Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not my property. I never claimed it was. I 
am merely borrowing the characters so that I can write this story. I am 
also borrowing some characters and situations from Homicide: Life on 
the Streets. I don't own that either.

Comments and criticisms are always welcome. My thanks to those who have 
already reviewed and commented, including my beta-readers, Ice 
Princess, Luna Hope, and bell.



Empire of the Sun

Chapter Six: Falling



Tuesday, July 3
5:48 a.m.


	Down, down, down she went, the pressure pushing in against her 
body. She felt the subtle changes in her body chemistry as it adapted 
to differing pressures, and differing absorption rates, keeping oxygen 
flowing through her blood and to her brain.

	Neptune continued to kick her way down into the darkness, feeling 
her way by sound rather than sight. The few blurry spots of light off 
in the distance were not stars, but signs of distant life--the strange 
and mysterious deep-dwellers that had adapted to a crushing, sunless 
life.

	This voyage into the deep became both easier and more difficult 
with each passing. She could get further along under her own power, but 
then, she had less help than she had before. The circular breathing, 
taking water in through the nose and simultaneously expelling it 
through the mouth in a continuous flow, came quickly to her after a few 
minor mishaps. She now only had problems with it when she stopped to 
think about the process. 

	The first time she had voluntarily taken frigid salt water into 
her lungs, it shocked her awake. Now, in her dreams, breathing water 
seemed much easier than breathing thin, wispy air. Taking the water 
into herself, she became one with her surroundings. Subtle currents 
told her of a school of fish swimming far above her. The sudden 
disruption of that pattern, feeding dolphins cutting a swath through 
the mass of fish.

	She recognized the myriad of strange and wonderful sea-creatures, 
memorialized on the mosaic dome of Castle Triton. These were not 
creatures of Triton's seas--except of course for the dolphins who had 
willingly joined the original colonists, she remembered. It hadn't 
taken long to figure out that she was on Earth, and that within the 
space of just a few dreams, she had left the waters off her native 
Japan. Now, the deep songs of the cetaceans and other semi-sentient 
ocean creatures were arias celebrating the rough rocks off the coasts 
of Labrador and Greenland, and tone-poems about the unreachable, 
invisible deeps of the Mariana Trench where the bones of the ancestors 
had fallen and had long since lost their substance to the waters. They 
sang of migration, of kinship, and of the killing harpoon. They sang of 
the cycle of predator and prey that was part survival and part ritual. 
These were not the flat recordings of humpback whales that she'd seen 
in the New Age section of the CD store. These were more symphonies than 
songs, scored not to be heard by the ear, but to be sensed by the 
entire body.

	The one, tiny part of Neptune that was not entranced by the pull 
of the deeps wondered how she could ever transcribe such music for the 
violin.

	Then, beneath the songs of the ocean creatures, was a deeper, 
much older song. This is what pulled her on night after night, each 
time getting closer, but never quite all the way there. It called her 
and welcomed her. She had started sleeping during the day now, giving 
herself more time to dream and bring her closer and closer to the 
source of the song. She had to find out what it was. She had to find 
out who was singing.

	Several times, she came close to telling Haruka and the others 
about this mysterious singer in her dreams, but each time, something 
made her hold her tongue. Maybe it was the feeling that this discovery 
was for her and for her alone to make. Maybe then she could tell what 
was going on. If she spoke too soon, Haruka would worry. The others 
might find some way to stop her with spirit wards or mystical healing. 
Maybe today she would find the singer and--

	The sudden clamor of the alarm clock knocked her out of the dream 
and into the harshness of daylight and insubstantial air. Michiru 
gasped for breath only to choke on the empty air. Her lungs felt as if 
they had nothing to grab onto. The muscles in her chest went into spasm 
as her mind told her body one thing and her body told her mind another.

	Haruka's arms were around her in an instant, giving her warmth 
and something to breathe against. She hadn't known it was possible to 
drown in air.

	"Michiru! What is it? Can you breathe... dear God, you're 
freezing!" Haruka pulled the blanket closer around Michiru and bundled 
the shivering girl to her chest. "Shh. Shh. It's all right. I'm right 
here."

	Michiru gradually stopped shivering as her body warmed up and she 
got used to the sensation of breathing good old garden-variety air. 
Much of the substance of her dream slid from her mind, leaving only the 
desire to go back to the darkness and the depths. "Haruka?"

	"I'm right here, love. I'll always be here." Haruka gently lifted 
Michiru's chin so that Michiru was looking directly into her lover's 
storm-gray eyes. "You can't tell me that something's not wrong," she 
said with no trace of humor. "You're thrashing around in your sleep, 
acting like a zombie half the time."

	"It's just stress, Haruka-love. I'll deal with it."

	"For a minute there I thought you were choking to death!" Haruka 
yelled in frustration. "You just scared me half to death! I don't care 
if it's just stress or not, you're going to the doctor to have this 
checked out!"

	"Haruka..."

	"*Today*." Haruka's stern expression softened, and she smiled. 
"For me? Please? Maybe you're right--maybe it's nothing, but get it 
checked out. You know you hate it when I worry."

	Michiru hugged her partner tightly. "For you, Haruka. And please, 
don't worry. This will all be over soon, I'm sure of it."

	Any day now, she thought. Any day now, I'll find what I'm looking 
for, and then everything will be all right.



8:25 a.m.


	"Five minutes 'til the bell," said Minako. She grabbed Makoto by 
the sleeve. "Don't go anywhere just yet, Mako-chan."

	"Let me put my shoes in my locker," said Makoto. She raised one 
eyebrow. "You know what Kaneda-sensei said would happen if we were late 
again."

	Minako flicked away the comment as if she were shooing away a 
moth. "We've got time. This'll only take a minute." She looked around. 
The crowds in the hallway were thinning out.

	"Is this business, or..."

	Minako smiled coyly, and laid one finger impishly alongside her 
mouth. "I was thinking that it's been a couple of months since our last 
'girls night out,' hmm?"

	"Ohhh... Yeah, it has." The grin on Makoto's face could only be 
called feral. A couple of passing boys took one look at her and decided 
that they should hurry to class. Makoto didn't even notice them. "It'll 
be good to get out... meet people."

	"Mmm. Darn tootin'. It's been a while since I've had a chance to 
get all dressed up."

	Makoto spotted Ami at her locker. "Let's see if Ami's free 
tonight after study-buddies. She might like a break."

	Ami had only gone out on the town with Makoto and Minako a couple 
of times, but she always seemed to enjoy herself, Makoto thought. They 
could ask Usagi, too, but she generally preferred spending any free 
time with Mamoru. Of course, if Mamoru was on call tonight, Usagi might 
be glad for the distraction.

	Minako was just about to call out to the smaller girl when Ami 
took a carefully folded square of paper out her locker.

	"Uh-oh," groaned Makoto. 

	"What-oh, uh-oh?" asked Minako. Then she saw Ami open the hand-
crafted envelope. "Whoops. Not good. Not good at all."

	A little further along down the hall, one of the junior boys 
stood by the door to his classroom, bouncing nervously on his feet and 
chewing at his lower lip. He stared anxiously at Ami. Tall, athletic, 
dark-haired, blue-eyed. Not at all bad looking, thought Makoto.

	Ami's face erupted in a mass of angry red blotches. The crash of 
metal against metal echoed through the hall as she slammed her locker 
shut, turned on her heel, and stalked off to class. As she passed a 
trash-can, she thrust the note in so violently that the lid spun round-
and-round several times before rocking to a stop. Her would-be suitor 
lowered his head in defeat and slunk into his classroom like a turtle 
retreating into its shell.

	"What is that girl's problem?" Minako wailed. "How can anyone be 
allergic to love letters?"

	"I've never seen her *that* upset by one before," said Makoto. 
"It must have been mushier than usual."

	Minako stared wistfully at the now empty hallway. "It's not fair, 
is it?"

	"Nope." Especially since that boy looked kind of like a younger 
version of her old sempai. Minako continued to stare at nothing, and 
Makoto wondered what past event the other girl was seeing in her mind's 
eye.

	"Let's go out around a little after nine," Minako finally said. 
"I'll sneak out and come over to your place and we can go from there. 
Slap the streets. Check out the nightlife." She waggled an eyebrow.

	"Sounds good. Think we'll get lucky?"

	Minako giggled. "Maybe you should bring your dust buster--just in 
case."

	Just then, Usagi sprinted by them at a pace that would leave 
Sailor Uranus in the dust. She skid-turned into the classroom, somehow 
managing not to fall. Makoto suspected that the long ponytails helped 
her maintain balance at high speed.

	"That's our cue!" shouted Makoto. "Come on!"

	Usagi's timing, honed to within a hundredth of a second by years 
of practice, got her into her seat just as the bell rang. Her two 
friends were not quite so fortunate. Such was life, thought Makoto. 

	Her friend got love letters, she got detention. Same old, same 
old.



8:50 a.m.


	One look at the angry red rash on Ami's face, and Kaneda-sensei 
ordered her to go straight to the school nurse. The school nurse tsk-
tsked, gave Ami some ointment, and sent her home with an order not to 
study so hard.

	"But I *like* studying!" Ami protested, but to no avail.

	"Now, dear. I know that entrance exams are coming up, but you'll 
do yourself no good if you let yourself get sick because of stress."

	"But... but... but..."

	The nurse patted her on the back. "Just go home and relax! I hate 
the way the school system pressures you poor children! One day off 
won't kill you. Play some games! Watch some television! Just take some 
time to be yourself!"

	"But..."

	She could practically see the light bulb go off above the nurse's 
head. "Oh, don't worry about your parents. Here, I'll write them a 
note, tell them to go easy on you for a few days! Would you like that?"

	"No!"

	Oblivious to everything but her desire to spread sunshine and 
cheer, the nurse signed the note, folded it, and slipped it into Ami's 
uniform pocket. "Don't worry. I remember what it was like when I was 
your age. The worst will soon be over!"

	She waved farewell as Ami staggered out of the office, trying to 
hide the sudden tic in her right eye.

	You want stress? Ami thought. She wished she could introduce the 
nurse to one of the Witches 5. Which one was the perky one, again? 
Mimete, wasn't it? Oh, to be able to lock the two of them in a room 
together and weld the door shut...

	She sighed, her outrage at the nurse's density fading quickly. It 
was true that one day off wouldn't kill her. She was ahead in most of 
her classes, and she knew she would do more than pass her entrance 
exams. Her goal of a perfect score was a matter of pride and honor. She 
wanted to be the best. Was that so wrong?

	Given her grades, and her mother's connections, Ami knew that she 
could go study at the medical school of her choice. If she wanted, she 
could even go to Harvard, Hopkins, Edinburgh, or any number of 
universities overseas. It would mean leaving Usagi and the others for a 
few years, but it might be worth it. It *would* be worth it, if meant 
becoming the best possible doctor in the world. In several years, Ami 
knew, something would happen that would lead to Usagi becoming Queen 
Serenity.

	They knew so little about Crystal Tokyo! Ami's fists clenched 
reflexively. Even worse, they knew nothing about what lay outside the 
kingdom of Serenity and Endymion. If ChibiUsa knew anything, she wasn't 
telling. She probably wasn't allowed to tell, Ami thought. If only they 
knew what was going to happen! 

	Logic told her that the events leading to the foundation of 
Crystal's Tokyo and Serenity's reign would very likely be preceded by 
some sort of disaster. Natural, man-made, supernatural, geological, 
chemical, nuclear, biological, cosmic, climactic... the possibilities 
were endless. If they had the facts, they might not be able to prevent 
whatever-it-was, but they might be able to lessen the casualties. Her 
skills as a doctor might very much be needed then.

	She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She had to stop 
obsessing about these things. She wasn't doing herself any favors by 
worrying about what she couldn't prevent. Instead of rehearsing one of 
thousands of worst-case scenarios she had devised, she turned her 
thoughts to the events of that morning.

	The letter that Daisuke-kun left in her locker had really gotten 
under her skin. Absently, she scratched at the already fading rash. 
What was odd was that she had not felt the usual embarrassment, or the 
melancholy disbelief that anyone could possibly love *her*. This time, 
the proclamation of undying love made something twist and catch inside 
her so that she wanted to scream. It wasn't rage, but it was something 
similar. It was also something very familiar.

	As she neared the Crown Arcade, she finally remembered what it 
was. It was the same sort of feeling that she'd had when her mother had 
told her that she had signed the divorce papers sent by her father. It 
was when she'd finally understood that her father *wasn't* coming back, 
no matter how hard she'd tried to believe that he would. She thought 
about it for a while. The surge of emotion was gone, but she could 
remember what it had felt like. It wasn't as strong as it had been when 
she was a little girl, but something about Daisuke-kun's letter had set 
off a sort of echo.

	"I wonder why," she murmured. As she thought some more, the 
remembered emotion also reminded her of something else. Something to do 
with her memories of being Egeria. Hmm. Interesting, that. She'd have 
to go through her notes again, and see if anything made any more sense. 
In the meantime, she would make good use of this day off and try to 
find out more about this thing that had attacked Hotaru.

	Ami peered through the door of the arcade. They were not open for 
business yet, but she could see Motoki in there, sitting at the snack 
bar and chatting with Luna. A feeling of contentment settled over her. 
She was so glad that Motoki and Unazuki knew about their being Senshi, 
and about the control room underneath the arcade. She tapped on the 
glass and Motoki hurried over to unlock the door and let her in.

	"Ami-chan! Don't tell me *you're* skipping school! This isn't 
some sign of the apocalypse, is it?"

	Ami shook her head ruefully and explained the situation, blushing 
furiously when she told him about Daisuke's note. She let him give her 
a brotherly hug. "So, any word from Reika?"

	"Still in Europe," he said shortly. "So, what's new? Aside from 
these golem things Luna has been telling me about, I mean."

	"That's really about it," she said. She got the feeling that he 
wasn't happy about her asking after Reika. "I thought I'd use the 
computers downstairs to do a search for any signs of anything odd in 
the region. You know how it is with us--it never rains but it pours."

	"Isn't that the truth? Hey, since you're here, can I get you a 
cup of coffee or anything? I just put on a fresh pot."

	Ami started to say "no, thank you," but Luna encouraged her to 
sit for a moment.

	"I do think that the school nurse had a point, Ami-chan. You do 
push yourself awfully hard."

	Motoki brought Ami her coffee. "But she knows how to have fun, 
too." He winked at her. "People are still trying to erase your high 
scores off of most of these games."

	Ami smiled and stared at the top of the counter. 

	"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Motoki--Artemis will be taking my 
shift at Control this evening," said Luna. "I was a bit surprised when 
he agreed..."

	"I wouldn't be," Motoki drawled. "I get off shift at 5:30, so 
I'll be heading downstairs."

	Both Ami and Luna gave him puzzled looks. Since when did Motoki 
help out with Control?

	"Giants-Swallows game," he explained. "The reception's better 
down there."

	Luna groaned. "Please tell me he's not betting on the Giants 
again!"

	Motoki shrugged. "Okay. I won't tell."

	"It's amazing how normal all of this has become, isn't it?" asked 
Ami. "I never imagined that I'd be using a day off from school to 
search for mythical creatures. Did you ever imagine that you'd be 
watching a baseball game in a secret computer room with a talking cat?"

	Motoki tilted his head to one side and made a show of thinking 
about it. "No, actually I used to imagine that I'd grow up to be a 
secret agent, like James Bond."

	Ami finished her coffee and got up. "Well, I'd better get going. 
I want to do some readings and get out of here before the arcade 
opens."

	"You're welcome to come back later and watch the game with us, if 
you like," Motoki called as she disappeared behind the Sailor V game.

	"Yes. It might be a good idea if you were there to keep Artemis 
out of trouble," Luna said.


					#  #  #


	An hour later, Ami re-emerged, said a hasty goodbye, turned down 
Motoki's offer of a free lunch, and dashed home. If the computers were 
right, she only had today to get this done. She changed out of her 
uniform, and put on her rattiest tee-shirt and an old pair of shorts. 
This could get a little messy. Once she found her bus schedule, she 
left again.

	First stop, a kitchen supply store to pick up a large mesh 
strainer, some cheesecloth and some plastic leftover containers in 
assorted sizes, including two one-gallon tubs. Then, the garden store 
for a trowel, stakes, twine, and a pair of work gloves. She could have 
taken these things from the apartment, but if anything happened, she 
didn't want to explain their disappearance to her mother. Once she was 
done, she could dump anything she didn't want to carry home on Haruka's 
porch.

	Her search through news reports and the police blotter indicated 
no unusual activities or occurrences having happened at the 
construction site where Hotaru was attacked. That didn't rule out the 
golem being specific to that site as a guardian or watchdog, but it 
made it much less likely. When she looked at the records of building 
permits and paperwork, she found that the reason the site had been 
inactive for nearly two weeks was because the contractor was waiting 
for permission to start digging through to the sewer lines. Work was 
due to resume on Wednesday.

	Two bus transfers and twenty minutes later, Ami was at the 
construction site. She wandered past the piles of dirt and abandoned 
equipment. She saw something that might have been a smashed up 
wheelbarrow, and used the Mercury computer to capture a 3-D image of it 
to study later. Off to the side, she saw a scattered pile of dirt and 
rocks that did not match the color and texture of its surroundings.

	"That must be our golem," she muttered. Fortunately, it was not 
in sight of the street. She also noticed some dark splotches on the 
ground. Dried blood, the computer told her. Type AB.

	"Oh, Hotaru... you poor thing!" The pattern of droplets was 
fairly wide, and some of the splotches were not small. Ami hugged 
herself as her heart shuddered with pity. It wasn't fair that Hotaru 
had to face this thing alone, and not knowing what it was or how to 
stop it! Ami looked at the size of the dirt-pile and shivered. If 
Hotaru hadn't been so lucky with that last swing...

	She squared her shoulders, and headed towards the pile with a 
handful of stakes. At least now, they knew how to stop these things. 
And, if she was lucky, they would soon know more about what these 
things were and who had sent them.

	With the help of her computer, Ami used the stakes and the twine 
to divide the former golem into twenty-one half-meter by half-meter 
squares. Square by square, she dug through the remains, sifting first 
through the strainer, then through the cheesecloth into the largest 
tubs. Anything that looked interesting was put into one of the smaller 
containers and labeled with the number of its square. It was slow, 
tedious work. Scoop, pour, sift, look. Pour, sift, look. Over, and 
over, and over, all the while scanning with the computer. There was 
something comforting about the rhythm of the work, and although she was 
impatient at first, she eventually found herself existing in the 
moment, happy to be doing something constructive. Something important. 
Occasionally, she would find a fragment of stone, or plant, or metal 
that might have some significance, and that only spurred her on to 
search more thoroughly. Although alone, she didn't feel lonely, and she 
could almost imagine that there were other people elsewhere on the 
site, working as with as much concentration as she was.

	She hit pay-dirt, so to speak, in square fifteen. Four shards of 
crystals winked up at her from the strainer. She picked up one of the 
smallest containers—something originally meant for condiments, perhaps—
and tilted the strainer. The four shards were a faint, but unmistakable 
blue.

	Holding back her excitement, she simply labeled the container, 
put it aside, and moved on to square sixteen. She then stopped, and 
walked back to her evidence pile, wondering if she had seen correctly. 
She then stepped back, then forward again. No, she hadn't been 
mistaken. The shards were definitely reacting to her presence. Every 
time she drew near them, they turned a faint, clear blue. When she held 
her hand directly over them, they became less faint, and each one took 
on its own tint. One was greenish, one was dark, one was dull, and one 
was more purple than blue.

	"How very odd... What do you think, Ikarus?" She turned to look 
over her shoulder, only to yelp in pain as she looked straight into the 
blazing sun.

	Shaking uncontrollably and blinking spots from her eyes, Ami 
staggered over to the twine grid and started yanking up stakes. Enough 
was enough. She bundled the twine together, not caring that it was 
becoming tangled. Why did she think the old Shaper of her lost 
childhood was standing there? What on earth was going on? She shoved 
the labeled containers into her tote bag and crammed everything else 
into the two large tubs. She remembered how easily she had fallen into 
her work, and how her mind had wandered. When she wasn't paying 
attention, had she somehow reverted to Egeria? Her stomach started 
churning, and she regretted the cup of coffee she'd had at the arcade.

	Rather than hauling the two bins to Haruka and Michiru's house, 
she simply chucked them into one of the dumpsters on the site, where 
they would get lost among the rest of the debris. She then shuffled her 
feet over Hotaru's bloodstains, and kicked the dirt around. You didn't 
need a magical computer to recognize blood, she thought. There was no 
point in leaving anything around to arouse suspicion.

	Maybe it was just a rare case of absent-mindedness, thought Ami, 
but if there was the barest chance that these dreams were starting to 
spill over into waking life, she would find the answer and find it 
fast! Even if it meant staying up all night.

	Even if it meant skipping school. Or not. She'd just have to wait 
and see.



3:18 p.m.


	What a day, thought Usagi. She'd just managed to squeak by with a 
passing grade on two of her tests. Two of her friends were in 
detention, and another had been sent home with a nasty and potentially 
contagious rash. She didn't feel like waiting around for Minako and 
Mako-chan, so she went to find Luna. The cat said she'd be in the old 
cherry tree at the edge of campus. Now that it looked like another 
enemy might be raising its proverbially (and literally) ugly head, the 
little black cat was acting more like a mother hen. 

	Since she had a half-hour to kill before heading to Rei's, she 
wondered if she should try to see how Mamo-chan was doing. She checked 
her day-timer--Mamo-chan had night call that evening, so unless 
something had come up, or he was studying at the library, he should be 
at home. 

	Despite the warmth of the day, she wrapped her arms tightly 
around herself. Mamo-chan was usually so laid-back and calm about 
everything, but on the phone yesterday he had sounded as flustered as 
when she and ChibiUsa would get into one of their little spats over 
him. But then, at the shrine, he acted as if he was bored by 
everything. When they showed him the pictures of Rosamund, everyone 
yammering and exclaiming and pointing at once, he had only shrugged.

	Thinking about what Mamo-chan *did* say, Usagi snickered. Poor 
ChibiUsa was really starting to resent her pink-haired 'grandmother.' 
Ahhh, she'd have to remember to remind poor Mamo-chan that girly pink 
ran on *his* side of the family, and moan about how unfair it was that 
such a pretty color had skipped a generation. She'd have to make sure 
they had a good audience for that one. There wasn't too much she could 
tease him about, but these dreams of hers had unearthed a gold mine. 
She'd have to pump Setsuna for some more information about Lady 
Rosamund. Or maybe she should just hint to Mamo-chan that Setsuna had 
promised to tell them some cute—and embarrassing—stories about his 
childhood.

	Usagi sat down under the tree where Luna should be waiting. A 
group of girls from the softball team was hanging around nearby, so she 
couldn't talk to the cat. She blew her bangs out of her eyes. If it 
weren't for Hotaru's encounter with the golem, these dreams could 
almost be enjoyable. 

	When she thought about her past life, Usagi often felt like she'd 
been given only three random volumes out of an eighteen-volume manga 
series, only to be told that the remaining fifteen volumes were out of 
print. Although it would be nice to know the whole story, it wasn't all 
that important, really. The love that her prior self had for Prince 
Endymion was reborn in her love for Mamo-chan. She had her dearest 
friends and protectors around her. That was all she really needed to 
know about the past. 

	Whenever she thought about the fall of the Moon Kingdom, her 
heart felt as if it would be rent in two. It was sad, yes, but over the 
years, the images had changed in her mind. Now, she saw Mamo-chan 
falling to Beryl's sword. She thought of Haruka and Michiru, alone and 
lonely, without the comfort of the love they had in this life, watching 
helplessly from afar. She saw Rei, and Ami, and Minako, and Mako-chan 
lying in their own blood on the steps of the palace, and her mother at 
the head of the stairs, wailing in anguish and pulling at her wavy 
purple hair, her daughter's life-blood smeared across her yellow apron. 

	Never again, she thought. That scene would never play out in that 
way. They had defeated Metallia, Beryl, and their minions, and they 
would stay defeated. The past was in the past, and so was the pain.

	And as for the future...

	Better, perhaps, to dwell on the now. She closed her eyes and 
concentrated on the warm breeze on her face and the comforting 
roughness of the tree against her back. She could hear the laughter of 
the nearby girls. It was hearty, boisterous laughter—congratulating 
themselves on a future victory, rather than giggling about potential 
boyfriends. Was it too late for her to participate in a sport? wondered 
Usagi. Now that her teenage growth spurt had slowed down, everyone was 
telling her that she was a lot less clumsy. Even so, gymnastics was 
out. So was anything involving a ball, since her head still functioned 
as a magnet. Track, maybe? She opened her eyes to look at the players, 
who had stopped talking and were heading down towards the softball 
field.

	The coast was clear. Usagi looked up into the tree and called 
out, "Hi, L—Artemis?"

	"Hey, Usagi-chan." The white cat hopped down to land on Usagi's 
shoulder. "Where's Minako?"

	Usagi rolled her eyes. "Detention. So's Mako-chan. They were late 
to home room."

	"Huh. That's weird. Minako got out of the house in plenty of 
time--for once."

	"She and Mako-chan were out talking in the hallway, trying to 
plan another 'girls night out,' and they got caught by the bell. 
Where's Luna? No offense or anything, but I was kind of surprised to 
see *you* here."

	"She's at Central Control. I swapped shifts with her so she could 
spend more time with ChibiUsa and Diana tonight. Speaking of which, 
would you mind swinging by the arcade on your way home, so I can 
relieve her? 'Girls night out,' eh?" The cat's tail lashed against 
Usagi's neck. It tickled. "I wish they'd stop that nonsense."

	"Oh, don't be such a nag, Artemis! They're just having fun. You 
know it doesn't hurt anything."

	"You mean it *hasn't* hurt anything--yet," the cat growled. "She's 
incorrigible."

	Usagi giggled. "Are you saying I shouldn't incorrige her, then?" 
Actually, given everything that was going on, especially in light of 
the incident with the golem, she was glad that Mako-chan and V-babe 
were going out on the town. Still, she hoped that the evening turned 
out to be a bust.

	The two remained quiet for a while as another gaggle of students 
rushed towards the school gates.

	"Yo! Usagi-san! You bleach your cat or something?" called out one 
of the boys from her class.

	"Silly! This is Minako's cat. We traded!" Usagi laughed. She saw 
Naru-chan on the other side of the crowd, and waved. Naru waved back 
and hurried off. At first, Usagi wondered if something was wrong, then 
remembered that it was Tuesday. Cram school. Thank goodness her own 
parents weren't pushing her *that* hard.

	"Bleach. Yeah, right," snarled Artemis. "At least I don't go 
through a gallon of hair-gel every day. Punk."

	"It might help with the shedding... no claws! no claws! Jeez, 
Arty. It was only a joke!"

	The cat relaxed, and the prickle-points of pain disappeared. 
"Sorry. It's just that this is a bad time of year, fur-wise. Minako's 
mother has been complaining about it a lot lately. It's got us both 
pretty edgy. I'm hoping that if I just stay in Minako's room, that the 
current anti-cat sentiment will blow over."

	"Well if things get bad, you can always move in with us. Do you 
want to wait for Minako?" Usagi asked. "They'll only be about another 
twenty minutes or so." Of course that would mean she wouldn't have time 
to check on Mamo-chan...

	"Actually, this works out. I need to talk to you." Usagi stood 
up, and shifted Artemis so that she was supporting his rear in the 
crook of her arm. His forelegs rested on Usagi's shoulder. This way, 
Usagi could look in front, and Artemis to the back to see if anyone 
might notice that a cat was talking. The shoulder-carry also put them 
neatly mouth to ear so that they could talk softly and not draw any 
attention to themselves.

	"Is something wrong with Minako-chan?" whispered Usagi.

	"Wha? Huh? Oh, no no no. Everything's fine with her. Fine. Just 
fine. Really," Artemis babbled. "No, it's not Minako I'm worried about. 
I wanted to talk to you about Mamoru-kun."

	"Muffin? How come?"

	She felt Artemis's sides heave in a deep sigh. "When he told you 
about the detectives' visit the other day, he just *happened* to leave 
out the interesting fact that they were there because they believed 
that Mamoru-kun's parents were murdered."

	"Murdered!" Usagi looked around to make sure no one had heard her 
outburst. "He never said that! He only said that the detectives were 
looking into some suspicious circumstances surrounding their deaths. He 
made it sound like it was mostly about the orphanages and the cover-up 
and the money and so on."

	"I know, I know. And I didn't want to say anything right then and 
there, but Detective Seidou was pretty clear about the fact that she 
thought someone had tampered with the car." The cat paused, took a 
breath, and continued precisely and firmly. "She asked him point blank 
if he knew if anyone wanted his parents dead."

	Usagi walked on in silence. She felt cold. Her vision glimmered, 
but she was not going to blink and allow the tears to fall. The sign 
for the Crown Arcade was just a blurry red line at the end of the next 
block. 

	"Why?" she finally asked. She could only let out one word. Any 
more, and she would start crying.

	"For what it's worth, Usagi-chan, I don't think he meant to lie 
to you."

	"Doesn't he know that it only makes it worse when he tries to 
protect me from these things?" she finally said, sobbing softly and 
hating herself for it. "I can tell that he's hurting, I know he's sad 
inside, but he won't let me see. He won't let me in to help!"

	Artemis turned his head and licked the tears from her face. At 
first, this only made Usagi cry harder, but then the scratchy tongue 
began to tickle.

	"That's enough, Arty," she laughed. "I'll be okay. It still 
hurts, but I'll be okay."

	"I know." She could see his whiskers flick forward as he cocked 
his head in a cat smile. "You're strong enough to know when you do 
hurt." His voice grew serious again, and his ears tilted to the side. 
"I'm afraid, however, that Mamoru isn't very strong in that way."

	"Huh?"

	"It's not just *you* he's shutting out, and if it helps any, I 
don't think it's deliberate. You know how he's always so calm about 
everything?"

	Usagi nodded. She'd been thinking much the same thing not long 
ago.

	"When the detectives were talking to him, he sounded like 
everything was just fine. Confused and in shock, but fine. After they 
left, I tried to get him to talk about it. He kept insisting that he 
was 'fine,' and that the case couldn't possibly have anything to do 
with anything else that's going on. I finally got him to admit that he 
was a little shaken up, but I've got a feeling that was only so I'd 
stop nagging him. He didn't say a darn thing about how he wished he'd 
known his parents, or who could have done this, or anything. I swear, 
if I hadn't been there, he would have ended up convincing himself that 
the whole thing had never happened!"

	"I don't get it. Why wouldn't he want to know what happened to 
them? He always used to say that he wished he could remember his 
family. What changed?"

	They were almost at the arcade. They passed by a few people on 
the sidewalk, and Artemis had to wait until they were at the door 
before he could finish.

	"He was shocked when the detectives told him why they were there. 
Genuinely shocked. Granted, that sort of thing would knock *anyone* 
off-kilter."

	Usagi paused with her hand on the door. "But it's more than just 
that, isn't it, Artemis?"

	"Yeah. It turns out that Seidou was lead investigator when the 
crash happened--another unhappy coincidence to add to our growing list. 
When she started going over the details to see if she could jog his 
memory, Mamoru..." He paused, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He 
was obviously trying to think of how to explain this. "The problem is, 
you all don't notice smells the way Luna and I do. If you were just 
looking and listening, you could tell Mamoru was startled and in shock, 
but that's it. His scent, on the other hand..." 

	Artemis turned to look Usagi straight in the eye. "He was 
terrified. That's the only way I can put it. Stone cold terrified. It 
was just for a minute or two, but he literally stank of fear."

	"Mamo-chan? No way!" The only time she'd ever seen him even 
remotely scared was when he was worried about her or ChibiUsa. She went 
ahead and walked into the arcade.

	"The nose doesn't lie. Something had him absolutely shit-scared, 
pardon my French, and the weird thing is, I don't even think he knew 
himself. It was like his body knew something horrible was going on, but 
his brain didn't have a clue."



9:48 p.m.


	The two girls were cruising along the streets of downtown Tokyo. 

	Well, sort of along the streets. 

	Roughly parallel to the streets, at any rate.

	The fact that they were currently five stories above sidewalk 
level was only a minor technicality in the broader scheme of things.

	The nice thing about running along rooftops, thought Sailor 
Venus, was that except for the occasional pigeon, pedestrian traffic 
was usually pretty light.

	"V, they're looking at us!" hissed Sailor Jupiter.

	"So let 'em look!" called Sailor Venus. "The good people of Tokyo 
should know that the Sailor Senshi are looking out for their well-being 
and providing plenty of exciting photo opportunities!"

	Venus sprinted along the rooftops, taking each city block in four 
powerful strides. God, how she loved this! She measured her pace, 
pushed easily off the eaves of the building to arc gracefully over the 
four-lane street below. The gasps of the pedestrians carried up to her 
ears, and she skidded to a stop as she landed. She turned, went to the 
edge of the building, and executed a neat bow. Sailor Jupiter touched 
down beside her as the crowd below burst into applause.

	"You are such a whore," muttered Jupiter, shaking with suppressed 
laughter.

	Venus simply blew a kiss to the crowd below, then the two Senshi 
continued on their way. "Don't be a nag," she said. "Artemis does 
enough nagging for two, already. It's been too long since we've done 
this. I've missed it."

	She knew she shouldn't show off quite so much, but it *had* been 
a while, and besides, it was always fun to get Jupiter's sheep. The 
trick was knowing when to stop before Jupiter got cranky for real.

	They came to a series of industrial parks, and the terrain 
changed. The two Senshi leapt down to the ground, and ran through 
straight-aways, vaulted over boxcars, and zigzagged around cranes and 
backhoes. Even if they didn't run into any of these Gollums, thought 
Venus, it was good to get out. Although it was dark, her Senshi vision 
let her see the fallen pipes and conduits. She could feel the burst of 
power as she jumped over a partially-erected steel frame, flipping as 
she did so. The Senshi couldn't fly, but this came pretty damned close.

	Jupiter let out a loud war-whoop as she hurdled over a pyramid of 
concrete pipes. The gems on her bow and tiara threw off sparks of 
green. "This was a *great* idea, V-babe! It *has* been too long!"

	"Remember the last time?" asked Venus.

	"How could I forget!" Jupiter's deep belly-laugh was contagious, 
and seemed to rise up from the earth itself.

	The last time they had gone out was back in April. A spring storm 
had been building just north of the Bay, and as it lumbered closer and 
closer to the city center, Jupiter started acting goofier and goofier, 
giggling wildly and doing triple flips as she leapt from roof to roof. 
Eventually, they wound up in Ueno Park. By then, the rain was coming in 
almost horizontally, and they had the entire park to themselves. As 
soon as the storm was directly overhead, the lightning was unleashed, 
and bolt after bolt slammed down into the center of the park. Jupiter 
ran around the open field like a lunatic, dodging lightning strikes 
like a matador in the bull-ring and roaring her challenge to the skies, 
daring them to give her their worst, she'd give them back just as good, 
if not more!

	Venus, in a rare moment of prudence, started to run for shelter. 
Being a Senshi of a metallic nature was not a healthy thing in the 
middle of a lightning storm. But then the mood of the storm changed. 
The lightning acknowledged its mistress. Jupiter grabbed Venus's hands 
and swung her into a rough and giddy dance, like something out of an 
old country reel, and the two of them spun in circles through the 
field, first leading, then following the lightning as it beat against 
the earth in its joyful, percussive rhythm.

	Then, almost as soon as it started, both storm and mood faded and 
drifted off, leaving two drenched and exhausted Senshi to trudge home 
through the puddles and the mud.

	Even now, nearly two months later, something trilled through 
Venus's entire body when she thought of that day. Rather than admit to 
anything that silly, she only shook her head in mock disbelief. "For a 
while there, I thought we were going to end up as Sailor Charcoal and 
Sailor Crispy. You have some weird powers, girl. I mean, storm powers 
and tree powers? What's up with that?"

	Jupiter fake-punched Venus in the stomach. "Same thing that's up 
with love and chains, dummy."

	Venus stared bug-eyed at Jupiter. Jupiter looked puzzled for a 
moment, then doubled over laughing.

	"Some... someone... whoo, boy! Someone back in the Silver 
Millennium had a dirty mind!"

	Venus shook her fist, and a ghost-chain briefly shimmered in the 
darkness. "I'll have you know that this chain was forged by Haephestus 
himself...*Sparky*." She sniffed, trying not to giggle as she looked 
offended. "Besides, Kinsei--Venus--is the 'star of metal,' so get your 
mind out of the shingles!"

	"Gutter. And who's Hugh Hefner, or whoever it is? The guy who 
made your chains? I've never heard you mention him before."

	Venus was about to respond to Jupiter's correction with her usual 
"whatever," but the follow-up question took her by surprise. What 
exactly had she said about her chain? The remark about what's-his-name 
came out of her mouth naturally, the way her credo of love and justice 
always had, or the way the names of her attacks just burst into her 
mind when she needed them. "I dunno. Just some guy who made things, I 
guess."

	"Well, Jupiter is Mokusei, the Wood Star, so no fair making fun 
of my attacks, Miss Whips'n'chains. Plus, y'know, Oak Evolution." 
Jupiter circled one hand in the air. "Oak being associated with thunder 
and all."

	"But what about Coconut Cyclone? I'm sorry, but that's just 
silly. It always makes me think of something that gets served with a 
miniature umbrella and a maraschino cherry."

	"Really? It reminds me of chocolate-coconut cake with whipped 
cream frosting. Oh, and what about the Love-Me-Chain? I don't care who 
forged it, there's no way that doesn't sound totally perverted." 
Jupiter was quiet for a moment, then erupted in hysterical laughter.

	"It's not *that* funny."

	Jupiter clutched her stomach as she tried to stop laughing. 
"It... it's not that, dummy. I was just thinking that it could be 
worse. Think about poor Taiki."

	Taiki? Sailor StarMaker? Oh, yes. Star Gentle...

	"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" 

	Oh, it could be worse. Much, much worse. And how much worse if 
you were a guy half of the time.

	"I don't even wanna think about some of his... her power-up 
attacks."

	Even though they were both convulsing with laughter, they could 
still hear the brief, distant scream.

	Barely thinking about it, Venus dashed towards the sound of the 
scream. It had lasted less than a second, but it came from over this 
way... towards a group of warehouses. Jupiter came up close behind her, 
but Venus only flicked her hand in recognition. One leap took her to 
the roof of a three-story warehouse. Jupiter landed right beside her--a 
little too loudly, in Venus's estimation.

	"Is it a golem? A youma?" Jupiter whispered.

	Venus held up her hand to silence the other Senshi. She walked 
slowly towards the edge of the roof. She could see the lights of one of 
the main streets just a few blocks up. A low rumble of men's voices 
followed by shrill, hysterical whispering told her what was going on.

	"Muggers," she hissed. "Keep low. I don't want them to see us."

	They crept to the edge of the building. A low parapet allowed 
them to peer down unseen into the alley below.

	Directly below them, a well dressed, middle-aged couple huddled 
together, offering to give the muggers anything they wanted, camera, 
car keys, jewelry, anything. On the far side of the alley, two men--one 
with a switchblade--were closing in on the couple. Venus's eyes 
narrowed. They just weren't after jewelry and money. They had the look 
of men who wanted to have a little fun and who didn't want to leave any 
witnesses.

	"So," she whispered to Jupiter, "Speeches or no speeches?"

	Jupiter cracked her knuckles. The grin on her face told Venus 
that she was looking forward to thing going 'wham' and 'crunch.' "Nah," 
she said. "Let's just put the frighteners on them."

	Venus tensed. "Okay. On three, then."

	The robbers had expected an easy mark. What they got, however, 
were two angry, screaming Sailor Senshi falling from the heavens. One 
carried a chain like a sharp, golden whip. The other's fists and eyes 
crackled with electricity and the promise of a thorough pummeling.

	The smarter of the two attackers started to run, but Venus lashed 
out with her chain, catching him around the ankles. He fell to the 
ground, semi-conscious.

	The other robber, the one with the knife, took one look at 
Jupiter and leered. The Sailor Senshi were just girls, he clearly 
thought, and he knew how to deal with little girls who didn't know 
their place.

	One well-placed uppercut cured him of that notion, and he fairly 
flew into a dumpster, leaving a faint trail of sparks in the air.

	While Jupiter checked to make sure that the robbers were still 
breathing, Venus quickly contacted the police on her communicator. They 
then turned to the formerly-in-distress couple.

	It turned out that the two of them were okay, despite the recent 
scare. They gave their names as Ichiro and Sayuri Nobu. They were here 
on vacation from Kobe, they said, and had never expected to meet two 
real, live Sailor Senshi! Mrs. Nobu shyly brought out her travel diary 
and asked if Venus and Jupiter would mind giving them an autograph. Her 
grand-daughter, she said, would be ever so grateful.

	Of course they didn't mind, said Venus, elbowing Jupiter sharply 
in the ribs. Jupiter signed graciously, and Venus accompanied her 
signature with a doodle of Sailor V giving a 'V for Victory' sign. They 
then agreed to pose for a photograph with the beaming Mr. Nobu. Jupiter 
was even getting into the spirit of things and put her arm around Nobu-
san's shoulders for the photo.

	They hung around for a few minutes as the Nobus continued to 
thank them and gush over how wonderful and sweet they were.

	"I hear the police coming," said Jupiter, "so we'd better get 
going. Enjoy the rest of your vacation!" she called as she leapt back 
up to the roof of the warehouse.

	Venus waved goodbye, then followed Jupiter back up to the 
rooftops, her legs lofting her skywards in an ecstatic, effortless 
leap.

	For just that one moment, as she basked in the fading battle-glow 
and danced along the Tokyo skyline, Sailor Venus could not have named a 
single thing about her life that she would want to change.



Wednesday, July 4
1:02 a.m.


	Ami fought back another yawn. It had taken a while, but her 
computer finally finished analyzing the four shards of crystal. If the 
data could be trusted, then these four little pieces of crystal were 
similar in structure to both the Ginzuishou and to Mamoru's Kinzuishou. 
The biggest difference was that the small crystals were completely 
inert. They had no intrinsic energy. All they did was turn different 
shades of blue when she drew near them.

	She held her hand as close as she dared while the computer took a 
spectroscopic reading of the colors. Later, she wanted to see what 
would happen if she actually touched them, or if they would react any 
differently to her as Sailor Mercury. This was not, however, something 
she wanted to try on her own or in her mother's apartment.

	While the computer sorted through the color analysis, Ami looked 
back through the notes she'd taken of her own dreams and last night's 
meeting. Odd that they had all dreamed in different ways. She was 
thankful that her own dreams were linear and literal--she'd go nuts if 
she had to deal with the sort of jumble Rei had experienced, or sort 
out the past from everyday life as in Minako's. Usagi, it seemed, had 
only seen rather static images or had remembered being a small child in 
her mother's arms. The winged serpent, Delphine, had obviously made 
quite an impression, but oddly, Usagi said that she could barely 
remember Hyperion, the man who had been young Serenity's father.

	She wrote a reminder to herself to ask Rei if she thought her 
visions might have gotten scrambled due to her natural precognitive 
abilities. Ami yawned again and rubbed at her eyes. They did feel 
rather dry. Oh, well. Earlier resolve aside, she did have school 
tomorrow, and if she didn't get at least a few hours sleep, Nurse 
Cheerful would no doubt be after her with smiles and lollipops.

	Ami programmed her computer to wake her should it detect any 
unusual energy spikes in the area, then stripped off her clothes and 
put on her nightgown. Although it would feel wonderful, she elected to 
skip her nightly soak in exchange for the extra sleep.

	She fell asleep quickly, and was not terribly surprised to find 
herself dreaming again. This time, she was walking quickly along a 
cloister that ringed a small formal garden. Egeria--if that's who it 
was--was shivering, although Ami found the weather to be pleasant and 
mild. The girl was wearing a long, pale blue dress with long sleeves. 
It was warm, like wool, but without the scratchiness.

	Of course, Ami thought. She'd be used to the heat of Mercury. 
Egeria's body felt larger, and older. Obviously some time had passed 
since the events of her last dream. Egeria hurried along the walkway, 
opened a door set into the white marble walls, and entered an enclosed 
hallway that was nonetheless light and airy.

	There were no hard shadows in this place, Ami noticed. Where on 
earth was the light coming from? She wished that Egeria would slow down 
so that she could take a look around.
	
	Egeria did slow down when someone called her name. She turned 
around, and Ami got the shock of her life when she saw who it was.

	"Harmonia!" Egeria exclaimed. "When did you get back from Mars?"

	It was Rei, but not Rei. Her dream-self gawped as she looked at 
the other girl. Harmonia, who Ami somehow knew was the alter-ego of 
Sailor Mars, could have been mistaken for her friend, but not by anyone 
who knew Rei well. The face was longer, and the features less delicate. 
The deep-set eyes were a warm brown rather than the familiar dark 
violet. The two girls' builds were the same, but Harmonia had an air of 
sinewy strength instead of Rei's effortless grace.

	"An hour ago." The serious look on the other girl's face would 
not have looked at all unusual to Ami, but Egeria was clearly agitated 
by what she saw in her friend's expression. "The oracle stones 
indicated trouble... with Earth, if you can believe it."

	"Did they say what kind of trouble?"

	Harmonia shook her head. "No. I kept getting conflicting 
readings, but they all indicated some sort of trouble. The center was 
always on Earth, but the primal cause kept shifting."

	Egeria bit at her thumbnail. With her hand so close to her face, 
Ami could notice that her fingers appeared to have some sort of 
webbing. She only wished that there was someway she could tell her 
former self and Rei's former self what the problem was. Endymion's 
generals would lead Earth's forces against them. Beryl had brainwashed 
the four men, and Metallia was the force behind Beryl. Going back even 
further, Metallia owed her power to Chaos. No wonder Rei... Harmonia 
was having trouble pinning down the source of the coming trouble. 

	"Have you told the Princess?"

	Harmonia's laugh was more like a bark. "And cause a panic? No, I 
told Kytheria. She'll be Serenity's shadow and make sure that she 
doesn't try to slip off to Earth again."

	Kytheria. That would be either Venus or Jupiter, most likely.

	"Really?" said Egeria. "You don't think that Ky would be anxious 
to look after the health of a certain white-haired general?"

	Venus, then.

	Harmonia's face fell and her eyes glimmered with tears. Egeria 
murmured something apologetic and reached out a hand and laid it on the 
other girl's shoulder. Yep, those are definitely webbed, thought Ami. I 
guess Lady Nerissa wasn't human, just as I suspected.

	"Ah, don't worry about it, Egeria, but... Things have been going 
so *well*. I was beginning to think there really was something there, 
but I haven't heard from him in nearly a week." Harmonia looked up and 
winked at Egeria, a very un-Rei like expression on her face. "But I 
wouldn't complain if you put in a kind word with your love."

	Excuse me? Could you repeat that?

	"I was just on my way to see him... on business." Egeria laughed 
softly. I'll see if he's heard from his brother, lately." 

	She stopped to think, and again started chewing on her thumbnail. 
Odd how certain habits could survive over the millennia and across 
lives, thought Ami.

	"What is it?" asked Harmonia.

	"Now that you mention it... I sent Cerelia some information about 
the forestry failures on Callisto. It shouldn't have happened, not with 
its soil composition. It also looked like the nitrogen cycle had 
established itself, and the oak varietals were showing greater than 
expected growth in the first year. The carbon dioxide in the 
atmosphere..." Seeing the glazed look on Harmonia's face, Egeria 
brought her musings to a halt. "Anyway, I would have expected to hear 
from Cerelia by now. It's been over a week, and I haven't heard a 
peep."

	Callisto was one of Jupiter's moons. But who or what was Cerelia? 
It seemed that every time one of her questions got answered, it ushered 
another one through the door.

	"I was on my way to tell the Queen about my readings," Harmonia 
said. "Should I tell her that you haven't heard from Earth, either?"

	Egeria nodded. "There's something else, isn't there, Harm?"

	Harmonia clenched her jaw. "I hope I'm wrong in my 
interpretations, but the stones indicated that Saturn may become 
involved."

	"Lady Kaia is the king's cousin, Harm. If there's trouble with 
Earth, it's only natural that Saturn would get involved. If the Glaive-
bearer were to awaken, don't you think that the oracle stones would 
give you more than just an indication?"

	Egeria was trying to be reassuring, but Ami felt her stomach do a 
little flip-flop at the mention of Saturn.

	"Maybe... Anyhow, I'd better go request an audience with the 
Queen. She may have a better idea of what's going on." Harmonia gave 
Egeria a wicked look. "You'd better go about your... business."

	"He is probably getting rather impatient," Egeria said. "But 
before we get down to... business, I'll be sure to inquire after the 
health of your Lord Jadeite."

	"He's hardly mine yet, but thanks!"

	The two girls went their separate ways. Well, well, well, thought 
Ami. She'd always suspected some sort of connection between Sailor Mars 
and Jadeite, but who would have imagined it would be this? She wondered 
if Rei had any suspicion. Certainly Minako and Makoto didn't, or Rei 
would never hear and end to the teasing. It would probably be best not 
to tell Rei anything about it. After all, the current Fire Senshi's 
tolerance for men was limited best, and knowing that she'd been 
infatuated with one of their first enemies would probably not be the 
sort of thing she'd like to hear.

	Egeria headed on down the hallway, eagerness carrying her faster 
and faster. She eventually reached a double door that was inscribed 
with writing that was half symbol, half picture. The door opened to 
Egeria's touch, and she walked in. A blond man, clad in a linen tunic 
and wearing Roman-style sandals, was bent over a malachite and 
zebrawood drafting table. An array of writing instruments hovered 
obediently at his side. He turned when he heard Egeria come in, and his 
blue eyes were merry with delight and mischief.

	He looked barely a few years older than when Ami had first seen 
him. Egeria crossed the room and into the man's arms. Once small enough 
to be carried in those same arms, she was now able to lean her head 
into his shoulder. Only Ami noticed the sound as the Shaper's 
concentration lapsed and the pens and pencils clattered to the ground. 
He reached up to cup Egeria's cheek in his palm, and he turned her face 
towards him.

	"How is my little water-rat today?" he murmured.

	"Wonderful, now that I'm here with you," she replied, tilting her 
head to accept his kiss. She moaned as his hand trailed down her spine, 
and she deepened the kiss, wrapping one hand behind his neck to pull 
him closer to her even as she pressed up against his body. His hand 
came to rest heavy and warm on the small of her back, while his other 
hand left her cheek and began to trace along the neckline of her dress. 
This was nice. This was *very* nice...

	Ami sat bolt upright in bed. Her face felt like it was on fire.

	Ikarus and Egeria...

	...were lovers?



9:45 a.m.


	Tuesday had been a waste of a day. Jason had gone with Seidou as 
she toured several orphanages and interviewed social workers who were 
involved in placing children in foster care, trying to find where Chiba 
had spent his first years as an orphan. Seidou had been adamant about 
checking even the most unlikely possibilities.

	"A *girl's* orphanage?"

	"No better hiding place, if you're trying to stash away a little 
boy. Hell, it worked for Achilles, didn't it? At least until what's-
his-face showed up with a load of goods and the girls went all ga-ga 
over the jewelry and fine silks. Achilles went right for the swords and 
armor and the jig was up. Classic example of testosterone poisoning, if 
you ask me."

	Classical mythology and stereotypical male behavior aside, the 
girl's orphanage turned up nothing but a couple of young teens who 
flirted outrageously with Jason, much to Seidou's amusement.

	Anyway, the day had turned up nothing. A blank. A big zero. 
Seidou's expression was so black and stormy when they returned to the 
station, that even a couple of members of the riot police had shrunk 
against the walls of the hall as they passed.

	When Jason and Keisuke arrived at the station Wednesday morning, 
Harada told them that Seidou had to speak to the attorneys involved in 
a case of hers that was going to trial on Thursday. From the sweat 
still beading the shift commander's forehead, Jason could make an 
educated guess as to how Seidou had reacted to the sudden change in her 
schedule.

	"Well, Wright-san," said Keisuke, "how would you like to take a 
look at the crime scene? Then, there's something I found in the photos 
of the crime scene that I'd like to get your opinion on."

	After one look at the stacks of files and computer printouts 
covering the two desks, Jason said he thought that sounded like an 
excellent idea.

	Twenty minutes later, the two detectives were heading north along 
the seacoast highway. The ocean was to their right. On the driver's 
side, Keisuke had to shield his eyes from the morning sun beaming in. 
Jason sat in the passenger side, but felt like there should be a 
steering wheel in front of him. He wished he could drive this stretch 
of road, not just because the twists and turns looked like fun, but so 
he could get a better idea of the family's last few minutes on this 
earth. Unfortunately, Keisuke refused to risk one of the department's 
cars to a foreigner who wasn't used to driving on the proper side of 
the road.

	Keisuke pointed out the turnoff to the scenic overlook. "We'll 
pull in there later so we can see where they pulled the car out of the 
water. First, though, we're going to go a few miles further south, then 
turn around so we can see the approach."

	Jason noticed the plural pronoun. "So this is your first time to 
see this, Takamori-san?"

	"Sort of. I've been through here plenty of times, but not as a 
detective. The scenery doesn't have quite the same quality under these 
circumstances," he said lightly. "If you wouldn't mind, please don't 
tell Akiko where we went today--this is one of her favorite drives, and 
I'd hate to spoil it for her, you understand?"

	"Do I ever," said Jason. "Mom knows I work Homicide, but her idea 
of murder is something you'd find in an Agatha Christie novel."

	"Elaborate poisons, hidden wills, inexplicably locked doors, and 
upper-crust house parties, right?" Keisuke kept his eyes on the road, 
and maintained their speed at an even 80 k.p.h., even through the 
curves and dips. He didn't even have to look at the tachometer, 
shifting at exactly the right time either by feel or by the sound of 
the car's engine.

	"Right. She doesn't want or need to know about the other stuff." 

	Jason often teased his mother about her taste in books. Her 
bookshelves were filled with genteel little paperback mysteries that 
she was always picking up at flea markets and yard sales. None of the 
books was any longer than 250 pages, and each one seemed to be part of 
one never-ending series or another. Each series was organized around a 
theme such as cooking, antique collecting, Egyptology, even the 
professional dog-show circuit. The police were portrayed as amiable 
clods, and the perky amateur detectives--who hadn't aged since 1970--
always managed to find some way to use their specialized knowledge to 
solve the crime. Jason thought of them as Harlequin romances, but with 
more death and fewer juicy bits.

	"In fact," he continued, "whenever she picks up a new mystery 
novel, she'll get about twenty pages into it and then flip to the end."

	"Doesn't that ruin the surprise?"

	"She claims she forgets what happens, but who knows. The reason 
she looks ahead is that she won't read any books where pets or children 
get killed off."

	Keisuke shook his head. "I wish I could be that choosy. About a 
month ago Seidou and I went to a crime scene--the case she's giving a 
deposition on right now, in fact--where this old woman had been 
killed."

	"Her grandson, right?"

	"Right. It was bad enough that he killed his own grandmother, but 
he also wrung her cat's neck, just out of spite, as far as I can tell."

	Jason shivered. It was only a cat, but still... Looking another 
living creature in the eyes, putting your hands around her throat, and 
watching as the eyes went glassy and dark? He wasn't even sure he could 
bring himself to kill someone who deserved it, even in self defense. 
"You have the right to remain silent," he thought, replaying Mike 
Kellerman's words in his mind. It was over three years later, and he 
could still hear that gunshot ringing through his dreams and his 
memories.

	"What was that?" asked Keisuke.

	"Huh?" He didn't realize he'd spoken Kellerman's words out loud. 
"Oh... something you said just reminded me of a case I was on when I 
first started working Homicide."

	Unlike Meldrick Lewis, Keisuke Takamori was able to judge when 
Jason didn't want to talk about something. Jason was glad that he was 
bunking with the Takamori family, and not with the irascible Seidou. 
Living with the Takamoris was almost like being home--not the house he 
lived in now, but home as it was for him during high-school, with his 
siblings always running in and out, yelled conversations between one 
person in the upstairs bathroom and someone else in the basement, 
between someone in the alley and someone in the living room, and his 
mom screeching at them to for God's sake shut up and let her have some 
peace before they hauled her off to the booby-hatch. When the Wright 
horde was young, their dad had read to them from Thurber's 'Fables for 
Our Time.' None of the younger kids remembered any of the subversive 
little tales, but whenever their mother started her usual litany 
against the chaos that ruled her home, Jake or Jason would invariably 
call out "Hey, Ma! Don't count your boobies until they're hatched!" and 
try to avoid being whapped in the back of the head with a mildewed 
dishtowel.

	"I take it this was a funny case, or did I miss something?" asked 
Keisuke.

	"Nah, I've just got a bad case of wandering mind today," said 
Jason. "For some reason I've been feeling a little bit homesick. No, 
I'm having a wonderful time--you and Akiko have been great," he said, 
when Keisuke started to apologize. He should have remembered that 
complaining in front of one's host in Japan wasn't a great idea. "It's 
fun to be with a large family again."

	"Ah," said Keisuke, nodding his understanding. "Well, I'm glad we 
can give you a taste of home. Do you want to turn around now, or go up 
another few miles?"

	"Let's go up just a little bit further," said Jason. "There's 
something about this cut brake-line that's been bothering me." He 
looked through the packet of papers that Keisuke had brought along with 
them. The victims' car was a 1984 Honda, a mini-wagon with all the 
options available at the time, and only a couple of years old when it 
went over the cliff. Automatic transmission, power brakes, and so on. 
Keisuke confirmed that it for a young couple, it could have been 
something of a financial stretch. It wasn't as flashy as, say, a Volvo, 
but that particular make and model was one of the nicer domestics of 
its day. Unfortunately, it was also one of the most popular as well.

	"Seidou-san's got inquiries in to all the garages and mechanics 
in the area, just in case any of them remember the car or its owners," 
Keisuke said, "but we're not counting on anything."

	"Nothing came up back in '87?"

	Keisuke shook his head. "She only had about a week, remember? She 
did put in a request for all registrations for owners of that make, 
model, and year. I've got the records back at the office."

	The pause was significant enough for Jason to get the hint. "I'll 
help you go through them when we go back," he said. 

	Keisuke smiled serenely. He pulled into a gas station, and waved 
off the attendant, flashing his badge when the man frowned at them. 
"So, Wright-san. Do you trust me?"

	"Trust you how? That's a loaded question."

	Keisuke laughed. "I mean, do you trust my driving? I want to take 
the drive back to the overlook at a.... greater than prudent speed, 
shall we say."

	"Fine by me," said Jason. "One of my brothers does some amateur 
racing. Just don't get insulted if I grab onto the door handle."

	The normally sedate Keisuke peeled out of the gas-station lot and 
swerved right into the sea-side lane of the highway, taking Jason so 
close to the guard rail that he gasped in surprise.
	
	"It's really not that bad," Keisuke shouted over the roar of the 
engine. "There's a decent straightaway before each curve." He braked 
and downshifted at the next curve, squealing the tires only slightly. 
"Keep your eyes open, Wright-san. The crime scene is just another three 
curves from here."

	Keisuke had them going nearly 100 k.p.h--about sixty miles per 
hour, if Jason had the numbers right. "So what were the conditions that 
night?" he yelled. He gripped the panic-handle over the door, not even 
bothering to conceal his nervousness. The guardrail would probably 
bounce the compact back into the road if they hit it, but the ground on 
the other side dropped off so steeply that it was small comfort.

	"Dry and clear," said Keisuke. "Plus, the crash happened at about 
six or so. In August there would still be plenty of daylight."

	Since the south-bound run took them mostly downhill, Keisuke was 
applying brakes as well as downshifting at each bend in the road. The 
car that Chiba's parents had been driving was an automatic. They would 
have had to rely on brake-power alone to slow their descent. He kept 
his eye on the road, trying to think himself through the driving 
process. Steep grade: ride on the brakes to keep from accelerating. 
Curve: apply the brake, then accelerate out into the next straightaway. 
Steady pressure through the next curve, then ride the brake on the next 
downgrade.

	They pulled out of the next curve, then a sudden jog to the west 
took them right to the curve where the Chiba's car had punched through 
the guardrail. The compact's shadow leapt out in front of them as they 
approached the curve, as if pointing directly to the spot. Jason could 
see the sunlight gleaming off of the cars parked at the scenic overlook 
on the opposite cliff.

	"I'm going to pull off at the overlook," said Keisuke. "You look 
like you've got an idea, Wright-san."

	"The beginnings of one, maybe. You said that it was still 
daylight when they crashed, right? Shortly before sunset?"

	They pulled into the overlook. A small gaggle of tourists were 
admiring the cliffs. One or two even snapped a photo, despite the fact 
that they were shooting straight into the sun. The two detectives 
walked up to the edge, well away from the other visitors.

	"Here's the thing," said Jason. "The brake line was punctured, 
not cut clean through. Brake fluid is highly..." he searched his mind 
for the Japanese for 'viscous' and drew a blank. "Well, it's pretty 
thick. You wouldn't lose it all at once. If the line was nicked even 
the day before, they might not notice a puddle on the garage floor. 
Since it was August, chances are that any puddles would be mistaken for 
condensation from the car's air-conditioning unit."

	Jason thought through the drive. "They were coming from the 
north, right? So they were going downhill most of the way. The driver 
would have to apply the brake a little bit at a time. Each time he hit 
the brake, he'd lose a little more fluid, and the brakes would get more 
and more spongy."

	"In other words, the failure would sneak up on him," said 
Keisuke. "But the warning light..."

	"All of the vehicle identification numbers were all removed, even 
the ones on the engine. Whoever did this knew cars. Disabling a warning 
light would be a piece of cake. I don't guess there's any chance that 
the wreck's still in impound after fourteen years?"

	Keisuke shook his head. "Already checked. All we have are the 
photos."

	Jason squinted into the sun. "Anyhow, they're going fast, losing 
brake fluid, and then they come up to this curve. The afternoon 
sunlight would be coming from over here," he said, turning and pointing 
behind him, "and hitting the driver straight in the eyes as he came out 
of that one bend into this curve. Because this overlook is straight 
across from there, he might have thought that he was on a straightaway 
and not seen how the road curved until it was too late."

	The two men were silent for a while. They rested their elbows on 
the rail, gazing into the shadows of the cliff. The sea continued to 
pound at its base, the white breakers climbing up the sheer rock wall, 
then drawing back to show the sea-smoothed rocks that sloped gently 
into the sea. It was a miracle that the recovery and forensics teams 
had been able to get to the wreck. Jason tried to picture the ropes and 
harnesses belayed from above, and the inflatable boats inching 
tentatively to the site, trying not add to the night's death-toll. He 
imagined a metal stretcher being lowered to the site to be loaded with 
its small, fragile cargo. Jason clenched his fists, his fingernails 
biting deep into his palms.

	He should have been there. The thought was so clear that for a 
moment he thought that Keisuke had spoken. Crazy, he thought. He wasn't 
even in Japan then. He only would have been, what, thirteen? But then, 
not so crazy, if what he suspected about Chiba was true. The trouble 
was, how on earth would he be able to speak to the young man without 
Keisuke or Seidou around? And then, what could he say to Chiba that 
wouldn't make him sound like a complete lunatic?

	But this time, he thought, it almost looked like Chiba recognized 
him. He wished he knew if that was a good thing or not. And then there 
were those girls. That could be a *big* problem.

	Jason knew one place he could go to get the answers he needed. 
The problem there would be surviving to do anything with what he found 
out.

	He wished he still had the option of going back home and 
forgetting about the whole thing. But then, he'd been trying to forget 
for the past three years with no success. He'd tried losing himself in 
routine. He'd even tried losing himself in a bottle. That might have 
worked, but he'd seen what had happened to Kellerman, to Gharty, to all 
the others who tried to self-destruct their way out of their problems. 
He knew better than that, he told himself, and actually believed it 
enough to pull himself out of a death spiral. That, and he was ordered 
to get himself to a counselor or hand in his badge before he hurt 
himself or someone else.

	You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free, he 
remembered. He hadn't been to Mass in nearly a decade, but every now 
and then the odd verse or line from the liturgy would pop into his 
head. Yeah, but what is truth? Pilate's snarky comment also came all 
too easily to mind. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to that 
question.

	For years he had almost managed to believe that the truth of the 
matter was that these memories, that all of these strange experiences 
were nothing more than a morbid fantasy, one part concussion, one part 
fever, and about twenty parts of what his therapist had labeled 
'misplaced guilt.' The visit to Chiba's apartment had blown that hope 
into a thousand tiny pieces.

	"It's the clothing that bothers me," said Keisuke.

	Jason snapped out of his introspection. Clothing? What clothing? 
Whose clothing?

	"Now it makes sense that someone could have gotten to the car 
beforehand to sabotage the brakes and remove the numbers," said 
Keisuke, "but how on earth could anyone have gotten down there to 
remove the license plates and the tags from their clothes?"

	Oh... The case. The whole reason they were out there in the first 
place. Jason mentally slapped himself in the face and returned to the 
task at hand. It figured that the one case he'd be assigned to on this 
little working vacation would be intimately tied to his own problems. 
Even so, he ran Keisuke's question through his mind, and the puzzle 
quickly grabbed his full attention.

	Approaching the scene by boat would be risky, even under ideal 
conditions. He recalled from Seidou's notes that the crime scene team 
had checked the area for any signs that pitons, ropes, or other 
climbing equipment had been used near the time of the crash. Nothing.

	"Good point. Thorough bastards, weren't they?" Jason said. "I 
don't see how that could have happened any time but after the fact. 
Someone was on the scene, and somehow had enough time to get down there 
without leaving a noticeable trace." He thought about that for a 
moment. "It could be that whoever did this already had someone down 
among the rocks, waiting. Either way, it would have taken some serious 
planning."

	Keisuke took a deep breath, then continued. When he spoke, Jason 
could hear the excitement in his voice. "There's something that was 
noted in the file, but that Seidou-san wasn't able to reconcile before 
they closed the case on her." Keisuke pulled out one of the photographs 
of the wrecked car. "The car did a straight dive into the shallow water 
over there," he said, pointing at the base of the cliff opposite them. 
"The front end was crushed like tinfoil, but the rear of the car didn't 
sustain quite as much damage. The fact that the car was mostly 
submerged kept it from catching on fire."

	"Allowing the kid to pull through in one piece," Jason said. He 
could feel a tremor deep in his chest, rising up, making him almost 
lightheaded. It's coming together, he thought. Somehow, we've found 
some pieces of this puzzle that fit together.

	"Barely. Someone was watching out for him, that's for certain. 
However, there was some damage to the rear of the car that didn't fit 
with the crash scenario. Seidou questioned it, but she was told that 
the damage had most likely come from a prior incident, since it was so 
minor."

	Keisuke showed Jason a close-up photo of creased and scratched 
sheet metal. "This is a detail of the right rear quarter-panel," he 
said. He ran his finger over some streaks and scratches. "See these?"

	Jason looked closely. The Honda's fender was dented and the 
maroon paint was abraded in streaks. In some places, the metal beneath 
showed through. Along several of the scrapes, he could just make out 
some flakes of dark green. 

	"Paint transfer," he said. "It looks like someone clipped them, 
or vice versa." They were the kind of marks you could get if you tried 
changing lanes on the highway, and someone was in your blind-spot. It 
could also happen if someone misjudged the width of a parking space. 
But that wasn't what happened, was it? The tremor was still building, 
the tension was about to break.

	"Here's what I'm thinking," said Keisuke. "There had to be a 
reason that this family was driving so fast, yes? A couple of teenagers 
might try to take this road at high speed just for kicks..."

	"But not someone with his wife and kid in the car, not unless 
they were in one hell of a hurry," Jason concurred. He and Keisuke were 
now thinking out loud as a unit, feeling their way towards an answer. 
"They were going fast, fast enough that failing brakes wouldn't have 
stopped them completely."

	"Yes. But they could have swerved to the right, and into the 
bushes on the inland side of the road. It would have hurt, but it 
probably wouldn't have been fatal. Now this is the photograph that 
caught my attention. I didn't notice it until yesterday."

	Keisuke pulled out another photograph, this time of the Honda's 
bumper. It was chrome and black rubber. It showed similar streaks and 
paint-transfer. Jason peered at the lines of color. It took him a 
moment, but he finally saw what Keisuke had noticed that morning.

	"Dear God. Let me see the picture of the quarter panel again, 
Takamori-san."

	He looked again at the photos. It wasn't as clear on the picture 
of the quarter panel, but now that he had seen the other photo, it was 
obvious. Normally, if one car clipped another, there would be one 
series of parallel marks where the two swapped paint. In the photos, 
however, the marks overlapped. All of the marks showed signs of the 
dark green paint. The other car hadn't bumped the Honda once, but 
several times.

	"Seidou-san's a brilliant detective," said Keisuke, almost 
apologetically, "but she's at her best when dealing with people and 
alibis. She'd be the first to admit that she needs help interpreting 
forensic evidence. I like to think that she'd have figured it out, had 
she been given more time on the case."

	"They were being chased," Jason said. His own voice sounded as if 
it were coming from far away. "The green car pursued them, and wouldn't 
let them pull over to the inland side of the road." He traced the marks 
on the quarter panel. "Each time they tried to pull away from the guard 
rail, the other car would pull up and to the side and block them in."

	"I imagine the driver would have been in a panic," Keisuke said 
softly. "Imagine, you're on a drive with your wife and child, and then 
you acquire a pursuer. All you can do is try to get away--it would be 
impossible to think of how you could evade the other car."

	"Then you notice that your brakes are going soft," Jason 
continued. His heart raced as he replayed the events as they must have 
been for the driver. Confusion, not just your own, but your family's as 
well. Shouts and screams of terror each time the other car scraped 
against yours, pushing you closer and closer to the cliff. Feeling 
yourself losing more and more control of the car as speed and 
centrifugal force made each curve a nightmare. Tramping on the brakes, 
feeling them catch less and less. Then, finally, the sun blinding you, 
keeping you from seeing the guard rail right in front of you until you 
were right on top of it. Instinct would kick in. You would slam on the 
brakes, try to swerve, but too late...

	They were silent for a while, each man looking across the 
turbulent water and through time to see a maroon car blast through the 
guard rail and silently plummet into the surf.

	"They were herded off the cliff," Keisuke said simply. "I can see 
how one might choose to block such a thing from one's memory."

	"We've figured it out, haven't we," said Jason, trying to bite 
back the thrill of success. This wasn't just a puzzle to be solved. Two 
people had died, and a young man was still living with the aftereffects 
of their murder. The other implications of the case were, for the 
moment, forgotten. "Wait 'til we tell Seidou about this!"

	Again, there was a moment or two of silence.

	"She's gonna kill us, isn't she?" Jason asked.

	"Uh-huh."


					#  #  #


Author's Notes: In chapter seven, Taiyouko has her day in court, Jason 
has his first encounter with a Sailor Senshi, ChibiUsa and Hotaru 
listen to some music, Setsuna procrastinates, someone watches home 
movies, and Venus and Mercury find something in a junkyard.

Note to Homicide fans: In terms of how Jason fits in with the old, 
familiar crew, more will be explained shortly. One thing I will tell 
you is that in the Sailor Moon universe, Jason was there with Lewis and 
Kellerman instead of Stivers during the infamous confrontation with 
Luther Mahoney.