Chapter Eight: An Old Friend

The demon was - while physically more powerful than any we'd fought yet - still pretty pathetic. Either someone was getting desperate, or their imagination was limited. At least it was based on the new Gojiro, instead of one of the Toho versions. That meant we didn't have to worry about defending Tokyo from radioactive breath - and that it wasn't effectively invulnerable. While the Senshi fought it, I draped Luna and Artemis over my shoulders and went hunting its summoner.

"We've done this every time the oni have shown up, and the only time we ever caught him was that one time by the shrine. I'm starting to wonder if he's using a remote operations base now," Artemis grumbled as we bounded from rooftop to rooftop in our quest for the enemy.

"You used to do this with Sailor V?" Luna asked Artemis after we'd covered a half-dozen blocks. "You're braver than I thought."

I chuckled as an image of Princess Leia and Han Solo came to mind. As if on cue, I misjudged my next jump and fell short. While the cats froze in anticipation of hitting the ground, I fired my grappling line and used my momentum to swing up to the roof of the building next to my original target.

"Important safety tip," I panted as I scanned the horizon in hopes of getting a feeling for my target's location. "Always jump far enough to hit the next roof."

**It would be easier if we could figure out how to generate a real Ravenfield**

**I know, Edgar. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if that's something that can be generated electronically.**

**It definitely violates standard laws of physics, but does it violate hyperdimensional physics?**

"Of course!" I laughed, drawing worried looks from both cats. "I should have seen it sooner!"

"I think we're in trouble," Artemis murmured to Luna.

"I know we're in trouble," she replied.

"Relax, you two. I just saw the answer to a problem I've been trying to solve for weeks. Now let's find that bastard."

"He's going to be a bad influence on Serenity."

"And Minako. Not that she needs a bad influence."

"Bill, I really wish you'd use more appropriate language. It's not proper to swear around the Princess."

"We're not around the Princess, are we, Luna? And can you think of a more appropriate term for that thing we've already found once?" Something felt strange...about twenty feet away, in my eight o'clock position. I tossed both cats toward the other side of the roof and rolled, coming up with blades in hand, facing the direction of my feeling.

The roof where I had been standing was still smoking, and my dance partner was glaring at me. He obviously hadn't expected me to sense his approach.

"Surprised, pig-eater?" I asked in Khemetic. "You'd be amazed at what you can hear if you know how to listen."

"That explains it," the shadowy figure snarled - also in Khemetic. "Well, Demon Hunter, you've interfered for the last time. Prepare to die."

Why do they always insist on wasting time with threats and speeches? Not that I'm complaining, you understand. It gives me more time to off them before they can do their dirty work. As he raised his hand to fire off his attack, I got him - exactly the same way I had before. He looked down at his belly, where I was twisting the blades in hopes of damaging him enough to keep him down this time, and began to fade once again.

"I'll...be...back."

"No, you won't," I snarled, and went inside. Good thing it was a flat roof; as soon as I shifted to the other side, my body dropped like a sack of flour. Not long after my nightmare, Setsuna had casually asked if I'd been doing much travelling on the other side - making it clear in her usual indirect way that it was important I do so. I was getting as comfortable out of my body as I was in it.

The look of surprise and fear in the demonologist's eyes was inspiring. I triggered my Ravenfield and fired into his body with beams of pure white light from both hands. As I'd expected, Love was one energy he couldn't face. He screamed as my love of Ami, of Usagi, of Haruka, of Setsuna, of all the Senshi, my friends and true family, poured out through my hands and into his form.

He fired back with swarms of hatred, which sank into my Ravenfield and fed my own power. I laughed as I realized he didn't understand that the opposite of love isn't hatred; it's indifference. Hatred is nothing more than twisted love; love that's been turned in on itself to form a bond that's just as strong as pure love, but without the joy. With my laughter, the enemy broke, gibbering in terror as my beams burned away his power, his self-image, everything that made him what he was.

"No more. Please." The demonologist had stopped fighting and was now curled up like a terrified child, rocking with his arms wrapped around his legs and sobbing. I stopped my attack and scanned the surroundings. Any vestiges of demonic energy had either been destroyed or fled in the light of my attack, so I knew he was no longer a threat.

"Who are you?" I asked, flying toward him.

"I...don't remember," he answered, turning a tear-streaked face toward me. "I've been...what I was...for so long, that I'm not sure I'm even human any more."

"You certainly look human to me." I brought my legs up into a lotus position and hovered, watching him thoughtfully. "Want to tell me why you were attacking Tokyo?"

"There...there's a temporal nexus that's going to open there soon, and the result will be disastrous for my mistress." He paled and whimpered. "I'm dead...I'm dead...I'm dead...."

"You don't look all that dead to me. Who's your mistress?"

"Queen Beryl." He whispered the name, as if afraid that speaking it would summon her.

"Not any more," I stated, imitating Inspector Clouseau after having been told it was a priceless Steinway he'd just destroyed. "She died...about six years ago."

"She's dead? But..." His look of hope was almost painful. "But she sent me here to destroy the nexus before it could form. If the Generals find out she sent me...."

"They're dead, too. They died fighting the Senshi."

"The Senshi! They're a part of the nexus, too! I had to destroy them in order to destroy it." No doubt about it...this Beryl was more like my ex-wife than even the Senshi had imagined. I recognized this man's terror all too well.

"Here. Take my hand." I stood and offered the demonologist my hand. "Can you remember anything of your true self?"

Something was buried in his chest...something that felt wrong. He stood, unsteadily, looking at me with fear rolling off him in waves.

"Hold on a minute. This may hurt." I reached into his chest and grabbed. Whatever it was felt like a crystal, until I grabbed it. Then it squirmed and tried to bite me, just like a little demon. I laughed and squeezed it in my hand as I pulled it out. I'm sure it was horribly confused, seeing an infinitely black form crushing it out of existence.

The demonologist shimmered and transformed before my eyes; the cringing form was replaced by a tall and slender man who was almost as gorgeous as Mamoru, with sandy blond hair, off-white robes that looked as battered as my lab coat, and a look of deep sadness in his blue eyes.

"Prince Endymion will be so disappointed in me. I've failed him again."

"Why don't we ask him about that when we get back to Earth, eh? What's your name?"

"I was known as Fluorite, before I fell to Queen Beryl. After, I was simply called Demonologist."

"Fluorite, huh? So how much do you know of death magic?"

"Far too much for any man's sanity."

"Do you know how to use it to create life?"

"Of course. What other purpose can it be sanely put to?"

"I have a sister you need to meet. She fears her power, because it's the power of death. Yet I've seen her work miracles of life with it."

"She shouldn't! Death is as much a part of life as birth! Where can I find her? Nobody should...."

I laid a hand on Fluorite's shoulder and let my Ravenfield drop.

"Fluorite, I can see this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Meet me back on Earth, in the place I left my body."

He bowed and began to fade. I made a mental note to ask him how to perform that trick, before jumping back into my body and looking up - into the eyes of two very worried cats.

"Hi. Miss me?" I grinned.

"Miss you? Why would we want to do something so foolish?" Luna grumped, turning her back on me deliberately - probably in an attempt to hide how she really felt.

"Still the gruff one, Lady Luna?" Fluorite asked with a smile. I rolled to my feet and extended my hand to welcome him.

"You've got to teach me that transportation trick. I'm tired of leaving my body behind every time I have to go to the other side." I smiled warmly and pulled him into a friendly hug. "By the way, my name's Bill. Demon hunter is just my occupation."

"Bill? What an odd name. What does it mean?"

"Well, it's short for William, which is an old name that means-"

"Resolute protector. A good name for one of your calling."

"Fluorite?" Luna asked, incredulous. "We thought you were lost to us."

"I was," he said, the look of sadness threatening to darken his aura again. I looked at him and shook my head. He nodded and firmed his resolve. "I should wait to tell my story until I can tell it to my Prince."

"Who is on his way, along with the Senshi," Artemis announced. "The demon's dead."

"Good," I laughed. "That means I can take the rest of the day as a vacation."

"Where are your weapons, William? Why do you use items with no power?"

"It's what I've always used. In this lifetime, at least. I only remember bits and pieces of my last lifetime. And usually only when it's too late for them to do any good."

"That's the way it usually is," Fluorite said with a sad smile. "We must find your weapons for you to be fully effective."

**Something else I needed to learn on my own, Lord?**

**You're learning, my child. You must wait to begin your quest until your daughter is born. That is your most important task for now.**

**So you say, so Setsuna very carefully doesn't say...what is she?**

**You'll learn that soon enough. The only thing you need to know now is that your daughter loves you very much.**

**Don't you mean, will love me very much?**

**I know what I said, my child.**

"What is the problem, William?" Fluorite looked worried. I can't blame him. My expression must have been something impressive.

"Gods who insist on tantalizing with hints of important news, then tell you you'll learn the answers to your question soon enough. But my Lord tells me that I am to wait to begin my quest until after my daughter is born."

Sailor Pluto nodded quietly as she appeared behind Fluorite, then looked him over appraisingly.

"It has been a long time, Death Mage."

"Far too long, Pluto. Is my Prince well?"

"I think you should ask him that."

"Fluorite?" Tuxedo Kamen's voice was incredulously joyful, and he swept the mage up in a happy embrace. "I'd thought you were gone forever!"

"I was." Fluorite hung his head in shame, unable - or unwilling - to return the embrace.

"She's dead now, Fluorite. You're free of her. Sailor Moon killed her." I said that firmly, hoping my voice would penetrate. "What you did, you did as her slave. It. Was. Not. Your. Fault."

Sailor Pluto looked at me with an approving smile.

**You should listen to your own advice.**

**I'm trying, Pluto. It's not easy.**

**And much harder for him, since his power means he has more to regret.**

**I'm not going to let him torment himself the way I have.**

**You know how hard it is to stop. Trust your heart.**

**I do. That's why he's alive.**

Sailor Pluto just smiled, her thoughts her own again.

"Fluorite? Were you one of Queen Beryl's slaves, too?" Sailor Moon took the mage's hand and looked up into his eyes. "We've missed you so much. Please come back to us."

"My Prince...Princess...After all I've done...how can I? I'm not worthy!"

OK. That was my cue to step in.

"I'll tell you how you can," I declared, stepping up to rest a hand on Fluorite's shoulder. "Remember that sister I mentioned? Well, she's here, and I really think that by teaching her what you know, you can more than make up for anything you've done. Sailor Saturn?" I turned to look at Sailor Saturn, who jumped in surprise and ran forward.

"Hai?" she asked, looking from me to Fluorite and back again.

"Fluorite, I'd like you to meet my little sister, Sailor Saturn. Sailor Saturn, this is Fluorite. He's a death mage, and can teach you how death magic can create miracles of life." Sailor Saturn looked from me to Fluorite with a glimmer of hope in her eyes, and broke into tears, throwing her arms around me and sobbing out her thanks.

"You're awake...and it's not the end of the world...." Fluorite sounded awed as he watched her. "Sailor Saturn, there is so much you can do with your power...things that will make your family and friends weep with joy. If you'll let me teach you, I promise you'll never be made to sleep again."

Sailor Saturn looked at him hopefully, wiped her face with my handkerchief, and nodded. "I would like that very much. It's...so dark in here."

"But without the darkness, would we delight in the light?" Fluorite smiled warmly at her and extended a hand. When Sailor Saturn took it, he squeezed gently. "How else would we be able to look forward to a beautiful sunrise, if not for the night that prepares for it?"

Sailor Saturn blushed and batted her eyes as she listened to his words, freeing me to slip around her to talk with Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen.

"I'm sorry I stepped in like that, but I know what he's going through." I bowed my head as I spoke.

"Thank you," Tuxedo Kamen said softly. "Will you be his friend? I think he needs that more than he needs his Prince right now."

"He needs both. He needs a friend - and he needs to know that his Prince still trusts and believes in him. If you'll be his Prince, I'll be his friend." I looked up and smiled. Tuxedo Kamen's return smile was all the assurance I needed - and when Sailor Moon joined in, I knew I'd do almost anything for the two of them.

I looked toward where Fluorite was holding Sailor Saturn enthralled, and smiled, moving to join my beloved. After holding her close for a moment and renewing my pledge of love in her eyes, I looked to our Prince and Princess.

"Shall we all retire to our home?"

"That's a good idea!" Sailor Moon called, in her usual excited way. "I'm starved!"

We all laughed - except for Fluorite, but he'd learn soon enough - and made our way home.

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Disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Sailor Senshi, and all terms, names, etc. associated with the series are copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha. I make no claim to them and this work of fanfiction should not be seen as making a claim.