Blessed
Prologue 2: Girl From Manhattan
By Libby Thomas
Based on characters owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Naoko Takuechi
Series idea by Little Michi, based on A Duet of Pigtails by Libby Thomas

Plastic chinked like chimes, the tinkle of small slabs falling on one another. "I'll match you and see you up ten." Smoke wafted in the small Manhattan apartment as a group of people hunched around a small table, the foursome committing to the ritual they had every Thursday evening.

Tommy Carrizola looked around then dropped his cards in disgust. "Fuck, I fold. Ted?"

Ted Andrews looked at his cards, and gave the sort of smile that gave people pause. Running his hands through his thick mane of hair, he slapped the cards down on the table, grinning wickedly. "Okay, read 'em an' weep: I got two pair. Bill?"

Bill Drake stroked his beard, dark eyes peering at the cards held in his honey-brown hands. With a bassoon huff, he groaned and set the cards down on the ground. "Well, looks like I'm not going to win this week's pot. So much for taking the wife somewhere nice for dinner on Friday." Finally, he turned to the last person at the assembly. "Well, don't keep us in suspense, okay? You threw the chips, now play the cards!"

Eyes the color of deep maroon stared at the other three at the table. There was a slightest flicker of a smile followed by the drag of a cigar as the cardsharp took a puff, the blue smoke of the Cuba Libre special wafting in the nicotine-laden room. Finally, with an imperious action, a slender hand laid down the cards in a decidedly spectacular motion, commenting, "Royal Flush, boys. Hand over the cash." Without even waiting for a response, the person stretched over languidly and grabbed the wads of bills and coins as they replaced the poker chips on the table.

Ted put out his cig. "I don't know how the hell you do it. God, you should go play in Atlantic City or something."

The winner said in an even voice, "I tried, believe me. Let's just say that I'm not very welcome in the Trump Marina anymore." The person took another drag from the cigar, adding, "Maybe in another lifetime, I coulda been one of the Great Hustlers, but that's not gonna happen. Not now, anyway."

"Sez you," Tommy answered. "Well, I gotta get home before the missus complains. Need a lift home, Bill?"

Bill smiled. "If you would. Marcy has the car tonight, since she has Parents' Night at the school." Rising from his seat, Bill looked at Ted and the fourth person and said, "Don't keep up too late, people. Remember that we have to be at the briefing first thing in the morning." With that, Tommy and Bill left the apartment, leaving the last two in the place alone."

"So what do we do now?" Ted asked.

The last person laughed and grinned, slipping arms around Ted. "I say we go to bed, hon'. Maybe if we wake up in time, we'll make it to the meeting so that Cap'n Diamante doesn't chew us both out." Changing voice, a decent (if higher octave) imitation of their boss was done. "Meio, Andrews, you two are cops, and while I don't care if you two are sleeping together, I do care if you bother to make it to morning briefing on time!"

Ted laughed, squeezing her closer. "Tsu, I swear I don't know what I'd do without you!" Having said that, he planted a kiss firmly on her lips, which she hungrily returned. The pair kept at it for several minutes, not caring about anything other than the love they shared. Finally, Ted yawned and said, "Look, we gotta be up in a few hours. Let's get to bed. I mean sleeping, too."

Setsuna Meio, better known as Tsu to her friends on the New York Police Department, merely smiled at her boyfriend. Flicking her eyes at him coquettishly, she responded, "Why, Theodore Andrews, I don't know what you mean." But rather than prolonging his torture, she merely joined him in their bedroom.

* * *

A few hours later, as she got up to stretch, she took a look out the window and gazed at the New York skyline, the silhouette marked by the bright lights of the Big Apple and the ambient starlight. Sitting down on a chair by the window, she looked briefly at the man she loved, then at her own reflection in the mirror. It had been forever, it seemed, since her world had changed, and even longer since that distant memory of a woman that had once been Sailor Pluto. However, for the past decade she'd been Tsu Meio, a woman that had been born in Japan but seemed more akin to a local. In fact, were it not for her name, she would have been considered American--which she technically was, due to the citizenship she gained three years ago.

As to how she'd become a cop, during her first year of living in New York while attending college, she helped the local police track down a burglar in campus who'd been using magic to hide his tracks. Not knowing that her success was due to the experience of magic, the officer on-scene made an overture to the 24-year-old woman that she should consider changing her major to criminal law and join the force. Missing the need to fight for what was right and knowing she could make a difference she took that advice; two years later, Officer Setsuna Meio was the newest member of the New York City Police Department. In the seven years since, while she wasn't the scourge of every criminal out there, she'd earned herself something of a rep on the streets as someone not to cross.

Stretching over she grabbed a picture off her dresser, smiling and gazing at the image shown within the frame. It was an image of Setsuna dressed in opulence and Usagi in a bridal gown on the latter's wedding day, the two friends holding each other dearly and being happy. Since then, Usagi had given birth to the girl that would have been Chibi-usa in another life, and from what she could tell, Usagi and her family were happy. Now a shop owner in Nerima, Saotome Usagi was thrilled to be living free of the constraints of her old life.

It was a good thing, too: Tsu didn't keep much track of the old gang, but what she read wasn't pretty. The Senshi were now fragmented, no longer at their peak and considered now a part of the problem rather than the solution. Additionally, the new Sailors Moon and Pluto were far weaker than the originals; from what little she was able to glean about these two girls, one of them the same age as Hotaru, was that they had to be rescued often. Case in point was a situation two weeks ago that Setsuna didn't have much info on, most of the Senshi were defeated, and if it weren't for Ami's brains the world would have been lost. According to the headline of the _New York Times_ that morning, it was simply a massive crime problem handled by the mysterious Sailor Senshi, but Tsu knew better--it had been luck, pure and simple, that had saved the day.

In retrospect, it was better this way, she yawned, for the future was far different than they had ever imagined it to be. No, Tsu concluded as she put the picture away and returned to bed, this future was not for the likes of who Usagi and Tsu had been, and considering how it was turning out, maybe it was for the best.

* * *

"Okay, listen up, listen up, listen up!" Within the confines of the squadroom, the officers present were getting their daily briefing. The room was the clichid conference room you saw in the movies, with the dingy room and various papers taped to the far wall. Against that same wall was a table with a coffee machine that served the typical brown sludge and pastries from the local bakery; the sludge was mean and nasty, perfectly suitable for cops on the morning beat, while the pastries actually were good for a change, which meant that the owner of the shop made them and not one of the assistants.

Standing at the podium, facing the rows of uniformed and plainclothes cops, Captain Alfonse Diamante was just like everyone else in his room. Many were from other places like New Jersey, though some of them came from other countries like Japan or even other planets--like California. But regardless where his boys and girls came from, they all bled blue and they all did their damndest to make sure things worked. None of those departmental scandals here that plagued many of the other precincts; the job here was to get the job done and save lives. That's what they did. "Now listen up, boys and girls, we've got an interesting one that the night shift found. If it's what I think it is, we got a case of World Class daffodils running around here. Ruskin, hit the projector." The lights in the room dimmed, and the projector next to the podium went on, projecting the Power Point display against the screen behind the captain.

What it showed was not pretty, even if the scene in question was a seedy strip bar, rumored to also be a known drug joint and prosti hangout. Well, no one was doing that here any more, because one had to be alive to do that. People, in various conditions and pieces were frozen solid, as though they'd been dipped in liquid nitrogen; while others were frozen in blocks of ice. A few truly unlucky ones had been stabbed several times, but there was no sign of anything that had punctured them. While the presentation was being shows, Alf looked at his officers, seeing the various expressions. Some were disgust, some shocked illness, while those on his four best officers--Drake, Carrizola, Andrews, and Meio--were of clinical detachment and barely contained anger. He hadn't decided who was going to handle what yet, but these four had already decided they were on the case and that's why they were the best he had.

The presentation stopping at a critical frame, Alf pointed at some of the markings on the wall. "Now, I ain't one of those hoity-toity grad school kids like some of ya, but here's what we've figured so far. There's some strange writing on the walls--"

"--which looks at first glance to be Sanskrit, but nobody can confirm it," Tsu calmly noted. Seeing the look on her boss' face, she continued. "I took some early history classes in college, so I can notice an ancient marking here and there." ((Also, it looks like a magical-based murder--those aren't typical runes--so I'd better get involved.)) "Additionally, a lot of the marks seem to be of an unknown design, but I'll bet that on closer inspection, it's nothing more than a stylized variant of known historical markings." Tsu bit down on the tip of her pencil, her eyes seeming to bore into the projected image.

Alf nodded. "Figured you were going to say that, Meio, so you and Drake are on the case. Rodriguez from the night shift is standing by to give you what they know of the situation." That being said, the station chief continued doling out the rest of the assignments.

* * *

Several hours later, both Bill and Tsu were at the remains of The Girlie Show, the site of the grisly murders. They'd been here about ten minutes, and so far, it looked like a perfectly normal, if inexplicable, murder. At least that's what Bill saw. What Tsu saw, on the other hand, was far more dangerous. ((This is Mercurial magic, no doubt about it, but there's nothing human about it. It doesn't make sense at all.)) Her eyes, trained to see angles and objects that the normal humans couldn't and noticed that half the strange characters seemed to glow with arcane power. "Hey, Bill," she called out, trying to make the situation seem more like a dual investigation, "can you check over on that far wall there? See if there's any of that stuff chief was talking about."

"Already did," he replied. "There's nothing on that wall, but there was something behind the bar that you might want to check out. Oh, and you might want to get a hold of someone down at SUNY. There's gotta be a professor there that can figure this stuff out." His finger hitting the button on the digital camera repeatedly, Bill took dozens of pictures of the sigils, then switched discs and took more pictures of the other crime angles that he could work on.

"Might be a good idea," Tsu said aloud, even though in truth she knew it would be useless. If it was what she thought it was, no professor living should have the information.

"Y'know," he said, pausing, "I was thinking about what you said earlier, like it's Sanskrit or something. A few of these markings look like the Aramaic I saw in my cultural anthro class, from way back when."

"That's a thought," she announced aloud, though mentally she was more skeptical. ((I'll bet the farm that this isn't Sanskrit or Aramaic. I'll have to email a copy to Usagi tonight, and hopefully she can tell me if it's Ancient Terran. Man, it's times like this that make me wish I hadn't lost that ancient Encyclopedia Atlantis that Ami got for me!)) It had been lost in the move from Japan to New York, and at the time she'd been still bothered by what had happened; since then the antediluvian tome would have come in handy at least a couple of times. Oh well, I guess that's what I get. Looking at the images one more time she called out to Bill, "Hey, did you get enough shots for posterity, yet?"

Bill grunted, offering, "Yeah, would you like some copies for your collection?" Putting the camera back in its pouch, he muttered, "Hey, it's almost lunch time. You feel like some Mongolian BBQ? I know this decent place around here, if you're up to it. An' since you won last night, you can pay for it, you big shot, you."

"Sure, I'm game," Tsu answered, glad for the momentary distraction. "We can brainstorm some sort of motive out of this other than just the stereotypical cult clichi." ((Although what we come up with and what likely is the truth are two very different things,)) the forest-haired woman mentally added. "Let's get this over with. We got some food to scarf, you've got some stuff to come up with on your laptop for the guys down at SUNY, and I can have some stuff to take home for research."

With that, the pair completed their sweep of The Girlie Show, dusting for photographs and using the forensic equipment they had at hand to see if there was any sign of clues that might help them solve the case. There were none, and that was something Tsu had expected. A half-hour later, they departed, taking only a few quick seconds to rattle off some instructions for the beat cop on hand and to glean some information from the rather less than savory owner of the establishment. As they hopped into their car, Setsuna definitely could feel the traces of Mercurial magic permeating the room, and all she could do was to think of what it could mean.

As the beat cop reset the DO NOT CROSS tape and turned off the lights, two entities appeared in the room, looking at each other. The first spoke to the second in a language that hadn't been heard on Earth in thousands of years and to be honest, not even spoken still as the communication was telepathic in nature: >>She could be a danger to our plans. I do not know who she is, but she is powerful and has seen our markings.<<

The other voice was not as concerned. ]]I wouldn't worry. Magic is rare on Earth nowadays; she may be just one of those people who have a latent talent for it. Even so, if she did wield it, all she would know is that there's magic around. She would have no idea about our sigils, and I'll wager that to her, this place probably sits on a ley.[[

>>I do not care,<< the first countered. >>I want her dealt with, and dealt with tonight.<<

The second seemed to make a gesture akin to a head nod. ]]I shall have Fortran attend to it when the moon is out. An irony, that.[[ There was a motion akin to a bow, and the second vanished.

The first considered the other's words, then chuckled. >>Ah yes, a delightful irony it is.<< Then it too slipped into the void.

* * *

Later, as the day stretched into the nighttime hours, Tsu furiously pumped out an email in Japanese. She wished there was time to get a hold of Usagi on the Instant Messenger software, but she wasn't online; that was to be expected, given the vagaries of time zones. Tsu quickly did some calculations in her head and placed the time to be about 9 in the morning in Tokyo and so Usagi was probably at her business this morning. As she finished up the mail and sent it, Setsuna briefly toyed with the thought of calling her friend directly but ultimately did not based on the fact that it might dredge up old memories of Mamoru, combined with the fact that Tsu had never told Usagi what she now did for a living.

((Let her think that it's just some idle info I need,)) Tsu reassured herself. ((It's better that way, and she won't be worried or pissed that I've gotten back into crimefighting for a living.)) Shutting down the computer, she got up and went to the kitchen to make herself some dinner; Ted was working late on a double homicide case that had popped up during the day and wouldn't be home in time.

The phone rang, and Tsu grabbed it immediately. "Ms. Setsuna Meio?" the voice asked. "This is Professor Arban over at the University. Sorry to call you at home, but I have some information for you regarding these glyphs your partner provided me with. I must admit, though, that I am astonished that these showed up in a contemporary situation. Had this not been official business, I certainly would have thought it to be fraudulent. I know that sounds odd, but please, let me explain."

"You have my attention, Professor." Cradling the phone with her head, she ran back to the desk and grabbed pen and pad, ready to jot down notes as needed.

"Well, Ms. Meio, these sigils aren't any of the well-known ancient languages--Aramaic, Sanskrit, Phoenician and the like. However, there has been an ancient language that is disputed that these symbols do match. The language is currently being called Atlantean, after the mythical city of Atlantis, but there's some doubt as to where the language is really from, as examples of it have been found all over Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, and--oh, I'm wandering, aren't I? Sorry. Anyway, we do have enough of the language to translate, and what I came up with in a tentative translation from this language to Latin is 'luna regia morte'. Simply put, that means--"

"'Death to the Moon Queen'. I took Latin as an elective in college," Setsuna added offhandedly. However, it was all she could do to counteract the icy hand of fear sliding down her back. ((Mercurial magic, and now this. Something doesn't quite seem so normal anymore.)) In her mind, she wondered if it was worth breaking this conversation and getting a hold of Usagi now. ((Granted, she's abdicated the lunar throne, but still, she's of the line and if this is meant for her....))

But that wouldn't explain why people were killed in a seedy joint in New York just to get a point across to a person who lived in Tokyo. Unless that message was meant for Setsuna, vice Usagi--which would mean that someone knew Usagi and Setsuna's former alter egos. But if that was the case, then why all this--and the lost lives of the people used for the message? Was it symbolic of what was to come? Or, could it be unrelated, some other thing that people believed? Could the term simply be the name of some new weird religious cult, and if so, why did they use Ancient High Terran; for that matter, how did they even find out about it?

"Ah, good for you," Arban chirped, unaware of her pause. "I do have to confess, though: I'm not exactly sure what the reference is to--the only possible connection is an early culture that lived in southern Phoenicia that had a woman as their ruler, but I don't recall any reference to a Moon Queen, per se. Well, I hope to have more for you later, but I just felt that you would need to know this information. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to join my lovely wife for dinner. Good talking to you, and have a pleasant evening."

"Same to you, Professor. Thanks again." Tsu set down the phone on the cradle, walking into the kitchen. After dinner, she'd call Usagi and pass on what she knew. It might be idle worrying and likely unrelated, but she'd feel better if she--

Setsuna stopped in mid-breath. Her exhalations were crystallizing, the breath becoming visible. Additionally, the room, despite the warm night, began to chill considerably. It didn't take long for Tsu to figure out that something was wrong, and more importantly something was targeting her at this moment. The temperature dropped 40 degrees in the span of a second, and acting on long unused Senshi skills, Tsu dashed into her and Ted's bedroom, grabbing her katana off the wall. The katana had been something she purchased on a whim when she and he went on a vacation to Europe last year; the swordmakers of Spain did create an undeniably superior product. ((This is *not* the time to think about metallurgy!)) she chided herself.

The temperature dropped 20 more degrees a second later; Tsu had just enough time to grab her gun holster and slip on both that and the sword. Taking off like a rocket, she shattered the window as she leapt out of her apartment towards the street, four stories below. Behind her, the windows and walls of her apartment exploded as massive icicle spikes punched their way out of it with incredible force. As she landed on the ground, one hand on her katana's scabbard and the other ready to draw either blade or pistol as needed, she knew instantly that this was no longer a matter for the NYPD, that somehow this was now tied in with the Senshi and that her fears for Usagi's life was now very valid and all too real.

That was when the first beast leapt at her, massive fist with all-too-sharp claws snatching for her throat. With any other officer, the creature might have had a chance, but with Setsuna, there were better odds in the ex-Senshi's favor. Grasping the beast by its oversized horns before it could lay a hand on her, she spun around to its back, then bounced off the brute, flipping in mid-air. As she touched the ground, she drew her pistol, aimed and screamed, "Freeze! Police!" Granted, she knew it was an incredibly stupid thing to say given the appearance of the situation, but there was a crowd gathering, light traffic still dotted the street, and the least thing she wanted to hear was about police brutality against demons, or whatever those idiots at the newspaper would come up with.

The beast spun and bellowed an unearthly roar that shattered windows and eardrums for feet around, and at that moment Tsu knew that this wasn't an intelligent demon but rather more on the lines of a yoma or a daimon. Regardless, she had its attention and as it turned to look at her with eyes full of diabolical hatred, she let him have it. Pulling the trigger as fast as she could, she sent multiple rounds into the beast's body, each hollowpoint round making a small insertion point...and leaving a very gory exit wound. The hellspawn crashed to the ground, dead in its tracks, and Tsu silently blessed the fact that she had hollowpoints loaded. Granted, that was by no means normal armament for the NYPD, but a girl couldn't be too careful and--

The second one made its presence known as it blasted free of the street, obliterating the asphalt of the city strike in its wake. Leaving curtains of dirt, the monster howled angrily at Setsuna and with a speed that bordered on the unreal it charged at her, moving fast enough that it seemed to be floating on air. Beneath its feet however, the ground shattered at each footfall came, and Tsu knew there wasn't going to be much time to reload her weapon, and with a building crowed, things were going to get worse. Also, there were no indications that these two were the only demons, and the use of her long-unused Plutonian powers should remain that way, unless there were no other alternatives. Coming to that realization, she quickly holstered her gun and steeling herself, slipped her hand down to the katana at her side.

The demon took the bait and bore down on Setsuna, murder blazing in its eyes. However, it wasn't going to get the chance to deal with it. In a move so smooth and effortless it seemed as if Tsu had barely twitched, she unsheathed the blade and brought it down and through the hellspawn, the samurai's perfect one-stroke kill. The inertia of the two pieces still propelled the remains forward, and what was an intact beast a second later were two bloody clumps of alien meat behind her.

Sheathing her blade rapidly, she prepared for the next attack. She looked around clinically, noted that people were scrambling to get indoors as quickly as they could--not even the usually jaded Manhattanites were prepared for the appearance of something even more vicious than them. In the distance, sirens could be heard; police were on the prowl and while that gave people some more protection, it also meant that there were more people that she would have to cover. With her luck it would be a pair of junior uniforms, the kind that shot first and skipped the que--

The next thing she felt was the painful crunch of being pressed into the side of a building the hard way. thrown violently enough to leave an impact crater, she was glad that she was stronger than a normal human, else she wouldn't have survived--and even so, she was still going to have a nasty set of bruises in the morning. Behind her she could hear a laugh, all-too-human and bearing undertones of scorn and derision. Shaking off the dazedness, she spun and faced her newest opponent.

The being stood there, arms folded and with an impatient look. At the first glance, she--if Tsu got the gender right--could pass for human, even if an oddly dressed one. The second gaze, however, dispelled the first notion immediately. No human Setsuna knew had hair that looked like bonded cables of circuitry that glowed with power, nor did she know any that had eyes that lacked pupils and seemed to glow with the entire visible light spectrum. The female was dressed in a bodysuit that had the sort of curves to make men go mad. Accented with black metal gauntlets, black boots and a simple dark sash around her waist, stood in the middle of the street as if she owned it, a veritable King of the Hill awaiting anyone foolhardy enough to try to make her capitulate.

Tsu didn't relax a bit as she thundered, "Who are you and what do you want?"

The being looked directly at Setsuna, her eyes alien and unreadable. She opened her mouth to speak for a second, and sounds came from it, a series of screeches and chirps that sounded eerily like a modem going online. She closed her mouth and eyes at once, and when she opened her eyes, they'd turned a neon shade of blue, still lacking pupils but at least no longer pulsing with the shades of the rainbow. Cocking her head as though to listen to the ground for a second, she soon straightened it and spoke.

{{I am Fortran,}} she said, with an almost melodious voice that would have been musical were it not for the fact that her voice sounded though it were one step above a Speak & Spell's capacity. {{You are Setsuna Meio.}}

Tsu held her expression, but inside she wondered how this thing she'd never met before could know such critical information like that. "That's right, I'm Detective Setsuna Meio, NYPD. You behind all of this? 'Cause if so, you've quite obviously got the right to remain silent." The girl merely stood there, staring, as though with incomprehension. Tsu, somewhat surprised, snarled, "I take it you do understand the concept of being under arrest, do you not?"

{{ar.rest

Pronunciation: ah-'rest

Function: transitive verb

Etymology: Middle English aresten, from Middle French arester to rest, arrest, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin arrestare, from Latin ad- + restare to remain

Date: 14th century

1 a : to bring to a stop b : CHECK, SLOW c : to make inactive

2 : SEIZE, CAPTURE; specifically : to take or keep in custody by authority of law

3 : to catch suddenly and engagingly

- ar.rest.er also ar.res.tor /-'res-t&r/ noun

- ar.rest.ment /-'res(t)-m&nt/ noun}} the creature repeated instantly, comically looking for a second like a schoolgirl at a spelling bee. But there was no childhood gleam in Fortran's eyes as she added a few seconds afterwards, {{Arrest is not in operations parameters, Setsuna Meio. My parameters are to execute plan LRM, then execute peripheral issues in turn.}} Fortran bit her lip delicately, all all-too-human habit, but just another oddity in this situation. {{Situation on-scene requires me to alter mission protocol, but analysis indicates mission modification will be within acceptable limits.}}

((LRM?)) Tsu recalled, knowing what that meant. ((Luna Regia Morte. That's not going to happen, if I have any say in the matter!)) "I don't think you're going to get away with that, who--*what*ever--you are, because I'm not going to allow it."

{{It is not for you to be concerned about,}} Fortran answered then pointed her palm at Tsu, adding, {{or for you to halt, either.}} There was an eight-octave scream of icicles shattering, and a blast of Mercurial Magic thundered from Fortran's hand. Tsu dropped to the floor in an instant and as she slumped to the ground, she knew that she'd gotten lucky. Turning around as fast as she could, she noted that an entire building had frozen solid right before her eyes. Encased in a translucent block of ice, the four-story structure had people in there that'd been trying to escape this battle in the streets. Now they'd have nowhere to run to, and the situation was going to deteriorate further.

Police cars poured into the street on either end like a pair of wolf packs on the hunt, each of them doing what they'd been hired to do. Dozens of New York's Finest poured out of the cruisers, an array of pistols, rifles and shotguns pointed at the pair. Someone stepped out of one of the cars, carrying a bullhorn and repeating Tsu's placement of arrest.

"You've got nowhere to run," Setsuna intoned even though she knew better; if Fortran chose to fight, there was not going to be much that her fellow cops would be able to do. Magic in the Americas was woefully sparse and despite the FBI's purported encounters with aliens, there wasn't going to be much that they'd be able to do against someone like, say, Beryl or Galaxia. Perhaps it was folly, or maybe even a simple plea for the alien to give up peacefully, but it was the last chance that Tsu could see for a peaceful solution to the dangers at hand.

Any hopes of a peaceful end to the whole situation were shattered as Fortran shuffled her foot in two distinct lines across the dark tar of the street. Blue fire glowed where her foot had been dragged, and it was clear that she was setting up a spell, but one Tsu wasn't familiar with. When she traced a circle in the center of them, it became murderously clear what the girl was doing.

Setsuna turned and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Get out of here! She's gonna--" But her warning failed to register in time as flakes of snow inexplicably rose from the ground in the location where the two groups of officers had been. It increased more and more to the absolute surprise of all involved. The surprise turned into too-late horror as everything immediately flashfroze, encasing everyone in an icefloe that stood despite the burning heat of a balmy July evening.

Tsu, horrified by what had just occurred, took her hands of her sword, calling up her magic for the first time in a while. She didn't care who felt it, she didn't care if the Senshi could feel it on the other side of the world. This...thing...had just hit her fellow police officers and now she was going to do something about it. Her job as a cop entailed solving the problem at hand and making sure the populace was safe, but she had a personal obligation to stop this thing. If she failed, it would go after Usagi and her family, and that was something that Tsu wasn't going to put up with.

Meanwhile, Fortran acted against the final obstacle in her path. As motes of magical power swirled around her, dancing against her golden skin like a thousand faerie kisses, she almost looked benign and certainly beautiful. However, that beauty ended as Fortran pointed her palm once more and wordlessly released a strike of water magic at Setsuna.

No chance of ending this peacefully or even conventionally, the former Senshi cut loose with her powers. Thrusting her hands her hands forward, she cut loose with power that she hadn't released in what seemed like forever. *"DEAD SCREAM!"* The two blasts of force impacted against each other, both fighting for supremacy for just a second before canceling each other out in a violent shockwave that shook everything for a several dozen yards around. Anything that wasn't firmly attached to the ground was slammed to the asphalt and concrete like dominos, and Tsu heard ringing in her ears she was sure wasn't associated with the police cruisers' sirens.

Not even consciously thinking, she dashed forward, ready to attack the stranger in her midst. She was going to have to take down this stranger, and soon; innocent lives were already taken as a result of this being, and Setsuna was obligated to stop it. Additionally, this creature--Fortran, she called herself--knew by now that her opponent was not a normal human; considering Tsu was already being hunted, that should have been an indicator to begin with.

Sure enough, the emerald-tressed woman was correct. As she got up, Fortran dodged Tsu's initial punch and looked at her in a different light. {{Different parameters than expected. Subject has above normal reflexes. Subject also has control over magical abilities. Conditions require alteration for successful result.}} Fortran's eyes flicked faster, and when they were done, suddenly things had changed and not for the better. The alien rushed forward to meet Tsu, and as she came into range, she threw an impossibly fast array of hundreds of punches.

Several of them connected, and as Tsu backed up, wiping a rivulet of blood from her mouth, she wondered at what point her life had turned into a 3D-video game. Again. "That was pretty good, but I think you'll have to do better than that!" Almost instinctively, she raised her hand to the air, preparing to call forth her ancient power as Sailor Pluto, but that time was long since gone for her. Catching herself in time, she summoned a sphere of power, then pointed it at Fortran, screaming, *"LIGHTNING HEART!"*

From Setsuna's hands erupted a massive bolt of energy, the gout of power sizzling in its own dynanism and leaving the telltale stench of disrupted ions as the beam burned through everything in its path, including the very air itself. Burning with the power of a million volcanoes, the blast connected against Fortran with the gentleness and delicacy of a tactical nuclear weapon, the blast wave even worse than the first. Behind the alien a heavily-damaged building finally gave into the nature of entropy and collapsed with an eardrum-splintering roar. Cars, utility poles, and lampposts turned into spectacular fireworks as they exploded, leaving slagged metal and fire in their remains. As the energy haze cleared, a being staggered free of the sizable crater in the street.

Fortran wheezed, the look on her face oddly cute for a deep frown. {{Modification required: subject Setsuna Meio not responding to parameters for Plan Modification E324236W3G. Will initiate Contingency Plan A35672B357.}} Like a ravenous tiger, Fortran leapt towards Tsu, a vicious thrust kick coming straight at the heroine with the speed of a bullet.

Setsuna leapt towards her foe, the acrobatic kick coming straight at her with little chance of evasion. The forest-haired woman, however, spun to the side like a top, grabbed Fortran's back and unceremoniously slammed her straight into the pavement. "You know, you're slipping. I wonder if you'll just give up now, or force me to kill you."

{{Second modification initiated.}} Raising her hand in a maneuver akin to throwing, Fortran unleashed a series of energy tendrils that would have been similar to Saturn's own Ribbon assault, save for the prismatic hues of this one. In any case, the results were the same, as the streamers of energy devoured anything in its path. Like a pack of ravenous wolves they descended on Setsuna, and there were enough this time that there was going to be no way for her to get around this. With an oddly plain face, Fortran said emotionlessly, {{Estimation: Setsuna Meio will not be able to defeat Prismatic Spray attack.}} Then she looked directly at Tsu and said, {{You cannot win, Setsuna Meio. Surrender now and I will make your deactivation as comfortable as possible.}}

*"NO WAY!"* Setsuna snarled. "You're going to have to do better than that!" Closing her eyes and searching out for the onrushing bringers of death, she unsheathed her katana and began to perform a kata, moving through the memories of thousands of ages. Somewhere in a past long ago this magic defense had been performed, somewhere she'd learned it and it would serve her now. Sweeping the blade through the dark and burning nighttime air until it shone with a power akin to the attack coming towards her, she opened her eyes slowly, and quickly brought the sword into guard position. "Last chance. You're under arrest, or you're dead! Believe me, I'm a New York cop, and when I say you'll be dead, I mean *you'll be DEAD*!"

{{Idle comments do not prove intent,}} Fortran answered.

"Watch me, then." With a fiendish grin on her face, Tsu moved in against the energy beams and began to dance among them with sword in hand, attacking as she went. The sword dance allowed her to move like a blur, the steel blade of the sword like a silver flicker of light as it countered and parried each of the energy streamers, tearing apart this dark assault. When she was done, she sheathed the blade, Iajutsu-style, then moved into a fast-draw position clearly radiating her challenge.

{{Subject has no desire to surrender. Data incomplete. Must return to operations center for further details.}} Fortran cocked her head once in a move that seemed all too human, yet the next move was even less so as she thrust both her hands towards her quarry, both glowing with the same hues as the ribbons from earlier. To Setsuna she intoned, {{My parameters will let you exist for the moment, but I must deal with other situations at the moment. In the meanwhile, I provide you with a challenge, so I may study your abilities and provide ample chance for my egress.}}

Tsu's eyes were as dark as matter in the deepest portions of space, flickering with a sanguine intensity. "Let's just see you try!" Raising her blade and screaming a warcry as though she were a kozamurai on the plains of Miura rather than a detective on the streets of the Big Apple. Time seemed to flicker, though not by her intent, and she bolted forward, fully intending to see how deep she could embed her blade into the head of Fortran. The being before her was emblematic of death; even more so of the death of Usagi, and no way in hell was Setsuna going to allow that if she had any choice.

For her response, the alien merely arced her arms back, as though accepting the strike, or becoming an eagle on the wing. From behind her, a miniature sun burst into being, the bright globe of light pulsating with a rainbow intensity that slathered the air in wave after wave of prismatic light. Fortran's body began to light up as well, magical circles beginning to envelop her on multiple planes, creating a living, dazzling sculpture of light and flesh that would have been beatific to behold were it not for the fact that streams of bent light violently tore away from the alien's body, tentacles of energy racing towards Tsu with a clearly malignant purpose.

At first, Setsuna was ready to block this latest blow, but determination soon gave way to concern and then fear as the beams of energy doubled, squared, cubed, multiplying exponentially to more than any human could handle, even one born of Senshi skills. As she furiously continued to hack and slash away at the beams that continued to race onwards, she realized two things: one, that this was about as effective as trying to swat endless swarms of bees using a blade of grass; and two: that if she didn't try, she may as well lay down and die.

As the first building behind her exploded into a prismatic shower of bricks and dust, it became immediately clear that she wasn't the target, and that the only thing she was doing, in the end, was protecting herself. But as this final thought came into her head, it was too late to do anything about it--the final wave of energy bore down on her with the brunt of a nuclear weapon and as waves of unconsciousness settled upon her, she swore two things: she was going to ensure that her friend would survive, if there was some way that she herself would live through this.

And, as Tsu's mind mercifully shut down through the haze of pain: ((if I get my hands on Fortran again, I'm going to tear her to pieces, one bloody circuit at a time!))

* * *

From the edge of the blast area, two beings looked at each other, then back at the massive crater that used to be four square blocks of New York City real estate. The air was oddly silent, charged with the electric and permeable presence of death. Soon enough that would change, as the world would move once more and with it, the response from city emergency vehicles as well as the screams of the wounded and those that outlived their loved ones.

Standing atop the building, behind her masters, Fortran bowed and said, {{Target designate Setsuna Meio has outlasted my assaults. Analysis: Setsuna Meio will live and begin a counter assault. Estimation: Target designate Setsuna Meio will attempt to interfere with Operation LRM.}} After a few more minutes of silence, she added, {{Request termination of unit Fortran. I have failed in the disablement of unit Setsuna Meio and even allowed her to continue operation, as to allow my egress before capture and disablement became a possibility.}}

>>Do not trouble yourself,<< the first voice spoke in soothing tones. >>Currently, we are better off having secrecy on our side. Had Detective Meio captured you, we would have lost that--she is, after all, a member of the city's police force.<<

]]I concur,[[ the second answered. ]]If there is anyone to blame for your failure, Fortran, it is I. I had assumed that Detective Meio had little command of magic. I did not seek to attempt to gain a better understanding of the situation, and to give you a more rounded picture of what was occuring.[[ There seemed to be a motion akin to nodding, then the voice continued. ]]I cannot recommend your dissolution. You are too valuable to us, Fortran, and we need your generalship in the command of our forces.[[

{{Yes, my masters. I will process your commands,}} Fortran replied, straightening herself again. {{Perhaps I may have to send in one of the others to attack Setsuna Meio. Perhaps Cobol, or Sisal. Perl is still not completely ready for operation, nor is Solaris.}}

>>Perhaps. But the best thing to do is to lay low for a bit. We have to give enough time to make this appear to be an isolated incident, and not to be a serious incident for our global plans.<<

]]Indeed, I agree. Perhaps a month or two cooling off time would be best. Additionally, that way you could oversee the training for Perl and Solaris.[[ Nothing more to add, the two mysterious figures disappeared, and as if on cue, the cacophony of sirens and screams began from below.

Fortran went to the edge of the building, staring towards the crater she'd created, a sizable dent in the earth that was the tomb of several hundreds of people. At the northwest edge was a small, unmistakable dot--the unconcious but otherwise still alive Tsu Meio. Using her enhanced vision, Fortran noticed that the woman was still breathing carefully and with no problem; at most she would spend only a week or two in a hospital, if that.

Somehing in Fortran seemed to grip at her spine; a feeling that something, somehow was amiss. She couldn't explain it and to be honest, she wasn't sure if she even wanted to: somehow, she felt a connection with those people down there, the very humanity which she'd just snuffed several hundred members of. Could it be that...? No, she shook her head; to think that, at the very least, was illogical and silly, to use a more common term. Yet it couldn't be denied that she had feelings like humans, and to be honest, how different was a living, "organic" machine that different from a living, organic "machine" that normal beings were?

As Fortran opened up a warp hole to where her hideaway was, she realized that would be a question to ask at another time. She still had her sisters to bring into being, and to train the youngest two of them. Perhaps, when she had the chance, she would ask her lover Cobol of some answers to the whole thing--Cobol, though slightly younger than Fortran, seemed to be much wiser and had more of a tactical mind than the straightforward Fortran had. That contrasted deeply with Sisal's fragility, Perl's vanity or the taciturn silence that was Solaris.

Completing the warp tunnel, Fortran at least realized that there was something that made her family unique: being all living machines, none of those below could ever understand how, say, Fortran, eldest of the sisters, were also at the same time their mothers, since she'd created the rest of them; or how sisters like Fortran and Cobol were also lovers. That clearly wasn't the human way, and if some of them knew of their existence, the expressions would be...unsettling to the biologicals.

But in the end, that was none of their business. And were Fortran's forces to succeed, there would be nothing biological left on the planet to complain or express outrage, anyway.

* * *

"You want to do what, Meio?!" Diamante was looking at Tsu as though she'd a second head. "Look, this has got to be the most hairball theory that I've ever heard as a cop--and believe me, I've heard a lot of them. You expect me to believe there's a Japanese angle in everything that happened in the past two weeks, and that you think it would be best if we sent you back home on an INTERPOL pass to continue the investigation?" He ran his hands through his thinning hair and looked at her with a glance that was somewhere between disbelief and pleading. "Do you realize that you're already at the center of a media storm: you spent a week in the hospital, were one of only twelve people to survive whatever the fuck it was that happened down by your place, and at least one of the survivors saw you fighting that terrorist with a fuckin' sword? An' if that's not enough for you, let's talk about the massive boom that leveled four square blocks of prime real estate and killed over 800 people--and nobody can explain a single thing about the blast, other than it was big and deadly. And that's just the believable shit--we're not going to get into the reports of you and magic and robots dressed like scantily-clad women who fire ice and lasers out of their hands!"

In the chair on the other side of his desk, Tsu, her right arm still in a sling, look at her boss with a pained expression. "I know it sounds nuts, Cap'n. Believe me, if I weren't in the middle of this, I'd be just as confused as you. But you saw what was in my report, and that same witness backed up everything I had. The media furor is more focused on why I fought the thing to a standstill, while at least fifty of our beat cops got slaughtered in the process." For emphasis, she tapped her finger on the file she'd placed on his desk two days ago, saying, "And you've read everything I've had to say. This terrorist organization is based out of Japan, and they're intent on something."

"Yeah, but it still doesn't explain why we're calling for jurisdiction on this, rather than turning it over to the Feds, or even the CIA. Granted, I don't want either of those two groups of morons getting their grubby nubbies on *our* collar, but even I have to play by the rules. And unfortunately, all of the arrows are pointing to us turning over jurisdiction."

"I know that. But I also know that if we turn it over to the Government, they're just going to botch it up in legal details. And don't get me started on if they cooperate with the Japanese national law enforcement agencies. Remember that I'm from there, so I have an inkling of how they operate. We're much better off if we get the INTERPOL green light and I work with someone down in the Tokyo Metro Police Department. More importantly, if these guys have the intelligence to match their firepower, chances are they'll be watching the big guys, and not us, which means we'll have an advantage."

"Okay, that I can bite. I'll talk to a few guys I know down at the national branch to get yours and Drake's paperwork cleared."

"Bill?" Tsu looked at her boss with apprehension. This wasn't something she hadn't expected.

He gave her a smile. "Meio, I can't send Andrews, because you two are an item--hell, wasn't it you two who told me you're staying at his mother's place in the 'burbs 'cause your apartment was leveled in the blast? Personally, I don't care about what you two do on your off time, since you do your jobs damn good, but the rules are rules, and I've gotta work with them once in a while. Sides, I've got him working on the blast case, and he and Carrizola are going to pick up your end of your case here. Plus, Drake's your partner."

Tsu shook her head, and the look in her eyes was one close to tears. "Cap'n, he lost his wife and kids in the blast. The only reason he's not dead is because he had to work late that night. He's not ready to go after these guys with a clear mind. You realize that he may go vig on me."

"Yeah, I know--but I also know you're his friend, and you won't let him go apeshit if you can. More importantly, you two are partners, so you have that influence on him. Third and most important, I can't clear single operatives for INTERPOL missions, plain and simple. So you're stuck with him." Diamate picked up the phone, a sign that he was ending the meeting. "Now g'wan and get outta here. I gotta make some calls to get you the clearance. Pack up your shit and see Tanner down in Accounts tomorrow for whatever you need. 'Soon's I get the clearance, I want you two on the fuckin' plane and your two butts Tokyo-bound within 24 hours, got that?"

"Clear as crystal," Tsu said, as she stepped out of the office, knowing that in truth, the situation was anything but. She was now torn in many different directions, due to her different allegiances. While she'd somehow managed to spin a report that passed off Fortran's group--whoever they were; she still had nothing to go by on that--as some sort of nutbag Japanese cult/terrorist faction that nevertheless had designs on some criminal factions in New York. She now had to find some way of proving that. Additionally, she had to protect her "family", meaning Usagi and her family. The truth of the matter was that they were in grave danger, and even with the safety precautions they'd taken over the years, the threat was still very real. And lastly, there was Bill, who was only being held together at the moment by his job. One person who'd looked at the broken man already said that Bill had died when Marcy and the kids did; it was now Tsu's job to put him back together. But could she do that while doing everything else? Or would she have to drag him into her world, so to speak, to have him back her up on what clearly was insane at best?

She wasn't sure at all, and the questions that kept popping up more than the answers made her feel no less comfortable about the whole thing. But, like it or not, she'd placed herself in this situation and was now going to have to find a way to get herself back out of it. As she went back to her desk, she was just going to have to figure out how.

* * *

In the guestroom at his mother's place, Ted put his arms around Tsu. "Hon, you've been awfully quiet tonight. Feeling trepidation about the trip?"

Tsu nodded, but for entirely different reasons than what she was about to tell the man she loved. "I hadn't expected the Captain to move so quickly on it. I mean, to fly out tomorrow evening? I was expecting at least three more days to prepare, not to mention to figure out how I'm going to deal with Bill." ((And how I'm going to make all of this mesh together seamlessly, not to mention how I'm going to live down lying to everyone,)) she added silently.

"You'll do it, Setsuna," he answered. "You have a way of being able to pull everything off with not a problem at all. It's like you've got some magic power or something. Hell, if you could survive that explosion with only a scratch or two, then you can pull off the rest of this and put those bastards behind bars." The last he punctuated by squeezing her tenderly, holding her close to him as a sign of how much he loved her.

"Thank you," she murmured as she returned the embrace. For a minute, things seemed to gel together, and she almost believed that she could pull it off. But there was some pieces of the puzzle missing, and without those links, it would be nigh impossible to get the whole picture put together.

As though he hadn't stopped talking, he added, "One thing, though: you'd better come back soon, so that I can fulfill the rest of the stuff that comes with this." Reaching into his pocket, he fished out a small box and opening it, placed it in her hand.

Setsuna didn't even have to ask what it was. "But I thought you didn't want to get married, all that about us being cops and that it would be too hard on us and stuff."

"I was wrong," he murmured. "Watching Bill bury Marcy and the kids...it got me thinking. We don't have long lives in this world, and we have to make the best of it. Maybe just us living together isn't enough anymore, Tsu. Maybe it's time we took it a step farther."

In response, Setsuna took the ring out of the pouch and put it on her finger. It was a bit oversized, but maybe she could get Naru to resize it while she was in Japan. "I think it looks nice there," she cooed, putting her hand out and taking a look at it. "But 'Setsuna Andrews'? It's going to take a bit to get used to that."

Ted smiled affably. "You have all the time you'll ever need to get used to it," he said, smiling. Taking her hand, he brought her out of the bedroom so that they could share the news with his mother and family. Tsu happily went along, pushing the dark thoughts away for the moment. Right now, she was just happy to have a part of her own life on its track; there would be more to worry about, tomorrow.

((But best leave tomorrow to that time. Tonight is now, and tonight I am engaged to be married.)) As she smiled winsomely while Ted's mother fussed over her soon to be daughter-in-law, Tsu could only imagine how her friends back home and here felt on the occasions they'd gone through this, and how the future would turn out for them--herself and her future husband...

...a future, she had to admit, that she never would have had had she remained as Sailor Pluto. But Sailor Pluto was a different person now, and Tsu Meio was a different person, too--one that, at the moment, was far happier than she'd been in ages.

* * *

{{So, is the strike ready?}} Fortran asked Cobol, as she broke from their kiss.

Cobol nodded, eyeing her sister/mother/lover/leader/whatever with barely tamped-down emotions. Cobol was excited, as being with Fortran and planning operations were the two most important things in her life. Running her hands through her short, wire-like hair, her rippling eyes settled on the holographic map in the center of the room. {{Yes. We have several contingencies ready for Operation LRM, each set up depending on where we catch Target Designate Tsukino Usagi. You will move in and disable the primary target, while Sisal will provide additional support in liquidating ancillary targets. I will deal with eliminating electronic surveillance as well as countermeasures and electronic warfare, while Perl will deal with any biological interference. Solaris will remain at my side in the unlikely event that additional support is required.}}

{{What are the potential opposition?}}

{{Analysis indicates nothing more than standard law enforcement. Military forces are too far away to be effective against us, and standard law enforcement is far too weak.}} Cobol's eyes rippled red instead of their normal gray, and she added, {{Conjecture: there are still paramilitary forces that can be used against us, such as the organization known as the Sailor Senshi.}}

{{Data available?}} Fortran's eyes narrowed. If they were a threat, they needed to be dealt with. She'd already suffered one humiliating loss at the hands of a superhuman, even though her masters indicated that she was not to blame. She would not be caught again.

{{Scant data available. I will detail Solaris to search for anything new that we may have. Estimated time until window of attack is 36.28 hours. Adequate time for our sister to come up with anything new. As for current data, I will have that uplinked to your wetware in 32.56 nanoseconds via wireless protocol.}}

{{Download the data to your own file matrices and hold.}} Turning away from her companion, the being faced another one of their kind. {{Sisal, status report on the seeds.}}

Sisal, oddly quiet, bowed to her senior, holding a look on her face that some people would have called cute, had the being been human. {{They are weakening. Seed designates Ada, Erlang and Occam have ceased functioning. Candidate Obliq is not bonding well to their hosts; she may die as well. Only Solaris and Pascal are bonding well enough, and of that, only Solaris is nearing complete operation.}} Unspoken in Sisal's flashing eyes was the frustration of not being able to save what was left of their sisterhood. When Cobol was born ten years back, she only had the power to create nine seeds to spawn clones of herself. So far, none of the other active sisters had the replication ability, and it was looking more and more as though they would be all that was left.

{{Continue operations,}} Fortran commanded. {{Also task Perl to continue with Solaris' training, and as soon as feasible, begin data search for supporting information regarding Data Line 342565467A4526-3Q79 for Operation LRM.}} Looking at Cobol, Fortran said, {{Cobol and I will be back shortly. She and I will go interface and dataswap on a bacterial data-transport level.}} With that, Fortran took Cobol's hand and both women left the room.

If either had turned around, they would have seen the slightly shocked look on Sisal's face. While Perl and Solaris were too young to understand what that meant (neither had begun to pick up on biological nuances yet), Sisal knew her older sisters' euphemism--the term meant sex. It was amazing, to use a biological expression, on how, well, human the older sisters were, in their actions and functions--more so than the younger three. Maybe it was out of all of them, only Cobol had reproductive functions and had created them all. Maybe it was because of the special biological subsequencing that only Fortran and Cobol shared; something that the others were missing. Maybe it might have been even (odd as it was) because none of the others had ever experienced such a powerful emotion as love. The answers were legion, and none of them pointed to a reason why things were the way they were for the older sisters.

But that was a puzzle for Sisal to figure out for a later time. Perhaps there would be someone to help her to figure it out in the way that her older sisters were.

* * *

On the plane and somewhere over the Rocky Mountains, Setsuna was reading over the latest set of notes that Jim Arban had given her regarding the case. He'd been a wealth of information and he and his wife had become good friends with she and Ted. But more importantly, though he didn't know it, he was a link to the past: his near-instinctive grasp of ancient languages, Tsu had discovered through small amounts of magic, that he was a reincarnation from the Silver Millennium. Regardless, he'd become a good friend and was invaluable to her on this case:

====

Tsu,

Enclosed is some extra data I've discovered on Atlantean. It seems that archeologists in Egypt have recently uncovered a codex of data that far predates known human history. Details haven't been released to the public, but the reason I'm giving it to you is because, oddly enough, it seems to tie in with your investigation.

The codex has a single line that reads in English: "Those of the Connected will destroy those of the Millennium, and the Queen of the Moon and her society will fall to the Regents of the Ether." I've not a clue of what it means, but maybe it would help, especially in light of the Moon Queen angles you've asked me to investigate for you. Copies of the pictures sent to me by a colleague at the excavation site are enclosed.

Of course, this may sound funny, but somehow this all seems so familiar to me, as though I've come across it before. If I believed in reincarnation, I'd venture so far as to say I'm getting a case of dij` vu. But of course, that's a silly notion, isn't it?

Meredith and I hope that you have a safe trip back to Japan, and we'll watch out for Ted while you're gone. Just don't have too much fun back there! :)

Cheers,

Jim

====

"Still reading that letter?" Bill asked, opening up one sleepy eye.

"Yes. Beats watching the in-flight movie, and I can't sleep."

"Neither can I. Nightmares 're still too fresh." Before she could ask, he added, "I know what you're going to say, Tsu, and to be honest, I don't blame you. If I were in your shoes, I'd have recommended that I not go, either. You have very valid fears that I could slip the leash and go gun happy there." He gave her a weary half-smile and added, "Nevertheless, I am a cop. I can't afford to go out for revenge because someone killed my wife and children. I have to think of all the others that died as well, and that they're counting on me to issue payback...legally...so they can find rest up in heaven." He ran his hands across his beard and grunted. "Yes, I'm a mess. Yes, I appreciate the fact that you're worried, and I'm glad you are. But I'll make it though, don't you worry. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try to get some sleep again. And so should you--it's a helluva long flight, you know?"

"Don't remind me," she mock-moaned. "I'm all too familiar with the length." Setting aside the letter and watching her partner try to get some sleep, she thought about what, in several hours, she was about to get into. It was a hot button situation, but hot on the scale of things she hadn't dealt with in years, and the stakes were far higher and more personal than they'd ever been for a NYPD Detective or the former Sailor Pluto. But the option--luna regia morte--was one she was not willing to accept. Pulling the skyphone off its cradle, she dialed her calling card number into it, followed by a phone number she knew all-too-well:

"Ah, Konnichi wa. Hi, Ranma!" she exclaimed in Japanese, glad to find the person on the phone that she wanted to talk to. "Hi, it's Setsuna. Yeah, I know, it's been a while since I last called. How's everything?"

"Great," the person on the other end answered. "How's things with you?"

"Long story," she answered, "but I'll have all the time in the world to tell you, soon enough. Listen, I'm coming back to Japan on a business trip, and I need you, if possible, to meet me at the airport. I also need you to keep this a secret from Usagi, ne?"

"Sure, I can hide it from 'Sagi, no prob," he replied. "What for, though?"

"A surprise, of course. Look, here's what I need you to do...."

To be continued in
Prologue 3: Battleground Shinjuku
and the main series!

Author's Notes:
More of the same. Get used to it. ^_^

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