World Shaking, part 4 Hey people!! Sorry I haven't posted anything lately. All standard disclaimers apply. This part contains SPOILERS for "Bubblegum Crisis part 5: Moonlight Rambler", which is a really good episode, so you might want to see it before you read this portion. I REALLY MEAN THAT!!! Oh, and my email addy has changed. Please send mail to TiraTrewyn@aol.com ~~Distant Sailor s p o i l e r s p a c e Part IV: MegaTokyo, 2033 "Is it just me, or are these Knight Sabers way ahead of us when it comes to killing Boomers?" "I wasn?t aware that you were keeping a tally, Mako-chan." "I?m not. I?m just impressed." She threw the newsdisk at Minako, who facevaulted. "Eek! Technology! Get it away from me!" "You know, sometimes I really miss Ami." "Same. She kept all the nasty computer stuff to herself." As the years went by and more and more of life became computerized, Minako?s technophobia grew more and more amusing. Certainly there was little else funny in their lives. "The secret," a new voice interrupted them, "is to keep a lower profile than the Knight Sabers. Let them have the credit. I don?t think this city can handle the concept of Sailor Senshi just now." Both of them turned around. "Hotaru!" The still thin and pale young woman sat down beside them. "Hey, how?d you get into the house?" "Sailor Teleport. I wanted to see if it was still possible to do one. And," the senshi of silence gave a huge grin. "I?m Doctor Hotaru now!" "You graduated already? That?s fantastic!" She smiled. "Yeah," Makoto echoed. "Congratulations." She frowned. "What were you saying about Knight Sabers and profiles?" "Well, in case you haven?t figured it out yet, three of the four Outer Senshi have been doing a little vigilante work of their own. We keep it quiet, of course. But there?s a lot a little world shaking can do in this town!" Hotaru giggled like a little girl. "No wonder you?re in such a good mood." Makoto?s voice was dry. "Any word from the others? I got a birthday card from Setsuna, but nothing else." "Nothing." "I can feel them sometimes, out there. Rei and Ami and Usagi, somewhere out in limbo. But sometimes they feel closer to here." Minako looked unusually subdued. "They?ll be back." "We know, Hota-chan. But until then, it?s like being half of a whole. We?re not as strong when the others aren?t here, none of us are. Haruka and Michiru are most like their old selves, because they were always a duo and no more. But the Inner Senshi were always together! And now for seven years, we?ve been on our own." Hotaru smiled sadly. "I know. I?m sorry." "We just have to believe in them." Mako sighed. The three were quiet for a moment. Minako?s shriek broke the lazy afternoon silence. "Look, look! The Replicants are playing tonight at the Hot Legs club! Playing live! They?re supposed to be a really good band." The smaller woman looked over at the newsdisk printout of the band?s lead singer. "Hey, isn?t that...?" She was drowned out by Mako. "We should go dancing! Meet some hot guys!" The blonde senshi nodded. "And maybe do some Boomer-kicking afterward." "Hey!" Hotaru raised her voice so rarely that they both turned to listen. "Look. The singer. If she had brown straight hair instead of that blonde mess, with those red eyes... remember that little girl right after the quake?" The two inners looked at the picture again. "You?re right! It?s little Priss. Grown up, of course. She?s a singer? Wonder if she?d let me sing with her some..." "Uh-oh. Mina-chan, let?s just go to listen." "And dance." Hotaru agreed. The Replicants finished their last set with a bang. The lead singer put more of her soul into the post-apocalypse punk rock sound than she had in months. And the rest of the band couldn?t help but match Priscilla Asagiri?s wild enthusiasm. Few of the dancing and rollicking patrons of the Hot Legs club noticed Priss?s red eyes scanning the crowd over and over again as she sang: "Headlight City that stares with twinkling eyes. "Lonely" Angel of Loneliness. My heart flutters, I can hear its beat." Where is she? The singer wondered during the musical bridge. She said she?d come... out in the audience she could see Linna and Nene dancing. Leon McNichol, that annoying police officer, was there as well. With a girl who had long blonde hair with a bow in it? Leon must be desperate. She launched into the second verse. ""Help me" Feel the danger. Someone is calling me- a whisper transforms into a shooting star." And I?m calling someone in my mind, and where is she? No time to think. She jerked her head up, full into the spinning lights of the club. A few fans screamed. ""We want you, Soldier Girls, Soldier Girls" Pierce the impenetrable sky with light. "We want you, Soldier Girls, Soldier Girls" Pierce the city of rubble with hope." Nobody here knew it, but the song was more about her fellow Knight Sabers than anyone else. Soldier girls in the night, hiding their true faces and actually doing something about the Boomers. This one?s for you, Sylvie, Priss thought. Sylvie? She?d meant to dedicate it to Sylia. Sylvie wasn?t any kind of soldier. Just a beautiful, wonderful spirited girl who... ""We want you, Soldier Girls, Soldier Girls" There's no turning back now. When it comes time to burn up, hold on tight to me." Through the pounding chords of her own music, Priss wondered why the song felt so personal tonight. Sylvie had said she would come. Feeling naked suddenly up on the stage in her blonde wig and sweat and revealing clothes, the woman scanned the audience one more time. Linna dancing with her latest flame. Nene laughing with Leon. Blonde bow-girl talking to a brunette with a ponytail and a slim girl with dark hair and purple eyes. Tall blond guy in a suit dancing with an aqua haired girl. Now those two looked a bit familiar... no Sylvie. "Though everyone is superficially nice, "Lonely" they sink into desolation. When you hear the beat that rips open the heart, scream "Help me" into the night sky. Someone is crying again tonight. Sadness transforms into a shooting star." Priss sighed during the musical break, then gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up to her drummer. She loved the lights and noise and shouts and the feeling of music surrounding her and pounding in her very bones... why couldn?t she get this one girl out of her head? ""We want you, Soldier Girls, Soldier Girls" Pierce the impenetrable sky with light. "We want you, Soldier Girls, Soldier Girls" Though at times you get sentimental when you're alone. "We want you, Soldier Girls, Soldier Girls" There's no turning back now." Final piece and then the set?s done... blinking in the bright lights, Priss saw one faint image of her Grey-eyed friend smiling in the sunlight, that beautiful sad smile she had. Sylvie... why am I thinking like this? Usually up here it?s lose yourself in the music and fly free. Boomer-breaking afterward. Ragging on little Nene and avoiding Leon?s advances. That?s life right now. One fight melting into the next. She grinned. And don?t even pretend you don?t love it, Priss S. Asagiri. "When it comes time to burn up, hold on tight to me. "We want you, Soldier Girls, Soldier Girls"" But Sylvie... she was different. Just a different sort of person than the ragged crowd she usually ran with. Beautiful and stylish with a mystery in her smile. She seemed so sad... so beautiful. Finish the damn song, girl. Maybe Sylvie will still come. "Pierce the impenetrable sky with light. "We want you, Soldier Girls, Soldier Girls" Pierce the city of rubble with hope. "We want you, Soldier Girls, Soldier Girls" There's no turning back now. When it comes time to burn up, hold on tight to me." By the time the song ended, the fire of the music had taken her over and there was nothing false about the glittering, almost predatory smile Priss gave the audience as she screamed off the final lines. The squad car seemed strangely quiet after the chaotic din of the club. Leon McNichol grinned at his partner-- _work_ partner, nothing else!-- Daley and leaned back into the seat. "Where does the boss want us now?" "He hasn?t said." The redhead?s smile grew mischievous. "We could always check into a hotel or something, you and me..." "Baka." Leon laughed. Daley?s constant pickup lines were a friendly joke between them now. He even found himself bantering back on occasion. A blue motorcycle with a girl on it swept by them so fast that Daley almost swerved off the road. "Or we could pick up some speeders..." The console in front of them lit up. Chief Todo?s voice blared out from the radio. "McNichol, Wong! Possible motor accident on north freeway 57. Ambulance on the scene reports two casualties. Go check it out. If it?s another one of those vampire killings, I want a full report on my desk by tomorrow sunrise! Do you hear me?" "Yeah, yeah." Leon kept his voice nonchalant on purpose. They could almost feel the Chief?s blood temperature rise. "This is no laughing matter, Leon! It shames me to know that it?s hotheads and idiots like you who are the public?s first line of defense against such murders--" In a fluid motion, Daley shut off the radio. "Bureaucratic windbag." He sighed and turned onto another road. "Well, looks like the city?s going to need it?s real soldiers for a little while." "We aren?t soldiers." Leon snarled. "Not like what she meant in the song. The song?s about the Knight Sabers, it must be. We?d be soldiers if the Chief would stop groveling before the city officials and Genom. Then maybe we?d do more good to the city." He sighed. "And as it is," the other agreed, "we just come to the scene of the crime..." he pulled the car up beside the flashing lights of an ambulance. "After the crime?s occurred." Leon blew his hair out of his face, and looked over at his fellow officer. They?d talked, on occasion, about how before getting onto the force each of them had dreamed of actually making the rubble-filled city of darkness that was MegaTokyo into a better place. But in the AD Police, such hopes were branded as idealism. And the reality was that when Genom asked the city government to jump, the response was something along the lines of "how high". Only by disobeying orders and acting dangerously could a police officer hope to get anything real accomplished. Makes you wonder who the good guys really are, Leon thought. Lawbreakers like the Knight Sabers did good, and Genom manipulated the laws in order to stay completely legal even as their Boomers terrorized the city. The darkness of the night outside was split by red flashing lights. He opened the car door, squinting. Everything was shades of gray. As his vision adjusted and he began to make out the details of the gory scene by the roadside, Leon realized that he wasn?t going to win this fight. Because the lines between good and bad weren?t anywhere near black and white in this city. "Sure is dark out here," Daley said with a forced laugh. "I?m so glad you came." Priss?s voice was gruff as usual, but her eyes shone. Brushing cloud-colored hair away from her eyes, her friend smiled a little. "I just wish I could have heard you sing." Settling her helmet over her head, the other laughed. "I?ll sing for you anytime." She gunned her motorcycle, leaving Sylvie to catch up and wonder exactly what she meant by that. The wind blew hard in their faces as they raced to catch up with the distant lights of the harbor. For a long time there was only the sound of their bikes humming beneath them, and a comfortable quiet. Sylvie was left alone with her thoughts. Her rigid and painful life back at the space station had done nothing to prepare her for the heady wildness and freedom of MegaTokyo. Stealing a glance at the figure on the red motorcycle a little ahead of her, Sylvie sighed. She?d never met anyone like Priss before. The singer was so full of anger and laughter and a wild indomitable sense of spirit that was something Sylvie could only hope to gain for herself. The night wind swirled around them, and the blue-clad girl felt that she could almost forget the past for a while, drown in this crazy freewheeling moment with Priss speeding down the highway. The one gleeful laugh that escaped her was cut short as she suddenly remembered why she?d been late, and what she was doing here. "Find freedom enough for all of us," had been Nam?s dying whisper. Somewhere hidden deep in the city, little Anri lay wounded, waiting for her to come home. Sylvie almost stopped the motorcycle in the middle of the road. Anri needed her, she was out here for a reason... "...freedom enough for all of us." Gunning the motor to catch up with Priss, who sped on unaware of her friend?s hesitation, she surged ahead into the night. Freedom. Nam and Meg and Lou had died so that she might be here. And riding the night wind down an empty freeway with a good friend was so wild and beautiful... Surely they wouldn?t mind if she had a good time? That?s all any of them had wanted. Free will. Glancing at the other biker, Sylvie managed to laugh again. "I love riding," Priss had told her. "Out there, it?s just you and the wind and nothing, _nothing_ can ever catch you and make you slow down and follow the rules and worry about things." She seemed to be right. Sylvie?s bike almost seemed to fly as they rounded a curve and let the wildness of the city night swallow them both. Bikes still warm behind them, the two sat at the edge of the seawall. Out in the distance, lights glimmered from islands that had once been part of Tokyo. "The islands look like stars." Sylvie whispered. Priss just smiled at her. "I come here sometimes. At night. It?s so quiet. She pointed at the water. "My house is out there somewhere. It was part of one of the drowned districts. I grew up there." Not knowing what to say, her friend just slipped an arm around her. The red-haired woman inched away. "It was a long time ago." Waves gently lapped at the edge of the wall. Sylvie laughed suddenly. "Your friends are... kawaii." Priss snorted. "Linna?s so boy-crazy and Nene?s such a child!" But her tone betrayed her affection for her comrades. "Yes, but..." they?re their own people. That still amazes me. But of course she couldn?t say that. "They?re kind." The other grinned. "Hai. And I?m not. We balance each other out." She hummed a bit of "Soldier Girls" as they continued looking over the harbor. Sylvie looked at her intently, missing the humor completely. "You?re very kind, Priss-chan. You just hide it. You?ve been a wonderful friend to me." And I might die tomorrow, or anytime, so please know that... she couldn?t say that. Not yet. Priss looked over at her, surprised. "You?re a strange one, Sylvie." There was a smile in her eyes. "But thank you." She scooted a little closer to the other woman. Closing her eyes for a moment, Sylvie sighed. The reflection of electric lights in the water looked like a pathway. Over the sea, out of sight... all the way to the moon. But she had reason to hate the moon. The dark and soulless moon had stolen so much of her life. Shivering suddenly, she was surprised when Priss slipped an arm around her waist. She could hear the other woman breathing... both of them were frozen, neither feeling safe enough to do or say anything more. Unsaid words lingered in the water before them, and the silence was almost tangibly thick. Sylvie knew what was on the other woman?s mind, but she wasn?t at all certain what she herself was thinking. For a moment, she was unaccountably angry at the universe. Why did she have to meet this girl now? The memories of her old life were still too strong to ignore, even for a moment. And Priss was so much the person she herself wanted to be, someday. Wild and reckless, fearless and laughing, and above all, free. Sylvie touched the other girl?s hair, gently. Oh Priss-chan, she sighed inwardly. Why do I have to meet you now? So soon after losing Nam, and I may yet lose Anri, and I don?t know if I?m capable of loving, I don?t know what I am, but if I am what I want to be, then I could fall in love with you... her thoughts tangled impossibly, and turned loops that went nowhere in her mind. Sylvie stood. Priss looked up at her, surprised. "Are you leaving?" "No." She raised her hands to the night, and shouted over the water. "I?m Sylvie! SYLVIE!" I am a murderer. I am a stranger here. I am a slave. I?m trying to be free, for the sake of my friends. I am not human. But I want to be, so so much! There was no answer. But her name was out there, out in the water, drifting. Free. Priss laughed and stood also, grasping her hand. "And I?m glad you?re here. You are so strange..." She froze as the other turned to look at her. There was knowledge in those eyes, and so much sadness. She knows, Priss realized. She knows what I?m barely admitting to myself. "Sylvie, I... I?m sorry." She tossed her head, and laughed. "For what? Priss, this place is beautiful." Looking straight at her, Sylvie lowered her voice. "And you didn?t do anything wrong." Her hand, still entwined in her friend?s, gave a reassuring squeeze. Priss turned away and faced the long shore. She knew what she wanted to say and do, but fear kept the words from forming even in her mind. Cool down, she ordered herself as the wind whipped through her hair. What is _with_ me? It had been so long since she even had a friend, let alone anything else... she glanced over her shoulder at Sylvie who was shivering. How could she feel so close to someone she?d only known for a few weeks? The other woman smiled a little. "Priss... it?s okay." "What makes you think you know what I?m thinking?" A moment later she could have slapped herself for lashing out like that. Sylvie?s a friend, not like the cold and horrible rest of the world... Sylvie didn?t reply, just let the wind blow the hair out of her face. Priss realized that she was shaking as well. "Sylvie..." I don?t know what?s going on but I?m fucking _attracted_ to you, but how the hell can I say that? The wind gusted, and Sylvie stumbled. Priss caught her, and they sat down again, tangled up in each other. Oh, Kami, what am I doing... she leaned closer. She wasn?t particularly surprised when Priss kissed her so suddenly. But if this had happened just a little later, things would be so much easier... reflex took over as Sylvie kissed her back. That?s when the memories surfaced, dragging her back to the moon and the pain there... Sylvie pulled back suddenly, almost violently. She instantly regretted it when she saw the pain in her friend?s eyes. "Sylvie, I?m so sorry, I don?t know what happened..." She put a hand up to stop the tumble of words, then looked at Priss. "Oh, Priss-chan. Why did I have to meet you just _now_ of all times?" Despite the confused look in her friend?s eyes, she just couldn?t bring herself to tell the truth just yet. Priss hated Boomers with a passion. "Nani?" Priss got up to leave. "Stay here." Sylvie?s voice was quiet. "It?s not your fault." "I shouldn?t have done anything. It was a mistake." Time for a half-truth. "No. I... you?re a wonderful friend, Priss. It?s just that the last person--" people. There had been a multitude of them, faces blurring together over the years. All filling her with pain and hate and they called it love and... "-- I was with was... horrible to me. And I don?t think I can handle being in a relationship yet." Not until I?m sure it?s my emotions that are fueling it, not some built-in program. "Sylvie, I?m so sorry." Ordinarily Priss would have hugged her, but this time she stayed distant. "It?s not your fault." She lowered her voice. "Believe me, I could love you. Really. Just... not right now. There?s so much happening in my life right now." Anri. Waiting for her back at that dark apartment. Anri, who she was neglecting right now. "Find enough freedom for all of us" Nam had said. I?m trying, Sylvie thought. I think I?m trying. Biting her lip, Priss stood up. "Can we just forget it ever happened?" No. She looked at her. "I think so." Small smile. It was almost enough. Sylvie looked at the harbor again. Was this freedom? Not knowing what she was feeling or thinking or anything? Was what she was feeling just one more programmed response, one more way Genom had of controlling her? Looking at Priss, seeing the confusion and disappointment in her eyes, Sylvie wondered whether she wasn?t just being paranoid. The girl looked every bit as bewildered and hurt and afraid Sylvie felt... Maybe that?s what being free is. Not knowing what?s right or wrong all the time, just having to go with what feels like the best thing to do. Nam?s voice whispered in her memory. "Find enough freedom for all of us." But this wasn?t what she had meant. What Sylvie was feeling now, she?d felt before, coerced back on the moonbase. But I?m free, I?m free now, this is my choice... Go with what feels right, something inside her said. Find enough freedom for all of us. Did the past really matter? Sylvie was free now. "No," she said with a smile. She pulled Priss back down to the seawall, forced her to sit. The poor girl looked even more confused than before. "I don?t think I want to forget." This time Sylvie initiated the kiss. "WORLD SHAKING!" "DEEP SUBMERGE!" The Boomer never knew what hit it. Since the Knight Sabers were apparantly taking the night off, MegaTokyo?s other vigilantes had come out to play. Something was happening with the Boomers, Uranus thought. They were acting independently of Genom?s orders and causing even more chaos than usual. Seeing Neptune?s weary look, the senshi suddenly remembered that this was no game. No matter how much fun it was to tear those metal monsters with red eyes into little tiny pieces... A hand on her arm stopped that train of thought. "I think that?s the last of them. So," Neptune said with a smile. "You don?t need to attack again." Since she had been about to do just that, Uranus turned red and blew her hair out of her eyes. "Oh. Okay." The green-haired senshi laughed. "You enjoy this far too much. I should worry." There was no way she could deny that one. "But you don?t worry." "I know. I know you too well." As they walked down the street, the pair detransformed. It wouldn?t do for the police or anyone else to see them as Sailor Senshi. And how could two unarmed women out for an evening stroll defeat a combat Boomer? The two laughed over that as they walked. After a few moments and several block?s worth of walking, Haruka sobered up. "There were more Boomers tonight. Something?s happening." She hadn?t even gotten to the request part of her request, but Michiru had already whipped out her mirror and was staring into it intently. The picture that formed was enigmatic at best. A man with silver-green hair and a cruel smile... a city on the moon that was a far cry from anything that had existed in the Moon Kingdom the senshi knew of... a cold, dead earth where only Boomers could tread... a girl with silver hair and silver eyes, and another with darker gray hair and greenish-gray eyes... one with hair the color of Michiru?s and childlike green eyes... throughout all the images there were flashes of Priss Asagiri?s face, and the Knight Sabers in their hardsuits. Just before the mirror went dark, Michiru saw a single image of Usagi and Mamoru, encircled by metal buildings from that dark, Genom-ruled moon. She gasped and lost concentration, nearly dropping the mirror. Haruka caught her hand. "What is it, love? What did you see?" "This," she whispered when she had caught her breath, "is deeper than we thought."