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P R E L U D E
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The cycle turns: faces come and go; people are born and die; ideologies
and artistic movements come in and out of fashion; cities are founded
and grow old on the ruins of their predecessors ... civilisations rise
and fall.  The cycle turns.

Sometimes the turning is slow and leisurely.  Rome's empire lasted a
thousand years; others did even better.  Once there was a civilisation
that spanned planets, and was ruled from the Moon; that lasted a very
long time.  But the cycle always turned.

Sometimes, it turns more quickly than anyone expects.

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The full moon rode high in the sky over the greatest city in the world.
It was after midnight, but parts of the city still bustled.  The central
district was as busy as ever, of course.  Some things never change.  The
streets were filled with light and sound, with moving vehicles humming
past -- and always, everywhere, with people, their faces strange under
the pale blue glow of the street-lights.

Two pairs of eyes watched the traffic intently.  It was not heavy, but
it was moving at a steady pace, and there were few gaps.  At last, the
owner of one of the pairs of eyes thought it saw a chance.  A tiny
figure leaped out of cover, streaked across the road -- having to dodge
between two cars in the middle of the street -- and vanished into an
alleyway on the other side.

The other traffic-watcher sighed.  A few seconds later, inevitably, a
much better opportunity came along, and the second watcher followed the
first.

It was very dark in the alley, but the two figures could see well
enough.  The first of them was a small tabby cat.  It had an odd marking
on its forehead: a simple white circle.  The second was a larger cat,
pure white.  It had a mark too: like a golden crescent moon.

The white cat said, "I don't think they saw us."  Its voice was male. It
sounded rather tired.

The tabby said, "What's it matter anyway?  They're not gonna pay any
attention to a pair of cats."  It was female, and quite young.

"They might, thanks to you," the white accused.

"Geez, you gonna bring that up forever?  One little mistake!"

The white cat stared at his companion indignantly.  "You spoke to a
human!  And not just any old human, one of the Serenity Council!"

"He was offering me a fish!  Anyway, how was I supposed to know he was a
Serry?"

"The uniform should have been a big hint," snorted the white.

"It was dark!" the tabby complained.  "Anyway, what about that time when
you --"

"Shh!  Quiet!"

There was a deep humming sound in the air.  It had been building for
several seconds, but neither had noticed until almost too late.  A faint
breeze stirred the dust in the alleyway.  Then, suddenly, it appeared: a
huge, dark bulk, drifting slowly overhead.  As it crossed the alley, the
humming was intensified a hundredfold.  The machine -- for it was a
machine, clearly mechanical -- was marked here and there with words and
logos, but they were almost invisible, drowned out by the banks of
spotlights mounted in the machine's base, lighting up the alley for a
few seconds as they passed.

The tabby cat froze in place as the light caught it, looking terrified.
The white cat was nosing through some rubbish, as if perfectly
unconcerned. Then the floater moved on; the sound shrank to a faint hum
and was gone; and the cats relaxed again.

The white cat abandoned the rubbish it had been examining with such
interest and said, "Still think I'm being paranoid?"

"It was just a coincidence," said the tabby.  It didn't sound too sure
of itself, though.  "You see Opals on patrol every night."

"All the more reason to play it safe," argued the white.

"But -- ahh, what the hell."  The tabby gave up.  After a moment it
added, "Y'know, you looked real cute there, playing with that old junk,
Artemis."

The white cat, Artemis, snorted.  "Yeah, yeah.  At least I acted like a
real cat, instead of just freezing up."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure a real cat _would_ have frozen up," said the
tabby innocently.

"Well, you'd know, wouldn't you, Bendis?" snapped Artemis.

"I knew it!" shouted Bendis.  "I _knew_ it!  You _always_ bring that up
whenever I'm winning an argument!"

"I do not!"

"You do too!"

"I do -- oh, for heaven's sake.  This is ridiculous!"

"You always say that, too," grumbled Bendis.

Artemis stared at her for a second.  "You know what?" he said in a low,
reasonable tone.  "Someday soon you're going to be old enough to leave.
I've taught you just about everything you need to know to be able to
carry on the search on your own.  You'll be able to branch out, perform
the mission all by yourself.  Any you know what else?"  His voice was
starting to rise now.  "When that day comes, I will be _very glad_."

There was a long silence.  Then Bendis said, "I _think_ you've only said
that one about five or six times."

Artemis spat.  "You're impossible!  Just like your --"

"Oh, no you don't!"  Bendis was angry now, really angry.  "I'm fed up
with being compared to her!  You hear me?  I don't wanna hear it again!"

"You show a little respect to your --"

"No!" Bendis shouted.  "I'm fed up with this!"  She bounded a few steps
away, then looked back.  "I've got better things to do that listen to
you burbling on about the good old days, do you hear me?  I've _had_
it!"

And suddenly she turned tail and ran off.  Artemis stared after her for
a few seconds, not believing it; then he spat a curse and gave chase.
But she had a good head start; and after all, she was much younger.  He
stopped after a little, breathing hard.

"Damn," he muttered.  "I'm definitely getting too old for this ..."

                ****************

The next morning was bright and sunny.  Bendis made her way down a side
street.  She was moving a lot more slowly now.  She looked tired and
somewhat bedraggled.

She was muttering to herself, a bad habit that Artemis had never managed
to break her out of.  But what did she care?

"Geez, who'd have thought finding anything to eat would be so hard?" she
mumbled.  "Maybe the old fart does have his uses, after all."  She
stopped and began to wash herself.  Her fur tasted vile.  "Bleah. What a
night ..."

Involuntarily, she remembered:  Running down the street, outdistancing
Artemis easily.  Dodging a boot being thrown by a drunken old man.
Running away from a powerful, vicious-looking, scar-covered tomcat.
Sneaking into a restaurant kitchen and trying to steal some food; then
dashing out of the kitchen followed by an angry cook, who threw a bucket
of dirty water after her.  Trying to sleep on a sheltered rooftop.
Finally, at dawn, fighting a seagull for a scrap of something that had
looked marginally edible, and getting a good pecking for her efforts.

"Maybe I should try and find him again," she muttered.  "He should have
cooled down by now --"

The sudden sound of voices cut her off.  She looked around frantically,
spotted a likely-looking hedge, and ducked into it just as five
schoolchildren walked past, chatting with each other.  She watched them
go by thoughtfully.

"Schoolkids ... If there's a school near here, I oughta be able to beg
some food there ..."

Keeping a safe distance, she followed them.

                ****************

Artemis waited for some time in the alley, but Bendis never came back.
By mid-morning he decided that she wasn't going to.  But still he
waited, trying to decide what to do next.  It was the first time they'd
been separated since her birth.  He was more worried than he cared to
admit, even to himself.

[She might go to the backup contact point,] he decided at last.  [Can't
hurt to check, at least.]

He set off.  The streets were actually emptier by day, and he made rapid
progress.  Still, it was a long way, and it took more than half an hour
to reach his destination.

It was a three-story building, around sixty years old -- which made it a
very old building, in this city.  The name that was carved into the
stonework above the main entrance was a single word in the English
alphabet: OLYMPUS.

The bottom floor was devoted to retail shops; but the upper two were the
gymnasium and health club.  The Olympus did a prosperous business with
the keep-fit crowd, especially considering the eccentricities of its
owner.  It was open twenty-four hours a day, and was usually pretty full
for at least sixteen of those hours.

Artemis made his way around the back of the building, and (with some
difficulty) up the fire escape.  There was a window half-open on the
third floor.  He risked a quick look -- nobody was around -- and jumped
inside.

He was in the private rooms of the gymnasium's owner, he quickly saw.
Itsuko Pappadopoulos was half Greek: an unusual combination, even here.
She compounded this with a variety of other minor oddities; living in a
suite of rooms at the back of her own gymnasium was only one of them.

[One of these days,] Artemis thought, [she's going to get caught out.
And then there'll be hell to pay.]

He heard footsteps, and hastily ducked under a table.  A moment later,
Itsuko herself came into the room.  She was of average height; her hair,
cut very short, was a pure, dazzling white, but her face was startlingly
youthful.  She was wearing a simple business suit that made the most
of her excellent figure.

Artemis watched her for a few seconds, then walked calmly out from his
hiding-place and jumped up on the table.  He and Itsuko stared at each
other.  Then Itsuko said calmly, "Artemis.  You again."

"It's been a long time, Rei."

She blinked, then scowled.  "I hope I don't have to remind you about my
name _again_."

Artemis sighed.  "Oh, come on.  You're being paranoid.  Do you really
think anybody would recognise you, after all this time?"

"You're standing in a city ruled by a group who call themselves the
Serenity Council, and you think nobody would recognise my old name?"

"Yeah, but Serenity was ... different."

Itsuko made a face.  It might have been anger or regret.  "She sure was.
But the little kids still play Serenity-and-her-Senshi games.  A couple
of years ago I took a look at the History textbooks the schools are
using these days.  We're all in there.  There's even a photo of me ..."
She shuddered.  "I've never been so glad I changed my hair."

Artemis looked interested.  "Hey, am I in there?  Or --"  Itsuko gave
him a withering look and he shut up.

She stared at him for some time.  Then:  "As you say, it's been a long
time.  What ... fifteen years?  So how goes your search?"

"The usual," Artemis said, stifling a sigh.  She always asked that.  It
was one of the reasons he didn't come to see her more often.

Itsuko shook her head.  "I have to admire you.  I ... gave up hoping, a
few hundred years ago.  You're the only one left who believes ..."

"The cycle will turn, Rei.  The Senshi _will_ be reborn."

This time she did not comment on the name.  "Artemis, they can't be.
The cycle is broken.  There is no heir to the throne.  Princess Usagi
died.  Serenity died.  There's no-one else.  No heir to be reborn in
this time or any other time.  It's ... it's just over."

"I don't believe that," said Artemis flatly.  "The Queen died trying to
send the souls of her people forward, just as her mother did.  She may
have succeeded.  The princess may be reborn."

"The princess died right at the beginning of the ... the trouble.  That
was _months_ before Crystal Tokyo fell.  Artemis, she's gone."

"She'll be reborn.  I have every confidence.  You'll see."  But after a
moment, Artemis added in a low, painful voice that belied his certainty,
"If she isn't ... then what's the point in going on?  What am I _for_?"

"The same as me," said Itsuko.  She spoke gently, but there was hidden
steel in her voice as she continued:  "To survive.  To remember.  And
just maybe ... to act.  To be ready, if it wakes again.  We're the last
two left, the only two who survived the battle.  If the trouble comes
again, we may be the only ones who recognise --"

"Some help we'd be," Artemis muttered.  "A cat and an ex-Senshi."

"I may have lost my powers, but I can still fight.  And so can you."

Artemis snorted.  "Sure.  Anyway, we're not quite alone.  Remember,
there's still --"

"Oh yes, your protege.  What was it ... Bendis?  How is she?  When are
you going to bring her to meet me?"

"Well, that's sort of why I came today.  I was hoping she'd be here
already --"

                ****************

Bendis prowled through the school grounds.  Her stratagem had worked
better than she'd ever dreamed.  She was feeling pleasantly stuffed, and
it was only mid-morning.

[I wonder why Artemis never does this?  Begging from schoolgirls is so
easy ... but then, he always tries to be so dignified.  Wonder if he was
always that way?]

She found a likely-looking spot in the sun and lay down to bask for a
little.  It really was a lovely day ... and the sun was so warm, it was
blissful in fact, and she'd just eaten better than she had in weeks ...

And she woke up, to the feeling of hands stroking her back.  Good hands,
too, that knew exactly the right way to treat a cat.  [This isn't a
school,] she thought wildly.  [This is heaven.]

"Oh, it's purring," said a voice.  "Here, let me."

"There you go," said another.  A different set of hands took over.  They
weren't as skilled, but they were still very good.  Bendis rolled over
onto her side, her eyes still shut.

[Ohh.  Ohhhhh.  Don't stop.  Hey, don't --!  Oh.  Oh, yes.  Yessss ...]

"Maybe you should adopt it, Nana-chan," said the second voice, amused.

"I don't think my parents would let me," said the first voice
regretfully. "What about you, Iku?"

"Sorry," said a third voice.  "No cats allowed.  I'd rather have a dog
anyway ..."

[A dog?]  Bendis almost said it aloud without thinking.  [Why would
_anyone_ prefer a dog?]

The first pair of hands took over again.  She writhed in delight.  "I
think it prefers you, Eitoku-kun," said the first voice.  It sounded
envious.  But that was silly.  [Why don't _both_ of you take me? I'm
yours!  Just keep stroking!]

"Can I have a go?" said a fourth voice.  A new set of hands touched her
fur --

And Bendis yowled, leaped up, and ran, at top speed, for the nearby
bushes.  She plunged into them and kept on going, running, running from
the touch of those hands, that touch that filled her with a sense of --

What?

She came to a halt as the panic faded.  What had it been?  It wasn't
pain; the hands had been firm but gentle.  Surprise?  But the _first_
set of hands had been more surprising.  No, it had been something else.
Something quite unexpected.  Something ... alien.

[Oboy.]

Artemis had warned her it would be like this, the first time.  Her first
contact with the power.  The touch of another plane.  The overpowering
sense of _difference_.  But she hadn't been paying much attention at the
time ...

[Nothing new with that,] some traitorous corner of her mind said.  But
she paid it no heed.  She had more important things to ponder.

The owner of that fourth pair of hands was touched with power.  Part of
something greater. Charged with special powers and abilities, and born
to wield them in the service of the Queen and the defence of the realm.
Was, in short, a Sailor Senshi.

Bendis ran back to the bushes and peeked out.  But there was nobody
there.  The humans had left.  Bendis' heart sank.  One of the girls at
this school was a senshi.  But which?

She was going to have her work cut out for her ...


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     S   A   I   L   O   R       M   O   O   N       4   2   0   0
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                       T H E   B E G I N N I N G
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NEXT:  The Serenity Council is looking for two talking cats.  Artemis is
looking for Bendis.  And Bendis is looking for a Senshi ...



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Angus MacSpon                                                Allen Gainsford
http://shell.ihug.co.nz/~macspon/          http://shell.ihug.co.nz/~macspon/