Sailor Moon: Blackjack for Philosophers and the Dead
Sailor Moon and all associated characters are Copywrite and Trademark Naoko Takeuchi and Bandai Visual, used without permission, no infringement is intended.
Blackjack and Pinoko and all associated characters are Copywrite and Trademark Tezuka Productions, used without permission, no infringement is intended.
Everyone and thing else is mine! Mine I tell you! And if you wanna use it, talk to me first! Bwahahahahaha!
Now, on with the show.... For Philosophers and the Dead, a BlackJack/Sailor Moon Xover #FanFiction
"Child, you are already dead."
"No..." Usagi tried to raise her hand, tried to move it, willed it to move. He was standing over her, gloating, his eyes laughing down at her. She had to stop him, she would stop him, she...floating...had...fading...to...distant....Ma..mo.......ru...
"Justice," Hexite whispered. "Is mine."
* * *
The double doors to the emergency room opened automatically.
"Pulse is dropping!"
"Get her into room two! Somebody call the OR! Who's on call?"
"What the hell happened to her?"
"Asian Female, approximately fifteen years of age."
"She's got major internal bleeding, mon dieu, it looks like someone put a pike through her."
"Is that some kind of costume?"
"Dr. Mason's on tonight."
"She just stopped breathing!"
"Adrenaline! Give her 10cc's!"
"Lung's punctured. Forget room two, get her to the operating room, now!"
"But Dr. Mason..."
"I'll do it myself! Get anyone you can find to help and tell Mason to get her ass down here, now!"
"Yes Doctor."
"C'mon kid, let's make this a Happy Thanksgiving. Don't you die tonight."
* * *
"Mr. Tsukino?"
"Ha...I mean, yes?"
Dr. Castille shook the tired looking Japanese man's hand. "I'm Doctor Castille, I operated on your daughter when they brought her in."
Mr. Tsukino dipped his head and shoulders low, bowing to the tall, fair haired man. "Thank you Doctor. Doctor Mason has told us what you did for our daughter."
Edward Castille shook his head. "Dr. Mason did the work, I just started it."
The Japanese man bobbed his head slightly in understanding, then gestured into the waiting lounge towards an attractive woman in her late thirties who had two children, a boy and a young girl sleeping against her.
"My wife, Ikuko, and our children, Kenji and Chibi-Usa."
The woman looked up at Dr. Castille, her sad, expressive brown eyes showing hope in them.
"Usagi wa?" She said, glancing between the two men.
Mr. Tsukino looked back at Doctor Castille.
"I'm sorry, she doesn't speak English. She wants to know how our daughter is."
"She's still in intensive care, we'll know more in a few hours."
"So, no change then."
"I'm afraid not. But, you can tell her that Hotel Dieu is one of Montreal's best hospitals, and we'll do everything we can for your daughter."
Mr. Tsukino related it to his wife, who nodded in understanding, letting her head drop in resignation as she returned to watching over her charges.
"Dr. Mason told us much the same thing, but thank you for your reassurance." Mr. Tsukino explained, lifting his drooping glasses back into their place. "We must wait then."
"Mr. Tsukino," Dr. Castille started. "You all don't need to stay here, you should take your children and go back to your hotel, sleep in a real bed. We can telephone you if there's any change."
Usagi's father shook his head. "Our tour group has left this morning, and the hotel could not keep our room for us because they were full. We will find a new hotel, but with Usagi's condition so bad, it was my wife's desire not to leave the hospital yet."
"I see," Dr. Castille thought for a moment. "What if you had a place to stay which was close to the hospital?"
"Is there a hotel near here?"
"No, but there is a Bed and Breakfast. My wife and I run one, it's her hobby. We have some rooms free right now you could use."
Dr. Castille was surprised as the other man suddenly bowed deeply to him. "Thank you, Doctor! Thank you very much. You are very kind!"
"It's no trouble, really. I'll call her and get everything arranged, I'll see if she can come and get you so that you don't have to find your way. We're happy to help."
* * *
"So you're returning from Europe?"
The little Japanese girl nodded vigorously. "It was great, we got to see the Eiffel Tower, and Big Ben, and Holland! Holland was soooo beautiful! All those flowers and those windmills, it was so romantic!"
Monique Castille laughed. "Edward proposed to me in Holland."
"What?!?" The child jumped up so she was standing on her chair. "Oh wow! You are so lucky! That must have been great!"
"Pinoko. Your manners."
Both women turned to see a tall, imposing man standing in the doorway of the dining room. He was completely dressing in black, save for a white button-down shirt, which was mostly hidden by the coat he wore as a cloak. His hair was long and spiked, a deep black in colour, save for a thick shock of white hair which ran forward across the top of his head. But, the thing which drew the eye most was his face, and the scars which marred it, marking a line where skin of pale yellow met skin of deep brown.
"Oh Doctor, you're up." Monique quickly stood, offering him her chair at the antique dining room table. "I'll get you your breakfast. I hope just eggs is okay, Pinoko finished the last of the Ham."
Blackjack moved to take the seat the dark haired woman offered, sliding his overcoat over the back of the chair before he sat down. "Eggs are fine." He said in his deep, calming voice.
Pinoko let herself drop into her chair cross legged. "Lazybones, you slept `til Ten. So I ate your ham."
Blackjack reached out and poured himself a cup of coffee from the silver pot. "That's fine Pinoko, I'm not in the mood for a heavy breakfast."
Seeing her small attempt at revenge failing, Pinoko scrunched up her face and looked around while he quietly sipped his coffee. "So how long are we gonna stay here?" She finally said. "Mrs. Castille says there's great shopping downtown."
"A few days, work will be waiting when we return home. We should enjoy the last days of comfort."
"Geez! What's with you! So gloomy all of a sudden. Lighten up or you'll give yourself a heart attack or something!"
"I'm just...tired, Pinoko. That's all."
Monique swept back into the room, carrying a plate of scrambled eggs and a basket of fresh scones. "Not too tired to see the sights, I hope, Doctor. Montreal's beautiful this time of year. There's nothing like the colours of the falling leaves to lift falling spirits."
"That's right Blackjack! Eat up so we can get out there and see those trees! Then you'll feel a whole lot better!"
"Perhaps."
The telephone rang, and Mrs. Castille left them to answer it, returning a few moments later looking concerned.
"I'm afraid I must go," she said apologetically. "My husband has asked me to pick up some new guests at the hospital. Would it be too much trouble to ask you to lock the front door when you leave?"
"Guests from the hospital? What're they, full up or somethin'?"
Their host pulled on her coat and began to button it up. "Edward says their daughter was attacked last night and they need a place to stay. I might need your help as a translator Pinoko, my husband says they're Japanese too."
"Yes ma'am!" Pinoko stood up and saluted her. "Always ready to help."
"Doctor." Mrs. Castille nodded as she left the doorway, they heard the front door close shortly afterwards.
"Wow! Even Canada's getting dangerous. But, I've got you to protect me, don't I Blackjack?" Pinoko leaned over and wrapped her little arms around his, smiling up at him.
"Depends how much they want for you."
"Meanie! Meanie! You're so mean to me Blackjack!"
* * *
"Hello?"
"Mamo-chan? Mamo-chan! It's Chibi-Usa! You've got to come! Usagi's hurt!"
"What?!" Those words swept clear the last of the cotton which sleep had left in Mamoru Chiba's head and he sat up, yanking the cord to his bedroom light. "Chibi-Usa, what do you mean?"
"Usagi's in the hospital and I don't know what to do! You've got to help me Mamo-chan!"
"It's okay, Chibi-Usa, calm down. Now, tell me where you are? Are you back in Tokyo?"
"Uh-uh, we're still in Canada."
"Okay, now, what happened to Usagi, was she attacked or was it an accident?"
"We were walking last night, and he jumped out and challenged Usagi. I ran to get help, but when I got back she was on the ground, and there was blood, it was everywhere. I thought she was dead! But, the paramedics said she was still alive and now she's in the hospital."
"Who, attacked her?"
"I don't know, he was all dressed in red and black."
"Okay, Chibi-Usa, give me your number. I'll call the others and we'll try to get there as soon as we can."
"Mamo-chan, I don't want her to die. If she dies, what happens to me?"
"It'll be okay, Chibi-Usa." Mamoru lied. "She won't die, if she did, you wouldn't be here."
* * *
"So," Rei asked. "Do we all go?"
"We need three scouts to teleport," noted Ami.
"Well, I'm going."
"You should, Makoto-chan," Luna agreed. "You can speak English, so can Ami."
"Hey!" Minako protested. "I can speak English too!"
"You can?" Rei sounded surprised.
"Fruentri." Minako said, shifting to English.
"We did live in England for Two years." Artemis commented.
Ami nodded. "That's three, then."
"Four," came a voice from atop one of the Sakura Temple's Tori, Tuxedo Mask dropping down into the light. "I won't be away from her when she needs me."
"But," Makoto asked. "What are we going to do about Money? How long do we need to be gone? What do we tell our folks?"
"That you're staying here," Rei said confidantly. "I'll cover for you."
"I can provide the money we'll need." Tuxedo Mask added.
"But, how long will we need to be gone?"
"There's no way to tell."
"So we wing it guys, like we always do."
"That isn't a very solid plan."
"Any better ideas?"
Silence.
"So that's it then."
Luna nodded. "Then we meet back here in an hour, everyone be ready to go."
* * *
"Is everything okay?" Doctor Edward Castille asked, peering into the front sitting room of his expansive house. He had just returned home to find his wife on the floor of the front room entertaining the two young Tsukino children who's names he couldn't quite remember. They were working together on one of the colouring books his wife kept around for just such an occasion.
"Fine." Monique smiled up at him. "I'm just minding the little ones while their mother gets some rest, she really needs it, she's shaken up pretty badly. Any news?"
Edward glanced at the children, then decided they wouldn't understand anyways.
"She's not improving, they think they're going to have to go back in again, that there might be bleeding we didn't find last night."
"I see."
"Their father's still at the hospital, I tried to get him to come back, but he wouldn't leave. Is there any dinner left?"
Monique nodded. "Quite a bit. I made extra, hoping he'd come back with you."
"Good. How're the other guests?"
"Those two aren't back yet, and I'm not sure if I'm glad or not. That strange little girl is adorable, but that man gives me the shivers. I wonder if he's really a doctor?"
Edward stretched his arms, trying to get a kink out of his upper back. "I think so, he's got the bearing of a doctor, and the smell's right too. I wouldn't want him to be my GP though."
Monique smiled at that. "You wouldn't trust the best doctor in the world if he showed up on your doorstep. How did you ever end up being a doctor with an attitude like that?"
"My guidance counsellor told me it would get me girls." Edward smirked. "Got me you, didn't it?"
Edward ducked as Monique threw a crayon at him.
"Go get a shower!" She barked, pretending to be angry.
* * *
What began as a twinkling light in a dark corner of a park, nothing more than fireflies, turned into a bright flash as the four travellers appeared.
"It's night!" Venus said in surprise.
"Time zones," Tuxedo Mask said offhandedly. "Ami can you scan for Usagi?"
Sailor Mercury flipped open her magical palmtop computer, quickly typing in a few commands to run a search program, then looked back up at them.
"She's Ten Kilometres Northeast of here." Indicating a direction with a nod of her head. "That way."
"Umm. Shouldn't we change back before we go?" Jupiter suggested.
A moment's focus and a wave of fairy-dust washed over each of them, returning them to the clothes they had started the journey with.
"Let's move." Mamoru ordered, adjusting his coat in the cooler temperature.
* * *
Pinoko was so happy with the thought of wearing her new dress that she wasn't watching where she was going. So when she came skipping and running down the stairs into the subway station she ran right into the young man who was working just around the corner, at the base of the stairs.
"Ow! Sorry!" She said automatically from where she lay, rubbing her forehead, then looked up.
Sitting atop a folding stool in front of her was a tall, handsome man, slender in almost a feminine way, with tied back long black hair and pale white skin. He looked down at her with surprise in his light brown eyes, and she looked up at him with instant infatuation in hers. Then he smiled and extended a hand, helping the starstruck girl to her feet.
"T-thank you." Pinoko said, blushing.
"You should be more careful." He said in a quiet voice.
"Y-yeah, I...should." She said, gathering herself together, then blurted out. "My name's Pinoko, what's yours?"
"Maurice Dupre," said a third, surprised sounding voice from behind her.
Both of them looked up at Blackjack, who was standing behind Pinoko, looking honestly surprised to see the young man.
"Hello Doctor Blackjack, how are you?" Maurice said, smiling up at the doctor.
"Huh?" Pinoko said, looking from one to the other. "You know him Blackjack?"
Blackjack's gaze on Maurice hardened. "I know someone who looks like this, Pinoko. But, that person should be dead."
Maurice smiled, rising to his feet and stepped around the stool, raising his arms in what was almost a dancer's spin before coming to a stop facing them.
"As you can see, Doctor. I am very much alive. Do you like my work?" He gestured towards the wall he had been sitting in front of, on which a large mural of pastel chalk was in the process of being created. A grand, fantastical palace of greys and blues, played against a starry sky, and in the sky were ghostly faces. Two men, a woman and a incomplete image that looked to be another woman, only the pale red of her hair visible so far.
"It's beautiful, " Pinoko responded. "Who're those people?"
"I am more impressed by your survival, Maurice." Blackjack's gaze never left him. "When I last saw you, you had major organ damage and were dying of an unknown disease. Did they find a cure?"
Ignoring Blackjack, Maurice dropped to one knee beside Pinoko, putting one hand on her shoulder to draw her close, while the other extended out towards the mural.
"Those, dear girl. Are the brave queen and her knights, who lived in that castle so long ago, in a time when dreams carried man to the stars, and there were kingdoms on each of the planets that dance around the sun. They were the defenders of Earth, and guarded this great beauty against those who would harm it."
"Wow!" Pinoko said, caught in the lyrical power of Maurice's voice and the warmth of his hand on her shoulder. "What happened to them?"
"Alas," Maurice shook his head. "The other planets were jealous of the beauty of Earth, especially the Queen of the Moon. And, there was a great war between them all for the Earth, that ended when the Queen of the Moon used her power to try and destroy them all, for if she could not have the beauty of the Earth for her own, none would have it."
"But, we're here?" Pinoko responded.
"Indeed we are! For the Queen of the Earth was strong, and she used her own magic to stop the Moon Queen's evil spell, but the war between them had done it's work, and the age of magic was over. Those who remained needed that magic, and all of them fell into a deep sleep, where they would remain until the time of magic came again."
"Whoa! Didja hear that Blackjack?"
The two of them looked up at Blackjack, who was still staring at Maurice sternly.
Maurice looked at Pinoko again.
"He wasn't listening, little one, his is the world of science and fact, there is no room for magic in that heart."
"And," Said Blackjack. "I suppose you expect me to believe that the Queen of the Earth woke up and cured you?"
Maurice hopped to his feet, grinning. "Something like that, yes."
Blackjack shook his head slightly, and then spun, his coat billowing out behind him. "Come Pinoko, we've disturbed him enough." He began to march away towards the subway platform.
"Blackjack!" Pinoko took a few steps after him, and then turned and waved back at Maurice. "Sorry about this! He's so rude sometimes! Thanks for the story!"
Maurice laid a hand across his stomach and bowed deeply, never taking his eyes off her.
"It was a pleasure, m'lady."
* * *
"Whups!"
Minako jumped backwards and flattened herself against the wall, prompting the other three behind her to do the same.
The door to the room in front of them had just opened, Mr. Tsukino stretching his arms as he wandered out, a nurse following him.
"I'm sorry Mister Tsukino, but we don't allow even family in Intensive Care during the night hours, you'll have to come back tomorrow morning."
Mr. Tsukino stopped and bowed to the nurse. "Thank you for taking such fine care of my daughter. Please, tell me if anything happens to her."
"Uhh," The nurse started, unsure. "Yeah. We've got your number, we'll call if there's any change. You go get some sleep, okay?"
The nurse watched as Mr. Tsukino walked away, shaking her head, and then turned and headed for the nurse's station, four sets of eyes watching her go from their hiding place in a wall alcove.
When she was gone, they quickly untangled themselves and slipped from the alcove into the room from which she'd just come.
"Couldn't...breathe! " Mamoru gasped.
Makoto nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah guys. A little lighter on the cheesecake next time, okay?"
"Hey!" Minako protested.
Ami turned, so they wouldn't see her cheeks turn red, and found herself looking at an oxygen tent strung up around the room's single bed. She gasped, she knew that Usagi was in intensive care, but for it to be this bad.
The others turned when they heard her, and they all silently moved to gather around the tent, staring inside the transparent plastic veil at the sleeping girl within, Usagi. At least, that's what they guessed from her hair, the rest of her face was swollen with large dark patches of black and blue, making her almost unrecognisable.
Makoto and Minako turned quickly away, unable to take what they saw, and Ami began to cry. Only Mamoru stood there, passive as he gazed down at her, not quite able to comprehend what he was seeing.
"Usagi..." Ami whimpered.
There was a dull thud as Makoto slammed her fist into the wall, and they all turned to stare at her.
"When I find them...." Makoto cried softly.
"Makoto..." Minako put her hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Girls, we need to watch her, we can't let them have a second chance." Mamoru finally said.
"He's right," Ami sniffed. "She isn't dead yet, and we mustn't think of her that way. She'll get better, she...has to."
"Okay then, what do we do?" Makoto asked angrily.
"First, we need to find a way to watch her." Mamoru told them. "Then, we need to find Chibi-Usa, she knows what happened and can help us find whoever did this."
"Right." The girls nodded in unison.
* * *
"You did not need to stay awake for me, I am most sorry."
Monique Castille watched Mr. Tsukino bow again, and then shook her head.
"Oh nonsense. It was no trouble at all. I just wish there was more we could do to help. Can I get you something to eat?"
The man thought about it a moment, then finally bowed his head and nodded.
Monique gave him a reassuring smile and gestured towards the front sitting room. "There's a lot left over from dinner, it'll just take a minute."
Mr. Tsukino finished taking off his shoes and then wandered into the room, letting himself sink down into one of the plushly cushioned easy chairs. It was very soft, soft and comfortable after such a long day. The police had asked so many questions, and then he'd had to travel across the city to the hospital and watch a parade of doctors file in to look at his daughter. All of them leaving with the same look on their faces, a look that spoke of anything but hope.
But, he had to be strong, there had been bad times before, and his family needed him. Was this how his brother Koji had felt when his brother's wife had taken ill? If it was, he wished he had been more supportive, but then, Koji had always been the stronger of the two of them. Even as his wife lay dying of an inoperable tumour, he had never let on his personal feelings. He had just quietly taken her to one specialist after another, and as each had said they could not help, he had thanked them and moved on to the next.
And, Koji's persistence had paid off, hadn't it? His wife cured at the hands of a specialist surgeon so secretive that it had been a year and a full night of drinking before Koji had ever even spoken the man's name.
"Dr. Blackjack."
Mr. Tsukino suddenly came awake from his reverie, sitting up in his chair. Had he thought or heard those words? He turned and looked, to see Mrs. Castille greeting someone he couldn't see for the doorframe.
"I am sorry we are so late," said a strong man's voice. "We missed the final train and had to take a taxi, but weren't sure of the address."
"Yeah," chirped a young girl's voice. "Good thing that cab driver was so smart or we'd have been in real trouble!"
"Oh, it's no trouble." Monique replied. "I was waiting for another guest anyways. I'm just making him some dinner, would you like some?"
"Oh! Would I!" Pinoko agreed happily.
"And you, Doctor?"
There it was, Mr. Tsukino knew he hadn't misheard. He got quickly to his feet, and started to walk across the room.
"None for me thank you, I'll be turning in."
Blackjack and Pinoko walked into view just as Mr. Tsukino reached the open entrance way to the front hall. Ignoring the girl, he stared at the man, he looked so strange, could this be the man his brother spoke of?
All three of them turned to look at him, and his eyes fixed with Blackjacks.
"Mr. Tsukino?" Monique said in surprise.
"Hey mister, what's wrong?" Pinoko asked in Japanese more fit for a boy than a girl. Blackjack gazed back at him with tired eyes, and then cocked his head, as if trying to remember if he'd met Mr.Tsukino before.
"Are you...Are you Doctor Blackjack, the famous surgeon?" Mr. Tsukino finally said, hope in his voice.
Blackjack remained silent a moment, considering, then sighed and nodded. "I am."
Mr. Tsukino suddenly dropped to his knees before Blackjack, hands clasped and head down to kneel before the surprised man. "Doctor! Please! Save my Usagi!" He cried in Japanese.
"Great," Pinoko commented unhappily, hands on her hips. "So much for our vacation."
* * *
Chibi-Usa was awakened by a tapping sound. At first, she thought it was someone trying to get into her window, and she pulled her thick comforter close in fear. She almost called out to wake Kenji, asleep in the room's other bed, before she realised it was someone knocking on the window, not trying to get in.
Slowly, she crept across the room and pulled aside the thin curtain. On the other side of the thick glass Mamoru's face smiled back at her.
"Mamo-chan!" She whispered, excited. Then fiddled with the lock mechanism until she finally got it open, cold air flooding in as the seldom used seal cracked.
Mamoru leaned in, and the two of them embraced. Mamoru letting her go when he realized she was crying.
"Get dressed." He whispered to her, she nodded and scrambled to get her things.
* * *
"My fee is One-Million dollars. Two Million, because I'm on vacation."
Monique closed the door to the study, and then turned to watch the men. Blackjack was sitting on one of the two chairs which faced her husband's antique wooden desk, Pinoko standing at his side, watching the other men with an intensity that belied her age. Mr. Tsukino was in the other chair, and behind his desk was her husband, whom she'd woken after Mr. Tsukino's initial outburst.
It had taken his help to calm Mr. Tsukino down. Poor man, she thought as she moved over to stand behind her husband, the stress of the situation had finally gotten to him.
"Uhhh!" Doctor Edward Castille choked. "How much?"
Mr. Tsukino just nodded, as if he knew what was coming. "I will get the money. I will get the money. It will take time, but I have friends."
"Whoa! Hold on here!" Edward held up his hand. "Mr. Tsukino, you don't even know this man! No offense Doctor Blackjack, but who the hell do you think you are asking for money like that from a desperate man? What kind of doctor are you?"
"If I fail," Blackjack commented. "He owes me nothing."
"Doctor, if I have anything to say about it, you're not even going to try!"
"Please," Mr. Tsukino begged Edward. "Please Doctor, let him try! He can save her, I know he can."
"How?" Edward said, exasperated. "How do you know he can save her? Please, tell me."
Mr. Tsukino started to say something, but then caught himself and stopped, slumping back into his chair, head down. "I cannot. He can. I know."
"Dr. Blackjack?" Edward asked. "Can you even practice medicine in Canada? Maybe if I could see your records from Japan? If I could call someone?"
Blackjack thought a moment. "May I use your phone?"
"Of course." Edward pushed the desk telephone forward, sighed and looked back up at Monique, who looked back at him and shrugged.
* * *
When they were done hugging, Chibi-Usa looked at her friends.
"Where's Makoto and Red? Didn't they want to come...?"
From his position on one knee next to her, Mamoru shook his head. "Red needed to stay behind and cover for us, and Makoto's at the hospital, watching over Usagi."
"Chibi-Usa, it's very important. Can you tell us who attacked Usagi?"
Chibi-Usa looked at Ami and shook her head. "I don't know who it was. It was dark, and his eyes glowed. He just stepped out in front of us when we were walking and said he was here to punish us in the name of the Earth."
"Punish us in the name of the Earth?! That doesn't make any sense." Mamoru exclaimed. "I'm the Earth guardian."
"But, that's what he said."
Minako smiled as she bent down to Chibi-Usa's level. "We believe you Chibi-Usa. Can you tell us what he was wearing?"
"It looked like an army suit, with black boots and a big jacket. Except it was all black and red, and he had a big spear."
"You're sure it was a man?"
"Uh-huh. But, he had long hair."
"Doesn't sound familiar," Mamoru said. "Can you show us where this happened?"
"I think so."
"Okay, let's go."
* * *
"He wants to speak with you."
Edward Castille took the phone, a few moments later he set it back into it's cradle.
"Doctor Cartier sends his regards, Monique."
Mrs. Castille looked at her husband. "Doctor Cartier?"
"You met him at the hospital fund raiser last March, he's the head of the Quebec Medical Association, and President of Hotel Dieu's Board of Governors."
"What did he say?"
"He said," Edward watched Blackjack as he spoke. "That Doctor Blackjack is to be treated as a guest, and that I'm to help him any way I can, and to take notes because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Blackjack shrugged. "You may assist if you want."
Edward's chair creaked as he leaned back into it, shaking his head in wonder. "I don't know who you are, and I still think this stinks. But, seeing as I don't have a choice, I'm going to be there to watch you as close as I can."
"Fair enough," Blackjack agreed. "Pinoko, my bag."
"Right Blackjack!" Pinoko took off like a shot.
"We're going now?" Edward asked in amazement.
Blackjack looked at him. "Will she be alive in the morning?"
Edward sighed. "Monique."
His wife nodded. "The coffee is already on, I'll put it in a thermos."
* * *
"Hotel Dieu Admitting."
"Yes, I'm calling from the Montreal Gazette. I'm looking for information on the girl who was attacked yesterday morning near Dundas street."
"I'm sorry sir, I can only give you the press release."
"That'll do."
"She's a Japanese national, Fifteen, and was brought in at 2:35 AM, Monday morning."
"I see, poor girl. Can I have her current condition?"
"Critical but stable."
"Got it, thank you very much."
"You're welcome sir."
Maurice Dupre let the phone drop back into it's cradle, paused a moment to think, and then grabbed his coat.
* * *
"We believe she was attacked from behind with a spear of some kind, it entered here, just between the shoulder blade and the spinal column. It came across at an angle, grazing the heart here, and piercing the left lung before it exited through the outer wall here. We think the subject fell forward, onto it, because of this damage here, and then whoever did this pulled it back out again, it looks like the spear had barbs on it, which accounts for the tearing damage here, here and here."
"You missed your calling, you should have been a forensic pathologist.." Blackjack commented.
Edward took a deep breath and let it out. "I was. I didn't like it."
"Pity. What did you do when they first brought her in?"
"She went into cardiac arrest almost the minute she hit emergency, we administered standard treatment and then rushed her into surgery. I started, Doctor Jennifer Mason finished. We repaired the damage as best we could, but most of it was too extensive. She's lost a third of a lung and we haven't been able to reinflate it, and her heart's in bad shape. Then there's her blood toxicity levels..."
"You didn't mention liver or kidney damage."
"There wasn't any. We checked, no history of any either. But, they're still rising."
Blackjack crossed his arms and turned away from the x-rays, thinking.
"Can you help her Doctor?"
Blackjack didn't look at him. "I can repair the damage to the heart, and I believe I can save her lung, but those blood toxicity levels worry me. Has there been any sign of infection?"
Edward flicked off the light board. "None. We started light antibiotics when we first noticed it, but they haven't made any difference."
"Fine." Blackjack turned to face him. "Have her prepared for surgery, I'll begin in an hour's time."
* * *
"It was here."
Mamoru nodded, turning to face Ami and Minako. "Spread out and look for anything that looks unusual. The police have been here, but they weren't looking for a monster trail."
"Great," Minako grumbled as she began to wander around. "Why do they always have to pick dark parks to attack people in? Why not a well lit mall? Maybe one with comfortable chairs. Ooh, my legs are killing me."
"Mina-chan, can the chatter."
"Yes Mamoru-kun." Minako said with mock sweetness.
"I've got something," Ami called out.
They all gathered around Ami, who was holding a small white piece of rock up in front of her magical palmtop.
"This crystal's charged with magical energy."
"Could it be a piece of soul-gem or something?" Mamoru asked.
"I don't know, but I can pick up traces of it scattered all over the place around here."
"Can you trace it?"
"I'll try."
* * *
Makoto arched her back and stretched her arms as she yawned. She'd been hiding in the bathroom for what felt like ages, and had nearly fallen asleep twice, managing to just catch herself at the last second each time.
From where she was, Makoto had been able to get a good view of the hallway and area around the door to Usagi's room, and had carefully watched for any sign of trouble. So far it had just been the nurses checking on her, and twice a doctor had wandered by to have a look.
As she finished yawning, Makoto stopped and listened carefully, she could hear the sound of feet, lots of them, running this way. She came alert and slid open the door a crack to have a look.
A nurse and a pair of orderlies came rushing past her vantage point, pulling a stretcher along with them and went straight into Usagi's room. Then a moment later two men came walking into view. One was a typical looking doctor in his white coat, the other, however, was a Japanese man dressed in black with a huge mass of black and white hair and the skin on the hand Makoto could see was in two colours, broken by a line of stitch scars.
It was him, Makoto decided. It had to be, there was no way that any doctor looked like that! He must have taken control of the people in the hospital and now he was going to use them to finish the job he'd started.
She began to reach for her power rod, then suddenly stopped, Usagi's dad had just come trailing into view, with a strange looking moon-faced girl walking along beside him. Could they be under that guy's control too? Makoto's gut told her to hold off, so she decided to wait.
After a few minutes, the orderlies and nurse came back out, with Usagi on the stretcher and rushed past her again. Makoto looked away, still not able to stand the sight of her friend filled with tubes like that.
She didn't notice the door in front of her opening until the hinges started to creak.
* * *
Maurice Dupre strolled in through the front doors of the emergency entrance, following the ambulance attendants who were rushing in some poor woman who had arrived just before him in an ambulance. In the confusion, most assumed he had come with her, and they ignored him for the moment, allowing him to just stroll through the emergency waiting room and past into the hospital.
* * *
Pinoko balanced the two cups of coffee carefully on the palms of her hands, they were much too hot to hold the sides of, and the bottom rims were perfect for this, if only she could keep them from spilling.
Carefully, she walked into the lounge where Mr. Tsukino was slumped down into his seat trying to watch a show on the television sitting in one corner of the room. Then maneuvered her way around the chairs until she reached him.
"Coffee, mister?"
Mr. Tsukino smiled tiredly and took the one on her right hand by the top rim.
"Thank you, Pinoko-chan." Then he looked at the other cup, confused. "Do you drink coffee?"
"Sometimes," Pinoko announced. "But this one's for a friend."
Then she began to make her way back out of the room and travelled down the hall to the stairwell, kicking the door twice with her foot.
"Takeuchi-san!" She called out.
The door opened and her new friend, Naoko Takeuchi looked down at her. She was a really tall girl, with brown hair, and Pinoko had found her in a bathroom near Mr. Tsukino's daughter's room. She said she was one of Usagi's friends and was hiding because she had come here to make sure her friend was alright, and wasn't supposed to be here because she wasn't family.
"What is it, Pinoko-chan?"
"Coffee," Pinoko held up the cup, and after a moment's hesitation, Naoko took it.
"I really don't like coffee that much, but thanks anyways."
"All part of the service," Pinoko bowed. "Are you sure you don't want to wait in the lounge. I really don't think they'll kick you out if Mr. Tsukino vouches for you."
"Maybe," Naoko sighed. "But, I think it's better if I wait here. You'll tell me how it goes, right?"
"Sure. They just started, so it's gonna be awhile though. That's why I brought you the coffee. D'ya want anything else?"
"No, I'll be alright. I really appreciate your help, thanks a lot!"
"No problem!" Pinoko grinned, and then backed off and marched away.
Makoto had just let the door slip closed, and was going to force herself to try the coffee when she heard Pinoko scream.
* * *
"Blood pressure?"
"Low, but steady." The nurse replied.
"Begin blood filtration."
"Yes, doctor."
Edward Castille watched as Blackjack made the first incision, reopening the stitches Edward himself had made just a day before. Then peeled back the skin, then muscle and bone, slowly working his way inwards.
As he watched, Edward began to understand what Dr. Cartier had been trying to tell him, Blackjack wasn't a surgeon, he was an artist. Every movement controlled, every step so precise it was as though Blackjack had done this hundreds of times. Compared to him, the rest of the Doctors Edward knew were butchers who clumsily fumbled around inside the human body like the Dutch boy of myth who sought to plug all the leaks in the wall with his fingers.
Then, as he reached the heart, exposing it to the light, Blackjack suddenly stopped.
"Doctor Castille," Blackjack asked, looking right at Edward. "I thought you said this wound was cleaned of debris?"
Edward frowned, "it was." Then he leaned in and looked at the place Blackjack indicated, in the area around the heart he could see tiny pieces of what looked to be white crystal growing in almost snowflake-like patterns. "What are those?"
"I don't know," Blackjack said slowly, taking hold of one with a pair of forceps. He had to cut it free, because it was starting to grow into the flesh around it. Holding it up in the light, he looked at it, and then set it down in a Petrie dish a nurse offered. "Have this analysed," he told the woman, who nodded and took it away.
"What are we going to do now?" Edward asked, concerned.
"We remove as many as we can," Blackjack said, starting to work again. "My concern is that there might be some inside the heart, we'll have to open it up and take a look. I wonder why these didn't appear on the x-rays?"
Edward nodded, and then looked around, had he just felt the floor shake?
* * *
Pinoko wailed and thrashed her arms as Hexite lifted her into the air, studying her at arms length, as if he wasn't sure what she could do if he let her close.
"Tell me where he is," he told the little girl. "I know Blackjack is trying to save her."
"Somebody, help!!!!!!!" Pinoko wailed, starting to tug at his arm in an attempt to get free.
Hexite had just a moment's awareness before the energy bolt took his arm off at the elbow, sending Pinoko to the ground, hand and part of Hexite's arm still gripping her shirt. She was startled, but quickly backed away like a crab using both her hands and feet.
Not seeming especially surprised, Hexite turned and looked back down the hallway from where the attack had come. Sailor Jupiter stood there, arm still extended from her attack, now a finger pointing at him, accusing him.
"Is there where you give your speech?" Hexite asked nonchalantly.
"No." Replied Jupiter as she started her charge.
* * *
There it was again, Edward knew he'd felt the floor shake, and this time he could see several of the nurses looking around as well.
Blackjack didn't look up, he was too focussed on his work.
"I'll be right back," Edward told him, handing off to a nurse. Then he turned and walked back out the doors to the surgical theatre and through the prep room into the hallway. The first thing he saw was Pinoko cowering outside the door, crying.
The next thing was a young Japanese woman in white and green go hurtling down the hallway past him to skid along the polished tile floors until she slammed into the wall of the t-junction, smashing some of the plaster wall in the process.
His first urge was to run to check her, but instead he looked back from where she'd come. A tall man with long black hair in a red military style uniform was striding down the hallway, towards him.
"You there," the man gestured at Edward with his right arm, which looked to be made entirely of white crystal. "Doctor."
Edward took a step to the side, to put himself between the man and the huddled Pinoko, watching the man warily.
"Tell me, where is Blackjack?"
"I don't know."
The Hexite smiled. "That girl knows you," he gestured at Pinoko. "Where she goes, so does Blackjack. Is he in there?"
Hexite pointed at the doors to the operating theatre and Edward tried to think of something to say. His face must have revealed his answer, because Hexite just smiled and then walked past him, into the operating theatre prep room.
* * *
Blackjack had just finished his incision into Usagi's heart when the operating theatre doors opened. He wouldn't have even looked up, but one of the nurses backed into one of the instrument trays in surprise, sending it to the floor with a loud crash.
Blackjack cursed inwardly and looked up.
He recognised Maurice immediately, despite the outfit, and noted the crystal arm.
"What do you want?' He said curtly. "I'm trying to save her life."
"That, dear doctor, is the problem." Hexite replied.
"Why?"
Hexite moved in, bringing himself face to face with Blackjack, only the girl between them.
"This girl is guilty of murder, a hundred times over. She must pay for her crimes."
Blackjack stared at him intently. "And you will be guilty of murdering her if you don't let me finish."
"I am an executioner, serving the state."
"What state?"
"The Kingdom of Earth."
"A fantasy."
"Is it?" Hexite smiled at him, raising up his crystal arm as if it were proof. "You said yourself Doctor, I should be dead. The Queen of the Earth saved me, and I became her loyal servant, until this wretched girl murdered her. Zoicite, Jedite, Malachite, Queen Beryl, all of them my friends. All of them dead! At her hand!"
"So you ask me to walk away?"
"If you believe in justice, you will."
"Justice is for philosophers and the dead. I only care about life."
Hexite fixed Blackjack with his stare. "Yet you charge money to save these lives. One Million dollars, isn't that your fee?"
"My clients are rich, and those that are not must prove they are worthy. It does not matter if they pay, that they try is enough. I will save this girl for nothing."
"And, how much would you let her die for?"
"She will not die."
Hexite curled his crystal hand into an open fist in front of them, crystal shot out from both sides to form a long shining spear with barbed tips. Hexite looked over the spear at Blackjack, holding it just beneath eye level, beneath their locked gaze, and over the sleeping girl.
"Yes, she will."
With those words Hexite grabbed the shaft with both hands, and angled it at Usagi's head, pulling it back to strike a final blow. A blow which was brought up short when suddenly he was wrapped in a chain that looked to be made of pure gold light. Then, in a single motion, he was yanked off his feet and sent hurtling back through the double doors that led into the theatre.
Blackjack raised an eyebrow, then shook his head, deciding that questions were for when time was a luxury, and went back to work.
* * *
After he slammed into the wall, it took Hexite a moment to get his bearings, and when he got them he realized he was surrounded.
Tuxedo Mask levelled his cane at Hexite. "You, who have tried to extinguish a life more precious than a thousand gems. You, who have harmed children and dared to darken these sacred halls with your presence. In the name of the Earth and the Moon, we shall punish you!"
* * *
When Blackjack came out of the operating theatre, Pinoko took his hand and led him to the roof, where he found three young Japanese women in strange looking schoolgirl uniforms and a slightly older man in a Top Hat and Tuxedo waiting for him. They all looked at him expectantly.
"If she lasts the week, she'll live."
The young man leapt down from his fencepost perch and stepped forward, offering his hand to Blackjack.
"Thank you, Doctor. For everything you did."
Blackjack didn't take it. "What did you do with Maurice Dupre?"
Tuxedo Mask let his hand drop. "He was a servant of the Dark Kingdom, he...couldn't be saved. Only she could have saved him, the one he tried to kill."
"He said you were the evil ones, that he was on the side of angels."
Tuxedo Mask looked at him, concerned. "If you believed him, why did you save her?"
"I'm not in the habit of taking the word of lunatics who try to kill my patients while I'm working on them. Although I will admit I am curious how much of his story was true, he should have died two years ago."
"He did die, in a sense. I'm glad you believe us."
"I didn't say I did." Blackjack looked to each of the young people. "I said I didn't believe him. He tried to kill people, you killed him, you've all got the stink of blood on your hands. Maybe I should have let that girl down there die if there was any truth to what he said. But, a contract is a contract, and I said I would save her, so I did." He fixed back on Tuxedo Mask for a moment, and then smiled and shrugged. "C'est la vie."
"Come Pinoko," Blackjack turned and began to walk away.
Pinoko, who'd been watching silently, waved at them, smiling at Jupiter, and then ran off to join her guardian.
"That guy! Who does he think he is to talk like that after we saved him!" Sailor Jupiter said angrily as she watched Blackjack and Pinoko disappear into the stairwell.
"But, isn't he right?" Mercury offered. "Those monsters we kill, aren't they alive? Hexite was, wasn't he?"
"But, this is war!" Venus protested. "We're fighting for humanity!"
"Venus's right," Tuxedo Mask agreed. "We are fighting for humanity, Mercury. It's us or them and we've saved so many people. I wish the doctor could understand that, but it doesn't matter if he does or not. Sailor Moon is alive, that's what matters."
"To us." Mercury said uncertainly.
* * *
"Well, it's been an experience I won't soon forget." Edward Castille told Blackjack as he shook the man's hand on the front porch of the Bed and Breakfast. "If you ever come to Montreal again, please stay with us."
"Yes, please do." Monique added, then knelt down to Pinoko's level, "and for you Pinoko, I have a surprise."
"Really?" Pinoko's face lit up. "What is it?"
From behind her back, Monique drew out a bag. "Raisin scones," she said. "For the trip back."
Pinoko took the bag and then lept up to wrap her arms around the woman and hug her. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Edward smiled down at them, then turned to Blackjack. "By the way, the lab results came back on those crystals, they were lead base. If we hadn't operated when we did, she would've died of lead poisoning within another twelve hours. Doctor Mason's having a hard time over it, though. She's sure she got them all the first time."
Blackjack nodded. "She may have gotten the big pieces, the ones I took out appeared to be growing. Probably the patient's body trying to isolate the fragments. You should write a paper on it."
"If you don't mind."
Blackjack shrugged slightly. "I don't care for papers."
"The Tsukinos will be sad they couldn't see you off," Monique put in. "I think they wanted to thank you again."
"They have already done enough. I have other patients waiting."
"Blackjack is really busy." Pinoko added. "There's a president, and a prime minister, and, oh yeah, a mob boss, and they all want to seem him right away!"
"Well, we'd best not keep them waiting. Thanks again, Doctor." Edward told him.
Monique hugged Pinoko again, and with that, they were off to their waiting cab.
"What a week," Monqiue said, waving at the departing Cab. She could still see Pinoko's face in the window, the girl waving back at her.
"You can say that again, I still have to face the hospital board about what happened. Nobody can know Blackjack was here, so I'm listed as the surgeon for the operation, not him."
"But, the director's behind you, right? It will blow over."
"I hope so."
"Well, I have to prepare the rooms, we've got more guests coming tonight."
"Really, who?"
"Another Japanese couple, the Ikari's, they're newlyweds."
"At this rate maybe you should started studying Japanese." Edward said, putting his arm around his wife as he started to lead her inside.
"Maybe I will."
* * *
"Chibi-Usa! Watch out! WhooooOOOAAAA!!!"
Chibi-Usa brought Usagi's wheelchair to a stop just in front of one of the columns that supported the underground complex beneath Montreal's core. Usagi almost fell out of the chair, and only barely managed to keep from slamming into the post.
"Hey, you little brat! I'm sick, remember!....Hey, Chibi-Usa...Chibi-Usa?"
Usagi turned herself, slowly, around and found Chibi-Usa was lost in thought, staring at something. Following the pink haired girl's gaze, Usagi found herself looking at a huge mural of a castle sketched onto one of the walls. A castle she knew from both her own memories and nightmares. A young woman was working away on it, adding to one of the ghostly faces which hovered unfinished in the sky above the castle.
"Wow,' Chibi-Usa said. "That's so pretty."
"Pretty horrible," Usagi commented.
"What would you know, muffin brain." Chibi-Usa said indignantly, then wheeled the chair back and took off again in another direction at full speed.
* * *
Karin Gabrille stopped working for a moment to follow the sounds of high pitched yelling coming from behind her. Two asian girls with weird hair were playing with a wheelchair in the cavernous station, running around in circles.
Karin smiled as she watched them go, then looked back at her work and sighed. Her teacher had promised to come today to help finish the mural, but he hadn't shown up, and she'd been working on her own.
She wondered what could be keeping him, the mural had been very important to him, he said it represented the people he held most dear in the world. He wouldn't just have abandoned it, or her.
Well, she smiled, he would be surprised when he came though, because she'd done something that she hoped he would like. She'd added his face to the others in the sky, after all, didn't he keep telling her that loyalty to one's friends was the highest of all virtues? He should be with them, she thought, even if it only was a painting. Author's Notes:
This story would technically take place during Sailor Moon Super S, for those who keep track of such things, and in the Blackjack continuity, Blackjack and Pinoko are returning from their European vacation seen in "The Owl of San Merida" OAV.
I used the Japanese names because they are Japanese characters, after all, and I hope this doesn't cause too much confusion among readers. --
"Five Minutes Ago, this is Robyn Paterson for Network XXIII."
