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THIRD TOKYO
4200 CE
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For a long time after Itsuko's voice fell silent, nobody said a word.
The room was darkened, and everyone's face was half in shadow.  Somehow,
as they had listened, most of the day had gone by.

At last Artemis said quietly, "So there you have it."

Still nobody else spoke.  Itsuko sat back from the table, looking out of
the window, a curiously pensive look on her face.  Miyo had her hands in
her lap, and was staring at them fixedly.

The silence was broken at last as Suzue took a long, deep breath.  She
bit her lip, and then said, "You never defeated the Great Enemy."

"No," said Itsuko, without turning.

"You never found out who it was."

"No," echoed Miyo.  She did not look up.

"You never even knew why you were being attacked."

"No," said Artemis.  He could not meet her eyes.

"How --"  Suzue broke off, looking around the three.  "How can you
_stand_ it?" she demanded.

None of them answered at once.  At last, Itsuko turned to face her and
said quietly, "It's different for Miyo.  But Artemis and I --"  She
looked over at the cat, but he shook his head.  "We live," she finished
sadly.  "We live."

"We work," said Artemis.

She nodded, looking grateful for the correction.  "Yes.  There's that.
We work ..."  Her voice grew firmer as she spoke, echoing words that she
had once spoken to Artemis: "We survive.  We remember.  And just maybe,
if we can ... we act."  She stared at them all defiantly.  "I may have
lost my powers, I may have outlived her by seven centuries, but I am
_still_ in the service of my Queen.  I failed her once before, but I
will not do so again."

Miyo looked up at her, shocked.  "Rei ..." she breathed.  "How can you
say that?  You didn't fail her -- you would have given your _life_ for
her --"

"Then why am I alive, and she dead?" asked Itsuko simply.

"No!  You can't blame yourself for that!  It wasn't your fault!"

"Nevertheless."  But after a moment Itsuko sighed.  "In any case, it
doesn't matter," she said.  "Because now, there's a second chance."

She looked around the room.  "Now that you're all here --"  She lifted a
hand to indicate the five of them.  "Now, perhaps we have hope again.
Perhaps you can finish what we could not."

Iku looked appalled.  "We're going to fight ... _that_?" she asked.
A moment later, she looked shocked at the sound of her own voice.

Beth nodded in agreement.  "An enemy that defeated all the old Senshi
combined?"

"But it's different now, don't you see?" exclaimed Artemis.  "Back then,
the Enemy was so powerful because it controlled crystal, and the whole
world _ran_ on crystals.  But now, none of that works any more!  Nearly
everything today is based on twenty-first century technology from the
archives.  Most of its power is gone!  And there aren't any people left
that it can transform into its tools.  It's got to be a hundred times
weaker than before, a thousand!  It --"

"I'm not so sure about that," said Suzue.

"What?"  Artemis rounded on her indignantly.  "But it has to be weaker!
Otherwise it'd already have --"

Suzue seemed to wilt under his glare.  "I'm sorry," she said hastily.
"Forgive my presumption, Artemis-sama."

Artemis came to a sudden halt.  "Er, what?" he said.  He glared at her.
"Wait a minute.  Are you trying to be funny?" he asked suspiciously.

Suzue's eyes grew large.  "I would never --"

Miyo laughed.  "She's got you, Artemis.  Why don't you try _listening_
to her?  Don't let him bully you, Suzue ..."

"Err ..."  Suzue hesitated for a moment longer, but then said
diffidently, "You said that there aren't any people left that the Great
Enemy can transform.  But that can't be true, can it?"

"Oh!  You mean Lady Blue and her toys."  Artemis thought it over.  "But
she actually has a crystal shard embedded in her skull.  And the
vitrimorphs could be entirely artificial; actually, from the shapes some
of them have taken, that's pretty likely."

"I'm not so sure," Suzue said again.  "I was thinking of what you told
us about that thing that Sailor Venus fought, down in the pit.  That
wasn't a crystite.  It was a vitrimorph -- wasn't it?"

"What?" said Itsuko, startled.  Miyo said, "Huh?" at the same moment.

Artemis seemed just as taken aback.  "I -- I don't --" he fumbled.  At
last he admitted, "Actually, I never got all that good a look at it.
Minako was the one who fought it up close ..."

Miyo glanced quickly at Beth.

"It could be, I suppose," the cat went on grudgingly.  "The description
she gave me later _is_ pretty close.  It never even occurred to me
before -- there was only ever the one of them, and it was all over so
quickly ..."

"But it does tie together," Miyo breathed.  "Which would mean that
somewhere in Third Tokyo, somebody's taking human beings and ..."  She
shuddered suddenly.  "Damn!  I never really saw the thing, back then; I
was stuck up at the top of the pit.  The most I saw of it was the flash
when Mina-chan shot it, and then when it blew up."

"That flash," said Beth thoughtfully.  "I remember -- hey, obaasan, back
at the department store, when you shot the vitrimorph that was trying to
kill me, it glowed, too."

"Don't call me --" Miyo began automatically, before giving up.  "Yes,
but the one down in the pit in 3478 was _already_ glowing, even before
Venus shot it."

"It glowed brighter after she shot it, though," Artemis put in.  "A lot
brighter."

"So ... they absorb energy?" suggested Dhiti.  "But my Ice Spear doesn't
make them glow.  Neither does Venus' Love-Me Whoozis.  So --"  She broke
off.  "Wait.  That Music of the Spheres thing didn't do it either."

"But Suzue's attack is a sonic one," pointed out Itsuko.  "That's an
entirely different type of energy."

"Radiant energy ... and electrical energy," mused Suzue.  "I wonder what
would happen if Sailor Mars attacked one."

"Just a few sparks," said Bendis.  "But then, her attacks are so low-
powered anyway --"  She cut off suddenly at a look from Artemis.  Iku
was completely expressionless.

"So what are you saying?" Miyo asked Suzue.

"They absorb energy -- but only if it's in an easily-convertible form,"
Suzue answered.  "The one back in 3478 might have been glowing to start
with because the city was filled with the power of the Ginzuishou."

Dhiti shot her a dark look.  "Maybe you should have the damn computer
instead of me," she muttered.  Suzue blinked, then shrugged.

"What does it all mean, though?" asked Beth plaintively.

"The Enemy controls crystal," said Artemis slowly.  "When Serenity died,
crystal power stopped working, and all the crystites died too.  But the
vitrimorphs run on some other kind of energy -- maybe they weren't used
much during the Fall because crystal energy was so much more plentiful?"

"But what kind of power?" asked Beth.  "Maybe if we could find a way to
block it ..."

"Planet power," said Iku in a low voice.

"Star power," suggested Dhiti.  A half-forgotten voice whispered in her
memory: [Everything is governed by the stars ...]  She shivered.

"Our power," said Miyo grimly.  "When I shoot them, they get stronger.
That one in the theatre didn't start firing energy bolts until after I
hit it."

"Planet power, star power ... and crystal power too?" wondered Suzue.
She grimaced.  "They seem especially designed to fight us."

"I'm beginning to think," said Miyo, "that it's been us all along."


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


The setting sun shone through the windows of the chairman's office, on
the fourth floor of the Council Chambers.  The chairman ignored it, as
he ignored the view through the windows.  'C' Division regulations
limited the height of buildings in the district around the Chambers, so
the view was rather good.  Still, he had other things to think about.

He was chairman of the Serenity Council; and whatever other, less public
functions the Council had, he was still the leader of Japan, the most
powerful nation in the world.  There was a lot of work that went with
the job, and he performed it punctiliously.

Wearily, he turned another page of the report: a lengthy monstrosity
from 'F' Division on tariffs.  When the computer on his desk pinged, it
was a welcome distraction.  He reached out with one gloved hand and
turned the screen on.  He stiffened when he saw who the message was
from.

Three minutes later, he picked up his commset mobile and punched in a
number.  It buzzed for some time, before being answered with a sudden
clatter.  A voice at the other end said, "Yes?"

"It's me," said the chairman easily.  "I've just had a report back from
M.  It seems that our crashed Opal was the victim of sabotage."

"Oh?" said the other.

"Very cleverly and subtly done, M says."  The chairman smiled.  "I've
sent you on a copy of the report.  I thought that perhaps you'd like to
look into it personally."

"I'll do that," said Number Twelve.


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


The meeting wound on.  The eight of them argued back and forth, but
without reaching any more conclusions.  After a while, seeing that the
rest of them were getting tired and starting to lose their tempers,
Itsuko excused herself and left.  A few minutes later she called them
through to the living room with an offer of food, and the discussion
came to an abrupt end.  For a while the suite became silent, except
for the sound of chewing and the sipping of drinks.

"We still have to decide what to do about this Council offer," Itsuko
announced, a little later.  The others groaned at her, but she
persisted.  "They want to meet with the Senshi.  The question is, do you
want to do it?" she asked.

"Yes," said Beth.

"No," said Bendis.

The two glared at each other.

"Glad we got _that_ cleared up," murmured Dhiti.

Miyo sighed.  "Seriously, though," she said.

"Well, what do you want?" complained Dhiti.  "They say they want to help
us.  That could be good.  But ..."  She shrugged.  "Are they going to
want to know our real names?"

"What _else_ will they want?" put in Artemis.

"I don't want them to find out my real name," said Iku in a small voice.

"I don't want anything to do with the Council," said Suzue flatly.

Beth blinked at her.  "But don't they have a ... a kind of _right_ to
know who we are?" she asked.  "I mean, they _are_ the Serenity Council."

"Just because they call themselves that doesn't mean anything," said
Artemis.  Itsuko caught his eye at that moment and gave a tiny shake of
her head.  It took him a moment to understand.  Let the young ones make
their own decision, she was saying.  He thought about it, then nodded
back.

"They do say they're ruling in the name of the Queen, and until her
return," said Miyo thoughtfully.  "They have the Swearing-In ceremony
every year."

"That still doesn't mean anything," argued Dhiti.  "Geez, Hayashi,
_politics_!"

"_I_ don't trust them," said Bendis darkly.

"You just think every Serry is after your neck," said Beth.

"Well, maybe they are!" snapped Bendis.  "Remember that Opal that chased
us!  Did _that_ seem so friendly to you?"

Beth flinched, almost unnoticeably.  "But that was different," she said.
"Wasn't it?"  She sounded uncertain now.  "I mean -- you can understand
why they'd be interested in ..."  She trailed off.

"It _was_ pretty unfriendly of them," reflected Miyo.

"Unfriendly?  They chased us all over the city," said Dhiti.  "That was
more than unfriendly, Hayashi.  I'm with Bendis on this one.  If they
wanted to find out more about us, they could have stuck their heads out
and said hi, or invited us to a clambake or something."

At her side, unnoticed, Iku mouthed the word 'clambake'.

"It could just have been the officer in charge of the Opal, though,"
said Miyo reasonably.  "The Chairman did say the Council wants to help
us."

"So you think we should talk to them?" asked Beth.

Miyo hesitated, then said, "Perhaps the real question is, _can_ the
Council help us?  Or would we be better off working on our own?"

Dhiti looked interested.  "I hadn't thought about it like that," she
said.  "After all, the vitrimorphs are coming after _us_.  It's not as
though they're laying siege to the city again."

"It's ... our business, not theirs?" suggested Beth.  She looked
unconvinced, but she was beginning to waver.

"Sure!" said Dhiti.  "The Serries probably just want us for publicity,
or something.  Get their pictures taken with the Sailor Senshi.  Next
thing you know, it'll be product endorsements."  A glint appeared in her
eye.  "'Hi there!  My name is Sailor Mercury.  But sometimes, when I'm
out fighting evil, the monsters just don't recognise me.  That's why I
always carry ... Henshin Card!'"  She struck a pose.  "'Don't fight
youma without it.'  Or maybe --"

Miyo shuddered.  "Please.  I've been through that once before, and it
wasn't any fun at all."

Dhiti smirked.  "Could be worse, Hayashi.  I mean -- what if they want
us to take power, or something?  Start up a new Silver Millennium for
them?"

Suzue looked shocked.  "That would be ... that would be blasphemy!" she
burst out.  "To usurp the throne of the ble-- of Queen Serenity -- you
can't think that we'd --"

"Well, we couldn't, could we?" said Beth logically.  "Not without Sailor
Moon, anyway."

"That's not funny!" Suzue insisted.

Beth stared at her.  "What?  It wasn't meant to be a --"

"Look, let's not go over that _again_," put in Miyo.  "We don't have a
Sailor Moon, and we don't know if we're _going_ to have a Sailor Moon.
Serenity and Princess Usagi both died, and it's hard to see how either
of them could be reborn, when the Princess died so long before the end.
But with or without an heir to the throne, we still have a job to do."

She looked around them all firmly.  "We -- the eight people in this room
now -- may be the last remains of the Moon Kingdom.  Or we could be the
start of something new.  For now ... let's not get distracted, huh?"

Beth looked up at her doubtfully.  "You think talking to the Council
_would_ be just a ... distraction?" she asked.

"We can be celebrities, or we can get on with our work," Miyo replied
flatly.  "Think about it."

Beth hung her head, looking a little sheepish.  "Maybe you're right,"
she admitted in a low voice.

There was a low murmur of agreement from the others.  Most of them
looked relieved.

Itsuko cleared her throat.  "Is that your decision?" she asked quietly.
"You'd rather not get involved in, well, public affairs?"

She ran her eyes around the table.  One by one, they all nodded.  Itsuko
gave a quick, satisfied nod of her own.  "All right," she said.  "Let me
take care of telling the Council, then.  I think I can manage to do it
quietly, without giving anything away."

More nods came from all around the table.  In their wake, though, an
uneasy silence fell.  Suddenly, nobody seemed to know what to say.  Miyo
sat back, muttering something in Artemis' ear.  Beth, Suzue and Iku just
sat there, looking awkward.  Dhiti sighed to herself.  [Guess it's up to
me to save the day again,] she thought with wry resignation.  She
opened her mouth to say something outrageous --

-- And let out a startled squawk as something warm and furry landed in
her lap, hard.  She sat bolt-upright, reaching out to push whatever it
was away, and found her hands encircling ... Bendis?

The cat ignored her completely, stretched out her neck, and took another
mouthful from Dhiti's plate.

Beth began to snicker.

"And what," asked Dhiti frostily, "do you think you're doing?"

"Well, _you_ weren't eating it," Bendis pointed out.  She took another
bite.

"No, but I would have!" Dhiti protested.  "Look, you can't just go
around helping yourself to other peoples' food!"

"Why not?  I _am_ a cat, you know."

"But -- but --"  Dhiti couldn't believe it.  She was playing straight
man to a cat.  "Why pick on me?" she asked plaintively.  "What's wrong
with stealing Beth's food, anyway?"

"Beth won't let me," said Bendis reasonably, not lifting her eyes from
Dhiti's plate.

The girl glanced across the table.  Sure enough, Beth was keeping a
close eye on Bendis.  She was also laughing openly at Dhiti.  So were
all the others.

"We'll see about that," Dhiti said firmly.  She reached out and stole a
rice ball from Beth's plate, popping it into her mouth and chewing
quickly.  For good measure, she took one from Miyo, too.

Beth and Miyo both yelped very gratifyingly ... and the rumble was on.

There wasn't enough food left for a really satisfying food fight,
unfortunately, but they did their best.  Suzue turned out to be a demon
shot, pelting all the others indiscriminately while managing to dodge
almost all the return fire.  Bendis dodged in and out of the rumpus,
stealing food right and left and jumping up to catch titbits in mid-air.
Even Artemis joined in, eventually.  Only Itsuko and Iku stayed clear.
The one time Dhiti tried to take anything from Iku's plate, Iku simply
sat back and let her, a look of weary resignation on her face.

Eventually the food supply petered out, and the girls collapsed back to
the floor, laughing and chattering.  From the look on Itsuko's face, it
wasn't nearly soon enough.  But as it turned out, the rumpus was far
from over.

The fight had succeeded in changing the mood completely.  Somehow, the
evening became more of a party than a Senshi meeting.  Miyo got up to
put some music on, and the talk and the laughter became a lot wilder and
freer.  More plates of food materialised from somewhere.

Dhiti tried dancing to the music, but gave it up when nobody else showed
any interest in joining in.  Instead, she and Miyo organised an
impromptu Limbo contest.  This proved to be different enough to get them
all interested, and in the end, everyone had a try; and lo, there was
much flexing of limbs and bruising of rears.  (Dhiti won, but rather to
everyone's surprise, Iku came second.)

And later -- parental permission for a late evening having been sought,
and granted -- there was time to lounge back and sip tea and gossip,
about nothing in particular, and about anything under the sun.  So they
talked about hobbies: Beth and her tramping and rock-climbing; Miyo's
plants and her cooking; Suzue's love of fashion, and an unexpected
passion for Bridge; and Dhiti and her general determination to try
everything the world had to offer.

After a while, somehow the subject of boyfriends came up.  Suzue
admitted that she had been seeing a boy for several months now, and Beth
shyly talked about a boy at her school.  Miyo tried to deny any interest
in men, but Dhiti insisted on telling the others about Mark.

"Why don't you tell them about your _own_ boyfriend?" Miyo retaliated
at last, before Dhiti could start into the slug story, or worse.

Dhiti pouted.  "Unfair, Hayashi," she complained.  "Like I ever have
any luck with boys --"

"What about Okura?  You went out with him a couple of times."  Dhiti
started to protest, but Miyo went on to the others, "We never found out
what happened, that second time.  Kin and me found him running down the
road, yelling at the top of his voice -- he was covered from head to
foot in motor oil -- and there was Dhiti running after him, without a
single _drop_ on her, shouting 'Come back here and try it again!'"
Above the general laughter, Miyo added, "For the next few weeks, he used
to turn pale any time he even _saw_ Dhiti ..."

"That's not true!" Dhiti protested.  "It wasn't --"  She stopped, her
face darkening.  "It wasn't all motor oil," she muttered sheepishly,
studying her feet.  "Most of it was just mud."

That only made it worse, of course.  "What did you _do_?" demanded
Beth, laughing so hard that she could hardly speak.

"I can't say," said Dhiti.  She brightened suddenly.  "I promised I
wouldn't," she went on.  "Wild badgers couldn't drag it out of me.
Threaten me with tweezers, I'll never tell!  Ha ha ha!  Anyway," she
added, "he saw the funny side of it, eventually."

"Oh, yes," said Miyo.  "That's what he said.  'It was sort of funny,
in a way.'  But he was shivering as he said it ..."

                                --**--

Out in the kitchen, Itsuko was talking to Artemis.  "I think they'll do
very well," she said quietly.  "Most of them seem fairly promising.  And
they respect Miyo, which helps ..."

"Not like you and Usagi, eh?" said Artemis teasingly.

She grimaced.  "That wasn't _quite_ the same thing," she said.  "What
I meant was, they know who she is, but they don't seem intimidated by
it.  That's a relief."

"I can't imagine Dhiti being intimidated by anything," murmured Artemis.

"No."  Itsuko suppressed a grin.

"She's an odd one, Dhiti," Artemis mused.  "She's smart enough; I get
the feeling she might even be as smart as Ami.  But she doesn't _care_
about it.  She's just not interested in ... well, the intellectual
pursuits.  I don't think she's really gotten the hang of her computer
yet."

"Not everyone has to be a genius," Itsuko pointed out.  "If you're
looking for a brain, try Suzue.  She seems pretty sharp."

"Yes, though she's a bit too serious for her own good.  And there's
something ... odd about her."

"Just her?"  Itsuko chuckled.  "Which of them _isn't_ there something
odd about?"

Artemis snorted.  "Well, yes.  But she gets ... twitchy sometimes.  As
if there's something she wants to say, but she's afraid to."

"Oh?  I hadn't noticed ..."  Itsuko shrugged, and took a sip of coffee.
"The _really_ twitchy one was Iku, I thought."

"Yes.  I want to have a talk to Bendis about her later --"

The door opened, and Miyo came in.  She raised her eyebrows as she saw
the two of them.  "There you are," she said.  "Good.  Listen, I've
been wanting to talk to you about something."

"About Iku, by any chance?" asked Artemis.  "We were just talking about
her."

"Huh?  No.  Well, yes, her too, I suppose."  Miyo looked flustered.
"But there was something I noticed before -- about Beth.  When she
became Sailor Venus."

"Yes?" said Artemis cautiously.

Miyo stared at him for a moment.  "Well, you must have noticed how she
was acting," she said.  "When she came in she was all quiet and nervous,
and kind of shy.  And then, when she changed --"  She waved her arms
expressively.  "Artemis ... do you think ... is it possible ... that she
could be, you know ..."  She dithered for a moment longer, then said in
a rush, "Do you think she could be Minako reborn?"

Artemis blinked.  "Minako?" he blurted out.  "Miyo, she doesn't look
anything like her!"

"I know that!" said Miyo excitedly.  "But isn't it possible that ...
somehow, she got ... oh, I don't know!" she burst out.  "If she was
reborn differently, somehow?  I know she's different most of the time,
but when she's Venus, she's just so ..."

"That's not --" Artemis began.

"I have to say that I was surprised when I met her," put in Itsuko
thoughtfully.  "Beth is certainly nothing like the Venus I'd been
hearing about -- or on those viddy reports.  It's hard to believe that
they're the same person at all."

"You're talking about a split personality," said Artemis, "with the
other, well, half of her taking over when she changes?  And this other
'half' is Minako reborn?  I've never heard of anything like that
before."

"But remember, Serenity wasn't able to finish sending us all forward!"
Miyo pointed out.  "Couldn't that have affected her rebirth?"

"Affected --?"  Artemis shook his head.  "I have no idea," he admitted.

"Thanks a heap," muttered Miyo.

"You could check, though?" suggested Itsuko.

"It's not that easy," protested Artemis.  "Do you think I didn't hope
she'd be reborn?  I knew Minako better than ... better than anybody.  Of
course I checked!  I checked all of you!  And you ... you're the only
one I recognised, Miyo-chan."

"But would you have recognised Minako if she were ... well, buried under
another personality?" Miyo argued.

Artemis cursed.  "How am I supposed to answer that?" he asked.  "I would
have said that I'd recognised Minako anywhere, in an instant.  But from
what you're saying ... I don't know.  I just don't know."

"Maybe if you check her again when she's Venus," said Itsuko.

"But when I touched her earlier, when she changed ..."  Artemis shook
his head.  "I didn't feel anything then.  Though she might have been --"

There was a sudden crash from the next room, and a shriek of laughter.
Itsuko muttered something under her breath, and went to investigate.
Miyo and Artemis eyed each other.

"I don't know," repeated Artemis at last.  "I'll keep an eye on her.
But Miyo, the only way to be sure might be to try to awaken her
memories.  And you know what happened when I tried that before."

Miyo winced.  "All right," she said in a low voice.  "We'll watch
her, then.  If it is her, though ..."

She left the sentence hanging.  She and Artemis nodded to each other.

                                --**--

The evening whiled away.  Bendis wandered around the suite, cheerfully
eavesdropping on conversations and occasionally stealing titbits from
unprotected plates.  It was all going splendidly.  Off in one corner,
Dhiti was sprawled out on the floor, chattering away to Iku, who stared
back at her as if mesmerised.  Dhiti did not seem to find this
off-putting; in fact, she seemed delighted to have found a perfect
audience.  Suzue and Beth were kneeling at the table, talking quietly,
apparently comparing schools; they appeared to be mutually envious.
Miyo was off in the kitchen, cooking something or other.  (Bendis hoped
that she'd do some more of those slug things of hers; they were
apparently delicious.)  Itsuko was sitting by herself, a distant,
somehow unapproachable look about her, watching the others with a faint
half-smile on her lips.  And that was a funny thing; she was alone, and
yet, in some indefinable way, she seemed to be the centre of the room,
with everyone else revolving around her ...

It was a queer thought, and after a moment Bendis decided that it did
not make much sense, and put it out of her mind.  Instead, she
concentrated on the more concrete aspects of the day.  All right, so
Artemis had caught her; but she seemed to have gotten away with
everything anyway.  And after all, there were five Senshi now, and they
seemed to be getting along well; and really, the whole thing was all
thanks to her.

If only she could get Artemis to see it that way.

Humming softly to herself, she started back toward the kitchen.  She was
pretty full already, but there was always room for a little more -- and
Miyo, she had discovered, was something of a soft touch.

As she passed Beth and Suzue, she heard them talking about clothes (of
all things).  She stopped for a moment, startled, when Beth exclaimed,
"Really?  You make all your own clothes?"

Around the room, the others looked up at the outburst.  Suzue flushed,
embarrassed, and said, "Well -- not all of them.  I mean, only a few,
really.  But I --"

Bendis stopped listening.  [Clothes!] she thought, half-scornfully.
[What a waste of time.]  But then humans were devoted to so many silly
things.  At least Beth was better than that, mostly.  Actually, in some
ways she was getting very promisingly cat-like.

Thinking about Beth brought an unexpected pang.  Being separated from
the girl, the night before, had been ... strange.  Upsetting.  She had
agreed to go with Artemis to save an argument, and because she was
pretty sure that she'd have ended up going with him anyway, sooner or
later.  Better to get it over with; a strictly practical decision.  That
was the best kind, wasn't it?  But still, when Sailor Venus had lost her
temper and shouted at Artemis, it had felt ... well, good.

She faltered suddenly on her way to the kitchen, then continued on with
a new determination.  Really, this was ridiculous!  She was getting
maudlin. The idea that she could form some kind of an ... an attachment
to a human was ridiculous.  She knew where _that_ sort of thing led;
nobody better.  For heaven's sake, next thing she knew, she'd be going
back to Hideo and begging him to stroke her.

And yet ...

She found herself remembering peaceful Sunday mornings, dozing lazily in
Beth's bed, feeling the girl's warmth at her back.  Or sitting in her
lap, talking quietly to her, and feeling Beth rub her head in just the
right way.  Or describing a new manoeuvre to Venus, one that she'd
thought up the day before in an idle moment, and watching the girl not
only make it work, but do things with it that Bendis herself had never
dreamed of.  Or the tremendous pride she'd felt watching Venus in action
that time at the dressmaker's.  Or the sudden horror, just the day
before, when Lady Blue had attacked and she'd thought her friend had
been killed --

Her friend.  Her _friend_.

She mouthed the word over again and again, tasting it in wonder.  Her
friend.  She'd thought that theirs was a teacher-pupil relationship
(though there'd been times when she'd wondered which of them was which)
-- but could it have been something much more basic all along?

She remembered the moment, just a few hours earlier, when she'd brought
Iku in, and Beth had picked her up and held her.  For a few seconds,
then, Bendis hadn't even noticed how loudly she'd been purring.

There was an old-fashioned wall clock in the kitchen.  She looked up
at it, and noticed with surprise how late it was getting.  It had been
a long day, all right.  She realised that she was looking forward to
going home.  Home with Beth.

                                --**--

"Absolutely not," said Artemis.  "I'm keeping you right here where I
can keep an eye on you."

Bendis stared at him in shock.  "What?" she said.  "But ... why?"

He made an impatient noise.  "Do I have to spell it out?"

She felt a familiar sinking feeling in her gut.  After all this time,
nothing had changed.  "You still think I'm a screw-up, don't you?" she
asked bitterly.  "You still don't think I can ... measure up.  Geez,
didn't I do a good job with Venus?"

"Good job?" said Artemis incredulously.  "Are you crazy?  You call that
a good job?  Look at that insane training you've been giving her!"

"Hey, at least I was training her!" she retorted hotly.  "What sort of
training have _you_ been giving Jupiter, Mercury and Uranus?"

He started to reply, then stopped.  Bendis felt a momentary glee as she
saw the barb hit home.  "Anyway, I think I've done pretty well there,"
she said proudly.  "Beth has come on amazingly.  I'd never have believed
she could get so good ..."

"You're turning her into a cat!" Artemis exploded.

Bendis hesitated.  "So what's your point?"

He took a deep breath and let it out again.  "Bendis, listen to me," he
said slowly.  "Humans are not _supposed_ to act like cats."

"I don't see why not," sniffed Bendis.  "After all, we're the superior
beings.  I'm just helping her live up to her potential."  She saw his
expression and added hastily, "Anyway, it's working, isn't it?"

"What about Mars?" he asked.  "Is it working there too?"

"That's not fair!" she protested.  "I've only just started!  But
still ..." she added reluctantly, "there's something -- I don't know,
strange -- something seriously wrong with that girl."

"Eh?"  Artemis tried to remember.  "I know she seems a bit quiet ..."

"Heh.  You'll see."

"Anyway, that's beside the point," he said firmly.  "You've made enough
of a mess of things as it is.  You do realise that Venus and Mars were
nearly killed yesterday because you wanted to run things yourself?"  He
shook his head.  "You simply don't have the knowledge and the training
to do this kind of job.  Until you learn a little more self-control and
get a good deal more experience, you're going to have to --"

"Experience?" she demanded hotly.  "Who _found_ all those Senshi?  If I
hadn't gone to work on my own, we'd still be out there in the alleys,
dodging Opals!  I've been doing a _good job_ here!  _I_ was the one who
found Beth and Iku -- and Suzue too, even if you stole her from me --"

"Don't be childish."  He glared at her.  "Though I suppose that's what I
should expect from you --"

"Expect!  When did you _ever_ expect anything from me -- when did you
ever give me a _chance_ --?"

"Um, excuse me ..."

The two cats looked around.  "Yes?" snapped Artemis.  Then he saw who it
was.  "Oh, er, Beth," he said, a little taken aback.  "We were just
having a, ahh, private --"

"We were talking," said Bendis clearly, "about whether I was going to be
allowed to stay with you or not."

There was a sudden silence.

"That was uncalled-for," said Artemis stiffly.

"But --" said Beth.  There was shock in her expression, as if she'd been
slapped.  "But, but ... but why not?"

Artemis took another deep breath.  "Beth," he said quietly, "I know that
you've become attached to Bendis.  But you must understand that she is
putting you in danger.  I don't just mean that insane stunt of hers when
she was trying to find out which Senshi you are.  There's also the
matter of the training she's been giving you --"

"No!" said Bendis urgently.  Then, with a note of pleading: "No ..."

"Bendis, what --?" began Beth.

"Beth," said Artemis firmly.  He gazed up at her for a moment.  "Do you
trust Bendis?"

She stared at him.  "Yes, of course I do," she said, puzzled.

Artemis gave Bendis a quick look.  Bendis hung her head, unable to meet
his eyes.

"I'm sorry to have to break this to you," he said heavily.  "Beth, I'm
afraid that Bendis has been lying to you.  All along.  From the day she
met you."

Beth blinked.  "I know _that_," she said.

"Not only that, she --"  Artemis trailed off.  "You do?" he said.

"Huh?  You _do_?" Bendis said at the same moment.

"Well, of course."  Beth seemed surprised by their reactions.  "I mean,
I noticed she was lying about you right away.  She wasn't very good at
hiding it.  But I could never work out _why_.  It always seemed like she
was -- well, afraid of you or something."

"Afraid?" said Artemis, startled.

"And I worked out that she was just making up most of those training
exercises," Beth went on.  "But it didn't matter, honestly," she added
quickly.  "I know Bendis wouldn't hurt me.  I ..."  She hesitated.  "I
trust her more than anyone else in the world," she finished in a low
voice.

"But ..."  Bendis sounded half-choked.  "But _why_?" she asked.

Beth looked down at her, surprised.  "Because you're my friend," she
said simply.

Bendis gave a queer little half-gasp.  "Beth ... Beth, I ..."  She
turned suddenly and ran out.

Beth stared after her.  "Artemis," she said slowly, "can Moon Cats cry?"

He nodded.  His eyes were very wide.

"Oh, boy, I have to find her --"  Beth was already running.

Artemis watched her go, half-stunned.  "Afraid of me?" he whispered.
"No, that's not right.  She was just supposed to listen to me.  She
wasn't supposed to be afraid.  She wasn't supposed to be ..."

There was a faint sound behind him.  He turned, alarmed, to see Itsuko
and Miyo watching him.  They did not look happy with him.  He realised
with a sudden chill that they might have been there for some time.

"Is there something," Itsuko suggested, "that you'd like to tell us?"

                                --**--

It took Beth some time to find Bendis.  Eventually she noticed a
half-open window in Itsuko's office, and peered out.  Bendis was sitting
on the fire escape outside, staring down at the city lights below.  One
ear twitched for an moment as Beth stepped out behind her, but she
showed no other reaction.

Beth sat down quietly, a little distance away from Bendis.  They watched
the lights of passing traffic in silence for several minutes.  The
evening breeze was warm and humid.

At last Bendis said, almost inaudibly, "Why?"

Beth did not answer in words.  She reached out and ran her hand down
Bendis' spine, then lifted it up and began to rub the cat's head gently.

"Why?" Bendis repeated.  "Why do you trust me?  _How_ can you trust me?"

"Because you're my friend," Beth answered, her voice soft and calm.
"Because I know that you'd never hurt me."

"I've hurt you a dozen times!" Bendis protested vehemently.  "What about
all those accidents I caused when I first met you?"

"You weren't hurting me," Beth said calmly.  "You were making me into a
hero."

"Hero!" Bendis spat.  "What does that matter?  Nearly everything I've
ever told you is a lie.  How can you trust _that_?"

"You taught me to fight.  You taught me to swing between buildings."
Beth smiled in remembrance.  "You taught me to save lives.  I trust
that.  That matters."

Bendis hung her head.  "_He_ doesn't think so," she murmured bitterly.
"He doesn't think I've ever mattered."

Beth did not answer at once.  At last she said cautiously, "Bendis ...
what is it?  Why doesn't he --"

She broke off suddenly.  In a sudden moment of insight, she realised why
the question was so important to Bendis.  It was not Beth's trust that
the cat yearned for.  It was Artemis'.

"Why?" she breathed.  "Why doesn't he trust you?  Why -- why are you two
always so angry with each other?"

For a long time she thought that Bendis was not going to answer.  But at
last the cat said, haltingly, "It was a silly fight in an alley.  We
argued, and I lost my temper and ran off.  Then, when I found you, I
thought that maybe I could --"

She stopped and shook her head.  "No.  It wasn't just an argument.  Not
_just_ an argument.  It was ..."  She took a deep breath.  "All along,
he's _never_ trusted me.  Not completely.  He's never ... thought I
could measure up.  So when I found you, I knew that it was my last
chance ... maybe my _only_ chance to prove that I could do it, that I
could be ..."

"Be what?" Beth insisted.  "_Why_ doesn't he trust you?"

Bendis swallowed.  Almost inaudibly, she said, "Because of my parents."

Beth stared at her.  "What?"

"Beth, there's something about me that you ought to know ..."

                                --**--

"Itsuko," said Artemis tightly, "you asked me once how I came to have a
great-granddaughter, when there weren't any other Moon Cats left."

Itsuko raised her eyebrows.  "Yes?" she inquired.

He have a short, humourless laugh.  "You shouldn't have had to ask.  It
should have been obvious."

He looked around the room quickly.  Having Itsuko and Miyo overhear the
argument was bad enough.  But then the others had overheard them
demanding to know what was happening, and now he was surrounded.  The
only ones missing were Bendis herself, and Beth.  It was, he thought with
sudden anger, as if he were being put on trial.

Miyo stirred in her chair.  "You said Luna told you that Diana was
pregnant when the Palace fell.  That was more than I'd ever heard."  She
wrinkled her brow in thought.  "But there were only you three cats in
the Palace --"  Something in her face changed suddenly.  "You didn't --
surely you didn't --"

He snorted.  "No, I did not.  Don't be filthy."

"But then --"

"Diana mated with a human," said Suzue.

Her statement fell into an abrupt silence.  Then the room filled with
startled yelps and cries.  Iku and Miyo stared at Suzue as if looking at
a stranger.  Dhiti cried out, "What, are you _nuts_?"  But in Itsuko's
eyes, there was a sudden comprehension.

"Yes," said Artemis wearily.

Suzue only nodded, ignoring the incredulous looks on the others' faces.
There was a troubled look on her face, but her voice was steady enough.
"How?" she asked.  "And who?"

He shrugged.  "You know that we can change shape -- take human form, for
a short time.  It's difficult without the aid of the Ginzuishou, but --"
He got to his feet, as if about to demonstrate, then thought better of
it and sat down again.  He looked old and tired in that moment; there
were thousands of years in his voice.  "I'd never have dreamed it was
possible, what she did," he went on, faintly wondering.  "The _control_
it must have taken!  To keep human form, while doing ... that.  I know I
couldn't do it.  But she'd fallen in love, and somehow she found a way
to make it work --

"He was one of the Palace guard, I learned that much.  She never would
tell me his name, but he must have died when the Palace fell."  He
sighed.  "She met him when Princess Usagi was training with the Guard.
After the Princess finished, Diana kept doing to the arena to meet him.
In the end, I suppose the inevitable happened."

"But how could she --" began Dhiti.

Itsuko cut her off.  "What happened to her?" she asked.

"I got her out of the Palace," Artemis said slowly, his eyes far away.
"I remember she cursed me as we left.  She didn't want to go; she wanted
to be there in case he came back ..."  He sighed.  "I picked her up and
carried her out, and she struggled and cursed me all the way.  But she
couldn't change shape, in her condition.  So she had to live on without
him ...

"The kitten was born five days after the Fall.  It was a -- difficult
birth.  Her son was bigger than normal ..."  He shook his head slowly.
"She never really recovered.  She got better, for a while, but it left
her weak; and afterward, she just faded away."  He closed his eyes.
"She died four months later.  We buried her ... just a few kilometres
from here, I think."

Nobody spoke for a time.  At last Miyo said gently, "You said she had a
son?"

Artemis grunted.  "Yes," he said.  "For what he was worth."

"Ah.  I take it you didn't get along with him either."

"He was a wild one."  Artemis made a face, remembering.  "I think it was
his half-human blood.  He was moody, unpredictable.  Sometimes violent.
And sometimes he did ... bestial things.  I think he decided to hate all
humans because he could never be one."  His voice grew distant, unhappy.
"He would have been content to have been just an ordinary cat, but he
couldn't do that either.  He was always caught in between ..."

"What happened?" asked Itsuko.  "How did he die?"

"Hit by a car."  Artemis laughed bitterly.  "Isn't that the silliest
thing?  He came to me, two years ago.  I hadn't seen him in decades, but
he found me somehow.  He looked more alive, happier than I'd ever seen
him.  He kept talking about his daughter.  We were on our way to see
her, and he --"  He stopped, and shuddered.  "At least it was quick."

"So you had to bring up Bendis on your own, too," said Dhiti, her voice
oddly quiet.

"Yes.  And look how well I've managed _there_."  He shook his head.
"But I couldn't have just left her with her mother.  It would have been
too cruel."

"Cruel!"  Miyo stared at him, shocked.  "How can you --"

"No, you don't understand!" he insisted desperately.  "It wasn't like
that!  Miyo, Bendis' mother wasn't ... she wasn't human."

"She --"  Miyo frowned in incomprehension.  Then, suddenly, her eyes
widened.  "Oh, no.  You don't mean --"

He nodded, and took a deep breath.  "She was a cat.  She was an
ordinary, dumb, tabby, earth cat."

                                --**--

Beth held Bendis close.  The cat was shivering in her arms.  "Do you
remember her at all?" she asked.

"No," said Bendis tonelessly.  "Not a thing.  I was so young ... I don't
think my eyes had even opened yet.  I don't know anything about my
parents except what he's told me."

Beth could not contain a shiver of her own.  "How awful," she said,
rather inadequately.

Bendis laughed: a short tinkle, bright and entirely false.  "Awful?" she
said.  "Why?  She was just a cat.  I can look at any cat in the street
and think, my mother was just like that."  She laughed again, and
shuddered briefly, and Beth realised that she was close to breaking.

"Bendis --"

The cat ignored her; she continued on, speaking faster now, as if she
were afraid to stop.  "She might even be alive," she said, "out there in
some alley somewhere.  I could go out and look for her."  She tried to
laugh once more, but it came out as a gasping, choking sound.  "Except
what would be the p-point?  She wouldn't know me if she saw me.  And
what ... would I have to say ... to a ... c-c-cat ..."

And at last she began to cry, a thin hopeless wail, and Beth held her
tightly and rocked her as if she were a baby.

                                --**--

"I don't _know_ why he did it," Artemis said wearily.  "It was the most
irresponsible ... obscene thing I can imagine.  Like ... like a human
mating with a chimpanzee."

Dhiti made a face.  "That's disgusting," she protested.

"But still, it produced Bendis," Suzue pointed out.

"Yes, and look at Bendis!" he snapped back.

Miyo stared at him.  "You ... you look down on her for it," she
realised.  "You don't think she's good enough."

"You don't understand," he insisted.  "Miyo, Bendis thinks she can do
anything, but she can't!  Think about it!  She's only a quarter Moon
Cat.  It's a miracle that she can even talk!  She'll never be able to
take human form.  She ... she doesn't even have the _time_ we do!
Makoto, she's going to live an ordinary earth-cat lifespan, and then
she'll _die_.  If she ever has kittens, they'll be little more than
earth cats themselves; they'll never be able to talk.  Don't you see?"
he urged her.  "Bendis is too young, and too inexperienced, but she
won't listen to me any more!  She thinks she can do anything, but she's
just going to get herself hurt, and maybe Venus and Mars with her!"

There was a long silence.  Then Itsuko let out a breath.  "Oh, Artemis,"
she said.  "You're just as worried about her as you ever were about
Diana when she was a kitten, aren't you?"  She shook her head sadly.
"Only this one, you can't bear to let go, because you're afraid of
losing her too soon ..."

"I --"  He stopped, unable to speak, and stared down at the floor.  "She
has so little time, Rei," he said dully.  "So little time.  Fifteen
years, and she'll be gone.  And she's the last of the line.  The last of
the Moon Cats, and when she goes, there'll only be me ..."

Itsuko nodded.  "And so you try to shield her, and that makes her feel
inadequate, to the point where she'll to do anything to prove herself to
you.  That's it, isn't it?" she said gently.  "And you're both so
strong-willed that you argue all the time anyway ..."

He gave her a bleak look.  "So what am I supposed to do?" he asked.

                                --**--

"What am I going to do, Beth-chan?" asked Bendis miserably.

"Silly."  Beth smiled at her, rubbing the cat's head gently.  "You're
going to come home with me, of course.  What did you think?  That I'd
just leave you behind again?"

"Oh."  Bendis stared at her for a little longer, and for one moment Beth
thought that she was going to cry again.  "Really?" she said.  There was
fear and uncertainty in her voice; but mixed with it was a sudden eager
hope.

Then, before Beth could answer, she abruptly sprang off her lap and
began to wash herself with desperate intensity.

Beth watched, relieved and a little bemused.  This evening had been a
strange reversal for the two of them.  Somehow she and Bendis had
swapped roles.  It was an odd feeling, having Bendis turn to _her_ for
once.  Odd, but rather nice.

Bendis continued to lick her fur, though she seemed to be beginning to
relax now.  Perhaps it was a kind of calming process for cats, Beth
thought absently.  She wondered if Artemis did it, and smiled at the
mental image.  Usually, Bendis was so self-reliant, so much more in
control ...

A peculiar thought occurred to her.  "Bendis?" she said.  "How old are
you, anyway?"

Bendis froze, one haunch raised comically in mid-air.  "Er, what?" she
said guiltily.

[Ah-ha,] Beth thought.  "You heard me," she said.  She was beginning to
smile.

Bendis muttered something under her breath.  "Excuse me?" Beth prompted.
"I didn't quite catch that."

Bendis sighed.  "_Two_, all right?  I'm two.  Are you happy now?"

"_Two_?"

The cat groaned.  "It isn't the way it sounds," she said peevishly.  "In
human years that'd be ... I don't know.  Sixteen or seventeen."

"Sixteen?" Beth said in delight.  "Sixteen?  You're the same age as me?"

Bendis thought about it.  "Seventeen," she decided.  "Definitely."

"You're cheating!" Beth accused.  She was grinning openly now.

"I am not!" Bendis shouted.  "Listen, who do you think's the boss here?
I'm the Moon Cat; _I'm_ training _you_, not --"

She broke off abruptly.  "Er," she said.  The belligerence seemed to
drain out of her in a rush.  She turned away from Beth, suddenly looked
completely wretched.

Beth cleared her throat.  "It's all right, you know," she said
reassuringly.  "It doesn't matter.  You can still train me."  Bendis
gave her a pained look and she added hastily, "Well, I mean, you always
have all those ideas -- and I could never think of things like that, so
maybe it's best if you just keep on --"

Bendis snorted.  "Don't lay it on too thick," she said roughly.  Beth
opened her mouth to reply, but thought better of it.  Instead, she bowed
her head meekly.

"Oh -- I suppose we can keep going," Bendis said at last.  "I mean ...
it has been fun, hasn't it?  Mostly.  I don't mean today, but ... it has
been fun.  Hasn't it?"

Beth thought about it for a few moments.  "I wouldn't have missed it
for the world," she answered honestly.

Bendis nodded, satisfied.  "Good," she said.  "That's the main thing.
Duty and obligations are all very well, but you've got to _live_."

"I, um, I suppose so," said Beth, not really sure how to answer.  After
a moment she added tentatively, "If you've only got fifteen years ..."

Bendis shook her head.  "I meant you, too, Beth-chan," she said
patiently.  "Think about it -- you've only got another sixty, seventy
years yourself.  But look at Artemis.  He's going to live practically
forever, and see what it's made him!  Stuffy, cautious ... boring."

"But ... the old Senshi were immortal too, weren't they?  Look at
Hino-sama -- I mean, Pappadopoulos-sama --"

"The old Senshi had Sailor Moon and the Ginzuishou.  _You_ don't have
the luxury of an immortal viewpoint."  Bendis shook her head.  "No,
having fun is more important."

Beth bit her lip dubiously.  "But ... but what about being a Senshi?  We
have to fight, we have to defend the world --"

Bendis paused, and looked all around them carefully.  Then she said,
"Beth, change to Venus for a moment, will you?"

Confused, Beth obeyed.  "Now," said Bendis.  "What was that about fun
again?"

Venus blinked, and grinned.  "Well, I suppose you do have a point ..."

"I knew you'd see it my way."

"But, well, maybe we can defend the world too?"

Bendis thought about it.  "Oh -- I suppose so," she said grudgingly.  "I
guess that wouldn't hurt..."

                                --**--

Affairs had quietened down inside.  Itsuko and Miyo had dragged Artemis
off for a private heart-to-heart, and the others had dispersed in their
wake.  Dhiti had stuck around, though.  She had a hunch that the show
wasn't over yet.

She was rewarded when she saw Beth and Bendis come in.  They didn't look
too unhappy, she noted; they were chatting away to each other calmly
enough.  "They never have days like this in the viddy program," Beth was
saying, rather peevishly.

"I thought you said you don't watch that any more?" inquired Bendis.

"Er --"  Beth cut off, looking guilty.  "Well, not for a while now," she
said, a little lamely.  Bendis snorted.

"What program?" asked Dhiti, intrigued.

They looked around, startled.  "Er -- 'Queen Serenity and her Senshi,'"
said Bendis.  "Beth-chan was telling me all about it, a couple of weeks
back."

Dhiti wrinkled her brow.  "But that's a kids' program," she pointed out,
deciding not to mention that since she'd become Sailor Mercury she'd
been watching it religiously.

Beth sighed.  "What's so wrong with watching a kids' program?" she asked
plaintively.  "All right!  So I used to watch it!  Is that a crime?"

"Of course not," said Dhiti comfortingly.  "Nobody would ever suggest
that it's a little babyish for a sixteen-year-old to watch a program
aimed at kids half your age."

"Gee, thanks."

"Think nothing of it," Dhiti said modestly.  She eyed Beth, suddenly
smelling a rat.  "Just out of curiosity, _when_ did you stop watching
it?" she inquired innocently.

Beth flushed scarlet.  "Er --" she began.

Dhiti smiled beatifically.  "It wouldn't have been just after Bendis
found you, would it?" she purred.

"Er --"

"What?" shouted Bendis.  "Beth!  You traitor!  You know I wanted to see
that!"

Dhiti sat back and watched as the cat chased the girl around and around
the room, shouting insults wildly at each other and, before long,
laughing so hard they could hardly breathe.  Eventually, Beth managed to
escape out the door, and Bendis pursued her, still shouting at the top
of her voice.

Dhiti sighed contentedly.  "Sometimes," she said to nobody in
particular, "I'm so good I scare myself."

                                --**--

By ten o'clock, the party was starting to break up.  Some of the girls
could have gone on for longer; but after all, it had been a very long
day.

Iku left first.  She very nearly made it out of the door without anybody
noticing; she muttered a goodbye at Miyo when the latter was in the
middle of a conversation with Suzue, and gave a tiny wave to Artemis and
Itsuko when both of them were looking away.  Dhiti caught her before she
could escape, though, and insisted on saying a loud farewell.  Bendis
(whom Dhiti had maliciously been briefing on the 'Queen Serenity and her
Senshi' viddy program, in agonising detail) joined in, possibly out of
relief.  What with one thing and another, the two of them actually got
Iku to smile again before she managed to leave.

"That is one strange girl," said Bendis thoughtfully as the door closed
behind Iku.

"Yup," said Dhiti.  She smirked.  "I love a challenge."

Bendis gave her an interested look.  "Oh?  What kind of challenge?"

"I already said, this morning," Dhiti reminded her.  "I'm going to get
her singing karaoke.  In public.  And liking it."

Bendis thought about it.  "Iku?" she said.  Then: "Naaah."

"Want to bet?" inquired Dhiti.

"How much?" returned Bendis.

The two fell to plotting.

                                --**--

Dhiti left herself, twenty minutes later; she had some distance to go to
get home, and after all they had school the next day.  Somehow, without
her the whole suite felt a lot quieter and less crowded, and Beth began
to notice how tired she was feeling herself.  She went in search of
Bendis.

The cat was in the living room, eyeing a mostly-empty plate of onigiri.
"You ready to go?" Beth asked her.

Bendis looked up quickly.  She couldn't form expressions the way a human
could, of course, but Beth could see her smile anyway.  She smiled with
her whole body.  "I sure am," she said.

Beth grinned back at her.  "Let's go, then ... Bendis-chan."

Bendis looked up at her quickly, and snickered.  Beth snickered back
amiably.  As they started toward the door, Bendis said, "You know, we're
going to have to talk about this viddy thing, Beth-chan ..."

"Oh, come on.  It's not like it's that great a program anyway.  If
you're that keen, why didn't you ever check out an episode yourself?
You could manage the viddy control with paws --"

At that moment Artemis stepped out in front of them, bringing them to an
involuntary halt.  "Going somewhere?" he inquired.

"Yes."  Beth's voice was low but firm.  "We're going home.  Together."

He ignored her completely.  "Bendis, you can't do this," he said
insistently.  "You have to stay.  I -- I have to tell you --"

He was cut off rudely as Beth picked him up by the scruff of the neck.
Holding him up so they were eye-to-eye, she asked softly, "Just how were
you planning to stop us?"

"Hey!  Put me down!" he squawked indignantly.

"Certainly."  Beth walked to the suite's front door, still carrying him.
She held the door open for Bendis, then stepped through herself.  As she
closed the door behind her, she dropped him lightly inside.

He stood, staring at the closed door for a long time.  His fur was
bristling.  When he turned away at last, he saw Itsuko watching him.

"Accept it, Artemis," she said sympathetically.  "You have to let go
sometime."

He sighed.  "Et tu, Pappadopoule?"

                                --**--

Itsuko was in the middle of a yawn, by way of a gentle hint, when Suzue
came up to her and asked her diffidently if she could speak to her in
private.

Itsuko eyed her for a few moments.  The girl looked tense and a little
apprehensive.  Wondering what could be bothering her, Itsuko nodded and
led her to her office.  She closed the door behind them, turned to face
Suzue, and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

Suzue swallowed once, and said, "It was true, wasn't it?  What you said
before?  That --"  She gulped again.  "That you are Hino Rei?"

Itsuko frowned.  "Yes.  Why would I lie?"  With a touch of her old
asperity she added, "What, do you want me to put on a black wig so you
can check?"

"No!  I mean, I --"  Suzue broke off again.  As if she were afraid of
the answer, she said, "But ... you were not reborn?  You are -- you are
one of the Senshi of Queen Serenity, incarnate?"

"Incarnate?"  That was a very odd way of putting it.  "Yes," Itsuko
snapped, "I was there, I saw it all with my own two eyes ... Suzue-kun,
what the hell is all this?  What are you trying to say?"

Suzue took a deep breath.  Then, to Itsuko's utter horror, she knelt
down at her feet, bowed her head very low, and said, "Please forgive
me, Holy One.  I do not know what is proper.  What form of reverence
would you prefer?"

Itsuko stared down at her for some time.  At last, in a dangerously
quiet voice, she said, "_What_?"

Suzue shifted uncomfortably, and tried to squirm a little lower.  "I --
I'm sorry.  Should I -- should I have some form of offering?  Should I
join the Olympus?  Would that be appropriate?"

There was an ominous silence.  After a few seconds, she peeked up.

Itsuko had spent a very long time learning to control her temper.  She
had started to work on it during the first years of Serenity's reign,
more or less in self-defence, and she'd had centuries of practice since
then.  Almost anyone she knew, if asked, would have agreed that she was
a very calm, level-headed and politely-spoken woman.

It had been a long day, though.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" she exploded.  "Is this some kind
of pathetic joke?  You think it's funny, spouting that gibberish like
you're one of those --"

She froze.

"Suzue-kun," she said, far too calmly, "please tell me that you're not a
member of the Church of Serenity."

Suzue looked up at her, her face white but determined.  "Lady Hino, I am
one of the faithful," she said defiantly.  "And I beg you to accept my
service and convey my allegiance and my oath of dedication to the ears
of the Blessed Lady Seren--"

"No!" Itsuko roared.  "How can you -- damn it, Suzue, stop talking this
nonsense!  You cannot possibly believe that --"

She broke off, seeing the girl's face.

"You are testing me," Suzue said tightly.

"Suzue-kun," Itsuko breathed.  "You're an intelligent girl.  How can you
do it?  How can you believe this nonsense?"

"It is not nonsense!"  Suzue's eyes flashed.  Her usual diffidence
seemed to fall away from her like a cast-off cloak.  "You were there!
You saw Her in her majesty and might!"

"Yes, I was there," Itsuko snapped back.  Her control was slipping
again.  "I saw her, all right.  And one thing I saw was that she was no
goddess!"

"She was!  Time and time again she defeated evil and its servants!  She
slew Chaos itself!  And when the Black One was reborn, and locked the
world in ice for centuries, she broke free and cleansed the entire Earth
of evil!  Hino-sama --"  There was pleading in Suzue's voice.  "How can
you say she was no goddess?"

"She was as human as I am."  Itsuko's mouth twisted wryly.  "More
human."  Then, shaking her head, she went on, "Believe me, Suzue-kun.
If you could have known her when she was a girl -- how clumsy she could
be, or just how rotten a student she was -- if you could have heard that
laugh of hers, or seen her hogging all the food at our meetings, or
stealing my manga --"  It was strange how irritating that memory could
be, even now.  All the same, she found that she had to clear her throat;
there seemed to be a lump in it.  "She was all human, I promise you,"
she finished with a melancholy smile.  "As human a human could be."

"She transcended mortality!" Suzue insisted.  "She was born twice; she
died each time to save her people; and someday soon she will rise a
third time, and her peace will the Earth and her reign will be without
end!"

Itsuko grinned suddenly.  "Miyo has been born three times now.  Does
that make her a goddess too?"

"Miyo is --"  Suzue glared at her.  "You're making fun of me.  Miyo was
reborn by the will of the Blessed Serenity.  As you were yourself, in
the Twentieth Century."

"Huh.  Have you told _her_ that?"

Suddenly Suzue's certainty seemed to evapourate.  "No.  I haven't
talked to her about it.  I'm not certain whether -- I mean, she told me
that since her rebirth she is basically a new person, with little more
than the memories of her past lives.  I wanted to talk about it with an
Intercessor, but I wasn't sure if I should --"

Itsuko snorted.  "Intercessor.  You mean one of your half-baked 'holy
men'?  Let me tell you something, Suzue-kun.  Holy men are just as
capable as being blind, or ignoring what's right under their noses, as
anyone else."  She scowled down at the girl.  "As blind as you, for
example."

"I am not blind!"  Suzue was on her feet now, staring at Itsuko, her
fists clenched.  "How can you deny it?  How can you deny what you
yourself have seen?  You were there when she defeated Chaos --"

"No," Itsuko said coldly.  "As a matter of fact, I wasn't."  And that
was a memory that still made her shiver at night ...  But then she saw
Suzue's sudden smile, and realised too late that she'd walked into a
trap.

"No, you weren't," Suzue said triumphantly.  "You were dead, and she
restored you to life!  Not once, but twice!  Someone who can do _that_
-- how can you deny her power, and her strength, and her love?"

Itsuko took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  She was shaking, she
realised, and hoped that Suzue could not see it.  "I don't deny them,"
she said.  "But I do deny that those made her a goddess.  She was a
wonderful, warm, caring person -- the strongest person I ever met.

"But she was a human person, Suzue-kun.  And I know that she would be
horrified if she knew that there were people who want to call her their
goddess."

Suzue set her jaw.  "But she --"

"Suzue-kun, I was there.  I knew her."  Itsuko could not keep a slight
vindictive edge out of her voice as she added, "And your 'Intercessors'
weren't.  Who do you think knows better?"

Suzue stared at her for a few seconds longer.  Then, abruptly, she
whirled and rushed out.  Moments later, Itsuko heard the door to the
stairs bang.

She closed her eyes, and said, "Shit."

                                --**--

Suzue walked home, her face pale and set.  She did not cry.  When she
arrived, she went inside calmly, greeted her parents -- who saw her face
and did not ask where she'd been all day -- and went to bed quietly.
She did not shed a single tear.

She lay there, staring up at the ceiling all night, defiantly not
crying.

                                --**--

Miyo and Artemis met Itsuko in the living room.  "I heard shouting,"
said Artemis.  "What happened?"

Itsuko hissed through her teeth.  "Nothing," she said at last.  "Just a
misunderstanding.  I think I've got it cleared up now."  [I hope,] she
added silently.

"Oh."  Artemis was clearly dissatisfied, but he did not press her.
Which was just as well, she suddenly realised.  She had never thought to
ask if he knew about Suzue's ... beliefs.

He yawned instead, and said, "Well, I think I'll get some sleep."  Very
casually, he looked around the living room and added, "I don't know if I
can say the same about you, though."  There was a distinct look of
smugness about him as he turned and walked out.

Itsuko sighed, looking around the room herself.  He had a point.

The room -- in fact, much of the suite -- was a wreck.  There were
plates, cups and drinking glasses scattered all over the floor.  One end
of the living room was covered with the torn paper streamers they'd used
as levels for the limbo contest.  Cushions were strewn across the floor.
There were sticky, discoloured patches in the carpet where something
unidentifiable had been spilled.  It looked, in short, as though a
highly successful party had been held there.  Itsuko didn't remember it
being that good, herself.  Though it hadn't been bad until things went
downhill, toward the end ...

"Who'd've thought six girls could make such a mess?" she muttered to
herself.  With another sigh, she knelt down and started picking the
plates up.

Miyo joined her a few seconds later.  "We could have met down in one of
the rooms at the back of the gym," she pointed out.  "They wouldn't have
made this much mess there."

"No, the only rooms with the debugging equipment are up here," Itsuko
replied absently.  She dabbed at a patch in the carpet.  "What _is_ this
stuff?"  She sighed.  "Maybe we can find another place to meet in
future.  But the Olympus did seem the best choice ..."

"Mm."

As they continued working, Itsuko stole a quick glance at Miyo.  The
girl was rather quiet, withdrawn.  Just tired?  Or was she thinking of
her parents again?  She'd hoped that today would distract Miyo from that
subject ...

"What's wrong?" she asked at last.

Miyo did not try to pretend that she didn't understand.  "I was just
thinking," she said slowly.  "All that talk about what happened before
the Fall ... it just brought it back to me.  I couldn't help remembering
what ... what happened, that day in Amsterdam.  What you -- we said.
What we did to each other."

Itsuko froze.  That was another subject that she wanted to think of as
little as possible.  Try as she might to forget, though, it was a day
she still remembered vividly -- sometimes in her nightmares.  She found
herself touching her left shoulder, where the most prominent scars were.

"I know," she said reflectively.  "I haven't forgotten.  But it's all
so much clearer for you, isn't it?"

"Yes."

There was a long silence.  "You're thinking it was my fault," said
Itsuko quietly.

"No.  It was -- it was my fault too.  We were both to blame.  But I --"

Itsuko got up and went to her side.  "Do you want to talk about it?"
She rested a hand on Miyo's shoulder gently.

Miyo shied away.  "No!  I --"  She knelt there, her arms huddled around
herself, for a few seconds.  "I just think I ... I'd like to go to bed
now."

She stood and walked off, alone.  Itsuko watched her go, but did not try
to follow.


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


Takekawa Yutaka pulled up outside the 'M' Division manufacturing plant
and hurried into the building.  He showed his ID to the guards as he
touched the palm-print reader at the gate.  A dark-haired woman in
Council uniform was waiting for him inside.

"Araki-san," he said, stopping to catch his breath.  "Welcome to --"

"Never mind that," she said brusquely.  "I need to see your entry
records."

"I --"  He blinked.  "Of course," he said.  "This way.  May I ask why
'K' Division is interested in --?"

"It's a matter of Council security," she snapped.  "That's all you need
to know."

He bowed nervously.  "Of course," he repeated.

He led her to his office, and called up the records she'd asked for.
His mind was whirling.  What did a Serry want with entry records to an
'M' Division plant?  What was so urgent that he had to be called in late
on a Sunday night?

Araki made an impatient gesture, and he stood up hastily.  She sat down
at his desk and began to tap away at the computer.  Records flashed
across the screen, impossibly fast.  He watched, uncomprehending.  She
could not possibly be taking it all in at that speed.  No human being
could possibly --

"Here," she said.  The screen froze on a single page of data.  He leaned
forward to peer at it.  An entry record for a secure workshop?  June
23rd, nearly three weeks ago.  There was a small, rather blurred image
of two people at the workshop doorway.

"Your ident code," she said, rather unnecessarily.

One of the faces in the photograph was his own.  He stared at it,
baffled.  "But that's --" he began.  "No, wait.  I remember.  She was a
courier.  I was showing her around the plant.  That was all --"

"You were showing a _courier_ around?" Araki asked sarcastically.

Takekawa flushed.  "I made a mistake," he protested.  "I thought she was
-- look, it was perfectly innocent!  She asked to see what was going on,
and it was just an Opal being repaired, so I opened the -- the
supervisor told me they were doing secret work and I took her out again
immediately!  There was no harm done!"

"Really?  Let's see, shall we?" Araki said.  She touched a key, and the
security record began to play.  For a moment, the face of the woman with
Takekawa was clearly visible.  She was tall and elegant, with long,
green-black hair.

Araki caught her breath.  "Meiou Setsuna," she breathed.

Takekawa said, "What?"  He looked at the entry record again nervously.
"No, her name was ..."  He tried to remember.  "Sada-- something.
Sadako?"

"Meiou Setsuna," repeated Araki.  "Oh, you fool, you let Sailor Pluto
into the plant!"

His hands were shaking.  "Sailor --?  But there's no such -- I don't --
I didn't --"  He stuttered to a halt.  Then, for one last time, he
lifted his voice in protest.  "Even if I did, she's a Senshi!  What's
wrong with letting a Senshi in?"

The light in the room changed.  He looked up.  Araki was gone.  Where
she had been standing was another woman, dressed in midnight blue and
silver.  Her face was the same as Araki's, but different -- twisted,
somehow.  In the centre of her forehead was a giant glowing jewel.

"I'm afraid, Takekawa-san," she said, "that you have made a rather
unfortunate mistake."

She reached out toward him.  He never quite managed to scream.

                                --**--

"It was Pluto," Twelve reported over the comm, some time later.  "She
just walked into the plant.  One of the supervisors even showed her
around.  It was perfect."

"Indeed," replied the chairman coolly.  "I suppose we have little chance
of following the lead up, then.  Give me the name she used, and I'll
pass it to 'S' Division, but I doubt that they'll find anything."

"Unlikely," Twelve agreed.  She looked down at her hand, and delicately
licked a streak of red from one fingernail.

"Unless you have some means of tracing her yourself?" inquired the
chairman.  She could almost hear his mocking smile.

"Sailor Jupiter destroyed the only tracker we had," she answered,
unfazed.  "Even that one was ... very draining to activate.  We can't
spare the resources to energise another at the moment."

"Then we've reached a dead end," he said.

"Yes."  She paused scowling.  "The timing of this is bad," she said at
last.  "Pluto has caused the Master ... severe difficulties before.  We
almost took her during the Fall, but she realised what was happening too
soon, and managed to escape.  She'll need to be handled very carefully."
Another pause.  "She may have gotten into other secure zones, though.
Get 'D' and 'S' Divisions to check -- but quietly."

"Very well," said the chairman at once.  "But have you considered that,
if she's working to protect the others, she may overplay her hand?  She
could end up leading us right to them."

Twelve snorted.  "Not Pluto.  She's too careful."  Then she grinned.
"Anyway, it's too soon for that."


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


Miyo dreamed:

She saw a young girl standing on the branch of one of the giant trees of
Callisto, the vast, pale shape of Jupiter faintly visible overhead, and
knew that the girl was herself.  She saw the Queen's palace in the
Silver Millennium, serene and beautiful, and recognised the five people
she saw standing on a balcony.  She saw the Tokyo of her youth, alive
and bustling, and the familiar group of girls who walked, talking and
laughing, down the street.  She saw the glittering splendour of Crystal
Tokyo and its Queen, and by her side, those who were her chief aides and
friends.  And she saw the Olympus Gymnasium, and the motley group
gathered there ...  and she realised with sudden joy that these, too,
were family.

She heard a quiet voice in her dream, asking her, "Which of these is
your true home?"  And she answered without hesitation, "All of them."

                                --**--

Beth dreamed:

She flew through the air, arms outstretched, feeling the wind in her
face, and shouted for joy.  She was a hero.  Nothing could stop her.
She could do anything.

Suddenly she heard a shout from below.  She looked down and saw a
teenaged girl, waving her arm and calling for help.  Effortlessly, she
swooped down and picked the girl up, lifting away from whatever unseen
danger threatened her.  The girl wrapped her arms around Beth's neck and
said, "My hero!"

There was something familiar about her.  Then, with a start, Beth
realised why.  The girl had Beth's own face. "But if you're Beth," she
said, "who am I?"

                                --**--

Dhiti dreamed:

She ran through a vast crowd of people.  Everywhere she went, hands
reached out to clutch at her: boys, girls, men and woman.  She dodged
them all easily.  Nobody could touch her.  She was Sailor Mercury.  She
was as slippery as ice.

"Can't _anybody_ touch me?" she asked mournfully.

                                --**--

Suzue did not dream.

                                --**--

Iku dreamed:

She saw the road ahead of her, the Longest Road.  She saw the warhorse,
and the spear of flame.  She saw the Staff of Worlds.  She heard the
familiar, cold voice asking, "Are you ready?"

She hid her face in her hands.  Eventually, the dream went away.

                                --**--

Itsuko dreamed:

She heard someone talking to her, and turned and saw Sailor Moon -- the
new Sailor Moon.  And when she recognised the girl's face, she burst out
laughing at the irony of it.

The laughter woke her up, and the moment, the memory, was gone.  She
went into her secret room and knelt before the sacred fire, trying to
recapture what she had seen, but the only vision that came to her was
of the face of Queen Serenity.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
    S   A   I   L   O   R       M   O   O   N       4   2   0   0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              E N D   O F   C H A P T E R   N I N E
------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEXT:  A hunter finds her quarry; a Senshi finds an unwelcome truth; a
young man finds a vocation; and several spies find entirely too much.



------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well.  That took longer than I expected.

Back when I finished chapter 8 of this story, if anyone had told me that
chapter 9 would take more than a year to finish, I'd have called them
mad.  Either that, or I'd never have gotten up the nerve to start it at
all.

This has, in many ways, been the hardest thing I've ever written.  Not
just in length; I've written longer stories.  But technically it was a
major challenge.  Large sections of this chapter had to be revised, over
and over again.  (The opening 30K or so was essentially rewritten from
scratch at least four times.)  And no other chapter of this story has
ever shown so much tendency to diverge from its outline -- a particular
problem in a chapter which was outlined far more heavily than most.
That outline was like a straightjacket; but here of all places it was
essential.

The subject matter compounded the problem, of course.  This is by far
the darkest and most intense of the story so far, and writing it put me
through the wringer emotionally.  Having to kill off so many beloved
characters was horrid; I've never felt so close to suicidal as I did in
the few days after I wrote Uranus' death-scene.  The less said about
that the better, perhaps.

In any case -- it's done at last; the story of the Fall is told; and if
it didn't reveal quite as much as you may have hoped -- well, them's the
breaks. :)  What follows should be a good deal lighter in tone.

A few acknowledgments:

Some ideas in this chapter are loosely drawn from the BBC and Thames
Television serials "Quatermass and the Pit" and "Quatermass" by Nigel
Kneale.

The song quotation is taken from the Walt Disney film "Mulan"; lyrics by
David Zippel, music by Matthew Wilder.

Astronomical data for the years 3477, 3478 and 4200 (moon phases and
moonrise/set times) were calculated using "Starry Night Pro" from Sienna
Software Ltd.

My thanks to those who gave valuable advice on this chapter: Ammadeau
(who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer and insisted I change the bits
that were wrong); Sandy Drobic; David Farr; Jussi Nikander; and Helmut
Ott.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Sailor Moon 4200 web-page:
http://shell.ihug.co.nz/~macspon/fanfic/sm4200/sm4200.html

Draft version:  25 December 1998 - 29 December, 1999.
Final Draft:  26 February, 2000.