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Diamohns are Forever	By : SailorSol Category: Sailor Moon > General Views: 22490 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 25
- 26
- 27
A FEW CHANGES

As Thomas predicted, fourteen days after the attack at the elementary school, Mamoru doubled over in the solarium, Akari dropped a pan in the kitchen, and Minako and Eduard called from the park. They had gone to take a boat ride, and had seen the creature rise from the ground.

Sailor Venus and Kishi Mars held it off until the others arrived, allowing innocent bystanders to escape with nothing more than a terrifying memory.

Alerted and equipped by Aster, several of her Senshi House friends arrived with cameras, ready for Sailor Moon�s strike.

Sailor Sol stayed in the background, directing the other Senshi to keep the creature off-balance and maneuver it into a position so that Sailor Moon could strike without endangering anyone, and so that the concealed photographers could get clear shots.

Finally, the creature was out of the way, and Sol nodded to her princess, who was waiting next to Endymion with the Silver Scepter in her hands.

�Just like before, Sailor Moon,� she said. �Don�t worry about missing. I don�t think you can, and even if you did, there�s no one in the way.�

The slight trace of worry on Sailor Moon�s face vanished in the presence of that reassurance. It was replaced by a look of fierce determination.

She turned to face the daimohn and raised the scepter to arm�s length, in a pose just like the last time she had wielded it. Sol raised her arm to signal to the hidden satellites to be ready.

�Moon Laser Arrow Strike!�

As the daimohn shrieked and disappeared in a flash of light, Sol brought down her arm, and heard the sounds of quickly clicking shutters and autowind mechanisms from several places as the daimohn�s demise was captured on film.

~@~@~@~@~

At the house, three of the four cameras were rushed into the study, which had been set up as a darkroom. Ami took charge of the fourth camera, and attached it to a computer, to download the images.

Aster, Haruka, and Minako were still waiting for the results when Aster�s cell phone rang.

�Moshi, moshi,� she answered.

�Aster, it�s your uncle,� the voice at the other end said. �I have a favor to ask. I�d like you to get hair samples, with attached follicles, from everyone that you know is part of your Business. There�s a genetics lab attached to the University down here, and I want to run everyone�s DNA.�

�What are you hoping to find?� Aster asked.

�I want to see if there�s a common factor,� he said. �You come from diverse backgrounds, countries, and ethnic groups. I want to see what your genetic makeups tell me.�

�It couldn�t hurt,� Aster said. �Okay, Oji-san. I�ll get the samples from everyone, including a few you don�t know, and I�ll have them couriered down to Kyoto by day after tomorrow.�

�No rush,� he said. �Call me when you�re ready, and I�ll give you the address of the genetics lab. You can have them couriered there.�

�Okay,� Aster said. �I�ll talk to you later.�

She hung up, and then stared at the closed phone in her hand for several minutes.

�That was odd,� she said.

�What was odd, Aster?� Akari asked from the kitchen doorway.

�Oji-san asked for DNA samples from everyone,� Aster said. �He says he wants to see if there�s a common genetic pattern linking us, maybe making us capable of handling Planet Power. I don�t think that�s the only thing. He�s not saying something.�

�Why don�t we take the samples ourselves, Sun Face?� Haruka asked. �You could ask him to his face, and I don�t think he�d lie to you.�

�That�s a good idea,� Aster said. �We can go on Sunday.�

�Why not over the whole weekend?� Ami asked from the annex, her face guileless.

�I�m not giving up my time with Joben and the others,� Aster said. �We can go after I�ve had my Saturday night on the town.�

She turned at the sound of an opening door to see Mamoru, Nathan, Midori, and Akari come out of the darkroom with still-damp photos in their hands. Nathan also had something that looked like a negative.

�We found something very interesting,� Mamoru said. �We need everyone together.�

�Okay,� Aster said. �I�ll get the screen and the projector.�

�I�ll get everyone together,� Haruka said. �Your sister and Makoto are making hot sandwiches and drinks for everyone.�

�They are ready,� A voice said from the kitchen doorway. Akari was carrying a tray heaped with rolls that were stuffed with meat and oozing sauce.

ChibiUsa was next to her with a pile of plates in her hands. They walked over to a low table and put down their burdens. Makoto was right behind them with a tray bearing an ice bucket and a few stacks of glasses. Vincent and Robert followed her with two dispenser jugs of drinks.

�They�s hot tea an� coffee if anyone�s inter�sted,� Vincent said. �Y�all know where everythin� is. Anybody that makes a mess an� don�t clean it up does supper dishes, by hand, fer a week.�

Aster set up the projector and screen, and then quickly grabbed two sandwiches and a glass of iced tea before she sat down.

�This is actually quite interesting,� Midori said, loading a color slide into the projector. �We made prints, but this is the substance of what we found. The normal film turned out nothing, when developed and printed in the usual fashion.� The slide in the projector showed a bright flash of light with something human-like in the center.

�The infrared was a little more informative,� he said, changing the slides. The bright flash was easier to look at, in dark violet and blue. The figure in the middle was pink, centered with red.

�Whatever it is, it�s something alive,� Martin said. �That�s a living pattern, but its much cooler than I would expect. Pink usually means that a body is losing heat, normally because it�s dying.�

�The ultraviolet was VERY interesting,� Akari said, while Midori changed slides. The bright flash was nearly invisible, as was the figure, but a gateway behind the figure and the suggestions of a room were as clear as a normal photograph.

�The best information,� Mamoru said, smiling and putting a hand on Thomas� knee. �Actually came quite by accident. Nathan mad a bit of a mistake, and we all benefited from it. He framed the negatives as though they were slides.�

Midori changed the slide again, and this time they all stared in surprise.

The negative clearly showed a tall, slender man with long hair, pointed ears, and almond shaped eyes. He held a staff in one hand that was topped with the same symbol that stood out prominently on his chest.

The symbol of Saturn.

***** *****

Sunday morning, Aster sat in her helicopter with Takagi and Haruka. She had waved to Michiru and Sean as Haruka went over the pre-flight checks. She had also watched with a smile while Sean put an arm around Michiru and led her back to his limousine, where Eduard and Minako were waiting.

Aster had a box in her lap, which held numbered envelopes containing hair samples from every Senshi, Kishi, and Satellite that she could get her hands on. She had two copies of the list that attached names and Planetary positions to the hair samples.

One copy was at home, with Akari, who was in charge in her absence. The other copy was in a sealed envelope in Takagi�s pocket. It was going to be delivered directly to Hosyu, on the condition that he never tell anyone what the significance of it was.

Aster watched the landing pad approach, and smiled to see her uncle and his valet, Kenji, waiting for them. She would wait until the samples were at the lab before she raked her uncle over the coals. She had promised everyone that she would return with the story behind the samples.

While Haruka shut down the helicopter�s engine, Takagi helped Aster out and waited while she approached Hosyu with the box. He smiled at Haruka as she came out of the helicopter. The two of them approached the limousine in time to hear Hosyu answer Aster.

�I don�t know how you knew,� he was saying. �Yes, there is a secondary reason for my asking for the DNA samples. Let me show you, and tell the whole story. I�m sure you�ll tell everyone else when you get back. Hopefully, I�ll have good news. I want to take these to the lab, first. I�d like the DNA testing to be done while I explain.�

�This sounds fascinating,� Takagi said. �I presume we�re all invited.�

�Of course,� Hosyu said. �I�m surprised that it�s just the three of you.�

�We had to promise to tell them everything,� Haruka said. �We�re all fed up with secrets. From now on, we don�t keep secrets from one another.�

�That�s probably a very wise policy,� Hosyu said. �Come with me.�

They entered the car, and settled themselves while Kenji drove them to the laboratory where the samples Aster was carrying would be turned into DNA profiles.

~@~@~@~@~

Inexplicably, after they left the University, Kenji drove them to a cemetery. Hosyu led the way from the car to a mausoleum, up against one wall. There were signs of construction around the building, and it was evident that a wall was being rebuilt.

�The bodies have been moved,� Hosyu said. �When the repairs are complete, then they will be returned to their rest. This is the first time in two hundred years that the crypt has needed repairs. I hope it will be the last.�

�It will,� Haruka muttered, grateful that Hosyu seemed to be too introspective to notice what she said.

�It started about three weeks ago,� Hosyu said. �The caretaker contacted me and told me that the ground seemed to be settling, and that the wall had cracked. There is some construction going on outside the cemetery, and I�ve seen signs of other ground disturbances. I came here to inspect things, and I realized that the crypt had to be repaired. On the first day of work, part of the wall collapsed into the crypt, and Lucinda�s coffin was damaged.�

He turned to look at Aster, his eyes haunted by something yet unspoken.

�The manager took care of things personally,� he said. �He helped me choose another casket, and had the damaged one wrapped up and brought into the preparation room so that the body could be moved from one to another. I asked him to take some tissue samples for the genome project at the University. They had already approached me about taking samples from the bones that were disinterred, and I had granted it. I didn�t think that our ancestors would mind contributing to knowledge.

�He called me almost immediately,� he continued. �He told me that I had to see something, so I came over right away. When I got here, he showed me the tissue sample that they had collected.�

He reached into a pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a vial that he handed to Aster.

The moment her fingers touched the vial, Aster knew something was wrong. There was a distinct feel of dark energies emanating from the green-black fibers inside.

�This isn�t normal,� Aster said unnecessarily. �This feels like something from the Dark Kingdom.�

�This is not Lucinda,� Hosyu said. �The laboratory says that it is essentially plant-based, but they can�t identify the plant. I believe that this is some creature created by Takara. My only concern now is that I don�t know where my other niece is.�

�You think it�s Akari,� Haruka said quietly.

�I think it�s a possibility,� Hosyu admitted. �I had copies of her records made and sent from Los Angeles. I also had the records of Chiba Akari copied, and I noticed something that gave me hope.

�They were both in the hospital at the same time,� Hosyu said, looking at Aster. �Akari was sent to Los Angeles by her parents, with emphysema. Lucinda was rescued from a burning car and sent to the hospital by the paramedics. Two little Japanese girls, with similar injuries, in the hospital at the same time.�

�The odds of that must be astounding,� Takagi said.

�The odds get more astounding,� Hosyu said. �This wasn�t the first time they were in the same hospital at the same time. They were both born in the same hospital in Tokyo, on the same day.�

�What?� Aster looked at her uncle in astonishment, and a growing hope of her own.

�Fushida Lucinda was born to Fushida Ryoko and Murano Asato on October 3, in the Year of the Rat, twenty-three years ago,� he said. �Chiba Akari was born to Chiba Kento and Masumoto Ishiko four hours later. I have their birth records. They were nearly identical. They were two inches in length different, and four ounces in weight.

�In their records from Children�s Hospital in Los Angeles,� he said. �There are several notations that they were found in one another�s beds. The last entry in Lucinda�s chart says that she was in Akari�s bed, clutching her id bracelet. There is a similar entry in Akari�s file.�

Aster looked down at her hands, and tried to imaging how one would clutch a bracelet that was attached to your wrist.

It was impossible, unless �

She looked back at Hosyu.

�You think that they traded bracelets,� she said. �You think that they got mixed up.�

�I also think that your step father stole one of them,� Hosyu said. �I know he can create creatures. Nari told me when she was here on vacation, the winter before you were born. She was terrified, but she wouldn�t stay here. She said she had to go back for your sister. I wonder if she knew it wasn�t who he thought it was.�

�Maybe,� Aster said. �It�s impossible to know what she knew, or thought. Takara took care of that. You think that Takara stole Akari, thinking that she was Lucinda. He made the assumption, based on the bracelet in her hand. The hospital made the same mistake. It makes a frightening amount of sense.�

�I wonder what he did with Akari,� Haruka murmured. �What could he have wanted with a toddler?�

�I have to ask my sister something,� Aster said. �If I�m right, and if Hosyu�s right, then the woman living in Tokyo is my cousin Lucinda, and I know where Akari is. I don�t know what to do, though. She�s literally unreachable.�

�What do you mean?� Hosyu demanded. �I don�t care where he took her. I will search the entire planet if I have to.�

�That�s just it,� Aster said. �You won�t find her no matter how long you search. If I�m right, she�s not on the planet.�

�You think he took her to the Dark Kingdom?� Takagi asked. �That�s monstrous!�

�That�s Takara,� Aster said tightly. �He would do something like that.�

�What makes you think that he took her there, Sun Face?� Haruka asked, putting a supportive arm around her lover�s shoulders. Talking about Takara was difficult for Aster, no matter how innocent the subject seemed to be.

�When I was four or five,� Aster said. �I remember Akari and I sitting in the back yard with Kunzite and Zoisite. Zoisite was brushing Akari�s hair, telling her how beautiful it was. She said that my hair was beautiful, and not hers. Zoisite told her not to be silly, that even Amethyst didn�t have such beautiful hair. She asked him who Amethyst was, and Zoisite told her that Amethyst wasn�t anyone she needed to worry about. He said he would never love another girl nearly as much as he loved her.�

�He never said who Amethyst was?� Takagi asked.

Aster shook her head, and then turned and buried her face in Haruka�s shoulder, wrapping her arms around the other woman�s waist.

�I think we should take this somewhere else,� Haruka said. �I know that DNA processing takes several hours. Should we go to your house, or maybe to lunch?�

�I was planning on taking you to lunch,� Hosyu said. �I also have something that may take Aster�s mind off of her stepfather.�

�Oh?� Haruka asked. �What is that?�

�I�m going to open the vault in the house,� Hosyu said. �It�s time that I gave her Nari�s jewelry.�

�I don�t know if that�s going to do it,� she said. �How about lunch first?�

�Done,� Hosyu said. �Let�s go back to the car.�

He led the way to his limousine, and watched Haruka and Takagi helped Aster into the car before they climbed in after her.

He nodded to Kenji, and entered the car himself.

�Home, Kenji,� he said. �Call ahead and tell the cook that there will be five for lunch.�

�Yes, Master,� Kenji said. He closed the door behind his employer and then climbed into the driver�s seat to put the car into motion.

~@~@~@~@~@~

The lights were still on in Chiba House when Aster and the others returned to Tokyo, accompanied by her uncle and his valet, as well.

She had a rosewood box in her lap that contained her mother�s everyday jewelry. The rest of the jewelry was being transferred to Tokyo in the morning. Aster had a vault in her house that would be the new home of the Fushida jewels.

Hosyu held a similar box in his lap. It contained the jewelry that had belonged to Aster�s aunt. It was going to be given to her adopted sister, along with proof that she and Mamoru were not siblings.

They drove through the gate at the House of the sun and had barely gotten out of the car, when they were surrounded by their fellow warriors and all but carried around the house and herded into Chiba house. Aster was still carrying the heavy jewelry box, and nearly dropped it more than once before Sean took it from her and carried it into the house.

Inside, the three of them were seated on a sofa and everyone else sat down around them, expectant looks on all of their faces.

�Okay,� Minako said, her face mock-fierce. �Spill.�

�We haven�t even had dinner,� Aster objected. Inside, all three of them were bursting with the news they had carried from Osaka.

�Here,� Usagi said, putting trays with sushi rolls and tempura in their laps. �If you�re good, there�s lemon meringue pie for dessert. Did your uncle come up with you?�

�As a matter of fact,� Hosyu said. �I did come with them. May I join you?� He was carrying the briefcase with the papers for Mamoru and his partner. Kenji was carrying Asato�s jewelry box. At a nod from Hosyu, Kenji carried the box over to Aster�s adopted sister and put it in her lap.

�What is this?� she asked, turning her hazel eyes to Hosyu.

�Your mother�s jewelry,� Hosyu said. �I�ve been keeping it ever since she and Ryoko left for the United States.�

�I do not understand,� she said. �My mother was Masumoto Ishiko. She was married to Chiba Kento.�

�That is a misconception caused by a series of errors,� he said. �I had more than one reason for wanting DNA samples from all of you. I wanted to be the one to tell you, and show you the proof. Your name is not Chiba Akari. You are Fushida Lucinda.�

�I am?� she asked, stunned. She immediately looked over at Mamoru, who had a similar look on his face.

�She�s � not my sister?� he asked softly.

Hosyu misunderstood their reactions.

�It�s not as though you have no family,� Hosyu said. �My mother was a Chiba, and I can tell you that Mr. Knight, over there, is related to you, as well. You still have family, Mamoru, even though it may not be very close family.�

�It�s not that, sir,� Mamoru said. �It�s just that I�ve only just got used to her being my sister. I don�t know how to handle this, that�s all. I know I have family, and all of us here are a kind of family.�

�Good for you,� Hosyu said. �Now, Aster tells me that you have an overhead projector, and a computer peripheral to put over it.�

�Yes,� Mamoru said. �I�ll get it set up for you.�

�No worries, mate,� Nathan said. �Me an� lavendah�ll set it up.� He led his lover to a room that they were using as a classroom and storeroom, and came out with the over head projector and screen.

The two of them set it up, and then Quentin attached a see-through screen to a laptop. All of them watched the computer boot up, and then Hosyu loaded the computerized displays of the DNA tests.

�This is the genetic profile of my brother, Ryoko,� he said, opening one file. He opened another file and put them side by side.

�This is the file that Aster marked seven,� he said. He saw Mamoru pull out a folded paper and unfold it. Mamoru immediately looked up, and then looked down at the list again.

�I took a course in genetics,� he said. �I know what those bands mean.�

�Let me make it clearer,� Hosyu said. He opened another file and put it on the other side of file seven.

�This is my sister-in-law, Murano Asato,� he said. �She was married to Ryoko. Perhaps you can explain what this means.�

�I can,� Usagi said. �I remember that show we saw a few weeks ago.� She got up and went to the screen.

�These bands are the same,� she said, indicating Ryoko and seven�s files. �These show that these two people are closely related. The bands on the other pair also show a close blood relationship.�

She reached out and ran her fingers across a particular set of bands on Asato�s file that were identical to the ones on seven�s.

�These are mitochondrial DNA,� she said. �This means that these two people are directly related. This woman and this person are mother and child.�

�Very good,� Hosyu said. �That is how I know that the woman you call Akari is my niece, Fushida Lucinda.�

�I am not Mamoru�s sister,� she said dully. �You do not know how much of a shock this is.�

�I hope it�s a good shock,� Hosyu said.

�Oh, yes,� she said. �It is truly good. It is just surprising.�

�Good,� Hosyu said. �Tomorrow, I�ll take you to get your identification changed, and then I�m taking you shopping. You�re entitled to a Fushida�s lifestyle, and you�re going to have one.�

�I truly need nothing,� Lucinda said, smiling. �I am honored by your offer, but it is more than enough.�

�Nonsense,� he said. �You can ask Aster and her girls. I�ve taken them all shopping when they joined the family, even Haruka. Of course, she and I went into the men�s stores. The salesmen stared, but money talks.�

�If that is what you wish, oji-san,� Lucinda said. �I will, of course, comply.�

�I suppose that�s the best I�ll get,� Hosyu said. �Well, Kenji and I are going to retire, and leave you kids alone. I�ll see you all in the morning.�

�Wait,� Usagi said. �You haven�t eaten yet. Let us get you dinner, at least.�

�I certainly won�t turn down the excellent food I know you girls are capable of preparing,� Hosyu said. �Are you going to start a restaurant together?�

�That�s Vincent�s job,� Aster said from where she sat, sandwiched between Haruka and Takagi. Michiru had sat down on Takagi�s other side, and Sean was sitting next to Haruka. �Vincent�s going to start his last restaurant on the top floor of the building that we already own. I didn�t know until recently.�

�And what else d� ye have in mind for your empire, lass?� Sean asked.

�I know you can�t build a new building where you wanted it,� she said. �The building I�m talking about is two blocks from the place you wanted. It has twelve floors that are completely unoccupied, and awaiting custom renovation for a tenant. You can�t get any better than that.�

�What am I to argue?� Sean asked.

�You are a wise man,� Hosyu said. �Never argue with a Fushida woman, Mr. O�Connell. You will never win. Let them have their way, whether you understand or not, and you will live a long, happy and prosperous life.�

***** *****

After Hosyu bade everyone goodnight, he and Kenji left for the Guest House. The heavy silence after their departure was finally broken by ChibiUsa.

�I TOLD you that Terra wasn�t Mamoru�s sister,� she said. �I�m tired from being right. I�m going to bed.� She picked up Diana and carried her up the stairs.

Luna and Artemis looked at one another, and then stood up.

�I believe we will retire, as well,� she said. �Goodnight, everyone.� The two cats bounded up the stairs, following ChibiUsa.

The rest of the occupants of the room looked at one another for a while, and then Usagi jumped up and walked over to where Thomas was sitting. She smiled down at Hotaru, who was sitting next to him.

Hotaru smiled back and got up from her seat. She approached Sean and held out one hand.

�I think that Thomas and Usagi need to spend time together,� she said, smiling at him. �I think we should all spend time with our partners.�

�Ah think ye might be right, lass,� Sean said. He stood up, and took her hand. �Ah�ll see you lot in the mornin�.� He led Hotaru out of the room, heading towards the solarium, on their way to the House of the Sun.

�I think that�s our cue,� Aster said. She squirmed out from between her bondmates and approached her partner.

�I think that Endymion and Terra need some quality time, don�t you, Taiyono?� she said, holding out a hand to him.

�Ah think y�all jes might be right, Sunshine,� Vincent said. �Why don� we git t� that tree house o� yours an� let the rest of this sort itself out?� He rose from his seat and took her hand.

�Ah�ll make breakfast for y�all in the mornin�� he said. �An� Takagi, y�all�s invited ta join us if�n nobody else wants ya.� He tightened his grip on Aster�s hand and led her out of the room and then out of the house.

By twos and fours, the other planetary pairs got together and made their way out of the house. Ami put her things together and picked up the safety helmet that she wore when she rode the scooter that Aster had bought for her. All of the girls had them, even though they were too young to drive cars. Aster had promised them access to cars when they came of age.

�Where are you going, Ami?� Mamoru asked her.

�Out,� she said.

�You are going to Kishi Mercury, aren�t you?� Lucinda asked.

Ami stopped and looked at her in surprise, and then nodded.

�I�m going to try and convince him to come back with me,� she said. �If Pluto told you and Aster that you weren�t going to live, and she lied, then she probably lied to him, as well. She told him that he had to stay separate to survive, but ChibiUsa says that even the Shitennou are in Crystal Tokyo. Surely if satellites survived, so did the planetary Kishi.�

�If anyone can convince him, you can, Ami,� Mamoru said. �Have a nice time, but if you have to come home, don�t make it too late.�

�She won�t be,� Tori�s voice came from the solarium entry and he stepped into to house. �Aster sent me over, to see to my primary�s wellbeing.�

�I told Hayasa I would keep his identity a secret,� Ami objected.

�I can have Charon follow you,� he pointed out. �Aster wanted me to make sure you were safe.�

�Okay,� Ami said. �I�ll just tell Hayasa that I didn�t have a choice.�

The two of them left, and Mamoru turned to his partner.

�Do you know what we�re supposed to do?� he asked her.

�When I spent the night with both Sols,� Lucinda said. �We all transformed first. I know that when you spent the night with both Moons, it was the same.�

�Yes,� he said. �I just wanted to know if you knew what to do.�

�Yes,� she said. �I know what to do. Shall we go upstairs and do it?�

TBC
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Diamohns are Forever