It's been over a year since I started this series, and nearly a year
since I posted the first few parts to the FFML ^_^
Disclaimers: I wrote this, I don't own the characters, who were
created by Takeuchi Naoko, and are owned by others.
I'm just waiting for my Sailor Moon S disks to show up
in Ar Ramadi with the rest of my mail.
--------------------------- cut here --------------------------------
Usagi wakes to find Rei sitting upright, staring at nothing, her
breath hard and fast. `Rei-chan! What's wrong?'
Mamoru stirs on her other side, waking quietly and sitting up, a
concerned look on his face.
`Something's wrong,' Rei says, `In Tokyo, corrupting . . . changing
places, something malevolent.'
`When did it start?'
`Soon. A day or two, I think.'
`Good,' Usagi wraps Rei's hand in hers, `We'll leave in the morning.
OK?'
Rei nods, calmer, and smiles when Usagi pillows her against her
breast.
-
`We can't let you into the country with those,' the customs man says,
waving at the party's openly carried weapons.
Usagi smiles at him, `We are allies of justice, and have magical
nastyness to deal with. You must understand.'
`Let me get the proper forms,' he says, `And try to be less obvious,
or you'll have more hassles.'
-
`Look,' the custom's man said, `She said they were allies of justice,
who had bad things to deal with, and that I should understand, and I did, so I
let them through. You know who it was.'
`Who was it?'
`Queen Serenity of the Dark Kingdom. She could have told me "These
are not the droids you are looking for" and I'd have let them through, but she
didn't. There's been weirdness, monsters, energy-drainings going on for weeks
now, and she'll take care of it.'
The supervisor shakes his head, `Go on back to work.'
-
`Is this it?' Tuxedo Kamen asks, watching the cardian wreck havok.
`No,' Sailor Moon says, `It isn't malevolent, nor are those who are
controlling it. Just,' she pauses, `Hungry.'
Mercury spins, `There,' she points to the top of a nearby building
with her left hand, her right on the butt of her Desert Eagle.
`Right!' Mars leaps, followed by Tuxedo Kamen.
Moon goes to the cardian, her slung M3A2 held to her back with another
strap around her middle, Naginata in her right hand, Mercury covering her from
a safe distance. `Shh,' she says, glowing slightly, and the cardian gets
quiet, then smiles, letting Moon gather it into her arms, amost purring.
The left corner of Mercury's mouth twitches up in an almost
half-smile, and she keeps watch.
`Moon! Cops!' she calls, at the first hint of sirens, `Mars, Tux,
police,' she says into her communicator as Moon and her new friend head for
the rooftops.
-
`It's kinda dumb, ain't it,' Viol, one of the youma who works at the
Embassy, says.
`Yeah,' Usagi smiles, `It's cute, though, and I don't think it's
actually a creature.'
`What do you mean?' Rei asks, stroking the creature's head, which is
pillowed on her lap, `It feels alive, not human-level, but definately alive.'
`I think it's an aspect,' Usagi shrugs, `Of the people we saw earlier.
One or both, I'm not sure, but just a separated part of their whole.'
`That would make sense,' Mamoru says, smiling at Usagi, `Make it
easier to transfer energy they steal, too.'
`Yep. And with us sitting here feeding them happy energy, they should
be less scared next time we see them.'
`How much energy are we talking?'
`About five gallons per hour more than normal,' Ami says, poking at
the display next to the energy crystal.
`Five gallons?' Rei stares at the content cardian in her lap, `Hungry
beast, isn't it.'
-
Usagi rings the bell, naginata gripped lightly in her left hand,
subgun on her back, Ami to her right.
Ami has an AKS slung across her back, the strap, like Usagi's, over
her right shoulder and under her left arm. Her right hand is on her pistol, a
cocked and locked Colt Model 70, the holster's thumb-break unsnapped and her
thumb under the safety.
`Hello,' Usagi greets the girl who answers the door, `We ran into
your creature, day before yesterday, and brought it home with us. We were
wondering if you'd be willing to discuss it with us?'
`Who are you?'
`Tsukino Usagi,' She bows, `Pleased to meet you,' she indicates Ami
with her free hand, `And this is Mizuno Ami-chan.'
Ami bows, but doesn't take her hand from her pistol.
`Ginga Natsumi,' the girl answers, `But you aren't who I saw the other
day.'
`You wouldn't recognize me if I hadn't told you.'
`Natsumi?' a boy's voice calls, `Who is it?'
`They say they are the girls from the other day, who took the
cardian.'
`Oh,' another person joins Natsumi at the door.
`This is Ginga Seijuurou, my brother.'
`Pleased to meet you,' Usagi and Ami chorus, but they bow separately.
The other two look at each other, then step back into their apartment,
`Please, come in.'
Ami and Usagi follow them into a very normal Japanese apartment,
rather small, but adequite for two.
Once inside Usagi steps around Ami, transfering her naginata back to
her left hand as she heads straight for one of the doors inside, then, with a
little whimper, opens it, `So cold,' she murmors, `and so dark. She needs
light, and people,' and, glowing softly, steps through into the pocket.
Reaching the great tree that is the focus of the space, she leans the
naginata up against her neck and wraps it into a hug, and the tree shifts, a
branch coming down to wrap leafy branchlets about the girl.
Ami smiles, and snaps her holster's thumb-break closed.
-
`They've started,' Rei says, softly, as a Dark Kingdom Militia detail
shoos people from the middle of the park.
`Where, and how?' Usagi asks, bringing concerned eyes to her consort,
then smiling at the small crowd gathered outside the red-brown clad ring.
`That way,' Rei points north-west, `and I'm not sure how, just that it
is dark, malevolent, based on suffering.'
`And not the caster's, I assume,' Ami says.
`Right,' Rei says.
`Thought so,' Ami says grimly, then into her Motorola brick phone,
`The site's clear, bring her through.'
With a great flicker of darkness and flash of light, and a faint, deep
groan, the huge tree materializes into the center of the clear area. Her
leaves turn towards the sun, and a soft glimmer shines around her. The crowd
gasps, and presses forward.
`Let them through,' Usagi says, and the Militia unit relaxes from
their tense shoulder-to-shoulder resistance. The crowd stops at a slight,
respectful, distance, then a few children dash up to touch the tree.
One of the youma shifts form, becoming a ten foot tall skeletal form,
with long claws and sharp teeth. The crowd pulls back a bit, but otherwise
accepts him as, if not normal, expected.
He picks a boulder out of a truck on the sidewalk, walks it over near
the tree, and sets it down, adjusting it for a moment before he decides it's
right and reverts to his human form.
An enscription is engraved on a flattened part of the basalt boulder:
Makaiju
A friend of the Dark Kingdom
Brought here for the enjoyment of the children of Tokyo
-
`So, where are they, what do they want, and how are they getting
here?' Ami says, watching as the shattered remains of the magical construct
fade.
`I don't know the first, or the last, but this is a slow-growth
spell,' Rei says, indicating the focus the construct had been guarding, `It's
supposed to leach power over a long period of time, and, when triggered,
release it into a pattern. There's not enough of the pattern to know exactly
what it is, but it's malevolent, and corruptive.'
`So they're going to attack in the future. How long?' Viol asks.
`Years, maybe centuries. If we hadn't arrived when we did, the spell
would have blended into the floor, and we'd never have found it,' Rei says.
`Can we leave it?' Usagi asks, `I mean, will we be able to destroy it
later, even if it's worked its way into things?'
`Yes, but why?' Rei asks.
`If they know we're on to them, they'll be more cautious.'
`We can leave it, for a while, at least.'
`Good.'
-
`They're moving,' Ami says, the printer whining. She pulls the
hardcopy out, `Here.'
Usagi takes it, `Reinforcements?'
`Already moving,' Ami says, `I emailed them right before I printed
the map. They'll start arriving in fifteen minutes.'
`Good,' Rei shrugs out of her submachinegun's sling, sets it down next
to her equipment belt, then holds out her henshin pen, `MARS POWER,'
`MERCURY POWER,'
`MOON PRISM POWER,'
`MAKE UP,' all three of them chorus.
-
Three short-skirted forms slide around the corner, their soles
slipping on the asphault, and continue up the street faster than anything
human should manage.
A few minutes later, a squad of combat-form youma follow, faster than
the traffic, but much slower than the Sailors, their deep red-brown uniforms
fluttering, light machine guns at port arms.
And minutes after that, two JGSDF jeeps, Browning fifty-cal
heavy-barrel machineguns manned, with full ammo boxes, lane-split up the
middle of the road, only slightly faster than the traffic.
-
`There's only two,' Mercury briefs the youma squad leader, a hulking
felinoid with the six-pointed star of a staff sergeant on the tips of her
collar, `One construct and one person, not sure just what kind,'
The squad leader interupts, `Is it the same person as last time?'
`Yes. The constructs seem to be purpose-built, since the last one was
a makeup monster, and this one freezes people.'
`Are we sure they're not just chosen?'
`Yes. They're not alive, and they're expert systems, rather than full
A.I.'
`That makes life easier.'
`Yes, it does. We've hostages in the back, semi-frozen, so be careful
where you shoot. Provide cover, coordinate with the SDF, and shoot to wound,
if you get a chance.'
`Ryoukai,' she says, giving a small, almost token, bow, before turning
back to her squad and placing them with quick hand signals.
From inside the ice cream parlor comes the heavy, flat *BLAM* of a
shotgun, followed by a rather dull *thud*
Mars and Moon glance at each other, then Moon shatters the plate-glass
window with a single punch, her M3 in her left hand, and ducks back behind the
brick and concrete pillar by the door, providing cover as Mars dives inside,
watching for trouble.
The person is down, being covered by a small girl with a wood-stocked
autoloading shotgun. The construct is disintegrating, a pile of ash draping
the ice-cream counter.
`Mars!' the small girl says, `I didn't know you were here,' she
smiles, keeping her attention on her captive, and the shotgun trained.
`Do I know you,' Mars glances at the collar of the girl's dark grey
camoflage uniform, which has a pair of crossed B.A.R.s on the right side, and
three crossed lines on the left, `Captain?'
`Not yet,' her smile broadens to a grin for a moment, `Moon's got me
covered, you know,' she says.
`So do I,' Mars says.
`I'll safe the gun when someone takes charge of the prisoner,' the
captain says.
`Gotcha,' Moon says from outside. A moment later three youma appear,
one behind the pillar across the door from Moon, two with LMGs, one RPK and
one B.A.R., covering the prisoner from the windowledge.
The little captain safes her shotgun, and slings it across her back.
The youma at the door steps inside, kneels next to the downed person, and
cuffs her, then starts into evaluate a casualty.
-
`Who are you,' Moon asks, softly, as the girl pulls her patrol cap
off, and pulls her long, pink braid out of her top.
`You should be able to figure that out, if you've guessed who you're
fighting,' the girl says, spinning her cap on one finger so the name-tape on
the back faces Moon. It, like the one over her right breast pocket, says
`Tsukino' in both Kanji and Roman characters. The one over her pocket,
however, says it in Hangul as well.
`You're our future daughter, and,'
`"The fit has hit the shan",' CPT Tsukino quotes in English, `All the
Sailors are pinned down, but the enemy has been significantly weakened.
They're dug in in Crystal Tokyo itself, which means they're protected by our
own defenses against shelling, and it'll be costly to try and dig them out.
Intel found out that they were after a certain object, so I fashioned an
unreasonable facsimile and led them here,' she shrugs.
`I'm most upset with you, small lady,' says a new voice. A Desert
Eagle, an SMG, and seven LMGs swing towards the voice, and only relax slightly
on seeing her uniform, white top, black skirt, trim, and boots, brownish-red
bow on her chest, black webbing pistol-belt with ammo pouches about her waist,
and an M3A2 SMG slung then clipped to her back. In her right hand she has a
polished metallic staff with an ornate set of decorations.
CPT Tsukino smiles, `If you really were, you'd have taken the key back
the last time I did this, Obaa-chan.'
Moon winces, but the new Sailor laughs, `You're one to talk, Peter.'
Mars and Moon share a puzzled look, wondering how they could have
named their daughter that. Mercury's face screws up in concentration as she
tries to place the reference.
`Peter Pan!' she cries, the Desert Eagle twitching as she almost
claps her hands.
Moon still looks puzzled, but Mars asks CPT Tsukino, `So you don't
want to grow up?'
`No, it was an accident, really,' CPT Tsukino says.
`How long ago?'
`Only a couple hundred years.'
Moon facefaults, but everyone else controls the urge.
-
`Chibi-usa,' Ami asks, `If you've been like this for so long, how come
you're just a Captain?'
`'Cause I keep doing stupid things like rushing off to the past to
help fight enemies I don't understand. I got busted to Third Lieutenant last
time.'
`Oh? What were you? And what's a Third Lieutenant?'
`Three stripes and the Five Fingered Hand.'
`Captain General.'
`Yep. Third Lieutenant is punative. You forfeit five-thirds of a
month's pay every month, all allowances, restriction and extra duty until you
get promoted. Most 3LTs resign their commisions and become Privates.'
`How long did it take you to work your way back up?'
Chibi-usa frowns, `A long time. Four or five years. I was getting
worried I'd have to tap my retirement accounts.'
Ami faults, just a little.
`Officers, even 3LTs, don't get meal cards,' Chibi-usa smiles, `And I
moved out of Mama's house a long time ago, so I have an apartment to keep as
well. I could have just moved my stuff to officer's quarters, but they're
full. The only way in is for someone to die, and that doesn't happen very
often, outside of war.'
-
Usagi slides back up her consort's naked form, as the other's
breath settles. She snuggles into the taller girl, then captures her lips in
a long gentle kiss.
Rei smiles when Usagi breaks the kiss and snuggles down against her,
`Our daughter?'
`Most likely. I asked Ami-chan to check her genetics, but it's the
most likely option. Red-black and blonde seems more likely than blue-black
and blonde or blue-black and red-black.'
`You have had Ami-chan's lecture on alleles and hair color, right?'
`"Like eye color, hair color is controlled by several dozen alleles,
so it is not uncommon for someone to have blue eyes or hair, even if no one in
their family for several generations has had anything but black hair and brown
eyes",' Usagi quotes, `So it isn't certain, but she does look a lot like you,'
`And you,' Rei nuzzles the top of Usagi's head, where she has her
odango and tails tucked into little bags to reduce tangles.
-
`I've crufted up a detector for these "Black Moon" people,' Ami says,
setting a pile of wiring, circuit boards and crystals on the table.
`Good,' Chibi-usa says, `Then I can give you these,' and reaches under
the back of her uniform top to pull out, with a *rip* of velcro, two small
devices. She sets each on the table, then reaches back to close the pockets
on her LBV.
Ami picks one up, and looks it over, `This is very sophisticated
work.'
`You told me, when you gave it to me, that it was identical, other
than miniturization, to the first prototype you made,' Chibi-usa smiles, `And
when I asked you when that was, you said "Right after I first met you and
Beruche."'
`Oh,' Ami says in a small voice.
`So I'm hoping I won't get busted again,' Chibi-usa smiles.
-
`How's the prisoner?'
`Still out. CAT scan shows the expected trauma, but nothing too
life-threatening. She's been awake, but she's still very weak.'
`A butt-stroke to the head can do that,' Usagi says, `Can I go in?'
`It should be OK,' the doctor looks a little troubled, `Try not to get
her excited, if she wakes.'
`I'll try,' Usagi says.
-
`Hey,' Usagi says, softly. The woman on the bed stirs, her eyelids
fluttering.
`Hey,' Usagi repeats, `I'd like to ask you a few questions.'
The woman's eyes fly open, and she tries to throw herself out of the
bed.
Usagi catches her, even as she falls back, eyes tightly shut, green
about the gills.
`Shh, I'm not going to hurt you.'
`Already did,' the woman mutters, barely audible.
`No, that was a friend of mine. You'll be fine, so long as you rest.'
`I failed, so I doubt that,' the woman settles, limp, back into
Usagi's arms.
`Why is that?' Usagi strokes the woman's long white hair, soothingly.
`People who fail Wiseman don't tend to live very long.'
`Wiseman?'
`Prince Demando's new adviser, the one who got him into this little
war. Rather creepy, hides his face all the time, always backlit.'
`Doesn't sound good. Does he kill them?'
`Not directly, they just kinda die suddenly after he says that he's
disappointed.'
`That's not good.'
`You'd think Demando'd be smart enough to realize that.'
`You'd think,' Usagi hugs the woman, `What does Wiseman want?'
`I don't know, but we're here in this forsaken place to find the
Rabbit, who has the Ginzuishou, and to set up some sort of weakening spell at
each of the Crystal Points, so we can take Crystal Tokyo.'
`And why are _you_,' she stresses the word just a little, `here?'
`Because my sisters are here. We may not get along all the time, but
I love them, and if they got hurt because I wasn't here,' the woman shakes her
head, just a little, and wiggles further into Usagi's arms.
`And what's your name?'
`Beruche.'
`Well, sleep well, Beruche-chan, and get better, OK?'
`OK,' Beruche says in a small voice, and falls right to sleep.
Usagi gently wiggles out from under her, and tucks the sheet up around
her neck.
-
`OK, so they're after the Ginzuishou, and haven't figured out where it
is, or really how to find it. They want to --' Usagi's brief is interrupted
by a soft murmor, `Sorry guys, just a moment, Mamoru needs to talk to me and
Rei, and Megumi says it's urgent.'
Rei gets up and follows Usagi out of the room.
-
`Usako?'
`Mamo-chan?' Usagi replies.
`Is Rei-chan there?'
`Yes, she is.'
`Good,' he pauses, `I,' pauses again, `I've been having nasty dreams.'
Rei's lips quirk, and her eyebrows raise, fighting back a giggle at a
perceived innuendo.
`Yes?' Usagi's voice is warm and concerned, and she gives Rei a
darkling look.
`It,' pause, `It's visions of horrible things happening if I stay with
you,' pause, `Lots of people dying, you getting hurt, just,' pause, `bad
things. Recently, there's been voices saying the world will be destroyed and
you will suffer a "great calamity".'
`That doesn't sound good. Rei?' Usagi looks up at the other girl.
`I've not seen anything like that. My defences are stronger, so it
may be an attack by the enemy,' Rei says.
`You mean, they could know who I am, and be sending me dreams?'
`Exactly,' she pauses a moment, `and, to test the other, we have
Captain Tsukino.'
`Your daughter?' Mamoru asks.
`Yep.'
Usagi opens the door into the conference room, `Captain Tsukino, could
you come out here a moment?'
`Captain Tsukino, reporting as requested,' the girl says, coming to
rigid attention, then bowing.
Usagi bows back, then `Relax,' Usagi orders. `Who are your parents?'
`I thought you'd already done a gene-scan to test that,' Chibi-usa
looks puzzled.
`Who raised you?'
`Oh, you, Rei-mama, Mamoru-papa, and the rest of your harem.'
`My harem,' Usagi asks.
`Yep. You'll have to give me a moment, if you want me to name them
all, or even --'
Usagi cuts her off, `I'll find out eventually,' she smiles, `That will
be all, for now.'
Chibi-usa snaps to attention, `Ryoukai,' then bows, executes a
perfect about-face, and steps back into the room.
`That girl's done too much D and C,' Rei says.
`Probably a side-effect of having been a third lieutenant,' Usagi
says, `Did you hear that, Mamo-chan?'
`I did. So I should just have stronger psych wards placed?'
`Try it, see if that helps.'
`I will,' Mamoru's voice is much less worried than before, and a
little sleepy-sounding, `Love you both.'
`You too,' Usagi says.
`Sleep well,' Rei says.
`Out,' Mamoru says, then yawns.
`Out,' Usagi agrees.
-
Rei locks the door behind her.
`Megumi-chan, is Mamo-chan awake?' Rei asks, leaning back against the
latrine wall.
`Yes, do you want to talk to him?'
`Please.'
`Rei-chan? What is it?'
`That harem comment of Chibi-usa's.'
`Is that CPT Tsukino?'
`Yes. Captain Tsukino Usagi, who, she says, was a CGN before her last
little time travel incident.'
`Isn't she a little young for that?'
`She says, and Sailor Pluto backed her up on this, that she `did
something foolish' and locked herself as a ten year old, about two hundred and
seventy years ago.'
`Two hundred and seventy years,' Mamoru's voice is a little disturbed.
`It was a bit of a surprise,' Rei agrees, `And that's why we need to
talk about harems.'
`Why? I don't want anyone else,' Mamoru's voice is strong, a little
distressed by the thought.
`Usagi's harem,' Rei starts, `Listen. Everyone who's ever met her
loves her --'
`What about Metallia?'
`I don't think they ever properly met,' Rei smiles, just a bit, `So,
you have billions of people who love her, right?'
`Right . . . ' Mamoru agrees.
`And we're talking hundreds of years, here, so that shoves the number
to tens of billions. Of those, some of them have to be attractive to her, and
of those, some of them have to be worth keeping, and of those, some have to be
willing to be kept.'
`So, then, it's inevitable that she's going to take others, and we
should just prepare ourselves?'
`No!' Rei almost shouts, `Of those, _WE_ would approve of, like, be
willing to love, a few.'
Silence, for a few long moments.
`So we're,' Mamoru falls silent, `We'd be choosing which ones she gets
to keep?'
`Not quite that blunt, I don't think, but she wouldn't keep anyone we
don't approve of long-term.'
`Unless she can change our minds,' Mamoru says.
`At which point we'd approve,' Rei almost laughs.
`I suppose,' Mamoru's voice has a doubtful smile.
`And if either of us end up with some admirer they would like to keep,
Usagi-chan and the other get to approve, or not.'
`I don't think that'll ever happen, for my part, but we're talking a
very long time,' Mamoru sighs, `Agreed.'
`Good.'
-
Rei smiles, watching Usagi nap from the doorway, her head pillowed on
her arms, looking, for once, like a fourteen year old girl, a tiny line of
drool puddling on one arm.
Usagi giggles in her sleep, and Rei notices the small hands tickling
her consort's belly. She bites her lip as Usagi shifts, twitching
irritatedly, then wakes with a groan and a perfect hamster-face. A strangled
snort of laughter escapes as Chibi-Usa steps back, wiggling her fingers in the
air, `tickle, tickle, tickle.'
`Omae!' Usagi growls, half-smiling, and gives chase as Chibi-Usa runs
away, squeeking in mock fear, the shotgun slung across her back bouncing very
little with her movements.
Rei follows more slowly.
-
`You need more women as instructors,' Chibi-Usa was telling Rei's
grandfather, `Or else it's just too obvious that the sole point is so that you
can watch their titties bounce.'
Grandpa has the grace to look a little embarrassed.
`Not that the women necassarily aren't here for the same reason, but
they tend not to leer as boldly, so it's OK,' Chibi-Usa continues, `And you
really should be teaching self-defense rather than aerobics. About the same
amount of nubile flesh to be seen, but they get something more useful out of
it.'
`But how do we get girls to come to a self-defense class? It isn't
nearly as feminine-'
`That will change, but it hasn't yet. We simply use signs reminding
them of the normal dangers of modern life, and make it fun, so they'll tell
their friends.'
`But we'll get all kinds of guys wanting classes, too.'
`So? Have three types of class, mixed, male-only, and female-only.
Try to keep the straight girls out of the mixed class, though.'
`Why?'
`'Cause at this period in time, they'll wuss out to make the guys look
better, and themselves weaker and cuter,' Chibi-Usa scowls a little, `That'll
fade a bit over the next few years, but won't really stop being a problem for
a long time.'
-
`There's something evil around,' Rei says, a frown on her face.
Inside the building someone is whimpering, then there's a thump, as of
a soft body hitting a not-so-soft floor.
Chibi-Usa steps inside, and scowls at the sight of a girl
crying as another girl picks her up again. `That is not the way to train
someone to defend herself! I'm going to have to ask you to leave.'
The crying girl is dropped roughly to the ground, and whimpers,
holding her arm, as the other steps towards Chibi-Usa.
`Who's gonna make me, little girl?'
`I am,' Chibi-Usa says, unslinging the shotgun. The velcro makes a
*ripp* noise as she pulls the fitted cover from the action, exposing the
trigger, `And they'll help,' she twitches her head back towards the door,
pointing with her chin to where Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars are standing,
weapons in hand.
Several of the other girls scream, cowering, and one rushes over and
throws herself in front of the injured girl.
Another steps up, `Tumble, deal with them,' she orders.
`Yes, Cooan-sama,' Tumble says, transforming into a spikey, muscular
figure, and charging at Chibi-Usa.
She gets a whole step before *BLAM* Chibi-Usa's shotgun rips a large
hole through her middle and out the back wall. Chibi-Usa winces as the droid
crumbles to dust, then spins towards Cooan as she charges.
*Crack* Sailor Moon's naginata clips Cooan across the back of the
head. *Thump* Cooan's body hits the floor, unconscious.
-
*Flash* of lightning. *KRA-KOOM* of thunder. *Aiii* of two voices
crying out at the same time.
Rei laughs, not meanly, and hugs the two in her arms, smiling at them
before looking back out at the rain outside the slight shelter of the busstop
they were hiding in.
`A Mongol warrior,' Chibi-Usa says, `Is only allowed to be afraid of
two things-'
*KRA-KOOM*
Chibi-Usa squeeks, and clutches tigher to Usagi, who's clutching back,
`Thunder, and ghosts. I,' she says with as much dignity as she can manage,
`Am not afraid of ghosts.'
`Really,' Usagi says, `I thought it was just Kommanza.'
`Stirling borrowed that from the real Mongols.'
*KRA-KOOM*
*Eeep!*
-
`This isn't an ordinary storm,' Ami says over the communicator,
`Someone's causing it. I'm trying to triangulate them now, but I'm not having
much luck.'
Usagi frowns at the communicator, then pulls out a small grey box, and
turns it on, `About six hundred meters from here, there's a Black Moon type.'
Chibi-Usa releases her hold on Usagi, kisses her cheek, `Yay! Which
way?' she asks, then steps back, unslings her shotgun, *rip* uncovers the
action, then sets the butt to the ground as she fixes her bayonet.
Usagi and Rei glance askance at that, but stand as well, Usagi
levering herself up with her naginata.
`This way,' Usagi says, and starts off, Chibi-Usa and Rei to her right
and left.
*KRA-KOOM*
`Hold this,' Usagi hands Rei her naginata, `Moon Prism Power, Make
UP!'
After a moment she takes back her Naginata, and holds out her hand for
Rei's M3.
-
`So,' Chibi-Usa says, `There's our thunder-monster.'
Sailor Moon nods, `Call for backup, in case this is a trap?'
`Already done,' Megumi's voice tells them.
`Good,' Sailor Mars says, `One human, one droid, anyone else showing
up on that scanner of yours?'
`Nope.'
`How come Beruche and Cooan don't show up?'
`Shielded.'
`Ah.'
`Shoot the droid?' Usagi asks.
`No, over penetration,' Chibi-Usa answers, `Too many soft targets in
ricochet range. I'm damned lucky I didn't hit anyone when I shot the droid at
great-grandpa's.'
`Then what?'
`Lemme try this,' Chibi-Usa pulls a little box from her pocket, and
puts her ear-plugs in, then crouches low and starts towards the duo below.
She gets to within three meters of them before the human turns to look
behind her. She startles, and opens her mouth, pointing.
`Shit!' Chibi-Usa calls, and sprints the remaining few meters,
reaching the human before she's finished drawing breath, and slams her upside
the head with the stock of her gun. The human drops, and Chibi-Usa turns
towards the droid.
The droid attacks first, wind gushing from her blow-driers and
knocking Chibi-Usa back into a wall.
She hits with a frighteningly firm *Crack!*.
Mars kicks the droid in the head, while Moon rushes towards Chibi-Usa.
The droid falls, and Mars hits it with, `Fire Soul!'
The droid chars a little, but staggers to its feet.
`Eee!'
Mars spins, to find the human has gotten up, and grabbed Moon from
behind.
The droid charges, and Mars steps aside, taking in a deep breath,
`Burning Mandala!'
The droid burns to ash almost instantly, and Mars spins, looking for
Moon and her attacker. She relaxes and smiles, for Moon is sitting next to
the unconscious woman, rubbing her head and whining softly to herself, `Why
did she have to pull my hair? It wasn't, well, I guess it was, but really.
She shouldn't have done that.' Usagi forces herself to her feet, draws back
one foot, then slams it down onto the concrete and turns away.
Chibi-Usa is kneeling, her hands wrapped around the hilt of her
bayonet and the shotgun's barrel, the weapon's butt firmly planted on the
ground, looking a little dazed but not much worse for wear.
Frightened faces are peeking out from all around.
-
Minako smiles at the couples around her, `Even though it's rather
dreadfully hot, it's nice to be on leave,' she looks back over her shoulder,
`Even if I need a battle-buddy.'
The woman leaning against the bench beside her smiles, `You made that
stupid policy.'
`I didn't realize it was so stupid. I'm sorry,' Minako sighs, `Remind
me to fix it when I get back.'
`Consider yourself reminded.'
Minako sets her hand over the other woman's, `Not that I mind being
with you or anything, Kail' she smiles.
`Good,' Kail draws Minako's hand to her lips, and kisses it.
Minako retrieves her hand, and pats the bench beside her, on the
outside, so Kail will be forced to sit close.
Kail does so, and leans over onto Minako, who scowls just a bit before
smiling at her.
`What was that face for,' Kail asks.
`It's _soo_ hot.'
`Yes, it's nice, isn't it?'
Minako just smiles and shakes her head.
-
Makoto rushes up, her battle-buddy, a young man, trailing.
`Why'd he do that? It isn't even like I was trying to pick him up,'
the young man rubs his cheek, `I just said that I liked his jacket, and asked
where he got it.'
`While stepping up into his space, touching his jacket, and smiling a
lot. Not normal Japanese guy behavior.'
`Why not? You lot do it all the time.'
`We're girls, we get over on that kinda stuff.'
`That's not fair,' he says.
`What's not fair?' Minako asks, smiling, as she waves Makoto to the
free part of the bench.
`Oh, he was putting the make-'
`I was not!'
`On some punk-looking guy and got slapped.' Makoto finishes as if he
hadn't spoken.
`Slapped? Maybe he was interested,' Minako sighs, `I don't understand
guys. Heck, no one I know understands guys, not even the ones who are.'
`Yeah,' Makoto's battle-buddy plops himself down cross-legged in front
of the bench, `Part of it is that we just haven't had much experience out in
the world, but the Chinese guys are just about as clueless as I am.'
`How come just about everyone I've met over the last few months is
queer?' Minako asks, `Is it just that I'm out now, so everyone feels safe
telling me, or is it that we've more queers in the Dark Kingdom?'
`Ami-chan's looking into it,' Makoto says.
-
Chibi-usa is also in civilians, for once, black jeans and a black
t-shirt, with tanker boots. Her shotgun's butt isn't sticking up by her left
ear, and she hasn't got the smooth glide she uses to keep the weapon, which is
nearly as long as she is tall, out of trouble.
Instead she's striding along, the tip of her braid brushing the ground
with each step, a pair of boys trailing.
`Where are you going with that arrogant walk?' asks the short one,
who's just a tiny bit taller than her.
`Yeah, where are you going?' the other asks, nearly a full head
taller.
`Don't know, today. Home, in a few weeks. Away from you, now.'
`What was that, pinko?' the short one says.
The tall one walks up close, and Chibi-usa skips back, a little smile
on her face, `What, you wanna make something of it, kiddo?'
`I'll make you cry,' he threatens.
`I'll try not to hurt you,' Chibi-usa smiles back.
She turns, and picks the short one up, and throws him up in the air.
She catches him, sets him on his feet, and dances back. The short one starts
to cry, then runs off.
`What was that?' she asks the tall one, honestly confused.
He smiles nervously, then runs away as well.
Chibi-usa pouts cutely, then smiles and drifts over to Makoto and
Minako's bench, `Do you know what that was about? I didn't throw him that
high, and I caught him.'
`Maybe you scared him?' Makoto says.
`Can't be. All kids like being thrown up in the air.'
`Yeah, but he doesn't know you, so it was probably a little scary.'
`But he should know I wouldn't hurt a kid.'
`You look like a kid yourself.'
`True. It's like when I first enlisted, I guess. Sigh.'
`When was that?'
`About ten years after I locked myself. PFC to SGT was really rough,
but I had a rep after that, and it got easier,' Chibi-usa smiles, `Juggling
road wheels in front of the line didn't hurt, either, particularly after I
managed to get Maintenance to let me have a couple drive sprockets.'
`Road wheels and drive sprockets for what?'
`Hond III echos.'
`So the drive sprockets got lighter?' the young man asks.
`Nope. Heavier. About twenty-five kilos heavier, Masato.'
The young man looks confused, `Masato?'
`Oh, that's right, he said he was the spitting image of his
grandfather, so you would be Moldova?'
`Moldov, actually,' the young man smiles.
`Well, Moldov-kun, what are you doing hanging out with my aunties?'
`Aunties?' Minako and Makoto whine.
Kail laughs, a smile on her face.
`Makoto-sama and I were out guy-watching.'
Chibi-usa makes a quizzical face.
Moldov notices, `Well, Makoto-sama was watching girls, too.'
Chibi-usa looks at Makoto, and smiles.
`What?' Makoto asks.
`You'll find out, eventually.'
`C'mon, tell me,' Makoto pleads.
`Nope, you told me not to.'
`I didn't know what I was talking about.'
`You told me you would say that.'
Makoto pouts cutely, crossing her arms.
`So, do you have anyone you're interested in?'
`Yep,' Chibi-usa smiles, `I met the most wonderful girl, last time I was
here.'
`Oh?'
Chibi-usa waves her finger back and forth in front of her, `Unk unk uh,
can't tell any more than that.'
`Are you teasing them, Captain?' Usagi asks, stopping next to
Chibi-usa, then leaning on her naginata, which contrasts nicely with her pale
blue sundress.
`Only a little, my liege.'
Usagi shudders, `Don't call me that.'
`Right, right. My lord?' Chibi-usa's lips twitch.
`Ick, no!'
`Megami-sama?' A grin flickers over her face for an instant.
`Rei-chan,' Usagi turns to look at her consort, whines, `Make her stop.'
`Usagi, then,' Chibi-usa says, then laughs.
`You,' Usagi says, and ruffles the other's hair.
`Yes, I'm me.'
Everyone else laughs, finally.
-
`So, what are we going to do?' Chibi-usa asks. She's walking
backwards along the guard rail, hands tucked into her back pockets.
`I thought we'd wander around for a while and pretend we have nothing
better to do than goof off,' Usagi says, `Since three points only identifies
the plane, not the whole pattern.'
`Trig's getting to you, isn't it?' Minako asks.
`It's so cool, so neat and tidy, all the annoying little weirdness
abstracted away. Nothing like tactics, or,' Usagi gives a theatrical shudder,
`logistics.'
`Got that right,' Chibi-usa says.
`This looks neat,' Moldov says, stopping to read a sign.
The sign starts out with `Omajinai', thoughtfully romanized omazinai,
and continues in less mangled Japanese, `Anata no negai _BATCHIRI_ kanaemasu,
omajinai HAUSU.'
Chibi-usa dismounts the guardrail with a flourish, `Sounds fun.'
`They sell rocks and charms,' Makoto says.
Everyone turns to look at her, `They had a commercial on during _Five
Star Stories_ last night.'
`Ah,' Chibi-usa says, and smiles, `Want me to tell you how it ends?'
Makoto looks aghast, `Don't you dare.'
`OK, I won't tell you,' Chibi-usa opens the door, `But it was so cute
when --'
`Chibi-usa!' Minako says, firmly.
Chibi-usa looks over her shoulder and smiles.
-
Chibi-usa is slumped back against a large yellow machine labeled, from
the top `LOVE' in romaji, then `ikkinomi,' and `omajinai JUUSU.' She's
looking up, and muttering quietly, `I know, you whispered it to me this
morning, but still. I've been three meters from that thing six times since I
bought it. _Six_ times. Every single one, I've ended up wanting it. I mean,
really, it's a nice piece of kit, but it gets really annoying having this
happen every time. I'm sure it's funny and all, but really,' she trails off,
claps her hands once, interlaces her fingers, and presses them out in front of
her. She steps away from the machine, pats her right hip through her shirt.
`What was that about?' Rei asks.
`You can feel it, right?'
Rei blinks, `Black Moon.'
`Why didn't anyone catch it?' Minako asks, looking around the shop.
`Because the area's been clogged with fake signals since we captured
Karaberas,' Usagi says, `And we stopped kicking in doors after the third false
alarm.'
`You were kicking in doors?' Makoto asks, appalled.
`I didn't like it either.'
`It was kinda fun, playing terrorist,' Chibi-usa says, `But I'm glad
we don't do it for real.'
`Terrorist?' Minako asks.
`Terrorists and criminals kick peoples doors in, rough them up, then
kill 'em or throw them in jail.'
`So you don't think that police should go after dangerous criminals?'
`Bits of the American government kick people's doors in every day, for
what?'
`Irrashaimase,' the green-haired shopkeep says, stepping through the
curtain from the back, `Is there anything I could help you with? We keep our
best pieces in the back,' she gestures.
Rei glances at Chibi-usa, and they share a nod.
`Yes, I think I'm interested in a protective charm,' Usagi says,
smiling brightly.
The shopkeep smiles, and gestures for them to preceed her through the
curtain. Usagi nods, and walks past, Chibi-usa and Rei following, the other
four a few paces behind.
Half a step past the shopkeep, Chibi-usa drops, and sweeps the
shopkeep's feet from under her.
Rei manages a quick, brutal backfist to the shopkeep's head as she
falls, then steps back, reaching for her henshin pen.
The keep growls, rolling away from Chibi-usa, and yells, `Jamanen!'
`Excuse me,' the droid says, flowing down out of the ceiling as a glob
of reddish fluid, then takes on a humanoid shape.
Rei poses, mouth agape, henshin pen in hand, for a long moment.
`Get your cute little pink-clad butt _DOWN_!' Usagi yells.
The shopkeep has shifted to a short skirted green outfit that nearly
matches her eyes, complete with metal bikini-top, ugly black feather epaulets,
and black leggings.
*Bang* *Bang* *Bang* three loud, quick, sharp retorts sound from
Chibi-usa's sidearm.
The droid frowns as the bullets rip through her form, then recovers.
She twists, and a gush of red fluid reaches to wrap around Chibi-usa's dodging
form.
`Mars Power, Make Up!'
*Blam* *Blam* two slightly flatter retorts sound, then Kail dodges,
resafing her own sidearm.
Minako and Makoto nod, `Venus Power,'
`Jupiter Power,'
`Make UP!' they call in unison.
*BlaBlaBlaBlaBlaBlammm* echos through the shop as Moldov fires a short
burst into the droid. She's ready this time, and Moldov isn't fast enough.
`Ah! Ouch! Oww!' he moans, holding the stump of his left arm, which has
mostly stopped bleading, but is still dripping red blood onto the floor, even
as he flees out into the main shop.
`Moon Crystal Power, Make UP!'
`Charms are for fun and entertainment, and a little bit of profit, not
for destroying the dreams of the gullible!' Mars starts pontificating.
Kail grabs Venus's attention for a moment, and makes a hand signal.
Venus nods, and Kail slips into the outer shop, pulling a field dressing from
her messenger bag.
A bolt of black lightning strikes out at Mars, `All of you little
girls, going on and on about crushes and love! Who cares about men!'
Mars dodges.
`Stop trying to hurt my beloved!' Moon shouts, dodging an attack by
Jamanen as she charges towards, `Petz!'
The shopkeep pauses, `How do you know my name?'
`Your sisters told me,' Moon says, then hits her across the jaw with
the butt of her naginata.
Petz drops, out cold.
Jamanen screaches, `You have my Karaberas-sama?' Quick gouts of red
liquid flash out of the floor, reaching to entangle the senshi. Chibi-usa
backflips onto the display counter at the back, and stumbles a little as the
glass top shatters under her boots.
The four sailors are quickly bound hand and foot, and Jamanen slips up
close, tilting Moon's head back, `You will tell me what you did with my
Karaberas-sama.'
`No.'
Jamanen's other hand flows, then shifts into a gleaming blade.
Chibi-usa grabs something out of nowhere, looks at it, looks up at the
trapped sailors, then looks like she's going to cry. Something glitters
helpfully by her foot, and she grabs it up and throws it, then wipes
her hand against her jeans as she watches.
Jamanen cringes when the jewel hits her.
Mars flares brilliantly, burning her free, and Jamanen turns towards
her.
`Burning Mandala!'
Jamanen backs up under the attack, her arms crossed protectively in
front of her face.
`Sparkling Wide Pressure!'
`Venus Love Me Chain!'
Jamanen crumples to the ground, curling into an almost fetal position.
`Moon Tiara Stardust!' The glowing disk and attendant shower of
sparks cover the droid, who shrinks back into a single rectangle-cut faceted
green gem, with a faintly glowing crescent moon inside.
Chibi-usa smiles, and tucks the pink thing in her right hand back into
nowhere.
-
The six warriors are sitting around a table, still in civilains,
people in the red-brown uniforms of the Dark Kingdom Militia bustling around
with trays in the background.
`So, what happened there?' Moldov asks Chibi-usa. He's holding his
coffee cup awkwardly, his left arm still ending above the elbow, but the new
bandages haven't bled through. `You're really down for having managed to tip
things into your favor.'
`I almost fell off the wagon,' she says, staring into her own cup, her
shotgun held loosely between her knees, muzzle down, `If that droid hadn't
proved vulnerable to dark power, I woulda, too.'
`Fell off the wagon?' Usagi asks, leaning forward. Rei leans forward
too, because she doesn't want to let Usagi slip even that far away from her.
`That's probably more than I should tell you at this point. You'll
figure it out, soon enough.'
Usagi pouts, `C'mon.'
`No, time travel is quite enough fun without throwing gratuituous
paradoxi into it.'
`Paradoxi?'
`Yep. That would be quite too much tailbiting for me,
thankyouverymuch.'
`Tailbiting?' Minako asks.
Kail nods, glancing a question at Chibi-usa, continuing to stroke
intricate patterns against Minako's shoulder.
`You know Oroborus, right? Snake-monster eating his own tail?'
`Oh,' Makoto says.
Usagi is wiggling, looking back over her shoulder, and frowning a
little bit.
`What is it, Usagi-chan?' Rei asks.
`Just thinking about how flexible one would need to be to do that,'
she says, then blushes.
Everyone blinks, then Chibi-usa says, `You'd make a good tanker.'
`Why?'
`You're already a perv.'
Everyone blinks again, then Rei giggles a little, then the others
follow, Chibi-usa and a blushing Usagi last.
-
`C'mon, you wusses, we're almost done,' Chibi-usa tells her formation,
`Turn it around so we can pick up the stragglers,' and shifts her shoulders,
stretching a little under her LBV and slung shotgun, the gas-operated medium
machine gun in her hands held loosely at the ready.
`Captain,' someone pants from inside the formation, `I think I'm gonna
die.'
`If you're thinking it, you probably won't,' she replies, `Get in
front,' she tells Usagi, who whines, but complies.
`That everyone?'
`Yes,' Makoto, who's running on the other side of the formation, says.
`Good. Take us home, Tsukino,' Chibi-usa says.
`Home? My home, your home, back to HQ?'
`HQ.'
`Whine,' Usagi says, and shifts her hands on her M3.
The formation, in LBV, assault packs, PT uniforms, half in running
shoes and half, like Chibi-usa, in boots, and all with their individual weapon
in hand, continues on its way.
`Anyone else gonna call cadence?' some wag from the formation says.
`Get out here, Mora, and call it,' Chibi-usa orders.
`But,' PVT Mora starts.
`Or are you gonna say you don't have the rank for it?'
`Ryoukai!' PVT Mora says, and falls out of the formation, starts
running alongside Chibi-usa, `You know I can't call cadence.'
`Then just call "Left, left, left" until you think of something
better.'
`Left,' pause, `left,' pause, `Left,' pause, pause, pause, `I,' pause,
`I didn't realize.'
`I didn't realize,' Usagi calls back.
`How many hours I'd be,'
`How many hours I'd be,' this time the whole formation calls it.
`Shining my fucking boots,'
`Shining my fucking boots,' the formation calls back, loudly and
enthusiasticly.
-
`Good job, Mora, particularly for making it up as you go along,'
Chibi-usa says, as they turn the last corner, `Quick time, March!'
The formation stumbles to a walking march, many with the loose-limbed
gracelessness of the exhausted.
She walks them to in front of the building, `Mark time, March!'
The group halts, marching in place. Most of them pick up their
cadence, just a bit.
`Slow it down, same pace as a quicktime,' Chibi-usa tells them, `None
of this run in place crap.'
A couple people slow down, but most of them seem to think they're
right.
`Group, halt!'
*step* *step* The group comes to order arms, hands at their sides,
weapon in their dominant hand, subguns slung, rifles butt-down at their feet.
`Left face!'
The entire group spins ninety degrees, mostly in time.
`Extend to the left, March!'
The group shuffles out to double-arm intervals, stopping with their
arms still held out straight to their sides, dominant arms shaking from the
strain of holding their weapons.
`Arms downward, move!'
The group returns to order arms.
`Left face!'
Another ninety degree turn.
`Extend to the left, march!' pause while everyone shuffles, `Arms
downward, move!' shorter pause, `Right face!' short pause, `From front to
rear, count, off!'
The first rank looks over their shoulders, `One!' The second rank
does the same, `Two!' `Three!' `Four!' `Five!' Makoto calls from the back.
`Even numbers to the left, uncover!' The second and fourth rank take
a step to the left. `Ground your weapons,' Chibi-usa says, flicking the bipod
open on her gun, and setting it down. She leaves her shotgun on her back.
Everyone else follows suit.
`Since some of us can't keep time, we're gonna practice a little.'
`Au-uuh,' whines the group.
`Buck up,' she tells them, `Our first cool-down exercise is the
Motivator!'
She gets a lot of blank looks, and one brave soul asks, `What's the
motivator?'
`Let me show you,' she smiles, and puts her hands on her hips, `feet
just comfortably apart, one,' she rises up on her toes and drops back down,
`two,' up and down again, `three,' and again, `four,' barely dropping back
onto her heels before bouncing into the air, with a faster cadence, `one, two,
three, four,' a single count per hop, then `one,' feet out, like she's doing
jumping jacks, but her hands still on her hips, and back in, `two,' `three,'
one hop per count, `four,' then jumping jacks, with the same count, then
reverses the rest of the sequence, a four-count of modified side-straddle
hops, then bouncing from her toes, then the calf-raises, `One,' pause, `two,'
pause, `three,' she drops back down onto her heels, `And that's one. Any
questions?'
`Can we just run another mile?' someone calls.
`I'll only make you do a couple,' Chibi-usa tells them. `Start
position, Move!'
Everyone puts their hands on their hips.
-
`Anyone need any additional stretching?'
No one volunteers.
`Good. Last thing while I've still got you all in extended
rectangular formation. Ground your gear. Ammo, water, food, clothing.
Leaders, check your subordinates. Subordinates, check your leaders.' She
lays her shotgun next to her rifle, then sheds her assault pack and LBV, pulls
a knife out of each boot, and lets her sidearm dangle by its lanyard from
around her neck.
PVT Mora picks up her LBV, `What've you got in here, rocks?'
`Four hundred-round belts of .30-'06, two frisbee grendades, ten mags
for my sidearm, bayonet, assorted crap.'
`Thirty-aught-six? I thought that was a MAG 58,' he says.
`Nope. Em nineteen-ninety-six charlie. Pretty much a MAG 58 in .30-'06
with a right-hand feed assembly.'
Mora holds out his hands, then asks, `May I?'
`Sure, the pible's set.'
`Pible?' Mora asks, picking up the thirteen kilo weapon. He staggers
a little, but manages to stand without embarassing himself.
`Hand it to me,' Chibi-usa says, taking it easily. She sets the butt
on the ground, folds the bipod, and tucks it. She shows the bottom, `There,
below the ejection port cover, that pin,' she touches it, then checks the
safety is set, unlocks and pulls it out, `is the positive bolt lock. It makes
sure the bolt won't move if something untoward happens.' She tucks the pin
into the perpendicular carrying hole.
`Like?'
`Car accident, it gets dropped, someone trips and falls in front of
the operator.'
`Ah.'
Chibi-usa puts the PBL back and stands up, her hand on the M1996c's
handguard. The machine gun is several centimeters longer than she is tall.
Someone chokes from the formation.
`Anyone not carrying a good combat load?' she asks loudly.
Several people raise their hands.
`I'll see you here at 1830, right?'
`Right!'
One hand stays up.
`I've got class,' she starts.
`Twenty-two-thirty?' Chibi-usa asks.
`Ryoukai,' the woman says unhappily.
`Everyone secure your gear,' rustling from the formation as everyone
gears back up, `Assemble to the right, march!' and rushes to normal intervals,
the right front woman holding out her left arm until the next warrior over
touches it with her shoulder, then dropping it. The man behind her reaches
out and touches her shoulder, finding his own distance, then comes to order
arms. In seconds everyone has stopped moving.
`Get to work on time. For most of you that's nine, for the rest, you
should know. Fall out!'
Everyone in the formation takes a step back, then turns and heads
about their business. Chibi-usa hefts her machine gun again, and drapes it
over her shoulders, bagged ammo belt on top, behind her head, one hand on the
butt and the other on the handguard.
`You OK?' she asks Usagi, who is walking a bit gingerly.
`I was fine up until the motivators,' Usagi says, `those hurt.'
`You'll get better. You should carry a bigger load, M14 or B.A.R,
two, three hundred rounds, some grenades, sidearms, sidearm ammo, SEREA gear-'
`Serea?'
`Stupdid acronym from English. Survival, Evasion, Resistance,
Escape, Assault. Emergency gear, basicly.'
`Right. How much should I be carrying?'
`Build up to it so you don't set a bad example for people who don't
heal as well, but about fifty-six kilos.'
`How much are you carrying?'
`Right now, only forty-eight or so.'
`How much do you weigh?'
`Thirty-four, last I checked.'
`How long did you take to train up?'
`About a week. Took a couple years for it to stop hurting, though.'
Usagi winces.
-
`So, what is she?' Usagi asks.
`As Ami-chan said, an expert system,' Megumi says, `However, she's
much more complex than the earlier droids.'
`Which is why she was so tough, right?' Minako asks.
`Yes, exactly. She's not quite full AI yet, but if they hadn't put in
so many blocks to prevent her from reaching full sentience, she would have
been long ago. She has a very strong emotional bond to Karaberas.'
`Can you bring her over? Without changing her too much?' Rei asks,
squeezing Usagi's hand.
Usagi gives her a gooey look.
`I should be able to. Do you want me to try?'
`Please do,' Usagi says.
-
`To repeat what I said this morning, the only reason we can push this
hard is because our group is composed solely of Sailors and youma. You can't
PT a Sailor to death, and so long as they're eating right a youma won't die
from overstrain. They may pass out and be miserable, but they'll recover.
Normal humans can push themselves to the point that they'lll just keel over
and die. The U.S. military has several people die during or right after PT
every year.'
`Why are you up there, then?'
`'Cause I'm used to running 12 miles an hour wearing almost double my
own body weight.'
`Can we just bribe you and get out of this?' A young-sounding man,
this time.
`You volunteered. No.'
`Whine.' Several people contribute to that.
-
`Ice cream! I need ice cream,' a male voice says from the middle of
the glop of people too tired to leave quickly.
`Sounds good to me,' Chibi-usa says, `Let's go,' and starts walking
towards the street, `I'll buy.'
`Thank you,' someone says, and a few other people echo her, then start
following.
About three blocks later the dozen Dark Kingdom warriors walk into the
parking lot of Juuban Super.
`I like this store best, the fruit's freshest here, and they have a
good selection of ice cream,' Chibi-usa says.
`And it's close to headquarters,' Moldov says. His arm is about
halfway regrown, his forearm short, with stubby little fingers.
`That too,' Chibi-usa says.
`Something's wrong,' Viol says, shivering, as they approach the door.
`That's an understatement,' Chibi-usa says, the door opening in front
of her, `Megumi, get the rest here, now.'
`Understood. They're on their way.'
`I'm going in to recon,' Chibi-usa says, `Moldov, guard the door, with
Makarev, Bortis, and Mera. Viol, take your three, and get any noncombatants
you can out. The rest of you are with me. Stay low,' and she walks in,
pulling the PBL out at putting it into the carry position.
Tanis, his twin Tunis, and their sister Kivi fan out behind her, Viol
and her consorts following them through the door.
Rot and decay surround them, and confused, bespelled, shoppers wander,
spreading it. A shelf crumbles to rust when Kivi prods it with the buttstock
of her M14.
`Ick,' she shakes her head.
`Quiet,' Chibi-usa says softly.
At the back is a stand labeled `Dark Fruit,' with a young woman
standing behind it, and a red-haired young man in front gloating.
`Rubius,' Chibi-usa says, `We fought him before. He's pretty tough.
Firing positions,' She drops the bipod on her M1996c, drops prone, flicks the
safety off, and aims it.
`The Sailors are on site,' Megumi says.
`Good,' Chibi-usa says, and puts a seven-round burst into Rubius's
chest. He falls down, a surprised look on his face.
The young woman transforms, shifting into something that looks like
the chicita banana girl on a bad acid trip. She goes down under concentrated
fire from the four recon members, and starts disolving.
Rubius gets to his feet, having crawled a few feet away, and throws a
single burst of energy as concentrated fire knocks him down again.
Tunis grunts as he's slammed through one of the rotting shelves.
`Stores are for,' Sailor Moon starts pontificating, then another burst
from the 1996 hits Rubius in the face, and he clutches it.
`Moon,' she starts her attack instead.
`Princess.'
Rubius vanishes in a flicker of shadow.
Moon sags, resting the cutey moon rod on her shoulder, turns towards
Sailor Mars, who grabs her and pillows her head on her shoulder.
`Oww,' Moon whines into Mars's shoulder, `I hate that, it just feels
bad to stop in the middle of that attack.'
`Nausea? Vomiting?' Chibi-usa says,
`Sharp stabbing pains behind my eyes.'
`Only that attack?'
`Yeah.'
`Then don't stop. It won't do much collateral damage, and it'll only
really fry the intended target. People who just happen to be in the way'll
get a little cooked, but not to a life-threatening extent.'
`Gotcha,' Usagi says softly, having detransformed.
-
`Mako-chan and Minako have it covered, for now,' Chibi-usa says, `And
Ami-chan's working on the constitution right now. Don't worry 'bout it for a
couple days while Rei does her practice.'
`But,' Usagi says.
`Relax, Rei's fine, too,' Chibi-usa says firmly. She's dressed in
staid black bikini bottoms and has her shotgun sitting on the towel beside her
camelbak. There's a plastic cover over the gun's muzzle, to keep dirt out.
Usagi is laying on her belly on the next towel, dressed in a brick red
bikini, `But,' she protests, putting her hands flat on the towel again.
Ami is sitting under an umbrella a few meters away, in a sleeveless
blue dress, typing on her computer, `Sleep a bit,' she says, `Rei will be here
in a bit, and I'm sure she's looking forward to keeping you up all night.'
`Ami-chan!' Usagi sqeeks.
Chibi-usa laughs.
-
`Fish?' Chibi-usa says, then adopts a warbling, querulous voice,
`Spoiling good fish, scorching it, give me fish now, and keep nasty chips,'
she quotes, prodding the grilled meat on her plate, `I'll see you later,' she
says, pulls on camel and shotgun, and walks off, taking her plate with her.
`What was that?' Usagi asks, looking at Rei.
Rei blinks back, `Am I that bad of a cook?'
`That was, almost, a quote from Tolkien. I don't remember which book
right now, but it's from _Lord of the Rings_ somewhere,' Ami says, `And it's
Golum complaining about cooked food. I think that was what a tantrum looks
like when one's three hundred years old.'
`A tantrum? Her?' Rei asks.
`It could be something else, but,' Ami shrugs blue-clad shoulders, `I
wouldn't be able to guess what.'
-
`I,' Chibi-usa says, `Am not fat enough for this.' She's treading
water quickly, her lips a little blue, looking towards shore, the straps of her
camelbak and shotgun over her shoulders, `This really wasn't one of my better
ideas, really. Last time I went swimming I had the gun in a waterproof bag,
which really helped counter its weight.'
A shark fin circles between her and the shore.
`Oh great. Eris-sama, I know you love me, you don't have to go
through all of this effort for my sake, really,' Chibi-usa says. Suddenly
something grey appears beneath her, and she gasps as her toes touch something
soft. She looks down, then dives, wrapping her fingers around the root of one
of the creature's fins.
The creature surfaces a little ways away, and Chibi-usa blinks
seawater out of her eyes, draggled pink hair surrounding her face. She
blinks, `Oh wow,' she says, and smiles. She pulls herself out of the water
onto the creature's back, unslings her shotgun, and reverses it, watching the
pursuing sharks.
After a few minutes two things become apparent: The creature is going
as fast as she can, and the sharks are faster. One enterprising shark gets up
close, and takes a bite at the creature's fin. Chibi-usa clubs him on the
nose, but not before he's got his bite. The shark lets go, and pulls back.
Chibi-usa looks at the faint pink blood trail from her rescuer, and back at
the following sharks, `I'm sorry,' she tells them, pulling the cover off her
shotgun's action. She glances apologeticly at her rescuer, `I'm sorry for the
noise,' she says in a strange language, pulls off her muzzle-cover, then
points carefully and puts three ounces of double-ought buckshot into one of
the sharks. Her rescuer starts, turning her head on her long neck to look at
her, and the sharks turn on their wounded comrade, ignoring them as the water
froths with excited sharks biting at anything they can get their jaws on.
Chibi-usa sits, watching for trouble, as the pleisiosaur-looking
creature swims along the surface.
The creature swims into a cave, and Chibi-usa hops off when her
rescuer starts up onto the sand, `So, this is your house? Nice. Let me see
your wound?' she says in the same language.
The creature looks at her funny, but doesn't flee when she unslings
her camel, and pulls out coagulant powder and a couple spray bottles. She
sprays a topical anesthetic, then sprinkles the powder and sprays a bandage
on the wound. The creature looks at her fin, flexes it a little, then gives
her a lick.
`What are you doing here? You guys aren't supposed to be here for
another couple hundred years,' Chibi-usa says, looking around. She spots a
few large, weathered, eggshells, and smiles, `Oh, you're younger than I
thought! Where's your mom?'
The creature just looks sad.
`I bet the author is getting tired of refering to you as "creature,"'
Chibi-usa says, smiling, `And just calling you "Zaibaha" would be impolite, so
what's your name?'
The creature makes a warbling trill.
Chibi-usa repeats the trill, `is your name?' she touches Trill's nose.
Trill shakes her head from side to side.
`Good,' Chibi-usa says, `My name's Usagi. Since I got you bit, I'll
hang out here until your mama gets back, OK?'
Trill shakes her head from side to side again.
`Megumi?' Chibi-usa asks.
`Yes?'
`Let them know I'm baby-sitting for a Zaibaha, OK?' Chibi-usa says in
Japanese.
`What's a Zaibaha?'
`Space aliens, look like Pleisiosaurs. Lovely, sweet people, lots of
fun, lovely sense of humor. I don't know what they are doing here, though.'
`The seismics of that island are bad,' Megumi tells her.
`How bad?'
`Major problems tomorrow and the next day.'
`Oh.'
Chibi-usa turns back to Trill, `I hope your mother gets home soon,
'cause we're gonna have to leave tomorrow,' she asks in Japanese, `Evening
tomorrow?'
`Yes, about five,' Megumi says.
`Can you send Ami-chan over? If their ship's on this island, I'd like
to find it before the island goes up.'
`They'll be over there in an hour, Usagi says, and.'
`Chibi-usa! Are you OK? Who'd you shoot?' Usagi's voice is
concerned, but not panicked.
`A shark. He'd bitten,' Chibi-usa says Trill's name, `The baby
Zaibaha, and his friends were too close. I feel kinda bad about it, but.'
`Are you OK?'
`Yes, but,' Chibi-usa says Trill's name again, `got bit, so I had to
patch her up. She'll be fine, in a little while, though.'
-
`There's something strange under the floor of the cave,' Mercury says,
looking at the floor of the cave through her visor, `but it doesn't look like
a ship.'
`Show me?' Chibi-usa asks.
Mercury calls it up on her computer's screen.
`Yep, that's a Zaibaha spaceship. Do we have any scuba gear?'
-
Chibi-usa rechecks her muzzle-cover, takes another deep breath,
glances at her camel laying in the sand, touches the hilt of the knife she's
belted about her waist, then dives in, stroking firmly towards the submerged
floor of the cave.
Usagi holds Rei's hand tightly, Mercury watches a little worriedly,
and Trill dives in after her.
They swim down, then Trill watches worriedly as Chibi-usa digs into
the mud, striking metal only a few inches down. Chibi-usa shifts around,
coming across the lock controls. She presses her face close to the panel, and
with a groan the airlock slides open, stopping after barely more than a meter.
Trill squeezes through after Chibi-usa, and the door shuts.
-
`OK, the ship's a little damaged, the FTL drive is far beyond my
repair skill, but the sublights work. A lava flow is running over the the
ship from here,' she touches the map she's drawn on the floor, `to here.' she
touches the other side. `There's a layer of silt between the rock and ship,
but we'd still need to break it up before we can get it out.'
`You can fly it?' Usagi asks.
Chibi-usa taps the back of her head, `Not as well as a Zaibaha could,
but well enough to get it out of here once it's been broken loose.'
`How do you propose we do that?'
`I've got almost enough explosives in my ruck, or we could try using
magic.'
`I've four kilos of C-4 in mine,' Rei says.
`Good enough,' Chibi-usa looks down, `I hate underwater demolitions
work,' she says, then gets to her feet.
-
Trill watches as Chibi-usa shoves another block of explosive and
detonator into the mud, pressing it in until it hits rock.
Chibi-usa shoots back to the surface, breathing deeply, `Six more,'
she calls to the girls on the shore.
-
*BOOM* the water rises, splashing against the roof of the cave, and a
few rocks fall down with it.
`Pack up the detonator?' Chibi-usa asks Rei.
Rei nods, and Chibi-usa slips into the water, Trill following after.
After a few minutes the irregular shape of the Zaibaha ship rises from the
water, and backs jerkily out of the cave, then settles on top of the water.
Chibi-usa climbs out of one of the side hatches, which opens all the
way.
-
`My Lady!' Chibi-usa greets Trill's mother, who swims up as the sun
starts to set.
`My dear?' Trill's mother asks.
`Trill rescued me from some sharks, and I got them off our tail, and
well, the island's gonna go up again. I thought you'd like your ship back
before it does.'
`It's been a while since I've seen it,' Trill's mother says. `The FTL
drive's shot, so I'm stuck here, but it's nice to be less stuck than I was.'
`Ami-chan's really smart, maybe she and Megumi can help you fix it?'
`They'd have to do it themselves, since I have no clue how to fix an
FTL drive.'
`You could read the manuals for them, and that'd help a lot.'
`I'll do what I can.'
`Cool!' Chibi-usa says, `You can use the dry dock at Port Arthur.'
`Where's that?'
-
Ami watches Chibi-usa strip her shotgun, carefully scrubbing verdigris
from each round with a green scrubby pad, then washing the gun's parts in hot,
soapy water.
`Why did you go swimming with that gun? Isn't salt water bad for it?'
Chibi-usa looks up from scraping at the gas piston, `Yeah, but it's
got a teak stock, and it's all parkerized or hard chromed stainless. Not much
of a corrosion problem, but I need to oil the stock again.'
`Furniture oil?' Ami asks.
`Dr. Dobbs, I've got a bottle of it in my camel.'
Ami digs for a moment, then takes out the little bottle, and sets to
work, rubbing the oil into the wooden parts of the stock and fore end.
She finishes about the time Chibi-usa starts re-oiling her dried metal
parts.
-
`Bored, bored, bored,' Chibi-usa says, laying back on her camel,
shotgun on her belly, kicking her feet.
`How did you do all of that, with Bark's ship?' Minako asks from the
other couch, leaning back against Kail's lean form, the youma's fingers
playing with her hair as she smiles down at the girl.
`I spent three years with the UDTs,' Chibi-usa starts.
`UDTs?'
`Underwater Demolition Teams. High-speed, covert-ops group, lots of
prestige, lots of good training. I hated it.'
`Why?'
`Persona clash, mostly. I couldn't stand my unit commander, and he
couldn't stand me. I'da taken care of that, but I couldn't find a good enough
excuse.'
`Taken care of?'
Chibi-usa gives her a look, waits for Minako to blink, `I'd just come
off six months of being retired, after ten years as Sergeant Major of the
Army. He was just horrible, to everyone in his command, but he was barely
competent and didn't get anyone killed, so,' Chibi-usa shrugs.
`I was more wondering about how you flew the Zaibaha ship.'
`Oh. I had the rig installed when I was trying to get a fighter pilot
commission. The Zaibaha rig is half biological, so it will grow with me, if I
ever get unlocked.'
`Rig?'
`Cybernetic control interface. The weapons it hooks to won't begin to
be available for another hundred and something years, so I didn't bring any.'
`And you got your commission?'
`Too short for a fighter pilot. They let me train up, but wouldn't
give me anything but non-combat cargo runs, so I retired after I served my
twenty,' Chibi-usa shrugs, `I'll think about it again later, perhaps.'
`How many times did you retire?'
`Oh, I'm collecting on six right now. The most recent three timed
out.'
`Timed out?' Kail asks, watching Minako's face as she rubs the girl's
nose.
Minako squirms, wrinkling her nose, gives Kail a half-hearted glare.
`Yeah, the bureaucracy finally realized that some of us just aren't
gonna die, and twitched things so that one only collects retirement for ten
years if one comes back in, but the old ones are grandfathered, so they're
still going.'
`That's rude. You earned the money same as anyone else,' Kail says.
`Yeah, but I've been collecting on my first retirement for two hundred
and something years, which is about a hundred years more than most people.
There's a fair few who're nigh immortal, and more every year. That's just a
bit like misuse of the system.'
`Not much, considering you spent what, fifty years in, that first
time?'
`Sixty-two, actually.'
Chibi-usa goes back to staring at the ceiling, kicking her feet.
-
`It's been weeks since we fought Rubius, and destroyed the spells
they'd left. Nothing's happened since,' Minako frowns at the tactical map,
which has the requisite pins in it marking attack sites.
`I think I need to play decoy, and try to draw them out again,'
Chibi-usa says, `Have some heavier weapons on hand this time, .50 BMGs, 20mm
autocannon, MK-19s. I'd really like an A-10, but without a rig they're not
safe enough to use in a city this crowded.'
`Can you fly one? You're rigged,' Ami says, looking at Chibi-usa
intently.
`I can perform operator-level maintenence on a ground-attack plane's
rig, but I'm not studly enough to build one,' Chibi-usa shakes her head, `I
can replace parts with the manual and spares, but that's it.'
`Sigh. We've some towed howitzers and a few Hond IIIs we can stage
around,' Usagi says, `Will that be enough?'
`That should do, actually,' Chibi-usa says, `but be sure to evac
wherever we're going to do this,'
`Of course. Ami-chan, do you have a tracker we can plant on whoever
comes before they run?'
`Yes, I do,' Ami says, `But it's kinda big,' she pulls a lump of
crystal, wire, and electronic components, with a four D-cell battery holder
duct-taped to one side. The whole mess is about the size of half a loaf of
bread.
`Wow,' Kail says, `It's too big for a plugger bag,' she hurries from
the room, returning with a large square green bag, `But it might fit in here,'
she pulls out the MELIOS, sets it on the table, and holds Ami-chan's tracker
up to the emtpy bag, `If we hack a lot of the foam out.'
`Here,' Chibi-usa drops a square grey bag, like a collapsible cooler,
on the table.
`That'll do perfectly,' and the device is quickly tucked inside.
`How do we get them to take it?' Usagi asks, glancing around the
table.
`We put the ginzuishou in it,' Chibi-usa says, and pulls a crystaline
flower from nowhere, the ornate thing glittering with radiant white light. It
vanishes as quickly as she produced it, `Or my fake, anyway.'
`That was a fake? It looks better than the real one,' Usagi says,
impressed.
`Yep. I did a good job,' Chibi-usa says proudly.
-
`Are we ready?' Minako asks, glancing around at the JSDF liason, Kail,
Usagi, Chibi-usa, Rei, Ami-chan, the four infantry squad leaders, the
helicopter crews, the artillery forward observer, and the crew for the single
Hond III on site.
Everyone nods, and an affirmative murmor fills the room.
-
Chibi-usa lifts off the ground, sparkling lights swirling around the
park, a little smile on her face, shotgun in her left hand, grey bag over her
left shoulder.
Rubius shows up shortly after, darting towards her. The lights
change to a crackling, nearly coherent plasma, and Chibi-usa drops to the
ground with a little grunt as the plasma blows through the space Rubius had
been in, burning a gouge through the park, into the street, and the building
it on the other side. `Missed,' she says, and dives back, bringing her
shotgun to her shoulder.
The Hind-D opens up with its chin gun, heavy rounds thundering towards
the franticly dodging figure.
Rubius hides behind an old, gnarled tree, and the Hind circles around
after him.
`Yume! Yume! Yume!' yells a droid, charging towards the helicopter
gunship.
Its pilot takes the better part of valor, and climbs rapidly, even as
the chin gun blasts away at the receding form. The droid doesn't risk an
attack, but isn't hit as it dodges wildly.
*POP* *POP* *POP* *POP* the loud, slow, oversize automatic popgun
noise of the blowback operated 40mm grenade launcher sounds as a JSDF trooper
fires at the droid. The high explosive grenades blow up with a loud *BLAM*
and a small cloud of smoke, the occasional susurating whir of a spinning bit
of shrapnel. One hits the droid dead in the foot, and it doesn't get up,
fading into black mist as the cloud of smoke drifts slowly away.
Rubius dodges towards Chibi-usa, taking advantage of the Dark Kingdom
militia's reluctance to endanger the older trees. He takes a facefull of
buckshot, and goes down, rolling to one side as Chibi-usa jerks a box magazine
from under her uniform top, and slaps it into the bottom of her gun.
She fires at Rubius again, putting a couple balls through his jacket
as he dodges, then hits him in the ribs with a slug. He grunts, a pained
expression on his face, and stops for a moment, so she hits him in the other
side. He drops to his knees, then falls over on his face. He has no exit
wounds, Chibi-usa notes as she walks up, keeping him covered. She frees her
left hand for a moment, and signals quickly, before resuming her walk.
Rubius groans as she gets close, then looks sideways at her, trying
not to move his head. Chibi-usa carefully doesn't smile, taking another
couple steps, and poking Rubius with her bayonet, faking shock as Rubius
forces himself to his feet with a groan, and grabs the grey bag, jerking it
free and vanishing.
Chibi-usa drops the box mag, settles to one knee, and draws the
charging handle on her gun, catching the slug as it ejects. She rides the
charging handle forward, draws it back, and drops it, chambering a round of
buckshot from the tube magazine under the barrel. She feeds the slug into the
box mag, slips it back into her LBV under her top, then feeds her tube mag a
couple rounds.
`Well, we drove them off,' Minako starts.
The JSDF liason runs up, interrupting her, `Maejima gunshou's passed out,
this black mist from the yo-, kai-, enemy surrounded him, he looked really
scared, and now he's having a nightmare, and we can't wake him up.'
Ami and Usagi look at each other, then turn to the lieutenant, `Lead
the way.'
The trooper who had been firing the mark nineteen looks much the worse
for wear, a sheen of sweat on his face as he writhes, bits of scared, angry
nonsense slipping from his lips, `No, Kaoru, please,' and `Rei! Help me!'
mixed with `Asuka! No, let her go!'
Mercury has her computer out, and is scanning him.
Moon reaches out, laying a hand on his shaking form, `Do you recognize
the names?'
`Those are his friends,' another sergeant says, `They've been together
since before he joined, live in the same apartment.'
`Good,' Sailor Moon says, `Possesion?' she asks Mercury.
Mercury nods.
Moon takes a few steps back, pulls the Moon Stick from no where, and
calls the attack, `Moon Healing Escalation!'
Bright light surrounds the young man on the ground, driving the
darkness back, warming the people around him, and burning up the black
mist as it is driven from his pores.
He wakes as the light fades, `No!' he sits up, staring around him,
then lays back, `Magical attack?' he asks.
`Yes,' Mercury says.
`Good,' sergeant Maejima rolls over, forces himself to his feet, bows
deeply to Moon and Mercury, `Thank you.'
`Thank you,' Minako says, walking up.
`I just shot at it until I got lucky. No big deal,' Maejima puts a
hand to the back of his head.
The other sergeant drags him off, `You just have the worst luck, don't
you, Shinji? All four of you getting your ID stolen right when you got to
Tokyo, then your first apartment was destroyed by that freak earthquake, now
this? And you've only been here six months!'
`I'm sure more fun and excitement is planned for me by the author,'
sergeant Maejima says, a little smile in his voice.
`What is that about?' Moon asks.
`What is what?' Chibi-usa asks.
`"planned for me by the author",' Moon quotes.
`Oh, he's a 'Ficcer, or just plays with the rituals.'
`What's a 'Ficcer?'
`Someone who believes she is living in a story someone else is
writing,' Chibi-usa smiles, `They like to talk about possible plot twists,
break the fourth wall, and complain if their life is to predictable, telling
the author ways they could improve the story.'
`That's,' Moon pauses, `Not much odder than a lot of things.'
Chibi-usa looks around, trying to figure out where the camera should
be, then addresses it, `No, it isn't, really,' and she smiles and winks.
Mercury laughs, and Chibi-usa joins her.
-
`So, we have a firm fix, and can open a gate to there?'
`Know where they are, yes, can open a gate, no. However, now that we
have a fix, we can shell them within thirty seconds of them opening a gate,'
Ami smiles, `And that should drive them out.'
-
Usagi rounds on General Chang, `I'm going in. I'm the biggest gun we
can use, and may be the biggest gun we have.'
Chang attempts to rally, `If we lose you,'
`Mars and Endymion will have to take over. They aren't incompetent.'
`But they aren't you.'
`No one is. We've got to go in, the next time they open a portal.
We've been shelling them for nearly a week, and they haven't backed down a
bit.'
`No,' Rei says, `You're not going in there without me.'
`I'm coming, too,' Ami says.
`And tactical experience never really hurts,' Chibi-usa says.
`That's three, plus a heavy-weapon's team?' Minako asks, `The .50 BMG
carbines are finally sampling.'
`I guess,' Moon says, `Youma, I hope?'
`Yes,' Minako nods, `I've had sixteen squads volunteer.'
`Ow. Choose one,' Usagi says.
-
The ten stand in a circle, staring at the blurry, black and white
imagery laid out on the table. We recognize the youma from the squad that
backed up the senshi when they first met Chibi-usa.
`This,' Ami says, `Is all whe know about what's in there. There
appears to be one main room, and thirteen smaller rooms-'
She's interrupted by the sound of Chibi-usa's pencil, `The floor plan
is like this, it's a standard Dark Kingdom design. They've modified it a bit,
fucked the FTL drive to give it time travel capabilities,' she traces the
lines on the imagery on the table with her eraser, `and these crystals are not
standard equipment. These three probably provide most of the offensive power
for the ship, and this one almost certainly maintains the pocket it's in.'
`So, what do we do?' Usagi asks.
`Don't destroy this crystal, this one, or this one, or we're in
trouble. .50 BMG should be enough to injure Rubius, or magical attacks. If
we can take the ship intact, we'll be able to bring two company-sized units
after Wiseman. He has three more high-level minions like Rubius, according to
the sisters. They want a piece of him, and want to come along when we go.'
`No,' Usagi says, `They're too recently freed. Wiseman may have
magical traps in them still, so,' she shakes her head, `No.' She smiles,
suddenly, `And it's too early to plan that, anyway.'
-
`There!' Mercury says. She stands up, holding out her hands.
The other nine get up, grabbing her hands, a few blinking and a bit
groggy from sleep.
"SAILOR TELEPORT!" everyone yells along with the sailors.
The table in the middle of their ring crumbles under the stress, the
floor cracking and lifting free, and the ten vanish in a flash of light, the
crumbled bits of floor piling onto the ground.
Rubius and Esmeraud startle as three Sailors, a Dark Kingdom heavy
weapon's squad, and CPT Tsukino teleport in.
The ten drop hands, and dive for cover as Rubius starts attacking
them. They return fire, .50 BMG shockingly loud in the confined space.
Esmeraud looks on in bemusement for a moment, before she drops with a
half-inch hole in her belly. She screams, clamping her hand over it, and
Rubius takes one to the throat. He falls, blood gushing, and most everyone is
crushed to the floor. The feline SSG forces herself to her knees, and shoots
him in the head, emptying the last ten rounds from her magazine on full auto.
Chibi-usa groans, then the gravity vanishes, Esmeraud shrieking as she floats
off the floor.
With a faint hum, the ship emerges into normal space, appearing over
Tokyo. Everyone hits the floor as gravity grabs them again. Chibi-usa
whimpers, `Megumi, clear me a spot somewhere, the defenses on this thing are
tough, and I don't want to find out what'll happen if they win before I can
shut it down.'
`Yokota airbase, east hanger twelve, out front,' Megumi replies.
Windows shatter for miles around its path as the ship goes supersonic
for almost a minute, then settles gently to the concrete and goes silent, all
of its systems shutting down.
Esmeraud whimpers, clutching her belly, where red blood seeps between
her fingers.
-
`I don't like her,' Beruche says, firmly, Cooan standing behind her.
`That's because she likes Petz best,' Karaberas says.
Jamanen, who is curled around her, nods agreement.
`She likes me best because she loves me,' Petz shrugs, her face blank,
but her voice wavers a little, `Or at least that's what she's said. I hope
she wasn't lying.'
-
Queen Serenity starts her interogation with, `Who do you love?'
`Di,' Esmeraud starts, frowns, her knuckles whitening, `D-d-d,' she
stutters, unable to force the lie out.
`Petz is alive, and fine,' Queen Serenity says.
`What? How? She vanished, and I,' Esmeraud forces her lips closed,
eyes scared.
`You can come in,' Queen Serenity presses a button on the table while
she speaks.
`Coming,' Petz's voice says, then the woman rushes into the room,
stopping at the edge of the table, on Queen Serenity's side, `Esmeraud?' she
asks, holding out one hand.
`Petz?' Esmeraud's eyes widen, then soften with the rest of her face
as she collapses into tears.
Petz looks to Queen Serenity for permission, then walks around the
table and wraps Esmeraud in her arms.
-
`Esmeraud confirms what the sisters told us - Wiseman, Dimando, Saffir
and many droids remain. Very few or none of the droids even approach
Jamanen's power level. Dimando and Saffir are both more powerful than
Esmeraud, but Saffir is only a little bit more powerful. Wiseman's power
levels are unknown, but he's maintaining the assault on Crystal Tokyo,' Usagi
looks around the table, `We'll take all the Sailors and two hundred
volunteers. Any strategic questions?'
Everyone shakes their heads, even General Chang, who looks glum, as
usual.
`OK, then down to brass tacks, or tactics, anyway,' Usagi's lips
twitch up.
Everyone who catches the translated pun smiles, and Chibi-usa laughs.
-
The ship crackles and shakes, Chibi-usa frowning a little, strapped to
a seat near one side of the main room, surrounded by nearly half of their
force, the other hundred squished into the other rooms.
With a final *BANG* and a nausiating swirl to the artificial gravity,
the ship drops into normal space. Chibi-usa smiles, `Welcome to the Thirtieth
Century Gregorian, or 5214, P.O.E.E. I hope you have a pleasant stay in our
time, and remember, this mission isn't happening.'
Everyone groans at the reminder of the mission's official non-status.
`I'll have a view of Crystal Tokyo up on the main monitor shortly,'
Chibi-usa smiles, `There we go.'
The sun shines down on the gleaming crystal and eldritch angles of the
Dark Kingdom's future capitol. Someone chokes, and someone else says `Don't
you dare!'
After a moment, the little wisps of smoke and spots of blackened
crystal begin to make themselves known, along with the bright flash and white
smoke of artillery rounds, off to the left of the picture, north-west of the
Imperial Palace, which still sits in the center of Tokyo, a couple kilometers
from the steel spire of Tokyo Tower.
Chibi-usa brings the craft to a gentle stop near Tokyo Station, which
has expanded drastically, although some of the nicer brick sections remain from
the original structure.
Several familiar looking figures step out onto a balcony, and wave.
Chibi-usa unbuckles, `Last stop, Everyone off! Last stop!'
Everyone makes the three-meter jump easily, and look around, taking in
the changes and the people waiting.
Sailors Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, and two they don't recognize
are standing next to Queen Serenity and Prince Endymion. All are in LBVs
matching their costumes, with a variety of mundane weaponry, Chibi-usa smiles
up at the pink-haired Sailor in pink and white, and the black-haired Sailor in
white and purple next to her. The pink-haired Sailor smiles, and the dark
ruffles her hair.
`They don't look any older,' someone says, and there is a collective
nod.
Sailor Mars smiles, `Oh, we are, it just doesn't show on the outside
much.'
Queen Serenity nods, `Come on it,' and waves them in.
Her younger self looks at her, then marches up, puts her hands on her
shoulders, and looks her right in the eyes
She frowns, `Rei-chan, she's taller than I am, right?'
Both Sailors Mars turn to look, but only the younger measures, `No,'
they say in unison.
`That's just not _FAIR_!' Sailor Moon whines loudly, and presses her
face to her Mars's shoulder, weeping grandly.
Everyone stares, nervously, until Queen Serenity starts laughing, and
the other Sailor Mars starts clapping.
`That's better,' Sailor Moon says, and steps back, smiling, eyes dry.
Everyone else laughs, then.
Inside, the walls are slightly curved, and made of various translucent
materials which have the hard click of stone. It's a very pretty effect.
After a moment they realize that the decor and design are a little off.
`Hey,' Mercury says.
`Yep,' the older Mercury smiles at the younger.
`What?' Mars asks.
`I asked her for a People's Palace,' Queen Serenity says, `So a lot of
this was cribbed off of Grand Central Terminal, with the rest being either
inspired by Antonio Gaudi or just straight Mizuno Ami.'
They step onto another balcony, which looks out over the tracks, under
a great dome, painted on the inside. Or so they think, for as they watch the
starscape shifts, then does an elegant swirl-fade to a picture of a small blue
planet, circling very close to a dull brown star.
`Nemesis, and Dark Moon. The population there are the decendents of
those who couldn't live in the Dark Kingdom,' Queen Serenity shrugs a little,
her hands loose on the rail, `Or wouldn't. We offered to find them someplace,
but they wanted to find their own. It's only a little worse than the Pocket
the Dark Kingdom used to inhabit, and it won't collapse. They survive with
hard work and piracy and humanitarian aid from us. About fifty years ago,
give or take, we received word that Prince Dimando had `met someone' on his
last trip, and then his whole clan left Dark Moon.'
`Wiseman,' Sailor Moon says.
`Yep. His defenses are too strong for me to crack without risk to my
city, my people, and my planet,' Queen Serenity turns around, leaning back
against the rail, the saber's drag tapping the organic-seeming upright, her
skirted grey uniform outlining her slender form, and looks at Sailor Moon.
`By yourself,' Sailor Moon says, smiling.
`With just my Sailors.'
-
Chibi-usa smiles up at the two Sailors, and the crowded volunteers,
whittled down to only fifteen, from both the past and present.
`Didja have fun in the past, Small Lady?' Uranus asks.
`Yeah. Met Bark, which was a bit of an honor. Hadn't realized she
started out bone-ignorant of FTL drives.'
`So you rescued her? You never told me that before, just that someone
had,' Neptune says.
`I'll remember that,' Chibi-usa smiles.
The volunteers look confused.
-
`The others will bring down their force-shields, and then we'll blow
the outer door. Don't take your menpos off,' Chibi-usa admonishes the
volunteers, `The segmi will make you almost as tough as one of us, but a hit
to your bare face will still kill you just dead.'
`We remember,' a sarcastic voice says from the back.
`Mikura-chan,' Chibi-usa says, `You may be as tough as a youma,
and your magic is centered around probability, and your own luck, but if you
want to have dinner tonight, you need to pay attention.'
`Yes, mother,' the sixteen year old says, scowling at Chibi-usa's
appropriation of her catchphrase.
`Your mother loves you, and would like you to call,' one of the youma
says, then shakes his head, scowling, `So don't go and die on us, OK?'
Mikura looks a little shaken, but smiles and touches the butt of her
.45, `I don't plan on it.'
`Good,' Chibi-usa smiles at them, `Operational start is in five
minutes. Places, everyone,' she says, and seats her mask, multi-purpose
protective. The MMP seals to her helmet, sharply angled back from the single
ridge down the center, the eyepieces flush with the rest of it.
-
A faint orange glow surrounds Chibi-usa, as the final seconds trickle
down.
With a silent *FOOM* the force-shield around the Chrystal Tokyo Hilton
fails, glittering into nothingness.
The front door is clear glass, or looks like it. The brilliant orange
beam from Chibi-usa bends it in, first a few centimeters, then nearly a meter.
It holds, straining back towards her, glowing brighter with every second.
*BAWOOMB* it blows, turning into a ball of high-energy plasma that expands,
cooling, burning everything burnable in the lobby, and unprotected outside for
blocks.
Chibi-usa sags to her knees. Mikura grabs her up, and runs forward
with the rest.
`Uranus was 'sposed,' Chibi-usa starts.
`I got there first, and she's a Sailor.'
-
Chibi-usa is set on her feet, and unslings her shotgun. It has
sprouted a lump on its pictinny rail, but is otherwise unchanged. Chibi-usa
slaps a box magazine into it, then waves Mikura after her, `Come along.'
Mikura draws, and follows.
-
With a gasp, Mikura jumps back from Saffir's attack. Chibi-usa holes
his jacket with the round of buckshot she had in the chamber, and dives
between his legs, glancing back as she gets to her feet. Mikura has rushed
after her, and grabs his wrist. Chibi-usa runs, followed by the muffled
*crunch* of Saffir meeting the wall.
-
`Wiseman!' Chibi-usa yells. Neptune is down, somehow, gasping and
writhing, like she's in the grip of a nightmare.
Uranus is not in much better shape, skeletal fingers wrapped around
her throat, the Space Sword buried in Wiseman's belly, black blood dripping
down its gleaming length.
Wiseman turns towards her, a dry, raspy laugh coming from his throat,
`Oh, it's the rabbit. Did you get tired of running?'
`I found what I was looking for,' Chibi-usa says, smiling, as she
slows to a stop, about two paces from him, flicking the selector switch on her
gun.
`Oh? What was that?' Wiseman flings Uranus from him, the Sailor
groaning as she hit the wall.
`Help,' Chibi-usa says, and almost floats forward, two quick, sliding
steps bringing her right into his reach. She presses the muzzle of her
shotgun into the darkness of his hood, under his chin, and pulls the trigger.
The first three rounds bruise his jaw, and rock his head back. The
fourth crushes his trachea. The fifth breaks the skin. The seventh knocks
him unconscious. Eight and nine remove the contents of his skull. Ten
through twelve splat against the back wall of the penthouse, deforming and
ricochetting around the room, tearing it up a bit more, little flashes of
flame jetting from the ports on the top of the barrel with each shot.
Chibi-usa releases the trigger, pulls the gun onto the corpse's center
of mass. It falls over. She looks for Neptune, who's calmed, and is forcing
herself to her feet. She looks for Uranus, and the room fills with sparkling
light, then Sailors.
She drops her gun on the body, and throws her arms around Queen
Serenity.
`You were soo cute,' Sailor Saturn says softly to the pink-clad Sailor
Moon.
`Don't,' is her reply.
-
`Damn, but you are so cute when you're confused,' Mizuno Umi whispers
to her wife, as she watches the young group tour the Palace.
`Yes, I am, so long as I don't have to live it,' Ami whispers back,
remembering the past, `Wait for it, wait, wait, there!'
An older pink-haired woman, who looks maybe thirty, and a dark haired
woman of about twenty-five walk in. Both stop, blink, then smile, `My liege,'
they greet Queen Serenity.
She draws on them, holding the saber easily, and we notice that her
wrists are thicker than her younger self, `Apologize,' she says, `I've told
you,'
`Right, sorry Odango-atama,' they chorus happily, smiling.
Queen Serenity huffs, and sheaths her sword with a smile, `You
remember what Mikura looked like at sixteen, don't you?' she asks.
The pink-haired woman blinks, looks at Mikura, and blinks again, `It's
been a loong time since I looked like that.'
`You were just utterly cute like that,' the black-haired woman says,
then walks over and tilts Mikura's chin up, and kisses her.
Mikura sputters, and takes several steps back.
`Don't tease her, Asami,' the older Mikura chides.
-
Chibi-usa looks at the partly melted ruins of her shotgun sitting in a
plastic tub, `I hadn't realized his blood was that corrosive,' she says,
adding soapy water.
Ami looks at the rust-colored water, `Is it salvageable?'
`I don't know. It ate my hand when I picked it up,' she holds out one
gloved hand, misshapen from bandages.
`Ouch.'
`Yeah.'
After three tubs of water, Chibi-usa sets the gun on the table, and
strips it.
`I don't think there's a single piece that hasn't been damaged,' Ami
says after looking for a few moments.
`Oh, there is,' Chibi-usa says, and picks up one of the plastic three
bar sliders, `but I think the gun's a total loss.'
-
Chibi-usa greets them at the door of the ship, smiling, `All Aboard!'
-
`Have a nice vacation,' Chibi-usa says to Usagi, Rei, and Mamoru,
waving at the crowd around the ship, `While it lasts.'
`There's more trouble coming?' Mamoru says.
`In a little bit,' Chibi-usa says, `But you would have been able to
guess.'
`It's always more fun in the Dark Kingdom,' Usagi sighs, and leans into
Mamoru, pulling Rei close. The crowd roars approvingly.
---
log:
since 3168: thoughts/plans/plots
3169/Confusion/70: started. Heh. 170 lines.
3169/Bureaucracy/17: Continued. I missed an update, sometime.
3169/Bureaucracy/18: A bit more.
3169/Bureaucracy/18: edit'd the Rei/Usagi scene a bit.
3169/Bureaucracy/19: Bit more added.
3169/Bureaucracy/21: Bit more
3170/Chaos/66: Yay! Two more eps ^_^
3170/Chaos/73: Added a bit more, put it up, didn't log it.
3170/Discord/1: edited a little, logged what I did last night.
3170/Discord/1: more! Yay!
3170/Discord/3: Tiny bit more.
3170/Discord/3: Bit more.
3170/Discord/4: Tiny pre-breakfast edit.
3170/Discord/6: A bit of blatent mechaphilia. Sigh.
3170/Discord/7: Not sure of the fielding dates of the M240b,
so I went with its more common name.
3170/Discord/10: Tiny bit more, some tiny edits
3170/Bureaucracy/9: tiny edit.
3170/Bureaucracy/26: Tiny edits, a little more.
3170/Bureaucracy/27: more! A fair bit, at that.
3170/Bureaucracy/33: More! End of Sailor Moon R!
3170/Bureaucracy/34: Tiny edits, a little bit better ending.
3170/Bureaucracy/48: Little editting. Sigh.
---------------------------- cut here ---------------------------------
Anyway, I'm still contemplating series titles -- I'm partial to _Dark
Kingdom Rising_ and _Rising Dark_.
Anyway,
Suika
--
ssfr@mac.com
Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.
--Oscar Wilde
<a href="http://homepage.mac.com/ssfr/">Suika no homepage</a>
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