Usagi watched Michiru from the corner of her eye. The brown haired girl sat quietly in the chair across the desk, her eyes drifting over the room's décor.
"Do you have a job?" Usagi blushed a bit at her own bluntness. Michiru laughed quietly.
"No, I don't. I'm kind of living off Haruka at the moment. My parents are old money, blue bloods. They disowned me when I started dating Haruka." Usagi's eyes misted over.
"That's awful." Michiru smiled.
"I know what you're thinking, little Usagi. You want to adopt me too, just like you did the other ones who came in today." Usagi blushed brightly.
"I just tend to think people can be useful, so I use them." Michiru leaned back in her chair.
"I've been a bit bored lately, and Haruka will be busy with her new job. I suppose I could use a job." Usagi's smile widened.
"Wonderful. I can't believe how much fun this is. Come on, I have people to introduce you to."
Mina stepped out of her office with a load of reports to drop off. She almost dropped the pile, but managed to make it to Setsuna's desk. Then she heard the giggles.
"Setsuna, why does it sound like there's a slumber party in Usagi's office?" Setsuna looked up smiling.
"There is. Usagi's been adopting again." Mina frowned. Too many people could be a problem.
"Maybe I should go check it out." Setsuna just shrugged and returned to her paperwork. Mina walked down the hall slowly, stopping at Usagi's open door. She did a quick head count. There were four girls with their heads partway stuck under the desk.
"Am I interrupting anything?" Usagi sat up quickly, smashing her head against the desk in the process.
"Mina! I thought you'd never leave your office. These are the new employees. This is Rei, and this is Renjo. Michiru is dropping off some stuff and helping Makoto." Mina shook her head silently. She was getting strange feelings off of all the girls. She closed her eyes for a moment. She reached out, trying to feel her way around the room. But another giggle distracted her.
"I got it, Usa." Ami's head popped up. "Hi Mina. I was just installing some stuff for Usagi. How have you been?" Mina shook her head. Ami hadn't looked this happy since... well, Mina had never seen Ami look so happy and relaxed. Usagi climbed to her feet.
"You have to get Ami to put in some of this stuff for you. It's amazing, absolutely amazing." Renjo stood up and jerked her skirt into place.
"Well, I should get back to work. I'll see you all at dinner, bye." She nodded politely to Mina and practically skipped down the hall.
"I should probably go too. I need to do this in all the offices." Ami ran a hand through her short black hair, blue highlights glinting in the light. "I'll see you later, Mina." She did skip down the hall, whistling as she went. Mina shook her head.
"I suppose I should get the rest of these done. Nice to meet you, Mina." Rei waved good-bye to Usagi and headed to her office next door.
"Adopting again Usagi?" Usagi turned an innocent gaze up towards Mina.
"Why do you guys call it adopting? They're skilled, and nice, and I want to work with friends." Mina sighed. Usagi would never change.
"I actually came down here to see if you were having problems finding employees, but that doesn't seem to be a problem." Usagi smiled.
"Don't worry Mina, I have everything under control." Mina sighed and headed back to her office.
"I'm going back to work."
"Don't forget the company dinner at six." Usagi yelled after the blonde head.
Haruka stepped from the meeting feeling more than a little dazed. She turned her hand over, expecting to see a scar, a mark, something. The skin was blank. She collapsed on the couch, waiting for the others to exit. Tonight. Tonight her dreams would come true. And all she had to pay was her soul. "He's a devil, that's all there is too it." Haruka muttered the words under her breath.
"Are you ready to go?" Hisame leaned over the back of the couch, startling Haruka. "We need to get moving if we want to be back here by six." Haruka nodded slowly. "All right then, let's go visit the labs." Mamoru stood at the door of the boardroom. Haruka had been all he wanted, and more. Her powers would make them unstoppable.
"I'm heading to the capital Mamoru. I'm probably behind in my work. I'll be back at six." Mamoru nodded slowly. Ikusa bowed and left at a quick trot. Hisame and Haruka were waiting in the elevator. Mamoru waved them on. He wasn't needed for that little experiment.
Arashi rubbed a hand across his eyes. Setsuna had just presented him with a stack of phone messages. "I need to get to work Mamoru, I'll be back later." Mamoru nodded again. Arashi bowed and headed for the stairs. Mamoru smiled. Arashi did like to keep in shape. Mamoru's black cat pranced out of the boardroom, jumping up on the leather couch. The animal curled up for a nap. Mamoru's smile widened.
"Sometimes, I wish I were a cat. Are you off to work, Kaji?" Kaji nodded slowly.
"I have a passel of new recruits to start on. I will return at six." Mamoru nodded and Kaji headed for the now returned elevator.
"Mamoru? Ms. Usagi hired a new chef, so I canceled reservations for the restaurant tonight. She's also requested that the children and three friends be allowed to attend." Mamoru nodded slowly.
"Very well, make the arrangements. I'll be in my office." He slowly walked to the doors, his mind still focused on the results of the meeting. Ms. Shiro sure surprised everyone. Mamoru chuckled under his breath. Then he entered his office and turned out the lights.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for a Mr. Mamoru Chiba." Setsuna looked up at the young girl. She was very lovely, long red hair and brown eyes with a touch of the same red hue.
"Do you have an appointment?" The girl's face darkened a bit. She pulled something from her purse. It was a small box.
"Just give him this." Setsuna looked at the box in puzzlement, then shrugged. She'd let Mamoru deal with the girl.
"I'll be right back.
The office was completely dark when Setsuna entered.
"Mamoru." Silence. "Mamoru, there's a girl outside who wants to see you. I was supposed to give you this." Setsuna took a few steps forward. Mamoru stepped from the shadows on her right.
"Thank you Setsuna, you're dismissed." Setsuna left the room quickly. She didn't like the way he had simply appeared out of the blackness.
Mamoru opened the small white box, and felt his breath catch in his throat. He raced to the door and flung it open.
"Akatsuki."
"Mamoru."
"Thank you so much for giving me a hand. I don't know how I could have done all this without you." Michiru smiled and stirred the food gently.
"I'm glad I could help. I'm much more at home here than in the mass of paperwork upstairs." Makoto smiled.
"Well, you've certainly helped me out." She turned back to the dessert she was creating. "I didn't realize how much work is involved when there's just one cook." Michiru laughed softly.
"It was fun. I haven't decorated a room for a dinner in a long time." Her voice dropped off, becoming soft and far away. Makoto returned her attention to the ovens.
"You have my eternal gratitude, and a favor should you ever need one." Michiru nodded, the lump in her throat keeping her from replying.
Hisame pulled up in front of Tomoe labs. "We're here to collect Hotaru Tomoe." Hisame's voice echoed in the plain building. A white haired man walked out, wiping his hands on his lab coat.
"You must be Mr. Kasumi. I've read your work."
"You must be Professor Tomoe. We're here to collect your daughter. We need a new head researcher for Terran Eclipse Labs." The professor's eyes narrowed a bit.
"So she was what you were after all along. Very well, her office is back this way. Hotaru, we have visitors." Hotaru jerked around sharply.
Haruka stared at the girl. She looked young, maybe eighteen, with short black hair and deep purple eyes. The girl stepped under a ray of light from a lamp. Violet strands seemed to dance in her hair.
"Can I help you?" Haruka couldn't shake the feeling of foreboding. She knew this girl, somehow. And Haruka knew the girl was dangerous.
"Hello, Hotaru Tomoe. I'm Hisame Kasumi from Terran Eclipse. We're here to pick up the new head of Terran Eclipse Labs. You."
Hotaru stared at the two in front of her. "I'm what? We're going to where?" Her voice came out in a squeak.
"Today we're merely going to set things up. Mr. Chiba has read of your work recently and we're going to test the device on Ms. Haruka here. She hasn't paid the bill yet, so the experiment won't be for a few days." Haruka resisted the urge to wrap her hands around the pompous jerk's throat.
"I would watch what you say, Hisame. I think that young lady would like very much to remove the life from your body." Hotaru turned her back on the two.
"So shall we pack your stuff up?" Hotaru nodded her head slowly. This was her dream. Access to the exclusive private labs of Terran Eclipse. To be able to touch all the things they'd found.
"Are you going to inform me of some of your discoveries?" Hotaru grabbed a box from the back and started throwing books inside.
"I suppose. Everyone knows that Terran Eclipse has released some fabulously advanced technology in the past two years. And most in research know that technology was reverse engineered." Hisame grabbed a box and started helping. Haruka crossed her arms over her chest. Hotaru moved over to a computer and quickly disconnected it.
"Hey, can you carry this out?" Haruka scowled, but picked up the monitor. The scientific talk wasn't very exciting anyway.
"Terran Eclipse has been raiding specific sites all over the solar system. Ruins, if you will, of an ancient civilization. Most things are worthless, beyond recovery, but the few things we have found have yielded amazing results." Hotaru turned around, her hands planted on her hips.
"How did you manage to discover the ruins in the first place? And how in the world did you manage to travel to pick them up?" Hisame smiled slowly.
"The scientific world we live in had completely discarded the idea of magic, claiming it couldn't possibly exist. Well, Terran Eclipse Labs have discovered otherwise." His voice was bright with excitement. Hotaru merely crossed her arms.
"That's impossible." Hisame smiled and stood up.
"As impossible as this?" He held out a finger and a stream of ice shot across the room, encasing an empty chair. Hotaru literally fell over.
"How the hell did you do that?" She ran over to the ice-encased chair, examining it carefully.
"Actually, we haven't quite figured everything out yet. We do know that not everyone is capable of magic. It seems to be an inner skill, and is hereditary. But the skill doesn't decrease if crossbred. The skills seem to be passed one for one. So if I can shoot ice from my finger, one of my children will have that skill. In rare cases the magic will multiply, with skills from both parents, but we've only discovered one case of that." Hotaru finished examining the frozen chair.
"This is fantastic. Why haven't you published any of your findings?" Hisame simply laughed.
"Why would we tell the world something like this? It's much more profitable to keep it hidden." He reached for a second stack of books. Hotaru pulled away from the chair.
"So how do you know if you have magic potential?" Hisame shrugged.
"We have a few methods. One method is using Mr. Chiba. He has the ability to sense those with magic potential. In fact, I think with training anyone can sense someone with the potential. Another method is using extreme stress. Many people with the skills will release them if someone or something they care about is in danger." Haruka caught the last half of the conversation on her way to get another piece of the computer.
"Which could be a very stupid method, because then the person has no real control over their powers." Haruka huffed the words while carrying out a cardboard box of parts. Hisame smiled. He waited until Haruka returned to answer.
"You're just angry because it takes training and practice to get good at using your skills." Haruka frowned and grabbed the next box.
"I still say that was a stupid thing to do." She stalked out the door, shoulders stiff.
"Don't mind her. She was subject to a little stress test earlier today. She has enormous potential. Mr. Chiba was very impressed." Hisame's laughter echoed off the stone walls.
"This is rather a lot to take in, Hisame. Magic exists, but only those with innate abilities can use it. But what exactly is magic? And how are you getting to all corners of the solar system?" Hisame grabbed a second box and started emptying a desk.
"Teleportation." Hotaru's mouth twitched.
"An impossibility." Hisame winked out of existence, reappearing directly behind Hotaru.
"Not impossible with Magic. It's not easy to do. It takes a lot of practice and patience. And a lot of energy. Long teleportations require a device to focus the magic and provide control and aim. And they require more than one person. It takes all six of us for interplanetary travel, and we can't make it work without either Mr. Chiba or Mr. Hikaru. Their magic power is much greater than most." Hotaru tapped a finger against her chin, still a bit nervous from the teleportation display.
"So there are levels of magical energy." Hisame nodded.
"There's a top level, very rare. The only two we've found with large amounts of power are Hikaru and Chiba. Then there is a second level. This is still powerful, capable of things like long teleports and such. The third level is a bit more common. The ability to communicate telepathically, the ability to channel the energy of others, things like that. The bottom level is basic magical ability. Some healing powers, maybe a single offensive attack, or the ability to read the future." Hotaru listened carefully to the recitation.
"I take it you've found people at every level." Hisame nodded and finished emptying the desk.
"Yes. Is there anything else you need from here?" Hotaru shook her head.
"The computer, the books, and the contents of the desk will be fine. When do I get to see the artifacts?" Hisame laughed.
"Impatient aren't we. As soon as you're moved in. Mamoru wants to try the device tomorrow, so we better get moving." Hotaru nodded, but her mind was filled with anticipation.
"Magic."
Kaji looked over his new recruits carefully. There had to be a few in here with potential. The group of men and women were sitting on the floor, legs crossed, eyes closed. Kaji reached out slowly with his senses, searching for a hint of power. Nothing came back. He nodded to the instructor and left the room. Another batch with nothing. They could be trained, but he needed more magic users. The phone rang.
"Dad?" Kaji was surprised.
"Akira, why are you calling?" The boy on the other end of the phone took a deep breath.
"Dad, this morning, the stuff I told you. You know why I can do stuff, don't you." Kaji sighed.
"You have a gift of magic I suppose, but that doesn't explain why you're calling me."
"Well, I don't think you realize how much we use our powers. Endy has it too, and we were goofing around. We can talk to each other telepathically and stuff. Well, we were bored and we were testing to see what we could do and Endymion figured out how to teleport, and then he ended up almost falling off the roof, and we got scared and the nanny was screaming. Then we both kind of reacted, and the nanny reacted too, and Chibi-Usa turned into a bright pink fireball, and we found out that our nanny is a really good channel. I think we shoved a lot of magic through her. We didn't mean to hurt her, really dad. But we kind of knocked her out. And she won't wake up. So we need someone to pick up for dinner." Kaji took a deep breath. Were all five year olds like this?"
"I'll be there in a moment. Make sure the girl is still breathing and if she wakes up feed her something." Kaji hung up the phone softly. The children were more gifted than he had thought. And if he didn't train them fast more people would be hurt. He sat looking at the phone for a long moment. Something was tickling at the back of his brain. He looked at the phone again. If the girl had managed to survive three people channeling her she had to be good. And he always needed recruits.
Gekko was curled up on Mina's bed, his tail twitching in sleep.
"Gekko. You need to find the others Gekko. You need ten warriors to combat what is ahead. Awaken to your past powers Gekko, awaken." The cat opened his eyes slowly, and discovered he was in human form again.
"What is going on?" Artemis stretched his arms out. "How did I get human again?" He looked in the mirror and blinked. His eyes, they looked strange. He walked forward in surprise. He blinked again. His eyes were cat's eyes. He looked down at his hands again. They felt different. He moved muscles, muscles that had only been present as a cat. Long claws popped out. "Now why do I feel like I've been watching X-men too much?" Art felt something twitch and looked behind him. He still had a tail. Art closed his eyes tightly and concentrated. The white light enveloped him, and he was a cat again. But the usual energy drain wasn't there. "What has happened to me?" The cat pressed its eyes tight, and the glow happened again. Art opened his eyes. This time they were bright blue. The tail was gone too. Art rubbed a hand against his brow. He had regained his warrior form, half human half cat, but why? And how? He moved toward the kitchen. "I need a glass of milk."
Hotaru sat in the back of the car, her eyes pressed tightly shut. Hisame chuckled at the expression on her face.
"Tell me again why we let her drive?" The car squealed around another corner and picked up speed.
"Haruka's a very talented driver, and can get us to where we need to go very quickly." Hotaru opened her eyes and frowned at Hisame.
"Anyone could get us there fast if they drove almost twice the speed limit. Ahhh." The car took another corner sharply, throwing Hotaru against Hisame. He smiled at her fear. Haruka didn't pay attention to either of them. Behind a wheel of a car she felt alive.
"Where exactly are we going, Hisame?"
"Head for the docks, Haruka. I'll tell you where to go from there." Hotaru glanced at the stuffed trunk and the boxes piled in the car.
"I better not have anything damaged." Haruka's smile widened and she pressed the accelerator.
"Hold on tight."
Michiru came into the kitchen with a large bag hanging off her shoulder.
"How are things going, Mako?" Makoto turned from decorating a very lovely cheesecake.
"Everything's very good Michiru. What in the world do you have in that bag?" Michiru grinned and headed for one of the counters. She started pulling things out of the bag.
"Two nice dresses, one in your size. Don't worry; it's an old one of Haruka's. She wouldn't wear it if you put a gun to her head. Some make-up, and a healthy assortment of undergarments and shoes." Makoto's eyes widened at the amount of make-up lying on the counter.
"Good grief." Michiru starting sorting things into piles.
"I'm going to go change and get ready while you finish up here. Then you can get dressed and I'll help you with your face." Makoto planted her hands on her hips.
"Why do I have to get dressed up?" Michiru leveled her gaze.
"Makoto, you will be judged tonight as much on who you are and how you dress. Your cooking will truly be only a secondary consideration. The key to a man's heart is through his eyes, unfortunately." She grabbed one of the piles of clothing. "I'll be right back." Makoto turned back to her cheesecake with a loud grumble.
Kaji closed his eyes tightly, concentrating his efforts on the teleport. He didn't have time to drive out to the mansion and back. He reached inside, visualizing the foyer of the house. And then he disappeared in a burst of light.
Teleportation was an interesting experience. It made one feel like they were flying, nothing but a stream of energy racing through the sky. The hardest part was forcing the energy back into solid form. Less than a second from when he'd left his office, Kaji appeared in the main foyer of the mansion.
"Dad." Akira raced from the back of the house and threw himself forward. Kaji caught the boy in his arms.
"Hello troublemaker." Akira grimaced at the tone.
"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to do it, it just kind of happened." Kaji stifled a laugh. Akira's face was scrunched up, his nose twitching a bit.
"You three will need to be taught how to control those powers. I wouldn't have left you alone had I known they were so powerful. It's not your fault." Akira wrapped his arms around Kaji's neck.
"I hope we didn't hurt Rika. She's nice, for a babysitter." Kaji did laugh at that statement.
"Where is she? And where are Endymion and Chibi-Usa?"
"Rika's back in the kitchen. Endy is watching her. Chibi-Usa is trying to figure out how to change back." Kaji came up short at that.
"Change back?" Akira shrugged.
"You'll have to see what I mean." Kaji started walking quickly toward the back of the house.
"Let's see what you've done to her."
Mamoru held the weeping girl in his arms, a bit embarrassed by her display of emotion. He stroked a hand over her hair. "It's all right, Akatsuki. Whatever's wrong I can fix it." The girl turned her tear stained face upwards.
"Really, Mamo-chan?" Mamoru grimaced at the use of his pet name.
"Yes, Suki. I'll fix it. Tell me what's wrong." Akatsuki pulled away, slowly lowering herself into one of Mamoru's chairs.
"After you left, I did all right. I managed to get a job as a teacher and life was fine. Although I did miss you." Her watery brown eyes blinked several times. "Then I started having these dreams, these horrible dreams." Mamoru took several steps backward and sat on the edge of his desk.
"And then?" Suki's face took on a dreamy quality.
"I had this wonderful idea for a story. You were in it, and a lot of other people. So I wrote it down, and drew pictures. I made a fortune. You may have heard of the manga Sailor Moon?" Mamoru's eyes darkened a bit.
"You're the one writing that nonsense?" Suki shrunk back at his tone.
"Yes, only I don't think it's nonsense. I, I dream that story, while I'm awake. Like an observer looking through a glass into another dimension. It scares me, Mamoru. Then I saw this picture in the paper." She pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her purse and handed it to Mamoru. Two slightly blurry figures, Tuxedo Mask holding onto Sailor Moon in front of the mayor's mansion. "My stories that I dream, they're coming to life." Mamoru's mouth dropped open a bit.
"Where did you get this?" Suki shrugged.
"It was in the paper." Her eyes narrowed a bit. "Mamoru, that's you isn't it." Mamoru dropped the picture as if he'd been burned. He jumped off the desk and started pacing back and forth. "It is you isn't it. What's going on Mamoru? Why am I seeing these stories, why are my stories coming to life?" Mamoru halted in front of the girl.
"Who have you told?" His voice was very low and sounded slightly nasty. Suki shrunk back a bit.
"I haven't told anyone, Mamoru. Except you." Mamoru let out a loud sigh.
"Suki, you just managed to royally mess everything up, do you know that?" More tears trickled form the girl's eyes.
"I'm sorry Mamoru. I didn't mean to." Mamoru closed his eyes tightly.
"Now what am I going to do with you, Suki?"
Renjo dropped the stack of finished papers on Usagi's desk. Usagi turned her light blue eyes upward. "You're done? Great. That's wonderful." Renjo smiled.
"Do you have more for me to do?" Usagi glanced up from her computer. "Could you go pick up my cat? He's at this address and answers to the name Gekko. Tell him I sent you and he'll come along peaceably." Renjo nodded politely.
"Anything else?" Usagi shook her head and Renjo headed towards the lobby.
AN: I went into magic a lot there, I hope I didn't bore you, but the info was needed.
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