After The Fall, part 5
 

    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. Eager to return to her post as soon
as possible, Rei poses as Ruby's cell mate.

An unknown enemy has apparently started tapping into Crystal
Tokyo's networks, but their plans are threatened by the capture
of one of their agents. Unwilling to wait for that agent to come
out of a coma, Makoto and Artemis start their own investigation.
 

%%%%

Sounding suspiciously like a rooster, the chime repeated itself
three times. Then light fixtures hummed and flickered on, bathing
the world in unforgiving light. Another day in the CT Women's
Correctional Facility had begun.

Rei groaned and rolled over in her bunk. It was hard and
unyielding. Soon Rei sensed a presence standing over her. She
cracked open her gummy eyes.

Ruby stood over her with an annoyed look on her face. She
appeared to be saying something.

"Wha?" asked Rei sleepily. She could hardly make out what Ruby
was saying. Finally, she sat up and removed her ear plugs.

"It's about time!" Ruby frowned. "O.K. Hand them over."

"Hand what over?" answered Rei, now thoroughly puzzled.

"Those ear plugs."

"No way! I need them to sleep."

"If you stayed awake, it'd be a boon to the entire cell block. If
your snoring were an earthquake, it'd measure 8.0 on the Richter
scale!"

"I DO NOT SNORE!" Rei stood up and drew herself to her full
height.

"YES, YOU DO!"

"WELL, YOU SNORE TOO!" Rei and Ruby's faces were inches apart.

"MAYBE SO, BUT AT LEAST IT DOESN'T RATTLE THE CELL DOOR."

"TOO BAD! YOU CAN JUST ..." Rei gritted her teeth and got a grip
on her temper. *This is NOT helping anything. I've got to keep
focused.*

Rei exhaled slowly and sat back down. "Fine. Give me a moment to
think."

The past couple of days had been going well. After the first
night, she was able to meet Ruby as her case worker, Rachel
Takae. It took a little fancy juggling and fast disguise magic,
but she was able to slip between being Sue-Ellen, the cell mate,
and Rachel, the caseworker, without a problem.

As Rachel, Rei suggested that Ruby take part in morning
calisthenics, a screening psych evaluation, a prison orientation
workshop and an evening workout. With a little encouragement and
promise of credits, Ruby had signed up for all of them as well as
promising to adhere to the meal and shower schedule. A promising
start indeed.

Rei hoped to get Ruby into a couple of workshops in the next few
days and was bending prison regulations as far as she dared to
advance Ruby's treatment. As soon as Queen Serenity pronounced
Ruby's condition as 'restored,' Rei could get back to her real
job. With any luck, by next week she'd be able start lobbying for
Ruby to be moved to medium security. Once Ruby was settled into a
stable routine there, Rei was sure her task would be done.

"Well?" prompted Ruby impatiently. Rei snapped back to the
present and cleared her throat.

"Let's make a deal. If I procure another pair of earplugs for
you, you'll let me cut your hair."

"What's my hair to you?" asked Ruby suspiciously while absently
stroking a mangled lock of her hair.

"It really bothers me. Since I live with you I have to keep
looking at you and it drives me bats. Look, your hair could be
really beautiful, but you've been neglecting it." Ruby took a
small step back and uncertainty played across her face. "I've had
a lot of years of experience," Rei cajoled. "You can trust me."

Ruby tried to stare down Rei's appeal, but failed. "Well, all
right," she relented, "But those earplugs better work. And I need
them today."

"Great, we'd better get cracking! We can't be late for our
calisthenics now, can we?"

As they started going the motions of dressing and their morning
ablutions, Rei couldn't help wondering, *Do I really snore that
loudly?*

%%%%

"Harry, why don't you pay the nice man."

Already tipping the porter, Harry replied reflexively to his
wife, "Yes, dear." Harry watched carefully to make sure that
their luggage was loaded onto the right bus before taking one
last, long look at the Crystal Tokyo skyline.

Gracie snuggled into her husband's arms. "What are you thinking?"
she asked.

"I'm thinking that we should retire."

Gracie laughed and patted his cheek. "Silly man. We _are_
retired."

"Don't patronize me -- You know what I mean. I'm thinking that
with this job done, we should buy a small farm on a south pacific
island and settle down. Maybe Tahiti?"

Gracie turned around and held her husband at arm's length. "Just
what has gotten into you?" She searched his eyes. "You know we'd
be bored stiff before the month was out." She waved her hand
dismissively. "You must have missed your nap. Come on, it's time
to board the bus."

"You go on. I'll join you in a minute." He resumed gazing at
Tokyo as the sun's waning rays cast long shadows against its
gleaming spires. *It's times like these I really feel the weight
of my years,* he thought regretfully. *I sincerely hope their
security people are as good as their reputation.*

Without a backward glance, Harry turned and boarded the bus.

%%%%

In the high security cell blocks, nutritious albeit bland meals are
delivered to your door. Or through a slot in your door to be
exact. It didn't take long for both Rei and Ruby to finish their
evening meal and deposit their trays back out the door.

"Well, did you get the earplugs?"

"Have a little faith," Rei replied with a smile. Reaching into
her coveralls, she pulled out a pair of slightly used earplugs,
an unmarked bottle of shampoo, a comb and a pair of scissors.

Ruby scooped up the the earplugs and looked at the scissors
suspiciously. "I can't believe security would be so lax as to let
that in here," Ruby commented as she considered different ways to
turn it into a weapon.

Rei held the scissors at opposite ends and flexed it. "It's made
out of soft plastic." She sighed. "Too bad really ... but it'll
to work well enough to cut hair." Rei studied Ruby
contemplatively. "So, how do ya' want your hair cut?"

Ruby flopped back down on her bunk and closed her eyes.
"Whatevers." She opened them a short time later to see Rei
staring down at her angrily.

"Whatevers? Whatevers? Here I am, prepared to create a
masterpiece out of your hair and you say 'whatevers'?"

"Er ..."

"Do you know what favors I had to call in for this bottle of
shampoo? How much I had to beg to get this comb? The things I had
to trade away to procure this scissors?" Rei waved it in front of
Ruby's nose.

"No, I ..."

"Of course you didn't! You just wanted to take advantage of your
poor cell mate's generosity to get a pair of earplugs!"

"LOOK. It was YOUR idea in the first place to offer me a
haircut!"

"Oh, so it's MY fault now? I was just trying ..." Rei artfully
sniffled and the hint of a tear glistened in one of her eyes.
"... to do something nice for you." With a stifled sob, she
stiffly walked to her bunk and laid herself down with her face to
the wall.

Ruby felt like a heel. But she couldn't think of anything she'd
done wrong. After she could stand it no more, she got up and
walked over to Rei.

"Listen. Sue-Ellen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, but
it's just that ... what does it matter now what I look like?
Whether I'm pretty or ugly, it doesn't matter any more. Not here.
Not now. I mean, who's going to notice?" Ruby laughed bitterly.

Rei rolled over, sat up and motioned Ruby to sit. Taking a hold of
Ruby's hands, she said, "_I_ care what you look like and it
_does_ matter. And it matters to _you_ as well, though you might
not believe it now." Rei squeezed her hands. "Please, Ruby. For
me?"

Ruby nodded mutely.

"Come on then." Rei led her in front of the small mirror over
their sink. Standing behind her, Rei put her client's hair in a
rough semblance of order. After making several unhappy sounds
over the split ends, Rei returned her attention to her bemused
cell mate. "How long would you like your hair?"

"I think short would be nice."

"This short?"

"Higher. I'd like it to be off my shoulders."

After a few minutes of discussion, they settled a slightly
asymmetric cut, fairly short, but with longer bangs. Rei grumbled
about not having any curlers, but soon contented herself in the
act of shampooing and washing Ruby's hair. It was no mean feat to
pull-off in a small stainless steel basin, but when it was
finished, Rei was satisfied with the results.

Rei had her client sit on the floor and spread out a sheet as a
bib to collect all the clippings. "You know, your hair is a lot
like mine," Rei commented absently as she combed out Ruby's hair.

Ruby thought that remark was rather curious. After all, she had
black hair whereas Sue-Ellen's was blonde. As Rei started
cutting, they chatted amiably about prison gossip, growing up on
Nemesis, and growing up in Crystal Tokyo. Before long, Rei had
completed her masterpiece.

After brushing loose hair off of Ruby and neatly bundling up the
castoff hair within the sheet, the moment of truth finally came.
Ruby walked up to the mirror and tentatively turned her head to
the left and to the right.

Then she smiled. Rei found herself smiling back.

%%%%

"Are you sure this is the right apartment?" Makoto asked softly
for the third time.

"Yes, yes, yes! How many times do I have say 'yes'?" replied a
grumpy white mooncat.

"That's exactly what you said the last time, Artemis. And keep
your voice down!"

A second mooncat, a white persian with olive highlights, sidled
up to Artemis. "You never said yes to me," she purred
seductively.

"This is not the time for flirting, Arachnae!" Makoto scolded.
Arachnae responding by giving Artemis' ears a playful swipe before
wandering off.

"Did you have to bring _her_ along?" pleaded Artemis.

"What's a matter with you? You know she's my advisor."

Artemis grimaced. "It's bad enough I'm moonlighting to do this
detective work behind Luna's back. If Luna thinks I'm fooling
around with Arachnae, she'll rip out my guts, turn them into
violin strings and play them at my funeral."

"You're exaggerating."

Artemis gave Makoto a steady and long-suffering look.

Arachnae wandered back. "So, are you two going to keep yakking or
are you going to barge in on the wrong apartment and terrorize
some poor unsuspecting citizen."

Artemis rolled his eyes. "I apologized for that already. It was a
honest mistake!"

"We're lucky that the old guy didn't have a heart attack!"
Arachnae shot back.

"He was spry enough to ask for Makoto's phone number!"

Makoto pointed to the apartment door before them. "Is this the
right door?"

"YES!"

With a swift kick Makoto demolished the door and walked in.

Artemis shook his head and followed. "I believe the correct
procedure is to first say, 'Open up in the name of the Queen.'"

The one room studio was empty; No furniture, no curtains, no
rugs, nothing. The floors, walls, and kitchen surfaces had all
been scrubbed. It was clean.

"I would," Makoto conceded, "but what's the point? This is the
sixth apartment we've checked and they've all been the same."

Arachnae sat at the threshold and sighed. "I told you that this is
a wild goose chase. Lady Jupiter, it is plain to me that this ...
investigation is not worthy of your attention. Leave it to IS
and," she continued giving Artemis a pointed look, "any other
fools that choose to pursue it."

With that parting shot, Arachnae got up and, with great dignity,
left the room.

Artemis felt defeated. After wading through mountains of
paperwork, they had come up with six other names that had visa
anomalies that were similar to Mr. Somerville. Yet in each case,
the person they came to find was gone. Not only gone, but their
apartments were totally cleaned out. Makoto had IS put APBs for
the suspects but Artemis had little hope that anything further
would turn up.

Makoto called up IS on her communicator as Artemis nosed around
the apartment. He wrinkled his nose at the strong smell of
ammonia that drifted off the floor. *Not much hope of picking up
any scents,* he thought morosely. His half-hearted search was
interrupted by whoop from Makoto.

"Yes! They finally made a mistake! Phone records show that a
single call was made from this apartment this past week. It
occurred yesterday, 8:11am."

"Well, where did the call go to?"

"The Freezone."

%%%%

White paint splattered against the wall with a wet smack.

*Yuck.* Ruby grimaced as she tried to brush errant droplets of
paint off her face. The archaic practice of using rollers to
apply paint was always messy, but Ruby told herself to be
grateful. By landing this job, she got to enjoy sunny afternoons
in the prison courtyard, earn prison credits and get a break from
all her cell mates.

Taking her pole tipped with a paint roller firmly in hand, she
mopped up the excess paint that dribbled down the wall and
started distributing it evenly.

Ruby had been transferred to a medium security cell for a couple
weeks now. She shared the cell with five other women; one of whom
was Sue-Ellen, who had been transferred simultaneously. Ruby had
started considering Sue-Ellen to be her friend, but in such close
quarters, Sue was starting to get on her nerves.

True, now she had less privacy than in her previous living
arrangement, but she had the better opportunities and a little
more control over her life. She was still a prisoner and there
were still periods of boredom and frustration, but at least now
there were some outlets -- such as this job of re-painting the
courtyard.

She'd also been able to mortgage a month of credits with Sue and
pick-up a small, cheap music player. It was just a plastic box
the size of a deck of cards with a speaker and some memory into
which one could download music files. Most prisoners wouldn't
even bother stealing it given the opportunity, but Ruby slept
with it under her pillow.

She was making her way across the whole history of earth music.
She started with tribal and traditional music, perused through
classical music, sampled blues & jazz, spent time sorting through
the explosion of musical forms following the electric revolution,
had just finished world-beat and now was getting acquainted with
reconstruction music. And she still had almost millennia of music
still to cover!

"Hey Lily," Ruby called to her partner, "I'm out of paint. You
mind passing over another one of those cans?" *Lilly is good
company -- quiet and helpful,* reflected Ruby. *Not like
Sue-Ellen who keeps pestering me with questions. Still, Sue has a
good intentions.*

Ruby took advantage of the break to look down along the wall.
Some privileged prisoners had been awarded with the chance to
paint a mural on the surface. *Lucky sods,* grumped Ruby.

In short order, Lily had re-filled the paint pan and Ruby got
back to work.
 

%%%%

A man dressed in colorful robes and a jester's hat sauntered down
Sinjunku-dori Avenue in Crystal Tokyo.  Gaily waving and greeting
the people who gawked at his outlandish costume, he seemed to be
oblivious to several CT security officers closing in on him.

With a hop and a skip, he sauntered into an alley way without a
care in the world.  Before he traveled ten paces, four uniformed
officers stepped out in the alley before him while three officers
appeared to block his exit behind him.

One of the officers, Corporal Sakai stepped forward and showed
his badge.  "CT Security, sir.  Please place your hands in the
air and make no sudden moves!  Our scanners indicate that you are
carrying illicit weapons."

The man carefully noted the many stun wands pointed at him by the
officers. "Officer, there must be some mistake, I'm not ..."

"Sir, place your hands above your head now or we will be forced
to take action!"

Visibly resigned, the man slowly raised his hands and shook his
head, causing the bells in his hat to tingle. Then as two of the
officers behind him moved up to subdue him, he suddenly whirled
around like a dervish dispensing smoke bombs from his sleeves.

The officers opened fire with their wands. The air filled with
speeding marbles of light; each of which left behind a sparkling
trail. Corporal Sakai fully expected the shots to hit the suspect
and render him unconscious, but instead they veered off at
unpredictable angles as they neared their target.  A cry from the
far end of the alley told Sakai that an errant stun charge had
found one of his men.

"Gob guns!" he ordered, "He's Warded!" Corporal Sakai cursed
under his breath as he pulled out his gob gun. But before he
could fire, billows of smoke obscured his vision. Sakai's
training helped him fight back the impulse to shoot blindly into
the smoke. There were officers down range. All he could do is
wait for a clear shot.

There were sounds of a struggle and then ... giggling? Laughter?
Was there some chemical in those bellowing clouds of smoke?
Nitrous Oxide, perhaps? A private beside Sakai took a tentative
step forward.

"Hold your position!"

Sakai clenched his jaw as he heard gales of laughter from the
other end of the alley. What was happening over there? And then
Sakai's eyes widened as he heard the faint jingle of bells
approaching.

"He's coming!" Sakai shouted as the suspect leapt high out of the
smoke with a night stick in each hand.  The officers' frantic gob
gun shots were low and wide. One shot narrowly missed Corporal
Sakai and splattered its gooey payload against the wall next to
him. "Rookies!" snarled Sakai under his breath. Sakai dropped his
gun and drew his night stick, but found his feet stuck in the
spreading goo from the gob gun shot.

The man in the psychedelic robes was among the officers in an
instant. A quick blow with a night stick took out one officer who
was attempting a second shot. The second officer blocked a blow
with his forearm, but was unable to avoid a kick that doubled him
over. A quick push from one of the sticks, toppled him into the
third officer who then obligingly discharged his gun into the
ground trapping them both like flies.

Corporal Sakai impotently gritted his teeth as he listened to the
groans of pain of his compatriots ... no, not groans of pain, but
laughter and giggling?  Sakai deliberately studied the weapons of
the man who was now gingerly walking his way around the puddles
of goo toward him.  One nightstick was obviously taken off a
fallen CT officer, but the other looked to be of a very old
design and was mauve instead of the regulation black. His breath
caught in his throat as he recognized it.

The stranger grinned and gave his head a strange little shake
that caused the bells in his hat to jingle. "Recognize this, do
you?" he said as he loving held up the mauve night stick close to
Sakai's face. "Crystal Tokyo has always produced such excellent
products. And they just keep working and working, can you believe
it? Do you think they'd like to sign me up for an endorsement
deal as another happy customer?"

Corporal Sakai felt the sweat dripping down his temples as he
gazed at the infamous 'Happy Stick'.  All of them were supposed
to be destroyed, he told himself.

In a swift motion, Sakai knocked the Happy Stick away and tried
to land a blow with his own nightstick ... but his feet were
still stuck.  His antagonist stood mockingly just out of his
reach.  Angry at his predicament, Sakai yelled, "You won't get
away with this, you fiend! Turn yourself in while you still can!"

"Temper, temper Corporal," the stranger chided while standing
tantalizingly just out of arm's reach. "All I want you to do
deliver a little message for me."

With dizzying speed, the stranger kicked the night stick out of
Corporal Sakai's hand and had his own stick at Sakai's throat.

"Tell Ruby, the Jester is jest a'coming for her." breathed the
Jester. With that he gently tapped Corporal Sakai between the
eyes with the Happy Stick.

Corporal Sakai tried holding his breath and gripping his sides
but it was to no avail. His shoulders started twitching and his
eyes started watering and in seconds he was falling backwards,
alternately giggling and laughing uncontrollably.

The Jester whistled as he casually sauntered out of the alley,
stooping to pick up a discarded wand and gob gun along the way.

"Always leave them laughing, that's what my mama always used to
say," he whispered to himself.

%%%%

The sun had long since set. Ami hated that the meeting was
running long, but as she was running it, she had no one to blame
but herself. She consoled herself that they were nearly finished.

Looking the two men and one women who comprised her immediate
staff, Ami asked, "Any more business before we adjourn?"

Her chief of staff, Captain Soga, spoke up. "Yes, I've been
getting a rather unusual request from a Rachel Takae from QA ..."
Ami motioned for him to continue. "It seems that she wants to
have a Karaoke contest held within the Women's Correctional
Facility."

Commissioner Yamashita, head of public safety, laughed dryly.
"You've got to be joking," she remarked.

"No, I'm not. She was rather forceful about the request." Captain
Inoue looked questioningly at his superior.

Ami closed her eyes and massaged her temples before answering.
"Approve it."

"Surely you can't be ..."

"Just make sure the press doesn't get wind of it. Rachel is ... a
special case. Approve whatever she asks."

"Er, certainly, Lady Mizuno."

"Anything else?"

Captain Kihara, Chief of Operations, spoke up. "Just one more
thing. It may be nothing, but you should know about it.

"A few days ago one of our security teams had a run in with a
free agent who is known by the moniker 'the Jester.'
Unfortunately, he was warded against their stun wands and eluded
them."

Commissioner Yamashita frowned. "I was not aware that wards
against our stun wands were out on the market yet."

"To the best of my knowledge, they aren't. The Jester's MO,
however, dictates the use of exotic devices to achieve his ends.
In this particular encounter, he was carrying a happy stick."

Ami grimaced. The happy stick was one of Pyrite's inventions
which seemed to be a good idea at the time, but had quickly
proven to be a terrible mistake. Originally meant as a method of
non-lethal restraint, it soon became clear that it could be
easily abused. She had hoped it had vanished in obscurity long
ago. Snapping back to the present, she said, "About our stun
wands; I still want a review of current warding technology out
there. If we need to re-issue a new set of wands, the sooner we
know, the better." Captain Soga nodded as he entered the orders
into his notebook computer.

"One more thing. One of our men reported that Jester said that he
was coming for a person called Ruby. "

"Ruby?" asked Ami, startled.

"We're not sure exactly to whom he is referring."

Ami sat still as her mind churned. *Could the Jester have been
referring to Ruby of the Black Moon Family? But if so, why tip us
off? And why Ruby? Aren't the Nemesians more concerned about
getting Topass?*

Ami closed her eyes and concentrated. *There was another Ruby ...
Ruby Aino, Minako and Calcite's youngest daughter. She writes
mystery novels. Could she or her parents have an enemy that would
resort to hiring the Jester?*

Opening her eyes, Ami frowned. "Did he say exactly why?"

Captain Kihara shook his head.

"Just a minute," Yamashita said as she leaned forward. "Isn't the
Jester the one who's rumored to pull off that jello stunt in the
United California Federation?"

Captain Soga frowned. "Jello?"

"It was a couple years ago. A union lobbyist group had gotten
pretty hacked off at the Socialist Republican party because of
their incessant waffling on campaign promises. So early one
morning party officers arrived at their Pasadena Headquarters to
find it filled with fifteen tons of jello!

"The perpetrator was never caught, although rumors credit to the
Jester.

"And then there was the running of the bulls through the New Rome
Senate building while ..."

Ami closed her eyes and desperately wished for an aspirin. She
wondered why when Rei was in charge, everything would be quiet
for decades, but every time she filled in, the floodgates would
break open releasing a torrent of chaos.

Interrupting the commissioner before she could recount another
alleged exploit of the Jester, she said "Thank you for that
information. I'm sure Captain Kihara will immediately assemble a
team to look into the matter." She shot Kihara a meaningful
glance. "By tomorrow morning, I want a list of all public figures
to whom the Jester might have been referring. For now, I want
some security on Ruby Aino and make sure that both Lord
Calcite and Lady Aino know of the situation.

"I also want Ruby, formerly of the Black Moon family, protected.
Sago-san, inform the Women's correctional facility of this
development and have them tighten security until further notice.
Send a copy of those orders to Rachel Takae.

"Any further business? No? Thank you for your participation. I
wish you all a good night."

The room soon cleared out after pleasantries were exchanged but
Captain Soga stayed behind working on his portable computer. In
short order, he fired off a memo addressed to the Warden of CT's
Women's correctional facility and Rachel Takae. After what seemed
to be a prolonged pause, he received an acknowledgment receipt.
Packing up his briefcase, he headed home.

It never occurred to him to get a verbal confirmation. After all,
the security of CT's networks was unquestioned.

Meanwhile, Ami trudged back to her office, but was distracted on
the way by the faint sound of music. It was coming from Minako's
External Affairs department. *Who could be still here at this
hour?* Ami wondered as she scanned the darkened corridors.

She wound her way towards the sound and soon found herself before
a thick door that was opened just enough to let a small stream of
sound and light escape. Ami nudged the door open and peeked
inside.

The room was packed. Musicians and instruments of every size and
shape were jamming away and in the center of it all was Minako
flanked by four back-up singers. Startled, Ami watched for a
moment before starting to gently close the door.

"Mom!" The band froze and disappeared. So did the singers, except
for Minako and ...

"Sally?"

"Hi Ami! Come and join us!" Minako grabbed her dazed friend's arm
and drew her into the room.

Ami eyed the slinky, sparkling black dress that Sally wore.
"Sally, I didn't know you were helping Minako with her music."

"Ami, she's just great!" Minako gushed. "I get so much more done
with her controlling the band. And it's so much fun to work with
her. She can create any holographic instrument and player on the
spot."

"How long have you been doing this?" Ami asked her wayward cyber
progeny.

Sally blushed faintly. "Oh, just for the past seven or eight of
Minako's albums."

"That's been nearly twenty years!"

"Sorry, Mom. It's been a secret."

Minako interrupted, "Hey, why don't you join us for a couple
songs?"

"Me? I have to go back to my office and catch up on my journal
reading."

"Nonsense! When's the last time you've had some fun? Those dusty
research papers can wait!"

"But I really don't sing very well ..."

"Listen to me: You have a beautiful voice. You just don't use it
enough. I have this wonderful song for a trio that I've been
dying to try!" Sensing weakness in Ami's resolve, Minako moved in
for the kill. "Besides, what better opportunity will you have to
spend some quality time with your daughter."

With two eager faces beaming at her, Ami couldn't turn them down.
"Well, OK."

"Great! Sally, crank it up! Let's party!"

As the band reappeared and started playing, Ami felt herself
relaxing. Maybe her life wasn't so bad after all.
 

%%%%

"Come on Ruby, get up!" Rei pleaded.

"Go away! Leave me alone!"

Rei looked with exasperation at her charge. Ruby was curled up on
her bunk with her blanket pulled over her head to shut out the
world.

"Ruby, if we don't leave now, we'll be locked in our cell and
miss calisthenics! Everyone else is already gone."

There was no response from Ruby.

Rei frowned. Perhaps she had been pushing Ruby too much, too
soon. At least she had been cautious enough to stick with Ruby
this far before going back to Serenity and proclaiming that
Ruby's rehabilitation was done. Rei sat down on the edge of
Ruby's bunk. *This is going to take some time,* she realized with
a twinge of resignation.

"Ruby, I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me what's wrong."

A warning chime sounded and then the door to their cell slid
shut. Rei waited.

A scornful voice emanated from under the blankets. "I suppose
you're angry at me for getting you locked in too."

"You're getting me angry by not telling me what's bothering you!"

Ruby threw off her covers and sat up. Rei could see that she had
been crying. "You want to know what's bothering me? Isn't it
obvious?

"I'm a zero! A big, fat nobody! I have get up when THEY tell me
to; I have to sleep when THEY tell me to; I have to eat whatever
THEY give me; I even have to earn the right to do manual labor!
If that's not bad enough, I even look forward it!

Tears started streaming down Ruby's cheeks, but she made no
effort to stop them.

"And you know what? I'll always be a nobody! It doesn't matter
what I do, how many credits I earn, what workshops I attend. IT
DOESN'T MATTER! It would have been better if the Sailor Senshi
had killed me rather than be stripped of my position and thrown
out of my clan ..."

Rei reached out and put her arms around Ruby who first resisted
but then collapsed on her shoulder sobbing. Rocking her slightly
as she would a child, Rei held her tightly and let her cry.

When the sobbing finally died down, Rei released her charge in
looked her straight in the eyes.

"Listen, kid. If there's one thing that I've learned all my
years, it's that things change. It may be bleak as winter in your
life for now, but you know that seasons change and it will pass.
Someday it will be spring again, and you need to keep holding on
until that day comes. Spring WILL come. We can't always control
what happens to us, but we can control how we react to it.

"Your job or position does not determine your worth. Even
stripped of those externals, you are still precious. Every life
is precious and worth living -- if you dare to take the risk."

Ruby twisted her sheet in her hands. "I'm not sure if I can
believe all that."

Rei gave Ruby a long, final hug. "That's OK. Just think about it
for me, will you? I really do believe it ... and I believe in you
as well."

With that, Rei climbed back into her bunk and lay gazing at the
blank ceiling with her hands behind her head. She thought that it
had gone fairly well, but only time would tell. Rei found herself
thinking about the four Uncanny sisters that she had befriended
centuries ago, now long gone. With the time loop finally close to
resolving, she wondered if she'd get the chance to see them one
last time before they would be sent back to the twentieth century.

Then Rei started thinking about her own job and what she had just
told Ruby and the task Serenity had given her. For some reason,
it left her unsettled.

%%%%

*It's going to take weeks to get my fur clean,* groused Artemis
silently as he loped after his charge. On a cold dark, moonless
night, the only sign of the pair's passage was a slight rustling
of the dead leaves.

A small glamour could have colored him black instead of the
horrid, sticky goop that now coated his fur. In the Freezone,
however, their glamour magic didn't work.

As far as Artemis was concerned, the Freezone was a blemish on
the face of the earth. Centuries ago, after the mana wells were
uncapped and magic ran free, the insular attitude of the people
who lived in there started shaping reality. The land become more
rugged and inaccessible. The outbreak of the Necromancer wars
served to strengthen their belief that they were magically
inaccessible as well.

In a relatively short time, this unremarkable stretch of land
nestled against the Urals became a place where conventional magic
did not work and, more pertinently to Artemis, a place where
Crystal Tokyo's magic was blocked. The magic that was 'native' to
the Freezone, however, continued to work.

Naturally, this unique feature only served to attract every
fringe group, nut-case and criminal that hated what Crystal Tokyo
and what it stood for. This area became known as the Freezone, as
in "Free of the Imperialistic and Corrupting Influence of Crystal
Tokyo."

There was a political figurehead that ruled the Freezone, but in
reality it was fractured into various enclaves that were
controlled by either mega-corporations or gang warlords. The only
true ruler in the Freezone was Money and the only rules were
Contracts. It was a veritable cesspool of every vice and illicit
substance known to man.

Artemis' breath came out like little clouds.

It was cold, but at least he was doing better than Makoto. Not
only was her body suit and backpack colored a mottled black, they
were nearly totally heat insulating. While that made Makoto
invisible in the infrared, she was probably cooking herself in
that suit. The light- enhancing goggles she wore weren't much of
a fashion statement either.

They had left their gravsled a mile back and were approaching
their target through the forest on foot. In Artemis' opinion, the
whole operation was over-kill for a little breaking and entering,
but considering the possible disaster of a Sailor Senshi getting
caught operating in the Freezone ... Artemis shuddered. Even if
everything went right, Luna would still hang him by his tail and
pull out his whiskers one by one -- if she ever found out.

Makoto held up her hand and motioned for a stop. As she pulled
out a scanner from her backpack, Artemis found a nice place to
sit. He made a vain attempt to straighten out his fur while
Makoto meticulously scanned the countryside around them.

Artemis reconsidered the wisdom of involving Makoto. This was
simply dangerous. The Freezone blocked any Senshi from accessing
her full-power within its borders. Sailor Jupiter might only be
able to pull-off two or three low-powered attacks before
exhausting her store of magical energy. If Makoto got into
trouble, she'd have to rely on only her enhanced strength and
reflexes.

Arachnae was dead set against this operation. She had told Makoto
that it was beneath her station and she shouldn't dirty her hands
with the affair. Unfortunately, Makoto had taken it as a slur
against her judgment and abilities. A knock-down, drag-out
argument followed.

*They really do love each other,* Artemis reflected. *It is just
taking time for them to get reacquainted with each other. Makoto
isn't the same girl that Arachnae remembers. And it's hard for
Makoto get used to having an advisor after all these centuries.*
Artemis blinked as a realization hit him. *I wonder if Arachnae
resents that I'm still closer to Makoto than she is?*

After her argument with Arachnae, it was impossible to talk Makoto
out of personally going to the Freezone to do this operation. She
had argued that through normal channels, it would take a week or
more for the request to be considered and approved, orders to
reach a CT operative, the break-in to occur, and then the
information to reach CT. Makoto didn't want to wait. She had a
hunch that something big was going down and she was determined to
do something about it.

Makoto had even bristled at the suggestion that they should have
team to back them up. She had crisply told Artemis that either he
was her back-up or she'd have none at all.

Which was the reason that Artemis was stuck with freezing his
tail off. But that hadn't stopped Artemis from having a quiet
word with Tom and arranging for a fully mechanized team of
Hunters to be training just across the border. Just in case.

Makoto completed her scans. With hand-signals she indicated that
the coast was clear and that their target was over the next
ridge. Making their way over the ridge, they soon found
themselves 100 yards away from a run-down, wooden ranch-style
house. The pair split up to circle around the house. Artemis
stretched his senses to its preternatural limits, but found no
trace of anything unusual nor evidence that the structure had
been occupied for quite some time.

It was half of a hour before the two joined up again. A little
shake of Makoto's head confirmed that she hadn't found anything
suspicious either. Not that they expected to find anything, but
it paid to be careful. Artemis twitched his tail. It was
unfortunate that there was no one in the house that they might
identify, but it would make their job simpler.

After a quick consultation, Makoto decided to enter the house
through the window near the wood shed. She set down her backpack
and opened it. Out came a set of tools, camera and tazer; each
found a secure home attached to her belt.

Leaving Artemis at the forest's edge, Makoto stealthily worked
her way to the house's window. Her scanner picked up nothing. A
peek through the window showed a small room with a termite-eaten
wardrobe and a mattress half-blackened with mildew in the corner.
A simple twist of a tool defeated the window's locking mechanism
and in one fluid movement she was in the room.

Silence.

Makoto closed the window and then cracked open the door to the
hallway.

Empty.

In the back of her mind, there was something nagging her.
Something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She
waited and listened before deciding to venture out into the hall.

It came to her as soon as her foot touched down in the hallway
with an accompanying click. Makoto swore under her breath. Dirt.
The walls were dirty, but the hallway floor was clean. Makoto
stared at the floor under foot and wished she had x-ray vision.
*I'd bet my life that the click I heard was a pressure switch. I
wonder how much explosives are buried beneath this house ...*

Keeping her weight on her hallway foot she turned and crouched.
Her pulse hammering in her ears, Makoto to a deep breath and
leapt toward the window.

Artemis was just making himself comfortable when it seemed like a
giant hand picked him up and threw him back into the forest.

>>> KABLAAAAAM <<<

Artemis was still dazed as he felt a wave of heat and light swept
over him. "Makoto!" he cried as he stumbled to his feet and shook
his head to clear it. Debris rained down around him. Racing back
to the clearing, Artemis saw what was left of the house. It was
totally obliterated. Like a huge funeral pyre, black smoke rose
to sky as an orgy of flames consumed what little was remained.

Tears formed in his eyes and he started running toward
conflagration despite its terrible heat. But then he stopped and
cocked his ears. Had he heard noise that suspiciously sounded
like 'ouch?' Hardly daring to hope he turned around and studied
the forest.

It took him a second to notice a splintered pine tree 20 feet
back into the forest and only a split second to sprint towards
it. When he reached it, he as relieved to see a battered form
slowly picking herself up. "Someone is in for a world of hurt,"
she muttered as picked off bits of wood, branches and pine
needles from the tattered and still smoking remnants of her body
suit.

"Makoto, you're all right!" Artemis tried to keep his voice from
cracking.

Makoto stopped and looked up. "Oh, it's you, Artemis. Sorry, I
can't hear very well now with all the ringing in my ears. Could
you speak up?"

Artemis cleared his throat and shouted, "YOU MUST HAVE A REALLY,
REALLY HARD HEAD TO HAVE SPLIT THAT TREE IN HALF!"

"Well, I'm glad to see you too," replied Makoto sarcastically.
"Besides it wasn't my head, it was my bu -- none of your
business!"

Unsheathing a claw and regarding it casually, Artemis suggested,
"YOU KNOW, IF YOU NEED ANY HELP REMOVING SPLINTERS ..."

"Nevermind!" Makoto scowled and stalked off in search of her
backpack. She was soon halted by the sight of the flaming death
trap she had barely escaped. *I didn't know it was _that_ bad.* A
faint feeling of vertigo stole over her. *That could have been
really nasty. Luckily the explosives were below ground and I had
a head start. Serenity would be really cross with me if I let
myself get blown up.* Makoto shook her head and got back to
business.

Finding her backpack, she immediately noticed a message flashing
on her scanner. She swore.

"WHAT IS IT?" inquired Artemis.

"One of our operatives report that several gunships have lifted
off from a nearby airbase. They'll be here in eight minutes. And
you can stop shouting now."  Makoto lifted her arms and looked
mournfully at her ruined stealth bodysuit. "Rats."

"Not a problem." Artemis did his trademark back-flip and an
folded, black bodysuit appeared on the ground. "Always be
prepared, I say," he quipped smugly.

"Artemis, you're a life saver. Say, you wouldn't have a spare
pair of boots? Or IR goggles?"

"You lost your goggles? You didn't bring an extra pair of
goggles?"

"No, why should I?"

Artemis restrained the impulse to knock his head against a tree.

"Fine," Makoto grabbed the garment. "Don't peek while I change."
After some rustling of cloth and muffled curses, Makoto was
suited up again and quickly stuffing everything into her backpack.
Artemis yelped as he was roughly shoved into the backpack as
well.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry, Artemis," Makoto apologized as she hefted the pack onto
her back. "We gotta book out of here fast. I'd be best if I
carried you as well.

"Say," she said, pausing. "Do you think anyone in those gunships
knows something about this?"

"Don't be silly." Noticing Makoto's wistful expression, Artemis
added, "And don't even think of it!"

"You're probably right." Makoto sighed and then took off through
the forest toward their gravsled.

Artemis' eyes widened as he watched the trees whip past. "Um, I
thought you lost your night vision goggles." He winced as they
just missed hitting an overhanging branch.

"It's more challenging this way," Makoto grunted out as she
jumped over an unseen ravine, ricocheted off a tree trunk and
plowed through a clump of bushes.

After a few minutes, Artemis said quietly, "If you keep knocking
over trees, they'll be able to track us from orbit."

"Quit nagging. I'm starting to get the hang of this."

%%%%

Rei shuffled through case file on the desk. She was presently
wearing the guise of Rachel Takae, Ruby's case worker. Ruby sat
across from her with a look of bored indifference. Besides the
two, the small room was empty.

"Well Ruby, you seem to be seem to be coming along quite nicely.
The facilitators of your workshops indicate that you're making
progress, you've shown diligence at your job and there haven't
been any black marks on your record lately, except for a few
missed calisthenics sessions."

Ruby shrugged her shoulders.

Clearing her throat before proceeding, Rei continued, "There's
one more thing I want you to consider: A face to face apology
with your victims."

"You want me to WHAT?!?!"

"Apologize to the two teenagers you held hostage, Hiro and
Minako."

"I can't believe you're asking me to do this," Ruby replied, half
getting-up out of her seat. "If anyone got screwed over in this
mess, it's me!"

"Just sit back down and hear me out," Rei commanded. Ruby
grudgingly obeyed. "Answer the following questions: Did you
kidnap and hold Hiro and Minako against their will?"

"Of course I did, but I was under orders to ..."

Rei cut her off. "Just answer the question yes or no! Did you
kidnap and hold hostage Hiro and Minako?"

"... yes."

"Did you threaten them with bodily harm?"

"But that was ..." Cut short Rei's steely glare, Ruby paused and
then sighed. "Yes."

"Were they threatening you or in any way deserve such treatment?"

"... no ... they were just pawns."

The room was silent.

"Ruby, your clan may have wronged you, but that doesn't alter the
fact that you wronged innocents. Whether or not you were under
orders is irrelevant; you still must bear the responsibilities of
your actions.

"You have not only committed a crime against Crystal Tokyo, but
you have also committed an offense against these individuals. In
Corrections, we believe it's important for offenders to
acknowledge that and perform restitution if possible."

Ruby studied the floor. "So, you want me to apologize to them?"

Rei nodded.

"Do I at least get some credits out of it?"

"Of course not. Otherwise, it would not be a true apology."

"I was afraid of that."

Rei checked her watch. "I'm afraid our time is up. You don't need
to make a decision on this right away. I just want you to
consider it for now. We'll talk more next week."

%%%%

The chat room was black except for two spots of light illuminated
from an unseen source. A raven stood in one and was nervously
shifting from one foot to the other. The cowled form of Mort
stood as still as a statue on the second spot of light.

"Raven, you disappoint me," boomed an ominous, disembodied voice.

The raven bobbed his head nervously. "We have had some set-backs,
but nothing that we can't handle."

"Explain."

"With the help of Mort's taps on Crystal Tokyo's network, we have
been able to stay ahead of Lady Jupiter's attempts to uncover
more of our operatives. While we had to evacuate six of our
people from CT, we still have enough people in place."

"You unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate Lady Jupiter. That
will only arouse further suspicions."

"That was an unfortunate accident. I had not anticipated that
Jupiter would personally investigate."

"There is also another player."

"Er, yes, the Jester. He is inconsequential."

"His antics could to tighten security around the women's
correctional facility."

"It already has," Mort broke his silence, "but I was able to
intercept the orders to the prison's warden."

There was a pause as the information was digested. "Are there any
other threats to the security of my operation?"

The raven hopped about.

"Well?"

"Er, it seems that agent Somerville is about to wake up from his
coma."

A single blue spark glided out of the darkness to alight on the
agitated raven.

>> ZZZZZAACCKKK <<

Lightning briefly arced across the raven and sent up a puff of
singed black feathers. The raven toppled to the floor.

"Nevermore," he crooked hoarsely.

"Every day we delay, the greater the risk that they will stumble
upon our plans. Mort, what do you have to report."

"My team is ready to move in 48 hours, sir. We are not as
prepared as I would like, but considering the circumstances ..."

"Can you get the job done?"

"It will not be pretty, but we will be successful."

"Very well, proceed to Crystal Tokyo as soon as expedient. You
will also be in command of Raven's assets. Start the operation at
your discretion."

"You will not be disappointed."

As the unseen presence left, the room slowly illuminated. A
slightly scorched raven struggled to his feet. "Show-off," he
complained.

Mort ignored the raven and headed toward the exit. Opening the
door, he turned back and asked the raven, "Will I be seeing you
in Crystal Tokyo?"

"Not a chance," cackled the raven. "It's not in my contract."

"Your loss." With a swirl of his clock, Mort was gone.

The raven blinked and regarded the spot where Mort had been. "I
may be greedy and evil, but I'm not stupid."

With a final burst of cackling, the raven faded away, leaving an
empty room behind.
 

<To be continued in "After The Fall, part 6">