Ashes "This is Himiko Tenkawa, reporting from the city of Megatokyo," the brown haired woman said, the wreckage of a city rearing up behind her, "where days of pitched conflict between Boomers, AD Police and mercenary forces have finally come to an end." The camera panned over refugee camps set up around the city, then cut to images of AD Police leading captured forces, some of the captive's jump suits bearing company logos of Nergal, Bioware and other firms. Battered and bloody AD Police officers watched them warily, accompanied by equally grim mercenary fighters. "Details are still sketchy of what went on within the city over the past few days," Himiko continued. "As many of you know corporate forces sealed off the city in an illegal move three days ago, and the Japanese government was unable to decide on a course of action, despite evidence of a armed conflict within the city." There was a burst of static and Himiko looked up, touching her earpiece and listening to a transmission from her station. A male voice over announced, "We're receiving a transmission from within the city, cutting to it now." More static, then the image resolved to a TV studio within Megatokyo. A blonde haired woman in a sailor fuku stood, her golden hair falling in twin streams down her back and a gold tiara on her brow. Despite her nearly mythic status everyone recognized Sailor Moon, even those who might have denied her existence. Beside her stood a silver armored member of the Knight Sabers, a older woman in AD Police uniform and a red haired man in a black business suit. "This broadcast should be reaching all of Japan, as well as the world," Sailor Moon said, her blue eyes grave, "there are things you need to know." "Can you confirm that," Himiko whispered off screen. An answer and she spoke up, "Yes, this signal appeared to be pirating frequencies globally!" "Over the past few days the private armies of several international firms attempted to take over the city of Megatokyo, in the process needlessly slaughtering thousands of citizens. We," Sailor Moon gestured to the people standing beside her, "have successfully stopped the takeover, and will offer whatever assistance we can in bringing those responsible to justice." Nene Romanova stepped forward, her eyes grim as she said, "I am formally charging the heads of Nergal, Bioware and others with multiple counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and corporate espionage. I expect the local governments involved to cooperate with extradition of these individuals." "And before you start calling frame up," the silver Knight Saber spoke up, "we have sworn testimony and recovered data trails. If needed, we will provide them directly to the international news media and law enforcement." "Finally," Touga Kiryuu added, his red hair flowing, "we have all the details of the financial maneuvers, including the hiring of mercenary forces to help take over the city." Sailor Moon spoke up again, her stance becoming somewhat regal, somehow. "Today, we are also putting the governments of the world on notice," she said gravely, "we will not tolerate such a act again. I do not know who cooperated with this attempted takeover, or at least I'm not sure enough to name them, but if something like this happens again we will not only prevent it, we will personally deal with those responsible." With that the transmission came to an end, leaving shock and confusion in it's wake. "An incredible broadcast," Himiko managed to recover as she continued, "we will have to wait and see the world's reaction, but..." 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 Daley Wong pushed open the door to the temporary office of the new head of the AD Police, the brown haired officer pausing as he took in the acting chief. "Reporting for duty, ma'am," he said quietly, glasses gleaming. "Daley," Nene looked up from her desk, her face lined with weariness, "you have no idea how good it is to see you." The blonde haired woman got up, went over and hugged him as she murmured, "I'm so sorry about Leon." "Not your fault," Daley said quietly. He followed her in, taking a seat with a weary sigh, "It's crazy out there." Nene nodded as she sat down, rubbing at her face with her hands. "Looting is running rampant, and we're asking for any police officers around the country to help out," she confessed. She looked up at him, "Any chance of you taking this job off my hands?" "I think you're stuck," Daley conceded. The public reaction to the battle for Megatokyo, not to mention the AD Police, was immense. And as the defacto leader of the AD Police Nene had found herself thrust into the spotlight, as well as acquiring a John Wayne like glamor. The idea of her becoming the next chief was spontaneous but nearly irresistible to politicians and regular folks alike. Daley dropped his voice a bit, "I heard about Mackie, I'm so sorry..." Nene closed her eyes, her face pained. Mackie had never awakened after he had been shot, and despite the best efforts of Sylia and Washu, he had quietly passed on in the night. "He saved us all," Nene said quietly, "and most people will never even know it." Daley nodded, his own expression sad as he asked, "But would he have cared?" "No, I guess not," Nene conceded. "Are the others sticking around?" Daley asked curiously. "The Kiryuu family is helping, as well as Utena and her friends," Nene revealed, "and Sylia's doing forensic work for us on the destroyed Boomers. The rest are all pitching in where they can, I think." "I saw the broadcast you all did," Daley said thoughtfully, "on the way in here. Who's idea was that?" "Mine and Sailor Moon's," Nene said seriously. "I hate giving the criminals a heads up, but I wanted to make sure no one in power could try to cover things up somehow." "You think someone in government was involved with this?" Daley asked grimly. Nene shrugged slightly, "When the boomer rampage started we appealed for assistance and no one came." She smiled coldly, "Either way, I intend to find out." "Me too," Daley agreed. He smiled coldly as he mused, "And I bet your hackers are already hard at work?" "Lisa's leading the effort," Nene's eyes looked a bit haunted, "I think she sees it as doing a kind of penance." "She doesn't blame herself...?" Daley asked. "A bit," Nene sighed sadly, "though I've told her that I don't blame her for what happened to Mackie down there." Meanwhile, a somber gathering of friends came together at a exclusive club called Arisugawa's Locket. Juri Arisugawa raised a glass, her orange hair gleaming as she said, "To Keiko Sonoda, you will not be forgotten." "To Keiko," the voices rang out. May smiled sadly as she echoed her lover's name, her eyes red from tears. Sylia Stingray rose, her silvery hair gleaming as she took a turn, "To Mackie..." She trailed off, reaching up to wipe at a tear, "Goodbye, little brother. I'll miss you." Washu raised her cup, others following as they echoed, "To Mackie." Finally Minako Aino rose, her long blonde hair glittering. "To Natsuna Haruna," she declared, "who did her duty to the end." "Natsuna," they echoed, the police among then putting some extra force behind it. "Nene isn't here?" Urd noted as they settled down to some serious drinking, the dusky skinned goddess sitting close to Priss. "I don't think she's up to a wake right now," Ryouko said from her usual spot behind the bar. She, Minagi and Mahoro passed out free drinks, as ordered by Juri earlier that night. Utena, Juri, Sailor Moon and Sylia had soon retired to a quiet corner, the four talking together with grave looks on their faces. "What do you think's going on?" Rei Hino asked, her long black hair shimmering. Touga took a drink of his beer, "There's going to be fall out from our speaking out publically. I suspect they're planning on how to deal with it." "You going to be all right?" May asked him softly, the brown haired cyberdoll dressed in mourning black. "Our family has enough power and influence, we should be fine," his sister Nanami noted calmly, her husband Miki standing nearby. Miki pushed his slightly messy blue hair back from his face as he gently asked May, "How are you managing?" "Day by day," May shrugged sadly. "So," Usagi met the other's eyes, "we're agreed?" "We'll stay in closer touch from now on," Utena agreed, "if something like this happens again, we'll deal with it together." "Certainly," Sylia nodded. "The Locket can serve as a ventral meeting place," Juri added, "I'll talk to Washu about setting up some kind of permanent link for each of us." Usagi looked bashful, "I'm sorry if I jumped too fast in being in charge, I'm just used to it with the other senshi..." "It's fine," Utena smiled at her. "We needed someone in charge," Sylia added, "and you're quite good at it." "Look at that blush," Juri chuckled as Usagi went red. Skuld sat on the bar, drinking glumly as she said, "I wish we could have done more." Belldandy put her hand on Skuld's shoulder as the light brown haired goddess said, "Some things humanity must face on it's own." "That's not much of a comfort to the dead," Mara noted sadly. Meanwhile, three other women drank quietly in a corner, having slipped in with the rush. The redhead took a drink as she said, "What do we report to Misato?" "That the old NERV facilities are safe, Asuka," the blue haired woman shrugged. "True enough, Rei," Asuka Soryu Langley conceded, "but do we trust these people with the tech there?" Rei Ayanami nodded, "I think they've proven trustworthy." She turned to the teen sitting with them, "What do you think, Aria?" Aria Langley-Ayanami nodded, her blue hair and facial structure marking her as both their daughters. "I think it's fine," she said then added, "and we can always keep an eye out. If things go bad we just detonate the nuke and destroy the facility." "Sounds like a plan," Asuka agreed. Afterward, 1000 years or so later. The city of Crystal Tokyo gleamed, shining towers reaching towards the sky on the place where once such fierce battles had been fought. In the heart of the city a young woman listened as the tale was finished, her black hair falling into her eyes. "So," Erica Tenoh asked, "how did you end up within the computers here at Crystal Tokyo?" Nene Romanova smiled wryly, her blonde hair falling into her eyes. Of course, this wasn't the real Nene, but a holographic image projected by the city's computers. "After being chief a few years I stepped aside for Daley, then began to tinker with the old NERV computers," she revealed. "And you downloaded yourself into them," Erica guessed. "For a time I thought Mackie's consciousness might be in here," Nene shrugged, "but I guess I was wrong." Deciding changing the subject might be best Erica asked her, "So what happened afterwards?" "The heads of the companies faced trial and several were convicted," Nene recalled, "and they took Sailor Moon's threat seriously, at least for awhile." "A while?" Erica looked curious. "It took a few centuries for the warning to wear off and the corporate wars to start," Nene noted, "but that's a story for another time." "Awww," Erica pouted. End Authors Notes: This fic was both long and complicated to write, and I thank all my readers who stuck with it. I knew roughly what would happen but the mechanics evolved as I worked, creating some interesting difficulties. This story also ties in to almost all my fave fandoms, so if you're confused I apologize most deeply. Heh.
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