Subject: [FFML] [Fanfic] [SM] Perfect World, ch. 3
From: ILadyIce@aol.com
Date: 12/18/1999, 12:32 AM
To: ffml@fanfic.com

        Hey everyone! Incurring extra surcharges, so I'd better make this 
quick. ^_^; Anyway, this a 'fic I wrote about a year ago.... I'm STILL 
looking for the first few chapters, so if anyone knows where I can find 'em, 
e-mail me!!!
        Thank you, Jade-chan, for finding this one. ^_^
        Ummm... Any comments would be great! Trying to revise, and get the 
series going again! 
        Thanks......!!!

Quickie Disclaimer:

Sailormoon is owned by Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Kodansha.....

-----------------------------------------------------------
a bishoujo senshi sailormoon fanfic

P e r f e c t W o r l d
Part 3: Dark Shades of Bliss

      It was nearing midnight; that much the boy could see from the
alignment of the stars, the whispers of the moon. He thought of the
witching hour, and smiled his bitter smile. They would be coming
soon, he could feel it in his bones, in a buzzing in the back of his
mind. _She_ knew it as well. The subtle shield around the penthouse
was lifted, admitting the car and its occupants to roll up the driveway
unhindered. He waited in the shadows, biding his time, and swallowing
the sense of dread that was slowly rising in his throat. 

      It wasn't long before a grim-faced man dressed in a business suit
walked rapidly over to the doors, opening them with a kind of cautious
indifference. The boy studied him, knowing this man to be one of the
Fake-princess' personal guards, a man trained in every form of combat
known to man... and some that weren't. He pursed his lips, noting the
only partially concealed weapon, the thinly veiled threat the man wanted
to get across.

      ' What a disgusting man. Hiding behind his weapon, fearing the one
who comes through this door. ' The boy allowed himself an amused look,
at the same time feeling a measure of disgust for this man, this man
who pretended to be a... what did he call himself?... _professional_.

      The guard gestured, hurriedly ushering in the two men who had come
with the prize, angry that they had let her take up the rear. The boy 
averted his eyes, uncomfortable. He wondered briefly if that speck of a man 
knew
who these two newcomers were...

      ' Tomo...' He shook his head, pulling back into the shadows uneasily
as the two men passed on. ' You degrade yourself by doing _her_ bidding...'

      He froze suddenly, breath caught in his throat.

      -moonsilverprincessloveeternalUSAKO-

      The thoughts ran through his mind even as he furrowed his brow
in awestruck confusion. ' It wasn't... It's not... Usagi? '

      He watched as she entered, hardly able to control his trembling,
listening unconsciously to a part of the guard's conversation with Tomo.

      "Look a' that sexy thing... Sach's concubine, eh?" The guard
sniggered, a rather unprofessional like thing to do, as Tomo watched
on disdainfully.
      ' Shouldn't talk about Sachiko that way... Violent temper, ' the boy
thought absentmindedly.
      "Surely you jest..." Tomo smiled thinly. "This is Isuhiro Maidel-sama,
Tsukino-san's royal guest, last remnant of the eternal Silver Millennium.
Returned to us at last... Neo-Queen of Crystal Tokyo, Senshi Sailormoon."
      "Doesn't look like much to me..." the guard muttered. His hand,
however, fluttered over the spot his gun was kept.

      Wrong... he was wrong. The boy studied her physique, now coldly,
calculating. He had learned, long ago, when it was best to put emotions
behind him, and concentrate on the matter at hand... Maidel.

      ' So... this is Isuhiro Maidel... Reincarnated Serenity? ' The sinewy
sleekness of her movements, resembling the long-dead cats of former-
Earth, suggested a deeper teaching than the sloppy guard's. Every
movement, every expression was relaxed, almost tired. Defenses were
dropped in her presence, well built up shields were discarded. She
seemed nothing more than a graceful woman... albeit a beautiful one.
And it was all a facade... he smiled as he caught a glimpse of a cleverly
hidden weapon beneath the long black trenchcoat she wore.

      His smile faded as he caught her scowl, the suspicious way she
looked around her... in his direction, past it, studying the room, learning
its intricacies. ' But... Usagi would never... She... was sweet and... '
And still... he knew this woman. Deep in his heart... He shuddered,
wondering if this was another of _her_ tricks... another of _her_
temptations...

      "Nice place... So, where's Tsukino?"

      This new voice caused him to look up, and receive yet another
surprise. This new woman -- certainly an executive, with that briskness
of step, and hard blue eyes. Hair cut in a smart bob, business-like
but fashionable; briefcase, and Notetaker in hand. His mind flashed
back to scenes from press conferences... historic televised events...
and he came up with a name.

      Seitohino Masamirei.

      No... that wasn't... He froze, eyes slowing flicking from one woman
to the other. ' Rei... Usagi? You dislike each other... that much I can
tell. No... No, it would be too easy... ' He almost laughed out loud, in
accordance to that wild despair that had seized his heart. She would
do this to him... Bring these two to him... The two that felt so familiar...
yet really were not at all.

      ' I must consult with the prophet, ' he mused, twining the chain at
his neck around his small fingers. ' Yes... '

      The crescent necklace, now gleaming casually on the floor in the soft
moonlight, was the only thing to mark his passage. On its back were
inscribed the words, "Forever Twilight: Mamoru and Usagi ".

--

     "What?" Luna's face crumpled into an expression of heartaching pain...
disappointment... then finally a more composed surprise. "A... clone?
Who..." She faltered. "Why... Where are we?" She clasped her hands
together roughly, the knuckles turning white with the force of her grip.

      The green-eyed woman studied her, blank-faced, then turned her
attention back to Aisu who was looking from one woman to the other.
"Something the matter... Princess?" The small smirk that played
across her lips attempted to counter the odd emotions that flickered
through her eyes, but to no avail. Aisu caught it, and decided to
let the remark about him being a 'Princess' go.

      "Miss... uh, Kino, was it?" he said, nodding and her and smiling.
"This woman's crazy..." He gestured towards Luna. "I'm no 'Ami' or
'Princess' or whatever... I'm just a normal, average, everyday kind
of guy. So, obviously, there's been a _big_ misunderstanding..."

      "Don't screw around with me," she snapped, grabbing the front
of his shirt. "_I_ know who you are... _You_ know who..." She paused,
the expression of anger receding. Her eyes took on a curious light.
"Could it be... your memories haven't awakened?" She glanced at Luna,
frowning. "I thought that was your job..."

      "I can't..." Luna swallowed, still trying to get over the shock of
seeing her long-dead companion. "After... Crystal Tokyo's defeat..."

      The Makoto-clone frowned deeper, forehead increasing in frustration.
"This wasn't how it was prophesized... Well. No matter." She shrugged,
releasing Aisu from her grip. "I apologize for being so... rough. _Her_
thoughts... Jupiter-sama's... keep invading my own. It's very difficult 
to..." She trailed off, eyes haunted.

      "I..." Luna stopped, hardened her face. "Who created you? Why..."
She paled suddenly, took a tentative step forward. "Are you with Sachiko?"

      "No." Makoto studied her, face once again blank. "Not anymore... but,
yes, she decreed her scientists to create me. They had quite an extensive
library of information of all the Senshi... Sailorjupiter, Kino Makoto, was
said to only have a 50/50 chance of being reincarnated. So they made me."

      She shook her head impatiently before Luna could speak. "But what
do I care about the moonchild? We have bigger things to worry about...
They are gathering reincarnations. Mars... a one Seito Masami, editor
and reporter for NsTV... and Moon, Isuhiro Maidel... mercenary." She
scowled.

      "But that's not... that couldn't be..." Luna stumbled. She suddenly
clenched a fist. "Serenity could not be a mercenary!"

      "They didn't choose who they would be reincarnated in," Makoto
said calmly. "But they both are without their memories... and can be
manipulated by certain, uh, members of Sachiko's entourage... And...
they have another." She reached in the pocket of her jacket, brought
out a tattered looking brochure, and threw it on the table for Luna and
Aisu to see.

      Most of what they were saying had gone by him in a daze, and he
was eager to participate in at least one part of the conversation. He
studied the paper, slowly reading the captioned words. "Festival of
Sunlight... Come see the daughter of the Golden Goddess... Remnant
of the Millennium... First ever on-display Sailorsenshi! Sailornova!

      "Think I remember this..." he muttered. His eyes suddenly lit up and
he nodded. "Yeah... some kind of carnival in the rundown section of
Juuban..."

      "Exactly." Makoto twisted her lips into a sardonic half-smile. "This
woman they put on display like an animal at a zoo... is Venus. Aino
Minako."

--

      "So? When are we going to see Tsukino?" Masami demanded.

      Maidel paid no attention to the other woman as she continued to
hassle Masaaki, instead gazing at a spot untouched by the light, hidden
in the shadows of the blowing drapes. Something there had caught her
eye; an old feeling, a stirring within her breast. Someone...

      "Someone was eavesdropping." She frowned at the lax guard. ' What
an imbecile.'

      "Er... uh... what?" Yasutaru stuttered, looking startled, and patting
his brow with a handkerchief he had produced from a hidden pocket. "There's
no one here but us, Isuhiro-san."

      "In all probabilities, 'twas a Royal Guard on patrol. You mustn't 
worry about it, Isuhiro-sama."

      Maidel looked at the driver, closed her mouth, opened it again.

      "What did you call me? And where'd this change of heart come from?"
She scowled, eyeing him skeptically.

      "I do apologize for that earlier outburst." He actually looked
embarrassed. Maidel shook away her surprise, surveying the others in the 
room. Yasutaru, sweat pouring down his face, had edged away from his driver 
uncomfortably;
the guard still looked like he was on some kind of high. She turned back
to the driver, cocking her head to one side.

      "Who the hell are you?"

      "Oh... yes, of course. I should have introduced myself earlier. My
apologies, Isuhiro-sama, Seito-sama." He bowed to each of them, his face 
utterly 
serious. "I am Tomo, brother of Mitsuo, prophet of Serenity. I welcome you 
most 
humbly to the home of Time."

      "Home of... what?" Masami muttered, working fervently at her mini-
computer. She paused; looked up. "When did I incur the honor of being called
-sama? Ah... and this is all on the record, ne?" She smiled inwardly, 
thinking, 
' What a bunch of freaks. And what a story this is going to be. Promotion 
worthy,
indeed! '

      A voice rang out from the direction of the stairs; clear, precise, and
controlled. Voice of ice... voice of imagined grandeur. Tsukino Sachiko.

      "Welcome, Princesses. We have been waiting for you..."

--

      "Mina..." Luna trailed off, shaking her head. "No. No, you are 
wrong..."

      "She committed suicide. A few days ago," Aisu said matter-of-factly.
"I watched it on tv, and there was that press conference. I still don't
get what you two have against Sachi..." He paused, shaken by their
fierce expressions. "Umm, anyway, didn't you say something about
Masami? Yeah, well, uh, she was at the conference too..."

      "We don't listen to the media here," Makoto said shortly. "Tsukino
has her hand in everything."

    "Mak-- Kino-san." Luna glanced at Aisu, obviously troubled. "T... take off
his shackles. We are obviously on the same side here."

      Makoto complied, producing a small electronic device from inside her
blouse. She pressed the keypad several times until it emitted a high-pitched
beeping sound. The manacles fell off, clattering loudly on the floor, as 
Aisu rubbed his sore wrists.

      She looked back up at Luna, pursed her lips. "That wasn't what you
were going to say... what are you thinking, Princess?"

      "Princess, huh?" Aisu ran a hand through his spiky blue hair. "Eh...
is that why you didn't tie _her_ up?" He made a hmmphing noise. "You're
_all_ nuts," he grumbled.

      "Minako," Luna said softly, ignoring Aisu, "is not dead. I would have
felt it. But she's been avoiding me for so long... She blames me... for the 
death
of Artemis." She turned away, hiding the look of still-raw pain in her eyes.

      Makoto suddenly put a hand to her ear. "Wha... What do you _mean_
there's a youma approaching? Moronic, good-for-nothing, little... _Yes_,
I'd like you to release the mechas!"

      Aisu squinted, trying to catch a glimpse of the tiny radio that she
obviously had attached to her ear. ' Looks old as hell. Well... maybe I 
could get a job as a techie. ' He sighed, and removed the mini-computer, 
the only thing he had saved from his old store, out of his pocket. It flashed 
an
insistent warning blue,  and he frowned. ' What? Youma analyzer? You...'

      "Seems there's a renegade youma approaching, ladies. I suggest
you get under cover... this's a Class A. Humanoid." Makoto flashed a
quick, roguish grin. "This should be fun."

      Aisu passed out.

-- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- -

Next: Chapter Four ... Prophets of Sunlight




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