A Decent Dive

A Magnesite Adventure by Ron Inn


It was a cold and dreary night through which I shepherded my "package" to its
temporary destination.  My so-called package had long fallen into an uneasy
silence of which I heartily approved. One might surmise that the silence was
the natural reaction of someone wearing a metal collar which could blow
his head off.  I was largely unconcerned.

I was far more concerned that the night was not cold and dreary as was
appropriate for this kind of caper. It was just too much to hope for one
decently crummy night in this disgustingly utopian burg called Crystal Tokyo.
Each season there was mind-crushingly monotonous parade of perfectly
beautiful days followed by clear, lovely nights. It was more than enough to
drive any sane youma perfectly insane. Lucky me, I no longer have to worry
about staying sane. I adjusted my fedora, brushed off the ruby broach on my
lapel and hiked up the collar of my well-worn trenchcoat and did my best to
ward off the pleasantness of the night.

My charge was breathing quite heavily by the time we made it to outside of the
eating dive in which I had decided to make my stand. We had covered an
alot of ground in a short time. I let him catch his breath while I surrep-
titiously cased the joint.

There was no customers. Lady Luck was with me and I was on a roll. A few more
breaks and I might see another dismally cheery sunrise.  I lit up a cigar.
Savoring a couple of leisurely puffs, I reflected that youma cuisine had
always seemed to go better with a cheap cigar.

%%%%%

In a short time, I had hustled the solitary waitress and cook out the door
with a wad of cash and some thinly veiled threats. I was sure they would go
straight to my pursuers, but that was inconsequential. I had already felt the
start of magical scans blanketing the city and knew it was a short matter of
time before pierced my best attempts to cloak my magical aura. None could hope
hide from the magical might of Serenity in her own city.

I hummed the song "As Time Goes By" while I parked my package in a shadowy
corner and nonchalantly took out a few ceiling lights with a chair.  Tearing a
slate menu board off the wall, I gave it to my charge to hold. He glowered at
me with unveiled animosity. I glowered right on back.

"You be on your best behavior, kid," I grated out. "You are to stand here and
make like a wall. " My left hand rippled and produced a small remote.   It had
two buttons, one of which I kept carefully depressed at all times. "One peep,
one twitch out of you and you won't need a barber ... ever.  Get it?"

For a split second, it looked like he might jump me, but he regained control
over himself. "Yeah, I got it ... Slime!"

I forced a tight smile on my face as I pushed the second button on the remote.
My charge immediately bit back a cry of pain and fell to his knees grasping a
thick tubular collar that was around his neck.

"I'm so glad we understand each other, kid," I remarked turning my back to
him and taking another drag from my cigar. As he gasped to regain his breath,
I continued, "Your bone-filled head better remember that your collar's
detonator is a deadman's switch. If anyone plugs and plants me, you're coming
along for the ride."

I waited for the schmuck to regain his composure.  Technically he was right. I
am slime ... or psychoplasm to use the politically correct term. There are
many advantages to having a body made purely of psychoplasm: shape-shifting,
the ability to phase through solid objects and being injury-resistant among
them.  But there were countless nights where I would dream of smelling roasted
Graxat or tasting some charred Jundroot again with my original youma senses.
Waking from those dreams were the worst part of it: To be back in this body
with only the rudimentary senses that I could duplicate with psychoplasm. I was
tempted to shock this joker a second time for reminding me ... but time was
slipping away.  I sank the remote back inside my hand taking care to keep
pressure on the deadman's switch.

I hauled my charge back to his feet and put the slate board back into his
still trembling hands. "Now stand still," I commanded and fished a piece of
chalk from a pocket.

I hadn't nearly reached the rank of general in the Dark Kingdom for nothing.
With all the speed I could muster, I scribbled arcane signs and symbols across
the slate. In a few moments, I was finished and I cast a simple concealment charm
over the schmuck with slate. It would only fool the unwary eye, but that's all I
needed.

"I'm not a schmuck," the schmuck said.

Some century I'm going to break the bad habit of slipping into narrating
aloud.  I reached over and drew a symbol on his head that shimmered as I drew
it. Then I stuck the chalk in the schmuck's mouth like a cigarette.

"There, now you won't be doing nothing nor saying nothing. If I say you're a
schmuck, you're a schmuck ... You're a schmuck."

Pulling down the tip of my fedora, I whistled a morose tune as I made for the
kitchen's refrigerator.

%%%%%

The dive I had picked to make my last stand in was called Renagades Haven. It
is the only restaurant in the world that serves authentic food from the Dark
Kingdom, my beloved homeland.  Unfortunately, the Dark Kingdom was obliterated
by a then-teenaged girl named Sailor Moon, now know as Queen Serenity. With the
passing of that Kingdom also went all threat of pillaging, ravaging and burning
the earth and its inhabitants  -- but I am waxing nostalgic.

The Haven is owned by a group of outcasts from the Dark Kingdom, called
Renegades. In the good old days, we systematically stomped out any Renegades
we could find. Apparently this was one group that was missed and somehow
escaped the destruction of the Dark Kingdom.  Worst yet, they were right under
my nose, I never suspected it. Here in this world, they ended up befriending
Sailor Moon and her companions, the Sailor Senshi -- even helping them in
their fight for love and cutiseyness.

Naturally there was a bit of bad blood between me and them and it eventually
got me locked up in a crystal for longer than I want to recall.  In the
crystal, my mind was falling to pieces but then I remembered the incredible
man, Humphrey Bogart, and his classic movies.

I replayed those movies again and again in my mind to keep myself sane. There
was Casablanca, the Big Sleep, the Maltese Falcon, the MAN, Humphrey Bogart,
Casablanca, the Maltese Falcon, the ... the MAN, Humphrey Bogart,  the ...

It's something I try not to reminisce about if I can help it.

When they released me from the crystal, they claimed it was "Out of Serenity's
mercy." A strange sort of mercy it seemed to me at the time. Since then I've
been on sort of a parole. A parole in the sense that I can't leave Crystal
Tokyo.

The old Dark Kingdom was awash in magic; it had a rich ambient background of
mana that just permeated the place. Earth today, it turns out, has almost no
ambient mana -- except in near wellsprings of magic called mana wells. Crystal
Tokyo sits on one of the premier mana wells in the world. Being innately
magical creatures, Youma, like yours truly, can't survive without that ambient
mana around us. It as necessary to us as air is to humans.

The Renegades also lived under this restriction until one day Serenity
magically altered them to be able survive outside of the wells. Me, I'm stuck
in Crystal Tokyo. I'd be able to survive near any of the other mana wells in
the world, but how would I ever get to them? Wandering out of a mana well has
a particular nasty effect on me now that I'm only made of psychoplasm: I tend
to melt faster than an ice cube on a hot pancake griddle.

Sailor Mars, a.k.a. Rei, is effectively my parole officer checking up on me
monthly and making sure I don't run amuck a hurt some of their precious
citizenry. I also top her list of "usual suspects" to round up if anyone skins
their knee or blows their nose too hard. After a couple centuries, you'd think
she'd give it up.  Then again you'd also suspect that after spending almost a
millennia as the security director in Utopia would drive her battier than any
crystal prison could. That dame is made up of some pretty tough stuff.

So for the past two centuries I've been a gumshoe and law-abiding citizen of
Crystal Tokyo. Well, as law-abiding as any respectable gumshoe should be  --
as far as the Senshi know.  I like to think that old Bogie would be proud.

As for the Renegades, Titanite and Pyrite are still wary of me because of the
scare I gave them before being put in the slammer.  Whenever we meet Azurite
looks at me as if wondering how it would be to roast me over a slow fire. As
for the leader of that little band, I have no doubts that Calcite, once my
right-hand man, would dispatch me without a second thought if he ever assesses
me as a threat.

Of them all, only Titanite is in my nightmares. She was a cute, innocent and
helpless kid when we first met.  After being released from my prison, I found
that she had grown into quite a powerful, formidable women with a nasty desire
to irreversibly transform my body into that of a short, brown & furry teddy
bear. With big eyes and a smile. I'm sure she'd do the deed with relish if I
ever give her an excuse to.

That's the trouble with kids; they grow up too fast.

Where was I?  Oh, yeah, the dive. Well, the first twenty years of my life I
spent looking for a decent bar or dive.  In a city where teenagers consider
spitting on the sidewalk an act of daring rebellion, I guess I shouldn't have
been surprised that my search only turned-up spotlessly clean and
well-mannered pubs and cafes.

I did find a suitable dive once, Ed's Eatery.  Half the lights were out.
Pieces of bottles and old pretzels littered the floor.  Ed, the owner, was
intent on drinking himself into oblivion.  I even saw a rat ... OK, I admit it
was probably an escaped hamster.  It wasn't much, but at least it was a step
in the right direction.

I was kept from returning to Ed's for a couple of days by a missing puppy
case. When got back to Ed's, the unforgivable had happened. All traces of Ed's
Eatery were gone! In its place was Sally's Tot's Toys and Confectionery!

After initial shock wore off, I realized that this was my big chance to
finally get to the underbelly of Crystal Tokyo: To find out what _really_
happens to all the misfits and miscreants in Serenity's happy little family.
After some clandestine digging and sleuthing, I discovered that Ed had been
enrolled in a 12-step program. Not to be fooled, I tracked him down and
confronted him in The Happy Hope Halfway House. There he told me that his
recovery was well underway and was eagerly looking forward to his pending
career change to "overcoming addiction counseling". In a thoughtful mood, I
then proceeded to the Southeast park where I started kicking as many squirrels
as I could find until Rei showed up and restrained me by pounding me a couple
feet into the ground.

In defeat, I finally decided to risk life and limb by dining at the Renegades
Haven.  Its somber atmosphere and authentic youma food was an irresistible
attraction, despite the fact the aforementioned owners would like nothing more
than to pin my hide to the wall.  To my surprise, I was only greeted by dark
stares and looks at the beginning and then after several decades, a grudging
acceptance. The Renegades' and my schedules were sufficiently busy that we'd
rarely end up dining in the Cafe together, but there were occasional instances
were they'd invite me to share a table with them and reminisce about the old
country. It never did get too friendly; one night my narrating-aloud slip
earned me a flesh prong in the noggin' and a boot out the window.

Once in a while, I'd get together with Margrave for a meal there. She's the
only other real youma in existence and still sharp as a dagger. Once in a
while, it's nice to be able to talk to someone who is like-minded and not
contaminated by all the sweetness and light of Crystal Tokyo. Despite all the
IOU's I owe her and the hard bargains she drives, I have to admit she has
mellowed over the years ... but don't tell her I said that.

Renegades Haven really doesn't have many other customers because good youma
food should send the average human screaming out the door in terror. Some
times the Renegades have their senshi friends over, but those were rare
indeed.  Still I was relieved that none of them were present when I arrived.

In a fit of divine Bogie brilliance, I had chosen to take my stand in the
Haven for one very good reason: When my pursuers caught up to me, they'd be
less likely to stand across the street and blow me and their beloved Haven to
smithereens without first asking me to step outside.

%%%%%

Returning from the kitchen with a simple salad, I set myself down at a table
in the center of the room with the schmuck off to my right and behind me.  I
decided to forgo the traditional barbed and hooked utensils in favor of a
small fork.  No use in giving any of my soon-to-be-guests itchy trigger
fingers.

My salad of mimic fungus squirmed and slithered in an attempt to escape my
plate, but two experienced whacks of my fist settled them right down. I took a
pull from my nearly spent cigar. My best attempts to replicate taste buds were
still woefully inadequate, but still better than none at all. Besides I wasn't
eating out of need (my protoplasmic body needs no physical nourishment) or
really out of taste, but more for the texture and feel of the struggling
fungus as I chewed and swallowed it. It had a soothing effect on me.

I was halfway finished with my salad when Sailor Mars teleported in. With a
small flash and soft pop, she appeared ten feet in front of me with her back
toward me.

"Took you long enough," I drawled.

In two steps, she had me by the lapels, pulled me over the table and yelled in
my face, "O.K. Maggie! Tell me fast what you've done this time and maybe, just
maybe, I won't rip you limb from limb."

I met her smoldering gaze for a second and said, "My salad is crawling up your
dress."

Mars did an amazing leap back across the room and frantically started picking
the remnants of my salad off her dress. From her exclamations, I deduced that
Mars had picked up a couple more colorful expressions since the last time we
met.

There's an human proverb, "Don't play with fire, or you'll get burned."
However, after playing cat and mouse with Rei for two centuries, I _knew_ her
-- what her buttons were and how far I could go before I crossed the line. The
senshi of fire no longer held any fear over me. I set about to recover the cigar
that I had lost in Mars' friendly greeting and uttered a few choice words of my
own upon discovering it under my foot.

Out of the corner of my right eye, I saw a swirl of cherry blossoms and then
heard a soft voice that shot ice water through my veins.

"It's Teddy Bear Time, Maggie."

I whirled around to stare into a murderous pair of lovely baby blue eyes.

Titanite had arrived.

%%%%%

My collision course with destiny had only started 24 hours earlier. I had come
back to my office late to be greeted by an envelop taped to my door. Breezing
through my office lobby, I lowered myself into my chair, propped my feet on
the desk and slit the envelop open. Maybe this time I'd get a client with a
real problem and alot of life-force to spend.

A fat wad of bills and a note fell on the table.

I stared at the bills for a couple seconds. For any normal Joe, they'd put
food on the table, but me, I don't need food, I need a little bit of someone's
life energy to keep me ticking.  Actually, most people are happy to pay the
majority of my fee in energy, which only leaves them a little woozy for a day
or two. Yeah, this wad would pay the rent on my pad for a number of years, but
business had been scarce and I was starting to run low on energy, _very_ low
on energy. Starvation seemed imminent, but I'd be damned before I go begging
for handouts.

I carefully picked up the cash and the note, crumpled them into a ball and
launched them toward the circular file strategically placed across the room
in the corner. I was about to claim my three-point victory, when my ball was
caught in mid-air.

There was a man standing next to the waste basket. How could I have not
noticed him before? He was dressed in a trenchcoat and a fedora shadowed the
features of his face  -- He imitated my dress, but somehow made it seem
classier.

This man, I'd seen him before out of the corner of my eye.  He'd be passing by
on the sidewalk, crossing the street, or turning around a corner. At first I
hardly noticed, but after a few years, I started wondering who he was and what
was his game.  There was no pattern to his appearances; I might sight him
twice in a single day and then not again for a year.  For a few decades, I
tried pursuing him whenever I spotted him but it was like he vanished into
thin air as soon as he passed out of my sight.  After that, I just decided to
ignore him when I saw him. No use making people believe that I was an more
insane than I already am.

"You should reconsider," he suggested tossing the ball back to me.

I caught it without taking my eyes off of him. I started unraveling the note
from the ball, all the while keeping him fully in my sight.

"Who are you?" I was surprised that my voice was steady.

"Don't you know? Read the note. I'll still be here when you're finished."

Smoothing out the crumpled note, I read:

--------

Magnesite,

Meet me at the Yuuchiro Memorial Park by the lover's bridge at midnight
tonight. There's a package that I need you to deliver. Come alone. It's a
matter of life and death.

-R

--------

I was intrigued. Yuuchiro Memorial Park actually was half-in and half- out of
Crystal Tokyo's mana well. I usually avoided venturing near the edge of well
because once outside of it, I start rapidly falling apart, literally. There was
one particularly dicey affair where I was forced out of the well for a short
time  -- it's almost preferable to get "teddy-fied" than to suffer that kind of
death.

I looked back at the man with dozens of questions on my tongue.

"Here's looking at you, kid", he said tossing me a cigar.

I caught it. In the brief instant I was distracted, he was gone.

"Damn!"

At least now I knew that he was more than just some idle figment of my
imagination. Either that or I was really starting to loose my marbles. I
examined the cigar he gave me. It was a cheap cigar; just the way I like them.

%%%%%

Titanite had never lost girlish looks -- one of the perks of being nearly
immortal. Her face was one that any news anchor or model would kill to
possess. Not just a pretty face, it effortlessly conveyed seriousness with
warmth, intelligence with humanity and competence with compassion. The palace
was lucky to have her as their PR spokesperson, any media company would be
ecstatic to recruit her.

In short, she had the face of an angel. To me, it was more like the angel of
death.

"It's Teddy Bear Time, Maggie."

With those words still ringing in my ears, I desperately tried to concentrate.
I had only one chance to do this right; a mistake would condemn me to a
living, furry hell forever.

"Take a seat and listen up, babe, or you'll never see your boyfriend again!"

That stopped her and color drained from her face. I was on the verge of
congratulating myself when I noticed a very large mallet materializing in her
hands. This was bad. This was very, very bad.

My luck still held as Rei as somehow managed to reach and restrain Titanite
before she had a chance to knock me into the next millennia.

Titanite was still yelling and struggling with Rei as I retrieved my fedora
which been knocked off as I had precipitously ducked one of her swings.

"You had better start talking quick, Magnesite! I don't know how much longer I
can hold her!" Rei implored.

I sat down and leaned back in my chair.

Rei shouted, "Start talking, I think she's starting to break loose!"

"I'll start talking once you two are ready to stop playing good cop, bad cop."
Titanite and Rei both stopped and stared at me. "I'll even give you a word of
advice -- next time you two try to pull this little scam, don't ever let Rei
play the good cop; It's just too unbelievable."

Rei's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "What do you mean ..."

"Silence!" I thundered.

"Rei, Sit!" I pointed to a chair against the wall to my left. "Titanite, Sit!"
I pointed to the chair across the table. They stood and gawked at me.

"Titanite, your boyfriend is in danger. If you don't sit down and start
listening, I can't guarantee his safety."

Titanite considered this for a moment and then sat in the chair. "OK, we'll
play it your way for now. But be warned, this better be good or you won't just
be a teddy bear, you'll be fluorescent pink teddy bear."

Rei muttered some meaningless threat and stalked off to her seat. Pink. Why'd
it have to be pink? I took a deep breath to calm myself; In for a penny, in
for a pound.

"Last night, I received a note to meet a prospective client at the Yuuchiro
Memorial Park," I started. "Little did I know ..."

%%%%%

There are some days that being a Nemesian just plain stunk, Ruby decided.
Standing in the woods and wearing black slacks and a black turtleneck, the
tall brunette re-surveyed her team. Off to her right, hidden in the bushes was
Pumice who was tasked with scanning for the opposition and in charge of their
five combat droids. Whether she was actually paying attention to her duties at
the moment was a different story. Ruby considered her proof positive that
nepotism only breeds gross incompetence. She was probably using her
state-of-the-art scanner to help her reapply her make-up.

Boxite stood at attention to her left. Boxite was a prime example of the
success of Nemesian efforts of breeding the perfect soldier.  He was stronger
as a terran gorrilla, quicker than a cat and could shoot out the eye of a
sparrow at 200 yards. This was very important for his survival as all of the
aforementioned animals possessed higher IQs than him. Ruby supposed that these
soldiers were bred this way so that they would blindly execute the
lame-brained plans of their superiors.

And then there was the current plan that her clan leaders had dreamed up. Oh,
it made sense on paper. Since they were unable to get a Nemesian agent into
Crystal Tokyo without Queen Serenity sensing it, they would recruit the most
powerful person in Crystal Tokyo that wasn't beholden to the Queen.

Ruby had read the dossier on the man they were to recruit for their mission.
His name was Magnesite.

He had lived in Crystal Tokyo for over two hundred years so obviously had
contacts and knew the place well. Nemesian Central Intelligence had evaluated
him as a class 4 on the power scale -- the main expression of his power being
shape-shifting, but also had a few other tricks up his sleeve such as
teleportation and life-energy manipulation. He and the Senshi were apparently
at odds with each other -- oddly, the Senshi's quaint code of honor restrained
them from eliminating him outright. Magnesite must have some smarts, Ruby
mused, to be able to survive so long while the Senshi were itching for an
excuse to vaporize him.

When Ruby's all-knowing and all-wise Clan leaders put this operation together,
they believed that they had the perfect opportunity and perfect agent to do
the job. They forgot one important detail, however: Magnesite was stark-raving
mad.

From what Ruby could piece together from their terran agents in Crystal Tokyo,
Magnesite fancied himself to be the reincarnation of some silly actor from
earth's twentieth century. Or did he believe himself to be one of the
fictional characters that the actor played? At any rate, he was a nutcase and
Ruby was stuck with him.

A scowl crossed her face. She had an five combat droids, one air-head, one
rock-head and one basket-case with which to complete her mission. Fail and she
would take the fall. Succeed and she'd just get a pat on the back while her
superiors would take the credit.

Ruby glanced at her chronometer, it was almost time for the meet.

"Boxite, go to edge of the clearing and wait for Magnesite has to show up at
the meeting place. Signal me on the communicator when he appears."

Boxite saluted, "Hasta la vista, Baby," and then slinked off through the
trees.

Ruby suppressed the urge to bury her hands in her face.  It had to be a Terran
plot.

It wasn't too long after Nemesis reestablished contact with Earth that
subversive material had started flowing into Nemesis. Oh, they didn't know it
was subversive at the time  -- in fact much of it was brought back for
"cultural research".  But some of the material got leaked to the masses and
the masses went wild!  Terran movies, terran holodramas, music CDs --
Twentieth century or twenty-ninth century -- it didn't matter;  if it was
Terran, everyone wanted it.

The Nemesian leaders immediately blacklisted all Terran media, but it was
already too late.  The people already had a taste for it and inevitably found
a way to get it through the black market.  Phrases like "Nanu-nanu" and "Great
Scott!" started appearing in everyday conversation. Terran music started
playing in elevators. Even sailor fukus started showing up in schools!
Nemesian culture was under attack and rapidly crumbling. Ruby could only hope
and pray that when they finally subjugated Earth, that it wouldn't be too
late.

Ruby's communicator beeped twice signaling Magnesite's arrival.  Ruby checked
her chronometer and absently remarked, "Well, even if he's crazy, at least
he's punctual.

"Pumice? Where are you?"  Ruby found her taking a beauty nap against a tree. A
toe between her ribs got her attention fast.

"Ow! What did you do that for?"

"It's time for the meet. Send four droids to guard our flanks and rear and
give me that scanner! I don't want any surprises. When you're finished with
that bring the remaining droid and our guests." Grabbing the scanner from
Pumice's hands, Ruby strode off toward the clearing.

When Ruby reached Boxite still concealed at the edge of the clearing, she
could clearly see the elegant stone span of Lover's bridge which crossed over
a narrow 200 foot section of Yuuchiro Lake. More importantly, it also crossed
the invisible line between Crystal Tokyo and the rest of the world.

At the far end of the bridge, a single man in tan trenchcoat and fedora was
smoking a cigarette. Ruby carefully scanned the surrounding area before
tucking the scanner away.

"He's alone as far as I can tell. Boxite, come with me and keep an eye out for
trouble. If anything unexpected happens, you're to take Magnesite down with
that disrupter I gave you. Got it?"

"By your command," Boxite responded in a metallic monotone.

Ruby strode out into the clearing with Boxite in tow. The man across the
bridge watched her approach with a practiced indifference. He noted that her
face had a certain elegance to it that was appealing, if only she weren't
wearing a chronic scowl. Ruby stopped as she reached her side of the bridge.

"Magnesite, I presume."

"I might be. Who's asking?" the man countered.

"Call me Red. I sent a letter to you earlier today; I see its contents were
sufficient to spark your interest."

"If I were Magnesite, the wad of bills in your letter wouldn't interest me at
all. Nemesian Intelligence must be really slipping to not to pick that up."

"Pardon me, who is ..."

"Don't play dumb with me, sister," the man interrupted.  "Your facial
features, your accent, your body guard's equipment; they all scream Nemesis
agents. Second, even though we're separated by over 200 ft. apparently we can
hear one another as clearly as if we were only two feet away. One of you must
using a paranormal ability."

Ruby was momentarily taken aback. The man was sharp. Maybe there was some hope
for this mission after all.

"I don't like it when people lie to me," the man continued. He dropped his
cigarette and crushed it under his foot. "I'll be on my way," he said and
turned to leave.

"O.K., I'll play it straight with you," Ruby shot back. "We are Nemesian
agents. My name is Ruby and I'm responsible for assisting our conversation
over this distance."

With his back turned, the man hesitated a moment, "There are lots of Rubies in
the world, babe."

Ruby sighed and then added, "I am Ruby, one of Topass's cousins. What Topass 
can do with light, I do with sound. My associates here are named Boxite and
Pumice. Now are you satisfied?"

The man turned back toward Ruby and said, "I'm Magnesite. Nice to meet you."
After which, he turned to leave again.

"Where are you going?!?"

"I don't do business with Nemesians. Sorry."

"What? Are you scared of the Senshi? Have you forgotten what they did to your
homeland and what they've done to you? Well, I guess they've succeeded into
turning you into one of their pet human sheep!"

Magnesite spun back around with fire in his eyes, "Of course I want
revenge! But _you_ don't have to live with the Senshi. Oh no, you'll soon be
done with your little subterfuges and be safe back on Nemesis. Me, I'm stuck
here with no where to hide when they come for me. The least of the Senshi
could dust me, you and rest of your team and still have enough time to make it
back for afternoon tea. Find some other fool to do your dirty work."

"What if I were to offer you the key to your prison?"

"What do you mean?"

Ruby drew out a small pendant and held it out. "We know that you cannot survive
outside the Tokyo mana well. However, if you wear this, you will be free to
come and go as you choose. All we ask is that you deliver a little package for
us. Is that too much to ask for your freedom?"

Magnesite seemed entranced by the pendant. "How can I be sure that it really
works?" he asked in a small voice.

"Why don't you just come over here and try it out? Whoops, I forgot. You can't
leave the well. I guess you'll just have to take my word for it."

"Ha, ha. Your jokes crack me up," Magnesite grimaced.

"Take it or leave it, it's your choice."

Magnesite stared at the pendant for a while before answering, "It doesn't
matter. Even if I do get out of Crystal Tokyo, they'll still hunt me down."

"Earth's a big place."

"It doesn't matter. They have agents everywhere. Besides I'm sure Sailor Mars
would be obsessed with the idea of personally tracking me down and bringing me
to justice. It'll be a cold day in hell before I give her that satisfaction."

"You could always come back with me to Nemesis, tiger," Ruby purred
seductively.

"No thank you. I'd rather be trapped in Crystal Tokyo than stuck in a hell
hole like that."

Ruby bit back the urge to hurl an insult back at him. That just wouldn't help
the mission. Time for plan B.

"You haven't finished hearing our proposal, Magnesite," Ruby grated out.
"Pumice," she called back to the woods, "bring out our guests."

Pumice stepped out of the woods with a combat droid beside her. The droid was
holding two gagged and struggling figures. From what Magnesite could see, they
seemed to be teenagers.

"Mr. Magnesite, meet Hiro and Minako. You get our package, we'll set these two
free and unharmed," Ruby offered.

"What makes you think I'd care what you'd do to two humans?"

"Why Magnesite, I'm surprised at you. Don't you recognize the president and
treasurer of the Furikan High School Humphrey Bogart Fan club?" Ruby taunted.

There was only silence.

"With all promotion you've done of Humphrey Bogart and his films, wouldn't it
be a shame if people found out that you caused the death of two in his fan
club? I mean, if you'd do that, what does that say about Mr. Bogart?"

"You leave Bogie out of this!" Magnesite shouted.

"Now, now, Mr. Magnesite, we must control our tempers. How else can we get any
business done? Are you going to accept the job or not?"

"The Senshi are going to be looking for those two kids. What's to say they
don't take you out before I'm able to deliver your little package?"

"We've arranged for them not to be missed for another 24 hours. So you have 24
hours to deliver the package or our deal will be ... terminated."

There was a long silence while Magnesite fumed.

"Let me get this clear: I don't like your dress, I don't like your style, and
I don't like you. But I'll do your little job for the pendant and those two
kids. If you so much bruise one of them, you're going to wish you had never
laid eyes on me."

"Fine. You keep your end of the bargain and we'll keep ours. Hidden in the
grass near your feet is a small box. Find it and open it."

A brief search revealed a metal box. Magnesite opened it and drew out a lovely
ruby brooch. "Cute," he muttered.

"Put the brooch on your lapel. Through it we'll be able to see and hear
everything you do. If you ever put it down or impair its function in any way
the deal is off. If you do something of which we disapprove, the brooch will
vibrate in warning. The first time you attempt to double-cross us, the brooch
will crack. That will let you know that we've executed one of our guests. On
the second violation, the brooch will shatter and our deal is terminated. Is
that clear?"

"Friendly bastards, aren't you? I'm surprised you didn't wire this with
explosives."

"We would have if we could be certain it wouldn't set off alarms when you
enter the palace," Ruby coyly admitted.

"And the transmission signal from this brooch won't?" replied Magnesite.

"You needn't worry about that. You just do your job and we'll do ours, OK?"

"Don't you think it's about time you told me just what this package is?"

"The package of ours that you are to deliver to us is ..."

%%%%%%

"TOPASS!" Titanite shouted shooting out of her chair. "Maggie, what have you
done with my boyfriend?"

"Topass? Oh, he's right over there," I pointed lazily over my shoulder to the
schmuck in the corner.

Titanite looked over to Topass. "Wha ...", she managed to say before she froze
in place.

I sneaked a glance over to Rei who was similarly frozen and breathed a sigh of
relief. Keeping my back to Topass, I eased Titanite back into her chair.

"What you both are seeing is a little trick I picked up from Kunzite long ago
in repayment for a little gambling debt. As you have discovered, the spell on
the chalkboard produces a hypnotic state in an unwary mind. You can hear and
see things, but are unable to do anything about it. Come to think of it, it
has a certain poetic justice, don't you think?"

"Smile, you're on Nemesian camera," I chuckled and held up the ruby brooch on
my lapel to Titanite's face.  I've had so few chances to gloat over the Senshi
in the past two centuries, I figured I might as well make the most of it.

"Anyway where was I before I was so rudely interrupted?" I mused before
sitting down to face Titanite again. "Oh yes, upon returning to my office
after meeting with the Nemesians ...

%%%%%

I brooded as I fixed my eyes on the Maltese Falcon sitting on my desk. It
stared back at me with a somber expression.

How life can change completely in a single night.

"What do you think Maltie? Should I go through with this and earn the wrath of
the Senshi? Risk life and limb for a couple of kids and Bogie's reputation?
Possibly face Serenity's Cutie Rod for the chance of gaining freedom from this
miserable burg?"

For the past two centuries I had been, for the most part, simply surviving.
But surviving was no longer enough. Somewhere in the past two centuries, the
desire to live a free life had surpassed even my youma instinct for survival.
I guess that's one of the hazards of prolonged exposure to humans.

"It's not like I'd be doing anything terribly bad. I mean, I'm just trading
one life for the lives of those two teenagers."

Word on the street was that Topass's clan wanted him back. In the past year,
there had be several acts of attempted espionage by the Nemesians which were
discovered and foiled by Palace security. Serenity had summarily expelled all
Nemesians from Crystal Tokyo with the exception of their Embassy staff who
were now under constant surveillance.

Tensions were running high between Queen Serenity and the Nemesians. There
were rumors that Topass also broken off all contact with the Nemesians as well
earlier this year. I'd bet that his "handlers" were not pleased and probably
saw this as disowning his own clan. Ever day he lived in defiance to the
authority of his clan heaped dishonor and disgrace onto it. I had no
illusions as to what Topass's fate would be once I turned him over.

But why was I trying to rationalize my actions? Could I be feeling guilt? Why
was I hesitating at betraying the Senshi? I ran my hands through my hair. "I
must be getting soft."

The sun had already eased over the eastern horizon. Noise of the daily rush
hour seeped into my office. All the while, I could feel the falcon's gaze
boring into my skull.

I quoted, "Each of us has a destiny: for good or for evil," and made my
choice.

I got up and opened my closet. My prized collection of thirteen trenchcoats
and sixteen fedoras greeted me. Now, I really don't need to own any clothes.
On any normal day, the clothes that I appear to be wearing are literally a
part of me, formed out of psychoplasm like the rest of me. This practice saves
me a bundle on wardrobe and laundry costs, not to mention making quick-change
disguises a snap.

Today, however, was not going to be any normal day. There was nothing quite
like the sensation of wearing real clothing;  Especially a trenchcoat and
fedora. Nostalgia aside, having a brooch pin stuck in me was starting to itch
and the trench coat would be helpful in effortlessly carrying all the
knickknacks I'd need for this little caper.

Waffled over my choice of trenchcoat.  The Pierre-Cardin circa 2440? No, no,
too valuable to lose. Tokyo Fog circa 2906? Mmmm, too light. Pyr-Tendo circa
2838? A classic, but not quite right for the job.

I settled on a slightly beat-up no-name trenchcoat I picked up at a flea
market last year and I fedora I found in the trash last month. I had a feeling
I was going to get shot at anyway, so why risk getting my good clothes
destroyed?

After dressing, I went to my filing cabinets and pulled-out a metal collar, a
small remote, a woman's make-up compact, smelling salts, chalk, a flashlight
and a roll of duct tape. They all disappeared into my trenchcoat pockets.

Next, I phoned Rei's office at the palace. As I placed the call, the ruby
pendant on my lapel started to vibrate. "Trust me," I growled at it and it
went silent.

"Hello, I'd like to reschedule my appointment with Rei this month. ... Does
she have any time today? ... I see, well I need to see her soon as possible.
Could I just come by late this afternoon and see if she has a free moment or
two? ... Thank you."

After hanging up, I pushed aside one of my bookcases which revealed a sloppy
patch in the dry wall. I removed the patch and reached down into the wall. The
ability to elongate an arm is indispensable at times. I drew out an old cigar
case. Inside there was a single, white glowing crystal; my entire
life-savings.

The crystal happened to be the same one that I was initially given upon my
release from prison. It had given me enough life-energy and time to set myself
up and start earning life-energy as a private investigator. Since then, I've
been using it to save up any excess life-energy I could spare; Hoping that
some day it would come in handy. Well, this was the day.

Gently cupping the crystal in my hand, I concentrated and then let the energy
flow into me.

What a rush! The influx of energy lifted me off my feet until I was suspended
above the floor as an invisible wind swirled around me scattering paperwork
like a miniature cyclone.

"Watch out Senshi!  Maggie's back in town!" I shouted and laughed as I never
had since the old country, "Bwwaaahaahaahahahahaahahhahaha!"

%%%%%%

Miles away in a concealed underground bunker, three people were watching this
scene on a wall-mounted display. The laugh had an eerie effect in the small,
dark room.

"He's totally crackers, isn't he?" remarked Pumice.

"For once, I completely agree with you," replied Ruby.

%%%%%%

It wasn't until 4:00pm that Magnesite began to causally saunter toward the
palace. His only previous errand so far was to a chemical supply store to
pick-up some metallic sodium suspended in oil. Ruby was almost pacing back and
forth with impatience as she watched his movements through the monitor on the
wall.

"I knew I should have incorporated a cattle prod into that brooch," she
muttered to herself.

In due time, Magnesite made it to the east palace entrance and checked himself
in with one of the receptionists. The Nemesians could clearly hear the
conversation through the brooch.

"I'm here for an appointment with Sailor Mars," he said.

"Good to see you again, Mr. Magnesite," the receptionist smiled.

Pumice blurted out in a stage whisper, "Eewww, she's wearing a happy face
button. How totally tacky!"

Ruby did her best to ignore the remark and concentrated on the conversation.

"Ah, yes, we do have you down on the sign-in list," the receptionist
continued. "Please sign here for your palace pass."

Magnesite obediently signed his name and put the pass around his neck.

"Have a nice day, Mr. Magnesite!"

Magnesite grunted and stalked off in the direction of Rei's office.

Ruby commented thoughtfully, "Very clever. He's just breezed past the outer
palace security. I wonder how he'll get through inner palace security."

A few quick turns down less traveled corridors brought Magnesite in front of a
janitorial closet. When convinced that no one was in sight, he forced open the
closet, stepped inside and closed the closet door. Switching on the light,
Magnesite then took out the make-up compact from his pocket and looked at
himself in the mirror. The Nemesians could see that Magnesite's face had
changed and it was now Titanite's face in the mirror. Not only her face, but
it was apparently her body too wearing an ruby-red evening gown under the
trenchcoat.

"Heeellooo, nurse!" whistled Boxite.

After a few minor adjustments, Magnesite put the compact away and adjusted his
fedora.  He stoppered the sink and opened the faucet to allow a small trickle
of water to flow. Reaching into his trenchcoat, he brought out the glass
container with the metallic sodium and gently placed it at the bottom of the
sink. With the greatest care he loosened the top of the container, but left it
on.

Pumice scratched her head and whined, "What's he doing?"

Ruby was too engrossed in the scene to be annoyed. "He knows he can't bring
conventional explosives into the palace, but apparently the sensors don't
recognize pure sodium as a threat. Once the water in the sink rises enough to
flood the container, the sodium will react with the water to cause an
explosion."

"Cool," enthused Boxite, "Apocalypse now!"

"Not quite. It'll probably only blow-out the closet and damage the surrounding
rooms, but it will make an impressive enough racket."

Magnesite/Titanite turned off the light, stepped out of the closet and slapped
a "Do Not Disturb" sign on it. He got a few stares from an older couple
passing by but paid them no mind as he strode purposely toward the inner
palace entrance.

"Hello, boys," Titanite impostor smiled as he greeted the four guards at the
east inner palace door.

"Good evening, Ms. Titanite," the sergeant replied as he opened the door for
him.

Ruby unconsciously clenched her fists as she waited for the detectors on
either side of the door to sound the alarm.

Magnesite breezed through the door without a care and proceeded toward Topass's
room in the south wing.

Ruby exhaled a sigh of relief.  The bastard must have figured out how to alter
his aura to fool the sensors, she thought.  Crazy or not, he knows his stuff,
she admitted to herself.

Titanite's doppelganger had almost made it to Topass's suite when he rounded a
corner and was greeted by the sight of the real Titanite hurrying toward them.
He uttered an unlady-like curse as he pulled back around the corner again.

"We're doomed",  lamented Pumice while chewing on her nails.

Titanite rounded the corner and stopped to look at Magnesite straight on.

"Rei, have you lost your marbles? What are you doing sulking around in that
ridiculous trenchcoat and hat? Have you been hanging around Magnesite too
much?"

"Er ... I'm checking up on security in this wing. You can't be too careful,
you know. Don't you have a press conference or something to go to?"

Titanite cocked her head and looked at Magnesite/Rei intently before giving
up. "Something's up, isn't there?" she sighed. "Well you're right, I am late,
but don't think you'll get away without telling me the whole story later," she
admonished as she hurried off.

Magnesite breathed a sigh of relief and then took out his make-up compact
again. In the compact's mirror, the Nemesians could see the disturbing effect
of Rei's face flowing a perfect semblance into Titanite's face. At that point,
Ruby noticed that she had bit her own lip hard enough to draw blood.

Without further incident, Magnesite quickly made it up a couple stairwells and
through another corridor to Topass's suite. He took a deep breath and knocked
on the door. After a brief instant, the door swung inward to reveal a rather
handsome man with a square jaw and clean-cut looks.

"Ti, back so soon?" he smiled. "Where did you get that outfit?"

"We need to talk. Something important has come up."

Topass let the fake Ti into the room and closed the door. "Ti, what's wrong?"
he said as he drew near to give a comforting hug.

Ti spun around and held him at arm's length. "We can't talk here. I'm going
to teleport us a few times to make sure that we aren't being followed. There's
something I need to show you."

Topass looked into her eyes quizzically. "Ti, what are you talking about? You
know you can't teleport out from here with the security jamming screen up."

"During emergency and fires, teleports out of the palace are automatically
allowed ..." Ti started explaining, but was interrupted by a low, resounding
<whhummpp> of a distant explosion that rattled the pictures and windows in the
room.

Topass started toward the door in alarm, "What was .."

And suddenly found himself standing with Ti in an alley outside the palace ...

... then in a janitor's closet ...

... and finally in a dark storm drainage pipe below the streets of Crystal
Tokyo.

"... that." Topass finished as he staggered to regain his balance.

Ti switched on a flashlight  and pointed it at a half-hidden object on the
floor of the drainage pipe. "Take a look at that," she indicated.

As Topass started forward, Ti clocked him on the back of his head with the
flashlight. Topass obligingly collapsed and Ti caught him before he could
face-plant into the mud and propped him against the wall.

"Whoaa," the Ti impostor groaned as tried to steady his head. "I'd bet that I
have a bigger headache than you." He started binding Topass's hands and ankles
with duct tape. "Remind me not to do that little teleportation trick again
with a passenger."  After gagging Topass, he took out the metal collar from his
coat pocket and fastened it around Topass's neck. Taking out some smelling
salts, the fake Ti started bringing him around.

Topass's eyes popped open and rolled as the smelling salts did their work.
Confusion became apparent on his face as he discovered his predicament.

"Topass, there's a little story that it is very important for you to hear,"
Magnesite/Ti began as he bent close to Topass's ear.  "Yesterday, a PI named
Magnesite got a little note from an unnamed client ..."

Ruby allowed herself to relax a little as Magnesite droned on. Only the actual
delivery of Topass remained and while that was still a hurdle, Magnesite had
gotten much farther than she had hoped possible. Ruby noticed the Topass was
staring right at their optical pick-up in the ruby brooch. "Ah, Topass you were
always the quick one. Not quick enough this time, I'm afraid."

Ruby allowed herself to gloat a little more as Topass's eyes bugged out when
Magnesite shifted from a Titanite look-alike to his normal self. "Yes, you
were always the little darling of the clan, but look at yourself now," Ruby
whispered.

Still, Ruby couldn't help feel a little pity for Topass as Magnesite
demonstrated the pain-inducing feature of the collar; first when Topass briefly
tried to excersize his powers and then a few extra times for good measure.

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated," intoned Boxite.

"Is that collar really explosive? If Magnesite has been carrying it around all
this time, then how did he get it through the palace sensors?" observed
Pumice.

Ruby stared at Pumice as if she had suddenly had grown a brain. "Er, well ...
it could be that it's just a bluff. Topass doesn't know where the collar came
from. Given that one of its functions obviously works, Topass probably isn't
inclined to doubt the other."

With Topass effectively cowed into submission, Magnesite freed Topass from the
duct tape and herded him up an access ladder, through a manhole and onto the
streets of Crystal Tokyo.

"And why are they walking now? Why aren't they just teleporting to the meeting
site?" nagged Pumice.

Ruby carefully examined Pumice to make sure no one had switched her with
someone competent when Ruby hadn't been looking.

"Why are you looking at me strangely? Do I have split ends?" worried Pumice.

Ruby shook off her doubts and replied, "By now, palace security has figured
out that the explosion in the closet wasn't an accident. If they are any good
at all, they'll be on the alert out for any suspicious activity in the city.
Detecting teleportation by a non-Senshi would definitely qualify as suspicious
-- we know from hard experience that they have that capability when they set
their minds to it."

Ruby was lost in thought for a moment. "Yes, old-fashioned footwork is
probably Magnesite's best bet at the moment.  I'm afraid, however, it is only
a matter of time before they discover Topass is missing and the real pursuit
begins."

%%%%%

"Please, make it stop," wailed Boxite.

It was an hour after the Nemesians in the bunker had survived a near
heart-attack when Rei and Titanite appeared in the Renegade's Haven. Now
they were in danger of being bored to death. Magnesite was regaling his
captive audience with all his cunning exploits and enumerated in great detail
all the wrongs that had been done to him in the past two centuries -- on a
year by year basis.

Ruby gritted her teeth. She was loath to send any warnings to Magnesite
through the brooch for fear of it getting picked up by the intensifying
magical scans in Crystal Tokyo. They were so close to finally claiming their
prize, she was _not_ going to let it slip away. Still, every moment Magnesite
pontificated increased the chances that someone would check-up on Rei and
Titanite.

It was then that Ruby noticed that Titanite's hand was starting to twitch and
move.

"Watch out, you fool!" she vainly yelled at an unhearing Magnesite, "She's
getting free!"

Titanite pitched the table into Magnesite and the image on the monitor spun
around and went black as Magnesite and the table hit the floor. Now the
monitor image dead, they could only hear sounds of a struggle taking place.
With her mission seeming falling to pieces, Ruby felt strangely calm and tried
to dispassionately analyze the sounds she was hearing.

<Crash!>

Was that a large mallet obliterating furniture?

<Crunch!>  "Yowch!"

Same mallet impacting Magnesite?

<Crack!>

That had to be a chair breaking over someone's head.

<Vhoosh!>   <BANG>

An energy discharge hitting the wall.

<whAP wap Whap>

A left-left right punch combination.

"YAAaaahhhhh!" <sPlackt>

Magnesite being thrown across the room and splattering on a wall.

<Vhoosh!>   <bANg>

Another energy discharge hitting a softer surface than the wall.

<Swish> <shwish> <crasH> <schwish> <cRAsh> <CrAsh>

Various objects being thrown across the room.

"AAAAhhhhhrggg!"

That's Topass screaming from pain induced by his collar.

<SSCrashhhhhh>

A slate menu board shattering?

"Topass!"

Definitely Titanite.

< HHMmmmmmh >

What _is_ that sound?

<thud>

Someone's body hitting the ground, but whose?

And then there was complete silence.  Ruby could feel her heart beating like a
drum.  After what seemed like an eternity, there was motion on the monitor
screen. Someone was picking up Magnesite's trenchcoat and the brooch off the
floor. Without further warning, Titanite's face swung into view.

"Hi, guys!" Titanite smiled.

"Eeckkkk!!!!" screamed Pumice.

"Keep your socks on, this is Magnesite." Titanite growled, her voice
temporarily approximating Magnesite's normal tone before returning to
Titanite's. "I figure that when I leave, Titanite out for a walk with her main
squeeze would attract less attention."

Ruby grimaced and vowed revenge for that little stunt.

"As you can see, the real Titanite is somewhat indisposed for comment." Room
swung around as Magnesite/Titanite donned the trenchcoat and dusted-off her
fedora.  The room was totally wrecked.  Pieces of furniture littered the
floor. Fist-sized holes decorated the wall; occasionally interspersed with
man-sized indentations. A second Titanite was sprawled out on the floor and
unmoving.

"I apologize for not keeping the brooch on -- I phased through the table the
Titanite threw at me so I had to leave the trenchcoat behind.  As you can see,
I've been slightly preoccupied, but nothing that a convenient distraction and
quick energy drain couldn't fix.  Isn't that right, Topass?"

The view on the monitor swung around to show Topass kneeling in the midst of
the shattered chalkboard and choking back sobs.

"Come now, Topass, your little Sailor Polaris is still alive, if barely. No
need to get all teary eyed. Get up! It's time to go meet your relatives."

Topass was slow to get up, so Magnesite/Titanite helped him by grabbing him by
his hair and then manhandled him toward the door.  On the way, they passed by
Rei who was still frozen the in same position and miraculously untouched by
the carnage around her.

"Hi Rei, are you going to sit this one out? Be a doll and let me borrow your
communicator," cooed Magnesite/Titanite as she relieved Rei of the device.
"Toodles!" With that Magnesite/Titanite and Topass swept out the door and into
the dark streets.

Back in the bunker, Ruby called up the location tracker.  "They're headed
toward the rendezvous point and moving fast. They'll make there in about 25
minutes. Boxite, pack up our gear, we're moving out. Pumice, round up the
droids and our guests. I want to make it back to the bridge well before they
do."

%%%%%%

Ruby and her team made it back to the bridge in Yuuchiro park with five
minutes to spare. After fiddling with a scanner a few moments, Pumice
announced, "Like, it looks all clear, if you know what I mean."

Ruby massaged her forehead to ward off an impending migraine.

"We only have time for me to go over this one more time so listen up. We are
all going to be standing together in front of the bridge with the droids on
the perimeter. Pumice, start up the teleport short-range jammer  -- I don't
want anyone dropping in on us unannounced. When I give the signal, you are
going to deactivate the jammer so we can teleport away.

"Boxite, when I give that signal, I want you to drop Magnesite with the
disrupter."

"Permission to use the BMR-2000 Rocket Launcher, ma'am!" Boxite barked out.

"We're pretty sure that conventional weapons won't hurt him much. But that
little baby," she motioned to the evil-looking, multi-pronged gun hanging from
Boxite's shoulder, "has been specially tuned to destabilize and disintegrate
psychoplasm. One shot of that and Magnesite will cease to be a problem."

"I thought Magnesite was on our side. Why are you going to be mean to him?"
complained Pumice.

Ruby sighed, "It's much easier to figure out how to destroy things than to fix
things. The pendant we offered Magnesite doesn't really work;  we neither have
the time nor the resources to create something that will allow him to survive
outside of a mana well. I really don't have anything against Magnesite
personally, but he's eventually going to find out that we duped him and be
rather upset with us.

"So, you've got to ask yourself the question: do you want to spend the rest of
your life knowing that there is an immortal shape-shifter who's out to get
revenge on you? Sure, for now he's confined to Tokyo, but I wouldn't be
surpassed if one day he did get loose. He could come to you as a stranger or
your lover or even your mother and you'd never know it until too late. I'm
still alive because I make sure that I don't have any powerful enemies ... for
long. There's no way I'm going to make an exception for Magnesite; Especially
for Magnesite."

Ruby paused to let the possible implications sink into her audience. A chime
from the brooch tracking device interrupted their reverie and warned of
Magnesite's approach.

"Showtime, people. Let's do it," and with that the group moved out into the
clearing in front of the bridge.

It was only a short time later a Titanite doppelganger and Topass walked into
view and stopped at the other end of the bridge. Pumice fiddled more with her
scanner. "I don't detect any magical glamors," she whispered, "That must be
Topass."  Ruby nodded in response.

"You've done well, Magnesite," Ruby remarked aloud.

"Let's just cut the chit-chat and get this over with," groused the Titanite
impostor.

"Fine.  Take the collar off Topass and send him over the bridge. We'll send
over one of the kids simultaneously. Once Topass is in our possession, we'll
send over the other kid with the pendant."

"No, you send both kids and the pendant over or I start poking holes in your
friend here."

"We really don't care too much whether we get Topass alive or if you kill him.
You, on the other hand, really need this pendant because the Senshi won't be
stopping to ask any questions when they catch up to you."

After a slight pause, Ruby continued, "I'm a reasonable person. Let's
compromise: I'll send a kid over with the pendant and then we'll send the
second kid over once we have Topass. To make sure that we have the real Topass
and not someone who is magically disguised, we'll need to get our scanner
within 2.5 feet of him," Ruby lied. "You have to understand that I won't be
giving away all of my insurance until I'm sure that I have the real article."

The Titanite look-a-like grimaced and growled out, "I'm not in a compromising
mood today. Send the two kids over and you'll get Topass."

"Fine," said Ruby falsely cheery tone. "Boxite, shoot one of the kids."

"Wait," shouted the trenchcoated figure. "You made your point. We'll do it
your way."

Ruby smirked. "I knew you were a reasonable man. See, compromise isn't so bad
after all."

The Titanite clone took the collar came off Topass. "No funny stuff or I'll
have to _really_ hurt you," she warned and with a push, Topass started slowly
marching across the bridge;  well aware of the expressionless gaze of the
Nemesian combat droids awaiting him on the other side of the bridge.

On the Nemesian side of the bridge, the teenager named Hiro was untied, given
the pendant and a pushed onto the bridge. Both Hiro and Topass walked toward
each other, warily passed each other, and then slowly approached the parties
waiting at each end of the bridge.

When Hiro reached the trenchcoated woman, she looked him in the eye, "Quick,
run for the woods" and gestured behind her. Hiro was glad to comply.

As Topass reached the Nemesian party, Ruby reached out and grasped his arm
firmly. "NOW!", she shouted and in one smooth motion Boxite drew his disrupter
and fired. Ghostly blue lighting arced from the gun to embrace the figure on
the other side of the bridge.

Ruby didn't wait to inspect the results. She immediately triggered a teleport
to her pick-up site and in a flash the Nemesians were gone ...

... And instant later two women dressed in Sailor fukus landed on the ground
that the Nemesians just vacated.

"Ami! You were supposed to be jamming them. What happened!?!" demanded Sailor
Mars as she kicked the turf where the remaining hostage had been.

Sailor Mercury stepped out from the forest with her computer in hand, "They've
adjusted teleport energy signature to get past our normal jamming techniques.
I couldn't trace their teleport either."

"Great! Don't you have any good news for me?" complained Mars.

"Given readings from their last teleport, I should be able to jam them the
next time we meet."

In the meantime, Sailor Venus, who had landed next to Mars, raced back over to
bridge to help a trenchcoated figure struggling to get up. "Ti, are you
alright?" she asked with concern.

Titanite stood up shakily. "I was expecting something nasty, but that really
stung." She concentrated and in a swirl of cherry blossoms surrounded her.
When the pedals dispersed, Sailor Polaris stood in her place holding a mighty
mallet that gleamed in the night.

"This is far from over ..."

%%%%%%%

As I started crossing over the bridge, the wisdom of impersonating Topass
seemed less and less appealing. It wasn't the combat droids on the other side
of the bridge that bothered me; It was the fact that I was quickly approaching
the edge of the manna well and the possibility of melting into a puddle of
goo. Maggie, I told myself, you've really gotten yourself into a pickle
this time.

If things were going to plan, Serenity should have used that little ginszu
crystal of hers and given me a lease to venture out of the zone for a little
while. If Serenity had done her stuff while we were enroute to here, I hadn't
felt anything. I suppressed a nagging fear that the Senshi had finally a
convenient way to off me, but that wasn't their style, right? Right?

Speaking of plans, although we anticipated the possibility of them sending
only one of the kids over, we overlooked the fact that they might have a
teleport jammer. I was going to accidentally brush against the hostage once I
reached the Nemesians and teleport her to safety before the big guns let
loose. Now it's going to be much more messy.

At the middle of the bridge, I passed by Hiro and shuddered as I passed out of
the zone. A chill ran through my body as the ambient mana around me
disappeared. Like humans who hardly think about air until they can't breath, I
hardly notice the background mana until its abrupt absence. I kept placing one
foot in front of the other.

After a few steps, I found that I was still in one piece and almost stumbled
in relief. It was much harder to hold the form of Topass now, and I doubted
whether I had power to do anything else, but I was alive and out of the well.
Now all that I needed to deal with were the Nemesians.

I staggered my way to toward Ruby's group hoping that my dull eyes, stubbled
chin and slouched posture gave the impression of a beaten, despairing man.
Once I got close enough, I'd make my move and be enough of a distraction so
that the Senshi could make theirs.

Ruby had other plans, however, and as I neared her, she unexpectedly grabbed
me and shouted, "NOW!"  There was shriek of a disrupter discharge and then the
disorientation of a teleport.

I found myself on the top of a little knoll along with the rest of the
Nemesians.

Ruby changed her hold on me to drive me face-down into the turf . "Pumice,
signal the shuttle to come in and pick us up," she commanded while patting me
down for weapons.

The pungent smell of crushed grass mixed with other scents I hadn't
experienced in centuries as I savored my freedom for Tokyo. Finding no hidden
weapons or transmitters, she removed her knee from my back and commanded, "Get
up."

I got up slowly;  seeming to retch as I did.  Well, actually I was retching
because Rei's communicator was in my stomach and trying to activate it within
my stomach was fairly unpleasant.  Titanite had pressed it into my back on the
way from the Renegades Haven and I had migrated it into my stomach for
safe-keeping.  After a couple stomach-turning episodes, I think I got it
working -- if it still worked.

At last, I stood up straight and looked into Ruby's eyes. There was a stiff
wind from the northeast that teased and tugged at her hair. I expected to see
hate and disdain in that face but instead I found something else. If I didn't
know better, it was curiosity.

"Topass," she started, "all I want to know is why."

I kept my mouth shut. I never had practiced imitating Topass's voice and I
wasn't about to do that now, especially with Ms. Sound-Manipulator in my face.

"I know that we were never too close growing up," she said as she slowly
walked around me, "but you were part of the family, part of the clan. Why did
you decide to turn your back on us?

"You were smart, top-of-the-class and on the fast-track to clan leadership.
Everyone expected great things from you. Your parents would boast to anyone in
earshot of the places you were going and what an asset you were to the clan.
But you threw that all away. All for the love of a terran woman.

"Even then you could have redeemed yourself by acquiring information for us,
planting little seeds here and there, but you ignored our pleas! You ignored
us like we were beggars, instead of the family that birthed and nurtured you.
Because of the dishonor that you have brought upon us, we were forced to act.
_I_ was forced to act, to finally bring an end to your madness.

"What do find in these Terrans that would attract you so? What is the appeal
in their feeble-minded and weak ways? Why have you thrown away your life for
these miserable Terrans?"

As the silence lengthened, it became clear that I couldn't get away without a
response. "Ah did what was right," I croaked out and hoped my voice's apparent
hoarseness from screaming would mask the fact that I wasn't Topass.

Ruby was too distracted to notice anything amiss. "You did what was right? You
did what was right?" she shouted. "Allegiance to your Clan is what is right!
Success is what is right! Anything else is weakness!" She took a few breaths
and took a moment to calm herself.

She looked at me sadly. "I suspected that you were slightly soft-hearted, but
I never thought it would come to this. You've lost your position, your honor
and, very soon, your life. I cannot imagine what could be worth all of that."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the wisps of a light fog rolling in.
Were the Senshi here already? I had to keep the Nemesians attention on me.
There had to be a way to clear little Minako out of the impending combat zone
as well.

"Do you sleep well at night anymore, Ruby?" I rasped out. She frowned, but
remained silent. "In your dreams, do you see the faces of those stepped on to
get to your position? If you had been forced to kill your hostages, would they
haunt your sleep as well? Or do you hear the steps of those behind you, who
are just itching to tear you down and take your place?"

Ruby interrupted in a menacing, low tone, "Don't project your own weaknesses
on me!  I see now that you just didn't have the right stuff. You didn't have
the strength to cope with the pressure did you?"

I continued unflustered, "When you slip and fall, will there be anyone to
catch you? If you fail, will anyone stand up for you and help you up? No,
there is no mercy for those who fail in the Clans, nor do failures have any
friends -- Only those who would slay the wounded to take their place."

Ruby gave a thin laugh, "My dear Topass, you're barking up the wrong tree. I
never fail. Never."

"Sometimes, Ruby, whether we fail or not is completely out of our control.
Believe me, I _know_. " There was an uncomfortable silence which I quickly
filled. "Even if you are the one-in-a-million that happens to reach the top,
what then? Afraid to lose your position and afraid to trust anyone, you'd
just be in a prison of your own making."

Ruby was silent and looking at me speculatively. I had opened my mouth one too
many times and unwelcome suspicions were starting to surface in her mind. The
incoming fog had thickened and was now starting to swirl around my ankles.
Time for something drastic, I concluded. In my right hand behind my back, a
0.38 caliber "Saturday Night Special" revolver formed out of psychoplasm. In
one quick movement, I brought it out and pressed it against my own temple.

"Let Minako go now or I'll blow my own head off!" I demanded.

Boxite was clearly confused as to whether he should shoot me or not. Pumice
just gawked. Ruby's face showed confusion and disbelief.

"Your superiors will want me alive so that they can make an example of me.
Release Minako by the time I count to five or you'll fail your mission!  One!"

"Topass let's be reasonable, I ...", Ruby began.

"Two!"

"Stop counting! Just give us a chance to ..."

"Three!"

"Combat Droid 4," said Ruby in an exasperated tone, "Release the prisoner."

"Four!"

The droid released Minako and I stopped counting, much to the Nemesian's
relief.

"Kid," I said, "Start running and don't look back," and the teenager took off
into the rising fog.

Comprehension suddenly dawned on Ruby. "Wait, you're not ..."

I saw four dim silhouettes starting to emerge out of the fog behind the
Nemesians. Before Ruby could finish her revelation, I quickly shifted forms
into ...

"People should be cherished and not to held as hostages!  In the name of the
moon, I will punish you!" I yelled out in Serenity's voice as I struck a silly
pose complete with sailor fuku. The Nemesians were speechless. "Prepare to
feel the wrath of my Moon Cutie Rod," I expounded and pointed a small rod with
a small moon-shaped tip at them.

Breaking out of the fog behind the Nemesians, the true Sailor Senshi struck.
Unlike the old days, the Senshi went to work immediately without the silly
speeches or yells -- Calcite's influence, I would guess.

The combat droids were the first to go: One froze solid, another exploded in
flames and a third was decapitated by a yellow beam of energy. The two
standing closest to me were obliterated by a falling baby grand piano. Polaris
is getting better all the time, I thought to myself as I hurriedly relocated
myself to a safe distance.  Finding a large tree I could duck behind, I
settled in to enjoy the show.  The Nemesians weren't fairing well, to put it
mildly.

"Time to di...URKKkkkk!"

"Sound Spear!" shouted Ruby whose blast missed Sailor Venus and leveled an
unfortunate sapling. "Surround Sou..Gackk!" she got out before getting wrapped
up in Venus' Love-Me-Chain.

"Eeeck! Not in the face!  Not in the face!"

"Arghhh! Game over! Game over, man!"

This was going to be over way too quickly, I mused lounging against the tree.
Then I noticed Ruby had gotten a hand free from Venus' chain and scattered
four crystals on the ground, which promptly turned into droids.

Before the droids could react, Sailor Mars was in their midst, pulverizing one
with an devastating uppercut and a second with a round-house kick. The third
droid was struck by a thrown mallet and rained down in a shower scrap metal.
Only the fourth droid had an the time to raise its blaster at its enemies.

A streak of green and red flew over my shoulder and impaled the doomed droid's
blaster. I could clearly see that the projectile was a solitary rose before
the blaster blew itself to bits.

"Endymion," I called out over my shoulder, "Fancy meeting you here."

Out from under the shadows of the trees stepped a man in dark gray slacks and
pull-over; Only a small insignia on his left shoulder gave any hint that he
was co-regent and husband to the most powerful woman in the world. He still
cut a rather dashing figure after all these years. What he was doing outside
of Crystal Tokyo? It was highly irregular.

"Why, thank you Magnesite," he responded to my unintentional narration.
"Technically, this is under my jurisdiction as an operation outside Crystal
Tokyo, but," he added with a twinkle in his eye, "the real reason is that I
like to keep my hand in from time to time to make sure I haven't lost my
touch."

"Which reminds me," he continued as he looked at me up and down. "There's a
little reprimand I need to give you." He cleared his throat and said in a
stuffy tone, "If you're going to be impersonating our beloved queen, we'd
appreciate it if you'd do it without wearing a five o'clock shadow."

Whoops! I realized that I forgot to lose Topass's stubble when I switched
forms.

"Furthermore, if I ever catch you impersonating my dear wife ever again, I'll
have to express my extreme displeasure."

"You and what army?" I grinned. Endymion was probably the only one in the CT
court I could take one-on-one.

"Take your pick," he gestured back to the top of the hill. Mars was teaching
Boxite how to eat grass. Venus was gaily swinging Ruby in circles on the end
of her chain. Polaris was merrily pounding away on a pathetic combat droid who
was futility trying to crawl away.

Ask a stupid question ...  "I get your point," I conceded and took on my
normal form. It was quite a relief actually as those Senshi heels were
starting to kill me.

Endymion dropped his formal tone and added in a whisper, "Off the record, you
did a great impersonation. I only wish my wife were here to see it as well."
With that parting remark he strode up the hill and signaled his security
forces to come out of concealment and start mopping up.

A slight shiver worked its way up my spine as I contemplated Queen Serenity
seeing my little impersonation act. No, getting her ticked off at me would
_not_ be a good idea.

Things on the hill were pretty much under control with the Nemesians being
bundled up for transport back to Rei's little play-pen. I sauntered up the
hill to receive the accolades that I so richly deserved.

Sailor Mercury was the first to greet me. Ami seemed to have a soft spot for
me though I could never figure out why. Just overwhelmed by my charm, I guess.

"Magnesite, do you have that brooch that the Nemesians gave you? I'm dying to
take close look at it!"

"Uuhhh, Titanite has it. She got it when we switched ..." Ami was gone to for
search Titanite before I could finish my sentence.

Rei confronted me next. "Okay, hand it over," she grumbled.

"Hand what over?"

"My communicator, you dimwit!"

With a smirk I reached my hand into my midsection and pulled Rei's
communicator out from my stomach. It was dripping unidentifiable ooze,
naturally. I held it out to her.

Rei looked at her profaned possession with disgust. "Corporal Sakai!" she
commanded, "Take my communicator and get it cleaned up and disinfected." The
unfortunate scuttled up to me and gingerly picked up the communicator from my
hand. Abruptly turning away from me, Rei barked out more orders, "Lieutenant
Tanaka! Teleport the prisoners back to the palace. Process them and put them
in the high-security holding cells." They were gone before I had a chance to
gloat over them.

Feeling slightly disgruntled, I started looking for the girl that I risked my
hide to rescue. At least she'd be grateful! I found her in time to witness a
touching scene between her a Sailor Venus.

"I just knew you would come to save me, Grandma!" the teenager cried as she
threw her arms around Sailor Venus.

Grandma? The Nemesians must of kidnapped a descendant of the Sailor Venus and
Calcite and not known it! My estimation of their intelligence agency just
dropped another notch. It would stand to reason with a name like Minako --
though to be fair, it is rather a common name nowadays and it's probably not
just "grandma" but more like "great-great-great-grandmother".

"You're safe now," comforted the elder Minako tightly hugging the younger.
After awhile, she suggested, "How about if I take you home now?" The teenager
nodded and then Venus teleported them away.

I heard the rustle of grass behind me and found Polaris walking toward me with
my trenchcoat bundled up under one arm and my fedora, now slightly charred, in
the other.

"I believe these are yours," she stated. She started to offer them to me, but
pulled them back as a thought occurred to her. "Did you really mean what you
said to Ruby?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know, that quest for power and domination is ultimately futile. That the
ends don't justify the means."

I chuckled nervously. "Errr. Aahhh. Well, I had to play the part of Topass
convincingly. I was just doing my best to confuse and distract my opponent.
Now if Ruby had been a youma like myself instead of a soft human, that sort of
thing would have never worked."

"I see. What could I have been thinking? A heartless youma like yourself would
never hesitate to sacrifice a couple of innocents to further his own ends."

"Exactly! I would sacrifice them in an inst ...." I stopped as I noticed
Titanite grinning at me impishly.

"I thought so", she concluded while laying the trenchcoat in my limp hands
and the placing the fedora on my head.

"Now wait just a minute!" I objected as I realized what she was getting at.

As our little conversation was going on, Endymion had determined that it was
time to leave the premises before a certain shuttle showed up. He pulled out
his communicator and spoke into it, "Dear, we're ready to come home."

The world blinked out around me and in the next moment, I was standing back in
the Renegades Haven in Crystal Tokyo.

%%%%%%%

Even after over 200 years, I've never quite gotten used to the sheer immensity
of magical power that Queen Serenity radiates. I have, however, gotten to
point where I can hide the fact that she scares the socks off of me. If I
actually wore socks, that is.

"Ah, Magnesite, how nice of you to drop in," Queen Serenity said with a trace
of a smile.

She was seated before me in one of the restaurant's chairs.  I noted with some
displeasure that all the night's damage had been erased. Even the slate menu
board was miraculously restored and set back on the wall. Things had a nasty
habit of fixing themselves whenever Serenity was around. Finding seats in
other parts of the room were the Endymion, Calcite and rest of the Senshi
excluding Minako. Topass and Titanite had found seats close together were
whispering to each other quietly. Sailor Jupiter, Makoto, stood at attention
behind the Queen's right shoulder, apparently having pulled watch-dog duty.

"Your Majesty," I said, giving a curt bow, "It is always a pleasure to be in
your presence." I kept as straight a face as I could manage.

"Please just call me Serenity. There's no need to be formal here," she waited
for my nod and continued, "You know you've caused quite a stir in the Palace.
You set off a bomb in the west wing, kidnapped Topass, and have sent most of my
court scurrying around the city way past their bedtimes.  Not only that, Rei
of all people came to me and practically begged that I give you the ability to
temporarily leave the mana well. We would very much like an explanation of all
these ongoings."

"Your Ma ... uh, Serenity is there a reason that you are holding this ...
little gathering late at night instead of a normal public hearing?" Serenity
arched an eyebrow at me. "I don't mean to imply anything," I added quickly,
"but it is a bit unusual."

Serenity cast a glance at Endymion who then explained, "First, we're not quite
sure what to do yet with Ruby and the rest of the Nemesians we captured.
Probably it will just lead to a couple rounds of diplomatic protests and
denials, etc.. At any rate, we want to keep it under wraps until we figure out
how to best turn it to our advantage.

"Second, we want to keep them guessing over what went wrong with their little
plot and where our security actually picked up on them. I'm afraid they'll be
looking to have a little chat with you, but that would happen in any case."

I looked into Endymion's eyes and gauged his words. My suspicious mind had
been worrying that this was something of a kangaroo court, but Endymion's
reasons seemed fairly sound. If there was one good thing about dealing with
the Senshi, it was that they played it straight with you ... for the most
part.

"Now when you're ready, Magnesite?" Serenity prompted.

I gave my audience an abbreviated version of finding the envelope and meeting
the Nemesians. I left out the visit of the mysterious trenchcoated stranger;
no use damaging my credibility at this point. As I detailed planting the
little sodium bomb, I could almost feel Rei's eyes burning to my back. When I
got to the part about waltzing into the Inner Palace and impersonating Rei, I
was rudely interrupted.

"Just taking Titanite's form wouldn't be enough to fool the sensors at
perimeter of the inner Palace. How did you get past them!" Rei demanded.

My left hand rippled and produce a small yellow crystal. "Recognize this?" I
taunted and threw her the crystal. "It's one of your sensor crystals that I
acquired from a certain ... friend. It took me a few months, but eventually I
learned how to use it and fool others of its kind."

"Very clever," she admitted and scowled, "but how did you evade the secondary
sensor net?"

I kept a smirk plastered on my face while wondering, *What secondary sensor
net?* "Every P.I. has to keep his secrets of the trade," I said mysteriously.

Before Rei could find a retort, Minako, who had slipped in during my
narrative, butted in, "What bothers me is that you have been practicing how to
impersonate all of us! What have you been planning to do all these years?"

"Survive, of course!" I pointedly looked at Calcite. "Anyone who wants to
survive has to have contingency plans. There are quite a few people in this
room who have not been exactly my best buddies at one time or another."

I was starting to feel reckless, so I let my mouth keep running. "You've
trapped me in this disgustingly pleasant city for over two centuries. During
which time some of you have threatened to lock me back in a crystal, throw me
in a cell, pound me flat or turn me into a teddy bear!" Titanite rather
unsuccessfully tried to suppress her laughter. "Naturally, I'd look for a way
to defend myself and maybe even find a way to escape this crazy city! Wouldn't
you?"

There was dead silence. They can crucify me now if they want to, I thought
grimly, but at least I've said my peace.

Serenity cleared her throat. "I apologize, Magnesite. I never knew that you
felt that way. You know, I had only intended your ... parole in Crystal Tokyo
to only be a period of fifty years or so. After you settled in, well, you
seemed so happy here and it just slipped my mind. If you had just come to me
and asked, I would have gladly allowed you to travel out of Crystal Tokyo long
ago."

I just stood there and gaped. Serenity looked at me with concern, "Magnesite?
Magnesite? Are you O.K.?"

Finally Ami stood up and guided me to a chair. "Perhaps, Topass could continue
the story," she suggested, "I think Maggie needs a little breather."

Topass recounted the events leading up to being teleported out of the Palace
and being knocked out and trussed up by me in the storm drain. "When I came
to, I realized that the person who I thought was Ti was actually an impostor,"
explained Topass.

"I can't believe you actually believed that Maggie was me," pouted Titanite.

"Er, to be truthful, I suspected something was wrong  because ... he didn't
have the radiance and grace that you so naturally exude," stuttered Topass
nervously while Titanite secretly winked to the rest of us.

"Anyway, it was obvious that he was Magnesite from the story he was telling me
and I had heard about his shape-shifting abilities. The strange thing about it
was words that were scrolling across his forehead."

"Words?" frowned Serenity.

I had recovered enough at this point to contribute again. "Let me
demonstrate," I offered while taking my fedora off.

Even though I couldn't see it myself, I willed the following sentence to
scroll across my forehead: "If you can read this, you are standing too close."

"How did you learn to do that?" inquired Ami after the murmuring died down.

I closed my eyes. "I was a couple of months after I was locked into that
crystal that I discovered that if I looked a certain way, I could see part of
my right cheek. Out of sheer boredom, I started making blotches on my cheek
and then simple drawings and finally the pictures and words. It took a long
time, but then again time was all I had."

"It was a pretty weird experience listening to him talk and reading something
totally different on his forehead at the same time," Topass said as he resumed
his story. "Anyway we set up a signaling system where he would ask a question
on his forehead and I'd twitch my foot yes or no outside the visual range of
Ruby's brooch.

"I wasn't sure whether I should trust Magnesite or not until we did the little
pain-collar demonstration for the sake of the watching Nemesians. When he
pressed the button on his remote, I did my best to feign the effects of a
pain-inducing collar. I could tell that the brooch on his lapel was Nemesian,
which backed up his verbal story. The fact that my collar was a fake meant
that he really didn't have any hold on me. This convinced me that he was
trying to get cooperate in deceiving our observers. Either that or I could
break away if I smelled a set-up later on."

"How is it that you were able to give such a convincing performance of being
in pain?" asked Titanite. "You would have fooled me if I didn't know better."

"Part of my standard training was how to deal with pain and resist breaking
under torture ... so I've had a lot of experience to draw from."

Makoto chimed in to fill an uneasy pause, "So, how did you all pull the switch
on the Nemesians?"

"It was all pretty simple," I said quickly to steal the floor back from Topass.
"I had Topass hold up a chalkboard that I filled up with fake arcane symbols
and cast a concealment spell over him. When I went to the kitchen, he wrote
'Pretend to freeze. This is a sting.' on the opposite side of the board. After
I sat down with my back to him, he flipped the board over to show his
message."

Topass interjected, "When Rei and Titanite showed up and finally looked hard
enough to pierce the concealment spell, they acted like they were frozen by
Maggie's bogus spell. Maggie then went into a long, boring monologue to allow
us time to plan our next move."

"Hey, it was only long because someone kept rejecting our plans," I objected.

Titanite possessively hugged Topass. "There was no way I was going to let Topass
go anywhere near those Nemesians!"

"Ha! After the way he choreographed our fight, I should have turned him over
to the Nemesians myself!" I complained.

"Just think of it as some payback for that love-tap you gave me earlier in the
storm drain. Anyway, we had to keep it as realistic as possible to fool Ruby."

"Realistic, my foot!" I grumbled.

"Time out! Maybe I'm missing something, but how could you work out something
while the Nemesians were watching?" wondered Makoto.

"Basically, Maggie kept his back to me and I illustrated what we were going to
do using small illusions," Topass explained. "Ti signaled back to me with her
hands under the table. Rei could only blink back with her right eye which was
hidden from the brooch. Maggie wrote on the back of his head."

"But how did Maggie see what you were ..." Makoto broke off as she noticed
that I was migrating my left eye to the back of my head. "... never mind."

"What we finally agreed on was that Ti would throw a table at Maggie which
would obscure Ruby's visual pick-up," Topass continued. "After an appropriate
amount of  violence, Rei cast a glamour over me so that I could play the part
of the defeated Titanite and Maggie took my place. Ti pretended to be Maggie
imitating herself.

"Once Maggie and Ti left the Haven, Rei teleported back to the palace to
petition Queen Serenity to use her magic to allow Maggie to temporarily leave
the mana well and round up the hostage rescue team."

"Am I the only one here that has a headache now?" complained Minako.

"Hush, Minako," admonished Serenity. After some consideration, she added, "It
_is_ getting rather late and I think that we know enough of what happened
tonight. Magnesite, please rise."

I got out of my chair, stood before Serenity and did my best to meet her gaze.

"We find that you have acted in the best interests of the Crystal Tokyo. In
the face of great personal risk, you have been instrumental in rescuing two
citizens of Crystal Tokyo and apprehending their abductors."

I stopped her before she could continue, "Just a minute, I want to make sure
we don't have any misunderstanding here. I didn't do it for the sake of the
kids or for Crystal Tokyo. It's just that I dislike being blackmailed and
hated the Nemesians much more than the rest of you all."

Serenity took it all in stride. "Nevertheless, you have Our profound thanks
for your actions."

Calcite took the opportunity to add his two cents. "Regardsless of your
motivations, you did rescue one of our children. For that you have Minako's
and my thanks. It will not soon be forgotten."

I was starting to feel rather uncomfortable. Positive sentiment tends to do
that to me. "So, when can I blow this joint?" I quipped.

"You can start immediately," answered Serenity.

"Immediately?"

"It was much easier to change you permanently than to do something temporary,"
explained Serenity. "You'll probably never be quite comfortable outside of a
mana well, but you should be able to survive and travel outside of them."

I started feeling queasy. I had imagined that I would feel excruciating pain
or at least see some fireworks when Serenity fixed me up so that I could
venture outside the mana well. But I hadn't noticed anything between the time
that I left the Renegades Haven until the hostage exchange with the Nemesians. She
had revolutionized my life with seemingly less effort than she'd expend
polishing her fingernails.

Unless, of course, she was just waiting for me to get far enough from the mana
well for my "fix" to fade away and laugh as I melted down into a puddle of goo
... I lifted my gaze to look Serenity in the eyes.  No, that couldn't be
right, I thought as I looked away.

"With your permission?" I asked as I tipped my fedora to leave.

"With Our blessings," smiled Serenity.

As I turned and walked to the door, I was haunted by what I saw in Serenity's
eyes. Could it really be warmth and concern? I shoved the thought aside. As I
reached for the door handle, however, I couldn't resist turning and looking at
the assembled group one last time.

I had known this crew for over two hundred years; I was certainly sick of them
and was certain it was mutual. Still, a strange feeling gripped me ... almost
like I was going to miss them all.  I shook my head to clear it, what am I
thinking? These are the Senshi I was talking about. Besides I'd be back
shortly to collect my things and tie up loose ends. I'd have to come back to
flaunt my new-found freedom in front of Margrave at least. But right now the
whole world beckoned me.

At last my gaze lingered on Rei. Poor girl, I thought. The irony of it all.
Here I am finally with my freedom and she is still stuck with the most
pointless job in the world, being security chief of a Utopia ...

"Poor Girl?!?!" Rei yelled. "Pointless job?!?!?! Well, Mr. Magnesite, let me
be the first show you your new found freedom!" she snarled.

"Wait! I didn't ..." was all could get out before Rei seized me, kicked the
door open and dragged me out into the street.

%%%%%

The audience in the Renegades Haven was momentarily shocked by Magnesite's
unwitting comments and Rei's violent reaction to them. But only momentarily.
In a split second, they all spilled out into the street after the pair to
watch the show.

"So you want your freedom, do you?" Rei rhetorically asked as she heaved and
tossed Magnesite straight-up into the air. "Well, HERE IT IS!" With a terrific
jump-kick that rattled nearby windows, she punted him out into the night sky.

Calcite gave up trying to count hang-time after he lost sight of Maggie in the
darkness. Well, he thought philosophically, at least Maggie was getting his
wish for a quick exit.

Minako tentatively approached Rei, who was taking deep breaths to calm herself
down. "You know Rei, I've noticed that you've been a little ... over-physical
... in your treatment of Magnesite. You know, if I didn't know better, I'd
think that you have a little something going on with Maggie."

"What?!?" cried Rei in disbelief.

"Come on, haven't you _personally_ interviewed at least every month for the
two centuries? And you react violently to him with the least provocation? You
must have something going on with him!"

"I DO NOT!" Rei hotly denied.

"Yes Rei, you should listen to Minako. She's an expert when it comes to
violence and love," suggested Makoto saucily.

"Yes, I'm an expert when ... What did you say Makoto?"

"She said 'he reminds her of her old boyfriend'," inserted Ti, not wanting to
be left out of the fun.

"I did not!"

"You take that back!"

"There is nothing going on between that slimeball and me!"

"You know, Rei, you shouldn't be embarrassed about what any of the rest of us
think."

"Violence? I'll show you violence!"

On the edge of this animated discussion, Endymion offered his arm to Serenity
who accepted it and they strolled serenely down the street, oblivious to the
sounds of an impending skirmish behind them.  After a few moments of Serenity
leaning contentedly against his arm, Endymion broke the silence. "Why did you
lie to Magnesite?"

"How dare you accuse me, your Queen, of such impropriety?" Serenity said in
indignant tones while pulling away from him. "Why just the thought of ..."

Endymion silenced her with a finger to her lips, "You may be able to fool the
rest of them but you can't fool me. Now spit it out."

Serenity gave out a throaty laugh and resumed walking arm-in-arm with
Endymion. "Would you rather had me tell them the truth, dear? That I kept
Magnesite in Crystal Tokyo because of the good that he was doing in his own
quirky way? That he was like a trouble magnet so that by keeping an eye on
him, I could find and correct problems in my city? I suppose that if he had
asked, I would have let him go, but I was glad to have him around just the
same."

Endymion thought about that for awhile. "If he knew that, he might never live
it down."

"And what if I said that I also kept him around for Rei?" she suppressed a
snicker, "that he was one of the ways that I was keeping Rei busy and
preoccupied."

"In that case," Endymion took and kissed Serenity's hand, "I'm glad you lied.
Or else, I'd probably be tracking you down from a little night flight, courtesy
of Rei." Giggling like children, they continued their night stroll, momentarily
forgetting that in a little while staying busy would be the least of their
problems.

In a nearby alley, a mysterious trenchcoated figure watched all these
proceedings with a keen interest. He reached into one of his pockets a pulled
out a tangle of crystals and wires and deposited it in a nearby trashbin. The
next day Rei's security forces would identify it as pieces of her secondary
security net. Finally with a glance in the direction in which Magnesite
disappeared, the figure whispered, "See you later, kid," and disappeared into
the shadows.

%%%%%

I gazed up at the stars as the night air flew past me.  The air was clearer up
here and the starry host seemed to rejoice at my passing. Yes, once again I
had no money, no gal and nothing but the coat on my back, but this time, I had
my freedom. That made all the difference in the world. Somewhere, out there
among all the joints and all the bars in the world, I would finally be able to
find a decent dive to call my own.

With a <thump> I reacquainted myself with the earth. And for a time, I mused
no more.


>>> An Ending, but also a new Beginning<<<


The Senshi and related characters were created by Naoko Takeuchi.
Magnesite, Margrave and the Renegades are owned by Mark Latus.
Topass is owned by Andy Combs.