Character Sketches #1, Sailor Mercury - Part I, "Mizuno the Senshi"
Chapter 8: In which strategy is formulated, and a cusp is reached.

OUTSIDE TOKYO (UPI)--Today aid continued to pour into the Tokyo refugee camps, and millions awaited the next step in the nightmare that has only grown worse in the past few days.

Tokyo itself has been declared forbidden to all unescorted civilians, due to the risk of future monster attacks.

The camps, some miles south and east of Tokyo, are filled with Tokyo citizens fleeing the devastation which has struck the city, yet there are still fears that even this sanctuary is not enough. There are reports that monster attacks have begun again on the camp's outer boundaries, and JSDF forces, in conjunction with UN peacekeepers from China, the Philippines, and Canada, have tried to hold the borders.

When asked about the prospects of fleeing once again, Kenji Tsukino, a displaced Tokyo citizen, said, "...it doesn't matter anymore. It just doesn't matter."

Mr. Tsukino, like many of the tent-dwellers, has lost family in the exodus. Their daughter, Usagi, has not been seen by them since the afternoon before the attack. Like many others, they can only hope that their loved one is somewhere else in the sea of displaced people

"LUNA!!!"

"ARTEMIS!!!"

The companions of the respective cats rushed through the brush to embrace the beleaguered felines.

"Sailor Moon! Thank heavens, I thought I'd lost you! Where have you been?"

"We've-"

"We've got to talk. Now." Jupiter's authoritative words shook them all.

They stood in a small clearing that some Red Cross workers had decided was too small for a tent, yet big enough for a trash dump. The bags of garbage gave a less-than-pleasing odor to their reunion, but it was better than going out into the refugee camps and facing those people.

"Artemis," said Venus, "what happened?"

The cats sighed. "We don't know exactly what happened, Venus. The first we knew about the big attack was the announcement to evacuate the city. There were so many people trying to get out that we had to go along, and hope that you could take care of yourselves."

"Sorry."

"There's no need to apologize, Sailor Moon. You tried your best."

Moon was crying, but not the water fountains they were accustomed to. As the water silently ran down her cheeks, she continued. "We lost. We had to defend Tokyo, and we couldn't."

"Now, Sailor-"

"How many people lost their homes, Luna? How many people were hurt because we screwed up, hm!? HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED, DAMMIT!?!

"How many people died?"

"Sail...Usagi, you need to get control of yourself. We saw the TV reports. You were outnumbered twenty to one, perhaps more. You fought valiantly against the odds, but there was nothing you could do!"

"He's right," consoled Luna. "How many people lived last night because you bought them time? You held off the main thrust long enough for millions to escape! The city can be replaced. The lives of those you saved cannot."

Sailor Moon detransformed and slumped against a tree to ponder all of this. Sailors Mars and Venus went to console her. Sailor Mercury pumped the cats for information.

"How bad is it out there?"

"Tokyo is gone," answered Luna. "The place was leveled; nothing left but rubble. And all this time we worried about earthquakes." She managed a chuckle for the benefit of the senshi; she had no idea what terrors they had faced, and they could probably use some cheering up.

"So everyone's out here?"

"Yes, here in the mountains, although some people say that even this isn't safe. We've managed to find Usagi's and Minako's parents, and Artemis thinks he saw Rei's grandfather, but he isn't certain."

She left unsaid the fact that they hadn't seen her mother.

"Look, Mercury, there's a lot of people up here, and it's going to take time to find her. She could be anywhere."

This was too much for Jupiter. "Mercury, we need to talk. Now."

"But we-"

"Um, I don't recommend you go out and look for her," said Artemis tentatively. "From what we've heard out there, the people look at you as some sorts of Messiahs. You'd be mobbed."

"To be honest, Artemis, we're going to have to get used to that sooner or later. Remember, we were due to be public features sooner or later."

"Yes, but not now! I just have the feeling that your fame wasn't to be for a long time."

"Nevertheless, I've got to go and find my-"

"They have her."

Slowly, ever so slowly, Mercury turned to face Jupiter. "What was that you said?" she asked in a preternaturally calm voice.

"They have her. Our enemies." She sighed, knowing how much hope she was taking away from her friend. "As we were teleporting out, I saw her come out from a shadow, and she had that weird look in her eyes, you know, like the stewardess had. Pure white, with just a dot for a pupil. She's one of them....I'm sorry."

The only sound was the murmur of crickets, and a sound unrecognizable as rifle-fire.

"Sailor Mercury, we-"

"Sailor Moon!" Mercury was already striding to the blonde's seat near the oak. "We've got to go back there. Now."

Moon's bloodshot eyes looked up at a Mercury they hadn't seen before. A Mercury that was angry, not a fiery anger, but a cold, icy hatred. An implacable hatred and dislike of a single person, and a determination for that person to die in a particularly nasty fashion. It was an anger you didn't argue with.

"Why?"

"They have my mother."

"Oh."

Luna and Artemis, after discussing things, hurried over to the group of senshi. "Sailors, you must not go after the Master now. You still haven't fully recovered from your last battle, remember!"

"And," joined Artemis, "from what you tell me, it was blind luck that you survived the last time. We've *got* to hold back and formulate some strategy before-"

"Done."

"Mercury, with all due respect-"

"I've already got a plan. While we were down there, my computer was recording everything it could," she said, taking out the object in question. "No visuals, but a fairly good reading of temperature, barometric pressure, and other factors. The cavern is hidden about six hundred meters beneath the Greenland icecap."

"Greenland?" asked Venus. "That's way too close to the North Pole for my comfort, and you remember what happened the last time we went there!"

"Greenland is not even close to D-point. Anyway, we'll need to teleport into the periphery of the base, so as not to be surprised."

"Oh," said Mars, "and you happen to have a map of the place, do you?"

"Yes. Ultrasound does wonders."

"Ultrasound?"

"And magic." She tapped the case of her computer. "You didn't think this was all microprocessors in here, did you?"

"Well..."

"Once we port in, we'll have to get to the Master quickly; there's no telling what kind of security precautions he may have taken." She pushed a couple buttons, and a map bearing an eerie resemblance to a plate of spaghetti appeared on the screen. "Here's what we'll do..."