When Jaspis Darkstar appeared in the place where he had left Miss Aino a month before, he allowed himself a moment to sit down and wait for the inevitable arrival of the Sailor Senshi.  He had intentionally made the end of the teleport sloppy, making it easier for him to be found.  He was not, however, itching to be killed -- he'd laid a strong illusion over himself, hiding the black star that marked him as one of the Darkstar clan as well as changing the purple in his hair to green.  He had left his sword at home, perhaps foolishly, but he had no doubts that at least one of the senshi would be faster on the draw than he was.  However, he kept his power prepared in case he needed to shield himself from sudden attack.  He was well aware how the senshi might interpret his arrival.

He didn't have very long wait.  A pair of crows cried out angrily as they spotted Jaspis from above.  They remained aloft instead of attacking, continuing to caw and circle.  Obviously their intention was to find him, and make sure his location was known.

A moment later he was slammed against a tree hard enough to knock the wind from him, a pair of dark blue killer's-eyes boring deep into his from beneath a light fringe of yellow hair.  The star-shaped stone on the tiara shone midnight blue, and the sharp blade that rested lightly against his throat glowed with a faint white light.  A fist clenched his hair and jerked his chin up, exposing more neck.  "Now," the woman said with a voice deep enough to be masculine, "you will explain who you are and why you are here, and why you stink of space."

....should have kept the sword, I think, Jaspis thought.  "My name is Jaspis Darkstar," he said quickly.  Dying of a slashed throat wouldn't help anyone he needed to help.  "I'm here to ask for help."  He ignored the last bit, hoping it would go away if he did so.

"I asked three questions, Darkstar."

Damn.  "Immigration?"

The sword cut, shallowly, but enough to cause a thin line of red to trickle down his neck.  "We're not in the habit of allowing extraterrestrials to enter our system.  Try again."

"I was actually serious about that.  I come from Gottin und Kaos!"  The last three words emerged in a startled yell as the branches of the tree he was pressed against wrapped around his torso and pinned his arms to his sides.

"Strange place," commented another woman, this one with brown hair.

"Indeed."  The third woman's hair was more aqua-marine in colour that flowed in waves to her shoulders.  She moved with exceptional grace and held a mirror in one hand, and her eyes had the same look as the blond's.  "Uranus?"

"Says his name's Jaspis Darkstar, and that he's here to ask for 'help'," Uranus responded.  "Funny, he doesn't look much like what Venus said.  His hair was bicoloured.  This one's monochrome."  Her eyes flicked toward the trees, and she stepped to the side.  Still within easy reach and now not blocking the fiery arrow aimed directly at his chest.

"She'll be here in a moment to verify if he's who he says he is," the raven-haired archer responded.

Jaspis swallowed.  He'd anticipated one, maybe two or three senshi.  Not the entire posse.  He was fairly certain that he could shield against the arrow from the red-skirted woman, even with his arms trapped.  He had plenty of combat experience, after all, especially in the last month.  But senshi were an entirely different ball game from droids, and it wasn't something he wanted to bet his life on.

It didn't help matters that he wasn't too good with deflecting elemental assaults and if he remembered correctly, the woman in green also controlled lightning.

Sailor Venus arrived alone and bedecked in her gold-and-white fuku, her hair drawn back from her face by a metal clip that replaced the childish red bow years ago.  A chain of gold links and yellow stones encircled her waist, and her gaze was flat and assessing as she glanced around before focusing on Jaspis.  Pale blue eyes narrowed a moment before recognition came.  "You changed your hair, Jaspis."

Uranus frowned faintly, but kept silent.  Neptune lifted crossed her arms, angling her mirror so she could look into it easily and so the back showed to Jaspis.

"Miss Aino!"  He stopped struggling against the branches pinning him in place.  "I was trying not to draw too much attention to myself."  He sighed.  "I failed."

"Quite a bit," Venus commented agreeably.  "And while I am transformed, let's not use my civilian name, hm?"  She gave him a flash of a smile that was no smile at all before her expression sombered again.  "Let him go, Jupiter."

Jupiter's eyes narrowed, but she complied.  The tall man sighed in relief and brought a hand to the cut on his throat.  "My thanks and apologies, Sailor Venus."  He bowed to her, Western-style, though he kept a wary eye on Uranus.

Venus noted what the others did, and guessed there would be more 'explaining' of matters later.  A quick nod to Jaspis to acknowledge his words before she asked, "Why are you here?"

"He said he's come to ask for help," Uranus growled.

"For?" Venus inquired, still directing the question to Jaspis.

He took a deep breath.  "There're droids on the loose in Chicago."  He ignored the sudden intake of breath from Jupiter.  "And it's got to the point where I can't handle it myself any longer.  It seems every time I get one, three more turn up to replace it."  He hesitated, wondering if he should tell her his suspicions as to their origins.

Uranus looked to Neptune, and then the pair turned their attention to Venus; only while Neptune's gaze lingered, Uranus then focused on Jaspis again.  Mars and Jupiter also exchanged glances.  Meanwhile, the crows above spiralled down to light upon tree branches on either side of Mars.

Only Venus kept intent on Jaspis.  "Droids?" she repeated, just to be sure she heard the word correctly.  A cold fist clenched her gut as she moved a hand to rest on her hip, and on the chain.  Sheer will kept her henshin intact when she felt it fluctuate; right now was not the time to demonstrate her power instability.  The man's nod of confirmation didn't help.  "We should go back," she said to the other senshi.  "Likely this explanation will prove lengthy, and better the Princess hear it with her own ears."

"Venus--"

"He's speaking truth so far," Neptune said softly, easily cutting her partner off.  "Speak falsehood, Darkstar, and we will know."

"And then you may kill him," Venus added.  They didn't risk so much bringing Jaspis to Usagi; not as much as Uranus feared.  The partners would take up guarding duty, just as they moved to flank Jaspis on either side.  Uranus kept her Space Sword unsheathed and in hand, just in case.  And if for some highly improbable reason those two failed, Saturn would not. 

Venus honestly didn't care about Chicago, except to note that one, Pluto had never mentioned the place.  Admittedly, Pluto played her cards very close to the chest because of the very real problem of creating a paradox.  The other reason was the mention of droids.  Only one person on this planet held the ability to create the damn things, and that was Saffir.  Venus closed her eyes a moment and fought for control as she turned to lead the way back.  Mars vanished the bow and arrow before matching her friend's stride.  No easy feat given the heels she wore.

"Mina?" Mars asked softly.

"I'll detransform once we're in the shrine.  I told you he knows my civilian form anyway," Venus responded.

Concern touched with fire flashed through violet eyes.  "I didn't ask that."

"I know," Venus responded brusquely.  Clearly unhappy Mars still followed the unspoken command to shut up.

~*~

 

"...and they're starting to get stronger," Jaspis finished.  "Smarter.  They're learning and planning, and I think they're being deliberately designed that way."  He winced.  "And they're being specialised.  My last battle was against a combat droid that knew every one of my weaknesses and how to exploit them.  If Lapis hadn't..."  The former nobleman sighed.  "And as they get stronger, I feel more and more of the same energy coming from them.  It just feels... wrong.  Sickening."

"This from someone whose power source is darkness," Jupiter muttered, earning a glare from him.

"Darkness does not necessarily mean evil, Jupiter," Sailor Mercury admonished her companion quietly.

"Sickening, how?" Minako pressed.  Behind her calm mask, her mind was racing with possibilities she didn't want to acknowledge.

The young noble turned to her.  "Death," he said simply.  "They were powered by death magic.  I haven't had a chance to clarify with the wizard yet, but they feel exactly like what Lapis described sensing from that Cowl bastard."

"Death twisted," Sailor Saturn correctly lightly.  She had told Minako she had sensed the perversions of necromancy, and the month-ago revelation of Cowl had plainly irritated the then-teenager.  Saturn had the ability to know of all uses of necromany on the planet, given that her powers encompassed death and rebirth, but it wasn't her job to police the planet.  (Incidentally, Japan hadn't seen any quiverings of necromancy for a long time now.)  The young woman stood beside where Usagi sat, leaning almost lazily on the pole of her Silence Glaive, but only a fool would believe she wasn't as alert as the others.  Possibly moreso.  "You believe they are working together - Cowl, and Saffir?"

"I have no choice but to believe it," Jaspis replied softly.  "Saffir and I were rivals, once.  I know the feel of his magic as well as that of my own.  And the Blue Prince... his sole reason for being was murdered fifteen years ago.  He has nothing to lose that he hasn't already lost."

"Already lost," echoed Usagi quietly, glancing at Minako.  "You think something drove him to this alliance?"

"...I didn't say that."

Minako looked to the floor, face flushed in (anger, pain, embarrassment) but she held her tongue.  It wasn't her fault.  Not entirely.  Free will was just that.  But it hurt to think she might have been the biggest factor.  The heartache of knowing he was a reborn enemy, that he wasn't who she thought he was, and knowing he had just left was affecting her powers enough already.  And there was honestly nothing anyone could do about it.

She missed him terribly.  Once the shock and anger and memories of future-past finally subsided, the emptiness where Satoshi had been ached more every day.  She had lost weight over the past month.  Rei had dragged Minako to stay at the shrine so the brunette could be sure Minako ate and took care of herself.  By now they all understood each others' weaknesses, and as Minako felt emotions as strongly as Usagi, depression was a very large concern.  Keeping Minako distracted helped it from getting too bad at points, but that wasn't what she needed to recover.

Mars put a hand on Minako's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze of reassurance.  "You're thinking it pretty loudly," the senshi of fire replied.

Jaspis shrugged.  "Sorry.  It helps if you understand the way his mind works, even a little.  And Saffir is very... dependent."  He sighed.  "My main concerns don't have much to do with him, to be honest -- if it comes to that, I can deal with the Blue Prince.  It's the droids that concern me.  The more civilians they target, the more likely it is the White Council will get involved."  He flinched.  "That would be bad in several different ways.  Terminally in my case.  In yours-"

"The White Council will not interfere with us," interrupted Mercury, earning surprised glances.  "I made certain of that."

"Wait," interjected Jupiter.  "What is this 'White Council' and why should we care about them?"

"The White Council is the ruling body of wizards," Mercury said.  "They are, at the moment, largely occupied with a planetwide war against the Red Court of vampires."

"Another Court?" Uranus muttered darkly beneath Mamoru's questions of, "Firstly, why would this White Council interfere with us, and secondly, how did you ascertain they would leave us alone?"  He stood behind the chair Usagi sat in, the fingers of one hand interlaced with hers. 

The senshi of ice and wisdom turned to Mamoru.  "Because they are stuck in the Dark Ages," she explained, "and take it upon themselves to 'protect' mortals from the dangers of the magical worlds.  As magic users ourselves, they might believe that we fall under their jurisdiction.  As for your second question," and now Mercury smiled, "when I was studying in America, I encountered one of their soldiers, a man named Morgan.  There were two incidents, and he was forced to acknowledge that my sort of magic was not, in fact, anything the White Council had authority over.  Morgan-taichou and I came to a treaty - Japan is ours, and the White Council will not involve themselves in threats that fall into our specialties."  She laced her fingers together.  "But if enemies that we normally deal with are attacking Chicago instead of Tokyo..."

Jaspis picked up where she left off.  "They'll want to deal with it before the vampires can make a treaty.  And I'm pretty certain they will do it in such a way as to attempt to force you into their debt, thus giving them power over you."  He paused.  "Then again, I'm applying the politics of my homeworld to the situation.  It may not apply here."

"If the White Council is as... unenlightened as Mercury implies, it's a fair assessment," Mamoru said grimly.  He nodded to the blue-haired senshi.  "As far as dealing with them, how was your experience during and after the incidents?"

"I only dealt with Morgan-taichou," Ami admitted.  "He's old and conservative, but a strong soldier and a man of his word.  We agreed that we would not mention our brief alliance to anyone unless it became necessary, such as now.  Through him I learned of the Laws of Magic," and here Jaspis definitely flinched, "as well as the common penalty for breaking them.  Apparently the Council does not believe in second chances."

"Purinsessu?" Luna asked quietly.  Minako looked to Usagi as well.  She was their Princess, after all.  The decisions lay with her.

Usagi considered all the information.  It certainly seemed suspicious, that a man from Nemesis would come and all but beg his enemies for help.  On the other hand, Jaspis looked fairly tired, and it had clearly cost his pride something to even ask them.  Too, she didn't like the idea that this White Council might try to exert authority over them if they got involved.  "We'll assist you," she informed the young nobleman.  "But some of us will remain in Japan -- the Black Moon has attacked here before.  Who is to say Saffir would not try again?"

"The Blackmoon Clan," Jaspis corrected, mildly annoyed.

"And you are Darkstar," Neptune interjected smoothly.  The frigid look she gave him was piercing, and somehow he knew that despite the illusion spells, she saw the star on his forehead.

Uranus saw the by-play and gave her a questioning glance, relenting when Neptune shook her head.  "Who stays?" Uranus wanted to know.  "And who goes?"

"Mercury and Saturn should go," Usagi replied after a moment's thought.  "Mercury because of her knowledge of this Council, and Saturn because of her power."  The young woman bit her lip, considering further.  "Minako-chan, you should go as well.  Perhaps Satoshi-san can still be saved."

Minako tried not to flinch at Satoshi's name, and nodded.

"We'll go, too," Uranus said.  "If we're needed back here, hopefully Pluto won't mind helping."  She looked down at Jaspis kneeling on the floor between her and Neptune.  "I don't trust him away from the mirror."

"Oh, hell no!" Jaspis yelped.  "Neptune is fine, but I don't want Trigger-Happy here anywhere near my sister or my nephew.  Nein, nein, nein.  Keine Chance."  From there he went to English, detailing his objections with a number of blasphemies.

"Realise I can understand you," Uranus said icily, and in heavily-accented English.

"Minna," Minako said.  "Jaspis, she is not going to harm your sister or your nephew.  There is no reason for it.  He is a child, and they know she helped in my escape from wherever Cowl had me."  The words were for both Uranus and Jaspis; all the senshi knew that the age of a threat didn't matter.  Minako's statement made it clear that this man's relations would not trouble them, and also she shouldered the responsibility if they did.  The price of command.

"We should leave as soon as we can, and pack civilian clothes.  With luck, we'll need our passports to get home again."

"Thank you," said Jaspis quietly.  "I'll find some way to repay you."  He nervously ran a hand through his hair, shedding the illusion on it as he did so.  He took especial care to maintain the one over his Mark, however.  Hopefully little Topaz's Mark, if it manifested at all, would do so after everything had settled down and the senshi were back where they belonged.  What was it about the star that set them off?  One would think the crescent would have been more recognisable, given that Demando's idiotic attack had not included any of the fallen Darkstar clan.

"We're not doing it for you," said Jupiter hotly.  Her hostility, at least, he could understand simply because of his home planet.  But Uranus and Neptune?  It made no sense.

"Jupiter-chan," said Usagi mildly.  "He has caused no trouble here or in America.  I don't think he's our enemy."

She didn't notice his guilty shifting at her middle statement.

Uranus did, and shifted her stance so she 'accidentally' kicked his foot.  Hard.  "Something you aren't telling us, Darkstar?"

"I might have teased Saffir several months ago," he admitted sullenly.  "But I didn't hurt anyone except him in the process.  And that was kind of a case of mistaken identity anyway - it was the wrong Saffir."

"The 'wrong' Saffir?"

He attempted to look innocent.  "I thought that he was the Saffir who was a few years older than me, the Saffir who was my rival before the war began.  He turned out to be the nineteen-year-old version, experimenting with a new trick to show off to his idiot brother."

"Pluto has already taken care of it," Saturn said before anyone could exclaim.  "And she was the one to let him and his sister immigrate from the future in the first place.  He is not a threat to us, or our future."

"...And when were you going to mention those little details?" Uranus wanted to know.

Saturn smiled a little.  "When it was necessary to do so."

"I've had my fill of battles," Jaspis added.  "I've no desire to start mucking about on this planet.  And I promised Sailor Pluto I wouldn't."

Mercury watched the nobleman through narrowed blue eyes.  "What was your war about?"

"...that isn't necessary information," he said.  "And we lost, anyway, so it doesn't matter, either."

Mars opened her mouth, and closed it again when Saturn pointedly cleared her throat.

The nobleman gave the senshi of death and rebirth a grateful glance, and Artemis spoke up.  "What of Dresden?" he asked.

Jaspis shrugged.  "I'm not going to ask him to get involved.  He may do it anyway.  From what I understand, he's in the top thirty of wizards when it comes to raw power.  On a level with you senshi."

"We'll be in his territory," Uranus pointed out.  "Much as I'm not keen on getting involved with a wizard, might be best to at least introduce ourselves before something goes down.  That way we don't have to explain ourselves in the middle of a battle."

Neptune agreed.  "It would also give us the chance to ascertain his practical usefulness, if any."  She glanced to Jaspis.  "Powerful he might be, but droids aren't exactly creatures or constructs of the Nevernever.  Thus his magic might not be as effective."

"Well, he also carries a gun," Jaspis replied.  "Those work plenty good if you hit the crystal."  He considered Dresden's probable reaction to meeting the senshi, and grinned.  "Just to give you fair warning, the man's a smartass.  Expect sarcasm and one-liners."

"Don't go suddenly straight on me, dearest," Neptune quipped.  Uranus snorted.

Mercury looked a bit thoughtful as she rose.  "We should get ready.  If these attacks are happening as often as Jaspis-san says, there probably isn't much time left before the next one."

"How long do you need?" Minako asked.  As a fair chunk of her belongings were already in Rei's house, she could be packed within half an hour. 

"An hour, maybe two," Neptune replied.  "For travel along with packing."

"About the same," Saturn added.

"Myself as well," said Mercury.  "I presume we're teleporting?"

"Yes," Jaspis said.  "I hope you can help with that, though.  I'd rather not fall over as soon as we're Stateside."

Minako said to Jaspis, "We'll be able to teleport ourselves, though for the sake of expediency it might be best if you 'ported me first.  That way I can find a secluded enough area for the others, and they'll be able to focus in on me."  Some of her hair fell forward, and she flicked it back over her shoulder.  "We can't teleport individually, in case you were wondering."  And thus she neatly sidestepped any possible questions on why she didn't teleport herself a month ago, and why she wouldn't teleport with the others.  If she did and her powers decided to fail mid-teleport, it would endanger the others.  In the ripped-to-molecular-shreds kind of endangerment.

"Right, that makes sense," agreed the Nemesian, shifting his weight and starting to rise to his feet.  Unfortunately, he had been kneeling too long; his ankles had fallen asleep and couldn't support his weight.  The nobleman toppled over backwards and landed on his back, which jarred a number of curses in his native tongue from him.  Mercury covered her mouth with one gloved hand, hiding her smile; Jupiter was not as polite and openly snickered along with Artemis.