[SM/Xover][FanFic] A Soldier's Duty, chapter 13

[metro...@mindspring.com]

A Soldier's Duty, Fourth Labor
Chapter 13

DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon and related concepts originated by Naoko Takeuchi.
Naoko Takeuchi originated by Mr & Mrs Takeuchi. We'd like to thank the city
of Tokyo for their assistance in the following fanfic. Soundtrack by John
Williams. Special Effects by Industrial Light & Magic.

"War is a series of catastrophes that culminates in a victory." - Georges
Clemenceau

------------

The "war council" was rather crowded. Especially when it was taking place at
the breakfast table.

"Okay," said Kumori Mizuno, looking over her daughter, her daughter's
fiance, and several guests. "Let me see if I've got this straight. Ami was,
up until last night, the miniskirted samurai of a 10,000 year old magical
kingdom reborn in modern times."

"Uhm, actually, that's 'sailorsuited warrior of love and justice', Mom,"
corrected Ami, who had never realized how silly that actually sounded until
she tried explaining it to her mother.

"The Queen of this thousand century old kingdom has just returned, and
you've been dismissed from service because you stood up for your fiance -
who used to be that queen's consort." Doctor Mizuno waited for her daughter
to nod before continuing. "Your fiance was on the roof with the former
Sailor Pluto here, who was a friend of his in that very same ancient
kingdom, because neither of them are very good with crowds? The Queen got
herself into a royal snit, removed your Senshi abilities, and is basically
going to wait for you to apologize for something you haven't done before she
would restore you?"

"Uhm, yes," said Ami. Setsuna merely nodded.

Kumori nodded. "Meanwhile, another of your friends that is *also* engaged to
Grey-san is in the same boat as you, having had her Senshi abilities
removed. Meanwhile, Ms. Aenslad is *not* engaged to Grey-san but says she's
already sworn to serve him?"

Morrigan daintily used her hankerchief to remove ketchup from her mouth.
"Actually, the term is 'thrall' - and it's not so bad. If I understand the
Japanese customs, it is similar to what a ninja does for her lord."

Neither Grey nor Morrigan understood why the Japanese looked uncomfortable
at that.

Tabling the green-haired girl's faux paus (she hoped it was) for the moment,
Doctor Mizuno continued. "So, Ami and her friends are currently divided by
the presence of this Queen, and your side is lacking in power."

"Ahem."

"Sorry, Ms. Aenslad." Doctor Mizuno considered. "Perhaps, daughter, you
should take this as an opportunity. You could study abroad and get to know
your fiance in an area less prone to supernatural conflicts. There are many
fine medical colleges in America."

Ami started blushing and shrinking in on herself, stammering something that
might have been a denial.

Kumori observed the way Ami eyed her fiance and decided that the
relationship wasn't unsalvageable. Despite the news report mentioning Ami's
relationship with her friends being less than platonic. "Well, there's only
one thing to do."

Morrigan held up a finger. "Stage a coup?"

Setsuna shook her head. "No belittlement of your abilities, Aenslad-san, but
she has the Crystal. We would be better off going elsewhere. Besides, I
deserve a vacation. At this rate she'll alienate the rest of the Senshi and
they'll be joining us soon."

Ami didn't think much of that idea. "Request an audience with the Queen when
she's in a better mood?"

Grey didn't consider *that* worth considering seriously. "Finish breakfast
and get to school?"

"Bingo," said the Doctor with a nod to Grey.

---------

Staring into the mirror and adjusting the scarf of her school uniform, a
young girl tried not to cry.

Minako Aino had spent a great deal of time being alone.

With the nagging and kibbutzing of a certain white-haired mooncat, she had
been thrust into the role of Sailor V without much preparation. It had been
"sink or swim" - and while she'd felt overwhelmed and about to go under at
any moment, she had overcome.

The relief at being able to join the rest of the Senshi, of no longer having
to fight alone as Sailor V, words couldn't do it justice.

Now she was in limbo.

Usagi was reunited with her mother, but that mother had just kicked Sailor
Venus off the team. Would Usagi, or Makoto, or Rei be allowed to talk with
her? Usagi had been reunited with her Silver Millenium *Mother* - Minako
didn't want to interfere there for Usagi's sake. She also didn't want Rei or
Makoto to share her own fate if they could help it.

Artemis, constant nag that he was, had been some company but he had gone off
to be with the Queen.

Danburite, a fiance from the Silver Millenium, whom she'd abandoned to
pursue Jedite had cursed her to be unable to find love as it might conflict
with duty. How *very* old fashioned Japanese. Minako had sorted this out,
and if she pursued her relationship with Shard as the Knight Of Duty - the
curse would be foiled.

Except that he was no longer Nebula, or was he? The card in that dream had
been faded but not completely. What Minako was thinking now was that just as
she felt pretty much as she always had, that what had been disabled was her
Sailor Venus identity. She still had the connection to that mana. No doubt
she could help to empower Sailor Moon as they'd all done in the past. It was
just that her henshin pen wouldn't work.

So, that meant that Grey was the former Knight Of Duty - still her best
(perhaps only) chance at breaking the curse. Unfortunately, that put her
into conflict with her only remaining friend that she knew was in the same
boat as herself: Ami.

Whether Ami was interested or not was another question. Grey-san apparently
didn't care that much for math (at least during class) and he hadn't shown a
flicker of interest when Ami had mentioned the chess club. For Ami,
studying, chess, and swimming pretty much defined her life. How could she
handle having a fiance? Besides, she had Ryo Urawa if the boy could ever
tear *himself* away from his studies and get into this part of town once in
awhile.

And don't even get her started on Ami's English skills. Minako smiled a
little at that. Ami was a typical "A" student in English: she had rote
memorized large segments of the language, could read it nearly as easily as
Japanese, and didn't know it nearly as well as she thought she did. One of
the problems she'd found in England had been that a lot of the exercises and
manuals written back in the 70s were inaccurate. The English language had
been developed as a trade pidgin for centuries before it became a formal
language, and then it incorporated bits and pieces of other languages for
centuries thereafter. Many Japanese had trouble learning the language,
instead of designed for social interaction and circular dialogues (as
Japanese was), English had its roots in bartering and
get-straight-to-the-point dialogues.

If Grey-san returned to his own country (as was likely), his fiance at that
point would most likely go with him. Ami *might* go and study abroad, but
with Minako it would be a surety. American high school? No problem.

She wouldn't give up. She wouldn't fold. She was the courageous Sailor V no
matter what some Queen said. She'd sworn to protect her princess, and if the
Queen dismissed her - then she was a free agent. Ready to take on the world
and make it give her what *she* wanted!

Minako finished getting ready for school and tentatively smiled at the
mirror. She didn't think she'd fool anyone.

------

The after school meeting was somber to begin with.

Usagi wasn't sure what to say to Minako or Ami, much less Maya or Honey. The
reverse was also true.

Grey busied himself in the kitchen.

"My mother is seriously considering the possibility of me accompanying my
fiance back to the United States," said Ami into the awkwardness. "It seems
that there is little I can do to help now."

"-You still have the Mercury computer, though without the visor,-" pointed
out Grey from where he was adding something to a bowl. Knowing enough
Japanese by now that he was guessing the rest.

Ami blinked then tried to call it forth. Only to stare in surprise when it
appeared. "How? Then can you call your Chain?"

"-Kusari? You're talking too fast again, Ami-chan. And unfamiliar words.-"
Grey started a pot simmering, and added something more to the bowl.

Makoto began to twitch. A guy younger than her in the kitchen. Okay, he'd
made decent food before. That was no guarantee, of course.

Setsuna answered for Grey. "Like my Staff, his Chain was linked to his duty
and identity in the Silver Millenium. You are still the Princess Mercury,
which grants you your computer. The Chain and Staff could be used in our
civilian identity but were part of the identities now sealed to us."

"So can you regain that identity without going back to Mom? I mean, Queen
Serenity?" Usagi corrected herself embarassingly.

"It's possible," allowed Setsuna, sniffing at the smell of something
delightful cooking on the stove. "It is in the nature of our heritage from
the Silver Millenium that special abilities resurface or are discovered in
moments of great crisis or emotion."

Usagi hadn't completely given up on the concept of getting her Silver
Millenium mother and father together again. "Maybe Mom, err, Queen Serenity,
could just use the Crystal to restore you?"

Setsuna spent a moment looking at the ceiling. "She could blast an asteroid
out of orbit with that Crystal. If it were used right and one ignored the
side effects."

"That little crystal has *that* much power?" Morrigan was surprised.

Usagi and the others, sans two mooncats, listened uncomfortably.

Grey continued stirring the pot while putting a tray of something in the
oven."-Yes. It's not inexhaustible though. It's vampiric - feeding on the
emotions and life energies of the wielder. It could kill the wielder, or her
allies if she draws too much power at once.-"

Rei waited until the translation, then made an offhanded gesture. "Well,
that's nothing. If we die, I'm sure Usagi will just bring us back using the
Silver Crystal."

"-Good kami-sama, don't even *joke* about that,-" Grey said, shuddering.
"-You weren't there for Orion's Bane or Hecate's Experiment.-"

"Uhm... Imperial Seal?" Minako guessed.

"-Yes,-" Grey confirmed. "-If the Heir requests it, I can give details. But
you *never* want to try that. That much I can tell you as it *is* need to
know.-"

There was dead silence as everyone turned their gaze from the former Knight
Of Duty to another target.

"eh-heh," managed Usagi weakly. "Uhm. Okay, Dad, what exactly would be so
bad about that?"

Grey let out a long breath. "-Daughter. It's possible to resurrect people
with the Silver Crystal, but did it occur to you that Queen Serenity did NOT
do this after her kingdom fell? That instead of resurrecting you, she used
her own life energies to reincarnate all of you over ten thousand years
later?-"

Usagi was not the only one to get a sinking feeling as they turned that idea
over. Minako had sounded quite thoughtful as she translated. "Uhm. So what's
the bad side? If someone's brought back to life by the Silver Millenium
Crystal, they're not dead anymore at least, right?"

"-Princess,-" Grey began then went into thought as he began adding
ingredients to the pot. "-Are you familiar with the bulk matter transmitter
first developed? How things were broken down into patterns of energy, then
transmitted and reassembled? And no matter how the fractal mechanics were
devised, there were always variations between what was transmitted and what
was remade?-"

Usagi shook her head, but *knew* she didn't like the looming feeling of
something BAD.

"-Orion was a fine warrior, a poet, and a musician. He was reknowned for
being one of the best shots in the Moon Kingdom. He died. A stupid thing,
slipping on a wet tile. As he was a favorite of the Queen at that time, she
used the Silver Millenium Crystal to revive him.-"

When Grey paused, all the Senshi were ready to leap up and scream in
frustration and nervousness. "And?!"

Grey faced them, letting the pot simmer behind him. "-Orion was revived, but
he was *different* from then on. Where he'd been a subcommander before, he
was rather more of a buffoon and not nearly as competent or commanding. His
flaws had become emphasized, and what had been personality quirks had become
exaggerated.-"

Everyone glanced at Minako briefly, who merely looked puzzled as she
translated.

"-Orion died again a few years later. Again the Queen resurrected him,
feeling that she was responsible.-" Grey shook his head. "-This time, Orion
was a two dimensional cariacture of himself. Only the soldier remained, and
his pride was great enough for four men. He died in a useless fight, and
again the Queen revived him - still thinking that she must have gotten
something wrong.-"

"Had she?" Ami found herself asking, ignoring the Mercury computer for now.

"-No. Not really.-" Grey frowned at the girls' reactions. "-The final time
he was basically an automaton. When not around the Queen he essentially shut
down. That was the key, you see. The Crystal takes life force and emotional
strength, and can essentially grant wishes with the strength of the wielder
becoming the strength of the wish. However, there are a lot of variables
that go into the making of a person. Resurrecting a person by the Crystal,
it isn't 100% accurate. You're resurrecting them as a version of themselves,
almost but not quite the same. More, the resurrection is based on the
wielder's idea of what the person was like. It's possible to get good
results, with luck. Once, maybe twice. The third time is *always* a
disaster.-"

There was mass silence answering him.

"-The Queen herself closed Orion's eyes, and said 'Rest Well, Faithful
Servant' and dissolved the husk of Orion that she had resurrected that last
time. Reincarnation seems to work best, but resurrection is fraught with
problems. And you did it didn't you?-"

Usagi and her friends looked at each other, each seeing the fright and
horror in their eyes.

"-The problem with cheating death is that she eventually catches on,-" said
Grey before turning back to his soup.

"Uhm, what are you making there?" Makoto asked, really anxious to have a
change of subject.

"Potato soup. Just water, potatos, onion, parsley, a little flour, chicken
broth, touch of garlic... hey, try it before you go making faces!"

Minako frowned as she finished translating. Couldn't *someone* give her a
hand here?

Makoto winced. Then looked a little surprised as Setsuna walked past her,
used a ladle to pour a small amount into a bowl, then drank the mix.

"-Needs a touch more salt,-" was Setsuna's opinion.

"-Well that and another ten minutes simmering.-" Grey said with a shrug.

"What's in the oven?" Makoto asked, wondering if maybe the rumors about
American guys being completely clueless, especially in the kitchen, might be
a little bit exaggerated.

"Hmmm," hmmmed Ami, thinking of the benefits of a fiance who could cook. She
came home, tired from long hours of study, to find a banquet prepared for
her. Her husband sweeps her close, his arms holding her gently as they lean
together for a kiss...

"Ami, do you feel all right, you look kind of feverish?" Usagi hadn't seen
Ami like this very often. Staring off into space, little smile, flushed,
bright eyes, she hadn't looked like this since the last time Urawa-san had
dropped by. Oh. Nevermind. Cancel Red Alert. Then Usagi glanced at Minako.
"Uh oh."

Minako's eyes were gleaming as she checked out the boy's buns as he puttered
around the stove. Her delicate nostrils had pulled out *another* scent.
"-Grey-chan, what's in the oven?-"

There were a couple of glares at that term being used for Ami's fiance.

"-Ancient American recipe. Well, sort of. They're called 'tollhouse
cookies'. That girl in class - Naru Osaka? She knew a place that sold the
ingredients.-"

"To-ru-hou-so?" Usagi sounded it out. English was still very much not her
specialty. A brief image of a spoon of burning medication passed briefly
through her head as she tried to figure it out as a compounded Japanese
word.

"Chocolate chip cookies," translated Minako.

*Zoom!* Usagi was at the stove's window looking in.

"Tonight's the dance at the mansion," Setsuna said, calmly putting her tea
down. "Why don't we meet at Ichinohashi Park."

Sakura glanced at Maya then at the others. Being silent and in the
background, many ignored her presence. Which was actually a good thing, in
her estimation. That her own name had been added to the fiancee queue was
merely a matter of duty, of course.

---------

Eudial had everything ready. A formal ball. The waltz, drinks, people
mingling. Her hand went to the little dissolving gelcaps containing the love
potion. Yes, after tonight she would have no competition for the boy, then
he would serve *her* cause. And she'd find a way to cut the Wizard out of
the equation.

Haruka Ten'ou and Michiru Kaioh rescued some of their clothing from the
crater that had once been their penthouse. That both of their family
fortunes had been seized, and they were (for the moment) penniless was of
some concern, but they'd overcome adversity before. Though that boy would
surrender his Talisman soon, one way or the other. Perhaps at this Ball.

A spirit of female lust known as the Terakoya gave praise to the kami for
she had found the damn mother lode!(1) Now if there weren't all those scary
damn samurai everywhere.

The Wizard took a good look at the black asteroids. He had been ready to
summon *his* version of Sailor Galaxia. It would have amused him to have a
version running around turning victims into sailorsuited bimbos. The real
one, on the other hand, could be a problem. But then, perhaps he no longer
needed the Nexus at this point.

Queen Serenity assured the two concerned mooncats that everything was fine.
After all, she had the Crystal. If nothing else, all she had to do was
spread its influence and everyone would recall their true path was to obey
her. Which is what she should have done, she reminded them, when Beryl had
started that little problem. Neither Luna nor Artemis found this
particularly satisfying their reservations.

------

"Doom."

"Oh come on, it isn't that bad!"

"Doom!" Usagi insisted. "They're all speaking English!"

"Look at all the cute guys," gushed Minako.

"Look at all the tall guys," said Makoto happily.

"My English is really bad," said Usagi, who would almost rather be facing a
yoma right now.

"Love knows no borders," said Rei.

"It's a good chance to practice your English," said Ami.

"Where is Shard-san?" asked Maya, wondering if this would go as badly as
yesterday's party. Of course, there was no Queen present, and Usagi didn't
seem to act like a Princess normally.

"There's Dad!" Usagi said, locating Grey first. "He's talking to that guy
over there."

"Ooooo, he's tall!" Makoto said.

"He's cute!" Minako observed.

"But there's something *major* creepy about him," Makoto said a moment
later. She wasn't sure why, but the longer she looked at the fellow talking
to Grey the more she felt like ducking for cover.

"You shouldn't judge a duck by its cover," said Minako, wondering why she
felt like hiding behind Makoto.

Mamoru stood behind the group, ready to intervene if it looked necessary.
There were a couple of sharks in these waters: teenage boys who'd think
little of the consequences of getting a teenage girl drunk and into one of
the beds upstairs.

"Oh that group over there, they're *all* tall guys," Makoto said
appreciatively.

"So exotic, and many of them are pretty cute!" Minako agreed, eyeing the
group herself.

"Ahhh, they really are speaking in English!" Usagi moaned.

"Shard-san said that he had some people he wanted us to meet," Ami said,
looking around.

"Ami-chan, he's your fiance and houseguest. I think you can be a little less
formal," Minako said with a groan.

"Ah, all you. This friend mine. Wright Morgan is."

The girls turned, having been watching a group further away and lost track
of Grey as a result.

"WAAAAAGHHH!"

Grey blinked. ~Dang, they can move fast when they want to.~ "-Any idea why
they fled like that?-"

Morgan shook his head. "-Nope. Happened some back home, but here it's
nonstop. Heard Japanese girls were timid, but this is ridiculous. So which
one's the one you're engaged to, and which one is the one you thinks
actually interested in you?-"

"-Well, you see that blond ponytail sticking out from behind the tall one?
That's Usagi and she wants to be my friend. Ami's my fiance, and she's the
one with the short hair who's kinda plastered against the wall. The one with
the bow in her hair who's trying to hide behind the plant is Minako, and she
seems to want to be my pal. Setsuna says she's interested, she's the one
with the long hair who's trying to stand her ground. Except i'm kinda
obligated to try pursuing Ami first, i'm staying at her place after all.-"

The girls continued to stare.

"-Whatever. I thought you said that these girls were brave.-"

Grey sighed. "-Normally they are. i don't get it. i'd bet Hotaru would be
OK.-"

"-*Another* girlfriend? You rock.-" Morgan grinned. For a short guy, Grey
seemed to be doing pretty good.

"-Not even. She's fourteen years old. Calls me her 'sempai', which is
apparently one of those Japanese words that has layers of meanings. Lost her
father and her house recently. She's staying put tonight.-"

"-Whatever. Better luck with someone else. Those girls are too timid for my
taste.-"

--------

Eudial watched her targets carefully, then got a look at Grey's current
companion and almost wet herself. There was no single quality she could
point at for the effect, but the boy was terrifying.

Then the boy finally left, Grey going over to talk with others and look back
towards the girls while looking puzzled.

The greatest threat to her plan, Eudial felt, was the cram school ace: Ami
Mizuno. She and the juvenile delinquent - Makoto Kino, were supposedly a
couple, but they could use some help in that regard. Then there was that
annoying Shinto priestess. She said she wasn't interested but Eudial knew
better. Oh yes. And that samurai girl who'd added her name to the fiancee
list? Needed to be dealt with, and quickly.

A tray of doctored drinks in her hands, Eudial made her move, closing in on
her prey. "Ah, there you are. Mamoru-san, there are some friends of yours
over there who wanted to see you. If you girls will come with me, there's a
private room over here and Edwards-san said he wanted to speak with you."

As Mamoru went off, Eudial smirked and led the girls off towards a room.
Four minutes, that would be all it would take. Then, after they'd engaged in
a mass orgy, she'd lead Shard-san to the room and their humiliation would be
complete, and Shard-san would need some time alone. Which would give her the
perfect time to strike!

-------

Heaven was an odd polyglot by any single set of standards. The "pure" Asgard
of glowing n-dimensional structures that was favored by Belldandy and the
Goddess Relief Office, was at odds with the rather earthy heaven of such
areas as Freya's Forest or Zeus' Olympus with all its ionic pillars and
folded space perspectives that would have hurt Escher's sensibilities.

And, quite frankly, there were people who found perfection less than
satisfying. Mortals often needed something less perfect, just in order to
get their perspective and to relax a bit while visiting the abodes of the
gods.

What had been created in one such instance was a sort of "blotch" amongst
the perfection. Some might call it a slum. To those who idolized Phillip
Marlowe and similar "hardboiled detective" genres it was a piece of heaven
just for them. Framed on one side by an ice cream parlor that looked rather
like a giant chocolate sundae of gleaming glass, and a gymnasium built for
roisterous demigods that liked to get "rowdy" - was a set of alleyways and
faded red brick edifices.

And in one of those alleyways, there sat a place called the Rival Relief
Office. A haven for people and beings who weren't perfect and couldn't
tolerate perfect for terribly long but who still had good intentions. Or, in
some cases, where they could eventually graduate - having worked their way
up and thereby feeling that they had earned Heaven. Except, that is, for one
being. One divine individual who was a part of the Rival Relief Office
simply because nobody else wanted her anywhere *near* them. Mambo Jack, who
had many habits and vices that many found onerous, was tolerated elsewhere.
Kitchiri, on the other hand, had been known to tax Belldandy's patience.

Kitchiri, the goddess of bimbo, was nice, kind, polite, and very very
helpful. The problem was that she was perfect. The ultimate pinnacle of the
bubbleheaded, fumblefingered, lucky for herself, a jinx to anyone else in
the vicinity, oversexed, underinhibited, shallower than a mirror, but quite
attractive if you like that sort, goddess. She was Mihoshi to nth degree,
C-ko Kotobuki with sprinkles and a side order of fries, the very sort of
goddess that caused Celeste to reach for migraine medicine.

Mambo Jack, a god of male potency, thumbed a switch when he went to the room
where Kitchiri was supposed to be filing alphabetically and acting out the
part of a secretary for tour groups, and found that Kitchiri was missing.

Alarms went off through various areas of Asgard and outlying areas. Barriers
slid quietly into place around certain areas. Kitchiri was not evil, nor did
she intend for anything to turn out particularly dangerous. It was just that
she was so helpful. And incompetent. And unlucky.

However, one barrier did not catch in time. One lock mysteriously failed to
function. One alarm failed to sound.

And so, in the Goddess Relief Office, Celeste wondered what that odd sense
of impending doom was from, but continued to work on files, losing herself
in a creative high.

Which was really a darn pity.

Unfortunately, at that point, Serafita was watching a truly demented
crossover timeline (Ranma/Josie & The Pussycats) where Ranma's catfist
training had been completely bizarre.

-----------

Ami lowered her Mercury computer. "There are no traces of Dark Kingdom
energies, no black band signatures, no necromantic auras."

"I could have *sworn*," said Rei. "Could your computer be wrong? You don't
have the visor."

Ami shook her head briefly. "Positive. It's... uh oh."

"Uh oh?!" Several girls backed away from the table, now staring as if they
expected the glasses on the tray to start sprouting tentacles and attack
them. (They did.)

"I think it's been spiked. 40% white grape juice, 45% carbonated water, 10%
alcohol." Mercury frowned, as 5% was coming up "5% water." There was also a
flag indicating unknown microorganisms present. Of course, she'd once made
the mistake of going to Jiffy Burger and scanning the food and getting
results that had made her want to run screaming from the building. It was
that there was two readings on the water that puzzled her.

"Alcohol?" Minako blinked. "What kind?"

"Computer identifies it as a high grade of rice whiskey," Ami started trying
a cross reference.

"That's her evil plan," said Minako - leaping to a conclusion, "she plans on
us drinking a little of that, then she brings the bottle by later, and
pretty soon we're drunk and out of the picture!"

"That fiend!" Usagi chimed in, going to a stance of righteous declaration.
"Errr, why would she do that?"

"So that she could have time to work her wicked feminine wiles on
Grey-chan," declared Minako, matching Usagi's stance perfectly.

Setsuna let out a noise that might have been amusement. "I've spoken with
Eudial Katsuragi. If she relies on feminine wiles, she's unarmed."

Rei and Minako both memorized that line for later use.

"Hmmm," Morrigan sniffed at one of the drinks. Then glanced up at a spirit
that was invisible to everyone else. The Terakoya was quite obvious to her.
And the approaching presence of someone less amusing. A pity to lose the
opportunity for such mischief, but that overbearing worm was going to hurt
someone if he *did* show up.

"I'm getting a surge of dark energy!" Ami declared, reading her computer.
"It's approaching quickly!"

Morrigan grimaced. ~Of course, if I can sense him, he can sense me. And
likely knows I've thralled myself as a measure of protection. Which means
he'll figure out who, though it won't be too obvious.~ "Girls, I'd suggest
any of you that have the ability to transform, use one of those side rooms
and do so."

"Is it a youma?" Rei grabbed her henshin pen, grateful that at least she and
Makoto weren't helpless. And ignoring the yoma - even if Morrigan was an
ally. For the moment, then she'd turn and seduce them all! She'd seen it in
a dream just last night!

"Power level exceeds Malachite's," Ami reported.

Rei and Makoto came to a stop. So did Usagi. Minako just hung her head and
muttered something that didn't sound at all encouraging.

"Exceeds Malachite?" Rei asked, eyebrow twitching.

"Dark energy level at least five times what Malachite possessed," Ami
quickly read the figures. "Beryl level threat, though the energy signature
is quite different."

"Beryl?!" Usagi squeaked.

"He's after me," Morrigan said calmly, transforming her costume. "Now you
can fight alongside me, flee, or just try to keep him from eating any
noncombatants. But I would suggest you move."

----------

Currently without even what he considered his normal psychic talents, Grey
felt crippled even more than by the accumulated injuries.

He'd grown up with the Talent. Some hint or flash of potential paths, some
odd bit of foresight here, the occasional predictive dream or just a
"feeling" that some action was more right than another. It was like in that
series "Magnum PI" where a "little voice" warned the main character that
something was afoot. Not completely reliable, silent more often than he'd
prefer, but when it spoke up one learned to listen.

Now, thanks to the Queen, it was silent. When she'd used the Crystal on him,
she'd been even more thorough than with Setsuna. Ami and Minako had simply
been "turned off" as far as Senshi abilities. Setsuna had been shut down all
the way. Whereas Nebula had been cut apart.

Cutting Nebula off from the Chain had been like severing a good part of the
Knight's psyche - the Chain hadn't just been a tool, it had been invested
with a great deal of his own mental energies to empower it. Then Nebula had
been turned off before he could recover.

Grey had most of Nebula's memories, however there was no discrete part of
"Nebula, aka Basalt, alias the Knight Of Duty" left. The two were one,
though most of Nebula had simply been lost.

It was odd, he'd gotten used to the dual nature there. Maybe it was just
humans being ultimately adaptable creatures. Maybe it was his own "try to
find common ground and concentrate on that" philosophy. Sharing one's skull
with a past self hadn't been all that bad.

Now looking about for Ami (though the conflicting signals she was giving him
were definitely driving him batty), Grey didn't have enough psychic talent
operating to find her, notice the Terakoya, or even the overmuscled figure
of the vampire lord until he blew the patio doors in with an explosion.

"MORRIGAN! COME OUT AND BOW BEFORE YOUR MASTER!"

There were a few shrieks, but these were international students, and some
were not easily cowed. A college student named Ned tried to get protective.
When Dimitri slammed the German boy into a wall with an audible crunch,
people started taking him seriously.

"Dimitri," said Morrigan, stepping out of a side room, "you are supposed to
be a nobleman. Try to have a little class, please."

"What do I care for these cattle? You..." Dimitri stopped and sniffed.
"You've let yourself be thralled?! Nice try, but all I need do is kill your
Master and then I can thrall you myself."

"Not that easy," Morrigan promised.

"Then I'll feast on these mortal kine," Dimitri suggested, turning darker
and manifesting long jagged teeth.

"Hold it right there!"

"Huh?" Dimitri said, sensing a magical presence.

"Party crashers always end in HEY!" Sailor Moon dodged as the vampire sent
an energy blast in her direction. "Why doesn't anyone wait for me to finish
my speech anymore?!"

Sailor Jupiter ran forward, dodging a Soul Fist attack. "You Dark Kingdom
types just make me..."

Dimitri's eyes glowed as he met Jupiter's gaze. "Be a good girl and stay
there for a moment."

"AKURYO TAISAN!" Sailor Mars threw a spread of spirit wards which missed
Dimitri as he teleported. "AAAH!"

Holding the red-garbed Senshi up by her neck, Dimitri smiled. Then was
nailed by Morrigan's own Soul Fist.

"I have fed recently, Morrigan. You have not. I will win." Dimitri promised,
tossing aside Sailor Mars. "More to the point, I have used the time since
our last meeting to find an artifact of power."

"MOON TIARA ACTION!"

Again Dimitri teleported. "Observe." The vampire gestured and shadows began
flowing over Sailor Moon who went into a panic attack. "I am now more than a
Lord Of Darkness. I *am* the Darkness."

Morrigan launched herself, rising up, then spinning down.

Dimitri teleported to appear behind Sailor Jupiter. With one gesture he
bared her neck and showed his fangs. "Don't give up? Perhaps your friends
will join me in the Darkness."

Morrigan hesitated, seeing Makoto staring glassily off. "Damn, I *knew* I
should have taught them some mental defense techniques."

Dimitri smiled, then a little shocked as someone slammed a broken piece of
wood into his back.

Sailor Jupiter dropped, the haze beginning to clear from her eyes, as
Dimitri turned to see who had begun this new attack.

A thin strip of a boy, who looked scared but determined. And holding another
piece of wood in his hands.

Dimitri blinked. His aura. "Nice try, but you have to penetrate the heart in
a single motion and you lack the strength to do so. If I had a heart, that
is."

Morrigan attacked, a quick series of kicks and wing slashes. Dimitri briefly
endured, then slammed the boy with a Soul Fist. As he had figured, Morrigan
reacted as if *she* had been struck as well. "So, this *boy*, Morrigan? Your
tastes are fairly poor. Once I have mastered you, that will change. I..."

Morrigan stopped. Dimitri stopped. Power had just flared within the room.

Hotaru Tomoe, age 14, a child of poor health, was glowing purple. With
something that looked like a letter "h" on her forehead.

Morgan Wright, a bit older, a scruffy looking fellow, was glowing blue.

Hotaru watched her sempai trying to get back up and the big muscular guy
with the teeth about to knock him back down. She lost her temper and said
the words in her head. "Saturn Planet Power - Make Up!"

Morgan watched his most recent friend try to get up and attack someone
clearly several orders of magnitude more powerful than himself. He knew what
was needed, and that was enough. Obsidian stood, crouched to begin an
attack.

Minako, still running on Sailor V reflexes, managed a fairly good flying
"Sailor V Kick" despite being just plain Minako Aino. Setsuna Meiou proved
that she had spent some time practicing with her staff, and an improvised
stake worked quite well. Maya Tono and Sakura Shinguchi circled, weapons at
the ready. Ami found herself in front of Grey, ignoring him trying to get
up, as she scanned.

Sailor Moon finished screaming something about "Rei-chan" then took her own
place, winding up for an attack.

The problem each was running into was that they had *no* experience with
working together, the few who had were already on the ropes. Therefore a lot
of attacks were started, only to stop as an ally got in the line of fire.

"ENOUGH!" Dimitri roared and sent a wave of darkness in all directions.
Furniture shattered, pulverized. Several attackers dropped or were stunned.
Dimitri quickly crossed to the girl who was between him and his primary
target, and bared her neck with a well practiced move. "I need to recharge,
and gain an ally. You're elected." He bit deeply, drinking of her blood and
essence.

Grey struggled up, really missing Nebula's ability to use chi to heal
himself, and saw Ami getting drained of blood.

--------

Celeste nodded at the crowd. "Okay, votes are in. These three received equal
numbers of votes. Since it's genre for emotional stress to unlock powers and
the like, we'll just use this Aspect to replace Nebula."

"Oh! I didn't get to vote!"

Celeste involuntarily froze, her face a mask of horror. "...no. Please. Not
*her*..." Nor was she the only one reacting in such a manner.

And then the word from Kitchiri's mouth. The word mortal and deity alike had
learned to fear. A term that many, from the inhuman Red-Gold-Orange to the
beholder Tennyson to even Belldandy had learned to associate with disaster.

"Oopsie!"

----------

(1) The Terakoya appeared in the "Sailor Moon SuperS Special: Ami Chan's
First Love". The mythological significance of this gaudily dressed spirit is
unknown by myself. Anybody know if there's actually a background to this
char?
(2) Kiyou Binbou is a myth/legend/example for the Japanese. A guy who
starved to death because he couldn't specialize.

=================

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""The word politics is derived from the word 'poly' meaning many, and the
word 'ticks' meaning bloodsucking parasites." - Larry Hardiman

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