Chapter 4


    Akane's eyes  looked despairingly into the
uncomprehending face.
     **She  doesn't  understand. Could  I  have  made  a
mistake? So many years. So many, many years. Could I  be wrong?**
She  looked deeply into the  delicate  figure before her, looked with
eyes that had nothing to do with
 Imperial hardware. This was the Princess. Her  mind
whirled  and  danced, searching for Japanese equivalents for the
"Tongue of Tongue's" that the Princess no longer seemed to know.
     **Sharn   ta,  Centurion.  Thirty  forth   Phalanx.
Imperial  Blood Guard. Command me Princess.** she  added when the
Princess seemed unsure of what to do.
     "Uh. . .  uh.  ."  Usagi floundered, then  heard  her
mother returning.
     "Aaaak.  My  mother. She can't see you like  this!"
Horrified, Usagi watched the girl spin toward the  door, her massive
hammer rising to strike.
     "NO!  No. Stop." The girl froze in place. If  Usagi
hadn't  seen  her  move, she'd have thought  it  was  a statue of a
girl. Her mother was coming closer.
     "Quick,  hide that hammer thingy! And act  normal."
The hammer vanished as the door was opening.
     "Am  I  interrupting something? Are you and Tendousan
getting any work done?" Usagi's mother placed a tray laden with food
on a table.
     "Not  at all Tsukinosan. Usagisan and I were just
getting acquainted."
     Usagi  stared dumfounded as the robotic  killer  of
moments  before  reverted to a school  girl,  conversing normally
with her mother.  This was too much for  her.  Usagi needed help. And
she knew just where to find it.
     "Mom, we're going to the library and. . . " "LIBRARY! Oh Usagi,
     you make your mother so proud."
Tsukino-san   fell  weeping  on  Usagi's  shoulder.   "I never dreamed
I'd live to see this day."
     "Moooom.  I'm  not that bad." The  tears  magically
disappeared  and  Usagi  looked  suspiciously  into  her mother's
laughing eyes.
     "You were pulling my leg," she accused..  "Just  a little,
     dear. Call if you're not going  to
be back for dinner."
     "OK," After her mother had left Usagi turned to her new
friend.. "We're going  to  see  some friends of mine.  Uh, what's
your name?" There was no response.
     "That   'Shorn  to',  no. . .   ah."  Usagi   thought
furiously. The strange words, like liquid silver, seemed to  tickle
her  brain, the meaning just out  of  reach.  "Ah. . . wait. . . wait.
'Sharn ta', that's it. '*Sharn   ta' is  that your name?" Silence.
     "Sharn ta, what does it mean?"  **Weapon 4.** "Ewww.  That's no
     good." Not, Usagi hastily  added,
"that  your parents weren't good people. I'm  sure  they tried  hard. I
mean, it's not easy to come up with  good names.  I  mean  look at
me, I the moon rabbit.  And  my boyfriend Mammo-chan. . . "
     This  rapid fire speech and random leap from  topic
to   topic  quickly  overwhelmed  both  the  human   and electronic
logic  centers.  Frantically   the   battle computer  implant  sought
to  make  sense  of   Usagi's chatter.
     ##Initiating medical scan. No psychotropic drugs or
posions  detected.  Brain function  nominal.  Physiology within
nominal parameters.##
     At  a  loss to deal with this hyperactive  behavior
Akane  finally reached out a tentative hand and  lightly touched
her Princess.
     "Oh.  Sorry." Usagi blushed. "I was thinking  about
Mamo. . .  "  Usagi shook herself. "Anyway I was  thinking
about. . . someone. His name means 'earth protector'.  So, I  KNOW
it's really, really  hard to come up with  good names.   Wait,
wait. Mama called you Tendou, that  means 'the  way of heaven'. That's
pretty. What's the rest  of it."  Usagi  took a breath just as
'Sharn ta's'  medical protocols were about to kick in to counteract
a possible attack  against  the princess using psychotropic  drugs.
Thus  distracted  she  took a miserable  fraction  of  a second to
comprehend and analyze Usagi's question.
     **Sharn ta.  Xlaintse, ta ras Neeph. . . ** "No!  Your  name.
     N - A - M - E"  Usagi  carefully
spelled.  "Your  name  is Tendou  .  ???"  Usagi  waited expectantly.
The  question seemed to  affect  the  girl deeply.
     Concerned  Usagi  watched  a  shudder  run  through
Tendou Akane's body.  She blinked, looking bewildered. . .  and  her
body  seemed  to collapse  somewhat  from  the confident stance of
moments before.
     "Akane..  Tendou Akane," came the whispered  reply.
Usagi looked at the down cast eyes and slumped figure.
     "Hey!"  Usagi  grabbed Akane's hand. "You  call  me
Usagi,  OK.  And I'll call you Akane. Or maybe  Akachan.  You  like
that?  Is that OK? Friends  shouldn't  be  so formal."
     "Friends?"  The  voice was so small and lost that Usagi  wanted
to cry. She couldn't believe the strong, deadly girl had been  replaced
so quickly by this sad and lonely figure.  Usagi made a quick decision.
     "Hey,  you  like video games?" HA! And Rei  thought
she couldn't make priorities. "And Ice-cream? There's  a new  ice-cream
place on the way. With a hundred and  six flavors!"
     Tendou  Akane/Weapon 4 of the Imperial Blood  Guard
stepped back from the raw lust burning in Usagi's eyes.
     "Ice  cream  and  video games. Chaaaaaaarrrrrrge!!"
Sensors at maximum  and weapons off safe, the last Blood Guard
of  the Silver Imperium followed her  Princess. . .  into battle?
**************************************************

     "That  BAKA.  When I find her she's going  to  wish
she'd never been born. I'm going to skin her with. . . ."
     Hino  Rei had been raging ever since they'd stopped
by  the  Tsukino home to find Usagi gone. With a strange girl.
Rei  had started off damming Usagi's  ancestors, who seemed to
consist largely of unwed barnyard animals, unwashed   gaijin  and
lower  daemons.  She  had   then proceeded  to  detail  exactly  how
she  was  going  to demonstrate the error of her ways to Usagi. This
seemed to  entail  a  great many small iron instruments,  large wooden
appliances   and   an   appallingly   creative imagination.
     "We're  going  to  find her Rei." Makoto  had  been
repeating that like a mantra for the past hour.
     "Ami, anything?"  Ami  glanced away from her computer to Minako.
     The
inner  senshi  had decided to search as  one  team,  the outers
as  another. The decision to stick together  was based  on  the
strength of the new  enemy.  Alone,  the senshi  could be destroyed
piecemeal. Even Rei had  seen the  sense  in that, eventually. The
inner  senshi  were scouting using Ami's computer and Rei's
psychic  senses.  The outer senshi were using the Aqua Mirror and
whatever Pluto  could/would  provide.  Luna and  Artemis  made  a
third  search  team. They'd insisted that no  one  would notice two
harmless, ordinary cats.
     "Nothing. I can't pick up Usagi or the crystal. And
it wasn't in her room so she took it with her."
     "Usagi's  smarter that we give her credit,"  Makoto
put  in.  "And she's got good people sense. She wouldn't go with
anyone she. . . "
     "USAGI!!" Minako turned at Rei's scream to see  Rei
disappearing into. . .
     "CROWN VIDEO!" came the senshi chorus.  The  rest  of  the inner
     senshi began to  entertain
visions of mayhem and  murder, or at least bending Usagi around
the  edges for the worry she'd cause  them.  The entered the game
parlor just as Rei grabbed Usagi by  the shoulder and wrenched her
off her stool.
     "What  the  HELL  do  you  think  you're  doing?  I
should. . . "
     Rei's plans went unvoiced as she suddenly levitated
across  the room and into a wall. Makoto rushed  to  her friend and
was doubled over by an iron fist to the  gut.  A flashing spin kick
smashed her into a Sailor V game.
     "I  am  the  pretty  sailor suited  soldier  Sailorvenus. . . "
Ami looked at the game startled, then realized . . .
     "When did you transform?" Ami hissed.  "I  ducked  out  when
     Rei  went  flying.  Now,  go
transform.  I think I'm going to  need  help."  Venus turned back to
her audience.
     "A-hem.  I  am  the Pretty. . . urrrp." Sailorvenus
gasped  as  a  power  clamp closed  around  her  throat.  Another
closed on her leg and she was heaved through the window.
     "I  the  name of the Planet Merc. . .   Eeeeek!"  The
warm hearted genius girl dropped to the floor, missing a side  kick
that would have taken her head off and rolled under  a  game machine.
The protective shadow  suddenly disappeared  and  she looked up to
see  the  VERY  heavy machine held effortlessly aloft. Analytical
to the  last Sailormercury wondered how many bones would  break  on
impact and if it would hurt much.
     "Akachan. Stop that."  Saved!  Sailormercury had never been  so
     glad  to
hear that gently chiding voice in her life.
     "Now  put that game down before you break it.  It's
new and I haven't played it yet."
     ". . . ."  "The  game  might break," Mercury muttered  as  she
pulled  herself off the floor."What about breaking  the
senshi?" Peripherally she could see arcade customers streaming for
the back door and against the wall she could see someone on the
pay-phone. Probably calling the police.  She was brushing herself
off when she heard. . .
     "CRESENT. . . "

     "NO. . . " Mercury swung around, her hands up in a
warding gesture.

     "BEAM. . . "

     ". . . don't." Sailormercury finished weakly as  the
beam  struck the small dark haired girl squarely in  the back.
To  Sailormercury's  amazement  the  girl  only grunted as the beam
impacted and went to one knee.
     "Uh    oh."
Sailorvenus's thoughts were untranslatable as she watched the girl
take a crescent beam, then get up, her jacket charred and smoking.
     "Aka-chan."  Usagi  rested her fingers  lightly  on
Akane's  sleeve,  which anchored  Akane  in  place  more firmly than
steel chains.
     "Hi, Sailorsenshi," Usagi chirruped. "The Youma ran
away  just  as you came in. You can catch  them  if  you hurry."
     "Youma?" Sailormercury parroted stupidly.  "Yes.  You
     know. . . Youma. . . the ones that  were  in
here,  causing everyone to act crazy." Usagi swept a hand to indicate
the few remaining patrons, huddled under and behind game machines."
The ones you saved us from. You can catch them if you hurry."
     "Ah,  right, Youma. Save everyone. Come  on  Sailor
Venus. Lets hurry after the Youma."
     "But,but,but." Sailorvenus was dragged away, doing
a  credible imitation of a two-stroke engine with  dirty plugs.


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