Sailor Moon / Copernicus and Igraine crossover. Standard fanfic disclaimer: Copernicus, Igraine and the Fomorians are all mine, everyone else belongs to Takeuchi-sensei. Standard lemon warning: perverse squelchy stuff within. Don't read this if you're easily offended or if some arbitrary law says you're too young. ************************************************************************ NOTES: Sailor Moon continuity: One of many close-to-anime-version universes, just before the start of SMS. The timeline is the one presented at http://www.geocities.com/lunararchivist/ -- therefore it's April 1994, Rei's just coming up to her 16th birthday, and the rest of the Inners turn 16 later in the year, although they're just starting Grade 9 having repeated Grade 8 due to memory loss at the end of SM. This is a crossover fic, not a self-insertion: Copernicus and Igraine are established characters of mine, not me (thank the gods). For more details on the raison d'etre for this piece, and the multiverse-spanning crisis that it's one of the prequels to, see http://www.maranelda.org/ The girls start acting OOC fairly quickly. There's a good reason for it. One could accuse Copernicus and Igraine of having a Mary-Sue effect. They are intensely magical, charismatic creatures with very strong projective empathy, so when out of their 'home' society they *do* bend the universe around themselves -- just like the later Sailor Moon does with normal people. The 'I' in 'Igraine' should have an acute accent over it, but I can't find a safe, platform-independent way of doing it in a text file. "..." : voice. +...+ : voice over phone, radio, TV... =...= : broadcast telepathy. ~...~ : internal thoughts and special telepathy. >...< : non-linguistic communication. /.../ : spellcasting etc. ************************************************************************ maranelda.org present a Mad Elf production ************************************************************************ T O K Y O B R E A K ************************************************************************ [Beth- Helical Branching Starlets: Punctuated Void: TL 155-23-48] [Twana: Farrengai: Balsani Mountains: Wyrmsholt] [AA 3225/08/36] ~Plasma shield down.~ "ARSE!" Copernicus banked left, barely clearing the massive gout of flame that *should* have been stopped by the shield spell. The giant red dragon clawed for an altitude advantage as they curved round, forced down by its searing breath. "Can you get it back up?" ~No time.~ He risked a quick glance back as Igraine activate the parrot-mount wands. A cloud of dragonets -- twenty at least -- spewing from the mouth of the cave behind them. ~I'm on it.~ Back to the mother. It had gained two hundred feet on them, and was preparing to stoop. Copernicus flipped in mid-air, flying up and back under its tail, Igraine ripple-firing Magic Missiles into the mass of dragonets. The dragon craned its neck under, trying to line them up again. It couldn't loop quickly enough; they came up vertically behind it, with a perfect shot at its back. ~No clear shot!~ "Hang on. /DLOC FO ENOC/!" The blast of super-cold air struck the dragon above its wing roots, searing down its back as it tried to dive away. ~Pull up!~ Dragonet teeth clashed where Copernicus' feet had been, then the swarm enveloped them. ~Melee.~ "Ta!" Paired longswords and daggers leapt from the backpack into his hands. The dragonets were clustered too thickly to pick targets; he span all four weapons in a defensive pattern, slicing into wings and necks as they came too close. Screeches of pain came from behind him as Igraine forked lightning bolts from the parrot-mounts into a couple of lizards who thought it was safe to attack from the rear. The remaining intact dragonets dropped suddenly and-- ~Mother's back.~ --Copernicus span, only to receive the full brunt of its tail across his chest. Ribs gave, and he parted company with his breath as they tumbled through the air, to smash into the cliff-face. ~/Laeh/~ A wave of warmth pulsed through him; bones realigned and knitted, torn flesh sealed. He pushed off the cliff, rolling onto his back. The dragon prepared to stoop again. "Thanks love." ~Always >caress<. Finishing off the tiddlers.~ A storm of Magic Missiles began raking the remaining dragonets from the sky. Copernicus flew upwards, arms spread, straight into the face of the diving adult... ******************** "Not much here, is there?" ~Nothing worth keeping. Grab some spending money.~ Copernicus shovelled a few handfuls of gold coins into the backpack, hissing slightly as his ribs reminded him that magical healing isn't perfect. ~Sorry, love. I was a bit slow calling that one.~ "Not your fault. They pulled off some neat tactics there." He straightened up and groaned. "We need a holiday." ~Anywhere in mind?~ He pulled out his Light Pen and went over to the back wall of the cavern. "I don't know. Somewhere relatively tame. Somewhere that if a dragon shows up, we can take it as a sign that someone's definitely out to get us." ~Darling, the last I checked, two greater deities, sixteen lesser deities, twenty-one demigods, and over a hundred world-class heroes were out to get us.~ "It isn't *our* fault their SOs like to play the field. Oh heck, just pick somewhere at random." ~Activating gate.~ They floated through the portal, leaving the words 'Peace and Prosperity brought to you by Copernicus and Igraine' glowing softly over the dead dragon's hoard. **************************************** [Peur+ Tentacular Spray: Hamburger Reaches: TL 16-64-56] [Centaurus Wall: Virgo SC: Milky Way: Sol: Earth: Japan: Tokyo] [CE 1994/04/02] ~Stupid weather.~ Aino Minako pulled her already-soaked jacket tighter around herself and shivered. ~Stupid shops.~ It wasn't even as if she'd found something to *buy*, but they'd led her on with promises of the perfect accessories just around the next display stand, until the heavy clouds decided to dump two months' worth of rainfall in one afternoon. Minako eyed the traffic lights, willing them to change so she could at least get walking again. Nothing. She threw her head back, glaring into the leaden skies. "Stupid *rai--*" A bus chose that moment to zip around the corner, sending a wall of spray crashing into her. "AUUUGGGHHH!!!" She looked down at herself. Hair in dripping rats-tails. Thin clothing plastered tightly to every curve (okay, so it was a *bit* early in the year for this outfit, but it looked *so* nice). And not *one* cute boy around to notice her distress, either! It was official. Life sucked. Minako looked up again, preparing to bawl her despair to the heavens, then noticed that the lights had finally changed. She scrambled across the street, barely making the other side in time -- and positioning herself perfectly for another spray, this one from behind. Cold puddle-water shot up her skirt and ran down the *inside* of her panties. "WAAAAH!" No-one came over to help her. The few pedestrians braving the downpour were totally wrapped up in their own concerns. Cars drove past, their faceless occupants insulated from the world outside their protective shells. Feeling very much alone, Minako forced back a tear, pulled her sodden jacket around herself, and squelched off. ******************** One foot in front of the other. Ignore the rain, ignore the cold, ignore the discomfort. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Ignore the world-- Immersed in her funk, Minako failed to notice the impending danger until it was right on top of her. "Hey girl, how's about you come over and get yourself dry? Maybe we could have a little party?" Minako couldn't even summon up the will to show her disgust at the leering man; she just kept her eyes down and made to move past him. Then the other man grabbed her from behind. A sudden surge of adrenaline ripped through her blanket of despair as a hand came around her chest, grasping at her breasts. Another clamped over her mouth. She bit down, hard. Her attacker cursed and pulled his hand away, but before she could take advantage of it, the first man smashed his fist into her jaw. She slumped, head spinning, and felt herself being lifted by the ankles. "You're gonna pay for that, bitch," hissed the man behind her. Through the red haze clouding her senses, she felt herself carried into a darkened building. Pain exploded across her back as she was thrown roughly to the floor. The man she had bitten sat heavily on her stomach, driving the wind from her, and fetched another blow across her face. "You could have played nice, you know," he snarled, unzipping her jacket. "But we're gonna have a party, one way or the other." He slapped her again, then ripped her blouse open, scattering buttons across the floor. Minako felt a hand between her legs, reaching for her panties. She tried to get the breath to scream-- Light exploded through the room. All three turned to stare at the glowing doorway outlined on the dirty brickwork. A tall figure floated through, head snapping around to focus on the trio. "Te'lan marinsi! Aimana tan'ou katal?" =/Nosrep Dloh/= All three stared in blank incomprehension as the doorway flashed shut behind the figure. "Retano. /Segaugnal Dneherpmoc/ Is that better?" =/Release her and stand up./= Head still spinning, Minako watched stunned as the two men obeyed the female voice that seemed to come from within her own mind. The figure shot forward, seized them by the shirt-fronts, and slammed them into the wall, holding daggers to their throats. Dark patches appeared in their trousers, slowly spreading... "As I was saying. Is that any way to treat a lady?" Minako stared in mounting horror, her brain finally catching up with what her eyes were telling her. This person, floating some two feet above the floor, was holding two full-grown men up with one hand each, while threatening them with daggers held in *another* two hands... She gathered her courage and *ran*. "Damn," said Copernicus. "I thought you slapped a hold on her as well?" ~I did. She managed to break free.~ "Interesting... So, what should we do with this pair?" =Let's see...= The men thrashed in Copernicus' grip as they felt Igraine's mind bore through their thoughts and into their memories. =Well now. Our young friend was twice lucky. The last two girls they raped ended up face down in a sewer.= "Ah. Something *humorous*, then." ******************** Praying her friend would be in, Minako stumbled down the corridor to Makoto's apartment and pounded on the door. There was a short pause, then the door opened, and Minako fell forward into the brunette's arms, sobbing in relief. "Mina-chan! What's happened?" "Men ... attacked me ... they tried to-- to ... then the monster, and the voice in my head--" "Calm down. You're soaking... come on, let's get you in." Makoto grabbed a large towel from the bathroom, then half-carried her shaking friend through to the living room. "Right, let's get you dry..." She sat with Minako on the couch, and helped her peel her jacket off. "Shit..." whispered Makoto, as she took in the ruined blouse and the rapidly-forming bruises on her friend's face. "We have to get the rest off too, Mina," she said, easing the sodden fabric off her friend's quivering shoulders. Gently but firmly, she stripped Minako down to her damp underwear, wrapped her in the towel, then held her as she cried herself out. A few minutes later, Minako pulled back from Makoto, wiped her eyes, and sniffed, loudly. "Thanks. I'm feeling a little better now." Makoto frowned; there was a slightly empty look lingering about the blonde's eyes. "Okay..." She tried to remember what else was good for shock. "Ah... would you like some tea?" Minako smiled slightly. "Thanks, Mako." Makoto pulled her communicator as she went to the kitchen area, sending out a call to the others. Rei responded immediately. +What's wrong, Mako?+ "We could have a problem--" She stopped as Ami joined in. "Maybe I should wait until Usagi answers..." Several seconds passed in silence. +She's asleep or something,+ said Rei. +What's happening?+ "Minako was... attacked just now." Makoto could almost hear Rei's eyes light up. +A new enemy?+ "Well... maybe. She's a bit banged up, Ami, you should take a look at her, and she's... well, they... I think they... tried to..." Minako came up beside her, quietly enough to make Makoto jump slighly. "Don't whip around the brush, Mako. They tried to rape me." +WHAT? Minako--+ Ami said something too, but Rei's shout drowned her voice. "*Tried*, Rei. That's not--" +I'll be right over!+ +Me to! Hang in there, Minako!+ ******************** From the heart of Juuban, a near-imperceptible emotional field spread out. Centred on an apparently empty spot of air above a seedy alley, its silent ripples touched everyone, gently promoting understanding, kindness, and the occasional burst of carefree lust. ******************** A knock at the door. "It's us, Mako!" "Come in, it's not locked." Ami ran through to the living room. She paused as she took in Minako's condition, then rushed to her side, pulling out a compact first-aid kit. "Who... did... this?" Makoto looked up to see Rei in a towering rage, fire lighting her eyes. "That's what we're going to find out." She turned to Minako. "Unless you want us to stay?" Minako looked into Rei's eyes. She seemed to draw strength from the contact, straightening up noticeably, then wincing slightly as Ami started sponging dirt from her bruised face. "No way! I'm coming with you." Makoto shook her head. "Ami is going to stay here and look after you--?" Ami nodded. "--while Rei and I go and dispense some justice." She stood, balling her fists. "But--" Minako started to rise, but Makoto stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, drawing a wince from the blonde. "You need to rest up," said Ami, resuming her cleaning. Minako sighed, relaxing back into her chair. "All right, but the men who attacked me aren't important! A cute floating man with four arms came out of a glowing gate and stopped them; *that's* what you have to look for!" "A new enemy?" said Ami. "But if he saved you..." Rei shook her head. "I haven't sensed any evil approaching, but we have to check--" She was interrupted by their communicators beeping. +Mako-chan? What's happening?+ "No time to explain, Usagi. Meet us at-- Minako, where did...?" "I'm not sure. An alley, a block or two north of Osa-P, I think... there was a shop with purple flowers in the window..." "I know the place," said Rei. "Usagi, did you hear that?" +Yes, but--+ "Meet us there then!" Rei closed her communicator, then turned to leave. "Don't worry, Minako; we'll get them for you." "Be careful! Remember, 'If you seek revenge, first make two beds'..." Makoto grinned. "Right... We'll be fine. Come on, Rei." Ami finished cleaning up Minako's face as the others headed out. "Now, let's see..." She rummaged through the first-aid kit. "...this should help bring the swelling down." Gently, she worked the lotion into the reddened areas on her cheek and jaw-line. "There's no real damage, and this'll keep you from looking *too* frightful while it heals." Minako grimaced at the thought. Ami chuckled, then caressed her cheek. "Don't worry, you're still the beautiful Senshi of Love." Minako smiled back tenderly. Ami coughed and dropped her eyes, embarrassed. "Okay, Mina-chan. Is there anything else you want me to look at?" "Well... I landed on my back pretty badly. Something's really sore up around my shoulder, and I feel stiff lower down..." "Well then, let's have a look," said Ami, lifting the masses of blonde hair aside and easing the towel off Minako's shoulders. "Tell me where it hurts..." She began working her slender fingers gently across Minako's back and shoulders, feeling for knots and strain. "Ah!" gasped Minako. "Right there." "Okay," said Ami. "There isn't much bruising, but you've pulled your right deltoid badly. I'll bet your lower back has clenched up as well. I can fix it, but it'd be better if you were lying down... and would you mind taking your bra off, too?" "No problem," replied Minako with a slight smile. "Hang on..." She winced as she tried to reach behind to the clasp. "Well, maybe *some* problem..." "It's all right," said Ami. "I'll get it." She undid the clasp, then pulled the cushions off the couch and arranged them on the floor while Minako slipped carefully out of her bra. "Better cover these with your towel; I doubt Mako would thank us if we got this lotion all over her furniture." Soon Minako was lying face-down on the cushions, with Ami kneeling beside her, kneading her stressed shoulder muscles back into alignment. "How does that feel now?" Ami asked after some ten minutes of careful manipulation. Minako tentatively rotated her shoulder, then tried reaching behind herself. "Mmm..." she purred, "...much better, thanks." "You're welcome," said Ami. "Right, let's see what we can do about your back..." She straddled the tops of Minako's thighs, and began gently working her thumbs through the fabric of her panties into the soft flesh over her sacrum. ~It'd be better if she took these off too, but given what happened, I shouldn't ask...~ "Just slide them down if they're in the way," murmured Minako. "Ah... okay." Slightly startled, Ami tentatively eased the waistband down over Minako's hips. She warmed some lotion in her hands, then resumed, carefully loosening the muscles sent into spasm by the impact. "Nice..." purred Minako, then sighed deeply as Ami started working the sides of her hands outward, across the tops of her hips and around her slender waist. Slowly, lovingly, Ami inched her way up Minako's back, smoothing the tensed muscles at her spine with her thumbs and working the stress out around her ribs with her palms. But as she neared Minako's shoulders, she found it harder to keep her mind on the job. She was leaning forward now, and each stroke pressed her pubic mound harder against her friend's taut buttocks. She could feel herself moistening... ~Snap out of it! This is *not* the time to be thinking like this--~ Minako gave a muffled gasp, and Ami noticed in horror that her last stroke had ended with her hands gently cupping the sides of Minako's flattened breasts. "I'm sorry, it was an accident..." She dismounted quickly and knelt beside Minako, head downcast. "I know that's the last thing you need right now..." Hearing the shame in her voice, Minako pulled herself up, knelt in front of Ami and grasped her shoulders. "That's your head talking, Ami. Your heart knows better." She sighed, and caressed Ami's cheek, then gently raised her head until she could look her in the eye. "When those men touched me... all I could feel from them was hate. It was overwhelming... it pushed my heart into a dark, very lonely place. Mako's compassion, Rei's fierce protectiveness... they helped a lot. But you... you've been pouring your love into me with every touch. Healing my heart. It's *exactly* what I need right now." She reached down and took Ami's hands. "If it truly was an accident... it's all right, these things happen. But if it was your heart trying to say something that your head won't listen to... please don't bottle it up." She leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. A single tear rolled from Ami's shining eyes. Minako looked at her, concerned. "Are you okay? I mean it; if you don't want to--" "No... I mean yes..." Ami sniffed and blinked; more tears rolled out. "I want to. I want to so much..." She looked down again. "I just... don't know how." Minako smiled and kissed her again. "I think you'll find you do." Another kiss. "But I can help you get started..." She gently raised Ami's hands to her breasts, guiding them until they cupped her flesh. "Don't think," she whispered. "Just do..." She started unbuttoning Ami's blouse, shivering in pleasure as Ami began teasing her nipples. Ami pulled back momentarily to slip from her blouse and bra, then took Minako into her arms and kissed her, tentatively at first, then with growing passion as she felt the blonde's hardening nipples pressing into her own breasts. Their tongues met and caressed. Ami let go with one arm, and eased herself away slightly, fumbling with her skirt and panties until they slid to her knees, then began tugging at Minako's. Minako broke the kiss, gasping for air. "Here, let me help." She slipped her panties off, then lay back on the cushions. Ami gazed at her for a moment, then dropped forward onto her hands and knees, her lips reaching for Minako's breasts. Minako cried out as Ami suckled, her short bluish hair brushing erotically across her neck and chest. Minako moaned as Ami began working her mouth downwards. "Later," she gasped. "Right now I need to share, not be worshipped." She gently pulled Ami up until their lips and tongues met again. Their legs interlaced, and Minako thrust her hips up, grinding her clitoris into Ami's thigh. Ami shifted her weight, bringing one leg up to allow their vulvas to mash together. "That's it..." gasped Minako, "just right." Their breath came harder and faster as they rubbed against each other, sweat breaking out over their bodies, until-- "Aaaammmmiiii!" Her friend bucking under her, embracing her as though trying desperately to meld their two bodies together, brought Ami over the edge. She cried out in exaltation as the orgasm washed through her. Finally relaxed, the two girls lay side-by-side, still entwined. Minako tenderly brushed Ami's hair from her flushed face. "If you don't mind me asking," she said, "why the tears earlier?" Ami grinned. "Your little speech really got to me. I guess I'm just a closet romantic..." "Who'd have thought it... Well, I suppose congratulations are in order, Doctor Ami. The patient has made a full recovery." They both collapsed in laughter. ******************** The rain had finally given up some time during Minako's panicked rush to Makoto's place; night had fallen by the time Rei and Makoto backtracked her route to the alley where she'd been attacked. They were greeted by the sound of two voices laughing continuously. A pair of policemen stood guard over two men lying naked on the wet ground, convulsing in hysterics. Even in the dim orange light reflecting from the puddles, the girls could see the terror on their faces. "Looks like someone beat us to it," sighed Makoto, as an ambulance pulled into the alley. The paramedics jumped out, and were taken aside by one of the police. A brief conversation ensued, the only part of which the girls could make out being a startled "*WHAT*?!" from one of the paramedics. The policeman gestured to the naked men, nodding. They approached the men. As they came near, little mouths appeared on the attackers' foreheads, and said in loud, cheerful voices, "Don't pity me! I'm a rapist!" The paramedics recoiled in shock. "What on Earth was *that*?" said Makoto. Rei glanced over and shrugged. The other policeman had spotted the girls, and came over. "Nothing to see here, ladies. Please move along." "What happened?" asked Makoto. "We're still making enquiries. You wouldn't know anything about this, would you?" "Um... Sorry, no." ~Although I have my suspicions... what kind of power *did* this?~ "Then move along, please." Behind him, the laughter began to subside as the men were sedated and strapped to stretchers. "Don't pity me! I'm a rapist!" Makoto took one last look, and turned to Rei. "Come on, we've got places to be." Rei paused, then turned to go. "Don't pity--" The ambulance doors slammed, cutting off the cry. Makoto and Rei started back down the alley, just as Usagi came bouncing up. "Hey, you guys! What's happening? Why couldn't I go see Mina-chan?" "Glad to see you're finally here," said Makoto. "Where's Luna?" Usagi looked exasperated. "How should I know? She went out a while before you called; something about looking for Artemis. What about Mina?" "We didn't want to crowd Minako, she's... a bit fragile right now." "But she'll need me there!" Makoto sighed. "Ami's looking after her. She knows what to do. And let's face it Usagi, if you'd been there, you would probably have said something stupid and really hurt her." "But... you let *Rei* go, and *she's* the one who's always hurting people's feelings and being bitchy..." Makoto glanced at Rei, but there was no sign she'd even heard. "Rei, are you all right?" "Mm?" "You seem a bit... distracted." Rei glanced up at her friend, and said out of the corner of her mouth, "We're being watched." **** Copernicus floated invisible above the alley, watching the blonde whining and bickering at her friends. "Well, all right, so it's *not* her. But look at her, she's got to be related... cousins, at least." ~Maybe. But things just got interesting.~ "Mmm?" ~The one with the black hair's made us. She's trying to hide it, but she knows we're here.~ "Arse. So they'll probably lead us all over the place..." ~Or they might decide to take us on.~ "Could be worth a laugh..." ~>unsure< There's something special about these girls. They seem normal, but... it's slightly off, like an imperfect disguise. Something about them says they're not exactly your average shopkeepers' daughters.~ "Not if they can all break your holds like that other one... I'm sure we can avoid hurting them. And there's nothing like--" ~--a good fight for really getting to know someone, yes dear.~ They drifted above the streets, following the trio of girls as they wended their way through the night. ******************** Ami lay back and sighed, eyes closed, as she revelled in the attention Minako was lavishing on her breasts, sucking and nibbling at one while teasing the other with a bight of her hair. After a few minutes, Minako relinquished her current nipple, flipped her hair back, and turned, straddling Ami's chest and lowering her head to kiss her pubis. Ami shivered beneath her as she began gently exploring the folds of her vulva with her tongue. Minako had begun working her tongue around the rim of Ami's hole when she noticed something was missing, and paused. "Well?" Ami sighed. "Nice..." Minako chuckled. "As in, 'well don't just lie there'." "Oh! Sorry..." Ami lifted her head and tentatively ran the point of her tongue along Minako's lips. "Actually, can we lie on our sides? This is a bit uncomfortable..." "Sure..." They rearranged themselves so each was resting her head on the other's thigh. Minako wrapped her free arm around Ami's other leg and waist, spreading her open and pulling her close against her. She began massaging Ami's hood with her tongue, sighing as Ami copied her actions, matching her rhythm. ~Okay, let's see if you can keep up...~ She ran her tongue up Ami's slit and into her hole, burrowing in with a circling motion. Tremors ran through both their bodies as Ami followed suit. Moving in unison, they plunged into each other's sex, massaging the walls of their holes, gently at first, then harder and faster, their bodies straining together. A low moan escaped Minako as Ami began panting harshly and took the lead, running her tongue out and down to envelope Minako's clitoris with her lips. Minako followed Ami's lead, sucking her hood into her mouth and wrapping the end of her tongue around her bud. Their muffled moans came faster and faster as they suckled, running up the register until they were practically shrieking... then, simultaneously, they each bit gently into the other's bud. Both heads snapped back as they screamed out loud, arching backs and straining limbs forcing them together as the discharge ripped through them... ******************** "Mako-chan, where are we going?" "To the park, Usagi." "It's the middle of the night!" "It's only half past seven." "It's too far!" "The walk'll do you good. Keeps you trim, you know." "I am *not* fat!" "And a nice walk will keep you that way." "But I don't wanna go to the park, I wanna see Mina-chan!" Rei whirled on Usagi. "Will you *shut* *up*!" she hissed vehemently. "I'm trying to concentrate!" She turned to Makoto. "Could you explain to this ditz what's going on?" "Hey!" Makoto put her arm around Usagi's shoulder. "Listen carefully, little rabbit. Minako said something about a monster coming through a door of light and saving her from those men. It looks like it avenged her, which we're not complaining about, but Rei reckons it's following us--" "Where?" Usagi started to turn, but Makoto clamped her fingers onto her shoulder and held her fast. "Don't look, silly! So we're going to the park, and *then* we're going to see what's there, because that way other people won't get hurt if it goes wrong. Okay?" "But--" Makoto dug her fingers in. "Okay?" "Ouch! Okay, okay!" Makoto patted her shoulder. "There's a good Moon Princess." She turned to Rei. "Still with us?" Rei nodded. "There's some element of humour to the feel now, like it knows we know. Seems content to tag along, though." "Does that mean I can look now?" asked Usagi, sarcastically. "Knock yourself out," sighed Makoto. "Thank you most kindly." Usagi whirled and glared at the street behind them. "Hey, there's nothing there!" "Well spotted," said Rei. "Actually, it's flying at about rooftop level above us, but it's invisible, so don't waste your time." Usagi started scanning the skies anyway. "I can't see anything..." "Well *duh*," said Rei. "I said it was *invisible*." "So how d'you know it's there?" Rei sighed. "I can feel it looking at us." "Well, *I* can't! You mean we're wandering all over town just because *you* have a funny feeling?" Makoto shot a glance at Rei, silencing her retort. "Usagi, you *know* Rei can sense these things better than the rest of us. Anyway, we're here now." Pulling Usagi by the hand, she ran into the park. Once well inside, the trio stopped. Makoto and Usagi looked at Rei, one expectantly, the other with some derision. Rei shrugged. "It's stopped looking at us." **** ~Copernicus dear...~ "Yes darling?" ~Stop gazing at the big one's legs and look over >there<.~ "Oh look. A gate." ~Presumably something bad's about to come through.~ "Shall we intervene?" ~It wouldn't hurt to be *ready*, but let's see how they handle themselves first.~ "If you like." ~You may resume your gazing. Though she's a bit on the lanky side...~ "I was more thinking 'athletic'." ~I suppose... that Rei, now...~=>>>HEAVY APPRECIATIVE SIGH<<<= "Igraine darling..." ~>yum yum<... Yes dear?~ "If we're going to be 'ready', can we keep the background thoughts in the background? You're being distracting..." ~Oops >blush<. Sorry.~ "Anyway, I think it's about to start..." **** Rei gasped. "Well, Rei? Well? WELL?" sniped Usagi. "Rei?" said Makoto. "Are you all right? You look a bit flushed..." She struggled to maintain her balance, panting as her heart hammered wildly against her ribs. Sweat broke out over her body as the juices spilled from her sodden panties and ran in streams down her legs... "Ha!" cried Usagi in triumph. "She's blushing! Ashamed at leading us on a wild goose chase..." Makoto took Rei by the arms and straightened her up, concerned. "What's wrong?" Rei shook her head and blinked, trying to focus on her friend's face. "N... nuh... nothing's wrong. I'm fine. Really. Wooh. Just... fine..." "You don't *look* fine! What happened?" "I'm fine. She just looked at me again... quite hard... woooooh." Her mood was broken somewhat as Usagi punched her on the arm. "Snap out of it! Something's coming! Big!" Rei choked slightly, looking embarrassed. Makoto looked at her suspiciously, sniffing the air around her, and grinned. "Full details later, Rei." Pointedly ignoring her, Rei turned to Usagi. "Where?" Usagi pointed wordlessly to a stand of mature cherry trees across the park. Branches were thrust aside as a giant, lumpish figure armed with a metal-studded club pushed its way out towards them... "/Moon Crystal Power, Make Up/!" "/Mars Star Power, Make Up/!" "/Jupiter Star Power, Make Up/!" **** ~Ooh! Pretty! >drool<~ "Seconded, assuming you don't mean the Fomorian-- Wait. Those *uniforms*-- where are we?" ~Hang on... But I *blocked* this universe... >sob<~ "Not an analogue, then?" Copernicus could feel Igraine fighting down her own pain as she soothed his. ~No... it's the same universe. Earth, apparently.~ "It's changed so *much*... something must have gone wrong." ~If *enough* has changed, we may be able to finish what we started. Then maybe we could finally... >sigh<~ "I know, lover-- oh no, what are they *doing*?" ~Charging in half-cocked >faint smile<.~ "It'd be *much* better if they just let it leave..." ~I'll see if they're open to Suggestion.~ **** "For love and justice, I am the pretty sailor-suited soldier Sailor Moon! In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!" "Hang on," said Sailor Jupiter, her normally quick temper checked by a sudden foreboding. "It's not actually doing anything..." "It's big, it's ugly, and it doesn't belong here," returned Sailor Moon. "I came out to bust heads," added Sailor Mars, embarrassment overcoming good sense. "This one'll do." Apparently unaware of this entire sequence of events, the Fomorian scanned the park intently. "It's got to be seven metres tall! And nearly as wide!" "I know it's scary!" said Moon. "But we can't let it suck everyone's energy, or whatever it's here for!" "Right!" said Mars, pulling out an ofuda and winding up to throw. "No, wait!" Mars ignored Jupiter's attempts to hold her back. "/Fire Soul Bird/!" The Fomorian rocked back on its heels as the flames washed over it. It looked down, seemingly noticing the Senshi for the first time. Moving with blinding speed, it swung its club at the trio. Sailor Mars barely dodged in time, receiving a clip across one shoulder. Sailor Moon tried to roll forward, slipped on the wet grass, and slid safely under the attack, but Jupiter caught the full force of a ton of wood and iron, was lofted and thrown through the air like a broken doll, to vanish behind a clump of bushes. "You *bastard*! /BURNING MANDALA/!" "Jupiter! NO! /MOON PRINCESS HALATION/!" Its heart sliced open and burned to a crisp, the Fomorian collapsed to the ground, smoke rising from its chest. "JUPITER!" **** The world span as Sailor Jupiter flew through the air, a strange peace descending on her. She took in the blood drenching the front of her fuku, the shards of her ribcage sticking through the material... ~So I'm dying again... You'd think this much damage would hurt.~ She felt herself floating as the world turned black... **** "/Llafrehtaef/!" Copernicus flashed into view as he cast, diving at top speed to Sailor Jupiter. His spell halted the dying Senshi's fall just before she slammed into the ground. Igraine dropped the sense-numbing aura she'd been holding on Jupiter. ~She's passed out. Get that stuff out of the wound!~ She slapped a dagger into Copernicus' waiting hand. ~*Quick*!~ Copernicus slit open the blood-soaked fuku with one smooth motion, then peeled it back to expose the gory ruin beneath. "Shit..." He quickly plucked out a few pieces of material caught on the ends of shattered ribs. "Is that all of it?" ~Good enough. Ready?~ "Do it." He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. =/LAEH/= --a torrent of pain tore through him as he diverted the energies of the spell from himself to the dying Senshi. For an eternity of an instant everything was agony and the agony was everything and-- ~Done >sadness<.~ "We have *got* to find a better way of doing that..." He shook himself, worked his jaw loose, and opened his eyes. "Damn..." **** Sailors Moon and Mars crashed through the bushes to find a dagger- wielding stranger bent over their friend's bloody, motionless form, and cleared the wrong conclusion from a standing start. =/Nosrep Dloh/= Screaming their rage and grief, they smashed through the spell's grip and launched themselves at Copernicus, who took off and dodged neatly. "Hey, watch it!" "You killed Jupiter!" screamed Sailor Moon, as they poured a flurry of kicks and punches at Copernicus. He avoided most of them easily, but a kick to the shin from Mars almost connected, forcing him to back off and hover out of their reach. "Ow! I did *not*!" "Liar! /BURNING MANDALA/!" "/ECI FO LLAW/!" Frozen splinters flew in all directions as the fire rings bit in and dissipated. "That does it." Copernicus swooped down, snatching each Senshi by the ribbon and skirt-front and lifting them into the air. "Channel!" ~Go.~ =***ENOUGH!!!***= Experiencing the mental equivalent of standing directly in front of a rock concert speaker stack when the band plays its opening power cord, the Senshi collapsed, drooling. Copernicus eased them to the ground and flitted over to Sailor Jupiter, dropping to his knees beside her. "Can you wake her?" ~I'll try. Get her into a kneeling position.~ Copernicus lifted Jupiter gently and arranged her as requested, supporting her. =Mako-chan? Wake up, Mako-chan.= ~mummy?~ =Time to wake up, Mako.= ~are you an angel?~ =>irony< No dear. It's time to wake up. Time to live.= Sailor Jupiter stirred in Copernicus' arms, took a deep breath-- --and broke into paroxysms of coughing and retching, as her lungs expelled the shed blood trapped in their depths. Copernicus held her until the coughing subsided, then gently sat her back and lifted her head. "Do you remember what happened, Mako?" She nodded. "I... died again..." "Not quite. We caught you in time, but you were very badly injured." Jupiter started to look down, but Copernicus caught her chin and gently raised her head again. "Don't look yet. You must understand that this is a temporary patch-job, not the end result." Jupiter swallowed. "How bad is it?" "You understand? We will fix it." She nodded. "How bad?" "You can look now." Jupiter looked, and gasped in horror at the sight. Purple, ropy scars ran where the flesh had torn; others sat like obscene puckered flowers where ribs had punctured; and the whole area was marked by ugly black bruising. "No... oh, no..." Copernicus pulled Jupiter to him, enfolding her in his arms. "I know it looks bad..." =>>WARM/CARING/LOVING/SAFE<<= She burst into tears. "Bad? I'm *hideous*! How can you possibly fix that?" "With magic, of course. It'll be like it never happened." =>>WARM/CARING/LOVING/SAFE<<= "You'll be beautiful again. We promise." =>>PROMISEPROMISEPROMISE<<= With Igraine reinforcing the message, Jupiter calmed down *quickly*. "How long before...?" Copernicus shrugged. "As soon as you can spare a day for bed rest. But speaking of time, we'd better leave here soon. That Fomorian was only a first-line scout; there'll be more along in an hour or so." Reminded of the reason for her injuries, Jupiter said, "The others I was with? What happened to them?" Copernicus grinned. "We had to knock them out. They thought I was attacking you. They'll be fine if we get them away from here. Is there anywhere safe we can go?" "Um... back to my apartment, I suppose. Hang on, I'd better change back..." She resumed her street clothes, glad to at least have the damage out of sight. "By the way, who are you?" "We're the 'monster' your other friend met earlier. I'm Copernicus; this is Igraine." =Hi! >smile<= "Um... are you possessed or something?" "Or something." Copernicus floated over to where Sailors Moon and Mars lay, still drooling gently. He casually picked them up by the waist, one lower arm each, then held out his upper arms to Makoto. "Hop on." Makoto smiled as she was carried into the air like a bride across the threshold. Across the park, a black cat ran towards the scene of the disturbance... ******************** Ami gasped as Minako ran her soapy hands across her breasts, teasing her nipples into life once more. "No fair! We're supposed to be getting ready!" "You're right," said Minako, and returned to soaping her legs. Ami turned and smacked her upturned rump. "Ow! What was that for?" "You stopped," grinned Ami. "Gods, girl, you're insatiable..." "Takes one to know one. And I didn't hear any complaints earlier." Minako put her arms around Ami and kissed her. "No complaints. But you *are* right; the others'll be back soon and they may need our help. So save it for later, okay?" "Okay..." Ami sighed. "And just to make sure..." Minako grinned wickedly and span the cold water on full blast. "AIIIII! MINAAA!" ******************** "Well, your skirt's dry," said Ami, tossing it to Minako, "but you'll need to borrow a top from Mako. This blouse has had it." Her long hair still wrapped in a towel, Minako pulled her skirt on, then headed through to Makoto's bedroom. Ami pulled on her own blouse. She had just finished the last button when she heard a key in the outside door. "Mako's back!" Makoto ran in. "How's Minako?" ~Seriously *yummy*...~ Ami shook herself. "She's fine. She's just raiding your wardrobe." "Good." Makoto went over to the curtains, pulled them aside, then flung the windows open. "What *are* you doing?" asked Ami. "And where are--" She was cut off by a sudden gust of wind. Makoto pulled the windows shut and drew the curtains again. "Where'll I put them?" asked Copernicus, popping into visibility with Sailors Moon and Mars cradled in a set of arms each. Ami jumped. "On the couch," said Makoto. Minako came in as Copernicus sat the two Senshi on the couch. "Who--? Oh..." There was a slight pause as the three girls took the opportunity to check Copernicus out in good light. Tall -- a shade over six feet; broad shoulders draped in black hair, with the smooth muscles of a martial artist. A wind-tanned Caucasian face, apparently in his early twenties, but with a humorous look in his grey eyes that suggested more experience with life than anyone has a right to. A gold torc around his neck; canvas trousers; leather boots, jerkin and wristbands. A battered canvas backpack, currently being removed. Floating around the room as though it was more natural than walking, with an extra pair of arms attached to his hips-- Ami moved to cover Moon and Mars, and pulled out her transformation stick. "Mako, what's happened?" Makoto held out her hands, gesturing for Ami to calm down. "It's all right! Everyone's fine!" "Are you sure? And are you sure we can trust this guy?" "Yes!" Ami was about to protest further, but Minako interrupted, saying, "I owe him at least the benefit of the doubt." She went to stand before Copernicus, and bowed her head. "Thank you for saving me before." She straightened up and stuck out her hand, expecting the gaijin to shake it. Copernicus took her hand and bowed, kissing it gently. "Anything for beauty in distress." Minako blushed. "All right," said Ami, still unsure. "So what's happened to Moon and Mars?" "They're just stunned," said Copernicus, releasing Minako's hand. He moved to hover out of the Senshi's line of sight, saying, "We'd better not be the first thing they see when they come to..." =Ready?= asked Igraine. Ami jumped again; Makoto indicated with a gesture that it was all right. "Ready," she said, taking Moon and Mars' hands and kneeling before them. =/Sisylarap Evomer/= Sailor Mars blinked twice, and sat up. "What... Mako? You're alive?" Makoto nodded. "But only because someone got to me in time, although you managed to misinterpret it..." "The four-armed m--" Mars, catching Makoto's sudden near-frown, changed the term at the last moment, "man?" She sat up, glancing around; Copernicus obliged her by floating around to Makoto. Sailor Mars looked him over cautiously. "You're the one we led to the park... the one who helped Minako?" Makoto smiled. "That's them. Mars, everyone, this is Copernicus and Igraine." =Hi! >bigsmile<= Mars' eyes widened, startled. "And--" "Hey," interrupted Makoto, "wasn't Sailor Moon supposed to come round too?" "Yes," said Ami, "but she fell asleep instead." She gestured to the couch, where Moon lay snoring gently. "Wake her up," said Mars. "She'll want to know Mako's all right. And Minako...?" "I'm fine. Right as rainbows. Honestly," Minako assured her. =Don't wake her. She's in here with me; she's been watching.= "*What?*" said Copernicus, obviously amazed. "How?" =I told you they were unusual. As soon as she fell asleep, her subconscious sent out a... a request for access, is the only way I can describe it. I let it through, to see what would happen, and she channelled straight in, just like you do, dear. I think they can all do it.= ~Darling, shall we try it? It would help in so many ways... and we've never had visitors...~ Copernicus nodded imperceptibly. =Would you like to try coming all the way in to the Dream, girls? I'd like to meet you all face-to-face, so to speak.= "We all went into someone else's dreams a while back," said Ami. "It wasn't very nice," added Minako. "I think you'll like Igraine's Dream," said Copernicus. "And we've got some rather important things to discuss and not much time; we could save a lot by going in..." "Ah..." Ami still looked rather wary. "Shouldn't we wait for Luna and Artemis? Maybe Mamoru?" "That could take hours," said Makoto. "From what Copernicus says, we don't have any time to spare." =Hold on, I'll channel your friend.= Moon: =Uh guys? This is weird... anyway, it's fine in here, just some boring grey mist but Igraine says once we're all in we can go visit their palace; and anyway I think she's really nice.= Mars and Makoto looked at Ami, who shrugged and said, "All right... so what do we do?" Copernicus grinned. "We take a little nap." "Um... I'm not feeling very sleepy," said Makoto. The others indicated agreement. "That's all right. Just get yourselves comfortable." He sank gently to the floor and lay down. The girls looked at each other, shrugged, and arranged themselves on and beside the couch. "Right," said Copernicus, "it's important that you don't try to resist this. Ready?" "Ready." "Um... okay." "Go ahead." "Sure!" =/Sleep/= ******************** The five girls found themselves on a rolling lawn surrounded by trees, a stream chuckling nearby. A cloudless, sunless sky provided a gentle ambient light. At the top of a gentle rise sat a small palace built of white marble and glass, fronted by a balustraded terrace. Copernicus stood nearby, eyes half-closed as he basked in the feeling of peace and security infusing the place. "Where are we?" asked Minako, her eyes shining with wonder. "In Igraine's Dream," replied Copernicus to the group as a whole. "Our home..." He sighed in contentment. "You are welcome here, our first visitors. Come up to the palace." His clothes had changed subtly, the materials finer and in perfect condition. The girls took stock of themselves as they walked. Each was wearing a gauzy gown in a pastel of her appropriate colour. Vague memories of formal balls in Silver Millennium surfaced briefly... Makoto looked down at her dress and gasped. Smooth, perfect skin covered undamaged breasts... she went over to Copernicus and whispered, "What's happened? Am I...?" Copernicus shook his head. "Your body is still damaged, but your *spirit* is unhurt. So here, you appear that way." "And I wouldn't, if not for your help...?" "Mostly Igraine's. She's better at dealing with shock than I am." "Still, thank you." She smiled up at Copernicus as they followed the others up the steps to the terrace, then noticed something odd. "Hey, you're walking!" Copernicus smiled. "This is my home, my grounding, so here I walk. Outside -- wherever that may be -- I touch the world but lightly." Makoto started to reply, but she stopped as Igraine came out of the palace-- [...as tall as Copernicus, but pale and willowy, with small, high breasts and slim hips, wearing a white, vaguely Grecian robe that shimmered in fleeting spectra as she moved. Cascades of wavy black hair framing a face that would have graced a goddess; soft blue eyes freighted with the wisdom and compassion of a thousand lifetimes...] --and smiled in welcome. "Welcome to our home, all of you. Usagi, Rei," she said, "there's something important you need to see; would you come with me?" Rei's eyes met Igraine's, freezing as she got her first close, unshielded read of the woman's aura. Complex; immense power and ruthlessness mingled with boundless compassion and humour, laced with heavy doses of admiration, sympathy, and outright lust directed at herself... She walked unsteadily towards this beacon of desire. Usagi looked at her, concerned at first, then noticed the wide, shimmering eyes, half-open mouth, and rising blush. She stifled a giggle and moved to join her. "Should we come to?" asked Ami. Makoto glared at her, drawing her attention to Rei's state with a discreet nod. "This is somewhat personal," replied Igraine gently. "They should hear it before anyone else. The rest of you, please make yourselves at home." She gestured to a low table, surrounded by comfortable couches, and set with bowls of fruit and tall glasses of some clear, sparkling drink. Igraine took Usagi and Rei by the hand and gently led them inside the palace. Crossing the hall, she took them to a small conservatory, and sat them side-by-side on a couch, taking another for herself so she could face them. Usagi immediately burst out, "I'm sorry we attacked your friend, we didn't realise what he was doing and-- well, I'm sorry and I'm sure Rei is too. Right, Rei?" Rei nodded slackly, still in a pink daze. Igraine smiled. "Apology accepted. However, that wasn't what I wanted to talk about. Look," she said, gesturing to their chests. Usagi's gasp of horror was enough to pull Rei's eyes to her, and the swirling blackness gathering over her friend's heart shocked her out of her trance. She looked down at her own chest, at the stygian vortex forming there. "What... what is it?" asked Rei. "A representation of subconscious guilt. Deep inside, you know that Makoto could have died because of your thoughtlessness this night. Unless you accept that fact and deal with it, the blackness will grow until it consumes you both." Usagi bridled. "But we're charged with protecting innocents from that kind of threat--" Igraine held up a hand, silencing her. "Was it a threat?" "It... well..." "It doesn't matter whether it was or not. You attacked it without knowing *anything* about it, on ground that robbed you of most of your manoeuvrability." Rei dropped her head, unable to face any longer the cold disapproval being focussed on them. "You stood in a cluster directly in front of it, let it get close enough to hit you, and then completely underestimated its strength by opening with a single attack from the low end of your power range." Usagi's eyes began to tear up. "And Mako was hurt because she was trying to stop us..." She turned to Rei, to find her with her head bowed, silent tears dripping onto her lap. "Oh Rei..." "It was like she was hit by a bullet train, Usagi," whispered Rei. She sobbed, and Usagi pulled her in and cradled her against her chest. "There, you see?" said Igraine after a few minutes. She indicated their chests, where the blackness was already beginning to recede, and then smiled, letting her normal warmth bathe them again. "You'll need to work on it a bit more -- apologise to Makoto, at least -- but you should be fine." The girls recovered their spirits somewhat. Usagi even managed a slight smile. Igraine added, "And you'll need to learn better tactics if you're going to go around challenging monsters like that." "We've been fighting 'monsters' for the past two years," said Usagi, slightly annoyed, "and we've saved the world four times already!" "Yes, but most of our fights go the same way," said Rei quietly. "Something bad always happens to us in the middle, then Tuxedo Mask buys us enough time to get free and finish things. Our tactics suck." "Which is a pity, because from what I can see you should make an excellent team. Especially with Usagi in it: somewhere inside, you have a depth of wisdom and perception that's quite astounding in one so young. Why do you hide it under that ridiculous facade?" Usagi sniffed. "It's not really me. That's Princess Serenity; *she's* the one with all the good sense." "Well, perhaps you could listen to her more, at least until you realise you're the same person. What's she saying now?" "That you're right, and that we're lucky our enemies weren't faster or smarter or even just nastier. And that we should do something about it." Usagi gave a wan smile. "But she's saying I should go apologise to Mako first." She gave Rei a quick hug, then pulled herself to her feet. The others followed suit, but when Usagi trailed out, Rei held back, glancing with slight apprehension at Igraine as she moved to stand within arm's reach of her. "I also have to apologise," she said, "for distracting you just before the fight." "Oh..." Rei blushed, dropping her head, "that's... all right. It was... very..." Her face fell. "But since I screwed up so badly--" Igraine laughed. "Oh my dear girl, if an occasional lapse in judgement turned me off, I'd have left Copernicus a *long* time ago." She lifted Rei's head up with a soft finger under her chin. Rei looked into her eyes, seeing someone who had looked deep into her soul, and loved her for everything she saw there. ~I could leave. She's left a clear path to the door, I can just step back and leave.~ Igraine gently brushed Rei's hair from her face and bent to kiss her forehead. ~But...~ Rei shivered. "Then... but we don't have time. Perhaps, later..." "Time is malleable here. It's just a dream, remember? No matter how real it feels. We have as much time as we need." "Then..." She swallowed nervously, and held out her hand. Igraine smiled and led Rei to the bed which had appeared in place of the two couches, sat on the edge, and began unlacing the Senshi's gown. Rei shivered again as the gauzy fabric slid down over her breasts, then gasped and arched her back as Igraine slipped the garment off, gently dragging a single fingernail down her spine as she did so. Then her panties slid down to puddle on the floor, and Igraine lifted her onto the bed. She stepped back and hissed in appreciation at the sight, then with a gesture banished her robe and posed, allowing Rei to admire her in return before moving onto the bed herself. "Aren't you going to..." Rei began, then sighed as silken ropes licked out of nowhere, snaring her wrists and ankles and drawing her limbs straight. Then Igraine was leaning over her, enveloping her in a tent of hair as she kissed her tenderly. Igraine pulled away from Rei's lips after a few moments, then began slowly working down her body. First her neck, Rei moaning as she whispered her lips against the skin above the veins, then lower to her breasts. Using her breath as much as her lips and tongue, Igraine softly teased the sensitive skin, barely touching her as she circled closer and closer to her nipples, never quite reaching them, until they were flushed red and standing rock-hard. Lower still, drawing phantom lines across her belly with the very tip of her tongue, until she was crouching between Rei's legs. Rei gasped in frustration, straining against the ropes, as Igraine ignored her aching vulva in favour of the sensitive skin at the tops of her thighs. Circling again, feather-light touches of lips and tongue combining with soft breath to drive Rei wild, concentrating her entire being in the one area Igraine refused to touch. Until finally... But no! Rei moaned, her face and chest flushing scarlet as Igraine denied her the release she craved, the phantom strokes of her tongue barely palpable against her flushed, swollen lips and hood, fluttering softly around her streaming hole. Sweat slicked her flushed body; her heart hammered harder and harder in her chest until she felt that death would be preferable to one more instant of this unbearable suspense-- --and then Igraine locked one arm around her leg and across her hips, clamping Rei in place as she sucked the engorged flesh into her mouth, savaging it with her lips and tongue as she thrust her fingers inside, and Rei screamed out her release as orgasm after orgasm thundered through her... Then the ropes were gone and Igraine was beside her, cradling her in her arms and kissing her tenderly as she sobbed in relief. **** Usagi returned to the terrace to find Copernicus sitting between Makoto and Minako, one arm around each, with Ami sitting on Minako's lap, her legs stretched across the others' and Copernicus' third arm across her knees. The girls were giggling as Copernicus gave a hysterical blow-by- blow description of a duel he had fought with a minor war god over the god's treatment of a nymph, gesturing with the glass in his one free hand. Minako waved to Usagi and called, "Finally! What were you doing for the last few hours?" The others started to add their own greetings, but fell silent as Usagi approached. Head held high, but obviously unhappy, she walked with more *authority* in her step than the others had seen before. She came straight up to Makoto, dropped to one knee, and took her free hand. Looking straight into Makoto's eyes, she said in a voice far more mature than her usual whine: "Senshi Sailorjupiter, I have failed in my duty as your Princess. Senshi Sailormars feels she shares this with me, but I alone am responsible for not taking your advice into account before allowing and initiating the attack." She paused, and her entire demeanour changed as her eyes teared up. In a more normal voice, she continued, "Can you forgive me, Mako-chan?" Makoto pulled Usagi onto her lap and hugged her. "It's all right, Usagi, I forgive you. I should really be asking *you* for forgiveness; I wasn't exactly treating you like our leader earlier tonight. And I'm all right; Copernicus and Igraine saved my life, and they'll fix the remaining damage soon..." Usagi's head snapped up. "What remaining damage?" Makoto smiled. "It's all right. Um... I've got some bad scarring, but they say it's no problem. It just takes more time than we have right now." "How?" asked Ami, skeptically. "With magic, of course," said Makoto, winking at Copernicus. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Mako!" "I told you Usagi, I forgive you. Just don't do it again, okay? And I'll try to give you a bit more respect." "Hey everybody," said Minako, in an attempt to break Usagi's mood, "group hug!" Makoto pulled Usagi more tightly into her lap, and with Copernicus' help got her legs up and interlaced with Ami's. Then the four girls leaned in-- [...in the waking world, Sailor Moon's sleeping body flopped over to embrace Makoto's, while Sailor Mars writhed and moaned on her other side. Briefly, the girls were overlaid with their current dream images, and a strong light from Moon's forehead lunar symbol played over Makoto's chest. The scars and bruises faded away, matching her physical body with the dream; then light and images faded, leaving Usagi and Rei in their normal personae...] --hugged briefly, then collapsed in giggles. Usagi wiped her eyes and drew a deep breath. She looked at the remaining glasses on the table, and asked Copernicus, "Is that lemonade?" Copernicus grinned. "It is if you want it to be..." She got up, snagged a glass, and tried some. Apparently Usagi wanted it to be some kind of ice-cream float, because it became one. "Mmm... Ooh. Something I wanted to ask you. What did you do to me and Rei, back in the park?" "Copernicus hit you with his monumental ego," came Igraine's voice from across the terrace. "Hey!" Igraine and Rei walked over, arms around each other, and sat a second couch; Usagi flopped down beside Rei. "All right," said Igraine, "what happens is, if Copernicus uses telepathy, his 'voice' is inordinately loud. So if he shouts, it tends to knock people off-kilter. I gave him a telepathic channel... And it *is* a function of ego, you know, so it's a perfectly good explanation!" "Bah! It's the term 'monumental' I object to." Copernicus sniffed ostentatiously, then added, "It's of planetary proportions at least!" Igraine chuckled, then added, "It wouldn't have worked, by the way, if you weren't all innately telepathic yourselves." Makoto grinned wickedly at Rei, then asked Copernicus, "And how exactly did you discover that fact?" "There was an unplanned field-test," he replied evasively. Rei giggled and added, "Someone with a highly active imagination let me know exactly how appreciated I was..." She frowned slightly and turned to Igraine. "Is there something in the air here? I wouldn't normally have said that..." Igraine nodded. "Sort of. I want this place to feel *safe* above all things, and we use it for relaxation, planning, and training, so it encourages those behaviours. Currently I suppose you're feeling relaxed..." She winked at Rei, who blushed gloriously, then continued, "but now we really have to get on with the planning. I'm afraid we have inadvertently introduced a problem to your world." Copernicus cleared his throat and sat up slightly. "The creature you... encountered in the park," he said, glancing at Makoto, Usagi and Rei in turn, "came from a place called Fomor. A while back a bunch of them developed an inter-dimensional travel spell, with the express purpose of finding and capturing me." Makoto raised an eyebrow at this, but he ignored it and continued, "It was a scout, probably drawn here by our own gate. If it had searched for a while and found nothing, it would have given up and gone away, and tried to find another lead on me -- somewhere else. But since it won't come back within an hour, a group of five or six will come through..." "So what do we do?" asked Minako. "We leave them alone," replied Igraine. "We let them search the area, realise that we're not there and that they can't look further without too much risk, and then we let them go home." "But we have to follow them," added Usagi. "Because if they start attacking people..." "Absolutely," said Copernicus. "But it's vital that you be the ones to herd them out, if it comes to a fight. We'll stay invisible, in reserve in case things go wrong, but if you can send some of them back alive without them seeing me, they'll never come back." The Senshi looked at each other and nodded. "Okay," said Minako. "That's the plan then; we keep an eye on them while you hang about invisible and give cover." "It sounds vaguely familiar..." said Ami. "And if it comes to a fight...?" "Don't let them get close to you," said Makoto. "They're big, but they can move like... well, lightning." "But they don't turn fast," added Copernicus. "If you can get behind one... it'll take a real beating before it goes down, but you might pull it off. Stay back, hit them hard, get them confused. If you keep your heads, you'll do fine." He squeezed Makoto's shoulder; she rubbed his hand with her cheek in reply. "I can enhance your innate telepathy for you," said Igraine. "It should help if you have to separate." "Well, we'd better get going then," said Usagi. "We've got less than half an hour." "Can't we stay a *bit* longer," Rei asked Igraine. "You said time was malleable..." Igraine shook her head. "Not that much." She kissed her gently. "But you can come back later." Rei smiled. "Okay." "Until later, then..." Igraine and Rei kissed again. Rei felt the kiss melt away, and opened her eyes to see shifting grey mist... ******************** =Wake UP!= The five girls and Copernicus snapped awake as Igraine pulsed them. "Right," said Copernicus, "you'd better do your changey thing here; it'll save time later." "Um..." said Makoto. "I don't know if I want my neighbours noticing us coming out of my apartment..." "So we teleport," said Copernicus. "We couldn't walk there in time anyway." Makoto shook her head. "Not in my flat we don't. I like the floor in one piece, thank you." =Let Copernicus do it. His spell doesn't damage the surroundings.= "Thanks," said Usagi. "So, are we ready?" "Not quite," said Ami. "I have to phone my mother, and the rest of you had better do the same... can we say we're having a study-sleepover here, Mako?" "Sure." "And I'll call Mamo-chan too. He might be worried." Ami went over to the phone and dialled. The others sat in silence, watching her. "Mum? Hi. We're having a big study group round at Makoto's, and we thought it'd make more sense to stay the night... I don't really know, but it might be after dinner... Sure, I'll let you know... Love you too." She hung up and went to sit with the others while Usagi went through basically the same conversation, then left a confused message on Mamoru's answering machine. By the time Minako had her turn, the tension of sitting and waiting expectantly had built up considerably: she and Usagi were jittery and fidgeting. They jumped up with relief when Rei finished her call, pulling the others with them to stand in front of Copernicus. "/Moon Crystal Power, Make Up/!" "/Mercury/Venus/Mars/Jupiter Star Power, Make Up/!" =So pretty... >>SIGH<<= Sailor Mars could almost see Igraine's spectral face gazing fondly at her over Copernicus' shoulder. She blushed... The Senshi laughed, breaking the tension. =That's better. You were far too wound up.= "Right," said Copernicus, "all join hands..." They formed up in a circle. "/Tropelet Ssam/" They vanished, just as a light scratching sounded from the door. "Meow?" ******************** The group appeared in a grove of trees... =/Gniees Eurt/= "/Ytilibisivni/" ...and Copernicus vanished from mortal sight, though the Senshi could still see him clearly. They advanced cautiously towards the site of the original portal as Copernicus rose into the air above them. =Oh no. We have a problem.= Even in a park at night, a giant seared corpse demands attention. The entire area was crawling with people. A handful of police officers worked crowd control, keeping the hundred or so gawking citizens away from the four paramedics and two detectives examining the body. As the girls approached, a black car pulled up, followed by two olive-drab trucks. Three criminalists and two entire platoons of JSDF infantry disembarked, and began setting up a battery of floodlights... Mars: =Oh crap.= Venus: =>wry< Well, we know the telepathy thing works... But what do we do with this lot?= Igraine: =Something very fast. Gate forming!= The air split as light outlined a giant-sized doorway. Then a flash, and the first Fomorian came through. Under the orders of their thoroughly scared captain, the soldiers formed a wide semicircle around the gate, as the Fomorian scanned the area. The crowd retreated, urged back by the police. Ami: =Definitely not the usual kind of enemy. This is the first actual corpse we've ever had...= Four more Fomorians came through in quick succession, then the gate closed. The first one spotted the scout's corpse. It grunted, turned, and began lumbering towards the body. The civilians fell back to a chorus of assault rifles being cocked and readied... Moon: =Senshi, let's move! Split up and reinforce the soldiers!= She ran through the cordon and faced the lead Fomorian-- "For love and justice, I am the pretty sailor-suited soldier Sailor Moon! You don't belong in this world! Leave now, or in the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!" The crowd of onlookers cheered; the soldiers' resolve appeared to stiffen as they shifted to accommodate the Senshi, taking up supporting positions between them. The Fomorian grunted again, and stooped to peer at her. Sailor Moon held her ground before the giant creature, staring it down... It blinked, and straightened up, eyeing the line of soldiers. It swung around ponderously and barked at one of the others, which reached for something in its belt-- --and howled in pain as a nervous squaddie opened fire on it. The Fomorians advanced, readying their clubs; the soldiers let rip. Sailor Moon dove back to their line, shouting, "No! They were leaving! Mercury, cover!" "/Shabon Spray/!" "Now everyone PUMMEL THEM! /MOON PRINCESS HALATION/!" The Senshi opened up with their heaviest attacks, able to pick their targets. Lacking that advantage, the soldiers sprayed the cloud of bubbles, achieving little more than minor damage. Two of the Fomorians dropped, burned, frozen, shocked and pierced to death. Then one of the survivors broke directly for the line of soldiers and Jupiter; the other two scattered. Sailor Moon ran after one. =Mars, with me! Mercury, Venus; get the other one! Ju--= "/SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE/!" =--help the soldiers till we get back!= Jupiter danced around the Fomorian, keeping out of range of its club. One of the soldiers hadn't been as quick, and was now an almost unidentifiable gory mess on the ground. His platoon-mates maintained a steady stream of fire, keeping the Fomorian off-balance with the pain and slowly wearing it down. Between them, Sailors Moon and Mars made short work of their runner, before it managed to cause any damage. Mercury and Venus didn't weren't so lucky; some civilians injured themselves getting out of their Fomorian's way. A couple of soldiers were already firing steadily at it as they ran up. "/Venus Love Me Chain/!" The chain sliced across the giant's chest, leaving a shallow cut. Venus dove backwards and rolled to avoid the savage return stroke. She jumped upright again. "Try this. /CRESCENT BEAM SHOWER/!" "/SHINE AQUA ILLUSION/!" Confused but relatively unhurt by the light display, the Fomorian shook its head as it broke from its ice prison and swung. The Senshi danced clear as two cherry trees were smashed to kindling. ~They might need help, lover.~ Copernicus flashed over to hover above the Senshi as they attacked again. "/SHINE AQUA ILLUSION/! I *hate* my stupid attacks!" "/VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN/! *Waah*! Mine aren't exactly working either!" Then a ricochet from one of the soldiers clipped Mercury on the calf. More surprised than hurt, she tripped, right in the Fomorian's path. ~Melee!~ Venus leapt to her aid, but the Fomorian's club was already descending as she started to pull her up. Copernicus appeared, his swords crossed against the falling club, pushing it clear of the Senshi; then all four blades briefly whirled a complex pattern as he destroyed the Fomorian's chest and throat in an explosion of blood. But not before it shouted a bark of recognition. Grinning in triumph despite its pain, the surviving Fomorian brought a slender wand from its belt and snapped it in two. There was a burst of light-- Mars: =What was that?= She had almost made it back to Jupiter. Igraine: =Some kind of beacon spell. I think that's-- Heads up, Senshi! Gate forming, right beside it!= Then the gate opened, and brought forth a dragon. No sinuous, sagacious Oriental creature this, but a barbed, malevolent product of Western nightmares. A heavy, seemingly endless scaly body slid through the gate, until over fifty metres of black-armoured reptilian power was coiled in the park. Not much larger than the faux dragon she had faced so recently, Jupiter felt a terror of this creature that the Gojira-esque projection of Esmeraude's hatred had never wielded. She forced herself to stand her ground as it reared its head, inhaling. Igraine: =>>>URGENT<<< Jupiter, BACK *NOW*!= Blocked to the rear by a clump of bushes, Sailor Jupiter rolled to the side just as the dragon exhaled a cloud of acidic mist over the area. Three soldiers weren't so quick, and fell screaming as their exposed skin bubbled and smoked. Jupiter scrambled to her feet, but slipped on the wet grass and sprawled gracelessly as the dragon crashed towards her. Then Mars was between them, denying it passage-- "/BURNING MANDALA/!" The injured dragon shrieked, then leaped at Mars and sent her tumbling through the air with a backhanded swipe. Jupiter: =>>>*SHOCK/DESPAIR*<<< *MARS*!= The other Senshi reflected the emotion back threefold. All four stumbled, their heads spinning, then recovered and *ran*, Jupiter barely avoiding the dragon's follow-up swipe on the way. Igraine: =>>>URGENT<<< Leave the dragon to us! And /BOTTLE THAT UP/!= "/Gninthgil Niahc/!" Jagged lightning spewed from Copernicus' hand and played across the clouds as he shot into the sky, seizing the attention of everyone below. "Channel!" ~Go.~ =**WE ARE COPERNICUS AND IGRAINE, CHAMPION OF ROTHGARD, SLAYER OF LIATHAN AND BELEOR, AND WE CONTEST YOUR RIGHT TO THESE SKIES!**= The dragon coiled on its haunches, bellowed deafeningly, and leapt into the air. Sailor Jupiter reached Mars, who was lying supine and groaning. "What were you thinking of?" "I owed you--" Mars replied, hoarsely. "Then repay me by staying *alive*, Mars! Now come on and help me finish the last one off." "No need," panted Sailor Moon, skidding to a halt. "Gone... through the gate..." "Good..." whispered Mars, and coughed. Blood ran down her cheek, glistening in the floodlight. "I think I'm hurt..." **** ~Copernicus?~ "Yes love?" ~>suppressing< Hurry.~ "/ETSAH/!" The universe slowed. The dragon flapped lazily just below him. Diving feet first, he timed his approach so that he hit the base of its neck just as its wings were fully raised, rolling slightly to avoid the ponderously descending head on the way in. He span his weapons down the length of its chest and belly, chewing through the weak lower armour and shredding the flesh beneath. Igraine had all the parrot-mount wands on continuous fire, aiming at a spot just behind his blades, piling every bolt into the exposed innards... **** Sailors Mercury and Venus had just reached Mars' side when Copernicus powered in to land beside them in a kneeling position, gasping for air and shaking. =>>>PEACEPEACEPEACEPEACE<<<= Mars relaxed and closed her eyes as Igraine smothered all feelings of pain from her chest. "Can... you heal?" panted Copernicus. The Senshi looked at each other. "Not that," said Mercury. The dragon crashed to earth nearby, unheeded by all of them. "What about..." Copernicus waved weakly towards a paramedic who was treating one of the acid-burned soldiers. "We can't," said Sailor Moon in an agony of indecision. "They'd find out too much about us." "'kay..." Copernicus laid his hands gently on Mars' chest and closed his eyes. "Go." =>concern< Are you sure you want to do this now? You'll be laid up for days...= "No choice... go." "Wait!" said Jupiter. "We may be able to do something. All that... damage I had... it's gone. I noticed earlier, but there wasn't time to talk about it. Something that we did..." Mercury brightened up suddenly. "She's right. Copernicus, can you teleport us back?" "Ah... sure." "We need to get back inside your Dream, Igraine, it happened while we were there, and we need to be safe while we do it. Let's go!" "Wait!" said Moon. "We can't leave! What if something *else* comes through?" "Safe for now," said Copernicus, still rather short of breath. "Be another hour... maybe two... before any battle. They need time to plan too." "Battle?" asked Venus and Moon simultaneously. "I'll explain later. We should go now." ~Please?~ They vanished, just as a black feline form plodded wearily into the park. ******************** Grey mists cleared, and they found themselves on the terrace. As soon as they materialised, Makoto rounded on Rei. "You--" "There isn't time for that!" snapped Ami. "We have to do this *now*!" She turned to Minako. "Group hug, yes? It's the only thing that could have fixed Mako." She took up position at Rei's side. "Come on!" Usagi moved to face Rei. "She's right," she said to the others. "We can do this." The other Senshi moved in to surround Rei, then Copernicus and Igraine wrapped their arms around the bundle of girls. "Now what?" asked Rei, her voice muffled. "Not that I'm complaining..." "Earlier, I... *asked* you all to bottle something up," said Igraine. "It should have matured enough. Time to /pull the cork/." The knot of bodies tightened convulsively as Igraine's empathic lock broke. An intense wave of emotion flowed into Rei, willing her to be well. She sobbed into Makoto's chest, whispering "I'm sorry" over and over. They strained against each other for around a minute while Rei's sobs subsided, then slowly relaxed. The group broke up, leaving Makoto cradling Rei's head against her breast for a moment, gently stroking her hair. Makoto kissed the top of Rei's head, then half-turned to the others. "Did it work?" "I think so," said Igraine, "but I'll check." Igraine vanished for a short while, then returned. Smiling radiantly, she took Rei's hand in both of hers and said, "Your body is perfect and in complete working order, as far as I can tell. It worked *very* well." "*Now* I forgive you for nearly getting killed," said Makoto. "I never blamed you for the other fight!" She hugged Rei tightly, then released her and stepped back. "Will you let me fight beside you and take my own risks again?" She raised an eyebrow and smiled; Rei grinned and nodded. Copernicus turned, seized Ami by the shoulders and hips and lifted her into the air. "You," he said, kissing her soundly on both cheeks and setting her down, "are a genius. And you," going over to Makoto and repeating the process, "are pretty quick too." Minako came over to Copernicus and put her arms around his neck. "And *you* stopped Ami and me from being in a worse state than Rei." She pulled his head down and kissed him. "Thank you. But now those Fomorians know you're here, and you're talking about battles. This is getting serious. Just what is going on?" "Just before we came here," said Igraine, "I asked Copernicus where he wanted to go to have a nice quiet rest. He replied, and I quote, 'Somewhere that if a dragon shows up, we can take it as a sign that someone's definitely out to get us.' We should get comfortable; this could take a while." **** "First of all, I should say that the dragon turning up surprised me as much as it did you," said Copernicus. He sat by himself on one couch, facing the Senshi and Igraine. "It must have volunteered to help the Fomorians in order to get revenge on us. That speech I gave is a pastiche of that species' ritual challenge; the roar it gave before it took off was the response, something like 'I am Lathed, defiler of Mandheim, son of Liathan and Beleor, and I assert my right' and so on. We got the title Champion of Rothgard for killing its parents, so you can see why it would be after us. Although dragons aren't really family- oriented, they--" Igraine, lying with her head in Rei's lap, cleared her throat. "Darling, you're avoiding the point." Copernicus shrugged. "There isn't going to be a battle. This is my problem, and it's hurt you and your world more than enough already. When they come... I'm going to stop it." Makoto looked sceptical. "How?" Copernicus didn't answer. "Go on, darling, tell them," said Igraine. "The response may surprise you." Copernicus sighed. "I need to give you a bit of history first. After we dealt with that dragon's parents in Rothgard, we got asked to do one over in Fomor. They have some funny customs there; the traditional reward is a choice of ten barrels of ale or the lord's queen for the night." "And you took the drink," said Minako, rolling her eyes. "Well, you've seen them!" Ami chuckled. "Are the females just as bad?" "Oh no, they're *much* worse, if they mature. Huge things, practically immobile. And it isn't even as though she's got a nice personality! Everything about her is completely *repellent*!" He slumped over and rested his head on his hands. "So she took it as a personal insult, which I suppose it was after all, and declared that I was to be brought back and made to... change my decision. They've been trying to get me ever since. We've kept ahead of them with no real damage on either side up until now. But it's gone too far, and we can't let it hurt any of you any more; so I'm going to go with them and end it the only way I can." Standing, he said, "And now ladies, if you don't mind I shall retire for a while." He bowed, turned, and strode off into the palace. Igraine looked up into Rei's eyes; saw the snap of realisation followed by horror and sympathy. "You girls should have the chance to talk without either of us here. I'll go outside and keep watch for a bit. Take as long as you need." She closed her eyes and vanished. "Well, now what?" asked Makoto. "What do you mean?" replied Usagi. "What are we going to do to help him? There must be *something*..." Usagi looked at her. "I'm more interested in hearing *why* we should help him. I'm sure he'll manage fine without us." Makoto stared at her in shock. "But if we can *do* something..." "Igraine said I should listen to my inner princess more. I'm sorry if you don't like my timing, but no matter how much I like them on first impression, I have to think of the possible consequences to us. It's not like we know much about him--" "Maybe *you* don't," retorted Makoto. "You don't think the three of us got into that cuddle-pile with him after a couple of minutes' chat, do you?" Minako nodded firmly. "We spent *hours* getting to know each other while you were away with Rei and Igraine." "And we spent hours together after you left, Usagi," added Rei, "so don't say we don't know them. We do; enough to know they deserve our help." Makoto almost smiled at that. "Well if even Rei trusts him, surely that settles it." Usagi sighed. "It's not that simple--" Rei almost snarled as she cut in again. "Oh it's simple. *He* turns up, monsters follow *him* and knock us about, and *he* fixes it the only way it can be fixed!" She jumped to her feet and strode over to lean on the balustrade, staring at the treetops. Minako dropped her head into her hands. Ami sighed and said, "You missed a couple of crucial stages there, Rei." "Oh yes, and they saved our lives," snapped Rei. "*Apparently* that doesn't matter. Usagi's right, he'll be *fine* without us." Usagi went over to Rei and tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away roughly. Makoto snorted. "Oh come on Usagi. If you want her to feel better, let us go help him!" "You *still* don't get it?" Rei span around, tears in her eyes. "Are you all really that *blind*?" She stormed off into the palace. "Shit... Rei!" Makoto got up and followed her. "Don't you *dare* run away from this, Rei!" Usagi watched them go, then got up herself. "Minako, are you all right?" Minako nodded, rubbing her eyes. "You stay here with Ami, please. I need to think..." She walked off slowly to the palace. Ami looked at Minako and sighed. She closed her eyes and concentrated... and chuckled as their couch expanded. "Neat..." Minako gave her a wan smile. "Oh look. A bed." "Oh cheer up, Mina." Ami rolled over to her. "You're no use to anyone like this." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't know if it's this place, but I'm really picking up on Rei's feelings. She's in real pain, and Mako's not exactly happy either... they're pulling me down with them." "Does this mean I get to play doctor again?" Minako's mouth twitched up at the corners. Ami grinned wickedly and said, "Want to see another neat trick?" She closed her eyes. Their clothes turned into mist and evaporated... **** Rei ran into the conservatory and threw herself on the bed she wanted to find still there. A few seconds later, Makoto skidded into the room. A muffled "Go away!" came from the pillow. "Rei, what is with you? We should at least be coming up with some way to show Copernicus our support!" "What's with *me*?" Rei threw herself upright and glared at Makoto. "What none of *you* seem to have realised is *she has to go in with him*! She has to endure every revolting instant of it alongside him! So *SHE* needs our support more than he does, because he's got *hers*!" "Why? Can't she just hide in here?" "Gods, Mako, can't you see? She won't let-- no, she *can't* let him go through it alone. She loves him too much. So she'll go through it with him." Rei slumped back and sighed. After a moment, she raised her head to look at Makoto. "Do you know how much pain it cost him to heal you?" Makoto's mouth drooped as she shook her head. "Igraine told me; we had a really long talk earlier..." She tailed off, almost smiling, then continued. "She's a priestess, with some very interesting faith-based magic, but some of it -- like the healing -- should really only work on Copernicus. They figured out a way to transfer it to someone else, only it hurts him. More than anything imaginable." "I had no idea..." "So he was prepared to go through that again to heal me, on top of whatever else he'd been doing, probably half-killing himself in the process -- even though there were other options available that *we* don't want to use! That 'mission' would technically have been successful if they'd let Ami and Minako take their chances; we'd have fought them back eventually without them being seen. But no, they go and *force* themselves into this impossible situation instead of risking our friends being killed. "They're so wonderful, and there's absolutely nothing we can do to help them." She lay back again. "The only thing I can't figure is why they let us tangle with that first Fomorian, after following us all that way." Makoto laughed. "Probably because we *should* have been able to handle the situation ourselves. Face it Rei, we nearly Darwined ourselves there." Rei sighed. Makoto leaned over and poked her in the ribs. "No huff now. It's over, we survived, we laugh about it." "I really don't feel like laughing right now." "Answer me this then. Why *did* they follow us all that way?" "Igraine spotted Minako as someone special as soon as she saw her. They made a statement in the way they dealt with her attackers, and hung around to see if anyone else special showed up and took an interest. And we did." "And then Igraine developed a... personal interest in the situation?" "Say 'fell in love', it's true." "Just like that?" "She... *sees* so much more than we do, Mako. With one look, she knew more about me -- what I am inside, I mean -- than you've learned in all the time you've known me. And she showed me as much of herself as I could take in..." "You mean...?" Mako grinned, one eyebrow raised. Rei blushed slightly. "Way to go Rei..." "You're not doing so bad yourself." "Huh?" "Copernicus might not be as empathic as Igraine, but he's still incredibly perceptive. He developed his own 'personal interest'." Rei surprised herself by laughing out loud. "Didn't you notice?" **** Usagi wandered through the palace, her purpose firming up as she drifted from room to room. Eventually she found Copernicus in a wood-floored training room, sitting like a bizarre Hindu deity in a full lotus with his eyes closed. He made no indication of noticing her as she approached, but she refused to be put off, stepping decisively up to him and summoning her royal heritage. "You have caused a great deal of confusion in my Senshi, dragonslayer." "My apologies, Princess. It was unintentional. They will resolve it when we have left." "I am not so sure. Your absence may cause as much confusion as your presence." "They must resolve it, because sooner or later we *will* leave." "Never to return?" "If the Princess commands it." "If I may ask... on our last visit here, the atmosphere was very much one of trust and openness. But now..." "You and your Senshi are strong enough to block out the influence, now that you know of it. They don't believe the others will understand their feelings, so they isolate themselves. But they will work it out. Trust them." "I am unsure as to whether I should trust *you*." "The Princess has but to command me." "How can I learn about you?" "Look for a library. It will have journals, records... memories. Igraine keeps them." "And I should trust her?" "Consider this: would Rei open herself so completely to someone who might deceive *you*?" "A point... I shall look for a library, then. We will talk again later." "As the Princess commands." **** Ami lay beside Minako, gently nibbling at her right breast. Minako wasn't complaining, but was too distracted to do more than absent- mindedly stroke Ami's hip. "I'll stop if you're really not interested," sighed Ami. She looked up at her friend, to see her staring vacantly into space. "Mmm?" Minako looked back at her and smiled faintly. "No, don't... it's helping me think..." "I use my brain, personally. But I'm glad to be of service..." She started teasing the aureole with the tip of her tongue. "I'm *so* glad you didn't make any 'typical blonde' comments... all right; it's keeping me from getting depressed so I *can* think." "Maybe if you talk to me, I could help?" Minako didn't reply. Ami sighed and got back to some serious nibbling. **** Unconsciously mirroring Copernicus, Rei sat in the middle of the conservatory, trying to meditate, in the hope of finding a more... *acceptable* solution than the one her heart shouted... but no middle ground presented itself. "No other way." She leaped to her feet and called, "Igraine? Can you hear me? Igraine!" There was no reply. Rei forced composure on herself again. =Igraine?= "Yes?" Appearing in the doorway, she went over to Rei and took her hands. "Beloved, what's wrong?" "I had to make a decision, be sure in my own mind. Igraine... no matter what the others say, I'm going with you." **** Makoto strode through the palace and quickly found Copernicus, still sitting with eyes closed in the training room. As with Usagi, he declined to acknowledge her approach; like Usagi, she ignored the feigned obliviousness completely. "I just realised something." "Yes?" "Out of the five of us, I'm the only one you haven't seen in action. Oh, you've seen me get caught flat-footed twice, and pile a few attacks into some confused targets, but when I was on form you were too far away to see." "True." "So I want to spar with you. This is a dojo, isn't it?" "Effectively." "And you and Igraine work out here, so it'll be realistic but we won't get hurt?" "Of course." "All right then. No flying; anything else goes. Ready?" "If it's what you want..." Copernicus' eyes snapped open as he slid gracefully to his feet. Sailor Jupiter was standing some distance from him, resplendent in her fuku. She bowed formally to him and dropped into her ready stance. Copernicus bowed in return, then assumed a prayer-like stance. Hands shielding his mouth, he whispered... "/elissim cigam/" Streams of glowing bolts sprang from his hands as he flung them outwards. Jupiter backflipped away, avoiding the attack, but the bolts swerved and homed in. She dropped quickly to one knee, but a series of warning shocks flashed across her back. Jupiter slumped. "Dammit, not again..." "Why did you stop? That wasn't a kill -- you're far too tough for one barrage to take out. All right, start again. And this time don't stop until you're dead." He grinned, backed up, and bowed again. Jupiter pulled herself to her feet. "Okay..." She bowed, and they returned to their stances. This time, she didn't give him the opportunity to cast anything. She slid in feet first, then she was pinwheeling through the air as he flicked her ankles upwards with one lower hand. She recovered gracefully, tucking her knees in to spin away and land posed. "/Sparking Wide Pressure/!" Copernicus rolled clear of the bolt and responded with "/Tlob Gninthgil/!", then had to scramble aside again as her tiara's antenna reflected the strike back at him. Though rather surprised herself, Jupiter pressed her advantage, launching a series of spinning kicks that robbed him of the initiative, driving him back towards a wall as he concentrated on blocking. But she couldn't land a single hit, and was beginning to wonder if he was playing with her when he stepped in through her guard and hammered a fist into her throat. She felt her body go numb as she flew backwards to slide across the floor. She stared at the ceiling until Copernicus hove into view, then the feeling returned to her body as he pulled her to her feet. "Well, *that* showed me," she said bitterly. "Couldn't get a hit in..." "I didn't really expect you to do anything *like* as well as you did there, Jupiter! I've got four arms, and I've been in more fights than you've had meals of any kind, hot or cold, *including* snacks, so believe me when I say I was more than surprised. I was really on the defensive there; I couldn't have countered without taking a few hits. You *lost* because you broke your concentration. If you had kept it up, something would have to give... and then you use it to your advantage." "So?" "So let's see what else you can do. New game. Let's see... Mercury and Venus had some difficulty because their attacks just weren't stoppers, but they were doing a fine holding action until Mercury went down. So, you have to hit me as often as you can before I hit you once. Okay? Seconds out, round two." Jupiter hesitated. "Look, you started this. Are you going to finish it?" She smiled. "All right." What followed was more like a one-sided game of tag than anything else. Jupiter bounced around the room, piling electrical attacks into Copernicus whenever she had the chance. After the first three hits, he imagined up a new environment, with various surface types and obstructions, and she still managed to keep out of his reach, though her opportunities to strike back grew rarer. Finally, she slipped in a pool of grease, tried to turn it into a rolling dive, and ended up being tagged on the back half way through the move. "So, how did you do?" Flushed, Jupiter smiled. "Much better. I lost count at ten..." "Eighteen shots fired, thirteen hits. Enough to take down practically anything in the real world. So that's a win for you." "You want a tie-break?" "That's the spirit. Swap roles? You try to stop me hitting you *too* often, and try to tag me once?" Jupiter nodded. "Let's go." Copernicus grinned. "One other thing. This time I'm using a fighting style I'm actually *good* at." He materialised his swords and daggers, and span them lazily into a salute. Jupiter swallowed and bowed; then she dropped into stance and Copernicus sprang at her. At first he attacked with one sword only, keeping the other blades back in defence as he swung at Jupiter with the over-weighted manner of a novice. She avoided being hit completely, but every return stroke was blocked, even though she was in arm's reach most of the time. Then Copernicus shifted to a more fluid style, switching each blade from attack to defence and back as necessary. Her skin tingled as she took a barrage of hits, then she leapt clear. She could still keep out of his reach easily, but she couldn't get close enough to strike. She retreated, buying time to think. ~Need a weapon...~ She concentrated on her hands until a naginata popped into them, then sprang to the attack... No use. She could attack without closing, but Copernicus' defence just tightened to impenetrability, ripostes licking out at her arms every time she struck. And when he took the initiative and came at her, she just couldn't block fast enough, and there was *still* no opening. Leaping back out of range again, she dropped the naginata and summoned a pair of tonfa in its place. She got them ready just in time to deflect the worst of a frenzied attack. Copernicus pressed his advantage, striking out at her from every angle. Jupiter made a dancing retreat, blocking as well as she could. When she first felt the barrage of tingling recede, she thought she was going permanently numb; then she realised that she was actually blocking most of the strikes. She settled into the moment, still bouncing acrobatically around Copernicus, keeping just inside his reach, and soon she was holding him off completely. Slipping into something approaching Zen awareness, Jupiter calmly analysed Copernicus' style for possible openings. Still none. Then Copernicus dropped back, swords and daggers snapping into their defensive lines. "I can't keep that up for ever," he said, panting slightly. Jupiter grinned and launched herself at him, forcing him to keep weaving a defensive pattern, only occasionally licking out a riposte, most of which she blocked easily. She pressed her attack, still searching for weaknesses in the pattern, Copernicus slowly recovering stamina as she spent hers. Nothing... Then she saw it. One chance. When he switched back to attacking, a hole would travel briefly through the web of steel. Nothing that could be exploited by a weapon; she'd have to literally throw herself through... Copernicus shifted his weight slightly. ~*Now*!~ She knocked the right sword up, flopped like a high-jumper over the left, clamped a hand on the wrist of the left dagger arm, using the leverage to swing her legs up, knocked the left sword's return stroke away with her foot and jack-knifed into the space it was defending to avoid the right one... then she missed the change in rhythm by a fraction of a beat, and the flying steel chewed her up and spat her out. She tucked, rolled, and landed facing away from him. Her shoulders slumped slightly. "You should know," said Copernicus, dismissing his weapons after a long pause, "that you're only the fifth person to even spot that opening, never mind get half way through it on the first try." "Please don't. I know when I'm beaten." "It's still true." When Jupiter didn't respond after a few moments, he added, "You should also know that only two people have *ever* managed to exploit it." "Igraine, I suppose..." "Actually, no. She's not really a fighter -- though she's better than most, of course... Anyway, she's got enough ways to get to me as it is. No, one's a war goddess, the other... a very dear friend. Dead now..." "Are you really saying I'm *that* good?" "It's down to the Dream again. If you work at it, you could be that good. Your body isn't up to it yet -- but your mind is. You are rather... special, after all." "Yes..." Still with her back to him, she said, "Can I ask you something?" "Always." "What exactly are you? Biologically, I mean." Copernicus laughed. "I can assure you, Senshi Sailorjupiter, that I'm just as human as you are." Jupiter's head twitched as she suppressed the urge to glance over her shoulder at him. "That's the problem, isn't it? Because how human *I* am can be best summed up as 'not completely'. I know where *my* extras came from, how about yours?" "One curse of immortality, a lot of magical defences and weapons, and a few hours tinkering with some spare parts to get an edge in a fight. Aside from that, pure farm-bred human." He walked to stand behind Jupiter, clasping her shoulders gently with his upper hands. "Look, I know what you're dancing around. Some people find them fun; others don't." "Oh don't get me wrong; they're certainly intriguing," sighed Jupiter. "Mercury's desperate to get a proper look at your musculature, and Venus came up with some pretty lewd scenarios. It's just that... I'm not quite ready for that level of weirdness." "I understand. You know I can make them go away? In here, anyway..." "Would you?" "Already done." She pulled away from him and walked forward two steps, then turned. Definitely the same person, but without the jangling incongruity that had been preventing her from fully comprehending him. *Now* she could understand why Igraine loved him... She sighed heavily. "But," she continued, "there's something vital we need to tal--" Then she was in the air, smashing her knees into his chest and forcing him back and over, to land on the suddenly yielding floor straddling his waist, her hands pinning his wrists beside his head... She whispered "I win," and pulled him into a savagely passionate kiss. **** With her current determined state of mind, Usagi soon found the library, panelled and shelved with dark wood. The sheer number of books would normally have been intimidating, but she pulled out the first leather- bound volume that came to hand, and began to read. She read the story of a younger son of a minor noble, who had set out to release his home from the depredation of a dragon, and ended up making it his calling to wipe out the evil members of that breed... **** Ami had grown bored of the first breast and had been working on its partner for a few minutes before Minako finally got round to responding. "As Mako said, now what?" Ami gave the nipple one last flick with her tongue and sighed. "I too have been thinking. I've been thinking that I've forgotten something important. I've been thinking that I've been thinking round in circles." She sat up suddenly, and seized Minako's hand. "I have an extremely important mission for you, Sailor V." Minako raised an eyebrow. "I need to stop thinking about this for a while. I need a distraction." She flopped back onto the bed and pulled Minako's hand down to her groin. "So distract me already." **** Igraine sat on the bed, pulling Rei down beside her. She stroked her cheek gently, then took her hands again. "Rei, I appreciate the offer deeply, but you mustn't." "Why not? I *know* that just by being there I can help you. Why can't I be there for you?" "Against your Princess' wishes?" "Igraine, if Usagi tries to stop me, even once she understands the situation, then she's not what I believed her to be. I couldn't follow her any more." "But you're afraid she *will* say no?" "I don't know. She has to take our duty into consideration... I think it's safe to leave for a couple of days right now, it's been pretty quiet, but she might not think it's worth the risk." She bowed her head, sudden tears dripping onto their clasped hands. "And it *is*," she sobbed. Igraine pulled Rei to her, cradling her against her chest. "Oh, my dear. At least promise me that if she says no, you'll listen to her reasons and think about it?" Rei sobbed again and shook her head. Igraine sat Rei up so she could look her in the eye. "This is important, Rei. You have your life and destiny in your world, I have mine with Copernicus. You will always hold a very special place in my heart, beloved, but we don't belong on your world, and our destiny will call us sooner or later. You can't follow it with us; you *must* *not* ruin your life here over us. Over *me*." "But... will I never see you again?" "Did I say that?" Igraine smiled. "We live in here, remember. The Dream is our home. We merely *visit* other places, and we return to many of them." She became serious again. "It mainly depends on your Princess. If she forbids our return, as the official protector of your world, then we will obey her." Rei's eyes began to tear up again, and she added, "*If*, I said. And one thing that's likely to make her forbid us is one of her Senshi deciding to disobey her over us!" She kissed Rei, then went on, "So please, will you *promise* not to go against her final word? For me? So I can come back and see you again?" Finally Rei smiled, nodding as she pulled Igraine close and kissed her. **** Jupiter finally released Copernicus' mouth and sat up with her hands on her hips, panting. He looked up at her and grinned. "You sneaky, underhanded..." Jupiter cut him off with a gloved finger on his lips. "I don't think I want my prize talking right now," she said thoughtfully. Copernicus' grin widened slightly; he laced his hands behind his head and lay back. "And my prize shouldn't move around too much either," she added as she felt something pressing against the cleft of her buttocks. "Just stay like that..." She dismounted and knelt beside him, concentrating. Excepting torc and wristbands, his clothing vanished. She surveyed her prize, taking in the muscle definition and smooth lines. And, she was ashamedly relieved to note, a perfectly normal human penis, currently erect of course, largish without being intimidating... She moved to kneel between his legs, hunkered over, and began running the point of her tongue in wavy lines from root to tip, stifling a giggle as it twitched in response. Jupiter spent a fair while investigating Copernicus' pubic area with mouth and hands, carefully noting his reactions to every form of stimulation she could dream up. Finally she sat up so he could see her, blew him a kiss, and bent over again. Running her circled thumb and forefinger down the length of his shaft, Jupiter pulled the loose skin tightly back, and clamped hard around the root as far down as she could manage. She felt the head begin to swell as, tongue dancing, she began to slowly admit it into her mouth through puckered lips. Copernicus gasped as Jupiter enfolded his glans in her mouth and began a rhythmic suckling motion, her lips rubbing back and forth over the rim, her flattened tongue massaging the sensitive flesh at the tip. His back began to arch as she began digging the circle of her fingers further and further into the base of his shaft. Then she began to massage his perineum with her free hand... Feeling Copernicus' tension beginning to peak, Jupiter briefly considered pulling away, then dismissed the thought as inappropriate to the time and place. Instead, she quickened her movements, increasing the force she applied, until Copernicus finally convulsed. She allowed her mouth to fill, still working her hands and tongue, swallowed, then sucked as she massaged the last of the fluid from his shaft. When he finally relaxed, she rose to her feet and posed, legs apart, as she dismissed her fuku's crotch. Locking eyes with Copernicus, she slowly lowered herself to straddle his waist again, nestled her vulva comfortably on top of his softened penis, and began rocking her hips back and forth, rubbing her clitoris against him. She maintained eye contact, raising her hands to tease and fondle her own breasts as he began to harden beneath her. When she could stand the wait no longer, Jupiter raised herself up, reached down with one hand to position Copernicus' shaft and, eyes still locked with his, slowly lowered herself onto it, her skirt falling to cover their conjunction. They both sighed in completion as she grounded, then she began rotating her hips gently as she experimented with her inner muscles. She tried to go slowly and take her time, but the heat rising inside her couldn't be denied, and she was soon gasping and bouncing up and down his shaft as he panted, straining to keep still as ordered. Feeling her eyes beginning to roll up, she slowed her movements, concentrated on Copernicus and said, "'Sneaky'... I believe... you said," then added after a pause of four strokes, "Answer." "As the... noble Senshi... commands... Yes." "'Underhanded'?" "Indeed." "Beautiful?" "Beyond words." "Talented?" she asked, grounding herself, and concentrated on milking Copernicus with her inner muscles. "By all the *GODS*!... I've ever annoyed... I swear 'tis so!" Unable to hold off any longer, Jupiter rocked her hips forward and began circling, savagely grinding her clitoris into Copernicus' pubic bone. She threw her head back and moaned, mauling at her breasts as she felt the crescendo build inside her. Then Copernicus gave a hoarse cry, hips jerking as he pulsed inside her, and she was crying out in release as the wave flooded over her. Then it receded, and she slumped forwards onto his chest. "You can move now," she whispered, and sighed in contentment as Copernicus rolled them onto their sides and enfolded her in his arms. **** By the time Usagi had reached the story of how Copernicus teamed up with Igraine and some others to take out a demon who was threatening their world, she had lapsed back to her usual persona; so she was now lying on a couch, reading the story in manga form. She read how, and why, Copernicus added his extra arms. She read of the curse of immortality, how the demon intended him to spend eternity as a shrivelled, raving madman. Deeply involved in the story of Copernicus and Igraine's burgeoning romance, she cried when Igraine was killed in the final battle with the demon, and again when Copernicus managed to save her soul from eternal torment and Igraine swore to stay with him forever, to prevent the demon's curse putting him through the same thing. She followed Copernicus as he carried Igraine's soul in a jar, barely able to communicate with her, constantly avoiding trouble while travelling the dimensions, desperately seeking someone who could seal her into a permanent home. The final struggle to embody her into Copernicus' torc had her sitting up, hunched over in anticipation, and when Igraine revealed the Dream she'd been working on in secret, Copernicus' reaction had her in tears again. Leaning over to pick up the next volume, she discovered a large ice cream sundae sitting on the floor. She settled in, absently spooning ice cream from an endless supply into a literally bottomless stomach as she read on... **** Minako nestled herself in against Ami and gently teased her labia open. Ami rolled slightly in response, slipping her arm under Minako's and walking her fingers down her stomach. Minako sighed deeply as she started massaging her pubic mound, and slowly slid her tongue around Ami's lips and into her mouth, duplicating the action lower down with a finger. Ami gasped and eased two fingers down into Minako's slit, taking the loose skin of her hood between them. She locked tongues with Minako and started pulling rhythmically on her hood, exposing the bud of her clitoris and bending it backward gently. Minako took up the rhythm with her finger as she eased it in deeper, hooking it round to massage the sensitive flesh on the inside of Ami's pubis. Minako's rapidly-swelling clitoris started making things difficult for Ami, so she brought in a third finger to help stretch her hood back while the middle one moved to rub the bud directly. Minako gasped, broke away from the kiss, and began breathing harshly as she slipped her remaining fingers into Ami's hole. Ami moaned in time with Minako's movements, and soon had her gasping in turn, gently digging her fingernail into her bud. Then she stopped, stilling Minako's movements with a hand on her wrist and trying to sit up. "Wait..." She closed her eyes and concentrated briefly. Minako found herself wearing a large strap-on. Then Ami was on her hands and knees in front of her, thrusting her vulva out as she looked over her shoulder coquettishly. "Fuck me, Mina darling. Fuck my brains out." Massively turned on, but nonetheless somewhat apprehensive, Minako carefully inserted her new accessory into her lover, and gave a few tentative thrusts. Ami had obviously put a bit of thought into the design of the thing; the base extended up to enfold her clitoris snugly, and down to form a plug in her vagina, so that every movement of the shaft was translated into stimulation for her... she was soon clutching Ami's hips as she hammered into her, thighs slapping against her tight buttocks. Ami's shoulders sank lower towards the bed, arching her back, forcing as much of her sex into contact with Minako as possible. Then Minako got the rhythm perfect, and Ami pulled a pillow over her head as her moans turned to shrieks. Totally caught up in the power trip Ami was handing her, Minako transferred her grip to her shoulders, the better to force herself inside her. Finally Ami let out a long, wavering cry, heavily muffled by the pillow, and Minako's world shattered as an intense orgasm ripped through her. They held the pose, straining against each other as they counter-rotated their hips, forcing every last sensation out of the moment. Finally Minako dismissed the prosthetic and they collapsed onto their sides, Minako still cradling Ami from behind, but now with the utmost tenderness. "Distracted yet?" asked Minako, after their breathing and heartbeats had subsided to normal levels. "Oh yes indeedy," sighed Ami. She lay silent for a moment, then sat up and rolled Minako onto her back. "But turn about's only fair..." she said, wishing up a similar strap-on for herself, and shifting to kneel between Minako's legs. She caressed her vulva with both hands, easing the lips aside and slipping the end of one finger into her hole. "Hmmm. You're a little dry, lover... Not to mind." Ami grinned as she produced a large jar of jelly lubricant. She took childish pleasure in plastering half the contents over and inside Minako, sliming everything from her pubis to her coccyx and down the insides of her thighs, while Minako giggled and squirmed. Then she lifted Minako's legs up to her shoulders, bending forward so that Minako had to prop her hips up off the bed. Ami gently eased her extension into her, coming to rest with most of her weight balanced on Minako's upturned buttocks. She started gyrating her hips smoothly, stirring Minako's vagina like a fleshy pot, and getting herself thoroughly slimed in the process. After a few minutes in that position, gazing into Minako's eyes as she sweated and moaned beneath her, Ami was suddenly overcome by an aching need to hold her lover in her arms. Easing Minako's legs down, and working her own around so she was sitting, she helped Minako up and wrapped her arms about her. Issues of who was penetrating whom became irrelevant as they sat, arms and legs around each other, working their hips in synchrony and kissing tenderly. They held each other for what seemed like hours, stroking each other gently, lips and tongues constantly linked, their breathing slow and even, and when their orgasms finally arrived they were calm and soft and deep and seemed to go on forever... When it was over, Ami gazed into Minako's shining eyes, feeling her own beginning to fill. "Gods I love you Mina..." she whispered as a pair of tears ran slowly down her cheeks. Minako kissed them away softly, then pulled Ami to her, whispering "Oh my love..." in her ear as she rocked her gently. Eventually Ami sniffed and pulled away, saying, "I don't know about you darling, but I've had enough of sitting in this goop." Minako giggled and produced some damp towels, and they spent the next few minutes cleaning each other up. "So..." said Minako, once they were finished, "now what?" She collapsed back on the bed and gazed at the sky. "No idea," said Ami. She sighed, snuggled up, and started nibbling Minako's right breast again. **** Igraine shivered and sighed deeply as Rei transferred the kiss from her mouth to her neck, and began biting her gently. She started to work her way downward, then stopped and murmured, "We could get more comfortable..." Igraine nodded, then lowered herself back onto a conveniently-appearing pile of cushions as their clothes dissolved. Rei lay beside her, and with a whispered "Much better...", leant in to take her breast into her mouth. She suckled gently, teasing the nipple with her tongue, as she slipped her hand down. Igraine sighed again as she spread her legs, sliding one between Rei's, and weaving her fingers into Rei's hair. Rei rubbed herself gently against Igraine's thigh as she slid her fingers slowly along her lips, feeling them part at her touch. Still gently sucking Igraine's breast, she dipped one finger into the liquid beginning to pool in her folds, then brought it up and began massaging it gently into her bud. Igraine's breath caught, and she began rolling her hips gently in time, pushing her thigh tighter against Rei's sex. Rei continued working for some time, occasionally slipping a finger or two inside Igraine for variety, until she had her panting and writhing beside her. Then she disengaged, moving quickly to lie between Igraine's legs, wrapping her arms around them to hold her in place. She clamped her pursed lips over Igraine's clitoris, opening them just enough to force the hood back tightly, and sucked, lashing the exposed bud with her tongue as hard and fast as she could manage. She had to hold Igraine tightly as she bucked, the first orgasm hitting her almost instantly. Rei drove on mercilessly, clinging to her and battering at her bud as a second, then a third orgasm had Igraine convulsing and moaning hoarsely. She still kept on, building Igraine up a fourth time until, at what she hoped was the right moment, she released her and scooted up to embrace her, interlacing their legs and rolling so they lay on their sides. Rei felt a brief flicker of satisfaction as Igraine responded as she'd hoped, locking her in a frenzied kiss and jamming herself against Rei's upraised thigh. Then it was drowned as Igraine began bucking her hips wildly, mashing Rei's clitoris repeatedly with her own leg. Rei rocked her own hips in response, holding their kiss until the need for breath became too strong. Then each crushed the other to her chest as they panted in unison. Then Igraine's pants turned into moans, and Rei let out a long, wavering wail as their orgasms peaked. They clung together as the waves crashed over them, then slowly loosened up and kissed languidly in the afterglow. With great reluctance, Rei eventually disentangled herself from Igraine and sat up. "I need to go talk to the others, see what they think." Standing, she recreated her gown. Igraine sat up and hugged her, her head on Rei's chest. "Be patient with them, beloved." Rei clasped her head close, and whispered, "I'll try..." She bent down, kissed Igraine, and started to leave. "Listen out for me," she added as she went out the door. **** Naked and back in her usual persona now she had relaxed, Makoto nestled her back tightly against Copernicus as they lay in a womb-like depression in the training room floor. She shivered in pleasure as he kissed her neck and shoulder gently. "You know," he said, pausing for a moment, "you really had me fooled there. I was *sure* you'd given up." Makoto sighed. "I convinced myself I had." She chuckled, and went on, "And then I surprised myself." She twisted her head around to look at him out of the corner of one eye. "Anyway, O great warrior, weren't you expecting something like that?" "Oh, of course. And if you'd moved about half a second sooner, I'd have got you. But you *really* managed to hide it, and I relaxed... well done." He kissed her shoulder again, hugging her to him as she lay back again. "But you said there was something vital you had to talk about?" Makoto sighed, hugging his arm tightly to her. "It's this thing you've decided to do..." she began elliptically. "None of us are happy about it, but Usagi doesn't think we should help, and Rei's prepared to break up the team because she's fallen for Igraine and won't let her go alone..." She trailed off as tears began to run, then added in a small voice, "It's all so fucked up..." "It isn't so bad," said Copernicus, cradling her gently. "Usagi just isn't sure of us; she's off reading our life story now. With any luck she'll decide to listen to the rest of you. Not that I want you to come for my sake." Makoto stiffened slightly, and he added quickly, "I'm very grateful to you for the offer, but I *don't* want you risking yourselves over me. However, having Rei along will help Igraine *so* much, so I won't turn your help down." Makoto twisted her shoulders and head round so she could look at him. "You don't feel threatened by Rei?" He shook his head gently. "Igraine and I have been together for a very long time. We've both been in love with many other people, but we're always together. I'm extremely happy for them both." "So... am I just another conquest?" She tried to make a joke of it, but she knew Copernicus had caught the underlying uncertainty when he pulled back slightly. "I have had many lovers before, and will no doubt have many more. But don't think that someone who can come in *here* could ever be 'just another' *anything*." He levered himself up slightly. "Can you possibly understand what it means? For more years -- more *centuries* than I can remember, no-one has walked in this place save Igraine and me. This is our *home*, the very centre of our existence -- the one unchanging place in a multiverse of chaos -- and *you're in it*! How special does that make you?" He gazed intensely at Makoto for a moment, then broke into a grin. "And anyway," he said, poking her in the stomach, "*you* were the one who claimed *me*." She resisted the temptation to giggle. "I just didn't want to have made a mistake." "Having more than one love doesn't cheapen any of them. I had to accept that a *long* time ago. I'll never forget you. You forget a lot over the millennia, but some people stick in the mind. And sooner or later we'll have to get back on the job, but we *will* be back to visit." He kissed her shoulder gently. "Hopefully without all the distractions..." Makoto rolled over and pulled Copernicus into a kiss, holding him tight to her chest. Then she pulled away and sat up, wishing up her gown. "I'm holding you to that, because I have to go talk to the others. We can... 'spar' again later, but this has to be sorted now." Copernicus sat up beside her and kissed her, clothing himself. "You're right, of course," he sighed. "I hope you can reach an amicable decision." He stood up and helped her to her feet. "I'll wait for your call." Makoto kissed him again, then hiked up her gown and jogged from the room. She didn't hear him whisper "Thank you, beloved" as he sank back into the lotus and closed his eyes... **** Usagi began skipping episodes after a while: Copernicus and Igraine had taken up inter-dimensional dragon exterminator as their job for eternity, and the stories of how they fought, the new tricks they learned, the loot they found, and the lengths they went to to incorporate everything into one neat package that Igraine could control became rather repetitive. She read those that had interesting side- stories, and paid a lot of attention to the rather more ecchi theme that was beginning to appear. She learned about the tricks a four-armed man with a highly empathic, telekinetic spirit girlfriend could get up to with a succession of bizarre part-human female creatures, as well as a whole slew of normal-looking goddesses, female demons, royalty... enough that her clothing became unbearably damp, and she had to wish it dry again. Finally, a very explicit sequence about an encounter with a multi-armed goddess and four of her elite 'angelic' guard had her lying with her legs spread and her panties around one ankle, ravishing herself with a mind-created dildo as she tried to work off the accumulated tension. She kept trying to imagine what the extra hands would feel like... After lying for a while in a post-orgasmic haze, she realised three things. Firstly, there was no point in reading further; the remainder of the books -- by far the majority -- would just be more of the same, at base. Secondly, despite their... *enthusiastic* approach to sex, and their willingness to do business with any creature, no matter how depraved, Copernicus and Igraine were two of the most honourable, loving and caring people she had ever met. And thirdly, in every scene except those involving combat training, Copernicus *never* wore his extra arms in the Dream... **** "Ow!" Minako was jerked back to the here and now as Ami bit her nipple slightly too hard. "Sorry." Ami kissed the offended organ and sat up. "I've got it!" Minako propped her head up on her arm and looked at her with interest. "How did Copernicus and Igraine get here in the first place? With a *gate*. So we don't *have* to wait for the Fomorians to open another one up. We can go through right away. And then we can make *plans*." Minako sat up and kissed her soundly. "I had completely forgotten that. And that means that if there's a battle, it'll be in *their* back yard, not ours. Rei *will* be pleased!" "So do we go look for the others, or wait for them here like Usagi said?" "We wait," said Minako. "But we'd better get dressed; I've a feeling they won't be long." **** Rei reached the terrace just seconds after Makoto. She strode up to them, the look in her eyes halting their opening conversational gambits in their tracks, and declared, "We're going with them." The other three nodded, Makoto adding, "But not if Usagi says no?" Rei wilted slightly. "But not if Usagi says no. I promised to put my loyalty to her first." "Thank you, Rei," said Usagi, coming up behind her. Rei span and locked eyes with Usagi. "What's it to be then, Princess?" "I don't know yet." Rei began to open her mouth to retort, then restrained herself visibly. "I feel the same way you do," Usagi went on, "but there's this little niggle holding me back." She took Rei's hand, led her over to an empty couch, and sat down with her. "We're talking about going to another world and getting into who knows what, just because two really nice people could use our help. They haven't even asked. Are we doing this because we owe them, or because they're our friends?" Rei blushed slightly and said, "Because they're our... friends." "We're putting a lot of trust in this pair -- going to another *world* with them? -- and I'm not sure they trust us." "What do you mean?" said Rei, shocked. "They've accepted us into their *home*..." Usagi looked over at the others. "Minako, describe Copernicus." Puzzled, Minako replied, "Tall handsome westerner with four arms?" "Exactly. Rei, I've just spent what seemed like *days* reading through their life story. He's not some guy with four arms, he's a normal human with a sort of suit that he puts on to face the world. When he's in here, he only wears them if he's training." Rei still didn't understand. "So?" "So, are we 'the world' that has to be faced that way? Even when we're in here? If we are, should we be committing ourselves that much?" "Um..." Blushing, Makoto said, "That may not be an issue any more. He's... opened up to me, at least." Rei grinned at Makoto. Usagi leaped to her feet and threw up her hands. "You lot are... how many of you have this pair seduced?" Ami and Minako shrugged and looked innocent, then Ami glanced at Minako, who giggled and said, "Not yet, anyway..." Usagi glared at them. Makoto coughed, blushing even more deeply. "Ah... technically, only the one." Usagi relaxed for a second, then reddened as she realised what Makoto actually meant. "*Mako-chan*--" Rei grabbed Usagi's hand, pulling her round to face her. "So, do we go or not?" Usagi hesitated, then said, "I'm almost convinced. I still need to talk to them first." "I'll call them," said Rei. =Igraine? Could you and Copernicus join us? Usagi's holding back because of Copernicus' extra arms...= =Coming, beloved.= She came out to the terrace seconds later, and went over to sit by Rei. She kissed her cheek, whispering "Don't worry", then turned to Usagi. "Copernicus will be with us shortly, but there's something we need to know first. Usagi, this decision is in your hands. We have welcomed you all; the others have accepted us for what we are and opened their hearts to us. You alone have held back; some part of you has resisted spending any time with us in here. And we can't fully relax around you until you do." She held out a hand to her. "Please?" Usagi didn't respond for a moment. Then Rei squeezed the hand she still held, her eyes pleading with her. She reached out tentatively and took Igraine's hand in her free one. She resisted for an instant when they gently pulled her towards them, then she smiled and allowed herself to be sat on Igraine's lap. Igraine pulled her in to rest her head on her chest, then Rei moved in to join her as their arms went around each other. They were still hugging when Copernicus arrived, two-armed. Makoto smiled brightly at him, while motioning to Minako to move so he could sit between them. Minako looked quizzically at her for a moment, then grinned and slid to one side, pulling Ami onto her lap as he joined them, giving Ami and Minako a quick kiss on the cheek, and spending rather more time giving Makoto a proper greeting. Then he sat back, arms around the two at his sides, and waited for Usagi to surface. In the end, Igraine had to draw Usagi's attention to Copernicus' arrival. Usagi slid onto the couch between Igraine and Rei, and eyed the four Senshi. "All right, we go." Rei nearly crushed Usagi, hugging her and whispering "Thank you" in her ear. The other three grinned at each other and Copernicus. "But," said Makoto, poking Copernicus in the ribs, "you have to let us try to find another way out of the situation before you do anything drastic." He smiled and started to reply, but was cut off by Ami saying "And *we've* worked out how to buy some extra time to plan in." "How?" asked Copernicus, to a chorus of similar comments from the others. "I can't understand why you didn't think of it yourself," Ami began. "You can open a gate yourself, so we just--" "No," simultaneously from Copernicus and Igraine. "Why not?" said Ami, with murmurs of concurrence from the others. They both started to answer, then Copernicus nodded to Igraine, saying, "Your department, dear." "The gate device only stores enough power for two shots, and it takes a full day to recharge completely. We've already used one; if we use another it'll be about eight hours before we can do it again. So if there's a problem, we can't run." The girls began to protest that this didn't matter, but Usagi over-rode them, saying, "So tell us what we're up against, so we can judge the risk for ourselves." Copernicus paused for a moment in thought, then said, "Each time they've done this, they've opened the gate from the palace courtyard, haven't they?" Igraine pondered briefly, then replied, "As far as we know, yes. But the one time they sent the army through, it was far too big to marshal there..." "...so they'll set the gate generator up outside the city wall; there's nowhere else to do it. So what we'll have is the queen in her chamber at the palace, with a few attendants, and pretty much everyone else outside a walled city, on a rather barren, gently rolling plain. The generator's a wooden thing the size of a house, with wheels. You'll know it when you see it." "What forces do they have?" asked Rei. "More than you can beat in a fight, beloved," said Igraine. Copernicus shrugged. "Let's see, as far as we know Garag never has more than thirty of the big ones around, and we've--" "I'm sorry, big ones?" said Ami. "Of course, you don't know," said Copernicus. "The queens, like I said, are massive saggy things. They're the fertile females; the infertile ones are about your size," nodding to Ami, "and generally do menial house tasks. Then you've got the males, they vary in size from metre- tall bat-winged things to the big ones you saw. They come in lots of different kinds; the queens can take the life code from practically any creature and combine it with their own." "Do any of them have extra arms?" asked Ami. "Because that might be why she's after you so badly..." Copernicus thought for a moment. "Can't be; pretty much everyone knows they're a surgical add-on..." He looked questioningly at Igraine, who shrugged, then he went on, "So they come in all shapes and sizes, with horns, wings, tails, decent intelligence... whatever's useful at the time. About the only thing they can't do is come up with a pretty one." "So why not send a smaller one through, to attract less attention?" asked Makoto. Copernicus laughed. "Because a smaller one could easily get killed before it had a chance to do anything. Unless it was one of the really expensive mage types, which no sane lord would risk on a scout patrol... Not necessarily true, of course, but it's the way they think." "Okay," sighed Rei, "so we're up against an entire city-full of monsters." "No we're not," said Makoto. "We're up against whatever attendants are left with the queen, and once we've dealt with the situation we run away and hide until Igraine can open a gate again." Copernicus hugged her to him, and said intently, "We are *not* taking you there without a bolthole." She pulled away from him. "But if we wait for the army to show up, all we can do is surrender!" "The last I checked, that was the plan," he replied, nodding. "Not any more," said Minako firmly. Igraine sighed. "Sweetheart, they're determined to save you. Give in gracefully." "It's our risk to take," added Makoto, locking eyes with him. "Or do you think we're incompetent after all?" "Never that," he replied earnestly. "But outnumbered, in an alien environment--" Her pride slightly stung, Usagi interrupted, "We'll manage." Copernicus looked at the each of the determined Senshi, then turned pleading eyes to Igraine, who smiled and shook her head. "I'm on their side on this one." He rolled his eyes. "All right, you win. We go with your insane plan." Makoto smiled and kissed him. Usagi said, "So we gate into the palace, scout about--" "Not the palace itself, it's shielded against that sort of thing," said Copernicus. "No, somewhere outside, but close..." "What about the alley behind that awful little pub you found?" said Igraine. "I had plenty of time to get to know it, what with--" "The perfect place, darling," interrupted Copernicus. "Anything else?" "No telepathy," said Minako. "If one of us gets hurt, the rest of us need to be able to think clearly." "If I just relay messages, rather than channelling you together, it won't be a problem," said Igraine. "Just think at me if we get separated." "Okay then," said Usagi. "Everyone ready?" "Ah... one thing, Usa-- Princess," said Makoto. "Back in the park... you handled it very well..." "I did, didn't I," said Usagi, beaming. "I was so *cool*..." "And afterwards, too," said Rei. "So don't blow it now," she added, as Usagi began preening herself in pride. "There's nothing wrong with a bit of self-esteem," said Igraine. "I was impressed too." "Ah..." Usagi blushed. "It wasn't much, really. I just didn't give myself a chance to think about what I was doing, and got caught up in the moment." "Which lets your 'inner princess' out," said Rei. "You always are at your best when you let your instincts drive you." "But you should still have the education to back your instincts up," said Ami reflexively. "Somehow you don't sound so convincing when you're nestled in Mina's lap like that," said Usagi. "Anyway, the Inner Princess says, let's go!" ******************** =Wake UP!= "Ewwww!" Usagi's immediate reaction was chorused by the other four girls. They were lying in a sort of overlapping patchwork with Copernicus, their street clothes soaked with sweat and, more distressingly, their panties soaked with something rather stickier. Being at an edge, Usagi was able to get up and drag the offending underwear off quickly. The others followed suit as soon as they were able to disentangle themselves, then jammed the doorway to Makoto's bedroom in the hope of finding something to fit. Rearmed and floating again now he was back in the real world, Copernicus laughed quietly to himself at the sound of Minako and Usagi squabbling possessively over a frayed, long-outgrown pair of Makoto's underwear. Makoto returned quickly enough, and looked quizzically at Copernicus. "Don't you need...?" "No, I've learned to completely separate what happens in the Dream from reality. Took decades of practice, but I'm sure you'll agree it was worth while..." She giggled, recovering as the others returned. "Are we ready?" asked Usagi. Receiving nods from everyone, she posed. "Minna, henshin yo!" Concerned scratching came from the apartment door as the gate closed behind them... **************************************** [Nuin+ Filament Bloom Cornice: Ninefold Repeating Array: TL 49-46-98] [Mittgorod: Fomor: Harvang] [ANA 861/10/25] "What the..." said Copernicus. Where the gate opened had once been an alley, but by the light of distant fires they could easily see that the buildings in front of them had burned to the ground. Recently; there was still smoke rising from them. The city walls could be seen clearly a short way off, silhouetted against the glow of a large fire. Figures were moving around on the battlements... Then a series of lightning bolts sent the defenders diving for cover, and a huge flaming missile arced over the wall to crash into a row of intact buildings to their right, setting them on fire. "Shit..." breathed Mars as the gate closed behind them. "Well..." said Copernicus, "it looks like they started without us." "No fair!" said Venus. Then the girls turned and began to run as another giant fireball flew straight towards them. =**/STOP/**!= They froze in place, terrified. =We're inside a shield! Back against the wall!= Barely reassured, they retreated as the fireball struck, sending a huge wave of flame across a vertical plane running the length of the alley. The girls relaxed slightly as it became apparent that the worst effect of the hit was a brief rise in temperature. Mercury whipped her computer out and scanned the shield. =I'm sorry I had to do that, Senshi. I couldn't risk you running out of the shielded area.= "It's all right," said Sailor Mars. "Thank you, in fact." "I'll say," said Mercury. "That blast would have incinerated us, easily." "So what's going on?" asked Venus. "Someone's laying siege to the city," said Copernicus as another wave of fire washed against the shield. "And you said the army was going to be outside the walls..." =Yes... whoever's attacking was either inordinately lucky or has extremely good sources of information...= "Well," said Copernicus, "it's nothing to do with us, so let's get on with the mission." "In the middle of a *battle*?" asked Venus, incredulously. "Best time." =Hopefully they'll be too distracted to get in our way, if we can keep out of theirs.= "It isn't like we're going to go up to the front door and *knock*." =Time to be sneaky.= ******************** Crouching, the five Senshi worked their way along the narrow sewer Copernicus had led them to. "Ewww," said Sailor Moon as she spotted something unmentionable floating between her feet. "Did we *have* to come this way?" "At least *your* fuku comes with boots..." grumbled Mars. Copernicus, floating comfortably ahead of them, just chuckled. =Welcome to the exciting life of the adventurer.= Jupiter, bent almost double, grunted. "Such fun." "You should try fighting in these conditions some time," said Copernicus. "At least down here there's only rats." "Where?" squeaked Moon, almost dropping the glowing pebble he'd given her. =It's all right, I'm keeping them out of our way.= "How much further is it?" asked Venus from the rear. "Much more of this and we won't be in any shape to fight." "Should be... Ah. There's the grating," said Copernicus, swinging upright into a vertical branch of the sewer. Even crouched over and ankle-deep in sewage, Mercury was scanning the whole time, and not just for rats either. "Wait! There's some sort of magical barrier just above you." =I can see it, Mercury. It's an alarm-trap combination; I'll have it neutralised shortly.= A pause, then: =Done.= Mercury shook her head. "No, it's changed slightly, but it's still there..." =I can't dispel it without setting off an internal alarm. I've just stopped it from noticing us. Let's get out of this pipe, dear.= "Okay, hang on..." He flew up the drain to the grating, listened carefully, then cautiously levered it open and checked the room above. "We're in," he said to the others as he returned, then lifted Sailor Mars and flew her up the shaft. Once he had ferried the Senshi up -- taking the opportunity for a lingering kiss with Jupiter and an encouragingly sensual hug from Venus on the way -- he carefully replaced the grating as the others stretched the kinks out of their backs and looked around the damp beer cellar they'd found themselves in. ~Do something about their outfits, dear.~ "Okay... ah... girls? Could you stand together for a second? Thanks. /Esnaelc/ There you go." Dry and stain-free again, the Senshi beamed gratitude at him as he floated over to the stairs out. He listened carefully at the door at the top, as Igraine scanned the area beyond. =Clear.= "I can hear kitchen noises, but they're pretty muffled... the doors are shut." "Okay, let's go," said Venus from behind him. Copernicus pulled the door open and darted along the corridor outside, followed closely by the Senshi. At the end of the corridor they paused, in the alcove formed by the bottom of a flight of spiral stairs. "Three floors up and we'll be right outside the queen's apartment. Go!" Copernicus flew slowly up the middle of the spiral as the Senshi jogged up the stairs. They paused for a moment at the indicated level to allow the Senshi to catch their breath, then Copernicus moved to open the door. Sailor Moon held him back with a hand on his arm. "We go in first." She turned to the others as they formed up around her. "Ready?" They nodded. =Wait!= "What's wrong?" asked Mars. =I know what comes next. It'll be pointless unless we give you some help with translation. /Seugnot/ Dear?= "Eh? Oh. /Segaugnal Dneherpmoc/ Ready." Sailor Moon looked quizzically at him, then shrugged and faced forwards. "Go." Venus threw the door open and leapt through with Mercury to flank the opening. The others sprang into the room in v-formation, Sailor Moon in the lead, and landed in their classic poses as Copernicus floated after them. "For love and justice, I am the beautiful sailor-suited soldier Sailor Moon! Give up your fruitless obsession with this man, or in the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!" Across the room, an enormous mound of flesh stirred. Tiny, useless limbs accented a distended torso crowned by an afterthought of a head. Beady eyes set in a misshapen face gleamed at the Senshi. Around the behemoth, a dozen attendant servants turned to face them. Then the main door to the room burst open, and a tall, heavyset figure in full plate armour clashed in, leading twenty mail-clad guards. Sailor Moon signalled >wait!< to the others as they swivelled to face the new threat. The armoured figures marched to stand between the Senshi and the queen, and came to attention, left hands resting on their sword hilts. The leader removed his helmet, revealing a face that was commanding and intelligent despite its deformities. He ran his eyes over the Senshi with a slight sneer, then snapped them up to Copernicus. "I will redeem the debt my queen has claimed against you -- in trade for your assistance." "State your offer, Lord Garag," replied Copernicus instantly. =Let Copernicus handle this -- for now, at least.= "No doubt you have noticed we are being invested. That upstart worm Rangul took advantage of my queen's obsession; he caught half our forces outside the walls and destroyed them. He has breached the outer shields, and levelled half the city. He must have had advanced notice of our movements, and he is getting help with the attack from somewhere as well. I want his helper neutralised." Copernicus smiled. "I will need time to confer with my companions." "Since when did the great Copernicus need a hand of frilly fillies to protect him?" This time the sneer was blatant as he gestured at the bristling Senshi. Copernicus returned his look calmly. "They are your antithesis, my lord. Fear them." Garag nodded once, as if satisfied with the response. Copernicus continued, "We shall require some hours. We shall return here when we have decided." Garag nodded again. "We can hold them off for a day at least." He gestured to the Senshi and Copernicus to follow him, and strode back to the door, parting the line of guards in his wake. Igraine: =Follow him. Keep your cool.= The Senshi formed up around Sailor Moon and moved off, Copernicus floating behind them. The guards enveloped them as they moved through their line. =They won't make a move against us.= Mars: =Okay... but why do we need so much time? Take the deal!= Igraine: =Not yet. Copernicus needs time to sleep: he's almost out of spells, but needless to say we don't want to tell *them* that. And we *should* go over the possibilities first.= Venus: =I suppose we could do with a rest too. But where are we going?= Igraine: =A house we've arranged to be kept safe. We have some... reliable contacts among the locals.= They walked down some much wider flights of stairs, through a large, shadowed hall, and out into the torchlit courtyard. A variety of misshapen creatures stared openly at them the whole way, and their path across the courtyard to the gatehouse was under the gaze of scores of armed Fomorians who snapped to attention as the lord appeared. Moon: =At least we get to go *out* the front door...= Venus: =I wish they wouldn't stare so much. It's making me jumpy.= Mars locked eyes with one of the guards. =It's supposed to.= Igraine: =Absolutely, beloved. Keep your heads up and show them your superiority. Remember, you are the Sailor Senshi, defenders of an entire world! You walk with Copernicus and Igraine! Their sneers are but tattered masks trying vainly to hide the terror that they feel at the merest rumour of your coming...= The Senshi grinned inwardly, pulled themselves erect, and marched across the courtyard, the Princess with her eyes fixed regally ahead as her escort swept haughty glares across the assembled Fomorians. They each felt a twinge of satisfaction as most of the soldiers who dared to meet their eyes quailed visibly at the contact. At the gatehouse, Garag and his men stood aside and allowed the Senshi and Copernicus to pass. The gates slammed behind them. "Okay, where to?" asked Sailor Moon. "We teleport," replied Copernicus. "He'll have us followed otherwise." They joined hands... ******************** ...and materialised in a windowless room, lit by a single candle. From a flight of stairs in one corner stepped a tall blond man, clad in gilded scale armour, longsword at his belt, helmet under his left arm. He raised his right hand as the Senshi dropped into ready stances. Then Copernicus swooped onto him, gathering him into a massive hug. "Eldanor, you old son of a snake!" he cried as they slapped each other's backs. =Our prospects just started looking a lot brighter, girls. This is a good friend, but he's a bit formal around strangers. Best to act as regal as you can while Copernicus introduces you.= They pulled apart, and Copernicus turned to the girls. "Your Royal Highness, noble Senshi: may I present the Skylord Eldanor, a very good friend of ours." Turning back to the man, he continued, "Eldanor, I present Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess Serenity of Silver Millennium, known as Senshi Sailormoon, and her elite guard..." and went on to introduce the others. Eldanor bowed formally. "A pleasure, Your Royal Highness; noble Senshi. Lady Igraine, I trust you are well?" =Very well, old friend. I must admit I'm surprised to see you here.= Eldanor laughed. "Word reached me that Black Lathed had agreed to work with these Fomorians, in the hope of gaining revenge. A dishonourable act; we came to assist if needed, but were too late." Copernicus clapped his shoulder. "Thank you for the thought. Lathed has been dealt with." Eldanor nodded, then went on, "So, then the city was attacked and we decided to see what was happening. I had a feeling you were coming here, so I waited." =Who's with you?= "Oh, I brought the boys along. They are around somewhere, finding out what they can. What do you know about the situation?" Eldanor's eyes rolled up slightly as Igraine poured a compressed burst of information into his mind. "That tallies with what we have found out. I have no idea who the supporter could be... I am sorry I have no more information for you." =There is something you could do for us...= "If it is in my power." =Watch over us while we sleep for a few hours.= He smiled. "Of course, my lady." Sailor Mars started to lower herself to the rough dirt floor. "Come on girls, you know the drill." "Hang on," said Copernicus, offering her a hand up. "There's beds next door; we might as well be comfortable." She grinned and accepted his assistance as the others trooped through to the underground bedroom. ******************** When they materialised on the terrace, Igraine was standing in the doorway. "Come in." "So do we take the deal or not?" asked Rei as they followed Igraine into the main hallway. Makoto bit her lip and put her arm around Copernicus' waist. "I want to say yes... but we have *no* idea what we're up against." "Nothing we can't deal with together," said Igraine, starting up the sweeping staircase to the first floor. "Especially since Eldanor's here. I'm sure he'll want to help." "Are you sure we can handle it?" asked Usagi. "If we're smart about it, yes," said Igraine. Usagi smiled. "Okay by me then. Ami? Minako?" They nodded. "Fine. We're in." "Good," said Igraine, taking them along a corridor with wide-spaced doors. "What about you?" Makoto asked Copernicus. He smiled. "Oh, I'm all for taking Garag's deal. As for you helping... I'm pretending I've already lost that argument." He kissed her gently. "Thanks." Igraine opened the door at the end of the corridor, and went into the room beyond. Usagi followed her, then fell on her face as the floor gave under her. "Waah! Hey, what is this?" The others clustered around the doorway as she sat up. Rei toed the floor tentatively, eyeing it as it yielded softly. Igraine slid gracefully to lie on her side. "It's a bedroom." Rei laughed and threw herself across the room, landing with a bounce beside Igraine. "A room that's a bed. I might have known." "Well," said Igraine as the others entered, "you do need to get some more sleep. Copernicus gets a lot more out of his time if he sleeps in the Dream; you may too." Ami chuckled. "That makes *no* sense. Can't hurt to try though..." She flopped down beside Copernicus and Makoto, pulling Minako down with her. Usagi shook her head, smiling, as the four of them snuggled together, then sighed contentedly as Rei and Igraine pulled her between them. "I thought you said we were going to get some sleep," she murmured as they snuggled in around her, Rei biting her earlobe gently as Igraine kissed the base of her neck. "Doesn't mean we can't have a *little* fun first," said Rei, gently cupping her breast. Minako, meanwhile, was trying to include Makoto in a hug. Failing to reach more than her arm, she sighed. "There's really no way for four people to snuggle if they're lying down..." Slightly squashed by Minako's attempts, Ami replied, "You're thinking one-dimensionally. Hang on..." She pulled herself out from between Minako and Copernicus, rolling to lie with her head on his chest. "Now it'll work... especially if Igraine can do something about the gravity in here?" "Ami needs to lose some weight," snickered Rei, pulling away from Usagi's lips to let Igraine take her place. "*Hey!*" Ami started to sit up, then squeaked as she bounced into the air in the suddenly lowered gravity. She conjured a pillow and threw it at Rei, bouncing it off her head. "Oi!" Rei pulled away from Usagi and grabbed the pillow, throwing it back at Ami. She misjudged, and sent it flying over Ami's head. Ami stuck out her tongue, then squeaked again, blushing, as her gown vanished. "REI!" "That wasn't me!" Innocent or not, Rei took advantage of Ami's embarrassment to smack a second pillow onto her backside. Ami recreated her gown and turned to the next most likely suspect. "Mina?" "Not me." The others shrugged. "You were distracting my subjects from their loyal duties," said Usagi languidly. "Go play with your own toys." "Usagi?! You... you... MERCURY PILLOW POWER!" She conjured a series of pillows, sending them flying at Usagi, who squealed and tried to hide under Igraine. Then Igraine and Usagi slid up to their knees, taking up pillows and swatting them into their hands menacingly. "Ack! Save me, V-chan!" cried Ami, diving over to the others as Rei moved to Usagi's side. Minako bounced to her feet, getting some serious air time for her pose in the weakened gravity, and landed beside Copernicus and Makoto as they all produced pillows of their own... They managed to get to sleep, eventually. ******************** After the others had finally drifted off, Igraine came out of the Dream and spent a couple of hours chatting with Eldanor. She returned to the palace bedroom well before dawn, and woke Copernicus with a gentle kiss. Makoto made disappointed noises in her sleep as he gently extracted himself from her embrace, but with his assistance she snuggled up to Ami in contentment without waking up. Igraine slid into Copernicus' arms as he stood, and they held each other tenderly and kissed, revelling in each other's undivided attention for a while. Eventually they eased apart, and gazed fondly at the pile of Senshi. Igraine lay her head on Copernicus' shoulder, smiling, her eyes shining. "They are so... precious..." she whispered as a tear slid down her cheek. "A brilliant light in a terribly mundane universe." He kissed her tear away. "There's a good chance they won't misuse it." "That depends. We can only give them so much; their advisors will be a much bigger influence on them. And since--" "They'll be fine," he interrupted, trying to keep the past pain buried. He gave her a brisk hug. "Come on, we'd better get studying." Arms around each other, they walked out of the bedroom. "Which spell scheme were you thinking of?" asked Igraine. Copernicus closed the door quietly behind him, and they went off down the corridor. "Well, we've really no idea what we're facing... Standard Alert, I suppose..." Igraine shook her head as they started down the main stairs. "We should take the Senshi into account. And Eldanor and the boys, for that matter. They are here to help us, after all." They reached the ground floor, and headed along the main corridor. Copernicus nodded. "So we can ditch most of the combat stuff; concentrate on defence, healing..." Igraine bit her lip pensively as they went into the study. "Yes... partly at least... but I've got a feeling we should have a heavy weighting towards subversion..." Copernicus started selecting spellbooks as Igraine composed herself at her altar. "Captive Trap?" "In part, although the girls won't like it." She paused, then said, "I was mostly thinking of Divine Retribution..." Copernicus raised an eyebrow. "Is this a hunch?" She nodded sombrely, then a wicked grin slid slowly across her face. "Go for it," said Copernicus, returning her grin. ******************** The Senshi awoke to the sounds of another missile barrage on the city. Dust sifted down from the ceiling as the ground shook from a close impact, sending Mars and Jupiter coughing. They had somehow managed to maintain their alternate personae through their sleep this time, but the Usagi in Sailor Moon asserted herself: struggling to resist Igraine's wake-up call, then snapping upright, blushing, as her stomach growled loudly. The others laughed as their own bellies responded in kind. =You'd better all eat something. It's been hours...= Venus groaned. "I haven't had anything since lunch yesterday..." Copernicus handed her a greased paper bundle from his pack. "Succour for the damsel in distress..." He distributed packages to the other Senshi, tossing one to Eldanor when he came through to bid them good morning. "Some for the boys?" "They said they would find their own breakfast," said Eldanor. "Can't say I blame them..." murmured Venus, tentatively nibbling on what looked like a section from a leather belt. "What *is* this stuff?" "Your pardon, my lady," interrupted Eldanor. "I should join my sons. We shall meet back here later." "Later," said Copernicus, then turned to Venus as Eldanor left. "Dried meat. Also dried fruit, and some sort of dried cereal cake... Have some water. At least *it* isn't dried..." He pulled a pair of flasks from the pack, and handed them to Mars and Venus. "The fruit's okay..." said Mars. "But the rest..." =Welcome to the--= "'--exciting life of the adventurer', yes," said Jupiter. "Surely you could at least arrange something nicer to eat?" "Sorry, it's all the pack can produce," said Copernicus, finishing up and stuffing his rubbish away. "Take your time; Igraine and I need to do a systems check." He shouldered his backpack and went through to the empty room. Absently worrying at a strip of dried beef, Mercury activated her computer and slid to sit where she could observe. =Ready.= "Gate generator." =Ten minutes to single charge.= "Melee." Copernicus caught the weapons as they sprang from the pack, span them through a quick defensive sequence, then released them to fly back again. =Check.= "Parrot mounts." Two curved brass strips slid around the pack's shoulder straps, each ending in gimbals holding a bundle of seven short wooden rods. Copernicus tumbled in the centre of the room as Igraine locked up each of the watching Senshi in turn. =Check.= "Ballistic shield." A brief spherical flash around Copernicus. =Check.= "Energy shield." =Check.= "Plasma shield." =Check.= "Anti-ma--" "Wait!" said Mercury. "Something's up with that last one. Put it back on." Surrounded again by a slight heat-haze-like distortion, Copernicus floated over to Mercury as the others clustered around her. "What's wrong?" "Look." She turned her computer to show him. "There's a flutter in the energy level. It's not stable." =She's right. >damn< That explains what happened before. Thanks, Mercury. Plasma shield unreliable.= "Can't you fix it?" asked Jupiter. "Not now," said Copernicus. He shrugged. "I'll tune it when I get the chance. For now we just won't rely on it." He returned to the middle of the room, and they resumed their checks. A pair of throwing hammers; two heavy, intricately carved staves; a bow with a glowing strand of energy in place of its string; ropes that snaked around the room like tentacles; and a series other, less readily identified objects all popped out, were tested, and returned, while in the background the sound of the missile barrage petered out. By time they had finished, the Senshi had eaten as much as they could manage. =Is everyone ready?= They nodded. Copernicus moved to float by the door, his back to them. "Rubbish in the pack on the way out," he said, opening the main pocket. ******************** It was, by then, about half an hour before dawn. The eastern sky was beginning to lighten slightly as the party appeared before the palace gatehouse, startling the guards. They stared impassively through the portcullis at the Fomorians. One of them ran off to the main building; the force waiting at rest in the courtyard began to take interest and wandered towards them. Garag appeared shortly before the Senshi became bored with the staring contest. He approached the portcullis, the soldiers snapping to attention around him, and nodded to Copernicus. "We accept your offer," he responded. "Good. I assume you can reach the enemy camp without our assistance." "Of course." =Come back down the street a bit.= The Senshi followed Copernicus away from the palace gate. Garag watched them for a moment, then turned on his heel and returned to the main hall. Copernicus indicated to the Senshi to gather around him, then said in a low voice, "Okay. We're going to teleport into the middle of the camp, as close to the headquarters tent as we can, then we punch our way through to it. Try to cause as much confusion as possible on the way in. Spread your damage; most of them aren't all that tough. Mercury, keep them as blind as you can. Don't get drawn away by tempting targets. We have to stay together." The Senshi nodded. "Once we get to the headquarters we'll be playing it mainly by ear. Be alert for anything. Are you ready?" The Senshi nodded again, but Sailor Moon asked, "What about Eldanor?" =He's our backup. If anything goes wrong, he'll get us out. But we can gate now, so there shouldn't be anything we can't run from.= Moon nodded, and took Mars and Venus' hands. They formed a ring, and teleported out. ******************** Even though they appeared in a slight hollow full of corralled horses, out of sight of any sentient being, an alarm went up immediately. Releasing Jupiter and Venus' hands, Copernicus shot five metres into the air and scanned the area with Igraine. =Headquarters, >thisway>>THREAT<<>>BUSYBUSYBUSYBUSY<<< Ask Eldanor! >love>>BUSYBUSYBUSYBUSY<<<= Rei sat on a handy couch and finished her tea. Then she sighed, and tried willing herself back to her body. It proved easy: the merest nudge of desire and she snapped back in an instant of incredible speed. Mars sat up, blinking her eyes against the glare of the fire. Something moved to her left. She tried to stand, but collapsed in sudden pain as her calf cramped up. Blue and green afterimages blotted out the figure, but she sensed it move suddenly towards her. She scrambled away... ******************** Copernicus made a brief show of straining against his chains as he heard the clicking of his captor's boots approaching. Her achingly beautiful face appeared from above, delicate pointed chin and slanted green eyes falling into shadow as her mane of blood-red hair cascaded over him. "Don't bother. A storm giant couldn't break out of those." She moved around to his side, allowing him to see the classic Evil Temptress outfit she was wearing: small scraps of leather held together by thongs and rings; thigh-length high-heeled boots; serpentine gold jewellery on every available part of her bronzed body; sheer black robe hanging open over all. He rolled his eyes at the visual cliche. ~Oh, how unimaginative. At least she has the figure to do it justice...~ Copernicus grunted. "Where did you get to?" ~Rei just checked in.~ "I was just making sure that your friends will be too busy to think about any rescue attempts. You may call me Shade, by the way. I know about *you*, Copernicus. And your pet ghost." She ran a sharp fingernail down his naked body from his neck to the end of his deliberately flaccid penis. ~>miffed< Obviously she doesn't know *nearly* enough. >hungry< I'm looking forward to teaching her...~ "For example, I know there's no point in trying to affect you physically or mentally. And I know that while you *cannot* teleport or communicate by magic from here, you could probably just walk out -- if I left you alone. So, as I can't have you helping that slug Garag, I need to keep you... occupied, for a while. Just so you don't get any ideas about leaving." She gestured to someone out of sight. A flapping of leather, and a pale figure shrouded in black wings landed on the end of the table he was chained to. Ripe breasts and silver hair swung as the newcomer eased onto her hands and knees above him, smiling to reveal her needle-pointed fangs. ~A succubus. How *classic*... I'd better finish briefing Rei. Hang on--~ "This is Pet. I'm sure you'll find her amusing. Now, I have a siege to organise. Play nice, Pet." Copernicus looked into the succubus' eyes as he listened to Shade click away, feeling his penis hardening as he allowed Pet's unsophisticated emotional assault to wash over him. She reached down and positioned him against her slit, wings flapping slightly to keep her balance, then coming down to shroud them both as she slowly impaled herself, her specially-evolved internal muscles rippling gently in a sucking motion. ~Having fun, dear?~ Copernicus felt Igraine's awareness wrap around his; felt her flush of pleasure as she shared his sensations. "Ah. Igraine, this is Pet. Pet, meet Igraine." =Hello, pretty.= Pet stiffened, her wings twitching, as Igraine slid a tendril of thought into her brainstem and began repaying the stimulation Pet was giving her. Slitting her eyes, Pet resumed sliding slowly up and down Copernicus' shaft. ~Energy drain protection's holding up fine. >mmmmm< Shall we start siphoning from her?~ "Yesss..." hissed Copernicus. "Need to get 'Shade' back in here." Igraine began drawing life energy from the succubus, through the channel Pet had opened to steal Copernicus'. He strained against his bonds, Igraine shuddering in his mind as it came through heavily flavoured with Pet's own ecstasy. Then Pet's wings snapped open and her back arched, head thrown back, snarling as Igraine fed her arousal straight back to her. She began to buck wildly as Copernicus thrust his hips up, grinding against each other as the sensual feedback began to peak. Igraine wrapped her spirit tightly around Copernicus', fusing them into sublime unity as he came, pulsing deep inside Pet's clutching hole. Pet continued to buck and writhe, and a swell of elation, heavily tinged with regret, arrived through the energy channel in place of the expected tsunami of release. Igraine unwrapped herself and examined Pet carefully, feeding enough energy into Copernicus to keep him from drooping as the succubus regained her control and resumed her slow, measured strokes. Copernicus cringed slightly as a sudden wave of rage washed from Igraine. ~*Do you know what that... that *bitch* Ksano has done?*~ "Is *that* who 'Shade' is? Nice bodywork--" ~*She's only gone and blocked Pet's orgasm response! The poor thing hasn't come in decades!*~ The rage was choked off, replaced by a swell of pity. ~Poor thing... we have to fix her, darling. We've got the time.~ "All right, dear," whispered Copernicus, as Pet slowly enveloped his shaft again. ******************** The figure confronting Mars halted as she scrambled backwards and fetched up against a wall. "My lady, please! I mean you no harm!" Mars blinked, trying to clear the afterimages from her eyes as she rubbed the cramp from her calf. The figure that slowly resolved looked like a teenaged Eldanor, wearing plainer gilded plate mail, holding out one hand to her with a concerned look on his face. She grasped it, and pulled herself to her feet. "You'll be one of Eldanor's sons, I suppose?" She ran her eyes over him. Fifteen, perhaps? Quite... presentable... The boy blushed and lowered his head. "Kaldanor pen Eldanor, at your service my lady. My humblest apologies for startling you." "Oh, it was--" She was cut off as a slightly older version of the boy burst through the outside door. He winked at Mars as he strode past them to the cellar stairs, reaching out to tip Kaldanor's helmet forward over his eyes. "That was Geldanor, my lady," Kaldanor said as he sheepishly straightened his helmet. "If my lady has recovered, we should go down." He began to offer his arm to her, then blushed again as she brushed past him, nodding. Recovering his poise, he followed her down. By the time the Senshi and the two brothers had been introduced, the other two had arrived: Fildanor, apparently twelve or so; and Duldanor, the youngest at around nine. The Senshi winced slightly at the latter's appearance, cherubic in gold-studded leather with a half-sized sword, remembering all too well how distracting the younger ones could be. Rei waited impatiently as Eldanor ran through the complete formal introductions for the second time, then quickly summarised Igraine's message when he turned to her again. "And she said to ask you how to get there..." Eldanor nodded. "We should leave immediately." He smiled to himself as Geldanor breathed "All *right*!", punched Kaldanor on the shoulder, and ran out. Kaldanor grinned sheepishly at the Senshi as his younger brothers piled after the eldest, then followed them at a slightly more sedate pace. Eldanor motioned for the Senshi to precede him. They began to make out the sounds of a hushed argument in progress as they reached the kitchen. Kaldanor was standing just inside the passage to the front of the house, blushing furiously. He moved quickly out of sight as he spotted the Senshi. "Is too." "Is not." "Is too!" "Is *not*!" The two youngest brothers were half way down the passage, hissing at each other. Eldanor coughed loudly as they approached. "Sorry Father..." they chorused, and ran for the door. Mars tried to question Eldanor on what method of transport he was going to use as they headed onto the wide street outside, but he politely avoided giving an explicit answer beyond 'flying there'. The other Senshi clustered in front of Kaldanor, who was whispering vehemently at his younger brothers. He straightened up at their approach. "What was that about?" asked Sailor Moon. Kaldanor blushed. "Nothing important, Highness," he said, nailing the boys with a warning glance. Geldanor slid up behind Moon and Venus, attracting their attention and signalling them to move in closer. Still eyeing the younger ones, they leaned in. He murmured, "They're arguing over which of you two is better built," then mouthed "This one" to his brothers, pointing to Venus over her head. Moon, Venus and Kaldanor blushed furiously as Duldanor said "Told you!" to his brother, sticking out his tongue. Still puzzled, Jupiter started to ask what he'd said, but broke off as Fildanor went white. "Dad!" He pointed over Venus' head. They all turned to look. At first the Senshi thought they were birds. Then the scale became apparent. A *flock* of dragons, twenty at least: some green, some black. Nothing like as large as the one that had stepped through the portal, but formidable nonetheless. Still some way off, but moving in rapidly-- "Lathed's brood!" snapped Eldanor. "And... Isana's? This is no coincidence!" Sailor Moon turned to him. "We can't fight our way past them. Not unless you can contribute something *big*." Eldanor nodded decisively at his sons. The Senshi turned as they backed away from them, spreading out across the street: Geldanor and Kaldanor calm; Fildanor fighting down nervousness; Duldanor grinning with childish savagery. Then they *exploded*, wings, necks and tails bursting out as they fell forward onto taloned forefeet, golden armour flashing into scales as the teeth bristled in their extending snouts. The girls span round. =**I BELIEVE THIS IS BIG ENOUGH, PRINCESS.**= Five jaws dropped as the Senshi looked up at Eldanor's gilded head, then down along the length of his body. Easily seventy metres, but lightly built and slender... He looped his neck gracefully, bringing his head down beside them. =**CARRY THE NOBLE SENSHI WITH HONOUR, MY SONS.**= Venus jumped as she was prodded from behind. She turned to see Duldanor eyeing her with a lascivious smirk. "No way." Venus grabbed Mercury's arm and thrust her at him. "You're the lightest, he's the smallest," she said over her shoulder as she tentatively approached Fildanor. =**IT WOULD BE MY HONOUR TO CARRY YOU, PRINCESS.**= Sailor Moon looked at the corded neck lying before her. She could barely see over it... She turned back to face her Senshi. "Well?" The girls looked at each other, smiles growing. "Let's *go*!" shouted Mars. Moon jumped up to straddle Eldanor's neck, sliding forward to wedge herself securely between his backswept horns as he hoisted her three storeys into the air. The others turned to their assigned mounts. The boys were much smaller, Duldanor no more than twelve metres long. =*Sit on our shoulders,*= sent Geldanor to the Senshi. =*And hang on tight!*= he added as Jupiter slid between the sawtooth plates at the base of his neck and wrapped her legs around him. =**READY?**= "Are you kidding?" quavered Mercury, clutching at Duldanor's dorsal ridge for dear life. "This is *INSANE*!" yelled Venus happily, kicking her heels lightly against Fildanor's shoulders. "Let's do it!" "GO!" shouted Moon. They grabbed at their handholds as the dragons reared up on their hind legs. A deafening, almost musical roar in five-part harmony, then the girls were whipped backwards as they leapt for the sky. ******************** =Lie /down/, Pet dear. Be /close/ to us.= Slightly bemused at her obedience, Pet sank down, her breasts puddling against Copernicus' chest as she rested her head on his shoulder, enfolding him in her arms and wings. She purred into his ear as she rotated her hips, milking him gently with her internal muscles. ~I'm stopping the energy drain for now. I want to fix this before we finish with her. I'll sneak you loose -- /Noitca Eerf/ -- this'll work better if you can get actively involved.~ Pet jerked in surprise as Copernicus wrapped his arms around her, but Igraine hit her again before she could call out. She moaned as the cocktail of tenderness and passion flooded her, thrusting down with her hips as her mouth sought Copernicus'. Tongues met and entwined between her fangs, tears sliding down her face as, instead of raw lust or fear, her 'victim' responded with an overwhelming wave of the first gentle emotion she had ever felt. They held each other tenderly, moving together as one for what seemed like hours, while Igraine picked away at the block on Pet's responses under the cover of the pulse of sympathy and arousal she held on her, matching the surges in its flow to their movements. Finally Igraine snuggled her awareness around Copernicus, quivering as she drank up the sensations of Pet's devoted lovemaking. ~Done, darling. Let's give her one to remember.~ Copernicus could feel Igraine gently holding back his own climax as he floated up and swung vertical, Pet wrapping her limbs and wings tightly around him. They hung in mid-air, almost completely concealed in her wings' leathery cocoon, their kiss intensifying as Igraine slowly increased the strength and tempo of her pulsing stream of emotion and stimulation. Copernicus followed her lead as Pet responded, thrusting into her as they rocking their hips with the beat. Thanks to his many experiences with other members of her species, Copernicus knew exactly what to do to turn Pet on. She shivered against him, thrusting down eagerly, as he ran his fingertips lightly down her back and legs; then began purring deep in her throat as he started slowly back up, kneading the finely-toned muscles. Her first orgasm hit as he massaged her buttocks, spreading them as he dug his fingers in. Igraine carefully held Pet's awareness open, so that she could keep her rhythm going, still matching Igraine's beat as she moaned into Copernicus' mouth, her flesh clutching in spasms around his shaft. She came again as he ploughed grooves along her flight muscles with the sides of his hands, releasing his mouth to mewl into his ear as she clutched him to her, hips still bucking to Igraine's increasing tempo. Still massaging the flesh around Pet's wing-roots with his upper hands, panting now as he thrust into her, Copernicus slid his lower hands under, prising Pet's cheeks apart as his fingertips danced teasingly around her pale little rose. Her sphincter relaxed, dripping lubricating moisture, and she cried out ecstatically, coming a third time as Copernicus slid two fingers from each lower hand inside, hooking around to stretch her open, tugging at her sphincter with each thrust of his hips. Igraine shuddered against Copernicus' mind as she drank in the succubus' arousal. ~Not long now, darling. >gasp< Get ready for the big one.~ She shifted her pulsing into high gear. Pet moaned in time with Copernicus' thrusts as he slammed into her, gripping her wing-roots tightly for leverage. Her limbs and wings contracted convulsively as she forced herself against him. Then Copernicus slipped his remaining lower fingers inside her anus, stretching her to her limit as Igraine's pulsing stimulation reached its crescendo. Pet shrieked piercingly, her inner muscles clamping savagely around Copernicus' shaft as she writhed against him. Copernicus *roared*, forcing every last micron of his length inside her as Igraine kicked open the energy drain channel and let him come, their entwined spirits tumbling in the tremendous wash of their combined release like a cork in a millrace. Eventually the torrent subsided to a trickle. Igraine snapped off the energy drain as Pet slumped in Copernicus' arms, her wings and limbs dangling loose, and held both of them tenderly with her mind as he lowered himself back to the table, lying down with the barely conscious succubus cradled on his chest. After a while he stretched his arms out to the chains. "I'd better lock up again... /Kcol Draziw/," he whispered. The manacles snapped shut around his wrists and ankles. "And can I have a channel, darling?" ~Go ahead,~ responded Igraine. Copernicus (to Shade): =***>PING<***= Almost immediately, the clicking of her boot-heels could be heard from outside. "What?" she snapped as she stormed into the room. "How *dare* you disturb--" She cut off as she noticed the comatose succubus. "I think we broke her," said Copernicus apologetically. ******************** =**GREENS BREATHE POISON GAS**= sent Eldanor, clawing for altitude. =**YOU KNOW ABOUT BLACKS.**= "What about you?" shouted Venus to Fildanor. Fildanor: =*Inflammable poison gas. We can ignite it.*= =**SAVE SOME FOR LATER, BOYS.**= The two flights met some thousand feet in the air, well outside the circle of besieging forces. As soon as they got the range, the Senshi opened up. Sailors Moon, Mars and Jupiter managed to knock their first targets out of the fight, killed outright or wounded enough to fall. Mercury's staggered in the air, dropping back slightly only to fall crisped as Duldanor followed up with a gout of flame. And Venus watched in dismay as her golden hearts glanced off her green's scales with no noticeable effect. Fildanor and Kaldanor took care of it, though; and Eldanor cremated the last of the first wave. Then the rest were on top of them. Mercury clung terrified to Duldanor's neck as he lunged forward, winging upright to seize a black's shoulders in his fore-claws, slashing at its exposed belly with his hind talons and clamping his jaws around its neck. An enterprising green shot over Geldanor towards Eldanor, nearly sending Jupiter flying with an accidental tail swipe; then she joined the others in clinging tightly as their mounts banked savagely and powered upward. =**BREAK OFF, DULDANOR! YOU HAVE A RIDER!**= Duldanor gave his opponent's belly a final slash, kicking away into a backflip-and-roll manoeuvre that had Mercury clutching at him convulsively. The tattered black began to spiral to the ground. Duldanor oriented himself and began pulling for altitude. Two blacks separated from the pack climbing for the others and bracketed him, preparing to exhale across his line of flight. "*MERCURY*! Help them!" Spurred by Venus' shout, Fildanor twisted and dove to his brother's aid. The blacks exhaled. "Close your eyes! /SHABON SPRAY FREEZING/!" Acidic hail spattered against Mercury and Duldanor, then they were clear. "Get it off before it melts!" she shouted, brushing herself off from hair to boots. Duldanor tossed his head, dislodging the few particles that had clung to him. "/VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN/!" Fildanor sliced past the black on Duldanor's left, banking to come in for another pass as it shrugged off the impact and turned to face them. Jupiter glanced down, her latest target falling like a crumpled leaf, in time to see Mercury and Duldanor dispose of the other black with fire and ice. "*VENUS*!" Geldanor (to Jupiter): =*No need to shout. Just think at Fildanor.*= "Ta!" Jupiter (to Fildanor): =Tell Venus to quit using that attack, it doesn't work! And Moon, just in case -- dragon scales are too strong for their physical attacks!= Her concentration was snatched back by a green trying to latch itself onto Geldanor's belly, but she smiled when she heard "/CRESCENT BEAM SHOWER/!" come from below, followed by a bellow of pain. Once Mercury and Venus had disposed of the black, half the attacking dragons were dead or disabled. The survivors retreated to circle a mile away. =**THEY HOPE TO HARRY US IF WE TRY TO TRAVEL, BUT WE SHALL OUTFLY THEM. WHERE TO, SENSHI SAILORMARS?**= "Two points east of north!" shouted Mars as Kaldanor swooped past his father's head. "We have to go *now*!" Eldanor trumpeted in response, swinging around until the sun was on his right. The younger dragons moved in to relax in his slipstream as he began powering away. =**YOU DID VERY WELL FOR YOUR FIRST ENGAGEMENT WITH FLYING PARTNERS. INCLUDING YOU, DULDANOR.**= Behind them, the circling blacks and greens tried to follow, but dropped behind rapidly. Mercury: =I think I'm getting the hang of it, anyway.= =**IT TAKES YEARS OF TRAINING TO FORGE A PROPER PARTNERSHIP, WHERE BOTH DRAGON AND RIDER CAN FIGHT TO THEIR FULLEST ABILITY. >GRIN< IT ALSO REQUIRES SPECIAL EQUIPMENT WHICH IS NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE TO US.**= Venus: =Like a saddle. You're all very beautiful in this shape, but rather uncomfortable to sit on...= =**>GRIN< YOUR UNIFORMS ARE NOT EXACTLY DESIGNED WITH RIDING IN MIND EITHER.**= Mars caught Jupiter's eye and gave her a look that clearly said 'depends what kind of riding you mean'. Jupiter blushed, grinning back at her. Fildanor (to Venus): =*You're very beautiful as well. I mean, just because I think your sister's better built doesn't mean you're not stacked too...*= Venus blushed, then dug her heels in. =She's *not* my sister! And *you* are a perverted little boy!= Kaldanor: =*I apologise for my brothers' conduct, ladies. We've been hearing stories about Uncle Copernicus and Aunt Igraine for decades; I think it warped their minds.*= Fildanor: =*Stuffy!*= Duldanor: =*Boring!*= Eldanor: =**BOYS.**= Geldanor (to Jupiter): =*>amused contempt< Children. They have no subtlety... No appreciation of real beauty, either...*= Jupiter (to Geldanor): =>amused< And I suppose you do?= Geldanor (to Jupiter): =*>sincere?< Oh yes, lady.*= Jupiter (to Geldanor): =>AMUSED/flattered/intrigued/HADBETTER<= Geldanor (to Jupiter): =*>HURT(fake)/notlikely<*= Jupiter giggled. They arrowed on to the north... ******************** Shade snarled under her breath and strode over to the table. Grabbing Pet by her hair, she casually threw her into a corner out of Copernicus' sight. =Now, that wasn't very nice.= "Stupid thing. I thought she'd keep you occupied for at least a day..." Copernicus smiled at her. "The true secret of command is knowing *which* tasks to delegate..." =...and which to deal with personally >caress<.= Shade shivered as Igraine tweaked her gently. "True... I have subordinates perfectly capable of running the siege, now *you're* out of the way... And I can make sure you stay out." "After all, you've got *Copernicus and Igraine* here. How could you resist?" =>>caress<<= Shade smiled slowly, pulling gently at the laces holding the strategic panels of her outfit together, then with one balletic leap, bracketed Copernicus' neck with her ankles. "So defend your reputation." "Certainly. /Hpromylop Devorpmi/" ~/Rosnetxe Cimsalpotce/~ Shade gasped as Copernicus' suddenly roughened tongue scraped up to her clitoris, forming a little cup that snuggled around her bud and began slowly rotating, gently massaging it into life. Then Igraine started teasing her neck with a pair of ectoplasmic mouths; Shade murmured in pleasure and threw her head back, allowing them access to her taut throat. Igraine monitored Shade carefully, watching for the right moment to move on. Nudging Copernicus, she added another pair of mouths, nuzzling the bronzed skin at the sides of Shade's breasts. Copernicus shifted his tongue down to Shade's hole, and began circling it slowly, the tip sliding just inside. Then another pair of mouths, gently unlacing the panels over Shade's breasts and latching onto her nipples, while Copernicus' tongue began to swell and stretch inside her. A final cluster of mouths, one attached to Shade's clitoris, two other miniature ones working their way around her labia as Copernicus' tongue grew inside her until it was writhing around like a ribbed eel... Shade was eventually breathing in quick snatches, desperately holding herself still to allow them to work un-distracted. And just before she lost the battle, Igraine eased her mouths away and Copernicus retracted his tongue-- "Why did you stop?" moaned Shade, sliding down Copernicus' chest. "Well... you were about to spoil the fun..." =What you said about us being invulnerable applies just as well to you, Shade dear. Since you can counter any aggressive move we make, why not let us show you what we can *really* do >>>SUGGESTIVE CARESS<<<.= Shade writhed, almost frottaging herself against Copernicus as Igraine's hints flashed through her mind. Forcing herself under control again, she stood up and murmured, "I did build this body to... All right. Show me what you can do. Your pack's under the table." =I know.=~/Noitca Eerf/~ Copernicus' manacles unsnapped again. The daggers flew out, slicing Shade's outfit from her in four precise swoops, leaving her naked except for her jewellery. Dozens of tiny grapples shot from the pack, trailing coils of black silken rope, and slammed into crevices all around the room, solidly jamming the door shut in the process. Then the ropes licked out at Shade, wrapping around her and each other in a complex knotted pattern that had her bound and strung at every major joint up to her neck. The ropes tightened, squeezing her breasts until they stood out, engorged and red; and compressing her upper thighs, buttocks and pubis to pull open her lips and cheeks. The supporting lines flexed and stretched, pulling her into the air to hang on her back, legs spread up and out to expose her to best advantage, arms out and back to force her chest out. Igraine's mouths swooped in formation to return to their original targets... Shade cried out as the ectoplasmic lips touched her clitoris, straining against the ropes, a glistening stream running out between her labia to drip on the table. Copernicus floated to her, sliding himself gently inside and reaching out to caress her breasts and buttocks. Igraine began pulsing Shade in time with Copernicus' movements, carefully maintaining a gentle rise in pressure so that she was never *quite* getting enough, moaning and straining against her tethers. After about half an hour, Shade was shrieking obscenities at them, demanding to be given release. Igraine chuckled in her mind. =The thing about indestructible bodies, of course, is that pain is just another interesting sensation...= A slight pause for suspense, and suddenly the ropes tightened again, stretching and compressing her, the ones around her sensitive areas sliding hundreds of tiny barbs into her skin. Igraine's mouths bit in, chewing hungrily at her flesh with blunt teeth. A large, ribbed dildo forced its way through Shade's sphincter and slid in up to the hilt. And Igraine hit Shade with the full force of her mind as Copernicus mauled at her breasts and buttocks, ramming himself into her savagely. What hit Shade was more cataract than wave, a continuous, battering flood that had her head lolling back as she screamed over and over. Copernicus and Igraine mauled and pounded her with a force that would break and tear any normal person into pieces. Finally even her superb stamina was drained, and she lay flaccid, panting. Copernicus and Igraine returned to their slow, gentle teasing. =Oh look darling. Pet wants to play too.= Copernicus glanced over to the corner, where the succubus was pulling herself to her feet. She had flipped to incubus mode, her clitoris now a fat, gently curved spike of flesh seven inches long and dripping with lubricant. "Let's give her some room then, dear." Ropes whined through steel rings as Igraine pulled Shade upright, forcing her legs straight down and spreading them wide. Copernicus took her in his upper arms as she rose before him and clung to her, pausing his gentle thrusting as Igraine slid her dildo out, eliciting a moan of disappointment from Shade. Then Pet climbed through the web of ropes and jumped, catching Copernicus' upper arms above the elbow and clamping her ankles about his waist, just above his lower arms. She sagged down, then rose again gently, rubbing her distended clitoris against Shade's rose. Shade shuddered, straining against the ropes as her sphincter was gently stretched again. Once she had slid the length of her penile analogue into Shade's rectum, Pet tightened her grip on Copernicus, squeezing Shade between them. Copernicus transferred his hands to Pet's shoulders and buttocks, and they kissed gently over Shade's shoulder as they began rocking their hips. =Taste her, Pet dear.= The succubus bit into Shade's neck, opening her energy drain at the same time. She lost her rhythm for a moment, jerking, her wings vibrating, as the supercharged life-force ripped through her. Igraine caught her before she went over the edge. =Let's get her ready first. Then drink *deeply*.= Pet grinned, and began lengthening her strokes. Shade moaned from mingled pain and pleasure, then gasped as, with a mumbled "/Hpromylop Devorpmi/" from Copernicus, she felt his shaft begin to swell inside her. It continued to grow as he thrust into her, stretching her vagina until it was filled with a member that would put a carthorse to shame. Shade cried out as he began pushing further and further into her, stretching her far beyond the limits of normal flesh. Pet mewled and shuddered against Shade as Igraine slid dildos into both her openings. Igraine began tapping her sensations off, adding them to the flow assaulting Shade as she began pushing into Pet in time with Pet's thrusts into Shade. Shade gasped as her orgasm hit again. Thrusting in unison, Pet and Copernicus worked to keep her on the peak as Igraine pleasured Pet and Shade, suffusing the latter's mind with the others' excess stimulation. ******************** Sailor Moon was somewhat surprised, an hour or so later, when Eldanor slid into a long dive, slowing to hug the terrain. =What's up?= =**I BELIEVE I HAVE SEEN OUR DESTINATION. THERE IS A FORTRESS ON A HILLSIDE UP AHEAD. WE SHOULD FLY LOW TO AVOID BEING SEEN.**= Moon: =I didn't see anything...= =**IT IS STILL HALF AN HOUR AWAY -- MORE, AT THIS SPEED. WE HAVE *GOOD* EYESIGHT.**= They flew on, weaving around low, scrub-covered hills, rising occasionally to clear a small copse of trees. Finally the dragons alighted, crouching down behind the cover of a dense patch of woodlands. =**IF YOU WOULD BE SO GOOD AS TO SCOUT AHEAD BRIEFLY, SENSHI; I BELIEVE WE ARE NOW IN SIGHT OF OUR TARGET.**= The girls dismounted at a nod from Sailor Moon, stretching their cramped legs and muttering about chafing. They formed up, and began working their way carefully around the inside of the woodland, keeping two or three trees between them and the open area beyond. When they reached the other side, they sneaked out to the edge to look. Some half a mile up the hillside stood a castle, built of grey stone: square, with a tower at each corner, a small gatehouse, and an over- large central keep. They could just make out movement on the battlements. After they had done their best to memorise the scene, and Mercury had completed her necessarily limited analysis of the castle defences -- the only detectable thing being a shield that scrambled her computer's sensors -- the Senshi cut back through the woods and returned to the dragons. Sailor Moon walked over to Eldanor, standing beside his cheek so she could look him in the eye at a conversational distance. "Can you make us all invisible? Because there's no cover between here and there; they'll have however long it takes for you to get up to speed and cover the best part of a mile to prepare for us." =**WE WERE INORDINATELY LUCKY TO GET THIS CLOSE WITHOUT BREAKING COVER. IF WE RETREAT SOMEWHAT, AND APPROACH THEM AROUND THE SIDE OF THESE WOODS AT SPEED, THEY WILL HAVE PERHAPS TWENTY SECONDS TO REACT. IT WILL NOT BE ENOUGH. SHALL WE GO?**= "Not yet," said Mars quickly. "Igraine wants me to call her before we start the attack; this is probably the best time." "You can't light a fire here," said Venus. "It'll blow our position." "Even a small flame would do. Unless you want to stop once we fall back and waste *more* time?" Moon held up her hand. "All right Mars, do it now. It's wet wood you need to stop it smoking, right?" "No, Princess," sighed Mars. She searched briefly for a likely dead branch, then held it up to the others. "So do I Fire Soul it, or has someone got some matches?" Kaldanor: =*It would be my pleasure, lady.*= Mars held the branch gingerly at arm's length as Kaldanor swung his head towards it. A brief snort, and it was alight. "All right. Ah... Mercury, could you hold this for me?" Mars knelt, indicating to Mercury that she should do likewise. "Give me a couple of minutes -- you should be able to tell when I've gone -- then put the fire out. And *please* keep quiet, the rest of you?" Ignoring Moon's indignant glare, Mars composed herself, and gently slid out of her body. Mercury carefully snuffed the branch in a patch of dry earth. The others waited with varying degrees of patience. Mars' body stared into infinity. Then she was back, jumping to her feet. "Let's go! They've tied up the command structure somehow, but it's costing them a lot of effort. We don't have much time to spare--" She vaulted onto Kaldanor's shoulders. The others followed her example. =**THIS IS GOING TO BE A TRICKY TAKE-OFF, PRINCESS. HANG ON.**= Eldanor began to run across the dried grass, his wings extended. He was half way round the next hill before he finally got airborne, flapping savagely to gain speed. His sons had a much easier time of it, being able to launch almost normally without coming out of cover. They whipped round the hill behind him, building up as much speed as was safe in the terrain. Once alongside the woodlands again they glided, hugging the ground closely enough for their talons to brush the scrub. Then the fortress came into view, and they grabbed enough altitude to be able to pile on the power, shooting up the half-mile of hillside to the walls. =**HANG ON *TIGHTLY*, SENSHI. AND HOLD YOUR BREATH. BOYS, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO.**= Ignoring the few arrows snapping against their flanks, the four younger dragons split up, each heading for a tower while Eldanor dove straight for the gatehouse. Stonework cracked as talons dug in; four Senshi clung to suddenly-vertical dragon bodies, and Moon had a perfect view into a terrified human lookout's eyes as Eldanor's head shot towards the gatehouse roof. Golden heads sought trapdoors, then the dragons exhaled deeply. Thick greenish gas began to billow from the windows, accompanied by strangled coughing. Then the dragons leapt off the stonework, and back-winged until they were hovering some hundred feet from the walls. Jets of fire lanced out, sweeping the troops from the battlements, flashing across the tower windows-- There was hardly any shock wave. Flames gouted from every crack, then entire sections of tower detached to crash to the ground. The dragons made one pass to wash the courtyard clean of running figures. Eldanor stooped, smashing his nose into the keep doors and forcing them open. =**DISMOUNT!**= Sailor Moon leapt to the ground beside his head. The others landed around them. Then there was an inrushing of air, and five apparent humans stood where the dragons had been. "Ready?" asked Eldanor. "Let's go!" responded Sailor Moon. "/Shabon Spray/!" Mars and Jupiter ran into the keep through Mercury's mist, Kaldanor and Geldanor just behind them. Inside, they found seven human guards blundering about in confusion; in a few seconds all of them were down. Sailor Moon gasped as she came in and saw the dead and dying: ordinary- looking men in leather and chain armour, now lying with broken necks and slashed throats. One appeared to have been smashed against a wall in a spray of blood... Tears starting in her eyes, she turned to Mars and Jupiter. "You killed them all... they're just *people*..." Venus stood in front of her and gripped her shoulder. "Just like the Fomorians we killed at the siege. Or the men in the towers here. It's all very well to value life, Princess, but these are enemy troops, and they're standing between us and our friends. And don't think they'd hesi-- /CRESCENT BEAM/!" The golden light disintegrated a crossbow bolt heading straight for Moon's back, and tore into the already dying soldier who'd fired it. "There is a war coming, Princess," added Eldanor. "Many *thousands* of people will die. Perhaps with these deaths here we will prevent more later." Sailor Moon looked around at the others. "Perhaps. But there *has* to be a better way..." "I hope you're right, Moon," said Mars. "But until you figure it out, let's go kick some, okay? Our friends are *relying* on us." Moon sniffed and nodded, almost decisively. "Mercury, what's the story?" Mercury paused in her scanning of the area. "It's a mess. Shields and wards, all over the place. I can't see much more than the middle of this level from here. Four exits from the hall ahead -- stairs, one small locked door, two large, the one on the left is open, the other's unlocked -- but I can't tell you what's beyond *any* of them. Telepathy blocks all over the place -- our communicators should work, though." "Room by room, then," said Eldanor. "Do we split up?" "We'd better," said Mercury. "This place is *big*." Sailor Moon pulled herself up. "All right. Mars, Venus, you take the left doors; Mercury, with me on the right. Jupiter, hold the stairs. Err..." "Geldanor, you go with the Princess," said Eldanor. "Kaldanor, with Senshi Sailormars. We will help with the stairs, Senshi Sailorjupiter." "Ready?" said Moon. "Go!" She ran for the right-hand door, Mercury close behind. Quarrels flew from the opening to the left; she threw herself flat. "/BURING MANDALA/! Get going, we'll cover you!" "/CRESCENT BEAM SHOWER/!" Geldanor ran past Moon, yanking the doors open and diving through. Jupiter and Eldanor ran across to the stairs, followed by the younger boys. Mercury pulled Moon to her feet and ran after Geldanor with her. They found themselves in a large mess-hall, filled with tables and benches. Long, heavy banners -- red, green and black -- draped the stone walls, deadening the echoes of their footsteps. "Nothing here," reported Mercury. "But there's a door at the side here... it looks safe." They ran to the shadowed gap between the curtains. Geldanor pulled the door open, revealing a spiral stair running up and down. "If this place is anything like normal," he said, "the kitchens and store rooms will be down, private rooms up." Mercury nodded. "Traces of heat, moisture and organics coming from below. The stairs are clear, as far as I can see." "Down first. Mercury?" "/Shabon Spray/!" Dense fog poured from Mercury's hands, flowing down the stairs. "Let's go!" They clattered down the stairs, Moon in the lead, and ran into the mist- shrouded kitchen. A heavy-set man and a small boy were cowering in one corner. "Well, this is one pair we *don't* have to kill," said Moon. "But what..." Geldanor strode over to them. They shrank back as he loomed out of the mist, then relaxed slightly when he held out an open hand to the man, helping him to his feet. With the boy in tow, he led him through the fog to the stairs. As they were about to leave, Geldanor pulled the man to face him. "Run. Don't stop to collect anything, don't even *think* of trying anything clever. Just get as far away as you can." The man nodded. Then he was off, running up the stairs, pulling the boy behind him. "Store rooms are clear," reported Mercury. "There's a flight of stairs going up from them back to the main hall -- that locked door." "Okay." Sailor Moon pulled out her communicator. "Mars?" **** Mars and Venus flooded the corridor with fire and light, and charged for the side doorways. Kaldanor followed Mars as she split left, running his sword through one guard while she punched out the other. Venus went through her door feet-first, catching the crossbowman under the chin and sending him flying back across the room. She glanced around, then returned to the door. "Dorm room here." Mars appeared in the other opening. "Same here." She glanced down the corridor; a quarrel skipped off the wall beside her head as she pulled back. "Ready?" Venus nodded. "/BURNING MANDALA/!" "/CRESCENT BEAM SHOWER/!" The three ran the rest of the corridor in the wake of the attacks, leaping the impromptu barrier at the end. Only two guards had weathered the final assault; neither of them lasted long against Kaldanor's blade and the Senshi's fists. They were tying the survivors up when Moon's call came through. "We're clear, Moon. What the-- some fat guy just appeared from the room you went into!" +It's just the cook. Is it safe for him to leave?+ "Well... yes." +Wave him out then.+ Mars gestured to the cook to run; he scuttled for the exit, dragging the boy behind him. +Okay, we've got--+ Jupiter's voice came over the com, interrupting Moon. +If you lot are finished, we could use some help here!+ Waving to the others, Mars ran out to the foot of the stairs. **** Jupiter pulled Duldanor tighter against herself as another spell blasted chunks out of the pillar behind her. Their attackers had waited until they were up the first flight of stairs before revealing themselves, cutting off their retreat. Across the landing from her, Eldanor and Fildanor crouched behind a matching pillar: Eldanor had somehow countered the initial barrage of fireballs from the open hallway above, but could do nothing about the bolts that slammed into the stonework around them. Venus' voice came over the communicator. +I can see them... they're pinned down from upstairs.+ Then Moon: +Okay. You try to support them from there. Mars, Kaldanor, you join us, we'll try to outflank them.+ Venus again: +Sure. Jupiter, be ready to take advantage if this works.+ "/CRESCENT BEAM SHOWER/!" Sounds of consternation came from the landing above them. Jupiter leaned out of cover, catching a glimpse of a hooded head pulling back. "/SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE/!" "/Tlob Gninthgil/!" A scream sounded from above, then another barrage of bolts showered down. Ducking back into cover, Jupiter glanced across at Fildanor, who grinned and wiggled his fingers at her. Then a bolt cracked the pillar beside him, and he ducked his head against his father's chest. Jupiter thumbed her communicator again. "Better make this quick, Moon..." **** Sailor Moon charged up the spiral stairs and through a doorway, finding herself in a narrow hall. Mercury pushed in behind her, scanning. "Nothing here -- if we go through any of these rooms, we should come out behind them." Moon waited for Mars and Kaldanor to catch up with them, then said, "We should split up a bit. Mars, Mercury, you take the rooms on either side of this one. We attack together, catch them in a crossfire." The girls nodded and ran to the next door along in each direction. Kaldanor held the door open to Moon and bowed her through. She crossed the deserted bedroom quickly, motioning the boys to follow, and waited. +Ready.+ +In position.+ "Okay," said Moon into her communicator, gesturing for Kaldanor to get the door. "Three, two, one, GO!" The three Senshi burst out into the corridor and attacked. The mages and guards at the stairs had anticipated being outflanked, and had set barriers behind themselves, but their lookout had barely enough time to register the girls' presence before fire, ice and glowing crescents washed over them. The few that survived the initial assault were quickly picked off as Jupiter and Fildanor joined in from below. Geldanor ran over to the balcony and glanced down. "Everyone all right?" Venus waved to him as she ran up the stairs. "Now where?" asked Mars. "Up?" said Moon. "How, exactly?" said Jupiter. "There aren't any more stairs." "That can't be right," said Geldanor. "We're not even half way up yet." "Someone has seriously disrupted the geometry of this place," said Mercury, scanning the area. "I can't see the whole place, so I don't know how it fits together... but the stairs should be here. They've been... deleted." Mars shrugged. "We can still go up the back way. Coming?" Mercury hesitated. "Ah... I think I should look around here some more." "All right," said Moon. "Venus, you stay with her." She looked questioningly at the boys. "I'll stay with them," said Duldanor, smirking at Venus. "Right, we'll go on up," said Moon, when Eldanor nodded his agreement. The others followed her back through the bedroom. "So," said Duldanor, eyeing Venus' curves, "what do you do when you're not riding dragons?" Venus fought down the urge to thump him as Mercury scanned the corridor intently... **** Pet gazed into Copernicus' eyes over Shade's shoulder as they moved together, Igraine's dildos sliding into her spasming orifices in time with their thrusts. Igraine siphoned off their intense arousal to keep them close to the edge, and fed the excess into Shade's quivering mind. Still bound rigidly in place and assaulted by Igraine's ectoplasmic mouths, Shade was orgasming almost continuously, maintaining a peak of ecstasy that would have rendered any normal mortal comatose an hour before. Occasionally someone would pound on the jammed door for a while, but none of them paid any attention. **** Impatient with their progress, Mars pushed past the others and was first through the door to the back stairs. Moon and Fildanor had barely made it through the bedroom door when Mars started up the spiral. "Trap!" Fildanor tackled Moon, pushing her to the floor beside the doorway. The others ducked back as a massive gout of flame exploded out of the stairwell. "My lady!" Kaldanor staggered to his feet and ran over to the stairs. "I'm all right," she replied from out of sight. "Don't come in yet. Moon, you okay?" "A bit squashed. Owie. Thanks, Fildanor. Mars, are you sure..." "Hang on. I think I can see how to turn this off... there. Come on up." Fildanor nodded to Moon. "It's safe now." She ran up the stairs, the others close behind, and went over to Mars. "Honestly, I'm fine. Look." She twirled to demonstrate the fact. "You shouldn't be," said Fildanor. "That blast should have damaged you, badly..." "Well it didn't, so let's get on with it." She pushed open the nearest door. **** "Got it!" said Mercury happily. "If I just tweak... here--" Venus and Duldanor ceased squabbling as the hallway seemed to flex, then stretch. Another flight of stairs now continued up. "Come on then!" said Venus, pulling out her communicator. "Moon, we're through!" "No need to shout," came Moon's voice from above. "Found anything?" "Nope. This is as far as it goes." Mercury ran up the stairs. "What do you mean?" She began scanning again. Eldanor shrugged. "There are five rooms at the back, four at the front, just as below. Each opens onto this hallway, and the service corridor. There are no stairs up." "That can't be..." said Mercury. "There's at least one other floor above us, but there's no distortions here..." "Um... why would anyone guard a bunch of bedrooms so heavily?" asked Jupiter. "I mean, mages and guards, and the fire-trap Mars ran into..." Venus, arriving from below, glanced at Mars. "You all right?" "I'm fine!" Eldanor looked concerned and said to Mercury, "She should not be, but she is. Perhaps you can solve this riddle?" Mercury scanned Mars carefully. "Something very odd has happened to you... I think you've become a bit invulnerable." "What do you mean?" "You're carrying around a lot more life-energy than normal. It's very subtle, or I'd have noticed it before... Probably that healing we did on you. Jupiter was totally cured by four of us having a laugh; you got hit by six of us trying our utmost. Anyway, it looks like you can shrug off damage, especially fire." "That is so *cool*!" shouted Mars happily. Mercury took her arm and said seriously, "Don't rely on this. It's not permanent; it could fail just when you need it." Moon glanced at Mercury, then Mars. "You'd better listen to her. *Please* don't do anything stupid." She sighed. "So where do we go now?" "I don't know..." Suddenly, Mars looked fretful again. "I still can't hear her..." "Hang on," said Mercury. "Eldanor, you said the service corridor runs all the way around?" He nodded. "I didn't see it below... it must be shielded. Come on!" She ran down the stairs again. "Why guard bedrooms? A diversion, Jupiter..." Reaching the bottom, she ran to the closest door and through the bedroom to the service corridor. The others piled up behind her as she scanned intently. "There!" The corridor flexed, and a wide flight of stairs opened along one wall. Mercury leapt back as quarrels and magic bolts rained from above. Mars pushed her aside, suddenly aware of Igraine's presence. "MARS!" Moon leapt to grab her; Mars shrugged her off. =*I'm coming, beloved!*= "/BURNING MANDALA/!" Ignoring the missiles ricocheting off her, Mars charged up the stairs. "/Shabon Spray/! Come on, you lot!" Moving much more carefully, Mercury followed her, with Jupiter close behind. By the time Moon had got to the stairs, it was all over. The entire landing was blackened and scorched; Mars had simply jumped into the middle of the defenders and surrounded herself with flame. The two that had survived that and each others' confused attempts to hit her had fallen quickly to the other two Senshi. Mercury was already engrossed in scanning the area. Mars held up her hand, forestalling Moon's tirade. "It wasn't stupid, it was a calculated risk. And we don't have time to stand here arguing. Mercury?" "Nothing except what you see," she replied. "The scanner's blocked." There was no central corridor on this floor: the landing had a closed door on either side. It looked to be of much more recent construction compared to the floors below. Moon glared at Mars some more, then said, "We'd better split up again. Eldanor, you take the right?" He nodded. "Okay, let's go." **** ~The girls will be here soon.~=Shall we finish her, my loves?= Pet nodded eagerly, tightening her grip on Copernicus' shoulders and wrapping her legs snugly around his waist as she moved her tempo up a gear. He matched her, ramming his oversized member up to the hilt into Shade's distended hole, her head lolling back and forth with each stroke. Shade moaned as Igraine's mouths bit into her most sensitive parts again; Pet joined her with a mewl of pleasure as Igraine matched her rhythm with the dildos and Copernicus massaged her buttocks and flight muscles. Pet pulled Copernicus closer, crushing Shade between them. She began bouncing frenziedly, hammering her penile analogue into Shade's anus, gladly accepting Copernicus's help in pushing inside her while he pounded Shade's vagina. Shade's cries began to build towards a crescendo as Igraine had to divert more and more of Pet and Copernicus' arousal into her. Then Pet bit down again, sucking her blood as she drained her energy. Igraine wove herself around the other three as the dam finally burst. Copernicus rammed into Shade, his enlarged penis pulsing deep inside her. Pet's penile analogue exploded, gushing all the semen she'd collected in seventy years of fruitless sex into Shade's colon, forcing it out and down their legs in sprays as she bucked wildly, pushed into sublime ecstasy by the taste of Shade's energy. The unexpected enema catapulted Shade onto a new level of orgasm, and she began screaming herself hoarse as wave after wave roared through her. And Igraine, floating on a towering plateau of fragile calm as she shared in the experiences of all three, lazily gathered up the twisted streams of sexual energy and slammed them straight through Shade's mental defences. **** Eldanor's team found a short corridor beyond their door. Light from the slit window at the end revealed two doors, one on either side. Motioning his boys to open the left door for Venus, he prepared to do the same for Jupiter. Eldanor kicked the door open, following Jupiter as she leapt into the room beyond. Unoccupied, it was filled with a giant map on a table, complete with markers and long poles to move them with. Eldanor glanced over the display, cursed under his breath, then indicated a series of glass bulbs arrayed along a bench by the wall. "Magical communicators." Jupiter grinned, took up one of the map-tenders' poles, and backhanded it across the bulbs. The pole shattered, leaving the glass intact. Eldanor raised an eyebrow at her. "/Sparkling Wide Pressure/!" Jupiter grinned again as the glass smashed to powder. Venus stuck her head through the door. "Everything okay?" "No problem. You?" "Some sort of magical armoury. Your boys are looting it, Eldanor." "Good. Is there still no sign of Copernicus and Igraine?" "Not yet... there's no sign of any other doors here either; it looks like the stairs aren't in the middle of this floor." "We should rejoin the others. *Boys!*" Duldanor and Fildanor emerged from the room opposite, shaking their heads. "Nothing worth keeping," said Fildanor in a dismal tone. "Maybe the others found something," said Jupiter. "Come on." **** Sailor Moon pushed the door open carefully, revealing a sitting-room of sorts, apparently unoccupied. She was about to walk through when both Mars and Mercury restrained her. "What's up?" Mercury tilted her computer so she could see. Three life-forms were indicated, hiding behind furniture. While Moon was distracted, Mars pushed past her and strode to the centre of the room. "Come out slowly and you won't get hurt." Three youngish men, dressed in billowing gauze and velvet, came tentatively out of cover. Mars snorted to herself in disgust: the aura of terror radiating from them merely confirmed the impression their dandified appearance gave. "It's all right, we've just found someone's harem," she said over her shoulder. She turned back to the pretty-boys as the others came in. "So. Who's left defending this place?" The youths ran forward and flung themselves prostrate at Mars' feet. One babbled, "All gone to the stairs -- left us alone, no-one here now except Mistress and-- and Pet," he paused, shuddering, then went on, "and their new toy, but they're busy, can't be disturbed--" All three of them suddenly lunged at Mars, the speaker wrapping his arms around her waist, the others clutching at her legs. "Mistress is gone a long time, we think forever..." He gazed up into Mars' stunned face. "Need new Mistress now, take care of us?" Mars stared down in shock as the three youths began nuzzling at her belly and thighs. Even a gasp from Mercury and a quiet titter from Geldanor weren't enough to snap her out of it, but when the boys began moving their nuzzling up to her breasts and under her skirt, she slapped them away from her. Tears filled their eyes, and they crept forward, repeating "Sorry Mistress" over and over, until they were close enough to begin licking her shoes and feet. Mars jumped back, looking pleadingly at her friends. "Oh, this is *much* too funny to stop," said Moon, creased over in laughter. "It's wasting *time*," said Mars, kicking one of the youths across the room. "Can't we tie them up or something?" "I think we had better," said Kaldanor, looking rather grimly at the youths. He began pulling the cord trim from the furniture. By the time they had secured the pathetic trio, the others had arrived. After a brief explanation of what each group had found, Venus carefully opened the door from the sitting-room, revealing a long corridor. "Anything, Mercury?" asked Moon. "No traps... no people. Plenty of magic in the rooms on either side, but that room at the end is shielded." "Not well enough," said Mars. "They're in there... and they're fine. Let's finish the job." Splitting into three groups, they began clearing the rooms along the corridor. **** Igraine retrieved her dildos and dismissed her ectoplasmic mouths as they began to wind down. Pet sighed, grinned in happy fulfilment, and sagged panting on Shade's shoulders. Igraine snuggled herself into Copernicus' mind, sharing the afterglow with him as he leaned over and kissed Pet gently. He disengaged, his penis returning to its normal size, and stretched, shaking his arms loose. Deprived of his support, Shade's head flopped forward loosely. A long string of drool fell from her mouth. "/Esnaelc/ Now... ah, clothes." Copernicus started to dress as Igraine began retrieving her ropes. =Help me lower her to the floor, Pet dear.= The succubus complied, easing down to sit with Shade on her lap as the ropes binding her arms and chest untied, their grapples snapping free of the stonework as they snaked back into the pack. The ones restraining her legs and waist followed, then Copernicus shouldered his pack and looked around the room for anything they might have missed. A few chests, some potentially interesting books and things on shelves; none of it theirs -- yet, anyway. "Looks like we're done here." =Just in time. The rescue party's about to arrive.= "What'll we do with Shade?" =Pet can keep her for a while.= "It's Noko. And thank you." They turned, and saw the succubus with Shade dangling in her arms, still impaled on her penile analogue. Rivulets of semen ran down Shade's legs as Noko flapped slowly into the air and grinned at Copernicus. "*This* is Pet," she said, caressing Shade's breast with one hand and her clitoris with the other. Shade/Ksano/Pet moaned faintly, blood trickling down her chest as Noko bit into her neck gently. =But only for as long as she held you.= Noko hissed. =You'd better not try to get more than your fair revenge, dearie. She'll stay docile and locked in that form for *about* that long, but then she'll revert back to normal, and you *don't* want to be around when that happens.= Noko considered this for a moment. "All right." She smiled at Copernicus, blood glistening on her fangs. "Thank you." The air parted in a sheet of flame, and the demon vanished with her prey just as footsteps sounded from the corridor outside and the door slammed open. Copernicus held out his arms to Venus as she ran over, then dodged back as she kicked out at him. "Why didn't you *tell* us?" He backed away as the other Senshi approached him with revenge in their eyes. "I'm sorry... surely you understand the plan wouldn't--" "Not *that*," said Mercury. "*Them*!" She gestured over her shoulder at Eldanor and his sons, who had begun looting the place systematically. =That they are dragons, or that the boys are a bunch of perverts?= "*Both*!" said Venus. "Now that's not fair," said Mars. "Kaldanor isn't like the others--" "Oh, don't be fooled by that blushing act of his," said Copernicus. =He's just as bad as the others. >amused< He's just a *lot* sneakier.= "Aunt Igraine! Please!" Kaldanor made an excellent try at looking shocked and maligned. =We wanted it to be a surprise, Venus dear. How did they take it, boys?= Duldanor chuckled. "You should have *seen* them, Auntie. They went like this..." pulling a caricature of a stunned face, "then this..." Fildanor interrupted. "Then they saw Dad, and they went like this," trying to drop his jaw to the floor. Jupiter sidled up to Copernicus and wrapped her arms around him. "You are going to *pay* for that," she said, kissing him. "I'm glad you're all right." Mars suddenly looked up over Copernicus' shoulder, where she imagined Igraine's point of view to be. "Igraine, what happened in here? I sense a twisted being of brilliance and power humbled... and another, a shadow of dark evil, triumphant..." =Now that's being judgmental, beloved. We helped each other and parted amicably.= Mars raised an eyebrow. "I also sense something which we will not discuss in front of the pervert brothers over there--" "Hey!" "--so perhaps you can tell us all about it later?" Moon giggled. "Remind me to show you the library next time we're in the Dream..." she whispered to Mars. Copernicus looked round as Eldanor approached. "Anything?" "Mostly junk. The boys found some trinkets they like. So who was it?" =Red Ksano, masquerading as a human. She's another dragon, Senshi. Not a particularly nice one.= "Where'd she go?" asked Venus. "We neutralised her," replied Copernicus evasively. =Indeedy.= The younger boys immediately clustered round, demanding to know what they meant. =Now children, I'll tell you when you're older.= "Oh, *Auntie*..." "I'm nearly a hundred!" =Later, boys. Right now your uncle and I need to talk to your father. And we should get back outside.= The boys sighed, hanging back as the others filed out so they could lech over the blonde Senshi some more. Sailor Moon firmly disengaged herself and caught up with Copernicus and Eldanor. Copernicus glanced into the side rooms as he floated past. "So, what did you find out?" "The evil dragons are on the move once more. Ksano and this operation here are merely part of it; Lathed was involved, and Isana, and I am sure there are others. There will be war, old friends." =Then we will be here to help.= "Count on it," said Copernicus, flying into the sitting-room. "Thank you. I fear that we will be unable to accompany you back to Harvang; there is too much to do here. But we will at least see you off." Mars felt a sudden twinge of regret at this, and turned to look at Kaldanor. He shrugged, saying, "You get used to it after a while. This is the first time we've seen Uncle Copernicus in over thirty years." Mars sighed, completely oblivious to the pleading gazes of the three youths tied up in the corner. "But we probably won't ever come back..." Kaldanor smiled. "I'm sure we'll meet again, sooner or later." They walked in companionable silence down to the keep doors, listening alternately to Eldanor, Copernicus and Igraine going over the details of what they had discovered and making tentative plans for the coming conflict, and to Duldanor and Fildanor explaining carefully to Mercury that they didn't want her to leave with the impression that she wasn't stacked really nicely as well, it was just that they preferred blondes. =/Heads up/!= The two large staves flashed out of Copernicus' pack, moving to hover on either side of him as Igraine seized everyone's attention. Just visible behind the shattered west tower, a flight of juvenile dragons was approaching. "Ksano's brood?" asked Copernicus, flying out into the courtyard. "Aye!" shouted Eldanor from behind him. "We fly, my sons!" =Bow, anti-red.= Copernicus caught the bow as it flew from the pack, slapping the magical arrow against it, to be consumed by an energy bolt that formed as he drew, sighting on the lead dragon. =One more left.= Copernicus released as the courtyard began to fill with coiled golden bodies. The energy bolt flew, striking the red on the chest. It collapsed and began to tumble from the sky; its fellows scattered. Mars eyed the bow enviously as she ran over to Kaldanor. "Give me that anti-ruby next," he said, nocking the second arrow and sighting. He released, downing another dragon, and went on as he caught the third arrow, "We'll probably never need it, and it should fool them..." He flew up, forcing the circling dragons back with the threat of the bow. =Mercury, your powers are antithetical to theirs; you've got the best chance to take them. Mars, you'll pretty much have to sit this one out. Moon, Venus, forget your physical attacks. Stick to the energy ones; they've a better chance of penetrating.= Mars: =We'd already worked tha--= She broke off with a gasp as Kaldanor sprang into the air. =And what do you mean, sit this one out?= Igraine: =Fire doesn't really hurt them. Sorry.= Venus gave a rebel yell as Fildanor leapt, his wings thrashing. Copernicus shouted, "Is everyone up?" Eldanor bellowed and launched, Sailor Moon clutching his horns. =**WE ARE NOW.**= Copernicus released at a red that was tempting fate; it dropped in shock. Turning, he lobbed the bow, yelling, "MARS! CATCH!" Kaldanor lunged to intercept its fall. Copernicus' target realised it was merely badly injured, rather than slain outright; it bellowed and swooped in on him. The air crackled as Igraine triggered the outrider staves, spitting bolts of energy that slammed the red backwards, sending it spinning. Mars caught the falling bow and pulled tentatively at the energy string; then when a bolt formed, she sighted on a red that was trying to get behind Kaldanor. She released, sending the bolt into one of its wing- roots. The dragon roared in panic as it fell, desperately flapping its other wing. Mars: =I *so* want one of these!= Igraine: =I'm afraid that one's only on loan, beloved.= She fired the outriders again, finally downing her target, and with a quick ~Hammers.~, popped the throwing weapons into Copernicus' waiting hands. Sailor Moon squealed as Eldanor made a barrel roll, lashing out at something with his hind legs. She twisted around as they came upright again, to see a pair of large reds trying to grapple his flanks with their fore-claws. "/MOON PRINCESS HALATION/!" Battered and confused, the reds dropped back, sitting ducks as Duldanor and Geldanor shot up from beneath them. "/SHINE AQUA ILLUSION/!" "/SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE/!" Mercury's target dropped to the hillside, obviously dead. Heavily damaged, Jupiter's only lasted long enough for Geldanor to clamp his jaws around its neck and give a wrench that had Jupiter half way out of her seat, clutching his foreleg for support. Mercury: =>glee< Finally my stupid attacks are worth something!= Jupiter pulled herself back aboard and turned, giving her a thumbs-up. Geldanor banked, directing her to a quartet of dragons converging on Copernicus. Jupiter hit one hard enough to divert its attention completely to her: Geldanor was forced to tumble out of the way of its breath. Behind him Copernicus span unconcerned in the wash of flames from the other three, calmly launching and catching his magically- returning hammers alternately, battering one of the dragons into submission, while Igraine poured magical bolts into another. Geldanor (to Jupiter): =*Hang on!*= She wrapped his arms tightly around his neck. He pulled out of the tumble with a savage twist and went into a shallow power dive, trying to regain airspeed. Their attacker swept up behind them, shrugging off a near-miss from Sailor Moon as Eldanor swept past, chased by a group of reds who had already been heavily discouraged by Venus, Mercury, and Mars. With the red close to overhauling him, Geldanor whipped into a tight turn, trying to get back to the others. Three of the dragons chasing Eldanor dropped in quick succession. Mars glanced around quickly. Mars (to Kaldanor): The others can finish these ones. We help Jupiter -- >likethis<. Kaldanor peeled off and turned to face Geldanor's line of flight. Pulling up as Mars had indicated, he went into a shallow climb. Mars leaned forward and drew, sighting carefully between Kaldanor's horns at the red bearing down directly towards them. Kaldanor (to Mars): =*It's going to flame--*= Mars (to Kaldanor): =I know. Stay on target.= Igraine: =>panic< Kaldanor, break off!= Mars (to Kaldanor): =*Stay on--*= Geldanor and Jupiter flashed below them. The red's mouth opened. Mars released, sending the energy bolt straight down its throat, then she nearly dropped the bow as Kaldanor banked into a horizontal loop, narrowly avoiding the jet of flame that spewed from above. "/CRESCENT BEAM SHOWER/! Mars, will you watch your back!" Venus glared at her as Fildanor glided past, then was nearly swept off as Mars' dying target scraped its tail along her partner's back. The one that had jumped her plummeted past, shaking off the effects of Venus' attack. "Keep your eyes on your own butt!" Mars fired a bolt into the diving red's back as Kaldanor stooped to follow it. "Kaldanor, get above it!" Spotting two of its few remaining brood-mates being badly outfought by Copernicus and Igraine, her target pulled up and winged forward. Kaldanor followed suit, coming above it as Mars leaned over for another shot. =Plasma shield down!= "Not again!" Copernicus scooted sideways and down as his opponents flamed. Igraine maintained her lock on both, swarming one with missiles from the parrot-mounts, pounding the other with the outriders' bolts. Behind them, the red Kaldanor was overtaking lined up and inhaled. "*NO*!" Mars leapt off Kaldanor's neck, and wrapped herself around the red's nose. Kaldanor: =**MY LADY!**= Her targets dropping, Igraine swung her attention behind. Copernicus span. Flames spurted in all directions as Mars' body deflected the jets. She fell, still clutching Copernicus' bow. =***>>>NO!<<<***= The combatants on both sides froze in mid-air, minds temporarily overloaded by Igraine's scream. Copernicus dove. Swords and daggers leapt from his pack under Igraine's control. The blades sliced through the red's lower armour from tail to throat, gutting it like a fish. Copernicus caught Mars, cradling her motionless body. Igraine span the blades up the length of the dragon, systematically pulverising its remains with missiles and bolts. The remaining reds turned and fled as shreds of their brood-mate dropped from the sky. Mars stirred, then turned in Copernicus' arms. She smiled at him, and said, "Thanks for the loan," gesturing with the bow. =Beloved?!= Mars felt Igraine wrap lovingly around her soul, reassuring herself that she was all right. Mars (to Igraine): =>>LOVE<< I'm sorry I scared you. >>LOVE<<= Igraine (to Mars): =>>>LOVE/CARESS<REASSURE/sniff< Thank you, everyone. I'm feeling a lot better now.= Mars (to Igraine): =I'll finish making up to you later... >squeeze<= "Well..." said Copernicus, "we'd better get going, I suppose..." Mars glanced at Kaldanor and sighed. "I suppose..." Igraine laughed as two other Senshi chorused a sigh of agreement. Moon blushed. "It's not like *that*; they're really interesting is all." Jupiter punched Geldanor lightly on the shoulder. "What she said." He grinned at her. =Well girls, your life expectancy's what, at least a thousand years? It's the same for the boys, so there's plenty of time for you to meet up again.= "Still, it could be decades..." said Mercury pensively. "It's odd that we're so affected by it." Copernicus shrugged. "It's simple, as I always say--" The remainder of the line was chorused by Igraine and all five dragons: "--there's nothing like a good fight for really getting to know someone." "And on that note, you should probably leave," said Eldanor, cutting through the tail end of the Senshi's laughter, "before everyone gets sad again." Moon pulled herself together and extended her hands to Jupiter and Mercury. "Come on then, girls." "See you soon, old friend." =Two days at most.= Mars darted over to Kaldanor and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then ran back between Copernicus and Venus to complete the circle. As they phased out, she was *sure* she caught Kaldanor murmuring, "I *told* you being polite would--" ******************** This time, some of Garag's troops looked almost happy to see them. Certainly, any that showed an inclination to sneer also displayed an extreme reluctance to risk catching any of the Senshi's eyes. Also, they were admitted immediately and escorted by an honour guard directly to the queen's chamber. =I don't like this. Why are they being so nice?= "Gratitude?" murmured Copernicus. "Come on, Igraine--" =No, I mean it. He's up to something, otherwise it would be 'thanks, bye'. He's only been this formal once before...= "Oh, *ARSE*!" Copernicus slapped his forehead. "I don't *believe* it!" Mars: =Should we be ready to fight?= Igraine: =You should *always* be ready to fight. But hopefully we can avoid it this time.= Garag met them in person just outside the chamber. He was outwardly calm, but Mars felt a slight hint of nervousness lurking underneath. He signalled their escort to halt and faced Copernicus. "Copernicus. I should warn you that my queen has... elected to assign responsibility for the killing of several dragons heading towards the city--" Copernicus floated down to look Garag straight in the eye. "No." "I have tried to reason with her, but she is adamant--" "NO!" The Senshi jumped, coming to full combat readiness in an instant. Igraine: =Hang fire, girls.= "Your unique abilities--" "By all the gods I've ever annoyed, **NO**! Would you *please* tell her that all this stuff is *added* *on*! It's not part of my nature!" "She knows. Nonetheless, your own natural prowess... she is insistent." Igraine: =If any of you have any ideas...= "ARGH! I cannot *believe* how stubborn she is! If I have to tear--" "Wait!" shouted Mercury, jumping in between them, facing Garag. "Have you ever heard of artificial insemination?" A blank look crossed his face, and she hurried on, "You take the seed from the male and manually insert it into the female. If you do it right, it works better than the normal way." She could feel Copernicus' towering anger fading behind her as Garag pondered the concept. His face cleared. "Yes... I believe that will suffice. Follow me." Mercury added, "We'll need a small *clean* glass jar -- glazed pottery at a pinch." Garag nodded to a servant, who scuttled off. The Senshi and Copernicus followed Garag into the queen's chamber. The enormous hulk peered down at them, rolling slightly. "My queen, the great Copernicus shall indeed pay you his respects. However, he has chosen to do so in the manner of these foreign girls, which is said to promote fertility." If the queen had any feelings about this either way, her reaction was well-concealed. The servant arrived with the jar, and presented it to Mercury. She handed it to Copernicus, saying, "I take it you know what to do?" with a slight smirk. "Ha ha. I'll just..." he glanced at the wall, "...retire behind this banner..." He floated over to the wall-hanging. Every Fomorian in the room tracked him, watching with great interest. As one, the Senshi moved to form a protective semi-circle around the banner as he disappeared behind it. [...Copernicus' senses sang as Igraine slid teasingly around him, feeding the highlights of her time with Rei into his mind...] He emerged a few minutes later, floated past the Senshi, and solemnly handed the jar to a waiting Fomorian servitor. The creature bowed, then turned, bowed to his queen, and approached her. A glistening flap of skin was lifted up. With a loud squelching noise, the servitor climbed inside. "Ewww!" Venus span around, looking faintly green. "*Now* do you understand why I was so resistant?" said Copernicus, throwing his arms wide. Moon covered her eyes. "I can't watch." =We can gate out any time you like.= Mercury prided herself on putting science before personal squeamishness, but there wasn't really anything to observe here. "Let's..." **************************************** [Peur+ Tentacular Spray: Hamburger Reaches: TL 16-64-56] [Centaurus Wall: Virgo SC: Milky Way: Sol: Earth: Japan: Tokyo] [CE 1994/04/03] "How long were we gone?" "Um... only about twelve hours?! It's just coming up for mid-day now!" "It can't be! I'm too tired, I need sleep *now*!" =So /sleep/.= ******************** "So what's with the time difference?" asked Makoto, as soon as they materialised. "Different universes, different times," said Copernicus. "Ah... how did Elminster explain it, dear?" Igraine cleared her throat, and recited from memory, "'The entropy vectors of the two universes are not parallel. Due to the nature of the gate generator, the outbound and return paths *are* parallel, so, depending on the angles between the outbound path and the two vectors, the home interval could be shorter -- or *much* longer, so you'll have to be careful how you use it. Now stop trying to distract me and get the round in, you cheapskate.'" "Nope," said Copernicus over the girls' laughter, "it still doesn't mean anything when you say it like that. The drawing he made in the beer puddle made *much* more sense." "I understood it," said Ami perkily. "I could do the drawing for you, if you like." "Down, girl," murmured Minako, covertly gesturing for her to ease back on it. "In a bit," said Rei, turning to Igraine. "Now we've finally got some privacy, how about filling us in on what you two were up to earlier?" Usagi, who was heading towards the couches with ice cream in mind, turned and said, "Ooh! Remember the library I told you about? We can read the manga there!" Ami pushed back a slight feeling of hurt at being dismissed so casually, and raised an eyebrow at Igraine. "Your library has manga?" "Not really; it has the memories, you see them in a format you're comfortable with or expect, depending..." "Well in that case," said Ami, smiling again, "why read the manga when we can watch the OVA?" ******************** Silence reigned as the 72-inch ultra-high-definition screen dissolved back into wooden cases and leather-bound books. Five girls sat, their eyes wide and mouths open, their cheeks flushed from varying ratios of embarrassment and arousal. "Um," said Makoto, finally. "Yes..." said Minako. "That was..." began Rei, "ah..." "...rather..." continued Ami. "It was a fight, girls," said Igraine. "Don't confuse that with anything tender -- well, except some of the bits with Noko. We offered Ksano a challenge in a particular field, and she accepted. Which was a very bad mistake on her part, but she truly thought she could handle us. And of course Noko was her other classic mistake. She helped immensely." "Yes, Noko..." said Rei. Copernicus shrugged. "Like anyone, she wanted some form of retribution for her treatment -- what Ksano did to her was possibly the worst thing imaginable for her species. She's evil, so an exact balancing was the best deal we'd ever get out of her. That keeps Noko relatively friendly, which might be helpful later. And of course Ksano's completely out of the picture for seventy years. Don't forget, right up until the end she could have burst out of the ropes, transformed, and... well, run away intact was the best she could hope for, but still, she didn't have to stay there..." He looked around the girls: although Rei had understood completely with one look into Igraine's eyes, the blondes at least obviously needed time to come to terms with this. Makoto caught his eye and slid to her feet, motioning him over to the other end of the library. Once concealed behind several rows of bookcases, she turned to him. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't need to ask this, but... before... that was 'tender'...?" He cocked his head. "What do you remember it as?" "Of course it was... but-- but so was our sparring!" She realised her voice was getting loud, and continued quickly in a slightly saddened whisper, "At least, it would have been, if I hadn't been so intent on winning..." She slipped into his arms. "I understand. If we can make love while sparring, you can fight using sex. Or anything else, I suppose..." Copernicus grinned at her. "Can you dance?" Makoto blushed with a slight nod of her head, then slumped slightly. "Usagi's not going to see it that way..." Pulling her close, Copernicus said, "I should give you all some space to talk about it, I suppose. Help them through this, please?" She nodded. "But later..." "Later I promise you'll have me all to yourself. For whatever you want to do..." They kissed for a few moments, then finally Makoto sighed and eased away from him. "Later, then." She smiled and led him back to the others. Copernicus exchanged nods with Igraine as Makoto sat down beside Usagi, then headed over to the door. "I'd better get that plasma shield retuned now we have the time, so--" Ami leapt up. "If you don't mind, I'd like to come." She stepped quickly over to stand by Copernicus, still slightly flushed but otherwise apparently cool, and glancing at Makoto to include her in the question. "I might be able to help." Getting a slight nod of confused assent from Makoto, Copernicus ushered her out the door. Makoto looked past Usagi to the other blonde. "Mina?" "Something we talked about earlier; I'll explain later. Right now, I think Usagi needs us." She gestured at the princess, who was still staring, mouth open, at the space where the screen had been. **** Copernicus led Ami to an unimpressive door tucked under the main palace stairs, and down the narrow flight behind it. She gasped in wonder as they reached the room below. Two benches along the walls on either side of them supported a collection of fantastic glass sculptures. Convoluted tubes connected bulbs, fans, funnels and other, more bizarre shapes into elegant mazes filled with pulsing multicoloured fluids. A final table at the far end of the room held a single structure, much larger and more complicated than the others. Once the initial visual impact had faded, Ami made a more critical assessment of the constructs. ~I can't let him see me as a gawking child...~ There were only ten or so different glass shapes, and they formed sets of substructures common to most of the objects. "These represent the components of the various magical effects you use?" ~But not as a walking brain either!~ "Exactly. This is a sort of symbology Igraine developed for expressing how the various parts -- the glass -- interconnect; the fluid shows the energy flows. You could get it to present you with something more familiar, but I'll need it to look like this to fix the shield." He walked over to the third in a series of very similar structures just to their left, and stroked an octahedral bulge in a loop of pipe at the front. The fluid quickly filled most the structure, the bands of colour circulating rhythmically. "Plasma shield up." Ami moved in for a closer look. "Can you see what's wrong?" ~Hah! Challenge accepted.~ She examined the swirling fluid for a moment, then pointed. "There. There's some turbulence building up in that section. I don't know what it means in terms of your spells, but if it were a normal fluid, it could increase catastrophically at any time and you'd get cavitation all through this substructure here. Something's wrong with the relative flow rates at the junction immediately before that part." She looked up at Copernicus expectantly. ~This is *my* home turf. Eat juku chick power!~ He scanned the control a moment longer, then nodded slightly. "And this," he gently stroked a spherical node upstream of the junction she had indicated, "should fix it..." They watched as the slight turbulence faded to nothing. ~Some congratulations would be nice! Unless he *expected* me to be able to... is that a good thing?~ Copernicus straightened up, stroking the octahedron to turn the shield off again. "Okay, you can try for a more familiar look if you like." Ami settled on a look similar to the control panels from _Star Trek: TNG_, using a flattened, more rectilinear view of the pipes and more intuitive shapes for some of the nodes. And labels on the controls, an improvement over the previous design, if less aesthetically pleasing. ~Not bad. Usable without being too geeky...~ The panels also had titles: the large device sitting on its own proved to be the Dimensional Gate Generator. Ami was irresistibly drawn over to it. "Wow... look at *this*!" ~No! Too geeky! Too geeky! Be attractive too!~ Copernicus sauntered over beside her. "Hmm?" "Does your interface even let you *see* this?" She pointed to a large pop-up display that had appeared. "Ah... Destination Co-ordinates? Not as such, no..." ~Score!~ "You just use the pre-set locations, don't you?-- over here? Like bookmarks. And the *time* you arrive is controlled automatically." "Yes, to some extent, although we can choose anywhere close to that point we know well." "Yes, obviously. There's also some auto-correction to land you somewhere sensible, like against a wall." ~Nonono! Don't sound superior! Still, this is important...~ "But this control here lets you specify where *and*when* you arrive, numerically! See? You should be able to use it to travel in time, too!" ~Ack! When did that happen?~ Ami realised that at some point during her impassioned explanation she had slid herself between Copernicus and the panel while gesturing at controls. ~Ah... do I take advantage of it?~ "Really?" ~He sounds genuinely impressed...~ Ami pressed herself back against Copernicus. ~Too slutty?~ She stiffened slightly. "So, I don't know how you'll take advantage--" ~Wrong word!~ "--ah, of it, but..." Copernicus chucked and slid his arms around her waist. "Ami, relax, please?" She slumped slightly. ~Idiot! *Idiot*!~ "I'm sorry..." "Just stop trying so hard. You're amazingly attractive when you're talking about something that interests you like that." She half-turned in his arms to look up at him. "Really?" ~But... I'm so geeky...~ "It's when you're most yourself, isn't it?" She nodded, not exactly happy about the fact. "Well then. Given that you are attractive, being more like yourself makes you more attractive, yes?" ~Valid logic, assuming the premise. Am I attractive? Why would he lie? Not to get me into bed, I'm all but throwing myself at him...~ "Ah... yes?" "So stop working on being seductive and just be yourself. It'll work better." "Ah..." ~I suppose... but still...~ "Look, how about a specific example. I take it you don't mind if I kiss you?" "Ah..." ~Control, girl, control!~ "Please?" Everything about it was perfect. Cradled gently in strong arms, her head turned up to meet him, pressing *just* hard enough against her lips as his tongue gently teased hers... the tingle in her breasts as her nipples came erect ignited a fire that ran straight between her legs and burned as she began to flood... Copernicus pulled away from her. "Good?" Ami gasped for breath, her heart pounding. "Oh, yes..." ~But, even so...~ "Now I'll stop concentrating on doing it right." He bent over her again. This time the perfection was blurred, but the loss of precision was buried under the sense that he was immersed in *her*, not the act. The fire still raced to her centre, but now it was less sharp and far warmer. Her arms came up unconsciously, pulling him close as she lost herself in him... Finally they eased apart. Copernicus smiled. "Better?" "Much." She pulled his head back down again. **** "Usagi?" No response. Makoto glanced over at Rei. She was sitting in Igraine's lap, their arms around each other, whispering softly in each other's ears. Igraine caught her look and alerted Rei. She turned, then started in concern at Usagi's frozen state. Minako gently laid her hand on Usagi's shoulder. "Usagi?" Still no response. Rei slid to her feet and walked over to the princess. Crouching so she was looking directly into her eyes from two feet away, she said loudly, "Hey! Dumpling head!" Usagi snapped to with a start. "What? Hey!" Minako put a concerned arm around her. "Are you all right? I didn't know *what* to think at first, but the way Ami explained it to me made sense. She said--" Usagi waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, it's not that. I read the manga, remember; I guessed what was going to happen as soon as I saw Shade's outfit. It's just... the manga really doesn't get across the *scale* of the whole thing... wow..." Her eyes glazed over again. Rei fell backwards in shock. Minako swatted Usagi on the back of the head with a cry of "You *PERVERT*!" "Ouch! Hey, who said 'there's enough of him to keep all five of us occupied' a few hours ago?" "Well, it looks like Usagi's okay," said Makoto. "Rei?" "The whole Ksano thing? It was a bit big to take at first, but I get it now." "You sure? It looked like you were needing reassurance...?" Rei blushed slightly. "No... we were just talking. There were some aspects of Igraine's part in that... battle, that I'm rather interested in. Mental powers, you know." "Oh," said Makoto. "So. I'm fine, Rei's fine, Usagi's a pervert--" she paused to duck a swat, "--but fine... Mina? You okay? And Ami?" "We're okay." "So since everyone's fine, want to spill the beans on what Ami's up to?" "We..." Minako's expression softened and she dropped her head, suddenly shy. She continued in a soft, happy tone, "We're falling in love. I mean, really in love. And before we made a commitment--" Suddenly Usagi interrupted her, using her kindest Serenity tone. "Minako, I-- I'm happy for you both. Really. But you could end up regretting a decision like this... most people won't--" Minako's head came up, tears starting in her eyes. "I'm cursed, remember? This could be my only way out of that! Someone who already understands and shares my duty, so we can fit our love around it!" She broke off and wiped her tears away quickly. "I really don't care about what 'most people' will or won't think about it. And if this whole Crystal Tokyo thing pans out, you can at least make it *legitimate*." Usagi smiled, seeing there was no way Minako would ever back down from this. "I'll perform the marriage myself, if it comes to that." "No horning in on the High Priestess' job," said Rei. "You can be matron of honour." "Bridesmaid, please!" Rei laughed. "You're going to let Mina and Ami beat you and Mamo-chan to the altar?" "No way!" Laughing, Makoto said, "Anyway Mina, how does you and Ami falling in love tie in to her running after Copernicus to help him... ah... adjust his equipment?" "Ah, well... you know what she's like, she thought we should both see what it was like with a man first, just in case we were missing something important..." She glanced at Igraine, grinning. "'Might as well try the best' was how she put it. I wanted to see if Usagi was okay, so... I was hoping, once they come back..." Makoto raised an eyebrow. "You wanted a shot next?" Minako nodded, only slightly embarrassed. "Well, I'm not totally averse to the concept... but I'm not sure about the 'next' part. I was hoping for some attention myself..." She paused in thought, then gave Minako a grin. "Tell you what. I'll fight you for dibs." She balled her fists and stood, looming menacingly over her. "WAAAAAaaaaa!" Minako's dopplered scream of mock panic faded as Makoto ran laughing after her. Usagi laughed as they ran out, then glanced coquettishly at Rei and Igraine. "I seem to remember you two were interrupted in a rather important duty, last time we were here..." She lay back languidly across her couch. **** Ami sighed, her eyes momentarily rolling back as Copernicus slid inside her. Foreplay had been pretty much skipped; a couple more minutes kissing with him gently tracing the curve of her right breast through her gown was, by then, as much preliminary work as she was prepared to put up with. Subconsciously, she had led him in an attempt to duplicate the best time she'd had with Minako: she was currently lying on a soft patch of floor with her ankles crossed behind his neck, bracing her hips off the floor to press against him. She forced her eyes back down in contact with Copernicus', opening her soul to him. Copernicus seemed to be following the same plan, following each strong, slow thrust with a rolling corkscrew motion that sent waves of pleasure out from her clitoris to collect in the slow warm pressure that was building up in her centre. As the heat rose and her vision began to blur, she felt herself pulled up into Copernicus' lap and cradled, her legs falling around his waist. She instinctively held him and raised her head, blindly seeking his lips as her eyes rolled back and closed. They rocked together, the pressure growing until the warmth had flooded her entire body. It finally broke in a long, steady gush that gently washed away her awareness, until she was completely lost in the flow of ecstasy and everything went black. Her first sensations on coming to were warmth and security. When her head cleared, she found herself on Copernicus' lap, nestled in his arms with her head tucked under his chin. She sighed deeply, and snuggled herself in closer. At the back of her mind was a thought. That had been amazing; in many ways better than anything she'd felt before. But there was something missing, and it had nothing to do with gender or ability... just with the way she felt for Minako. **** After a couple of failed attempts, Makoto managed to herd Minako into the training room. She slowed to a walk as she entered, and closed the door behind her. "I have you now," she intoned as deeply as possible. Minako panted for a few moments, hand raised to ask for a rest. Eventually she said, "Serious for a moment. You really don't mind?" Makoto shrugged. "He's not *mine*; he never will be. But we want to have a good time together, and if you want me to wait for that, you'll have to earn it. So put 'em up, blondie." "Still serious. I want to be the best fighter I can. Ami's our eyes and brain; I have to be able to protect her while she does her thing if I'm going to call myself her partner. So I'm going to need someone to train with." "Ami should train too, you know. All right, every other day after school. If you're serious." "Completely." "All right then. Don't hold back; we can't get hurt in here. Let's see how good you could be." Minako grinned. "Okay. Ready, brunettie?" Makoto grinned back, her gown morphing into her fuku. "Ready." Minako looked down at her gown, shook her head, and changed to her own fuku. They stared at each other for a moment, then moved simultaneously. "/Venus Love Me Chain/!" "/Supreme Thunder/!" ZAP. Jupiter looked at the crispy Venus, then down at the chain effectively spot-welded around herself. "Okay. New rule. No special attacks." **** Usagi flopped back as she changed her couch into a wide bed. Rei grinned and started towards her, then stopped when Igraine took her gently by the arm. "I want to try something..." Rei relaxed, melding her body against Igraine's as she took her in her arms and kissed her deeply. =Join with me...= Rei could sense Igraine's spirit holding itself open to her. She relaxed completely, allowing them to flow together... There was no loss of self, just an inconceivably complete depth of communication. Everything one sensed was intimately the other's own experience; every thought and idea brought to consensus with no lapse for explanation or discussion. They moved as one towards Usagi, Rei thrilling at the feeling of sharing two bodies, and sat on either side of her, gentle hands lightly caressing her breasts as mouths began to whisper against her lips and neck. They left Igraine's head at Usagi's, sending Rei's down to tease lightly around her breasts. One hand from each fluttered downwards, performing a complex, synchronised dance across her belly and inner thighs. Usagi moaned and writhed, trying to bring them into more intimate contact, and they let her struggle, fingers and mouths always dancing just out of reach. They moved Rei's head further down, bringing the hands back up to Usagi's breasts. Then two tongues circled lightly in unison around two sets of lips, fingers tracing identical orbits around each breast. Again, slightly harder. Usagi gasped, shivering. Then tongues met tongue and bud, and fingers met nipples in simultaneous gentle strokes, and she cried out as the pulses from each met in her heart. Repeating, the pauses between each stroke shortening until Usagi was wailing continuously. Then a shriek, muffled by Igraine's deep kiss, as Rei's lips and tongue finally gave her full contact, sucking eagerly at the folds of her flesh, and their hands began massaging her breasts, all still moving in perfect synchronisation. Usagi wrapped her arms around Igraine's neck, still moaning into her kiss, and clamped her legs around Rei's shoulders. She sucked in a giant breath and held it, her back arched, and she began quivering, soundlessly. **** "Oh, go on. Please?" "All right..." "Hmmm..." Ami worked her hand around the base of Copernicus' lower left arm, gently probing the joint with her fingertips. "Ball-and-socket joint at the top of your pelvis... Muscles run over the normal complement, but it's a very dense, thin layer." She slid her fingers down the length of the arm to his hand. "Much lighter bones, finer skin... practically feminine, in fact; no wonder you're popular..." She glanced up at his broad shoulders. "Nowhere near as strong as the upper pair, but your enhancement spell boosts them both to the same level..." She stood up again. Copernicus raised an eyebrow. "Are you done?" "Well, for the complete picture I'd need to trace nerve connections and do brain scans to figure out how you can control them as well as you do..." "I knew that control would be a problem when I attached them. I used a wish spell; that covered it." She smiled. "Yes, well I suppose it would. You really do toss magic around like it's nothing special, don't you?" Copernicus dismissed his lower arms again. "Well, most places we go it's pretty common, even if we're more powerful than most. You use electricity the same way, remember." "True... I suppose if all you've ever known is lanterns and those continual light pebbles of yours, being able to turn light on and off with a switch must be pretty amazing." "It takes some getting used to." "Culture shock-- thinking of which, I wonder how the others are getting on?" **** Venus launched herself into another furious attack sequence, forcing Jupiter to retreat slightly. It was *so* hard to get past her defences safely; her slight advantage in speed only just made up for Jupiter's longer reach. She caught the beginnings of an opening, feinted a kick, and launched a knife-strike to Jupiter's throat. Jupiter half-turned out of danger, swinging her leg up to catch Venus' as it withdrew from the feint, forcing her to cartwheel back. Jupiter pressed the advantage with a low spinning kick, which Venus managed to vault over, landing inside Jupiter's reach. She let loose with a series of fast, short jabs, forcing Jupiter to fall back. She pushed forward, trying to keep inside Jupiter's range, throwing punches just faster than she could block. She almost had Jupiter backed into a corner when the fatigue started to hit her; she gathered her remaining strength and poured it into the fastest possible attack sequence she could manage, holding her ground in the hope of finishing things with a surprise kick. Jupiter, sensing the walls behind her, leapt back and bounced off the corner into a flying kick at head height. Venus tried to block, but the strength had finally drained from her arms and she went down, numb all over. Jupiter landed lightly beside her, and took her hand, returning sensation to her body. Clapping sounded from behind them as Jupiter helped Venus to her feet. They turned to see Copernicus standing in the doorway, genuinely applauding their fight. Ami was beside him, staring at them in astonishment. "You could be *that* good?" Venus and Jupiter relaxed into their normal personae, gowns replacing fukus again. Minako raised an eyebrow. "I know that was far better than either of us have ever fought before, but... how good?" "A lot faster than Jackie Chan good." "Wow." "You're going to have to train a *lot* if you want to live up to that potential," said Copernicus. Makoto grinned. "How could I not?" "Yeah," murmured Minako, smiling fondly at Ami. She turned to Makoto. "Well, you won. Ami and I'll go find something to do for a bit." "Actually," said Makoto, "you go ahead. I'll wait." "If you're sure?" "Sure." Minako gave her a thoughtful glance, then went towards the pair at the door. She gestured Ami to one side, whispering "Well?" "It was wonderful..." sighed Ami. "Almost as wonderful as being with you, darling... I think I can swing both ways, but the one I want to be with is you." Minako smiled. "My mind's already made up. I think I might skip this..." Ami shook her head. "Don't on my account. It's too good to miss; you go and enjoy yourself. It's just a dream, right?" Minako's smile turned pensive, then transformed into a full-blown smirk. "All right. See you in a bit!" She bounced over to Copernicus, latched onto his arm with a loud "My turn!" and pulled him away. **** Usagi flopped flat, panting heavily, her face blotched pink. Rei and Igraine moved both bodies to lie on either side of her, snuggling in close. They lay together while Usagi's breathing evened out, and her face regained its normal colour. Finally she mumbled, "That was *incredible*..." and sighed. Silence for a moment, then a light snore. Both bodies laughed, sliding away from Usagi and sitting up. They gazed at each other hungrily for a moment, then flew together into a frenzied kiss. **** Minako dragged Copernicus to the conservatory, and pulled him down to sit on the bed beside her. She took up his hands in hers, hesitated, then said, "So, what normally happens now?" "Let's see. There's two ways we can look at this." Minako gave him a go- ahead look. "A collection of beautiful girls bump into the Great Copernicus and Igraine, one of them finds out that the stories aren't the half of it, and they all want in on the act." She raised her eyebrow at this, but didn't interrupt. "Usually they giggle a lot and we have to do all the work, but if the lady is more sophisticated, we usually indulge in some general foreplay before negotiating more specific details." "Right. And the other option?" "We get involved with some fellow fighters, there's friendship and mutual attraction, so why not bond as closely as we can?" "Like, life's too short?" "Definitely not for me, and not really for you either, but *opportunities* can be few and far between." "I suppose it's how a soldier thinks. Mako thinks we should train more; I'm starting to think she's more right than she knows. We should start *thinking* more like warriors." She shook herself. "Anyway, what happens in that case?" "Pretty much like the other one, but it's more about bonding than carving notches." "So... how do you see this situation?" "Well, aside from the fact that none of the first kind would be allowed in here even if they could manage it... a bit of both? You're not giggling, at least." "Yes... there's something I've been meaning to ask..." "Go ahead." "We've all been acting very... odd... since we met you. No, odd's wrong... I mean... we've been a lot more cool-headed sometimes, a lot more open at others... and much... well, freer. Not *different*, but *better*. And it's happening outside, too, so it's not just the Dream..." Copernicus grinned sheepishly. "It's Igraine's famous Just Bloody Grow Up field." "Her what?" "She doesn't call it that, of course, but for some reason, spending time around her has that sort of effect. It doesn't stop you from having fun or anything, just detaches you from the fog of fears, prejudices, inhibitions and superstitions that normally cloud your thoughts." "Why 'for some reason'? Doesn't she control it?" "No... it's been there all her life. Most likely a divine gift. It's the main reason she joined the mission we met on, actually; by the time we'd reached the dangerous bits of Hell, we were so grown up that no amount of demonic taunting could throw us off." "Handy." "Very. You girls are picking it up more because the Dream reinforces it. You'll be able to hang on to most of it, if you work at it." "I think I will. There's more trouble coming, I'm sure of it." She frowned, then shook herself. "So, as two warriors who've shared a battle..." Copernicus raised her hands and kissed them gently. "Or as a damsel in distress and her handsome knight, if you prefer..." "Idol and fan?" She laughed at his mock-resigned expression, and went on, "I *do* want to make the most of the situation, you know..." She leaned forward and kissed him. "So you can start by getting the extra arms out..." She stood and posed. "...and I'll indulge in a little fantasy of mine." She closed her eyes and concentrated. Her gown flowed, morphing into an elaborate fuku. Light flashed as snow-white wings unfolded from her back. Wearing something remarkably like the Eternal form she would eventually gain, Sailor Venus took her knight into her arms. **** "/Supreme Thunder/!" Mercury rolled under the strike, coming out into a dive that brought her behind the next piece of cover. Only one more dash, the riskiest, and she'd have made the objective. Better try something different. "/Shabon Spray/." The open ground between her and her target filled with sparkling mist. She scuffed the ground a couple of times with her feet. "/Sparkling Wide Pressure/!" The mist lit up as the bolt passed through. Mercury ran, pounding across the gap as fast as she could manage. "/Supreme Thunder/!" She leapt. The bolt smacked into the ground behind her; it would have missed anyway -- but not if she'd gone low again. Into a roll on landing, and she was safe. "Made it!" The mist cleared as Jupiter walked over to her. "Not bad at all. So, do you feel any better about training with us now?" "Yes... and given how long it's going to take you to reach your potential, I should be able to keep up with you for a while." "Maybe. I might do some training on my own too. But we've got to get Rei and Usagi in on this as well. We'll never survive if we don't develop our team skills." "True. Would you like to see how we fight as a pair?" "Well... I don't think we should disturb any of the others right now..." "Ah. Remember why I'm in the team? Observation, correlation, extrapolation." She grinned, cleared her throat, and addressed the air: "Simulator, three random low-level youma, please." Jupiter jumped as a snarling face materialised half a metre in front of her. **** Rei and Igraine were controlling their own bodies again, but were still merged on every other level. The part that was Rei thrilled at being able to feel what Igraine felt when she touched her; the feedback combined with their synchronisation to produce something so far beyond normal love-making as to be literally indescribably. **** Eternal Sailor Venus wrapped her arms and legs tighter against her knight, mashing her breasts against his chest as she slid up and down his shaft. His upper hands were tangled in her hair, stroking her head, while the lower ones massaged her buttocks and played with her little rose. She wasn't sure if she wanted anything actually *in* there, but the novel sensations of having her sphincter stroked and pulled were definitely worth repeating. Venus pulled her mouth from Copernicus' and whispered in his ear, "It's just a dream. I want to feel you all the way inside me. Fill me up..." She gasped as his penis started to swell, stretching her wider than she could ever manage in reality, pushing further and further inside her abdomen, stopping with the tip just shy of brushing her diaphragm. Her senses reeled from the incredible feeling of embracing him with her entire body. Her wings stretched out and back, quivering. She locked him in a kiss again and concentrated on the sense of fullness, willing her flesh to massage his shaft as she began rocking her hips back and forth... **** The youma didn't stand a chance, not even fifteen at once. Four simulated Dark Generals fared slightly better, but eventually fell to their opponents' superior speed and perception. Then Mercury asked for 'something challenging'. So they were currently fighting for their virtual lives against a horde of eight-inch-tall goblin things backed up by a giant floating fanged eyeball, with two subsidiary eyes on stalks, one that fired a searing heat ray, the other a beam that turned their Senshi abilities off for several seconds. Jupiter finally managed to implement Mercury's plan of getting *underneath* the beholderkin and electrocuting it repeatedly from safety, ignoring the germalanes that got past Mercury and leapt on her as she lay there, tearing at her skin with their tiny claws. Mercury's abilities came back on line seconds later, and a rippling wave of freezing fog turned Jupiter's attackers and their friends into little statues. A final double-footed kick to the eyeball sent it flying, to rupture against the wall. Mercury, who was getting the hang of how their perceptions of time worked in the Dream, turned and bowed to the door where, as she expected, Copernicus and Minako stood, grinning broadly. Jupiter turned and grinned back at them. Mercury eyed the pair at the door. "Well?" "Not bad," said Minako, winking. "Well fought," said Copernicus, answering the other interpretation of her question. "So are you going to train up?" Minako asked Mercury. She relaxed back into Ami. "I should, I suppose." She walked slowly over to Minako. "Soooo... Miinaa..." Minako raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" Ami linked her arm through Minako's. "Fancy doing it out under the trees?" Minako laughed and let herself be led off. "So," said Jupiter, producing a pair of sai and facing Copernicus. "So, indeed," said Copernicus, producing his swords. "Daggers too, if you want." "All right." His lower arms materialised. "Ready?" Jupiter bowed. Copernicus made his complicated salute, then slid straight into a fluid attack sequence. Jupiter came forward to meet him, trying to synchronise her own movements with the pattern of the attack. She took a couple of light hits before catching the rhythm, her flashing sai gently diverting each strike, constantly moving around him with an occasional acrobatic tumble over a low strike, essaying an occasional riposte when the flow dictated it. She reached out with all her senses, focussing on Copernicus' every aspect to read his moves as closely as possible. A strange feeling of *unity* flooded her as she felt his own immersion in her. Time seemed to slow, and her movements took on the final touch of grace that had eluded her before. Sensing the change in flow, Jupiter slid into her own attack sequence, not seeking an opening as such, more performing a free-form kata in sequence with Copernicus. The strangest sensation crept over her, in some ways similar to sexual arousal but otherwise completely different. Whatever it was, she wanted *more*; she abandoned herself completely to the flow of their combat, pushing her speed and senses to their limits. The odd feeling grew stronger and stronger, until she felt Copernicus' arousal begin to peak, and she sensed his switch from defence to attack approach-- [--parry flop divert swing kick jack-knife cartwheel kick spring flop parry sweep crouch leap parry parry *THERE*--] --and something akin to an intense orgasm swept through Jupiter as she landed, legs clamped about Copernicus' waist, arms around his neck. Still completely open to him, she felt his own release, his arms tightening convulsively around her, and she clung to him, gasping. Then her hunger returned, and she sought his lips, dismissing her fuku and weapons. Her legs slid past his hips as his lower arms vanished along with his clothing and swords. She slipped to the floor, pulling him down on top of her. And it continued as before, each responding perfectly to the other's moves, fast and somewhat furious, but also strangely calm. When her orgasm came, the elation and sense of personal power was overwhelming. ~One day,~ she promised herself afterwards, as she lay in a comfortable haze, ~we'll do that awake. I *will* be good enough...~ **** "So," said Rei, idly running her fingers through Igraine's hair, "you were going to teach me a little of your mental skills." Igraine snuggled closer against Rei's chest. "No, there isn't enough time. What I was going to do was give you the knowledge to train yourself. Ready?" "What, right now?" "If you want it. We don't even have to move..." She snuggled in again. "Okay..." Rei's dream form shimmered as Igraine poured the information directly into her brain. "That felt... odd. But I don't think I know anything new..." Usagi snored loudly, then shifted beside them, sighing gently. "It'll start to come as you think about it. All the exercises, all the methods I know... and all the problems and pitfalls I'm aware of." Rei shivered at Igraine's suddenly serious tone. "Such as?" "Well... there's one major point I want you to consider very carefully. What I've given you could turn you into the worst tyrant your world has ever seen, all through the desire to do good." She raised her head enough to catch Rei's eye. "I can't stress this enough, beloved. Mental and emotional control must be used *sparingly*. Specific people in specific situations is one thing, a blanket over everyone is something else." "But surely... if we just, say, make people more considerate of each... other... oh." As she formed the thought, associated images began to flash in Rei's mind. Countries whose inhabitants were too blissed out to notice a neighbour in trouble. Whole populations going through each day with an artificial smile in place, constantly terrified that one random thought could be their end. People wandering through day after day of perfect, pointless, stagnant existence. Cities devastated by storms of pent-up evil -- one of them even *looked* like Crystal Tokyo. She slumped, cast into depression. "You see?" "Does it never work?" said Rei, discouraged. Igraine shook her head sadly. "I haven't seen it. The best you can ever hope for is total stagnation." "Then... what's the point?" Igraine raised an eyebrow. "I mean, what's the point in us trying to make a better world, if we never can?" Igraine sat up and gazed earnestly into Rei's eyes. "Don't *ever* think that! You have it in you to make your world a *much* better place. Just don't try to force perfection on everyone." "Then how?" "Fix what you can on an individual basis, and be a good example for everyone. Encourage them to discover the way for themselves." "But people will still be unhappy, or hurt, or..." "You can minimise it, but you can never do away with it entirely. A friend once put it, 'for good to grow, evil must have a chance to flourish'. Crops and weeds both need soil to grow. The only way to deny the weeds a chance is to make the soil barren...?" "...but then you have no crops. So, I suppose, you get down and weed..." "Exactly. You have to get your hands dirty. When you're dealing with a population, there's never a quick, clean solution to *anything*." "So we'll end up glorified farmers..." "Not really... that's the job for your local militia, or whatever you have here. Aside from the role model aspect, you girls are more for keeping the fields safe from animals." "Like hunters?" "Or scarecrows." Igraine grinned, then shrieked girlishly as Rei retaliated with a tickle attack. Usagi lay quietly, pondering what she'd heard since waking. **** Minako knew that trees shouldn't be nice and soft to lie against, but she didn't care. She was pleasantly tired, she had a new resolve to carry into the future, and her Ami was curled up against her chest. Things didn't get much better than this. Ami stirred and raised her head, gazing adoringly up at her. "Miiinaaa..." "Yes love?" "Do you think we could get up onto the roof?" **** "I could be faster than you." Makoto felt Copernicus' nod against her hair. "By a fair margin." "And Mina's faster than me..." "If she works at it, she'll be blinding." "But speed isn't everything..." "No. You beat her on reach and strength." "And you me. Plus the extras..." "Plus, as you say, the extras." She slid around in Copernicus' arms, easing slightly away so she could look him in the eye. "Ami said your gate could travel through time?" "Well... she said the control system allowed for it. I wouldn't place any trust in it working properly without testing it first -- she said pretty much the same. Why, is there something you want to change in the past?" Makoto smothered the brief pain that surfaced. "No..." "Good; I've never seen that work out well for anyone. So what did you have in mind?" "I want to go with you. If the time-travel thing works, you could bring me back later this afternoon, so I won't miss anything here." "Well, that's assuming it'll work... anyway, why? I promise we'll be back." "You're going to fight a war against evil. I want to help." Copernicus hugged her gently. "Mako... beloved... no. This war won't just be fighting evil dragons. A lot of it will involve killing large numbers of Usagi's 'just *people*'. You shouldn't have to face that." He went on quickly as she bridled slightly, "I know you could handle it. But you shouldn't have to till you need to, and you don't need to get involved in this." "Neither do you." "Oh, we're already involved. Do you remember, in Ksano's castle, the colours were red, green and black?" She nodded. "No white, no blue. They wouldn't give up until we'd wiped them from that world. Red, green and black just broke the treaty, and I hate to leave a job half-done." He shrugged. "Anyway, we promised Eldanor. So you stay here and deal with your grand destiny, I'll deal with my war, and we'll meet up afterwards in the pub. Okay?" Makoto smiled tentatively. Copernicus grinned, and added, "Anyway, this could take a few years. How would the others feel if you suddenly had all that extra experience and maturity?" Makoto laughed. "I suppose... but you'd better come back safe." "We always do, even if it takes a while." "Not too long, I hope..." "We'll do our best." Copernicus sighed. "Well, much as I'd like to stay here longer, we have to get back to Mittgorod. Isana won't wait long before counterattacking, and we've got three families of brasses to sweet-talk into getting involved." She sighed. "I suppose..." She slid out of his arms and got to her feet, dressing herself. Copernicus followed suit. "Before we do, though, I have something for you..." He went over to the wall, and touched a panel. It slid back, revealing a small collection of weapons. He took out a long two-handed sword in a white leather scabbard, closed the panel, and turned back to her. "This is a rather special weapon, a Githyanki supreme leader's silver sword. It doesn't really exist in the waking world, but it has powerful magic in dreams or the astral realms. It will be with you in your dreams if you need it." He presented it to her; she lifted it tentatively and slid the first few inches of blade out. Flawless, razor-sharp silver gleamed at her. "For one, it can cut the silver cord that ties an astral traveller to his body. You should be careful with it." She drew the blade completely, and made a few practice swings. It was light, almost weightless, moving as easily as a thin cane. She sheathed the sword again, and skipped over to Copernicus, pulling him into a hug. "Thank you. It's beautiful..." "Well, you're not the dream-walker that Rei might become, but just in case you run into trouble... At the least, there won't be a nightmare you can't fight off." She tightened her hug. "Thank you..." **** "Time to go, I suppose..." said Usagi sadly. Makoto fought down the urge to cling to Copernicus. "Yeah, we'd better move before it gets too mushy." "See you outside, girls." Copernicus vanished from the dream. Igraine held Rei back as the others followed him. "I have something for you," she said, producing an ornate key. "I understand your destiny; that the safety of this world is in the hands of you and your friends. But if you are ever threatened by some force from outside... one that is *not* part of your destiny, you can count on our help. Do you understand what I mean? Something from *beyond*..." Rei swallowed and nodded. Igraine handed her the key. It was heavier than it looked, and felt almost alive under her touch. "You will be able to summon this key into your dreams. It will lead you to a door... I have no idea what finding the door will entail, or what it will look like, but you will recognise it when you see it." Rei nodded. "I'm familiar with the concept of astral paths..." "Good. The door will yield to the key. On the other side... again, I don't know exactly what you'll find, but eventually the key should lead you to a... a gathering place, rather like a large bar. From there you'll be able to get a message to me." Rei hugged her. "Thank you... beloved." "There's one more important point. This gathering place has many doors leading from it. You *must* leave by the door you entered through, unless you want to risk becoming lost." "I understand." "Good. You'd better join the others, beloved..." Rei pulled her into a passionate kiss. "To tide you over until I see you again..." she said, and faded from view. ******************** They woke to the sound of scratching coming from the apartment door. Makoto ran to open it as Copernicus hiked up his backpack and prepared to leave. Twin blurs of fur, one black, the other white, sped between her legs. Artemis leapt into Minako's waiting arms as Luna skidded to a halt in front of Usagi. "Oh, Minako, I was so worried--" Artemis' litany of relief was quickly overridden by Luna's strident voice. "Just what do you lot think you were doing, disappearing like that? What if we'd been attacked while you were away? Mamoru's been-- And who is *this*?" she said, interrupting herself as she noticed Copernicus looking at her curiously. "Our friends," said Usagi, firmly. "We're just leaving," said Copernicus. =See you soon, my dears...= Luna chided the girls loudly over their lack of caution as they each hugged and kissed Copernicus in turn. Then Igraine triggered the gate, and with a final wave they darted through. "And wait till Pluto hea--" Luna was cut off by the flash of the gate closing, then the sound of running feet approaching distracted her from continuing. The apartment door burst open. "Usako!" "Mamo-chan!" **************************************** [Nuin+ Filament Bloom Cornice: Ninefold Repeating Array: TL 49-46-98] [Mittgorod: Teppi: Ansall Vale] [ANA 861/10/26] ~We *have* to go back soon, now. You heard what that cat said!~ "Unless it's a different Pluto, of course..." ~I don't think so, darling. I have a feeling it's our one.~ "Are you sure?" ~Well, no. But it's a very strong feeling... it'll be wonderful -- but she'll be *really* annoyed that we haven't been to see her for so long...~ "Darling, we had incontrovertible evidence that she was irrevocably destroyed!" ~She'll look on it as a failure of confidence in her ability.~ "Probably. I think we can patch it up with her, with sufficient grovelling." ~Especially if it turns out she can channel into the Dream like the others...~ "She couldn't before... maybe they all learned how to do it later. The others must have forgotten they could when they were resurrected." He chuckled. "And it took a demigoddess in brat's clothing like Princess Bunny to discover it... by *accident*, yet..." ~>smile< I did say they were special...~ They flew in silence for a while. "We should gate over to Elindor once we've finished with this lot..." ~Yes, they were beginning to be rather pressed... >sigh<~ "And then we'll go back and find Pluto." ~>much snuggle<~ The setting sun gilded the mountaintops as they flew off... Fade to black. ************************************************************************ Brought to you by maranelda.org