by Chris Davies
Episode 103:Hearthief
Raye knocked at the door of Serena's appartment. "It's open!" Serena's muffled voice announced.
Stifling her inclination to upbraid Serena for leaving the door unlocked, Raye stepped inside. Luna was lying in the sunlight, apparently deep asleep. Probably got no sleep at all last night, what with Serena twisting and turning ... Raye thought with a smile. "Where are you?" she asked aloud.
"In the bathroom, just a minute!" Serena announced. A moment later, she strolled out in her pink kimono with a bunny head on the left breast.
"For goodness sake, Serena, it's ten in the morning and you're not dressed yet?" Raye exclaimed. "Did you just get out of bed?"
"No, I've been up for ... nearly an hour and a half. Did my cartoon, see?" She picked it up from the drafting table she'd purchased with her first paycheque, and displayed it. The figure representing the anime industry looked just a little too much like Raye to be a coincidence. "After that, I decided to do some experimentation."
"Huh?"
"Just a minute, I'll show you." Serena dashed back into the bathroom, and came out carrying ...
Her sailor fuku.
Raye stared at it for a few seconds, blinking. Then she looked up. "How did you ..."
"Just transformed, and then squeezed it off ... a tight squeeze, but ..."
"Wait a minute. You mean you're Sailor Moon? I mean, NOW?"
"Yeah! Couldn't you tell? I'm about an inch taller this way ..."
"Why?" Raye demanded. "Should you really be turning into Sailor Moon for no reason at all?"
"I had a reason!" Serena protested. "I was curious about this suit!"
"Okay ... whatever," Raye sighed. Being patient with her was just as hard as it had been in the old days. "What did your experimentation find out."
"Watch and be amazed," Serena said. She picked up a butcher knife, and without warning, stabbed the fuku repeatedly.
"HEY!" Raye shouted.
Serena calmly held up the fuku, and demonstrated that her stabs had had no effect on it whatsoever. "Cool, ne?"
Raye's mouth dropped open. "But how?"
"I dunno. But think about it ... how often did all those youma back then throw attacks that threw up a lot of shrapnel? Why didn't we get cut to ribbons?"
"Because of the suits?" Raye guessed.
"Right! Amy could give you a more scientific explanation, but ... we don't know where she is ..." Serena's smile twisted for just a moment. Raye pretended not to notice it.
"The suits will stop anything sharp from getting to us, then?"
"I dunno about that ... if something sharp was shot at us with a lot more force than I've got, or something very strong with claws came at it ... I'd get the heck out of the way."
"Well, this is very interesting, Serena, but didn't you tell me that you wanted to go out for coffee when you dropped off your cartoon, after you `introduced' me to Molly?"
"Oh yeah! It's just that this is SO interesting. Oh well, time for more experiments later." She undid the belt of the kimono, and let it drop to the floor.
"ACK! Serena!"
"What's the matter?" she asked as she started to pull herself into the fuku, feet going into the neck hole first. "It's not like you've never seen me naked, Raye."
"The window is wide open! Have you no modesty?! To say nothing of concern for your secret identity?"
"Raye, get a grip," Serena sighed as she pulled the suit up her legs, holding the neck wide enough that she could squeeze it past her hips. "If some hentai is watching me, he's seeing me squeeze into a uniform just like the Hallowe'en costumes of the Sailor Scouts that were popular a few years ago. That's it. If you like, I'll close the blinds, but that'll annoy Luna."
"I'm almost done my little nap anyway, Serena," Luna yawned. Of course, listening to the two of you did nothing to extend its duration ...
Serena pulled the neck of the uniform up to her own neck, and squeezed her arms through the sleeves. "There!" she said triumphantly. And then her form shifted, and she was wearing an ordinary pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a picture of the Superdimensional Fortress Macross on it.
"Oh, and how would your hypothetical hentai account for that, Ms. Flasher? Perhaps he'd think you're really Cutey Honey?"
"RAAAAYE," Serena whined. "Lighten up!"
They went out of the appartment, still arguing. Luna arched her back, and smiled a quiet feline smile. Serena hadn't been this happy in ... seven years. Neither, from what she'd gathered from Raye's comments, had the firey priestess ... no, wait, EX-priestess.
Luna padded over to Serena's small television set, and pressed the power button on the remote control. Perhaps there'd be some clue as to what the enemy -- assuming, of course, that the two youma the Sailor Scouts had dealt with thus far were in fact part of a conspiracy, like the Dark Kingdom had been -- was up to in todays news ...
"In a stunning and tragic development, we are forced to report that the mysterious fighter of justice, Sailor Moon, has descended into the penumbra of criminality, robbing a jewelry store last night at about eleven o'clock ..."
WHAT IN THE SATURNIAN HELLS?
* * *
Molly was very pleased with the cartoon, and was also visibly glad to see that Serena was making friends ... but she had no memory of ever having met Raye, while Serena was certain that she had introduced them to each other long ago.
For only a moment, Serena was tempted to use the Mnemonic gadget to restore Molly's memories ... but then ...
(... seeing a monster wearing her mother's face trying to choke the life out of her ...)
(... being used as an energy source for the Dark Kingdom so often that her mother had been afraid that she'd been developing leukemia ...)
(... Nephrite fading away in her arms, as she wept and screamed to heaven ...)
... Serena thought better of it. Molly was happy just the way she was.
She suddenly realized that while she'd been half-listening to Molly's latest story about Melvin's adventures on the Internet (something about how his otaku web pages had become so popular that they'd been translated into English ...), Raye had stepped out of the office.
She was walking towards Darien's desk, where he was in the middle of a phone conversation. Serena made a shushing gesture at Molly.
"What's the matter?" Molly whispered.
"I'll let you know in a minute ..."
Over the buzz of the newsroom, Serena couldn't hear what Darien was saying on the phone. She saw him stop talking when he realized that Raye was staring at him, put a hand over the mouth piece, and saw his lips move. She could read lips just well enough to see that he said, "Can I help you?" There was no recognition on his face.
She saw Raye shake her head, and start walking out of the newsroom. For only half-a-second, she found herself wanting Darien to get up and go after her, as he had done for her a few weeks ago ... but it passed.
"Uh, listen, Molly, I've got a lot of stuff to do this afternoon, so I guess I'd better get cracking, right? Gotta go!" Then she dashed off.
She passed Darien, only barely hearing him say, "Hey, Serena ... I've got these passes to a movie and ..."
"Later, Muffin."
Darien, his jaw dropped, watched her speed out of the room, hot on the trail of that dark-eyed girl ... Molly came out of her office, and stood by his desk. "Is it just me," Darien asked slowly, "or is she getting weirder?" "It ain't just you ..." She caught up to Raye at the elevator. Raye was standing stock still, her eyes closed. Serena whispered her name. "Well ... that settles that ..." Raye said quietly. "I'd hoped that you were wrong, that he'd remember SOMETHING ... that I ... oh, hell." "I'm sorry, Raye ..." "Don't be. Not your fault." The elevator door slid open. "I'm really not in any kind of a state for coffee, Serena. See you later, okay?" "Right," Serena said, and watched her step into the elevator. She thought she could see the tears begin to fall from Raye's eyes as the door closed. Oh hell indeed. Serena walked back into the newsroom, hoping to apologize to Darien for having been so brusque, and saw that everyone was crowded around the television monitor, watching the news in dead silence. "... police have no clues as to the wherabouts of the mysterious crime-fighter turned criminal mastermind, but all citizens are warned to be on the look-out for Sailor Moon ..." WHAAAAAAAAAT? She stepped up to Molly, and whispered, "What's going on?" "Sailor Moon has gone bad!" Molly answered, sounding almost as incredulous as Serena felt. "She robbed two banks last night, threatening to blast the tellers with her tiara if they didn't give her all their money. I don't believe this! Serena ..." She was gone again. * * * "LUUUUUNAAAAA!" Serena screeched as she burst into her appartment. "I take it you saw the news?" the black cat asked, a worried expression on her face. "What was I doing at eleven o'clock last night?!!!" "You were, unless I miss my guess, engaged in an erotic dream about Darien, judging by all the moans you were making ..." "Right! I mean, sorta right, but it wasn't an erotic ... but anyway, there's NO WAY I could have been robbing a bank last night, right?" "None. But I think I know who was ..." "Huh?" Luna produced a photograph. "I took that shot with my Lunarcam when I saw it on the televeision. It's an artist's composite of what the "Sailor Moon" who robbed the banks looked like." Serena stared at it for several seconds, her jaw working soundlessly. "No ..." she whispered, "... it just can't be, Luna, please, please, tell me this is some Negascumbag in disguise ..." "No, Serena," Luna said, and there were tears in her eyes. "We know where Mina is now. She's pretending to be you." * * * "How intriguing," said the Mastermind, watching the news item about Sailor Moon. "Lackey." "Yes, master?" "Bring me the three youma we have who have been trained as professional hitmen. I have an assignment for them." If this is truly you, Serena Tsukino ... you will pay for what you did to us. * * * Serena hadn't said a word to Raye since they'd transformed, after having made plans to track down Mina ... if it was her. The silence was beginning to wear on her nerves. Serena was supposed to be bubbly and full of spirit, not this taciturn, grim sentinel. "Come on, Serena, talk to me!" Raye finally burst, as they ran across the rooftops of Tokyo. "I ... I've got nothing to say, Raye," Serena muttered. "Long one this time." They leaped as one across the chasm between buildings. "Not so long. And I know you're upset about Mina! Dammit, I don't know what to make of this either, but you don't see me going into a shell over it! Watch the edge, it looks crumbly." It was, but they jumped in time to avoid the fall. "Thanks. You don't have to worry about what I'm going to do when we catch her! We've got to turn her into the police, to clear my name ... but it's MINA! We can't just throw her to the wolves!" They paused, resting for a moment. "The Tokyo Police are not exactly WOLVES, Serena. And she has been doing all those crimes ..." "But WHY? I mean, she worked with Interpol when she was in England! I don't understand why she'd start robbing banks!" "We can ask her when we find her. But ..." Serena's communicator beeped. "Yes, Luna?" she answered. "I've found her. Repeat. I've found her." "Heard you the first time, where are you?!" "A few blocks from the Starlight Tower. Hurry, Serena, she's being chased by some very dangerous looking people!" "Huh?" "Just get here, now!" * * * She didn't know who these bruisers were, or what they wanted -- they didn't look like yakuza, actually they looked a lot MEANER than the yaks she'd run up against over the years -- and she didn't want to have to deal with them. So she ran. The Starlight Tower was almost finished the reconstruction it had been put through over the last seven years, ever since that weird night ... it would be the perfect place to hide. Or not, she realized when they finally found her. * * * They had been slowed down incredibly by Serena's stubborn insistence that they should take the stairs. It was very frustrating, but she insisted that she'd had enough of the elevators in this particular building for one lifetime ... Luna led them up to the twenty-fifth floor. The repairs weren't done yet here, and so they were able to find a place to hide and observe. The man in the business suit was holding Mina -- at this range, there could be no mistake, even if she had grown her hair into an imitation of Serena's pony-tails, and was wearing an obviously store-bought imitation sailor fuku -- by the neck. Three similar, in fact damn near identical men were standing behind him. "Look, you guys," she croaked out, "if this is about the money, you can have it! Just take ..." "Oh no, Sailor Moon, this isn't about money. This is about revenge." "Wha--? I'm not Sailor Moon, this is just a ..." "Give it a rest, Serena Tsukino." Only Raye's quick reflexes in slapping a hand over Serena's mouth prevented her from letting out a gasp of stunned horror at the man's words. "Uggh -- there's been some sort of a mistake ..." Mina continued, looking like she was on the edge of panic. "Yeah, and you made it when you did whatever got the Mastermind so steamed at you. But hey -- that's the biz, sweetheart!" "Yes, and the biz is booming!" Serena shouted, coming to her feet suddenly. "Huh? Who the hell ..." "How dare you abuse even one who is illegally using my image for her own twisted self-gratification?!" Hoo boy, here we go again with the speeches, Raye sighed silently. "I won't permit you to beat up on even a fake Sailor Moon! I am the REAL warrior of love and justice, Sailor Moon! In the name of the moon, I will right wrongs and triumph over evil! And that means you!" "Likewise, Sailor Mars!" Raye popped up. "Are you ready to rumble?" The one who had been holding Mina dropped her. "Well, boys, time to go to plan Y." And they exploded. Each of them shot up three feet in height, with an additional pair of arms shooting out of their sides. Their noses flattened, and their skin turned an olive green. "Y standing for Youma, I guess ..." Sailor Moon muttered. "After you, Princess Kitana," Sailor Mars gestured. It took her a second to get the joke, but when she did, she couldn't help smiling. "No, no, after you, Agent Blade." They launched into the fight, and Serena flung her tiara, swiftly destroying one of the youma, and closing into hand to hand range with the other. The youma swiftly covered his groin area with one set of his hands, smirking as he did so. "We're wise to your tricks!" he snorted. So she popped him one in the nose instead, and slammed her ankle into his stomach, knocking him back into Raye's line of fire. "Mars ... Fire ... IGNITE!" Ashes to ashes. She turned to give Raye a quick thumbs up, and then shouted, "Behind you!" Raye felt the arms of the youma grab her and lock her into a choke hold. "Okay, Sailor-Brat!" he snarled. "Unless you want to see your friend here turn a very lovely blue that won't go at all well with her little red dress, you're gonna turn back to normal, and surrender, capisc?" "Pardon?" "What?" "Capisc? I don't know what that means. What are you saying?" The youma looked to the ceiling. "Oh for crying out loud ..." Looking to the ceiling meant he couldn't see her fling her tiara, swinging it around so that it was coming at his back. He howled when it hit, releasing Raye from the hold so that she tumbled to the ground. "This is where you disintegrate," Serena said informatively, "capisc?" And it did. Moondusted, she thought with a thin smile. Serena noticed that Mina was slowly backing towards a door. "Wait!" Serena called out. "I want to talk to you!" Mina turned and ran out the door. Serena turned a quick look to Raye. "I'm okay," she gasped. "Just need a few minutes to get my wind back ..." "Luna, stay with Raye!" Serena shouted as she dashed off in pursuit of Mina. The door led to another stairwell, and Serena could hear Mina racing up the steps. Following, Serena guessed that she was about four floors beneath her when the footsteps stopped and a door slammed. When she got up to the floor, the door proved to be barred from the other side. "Okay, Mina, that's the way you wanna play this ... Moon Tiara Magic!" The door exploded outwards. Beyond was a section of the building that was even less finished construction ... only a few girders and scaffolding. Mina was backing away from Serena. "Keep the hell away from me ..." she said in a low, dangerous tone. "I just wanna talk to you ..." "Yeah? Well I don't wanna talk to you! Don't come one step closer!" "Or what, you'll blast me with your tiara?" Serena asked, smirking. Mina swallowed. "Or I'll jump. That's what." Serena was stunned. "You're not serious." "Damn straight I'm serious! I saw you kill those guys, and I ain't gonna let you ace me!" "Those weren't real humans, they were monsters ... please, Mina, I won't hurt you ..." "How do you know my name?" she shouted, backing up further. "Mina, it's okay, everything is gonna be ... MINA WATCH OUT!" Mina didn't see the coil of rope that was behind her on the beam. She stumbled when her boot heel came down on it, and with a sudden hoarse cry she tumbled off the roof. "NO!" Serena cried, and faster than she'd ever moved in her life, she grabbed the rope and dove after her. Mina was helplessly flailing on her way down, while Serena was in a more aerodynamic dive. Serena zipped past her, then spread out to slow the fall, and caught Mina's tumbling form. "Relax!" Serena cried. "I've got you!" "You've got me?!" Mina shrieked. "WHO'S GOT YOU?!" It occured to Serena that she hadn't checked to see if the rope was attached to anything. Looking up, she saw the end of it slip off the beam and start to follow them downwards. "I'm sorry, Mina," she whispered, and closed her eyes, hoping that it wouldn't hurt too much ... She felt strong, gentle arms take hold of her, and her fall stopped. She could feel herself moving upwards. This wasn't how dying had felt before, there had been that bright light, and that kind, gentle voice and ... Serena opened her eyes, and realized that she was in the arms of a man wearing a white costume, and a mask that hid the lower two thirds of his face. His eyes were a deep, lustrous blue that were very familiar ... his arms cradled her like a very small child ... And then they were on the beam once more ... he helped her to put her feet back down, and also get Mina out of her own arms (wheron she promptly grabbed a vertical beam and began hyperventillating), before stepping back. "Who ... who are you?" "I," he said, in a deep, passionate timbre, "am the Moonlight Knight. Whenever your need is most dire, Sailor Moon, I shall ever be by your side. Until next time, adieu ..." And he leapt off the beam, vanishing into the shadows. "Darien?" she whispered. There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and Raye and Luna came through the door. "What happened?" Raye demanded, breathlessly. "Not much," Serena said, feeling a little giddy. "Mina?" Raye asked. "Stay the HELL away from me!" Mina ordered. "You people are FRIGGING CRAZY!" "Yeah, it's her," Raye grunted. "She always did have a gutter mouth." "Luna, would you mind doing the honors?" Serena asked, as the euphoria of what she'd just been through began to wear off. "Mina, look at me," Luna said patiently. Mina swiveled around, and stared at the black cat for several moments. "Oh crap, I've flipped. I'm outta my bloody head. Talking cat. Oh man. Oh crap. Oh ..." "REMEMBER!" And she did. Quietly holding in her grief, wondering if the fact that the Princess could cry meant that she felt more for the fallen than she did. Seeing the red glow under the ice. No TIME. Shoving ... feeling it slam into her torso! Hearing her offer up the crystal, screaming a curse, being dragged into the darkness. Then ... trying very hard not to think about what they were doing to her lower body ... mustering all that she had, knowing that it would mean her end ... CRESCENT BEAM! Then being very far away from anything else ... being drawn back, once more, to give what she could ... then reborn. Never knowing. Until ... And that was when the link between Luna and Mina went berserk. For unlike Serena, there was no single point that divided where Mina's memories of her life as Sailor Venus ended and those of the life she'd led over the last seven years began. All Luna could do was let out a stunned caterwaul as Mina's mind became an open book to her. Lonely, but trying to convince herself that she didn't need friends, that her studies and hobbies were enough. Riding the train one day, noticing a white cat with a strange birthmark staring at her with a look of obscure pain. The cat opening its mouth to let out a meow ... and an ugly man kicking it! The half-formed meow sounding much like a word ... rememb ... and ... and ... memories. Things she'd never done, things she'd never wanted to do. Running across rooftops by night ... fighting. Killing. Something wrong in her head, all these thoughts. The wrongness affecting her schoolwork, her family life. Leaving home in anger at seventeen. Drifting into petty thievery to pay expenses, and ultimately for the thrill of beating another in a contest of wits. Seeing a report about the return of ... what a load of malarkey! Anyone could do that ... anyone ... hunting for the disguise, and beginning ... With a mighty effort, Luna separated her psyche from Mina's. Had she "ridden" her any further, she would have begun reading her mind far more intimately than was decent or proper ... and there was no guarantee that she would ever escape ... "Luna?" Serena's nervous voice intruded into her consciousness. "Luna! What happenned?" "Mina?" Raye said, slowly approaching the falsely attired Sailor Scout. "Are you okay?" She looked up through tear-filled eyes. "Raye?" she whispered, hoarsely. "Serena?" And then, she began to sob. "Oh god. Oh god, what've I done?" * * * "It's my fault ..." Luna sighed. "No, it's not ..." Mina insisted. They had gathered in Serena's appartment. Mina had changed clothes to a more "normal" outfit, and removed the fake braids from her now short-cropped hair. Her eyes were red and puffy from her intense tears a few hours ago. "Please, Mina, let me tell it my way -- I know the whole story better than you do." "Okay, what happened?" Serena said, almost pleading. Neither of them had given any indication of what had gone on during their mind-meld, and she was going crazy with worry. Luna took a deep breath. "Four years ago, Mina disappeared. Artemis, needless to say, wanted to find her, and he tried to get me to come looking for her as well. I accompanied him a few times, but watching after Serena was a full-time job, and I eventually wound up persuading him to just give up. Around the same time, Artemis began to insist that we should give you back your memories. I didn't see a connection. I do now. "Artemis had tried to give Mina back her memories, and had only partially succeeded in removing the blocks Serena's wish had set up. It was like ..." she struggled for a metaphor "... like just unlocking a door, without removing the safety bolt. You can look through, but nothing on the other side can come through. "So here we have Mina with only bits and pieces of her memories back, going slightly crazy from remembering things that couldn't have happened. And I, like a fool, didn't help Artemis enough to find her so that we could have given her the treatment she needed." Luna bowed her head. "Luna, your summary neglects one major thing," Mina interjected. "Nothing in my memories would have led me to become a criminal. That was MY choice. I screwed up my life, not Artemis, not you." "Come on, Mina, it's not that bad, is it?" Serena asked. "Not THAT BAD?" Mina burst. "Serena, I was a crook! I did things that turn my stomach to get by! I did things that ... do you have any idea what it's like to have done things you can NEVER forgive yourself for?" Serena was silent, feeling Mina's pain, but ... "Maybe she doesn't, Mina," Raye said quietly, "but I do." "What?" "Just take my word on this one, whatever you did ... it's not so terribly bad. You can make amends by being Sailor Venus ..." "No, dammit, I can't! I won't be Sailor Venus until I've made amends for what I've done. Sailor Venus upholds the law ... I broke it. I have to pay." "Are you gonna turn yourself in to the police?" Serena asked worriedly. "What, you think I'm nuts?!" Mina asked. "I'm going to make amends ... a different way. I don't know how, but I will." She stood up. "And I think I'd better be getting started on it. I ... I'll be in touch, if I ... need help." She turned to go. "Mina." Raye's voice was like a block of granite. "I meant what I said earlier. I have also done things I can never forgive myself for. If you need to talk ..." "I'll call you," Mina said, and walked out the door. Raye turned to look at Serena, who was staring down into her cocoa. "Are you okay?" She looked up, startled. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" "Don't give me that, Serena. Maybe you can't always tell when I lie to you, but I CAN tell when you're not telling the truth. Now, are you upset over ..." "... the fact that when those youma thought Mina was Sailor Moon, they called her by my name? Nope! I think ... I really, really think we misheard them. They said something like ... like "Marina Sukninobo". Not my name." Raye stared at her. "Your eyes oughta be turning brown." "YES, OF COURSE I'M UPSET OVER THAT! GOD, I'M FRICKING TERRIFIED!" Raye grabbed her, and held her tightly as Serena burst into tears. "They know who I am," she sobbed. "They can get me anytime. Any ... and they might know who YOU are, too. Oh god. That ... that agent of yours ... he was a youma ..." "What are you saying?" Raye asked, knowing exactly what she was saying. "They might have been screwing with our lives ..." Luna looked up, and thought of the ugly man who had kicked Artemis. "Oh, Lords of the Highest Heaven ... Serena, I think you're right." "Oh boy are we in trouble ..." Raye muttered. "Which means ... they could be after Amy and Lita, too!" The three of them sat, quietly, holding onto each other as if they were the only firm points in the crazy, unstable world they'd been catapulted into. * * * Elsewhere, the Mastermind recieved a report from the Lackey. "So. The false Sailor Moon was seen leaving Surveillance Point Omega, having shorn her disguise, some hours after the assassin squad were annihilated by the real Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars. How intriguing." The Mastermind's thoughts were racing. Why would Tsukino allow someone who clearly knows her secret identity to go free? Were I her ... a loathsome thought, to be sure ... I would have either had the impersonator mindblanked or slain. The only concievable explanation is that ... "Check the information we have about the false Sailor Moon against that we have on the other Sailor Scouts. Then find her. I want to have a discussion with the one who would take on our adversary's likeness ..." The End Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi and brought to North America by DIC. The preceding story, while incorporating aspects of this motion picture which are held under copyright by others, is copyright 1996 by Chris Davies. Nobody Sue Me Okay?
(For Now)