Empire of the Sun
by Sophia Prester

Disclaimer and Author's Notes: If you don't know where these are by 
now, you haven't been paying attention.



Chapter Ten: Fallen Heroes


Saturday, July 7
12:20 p.m.


	"You don't think anything has happened to them, do you?" Sailor 
Moon asked for what must have been the third time. "They're almost a 
half-hour late."

	Mars muttered something about pots calling kettles black, but 
Moon was too worried to notice. Sailor Uranus just shook her head. 
Waiting for Mercury to show up with this 'Sailor Sun' girl was 
starting to feel more like waiting for Godot. Conversations started 
and stopped like unsatisfying spatters of rain on a hot, sticky day.

	Uranus saw that Neptune was fighting hard to stay awake. Her 
eyes would droop closed and her head would sink forward, then all of 
a sudden she'd jerk herself bolt upright. Uranus slid her hand under 
the flap of Neptune's collar and rubbed her back gently. The muscles 
felt as tight as steel cables.

	"It's okay, love," Neptune said. "It's been a bad week, that's 
all."

	Uranus mumbled something she hoped sounded encouraging. Neptune 
often got upset after encounters with her mother, but she usually got 
weepy and angry, not withdrawn like this. Besides, this had been 
going on for a few days now, and Uranus was starting to get more than 
a little frightened. Was she mad about the fight she'd had with 
Setsuna the other night? Was this sleep disorder of hers far more 
serious that she was letting on? She wished she could confront 
Neptune *now* and get it all over with, but this was neither the time 
nor the place, not with everyone sitting cheek and jowl like this.

	They were, of course, all in Senshi form. Given that this girl 
apparently knew where Makoto lived and would soon find out where Rei 
lived, it was a relatively useless precaution, but Uranus, Neptune, 
and Pluto had strongly seconded Luna's suggestion that they hide 
their civilian identities for now.

	Even if this girl turned out to be an ally, it was better to be 
safe than sorry, Uranus thought. Protecting the Princess was the most 
important thing in the world to her.

	She stole another glance at Neptune. *One* of the most 
important things, she amended.

	"It doesn't surprise me that they're running late," Venus said 
lazily. She was stretched out on the floor, with her hands under her 
head. "Sailor Gump doesn't strike me as the punctual sort, you know?"

	"Venus!" Mars, Saturn, and Luna all exclaimed at once, while 
Uranus hid her laugh with a fake cough.

	"What?" Venus demanded. "What did I say?"

	"Don't worry about it," Jupiter said. "If they met at the 
junkyard at noon, it'll take them a little while to get here."

	While Venus and Artemis bickered about Venus's latest bout of 
mouth-brain disconnect, everyone went back to waiting quietly and 
nervously. If this new girl was as flighty as Mercury and Venus had 
indicated, Uranus thought, she might have skipped out on them 
altogether. She'd voiced her opinion on that once already, and had 
immediately been denounced as a pessimist.

	Uranus preferred to think of herself as a *realist*, thank-you-
very-much. Goodness knows this group needed a few more of those 
around. Although Sailor Moon's kind heart had saved the day more 
often than not, Uranus knew there would come a time when sentiment 
would get them into more trouble than it would get them out of.

	"I hope this new Senshi knows something about the golems," 
Pluto said, finally breaking the silence.

	"Well, she certainly knew how to destroy them," Venus chimed 
in.

	"Yes, but I hope she also knows what they're after," Pluto 
continued. "I'm also hoping she has some idea about what's behind 
these dreams that some of you have been having. I don't like it that 
so many of you have started having past visions at the same time that 
the golems started showing up."

	Uranus felt Neptune shift next to her. "Setsuna, are you 
certain you don't remember anything about these golems?"

	"Honestly, don't you think I'd tell you if I did?"

	Uranus couldn't look Pluto in the eye. They still hadn't gotten 
back on even ground after their fight the other evening. She wanted 
to believe that her friend was telling them everything, but Uranus 
still couldn't help but feel that she was being misled, somehow. 
Almost instinctively, Uranus let her hand drift so that she could 
touch Neptune. Neptune had shifted to one side, however, and Uranus 
connected with nothing but empty air.

	"I haven't had any visions about the golems as such, but I keep 
thinking that I should know what they are," said Mars. She got up and 
pulled a sheet of paper from her desk. It was the image Mercury had 
captured of the golems' mark. She handed it to Usagi. "I could swear 
that I've seen this before--and in *this* life, too--but I can't 
remember where or when."

	Moon agreed that it looked familiar. "I also know that I 
*don't* like it," she added. She passed it to Jupiter, who just shook 
her head and passed the paper on to Venus.

	"Doesn't ring a gong," Venus said.

	Saturn looked at it and shivered. "If I never see it again, I 
wouldn't be too upset. I don't think I ever saw it anywhere but on 
the golem, though," she said before handing the paper to her foster 
parents. Neptune studied it briefly then said she didn't recognize 
it.

	Uranus studied the sign a bit more carefully. Its lines ran 
thick-to-thin as in calligraphy. It was basically an off-kilter 
triangle with slightly bowed sides. At the left-most corner, two 
edges intersected slightly rather than meeting at a tidy point. A 
small, roughly Z-shaped swoosh overlapped the uppermost corner, and a 
large dot hovered just above the upper bar of the 'Z'.

	Tuxedo Kamen, who was sitting immediately to Uranus's left, 
studied it at the same time. "You know, it does look kind of 
familiar," he said after a moment. "I agree with Usa-ko--it doesn't 
exactly bring back any happy memories." He laughed bitterly. "It's 
not often that *I'm* the one who gets to remember things."

	Uranus shrugged. The symbol looked innocuous enough to her. 
Still, she hadn't seen it under the kind of circumstances Saturn had 
encountered. "I hope you guys can figure it out soon," she said to 
Tuxedo Kamen and the others. "I'd like to find out who's behind these 
things before we get to the usual world-ending crisis."

	Nobody disagreed with her.

	Mars's crows started raising a fuss, and Mars looked at the 
door. "They're here."

	Everyone was instantly on the alert, at once eager and 
apprehensive about the newcomer. 

	Just as the suspense became unbearable, Mercury walked in, 
leading Sun by the hand. Although Mercury was smiling, the smile was 
a little too bright, and looked as if it had been ironed on.

	The girl behind her kept looking all around her, her mouth open 
in stupefied wonder. When she saw all of the girls looking straight 
at her, she gave a little 'eep!' of surprise and ducked behind 
Mercury. Unfortunately, she didn't let go of Mercury's hand. From the 
way Mercury's eyes widened, Sun's actions must have wrenched her 
shoulder rather badly.

	Mercury just kept on smiling, but her teeth were tightly 
clenched together. "Our trip here wasn't *too* eventful," she finally 
said.

	What she didn't say communicated volumes about their trip to 
the shrine.

	Sun continued to stand behind Mercury, like a child hiding 
behind its mother's skirts when being introduced to a stranger. Given 
that Sun was half a head taller than Mercury, it didn't really work.

	"Sailor Sun, I'd like you to meet the group. Everyone, this is 
the newest member of the Senshi team," Mercury said carefully. She 
sounded exhausted. And what was this about the girl being a member of 
the team? Uranus shook her head.

	Mercury stepped to the side so that Sun stood in full view of 
the group. Sun blushed bright red and seemed to find the floor 
extraordinarily fascinating.

	Uranus looked her up and down, trying to size her up. It was 
about time they had a redhead in the group. Aside from the hair--
which would probably come down to her knees if unbraided--Uranus 
found little to interest her. Oh, Sun was easy enough on the eyes, 
but only in a purely academic sense. The only way she could ever be 
attracted to this girl was in the same way she might be 'attracted' 
to a painting by Botticelli. No, not even *that* much, come to think 
of it.

	Tuxedo Kamen, too, looked a bit puzzled. Uranus had caught him 
casting an appreciative glance at the other girls upon occasion, but 
that was only natural. He may have been engaged, but he certainly 
wasn't dead. Well, not at present, anyhow.

	Uranus leaned over to him and whispered, "Looks--ten. Sex 
appeal--zero, right?" and had the satisfaction of having him turn 
bright red *and* of seeing Moon give him a withering look.

	Neptune nudged her and smirked. "Are you being mean again, 
love?" she said softly.

	"Just doing my job." In her opinion, Mamoru needed to loosen up 
before he snapped in two. Her fit of mischief passed, and she 
returned to studying the newcomer. "I'm not ready to trust her, are 
you?"

	Neptune shook her head, just enough for Uranus to notice. 
"Let's see how this plays out."

	Uranus reached out and squeezed her partner's hand 
affectionately. That felt like more words than they'd exchanged in 
the past two days together. 

	Sun finally stepped forward and bowed awkwardly. "I'm very 
pleased to meet you all, and thank you for inviting me to your home," 
she recited. She looked up at the group and a big smile spread across 
her face. "Oh! The kitties are here, too!"

	The kitties certainly were there, and they were checking out 
the escape routes. Chibi Moon cradled Diana to her protectively. 
Luna, however, took a deep breath and got up from Moon's lap and 
walked across the table towards the new Senshi.

	"We're quite pleased to meet you too," Luna said. "I only wish 
this were under happier circum..."

	Sun squealed with delight. "You *can* talk!" In one swift move, 
Sun snatched Luna up and very nearly squeezed the life out of her. 
She rested her cheek on the top of Luna's furry head. "Mother said 
the Moon cats could talk, but I've never ever seen a talking cat 
before." She looked solemnly at the others. "The cats at home are 
mean. They bite."

	Luna looked as if *she* was sorely tempted to bite. Sun had 
both arms tightly wrapped around the cat, right under her forelegs. 
Luna's body and hind legs dangled, and it looked *very* 
uncomfortable.

	"Why don't you put Luna down," Mercury said gently, as if 
talking a jumper down from the thirty-second floor. "I don't think 
she can breathe when you hold her like that."

	Sun dropped Luna like a scalding hot porcupine. The cat landed 
on all four feet with a bone-jarring thump. Luna stalked back over to 
Moon, stiff-legged and ears back, then groomed herself roughly in an 
attempt to regain her composure.

	Tuxedo Kamen nudged Uranus. "It's the eyes," he whispered. 
"That's what's wrong."

	He was right. Sun's eyes were unusually dull--not glassy, but 
almost dry. Uranus had to look away after a moment because her own 
eyes were starting to itch in sympathy. How could the girl stand it? 
Or was the dullness only a trick of the light?

	Mercury urged Sun to sit down. "Why don't I introduce you to 
everyone, and then we..."

	"I can show you all my crystal!" Sun said eagerly. "It can tell 
me who you are! It's fun!"

	"Yes, it's very interesting," Mercury said, "but we have a lot 
to talk about." Her voice trailed off when she saw Sun's expression 
grow morose.

	"Please?" she begged. "It won't take long. I *promise*. Mother 
said I should show it to you. It's really pretty, and Mother *said* I 
could."

	Mercury looked desperately at the rest of the group. It was no 
help. No one wanted to be the one to disappoint the girl.

	"Okay," Mercury said. Any exasperation she may have felt was 
blown away by Sun's brilliant smile.

	Uranus nodded in approval. Sun did look much better when she 
was smiling. It was funny to see her literally quivering with 
excitement.

	"She seems harmless," she whispered to Neptune. "It's early to 
tell, but I don't see how she could be hiding anything."

	Neptune nodded. "True. I also wonder how much this mother of 
hers knows, or what she wants. We still should watch what we say."

	Uranus agreed. The two of them knew better than anyone else 
that being a Senshi didn't necessarily mean being on the same side.

	Meanwhile, Sun had somehow pulled an egg-sized crystal from out 
of nowhere. It didn't shine like the Ginzuishou, at least not until 
Sun held it out to each Senshi in turn. The way she thrust it out 
eagerly reminded Uranus of the dog she'd had growing up. The silly 
thing had a beloved and thoroughly disgusting tennis ball that it 
would shove in her hand when she least expected it, hoping against 
hope for a game of catch.

	Each time the crystal drew near a Senshi, it turned a different 
color. Sun would think very carefully, then name the Senshi that went 
with that color. 

	Uranus was fascinated by the display. Although the colors were 
familiar, she had never really noticed their qualities before. Then 
again, when they transformed, they were usually too worried about an 
enemy to look closely at the light display that went with each 
transformation. For Mercury, the crystal turned a bright, shimmering 
blue that was so pale it was nearly colorless. Venus turned the 
crystal an insanely rich orange that she could almost taste. Mars's 
red glowed deep and steady like a stoked furnace, while Jupiter's 
subtly dappled green was like sunlight through a canopy of leaves.

	When Sun came around to her, Uranus was a little surprised at 
the color the crystal turned. When she transformed, the mystical 
winds that encircled her were pale gold. Her skirt and henshin pen, 
however, were dark blue. So, according to the others, was the sigil 
of Uranus that appeared on her forehead. The crystal was cobalt blue 
flecked with gold, almost like a piece of lapis lazuli, but the blue 
was clear, not opaque, so that she could see flecks of gold shining 
deep within. Like a fragment of the heavens, she thought. 

	"I don't know what that color means," Sun admitted sheepishly. 
"I keep getting the rest of you all mixed up."

	Uranus introduced herself and was rewarded with that brilliant 
smile. The girl was sweet, true enough, but Uranus dreaded the 
prospect of having to go into battle with her. She'd likely be as 
dangerous to her friends as she was to her enemies. 

	Neptune turned the crystal the expected bluish-green, but the 
color rippled and showed flecks of foamy white and a shimmer of 
sunlight, like the ocean viewed from on high. Uranus wondered what 
her lover thought of her color. The look of misery and longing in 
Neptune's eyes startled her. 

	Uranus reached out and took Neptune's hand once again. She 
squeezed gently, and Neptune responded by clutching her lover's hand 
so hard that Uranus nearly cried out. Neptune's grasp relaxed a 
little, but it still would have taken a crowbar to pry her hand free 
of Uranus's.

	Uranus sighed. There was nothing like having a silent, intense, 
and intimate discussion in front of nine of your closest friends. 
Hopefully, Neptune would be in the mood to continue this little 
'talk' once they got home.  

	Before she could catch herself, Uranus wound up venting her 
frustration on Sun. "Is there a point to all of this?" she demanded. 
"Can we get on to business?"

	To her amazement, Sun actually *cringed*. Uranus fought to keep 
her resolve, even though she felt like she'd just kicked a puppy. The 
looks the other Senshi were giving here weren't helping any, either.

	"I haven't had my turn yet," Saturn pointed out, giving Uranus 
her patented Glare of Death. She turned and smiled at Sun. "We've had 
a lot to worry about lately. She didn't mean to be rude."

	Sun smiled joyously, as if Uranus's outburst had not even 
happened. She held the crystal out to Saturn.

	The crystal turned a smoky, softly glowing purple, like the 
autumn sky at dusk.

	"Pretty..." Moon whispered.

	Saturn seemed pleased. She thanked Sun, who nearly turned 
herself inside out in sheer delight.

	Sailor Moon turned the crystal a warm silver, much like the 
Ginzuishou, but turned down several notches in volume and intensity. 
Wisps of rosy gold, like clouds before sunset, swirled through the 
silver. Chibi Moon inverted the color combination, turning the 
crystal a golden pink marbled with silver. Both mother and daughter 
were enthralled with the display.

	Sun was puzzled when they introduced themselves as Sailors Moon 
and Chibi Moon, but then just shrugged it off and moved on, to 
everyone's relief.

	The crystal didn't even react to Tuxedo Kamen. Sun got up from 
her seat and actually held the crystal out to him at several 
different angles. Venus and Saturn were both struggling not to laugh, 
and when Sun shook the crystal and slapped it several times as if it 
were a malfunctioning television set, Jupiter was struck with a 
sudden and violent coughing fit.

	"I'm not really a Senshi," Tuxedo Kamen said. He didn't seem 
the least bit worried by the crystal's non-reaction. In fact, he was 
one of the ones who was trying not to laugh. "That's probably why it 
doesn't work."

	Uranus noticed that Mars, far from being amused, was focusing 
intently on the whole incident. When she heard Tuxedo Kamen's theory 
about the crystal, she frowned and looked very much as if she wanted 
to say something. Moon didn't look very happy, either. The 
explanation must have been good enough for Sun, however, for she 
moved on to Sailor Pluto.

	Nearly everyone, including Pluto, gasped as the crystal turned 
utter black. True, that was Pluto's color, but the utter absence of 
*any* color was unsettling. This was a blackness so concentrated that 
it hurt the eyes. Sun yanked the crystal back to her chest, and the 
black fled from the crystal in a pulse of red-violet light. Uranus 
recognized the color from Pluto's Dead Scream attack.

	"I didn't mean to scare you," Pluto said with the gentle smile 
she usually reserved for Hotaru and ChibiUsa. "I'm Sailor Pluto."

	This did nothing to reassure Sun.

	"You're supposed to be at the Gates of Time," Sun said in a 
terrified whisper.

	Pluto took a deep breath, "Yes, that may have been true once 
upon a time..."

	"You're supposed to be at the Gates of Time!" Sun repeated, now 
sounding more offended than scared. 

	"...but things are very different, now." Pluto continued 
calmly.

	Sun's forehead wrinkled in thought. "But Mother *said* you were 
supposed to be at the Gates of Time." She cocked her head to one 
side. "I don't understand." She looked pleadingly at Mercury.

	Everyone sighed in near unison. This was going to be a *long* 
afternoon.



12:23 p.m.


	Taiyouko parked the car in the visitor's lot of the nursing 
home. She looked around. "This doesn't look right," she said.

	Jason jerked awake. "We're here?"

	"Yep. Have a nice nap?" She looked at the gate that led to a 
path that wound up through a cedar and maple covered slope. The gate 
was a circular opening cut into a stone wall, like something from an 
old Chinese garden. A discreet sign told them that this was indeed 
the place, and that they had come outside of regular visiting hours. 
That didn't apply to them, as far as Taiyouko was concerned. "Come 
on, let's have a look at the place."

	The lot was deserted. No employees' cars, no loading dock, and 
no place for the ambulances that would inevitably be summoned to a 
place like this. She pointed it out to Jason.

	He just shrugged. "There's probably an access road around back. 
This is just the scenic route, I guess."

	He had a good point, Taiyouko thought. A peaceful walk up a 
picturesque path might make people feel like they'd stashed Granny or 
Gramps in a serene, harmonious place. Still, she would have felt 
better if there were some signs of life out here.

	Five minutes later, she was regretting that she had ever 
thought that.

	"What is it with all of the bugs out here?" she griped, shooing 
away another swarm of gnats and mosquitoes. "It's not this buggy back 
in Tokyo."

	"That's because the smog has killed them all off," Jason 
snapped. He slapped at his neck. "That's the fifth time I've been 
bitten! I'm going to need a blood transfusion by the time we get up 
there."

	That, and a nice cold glass of water, thought Taiyouko. It had 
been warm this morning, but by the time they'd reached Kamakura, it 
was downright *hot*. Either that, or she was having another hot 
flash. And how long was this stupid path, anyhow? She told herself 
that it would be downhill going back, but that didn't help her *now*. 

	Her mood was already pretty frayed as it was, and it didn't 
help that the lurker was getting more and more agitated about being 
out here alone with Wright.

	It. Can. Wait. Taiyouko informed it. I'm on a case, and as long 
as he's here with me, I'll know what he's up to. I don't want him 
sneaking off to go find Chiba.

	He is responsible for a terrible crime, said the lurker. He 
must be brought to justice.

	Taiyouko rolled her eyes. He was stupid, and there's no way in 
hell he should still be on the force, she conceded, but it's hardly 
the worst thing I've ever heard of. Besides, that whole incident is 
just a little bit out of my jurisdiction, don't you think?

	This is not about *now*, the lurker indicated. This is about 
*before*.

	A memory returned to Taiyouko, a memory of a soot-stained 
palace and the sounds of war. Her throat automatically tightened.
	
	Oh, please, thought Taiyouko, even as she coughed. He's a dirty 
cop, not Genghis Khan. And what the hell do you mean by *before*? 
He's from Baltimore, and that place looked like the Taj Mahal. 
There's a *slight* difference. If this is going into past life 
memories and all that other crap I don't believe in, then forget it. 
I need to know if he's a danger *now*. I don't give a rat's ass about 
your *before*, not unless it has to do with his connection to Chiba 
or if you think he's a danger to the Takamoris.

	Wright turned to look at her. "Are you all right, Seidou-san?"

	Taiyouko nodded. "Swallowed a bug." There was no way she was 
going to tell him that she was having a knock-down, drag-out argument 
with the voices in her head.

	Normally, she could just punt this alien voice right back into 
her subconscious, but today, something was different. The lurker had 
grown stronger, somehow. Starting with that weird impromptu lecture 
about the Amanawa Shrine, it had started trying to elbow her aside--
and it was starting to succeed.

	We are one and the same! the lurker insisted. I'm not trying to 
take you over--I *am* you.

	Forget it! Taiyouko shot back. How can you be me if you're 
talking to me?

	It was a poor comeback, and she knew it. The petulant voice 
she'd gotten to know over the past few days was starting to swell to 
the raging fury that had driven her into the hospital fourteen years 
ago. She didn't know how much longer she could keep up this internal 
show of bravado.

	By the time they finally reached the top of the path, Taiyouko 
was out of breath, out of sorts, and out of patience. The lurker was 
pressing at her mind, demanding to confront Wright about the smoke 
and war of its lone coherent memory.

	The path opened onto a carefully tended garden. There were 
benches here and there so that visitors could sit and visit with 
their aged relatives in a peaceful, harmonious setting. The top of 
the tidy, ultra-modern nursing home was just visible over a screen of 
oleander and ornamental grasses. The path snaked through the garden, 
keeping visitors a prudent distance from a picturesque but steep 
drop-off. Presumably the path would lead them to something resembling 
a main entrance. 

	Taiyouko glared at the well-groomed traditional garden. She 
wanted to get this interview over with, not waste time looking at the 
scenery. This walk had probably been designed to put the walker in a 
more serene frame of mind, but today its end result was an extremely 
tired and aggravated Taiyouko. If the lurker had been smart, it would 
have laid off harping at its host, but it was more concerned with its 
own agenda than Taiyouko's rapidly deteriorating temper. In the 
meantime, Taiyouko also couldn't help stewing about the dirty little 
secrets she'd found in Wright's records.

	All of these factors worked together in a rather unfortunate 
manner, so that the planned question of "do you know any Russian?" 
came out more along the lines of:

	"So, why don't you fill me in on what happened to Luther 
Mahoney?"

	Even before Jason turned to look at her, face gray with dread, 
she was cursing herself for a fool. This could have waited until 
*after* they'd spoken to Renko. 

	"What do you know about Mahoney?" was his hoarse, bitter 
question. "How do you know that name?"

	Still, now that the question had been asked, there was no way 
she could cram that particular genie back into its bottle. She sent 
the lurker a brief mental flash of her sealing it in a jar and 
dropping it into an active volcano. Thanks to its nagging, she now 
had to follow through on this to the end--whatever that might be.

	She took a deep breath, and started reciting the facts as 
calmly as she could. "I know that your good buddy Michael Kellerman 
shot and killed the late and unlamented Mr. Mahoney during a 
particularly intense encounter, and that you and your partner Lewis 
were witnesses. I also know that there were some pretty big questions 
about what happened, and that you and Lewis seemed to have some 
serious doubts about your answers--assuming you could agree on what 
those answers were. It seems, too, that a lot of other people had 
some doubts as well. Some folks in Internal Affairs were of the 
opinion that Kellerman killed Mahoney in cold blood, and that you and 
Lewis let him get away with it."

	Jason said nothing. He only continued to stare at her, his 
expression unreadable.

	"You and your pals decided to take justice into your own hands, 
didn't you?" she went on, the anger in her voice rising as she spoke. 
"One drug dealer against three policemen. You go to arrest him, he 
resists, he gets shot in the scuffle. Simple as simple can be. Only 
in this case, there's some indication that Mahoney had already 
dropped his weapon when Kellerman fired at him. Internal Affairs does 
a little investigating, and eventually the detectives get off scot 
free--except *this* time there's a problem. The victim's--no, the 
*criminal's*--sister decides to stir things up."

	Jason had clearly had enough. Taiyouko was impressed. It had 
taken him longer than she thought to go on the defensive.

	"Mahoney was responsible for *dozens* of deaths! And I'm not 
just talking about the ones from the drugs he sold, either," he said, 
just barely holding in his anger--at her or at Mahoney, Taiyouko 
couldn't guess. He looked away, his teeth clenched in disgust. "We 
could put Mahoney in jail, but not for long. He had good lawyers, he 
had God knows how many judges in his pocket, and even when he was 
behind bars, that didn't stop his operation. We weren't just out 
there to catch criminals, we were patrolling a damned war zone! You'd 
think we were in Colombia or something. It wasn't just about catching 
criminals--it was about keeping a city from bleeding to death from 
inside! You're in no position to judge!"

	He turned and strode up the path.

	"I guess that also explains the two drug dealers you put into 
the hospital during your long and stellar career!" she called after 
him. She didn't want a justification, she wanted an admission of 
responsibility, damn it! "If you don't have the proof to settle it in 
court, just use your fists, right?"

	Jason kept walking towards the nursing home, not saying a word. 
Taiyouko almost had to run to keep up with his long strides. She went 
on with her rant, panting for breath between bursts of anger.

	"It can't work that way, Wonder-boy! I'm no idealist, but I do 
know that much. I also know that you and your little friends screwed 
up *big time* when you killed Luther Mahoney. How many cops wound up 
dead because you and Lewis decided to cover for Kellerman's little 
act of vigilante justice? Three, was it? That's a pretty big load of 
guilt to be carrying around."

	Jason stopped and pivoted in front of her. She barely kept 
herself from crashing into him.

	"Do you think you're telling me anything I don't already know?" 
he asked, his voice frighteningly even.

	"So, you do have a conscience after all," she snapped, 
desperate to maintain the offensive position. Standing this close to 
him, she was more aware than ever that Jason was a foot taller than 
she was, and in *much* better shape than she was. They were also not 
all that far from the edge of a cliff.

	The lurker had worked itself into such a frenzy that it had 
practically tied itself in knots. Apparently it was just now coming 
to grips with the fact that its host body was not exactly in fighting 
trim.

	Why, oh why couldn't she have kept her mouth shut? This lurker-
-this whatever it was--was *so* going to pay for this.

	It took her a moment to realize that Wright had not answered 
her. In fact he was staring dumbfounded at something behind her.

	Was he trying to distract her? Trying to get her to let her 
guard down?

	"Listen, Wonder-boy..."

	A cast iron bench plowed into the ground an arm's length from 
where she stood, leaving a deep gash in the earth. If it had hit her, 
she would be very much an ex-Taiyouko.

	Taiyouko wheeled around. Two...things...were coming straight at 
them. They were shambling creatures made of earth, and even though 
they shuffled and limped, they were moving *fast*. One of them 
reached down to pick up an ornamental rock. Before it had even 
touched the rock, Taiyouko had her gun out of her shoulder holster.

	Less than two seconds passed, but Taiyouko saw them go by in 
slow motion as she aimed and fired as if it were the most natural 
thing in the world.

	Two shots. The thing's chest exploded into dust and gravel, but 
it kept reaching for the rock. The third shot hit it square in the 
strange symbol on its forehead.

	The creature fell apart in a shower of dirt.

	Three more of the things had emerged from the tree-line 
separating them from the nursing home, making four in all. They 
fanned out and started approaching, moving as if to surround the two.

	She looked to see if Jason was freaking out as badly as she 
wanted to herself. She was almost pleased to see that his face had 
gone white with shock. 

	"That mark..." He shook his head slowly, as if denying what he 
saw. "Michel..." He shuddered and collected himself. "Aim for the 
mark!" he yelled. It took her a moment to realize what he'd said. In 
his panic he had switched back to his native language. "Don't bother 
with the chest shots!"

	She nodded grimly. That meant that her first two shots had been 
wasted. The third bullet had been the one to destroy the thing. That 
left her with three bullets and four monsters. Great.

	Two of them were now in range, and it took less than a second 
for her to dispatch them both. That left two. She would just have to 
hope that they could somehow manage to outrun the last one.

	She was just taking aim at one of the remaining creatures when 
the other picked up a stone lantern and hurled it straight at the 
detectives.

	Taiyouko's own instinct to duck collided with the lurker's 
instinct to pulverize the missile, and she froze.

	Jason thrust out a hand to block the lantern. Taiyouko expected 
to hear snapping bone, but the lantern ricocheted violently off of 
empty air and just missed hitting the creature that had thrown it.

	She turned to Jason. He'd damn well better have an explanation 
for this...among other things. 

	Jason now looked...different...in a way she couldn't pin down. 
The changes to his clothing were unmistakable, but she couldn't 
figure out what had changed about *him*. For some aggravating reason, 
her brain kept trying to tell her that the man standing next to her 
was *not* Jason Wright.

	"What's going on? What happened to your clothes?"

	"I'll explain later! You get the one by the path!"

	Her English was good enough that she caught his meaning easily 
enough. She nodded and waited until she could get a clear shot at the 
other. It should have taken less than a second to get rid of it, but 
the damned thing kept moving back and forth, as if anticipating her 
aim. 

	Jason was concentrating on the creature that was coming towards 
them. He then turned to her and smirked. He'd calmed down enough to 
recover his Japanese. "Want to see a magic trick?" he teased.

	Crackling, blue-white light gathered around his hand and then 
he literally *threw* the energy at the creature, as if pitching a 
fastball.

	Instantly, Jason doubled over and screamed in agony. He grabbed 
Taiyouko's shoulder--*hard*--to keep from falling to the ground. He 
had his other hand clutched over his left eye. The creature kept 
coming.

	"Get...it..." he whispered, even as Taiyouko fired her last 
bullet into the creature's head.

	"You okay, Wright?" she asked. She couldn't remember the last 
time she'd heard someone scream like that.

	He tried to nod, and he swallowed convulsively as the motion 
seemed to set off another wave of pain. "Getting better," he croaked. 
She could see a faint trickle of blood coming from one ear. He also 
had a burst blood vessel in his left eye.

	"Get better faster, Wonder-boy. There's still one more ugly-
bugly out there."

	"Can...can you...take care of it? *Damn* my head hurts!"

	"Sorry. Out of ammo. Think we can outrun it?"

	"Doubtful." He straightened up some more and hissed in pain. 
"Besides, where would we run *to*?"

	Taiyouko shook her head grimly. The damned things had managed 
to back them towards the drop-off. If they dashed to the right, they 
*might* be able to make it into the woods, but Taiyouko had no doubt 
that the thing could tear through the trees as if they were so many 
toothpicks.

	Even now, the last creature was shambling towards them, 
covering the ground far more quickly than it should have been able 
to. Taiyouko stooped down and frantically scrabbled around for a 
rock. She knew she could hit anything she aimed at. Maybe she could 
throw something hard enough...

	Before she could do anything, something grabbed her by the back 
of her jacket and yanked her clear off the ground. Her yell of 
surprise quickly turned into a scream of terror as she realized that 
she had been flung over the edge of the cliff.



12:25 p.m.


	To say that the explanation of Pluto's story wasn't going over 
well would have been a gross understatement.

	Trying to get a new idea into Sun's head was like repeatedly 
hurling yourself headfirst into a brick wall in the hopes that *this* 
time, all of your subatomic particles would align just so and you 
could pass right through without incident.

	Sun simply could not comprehend that there were at present 
*two* Sailor Plutos--one isolated at the gates who would die a 
thousand years hence while the current 'pre-incarnation' of that 
Pluto wandered about Tokyo at will--and the whole notion of another 
Tokyo that didn't yet exist was so incomprehensible that it nearly 
drove her to tears.

	Artemis really couldn't blame the poor girl for being confused. 
Trying to sort out all of the time-travel paradoxes and philosophical 
implications of Pluto's situation was enough to make *his* brain 
hurt.

	Sun's bouts of frustration were both disturbing and fascinating 
to Artemis. The girl's agitation over what she saw as a huge 
infraction of the rules was clear for all to see and hear. She kept 
repeating her mantra of 'but Mother *said*...' while plucking at the 
hem of her skirt. At one point, Mars made the mistake of gently 
suggesting that Mother might not have all of the facts, and Sun got 
up and started pacing, hugging herself tightly and muttering 
something under her breath. When it came to body-language, Sun's 
emotions came through loud and clear.

	What the others couldn't pick up, Artemis knew, was the girl's 
scent.

	It never changed.

	There were some elements to her base scent that reminded the 
cat of Tuxedo Kamen, and others that reminded him of Jupiter and 
Saturn. Sort of a bright-earthy-metallic smell, but without Saturn's 
note of burning leaves, or Jupiter's scent of earth after a spring 
rain. There were other things missing, too. Had she been a feline, 
Artemis would have assumed she'd been spayed, but even without the 
female note that all the other girls shared, her scent should have 
shifted as her moods changed.

	Luna and Diana both looked uneasy as well. Luna's ears were 
turned back, and she kept shifting position in Moon's lap. Artemis 
hoped that Sun hadn't hurt her too badly with that death-squeeze of 
hers. Diana was staring intently at the new Senshi as if the newcomer 
were a mouse, all the while lashing her tail back and forth. Artemis 
wondered which of the two would be the first to voice her doubts of 
Sun once the girl had gone home. Probably Diana. She was turning out 
to be a double-distilled version of her mother, Artemis thought 
wryly.

	Mercury, bless her heart, was the one who solved the problem 
for them.

	"Why don't you ask your mother about it when you get home?" she 
asked. "I'm sure she can explain *everything.*"

	"Okay!" Sun said brightly. She was smiling again, as if the 
whole issue was forgotten. Too bad that everyone else was now 
completely frazzled.

	Artemis hoped they'd have a chance to meet Sun's mother, 
whoever she was. She'd probably be able to answer certain questions 
more ably than her daughter.

	"The first time I saw you was the party for the Princess," Sun 
said. "My crystal told me it was you, so I watched, and I saw the 
presents, and the cake, and all of the candles. I remember the cake 
was pink--I like pink but I like yellow better--and there was ice 
cream..."

	Everyone was smiling, mostly in genuine amusement at Sun's 
innocent sense of wonder, but Artemis could hear the grinding of 
teeth behind some of those smiles, and Mina's tension was almost 
enough to drive him from her lap.

	Sun was sweet, true, but this was starting to feel like the 
time he'd gotten his teeth glued together with caramel, or had eaten 
too many jelly beans at one sitting.

	"...I really really wanted to go over and see you all, but 
Mother said I had to wait. I never get to go to parties," Sun said, 
dropping a hint with all the subtlety of the Three Stooges in mid 
pie-fight. Then, just in case they didn't get the hint: "I wish *I* 
could go to parties like that."

	"Sailor Sun, didn't your mother ask you to tell us anything 
when you got here?" Mercury asked gently while a flurry of conspiracy 
went on in the background. Chances were it wouldn't be long before 
Sailor Sun got a 'Welcome to the Team' party, complete with a yellow 
cake. "On the way here, you said you had something very important to 
tell us, remember?"

	Sun snapped to attention. "Oh! I forgot," she said shyly. 
"Mother said to tell you that there's an enemy that's after you and 
wants to kill all of you."

	"I'd say that qualifies as important," someone muttered.

	"The enemy uses golems," Sun went on. It sounded as if she was 
reciting something she'd only just memorized. "Golems are evil. You 
have to hit golems *right here*," she continued, tapping the 
sparkling white opal on her tiara.

	"We know that already," Mars said, earning a stern look from 
Mercury. 

	The interruption flustered Sun, and she had to start over, 
right from the bit where this mother of hers said to warn them of a 
new enemy.

	Chibi Moon and Diana were having an urgent, whispered 
conversation while all this was going on. Hotaru was leaning in 
close, and she nodded in agreement a few times.

	"The enemy wants to destroy the Senshi and keep the..." Sun 
paused, her eyes squinched shut in concentration, "...the-Moon-
Kingdom-from-being-put-back-together." She looked at the others 
anxiously. "Did that sound right?"

	"Sounds good to me," Mina said. "Well, not exactly *good*, like 
'oh, what good news' or anything, but I haven't heard of the 
goblins..."

	"Golems," Sun said.

	Jupiter was struck with another coughing fit.

	"Whatever. I haven't heard of them attacking anyone besides 
Senshi."

	"Did your mother say *why* the enemy wants to stop the Moon 
Kingdom from rising again?" Artemis asked. "Did she tell you the 
enemy's name?"

	Sun played with the end of her braid for a moment or two. "I 
don't know. Mother says they're from before, but I don't know what 
that means," she admitted glumly. "She told me but I don't remember 
things that good, but I *do* remember she said that you were in 
trouble and that I had to help you. That's my job," she said, now 
beaming with pride. 

	"So...you're going to help us fight this enemy? As in *you* 
fighting alongside *us* in battle? That kind of help?" Uranus asked. 

	Sun smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Mother said that the 
kitties could help teach me how to fight!"

	Artemis gritted his teeth to keep himself from groaning out 
loud. Sweet Serenity on a pogo-stick, there had to be *some* way he 
could get himself out of this! He didn't want to end up getting loved 
and petted and hugged and squeezed to death. 

	He looked over at Luna--her eyes had gone glassy with shock.

	"We would be honored to help you," Diana managed to choke out. 
She did a good job of making it seem reasonably sincere.

	"I have a question, if you don't mind," said Tuxedo Kamen. At 
Luna's suggestion, he had introduced himself only as a friend and 
ally of the Senshi. Sun seemed to accept that well enough. "You keep 
mentioning your mother. Who is she?"

	Sun blinked, and cocked her head to the side. The emptiness in 
her eyes seemed to fit her expression for once.

	Artemis decided to help out. "We've never met your mother, but 
she sounds pretty wonderful." He was rewarded by another of Sun's 
billion kilowatt smiles. "We'd like to hear more about what she looks 
like, what she does, that kind of thing. Would you mind?"

	Sun thought it over for a little while. "She's very pretty and 
she's got all kinds of jewelry she lets me play with if I'm good. She 
teaches me and helps me not to be so stupid all the time. Even when I 
mess up, she's always nice to me." She smiled. "If I do good, she 
brings me lots of magazines and videos."

	There followed a brief tangent wherein Sun rattled off the 
names and main characters of her favorite video series, but Mercury 
was able to steer her back on course. It soon became clear that Sun's 
upbringing had been *very* sheltered. Her entire universe consisted 
of Mother and the other people who lived at Mother's house--the 
gardener, the cook, the chauffeur, and two or three others she 
referred to as 'Auntie This' or 'Uncle That'. She seemed fond of them 
all, even the gardener, who was always yelling at her for playing in 
the flower beds. People who read to her or played games with her 
received the highest praise. The only member of the household she did 
not like very much was a young man who ran errands for Mother.

	"He keeps saying I'm just a dummy, even though Mother has told 
him not to," she said. Her lips were primmed together, and when she 
spoke, it was with an almost comical air of dignity. "I don't like it 
when people laugh at me."

	The effect, however, was anything but funny. Artemis felt like 
an utter heel. He hadn't been laughing out loud at Sun, but he knew 
that once she left, he and Mina would have been among the first to 
comment on some of Sun's more eccentric behaviors. Several times 
already he'd bitten back a sarcastic comment or a peal of laughter. 
He hadn't actually *done* anything or *said* anything, and it wasn't 
as if they knew Sun well at all, but he still felt ashamed. Judging 
from the looks of shame and remorse that rippled through the group, 
he was not the only one who felt this way.

	"We'd love to meet your mother," said Mercury. "Do you think 
you could take us to visit her?"

	"It isn't safe right now," Sun said, automatically. Once again, 
it sounded as if she was working from a script. "The enemy can't know 
she's here. She said she will see you soon. When it's safe."

	When she was finished, she looked around the group expectantly, 
but no one was sure of what to say. Uranus and Pluto both looked 
angry and suspicious. Neptune was nodding off to sleep. Mars, 
Mercury, Jupiter, and Luna all seemed puzzled and concerned, while 
everyone else was faintly worried. What did Sun mean by 'not safe?' 
Would this enemy be after Sailor Moon next?

	Safe or not, they needed to meet this 'Mother' sooner rather 
than later, thought Artemis. Mina's dreams about the past had been 
coming thicker and stronger with every passing night. He knew it from 
the way she tossed and turned in her sleep, and from the few things 
she'd told him about in the morning. What she described made little 
sense, but occasionally he felt an unpleasant shiver of recognition.

	Sun's expectant look had turned to one of pure dejection.

	"Did I do something wrong?" she asked meekly. "I just told you 
what Mother told me to say."

	Mercury, Moon, and Chibi Moon were quick to try to comfort the 
girl, but something Sun said to Sailor Moon caused Mina to draw in a 
sharp breath between her teeth.

	"What is it, Mina?"

	"I just realized that she keeps calling Sailor Moon 'Princess'. 
I *know* we didn't say anything about Serenity," Mina whispered. "I 
think she knows a lot more than she knows she knows, you know?"

	It took Artemis a few seconds to parse that, but he found that 
what Mina said made perfect sense.

	"I'm thinking I should follow her home and see what's what," 
she continued.

	"Not on your life!" Artemis hissed. "Not until we talk it over 
with the others, at least." 

	"Spoil-sport."

	At Moon's prompting, Tuxedo Kamen produced one of his roses 
from out of thin air. Sun yelped with surprise and delight at the 
magic trick, and her mouth fell open into a perfect 'O' when he 
silently offered the rose to her.

	She reached out hesitantly, jerking her hand back a couple of 
times as if expecting the rose to be snatched away from her, or 
perhaps recalling past scoldings for being too grabby.

	"Go on," Sailor Moon said. Her eyes sparkled with good humor, 
even as she laid one hand possessively on her fiancˇ's thigh. "You 
can take it home with you."

	"I can *keep* it?" she asked.

	Sailor Moon's gentle laugh was like a chorus of silver bells. 
Artemis stared in shock. For a moment, she had sounded--and looked--
very much like Queen Serenity. Had Moon been growing towards this and 
he simply hadn't noticed? The change seemed so sudden to him that it 
was as if it had happened overnight. He was tempted to ask Luna about 
it, but decided that no, he'd rather not be chided for being an 
unobservant idiot.

	"Of course you can keep it!" the future NeoQueen said. The 
'silly' at the end of that exclamation remained carefully unsaid. 
"It's a present."

	With that Sun grabbed the rose, nearly crushing it as she 
jammed her nose into it to enjoy the fragrance.

	"I can really keep it?" she asked one more time, just to be 
sure.

	Tuxedo Kamen nodded, but didn't look up. He was dabbing at his 
hand with a handkerchief. Sun had yanked the rose from him before he 
had a chance to let go, and the thorns had scored his palm. If Mina 
was right about having a cracked rib, then this was the second injury 
Sun had inflicted on a member of the team.

	Artemis tried very hard to avoid thinking about sayings like 
'third time's the charm,' or 'things always happen in threes.'

	"You know," said Saturn, "even if we can't meet your mother 
yet, you could still come and spend time with us, if you like."

	"Saturn and I were going to the Tanabata festival tonight," 
Chibi Moon added. "Would you like to come along?"

	"Would she like to *what*?" Artemis demanded. In the history of 
bad ideas, this one would clinch a spot in the top ten.

	"Are you sure that's wise?" Luna asked in a tone of voice that 
indicated that the whole idea of taking Sun to the festival was about 
as far from wise as it was possible to get. They'd probably have to 
put her on a leash to keep her under control in a whole park full of 
bright, shiny objects.

	"Maybe we should talk about this a little more," said Tuxedo 
Kamen. He flexed his hand, stretching the newly healed skin. "Sun's 
mother might not want her to go out with people she's just met."

	The warning came too late. The offer had been made, and there 
was no way to take it back. The girls were already in mid-chatter, 
talking about everything they were going to do at the festival. Sun's 
eyes and her smile grew wide as Chibi Moon and Saturn described the 
fireworks, and the food, and all of the games to be played and prizes 
to be won. For some reason, she seemed especially entranced by their 
description of the goldfish-catching game.

	The two youngest--well, youngest *seeming*--Senshi had been 
diffident about the festival when asked about it earlier, but they 
were now giggling with excitement and anticipation. Artemis 
remembered his first couple of years with Mina, and how her behavior 
constantly flip-flopped from unusually mature to flighty and child-
like. He hoped that Uranus and Neptune were up to the challenge of 
their next year or so with Saturn. He and Luna should probably sit 
down and have a little talk with them.

	"I suppose I had better go along too," Mercury said with a 
warning glance to Chibi Moon and Saturn. She asked Rei for a piece of 
paper and a pencil, then scribbled a brief note. She handed the note 
to Sun. "Give this to your mother when you get back and tell her that 
you've been invited to go to the Tanabata festival in Ueno park. If 
she says you can go, meet us here at fi--when the sun is right about 
there," she finished, pointing to a spot a few degrees above the 
horizon. "You'd better show up as you are, so we can recognize you. 
Then you can de-transform and we'll go to the festival together."

	Again, Sun cocked her head to the side. "De...transform? I 
don't get it."

	"Oh, *you* know," said Chibi Moon. "Like this!" She and Saturn 
de-transformed, their Senshi uniforms spiraling apart into pink and 
purple ribbons as their everyday clothes faded back in and the magic 
that hid their identities was dismissed.

	Moon slapped her hand to her forehead in disgust, and Diana 
gave Chibi Moon the 'we're going to have a talk about this' look she 
had learned from her mother. Pluto's eyes were wide with shock, while 
Uranus looked like she was about to have a stroke.

	"If she saw us at Usagi-san's party, she already knows what our 
real forms look like," Hotaru pointed out. This did not seem to make 
Uranus any happier.

	"Wow..." said Sun. Her open-mouthed amazement turned to 
embarrassment a second later. "Mother hasn't shown me how to do that 
yet," she admitted when Hotaru asked her what was wrong.

	All of the people in the room exchanged worried glances. Did 
this mean that she was Sailor Sun all the time? Surely she had had 
*some* sort of life before becoming a Senshi, right?

	Mercury laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Don't worry about 
it. If you can't de-transform, maybe you could tell us your real 
name."

	Artemis grinned as only a cat could. Mercury was sweet, but 
that didn't mean she couldn't be sneaky.

	Sun just cocked her head to one side and looked at Mercury in 
bewilderment. 

	Mercury tried again. "Who are you when you aren't Sailor Sun?"

	At this, Sun looked indignant. "I'm *always* Sailor Sun," she 
stated.

	"Hoo-boy," Mina whispered.

	"You can say that again," Artemis muttered.



12:35 p.m.


	"I can explain everything!" Jason cried. "Honest!"

	Taiyouko just...*looked* at him. Then, slowly, she turned her 
gaze downwards, as if making careful note of the six inches of empty 
air between their feet and a large number of very sharp rocks. Next, 
she looked up, taking in the sight of the large mud-man standing at 
the top of the cliff. It had just tried to hit them with a stone 
Buddha.

	She looked back at Jason, one eyebrow raised in a way that he 
had come to loathe.

	"Oh, really?" she asked.

	Jason licked his lips nervously. This was not making his 
headache any better. "Okay, I'm not entirely sure where Clayface and 
company came from, but I've got an idea or two."

	"I'm sure you do. Why don't we start with how on earth someone 
who might be an accessory to murder ended up getting recommended for 
a high-profile and notoriously exclusive program?"

	For a moment, Jason stood in silence, his brain refusing to 
process the fact that Taiyouko had just said what she had. He'd been 
expecting something along the lines of 'why are we standing in mid-
air,' or even--although this was expecting a lot from Taiyouko--
'thank you so much for pulling me out of the way before that creature 
bashed my head in *and* for miraculously keeping me from plummeting 
to my death.' He started counting to ten.

	Taiyouko crossed her arms over her chest. "Well?"

	Jason kept on counting past ten. "Seidou-san, we just got 
chased over a three story cliff by a pack of mud monsters. 
Personally, I'd be more interested in *that* than whether or not I'm 
a dirty cop."

	"Well, you're not me, are you?"

	"Thank goodness for that!"

	Taiyouko didn't say anything. She simply stood there, face 
calm, eyes unblinking.

	"Listen--I think you're missing the big picture here." Jason 
pointed up. The remaining mud-man continued to stare down at them. 
The mark on its forehead glowed dully. "Cliff. Us. Up there. Big 
scary monsters. Scary, *homicidal* monsters. Us. Down here. Hovering. 
I don't know if you happened to notice, but *somehow* we ended up not 
dying in a very messy fashion!"

	"So?" Taiyouko continued to wait. She was trying to tap her 
foot in impatience, but working against empty air made it difficult. 
"Who sent you here, Wonder-boy?"

	"What makes you think I was *sent* anywhere?" Jason yelled. His 
head was clanging. He wanted to change back to normal and go off 
somewhere and be unconscious for several hours.

	"Oh, nothing except that there's no way you could have 
qualified for this exchange program. I also noticed that you seemed 
to recognize Chiba and his little harem. Then there's the fact that 
Harada-san obviously wanted you assigned to the Chiba case. It took 
me a little while to figure *that* one out."

	Jason remembered the high-voltage phone call Harada had 
received right before he'd been introduced to Taiyouko and Keisuke, 
and how he'd been taken aback by Taiyouko's suggestion of the Chiba 
case, as if he'd been expecting an argument.

	"Maybe I *was* sent," he said, almost to himself.

	Taiyouko cupped one hand behind her ear. "What's that? A 
confession?"

	"Would you stop with the witch hunt already?" he snapped. Any 
second now, she'd probably ask him if he was now or ever had been a 
member of the Communist Party. "If anyone pulled any strings, it sure 
as hell wasn't me! All I know is that about three weeks ago, Colonel 
Barnfather..."

	"According to your record, that's the one you called an 
asshole, right?"

	"I was exhibiting considerable restraint at the time," he 
snarled. He thought about a Taiyouko-Barnfather confrontation, and 
his mood improved slightly. He could probably make a mint by charging 
admission for something like that. "*As* I was saying, about three 
weeks ago, Colonel Jackass tells me that I've been selected for this 
exchange program, and he pretty much tells me that I *have* to go 
because it's an 'honor' and all that happy horse-shit."

	Something finally clicked. "Hey! How the hell did you get my 
file, anyway?"

	Taiyouko tapped the side of her nose and smiled sweetly. 
"That...is a secret."

	"I hate you."

	"Oh, how will I ever heal my breaking heart," she said flatly. 
"Now, I can buy the fact that someone sent you here without your 
knowing about it. That doesn't mean that you don't have your own 
agenda for this little trip. You obviously know something about Chiba 
that you're not letting on, and that means that you're withholding 
information that could be crucial to *my* case. Why don't you tell me 
what's really going on here?"

	There wasn't even an implied 'or else.'

	He closed his eyes. There was no way she would believe him, 
right? He would just have to make something up... No, she'd see 
through that in a New York second. Of course, she *was* currently 
suspended about six inches above the ground, so maybe she'd be open 
to something else a wee bit out of the ordinary.

	"Fine. Here's the short version." As he spoke, he ticked off 
the points on his fingers. "One: About three years ago, I vanished 
for almost three months after what was probably the most hellish year 
of my entire life. Two: I reappeared in a Navy hospital with no 
memory of what had happened during those months. Three: A few months 
later, after a remarkably unpleasant near-death experience, I not 
only recover *those* memories, but find out that I've gone all 
Shirley MacLaine and have memories of a centuries-long past life. 
Four: I find out that this past life is connected to some serious 
shit that went down in Tokyo a little over three years ago. Five: I 
see this Chiba Mamoru person, and the bits of me that think I lived 
millions of years ago recognizes him as the reincarnated king of the 
entire planet, *and* recognizes his girlfriends as a pack of super-
soldiers from the Moon!"

	Taiyouko blinked a couple of times, then continued to stare at 
him coolly. 

	"You don't believe a word I've said, do you?" he said smugly.

	"Actually, I believe pretty much *everything* you just said, 
but that's not important right now," Taiyouko said in a surreally 
casual, matter-of-fact tone. 

	Jason nearly lost his telekinetic hold on both of them. He 
really ought to find a spot to put them both down safely.

	Taiyouko pulled a box of Pocky out of her pocket and tipped a 
clump of melted-together sticks into her hand. "Unfortunately for 
you, that little spiel of your raises more questions than it 
answers," she said between bites, "and besides, I want to hear more 
about this Luther Mahoney thing I read about in your files."

	It was now Jason's turn to stare. Working with Taiyouko was 
forcing him to re-think his definition of single-minded.

	"That can wait until we get back to Tokyo, though." Taiyouko 
had to twist her head at an uncomfortable angle to look up at the 
creature still waiting at the top of the cliff. Jason rotated her so 
she could look up without making him feel as if he'd got a crick in 
his own neck. "Before we do that, we need to get rid of Evil Gumby up 
there."

	"How are we going to do that?"

	She waved at him dismissively. "You're the one with the super 
powers. You tell me, Wonder-boy."

	"Would you *please* stop calling me that!!!" At this rate, this 
headache would never go away. "Anyhow, you saw what happened when I 
tried to use my 'super-powers!' I damn near gave myself an aneurysm!"

	She looked at him. "Feeling any better, now?"

	He scowled at her.

	"You know, your left eye is all red on one side," she said, 
tapping at the corner of her own eye. "It looks nasty."

	"Try imagining how it feels!" he said. Taiyouko wouldn't be 
winning any Miss Sensitivity contests in the near future, that was 
for sure.

	For a moment, he had the feeling that she was conducting some 
sort of intense internal debate. When she spoke again, she actually 
seemed a little embarrassed. "Is there any chance you could turn off 
whatever it is that's trying to make me think that I'm looking at 
someone other than you? Also, I don't know why, but that getup you're 
wearing gives me the willies."

	That was nothing compared to how *he* felt about it. He'd only 
transformed two other times since regaining his memories about the 
past. Each time he transformed back, he felt a burning desire to take 
a long, hot shower and scrub his skin raw. Unfortunately, that did 
nothing for the stain left behind in his soul.

	"I'd have to put us down, first. I couldn't do this when I'm 
myself."

	Taiyouko thought for a moment, looking first up at the 
creature, then down at the rocks below them. "It's not hurting you to 
keep us up here, is it?"

	He still had a pounding headache, but he'd had worse on 
mornings when he didn't have coffee. "It would be easier if you were 
twenty pounds lighter," he snapped.

	"*That* was uncalled for," she stated. "Now stop being snippy 
and mojo me up a nice sharp rock about this big," she said, 
indicating something about the size of a softball.

	At once, a chunk of rock floated up to within Taiyouko's reach.

	"Is there anything *else* I can do for you?" he asked sweetly. 

	"Take us up to about two feet below the edge of the cliff." She 
looked up at the golem, and didn't even blink when they started 
moving upwards.

"You know," he said, "you seem to be taking this all just a 
little *too* well. You know, not freaking out, not asking a lot of 
questions, and so on. This isn't, like, normal in your job or 
anything, right?"

"Never seen anything like it," she admitted. "Slow us down a 
bit. I don't want that thing guessing what we're up to. Believe me, I 
do have *plenty* of questions, but those can wait until we get back 
to my apartment." She glared at him out of the corner of her eye. 
"You're not off the hook yet, Wonder-boy."

"Oh, goody..."

"Then, after you've answered all my questions to *my* 
satisfaction and gone on your merry way, I'll put on a couple of 
Beatles albums, pour myself a glass of Chardonnay, and have a nice, 
quiet nervous breakdown in the comfort of my own home. Does that make 
you feel any better?"

"Not really." He wondered what tack her questions would take. 
Oddly enough, even though he dreaded rehashing everything with this 
unpleasant little woman, he felt a strange sense of relief as well. 
He'd hated going to confession back in his church-going days, but he 
often felt better afterwards.

They continued to rise slowly upwards. Jason hoped this 
wouldn't take too much longer.

"Stop here," she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am. Anything you say, ma'am." He knew he was being 
cranky. It felt *good* to be cranky and rude and nasty. He'd nearly 
died. His head hurt. He was tired. Taiyouko had just taken him on a 
forced march through one of the rougher sections of Memory Lane. 
Being cranky kept him alert and focused, when all he really wanted to 
do was curl up in a little ball of misery and self-pity.

That part could wait until he got back home and into bed.

The creature leaned forward, and started to reach down to pick 
up another missile.

"Let's see if this works." She hurled the rock with more force 
than he would have expected, and it clipped the creature right on its 
triangular mark.

The creature didn't fall into dust like the others, but it 
froze in place. Half of the mark had been obliterated by Taiyouko's 
rock.

"Well, that should keep it from going after anyone else," 
Taiyouko said smugly.

"Do you want another rock?"

"Nah. This actually works out for the best. I want to come back 
here--with more ammo--and get a better look at this thing. I also 
want to get some samples of the others to take back to the lab."

"They're not going to be able to do much about magic," Jason 
pointed out.

"True, but Watanabe could probably tell me what these things 
are made out of. She may even be able to tell me where they were 
made. Wait--don't take us up," she said as Jason began to lift them 
again. "Take us back down and we'll find another way back to the car. 
Whoever sicced these ugly-buglies on us might still be up there."

Jason agreed gratefully, and transformed back to himself the 
instant they touched ground.



12:37 p.m.


	Kakos looked up from the sports section and peered out through 
the trees. The shouting and shooting had stopped, and everything was 
quiet. He wondered if someone from the nursing home would go outside 
to check, or would call the police about the sound of gunfire. That 
lady cop's gun had taken care of four golems rather nicely. Kakos 
made a note of that. The golems had been proofed against any magical 
attacks those two might have had, but the woman hadn't used magic, 
had she?

	He wondered if putting a Kevlar plate in front of the golems' 
markings would interfere with the magic that animated them. He'd have 
to ask Herself when he got back.

	Kakos picked up his backpack, and rummaged until he found his 
cell phone. His fingers were too thick and stubby to punch the number 
keys, but the only buttons he ever needed were speed dial and 'send'.

	"'Ullo? Yeah--'s me," he said. "The two we were expectin' 
showed up right enough... No, I don't know fer sure. 'S why I'm 
callin'. I'm about ta go out an' check... Lissen, ya still got them 
phones tapped? Did they call the police... yer kiddin' right?"

	Kakos's already broad mouth spread even wider into a jagged-
toothed grin.

	"'Oliday. Right... Well if that ain't precious... Tell 'Erself 
I'm gonna do a bit of recce and make sure that the targets went splat 
as per directions."

	As he turned off the phone, he grinned a grin that just about 
split his head in half--literally.

	The idiots in the nursing home *had* called the police, but 
only to report that juvenile delinquents had been setting off 
firecrackers in celebration of some holiday or another. That meant he 
should be able to wander out into the garden with no trouble at all.

	Holiday, eh? That meant there could very well be a whole bunch 
of plump and innocent little kiddie-winks wandering around all alone 
and unsupervised tonight. Kakos put those thoughts aside for a 
moment. He had work to do.

	Calmly, he folded up his newspaper and put it in the pack. He 
pulled out a thick cigar--a nice fat Cuban--and sliced off the end on 
one of his teeth. The gold lighter he used to light it had been 
lifted from the remains of a prosperous businessman.

	Smoking was a tricky pleasure, since the acid in his mouth ate 
away the tobacco almost as quickly as the flame. Still, he had 
developed a method of smoking a cigar that got him the most bang for 
his buck. Not that he ever paid for anything, of course. 

	He checked the damage in the garden. Four of his five golems 
were piles of dirt. No problem there. People expected to find dirt in 
a garden. The broken statuary would be taken for the work of vandals. 
The iron bench was half-buried in the ground, so he pulled it out and 
put it back roughly where it had been before. Tipping over statuary 
was one thing, but the police might begin to wonder about vandals who 
could fling large pieces of cast iron like javelins.

	The remaining golem stood at attention at the edge of the 
cliff. Kakos chuckled and took another puff of good Cuban smoke. The 
stupid things usually just stopped where they were when their jobs 
were done. 

	"Y'can stand down, now," he told it.

	The golem did not move.

	Kakos's eyes narrowed. Simple golems like this were incapable 
of ignoring their master's commands. He walked over and leaned out at 
a dangerous angle over the edge of the cliff so he could look at the 
golem's face. The mark had been partially erased.

	"Bugger." 

	He then looked down, and cursed again as he saw only rocks, and 
not two piles of blood and broken bone. He'd heard the scream 
dopplering out as someone had gone over the cliff. He was sure of it. 
It certainly looked as if the golem had chased them at least this 
far.

	Somehow, against all probability, the targets had escaped. 

	Kakos whistled and an entire squadon of mosquitoes buzzed out 
of the woods and gathered trustingly on his hand. They were rewarded 
with being smashed to a pulp and scraped into a styrofoam coffee cup.

	Kakos put a lid on the cup and carefully stashed it in his 
backpack.

	Herself would have to hear of this. She wouldn't be happy, but 
she'd rather know *now* than have these two crop up later when she 
didn't expect them. At least he could produce the blood samples his 
mosquitoes had brought him. There was a lot of old, powerful magic 
one could do with blood. 

	He then reached out and unceremoniously wiped the rest of the 
golem's mark away. It instantly collapsed into dust. 

	Kakos took a long pull on the last of his cigar and steeled 
himself for what was bound to be an unpleasant phone call. A few 
seconds later, he was on the line with headquarters. "'Ullo? Me 
again... Lissen, I needs ta talk to 'Erself. We got ourselves a bit 
of a problem 'ere..."


#  #  #

Author's notes:

There's really not that much to say, here. In the second part of this 
chapter, you'll get to hear more of Jason's story, and you'll also 
get to see what kind of mischief Sun can get up to at a street 
festival. There are some other twists and turns, but I can't say too 
much just yet. I'm deep in the middle of working on the second part 
of this chapter, chapter 11, and chapter 12 right now. Things are 
going to start happening thick and fast for a while, so be warned...

By the way, I loves me some feedback. (hint, hint)