An Inevitable Outcome Feature Written and Directed by C. Richard Davies TOGETHER AGAIN 1996 Chapter Based on the works of Naoko Takeuchi, Rumiko Takahashi, Kosuke Fujishima, Matsumoto Izumi, Masaki Kajishima, and various interpretations thereof. Incorporating original characters created by by C. Richard Davies Dedicated to John Biles, Fred Herriot, and Larry Mann. ACT FOUR Opening Shot: MADOKA asleep in bed, alone. The room is flooded with sunlight, and she slowly awakes. She yawns, and then gets out of bed. She pulls a dressing gown on over her pyjamas, and wanders out of the bedroom. She heads into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. We hear the sound of vomiting. MADOKA (O.S.) MUFFLED Oh, *great* ... There is the sound of teeth being brushed. AKANE (V.O.) That's the other reason that I feel sorry for Kasuga Kyousuke. To have something as important as that on the line, and not know it ... BEAT In any event, it didn't happen for a few hours after Kyousuke arrived. Cut to a shot of the dojo at night, with the Helifortress still perched in the backyard. AKANE (V.O.) Kent had taken Aethan DeGales and his "friend", that Gideon fellow I never got to know very well, up into the flying fortress, along with Kasuga. Aethan probably told him about the Sailor Senshi -- or rather Sailor *Scouts*, as they preferred to be called -- while they were up there. Cut to the interior of the dojo hall. It is divided in two parts by a curtain. On one side, SERENA, RAYE, AMY, LITA, MIHOSHI, AYEKA, and SASAMI are bedded down on the floor, in sleeping bags. SERENA is snoring, of course. MIHOSHI is making mumbling noises in her sleep. LITA, AMY, and SASAMI are asleep more sedately. RAYE and AYEKA are speaking with each other in low and quiet tones. AKANE (V.O.) I think Aethan talked Kent into talking Kasumi into letting this new group of visitors camp out in the dojo. Of course, nobody had even thought of asking Dad about it. It hurt to see him reverting to the way he'd been just before I'd left home, when Kasumi had told me that he was starting to get better. But I think it was mostly an act. On the other side of the curtain, DARIEN is also fast asleep. There is another, empty sleeping bag. Cut to one of the hallways. TENCHI is walking down it, looking around with an anxious expression. He finally passes a door through which we hear a flushing noise. RANMA steps out. TENCHI Oh, there it is! RANMA The toilet? Yep. TENCHI ducks into the door. RANMA turns to head off, then pauses and waits. A few moments later, we hear a flush. TENCHI steps out of the door with a relieved expression on his face. RANMA You're ... Tenchi, right? I heard a couple of the girls you came in with calling you that. TENCHI NOD Right. And you are? RANMA Saotome Ranma. BEAT So, just out of curiousity -- are you engaged to any of those girls? TENCHI BLINK Uh ... no. BEAT Not for lack of effort on their part, but -- RANMA nods knowingly. TENCHI DISBELIEVING Uh, I take it then that you have relationship troubles, yourself? RANMA DEADPAN Two fiancees, one crazy Chinese chick who thinks we're already married, and assorted other loonies of either sex after me. TENCHI considers this briefly, then nods. TENCHI You win. RANMA SHRUGS I usually do. BEAT You do martial arts? TENCHI MODEST A bit of kendo. RANMA CONSIDERS Kendo, huh? BEAT I've probably picked up a bit of that, what with all my go-arounds with -- anyway, wanna spar? TENCHI SHRUGS Sure, I guess. I'm having trouble sleeping, anyway. RANMA gestures with his head. Cut to the lawn outside the dojo, a few moments later. TENCHI and RANMA are equipped with wooden practice swords. TENCHI salutes slowly in the Jurain manner. RANMA BLINKS What was that? TENCHI My style's opening salute. RANMA Oh. BEAT; SHRUG Wherefore art thou, Ushiko-san? Wherefore art thou, Umao-san? TENCHI Excuse me? RANMA *My* style's opening salute. BEAT That was Shakespeare, right? Well, let's go! We pull away, lifting above them as they begin to spar. The sound of wood striking wood awakens RYOUKO, who has found a place to sleep on the roof of the dojo. She looks down from the roof with an irritated and sleepy expression ... which fades as she realizes that TENCHI is the one making the noise. She watches with interest. Cut to the other side of the Tendou home. LUNA and ARTEMIS are prowling around. LUNA Artemis, are you sensing anything ... unusual about this place? ARTEMIS DEADPAN No, but I'm focusing all my energy on finding Minako, so that *might* possibly be affecting my perceptions. LUNA gives him a disgusted look. ARTEMIS UPSET What? Like you'd do any different if it was Serena, lost in the void? LUNA turns away. LUNA Well, I *am* getting a funny feeling about the people in this house. ARTEMIS What kind of a funny feeling? LUNA The same sort of thing I got when I was finding the Scouts ... ARTEMIS DISMISSIVE You're probably picking up on whatever energy those aliens use, that's all. LUNA SHAKES HEAD No. It's not the same at all. ARTEMIS Luna, come on. There's only nine planets, and we have nine senshi. What, do you think that we're going to suddenly find a Sailor Sun? A Sailor Earth? A Sailor Comet Belt? If they didn't exist in the Silver Millenium, why -- LUNA ANNOYED Fine. You stay here and keep probing the void without any idea of what you're going to do if you *find* Minako, and I'll go do something productive. Bye. She darts off. ARTEMIS glares, and starts to imitate her British accent. "And OI'LL goh dew somefing PRO- duktif!" Sheesh. Cut to KASUMI's bedroom. She is lying in her bed, with her covers up to her neck, but not asleep. She lets out a long sigh and closes her eyes. Slowly, the window slides open, and LUNA, her eyes glowing, makes her appearance. She pads into the room, and up onto the bed. KASUMI doesn't open her eyes. KASUMI VERY CALM Hello, Luna. LUNA is shocked enough to jump back, while KASUMI pulls herself into a kneeling position on the bed. KASUMI looks down at the cat with a vaguely melancholy expression. LUNA You know who I am?! KASUMI Yes. LUNA ... then you know who and what you are! KASUMI Yes, Luna, I've known for almost four years. LUNA But how -- KASUMI One night, the moon went out. BEAT And I heard the sound of a cat screaming. BEAT And I knew who I had been, once. LUNA Who -- VESTA! KASUMI nods. LUNA But how ... you weren't even *on* the moon when your mother sent the spirits of the Moon Kingdom to Earth ... you'd been *dead* for ... KASUMI I don't know, Luna. I remember ... I remember how I died, and parts of my past life ... not much, though, nine hundred years is much to take in. LUNA Well, it doesn't matter, now. I've found you, and that's what counts. Now -- LUNA produces a locket from nowhere, setting it down in front of KASUMI, who picks it up and examines it. LUNA -- that's a focus, it will allow you to use your energies to take on a senshi form, just like Serena did when she was starting as Sailor Moon -- I imagine that we'll call you -- KASUMI sets the locket down on the bed. KASUMI No. LUNA -- Sailor Vesta and ... BEAT What do you mean, no? KASUMI I'm not going to be a Sailor Senshi, Luna. LUNA But ... but, Vesta, it's -- KASUMI FIRM My name is Tendou Kasumi. Do you call Serenity by *that* name, when you're with her? LUNA No, but ... but Ve-- Kasumi, it's your -- KASUMI My destiny? SHAKES HEAD No, Luna. The only destiny I ever had was to be my mother's heir and my father's pawn ... and I gave that destiny up. BEAT Would you have me usurp Serenity's place? LUNA I ... I hadn't really thought about it. KASUMI reaches out a hand, and pets LUNA, gently. KASUMI I leave it to your discretion to decide how much to tell her, Luna. BEAT What is she like? LUNA gives the impression of one who doesn't really want to answer a question. KASUMI gazes down at her with a calm, curious expression. LUNA SIGH She is, when she has to be, the bravest, kindest ... most human human I have ever known. BEAT She will be a better queen than Serenity ever was, and her realm will be more just. KASUMI smiles. LUNA DESPERATE You're sure that you won't -- KASUMI GENTLY FIRM Yes. BEAT Good night, Luna. LUNA hops off the bed and heads for the window while KASUMI begins to lie down. LUNA pauses at the window, and looks back. LUNA It was never clear how you died. BEAT It was said that Beryl had killed you, herself. KASUMI does not look at LUNA. KASUMI She did. LUNA Then you should know that Serena avenged you -- KASUMI I know. BEAT; TEARS IN HER VOICE May the Light be more merciful to Beryl than this world ever was. LUNA jerks back ... clearly that was NOT the response she was expecting. She silently heads out the window, leaving KASUMI alone in the silence. AKANE (V.O.) As I write this, I'm starting to understand why Kasumi felt the way that she did, even if I don't understand all the specifics. BEAT I remember her looking at me with anxious eyes, when I was a child and hurt myself fighting ... and one day I realized that she wasn't only scared that I'd get hurt fighting, but that I'd start liking it. BEAT Liking hurting people. BEAT What must it be like for someone to know that she has a sister she's never met engaged in mortal combat at any given time? Cut to the cockpit of the Helifortress. We see KENT easing himself into the pilot's seat, and looking down at the dojo. Just outside the building, he can see TENCHI and RANMA sparring. He looks down, and a wistful expression develops on his face. Cut to the inside of the dojo hall, and close in on SASAMI, sleeping. Her face twitches. Cut to WASHUU's laboratory, where TSUNAMI is suspiciously watching WASHUU at work. TSUNAMI's face twitches in the same way that SASAMI's did. WASHUU So just how close to full synchro are the two of you, anyway? TSUNAMI IRRITATED I don't see that that's any of your business, Washuu. And stop trying to change the subject, it has been nearly a third of this planet's rotation and you still have not explained what you did to Sasami to momentarily cut her off from me. WASHUU Pushy, pushy ... BEAT Okay, what I did was pretty simple. You know how a convoy of ships moves together through hyperspace? TSUNAMI BLINK What? WASHUU All the navigation computers of the convoy get slaved to the one in the "point" ship, which does the jump calculations for every ship, so that they all emerge in the same form-- TSUNAMI INTERRUPTS What does any of this have to do with -- WASHUU INTERRUPTS BACK --ation, instead of possibly trying to simultaneously occupy the same space at the same time. BEAT Ryouko can do the same thing. Her teleportation -- as well as both of the 'porters who were in that area with her -- is functionally the same as a starship jump drive, with her brain as a computer. When I was designing her, I gave her the ability to slave herself into any other jump computer in her vicinity, so that she could track starships and ... other things through hyperspace. BEAT And just now I activated it involuntarily, and made her space fold a little larger than it normally is. You lost track of Sasami because she was in hyperspace for a while, that's all. TSUNAMI SARCASM "That's all." BEAT Very well, that was `What'. Now, in regards to `Why'? WASHUU BLAND Would you believe me if I told you that a manipulative mind- reading space alien told me to do it? TSUNAMI Of course not! WASHUU That's what I thought. TSUNAMI Let me guess, this is all part of some plan of yours, isn't it? WASHUU Well, yes. TSUNAMI ANGRY Don't you ever get tired of these inane little -- WASHUU stands up and morphs to adult form so that she can stare TSUNAMI in the eye. WASHUU ANGRY Don't talk to *me* about *plans*, Ms. "Send the Coward Crown Prince to His Mom's Home Pond To Bring Fresh Blood Into The Royal Line"! You've got no room to be yelling at -- TSUNAMI FIERCE RAMIA. A stab of guilt flashes across WASHUU's face, covered by stubbornness. WASHUU That was twelve thousand years ago! You should have -- TSUNAMI If I'd had any sense at all, then, I *should* have blown you out my airlock. BEAT; ALMOST BREAKING I had just watched my *sister* KILL HERSELF, and there you were, pulling me away from the only person who had ever treated me as something other than a useful object, to go fight some more. Do you have *any* idea how much that hurt? WASHUU BEAT; QUIET Yes. She abruptly collapses back into her childlike form, and sits back down at her terminal. WASHUU We do things we're not proud of, because they're necessary. That's part of what being a grown up is. BEAT It's one part that I haven't been able to get away from, no matter how much I've tried. TSUNAMI stares at her, then shakes her head. TSUNAMI I want your assurances that you won't try to interfere with Sasami again. WASHUU BORED Sure. TSUNAMI Your *assurances*, Washuu. WASHUU Here's a thought: Go to her, keep an eye on her, and if it looks like I'm trying anything, zap me. TSUNAMI nods. TSUNAMI I think I shall do just that. Good day, `Sister'. She vanishes. WASHUU briefly smiles a "Sometimes it's so easy, I'm ashamed of myself" grin, then goes back to her work. WASHUU MUSING Sister. Mother. BEAT Why do people only call me those things when they're angry with me? PLUTO (O.S.) I've no idea. WASHUU throws her hands up in the air. WASHUU PUT UPON You know, if people just keep barging in here, I'm gonna stop putting up the warning signs that say I'm engaged in risky research, and someone will come in and get blasted, and it'll be TURNS AROUND all your fault! PLUTO is staring at her angrily. PLUTO SHORT I don't care. You. Me. Outside. NOW. Cut to an empty street, at dawn. The "point" of an energy blade appears in mid air, and slices open a circular gate, through which MINAKO tumbles, taking big gulps of air. MINAKO Where *am* I? LOOKS AROUND Tokyo. Or some other metropolitan Japanese city. BEAT Unless it's Vancouver, or some other city with a Japanese town inside it ... gee, I could be *really* lost ... There is the sound of an explosion in the distance. MINAKO CHEERFUL Not that it matters! She dashes off in the direction of the explosion. Cut to a broken up city street. A large monster which could be best described as a yellow slug with a head shaped like that of a deformed, cyclopean bull is smashing into cars and buildings. Fortunately, the street is mostly empty. YOHKO (O.S.) I bear no ill-will to those made victims of demons; but -- The monster smashes into a building, and a pair of forms are briefly seen leaping for cover. YOHKO (O.S.) -- but, to those who dwell in dark- ness, since the -- The monster smashes into the car behind which the forms dodged. They dodge again, behind trash cans. YOHKO -- since the time of the ancient gods, we have been -- The monster draws back and lets out a belch of brownish-yellow gas at the trash cans. YOHKO and AZUSA run for cover behind a nearby car. YOHKO looks to be somewhere between annoyance and panic. YOHKO Azusa-chan, I know that you really want me to do the whole spiel before we attack, but are you *sure* there aren't precedents for doing it the other way around? AZUSA looks uncertain. MINAKO (O.S.) If not, let's make one! She bounds over YOHKO and AZUSA's heads, grinning as she leaps towards the monster. YOHKO (sim) Mina! AZUSA (sim) Minako-san! MINAKO VENUS ... LOVELY ... BLADE! Just as MINAKO is about to smack into the side of the monster's head, the sword forms between her hands and she slices downwards. The monster howls. YOHKO -- sincethetimeoftheancientgodswe havebeenyourdestroyersthe106th generationofdevilhunterandapprentice arehere! TO AZUSA Happy? AZUSA nods, and produces her spear as she charges towards the monster. YOHKO's soul sword is out as she does the same. The fighting style of the Devil Hunters and Sailor Venus in this scene could best be described as exuberant. The monster, while powerful, is very stupid, and they are outmaneuvering it from the very beginning. Thus, they feel free to show off, doing acrobatic attacks and the like, trading quips while striking blows. Finally, AZUSA delivers a thrust to the base of the monster's neck, while MINAKO and YOHKO give simultaneous sword strikes through its eye. The monster convulses, then collapses, with the fighters jumping away from the carcass as it does. MINAKO PLEASED SIGH Nice work out. BEAT Hello, Yohko. This is Tokyo, right? YOHKO Uh ... yes. Nerima district. It's good to see you again, Mina. MINAKO Likewise! BEAT Hello, Azusa-chan! Worked out that little problem yet? AZUSA SHAKES HEAD No, Minako-san ... still working on it. AZUSA looks sadly at YOHKO who is staring confusedly at MINAKO. YOHKO "Little problem"? MINAKO Nothing to worry about. BEAT Nerima? Isn't this a little off the beaten path for you two? YOHKO For you, too. Grandmother was contacted by an old client of hers who lives in this area, something about a bunch of murders, and she sent us in to investigate, as usual. The side of the monster's carcass begins to bulge. AZUSA notices. MINAKO Neat. I got sent here by a botched teleportation. AZUSA Umm ... Yohko-san? YOHKO "Botched tele--" AZUSA Minako-san? MINAKO At least I hope that's what happened ... I don't want to think that my GLOATING *boyfriend* dropped me off here deliberately -- AZUSA Ummmmm ... YOHKO SHOCKED No! You didn't! You did *not* get a boyfriend before I did, no way! MINAKO SWEET Waaaaay. AZUSA DESPERATE Guys? YOHKO Oh ... life is so, *so* unfair ... AZUSA PANICS YOU GUYS?!? They turn to look at her. AZUSA I don't think that the monster is dead yet! YOHKO and MINAKO stare at the bulges in the side of the monster, and immediately get ready for more fighting -- just as a human arm bursts out of the side of the carcass. It remains rigid for a moment, then collapses in exhaustion. YOHKO Oh, GOD! They all dash over to the monster, and start to widen the hole torn by the arm in the monster's skin, until KASUGA AKANE tumbles out, limp, covered in the monster's digestive juices, and gasping for breath. KASUGA AKANE GASPING Wha ... wha ... wha ... MINAKO SOOTHING It's all right, we killed the demon. AKANE stares groggily at MINAKO, then nods vaguely. KASUGA AKANE Okay ... She lets out a long sigh, and starts to close her eyes. A moment later, they burst open. KASUGA AKANE Shiken! MINAKO What? KASUGA AKANE Shiken, my ... my fiance, he ... we were in a car, we were arguing, and that ... that thing smashed through the windshield and sucked us both up like some sort of vacuumn cleaner from hell -- MINAKO, YOHKO, and AZUSA look at the hole in the monster's side, and wince. YOHKO VERY RELUCTANT I'll do it. Taking a deep breath, she puts her hands on either side of the slash, and pulls it open wide enough to stick her head in, which she promptly does. The inside of the monster's body cavities are dimly lit. YOHKO looks around quickly, obviously trying to hold her breath. Her gaze finally stops on the remains of SHIKEN ... a sight which, judging by her reaction, we are lucky to not see. She pulls her head back out. Outside, YOHKO takes another deep breath, and shudders a bit. KASUGA AKANE Did you see him? YOHKO doesn't look at her. YOHKO No. BEAT I couldn't see ... anything that looked like another human being. The implications of that sink in for AKANE, and she begins to cry. KASUGA AKANE I ... I don't get it ... what's with me? I didn't want to marry him ... I didn't even like him ... much ... so I should be happy that he's -- Her words are cut off by a sudden spasm of pain. MINAKO, on her knees beside AKANE, reaches out to steady her by placing a hand on her stomach ... and recoils. After a second, she slowly puts her hand back. Something throbs in AKANE's stomach, vibrating up MINAKO's arm. YOHKO and AZUSA watch in horror. YOHKO QUIET Azusa-chan, do you have that Devil Hunter's guide of yours, with you? AZUSA nods rapidly, and produces a large tome from her backpack. AZUSA Look for the monster's picture? YOHKO Yes. AZUSA starts flipping through the book. KASUGA AKANE DREADING Something's wrong, isn't it? Something's wrong with me. MINAKO REASSURING We don't know that, not for sure, so don't go and -- AZUSA's jaw drops. AZUSA Amida-sama ... YOHKO looks at her expectantly. AZUSA just shakes her head, and hands the book to YOHKO. YOHKO stares down at the page, and becomes very pale. KASUGA AKANE FRIGHTENED What? BEAT WHAT? YOHKO Miss ... what's your name? You never did say. KASUGA AKANE Akane. What -- YOHKO Akane-san ... this particular kind of monster has two uses for human prey. BEAT Males, it uses as ... as a food supply. BEAT And STRUGGLING females ... it uses to ... reproduce ... AKANE stares up at YOHKO, who can't meet her gaze. She turns her head to stare at MINAKO, who is gazing back at her in horror. KASUGA AKANE VERY QUIET It's inside of me. Isn't it? MINAKO can't stand that gaze for more than a few seconds, so she looks up at YOHKO. YOHKO TRYING TO HOLD ON The book says that there's about ten minutes from conception to ... birth, and that the spawn achieves ... it's able to continue the cycle under a year. BEAT And the spawn can't be banished from the Earth dimension, like the parent. MINAKO starts to shake her head, then freezes, with a wild look on her face. MINAKO SAILOR MOON! She can purify her, heal her, she can -- AZUSA and YOHKO look hopeful. MINAKO FADING -- she can do a lot of things ... but I don't know where she is ... AKANE suddenly grabs MINAKO's hand, and jerks it up her body, to her collarbone. MINAKO looks back, and is obviously frightened by what she sees in AKANE's eyes. KASUGA AKANE KILL ME. MINAKO I -- KASUGA AKANE I never wanted to be a mother, and definitely not like this, KILL ME! MINAKO I cccccc-- I caaaa -- I -- KASUGA AKANE TEARS PLEASE. MINAKO looks at YOHKO and AZUSA, who stare back helplessly. MINAKO turns back to AKANE and stares into her eyes for a second. She has a hard time speaking. MINAKO Where can I get in touch with your fam-- KASUGA AKANE They won't care. BEAT Nobody's going to miss me. BEAT The only person I ever loved never even knew. When I'm gone, no one will remember ... it'll be like I never existed. MINAKO nods, and slowly moves her hand, covered by AKANE's hand, to AKANE's left breast. MINAKO I'll remember. BEAT I will always remember you. KASUGA AKANE SMILES DESPITE FEAR AND PAIN Thank you. MINAKO FAINT Please close your eyes. AKANE does so. KASUGA AKANE Will it hurt? MINAKO I don't know. BEAT But if it does ... it only hurts for a little while. I promise. I won't do it until -- There's a surge in AKANE's stomach. KASUGA AKANE Now. MINAKO WHISPERED Crescent Beam. Beneath their gripped hands, there is a flash of golden light. AKANE's eyes flash open in shock. MINAKO stares at them, as if expecting to see the shock to fade, for her face to show peace at the end. It doesn't. Cut to a bathroom. MADOKA, brushing her teeth, jerks up. She looks over her shoulder, an odd expression on her face. Slowly, she starts to brush her teeth again. Cut back to MINAKO and AKANE. MINAKO's hand is still resting on AKANE's breast. MINAKO doesn't seem to be breathing. YOHKO slowly approaches, and touches MINAKO's shoulder. MINAKO QUIET Don't touch me, please. YOHKO backs off a short distance. MINAKO slowly releases AKANE's death grip on her hand, and rests AKANE's hand over the cauterized hole in her chest. She starts to move back, and remove her gloves. MINAKO CALM My, these are dirty. BEAT Very dirty. I'm never going to be able to get these clean. Even with bleach ... She turns to stare at YOHKO. Her eyes are full of tears. YOHKO Mina ... MINAKO Yohko, do you have a lighter? Or something else that bbburns? I need to get rid of these gloves. They're dirty. Very, very ddddddd-- She breaks down. YOHKO quickly holds her as she sobs, and AZUSA joins a moment later. A few minutes pass. WOMAN (O.S.) How sad. YOHKO looks up sharply. Standing nearby is a WOMAN (apparently in her early thirties), with short-cropped gray hair, dressed in a long black coat. She is staring at the decaying carcass of the monster, her hands in her coat pockets. YOHKO Who -- The WOMAN turns to look at YOHKO. We see that she has grey eyes with flecks of gold. WOMAN Who am I? BEAT I'm the bad guy. YOHKO What? WOMAN Well, not *THE* bad guy, not yet. But I'm working on it. YOHKO slowly disengages MINAKO from her embrace, and starts to stand up. YOHKO You're the one responsible for freeing this monster? The WOMAN thinks about that for a moment. WOMAN ... in the long run, yes. I stopped someone from stopping the opening of the gate that brought it here, so -- YOHKO flourishes her soul sword. The WOMAN does not seem unduly impressed. YOHKO Why? WOMAN SHRUG I wanted to make a deal with the one that was actually being called here. This thing was just the daemonic equivalent of a fly on a rat coming ashore -- YOHKO Okay. That's IT! She charges. The WOMAN regards her with mild interest right up until the last possible moment, when she sidesteps with superhuman speed, brushing a hand across YOHKO's swordarm as she does. YOHKO goes past, then whirls around to try again. WOMAN Nuh-uh-*uh* ... YOHKO's sword arm stretches out to the side. She looks at it, startled. YOHKO W-what's happening -- WOMAN GRINNING THIS. YOHKO's arm begins to bend backwards at the elbow. She struggles, in obvious pain, trying to fight the force which is holding her arm captive. AZUSA YOHKO-SAN! AZUSA rises and throws her spear at the WOMAN's back. The WOMAN's eyes narrow. YOHKO's arm snaps back, and she lets out a shriek of agony. The WOMAN whirls and catches the spear just before it hits her chest. AZUSA starts to visibly panic. WOMAN Cute. Very cute. She discards the spear casually, and starts to walk towards MINAKO, who slowly pushes herself off the floor, frightened and still in shock. WOMAN SOOTHING Relax. I don't intend to kill you. BEAT I overheard you mention someone called Sailor Moon. BEAT I think that I know where she is. If she's in this district at all, she'll be at the Tendou dojo ... just a little ways from here. BEAT Also there will be a man, named Kent. I want you to give him a message. MINAKO Message? What -- WOMAN Tell him that Jessica is here, and that I'm waiting. The WOMAN (hereafter referred to as JESSICA) looks down at AKANE's body for a moment. JESSICA It's a shame so many people have to die for one man's mistake ... but that's life, I guess. BEAT Funny how the police never showed up, isn't it? Oh well. I don't think you and I will ever meet again. BEAT If I we do, I'll probably have to kill you or something. Bye. She leaps into the air ... and starts flying away, fairly slowly. MINAKO watches, stunned. AZUSA is trying to help YOHKO, who is obviously in extreme pain. AZUSA Yohko-san, are you all right? YOHKO STRAINED Well, other the little thing about my arm being broken, yes ... MINAKO turns back to them. MINAKO Yohko ... you'd better get to a hospital. YOHKO looks like she wants to protest, but then she slowly seems to collapse in on herself. YOHKO You're right ... I hate it, but ... give my regards to the other Sailors, okay? AZUSA begins to help her up, shouldering her. MINAKO nods, and turns to go. YOHKO Mina ... don't blame yourself. MINAKO doesn't look back. MINAKO QUIET "Who is to be blamed for my failure to do my best?". BEAT See you. She runs off. AZUSA Is she going to be all right? YOHKO She got the quote right. BEAT I don't think she is, no. Cut to the TENDOU kitchen. KASUMI is preparing breakfast, assisted by PATRICIA. LITA, dressed in the same clothes as yesterday (now slightly wrinkled) wanders into the kitchen. KASUMI Good morning. LITA Um ... good morning. BEAT Uh ... we haven't really been introduced. I'm Hippolyta Kino. Everyone calls me Lita. KASUMI Yes, I overheard. Tendou Kasumi. PATRICIA I Patricia Delafontaine am. KASUMI Patricia, where do we always put the verb? PATRICIA BLINKS, SHEEPISH I *am* Patricia Delafontaine. I ... don't ... speak Japanese very well. LITA It's okay, it's somewhere close to being a second language for me too. BEAT Um ... KASUMI Yes, we do remember the fact that you're a Sailor ... Scout. LITA BLINK Uh ... thanks. BEAT But I was wondering whether or not I could help out with the cooking? I don't want to be taking too much advantage of your hospitality. KASUMI Of course! KASUMI and PATRICIA open a space for her at the counter, and LITA starts cutting carrots. Suddenly, KENT opens the door to the kitchen. KENT Patricia, I -- He stares for a moment at KASUMI, PATRICIA, and LITA who are staring back. LITA has her heart in her eyes. KENT SHORT Never mind. He shuts the door. KASUMI Oh my. I wonder -- LITA DREAMILY He's dreamy ... who is he? PATRICIA and KASUMI exchange looks of sympathetic pain. Cut to the hallway. KENT walks down the hallway, a disturbed look on his face. KENT There are days I truly hate being a telepath. BEAT Women ... NINIANE appears from nowhere and falls into step beside him. NINIANE DRY Aren't we wonderful? KENT BRUSQUE Niniane. I'd assumed you would still be celebrating your reunion with McGovern. NINIANE Oh no. Got that out of the way a while ago, so I'd have plenty of time to remind you -- KENT "Three will go in, and two will come out." NINIANE looks momentarily startled, but recovers. NINIANE *I'd* assumed you would be true to your word and forget that. KENT pauses and turns to look directly at NINIANE. KENT CASUAL I probably would have, but Aethan said the same thing two days ago. NINIANE STARTLED, ANRGY Oh. So you give the vampyre who ran a competing agency to ours for nearly a year -- KENT This isn't a competition, Niniane. NINIANE -- more credence than my prophecies. Thank you ever so much. KENT Finished? NINIANE I believe so. KENT Good. BEAT I'm trying to set up a meeting to discuss strategies in a few hours. I'd appreciate it if you would spread the word. NINIANE BLINK Aren't you going to give me backtalk about -- KENT Niniane, I realize that Modern English isn't your first language, but I thought that you understood enough of its idioms to know that "backtalk" is something you give a superior. BEAT Which means that I *can't* give you backtalk. He smiles pleasantly at her startled expression, then turns to go. NINIANE QUIET You could at least *thank* me. KENT turns to look back at NINIANE with a disbelieving expression. RANMA, looking annoyed, appears at the far end of the corridor. KENT You want me to thank you for telling me, in effect, that someone's going to die and there's not a damn thing I can do to stop it. BEAT Thanks so much for your gift, Niniane. RANMA Excuse me? Die? KENT Ranma. Good morning. How'd your sparring session with that Tenchi fellow go? I couldn't watch the whole -- RANMA I don't wanna talk about it. What's this about someone's going to die? KENT Niniane, here, is a seer, among her other talents. She has foreseen that ... well, it was strangely put, but amounted to the idea that in any group of three that I see in the next few days, one of the people may not survive these events. BEAT In which case, you might want to avoid the kitchen. RANMA Is Akane cooking or something? AKANE (V.O.) I'm going to find him and hit him just as soon as I get this written down. KENT No. Kasumi, Patricia, and one of the Sailor Scouts are. This may be your last chance to get to know any of them. He walks off, leaving NINIANE fuming, and RANMA confused. He turns to look at her. RANMA Um ... NINIANE DANGEROUS Yes ...? RANMA So ... is what he said true? NINIANE CLIPPED Essentially. RANMA And ... there's no way out of it? NINIANE What is, is. RANMA BLINK That's a real hopeless attitude you've got there, y'know? NINIANE UPSET Excuse me, it's not my fault that everything I foresee happens! RANMA Even when you try to prevent it? NINIANE I -- RANMA Wait a minute ... you've *tried* to stop things from coming true, right? NINIANE I -- I have informed people of what I saw, and it changed nothing. RANMA UPSET But you didn't do anything, or *try* anything yourself to change things. BEAT Lady, that's not hopeless, that's *stupid*. NINIANE reacts as though slapped. NINIANE How *dare* you, you miserable little *boy*? I am over fifteen hundred years old! I have seen things that made my soul scream in anguish! I have done things that you can't even imagine -- RANMA takes a step back. RANMA And in all that, you never tried to change one thing you saw in a vision. BEAT Lady, I take it all back. You're not hopeless, *or* stupid. You're just a coward. He turns his back on her, and starts walking away. NINIANE is beyond shocked. NINIANE WHISPERED That's *NOT* true! Cut to SHAMPOO, standing outside the dojo, staring up at the Helifortress without really looking at it. SHAMPOO CHINESE What am I going to do? I have to marry him ... gods, I *want* to marry him, still, no matter how far into perversion she's dragged him -- COLOGNE pogo sticks beside her. COLOGNE BRUSQUE Practice your Japanese, girl. SHAMPOO CHINESE Great grandmother, I have to -- COLOGNE I said, in Japanese -- SHAMPOO ANGRY No! COLOGNE is shocked. For a second, she stares at her protege in dead silence. COLOGNE So. Are you at last going to challenge me, Shan Pu? SHAMPOO STARTLED I ... no, no of course not! COLOGNE Not *yet*, you mean. SHAMPOO I ... SHAKES HEAD Great grand-- mother, I do not wish to challenge you today. I wish to speak in our language with you about a problem. COLOGNE What problem have you found that you cannot speak of it in -- SHAMPOO's frustration is clearly visible on her face. SHAMPOO -- in a language in which you've given me no instruction? That I'm expected to learn as some sort of punishment for dragging you out of your retirement? BEAT Great- grandmother, I don't have the words to talk about this problem in Japanese. It's not the sort of thing that phrasebooks cover. COLOGNE QUIET Very well. Speak. Cut to a hallway in the TENDOU dojo. AYEKA and RAYE wander around, talking. RAYE Frankly, Ayeka-san, *something* goes wrong every time we try using that ... what did you call it again? AYEKA Psychoportative gestalt. RAYE ... so I'm not seriously surprised by all this. BEAT Annoyed as all hell, but -- anyway, I'm stressed out. Maybe I ought to go take a shower -- They pass a window through which we can see SHAMPOO speaking with COLOGNE. AYEKA pauses, startled. AYEKA Shan Pu? RAYE Huh? Well, if you have some, we won't have to take any from the Tendou -- AYEKA CONFUSED Excuse me? BEAT No, a friend of mine named Shan Pu ... she's outside. RAYE comes over to the window with AYEKA. They listen to SHAMPOO talking with COLOGNE in Mandarin Chinese. SHAMPOO says something that causes both COLOGNE and AYEKA to react with shock. AYEKA Aiyaah! RAYE Huh? What? AYEKA STARTLED Didn't you hear? She saw her husband having ... intercourse with -- RAYE You speak Chinese? AYEKA stares at RAYE for a moment. AYEKA You mean ... there's a difference between the language that she's using and the one that we're using now? RAYE Uh ... yeah. They're not related, at all. AYEKA Oh ... oh dear. No wonder she thought I was a foreigner when we spoke. RAYE I don't get it ... how can you -- AYEKA touches the wood-carved headband that she wears. AYEKA All the members of Jurai's royal family are given training in what we call telelinguistics -- the ability to mentally translate languages, and to project thoughts that convey the meaning of what we say in the listener's native language. I can actually only speak a bit of Japanese on my own. RAYE Seriously? That's amazing ... AYEKA MODEST Well, it's not really as incredible a thing as all that. After all, it's the only telepathic ability I have, and it only works because my headband is a psychic amplifier. BEAT Sometimes, it works so well that I don't even realize that I'm listening to a translation ... She turns back to the window ... and sees SHAMPOO glaring in. AYEKA is startled. AYEKA MANDARIN Eek! SHAMPOO MANDARIN; *VERY* ANGRY What. Did. You. Hear? AYEKA I ... I regret your husband's folly. SHAMPOO's face gets even more frosty ... and she turns and stomps away. RAYE has been watching with a confused expression. RAYE What'd you say to her? AYEKA I ... all I said was that I was sorry for what her husband had done, and she -- RAYE UPSET And she didn't give you a chance to explain or -- why, that -- RAYE angrily opens the window, and climbs through it. RAYE Hey, you! HEADING AFTER SHAMPOO You with the cheesebuns on your head! AYEKA intends to follow RAYE out through the window, but is hindered by her dress' large skirt. AYEKA DREADING Oh, dear. She dashes down the hallway. URD, who has been standing in the shadows, unnoticed until now, steps forward to watch her go. She smiles, a quiet smile totally at odds with her usual vampish persona. URD ... the most unlikely of friends ... Outside the house, RAYE chases after SHAMPOO who is walking away angrily. RAYE Hey, you! Stop, I said! SHAMPOO abruptly stops, and whips around so that she is in RAYE's face. SHAMPOO What want, Annoying No-Know Girl? RAYE UNDAUNTED I wanna know why the heck you didn't give Ayeka-san the chance to explain -- SHAMPOO -- explain *more* Shampoo's shame? RAYE No! *Why* she didn't tell you that she was an alien! There is a long pause. SHAMPOO Alien is foreigner, yes? RAYE No, this time, alien is person from another planet. Another long pause. SHAMPOO You think Shampoo *really* stupid. RAYE SARCASM That's not the issue here. SHAMPOO IGNORING She one of saucer people. *Sure*. She look and talk like human being, but she really a saucer people. Explain everything. RAYE You don't think so? Then how do you explain her translation trick? SHAMPOO stares at RAYE as though in doubt as to her sanity. SHAMPOO Magic! RAYE DEEP SIGH Okay, whatEVER. I don't see why you got so mad at -- SHAMPOO She let me think she from other than Japan -- RAYE And she is! Even if you aren't willing to believe that she's from another planet, she *is* from outside Japan. SHAMPOO SNORT Sure. She have Annoying Not-Know Girl as friend, but she not from Japan -- RAYE ANGRY And what's that supposed to mean? SHAMPOO Shampoo know how Japanese people are to foreigners. Shampoo know *very* well how Japanese people -- RAYE *VERY* ANGRY Oh YEAH? You know the opinion of each and every one of the Japanese, huh? SHAMPOO I -- RAYE You even call me "Not-Know Girl", and then have the nerve to say you know how I feel or think? BEAT Yeah, there's a lot of racism in Japan. I'm not going to try and justify it, or apologize for it. All I can do is try and live my life without embracing it. RAYE turns away. RAYE And for what it's worth, if I were as bad as you're making me out to be, I wouldn't have my best friends in this world. BEAT Because all four of them are `only' part- Japanese. Later, Cheesebun Head. She stalks away, leaving SHAMPOO with a very confused expression. From the roof of the dojo, AETHAN is watching with an oddly amused look on his face. He shakes his head, and then suddenly looks towards the gates of the dojo. MINAKO approaches the gate of the dojo at a dead run, gasping for breath. She pauses momentarily. MINAKO ... six minutes ... She closes her eyes, and shakes her head violently. She returns to her normal appearance, and opens the gate. AETHAN is standing just inside. Their eyes meet. A long silence ensues. MINAKO I'm not clean anymore. Will you let me love you, now? AETHAN's face gives no indication if he's confused by her words or not. AETHAN I should have explained to you what was happening. I should not have just left you there. BEAT You should not have interfered when the teleportation took effect. You placed yourself in serious danger. BEAT I think we're even. Don't you? MINAKO nods, trembling. AETHAN Very well. BEAT Do you want me to take you to your friends or -- MINAKO PANICS NO! BEAT; GASP No. AETHAN All right. BEAT You're going to have to face them sooner or later, though. MINAKO ALMOST ACCUSING You know. Close in on AETHAN's eye. We see a surreal image of MINAKO -- a line drawing in pale chalk on a shifting polychromatic background. On the drawing, blobs of colour are dabbed -- red on the hands, black on the heart, green in the stomach, and white interspersed clots of the shifting background in the mind. Her eyes are still blue. AETHAN (V.O.) Yes. I know. Close in on one of the eyes. We draw back from MINAKO's actual eye. MINAKO They can't. Not *ever*. There is another long silence. AETHAN All right. Then they won't. BEAT Come. You need a shower. He clutches his arm around her shoulders, and she nestles into his side. They begin to walk in the direction of the Helifortress. MINAKO It won't work. BEAT But I'll do it, anyway. BEAT Does it ever get easier? AETHAN Yes. Every time. It gets easier, and easier, and easier ... and then it gets hard to stop. BEAT It is ... *very* hard for me to stop. MINAKO But you do. AETHAN Yes. MINAKO Will you teach me to stop? AETHAN If I can. Fade to black. AKANE (V.O.) Aino Minako frightens me. BEAT It's something I've never dealt with before -- I've been afraid of what someone's going to do to me or to people I care about ... but I've never been scared of what someone might do to herself. BEAT When I visited her, in preparation for writing this, I was prepared to deal with a grieving woman. And she wasn't. She was very cheerful when we spoke, and it wasn't until I *looked* that I saw the anguish and turmoil that she was suffering from. BEAT She gave me *everything* about these days, from beginning to end. Even beyond all the minutiae I had to cut, I've left out the candid depictions of her "encounters" with DeGales, among other things. BEAT Anyway, it was around eleven that morning that the meeting finally got going. Fade in on the kitchen. LITA and PATRICIA are watching KASUMI prepare a dish of some sort, and listening to her instructions, as UKYOU enters. KASUMI Ara! Hello, Kuonji-san. UKYOU Hello, Kasumi. Uh ... Sailor ... Jupiter, right? LITA Yep. UKYOU BEAT Never *dreamed* I'd be ... anyway, your leader asked me to tell you that the meeting's starting. KASUMI watches this exchange intently. LITA Okay, thanks. BEAT Raye and Amy are already there, though ... and it's not like she's going to need me to do anything they can't ... so ... UKYOU Tell me about it. I feel like I'm only here because Ranchan invited me over two nights ago, and hasn't figured out how to ask me to leave. BEAT; QUICK But that's not true, of course. KASUMI diplomatically finishes off the katsudon she's making without comment. KASUMI Well, then, Kuonji-san, would you like to help us cook? UKYOU Sure! BEAT How about some -- KASUMI I'm sorry, but we're all out of the ingredients for okonomiyaki -- UKYOU That's okay, I brought a bunch with me. I'll go get my gear! She dashes off. KASUMI looks stricken. LITA Ummm ... don't you like okonomiyaki? KASUMI Not ... three days ... in a row, no. LITA appears fairly ill at the thought. There is a sudden doorbell. KASUMI quickly heads out to answer it. The door slides open, revealing BELLDANDY, MARA, and KEIICHI. KASUMI's face freezes, as does BELLDANDY's face. The tension in the room increases several times over. KASUMI CLIPPED What do *you* want here? BELLDANDY I am Goddess First Class, Unlimited License, Belldandy. My sisters are within. I *will* enter. KEIICHI is looking at BELLDANDY in shock at the coldness in her words. MARA appears to be panicking. MARA ... she finally develops some back- bone, and it has to happen *now*? Both of them are ignored. KASUMI You are not welcome here. Their eyes lock. Yellow lightning flashes between them. KEIICHI DISBELIEVING Belldandy ...? BELLDANDY abruptly breaks the eyelock, and turns to look at KEIICHI uncertainly. KASUMI follows her gaze, and quickly makes a decision. KASUMI Young sir. What is your name? KEIICHI Me? KASUMI Yes, had I referred to the daemon accompanying you, I should have said "young madam". KEIICHI Uh ... Morisato Keiichi. Nice to -- KASUMI Morisato Keiichi-san, can you vouch for this person's lack of hostile intent? KEIICHI VERY CONFUSED Uh ... you mean Mara, right? MARA glares at him. KASUMI No. I refer to this "Goddess". KEIICHI Right. Sorry. MIND CATCHES UP Hostile intent?! *Belldandy's* -- KASUMI Correct. KEIICHI Uh ... y-yes, of course! She'd never even hurt a fly! KASUMI gazes at KEIICHI for a long moment ... then nods, decisively. KASUMI VERY FORMAL The Goddess First Class Belldandy, the Demon First Class Mara, and the mortal Morisato Keiichi may enter the Tendou home. BEAT Should any harm come to any here by your actions, I shall forthwith insist on your departure. BELLDANDY I shall finish my business here, and depart immediately thereafter. KASUMI steps aside. As BELLDANDY steps past her, she whispers. KASUMI WHISPER If you harm any of my sisters, I shall kill you. BELLDANDY gives no indication of hearing, but walks past, cooly serene. MARA evidently did hear, and gives KASUMI an incredulous look as she walks past. KASUMI ignores her, and instead glomps onto KEIICHI as he passes. KASUMI This way, Morisato-san. KEIICHI Uh, excuse me? KASUMI smiles apologetically. KASUMI I am sorry, Mr. Morisato, but as you are a hostage, I have to keep an eye on you. Please come this way. She politely guides the shocked KEIICHI down the hall. Suddenly, BELLDANDY's "angel", Hollybell, appears before KASUMI's face, and speaks in an incomprehensible language. SUBTITLE Thus saith Belldandy: Should any harm come to Keiichi-san, I shall not rest until the line of the Moon Kingdom is no more. The "angel" vanishes. KEIICHI BLINKS Uh ... what was that all about? KASUMI Nothing very important. BEAT Do you like okonomiyaki, Morisato-san? KEIICHI Well, yeah, it's okay. KASUMI Oh, good. SASAMI is standing at the door to the kitchen, staring down the hallway with a forlorn expression, as KASUMI and KEIICHI approach from behind her. KASUMI Ara? SASAMI turns around, and bows quickly. SASAMI Hello. My big sister said that they were going to be talking about grown up things, so I should go help in the kitchen. Can I? KASUMI MURMURED I wonder when we approach the point of "too many"? ALOUD Of course. You are Sasami-chan, if I remember rightly? SASAMI CHEERFUL AND ENTHUSIASTIC Yes! KASUMI And this is Morisato Keiichi-san. KEIICHI smiles despite his confusion. KEIICHI Pleased to meet you. SASAMI is *very* startled, and stares at KEIICHI without responding. KEIICHI Uh ... something wrong? SASAMI snaps out of it, and shakes her head quickly, not trusting her voice. KEIICHI Ooookay. Cut to the inside of the dojo, the only room in the house large enough to hold this meeting. All the cast except those who have been shown to be elsewhere or who enter during the scene are present. RYOUKO is smiling malevolently in RANMA's direction. causing him to become very nervous. AKANE notices, and is building up to "jealousy". AMY is quietly working with her computer. KENT is addressing the assembly. KENT ... and that's the situation. A group of demons have been summoned to this world by persons unknown -- although we have suspicions -- RANMA The old freak. KENT NODS -- and I am asking for your collective assistance in dealing with them. BEAT Any questions? SERENA's hand shoots straight up. KENT Yes, Ms. Tsukino? SERENA What about Mina? What are you doing to -- KENT As I told Mr. DeGales, there's not much we can do except -- The door slides open. MINAKO, looking refreshed and cheerful, wanders in, followed closely by AETHAN. MINAKO -- except what's going to work! SERENA MINA! RAYE half-rises. RAYE God, Mina, are you all -- MINAKO VERY SINCERE Yes! I'm completely all right. Why wouldn't I be? GIDEON You got lost in the Void, girl, that's not -- MINAKO I coped! BEAT You're ... Michael Gideon, right? Aethan's told me a lot about you! GIDEON Really. BEAT Huh. He hasn't told me anything about you. MINAKO Of course not. BEAT So, what'd I miss? KENT Well, to summarize, demons are invading, will you help us fight them? MINAKO Oh. BEAT Yeah, that'd explain it. You're Kent Masefield, right? KENT Correct. Aethan told -- MINAKO No, not much. But this woman named Jessica told me that you'd be here, and -- KENT moves from a position a few feet away from MINAKO to where he's looming over her. His face is blanch white. KENT NOT MUCH OVER A WHISPER WHAT? MINAKO stares up at him without concern. MINAKO Don't crowd me, please. KENT opens his mouth to snap a retort ... and something in MINAKO's eyes makes him back down. MINAKO I worked my way out of -- the Void? -- quite a ways from here. There was a demon ... and I fought it, with some help from some of my other friends. BEAT Anyway, after we'd finished, this woman came out of nowhere, beat the heck out of my friends, and told me to deliver a message to a guy named Kent Masefield, here. BEAT She said to tell you that Jessica was here, and that she was waiting. And then she flew away. ANDREW is getting to his feet, looking alarmed. ANDREW Flew, as in, ran away fast, right? MINAKO SLOWLY; AS THOUGH TO AN IDIOT No, she *flew*. NINIANE nods, fatalistically. MINAKO So -- does it make any sense to you? KENT QUIET Yes. BEAT That woman was Jessica -- MINAKO I *think* I'd figured out that part. KENT Her full name is Jessica Drummond. She's an international terrorist and criminal, wanted on every continent except Antarctica, for offenses punishable by death. BEAT She is also my half-sister. Silence greets this revelation. KENT My father ... was a great and heroic man. BEAT He made a number of terrible mistakes in his life. BEAT I ... it seems, at times, that it is the responsibility of children to either continue the work that their parents left undone ... or to make amends for the mistakes of their parents' lives ... or as often as not, both. He seems to be looking at RANMA as he says this. KENT She's waiting? That's not a surprise ... she's been waiting for a chance to kill me since we were about eight years old. BEAT Did she say anything else? MINAKO Uh ... I think she said something about it being a shame that a lot of people had to die for someone's mistake -- KENT IMPATIENT And? MINAKO Would you back off, please? Geez, I wasn't expecting the Span-- KENT ODD SMILE Don't. The way things are going, they'd show up. MINAKO is completely shocked. KENT Ahem. MINAKO Uh ... THINKS something about it being strange that ... the police hadn't shown up -- AKANE is suddenly on her feet. AKANE Wait a minute -- I remember thinking the same thing the other night, when that demon blew up the train station and -- that it was ridiculous for the police to have not shown up after something that ... *big* had happened. KENT SLOWLY The police did show up, but not until -- URD Until after I called them. KENT turns to look at her, a bit surprised. KENT You did? URD What? You think all I do is walk around and look good? SKULD MUTTERED Could fool me sometimes. ALOUD We saw the explosion, and figured that since we were inside the nexus of improbability, we shouldn't use our powers to fix things, because we didn't know how it'd come out -- URD glowers at SKULD as a brief SD image of what actually happened appears over her head: the explosion, then SD-URD cackling as she flexes her fingers, and begins to make magical gestures, followed by SD-SKULD whopping her with the mallet, and lecturing in an incoherent, tinny voice. DARIEN You'll excuse me for saying so, but it seems that everything seems to be pointing towards the police as "part of the problem". KENT NOD Or at least, something's happening there that Jessica -- MINAKO -- or her boss. KENT Her boss? MINAKO Yeah ... she said something about how she'd stopped someone from stopping the gate from opening, so that she could make a deal with -- MARA (O.S.) She's *MINE*. URD and SKULD's heads whip around to the door as it slams open, revealing a *very* pissed off MARA. SKULD's mallet is instantly at hand, and URD begins to summon up a thunderbolt -- Just as BELLDANDY steps into view. BELLDANDY Oh, *there* you are! I've been looking all over for the two of you. URD and SKULD facefault. BELLDANDY Please allow me to introduce myself. I am the Goddess First Class, Unlimited License, Belldandy. I take it that you've met my sisters. BELLDANDY turns to KENT, and blinks at him for a moment. BELLDANDY Oh my. BEAT Aren't you -- NINIANE begins to move her hand behind her back, tracing an arcane pattern in the air, as she stares with horror at BELLDANDY. BELLDANDY pauses, then shakes her head. BELLDANDY I'm sorry. I mistook you for some- one else. NINIANE lets out a sigh of relief, and drops her hand. KENT is plainly confused, but covers it by turning to look at MARA. KENT Excuse me ... but aren't you a demon? Everyone reacts to that. RAYE gets out an ofuda, RYOUKO looks at MARA with interest, etc. MARA Yeah. What's yer point? KENT VERY CASUAL Why shouldn't we blast you off the face of the earth? MARA Maybe because you don't have the cojones. BEAT Or maybe because, miracul of miraculs, I'm on your side? KENT What side's that? MARA The "get-rid-of-the-Adversary" side? NINIANE, URD, SKULD, AETHAN, and COLOGNE all react with varying degrees of shock. MCGOVERN has a strange little smile. AKANE (V.O.) It was the first time most of those in the room had heard the name ... at least in connection with our current situation ... KENT has a strange expression on his face. KENT The Adversary? MARA Yeah. A few days back some idiot mortal attracted its attention and drew it to this plane. I tried to stop the stupid ritual, but your little sister stopped me before I could. TENCHI Uh ... excuse me, but what exactly is the ... Adversary? MARA opens her mouth to explain. NINIANE Evil. BEAT It is the enemy of all who live. TENCHI Oh. BEAT So ... why not just call it the Enemy, then? NINIANE opens her mouth to reply, then steals a quick look at KENT. She shrugs. NINIANE Tradition. KENT turns back to MARA. KENT In any event ... why did you try to prevent the Adversary's coming? MARA SHRUG I'm not done with this world yet. And when the Adversary is, there won't be anything left of it but a barren cinder orbiting a burnt out star. Where's the fun in that? KENT nods once, then turns back to NINIANE. KENT You know about this thing? NINIANE Legends, only. KENT How can it be beaten? MARA has a brief fit of laughter, which earns her hostile looks from all three goddesses. NINIANE According to the legends -- boredom. BEAT In several accounts, when the Adversary wasn't able to achieve a sufficiently swift victory, it lost interest in the conflict, and quit the field. COLOGNE The accounts of my people also tell of such things. A series of Chinese paintings illustrate the following tale. Ku-Len Sing resembles has long, greenish-black hair, with earlocks. COLOGNE (V.O.) It is said that Ku-Len Sing, the daughter of an Amazon matriarch and the God of War, was able to cause the Adversary -- whose name in our tongue I will not pronounce -- to lose interest in Earth during the First Emperor's reign by defeating a horde of goblinkind, singlehandedly. The battle is said to have lasted five days and five nights. RANMA (V.O.) So what happened to her after that? COLOGNE (V.O.) Most of the parts of her body were recovered, eventually. Cut back to reality. Most of the more ... sensitive souls in the room are rather disturbed by COLOGNE's story, and SERENA in particular seems green around the gills. KENT I'm not going to ask what happens to the heroes in your stories, all right, Niniane? NINIANE Probably a wise move. KENT Okay ... what exactly does this thing want? Power? Souls? A blue gem with an attitude problem? NINIANE has a guarded expression, and is relieved when BELLDANDY speaks up. BELLDANDY According to the stories of *my* people ... it craves the destruction of the material universe. KENT MUTTERED ... next time, definitely take the fishing trip. BELLDANDY Excuse me? KENT Never mind. BEAT All right. One thing at a time -- I think that we should examine the question of why the local police are being so slow on the draw. BEAT Come to think of it ... it took a rather long time for them to get there after Shujin's murder, too ... NABIKI SUDDENLY INTERESTED Yeah. I mean, it's *normal* for them to stay the heck away from martial arts duels in this town, but after a murder -- they took something like a half hour to get there. KENT I take it that you know about how the police operate under normal circumstances? NABIKI MODEST I keep my eyes open. KENT NODS Okay. TO EVERYONE What I'm going to suggest may surprise some of you, but I think that the best way that we can operate is to divide into groups of three -- NINIANE and RANMA look startled. A confused murmur begins to develop. KENT -- but not necessarily three people from the same ... *team*, as you might call them. RANMA Uh ... why *three*? KENT BLASE It's my lucky number. BEAT Also, there are exactly twenty-seven people here, now, which gives us nine of these groups. AMY suddenly looks up from her computer. AMY There are only twenty-six here. BEAT Ah ... Lita. KENT NODS I included Sailor Jupiter, yes. BEAT What are you doing, if you don't mind my asking? AMY UNLFLUSTERED/B> I'm taking minutes. That *is* proper meeting procedure, isn't it? KENT Yes it is. I'm glad you thought of it. Thank you. COLOGNE Ahem. Excuse me, but I think you would be better served if Ms. Kuonji -- who is also in the kitchen -- went in my place. KENT looks at COLOGNE for a moment, then nods slowly. KENT Yes. I see your point. MANDARIN Thank you, Honored Grandmother, for forgoing the glory of the field to defend this place. COLOGNE accepts the thanks with good grace, turns to SHAMPOO and gives her a meaningful look, and starts to hop out of the room. COLOGNE I will send Ms. Kuonji and the Sailor Senshi back when I meet them. She slides the door shut behind her. KENT Now, I'd like to give you the chance to make your own groups, but -- Chaos. RYOUKO and AYEKA grab either side of TENCHI, with MIHOSHI looking anxiously down at him from behind. AKANE does not go so far as to grab RANMA, but she *does* give SHAMPOO a warning glare -- which is returned, with interest. RYOUGA glowers in RANMA's direction. RAYE, AMY, and MINA exchange a quick look of anxiety, before looking at DARIEN and SERENA, sitting together holding hands peacefully. MARA grins at BELLDANDY, which look is not lost on URD and SKULD. KYOUSUKE looks lost. KENT MUTTERED -- but that probably wouldn't work. BEAT I wonder why. AMY suddenly waves her hand in the air, and the arguments slow as she does. AMY Excuse me! I think I can come up with a fair way of choosing the groups. KENT Go on. AMY My computer will randomly pick three names from the list of people present, and set them up as a group. Would everyone view that as fair? RYOUKO and AYEKA look as though they want to protest the arbitrary nature of the possibility that they won't either of them get TENCHI. TENCHI *VERY* FAST Yes! Very fair! KENT I have one request, however. BEAT Nabiki-san, you mentioned that you were familiar with the police. I'd appreciate it if you'd accompany me when I went down to the station. NABIKI seems to be about to ask "What's it worth to you", but something in KENT's expresssion stops her. NABIKI GRUDGING Okay. KENT And if ... KENT surveys the assembled group, and his gaze settles on the TENCHI bunch. KENT ... you'd also come with me, Mr. Masaki, I'd appreciate it. Shock dominates RYOUKO and AYEKA's features. They suddenly glare at NABIKI, as if non-verbally warning her off. NABIKI seems unphased. TENCHI Certainly, if you think I can help. KENT Right. If you could remove their names and mine from the process, we can get started. AMY It's done. A piece of paper shoots out from the back of the computer, and falls to the floor. Cut to a place of endless grey mist. PLUTO and WASHUU appear to be studying a large, incandescent globe. WASHUU is laughing her head off, much to PLUTO's obvious annoyance. WASHUU "Random selection". Right. Sure. So how long ago did you set these teams up, anyway? Before or after the Silver Millenium? PLUTO My, aren't we cynical. I did not. WASHUU STILL AMUSED Sure. PLUTO VERY ANNOYED Washuu, if it were my intention to *interfere* in these events, Uranus and Neptune would be there. BEAT As it is, you are correct -- given the intersecting probability fields in the Tendou dojo, the results are not in any way random. WASHUU AMUSED If you say so, I guess -- PLUTO Washuu, shut up. WASHUU Gonna make me? A long, EXTREMELY hostile look is exchanged. WASHUU Don't bother trying to intimidate me, Pluto. I know exactly what you're capable of doing, and I know that the last time we went 'round, it was a draw. I might not remember much else about it, but I *do* know that I've progressed since then. PLUTO QUIET And I have not? WASHUU I doubt it. You wouldn't need me if you had. A long silence ensues. PLUTO It would not be appropriate for beings of our stature to be fighting one another at this time. Reality itself is imperiled -- WASHUU -- or it's closer than ever before to perfection. BEAT I know what happens in the Gathering, Pluto. I've observed it millions of times, in places far removed from this little mudball. BEAT And all I care about is that my daughter and her friends come out of this alive and sane. The rest of you can go hang, for all I care. PLUTO For one who claims to have grown, *Callistra*, you don't seem to have changed a great deal. WASHUU glares at PLUTO with real anger now. Cut to RYOUGA plodding along with a depressed look on his face. RYOUGA Why do random selections always end up with me *not* being with -- AMY, transformed to SAILOR MERCURY, walking beside him, smiles apologetically. AMY I programmed the selector to not pair up associates unless there was no one else available. It seemed the best solution to the problem of what to do about the ladies from Okayama. RYOUGA DEPRESSED Oh. That makes sense. I guess. Kind of. ANDREW, walking a little ways behind the two of them, is looking around at his surroundings with the air of one constantly alert for danger. ANDREW So are there any more? RYOUGA Excuse me? ANDREW Any more quote godlike martial artists unquote in this district? RYOUGA Oh. Well, there's Mousse, but he's on a training trip. Uh ... Konatsu, the ninja who works in Ucchans -- ANDREW MUTTERED There *would* be a ninja in it, eventually ... RYOUGA -- I suppose Kodachi might count, but she's probably out of it. That combat cheerleader -- whatsername, Mariko ... but she moved out a while back. That guy who does the Martial Arts Tea Ceremony -- ANDREW Okay, okay, okay! MUTTERED Why did I ask? Oh, why did I ask? RYOUGA is caught up his telling. RYOUGA -- and then there are the occasional weirdos who wander through, like Pantyhose Tarou. TAROU (O.S.) Gee, thanks, pig boy. RYOUGA, with something akin to genuine fear on his face, whirls to see that the effeminate looking martial artist is leaning against the wall of a nearby building. TAROU HEAVY SARCASM It's nice to know you think I'm in the same league as the Tea Ceremony guy. RYOUGA WARY What do you want? TAROU gets off the wall. TAROU The usual. Where's the old freak? RYOUGA I don't know. TAROU considers this. TAROU Okay. That didn't strain your brain, did it? AMY ANNOYED Excuse me -- TAROU doesn't even bother looking at her. TAROU Shut up, slit. I'm gonna go to the the Dojo of Stupid People and ask fem boy -- AMY is too shocked to say anything. RYOUGA OUTRAGED Hey! Take that back. TAROU What? RYOUGA What you just called her! Why -- TAROU Look, piggy wiggy, I'll call whoever I want, whatever I want -- unless you'd care to do something about my mouth? RYOUGA unlimbers his umbrella with an angry expression. AMY Mr. Hibiki -- you don't have to do this! RYOUGA I am *not* going to just stand here and let -- AMY It's all right, it's just a word. I'm not -- TAROU Come on, P-chan ... unless your li'l girl is holding your weenie -- AMY, outraged at the implication, whirls. AMY MERCURY BUBBLES FREEZE! A storm of bubbles shoot towards TAROU, who, not expecting to be beset by magic, is caught by them. An icy statue forms around him. RYOUGA stares at AMY in shock. AMY A BIT EMBARRASSED My boyfriend's honor was at stake. I -- TAROU shatters the ice, and smiles evilly. TAROU How refreshing. Now, *pig-boy*, where were we? Oh yeah. The scene where I beat your head in. Well, let's GO. Close up of TAROU's snarling face -- Just as two shots ring out. TAROU's face freezes ... as he slowly crumples to the ground. Blood is flowing from his knees, and he is obviously in great pain. ANDREW, holding his Colt "Peacemaker" Revolver, has no more expression on his face than he would if he'd just swatted a fly. TAROU is shocked beyond anger. TAROU You son of a bitch. You've crippled me. ANDREW Probably. But try anything, and the next one'll go right between your eyebrows. *I* don't have time for your stupid little games, and I'm fairly sure that Mr. Hibiki wasn't really spoiling for a fight. TO RYOUGA Am I wrong? RYOUGA A *BIT* SCARED Uh ... no. Not ... much. With him. ANDREW Okay, then. If I don't forget, I'll be sure and call an ambulance and tell them where to find you. See ya. He starts off in the direction they were headed before. After a moment, RYOUGA follows. AMY almost starts to bend down and try and treat the wounds, but TAROU snarls at her, causing her to back off, and head after them. AMY catches up to ANDREW, *very* angry. AMY Was that *necessary*? ANDREW returns her glare evenly for a moment, then nods subtly. ANDREW No. I could have blown his head off first thing. AMY Or you could have tried talking -- ANDREW Isn't that what Mr. Hibiki *did*, Ms. Mizuno? TO RYOUGA What's that guy's beef, anyway? RYOUGA Well ... as near as I understand it, he wants to find Happosai -- the one Ranma calls the `old freak' and make him give him a new name. He doesn't like his name, you see. ANDREW What's so bad about Tarou? I mean, I wouldn't want to be named after a cat either, but -- RYOUGA No, the other part. Pantyhose. ANDREW comes to a dead stop, and gives RYOUGA the Look. Ryouga has never gotten the Look from another man, so it makes him rather nervous. ANDREW It's not *nice* to tell dumb jokes to your elders, kid. RYOUGA No, *seriously*! Happosai named him, and -- ANDREW Okay, is this some Japanese custom I don't know about? That only the one who named you can change it? RYOUGA EXPLAINING THE OBVIOUS He's not Japanese. He's Chinese. ANDREW rolls his eyes. ANDREW Okay. Anyway, Ms. Mizuno, given this information, how would you have talked him out of fighting? AMY I didn't *have* this information. If I'd talked, I could have drawn it out of him, empathized, and -- ANDREW PUZZLED Now, why would he have empathized with you, when he'd just called you a -- ahem, what he called you? AMY I ... BEAT I just think that it didn't have to be so violent. Violence doesn't solve anything. ANDREW Tell that to the Carthaginians. AMY ANGRY I've read Starship Troopers, thank you. ANDREW Really? Huh. I'm impressed. I shouldn't be, you seemed like a smart kid from the start ... okay, you're not wrong. Me kneecapping that screwed-up kid hasn't solved the problem someone else is going to have to deal with when it comes to him, eventually. But his problem doesn't relate to the problem you, me, and Hibiki are dealing with right now. It's too big, for one thing. Our job is to keep an eye out for signs that the demons are moving in the open. BEAT Do you understand where I'm coming from? AMY GRUDGING Yes. I think so. I don't know if I can agree with it, but -- ANDREW That's not the point. Are you willing to put it behind you? AMY eventually nods. ANDREW Okay. LOOKS UP Now -- where the hell did Hibiki go? They are the only people on the street. Cut to rooftops. SKULD drops down on one of them, and looks backwards. SKULD Well, at least Keiichi didn't try to fool around with my big sister while I was out. AKANE drops down beside her. AKANE He didn't seem like such a lecher back there, Skuld-san. SKULD Call me Skuld, please, honorifics don't really apply. And of course he's a lecher. All boys are. BEAT Are you coming over or not?!? Cut to a row of buildings across an alley -- perhaps eight or nine feet wide -- from AKANE and SKULD. KYOUSUKE is looking down at the gulf with an anxious expression. KYOUSUKE I'm really sorry ... I'm just not used to -- AKANE Look, nobody will give you a second look in this town, unless you do something *really* flashy. Jumping across a gulf isn't going to make waves. KYOUSUKE nods uncertainly, then closes his eyes, glows momentarily, and jumps across the alleyway. AKANE Okay. Now get used to doing that *without* pausing, and we'll be all set. BEAT Now, what do you mean, all boys are lechers? SKULD Well they are. BEAT; TO KYOUSUKE When you were a teenager, were you a lech, Mr. Kasuga? KYOUSUKE No. BEAT Some of my -- what constitutes being a lech, exactly? SKULD Thinking of things that you'd like to do to girls if you got a chance, chasing after them -- AKANE MUTTERED, PERHAPS UNCONSCIOUSLY ... letting more than one girl think you're interested at a time ... SKULD Oh, that's *sick*! Nobody but a complete lech would do that! There is a long, uncomfortable pause. KYOUSUKE Right. AKANE I guess ... SKULD Anyway, let's get going. She dashes off. AKANE gives KYOUSUKE a speculative glance that he pretends to ignore, as they follow. AKANE (V.O.) For the record ... no, I don't think Kasuga-san is a lech. Cut to KENT, NABIKI, and TENCHI, walking down the street slowly. TENCHI Um ... Mr. Masefield, do you mind if I ask you something? KENT Ask, and I'll let you know if I mind or not. TENCHI Well, Mr. DeGales has told you about ... well -- KENT He's told me what you *said*. I should tell you, he doesn't believe in aliens. TENCHI Well, I -- wait a minute! NABIKI Oh, this should be interesting. KENT Everyone has a different threshold of disbelief. BEAT Anyway? TENCHI Well, I was wondering whether or not I'm going to be in trouble -- since it's my fault that Princess Ayeka, and Ryouko, and Mihoshi, and -- KENT No. It's only when there are large numbers of a species, interfering in human affairs, that the PDF gets involved. BEAT Although I think may have to have some words with our Japanese office. You're from Okayama? TENCHI nods. KENT DISTURBED That's very strange. One of the PDF's senior members lives there. TENCHI develops a sick expression. KENT He's retired, now, but if he were to observe anything odd going on in the vicinity, it wouldn't be hard for him to call in an investigation team. I -- TENCHI WEAK Would his name be Masaki Katsuhito? KENT Why, yes. BEAT A relative of yours, I take it? TENCHI nods weakly. NABIKI stares ... and a slow, *dangerous* smile grows on her face. NABIKI SOFTLY I seeeee ... Cut to the kitchen of the Masaki home, where YOSHOU (aka Masaki Katsuhito) is enjoying a quiet tea. YOSHOU Ahhh. An excellent blend. KASUGA-OJIICHAN is sitting across from him. OJIICHAN I'm glad you approve. Now, about the matter I came here to discuss. YOSHOU Hmm. As it happens, my grandson doesn't have a fiancee, as such. But do you really think that it's a good idea to engage him to one of your grand-daughters without telling him? OJIICHAN Well, at the rate those two are going, they're never going to settle down. I'm just glad they quit dating those two leches ... in any case, we need to act in their best interests. BEAT And besides, it might produce something ... very interesting? YOSHOU sips his tea, inscrutably. Cut to UKYOU, approaching the door of UCCHAN's. She looks over her shoulder. UKYOU If you don't mind, I'd like to check out my okonomiyaki-ya before we go any further. LITA (as Sailor Jupiter) nods. MICHAEL GIDEON, clearly a bit uncomfortable in the presence of these two, is standing a ways behind. LITA Go right ahead ... sing out if you need any help, though. UKYOU flashes a friendly smile, and heads in. LITA turns to look at MICHAEL. LITA You know ... we still haven't been formally introduced. MICHAEL No ... no we haven't. Michael Gideon, atcherservice. Everyone calls me Gideon but -- Cut to UKYOU moving through the empty store with a cautious air. Back outside. LITA So how do you know Aethan? MICHAEL GUARDED Pretty well. Cut to UKYOU checking behind the grill. She starts to examine the grill, establishing that it's rather warm. Back outside. LITA No, not how well do you know -- MICHAEL Oh. Uh, we used to work pretty closely together. When the Shadows were still a going concern. But if you know him, I guess you know all about that. Cut to UKYOU reacting to a faint noise, swiftly unlimbering her battle spatula. She starts heading for the storage room. Back outside. LITA Uh ... maybe I don't know him as well as that. What are the Shadows? MICHAEL flinches. Cut to UKYOU standing beside the door, and slowly reaching for the handle. Back outside. MICHAEL Well, a few years ago, he talked me and a few other people into doing charity work -- of the `saving the world' variety, if you know -- yeah, you know what I mean. We called ourselves the Shadows. Cut to UKYOU closing her hand around the handle. Her arm tenses. Back outside. LITA So where are these Shadows now? Aside from you and him, I mean? Cut to inside as UKYOU jerks back the handle, and jumps around the door to see what's inside the storage room. Her eyes bulge in shock. Back outside. MICHAEL Most of 'em are dead. Cut to UKYOU letting out a short, hollow scream. Back outside. LITA turns and dashes into the restaurant with her hands already beginning to make the gestures of an attack. MICHAEL is not far behind. Inside, LITA dashes towards where UKYOU is standing, her eyes tightly closed. LITA What? WHAT? UKYOU I -- LITA looks in the supply closet. KONATSU is standing there, beet red, holding a pile of clothes in front of hir "privates". KONATSU I ... I was about to start cleaning up, and so I was changing into my -- TEARS FORGIVE ME, UKYOU-SAMA! LITA slowly turns to look at UKYOU, whose eyes are still closed. LITA Ummm ... friend of yours? UKYOU TIGHT Employee. Is s/he dressed yet? LITA Nooo. BEAT She? UKYOU S/he. Long story. Cut to a little while later. UKYOU is working behind the grill with a mortified expression, while LITA and MICHAEL eat okonomiyaki. LITA I still don't see what the big deal is. I mean -- BEAT Wait. Don't tell me you've never seen a -- UKYOU Of course I haven't! BEAT At least, not since I was very small, and I was playing with -- MICHAEL begins to look embarrased. LITA Okay, but it's *still* not such a big deal. I mean, I didn't see it, but would you say that it was -- UKYOU I don't want to *think* about it, thanks! LITA Come on! I mean, judging by his chest, he's -- UKYOU -- a guy who thinks that part was a mistake on the assembly line! It's bad enough my fiancee turns into a girl, I don't want to put up with a guy who *wants* to be a girl! AKANE (V.O.) -- said Nerima's most famous female- to-male transvestite. MICHAEL Um, do you think we could get -- LITA I don't see what the big deal about *that* is. I mean, it'd be really useful, I think. UKYOU APPALLED Excuse me? LITA Well think about it. UKYOU DELIBERATE No. I'm not *like* that -- LITA Neither am *I*! BEAT But think about it -- if he spends a lot of time as a girl, he'll know what girls *like*, right? AKANE (V.O.) Well, no. MICHAEL stands up and starts waving his arms. MICHAEL VERY EMBARRASSED That's it! I quit! He starts to head for the door, with UKYOU and LITA staring at him, startled to be reminded of his presence. AETHAN appears in the doorway, staring quizzically at MICHAEL. AETHAN "Quit?" MICHAEL Uh ... I meant, for a smoke. AETHAN Filthy habit. He looks at UKYOU. AETHAN May I come in? UKYOU Uh ... sure. AETHAN steps across the threshold, followed closely by MINAKO. MINAKO Find anything? LITA Not a thing. You? MINAKO Nope. It's just as well, I guess. LITA Huh? Mina ... are you okay? You're usually more enthusiastic than -- MINAKO I meant that we've had enough trouble with the third member of our "team". There is a low rumble, as of a building collapsing. MIHOSHI (O.S.) AAAACCK! LITA Was that -- AETHAN WEARY If not, there is another just like her, in which case total surrender to the enemy seems like a reasonable idea. MINAKO Imagine Serena, only worse, without any of her good qualities. LITA shudders, then turns to look at AETHAN. LITA So you used to run an operation called the Shadows, huh? AETHAN gives MICHAEL the Look. MICHAEL She wormed it out of me with her feminine wiles. LITA MUTTERED You jerk. AETHAN Ahem. That's correct, yes. LITA Is that where you met that Masefield guy? AETHAN blinks -- clearly he was not expecting a question along those lines. AETHAN In a way. BEAT It was ... my, close to two years ago. Our agents were running into frequent ... shall we say, encounters? ... with PDF personnel. MICHAEL Shall we say, slugfests? AETHAN It was, it turned out, a plot by a third party -- actually, an alliance of a few third parties -- to force our organizations to expend their strength fighting with each other, rather than them. Almost worked, but for one thing. MICHAEL We're in pitched battle with the "Alpha" Team these guys send out -- the same people here now, basically -- when all of a sudden the lights go out, and when they come back, Aethan and their chief are standing face to face, smiling like Cheshire cats who've just eaten canaries. MINAKO mouths the words "smiling like Cheshire cats who've just eaten canaries" silently. AETHAN FAINT SMILE What our adversaries failed to take into consideration was that while my path had never before crossed Mr. Masefield's, I was not unaware of his existence and reputation -- nor vice versa. It was child's play to arrange matters so that we could make an alliance of our own. UKYOU He's good with strategy? AETHAN Very. UKYOU DUBIOUS If you say so. The image freezes. AKANE (V.O.) I should probably explain something here -- Mr. DeGales, unlike Mr. Gideon, actually spoke Japanese. But he didn't think in it, he translated in his head. Which is why his lack of familiarity with all the names of everyone in my household paid off. Image resumes. UKYOU If I were a genius of strategy, I sure wouldn't leave someone as untrustworthy as Cologne guarding the house when Misty Cloud was there. Long silence. AETHAN BLINK Excuse me? UKYOU Kasumi. The oldest Tendou sister? The one who wanders around in -- AETHAN Yes, but her name means Misty Cloud? UKYOU Huh? BEAT Yeah. Huh. Never noticed that -- AETHAN whips around to stare at MICHAEL in horror, who returns the gaze in the same way. MICHAEL SHRIEK GO, MAN, GO! AETHAN goes. He is out the door and out of sight before MICHAEL finishes speaking. MINAKO Huh? What? AETHAN! LITA TO MICHAEL What's going on? MICHAEL A while ago, Aethan got a warning that he was supposed to protect a misty cloud. LITA You mean, Kasumi-san? MICHAEL Right. Cut to KASUMI, carrying a basket of clean laundry out into the garden to hang. MICHAEL (V.O.) So in other words, regardless of Masefield's strategy, everyone at the house is in a hell of a lot of trouble! KASUMI begins to hang the laundry, humming a soft, gentle tune as she does. From behind her, a shadow creeps across the lawn, until it covers KASUMI's back entirely. KASUMI pauses, and with no expression on her face at all, turns to look behind her. This particular demon (hereafter called a Sagu) is a hulking humanoid dark purple shape roughly eight feet tall, with a massive, cyclopean-eyed head which is slightly out of proportion to the size of its body. It is gazing down at KASUMI without moving. There is a long silence. KASUMI Oh my. The Sagu lifts its right arm high, a magical blade of force appearing from it -- then starts to swing it down towards KASUMI's horrified face. It is met in midstroke by an ogham-engraved katana. KASUMI looks down the sword's length to see AETHAN, his face clenched, his fangs obvious, his eyes slits. AETHAN RUN. KASUMI ducks under the hanging laundry and dashes for the house as the fight between AETHAN and the Sagu begins. It is a dangerously equal battle, with neither fighter able to hold the advantage for very long. Initially, the Sagu seems to be toying with the vampyre, but a few close misses end playtime. The skin of AETHAN's face seems to be pulling very tightly against his skull. Quite suddenly, AETHAN mistimes a step and falls over the laundry basket. The sword of the SAGU descends, and the laundry is stained with blood. On the porch, KASUMI appears, half-dragging a protesting PATRICIA. KASUMI lets out a shriek at the sight of her laundry, then turns to stare frantically at PATRICIA. KASUMI Ultimate weapon? PATRICIA blinks, startled -- and then her jaw sets. She nods once, then stands in a wide stance on the porch, her arms at her side -- and then she opens her mouth to yell. There is a flash of light. The flash prompts the Sagu-demon to look up from whatever it is doing to AETHAN in time for a massive dark green fist to slam into its face, knocking it back. The Sagu rolls up to get a look at the new attacker. The Mark II MARCHER Powered Armor is roughly eight feet tall, without a distinct head servo -- there is an obvious head, but it is recessed into the body and doesn't turn. Its eyes glow blue. It is important to note that the MARCHER is disturbingly *biological* in its appearance -- instead of clean mechanical limbs, its arms and legs are muscled much like a human being's limbs. In fact, the MARCHER and the Sagu resemble each other, in a way. The MARCHER points its fist towards the Sagu, and a pair of missile bays open up on its wrist. Two grenade like projectiles are shot towards the Sagu, with only one hitting to explode against its carcass. The Sagu howls in pain, and then bolts up to slam into the MARCHER, knocking both to the ground. Pinning the MARCHER's arms with its knees, the Sagu begins to slam its fists into the head and shoulders of the Powered Armor. Cut to inside the Powered Armor. We can only see PATRICIA's head and shoulders. She is being shaken by each impact, and appears to be in pain as well. She lets out a hollow cry. A shinai hits the back of the Sagu's head, doing absolutely no damage, but causing it to stop, and slowly turn around to see who has just assaulted it. It stares for a few seconds at the frightened face of STENGOVITCH. STENGOVITCH MUTTERED, PANICKED What on Earth am I doing? I -- The Sagu lifts a fist -- Just as the MARCHER exerts itself to the utmost, throwing the Sagu off of it. A haymaker punch sends the demon flying into the pond. An arm reaches out of the pond, then convulses and falls back. The MARCHER whirls to look at STENGOVITCH. Its eyes glow *very* brightly. There is another flash of light. PATRICIA stands where the MARCHER was, looking *very* angry. PATRICIA What are you *doing*, you fricking *moron*, trying to get yourself killed or -- STENGOVITCH Well, I -- PATRICIA And don't go handing me some "but I saved your life" schtick, I had it under control! I may have to defer to Kent, I may have to defer to my Uncle, but there's no way on God's green earth that I'm going to defer to -- The Sagu explodes out of the pond, rocketing towards the two of them. PATRICIA opens her mouth -- Flash of light. -- the MARCHER turns to fight the demon again, and the demon generates its sword and brings it down in a sweeping motion. The left arm of the MARCHER goes flying. Inside the Powered Armor, all the blood rushes out of PATRICIA's face. Outside, STENGOVITCH stares. STENGOVITCH DISBELIEVING WHISPER My God. The Sagu lifts its sword again, to finish the job. The katana bursts from its chest, and ignites with a green flame. The Sagu convulses, and the sword is withdrawn. It turns. AETHAN's face is the mask of death -- skin pulled so tightly over his skull as to seem almost transparent. His eyes are almost completely pupil, with only a faint red lining around the outside. His fangs are very visible. His left hand is clawed, and it darts up to grab the eye of the Sagu's head. His right arm parries the demon's sword as he clutches hold of the eye -- then crushes it. His hand goes into the skull of the demon. A sword stroke forces it to its knees. Then his left arm is in the demon's head up to his elbow, and his teeth clench even further. And the demon suddenly disintegrates, leaving only ichor splattered on AETHAN's torn clothes. AETHAN shudders in the sudden wind. KASUMI steps gingerly off the porch, and approaches AETHAN from behind. KASUMI Is it ... gone? AETHAN does not turn to look at her; his voice is strange because of the fangs. AETHAN Yeth. KASUMI Are you all right? AETHAN Fine. She reaches out to touch him on the shoulder. AETHAN Don't. She does anyway. He jerks away, allowing her to catch a glimpse of his fangs. There is a long, silent moment. KASUMI You're ... a vampire, aren't you? AETHAN More or leth. KASUMI Is it true that ... vampires, when they exert themselves, need -- AETHAN BLUNT Doeth'nt matter. KASUMI very slowly begins to open the top button of her dress. AETHAN Thtop it. KASUMI You risked your life for me. I have to -- AETHAN You don't *have* to do *anything*! KASUMI Very well, I want to -- AETHAN turns. There is naked desire in his eyes. AETHAN You don't know what you're thaying. It'th not like the thtories, it *hurtth*! KASUMI I know you won't hurt me. AETHAN begins to slowly draw closer to her. AETHAN I don't know if I will be able to thtop ... He is standing *extremely* close to her. Her eyes are closed. KASUMI I know you won't hurt me. AETHAN opens his mouth, and bends down towards the exposed flesh of KASUMI's neck. For a moment, nothing happens. KASUMI's eyes jerk open. AETHAN jolts back, his face rigid with horror and self-contempt. AETHAN NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! He convulses once, and then collapses, his face strangely peaceful. KASUMI looks down at him with a shaken expression on her face. KASUMI Oh my. TEARS Oh ... my. Cut to KENT, looking around a corner at the police station. KENT Everything seems normal to me. You? NABIKI looks around the corner. NABIKI I hate cliche phrases, so I won't say what I think. They duck back, rejoining TENCHI KENT Too quiet. NABIKI A bit. KENT Right. Okay, I'll -- There is the beeping of a portable phone. KENT and NABIKI both check; it turns out to be KENT's, which makes him scowl as he turns it on. KENT What. BEAT WHAT? BEAT Shit. Hangs up. TENCHI What -- KENT Attack on the dojo. Repulsed, with ... injuries. VERY QUICK Your sister not among them. I've got to get back there -- but we still need to find out what's going on here. BEAT Can you handle it? NABIKI I ... COCKY Sure. KENT I was speaking to Mr. Masaki. TENCHI Well ... I think so. I -- KENT pulls off his watch. KENT If there's too many of them, break the face. That'll bring everyone a-running. TENCHI STILL DUBIOUS Okay. I just hope that I -- KENT I saw you fighting Ranma last night. You will. Don't worry about that. He runs off. NABIKI stares at TENCHI with an acquisitive air. NABIKI Sooo ... you're an alien prince, huh? TENCHI Well, yes. BEAT I hope you don't find that -- NABIKI In line for the throne? TENCHI I ... guess so. I don't really think about it. NABIKI GRINS We will talk about this more, later. Right now ... Cut to KENT jogging down the street. He pulls out his cell phone and taps out a short code, then lifts it to his ear. KENT Niniane, I -- Cut to SERENA (as Sailor Moon) holding another cell phone just like KENT's. SERENA Mr. Masefield? KENT (TEL) Ms. Tsukino?! Where did you get -- Cut back to reveal that SERENA is standing on a rooftop with DARIEN (as Tuxedo Mask) hovering nearby. SERENA I don't know what's going on! Ms. Niniane just disappeared after she gave me her phone-thingy. I ... we looked away for a few seconds, and she was gone. What's -- KENT (TEL) Dammit! SERENA I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry -- KENT (TEL) Not *you*. *Her*. I don't know what she's trying to pull -- look, drop what you're doing, and start heading back to the dojo. The situation has changed. If Niniane shows up, don't *listen* to her, just tell her to get back to the dojo, ASAP. SERENA Ummm ... one question? KENT (TEL) ANNOYED It means as soon as possible, Ms. Tsukino. I'll see you soon. SERENA takes the phone away from her ear. SERENA We're supposed to go back to the dojo. BEAT Muffin, you know how to get back to the dojo, right? I don't remember the route we took to get here -- DARIEN I ... oh, boy. I wasn't really paying attention either. SERENA TINY You mean we're lost? Down in the alley beside the building they stand on, RYOUGA looks around frantically. RYOUGA Mr. Delafontaine? Ms. Mizuno? Aaaagh. Where am I now? NINIANE is watching them from nearby. Her face is troubled. NINIANE I don't understand ... I step away from them, but someone else comes to take my place ... making three again. BEAT Is this what Kent meant? That my prophecy made him feel ... helpless? She shakes her head. NINIANE No. I know better than that. I know that the three will include him, at least. BEAT And if Jessica is here ... then that's the other. BEAT So who is the third? Cut to KENT arriving at the doors of the dojo, where STENGOVITCH is waiting on the border of panic. KENT takes a moment to stare at him, then sighs. KENT So now you know. BEAT Come on. KENT leads STENGOVITCH into the dojo grounds. AETHAN has been moved inside the house, but the MARCHER armor is still laying on its back, its arm torn cleanly off. They approach it. KENT SOFTLY Patricia? Are you still with us? PATRICIA (DISTORT) TINY I can't feel my arm. KENT looks over at where the arm would be, and sighs. KENT I'm not surprised. You should be grateful. STENGOVITCH looks at him dumbfoundedly. KENT Try moving it. Of course, nothing happens. PATRICIA (DISTORT) PANIC No feedback. KENT QUICK That's okay! Whatever you were fighting tore open a pretty huge gash in your arm -- it wouldn't surprise me if the armor was pumping enough painkillers into your system to knock you right the hell out. PATRICIA (DISTORT) But it's going to be okay? KENT You're gonna have a pretty bad scar, there, but you should be okay. Comes with the territory. BEAT But don't deactivate the armor. You need the autodoc. I want you to set this thing up to put you into sleep mode until the autodoc computer says you're okay. You know how to do that, right? PATRICIA (DISTORT) Uh ... yeah. KENT Okay. Do it now. SEVERAL BEATS Is it done? PATRICIA (DISTORT) TIRED Almost ... KENT Good. SEVERAL BEATS Patricia? No answer. KENT sighs, and turns to STENGOVITCH. KENT DEAD Get the arm. STENGOVITCH I ... I don't understand. KENT I'll explain, as we do it. Go get the arm. STENGOVITCH runs over to where the arm fell, and carries it -- with difficulty -- to KENT. KENT shows no problem in hefting the arm. He calmly sets it down beside the shoulder. KENT When Andrew told me what he'd done ... I wanted to kill him. Maybe I should have. BEAT How did you think that the MARCHER appeared around Patricia, Stengovitch? STENGOVITCH Well ... I figured that the amulet she wore all the time was some sort of device to summon the armor from subspace, or something like that. KENT Subspace. Good idea. Don't you think that if the PDF had that kind of technology we'd use it for something a lot less flashy than a summoned suit of powered armor? Backpacks that could contain every device an operative could possibly need? Vehicles with different interior and exterior dimensions? STENGOVITCH I guess ... I didn't really -- KENT No. It works on a much simpler, and more horrifying level. BEAT There is no MARCHER Powered Armor, son. What you see before you is her body. BEAT The first suit -- the *real* MARCHER -- was the armor his younger brother wore during that mess in Afghanistan. That was ... God, almost seventeen years ago, now. Longer than you've been alive. BEAT Anyway, Andrew went a little crazy when that happened. He went and hid out in a cave for a few years. Down there, something ... crystallized, in his mind. He made several breakthroughs in biotech and nanomechanics. And naturally, the first thing he thought of "building" was a better MARCHER. KENT looks down at the arm and the shoulder. KENT Take a look. You'll see what I'm talking about. STENGOVITCH looks down at the joint -- then jerks back. STENGOVITCH It's --! KENT Don't look so shocked. You've seen the self-repair system in operation before. STENGOVITCH But ... I mean ... that was when I thought it wasn't *alive* ... KENT Matter's matter, isn't it? STENGOVITCH I ... I don't know. This ... this doesn't feel *right*. KENT NODS Every time she activates the armor, a nanotechnological virus rewrites her DNA to make her into this. And then speeds up the growth process a few million times. The burst of light is to cover the growth. If you want to be disgusted sometime, watch her with anti-flare goggles on. STENGOVITCH's expression suggests that he won't be doing that anytime soon. KENT When she orders it to deactivate, a second nano-virus rewrites her to her original structure. The armor, the extra muscles, the other stuff ... it all becomes like dead hair or skin. And decomposes even faster. BEAT I don't know what would happen, though, if she tried to return to normal with her arm cut off like that, though. Probably she'd grow another one. But I don't want to take the chance. STENGOVITCH Sir ... what you said earlier, about subspace technology having more uses than just making a single suit of armor work ... you could say the same about this kind of nano-- KENT Yes, probably. BEAT If a certain arrogant telepath hadn't, when he learned what the last man on earth he trusted had done with it, burned the details of how to create it out of his friend's mind, we'd have all sorts of neat gadgets, I'd imagine. STENGOVITCH You ... I don't ... BEAT Okay, she doesn't know what's been done to her, and that's terrible, but ... is it really that -- KENT The problem with this kind of thing is that the effects are impossible to completely predict. Errors creep into the programming, no matter how careful you think you are. BEAT Her "armored" form has evolved, since he first used the processes on her when she was fourteen. So has her "normal" form. I'll give you a list of the side-effects we've discovered. KENT stares intently at STENGOVITCH, who seems to be rocked by the revelations. STENGOVITCH No ... no way. BEAT This is ... this is terrible. How could someone do this to his niece?! How -- KENT -- could someone do this to his daughter? STENGOVITCH's face goes completely pale. STENGOVITCH No ... KENT She was born five months after her "father" -- Andrew's brother -- died in Afghanistan. He'd been there for about three months. All very above board. BEAT Except that she was born three weeks premature ... and Andrew was three weeks late in joining the team. STENGOVITCH He didn't -- KENT No. *That*, he didn't do. He might have, but a Belyorussian telekinetic did the job for him. STENGOVITCH He knows, then? KENT nods. STENGOVITCH And he still did it. KENT He needed someone with a strong set of psychic defenses. Most people have fairly weak ones. Patricia ... has one of the strongest I have ever encountered. BEAT Not one person in a billion has a wall of mind that strong. It was just lucky that one of those who did was his daughter. STENGOVITCH How can you *let* someone like that walk free -- be part of the PDF? KENT Because I know exactly what he's capable of. I *know* what evil lurks in his heart -- and I know I can check it if I have to. BEAT No one is without sin, Katsuhito Stengovitch. No one. His eyes seem to almost burn as he says this, and STENGOVITCH takes a step back. STENGOVITCH I thought we were the good guys. KENT We are. BEAT Andrew's actions are a stain on our record. But to throw him out wouldn't make the stain go away. BEAT The only way we can do that is to hope that some good does come of this ... wrong, that was done to Patricia. BEAT It's almost done. He stands. KENT When Sailor Moon and her boyfriend get here, explain what happened, and ask them to start guarding this place. Bran's up in the Fortress, right? STENGOVITCH nods, not meeting KENT's gaze. KENT Katsuhito ... don't let this make you feel ashamed to be PDF. BEAT Your grandfather taught me what it meant to be a hero, as much as my father did. Don't let this make you ashamed of Takamura Taishi and the Kishin Corps. Cut to inside the powered armor. PATRICIA's face is absolutely still, though her eyes hang open without expression. STENGOVITCH (V.O.) Will you ever tell her? KENT (V.O.) Not until we can undo it. Maybe not then. PATRICIA's face moves in a silent scream. KENT (V.O.) Who knows what knowing about this would do to her? Cut to black. AKANE (V.O.) She'd lied when she said she knew how to set the autodoc. BEAT She heard everything. Cut to a communications center, where BRAN is seated in front of a wall of monitors. KENT stands behind him. KENT And nobody went near it? BRAN If they did, they were invisible ... and they should have shown up on the K-cameras even so. KENT There's no way that a demon like -- He points at a video image of the Sagu. KENT -- that should have been able to cross the wards I set up without my knowing about it. He fumes for a moment, then snaps his fingers. KENT Did we have a camera on the location of any of the wards? BRAN CHECKS Uh ... yes. The one right near the main entrance. KENT Okay, I want a time lapse sequence -- five shots every hour -- of that area, filtered through a K-lens. BRAN Starting as soon as we arrived? KENT Right. BRAN makes the adjustments. The monitor in front of his head shows a shot of the inside of the Tendou front gates; on the ground there is a circle of grey light. A clock in the lower right hand corner tells what time it is in the image being shown. At around noon of the second day, the circle vanishes. KENT Shit! Check the log of entrances, who came in around then? BRAN According to this ... someone has a really weird sense of -- KENT Just read it, don't editorialize. BRAN Yes, *sir*. The Goddess Belldandy, the Demoness Mara, and -- KENT WEARY Of course. The goddess probably did something to make it safe for her "friend" to enter. KENT turns to leave. KENT Okay, I'm going to go reset the wards. If either of those two report back here, I want you to call me *immediately*. BRAN nods, and KENT steps out of the room, into a hallway. He turns to see COLOGNE, standing some distance away. For a very long moment. KENT I ought to ask why you did nothing to help when the demon attacked. COLOGNE Would you believe me if I told you that I recognized the being's powers as being vastly superior to my own? KENT I'd believe that that was probably part of it. COLOGNE And you'd be right. BEAT It is always good strategy to know the capabilities of one's ... allies, is it not, Mr. Masefield? KENT nods slowly. KENT Naturally. I'd probably have done the same thing. He turns to go. COLOGNE in turn, turns to head in the opposite direction, with a satisfied expression on her face. KENT (O.S.) If I am ever convinced that you did so because of a grudge against the Tendou household, however, I ... KENT's voice blends with the next voice, fading out slowly. WOMAN (O.S.) MANDARIN ... however, I will not rest until the Joketsuzoku are torn from this Earth. I expect that you would do the same, correct, Khu Luong? COLOGNE whirls. KENT is walking away at an even pace. COLOGNE What did you just say? KENT turns back to look at her, calmly. KENT I think you heard me. KENT turns a corner and is gone from sight. COLOGNE stares at where he was for a moment. COLOGNE Well. BEAT How remarkable. Cut to outside, the path leading from the Tendou gate. KENT stands, tracing something in the air. AKANE (V.O.) I couldn't make Cologne reveal whose voice she thought she'd heard. I have my suspicions, however. KENT steps back, then nods. KENT Not the best ... but it'll have to do. BEAT Niniane has a lot to answer for. Cut to somewhere dark. Something watches through a "ball" of light as KENT turns to walk towards the gate. A breath quickens in anticipation. Cut to just outside the Tendou gate. KENT steps through. He turns to his left and sees a tall, dark-haired young man (TAKA) being led down the street by a short auburn-haired girl (MIAKA). He opens his mouth to call out to them. Cut back to somewhere dark. HAPPOSAI (DISTORT) NOW. A series of short shots showing *everyone* that was sent out into the city being suddenly and surprisingly attacked by a variety of demons. TENCHI and NABIKI, for example, open the door to the police station only to find that everyone inside has been transformed into a zombie-like creature. TENCHI immediately manifests the Wings of the Light Hawk, and begins slaying, while NABIKI falls back out of the building. Cut to just outside the TENDOU gate. Something slams into KENT from behind, knocking his glasses off his face and sending him flying. He hits the ground hard and awkwardly. Down the street, MIAKA lets out a short shriek. KENT is rolling up to face his attackers when a bolt of lightning crashes into him from above. While still reeling from that, the demon attacking him -- which resembles nothing so much as a van with short, stubby arms and a pair of horns -- rolls up and starts to pound him with its clenched fists. Down the street, TAKA reacts to this sight. TAKA Shit! That guy! He assumes an aggressive stance. MIAKA NO! You still aren't up to it, TA-- Cut to KENT's point of view, just as another lightning strike slams into him. His head lolls to stare at TAKA and MIAKA, at first blurry and indistinct figures, then (in a moment of lacerating clarity) he sees them as through he were only a few feet away. Then another bolt slams into him. KENT's eyes close. Cut to black. AKANE (V.O.) And at the very last moment, just as Kent's heart stopped, he realized where he had seen that young man's eyes before. BEAT In the mirror reflection of his own face. There is a long silence. KENT (V.O.) Oh well. Light floods the screen, and as it clears we see the world from KENT's perspective. He is moving through the air over the demon, and everything is utterly silent. Over the next sequence, the only sound to be heard is a rapid rhythmic drumbeat ... one beat every 1.8 seconds. His foot slams into the demon's backside, and shockwaves ripple out from the point of contact, and up his leg. The demon roars, as KENT runs up the back of the demon to its "face", grabs one of the horns in either hand, then flips over in front of it, pulling the horns down with him. He pivots then, slamming the heel of his foot (the same foot that hit the demon's back) into the "face". KENT then jerks back, pulling the entire bulk of the demon up to a ninety degree angle with the ground -- supporting it with his other leg. For exactly nine seconds, it rests there, the several million tiny feet of the demon flailing in the air -- and then KENT draws his leg back, and yanks the horns down hard, PULLING the demon's head into the ground. There is an enormous impact, and the demon convulses. KENT releases the grip of his right hand on the horns, then pulls it back, and *slams* it into the top of the demon's body. Reddish ichor sprays as he does. The demon dissolves. Sound finally returns ... the sound of KENT breathing, heavily. He slowly turns to stare at TAKA and MIAKA, who are staring right back. KENT VERY QUIET Leave this place. Get out of this district. Get out of this city. Get out of this country, if you can. But leave this place. They start to back away. KENT turns ... then pauses, and looks back. KENT Boy. TAKA stiffens. KENT Don't *ever* ... give her cause to mourn you. BEAT Understand? TAKA nods, mutely. KENT starts to walk away, noticeably limping with the leg with which he did both kicks. MIAKA Taka? Did you know that man? TAKA No ... I don't think so. BEAT I wonder how he knew me. Unnoticed by them, a shaky hand reaches down to pick up KENT's glasses. Cut to RAYE (as SAILOR MARS) performing the Mars Flame Sniper on a demon, which is completely incinerated. RAYE RELIEVED That's the last of them, I think. SHAMPOO looks at her with an evaluatory expression. RAYE SUSPICIOUS What? SHAMPOO Potential. BEAT Short skirt not help in fight with this demon, though. Not distract. RAYE Excuse me? That is *not* why we -- AYEKA, who has switched to her battle costume, watches the encounter with interest. TENCHI (O.S.) NABIKI-SAN?! AYEKA whips around to see TENCHI, with the sword out and ready, running down the street with an anxious, even frightened expression. AYEKA Tenchi-sama? TENCHI Ayeka-san! Was there a fight here, too? AYEKA Yes, QUICK but I'm all ri-- TENCHI Oh god ... I don't know where she got to ... AYEKA Who? TENCHI Tendou Nabiki-san! She was with me, and -- and ... DEEP BREATH we got separated. In the fight. And I -- AYEKA is hovering somewhere between concern for TENCHI's mental well-being and irritation. AYEKA SOOTHING It's all right, Tenchi ... she wouldn't have volunteered to go out if she didn't think she could take care of herself. SHAMPOO HELPFUL Actually, Mercenary Girl rely on kindness of strangers. TENCHI looks like he's about to freak out. AYEKA directs an angry glare in SHAMPOO's direction. AYEKA FORCED Thank you, Shan Pu. SHAMPOO appears dumbfounded. RAYE storms in to stand right beside her. RAYE HISSED You *jerk*! What are you doing? Can't you see he's worried about her? SHAMPOO Why? He not part of her tribe. RAYE stares at her for a very long moment, before turning away. RAYE Maybe his tribe is bigger than you can understand. Cut to NABIKI, edging along a wall. She peers around it, to see RYOUKO, RANMA, and MCGOVERN surveying several dozen demon corpses -- of a different type than the other demons. RANMA DISGUSTED Five. Who knows how many attack, and I beat five. RYOUKO TEASING Oh what's the matter? Jealous? RANMA No, I am *not* -- RYOUKO Worried that *everyone* from Okayama is tougher than you are, instead of just SINGS Tenchi? RANMA IRRITATED Leave me alone. MCGOVERN Excuse me ... I take it you watched the sparring match between Saotome- san and Masaki-san? RYOUKO Why yes, I *did* watch him get his rear end handed to him by -- MCGOVERN turns to look at RANMA, and lets out a sigh. MCGOVERN Oh, for Pete's sake. Look, it's one lost *fake* fight among *millions* of real -- RANMA Millions? MCGOVERN I meant thousands. I not speak good Japa-- RANMA Thousands? MCGOVERN Hundreds. I got the terms confused, is all. Anyway -- NABIKI makes a mental note, then runs off. She pauses as she sees KENT limping into an empty bath-house. For a second, she wonders ... then dashes forward. Cut to inside the bath-house. KENT slowly pulls off his brown jacket, which has become covered in red ichor, and then takes a step towards the showers -- before collapsing, in obvious pain. He lies still for a moment. There is the sound of footsteps. KENT looks up ... then settles back down again. KENT Oh. You. NABIKI stares at him. NABIKI Don't sound so thrilled. BEAT It seems that a few days ago, a demon parked in the basement of the police station, and started turning the officers into zombies. That's probably why it took so long for them to respond. KENT Makes sense. Good work. BEAT Where is Masaki-san? NABIKI Dunno. We got separated. BEAT Are you all right? KENT Assorted minor injuries. NABIKI Riiight. That's why your leg looks broken. KENT As I said. Assorted minor injuries. He suddenly straightens the leg in question, producing a sharp, cracking noise, startling NABIKI. NABIKI Okay, very cute, very macho, cut it ou-- KENT moves the leg normally, though a bit stiffly. NABIKI stares. NABIKI What the *hell* are you? KENT Isn't it obvious? I'm Superman. He rolls into a seated position for a moment, then lies back down. KENT And I'm tired. NABIKI slowly settles down to watch him. Nearby, a slim hand reaches out to pick up the jacket, and pull it away. Cut to the outside. High on a rooftop overlooking the public bath, JESSICA stares down. JESSICA Hm. I wouldn't have expected this. I figured the witness would be that little twit in the armor, or the mage. Not that it matters, really. She prepares to leap down -- as KENT walks out of the public bath, alone. JESSICA blinks. JESSICA Now what the hell is he doing? Even for him, that's a fast recovery ... and why's he leaving the witness? SHAKES HEAD Who cares? The time has come ... She leaps into the air, and floats after KENT. Cut back to the bath house. KENT is seated, now. KENT Nabiki ... when you were at the bank, did you see anyone there who looked like the description I gave you of Jessica? NABIKI No ... of course, I probably wouldn't have noticed my sisters under those circumstances. BEAT Could you tell me something? KENT Yes, many things. What do you want in particular? NABIKI What's so fearsome about this woman? KENT takes a long breath. KENT Easy to explain, hard to understand. I'm a telepath. NABIKI I *thought* so. KENT My half-sister is a telekinetic. She also has a doctorate in human physiology. BEAT Can you imagine what someone could do to the inside of your body, if they had the skill of a surgeon, and didn't need to touch you? NABIKI shudders. KENT Fortunately, she has -- we suspect psychosomatic -- limitations on her power. She needs to touch an object before she can use her power on it, and she can only use her power on objects she has touched within the last minute. BEAT So she'd need to touch a human being before she could start messing with his or her internal organs, and could only do so for a minute before she'd need to touch him or her again. Sadly, a minute is about all she needs. NABIKI Scary. And she wants you dead? KENT So she's been saying. I don't have any reason to doubt her. BEAT If she wasn't at the police station, she probably followed you back, to get to where I was. They both pause, and look towards the entrance to the public baths. There is a long, tense moment. KENT Or not. BEAT Wait a minute. Where the *hell* is my jacket? Cut to KENT, standing at a corner, looking around it cautiously. JESSICA glides up silently, then alights behind him. She holds her fingers over his shoulder, for a moment. JESSICA Tap tap. Hello, oniisama! KENT whirls ... and changes as he does so, revealing that it is actually NINIANE, wearing KENT's jacket and glasses. JESSICA is startled. JESSICA You?! What the fuck are you doing? NINIANE GIDDY Changing fate. It's rather exhilarating when you get right down to it. JESSICA He's still at the baths, isn't he? That ... *asshole*! She turns to head back to the baths, and a jet of flame courses past her ear. She slowly turns back to stare at NINIANE, who has suddenly become quite serious, and is pulling off the glasses. NINIANE You're not going anywhere. *I'm* going to stop you, right here. JESSICA Don't be an idiot. I've got no quarrel with you, so stay the -- NINIANE I can't do that. BEAT Don't you understand? I have acted, I am changing the pattern ... already, three went in, and very soon, the other two will come out! You can't go back. JESSICA stares at her, clearly believing her to be a lunatic. JESSICA All right ... if that's how you want it, I'll be glad to oblige. And she attacks. It is a duel of dodging, with JESSICA trying to land a single touch on NINIANE, who is in turn trying to send a variety of magical spells at JESSICA. JESSICA is *much* faster than NINIANE, however, and sometimes seems to be half-toying with her. Suddenly, she twists and grabs an arms-length neck-lock on NINIANE. JESSICA Say hi to whatever weirdo god you follow -- and if it's the big guy ... tell him from me that he sucks. There is no outward sign as JESSICA begins to use her power to twist and mutilate NINIANE's organs, only the scream of pain that erupts from the sorceress' throat. Cut to a hazy image of NABIKI helping KENT limp out of the baths. NINIANE suddenly twists her right arm to jab at the midpoint of JESSICA's forehead. A red mystic symbol suddenly blooms there, and NINIANE abruptly stops jerking in JESSICA's grip. Clenching hold of her wrist, the sorceress pulls herself free, and collapses a few feet away. JESSICA What. Have. You. Done?! NINIANE takes a moment to cough up some blood. NINIANE WEARY, BUT HAPPY Beaten you. Spell of holding. You can't move ... it's a wonder you can even speak. And Kent is out of the bath now, so I beat you. JESSICA Oh? BEAT Know. My. Minute. Limit? NINIANE What about it? JESSICA It's. *FIVE*! And NINIANE begins to convulse and scream once more, while a murderous light dances in JESSICA's eyes. KENT (O.S.) STOP! NINIANE stops. JESSICA ALMOST LOVING Kent ... KENT dashes forward, half-dragging NABIKI with him. He drops to NINIANE's side. She is bleeding profusely from the nostrils and mouth. NINIANE Beat ... KENT Hang on! We'll get a doctor here, you'll -- NINIANE No. Dying. SHUDDER Sorry. But I changed fate, Kent. I'm not a coward. KENT Niniane, now is not the time to be talking about that -- NINIANE grabs his shoulder. NINIANE Now is all I have! BEAT Too much ... too much to tell you. BEAT You're going to have to face him, Kent ... you're going to face him, and I won't see it. KENT Face ... you mean the Adversary? NINIANE nods weakly. KENT But you said it'd be suicide to face -- you said no one had ever battled that thing head on and -- NINIANE Because you always get distracted. BEAT You face one of its powerful proxies ... and no matter what happens, you're never in any shape to fight it afterwards. BEAT You weren't supposed to die there, in the mud of Camlann ... you were born for greater things. KENT Niniane, stop it. You're not making sense. NINIANE smiles up at him. NINIANE First time I've tried to make sense since I've awoke. BEAT It will be okay ... you can end it, Kent. I believe in you. BEAT I still see you as you. I loved Emrys more than I could stand, but *everyone* loved you. Even the Morrigan loved you as she hated you. I love you still. BEAT; WELSH Yield not, Pendragon. She pulls him down into full-mouthed kiss. And explodes. Her body converts completely into living flame -- half of it running into KENT through his mouth, nose, and eyes, the rest of it running into JESSICA's forehead -- causing her to shriek piercingly. A moment later, it is gone. KENT remains bent over where her body was for a long moment, then slowly lifts himself up. His eyes are shining with the light of a sun. KENT DREADFUL Oh my God. Cut to black. AKANE And the Defender awoke. To Be Continued. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Together Again: 1996 Chapter, 04/28/98