And now, for part 2. . .
********************
"As it turned out, Nephrite wasn't as injured as I thought," Azarite said. 
"When Sailor Moon died, the forcefield came down and he was able to come get 
me." He yawned. "Tokyo authorities blamed the whole thing on terrorists and 
closed down Juuban High for three months. When it reopened, students and 
teachers kept complaining of odd noises, things went missing, and just 
stepping onto the grounds made people uneasy. Eventually, they bulldozed the 
place and had some monks do an exorcism. I think they put a parking garage in 
there or something. Nephrite and I spent a week in the rejuv baths and then 
went our separate ways. He went back to his home, and I went back to mine. I 
had been in Japan for nearly a year and had been so busy, I never called or 
wrote. When I walked in the front door, my parents hugged me and then 
grounded me for a month."

"But what happened to Mercury?" Kyris asked.

"I didn't see her for nearly a year. In the meantime, I kept busy. Especially 
after Beryl lost it and tried to take over the cosmos. Anyways. To wrap the 
story up; The family and I were in New York city taking a tour of the United 
Nations when Mercury showed up with a lady named Mistress Nine in tow. We 
fought and she tried to use the crystal on me again. That's when the world 
found out that the U.N. Building was sitting on top of some old graves and 
the inhabitants were not happy with her. What was supposed to be a blast big 
enough to sink the entire island of Manhattan never happened and the crystal 
was all but drained fending off those angry spirits. That's when she and Nine 
opened a dimensional portal and went through it. On impulse, I followed. Nine 
bought it in the next world and I took her portal generator." He showed them 
the metal bracelet around his left wrist. "That was five years ago and the 
rest is history."

"You have been chasing her for five years?"

"Yup," he said, nodding. "Every world we come to, I get caught up in some 
local crisis. Sometimes its her doing, sometimes its not and by the time the 
crisis is over, she's out of there with me right behind." He stretched. "I've 
managed to actually catch her once or twice but she always somehow escapes 
with the crystal. Now we're here. If she doesn't find what she's looking for, 
she'll leave and I'll be right behind her. I know I should just return home 
and wait for her, but if she restores the crystal, she'll be able to raise an 
army and invade Earth."

"But in the alley, you said-"

"Kyris, it's late," Az said. "Your questions will keep until we've all had a 
chance to sleep."

Later, as they were lying on some futons they found in a room under the 
stairs, Kyris was struck by a thought.

"Husband?"

"I wish you wouldn't call me that."

"What if-"

"I'll take you with me if she decides to leave before we find her," he said. 
Without quite knowing how she knew it was there, she reached out and felt 
ungloved fingers close around hers. With her thumb, she felt the scars on his 
fingers and knuckles. Her fingers exploring the thick calluses on the sides 
and the massive burn scar on his palm. Unbidden, she recalled covering that 
scar with kisses that night as they groaned together in their room to rythym 
of the waves on the beach and felt a blush rise to her cheeks.

"And what about..."

"We'll just have to take her with us. I've been thinking about her situation 
and I have an idea." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'll make 
everything right. It's what I do."

"I believe you," Kyris replied and hand in hand, they both fell asleep.

********************
They woke early the next morning and had a breakfast of trail mix before 
convening in the lab area where he turned to the third member of their party.

"Okay, in a nutshell, the problem is this. You're not you. At the moment, 
Mercury is and she may not even realize it. She's drained you of your 
memories, personality, abilities, appearance and left you a mere shadow of 
your former self. And because she's so submerged in it, there's no hint that 
she's not you, And since everyone 'knows' that she's you, you can't be her 
and thus, you've fell through the metaphysical cracks into...well, somewhere 
else. That thing on your arm is sort of an anchor."

"Then how did you find me?"

That's...complicated. Let's just say I'm so blind that I can see clearly and 
leave it at that. Anyway. You recognized my uniform and were afraid of it. 
You still remember things from who you were. You were a Sailor Scout."

"Sailor Senshi," she corrected with the manner of someone who had done it 
many times. "And yes, I do remember some things about them. Flashes of 
memory. Things that seemed to be important. I know I was a Senshi, but I 
don't remember which one." She hugged herself. "Now that I know someone is 
out there with my face, using my name..." A visible shudder wracked her body. 
"What do I do?"

"The way I see it, you have two choices. You can either help us, or stay 
inside that field for the rest of your life."

"But how can I can I do that?"

"With these." Azarite held up a syringe. "The same nanites that are in me and 
make me what I am."

"You want me to become a Dark Kingdom General?"

"Negaverse General," he corrected.

"A technicality," Kyris put in.

"You need a new identity to keep you grounded in reality," Azarite continued, 
throwing a glare at Kyris. "This is the only way."

"You sure?"

"Positive. You help us find her, we help you take her down. We know she's one 
of the Senshi, but we don't know the Senshi. Where they hang out, their 
names, all those wonderful little personal details. You do. Will you help us?"

"Will I have to fight them?"

"Probably."

"And yet, if there's no other way..." She stared at the floor for the longest 
time and then began rolling up her sleeve. "Do it."

"Atta girl." He took up a long, narrow strip of rubber and tied it around her 
arm. Then he fwaped her arm a few times with his finger, causing a vein to 
become visible. "Remember, he said, "you may feel a bit odd." He tapped the 
syringe to eliminate any bubbles and then inserted the needle and pressed the 
plunger home.

Almost instantly, she began to feel distant, lightheaded, and then the 
temperature in the room began to rise. A feeling began inside her, it wasn't 
pain, it wasn't pleasure, it was something else. 

It was understanding.

She understood the nature of reality, she saw and comprehended the magnetic 
fluxes and how to use them to move from one place to another.  She knew how 
to rearrange molecules to change her clothes and alter her appearance. It 
didn't stop there. Everything became clear. She knew. 

And then she was lying on the floor, staring at Azarite's boots.

Slowly, she got to her feet, staring down at the coverall she wore. It looked 
wrong. The coverall blurred, shifted, and became a uniform similar to 
Azarite's. The difference was that hers was trimmed in blue, and she wasn't 
wearing gloves. She felt different. The strangeness, the feeling of being out 
of place, she had felt from the moment she had awoken in the alleyway was 
gone. She had a place, she belonged. She had a purpose.

The newly awakened general stared down at herself and then she looked at 
her...her brother. He nodded and smiled.

"What is your name?" he asked, very formally.

My name?" She held out her hand, a perfect, flawless sphere of energy forming 
in her cupped palm. "My name is Terraite."
********************
Author's Note. 

Well, here we go. For the first time in my fanfic career, I'm going to start 
using honorifics and some japanese phrases.

...

I'm so doomed.

-Komodo
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