This story contains scenes of a dark nature and Lime
rated material, and thus is not suited for younger readers.
Reader discretion is advised.
 
 
 

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
 

Chapter 15: Tangled Threads of Fate
 
 
 

     Pluto breathed in the dank, malignant air, her eyes searching
through gloom tainted by blood-red light.  There was nothing to see,
only shadows and the pervasive tatters of mist that lay carelessly strewn
everywhere.
     "So," Uranus said softly, joining her in the narrow doorway.
     "So," Pluto agreed, suddenly weary.  She leaned on her
keystaff, turning her gaze to her comrade.  Uranus's eyes were
uncharacteristically sombre.
     "Rei was one of Damsa's Sisterhood," Uranus went on after a
time.  "Funny, I can see it somehow."
     "Yet we did not see it," Pluto pointed out.  "We discovered
what we could of our little sisters' pasts, but there were always things
we did not know."
     "You remember the early days, though?  Rei and Usagi?"
     "Yes," Pluto sighed, nearly smiling in fond reminiscence.
"They were like oil and water, those two.  Rei always seemed to resent
having to protect Usagi back then.  It makes sense in retrospect, of
course.  Rei knew Usagi was raised by the White order.  That should
have made them mortal enemies."
     Uranus moved, placing the lanky length of her body against the
far side of the empty door frame and looking into Pluto's eyes from
only inches away.  "I suppose the question is, what now?"
     "We need to find a way out of here," Pluto told her.  "Shadow
Realm is reputed to be a very dangerous place, and I for one am not
anxious to meet any more of its denizens."
     "I meant about the princess and Rei," Uranus told her.  "Which
you well knew."
     "Did I?  Ah, Uranus.  Some things we cannot do for others.  If
this secret yet resides between Rei and her princess, then they must
resolve it themselves.  Unless you are suggesting that Rei cannot be
trusted?"
     "I trust Rei with Usagi the way I trust Michiru," Uranus told her,
eyes gleaming.
     "High praise."
     "The highest.  All right, Rei and Usagi have to work this out
themselves.  I concede the point.  What about the Sisterhood?"
     "They seem convinced that we mean to thwart their efforts," Pluto
sighed.  "At least, if that girl is any indication."
     "Mmm.  The Black Rose, eh?  A haughty little thing."
     "But dangerous," Pluto cautioned, feeling heat rise to her face at
the memory of Yurina's body pressing against hers.
     "Oh?" Uranus murmured, leaning closer to breathe in Pluto's
scent at the crook of her neck.  "Is that the little enchantress's scent on
you, Pluto?  Don't tell me you fell victim to her captivating charms?"
     "Oh, shut up," Pluto snapped irritably.  She felt stupid enough
about that, even though she'd had no way to know what the girl was.
But Yurina had obviously considered her a threat; she could easily have
played upon Pluto's sympathies and gained her trust that way.  Her
actions demonstrated enmity verging on hatred for the senshi, as well as
desperation.
     Ignoring Uranus's smirk, Pluto pushed past her into the gloom
of the narrow passage.  "At least we know why the girls changed their
outfits," she muttered to Uranus.  "The Sisterhood must be gunning for
senshi."
     "Come to that, Venus was wearing her uniform in the alley, I'm
certain of it," Uranus remarked.  "She changed once she got here.  I
wonder if she is distancing herself from her senshi identity?"
     "Too many questions," Pluto sighed.  "Let's try to keep
focussed on getting out of here for the moment."
     "Sure," Uranus shrugged.  "But right now, Hotaru and Usagi
are out there, and probably together.  Tell me that thought hasn't
crossed your mind."
     "It has," Pluto admitted.  "And Hotaru is still haunted by what
happened between them.  But I have confidence in the princess.  If
anyone can get through to Hotaru, she can."

***

     It was a very nice house, tastefully furnished with the odd
hint of sophistication like the intricately carved statue on the
gleaming stone mantle.  Not as large or as nice as Hotaru's mansion,
but certainly a far cry from being a shack.  Usagi prowled the living
room, noticing the titles on the music cases beside the expensive
stereo, the racing gloves on the small shelf by the door, the slightly
worn violin case on the plush seat built into the curve of the bay
window.
     She'd had no idea that Hotaru owned more houses than her
mansion.  This wasn't just a safe house, though; it was apparent that
someone spent time here.  There were signs of Michiru and Haruka at
the very least.  It made her a little sad, somehow, that they had kept
this a secret.
     Then she laughed at herself.  They had kept much larger
secrets, after all.  This was nothing much, really.  And it had turned
out to be a lucky break, much closer than Hotaru's place.  Still, she
wondered if Hotaru had more houses around the city.  And if so, why
she needed them.
     "Usagi," Luna called.
     "In here."
     Moments later, Luna entered with Artemis close behind her,
both in feline form.  Luna leapt nimbly into Usagi's arms, and the girl
sighed happily as Luna curled against her chest, purring.
     "I hear that Ami communicated with Rei," Artemis
remarked, jumping up onto the back of the couch.  "How are we
going to get them out of there?"
     "I'm not sure," Usagi confessed, worry beginning to gnaw at
her once more.  "I'm hoping Ami can come up with something.
How's Yoshi?"
     "Resting," Luna murmured, eyes closed.  "Makoto is
hovering over him, won't leave his side.  The fae root seems to be
working, anyway.  Hotaru doesn't think he's in any danger."
     "Hotaru knows about silver poisoning?" Usagi asked,
surprised.
     "Hotaru knows about a lot of things," a voice said brusquely,
and Usagi whirled to see the woman herself standing in the doorway,
a severe frown marring her features.  "What Hotaru doesn't know,
however, is why you and the others are feuding with Dasma's
Sisterhood.  Or why you were all running around in those ridiculous
maid outfits.  Or why you care so much about a strange girl who
thinks she is a cat.  Or why Ami seems to have experienced a spell of
Shadow Magick.  Or even why there is a werewolf with a silver
gunshot wound lying in one of the spare bedrooms instead of in a
hospital.  She would, I assure you, like to know all about these
things."
     "She isn't the only one," Michiru added as she came into the
room from another entrance, followed by a subdued Ami.  "Setsuna
and Haruka are trapped in Shadow Realm, along with the others.  I
think, Princess, that it's time we had some answers."
     "I know," Usagi said quietly.  "That's why we were meeting,
remember?"  She walked to the middle of the room and stopped.
Hotaru's disapproval was intense, like a dark aura that lent dreadful
weight to the air in the room.  Since the beginning, Usagi had wanted
very much to please the older woman, to live up to her expectations.
Now, though, there was something between them; they were both
haunted by the memory of that night when Hotaru's dark nature had
taken over.
     They needed to talk about that.  But with Hotaru, it was
always business first.  And she had a point; they did have a right to
know.
     Luna jumped down, transforming to human form, and
Artemis followed suit.  They stood close to Usagi, and Ami crossed
over to join them.  Usagi nearly shook her head in despair; here they
were, showing physically how deeply polarised the two groups were.
That was part of the problem.
     "So," Hotaru said coolly, her hair brushing the tops of her
shoulders as she looked from one face to the next.  "I am waiting.
Who is going to start?"
     "I am," Usagi said, taking a deep breath.  Hotaru's pain was
clear to Usagi, and she knew that her mentor was masking that pain
with irascibility.  But things had changed between them since Usagi
had left Hotaru's house that black night.  Usagi was no longer the
student seeking approval.  She had brought her senshi together, and it
was time to assume the mantle of princess in her relationship with
Hotaru as well.
     "Perhaps we should start with how you managed to get the
Sisterhood after you," Hotaru prompted as Usagi gathered her
thoughts.
     "There's no need to be snide, Hotaru," Usagi replied, keeping
her voice even.  Getting emotional would only make Hotaru treat her
in the manner to which she was accustomed, as the young, untested
girl she had trained.
     "Excuse me?" Hotaru shot back, eyes flashing and voice
filled with shards of ice.
     "I decided to come to you because the Sisterhood will also be
targeting you," Usagi went on, resisting the urge to drop her gaze
from Hotaru's.  "We did not 'manage' to get them after us.  They
decided that we might be a threat to them because of our association
with the White Moon.  Apparently, they decided to deal with us
before that threat became a reality."
     "This woman from the alley, the one Rei mentioned, is a priestess of
Dasma?" Michiru asked, moving to sit down with her characteristic
grace.  It was hard to tell, but Usagi thought she detected approval in
those sea-green eyes at her handling of the situation so far.
     "Saekianna der Kae.  She's the Nightmistress," Usagi told them.
"Apparently, she thinks she can break the seal on Dasma.  And she
thinks we want to stop her.  And if she's after us, she'll be after you guys,
too."
     "And so you decided to confront her," Hotaru said flatly.
     "Not exactly," Usagi replied, taking a deep breath.  "You see,
she bought the club where Minako works because she appears there
sometimes as a senshi.  When V showed up one night, they fought.
The Nightmistress saw through V's glamour."
     "She knows Minako's identity?" Michiru gasped.
     "By this point, Ami is the only one who's identity is still
secret," Usagi admitted.
     There was a moment of terrible silence, that weight curdling the
air like the precursor to a thunderstorm.
     "Damn you," Hotaru hissed.  "How could you be so careless?  Didn't
I teach you better than that?  And that irresponsible idiot girl!  Minako
decides to show off as usual, and now because of her all of you are in
jeopardy!"
     "Shut up!"  Usagi clamped her jaw shut, face hot as she tried
to reign in her temper.  Hotaru stared at her, eyes wide, and even
Michiru seemed shocked.  "You have no right to say that about her,
Hotaru," Usagi went on, a faint tremble of anger tainting her words.
"You have no idea what we've been through.  Minako was fighting
for us, to keep things from falling apart.  She did what she always
does, and she has nothing to be ashamed of.  In fact, I'm very proud
of her.  I was on the verge of losing Rei, of giving up on everything and
everyone, but because she took a chance we were able to come together
again.  Maybe she's not like you, but she's as loyal and dedicated as any
of my senshi, and she deserves better than to be talked about that way!"
     Silence reigned again, broken only by the ticking of the grandfather
clock in the foyer.  Usagi felt her anger ebbing, but she still held
Hotaru's gaze with her own, defiance in every line of her slender body.
They were her senshi, and by all the gods she was proud of them, every
single one.  Hotaru had given up on them, had let them go and not tried
to get them back.  Those girls were Usagi's now, not hers.  And she
would not allow them to be degraded by anyone.
     She felt a blossom of warmth as Artemis slipped his hand into hers
and squeezed it gratefully.  It must have hurt him to hear Hotaru
put Minako down that way, but he held his tongue and let her talk.
     "Princess," Michiru said gently, sifting her weight on the
couch.  "I appreciate your loyalty to your girls, but you have been
placed in grave danger by Minako's actions."
     "You're wrong," Usagi told her as Hotaru stood frozen.  "I was the
one who caused it to start.  I went with Makoto to challenge Saekianna
over Rei, not understanding the truth.  That angered her, and she started
targeting my friends, which is how Minako ended up unemployed and
Makoto had to fight Yoshi.  We came together to fight back, and that's
how we discovered the truth."
     "What truth?" Hotaru asked tightly.  There was still tension
clinging to her, but she had neither exploded in rage nor walked out,
which Usagi thought was a good sign.
     "The Sisterhood is worried because they believe we will try
to stop their ceremony on Baniesti, which is tomorrow night.  But
we've discovered that they are being manipulated.  This ceremony is
a sham."
     "How do you know that?" Michiru asked.  Usagi thought that
Michiru was trying to keep the discussion calm and civil, and part of
her appreciated that.  But the other part wanted to have it out with
Hotaru once and for all.
     "We found Dasma's resting place," Ami broke in calmly.
"And spoke with her guardian."
     "Ami!" Usagi hissed with a sidelong glance.  Ami just smiled
at her, no fear in her eyes.
     "You found where the Dark Lady is sealed," Hotaru said
slowly, looking from one girl to the other with scepticism writ plainly
on her face.  "And where, exactly, is that?"
     "Aethyr," Ami told her.  "I found Osiren Black on one of my
trips there."
     "Your ... trips.  There."  Michiru was looking at Ami as if
she'd never seen her before.
     "Ami confided to us about her ability," Usagi told them, fighting the
urge to fidget.  "We all had secrets, you know."  This she directed at
Hotaru, who flushed and actually turned away.  "And since Ami is
willing to share her secret, yes, we went to Aethyr and found Dasma's
resting place.  And her Guardian, Banri, told us that the Sisterhood
could not possibly be doing what they think they are."
     "Is Shadow Magick another of your secrets, Ami?" Michiru
asked softly.  "In the car, on the way here ..."
     "No," Ami said.  She opened her mouth to say more,
hesitated, then closed it.
     "And this girl," Hotaru added tightly.  "Lily?  Jupiter shouted
out her name before unleashing an ill-advised torrent of power.  Or
are you going to take issue with that evaluation as well?"
     "I understand why she reacted the way she did," Usagi said
evenly.  She did not want to get into this with Hotaru, but she did agree
Makoto's actions had been reckless.  Knowing the reason for Makoto's
anguish, though, Usagi found she could not truly fault her.  "She didn't
think, but none of us could have predicted what would happen."
     "Princess, we still need to get the others back," Michiru broke
in.  "I appreciate the secrets that have been entrusted to you are
delicate, but if there is anything that can help us, then you must see
that you can't keep that to yourself."
     "If there was anything, Michiru, I swear that I would tell
you," Usagi replied.  "I want them back as badly as you do."
     "I have an idea," Ami said.  Usagi glanced over at her
surprised.
     "You do?"
     "Rei contacted me in the car," Ami told them.  "I believe she
could because her shadow and mine mingled while we were in
Aethyr.  Maybe I can contact her in the same way."
     "But you can't control your shadow," Usagi protested.  "And
you can't go back to Aethyr!  What if Dragon is still there?"
     "I don't need to go back," Ami reassured her.  "What I need
is some space.  I'm going to construct an Aethyr port."

***

     "I have no wish to be involved in this!" Yurina shouted for
the umpteenth time.
     "Sucks to be you!" V called back.  If Mars thought she was
going to sit and babysit Yurina while things got ugly, she was
seriously mistaken.  V darted through the narrow stone corridor,
pulling the disgruntled Black Rose along at the end of her golden
whip.  Yurina stumbled, but V didn't slow; she'd already told the girl
that if she fell, she was going to be dragged.
     There was noise from up ahead, in the chamber that lay at the
bottom of the stairs from the surface.  Had they been discovered?  If
so, her strength would be needed.  Her power had proved very
effective against the beasts of Shadow which had attacked Uranus
and Ranma.
      V careened around the corner and paused a moment, trying
to make sense of what she was seeing.  Ranma was lying on his back,
being straddled by a woman with masses of flame-red hair and black
wings.  Mars had thrown herself onto the woman from behind and
was struggling with her; even as V watched, Mars slapped a ward over
the woman's mouth, where it stuck fast, forming an effective gag.
With her free hand, Mars seemed to be tracing patterns on the
woman's skin, pausing to jab stiffened fingers at different points while
chanting under her breath.
     Which didn't make any sense.  Pressure point techniques
were more a martial artist's forte than ...
     V blinked.  She wasn't.  She wouldn't.  Not that.
     But it appeared she was.  Ranma looked dazed, barely
struggling as the two women grappled over him, and as V slid along
the wall she finally got a good look at the woman's face.  She
possessed an unearthly beauty, not the refined loveliness of the Black
Rose but a lush, primal allure.  Even from where she stood, V could
feel the woman's draw like heat on her skin.  When she saw the small
horns on her forehead and the tail that lashed at Mars as they
struggled, she understood what they were dealing with.
     A succubus.  Wonderful.
     V let her whip slide free from Yurina's wrists, then used it to
trip the indignant Black Rose.  Spinning, she encircled the furious
succubus with her whip, pinning her arms and wings in gleaming coils.
Mars continued her attack, and to V's astonishment it seemed to be
working.  The succubus's struggles weakened, and finally Mars
pulled her off Ranma and let her fall to the ground, where she lay,
panting.
     "Good timing," Mars sighed as she leaned back on Ranma's
legs.  "Hey Ranma, you still with us?"
     V moved slowly, keeping both the succubus and Yurina in
sight as she checked Ranma out.  His blue eyes were glazed, and
from the look of his pants he had felt the effects of the succubus's
bewitching power up close and personal.  His shirt was torn, showing
shallow scratches on his taut chest, and as he struggled to sit up Mars
moved off his legs.
     "How you feeling, Ranma?" V called out.  He frowned, then
glanced at the snared succubus and scrambled back across the floor.
Deimos, who had been circling around the ceiling, flew down to land
on Mars' shoulder.
     "What," he gasped.  "What the hell.  Is.  That thing?"
     "A succubus," Mars told him.  V was ready for trouble, but
the succubus seemed unwilling to fight now that she was
outnumbered.  Her tawny skin was covered with scratches and
smudges of dirt, and her already brief outfit was torn in a few places.
     "And a hungry one, it would appear," Yurina sniffed from
where she still sat on the cold stone.  "Chances are she has seen very
few human men in this place."
     Mars went to the succubus, crouching down and wrapping
more wards around her wrists to bind her tightly.  The flame-tressed
creature barely managed to resist, and V wondered just what effect
Mars' attack had had on the succubus.  "Let's get her back to the
chamber," the senshi said briskly, then turned her attention to the
succubus.  "If you try anything funny, you'll be dead before you
hit the floor.  Got it?"
     Green eyes smouldering with impotent fury, the succubus nodded
once.  Mars motioned to Yurina to get up, and the group moved back
towards the underground chamber, Yurina walking before Mars, then
the succubus, with V following and Ranma trailing.
     "Hey," V said in a low voice.  "Everything okay?"
     "I guess," Ranma replied, not meeting her eyes.  "It, ah, she
... surprised me.  That's all."
     V knew that wasn't all.  The succubus might very well have
used her mesmerizing aura to lure Ranma close, then tried to take
him.  V knew how much trouble poor Ranma had with just talking
about sexual matters; he wasn't going to want to admit the urges this
beguiling creature had made him feel.  So she let it ride, and soon
they were back in the chamber.
     "Apparently we picked the wrong time to check out the
surface," Uranus noted, scowling as she caught sight of the new
captive.  "And what have we here?"
     "Let's find out," Mars suggested.  She walked up to the
succubus and tore the ward from her mouth, causing the red-headed
fury to yelp.  Then the succubus began shrieking a torrent of verbal
abuse that made even V blanche.  Mars reached out and poked her
fingertip at a point below the succubus's collarbone, then another
between the full, barely-contained breasts.  The captive gritted her
teeth and tossed her head, but at least she shut up.
     "Better," Mars said softly.  "Much better.  Now.  I'm going to
ask you some questions, and you're going to answer them.  If you
call for help or try to draw attention to us, one of these lovely ladies
will kill you.  Clear?"
     The succubus laughed, a husky, velvety sound.  "You
needn't worry about my friends, lovely enchantress, for I have none.
I am a fugitive."
     "What's your name?" Mars asked as Pluto and Uranus
moved closer. V kept the succubus on a short leash, but the woman
seemed to have accepted the reality of the situation, although she did
cast a longing look at Ranma.
     "Maia," the succubus replied, her lush, blood-red lips curling
with exquisite care around each syllable as her eyes followed Ranma
around the chamber.
     "Pay attention, Maia," Mars said sternly, grabbing the
succubus by the chin and yanking her head around.  Maia hissed,
showing white teeth and tiny, needle-like fangs.  The pupils of her
brilliant green eyes were elongated, like a cat's, and her crimson
tresses formed a wild, leonine mane around her body, constrained
only by the coils of V's whip.  Her black wings resembled Deimos's,
but unlike the tiny guardian she possessed a slender tail that jutted
from the base of her spine.  That tail writhed with obvious agitation,
coiling around Maia's shapely legs like a snake until V sent out a few
more coils to contain it.  Mars was standing pretty close, and V didn't
want the succubus getting any ideas.
     "You said you were a fugitive," Uranus remarked.  "Who's
after you?"
     "The Black King and his minions would love to have me,"
Maia said sullenly.  "Anyone cast out of the Crimson Queen's court
doesn't stand much of a chance around here, not for long."
     "These courts are unknown to me," Pluto murmured.  "Are
they courts of this realm?"
     Maia stared at her.  "You are ignorant of this place?" she
gaped.  "Such lovely yet foolish mortals, why don't you just walk up to
Her palace and offer yourselves on a plate!"
     "The Crimson Queen is a succubus?" Mars pressed.
     "The most powerful of us," Maia nodded sullenly.
     "And so the Black King would be an incubus, I suppose,"
Uranus sighed.
     "The incubi and succubi are always at war with each other,"
Maia said, shrugging as well as she could within the confines of V's
whip.  "Raiding parties often pass close to here.  I was out hoping to
pick off a straggler."
     "So you could feed," Mars said softly.
     "Feed?" Ranma asked, looking a little pasty as he looked
down at the scratches on his chest.  "Like, on us?"
     Maia threw her head back and laughed until V jerked the
whip tight.
     "Ranma," Mars said, "she might have wanted to taste your
blood, but succubi and incubi don't eat human flesh.  By feed, she's
referring to draining strength from a victim through sexual congress."
     "Er, yeah?" Ranma asked slowly.
     "They seduce humans and draw strength from them," V
clarified.
     "We can feed upon the essence of captive incubi," Maia said
with a feral smile.  "Or even other succubi who have incurred the
displeasure of the Crimson Queen.  But nothing compares to the
essence of a human.  Come boy, I will show you pleasures such as
you have never imagined.  You will recover your strength in time."
     "I don't think so," V said sweetly, jerking the whip again.
     "So these two courts fight for control of Shadow?" Uranus
asked, drawing Maia's attention back to her.
     "This part of it, at least," Pluto mused.  "But this is strange.
Succubi and incubi are not native to Shadow."
     "They're not?" V asked.
     "No," Pluto said.  "There used to be places in our realm
where they lived, venturing out to find human prey.  But that was a
very long time ago, and now they are quite rare."
     "Gee, too bad," V cracked, glaring at Maia.  The succubus was
watching them all carefully, as if looking for a weak link to exploit.
     "We were banished here by the Genrous lords during their
reign," Maia told Pluto.  She appeared, to V's eyes, to be acting
almost flirtatiously, slowly wetting her full lips as she let her eyes
wander over Pluto's lithe form.  If she couldn't have Ranma, it
appeared she would settle for one of the others.
     "That makes sense," Mars nodded.  "They would have
distrusted your ability to enchant and befuddle the senses."
     "They set a trap," Maia shrugged.  "Most of the succubi and incubi
were drawn to it and trapped here, and so now we live in this place.
Dangerous place, Shadow, full of nasty things.  And very few humans
come here anymore.  The Queen keeps tight control of her humans, and
of the Shadow Gates.  We ..."
     "What?" V blurted.
     "Shadow Gates?" Mars demanded, stepping closer to the
flame-haired succubus.  "The Queen can use Shadow Magick?"
     "No," Maia said cagily.  "But she knows how to get to your
world.  And I know, too."
     "You're lying," Uranus said flatly.
     "Yeah," V sneered.  "If she could go, she wouldn't still be
here, would she?"
     "I know how!" Maia repeated, gaze flitting from one woman to the
next.  "I just can't do it alone!  But I'll tell you what I know.  We can ...
we can make a deal."
     Her gaze drifted to Ranma again.  V sighed and yanked the
whip so hard that Maia yelped, nearly falling backwards.  The red-
headed succubus glared at the senshi, who merely smiled in response.
     "Relax, toots," V growled.  "He's not on the menu."
     "I just want to be let go," Maia muttered.  "Once I tell you
what I know, you let me go and we don't cross paths again.  Deal?"
     "Tell you what," Uranus said, tapping her forefinger against
her lip idly.  "Once we are standing at this Shadow Gate, then we let
you go.  Otherwise you could just fly off to the Crimson Queen and
rat us out."
     "I told you, I'm a fugitive," Maia grumbled.  "I can't go
back."
     "Why not?" V asked, curious.  Maia, however, would not
respond.  Mars huddled with Pluto and Uranus for a moment, then
glanced over at V, who shrugged.  They had nothing to lose, did
they?  Now that they knew the area was lousy with incubi and
succubi, all of whom would be more than happy to ravish them until
they were mere physical shells empty of vitality, it was more important
than ever to find a means of escape.
     "You tell us what you know," Mars told Maia.  "When we
reach this gate, then we let you go."
     "How do I know you'll really let me go?" Maia pouted.
     "It's the best deal you're going to get," Mars shrugged,
studying her fingers.  "Otherwise, you're a liability and we have to
deal with you.  Permanently."
     Maia growled deep in her throat.  "All right," she said at last.
"I'll tell you.  But I want to sit down, my feet are killing me.  And
my wings.  Can't we do something about this?  There are six of you,
after all, and I'm a lover, not a fighter."
     "Seven," Deimos huffed.
     "I'm not with them," Yurina added sweetly.  Mars walked
over to V and murmured into her ear, and V sighed.  The golden
whip snaked up, drawing away from the succubus's body.  Maia
sighed happily, stretching her black wings and then tucking them in
tightly against her back.  Then she went and sat down on a bolt of
silk near the Black Rose, who watched her without fear.  As Maia sat,
Yurina picked up a nearby bottle and opened it, pouring some red liquid
into a battered metal goblet.  Then, still kneeling, she demurely offered
it to the rumpled succubus, who gave her a slow, lingering glance.
     "Nice to see someone's got manners," Maia scowled, allowing the
petite beauty to hold the goblet to her lips and drinking deeply.  Yurina
seemed unintimidated by the succubus; she took the goblet and refilled
it like a pleasure girl serving a paying customer.
     "Well?" Mars asked.
     "Here's how it works," Maia said, pausing to take another
drink.  "The Queen has a circle drawn on the floor of a room deep
under her palace.  It looks like this."  Maia was wearing what looked
like a corset of shimmering green metallic fabric, and she gestured
towards it with her chin.  Undaunted, Yurina delicately reached down
into the deep cleft between Maia's full breasts, drawing out a folded
scrap of parchment.  Deimos fluttered over and took it from the girl's
outstretched hand, returning it to Mars.
     "Is copying that why you're a fugitive?" Pluto asked.
     "Geez, that's a personal question," Maia sniffed, allowing Yurina
to give her another drink.  Mars unfolded the parchment, and V peeked
over her shoulder.  She saw what was drawn there and instantly her
mouth went dry, a tingle of fear skittering up her back.
     "Maia," Mars said, her voice quiet but definitely not happy.
"This is just a standard Circle of Veneration.  Even though it has the
proper Shadow Glyphs inscribed, it is not a gate.  At most, it could be
used to summon a person's shadow or maybe a shade of the dead."
     "Yes, yes," Maia mumbled, giving Yurina a grateful look as the
girl continued to tend to the captive succubus.  "Magick
mumbo-jumble."
     "Jumbo," Deimos sniffed quietly.  "She's untrustworthy,
Lady Mars."
     "Listen," Maia said, her eyes blazing.  "That's why it works.
You see, if you make a circle like that here, in the same ... um,
relative something ... er ..."
     "Wait a moment," Pluto breathed.  "Shadow Realm is
supposed to mirror our own."
     "Yes ..." Mars said slowly.
     "Right-o!" Maia beamed.  "Like, the Queen's palace is
supposed to be in the same place as the human Queen's.  Although
I've never gotten to go through, so I couldn't say for sure."
     "So you're telling me that if two of these circles are in the
same place in different realms, they can be used to form a bridge?"
Mars asked.  "I've never heard of that."
     "But I suppose it could work," Pluto added.  "One circle can
summon the insubstantial from this realm, remember.  Two circles,
separated only by the barrier between Shadow and our realm ... it very
well might work."
     "Yeah, but wouldn't we have to know where another circle
was?" Uranus pointed out.
     "The Sisterhood would have one," Mars said with a look at
Yurina.  "Worshippers of the Dark Lady, as well as adepts in
Shadow Magick, usually have one in their homes.  I don't suppose
you'd care to tell us where we could find such a place, Yurina?"
     "Certainly," Yurina replied primly.  "After midnight
tomorrow, I will be more than happy to deliver you to the
Nightmistress.  And our newly awakened goddess, of course."
     "Maybe you need a little persuasion," Uranus said darkly.
     "Forget it," Mars sighed.  "It will take too long to get her to
talk.  Believe me, I know."
     "I know where one of these is," V said quietly.  The memory was
not one of her fondest, but she put aside her unease.  This was too
important.  They still had to stop the Sisterhood from performing the
ceremony, not to mention finding this vampire.
     "You do?" Mars asked, clearly astonished.
     "It's just one unpleasant surprise after another," Uranus said
wryly.  "Tell us it isn't in your bedroom, pussycat."
     "It's in an estate," V informed her, failing for once to rise to
Haruka's flirtations.  "In the Highview district.  If the layout of the
city is the same as home, I'll be able to find it."
     "Highview," Pluto said darkly.  "That would take us close to
the palace.  Which, in this place, is occupied by the succubi and their
queen."
     "Well," V shrugged, "I didn't say it was a perfect plan.  If
anyone has a better one, than I'd like to hear it."
     "Oh, Maia," Mars said sweetly.
     "What?" Maia asked, suspicion tainting her voice.
     "I'll bet you know the area around the Crimson Queen's
palace pretty well, don't you?"
     "No way," Maia sneered.  "You have no idea what will
happen to me if they catch me.  At least you'll die in ecstasy.
Eventually.  My death will be exceptionally horrible.  No, thanks."
     "Our deal was that we let you go once we reach a gate,"
Uranus pointed out.  "We're still sitting here.  Do you really think
we'll let you go?"
     "Anything's better than what that bitch will do to me," Maia
sniffed.
     "Anything?" Mars asked slowly.  "Even what, say, the Black
King would do to a captive succubus?"
     Maia froze, and V could see that the threat had teeth.
     "Hey," Maia said.  "Hey, now."
     "I guess we're in a kind of no-man's land here," Mars went
on.  "So if we can't head into the succubi's territory, we could head
the other way."
     "You don't want to get caught by incubi!" Maia protested.
     "Not us," Uranus grinned, leaning down to gaze into the
captive's eyes.  "Just you.  We could leave you somewhere where
you'd be found.  I mean, since you don't want to go with us."
     "You evil bitch," Maia said, sounding like she was equal parts
appalled and impressed.
     "You," Uranus told her, "have no idea.  So?  I really hate this
place, red.  What's it going to be?"
     "All right," Maia said at last, eyes darting around the room.
"I escaped from the Velvet Guard once, I can do it again."
     "Velvet Guard?" V asked.
     "Her enforcers," Maia spat.  "They do Her dirty work.  In
return, they get to play with the slaves and even venture with Her into
the human world."
     "Swell," V said.  "I take it you won't object if we kill any we
come across?"
     "Not at all," Maia replied, seemingly cheered by the thought.
     "Our best bet is stealth," Pluto cautioned.  "We will have to
come close to the enemy's stronghold.  And it is possible they will
detect our attempts to use this magick circle.  We will have to stay
together and move quickly."
     "I've got to get a look at the area from up high," V
announced.  "See if I can get my bearings."
     "I'll come with you," Mars said quickly.
     "Yeah, that sounds like an idea," Ranma added with a wary
glance towards Maia.  Together the three of them trooped out of the
chamber, leaving Uranus and Pluto to watch the prisoners.
     "Okay, what's up?" Mars asked as Deimos jumped from her
shoulder, winging ahead.
     "What do you mean?" V asked airily.  She knew what was
coming, and she had her strategy all worked out.
     "This estate," Mars pressed.  "The one with a circle.  What is
it?  And, more importantly, how did you know about it?"
     "Come on, Mars, how do you think?  I robbed the place," V
said with a wink.  V had always been an accomplished liar when the
need arose, and she put just the right amount of casual disregard into
the reply.  There was no way she wanted to tell Mars the truth.
     "Robbed it?" Ranma echoed.
     "I was a cat burglar, remember?" V told him with a wicked
grin.  "I found all sorts of interesting things during my late-night
perambulations, hon ..."
     "And this estate just happened to have a Circle of Veneration
dedicated to dark magicks," Mars said, eyes narrowed.  Damn that
girl, always so suspicious.  But V knew that the best lies mixed in just
enough truth to divert the eye from the weak spots.
     "I suppose it's not unusual to find one in the home of a Tyrian
noble," V allowed.
     "What?" Mars blurted.  "You robbed a Tyrian noble?  Are
you insane?  Do you know what would have happened if you'd been
caught?"
     "Well, being turned over to the police would have been the
least of my concerns," V said nonchalantly.  "Kind of why I targeted
the place, you know?  I despise that typical Tyrian arrogance.  They
flout our laws, why shouldn't they pay?"
     "You are unbelievable," Mars muttered darkly, shaking her
head.  "If you'd been caught, you'd be in a slave market in Tyria by
now."
     "Coulda, shoulda, woulda," V breezed cheerily.  "Say, Mars,
correct me if I'm wrong, but when you were scrapping with Maia the
wonder wench back there, was that technique you used what I think it
was?"  V gazed deeply into Mars' eyes, wanting to get off the subject
of the Tyrian estate before Mars decided to press the matter any
further.
     "Oh," Mars said, almost looking abashed.  "That.  Yes, it
was."
     "Technique?" Ranma said, perking up.
     "The Siquiein," Mars replied, albeit reluctantly.
     "You told me it was for punishment," V pointed out.
     "Well, it is useful in that regard," Mars sighed.  "Especially the
twenty-three minor forms.  The major forms, however, were devised as
a way to combat and subdue succubi."
     "Cool," V said, tugging at the brim of her cap.  "There much call for
that?"
     "There are certain potions and spells which require the blood
of a living succubus taken in the throes of passion," Mars admitted.  "It
is rumoured that the secrets of the Siquiein were given to the Dark Lady
by the same mysterious stranger who passed on the art of the tattoo
Yurina bears.  I can't imagine that this Crimson Queen would be
pleased to find either Yurina or myself in her realm.  Succubi like to
do the controlling, not the other way around.  During our training, we
were warned that they kill mortals who possess this knowledge to keep
it from spreading."
     "Lucky for the Sisterhood that succubi aren't a power in our
world right now," V pointed out.  "Though if Maia is telling the truth,
the Crimson Queen has been visiting us on the sly."
     "She's smart," Mars mused.  "Keeping a low profile.  If
creatures like succubi attracted the same kind of attention that
vampires once did, they'd be hunted to extinction.  As it is, there are
no real policies for dealing with them, at least in the kingdom, because
they're so rare.  Some people even believe they are total myth."
     They emerged into the red-tinged darkness, and V began
casting about for a vantage point.
     "There," she said softly.  "That'll do.  If we're still near where
we were when we got thrown here, this should not take long."
     "All clear, Lady Mars," Deimos announced, flying down to
meet them.  "For the time being, anyway."
     "Mars, can you and Deimos keep watch from here?" V asked.
"I'll take Ranma up there.  That way I'll be covered."
     "Caution," Mars said ruefully.  "I approve."
     V blew the pair a kiss as she led Ranma along a narrow alley
towards a nearby square.  The thought of the Tyrian estate was
constantly in the back of her mind, and she kept it there.  Discipline,
Aino, she told herself sternly.  Don't let fear control you.  This has to
be done, so do it.
     "This technique," Ranma said hesitantly.
     "Hmmm?" V murmured.
     "The Siquiein.  It really works against these succubuses?"
     "Succubi.  And yes, as you saw, it does," V told him.
     "Do you think she would teach it to me?" Ranma asked.  V
took one look at his earnest expression and started laughing.
     "What?" Ranma demanded, cheeks reddening.
     "I was just ... picturing that," V snickered.  Ranma apparently
did not grasp just what the Siquiein was.  Still, this had possibilities.
Apparently, Ranma had been unnerved by his encounter with the
unearthly carnal powers of the succubus.  And the thought of Rei
teaching Ranma the Siquiein gave V a pleasurable tingle that
momentarily chased thoughts of the estate away.
     "Never mind," Ranma mumbled.
     "No, I think it's a good idea," V said encouragingly.  "I'll ask
her for you, if you like."
     "You will?  Hey, thanks," Ranma beamed.
     "You got it.  Now, you take up station here and watch my
backside.  Literally AND figuratively, of course."
     "Got it.  Hey," he said as she turned to go.
     "Yeah?" she asked.
     "About this estate," he said.  "That was a good story you told
Mars, and I guess your business is your business."
     V gaped at him.  She had convinced Mars, but it had never
occurred to her that Ranma, of all people, might sense she was lying.
She stood there a moment, unnerved by his steady gaze, but just as she
opened her mouth to issue a flippant denial of any knowledge what he
was on about, he held up a hand.
     "All I want to know is this," he said, eyes blazing in the odd
light of Nemesis.  "How serious should I treat things when we get
there?"
     V watched him, an odd lump forming in her throat.  When, not
if, they arrived.  He did not doubt her ability, and for this she was
grateful.
     "Ranma," she said sombrely.  "You know the way you treat
the monsters in the city?"
     "Uh-huh."
     "Well, there are guards in this place.  Treat them as monsters.
Do not, under any circumstances, allow yourself to be taken prisoner."
     "Got it," he said with a faint, crooked grin, and she was
pleased to see that he did.  "Okay, go do your thing."
     She turned to go again, then turned back and pressed her
mouth against his, lingering close to the softness of his lips before
finally pulling away to gaze deeply into his startled sapphire eyes.
     "In case nobody's ever told you this before, Ranma," she
whispered, "you're one in a million."
     Then she was gone, the taste of him burning softly on her
mouth.

***

     "Princess," Michiru said warmly.
     "Hey, Michiru," Usagi replied, tugging on one of her
ponytails.
     "How is Ami coming with her portal?"
     "She's getting there," Usagi assured the older girl.  "Have you
seen Hotaru anywhere?"
     "She's in the study," Michiru told her, suddenly watchful.
"Why?"
     "I need to talk to her.  Things need to be brought out into the
open, you know?"
     "I do," Michiru replied with a smile.  "And I'm glad to see
you taking the initiative.  Just ..."
     "What?"
     "I know things have been uncomfortable, Usagi," Michiru
sighed, moving closer to the girl.  Usagi felt a rush of memory as she
was enfolded in Michiru's delicate perfume; she had missed being
around the Outers.  "And I know that Hotaru hasn't helped things, but
I would ask you to remember that this has been hard for her, too.  Her
shame over what happened runs deep, and she deals with that by
cutting herself off from everyone, and from her own feelings.  She's
my friend, and I haven't been able to help her with this.  I know,
Princess, that you can."
     "You have a lot of faith in me, Michiru," Usagi said ruefully.
"I've never been too good at talking to her."
     "Your feelings for her will lead you, little one," Michiru
assured her, brushing a lock of blonde hair out of Usagi's eyes.  "That
is your greatest strength.  I'm going to check up on Ami.  Good luck."
     "Thanks," Usagi said with a grateful smile.  She watched
Michiru move gracefully down the hallway, then turned and went
looking for the study.
     I should have asked her where it was, Usagi thought as she
poked her nose into the kitchen, laundry room, pantry and two spare
bedrooms.  Finally she opened a door and found herself in a cozy
room.  The wall opposite the door was mostly window, showing the
pale light of the day through translucent curtains.  One wall was
dominated by a large stone fireplace, and the other two contained
bookshelves.
     Hotaru was standing beside a small, tidy desk, hands clasped
behind her back as she stared moodily out the window.  She turned as
Usagi entered, and the younger girl was stricken anew at how lonely
Hotaru always seemed to look when caught unawares.  The woman
took a lot on herself, and even though she trusted Michiru, Haruka,
and Setsuna, Usagi sensed that she shared very little of her burden.
     "Is it time?" Hotaru asked curtly, that mask of cool
detachment falling easily into place.
     "No," Usagi replied, closing the door behind her.  "I just
wanted to talk to you."
     "Alone?" Hotaru asked, bitterness lending a harsh edge to her
words.  "Well, you always were a slow learner."
     The words struck home.  The last time Usagi had been alone
with Hotaru had been in a room much like this one, only larger.  And
that encounter had ended very badly.  For both of them.  Usagi sensed
that the bitterness in Hotaru's tone wasn't directed at her, but rather
inwards at Hotaru herself.  Usagi had run away and ended up in the
arms of her loving senshi, in the end.  But Hotaru? She still had to live
with her personal darkness and its destructive hunger.
     Usagi wanted very badly to just hug Hotaru, to take the
woman in her arms and tell her that everything would be all right.
Then she remembered Michiru's words, and felt something within her
unknot.  This was not a complicated situation, not really.
     She strode across the floor and flung her arms around Hotaru's
neck, hugging the woman fiercely.  Hotaru stiffened, clearly caught
off-guard by the impulsive act, but Usagi didn't mind.  She had been
carried in Hotaru's arms before, and remembered this warmth, this
scent.  Glossy highlights gleamed in the woman's dark, shoulder
length hair, and Usagi's nose bumped one of Hotaru's long sliver
earrings as she squeezed the woman tightly.
     "Hotaru," she whispered, "I really missed you.  You smell like
home."
     A small shudder went through Hotaru's lithe frame, and Usagi
heard the tiny gasp that escaped the woman's iron control.  Usagi let
out a happy sigh, resting her head on Hotaru's shoulder, remembering
all the small kindnesses that this stern woman had let show since
taking her in.  Even as she'd tried to remain the remote authority
figure, Hotaru had let glimpses of her more tender nature show
through just often enough that Usagi knew the ice-queen was a facade.
Usagi had been able to see that this woman had to fight to present the
world such a cool front, and now she knew why Hotaru tried to hide
herself.  But she did not have to hide from Usagi, not anymore.  The
truth did not frighten Usagi, nor did it repulse her.  Hotaru was Hotaru,
vampiric blood notwithstanding.
     So Usagi stood there, clinging to Hotaru, eyes closed.  And
finally, after what seemed like hours, she felt the tentative touch of
Hotaru's hands on her back.
     "Idiot," Hotaru whispered, her voice thick.  "Look at you.  No
thought for your own safety.  Didn't I teach you better than that?"
     "I don't need to be protected from you, Hotaru," Usagi replied
drowsily, nuzzling the woman's shoulder.  "I trust you with my life."
     Hotaru shuddered lightly, her hands hovering lightly at Usagi's
shoulders.  "No matter how good your intentions, you can't ignore the
truth," Hotaru breathed at last, her hands tightening gently but firmly
and pushing Usagi away far enough that the girl was forced to meet her
gaze.  Those bottomless violet eyes had finally melted, deep currents
swirling in a maelstrom of emotion.  "I am dangerous to those around
me, Usagi.  I always will be.  You can't change that with one of your
smiles, or your belief that everything will work out in the end."
     "You tried to tell me to go that night," Usagi replied softly.  "If I had
listened, things would have been different.  No matter what, Hotaru,
I'll always love you."
     Unlike Hotaru, Usagi had never experienced any hesitation in
expressing her feelings.  She knew that Hotaru was grateful for her
words and her demonstration of affection, even if she couldn't easily
show it.
     "Even after what I said?" Hotaru asked, her voice hoarse.
"Even after ... this?"  And she gently brushed her fingers against Usagi's
throat, which had once borne the mark of Hotaru's fangs.
     Taken by whimsy, Usagi hugged the woman again, this time
rubbing herself along the length of Hotaru's body and letting her
mouth rest against the taut flesh of the woman's neck.  She let her lips
part, and gently nipped the skin there, tasting salt as she flicked her
tongue playfully across it.  Then she pulled back with a giggle,
enjoying the Hotaru's shocked expression, and the hot flush on the
woman's alabaster cheeks.
     "There," Usagi purred coquettishly.  "Now we're even.  But
Minako is going to be so jealous that I've gotten further with you than
she has."
     "You little ..." Hotaru blurted, seemingly unable to decide
whether to be offended, shocked, amused, or titillated.  "You've been
hanging around Minako far too much!"
     "So?  She desperately wants to seduce you, you know," Usagi
confided, keeping her hands laced around Hotaru's neck and letting her
fingers play with the soft fall of hair.  "Well, not just her.  We do sort of
have an unofficial competition to see who will be first to bed you."
     Now, at last, amusement had definitely won out.  Usagi had missed
that expression on Hotaru's face.  "You girls have been talking to
Michiru again," Hotaru sniffed.  "Seducing a woman properly is not a
game for those who lack subtlety or patience, a lesson Miss Aino would
do well to learn."
     "I'll pass that along," Usagi told her, feeling a surge of exultation.
Hotaru was back; not cold, disciplinarian Hotaru, but the wry,
sometimes sarcastic Hotaru who had found them, trained them, and had
sat up all night the first time they'd ventured out without her.  This was
the woman Usagi had always wanted to impress, the woman she'd
always wanted to make proud.
     "Princess," Hotaru said softly, staring down into Usagi's eyes.
"You can't fix things so easily, you know.  This doesn't change what
happened.  It doesn't change the secrets, or the things I said.  Not
everyone is like you.  To forgive something so dark is not easy.  I hope
you can understand that.  Things will still be difficult."
     "You may be surprised," Usagi told her.
     "I have already been surprised," Hotaru sighed, a shadow
passing through her gorgeous eyes.  "Shadow Magick and Aethyr
ports?  It seems there is a lot I did not know about you."
     "We all had secrets, Hotaru," Usagi told her, willing the
woman to understand as she continued to cling to her.  "That was what
nearly tore us apart.  But it doesn't have to be that way."
     "You really do believe that, don't you?" Hotaru asked, shaking
her head and sending the blunt edge of her hair sliding over the backs
of Usagi's hands.  If it had been Minako, Usagi would have accused
her of doing it deliberately.
     "I know that I have a duty to all of you," Usagi replied, raising
her chin slightly.  "I have to be worthy of being the princess.  Everyone's
depending on me, so I have to do my best and not let them down.  It
would be easier if I had your help."
     "My help?" Hotaru echoed, mouth twisted into a wry grin.
"Usagi, I saw what you and your girls did at the police station.  You
have learned well the lessons you were taught.  Not only that, you
have inspired your girls to greater heights than I ever could.  I could
order them, but only you could command their unswerving loyalty."
     "Big trouble is coming, Hotaru," Usagi declared, her cheeks
warm from the uncharacteristic praise.  "We have to fight it together."
     "Nothing would please me more, Princess," Hotaru told her
with a small, genuine smile that kindled a glow in Usagi's heart.
     "Good.  Then let's go get our girls back and make a plan,"
Usagi beamed.  She let her arms slide from around Hotaru's neck,
grabbing the woman by the hand and pulling her from the room.
"Together, Hotaru, we can do anything!"
     The look on Hotaru's face in that moment was worth more
than all the gold in the kingdom.

***

     "It's quite something."
     Michiru looked at the circle Ami was inscribing on the basement
floor, marvelling at its beauty.  Ami looked up from her work, brushing
her hair from her eyes absently.
     "Michiru," she said.  "I'm, um, nearly done."
     "So I see," Michiru said warmly.  She approached the edge of
the circle, stopping and crossing her arms.  "Mind if I watch?"
     "No," Ami replied softly, cheeks turning pink.  The girl had
always been so easily flustered.  Michiru felt something of a bond with
her; they were, after all, the only two senshi who shared an elemental
power.  But Ami's shy reticence built a wall between the girl and others.
Usagi had breached it, somehow, and eventually so had Makoto, of all
people.  It still seemed hard for Ami to talk to others, though.
     "Usagi is talking with Hotaru," she informed the girl.  Ami
stopped, looking vaguely alarmed.
     "Is that ... I mean, Hotaru seems pretty upset," Ami said, worry
clouding her deep blue eyes.
     "Ami, Usagi told you about Hotaru's past, didn't she?" Michiru
asked.
     "Yes," Ami nodded, dropping her gaze.  "It was ... a terrible
thing that happened to her."
     "Yes, it was.  And it haunts her.  As do the events of that night.
Ami?  You must be angry with us.  With me."
     "No," Ami protested, but it was a reflex from a girl who never
wanted to cause a fuss.
     "I always tried to get you to open up to me, to trust me,"
Michiru went on, her voice soft.  "And, all that time, I kept such a thing
from you.  But you must realize, Hotaru is my dear friend.  She asked
us to keep her past a secret, and so we did.  I never wanted to hurt you."
     "I understand that," Ami replied, finally looking Michiru in the
eye.  "I do, Michiru.  I know it must have been hard.  Having secrets can
be ... a terrible burden."
     "Indeed," Michiru murmured, taking in the Aethyr port that
Ami was constructing.  "And here I thought I'd figured you all out.
Hubris, I suppose."
     "Why didn't ...?"  Ami broke off, biting her lip, and for a
moment Michiru thought that the girl would not continue.
     "Ami?"
     "Why didn't you ever come after us?" Ami asked at last, and
her eyes brimmed with turmoil when they rose to Michiru's once more.
"You gave up on us, after everything you said when you brought us all
together."
     Michiru wanted to go to the girl, to put her arms around her.
But Ami wouldn't respond well to that; she was the opposite of Minako
when it came to touching.  "We didn't give up, Ami.  I swear that we
didn't.  It seemed like the right thing to do, after what happened.  You
all needed some space ..."
     "We were all alone," Ami said quietly, and there was a depth in
her eyes that startled Michiru.  "Hotaru didn't come for us, and neither
did you.  Usagi came.  She came and brought us back together, and she
fought for us.  We fought for each other.  We aren't Hotaru's senshi any
more, Michiru.  We're Usagi's, because she earned the right to lead us.
Is Hotaru going to understand that?"
     Michiru was impressed with the girl's composure, and she
smiled.  They had all grown so much in such a short time, emerging
from their trial by fire stronger than before.  It touched her heart, and she
wished Haruka was here to see it with her.
     "She knows, Ami," Michiru breathed.  "I think things are finally
the way they should be.  But we all need to work together, Ami.
Together we are more than we are apart.  There are still raw emotions
between us, but I believe that we can heal those wounds.  Do you?"
     Ami looked up at her, thoughtful.
     "Yes, Michiru.  I believe that, too.  But it won't be easy."
     "Nothing worthwhile ever is, Ami," Michiru told her.  "And
there is nothing more worthwhile than all of us being together again."

***

     Makoto leaned over the bed as Yoshi stirred, smiling with
relief as his eyes opened, cool gray fixing on her slowly.
     "Hey," he said at last, voice rough.
     "Shhh," she murmured, taking a glass half-full of water from
the nightstand.  "Here, drink some.  Slowly."
     She tipped the glass up and he drank, then let his head fall
back against the pillow.  She mopped the little bit of water that had
spilled with a cloth, careful not to put any pressure near his injured
shoulder.  Then she tenderly brushed soft strands of blond hair from
his chiselled face.
     "So," he said hoarsely, a shadow of a grin flitting about his
mouth.  "Did I win?"
     "What do you think?" she shot back, a little more harshly than
she'd intended.  "You were shot, moron.  With silver.  You're lucky it
isn't worse."
     "No hospitals," he sighed, a grateful smile melting her brief
anger.  "You're the best, Makoto."
     "You could have died!" she gritted, her hands knotting into
fists.
     "You know the deal," he said, reaching up to grasp her fist in
his hand.  His grip was weak, but she didn't try to shake it off.
"They'd find me there.  They'd take me back."
     "I wouldn't let them," she swore, her throat tight.  "I'd never
let them."
     "You did the right thing," he told her, squeezing her hand.  "It
doesn't feel too bad, either.  Fae root?"
     "Yes," she said, letting her head hang so he wouldn't see the
tears that had welled up in her eyes.  He wouldn't be fooled, of course,
but he'd pretend not to see since she didn't want him to.
     "Nice work," he rumbled softly.  "Not easy to come by,
though.  You been keeping a supply?"
     "Rin," she said, meeting his eyes.  "Rin told me where to go.  I
don't know why he would help you, but he did."
     "Huh," Yoshi breathed.  "Yeah, that's Rin, all right."
     "What's that supposed to mean?"
     "His old man wasn't born a cat," Yoshi told her, closing his
eyes for a moment.  "He survived an attack.  Once upon a time, Rin's
old man was high in the Tier.  You didn't know?"
     "No," Makoto said softly.
     "Well, he had power and position, but the Tier doesn't do
business with shifters.  They certainly don't tolerate having a shifter
that knows secrets about their organization."
     "But it wasn't his fault!" Makoto objected.
     "These guys aren't big on fair play," Yoshi said dryly.  "Rin's
father, he went on the lam and survived for years by coming here.
One day, though, the Handymen found him.  They gunned him down
like an animal in broad daylight.  Used silver, natch.  Rin saw it from
where he was hiding.  He doesn't have much use for those who hunt
us with silver."
     "Oh," she said softly.  She had never wondered much about
Rin's past.  He'd always just struck her as a man who was used to
getting what he wanted.  It occurred to her to wonder how Yoshi knew
so much about Rin's past, but before she could ask she noticed the
sombre look in his eyes.
     "What is it?" she asked.  "What's wrong?"
     "Before I was shot," Yoshi said slowly, his pale gray eyes
searching her face, "I saw someone in that alley, someone I never
expected to ever see again."
     "Lily."  Her voice was flat, and Makoto absently marvelled at
how she could utter the girl's name without screaming.
     "So," he sighed heavily.  "I missed the end.  She dead?"
     "Got away," Makoto scowled.  "With the rest of the
Sisterhood trash.  But don't worry, Yosh.  I'm going to hunt the bitch
down and finish it."
     "Yeah," he breathed sourly.  "I know you are."
     "What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, leaning over
him.  "That bitch killed my friends!  Your friends!"
     "Makoto, listen to me.  I knew Rufus a lot longer than you
did.  He played out of his league and he paid the price.  Lily was a liar
and a tramp, but she didn't kill anyone."
     "I can't believe I'm hearing this!" she blurted, icy shock
sheeting through her.  "Not from you, Yoshi!"
     "Listen to me, dammit!"  He grabbed her hand again with his good
one, and she was struck by the fever heat of his skin and the weakness
of his grip.  "What are you going to do, Makoto?  Huh?"
     "I'm going to do what I have to," she hissed, trying to pull her
hand free without hurting him.
     "You're not snot-nosed Makki anymore," he returned, his eyes
boring into hers.  "You're not a street-rat.  You know better than that
now."
     "What's this righteousness all of a sudden?" she cried, her
stomach knotted as she stared down into Yoshi's wan face.  "You
didn't hesitate back then, did you?  You were all too anxious to help
me track down that weasel Emmus!"
     "Oh, yeah," Yoshi whispered.  "Yeah, I was.  Because I stood
there too, Makoto.  I saw the bodies.  I smelled them.  I helped bury
them.  And I wanted that guy, too.  But I never should have let you do
it."
     "It was my duty," she said, stung.  "You know ..."
     "You want to know what I know?" he gritted, the tendons in
his neck standing out against the skin.  "I know that you blame
yourself.  You always did.  You still do.  You've clung to it all this
time, Makoto.  All this time.  And I let you kill that guy.  For revenge.
I put you on that path because I thought it would lay your demons to
rest."
     "Yoshi ..."
     "Dammit, girl!  Killing to protect yourself is one thing.  Cold-
blooded, man, that's something else.  It does something to a person, it
leaves a scar on your soul."
     "You did the right thing, Yoshi," she told him, confused and
frightened by his self-loathing.
     "No I didn't!  Dammit, Makoto, I was just a punk kid myself!
I had no freaking idea what I was doing!  I put you with that gang, I
put you there at the centre of the bullseye with a bunch of messed-up
kids that were never going to live to be adults, and you know why,
don't you?"
     "Stop it."
     "Because I'd been put through the blender, that's why!  I
couldn't trust the system, I was betrayed by my family, and the best I
could do for you was to give you an old abandoned rathole that was
freezing in the winter and unbearable in the summer!"
     "You saved me," she told him urgently, her voice thick as
tears began to burn.  "You did!"
             "Did I?  Makoto, I had no business dragging you into that.  I
knew Lily was trouble from the start, and it didn't take me long to
figure she'd end up playing Rufus for whatever she could.  I even
warned him, you know.  But the guy had rocks in his head, especially
when it came to women.  He just wouldn't listen."
     "She wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for me!"
     "If it hadn't been her, it would have been something else.
There were always guys on the street who were born losers, Makoto.  I
liked Rufus, but he just wasn't smart enough.  And hells, I wasn't
much better.  I didn't know what to do, so I let it alone.  Figured
maybe he'd get taught a lesson.  And then, THEN, what do I do in the
end?  I let you kill that guy.  In cold blood."
     "It wasn't cold," she whispered, a tear falling onto Yoshi's
chest.  He reached up tenderly to wipe it away, some of the bitter old
bile finally exorcised from his eyes.
     "I failed you," he said, voice wistful and forlorn.  "Everything
I did for you only made your life worse, and that was worst of all.  So
listen to me, Makoto.  She's not worth it.  Tracking her down after all
these years and killing her, it won't change anything, it won't bring a
single person back.  All it will do is leave another scar on your heart,
and I couldn't bear that."  He cupped her cheek in his hand, thumb
wiping at a tear which had coursed down her face, and she grasped his
wrist lightly.
     "I can't just let it go," she breathed, closing her eyes and
clinging to him.  "That can't be the right thing to do, to just let it go.
It can't be."
     "I'll tell you what's right," he replied hoarsely.  "Forgiving
yourself, that's right."  She laughed bitterly.  "I'm serious, Makoto.
You liked her and trusted her, and that isn't wrong.  She betrayed you,
not the other way around.  You didn't know.  So stop blaming yourself."
     "Just like that?" she asked in a small voice.  "Just stop?"
     "Yes," he said gently.  "Stop hating yourself.  Stop blaming
yourself.  You've carried this for way too long, little girl.  Put it
down."
     Makoto leaned down and rested her head on Yoshi's uninjured
shoulder, closing her eyes as his warm scent engulfed her.  His hand
came up and slipped around the back of her neck, and she gave a
tremulous sigh.
     "She should have to pay," she whispered.
     "I agree," Yoshi murmured, his voice a pleasant rumble in his
chest.  "But maybe she has been paying.  The look in her eyes when
she saw me, Makoto, she looked sick.  Just sick."
     "Afraid," Makoto sniffed.
     "Guilty," he clarified.  "And if she can feel guilt, then I have
to think she must be paying for what she did in some way."
     "Is that enough for you?" she asked, rubbing her nose against
his shoulder.  "Really?"
     "Maybe not," Yoshi sighed.  "But it's a start."
     They lay like that for a time, then finally Makoto stirred.
     "Emmus arranged things," she said softly.  "But he didn't kill
them alone.  Those others, Yoshi.  Did you?"
     "You know the answer to that, Makoto," he said, and his voice
was heavy with things that such a young man should never have to
know.
     "Scars," she mumbled.  "You keep trying to save me from
pain and heartbreak, but what about you?"
     "One thing at a time, Makoto," he told her, stroking her hair.
"One thing at a time."

***

     "Chief?"  Mamoru stuck his head in the door, stopping when he
saw that the room was occupied.
     "Yu with you?" Kaede Amagi asked.  When Mamoru nodded
she motioned him in and told Yu to shut the door.
     This was not the chief's office.  It was, apparently, the room
where old office furniture went to die.  There were stacks of broken
office chairs, a copier with its electronic guts hanging out, and a coffee
maker that may have predated the first Sidhe Wars.  Unfortunately, the
chief's office was in a part of the tower that had been badly damaged.
     Kaede sat behind a cluttered table that seemed to have decided
to put off collapsing for the time being.  One arm was in a hastily rigged
sling and a bandage adorned her forehead, but her eyes were clear.
Mamoru took a quick inventory of the room's other occupants.
Detectives Grissi and Flect he knew, giving them friendly nods.
Sergeant Carri was a twenty year veteran of the force, a woman who
commanded respect from everyone who knew anything of her record.
Stu Kayasami he knew, was a decorated officer, efficient and very
capable, if not especially well-liked by his peers, including Mamoru.
And Meaghan Piakesti, of course.
     "All right, that's everyone," the chief sighed.
     "Oh, boy," Yu enthused wryly.  "Are you recruiting us to be a
new vigilante super team, Chief? Do we get codenames and
everything?"
     "Yours should be "Slutboy", Yu," Grissi snickered, his dark
eyes lingering on the blond detective.
     "As it happens, I did call you all here to recruit you," the chief
said.  That shut everyone up.  Mamoru stared at her.  This day had been
a trial for everyone involved, and now that emergency services had
finally showed up in force the division was beginning to return to some
sort of running order.  But Mamoru could not think of anything so
important that the chief would want to meet with them now, with dead
and wounded still being pulled from different parts of this building.
     "Recruit us for what?" Kayasami asked.  He alone looked as
though he had not crawled through debris in the last hour, the overhead
lights gleaming on his gold tie pin.  "Something that does not have the
approval of Central Command, I take it?"
     "You take it correctly," Kaede conceded.  "Hear me out, people.
This is strictly off the record, and I know I can count on the discretion of
everyone here."  Mamoru frowned.  This was strange, and by the sudden
tension in the air of the cluttered room, the others agreed.  Still, he
agreed that everyone present could be trusted to keep quiet, save
perhaps Kayasami, but it was the chief's call.
     "Lay it on us, Chief," Yu said quietly.
     "We got hit today," Kaede began, her eyes darkening.  "Bad.  We lost
a lot of our people to this thing.  And by now, you've all heard the news.
Martial law.  Curfews, expanded powers for the police, and the presence
of military personnel on the streets for the duration of the emergency."
     "They are blaming the vampire," Kayasami said in his brusque,
no-nonsense way.  "Do you take issue with the Queen's assessment of
blame, Commander, or with her response?"
     "Gods, Stu," Yu said dryly.  "How tight is your ass, exactly?"
     "That will do," Kaede commanded before the verbal jousting
could begin in earnest.  "To answer your question, Detective, I really
don't have an issue one way or the other.  My issue is with politics."
     "You think the palace decided to cash in on this attack?" Grissi
asked.
     "Sure," Piakesti told them.  "A nice, high profile incident, and a
vampire's to blame.  None of the usual hand-wringing over invocation
of the EMA, and they don't have to admit that they've been chasing
their tails trying to track this bitch."
     "If it helps get the vamp, I could care less," Kaede told them.
"But whatever happens, we are going to be out of the loop.  If Royal
Operations or the expanded task force gets the vamp, we may never find
out the truth of what happened here.  So I have a request to make of all
of you.  This division is under my command.  The people who died here
today, they were my people.  The citizens who were slaughtered, they
were my responsibility.  I cannot just sit back and not know the truth.  I
will not."  She leaned forward, her gray eyes gleaming as she picked
each of them out in turn.  "All of you have come through for me in the
past.  As of now, I am going to put you all on special assignment."
     "I'm already tagged for the vamp task force," Flect spoke up,
her voice deeper than her petite frame would have indicated.  "Mamoru
and Yu as well."
     "I'll take care of that," the chief promised.  "With the EMA in
force, the task force will have as much manpower as it needs."
     "And what do we do, Chief?" Mamoru asked.
     "You, my friends, you hit the streets.  You dig, you ask questions,
you talk to contacts.  You find out the truth.  I want to know who was
behind this.  All that blood, all that destruction, it could very well be on
somebody's hands.  If it was the vamp, then fine.  But I'm an old
campaigner, and I know full well that there are agendas and egos
involved here.  I wish it weren't so, but I have it on good authority that
RO removed something from the main tower earlier."  Mamoru glanced
at Yu, who gave him a poker face in response.  The chief had been
standing next to Blessiruth, but Yu had not been able to get anything out
of the dapper wind-mage.
     "You think the palace will keep us in the dark?" Piakesti
scowled.
     "I think that they'll tell us what they think we need to know,"
Kaede replied heavily.  "But I need to know this.  I can't let it go.  I
won't.  That's why I need you.  There is nothing illegal here, kids, but it
is at least irregular, and if Central finds out there could be repercussions.
If you feel that your time would be better spent assisting the task force, I
won't force the issue.  This is a volunteer gig."
     "I'm in," Yu said simply.  The others, even Kayasami, all
agreed.  The chief smiled gratefully.
     "All right," she said softly.  "Keep in mind, this may lead back
to the vampire.  If it doesn't, it will lead someplace dangerous.  I don't
want any dead heroes.  Meaghan?"
     "Chief?"
     "Dasidan Masters will be out of action for a few days at least.
That means you are in charge of the ETF team.  If this rabble finds
anything, I may need to call on your people for back-up."
     "We'll be ready, Chief," Piakesti promised.  "Count on it.
Whoever did this, they're going to pay."
     "I appreciate this," the chief sighed, shoulders slumping.  "All of
you."
     "Count on us, Chief," Yu told her.  "This is our division, too,
and these are our people.  We'll find out what in the hells went on."
     "Good," Kaede Amagi said with a fierce smile.  "Because when
you do, there is going to be a reckoning like this city has never seen."

***

     I hated this place.
     I hated the weird red light from the moon Mars called
Nemesis.  I hated the bad-ass creatures that lived here.  And I hated
having to be anywhere near Lily or Yurina, or whatever her name
was, and most of all I hated succubuses.  Succubi.  Whatever.
     I glanced back and caught Maia looking at me the way a
starving man would look at a roast.  I didn't much like that look.  I'd
considered trying to find some water and changing into a girl, but
Mars had said that it would be handy to have at least one male if any
incubi attacked.
     Swell.
     If their power was anything like Maia's, we could be in
trouble.  I remembered being knocked to the ground by her.  I
remembered the feel of her against me, a scent that seemed to reach
into the darkest part of my brain, unleashing a raw sexual need I
hadn't known I possessed.  Mostly, I remembered having no control,
not wanting to fight back against her.  That was the creepiest part of
all, seeing all the openings for close-quarters strikes yet being unable
to lift my arms, feeling white-hot need in my belly as she growled in
her throat.
     Okay, I wasn't exactly experienced in the area of sex, but the
memory of that encounter gave me shivers, and not the pleasant kind.
Part of me wanted to kill Maia.  Part of me was afraid that, if I got
that close to her, I wouldn't be able to.
     The memory was unnerving, but there was a part of me that
had liked it, and I think that scared me most of all.
     I forged ahead, scouting our path.  Three times now we'd had
to hide to avoid flying patrols of succubi.  Maia and Yurina had been
thoroughly threatened, but apparently neither of them wanted to be
caught by the Crimson Queen any more than we did, and both were on
their best behaviour.
     Deimos fluttered up to me, landing on my shoulder as I crept
through the deep shadows around a block of buildings.  The ones in
no-man's land had been stone, but as we neared the palace more of
them were made of dark crystal and marble.  I didn't get this whole
thing about the city reflecting Saeni, but I was leaving the spooky stuff
up to the experts.  Just give me something to hit and I'd be happy.
     "V says you're getting too far ahead," Deimos said, clinging
easily to my coat.
     "She worries too much," I said curtly.
     "Hey, tough guy," Deimos snapped.  "The girl is worried
about you.  Try to appreciate it, would you?  It's not her fault you're
upset about that whole succubus thing!
     "I'm not ...!" I began, then bit my tongue.  Hell, truth is I was
still feeling the humiliation of having been so easily bested.  If the
others hadn't come along, I wouldn't have been able to fight her off.
And Deimos was right, there was no sense in taking my frustration out
on everybody else.  But logic was one thing, feelings something else
altogether.  So I shut up, and Deimos sighed.
     "Whoa," she said suddenly, looking ahead.  "What's that?"
     I couldn't tell, not until I got closer.  Then my stomach clenched.
     "Call the others," I said, my mouth dry.  Soon they joined us, Mars
and V first, then the others.  Maia's wrists and wingtips were bound with
Mars' wards, but I still didn't trust her.
     "An arm?" Uranus scowled, looking at the thing in front of me.
     "Yeah, human," I told her.  "Female.  And I think I know
whose.  Recognize that gun?"
     "Jade."  Yurina's voice was quiet, breathy, and when I looked at
her I saw her eyes were wide, her cheeks colourless.  I felt bad in that
moment; I hadn't thought of how seeing this would affect her.  She was
only human, after all, and she'd known this girl, been friends with her
maybe.  Certainly they'd been comrades.  I'd started thinking of her as
the enemy, somehow beneath contempt.  And it was easy, so easy, to
think that way.
     Mars knelt carefully by the severed arm.  The flesh at the shoulder
was ragged, torn, like by teeth or claws.  Not much blood around the
arm; I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad one.
     "Shell casings," Mars noted, looking around.  "Lots of them.  She
emptied the gun, looks like."
     "I didn't know the Sisters used guns," V said, glancing at the
arm and then away.  The fingernails of Jade's hand were still perfect,
long and painted, as if she'd been on her way to a party.  It was eerie,
really, looking at an arm that way, divorced from the person it had
belonged to.  It didn't look real.  But it was.
     "She failed her test," Mars sighed.  "She was a Maiden.  And the
Sisterhood uses whatever tools they can.  But it looks as though having
a gun didn't help Jade."
     "Lady Mars!"  Deimos had been wandering, and now came
winging back at full speed.  More trouble.  Just what we needed.
"Come!  Quickly!"
     We went, Uranus and Pluto keeping the prisoners between them
as the rest of us went ahead.  When we rounded the corner, at first I
wasn't sure what we were looking at.  There were white mounds
scattered across the ground, like huge egg sacs or something.  When we
got closer, I had a flash of deja vu as I spotted a pasty arm jutting from
one of them.
     "What in the hells?" V muttered.
     "Body bags," Uranus told her, frowning as she took in the scene.
"Full.  About fifteen, I'd say."  Some of the bags were split, but they
didn't look as though anything with teeth or claws had been at them.
The one with the arm had split along where the zipper ran along the
side.  Weird.
     "Look at this," V exclaimed, crouching by the end of one of the
bags.  "This tag is marked SPD."
     "From the police morgue?" Pluto mused.  "That makes no
sense.  How did they get here?"
     All eyes turned to Maia, who scowled.
     "Don't look at me!" she snapped.  "I only like live men!  Dead
ones are no damned fun!"
     "Could your Crimson Queen have gone to the human world to
steal bodies?" Mars asked.
     "Sure," Maia shrugged.  "But why bother?"
     "Why indeed?" Pluto mused.  "Perhaps some Shadow beasts
answered the Genosphere's call and brought trophies back with them.
Another mystery, but for now we must concentrate on our plan.  Let's
continue."
     V and Mars headed out, with Deimos as lookout.  I glanced
back, catching Yurina as she looked back over her shoulder in the
direction of what was left of her friend.  Her eyes, usually so composed,
looked sad, and I couldn't help but feel a twinge.  I knew what it was
like to lose friends.
     And what about the others from the alley?  Had Saekianna
ended up as something's lunch?  Yurina had to be wondering that, but
when she turned back so I could see her face her features were carefully
composed again.
     We left the bodies where they lay.  What the hell, they were
already dead, and risking exposure by trying to bury them would have
been stupid.  I did wonder about the attack on the police station, though.
Had some monster taken the bodies and brought them here to eat later?
If so, I didn't want to meet it.  Jade might have, and if so it was probably
not still hungry, but I wasn't willing to take that chance.
     But in my mind's eye I saw another girl, one who'd lay stricken in a
pool of blood, waiting to be eaten by the thing that had chowed down on
my father.  So Jade was one of the Sisterhood.  She'd still been human.
If I met the monster that had killed her, I'd make it pay.  That was how it
was for me.  That was how it was always going to be.  For all the people
the monsters killed.  For all the pain they caused.
     For Akane.
     Forever.
     There was no activity where I was.  I had no idea how many
succubi there were, but from the amount of activity I'd seen they
seemed to mostly live in and around the huge palace with its soaring
crystal spires.  I moved through the clinging shadows and streamers of
mist, keeping my eyes open for succubi or Shadow beasts, but things
remained quiet.
     I caught up to V and Mars huddled at the end of a long narrow
laneway that emptied onto a broad boulevard.  We were leaving the
zone of closely packed buildings, and it looked like we would have to
spend at least some time moving through exposed areas.  Me, I wasn't
too thrilled about that.
     "Ranma," V murmured as I moved up to their position.  "Any
sign of trouble?"
     "No," I admitted.  "But I don't like the feel of this, not at all."
     "You're not the only one," Mars told me as Deimos jumped
over to her mistress's shoulder.  "Pluto is more than a little
concerned, as well."
     "Because traditionally, incubi and succubi were solitary predators,"
V remarked.  "They would haunt areas where they could pick off lone
travellers, or appear in the woods at night to lure the unwary into their
embrace."
     "All this about a Crimson Queen and a Black King is
troubling," Mars added.  "Pluto says she's never heard of either group
forming anything like a court before.  Yet we know that this Crimson
Queen even has her own personal guard.."
     "Yeah, the Velvet Guard," V noted.  "Cute name.  They sound
like a garage band or something."
     "For one succubus to have the power to rule over the others,
though, means there must be more to her than meets the eye," Mars
said grimly.  "Just how much power does she wield?"
     "Don't care," I pointed out.  "I just want to get out of this
place."
     "That's the spirit," V said with a wry smile.  "Unfortunately,
for us to have a chance at escaping, we have to go that way."
     She pointed out across the broad roadway, and I grimaced.
There were what looked like a series of walled estates stretching away
from where we were hiding, but there would only be limited cover
from airborne eyes.  In the real world, there would probably have been
trees and foliage, but I hadn't seen any here yet, just buildings that
nobody lived in and streets that nobody used.
     Creepy.
     Mars sent Deimos to fetch the others to our position, and soon they
arrived, Maia and Yurina still being kept in a cautious cordon by the
two senshi.
     "This is as close as we can get," Mars pointed out.  "From
here we have to pass through a pretty open area.  V?"
     "This will be Willowdan Way," V said, gesturing at the broad
road.  "Our best bet is to cut through that estate there, straight over to
Regal, then follow Regal up to where it intersects Vicintia.  Vicintia is
a smaller, tree-lined ... well, I guess no trees.  But from there it's not
far."
     "What can we expect on the estate grounds?" I asked.  "Any
guards, dogs or whatever?"
     "Nobody lives out here since the last big raid," Maia
answered, trying to catch my eye.  I deliberately turned away to study
the road.  "Too hard to defend.  There shouldn't be any activity at all.
I can't make guarantees about the Shadow beasties, though.  They
sometimes come this close to the palace.  They're a hungry lot, as
you've seen."
     "Okay," I told V, putting the image of that severed arm and those
body bags out of my head.  "I'll go first, jump the wall.  If it's clear I'll
open that little gate there and give you the signal."
     "If it's not?" Mars asked.
     "I'll lead any troublemakers away," I said easily.  This was
more my area of expertise; keep your sex demons and priestesses, just
give me something to fight.  At this point, I'd even take some of those
Shadow beasties.
     "I could go," Deimos pointed out.
     "You might not be able to open that gate," Mars frowned.  "It
looks pretty heavy.  Anyway, there aren't any birds here, so you
wouldn't be completely safe."
     "Oh, there are plenty of things that would eat her in one bite,"
Maia pointed out cheerfully.  Mars glowered.
     "So I'll go," I said again.  "I'm fast, and I can get the gate
open.  The longer we stay here, the more chance that something bad
stumbles across us.  If we end up fighting ghost doggies like before,
the ruckus will draw attention a lot sooner.  We're close enough to see
the towers of the palace, you know."
     There was a general sense of agreement, so I readied myself,
edged to the verge of the lane, then sprinted across the road, trying to
take in everything at once.  The air was cool, without the scents of our
world, and quiet.  I reached the high wall and sprang over neatly,
dropping to a soundless crouch on the other side.
     Nothing.
     The area was deserted.  There was a big main house, a smaller
house behind it, and a couple of sheds or storage buildings.  There
were ornamental pools and such as well, but there didn't appear to be
water in them.
     I waited for a few moments, but nothing moved, and finally I
eased along the base of the wall to the gate.  It wasn't even locked; the
handle turned easily.  I braced myself, expecting a metallic screech
from the long-unused hinges, but when I eased the door open it moved
both silently and easily.  A break.  How about that.
     I took a good look around to ensure that all was still quiet,
then signalled to the others.  The shadows were so deep that, had I not
known they were there, I never would have suspected the laneway was
occupied.  Good news again.
     They began crossing the street, V in the lead, then Mars, Maia,
Uranus, Yurina, and finally Pluto.   Silently I willed them to move
faster.  It would have been so much easier without the prisoners, but
nobody trusted Maia enough to let her go before we were gone from
this place, and her knowledge of the area might still be useful.  And
Yurina?  I had no idea how they were going to convince her that her
people were being used.  The best idea was probably just to show her,
but with Dragon all unhappy and stuff, I wasn't sure another trip to
Aethyr was a good idea anytime in the near future ...
     V was only about twenty feet away when I saw it.  Frantically
I began waving my arms, and when her head came up sharply I
pointed.  Something was moving through the air in the distance, low and
slow but coming our way.  I didn't think we'd been spotted yet, but we
definitely would be if we didn't do something.  V brushed by me at a
dead run, flattening herself against the inside of the high wall.  Mars
was next.  Maia stumbled; her hands were still bound behind her back
by Mars' fancy wards, and the tips of her wings were stuck together as
well.  That was bad, since it looked like she was trying to spread them
to help her balance.  Uranus sped up, grabbing the red-headed
succubus before she could fall and half-carried her through the gate.
     I could see forms now, three of them sailing through the air.
They were still too far away to make out any details, but I thought
they looked female.  Succubi, then.  Hardly unexpected.  Something
was wrong with that picture, though ...
     Aw, shit.
     I increased the urgency of my waving, and Pluto seemed to
sense that there were only seconds now before she was spotted.  She
slung her staff with one hand, speeding up to grab Yurina.  Long legs
flashing, she scooped the girl into her arms and carried her easily across
the intervening space, skidding through the gate and thrusting the girl
against the wall as if she had become red-hot.  Yurina stumbled, then
slid down the wall, giving Pluto a strange look as she did so.  I closed
the gate as much as I dared, then joined the others huddled against the
high wall of dark, smooth stone.  V shot me a look, but I put my finger
against my lips.
     We waited, barely daring to breathe.  There was no sound, no
wind, nothing but the tension that sang in the spaces between our
bodies.  It seemed that we were too close to both Maia and Yurina for
comfort, but both seemed less than inclined to risk capture by trying
anything cute.
     I tried to work out about how long it would take them to reach
our position.  I didn't want to jump the gun; if I popped out to check if
they were gone just a little too soon, we'd have an ugly situation on
our hands.
     As it turned out, though, I needn't have worried about that.
They quite obligingly flew almost directly over us.
     I felt the tension ratcheting up a few notches.  If any of them
looked down, they'd see us.  As it was, they seemed more intent on
checking behind them, which was probably why they hadn't spotted us
on the street.  They continued on, dark hair streaming behind them as
they sailed silently through the crimson light.  I didn't take my eyes
off them until they had flown out of sight.  It was some time after that
before anyone spoke.
     "No wings," Uranus breathed.  "Not succubi?"
     "Those?" Maia spat.  "Hah!  Blood wraiths.  They've been
passing through our territory recently.  Driving the queen mad, I bet."
     "She's not the only one," Mars said darkly.  Then she glanced
at Yurina, and didn't say anything more.
     "That was close," V sighed, taking off her cap and shaking her
hair out.  "Man, what I wouldn't give for a few trees.  This
neighbourhood is lousy with them, you know.  Cover's great."
     "Do you usually classify neighbourhoods by how much cover
they have?" Uranus asked with a raised eyebrow.
     "Come on, people," Pluto said softly.  "We can't stay here.
It's too exposed.  We're committed now."
     "I'll take point," I told them.  Before I could go, however,
Mars gave a soft cry and fell back, bumping Maia.  Maia had no one
to catch her this time; Uranus, Pluto, and V all moved to catch their
fellow senshi, leaving  Maia to fall with an ungainly squawk, nearly
landing in Yurina's lap.
     "Mars, what is it?" V demanded as Deimos leapt into the air
and spread her wings.  It became quickly apparent what was going on,
though, as Mars' shadow shrank and inky tendrils began to writhe
across the girl's pale skin.
     "Ami," Mars gasped.  "She's reaching out ... she ..."
     Mars closed her eyes, and Uranus supported her from one side,
V from the other.  Pluto noticed that I was keeping an eye on our
prisoners, and busied herself with scanning the sky.  As V whispered
urgently to Mars, I noticed something.  When Maia had fallen, her tail
had ended up across Yurina's lap.  That didn't seem to bother Yurina
at all; in fact, as I watched, she took the tail in her hands and began
stroking its length slowly.  Maia stiffened, but made no attempt to pull
away.  Slowly her eyes lidded and a faint flush rose to her cheeks.  She
seemed like a cat getting its ears scratched.  Kind of.  She definitely
enjoyed it, that was for sure.  I couldn't think of a reason to tell
Yurina to stop, but watching was definitely beginning to make me
uncomfortable.
     "Lady Mars!"  Deimos's voice called my attention back, and I
watched as Mars straightened up, smiling gratefully at her fellow
senshi.
     "Sorry," she murmured.  "That took me by surprise."
     "Us, too," V grumbled.  "What's up?"
     "She managed to make contact with me," Mars told us.  "I had
time to let her know where we were heading.  I'm thinking it might
not be a bad idea to have reinforcements waiting when we get back,
just in case."
     I noticed that she said "when", not "if", we got back.
Optimism really was a grand thing.  I also noticed that Maia had
moved her tail, though she still looked like she might start purring at
any second.
     "You told them to be careful, right?" V asked, more sharply
than she should have.  I was beginning to have a very bad feeling
about this place we were going to.
     "They aren't going to enter the estate, if that's what you
mean," Mars replied, looking puzzled.  "Relax."
     "I'll relax when we're out of this place," V grumbled, walking
away a short distance.
     "Hey, folks," Uranus muttered, looking up at the bloated
crimson moon high overhead.  "Time's wasting.  Let's get this show
on the road, shall we?"
     I took the point again.  Not only did we have to look out for
succubi, incubi, and Shadow creatures, now the vampire's wraiths
were here, too.
     I was with V on this one.  The sooner we got the hell out, the
better.  Our luck had held so far, but it was bound to run out sooner or
later.
     Hopefully much, much later.

***

     Ami shook her head.  The dark, erotic sensations had returned in
force, burning sweetly within her flesh, and she swallowed hard as she
fought to rein them in.
     "So?" Hotaru asked.  Ami took in the sight of Usagi and Hotaru
standing side by side, and she was struck again by how easy they
seemed in each other's presence now.  Just how Usagi could have
managed such a thing she did not know.  Ami had no talent for talking
to people, for healing their hurts and drawing out their light.  That was
pure Usagi.
     She was glad, though, that the princess had gotten through to
Hotaru.  Judging by the look on Michiru's face, she shared Ami's
feeling on that matter.
     "They have a plan," Ami told them, forcing herself to
concentrate as she walked out of the Aethyr port.  The fey desire burned
fitfully, but if Ami concentrated she could keep it under control.  Still,
what would she do if it refused to subside on its own?
     "A plan?" Hotaru asked, a tiny frown gracing her lips.  "What
sort of plan?"
     "I was only able to get a little of it," Ami confessed.  "But
apparently, they think they can cross some sort of bridge to an estate in
Highview.  I have the address."
     "Why would there be a bridge to Shadow Realm in an estate in
Highview?" Michiru asked.
     "That I don't know," Ami told them.  "But Rei wanted to have
us nearby in case there was trouble."
     "Then nearby we shall be," Hotaru said simply.  "We'll take
two cars.  Come on, ladies."
     Hotaru seemed pleased at the prospect of getting the others back,
but as Ami followed them upstairs, worry gnawed at her.  Rei had made
reference to prisoners, Sisterhood no doubt.  And Ami had sensed Rei's
mental state; the priestess was worried as well.
     "Ami?" Usagi murmured.  "Everything okay?"
     "I'll feel better when the others are back with us," Ami told her.
"What about Makoto?  Should we bring her?"
     "Yoshi seems to be doing okay," Usagi smiled.  "Artemis and
Luna can watch him.  We should all be there when the others return, in
case they need help."
     Ami nodded.  As it turned out, they met Makoto at the top of the
stairs.
     "We've got a lead!" Usagi crowed.  "We're going to get the
others!  Come on, Mako-chan!
     "Get them?" Makoto asked, frowning.  "From Shadow?"
     "From where they're going to cross!" Usagi beamed.
     "They indicated that there might be trouble," Ami added.  The
look in Makoto's eyes at that chilled Ami; the girl obviously thought
that trouble meant the Sisterhood, and Ami recalled her friend's voice as
she'd shrieked Lily's name.  What would they do if one of the prisoners
was that girl?
     "Trouble, huh?" Makoto said softly.
     "Artemis and Luna will take good care of him, Mako-chan,"
Usagi told her, touching the girl lightly on the arm.
     "He's awake, Princess," Makoto replied with a tired smile.  "It's
okay.  I'll get ready."
     Ami watched Makoto walk away, frowning.  Now that Yoshi
was out of danger, Makoto was going to want revenge on the
Sisterhood.  That was likely to cause another clash between her and Rei.
     "Ami," Usagi said, startling the girl out of her reverie.  "Don't
look so worried.  Everything is going to be okay now."
     Ami wasn't so sure, but she didn't want to worry her princess.
"I'm sure you're right," was all she said.

***

     Things started going wrong pretty much as soon as our
objective was in sight.
     "You're sure that's it?" I asked again.
     "I'm sure," V muttered, staring disconsolately at the ruins.
We stood ranked before the tumbled remains of the outer wall, staring
at the heaps of dark stone and crystal.  The main house was nothing
more than a big pile of crap, and according to V the circle we were
looking for had been in the basement.  So, unless we wanted to spend
some time digging, it looked like our escape hatch was a no-go.
     "So now what?" Uranus wanted to know.  "We can't get
back?"
     "Not this way," Mars sighed.
     "So unless we want to break into the palace, we're stuck?" V
asked.
     "You don't want to break into the palace," Maia said, looking
a bit panicked.  "Seriously.  That's crazy talk."
     "Well, we don't want to stay here," Mars began.  I cocked my
head.
     "Hey," I said.
     "We should get off this street," Pluto stated, looking around.
     "Hey," I repeated, a little louder.  "Anyone else hear that?"
     That got their attention.  Everyone fell silent, and the faint
sounds began to get louder.
     "Everybody move!" Uranus instructed, but it was too late.
Four succubi came soaring over head at high speed, and they spotted
us, quickly circling back.  One raised a gleaming metal curlicue to her
lips and blew, producing a loud, piercing wail.
     We ran towards the crumbled wall.  It would provide at least
some shelter from aerial attack.  As I looked up, though, I saw that
more were already on the way.  It turned out that they were chasing
something, and the ones above us scattered as a winged figure
swooped down, coming to a stop in the air above where we were
sheltering.
     So this was an incubus.  He was a big boy, all right; heavily
muscled but not too bulky.  His skin was pale, his long hair the same
black as his wings, and a pair of horns protruded from his forehead,
curling back like a ram's.  He was wearing what looked like a
loincloth and a loose vest, and some jewellery, but nothing else.  From
his vantage point he looked down at our group, pretty much dismissing
me as his black eyes flicked from one woman to the next with obvious
hunger.
     "So," he said.  Next to me, V shivered for no reason I could
see.  "Maybe this is my lucky day after all."
     "Forget it!" one of the flying succubi sneered.  There were
now at least a dozen in the air over us, all milling around.  Their
agility in the air would make them difficult to hit, that much was
clear.
     "The only place you're going," another added, tossing her
blonde hair smartly, "is to the foot of the queen's throne.  In chains,
intruder."
     "These morsels are all ours," added yet another flying beauty
with short, spiky dark hair.  This one carried a whip in one hand and
what looked like a weighted net in the other, and I realized that all of
the succubi were armed.  The incubus wasn't, but he didn't seem
worried.  In fact, he looked to be having the time of his life.
     "Come now!" he shouted with dark humour.  "So many of
you to catch one incubus?  Clearly you acknowledge my abilities,
ladies!  So I tell you what.  I'll just take two of the girls.  You keep
the others, plus the boy, and the captive, of course."
     "Maia," one of them hissed, her golden eyes picking our
unwilling guest out from the group.  "Well, our queen will be pleased.
We will feast tonight, my sisters.  I care not what happens to this oaf,
but I want the humans alive and unharmed.  And the boy," she added,
staring down at me, "is mine."
     "Let me go," Maia said urgently.  "I'll fight with you."
     "I don't trust you any farther than I could spit you!" V
snapped as the succubi traded insults with the lone incubus.  He was
right about one thing; they were in no hurry to charge him.  Waiting
for reinforcements?
     "If they catch me, it's a slow and very painful death," Maia
insisted.  "You don't have to trust me to know I'll fight them!"
     "Or turn on us," Uranus said darkly.
     "We can't just stay here and fight," I interrupted.  "They'll be
sending more troops.  We need to escape and find someplace to hole
up."
     And then it was too late for talking.  Shrieks filled the air as
the succubi suddenly dove, some heading for the incubus, others for
us.  V's beam lanced up into the air, flame following, and the succubi
abruptly pulled back.  The incubus merely laughed and took off over
the buildings with four of them in pursuit.  That left only eight for us,
but even as I had that thought I saw a large group fly in from the
direction of the palace.
     Damn.  More every second.  If we tried to run, they'd have a
free shot at us.  And we had no place to run to.  A plan would
definitely be good.  Definitely.
     Maia was still whining, promising to be good and fight for us,
but nobody was listening.  Frankly, I was all for cutting her loose.  I
didn't like having her around, and if she ran like I figured she would,
at least some of them might chase her.
     Now the groups were breaking up, the succubi whooping and
shrieking with maniacal glee as they soared through the air.  There
were enough of them now that it was hard to keep track, which was no
doubt the plan.
     "Well?" Uranus asked, watching the milling creatures
carefully.
     "We try to take them all out," Pluto replied, gripping her staff.
"That's they only option I see."
     One of the winged furies suddenly dropped towards us,
veering off at the last moment.  She had been a decoy for two others
who had swooped in while she held our attention, and Pluto and V
shot at them but missed.
     The little vixens were good.  They must have been used to
hunting prey on the ground.  And now even more were appearing to
join the fray.  This was going to get hairy.
     For the next few minutes they harassed us, swooping down to
try and draw fire.  I was pretty sure they were just sussing out our
defences; we were in a pretty good spot, but we couldn't hold out
forever.  I racked my brain trying to think of a plan.  The best I could
come up with was to split up into pairs and try to make a break for the
tangle of no-man's land, where we'd first appeared.  Of course, that
would leave Maia and Yurina to fend for themselves; Maia I wasn't
worried about, but Yurina was still human, no matter what she'd
done.  I wasn't going to be leaving her for the monsters.
     Two succubi swooped down low in front of us, shouting cat-
calls, and as Mars tried to hit one something came spinning in from
another angle.  It was one of those weighted nets, and as it hit her the
weights whipped around, wrapping the mesh tightly around her body.
She fell, and as V tried to run to her a long whip snared her arm,
nearly pulling her up into the air.  I sprang, tackling her to the ground
and pulling the whip loose as Uranus drove the culprit back, but now
they were closing from all sides, nets and whips falling in an attempt
to tangle us up.  I hauled V to her feet and we started flinging energy
into the sky as Pluto tried in vain to loosen the net from around a
struggling Mars.  I noticed Deimos right in there, trying to pry the
strands away from her mistress's body to no avail.
     "Pluto!" V shouted.  "Switch with me!"  Pluto was standing
near me seconds later, dark energy erupting from her staff as V knelt
and used her tightly focussed beam to cut at the net.
     Another net spun down at us, only to be shredded by Uranus's
attack, but still they came on, a storm of them coming from every
direction.  Something blurred by me, and I saw Maia, free from her
bonds, flying up into the fray.  A glance back showed Yurina
crouched near where Maia had been.  When she saw me, she smiled
and waved her sharp nails languidly.
     "Oh, I suppose now I am really in trouble," she sighed becomingly.
Well, she had a point.  Things weren't going to go particularly
swimmingly for her no matter what happened.
     And Maia was actually fighting, wresting a long pike from one
of the attackers and wounding her with it before swiping at another.
Mars was free now, but as she stood a succubus dropped nearly on top
of her.  V caught the attacker