After The Fall, part 3
 

   A Tale of Crystal Tokyo by Ron Inn

The Sailor Senshi and related characters were created by Naoko
Takeuchi.
 

What has gone on before:

Threatened with being put on an long vacation, Rei grudgingly
takes up Serenity's request that she oversee the rehabilitation
of a Nemesian prisoner, Ruby. Rei takes on the cover identity of
Rachel Takae and recruits the help of Pumice, one of Ruby's
former colleages. Meanwhile, an elderly pair of tourists, Harry &
Gracie, seem to be much more than meets the casual eye.

Earlier parts of this fanfic can be found at SME's home page:
http://members.xoom.com/Warthog/index.html

%%%%

Hobbling slightly, Pumice led Ruby into a small, unadorned room.
Two chairs were set in the center of the room, the left-most
chair having a small terminal screen protruding from the armrest.
Pumice made a beeline for that chair and plopped down with a sigh
of relief. "There's one positive thing about pain. It feels so
good when it stops."

Ruby got to her chair and set herself down in a more dignified
fashion, "We only walked a hundred yards, you ninny."

"That was ninety-nine yards too long, Miss 'I-have-two-good-legs-
to-walk-on.'" complained Pumice while massaging her hurt ankle.

"Well, you're the one who dragged me here," retorted Ruby. She
glanced around at the four blank walls. "Interesting decor."

"Oh!" exclaimed Pumice, as though she had suddenly remembered
something. "You have just got to see this, Ruby!" Injuries
forgotten, Pumice started furiously punching data into the
terminal before her.

The lights dimmed. A pair of old holoprojectors sprang into life
behind them and painted a dim and flickering scene of a nightclub
around them. Noting the archaic clothing of the people in
surrounding tables, Ruby said, "What do you think you're ..."

"Shhhh! They're just about to start." Pumice pointed to a group
of white-suited men who were walking onto the stage before them.
They were carrying metal tubes of varying shapes and sizes. There
were also what appeared to be drums and long, box-like structure
with whilte & black rectangular keys but no display screen. With
a nod and a few quick beats, they started.

Ruby was unprepared for the blast of noise that pressed her back
into her seat. As the first chords on the song's introduction
faded away to a more moderate volume, Ruby's mind was awhirl
trying to make sense of all the sounds and crazy rhythms.  The
musicians were playing like madmen racing down a mountain road;
always seemingly about careen off a cliff, but somehow staying on
course by the skin of their teeth. Before she knew it, the piece
was done. It took a little while for Ruby to collect her wits.

"What was that?!?"

"It's called jazz," replied Pumice who was amused by Ruby's
shocked expression. "That was called 'I'm Beginning to See the
Light.'"

"I'm not sure if I liked it or not ..."

"Hey, there's another jazz piece I really like. It was
popularized by the same musician, Duke Ellington."

"Don't you mean 'the Duke of Ellington?'"

"Um, maybe? I don't know! Anyway, the next piece is called 'Take
The A-Train.'"

The next song started out softly with just two instruments
playing, the drums and that strange oblong box with a keyboard.
Ruby found herself starting relaxing abit more and getting caught
up in the beat of the music. When the vocalist started to sing,
Ruby noticed that Pumice sang along.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry Take the A-train To find the quickest way to
get to Harlem.

If you should take the A-Train, You'll find you'll get where
you're going if you hurry ..."

Well, Pumice singing along was fine with Ruby -- strange, but
tolerable. Well, it _was_ tolerable until they started singing in
some weird language.

"'Sha-do-be-do-be be-oh, Swebe-de-be do?' What kind of crazy
language is that?"

Pumice stopped long enough to reply, "It's not a language, silly!
It's called scatting; singing nonsense syllables for the sounds
they make."

Ruby didn't know what was more disturbing: the idea of scatting
or that Pumice could sing the entire song verbatim. Then there
was that strange little dance Pumice began doing _on_ her chair,
limp and all. When the song came to a close, it was none too soon
for Ruby, although she had to admit she liked it a tiny bit.

"Wasn't that grand?!?" exclaimed Pumice while she got down from
her chair.

"Um, you aren't planning to give a copy of that to your father
are you?"

"Of course not! I found something far better, a funny little song
from the 1970s, 'Disco Duck.'"

Ruby didn't see how a song called 'Disco Duck' could be any good
at all, but knowing Pumice, maybe that was the point.

"Oh, lighten up, Ruby! Knowing your music background and all, I
found something you might like. It was written to commemerate a
bloody and drawn-out battle; something about Napolean and Russian
winters, I can't remember."

*How did Pumice know about my childhood hobby?* Ruby wondered.
She had naturally given up such frivolous notions such as
becoming a musician when she grew up. Making music wasn't exactly
something to aspire to on Nemesis -- definitely a lower class
activity. As she watched Pumice enter a new selection into the
terminal, Ruby hoped it would be something more familiar. Unlike
Nemesian music, Jazz had a playfulness and sensuality that Ruby
found quite unnerving

Soon the scenery around them changed. They were now in the middle
of a mass of musicians. Ruby recognized some of the instruments
from before, but the majority of them seemed to be different
kinds of wooden stringed instruments. "The 1812 Overtune," Pumice
announced.

The piece started off very softly and Ruby craned her neck to get
a better look at all the different instruments. The tone and
flavor of each instrument was fascinating.

"Let's fast forward to the interesting part," sugguested Pumice.

"Wait, I really want to hear this." Unlike jazz, this music was
much more regimented and intricate. The entire orchestra was like
a single, well-ordered organism that ebbed and flowed with the
music. As the music picked up in urgency, Ruby closed her eyes.
It felt like she was hearing a story, except she couldn't quite
make out the words. She was totally unprepared for the first
cannon shot.

>> KKAAAAPPOOOOoooooOOOooWWWW <<

Ruby hit the floor and soon realized her mistake when she saw
Pumice giggling madly. Unmindful of further cannon shots
thundering in time with the music, she got up, brushed herself
off and gave Pumice a dirty look. "You planned this, didn't you?"
Pumice started to laugh uncontrollably. Ruby sat back down,
making it a point to ignore the convulsions of her friend and
went back to concentrating on the music.

After the piece ended, Ruby sat in contemplative silence for a
while. "Using a weapon of war as musical instrument ... what a
novel concept," she observed.

"I thought it was pretty cool myself." Pumice stifled a few extra
giggles. "I think we have time for one more."

"This music sounds so different from the dregs that were brought
back to Nemesis."

Pumice looked up from the terminal screen as she finished her
selection. "Pluh-leeeze. Whoever has been smuggling in that music
has absolutely _no_ taste!  Anyway, this last piece is 'Can't
Catch Love' from the Minako & Starla Reunion Tour."

"Minako? You mean Sailor Venus?"

As the room darkened and the music started. The images of Minako
and Starla appeared before them and, with a gesture and whisper,
began to sing.

Ruby felt herself feeling strangely light-headed. Like a leaf
cast adrift on a stream, her mind wandered back across the years
to remember her first  schoolgirl crush. She felt the excitement
of her first date and the anguish of her first broken heart.
Flowing through it all was that song; cajoling her senses and
sharing the pain. Yet somehow, it was all right.

As the song ended and the projectors died, Pumice and Ruby sat
together lost in their thoughts. Ruby shook herself as if waking
from a dream and asked softly, "What was that? I've never quite
felt that way before."

"It's magic." At Ruby's look of puzzlement, Pumice explained,
"Part of the magic revolution in music."

"So I've been under a spell?" Ruby's eyebrows shot skyward.

"You could think of it that way ... but you know, music by itself
casts its own type of spell on a listener. Adding a pinch of
magic just helps it along." Pumice gave Ruby a playful tap on the
arm.

"Ow!" exclaimed Ruby as Pumice invariably hit a painful bruise.

"Don't be such a worry wart. Magical music can't produce any
feelings that aren't already there. Or so I've been told."

Ruby's reply was cut short as the room's door opened and a guard
entered. "Time's up," she announced. "You have to leave now, Ms.
Pumice."

"That's Pumice of the Black Moon Family," proclaimed the party in
question with a grand flourish of her hand.

"Yeah, whatever." The guard shrugged and left to wait outside.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to go ...." Pumice gingerly stood
and prepared to hobble out the door.

"Wait! There's something I need to say."  Seconds ticked by as
Ruby's mouth worked but nothing issued forth.

"Well?" prompted Pumice impatiently.

"T-T-Thank you .... I ..."

"No problem. Bye!" With a quick hug, Pumice was gone before Ruby
could get another word out.

*Blast that girl,* fumed Ruby. She had hated Pumice for being so
incompetent and yet going free while she had been left to rot in
prison. However, Pumice had cared enough to visit even though
Ruby had treated her poorly. Being ashamed and humbled -- these
were feelings that were unfamilar to Ruby. She glared at the
closed door accusingly. "Well, at least she could have waited
long enough for my apology!"

Already outside the cell block, Pumice limped toward the
administrative building for a debriefing with Rachel Takae.
Concerned, her escort inquired, "Do you need someone to take a
look at that?"

Pumice stopped and pointed at her ankle. "You mean this?" She
shook it out and then resumed walking normally. "It was just
stiff," she explained.

Oblivious to the strange look the guard gave her, Pumice was
preoccupied thinking about Ruby. *I still owe her,* she admitted
guiltily remembering the night they were captured. She had been
paying attention and seen the Senshi coming on her scanner.

But she had remained silent.

%%%%%

Rachel Takae, aka Rei Hino, was smiling as she completed Pumice's
interview and dismissed her. It had turned out better than her
wildest expectations. She'd be back at her job in no time!

That Pumice was a strange one. Rei could have have sworn she
heard her softly singing, "Hurry, hurry, hurry. Catch the A-train
..." at one point. Well, the only thing that mattered was that
she succeeded in drawing Ruby out of her shell.

Still, Rei admonished herself as she leafed through her notes,
there was much more progress that needed to be made. It was
crucial that forward momentum be maintained. Rei drummed her
fingers on her desk as she quickly created and discarded several
plans of action.

*Really,* she told herself, *the only answer is to keep as close
to this case as possible.* She activated the vidphone and was
greeted by a secretary. "I need to talk to Supervisor Miyamoto
immediately," Rei demanded.

"I'm afraid he's out of office today. I could connect you with
the assistant supervisor ..."

Talking with the assistant supervisor was fruitless; no matter
how much she wheedled, Rei would have to wait for Miyamoto's
approval of her request.  Rei considered raising a big stink, but
relented. Waiting until tomorrow would have to do. Picking up her
briefcase and catching a cab back to the Palace, Rei decided that
she would grab a quick change of clothes and go for a run in the
park surrounding the Palace. Maybe she'd get lucky and catch a
perpetrator in the act, she thought morosely.

It turned out to be a clear and cool evening; perfect for
jogging. As she ran along a trail in the Queen's park, Rei
wondered how Internal Security was doing. She tried to dismiss
those thoughts. *Ami had to be doing a good job*, she tried to
reassure herself. *In fact, Ami is probably enjoying it.* Rei
wistfully glanced skyward wishing that she could see the stars
despite of the glow of Crystal Tokyo's lights. How long had it
been since she had seen them?

A startled "My goodness!" was the only warning she got before she
nearly ran over an elderly couple. A split-second later Rei was
in the air performing a little flip with a twist over a startled
audience and touched down lightly behind them.

"Gomen nasai! Are you all right?" Rei hoped she hadn't given them
a heart attack.

"Young people today," grumbled the older man taking out a
hankerchief to wipe his forehead. "Always in a rush; never
looking where they're ..."

"Never mind him," interrupted the woman as she elbowed her
partner into silence. "He's just a grump. We're both fine, dear,
and your vault over us was truly amazing. Say, are you part of a
gymnastics team?"

"Uh, no. Not quite."

"Well, you should really look into it. I know talent when I see
it! You know, one of my grandchildren does gymnastics. She was
runner-up in the junior county championships! In fact, I have a
picture of her right here in my purse if I can find it," the
woman said as she rummaged around in her purse.

Rei surpressed a sigh. She supposed that politely looking at
pictures of their grandchildren was an appropiate penance for
nearly running them down. Rei was momentarily distracted as a
small gray robotic dog bumped up against her leg and yapped at
her. She assumed it belonged to the couple. Robotic pets were
uncommon, but given their ease of care and long lifetimes, they
were a good match for the elderly.

"Now, now, Gracie," the older man was saying. "I'm sure the young
woman has better things to do than stand around and gab with us."

"Don't be silly, Harry. It will take only a second." Gracie
stopped to take a better look at Rei. "Unless, the reason you
were running was because you are late for a hot date ..."

"Well, I ..."

"Of course! What could I have been thinking! What else would a
young, beautiful girl like yourself be doing on a night such as
this? Go on, don't mind us." Gracie waved Rei on and then added
in an excited whisper, "You mustn't keep your date waiting!"

Rei felt her cheeks coloring; it had been a long time since
_anyone_ had called her a young girl. Relieved at the opportunity
to extricate herself, she waved good-bye to the couple and turned
to continue running down the path.

For a moment, she almost stopped. There was something about that
couple ... Rei shook off the feeling. *Serenity must be right,*
she told herself, *I'm getting really paranoid.*

Irrationally, she felt like working off some steam by finding
Magnesite and knocking him around a bit, but he was long gone. It
was strange that now, when he was finally out of her hair, she
was starting to miss the creep  --  or at least the opportunity
to watch him squirm. *Ah well,* she mused as she turned toward
home, *a long, hot bath will have to do.*

Back in the park, Harry and Gracie watched Rei disappear around
the bend. "You embarassed the poor girl," groused Harry.

"I did not. Besides it was just so sweet for her to be on a date
in a romantic city like Crystal Tokyo."

"If you say so, dear."

Gracie whistled to summon her wandering robotic dog. "Come here,
Fido! We have work to do. Good boy!" Arm-in-arm, the couple
continued walking down the path with Fido following obediently
behind them.

After travelling 100 yards, Harry stopped and pulled out a
datapad. Its screen showed a detailed maintence map of the park.
After some back-tracking, wandering off the trail and a bit of
grumbling about maps from Harry, the couple made their way to a
nondescript clump of bushes that concealed a small manhole. After
peering around to make sure there were no observers, Harry pried
the cover off the manhole. A quick hand-sign from Gracie sent
Fido leaping down the manhole.

It was a long fall for Fido, but nothing that his legs couldn't
handle. He had been custom-designed by Harry for this type of
work, after all. Fido loped down the drainage pipe until he
encountered a metal grating. It took a little while and quite a
bit of power for the laser in his mouth to cut a small opening
for him, but before long, Fido was on his way again.  At a
seeming random spot, Fido stopped and looked up.

The tube he was now in was barely two feet in diameter, and above
his head was a small dented metal box. In a seemingly impossible
feat, Fido calmly walked up the side of the tube to stand
upside-down under the box; an slight blue-green glow emanating
from the bottom of his paws was a side-effect an adhesion field
that held them in place.

Now directly under the box, a small door in Fido's belly swung
open to reveal four spindly manipulator arms. Going straight to
work, the arms pried open the metal box, revealing a tangle of
optical fibers and relays. Within five minutes, an extra relay
was spliced into the network and the box closed. A thin, black
wire now extended from the box to Fido, who immediately started
romping down the tube back the way he came.

When Fido emerged from the manhole, Harry was waiting for him.
Disengaging the spool of wire from Fido's belly, Harry attached
it to a small transmitter which he affixed to the inside of the
manhole. Carefully, he replaced the manhole cover, allowing a
small anttenna to protrude.

"Good boy, Fido!" Gracie cooed. "How would you like to go home
and get a nice energy recharge?  You would like that, wouldn't
you?" Fido yapped his agreement.

Straightening his worn sweater, Harry took Gracy's arm as they
strolled back to their apartment with Fido trailing close behind.

%%%%%

A cloaked figure drifted down the dark streets of the cyber-
shantytown, Liberty Hill. The Liberty Hill cyberspace construct
was a hosted by an rickety amalagmation of servers based the Free
Zone nation. Compute outages and dropped nodes were common
occurances, but those were acceptable inconveniences for those
who conducted their shady business here.

Gaudy and lewd advertisements filled the night sky. The buildings
lining the streets sported layers upon layers of graffiti hacked
into their walls. The cloaked man paid them no mind as he reached
his destination, The Dead Link DataBar.

The interior of the bar was a mess of malformed tables and chairs
scattered about at random. Weaving his way through the debris,
the man seated himself at the bar and ordered the leading news
stories.

His respite was broken as a muscle-bound thug accosted him, "Hey,
you! We don't like your kind around here."

The cloaked figure turned around to face him. "And what would be
my kind?" a raspy voice inquired.

The thug examined his prey. Seemingly an ordinary enough icon,
except for one detail: Where the face should be, there was only
darkness. No matter -- it would soon be over anyway.

"ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF ME?" the thug yelled as his various
minions stood up. The bar patrons scattered. Coming to stand
behind the thug in a loose semi-circle, the thug's motley gang of
four loomed threateningly. A purple octopus dripped slime on the
bar floor. A western-style gun-fighter fingered his six-shooters.
A wolf-like man licked his chops. A dark cloud-creature roiled
and produced several mini-tornados.

The man gave them the once over before returning to reading the
news.

"WELL? ARE YOU, GIRLY BOY?" yelled the thug, flexing his muscles.

Like a striking snake, a whip flew out of the man's sleeve and
wrapped itself around the thug's neck. A quick jerk sent him
hurtling into mirror behind the bar. The octopus retaliated with
a volley tentacles, which were quickly severed by a sickle that
appeared in the man's other hand.

The man leapt high to avoid a staccato burst of bullets and sent
his whip out to snare the wolfman coming in a blind rush. With a
deft yank, he sent his victim barreling into the cloud-creature
and imparted to himself enough momentum to himself to land
boots-first on the still-recovering octopus. With a high-pitched
shriek, the octopus dissolved in a shower of pixels.

As the man pivoted on the balls of his feet, the sickle in his
hand shimmered and straightened into a spear. Flying from his
hand, the spear leapt to impale both the wolfman and the cloud.
Delicate filaments of lightning played over the icons before they
both sparked and disappated.

"Hold it right there, mister! Don't move 'r ah'll shoot."

The cloaked figure slowly turned toward the cowboy and crossed
his arms. "Shoot."

The cowboy frowned and let loose with both his six-shooters. He
took a step back as he saw his bullets splatter on the stranger's
cloak and fall to the floor. "WHAT THE ..."

The stranger's fist punched through the cowboy icon and it too
was gone in a burst of pixels. The ensuing silence was broken by
a rustling sound behind the bar. Vaulting over the bar, the man
collared the lead thug who was attempting to crawl away. With a
heave, the stranger slammed the thug onto the bar top and slapped
a silver disk on his chest. Silvery threads projected from the
disk wrapping the struggling icon.

"You should have logged out while you had the chance," whispered
the dark figure. "But now you're stuck here, and we're going to
play a little game." The man's right hand started glowing an
angry red.

"Wait! Don't hurt me! I was hired! The person who hired me is in
that corner." Wild-eyed and hyperventilating the thug managed to
indicate the far corner of the bar.

The stranger's fist clenched, and the silver threads contracted
and pulverized the thug's icon into drifting spots of light which
soon faded. Picking the disk up from the counter and his sickle
up from the ground, he sauntered toward the corner. A raven
hopped out into the light.

"I don't like to be toyed with," said the stranger in a soft
voice.

"We had to be sure that we were hiring the right person. I tell
you, Mort, you are even more impressive then your rep," croaked
the raven.

Mort's whip found its way into his hand.

"We need you to lead a team of hackers. I'm sure we can make it
worth your while."

Mort's whip hand pulled back to strike.

"Crystal Tokyo."

Mort's whip hand froze. There was a pause and Mort said, "Tell me
more."

The raven smiled.

%%%%%

Back in her cell, Ruby lay upon her bunk with the echos of all
those strange mucial sounds bouncing around in her head. Familiar
sounds, like that of her childhood, seemed so distant. Her
practice sessions with the pipes, howling winds across the
crystal fields, the shouts and clatter of the morning drill
excersizes; All of them were lost to her.

It was like she was poised on the edge of a precipice. All that
she had known was unreachable and far behind her; before her, an
alien and uncertain void stretched to the horizon. With her
finger Ruby traced the outline of the black cresent on her
forhead. Usually, being declared Nameless meant the removal of
the clan tattoo, but they hadn't bothered in her case. *Who am
I?* Ruby wondered.

It wasn't until late that night that the tears finally came.
 

<To be continued in After the Fall, part 4>

<A special thanks to Aponar for proofreading. Any extra typos, etc.
 are likely my fault.>
 
 
 

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