*slams a fresh clip in his 9mm* A'ight...let's do this.

"You have reached the Date residence," he said calmly, reaching
down and playing idly with the large dial on the front of the antiquated
old telephone. "I'm sorry, but the master of the house is not in at this
moment, and the lady is not recieving calls. If you would like to call
back at a more convenient time, I would be honoured to record a message
for you..."

Ah, the old "fake answering machine" routine.

"Ryo?" Seiji's eye widened and he stood up a little straighter.
"Ryo, what's going on? I thought you and Shin were going south for the
summer to hang out with Shuu! Is there some kind of trouble? What did you
do? Do you need bail money?"

O_o;; Nothing like having faith in your friends...

"The what? Oh, right. So, anyway, there was some kind of thing
with that, and then we had to run down to the beach, right? Because good
Shin thought that evil Shin was going to do something down there, and he
was right. There was seaweed and tentacles everywhere, man! People were
screaming and running around like Godzilla was attacking. It was pretty
rough for a bit, there, Seiji:  we really could have used that Thunderbolt
Cut of yours. If Sailor Moon hadn't showed up, I would have been-"

Good lord someone install a throttle on this boy's mind and mouth!

"Wait, wait," Seiji interrupted, waving his hand as if Ryo could
see him. "You've totally lost me, Ryo. Back up and do it again, and this
time just stick to why you called me. Okay?"

"Okay." Ryo took a deep breath. "World. Danger. Big time. You.
Come. Bring sword. That simple enough for you?"

*SNRK*

"I'm already out the door," Seiji promised, scribbling a quick
note on the nearby writing pad with a convenient pencil and sticking it
into the doorframe where his grandfather would be sure to notice it later.
He figured he could pack a bag and be gone in about twenty seconds: he
always kept an emergency suitcase ready in case his older sister Yayoi
decided to visit and he had to go hide out in Canada for a couple of
weeks.

O.o;; Paranoid much?

Catch the train from Miyagi to Tokyo, and transfer in Shibuya to
the Yokohama line, and he could be there in about two hours. Hopefully
Ryo and the rest of the guys would be able to keep themselves out of
trouble for that long. Without him or Touma there to keep them under
control, it was not likely.

He'd better bring some bail money, just in case.

Heh.

Usagi Tsukino needed very little convincing. The slender blonde
was already working her way through her third plate, putting her a mere
half a plate behind Shuu Rei 'the walking garbage disposal' Fuan himself.
At the rate she was going, Ryo suspected she was going to come out ahead
in the long run. So far, the only thing they had gotten out of her since
sitting down had been a series of "ooh"s and "aah"s over how great the
food was. She was a very focused girl, but he had no idea where she was
putting any of it.

It's all going to her odango hair.

"You sold your friend on eBay?" Ami asked, shocked.

Hasn't everyone, at some point?

Ryo preferred it when evil stuff was happening to him instead of any of
the other guys. He knew that he could handle it, and he didn't have to
feel guilty about not being there to help himself. At the very least, he
always felt a little bad that his friends might be suffering while he was
comfortable. A guy should be able to suffer alongside his friends if they
were in some kind of trouble. If Touma could not be someplace that Ryo
could keep an eye on him, then it was comforting to know that he was
somewhere safely out of harm's way. At least one of them would be safe
for a while.

Oh, the irony.

"Oh, so it's Mako-chan, is it?" Shutendoji raised an eyebrow. "I
was not aware that you two were so close. Tell me one thing, warrior of
Intellect: if you are so intelligent, why did you not simply turn the
box upon your opponent when he had placed it in your hands? He would have
been banished, the girl freed, and the problem over. If you are so certain
of your infallibility, perhaps you can explain that."

Man, I hate it when people do that to you. XD

Word had spread quickly, after Fei Lian had sealed Jupiter away
within the Castle of Eternal Regret. Xiang Yao had dreamed of freedom for
a very long time: the fulfilment of her hopes had gushed through the
realm of Elysion like a tide of raw sewage. Her perverse glee had carried
an image of the two who would be taking her place in that dread prison: it
was not unlike her to take sick pleasure in the misfortune of others.
Clearly, her time in the Castle had only increased her bitterness and
hatred for all living things. That in itself was a disturbing thought, but
the fact that one of those captives was a friend of his beloved Chibi-Usa
was more than enough to move Elios into action.

!!!

IT'S THE PEDOHORSIE!

"Well, well - if it isn't My Little Pony."

******SNRRRRRRRK******

"Oh, so this is about a woman? Okay, I understand now." Stepping
inside Elios' reach, Nise Suiko shot his arm out with inhuman speed and
slapped his opponent in the face.

Ooooooh, bitchslap. Ouch. XD

Elios shook his head to clear it and looked back at Nise Suiko.
The youma was right - even after everything that Elios had done, there
was barely more than some dents in his armour to show for it. Maybe he
could still beat Nise Suiko, but how much longer would it take? The sound
of their fight was bound to draw attention eventually, and then Elios
would be outnumbered. Even if he won, he would still need to find and
defeat Fei Lian after he made it past the armoured youma. He wished that
Chibi-Usa were here, or Prince Endymion. He could use their wisdom and
experience.

....Chibiusa has wisdom and experience?

"And so he is," Shutendoji agreed, bracing himself with his
shakujo staff and stretching out an arm to help the blue-haired teen
over a particularly difficult crevice. "I would dare say that Fei Lian
has been your enemy for a very long time, Touma. He is the eternal enemy
of all who have ever borne the name Hashiba."

"Why? What did any of us ever do to him?"

You stole his bread in the school lunch line!

"Okay, so a long time ago this Nomios guy fought Fei Lian and
took him down. Good for Nomios, and all -I mean, it's nice to know that
the good guy won- but what does any of that have to do with me?"

"Guess," the monk replied dryly, giving his companion an acidic
glare from beneath the brim of his hat. Touma glared back at him with a
flat expression of distaste.

"I don't believe in reincarnation," he said quietly.

Mwahahahahahahahahaha.

"Fei Lian does," Toshitada said with a casual shrug. "As far as
he is concerned, you are the reincarnation of his bitterest enemy. To him,
you are Shen Yi, destroyer of the nine suns and bearer of the silver bow.
You are the Mouse Catcher, the Shining One, the Lord of the Heavens. You
are Prince Klarios; you are Nomios the wanderer.

"You are...Pu Wan Yu."

You are all of these
people, Touma Hashiba, and they are you. Can you not feel this resonating
within the heart of Tenku? Do you not sense their strength flowing through
your mystic armour?"

"Sorry, that was the natto I had for breakfast..."

"Setsuna had been alone for a very long time, longer than you
or I could hope to imagine. If I was allowed to bring one such as her
even a moment of respite -the slightest bit of comfort- then that is all
I ask of this world."

"Deep," Touma said. "So, when you say 'comfort'... do you mean-?"

"I think we have shared enough for one day," Toshitada answered,
and continued walking.

*SNRK*

One of those shopkeepers was an elegant and frustrated woman
who called herself Perrine Etrange. For the past few years, she had been
doing everything in her power to hold together the small family business
that she and her sisters had begun shortly after arriving in Tokyo. As
far as any of the other shopkeepers who worked in the area knew, she was
just one more entrepeneur trying to keep her head above water in the
difficult times they all had to face. She was a bit of a recluse, not
quite as active in the community as her younger sisters Carole and
Berenice

....oh god, it's THEM, isn't it? The Ayakashi Sisters. XD

The local community had a lot of misconceptions about Perrine
Etrange. Perhaps the largest of these was that she came from France.

Because she consumes mass quantities?

Berenice should be the one doing this. Everybody knew that
Berenice was the smart one. Unfortunately, Berenice was also busy with
her part time job volunteering at the hospital. She said her latest
patient was some kind of doctor, or professor, or something. Had a young
daughter and a laugh that reminded her of their old boss.

............................................................................
...

You're as bad about this kind of thing as *I* am, you know that? :P

"All right," she said defiantly, "That sign clearly reads
'Employees Only', so if you aren't related to me, Mister Bat and I are
going to have to get all 'Wicked Witch of the West' on you. And I happen
to be extraordinarily GOOD at being wicked!"

*SNRK* Good one!

"Yes," Elios replied softly. "And I know you too, Petz. Eldest
of the Akayashi Sisters, who served Crimson Rubeus in his quest to find

Ayakashi.

"Let me take care of that," Elios replied. "I can make you strong
again, Petz, and you shall not be alone. I will give you the power of
thunder, to wield against the enemies of the Sailor Senshi."

"But I have responsibilities! I have bills to pay, and books to
balance, and... and...." Petz scowled and picked up the accounts in front
of her. With a shrug, she hurled them across the room. "You know what?
Screw it. You wait here, and I'll go get my costume."

That didn't take much work. XD

cards and was discreetly handing them out to everybody they met. She was
still less than certain why they had stopped by the zoo, but Elios had
spent a very long time talking to what had appeared to be a tiger and a
hawk before giving up. As the priest had explained it, the animals had
been willing to help, but had no way to escape without drawing attention.
She had left one of her cards at the aquarium: apparently the fish there
had expressed an interest.

*stifles giggles*

"So, let me get this straight," one of their companions said,
holding the card in front of her with both hands and squinting at it as if
she had never seen one before. "If I go to this place, and I show one of
the women there this piece of paper, they will put mud on my face?"

"Pretty much, yes." Petz agreed, nodding happily.

Heheh.

"And that will make me more attractive?" the elfin girl asked,
raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, definitely. I'm sure it will make you a much, uh, nicer
shade of... green."

*falls over twitching helplessly*

"It certainly is nice to be back in Tokyo again," the only other
male in the group said with a debonair smile. "Don't you think so, Ann?"

"I still want to know why the creepy lady with the feathers

*DIES laughing*

wants
to put mud on my face," Ann replied, giving her masculine partner a
suspicious glare. "YOU don't think I need to be any more beautiful, do
you, Ail?"

"Well," Ail said with a shrug, "I guess it couldn't hurt."

Thus proving that alien men are just as stupid as real men when it comes to
women.

"Excellent! I was wondering if I might speak to Souichi Tomoe and
Kaori Kuromine. Are either of them accepting visitors today?"

....somehow, I *smelled* that coming.

Kaori examined the eyeglasses suspiciously as Elios stood nearby,
his hands clasped behind his back. They seemed like perfectly normal
glasses, except for the glowing rune that completely obscured the right
lens.

Oh, just what Tomoe-kyoujuu needs, something to remind him of his time as
THAT thing.

"Please, Kaori," the slender man in the overstuffed armchair
said, speaking for the first time since their guests had entered, "the
least we can do is humour the boy. He seems earnest enough, and his story
does help explain a few things that I had been wondering about. Like
why I'm the headmaster of a crater, for one thing. That always seemed odd,
because I don't remember BUYING a crater..."

*snrk*

The baby he was holding gurgled, and Professor Tomoe bounced her
gently on his knee as he smiled over at his red-headed scretary.

"Besides," he concluded. "Hotaru seems to like them. Don't you
Hotaru? You like the funny-looking people. Yes, you do! Yes, you do!"

Hotaru just loves funny-looking people. After all, she's friends with
Chibusa... ^_^

"I still don't like it," Kaori argued, folding her arms over her
chest

And WHAT a chest!

"I'm sure Fiore is taking excellent care of it," Ail reassured
her. "He's very good with plants."

*TWITCH* Even the *movie* villains now! Congratulations, you've just
outpaced me with the cameos... X_X

"I'll do what I can," Professor Tomoe promised, and donned the
eyeglasses. The rune covering his right eye glowed and spun briefly
before settling down into its usual pattern. Rising from his seat, the
slender scientist hugged his daughter close and kissed the top of her
head. As he turned to face Kaori, the sun glinted off of his lenses,
causing them to glow.

*hits the dirt* OH HELL, HE'S BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK...

Badamon fought the urge to cackle insanely as he ran his ragged
fingertips over the smooth surface of his latest acquisition.

Oh hell, he found Jadeite.

"Dead?" Jadeite gave Badamon a look of horror. "No! She can't be
dead! Not Queen Beryl! How in the ten hells am I supposed to kill her if
she's already dead?"

Nice to know he cares!

"Kill?" Badamon blinked rapidly as he tried to make some sense
out of the general's response. "We... We were not expecting quite so...
violent a reaction, master."

"Well, what WERE you expecting? That insipid woman put me in a
giant damned ice cube! Of COURSE I'd want to kill her!"

Heheheheheheheheh.

"Oh, no." Jadeite shook his head and chuckled again. "No, no, no.
This shall not do. Sailor Moon, triumphant? The little girl who needs the
guy in the tuxedo to come and save her all the time? I think not."

SOMEONE needs to be filled in on current events. And past ones, too. Of
course, can't blame him, seeing as he was...yeah.

He had no intention of just killing the Sailor Senshi. That would
only leave him unfulfilled and depressed. No, he was going to do something
far better.

He was going to HURT them.

Ooooh, this'll be fun.

The Eternal Lost Lurker
www.lurkerdrome.com



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