-zoanoid gestured with one claw
and the alley they were in exploded, the sound waves ripping apart the walls and
floor and turning it into a deadly shower of jagged rubble. Seven years ago
their jumps would have taken them to the top of the building, but now they
barely got a third of the way up.
	So they improvised, turning the sides of the alley into springboards,
triangle-jumping up and again and again, crisscrossing three times as they
bounced higher and higher into the air. Just beneath their heels the walls
exploded as Thancrus extended his deadly sonic assault, chasing them into the
air. Then they were into open air and there was no more up to go.
	Fevrier cursed and spun in mid-air, twisting her guns underneath her. A
rain of white pellets slashed down into the exploding alleyway. She heard more
than saw Thancrus dodge out from beneath them. Unfortunately, she had no more
upward momentum... then Satsuki grabbed her and the two of them landed on the
roof.
	"Satsuki," Fevrier said softly. "I have a plan..."

*

	Mamoru had grown used to his limits over the years. Once upon a time, he
could leap buildings, fence with superhuman skill and even produce magical
attacks from his fingertips. Then, he had found his life force linked to three
strange, irritating, pig-headed, overly sexual, beautiful fragile young women
and his powers had been gone. At first, he had thought that he could take them
away, allow them to lead the normal lives they had been denied. Maybe even cure
them, some day, so that he could know if they truly cared about him... or were
just forced to by their reliance on his life force.
	But Mamoru Chiba had discovered that he could not stand on the
sidelines. The world was under attack, it needed champions. He had never chosen
to be a champion. He could hardly even remember his past life except as flashes
and dreams here and there. Even much of his time as Tuxedo Kamen was hazy and
indistinct, barely remembered. But he had found that he could not stand by while
people suffered. So... when Akane had found him and asked for his help, he had
given it to her.
	Because while she did not have world shaking power, or the best mind for
tactics or even the most charisma he had ever seen, she had one thing he was
willing to follow her for. She believed. She believed that mankind was worth
saving, that people were worth fighting for, that evil had to be fought no
matter where it was. She believed with a conviction that reminded Mamoru that
even if he had never been chosen, he was a hero. He had to fight, powers or no
powers.
	But damn, sometimes he missed them.
	He jumped to the next building, just managing to clear the gap as the
building behind him exploded into a pillar of shattered wood and flames. He
tucked and rolled, trying not to lose hold of his sniper rifle as he moved. Not
that it did much good. His first bullet had been caught in the neo-zoanoid's
field and melted to slag before it reached him.
	The purple-skinned humanoid set down just in front of him, his aura
burning the shingles of the roof black where it stood. He looked human, with a
handsome human face right down to its tousled 'hair'. The young man in front of
him sneered. "Are you ready to surrender yet, cur? I have no desire to sully my
hands smiting such an insignificant little man."
	Mamoru stood up shakily. His hand reached down to the weapon Washuu had
provided for him. He wondered briefly why she had bothered. He was a sniper. He
was very good at hitting targets from very far away. He was even better than
Fevrier when it came to actually hitting things, rather than just unleashing
indiscriminate destruction.
	Damn, he had to think about her, didn't he? He hoped the other two were
all right. But their only hope was to split up the Elite Five. "I don't think
I'm ready to give up yet," Mamoru said slowly.
	"Do you need another lesson then?" Ikazuchi snapped up his hand, forming
a long thin blade of crackling blue electricity. "A stern reminder of who is
your better?"
	"No, I just needed to delay you a few moments..."
	"Delay me?"
	Then Marz' fist slammed into the back of his head. The young man's eyes
crossed and he staggered forward. Mamoru reacted instantly, bringing his rifle
to bear. He cleared the chamber with a deft flick of his wrist and lined up,
then fired an instant later. The boy barely had no time to react. Marz had
fallen backward, clutching her burned arm, but his aura had whipped around his
body to meet the attack. There was no protection from Mamoru's bullet. The
hypercore round caught him right in the face. The man' head snapped back, and he
staggered.
	Mamoru was already running past him. He dropped his rifle. It was empty,
and would take too long to reload even if he had more hypercore rounds to load
it with. But he was barely paying attention to that. He grabbed Marz around the
shoulder and spun her to face him.
	"Your hand? Are you alright?"
	"I..." She winced. "I am fine... Mamoru dear..."
	"No you're not," he snarled. "You could have blasted your hand off! What
possessed you to do something so stupid? I said distract him, not get yourself
killed..."
	"Mamoru, as much as I like it when you yell at me, perhaps later?" Marz
looked pointedly behind him. Mamoru turned slowly. Ikazuchi was standing there,
rubbing at the small dark circle in the centre of his forehead. He frowned at
Mamoru and Marz.
	"That hurt, you know," he informed them. Then the purple neo-zoanoid
burst forward. His blade formed with a flick of his wrist and it was coming in
at Mamoru high and fast. Mamoru realised he had no chance of dodging, not
something like that and...
	Suddenly he was moving sideways. He realised too late that Marz had
thrown him to the side. Except she didn't follow him. Grabbing him with her
injured hand had forced her to wince in pain. Ikazuchi's blade slammed into her,
and for a moment her body was a black silhouette traced through with lines of
blue light. Then Ikazuchi finished his follow through and landed on his knees
beyond her.
	For a moment, Marz stood there, her eyes slowly closing. Mamoru could
only stare, his mouth going dry. His heart, it was too big for his chest. It
felt like it was going to explode. The woman... the frighteningly direct, the
annoyingly distractible, the amusingly naive in such strange ways... the
precious beautiful woman crumpled to the ground. She wasn't breathing.
	"MARZ!" Mamoru screamed, at her side instantly. He turned her over,
cradling her in his arms. She still wasn't breathing. "Marz! No! No... don't you
die on me!"
	"I... am sorry." Mamoru turned around, his eyes leaking tears. He
blinked in disbelief. The neo-zoanoid was standing there, looking... regretful.
Regretful! How dare he... "I never meant to harm your woman..."
	"You... BASTARD!" Mamoru leapt to his feet, pulling Washuu's weapon from
his belt. It blazed to life, a thick beam of golden light in the form of a
sword. Mamoru didn't understand why she had given him this, but he didn't care.
Moving in a pattern he didn't understand, but knew intimately, Mamoru struck.
	Golden light met blue as Ikazuchi just barely parried the blow. The
monster's eyes widened slightly as Mamoru somehow pushed him back. "My woman...
MY WOMAN!? You monster! I'll kill you!"

*

	Cobblestone shattered as Akane parried one of ZX-Tole's claws, the
impact grounding through her body like thunder and smashing the road to pieces.
She shifted backwards, sliding away from him. He stepped forward into the space,
swinging his arm up again. The next attack she tapped aside with less
difficulty, and the next.
	Then she screamed and stepped into his guard. Her blade flashed and
spun, sparks rolling off his body as the weapon scratched along the length of
his armour. He buzzed and cursed, his body rocking back and forth from the
impact. Finally he shifted sideways, a move that seemed impossible for a
creature of his magnitude, and Akane's blade struck the wall of a local florist.
	The side of the building imploded inwards, and a cloud of flower petals
shot out a second later. ZX-Tole snapped one arm up, the panel on his forearm
opening. Akane leapt, finding purchase on a piece of falling debris. The angry
red blaze of his biolasers carved a path beneath her, and the flower petals
became a storm of fire.
	Kicking off the edge of the roof Akane backflipped over him. She
screamed, focusing all her energy through her blade, and slashed. ZX-Tole
snapped up his free hand, taking the slash on the back of the wrist. Chitin
parted, melting away from the heat of her attack. But not enough to reach the
flesh underneath.
	Then he twisted his wrist, catching her blade between the grooves she
had cut. Wrenching his arm back he tore the weapon from her grasp. Akane landed,
her palms throbbing, but she settled them on the hilt of her remaining weapon.
Then she was screaming again, running in under his guard. The wooden blade sang
from its sheath, flashing upward in a brown blur. The arc caught him just under
the shoulder, in one of the few places his armour was near-nonexistent. There
was a satisfying crack and ZX-Tole jerked back, his segmented red eyes flashing
in alien pain.
	Akane huffed, trying to recover her balance. In that critical moment,
the monster struck. His uninjured arm slipped down like a sledgehammer, catching
her neatly in the temple with the massive black back of his hand. The blow
nearly took her head clean off. She could feel her neck muscles straining and
stars exploded across her vision. She didn't feel herself passing through the
first wall, but the second one registered as her body smashed through brick and
wood before skimming out into the street again.
	She acted on instinct, unable to even really tell what way was up, but
still trying to roll away. Somewhere behind her there was a flash of red light
and the place where she had been exploded. She coughed, blood spattering her
lips, and rose to her feet.
	Akane had been knocked into a new street. The buildings here were
merely aflame, burning away. A quick glance left and right showed that there
was no escape from this section, not without trying to leap over or through
several tonnes of collapsed burning rubble. The building she had come through
was the only passage out, a tunnel of safety. But as she watched, ZX-Tole tore
his way through it, his giant beetle shape ripping through the burning structure
like it was made of paper.
	He still had her sword embedded in the back of his wrist. Akane smirked
and looked down. Somehow she had retained her grip on her bokken. She tried to
firm up her stance, even though her head was ringing and her vision kept
doubling now and then.
	"For what it's worth, Akane Tendo, I am honoured that it will end like
this," ZX-Tole said in his insectile buzz.
	"Don't patronise me," Akane huffed, stepping sideways slowly, and trying
to slim her profile as much as possible.
	"We fight for different causes, but that doesn't mean we don't
understand each other," ZX-Tole informed her. He reached up with his good hand
and swallowed the hilt of her blade in his massive claws. "We are soldiers. We
are leaders of men. You would not allow any of your people to come to harm, and
I feel the same way."
	"But innocent people, they're okay to butcher, right?" Akane sneered.
	"I follow my orders," ZX-Tole said stiffly. He ripped the blade free
with another splash of scarlet blood. Then tossed it into the ground, hard
enough that it sunk into the street nearly to the crossguard.
	"You're wrong if you think we're the same, ZX-Tole," Akane said, and
spat another bit of coppery blood from her mouth. "Because you're a monster,
deep down inside. You kill, and you're good at it. Even under that zoanoid
shell. 'I'm only following orders' is an excuse. If you really had honour, you
wouldn't let this happen!" Akane swung her sword, indicated the devastated city
with the tip of her blade.
	ZX-Tole looked at her