[Episode 26520] [Episode 26520]Half a world away infact.
"Where's Mina gone, Artemis?" The White Mau shook his head at Makoto's question and pushed the video tape he had shown up to the impromptu Senshi meeting with into the player without answering.
"This has the answer to your question on it. It was delivered Anymously to the UN, and the American embasy this morning. I'll explain more after this.." The mau sounded strang - exausted and terrified and horrified and worried all at the same time.
The static on the tape cleared to reveal Sailor V stareing coldly into the camera with, instead of Aino Minako's usual blue orbs, pools of icy gold that caused Usagi to bolt back from the screen with a squeek, and that was before she began speaking in a dead, emotionless voice that was throughly unlike anything they had heard from minako outside of Senshi combat, and harsh for even that.
"This is a message to certain people in the world and notice to the Law Enforcement agencies of Earth. Ten days ago, someone magically enslaved, mindwiped and raped a friend of mine. These someones have, I've discoverd, a world wide organization, and my friend far from the only one to suffer this fate."
I am Sailor V, soldier of Love and Justice. This.." Her face twisted, then, into a mask of revulsion, rage and horror, but only for the breifest moments, before a cold mask clamped down over her expression again, "This blasphemy against everything that is holy, will not be allowed to stand."
"I do not admit that they have a right to do this. I do not admit that they have a right to *live* if they would do this. I do not admit any forgiveness for somone who rapes souls as well as bodies. No matter where they go, no matter where they hide, I will find them. And they will die. I won't try to kill anyone else. I won't try very hard not to, either. Stay out of my way."
"That is all."
The video went black after that, leaveing the other Senshi to cast hesitantly disbeleiveing glances at each other. That - *that* had been Minako?
Before any of the could speak, Artemis spoke into the dead silence. "When she heard about Setsuna she just seemed to snap. Her power went - It was..terrifying. Then she got quiet, and after that...I've only seen her like this once before. And that was Beryl. I tried to talk some sense into her when she suggested that - she locked me in the closet and left. I think - no, I know she's completely out of controll." The white cat turned around to face the Senshi and hung his head. "We have to stop her..this angry, I'm not sure she could tell friend from foe, much less guilty from innocent. I'm just not sure we can."
An uneasy shuffling filled the room as disbeleiveing glances were traded back and forth between the Senshi remaining.
Makoto said, "So we go and knock her down, and sit on her untill she comes to her senses right? She can't have gotten far, and a little more experience isn't going to let her beat four trained Senshi -"
But Artemis was shakeing his head. "You're trained, Mako-chan, but you're not like her. Before we joined, She operated alone, remember? I trained her to be a spy as well as a warrior. She has a twentyfour hour head start on us, plenty of ready cash from crooks we knocked over back in the day - She has her own disguize pen, she can look like anything she pleases at a moments notice and acquire a usable passport practically at will. She could be anywhere in the world by now. "
"And that's only half of it. We aren't looking for Minako." The White cat seemed to gather himself together and then deflate. "We're looking For Venus. The OLD Venus. She remembers everything of her past life. We're talking about two lifetimes of training to be a stone cold killer when she needs to be, a diplomat of the Moon kingdom and a Princess with no limits placed on her powers anymore."
Ami blinked only slightly, before her face blanked out completely with intense thought, and Makoto blanched beside her. Rei only swallowed heavily at the revelation, but Usagi - Usagi looked terrible, a kind of choked, horrible realization on her face that drew Artemis's attention.
Cat and princess looked at each other for a long moment before Artemis turned away, and Usagi worked her mouth, but no sound came out.
"She didn't want you ever to know, and I helped her keep the Memories..blocked. I can't seal them the way Queen Serenity did when you were reborn, but..she remembered while she was still Sailor V. It wasn't pretty. I thought I was going to loose her to a mental institution for a while there.." The Cat's absent ramble cut off for a moment as Usagi sucked in a desperate breath and tried again.
"She knew? She knew about the moon and - and Mamo-chan's generals!?" Artemis turned to look at his princess in confusion for a moment, reading the horror there, blankly for a moment before whispering, "Why do I think that I'm not going to like what you have to say?"
"I only remembered it after - she was lovers with Kunzite in the Moon! And she...lead us..killing him.." Usagi's eyes were huge as she stared at the cat, and then she was Scrambling up, the paralytic atmosphere that had settled on the gathering shattering as the Princess shifted into high gear. "We have to catch her." The Princess of the Sailor Senshi, squeeked, "Before she lets herself get caught!"
In an allready burning building in Tailand, a blond vision held a squirming man three feet of the carpet by one hand. That he outweighed her by at least three times failed to have any impact on the one handed grip that had torn him out of his chair.
For the gesture of threat, however, She didn't look at him, dead golden eyes fixed steadily beyond the 'associate' of Mister V's head.
"You want money? I'll give you money. Anything." His smile was genuine enough to hide what happened behind his eyes - so even while his thoughts said, 'Right before I add you to my personal staff', nothing betrayed him on his face; Only a few more moments and his 'harem' would be arriveing to subjugate this intruder..having Sailor V as one of his 'girls' would severely boost his prestige - and she looked like a good lay, too; It was a win win situation dispite the inconvience of being attacked in his office.
V didn't answer his plea with words at first; Instead her hand closed fractionally, crushing his collarbone and breaking two upper ribs. "You are going to tell me the identities of your partners. Their locations. Techniques. Everything." When she did talk, it was a pleasnt, english pub-crawling accent; He'd expected japanese, but found the difference charming.
"Now- I can't do that. They'd kill me, see? I'm sure I can hide you from them, though.." His words died in his throat as the gold eyes focused on him directly, and he felt her magic begin to slowly fill the room in an aura more solid than the walls of his high-rise.
"That was not a requext. You will yeild to me everything that is in your mind. And you will die." As Sailor V smiled a soft, not at all pleasent smile, the man known as 'Mr. Z' choked - and then failed to begin scream, as all of that Aura began to force itself into hs body.
Ten minuites later, the highrise that acted as the Tailand base of the 'Organization' exploded violently, blasted to shattered ashes by a pillar of Gold Light.
Investigators would find only a few dozens of bodies in the building proper, many of them wanted criminals - and hundreds of traumatized women evacuated to a nearby hotel.
The cause of the disaster watched the ruins collapse in on themselves from a rooftop a moment later and murmered, "Setsuna. I wish I could follow you, in forgetfullness." Before turning to head towards the next target. "Soon."
Meanwhile -
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(Posted Sat, 15 Mar 2003 07:52)
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