1101 (Phase 04: Revelation)
Rated R



     dust to dust
     ashes to ashes
     soul to soul
     i will say never again
     remember now

     omoidaite ima 
     remember now
     the dream you had
     before you were born
     the dream that has died out

     carry your heart to where you sense the cry comes from
     carry your heart till the end


                    -Gasaraki, "Message #9"



     Have you ever stopped to wonder what might be? Look beyond
what is real, and grasp at a destiny yet unrealized. You might be
surprised at what you find--not just for yourself, but for everyone
else around you.
     The future has been called a Pandora's Box at times. It is the
mystery of not knowing what is inside, what our future truly holds,
that gives us hopes and dreams. But to open the box and see what
awaits you...fate becomes a cruel mistress. Everything becomes
known, and the secrets die. Hope is lost in the darkness of knowing
what tomorrow's sunset will bring. Dreams are dashed like fragile
sands against an ocean tide.
     And yet there may be a way around it. Consider not one future,
but many futures. Not a single Pandora's Box, but a legion of them.
The possibilities of a future Naoko Takeuchi envisioned grow near
infinite, the curiousity is satiated, and your dreams are always
there with you. For in seeing many futures, you still see what is
unknown. Which one will find you?
     So many realities, so little time.
     The past is history. The future is now. And His lordship Chaos
welcomes you to the future that is Crystal Tokyo. Choose your
future that is Crystal Tokyo.
     But choose wisely.
     The future has a nasty way of turning on you....


                         -His lordship Chaos
                              hislordshipchaos@hotmail.com



     Crystal Tokyo
     3XXX A.D.


     The name beside the door was embossed in gold, elaborately
stroked kanji spelling out a name. Aino Minako. Even though the
room was not his, he was granted access without question or
hesitation. A young woman with long blonde hair was sleeping upon
a bed, drowning in a tangle of sheets and dreaming pleasant dreams.
She looked so peaceful as she slept.
     He smiled to himself as he admired her athletic physique.
     Venus' memory implantation had been completed while he was
away. Now was the time where those memories would be integrated
with the rest of her being. She would discover a new past as well
as a new life.  The process would take time until she was fully
comfortable with being who she was. Who he made her to be. 
     He sat upon the edge of her bed, trying not to disturb her.
His fingers caressed her skin, tracing the small tattoo branded
onto the base of Minako's neck.
     2602.
     He always kept their true name, so long as they stayed true to
him. Once they became expendable, they became only numbers. Rei had
been Rei once. Now she was only 1101.
     Minako stirred amidst her sheets, blue eyes fluttering open.
She purred upon seeing him seated next to her naked form, and
rolled onto her back while stretching her arms out.
     "Ohayo," she greeted him with a purr.
     "I trust you slept well?" he asked.
     She nodded.
     "You must be feeling some confusion right now," he said
softly, caressing her face. "That will pass very soon." 
     Her hands abruptly gripped the lapels of his jacket and pulled
him down on top of her. "Don't speak," Minako whispered, licking
his ear. "I'm not the mood to listen right now...."



                    why was i given this body?
                 why was i given these memories?


                               1101


         what do you mean when you say i'm not the first?


                      [PHASE 04: REVELATION]



     1101 was screaming.
     Whatever she had seen in her mind had caused her to lose
control. Michiru fared no better, her own horrific screams matching
1101's with perfect pitch. Haruka forced the two apart, trying to
restrain Michiru. Hotaru and Setsuna had enough to contend with in
trying to calm down 1101.
     The same power that had flared up in the Tokyo Raven was
dangerously close to explosively manifesting itself right there in
the apartment. 1101 seemed oblivious to everything but the terror
vocalised in her screams. Her pupils were starting to dilate,
losing complete focus. Winds were starting to blow and lift her
long dark hair into the crackling air. Wisps of flame sparked to
life, the apartment air growing hotter and difficult to breathe in.
     Everything seemed on the brink of igniting.
     "She's doing it again!" Haruka exclaimed as she pulled Michiru
onto the floor, trying to smother the aqua-haired woman with the
familiar warmth of her touch.
     Hotaru found herself leaning over the back of the couch,
desperately trying to keep 1101's thrashing shoulders pressed
against the cushions. A fiery burst of energy sent the raven-haired
girl tumbling backwards, her feet lifted off the ground. Hotaru
bounced over the kitchen counter, rolling across the tiled surface
before crashing to the floor moments later.
     1101 still refused to calm down.
     Bolts of flame and lightning were lashing out, randomly
striking anything in the apartment. Setsuna winced as a stray arc
of magic sliced across her forearm. Yet no blood came from the
wound. Instead there was a clean tear, sparks erupting from
whatever lied beneath the surface.
     "She's going to reach some kind of critical mass any moment,"
Setsuna shouted over the roar of energy. "We have to sedate her!"
     That didn't prove to be necessary.
     As sudden as 1101 had begun to scream, she stopped. Her eyes
closed and her body went limp in Setsuna's arms. 1101 slumped over,
her body covered in a layer of sweat.
     It took a good ten minutes to pass before any of the Outer
Senshi dared to let themselves calm down. 1101 was unconscious,
just like when they had found her in the Tokyo Raven. Michiru on
the other hand was awake, but gasping for air, her pulse racing
almost out of control. Her grip on Haruka was crushing, but Haruka
bit her lip and endured the pain.
     Setsuna laid 1101 out on the couch, and then attended to
Hotaru. The raven-haired girl was already picking herself up from
the kitchen floor, wincing as she tried to move her left arm.
     "Is it broken?" Setsuna asked.
     Hotaru shook her head, still grimacing. "No, but it's banged
up pretty bad. I'll live, though." She limped over to the couch,
glancing down at the sleeping 1101. "I think expending all that
power drained her. Her body couldn't handle the surge and shut
itself down."
     "But what the hell triggered it in the first place?" Setsuna
demanded, gingerly covering up the sheared metal of her arm.
Magenta eyes surveyed the battered apartment. Scorch marks littered
the walls and ceiling. Any loose objects had been lobbed across the
room, and a stack of papers displaying her fashion templates were
decorating the floor. 
     There was a gaping hole in the upper part of the aquarium
glass, half the water and a number of the fish now washed across
the floor. Setsuna took it upon herself to carry the choking fish
back into the aquarium, using only her good arm. Her other arm
carefully concealed her injury from the others.
     Hotaru knelt down next to Michiru. "What did you see?" she
asked as gently as she could. The last thing she wanted to do was
further traumatize her 'momma'.
     "It was a laboratory of some kind," Michiru said, her head in
Haruka's lap. "Eleven...no, Rei couldn't piece together a world she
never knew. But I could sense so much when I was there with her."
Aqua-green eyes looked up to her sandy-blonde lover. "It's her,
Haruka. That girl is the Rei we knew. She just needs to remember,
and something inside of her is trying to make her remember."
     She sounded apologetic, sorry for having ever doubted.
     Haruka ignored that and moved on. She had already forgiven
Michiru for any guilt the woman felt. "Where was this lab?" Haruka
asked.
     "Somewhere beneath the Crystal Palace," Michiru answered. She
found her blood running cold as she recalled the images. Now more
than ever she needed to feel the warmth of her lover's embrace.
"Haruka, they're cloning the Inner Senshi. They have been ever
since this began; if one is killed, they just make another to
replace her."
     All the Outers froze, chilled by the revelation.
     Horrified and repulsed all at once.
     Even Setsuna seemed taken aback.
     "Clones?" Hotaru exclaimed. "That's what Shadowgate did to our
friends?!"
     Haruka shook her head, chilled to consider the possibility but
trying to keep as collected as she could. "It just doesn't make
sense. Even if Shadowgate found a way to make copies of the Senshi,
that's only a body they're making duplicates of. The power that
makes us sailor soldiers is a unique and separate entity."
     That much they had learned from their time on Kinmoku.
     Other civilizations who'd had Sailor Senshi much longer than
Earth could have ever dreamed had studied the science behind their
female soldiers. There was a core entity that gave its host the
power to become a Senshi. It chose arbitrarily the best candidate
for the job.
     "Unless Shadowgate's discovered a way of orchestrating the
next person that power chooses," Setsuna spoke up. She glanced at
the sleeping 1101. "They control the body, and thusly the power
too. But it would appear that whatever essence made her Sailor Mars
disagreed with being a Shadowgate puppet."
     Michiru sat up, still keeping close to Haruka. "There's
something you're not telling us, Setsuna," she stated. "I don't
need the Aqua Mirror to see that."
     There was a momentary interlude where Setsuna resigned
herself. There could be no more secrets, she realized. All four of
them had reached a breaking point. It had taken two hundred years
of a virtual hell, but it had finally happened.
     "It wasn't coincidence that Rei came to you at the Tokyo
Raven," she said. Her voice was trembling, but held with it a
certainty that could only come from her lifetimes of experience.
"Think about it: she escapes, and just so happens to land in your
laps a few hours later? She knew you three were alive and out there
in the city. Somehow she could sense your powers, and used it as
her own homing beacon. She came to you for help, even if she didn't
realize it at the time."
     Haruka slowly rose to her feet, picking Michiru up in the
process. They clasped hands, lacing their fingers together.
"Setsuna, you were here when this all began," the tall sandy-blonde
said. "You have to know something!"
     Setsuna nodded. The weight was becoming too much for her to
bare alone. "The catalyst took place about three weeks after Small
Lady went back into the past for the final time."
     "Was that when she encountered the Dead Moon Circus and
Nehelenia?" Hotaru asked for confirmation's sake.
     Setsuna nodded. She began to recount the distant past, haunted
by the fact that it was etched in her mind like it had only taken
place yesterday. "There was a formal ball being held. The royal
family and all the Inner Senshi were there. I could only wish I had
the luxury of going there, but my place was at the gate."
     She looked to Haruka, pleading for absolution.
     "I saw it in my visions. I saw it all. You must believe me,
Haruka, that I tried to stop it from happening. I raced into that
ballroom, ready to give my life for Serenity...but I was too late.
A suicide bomb went off, reducing half the ballroom to waste."
     No one in the room spoke.
     Lies were painful, but sometimes the truth could cut deeper
than any knife. Each one felt the guilt of having never been able
to do a thing. They should have been there to protect their queen.
     "Who was it?" Hotaru dared to ask.
     Setsuna could only shrug, lost in the retelling. Magenta eyes
stared out blankly to the world around her. "Ever since Nemesis had
attacked Crystal Tokyo, there were a few factions of dissidents who
felt that the Court of Serenity had failed and betrayed them. They
vowed to destroy us at all costs. One of their members had
infiltrated the ball as a waiter, and killed himself in trying to
get to Serenity.
     "They almost succeeded too. Our queen was protected, but...."
He voice trailed off and she found it difficult to speak. "But
Endymion sacrificed his life, being her shield from the blast. He
was dead the second the explosives went off. Nothing could be done
to bring him back. Seren...Serenity cradled him in her arms for the
entire night and wept. No one could console her."
     Michiru found a need to interject. But there was no blame in
her voice. Only a desire for answers. "Did they find the group that
did this?"
     "Hai. The Senshi found virtually the entire city helping them
hunt down the faction. When the last of the members were captured,
we summarily executed them."
     "E-Executed?" Hotaru stammered incredulously.
     "You weren't there," Setsuna stated coldly. "You didn't see
the suffering we all went through. All three of you were in stasis,
on your way home. We were unable to contact you, so don't get self-
righteous on me."
     Haruka's stoic expression betrayed none of the emotions she
was going through. "Who performed it?"
     "I did," Setsuna answered. "Dead Scream wiped them from
existence forever. We didn't tell Serenity about it, not that it
would have mattered. Stricken with grief, she'd locked herself in
her chambers and lost touch with reality. Even after the funeral,
no one could get through to her. If she wasn't sleeping, she was
crying. Every now and then she would just stare vacantly out the
window of her bedroom at the city, but nothing else more.
     "Something inside her died with Endymion, and never recovered.
That day we also discovered just how much Usagi and the Silver
Crystal were symbiots: it cracked apart, torn in half by her grief.
Not long after, the youma invasions began anew. Except this time
they started to succeed."
     Haruka nodded as she recognized this from Chaos' own
descriptions of the past. This was the beginning of the Crystal
Wars. The daimon who would be Chaos was created months later to
combat the planet's new foes. Fighting poison with poison.
     Setsuna stopped there, almost unable to continue. "I...I don't
really know what happened next," she said. "It all happened so
fast. But suddenly invaders came to the Timegate, and I was forced
to destroy it. They may have dominated the future, but I was not
about to let them take control of the past."
     "Wait a minute," Hotaru countered. "Chibiusa returned to the
future before Galaxia appeared on Earth. We all saw her go."
     Setsuna avoided Hotaru's gaze. "She had the key to the Cherry
Way, a secret path through time which has two doors. She was able
to open up one with her key...but I had already destroyed the other
that she needed to get back to the future."
     Hotaru stared at Setsuna, ready to explode with any emotion.
Fear. Desperation. Rage. Sadness. It didn't matter. "So where is
she?" Hotaru asked, her voice dangerously low.
     "I don't know," Setsuna admitted. "With the gateway closed
off, she may be lost forever in null time. She may have ceased to
exist. Or else she became lost somewhere in time itself, deposited
in the past, present or distant future. I don't know, Hotaru."
     "That's not good enough!" Hotaru screamed. She threw herself
at Setsuna, trying to beat the older woman down with her hands.
Setsuna did nothing to hold back, Hotaru's hits failing to injure
her physically. But in every other sense, each blow was felt.
     "Hotaru, don't!" Haruka snapped, wrenching the raven-haired
girl away from Setsuna. "She had no choice. If this enemy had
gained control of the portal, then we all would be dead!"
     But Hotaru was beyond listening in that moment.
     "Where is Chibiusa-chan?" she screamed. As Haruka lifted her
off the ground, Hotaru lashed out and delivered a solid kick with
the heel of her boot to Setsuna's forearm.
     Setsuna bit down as unexpected pain receptors fire through her
entire arm. Hotaru stopped kicking the instant she saw Setsuna's
arm sparking viciously. Even Haruka's grip relaxed as she stared in
surprise at the tanned woman before them. Setsuna winced as she
gripped her wounded arm. After a moment of hesitation, she lifted
her palm off the injury, and revealed not blood, but a gouge of
twisted metal, exposed circuitry and mini-hydraulics.
     Hotaru's eyes were trembling once more, and she sucked in a
breath as guilt set in. "S-Setsuna...."
"You never knew," Setsuna answered evenly, walking around the couch
and sitting in front of a clear spot on her desk. She pushed down
on one of her wrists with her thumb. The fair, smooth skin covering
her body suddenly was sucked back, revealing the complex series of
mechanical implants and heavy battle armour covering her body.
     "And I wasn't about to tell you," she added.
     Everything about her seemed artificial now with the retraction
of her simulated layer of tanned skin. Her fingers and hands were
all cyborg implants, as were her legs and feet. Haruka's eyes
drifted up to her chest; where Setsuna's skin would have moved into
cleavage, there was in its place a cuirass. It moved slickly with
her body, still keeping each motion Setsuna made graceful and
fluid, like a real human. But the armour plates also served to
protect her most vital circuitry.
     "This is what happened to me when I destroyed the Timegate,"
Setsuna told them. "This is the sacrifice I made for being the
guardian of time."
     "How human are you?" Michiru asked in a daunted voice.
     "My body is eighty-seven point five-six percent mechanically
artificial," Setsuna replied. "The only aspect of my body that
makes me human instead of a pure android is my mind." 
     Indeed, the only real part of her now that seemed human was
her face. Setsuna hesitantly turned to Haruka. "Do you still want
to be here with me?" she asked, frightened about Haruka's reaction.
She was visibly uncomfortable about revealing her cyborg body.
     "Why didn't you tell us?" Hotaru asked. She felt too
emotionally drained to cry anymore, and she slumped to the floor,
staring up at Setsuna. "Two hundred years, Setsuna...and you never
said anything."
     Setsuna looked away and didn't answer.
     In truth, she hated this artificial body, even if he had given
it to her, and with it given her a second chance at life. She hated
what she had become. If she despised herself this much, how could
she risk telling others who might equally despise her? The Outers
were the only friends she had left. If they walked away from her
because of this cold, metal endoskeleton...the thought was too
painful and terrifying for her to consider.
     And so for two centuries she had hidden her cyborg nature.
     "We're still the same players in the same game," Haruka
abruptly stated, walking towards Setsuna. "What sets all four of us
apart from the rest of the human race is more than just skin deep,
Setsuna." She glanced down at Setsuna's arm. The wound looked more
serious now, the armour having been torn apart from 1101's
outburst. "We'll stay here with you, and when we leave we'll take
you with us."
     The sheer relief in Setsuna's face manifested itself in the
form of a grateful smile. She stood from her chair and wrapped her
good arm around Haruka. Haruka didn't hesitate in wrapping both her
arms around Setsuna's metallic body.
     "Thank you," Setsuna cried softly. "Thank you...."
     She looked tired now, even though her body left her less
fatigued than most people. Haruka gently stepped back from her.
"You should start repairs."
     Setsuna moved her fingers around, twisting her wrist. "The
wound is superficial," she said. "None of my motor reflexes are
damaged."
     Hotaru let out an audible sigh of relief. "Thank Serenity,"
she murmured, absolved from some of the guilt about her anger with
Setsuna.
     "Believe me, in this city I've had worse injuries to worry
about," Setsuna told them as she sat back down on her chair,
pushing a button on a control panel located on the edge of the
desk. A large, swivel tray appeared out from beneath the desk,
displaying a series of small but intricate devices used for cyborg
repair.
     "All the cards have been laid out on the proverbial table,"
she said, inserting a probe into the gash in her arm. Sparks flew
as she began to patch herself back up. "The question remains:
what's next?"
     Haruka simply picked up her bottle of Vermilion Light and
walked towards the picture windows of the apartment, trying to sort
through the deluge of information. It was amazing how quickly the
world could change in a heartbeat. Now she was discovering how
extreme that change could be if given a few extra hours. There was
almost too much for her mind to work with.
     "What do you suggest as our next move, Haruka?" Michiru asked.
"Or do they make the next move?"
     With a beleaguered sigh, Haruka stared out at the darkened
city. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "It's been a long night, but I
don't think I'll be able to get any sleep now."
     There was an abrupt knock at the door. Everyone inside the
apartment stiffened.
     "Expecting someone?" Setsuna inquired. She refitted a piece of
armour to replace the torn one. Her arm whole again, she
reactivated the skin simulation.
     Haruka looked at her wrist chronometer. "It's been three and
a half hours. Not bad for a daimon."
     She deactivated the security field for the door and opened it
up. There in front of her were two large, metallic cases. Haruka
glanced down the hallway and found it deserted. That didn't
surprise her. 
     "Our merchandise is here," she stated, picking up the
surprisingly heavy cases one at a time and moving them into the
apartment. Next to the handle of the one of the cases was a small
note:

          Haruka,

          As requested as delivered. Enjoy your
          new toys--but play nicely now. ^-^

                              Chaos


     Haruka gave a wry smile as she read the note, and chuckled.
"He's got the most vicious sense of humour I've ever seen," she
remarked, tossing the note into the small trashcan next to
Setsuna's desk. Picking up her bottle again, Haruka returned to
staring at the city.
     "Aren't you going to even open them?" Hotaru asked, once again
tending to 1101.
     "Chaos may be a daimon, but he's one of the few beings in this
entire city who's actually reliable," she answered. "What we
ordered is what we'll find in those cases."
     Though the next time they met the daimon, he might be less
enthusiastic about doing business. Haruka's blue eyes could only
stare out at the city's expanse of buildings and shining series of
lights. In the distance she could see the skyscrapers reaching up
into the sky. The darkness was still spread beyond the countless
skyscrapers. Yet she saw only one part of the city now: the
Shinjuku ward, where the Crystal Palace laid in servitude to the
Shadowgate Tower.
     There were still other answers that needed to be found. What
had happened between Endymion's death, and the destruction of the
Timegate? Haruka knew that to get those answers, there was only one
course of action.
     A final course of action that would change everything.
     She could sense Michiru drawing up behind her, the two of them
watching the flickering lights of Crystal Tokyo "Are you thinking
what I am?" she asked quietly.
     "Shadowgate's council might be a decoy," Michiru replied in
just as hushed a voice. "The real power behind the facades might be
one of those invading youma who managed to get a hold of the
palace."
     Haruka took a sip from her Vermilion Light. "It's all there
waiting for us, Michiru. Our best hopes and our worst fears. If we
want to end this, there can be only one way."
     They would have to go to Shadowgate.


     "So let me get this straight," the daimon who would be Chaos
said. He stood in Setsuna's apartment, leaning against the kitchen
counter and staring at each of the four Outer Senshi. "You call me
up two hours after my delivery, make me drive my lovely Vengeance
Inc. classic back to this place...and now you tell me you want me
to get you into Shadowgate?"
     Michiru chuckled. "He's a fast learner, love," she remarked to
Haruka. Haruka simply grinned.
     Chaos rolled his eye in exasperation. "While you're at it, how
about asking me to go back in time and find Atlantis for you?"
     "Not so long ago, I could have easily arranged that for you,"
Setsuna stated evenly.
     The daimon shut his mouth upon hearing that.
     "It has to do with her, doesn't it?" he said, glancing in
1101's direction. She had since regained consciousness, and was
sitting next to Hotaru on the couch.
     "What makes you say that?" Haruka inquired, trying to sound as
innocently casual as she could.
     That only made Chaos smirk. "For as much as we'd like to think
we're opposites, Haruka, we're very much alike." His eye traced a
path from Haruka to 1101. "That Esper aura she has...I've seen it
before."
     "Where?"
     His solemn eye focused on Haruka. "I'm looking at four others
right now. The degree of power she holds rivals what I can sense
off you Outer Senshi. The Inner Senshi possess that same power,
given my prior dealings with them."
     The Outers' expressions betrayed nothing.
     Chaos knew he couldn't verbally force any information from
them either. He stared at the women around him, and then with a
sigh finally nodded. "Okay, I'll play your game--but we play it my
way."
     "How so?" Setsuna asked.
     Chaos tilted his head to one side, and leisurely cracked his
neck. "From what I'm guessing, you probably want to storm the
Shadowgate Tower while we create a diversion outside that draws the
Inner Senshi away from you. Ne?"
     Haruka nodded. "Unless you have a better plan."
     "I'm not about to become cannon fodder, even for you, Haruka,"
Chaos stated rather bluntly. "You want to find this lab that you
saw in that girl's mind? Let me remind you that the Shadowgate
Tower alone has over two hundred floors--and that's not even
counting the dozens of underground levels--all of which require
some degree of security clearance. Most of the floorplans are
classified, which means you're walking in blind. And while you're
walking around blind on the inside, my daimons would be getting
their asses kicked outside by the Inner Senshi."
     "So you do have a better plan, then," said Michiru.
     The daimon nodded. "I've tried it your way before myself." He
ran the tip of his middle finger down the scar across his one eye.
"As you can see, it wasn't entirely successful. Since that ill-
fated attempt to storm Shadowgate, over the years I've been
creating a strategy that doesn't rely on sheer brute force. The
only technicality is what we now face: not having the slightest
fucking idea where to go in the Shadowgate Tower once we're
inside."
     "Then you're in luck," Hotaru said with a grin. "We won't be
anywhere near the tower, Chaos."
     He gave her a quizzical look.
     Hotaru clarified, "We'll be going into the Crystal Palace."
     "The palace?" Chaos repeated. He laughed like they'd all lost
their minds. "The palace needs even higher security clearance than
anything else in the tower. God can't even get in there unless he's
got the right ID."
     "We're not asking you to get us into the palace right at the
beginning," Haruka countered. "The Shadowgate Tower and the Crystal
Palace have connecting passageways we can locate on our own. We
need you to slip us into the tower unnoticed. Are you up to the
challenge, or do we do this ourselves?"
     Chaos barked out a laugh. "I'm always up to a challenge,
Haruka. It's getting killed in the process that I'm not too fond
of. But I think I can manage a window of opportunity."
     The daimon abruptly stalked towards Setsuna's computer,
seating himself down in the swivel chair before the screen. His
touch activated the entire CPU system, and within seconds he was
inside the cyber-wetworks of the city. 
     "What are you doing?" Setsuna asked, walking over to him. 
     The daimon's eye never left the terminal. "I'm hacking into
Shadowgate," he replied evenly.
     "Are you crazy?" she hissed. "There's hundreds of tracking
systems that will kill us all if they find you hacking through! And
besides, its got ten crypto-locks. No one has ever broken into
Shadowgate."
     "My dear, you're implying I've never done this before," Chaos
drawled. He glanced over his shoulder. "You ladies should get some
sleep while you can. I'll be here a while securing us the proper
authority to get us into the Shadowgate complex. From there it's up
to you to get us into the palace--either without getting noticed or
by fighting through the armies of guards."
     "What's this 'we' thing?" Haruka challenged.
     Chaos chuckled, running his tongue along his wolfen fangs.
"Oh, I'm not about to miss this. I said before I've been devising
a plan to get a small group in. However, none of my daimons have
the uber-Esper firepower you four possess, which is why I've never
gone through with this strategy before."
     "You're not going," Haruka stated. "We need you outside
creating a diversion when the time comes."
     "Either I go, or I leave this apartment right now," Chaos
countered, still concentrating on the screen as his fingers typed
in a blur of access commands. "Think you can play nicely with a
daimon in your midst, ladies?"
     Haruka fumed, knowing that wasn't any other way around this.
She glanced back at 1101, who had been watching this unfold without
saying a word. The girl's eyes simply followed Chaos wherever he
happened to be.
     They hadn't told her about the cloning.
     Even Hotaru was afraid of what it might do to her.
     For now they had to remain ambiguous in front of 1101, and
then cross that proverbial bridge when they came to it.
     "I'll take your silence as a 'yes'," Chaos remarked. "Now
then, as I said you should get some sleep. I don't think any of you
have slept in over twenty-four hours, and daimons weren't designed
to ever sleep."
     "When will we be ready to go?" Setsuna asked.
     Chaos paused, examining the screen in front of him. ID codes
were being displayed. ID codes he would soon override and rewrite.
"Tonight, if you can wait that long."
     Haruka nodded. "Then we finish this tonight."
     "One way or the other," Michiru quietly murmured.


     He had adjourned to his office for the remainder of the day,
even though it was only morning. There was a call he was expecting.
The darkened world still carried its creature comforts, and he let
the lights from the city beyond his windows bathe his room in a
haunting glow.
     There were other matters of business to attend to. Shadowgate
had many secrets, and Shadowgate alone ruled the world. Hence he
had many secrets, and he alone ruled the world. But it was the
expected call that he was waiting for today.
     Sometime into the later hours of the morning he received it.
The screen displayed a face with tanned skin, magenta eyes and long
dark hair that shone almost like an emerald. He smiled fondly, and
she returned the mutual affection with one of her own.
     "Ohayo," he said.
     "Ohayo."
     It was a rare thing to see Setsuna smile. She usually did it
only for him, because he never shied away from her metallic body.
He had given her that body after he had unsuccessfully tried to
take control of the Timegate. Her fear of being rejected by him was
never in doubt, and her desire to keep that fear abated gave him a
powerful ally.
     A part of him mourned her distant ways now.
     She was afraid to try and be human, because now she felt that
she was no longer human. But it put enough distance between her and
Shadowgate to allow for the Outers to implicitly trust her as they
always had.
     "What do you have for me?" he asked.
     She looked away, and he knew she was wrestling with betraying
her friends. 
     "Setsuna," he asked again, this time using her name with
affection. "When will they come to Shadowgate?"
     "Tonight," she answered him, still avoiding eye contact.
"They've got a daimon named Chaos giving them access into the
tower. From there they want to get into the palace." Abruptly her
magenta eyes fixed onto him. "Why didn't you tell me about the
cloning?"
     He leaned forward, the light from the screen reflecting in his
own cobalt blue eyes. "Ignorance is bliss, my Setsuna. You've had
so much pain you refuse to let go of; I knew this would only
further serve to burden you. Now, what else can you tell me?"
     "I'm not sure," she admitted, shaking her head. "Chaos is the
one planning this. But he has insisted that he personally be with
us when we infiltrate Shadowgate. I also think he's planning a
diversion meant for the Inner Senshi."
     "I can only assume he'll stage an attack on the Shadowgate
Tower," he replied. Somehow he found himself not surprised by
Chaos' involvement in this. "You've done well, Setsuna. You have
made me proud."
     He reached out and let his palm touch the screen. Setsuna
smiled in spite of her sadness and tried to somehow touch his hand
through the distance between them.
     "I wish I didn't have to go now," she said.
     "You'll be here with me soon enough, Setsuna. And then all of
this can at last go away. I can make this nothing more than a bad
dream you forget when you wake up...if that is what you truly
want."
     And his voice showed how much he did not want it.
     But Setsuna nodded and withdrew her hand from the screen. "I'd
like that. Sayonara."
     She terminated the connection.
     Left to his own thoughts in his own private darkness, the
president of Shadowgate leaned back in his chair. A hovercopter
flew around the windows of his office, gently rattling the windows.
     So, the attack would come tonight.
     He was more than familiar with the creature who took the name
Chaos for itself. That damned wolf daimon was one of the few
mistakes he regretted not having been able to wipe out beforehand.
True to the nature of chaos, Chaos had proven an unstable variable
even he couldn't predict. The Outer Senshi he could anticipate
easily enough. But the daimon's presence would mean a necessary
change of tactics.
     He reached down the small console built into his desk, and
accessed a private transmission line. The screen went to static. A
few moments later it jumped to display the interior of a large and
luxurious bedroom.
     "Yes?" Makoto answered, sitting in front of her own screen.
     "Is Ami what you?" he asked.
     She nodded.
     "Something has come up," he told her. "We're going to have
some guests tonight I'm sure you'd like to meet. But there are some
details that must be discussed first. Come to my office
immediately, and bring Minako with you."
     Makoto nodded and then terminated the connection.
     He allowed himself the chance to smile.
     It was time to tell the Inner Senshi about their treacherous
sisters in arms. As much as he hated to do it, this would also
force him to employ the use of Sailor Venus, even though she still
required a lot of training.
     But he still possessed the element of surprise. Tonight he
would give the Outer Senshi something they would have never
imagined possible: their queen. That alone would guarantee him an
opening to kill them all, and recreate the Outers the way he
wanted.


     The morning drifted into afternoon, and the afternoon soon
tapered off in to the beginnings of evening. The apartment was
eerily quiet, save for the incessant typing noises being made by a
wolfen daimon. Haruka and Michiru were sleeping together in the
master bedroom. Hotaru was curled up on the couch, wrapping herself
around 1101 like a protective blanket.
     Chaos glanced over his shoulder as he saw Setsuna approach
him. "Konban wa. You seem a little groggy."
     "I just came out of a regeneration state," she answered,
sipping at a cup of coffee. Her magenta eyes studied the screen.
"What's this for?"
     "I got us the credentials and excuse for entry into the
Shadowgate Tower about three hours ago. Now I've just had the fun
of co-ordinating a strike force that will deliberately fall apart
and flee fifteen minutes after it begins. It's harder than it
looks."
     "Faking injuries usually are," she remarked.
     Chaos gave a non-committal nod.
     They stayed in company of silent conversation, Setsuna content
to watch over Chaos' shoulder as he worked out the final details of
tonight. A part of her wished she wasn't seeing this. A part of her
wished the Outers had just left her behind.
     "How is it that you can do this?" she asked. "I've never seen
anyone with this sort of skill before."
"I was a Shadowgate test tube soldier," Chaos replied with a slight
growl at the memory. "They programmed me to have this sort of
skill, and weren't able to pull the plug on me fast enough when I
decided to do things my way. I've been inside Shadowgate's
mainframe more times than anyone can imagine, Setsuna. I've created
more loopholes, back doors and windows of opportunity than any
hacker could dream of. How else do you think I came to rule most of
the city's underground?"
     Setsuna sighed and nodded.
     She should have expected that. Though it was unnerving to
place one's trust and confidence in a daimon, especially since she
and the other Outer Senshi had once fought against them and their
Deathbuster masters.
     "You're the only one I don't know very well, Setsuna," Chaos
abruptly said. "Hell, you were here when it all happened. I wasn't
even around then. I know the others; I know what keeps them going
and why they want to do this."
     His one eye focused on her. 
     And she realized that within his gaze she could see how much
of a predator the daimon really was.
     "Why do you want to do this?" he asked.
     Setsuna looked into her cup, and saw the human face caught in
the murky reflection. "An end," she said quietly. "I want to find
peace."
     Chaos turned his head to the direction of the couch. His own
ears could differentiate from each individual breath that Hotaru
and 1101 took. "If this girl becomes the last nail in Shadowgate's
coffin, will it be enough? What guarantee do I have that whatever
changes surface in the wake of this, my kind--and more importantly,
me--won't suffer just as grievously under a second regime?"
     "That's a chance you'll just have to take," Setsuna answered.
She soberly added, "It's a chance we'll all have to take. No one
knows the future anymore."
     Chaos sighed, as if he had been expecting that response.
     "Well then," he remarked, displaying a fanged grin. "At the
very least I can guarantee my own survival for a while. You ladies
owe me for this one. And I will make sure to collect one day."
     He looked at the chronometer on Setsuna's wall.
     "We've only got a few hours before all hell's scheduled to
break loose. Can you wake the others while I clean all my
fingerprints off this operation?"
     Setsuna nodded and turned away.
     Chaos let a low growl escape his throat as he watched her
discreetly slip into the master bedroom, the door closing behind
her. "What are you hiding, Setsuna?" he muttered to himself.


     Crystal Tokyo, even when cloaked beneath a veil of pitch
darkness for what could feel like eternity, somehow seemed to sense
when it was day or night. At night the lights of the city shone a
little brighter. The people and youma grew a little rowdier. And
Shadowgate's security forces were on a higher state of alert. The
top four floors of the Shadowgate Tower were devoted solely to
aerial traffic both taking off and landing from the building.
     Aside from the control room monitoring anything flying even
remotely close to the tower, there were roving rooftop patrols.
Large anti-assault cannons had also been mounted on the corners of
the dozen landing pads, with a number of smaller cannons that could
retract into the side of the building and remain hidden until
called for. 
     Shadowgate had definitively established that anyone or
anything who violated the tower's personal airspace and didn't have
clearance would be immediately terminated. A few early (and fatal)
incidents cemented the fact that aerial traffic stayed clear of the
Shinjuku area if they could help it.
     Many times the nights went by without so much as a cause for
concern. The shifts and patrols were uneventful. While the guards
on duty knew that an attack could easily come any second, for the
time being they were in a state of comfortable security in their
competence. As a result, it came as somewhat of a surprise for
those in the aerial control centre when an unmarked object entered
Shadowgate airspace. Its course was deliberately marking the tower
as its final destination.
     This was pointed out to the captain currently on deck,
Fujimoto. "Someone's got a lot of balls to come at us this
brazenly," he muttered.
     "Maybe they have a good reason," someone piped up.
     "Or maybe they're on a suicide mission, and trying to smash
into the tower before our guns can shoot them down," Fujimoto
countered evenly. He glanced over his shoulder at one of the
technicians. "What's the status report on the vehicle?"
     "Military personnel transport," the young tech replied. He
seemed to do a double-take as he got a proper reading on the
identification tags. "Um...it's the Kitsune, Sir. A Sky class
transport ship."
     Fujimoto turned back to the technician, his own expression
mirroring that same disbelief. "Sky class? You're shitting me."
     The technician shook his head.
     "Bring it up on the overhead displays," Fujimoto ordered,
watching the screen above him suddenly cut to a visual of the
vehicle. The cameras and satellites monitoring the exterior of the
tower gave a frighteningly remarkable clarity to the image as the
transport circled around the landing platforms.
     The Kitsune itself was created for speed and agility, so the
body was more slender and vertical in shape. The cockpit was on a
raised, two-tier design: the pilot actually sat below and in front
of the passengers.
     Fujimoto glanced over to the primary intake vents that were on
either side of the cockpit. The elongated glass canopy made for a
rather impressive view when night-flying. And the stealth mode on
which it operated allowed for a virtually silent running. A pilot
could hear the traffic and noise outside, but the engines were
barely above a whisper.
     "Sir, they're sending us a transmission," one of the
technicians reported.
     The captain nodded. "Open a channel, audio only." When he had
an open line he stated as boldly as he could, "Unidentified
transport, you are in direct violation of Shadowgate airspace.
Identify yourself and your intentions, or make no mistake we will
erase your ass from the skies."
     There was a peculiar chuckle heard from the other side.
     Abruptly there came a reply. "This is the Kitsune's pilot
speaking. While you call us unidentified, I thought our
classification would have tipped you off."
     Fujimoto growled. "Cocky bastard," he muttered. Addressing the
pilot he stated again, "Your classification means nothing without
the proper clearance. You have ten seconds to either supply us with
the information we demand, or we open fire."
     The pilot paused for a moment. Only a moment. Then his voice
returned, this time even more viciously amused than before. "Inform
the docking chief that Sky Commander Haruka Tennou is here for the
surprise inspection," he said. "We expect to have you ready to
receive us in ten seconds...or there will be hell to pay, I can
assure you."
     Everyone in the control room visibly paled.
     Sky Commanders might have been the next best thing to being on
the Shadowgate Council, but this was still the Shadowgate Tower.
Even they had to respect the proper channels. But if this was a Sky
Commander the vehicle was carrying, it was doubtful any further
encounters would be pleasant. A Sky Commander's whims were easily
made law.
     "B-But we're not scheduled for an inspection," Fujimoto
stammered, feeling his body start to heat up beneath his uniform.
     "That's because if we informed you beforehand, it would not be
a surprise," came the Sky Commander's smooth voice over the audio
channel. "Go into your itinerary system and access file code
twenty-four-six."
     Fujimoto turned to one of his subordinates, momentarily
disabling the comm. system. "Well?"
     "Oh shit," the technician muttered, nodding her head. She
leaned back in her chair after punching in the code, wiping the
sweat from her brow. "They've got clearance all right."
     Fujimoto's gaze snapped over to one of the overhead screens,
where their currently scheduled arrival listed as "Motor Parts
Drop-off" was suddenly altered to read "Sky Commander Inspection."
     "Damn smokescreens," he hissed. He swore under his breath,
fearing that this might mean his ass. "Permission to land granted,"
he said as evenly as he could. "We're feeding you your docking
information now, Sir."
     It was just as well that they were on audio only.
     Fujimoto could feel the pilot's damned grin even from here.
     "Sky class vehicle Kitsune to Shadowgate Tower air control,"
the pilot remarked, twisting the knife a little deeper and
thoroughly enjoying it. "It's been a pleasure doing business with
you."
     Fujimoto swore only after the transmission was disconnected,
throwing his datapad across the room. He turned back to the other
technicians, practically glaring at them. But the fear in his eyes
couldn't be hidden. "I want a formal guard detail to meet me and
the Sky Commander at Landing Bay Five," he stated. "Now. And clean
up this place in case they decide to examine us!"
     He had to race across the maze of walkways in order to
actually greet the transport as it settled down onto the landing
pad. The winds blew at the captain's crewcut, while steam and smoke
being blown out from the Kitsune's exhaust ports were whipped
around in the air.
     Fujimoto saw the regiment of Shadowgate soldiers march onto
the pad and line up at attention. He started towards the craft and
mentally crossed his fingers.
     The canopy swung open, and the vehicle's passengers stepped
out one by one.
     All in total: five women, and the pilot.
     The pilot was in full uniform, from the armoured pads and
vests right down to the helmet and its tinted visor. He didn't
bother to hide the large armament of weapons he was carrying. No
doubt this was the Sky Commander's personal bodyguard.
     The Sky Commander was in the lead, her uniform noticeably more
elaborate than those of her female subordinates. Yet they were all
wearing substantially impressive rankings.
     Fujimoto felt his gut drop.
     He'd known Shadowgate was looking to tighten up its security
division, and this inspection looked to have only one objective:
witch hunting. Fujimoto swallowed down his fears of demotion,
reassignment or imprisonment, and dutifully marched up to the Sky
Commander.
     "Sky Commander Tennou," he said, saluting her. "It is an
honour to have you here."
     "You may not be thinking that by the time I leave," Haruka
replied as menacingly as she could. "My soldiers and I will require
access to the following places."
     She paused as Hotaru stepped forward and handed Fujimoto a
datapad. "I trust this will not be a problem?"
     "N-No, Sir!" Fujimoto stammered, hastily saluting. He briefly
scanned over the list, and noted that most of them were with
sections that didn't involve him. That much was a welcomed relief.
"I'll let the corresponding departments know you're on your way."
     "No, you will not," Haruka countered. "This is a surprise
inspection, Captain. They are not to know we're coming until we've
already left. Is that clear?"
     Meekly Fujimoto nodded and returned the datapad to Hotaru. He
stepped back and saluted once more. "I'll show you to the
elevators, Sir."
     "That would be very helpful," Haruka agreed, letting him take
the lead. The others followed. 
     Fujimoto quickly accessed the elevator's computer, and gave
them clearance to the first area they were to inspect. He bowed
again as he stepped out of the elevator car; the last thing he
wanted to do was accompany them on their inspection. When the
elevator doors closed, he let out a sigh of relief. That was the
closest brush with terror he'd ever had. It wasn't an experience he
wanted to have ever again. His nerves were frazzled, and he felt
like he'd just lost ten pounds from just sweating.
     "I'm getting too old for this," he muttered as he headed back
to the control room. 
     But first, he needed a cigarette.


     Left to their own in the elevator, the Senshi all visibly
relaxed their guard. The first part of the gauntlet had been passed
with no problems in the slightest. That first destination on their
datapad was where they needed to begin their search of the
facilities.
     From inside the helmet, Chaos chuckled, "Sometimes the best
way to get deep inside a fortress is to go up to the front gate and
have them open the doors for you."
     "Certainly saves us from picking the locks," Michiru agreed.
     "How'd you manage to pull off making Haruka a Sky Commander?"
Setsuna muttered.
     Chaos wagged a finger at her. "Trade secrets, my dear. I
wasn't on your computer for six straight hours for nothing." 
     Most people assumed the fastest way to your destination was to
hack through the security. His own method was simpler: create an
identity that automatically gave you the authority to breeze
through security. But now the fun part of the game really began.
Now they had to navigate their way through all the checkpoints.
     "Are you sure these ID cards work?" Michiru pressed, taking
out and examining her own card.
     Chaos gave a nod. "In creating your ranks, I made sure to
procure the proper identification that comes with it. Once you work
through the minefield of making an identity for yourself, the rest
is easy." 
     "So why haven't you already tried this?" Setsuna asked.
     "Daimons don't become Sky Commanders, my dear." He paused to
see what floor they were currently passing by on their way down.
"And you ladies have a formal power of presence that even my best
human counterparts cannot duplicate. Not to mention you don't need
to carry heavy weaponry to inflict a lot of damage on the place."
     And he silently reflected that this was a trump card he had
been saving for decades. He knew Shadowgate well enough; he would
only be permitted such a rouse only once. That meant making it
count. And the odds had always been against him in the past.
     "But," he added. "let me remind you that I can only get us
through checkpoints requiring keycard ID. There are other measures,
like fingerprint, retinal and DNA scans, that I couldn't procure
for us without getting caught. That's impossible even for me. We
hit a security area that needs something other than a card, it's up
to you to get us in."
     Haruka's eyes narrowed. That was something he'd neglected to
tell them earlier, and it wasn't exactly putting him in her good
graces. "And just how do you propose we do that?" she muttered
through her teeth.
     "Don't tell me you left your Aqua Mirror in your other fuku,"
Chaos remarked to Michiru, seemingly ignoring Haruka altogether.
     Michiru found herself smiling. And for the first time in a
long while, it felt sincere. "I thought as much."
     The elevator shuddered to a stop as it reached one of the main
levels near the tower's gargantuan lobby and atrium. When the doors
opened, Haruka stepped out and looked around. Everything here was
done up in glass and gold. It more resembled a classy hotel foyer
than an actual building lobby. The entire area was open to a glass
ceiling that curved over all the various levels enclosed beneath
it.
     "Fancy layout," Hotaru murmured as the other stepped out one
at a time, according to rank. Hotaru and Setsuna flanked 1101, who
looked very much out of place. The uniform the girl wore had a high
degree of authority with it, but her face revealed none of that
power she should otherwise have. The daimon was the only one who
broke the formation; being Haruka's alleged bodyguard he walked
alongside her.
     "This entire area is more to impress the visitors," Chaos said
quietly as they marched towards one of the escalators. "It can seal
itself up like a bank vault in under five seconds if they want.
Anyone caught inside winds up being a moving target for the
automated guns secretly stowed in the walls and columns."
     Haruka kept her eyes straight, her expression as strict and
unemotional as she could. "You seem to know a lot about this," she
remarked.
     "This was as far as my attack force got, Haruka. They let us
storm the atrium, then sealed us inside and killed us off at their
leisure. And that was a long time ago; I can only imagine what new
systems they've installed since then."
     Once they reached the main level, Haruka glanced over her
shoulder to Michiru and 1101. "It's up to you now. Where do we go
from here?"
     Michiru didn't have a chance to answer.
     "That way," 1101 said, nodding towards one of the breezeways.
"Down there."
     And so they began to work their way through the maze of lifts,
corridors and checkpoints. Sometimes Haruka was able to give them
access by going into her Sky Commander persona and bullying the
somewhat terrified guards. But the further into the heart of
Shadowgate they went, the harder it became to intimidate. Michiru's
use of the Aqua Mirror was able to reveal what access codes were
required. She was also able to use it to fool the handprint, DNA
and retinal scanners. 
     "How long until your daimons start their diversion?" Setsuna
asked. Human traffic was still busy, and their ranking tended to
make them rather noticeable. 
     The daimon consulted his body's internal chronometer. "Soon
enough."
     "Can you be more specific?" Haruka said. "I don't like the
looks people are giving us."
     The wolf daimon sighed. "If you must know, the fun will begin
right about...now."


     Outside, a small entourage of delivery trucks made their way
towards the southwest loading bay. Until a security officer gave
each individual vehicle clearance, the barred gates would not
retract. That became a moot point when three trucks in the lead
each took a different access lane and then rammed into the gates.
Instantly the alarms were triggered as explosions of sparks marked
where the gates were torn apart from the rest of the fencing.
     Oblivious to the mobilizing troops and the mounted weapons
coming online, the three delivery trucks ploughed through the gates
and drove the metal bars beneath their tires. Joining them in the
assault were six hovercruisers that erupted from the shadows of the
surrounding foliage. Numerous other vehicles helped provide cover
fire for the three charging vans as youma swarmed the checkpoints.
     If there were drivers in any of the trucks, no one had a
chance to find out. A set of cannons destroyed one vehicle, causing
it to pitch onto its side before detonating. The explosion was more
intense than expected, the fireball lighting up the entire area as
a shockwave caused the ground to cave in and the earth to shake.
     The other two trucks made it through unscathed. They never
slowed down, one smashing into a set of delivery doors, the other
into an employee access door. The explosives hidden inside the
trucks detonated, and managed to demolish everything around them.
Part of the first five floors collapsed, reduced to rubble and ash.
     Even as the acrid black smoke poured out from the gaping
craters, the Shadowgate military was storming onto the battlefield.
     Chaos' daimons were waiting for them.


     The corridor the Outers were in abruptly shuddered, and in the
distance they could hear alarm klaxons going off. Many of the other
officers or personnel in the corridor started to scurry off to
their various posts. Some seemed frightened, others were simply
mobilizing since that was their job. In about two minutes, the
Outers found themselves the only occupants of a long and empty
corridor.
     "I love punctuality in a siege," Chaos remarked, letting out
a contented sigh. "Ne?"
     Michiru quickly accessed a nearby wall terminal, reading the
data and reports that were now coming in. "They've sealed off
everything about three floors above us." She tried not to look too
relieved. "We're virtually free to roam around."
     With any luck the Inners would stay busy contending with the
youma, thinking that 1101 was out there somewhere. And for now it
appeared they were far enough into the Shadowgate complex that no
one would suspect a Sky Commander's group as infiltrators.
     Haruka glanced over at Chaos. "Not bad for a youma."
     "You should see me do laundry," he replied glibly. The assault
rifle was slung over his shoulder. "Now then, back to the hunt,
yes?"


     He barely felt the trembling of the Shadowgate Tower beneath
him. But he was more than aware of the explosions. For now he was
quietly watching the battle unfold between his soldiers, and a band
well-supplied and excellently co-ordinated youma. The computer
screen displayed the fighting like a detached spectator. It felt as
if this was all being acted out, that there wasn't even really a
war going on outside.
     To an extent, that was actually true.
     "Are we going to help them?" asked a voice from behind.
     The president of Shadowgate turned his chair ever so slightly,
and then shook his head. "This is merely a diversion meant to keep
you three occupied."
     But at the very least, it let him know that his guests had
arrived.
     Cobalt eyes watched as the youma offensive slowly began to
collapse. The Shadowgate soldiers swiftly moved to take advantage
of any pocket of weakness. In the span of ten minutes, the daimons
were starting to retreat, beaten back by an overwhelming amount of
enemy firepower.
     Jupiter stepped closer to his chair. "This elaborate war was
staged just for us?" She sounded almost flattered.
     He nodded. "The real battle is yet to come, Makoto. Be ready
for it." He slowly rose from his chair, and turned off the screen.
Already the soldiers had been informed that the Inner Senshi would
not be helping them. And so they were sorely trying to prove
themselves to their president and leader.
     "We should be going," Mercury said. "They'll be nearing the
palace very soon." She flashed Venus a reassuring smile. "Daijobu.
We're the sailor soldiers. We can take on anything."
     Venus tried not to look so uneasy.
     It would be her first battle.
     She hoped she wouldn't disappoint him.


     The journey towards the dark heart of Shadowgate was one that
found the Outers no longer faces standing out in the crowd. Namely
because there was no crowd. The attack on the building had thrown
everyone into a state of panic and alert; the soldiers were
securing the floors above them, and any other personnel were hiding
in their offices or labs.
     Obscure breezeways became their paths taken. The checkpoints
were still of the highest security, but it seemed as if no one ever
ventured into the corridors they now walked. The intervals in which
1101 would point them in a new direction started to become more
frequent. The memories buried somewhere in a cloud of forgetfulness
within the girl's mind were resurfacing. Her timidity and
hesitation noticeably dwindled, replaced with a certainty that
reminded those around her of Rei.
     She guided them through walkways and unexpected areas. The map
inside her mind seemed to be writing itself, matching each
footstep. 1101 didn't know that they would have to turn left or
right, or to stop, unless they came to the exact spot where such
action was necessary.
     "Haruka," Chaos said quietly to the tall, sandy-blonde. "Her
Esper aura's fluctuating. It's growing stronger."
     Haruka nodded.
     "We can all feel it," Michiru agreed. "She's starting to
remember, the closer she gets to the Crystal Palace."
     "This way," 1101 said, suddenly breaking out past Haruka and
moving down the empty corridor.
     Haruka hissed, and managed to snag the girl by the shoulder.
"Rei, don't! If we blow our cover then Shadowgate will come down on
us like a hammer."
     "There are no more guards allowed beyond where we are," 1101
stated with frightening confidence. "This area is off-limits,
period."
     The entourage stopped, each woman slowly taking a look at
their surroundings. They started to realize and question how long
it had been since they'd seen another person. They had all just
assumed it to be a part of protocol due to the youma attack.
     1101 watched them for only a moment, and then disappeared down
an adjacent passageway. The Outers followed her as best they could,
though now they found themselves running to keep up. And whenever
they caught a glimpse of 1101, the girl was only walking at a calm
and steady pace.
     "Shimatta," Chaos said, removing his helmet as he ran and then
tossing it over his shoulder. "Maybe we should have kept her on a
leash."
     The chase lasted only a few minutes. And their final
destination came abruptly. As they came around a corner they found
her. 1101 was staring at a wall with no doors and no windows. There
was no security checkpoint of any kind. It was just a blank wall.
     Hotaru looked around, trying not to panic. "Dead end," she
said quietly, her hopes turning to fears.
     "Then why did she lead us here?" Setsuna asked.
     "How the hell should I know? I'm not a telepath," Chaos
snarled.
     Michiru silenced them both with a pointed look. She turned her
gaze to 1101, watching the girl move her hands along the solid
wall. "My mirror's detecting something there."
     "Is there something on the other side?" Hotaru asked.
     Michiru shook her head, daring to step forward and touch the
cold metal of the wall. Somehow it didn't feel right. Not in terms
of physical touch, but something about it resonated within her
being. "The wall is, and yet isn't," she said cryptically.
     "Well which is it?" the wolf daimon inquired. "It's only one
or the other, so make up your mind." He was tempted to use his
assault weapon to render the wall permanently "isn't."
     1101 wasn't listening to them.
     She continued to touch and feel. Sense. Call upon the magic
locked beneath the surface. She knew this wall. Somewhere in her
memories she knew that there were hundreds of dead ends she could
and had accessed. Beyond them all laid the palace. But the doors
could only be opened with the proper key.
     And then 1101's eyes widened.
     "I am the key," she whispered.
     Something from her touch passed on into the wall. Solid
surface became solid surface no more. Somehow, the wall began to
pull back upon itself like it had become malleable. Watery ripples
of silver faded and became transparent. There was something beyond
the wall. Then everything was rolled back to form a perfect
passageway.
     The corridor ended, and there at the edge was 1101.
Claustrophobic tunnelways vanished, replaced with a dauntingly
gargantuan and elaborate nothingness. As the Senshi approached,
they found a ceiling high above them that curved from their side
and somehow bonded with a crystalline structure on the other side.
There were no windows. No sources of light aside from the light in
their corridor, and the natural soft glow of what could only be the
Crystal Palace.
     1101's eyes were cast down at her toes, perilously over the
edge of the corridor. Where the floor ended a gaping and monstrous
chasm of darkness began, stretching across the expanse of the open
area and only ending where the Crystal Palace began. There was no
way of telling how far down the pit went.
     Yet beyond the chasm laid their objective. The shimmering
glass pillars and arches could be seen from across the way.
     "Well, that was surprisingly easy," Chaos remarked, wandering
up the chasm's mouth and peering down. His gaze turned to Haruka as
he withdrew from the edge. "Can't wait to see what's next."
     Something must have heard him and paid no heed to the sarcasm
in his voice. The passageway behind them suddenly sealed itself
off, a metallic shutter door dropping down from the ceiling. The
lights died, replaced with a pale, scarlet glow from the emergency
lighting. Everyone clustered together, their backs to each other.
     The Outers were on the brink of throwing final caution to the
wind and going for a straight sailor transformation. There was no
telling what might happen now.
     "Thanks, Chaos," Hotaru said dryly. "Way to open your big
mouth."
     "I think this would have gone off regardless of any sounds we
made," Setsuna countered, stepping forward. "Now we have to prove
ourselves. I don't want to think of what might happen if we fail
that test."
     Chaos managed a sardonic smirk. "Oh, I'm betting on us being
vaporised. It's a Shadowgate favourite, I happen to know."
     "You're not helping," Michiru snapped.
     "It's not like I can anyways," he retorted. "I'm a daimon, not
a deity." His eye darted over to 1101. "Now we see if Shadowgate
thought to revoke any access Sailor Mars once had to this place."
     1101 turned back and looked at them. "Only an authorized
Senshi can pass through here," she said. Then she went back to
looking at the chasm which separated her from the answers she
sought.
     This power flowing through her...she knew it.
     It was this power which had opened the wall.
     Before it had been savage and uncontrollable. Like taming wild
lightning. But the palace was different from the rest of the city.
She could sense the change, the lingering peace that still
existence even across the artificial gorge. With this familiar
scent came the images. Cascades of memories started to come
crashing down like a fragile house of cards. Only this time she was
starting to understand what each image meant. The question of her
existence was no longer in doubt, even though all the other details
still lay shrouded in mystery.
     She knew.
     Without reason or worry, she simply knew.
     She was Sailor Mars.
     Something within reacted to the revelation, and 1101's violet
eyes closed as she was engulfed in a vortex of fire. The flames
danced like a cyclone, and then parted back like the blossoming
petals of a flowery inferno.
     1101 found herself dressed in the red and white of a sailor
battle fuku. A tiara was across her forehead. High-heeled crimson
shoes were on her feet. She raised a hand up in front of her face,
staring at the white glove covering her palm.
     The chamber sensed the sudden windfall of power.
     Identified it as belonging to Sailor Mars.
     There was a loud metallic click as something fell into place.
Everyone could feel the tension in the brief lull. Abruptly a
walkway started to extend out from the other side, quickly bridging
the gap that separated the two structures. There were no handrails,
but the platform could easily accommodate two people walking side
by side.
     1101 began to walk across, oblivious to anyone or anything
around her.
     "Think it's safe for us to cross?" Haruka asked quietly.
     Michiru bit her lip. "I have no idea, love."
     She felt certain that there was more than one access passage
which connected the palace to the Shadowgate Tower. Why 1101 had
chosen such a long route to get to one made her uneasy. Was the
winding journey needed to give 1101 that final jolt in her memory?
It became a question of who was doing the leading: Rei, or the Mars
Essence.
     Both Haruka and Michiru were surprised when Hotaru abruptly
stepped past them, moving onto the walkway. The raven-haired girl
paused in midstep and said, "I've been waiting for this for two
hundred years. I'm not about to hesitate now."
     Nothing happened to bar Hotaru's way across.
     Chaos followed after her.
     The three remaining Outers took up the rear.
     Haruka found her gaze sweeping the expansive darkness around
them, paranoid about what might suddenly burst through the shadows
and attack. It didn't seem like there were any security defenses
here at all. Or had 1101 telepathically deactivated the defences to
let all of them cross? Too many variables played havoc with every
little suspicion.
     Michiru's aqua green eyes darted over to Chaos as a few dulled
yet deliberate sounds came from him. The daimon was busy loading
and checking his assault rifle--among other weapons he had stashed
amidst his uniform. "I don't exactly think that's going to prove
helpful against a sailor soldier," she told him.
     Chaos ignored the warning, and slung the weapon at his side.
"It doesn't hurt to have it around, though."
     The return to the Crystal Palace brought with it both painful
and pleasant memories. But more than anything, coming back to their
home filled the Outer Senshi with an unexpected sense of dread.
They could sense the violations that had gone on in there. They
intuitively knew what had gone wrong.
     Screams and cries echoed in ghostly choruses around every
pillar. Danced across the grand rotundas, where everything
shimmered and was decorated with the beauty of artistry and natural
life. Even the potted trees and fountains seemed to mourn the
bygone world ruled by Neo Queen Serenity.
     Haruka and Michiru's hands instinctively found each other, and
they gripped them tightly. Even the daimon kept strangely close to
Hotaru.
     "Something doesn't smell right here," Chaos said quietly,
though even his whispers seemed to loudly reverberate down the
gargantuan halls. 
     "This place has been slowly poisoned by Shadowgate for two
centuries," Setsuna said. "We're all feeling it."
     The only one who appeared to be immune was 1101, and she was
lost within her own murky obsession. She was walking now. No longer
running. The dark aura trespassing here chilled her body, and she
shivered. This time there was no urge to run. But there was still
an unknown terror that was gripping her.
     Whatever lack of life Shadowgate Tower had shown in the final
minutes of their journey didn't compare to the emptiness the palace
held for them. Their own footsteps were the only proof that there
was anything within the palace but a foreboding dread.      1101
suddenly froze, her dark eyes widening. Her skin went pale, and the
frightened girl they had encountered in the Tokyo Raven just over
a day ago seemed to return in a heartbeat. Her jaw quivering, 1101
turned and changed her direction. The Outers could only exchange
confused and worried glances. She was the one they were following.
And even now they followed her. 1101 didn't break out into another
run, but her pace was quickening. Growing agitated and insistent.
She led them down a spiral staircase, and into long-forgotten halls
and antechambers at the back of the palace.
     Even here there was only silence. The palace shimmered in its
crystalline clarity, but there was no vibrancy of life to
compliment it. All that remained was an ominous and choking maw
that was growing more and more powerful with each step they took.
It was drawing them all closer, 1101 being the first to follow its
trail.
     An archway of polished stone suddenly gave way to cold and
dark corridors reminiscent of the Shadowgate Tower. Still a part of
the palace's domain, but this was a territory none had expected to
find. This was new.
     Chaos was noticeably tense, his daimon senses nearly
overloading with what was in the air. "Where the hell are we?" he
demanded in a low tone.
     "I think we're underneath the palace," Michiru answered.
     "And just why is she leading us down here?"
     Hotaru wrapped herself around the arm that Chaos wasn't using
to put a deathgrip on his weapon. "She wants answers just as much
as we do."
     1101 said nothing, her frantic eyes darting from one
intersection to the next. Each junction they crossed gave her
reason to pause and anxiously look around. Then she would resume
her walking down one corridor. Unmarked doors passed them by. No
one dared to think what might lie on the other side.
     And then they came to the end of the line.
     The route 1101 took ceased to exist.
     "It all starts here," she whispered in a distant, haunted
voice. Her palm rested against the metal frame of the unmarked door
in front of her.
     "So whatever we're looking for is on the other side," Setsuna
said.
     Chaos did a quick examination of the area around them. "I
don't think there's any means of getting in," he stated. "No
keycard box, no scanners, nothing."
     Haruka drew out her Space Sword, gently pushing 1101 aside.
"Allow me." She pulled off the scabbard, letting the darkened
corridor suddenly light up from the brilliant shine of her
Talisman's blade. With a powerful thrust, Haruka plunged the sword
into the surface of the door. The metal bubbled instantly and
turned molten, the Space Sword sliding in effortlessly to the hilt.
     The tall sandy-blonde didn't waste any time, making a large
circle in the middle of the door, wide enough for them to walk
through. Once the final motion was made, she pulled out the sword.
Grey blobs of liquid metal dripped onto the floor.
     "Setsuna," Haruka said as she sheathed her Talisman. "If you
would do the honours."
     Setsuna nodded and raised one of her legs, giving the door a
swift kick. Her cybernetic body gave her an added power that sent
the carved portion of the door dropping neatly into the room
beyond. It crashed onto the floor grating with a resounding thud.
     One at a time they entered the darkened facility, and found
themselves standing atop a raised platform. Below them was sprawled
an immense laboratory. Computer screens unattended yet left on made
eerie flickers of light. Hundreds of small, coloured lights blinked
off and on. Coils of cables of all different sizes were draped
everywhere, some of them hard to distinguish with the maze of
piping all around.
     A rhythmic heartbeat echoed loudly across the chambers. A
slightly mechanic hum accompanied it as the machinery synchronized
with the pace. Everything rippled in navy shadows, throwing a
ghostly paradery of light across the entire room.
     "What is this place?" Hotaru whispered in alarm.
     And then their eyes all focused upon the central piece in the
room: a cylindrical, glass chamber that was giving off the rippling
blue light.
     Bubbles from the liquid inside surged every few seconds,
floating to the top. Whatever that blue liquid was, they all knew
it wasn't water. Yet the final horror came when they saw the soul
who was kept within the glass chamber. Her arms dangled loosely at
her side, suspended in the liquid. Long hair that could only be
golden blonde drifted alongside the dozens of thin black cables
that seemed to be fused into her skin and connecting her to the
machines outside. 
     Once ethereal eyes were closed. 
     She was sleeping.
     Haruka felt her stomach sink to the ground, and she dared not
go any further than to the edge of the metal stairs that would lead
them down to the glass chamber. Her voice came out in a strangled
and hoarse whisper. "Neo Queen Serenity...."
     Serenity's eyes fluttered opened.
     And when they beheld 1101, there was a strange warmth.
     "Rei-chan, you're alive."
     The voice was that of Serenity's, though her mouth had not
opened to form words. Nor could her voice have penetrated the
liquid she swam within. It echoed of an artificial world,
broadcasted through the speakers in the room. Yet it was still her
voice they heard.
     1101 moved down the stairs, and with tear-filled eyes placed
her hands against the glass. From within the chamber, Serenity
reached out her own hands and tried to touch 1101 through the
barrier.
     The Outer Senshi found their own strength once more, and
joined 1101 in standing before their queen. All but the daimon
knelt before her in reverence. 
     Chaos, however, seemed to hold some reservations. "Wait a
minute," he said, thumbing over his shoulder to the queen. "You
mean she knows that this is somehow the actual Rei, and not some
brainwashed clone?"
     Serenity's eyes looked down to the floor, a saddened visage
upon her face. "In appearance, perhaps, but none of them were ever
the Rei I once knew." She turned her gaze to her Outer Senshi and
smiled. "I thought I had lost all of you."
     Michiru bowed her head. "We thought we'd lost you too, my
Queen."
     Yet 1101 couldn't hear them anymore. Her violet eyes were
focused on Hotaru. And for the first time, they were filled with
suspicion and accusal. "What do you mean 'clone'?" she demanded.
     "It means," a new voice answered from the darkness. "that
you're not really Rei Hino, my dear. In fact, you're the fourth
copy we've made of original girl."
     Everyone whirled at the intrusion.
     The Outers immediately summoned their own powers, the air
crackling with their energy. Chaos raised his weapon, levelling the
muzzle at another raised platform that had formerly been obscured
by the shadows. Yet now someone walked into view, and behind him
stood three Inner Senshi. The president of Shadowgate calmly walked
down the stairs and stood before them all.
     "The Rei candidates were always the hardest to control," he
said. "Something within seemed to constantly fight with my orders.
I believe it stemmed from the original Rei's devotion to serve only
her friend: Usagi. And now you've broken free completely, Eleven-
oh-one."
     1101 found her blood run cold as he spoke the number branded
onto the back of her neck.
     Abruptly the ripples of blue light from Serenity's cell
illuminated his face. No longer could the darkness hide everything
but his cobalt eyes. 
     Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru found themselves stepping back in
shock and disbelief, refusing to believe what their eyes saw. They
knew his face.
     "Masaka!" Haruka hissed.
     Serenity's eyes widened as she pressed her hands against the
glass. Her expression was an uneven blend of melancholy and
resignment. Her lips remained silent, but her voice could be heard.
     "Endymion...."





                      [revelation complete.]



                     [next phase: domination]






          My indebted gratitude goes out to Greenbeans 
          and Meara, who walked by my side as this 
          realm first unfolded.


          To Angus MacSpon and "Sailor Moon 4200", 
          which dared to ask me the question: what if 
          Crystal Tokyo didn't last as long as we all
          thought it would?


          Thanks must be given to the "Crystal Tokyo 
          for the Baka" compendium. My work as its 
          archivist has no doubt contributed to many 
          of the ideas that are here within this 
          story.