UsAgI iS dEaD uSaGi Is DeAd HiP hIp HiP hOoRaY
by DARK DAY FOR
ANIME

Diclaimer - Sailormoon is owned by Takeuchi Naoko and Bandai,
so
these characters really belong to them.  I'm just abusing them in
a
manner most would describe as nothing short of scandalous.  I hope
nobody
sues me for it.  I owe too much to too many people to begin with.

Part
Five
Freedom of Thought and Movement



	Aoi wondered why she was running.
Her legs seemed to be
moving all by themselves.
	She'd left the ruin of the
station long back, yet there was a
sense of urgency about her.  She wasn't
sure what it was.  Just a
voice at the back of her mind.  And she believed
that voice, or, at
least, in the voice itself.

	Good, the voice said.


"Where am I?"  She said to herself.  People stared at her as
she ran past
them, one almost about to answer her.
	Where I want to go, the voice
answered.  One I want to see
shall be on our way.  And if you don't hurry,
you may just be
targeted for death.
	"I don't want to die.  Not like
that."
	Nobody wants to die.  In truth, nobody does.  But the desire
to
swim is strong.
	"Swim?  In what?"
	The ocean of the mind.  It is a
peaceful place, even when the
waters are stormy.  To float for all eternity
in a bodiless paradise
without personal needs....
	For some reason, Aoi
could almost see herself floating.
Waters bluer than she thought possible.
There seemed to be no
surface, no bottom.  Figures, faces and possibilities
flying past
her in all directions.  It fascinated her.  She reached out
and
touched each of them.  Her mind, what mind it was she had, was
filled
with the stories, thoughts and feelings behind them all.

	Her
concentration was so focused upon this that she ran into a
cafeteria's
sandwich board.  This brought the fantasy to a rapid end 
as she got to her
feet and continued.


	The hospital shower room hadn't been used in quite a
while.
It was there for the benefit of the interns, but they rarely
made
use of it.  It was too small and didn't have any of the
modern
conveniences, such as doors for privacy.

	Now it was being used as
something of a storeroom.  Racks of
clothes blocked the doorway and the
changeroom beyond.  This, of
course, never stopped the average person with
transportation powers
from getting in.  Both Usagi and Setsuna appeared
approximately one
foot above the floor, and came down with a shudder that
ran along
their spines when they finally solidified.

	"Hyuk....  Nice one,
Pluto."  Usagi croaked, now wearing a
labcoat Setsuna had found her before
they left the morgue.  Pluto
nodded.
	"Not one of my best efforts, I must
admit."
	"Didn't know you were capable of transporting yourself like
that.
Rather impressive."
	"How do you think I make my dramatic entrances?"

"Hmm, I always thought it was pure accident, like the rest of
us."
	"I
never do anything by accident."

	"So where are we?"  Usagi looked around
the shower room with
some distaste, screwing up her nose.
	"Somewhere you
can get yourself cleaned without being
interrupted."  Usagi turned to her,
raising an eyebrow.  Setsuna 
sniffed.  "Well, lets just say that it would
be better if nobody 
within this hospital registered your presence.  It may
lead to some 
uncomfortable questions I'm very much afraid you won't be
able to 
answer."

	"Ah yes, questions such as 'what am I doing in a
hospital in
the first place' come to mind."  Usagi crossed her arms as
Setsuna
ummed and erred.
	"That'll take a while to explain, its better if
you take a
shower first."  Setsuna shrugged.  "Unless, of course, you
rather
like being covered in dried blood."
	Usagi screwed up her nose
again.  "Oh, thankyou for reminding
me.  Just whose blood is this anyway?
Did I go psycho and tear a
pack of monsters to pieces or something?"

"Umm...  No."
	Usagi stared at Setsuna for just under a minute.  The
older
senshi had managed to maintain an unemotional expression through
the
non-verbal probing.  Fortunate, really, that Usagi hadn't managed
to
keep it up.  She was about to break underneath the wilting glare.


Usagi placed the labcoat across the opening of one of the 
cubicles in an
effort to maintain some semblance of privacy.  
Setsuna heard her sigh,
then she peered from behind the coat.

	"Is there any soap around here?"
Setsuna smiled and handed
her a bar of soap she'd been holding behind her
back.  Usagi looked
daggers at her.  "Prepared for everything, aren't we?"

"Indeed."

	Usagi disappeared behind the coat again and Setsuna could
hear
the spray of water as Usagi turned on the taps.  "Well," said
Usagi,
"are you going to tell me about it, or are you going to be
your
usual enigmatic self."
	"I've never been enigmatic.  I've always been
as clear as I
possibly can be around you."  There was a snort of derision
from
behind the coat.
	"Yeah, right.  I don't think I've ever got a
straight line of
conversation out of you since we first met.  You're too
busy being
obscure."
	"I resent the implication that I play with peoples'
minds to
maintain my reputation for being a walking conundrum."
	"I never
said anything about you playing with peoples' minds.
You added that little
gem yourself."  Setsuna inwardly kicked
herself.  "Anyway, you've
sidetracked me.  Are you going to tell me
what is going on, or shall I be
forced to stand in this shower all
day?"
	Setsuna shrugged.  "What can I
say?  You were dead and I
brought you back to life."
	Usagi was out of the
shower and tangled up in the labcoat,
staring Setsuna in the face, in a
matter of seconds.
	"What the hell did you SAY?  I was WHAT?"
	"You were
dead.  So I brought you back to life."
	"How?  When?  Where?  Is everyone
else okay?  What the hell is
going on?"  Usagi looked flustered.  Setsuna
sighed and turned her
round, pushing her back into the shower, replacing
the coat across
the entrance.  "I take it you don't want to talk about it,
then?"
Usagi finally got out after a few moments silence.
	"Everyone else
is okay, as far as I know.  If anyone had died,
I'd have been the first to
know about it."
	"Unless you were the person in question."
	"I would have
seen that coming."
	Usagi pondered that thought, and reminded herself of
how
little she truly knew about the elder senshi.  "So where are they
all
now?  And what about Mum and Dad, and Shingo.  Well, maybe not
Shingo...."

"Your family were quite upset, I can assure you."
	"You mean they knew I
was dead?  Shit bugger damn.  This is
going to be hard to explain to them."
 Usagi put on a voice.  "Sorry
Mum, sorry Dad.  I didn't mean to die.  I
won't do it again."

	There were a couple more moments of silence, when
Usagi
finally found enough voice to speak again.  "How did I die?"
	"I
killed you."
	Usagi was out of the shower again, lab coat once more
twisted
around her.  "Wh wh wh wh wh what did you say?"
	"I said I killed
you.  Shot a beam of energy through you.  You
were dead in a matter of
seconds."
	"Wh...  Why?  What for?"
	"Because everyone else wanted you
dead."
	"Wh...  Why?  What for?"
	"Because they were frightened you might
kill them."
	"Wh...  Why?  What for?"
	"Do you usually repeat your
questions so obviously?"
	"Just give me a clear, concise answer, thirty
words or less."

	Setsuna sighed and stepped back, turning away.  "I shall
try
to explain this to you as clearly as possible...."
	"Oh yay, that'll be
a start."
	Setsuna became angry and turned on Usagi.  "Don't be
cynical
with me, little lady.  You may be the direct soul-descendant of
the
Princess, but you are nowhere near to being her in all respects."

Usagi took a couple of steps back, surprised by Setsuna's anger.  
"For
quite a while, I've been wondering about your... capacity, so 
to speak, to
inherit the mantle of the new Queen.  So I set down to
the other senshi the
Rights of Succession, the rules governing who
is to be the next Queen."


Usagi pondered this as Setsuna paused for dramatic effect.

	"And they
decided to have me shafted cos I wasn't doing a
'good enough job' by your
standards?"  Usagi sounded as bitter as
she looked.  "Weren't you supposed
to be my friends?"
	"Oh, I could have left it at that, have you step down
to
become a Miko rather than the next Queen.  It would still have
meant
your first daughter would be next in line after the second

candidate's reign had ended.  The best path has always been the
direct
soul-line.  However, the paths of the future showed... 
disturbing
possibilities, that made that future less than optimal.  
I guess that
future shall come to pass, now, one way or another."
	"What future is
this?"
	Setsuna sighed.  "Let me put it this way.  My nervous system
exists
within the vortex of time, or is, at least, connected to that
vortex in
some manner.  It means the very core of my being is locked
into the myriad
of possibilites that the future holds.  They come to
me in the form of
visions.  Not all of these visions come true, but
the stronger they are,
the more likely they are to occur."
	Usagi looked at her for a moment, and
Setsuna saw in her eyes
the distinctive sign of someone who was totally
lost.  Why couldn't
this imbecile just work it out herself.

	"So you had
one of your visions that something bad would
happen if you simply asked me
to step down."
	"Hallelujah.  The girl has got it."  Setsuna could have
danced
around the shower room at that moment.  It was the first time in
her
memory that Usagi had vaguely understood her motives for something.

"So why did all the others agree to having me killed?  I mean,
what could
drive them to make a decision like that?"
	"Well, this is where it starts
getting complicated...."

	Usagi's eyes glazed over, and Setsuna's heart
sank.


	Hotaru stepped out into the dim sunshine, dressed in her
usual
black top and skirt.  She stared up into the sky and imagined
seeing
something big and black up there.  For some reason, the thought
made
her feel excited.

	Then she sat down on the front doorstep, holding
her head in
her hands.  Great, another argument with her father.  And
she'd
almost given everything away to him.  She wondered if he
already
knew.  He was like that.  Sometimes he had the manipulative
aspects
of Setsuna.  At other times he was ridiculously stupid.  He
hadn't
even bothered to ask her why she wasn't at school today.  Nor did
he
ask her why she'd gone to a wake on the same day the dead person
in
question had died.

	Maybe he already knew.  From her words, maybe he'd
already
worked it out.  She spent so much of her time wishing she had had
a
normal father, a normal life.  These days she seemed to spend more
time
with Haruka and Michiru than she did with him.  It made her so
angry,
sometimes.  But she couldn't afford to be angry.  Every time
she expressed
a strong emotion she'd pass out, have a seizure or
throw up.  She wasn't
even allowed the pleasure of feeling strongly
about something.  The
necessity for her passivity drove her stark
staring mad.

	She'd vomited
after the argument with her father just before.  
Dry retch, to be more or
less correct, she hadn't eaten at the party 
last night (except for the
beer, which she took a sip of and decided 
it tasted like coloured water.
Well, those were Haruka's words).  
She wasn't in the kind of festive mood
the others had been in.  She 
couldn't understand why they had been.  Ami
and Setsuna seemed a 
little.... quiet, so to speak, but she just put that
down to the 
fact that they'd always been.  (Actually, Ami was the one who
was 
quiet.  Setsuna spent much of the time lecturing everyone about the

laws of the Moon Kingdom and getting depressed). Haruka and Michiru 
were
also somewhat distant.  Again, she put that down to reputation.  
(In
Haruka's case, she seemed to spend the entire night nervously 
trying to
laugh things off.  This seemed to work in tandem with 
Setsuna's
depression.  It was called alcohol.)

	"Ohayo, Hotaru-chan".  Said the
voice to her left.  Hotaru
turned to see Luna sitting there.  She smiled.

"Ohayo Luna."
	"You seem rather down.  I hope you're not feeling too
bad
about things at the moment."
	Hotaru turned away, her expression
dropping.  "I've been
thinking things over.  I just don't know how to react
in this
kind of situation."
	Luna sighed and settled on the ground, looking
up at Hotaru
trying to voice her own concerns.
	"Hmm.  You know,
Hotaru-chan, we all have to stick together
on this.  If we let out to
anyone about what we've done, the
whole game will be given away.  Not just
the fact that we planned
to have Usagi.... removed, so to speak.  We'd be
giving away our
identities.  I mean, YOUR identites as the sailorsenshi."

"I realise that.  I just can't believe we actually went
through with this.
It seems so....  Wrong...  Out of place."
	"Not what we stand for, hmm?"

"Exactly.  I always thought we were better than our
enemies, in some moral,
philosophical manner."
	"We aren't really any better than anyone else.
We're still
slaves to our personal fears and demons.  We just have a
greater
responsibility because of the powers we possess, especially you."

Hotaru shook her head.  "I don't really know if I want
those
responsibilities.  And besides, haven't we already made a
pretty bad
choice?"
	"And then there was that party last night.  Wasn't that just
a
little tacky, especially after convincing all of our relatives we
were
going there to comfort each other in our 'time of need'?"
	Luna looked
down, not willing to answer.  Hotaru sniffed
and stood up, feeling dizzy
for a few moments.  Luna stood in
concern.
	"Are you feeling alright,
Hotaru-chan?"
	"Yeah yeah yeah.  I'll be alright.  I had an argument
with
father.  I'm all worked up at the moment.  Makes me dizzy when I
get
too excited about something."
	Hotaru started walking towards the footpath,
then staggered
slightly.  She stopped and smiled back at Luna, giving her
the V
for victory sign.  A large sweatdop appeared on Luna's forehead.


"I'm going back to the shrine.  I want to talk with Ami, if
she's still
there."  Hotaru dashed away.  Just at the last moment
Luna realised how
tall Hotaru actually looked.  Almost as tall as
Ami now.
	"Its not really
fair, you know, making a girl like her deal
with the kinds of things you're
forcing her to."

	Luna jumped a spun as Professor Tomoe stepped through
the
now-open front doorway.  An almost comical expression of dread
crossed
the cat's face.
	"P..P..Professor, how good it is to see you..."
She
managed to stumble out.
	"Indeed, Luna-neko-san.  I wish it was of
greater pleasure
to see you here.  Who killed Usagi, and why?"
	Luna felt a
cold chill run down her spine.  "Kill?  Usagi?
What makes you think I would
know anything?"
	"You know everything the senshi are involved in.  My
child
is one of the senshi.  It would be most inadvisable to try to
hide
anything from me.  If you're making Hotaru do anything that
is likely to
increase her state of unhealth, then may Kami-sama
help you, because,
senshi or no, he'll be the only one."  The
Professor stared down at Luna
menacingly.  She shivered and
backed away, then ran for it.  Leaving
Professor Tomoe to rub the
back of his head and wonder if he overstated his
position.

	No, that wasn't it.  When it came to Hotaru, he'd
NEVER
overstate his position.  He'd protect her, with his life, even if
it
meant turning the both of them against the senshi.

	He turned round to
step back in to the house, when he heard
a vaguely familiar voice.  "Ohayo,
Tomoe-sensei."
	He turned to see Usagi standing before him, the
sweetest
smile he had ever seen her attempt on her face.  He fainted
clear
away.


	Usagi sat on a bench, now wearing an yellow dress and blouse

found in the collection of clothes on the various racks.  Her mood
did not
reflect the gaudiness of the clothing.

	"How could they....  Why would
they have...???"
	Setsuna stood beside the small window, trying to stare
through
the mottled translucence at whatever it was outside.  She could
see
droplets of water falling.  That was about all.

	"Why did you allow
them to see this vision?"

	The water made some nice sounds as it hit the
bottom of the
window pane.  Almost musical in a way.

	"Are you listening
to me?"
	"I always liked rainy days."
	"Damn you!  Why don't you take me
more seriously?"
	"They're so much more calming than sunny days."
Setsuna
turned aside.  "I've told you everything.  Everything I know.
Why
they should have reacted like they did to something that was
nothing
more than a vision is a mystery to me."
	"This isn't some
philosophical discussion we're having here on
the nature of our existence.
You KILLED me, Setsuna."
	"Indeed I did.  And I could do it again, if
enough people
wanted me to."
	"You would, would you?  Just kill me?  Just
like that?"
	"If it is deemed necessary."
	"What am I to you, then,
anyway?"
	"The first candidate of the position of the new Queen.  Also
the
direct soul-descendant of Princess Serenity."
	"And that is all?"
	"No, not
really.  You see, I brought you back, on my own, for
a reason."
	"And that
is?"
	"To kill yourself."
	"What?"
	"Well, not you, personally, but you.
No, what I mean is, you
are far more experienced with the application of
your powers than
the second candidate, Osaka Naru."

	Usagi shook her head.
 "I can't believe you chose Naru.  The
girl is a monster magnet, even worse
than me."
	"We didn't choose Naru.  She chose herself.  Just walked in
one
day when we were discussing the matter."
	Usagi snorted derisively.  "Yeah,
right, great way to choose
inheritors of a monarchical system."
	"She'd
been given a vision.  A vision of herself as a 
Princess.  It is not
something one should ignore at a time like
that."

	Usagi laughed bitterly.
 "And she was my best friend."
	"One that you had grown away from."
	"We
kept in touch."
	"When?"
	"Well, like...  Ummm..."
	"Indeed."  Setsuna
turned back to the window.

	"Hey, just because I haven't seen her in a
while...."
	"Best friend, hmmm?"
	"I mean..."
	"You feel you have the right
to feel angry at her?"
	"She accepted my death like all the others."

"Indeed, she did."
	"I'd known her LONGER than the rest of you, at least,
I
thought I did."  Usagi looked unsure of herself.
	"The reason for that is
plain and obvious.  You were the
first candidate and she was the second.
The longer you retained
Serenity's powers, the less she was required.  As
soon as your
capacities were called into question, she began to return to
the
fold."

	Usagi felt tears coming to her eyes.  Setsuna turned to
her
and looked down.  "I'm sorry if this all seems harsh.  If it makes
you
feel any better, I brought you back as I couldn't live with my
actions.
Yet, I had no choice in the matter.  Once the decision
had been made by the
others, I have no will but to act out their
desires."
	"I know...  Now.
But...  Its just too cruel.  Since when has
this been the way of the Moon
Kingdom?  How often has it occurred?"
	"I can't remember now.  I seem to
feel it being the fifth such
moment in our history.  Not that you can
define these moments as
belonging to the history of the Moon Kingdom.  What
we are now is a
totally different aspect, indeed."
	"It changes nothing."

Setsuna nodded slightly, looking up at Usagi.  The younger
girl had tears
running down her face as she stared aside at Setsuna.

	"There are other
reasons you brought me back.  To 'kill me',
you said.  What do you mean,
suicide?"
	"No.  To kill yourself.  there is another version of you on
the
loose."
	"Another version of me?"
	"Hmm.  One immeasurably more powerful
than you have previously
been.  I wondered if, in some manner, your spirit
was able to
reincarnate itself, regenerating your bodily cells.  Thats why
I
came to the hospital, to see if you were still here.  I must admit
to
being a little surprised when I found your body untouched."
	"Then who the
hell is this 'other' me?"
	"Oh, it is YOU, alright."
	"Eh?  But I'm here.
I'm here, now."
	"Yes, indeed you are.  But you are also elsewhere."
	"I'm
getting very confused."
	"So am I.  The soul that inhabits your body is the
same as the
one that inhabits the other Usagi.  There is a difference,
though.
The powers that are contained within her body are not simply
those
of Serenity."  Setsuna rubbed her chin and looked thoughtful.
"Ah,
its all becoming clear to me now."
	"I wish it was becoming clear to
me."
	"I knew he might make an appearance on the scene again.  I
wonder if
he planned this from the beginning?"
	"Who?"  Usagi stood.  Setsuna was
lost in thought for a few
moments more, then looked back at Usagi.
	"I'm
going visit an old acquaintance of yours.  Meanwhile, I
would make an
attempt to leave this hospital immediately.  Please be
most circumspect
about it.  I'm quite sure everyone here knows who
you are and what you look
like now.  It would be most unfortunate if
you were to get involved with
the law right at this moment."
	"Wait...  Where am I going to..."  Usagi
stood and reached 
forward, but was too late.  Setsuna faded rapidly away.
Usagi was 
left standing alone in the middle of the shower-room.
	"What am
I supposed to do now?"  Usagi clenched her fists and
stood on her toes,
angrily.  "Mooouuu....  Setsuna no BAKA!"


	Ami shuffled along the
streets.  She didn't know how far she'd
gone.  But she was a long way from
the Shrine, and that was all that
mattered to her.

	It didn't really seem
to matter how far she went.  A dark
cloud was pursuing her, raining guilt
upon her freely.  The further
she plodded, the more rain that fell.

	Then
someone plowed into her, and she went sprawling across
the ground.  The
small bag of clothes she'd been carrying fell
some distance away as she
quickly lifted herself up.

	"BAKA!  What the HELL do you think your
doing?"  She noticed
that the person who had run into her looked familiar.
It was the
woman who had questioned her at the scene of Usagi's death!
"Ki...
Kikotsuka-kyanchou?"  The older woman sat up, her face a mask
of
surprise.
	"You!  We must RUN.  Get OUT of this CITY.  Its HERE."
	"Wait
a minute...  Whats here?  What are you talking about?
Are you feeling
alright?"
	Aoi looked at Ami for a few moments as the young girl moved
to
her.  She appeared to be confused, trying to order her thoughts.
"Mizuno...
Ami?"  She croaked.
	"Hai, ma'am."  Ami helped Aoi to her feet.
	"What is
happening?  Where am I?  how did I get here?"
	"You ran into me, ma'am."

"I what?  I did what?"
	"You ran into me.  Neither of us would have been
looking."
	Aoi shook her head, as if trying to clear it.  Then she took
Ami
by the shoulders, staring at her beseechingly.
	"YOU must get out of this
city.  Your life is in danger."
	"What?"  Ami was a little frightened by
Aoi's earnest
expression.  The older woman gritted her teeth.
	"Your
friend, Tsukino Usagi.  She is NOT dead."
	"NANI?"  Ami's jaw dropped.

"She arrived at her parents' house this morning, whilst we
were there.
Only it wasn't her.  Not the girl WE know...  YOU know.
She killed everyone
at the station.  I mean most of everyone.  I
could see it happening.  I
could see into her mind.  She tried to
do the same to me, but I
resisted...."
	"Waitaminute, hold on here...  You're trying to tell me
that
Usagi is alive, and some kind of monster?"
	"Yes.  I think so.  At
least, that is what I felt.  She wants
to kill you.  Kill us all.  She has
the power to do it now.  There's
nothing we can do about it.  We've got to
get away from this city."

	Visions of Usagi plunging her fingers into her
chest and
blowing it out struck Ami once more.  If Usagi really WAS
alive,
and out for their blood, then they helped to make the vision
come
true....  Ami shook her head, her cool, calculating side coming to
the
fore.
	"Look, even if we were to run from this city, she'll come
after
us."
	"Easy for YOU to say.  I wasn't involved in having her
killed,
SAILORMERCURY!"  Ami looked surprised.  Aoi just grinned, or
at
least grimaced.  "Yes, I know who and what you are, and what
you've
done.  Don't ask me HOW I know.  There's this little birdy
that
keeps whispering things to me."  Aoi spun a finger in the air
and
began to quiver uncontrollably.
	Ami shook the woman.  "Get a hold of
yourself."  Aoi simply
laughed bitterly.
	"Innocent little schoolgirls, eh?
 You're still capable of
killing even your own kind.  But then, you've had
lots of practice
at killing, haven't you?  All those daimons, youmas,
cardians.
They were a form of sentient life, even if just servants.  I
bet
you didn't even lose a moment's sleep over them...."

	Ami slapped the
woman, gritting her teeth.  Aoi took a few
steps back, putting a hand to
her face.
	"DON'T PRESUME TO UNDERSTAND US OR WHAT WE STAND FOR!"  Ami
took
a few deep breaths.  "Ultimately, in the end, everything we
have done has
been for the benefit of everyone.  Even YOU."
	"I'm sorry..."  Aoi
whispered.  "I didn't mean..."
	"Now listen to me."  Ami continued.  "Tell
the others what
you have told me.  You know where most of them will be, at
the
Hikawa Shrine.  I take it you know where that is?"
	Aoi nodded mutely.

"Very well.  Now, I shall check the hospital.  If Usagi's
body is gone,
like you say, then I will believe you are telling
the truth...."
	"It IS
the truth.  The entire station went up in a fireball.
Even out here, you
would have heard it go off."
	"Um...  I was a little... distracted.
Anyway, we don't have
the time to waste.  If she is after us, then we must
hurry."
	Aoi nodded.  Ami pointed back along the road.  "That way.
The
shrine is in that direction."
	Aoi nodded again and took off, still holding
her hand to her
face.  Ami swallowed for a moment and picked up her bag.

"If you are alive, Usagi...."  She muttered to herself.  "You
won't be
taking me.  Not that way.  I won't let the vision come
true."  A grim
expression crossed Ami's face.  Then she took off,
transforming into
Sailormercury as she did so.  It made the journey
easier, bounding over
buildings as she did so.


	Minako was starting to get worried.  She'd
searched the shrine
grounds for ten minutes, but Ami was nowhere to be
seen.  By this
time, both Rei and Makoto were awake, wondering what she was
up to.
They didn't seem to worried that Ami wasn't around until
Minako
voiced her fears about Ami losing her nerve.  Rei
appeared
particularly concerned about it, flying into a verbal tirade
that
woke both Naru and Chibiusa.  Minako decided at that point to leave
in
search for Ami.  Anything was better than watching Rei go through
one of
her apaplectic seizures.

	Strange that Chibiusa should still have been
Chibiusa and not
Chibinaru.  She thought that, what with Naru now being the

Princess...  Of course, it was just as likely that she would have
been
named Chibiusa anyway.  Surely a time paradox was in the offing
here.  The
girl's hair had transformed into brown curls as soon as
Usagi had been
dealt with....  Now they were pink again....  Maybe
they were meant to be
pink to begin with.  No matter how much she
tried to rationalise things,
she had the sinking feeling that there
was something VERY wrong about these
turns of events.

	At first, she thought Ami might have sought solace in
the
comforting surroundings of school.  Well, where else would Ami
go?
Home?  Hardly likely.  Despite the vast library that it
contained,
Ami's house was a cruelly cold place to live in.  It would
have
driven Minako mad in the first five minutes had she been made to
live
there.

	However, none of the students Minako had spoken to had seen
Ami at
all.  When they asked her why she thought Ami might have been
at school the
day after what had happened to Usagi, she merely said
that Ami had gone
missing, and might be in the mood to do something
stupid.  Before she knew
what was happening, she had half the school
emptied looking for Ami.  Not
the best of situations, but at least
if she was wandering the streets,
she'd be found.

	Shortly after leaving the school grounds, she heard
what
sounded like a distant explosion.  Whatever it was upset all
the
animals in the district.  Birds flew out of trees, dogs barked,
the
full gamut of emotions they usually went through when upset.  A
bit
like how things were before and after an earth tremor.  She even saw
a
column of smoke rising to the east.  Maybe a terrorist attack by
some loopy
group like Aum Shin Rikyo or something like that.  One of
thses days, she
thought, we'll have to sweep up dumb bastards like
that.  Unfortunately,
there wasn't an acid bath big enough for them
all.

	Chiding herself for
her sudden turn of nastiness, she went to
the library and looked for Ami
there, only to find a dozen other
students had already tried.  She was now
sitting on the steps,
leaning her chin on her knees wondering what to do
next, when Hotaru
came running towards the front doors, passing her by, not
seeing.

	"Hotaru-chan?"  Minako stood and Hotaru turned.
	"Mina-chan?
You've already looked here for her, I take it?"
	"Me and about half the
school."
	Hotaru looked downcast.  "Has anyone contacted her mother, 
yet?
It might be an idea."
	"I'm not sure.  I think some of the students went to
the head
office of the school."  Minako cleared her throat.  "I get
the
feeling that I may have started something here.  It might not be
for
the best if we have so many people looking for her."
	"Why?  She might
do something stupid."
	"Thats what I'm afraid of."  Minako stared off into
space,
then looked back at Hotaru when her line was followed by
silence.
The smaller girl (gee, she's not looking so small now, she
thought)
was staring at her quizzically.  Minako grabbed Hotaru by the
arm
and dragged her away from the front stairs into a small garden
section
off to one side.

	"Wha....  What's this for?"
	"Look, I can't argue about
this in a place like the front
steps of the loacl library."  Minako found
her lips had suddenly
gone dry.  She was feeling very self-concious at the
moment, looking
about for anyone who might be watching.
	"You're worried
she may give the game away, aren't you?"
	Minako turned to the girl, then
nodded, silently.  Hotaru
let out a bitter laugh.
	"I was going to talk to
her about this very subject.  I'm not
entirely feeling right about it
myself."
	"Then I suggest you feel right about it VERY quickly."
	"Is that
meant to be a threat?"
	Minako put up her hands placatingly.  "Hotaru-chan,
you know
what will happen if all this gets out.  We'll be in a right fix."

"I know.  And I don't like it.  I don't have to like it.  I'm
not simply
going to give away my allegiances to whomsoever may be
in control simply
because they have the 'senshi stamp of 
guarentee'."
	"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU
VOICE YOUR OPINION....  Ahem...  Why
didn't you voice your opinion
beforehand, when you had an
opportunity."
	"Nobody ever explains anything
to me.  I just followed along
with things cos thats always been my way.
When I DID try to say
something, everyone had already made their decision.
You weren't
listening to me.  You NEVER listen to me."
	"WHAT ARE YOU
TRYING TO SAY?  THAT WE WERE IGNORING YOU?"
	"YES, I AM TRYING TO SAY THAT.
 WHAT WE DID WAS WRONG, AND
YOU'RE TRYING TO HUSH IT UP!"
	"DON'T JUDGE ME
BY YOUR STANDARDS.  EVEN IF YOU FELT THIS
WAY YOU STILL DID NOTHING.
NOTHING!  YOU COULD HAVE STOPPED ALL
OF THIS AND YET YOU DID NOTHING!  YOU
THINK ANYONE IS GOING TO
STAND UP TO YOU WHEN YOU BECOME SATURN, EH?  WELL
DO YOU?"
	"A LOT OF EFFING GOOD BEING THAT HAS DONE ME!  AT LEAST YOU
GOT
TO BE VENUS.  TRY BEING IN MY SHOES FOR JUST ONE DAY!  DEAL
WITH THE PAINS
AND THE ILLNESSES."
	"WE'RE NOT ARGUING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU STAND UP
TO THE
ROLE OF SATURN, THOUGH, ARE WE?"
	"WHY BRING IT UP THEN, EH?  YOU'RE
LIKE ALL THE OTHERS, YOU'RE
SCARED OF ME.  SCARED OF WHAT I MAY BECOME AND
WHAT I MAY D...."
	Hotaru's face twisted and she gripped her throat.
Minako was
about to pound that face when it turned beetroot red.  Hotaru
began
to cough and splutter, falling to her knees.
	"H..Hotaru-chan...."
Minako reached out her hands as Hotaru
fell back, unable to breathe.  "Oh
Kami-sama...."  She quickly knelt
beside Hotaru and took her head in one
hand.
	"Come on, Hotaru-chan, relax yourself, take a slow breath,
come on."
 Hotaru tried to, but found that difficult.  She felt a
pain building up in
her chest and began to kick and buck, a cold
sweat running across her
forehead.
	"Oh shit, oh hell, oh damn..."  Minako began to panic.
"H...
HELP, SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, HELP!!!"  She cried out loud,
sweating
profusely as Hotaru began to fade.  There was a voice behind her.

"Mina-chan?"  Minako turned and saw Luna and Artemis standing
in the
bushes.  They stared as Hotaru stopped moving, her eyes
glazing over and
her pallour now becoming exceedingly pale.
	"Oh K...  Kami...  I think
she's dying...."  Minako was
quivering now.  "We got into an argument, and
all of a sudden she
started, like this, she...."  Minako felt tears running
from her 
eyes as the two cats slowly stepped to Hotaru's side.  The
girl
was mouthing something.  Luna leaned forward.
	"Its going to be
alright, Hotaru, we'll get you help."  Luna
looked up at Minako.  "Well
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?"  Minako felt
the lash of Luna's tongue and was
about to stand when Hotaru's
voice could be heard.
	"..City...."
	"What is
it, Hotaru-chan?"  Both Luna and Artemis leaned up
to her face.  Hotaru
pointed skywards.
	"The city... is trying to.... grab us..."
	Minako, Luna
and Artemis looked upwards.  To their horror, a
large hole had appeared
above them, tendrils of metal and concrete
descending from it, reaching
down towards them.  Before they could
do anything, the tendrils wrapped
around their bodies and dragged
all four, screaming, into the hole.


Before the library's security guard had come to investigate
what all the
commotion had been behind the bushes, the hole sealed
up, leaving the scene
as quiet as if they'd never been there.

END OF PART 5

Any comments,
criticism and outright abuse should go to 
ayanami@merlin.net.au

I really
mean it when I say I'll use the abuse in the next chapter
of Sailor
Python....  The really good abuse, anyway.  And if anyone
writes "You're
Mother was a Hamster and your Father smells of 
Elderberry", I'll give the
rubber snake award for professional
taunting.  ^_^

DDFA