Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S A New Quest Part One written by Mike Koos ----------------------------- "Look, I don't care WHO you think you are, I must have that map!" Makoto banged her fist against the dining-room table in frustration. Darn it! All this homework was making it difficult for her to watch television! She buried her fingers in strands of permed, dark-brown hair and sighed. Maybe the plants needed watering... no, wait - she'd done that already. It was her own fault, really, due to all this business with daimon-chasing, plus Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune and maybe Sailor Pluto along with Sailor Chibi-Moon thrown in for good measure, not to mention the Talismen... Makoto had fallen behind on some of her schoolwork. And today was the day she had designated to finally sit down and catch up, distractions or no distractions! Okay, so there was a big difference between saying it and ever really doing it. Who better to know that than Kino Makoto? She had spent enough of her life trying to run away from schoolwork to become... well, more like Ami-chan, now. No offense to Ami, of course. Makoto just couldn't view herself in a more scholarly light. Even though - as everyone would have her believe - she became such a person while suffering from a case of traumatic amnesia. She had trouble remembering it all, but the marks on her papers from that time would seem to verify that theory... or had her teachers simply been sympathetic to a girl with no memories and a bandage wrapped around her forehead? Makoto shot a glance at the clock hanging on the closest wall. "Four minutes!?" she thought aloud. All that mental meandering had only wasted *four minutes*? Aaargh... She was even starting to think that any excuse to go out as Sailor Jupiter would be much more fun than this. Makoto let her head fall upon her open book. Last time she'd done that was during an afternoon study session at Usagi's place with Usagi and Ami-chan. Usagi had made some silly comment about learning by absorbing the material in the book through her facial skin. Makoto recalled Ami saying something to the extent that it wasn't possible to learn through osmosis... at least not that way. "Osmosis?" Usagi exclaimed, pretending to be taken aback for the sake of her two friends. "Oh, no... you mean I actually *learned* something?" Both Luna and Ami, it seemed, were in a rush to admonish her for that one. Makoto wasn't sure who had won that honor; that was about the time she had fallen asleep. It wasn't going to happen *now*, of course. In fact, the longer she kept her face buried in her book the more it felt as though the words themselves were going to burn their way through her cheeks. Makoto pushed herself away from the table. The phone. Yeah, the phone! With an all-new energy backing her motions, she got to her feet - almost tipping over her chair in the process, but so what? It *was* her house, after all... if she wanted to leave part of it messy for a while, that was her choice! Actually, Minako and Usagi tended to leave behind more of a mess than she did. Makoto had a habit of keeping her entire house clean. Her mother and father had passed the task of maintaining the house to her, in a sense, and by keeping things proper she believed she was helping maintain the memory of her parents. She leaned over the counter, took hold of the cordless phone's receiver. Her index finger tapped the numbers that made up Minako's phone number. Minako answered the phone with a cheerful "Hello!" "Mina-chan?" asked Makoto. "It's me... Mako." "Oh, hi, Mako-chan. What's up?" "Umm... I was just kinda wondering if you wanted to go out and... well, do something." Minako asked the one question Makoto had been dreading in anticipation. "Did you get your homework done?" "......Yeah." "Mako-chan? Tell the truth." Leave it to her to try to slip a lie past Sailor V... "Okay, I'm not finished yet! What's the big deal?" "The big deal is, you told us it was important that you get it done! You said we weren't supposed to let you put it off any longer!" "I know that!" "So come on, get to it! Do that homework!" Makoto frowned. "You already did all your homework, didn't you?" "Oh..." Minako let out a reserved laugh. "Is it that obvious?" "Mina......" "What?" "Do me a favor and go triple-check your homework, okay? Last time I call you for help with any work..." "Really?" Minako was openly surprised Makoto would ask her a question concerning homework before Ami, and she said as much. Unless... she couldn't reach Ami? "I haven't tried to call Ami-chan," admitted Makoto. "You're the first person I've called." "Gee, thanks for the honor. So what is it you need help on?" "...I'm thinking..." "Don't take too long." Makoto ignored the comment. "You know anything about algebra?" "What d'ya wanna know?" She wasn't Ami, but Minako liked to believe she did fairly well in school. If anything, Rei was probably next in the academic line, then her, running somewhat of a parallel with Makoto, then Usagi. Even though no one had bothered to see exactly where they stood on that sort of thing. There were the Juuban records, but those only covered Ami, Makoto and Usagi. As for Rei? For some strange reason the Shinto priestess-in-training refused to let anyone know what her grades were. What did Makoto want to know? "If you can do it for me." "Mako-chan!" Minako exclaimed, and hung up. Makoto snorted. Well, *that* had gone well. Not too bad on wasting time, either. She figured that, yes, she should give Ami-chan a call. Wasting time was okay... except that she was supposed to be getting things done. If anyone asked, Physics was her weakest subject, followed by Math. Oh, well, it didn't matter... given the choice, she was willing to bet she'd toss all her books out in favor of something more fun. The doorbell chimed. Now who could that be? All of her friends knew she wanted to catch up on her work today, so they most likely wouldn't be dropping by. Her relatives? Maybe... but Makoto wasn't aware of any unplanned visits - they always called in advance to tell her they were coming. Only one way to find out. She walked over to the door and opened it. "Yes?" Before her stood a deliveryman in full uniform on her front porch, trying to push a couple of medium-sized cardboard boxes as close to the door as he could manage. The clouds in the afternoon sky looked gray enough to loose a few good inches of rain, and he seemed not to want to take a chance with either of the packages. "I have a delivery here for a Miss Kino Makoto?" the man said, casting the prerequisite nervous glances up at the sky. Makoto winced at the use of the title 'Miss' alongside her name. To her it made her sound older than she actually was. "I'm Makoto." The man handed her a clipboard. "Sign on the line at the bottom, please." She checked the receipt. According to the return addresses both boxes came from her nearest uncle and aunt. Present time! "Uh... I don't have a pen." The deliveryman pulled a pen from his chest pocket and gave it to her. Makoto absently signed the receipt and returned the pen and clipboard to him. "Any idea what's in these?" "Sorry... all I know is that they're marked *fragile* and 'electronic equipment.' They don't pay me to know what's inside packages." And with that the deliveryman left for his truck at the end of the walkway, leaving Makoto to carry in both boxes by herself. she thought bitterly. She lumped both boxes together, hugged them to her chest and brought them inside. Another triumph for extra strength... Makoto closed the door behind her after setting the packages down in the foyer. She ripped the top from one of the boxes as though it were a box of breakfast cereal. Was that a fair comparison? Her hands didn't have far to go into an assortment of styrofoam peanuts - geez, did Uncle Masato know what this stuff meant for the environment? - before she found a folded piece of paper. "To our dear little Makoto-chan..." Makoto read, settling against the wall next to the boxes. They'd all called her 'little Makoto-chan' even after her growth spurt. "Because we know how hard it must be to worry about your schoolwork and maintaining a household at the same time, your Aunt Yoshiko and I thought it would be a good idea to send you a computer to help with all your work." "We know you will put this computer to good use," "and not turn it into another one of those game machines. Ha ha ha." Written-in laughing... the worst thing to include in a letter. "We hope all is well with you, little Makoto-chan, and hope to hear from you soon." For a gift like this? She would be sending Uncle Masato and Aunt Yoshiko thank-you cards for a long time to come. There was no way Makoto could think of to pay them back... A grin that in all likelihood would have made Minako jealous crossed her lips; she began to pull whatever styrofoam peanuts her hands could wrap around out of the box with a mischievous bent. Keyboard, monitor... a mouse, the tower, a couple shrink-wrapped disks and an incredibly varied supply of cables... plus a few other things she couldn't immediately recognize. It all looked like it had arrived in one piece, though the only way to make sure of that was to get the computer up and running, right? Makoto set each of the components up onto her dining room table without bothering to clean away her dreaded homework first. She didn't want to try following the directions and risk a mistake that would fry the whole thing - Uncle Masato and Aunt Yoshiko would never forgive her! So, why not call in an expert to put the system together? Her eyes traveled to the cordless phone's handset, also on the table where she'd left it. Now who did she know who was talented enough to help set up a computer the right way? Ami was almost all the way out the front door of her apartment when the phone rang. She sprinted to the nearest phone. "Hello, Mizuno residence," Ami spoke out of habit, her voice affecting the same gentle lilt as always. Hopefully, the person on the other end of the line wasn't Usagi asking for more so-called 'help' with her math homework again. Usagi was not going to learn anything if she had Ami do most of her work for her. Then where would Usagi's promise to her future self to do better be? "Hey, Ami-chan..." "Hello, Mako-chan. I wasn't expecting to hear from you today. How are you doing with your homework?" "Fine," she told Ami a half-truth. "That's not why I'm calling, though. I was wondering if you might be able to come over and--" "Now, Mako-chan, you know you shouldn't try to create any distractions," interrupted Ami. "It was you who said--" "It's *not* a distraction! My relatives just sent me a computer and I was wondering if you could help me set it up. You know more about computers than I do and I don't wanna blow the thing up." "Oh," Ami bit her lower lip. "I'm sorry. But you shouldn't put yourself down like that. Computers are easy to set up and use once you get the hang of it." She could almost see Makoto's pained expression during her brief pause. "If you say so. I'd still feel a lot better if you were the one setting it up instead of me." Another pause. "Ah, I didn't mean that the way it sounded! I mean, I'd do it myself if I knew how to..." Ami laughed. "You don't have to explain. I'll be over shortly." "Thanks, Ami-chan! Really! Sorry to trouble you..." "No problem. Oops... I almost forgot. What kind of computer is it?" "I'm not sure." * * * * * "Okay, here goes nothing!" Ami pushed the main power rocker switch on the tower to the 'on' position. The monitor flared to life, bringing a grateful and relieved cheer from Makoto... who had managed to finish more of her homework while watching Ami set up the computer. "I have it working from the regular power outlets on the walls," Ami's short-cropped, bluish-black hair bounced slightly about as she turned her head to indicate each of the outlets she'd had to use in turn. "But I suggest that as soon as possible you buy a surge protector and plug all those electrical cables into it. It's best to keep a computer safe from any power surges or the like which might damage it." As she spoke the last few words she watched for Makoto's reaction. The taller girl merely blinked. As it turned out Makoto's uncle and aunt had spent more money on an up-to-date system for her than she had previously assumed - and she was all the more grateful for it. She was almost afraid to use the computer for fear of breaking it... but that was silly, Makoto told herself. She knew how to *use* a computer well enough. None of those computers they'd let her use throughout her years in school had ever self-destructed on her, had they? No. And given what the 'power users' called a GUI, this system was easier to approach and use than the school computers. If they said so... Long since a pro at using a computer, Ami's fingers flew over the keyboard and moved a tiny white arrow around the screen to find what she was searching for. The light from the monitor provided a soft glow from below to her elfin features. "It looks like you've got a decent amount of applications all ready to run, Mako-chan. And... a handful of games, too. I hope you're not going to use this computer merely for games." "I'm hurt that you would think that." Makoto pretended to be hurt. "Who do you think I am? Usagi?" "Mako-chan!" scolded Ami. Makoto cradled the back of her head with a hand and laughed. * * * * * Despite the reassurances Makoto had given Ami, over the course of a few weeks that was precisely what her computer became: a game machine. A decade ago - more or less - the big pitch to get everyone to buy a home computer was that it would make one's work significantly easier. Balance the budget, make those bland school reports fresh and interesting... No matter how much anyone avoided the issue, though, a PC could only do all the work up to a point. Since her system couldn't wash dishes, water her plants, make her bed or vacuum the floors in the house, there wasn't much else she could do with the thing *but* play games. And even then that novelty had mostly worn off after a little while. But not for Usagi; Makoto was the only person who let Usagi play video games on her computer, so the future Queen of Crystal Tokyo had come to visit a lot more of late. Makoto had even briefly considered getting her own NiftyServe account... but just as quickly dismissed the idea. What would she do with a NiftyServe account? Spend all her time in e-mail conversations with Ami? This afternoon was an exception to the rule, because Makoto had planned a date. She walked all the way from her house to her boyfriend's third-floor apartment with a song on her mind and his name on her heart... or was that the other way around? She'd met Shouichi at school, at a time when all things romantic weren't faring that well for the middle-school crew. Makoto had given serious thought to trying to sneak into a club. If she carried herself well enough, she could get away with acting a little older than she truly was. At least, that was what her friends would have her believe. Not that any one of them would lie to her... Then Shouichi had come along. He was unassuming, somewhat shy and innocently charming in a way that reminded her greatly of Shinozaki-kun, her own guardian angel, long-time friend. Shouichi didn't look at all like Shinozaki... every time the thought of her having a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with Shinozaki surfaced she quickly buried it again. She didn't want to lose him as he was now, wherever he was. <211, 212, 213, 214, 215......> Makoto let her thoughts dwell on each tiny door numberplate as she passed them. The last time she had dropped by Shouichi-kun's apartment, nearly a week ago, she had caught him in the middle of trying to get through the fifth level of a shooter-type game he'd just bought for *his* PC. Frankly, sitting by and watching someone else play video games had gotten to be fairly boring. Minako and Usagi-chan spent quite a lot of their allowances at the Crown Game Center, leaving the rest of the team to sit around and do nothing. Makoto, by contrast, didn't play as many coin-operated games as she would have liked - having to keep an entire household running had slowly turned her conservative with her money. So, after half an hour of watching her boyfriend blast ships that pretty much all looked the same with the same tired weapons and background music and sound effects, she began looking for something else to preoccupy her. Eventually she discovered his box of shareware and freeware PC games and convinced Shouichi to make a few copies of them for her so she would have more of a reason to use her computer... she still had yet to figure out why the powers that be insisted on including a game of Solitaire with most every system. But that, she had to admit, wasn't the only reason she'd talked him into making copies of a few freeware and shareware games. While paging through the disks she had been startled to find that Shouichi actually had a copy of a shareware game she had almost intentionally forgotten - a role-playing adventure named 'The Adventures of Ondyre.' Ondyre. Several weeks ago, a demon had come to the house of the man who created the game to corrupt the game for her purposes. The game, which placed players in control of a party of Sailor Senshi, then teleported anyone whose characters happened to reach experience Level 13 to the world of Ondyre - a world that really did exist, but because of the demon's tampering with the game the abductees were forced to make their way through it as if it were still just a regular role-playing video game. When Naru became another victim of the game, Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako followed her into the world of Ondyre to save her and all the others trapped inside the game, using a copy of the game Naru had given Usagi before being abducted. Surprisingly enough, it had been *Naru* who had set things right again... an amulet mentioned in legends gave her the power to become a Sailor Senshi and defeat the demon, returning everyone to their proper worlds. Most people, though changed in ways by the experience, hid the memories away somewhere and tried to go back to a normal life. Besides, how easy was it to tell someone you had been zapped to another dimension and back, then discuss it seriously with someone who hadn't been there? Makoto didn't know whether or not copies of the game could still teleport people to Ondyre, what had happened to Hirokazu, the programmer, since they had all come back, and whether or not Ami and Usagi still had the copy of the disk Usagi had received from Naru. It made sense to have an extra copy of the game around in case it was ever needed. Once she had the copy, she took it home, carefully and cleanly labeled it, ultimately storing it in the very rear of her disk box. Even if it no longer worked as it did before, it would nonetheless make an interesting memento. Her mind drifted back to the present. This time - this surprise visit - Shouichi-kun didn't have any new computer games to lose himself in... figuratively speaking, of course. Maybe they could go out for a burger or something... His apartment was around the next corner. Just as Makoto was about to round the corner she heard a voice that made her come to a stop. "I mean it! I don't want you going out with that Kino girl, Shouichi! She's bad news!" Makoto edged up against the wall and peered around the corner. Good thing there was a tall plant there to hide her face... almost a television sitcom cliche, but she was grateful to have it there. Shouichi-kun was standing in his doorway, talking to a girl she failed to recognize. She clenched a fist. Who in the world was this girl that had the nerve to bad-mouth her in front of her Shouichi-kun? While Makoto studied the girl, trying to remember if she had seen her anywhere else, Shouichi had his 'defense' ready. "Don't worry. My relationship with her is nothing. In fact, I've been leading her on for weeks." "You have? Guess you're not as naive as I thought." <*WHAT*?!?> Why that lying, dirty...... And he'd said it as if he'd meant it, too! "So, you've just been leading me on?" Makoto stepped out of hiding. Both her hands were formed into fists at her side as she stood there, glaring at the pair. Was she going to hit someone? Shouichi? The girl? Both? The thought did cross her mind, though she was going to refrain from punching anyone... for the moment. "Well, guess I know better *now*, huh?" She ran. Not caring which hallway she took, or how many people opened their apartment doors to find out why a girl who was unusually tall for her age was running past those doors on the verge of tears... Shouichi took a step in the direction Makoto had run. "Mako-chan............" The girl smiled and folded her arms. Her plan had worked better than she thought it would. * * * * * <*Why*?> The phone rang. Makoto lifted her face away from her pillow in time to hear the answering machine answer the call. Good - she really didn't feel like talking to anyone right about now. Her eyes were regrettably puffy and red. She had started crying before she left the floor Shouichi lived on and hadn't stopped until this very minute. Why *did* she let herself play the hopeless romantic? She sniffled. To Makoto, no pain she could receive by fighting, whether with her fists or her Sailor Senshi powers, hurt her as much as a wounded heart. It was becoming a routine. Find boy. Fall in love with boy. Get dumped by boy. Insist that she would never let it happen again, then go back to step one. She couldn't remember; she had been too busy letting love lead her around to look for signs. she growled in anger... an anger which was directed more at herself than anyone else. Usagi-chan had it so simple... she knew who her destined love was, what happened between them in years to come and by no means was going to let her Mamo-chan slip away from her. She tried too hard in matters of love. Not like Minako, who occasionally lived up to her names and played matchmaker for the others. In her own eyes Kino Makoto was simply, utterly, hopeless. Those same eyes caught sight of the computer station near the foot of her bed. Ah, she couldn't lie here feeling sorry for herself forever! Usagi, Mina and... Shouichi had *nothing* on her when it came to losing oneself in a video game... as she'd explained to Ami, she had been doing exactly that for a while now; using role-playing or adventure video-games to help work through her pain and problems. Especially the pain of having been... having been dumped... And she occasionally had a *lot* of that type of problem to work through. Makoto placed herself in front of the computer and called up the first game in her disk box. The game took a small while to load up. It was one of the first few of those first-person corridor games that gave you truckloads of weapons and ammunition and expected you to use as much of it as inhumanly possible. Before all of the numerous clones, that was. Well... it wasn't what she usually preferred in a game, but what the heck - she wasn't in the mood to be picky. She supposed there *was* something to be said for several rounds of mindless blasting when she was sincerely angry at her ex-boyfriend... and herself, for allowing him to get away with it. The phone rang again. This time, she knew she didn't have to worry about it. Within a couple of hours she had gone through nearly the entire box of disks. The problem? She needed an adventure, and there weren't that many adventure games in freeware or shareware-land. She *had* paid a visit to the nearest software store she could find to browse through the games, but hadn't bought anything more expensive than a gamepad-type controller for her library yet. Actually, there *was* one RPG in the disk box. The very last game. 'The Adventures of Ondyre.' How ironic. If there was an RPG she wanted to lose herself in, this would literally be the one. Or maybe not - without Chelise's influence, did the game work that way any longer? Only one way to find out: the acid test. Play the game, and if she disappeared, then that was that. Right now, a visit to Ondyre sounded like a good idea. At least *there* she had no boyfriends to betray her trust. she corrected. Within an hour and a half she reached experience level thirteen... and disappeared in a crackling surge of blue electricity. The image on her monitor slowly faded to black. * * * * * ".........Osaka... Naru........." Naru stirred briefly - only to turn over in bed, away from the purple-hued interdimensional vortex swirling into shape upon the wall next to her closet. "Mmmm......" She was exhausted after contending with a full day of school and one of her mother's infrequent sales in the jewelry store. It was Mrs. Osaka's best tactic for getting people to come into the store: put up signs that read 'Sale!'. That didn't make running the store any easier. Mrs. Osaka was practically the entire staff, save for the times when her daughter was able to offer some help. Yes, as they said, good help definitely was hard to find. They had caught the first employee they'd hired trying to pocket both profits and merchandise. The second quit; the third turned out to be a youma agent from the Dark Kingdom that had ultimately locked Mrs. Osaka in the basement and taken her place to steal whatever energy she could from unsuspecting people. Since that time Mrs. Osaka had been understandably reluctant to hire anyone else. The call repeated... vague and formless, yet clearly feminine. "......Osaka Naru...... please... you must... awaken... Please." Naru's eyes fluttered open. She pulled her weary body out from under her covers and sat on the edge of the bed, facing the vortex. Or rather, looking straight through it with glassy eyes. "Osaka Naru," the ethereal voice called her name again. An entranced Naru answered. "Yes...?" "You must come. Your services are needed once more." Naru nodded slowly. "I understand." "Very well. I shall give you what you need and time to prepare." A warm yellow glow quickly enveloped Naru's body. Within seconds her pajamas were transmuted into the exact clothes, armor and possessions she had when she visited the world of Ondyre. Staff in hand, Naru walked through the vortex. It silently sealed shut behind her. * * * * * Makoto awoke, coming to the realization that she was hidden in a field of tall grass only a few feet from the side of a dirt road. Chelise may be gone, though her influence continued to affect the game she had, in effect, created. Or was it in fact humanly possible to write a computer program that could actually alter time and space? One of these days, figured Makoto, she'd have to ask Ami about it. The sound of footsteps close by, and four bandits stood over her, surrounding her from each side. North, south, west and east. She would ask Ami, provided she ever returned to her world. "It's a shame such a beautiful young wench like you has to be stranded in the middle of nowhere like this," said the leader of the bandits, a bearded man who was clearly approaching middle-age. Makoto felt his leer crossing over every part of her form. She fought back the urge to shudder. "Why don't you allow us to escort you back to Mirinis?" Makoto surmised. In that case, if Mirinis was her new destination she was determined to travel alone. These four probably wouldn't let her go anywhere *near* town. Another leer. No, they had much more disgusting ideas in mind. "Why do you bother? She is obviously a poor wench. An orphan, or an outcast. Look at the clothes she wears! Would any rational person wear clothing like that?" asked one of the head bandit's comrades. "Who cares what she's wearing? It will matter little where she is headed," offered the fourth. "If she is an orphan or outcast, that only means she won't be missed." Makoto smirked. So it was true... did these guys ever have anything *else* on their minds when looking at a girl? "I'll have you know these clothes cost a lot of money where I come from!" she retorted. No way was she going to let these four do anything to her... the way she felt about guys right now, she knew she was most likely about to do something extremely rash. Kino Makoto was a self-taught fighter, had been ever since her youth, to cope with the occasional schoolyard fight. Some of her classmates thought she was a freak - taller than anyone her age should have been, by all rights, and much stronger than a normal person, too... the latter being the reason why few risked challenging her. It was also one of the factors behind Makoto's tomboyish streak. The girl who inherited the power of Jupiter threw herself upward into a defensive crouch. Before the bandits understood what purpose she had in mind, she extended one leg and executed a 360-degree sweep to bring all four bandits crashing to the ground. That done, Makoto leapt out of the circle. No more fighting in close quarters. Now then... "Jupiter Star Power..." she raised her hand to the sky. "...make up!!" Swarms of colored lights flew about her body to obscure most of it from view. Those same lights took her street clothes away and replaced them with her Sailor Senshi uniform, piece by piece. For a Sailor Senshi uniform was more than just clothing; it was also *armor* in itself, strong yet thankfully flexible enough for someone like Sailor Jupiter who depended on her physical abilities as well as her Senshi powers. The head bandit rubbed his eyes to clear them. The wench had changed clothes? What advantage could such a revealing outfit serve but to entice him and his crew further? Sailor Jupiter noted their renewed leers. "You guys are disgusting, you know that? Ever think of treating a girl with respect?" "We do respect girls," one bandit said at last. "We respect the way you look, and--" "Oh, shut up!" Jupiter scowled. "I'm Sailor Jupiter, and I think it's time someone taught you a lesson!" She wasn't really in the mood to give a normal speech, hence the abbreviated version. The bandits reached for their daggers and swords. "Go ahead and try, if you believe you have what it takes! It will only make our conquest far more enjoyable!" "Not on your life," the lone Sailor Senshi adopted a tight smile. "SUPREME..." Lightning surged down from the heavens through Makoto and her miniature lightning rod. "...THUNDER!!" No sense wasting far more powerful attacks on ordinary people like these. Not unless a dose of her Supreme Thunder failed to convince the bandits to keep their hormones to themselves... then she would slowly work her way up in attack power until they did. A moment after that she was almost too caught up in teaching the bandits a lesson to notice a purple vortex swirling open off to one side - and a vacant-eyed Naru walking through from who knew where, looking the same as she had the last time she was in this world. "Naru-chan!" Jupiter cried out in surprise. The cry jolted Naru to her senses while the vortex vanished. Blinking, she took a look first at the world around her and then at herself. "Oh, no...... not *again*..." Two of the bandits decided it would be much safer to take on a staff-wielding girl wearing an odd arrangement of a faded peasant frock and leather-plated armor than a girl in a bright costume hurling lightning at them. she asked herself, readying her staff. Short, forceful swings of the staff kept the bandits at bay. <--Sailor... Jupiter? ...is here, so what's going on? Wasn't I *sleeping* just a minute ago? I know I threw away that game...> One of the bandits attacking her leapt over the staff toward her. She sidestepped to dodge the attack and let the man fall flat to the ground. The bandit still standing caught her staff in both hands and wrenched it away from her. She instinctively yelped. Then, the bandit caught one of her wrists, threatening to yank that away as well. Nope, this wasn't a dream; was it possible to feel this much pain in a dream? Familiar words crossed through her mind; she drew her free hand back and mouthed the words as they came to her. Both the man and his fallen friend broke out in a nervous sweat as a rather uncomfortably *large* ball of writhing flames formed in Naru's hand. "Better run," she advised them. They did... faster than she'd ever seen a Human run in her life. Now then, on to helping Sailor Jupiter. Here - in this land - Naru was supposed to be a Sailor Senshi, too. Sailor Ondyre, this land's champion. That experience... well, she still did not know how to put it into words. Something about becoming a Senshi and knowing that power was in her control felt great, as much as the power felt as a part of her. Her power, to use in the fight against all Evil in Ondyre. Amazing what one could become in a fantasy realm. So - if she had returned to Ondyre, maybe she could transform into Sailor Ondyre again! That sure would make a difference when it came to all these stupid ambushes... walk through the fields and have at least eight monster attacks per square feet of land... sheesh. She stopped to check her possessions. The Amulet of Ondyre was the mystical item that had triggered her transformation. If everything else she'd had at that time was with her now, then the Amulet... ...wasn't among the items she carried. Of all the things to be missing! Now she would have to rely only on her magic, plus her negligible skill with a staff. A simple, nondescript shaft of wood, taped with some kind of cloth adhesive in the middle to serve as a grip for her hands... yet this was the very same staff that had also transformed alongside her when she became Sailor Ondyre. Now, it was an ordinary staff again. It would have to do. Sailor Jupiter was at that very moment facing off against the head bandit and his remaining friend, who stood side-by-side. Neither of them had seen Naru scare the other two away - which was just as well - it also meant they were too preoccupied with Makoto to detect Naru's approach. Naru rushed toward the pair in a dead run, holding her staff level and centered so that it extended outward to each side. thought Makoto with a start. There was no guarantee the move would work. Yet why not provide a little help in case it did? "C'mon, you two - what're you waiting for? Are you trying to tell me you're afraid of a little *girl*?" She was neither little nor defenseless. In this case she hoped their pride would overpower their rational thinking. "You're going to regret saying that, *wench*," hissed the leader. Jupiter only shrugged. As both bandits geared up to charge Makoto a wooden staff met them in the small of their backs. They recoiled in pain; Naru in surprise. She hadn't expected her tactic to work... Makoto saw this and rushed to take care of the bandits before they could turn on Naru. A punch to the face stunned the leader. She followed using a sucker punch to the gut which dropped him... and reflexively pulled her elbow back into the gut of the other man, who had thought to attack her while her back was turned. Naru recovered in time to disable him with a staff blow to the base of the neck. Both men crumpled to the ground. "Thanks, Naru-chan," Makoto said uneasily. "Er... you *are* Naru, aren't you?" The pair walked away from the scene of the fight. Naru looked up into the taller girl's face questioningly. "Are you the real Sailor Jupiter?" "From Tokyo, yes." "Then Sailor Moon and the rest of the Sailor Senshi must be here, right?" Hopefulness resurfaced in Naru's voice. She was privately amazed by the fact that she'd been able to help one of her heroes win a fight... *without* having to transform into a Sailor Senshi! Maybe she could survive this time around after all. Makoto shook her head. "I'm all there is. No one else is here." "Oh." So much for that idea. Strength in numbers and all that. What better numbers to count on than the Sailor Senshi? "So where do we go from here? Uh... assuming you'll let me tag along with you." "Fine with me. Actually, I could probably use someone to talk to." Jupiter cast a look back at the fallen bandits. "I think 'Mirinis' is supposed to be the nearest town, but I'm not sure how to get there. Those guys do, though." She gestured with a finger lined with a fabric that felt like but was not silk. The fabric, the same as was used in the majority of her bodysuit, also had qualities from numerous other fabrics. In the future perhaps she could convince Ami or a scientist to run a fabric analysis on it and tell her what in the world it was supposed to be. None of her regular clothes were this durable... it took quite a lot of force to damage a Senshi uniform. "Should we go back and ask them?" "Nah," Makoto said after a brief pause. "We'll leave them alone. They got what they deserved." "Why? What did they do to you?" Naru listened to the story with intent. An eerie feeling of deja vu crept through her. She had never truly stood by the very side of any of the Sailor Senshi. Now that she was walking alongside Sailor Jupiter, why did she have the odd feeling that she recognized the other girl from elsewhere? * * * * * "I don't like it at all, Ami-chan," Ami could hear Usagi's concern over the phone. But then, Usagi *did* have a tendency to overreact. The reason? Naru and Makoto hadn't shown up for class today. Slightly on edge from the last time Naru and several dozen people had disappeared from Tokyo, Usagi wasted no time in checking everything she could. "Naru's mother doesn't know where Naru-chan is and I can't reach Mako-chan on the phone *or* her communicator! Something's happened, I know it! It's not like them to skip school!" "Now, Usagi, you're being paranoid. I'm sure nothing has happened." Makoto was certainly more likely than Naru to skip school... though she never did. Her grades weren't as bad as she made them out to be. "What does Luna have to say about this?" "Hmph," Usagi snorted. "She thinks I'm being paranoid, too. But she *is* starting to get worried." Ami closed her eyes. "In that case, I'll see what I can find out. In the meantime, I suggest you do something to take your mind away from worrying about them." "But...... oh, okay. Let me know if you find out anything." "I will." Ami placed the phone's receiver back on its hook. Hmm... for both Naru and Makoto to disappear around the same time was odd, indeed. Although Naru felt more at ease now in Makoto's presence than, say, Umino, she still kept her distance from the tomboyish girl. Well, Usagi had already done the preliminary checking for Naru and Makoto's whereabouts. Time for a more detailed search using Ami's Senshi supercomputer. She ran to her room to retrieve the pocketbook-sized computer - what looked to be one of those 'pocket diaries' with the astrological symbol for Mercury embossed in gold on the cover. The instant she lifted the cover to reveal the screen everything flared to life. How, she didn't know - did the computer run on batteries, and if so, what kind? She tapped in the commands to perform a search on Makoto's house, then Naru's. Her computer flashed its understanding. Ami took the computer into her hands and sat on her bed to wait for the results. The results were nearly the same in either case: traces of energies left over from interdimensional transfers. Recent, too - both girls had likely disappeared within the last twenty-four hours. A quick check revealed no trace of either Makoto or Naru in Tokyo... a longer-range scan would take... well, considerably longer. <*Now* we can all start to worry,> thought Ami. * * * * * Naru and Makoto arrived in the town of Mirinis by nightfall. They looked an odd sight... one in a Sailor Senshi uniform layered over with an assortment of armor and a sword taken from defeated enemies, and a companion who dressed only slightly better, except she wore a powder-blue frock under her armor and carried a staff. They had wandered the countryside for a while to find the town, through thirty-four monster attacks - Naru had counted - and were exhausted from the effort. Naru wasn't sure how she knew, but any energy she had left over for magical attacks was almost gone. Time to do what neither of them had done on their last visit. Go to an Inn, clean themselves up and actually get some sleep. Mirinis was a fairly modern town. The streets, homes and buildings were illuminated by electric-powered lights... probably hydroelectric power, Naru assumed. Mirinis bordered on a fairly large river, from the look and sound of it. Naturally, such advances meant that the town was quite popular among businesses and homeowners alike, turning Mirinis into a large, important town, perhaps an important port. Naru walked ahead to see if she could happen across anyone out on the streets in the evening hours. The longer she stayed in Ondyre, the more and more she found things to be amazed by. Like Mirinis, for example. Naru had been expecting a town more along the lines of Traldone. Had Ondyre changed... or *developed* significantly after she left? If that was the case this world had come awful far in the span of a handful of weeks... in real-time, not game time. Makoto caught up as Naru attempted to make out two distant shapes in the pale light of a street lamp. "There's a couple of people over there!" she said, cupping a hand over her eyes to see better. The Senshi took a look - and then pulled Naru into a nearby alley. "What's wrong?" Naru asked, lowering her voice. "I don't know. But something really feels weird here, and I don't like it." "Are you sure you're not being paranoid?" They *were* in a town, after all. What could happen in a town in an adventure game? "In our case paranoia can be a *good* thing. Trust me." "Oh - okay." If Naru couldn't trust a Sailor Senshi, who *could* she trust? Certainly not a certain green-haired individual who had to be *somewhere* on this world... The people Naru had seen strolled past the mouth of the alley. Naru clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her own scream. For what she thought were people *weren't* people, but monsters! There were monsters walking the streets of Mirinis! A glance out into the streets revealed that there were many more. "Just great," hissed Makoto. "What do we do now? Run or fight?" "Let's check things out, first. I'll bet the whole town's still around here somewhere. This place is too intact to have had any major fights... and I think I saw some people moving around in some of those windows. They didn't just leave." In response Naru's eyes traveled up toward the second-story windows. Jupiter was right, though - they needed a break before taking on any more monsters. Running would only deliver them into different fights with different monsters. "Where do you suggest we go? We're stuck in an alley and there are hundreds of monsters on these streets!" Naru amended. The Sailor Senshi didn't respond. "Well?" Jupiter smirked. "I'll let you know when I think of something." "Psst! Over here!" "Did you say that?" Jupiter turned back to Naru. "No." Naru pointed to an area farther back in the alley. A man stood in a barely-lit doorway - so as not to attract attention from the monsters in the street - urging them to come with him. "He did." Makoto shrugged. "I guess we oughta see what the guy wants." It was either that or go back to fighting. She hoped they weren't about to do just that indoors instead of outdoors. The two adventurers soon found themselves in the lobby of an Inn. "What's going on here?" Makoto didn't wait for the man to finish barricading the door they had come through seconds earlier to begin asking her list of questions. Not all of which were well thought-out. "What's with all those monsters out there?" The man sighed, casting a glance at the front door to make sure it, too, was barricaded. "It's our fault." He dropped reluctantly into one of the lobby's plush chairs. "About a month ago a demon named Lemnias came to town disguised as a merchant and set up shop. He gained power without our knowing it. Last week, he revealed his true nature and then declared that he was the ultimate power over this town. Ever since then only monsters and bandits walk our streets at night." Jupiter understood. "Now Hana's gone to fight him, and no one knows what has happened to her." "Hana?" Naru asked gently. "Ah... Hana was an orphan. We found her abandoned in the town square when she was an infant. No one stepped forward to claim her, so I and the town 'adopted' her and raised her. However, she has grown up with a love of adventure in her heart. She wants to be a fighter... I suppose trying to get rid of Lemnias is her way of proving herself, but..." His voice and expression grew distant briefly, then came back with an intensity. "I found the note on her bed when I returned from buying supplies this afternoon. I could never forgive myself if she is killed as a result of her foolishness!" The man rose from his chair with hope. "You're fighters, right? Please, I beg you - save Hana?" Makoto and Naru looked at each other. "Well, I don't know..." Naru found her voice. When had they become adventurers for hire? "We were kind of hoping to get some rest. We've been out fighting monsters all evening and we're worn out, to tell you the truth." "Hmmmm......" The man moved behind the Inn's counter. He pulled two small glass bottles from within the counter to give to them. "Here, take these." Makoto, more familiar with the nature of adventure games than Naru, peered closely at the liquid inside the bottle, then pulled out the cork. She waved the open bottle under her nose. "What are these?" "Elixirs," the man answered. "To temporarily restore your strength and vigor." "Sounds like a drug," Naru whispered to Makoto. "It is a drug," her teammate corrected. But not a harmful one, as far as anyone could tell... elixirs were quite common in adventure games, though expensive. Whoever Hana was, she must mean quite a lot to this man for him to give elixirs away to two adventurers he barely even knew. The medicine was an acquired taste - reminiscent of a home-brewn herbal cold remedy with a few other ingredients thrown in to hide or dilute the odd taste. Naru tried to keep from gagging and forced herself to swallow. It tasted about as good as it looked... why couldn't anyone ever make medicine that tasted good? Then she felt an incredible change taking place... her hit points and magic points were returning! Not quite the same as a complete night's rest, but it would have to do for now. "Thank you." Naru offered the man her empty bottle. Makoto did the same. "At least let us give you some gold for the elixirs." The man shook his head. "Consider them paid for. Does this mean you'll help Hana?" Makoto nodded. "We'll do what we can." "Oh, thank you! May the gods protect you!" "Umm... yeah." Considering that they would most likely wind up fighting Lemnias himself - what were heroes for? - they were going to need a lot of good fortune. "Where is this Lemnias holed up?" After storing some of their spare possessions behind the Inn's counter with Ranel the innkeeper's reassurance that the items would remain safe there, the unlikely pair of would-be heroes chanced sneaking out the front door of the Inn and over the necessary streets to get to the temple where the demon had made his home. It made sense, after all, to save their energy for the task of making their way through the temple... Ranel had also generously supplied them with a map, though that only meant they could tell where they were going to be attacked in advance. There was also no way of knowing for sure whether or not the layout of everything inside the temple had changed since the new tenant moved in. Between them they had amassed a small stockpile of armor and weaponry before coming to Mirinis, most of which was now tucked safely behind the Inn's counter. Ever the sensible RPG gamer, Makoto intended to sell that stash for money to buy better things. Hey, if it worked last time, why not this time? But she had to admit that by this time, she was beginning to worry. In the beginning she had assumed that if she was sent here, that she would have the same strengths as before and would easily be able to go anywhere or do anything she wanted. That guess had turned out to be only half right... Makoto still had all she had gained, but the game had since grown progressively harder. The longer she remained in Ondyre the harder it became to think of all of this as anything other than an honest-to-goodness real world. Something to do with how she could get wrapped up in an RPG if the characters and story were well-defined enough? Maybe, though she didn't think so. Naru was taking everything better than her partner thought she would. Only Naru knew what she had endured before the Sailor Senshi made their appearance at the Temple of Alliene, in detail. She'd told Usagi a rather abbreviated version of the story, trying to convince herself it had only been a dream. Now both of them had returned to Ondyre and were headed for another temple. "Wish there was something we could do about those lights," Sailor Jupiter heard Naru whisper, referring to the overhead street lamps. "I'd rather have the light than the darkness." "But you're *used* to fighting monsters at night!" Sailor Jupiter paused. "That's beside the point. Wouldn't you rather see where they are than have them hiding in shadows waiting to jump out at you?" The other girl remained silent. They were still a few blocks from their goal. Oh, if only the other Senshi were here! Last time, the Senshi had merely used the Sailor Teleport to get to where they were ultimately headed. Besides, she wasn't about to admit it to her traveling companion, but Makoto would have felt a lot better knowing her friends were nearby to back her up. "Y'know, maybe we should've asked what this Lemnias guy is capable of doing." Naru's lips compressed into a frown. "I'm sure we're going to find out." "Yeah." It was another moment before Naru said anything else. "We're gonna have to fight our way in from the front door on, aren't we?" "Probably. That's why we're sneaking around. If you want to turn back......" "We'll never get anywhere if we run from everything." "That's the spirit," said Makoto half-heartedly. "We're almost there. Ready?" "Of course not." If Naru had been Sailor Ondyre at the time, she might have believed differently. "Good." The taller girl grit her teeth. At the far end of the street they had come to from an adjoining street was the temple. Needless to say, they were relieved to see that this ornate stone-carved temple with its hints of Grecian columns and carvings was nowhere near as large as the Temple of Alliene. Nonetheless, such a smaller temple was far easier to guard. Lemnias wanted to prove that fact from the outside in. "I'd better lead. You're the one with the powerful magic here, but you're not used to fighting." She closed her eyes and exhaled. "Hope I gain a few levels from this." That was true. While Naru could easily overwhelm monsters with her magic she had precious little skill in physical fighting. Jupiter had far more experience with that than her. Hitting those two bandits with her staff had only been luck. "Okay. If you say so. When do we make our--" Her question was cut short as she noticed Makoto had already leaped out to confront the two human guards at the door. Guess that was that... Jupiter opted for a small show of force, lobbing a Sparkling Wide Pressure between the guards. The sooner they made it past the greeting committee the less they would have to worry about reinforcements arriving to strike at their backs. While Makoto's attack did succeed in scaring the guards, it wasn't enough to drive them away. Naru stepped forward. Uttering the lines of another remembered spell she aimed her outstretched hands at the guards... who were promptly encased in solid blocks of ice. Makoto walked up to one block and rested her hand against it. The guard inside did not - could not - move. Definitely frozen solid, all right. If that was the case, then maybe... She stood between the blocks, pushed outward. The blocks slid into the gutters on both sides of the street and tipped onto their sides. "That's original," said Naru, giving the frozen guards a curious look. "Yeah," was all Makoto could think to say in reply. It *was* original, wasn't it? Certainly not an attack one would *usually* expect to see in an adventure game. She'd had her doubts before. Now, though, was a different story. If this world *did* only exist in the realm of video games, it was far more sophisticated and defined than anything she had ever seen. More so than most shareware games she'd seen... had Hirokazu gone back on his word and developed the game further? Oh, well. She shelved her concerns for later. Making up her mind to walk through the Temple's open doors Makoto motioned for Naru to follow. "You know," Naru wondered, "if we're gonna be a team and stuck in this game for a while, maybe it wouldn't hurt to know a little more about each other. So we can work better as a team..." "Nice try," Jupiter coolly cut her off. "But you know I can't tell you who I really am. Knowing that'd just put you at a lot of risk." Oh, right. Like Naru didn't have risk or weirdness in her life to begin with. Take now, for instance. About a month ago she'd fought her way through the corridors of a similar - albeit darker - temple under vaguely similar circumstances alongside another capable fighter. Naru gave in to a fleeting impulse to wonder what had happened to Liana since they parted company. Had Liana honestly deserved the harsh treatment? Absolutely, thought Naru. The rogue had led her on through an elaborate scheme to earn the Amulet of Ondyre for Liana's personal profit! If there was any justice in this world Liana would be trapped in a jail cell far, far away. At least Sailor Jupiter wasn't going to betray her trust in a similar manner. There was just enough light in the temple halls that Naru wouldn't have to waste precious magic energy on lighting a torch. Carrying a torch would only take away a hand that could be used for better purposes... such as casting magic. Naru hadn't gotten the hang yet of keeping her magic as powerful when she cast it with one hand instead of two. Of course, she was willing to bet the difficulties were all in her head. Her belief that strange things always happened to her? Well... the jury was still out on that one. Jupiter closed the entrance doors behind them to slow down any reinforcements for the bad guys, and soon the second fight began. * * * * * I rang the doorbell one final time. I knew no one was going to answer, but I went ahead and pushed the button anyway. Why not? Everyone always assumes that individuals like me base all of our decisions on proven, scientific fact. That we leave absolutely nothing to chance or luck. They couldn't be more wrong. Perhaps if I had not become a Sailor Senshi I would think that way. What I have learned about the Universe, its laws and those who live within it from my time as Sailor Mercury does seem to make Humankind's current technology pale in comparison. What I haven't established a definite answer for, is if we Senshi... the clothes we wear, the items we use... are examples of the technology and power the people of the Solar System possessed during the era only a few remember today - the Silver Millenium... why were all of these advancements and histories lost so easily? As far as I know, Earth was as advanced as any of the other worlds in the system - those worlds that could support life. Apparently, our job as Sailor Senshi is not only to protect the Princess and all that is Good, but to help prepare our Solar System for a new era. What I have seen of the Future seems to support my guess. I do still want to become a doctor, of course, but with all the support I will have I will be able to help more people than I originally imagined. I used to daydream about flying to various places in the world, as in those stories I hear about volunteers in the Peace Corps every once in a while, to provide medical help to anyone who needs it. If the Future remains intact I may have to rewrite that dream. I wonder... what would Mother think of this potential? Ah, but I shouldn't let my self be sidetracked so. Occasionally I let my mind wander or allow my imagination to take over, because it isn't a good idea to always be one-hundred percent serious every waking moment of your life. That's why everyone always tells me that I should 'loosen up.' I do, though in my own way. I had come to Mako-chan's house to see if I could find a clue as to where she had gone. A few scans with my computer tell me there are no signs of human life inside the house. I know better than to rely on my scans alone. Walking over to the window over the kitchen sink, I stood on the very tips of my toes to peer in. No immediate sign of our missing friend. There *were*, however, a few dirty dishes in the sink. That's odd... Plus, the blinking green LED on her answering machine indicates she hasn't listened to at least nine or ten messages. I can make out the shape of a ceiling fan left to run by itself in an adjoining room if I squint enough. I walked back to the front porch. It's unlike Mako-chan to disappear without telling anyone. Even if she has to leave because of an emergency she usually tries to tidy things up before leaving. According to my readouts, there's a light on in her bedroom. I can't go to that side of the house to check - a fence is in the way - so I have to depend on other indications, such as the traces of heat given off by a lightbulb. There are times I wonder if I would make a good detective, although I doubt it. I've also found fading traces of a dimensional disturbance next to the computer, which she had recently relegated to her bedroom. Wait... a dimensional disturbance, near her computer? That sounds somewhat like... No... it couldn't be that. Or could it? Before I jump to conclusions, I'd better ask around and see if anyone else knows what might have happened to Mako-chan. Who to ask? There's Makoto's classmate and friend, Akemi. Motoki, who occasionally acts as a big brother to her for her benefit. Was she dating anyone at the moment? Oh, yes... Mina-chan had been saying something about it just the other day. Every once in a while Minako and Makoto have opposing views when it comes to matters of love; I had hoped this wouldn't turn out to be another one of those instances. Thank goodness that it did not. Having Usagi and Rei-chan always at odds can be bad enough at times... I guess it's time to bring Mina-chan in on the search, as they say. * * * * * "Are you SURE this is the right way?" "No," Naru answered. "But according to the *map* we're going in the right direction." As if her point needed proving she held the worn piece of paper up for Makoto's inspection. Makoto barely acknowledged the map. "It'll have to do. C'mon! We really don't have any time to lose!" It was a line that sounded like it could have been lifted verbatim from any number of television shows or movies... except in this case Makoto couldn't think of anything better or more relevant to say. They were almost to the main chamber of the Temple. Where Lemnias would be, if the map still accounted for anything. It did, for the most part; what worried the two girls more were the hordes of monsters they had dodged every other minute since entering the structure. Or that Lemnias would decide to come to *them* instead of the opposite. Naru kept a nervous watch to their rear - while her partner took care of their advance. She wondered who truly had more power here... Sailor Jupiter, or her, with her crude yet surprisingly powerful magic? Jupiter, probably. Naru figured she would be closer to the Senshi's level *as* a Senshi, herself. But in this world magical power and ability meant quite a lot. Was the power of a Sailor Senshi the same as magic? The powers were generated from within, as a part of the individual Senshi. Strength in mind, heart, spirit - these were the primary source of a Sailor Senshi's power. A Sailor Senshi also drew strength from the domain whose name she carried. Love, honor, friendship... Naru was better equipped to make these types of assumptions since becoming a conduit for the power herself. "Large door ahead." "Huh?" Makoto wasn't kidding. The wooden double-doors they were approaching were *huge*! They easily dwarfed any of the 'large doors' Naru had seen in her lifetime, such as those garage door-type things some of the businesses near her mother's store had in the rear for the purpose of unloading trucks. This door was what, about fifteen feet tall and eight or so feet wide, made of weathered, unvarnished wood, secured by metal hinges and door handles that had originally been painted black. The metal, too, showed signs of a great deal of age, for the Temple was currently the oldest surviving structure in Mirinis. "Anything coming from behind us?" "No, and I don't like it. It's like they suddenly decided to stay away from us." Sailor Jupiter rested her hands on the simple door handles, preparing to pull the doors open. "That could be a good sign, I guess. Probably means we're getting closer to the boss of this place." She tugged on the handles. The door refused to move. She tried again, this time with more force. Finally, when that failed, she shoulder-rammed the door as a last resort. That yielded no effect, either. "It must be locked shut with magic," Jupiter conceded, rubbing the circulation back into her shoulder. Naru raised her hands. "I wonder if I can open it with a fireball." The other girl smirked. "When in doubt, blow the whole door away. Let me give it a try first." "Be my guest." Jupiter wound up for her pitch. "SPARKLING... WIDE... PRESSURE!" She aimed her attack for the center of the small crack between both doors where the doors were bolted together. It hit a few millimeters short of the spot she intended to strike. Nonetheless, the doors blew open with an unexpected explosive shock. "I didn't know you did explosions." There was a hint of dry humor in Naru's voice. "When you said 'blow the door open,' you weren't kidding." Makoto apologized. "I didn't *mean* to... I think there must've been a trap set on the door in case anybody wouldn't give up trying to open it." The possibility of doors, treasure chests and other things being protected by magical or physical traps hadn't occurred to Naru. She withdrew a step. "You think it's safe to go in?" "No. And I'm the one who's leading." Without waiting for a reply from Naru, Makoto gathered herself and strode through the doors. Shrugging, Naru followed her partner into what she hoped would be the last fight of the night. She was even too tired to complain about the rhyme in her previous thought. The first thing either of them noticed about the main altar room was that Lemnias had converted it into his own morbid version of a throne room... resembling a crypt more than anything of a royal origin. The throne itself, the oblivious centerpiece of the room, was an ominous singularity of dark stone. There were no sharp corners or edges for one's gaze to stumble over. Rather, the throne seemed to draw most everything toward it; neither girl would have been able to keep their eyes from repeatedly coming back to it were it not for the individual sitting upon the chair. They both knew who it was at once, but formality insisted they politely ask to make sure. "You're Lemnias, aren't you?" "What an interesting day this has been," Lemnias stood. "Three beautiful young women come to pay me a visit. So go ahead... sit, stay a while. My temple... is your temple." The two large torches book-ending the throne cast an ominous glow across his face. Makoto and Naru glanced at each other. "...Yeah. About that. We're here to take Hana home. So just let us know where she is, and the three of us'll leave without any further disturbances, okay?" Jupiter offered in a no-nonsense tone and tried to look the part. Lemnias laughed. In appearance he was more Human than demon, more so than any of the evil beings Jupiter recalled facing since the introduction of the daimon menace. More so than the daimons' unusual masters and couriers. Chances were more than likely no one would even recognize a trace of evil intent in Lemnias were they to pass him on the street. Had Ranel and the townspeople blown what Lemnias did and could do out of proportion? As had been the pair's reluctant call to action all evening long... there was only one way to find out. "Hana, hm? Oh, you mean the other girl. She is... over there." He lazily gestured to a dungeon-style door several yards behind them. "Hana, my dear?" he called. "Wake up, please. You have guests." It took almost a minute for the girl in question to shuffle over to the door of her cell and poke whatever she could of her face and dark brown hair through the bars of the door's small window. "Hana? Ranel sent us. Are you okay?" "You tell me," the youthful voice returned. "Do I look okay? I'm locked in a dungeon!" "Beggars can't be choosers," their host said, plainly. "Who are you calling a beggar!?" "Think about it, my dear. You are an orphan unlike any else around here, whose parents did not want her." Hana seethed. "You don't know that!" "Do I?" smiled Lemnias. "Or are you so special that your mother and father left you to develop among *ordinary* people?" Lemnias was implying that Hana wasn't a 'normal' individual, somehow. Or was he only seeking to upset her? Whatever the case, Hana was becoming quite peeved. "What do YOU know of family, demon?" She did have a family - though she didn't know who her birth parents were or live among her own people. Ranel was her adoptive father and the townspeople of Mirinis her adoptive family. No one treated her differently than anyone else in the town... that she knew of. Visitors to the town were a different story. "Enough to tell that your parents didn't love you. Such a pitiful shame, really. Why, I'll bet you were an illegitimate child." Hana seemed ready to break the cell door down with her bare hands. "You're *lying*! You don't know *anything* about me, my parents OR my people!" Lemnias had his answer ready in advance. "Neither do you." "Enough!" interrupted Naru. "As we said, we've only come for Hana. Let her go, and we'll leave. Okay?" The demon laughed once more. "No. Not 'okay.' You have the unmitigated nerve to enter my home, demand that I *give* you one of *my* prized possessions and then expect to leave, especially without facing me? I suggest you try to live in the real world instead of living out your fantasies, ladies." Jupiter and Naru again looked at each other in disbelief. Was he suggesting that they actually had a choice? "You're the one living in a fantasy world." Ah, to be a superhero and have the right to make all kinds of speeches, cliched or not! "You may have this town scared of you, but not us!" Jupiter stood with arms akimbo, feet apart. "You take advantage of the innocent and powerless and call that power. That isn't power! In the name of Jupiter, we will stop you!" "Yeah!" chimed Naru. Lemnias clapped his hands together once, twice. "Great speech, great speech. I take it this means you have accepted your fate?" "I like to think our fates haven't been written yet," Jupiter said brightly. "Yours might be a different story." "Oh, good. I do so enjoy taking on delusioned opponents." The demon, already standing, cocked his head to one side. Naru and Makoto avoided the obvious responses. "Please... by all means, do go first." "Okay!" Naru stepped forward, making the motion of pulling something up with her outstretched hands. Shards of ice solidified from small puddles of water that materialized on the cold, damp stone floor and rose upward into the air at Naru's urging. She cast her hands forward. The shards followed her command, flying at top speed toward Lemnias. Lemnias pulled his cloak around him to act as a shield. Naru's ice shards bounced away from the cloak, ultimately melting wherever they landed. "You *do* have a small amount of power, hm? Next?" "Supreme... Thunder... Dragon!!!" The demon tried to shield himself again, but this time Makoto's Dragon hit the cloak and refused to dissipate until it had engulfed him in a raging globe of energy. He shook off the attack. "Interesting. Come on, don't hold back!" Lemnias paused. "Oh, right - it's my turn, isn't it? Very well..." He brought up a hand. An extremely powerful gust of wind tossed both girls against the far wall... on either side of the door to the cell Hana was imprisoned within. Naru tightened her facial features in pain. By all rights she shouldn't have been able to survive a blow like that... but somehow, she had! "Are you all right?" she asked her friend out of the corner of her mouth. "For now." The blow had shaven off a portion of her Hit Points. Enough to let her know Lemnias was only 'warming up.' Was *this* how it was going to be every time she visited Ondyre? Go to a temple, fight a demon and be thrown into the farthest wall? Naru took advantage of her surprising recovery. She sprinted to where she originally stood, while focusing the magical power of flame between her hands. As she skidded to a halt she forced her hands outward. Fire shot forth from them in a continuous stream. Lemnias didn't attempt to shield himself from the blast. He welcomed it. He allowed it to flow over and *into* him. Naru willed the flame to stop. It obeyed her wish. "Foolish child," laughed Lemnias. "My power *originates* from the flame! Thank you! Now I have more power than I started with!" "Great," Makoto exhaled. She ordered Naru to regroup. "If this guy draws power from fire," she whispered, "we need to hit him with the opposite. I probably have something *like* thunder or lightning magic, and I know you've got fire and ice magic. Any water spells?" Naru placed a hand on the spellbook at her side and mentally ran through her spells. "I... don't think so." Oh, no! If none of their attacks made much of a difference *now*, what difference would their most powerful attacks make? If only she could transform into Sailor Ondyre... A sudden thought came to her. Not quite the one she had hoped for, though it was irrational enough to do some good. Jupiter, meanwhile, wasn't about to give in to doubt, leaping in with a Sparkling Wide Pressure that impacted upon the demon's chest. Lemnias fell back several steps. "That... *hurt*!" He reached for the torch to the left of the throne and plunged his hand into the fire. She heard the tell-tale sound of flames being called into existence behind her. Turning to look Naru's way, Makoto saw it was true: Naru was indeed feeding flame into a new fireball. This one had grown to the size of an overinflated basketball. "What are you doing?" Jupiter hissed. "That won't work on him!" Silently, Naru drew her hand back to catapult the fireball. Makoto paled. With the amount of power Naru had put into her fireball the demon would receive an unprecedented power burst! Highly concentrated flame carried far more destructive... *raw* power than ordinary, free-standing flames. If this particular fireball reached its target... She could now see the look of desire and interest in Lemnias' face. Was Naru *possessed* somehow? Or had she succumbed to stress, perhaps anguish? At the last possible instant, Naru turned on her heels while completing her throw, so that she faced the exact opposite direction. "Hana! Stand back!" Her intended target had been the cell door. Makoto was impressed; Naru had hidden her true intent well. The fireball left her hand and shot toward the door. It exploded outward with the force of a hand grenade. Naru, too, was impressed. A tense moment later they could hear the noises that indicated Hana was trying to pull herself free of the wreckage. Determined to give her a fair chance, Sailor Jupiter skimmed another Sparkling Wide Pressure at Lemnias, who dodged. But at the very least the move had given Hana the time she needed. Her final obstacle was the remains of the thick wooden cell door. Hana forcefully kicked the fragmented door out of her way, then moved to stand behind Naru and Makoto for protection... partially arched over from coughing and breathing hard. Naru's first impression of the girl was that Hana had either been on her way to a costume party or had an obsession with rabbits - for in addition to her armor and clothing, the brown-haired girl seemed to be wearing a brown-furred variant on those 'bunny girl' costumes Naru had never liked. What other purpose did such costumes serve but to have men leer at whoever wore them? Other than that, the battered, weary Hana was around fourteen years of age, assuming time was logged similarly in Ondyre, and an inch or three shy of Naru's height. Her deep green eyes combined with her dark brown hair as well as her youthful features to create an exotic effect, one that not even her rabbit costume could deter. Naru realized she was gaping. The personal questions could keep until later. Hana didn't have any of the weapons she'd brought, so... Not that Naru or Makoto had used *their* weapons. "Do you know any magic spells, Hana?" "A few. I'm still learning." Hana looked at Naru quizzically. "You have a plan?" "If you know any water spells, I do." Hana watched Sailor Jupiter trade shots with Lemnias. Both of her rescuers were considerably powerful... yet they needed her help? She carefully brushed the dust from her. "I do." Makoto instinctively stepped out of the way when Hana stepped forward and took up a preparatory magic-casting stance, similar to the ones Naru used. "So, the little rabbit wishes to try magic, hm?" It was Hana's turn to smirk. She raised both arms to the air and let go with all the power she could muster. To Lemnias' surprise, a tidal wave of pure water rose into view between them. The water immediately overtook him. When it dissipated Lemnias was left on his hands and knees in a considerable puddle of water. He glanced back at his torches. Every last one of the torches on his side of the room had been extinguished by Hana's spell. There was no hope of reviving any of them now; each was completely soaked. "My flames! Look at what you did to my precious flames...!" But Hana couldn't; she fainted, slumping onto a table behind her before Naru could catch her. "Hana!" "I am going to KILL all of you with the last of my power!" Lemnias howled. Makoto shook her head. Some demons never learned... especially now, when both sides needed to be resourceful. And the Sailor Senshi had one trick she wanted to try. She aimed a Supreme Thunder Dragon at Lemnias, who understood her intent all too late. The raw electricity jolted through his body on its way into the wet ground. Naru withdrew her breath in shock. The demon collapsed onto his face... then crumbled into a humanoid-shaped pile of dust. "Is it... is it over? Did we win?" Makoto walked over to Hana in order to check on her. "I... guess." She picked Hana up. The girl stirred for an instant, but lapsed back into unconsciousness, her head resting against the Senshi's shoulder. Their Experience Points were rising, though that was the least of their concerns. "We'd better get Hana to the Inn. She needs to rest." "Yeah," Naru headed for the door. "Poor kid. Be careful not to mess up that costume of hers." Makoto studied the girl she held. "What costume? She's not wearing a costume." "You know - that rabbit getup..." "It's not a costume." "What?" "See for yourself," indicated Makoto. "Take a look at the fur on her arm." Naru approached, warily resting two fingers against Hana's wrist. It felt warm to the touch - not the feel of her fingers against a furred glove but the same warmth as a dog or cat's body might give to the touch. She gave a small tuft of fur a tug; the skin underneath tried to follow it. Peering even closer at the edge where the fur on Hana's arm ended and regular human skin began - the fur was actually rooted in her arm! Naru examined the other notable rabbit-like parts of Hana's body. "She really *is* a rabbit, isn't she?" "*Part* rabbit," corrected Makoto. Indeed, certain parts of Hana's body were those of a rabbit, her fur tinted a lighter shade of brown than that of her hair. Hana had true rabbit's-feet, longer and slightly wider than normal Human feet. The girl had wrapped tape around the middle of both feet to protect them since she had no other means. A powderpuff tail roughly the size and shape of a softball emerged from inches below her waistline. Her ears were also true rabbit's ears; Hana had no Human ears attached to the sides of her head or buried within her hair. Hana's hands were an exception to the rule. Each had five fingers but were a bit oversized in comparison to the Human hand of a girl Hana's age. Fur extended almost the entire length of her forearms, making it appear as though she were wearing a strange pair of gloves. In every other aspect Hana appeared to be an ordinary girl. "So this was what the guy meant when he said Hana was 'different.' I don't recall seeing anyone other than ordinary people on our last visit to Ondyre," Naru chose her words. She didn't want to be accused of being prejudiced or biased against Hana... or anyone else, though it was hard to find the correct words. "Well, it's not like we had an awful lot of time to look around the last time we were all here." "...Yeah," Naru paused. Any more words and Makoto might easily recognize the pain in her voice. Makoto shifted Hana in her arms. "We'll talk more about it once we get her back to the Inn. If we're lucky getting rid of the demon got rid of all the monsters in town. If not... you'd better lead this time. I can't fight while holding her." "Right...... Let's go." Outside the Temple an occasional cheer could be heard throughout the streets of Mirinis. It hadn't taken long for the townspeople to notice the absence of the monsters that had patrolled their streets. For once it would be a peaceful night free from fear. <...to be continued...> --------------- Credits: Written by: Mike Koos Prereaders: Artemis & Luna, Richard Beaubien, Tom Williams, David Wills Special Thanks: All the readers of SM: Digital Moon, including the newer Remix version. Apologies to: Takeuchi Naoko and the others who brought us the manga and animated versions of Sailor Moon. Author's Notes: It's true that I never really planned for a 'continuation' of the events in 'Digital Moon' while I wrote it, even though I left the possibility open within the story. 'A New Quest' didn't take shape until recently, when I let myself imagine what would possibly come next. I'd implied Naru would be back, someday, so what would happen if she returned to Ondyre? This story, as far as I've planned, should be longer than 'Digital Moon'... in fact, this particular part was supposed to be at least *twice* as large as it is now, but for the sake of getting the story out sooner I split the first part in half. As for Hana, she was inspired design-wise by characters like Charat (Eternal Melody), the part-rabbit girl in Linkle River Story (I don't know the character's name), Cynthia (Wizard's Harmony), Melody (Yuukyuu Gensou Kyoku) and a character in another series I'm working on. Hana was created to keep things from becoming too serious, at least as far as the adventurers' attitudes are concerned. ^_^ All parts of this series are available at the RAAC archives at ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works or from my WWW pages at http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto/ Comments and questions welcome. * Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos: makoto@cal.net * http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto * * "I can do nothing to stop you. Your background music is too strong * for me." - Sam Johnson, Whose Line is it Anyway?