Hey, who am I to buck a trend?  :)

Goodbye to the FFML ... for now; and hope to see you back soon.  For now,

here's a teaser from chapter 10 of SM4200.  (The chapter is nearly done,

but at my current writing speed it could take another month or two to

finish, so don't hold your breath.  Sorry.)



Cheers,

Angus







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    S   A   I   L   O   R       M   O   O   N       4   2   0   0

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                           by Angus MacSpon

                          macspon@ihug.co.nz

          http://shell.ihug.co.nz/~macspon/fanfic/index.html

                   Comments and criticism welcome!



           Based on "Sailor Moon" created by Naoko Takeuchi

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

                        C H A P T E R   T E N

               "Discovery:  [Needs a subtitle here]"

                             [Draft Text]

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





Beth sighed as she walked through the school gate.  It felt like forever

since she'd been here.  The previous day alone had seemed to last an

eternity.  It had been seven hundred and twenty-two years long ...



And yet, she saw, the school was the same as ever.  The sun still shone;

the courtyard was filled with boys and girls, talking and laughing.

Nothing had changed; yet at the same time, it seemed somehow unfamiliar.

That meant something, she thought; but what?  Was it she, and not the

school, that was different?



She did not have long to brood about it, however.  Nanako intercepted

her as she walked toward the school building.  Some things, she realised

wryly, never changed.



"Hiya, Beth-chan!" the girl said cheerfully.  "Have a good weekend?  You

look tired," she added, frowning at her for an instant.



"Umm.  Fine," Beth answered.  In fact she'd been beaten nearly to death

on Saturday, and then spent all Sunday listening to the story of the end

of the world; but she could hardly mention that.  And she did feel

tired; she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.  Her head still

ached, and her dreams had been bad.



"Oh.  Good," Nanako answered, not seeming to notice her lack of

enthusiasm.  Then she frowned.  "You're limping."



"I went out jogging," Beth replied.  "I fell, and got banged up a bit."

All three statements, she reflected morosely, were literally true.  They

just didn't quite go together the way they sounded.



"You should relax more," Nanako advised her sagely.  "All that ...

action stuff is bad for you."  She laughed, as if she'd said something

funny.



"I suppose so."  A moment later Beth brightened.  "Good morning,

Eitoku-kun," she caroled.



"Good morning, Beth-kun," he answered solemnly.  "Hi, Nana-chan.  What's

new?"



Nanako's eyes lit up.  "I heard there was another Senshi battle on

Saturday," she said.



Eitoku shook his head.  "Hooray," he said.



"You did?" Beth blurted out at the same moment, startled.  [But that

wasn't in public,] she thought, alarmed.  "Um ... where did you hear

that?" she asked.



"Beth-chan, please.  I hear everything.  You know that."  Nanako looked

insufferably smug.  "Apparently a burglar alarm went off at an abandoned

warehouse, and 'P' Division found a lot of wreckage there, and piles of

those crystal shards all over the place.  _And_" -- she played her trump

card -- "there were two dead bodies in one of the buildings.  And they

were surrounded by photographs of Sailor Venus!"  She fixed Beth with a

gimlet stare.  "What do you think of _that_?" she demanded triumphantly.



Beth shrank back.  "Bodies?" she asked, shocked.  "And -- photographs of

m-- of Venus?  I -- how?  Where?"



Eitoku sighed.  "Where do you hear all this stuff, Nana-chan?" he asked.

"Sometimes I think you're making it all up."



"Don't be silly.  My father is a 'P' Division officer, remember?"

Nanako smirked at him.  "I should start charging you guys for all this

information.  I could make a fortune."



He snorted.  "You think people would _pay_ to hear you spread rumours?"



"Well, that's true."  She pulled out her purse and studied it

mournfully.  "Besides, it'd be too much trouble.  All that running

around, collecting debts ...  Hey, you all right, Beth-chan?"



"I --"  Beth swallowed.  "Bodies?" she repeated.  "Who?  What happened

to them?"



Nanako studied her thoughtfully for a moment.  At last she said, rather

more seriously, "A pair of caretakers, I think.  Dad didn't say much."

Beth waited for her to ask why she wanted to know, but she didn't.

Instead, for no apparent reason, she said, "All the photos were blurry,

like always."



"Oh!"  Beth hadn't even thought of that.  "Umm, right."  Then a happier

thought occurred to her.  "So they still don't know who Sailor Venus

is."



Nanako winced, as if in pain.  "No," she said heavily.  "I guess they

don't.  Hey, Beth-chan, have you ever heard of the word 'subtlty'?"



"Huh?"  Beth stared at her.  "Yes, of course.  What are you talking

about?"



"Oh, nothing.  So, Eitoku-kun, anything exciting happen to _you_ over

the weekend?"



"Who, me?  No."  Nanako rolled her eyes at Beth, who stifled a giggle.

But then Eitoku brightened and said, "Oh, wait.  I was doing some

reading at the library --" Nanako rolled her eyes again "-- and I saw

this announcement on the notice-board.  'D' Division are sponsoring a

new political-studies program for students.  I sent off an application

to join."



Nanako blinked.  "I asked if you did anything exciting, and you tell me

about a political-studies program?"



He glared at her.  "That _is_ exciting!" he protested.  "You know I want

to join 'D' Division when I graduate, and this could be a big help!"



Beth could not keep the laugh in any longer.  "'D' Division?  You want

to be a spy?"



"Diplomat!" he retorted.



Beth and Nanako glanced at each other.  Then, "Spy!" they chorused.



"Diplomat!"



"Spy!"



"Diplomat!"



"Is this a private game, or can anyone join in?" came a voice from

behind them.



"Spy!" shouted Nanako happily.  "Oh, hi, Iku-chan.  No, roll on in.

We're just telling Eitoku-kun how he --"



She froze, staring.  "_Iku_?!"



It was Iku, all right, but she looked ... different.  Her face and hands

were smudged with dirt; her hair-braid was loose and ragged.  Her school

uniform was rumpled and creased, and looked as though she had slept in

it.  It also appeared to be a size too small for her.  Her shoes were

caked with half-dried mud.  She looked tired.  And she --



She was smiling.  Faintly, nervously; but she was smiling.



"Hi, Nana-chan, Eitoku-kun," she said.  "Hi, Beth."



Her smile faded as the other three stared at her.  "Umm," she said

hesitantly, "what were you saying you were telling Eitoku-kun?"



"Iku-chan," said Nanako at last, "what happened?  Did you get in a fight

with someone?  You look --"



Iku jerked.  "It's nothing," she told her guiltily.  "Really.  I, um, I

was late getting out of bed this morning, and I ..."  She spread her

hands, and smiled at Nanako hopefully.



"Right."  Nanako gave her one more suspicious look, then shook her head.

"We were, um, just telling 'Toku-chan how he --"



Beth listened with half an ear as Nanako effortlessly spun the story out

into a lengthy drama, with frequent interruptions and complaints from

Eitoku.  She had an odd, nagging feeling that she had missed something

important amongst the chatter, but she could not pinpoint what.



The real puzzle was Iku.  She had been so upset yesterday and on

Saturday; now, suddenly, she was acting almost ... well, normal.  She

looked as if she'd slept under a bush, but she was not cringing whenever

anyone looked at her; she was speaking without being spoken to; and she

was even smiling.  Beth had never seen her this way before.



-- Well, no.  Actually, she _had_ seen Iku this way -- weeks ago, back

when Beth had been watching the three secretly; before she'd dared to

speak to Eitoku.  Iku had seemed a lot more alive then.  And come to

think of it, even yesterday, once she'd calmed down, she'd seemed pretty

relaxed.  What was going on?



She was jolted from her reverie by a shout from Eitoku.  "All right, so

I'm interested in politics!" he complained.  "What's wrong with that?"



"It's the most boring subject on the planet!" Nanako shouted back.

"That's what's wrong!  You might as well spend your time watching snails

climb a brick wall!  At least the snails get somewhere!"



"It is not boring!" Eitoku insisted.  "It's the most important thing in

the world!"  He clenched his fists, struggling to find the words.  "It's

... politics is what lets people live together, work together!  It's not

just about governments and who rules who.  Politics is ... is what

separates us from animals!"  He gazed at her earnestly.  "Look, if two

animals disagree, they fight.  But politics is what lets humans _not_

fight!  If two people have a disagreement, instead of coming to blows

over it, they can settle their differences and work out a solution they

can both live with.  And that's politics!  Politics is _everything_!"



Nanako gave him a suspicious look.  "You've been practising that speech,

haven't you?"



He exploded.  "Damn it, this is serious!" he shouted.



Her eyes widened; then, to Beth's surprise, Nanako actually backed down.

"All right, all right, it's serious," she said placatingly.  "Only ..."

She gave a melodramatic sigh.  "Why did you have to be interested in

something so _dull_?  Give that brain thing of yours a rest, Eitoku-kun.

Live in the real world for a change."



He snorted, shaking his head; but his anger had faded as quickly as it

had flared up.  "Real world?  If I get into 'D' Division after I finish

school, and work hard ... who knows?  I could end up on the Serenity

Council someday.  Is _that_ real enough for you?"



Nanako made a face.  "You, a Serry?  What a horrible thought."  She

looked over to Beth.  "Beth-chan ... does this boy look like Serry

material to you?  Be honest now."



Beth thought about it.  Eitoku was wearing that earnest, determined look

that made her heart want to melt.  She opened her mouth to answer --



"Beth," Nanako said sharply, "you're getting a 'yes' look on your face.

Stop it."



"Fine," Beth huffed.  "I'll just join 'D' Division as well, and be a spy

like Eitoku-kun."



Eitoku groaned.  "Diplomat," he insisted.



"Spy!" shouted Beth, Nanako and Iku together.  Then they looked at each

other and started to laugh.



At last Eitoku joined in.  Once the laughter had died down, though, he

said, "Come on, you know that's only in bad anime, when all the

diplomats are really spies.  It's not like that in real life."



"Hey!" Nanako said indignantly.  "'Shadow Ambassadors' is not a bad

anime!  It's great!  Anyway," she added more quietly, "my father says

half the staff in our embassies are sending back coded reports every

day.  You want to bet they _aren't_ spies?"



"A lot your father would know about it," Eitoku said.



"He's a Colonel in 'P' Division!"



"He's a Lieutenant.  You told me six months ago, remember?"



"Oh, that's right."  Nanako hesitated.  "Well -- anyway --"



He shook his head sadly.  "The bell's going to go in a couple of

minutes.  I'm going in to class."  He turned and started toward the

school building.  Nanako gave a startled squawk and ran after him.  As

she caught up to him he said, "You're getting sloppy, Nana-chan ..."



The two passed out of earshot, Nanako protesting vigorously.  Beth

waited a moment longer, to be sure, and laid a hand on Iku's arm.  "We

have to talk," she whispered.



Iku jumped at the touch and shied away from her.  Then, visibly, she

steadied herself.  "What about?" she asked.



Beth took a quick glance around.  Nobody was nearby.  "After that fight

at the warehouse on Saturday," she said quickly, "Nanako says the police

found two dead bodies in one of the buildings.  Surrounded by pictures

of me -- I mean, Sailor Venus!"



Iku said nothing for a moment.  "You think somebody knows who you are?"

she asked cautiously.



"Maybe!" Beth hissed.  "And maybe somebody killed those two people to

find out, too!  Iku-chan, what do you think I should do?"



"What do _I_ think?"  Iku seemed taken aback.  At last, tentatively, she

said, "You ... could ask Bendis?  Or Miyo-sama?"



"'Sama'?" Beth asked, startled.  Then she shook her head impatiently.

"Yeah!  Great idea!"  She pulled her sleeve back to reveal her

communicator.  "Geez, this thing's fast again," she muttered.  She

tapped the 'send' control gingerly and waited.



After a few seconds the tiny screen lit up to show Miyo's face.  "Beth?"

she asked, startled.  "What's the matter?  Another attack?"



"No --"  Quickly, Beth outlined what Nanako had told her.  "What do you

think we should do?" she finished nervously.



Miyo was silent for some time, frowning in thought.  "Maybe that's what

she was talking about," she said at last.



"Who?"



"Lady Blue.  After the battle, she gave me a photograph of you.  She

said ..."  Miyo hesitated, biting her lip.  "She said she took care of

it for me.  For us."



Beth stared at her, open-mouthed in shock.  "You mean ... she killed

them so they wouldn't -- they couldn't --  No!  That's impossible!  You

can't think that!"



"I think," Miyo said slowly, "that there might not be much she wouldn't

do.  I think that she wants us to ... to do something for her, and maybe

she doesn't want us ... distracted until we've finished."



"No --" Beth began.



"And I think," Miyo went on, overriding her protest, "that I want Sailor

Mercury to scan the site with her computer.  If Lady Blue was there

before you were, setting a trap ..."  She smiled, showing her teeth.

"This time, she might just have made a mistake."



She broke the connection before Beth could answer her.  Beth and Iku

exchanged a long look.



"She said she'll look into it," Beth said at last.



Iku licked her lips nervously.  "Bodies," she said, and shivered.



"Yeah."  Beth felt like shivering too.  Unconsciously, she reached up

and rubbed the spot on her arm where she had been shot, a month before.

The bullet had left a scar, so faint as to be almost invisible.  Then,

someone had shot her; now, two people were dead because of her.  It was

a dangerous game that she was involved in.  And seven hundred years ago,

all the players had died ...



She tried to push the thought away, think of something else.  Her eye

fell upon Iku.



"You know," she said without thinking, "you really do look a mess.  Did

you have some kind of accident on the way in to school?"



Something changed in Iku's expression.  Her face went quite blank.

"It's nothing," she said, almost inaudibly.  She turned and started

toward the school building.



Beth watched her go.  The bell went and she trudged in to class, still

staring.  She found it very difficult to concentrate on her lessons all

day.



[End teaser]