Arriving at the top of the stairs to see the Senshi in their battle garb, and then Belldandy in her armor, had been unsettling. Whatever the cause, when Urd and Skuld joined the ranks of the battle-ready, Mara knew she couldn't hold back. If what Kami-Sama (her father?) had said was right, the only choice she COULD make was to join her sisters.
Now Skuld wanted her to give up any information she could on Jörmungander - information she wasn't sure she possessed. The Serpent was one of those things nobody ever discussed; it was as pointless as discussing a mountain. You simply noted its existence and planned to accommodate it - preferably by avoiding it. Hunting it down and attacking it was sheer lunacy, yet that was obviously what the others planned.
"I guess I've lost my mind, too," Mara sighed, then flashed a grin at the others. "Hey, you've got to be insane to think of fighting with Jörmungander. So count me as insane."
"Insane or not, Belldandy's right," Skuld said. "When it attacked Keiichi, it forfeited its life. The Senshi may assume they can't kill it, but I'm not going to plan for anything less."
"I just wish I could help more," Mara said. "The problem is, Jörmungander isn't something that was talked about much. Think of it as being the demonic equivalent of a glacier. When it was discussed at all, the topic was how to avoid being anywhere near it when it got angry. Aside from the venom and the jaws powerful enough to bite through an ox as if it were a stalk of celery, there's the sheer size of it. The only time I can remember it throwing a tantrum, it caused earthquakes."
"Important safety tip: don't get under it," Urd said with a grin. "So how do we find it? Go fishing the way Thor did?"
"Proof that Kami-Sama watches over the feeble-minded," Mara grumbled. "Does Thor EVER think with anything but his fists?"
"Yes," Urd replied, with more than a touch of acid sweetness. "Sometimes he thinks with his belly. And sometimes his thought processes are a few inches lower."
Skuld stared in surprise at Urd. Mara chuckled softly; given Urd's history, the idea of her being even slightly less than blatant must be something of a shock. If it helped keep her from getting complacent, it was a good thing. Mara had seen too many elder demons get complacent and get taken down by younger, supposedly weaker, demons. Even if the Gods didn't have to worry about that kind of competition, complacency could make them vulnerable to any enemy - not just underlings.
"Oneesan? Are you feeling ok?"
"Just fine, Bug. I just don't think we have the luxury of waiting for you to finish yelling at me about being a pervert." Urd winked at Mara and added, "By the way...when we're finished here, remind me to see if I can find out what that word means, ok?"
"What that word means?" Skuld asked, confused for a moment. As realization dawned, she turned a beautiful pink and gave what Mara was sure was the only response she could manage in the circumstances. "Biiih!"
When Bill named what was to blame for Keiichi's problem, I prayed he was wrong. The Death Phantom had nearly killed us all once, and it had taken the lives of both Usagi and Chibi-Usa to destroy it. At least, until now we'd believed it was destroyed. I called up my computer and studied the energy patterns left by the creature that had possessed Keiichi. Unfortunately, the energy matched that used by the invaders from Nemesis. That meant the Death Phantom had to be involved.
"Ami? What do you think?" Usagi asked, giving me that trusting look I couldn't resist.
"I think we need to call the Ayakashi Sisters." I closed my computer and tucked it away before looking at the others. "They had enough contact with the Death Phantom before you healed them that maybe they'll be able to give us ideas. If they're willing to dredge up those memories, at least."
"I'm sure they will, once they know what's at stake," Usagi said. "As much as they want to be ordinary women..."
"Yeah, as much as a certain princess we once knew wanted to be an ordinary girl," Rei teased, giving Usagi an excuse to start the wail we all knew so well.
When they started a tongue-war, I relaxed. Somehow, no matter how hard it turned out to be, I knew we'd be able to find a way to win. I glanced around the room and noticed the others had relaxed a little - except for Mamoru and Bill, but that wasn't surprising. They're both far too sensitive to women's tears; even Usagi's "Why are you so mean to me?" wail tended to make them tense up. I found myself hoping we would never face an enemy who used women's tears as a weapon.
"I've got Cooan on the phone," David announced. "Anything I should tell her other than 'haul ass over here'?"
"Don't you think you could put it a little more politely than that?" Minako asked. "Politeness is the oil of society."
I wonder sometimes where she comes up with those sayings, but at least this time it made sense. Bill nuzzled the back of my neck and gave me a quick hug before heading for the front door, just a moment before the bell rang. Meanwhile, Minako and David argued about whose definition of politeness should apply, and Makoto brought a tray of daifuku and onigiri from the kitchen.
"We would have been here sooner, but we had a small crisis in the laboratory," Fluorite said, throwing Rusty a look that was somewhere between worried and annoyed. I know that look far too well; I find myself throwing it at Bill often enough when he loses track of time in the lab.
"It wasn't really a crisis," Rusty said. "I just couldn't leave until I was certain the project Urd and I were working on was safely shut down."
That was a scary thought. The only thing I could think of that Rusty and Urd had in common was their mutual interest in alchemy. Given Fluorite's tales of some of the things Malachite - the Earth Kingdom's court alchemist - had done, I was very happy Rusty did his experiments in their apartment, rather than our house.
"What were you working on?" Bill asked. That's just like him: while I'm thinking about what would happen if Rusty blew up their apartment, Bill's mad scientist instincts have him asking what the project was.
"Just an anti-demon weapon. And, no, you don't get to know what it is until I'm ready to test it," Rusty said, grinning shamelessly. "Now, what's the emergency? David sounded really upset."
"We'll talk about it when everyone else is here," Bill said, glancing at Usagi. When she nodded in agreement, he added, "Once we're done talking, maybe you should get back together with Urd and finish that weapon. Fast."
"Fast, huh? It must be pretty serious," Rusty said, then jabbed a finger in Bill's chest and growled, "The weapon is MINE. I'm NOT going to have you shuffling me aside the next time trouble pops up. Got it?"
Wow. I'd known Rusty was frustrated about being left behind when we fight, but I hadn't realized he was that frustrated. The problem was, we were so used to thinking of our friends and family as people to protect, that it was hard to think of them as wanting to - let alone able to - fight with us. The look on his face made it clear he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"I got it," Bill laughed, swiping at Rusty's hand. "But only if you give David your sizes so he can whip up some clothes for you."
"What? You don't like tweed?"
"I like it just fine - when it's made of MacManusite." Bill grinned, then glanced at Setsuna. "Will Sarah be coming?"
"No," Setsuna said. "You know how firmly she believes in her pacifism. She'll come if we need her medical skills, but now we need to plan for fighting."
"I understand," Bill sighed. "I'll never understand it, but I'm sure she doesn't understand my need to fight, either. Oh, well. David, did you get through to Naru?"
"No. I'd guess she started here right after Belldandy got Mara; she's right out front." David sounded almost as smug as Luna. "The sisters are on their way, too."
"We can bring them in on this when they get here," Usagi said, moving to open the door. "Naru! You're just in time! Makoto made some daifuku, and we've got to make sure they get eaten."
"Only you," Naru laughed as she took off her shoes. "Only you would think of your stomach when everyone around you has long faces."
"That's Usagi," Rei grumbled, flashing a quick smile at Naru where Usagi couldn't see. "Always thinking with her stomach. Especially now that she's pregnant."
"That's right, Rei," Usagi said, turning to look at her. "And here's something for you."
Within moments, the two of them were deep in another tongue war. I waved Naru over, and we joined the rest around the table. Makoto poured tea for all of us and we settled in to relax and wait for Usagi, Rei, and the Goddesses to join us.
Keiichi turned his head and groaned as he felt his cheek press against some kind of chains. He opened his eyes and looked up to see Belldandy, wearing a shirt made of tiny chain links. She looked down and smiled at him, warming his heart with her love. His vision cleared; enough to tell that she was wearing a helmet, and her eyes were shadowed by...sorrow? Anger? He couldn't tell for sure.
"Bel-chan? What happened?" He asked, reaching up to touch her. As he raised his hand, he noticed there was something in it. When his hand came into his field of view, he saw he was holding her earrings. "Belldandy? Your limiters...what?"
Belldandy touched his lips with her fingers and shook her head slowly. Suddenly, she pulled him to her in a crushing hug, sobbing softly against him. When she released him, she pushed him to arm's length and looked into his eyes with an expression of profound relief. He didn't know what had happened. For that matter, he didn't remember how he'd ended up back in their bedroom, or in her lap.
"We're going to war," Belldandy said. "Jörmungander tried to get to us through you, and I am not going to allow that."
"Jörmungander?" Keiichi asked, trying to remember if or where he had heard that name before. "Going to war?"
"Yes. We are going to war against Jörmungander and its minions." Belldandy paused and hugged him again, then whispered, "It sent a demon to possess you and get inside the wards. Sailor Moon healed you, but...I'm sorry, Keiichi-san. You were possessed for almost a week, and I didn't sense it."
"I love you, Bel-chan," Keiichi murmured. "If you didn't sense it, it must have been very well-hidden." He paused a moment and looked up into her eyes, hoping she could see how much he loved her. "Almost a week? What did it do?"
"It made us believe you were so depressed that you were almost suicidal," Skuld said softly. Keiichi looked in the direction of her voice and started in surprise when he saw she was wearing armor, too. "It wasn't until Kami-Sama called us to an audience that the truth came out."
"Kami-Sama...called you...here?" Keiichi asked, surprised. They weren't even in their own world, yet He had called them?
"He did," Belldandy said. "He called us to tell us we are needed here to help this world deal with a great crisis. It's necessary for us to become warriors again, for a time."
"Then...you're going to need me...somehow." Keiichi knew he couldn't let them fight without helping somehow, but how could he help against something so powerful Belldandy had taken off her limiters to fight it?
"I need you to be safe," Belldandy said gently, looking at him with that pleading expression he couldn't resist. "We're expected downstairs in three minutes, to plan how to attack the enemy."
"Then we should go," Keiichi said, standing unsteadily. "Umm..." He held out the earrings uncertainly.
"Keep them for me?" Belldandy suggested. "You can give them back after we defeat it."
Sometimes Luna can be so irritating. I was curled up on Minako's bed, trying to catch up on some sleep, when she came through the window and landed on me like a volleyball.
"Get up, you lazy furball!" she yelled, while I was still trying to peel myself off the ceiling. "They're in trouble and we've got to help them!"
"Whoa! Slow down! Who's in trouble?" Nobody ever claimed I was lightning when I woke up. Normally I like a good stretch and some food to get my brain working in the morning. On the other hand, it was pretty obvious that Luna was upset.
"The Senshi! I don't know what's wrong, but David called and insisted we need to be at Ami's house as fast as we can get there."
"Maybe they've just found a way to send the Goddesses home." I knew I had to try to inject some sanity into this situation; Luna was jumpy enough to have me looking around for rocking chairs. "You know they wouldn't want to leave without saying good-bye to us."
"Oh. I hadn't thought of that." Right on schedule, she put on her 'I knew it all along' expression. What is it about that cat that makes it impossible for her to gracefully admit defeat? And what is it about her that makes her so irresistible?
"Well, now that you have, why don't we head over there?"
I hopped off the bed and put on my human appearance. No sense in walking when we could take human transportation. Luna gave an impatient sniff before taking her human appearance, and we went to catch a cab.
David opened the front door as we approached Ami's house; when we got inside, all of the Senshi were gathered in the living room, along with Mamoru, Bill, Rusty, Fluorite, Naru, Keiichi, and Mara and the Goddesses - all four of them in armor. Luna and I looked at each other worriedly; I suspected she was wondering the same thing I was - what could inspire the Goddesses and Mara to wear armor?
Usagi and Minako descended on us with glad cries; I don't know about Luna, but I was certainly content to let Minako carry me across the room. When we reached the table, I noticed it had been covered with a touch-sensitive display panel, and Ami, Skuld, and Bill were deep in a discussion of placing remote sensors around the city.
The display panel showed a map of Tokyo, with colored dots scattered across it. Green dots clustered around familiar locations: the house, the shrine, the university, Usagi's favorite shopping mall, Rusty and Fluorite's apartment, Naru's apartment, Michiru's house, and the racing park we'd visited the day before to see Haruka take another championship. Besides the clusters I could recognize immediately, there were dots in other locations, including the others' apartments and other locations which popped up identifying tags when I touched them: the hospital where Ami's mother worked, the property where the Palace would be built, the abandoned temple where the Goddesses had arrived in this world, and other spots that mostly had only one or two dots.
Besides the green dots, there were red dots in a few locations: forming a circle around this house, at the shopping mall, and a few other locations that I didn't recognize. When I touched one of the individual red dots, it popped up a tag that said three tengu had manifested in that location two days earlier.
"What's going on?" I asked, since Luna seemed content to say nothing. Probably afraid to admit she didn't know.
"We're plotting where each of us have been since the Goddesses arrived," Ami said, "and comparing it to reported demon manifestations during the same time."
"There have been a lot more than usual this week, haven't there?" I'd have had to be as blind as a kitten to not notice that, so the question was mostly rhetorical.
"Yes, there have," Ami said. "Our hope is that by plotting the demon manifestations, we can determine where the Death Phantom's avatar makes its lair."
"Death Phantom?" Luna shrieked, adding a pain in my ears to the pain between them that mention of that creature had brought. "But it's not supposed to attack Earth for another thousand years!"
"No, it's not supposed to make the attack that allows us to destroy Wiseman for another thousand years," Usagi said. "This is the first time it attacks us, from its perspective. So, while it may be impossible to destroy it, we have to try. At least we can hurt it enough to banish it for a thousand years."
"Why do you think the Death Phantom is here?" I asked. It seemed far-fetched to me, but if they were planning on that basis, then it would be nice to know why.
"One of its minions possessed Keiichi," Belldandy growled. The idea of HER growling was even scarier than an angry Usagi. "We are going to make it pay."
"My Lord told me what it is," Bill said. That tone was familiar: the only question in his mind was how he was going to kill it. "It's going to take all of us to defeat it, but we WILL defeat it."
OK, it wasn't much of a plan, but we could work on that later. There was no question every one of them agreed, so we had to work out first how to find the enemy, and then how to combine their powers to have the most effect. I looked over the display panel for a moment, thinking.
"David, are you running this panel?" I asked.
"That's right, Artemis. What do you need?"
"Draw lines between the demon dots and let's see if they make a pattern."
David drew the lines, and the map looked messier than it had before. I couldn't make anything out of the chaos, so I looked up at the others in hopes they could see a pattern.
"David, remove the dots and lines that go with any manifestations related to us," Ami said, opening her computer with a grim look in her eyes. When David complied, what was left was a five-pointed star, centered on site we were preparing for the Palace, with demon manifestations at all ten points, both inside and outside.
"Why does the Death Phantom have a fixation with those points?" Rei grumbled. "Those are the same points Rubeus tried to control."
"You mean you don't know?" Mara asked, looking surprised. "Those points are so magically active, that whoever controls them can control the magic in the entire city."
"So a small force could conquer Tokyo, simply by taking control of those points?" Ami said distractedly, while typing on her computer. "I wonder what kind of magic they contain."
"The same kind that's in your Silver Crystal, or Mamoru's Golden Crystal, or that item...an ankh, isn't it?...Bill keeps locked upstairs," Belldandy said. "But it can be corrupted by a sufficiently powerful - or knowledgeable - evil force. Anyone here could do it, if we were evil, but I doubt the demons of the past week are either powerful or knowledgeable enough."
"That would explain why they tried so hard to control the points before," Usagi said. "That also explains why we're going to have to control them. Do you think maybe this is happening because the construction crews have disturbed something at the Palace site?"
"Well, that is the focus, so it's possible," Ami said. "We'll have to study it directly before I can be sure. Bill, I think it's time you started wearing your ankh, don't you?"
"Yeah, I think you're right," Bill said. "Do you want me to go with you, or someone else?"
"Skuld," Ami said. "Would you come with me? I think if you link your goggles to my computer, we can get a lot more data than either of us could alone."
"Yes," Skuld said, pulling out a pair of goggles that was strange enough to make anything Bill created look positively mundane by comparison. "We should have a backup team, though, in case anything happens while we're there. Mara, Rei, Hotaru? Would the three of you be our backup?"
The three Skuld named quickly agreed, and once they'd transformed, all five departed. Bill pointed at Urd and Rusty with a wicked grin.
"You two need to get back to work. If you've got a weapon in the works, the sooner you get it finished, the better. Anything you need from us?"
Urd looked thoughtful (yeah, I know, hard to imagine, huh?) for a moment, then shook her head. Rusty, on the other hand, nodded, while grinning right back at Bill.
"As a matter of fact, yes. Can you get me one of those backpack Super-Soakers, or make one out of MacManusite?"
"Uh...if you're putting something alchemical in it, you better believe I'm making it out of MacManusite," Bill laughed. "Want anything else? Pressure boost? Autofire? Cutting jet?"
"Cutting jet?" Rusty asked.
"Yeah. It's an old design a mechanical engineer I knew a few years back doodled on a napkin once. Take out the standard nozzle and replace it with a polished diamond nozzle with the opening only a few microns in diameter. The stream comes out at a high enough pressure to slice through most materials like a chainsaw."
I could imagine what he was describing far too easily. Something like that could make plain water carve up a target as easily as Sailor Venus' Crescent Beam.
"That's a nice idea, but not very practical if you want the option of taking your target alive. I think a standard nozzle should be good enough for now. But if you happen to make one of those others for later use, I wouldn't object." Rusty's grin made it clear he was understating his interest by a lot. "If you could give it an electric pump, so I don't have to pump it up by hand, that'd help a lot."
"No problem. It'll be ready by tomorrow. Keiichi, you want to give me a hand with that?" Bill gave Keiichi a smile that, while it wasn't as radiant as one of Usagi's, was still warm and inviting.
"Uh...sure," Keiichi said, looking to Belldandy for reassurance. When she smiled and nodded, he rose to his feet and looked toward the lab. It was nice to see he wasn't scared of Bill any more. I guess that had been the demon's fault, too.
"Well, we should check out the other points, don't you think?" Usagi asked the room in general. "Luna, Artemis, if you two stay here, you can keep watch over all of us through David, right?"
Luna gave me one of her inscrutable looks; sometimes I wonder just what that cat is thinking - other times she makes me glad to be alive. I had the feeling this wasn't going to be one of those times, though.
"Assuming someone doesn't fall asleep on the job, we'll be watching over you," Luna said. No doubt about it - she was in one of THOSE moods. The best thing to do was just pretend I didn't hear her unless it directly bore on our job.
"All right," Usagi simply pretended she hadn't noticed Luna's tone as she started distributing people. "Haruka, Michiru, would you two take this point here? It's close enough to the Imperial Palace that I want our most powerful team in case anything happens. Mamoru and I will take this point, so we can back you up if you need it. Or you can back us up. Chibi-Usa, would you and Setsuna take this point? That leaves this one for Makoto and Minako. We'll all back each other up, and when a team is certain their point is clear, Artemis and Luna will give the next point to clear. Belldandy, Fluorite, I'd like you to fly cover for all of us, if you would? Naru, do you feel confident with your memories of demon magic?"
"Not really, but I'll do what I can when you call," Naru said. Where do you want me?"
"Stay here, I think. That way David can direct you to where we need you the most if we do. OK, does anyone have any questions before we go?"
It still surprises me when Usagi does that; I think it surprised the others, too. Nobody questioned her, not even Belldandy, and as soon as they'd transformed, they were gone.
"You know, her transformation from Usagi to Serenity is a whole lot more impressive than her transformation to Sailor Moon," Rusty said with a grin. "She's going to surprise the hell out of a lot of people over the years, unless she decides to keep outsiders from knowing that Usagi and Serenity are the same person."
"That's probably a good idea," Bill said. "I've noticed there are already people who think Sailor Moon is somehow divine. Imagine how they're going to think of Serenity in a thousand years. Not my idea of fun."
I had a good idea of what he meant. Even in the Silver Millenium, there was a cult that had worshiped Queen Serenity - and it had annoyed the hell out of her. But how do you make people stop worshiping you? All she had been able to do was exactly what Rusty was suggesting: create an identity that nobody associated with Queen Serenity, and retreat to that identity whenever she wasn't called upon to be Queen.
David cleared the old dots from the display panel and began displaying the positions of the Senshi as they moved toward their targets. Luna and I settled in to coordinate their actions as those still in the house moved off on their errands.
The construction site was a mess. Tools and equipment were scattered as if the workers had dropped them in the midst of panicked flight. The ground had been excavated at least 100 feet deep; even in the middle of the afternoon it was dark at the bottom. Skuld could feel the evil radiating from the shadow, strong enough that she didn't need her goggles to identify it. It was definitely Jörmungander.
Sailor Mercury activated her visor and started working with her computer. Skuld looked at her, amazed at how calm she appeared. She was just a mortal, but she looked less bothered by their surroundings than Skuld felt. Gritting her teeth, Skuld brought out her goggles and began studying the pit.
"Do you see the streams of energy pouring into the hole?" Sailor Mercury asked. "It looks to me like they're coming from the points."
"I see them," Skuld said. "They don't look as if they've been corrupted, so it must be just feeding on the energy. If we can cut off the energy, we can weaken it."
"And to cut off the energy, we'll need to control the points," Sailor Mercury said. "Now, what Rubeus did makes sense. They must have thought that capturing the points in our time would prevent us from ever using them to build Crystal Tokyo."
Skuld nodded. Her goggles had transmitted all the available data about the energy to Sailor Mercury's computer, so she adjusted them to try seeing into the darkness. If there was an avatar, there should be some sign of it. If not...well, she didn't want to think of that possibility, but she couldn't find any signs of anything living in the pit.
She raised her attention to the surrounding territory, and noticed they were no longer alone. There were men dressed in heavy denim coveralls, like she'd seen before around construction sites. These men, however, didn't look like they were interested in building anything.
"We have company," Skuld said, pocketing her goggles and bringing her hammer to a ready position. "Where are the others?"
"Mara's above us, Sailor Mars is on that crane over there, and Sailor Saturn is on the construction office trailer." Sailor Mercury nodded to two different sides of the construction site.
When Skuld looked, she saw Sailor Mars crouched atop the cab of a crane that had been used for hauling dirt out of the pit. Sailor Saturn was standing on the roof of a trailer on the other side of the property, with her glaive braced on the roof beside her left foot. From their positions, they could strike either side of the approaching mob. Between the five of them, Skuld was pretty sure they could handle what looked like maybe two dozen construction workers.
**Try to not hurt them, ok? They're not responsible.**
**I know. Sailor Moon?**
**We're on our way. If you can herd them without hurting them until we get there, we should be able to heal them.**
I wasn't sure I would be much use if that was what she wanted. I can kill and I can heal, but herding people - especially those who are demon-possessed - isn't something I'm good at. I wished Chibi-Usa were there, but she was investigating one of the points of the star; I had to trust that she would be ok, and that what she was doing would make a difference in our situation.
Sailor Mars opened with Snake Fire, sending it across their path to keep them away from the pit. It made sense: if she could feel the evil emanating from that pit as strongly as I could, the last thing we wanted was for those men to reach it. Sailor Mercury backed up Mars with a spray of freezing bubbles, inspiring me to add a little fog of my own.
"Silence Glaive Surprise!"
Mercury's bubbles may be good at obscuring vision, but the fog they produce compares to my fog the way a mountain breeze compares to a typhoon. I could hear them running into things, including each other, and knew the only chance they'd have of getting out of it was blind luck.
**Sailor Mercury, do you know how many there are?**
**I counted eighteen. Both of you stay where you are. Mara's going to try sleep bombing them.**
At that, Mara dropped from her position until she was only about ten meters up, and tossed several crackling blue spheres of energy into the fog. I heard a lot less moving around after that; when I let my fog down, there were only four of them still moving. Skuld moved in with her hammer, and shortly none of them were moving. I suspected they'd be very unhappy when they woke. Then again, Sailor Moon would probably heal the lumps on their heads along with everything else when she got here.
I was about to leap off the trailer I'd chosen as a perch when I noticed something strange: the machinery around the pit was moving.
**Sailor Mars! Jump!**
As she leapt from the crane, its boom swung, bringing the bucket around like a flail. Sailor Mars wasn't in any position to stop it, and Sailor Mercury didn't have any attack that could do the job, so it was up to me.
"Death Ribbons!"
The ribbons, so much like those I remembered from when I had destroyed the Moon Kingdom, flew out and reduced the crane's bucket and cable to dust. Fluorite was certain to be happily surprised when he learned I'd finally managed to use the spell properly. Releasing the power is easy; limiting it as much as the Death Ribbon spell required had always been a problem for me.
As if the destruction of the crane's bucket were a signal, every other vehicle on the site came to life and began moving toward us.
**Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, we've got to get between the vehicles and the men. Sailor Mercury, send Skuld up with Mara and have them do what they can to funnel the vehicles toward us.**
Mercury and Mars leapt to join me in the space between the unconscious men and the pit. Skuld floated into the sky and began using her hammer to disable and upend any vehicles that attempted to get past us around the trailer. Mara fired into the vehicles that attempted to get around the other side of the unconscious crowd.
A truck charged me, its grill blossoming into a ring of jagged metal as it attempted to either impale me or run me down. I was in terrible physical condition for so long, I don't waste my time trying to fight with an enemy. I just brought my glaive down on its hood and gave it a shot of Death Ribbons.
While the truck was being reduced to dust, I glanced toward the others. Sailor Mercury had a bulldozer frozen solid in a block of ice, and Sailor Mars was using her Burning Mandala on a backhoe. Above us, Skuld and Mara were doing a better job of covering our flanks than I'd hoped when I'd sent them up there. Either the enemy was running out of weapons, or those two were remembering they were supposed to be Viking Goddesses. Or maybe both; I only had to destroy two more vehicles before the enemy was reduced to launching tools at us. Small missiles are almost impossible to destroy, so I just threw up a Silence Wall and let them bounce off it.
"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"
The sound of Sailor Moon's arrival was a major relief. If she could get the construction workers healed and out of there, we could cut loose on the enemy without worrying about innocent bystanders. I heard people starting to move behind us, moments before both Sailor Mars and myself were knocked to our knees by a wave of pure concentrated evil pouring out of the pit. The enemy apparently didn't like what Sailor Moon had done.
When my vision cleared, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Moon, and Tuxedo Kamen were standing around Sailor Mars and myself. Skuld and Mara were firing blasts of energy into the pit, but they weren't doing anything to stop the spreading sense of evil. At best, they were slowing it some.
**Something's coming through. We need reinforcements.**
**Are you sure?**
**She's sure. I'm afraid capturing the points will have to wait. I don't know what's coming through, but if we let it loose, it will make everything else moot.**
**OK, everyone, you heard Sailor Saturn. Finish whatever you're fighting and get to the construction site as fast as you can. David, we need everyone out here.**
**I heard that. I'm leaving Keiichi to finish this. I'll bring the others with me. Albertus, don't say anything about this to Urd or Rusty - not until Sailor Moon or I tell you it's ok.**
**I understand, Dad. You want them to finish this project.**
**Right. See you all in a bit.**
Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune arrived as Sailor Mars and I were getting back to our feet. Their timing couldn't have been better: the pit chose that moment to erupt, spewing demons of all descriptions.
From 100 meters up, it was easy to follow the locations of the Senshi, so Belldandy concentrated on trying to predict when and where the enemy's attack would come. Teaming with someone who used death magic was a strange experience, but Fluorite was powerful in his specialty. She hoped they wouldn't have to use it, but was certain her hope wouldn't be fulfilled.
**Oneesama! Sailor Moon wants everyone at the construction site! It's bad.**
**We're on our way, Skuld. Be careful.**
**I will. Hurry. It feels like it's going to explode.**
"Fluorite-san! Sailor Moon wants us at the construction site!"
Fluorite nodded and changed his path to follow the route Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen had taken just a few minutes earlier. In the air, they could travel faster than the Senshi did on the ground; they arrived over the construction site as the pit in the center was spewing forth a horde of demons.
The demons weren't very powerful; but even a tiger can be taken apart by ants, if there are enough of them. And there were definitely enough demons to threaten anyone on the ground. A moment later, there were enough demons to threaten anyone in the air, too. Fluorite hissed and conjured up a sword made of the spirits of the dead. Skuld and Mara floated back-to-back, blasting any demon that came close enough they could be certain of hitting it.
Belldandy raised her hands to destroy the demons, then paused.
Better to keep my full power hidden until the decisive moment. There are other ways to deal with this problem.
"Spirits of the living, lend me your strength!
Let all that lives join me!
Cleanse this place of that which offends this world!"
Belldandy felt the energy flowing toward her from all directions; from every living thing on the planet, all the way down to the spirits of the rocks that made up its bones. Even the sun's energy flowed to her, adding to the power of the light forming between her outstretched hands.
**Skuld, get everyone away from here. Have them make their stand between the buildings around this place.**
**Will you be alright, Oneesama?**
**I will, but if I don't use this energy soon, I'll have to throw it into space to keep it from turning Tokyo into a crater.**
Skuld and Mara broke off and, gathering Fluorite in their wake, dove toward Sailor Moon. Belldandy could feel the anger coming from Sailor Uranus, countered by the firmness and love of Sailor Moon and Sailor Neptune. Sailor Uranus was so much like Tyr...single-minded in battle, and unwilling to surrender so much as a millimeter of ground to the enemy. Thankfully, Sailor Moon trusted Belldandy, enough to order them all to fall back.
The ball of energy was still growing, already dense enough to ionize the air around her. Belldandy silently urged the others to greater speed. The energy was already great enough she'd have to detonate it in the ground to minimize the damage to anything outside the construction site - and that could trigger an earthquake.
Below her, Belldandy saw that the others were having trouble getting clear as quickly as she'd like. Sailor Saturn had erected a wall of energy that kept the demons from getting past it in her area, allowing a number of mortals to flee in safety. The others, however, had to fight as they retreated - not only for themselves, but to also to keep any demons that got around the ends of Sailor Saturn's wall from getting to the mortals. Belldandy's frustration grew as time seemed to stretch into infinity. She knew objectively that the others were moving as fast as they could, but it seemed to take forever.
**OK, Belldandy. We're clear.**
**Thank you, Sailor Moon.**
With a loud sigh of relief, Belldandy hurled the ball of energy into the pit, using her will to hold it together until it had struck the bottom. The explosion was powerful enough to triple the size of the hole and destroy everything between ground zero and the buildings surrounding the construction site. The blast went far enough into the air that Belldandy could sense an airliner being rocked by the turbulence it produced.
Belldandy floated to the ground near Sailor Moon and looked out on the devastation, noting the shattered windows and weakened structures all around the crater that had once been a construction site. She didn't feel the enemy as strongly now, but she could tell it was still there.
"Well, I guess we won't have to worry about excavating," Sailor Moon said softly. "But we'll have to pay for the damaged properties. Was anyone hurt?"
"Only the demons," Belldandy said softly. "I don't know how many escaped, but I'm certain some must have. There weren't enough of you to block all the streets."
"I know. As soon as the others get here, we're going to have to start hunting them."
Now I know what Hell must be like: an eternity in a Toyota mini-van with four bickering sisters. Well, make that three. Once the fight started, Beruche simply withdrew into herself and looked out the window at the passing scenery. Not that Tokyo's all that scenic, but it was better than the scenery inside the van. I wondered how Bill could stand driving with all that noise in the back, until he turned his head and I noticed he was wearing earplugs.
I was a worried. If the situation was bad enough to need all of our talents, how much danger would they be in? They didn't have the power they were supposed to have had when they had come to our time, since that had come from the Death Phantom; I wondered if they'd learned any magic to compensate, or if we were simply endangering them unnecessarily.
By the time we were halfway there, the bickering had gotten loud enough to bring tears to Beruche's eyes, and even Bill couldn't ignore it anymore. So he started singing, of all things. Well, it seemed to work, since the sisters shut up and stared at him with looks of confusion on their faces. They understood English better than I did, but I don't think 'ponn farr' is an English word. I was able to figure out that the song had something to do with a starship crew that had been banned from someplace called Argo, but beyond that, I was lost. If they were as confused as I was, despite knowing English, the song must have been stranger than I thought.
We were less than a dozen blocks from the construction site when the entire sky in that direction lit up a brilliant blue-white. A moment later, a wall of wind hit us hard enough to spiderweb the windshield. Bill slowed for a moment, then picked up speed, then slowed again as he was forced to thread through the stalled and wrecked vehicles blocking the street.
"Beruche? Would you mind dousing that truck over there?" Bill asked as we came up on a burning wreck. It was blocking enough of the street that going around it would have been risking the van.
"I'll try," Beruche said uncertainly. She raised her hands and pointed at the burning truck, gritting her teeth as she concentrated.
"Is no try. Is only do. Or do not." Bill said, using a strange accent I'd never heard before.
"I can't," Beruche whispered, dropping her hands and looking tearfully at the floor.
"Well then, we're screwed," Bill said cheerfully. "You're the only one with the power to put out that fire, and if we can't get past that truck, we can't help fight the Death Phantom. And if we can't help fight the Death Phantom, there's a good chance it will win, destroy all of us, and that's the end of it."
"No," Beruche whispered, while the other three stared at Bill with shocked expressions. "It can't win. Not now. Not when we have a home we love, and friends we love...."
Beruche's voice was rising; it sounded to me as if she was verging on the hysterical. Bill simply sat silently, apparently waiting.
"I won't let it!" Beruche screamed, raising her hands to point at the truck. "DARK WATER!"
A crescent moon blazed on her forehead, and a liquid battering ram sprang from her outstretched hands, popped the windshield completely out of the van, and hammered the burning wreck. Not only did it douse the fire, the impact was powerful enough to push the truck aside, into the front of a building.
"See? I knew you could do it," Bill said, throwing a smile at Beruche as he put the van back into gear and continued toward our destination.
"Sheesh. Who turned Goku loose?" Bill asked as we came to a stop behind Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen. "Not that I'd object to having him around right about now, but...at least we don't have to worry about excavation any more."
We got out, with Cooan, Petz, and Calaveras clustered around Beruche, who looked as if she was still recovering from the shock of having actually used a power she'd thought was lost. As much as I felt for them, I was kind of glad they weren't bickering anymore.
"You got here awfully fast," Tuxedo Kamen said. "How did you manage that?"
"There weren't many police along our route, and those that were, were busy dealing with wrecks. But I wouldn't be surprised if the SDF showed up soon."
"I wouldn't complain if they did," Sailor Moon said. "We need all the help we can get, to seal off this neighborhood and to hunt any demons that escaped Belldandy. Naru, can you tell how many might have escaped?"
"That will take a few minutes," I said, stalling while I tried to remember if there was any magic I knew that could do what she wanted. I was pretty sure it could be done, but I wasn't certain of the technique. I'd just have to try it and hope my memory would give me what I needed.
"That's ok," Sailor Moon said. "I have the others hunting on foot, but that could take days - and still not get them all."
I settled on simply sensing any demonic energy in the area. It was rough, but it should work. At least, that was what I thought until I tried it. The energy from the pit was so overwhelming, it made it impossible for me to tell if there were any other demons in the area. Mara caught me as my knees buckled and held me until I could get myself together again.
"Opening yourself like that is pretty dangerous," she whispered. "Getting a nasty headache is the least you can expect."
"So I noticed," I said. "Thank you. I wish my memory were better. At least my memory of magic."
"It'll come back to you, I think. It came back to her, didn't it?" Mara nodded toward Sailor Moon.
Mara had a point. I was just going to have to improvise and hope it worked out for me as well as it had for Usagi. I gave her a quick hug and steadied myself on my feet, then searched my new memories for the proper way to find the damned things.
Keiichi looked up with a resigned groan when Urd stuck her head through David's monitor. He'd been running checks on the components of the water gun he and Bill had designed, so at least he hadn't been at the keyboard - but Urd's method of travel was still one of life's little frustrations. She somehow managed, more often than not, to use whatever TV or computer screen he was in front of.
"You got that ready?" Urd asked with that grin Keiichi only saw when she was deep in the midst of one of her outrageous schemes.
"I have to put it together and test it," Keiichi said. "I take it you're ready for it?"
"That's right! Rusty's putting the finishing touches on the ammunition right now." Urd sounded her usual maniacal self, leaving Keiichi wondering if Rusty realized just how dangerous her alchemy could be.
"All right," Keiichi said as he started piecing the weapon together. "Just have a seat and I'll have this together in a couple minutes."
"Say, wasn't Bill supposed to be working with you?" Urd asked, looking around curiously. The way she was poking at things made Keiichi very happy the only active controls were in front of him.
"He was, but Sailor Moon called everyone to the construction site. They left just a few minutes ago." Keiichi was quietly relieved by that. He was still uncomfortable around Bill, despite the obvious love he had for all of the Senshi. It wasn't as bad as the others seemed to have been afraid of, but it was still hard to be comfortable with someone who could kill someone he loved.
"Everyone? Why didn't anyone call us?" Urd grumbled. She was good at that, in Keiichi's opinion. Then again, she had lots of practice, given how often she was in trouble.
"Believe it or not, they WANT you and Rusty in the lab. If there's even a chance you'll create a weapon powerful enough to help against this enemy, they want it." Keiichi gestured at the parts in front of him as he spoke, not letting Urd distract him from assembling the water gun. "They left me behind because I'm not a fighter and because even with Bill fighting, they need this thing finished."
The look on Urd's face was amusing. Given how they usually reacted to the news she was in her lab, the idea that they WANTED her in a lab had to be a shock. Keiichi gave her a quick smile; as irritating as she could be, she was both his sister-in-law and his friend.
"They really think I'll be more help in the lab than fighting with them?" Urd asked, her voice making Keiichi almost feel sorry for her. She obviously couldn't decide whether that was a compliment to her alchemy or a complaint about her fighting.
"Well, you know how it is...there's so many there, they're probably all tripping over each other. Of course they think you'll be more help in the lab. You're our only alchemist. Well, there's Rusty, but I don't know how much of an alchemist he is - and I'm sure Belldandy and Skuld don't, either. So we're counting on you. And since I'm the only engineer here who doesn't fight, I've got to stay here in this lab to make sure any weapons you might need are available." Keiichi held up the completed water gun. "Here you go. It uses a hyperspatial energy tap to power the pump, so you don't have to worry about it going dead. Instead of pumping the water, we designed it to pressurize the tanks. All three tanks hold about ten liters each, and this switch on the wand tells the system which tank to draw from. I'm assuming Rusty plans to use it, so be sure to warn him that he's going to have as much pressure as a fire hose. Maybe more, depending on what he sets the pump for."
As Urd was looking over the pump with a calculating gleam in her eyes, Keiichi picked up a net bag and began filling it with spare tanks.
"Bill thought Rusty would want a way to refill quickly, so we made a total of twelve tanks for it. All he has to do is push and twist to change them."
"Thanks, Keiichi." Urd grinned and took the bag. After all the time they'd been under the same roof, he still couldn't be sure if that grin was intended to be scary, or if she just couldn't help it. "It looks like we're going to have to make a lot more than we'd thought. I LIKE that."
Definitely scary - no matter how he explained it. But the others believed it was necessary, so when Urd stepped back into David's monitor with the water gun and spare tanks, he went into the living room to see what the cats were up to.
Hunting demons is not my idea of a good time. I'd rather be shopping, or designing a new outfit. Or teasing Mother and Father with hints of things I might know that they don't. It all works out; Father teases me about being sneaky, underhanded, and manipulative, and Mother trusts me a lot more than she ever did before.
The explosion Belldandy had created - Father insisted on calling it a Spirit Bomb - had eliminated all the demons that were still in the area of the construction site, but it had also formed a crater nearly 300 feet deep, and destroyed the buildings all around the crater. Father and the Inners were searching through the rubble for survivors, with the help of Belldandy, Skuld, Mara, and Fluorite. The rest of us were tracking demons. Unfortunately, they were far too easy to track. These were high on viciousness and low on intelligence, so they left a trail of destroyed lives behind them.
The first real trouble we ran into was with the police. Every police force has them, from Queen Serenity I's day down to the present: the kind of people who believe that wearing a uniform makes them somehow superior to the rest of the human race, and therefore able to use and abuse the civilians around them with impunity.
**Princess, before I do what I'm inclined to do, what do you want us to do when the police interfere?**
Sailor Saturn was definitely angry, but remembering her responsibilities enough to ask Serenity what she wanted done before doing it was a good sign.
**Don't let them stop you, but don't kill them, either. Show us what's going on?**
The policeman Sailor Saturn was facing was a familiar face. He was part of a group of officers who ran a protection operation. I'd suspected he was involved in more, but had never been interested enough to come up with evidence that the authorities couldn't ignore. Now, he had his gun aimed at Sailor Saturn, and was ordering her to drop her glaive.
**Princess, I know this cop. I suggest you allow Sailor Saturn to cripple him. Maybe it'll get him off the streets long enough for a court to ground him permanently.**
**Oh. He's one of those? In that case, don't kill him, but use your judgement.**
The image from Sailor Saturn vanished. I wasn't worried; of all of us, she was the least in danger from a gun she could see. And despite her continued insecurity about her physical condition, she was at least as good a fighter as Mother - and was much better when using her glaive. I refocused my attention on the route I had chosen. I hadn't told any of the others, but my primary reason for choosing this route hadn't been because of how tempting it would have been to the demons - and it had been far too tempting - but rather because it was the route the SDF was most likely to follow when moving to investigate the explosion. I was certain the size of the explosion had taken it out of police jurisdiction and placed it into the military's purview.
I was just finishing off a demon that had clawed its way through a 7-11 when I was surprised by the sounds of gunfire behind me. When I spun to look, I saw a demon, vanishing into mist, and four soldiers watching it with disbelieving expressions. Further down the street, maybe half a kilometer away, was a larger contingent of the SDF. It bothered me that I hadn't heard these four drive up, but not as much as I'd have been bothered if they hadn't been there to take care of that demon. I gave a quick look around the front of the store; the demon hadn't left anyone living, so there was no point in any delay.
"It's good to know these are vulnerable to bullets. What can you tell me about your commander's attitude, Corporal?" The soldiers seemed surprised by my attitude; probably too used to civilians being nervous around them.
"Uh...."
This was one of those times the distraction value of our uniforms was an annoyance, rather than a help. I pointed at the only one of the four who wasn't acting like Saeba Ryo and repeated my question.
"Uh...you're civilian, ma'am. I don't know what he'll do."
Well, he was honest, at least. I'm sure the thought he might actually have to use any special training had never crossed his mind. I knew the SDF had formed a special division after Beryl's attacks on Tokyo, but it was obvious from this soldier's reaction that none of them had expected to ever USE their training.
"We'll just wait here for him, then," I said, turning to watch the approaching vehicles. As they approached, I heard bursts of gunfire every few seconds. I could only hope they were successful in their encounters. Every demon they killed was one I didn't have to.
The soldiers and I held our position while the rest approached; when they reached us, all except one HMV stopped about thirty meters away. That one vehicle didn't stop until it reached our position. When I saw the commander, I couldn't help feeling at least a little relieved. A colonel had enough rank to be able to take action, but not so much that he was above taking orders.
"Report!" the colonel barked, jumping out of the vehicle. The soldiers with me all snapped to attention and saluted.
"Colonel Matsudaira, sir!" the corporal said. "We encountered and destroyed one oni. Sailor Pluto requested that we wait here for you, sir!"
I leaned on my key, the way Father leans on his staff when he uses one, and gave the colonel one of those smiles that always gets Mother and Father laughing. Knowing that the colonel came from an old samurai family had me wondering whether he would be more or less responsive: would he recognize the situation was over his head, or would he retreat to classic Japanese attitudes because I'm a woman? The practical response appeared more likely, but I had to be prepared in case the other path was taken.
"Sailor Pluto," the colonel said, turning to look at me. "Does that mean all of you are involved in this?"
"Yes. We're all involved. This is big enough that we need your backup - and Princess Serenity needs to talk with the Emperor."
That got his attention. Unfortunately, it was true. The Emperor was going to have to rally the people of Japan behind us in order to ensure our victory. If he didn't, the Death Phantom would be able to use the local spirits to augment its power.
"When Sailor Pluto shows up, all Hell is about to break loose," Colonel Matsudaira muttered. I honestly did smile at that. If that's what they teach the soldiers in their special training, it would make my job easier.
"I'm afraid it's already breaking loose, Colonel. That's why we need your help. The oni you've already destroyed are only the beginning. They're weak, but they come in the millions. As long as your men have enough ammunition, you can kill them. The more powerful ones, and their leader, are our responsibility."
"And welcome to it!" the colonel said. "Those are bad enough. What can you tell me about the situation ahead?"
"We've driven back the enemy for the moment. The oni are just those that managed to escape the explosion. If you have a command post with a decent computer in one of those vehicles, the Demon Hunter can give you the locations of our people."
"How do you define decent? Our computers are standard issue NEC."
"As long as it has a GPS input, it's good enough. Dead scream." The demon that had leapt from a nearby apartment building dissolved when my blast hit it.
"Fall out! I want a squad to clear each building as we come to it. Don't wait for one of those things to attack. Kill them on sight."
I could see how this man had risen through the ranks. His ability to switch from discussion to tactical command in a heartbeat was something that every army needed, but far too few officers had, especially during periods of apparent peace.
"I have to ask...why is it you don't yell when you attack, the way the others do?" Curious, too. Or, at least, concerned about the capabilities of his allies. That gave him another point in my estimation.
"I don't normally have to. The last time I did was when the Koreans attempted to invade a few centuries back."
"That...was...you?" The colonel's look of amazement was at odds with his otherwise competent appearance. "Divine wind, indeed..."
"Trust me, I'm no more divine than you are. I'm simply one of Princess Serenity's warriors. Shall we proceed to where she is?"
The colonel ordered all but his headquarters company to spread out and hunt demons; I took a seat in his vehicle and warned Sailor Moon of our approach. As planned, when we arrived at the point where the street ended in the pit, Serenity and Endymion were waiting.
Pieces of rubble glowed red and vanished as Mara tunneled toward where she'd sensed something living. According to Skuld, there were too many people mixed in the rubble of the buildings to risk vaporizing all of it at once. Those they'd found so far were already too badly injured to risk dropping them again. Serenity, Chibi-Usa, and Endymion had long since shed their combat uniforms in favor of their royal forms, and were healing the injured as fast as they could be brought into the open air. Mara hadn't realized that Endymion had a crystal of his own, just as powerful as Serenity's - but now he was using it almost nonstop, just as Serenity and Usagi were.
**Be careful, Mara. You're in an unstable spot.**
**I noticed, Skuld. Just tell me when I'm-**
The rubble around Mara shifted and closed in on her, requiring her full attention. She could easily escape, but if she did, the trapped human would die - and that would make Belldandy and the others sad. It was kind of strange, worrying about what Belldandy felt, but it was nice, too. She even partially understood why Belldandy was so worried. If it hadn't been for her spirit bomb (Bill's name for it was amusing, but appropriate), these buildings would still be standing. But Belldandy was so worried about that, that Mara could see she wasn't thinking about what would have happened if she hadn't bombed the excavation: she wasn't thinking about how much larger and more dangerous the horde of demons would have been.
Mara was just gathering her energy to disintegrate the rubble above her when she felt the pressure against her back ease.
"Get a move on, will you? I'm not sure how long I can hold this." Bill's voice from behind her was a shock. She'd thought he was working in the next building over. A glance behind her revealed that he was standing in the last relatively open spot she'd passed through, using his staff as a prybar to lift the piece of concrete that had trapped her just enough to allow her to wriggle free.
"What's wrong? Too heavy?" Mara shot back with a smile, placing a hand against the offending concrete and disintegrating it. Her smile vanished in horror as the rubble that had been supported by that slab fell, hiding everything around her in a cloud of cement dust. Suddenly, the sense of one nearby trapped human was replaced by two - and the second was her friend.
As the rubble settled, the sounds of fluent profanity coming from Bill's direction reassured Mara that he was in better condition than her original target, so she redirected her attention back toward her original path.
**Will you be alright?**
**Yeah. Makoto's coming to dig me out. You just get that civilian, ok?**
**OK. If you're sure.**
**I'm sure, dammit. You can let me spank you later, if you really think you must. Just get that civilian!**
Mara could feel the pain in his thoughts, yet he wasn't reacting the way humans normally did to that much pain; it was almost as if he was accustomed to it. That, by itself, was an uncomfortable thing to contemplate. She decided the best thing to do was rescue the human, and if Bill was still stuck when she'd done that, she could return to rescue him.
Important safety tip: never expect Mara to think ahead. She's as bad at it as Urd. It must be the demon blood. Well, it was too late to do anything about it now. All I could do was wait for Makoto to get to me. At least I wasn't leaking any blood. Well, not much, anyway. Crushing injuries are good for pinching off bleeding. Even the pain wasn't so bad. Then again, I couldn't feel anything below my hips, so I really didn't have much of a basis for comparison.
**How much more does she have to dig through?**
**532 centimeters. Make that 497. At the moment, she's moving through small pieces of rubble. When she gets to the larger items, she's going to be slowed dramatically.**
**Why not suggest a few blasts? It might speed things up...and I'm not thinking clearly enough to focus on her.**
**Already done. Just relax and let her take care of it.**
It was hard to argue with Edgar's logic. I couldn't really do anything where I was, so stressing over it would just increase my chances of needing Fluorite's help when Makoto finally got to me. That would be annoying. I closed my eyes and tried to relax - not that it was all that easy in the position I was in. Lying head-down at a thirty-degree angle on a bed of randomly sized chunks of broken concrete is not conducive to relaxation.
"That was the most stupid, thoughtless, unforgivably careless..."
Just fucking great. Mara was beating herself up. I tuned her out for a minute while checking my situation. No broken concrete pressing against my back...check. Lying on a level surface...check. Sensation in my legs...check. No pain...check.
"If you're quite through beating yourself up, Mara, would you give me a hand sitting up?" I opened my eyes and sighed at the guilty expression on her face. "Look, dammit, it was my fault for not remembering that you have as much foresight as your sister. And for not wearing something more like a hard shell. MacManusite fabric may be good armor against knives, bullets, and energy blasts, but it's still just fabric. And fabric doesn't do all that well against who knows how many tons of broken concrete."
"But I should have realized-"
"Dammit, Mara, did you get the civilian?" I wasn't going to let her beat herself up. I have too damned much experience with that to think it's good for anyone - demon, goddess, or human.
"Yes, but-"
"But nothing. You did what you went in there for."
"He's right, Mara," Usagi said. "Now pipe down before you get Ami's attention, ok? If she finds out he got himself hurt, she's going to be very upset. We don't want that, do we?"
"Uh...no," Mara whispered. She glanced around, a worried expression replacing the guilt. "No, I don't want Ami unhappy."
I took her hands and pulled myself up. Once I was on my feet, I dusted myself off and gave her a quick hug.
"Hey, come on. You saved the civilian, Makoto and Usagi saved me, so everything's all right, right?" When she looked as if she wasn't sure it really WAS all right, I added, with a laugh, "If you're REALLY worried about goofing up, I can always give you a spanking. I've never spanked a Goddess before."
Usagi giggled as Mara's face went from embarrassed to disbelieving to shocked and back to embarrassed again in a matter of moments. I had a hard time restraining my own laughter at the sight. An embarrassed look on Mara is so utterly out of character - out of her old character, at least - that it's especially amusing to see.
"You wouldn't dare!" Mara sputtered, looking at me as if she wasn't sure if I dared or not. I guess no matter how close we get, there'll always be that little problem of my being a demon hunter to make her hesitate.
"You'll just have to find out, won't you? AFTER we rescue anyone who's still alive. So let's get back to work, eh?"
I couldn't help laughing at the look that crossed her face then. Obviously, she hadn't expected me to bounce back so quickly. I guess she hadn't yet realized that Usagi's crystal is just as powerful as Serenity's.
Usagi left us at that point and went running toward where someone had dug out another civilian. Mara gave me one of those looks I'm always getting from Ami and Setsuna - the look that's somewhere half-way between worried and amused, although in her case, I'm sure it was suspicious, rather than amused.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're one strange human?"
"Frequently. Did you rescue my staff, or is it still down in the rubble somewhere?" Good. That distracted her. I could always make another staff, but while she was trying to remember if anyone had retrieved the staff, she wouldn't be thinking about me.
**Edgar? What do Ami and Skuld say about survivors?**
**Endymion is healing the last of them right now. All that's left in the rubble are dead bodies. Good thing, too. Setsuna's bringing some of the SDF.**
**I didn't miss them? Good. How long WAS I out?**
**Twenty-four minutes, thirty-two point eight seconds. Long enough for Ami and Skuld to locate and identify every survivor, and the others to excavate them.**
**Must not have been very many survivors.**
**There weren't. There weren't many casualties, either, though. Apparently the occupants all found ways to be elsewhere when things started getting violent.**
**Good.**
"We'll let the soldiers take care of recovering bodies, Mara. Edgar says all the survivors have been recovered."
"Good. Now we can hunt the other demons, right?" Mara's the first person I've ever met who's more hostile to demons than I am. I guess it's because they're so different than she is - so much more evil.
"We should wait for the soldiers. Don't want them to shoot at the wrong people."
"Like they could hurt me?" Mara grinned. "Let's go see how much trouble they got into without us."
After one final scan of the rubble, Skuld tucked her goggles away. There were no more survivors, and the rubble was as stable as it was going to be until it was hauled away.
She flew over the pit to join Belldandy, who was talking with Serenity and Endymion. It was hard to believe Serenity was the same woman as that flaky, irresponsible, undisciplined menace to eardrums, buffets, and tissue supplies known as Usagi. The discussion ended as Skuld was landing, and Belldandy turned to smile at her.
"There will be soldiers here shortly," Belldandy said, "and we need to let the King and Queen deal with them on their terms. Now would be a good time for the three of us to hunt in the areas Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto haven't reached."
"What about the balance?" Skuld had been worrying at that question since the demon horde had appeared. In their world, a horde of minor demons would require the existence of a matching horde of gods - yet she had not detected any evidence that these demons had counterparts, or that they had a similar connection, if there were counterparts.
"I don't think the balance works the same way here," Belldandy said. "I think our friends are the primary agents for balancing evil in this world."
"And they do it by killing," Mara said, announcing her arrival. "These demons aren't like ours, we already know that. I don't see any problem killing them."
"Then we're going to have to get busy," Skuld said. "I estimate that there may be as many as 100 that escaped destruction. Even if they made themselves obvious, the Senshi couldn't have reached more than half of them."
"We should ask Naru and Fluorite to help," Mara said. "They know this world's demons better than any of us."
"Why not Bill? Hunting demons is what he does," Skuld said.
"I almost killed him once already today," Mara said. "I'm not going to risk a second time."
"Oh," Skuld said. "You know he'll be angry."
"Better angry than dead."
"Mara, I think you're worrying too much," Belldandy said. "I do agree he should remain here, though. He's the only one of them who speaks military. The King and Queen will need that."
Naru and Fluorite were with four women Skuld didn't immediately recognize, all of whom had a little over a third as much magical power as the Senshi. It was the hairstyle one of the dark-haired ones wore that reminded her of who they must be. The friendly way Naru and Fluorite were talking with them was something of a surprise, until she remembered that those four were supposed to have been freed of Jörmungander's influence by Sailor Moon.
"Mara!" Naru cried happily, running to embrace her. Mara blushed, obviously still not used to being the recipient of honest affection, and returned Naru's embrace. "You've got to meet the sisters! This is Beruche, and this is Cooan, and this is Calaveras, and this is Petz. They used to be minions of the Death Phantom, but that was a long time ago. Now they're our friends. Girls, this is my best friend Mara, and this is her little sister Belldandy, and this is her other little sister Skuld. Urd isn't here right now, but that's ok. You'll meet her later. They're Goddesses."
The four women were obviously not happy about being reminded of their past, but offered weak smiles of welcome. The surprise in their expressions when Naru added the last gave Skuld a brief start of worry, until Mara stepped in.
"Don't worry. We're not like Jörmungander, or any of his kind." Mara's smile wasn't as reassuring as one of Belldandy's, but then again, Urd's never were, either. "You see, Skuld is the Goddess of the Future, and Belldandy is the Goddess of the Present. I am...well, I guess you could say I'm the junior Goddess of Death."
"Junior?" Beruche asked, with an uncertain look on her face.
"Yes, junior," Mara laughed. Skuld thought it was nice to hear that laugh, and know that it was honestly warm, rather than an indication Mara was plotting. "Kind of the same way that Chibi-Usa is the junior Sailor Moon. My mother is, as far as I know, still doing her job."
"Your mother...who is she?" Beruche asked.
"Hel," Mara said simply. The looks of confusion on the others' faces revealed their lack of recognition. Mara smiled and waved dismissively. "That's not important right now. What IS important is that we have demons to hunt. Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are hunting already, but there's no way they can get all of them without help. Skuld says there's too many."
"That's right," Skuld said. "With just the four of them, they'll miss a lot of places the demons could be. Since they've started hunting in that direction, we're going to start opposite them, and hopefully meet up with them half-way."
The others followed Skuld's gestures as she indicated directions, and nodded. Belldandy looked at the sisters thoughtfully for a moment, as they spoke quietly among themselves.
"We'd like to help," Petz said. "If those demons belong to the Death Phantom, then we have a personal stake in this."
"The best way you can help," Belldandy said, "is to stay near the King and Queen. You may not be as powerful as they are, but they'll need all the help they can get, if it tries another attack while we're away from here."
Petz scowled at Belldandy's words, then sighed and nodded when Beruche whispered into her ear. Skuld relaxed; Petz had been the most hot-tempered of the four in the anime, and it would have been a problem if she'd decided to argue now.
"Naru, Fluorite, we could really use your help," Skuld said. "You have the most experience with demons other than Bill, and he needs to stay with the King and Queen."
The two mages looked at each other and nodded, while the sisters looked around, then started working their way around the pit toward Serenity and Endymion.
"What's your plan?" Naru asked.
Skuld produced a sheet of paper and draped it across the nearest reasonably level bit of rubble. With a marker, she sketched out the major features of the area around them, indicating the directions the Outer Senshi had gone. Then she added arrows around the other sides, talking as she sketched.
"Sailor Saturn dispersed the others over here, like this, but you can see that left all this over here untouched," Skuld said. "The nearest Crystal Point is here, and I suspect that's where the largest number of demons is likely to have gone. I know you want to take them, Mara, but I think Belldandy would be better for that. Will you take this direction, Oneesama?"
"Of course, Skuld," Belldandy said, nodding.
"I'd like Fluorite over here, and Naru over here," Skuld said, indicating either side of the direction Belldandy would be travelling. "Then Mara can be over here, so she can help if Naru runs into trouble, and I'll take this side, in case Fluorite needs help."
Naru and Fluorite nodded, and Mara smiled gratefully at Skuld. It was obvious that being able to help Naru if she needed it was very important to her; that was why Skuld had distributed them that way. When Belldandy looked up from Skuld's sketch and nodded, she rolled it up and tucked it away.
"Let's go, then," Belldandy said and rose into the air, followed quickly by Skuld and Mara.
Skuld felt the flare of magical power as Naru and Fluorite vanished, to reappear in the areas they were going to be searching. There was no doubt Mara had given Naru back something precious; even if she hadn't found more within herself than the demonic nature she'd grown up with, that alone was enough to forgive her many things.
Hunting demons is not my idea of fun. In fact, by the time I'd followed the trail of dead and destroyed bodies to the first one, I was so angry that I had to call Serenity, just to give myself a focus for self-control, when a police officer - who Sailor Pluto recognized as more corrupt than usual - accosted me.
When he demanded that I lower my weapon, I was more than happy to comply. Of course, the Silence Wall was against the muzzle of his gun, so when he pulled the trigger, it blew up in his hand. I don't know if his partner was particularly stupid, or if he fired out of surprise. I don't think it's going to matter when he tries to explain how the bullets that killed the first cop came from his gun. I didn't feel any obligation to help him out - he had been shooting at me. It was the ricochets off the Silence Wall that had killed his partner.
**Sailor Saturn, when the three of you have cleared your current searches, I want you to coordinate with Sailor Venus. The Goddesses are taking the rest of the search.**
**I understand. Are you expecting trouble?**
**Only if the Death Phantom awakens before you can get back here.**
**We'll be there as soon as possible.**
**Thanks, Hotaru. I knew we could count on you.**
That's when three demons tried to jump me at once. Despite my low opinion of the police officer, I had to extend my Silence Wall to cover him. Then I had time to deal with the demons. Death Ribbons took care of the first one, but the others split up when they hit the Wall. Apparently they weren't quite as mindless as I'd expected. They seemed to realize that the Death Ribbons couldn't take out both of them at once if they weren't close together, and they both moved toward people who had either been too slow to get away or were too stunned to realize they should flee.
The police officer partially redeemed himself then. He started shooting at one of them, and apparently hit it at least once, given the noises it made. I took advantage of that to destroy the other one. When I turned back to finish off the other one, I saw that he definitely had hit it: one of its arms hung down as if it was broken, and it was dragging two of its six legs. Unfortunately, it was also far too close to its intended victim for me to use the spell on, so I had to drop the Wall and close with it.
"This way, demon." I swung my glaive and took off one of its good legs. That got its attention. With only three legs, it was slow shifting to face me, but when it did I was facing a nightmare of fangs, tentacles, and clawed arms.
It was still too close to its intended target, so I moved in and brought my glaive up, lopping off a few of its tentacles. That didn't help its disposition any, but now I was certain I had its full attention. The jet of acid it spit my way confirmed that. I don't know what it was, but it melted the pavement behind me faster than Sailor Mars could have.
I dodged the acid and started lopping off pieces. The demon wasn't a very skilled fighter, even with all its appendages, and the few hits it got through my defense were hardly worth noticing. I'm sure Usagi would disagree with that, but she's still as protective of me as she was when we first met. The demon didn't last long - just long enough for its previous target to get far enough away that I felt safe using Death Ribbons.
**Clear your searches as quickly as possible. The Princess wants us to return to the pit and coordinate with Sailor Venus as soon as we can.**
**If we move too quickly, we could miss something.**
**I know. I'm trusting that she knows something we don't.**
**Or she's anticipating. We know the Death Phantom is down there somewhere.**
**That's what I suspect. I'll meet both of you when we return to the others.**
I didn't sense any more demons, out to the edge of the city. I realized that could mean that any were hiding, but the risk was worth taking. A stray demon could be dealt with much easier than the Death Phantom. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune arrived at the pit just a few minutes after I did. Urd and Rusty arrived not long after, with Urd grumbling about the lack of working televisions in the area.
"We have to assume the worst attacks are going to come from the pit," Sailor Venus said. I nodded, since that was what I'd assumed, too. "So what I want to do is arrange the four of you like this, about fifty feet down. If it's too much for you to contain, fall back to these positions, with us."
I looked across the pit and nodded. There was plenty of room for all of us around the rim, if it came to that. I wasn't sure about the wisdom of including Rusty in our defensive plans, but it was obvious he didn't intend to be left out.
"If it's bad enough for us to fall back, Pluto and I will wall it off long enough for the rest of you to prepare." I knew between the two of us, we could at least delay it, no matter how powerful it was. "Where are you planning to put the sisters and Rusty?"
"I'm putting Rusty with the Prince and Princess. Beruche will be with Sailor Mars, Cooan will be with Sailor Mercury, Calaveras will be with Sailor Jupiter, and Petz will be with me." She seemed awfully pleased with that arrangement, although I couldn't see why.
"That's an interesting arrangement. Why?"
"It's a trick Bill showed me in his lab. I never understood why he insisted I should see it, but it should work here." Sailor Venus grinned and plunged ahead with her explanation. "Have you ever seen what happens when you heat one part of something while chilling another part at the same time?"
"Thermal stress. That's a great idea." As flaky as she is normally, there's no question she can rise to the occasion when it's important enough. And applying a concept like that is sheer brilliance. "Are you sure the sisters are powerful enough to pull it off?"
"I'm not sure any of us are powerful enough, Hotaru," Sailor Venus murmured softly, then took a deep breath and pasted on her maniacal smile. "Well, we know YOU are, but I think we want to keep the planet in one piece, right?"
I could hardly let her efforts go unrewarded; we needed all the morale we could muster. So I gave her the response Usagi usually gave me when I commented on her cooking.
"Biiiih!"
Urd rose into the air above the center of the pit until she could see all of Tokyo by simply rotating in place. The sun was approaching the western horizon, and she knew that if demons in this world were anything like those in hers, they'd become more dangerous after dark. Hunting them down one at a time would not do - not if they intended to protect the local mortals.
She raised her hands and extended them before her, smirking inwardly at the gracefulness of her movement. Take THAT, Skuld! With a thought, she reached out to find the spirits of the city and began her call.
"In the towers, in the streets,
Spirits of metal, glass, and concrete,
Hear my words, heed my call,
Show me the spirits that would destroy all."
Oww...too many....
Mmm...strong...manly...roses...roses?
Urd opened her eyes and looked up into Endymion's face as he was gently lowering her to the ground. Serenity and Chibi-Usa were watching worriedly - more so as Urd grimaced and clutched her head. Dumb, Urd. Really dumb. When the brat said it was a horde, she really meant it.
"Blew yourself up again?" Bill asked with a laugh. She had a passing urge to slap his face, but with - her headache - it was too much effort.
"Go..." No, it wasn't worth the effort. Then he produced a jar of sake out of hyperspace and handed it to her with a secretive smile.
"Pull yourself together, eh?"
Urd drank down the sake and sat up with her usual maniacal grin. Yeah, that hit the spot. Now it was time to tell the others the bad news.
**You're not going to like this. There's at least a couple hundred demons running loose.**
**HOW MANY?**
**Think Mongol Horde. And they're scattering. They seem to be trying to take all the Crystal Points at once.**
**Damn damn DAMN! Oneesama?**
**Hold on, Skuld. No...they're too close to the mortals. The only way to destroy them all at once would be to destroy the city. We're going to have to fight them.**
**With as many as there are, we're going to have to tell Serenity.**
**You take care of that, Urd. Mara, you tell Naru. I'll tell Fluorite. No mercy.**
Urd shook her head at the hostility in Skuld's tone. As much as the Bug bugged her sometimes, she was far too innocent for this. She moved toward where Serenity, Endymion, and Sailor Chibi-Moon were talking with Bill and the military commander.
The look on Urd's face when I suited up to join the others at the pit was just a little irritating. It was obvious she was trying not to laugh. Sure, the water gun looked a little ridiculous over my outfit, but I was sure we could work out something a lot less obvious with more time to work. Meanwhile, the others were out there fighting the things that had possessed Keiichi. There was no way I was going to stand by and not get into it.
The first thing Urd did after we arrived at the pit was fly up into the air - then come crashing down into Endymion's arms a few moments later. She recovered pretty quickly after drinking a jar of sake, and joined us where Serenity and Bill were talking with a JSDF colonel.
"Your Majesties, we have a problem." Urd said. This was not good. If Urd thought it was a problem, we were in deep trouble.
"What is it, Urd?" Serenity asked. I'm sure the colonel wasn't happy about the interruption, but it was obvious Serenity recognized how serious it must be, too.
"There's far too many demons for us to destroy ourselves. And they've spread out through the city. You need to secure the Crystal Points, or they'll win."
"I see. How many is far too many?"
"Several hundred. And they're so mixed in with the mortals that any attempt we make to fight them is going to have to be one on one."
Fighting demons one on one was just fine by me. After what they did to Naru and Keiichi, I wanted a piece of them. If they were as surprised by that as my friends, so much the better. I'm not a fighter - not normally - but when someone hurts one of my friends, they're going to find out I'm bearlike in more than just my looks.
"Colonel, how many troops can you order?" Bill asked. "Urd's not noted for underestimating her abilities, so if she says it's that bad, we're going to need every gun we can get."
Serenity was looking toward the pit as he spoke; after a few moments, the Senshi all came leaping up to surround us. I decided I was going to have to get a MacManus watch for myself. Endymion put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a quick smile.
"You're going to stay with us, ok?" Endymion said with that heartwarming smile he's so good at. "According to Albertus, your weapon should be especially effective against the Death Phantom. So if it tries to come out while the others are fighting, or if it sends any more demons out, you should be able to hurt it enough for us to deliver the knock-out punch."
As much as I wanted to be out hunting, I couldn't argue with his logic. I nodded and made sure the pressure was where I wanted it. Since Bill hadn't included a pressure gauge on the thing, I had to guess where the line was between enough pressure to do damage from the impact, and so much pressure the recoil would be a problem. I was already making notes for improvements.
By the time I had the gun set to where I guessed was the best pressure, the soldiers had split up. A large group, including the colonel, remained at the pit. The rest of them were split into smaller groups that accompanied the Senshi. The Sisters - not without some argument - stayed at the pit with us.
"Who are you? And who is your fashion consultant?" The one with the dark hair done up in rabbit ears like Chibi-Usa's asked.
I could only half blame her; I only knew that they were supposed to be sisters, but didn't know anything more about them. I didn't see a problem with my outfit, though. I was wearing dark brown suede swashbuckler's boots, sapphire blue pants, and a hunter green pirate's shirt, all made of MacManusite. That was one of the reasons I wanted to make some modifications to the gun. All those water tanks were out of place on top of my clothes.
"I'm Rusty. Is there a problem?" Ok, so maybe I was a little less than effusive in my response, but her opening salvo wasn't exactly the friendliest I've heard.
"You do know we're likely to be fighting demons, don't you?"
"Oh yeah. I'm counting on it." I must have looked as eager as Bill does when it comes to killing demons; she took a step back and shot me a surprised look. I slapped one of the tanks and laughed. "See these? Alchemically concentrated holy water. That ought to give any demon a headache."
"Holy water?" She sounded as if she had never heard the concept before.
"Yeah. Water that's been blessed by a Goddess." That didn't seem to clear it up, unfortunately. "So what about you? What's your name?"
"My name is Cooan." OK. I knew who they were only because I'd seen them at Bill and Ami's wedding, and once or twice around the shrine, but this was the first time I'd actually met any of them. "I'm not sure you understand just how dangerous this could be."
"I've seen what the demons did to two of my friends. I think I have a vague idea...and I plan to be more dangerous to them."
"You're pretty crazy for a human. You might just manage it."
"You haven't seen crazy yet. Just watch when things start happening."
Cooan shook her head; just as she was opening her mouth to say something, Serenity called us over.
"Please tell me that's MacManusite you're wearing, Rusty." For some reason, Serenity looked as if she wanted to say something more, but was holding herself back.
"Yup. David whipped it up for me while Urd and I were working." I patted the tanks hanging from my belt and added, "Given the kind of demon it is, this ought to really give it a headache. I'm ready to rock."
"I hope so. Something feels wrong - more than what we've already experienced." Serenity looked around with a worried expression on her face.
That wasn't reassuring. And it became less reassuring when Endymion, Chibi-Usa, and Bill all got matching worried expressions. No doubt about it, I've got to get one of those watches. While I was waiting for the four of them to say something, Cooan was talking with her sisters. Sounds of gunfire began coming from all around us, far enough away to make it hard to tell just where or how far away it was.
"Yes, they've run into the first of the demons," Endymion said. "So far, it's all the same kind as what the soldiers ran into on the way here."
"So ka," the woman with the white-blonde hair in a braid said. "We shouldn't expect it to stay that way, though. It's bound to bring in more powerful demons sooner or later."
"I agree, Beruche. The only question is whether the demons already out there include more powerful ones, or if they'll have to get through us to get out."
The colonel chose that moment to join the discussion, bringing with him a couple aides and a mapboard.
"Companies A, B, F, and J are advancing against heavy opposition," the colonel announced as his aides set markers on the map. "Our other forces are, so far, encountering minimal resistance."
"That's good," Serenity said. "I wonder why..." She stared at the map, scratching her head. She was probably wondering the same thing I was - why were the demons concentrating on opposite sides of the city?
"Oh dear," Beruche gasped. "The Emperor!"
We all turned to stare at her. What did the Emperor have to do with any of this? It was Endymion's gasp that broke the spell.
"Damn! She's right!" He traced a line from where we were, through the point where company F was fighting, straight to the Palace. "The demons are trying to draw off your soldiers by showing force on the other side of the city, while sending a group to take the Palace."
"I'll take care of the Emperor," Serenity said. "It's time. Sailor Chibi-Moon, come with me. Endy-chan, you can manage things here, right?"
The look on his face made it pretty obvious that Endymion didn't like the idea, but he didn't have a chance to protest. Serenity took Chibi-Usa's hand and the two of them vanished, moments after Serenity finished speaking.
"Face it," Bill said. "You've got as much chance of stopping them as I have of stopping Ami or Setsuna."
Endymion groaned, then smiled as he nodded. "You're right. Might as well try to stop a tsunami."
"That'd be easier," Bill said. "Even Beruche could do that. Get Sailor Mercury and Sailor Neptune on it, and they could probably send it back where it came from."
Beruche spluttered for a minute, then settled for glaring at Bill as he grinned at her. "You...you...You're shameless!"
"Hmmm...your point?"
His grin apparently was a little too much for her to take. She conjured up a ball of water and threw it at him. I think that's the first time I really realized how much fighting he's been doing. He batted the ball aside with his hand - and still managed to avoid getting wet. That gave me an idea.
"Beruche?" She jumped when I called her name, the way Bill used to when he was still living with his former wife. I waited a moment for her to relax before I said anything more.
"Yes?" She had that same "I want to say something more, but don't dare" look on her face that Serenity had had. I guess Errol Flynn and Lionel Barrymore never made much of an impression in Japan.
"When you do your water thing, do you pull the water from somewhere, or do you conjure it out of nothing?"
"I think it depends on whether there's any water available. When there's open water around, it's a lot easier, so I suppose I just take it from the water that's available. Why?"
"Here. Try this." I grinned and took one of the spare water bottles off my belt. "It's alchemically concentrated holy water. Even if all you do is mix some of this with whatever water you conjure up, it's got to make things more unpleasant for any demons."
"Alchemically concentrated holy water? What do you mean?"
"I had Urd bless some - ok, a lot of - water, so it has the blessing of a Goddess on it. Then I used alchemy to refine it, so that all that's left is the spiritual essence of water, which is where the blessing is. The way I figure, that should make this go through a demon the way acid goes through a bar of soap."
"That's what's in here? I don't' know...," Beruche looked at the bottle curiously, then opened the filling cap and sniffed at it. She smiled and looked up. "I can feel it in there. I CAN use it."
"Perfect..." Things were definitely looking up. With two of us using holy water on anything that showed up, it would be having anything but a nice day.
Belldandy paused to wipe her sword on a convenient piece of fabric and looked around for the next demon. Skuld had been right. There had definitely been a lot of demons here. Luckily, it had been easy to clear the building before the fighting began. She brought up her sword, just in time for a lunging demon to impale itself on the tip. With a twist of the blade, she killed it, and spun to take the head of another.
**Oneesama? Do you need help?**
**No, I'm doing fine. I think Urd's estimate of how many there are is on the money, though. How are you doing?**
**It's strange. I'm not getting that many here.**
**Maybe I'm near one of the Crystal Points.**
Belldandy reached out with her senses and hissed in surprise. She'd been so busy fighting the demons, she hadn't noticed that she was on top of a Crystal Point, not merely near it. That made matters a little different.
**Oneesama?**
**Sorry, Skuld. I was wrong. I'm not near a Crystal Point. I'm at one. Hurry and get to the one you're aiming for. That's probably where you'll find most of the demons.**
Another wave of demons started attacking then, requiring all of Belldandy's attention. Her sword hummed as she harvested demon heads like rice. With a few strokes, she cleared a space around her - one that would last only until the demons' bodies evaporated, true, but that was long enough for her to scan again and verify there were no humans in the building. The building glowed blue-white, then briefly went transparent. When the light faded, all the demons were gone.
**This point is secure. Do any of you need help?**
**No troubles here. I'm only coming on them one or two at a time.**
**Same here. It's weird.**
**Not if they're going for the Crystal Points. I think the Senshi probably gave them a hard lesson in the value of stealth, so they're keeping their heads low until they get to a Point.**
**Right. That would explain why I have to work to locate them. I'm going to head straight for the nearest Point and pick them off when they show up.**
**Be careful. They may not be as powerful as we are, but their numbers make up for it.**
The building was a small store; one of the few shop buildings that had survived the transformation of the neighborhood into high-rises. Given its condition when she'd arrived, Belldandy was certain the owners were dead. The demons that hadn't been close enough to be destroyed when she cleared it had recoiled to the fringes of her interest. She rose above the building, reaching out to feel the shape of the Point's power.
"You, where life and power entwine,
Your Queen and King call now to you.
Awake! Arise!
Shine forth your light.
From the past, from the future,
Into the eternal now,
Your Mistress and Master have returned."
I knew what Mom wanted as soon as she decided we were going to see the Emperor. No matter how much more powerful we are when in our royal mode, the fuku seem to ease the fears of those who see us. So, I changed into Sailor Chibi-Moon and we teleported to the Imperial Palace.
When we arrived, the palace guard immediately rushed to surround us. Mom conferred with Hecate, then pointed at one of the guard.
"Captain, you will escort me to the Emperor. Your men must prepare to give a proper greeting to the demons coming this way. Sailor Chibi-Moon will assist."
**Usagi, you can handle it by yourself, right?**
**The demons will be easy. Slapping down the soldiers without hurting them will be the hard part.**
Mom gave me a quick smile and turned back to the captain, who was still sputtering. "Shall we go now? It wouldn't do to keep the Emperor waiting."
The captain was forced to run to catch up with her; when Mom's in her royal mode, she can walk as fast as most ordinary people jog. While they were vanishing in the direction of the Palace, I looked over what was left behind.
The palace guard was pretty, but didn't look all that useful for anything other than ceremony. Definitely nothing like the guard we kept back home in Crystal Tokyo.
"Do you guys have any guns? I've seen what's coming, and believe me, you do NOT want to let it get within sword's reach. For that matter, do you have radios? You're going to want to call reinforcements."
While they were arguing over that, I jumped to the roof and scanned the direction of the pit. The sounds of gunfire were a lot clearer up there than on the ground, so I was able to focus in on it very quickly.
**How far, Eos?**
**I estimate 2200 meters.**
**Who's with the soldiers?**
**Sailor Mercury**
**Oh, good! Sailor Mercury, what's the situation?**
**For every one we kill, five more show up. I think they're drawing off whatever other groups of demons are in the city.**
**Damn! All right. How many soldiers have you lost?**
**We're down thirty percent. And the ones who are left are more determined to beat these demons before they get to the Emperor.**
**Mom and I are at the palace. Why don't you tell the soldiers to back off, and just keep them moving this way? You can join up with us here, and we can defeat them.**
**You have a plan? Or at least some backup?**
**All I have is the palace guard**
**Oh no you don't, Princess. All you have is us.**
**Juno? What are you doing in this time?**
**Someone suggested we might want to take a vacation in this time. All four of us.**
**Oneesan!**
**You'll have to wait until you go back to the future to ask, imouto. You have more important things to deal with right now, yes?**
**Yes, she was just as mysterious when she sent us back. Now what's going on?**
I pointed toward the sounds of gunfire.
"Demons, huh? How tough are they?" Sailor Ceres asked. As usual, she was taking the lead for them.
"So far, they've been easier to kill than lemures, but that's not going to last. Sailor Mercury is herding a group of them this way, so that we can kill them before they're reinforced by more powerful demons."
"That sounds like a plan. When did you start making plans, Princess?" Sailor Juno teased. I threw a playful punch her way, and she swatted at my hand like Diana does when we're playing. We laughed together; it was so good to have them at my side.
I heard the guards whistling below us. When I looked down, Sailor Vesta and Sailor Pallas were flirting with them.
**Girls...you know it's not nice to tease. Especially when the enemy is only a little over a kilometer away.**
**Yes, Princess.**
**Sorry, Princess.**
**If you really want to play with any of them, wait until after we win this fight.**
The two looked up and giggled, then leapt up to join us. I waved to the guards and called down.
"If you listen, you should be able to hear the gunfire by now. You'd better go get your weapons before they get here. Then get inside with the Emperor. If they get past us, he'll need you."
The guards looked at each other, then back up at us, then ran inside. All of us sighed in relief. Some things are just not meant for ordinary people to fight. Now we could prepare for the demons without having to worry about civilian casualties. There had already been far too many.
The battle reached us far too quickly for my peace of mind, even if that was my plan. Now I just had to hope it would work. I grabbed my spiral heart rod and prepared for the first of them to arrive.
Keiichi sat with Artemis and Luna, watching the display over the coffee table. On the table itself was a map of Tokyo, with crimson lights showing where battles with demons were happening, and blue-white lights showing where the Crystal Points were. The most worrisome part of the display, as far as he was concerned, was the Imperial Palace.
"Isn't there anything we can do? I feel so useless!"
"We're doing it," Artemis said. "We have better access to information and communications from here than we did in our old command center, so we're staying right here and making sure everyone out there is in touch and knows where the enemy is."
"David, can you give us satellite images on the wall screen?" Luna asked. "The symbolic information is good, but I want to be able to see what's out there."
The TV lit up with a montage of windows, each showing a different enhanced satellite image. The effect was as if the videos were being shot from the height of the Tokyo Tower, and what they showed was horrible. Soldiers were fighting with demons in the streets, with so much death and destruction around them that it looked like pictures from a war zone.
"How did that happen?" Luna asked with a gasp of surprise. "Artemis! Do you see the Crystal Points?"
"Someone's awakened them," Artemis said. "I think we have a better chance now."
Keiichi shot the two of them a puzzled look, then looked back at the TV. It took a moment of study before he understood. In ten of the images, an enormous silvery crystal that rose out of the ground like a tower occupied the center of the window.
"Those are the Crystal Points? So...they can give their power to Sailor Moon?" Keiichi felt hope rising. "Then the fight should be over soon, right?"
"It won't be over until the Death Phantom shows," Luna said gently. "That's the cause of this, and that's what we'll have to defeat in order to win."
Keiichi sighed and nodded. So much for that hope. Still, he had faith in Sailor Moon. And he knew that with Belldandy on her side, there was no chance of them losing.
"You're right, though," Artemis said. "The Crystal Points can give their power to the Princess - and to the Prince. With the extra power, they should be unbeatable."
"Artemis, Luna, can you tell me what- Never mind. Later." Bill's voice came over the speakers.
"David! What's happening?" Keiichi demanded.
All the windows on the TV screen vanished, replaced by one large image of the Palace construction site. Or, rather, what used to be the construction site. Now it looked like an enormous pit, as if a bomb had gone off in it. And demons - by the thousands - were boiling out of the pit. There were so many of them that Keiichi couldn't see where any of the Senshi were, until he saw the flashes of energy from their attacks. Well, flashes of energy, anyway. It took a few moments to register that the energy looked darker than he'd expected from the Senshi.
"Kami-sama...please let them be ok...."
"David, give us vital signs here at the table," Artemis said.
The display on the table changed from the Tokyo map to lots of little windows, each showing graphs of heart rate, respiration, and brainwaves. Artemis and Luna hovered around the table, studying the graphs intently, while Keiichi watched the battle on the big screen with a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach.
"Rusty!"
The demons had boiled up out of the pit so fast that we were all surprised. Rusty had gone down under a wave of them right away, and Bill and I both started that way.
The demons piled on Rusty shuddered, then screamed in agony as a spray of water came from beneath them. Rusty stood up, shaking himself like a giant panda that was annoyed by foxes. He bent over, picked up that ridiculous musketeer hat he'd been wearing, knocked the dirt off it, and planted it back on his head.
"All right, you bastards, want to try it again?" he snarled, waving his water gun menacingly. He began hosing down demons with abandon, like a fireman beating down a fire. The demons reacted the same way as a well-soaked fire - they fell back, mostly dissolving before they hit the ground.
Bill had that weird sword of his in hand - the one that looked kind of like a sickle - and was slicing demons like a chef slicing salami. The sisters were quickly remembering their old magical skills, and the demons were paying the price of having awakened them. I sent a silent thought of thanks to my old friends and began introducing the demons to my Smoking Bomber.
"Cooan! Fire at the bottom of that pile of rubble over there!" Bill yelled, pointing at the most unstable of the rubble. "Petz! As soon as she loosens it, blast it! I want it to fall into the hole!"
I saw what he was trying to do. It should take care of the demons still in the pit, but it wouldn't even slow down the Death Phantom. Then again, there wasn't much that would.
"Beruche, you and Calaveras go over there." I pointed to a spot about a third of the way around the pit. "Soak her chain with some of the water Rusty gave you."
I pointed about a third of the way around the pit in the other direction and nodded to Rusty. "You go over there. If you and Beruche catch them in a crossfire, it should take out more than what you're managing now."
Bill had worked his way partially into the pit and was holding his ground. He had one of his many knives in his other hand, and was using it on any demon that got too close for his sword to be useful. I realized his tactic made sense. My Smoking Bomber was powerful enough to vaporize even these demons, but it took a moment to gather the power. My roses aren't nearly as powerful, but even demons have eyes, and I'm as good with my roses as he is with his rifles.
I started hurling roses, and discovered that eyes weren't the only vulnerable place the demons had. Like living beings, a rose through a knee or elbow left that limb unusable, at least long enough for a more powerful follow-up.
Cooan and Petz brought down the rubble, crushing a few hundred demons in the process, and Rusty and Beruche were doing a pretty good job of washing away those that came between them. Calaveras, Bill, and I had to destroy our demons one at a time, but it was starting to look like we'd be able to wipe them out before the sun set. Then we could rely on the soldiers to watch the pit while we rested and prepared for the next attack.
That was when I realized I wasn't hearing gunfire. What had happened to Colonel Matsudaira and his men? I looked toward where they had set up their field headquarters and let out a curse. Some of the demons had managed to get that far, and they were fighting hand-to-hand. The soldiers were losing, too. I immediately went for them. The others had the pit as well in hand as possible, but the soldiers needed help.
I landed near the colonel and blasted the demon he was fighting with. His sword had been more effective than I expected, but hadn't quite been good enough.
"Arigato. What about the pit?" Colonel Matsudaira was already moving toward a demon that was on the verge of disemboweling his aide. "If we lose that, we're all dead."
"No need to worry. My people are beating them back. Don't you have any machine pistols?" I couldn't understand why they weren't using their guns, especially with the number of casualties I saw.
"Useless. The bullets just go right through them like they were made of smoke."
"Damn. All right. As soon as you can gather your men, ask that man over there who looks like Errol Flynn on acid to soak them down with his squirt gun."
The colonel looked dubious, but nodded. I couldn't blame him, but was glad that he didn't debate it in the middle of a fight. I passed the word to Bill, so he could tell Rusty where to go. The soldiers were in too much trouble for me to get him myself.
The demons kept coming at us like Chinese infantry, but with the numbers we'd already cut from their ranks, those that got as far as me were easily dealt with. About the time Rusty made it to the soldiers and started soaking them down, I felt a surge of power like I'd only experienced twice before - once when we'd all gone to the future, and once when the Golden Crystal had awakened.
**Mamochan? Did you feel that?**
**You felt it too, Usako? It feels familiar....**
**Someone's awakened the Crystal Points.**
**All of them? Then we'll be able to...**
**...defeat the Death Phantom.**
I gathered my power for a Smoking Bomber, and this time it was almost as easy as hurling a rose. With little more than a thought, I shifted to my armor and began using the Earth Sword. With this new power, it sliced through the demons as easily as that strange sword of Bill's, allowing me to save my own energy for when the more powerful demons would begin appearing.
The Goddesses were settling onto the rim of the pit as the sun set, all of them in armor and carrying their weapons. Their angry expressions made it clear that any demons that tried to get out with them there would be exterminated as quickly and brutally as any that faced the rest of us. If there had been any doubt that the four of them were Viking Goddesses, there was none now.
Skuld peered into the pit through her goggles and called out, "It looks clear for the moment. I think they may be trying to decide what to do now that Oneesama has locked your power away from them."
"That sounds good to me. Can you tell where they're most likely to come out?"
"The most likely place is right about there." Skuld pointed the pointy end of her hammer into the pit and a laser burned an "X" into a spot near the bottom, where the rubble Cooan and Petz had dropped hadn't quite reached. "You should have enough time to gather the others before they come out."
**We have a few minutes before the pit explodes again. How are the rest of you doing?**
The last to respond were at the Imperial Palace - Sailor Mercury, Sailor Chibi-Moon, Serenity, and Sailor Chibi-Moon's Guardians. I'll admit, the four of them in this time worried me, given how extreme the situation had been when they last came to our time. On the other hand, knowing they were protecting our daughter made me feel better about not being with them. Strategic planning is important, but it can't make up for the instinct to protect those you love.
**Mamochan, we need King Endymion here. Let Venus and Saturn direct the Senshi.**
**I'm on my way. What should I know?**
**We're talking with the Emperor. You'll understand when you get here.**
While I was glad to be needed at her side, I wasn't quite sure I was ready to face Emperor Akihito. Or - perhaps more unnerving - Michiko. If she was anything like Serenity, she would be the more difficult one.
"Go on, your Majesty," Sailor Venus said with one of her maniacal grins as she came to a stop beside me. "We've got it covered here. Right, Sailor Saturn?"
"That's right." Sailor Saturn gave me a smile that had me wondering if she'd been taking lessons from Sailor Pluto. "Remember, he may be Emperor, but he's also a scientist. You two have much in common."
I had to laugh at that. Trust her to cut right to the heart of things.
"All right. You already know what we're doing here, so try to avoid being hurt, ok?" I nodded to them, then let Sailor Pluto take my arm and teleport me to the Imperial Palace.
Mara watched the Demon Hunter nervously. What she could sense of her friend within him was buried so deeply beneath his dedication to his duty that it was almost as if she were watching an organic machine. The weapons he was carrying only added to her unease. They were much like those carried by the inhabitants of the Duat, who had always unnerved her with their raw primal essence; an essence that was as pure and strong as a diamond - and just as ordered. Besides the appearance of the weapons, their aura frightened her; their power was of divine origin, and therefore lethal to demons. Having been told she was a Goddess still hadn't sunk into her guts - at least, not deeply enough to overcome her instincts.
The others were gathered around Sailor Venus, Sailor Saturn, and Colonel Matsudaira, planning their response when Jörmungander would rise from the pit. Mara had to admit admiration for the colonel. Despite his troops' complete inability to effectively fight the demons, he - and they - refused to give up. She decided she'd have to stick close to them. It was his kind of willpower and resistance that humans were supposed to gain from demonic testing, and she wanted to help strengthen it.
The Senshi were looking at her expectantly, and she blushed as she cast her thoughts back to learn why they were waiting for her.
"Oh. Ummm...I'm afraid I can't really tell you much. Jörmungander is something we always avoided whenever possible. He has a temper like a wounded wolverine and less intelligence than Thor."
"Are you sure? When we fought him before, he seemed pretty cunning." Sailor Venus looked disbelieving as she asked.
"I'm sure. Intelligence and cunning aren't necessarily linked. Some of the most cunning creatures couldn't reason their way out of a grain sack." Mara smiled as she remembered the time she'd tricked Loki with something that simple. He'd been so caught up in trying to find the trick to escape, he hadn't seen that all he had to do was open the door in front of him and walk out. "With Jörmungander, intelligence isn't needed. He's so big that he can usually get what he wants with brute force. And if he doesn't get it, it's usually because he's destroyed it. What I don't understand is why he wants Midgard."
"To destroy it," the Demon Hunter said. "Apep has always wanted to destroy the world, since the moment it was created. That's why we were created: to fight his children."
"Destruction was the reason the Death Phantom attacked the Earth before," Sailor Mercury said. "It wanted to destroy the world, and we were the only force stopping it, both in this time and in the future."
Destruction was, unfortunately, a motive Mara could easily imagine from Jörmungander. It was one of the few things he truly understood. And he was just the kind of being to decide that if he couldn't have something, he'd destroy it out of spite.
"What's your plan?" Mara asked.
"Get it," the Demon Hunter said.
"Get it? That's your plan?" Mara sputtered, disbelieving. The Demon Hunter pushed back the brim of his fedora and flashed her a smile that would have been reassuring under other circumstances.
"Just remember; don't cross the beams. That would be bad," Sailor Venus laughed.
"Could you define bad? I'm a little rusty on that," Rusty said.
"Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light," the Demon Hunter lectured, like a professor explaining a natural law.
"OK. That's bad. Important safety tip. Don't cross the beams. Thanks, Egon."
"You're all insane!" Mara exclaimed as Rusty, Sailor Venus, and the Demon Hunter broke into laughter. When Skuld started giggling, she gaped at the youngest Goddess. Not only were the three mortals insane, but it was contagious, too? Or had the stress caused them all to crack?
"Bill makes an ok Egon," Sailor Saturn said, "and Rusty makes a good Venkman, but I have trouble imagining you as one of them, Venus."
"What? You don't think I'm sleazy enough?" Sailor Venus laughed. "Seriously, though, a few proton packs would be nice right now."
"Give me time," the Demon Hunter said. "I'm having a little trouble making it smaller than an artillery piece."
"Don't worry, you will," Sailor Mercury said. "Maybe...is the one in the lab able to fire?"
"Theoretically. Colonel, do any of your men know how to use a recoilless?"
Colonel Matsudaira looked around at his surviving soldiers and nodded.
"I have enough men left to manage one," he said. Mara's respect for him rose: not only did he and his soldiers have the will to fight, he knew his men well enough to answer the question with a simple look at his forces.
"Good. Marller, will you give me a hand? The weapon we want is back at the house." The Demon Hunter tucked his weapons away in his hyperdimensional pocket and offered her an open hand. His intensity was lessened just enough that she could feel her friend in his grip, and she relaxed as he gave her a loving smile just before the pit faded around them.
**Why don't you let Mara take you home, sweetheart? That might help her relax a bit.**
**I hope so. I suppose being a Goddess is still far too new to her. We'll be ok, angel. You keep safe, ok?**
**As safe as anyone. Love you.**
**Love you, too.**
I could feel Mara's discomfort at being within weapon's reach of Bill, and from their expressions, I was sure Minako and Hotaru were feeling it, too.
"Good. Marller, will you give me a hand? The weapon we want is back at the house." Bill tucked his weapons away and offered her his hand. She hesitantly took it, then gave him a weak smile in response to the loving smile he gave her, just before they teleported away. I was sure they'd work things out, given enough time.
I took out my computer and activated my visor. We were going to need all the data we could gather if we wanted a hope of winning. The pit was boiling with energy. It looked to me as if we wouldn't have much time before it exploded again, and this time it would be far stronger than any eruption yet.
After I'd been studying the pit for a few moments, data from Skuld's goggles began flowing into my computer, and I was able to start feeding the information to Colonel Matsudaira's command display. Besides pinpointing the most likely spot for an initial breakthrough, Skuld's data combined with mine to show how powerful it was likely to be. We were going to need at least one of the Crystals if we were to have any hope of containing it long enough to stop it entirely.
Minako, Hotaru, and the colonel immediately began discussing how to arrange those of us who were here, and whatever soldiers had survived the earlier attacks, in order to increase our odds.
**Usagi.**
**What is it, Ami?**
**We need you here. I'm afraid you're going to have to give up being Sailor Chibi-Moon, if we're going to have a hope of winning.**
**Give up...?**
**We need Sailor Moon, not Sailor Chibi-Moon. And that means you. Sorry, hon, but it's time to step out of Usagi's shadow and take up the title yourself.**
**Me? But...**
**You're more than ready. And with the Crystal Points awakened, you should have the power to make the transformation.**
**I...do. The power is there...you really think it's necessary?**
**I know it is. We may need the king and queen, too, but if we do, your power will weaken it enough to give them time to get to us.**
**All right. I'll try.**
**Don't make me do Yoda on you.**
**Biiiih!**
That was better. Just like her mother, Chibi-Usa always underestimated herself until she was forced to stretch. Or until she was distracted from her worries so she could react without thinking too much about it.
**Hotaru, do you think there's enough power available for Usagi to go Eternal?**
**Easily. Do you need help encouraging her?**
**I don't think so. I think just knowing that you're with her will take care of that. They'll be here shortly. I don't know how her Guardians fight, but I'm sure they'll be helpful somehow.**
**I hope so. I don't think anyone in this time knows, since we never fought with them, and the four of you only encountered them as enemies. But if they're good enough to qualify as her Guardians in the future, then they're good enough to help.**
**Yes.**
As the plan developed, Rusty and Naru were stationed to support the weapon Bill and Mara were supposed to be bringing. The Goddesses would be above the pit, where they could move freely to attack anything that flew. The Sisters and Fluorite would support the soldiers who weren't directly attached to the weapon. The rest of us would join our powers to hit anything that came out with the most powerful attack we could muster. It was far too late for subtlety, and most of us were too drained from fighting to be able to offer any effective attacks individually.
Bill and Mara returned about the time we had finished planning, carrying what looked vaguely like a tripod-mounted pipe, with electronics attached all over the outside. They set it on the back of a truck, where it was elevated enough to shoot over the heads of most everyone. While Bill explained its working to the soldiers Colonel Matsudaira had assigned to it, Mara joined me, with a confused look in her eyes.
"How do you do it? He is so confusing!"
"Really? I hadn't noticed, but I suppose he could be. What did he do this time?"
"He went from cold-blooded killer, to making jokes here, to flirting with me when we went back to the house."
"He flirted with you? Without you having to make the first move? How did you manage that?" I was both surprised and happy. Usually, no matter how attractive he thought a woman was, Bill wouldn't even think about flirting with her. It had taken some hard work to get him pinned down by Mako, Mina, and Rei; only after I'd done that had he really understood that I didn't care if he flirted with them. If he was flirting with Mara, that was a good sign.
"You don't care?" Mara's shocked expression surprised me. I'd thought she had a better idea of how I think than that.
"Mara, hon, not only do I not care, I'm happy. As long as you don't try to steal him from me, everything will be just fine." I gave her a playful smile with that, to soften it just a little. "The fact that he's flirting with you means he's fully accepted you as if you were one of us. Hadn't you noticed that he flirts with Mako and Mina and Rei, too?"
"Well...yes...but that's kind of confusing, too. He's so devoted to you, I don't understand how he can flirt with them."
"That's my doing. I'll tell you about it when we get home, ok? For now, just believe that I like it that way?"
"I never would have figured you for so unconventional." Mara looked surprised, then gave me a hug and whispered, "And what would you do if I flirted with you?"
I gave her a quick and firm kiss, then a warm smile. The look in her eyes told me she understood.
"Are you ladies ready?" Bill asked from behind me. His arms slid around me for a quick hug and he nuzzled the back of my head briefly. "The rest of us will be around the pit to try distracting Apep while the Senshi prepare their attack. I think the Norns are planning something as a group, too. You want to join them, or fly solo?"
"I think I'd better see what they're planning," Mara said, taking off to fly toward the others.
"Now that you've chased her away, what are you up to, love?" I turned and rested my head on his chest for a moment. This was one of the things the others envied me for: being able to draw strength from his love, the way Usagi and Mamoru, Haruka and Michiru, Chibi-Usa and Hotaru, and Setsuna and Sarah did.
"I'm not sure. There's something tickling at the back of my mind, like an old memory that wants to come out, but isn't quite ready yet. And it has something to do with Apep." He shrugged and stroked my hair, murmuring softly, "It'll come when it comes, I guess."
"As long as it doesn't have anything to do with it killing you." I looked up at him with my fiercest glare. He laughed and kissed me.
"Even if it did, it's a memory, not a precognition. I wouldn't dare die. Not if it means leaving you behind."
I squeezed him as tight as I could and growled softly, "Don't you dare. I couldn't live without you."
"No more than I could live without you?" He held me gently until I let up the pressure, then murmured, "Hadn't we better get back to the others?"
As much as I hated to admit it, he was right.
Skuld watched Belldandy worriedly. She'd been pushing herself since the first demon eruption, and it was showing. Ice cream and sake were plentiful in the back of Bill's van, but Belldandy hadn't taken advantage of the bed that was also there.
**Oneesan? What are we going to do about Oneesama?**
**If she doesn't lay down soon, I'm going to hit her over the head and make her lay down. We can't afford to have her fall asleep in the middle of fighting.**
**Let's try something less drastic first, ok?**
**What do you have in mind?**
Skuld landed beside Belldandy and took her arm.
"Come on, Oneesama. You need to sleep. You look like you've been fighting all the hordes of Niflheim and Muspelheim combined."
Belldandy's eyelids drooped as she turned to look at Skuld. After a moment of apparent indecision, she let out a long sigh and nodded. "You're right, imouto. I'm not doing anyone any favors, am I?"
"No, you're not. Especially yourself. Now let's go over here. There's a nice comfy bed set up in the back of this van."
Skuld led Belldandy around to the back of Bill's van and opened the doors for her, then watched intently until she saw Belldandy's eyes close and her breathing slow to a stop. That was a good sign: Skuld doubted she'd relaxed enough to stop breathing in the entire time since she'd become involved with Keiichi.
She grabbed a tub of ice cream, then, after a moment's hesitation, two jars of sake, and gently closed the doors. Urd was talking with Sailor Venus when she found her, and flashed one of her annoying grins when she handed her the sake.
"Gee, thanks, Bug! This is just what I needed! So...you see any cute young soldiers?"
"You....you....PERVERT!" Skuld shrieked and stomped away to eat her ice cream in peace.
How can she be thinking like that right NOW? We have a lot more important things to worry about than whether her perverted impulses get satisfied. And it's not as if I would be interested in one of these soldiers, even if I were as much of a pervert as she is. They're all MORTAL!
"Got any more where that came from?" Skuld looked up to see Sailor Venus standing beside her with a grin on her face. Why did she have to look so much like Urd when she was grinning like that?
"Umm....yes. There's a freezer in the back of the van that's full of ice cream. You'll have to use the ladder to get any, though. I mean, unless you can levitate it out like I can."
"Oh, that's ok. We're used to that freezer." Sailor Venus laughed. "Bill made it that big so that we wouldn't have to worry about Usagi and Chibi-Usa going hungry when we went on a picnic."
Skuld giggled. She could imagine the two of them on a picnic, and the image reminded her of that character in the anime with the neat capsule-based technology. What was his name...? Oh well. It wasn't important.
"That's better. So, want to tell me why you were mad? Or who you were mad at?" Sailor Venus perched on a chunk of rubble next to Skuld and gave her a friendly smile, instead of that maniacal grin she'd had just a moment before.
"Just my stupid oneesan," Skuld grumbled. "Here we are, fighting hordes of demons, and SHE's being a pervert, as usual."
"Well...." Sailor Venus actually sounded thoughtful, which was a real surprise. "If she wasn't, wouldn't you worry that something had replaced her? I mean, Urd NOT being a pervert would be as big a surprise as Ami BEING one, wouldn't you say?"
"Well...I guess you're right...but I don't have to like it. And she had the gall to ask if I'd seen any soldiers I liked. As if that was even possible! I mean, they're all mortals! And I'm not a pervert, like she is."
"Keiichi's a mortal, you know."
"I know," Skuld whispered as she looked into her ice cream. "And I'm so scared for oneesama. When he dies..."
"Hey, it happens to everyone, sooner or later." Sailor Venus rested a hand on Skuld's shoulder. "Even gods die, right? Besides, when he dies, won't he just go to live with her in heaven? I mean, I can't imagine him going anywhere else."
Skuld swallowed and nodded. Yes, even gods die, but when they die, it's in war, not of old age. There was something obscene about the idea of dying of old age...something that made Skuld's stomach feel queasy. But how could she explain it?
"Hey, Bug. All any of us have for sure is today. So why not take full advantage of it?" Sailor Venus pulled Skuld into a hug and stroked her hair. Amazingly, it felt almost as soothing as when Oneesama did it.
We all took advantage of the chance to rest for a few minutes. I was leaning against Haruka and watching the pit when a dark green plastic package landed on my lap. I looked up, to see Bill carrying an armload of them and handing - or trying to hand - them to each of us. Apparently, the one in my lap had fallen out of his arms. I picked it up and studied it. The printing on it was black, which made it harder to read, but after a little study, I deciphered it. Meal, Ready to Eat. Lasagne.
"I know it's not really food, but it's what the SDF eats in the field. And it's a lot better than c-rations." Bill sounded somewhere between amused and apologetic.
"Not really food? What do you mean?" Haruka wasn't in the mood for any joking, and her voice showed it.
"Relax, imouto. This stuff just relates to food about the same way hospital food relates to food. The advantage here...or disadvantage, depending on how you look at it...is that you don't have a nurse delivering it to you."
The grin he gave her stopped her in her tracks. After a moment of looking at him as if she couldn't decide just what to think, she finally shook her head and smiled, saying, "You realize, of course, I'm going to have to punish you for that."
It didn't sound like much of a threat to me, either. He just laughed, gently punched her shoulder, and said, "Any time you're ready, eh? By the time you're done giving me all the punishments I've built up, I should be buried under peanuts so deeply it'll take me the next year to dig out."
OK, that didn't make sense. Peanuts? Apparently, it didn't make any sense to her, either. Bill grinned at us as we stared at him in confusion, then wandered off, saying, "I'll explain later. Remind me to tell you about it on Punday Night."
"He's being weird again," Haruka muttered. "Why do I put up with him?"
"Because you love him as much as he loves you?" I gave her a gentle kiss and looked into her eyes until she sighed and nodded. "It's nice to have a brother around, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is. Now let's find out what this stuff tastes like." Well, I got that much out of her, so I wasn't going to complain. It's so hard for her to admit her feelings.
We opened our pouches and rooted through their contents: several smaller pouches, disposable utensils, napkin, and minor sundries. Haruka had ended up with one containing ham and eggs. Bill was right - the stuff did taste like hospital food, although it might have tasted a little better if it had been hot. What was surprising was the fudge brownie. It actually tasted better than the fudge brownies I've bought at the Yamazaki Daily Store near my house.
We were just finishing our tea - canned tea isn't nearly as good as fresh, but it was something to drink, anyway - when the soldiers with Bill's big gun started shooting into the pit. We were on our feet and ready to fight at the first crack of thunder. The others were on their feet moments behind us. Bill was with the gun crew a moment later.
**Relax, everyone. They saw something shift at the bottom of the pit and blasted it. Better safe than sorry.**
**Is that thing always that loud?** Haruka sounded annoyed, even in my mind.
**You got me. It might end up being louder. That was only half power. I didn't want to set it to full power before I knew if it would work.**
**You mean it's never been tested?** Minako was definitely not happy. I would be just as unhappy if I were in charge.
**Nope. Never had a place to test it safely. Look at it this way. If I hadn't brought it here, the soldiers would have been forced to leave. And you know they would never leave willingly.**
**Then we'd have had to make them leave.**
Harukachan, do you know how that sounds?
**Not a wise move, imouto. We want them to think kindly of us, not be resentful. Especially now.**
**He's right, beloved. We need them on our side.**
Haruka grumbled, but didn't argue. The soldiers seemed to be satisfied with the cannon, so we didn't have to put up with any more of its noise. We moved back to our designated positions, so that we wouldn't have to run when the next attack came, and settled in to wait.
The pit was quiet for some time - I'm not sure how long, but it seemed like it dragged on forever. According to Galatea, it was only a little over an hour before things started happening, but the level of tension made it seem far longer.
When it did happen, there was no mistaking it. Suddenly, the bottom of the pit exploded up and out as the head of a serpent came out of it. The head completely filled the pit, and rose a good twenty meters above it, before it began to move. From filling the pit, it rose on a neck that was only slightly smaller than the head, and continued rising until it was as high as the Tokyo Tower. From there, it leveled itself, then swiveled around, as if searching for something.
**They fought this before we met them? I'm impressed.**
**Don't get distracted, love. I'm not sure we're strong enough for this.**
I wasn't sure, either. What I saw in my mirror was something so powerfully evil it made sense only if if were Chaos itself. If that was the case, we stood no chance against it. The best we could do is keep it busy until we found some way to get help.
The serpent's head lowered, pointing first toward the Palace, then shifted again, this time pointing at Endymion. Endymion? But I thought he was back at the Palace? That was all we needed. In an instant, the air was full of everything we could throw at it, from the water in Rusty's Supersoaker to whatever it was Urd and Skuld were throwing at it. All we seemed to be doing was making it angry.
Then things started getting weird.
Suddenly, I felt myself henshining again. All of us were henshining again. When the transformation finished, I felt as if I were burning with power, from the tips of my toes to the tips of my....wings? The only time I'd ever seen wings like this was when the Princess had taken her ultimate form in the battle with Galaxia. And the power....the difference between my old power and this new power was as extreme as between my mortal form and my old power.
"Astral Tsunami!"
"Mercury Hailstorm!"
"Astral Typhoon!"
"Time Spear!"
"Plasma Spear!"
"Heart Arrow!"
"Acorn Explosion!"
"Rebirth Cry!"
"Ice Spear!"
"Shadow Storm!"
"Phoenix Strike!"
"Heart Rending!"
OK. Now it was more than merely angry. Its head dropped, aiming directly for the King. As one, we leapt into the air between him and it, and hit it with our new attacks.
**One more time, then peel off.**
**But...**
**Trust me, Venus. I know what I'm doing.**
He sounded as sure of himself as Serenity does when she's speaking as our Queen. And there was no mistake about it. Somehow, I knew that they were no longer merely our Prince and Princess; they were now our King and Queen.
We did as he commanded. Every one of us hit it once more, then we pulled away. He looked up at it, with a kind of a sad look of resignation on his face, the Golden Crystal between his hands.
"Be still."
It wasn't shouted, but the power of command in his voice echoed through all of us. The Crystal flared, and the serpent was surrounded by a golden glow that froze it in place like an enormous statue.
**Now it's our turn.**
That sounded like Bill, but at the same time, it didn't. There was a wilder tone to it - less restrained.
Belldandy floated up past us, followed by Urd, Skuld, and Mara. A few moments later, the Queen appeared, floating as lightly on her wings as a dandelion seed. She landed beside the King and took his hand. Then came the sound of a savage yell, as someone leapt for the serpent, with a spear in his hand. His skin was pale – almost white – his hair was as red as Sailor Mars' fuku, and all he was wearing was a white skirt and an ankh that glowed as brightly as the Silver Crystal.
**He always was more impetuous than is good for him.**
OK. If URD was saying someone was too impetuous, he must really be bad. But who was he? Whoever he was, he was going at the serpent like he had a personal grudge with it. I was sure he was extremely lucky the thing was frozen.
**Everyone, I need your help. Please lend me your power.**
Our Queen had asked, so I - well, any of us - could hardly say no. I gazed at her and offered my power, surprised as always that she could accept it so easily, yet not weaken me in the slightest by doing so. As her light grew with the addition of our powers, the serpent broke free of the King's bonds and struck at the King and Queen - only to be met by the point of the red-haired man's spear, which bit deeply into the end of its nose. The King and Queen raised their Crystals in unison, while above us the Goddesses formed a ring around Belldandy. Light came from both Belldandy and the Crystals, and it quickly became too bright to see anything.
Keiichi looked from the displays in the coffee table to the TV screen on the wall and back again. The displays made it clear that the Senshi were ok, but he had to keep looking at the TV screen to see Belldandy and be reassured she was, too. Seeing Skuld bundle her into the back of a van to sleep made it easier for him to relax, least a little bit. He sat back and closed his eyes as he listened to the chatter, laughing softly at the reaction to the news that Bill's particle beam cannon was untested.
"Artemis, Luna, Keiichi, you have to see this!"
David changed the display on the TV screen as he spoke. Without thinking, Keiichi was his feet and bowing toward the image of the Emperor, who was wearing his most formal ceremonial garb. Serenity and Sailor Moon were standing behind him, with four senshi he didn't recognize flanking them like an honor guard.
"My people, I bring you news that is both grave and hopeful. As you have seen, Tokyo has been invaded by demonic entities, the like of which we have not seen since the snow demons, and maybe not even then. Our deepest gratitude goes to the families of our soldiers who have given their lives in battle against these enemies, and to those who remain and stand beside the Sailor Senshi to defend our land.
"Now it is time for all of us to join in the battle. Our Queen, Neo-Queen Serenity, needs each and every one of us to lend her our faith and trust. I ask you to believe in her, listen to what she asks, and to join in the fight as those of my house have done."
The Emperor turned to Serenity and bowed until his forehead touched the floor at her feet. Serenity's expression turned from worry to surprise, but the surprise quickly vanished as she stepped up to take his place.
"As the Emperor has said, this is a grave time. Our enemies have chosen to strike at the very heart of Japan. I ask each one to you join me in meditating on whatever you love most about our land. It doesn't matter what it is, whether it's someone you love, a special memory, a special place, or even an ideal that what you wish for. The important thing is that you love it, and that you can bring it to mind now and meditate on it.
"Call upon the kami, pray to your god, ask your saints for their help, whatever your faith, whoever you pray to. The enemy we are fighting desires nothing less than the total destruction of all that exists, so our only option is to defeat it. To do this, I require each you to lend me your love, your trust, and your faith. If you have a shrine or church you go to when you pray, I ask you to go there now, and add your strength to each other. Together, with our love and our faith, we will defeat this enemy."
Serenity stepped away from the microphone and, in a flurry of feathers so white they hurt look at, transformed from her royal self into something greater; an angelic form that was so pure in essence that even her nudity was divine. She folded her wings about herself and said, in a voice that was heard much with the heart as the ears, "I love you, and I believe in you. Every one of you." Then she vanished.
Keiichi stood transfixed in front of the TV for several moments after, then slowly sank to his knees. Artemis and Luna shook their heads and turned back the coffee table, where the monitors showed things were still fairly quiet.
"My Queen, if you could see your daughter now..." Luna murmured.
"I believe she can, Luna. I just hope I'm living up to her standard," Serenity said, from where she stood in the open part of the room. She wrapped her wings around herself and sank to her knees with a sigh.
Luna padded over and put her paws on her knees, looked up at her face, and said, "She would be proud of you. The only drawback of what you did will be the Selenites."
Serenity let out a soft groan and hid her face in her hands. "Why did you have to remind me, Luna?" She gave a soft sigh, then shrugged. "Well, there's nothing to be done for them. Keiichi, would you mind getting me a cup of tea? I'm afraid wings make getting around the house a little difficult."
Keiichi jumped to his feet and bowed, then rushed the kitchen to put on water for tea. While he waited for it to boil, he leaned against the kitchen table, deep in thought.
Bell-chan, right now she reminds me of you. I hope she's as capable as you are. Please be careful.
Once Keiichi had gone into the kitchen, I relaxed a little and let my wings droop. Nudity in this form wasn't as big a deal as it would have been otherwise, but still, Keiichi's a man, and I didn't feel totally comfortable with only Artemis and Luna as chaperones.
"How are they doing?" I hadn't heard any of them say anything about fighting since the last eruption, an hour or so earlier, but I had to be sure.
Artemis looked up from the coffee table with a worried look on his face.
"Nothing for a while. They've all had a chance to get something to eat and rest a bit, but what might be building up while they're resting?"
"Whatever it is, a rest means they'll be better able to cope with it. I just hope there were enough people paying attention to the TV and radio to do as I asked. It's not going to be easy, even with their help."
Luna placed a paw on my thigh and looked up at me with that wise look she gets every time she wants me to pay attention.
"Your Majesty, they could not help but do as you asked. We could feel your presence, even through the TV. Anyone who loves life will leap to obey you."
I couldn't help it. I blushed. More than that: I was afraid. With all the years I've been fighting evil creatures, those two simple words gave me more fear than I've felt since the night a certain black cat dropped a brooch on my bed. I wasn't ready to be Queen. Not yet. But first the Emperor, and now Luna, were treating me as if I already was. The responsibility was just too much to think about.
Luckily, I didn't have to think too long; David chose that moment to speak up.
"You'd better look at this. I don't like the way – oh, shit."
There was no question why he was upset. Whatever was coming out of the bottom of the pit was big. Very big.
"David, ask Keiichi to hold the tea for later. Luna, Artemis, keep him safe."
I wrapped my wings around myself and teleported to Endymion's side. Once my feet were on the ground, I took his hand and looked up at the serpent. He'd obviously frozen it, but his hold on it was quickly weakening. There was no choice but to finish it as quickly as possible. The Norns were already flying to a position above it, and . . . I don't know who it was, but he had the power of a God . . . was leaping for the serpent with a spear in his hand.
**He always was more impetuous than is good for him.**
Well, apparently Urd knew the stranger, so he shouldn't be a problem. The problem was the serpent. This was our real enemy; this was the Death Phantom.
**Everyone, I need your help. Please lend me your power.**
I could feel each one as she opened herself to me; their trust and love energized me even more than the power they so willingly shared. I felt my love touch me with his own spirit, and knew we could defeat the enemy.
**Do you feel it, beloved? Our people are reaching out to us.**
**I do. With all of Japan supporting us, I believe we'll have the strength we need.**
We knew what we had to do; my king and I raised our crystals as one. As the light from our crystals spread to envelope us, the words we needed came into our minds as if they'd always been there.
"Away from me, you Uncreated! The Light rejects you!" As I said them, the words seemed to be ancient; older even than the Moon Kingdom.
"Away from me, you Uncreated! The Living reject you!" Endymion's voice was strong and clear as he spoke.
With my call and his response, it felt as if we were performing a litany. With each call, the light of our crystals grew brighter and stronger; it was an almost physical presence.
"You are cast down!"
"You are cast out!"
"You have no place!"
"You have no form!"
"All that is created rejects you!"
"All that lives casts you out!"
"You are cast down!
"You are cast out!"
"Your name is erased!"
"Your power is destroyed!"
Our light was so bright that I couldn't see the serpent any longer, but I could feel it growing weaker as we chanted. I could hear the strange god continuing his assault on the serpent; as the chant went on, the sounds began to come from below us, in the pit.
The strangest thing about the whole situation was that I didn't feel the power of the Ginzuishou the way it usually came on me. This time, it was as if the power was shaping what was coming from the Crystal Points, along with the prayers and hopes of everyone in Japan. I felt as if it was flowing through me, like water through a hose, and instead of the power overwhelming me, I was growing with it, feeling the hopes and fears of every person who was offering, from the Emperor down to the most innocent child. These were my people; my responsibility. I couldn't fail them.
**Serenitysan, Endymionsan, hold back a moment and give Set-sama a chance to get out of the pit.**
Belldandy's suggestion was a surprise, but the image of what she wanted to do made sense.
**Out of the pit? Why would I want to do that? I have this motherless thing right where I want it!**
The 'voice' was strange; harsh, even a bit brutal. It was, in a way, like Bill's 'voice' when he's hunting demons, but without the humanity to soften it.
**How about...Because you know you can hurt him a lot more with your magic than you can with that little spear of yours?**
Trust Urd to make even a tactical suggestion sound like it was 2/3 innuendo. I don't think I'll ever get used to that.
**Come down here and we'll just see how little you think my spear is up close.**
**Ah-ah! Fighting now, fun later. OH-hohohohoho!**
He was still grumbling, but Set DID fly up out of the pit and take the position Belldandy had wanted him to take. Urd, Mara, and Skuld remained in the air above the center of the pit, and Belldandy took a position on the other side of the pit, so that between her, Set, and, Endymion and me, we formed a perfect triangle around the pit.
A storm began swirling around Set as he pointed his spear at the sky; within moments, he was surrounded by what looked like living, dancing figures made of lightning. Belldandy placed her hands together in prayer, and an angel appeared above and behind her. I knew it had to be Holy Bell, and she was even more pure and beautiful than I'd imagined. Without having to look, I could feel my friends, my warriors, standing behind me, each one offering everything she is for my use.
Above the pit, Urd, Mara, and Skuld began to glow. Their auras quickly joined to form a light of rainbow whiteness. Then, their light reached out to all three points of our triangle, and we were bathed in a power you can only understand if you experience it. It was as if the future and the past, life and death, had become mingled and grown more powerful from the mingling.
After a moment of bathing in the power from above, we reached out for each other, our powers joining to complete the triangle we formed. With our powers joined, we formed a wall to seal the serpent in. It reared and threw itself against the wall, only to be thrown back in a flash of light.
When the serpent fell back, we struck as one. Faced with attacks from four directions, it shrank, collapsing in on itself until only the unnatural feel of its power told us it was still there. That's when Set yelled.
"NOW! Hit it with everything you've been holding back!"
Everything we've been holding back?
I was confused. What did he mean, 'everything we've been holding back'? Then I felt Endymion's power rising, and I understood. We needed to give as selflessly as Chibi-Usa and I had when we drove it away the last time. I didn't need to ask; my friends – the Ayakashi sisters as well as my senshi – were already offering whatever they had left. I accepted it with love and thanks, and joined it with my power, and then Endymion's, before sending it into what was left of the serpent.
The light in the pit grew so bright, I had to close my eyes, but that didn't shut out the sensations of the power flowing through and around me. It took both Endymion's power and my own combined to equal the power of either Set or Belldandy alone. Even the trio above us were having difficulty matching them. The Death Phantom's presence suddenly swelled, as if it were fighting against us with all its power, then vanished in an instant as our mingled powers filled the pit in a sphere that felt as if we could touch it where we stood.
We let the power fade in unison. When I opened my eyes, the pit had grown; now it stopped just short of our feet, and was so deep I had to get a measurement from Hecate. The foundation of our Palace would now be 400 feet deep, and 800 feet across. Oddly enough, I still did not feel as drained as I had always felt before when using so much power. I was tired, yes, but not exhausted. I relaxed and let Endymion support me as my wings vanished and my gown reappeared.
Belldandy sat on a piece of rubble and closed her eyes.
All I need is a few minutes' rest. I don't feel him any more, so it should be safe.
It seemed she'd hardly sat down when Skuld was at her side, urging her to go lay down in the back of the van. Laying down did seem more comfortable than sitting on rubble, but she couldn't do that just yet. Set was still there, and he was notoriously unreliable.
Belldandy laughed softly as she thought of how much Set and Thor were alike, then gently patted Skuld's hand.
"It'll be ok, Skuld. Now let's go join the King and Queen."
As they crossed the pit to where Endymion and Serenity stood, Belldandy noticed the wings all the Senshi had manifested during the battle were now fading away, and they were gathered around their Queen with various expressions of concern. For the most part, their concern seemed unnecessary; Serenity seemed no more drained than she would have if she had run around Juuban as Usagi without tripping over herself.
"I believe we can safely say your future home is now safe," Belldandy said. "I don't sense Jörmungander anywhere. All that's left are his minions, and we'll probably be hunting them down for weeks."
"I agree," Serenity said. "I don't sense anything out of the ordinary near us. Sailor Venus, would you make sure everyone is accounted for?"
Belldandy wondered why Serenity had asked for that, and reached out with her own senses, coming to a surprising conclusion. Somehow, in the fighting, Bill had disappeared. She threw a quick glance at Mara and Sailor Mercury, but said nothing.
**You noticed it, too?**
** I did, Serenity-sama. But at the same time, his companion is still here.**
**Yes, he is. And I am definitely going to want some explanations when he comes back to us.**
**We're certainly not going to get them before he does. HE isn't noted for explaining himself. He just acts, and leaves the pieces for others to pick up.**
**And I get the feeling we're about to have some pieces to pick up.**
Belldandy glanced toward Urd, where Set was landing with a lecherous grin on his face. Apparently, he hadn't forgotten her challenge before the fight. Urd, as usual, grinned back at him and latched on to his arm while whispering into his ear.
**Any moment now, Serenity-sama. You'll need to restore his energy when he returns.**
"Damn!" Set complained loudly. "Why is it I can never find a human who can take the strain? You'll have to take a rain-check, Urd-honey."
With that, Set suddenly collapsed, held up only by Urd's grip on his arm. By the time he reached the ground, it was Bill's body that Urd was lowering – and he looked as if he'd run several marathons, then topped them off by climbing a mountain and fighting with a few dozen trolls at the top.
Mara and Sailor Mercury were at Bill's side in moments, while Serenity reached out with her Crystal and enveloped him in its healing light. His eyes opened and he let out a soft groan.
"Man....who turned Gojiro loose?" Bill reached up and gently touched Sailor Mercury's cheek, then let his hand fall back. "What in the hell happened? Feels like I went 20 rounds with an electric fence."
Mercury hugged him tightly, while Mara wrapped her arms around both of them. Mercury's sobs kept her from speaking for several minutes, so Mara looked worriedly toward Belldandy. Belldandy smiled and nodded. She saw no reason to hold Mara back. Not with the love between the three of them.
"I'm afraid you weren't here for the big fight," Mara said gently. "Set borrowed your body for a while. We won."
"Oh man...do I look like a priest?" Bill groaned. "I'm not trained for that kind of stuff, and He decided to use me?"
He let out a heavy sigh, hugged Mercury tightly, and muttered, "At least we won."
Urd let out a laugh. "That sounds like something HE would say. You just lay back and let them take care of you, or Nurse Urd will have to step in."
Belldandy bit her lip with the effort of holding in a laugh. It was obvious Sailor Mercury wasn't going to let "Nurse Urd" anywhere near him. Meanwhile, Mara looked understandably confused. Belldandy made a note to explain when they were home again.
My head felt like the Indy 500 was running in it, every part of my body ached like I had fibromyalgia again, and I could tell the only thing keeping me awake was the energy from the Ginzuishou. And to top it all off, my hair was frizzed out, like I was standing next to a van de Graaf. Thank goodness I wear it in a ponytail.
Ami was still holding me tightly, and even Mara didn't seem interested in letting go. Lucky thing Ami has short hair, and Mara could use her powers to control hers. When I tried gently kissing Ami, she refused to let it stay that way. She made that kiss into one that told me just how scared for me she was.
**Sweetheart? Amichan? I'm ok. We won. Everything's fine.**
**Why didn't you warn me you were going to do that?**
**Because it wasn't my idea?**
"WHAT?!?!?" Ami sat up with a look of shock on her face. "What do you mean, it wasn't your idea?"
"Just that, love," I said as I took her hand. "When it was obvious the fight was about to start, I prayed for help, but didn't expect an answer like that."
"I suppose he was as rude as ever when he moved in," Mara teased.
"Well...that depends on what you mean by 'as ever,' doesn't it?" I flashed Mara a quick smile. "I will say that either He's been around a lot of SubGenii lately, or they've been around Him."
"SubGenii? What in the world?" Mara's kind of cute when she's confused. OK, so she's kind of cute all the time, now that she's not trying to hard to live down to what she thought was her heritage.
Ami giggled. "What happened? Did he call you a pinkboy or something?"
"That's exactly what he did. There I was, minding my own business, praying for some help so I'd be strong enough to help kill Apep, when suddenly I feel someone barging in, saying, 'Stand aside, pinkboy. I got a snake to kill.'" I looked around and shrugged. "Next thing I know, I feel like someone's used my body for staff practice and my head for an entire percussion concerto. But as long as we won, I can put up with it. Although I could really use a couple weeks of sack time."
Mara broke into laughter and gently punched my shoulder.
"There's your problem. You used the magic word 'strong.' Don't you know he has a thing about being the strongest one there is? I've heard about what happens when him and Thor start drinking."
As if my headache wasn't bad enough before, the thought of two storm gods getting drunk together just made it worse.
**Sweetheart, I'm afraid you're going to have to drive us home. Do you feel up to it?**
**Is your headache that bad?**
**Yeah. And the buzzing isn't helping any.**
**Buzzing? What buzzing?**
**You mean, you can't hear it?**
"Can anyone besides me hear a kind of a buzzing noise?" I looked around as I asked, to see what kind of responses I'd get.
Serenity and Endymion looked at each other, then nodded. Rei looked puzzled, but nodded as well, as did Michiru, Hotaru, Usagi, and Setsuna. All four goddesses nodded, along with Fluorite and Naru. Belldandy looked as if she were about to speak when I got another surprise as Edgar spoke up.
"I suppose it would seem to be buzzing to organic ears, but that's not how we're perceiving it."
At first, I thought Edgar had somehow figured out how to drive the watch speaker beyond its limits, but then I sensed what was actually going on and was surprised all over again. Somehow, he'd discovered how to directly manipulate the air around himself to produce sounds as if he had a decent speaker under his control.
"What we are perceiving is an influx of hyperdimensional energy in the same frequency bands as are used by the King and Queen's crystals, your ankh, all four goddesses, and – to various lesser degrees – the Senshi. We began to perceive the influx with the activation of the city's Crystal Points. Based on the contours of the energy flow, our tentative conclusion is that the Crystal Points are transmitting energy to this location."
Skuld whipped out her goggles and scanned around us while Edgar was talking. At the same time, Ami was studying her computer's display with a worried look.
"This is bad. This is very bad," Skuld said. "Unless something is placed here to receive the energy, it's going to build up until a magical vortex is formed."
"And with the level of energy that's coming from the Crystal Points," Ami added, "we have less than four hours to put something here. After that, the vortex will become self-sustaining and require a magical explosion at least as powerful as Belldandy's spirit bomb to disrupt."
OK. Skuld was right. This was bad. This was very bad. But maybe...
**Edgar, can any of you use enough energy to keep it below the critical level?**
**I'm sorry, Father, but all of us combined could not absorb enough.**
**All right. What's the minimum it would take to absorb enough?**
"...right, Bill?" Ami's voice broke through my thoughts. I blushed as I realized I'd been so wrapped up in trying to come up with an answer that I hadn't heard what was being said.
"Umm...could you repeat that for me, please? I kind of got caught up in getting information from Edgar."
Ami smiled and shook her head. That had happened to us enough times that sometimes it seemed she expected it. It only made me blush more, of course, especially when several of the others started giggling behind their hands.
"I was just suggesting that if we could duplicate the tower we saw in the center of the Crystal Palace when we were there, it should be able to keep the ambient energy level below critical. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Well....I would agree, if I had any idea of what you meant." Even as I said it, I got an image flash; one of her memories, with the crystal tower at the heart of the Crystal Palace in clear view. "Sweetheart...I think...you just may be on to something....But how can we do it?"
Ami's blush faded and her smile returned.
"That's the easy part. The King and Queen should be able to activate this crystal the way Belldandy activated the others. But the rest of us will have to guard them while they're doing it."
Well now, that was something I could handle, no problems. At least, that was what I thought, until I tried to stand up. Dizzy doesn't even begin to cover it. The last time I'd felt this dizzy was once when I'd made the mistake of letting myself get extremely dehydrated. I'd broken an elbow that time. It was definitely not one of the high points of my previous life.
Suddenly, Belldandy was there with Mara and Ami, and speaking gently.
"You're going to be drained and confused for a while. The best thing would be for you to go lay down in the van." She stopped a moment and laughed softly, musically, making the world seem all right for that moment. "Yes, I know you're not ready to give up yet, but sometimes it's the right thing to do."
Ami squeezed my hand and said softly, "Please, go lay down?"
"For you, love," I sighed with a smile. How could I say no to her? She's my life, my heart, everything that makes life worth living.
I started for the van, and hadn't gone more than a half-dozen steps when I felt myself being lifted off the ground. My instinctive reaction was to strike, but I found myself unable to. I guess it had something to do with the way Mara's arms were wrapped around me. I don't know how much of her strength she was exerting, but I know my hands weren't going anywhere. And, honestly, I just couldn't find the desire to argue with her over it.
"You realize, it's embarrassing to be carried like this." OK, my protest didn't sound all that convincing to me, either, but I had to at least make the attempt. But by the time I'd gotten that out, she was depositing me on the bed in the back of the van.
"You're not very convincing, you know." She bent down and kissed my forehead. "Maybe I should slide in there with you and give you some incentive, hmm?"
OK, that gave me a jolt. Enough of one that she started laughing, patted my cheek, and said, "Don't worry. I wouldn't do that to either of you. Of course, if Ami were here too, it might be another matter...."
Mara trailed off and gave me a look that had me intently reminding myself that I was devoted to Ami, no matter what. She winked and turned back toward the pit.
**You're so easy to tease, Bill. Now go to sleep, or I'll come back and help you sleep.**
I sighed and tiredly pbbbt'ed at her as she walked away. For some reason, that made her laugh again.
**Father, what happened while I was out?**
**The enemy was defeated. For now.**
**But why Him?**
**You asked for the strength to defeat the enemy. He is...too proud of his strength. And, you have yet to learn the uses of your talisman.**
**My talisman?**
**The ankh. You have not given it nearly the study it needs. Because of that, there was not enough time for you to learn how to use its power.**
**And so He had to do it for me.**
**Exactly. Now follow the advice of your family. Rest.**
He didn't say anything further not that I would have understood. I was already falling asleep.
Mara slipped an arm around Sailor Mercury and gave her a quick hug.
"You know, if this were my world, I would be so tempted," she said softly. "Between the two of you and Naru, it's going to be hard to go home."
When Ami returned the hug, Mara's heart skipped a little. She wanted to just hold on and not ever let go.
"I understand," Ami answered, just as quietly. "We love you just as much. Why don't we get this finished here so we can go home?"
Mara felt as if she were walking on air as she joined her sisters.
Urd snickered and poked her gently as she stagewhispered to Skuld, "Don't worry. The gravity problem will go away soon enough."
"Now, oneesan," Belldandy gently chided Urd, "don't tease. It's nice to see her happy."
Mara felt a blush trying to form, but Belldandy was right. She was happy – too happy to care if she should be embarrassed.
"The four of us should cover them from above," Skuld said, "while the Senshi guard them on the ground. I don't see any demons nearby, but there are enough places for them to hide that there might be surprises."
The four floated up until they were far enough above the ground that they could see over the surrounding buildings. Once they were able to see clearly over the buildings, they formed a circle, facing outward. Reaching out with their power, the joined together to form a shield for those below them.
This feels so good, being able to be a part of them...us...rather than always fighting them.
Mara saw the Senshi congregate around Serenity, then leap off in all directions. For a moment, Mara felt a flash of worry that they'd sensed a new attack, but relaxed when she saw they were headed for the Crystal Points.
**Ami? What are you up to?**
**You'll see. Serenity realized what we have to do in order to control the power so she can gather it, and we're going to do that right now.**
**We can't protect you if you're outside our shielding.**
**That's ok, Mara. Serenity is the one who most needs you right now. Trust me?**
Mara sighed, but knew she couldn't not trust Ami. She sent a flash of love after her and refocused her attention on those below her, just in time to see the sisters and four new Senshi leave together. Then Fluorite and Naru vanished for a moment, only to reappear at two of the Crystal Points. With that, Mara reached out, to find that each of the Senshi was at a different crystal point, paired with either one of the sisters or one of the new Senshi.
Now it makes sense. I wonder if they understand the effect it will have on them?
"We can make awakening this crystal easier for you," Sailor Mercury looked up from her computer and fixed her gaze on Serenity as she spoke. "If each of us goes to one of the Crystal Points and channels the power from it, so that the flow is controlled, it will make it easier for you to focus on awakening the Palace Crystal without having to cope with the full force of the power."
"But the effect it will have on each of you," Serenity started, only to be interrupted by Sailor Mars.
"...is no more than what we've already pledged, my Queen. Our lives, our hopes, our very hearts are yours. Please, don't stop us from doing this for you."
"The Senshi aren't the only ones who want to do this for you," Petz said, surprising everyone around her. "Is there some way we can help?"
I was upset for just a moment when she made the offer. She hadn't consulted with any of us, but that's always been her way. And when I looked at Cooan and Calaveras, I could see they felt as I did; we all wanted to help as much as Petz did.
"Beruche? Cooan? Calaveras? Do you understand what will happen if you do this?" Serenity asked. She honestly didn't seem to understand that the very thing that made her ask is the reason we were so eager to help.
"If we do this, we will be bound to you as strongly as your Guardians are," I answered. "Our hearts will be open to you, and you will be as much a part of us as we are of each other."
"It can be done," Sailor Mercury said. "Two people can channel a crystal as easily as one, if they are in tune with each other."
"Mother," Sailor Moon said, "We can help channel the Crystals, too."
"Not you, dear," Serenity said. "This is not your time. You are already in tune with the Palace Crystal, so we'll need your help to ensure it awakens properly. Your Guardians may, if they wish, but if they do, you'll need to gather the power they channel so they aren't torn between two bonds."
Sailor Moon turned to the Senshi who had come with her. They didn't say anything I could hear, but after a moment they nodded and came to join us.
"Hi. I'm Sailor Vesta." the one in the red fuku said.
I figured it was easiest to let Petz do the talking while I studied them. Besides their really bizarre hair styles, they looked ok. A bit younger than our friends, but if they were good enough to be Senshi, they should be ok. And Serenity had said they were Usagi's Guardians, so they must be at least as good at protecting her as our friends were at protecting Serenity.
"Hi. I like your hairstyle," the one in blue said to me. She pitched her voice in a tone that would carry as far as Serenity and Sailor Moon, and added, "It's ever so much more practical than the style the Princess wears."
Sailor Moon turned and gave a bi-dah in our direction. I couldn't help but laugh. Usagi's hair had finally grown long enough that her royal hairstyle didn't look silly on her, but doing those rabbit ears every morning had to take more time than braiding mine did. Given her hairstyle, it seemed odd that the blue Senshi was commenting on Sailor Moon's hair, but it was nice to get a compliment.
"Hi. I'm Beruche. I didn't know the Spore had her own Guardians." I made sure that reached Sailor Moon's ears, too. I saw Serenity trying very hard to hold in a giggle as Sailor Moon stomped over to join us.
"Why hello, Princess," the blue Senshi said, with a totally overdone look of innocence on her face. "What brings you over here?"
Sailor Moon gave her a wicked smile and said softly, "Don't forget, Pallas-chan, I can get away with all sorts of things in this time that Mother would never let me get away with back home. Things like taking you and your girlfriend to a museum and abandoning you there with the most boring guide I can find."
This is supposed to be a threat? It sounds like...wait a minute. "GIRLFRIEND?" For a momnent, I thought I had an echo. Then I realized it had hit Pallas just as quickly as it had hit me. I glanced her way and noticed her face looked as red as mine felt. I conjured up a ball of water and eyed Sailor-Moon, considering where to apply it.
"Girlfriend, huh? Do either of us look like we have pink hair? Do either of us look like we have a shrine to the scariest Senshi in the world in our apartments?" Pallas was stalking toward Sailor Moon with her hands out as if to tickle her. "Do either of us look as if our faces are trying very hard to match our hair color?"
With that, she pounced, and I had to dispel the water or risk getting them both. Sailor Moon was shrieking with laughter and batting at Pallas' hands, with no effect, until Serenity came over and asked gently, "Should I invite Hotaru to come back and join you?"
Pallas jumped back and shook her head. "No, that's quite all right. We need to go find those Crystal Points." She grabbed my wrist and ran for the nearest usable street. "Come on, Beruche, there's an unclaimed point this way!"
Well, she's definitely energetic enough. But does she realize what's going to happen between us?
"Pallas? Are you sure you want to do this? You don't even know me."
"Not yet, I don't. But when my sisters and I awoke in the 30th Century, you and your sisters were the ones who helped us fit in."
I noticed she was blushing again, as if there was more to it than just "fitting in." Of course, if what I understood about what we were about to do was correct, and I was about to spend a thousand years separated from someone I was going to be hopelessly in love with....
"Pallas? How bad were we? How bad was I? Please tell me I didn't hurt or embarrass you."
She stopped and turned to face me.
"That's the worst part of it. You didn't. None of you did. Not even Petz. We could feel how much you wanted – how strongly you loved us – but not one of you did anything that was the slightest bit improper. But sometimes, when I was patrolling the Palace, I'd hear one of you crying and praying for the hurting to stop. And if I can make your hurting stop by loving you the way you love me, then you'd better believe that's just what I'm going to do."
"But are you doing it just because of my pain, or because you want it for yourself?"
"Beruche, you're my best friend in the 30th Century. I would do anything for you. The only one I love more than you is my Princess. But what I feel is a sisterly kind of love. I want to understand, to feel, to know, the love that you have for me. I believe that when I do, I'll be able to love you the same way you love me."
She reached out without warning and pulled me into a hug, then laughed as she started pulling me along again. "Come on! The others are already at their Points!"
Well, I couldn't come up with a single argument that even I would believe against what she wanted, so I let her drag me along without any resistance. Besides, I suspected that what was going to happen would be a lot like what Ami and Bill had, and that was something I wanted. The way Ami all but glowed with joy was something I couldn't imagine anyone not wanting.
"Here we are!" Pallas announced as she stopped in the street in front of a crystal spire that looked about 20 meters tall.
Now that we weren't moving anymore, I looked around, and had to laugh.
"Oh, Serenity is going to be so disappointed. That was her favorite ice cream shop." It was her favorite arcade, too, but the ice cream shop was what she'd be most upset about.
"Don't worry. We have a restaurant in the Palace, and it serves ice cream. Makochan is the best cook ever."
"Even in the 30th Century, huh?" I had to smile at that. A restaurant in the Palace sounded strange, but then again, strange seemed to be the defining principle of our lives. "So now what do we do?
"Do you mind if I do the guiding here?" Pallas squeezed my hand and gave me a small smile. "It'll be easier, and a lot less confusing, if both of us focus on Usagi. I know how much you owe the Queen, but...."
I reached out and touched her lips with my fingertips.
"I understand. I owe both of them, for more than I can ever repay. But if I can give a little something to Chibi-Usa to counter what I helped put her through when she was little, I want to."
Pallas' smile grew and she kissed the tips of my fingers. "Thank you."
She led the rest of the way to the Crystal, then reached out to it with one hand.
"We need to hold each other and the Crystal at the same time. When you feel its power, don't try to control it. Just open yourself, the way you do when you're in water, and focus on the Princess."
She made it sound so easy...so I touched the Crystal, and felt my other hand squeezing hers tightly as I felt not only the Crystal, but her, as well. Then I didn't feel her anymore, I was her, and she was me. I felt her love for the Princess as if it was my own, then realized it wasn't merely "as if," as her love became a part of me. I felt her shame at having been used by Neherenia, so much like mine for my use by the Death Phantom.
As I reached out to sooth her shame, she was reaching out to do the same to me. It didn't seem so bad anymore, not with her in my heart. As one, we reached out to the Princess, and the power from the Crystal flowed through us to her, washing away those feelings of shame and inadequacy and filling us with an understanding that we are who we are because of our pasts, and our Princess loves us exactly as we are.
I don't know how long we were there time seemed to lose any meaning but eventually the Princess thanked us for our help and embraced us together and separately in her presence. When I opened my eyes, Pallas was looking back at me. We reached out for each other simultaneously, and spent several minutes holding each other tight and exchanging kisses.
"Now I understand," I said when we finally separated. "I never thought...."
"Neither did I," Pallas said. "I'd always imagined it would be a man...."
"Maybe it will be, someday. But if there ever is one...."
"He'll have to love both of us."
We laughed together at that. Finishing her thoughts, and her finishing mine, was strange, but being that close to her felt good. She took my hand and twined her fingers with mine, then winked at me.
"Now we have to pretend to be respectable."
The very idea of pretending to be respectable seemed so absurd that we both broke into laughter. We walked back toward the Princess, slowed every so often when we glanced at each other and started laughing again at the idea of pretending to be respectable.
Belldandy felt the first demonic reaction to Serenity's actions and let a small smile play across her face. Now that Jörmungander had been dealt with, she was free to get a little payback for what they had done to her Keiichi.
As the first demon flew into the area around the pit, it was suddenly grabbed and raised to eye level with Belldandy and her sisters. She gave it a cold smile as its body was stretched to the limits of its ability to withstand.
"I would tell you to take a message back to Hell," Belldandy hissed as the demon's snarls turned to whimpers, then screams of pain, "but this will be message enough."
With that, the demon's body came apart, the pieces flying in different directions with enough force that each one killed another demon when it hit. The light of anger in Belldandy's eyes remained bright, and demons suddenly began flying at her from all directions - none of them under their own power. As each one ended its journey in front of her, it was torn apart as quickly as if it had been made of paper maché.
The growth of the crystal spire behind her was noted, then ignored, as she tore apart demons in a steady stream of shredded parts. Tears streamed freely down her face as she allowed herself to finally feel the guilt and anguish that she felt she deserved for allowing her Keiichi to be possessed. Her voice no longer sounded even remotely human in its keen of guilt and sorrow. Her failure drove her, the destruction of the demons granting her no peace only a slight sense of satisfaction that that demon, at least, would no longer threaten anyone.
Distantly, Belldandy felt someone tugging on her arms, and heard a voice that sounded like Skuld's. She could have pulled away, but she didn't feel any more demons near enough to reach. Besides, she felt so tired....
The haze faded from her eyes, and she saw the worried looks in her sisters' faces. They were saying something, but it was all too unclear for her to make out. She let herself sink to the ground, where Keiichi was waiting to catch her. She looked up into his eyes, so filled with worry, and reached up to gently touch his lips.
"I'm so sorry, Keiichi-san. I'm so sorry I failed you."
His voice came to her, as gentle and full of love as ever, but the words were too much work to understand as she slipped into an exhausted sleep.
Mother and I held each other's hand as we walked back to the pit, quietly sharing the aftereffects of our channeling. We were near the ring of damaged buildings when I felt a familiar sensation of danger and pulled her down with me as I ducked - just in time to be missed by a demon flying backwards toward the pit. Mother had her visor active in an instant and gasped in surprise.
"That demon was trying to run away! Someone is pulling it in, and the energy looks like one of the Goddesses." She looked at me with a surprised expression, and opened her mouth to say something more when we heard a keening sound, the likes of which I had not heard in 20,000 years.
I called up my Key and took her hand, teleporting us both to the side of the King and Queen. They were looking up toward the top of the crystal spire, where the Goddesses were floating, with Urd, Skuld, and Mara all trying to get Belldandy's attention as she tore apart the demon we'd seen being pulled past us. Moments later, two more demons flew up to her, both striving with all their might to escape her pull, both reduced to hamburger within instants.
I looked at Mother, and we both said the same thing: "Keiichi." The Queen looked our way and nodded, and I teleported back to the house.
"Morisato-san, I need you to come with me."
Keiichi looked up at me from where he was kneeling beside the coffee table. Luna and Artemis looked from the wall screen to me, and then to Keiichi.
"It's Bell-chan, isn't it? I can feel her from here." Keiichi rose to his feet and went for his shoes while he was talking. I nodded and held out my hand for him to take.
"Thank you, Pluto," Luna said."I wasn't sure how we could get him there quickly enough."
I gave Luna a smile as I teleported back to the pit with Keiichi.
"-sure it's safe?" Colonel Matsudaira's voice was barely audible over Belldandy's keening. "The way she's tearing apart those demons...."
"Isn't any more than what any of us could do," Serenity said. "She has a personal reason for her actions, that I am not going to dispute."
Above us, Belldandy's keening ended and she began sinking toward the ground. Keiichi looked up and tugged his hand out of mine, then scrambled toward where she was descending, heedless of the rubble or other obstacles. He reached the base of the spire just in time to catch her. She reached up to touch his face, and he said something to her, then she curled against him limply, clearly completely exhausted.
They appeared to be handling their situation without problems, so I turned my attention back to the Queen and the others. I noticed some surprising pairings among the others as they returned from their Crystal Points. Most surprising, I think, were the Princess' Guardians and the Ayakashi Sisters. As things were at the moment, I could not see clearly what would come of that, so I asked Charon to remind me to do further investigation when I was at home.
"Sailor Pluto?"
I turned at the call, and saw Beruche and Sailor Pallas coming toward me. The way they were holding hands and looking at each other made it clear they had shared a Crystal. I looked back toward the Princess and noticed that the rest of her Guardians were paired up with the Sisters as well. This had the potential to be a problem...or the solution to one. I wasn't sure just yet.
"Sailor Pluto," Pallas started as soon as she saw she had my attention, "we need to take the sisters back to the future with us. Well, to a little bit before when we woke, anyway. We already asked the Princess, and she said that they didn't appear in the Palace until after she'd returned from her training here, which was before we awoke, but well after the Black Moon War."
There was no question about it; they could not be on Earth when Nemesis attacked. The disaster that could be caused by their younger selves meeting them was one that would be horrendously difficult to unravel. Their answer was the right one, no matter how much I didn't like the idea of shuffling them through time like that. Still...sometimes the undesirable was the best option.
"I believe you are right. There's no need for them - or any of you, for that matter - to hurry back, though, so we can take our time and prepare for the best transition possible."
They smiled joyously and hugged each other, then ran off to tell the others, clearly too excited to think of thanking me. Not that I was worried about a little slip like that. Their happiness was enough reward.
While I was thinking about that, Mother slipped an arm around my waist and suggested, in her usual quiet way, "Maybe Sarah needs your attention more than the Queen does."
I blushed when I looked down at her and nodded, then gave her one of those smiles the others are always complaining about.
"If I go back to Sarah, who's going to drive the van? Do you really think you want Haruka driving it?"
"You!" She laughed and swatted my arm. "I'll have you know I've been practicing for my license test. I should be able to get a Class 1 Unlimited license the next time I test."
"Mmmhmm...but until then, Father, Mamoru, and Haruka are the only ones with Unlimited licenses. Maybe we should ask the King if he wants to drive?"
Mother turned a delightful shade of pink and tried to hide her face in my hair. Given the number of times she's done that with Father's hair, it seems to have become her automatic reaction. I hugged her, then softly suggested, "Perhaps we should see if the Queen needs help, Mother. With Father out for the duration, she doesn't have anyone to translate military for her."
She nodded and shook herself, then put on her "business face" on and turned back toward the Queen. I gave the Queen a wink and a smile, and joined Mother at her side.
"I'm afraid I don't have enough people left to manage the recovery operations," Colonel Matsudaira was telling the Serenity and Endymion as we returned. "We'll have to take men from other units, which means things will move slower than I'd like."
"You can use the men you have here," Endymion suggested.
"Thank you, your Majesty, but no, I can't. I know you're all more powerful than we are, but sometime's there's no substitue for having backup, no matter how powerful you are."
**Trust me on this, its better if you surrender gracefully. He'll feel he's not doing his job if you don't accept at least a few guards.**
**But they could get hurt! Or even killed!**
**Serenity-chan, they're soldiers. They're just as dedicated as any of us. Refuse them this and you'll be calling their dedication into question.**
**She's right, beloved. You're both right. So let's try to make this as painless as possible, ok?**
"Colonel," Endymion said, "We'll accept the men you're offering, as long as none of them have any special skills you need for finding survivors. I won't accept even one person dying who could have been saved by someone who was here guarding us instead of helping with the search."
The colonel didn't look entirely happy with that, but he bowed and began ordering his men. It wasn't long before we had a cadre of soldiers with us, and the colonel departing with the rest of his men. Then Serenity turned to me and gave me a curious look.
**Serenity-chan?**
**It got your attention, didn't it? You were getting yourself far too worked up, over such a small thing. Better to save your strength for when you need it.**
**You know, you're always a surprise.**
**Good.**
I gave her a smile and looked back into the pit. Keiichi was still down there, climbing slowly out of the pit while carrying Belldandy, with the others surrounding them and watching with worried expressions. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Uranus reached down to help them over the edge, onto level ground, then stepped back with enough surprise I could feel it through Charon.
It was at that moment that probabilities coalesced and I saw what was about to happen. There was no time to explain; I just had to hope they'd jump when I called.
**Uranus! Jupiter! Get back! NOW!**
When the demon leapt for Belldandy, Mara raised her hands and blasted it back. Then came the event I knew we had to allow. Keiichi gently put Belldandy on the ground and stepped over her, to stand between her and the demon. He turned toward Skuld with the same look of determination I'd seen so often on Father's face.
"Skuld," Keiichi said in a voice that carried clearly to all of us, "would you please loan me a wrench?"
Skuld offered him her hammer, but he shook his head.
"No, a wrench would be better. This...creature...is one of the things that made Belldandy cry. I intend to teach it that even an engineer is more than a match for it."
Skuld looked from Keiichi to Belldandy and back again, then nodded and folded her hands in prayer. A ball of light appeared in front of her, then quickly elongated into the shape of a wrench, of the size used on heavy construction machinery. Keiichi took the wrench, and as he did, the light flowed over him and his clothing transformed into something that looked like mechanic's coveralls, but glinted like the golden chain the Norns wore. He gave Skuld a half-smile, then turned to the demon.
"You and your kind hurt the woman I love." Keiichi's voice was hard, angry, and flat. He smacked the palm of his hand with the head of the wrench as he spoke. "Now it's time for you to pay."
With that, he used the wrench in a way I've frequently seen mechanics use their wrenches in vaguely similar situations. There was a loud crunch, the demon's neck bent at a normally impossible angle, and it dissolved, just like a droid.
Keiichi sank to his knees beside Belldandy and picked her up, then turned to carry her toward us.
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.
Aa! Megamisama!, and all terms, names, etc., associated with the series, are copyrighted by Kousuke Fujishima and Kodansha. I make no claim to them and this work of fanfiction should not be seen as making a claim.
Those characters and concepts that are original, the Crystal Kingdom Archives, and the story "Aa! Megami-Senshi!", are copyrighted © 2000 by Bill Hartwell.
Rated: PG-13