And away we gooooo! Sailor Moon sputtered as a steady stream of water splattered her in the face. "Acckk! Stop that!" She slapped the broken water pipe with the back of her left hand, knocking it to one side and redirecting the spray away from her face. Eyes clear, she could now see the water sprite sitting atop the pipe. It was laughing at her. Around two or three inches tall, the sprite was a humanoid female done miniature. Every feature was perfectly articulated and in proportion. However, the sprite's body seemed to be made entirely of water. After wagging it's tiny tongue at Sailor Moon, it broke apart and flowed back into the pipe. Her enemy having fled the field, Usagi turned to see how her friends were doing. The answer was either extremely well, or extremely poorly- depending on your point of view. On the positive side, almost all the sprites had been either chased off or dispersed. In fact, Mars was the only one still actively fighting. As Usagi watched, Rei charged her opponent. It was much bigger than the others, standing about four feet high, and it had been acting more intelligently, having stayed to observe after its compatriots fled. It's form seemed to waver slightly as Mars pivoted on one foot, moving the other in a spin kick that was meant to scatter her opponent's water. The sprite neglected to dodge or defend itself. Instead it seized the chance to flow up Rei's leg, over the rest of her body, and off her outstretched left arm. From there it quickly splooshed over to a nearby fountain and escaped down the drain. The Senshi had triumphed. That was the good part. They were completely and utterly soaked. That was the bad part. Usagi took a moment to bless whatever magic it was that prevented them from being photographed. If anyone had come upon them at that moment.... Well, the way their uniforms were plastered to their bodies, the pictures would have been more likely to end up on the internet than in a respectable newspaper. Not one of them had escaped. Minako was having to literally wring out her hair. Makoto had just discovered the soaked front of her uniform had allowed a small puddle of water to form in a most embarrassing place. Ami, being attuned to water, had managed to fair somewhat better. However, she still didn't dare summon forth her minicomputer for fear it would get wet and somehow be damaged. Usagi herself had managed to avoid the worst of it, though a slip on muddy ground had left her a little messy. Rei, however, had been singled out for attention early on. It seemed the sprites had been able to sense her connection to fire (especially after she began lobbing flame blasts around). Every single one of the pests had gotten her at least once. Yes, they'd all been well and truly soaked. All except..... Usagi launched a glare at the man perched in the nearby tree. "Mamo-chan, how dare you stay dry. I mean, how dare you not come and help us!" "Had any one of you truly needed aid, be assured I would have intervened, Sailor Moon. I will always there in your time of distress." He gave her a smile that was one sound effect away from being a chuckle. "Besides, you were doing fine on your own." Ignoring this by-play, Minako announced to the others, "I'm glad there aren't any guys around to see like this. I'm not that desperate for a boyfriend!" "Hey!" Minako turned to look at an irate Mamoru. "Oh, that's all right Tuxedo Mask. We don't think of _you_ as a guy!" Mamoru took off his hat and began fiddling with it. "Oh, thanks. Just what I needed to hear." Usagi was about to go hug him and assure him that _she_ thought of him as a guy, when Makoto spoke up. "I don't like it. That was way, way, too easy." Ami quickly agreed, "She's right. Those creatures weren't dangerous at all, and I think even normal people could have driven them off. They didn't seem to have any mission except to disrupt the fountains of this park and cause trouble." Rei coughed up a bit of water. "They did enough of that! Maybe this was just a test of some sort." The Senshi of Mercury shook her head. "If these 'Dark Ones' wanted to test us, they would have sent someone stronger. The fight we just had wouldn't have told them anything about our true capabilities." "Hey everybody, take it easy. We beat the bad guys! That's a good thing, right? We can just ask Macavity about it next time we see him." Usagi smiled, hoping to end the debate so they could detransform and leave. "Assuming we can trust him," Rei muttered under her breath. Grabbing both Mars and Jupiter by the arm, Minako began dragging them off. "Sailor Moon's right. Let's get out of here before somebody comes along. We can all go over to my house and have some tea. Don't worry Rei, if all that water up your nose makes you get sick, I can nurse you back to health." Rei blanched and noticeably pulled away as they walked off. Meanwhile, Usagi was surprised to see that Tuxedo Mask hadn't moved from his perch. Normally he would have either disappeared or come down to stand with her by this point. Instead, he was still balanced on the branch, cupping his chin with one hand. "Is there something wrong, Tuxedo Mask?" "I'm fine. I just... need to think about something. Go on, Usako. I'll see you later." Hesitantly, she walked after the others, leaving Mamoru wrapped in his meditations. In a darkened high-rise apartment, Argent sat looking into a mirror that reflected a park scene. The image transmitter he'd begged from the chairman seemed to be working perfectly. An undetectable terminal set up in the park sent an image that he could watch from the safety of his apartment, without having to endanger himself by spying directly on the fight. The Senshi having departed the area, the mirror currently showed only Tuxedo Mask. The dashingly dressed hero lingered several moments longer, before finally vanishing in a few quick bounds. From the shadows near Argent's back, a mocking feminine voice rang out. "Just what was the point of that? I believe the humans have an expression, 'My grandmother could have won that fight.' Is this really a productive use of your time?" Argent grimaced, but did not turn. "Aurium. What are you doing here?" "The Chairman ordered me to learn as much as I could about your operation, just in case..." She trailed off. "In case what!?" "Why, in case you are for some reason unable to continue with the mission. This is a dangerous world, brother dear. Accidents can happen to anyone." Argent controlled his instinctive burst of anger. If the Chairman had really ordered it, there was nothing he could do. For now. Instead of exploding in fury, he decided to explain his purpose calmly. It always needled his sister when he ignored her verbal jabs. "As you know, I have been studying the Senshi. I've begun to have a fair idea of their strengths and weaknesses. However, there's still one among them I have been unable to fully understand. He is, if you will, the literal 'odd man out'. This Tuxedo Mask is a mystery to me. In some ways he seems weaker than the others, yet they defer to him. The others fight as a unit, but he seems a force apart." Argent casually pulled out a cloth and began wiping clean the surface of the mirror as he continued. "I must study Tuxedo Mask further. The problem is, it's difficult to focus when he fights with the others. That's why I've arranged to have a tracer spell put on him. With it, we can track his general location and send some 'tests' directly to him. It was child's play to tag him. The fool actually remained still the entire time." The woman in the shadows giggled, "So, basically your plan is to try and find out who was that masked man?" This finally got a glare from Argent. "Aurium, what have I told you about watching those human television shows?" Cue Moonlight Densetsu as the opening music. Gomen ne sunao ja nakute (Shot of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen, back to back, in defensive poses.) Yume no naka nara ieru (Shot of Sailor Mercury and Starhunter in similar poses.) Shikou kairo wa shotto sunzen (Shot of Mars and Venus is similar poses.) Ima sugu aitai yo (Shot of Jupiter and Laura in similar poses. Macavity tumbles past Jupiter and Laura, who both sweatdrop.) Nakitaku naru you na Moonlight Denwa mo dekinai Midnight (Shot of Luna and Artemis, both sitting on their haunches, slowly orbiting each other.) Datte junjou dou shiyou Hatto wa mangekyou (Macavity suddenly appears between them, douses both from a seltzer bottle, then vanishes, leaving two wet and obviously pissed off kitties.) Tsuki no Hikari ni michibikare (Shot of The Chairman. He is standing against a dark background, and has his hand stretched out towards the camera, a lot like Jadeite did with his energy ball in the first few TV episodes. Instead of an energy ball, The Chairman is holding a globe, which he then closes his hand around, crushing the globe. Throughout, his face is emotionless.) Nandomo meguri-au (Shot of Argent sitting on a tree branch, waving his index finger at the camera in a "No, no, no." motion.) (Brief instrumental (organ?) riff) (Shot of Laura at her equipment, frantically punching buttons and turning dials) (Macavity appears behind her, sneaking up on her. She casually grabs a pillow from somewhere and tosses it behind her, tagging Macavity before he can get close to her.) Seiza no mataki kazoe (Close-up of Eternal Sailor Moon, a sad look on her face) Uranau koi no yukue (The view pulls back. Eternal Sailor Moon is sitting, looking out at a view we cannot see. She's not alone. Tuxedo Mask is right behind her, hands on her shoulder, comforting her.) Onaji kuni ni umareta no Mirakuru Romansu (Continue to pull out. The rest of the cast is now seen. Macavity is at Sailor Moon's feet, while the Inner Senshi and Laura are in a small semi circle behind her.) Shinjite iro no Mirakuru Romansu (Finally show that the whole gang is looking out over a pristine, untouched landscape. A couple of fairies (butterfly girls) fly by as the opening fades out...) Sailor Moon Dark War Episode 8 : The Man Behind the Mask A Tale of Sailor Moon Expanded Written by: Matthew Campbell *** What has gone before..... The Senshi received six months of peace after the defeat of Galaxia, but that peace was not to last. Now a new enemy has appeared. Called the Dark Ones, they are the ancient races of Faerie who used to inhabitant the earth ages ago, long before the ascent of Man. Banished to another world long ago, they have never given up their ambitions of reclaiming their ancient home. The Senshi also have a mysterious ally, a leprechaun named Macavity. Unbeknownst to the Senshi, Macavity has a servant named Laura, newest exchange student at their high school. Mamoru has permanently returned from America, determined to do whatever it takes to protect Usagi. *** Mamoru's bike skidded around the corner, hitting a puddle and spraying water everywhere. With steady skill, he kept the motorcycle upright and heading in approximately the correct direction. The street was clear, so he sneaked a quick peek at his watch. Five minutes. Plenty of time. Giving the engine gas, he headed into the home stretch, hitting the parking area at top speed. Spotting an empty space in the area reserved for motorbikes, he gave the front wheel an enormous twist, at the same time hitting the brakes. The wheels shrieked as they dragged the machine completely around, slowing more and more as he approached the spot. With a shudder, the vehicle finally ground to a complete halt. Mamoru grinned as he got off. He had timed it perfectly, skidding back into the parking spot so that the front end faced out. To be sure, the spaces to either side were unoccupied. He wouldn't have dared to try the stunt otherwise. I must, he mused, remember to thank Haruka for those driving lessons. That had been the sum total of the societal contact Mamoru had been able to make with the outer Senshi. All he'd managed was to beg a couple of driving lessons. In his more paranoid moments, he wondered if they weren't deliberately shunning him for some offense he'd given. It wouldn't be the first time.... Shaking his head, Mamoru hurried inside the building. Changing his clothes, he sat down on the mat next to the other students. Mere moments after he had taken his seat, the instructor strode into the room. "Cutting it a bit close, aren't you Mamoru?" Well into his sixties, the old man still retained a humorous glint in his eye. Mamoru recognized that the question wasn't an attack, but he still responded nervously. "Um, yes sensei. I ran into some trouble." I really hope he doesn't ask me anymore. I don't want to explain that I was late because the woman I love was attacked by monsters, and I had to go make sure she was able to fight them off OK. "Just as long as you're here when the bell rings. Metaphorically speaking , of course." Mamoru breathed a sigh of relief as the instructor walked to the front of the line. Upon a signal, the class began their exercises. For the next hour, the students were led in a variety of mental exercises, attempting to gain better control over their own thoughts and heighten their wills. Finally, the class came to an end, and Mamoru stood to leave. "Chiba, wait a moment." "Yes Sensei." Inwardly Mamoru squirmed, wondering what the old man was going to say. "I've been meaning to ask you. What are you doing in this class? Most young men your age prefer to study more physical arts. I'm sure you've noticed that you're the youngest member of our group by a fair span of years." Mamoru shifted, unsure how to explain without revealing too much. "I do take a class in the more uh, 'physical arts', as you put it, Sensei. It's just.... Over the past few years, there have been a number of times when I have been, uh, dominated, by those around me. Sometimes I've caused.... many problems for those I care about, because my will wasn't strong enough to resist. I thought perhaps this class might help strengthen my mind, and keep me from being.... controlled by others." "The only one who can do that is you, Chiba-san. However, by taking my class you are taking a step in the right direction. Usually I wouldn't bother to pry, but I'm old and there's nothing good on TV. You seemed troubled today. I noticed it breaking your concentration. Care to tell me about it?" "Well, there's this girl." "Ah, woman trouble. Sorry, I can't help you with that." "Well, I didn't exactly figure you for the Don Juan type." Mamoru shut his mouth with a snap. He'd been trying to bring this little problem under control for some time now. Usagi had been helping, but sometimes things still slipped out. "Watch it son! That mouth of yours isn't going to win you many friends." Like I hadn't clued in on that for myself, Mamoru thought. "I'm sorry sensei. Sometimes I speak before I think. Look, it really isn't a girl problem. It's more.... Well I'm in love with this girl. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I'd do anything for her. She loves me to, so everything should be great, right?" The instructor grunted, and indicated that Mamoru should continue. Inwardly, the young man breathed a sigh of relief. Most of his friends were, of necessity, fairly thick-skinned. Either that or they were so distanced from the everyday world, they barely noticed Mamoru's occasional barb. It appeared the instructor wasn't going to hold his words against him. "The problem is that she's special, really special. She's going to be something great someday. Well, she already is something great, but she's going to be even greater. Me, I'm just an ordinary college student." Yeah, I have a fancy costume and some magic roses, big deal, Mamoru added to himself. "There's nothing I can do for her that her friends can't do better. In fact, looking back, for a long time I've given her more grief than help. I feel like I'm, I don't know, not worthy of her." The instructor fixed Mamoru with an intense stare, and slowly began to open his mouth. Despite himself, the part-time superhero leaned forward, hoping to catch some words of wisdom that would forever change his life. "Image is nothing. Thirst is everything. Obey your thirst." "What! What are you, ripping off television commercials for advice? I could have gotten better than that out of a fortune cookie." The glint of humor was back in the instructor's eyes. "As a matter of fact, that was from a commercial. What were you expecting? Did you think I was going to solve all your problems for you? You tell me you love this girl and she loves you. That's more than a lot of people get." Mamoru rocked back on his heels. "Well, thanks for your help." Yeah, a lot of good that did me. I guess free advice is worth what you pay for it. "No problem. Now get out of here! There's another group coming in ten minutes, and we have to be cleared out." Mamoru again rode his motorcycle through the streets, his unfastened green coat billowing behind him in a manner reminiscent of the cape of his Tuxedo Mask costume. Usagi had been nagging him to get rid of the natty old thing, but as much as he loved her, a man's favorite old coat isn't something given up lightly. Besides, it held too many memories of their earliest encounters. Memories weren't something Mamoru took lightly. He briefly wondered what Usagi would say if she saw the 'trophy case' he kept in his closet. Ranging from a piece of jewelry to a tuft of grass, the assorted items served as momentos for each adventure he was involved in as Tuxedo Mask. His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden noise of screams echoing from a construction site down a nearby side street. Instinctively following the sounds, he was soon upon the source of the disturbance. He parked the bike behind the wooden fence surrounding the site, hopped off, and concentrated. In a moment's time Mamoru felt the transformation overtake him, and a rose materialized in his hand. Using the power of this form, he easily leaped to the top of the fence, enabling him to see the source of the disturbance. As much as he'd hoped it was some sort of mundane accident, the problem was immediately visible. The creatures were each over eight feet high, and made of dirt. Great clumps of soil dripped from their vaguely humanoid bodies as they milled around, mindlessly ripping apart the construction site. There were ten of them, and to Mamoru's eyes each of them looked perfectly capable of ripping apart a certain caped superhero! For a long moment he hesitated. His mission as Tuxedo Mask had always been fairly simple. Protect Usagi (and by extension the rest of the Senshi). When Chibi-Usa had been there, he'd done his best to protect her as well. Fighting monsters alone wasn't in his job description. He wasn't a hero, just someone who wanted to protect the women he loved. Mamoru had almost convinced himself to turn around and find a pay phone to call Usagi, when he saw it. The construction site hadn't been completely evacuated. There was still a worker left. Apparently during the monsters' initial attack, one had dislodged a heavy reel of steel cable. It had fallen on a man, leaving him pinned and unable to escape. As Mamoru watched, the near-mindless creatures finally noticed the helpless victim. They slowly began to rumble towards him. A red rose streaked through the air, digging into the ground in front of the elementals. They halted, confused, when a voice called from behind them. "Creature of the earth! Your element should serve humans, not harm them. I will not allow you to use the power of the earth for destruction." Though his outward tone was confident, inwardly Mamoru was shaking. He'd never told anyone, not even Usagi, but these fights always left him terrified. Covering a distance of over twenty yards, Tuxedo Mask leapt over the earth creatures and landed between them and the hapless worker. Pulling out his cane, he braced himself as best he could. At a mental command, the cane extended, ramming into the lead monster. It halted , trying to rebalance itself as the force of the impact nearly toppled it. The other creatures slowed as well, confused by the actions of their comrade. This gave Tuxedo Mask the chance he needed. Turning, he grabbed the spool of cable with one hand and easily hauled it off the construction worker. With the other hand he hauled the terror-stricken man to his feet. "Sir, I really think now would be a good time to depart." Unfortunately, the man's wits seemed somewhat addled, and he made no move to begin his getaway. With a sigh, Mamoru turned the man towards the exit, and gave him a rough shove. The worker stumbled a few steps forward, and then took off as though his life depended on it. For a moment, Tuxedo Mask considered following him. There were no more hostages to save after all. Still, he'd engaged the enemy, as it were, and it somehow wouldn't be right to leave without at least trying something to stop them. A grin crossed his face as he considered the spool of cable. Scooping it off the ground, he spun around to face the elementals once more, the entire rescue haven taken only seconds. The cable hung awkwardly in his left hand, not so much because of the weight, but rather because of its sheer bulk. Taking the loose end in his right hand, he unwrapped a few loops before leaping into the fray. The monsters were massive but slow, and Tuxedo Mask had little difficulty dodging among them. He wrapped the end of the cable around the arm of one, then strung it out, making a loop around the head of another. Loosening more cable as he went, he wound it around and around the elementals, binding them closer together with every pass. As he continued, he couldn't resist quipping, "I've just about got things wrapped up here. Hope I haven't put you guys in too much of a bind!" Listening to his own words, he reflected to himself that perhaps that last bit had crossed the line from confident to corny. It wasn't so easy coming up with spur of the moment one-liners, and without the Senshi as an audience, he'd relaxed his standards somewhat. Mamoru really didn't have much of a plan for after the cable ran out, except for some vague idea of hitting them from the edges. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to think it through more completely, because one of the creatures managed to snag his shoulder. It's hand had clamped hard upon his left shoulder and began to pull him closer to the elemental's main body. Whether it planed to envelope him somehow or merely take him in a bear hug, Mamoru was sure the end result would be one very dead masked champion. Gasping as he felt the bones of his shoulder begin to grind together, Mamoru desperately attempted to attack his captor. At this close range there was no room to maneuver the cane around, so he closed his fist and punched with all his might. Tuxedo Mask was _strong_. He was extremely strong. Though his powers were more limited than those of the Senshi (or for that matter, just about any of their enemies), in this one area he surpassed his fellows. The same strength that allowed him to make effortless leaps of dozens of meters or drop several stories without injury, applied equally in other areas. In fact, he outmuscled even the strongest of the Senshi by a factor of nearly three. Of course, this rarely did him much good in combat, since much of their fighting consisted of ranged attacks. It is worth remembering, however, that his Moonlight Knight incarnation often inflicted heavy damage with an extremely small blade. Because of this, his attack on the massive earth elemental was no mere futile gesture. His white-gloved fist struck his captor with enough force to dent armor plate, and dug deep within the monster's body. Mamoru wiggled his arm within the packed earth that the creature was formed from, trying to do as much damage as possible despite his lack of leverage. None of this seemed to have much effect on the creature, and it brought its other arm across his chest, beginning to squeeze. Mamoru thrashed desperately as the air was forced from his lungs and the world began to grow black around him. He was preparing a last apology to Usagi when suddenly his hand encountered a hard object within the monster's form. Grasping onto it, he pulled it forth, revealing a small clay totem. Mamoru squeezed his all the strength left in him, shattering the totem. A burst of energy and light was released as it broke apart. At the same time, the form of his captor suddenly collapsed, reverting back to a loose pile of earth. Mamoru breathed a sigh of relief and had barely begun to stand, when his right arm was grabbed. He looked towards his new attacker and prepared to attempt to free himself, when another of the monsters grabbed his waist. Still another grabbed his leg, and within an instant, Tuxedo Mask had been swept off his feet and was being quite literally pulled apart! He struggled, trying his best to shake them off, but against so many there wasn't much he could do. The strain was increasing by the moment as more creatures took hold, and Mamoru knew even his magically strengthened body wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. As his head swung around, Tuxedo Mask caught sight of something overhead that might be his only hope. Clenching his left hand, the only limb he had free, he caused a rose to materialize and desperately threw it upwards. One of the elementals caught his arm on the upswing, leaving the caped hero completely immobilized. Now all he could do was hope. The rose flew through the air, sharpened stem leading. It's aim proved to be true, as it struck the thick power line hanging over the area. Soundlessly, the line was severed, and it began to fall towards the ground, spitting sparks. As the power line swung down, it struck one of the creatures, hitting squarely on the steel cable that encircled the elemental. There was a sparking sound as electricity poured through the cable, running to each of the nine remaining monsters. A muffled explosion emanated from each of them as the clay totems within were destroyed. The sudden collapse of his enemies left Tuxedo Mask lying on the ground, trying desperately to regain the feeling in his arms and legs. A low laugh sounded from a darkened corner of the lot, and Mamoru quickly regained his feet, wincing at the threads of pain that ran through his body. A dark form emerged, silver hair seeming to fade into existence as it came out of the shadow and began reflecting light once more. Mamoru didn't need to see the scar running across one eye in order to recognize his enemy. "Argent." The dark elf casually waved a finger at the caped hero. Argent was, however, careful to keep his distance. "Tuxedo Mask. So glad you remember me. You were lucky this time. You and I both know that. Next time you won't be so lucky. Enraged by his enemy's (somewhat accurate) words, Mamoru let fly a rose aimed at Argent's face. The dark elf was expecting this tactic, however, and the rose slowed to a stop as it entered a kinetic draining field. Argent idly picked it out of the air. "For me? How nice, but I'm afraid you're just not my type. I'll be seeing you again.... soon." Directing a cheery wave toward Tuxedo Mask, Argent teleported away. Mamoru fumed for a few seconds, directing baleful glances towards the spot where the dark elf had stood. Finally he hopped back over the fence to retrieve his motorcycle. Argent materialized in the apartment. Aurium looked up from her seat on the couch as she registered his presence. She paused to rub a hand across the mirror she was holding before venturing a comment. "Taunting an enemy? Letting him know you're going to attack again? Brother dear, it's so unlike you to be so impetuous." Argent crossed over the coffee table in front of her. He picked up a clipboard lying on top of it and began making notes. Only after he had made a few notes did he deign to respond to his sister's question. "It's all part of the plan, Aurium. First I attack unexpectedly to see how he deals with surprises. The answer is: not well. Now I give him some warning and see how he reacts. I'm willing to wager he doesn't do the sensible thing and call in his allies. Still, we shall see." Aurium arose lazily from the couch, stretching herself before attempting any action. She extended a hand towards her brother and placed her forefinger on his lips. "Always one for plans, aren't you? Sometimes it's better to...... improvise." "Bah!" He struck her finger away with the back of his hand. "Why don't you take it up with Tuxedo Mask? He doesn't seem to think much of plans either, judging from the way he leapt into my trap. I have no idea why the Chairman chose you to observe. But then I'm only your brother." He paused to run his eyes suggestively up and down her rather tight clothing. "Perhaps the Chairman found you pleasing and wished to indulge you." Argent staggered back a step as Aurium's blow struck his face. "Never suggest that again! I don't prostitute myself! Not for any-" Aurium cut off as a burst of power flung her across the room. Face even darker than normal, Argent screamed, "Never strike me again! No one raises a hand to me! Not you and not the Chairman himself!" He strode towards where she lay on the floor, all his self-control having seemingly vanished. Aurium did a quick analysis of the situation. It wouldn't gain her anything to fight her brother when he was in this mood. The best move would be to placate him. "I..." The word stuck in her throat for a moment, "apologize, Argent. Calm down and tell me more about what your on-site testing showed. I still don't know why you didn't just watch the mirror with me." As she had intended, Argent was too busy rolling his eyes over his sister's apparent stupidity to remember to be angry. "Someone had to set up the transmitter before Tuxedo Mask arrived. It isn't as if we knew where he was going to be ahead of time. Besides, there are things better studied from up close." "And what did your up-close studies reveal?" "Hmmmm. He showed remarkable strength against the earth elementals, much more strength than I've seen the Senshi demonstrate. Had there been fewer of them, I believe he might have managed to defeat them physically. An incredible feat, when you consider their raw power." Aurium sneered, "If they're so tough, why don't you use them against the Senshi." "As you well know, and as we've just seen demonstrated," he gestured towards the mirror, "the solid matrix of the earth elementals is far too vulnerable to energy attacks. I hadn't thought that would be a problem against Tuxedo Mask, but I see now that there's far too much non-magical energy running through this world." "Makes you wonder why everybody's so all-fired determined to have it back," Aurium muttered to herself, just low enough that Argent couldn't hear her clearly. "What was that!?" A hint of Argent's previous anger returned to his voice. "Nothing. So what's our next move?" A terrible smile sprouted from Argent's lips. "That should be _my_ next move. Something a bit less solid, I think. Let's see how well strength avails him against something he can't even touch." Had Argent and Aurium continued looking into the mirror, they would have noticed someone else entering the construction yard. A girl with loose brown hair blowing about her face and a pair of glasses perched precariously on her nose, unsteadily peddled a bicycle into the lot. She looked exhausted and obviously not in shape to be riding about the city. On the front of the bicycle was an enormous covered basket, barely large enough to contain, say, a leprechaun. From within the basket, a voice called out, "Well?" Laura puffed, trying to get the oxygen to answer. "M- master. I'm- I'm afraid we got here too late. It looks like whatever happened here is already over." The top of the basket tipped open the slightest bit, allowing the occupant to peer out; though it was impossible to get a good look within. Macavity scanned the area, taking note of the sputtering power line, the piles of dirt with a steel cable intertwined between them, and the rose sticking out of the ground. "That's all right Laura. I think I have a pretty good idea of what happened. I should have known that sooner or later Argent would focus in on Mamoru. It's how he thinks. Now get going!" Laura gulped, "Uh, where Macavity?" "To the college. It's where Mamoru should be on this day of the week at this time, according to the record *you've* been gathering." "But, but it's...." "Yes?" "It's uphill all the way!" Macavity's voice took on a tone of dry humor, "Then you'd better get started. We can't afford to waste any more time." Laura pleaded, "If time is so important I _could_ get us there more quickly." "That's only for emergencies. Real emergencies, not just because you're out of shape. Now get pedaling!" Laura gave in. "Yes master....." With a sigh she sucked it in and began to slowly move the bicycle forward. Mamoru was surprised to see how many people were walking about the campus. It was Sunday, and he'd expected that most of the students would be out enjoying the pleasures of the city. He wondered, just for a moment, if the recent attacks by the Dark Ones were responsible. Perhaps rumors of the battles were beginning to spread among the populace. Perhaps people were becoming afraid to leave their homes. Or perhaps I shouldn't have taken that psychology class, Mamoru concluded. He'd just seen the signs for the festival being held in a nearby park. Apparently there had been a spillover and a few booths were open on campus. Shaking his head and wondering how he could have missed what had no doubt been a heavy advertising campaign, Mamoru began to walk towards the Physics building. He had almost reached his destination when a voice suddenly challenged him. "Chiba! Hey, Chiba over here!" Mamoru whirled to face the source of the shout, tensing for an attack. He relaxed when he was confronted, not by a malevolent dark elf, but rather by an athletic young man. Tall and well muscled, the man's hair ran up into little spikes on the side of his head, making him look ever so slightly demonic. Standing beside him was a woman wearing a bright red sundress. She gave Mamoru a casual nod in greeting. "Hello Kentaro," Mamoru said, attention focused on the man. Kentaro smirked. "So what are you doing here Chiba? Don't tell me you're here for the festival. A loner like you, I'd figure you wouldn't show up for something like this." "Some of us don't need our own personal cheering session. Besides, I'm a little too busy to be going to any festivals. I have a job as a research assistant." Kentaro looked surprised, "What, you mean over there?" He gestured towards the physics complex. "Yes." Mamoru hoped that Kentaro wouldn't ask any more. He was getting really sick having to explain this. Kentaro snickered. "Uh, I hate to tell you this, Chiba old buddy, but you're a Political Science major. What are you doing with all the eggheads over there in the hard sciences?" "Professor Brown is from America, and since I just spent some time over there, I can-" "Brown! You're Brown's assistant? He's crazy. I heard he thinks he's a character from some movie. He practically bribed the university to allow him to work here, and that's only because no American school would have him!" Mamoru's temper began to rise. Somehow Kentaro had a way of getting under his skin the way almost no one else could. "You spend a lot of time listening to rumors, don't you Kentaro. Your grades might improve if you didn't listen so much and studied more." The woman spoke up, "And you could stand to improve your attitude before you go around giving other people advice. I don't know why I bother with you, Mamoru Chiba." Mamoru hung his head, embarrassed. Somehow he always felt ridiculous when Nanami scolded him. She had "adopted' him for some strange reason, and was always attempting to make peace between Mamoru and Kentaro, her boyfriend. Sensing weakness in his opponent, Kentaro moved in, "I'm sure that girlfriend of yours, Usagi isn't it? I'm sure Usagi would have loved to go to the festival. Of course, I guess you wouldn't want to be seen with such a young girl. From what I hear, you don't like to take her out anywhere. She is rather stupid, isn't she?" He cut off as Mamoru lifted him off the ground by his collar. Mamoru pulled him easily with a one-handed grasp. It might have been some Tuxedo Mask magic leaking through, or it might have been sheer force of rage. Kentaro had gone too far and violated the unspoken rules of their little verbal battles. Mamoru was not about to let him malign the woman who meant the world to him. "Listen to me. I love Usako and I'm going to marry her. I don't want to ever hear you insulting her again." Not all of his anger was directed at Kentaro. Inside he was wondering if maybe he had been neglecting Usagi. Sure they spent time together, but how often did they go places socially, talk to Mamoru's friends. For that matter, how often did he socialize with her friends? It had been easier, in a way, when Chibi-Usa had been there. They had been able to go out as a family. Even if no one could know that Usagi was Chibi-Usa's real mother, they had known. Now their daughter was back in the future, probably for good. It was his own fault, Mamoru reflected miserably. Without Chibi-Usa, he had allowed their age difference to come between them more often. A sudden slap to the face startled Mamoru, causing him to dump Kentaro on the ground. An extremely angry Nanami confronted him. "Just how long were you planning to dangle my boyfriend in the air?" Mamoru hemmed and hawed, unable to placate Nanami, but he received a rescue from an unexpected source. "Let him alone. It was my fault." Kentaro rubbed his head and picked himself up after making this remarkable statement. He continued, "Sorry Chiba. I guess I went too far. The only thing wrong with your girlfriend is that she would pick a bastard like you." Just like Kentaro, Mamoru reflected, to offer an insult and an apology in the same breath. "True love, Kentaro. Something you'll probably never have." "Oooooh, I'm so worried. Well sorry to cut our discussion short, mister 'too cool for the rest of us', but I have a circle of worshipful admirers anxiously awaiting my arrival." Nodding his head at Mamoru, Kentaro abruptly turned and walked off. To his back, Mamoru shouted, "By all means, don't let me keep you away from your little Greek chorus." When Kentaro passed out of audible range without response, Mamoru muttered to himself, "Jerk." "As if you act much better." Mamoru turned, startled. He'd momentarily forgotten Nanami, thinking that she would have followed Kentaro. She continued, "Why can't the two of you ever get along? Really, you and Kentaro are a lot alike. I bet you could be great friends with him if you tried." Mamoru snorted, "Not likely. Besides, the way it is now is probably good for the both of us. With all those people who think he's so great, he needs me to keep from getting a swelled head. And I.... well let's just say he's teaching me patience." "Good for you. Teaching you. Bah. Does everything you do have to be _about_ something? Take my advice and just loosen up some. Anyway, I've got to go catch up to Kentaro. See you later." Giving Mamoru a last nod, she hurried off in the direction Kentaro had gone. Mamoru puzzled over her words for a moment. Maybe he had been taking the whole thing with Kentaro a bit too seriously. Most of his arguments with Kentaro more in the nature of verbal jabs, after all. Deciding to think about it later, Mamoru headed to his original destination. Making his way through the halls of the physics building, he came at last to a small lab, nestled in the very back of the place. There was a light on within, so he simply pushed open the door and entered, wincing at the creaking of the rusty hinges. "I'm sorry if I'm a little late, Doctor Brown," he said, reverting to English for the professor's sake Brown was sitting at a lab table, studying a print-out of some data. At first it appeared Mamoru wasn't going to receive a response, but Dr. Brown finally looked up and said, "What? Oh no, this is fine. Just have a seat for a moment while I finish looking at this. Dr. Irving Brown was a short man, with iron-gray hair sprouting in a ring around his mostly-bald head. He had an enormous beak of a nose, and constantly squinted, though he never wore glasses. In brief, he looked almost, but not entirely, completely unlike Christopher Lloyd. Mamoru squirmed uncomfortably. He had never enjoyed waiting around. Despite the professor's warning, he couldn't resist attempting to make conversation. "So, Doctor Brown....... How's the research coming?" "Quite well, Mr. Chibo-" "That's Chiba." "Indeed. I think I've begun to get feedback on the fourth- dimensional structure of our samples. This is the beginning of a whole new frontier in science, Mr. Chibo. Someday my work will allow us mastery over time itself! There are no limits I tell you!" Mamoru gave a weak grin, trying not to sweat. Whenever Brown started going on about time travel, it made the caped hero extremely nervous. After all, time travel _was_ possible, as Mamoru had good reason to know. Still, he comforted himself, if there were any real danger surely Setsuna would show up and do something about it. Not that Mamoru could make heads or tails of Dr. Brown's work. Indeed, a casual observer might have wondered why Mamoru was serving as a research assistant. Every year there were many physics majors who returned from studying in America. Most of them spoke English as well, or better than Mamoru. So why did he have the job? The answer was simple. No one else wanted to do it. Kentaro was correct in his assessment of Dr. Brown. He was regarded as insane by virtually everyone in his field, and no promising young graduate student was willing to throw away his career by associating with this madman. The reasons for Brown being allowed to teach and research at the university were still rather mysterious. Many people suspected shady dealings. Still, promises had been made and one of them was that Brown be provided with a research assistant. Since no one wanted the job, the university had been forced to assign it as a punishment. That was where Mamoru came in. His sudden decision not to return to America had annoyed people. He couldn't tell anyone it was to stay to help his fiancee fight a supernatural enemy, so it appeared as if he had changed his mind on a whim. Mamoru had been assigned to work as Brown's assistant as a form of penance, and it was strongly suggested that if he refused the assignment, he would have considerable trouble enrolling in any more classes. The work hadn't been hard, exactly. Mostly he just had to help set equipment up and record figures. However, Brown had proved to be something of a chatterbox. He was forever going on about one subject or another, and often it was a dissertation on the research he was engaged in. Mamoru had to admit his understanding of temporal mechanics was probably expanding, though if the professor's detractors were correct, the knowledge he received was fundamentally flawed. Sometimes there just wasn't any way to win. "Ah Mr. Chibo... sorry, I mean Chiba, I've been wondering. You seem like a bright young man. What ever possessed you to waste your time in the Political Science department?" Then there were times like these when Brown would pick a topic out of the air, seemingly not caring whether it intruded on his assistant's privacy or not. Mamoru suppressed his annoyance and tried to answer honestly. "Well first, I don't think any of my professors would like hearing that their class is a waste of time." Brown merely rolled his eyes, hopelessly prejudiced against anything that wasn't a 'hard science'. "Anyway, I have to..... go into politics someday, and I thought it would be a good idea to try and learn more about how governments work." Professor Brown gave him a cross-eyed glance. "You _have_ to go into politics? What an odd way to put it. I wish you luck, but I doubt you're going to learn much about real-life governments her. We academic types can be a little impractical." Mamoru shrugged, not really having a response. With each year that passed, this destiny to become a king was weighing heavier and heavier on his mind. Probably Brown was right. Probably he wasn't going to learn very much at a university. Still, Mamoru had quite frankly been unable to come up with any other ideas, at least none that were practical. It was all so vague too. He knew from the visit to the future that he was going to become a king, but king of what exactly? King of Crystal Tokyo? King of Japan? King of the world? The older Endymion hadn't given any hints. Mamoru vowed that if he had any choice in the matter, it would be over as few people as possible. He'd read a lot of history, and what he'd read scared him. Governing a nation, a modern nation, under a monarchy while maintaining ideals and principles seemed near-impossible. Governing a planet..... Mamoru felt that was far beyond his own capabilities. It would take a miracle. A miracle named Serenity perhaps? Much as he loved Usagi, even Mamoru wouldn't have called her a majestic queen. She was a brave, slightly ditzy girl with a heart bigger than that of anyone he'd ever met. That, more than any matter of past lives, was why he loved her. Someday she would become a queen named Serenity; he knew that. It didn't worry him though, because when he had met Serenity, he had seen flashes of Usagi, his Usagi, shining through. She still had so much love in her, and he suspected, probably still had a stack of 30th century manga sitting in her closet. He didn't doubt that Serenity would be capable of ruling the world, but what would it take out of her? How much of her humanity would she have to lose to be responsible for the welfare of an entire planet, to try and heal the entire human race? She had so much responsibility on her shoulders already., and Mamoru wasn't going to allow her spirit to be crushed by more than any person could be expected to handle. He was willing to die before he would let that happen. Mamoru didn't think of these things during his conversation with Dr. Brown. He had puzzled them over in his mind a hundred times, trying to get to sleep at night. Instead he tried to distract himself, concentrating on calibrating the machinery and entering data, while allowing Brown's constant flow of chatter to flow over him. This was why Dr. Brown, rather than the normally alert Mamoru, heard the sound first. "My word, what is that!" The exclamation caught Mamoru's attention, and now he too heard the noise. It was a low pitched whistling, coming from somewhere outside the building. Mamoru clenched his fist. He had a feeling the proverbial other shoe had just dropped. The whistling was much more pronounced outside, sounding like some strong wind forced through a narrow opening. Despite the sound, the air around the campus hung heavy and unmoving in an ominous dead calm. Few people remained on the streets, and those that were headed quickly to the closest building to take shelter. Still in normal form, Mamoru listened intently, hoping to locate the source of the sound. He somehow wasn't surprised to pinpoint it coming from the park. The large concentration of people unprotected and in the open would be the perfect target for an attack designed to cause chaos. Mamoru had made his excuses to Professor Brown as quickly as possible, but there was still no telling how long whatever it was had been going on. Accordingly, he broke into a run towards the park. He still did not, however, transform. It was possible Argent would be able to sense him coming if he powered up, and Mamoru wanted to retain his trademark advantage of surprise. Concealing himself behind a ring of trees that surrounded a cleared field, Mamoru was able to get a look at the situation. The attackers were indistinct, visible only by the dust and dirt that blew about within them. Just as the first attackers had been made from water, and the second group from earth, these monsters were living masses of wind. They were air elementals. Just as it had been on campus, the air in the clearing was totally still. Not a single festival tent flap, not so much as one canvas roof even fluttered in the breeze. All of the wind for a great distance around seemed to be focused in the bodies of the elementals themselves. Mamoru could see it, blowing grit and dust around at hurricane force speeds, in a volume roughly approximating a humanoid body. There were fewer of them this time, only six in all. However, they were much faster than the earth elementals had been, constantly circling the clearing and keeping some ten or so people penned within the tents and pavilions of the festival area. Argent had been paying close attention in the last encounter and wanted to make sure there were plenty of hostages to induce Tuxedo Mask to come out and play. Mamoru willed the magic to sweep over him, causing the transformation to Tuxedo Mask to take place. There didn't seem to be much choice, since no other help was going to arrive. He had considered calling the Senshi for aid, but Argent had made it clear that this was focused on Tuxedo Mask alone. Bringing in the others would only have exposed them to dangers they wouldn't have otherwise had to face, and he wasn't willing to do that. No matter how much he wanted the help. Jumping dramatically into the clearing, he tossed a rose at the top of his arc, throwing it at the nearest monster. The rose flew straight to the creature's 'body' and was sucked it, whirling around and around at tremendous speeds. Seconds later the rose was spat out, slamming into the ground sideways. Half its petals fell off and it seemed to wilt as it lay. Tuxedo Mask gritted his teeth. This was _not_ going to be easy. Unbeknownst to the caped hero, there were not one, not two, but no less than three observers of his entrance into the battle. The first was Argent, naturally. He lurked in a shaded corner of the clearing, observing carefully. Concealing himself in the shadows took much less energy than outright invisibility, and truthfully, he needed to conserve all he could. The air was simply not Argent's element, and working it in such a fashion took more out him than most rituals or spells. This was in addition to the warps and the other elemental summonings he had cast earlier in the day. Given only a little recovery time, say two or three hours in Tokyo's mana-rich environment, and he could be back at full power quickly. A trip to the land of Faerie, ancient home of his kind, would have been even better. Argent was taking neither of those options. He was hungry for a success, hungry to see the death of one of the humans he so despised. So he stayed and watched, ignoring the empty feeling in his stomach caused by his low mana reserves. The second observer was Aurium. Though her brother believed her to be watching via the magic mirror, she had instead opted to come in person. After all, he himself had said that there were things that could only be seen in person. As much as she might dislike her brother (half-brother, as he would occasionally remind her), she had a healthy respect for his intelligence. She was concealed on the opposite side of the field, blending with the landscape. Ordinarily Argent would have detected her, but the air elementals had left him too tired for scanning. The third observer was Laura, and she unfortunately had a much closer view of the fight. That is to say, she was one of the ten hostages. Once she had arrived at the university, it hadn't been difficult for her to pick out where the next attack would hit. She had been checking the area with her short-range portable scanner, when the magical energies had made themselves extremely obvious. She had delayed too long, intrigued by the elementals, and had become one of the ones trapped within the festival area. Laura had been afraid at first, but the elementals had made no serious attempt to harm her or the others. Instead they had restlessly moved about, randomly chasing their human captives, but mostly seeming to await something. After a minute or two she had calmed down, and actually begun to enjoy it. This would be her first chance to see a fight from up close, rather than observing from a distance. Besides, she just knew this whole situation would drive Macavity crazy. To her, he always seemed so overprotective. Unfortunately, with the entrance of Tuxedo Mask, the elementals changed their behavior. The whistling sound increased in intensity, as if anticipating action. Simultaneously, the six monsters all headed towards Mamoru, in an attempt to overwhelm him. However, as one passed by Laura, it swerved to move in front of her, slowing to a halt. Apparently, now that it had been commanded to attack, it wasn't willing to ignore such a close and vulnerable target. Laura prepared to flee, thinking that even Macavity would have to agree _this_ was a genuine emergency, but before she could go through with it, she suddenly felt herself pulled back. In front of her stepped Kentaro, though Laura wasn't yet aware of his name. Brandishing his fists, he gave his best menacing look at the elemental, hoping to somehow drive the creature off. The creature wasn't impressed with Kentaro's display. It passed to make a brief variation in the tone of its whistling, sounding suspiciously like laughter, then attacked. In a single motion, it swept over Kentaro, trapping him within the winds of its body. As he was buffeted back and forth, he let out an agonized shout. Mamoru tensed at the sound of the shout, recognizing Kentaro's voice. With a roar, he ran straight at the elementals blocking his path, trying to force his way between them. As he hit the body of the leading elemental, he felt himself picked off his feet by the air currents of its body. However, he had managed to build up too much speed for the creature to stop, and within an instant passed through the elemental and out the other side. A last gust of wind caught him as he exited, slamming him hard against the ground with bone-breaking force. Ignoring the pain that shot through his shoulder, Tuxedo Mask rolled along the ground and jumped to his feet, trying to keep as much momentum as possible. Stumbling a bit, he ran to where a screaming Kentaro was being buffeted about by the air elemental. Laura stood nearby, unable to bring herself to simply run out on her rescuer, but unsure of how to aid him. Trying to buy himself a moment's time, he shouted, "Hey you bag of wind, why don't you put him down and shoot the breeze with me?" As he skidded to a halt, Tuxedo Mask threw a glance over his shoulder. The other five elementals had already turned and were in hot pursuit. Mamoru had only seconds to act before they caught up. Reaching into the elemental, he grasped Kentaro's arm and tugged as hard as he dared. With an audible pop, Kentaro shot forth from the creature. Mamoru was barely able to control the flight, only managing to twist his own body into place between Kentaro and the ground. Because of this, the young man escaped without serious injury. Mamoru, however, received another blow to his previously injured shoulder. As soon as he regained his feet, Kentaro took off running, with Laura close at his heels. Pleased that he didn't have to waste time telling them to flee, Tuxedo Mask turned to the elemental. He was just in time to see its fist impact his face. The punch itself didn't hurt, since the fist was after all made of air. However, it imparted a considerable kinetic force that caused him to stumble backwards, barely keeping his balance. The stumble sent him into the 'hands' of the other five elementals, who had just appeared from behind. For the second time in one day, Mamoru found himself being buffeted about by a numerically superior foe. He didn't enjoy it the second time either. The blows themselves didn't do much to injure the caped hero. However, many of the gusts slammed him into the ground with terrible force. In addition, the constant movement and lack of orientation were beginning to make him nauseous. Tuxedo Mask knew that if he didn't turn things around quickly, he was soon likely to reach a state where he couldn't defend himself. With all the strength he could muster, the caped hero drove his cane into the ground. Clutching it tightly, he was able to hold himself steady against the attacks of the elementals. In that one instant that his feet were steady underneath him, he tensed his muscles and put all his effort into a straight vertical leap, pulling the cane out of the ground as he went. At the top of his leap. he willed the cane to extend out an incredible length, briefly resembling a pole vaulter's pole. Pushing off with it, he gave himself enough horizontal momentum to land to the side of the elementals, out of their grasp for the moment. The creatures milled around for a brief moment before one broke away from the pack and charged straight at the beleaguered hero. In desperation. Tuxedo Mask tried the only weapon he had left. Grabbing his own cape, he unclipped it from his shoulders and spread it out to distract the elemental as he dodged its attack. Utilizing a trick he hadn't been aware he could perform until that moment, he made the cape expand the same way his cane did. A huge mass of cloth now blocked the air elementals path, while Mamoru jumped to one side like a matador. "Toro! Toro!", he called out. Unable to turn quickly enough, the monster plowed straight into the cape. To Mamoru's amazement, it didn't reappear out the other side. Astonished, he managed to remain calm enough not to waste his chance. Grabbing the end of the cape, he wound it around and around the elemental, trapping it within. Something about the magic of the cape seemed to prevent the creature from escaping, prevent it from passing around and through the cape as easily as it could everything else. The low whistling increased in volume as the elemental increased its frantic efforts to break free. Mamoru grimaced as he saw the other elementals take notice of their comrade's distress. He would have to do this quickly. Pulling the bundled cape ever tighter, he hugged it against his chest. With all his strength, he began to squeeze, pushing the trapped elemental into a smaller and smaller space. Finally, he felt a warning quiver, just as a balloon might give off before reaching its breaking point. There was an incredible howl as the winds that made up the elemental's body escaped simultaneously. Mamoru was sent tumbling head over heels by the massive force of compressed air explosion, stubbornly continuing to clutch his cape. With a shaking effort, he regained his feet and looked towards his remaining five opponents. "Looks like I burst his bubble, and now I'm going to do the same thing to you!" They didn't react well to the demise of their companion or his Tuxedo Mask's challenging words. The whistling sound emanating from them went up in pitch, sounding somehow angrier, and they broke apart, attempting to flank him from different directions. Nevertheless, a triumphant smile spread across Tuxedo Mask's face. I can beat them, he thought. It may take a little while, but I can beat them. In her hiding place, Aurium felt the same sentiment. Before, when Tuxedo Mask had been unable to hurt the air elementals, it seemed likely that they would gradually wear him down. Now that he actually had a viable method of attack, it was inevitable that he would eventually triumph. The creatures simply couldn't do enough damage to stop him before he destroyed them all. Her brother was going to be very, very angry indeed. He always got so frustrated when his plans didn't go exactly as he wished. Of course, as long as he was going to be angry anyway, she might as well carry through with the idea she had come up with earlier. Chanting a quick verse, Aurium wove a glamour spell around herself. Her natural appearance could have perhaps passed for a human, but why take chances? The enchantment would make her appear an ordinary Japanese woman. Now all that was left was the proper placement. Tuxedo Mask stepped carefully around the edge of the collapsed tent, clutching his cape warily in one hand. He thought he had managed to maneuver one of the elementals into just the right spot for an attack. Now if he could just finish it off before its siblings could come to the rescue, he- A sudden shifting in the tent canvas drew his attention. Mamoru instantly jumped several feet back, cane held ready to deal with whatever came. He was shocked by the appearance of a human hand, quickly followed by the rest of a young woman scrabbling to get out from underneath the fabric. She had a somewhat overdone expression of terror on her face, which didn't significantly diminish a girl-next-door type of beauty. Mamoru barely noticed, her looks being the furthest thing from his mind at the moment. Instead he berated himself for not calling out and making _absolutely_ sure the area of clear of hostages. He felt even worse when she began to call out to him in a sobbing voice. "Oh, please, please help me. The monsters are so big, bad, and scary. I need a big strong man like you to protect me from those horrible second-level elemental summonings." She rolled off the ground, jumping to her feet and buried her head in Tuxedo Mask's chest. Not sure what to do, he somewhat awkwardly grabbed her shoulders and pushed her head back, looking into her eyes. "Uh, there now. It's going to be all right miss." Grabbing her by the legs, he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the edge of the fight area in great arcing leaps. As Mamoru moved, he noted with relief that the elementals seemed to have temporarily retreated for some reason. He ought to have plenty of time to get the girl a safe distance away before returning to destroy the rest of the monsters. He still hurried though, uncomfortable with the way she had reached her hand up to cup his chin. Stopping at the same spot from which he himself had first observed the fight, Tuxedo Mask lowered the woman to the ground. She seemed a bit reluctant to let go, and he had to physically pull her hands off his jacket. "Please miss, I'm afraid I have to go back and keep those things from getting out of hand. I'm sure you'll be able to make it on your own from here. Just head to the college." He gave a reassuring smile, hoping that the woman would snap out of whatever trauma was causing her to behave so bizzarely and return to normal. Placing the back of her hand against her forehead, the woman cried out dramatically, "Oh, thank-you Tuxedo Mask! You have surely saved my life and my honor. I feel so blessed. Here, let me give you a hero's reward." With that, she puckered her lips and leaned towards him. Mamoru responded by turning tail and running back to the elementals as fast as he possibly could. Much as he disliked fighting monsters, the thought of having to deal with a woman who wanted to kiss him left him eagerly seeking battle. He had _always_ had difficulty getting rid of unwanted admirers, and it wasn't something he had become much more comfortable with over time. The woman, meanwhile, collapsed into a storm of giggles, barely managing not to fall over. After she had regained some control, she walked to a shady corner and allowed the magic to fall away from her. Within seconds the lithe form of Aurium revealed itself. Still chuckling a bit, she teleported back to her previous observation post. As she had expected, Argent was waiting for her. "What in the name of our Ancestors were you doing." Argent didn't shout, but somehow the iciness of his tone was worse than a full screaming rage. Aurium shivered a bit, but gamely faced her brother down. "I was just getting a closer look at this Tuxedo Mask. It was fun, and I got a better feel for his energy." "Fun!? He is our enemy, we have sworn to destroy him and all his kind. There is no fun here! Why didn't you kill him while you had the chance?" Looking annoyed, Aurium answered, "Two reasons. One, the same reason you don't try something similar yourself. I could have killed him, but he might very well have ripped my head off with his last gasp. I prefer not to risk it." Argent wasn't really mollified, but he couldn't argue with her reasoning. He said, "And the second reason?" "It isn't my job." "What!" This time he did shout. Flustered at having lost control, he threw at quick glance into the field at Tuxedo Mask. The caped hero had just disposed of another elemental, and didn't appear to have heard anything. Returning his attention to his sister, he demanded, "What do you mean it isn't your job?" Calmly folding her hands, she replied, "It wasn't my job. I haven't been assigned to attack Tuxedo Mask or the Senshi. My only mission is to learn about what you're up to. If I had killed Tuxedo Mask, the credit would have been yours, not mine!" Argent sputtered, honestly flustered. "This isn't about credit. This is a crusade! These humans stole this world from us, long, long ago, and now we're taking it back. You should be glad at the chance to chance to destroy these loathsome creatures. You don't need _orders_." "Listen Argent. Not all of us got to be the golden child, the favored one. Greatest natural warpsmith in history, the pet of all the elders. All your life, you had everything handed to you on a silver platter. You can afford to go on about idealistic holy missions. You can afford to care about this stuff. I had to scrape and scrabble to get everything I have. Always second best, always in your shadow-" She broke off and shook her head disgustedly. "Forget it, just forget it." He advanced towards her. "I deserved every-" "I SAID forget it. Look, I'm going back to the apartment. Come on, we'll rest a while, you can build your reserves back up, and tell me what master plan you have in mind next." "No." "What? Tuxedo Mask has your elementals beaten. Look, there's only one left." She gestured towards the fight, and indeed it was true. "What's the sense in sticking around?" He shifted uncomfortably, and unconsciously reached up to rub the scar on his cheek. "The tracking spell is fading more quickly than I had thought. We were lucky before, and I may never be able to lay another one. This could be my last chance to attack him alone. I have to strike again immediately. Something that is sure to destroy him." Aurium cocked her head questioningly. "Destroy him? What happened to testing him? Now all of the sudden you want to destroy him?" Argent declined to answer. After a moment, the puzzled expression cleared from her face. "Oh I see, he embarrassed you. He'd didn't act as you expected, and now you want him dead. Well, I guess you always wanted him dead, but now it's a more immediate thing. You never could forgive a slight, brother.' "Half-brother." "Whatever. I don't care to stay around and watch you try to defend your precious pride, so I'm going to go back and monitor the situation through the mirror. I trust you _will_ remember to set up the transmitter. Chairman's orders, remember?" With that, she teleported away. Argent turned to watch Tuxedo Mask finish off the last of the elementals. Clenching his fists, he mentally began preparations for the ritual he would perform next. It should only take an hour or so to set up. True, it would be yet another strain, not to mention the notorious difficulty of controlling such beings. Still, it would be worth it for the chance to burn that smile off Tuxedo Mask's face. Mamoru strode towards the into the college quad with a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was most definitely not something he wanted to do. Still, he couldn't very well allow all those people to huddle inside the buildings in fear. Someone had to tell them. He nervously cleared his throat, and then shouted, "Everyone can come out! It's safe! All the monsters are gone!" For several moments, nothing happened. Then, ever so slowly, a few people trickled out. A few brave souls ran towards the festival grounds to confirm the truth of his words. Most people seemed comforted by the fact that the whistling sound had disappeared and the wind had picked up once more. Among the people to emerge was Laura. She stood beside a jumble of trash cans and appeared to have a conversation with them. "There, you see Macavity? I told you he would beat them! He was so great when he rescued me and that other guy." A goofy grin spread across her face. "Yes, well pardon me for wishing to see for myself. You were incredibly careless back there, you realize. I can't let you keep getting into danger like that. If I could, I would send you home today." The voice was Macavity's, though the leprechaun himself could not be seen. Laura's voice took on a note of concern. "But you can't, right Master? You still need me." Macavity sighed. "Yes." In that single word seemed to rest an eternity of regret. When next he spoke, however, his tone was much more jocular. "You aren't by any chance, falling for the boy, are you? I have to warn you, you aren't going to get anywhere. Can't compete with destiny, you know." Irritated, Laura waved her hand in dismissal. "Ahh, I know that. It's just that he's so much more... mature than all those boys I have to put up with at school. Some of them have even asked me out!" "Well, that's to be expected." "I can't date high school boys! It's creepy." Macavity's voice took on a further teasing tone, and alarm bells began to ring in Laura's head. "You know, you should tell Mamoru you're attracted to him. He'll just think it's a schoolgirl crush, and it will make him ignore or excuse you when you act strangely or follow him around." "No thank you master. I prefer to try and keep abject humiliation and rejection to a minimum." "Well, just a thought. Get him over here so I can talk to him, will you? With all these people around I don't want to go out in the open." Laura smirked. "Already done Macavity." Holding up Mamoru's green jacket, she carefully laid it across the top of the trashcans. Walking over to Mamoru, she shot back over her shoulder, "Be just a moment." "Hey Mamoru, is that you?' Startled, the exhausted hero turned to see who would be addressing him in such a familiar fashion. He recognized her as the girl who had been with Kentaro. For a moment, he panicked, wondering how she knew his name. Then he placed her. It was that new exchange student, the one Makoto had been ranting about. He had to admit it had been quite a coincidence that she would have shown up on campus the day of an attack, but then, how many of his acquaintances had been the victims of similar improbable attacks? Realizing he was being rude, he responded to her greeting. "Hello, Laura." To his embarrassment, he found he either couldn't recall or had never been told her family name. "So, um, what are you doing on campus?" She gave him a knowing smile that left him feeling a bit uneasy. "Oh just.... taking a tour, seeing the party you guys were throwing. I got attacked by the monsters, did you know that?" Mamoru sweated. "Uh, no I didn't." "Tuxedo Mask saved me and this other boy. Did you get a chance to see him? He's about your size and build." "Uh, no I didn't. Isn't that Tuxedo Mask guy just a myth or something?", Mamoru babbled in a feeble attempt to distract the girl. "Oh, no he's no myth. So you were the one who told everyone the creatures were gone. It was pretty brave of you to go into where a bunch of weird things like those were running around." Mamoru looked back the way he had come, trying to come up with an answer. The instant he looked away, a voice began to speak. It sounded exactly like Laura and appeared to be coming from her, but was not in fact her. "Oh Mamoru, I must confess my true feelings, I-" The voice cut off as Laura threw the rock she had palmed at the trash cans. It hit hard, shaking the cans, and causing a faint "ouch" to sound from them. When a startled Mamoru looked to her for explanation, she only shrugged weakly and said, "I thought I saw a rat. Anyway, I was about to confess that, that I was really scared by those monsters." "Good thing you had me to protect you, wasn't it?" Yet another voice had interrupted their conversation. This one, however, had a clear source as Kentaro strolled up with Nanami trailing a bit behind. Laura vacillated between annoyance and gratitude. "Well you tried anyway. As I remember it, Tuxedo Mask was the one who had to save you." To her surprise, instead of denying it, Kentaro nodded enthusiastically. "You bet he saved me. Tuxedo mask is the greatest! I don't know why he bothers hanging around those Senshi girls. I guess he has to keep them from getting hurt. Anyway, I'm forming a Tuxedo Mask fan club. From now on, I'm going to find out all I can about him and try to keep track of him. I just triggered a search on the internet, and you would be amazed at what they have on him. There was even something about him being spotted in America a few months back! I'm going to go back and read more later." Mamoru did the mental equivalent of knocking his head against the wall. "Uh, Kentaro? Are you really sure you want to form this club? I mean, does Tuxedo Mask really need a fan club?" Kentaro shouted, "That's my new hero you're talking about! Be respectful. You don't even have the right to talk about him. You probably spent the whole time cowering in the physics building, hoping the big bad monsters wouldn't find you." Nanami broke in, giving Mamoru a peculiar look. "As I remember, Mamoru was the one who told everyone that it was safe to come out." Mamoru was beginning to get the feeling his good-natured impulse might have been a mistake. "I was just telling Laura here, I only got there after all the fighting was over." Kentaro, meanwhile, had resumed his own path of thought. He was telling Laura, "Hey did you see how Tuxedo Mask took that fall for me? He hit that shoulder pretty hard. I hope he wasn't hurt. Ah, what am I saying. He's a superhero. Of course he wasn't hurt!" Mamoru only wished that were true. His right shoulder continually throbbed. He comforted himself with the thought that at least no one had stuck a crystal spear through it. Kentaro suddenly reached forward to grasp Laura's arm. "Come on...., uh, Laura . I want you to back up my story with some of the guys. I swear the Tuxedo Mask fanclub is going to be the biggest club on campus!" He began dragging her off. Trying to complete her mission, Laura called out before she left, "By the way, Mamoru, I saw a green jacket by those trash cans over there." She pointed. "It belongs to you, right?" Mamoru nodded his thanks at the departing girl. He was much too distracted by Kentaro's threat to wonder how Laura knew what his jacket looked like. The other man was rather popular on campus. If Kentaro really worked pushed this fan club, it might indeed attract a lot of new members. Mamoru wasn't sure, but he thought he could sense the beginnings of a reoccurring nightmare in there. "Shoulder bothering you?" Mamoru nearly jumped two feet straight up at the sudden sound of Nanami's voice. Normally he was the one to sidle up on people and seemingly appear out of nowhere. For some reason though, Nanami always seemed to slip past his guard. Belatedly he recognized the need to deflect her question. She had just caught him rubbing his shoulder, the same one that Tuxedo Mask had gotten injured. "Uh, no Nanami. It's fine. Fine, really." "Good, good!" She said distractedly. Mamoru wondered about the distant look on her face. "You know, Kentaro can be a jerk sometimes, but I still really love him. Hearing about how he had to take on some crazy monster... it just hurts to think of him in trouble." "Believe me," sighed Mamoru, "I know exactly what you mean." This caused Nanami to throw him a strange look, but she continued, "Anyway, after a close call like that, I don't want to let this stupid rivalry play out any longer. Kentaro has a lot more respect for you than you think. I know he jokes about it, but he really respects you for being able to stand on your own, not depending on anybody. You and Usagi are going to have dinner with the two of us tonight and that's final. It's time for the two of you to settle this and be friends." "I don't know..." Mamoru thought back to Kentaro's earlier comments about Usagi. He could take Kentaro's sarcasm, but he wasn't willing to subject Usagi to it. As if reading his mind, Nanami promised, "He'll be on his best behavior. Look, I have to go tell Kentaro. We'll see you later." She hurried off. Peacemaking was more Usagi's specialty than his, so Mamoru resolutely pushed the whole thing to the back of his mind and vowed to talk to her later. Besides, there was nothing he could do about it. Take care of things one problem at a time, that was Mamoru's motto. He had always figured surviving the day took priority over winning Kentaro's friendship. In view of that 'one problem at a time' philosophy, he decided the first order of business was to retrieve his jacket. He had taken it off before going to investigate the noise, but he had no idea how it could have gotten thrown over some trash cans. As he walked over, he hoped it wouldn't need to be cleaned. "Lord Earth. I'm sorry to say you look unwell." For once, Mamoru _wasn't_ caught off guard. Macavity had materialized a moment before speaking, giving Mamoru a second to brace himself. The dark-haired man casually responded, "I've been in two fights today. Considering, I think I look pretty good." The leprechaun had a serious expression on his face. "Argent will try again. There's a tracking spell on you, and that's how he's been targeting you. It can't last very much longer, but Argent will almost certainly try one more attack, probably very soon. You should call the Senshi." "No!", Mamoru responded forcibly. "I'm not getting them involved. I can handle this on my own." "I see." Macavity's tone was doubtful. "Are you sure? Next is bound to be-" "I know. I figured out the pattern for myself. First water, then earth, and then air. The next is bound to be fire. I have a few ideas...." Tuxedo Mask stood atop the building, cape swaying gently in the breeze. A faint smile was spread across his lips, and his pose was calculated to convey an expression of power and confidence. Mamoru knew something about poses. After all, he had done more than a little modeling in his time. Even though it had been just a way to pay the bills, he had still managed to learn something of the art of presenting oneself. That was one of the reasons he was able to be so intimidating as Tuxedo Mask. Well that, natural talent, and certain instincts that probably carried over from the Silver Millennium. He did his best to ignore the pounding coming from the stairwell door. He'd deformed the metal using a combination of strength and "pushing" on it by focusing his power (though how that worked, he couldn't have said.) The end result was that the door was sealed tightly shut, as though someone had welded it to the door frame. This wasn't supposed to protect him from Argent, but rather the horde of ordinary students his rooftop posing was sure to attack. Mamoru was sure that no one would be able to get through that door to question him using anything less than blowtorch or a battering ram. It would take them a while to get the torch and a ram wouldn't be practical on the stairs. Nevertheless, he winced as a particularly loud thump sounded and fervently hoped Argent didn't delay much longer. He hated exposing himself, but this was the only way he could be sure of picking his battle ground. Of course, this plan he developed was based entirely on the notion that he had read Argent's intentions correctly. If the dark elf never showed, the caped hero could end up looking very silly, and if he showed with different allies than expected, Mamoru could end up very dead. An audible groan escaped from the masked man's lips as he saw Kentaro waving and looking up from the ground below. He couldn't really have expected anything different, but somehow he'd hoped..... A flash of fire suddenly exploded from the pathways below. Another followed it, and then another, and then another, continuing until a half dozen beings of flame formed a circle roughly twenty meters in diameter. Emerging from a patch of shadows, Argent strode arrogantly past the flame elementals and proceeded to the rear of the circle, slapping one hand against a large statue of the university's founder that stood there. Looking up at Tuxedo Mask, he shouted "Well?! Will you come down and face me you overdressed pixie lover? Or will you flee like the animal you are? It really makes no difference to me." Still resting his right hand on the statue, he pointed his left hand at the statue's head and spat a single word in some inhuman language. The head exploded, sending fragments of stone everywhere. "That is the fate of you and all your pitiful kind. This world belongs to us. It has belonged to us since time immemorial, and we're taking it back! It disgusts me that you mewling beasts could ever assume yourselves to be our equals. That you could think of yourselves as people...." Tuxedo Mask had heard enough. Pulling two bags from the rooftop beside him, he flung them at the fire creatures, following them with roses that would strike them in mid-air. Taking a rope a one hand, he began to swiftly rappel down the side of the building. It was only five stories and normally he would have jumped.... but normally he didn't carry two large metal cylinders under one arm. Dropping the last two stories, he landed on his feet and turned to face his foe, assuming a confident pose. "Sorry Argent, but I don't have time to listen to any of your fairy stories. I am Tuxedo Mask, and I'm going make sure you and your friends burn yourselves out!" Pose and speech, that was the easy part. Now he just had to win the fight. Though Tuxedo Mask couldn't know it, there was a reason the dark elf had sauntered so casually from the shadows, rather than teleport. Simply put, he hadn't felt up to a teleport. When Argent had put one hand on the statue, he hadn't been trying to show his contempt so much as keep himself from falling on his face. Impressive as blasting the statue had been, it had probably been a tactical error. The sudden energy drain had nearly caused him to lose control of the elementals. Crusader on a holy mission though he was, Argent was at heart an intelligent man (or rather elf). He was beginning to wonder if he had made a serious mistake, engaging the enemy while so depleted. Perhaps Aurium had been right. He only grew more concerned when the contents of the twin bags exploded over two of the flame elementals. Each had been a 20 lb sandbag, and resulting spray of earth choked the fires of the elementals, the particles of sand damping their flames. It wasn't enough to destroy them of course, but it did weaken them. It weakened them and Argent didn't have the energy to spare restoring their strength. It was bad for more reasons then one. The sandbags suggested that Tuxedo Mask had somehow guessed what was coming, had made preparations. Argent only felt his suspicions being confirmed when the cylinders under Tuxedo Mask's arm proved to be fire extinguishers. Breaking their seals, he aimed them at the two closest monsters, both of whom had been hit by the sandbags, and let fly. Back in Argent's apartment, Aurium reclined on the couch, her feet propped on top of the coffee table. She took a swig of beer and tossed some peanuts in her mouth, never taking her eyes off the mirror hung up on the opposite wall. "Heh. Told you Argent, but do you ever listen to me? Nooooooo." In the mirror, the images of the elementals shrunk under the extinguisher's onslaught. It was difficult to tell from the projected image, but it appeared they had been reduced from their normally fearsome two meter size to about a half meter each. Aurium could barely see them over the tops of her Nike sneakers. She inhaled with a gasp when the image of Tuxedo Mask suddenly turned tail and ran inside the building. "Ten to one that's a trap," the visitor from Faerie muttered to herself. Who is that human trying to fool, Argent thought to himself. It's obvious he's laid some sort of trap. For a split second Argent considered his options. He could refuse to have the elementals pursue the fleeing hero. That might be the most prudent course. Still, there were several reasons against following it. One, Tuxedo Mask might have decided he couldn't win, and was honestly fleeing. It was unlikely, but possible. On the other hand, he might be attempting to gather reinforcements. Argent had severe doubts about the ability of his elementals to stand up to Senshi attacks. Most importantly, Argent simply couldn't conceive of backing down for fear of a mere human's plans. He decided to follow a more moderate course. Sending mental commands to three of the healthy elementals, he ordered them to pursue and slay the caped hero. If Tuxedo Mask had no more special defenses, three should be enough. The other three he kept outside. Still, this did leave a problem. Controlling all six elementals was already straining his facilities to the utmost. Keeping the commands on those three out of line of sight would simply be too much. The solution formed in Argent's brain almost as soon as he considered the problem, and a devilish grin spread across his face. If controlling all six was too difficult, why then he would simply drop his control over a couple of them. Specifically, this mean the two who had been weakened by Tuxedo Mask's earlier sand and fire extinguisher attacks. Without a summoner's mental commands, they would simply attempt to destroy everything in sight with their flames. Normally this would include their summoner, but after all, they were the two furthest away. If they approached him too closely, he could always "nudge" them in another direction. The sixth elemental Argent kept standing by his side. Not that Argent actually thought he _needed_ a bodyguard against a bunch of pathetic, non-powered humans. Still, in his current state of exhaustion they could cause him more problems than under normal circumstances. Having a giant mass of fire by his side should save him the trouble of having to dispose of any would-be heroes. Argent couldn't repress a chuckle as he saw one of the weakened elementals approach a young man with strange spiky hair. Perhaps a few screams of human terror and suffering would drive Tuxedo Mask out of hiding. As for Tuxedo Mask, he was busy counting on his fingers as he waited for the creatures to finish burning through the building's glass doors. Three. Try it again. One. Two. Three. Damn, it still came out the same. Argent had sent only three of the elementals after him. That meant he could destroy at most half of the enemy force. Things hadn't exactly been going as he had planned. For one thing, Mamoru had hoped he would have been able to take out one or two of the elementals with the sandbags and fire extinguishers. The sandbags had worked admirably, snuffing their flames down to more manageable levels. Unfortunately, he hadn't accounted for the intense heat the monsters gave off. The magic fire elementals had seemed to take a great deal of damage from the human chemical science of the fire extinguishers, but Mamoru hadn't been able to get close enough to administer the full effect. The heat had driven him back too far and both had survived. Deciding to worry about the three outside later, he decided to concentrate of the three living blazes that had just finished burning their way inside. Sensing their prey standing in the middle of the lobby, they began to flow quickly towards Tuxedo Mask. A part of Mamoru's mind absentmindedly noticed they weren't leaving any natural fires behind in their wake. Oh, they left a clear enough trail of charred carpet and burnt lounge chairs, but it appeared any actual flame was drawn into their own bodies, making them stronger. Tuxedo Mask led them on a swift chase down the main hallway, doing his best to strike a compromise between being enticingly within reach, and never getting closer than five meters to the nearest one. The few bystanders who hadn't evacuated earlier ducked into doors or down sidepassages, removing themselves from the path of the elementals, who were fortunately too firmly under Argent's control to abandon their primary target and pursue these easier victims. They chase seemed to last minutes, but Mamoru knew that in reality it could have only been a few seconds before he found the door he wanted. It was locked, but a simple lock wasn't enough to stop the likes of Tuxedo Mask. Forcing it open, he leaped inside, hearing a faint sizzle as the leading elemental just managed to fry the edge of his cape. There was no time for him to breath a sigh of relief at finding the room empty. Instead, he ran towards a metal rimmed open portal, it's heavy steel door already swung open. The area inside was relatively small. The back wall was only about ten meters from the doorway, and the room was only about two and a half meters wide. There were scuff marks on the floor where all the portable shelves had been dragged outside to allow the maximum possible space Making his way to the very back of the chamber, Mamoru picked up the fire extinguisher he had stashed there and whirled to face his attackers. They crowded through the door, blending into each other in their haste. Tuxedo Mask noticed uncomfortably that they seemed to have grown some during the chase. The flames of the elementals' tops (it would be incorrect to say they had heads) blasted at the low ceiling, trying to burn their way through. The metal roof didn't give, but it was beginning to heat up. "You guys have given me a pretty hot time, but I think I know how to cool you down!" The smartly clad hero waited only a moment to be sure that all three of the elementals had followed him inside. It was time to execute the most problematic part of the plan. With one hand he wrapped his cape around himself, while the other held onto the extinguisher. Triggering it, he ran forward straight into the center of the flames! The fire retarding foam didn't really create a safe passage, but rather an area of slightly less intense fire. Tuxedo Mask silently blessed his full body costume. By burying his face in his jacket he was able to endure the split second of fire. He hated to think of what would have happened to Usagi in her bare-legged fuku. He also resolved that one way or another this was going to be the last elemental he dived through. Frankly, he could find better ways to spend the day. Quickly slamming the metal door behind him, he moved to a set of controls a few feet away and began flicking switches on them. There was a loud click as the hatch he'd just exited from sealed itself. Somewhere in the back of the room a motor began to thrum loudly. Wiping a few beads of sweat from his brow, Tuxedo Mask walked to a glass observation window set in the side of the sealed enclosure. Inside, the elementals milled about, doing their best to melt through the walls. Given a little time, they might just have managed it. Unfortunately for them, they weren't going to get that time. Tuxedo Mask couldn't actually see the air being drawn out of the room, but he could observe its effects. One by one the elementals began to flicker, growing smaller and dimmer. Then some critical point must have been reached, because they simultaneously dissolved into showers of sparks. Grinning, Tuxedo Mask looked at the words set above the observation window. They read -Vacuum Chamber-. "Now I just have to see if I can put the lights out on those other three." While Mamoru was busy stealing the breath of the elementals inside, his friend Kentaro was having a rather more difficult time outside. "Yarrrrgh! Stay back you monster!" Kentaro scrambled backwards, desperately trying to stay out of the way of the elemental. It was only half-heartedly chasing him, constantly pausing to turn a patch of grass or a bush to ash. However, even with those distractions, it was still too fast for him to get away. He already had a burn along one leg, and he didn't know how much longer he could keep away from the creature. From the sidelines, Nanami watched with horror as the fire elemental came around to attack her boyfriend once again. Everyone else had fled, but she couldn't bring herself to run while Kentaro remained in mortal danger. She darted the occasional nervous glance at the other rogue elemental, but it seemed busy destroying a wooden fence. Suddenly a shrill whistle pierced the air, the unearthly sound causing everyone to stop in their tracks. Not possessed of any great intelligence, the elemental spirit menacing Kentaro paused in confusion at the unexpected stimulus. A voice immediately called out, "Run lad! While it's wondering what is about!" Spurred on by the advice, Kentaro scrambled away during the creature's distraction, able to finally get some distance from the thing and make his way over to Nanami. The slower witted elemental took several seconds longer to regain its composture, and was hesitant in resuming its pursuit. "Macavity!", Argent shouted, correctly identifying the voice. "Where are you, you worthless traitor?" "Why I'm right over here," Macavity's voice echoed from up in a tree. "Or perhaps I'm over here." Now Macavity's voice appeared to be coming from an alley between two buildings. While Argent was thus distracted, Nanami pulled on Kentaro's arm, indicating they should make their getaway. "Come on, let's get away from these crazies!" Kentaro had taken no more than a few steps, when he tripped over a large wrench the racing team had dropped while making their getaway. His eyes bugged out when he saw it, and looking towards a nearby fire hydrant, his mind suddenly came up with an audacious plan. Grabbing Nanami's arm, he pulled her close and began to whisper in her ear. "That's crazy! We're not going to do any such...." Nanami trailed off as Kentaro pushed the wrench into her hands and began sprinting away. Over his shoulder, he called, "It's what Tuxedo Mask would do!" Within seconds, Kentaro was scooping up the object of his mad dash. It was a garden hose, fitted with a spray nozzle attachment. A quick squeeze proved that it still had water pressure. Weapon gripped firmly in hand, he aimed the hose at the elemental who had been his earlier opponent and squeezed. The sudden blast of water caught the creature by surprise, and it reflexively retreated. Kentaro boldly stepped forward, pushing it further and further back. He couldn't get a large enough volume of water out of the hose to actually hurt the elemental, but it obviously didn't care for the situation very much. A great cloud of steam soon surrounded the monster making it harder for Kentaro to aim. At last, he judged the fire beast to be in the correct position. "Now Nanami, do it now!" Her response wasn't what he had hoped. "It's stuck! I can't get it to move." To his further dismay, Kentaro saw that the elemental had begun to move forward. A blast of water made it stop, but it didn't retreat as it had before. Indeed a menacing flicker of its flames seemed to indicate that it had just about enough of this impudent human, and it was now going to destroy him, water hose or not. Or perhaps Kentaro was just reading too much into a mindless flame monster's actions. Either way, he was scared. "Any time now, Nanami!" "Almost.... almost...." Suddenly the steam of water from the hose stopped, draining to a mere trickle in an instant. Startled, Kentaro looked back to see that a length of the hose had been vaporized. Worse, he realized that Argent was looking directly at him. The dark elf was waving a still smoking index finger back and forth in the air, like a schoolteacher chastising a disobedient student. Realizing he had only seconds before the flame monster charged, Kentaro shouted, "Nanami I love-" He cut off in midsentence as a huge torrent of water suddenly burst through the steam cloud, utterly engulfing the fire elemental and extinguishing it's flames. Nanami had finally managed to loosen the valve on the fire hydrant. Before Kentaro and Nanami could celebrate their victory, however, Argent's chill voice cut through them like knifeblades. "You're going to pay for that humans. You should have run when you had the--" A great shudder shot through the dark elf's body and he bent forward, clutching his chest. Through dry lips he muttered, "Destroyed. He's destroyed them." "Master Kentaro, Mistress Nanami. Might I suggest you retreat over here while our foe is distracted?" Looking towards the source of the summons, Kentaro was startled to see a tiny man dressed in formal clothes beckoning Nanami and him from around the corner of the building. Figuring that the choice between a friendly face and a dark elf trying to destroy them was obvious, both Kentaro and Nanami wasted no time in running for the offer of safety. Once they were both crouched beside Macavity, he hastened to reassure them, "Don't worry. I can shield us all from his notice, at least for a while. That was a foolish thing the two of you did, but brave nonetheless. I think, however, it would be best if you joined me in remaining observers for the rest of this conflict." Perceptively, Nanami noted, "It was you, wasn't it? You're Macavity, the one that crazy guy was shouting about, the one that saved Kentaro." The leprechaun nodded. "I confess, I couldn't allow my old enemy to bring harm to two bystanders such as yourselves." As he spoke, the doors of the building burst open, and Tuxedo Mask burst out, carrying something quite bulky that filled both of his arms. "Tuxedo Mask!", Kentaro cried happily. "Yes, that's Lord Earth all right. I just hope he's up to finishing this." In a quieter voice that neither of the two humans heard, Macavity added, "I should never have allowed him to dissuade me from summoning the Senshi." Miles away, Aurium frowned. It had been amusing to watch the two humans destroy an elemental by themselves, but now she was becoming seriously worried. Much as she had mocked her brother, she really had no desire to see him fail. Tuxedo Mask was an obstacle, and if Argent could eliminate him, well it would no doubt save trouble later on. Pursing her lips, she raised her hands and began to weave spells..... Meanwhile, Tuxedo Mask carefully lowered his burden to the ground. It resembled an oxygen tank such as a scuba diver might use, only about three times as large. Straightening, he shouted at Argent, "Sorry Argent, but your evil minions suffered a case of early burn-out! Give it up or the same thing will happen to you." "I don't think so Tuxedo Mask. You've only got one trick left, but I have two fire elementals. The way I see it, that puts me ahead of the game. In fact, why don't we see what you've got." With a thought, Argent retook control of the remaining rogue elemental, sending it after his nemesis. The creature had regenerated after spending uninterrupted minutes feeding on the wooden fence. It was back to its former impressive height of two meters. Surprisingly, Tuxedo Mask didn't run towards the tank he'd carried outside. Rather he carefully backed away from it, attempting to circle around his new foe and get a shot at Argent. The elemental was too quick for him. Whenever he attempted to move to one side, it flowed to block his path, quick as a flickering flame. With every movement, it drew steadily closer. In desperation, Mamoru attempted to peg Argent with a rose, hoping to disrupt the dark elf's control. He arced it over the his opponent's top, but a tendril of flame shot out, hitting the rose in mid-air and reducing it to a charred ruin that fell uselessly to the ground. Mamoru shuddered and immediately canceled any plans to duplicate the pole-vaulting stunt he'd tried with the air elementals. With no options left, Tuxedo Mask tried something he'd only managed a very few times before. Under great stress he had sometimes been able to launch a blast of pure concussive force at his enemies. It was a powerful attack, but unreliable, and he'd never been able to conjure it at will. Usually he had to wait until he felt the power welling up inside, seeking its own release. Now he had no choice. Mamoru reached deep within himself, searching for the magic that made him Tuxedo Mask, and tried to channel it outward. A rose appeared in his hand. At first it was red, then it began shifting colors, covering the entire spectrum and back again. The last prince of earth felt the power bending to his will, slowly becoming what he wished, but it was too slow! All he needed was a few seconds more, and the elemental wasn't giving it to him. It reached towards him, flames pushed against him. From somewhere inside himself, Mamoru saw his clothes start to smolder and felt his face begin to burn. It wasn't fair! All he needed were a few more seconds, a few more seconds! "Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" The monster had no voice, but it's pain at being on the receiving end of Sailor Mercury's attack was obvious. It reared back, flames sputtering and a fierce hissing sound emitted from it, the sound of fire being hit by water. Sailor Moon called out, "Tuxedo Mask, you're too close! Move back and we'll finish it off!" Not this time Usagi, Mamoru thought. The rose in his hand completed its final transformation. It was neither black nor white nor any color in-between. The rose was clear, invisible, for the rose itself had disappeared and all that was left was the power of the magic it had contained. Tuxedo Mask raised his hand towards the weakened elemental and released that power with a thought. There was no sound, and no explosion to make a sound seem necessary. The creature didn't explode into a shower of sparks and it didn't slowly fade away. Instead it vanished instantly, like a candle flame being snuffed out. One moment it was there, the next it was gone. Tuxedo Mask looked up to see the sight he cherished more than any other in the world. He saw the concerned face of Sailor Moon as she ran towards him, but in his heart she wasn't Sailor Moon, she was Usagi. She was the woman he loved. Then he was enveloped by her arms, being crushed to her body, and having her costume tickle his nose. She called him a foolish idiot and she called him her brave hero, and it didn't matter as long as they were together. For a long moment they remained in a tight embrace, and then Tuxedo Mask rose to face his enemy. For his part, Argent had been watching with mild concern. The fight was lost, he could see that now. There was no help for it. Still, making his escape shouldn't be too difficult. He still had one remaining elemental to distract them, and a teleport spell was already formed in his mind, needing only an effort of will to summon. The Senshi hadn't were watching him closely, but they were apparently waiting for their leader to recover herself before launching their attack. Finally the two lovers completed their embrace and turned to face him. Argent tensed himself to release the teleport, but stopped short as Tuxedo Mask motioned the Senshi back! "Who has the advantage now, Argent?", the caped hero asked. "Oh you've won this battle, there's no denying that. Remember, though this is only one battle and in the larger war victory _will_ be mine. You may be certain of that. You're dead, all of you, you just don't know it yet." Argent began laughing, finding the humans' ignorance of their own doom to be somehow unbearably amusing. Rather than respond verbally, Tuxedo Mask walked over to the cylinder he had brought out earlier, the one he had been so careful to lead the fire elemental away from. He gently turned a valve on one end and a faint hissing sound filled the air. With a mighty heave, he hefted the entire thing over his head and threw it at Argent. Mamoru's aim was true, but the missile didn't hit it's target. Instead it stopped a half meter away from Argent's face. A small strain showed in the dark elf's face, but he gestured and the cylinder settled to the ground. "Really Tuxedo Mask, after today's impressive display battling my elemental magicks, I expected something a bit more.... sophisticated. I can't believe you truly thought that would work. And what is that thing anyway? More of your anti-fire stuff?" "Actually," Tuxedo Mask responded, "it's hydrogen gas." His gaze shifted to the flame elemental still standing loyally by Argent's shoulder. Argent had only a second to be puzzled by the reply before.... -BOOM- Sensations of pain and burning filled Argent's world. His shields has stopped most of the blast and some of the heat. Most and some. What had gotten through was more than enough to drive the teleport spell completely from his mind. In fact, he couldn't have summoned up enough magic to light a candle. So he felt the full impact of Tuxedo Mask's fist slamming him into the ground and driving him nearly into unconsciousness. Mamoru had waited barely a moment before rushing into the aftermath of the explosion and attacking the dark elf. With a single satisfying blow he had taken out an entire day's frustrations. He drew his fist back, ready to strike a second blow, but it didn't seem necessary. Argent looked to be down for the count. For a moment, he and all the Senshi simply stood there, an expression of amazement on their faces. Could it be that after all this time, they had actually managed to capture an enemy? The question was, what to do now? In an instant, the decision was taken away from them. Aurium materialized between the Senshi and Tuxedo Mask in a flashy display of light. She was wearing a leafy green outfit with black belt, such as an elf might wear in a typical fantasy illustration. Rather than the sneakers she had been wearing earlier, her feet were covered by pointy black shoes. As far as dress went, she looked like a slightly more impressive version of the Keebler Elf. Her hair remained its usual shade of unearthly gold, but she had cast a glamour over her eyes. Rather than their normal, dreamy sky blue, they were a glowing red. It made her more intimidating, she felt. Sailor Venus twitched slightly, and Aurium realized she had only an instant before all five of the Senshi charged her. Unable to come up with anything better, she screamed, "Stop!" To her amazement, the Senshi obeyed, remaining rooted by their astonishment. Seizing the initiative, Aurium began to shout while surreptitiously sidling closer to Tuxedo Mask and her brother. "Um, foul despoilers of this fair planet. How dare you try to stop us from our.... our just cause. Your kind has, um, messed up this planet with your foul industries and stuff. Now you must pay! Um, go planet!" With this last, she sprang towards Tuxedo Mask, knowing that she would have only one chance. Aurium hadn't counted on having to indulge in any close combat, and didn't have any touch- range spells prepared. However, she did have her memory. The elven sorceress had seen Tuxedo Mask injure his arm twice that day during combat. Taking a gamble that she was remembering correctly, Aurium grabbed Tuxedo Mask's right shoulder and twisted. Hard. Mamoru screamed in pain, released his grip on Argent, and before he could recover Aurium had already grabbed her half-brother and teleported away. There was stunned silence from the assembled heroes for a moment. Then Tuxedo Mask clenched his fists and looked at the ground. "I let them get away. Stupid, stupid..... I'm no good to anybody. I let them get away." Sailor Moon took Mamoru in her arms and comforted him, whispering in his ear, "Come on Mamo-chan. It'll be fine. You beat them, that's the important thing. We'll just have to stop them again later, that's all." "Man, you were great Tuxedo Mask!" Mamoru looked up, startled, but it wasn't any of the Senshi who had shouted. Running towards him were Kentaro and Nanami. Kentaro got there first and grabbed Mamoru's hand, enthusiastically shaking it. "Actually, it's hydrogen." Kentaro quoted. "Oh man, that was the best!" Mamoru sputtered, "You shouldn't....." "Forgive my, Lord Earth. It was my decision to allow these two to observe the battle. After their valiant defeat of one of the flame summonings, I could hardly refuse them." Macavity had typically appeared from nowhere, chiming in. Mamoru stared at Kentaro, wishing for a moment he could take off his mask and look at the other man without any barriers. "I thought I'd missed one, but.....you beat one of those things, all on your own?" "Well, Nanami and I did it together," Kentaro responded, after having received a jab in the ribs from his girlfriend's elbow. "But you took on five of those things, and took out the guy controlling them too." "But I let him get away." "Ahhhhh," Kentaro dismissed this with a handwave, "You'll get him some other time, after all, you're the hero." Hero. Mamoru was still pondering this concept when Macavity announced., "Master Kentaro, Lady Nanami, I'm afraid it's time for you to depart. We have private business to discuss, and it is best you not become involved any further in these matters." "But-" Nanami began dragging Kentaro away before he could do more than begin his protest. Picking up more speed as they got further away, she shouted, "Thanks for saving us and everything! Uh, bye!" "Waiiiiittttt." Kentaro's shout was aimed mostly at Nanami and was the last intelligible thing Mamoru heard from him before the pair disappeared down the sidewalk. "So I suppose you called the Senshi after all, huh Macavity?" "No Lord Earth. I neither called them nor had them called.' Peddling her bike down the street, Laura muttered to herself. "Too dangerous, he says. I want you to go back to the apartment and scan, he says. Well fine. And we'll just see how much he likes walking back on his own. He wouldn't even let me call the Senshi." Back at the university, Tuxedo Mask asked in confusion, "Then.... how did all of you know to come here?" Sailor Moon grinned, "Well, I just sort of felt that something was wrong and I knew I needed to come help you. I guess it works both ways." "I guess it does." Later, they'd all detransformed and scattered. The Senshi had gone back to their respective homes, and Macavity had made his usual mysterious departure, muttering something about "at least it's downhill all the way." Before he left, he'd assured Mamoru that the tracking spell was no doubt long gone, since Argent couldn't have had the power left to maintain it. To Usagi's delight, Mamoru had asked her to walk with him for a while. They wandered aimlessly up and down the city streets, going nowhere in particular. Usagi kept up a steady stream of chatter, but soon noticed that Mamoru's attention was elsewhere. She asked, "Mamo-chan? Still have something on your mind?" "Yes, but not the same thing as before. Usagi, do you think I'm a hero?" "Of course you are silly." Mamoru chuckled. "Well you love me. You have to say that. But Kentaro, he thinks I'm-, well he thinks Tuxedo Mask is a hero anyway. Kentaro and Nanami were incredibly brave to destroy that monster all by themselves. If they think I'm a hero, well......" Usagi eagerly pointed out, "You took on all those monsters by yourself. I don't think I've ever fought so many in one day. You beat Argent too. One of his friends rescued him, but you still had him beat." Mamoru's face began to brighten, "I did, didn't I? "You did!" "Maybe I am a hero after all!" "Told you so." Remembering Nanami's offer, Mamoru asked, "Say Usagi, are you free for dinner tonight?" "Oooohh Mamoru! You're taking me to an expensive restaurant to celebrate, aren't you?! There'll be real French waiters and table cloths and wine lists and we'll have the violinist place our song and we'll dance to it, and it'll be soooooo romantic!" Uh-oh. Still as he walked down the street, listening to Usagi spin her fantasies, Mamoru couldn't help smiling. Because right then, he felt like the luckiest man in the world Epilogue 1 "Go planet? Gooooo planet? Go plaaaaanet?" "Oh knock it off, will you! It's just something I heard on one of the human television programs." Hoping her half-brother would take the hint, Aurium returned her attention determinedly to her magazine. "What in the world ever possessed you to spout off that dribble?", Argent asked. He was lying back on the couch of his apartment, a cool compress on his forehead. Seeing that she wasn't going to get any peace, Aurium attempted to explain herself. "I just needed something to distract the Senshi for a few seconds. I've noticed that humans get all worried and defensive about this pollution stuff. They go on about how they're poisoning the earth, and lay this massive guilt trip on themselves." "Yes, I've noticed," was Argent's comment. "You don't seem too upset about it. After all, isn't it _our_ planet that they're ruining'?" "Let us say I'm upset, but I never really expected better." "Uh-huh. Well anyway, I thought if I could maybe play on that guilt, I could make them hesitate for a second. You know, make them feel like they're the ones in the wrong." "They _are_ the ones in the wrong," Argent said with total conviction. "Yes, well anyway that 'spouting off' got me close enough to grab you and get out of there. You could at least show a little gratitude." "I am grateful, and I will attempt to show you more forbearance in the future. Later. When my head stops feeling like a herd of ogres is trampling through it. An while we're on the subject, let me say that only an ogre would have been fooled by that acting." Looking annoyed, Aurium slammed the magazine down, revealing the article she had been reading to be, "How to Keep the Shine in Your Hair." She shot back, "Well I didn't have a whole lot of time to work on my lines. Next time I'll have a more convincing speech ready." "There won't be a next time," Argent stated firmly. "Oh, got plans to get rid of the Senshi, have you? Going to have your vengeance and all that?" "I have a few ideas in mind. As for vengeance, I think the way to hurt Tuxedo Mask the most is to destroy what he loves the most. Killing the Senshi will hurt him worse than any physical pain I could inflict. Though I'll still kill him if I happen to get the chance, of course. No sense leaving an enemy alive." "Of course," Aurium mumbled, and went back to reading her magazine. Epilogue 2 The soft tunes of a violin floated through the air, muffled only by the clink of wineglasses and the quiet rumble of voices in conversation. Kentaro leaned back and commented, "I'm impressed Chiba. Here you are taking us all out for expensive meals and paying for everything. I never knew you wanted to make peace this badly. Sure, I'm willing to let everything go and be friends." Usagi gushed, "Oh that's wonderful, isn't it Mamo-chan? This was such a great idea of yours, taking us all to a fancy restaurant." "Uh, yeah.. great." Mamoru was a bit distracted, trying to calculate what percentage of his food budget he was blowing on that one meal. He figured if he could just live on noodles for two months, he might be able to make it. Nanami commented, "Yes Mamoru. You're showing a lot of class. Here, let me order us some more wine." Mamoru mentally threw up his hands and gave up all hope of a budget. He was startled when Usagi leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed, "Oh Mamo-chan. This is almost perfect. The only thing that could make this better is if we could dance to our song." Mamoru immediately signaled the violinist, wondering how much the man would charge to play "Moonlight Densetsu." Because what it all came down to was this. Sometimes when you're in love, there are things you just have to do. The End