Hana to the Rescue First, they were taken by separate squad cars to the station. Then, they went through the booking process. Next, they were interviewed separately by detectives. But it wasn't until the cage doors clanked shut that it finally hit Ami that she was actually in jail. After fighting a whole host of intergalactic monsters, she found it strange that she was feeling a great amount of apprehension about the situation. Sailor Mercury couldn't bring herself to look at her companions. She just shuffled over to the bunk and sat down on the lower bed, studying her feet in embarrassment. She had never been in jail before. Despite that she had only been in her cell for less than a minute, Mercury was finding the entire affair to be humiliating. Cold gray concrete floor and dull cinder block walls and the thick cage doors were all she could see. Or rather, all she would have seen if she bothered to look up. She felt the mattress shift as Sailor Mars sat down next to her. She put her arm around Mercury's shoulder and said, "First time, huh?" She nodded slowly as she started to take an interest in her own hands. She was just about to reply when it registered what Mars had said. Mercury finally looked at her and said, "This isn't your first time?" The Martian senshi giggled, then replied, "Heck, no! Me, Makoto, Haruka, and Minako all got busted back during senior year of high school for, uh . . ." She stopped talking a moment as her cheeks turned red. She took her hand away from Mercury's shoulder and started rubbing the back of her head. "Well, this is sorta embarrassing." Mercury blinked, then spread her arms out a bit, indicating the cell, saying, "And this isn't?" Sailor Pluto's voice came from the bunk above them like the voice of a reassuring god. "The authorities actually had a good reason to arrest us. Vigilantism is a crime." As she continued, Sailor Pluto actually sounded amused. "However, the reason I had to pick them up was totally uncalled for. Shall I tell her the story or do you want to do it?" Mars sighed. "Well, me, Makoto, and Minako were all out for a night on the town. You know, girls' night out kinda thing, right? Harmless fun. Couple of beers were had by all." She scoffed at the memory, then amended, "Well . . . maybe more than a couple." When Sailor Mars saw Mercury's shocked expression she said, "What? Don't tell me you actually waited to toss back a few until you were legal." Her teacher mode kicked in as she crossed her arms and glared at the other woman. "Underage drinking is illegal." Not realizing that she didn't answer the question, Mars shrugged and said, "Well, um . . . that's why we didn't invite you. We thought you'd . . . ya know, stop us. So anyway, we were totally smashed. I mean stumbling, giggling, double vision, drunk. It was downright embarrassing. So we decided to take the subway home. Trying to be good, responsible drinkers." Pluto's voice added, "But you three were so drunk that you got off on the wrong stop." Sailor Mars jumped up and glared at the woman on the top bunk. "I'm telling this story!" Then she sat back down next to Sailor Mercury again and said, "Pay no attention to her, Ami. Everyone gets drunk at least once in their life." Mercury and Pluto said at the same time, "Really? I haven't." Mars sighed and decided to ignore them. "We got off in . . ." She turned a darker red that rivaled every fiery attack she had ever formed as she incoherently mumbled the last part. A slight pink color tinted her cheeks as Sailor Mercury sat up a bit straighter and said, "I'm sorry? I did not quite hear the last part. Did you just say . . ." It was clear from the outer planetary Senshi's voice that she was smiling. "She said Yoshiwara district." There was a long pause as Mars covered her face and Mercury's cheeks turned a more impressive shade of red. After Pluto's words had fully sunk in, Sailor Mercury smacked Mars on the back of the head and yelled, "What were the three of you doing in a red light district?!" Mars brought her hands up, waving them frantically to ward off Mercury and yelled back, "Come on! We were just a bunch of drunk high school kids who got lost, ok? It could have happened to anyone!" Mercury and Pluto responded with, "It never happened to me." Mars slammed her fist into the underside of Pluto's mattress. "You stay out of this." Pluto's calm voice said, "But this is the best part." Mars looked away from Mercury. "So I called Haruka to pick us up. We did everything we were supposed to Ami, honest. We stayed together in a brightly lit, crowded area and kept out of arm's reach of everyone until she got there." She decided to leave out the details of Makoto beating a man for propositioning her, since she didn't want to get any of them in even more trouble with Ami than they already were. Then she continued her story. "So, Haruka pulls up in her nice yellow sports car and beeps the horn to get our attention. Naturally, we run over. Well, you know how Haruka is. She rolled down the window and in our . . . intoxicated state, we leaned in. So, Haruka says 'Hey kittens, need a lift?' Next thing we know, a police officer is tapping on Haruka's driver side window and we are slammed in the slammer. Haruka for several counts of propositioning minors and us for well, ya know . . . it looked a little bad." She had heard this story from Haruka dozens of times, but for some reason it always made Pluto laugh. This time was no exception. Ignoring her again, Sailor Mars finished her story. "So . . . yeah. Haruka and the rest of us wound up in the cell just down that way until Setsuna could bail us out." She turned to look at the Senshi of water, expecting to see at least some amusement, but all she saw was concern. "Oh come on, Ami. It was over ten years ago now. You can't be mad at us for that today. We were just kids! We --" Sailor Mercury interrupted her. "I'm not upset with you. I'm worried about Makoto. Where is she? Shouldn't they have finished interrogating her by now?" When no one had an answer for her, the tension in her stomach worsened. ---------- At this point in her career, her job kept her doing more administrative work than she liked. So at first, when the call came to her desk asking for her assistance in the emergency room, she jumped at the chance to dust off her stethoscope and do some actual work for a change. Unfortunately, the assistance the E.R. wanted was help with a nice heap load of paperwork, plus a couple of irate police officers and a detective to deal with for an interesting mix. Dr. Mizuno finished filling out the proper forms and handed them back to the registered nurse. Then she turned her attention back to the police officer. "Now let me get this straight. You shot a suspect because they were dangerous to half the police in the city, and now you are upset because one of my nurses had to sedate this person to work on them. I'm sorry, sir, but if the patient is badly injured and in a . . ." she grabbed the clipboard back from the nurse to make sure she read it correctly then continued, "a 'psychotic rage' and 'not capable of rational thought due to possible mental illness', we have no choice but to sedate them so we can protect them from themselves and my staff from them. Your questions will have to wait until after her surgery is complete and all of the drugs are out of her system." The detective rolled his eyes. "Fine. We'll be back in a few hours to pick up our prisoner." Setting the clipboard down, Hana said calmly, "Actually, you are more than welcome to leave a guard or two if you feel such a need, but you will have to return in about three to four days." The dropped jaws of the three men in front of her made her feel she had to elaborate. "The anesthesiologist had to use a surprisingly large dose of a stage three general anesthetic surgical drug to put this woman under, and she will require several surgeries over the next twenty four hours. If you want your answers to be at least coherent, I'm sorry, but you will have to wait three days at least for the drugs to be completely out of her system." When the detective started to protest, she held up her hand and said, "That's it, gentlemen. If you have any more questions you can talk to my superior. However, since he is on a week-long vacation, you will be better off waiting than trying to contact him. If you have any problems, you can talk to Nakamora, who just so happens to be the chief of police and a good friend of mine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some rather pressing work to do." Despite complaints from the detective, Hana turned around and started to walked away in a manner that screamed, 'I'm in charge here, and I'm a serious, powerful woman the likes of which you'd do well not to mess with'. The only downside was that this walk was rather quick, and it meant she would be back at her desk with the mountain of papers. Luckily she was saved by such a fate when another nurse walked quickly up beside her. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Doctor, but your presence is requested in the Emergency Room's waiting area by a rather angry patient." Sighing in frustration as she tried to ignore the migraine she felt coming on, Hana turned back around and headed in the direction the nurse indicated. She couldn't help but wonder if their E.R. staff simply lacked the backbone people had when she worked there. Didn't they realize that this many incidences in a single day that required the assistance of more experienced help would only lead to more inservices and meetings that no one wanted to attend? The sight she saw as she entered made her immediately take back her criticism of the staff. Holding a paramedic by his collars against the wall, was the angriest woman Hana had ever seen. The enraged woman screamed, "I'm not letting any of you so much as touch me until my doctor gets here! Ya hear me?" Hana narrowed her eyes at the back of the woman, then yelled out, "Kino Makoto! Put that man down this instant!" Makoto flinched noticeably at the words, but she still held him for a few seconds, then gave him a rough shake and finally let him slide down the wall before turning to face Hana. A part of Hana found it interesting that Makoto had gone from being furious to totally guilt-ridden in seconds. Makoto still kept a hand pressed against her wound and looked down at it, partially in pain, but mostly to avoid looking into Hana's eyes as she said, "I need your help, Dr. Mizuno, and not just for stitches." ---------- They had passed the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon in relative silence until lunch came. Still transformed as senshi, Rei and Ami sat on the lower bunk and ate, while Setsuna stood on the other side of the room nibbling on hers. Then discussion slowly started back up, revolving around what they were going to do now. "I say we blast our way out! All in favor?" Rei held up her fork after taking another bite of the dreadful food they had been given, then made an irritated grunting sound when neither of her cell mates held up theirs. Ami shook her head. "I don't like it either, but 'blasting our way out' isn't going to improve our reputation with the police, Rei-chan. We need to do this through the legal system. It should be easy to prove that we were being attacked and merely defending ourselves. The forensics and any possible video evidence will show that clearly. We just need to be patient. In a couple of days we -- " Rei shook her fist in the air, wishing for all the world she had something to vent her frustration on. "In a couple of days, you'll be out of a job, grandpa will have a heart attack worrying about where I am, we will be that much farther behind whatever the Sekkou will have done with Makoto by then, and . . . and . . . the police . . . they have Mina. Who knows what she'll tell them." Setsuna leaned on the wall and said thoughtfully, "Rei does have a point, Ami." Ami looked at the two of them in shock. "This is outrageous. We can't just smash our way out. We would hurt too many people. I cannot even believe that the two of you are suggesting it. It is not an option." Setsuna took another bite of the tasteless lunch, then said, "Let me ask you this. Are you hungry, Sailor Mercury?" Ami looked at her empty tray and blushed. She had eaten her food rather quickly. In her defense, she managed to squeak out, "What does that have to do with a jail break?" "I'll answer that with another question. Ever wonder where we all get the energy to turn into senshi?" "Yes, but I still don't . . . see . . ." Ami's eyes darted back and forth as the pieces fell into place. "Are you saying that's why we all have big appetites? Because our transformation power comes from our metabolisms?" Setsuna shrugged. "I don't know for certain. It's never been tested, but it's been my theory since leaving the gates of time." Sounding worried, Rei said, "So how long until we all de-transform and the entire Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department finds out who we are?" "I don't know, and if neither of you wants to find out, I suggest we start trying to find a way to break out with as few casualties as possible." Ami gave the two of them a disapproving look. "We are not going to smash our way out, and that's final. Our identities are not worth killing people over." At first Ami was shocked to hear Setsuna suggest such a rash, half-baked plan, but after the momentary surprise was over and silence once again ruled their group, her mind started to wander. Wander to things Makoto had told her they had heard from Setsuna while Ami had been in the Sekkou's dimension. Memories she wished she could forget came back powerfully, if only for an instant, as the realization that Setsuna was the one who had essentially set her up came crashing into her mind. How could someone who was supposed to be on her side be more rash than that? As realization finally dawned on her, Ami found herself looking at her hands. She opened and closed them a few times, turned them to look at the other side, almost like an infant noticing them for the first time. She shook them a bit, as if she were trying to get something slimy off. "I feel . . . dirty. . . I almost killed someone today. I wanted to kill her, with every fiber in my being. Though when I think about it, I realize that she is not the one responsible for what I went through. She merely did what I would have done in her shoes. Just the work of the devil, not the devil herself. No more, no less." Squeezing her hands into a fist, she continued. "I feel dirty, not because I tried to kill someone, but because I went after the wrong person." Then, with a look in her eyes that secretly scared Rei, Ami started to stand up. Rei grabbed her shoulders and pushed her gently but firmly back down. Once Ami was sitting again, Rei gave her a gentle shake and said, "Come on Ami, snap out of it. Don't you realize who you sound like?" Ami growled, "I'm not going to become a monster, and I'm not going to let you risk harming anyone for our personal gain ever again." Then, just like that, Ami broke, letting the last of the pain that remained deep within her slip out. She turned on her side and covered her face with her hands as she curled up on the bed behind Rei. She didn't make any sound after that, and neither of them could see her face, but the way she shook told Rei and Setsuna she was crying. Setsuna shook her head sadly as she listened, then said, "I'm sorry, Ami. I know it's not enough, but it's all I can say. For what it's worth, I'm truly sorry." Rei pulled the blanket over Ami, then walked over to Setsuna. Under her breath, she mumbled, "Proud of your handiwork?" When Setsuna didn't reply, Rei hissed, "Then let this be a reminder to you that some things just aren't worth it, no matter how damned important you think they are." ---------- Hana left Makoto out in the lobby as she went in to talk to the chief of police. This was mostly because, for the entire drive here, Makoto had gone on and on about how she felt it was her fault Ami and the other two were in jail and how she was going to tear that place apart to get her out. This wasn't a conversation that could be won with threats and shouts. Kaji Nakamora was a big man, standing several inches taller than even Makoto. He was the kind of man that demanded respect from everyone around him. He was also the man you wanted on your side when things went wrong. Kaji sat back in his chair with an exhausted sigh. Then, he put his hands on his desk and said, "Do you realize what you are asking me to do? I can't believe I'm hearing this from you of all people, Hana." "Kaji, you and I have been friends for a long time. You know I wouldn't tell you how to do your job anymore than you would tell me how to do mine. I am simply requesting that you . . . look the other way in this case. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but this isn't as simple as it looks." Rubbing his forehead in frustration, he said, "I know you don't want to hear this, Hana, but if it were up to me, I'd have those three dragged into the street and shot. Honestly, Hana, you really don't know how much of a nuisance these Senshi have been to our department since they first appeared. I want to just lock them up and throw away the key." Hana was about to say something to him, when he held up his hand and started pulling out forms from his desk. "However, it is not up to me. I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Several people in the government who wish to remain anonymous feel that the Senshi are more of a help than they are hindrance, thus, I am being told once again to cover them up, despite numerous witnesses, unexplainable destruction to a busy street, and reporters calling me every hour on the hour for comment. I suppose we will roll out the tired burst steam pipe story again." Hana smiled as he handed her the forms. "Thank you, Kaji. You have no idea how much this means to me." "Don't thank me just yet. I know we go way back, but I'm only doing this because people above me want it done. I'm going to let 'em out since you being here is a good cover story should anything leak to the press. However, you have to post their . . . shall we say . . .somewhat classified bail. Essentially this 'bail money' is going to be used to bribe judges to make this all 'legal'. Knowing all of that, you sure you want to do this?" Hana nodded slowly. Then she pulled out her check book and started filling it out. Kaji added, "Meanwhile, you get the fun responsibility of keeping them under control and out of sight for a while, and I get to explain why they don't have fingerprints, their faces don't appear clearly on film, and why none of my people can give me a description of them. I don't suppose you have an explanation for all of that, do you?" Hana shrugged. "You've got me on that one, chief. I don't know them. I'm just doing this for a patient of mine who swears they saved her life." Kaji glared at her and said, "Come on, I've known you longer than that." When Hana said nothing, he shrugged and said simply, "It's your lie, Hana, you can tell it however you want. Just keep 'em quiet, because next time I don't think I'm going to be able to keep the district attorney off of them should they wind up back in my cell block, puppet judges or no." ---------- At first, the only thing she was aware of was a steady, monotonous beeping sound. It seemed to penetrate the darkness like the rhythmic beating of a drum in the distance. It was giving her a headache. Slowly, the world came back into focus and she was aware of other sounds. A man talked in a hushed voice to another about the coffee in the cafeteria and a question about the dosage for a medication. Feeling started to return to her arms and legs, and it was then that she noticed the throbbing pain in her shoulder. She tried to move, but found she couldn't. So she forced her eyes open. At first, everything was blurry, causing her to groan in irritation and discomfort. As everything came into focus, she saw the face of the man who had been talking. He looked concerned. He should be. Despite being groggy and confused, she was now aware enough to realize she was strapped down. She tugged at one of the restraints with her good arm, making far more noise than she intended. The two medical personnel watched her struggle a few moments, then one of them reached for a hypodermic needle. His companion put a hand on her shoulder and started to drone out words that were meant to calm and comfort her as they started to try to sedate her. Dark Venus would have none of it. ---------- Sailor Mars woke when she felt herself start to fall from her sitting position in the corner. She couldn't remember ever being this bored before. The most interesting thing she had seen since Mercury cried herself to sleep was a small gray spider that crawled across the ceiling and out the cage bars, almost as if saying, 'See? Simple as that'. Sailor Pluto hadn't moved. How the woman could hold that still for so long, Rei wasn't sure. She was just standing there, exactly as before, staring at Ami, lost in her own thoughts. As she watched Setsuna, she started to see something hidden in the tall woman's face. It was difficult to see, but Rei thought she could see guilt painted in her eyes. Rei hadn't thought much about it until now, but this was the first time Setsuna had spent more than a few minutes in the same room as Ami since the Sekkou had first shown up. Perhaps that reason was because deep down, the Senshi of time actually felt guilty for what she had done? Had she been avoiding Ami? Rei stood up and stretched her arms as she thought, 'Most importantly, have I been thinking too much?' Without taking her eyes off Ami, Setsuna asked, "So have you thought of how you are going to deal with the two of them?" Rei joined Setsuna in watching Ami, and said, "Well, I figured I'll just let Ami talk to Makoto about it." Setsuna sighed and said, "Not Yoshiwara district. I mean Mina and Minako. You do not yet realize the problem you have on your hands, Rei Hino." Rei shrugged. "I don't even know where she is, let alone what to do when I find her. She'll probably try to kill us all the moment she sees us. She's not exactly all there, Setsuna. As for Minako, I'd say I'll just continue to avoid her, but I know that's not possible. So I'll just deal with her when I get the chance." After standing in silence again, Sailor Mars asked, "So are we really just going to sit here and wait for them to charge us and find us a lawyer?" Before Sailor Pluto answered, there was a sound from the hallway. The guard was coming to do his rounds. Unlike all the other times Rei had seen him come along, this time he stopped and looked at the three of them for a moment, clearly hesitating. After several tense moments, he said, "Your bail has been posted. You are free to go," then he said into a walkie talkie, "Open cell 4-B". The sudden sound of the doors opening shook Sailor Mercury from her sleep and they made their way out of the cell, following behind the guard. Then, rather than being brought around to the front exit, the man instructed them to follow him to the back of the building. He unlocked an unmarked door and suggested they might want to stay out of trouble as they walked out into the cool night air of the alley behind the police station. Just like that, they were free. It was rather unceremonious at best. As their eyes adjusted to the dark, they noticed they weren't alone. Sounding rather amused, Makoto stepped out of a shadow and into the glow of a nearby street light. "The three of you have a lot of explaining to do." Sailor Mercury walked up to Makoto and gave her as tight a hug as she could and buried her face into her shoulder. "I was worried about you. Where have you been?" "Well . . ." Makoto squeezed Ami back for a moment, then said, "I had to pull some strings to get you out. Um . . . you'll get a better answer when we get to the car." They walked in silence with Makoto in the lead. They didn't have far to go, but the moment Ami saw the car, she froze. She knew this car. "You didn't. That's not . . . is it?" She looked at Makoto, waiting for an answer. When none came, Mercury narrowed her eyes and said, "You have some explaining to do, and not just about Yoshiwara district." Makoto was spared having to answer at the moment when Hana opened the door and ran the short distance to them. "Ami, I . . ." She stopped speaking and slid to a stop in front of them, looking at the three transformed Senshi in confusion. Mars put her hand on her hip and said, "I don't mean to rush anyone, but it's getting late and I've had a bad day. I'd really like to go home now. So, if nothing is wrong can we get going?" Hana looked at the three Senshi for a moment more, then said, "Oh, yes. Of course. I think we will all fit, but it might be a tight squeeze." As they walked back to the car, she glanced at Makoto. "I suppose that answers how you keep your identities a secret. Which one of you is Ami?" Ami tilted her head, rather interested in her mother's comment. "Can you elaborate on what you mean by our manner of keeping our identities secret?" She looked in the direction the voice came from, but wasn't entirely certain if it had been the woman wearing the red uniform or the blue one. Whichever one it was, she knew one thing. One of them was her little girl. Dr. Mizuno said simply, "Prosopagnosia". Rei said, with a hint of sarcasm, "Um . . . Gesundheit?" As she opened the driver side door, Hana said, "It means, that I can't recognize your faces while you are Senshi. I can see your nose, your eyes, your mouth, but I can't place any of it to form a face because something about your Senshi forms blocks the section of my brain that allows me to recognize you. It's quite ingenious, really, and I hope you all will allow me to study it, only for my own personal knowledge of course." As they slid in, Rei said in amusement, "Yeah, Ami can be your personal guinea pig. She's even used to cages now." Just before Hana started to pull away from the curb, her phone started to vibrate on the dashboard. She opened it, and held it to her ear. Before she even acknowledged the person on the other end, they started talking. "Are you sure?" The person on the other end said a few more things, then Hana hung up, tossed the phone into the glove compartment, put the car in drive and slammed her foot on the accelerator despite the fact that they were right behind the police station. Haruka would have been proud. As everyone was slammed back into their seats, Ami de-transformed, then asked, "Mother, what's wrong?" Gripping the steering wheel tight, Hana said, "Makoto told me all about your 'friend' that is in the hospital. I was planning on bringing a few of you by to help me pick her up tomorrow, but apparently she came around earlier than expected from her last surgery, and didn't like the restraints we had her in." Sailor Mars looked at the back of Hana's head and said, "You don't mean . . ." Running right through a red light, Hana said, "Yes. Your renegade Senshi is free in the hospital."
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