“Thank you, Trish,” said Amai, bustling into the kitchen and depositing the bags on the counter. “I just couldn’t reach my keys with all that.”

    “Was nothing,” mumbled Trish, returning to her seat. “Just doing homework.”

    “Oh!” cried Amai and looked around. “Almost forgot...”

    She shoved the last bag away from the counter’s edge and hurried back out to the porch. Amai returned a moment later with a white envelope in her hand and a sly grin on her face.

    “Somebody left this on the doorstep,” she said, waving the square of white in front of her face. “It’s addressed to a certain Trish Conti. Several times.”

    Amai giggled and handed the envelope to Trish, whose stomach had just decided to freeze over. She swallowed conscientiously and stared at the letter for a few seconds before giving the kitchen a quick scan for any malevolent shadows.

    “Well, aren’t you going to open it?” asked Amai sweetly, busying herself with putting away the groceries.

    Trish did not answer. She was still too engrossed in staring at her name on the envelope. Written three times over. Once in hiragana, once in katakana, and once in western letters. If she had not feared what lay inside, Trish probably would have found this amusing. As things were, she ripped open the top of the envelope as soon as the name sunk in.

    It only occurred to her a second afterwards that there might be some sort of deadly bacteria or virus contained within it. Her midriff did a somersault as she held the envelope away from her body, wondering if she was too late. Amai paused in her work to give her exchange student a raised eyebrow.

    “Are you afraid he poisoned it?” asked Amai, attempting a mock-serious look. “Might as well open it. The post service is pretty efficient at scanning mail these days, you know. Japan is civilized.”

    “But it’s Sunday,” pointed out Trish. She carefully extracted a folded square of white paper. “And as far as I know, the post doesn’t deliver on Sundays...”

    “Ah!” cried Amai, jabbing in Trish’s direction with a celery stalk. “And what sort of suitor would poison his love?”

    Trish ignored her host mother and unfolded the square. She stared blankly at it for a few seconds before jumping onto her feet and giving the room a three hundred and sixty degree scan. None of the shadows seemed to have obtained any life in the meantime, though. Trish shivered despite the warm sunlight streaming through the skylights above. She looked at the paper crunched in her hand.

    In hiragana, katakana, kanji, and western letters, four times over, it read, “hello.”

    A half hour later the note was shoved deep into the pocket of her jeans as Trish strode down the sunny sidewalk. She was going for paper; it had been the first opportunity to leave the house that she could find. But somehow, now that she was out on the street amongst a throng of men and women hurrying along, she wished she had decided to ask Usagi for some paper the next day instead. Trish felt even more uneasy with the shifting backdrop and her thoughts kept jumping back to her host mom. What if they attacked while she was gone? What if they had intended to lure her out so they could kidnap Amai?

    She gave her head a sharp shake to clear her thoughts and quickened her pace. It would seem awfully silly for her to return without any paper. The little shop was just around the corner and besides, it was fully daylight out. Who ever heard of a kidnapping in broad daylight? And anyway, Trish sincerely doubted they were intelligent enough to even think of something as complicated as that.

    Her hands felt cold. She held them up and noticed they were shaking. Trish smiled nervously and took a few deep breaths to steady herself. Trish closed her eyes for a beat.

    A loud chirp echoed across the street.

    Trish jumped, nearly collided with a passing man, felt her heart skip several beats, and bit her lip to keep from screaming. It took her another second to realize that the sound had actually been Ora yelling angrily from a few feet in front of her, above the heads of the crowd.

    “What?” hissed Trish, leaning against the brick wall of a shoe store and trying to regain a steady pulse.

    Ora settled on her shoulder just long enough to give her left ear a sharp nip. Then he launched himself back into the air and shot down the street, chirping excitedly. Trish, confused, watched him for a second, rubbing her ear. She hurried after, her eyes scanning the heads in front of her. Her sight passed over and then jerked back to the very obvious, bright red hair of a girl crossing the road a couple of meters ahead.

    Victoria had her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail to keep it from falling into her face as she pushed through the crowd, head tilted down. Even with the distance between them, Trish could clearly tell Victoria was troubled. She reached the other side of the street, Trish’s side, and turned to go in the opposite direction.

    Trish grinned sadistically as she saw Ora tug on Victoria’s ear. She swatted at the bird as she abruptly pivoted around. Trish waved her arms to catch Victoria’s attention. A moment later the two were walking together down the sidewalk.

    “Are you out wandering around for the same reason?” asked Victoria as Ora settled in on Trish’s shoulder.

    “Are you out for paper or because you got a letter on Sunday?” returned Trish.

    “Mine said ‘hello’.”

    “In four alphabets?”

    “Yeah." Victoria hung her head. "Damn it.”

    “What?”

    “It’s my fault. I am a freaking idiot,” said Victoria. She stopped next to the brick wall and turned to look at Trish. “I’m so sorry, Trish. I don’t know how I could have been so damned stupid.”

    Trish bit her lip. “Don’t blame yourself, Vic. It’s not completely your fault.”

    Victoria glared at her. “You know damn well it is. If I hadn’t been so stupid we wouldn’t be worrying at all times whether or not we’re about to be attacked.” She grabbed at her head with one hand and groaned. “And Brekke is never going to let me live this down.”

    “I’ll talk to Brekke,” said Trish soothingly. “And don’t worry too much over it, Vic, really. It’s not as bad as you think. They haven’t shown any real intelligence.”

    “They don’t have to be intelligent to hurt our families,” said Victoria with a deep sigh.

    “We’ll just have to keep an eye out. And, well, they were bound to find out someday, anyway.”

    Victoria said nothing but started walking. The pair followed the sidewalk in silence for a few blocks until Victoria stopped again, this time by the door of a craft store.

    “I told my mother I needed some new art supplies,” said Victoria noncommittally. She glanced at the door beside her and then back at Trish.

    “Yeah, I need to get paper,” said Trish. She gave Victoria a quick hug. “Don’t get too strung up over this, okay?”

    Victoria, rather surprised by the sudden show of affection, merely nodded and went inside. Trish waited a moment and then headed off in the direction she had come from, having passed the general supply store already. It was just a few blocks up and on the right.

    Trish returned home to an empty house and a frantic message on the answering machine. Brekke had found a note on her doorstep as well. She made no mention of Victoria, but Trish was certain that as soon as Brekke overcame her shock, all of her energies would be put toward blaming Victoria.

    Or at least, that was what Brekke would normally have done. Ever since Trish had returned from the hospital, Brekke had become completely unpredictable. One could always depend on her to ditch everything on Victoria and run, but now…

    Trish shook her head, a smile upon her face. She might be predictable, but Trish would never change this Brekke for the old one. It was a good change; strange, incomprehensible, and random, but good.

    She called Brekke back but only reached the answering machine, which had a generic message in what she could only assume was her father’s voice.

    “Hey Brekke,” she said. “This is Trish. I got a note as well. Don’t worry too much about it, I think they’re just trying to scare us. Call me back when you get home. We should probably have a meeting later today or after school tomorrow. Bye!”

    As soon as she put down the phone, the doorbell rang. Trish looked around; her host mother was outside in the garden, so she went to the door and peeked through the peephole. Somebody’s hand was covering it, though. With an annoyed sigh, Trish opened the door to a very frightened Brekke.

    “Trish! Oh my god, where were you?” cried Brekke, slipping in through the door and giving the hallway a quick scan. “Did you get my message?”

    “Calm down, Brekke,” said Trish, directing her towards the kitchen. “Yes, I got your message, and yes, I also got a note. Would you like a cup of tea?”

    Brekke took a seat at the table, her fists clenched so hard that her knuckles were a pasty white. She shook her head slowly. “Water?”

    Trish grabbed a glass and filled it with cold water from the sink. “So, why are you so upset? I’ve never seen you this way before.”

    She shrugged listlessly as she drained the water. “They know where I live. Hell, they know where we all live. They can get inside. It’s only a matter of time before they hurt my father.” She shivered, her eyes strangely blank.

    Something told Trish that Brekke was not just upset over the threatening note. “Brekke, is there something else wrong?”

    Brekke fiddled with her glass, avoiding Trish’s eyes. “Well…” She hesitated. “They…the pictures on our wall have been smashed.”

    Trish choked back a gasp. “What? Why?”

    “‘Why’? I don’t know. How should I? Why did they leave a note? Why didn’t they try and do anything else? Why are they bothering to try and scare us at all?” Brekke asked, flinging her arms out to emphasis her point. “But I woke up anyway this morning and found that note and all the glass smashed and you know what? It worked. I’m scared, Trish. I didn’t want to get into this whole ordeal because I didn’t want my dad in danger and now they know where I live and they could attack him at any time. I don’t know what to do anymore.” She stopped and let her head fall into her hands. “I don’t know,” she mumbled.

    Trish stood awkwardly in the silent kitchen for a moment before bending down and giving Brekke a quick hug. “It’s okay, Brekke-”

    “No, it’s not okay,” she interrupted angrily. Brekke sat up straight and banged her fist down on the table. “I want them to pay for this. We can’t let them scare us, Trish,” she said with firm determination, locking her eyes on Trish. “We’re going to hunt them down before they can hurt us.”

    Trish, bewildered by the sudden change in mood, grabbed Brekke’s empty glass. “Would you like some more water?”

    “You need to call Victoria,” continued Brekke, not hearing her. “We need to get together and figure out what we’re going to do. Do you have her number?”

    “I talked to her earlier,” said Trish, putting the glass down on the counter.

    “You did?” Brekke looked surprised. One of her hands curled around the edge of the table. “When?”

    “Not long ago. I met her outside, when I went out to get some paper.”

    “Paper?” Brekke raised an eyebrow.

    Trish shrugged. “I needed an excuse to get out after I found that note. But now I feel it’s better to stay here as much as I can, because I don’t want them going after Amai.”

    Brekke’s eyebrows knit together and she looked at her watch. “Speaking of which, I’ve been gone too long already. I don’t like the idea of leaving him home alone for too long, either.” She glanced at the open doorway to the hall. “If you don’t mind…?”

    “No, no, of course not,” said Trish, following Brekke out into the hallway. “As long as you’re feeling better now. You shouldn’t be paranoid. Careful, yes, of course, be careful.”

    “CONSTANT VIGILANCE!” cried Brekke, slamming her fist into the palm of her other.

    Trish jumped in fright at her outburst and slowly backed away.

    “Sorry,” mumbled Brekke, her face turning a bright scarlet. “Obscure reference, I’m sure.”

    “It’s okay,” said Trish, opening the front door. “You sure you’re okay?”

    Brekke nodded. “I am. If anything happens, contact me, okay?”

    And with that, she left. Trish shut the door behind her with a sigh, realizing as she did so that her entire body had been tensed up throughout Brekke’s brief visit. But Brekke had not said a single thing about Victoria, which made Trish wonder just how freaked out by the note she was. It rattled Trish enough that Brekke was showing weakness. Hopefully she was just overreacting.

    “We’re running out of time,” fumed Kaisha as she paced the length of the room.

    Enshoku sat off to one side, watching her anxiously. He had his hands propped up on one knee, fiddling aimlessly, and an empty microwave box by his side. Kaisha had been pacing for the past hour, swinging between moods like a pendulum on speed. Granted, most of her moods had consisted of highly irrational anger and therefore most of the room was now beyond repair, but there had been a few uncharacteristic displays of depression and lust thrown in.

    “We have two weeks, Enshoku!” Kaisha yelled, stopping in her tracks and glaring at the man. “At the very most! We have to get the Pyramid! Or do you want to die?”

    Enshoku shrugged noncommittally. “Of course I don’t want to die, Kaisha. But,” he hesitated briefly, watching her eyes narrow threateningly. “But,” he plunged on anyway, “immortality is impossible and obtaining this pyramid thing seems just as unlikely. And what are we going to do with it when we get it? Prolong our lives for a little bit longer while we dash madly after something else that might give us a chance? We can’t live like that, Kaisha -”

    “You’re being ssstupid,” hissed Atra, crossing her arms and glaring hatefully at Enshoku. She was still condemned to the spot underneath the hole in the roof. “The Pyramid will bring life. It isss powerful enough to give you both the time you dessserve.” The Shadow turned a softened gaze upon Kaisha. “You mussst not lisssten to him, Massster. He knowsss not of what he ssspeaksss. Your plan isss working, but you mussst have patience. You will have the Pyramid before the end of thisss week, Massster.”

    “Will I?” asked Kaisha skeptically. “Sometimes I wonder about these ‘plans,’ Atra.”

    “I promissse.”

    “It’s that or your life, Atra,” said Kaisha coldly. “But for now, I release you from your confinement. You may now go back down to Earth and carry out your plan. Did your Shadows send out those notes?”

    “Yesss, Massster,” said Atra, gratefully moving out of the spot of light and towards Kaisha. “Bello sssaw to that.”

    “Bello?”

    “Yesss.”

    Kaisha frowned. “And he didn’t destroy their houses in the process? I’m amazed.”

    Atra allowed herself a small smile. “I’ve been working on Bello.”

    “Good, good,” said Kaisha. “Then maybe you will use him for your next project. I want you to take someone close to those senshi hostage. Bring them here.” She pointed a finger at Atra. “We will offer a trade.”

    The Shadow gaped at Kaisha. “But Massster! What of the plan? Thisss isss too risssky! You could draw them here, and isss that not the lassst thing you want?” She glanced worriedly towards the opening in the roof.

    “I agree with Kaisha,” said Enshoku haughtily.

    “Sshut up!” spat Atra.

    “Enough of that!” cried Kaisha. She swiftly bent down, picked up a rock, and threw it at the Shadow. It sailed straight through her head, but Atra let out a cry of pain nonetheless. “You should know your place, Shadow! I could care less if they were to come here. We can surely handle them. Now, get out of my sight before I throw something larger!”

    “Sssorry, Massster, so sssorry,” hissed Atra sullenly, bowing profusely.

    She shot Enshoku a last hate filled glare before grabbing one of the other Shadows from the darkened corners and jumping up through the ceiling.

    “Now, perhaps we’re finally going to get something done,” said Kaisha as she took up her pacing once more.

    Her barely finished math homework jammed into her backpack, Trish slinked into class just a few seconds before Usagi. Mercifully, the teacher had her back turned on the students as she wrote the morning’s assignment. Trish slid silently into her chair and took out her workbook.

    “Conti, Tsukino! Half an hour this afternoon!” Ms. Haruna called out without turning around.

    Trish groaned and sank down further into her seat.

    That afternoon Usagi cornered Trish as she was leaving after they had cleaned the classroom for half an hour. She bounced in front of Trish and stopped her with an infectious grin.

    “Trish! How are you? Are you coming to the study session at Rei’s?” She asked without taking a breath. “Luna wants to know what happened on Saturday. Oh! And she also wants – ah, what was her name? You know, the black-haired girl?”

    “Brekke?”

    “Yes! Brekke, and that other one, red hair – ”

    “Victoria?”

    “Yes, yes! Luna wants both of them to come as well and Sailor Kairos, but she’s not sure if you know Kairos very well, so it’s okay if she doesn’t come along. Will you be there?”

    Trish hesitated, reflecting back on all the homework she had to do and all the time she would be wasting with the “study” group. But then, Luna might have some advice as to the note situation. And speaking of Luna, where was Ora? With that thought, Trish looked out the classroom windows. She wondered where the bird went when he did not wish to be social and then abruptly remembered Usagi standing in front of her.

    “Oh, I guess I’ll come,” said Trish slowly. “But I can’t stay long. Amai expects me home before her and I don’t want to worry her.”

    “Alright!” Usagi cried and waved. “I’ll see you there, Trish!”

    Usagi left her alone in the classroom. Trish grabbed her backpack and walked outside, into the bright sunlight. She called both Victoria and Brekke to tell them about the meeting. Victoria showed keen interest but regretted to say that she had a prior engagement. Brekke made a few choice comments about the Sol Senshi and then said she would be there in a few minutes.

    About halfway to the shrine, as Trish was passing the central park, she heard somebody shouting her name and turned around to see a girl running towards her. Her head was bent towards the ground as she ran, therefore Trish could not tell who it was until the girl came to an abrupt stop and looked, out of breath, at Trish.

    “I’m so out of shape it isn’t even funny,” huffed the girl, her strange eyes watching Trish.

    Trish gaped. “Aren’t you Kairos?”

    “I’m Kari, Kari Moore,” said Kari, extending a hand.

    Trish shook it. “How did you know my name?”

    “What, Platos?”

    “Oh,” said Trish, reddening. She had not realized Kari had been calling her senshi name. She wondered how Kari could be so naïve. “My name is Trish, actually.”

    “Awesome. And the others?”

    “The others?” Trish blinked. “Oh, Ypsos is Victoria and Mikos is Brekke. Actually, would you like to come with me? I’m going to a meeting with the other senshi and Brekke is supposed to be there as well.”

    “Mikos,” said Kari slowly, furrowing her eyebrows. She suddenly paled. “You mean the black one?”

    “She’s not that bad,” said Trish with a friendly smile. “Her bark is much worse than her bite.”

    “I guess I’ll come, then. I’ve been trying to find you guys for the past few days.” She glanced worriedly at Trish. “I’m really sorry for Saturday. I hope you’re not hurt or anything?”

    “No, I’m okay,” said Trish reassuringly and began walking again. Kari followed. “Don’t worry about it. You just became a senshi, anyway. How are you doing with it?” She asked tentatively.

    Kari shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve let myself think about it at all yet. I’ve just been going along with the flow since Friday. I know this probably sounds crazy, but I feel like someone else has been guiding me along and like I’m a completely different person when I’m Kairos. Everything seems so clear then…all my lives blend into a seamless eternity…but now, when I’m normal, I think, ‘lives’? What the…tomato?”

    “That’s odd,” said Trish. “I don’t feel any different when I’m Platos.”

    “I don’t know.” Kari hung her head as they rounded a corner, the shrine coming into view ahead of them.

    Trish gave a mental shrug and decided to change the conversation. “Where do you come from?”

    “England,” answered Kari promptly. “My family decided to take a few weeks holiday here, before the official summer season. We have a short holiday from school as well, so I won’t really be missing many days. What about you? Are you on holiday too?”

    “No,” said Trish. “I’m an exchange student from Florida.”

    “Wow, a whole year here?”

    “Yeah.” Trish blushed and scratched at her head. “It’s not that bad, really. I’ve only been here since the beginning of April and look at how much I’ve already done.”

    Kari laughed. “Yeah, true. I could never do it, though. A whole year. Wow. Are you homesick?”

    “No.”

    “Wow. What about the others? Victoria and Brekke?”

    “Brekke’s father is here for the military and Victoria…” Trish trailed off, realizing she was not too sure about the redhead. “Well, I don’t know. She said something about being here for six years, but why…”

    “So they’re both from the states?”

    “Yeah.”

    They lapsed back into silence as they began climbing the many steps to the shrine. Kari’s features assembled themselves into a thoughtful look, her mind clearly elsewhere as they reached the top. The shrine came into view, as well as Usagi, Minako, Makoto, and Brekke, who were sitting on the steps. Or rather, the former three were sitting; Brekke was looming rather broodingly off to one side. When she caught sight of Trish, however, she perked up and trotted over to them.

    “Hey Trish!” She greeted, then noticed Kari. Brekke lost her enthusiasm and squinted at the girl. “Is that…?”

    “Brekke, this is Kari Moore,” said Trish, gently pushing Kari forward.

    “”Nice to meet you,” said Kari. She stuck out a hand.

    Brekke narrowed her eyes and did not accept the offered hand. “What do you want here?”

    Kari looked hurt. “Nothing. I just want to get to know you guys.”

    “Well, we don’t want to get to know you.”

    “Shut up, Brekke,” said Trish quietly, hoping the mist in Kari’s eyes were not tears.

    “I-, what did I ever do to you? I just want to help you guys out,” said Kari, blinking furiously. She had gone pale.

    The girls on the steps were watching curiously.

    “We don’t need help,” growled Brekke, crossing her arms and staring Kari down. “Especially from someone who’s as incompetent as you are.”

    “”What are you talking about?”

    “Brekke, stop it,” hissed Trish, grabbing her arm.

    Brekke opened her mouth again, however Ami and Rei chose that moment to open the front doors of the shrine and walk out onto the steps.

    “What’s going on?” asked Rei with a motherly condoning tone.

    Trish had the strong urge to point out that Brekke was being a dumbass, but she managed to stifle the inclination. “I brought Kari along today. I hope you don’t mind?”

    “Kari?” Rei glanced at the tall girl.

    “Is she Sailor Kairos?” asked Ami, walking up to Trish and Kari.

    Brekke glared hatefully at everyone and then stormed into the temple.

    “Yes,” said Kari, extending a hand once more. “I’m Kari Moore.”

    “Nice to meet you,” said Ami, clumsily taking the proffered hand, then giving a quick bow. “I’m Mizuno Ami.”

    The other girls walked up and introductions went around. With each new name, Trish saw Kari mouthing it under her breath a few times, obviously unfamiliar with the sounds she was stringing together. The group then moved inside, where Brekke sat off to one side and the makings for tea were placed upon the table.

    “So now we have all four,” said Ami as Rei left to find a cup for Kari. “It cannot be a coincidence, but what can it be?”

    “Maybe they just really want to play a decent arcade game,” said Minako, thoughtfully stirring her tea.

    “Minako…” groaned Makoto.

    “Oy, it’s an idea!” said Minako, spreading her palms.

    “You heard what she said yesterday,” said Brekke conspiratorially from her corner. “They want the Pyramid.”

    “Is that all? Well then, why don’t we just give it to them! Save a lot of time,” said Usagi, draining her cup. “It doesn’t seem like a very useful thing, anyway.”

    “Usagi,” said Ami, “we already talked about this; the Pyramid is a powerful object. We cannot just give it to them.”

    “What do they want it for?” wondered Rei as she returned to the room and handed Trish a cup. “And who was that lady?”

    “Kaisha,” said Trish softly. The other girls turned to look at her. “She said her name was Kaisha,” she explained. “I mean, when she had me. She said something about how we had known each other before.”

    “Is she one of them?” asked Makoto, leaning forward. “Is she with those shadows?”

    “Yeah…I’m pretty sure. They’re both after the same thing, anyway.”

    “Kaisha…” mumbled Kari to herself, staring at the table in front of her.

    “She needs to go down,” said Brekke heatedly. “We need to get rid of her. And those shadows. As soon as possible. We can’t let them boss us around like this!” She cried, slamming her cup down on the carpet.

    “Like what?” asked Rei.

    Trish touched her hand to her forehead. “That’s right, we haven’t told you guys yet.”

    “Told us what?” asked Usagi, leaning forward eagerly.

    “We got notes yesterday,” said Trish slowly. “Just ‘hello.’ We’re pretty sure it’s from them.”

    “You did?” Kari looked surprised. “How did they know where you lived?”

    “Victoria told that lady our names,” growled Brekke.

    Kari’s eyes widened. “Why did she do that?”

    “It wasn’t intentional,” broke in Trish. “The woman said she needed names if we were going to enter the contest. It wasn’t like she knew who she was.”

    “Oh. That sucks.”

    Brekke made an odd noise in the back of her throat, her eyes narrowing. Trish quickly laid a hand on her arm, hoping she would not explode. In truth, she was actually rather proud of Brekke and how she had yet to attempt bodily harm on Kari, although she really could not understand why Brekke was so angry with the other girl.

    “So they’ve let you know they know where you live,” said Rei thoughtfully. “They’re trying to scare you, definitely. And they’re probably planning something as well.”

    “But what can we do?’ asked Trish blankly. “It’s not like we can stay at home around the clock to make sure nothing happens nor can we stay away in case something does. In case they come after us.”

    Luna interrupted any response by springing inside from the windowsill then. She landed gracefully and sauntered over to the table, upon which she jumped and settled. Only then did she notice the newcomer.

    “Luna!” greeted Usagi.

    The cat ignored her and stared intently at Kari. “Sailor Kairos?”

    Kari nodded.

    Luna stood up and padded up to the girl, her eyes never wavering from Kari’s. “It’s an honor to meet you, despite the consequences. I suspect you already know everything that we can tell you. I have heard so much about you and I would be honored if you and your senshi fought with us.” With that, the little black cat bent her forelegs and lowered her head in a bow.

    All of the girls exchanged surprised glances, except for Brekke, who just stared with disbelief. Kari seemed positively terrified. “Please don’t bow! I don’t deserve that.”

    The cat obligingly straightened up once more. “But you do, Kairos. Do you know me?”

    “I…I remember a cat like you,” said Kari slowly, a bright shade of red from embarrassment. “A cat who talked. A little black one. But he…you’re not him. I think his name was Mordecai.” She furrowed her eyebrows, her eyes unfocusing as she tried to think back.

    “Morty…?” whispered Luna.

    “Some called him that, yeah,” said Kari, staring off into space. Her voice changed abruptly, deepening with resolution. “The palace servants called him that and frankly, he preferred it. He always went on about how he thought his name was too serious. But he was serious, way too serious for the kitten he was. We always teased him.” She blinked suddenly and held her head, her voice returning to normal. “Where did that come from?”

    “You’re starting to remember the past,” said Luna, in awe. “I knew Morty in my lifetime, too. Only he wasn’t a kitten, then.”

    “Can you remember anything else?” asked Trish curiously.

    Kari shook her head. “Not if I try.”

    “It seems she needs specific triggers,” said Ami.

    “Like a dream,” put in Makoto. “If you try too hard to remember it, it just dissolves. But if you see something or someone says something that was in it, you suddenly remember that part.”

    “She doesn’t need to remember everything yet,” said Luna. “It’ll come in time, as it will for the rest of you.” She looked around at Brekke and Trish.

    “Besides, now we need to worry about what the enemy will do next,” said Rei.

    “Well that’s easy to answer,” said Brekke. “They’ll attack one of us at home.”

    “What makes you say that?” asked Luna.

    The girls quickly explained the dilemma concerning the notes to Luna. By the time they finished, the cat looked rather alarmed.

    “They know your identities,” she said slowly. “I suppose all you can really do, though, is be careful.”

    Brekke abruptly stood up. “I can’t take this careful crap anymore. I don’t know about you guys, but the last thing I want is to continue letting the enemy choose the time and place for these skirmishes. They keep catching us by surprise. How about we catch them by surprise for once? How about we take this fight to them? How about we choose the time and place?”

    The other girls exchanged quick glances. “That’s a valid point,” began Rei, only to be cut off by Brekke disgustedly waving her hand.

    “Well, duh, of course it is,” Brekke continued. “And what are you going to do about it? What’s this teleport thing you have, anyway? Why don’t we just teleport to their base and take them out once and for all? There’s enough of us to do it!”

    “We don’t know anything about them!” cried Makoto in protest.

    “They might have more power than they’ve been showing,” said Ami. “It’s entirely possible that they have yet to really unleash it and it would be highly illogical to just go running into a situation –”

    “Bull crap,” cut in Brekke. “They’re idiots and they’ve proven it often enough.”

    “If they had more power, wouldn’t they have been able to wrench the Pyramid from us before now?” asked Kari thoughtfully.

    “Valid.” Brekke pointed at Kari, who beamed involuntarily. “Now, what about this teleportation thing?”

    “We’re not going to tell you so you can rush us all off so foolishly,” hissed Rei, also standing up. “We don’t know anything about them!”

    “We should ask what they want first,” said Usagi. “Maybe they’re really not evil but have no other way of getting the pyramid?”

    “Not evil?” said Brekke, her voice cracking. “Not evil? How can they not be evil? Don’t you remember what they did to Trish? They left her to die. She nearly did. If they were not evil, they’d bloody well ask us to a spot of tea and discuss the Pyramid over biscuits!”

    “We never gave them a chance,” said Usagi meekly.

    Brekke glared at her with such a deep distaste that the entire room was stilled into silence.

    “You are an idiot,” she finally said.

    Rei took two steps towards Brekke, brought up her hand, and slapped her hard across the cheek. “Don’t you dare talk to her that way,” she growled.

    Brekke’s eyes widened in shock and she reached up a hand to her face. Her features suddenly hardened again and her eyes narrowed. She seemed barely able to contain herself. “Fine. Fine,” she fumed. “I knew you guys were incompetent from the start.” She turned and made her way to the door. “I’ll see you later, Trish,” she said as she left.

    “What a horrible girl,” said Minako after a moment of stunned silence.

    Luna shook her head slowly. “Highly irrational. We still do not know our enemy and rushing immediately in like that would probably be suicidal. She’s intelligent enough to see that and yet she refuses to.”

    “Intelligent. Hah!” spat Rei.

    “Ah, well,” said Trish, scratching her head with a slight air of embarrassment. “I think I need to go now. It’s getting late and once again I did not tell my host mother I would be staying after school today.”

    “I need to go, too,” said Kari, getting to her feet.

    “Be careful,” said Luna.

    “Should we meet again tomorrow?” asked Ami. “We should definitely develop a plan of action as soon as possible.”

    “Sure,” said Trish, gathering her things together.

    “And in the meantime, be careful,” reminded Luna as Trish and Kari left.

    “Sure.”

    It was Wednesday night before Trish actually saw any of the Sol Senshi outside of school again. She had missed the meeting on Tuesday by being intercepted by an irate Brekke on the way to the shrine and Wednesday afternoon she had simply realized she had a load of homework and a nasty essay due the next day.

    Trish was alone at home when she opened the door to an out-of-breath Usagi, who stumbled into the hallway. Her face was flushed from running but her eyes sparkled mischievously.

    “Usagi!” cried Trish, surprised. “What are you doing here? Did you run the entire way? Would you like some water?” She led the shorter girl into the kitchen.

    “You weren’t at the meeting today or yesterday so Luna said to go find you,” said Usagi, accepting the glass of water and downing it in one go. “Can you come tonight?”

    “To what?”

    “To the shrine?”

    “Is there a meeting?” Trish took the glass from Usagi and put it on the counter. “This late at night?” She glanced towards the clock, which read nine thirty.

    “Yes,” said Usagi. “Rei wants to talk to you about how to get to the enemy’s base. And if we can find Kari as well or Victoria, we’re supposed to bring them along as well.”

    Trish’s eyes widened. “You mean they’re listening to Brekke? I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…”

    Usagi shrugged. “Are you coming? The meeting’s right now.”

    “Sure,” said Trish. “Just give me a second; I need to write my host mom a note. She should be coming home soon and I don’t want her to think I’ve been kidnapped or anything.”

    As Trish made her way towards the refrigerator to grab a piece of paper from the magnetic notepad stuck there, a crash echoed throughout the house. She stopped in her tracks and pivoted around, catching Usagi’s equally petrified gaze. There was a heartbeat of silence and then another crash, although distinctly different. Trish realized the first one had been definitely from breaking glass.

    “Should we transform?” asked Usagi frightfully, glancing around the kitchen.

    “Not yet,” said Trish. “It might just be a burglar and I don’t want to risk trashing the house with a fight. I have no idea how I’d explain the damage to my mom.”

    She grabbed Usagi’s hand and pulled the blonde towards her as another crash came from the hallway. And then there was a voice.

    “Come out, come out, wherever you aaare,” called a deep, rumbling voice.

    The shadow came around the corner then, it’s head full of blood red eyes immediately focusing on them, and with an excessively large broadsword clutched in both hands. It grinned at them, somehow, and abruptly whipped the sword up and around and through a chair sitting next to the doorway. The chair fell apart with a crash.

    “What do you want?!” cried Trish, her voice cracking. She tried to force Usagi behind her and fish her stone out from a pocket at the same time.

    “Your sssisster,” it hissed, pointing the sword towards Usagi.

    Trish blinked in surprise. “She’s not my sister!”

    The shadow simply laughed and swiftly broke a series of ceramics on the wall with the sword. It walked further forward until it was on the other side of the table. Trish and Usagi were backed into a corner of the kitchen, the cabinets behind them preventing them from going any further. The shadow grinned wickedly, jumped up onto the table, and strutted towards them in a very catlike manner.

    Trish finally found her stone. “Platos star power, make up!”

    She transformed in a flash of light and glared angrily at the shadow. “I won’t let you touch her! Cyclone inferno!”

    The shadow only grinned even wider and held up its broadsword, which all of a sudden seemed much larger than before. The fiery attack hit the sword and reflected back. Platos grabbed Usagi and dove beneath the table as the cyclone of flame went by overhead. She immediately rolled out the other side and ran for the sliding glass doors which led out into the back yard, dragging Usagi along behind her.

    Usagi, meanwhile, had slipped her communicator from a back pocket and now yelled into it frantically. “Everyone! We’re being attacked over at Trish’s house! We need help!”

    There was a barely audible crackle in response. Usagi was about to yell into it again when a leg from the table smacked it out of her hand. It hit the wall and burst apart, shattering its innards onto the kitchen tile. Platos opened the sliding glass doors and ran outside, slamming it back shut behind Usagi. Her hand left the glass a moment before the shadow’s broadsword shattered it, sending glass raining down upon the yard.

    Some of it caught Platos on the arm and she instinctively clutched at the cuts, the blood staining her white gloves red. She tried to drag Usagi further out into the yard, wondering why she had not transformed yet. Suddenly, Usagi stumbled and fell, wrenching her arm out of Platos’ hand.

    The shadow seized the opportunity. It leapt forward and with one flowing motion, struck the short girl on the head with the flat of its blade. Usagi gave a strangled cry and then her eyes rolled up into her head and she fell forward, unconscious.

    “Usagi!” cried Platos, horrified.

    Without thinking, she threw herself at the shadow, who had been about to pick up Usagi. Instead it gave a start and stepped out of the way, letting the white senshi run past. Platos pivoted so that the house was at her back.

    “Cyclone inferno!” She cried, throwing her attack.

    The shadow deflected the attack again, but Platos had already hefted Usagi onto her back and was running towards the gate to the yard as the fire cyclone hit the brick wall of the house. Sailor Platos heard the shadow scream angrily, or at least she hoped it was a scream, and then the sound of something being smashed. There was the gate before her and the street beyond. Usagi’s weight was beginning to drag her down, but perhaps she could yell for help out on the street. Only a few more steps –

    Another shadow stepped out from the darkness in front of them, causing Platos to slam to a stop. This one had but one rather large, orange eye. It looked vaguely familiar, but Platos could not quite place it. It held out a hand and grinned.

    Suddenly, everything went dark. Platos blinked her eyes fervently but to no avail; for some reason she could no longer see. Panic shot up into her esophagus. She could hardly breathe. She heard something behind her and something ahead of her and the breath of the girl on her back and the parting of air as –

    She jumped to one side as the broadsword came crashing down. Platos swung around and lashed out, but her feet connected with nothing and she felt herself falling. The ground met her and she bit her lip in pain. Usagi slipped off her back as she tried to regain her footing. Something laughed nearby.

    “How pitiful she isss, Bello,” came a voice, the voice of the orange-eyed shadow.

    Platos remembered that voice; she had heard it at the clothing shop where Brekke was attacked. She suddenly remembered the orange-eyed demon showing up behind Dolor and then disappearing.

    Sailor Platos felt something kick her, forcing her back to the ground. She reached out for Usagi, but could no longer find her. Something stomped on her hand instead and she cried out in pain.

    “Sso weak. No, Bello, we can’t kill her yet. Just grab the blonde one.”

    There was a shuffling sound as Bello – Platos supposed the one with the broadsword – apparently picked up Usagi. Hands clamped around Platos’ neck and dragged her to her knees.

    “We’ll be contacting you sshortly, Trish.”

    The hands tightened. Platos saw stars burst before her eyes and then true darkness enveloped her.

Back | Next