Subject: [FFML] [Fanfic][YST/SM] Ronin Summer - Inner Battles : pt 7
From: Morgan Hudson
Date: 2/6/2000, 3:23 AM
To: ffml@fanfic.com
CC: dataraven_659@excite.com
Reply-to:


Hello, all!

Well, it's about three in the morning for me, so I'll make this quick. I
know I want C&C, you know I want C&C, we ALL know I'll even settle for a
quick "hello". As usual, I'm sending a "CC:" to myself, so I can check my
line wrapping a few seconds before this shows up on the list (yes, I realise
it's too late by then. I'm slightly obsessive). Point being, if you want to
say something, just copy and paste the address from there, or the "From"
line, or just click "Reply". However you do it, and whatever you say, I'll
be glad to hear it. I always am.

Anyway, now that my obligatory plea for replies is done with, on to the
story!

^_^






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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --

OBLIGATORY LEGAL DISCLAIMER : None of these guys are mine. The Sailor 
Senshi belong to DIC and Kodansha, while the Yoroiden are owned by 
Sunrise and Graz Entertainment. Okay? So don't bother suing me. I'm a 
student. 

                    RONIN SUMMER 4 : INNER BATTLES
            
         A Sailor Moon / Yoroiden Samurai Troopers cross-over

             by Morgan Hudson (dataraven_659@excite.com)



Part 7 : REUNIONS

	Chibi-Usa sat on a very cold bench. The wall behind her was 
probably stone, but that was the extent of her knowledge. Her cell 
could be the size of a closet or of a baseball stadium, but it was so 
dark she couldn't even see herself, let alone anything else. Shivering 
slightly, she tucked her knees under her chin and hugged her legs. It 
was so cold... 

	"I want my mama," she whispered softly to herself, and 
something rattled nearby. She froze, and bit her lip as hot tears 
welled in her eyes. "I want my daddy..."

	"Who's there?" The voice drifted through the shadows, deep and 
warm as an embrace. "I know you're out there : I can hear you 
breathing! Chibi-Usa, is that you? Usagi? All you all right?" 

	"Mamoru?" Chibi-Usa looked around uselessly and hopped off 
of the bench, her feet scuffing on the hard stone floor as she began to
feel her way in the direction of the voice. "Daddy, is that you?" 

	Again, the strange rattling noise, and a short pause, before 
Mamoru Chiba answered. "Yes, Chibi-Usa, it's me. Are you okay? Did they
hurt you at all? Have you seen Usagi, or heard what they may have done 
to her?" 

	"I'm okay, just a little cold..." Chibi-Usa paused as she felt 
the hard corner of the bench under her fingers. "Daddy, where are you?"

	"Just follow my voice, Chibi-Usa. I'm over against this wall : 
they've got me chained to it." Once again, she heard the rattling 
sound, and realised it must be his chains clinking as he tried to move.
Keeping one hand against the cold stone wall, she shuffled along until 
she felt the corner of the room. 

	"Chibi-Usa? Are you still out there? Where are you?" 

	"I'm standing in the corner." Chibi-Usa giggled, and started 
feeling her way along the wall again. Soon, she could hear the deep 
rasping of Mamoru's breathing, and felt the icy metal links in her 
hands. "Hi, Daddy!"

	"Morning, Chibi-Usa. Or is it evening?" Mamoru's chains rattled
again as he fidgeted. Chibi-Usa smiled and hopped forward, latching her
arms around his neck and burying her face in the starched linen of his 
shirt. Suddenly she was washed in his body heat as the steam of his 
breath tickled her hair and she giggled. "Well," he said, with a 
relieved chuckle, "you're certainly here, all right. But what about 
Usagi?"
	
	"Haven't seen her," Chibi-Usa confessed into his vest, and 
sniffed slightly. "You think she's okay, Mamoru?"

	There was another long pause. "Sure," Mamoru said at length, 
"Sailor Moon is pretty tough, you know. In fact, I'll bet she's already
beaten Jadeite. Probably looking for us even as we speak." 

**********

	Setsuna Meioh lifted her teacup to her lips and swallowed some 
of the piping hot ocha. It burned her throat, and she made a slightly 
sour face. Her companion smiled calmly and shrugged. "I apologise if 
the tea seems a bit hot, but my dear Yamanouchi insists that it keeps 
out any potential poisons." 

	Setsuna cast a glance at the man in question, standing in the 
corner of the cavernous room, arms folded. He had wild green hair and 
hooded eyes, and smiled just widely enough that the torchlight 
reflected off of his long, sharp canines. "If anybody would know such 
things, I suppose it would be him." She shook her head and returned 
to the task at hand. "I have come here for a reason, Empress." 

	Kayura mock-pouted. "Awww, you mean you didn't travel all this 
way to have tea with your old friend? No reminiscing about our days as 
Arago's servants? No fond remembrances of good times with the Masho? I 
never would have guessed, Sailor Pluto." 

	"The Senshi may not know it, but they are in grave danger. The 
Samurai Troopers, too." Setsuna set down her cup and looked into the 
eyes of her oldest friend. "Kayura, I have come here to beg for your 
help against the forces of Jadeite."

	"I'm terribly sorry, dearest." Kayura smiled apologetically. 
"I can't order the Masho to fight Jadeite. We're a bit pressed right 
now, what with the recent coup attempt and the ongoing war and all. 
My other Masho are all busy with... a little side project of mine." 
She took a sip from her tea. "I could lend you Naaza, if you'd like..."

**********

	Rei Hino and Shin Mouri walked down the hallway of Makoto 
Kino's apartment building. Rei kept looking around aimlessly, checking 
door numbers, while Shin was whistling an equally aimless tune. After 
the silence had just passed the 'unbearable' level, Shin spoke. 

	"Are you certain this is necessary, Rei? I mean, she could 
just be out for the day or something." 
	
	Rei shook her head, her long black hair waving around her like 
a cloak of night as she prepared to knock. "No. The only Inner Senshi 
who didn't respond to my call were Makoto and Usagi, and I'm not taking
any chances! Nise Suiko might have decided to attack them before they 
could get to us, or something even more horrible!" She knocked, and 
a sleepy-eyed Makoto Kino opened the door. 

	"Damn it, you two, I said no more food! I'm trying to- Rei?" 
Makoto blinked and rubbed her eyes, hiding a yawn behind one hand. She 
had let her long brown hair out of its usual thick ponytail, and was 
wearing a large Hanshin baseball jersey that went to mid-thigh. Shin 
smiled politely and pinched his nose. 

	"Hi, Makoto. Is it okay if we come in?" Rei pushed her way past
the girl and entered, dragging Shin by the wrist. "It's really 
important." 

	"Sure! It's not like I was sleeping, or anything..." Makoto 
turned and watched as her two guests stomped over to the couch. "Hey, 
Shin... what's with the nose? You got a cold, or something?" 

	"Er, no." Shin admitted. "That's... a nice shirt. Looks much 
better on you than it does on Touma..."

	Makoto blushed and bit her lip. "Yeah, well, uhm..."

	Rei groaned. "Could we, please? Important business? Big red 
guy? Kind of looks like you, Shin? Is this ringing any bells? Can the 
small talk, and let's get down to business, Sailor Jupiter!"

**********

	The door to their cell opened with a horrible screech, and both
Mamoru and Chibi-Usa squinted, blinded by the sudden light. A figure in
ragged robes shuffled into the room and laid a pair of plates on the 
ground before them. "Hush," it said in a deep and garbled voice. 
"Eat. Stay strong." 

	"I know you," Chibi-Usa said softly. "You're that Abadon guy, 
aren't you?" 

	The cloaked and hunched figure tilted its head from side to 
side. "Only when the wind blows north-northwest, little one. When the 
wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw." He pointed at the 
food with his claw. "Eat. I wasn't able to steal much, but it's more 
than Jadeite planned on giving you. Your friend the Princess is well, 
so fear not."

	"Why are you helping us?" Mamoru asked, his eyes narrowing. 
"How should we trust you? You work for Jadeite!"

	"As far as he knows, yes." Abadon admitted, nodding to himself.
"But things are rarely as they seem." Reaching into his tattered robes,
he withdrew a familiar red rose. "I believe you may find use for this, 
soon." Slowly, he lay the flower by Tuxedo Kamen's knees, and stood, 
bowing to Chibi-Usa. "I take my leave, small lady. I wish I could do 
more..." The door squealed shut behind him, and he two were once again 
plunged into darkness. 

	Chibi-Usa began to eat.

**********

	Jun Yamano gulped and ran his fingers through his hair as he 
approached his target. Sure, he'd never actually done this before, but 
he'd seen the Samurai Troopers try it a million times. Good thing for 
him, he thought, Nasuti had gotten Seiji to give him that man-to-man 
talk last month. He could still remember what Seiji had said : 

	* Kid, you're reaching an age where you're going to start 
noticing girls. And frankly, they won't have any interest in noticing 
you. So here's how to MAKE them notice you...*

	Jun smiled as the girl and her parents came into sight. He'd 
nearly lost them at the train station, but now he could make out every 
detail of their clothes and baggage. The one adult was tall and thin, 
with short blond hair, and wore a baggy sweater and blue jeans. The 
other had long green hair and wore an elegant sundress. The girl with 
them was... gorgeous. 

	Jun circled wide around the trio, and caught up to them by the 
ticket counter. *Lesson One,* Seiji's voice echoed in his head, "Follow
the girl. I don't care if your grandma just got run over by a truck, or
somebody's handing out free money, you follow that girl. If you don't 
get a chance to talk to her, you're finished before you even start.* 

	"Hi!" He said cheerily, and the raven haired girl looked up at 
him. "Remember me? I was just thinking that we never really got a 
chance to talk back at the hospital..."

	Hotaru Tomoe looked behind her, and turned back with a vaguely 
stunned look on her face. "I'm sorry... are you talking to me?" 

	"Well, yeah." Jun was starting to sweat. He'd say that things 
weren't going according to plan, but he hadn't really put enough 
thought into this to call it a plan. "I mean..." 

	*Lesson Two, kid. Be bold! If you aren't even able to tell 
her what you want, you're never going to GET what you want.*

	"I was just wondering..." Jun rubbed the back of his head. 
"Uhm, w-would you... like to go to a movie sometime?" 

	Hotaru blinked. "Pardon me? Are you asking me on a date?"

	*Lesson Three : Be HONEST. I'm not saying it'll work any better
than lying, but at least when they catch you, you're in less trouble. 
And they ALWAYS catch you, that's Lesson Four.*

	"Er, yeah." Jun laughed nervously. "It's just that... you're 
the most... cute... girl I've ever met, and I thought maybe we could 
go out sometime... or something." 

	Hotaru looked behind her again. Perhaps some other girl had 
snuck up, some girl she had overlooked before. Apparently, the girl was
cute, whoever she was... "You're sure you're asking ME?"

	A hand slapped down on both Jun and Hotaru's respective 
shoulders. "She accepts!" Haruka crowed, a large grin on her face. 
"How about next Tuesday? Good for you? Good for her!" 

	"Haruka-papa! How could you just go and-"
	
	"Hey, I'm your father!" Haruka laughed and patted her adopted 
daughter's back. "It's my job to meddle in your life! Now come on! 
Sailor Mars just called, and we have to get back to Juuban! You can 
come too, loverboy : we'll have a talk about your intentions towards 
my little Hotaru-chan!"
	
**********

	Minako opened the door to Seiji Date's hospital room, and 
gasped in astonishment. "Seiji, what are you doing?" 

	Seiji Date looked up and finished tossing on his olive colored 
blazer. He had changed out of his hospital gown, and into the clothes 
his family had brought him. As always, a large part of his shaggy blond
hair had flopped over one eye, as he rapidly stuffed his belongings 
into a duffel bag. "What does it look like? I'm busting out of this 
joint, and you're going to help me."

	"Help you? Are you nuts? Dr. Tofu said you needed to stay under
observation for at least another two days! Get in bed!" 

	"NO!" Seiji shouldered his duffel and scowled. "Do you have 
any idea what I've been going through? Every morning, my grandfather 
comes in and yells about me being stupid enough to crash up, then 
my mother tries to guilt trip me into never driving again. As if 
that's not bad enough, in comes Tofu to bend me into a pretzel! And on
top of that is Yayoi! Two days ago, she made me eat a bug! Yesterday, 
she cocooned me in duct tape and hung me from the traction rigging! 
I am not going to see what she came up with to top herself today!" 

	"Seiji," Minako said, deciding to try tact for once, "it can't 
really be as bad as you think."

	Seiji glared at her. "Have you been trying samples at the 
pharmacy?" He asked incredulously, after a disbelieving pause. "This 
is Yayoi. You've MET her! It's a million times worse than what I 
think!" He opened his window, and began dragging the sofa over towards 
it. "Now in about five seconds, I'm jumping out this window and going 
back to Tokyo. Are you coming with me, or are you going to stay here 
and explain to my family why you didn't stop me?"

	"Let me get my cat," Minako said instantly.

**********

	"How very interesting." Touma Hashiba used a small scapel to 
scrape up a sample of red goo from the stone courtyard of Rei's shrine.
"It would appear that exposure to the heat energy of your attack 
caused a thermodynamic change of catastrophic proportions on the 
molecular level of Nise Suiko's protoplasm..."

	Rei turned to Makoto and Shin. "Is he still speaking Japanese? 
I picked up 'appear', 'exposure', and 'caused'. Was the rest in German,
or something?"

	Shin rubbed his forehead. "Touma, old bean, old friend, could 
you dumb it down just a tad, for us mere mortals?" 

	Touma smiled and chuckled self-consciously. "Well, basically, 
when Sailor Mars used her Mars Fire Sniper she, er, baked him." 

	"Baked him?" Makoto raised an eyebrow. "Explain." 

	"Well, Nise Suiko may look like Shin, here, but he's not even 
remotely human. He's pure poison, basically just sentient slime. That's
why he can regenerate : anytime you cut him, he just... uhm... oozes 
back together." Touma shrugged. "When Rei's fire blasted him, the goo 
got... baked. Solidified, so that he couldn't reform as quickly." 

	"Excellent." Rei slammed one fist into her open palm and folded
her fingers around it. "So next time, we'll do it on purpose. I'll set 
him up, and Shin can take him down for good."

	"Actually," Touma corrected, "I believe intense cold would have
the same effect. Probably work faster, too. And that means..." 

	"AMI!" Everybody chorused, as the girl herself arrived with 
Nasuti Yagyu and the tiger Byakuen in tow. 

	"Yes?" Sailor Mercury asked politely. "What is it? Have I 
missed something important?" 

**********

	Mamoru looked up with anticipation as Abadon once more slid 
into the cell he was sharing with Chibi-Usa. "When can we get out of 
here?" He asked, keeping quiet so as not to wake the slumbering child 
with the pink hair. 

	Abadon shrugged. "If Jadeite has his way, never. I fear he may 
be planning to end your life, Tuxedo Kamen, in such a way that the 
Princess remains indentured to him through the child."

	"Impossible. If he kills me, he's breaking his word to Usagi, 
and she'd use the ginzuisho..."

	"Wiseman suggests he has already found a way to negate the 
ginzuisho." Abadon shook his head. "And Jadeite merely swore he would 
not personally kill you. If he places you into a situation that should 
result in your death, his hands remain clean. This is why you are to 
leave with me right now, and be delivered to the Pit."

	"The Pit. What a lovely and imaginative name." Mamoru made a 
face. "Pit of what, or don't I want to know? Scorpions? Snakes? Wild 
dogs?" 

	"No, Maybe, and Sometimes." Abadon reached up and began to 
undo the clasps of Mamoru's chains. "It's a gladiatorial arena, where 
criminals, rebels, and other malcontents fight whatever or whoever the 
crowds feel like on any given day. On the plus side, Chibi-Usa will be 
taken to Sailor Moon, and be allowed to stay with her. I can only 
promise you that both will remain unharmed, if I have any say in the 
matter."

	"Gladiator arena, hmmm?" Mamoru considered the implications as 
he rubbed the feeling back into his fingers and reached for his rose. 
"And here I was hoping for a nice, relaxing vacation. What a strange
coincidence!"

**********
	
	Ami Mizuno looked thoughtful. "Well, it does seem as though the
plan would work, but isn't it rather risky? I mean, it seems to rely 
rather heavily on this Nise Suiko person attacking Shin again."

	"He'll attack," Shin said, pausing in the middle of his kata, 
"I'm one of his favorite hobbies. I'm more sure he'll attack than I am 
that the sun will rise tommorow, and I'm not taking bets on which 
happens first." 

	"I can't believe you people!" Seiji Date and Minako Aino hopped
over the high stone walls surrounding Rei's shrine, and landed 
gracefully on the stairs leading to the front doors. "The ONE time I'm 
not here, you all decide to have a plan! Are you trying to piss me off?
I mean, I'm the guy who always says we need a plan, and you never 
listen to me! Why do you decide to listen the one time I'm not here to 
say it?" 

	"Hey, everybody! It's SEIJI!" Shuu Rei Fuan rushed over and 
trapped the blond Yoroiden of Korin in a bonecrushing embrace. "Come 
on, guys! Big group hug!"

	"We'll pass," Shin and Touma chorused, watching as Seiji 
began to turn blue.

	"Minako! Get the Jaws of Life over here!" Seiji squeaked. "This
dumb ape is crushing me!" Minako saluted smartly, and began tugging on 
Shuu's arms. He responded by wrapping her in his hug as well, and 
she started to do a rather good impersonation of a squirrel with its 
tail stuck in a mousetrap. 

	"Are you all done being stupid?" Rei asked, and Shuu shrugged, 
releasing Seiji and Minako. 

	"Well, I had more, but if you want to move on..."

**********

	Clad in his armour, Ryo Sanada watched from the tree canopy as 
his friends horsed around. Touma and Shuu had somehow managed to put 
each other in headlocks, and were now lying on the ground kicking and 
yelling. As far as he could tell, this was because Shuu took one of 
the pudding cups from Touma's lunch. Seiji was laughing hysterically 
from his seat nearby, and Shin was trying to subdue him by using a 
sleeper hold. 

	This was about par for the course as far as the Troopers were 
concerned, but the Senshi didn't seem to be taking it in stride. 
Disgust, concern, confusion, yes, but not stride. Ryo shook his head. 
Clearly, the girls still hadn't figured out the complexities of his 
team. for example, Touma and Shuu weren't fighting over pudding (well, 
maybe SHUU was fighting over the pudding), but over dominance. Both 
wanted to be in charge of the team with him gone, and thought this the 
only way to prove themselves worthy of it. Shin was feeling embarassed,
and trying to save face in front of girls by posing as a force of 
reason. Seiji just found casual violence funny when it wasn't happening
to him. 
	
	Owl stared at the group with surprising calm, for somebody who 
had never before witnessed the Samurai Troopers indulging in their 
favorite hobby. "So those are the Sailor Senshi," he said after a 
brief pause. "And I take it the men are the rest of your team?" 

	"Yeah," Ryo said, and fought the surge of relief in him. If 
Owl thought they were incompetent enough... "that's them. Probably 
not what you were looking for, ne? We'll just go on without them, 
I guess..."

	"No," Owl said hastily, "they'll do just fine." Standing, he 
threw his cape back over his shoulders. "I think we should go down and 
introduce me, Ryo Sanada. These thirteen will make a fine addition to 
our forces." 
	
	"Thirteen?" Ryo looked and noticed Nasuti and Jun had joined 
the group, as well as three of the Outer Senshi. "Aw, no, not those 
two! They can't do anythi-"

	"Trust me, Sanada." Owl glanced at the boy cryptically. "I have
learned the hard way not to underestimate anybody." That said, he leapt
out of the tree and landed dramatically in the courtyard, his large 
grey cape furling behind him like a pair of giant wings, and making 
him look even more like the Owl he was named after. 

	"Greetings to you, Sailor Senshi, and enemies of Jadeite! I am 
Owl, of the Dark Kingdom..." 

	Ryo groaned, and hopped down just as the other Samurai Troopers
reached for their yoroi crystals. "Don't kill him! He's with me!"

	Byakuen roared, and bounded over to where Ryo stood, knocking 
him down and skillfully licking his face until all of his hair stood 
on end. Ryo chuckled, probably for the first time in days, and ruffled
the large white tiger's fur. "Hey, buddy! Ah, I missed you too, you 
big stripey furball! C'mere!" The two began wrestling on the ground, 
and the four Troopers shared a pleased glance. WHATEVER the hell had 
been going on, it seemed to have snapped Ryo out of his depression. 

	"Ahem." Ryo and Byakuen paused in mid-fight, the boy clutching 
his tiger's ears and the tiger leaning on the boy's chest. Somehow, 
both managed to get the exact same guilty look on their features. 

	"Oh... hi, Ami!" Ryo grinned sheepishly. "No offense, hon, but 
can I be in trouble later?" Releasing the tiger, he flipped to his 
feet and grabbed the blue haired girl, squeezing her tight against him.
"I know I've been the biggest, most insensitive jerk in the whole 
history of ANY Kingdom, but could you please just forgive me?" 

	Ami Mizuno sighed, and gently patted Ryo's armoured back. 
"Ryo," she said calmly, "you are absolutely right. You were selfish..."

	"Got me there."

	"Insensitive..."

	"Thick as a stone."

	"Calloused..."

	"As Shuu's knuckles."

	"Inconsiderate..."

	"As the day is long."

	"Could you stop AGREEING with me? I'm trying to stay angry at 
you, you idiot! Why are you sounding so happy?"

	Ryo smiled. "Simple. You're still letting me hug you. That 
means that everything's going to be okay." He squeezed her a little 
tighter, and against her will, Ami sighed and hugged him back. 

	"Fine, Ryo. I forgive you. I ALWAYS wind up forgiving you..."

	Ryo nodded. "Yup! You're the only person I've ever met who's 
willing to put up with me, even when I'm acting like an idiot. It must 
be love."

	Ami sighed again, for a far different reason, and rested her 
head on his armoured shoulder. "You know it is..." She whispered into 
his neck. 

	Ryo looked down at her, eyes veiled by his lashes. "No... you 
never said it." He sounded vaguely hurt. "Even guys need to hear it 
sometimes, Ami Mizuno. Say the words, and I can guarantee you I will 
never be depressed again. A jerk, yeah, probably, but not depressed." 

	"Fine." Ami looked up at him. "I love you, you jerk." 

	Shin applauded. Seiji whistled. Touma hooted. The Senshi all 
cheered. Shuu rolled his eyes. "That's IT? THAT'S what had him so 
bummed all this time? Kamis, I'D have said I loved him, if I knew that 
was the problem!"

	"Sorry, man," Ryo said without taking his eyes off of Ami, "but
you're not that cute."

	"Oh, I don't know..." Seiji grinned and looked at Shuu. "A nice
dress, a little make-up, maybe some high heels... he could be the 
belle of the ball!" 

	"You'd know, wouldn't you, Seiji?" Touma said with a wry grin. 

	"Hey, shut up!"

	"Come on! I've seen the pictures your sister took when you 
were little!" Touma chuckled. "Real sweet!" 

	"I'm serious, man. I love you like a brother, but if you don't 
shut up, I'm going to leap over there and introduce your face to your 
spleen!" Seiji clenched his fists, suddenly on the defense.

	"What? I thought you looked kind of cute in that sunbonnet..."

	"THAT'S IT!" With a fierce battle cry, Seiji pounced on his 
friend, and the Yoroiden of Tenku and Korin began pounding each other 
into the dirt. Shuu looked at the Senshi, shrugged, and joined in, 
hollering at the top of his lungs and swinging blindly at everybody.
Shin sighed, threw his hands into the air, and waded in as well, and 
all four Samurai Troopers began brawling in celebration of their 
leader's return.

	The Senshi watched as impassively as before. After several 
minutes, Makoto spoke up. "You know," she said softly, "someone 
should probably stop them before they hurt each other."
	
	"YOU do it," Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, Minako, and Rei all 
said in unison.

**********
	
	The shadowy creature most called Abadon carefully glided into 
the liar of Wiseman. Within two seconds, his head lifted and a faint 
sniffing sound echoed through the room, followed by a low growl. 

	"Badamon," the cloaked form snarled, "I'd know your stench 
anywhere. So you've decided to hide here, with a new name and a 
different face... no matter." 

	Abadon stood, straightening the spine he had been curving so 
deliberately for the past few days. Reaching up, he pulled down the 
coarse burlap cowl that had been concealing his features. Wild, dark 
blue hair spilled out of its confinement, a single lock falling down 
between his feral green eyes. A large red scar graced his left cheek, 
bisecting his eye in the shape of a cross. 

	Anubis, Masho of Darkness and Yoroiden of Yami, strode across 
the room, reaching under his robes for the explosive charges he 
carried. Wiseman or Badamon, this evil sorceror needed to be stopped 
and stopped hard. If he was allowed to continue stripping Sailor Moon's
memories to make these evil duplicates, Jadeite would have an 
incredibly powerful force... a force sure to be turned against the 
Dynasty soon enough. Now, where were those growing clones... he'd take 
care of the fully developed ones later.

	Halfway across the room, Anubis' keen ears picked up a sadly 
familiar sound. Either someone is timing eggs, he thought to himself, 
or someone beat me to the punch. He scowled. There was nothing Anubis 
hated more than being outmanuevered... unless it was being blown up.

	The explosion was spectacular, although Anubis for one would 
have appreciated a somewhat cheaper seat. As it was, he was blown 
backwards, robes burned off as a blast of intense heat surged over his 
body. He hurtled out of the room and hit the far wall of the corridor, 
nearly punching straight through the stone. With a deep and heartfelt 
groan, he peeled himself free from the masonry and fell to the ground,
wearing only his smoking red undergear armour. The sounds of footsteps 
echoed through the hallways, and he quickly decided that discretion 
was the better part of valour in this case. 

	With little more than the wish to, he phased into the shadows 
of the castle and became invisible, teleporting with ease back to 
his - or rather Abadon's- own chambers. On the one hand, he had 
essentially failed in his mission to destroy Wiseman's clones. On the 
other hand, someone else had succeeded. Neither hand made him very 
happy. One did not remain the Masho of Empress Kayura by making 
mistakes, as far as he was concerned, OR by letting others show you 
up in front of her. 

	He shrugged on his spare disguise, and Abadon curled into a 
ball on the floor and went to sleep. He would consider this in the 
morning, he decided, and retribution would be dealt to all at that 
time, as their actions dictated.

To Be Continued...


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