Interlude: Blood and Metal Hotaru Tomoe frowned as she watched the monitors, her eyes grim as she observed the data feed of the battle that they had tapped into from the AD Police. "I see Usagi Tsukino has been reinstated," she noted quietly, black hair flowing over her shoulders. "Chief Haruna called her in, I believe," Kaori agreed as she drank her tea, both of them sitting in the executive office, "she's one of the most experienced officers they have, even if she is often insubordinate." The redhead looked over at the president of Infinity as she quietly asked, "Did the combat Bio-boomer shout what I think it did?" "Mistress Nine," Hotaru agreed grimly, rubbing at her eyes tiredly. "But..." Kaori hesitated, "I thought that Mistress Nine was still asleep, sealed away?" Touching a key on her control panel Hotaru cut away from the battle even as the military Bio-boomer fell to the Senshi Sabers, the image changing to a round chamber off in the distance, a figure faintly visible within it. Various kinds of data scrolled along the bottom of the screen, monitoring energy levels, air quality and dozens of other factors. "The computers say that she's in there," Hotaru said quietly. She got up, pacing the room as she continued, "But we both know computers can be fooled." Kaori nodded reluctantly. Early on Hotaru had accessed Infinity's computer systems, spreading across Megatokyo to eliminate any data relating to the Saturn project or the death of the original Hotaru Tomoe, planting modified files in the process. It was unlikely that any of the original data remained, much less in a useful form. Getting up from her seat she said, "Do you think we need to do an on site inspection?" Hotaru smiled, glad to see her assistant was anticipating her once again. "Well, I do," she said, "but I need you to say here." "No," Kaori surprised her. "Oh?" Hotaru raised her eyebrow, "I thought that I gave you an order." "I can't let you go alone," Kaori said softly. Hesitantly she continued, "I'm not a technical type, but even I can see how similar the Saturn and Mistress Nine designs are... she could influence you, even without you being aware of it." "And Nine could kill you," Hotaru said softly, "or worse." "That's a chance I'm willing to take," Kaori said, meeting her eyes with absolute honesty. Hotaru sighed, wondering how she could have so quickly inspired such loyalty in her. 'Or maybe it's just that I'm an improvement over Father,' she thought uncharitably. "All right," she finally gave in, "but you're going prepared." "Eh?" Kaori blinked. Not long afterward a Infinity company car left the building, Hotaru in the driver's seat as they moved through the streets of Megatokyo. "So how does it feel?" she asked, looking over at her passenger thoughtfully. "Uncomfortable," Kaori sighed. She had exchanged her business wear for a suit of combat armor, several grades higher than what the AD Police could afford. Bulletproof, impact absorbent and even fire resistant it was a marvel of engineering, if a bit hard to wear. Hotaru chuckled softly, "Sorry, it's necessary." She tapped a section of armor mounted on the arm, "This might buy you enough time to get clear if things go bad." "Hmm," Kaori sighed. She looked off into the distance, gathering her thoughts, then quietly said, "Let's see if I've gotten this straight. Mistress Nine was created after Uranus and Saturn, and was your prototype?" "Yes," Hotaru nodded, "my dear Father was working on a improved brain design, and downloaded the Hotaru files to it as he developed her. Apparently something was wrong with her design, and when she awoke she was fully insane." "My god," Kaori murmured, "how did he cover it up?" "As the self-named Mistress Nine was murdering her way through the facility Tomoe managed to lure her into a containment unit," Hotaru revealed coolly. "He escaped the facility then used a prototype weapon to destroy the building, in the process setting off a major quake that swept across the whole city." "Incredible," Kaori breathed out. "In the confusion Father concealed all evidence of Infinity's involvement," Hotaru continued. A grim smile, "The cynical bastard even used the quake to make Infinity look good, stepping in to offer disaster relief." Kaori nodded, putting that data together with other things she had learned. "And that was when the Uranus and Neptune prototypes escaped?" she asked. They entered the bad part of town, a section where the damage from the quake hadn't yet been erased. "They were taken," Hotaru corrected her as she drove on, "though I have my suspicions as to who had done so." "Ami Mizuno?" Kaori asked. "She wasn't active just then, though I suspect she was finishing the Senshi Saber suits at the time," Hotaru said as they slowed to a stop nearby a broken subway entrance. "No, I think it was the missing Pluto prototype that did it." She opened the door and got out, "We'll have to walk from here." "Professor Tomoe believed Pluto had been destroyed," Kaori sounded a bit dubious as she got out then went into the back seat. The cannon she had checked out from Infinity's security department was comfortable in her hands, a magnetic rail gun designed to damage even the toughest of the Bio-boomers. While she lead the way down the subway stairs Hotaru said, "He hoped that Pluto was destroyed, but Father never knew for sure." They carefully navigated down, past fallen stone and across cracked pavement, then down into the unused tunnels that once criss-crossed the city. Kaori checked the map on her data pad, noting how Hotaru was unerringly navigating them to the buried chamber. 'Did she memorize the map,' she wondered, 'or are Hotaru's instincts leading her right to her... sister?' "Here," Hotaru said as they reached a section of collapsed tunnel. "Should I...?" Kaori raised her gun meaningfully towards the wall. "No," Hotaru shook her head, "let me." With startling swiftness Hotaru struck the wall with a first, stone chips flying with the force of her blow. Again and again she punched, stone cracking loudly, until finally the section broke away revealing a dark, musty tunnel beyond. "You're bleeding," Kaori hurried forward, swiftly bandaging her bleeding knuckles, winding white cloth over the broken skin. Hotaru blinked at her in surprise, then smiled slightly. "Thank you," she said softly, meeting Kaori's eyes. "You're welcome," Kaori looked away, blushing faintly. Without another word they headed out, moving into the darkness. Climbing over broken stone and around fallen beams they eventually made their way to the wreckage of the research facility, sunk beneath the city by Infinity's earthquake device. Navigating the halls they made their way inside, the musty scent of decay in the air. "Urk," Kaori fought the urge to be ill as they stepped over the remains of a few of Mistress Nine's victims, the passage of time not erasing the horror from those dried out faces. Hotaru put a comforting hand on her arm, "Not much farther." The center of the facility had a containment chamber, one that had been designed to hold the unpredictable results of some Bio-boomer experiments. Specially coated the chamber should have been able to contain nearly any biological material known to man. As they entered the outer room a wave of stench hit them, and both women knew something was wrong. "No," Kaori breathed out. The entire side of the chamber had been dissolved away, the metal and ceramics used to form stairs leading up and out of the room. The bodies of the staff were scattered about, some almost looking like they had been... eaten. Hotaru looked around the room with as much detachment as she could manage, though it was clear she was shaken, too. "So Mistress Nine is free," she said harshly, "and by the looks of things, it's been awhile." "What do we do now?" Kaori asked, clutching her gun nervously. "Contact Ami Mizuno and the Senshi Sabers," Hotaru said grimly, "and pray they know how to contact Pluto, Uranus and Neptune. We'll need all the help we can get to stop this thing."
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