The Return of the Senshi I don't think this one is anywhere near its final form. Suggestions?

Tokyo, Japan
Wednesday, November 4
4:47 am

"Ishichan! Sarachan! Kimichan! Dejachan!" cried out Philip with joy. "You've come to take us to okasan?"

Chibi Moon said, "Auntie Mako is still in jail, Firipu. I'm sure Auntie Rei will get her out soon. Where is Tammy? And Zoe?"

"They went with Uncle Giro."

"Uncle Giro?"

"Okasan's uncle, Sarachan. He has been hiding us ever since the police came and took okasan away. They've been gone a really long time now. I was getting scared."

"I know," said Chibi Venus, reaching out with a comforting hand.

"Ishichan, are they scared now too? Can you find them? Please?"

As usual, Chibi-moon made the decision. "We will find them. But first, I will take you home. Second Moon, Chibi Venus, Chibi Mars, wait for me to come back before you start searching again. That's an order!"

Kensington, California (East of the International Dateline)
Tuesday, November 3
10:49 am

Subtlety was not the style of the First Moon. Instead of teleporting into a quiet part of the mansion she knew so well, she popped into the operations center, where she found her mother, her grandmother, a stern-faced Auntie-Luna, and if all that weren't bad enough, Auntie Olivia as well. Before any of them could speak, she said, "I know, I disobeyed, punish me later." Then she switched to the Old Tongue, lest Philip listen in. "I've got to go back. Chibi Venus can't read either Tammy or Zoe. Either they are knocked out or they aren't in Tokyo any more. Chibi Mars thinks they are in danger, and I think she's right for once. They've been gone almost a day. Zoe would never have left Philip alone that long."

Philip couldn't understand much of the Old Tongue but he caught enough of the urgency in Chibi Moon's voice to start crying. Ikuko and Olivia took him away while the senshi were called to action.

Paris, France
7:58 pm

Roland Descartes was still basking in the customary pre-performance applause when it suddenly began to taper off, and an interrogative buzz replaced it. He turned around just in time to see Michiru disappear stage left. He stood open-mouthed for a good five seconds, long after she had vanished, absolutely at a loss. Michiru had certainly been unhappy about the news about her friend the last few days, but walking out before a performance? He hadn't even pressured her about this one. He hadn't even been with another woman besides Haruka for almost three months. What on Earth could this be about?

At last Descartes recovered his wits and made a clever remark before leaving the stage himself. But when he got to their dressing room, Michiru wasn't there.

Well, there was nothing for it now but to finish the performance and sort it out later. But first, he called home, to tell Haruka about it and ask if she knew something he might have missed. But Haruka was gone, too, and neither Anne-Marie nor Adrienne seemed to be giving him a straight story about it. What the devil was going on?

Descartes returned to the stage in a foul mood he barely disguised. Paradoxically, he gave a brilliant performance, so absorbed in his troubles he played instinctively, forgetting to put in his pretty flourishes calculated to stroke the Paris critics.

Owen Roberts International Airport
Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island
2:25 pm

George Borman was accustomed to delays; he had been in working in the Caribbean too long to expect things to follow the same rigid schedules as in the United States. But he'd been waiting for more than an hour now, and he didn't expect to have this trouble with a chartered plane. At last he reached the airport manager, and asked, "What's the problem with flight 245?"

"Flight 245, sir?"

"Yes, flight 245, the only Gulfstream I see at this airport. What's going on?"

"Flight 245 has been cancelled, sir."

"Cancelled? What do you mean, cancelled?"

"The pilot withdrew the flight plan at, ah, 2:04, sir."

"Wait a minute, my firm chartered this flight. We didn't cancel it."

"No, sir, the pilot cancelled it. She said she would be unable to fly the aircraft and there was no replacement pilot available complete the flight plan."

"She hasn't informed me about this. Let me talk with her."

"I'll have her paged, sir. Ahh, may I ask how you pronounce her name correctly? I've never seen anything like it before."

"It's 'se-tsoo-nah may-oh.' It's Japanese." <Japanese. If it were one of the locals I could understand this, but I expected I could depend on a Japanese pilot . . .>

GNN (Grey News Network)
3:02 pm EST (Atlanta Headquarters)

"This just in from our desk in Tokyo. Bishoujo senshi or magic girl sightings have been reported from all over Tokyo in the last hour. It is reported that they are seeking Tammy Yount, one of the children involved in the custody battle that has been in the news here so much recently. It is also reported that they are seeking one of the other children belonging to the still-jailed Ms. Urawa, sixteen-year-old Zoe Kino, missing since the arrest of Ms. Urawa nine days ago. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police have confirmed that they have received a solid lead about the missing children, but are now denying reports that Ms. Urawa has escaped from custody . . . "

Orinda, California
12:07 pm

"Hey, Val. Where's Pelly?" asked Benicia.

"Hey, Betty. I don't know where Pelly went. She got a page and she never came back. Maybe some kind of family emergency."

<She doesn't know, but she's lying about what she's guessing,> thought Benicia. But Valentina Petrov was one of those people who could sense telepathy; Benicia didn't try to read any more from her than came naturally.

Tokyo, Japan
6:09 am

Sailor Jupiter asked Chibi Moon as soon as she reappeared, "They aren't in yomi, are they?"

Chibi Moon shook her head. "No, they have not come to the world of the dead. The Grey Lady would have found them."

Sailor Jupiter burst into tears. "Is your mother—"

"She came back. How do you think I know what I know? Auntie, your uncle is in yomi now. This is what he knew before he died . . ."

Kyoto, Japan
6:28 am

"Do you know anything about the children the American holy man is looking for?" asked Sailor Venus.

"He doesn't," answered Chibi Moon for the man.

"That is good news for you, oyabun. But some of your kobun might have taken them. If that is so and they are not released safely, we will be back for you and every one of your kobun."

The oyabun of the largest clan of yakuza in Japan did not recover the power of speech, but one of his bodyguards, the one that merely had a broken arm, said, "There are many clans. Probably one of the others took them."

"Your kobun is right, oyabun," said Sailor Mercury precisely, "We may never know which clan did it. If the children are never found or are found dead, how can we know for sure? So, I guess we will just have to hunt down all the yakuza, so we can make sure we get the right men."

"Thank your man for helping us making the situation clear. Do you understand, honorable oyabun?" said Sailor Venus with exquisite courtesy, still holding the tip of the Moonsword at his throat.

The senshi recovered the missing girls ninety-one minutes and twelve seconds later.