-Episode 05-



Platos turned her gaze away from Mikos' first after they heard someone give a cry of astonishment from inside the shop. Purposefully and silently, she walked over to the crumpled heap of feathers lying next to the wall and gently picked the bird up. She breathed a sigh of relief; he was still breathing.

The white senshi cradled Ora in one arm and looked back over at her counterpart, who had started walking away, down the street. Knitting her eyebrows together, she hurriedly caught up, and grabbed the other senshi's arm. Mikos didn't stop, but she didn't try to shake the other girl off, either.

"You can't ignore it again," Platos whispered, walking beside her.

"Why not?" Mikos returned coldly without looking at the white senshi.

"Because…" she trailed, trying to think of a good reason why which the other senshi hadn't heard before.

"Because it's my duty? Because it's my destiny?" Mikos mocked. "No. No, I refuse to listen to that crap again. I'm not going to submit to some thing in the sky which tells me what to do."

"Because," Platos continued, as if Mikos hadn't said anything. "Because I need someone to fight with. The others," she waved her hand absently, "they don't even deceive themselves with the notion of my belonging with them. Because you can't ignore that we were awaken for a reason. Can you? Can you ignore something that could very well destroy everything you know?"

"Like this isn't?"

"Oh, fine then," Platos growled, almost fed up. "Let the world go to hell for all I care."

Mikos raised an eyebrow, surprised by the white senshi's choice of words.

"But won't you at least do it for me?" Platos asked, sounding like a young child. Abruptly, she held up the battered bird in the black senshi's face. "Won't you do it for the bird?"

The other senshi was so surprised by this that she stopped walking and stared at the mockingbird, who had quite a few places where blood covered his feathers. Unexpectedly, she burst out laughing.

"Alright, fine, fine, I'll join your little masquerade," Mikos chuckled as she finally got a hold of herself. Suddenly, her features turned serious. "But I won't join with those other girls. Anybody who announces themselves in such a loud way and then turns on someone without so much as a scrap of evidence doesn't deserve to fight."

Platos, not willing to compromise the friendship she had just gained with the other senshi, simply nodded; she could try another time to convince Mikos to work with the other senshi. Cradling Ora again in one arm, she looked down at her white outfit and instinctively placed her free hand on her black brooch. Mikos immediately knew her intentions, and with a mischievous snigger, she pulled off her own first.

After the swirl of black light had died down, she stuck out her tongue at Platos and taunted, ")hah! Beat you to it!("

The white senshi rolled her eyes and pulled off her own, her fuku disappearing in a similar blur of light to be replaced by her pale blue tank top and last pair of jeans. Jeans, which, with another glance down at them, made her quickly remember the shopping bag still propped against the wall a bit behind them.

With a gasp and brief apology, she dashed back to retrieve her purchases. As she bent down to pick it up, Brekke walked up next to her, holding her own bag that she had left in the other store.

")Oh dear! I seem to have forgotten my friend as well!(" Brekke cried melodramatically, placing a hand to her forehead. With a wink, she turned to go.

")Wait!(" Trish called.

")Yes?(" Brekke looked back.

")Where do you live?(" Trish asked, and then realizing the awkwardness of the question, quickly added, ")I mean, in case, you know, something…happens?("

")I live on the base,(" Brekke returned, ")but I go to the school right off of it. Ja ne, as the Jap' say it!("

And with that the black-haired girl sauntered into the shop to help her brunette friend. The blonde stood there a few seconds, watching her, before turning abruptly around and walking down the street in the direction of home. In her arms, Ora gave a groggy chirrup and attempted to get to his feet.

")You're hurt, little birdie,(" Trish chided. ")We're going to take you home and bandage you up, now, don't worry!("

With another childish giggle, the blonde used the remains of her strength to skip home.



Saturday rose up around the corner abruptly, but ever more welcome. It's true light, only seen at noon, hit Trish's pale face from the skylight as she stumbled into the kitchen. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she went about, preparing cold cereal for her breakfast, and was just about to pour the milk when the phone rang. Annoyed, she put the milk carton back down and shuffled over in her white duck slippers to pick it up.

"Moshi moshi," Trish droned, looking for paper and a pencil to write a note, since she was positive the person wasn't calling her.

"Moshi! This is Tsukino Usagi. Is Conti Trish-chan there?"

"Usagi-chan!" Trish chirped, dropping the pencil and taking up a more comfortable position leaning against the counter. "This is Trish!"

"Oh!" Usagi giggled, "gomen! You sound so different on the telephone."

"Doesn't everyone?" Trish countered, and then asked, "hey, how did you get this number? I don't remember giving it to anyone…"

"Ah, well…" Usagi trailed off, then quickly said, "Luna-chan followed you home the other day and told us and Rei-chan knows the people next door since they go to her shrine a lot, so she asked them who lived there and then looked them up in the phonebook and gave the number to me so I could tell you we have a meeting today at the shrine at seven."

"Oh…okay," Trish muttered, astounded at Usagi's long-windedness. "I will be there."

"Oh, and Mina-chan wants you to come with us to the arcade in about a half hour, okay?"

"Er, I'm not sure I can go…"

"Aw, please, please Trish-chan?" Usagi begged.

"Amai-san wanted me to help clean today…but maybe I can come later, after."

"Amai-san?"

"She's my exchange mother," Trish explained.

"Ah…well…hope to see you! At least come to the meeting! Remember, you and Ami-chan are going to that observatory thing tonight."

"Oh, yes, I will definitely be at the shrine tonight," Trish reassured her.

The sound of a doorbell ringing carried through the phone and Usagi exclaimed, "Mina-chan! Must go! Bai bai, Trish-chan!"

"Bai bai, Usagi-chan!" Trish returned a second before the other blonde hung up.

Smiling, she hung up the phone as well. Then she finished her breakfast preparations and without even sitting, wolfed the cereal down. Sliding the bowl into the sink, she trotted back upstairs to get dressed.



Ora on her shoulder once more, but with a few well-placed bandages now, the blonde bounced down the street towards the shrine, the streetlights illuminating the ground before her as the sun sank below the horizon. The two made their way up the steps, noting the déjà vu feeling they got, since they had only just been doing the same the day before. The other girls were waiting on the porch of the shrine; even Usagi was there.

"Well, there you are, Trish-chan!" Minako chided. "We've been waiting for hours!"

"Actually, Usagi-chan only got here a minute earlier," Makoto put in. "And the rest of us, not much before that."

"Na, I'm here," Trish shrugged, losing her hyper mood as she felt the edges of her nerves creeping around her.

Ami, who had been crouched over her mini computer, looked up. "Alright, we should be going then. In half an hour the security shift will be changing, which should give us time to slip inside."

The girls got up and with two cats at their heels, descended the steps. The pale blonde caught up to the genius and the two walked side-by-side, with the others walking behind. Luna caught up with a few bounds.

"We'll give you an hour inside before we come in after," Luna stated. "If anything happens, you have your communicator, Ami-chan. Don't hesitate to call us."

"I don't think anything would happen at an observatory," Trish commented.

"You wouldn't think anything would happen at a school or mall, either," Luna almost snapped back.

Trish firmly shut her mouth after that and listened as Ami and the cat discussed what Ami was to do once inside. The genius had hacked into the computers of the observatory easily and obtained a map of the grounds. Where the giant telescope sat at the center of the building was where she wanted to be to get the best readings. And if they were stealthy enough, they wouldn't disturb the guard posted there.

Clouds slid across the sky, obscuring the waning moon above as they came into view of the large, white, domed observatory. Ami checked her watch, and then proceeded with Trish, leaving the others behind. Ora refused to leave, however, and nestled himself further into her hair.

Ami and Trish hid behind a tree and watched the guard at the gate. As he went inside, they ran past the post towards the building, slipping into the first door they came across. The genius flipped open her computer to display the map, a tiny red dot showing them where they were.

The girls followed the map, ducking into rooms when they saw other, black dots coming towards them, which showed the guards. Eventually, they made it to the main room, where the giant telescope stood. A beam of moonlight fell on the floor before them from above; somebody had left open the ceiling.

Trish looked at the opening curiously, wondering how someone could simply forget to close such a large hole. Ami tugged her towards the center, where she began setting up the program she had made on her computer to scan the sky. She took out a cord from her pocket and connected it to the telescope console before connecting the other end to her mini computer. The pale blonde watched for the guard, and the mockingbird on her shoulder took flight, leaving them for the outside air above.

A soft beep from the computer told them that it had begun the program, and the two relaxed, waiting for it to finish. Their eyes scanned the room about them, which was practically spotless, larger consoles against nearly all of the walls. After a few minutes had elapsed, Trish began to wonder why the guard hadn't come by yet.

Curious, she tiptoed to the side of the telescope, peeked around, and just caught sight of a body lying on the floor before she was knocked to the ground by something heavy across the back of her head. Dazed, she rolled out of the way of another hit from the thing and tried to stumble to her feet.

Whatever it was seemed to have forgotten her, because she watched as Ami got slammed back against the console, barely missing the computer. Surprised, she slid down the console before grappling for the communicator she had in her pocket. But as she brought it out, something hard knocked it out of her hand, and the blue device went skidding across the tile.

"Show yourself!" Trish demanded in a loud whisper, having gotten to her feet. And about a few inches in front of her face, three large, jade eyes sudden came into existence. Startled, the pale blonde backed up a few steps, watching as the eyes advanced on her.

"Sportula!" Trish cried as the shadow hit her over the head with her gift basket again.

As she fell to the floor once more, the demon spun around to stop Ami before she could reach the communicator. The shadow had the blue device in her hand in a moment, and quickly threw it against the far wall, effectively smashing it.

Ami, unshaken, grabbed her henshin wand from her pocket and jumped to her feet, dodging Sportula's basket as she held her hand up into the air.

"Mercury star power, make up!"

Trish searched her pockets for her own black stone as Ami's pretty blue lights flashed around the room, slightly startling the shadow enough not to act. As Sailor Mercury posed amidst a backdrop of bubbles, the pale blonde found her henshin stone.

"Platos star power, make UP!"

By now, the pale orange flames and pleasant heat had become quite familiar to her, and Sailor Platos soon posed. She opened her eyes to a blur, which, a few moments after it hit her face, she realized was the gift basket. The white senshi hit the floor on her bottom and skidded back a few feet.

Dazed, she struggled to her feet only to find the shadow wrapping her hands around the girl's neck. With a strong sense of déjà vu, Platos struggled with the translucent fingers, trying to pry them off. She could see Mercury dimly through the shadow, and the blue senshi was gathering energy to her.

"…illusion!" Mercury finished, and threw the sparkling cascade forward.

It went straight through Sportula, though, and hit the white senshi full on. The shadow gave a cry of anger as her energy source was abruptly covered in a thin layer of ice. Snarling, she let go of the ice block and pivoted around to head towards Mercury.

"Er, oops," Mercury mumbled, darting out of the way as Sportula suddenly leapt at her.

With a deft kick from the inside of her casing, Platos easily shattered the ice and came out from it shivering.

"Oops? Is that all?" She grumbled as she tried to warm herself up by rubbing her arms vigorously.

As Mercury swerved away from another attempt from Sportula, the shadow abruptly stopped and narrowed her eyes. Swiftly, she raised her gift basket above her head and hissed to it. Quite a few shadow ribbons flew out of it immediately, making their ways towards the two senshi.

Platos had barely time enough to blink before the ribbons began weaving around her ankles. As she tried to kick them off, more twined up her legs, and before she realized it, her arms were pinned to her sides. Mercury was no better off, with ribbons wrapped around her head, one blinding an eye.

And then the ribbons began to tighten, cutting off the circulation to her arms, as they weaved further upwards, to her neck. Platos felt the ribbons bite into her skin as they then proceeded to start to take her energy. Briefly, she wondered if she could bite through the ribbons, but never had the time to test this theory.

"Bloody acid!"

A blur of red whizzed past, hitting the shadow in her chest. The white senshi watched, amazed, as the red stuff spread throughout the demon, turning her a vivid blood red. The red spread into the basket and into the threads that wound around the two senshi.

Sportula laughed, "pitiful attem-"

Everything seemed to explode around Platos, and she was thrown back against the wall. Her skin felt like it had been burned off, and the white senshi painfully opened her eyes to see it was only badly singed.

"Are you alright?"

Sailor Platos looked up from her arms, wincing, to see another senshi standing there, apparently concerned. The white senshi gaped as she realized the senshi before her was much like herself; she wore a solid-colored fuku, only her's was blood red. Platos could barely see the girl's face or hair in the dim light, but her curls seemed to be the same color as her fuku, if not a few shades lighter.

"I think so," Platos nodded, stumbling to her feet again.

"Good," the other senshi also nodded, curtly. "See you again, probably."

With that, the red senshi suddenly pivoted around and jumped up through the hole in the ceiling, where Platos guessed she had also come from. Bird song floated down from the hole as well, and it seemed to stir her mind, for the white senshi hurried underneath the hole.

"Wait!" She shouted, "who are you? Are you one of us? Come back!"

But the red senshi was already gone. Behind her, Mercury got to her feet and rubbed her head. She glanced up at the hole as well, but then saw the basket lying on the ground a few feet away and quickly strode over and picked it up. Inside was a swirling mass of energy.

"Who was that?" Mercury wondered, walking over to Platos with the basket in hand.

"I have no clue," Platos returned, still staring up through the hole.

Mercury shook her head, "it's another one of the Dimension Senshi, isn't it?"

"Probably."

"I didn't believe it was a coincidence," Mercury shrugged, and then looked over to the console, where her computer was softly beeping, having been done for the past few minutes. "We'd better go."

"Yeah."

The senshi of ice quickly walked over to the console and was a few feet away when the mini-computer suddenly lifted into the air. With a gasp, she abruptly halted, the basket swinging in one hand. A large, bright orange eye slowly opened in front of her.

"The basssket," it hissed.

Mercury eyed the creature, gripping the basket tightly. Platos turned at the sound of the voice and stopped cold when she saw the eye floating in midair. She had just seen that eye the night before, talking to Dolor.

"Give it," the shadow narrowed its one large eye as Mercury hesitated, and began to tighten its translucent fingers around the device.

Grimacing, the ice senshi held out the basket to the shadow, who quickly took it. The demon looked it over, as if examining it for faults, and then grinned briefly before lobbing the mini-computer at Mercury and abruptly disappearing.

Mercury dived for the device, just barely catching it as she skidded across the floor. Platos walked over and helped her up, still looking dazed. Then, without further word, the two quickly left the building.



The man looked into the basket that Atra had just handed him and looked rather skeptical. "Are you sure this is enough?"

"Posssitive, Massster."

"Ah, alright," he returned, still looking down into it.

He stood up and placed the basket on the floor in front of him. Closing his eyes, he concentrated, and as Atra watched, the energy inside the black crystal chair flowed out of it and into the small gift basket. In a few moments, the flow thinned and soon stopped.

The man picked up the basket again and turned towards the crystal-encased lady still on the floor in the middle of the room.

"Time to wake Kaisha from her beauty sleep…"



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