Setsuna opened her eyes. It was dark. The pain had receded enough that she felt she could face the world again. What had happened? And where was she? She pulled herself up into a sitting position with a groan and looked around. It seemed to be Ami's house. She looked down at herself and gasped in dismay. She was still Pluto! She closed her eyes and released her transformation, feeling some of the pain recede along with her secret identity. She fumbled her way off the couch and lurched toward the kitchen. She needed something to drink. Her mouth was so dry it hurt. She reached up to the cupboard and began to search for a glass. Her weariness made her awkward, and she almost knocked a plate to the floor. She caught it with a grunt and set it on the counter carefully. She was nearly as clumsy as Usagi! The old Usagi, anyway..
Her eyes teared up. She was so tired of this. She just wanted the world to be the way it was supposed to be. She wanted everything back the way it was. Her shoulders bowed under the responsibility she felt hanging over her head and she sank to the cold linoleum floor, letting her head fall into her hands. She didn't even try to hold back the tears. There was nobody here to see her give in to her weakness. She opened the dam and allowed herself to cry.
"Setsuna? Is that you?"
Ami. Setsuna hurriedly began to wipe her face dry, but as she looked up she saw she was too late. Ami was standing in the kitchen door, staring at her with wide eyes. Ami didn't smirk or say anything smart. She simply walked up to Setsuna and crouched down beside her.
"Are you all right?"
Setsuna tried to smile reassuringly, but felt it wobble even as it attempted to form on her lips. She gave up. "Not really. I'm--I'm a little tired. I'll be fine after I get some rest."
Ami cocked her head to one side. "It didn't seem like that to me. Or to any of us. You were screaming for a while there, Setsuna. We--we thought you were dying."
"Yeah." Setsuna looked off to her side. "I wondered about that myself. I--I've felt something like this before, and every time before I actually did end up dying. So...I'm a little surprised to wake up again." Ami gave her a weird look at that comment and Setsuna stifled a hysterical giggle at her expression. "Don't ask. Some of our fights were tough. But Usagi always managed to pull us through, and bring us back."
Ami snickered. "Her? She-"
"Don't." Setsuna hated the pleading tone that came into her voice, but she didn't think she could handle any more of Ami's poisonous remarks. "Please. Don't say anything like that right now." Ami closed her mouth with an audible snap. "Usagi has died in my reality to save the world. She's surrendered herself to the enemy to save your life. She's different in this world in some ways, but I just know she's the same where it counts--she has to be, because even though the last fifty years of history are drastically different, the millennia before that are unchanged. The Moon Kingdom was unchanged."
Ami sat next to her the floor and looked at her. "You're saying a lot more than you usually do."
Setsuna smiled at her crookedly. "Near death experiences do that. You're a lot less rude than you usually are."
Ami pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged herself into as small a ball as she could. "I'm being reflective. I don't know--I'm pretty stupid about people. I've always used my mouth to keep people at a safe distance. And now when I find myself part of a team, I don't really know how to deal with it." She rested her chin on her knees and looked at Setsuna out of the corner of her eyes. "Does that sound like the other Ami--the Ami I am in your universe?"
"In a way. You really shouldn't push the other senshi away. They're all you have to depend on. You all have to pull together somehow. Even Mars and Venus don't trust Moon like they do each other. I don't know what to do! You have to have complete trust in each other!"
Ami looked at her in silence for a minute, then sighed and got to her feet. "Did you come in here for anything?"
Setsuna looked up at her. "A glass of water. And maybe an aspirin. Or five. I feel terrible."
Ami reached up and got a glass, then tossed a bottle of pills down to Setsuna. She filled the glass and handed it to her too. "Get better. We need you. I think we suddenly realized how much we depend on you when you were the one in need of help. Why, even after everything that happened after the fight this afternoon--" Her hand rose to her cheek unbidden. Setsuna noticed the faint bruise visible there and winced. "--they treated me pretty decent when we were trying to figure out what to do with you."
Setsuna swallowed a couple aspirins and reached up for a hand in getting to her feet. She set the glass in the sink and put the bottle back in the cupboard Ami'd gotten it from. "You girls should be like that all the time, Ami-chan. Please, try to be kinder. Try to get along." She looked deeply into the younger girl's eyes. "They're the cure for the loneliness that you feel. I know. Please--try."
Ami stuck her hands into her pockets and looked away with an uncomfortable cough. "Yeah. Well, I hope you feel better." She stared stubbornly out the window into the skyline of Tokyo. Setsuna silently laid her hand on Ami's shoulder for a second, then began to walk out of the room, toward the couch. She really needed to get some rest.
*****
Hito opened his eyes. He'd finally fallen into an uneasy sleep, but with bad dreams haunting his rest it didn't feel like it did him much good. He rubbed the sand out of his eyes and looked around. As he turned to look at the spot where the black lady had fallen he sat up with a surprised oath. She was gone! Had she gotten better and gone somewhere? Maybe she died and her body just...disappeared. He swallowed uncomfortably and got to his feet. What would he do if she was gone? Would he just live in this cold mist?
He got up and began to wander around. His eyes kept going back to the door--it dominated the landscape anyway, and he couldn't help wondering if he could walk through it and get home. Finally he gave in to his curiosity and began wandering toward it.
"Boy! Good, you're awake. Here, I brought some food." Hito whirled around. "You weren't thinking of trying to leave, were you?" She looked amused at that thought.
"No! I-I was just looking for you. I thought--I wondered if..." He trailed off, staring at her uncomfortably.
She chuckled and handed him a box of steaming food. His mouth watered as the aroma washed over him. "It's a good thing you didn't try to go through that door. I've booby trapped it. You wouldn't like what would happen to you. Unless, of course, you like the idea of each of your separate molecules going to a different destination." She smiled nastily, but Hito noticed that she held her side, as if it hurt her to stand. "Very messy. But interesting, from a technical standpoint." Hito ignored her and began to eat. She grabbed his wrist as he brought his second mouthful of food to his mouth. "Come with me, I need to go somewhere." Before Hito could even attempt to get any words past the food in his mouth reality swirled around him. He closed his eyes and swallowed. He really wished she wouldn't do things like that while he was trying to eat.
They stepped out of the disorienting vortex and the lady dropped her hold on his hand. "Stay here." She took a deep breath, squared, her shoulders, and slowly began to walk forward, into the darkness. Hito would have taken her stately pace for dignity if he hadn't seen the pain that crossed her features before it became an expressionless mask.
He continued to munch on his food, eating it faster now. Wherever they were, it was cold, and he wanted to finish his dinner before it followed suit. As he chewed he strained his ears. Finally he heard something--it was that frightening lady--Queen Beryl.
"There you are! Jedite's dead! That's two of my generals, gone! I thought you were going to help us, but all I see is half-hearted participation and withheld information! What use are you as an ally if-"
"I can get Ginzuishou for you."
Silence reigned in the dark corridors for a full minute.
"How?" Hito heard suspicion coloring Beryl's voice. "What are you going to ask us to provide?"
"Just some of your energy-one small thing. I need a way to find the component parts of Ginzuishou. I need a kurozuishou."
"What? Kurozuishou?!?"
Hito strained his ears, but he didn't hear the lady make a response. After a few silent seconds Beryl muttered angrily to herself, cried out some incantation. For a second Hito saw the two women outlined against a bright light, then everything darkened again and he heard slow footsteps making their way back toward him. As the lady drew into view Hito shuddered. Despite the stiff, pained look to her walk and the occasional wince, the smirk etched on her lips and the hard light shining from her eyes was terrifying.
She stuffed a dark crystal into an invisible pocket that was at about waist height. Then she held out her hand to him. "C'mon boy, time to go."
*****
"Hey! Who are you?" A deep voice interrupted Setsuna's sleep. She sat straight up with a start and stared at a man she'd never seen before in her life. He was about five and a half feet tall--a little shorter than the average Japanese man, and had black hair. Setsuna blinked at him silently, still trying to regain her bearings--sudden wakings tended to disorient her.
"Tou-san! You're home!" Ami ran out of her room and practically threw herself at her father. "I was starting to worry--it's been over a week!"
The man--evidently Mizuno-san--staggered back a bit as his daughter crashed into him, then regained his footing and looked down to give Ami a smile. "I got distracted by some wonderful scenery on my way back from painting that portrait and decided to stop for a couple days." His eyes fastened on Setsuna as she swung her feet around to sit upright on the couch with a faint groan. "I still don't know who you are."
"Oh!" Ami turned her head, still holding her father in a tight hug. "Tou-san, this is Meioh Setsuna." Her father raised an eyebrow at Ami's omission of the san suffix. "She's a friend of mine."
"Obviously." He looked at her for a second, his face unreadable. Setsuna swallowed and raised the best smile for him that she could, but she could tell it was pretty sickly. Suddenly he grinned and held out a hand to her. "Well, Meioh-san, it looks like you've had a rough couple of days. I'm glad to meet you."
She took his hand with relief. "And I'm pleased to meet you, Mizuno-san."
He nodded and looked back at Ami. "And how have you been, Ami?"
The two of them walked to the back of the house, with Ami animatedly telling him a wholly fictitious account of her exploits with Setsuna. Setsuna caught enough of the conversation to wince and hope that Ami's fabrication didn't become too wild or complicated. She put a hand to her head. She was still a little unsteady, but felt much better then she had the day before. She decided she needed some fresh air. She slipped into Ami's room to change and quietly left the apartment while Ami and her father talked.
*****
The lady looked up with narrowed eyes. "I knew it. She's going to do it--of course she wouldn't trust me." Her eyes fastened on Hito. "Boy. I need you to go someplace. Remember the jewelry store?" Hito stifled a groan. She nodded with an amused smile. "Yes, it'll be a lot like that."
*****
Setsuna collapsed onto a public bench. The fresh air had been a good idea, but she didn't think the added exercise had been. She looked around. She was near Usagi's apartment. She wondered if Ami had told the other senshi that she was recovering well--probably not. This Ami didn't strike her as someone who would even think of that. She'd better go see Usagi. Setsuna pushed herself back to her tired feet and began to walk toward the run down apartment complex her princess lived in.
The sky was bright blue, and the clouds drifted lazily over the sun, throwing slowly moving shadows over the city. If Setsuna didn't look at the unfamiliar buildings around her, and avoided her memories of the last couple of days, she could almost believe that everything was all right. That nothing had ever chang--there was Usagi!
Setsuna stared. Usagi-chan was wearing what could only be her work clothes--a fast food uniform. Setsuna stifled a chuckle. Neo-Queen Serenity, flipping burgers....oh, the irony. But she noticed that Usagi seemed to be in a terrible hurry-more than usual. Curious, she followed behind the younger girl.
*****
Hito sipped idly at his chocolate malt, wondering where the lady had gotten the money she'd given him for food here. He supposed there were worse places to wait than in an ice cream shop.
"No, no, no, no, no, No, NOOOOO!" Hito looked to his right, toward all the noise. A boy, surrounded by a couple of his friends, was hitting the console of an arcade game in frustration, hurriedly digging in his pockets for some more change to continue his game. The counter buzzed as it hit zero, the boy still fruitlessly searching for more money. The group behind his back jokingly pushed him out in front of them as they began to make their way out of the shop. Hito eyed the video game hungrily. His malt slurped loudly as it ran out. He reached into his pocket as he stood and began to make his way toward it. The lady wouldn't mind. After all, if she hadn't wanted him to play arcade games while he was here, she would've given him bills instead of so many coins, right?
Right.
*****
Usagi ran out of her apartment building, in such a hurry that her jacket wasn't even all the way on as she dashed down the sidewalk, barely managing to miss a few startled adults. Setsuna smiled at the familiar picture and took off after her. After a few minutes Setsuna was breathing hard. Just when she was worried she'd lose sight of Usagi the girl began to slow down. Setsuna looked at the sign above the building Usagi slipped into and chuckled. An ice cream parlor. Of course. Why wasn't she surprised?
Still gasping, she opened the door to the parlor and ordered a caramel sundae. When the girl behind the counter handed her sundae to her she turned around and looked for Usagi. As she scanned the room she brought a spoonful of ice cream to her mouth. There Usagi was--in the back corner, sharing a booth with...Setsuna choked on her ice cream. Mamoru-san!
*****
Hito cursed under his breath and kicked the machine as the continue countdown started yet again. "Hey, watch it, kid! That thing costs an arm and a leg to repair!" Hito turned to apologize to the man behind the counter when he caught a familiar sight with the corner of his eyes. He spun on his heels and stared. It was that woman again--not the lady, but the other one. Pluto.
Maybe this was his chance. If he could join her, maybe she'd be able to return him to his family in exchange for information about the lady. Besides, if he was here, and they were here, there was sure to be a fight any second. He'd better talk to her before the next general showed up. He began to make his way through the crowd.
*****
Setsuna walked up to the royal couple's booth. "Excuse me, Usagi-chan?"
"E?" Usagi looked up, her eyes widening as she recognized her. "Plu-Setsuna! You're up! How are you feeling?"
Setsuna smiled nervously, shooting confused glances at Mamoru as she spoke. "I'm mostly recovered. I feel much better." They knew each other? And they seemed to be getting along instead of quarreling...but they didn't know each other's secret identities? "Who is this, Usagi-chan?"
"What? Oh! Setsuna, this is Chiba Mamoru-san. Mamoru-san, this is Meioh Setsuna." Usagi turned her attention back to her extra large sundae, shoveling a few spoonfuls into her mouth with abandon. Mamoru and Setsuna kept giving confused looks to each other. She could tell Mamoru almost recognized her. She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, waiting for Usagi to offer her a seat. After a few seconds, during which Usagi stuffed an amazing amount of hot fudge down her throat and Mamoru realized she wasn't going to leave them alone, Mamoru cleared his throat uncomfortably and gestured toward the seat next to Usagi.
"Won't you have a seat?"
Usagi looked up, whipped cream forming a white ring around her mouth. "Oh! Yeah! Let me move over...." She shoved papers and books toward the window and slid farther in. Setsuna looked at the books.
"Trigonometry? Chemistry?" She blinked. "Mamoru-san, are these your books?" He'd been way past these subjects on her world! Usagi convulsed next to her, and Setsuna looked over at her in surprise, bringing another spoonful of her sundae to her mouth. Usagi was struggling to hold laughter in and reaching blindly for a napkin. Mamoru smiled and handed her one, and she wiped her mouth.
"Mamoru-san?!? Studying trig? No! These are mine!" Setsuna blinked. "He's helping me study." Usagi rolled her eyes. "I'm not the best student in the world, but for some reason I find it easiest to learn when he's tutoring me."
Setsuna swallowed her ice cream and asked the next logical question. "So, are you two...a couple?"
Mamoru shot her a slightly shocked look. "No! I'm five years older than her! We're..." He trailed off.
"We're friends. Mamoru-san's like an older brother to me."
Setsuna looked down at her cup as she stirred her spoon through the dregs of her sundae. She carefully scooped out a nut. "Oh. I see." An uncomfortable silence reigned in the booth. Setsuna felt a shadow fall across her. She looked up. "Yes?" Her eyes widened in shock as she recognized who had just walked up to the booth.
"Umm.....Pluto?"
Mamoru's head jerked up at that, and Usagi choked on her spoonful of dessert and began to cough. Setsuna felt a flush creep up her neck as Mamoru-san's eyes bore into her own and was momentarily grateful for her dark complexion. With an act of will she ripped her eyes from his suspicious gaze and snaked out a hand to grab ahold of the boy's arm and pull him into the seat next to her. "Don't call me that!"
"But-"
She leaned in close. "Don't!" She couldn't tell him her name here--she couldn't reveal her identity to the enemy--but she couldn't let him call her Pluto in from of Mamoru-san either. What to do?
"But what should I-"
Mamoru broke in, and Setsuna groaned. "Her name is Meioh Setsuna." From the look on his face, she could tell it was already too late to keep him from guessing her identity. Great.
The boy swallowed. "Meioh-san, I want to join your side."
Setsuna did a double take. "Nani?!?" She opened her mouth to ask another question when Usagi suddenly doubled over with a moan, dropping her spoon to the floor with a loud clatter. Setsuna turned to her with concern when she suddenly heard more moans and more dropped utensils. She turned her head. People throughout the store were clutching their stomachs and groaning. Even the boy was beginning to look a little green around the gills...and come to think of it, she wasn't feeling so great either. Setsuna let go of the boy's hand to clutch at her abdomen as the world darkened around the edges of her sight.
*****