Hi!

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you on this, but I've been working 
my way through a backlog that was kind of lengthy. The good news is that I 
seem to be getting responses from everybody again, so at least that's not a 
concern any more. ^_^

Anyway, on with the fic!

	Purple prose, Hoooooooo!

Hey! I woud object to that if it were less true! ^_^

Chapter 9: Red Rain and Riptides

	Shuu:  Beach episode again?
	Ryo:   Nah.  But Shin's evil twin will probably show up again.

You can always count on Nise Suiko. He's almost like taxes that way. :p

And you're right - this is not a beach episode. There will be a few more of 
those before all is said and done (it *is* a summer-based fic), but not for 
a little while yet.

Within the pearly clouds of shimmering vapour,
even the massive bulk of the Yokohama World Porters was little more than

	"Yokohama World Porters" sounds like an adjective w/o a noun -- is it
supposed to be "YWP Building," or something like that?

The Yokohama World Porters is a giant shopping complex in the Renga Park 
District. Unfortunately, it was named in Engrish. In every example I could 
find, the place was always just referred to as "Yokohama World Porters", 
without any kind of clarifiers. I don't suppose it would be too hard for me 
to add a noun in there. :p

In the
distance, a shimmering circle of blinking lights marked the far off
Ferris Wheel of Cosmo World, and a jagged spar of shadow jutted through

	That's the FW that makes all the light patterns with its structure, right?

Yep, that's the one you're thinking of! The Cosmo World Ferris Wheel (also 
called the Cosmo Clock) is one of the largest Ferris Wheels on the planet. 
Its entire structure is covered with blinkng coloured lights, and they've 
built a gigantic digital clock into the axle. I'm assuming that's so people 
can tell how long they've been riding it? Either that, or the Japanese just 
figured that being the world's lagest Ferris Wheel (when they built it) was 
not special enough, and that the best way to improve ANYTHING is slap a 
digital clock onto it. *shrug*

the mist to mark the place of the Yokohama World Tower. All lesser
buildings were not even able to impose their presence that much upon the
mass of the all-encompassing fog.

	Y'know, I can't help but think this fog isn't entirely natural.  Oh,
Amiiiii....

Ami: "Some people predict the weather, and some people make their own."
Usagi: "Yeah, great idea fixing it so we can't see where we're going, Ami. 
I've already run into three signposts and a fence!"
Ami: "Sounds like YOU need a magic visor."

	Further in, past the wispy coils of mist and deep inside the all
but impenetrable centre of the fogbank, the silence was broken only by
the sound of running footsteps. Steam rising from their mouths in thick

	Sug:  rising<>billowing.  Or maybe "puffing" -- "rising" doesn't seem
quite energetic enough given how hard I suspect they're panting.

Fair enough - I'll have to go back and touch that up a bit. ^_^

	"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up," one of them
gasped, her face contorted into a grimace as she clutched the side of 

her

head. "It's too hot here, Sailor Moon - I can't keep it cold enough to
maintain our cover!"

	You can do it, Ami-chan!  Glacier the block!

Ami often underestimates just how much she is capable of. Admittedly, she 
does have to work a lot harder to keep her powers going in the middle of 
summer - much like Ryo would be hard-pressed to keep himself going in the 
dead of winter - but she is a lot tougher than she thinks she is.

Say what you will about which Senshi is the strongest physically, but when 
it comes to sheer, bloody-minded determination, my money's on the 
blue-haired girl every time. ^_^

The mists parted as a
monstrous form loomed forward, his lips drawn back from his massive,
sabre-like canines. His pointed ears rose from his dog-like head, and

	Head?  Singular?  Didn't he have two, last time we saw him?

Yep, Orthrus has been driving the Senshi nuts by splitting up and reforming 
every time they weren't looking. Aside from the flame breath, it's the 
greatest strength he's got: you can never be sure he's not sneaking up on 
you the whole time you're fighting him. :p

Closing her eyes, the blue-haired girl lowered her hands to her sides 

and

bowed her head. Subtly, the puddles around them began to ripple and 

swirl

in strange motions, reaching upwards and then tumbling back down into
their own depths as the monster stepped forward.

	This gives me a pleasant flashback to the "Great, now you've managed to
piss her off" scene in "On A Clear Day, You Can See Forever."

Oh, good - I'm glad to hear it was pleasant. You may want to see a doctor if 
that keeps happening, though. ^_^

	"We haven't been beaten yet, Orthrus," Sailor Moon reminded the
youma, raising her hands and curling her fingers into fists. "And trust
me, stuff way scarier than you has tried!"

	I'm not entirely sure that Angry!Luna counts, though...

Usagi: "You only say that because you've never had to face it. Trust me, it 
counts."
Ami: "You mean you actually fear your own cat?"
Usagi: "More than the entire Dark Kingdom combined - none of them have read 
my diary."

Coated in frost,
his extended claws trembled with the effort of finishing their strike
less than a foot from Sailor Moon's throat. Slowly, his digits stiffened
and froze in place, a curled paw trapped in mid-descent. Sailor Moon

	Now if only they could T-1000 his mangy butt...

Well, that might work if they had frozen him solid, but it's really more 
like a thick coating of ice over his entire body. He's trapped, but he's not 
exactly finished off just yet.

	"I don't feel so good," Sailor Mercury replied with a wan smile
as she sank to the ground and rubbed the back of her neck. "This isn't
working, you know: we need a better plan."

	I dunno, they've got one half of Orthy nailed to the sidewalk -- all
they need is for Moon to dust him, and then deal with the other half.

That's the current plan, but Ami was referring more to the way they've been 
reacting to whatever Orthrus does instead of taking control of the 
situation. Running around in circles and hoping they can get away from him 
is obviously not going as well as any of them had expected.

	Unless Moon's powers are still on the fritz...

They come and go. So far she seems to be back in her usual "Super" form, but 
that's largely because Badamon is too busy messing with Ryo to spare her any 
attention.

It was the size and shape of a short sword, with a pair of
cherubic wings at the hilt and a jewel-studded rod in place of a blade.

	<whimper>  Somebody, please, get this girl a decent *sword* or
something....

I didn't mind the Magic Frisbee (in fact, I rather liked it), and I even 
liked the original Moon Stick - with or without matching ginzuisho. I will 
readily admit, however, that the more powerful Usagi's weapons become, the 
less seriously I am able to take them.

Of course, if it can wipe out the entire universe with one wave, who am I to 
criticise its colour scheme? ^_^

Jerking its massive head from
Side-to-side, the creature worried at her, knocking her down and 

pressing

its weight on top of her as it twisted and tugged at her captured arm.

	"side to side" doesn't need hyphenation.  Or capping.

I blame my spell check for that one. Stupid thing can't tell the difference 
between a line break and a new sentence. :p

I do want some points for being able to use the verb "worry" in its 
originally intended manner, though. ^_^

Sailor Moon took a deep
breath and screamed. Her shrill cry split through the mist-veiled 

clearing

and echoed off of the shadowy buildings that surrounded them. The large
red garnets mounted in her hair gleamed dimly, and began to glow as she

	Agh!  It's the Ultimate Moon Scream!  RUN!

It's a very effective attack, really. Serves as a deterrent and summons help 
at the same time.

	Somewhere, Rei is saying "I sense a great disturbance in the Farce."

Quit reading ahead! :p

	"What?" Blinking in confusion, Rei looked down at Shin and shook
her head as if trying to clear it. "Oh, nothing, Shin - it's just... did
either of you two hear anything just now?"

	<facefault>  I can't believe she didn't hear that loud and clear.  They
probably heard it in Okinawa, fercryinoutloud!

Well, they are sitting in a crowded coffee shop on the other side of the 
city. Rei's just picking up on it because it's at a tone that only Senshi 
can hear. Normally that attack would summon Tuxedo Kamen, but he's busy and 
further away at the moment. :p

"Let's go and make sure that she's okay, then. Shuu, be a chap and
settle the bill, would you?"

	"Shin, What are you doing, man?" Shuu asked, reaching out and

	Uncap "what"

Grr. Will fix!

catching his friend by the wrist as the slender youth stood to let Rei
past.

	"I'm getting in the good graces of the blazing hot brunette, duh."

Shin: "Plus, I'm sticking you with the bill! All told, it works out quite 
well for me."

It's probably just nerves, like you said.
Just in case, though, maybe you should go and fetch Ryo when you're done
here."

	Translation:  "I got a bad feeling about this, so grab Ryo and come
a'runnin'."

Yeah, something along those lines. ^_^

Besides, this way
if it's nothing, we can poke around for a bit and then call you at home
to let you know not to bother."

	"Except I'm only gonna BE at home long enough to wake up Ryo (okay,
that could take a while) and drag his angsty arse outta the house!  So
what if we're halfway there and you can't get ahold of us to tell us to
chill out, huh?"

Shin: "Admittedly, I had not thought quite that far ahead. In that case, I 
shall no doubt look quite foolish."

	Kidding aside, don't these guys have cellphones?  Or is this taking
place in the canonical Pre-Cell Japan?

I'm trying to be as vague as possible about the time setting for this story, 
but when in doubt I assume things to be as close to the show canon as 
possible. Sadly, that means no cell phones for the Troopers.

Besides, it's a real pain to get a decent signal when you're stuck in an 
alien dimension. :p

there must be something about that girl that makes
her a threat to Nise Suiko, and I'm going to find out what."

	<faceplant>  Oh, well.  I guess any other justification would have
advanced the romantic subplot just a bit too fast...

Well, Shin is just a *tiny* bit obsessed with his evil twin at the moment. 
He's not really looking at anybody unless it's to calculate how he can use 
them against Nise Suiko. It's actually very similar to the way Nise Suiko is 
so fixated on him. ^_^

He was small, even for a
human, which meant that Orthrus positively towered over him, but there 

was

no sign of fear in the boy's dark eyes. Thrusting his hands into the
pockets of his baggy white pants, the crimson-haired teen sauntered over

	Oh, great.  NOT Shin.  Suiko.

Well, he *was* sent to Yokohama by Badamon last chapter. It was really 
inevitable that he was going to show up. The irony is that he may end up 
managing to help the Senshi for once.

	"Move along, weakling," Orthrus spat derisively. "Before I decide
that you are worth the effort of removing from my way. I have more
important prey to hunt."

	*Wrong* thing to say.

Agreed. :p

	"Yeah, about that," the youth replied, scratching behind one ear.
"Hate to break it to you, but that won't be happening. See, I've sort of
come here to kill you."

	...I don't believe it.  I think I'm actually sort of *glad* to see him.
  Well, I'm sure it won't last long.

Relax, it won't. Nise Suiko is not the sort of fellow who lets good 
impressions last for any longer than he can possibly help it.

	"Fifteen seconds?" he asked with a sneer. "You're going to need
more wind than that to blow me down, mate."

	Not by the hairs of my-- you know what?  Never mind.

If it helps any, I thought it was very funny. ^_^

Orthrus' other hand swooped in and
wrapped around Nise Suiko's face, plucking him out of the sky and 

driving

his skull into the blacktop. Orthrus growled and leaned hard on the 

boy's

head, twisting his hand and grinding Nise Suiko further into the ground.

	Ouch.  Road rash.

Nise is very lucky that he is nigh-impossible to kill, because trying to 
pick a fight with Orthrus without armouring up first was not a good idea. A 
lesser being would have their skull crushed like a walnut by that little 
move. Nise just got really ticked off by it.

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before either Seiji's
armour finally gave or Tuxedo Kamen dodged a little too sluggishly, and
then the beast would have them.

	Good grief, just how tough *is* this thing?  And where's Venus?

Nemeios is incredibly tough. His greatest power is that he is almost totally 
immune to physical damage. Emphasis on the "almost", of course - Sailor Moon 
could still dust him without needing to break much more than her customary 
sweat.

Oh, and Venus is off digging a pit.

The best they had managed had been a long and protracted
stalemate, which Seiji suspected was exactly what Xiang Yao had been
hoping for when she had sent it after them.

	Which is scary -- if she'd sent *two*, Our Heroes would probably be
dead by now.  And if the *pets* are this tough, how are they going to
have any chance against the Master?

Honestly, the main reason these youma are seeming especially hard to beat is 
that they are facing a much smaller number of opponents than usual. If 
either Orthrus or Nemeios was up against all five of the Senshi or Troopers, 
they would likely have gone down a lot faster. Even an underachieving youma 
can usually give the Senshi a run for their money when it catches them 
off-guard.

	"Man, this is starting to suck," Seiji groaned, as he rolled the

	"*Starting*?"

Keep in mind that by this point in his life, Seiji has been absorbed by a 
demon (twice), kidnapped and tortured for days on end (also twice), and 
frozen inside a waterfall (twice, again). That's not even bringing up the 
zombie deer.

Seiji Date has a much different gauge for measuring "suck" than you or I 
would. :p

The sword slid out partway, and a fresh gout of
blood poured from the wound as Ryo gagged and tumbled forward, clasping
both hands tightly against his side to staunch the flow. With a sickly

	Which is why they always tell you *not* to do that in First Aid classes.

Ryo's not thinking very clearly right now. You're absolutely right, of 
course: removing a blade when it has been stuck inside of you is not a good 
idea under any circumstances.

	"You always let everybody down," the voice continued, as Ryo
focused on drawing the blade out of his chest. "You always have, and you
always will. Don't you see, young Sanada? You were never meant to be a
hero."

	Coulda fooled *me*.

Well, given some of the luck he has been having lately, it is safe to assume 
that Ryo may not be feeling very confident in his track record so far. He's 
one of those guys who tends to dwell on his failures more than exult in his 
successes.

	Shadows moved in the smoke, and Ryo struggled to his feet. They
had found him. Even in the midst of the entire city burning, patrols 

were

being sent out for each and every person. There were to be no survivors,
this time. The Dark Kingdom had grown weary of playing around.

	...Hm.   Flashback.  But to *when?*

Very, very long ago.

	"He didn't listen to me," the voice explained. Ryo cocked his head
to the side and raised one eyebrow. Was it him, or did that voice sound 

a

little bit smug when it said that?

	Toshi?  Nah, I don't think so.

Nope, not Toshitada - he's still trapped in the Castle of Eternal Regret.

	Kaos stood before the doors, sword in hand. The ageless monk was

	What, no Shakujo?

That's actually another hint as to how far back in time Ryo's gone: Kaos 
doesn't have his shakujo staff yet. At this point, he is still just another 
warrior in Prince Endymion's service. A very powerful and dangerous warrior, 
yes, but nowhere near as nasty as he eventually became.

About a thousand years ago, Kaos was skilled enough to defeat Arago all by 
himself. What really has people like Toshitada Koma irritated is the kind of 
stuff Kaos had to put himself through in order to *get* that sort of 
strength and experience. Surviving the fall of the Moon Kingdom was just the 
start of his troubles.

dressed in an intricate suit of green and silver armour, with a long

	Green and silver?  Well, it's not the White Armor, so I guess Kaos is
off the "original owner" list.

Yep, Kaos was not the original bearer of the White Armour. He *did* know 
about its existence, though, and he was trying to coax the Troopers into 
finding a way to summon it. Kaos knew the original owner, but but it wasn't 
him.

	...green?  Isn't that Seiji's color?  Naaah, I must be reading too much
into this.

Yeah, just a little bit - this is actually a few thousand years before Kaos 
even got around to creating the Samurai Troopers' armours. Green is just the 
colour that Kaos used to wear before he became a monk.

	"Just you watch," Ryo replied fervently, cupping his hands over
his mouth. "Kaos! Kaos, it's me! I'm here! Tell me what to do!"

	...wow.  Not leaping in headfirst?  Who are you, and what did you do
with the real Ryo?

Hehehe. This is the Ryo who has Kaos nearby to tell him what to do. Whatever 
other impulse control problems young Sanada may have, he has long since 
become used to doing whatever that monk tells him to do. If Kaos says 
"jump", Ryo is in the air before he's even had to time to finish saying it. 
They trust him implicitly.

Toshitada? Not so much. :p

	"Shutendoji," Ryo said flatly, taking a step away from the Masho
of Cruelty.

	...huh?  Toshi?  But he wouldn't talk that way about Kaos.

No, Toshitada would never speak that way about Kaos. But he makes a very 
good way to slap Ryo around for the person who is controlling this fantasy. 
Ryo and Shutendoji were the bitterest of enemies in the old days. If 
anything was going to get a reaction from Ryo, it would be seeing Toshitada 
back in his old armour again.

	"Most impressive," the voice boomed, as the battle and the palace
faded into nothingness. "You figured it out. This was, indeed, nothing
more than an illusion. I see your strength has increased mentally, as 

well

as physically. Soon, you will indeed be worthy of serving me."

	Ryo?  Serving *anybody*?  Yaright.

Hope springs eternal, and some people never give up. :p

	"We've played this game before, Arago!" Ryo replied, leaping to
his feet as the world erupted into searing flame. "You already know my
answer - FLARE UP, NOW!"

	Knew it.  Only thing that threw me at first was Ryo not recognizing the
voice.

Ryo didn't recognise the voice because it isn't really Arago. Arago's voice 
has the kind of distinctive tone that you can only get from being pure evil 
and sixteen feet tall. ^_^

	Still... this whole thing suggests that Ryo is a Silver Millenium
reincarnate.  Something to keep in mind.

Something to keep in mind, indeed.

	"Oh, that part was quite true," Arago assured him. "I was there,
young Sanada: I saw the entire battle with my own eyes. A shame, that 

the

monk survived, but aside from that it was a very good day."

	Arago was there?  I wonder who he was.

That's a very good question to be asking right about now. ^_^

You could never depend on that useless fool of a
man who sired you for anything, could you? You can count on me, though,
young Sanada - you will always be able to count on me."

	Well, you can count on him to be consistently evilbadnasty, at least.
I suppose that's something.

You can definitely say that much about him - Arago is very reliable. He's 
also evil, aggressive, cruel, megalomaniacal, murderous, and tyrannical, but 
at least he's RELIABLY so. ^_^

That suit of hers almost looked like
the one Ami had been wearing when they first met: was she a Sailor 

Senshi?

	About time we got back to Mako-chan and Touma.  And Toshi, of course.

Yeah, it's been a few chapters. If it makes you feel any better, most of the 
next chapter will be devoted to them. Of course, considering how this 
chapter ended, that may not make you feel any better at all....

Time is running out, and their enemies are closing in on them
even as we speak. Soon, young Hashiba will have no choice but to crawl
back to me, or he will be obliterated."

	Why do I find this *highly* unlikely?  But the real question is, can
Arago get Ryo to start doubting?

That is the question, isn't it? And also one of the points to this 
excercise. They're trying to break Ryo down by any means necessary. A 
distracted and distraught Ryo Sanada is a Ryo Sanada who is not actively 
bashing them in the face with his sword.

	The door opened, and a young woman staggered in clutching her
stomach. She was dressed in denim shorts, with a jean jacket and an 

orange

ribbon tied in her long black hair.

	Luna?

Yep, that would be the dearly departed Luna, of YST:Gaiden fame (not to be 
conused with Sailor Moon's Luna, who is of course in much better health).

"These women, these people
who tried to take you from me, they *had* to die. It could not be 

avoided.

You were never meant to be with them. You were meant to be with ME."

	You know, I liked it better when he was just trying to destroy the
world.  This is *seriously* screwed up.

Well, keep in mind that this is all a show being put on for Ryo's benefit. 
If they can convince him of any of this, it's to their advantage. Get him to 
accept that it's pointless to resist, or just wear him down to the point 
where he doesn't feel like fighting back any more, and they just might have 
him.

	And I recall your comments a few chapters back about the relationship
between Ryo and Arago...

Oh, good! ^_^

Little Miss... Mizuno, I believe her name was? I'm not sure I approve of
my heir spending his nights with strange girls: perhaps I should 

introduce

myself to her. What do you think?"

	Oh, CRUD.  Okay, Arago *does* know about Ami.  And Arago's ploy becomes
obvious.

Well, it's kind of a "by any means necessary" plan. Once Ryo stopped playing 
along with the usual approach, they just kept switching to worse and worse 
things until they finally got the reaction they wanted from him.

	OTOH... Ami's *already* on the firing line, and being with Ryo isn't
going to make that much worse.

Very true, but Ryo is not the sort to just shrug off things like that. 
Getting attacked by Arago is a specific kind of trouble that Ami would not 
have gotten into without Ryo's help. Therefore, he will probably take 
responsibility for preventing that trouble.

"Why don't we make a deal? You meet me at the foot
of Mount Osore before the O-Bon, and we will settle our affairs like
gentlemen.

	The O-Bon... when the dead walk again.  Oh, dear.

Also of note, Mount Osore (also called Mount Terror) is supposed to be the 
place where the gateway to Hell is located, in Japanese mythology. The whole 
mountain is supposed to be haunted with the spirits of the restless dead. 
They apparently have great hot springs, though.

	Ryo froze in the middle of pulling on his socks and gave Shuu
a worried look. "The Senshi are in trouble? You mean, like, somebody's
attacking them?"

	Question is, is Arago pulling strings, or is he just cleverly taking
credit for unrelated actions?

It's the latter one. That "taking credit" one. ^_~

Using his powers to enter the boy's mind and
fill it with images of his choosing was child's play to a master of the
dark arts. There was no chance that the warrior of Rekka would ignore
the chance of Demon Lord Emperor Arago returning to the lands of the
living: when he stumbled onto Radanthus' foolish and clumsy attempt to
destroy the Sailor Senshi, young Sanada would surely assume that it was
merely 'Arago' making good on his threat. He would be at Mount Osore,
right when Badamon needed him there.

	Okay, slimeboy needs to DIE.  Seriously.  No, scratch that -- you said
he comes back from that.  Okay, we need to Eternal Sleep him or
something.  Put him on ice *permanently.*

Oh, yes. Badamon is not a pleasant person at all. :p

How better to punish you for what you have done, than to turn you 

against

the very people you care about the most? The Celebration of the Dead
cannot come soon enough for me, and it shall be all too soon for 

you...."

	Just how does Baddy intend to turn Ryo?  This is seriously worrying...

Oh, he has an idea or two. Badamon isn't the sort of guy to just throw 
himself into this kind of thing without planning it all out in advance. The 
really nasty thing is going to be when Badamon finally has all of his pawns 
in place and the walls start closing in on poor Ryo. :p

She was dressed in the
form-fitting garb of a kunoichi, and a mask covered the lower half of 

her

face. Brushing her lavender hair out of her eyes, the female youma
traced her finger along one of the lines in the book as her lips moved,
silently forming the words.

	Yep.  It's 'dana.  Though I'm surprised she can read that -- those
types of books are always written in incredibly rare and nearly extinct
dialects of languages that destroy the brains of most people who try to
learn them -- it's sort of a genre convention.

Yes, it is written in a very obscure and mind-warping language, but 
Oniwabandanna has a little bit of experience deciphering those texts. She 
had to go through a lot in order to get in touch with the Ankoku Priests and 
convince them to change her back into a youma.

Of course, contacting the Ankoku Priests is sort of like hunting a tiger. 
You only chase it until it catches you.... ^_~

Quickly
snapping pictures of all the books, she took a few quick shots of the
pentagram and the mystic sigils that surrounded it before snuffing out
her candle and disappearing back into the safety of the shadows.

	Now, Baddy seemed to know she was there last time.  Which would imply,
if he *didn't* want her to do this, he would have added protections
against her talents

One would assume so, yes. Badamon isn't really the sort of villain that has 
accidents, unless you count the ones he sets up on purpose.

So did Baddy want her to see this, as another layer of his plot?  Or are
all the twists and turns in this story turning my brain into an
epileptic snake...?

Yes. ^_^

<snip!>

	"Smelling us?" Mercury blinked. "In that case, maybe we could find
some case to change our scent. I would think all the soap bubbles in my

	case<>way

Whoops, sorry. Will fix! ^_^

Shabon Spray would have had some affect on that... unless...."

	The SS actually includes *soap?*

"Shabon" is the Japanese WORD for "soap". That's why Ami's attack creates 
all those bubbles when she uses it - they are soap bubbles. Not only can Ami 
provide her own air-conditioning, she can even make her own bubble baths! 
^_^

	"Yes, Miss Hino, I most definitely heard that particular sound.
Rather 'Hound of the Baskervilles', don't you think? I'd say you and I
better find a quiet place and change into something less comfortable
before whatever made that dreadful sound finds us."

	For some reason, I hear this in the voice of that guy who plays the
latest version of Doctor Who.

The Tenth Doctor? I've only seen him in action a little bit, but I like what 
I've seen. He's not a bad match for Shin, actually.

	"Nise Suiko," he whispered to himself as he folded his fingers
around the blade of the dagger and gently tapped the handle against his
open palm. "Dropped something, did you, bastard? Well, now I know you're
here."

	Uh oh.  Let's hope Shin's obsession doesn't get the better of him, here.

I'd like to say something reassuring, but if the guy is already so obsessed 
that he would give up sleep for multiple days just to go over maps of where 
Nise Suiko *might* be, the odds are pretty good that he's going to get 
distracted by this.

Let him stay in that palace of his, wallowing
in his misery and waiting for the world to rebuild from his last
appearance. His day would come again, eventually, and then the fun would
really begin.

	Ooooh, now *this* is interesting.

Glad you think so. We'll be getting a little more into this in the next 
chapter.

Plus, she would never
have had her pets without him. They had made each and every one of her
darlings, together.

	...I really, *really,* REALLY don't want to think about that.

It really, *really*, does not bear thinking about. :p

	"Unless I had permission," Shin added innocently, as he turned

	WWAAAAAAUGH!  Shin is EVIL!  Or, at least a little bit wicked. :D

Shin: "I'm not evil! Nise Suiko is evil! I'm... British! The best I can 
manage is mildly naughty."

	"So," Shin said, after a while, "have you been giving any thought
into what exactly our enemies are after? I mean, so far they just seem 

to

be attacking people at random. It's a bit difficult to pick out an
ultimate goal from all that, isn't it?"

	"Well, either the enemy is as completely disorganized as we are, or
they have a *really* brilliant, convoluted plan."

Now, now: from a distance, several conflicting plans can look an awful lot 
like no plan whatsoever. The trick is that the Senshi and the Troopers are 
used to facing enemies who have total and complete control over most of 
their minions. Radanthus is using a much looser style of management than 
usual, and that has left a lot of his minions free to.... what is the word 
for it?

...

Oh, yeah. "Do whatever the hell they want". ^_^

	"I don't know," Mars said, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe he was
just drawn to my sparkling personality."

	...nope.  Not going there.  Not touching that with a ten-meter cattle 
prod.

Which, the idea that Nise Suiko might actually be attracted to her, or the 
obvious joke about her personality? ^_^

	On second thought... Rei and Shin have chemistry.  I suppose it' s only
natural that Rei and Nise might, as well... just a very different 
*kind*....

Disturbing, isn't it? And, yeah, Shin and Nise have more in common than 
either of them is willing to admit. If one of them is interested in a girl, 
the other one probably is, too. Just in a very different manner, as you 
mentioned.

	"Nice recovery," Shin said grudgingly. "Where did you learn that
counterthrust?"

	"Same place you did, mate," Nise Suiko answered with a chuckle.
"Sitting right on Mommy's knee. Care to come up and have another go?"

	...Mommy?

Canonically, Shin's father died when he was very young. He was raised and 
trained entirely by his mother. Among other things, she was the one who 
taught him how to fight.

He and Nise Suiko have *way* more in common than they are willing to admit.

	"Hey! Nobody said this was a handicap match! Where's *my* Senshi?"

	Well, Firestorm was the Storm Senshi who got killed... then again, none
of that's happened yet in this reboot, sooo....

Judging from the sheer volume of requests I've gotten for those girls, I 
think it's safe to say that it's just a matter of time before they show up 
again. :p

	"You're right Sailor Mars," Nise Suiko parroted, then made a rude
noise. "My God, of all the people on the planet, why did I have to be
*your* evil twin? It's like being the enemy of Mary freaking Poppins!"

	Nah, being Ryo's evil twin would be worse.  So... Noble... Kick in 
HEAD....

LOL! ^_^

Yeah, but think how happy having his own evil twin would make him! It would 
practically be worth it!

Ryo: "I figure if I just keep hanging around smart chicks long enough, one 
of them's BOUND to clone me, or something. Then, all I gotta do is turn the 
other me evil, and I'm set!"

	"I thought she'd never leave," Nise Suiko commented dryly as
Sailor Mars turned and ran off into the fog, her rapidly fading 

footsteps

echoing coldly on the hard concrete sidewalk. "Yet at the same time,
there's something almost hypnotic about watching her go. Know what I
mean?"

	<choke>  I *really* don't want to think about how Suiko would treat a
girl he found attractive.

It's best not to think about that too much, either. :p

	"Stupid Samurai Troopers," Sailor Mars groused, as she twisted her

	ST Motto:  "There's no such thing as too much overkill."

Yeah, some people may go to "eleven", but the Troopers usually START there. 
The real problem is getting them to stop once they've started. Property 
values tend to decrease rapidly when they are involved. :p

	"Akuryou Taisan!" she called out, and hurled one of her ofuda.

	Hm, yes, that's one power Mars probably didn't have in the Silver
Millenium.

It is something of a surprise for Xiang Yao, yes. The original Sailor Mars 
was not a priestess, and her various skills and abilities actually have no 
connection to her Senshi powers. That actually gives Rei a big advantage 
over her previous self.

	"Foolish girls!" Orthrus ranted from beneath them as he scaled the
wall. "You think this will prevent your fate? You are only prolonging 

the

inevitable! Where do you think you will escape to? There's nowhere to go
from here but down!"

	Flight *does* seem to be a rarer power among anime superheroes,
compared to Western comic books

Yeah, I never understood that. On the other hand, the entire cast of Dragon 
Ball seem able to fly just by trying hard, so I guess they make up some of 
the difference on average. :p

	Hm.  Orthrus doesn't seem to maintain any linkage when he's split up.

No, he does not. One of his weaknesses, really. If he had any idea what had 
happened to his other self, he would be a lot more concerned right now.

Laughing maniacally, the boy hurtled
past the two Senshi in freefall, his limbs curled tight around his body
as though he was preparing to cannonball into the local swimming pool.

	YEEEEK!  It's the dread Falling Rock Attack!
	Hate to admit it, but Shuu is demonstrating excellent timing.  This time.

Well, he *did* say he wanted to be on time.... ^_^

	"Orthrus," Ryo interjected. "Works for some lady called Xiang Yao,
right? Shuu told me all about it as soon as he saw the guy."

	Huh?  OH!  They must have met the last time the CoR got opened.

Yep, the last time XY got out she sent a few of her pets after Shuu and 
Touma. Shuu and Touma did *not* beat them. In fact, Touma and Shuu were 
downright terrified of them, and spent quite a while running like crazy from 
them. In their defence, they were only kids at the time.

Luckily for them, they were kids who were being watched over by Kaos. ^_~

	"You're okay," Ryo assured him with a pat on the back. "Just walk
it off and you'll be back to normal in no time."

	<snicker>  Samurai Trooper First Aid?

Samurai Trooper First Aid is kind of a sliding scale - it goes all the way 
from "maybe Seiji should look at that" to "stop whining, you're making us 
look bad". "Walk it off" is somewhere comfortably in the middle. ^_^

	"What?" Nise Suiko asked, as he shook his head and leaned back,
allowing Shin the chance to escape from underneath him. As the meaning
of the boy's comment dawned on him, his eyes widened behind his visor.
"Oh, bloody HELL! Sailor Mars!"

	...*don't* tell me that he actually *cares*!  No... Baddy told him to
keep the Senshi alive for now.

Yeah, Badamon was pretty sure he didn't want Xiang Yao hurting any of the 
Senshi. Shin's not the only one who let his natural aggressions distract him 
from the task at hand. :p

TO BE CONTINUED....

	Morgan, you cliffhanging sonnuva--!  GRRRR!  You better not leave us
hanging too long, or I'm going to come looking for you!

Sorry! I'm working on chapter 10 as fast as I can, but I don't want to make 
any promises that I might end up breaking later. The good news is that it 
should be ready soon, but the bad news is that it will not give you too much 
information on Rei's condition. Pretty much the whole chapter is related to 
Makoto and Touma and Shuten. ^_^

Anyway, thanks for writing! It's always nice to know that people are 
actually getting these, and your comments are definitely appreciated. I'll 
be taking most of the suggestions you made, and hopefully I'll be able to 
answer most of your questions a little more directly in the fic proper than 
I was able to here. By, y'know, having things happen to advance the plot, 
and such.

Later!

-Morgan Hudson

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