From the Sailor Moon Expanded (SME) Universe:

After The Fall, part 8

A Tale of Crystal Tokyo by Ron Inn

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

Earlier parts of this fanfic can be found at SME's home page:

http://www.tuxedomask.com/SailorMoonExpanded/

If you don't know what's going on, you'll have to check out
the earlier portions of this fanfic. This is the last part of
eight and you'll not get a synopsis this time around . ;)

%%%%%

Ruby felt herself floating deep in a dark, cold sea. Strange
currents embraced her and pulled her through its silent waters.
Once in great while, however, the currents would carry her near
the surface of sea. Warmth would slowly seep into her numb bones
and she could almost see the shifting light from the world above.
Voices, as if from a great distance, would call to her, only to
fall silent as the tides swept her back down into the bottomless
void.

On one such occasion, Ruby distinctly felt as if someone were
holding her hand. There were people speaking, but their words
only lightly touched her uncomprehending mind.

"Hi Rei, I thought I would find you here. I see you've grown
quite attached to your charge here." Ruby liked the voice. It
gave off cheery and warm glow.

Ruby felt her hand being abruptly dropped. "I just stopped by
briefly to check on how she's progressing. She's still my
full-time job until she gets better," said a second voice, which
somehow sounded familiar to Ruby.

"I see," replied the first voice in a tone which clearly
indicated its owner's skepticism.

"And what brings you here, Minako? With flowers no less? Feeling
a little guilty about botching the rescue?"

"What do you mean by that? I saved that girl's life! How was I
supposed to know she was going to blast away on 'one.' If she had
waited until the count had reached zero, none of this would have
happened."

"Obviously she was going to shoot on one! What lame-brained baka
would wait until zero? She had to stop it before it started
transmitting!"

"Well, little Miss Perfect, if you hadn't made us wait in the
.."

Ruby felt herself fading as a third voice interrupted, "Ladies! I
must ask you to leave this instant. All this yelling ..."

As silent darkness enveloped her once again, Ruby breathed a
sigh of relief.

%%%%%

The first lucid thought Ruby had when she awoke was *My throat is
parched.* It wasn't until Ruby tried to rub her gummy eyes that
she realized how weak she felt and that her hands were swathed in
bandages. She cracked open an impossibly heavy eyelid and found
herself in an well-lit but unfamiliar room. A colorful bouquet of
flowers graced the table beside her bed. Behind it, a large window
with partially-drawn curtains let in waning rays of light from the
setting sun.

Ruby was struggling to sit up and get a better view of her
surroundings when a uniformed nurse bustled into the room.

"Oh good, you're awake. Here, let me help you." With a gentle
touch and a quick adjustment to the bed, the nurse helped Ruby
into a comfortable sitting position. "Now, is there anything else
I do for you?"

"Water," croaked a hoarse and strangely unfamiliar voice.

With calm efficiency, the nurse gave Ruby a glass of water which
Ruby sipped tentatively at first and then greedily gulped down.
Ruby supposed that she must have nodded back off to sleep,
because the next thing she knew was the nurse lightly shaking her
shoulder and presenting her with bread rolls and a large,
steaming bowl of chicken stew.

Much to her embarrassment, the heavenly aroma of the stew caused
Ruby's stomach to growl noisily. Soon, however, she was engrossed
in the simple act of consuming and savoring her first meal for
what seemed a very long time.

When the nurse returned to check on Ruby, she found her patient
already fast asleep with one hand cradling an empty bowl and the
other still holding a piece of bread.

%%%%%

Ruby awoke to the swish of curtains being drawn back and bright
light streaming in through the window.

"Time to wake up, Miss," a middle-aged woman cajoled her. "You
have a full day ahead of you."

Ruby feigned sleep until the nurse had left the room and then
attempted to sit up in order to assess her situation. A brief
bout of vertigo as the blood rushed from her brain convinced her
that scouting while lying down was her best option.

 From her vantage point on the bed, Ruby gazed out the window
and deduced that she was still in Crystal Tokyo, although exactly
where she hadn't a clue. Her room was too nice for a prison, but
didn't have the feel of the a hospital either despite the medical
equipment in the room.

With the lack of visible security, the thought of escape crossed
Ruby's mind, but she quickly dismissed it. She doubted she had
the strength to crawl out the door. Besides which, she didn't
even know where she was to begin with.

The bandages that had previously covered her hands were gone and
all that remained was soft, healthy skin. Ruby assumed she had
been injured in the transmitter explosion, but she could find no
evidence of it on her body save for the weariness that attested
to the fact that her body had survived major trauma ...

.. and also the fact that her head was still completely swathed
in bandages. Her hands trembled as she touched her face. Was
there a reason that there were no mirrors in the room? Was her
face so terribly disfigured ... no, she could not bear the
thought and pushed it away.

The room's only door opened and her nurse bustled in, carrying a
silver tray filled with unfamiliar, but tantalizing foodstuffs.
"Just a minute, dear," she said kindly, "let me help you sit up
and you can eat your breakfast."

In short order, Ruby found herself propped up in her bed with her
food before her. She felt mildly dizzy at the change of position
but it passed. She raised a fork to start eating, but stopped to
ask a question.

"Please, could you tell me where I am?"

The nurse raised an eyebrow and chuckled pleasantly as she
rearranged Ruby's flowers. "Don't you know? You're in the
Palace."

Ruby's fork dropped from her suddenly nerveless fingers. "The
Crystal Tokyo Palace?"

"Why yes? What other palace would you be in?"

"Why?" Ruby's voice acquired a tremulous tone. "What do you want
with me?"

"No need to get excited, Miss. You're perfectly safe here." The
nurse gave Ruby a concerned but puzzled look. "Eat your breakfast
before it gets cold." Ruby made no move to eat her meal, but
affixed her companion with a pleading look.

The nurse sighed. "If I tell you what I know, will you eat your
meal?" she asked. Taking Ruby's silence as assent, the nurse
continued, "Well, I can't really tell you much. You've been in an
accident and have received treatment here in the Palace. I'm to
treat you as a honored guest and I'm under strict orders as to
not inquire about your identity. I'm sure the Lady will explain
it all to you meet her."

"The Lady?"

"Yes. You're to see her in a hour so you'd better eat your
breakfast now so we can get you ready in time."

It took the remains all of Ruby's tattered discipline for her to
pick up fork again and obediently eat her breakfast. Feelings she
couldn't quite identify roiled beneath the surface and
threatening to break her calm.

*Who is 'the Lady'? She must mean Lady Rei Hino, their infamous
head of Internal Security,* Ruby reasoned. *Why then are they
treating me so kindly? Are they trying to subvert me? If so, why
now and not earlier? And my face, what has happened to it ...*

Ruby could elicit no further information out of the nurse and
settled for picking listlessly at her meal. She did not know what
to make of her situation and it put her decidedly on edge.

After breakfast was finished, the entire process of getting
cleaned up and dressed seemed to take an agonizingly long time,
but eventually the moment Ruby was dreading came.

A uniformed guard appeared at the door with an old-fashioned
wheel chair in hand. At least Ruby had thought it primitive until
the guard activated and the chair somehow magically plucked her
from the bed, smoothly levitating her into its seat. With no
further fanfare, the guard wheeled her out into the corridor.

As the chair glided effortlessly through the palace corridors,
Ruby could not help but be impressed at wide and airy halls, the
elegant art and the general feeling of welcome and warmth she
felt from this place. It was so unlike the cold, stark foreboding
of her clan's ancestral manor. The people that passed by seemed
at equally at ease unlike the guarded suspicion that was second
nature to anyone who had survived to reach a high position in
the clan.

One conversation in particular attracted her attention.

"You didn't have to be so rude to that New Rome diplomat, you
know." A tall young lady was lecturing a disinterested white
persian cat.

To Ruby's astonishment, the cat replied snootily, "He asked you
where you had bought me. As if I were a common house pet!
Obviously, he was a fool. What's wrong with stating the truth?"

On Nemesis, there was only one Cat that could talk, Rudra.
Ancient beyond reckoning, his wisdom was much sought after and
treasured. The thought that there could be others like him
boggled Ruby's mind. That they might be held here in such casual
regard only deepened her confusion.

Ruby was still pondering this when her chair stopped in front of
a pair of elegant, wooden sliding doors. Her escort knocked twice
and announced, "Your guest has arrived, your Highness."

*Your Highness?* Ruby's heart skipped a few beats.

The doors slid open with a rustle and Ruby was too bewildered to
object as she was wheeled through the door and transferred to a
cushioned chair, apparently prepared for her in advance. The room
itself had an understated beauty to it. The floor was covered by
tatami mats while tasteful pieces of sculpture and paintings were
placed around the periphery of the room. Towards the back of the
room, a small brook ran, burbling over rocks and flowing into
small pools.

It looked like she had interrupted an informal tea party with its
participants either kneeling on mats or seated upon low
platforms. Seated before her was a young woman dressed in a plain
white gown and around her three other teenagers in causal dress.
There were also two cats. A white one was sleeping while the other, also
white but with a tinge of purple on the tips of her ears, regarded
her with a marked disinterest.

Ruby barely noticed that her escort had left the room until doors
closed with thump. In the tense moment of silence that followed,
it seemed to Ruby that the woman before her was looking at
someone behind her, but when Ruby glanced over her shoulder, no
one was there.

The teenager with long, black hair cleared her throat and said,
"Your Highness, may I present to you Ruby, formerly of the Black
Moon Clan?"

"Now Rei," the woman in white admonished, "there's no need to be
so formal here. Ruby, I'm Queen Serenity and these are my friends
Lady Hino Rei, Lady Aino Minako, and Lady Mizuno Ami."

Her eyes as wide as dinner plates, Ruby was only able to choke
out, "Your Highness ... I'm pleased to meet you." It was quite
incomprehensible to Ruby that she would be brought into presence
of Queen Serenity much less the three Senshi who had totally
demolished her team months before. In fact, they all looked so
normal and unassuming that Ruby was tempted to believe that this
was either a fever-induced hallucination or a twisted practical
joke.

"Well Ruby, would you like some tea?" asked the Queen who started
pouring out a cup.

"Your Highness," interrupted Lady Mizuno gently, "it might be
wiser if she drank the herbal blend we talked about earlier.
Caffeine would be unwise at this point."

"How forgetful of me -- you're quite right."

Lady Mizuno produced a second tea pot and served Ruby a steaming
cup of the concoction. The liquid had a light greenish tint and
Ruby looked at it doubtfully.

"Ami, I'll have some of that as well," volunteered Lady Hino.

Once Lady Hino had taken a few sips of the herbal tea, Ruby felt
reassured enough to drink her own. It was very soothing and had a
slightly tart, almost woody taste.

"Would you like some cream puffs as well? They are very good,"
offered the Queen, but Ruby politely declined.

"You may be wondering why we invited you here," stated Lady
Mizuno getting down to business. "Basically, you have a choice to
make.

"Officially, there are two people currently in a coma: one named
Rachel Takae and one named Ruby. Only one will survive. Your
choice will determine which one survives."

Ruby blanched and choked on her tea.

"Ami! You're scaring the poor girl." Lady Hino pulled out a
handkerchief and gently handed it to Ruby. "Here, let me explain.

"You have made some very powerful enemies by foiling Garnet's
plans. After the insult you have dealt him, we know that he won't
rest until he sees you dead. That would seem to leave us no
choice but to lock you up in a veritable fortress for the
foreseeable future.

"There is, however, another alternative. As far as the world
knows, right now both Rachel and yourself lie in a deep coma
hovering near death. You could assume the identity of Rachel and
we'd let the world and Nemesis know that Ruby has died."

Ruby was about to ask about the fate of Rachel when she suddenly
realized why Lady Hino's voice sounded so familiar. "You're
Rachel," she said with a flash of insight.

Rei gave her a nod and a small smile. "I've been called by that
name before."

"Then ..." It was hard for Ruby to order her thoughts. *Why was
the Head of Internal Security my caseworker? What do they want
from me?*

Noting her guest's anxiety and confusion, Queen Serenity said "I
know that this is all very sudden for you. Perhaps another time
would ..."

"No, wait!" Ruby exclaimed before remembering herself. "Please
forgive me, Your Highness. I'm fine -- Just give me a moment."
She told a few deep breaths to clear her head. It didn't seem to
help much.

"So ... you are offering me the chance to pass myself off as
Rachel instead of locking me up?" Ruby studied Queen Serenity
intently, as if by sheer force of will she could discern her
inner thoughts. "Pardon my bluntness, your Highness, but why you
are doing this? You cannot expect me to believe that you are
making this offer just for my benefit? Aren't we enemies?"

Serenity smiled sadly, "Ruby, you aren't my enemy unless you
decide to make yourself my enemy.

"I could tell you that we are offering this to you because of the
service you rendered in destroying Garnet's transmitter. Or that
we want to save the expense of guarding you from Garnet's
retribution. Both are be partially true but not the whole truth."

"I will not betray my Clan," Ruby stated defiantly.

Rei and Ami exchanged glances. After an uncomfortable silence,
Lady Aino said softly, "We would not ask you to betray your Clan.
Though if you were to offer your help against them, we would not
refuse it."

"I'm afraid my real reasons must remain hidden for now," the
Queen said mildly before locking her gaze with Ruby's. "But I can
tell you this: I have seen your heart and we have more in common
than you know. Kidnapping those children is one of the many
wrongs you've done during your life, but I know that within you,
there is a capacity to accomplish a great deal of good."

Ruby tore her eyes away from Serenity's, troubled for a reason
she couldn't identify.

"Besides," Serenity continued in a lighter tone. "It gives me no
small pleasure to show kindness and, in doing so, frustrate the
desires of Garnet and Demand."

*She can't be for real,* Ruby thought dazedly, fighting the
irrational thought she might be trustworthy after all. "So
you're just going to let me go?" she asked skeptically.

"Not exactly," responded Ami brusquely. "What we are offering you
is parole with certain conditions attached. I have the document
here if you would like to read it."

With bandages still swaddling her head, Ruby felt in no condition
to read a legal document, but reached for it anyway.

"Ami, why don't you just give her a quick summary," Rei
suggested.

Ami shrugged and said, "The conditions of your parole would be as
follows:

1) You must keep your identity a secret and may not contact any
Nemesian or any agent of Nemesian employ.

2) You must pledge to obey the laws and statues of Crystal Tokyo
and pledge not to work against the welfare Crystal Tokyo or
its citizens.

3) You are to wear a tracking and power damping device at all
times. Damaging or losing said device will violate your parole.

4) You are to provide restitution to the victims of the crime you
committed.

5) You are to meet with your parole officer once a month and
comply with her instructions.

6) You are to find and maintain gainful employment."

"Your parole would last three years," Rei added gently. "After
that you'd be free to go."

Compared to the seven years of her original sentence, Ruby knew
this was quite a deal. *But there has to be a catch,* she told
herself.

"Would you be my parole officer?" she asked Rei.

"Yes."

"And what is this restitution, I'd have to perform?"

Rei glanced at Minako, who said, "Obviously you cannot reveal
your identity to the families involved. As far as they will know,
you died in the prison break. There will come a time, however,
when both families will be in dire need. Your charge, should you
accept it, is to help them in any way you can at that time."

Ruby was puzzled by such a strange requirement. "You've got to be
joking."

"As Matriarch of the Ainos, I am deadly serious."

It was then Ruby remembered that one of the children she
kidnapped was one of Minako's descendants. "Gomen, I understand,"
she stuttered.

After a uncomfortable silence, Ruby turned her attention back to
Queen Serenity and asked, "Please tell me the truth. How does
this help you? Where is the catch?"

"As I said before, my reasons are my own, Ruby." Serenity picked
up her cup and took a slow and deliberate sip of tea. "But as far
as you are concerned, there is no catch. I give you Our word on
that."

Ruby fumbled with her tea cup, momentarily taken aback. The
interview was not going at all as she expected. That the Queen
would bother to give Her word to a beaten and defeated foe --
Ruby could scarcely believe her ears. *Only a fool would show
kindness to an enemy. I would be doubly a fool to be so credulous
as to believe them,* Ruby told herself to bolster her
convictions.

"I have one last question." Ruby took a deep breath and hoped
that her voice wouldn't quaver. "Why are all these bandages
around my head?" she asked as she touched the gauze covering her
cheek with trembling hand. "Is there something wrong with my
face?"

Queen Serenity's eyebrows twitched and she glanced over to Rei.
"Haven't you talked to her about that yet?"

Rei shook her head. "There wasn't any time. Besides, I think
Minako should do the explaining."

"Me?" Minako exclaimed in disbelief. "It's as much your ..."
Minako's tirade came to screeching halt as she caught a stern
glare from Queen Serenity.

"My apologies, Ruby." Serenity said gently. "We did not mean to
keep you in suspense about your condition. Do you remember what
happened to you?"

"Umm..." Ruby paused and tried to remember. "I was arguing with
G... someone and then I powered up to destroy the transmitter."
*Now why the heck did I do something stupid like that?* she asked
herself.

"And then what?"

"I think something grabbed me the moment I let loose on the
transmitter ... I must have blacked out afterwards; I don't
remember anything else."

Taking a hint from the Queen, Minako said, "Both Rei and I
witnessed your conversation with Garnet, but your willingness to
destroy the transmitter threw us off guard. It was my intention
to snatch you away before the explosion took place.
Unfortunately, I was a little late and you were partially caught
in the explosion.

"I was unable to control your trajectory and you impacted on some
loose masonry."

"She means that you hit a wall," Rei added helpfully.

Minako shot Rei a dirty look. "Part of a wall," Minako corrected
her and then resumed speaking to Ruby. "I regret that I did not
act sooner and prevent your accident. I can only hope that you
will come to forgive me," Minako said while bowing her head.

"I ..." Ruby was speechless.

"Ruby, don't worry," Ami said reassuringly. "We had our best
surgeons work on repairing your injuries. In reconstructing your
face, they decided to try to achieve the best result with what
they had to work with."

"Best result?" Ruby did not like the sound that.

"We could have tried to recreate your original features, but that
had some risk attached to it. If you'd like your original face
back, we'll need to do some more follow-up surgery once your body
has more time to recover."

Ami pulled out a mirror. "Minako, would you hold this while I get
those bandages off?"

Ruby had originally pegged Lady Mizuno as being tough and
unfeeling and wondered at her apparent change in mannerism in the
past few minutes. Her touch was gentle but sure and soon Ruby
could feel fresh, cool air on her face again. As the last bandage
fell away, Minako, Serenity and Rei crowded in for a better look.

"Uhh, Ami. Is her skin supposed to look like that?" asked Minako.

"It'll be a little splotchy until it heals a bit more," answered
Ami absently as she studied Ruby's features intently.

"Well, I think she looks lovely," Queen Serenity affirmed.

"What about the hair?" asked Rei.

"Give it a little time. We've accelerated its growth." Ami paused
and noticed her mirror was lying on the ground. "Minako, what are
you doing? Hold up the mirror so Ruby can see!"

After all the suspense, Ruby had braced herself for the worse.
She imagined scars, drooping eyelids and a crooked nose. As if in
slow motion, the mirror swung up and then she saw someone she
didn't recognize. When she brought her hand up to her mouth, a
hand appeared in the mirror as well and so she knew that she was
looking at herself.

Ruby had never considered herself as being very pretty. Her high
cheekbones and strong nose had precluded that. But she believed
that her face had a certain amount of class and that, with the
right touches, she possessed a severe sort of beauty.

She recognized her eyes in the mirror; they had not changed. As
for the rest, rather than the twisted visage she had expected,
the face looking back at her was shockingly normal. Her nose was
appreciably smaller now, straight and perfectly formed. Her
cheekbones were no longer as prominent as before. With the subtle
changes in her forehead and eyebrows, they gave her face a
softer, more forgiving look. Ruby turned her head to the side and
noted that her jaw and chin followed more gentle and artful curve
than that which she had been born.

Staring intently into the mirror, she thought she could see some
slight asymmetry due to her injuries, but that could be the due
to the splotchiness of her tender and still healing skin. To her
mild surprise, the symbol of her clan, the inverted black crescent
moon, still adorned her brow.

It took a few seconds for Ruby to realize that she was crying.

"Ruby, will you please tell me what's wrong?" asked Rei gently
after a few uncomfortable moments.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong," responded Ruby as dabbed the tears
from her eyes and wrestled her feelings back under control. "I
think ... your doctors did a very good job. Please convey to them
my thanks."

Ruby closed her eyes and took a couple deep breaths before
continuing. "It's just that I can never go back to the way I was
before. I knew that before in my heart, but now that's become
true outside as well." She gave a short, bitter laugh. "If you're
playing straight with me, I accept your offer of parole and the
identity of Rachel Takae."

Queen Serenity beamed. "Consider it done. Ami will finalize the
paperwork with you later. There are a couple last things to take
care of ..."

Ruby tensed.

"We'll need to remove your clan mark. I easily can do that here
so that we won't need to rebandage your head to hide it."

Ruby nodded her assent.

"Lastly, I sense that you have been tainted by energy from the
Dark Crystal. I can cleanse it from you, but only if you permit
me."

"The Dark Crystal?" asked Ruby, confused.

"You'll have to trust me, Ruby. Will you allow me to remove that
taint?"

Alarm bells were ringing in Ruby's head. *This is where she gets
you! It's a trap!* an inner voice shouted. But somehow Ruby found
herself nodding her assent a second time.

A brilliant jewel appeared in Serenity's right hand. It pulsed
for a heartbeat before flaring into a miniature sun. For Ruby, the
world turned white and the jewel's unforgiving light felt
unbearable until she felt something like a dark shadow give way
and pass from her heart. The ensuing sense of relief she felt was
so profound, Ruby barely noticed the world returning to normal
around her.

"Serenity, you promised!" Ami chided.

"What?"

"Her skin." Ami frowned and gestured towards Ruby.

"Oh, that. I thought I might as well fix it while I was dealing
with the tattoo. It took hardly any effort at all."

"Serenity, you know how much it demoralizes the medical staff
when you start randomly healing people."

"They don't have to know," countered Serenity petulantly. "What
they don't know won't hurt them."

Ruby looked in the mirror that Lady Aino was still holding. Her
skin was now perfect. Not just healed, but her skin had a creamy
complexion that many had tried to achieve with make-up and other
means but invariably failed. Her hair seemed to have grown in a
bit as well.

Unable to help herself, Ruby yawned. She suddenly felt very, very
tired.

"You must be exhausted, Ruby." Serenity observed, deftly changing
the topic. "Minako, would you please see _Rachel_ to her room?"

"With pleasure, Your Majesty," responded Minako with a smile and
bow. In short measure, a wheelchair appeared and Ruby was wheeled
out of the tea room by Minako who immediately started suggesting
things that Rachel could do with her hair. The conversation was
fairly one-sided as the newly christened Rachel fought merely to
stay awake.

After the pair departed, the white mooncat who had been feigning
sleep near the brook stood up and stretched. "I'll go keep an eye
on those two," Artemis remarked as he padded out after them. "No
telling what trouble Minako will get her into."

The second cat got up and sauntered to the middle of the room. It
blurred and grew until the familiar form of Margrave stood in its
place. Human in form and feline in appearance, she was last of
the true youma. For centuries, she could not venture beyond the
borders of Crystal Tokyo because of the low magic ambient outside
of Crystal Tokyo's mana well. This, however, was about to change.

Margrave extended her claws lazily and inspected her perfect (as
always) manicure. "So, that is the young pup you want me to look
after? Doesn't look like much."

"Yes, she's the one," replied the Queen.

"Let me see if I have this right. You are hiring me to look after
this kid for a year and in return, you'll give me the same
package you gave Magnesite -- the ability to survive outside of
mana wells?"

The Queen nodded.

Margrave tilted her head and cocked an eyebrow. "In my book, 'to
look after' doesn't include defending someone from assassins,
supernatural attacks or intergalactic aliens. You aren't implying
any of that, are you?"

Ami spoke up, "All we want is for you to show her the ropes of
how to function in Crystal Tokyo society, get her business off
the ground and stay out of trouble."

"And if someone or something tries to kill her?"

"That's not part of your contract."

Margrave bowed her head in thought. *Is there something here I'm
missing?* she asked herself.

"I accept your contract," Margrave purred. "But I require payment
in advance. Nothing personal your Highness, it's just my standard
business practice for these types of contracts."

Ami, Rei and Serenity exchanged glances. Serenity simply said
"Done" and there was a burst of light around Margrave.

"That's it?" asked Margrave unbelievingly, for once losing her
cool facade.

"That's it," smiled Serenity.

Margrave bowed deeply. "It's a pleasure doing business with you
your Highness. With your permission, I'll take my leave."
Margrave turned to exit the room, but paused at the door. "By the
way, what _is_ the reason that you are so interested in Ruby?"

Before Serenity could respond, Rei said, "If you really wanted to
know, you should have included it the price of your
contract."

Margrave's eyes hardened fractionally. "No matter," she said
dismissively and swept from the room.

After the door closed behind Margrave, the three remaining
friends sipped tea in companionable silence.

"You know, she's going to try her best to find out 'the reason'
now," observed Ami.

"She'll have a difficult time considering that there is no deeper
reason," Rei replied with an overly innocent expression.

"Rei, you are cruel!" Serenity giggled. "Besides, as I told you
before, there is a reason. That is to bring the Nemesians over to
'Love & Justice' one small step at a time."

Rei set down her tea cup and faced her friend. "I hate to admit
it, Serenity, but you were right. You were right about a great
many things."

"Why, Rei ..." Serenity started, flustered by the turn of
conversation.

"Please, your Highness, allow me continue before I lose my
nerve." Rei took a deep breath. "... I've decided to take a
sabbatical ..."

"Nani!" sputtered Ami, bobbling her teacup and nearly spilling
its contents.

"I know it would be for a long time, but I have full confidence
that Ami can perform my duties competently. I see clearly now
that my lack of time off has impaired my judgment and prevented
me from serving you to the best of my ability."

"Rei," Serenity said carefully, "I'm not sure what to say..."

"Wish me well, your Highness. I leave tomorrow for Hawaii and
then perhaps on to Madagascar."

Serenity nodded absently and Ami looked on with a stricken
expression as Rei bowed and left the room.

Through the Tea room's video feeds, Sally watch the tableau
intently. She had learned long ago that her Queen and her court
knew one another so well that they could communicate volumes
without speaking a word. As she watched the silent exchange
between her mother and Queen Serenity, Sally amused herself by
providing subtitles.

After taking a sip from her tea cup, Ami's left eyebrow twitched
and her lips thinned slightly. /This is all your fault, you
know,/ Sally interpreted.

Queen Serenity's eyes widened innocently as she set down her cup.
/Me? How can this be my fault?/

Ami retaliated with a coolly skeptical stare. /Don't pretend to
not know what I'm talking about./

The queen calmly selected a small, delectable cream puff and bit
into it leisurely. /You know as well as I do that Rei has needed
some time off from her job. Surely we can all sacrifice a little
for her sake./

As Ami put down her tea cup, her expression softened a bit for a
second before the corner of her mouth quirked upward and a
mischievous twinkle entered her eyes. /That may be true, but
don't think you're going to be exempt from doing a little
sacrificing yourself./

Aloud she said, "Morale in Internal Security hasn't quite
recovered since the prison break. In addition to a general sense
of failure, there has been a lot of finger-pointing and friction
between various departments."

"Oh, really?" Serenity responded with a hint of trepidation.

"I would really appreciate it if you could come to a couple staff
meetings, visit the departments, address the troops; that sort of
thing."

"You know, my schedule is quite busy for this month. Maybe if I
pencil you in next month we could ..."

"Your Highness," Ami addressed her formally, in flat unyielding
tone. "I really must insist. For the sake of your officers, of
course."

Serenity sighed in defeat and nodded.

"Your Highness is too kind." Ami stood up and bowed formally
before leaving the room.

Sally watched on as Serenity thoughtfully finished the last of
her tea and pastries. *I wonder if should tell them,* Sally
mused. Sally did her best to keep abreast of the happenings
within the Palace, especially where the Sailor Senshi were
concerned. That is why she knew that none of the palace shuttles
had been booked by Rei -- Not to Hawaii and least of all not to
Madagascar.

Furthermore, there was some interesting paperwork being completed
for Sue-Ellen, Rei's alter-ego. It seems that Sue-Ellen was due
to be released from prison tomorrow and had booked a two-week
stay at a hotel not far from what would become Ruby's new
workplace.

*No,* concluded Sally, *Auntie Rei isn't going far and won't be
away for very long either. Should I tell mom or the Queen?*

It didn't take long for Sally to decide to keep Rei's little
secret quiet. Sally had learned fairly early in life that no one
liked a meddler and if there was one person in particular one
shouldn't meddle with, it was Rei Hino.

Besides, it was more fun this way.


%%%%%

The data crystal bounced off the wall and skittered across the
floor. It was miraculously unharmed by its ordeal and if it had
feelings, it would have been quite relieved. Unfortunately the
crystal's respite was short-lived as it was scooped up and thrown
again, this time against different wall. As if resigning itself to
its sorry fate, the crystal obligingly shattered into a few pieces.

Pumice sank to her knees in the center of her quarters. Breaking
the data crystal had done little to raise her spirits. *Ruby is
dead,* she thought dully, *and I killed her.*

*All I wanted was to give her a chance for closure. Either for Ruby
to call Dad nasty names and leave or somehow worm her way back
into his good graces. I never thought _this_ would happen.*

"Ruby, you baka," Pumice sighed aloud. "Why did you have to go
and kill yourself?" Ever since news of Garnet's botched operation
had reached her, Pumice had been procuring illicit copies of
Crystal Tokyo's newscasts; hoping that Ruby would recover from
her coma. Today's report of Ruby's death and subsequent cremation
had affected Pumice more than she was willing to admit. She felt
like crying, but the tears just wouldn't come.

"It's not like I was really friends with her," Pumice rationalized.
"Well, maybe I liked her a little sometimes. I just feel responsible."

Pumice had acquired a copy of her father's after action report of
his botched operation. Garnet reported that Ruby had turned traitor
to the Clan and, in a fit of madness, destroyed the final data
transmitter with the suicidal intention of blowing herself up as
well.

*That's so unlike Ruby; I can't believe she would do that. Yet,
what other explanation is there?* The gears in Pumice's head started
to churn. *What if Daddy's operation was already a failure when Ruby
showed up? What if he needed a scapegoat to take the blame?*

A chill ran up Pumice's spine and she shook her head. *Daddy
wouldn't do anything like that, would he? Sure he already used
Ruby as a scapegoat and kicked her out of the Clan, but he certainly
wouldn't stoop to killing her ... *

Her room felt much colder now. Pumice pulled her knees up to
her chest and sat that way for a long, long time.

%%%%%

It was a bright and beautiful day when Ruby strolled down the
sidewalk towards her new place of work. A flute case firmly
gripped in one hand, she felt as if she didn't have a care in the
world. She had stopped by a quaint music store along the way, and
while she hadn't had enough money for a top-of-the-line model,
she was able to secure a good deal on a nice flute with a slight
pout and fluttering of eyelashes. She was as gratified with her
purchase as with the knowledge that she had kept her touch even
with her new look.

Ruby entered the slightly seedy office building -- seedy by
Crystal Tokyo standards, of course, which just meant it didn't
shine and glisten in sunlight. She took the elevator to the third
floor and stopped in front of an old wood door. The lettering on
the door read "Magnesite Investigations".

"Home, sweet home," Ruby muttered to herself. She'd have to get
that changed soon, now that she was setting up her own
investigative practice. She'd balked at the idea at first, but it
did make a strange kind of sense given her talents. She had also
received the distinct impression that the Queen herself had
suggested this particular vocation. Ruby couldn't imagine why.

For that matter, she still couldn't figure out the meaning of why
the Chief of Crystal Tokyo's Internal security had been her
prison caseworker for several months. There were many things that
wasn't making sense and Ruby was sure _something_ was afoot, but
for the sake of her own sanity, she decided to push those
concerns aside and concentrate on getting settled.

After unlocking the door and pushing it open, Ruby was assailed
with the smell of stale cigar smoke. Gagging slightly, she
managed to get the windows open and air out the place before
losing her lunch. It was going to take a heck of a lot of
cleaning to make this place livable.

Ruby took a look around the place after the fresh air from the
window revived her. She had three rooms: the front foyer complete
with a receptionist's desk, an office with an old beat-up wooden
desk and swivel chair, and a small adjoining living area
consisting of a bed, kitchenette and bathroom. Not a bad set-up,
once Ruby could get all the grime cleaned up. Lady Hino mentioned
that a contact person, Margrave, was supposed stop by to help
out. Ruby hoped that this Margrave person knew of an industrial-
strength cleaning service.

Ruby wandered into the office and sat down at the desk. As she
leaned back in her chair, she idly started opening up the desk
drawers. In the lowest left drawer, she found a surprise.

It was a stuffed bear, complete with tie, trenchcoat and a
funny-looking looking hat. "Well, what's your name?" Ruby asked
the bear as she straightened his hat and set him on the desk. Also
in the drawer, she found a human-sized version of that particular
hat; it was called a fedora, if she remembered correctly.

Acting on impulse, she set the fedora on her head and pulled the
brim low over her eyes -- only to lift it suddenly and glance
about the office. She could have sworn that she had seen a man in
a fedora and tan trenchcoat out of the corner of her eye.

But there was definitely no one else in the room. Ruby wrote it
off to an over-active imagination.

She stretched and rose from the desk. Leaning against the window
sill, she gazed upon the street below her. The daylight was
already starting to wane and the steady stream of pedestrians and
aircars thickened and swirled below her.

*I'm still far from Nemesis,* Ruby reflected as she thought about
her journey over the past few months. *And yet, that doesn't seem
to bother me as much as before.*

She twisted the silver bracelet that rested on her left wrist. It
was both a power limiter, a tracking device and a symbol of the
invisible chains that bound her to Crystal Tokyo for the next
three years. *Even with this, I feel more ... free than I have in
a long time. Three years to explore this alien city -- the time
should just fly by.*

Ruby picked up the stuffed bear from the desk and hugged it as
the last golden rays of dusk fled before the starry evening sky.

<fini>

%%%%%%%

A special thanks to the SME crew for ideas and encouragement
throughout the writing of this 'fic. Y'all rock! =)