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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