Insertion

Part 70

Vahn's Revenge, Final.

++++++++++++++

"Pardon?" asked Yohiko as she sat with Xellos
at the table and blinked.

"I said, Vahn is still alive, and he's causing
trouble," replied the man simply.

The woman looked thoughtful for a moment and
frowned. "Vahn?"

"Yes, I believe you blew him up," replied the
mage casually. "During that party, with the
terrorists?"

"Oh! Oh yeah," said the woman cheerfully.
"Neat. I suppose he wants..."

"Yes, Revenge," replied Xellos with a slight
frown. "A rather nasty character that one."

"Yeah, I didn't really meet him before. I
believe it was a trap I set that got him."

"Something like that," said the mage with a
small shrug. "He's the only one besides your
friend Olif that survived."

"Hmmm. I guess so, but...I halfway expected to
see Olif before that guy, he didn't have any arms
or legs."

Xellos sighed and shook his head. "Olif is
living rather quietly, cowering in the corner of
his cell and muttering gibberish in a mental
institution."

"Oh," said the woman as she sipped at the cup
of tea that rested in her palms. "Well, I imagine
I'll have to oblige him then."

"Quite," said Xellos calmly as he stared at
her for a moment.

"Well, I suppose I should look for him tonight
then," replied the woman with a small shrug.

"Well, it's Saturday, get some sleep first,"
said the man cheerfully.

"Where is Usagi?" said the woman as she
glanced around the room.

"She's over with Godai, participating in the
meeting of tenants there."

"What for?"

"Mostly so they can grill her about who I am
in relation to you," said the man with a smirk on
his face.

"You mean they still haven't figured that
out?" said the woman with a slightly surprised
frown on her face.

"No," replied the man as he lifted the
newspaper up and started reading.

"Boy, I'd think they'd have figured it out by
now," said the woman with a small shrug.

"I'm good at keeping secrets," said the mage
with a slightly evil smirk forming on his face.

"I suppose so," replied the woman. "Still,
everyone else says they can see it in us. I don't
get it myself, but..."

"Who knows?" replied Xellos with a small
shrug.

Yohiko smirked as she picked up a letter that
was sitting on the table. "Akane's getting married
next month. She invited me and my family along.
Want to go?"

"Why not?" replied the man with a small shrug.

"Behave yourself. I kinda like her, despite
everything," replied the woman with a smirk on her
face.

"Oh, very well then," muttered Xellos.

"I mean it. I know you."

"Right, right, I promise, Mazoku's honor," said
the man with a slightly disgusted frown on his
face.

"What honor?" said the woman with her smirk
widening.

"Har, har," said Xellos.

++++++++++++

Usagi sat in the room with the others, only
half-listening to the debate about whether her
Uncle was Yohiko's lover or not. A few of the
guesses were close, but they never quite got it
right. A cousin was as close as they came.

She didn't particularly care. Her mind was
working on a more serious dilemma. That thing she
had fought two nights ago. Well, when she wasn't
distracted by thoughts of what had happened
afterwards.

A slight blush crossed the girl's face as she
thought about it and she noticed everyone was
staring at her.

"What?" said the girl in confusion.

"You mean...he's really that big?" said Akemi
dumbly.

"That explains a lot," muttered Itchinose as
her cigarette hung from her lip in what appeared
to be awe.

"What are you talking about?" said the girl as
she looked at them.

Yotsuya was standing in front of a chalkboard
with a somewhat surprised looking frown on his
face. "Indeed. It seems my calculations were
correct."

The girl blanched when she saw that the words
Xellos's Penis size were written on the board with
a question mark behind it.

"So that's why she puts up with him,"
commented Akemi.

"Nooooo!" cried Godai as he stood up and
flopped to the ground in horror.

"When I asked you, I didn't think you knew,"
commented Yotsuya.

"What? I wouldn't know that! I was thinking
about something else! I wasn't even paying
attention!" cried the girl in defense.

"She hides her shame so well," said Yotsuya.

"Musta seen him coming out of the bath or
something," agreed Akemi.

"Even if I did! I wouldn't be looking at
that!" snapped the girl. "Gross!"

"Your mother is not married. There is no shame
in assessing an unattached man," said Yotsuya
calmly.

"You jerks!" cried the girl.

"It isn't true!" muttered Godai pathetically.

Usagi stood up and crossed her arms over her
chest. "I'm leaving! You can figure this out on
your own!" She turned away and slammed the door
behind her.

"Her embarrassment reveals the truth," said
Yotsuya as he looked at the sobbing form of
Yusaku.

Akemi had her arm around him and was
comforting him as best she could. She also
appeared to be enjoying it a little too much.

"Don't touch that!" cried the boy as he jumped
up suddenly.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly as she wiggled
her fingers and smirked.

"If I was single again," said Itchinose with a
slightly wistful sigh.

"Stop saying things like that you perverts!"
cried the boy in horror.

"Hey, it's not our fault you got cute all of a
sudden," said Akemi as she blew a puff of smoke
into the air.

Godai hung his head and sat down again to
sulk. "Just, leave me alone."

++++++++++++

Usagi started to open her door and paused as
the voice of Yohiko and her Uncle stopped her.

"Right, right, Mazoku's honor," said the man
cheerfully.

"What honor?" replied her mother.

"Har, har," said her Uncle flatly.

"Mazoku?" muttered the girl under her breath
with a slightly surprised frown. "What...some kind
of monster?" She stepped back and sucked in a
quick breath as her mother opened the door.

"Hello Usagi, I thought you were talking with
the band of idiots today," said the woman
cheerfully.

The girl paused. "I umm..."

Xellos sighed. "How much did you hear child?"
he said with a weary looking frown on his face.

"Nothing! I didn't hear anything about a
Mazoku!" cried the girl fearfully.

Yohiko blinked. "What?" She turned her head to
look at Xellos for a moment and frowned. "Come on
in, might as well get this over with."

The girl nervously complied, ready to jump
away at a moment's notice.

"That's just a title dear," said Xellos.

"He's right," said Yohiko. "Xellos is..."

"I've already told her I'm a sorcerer,"
supplied the man calmly. "It's no big deal."

Usagi relaxed. "So, that's some kind
of...sorcerer thing?"

"Something like that," said Xellos with a
small chuckle. "More like a school, it's closer to
say you're born into it."

"So, mother is..."

"No dear," said the woman with a small sigh.
It was true, she was as human as Usagi at the
moment.

"Um, I'm not..."

"No," said Yohiko with a small chuckle. "Don't
worry. It's part of the reason he's the way he
is."

"Kind of hard to explain to someone who's not
informed," said Xellos. "At least not without
scaring the hell out of them," he thought
privately.

"Oh," said the girl as she took it on face
value. "Well, I guess so."

"Right dear, don't think too hard about it,"
said Yohiko cheerfully.

+++++++++++

Usagi stood on the roof of her home and
glanced around as she jumped down into the street,
the transformation taking place as she landed. She
smiled and dashed off into the darkness, not
realizing that another figure did much the same
thing on the other side of the home.

She didn't get very far before she paused and
noticed someone waiting for her in the street.

"Ryoga?"

"Hello Sailor Moon," said the boy as he nodded
at her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in
confusion.

The boy blushed, he'd been trying to find his
way to the Tendo Dojo. He had to say goodbye to
Akane at least. After the last meeting with Usagi,
he realized that he would never be with his first
love. So, he'd moved on. He hadn't yet told her
about his family curse, and floundered over it for
a moment. "I knew you'd be going out again, after
that thing." He steeled himself as her expression
told him he was right.

"I have too," she said as she turned her gaze
away from him. "No one else is going to beat him."

"I'm going with you," said the boy as he
started walking towards her.

She frowned at this. "It's dangerous."

"That's why I'm going," he replied calmly.

"I don't want you to get hurt," she insisted.

"And I don't want you to get hurt either, who
knows what would have happened if I hadn't shown
up when I did."

The girl nodded as she realized he wasn't
going to leave her alone. "All right." A grin
formed on her face as she grabbed his arm and
started to pull him along. "We'll celebrate after
we beat him!"

"What?" said the boy as his entire body turned
beet red.

"It isn't at that mansion anymore," said the
girl. "I went back a few days ago, but it was
cleared out. Police were everywhere."

"I see," said Ryoga. "So where are we going?"

"Back to that mansion," said Usagi firmly.

"Huh? But you said..."

"They might have left a clue about where they
went behind. I couldn't get in last time because
of the police."

"Oh," said the boy dumbly.

++++++++++++

They arrived within an hour and stood staring
at the doorway. There were no longer any police,
but the scene was taped off. There were boards
nailed up on the windows of the entrance, but the
rest of the home was untouched.

The pair walked inside calmly. The door had
been locked, but Usagi's costume was easily able
to mimic the key by filling in the lock like a
sort of liquid.

"So, what are we looking for?" asked Ryoga.

"Anything. Maybe we should split up?" said the
girl as she glanced back at her companion.

"I don't think that would be a very good
idea," said the boy nervously.

"You're not scared are you?" she quipped.

"No! But..."

"All right, you can stay with me then!" said
the girl as she latched onto his arm.

"This isn't a date you know," he said weakly.

"Well, it's as close as we've come to one,"
said the girl cheerfully as she pulled him into
the middle of the lobby.

"How quaint," said a voice from the shadows.
The lights came on and the pair stood there in
shock. Usagi released Ryoga's arm and frowned at
the figure that stood at the top of the stairs.

Tanaka smirked at the pair. He was wearing a
long cape with armored shoulder pads over a light
purple uniform. A broadsword hung at his side and
his hair was now fluffed into a style that hung
into his face from his bangs. "Welcome back. I
suspected you might return here. The police
presence kept me from setting my trap until now."
He pointed at the girl and laughed.

"Um...are you wearing lipstick?" said Usagi as
she seemed to peer at him for a moment.

"Why, yes," replied the man calmly. "I am
wearing lipstick."

"Why?" muttered Ryoga in confusion.

"Because, I am an evil bishonen villain!"

"Oh," replied the pair.

"Vahn! Welcome our guests!" snarled the man as
he drew his sword and pointed it at them
dramatically. After a second or two, he let the
tip touch the floor and gasped. "This thing is
heavy!"

"It's that thing!" said Ryoga as the
mechanical beast appeared in the room from the
basement again.

"Ah, they have returned. I didn't come here to
play your games Tanaka. I want the other one, not
this puny being!"

Usagi blinked. "Other?"

"The Shadow," said the thing hatefully. "He is
my true enemy, you are nothing to me, and I will
destroy you to satisfy my obligation. I will have
my real revenge soon enough!"

The girl's ribbons started to elongate from
her back and float in the air again. "Ryoga, get
out of the way, you won't do me any good out
here."

"Right, I'll wait for an opportunity to
strike," he said with frustration clear in his
voice. "I shouldn't have come. I caught him by
surprise before, I'll just get in the way against
that thing!"

Usagi was already moving forward with grim
determination in her eyes. "You're going down this
time!"

"You cannot win," said the thing coldly as its
claws began to work in anticipation.

Ryoga glanced down nervously as he started to
walk towards the man standing at the top of the
stairs. His gaze was cold, and Vahn ignored him.

"So, she sends her sidekick to die at my
hands?" said Tanaka coldly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" snarled
Ryoga as he clenched his fists at his side. "I'm
not her sidekick!"

"No matter, we all know that only Sailor Moon
has the power to vanquish me! Your attempts will
be laughably pathetic!"

"Is that so?" snarled Ryoga as he stood off
against the man.

"Yes, It's inevitable. If she manages to
defeat Vahn, we will have a dramatic battle on the
roof of this building. In the moonlight, we will
face each other in honorable combat, with only one
of us surviving."

"You read too much manga," said Ryoga coldly
as he took up a combat stance.

"Martial arts?" said the man in amusement as
he put his sword on his shoulder pad and chuckled.
"You fool, I'm a bishonen villain. It's my very
nature to be deceptive and cowardly."

"What?" said the boy in confusion.

"Lucky for me, it's an interpretive art form,"
said the man as he took a handgun from his belt
and promptly shot Ryoga.

The lost boy's eyes went wide, he had moved,
but not soon enough. "I..." he said as he slumped
down against the stair rail and clung to it for a
moment. His left arm hung uselessly at his side.
"You bastard. I'll."

"You'll die," said Tanaka coldly.

Usagi's attention had vanished from Vahn at
the sound of the shot. She gasped in horror and
looked up at the scene. "No! Ryoga!" she screamed
angrily.

Vahn simply stood there for a moment, but
started to move towards her to stop her.

Another voice entered the room and everyone
went silent.

"Pathetic, you're nothing more than a
charlatan," said an evilly smooth tone from one of
the upstairs rooms as the door opened. "I'd like
to see how you'll do against a real bishonen
villain."

"What?" gasped Tanaka. He spun around and took
a step back.

Jadeite was standing there with a rapier in
his hand and a cool smile on his face. "I was
going to just let this little drama play out, but
you're a disgrace. I won't have you besmirching
such a title with such a pathetic display."

Vahn stopped moving and spoke to Usagi. "We
will not be interrupted. Your friend will live, if
you manage to survive me again."

The girl glanced at Ryoga. He was on his feet,
and didn't appear to be too badly hurt. He now had
one of his bandannas tied to the wound on his
shoulder and simply watched the pair in front of
him.

The girl turned to face the cyborg and
frowned.

++++++++++++

Tanaka snarled as he hefted his sword and
pointed it at the man. "You say I'm not good
enough to be a bishonen villain? How dare you!"

"You're too short," said the notably taller
Jadeite calmly as he stepped forward.

"I'll kill you!" snarled the man as he charged
and swung his sword clumsily.

Jadeite merely raised his hand and a pillar of
dark magic engulfed the man.

A charred looking skeleton slumped onto the
ground when the light faded. "Heh. Pathetic." He
narrowed his eyes and turned towards Vahn. "Now,
as for you..."

"My, it certainly is noisy in here tonight,"
said a cold voice from the darkness. Everyone
turned to see a tall dark blob of darkness walk
through the front door of the home. the shadows
melted away from the thing, revealing a tall man
with a pair of handguns held at the ready. His
eyes were amused more than anything else.

"You!" cried Vahn as he swat Usagi aside. The
girl had a few tendrils of ribbon wrapped around
him, but hadn't really started fighting yet.

The girl hit the wall roughly and rubbed at
her head in irritation.

The Shadow paused and looked at the thing for
a moment, not even bothering to take stock of the
situation around him otherwise. "Vahn?"

"At last! I shall have my revenge!" roared the
thing as it raised its claws into the air in
triumph.

Everyone paused when The Shadow suddenly fell
to his knees.

Vahn chuckled, his nemesis was paralyzed with
fear, to shocked to fight. "I hope you'll give me
a better fight than this."

The Shadow ignored him. "A...A...A Su...A
Suuu...A Suup...A Super Villain?!" He jumped up to
his feet and raised his arms in triumph. "Thank
you!"

Everyone simply stared at him for a moment.

"What?" said Usagi dumbly. "Hey! He's my Super
villain!" cried the girl irritably. "I was just
gonna kick his ass!"

The Shadow paused again, realizing that there
were others in the room with him. "Wha?"

Usagi blinked as she fell under the
intimidating figure's gaze. "USAGI? What the hell
are you doing here?"

"Um...I know you?" said the girl in confusion.

"Oh, You are in so much trouble when you get
home young lady!" said the Shadow as he rushed up
to her and grabbed her ear, twisting it painfully.

"What? Let me go you freak! Wait! Home! You're
going to tell my mother about this!?"

"Your mother?" said the figure dumbly. "You'd
better get your behind back home right now!" he
snapped. "You and I are going to have a long
discussion about this when I get back young lady!"

"What the hell? Who are you?" cried Usagi as
she tried to escape the figure's grip on her ear.
Tears of pain were starting to well up in her
eyes.

"You let her go!" screamed Ryoga as he dove
towards the figure in an offensive stance.

"Ryoga? What are you doing here?!" cried The
Shadow as he finally noticed the boy.

"Huh?" said the boy dumbly as he found himself
grabbed by his ear. "You two are in on this
together?"

"What?" said Usagi in shock.

"What kind of trouble have you been getting
your cousin into mister?" snapped the angry man as
he jerked Ryoga's head from side to side
violently.

"Cousin?" said the pair in unison as they
suddenly froze and looked at the man in shock.

Vahn wasn't sure what to do, he simply stared
at the scene. "I...um..."

"Hold your horses! I'll get to you when I deal
with this!" said the Shadow impatiently.

"But I..." said Usagi in horror. "He is not my
cousin! He's my boyfriend!"

"Um! Yeah!" said the boy lamely.

"Usagi Hibiki, what the hell are you talking
about?" snapped The Shadow.

Ryoga froze and looked at the girl. "Your name
is Hibiki?" he muttered as he almost passed out.

"Um yeah...don't tell me..." said the girl
quietly.

"Ryoga Hibiki," confirmed the boy. He seemed
to be on the verge of tears.

"WAAAAAAHHHHHH! I'll never have sex again!"
cried the girl as she burst into tears.

The Shadow froze and released both teens.
"What?" Slowly, his head turned to look at the
boy, a cold fire burning in the back of his eyes.

"She made me do it!" cried Ryoga in horror.

The Shadow growled, it was an inhuman sound.
The two handguns appeared in his grip again and he
leveled them on the unfortunate boy.

"Oh shit," said Ryoga lamely. He turned and
started running.

The Shadow moved after him, firing shots that
barely missed the boy. His skills clouded by an
intense anger. "Die! Die! How dare you! My little
girl! You perverted bastard! Just you wait until I
get my hands on you!"

Vahn had yet to move. He simply watched the
scene, unable to do anything. "What the hell is
this?" he muttered to himself.

"Little bastard! I'll see how well you can get
to know your cousin without it!"

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" cried Ryoga fearfully as he
was chased back and fourth through the room.

Usagi chased after the man, her ribbons
clinging to him desperately as she tried to stop
him without much success. "No! Don't hurt him!"

Jadeite blinked and turned away, intent on
leaving quietly.

A pair of bullet holes stopped his escape and
he slowly turned around.

The shadow was glaring at him from below,
pausing his chase of the lost boy for a moment.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"I was just leaving," said the man lamely.

"You stay put Nephrite! We're going to have a
long talk about this, and why the hell you're
here!"

The man hung his head and sat down on the
floor. "Man."

"Noo! Don't hurt him!" screamed Usagi as she
latched onto the man's back, trying to hold him
back more than ever. "Stop it! Stop trying to kill
him, and leave my super villains alone!"

"All right, that does it," snapped the
intimidating figure as his form slowly melted
away.

Usagi froze, absolute terror suddenly
appearing on her face as she realized who she was
holding in her grip. The ribbons fell away,
seeming to almost be sheepish as they slumped off
of the woman.

"Young lady, you'd better get your ass home,
right now."

"Mom?!!!" cried the girl as she simply fell to
her knees. "No way!"

"Mom?" muttered Vahn. The whirring of
machinery coming to life filled the room and a
rage built up inside him. "A woman? A woman did
this to me? I was beaten by a woman?!!"

Yohiko finally seemed to remember he was there
and cursed under her breath. "Get lost Usagi, I'll
handle this. He's an old friend of mine, and you
and I are going to talk about this later."

The girl stumbled back, not even trying to
argue.

"Auntie Yohiko?" said Ryoga as he poked his
head around a corner. He shook for a moment, and
then passed out cold.

"Nephrite, get them out of here and take them
home. You'd better be there when I get back."

The man stood up from his seat and frowned.
"Fine. Ya jerk."

Vahn's chest had slid open, revealing a
compartment inside with a round red object inside.
Yohiko growled as a black liquid seemed to form
around her body, changing her form.

"Die! I'll kill you and your whole family!
Revenge is mine!" he screamed as a small missile
blasted from his chest. It took Yohiko dead center
and threw her through a wall. There was an
explosion on the other side, and the building
started to burn.

"Mother! No!" screamed Usagi as she started to
move.

Jadeite appeared behind her and grabbed her.
"She's fine! That's not enough to kill her," he
said sharply as he pulled her away without too
much trouble. He grabbed Ryoga around his neck and
the boy made no move to stop him. They all
vanished in a flash of light.

Vahn growled as he saw this. "No! They have
escaped!" He turned towards the smoldering hole
and chuckled. "No matter, I shall send your family
to meet you in hell soon enough."

There was a familiar sound from inside the
hole, barely audible over the flames.

Vahn's sensors picked it up and he frowned.
"What?"

It was the rhythmic sound of machinery moving,
and the soft thump of footsteps.

"Freeze, creep," said a mechanical sounding
voice.

Vahn stepped back in shock, not believing what
he was seeing before him. A small armored man was
walking out of the hole. "What is this?"

"You're under arrest," said the thing calmly.
Its arm moved mechanically to its side, and a
compartment opened out of its leg. A huge firearm
appeared and moved into its grip.

"Is this some sort of joke?" snarled Vahn
angrily as it raised its arm and began to fire at
the thing.

The armored figure calmly walked forward,
jerking only slightly as the occasional stray
bullet struck it in the chest. "You're going
down," it said in an emotionless monotone as it
began to fire at Vahn.

Both of the machines were doing little damage
to each other, they simply circled, firing at one
another and doing nothing more than make sparks
fly off each other's bodies.

Vahn quickly tired of this and charged
forward. His claws opened wide and he dove for the
thing.

"Big mistake," said the thing coldly.

"Eh?" muttered Vahn as he found his claws met
with the thing's fists. They stood pushing on each
other. Vahn chuckled as he pushed the thing back,
easily sliding it slowly across the floor. "It
seems you're weaker than I am. I'll tear you
apart!"

"You'll try," said the thing calmly. "I'm
afraid I can't allow that though.

"What?" said Vahn as he realized something was
wrong. The thing didn't have the silver shine to
it any longer. Instead it had turned jet black,
the blackness was slowly moving up his arms and
the robotic figure melted away to reveal the
woman's face. "Heh. Fool."

"What are you doing?" cried Vahn as the
darkness covered his chest.

"Too bad I've got other places to be tonight,
I'd love to stay and play with you for a while,
but I've got family business.

Vahn desperately tried to escape, he thrashed
violently, but the woman's grip was iron solid.
"No! It can't be!"

Yohiko chuckled as the darkness slowly started
to seep into the cracks and seams of the robot,
prying them apart slowly and moving through the
innards of the monster. "Where are you?"

"No! This is impossible!" screamed Vahn in
horror as he began to feel something sliding
across what was left of his chest. he was deep
inside the monstrosity, invulnerable to any
attack.

"Ah, there you are," said Yohiko. "Goodbye."

Vahn went silent as a sharp pain exploded
across his chest, the pressure that had started to
build inside his armor had crushed him inside the
beast. The machine went silent.

Yohiko chuckled and removed the last traces of
the costume from inside Vahn's shell. "Well, that
was quick."

"What's that noise?" asked Pissant.

"What noise?" asked Carrot.

"That beeping?" muttered Xainfu in confusion.

"Beeping?" muttered Dan. "Oh shit."

The entire building exploded in a spectacular
ball of flame.

+++++++++++++++

"Who are you really?" snarled Usagi angrily.

Jadeite was sitting across from Xellos with a
frown on his face. "My real name is Nephrite. I'm
an old friend of your...mother."

"What's going on here?" screamed the girl in
frustration. "What happened to my mom?"

Xellos didn't look very comfortable. "She
found her?"

"Yeah, we're screwed too," said Nephrite as he
faded into Phibrizo.

"What the? What's going on? Who the hell is
this kid?" screamed Usagi. "What happened to
Jadeite?"

"Actually, my name is Jadeite, he's Nephrite,"
said her Uncle with a small nervous chuckle.

"Huh?!" cried the girl in frustration.

"I was training you," said Nephrite with a
small shrug. "I was playing evil villain and
keeping an eye on you."

"You kidnapped people to train me?" screamed
the girl in anger.

"No, I just sort of showed up at the end and
started giving orders. They were usually in so
much chaos that they listened to me without
question. I haven't really done anything," said
the boy with a small shrug.

Ryoga stood next to the table with a horrified
look on his face. "Could someone please tell me
what's going on? Sailor Moon isn't really Auntie
Yohiko's daughter is she?"

"Well, her mother's name is Yohiko..." said
Xellos.

"This sucks," grumbled Usagi.

"How dare you! You raped me! My own cousin!"
cried Ryoga in anguish.

"Shut the hell up! You should have told me you
were a Hibiki!" cried the girl.

"Now, now. Wait, did you say rape?" Xellos
paused and looked at the girl. "Oh, you didn't."

Nephrite seemed to catch on and looked at
them. "You slept with your cousin?"

"Yes! No! I mean...We didn't know!" said Usagi
as she hung her head.

"Man, no wonder Yohiko was so pissed," said
Nephrite.

Both of them knew of this some time ago, but
playing stupid now would make it easier to
convince Yohiko that they were ignorant later. If
she was as angry as Nephrite had said, it could
possibly save their lives.

"Why isn't she here yet?" cried Usagi
fearfully.

"Huh? Don't worry, Vahn's not strong enough to
hurt her. Her costume is much more powerful than
yours," said Xellos with a small smirk.

The girl nodded and watched the door. "I hope
you're right."

"Staying there would have just put us in the
way," commented Nephrite.

"In any case, there isn't much we can do now
besides wait anyway," agreed Xellos.

"What's going on?" muttered Ryoga fearfully.

"We're waiting for Usagi's mother to get home
to kill you, and hopefully we'll be able to talk
our way out of it ourselves. I'd let you go, but
I'm hoping she'll blow off enough steam to leave
us alone after she's through with you," said
Xellos.

"Yeah. Sorry, you understand right?" agreed
Nephrite.

"What? Kill me?" cried the boy in shock.

"Don't worry Ryoga, I don't think it'll go
that far..." said Usagi with a weak smile.

The door opened and slammed into the wall.
Yohiko stood there with an aura burning around her
as she glared into the room. "Now..."

++++++++++++

Nephrite, Jadeite, and Usagi all sat at the
table in silence. None of them daring to speak.
Ryoga was a broken pile of unconscious blood on
the floor behind the intimidating woman.

"You're all going to tell me a story, a story
about Sailor Moon, and why you thought it would be
a good idea to keep it from me that my daughter
was running around the streets at night, alone."

"She wasn't alone," grumbled Nephrite. "I was
usually following her. Most of the time."

"Oh?" said Yohiko as she looked back at Ryoga.

"I had no idea! I swear!" cried the boy
fearfully. "She must have done it after I left
her! I was just training her! Xellos asked me to
do it!"

The priest glared at Nephrite. "You little..."

"Oh, he did?" said Yohiko darkly.

"I didn't have any say in the matter. They
were orders from further up," he said as he turned
his head away. "I'd find a nice kidnapping or
something, set her towards it. Gutless here would
play villain while he kept her safe while she
learned. After that was over our job was done and
we assumed she was just coming home."

"Assumed? You?" said Yohiko with a frown on
her face.

"All right. I'll admit I knew something was
going on. I was trying to be nice and give the
girl some privacy. I figured there was maybe a
Mamoru running around, and she was meeting up with
him."

"Privacy?" snorted Yohiko as her aura burned a
little brighter.

"I'm a lot of things, and a voyeur isn't one
of them," replied Xellos with a hurt look. "I
don't spy on Carrot and Yohiko either. It's a
family courtesy."

"So, you knew my daughter was running around
with some strange boy, a boy who happens to be her
cousin, and you said nothing?"

"Parenting isn't my job," said Xellos coldly.
"It's my nature to be deceptive."

Yohiko sighed and stood up. She walked over to
the kitchen and poured herself a cup of sake.
After that, she poured another cup and walked back
to the table with the bottle as well. She set it
down at the table and put one of the cups in front
of her daughter.

"Huh?" said Usagi dumbly.

"So, you want to play super hero do you?" said
the woman with a smirk on her face.

"Well..." said the girl nervously as she
looked away.

"Fine, I'm taking over your training as of
now," she said calmly. She turned and glared at
the pair opposite her. "Understood?"

Both men nodded.

"The only reason you two aren't dead, is
because I know you're not here for this. It's
something else, I'm not stupid enough to believe
that you were sent here just because it was
amusing either. They're up to something."

"Well, if you've already figured that out..."
said Xellos with a slightly nervous laugh.

"You're moving out, right now," said Yohiko as
she glared at him. "I'd better not see you again
for at least a week. After that, maybe."

"Right," said Xellos as he hung his head.

"We can't just throw him into the street! He's
helped me at least! I can't..."

"He's just moving in with Nephrite, that's
all," said Yohiko with a small chuckle.

Usagi blinked and looked at the pair. They
were already walking out the door. "Sorry, gotta
go, bye!" said Xellos quickly as he rushed away.

"Traitors! How dare you leave me alone to face
this!?" cried the girl.

"Now as for you, your training starts tomorrow
night," said Yohiko calmly.

"Man, I've got a feeling this is going to
hurt," muttered the girl dejectedly.

"You have no idea," agreed Yohiko with an evil
smirk. "As for tonight, you and I are getting
drunk. I think you deserve it after what this
pervert pulled." She glanced over her shoulder at
Ryoga. The boy probably wouldn't wake up for a
while, and when he did, he wouldn't be happy.

Usagi blushed and looked away. "I told you it
was my fault. You didn't have to hurt him."

"That's the only reason he's still alive,"
said Yohiko coldly. She smiled and pat the girl on
her back. "Come on, you've got a broken heart, and
I've got a gallon of ice-cream. Drink up."

The girl looked up at her mother and then
downed the cup in front of her in a swift motion.
She took a moment to catch her breath after that
and almost gagged.

"Don't worry, it gets easier. Don't think I'm
gonna let you get away with this later on either.
You're still not old enough."

The girl nodded as her mother poured her
another cup. "Okay."

"I suppose I should do something with him,"
grumbled Yohiko as she looked at Ryoga for a
moment. She sighed and lifted him onto her
shoulder. She calmly walked across the room and
opened the window before tossing him out.

"Mother!" cried Usagi in shock.

"He's fine. I was nice enough to open the
window first," replied the woman with a shrug.

Usagi sighed and glanced at the window
nervously before gulping down another shot. "Oh
man. This sucks," she muttered to herself.

"Most things do dear," said Yohiko cheerfully
as she joined her daughter and poured herself
another glass as well.

+++++++++++++

TBC...

No, not the end of this world arc just yet.
One more story arc to go! Then I'll move on to the
final world of Insertion.