“Why have you come to our planet? Who is the masked man?”

Tale and Hikari stepped back, looking at each other in surprise. They had been found out, but how? Who were these senshi? Tale clenched her fist, knowing she had to take back control. She was the leader of the Interdimensional Police Investigators. She had to take back control, and now was the time to start.

“I assume you mean the Collector,” Tale said. “A man in a mask wearing a coat with a matching hat?” The two senshi looked at each other, confirming Tale's suspicion.

“But how do you know?” Hikari said. “About the Collector, and of us?”

“You associated yourselves with the young woman arrested in the streets,” the white-haired senshi said. “Also, you are clearly unlearned in our ways.”

“This masked man has allied himself with the masculine resistance,” the other senshi said. “He is a threat.”

“More than you realize,” Tale said. “He isn't here for a revolution. He is on a mission to collect the treasures of senshi in the different dimensions of our universe. He has come here for the treasures of this planet's senshi.”

“There is only one item of significance associated with we senshi,” the black-haired one said. “Sailor Zhuancha's Eiso Beads.”

“In that case,” Tale said, “This Sailor Zhuancha is in danger.”

--

“Shrmn... Jurrrr...”

Foggy. That's all Kimi heard. Foggy voices. Was she dead? She couldn't tell. There was no bright light, but then again, perhaps she would be blind in death, too.

Wait, she could feel her toes. They were strangely warm. She could feel her legs now. They were warm too, in a tingling sort of way. If felt good. It was better than the water.

Wait, the water... She had fallen into water. Perhaps she really had died.

Or, perhaps she was saved.

Her belly was warm now, as was her chest. She could feel her arms, and her hands. She moved a little, and when she was sure of her strength she slowly pushed herself up. It was hard. She felt heavy, and she discovered why. Something heavy and warm rolled off of her chest and arms, and suddenly she felt chilled. As she tried to keep herself steady, she could hear scrapping, like that of something heavy on stone. There was faint clicking and soft steps.

“Are you all right?” a voice asked. It sounded elegant, yet it was hard, like a warrior speaking through a lady's voice.

“Where... am I?” Ixtab asked.

'You are safe.' Ixtab lifted her head as Mei's voice settled comfortably in her mind. 'We are with senshi.'

--

“This place is forbidden, you may not be here,” the soft, ghostly voice said. “Who are you and why have you come to this sacred place?” Nebula glanced over at Daichi, who stared indifferently at the shadowed figure.

“We're-”

“Wait.” Nebula stopped as soft shuffling was heard. The figure stepped into the light. It was a young woman, with violet hair and dark eyes. Just barely visible in the candlelight was a golden circle upon her forehead. Her face was still and hard, yet it glowed with a soft light. She smiled, instantly turning the hardness to pleasantness. “I apologize. I welcome you back, Sailor Nebula and Master Kurzai.”

The woman had no sooner finished speaking when Daichi swooned and fainted. Nebula caught her, though sacrificing the candle and light. “He is ill?” the woman's voice spoke, seeming to be closer.

“Yes, I mean no, no,” Nebula said quickly. “She, SHE, is ill.

“No matter,” the woman said. A soft glow appeared, emanating from a golden circle attached to a white bow upon the woman's chest. “I shall help nonetheless.”

--

The air was chilled in the market streets, a considerable change from the warm air of the day. Most were indoors, keeping warm, but there were some occupants of the streets at the late hour. Sailor Geb stayed close to the vendor stall of the two senshi she and Hikari had met previously. The black-haired one, Sailor Chai, had gone with Hikari to collect their missing comrades, as well as the other senshi of the planet. This left Geb with the white-haired Sailor Pekoe, who seemed more alive now in the darkness than she had in the daylight. Despite this, she sat still and quiet at the stall as Geb paced.

“This is a waste of time,” she complained. “We need to be getting Tucana out of prison and finding the Collector.”

“Patience,” Pekoe said. “Patience is key. Do not let your fears drive you to the wrong choices.”

“My fears? Just what do you know about my fears?” Geb stopped and looked at the senshi, who looked over her shoulder and back at her.

“I am the senshi of fear,” Pekoe said. “I can sense someone's fear without meaning to. It is my way.” Geb shook her head and began pacing again. Pekoe smiled and turned back around, closing her eyes. She could sense someone nearby, someone with a great amount of fear.

--

“I thank you for saving my life,” Ixtab said, still clutching the warm blankets. She was sitting at a table with Enapay and Mei, as well as the young women that had pulled her from the waters of the river surrounding the city. One was dark of skin with pink hair that was knotted at the base of her neck. Her name was Oolong. The other, who was of more interest to Ixtab and the others, was fair of skin with teal hair tied up in a pair of buns covered in fabric, with two strings hanging from each bun that had two beads attached to each string. What are important was that this woman was Sailor Zhuancha, and her beads were the only weapon on the entire planet.

“It was really no problem,” Oolong said, her voice sweet and petite. “As senshi, it is our duty to protect and save.”

“As is ours,” Enapay said. “Back to you, Zhuancha, you are sure your Eiso Beads are the only weapon of the senshi?”

“Positive,” Zhuancha said as she returned to the table with cups of warm tea. “T'was my blessing and curse to bear their weight.”

'What are they capable of?' Mei asked as Zhuancha sat down. 'I know not to underestimate the power of small things, but I am curious as to why they are both a blessing and a curse.'

“I am the senshi of demons,” Zhuancha explained. “As such, I am burdened with the Eiso Beads. In the ancient language, 'Eiso' meant 'underworld,' where the demons of the black hearted were laid to rest. These small beads each hold the power of the ancient 8 demons of the underworld, one bead for one demon.”

“Then they must be incredibly powerful,” Ixtab said.

“Very,” Oolong said. “Their nature shows the true character of Zhuancha.”

“How so?” Enapay asked.

“It is a great power she has at her command,” Oolong said. “She was the last to be christened into senshi-hood because she had to undergo rigorous training to be able to control the beads. In the wrong hands, these beads are disastrous.”

“Any hand but mine is the wrong hand,” Zhuancha added. “I was born for this. Since childhood I was trained and groomed. Alas, these beads are my life. I cannot allow this Collector to obtain them.”

--

Daichi slept restlessly in the next room over from where Nebula was with the strange young woman. The woman was mixing together a potion she claimed would cure Daichi of her fever, like it had before. This only added to Nebula's confusion. Questions kept racing through her head, until finally she burst. “Who are you? Why are you here? How do you Daichi and me, and why do you keep mistaking her for a male?”

The woman smiled. Still stirring the watery misture in the bowl, she looke dup at Nebula. “Is it not obvious?” she asked. “You glimpsed the paintings of previous IPI senshi. Have you not concluded that you and Master Kurzai were once IPI's as well?” Nebula was surprised, but on some level it made sense. “You are surprised,” the woman said. “Perhaps it was not so obvious as I imagined.” She reached for an open jar of powered and shook some into the mixture. “I am Sailor Asterel, though it would be best to call me Seresha, as I lost my true senshi-hood ages ago. I am the guardian of the Interdimensional Satellite, as well as the caretaker of this place and its occupants.”

Seresha picked up a mortar of brilliant green stone and tossed in dry, crinkled leaves of all shapes and colored. She then took a stone pestle of same coloring and began crushing them. “As for Master Kurzai,” she then said, adding a small amount of the previous mixture to the leave, “He was once the leader of the IPI senshi hailing from the Dohidesai Dimension with his senshi, Tucana and Nebula.” She began crushing again. “Of course I know you are not the same as them. Sailor Mercurius picked you up in the Dohinotenka Dimension, close in design to your own, but different nonetheless. Sailor Daichi comes from the Talnotenka Dimension.

“But this Kurzai you speak of,” Nebula said. “Clearly Kurzai is not the same as Daichi. Kurzai is male, Daichi is female.”

Seresha poured the paste into the watery mixture and began mixing them together. “I don't know how,” she said, “But Master Kurzai and Sailor Daichi are one in the same.” She picked up a very small, shallow dish and looked up at Nebula's confused face. “Remember,” Seresha added, “Every dimension is different in its own right, each with a different cosmic path to follow. How one develops will be different than another, like the Dohidesai and Dohinotenka dimensions.” With both bowls, Seresha left the room and moved into Daichi's. She set the big one on the table and dipped the shallow one into the mixture. She then placed a hand behind Daichi's head and inclined it slightly. “Miss, I bing medicine.” She pressed the bowl to Daichi's lips. Daichi stirred awake slightly, enough to accept a small amount of the mixture. She coughed after a little bit, though, and slipped back into her nightmares. Seresha set the bowl on the table and looked at Nebula. “More must be given,” she said. “Please administer more as you feel she can take. I must tend to my other duties.” Nebula nodded and pulled up a chair as Seresha left. Nebula shook her head, still trying to wrap her mind around it all.

--

“You call this a jail?” Tucana said loudly. “I've been in worst. Sure, the food's lousy and the whole place smells, but come on! You've got fancy bedding! What kind of jail has that?”

“I've always wondered about the bedding,” a voice said. It was a man's, like all the other occupants of the place. “It's rare to have a woman in here. What are you in for?”

“I was separated from my companion in the riot,” Tucana said as she leaned her back on the bas, pulling at her braided tresses.

“Ah, then I apologize,” the man said. “I was a part of that riot, though I still fail to see its purpose. Our leader ordered it, but there was no reasoning.” He then laughed. “Another damned plan of the masked man.”

“Masked man?” Tucana repeated, turning to face the bars. “What masked man?”

“Our leader's new ally,” the man explained. “He wears a mask and long coat.” Tucana recognized the description, but she wanted more.

“Well, who is he?” she asked.

“I'm not entirely sure,” the man replied. “I've only heard Sailor Tae call him 'friend,' so I'm not sure.”

“This resistance is being led by a senshi?” she asked. “Why?”

“Sailor Tae is a rouge,” the man explained. “She used to be the leader of the senshi, but she was without a partner and came to despise the other senshi, so she left and began helping the male resistance.”

“I see,” Tucana said. She stayed silent for a few moments before she heard a growing echo of a commotion. “I wonder what's going on,” she said lowly.

“It is our comrades,” the man replied. “They've come to free the jailed. It was part of our plan.” Very quickly, a storm of men came down into the jailing area and began unlocking or breaking the locks off the doors. None came to Tucana's aid until most were gone, when a surprisingly well-groomed man arrived at her door with a metal pole. “I never leave anyone behind,” he said. She recognized his voice, despite the lack of distant echoing. “You can come with us as well.” Tucana stepped back as the man stabbed the lock with the pole. The lock shattered and the door creaked open. Tucana went to the door and the man took her hand. “Come!” He pulled her away, and Tucana went willingly in hopes of finding the “masked man.”

--

“What about Geb and Pekoe?!” Hikari shouted as she ran after Chai as quickly as she could. Zhuancha was running alongside her, having quickly caught up. Anog Ite, Mei, Ixtab, and Oolong were trailing behind them.

“They will respond when necessary!” Chai said. “Pekoe knows what will be needed when it is needed!”

'Stop!' Mei called. Anog Ite, Ixtab, and Hikari stopped instantly. It took the Tae senshi a moment to realize they had stopped.

“What is it?” Chai asked. Then she smelled it, and then she tasted it. She others didn't know what it was, but she knew all too well. “Tae!” Chai covered her nose and mouth and looked for the origin of the invisible poison. She found it, but too late as the green-haired Sailor Tae nailed her with a flying kick. Chai flew limply, landing with a thud. Oolong took charge.

“Chun Hui!” She threw her hands forward and sent a violently pulsing wave of pink and gold light at Sailor Tae. The senshi was thrown backward as a riot of men stampeded through. They paid the senshi no mind. When they were gone, so was Tae. “Chai!” Oolong ran to Chai's side as the dark-haired senshi pushed herself up, coughing enough to vomit.

“What was that?” Hikari asked, waving her hand in front of her face. “That smell...”

“Sailor Tae is the senshi of poison,” Oolong explained. She held onto Chai's arm and looked at the other senshi. Her dark face instantly went flat. “Where's Zhuancha?”

--

“Pekoe!” Geb shouted fruitlessly as Sailor Pekoe was thrown back into the wall by the fire of Kaki's sword. The Collector was both graceful and deadly with the brilliant golden sword. Pekoe fell to the ground, cringing in blinding pain. Geb turned back to the Collector in time to see a jet of fire coming at her. Instead of hitting her, however, it struck the ground in front of her. The force of the hit blasted Geb backward into the building. She panicked as she lost her grip on her staff while skidding to a halt on her bottom. She fell to her side, but immediately pushed herself back up. The Collector stood proudly just inside of the room, framed by the doorway, and proudly holding Geb's staff in one hand and Kaki's sword in the other. To Geb's surprise, she could see the small end of Nebula's mace poking over his shoulder, clearly attached to his back somehow.

“I'm glad to see you again,” the Collector said. “I've been looking forward to this since my rather abrupt departure last time.”

“Is that a fact?” Geb said, standing up. “I wonder why that is.” The Collector just smirked in a way that made Geb most uncomfortable. He began approaching her in a similar way. Geb uncomfortably stepped back until her back was to the wall. He kept approaching. Kaki's sword disappeared from sight and the Collector stopped just in front of Geb. He put his free hand to the wall right next to her head.

“You are intoxicating,” he said huskily. “The more you hate me, the more angry you are, the more intoxicating you are.” He let his face drift closer as he spoke with a lowering voice. “When I'm away, you are all I think about. My master... worries, that this will distract me from my mission. But... I do not worry.” Geb gasped as she felt the Collector's gloved hand touch her check, gently brushing it. He was so close that his nose brushed gently against hers. He breathed in deeply, and then sighed. Geb could smell his breath. It was sweet, and strangely... intoxicating. “Oh, what I wouldn't give to quit this mission, to share a life with you forever...” His eyes closed as he leaned closer. Geb could feel his lips close in, but suddenly he snapped back in pain.

He yelled, dropping Geb's staff and stumbling backward. His back arched as he yelled in pain to the ceiling. Then he quieted, dropping to his knees and holding his arms as he rocked himself to the ground. Geb was panting as she watched. She then shot her eyes up, where a badly charred Sailor Pekoe stood. She had her right hand up, palm to the ceiling, her hair and uniform flared out. As she lowered her hand to her side, her hair and uniform lowered as well until all was as it should be. “Are you all right?” Pekoe asked, a misty expression upon her face. She looked as though she were seeing Geb for the first time.

“Yes, yes,” Geb said, catching her breath. She bent down and swooped up her staff as the sound of the riot drew near. “I'm fine. What did you do?” Pekoe gave her a strange look that Geb couldn't quite size up, then she smiled.

“I used his greatest fear against him,” she said simply. The she suddenly looked over her shoulder, then her face scrunched up. “Take a deep breath, then don't breath in.”

“Why-”

“An old friend has come to cause trouble,” she said. “Stay with the man. I will deal with her.” Geb wanted to object. She didn't want to stay, much less now because she didn't know how Pekoe's powers would affect him.

Pekoe disappeared outside. Geb stood still, clutching her staff with absolutely no idea what to do. Soon, her lungs began to hurt. She let out small breaths, alleviating the pain, but soon she was without breath. She gasped, breathing normally again. She couldn't understand what Pekoe had been worried about, but she soon didn't care after what she heard next.

“Please... Please...Not her... Not Tale...”

TALE?! Geb's eyes grew wide as she watched the whimpering Collector. His face was hidden, he was so curled up. He rocked slowly.

“Don't please... I beg, I beg... Hurt me... Please, spare her... Please...”

Geb stepped toward the Collector. She couldn't believe her ears. He knew her name? Was he... begging for her, to protect her? She couldn't understand, but she couldn't help but pity him. Power over fear, it seemed like a horrid and devastating power, perhaps even cruel.

She knelt beside him, reaching back to put her staff on her back. She then flexed her hands before tentatively reaching to him. She took his shoulder, and immediately he jerked upright, gasping and... crying?

He blinked, looking around, clearly distraught. Then his gaze touched Geb. She instantly stiffened. His eyes widened, then he smiled, and then he laughed in an unbelieving way. “You're... You're...” He lifted a hand and reached for her. She instantly scooted back. His hand stopped and his face fell. “No, I...” The look of horrid realization hit. “I- I- I'm sorry... I wasn't myself...” He looked away, then looked back at her. “That wasn't me. I...” He grabbed his face. “I can't do this, I can't... Gods, how did I get myself into this?”

“What do you mean?” Geb asked, curiosity abound. He looked back up at her.

“I haven't been myself,” he said. “Not since... Not since I took the job...” He shook his head. He was clearly shaking now. “I never...” He suddenly snapped his head up at her, fear and regret evident. He then jumped up. Ripping Nebula's mace from his back, he turned and fled, dropping the mace before reaching the door. Geb jumped up and followed, grabbing the mace with one swift motion. She gasped at the sight that beheld her.

Pekoe was unconscious on the ground, her face a sickly shade of green and her chest barely moving. Zhuancha's neck was in Tae's grasp, the Eiso beads hanging from her other hand. “All right Friend,” Tae said, taking no notice of Geb. “Here are the Eiso beads. I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain. Where is the mace?” The Collector was speechless. He stood with a stupid expression on his face, clearly not knowing what to make of the situation. Tae's eyebrow lifted and she finally took notice of Geb, who was holding the mace. “That is MY mace!” she shouted angrily. She threw Zhuancha to the side as she approached Geb. She lifted a hand, and almost instantly Geb could feel the inside of her mouth and lungs burning. She gasped and shut her mouth, clutching her throat in pain. “Give me my mace!” The Collector's gaze followed Tae, and when he realized what was happening, his face contorted into anger.

“You shall not harm her!” he shouted. He lunged at Tae and tackled her. The invisible poison ceased and Geb gasped. Then, she heard a grunt and a heavy thud. She looked up to see the Collector on his side, facing away and laying still a short distance away. Tae stood and lifted her hand again, continuing her assault on Geb's lungs. She gasped as tears came to her eyes. She kept a first grip on Nebula's staff as Tae approached. However, she was stopped once again as she was suddenly lifted by a great light that emanated from behind her. Tae lifted high, and then flew to the right, hitting the wall with a crack as the calvary arrived. Guards and senshi alike gathered in time to see Tae hit the ground.

“Geb!” Ango Ite shouted. Geb lifted a hand as she tried to get her breath again. Serasha was by her side, taking her shoulders as the other senshi approached the Collector. He shakily pushed himself up, twisting at his waist and looking at the approaching senshi.

“No,” Geb said, her voice no more than a hoarse whisper. Seresha looked upon her. “No, don't hurt him.” She panted from the effort of trying to help.

“Don't harm him!” Seresha yelled, causing the senshi to stop suddenly. “Sailor Geb says to not harm him.” The senshi were understandably surprised, as was the Collector.

“Wha-” Ixtab's words were cut short as she found herself gasping. Or at least, she tried. She felt like she was suffocating, like the air was closing in. The others felt the same. Things became fuzzy as they all lowered to the ground. The Collector came in and out of focus as someone spoke in a fuzzy voice.

“You are more trouble than you are worth, Sebastian.” A small figure appeared behind the Collector, then they were gone, and everything went black.

--

“Hey, wake up... Hikari!” Hikari jerked and gasped, her eyes flying open to see Tucana staring down at her. Hikari was panting, feeling like she had never before breathed. She looked left and right, seeing men all over, helping the fallen senshi and guards and binding Sailor Tae. Hikari groaned as Tucana helped her sit up.

“What happened?” she asked. “How did you get out?”

“I could ask the same about you,” Tucana said. “The riot from earlier came and broke out everyone in the jail. One of the prisoners pitied me and got me out too. We showed up and you were all like this.” She looked at the others. “I'm assuming the Collector didn't win, seeing as how everyone still has their weapons... and, is that Nebula's mace?” Hikari looked at Geb and was saw her holding the unfamiliar object.

“The Collector got away,” Hikari said. “Someone helped him. We would have had him but...” She closed her eyes, trying to remember. “Geb, she told us not to harm him. Then someone, or something, attacked us. I couldn't breathe, like someone was squeezing my lungs from inside my chest.”

'The feeling was mutual,' Mei said. Hikari looked at her partner, who barely looked worn. She then looked over at Pekoe. She seemed to already be recovering. Likewise, so did Geb, who was being aided by the unknown purple-haired woman.

“No!” Hikari winced at the sudden blood-curdling scream. She cringed, then looked to see what had happened. She found Sailor Zhuancha beating her fists on the ground, Sailor Oolong holding her shoulders. “Not the beads!” Zhuancha screamed. “Not the beads! No!”

--

“I don't get it,” Ixtab said. “Why? Why did you have us stop? We could have had the Collector.” Geb shook her head as Anog Ite tried to apply a pasty mixture to the back of her neck, something the woman named Seresha mixed up to ease the pain.

“Hold still,” Anog Ite said gently. “Whatever the reason, I'm sure Geb had a good reason.”

“And what is that?” Ixtab asked. “And why are you being so... motherly all of the sudden?” Anog Ite ignored her as she finished with the paste. She set it down and picked up the bandage to wrap Geb's neck in.

“There's something not right,” Geb said hoarsely. “The Collector... Sebastian? I don't know. I don't think he's as evil as we thought. I think this master of his has something to do with it.”

“It doesn't matter,” Ixtab said. “He's the enemy and he must be stopped.” Geb sighed. She couldn't explain it. They weren't there. They hadn't heard what he had said in that vulnerable, weak stage, and she didn't want to repeat it. She couldn't understand it, and until she could, it was her secret alone.

“How are you doing in there?” Geb looked up to see Daichi standing in the doorway. She leaned on the frame, but she didn't seem weak. She seemed stronger than she had been in a while.

“You're better?” Geb asked. Daichi nodded.

“Seresha knows her stuff,” she said. “Whatever she mixed up for you I'm sure will do wonders in no time.”

“How is everyone?” Geb asked. She then received a pat to her head.

“Stop talking so much,” Anog Ite said gently. Daichi smiled.

“Nebula's ecstatic, obviously,” she reported. “Mei and Hikari are making some dinner before we leave, Seresha is on the surface helping with Pekoe's injuries, and Tucana's already off to the wrong foot with what's-her-name.”

“Zhuancha,” the three IPI senshi said together.

“Yeah, her,” Daichi said. “Are you sure she's coming along?”

“She won't rest until those beads are back in her possession,” Ixtab said.

“And we won't either,” Anog Ite added. “Those beads are dangerous in anyone's hands but hers.”

“And what of her partner?” Geb asked. There was silence.

“Oolong...” Daichi paused. “I'm not sure.”

--

“Good luck,” Oolong said to Zhuancha. The two were out of the surface, looking at their beautiful planet, proud to be the first of their people to see its beauty. “I'm needed here. There's a crowd already, and I'd only slow you down anyway.”

“Oolong,” Zhuancha said in a warning tone.

“I'm serious,” Oolong said. “With Pekoe out of commission, Tae locked up, and you leaving, Chai needs me more than you do.” She smiled. “You've taken care of me all these years. You've practically held my hand the whole way. I think it's time for me to step out on my own. You've taught me much, my friend. It is time I put it to good use.” Zhuancha smiled at her dearest friend. She reached out and pulled her into a tight hug, which Oolong returned. “Take care of yourself,” she said.

“Hey!” Zhuancha pulled back. “I'm supposed to tell you that!” Oolong shook her head.

“No,” she whispered. “I know what awaits me on the planet, but you... You're going into the great unknown it an entirely different dimension and world, with total strangers after a villain like none we've ever faced.” She smiled. “No, I need to say it to you.” She looked over her shoulder as Seresha approached. “Time to go,” Oolong said. Seresha stepped up next to her, nodded, then they were gone.

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