The fierce blizzard whipped all around Sailor Venus, making her hair stream out behind her and forcing her to squint as she looked ahead. She stepped in front of Sailor Saturn as she helped Sailor Moon sit up, placing herself between them and the massive onyx figure that loomed over them. It stared at her with eyes like cold, dead stars. "Where are we?" She suddenly wondered. "What's going on?" -Does it matter?- A soft voice whispered in her mind. -You know what you have to do.- The black giant was reaching out to her, and Venus suddenly found herself filled with fear and anger. "No!" She shouted. "You can't have them, and you can't have me either. Stay back!" "CRESCENT BEAM!" The golden light streaked towards its target, and the wind increased to a blinding tempo. Venus brought her arms up to shield her face from its bite, but lowered them just as quickly. The blizzard had stopped completely. Without knowing how she got there, she was someplace else. An impossibly long, darkened corridor, it seemed to her, with numerous paths branching off in every direction. "Now where am I?" Venus asked, hoping that the voice would return. But as she asked, there was a massive rumbling and the ceiling above her began to crack apart. She ran. This entire place, whatever it was, seemed to be breaking itself apart. She didn't have long until she was buried. She turned into one of the archways, but found herself in a corridor identical to the one she was just in. Sailor Venus continued to run, trying to escape the destruction she heard behind her. Far, far off in the distance, a faint blue light appeared. Putting all she had left into it, she sprinted towards that light, her only sign that escape might be possible. It grew brighter and brighter as she drew closer, and she reached her hand out, sure she would find it's source in just a moment. Without warning, Venus was pulled to a halt. Someone had appeared behind her and was holding her back in a grip of iron. She struggled, flailing with fists and feet as she tried to escape, but to no avail. There was a terrible crack from the ceiling directly above her, and she looked up to see a mass of broken stone falling... "NO!" Minako gasped, bolting upright in bed with her arms raised to protect her head. She looked around, breathing heavily. Her room was dark. A glance at her alarm clock told her that it was not yet three in the morning. "Minako?" Artemis muttered blearily from his position at the foot of her bed. "What's going on?" "Oh...nothing Artemis." Minako whispered. "I just had a dream. Go back to sleep." Snores indicated that the cat had already done so. Minako laid her head upon her pillow and stared up at the ceiling. She placed her hand over her heart. It was still beating fast. The dream again...but it was a lot more vivid this time. It didn't feel at all like an ordinary dream. Minako smiled a bit at herself and turned over on her side. Silly girl. Weird dreams were to be expected when she was stressed, and she certainly was stressed. Prophetic visions were the domain of Rei and Setsuna, and occasionally Mamoru. And if Tachyon could block Rei's visions and Setsuna's abilities, how could Minako be seeing the future? Moments later, she was dreaming again, this time a far more pleasant dream that featured Ami quite heavily. ------------------- The dawn's light crept through Rei's window, falling over Makoto's eyes and making her stir with a small groan. When she found she couldn't move enough to escape the irritating shine, she cracked her eyes open. The brunette girl felt a flash of surprise at finding herself slouched on a floor rather than at home in bed, but it passed quickly. She smiled a bit as she heard the muffled snores directly above her. -That's right.- She thought silently. -I'm still at Rei's house.- Last night, after everyone else had gone, Usagi, Rei and herself had stayed until very late, watching Rei's impressive anime collection, talking and laughing far into the night. A somewhat frantic call from Usagi's father sent her scurrying for home, leaving Makoto and Rei alone. At that point, Rei could barely keep her eyes open and Makoto was feeling rather wiped herself. Faced with the choice of staying there or taking the long, cold walk back to her apartment, she opted to stay. She and Rei talked for a few minutes more, but Rei had soon fallen asleep, and Makoto had done the same without even realizing it. And now here she was. Her feet and hands were freezing, she was shivering and there was a horrible crick in her neck from sleeping slumped against Rei's bed all night. -Well,- she mused as she stretched out and tried to get some circulation back in her hands, -it's not all bad. And it's not like I haven't slept in worse positions.- She sat up and faced the bed. There was Rei, her face the only part of her that was visible after burrowing down into the blankets. Makoto smiled softly at the sight. Even around her closest friends, there was sort of an edge to Rei's features, a sign of her sharp tongue and wicked temper. Asleep, however, she was completely relaxed. Makoto thought she looked very serene and elegant in her sleep. As she watched, Rei stirred restlessly and clenched her eyelids shut before cracking them open. "Mako-chan?" She muttered blearily. "Are you still here? Go and feed the owl, the party's starting in an hour." Without waiting for an answer, Rei turned around, hunching down under her blankets and yanking a pillow over her face with a loud snore. Makoto rolled back onto the floor and pressed her hands against her lips, shaking with gales of soundless laughter. When she had recovered from her giggling fit, the brunette girl stood and began walking around the room silently, so as to not wake Rei. She was fully awake now, and stood little chance of getting back to sleep again, even if there had been a bed available. Makoto sat at Rei's desk very gingerly, to avoid making the chair squeak. Unable to help herself, she began poking through the drawers, reasoning that she was unlikely to see anything *really* secret...it wasn't her dresser, after all. The first drawer contained paper, pens and a calligraphy kit. Makoto took out one of the practice sheets and held it up to the light. As expected, Rei was quite good. The top item in the second drawer was a framed photograph of a beautiful, dark haired woman who looked hauntingly like Rei. "Her mother." Makoto whispered, and felt a familiar pang in her chest as she looked from the picture to the slumbering girl. Though she'd never told anybody, Makoto had always felt that a certain bond existed between Rei and herself. Both of them knew what it was like to cope with the death of a parent. Rei was probably the only one of the Sailor Senshi who could understand that sense of loss and fear when the pillars that support a child's entire life are suddenly and violently torn away. Despite that, they'd never really spoken about it. It just...wasn't the sort of thing they would discuss with one another. Makoto traced a fingernail around the smiling woman's face, wondering how often Rei looked at this picture. And if it ever made her cry, the way Makoto's few pictures of her parents still did sometimes. Makoto slipped the photo back into place and closed the drawer. She turned in the chair, facing the sleeping Rei with her arms crossed over her chest. She had a lot of stormy emotions towards the Senshi of Fire, and she was struggling to work them out. One of the things Makoto longed for more than anything in the world was to be in love, to find that one person that she could share her life with. She'd always sort of assumed it would be a guy...but she knew it could be another girl, as well. She smiled with a small blush as she remembered her intense, though thankfully short, crush on Haruka. So she *could* be in love with Rei, she had to admit that. But was she, really? She shook her head irritably. No, the real question was, was it even worth thinking about? Probably not. She rested her chin in her palm, her fingers tapping against her lips. No...her feelings were probably just a little skewed by recent events. Ami and Minako's growing romance had really sparked the idea of falling for another Senshi in Makoto's heart. And then finding out that Rei was in love with Michiru...well, Makoto would be lying if she said that her heart hadn't skipped a beat when she realized Rei liked girls. But really...that didn't do a lot to increase Makoto's chances with Rei. Rei knew it was a hopeless cause, but until she was ready to move on, her heart was occupied. And Makoto had matured just a little too much to like the idea of trying to snatch Rei up while she was on the rebound. The Senshi of Thunder stood up quietly, her eyes closed and a small smile on her face. That's right...it was really best that this stopped here, before it had a chance to develop into anything that would cause problems. She made her way to the door and pulled on her shoes and coat. As Makoto slid the door open, she glanced back at Rei, smiling sadly as she watched the girl curl tighter beneath her sheets in response to the cold draft that wafted in. "It's better this way." She said to herself, turning away. And though there wasn't a sound as the door behind her slid shut, she could almost hear something slamming closed, deep inside herself. ------------------- Tachyon wove through the black stalagmites that dotted Lady Meson's control chamber, her violet hair gleaming in the ghastly white light emitted by the ceiling and floor. She was humming under her breath, an eager smile on her face as she danced through the wide cavern. In the center of the chamber Meson herself waited patiently, her arms crossed over her chest. Hadron was sending a contingent from the capital world, and though she was not looking forward to enduring such company, she was ready to meet it. Tachyon was here because she had made a request of Lord Hadron, and what she had requested would be coming through the portal as well. The three largest pillars of stone began to pulse with a sullen red light. Sparks of crimson light flared from the tips of each, flashing out into lines of red energy that formed a triangle in the air. Red light filled the area between the stalagmites, creating a solid crimson field. Vague dark forms began to take shape within that light. "They're here, they're here!" Tachyon sang excitedly, dashing over to stand at Meson's side, bouncing up and down. Meson said nothing, just gazing at the opening portal with a bland expression on her dusky features. There were three figures within the red light, and as they stepped out of it they took solid shape, three ominous figures, wrapped closely in black, hooded robes. The center one, so stooped that it looked bent almost double, stepped forward. Meson did not bother to hide the sneer of distaste that appeared on her face. "Lady Meson." The voice that come out of the hood was harsh and croaking. "Lord Hadron sends his greetings." "I see." Meson said disdainfully. Hadron knew her feelings towards his Black Cultists, his personal cadre of sorcerers. They were fanatics all, zealots culled from across his entire empire who worshipped Hadron as a god. Though Meson couldn't question their unswerving loyalty or dispute their usefulness, she simply found them intensely unpleasant to be around. "Where are they?" Tachyon called out impatiently, stomping one tiny foot and looking expectantly at the portal. The lead Cultist turned from Meson and bowed to Tachyon, its head almost touching the ground due to its twisted posture. "They are coming Lady Tachyon." The daeva croaked. "Two more of our number are transporting them and keeping them locked in stasis." It's hood turned back to Meson. "You will be able to keep them safely until they are to be used?" Meson waved a hand dismissively. "Tachyon will see to their keeping in her own dwelling here." Meson was glad for the fact that Tachyon, like Gluon, had found a base of operations outside of this series of caves. The creatures she had asked for would more than likely prove very disruptive to the daeva being housed here. "Ah." At that moment, forms appeared in the portal once again. Two more Cultists emerged, flanking a darkened sphere of fiery orange. Hovering within the sphere were four small figures that appeared to be struggling to escape. "My Furies!" Tachyon moaned eagerly and ran forward, pressing her hands against the sphere and peering inside. She giggled wildly and waved to the creatures imprisoned within. "Oh, we're going to have *so* much fun." She murmured soothingly. "Let's go!" She said to the two daeva controlling the sphere. The Cultists turned their hoods to the leader. "Go...follow Lady Tachyon and see to the Furies' containment, then find us again." The twisted figure turned its hood upward to observe Meson. "Lady, you have found a suitable location to perform the final spells of the ritual?" "Of course." Meson said shortly. "I will send for a daeva who will show you the way." "Lord Hadron is most eager to begin preparations immediately." The Cultist croaked disapprovingly. "It would be better if you brought us to this place at once..." Its voice cut off in a gasp. Quicker than thought Meson had seized the front of its robes and spun around, lifting it off the floor and hurling it into a stalagmite. It coughed and spluttered, trying to catch its breath, but fell completely silent as a long, black blade suddenly appeared against its neck. The broad blade had extended from the top of Mesons wrist and over her hand, allowing her to feel the vibration of the Cultist's pulse traveling up the weapon as she held the flat of it against the thing's neck. She smiled in satisfaction. "You will *never* give me anything that sounds even vaguely like an order." She said softly. "Only Hadron can direct me. While you are here, you are *my* servant. And you will wait on my convenience." "I do not fear death or you, Meson." The Cultist croaked defiantly. "I serve Hadron faithfully." "How commendable of you." With a curled lip, she turned the blade and swept it right through black-clad neck of the daeva. Its head tumbled out of the hood and into its lap, and Meson used its robe to wipe the yellowish ichor from her blade before retracting it back into her sleeve. She stood straight once again. The chamber was silent, save for Tachyon's soft giggles. The Furies within the orb were moving violently in response to the blood that had been spilled, and their keepers were having trouble keeping it steady. "You." Meson pointed at one of the free Cultists. "Help them." Without a word the Black Cultist aided his companions in keeping the Furies under control. Meson regarded the other robed figure. "Can you begin the preparations alone?" "Yes, Lady Meson." This one's voice was deep, almost musical. "Then go. There is a daeva outside who will lead you to the place I selected. And tell him to summon another to clean this place." "Yes, Lady Meson." He left, and a moment later so did the others, following Tachyon. The red light of the portal faded completely away, and Meson vanished into the deeper recesses of the cavern, leaving the headless daeva to sit alone. ------------------- ***ATTENTION*** We interrupt your regularly scheduled fanfic for an educational moment with LEAVE IT TO MERCURY! Dressed once again in lab coats, Mercury and Venus step out in front of a blackboard. Venus huddles behind Mercury, who adjusts her glasses with an embarrassed look. Venus: Meson is scary! (she shudders) Mercury: She's sure not very nice. But, that's not why we're here! We're here to talk about the cave. Venus: The cave? Mercury: That's right! (she quickly draws a sketch of a rather toothy cave on the board) These are the most common cave formations most people ever see. They're called stalactites and stalagmites. Venus: (lifts her hand) I've seen those! (she scratches her head) Where do they come from? Mercury: Good question! They're actually made from drips! You see, when there's place in the cave where water is allowed to drip down, each drop leaves a tiny little mineral particle behind on the ceiling where it falls from and the floor where it lands. Over time, they form these pillars of stone. Venus: Wow, that must take a long time! Mercury: That's right! Thousands and thousands of years sometimes. The worlds biggest stalactite is in Nerja, Spain and is over 63 meters long! Venus: I can't ever remember which one is which. Mercury: Oh, that's easy! StalaCTITES have to hold TIGHT to the ceiling, or they'll fall. StalaGMITES MIGHT hang from the ceiling, but they don't. Mercury: (bows politely) That's it for now! Thank you for tuning in. We now return to the story. Venus: (Jumps up and tries to yank Mercury off camera) Mercury: What are you doing? Venus: We're supposed to be mussed up for the next scene, remember? We need to hurry if we're going to get nice and mussy. Mercury: (blushes and lets Venus pull her away) ------------------- Ami was sitting cross-legged on her bed, reading a book. Minako's head was in her lap, her eyes closed as she smiled up at the blue-haired girl. Every so often Ami's hand would slip down to caress Minako's cheek, and Minako would open her eyes and look fondly at Ami. Auruptly, Ami's stomach growled loudly. Minako opened her eyes with a giggle. "Wow." She said. Ami blushed and closed her book, looking down. "I woke up too late for breakfast this morning." She said with a chuckle. "Now see...I would have stayed for breakfast anyway." Ami poked the blonde Senshi's nose and Minako squeaked playfully. "That's why you're late so often." Minako shrugged carelessly. "'Breakfast is the golden pillar of the day.'" She quipped. Ami blinked and was about to say something when her stomach growled again. Minako laughed and sat up facing her. "You want to go get something to eat? We could head to the Crown Parlor and get some ice cream." "That sounds good." Ami smiled and nodded, swinging her feet over the side of her bed. She blinked as Minako handed her a tube of lip balm. "Your lips are chapped." Minako said teasingly. Ami smiled and took the tube. "Well you're just lucky you always wear your hair down." She said, reaching over and pushing Minako's hair back to look at her handiwork. "That's a good one this time." She murmured. Minako blushed and clapped her hand to her neck. "If you keep doing that you're gonna give me a permanent mark." She said, sticking her tongue out. "Okay, I'll stop." Ami said easily, handing the balm back to Minako, who grinned. "Now I didn't say that, did I?" Ami laughed softly and leaned over to brush her lips against Minako's before standing. A few minutes later found them on the street below, heading to Crown. They walked apart, and though Minako's hand itched to touch Ami's, she resisted the urge. - Soon.- She kept telling herself. -Soon.- They passed the doors to the arcade, waving at Motoki as they passed by on the way to the stairs to the parlor above. As they passed the windows of the arcade, however, something inside caught Minako's eye, and she stopped, looking inside. Ami paused and looked back. "Mina-chan?" A small pink flush and a smile had formed on Minako's face. "That would be too cute..." She felt around in her purse for change and nodded. She turned back to Ami. "Go on ahead...I'll be right up!" "What's up?" Ami asked curiously, walking back to look inside as well. Minako pushed herself against the window and spread her arms out, blocking her girlfriend's view. "Oh no...it's a surprise!" She winked and Ami smiled softly and nodded. "Okay, but don't be too long." She went upstairs and Minako dashed inside to the crane machine, quickly becoming so engrossed that she failed to notice the five familiar figures that passed by the window on the way up to the parlor. ------------------- Unazuki wasn't working that afternoon, so Ami just found an empty booth and took a seat, passing an order for a large sundae to a waiter as he walked by. She rested her cheek in her palm and tapped the napkin holder with a straw, hoping that Minako would come up quickly. "Ami-chan!" The chirpy voice came from behind her and she was half- turned in her seat before she realized it wasn't Minako. "Oh...hi Usagi-chan!" She tried to smile as she saw the pigtailed girl bounce towards her followed by Makoto, Rei, Mamoru and Chibi-Usa. "Are you here by yourself?" Chibi-Usa asked, approaching the table. "Um...yes, I just..." At that moment the waiter returned with a massive chocolate sundae. "Here you go miss!" "Thank you." She smiled at the departing waiter through clenched teeth. "You're going to eat that by yourself?" Makoto asked incredulously. "I don't even think Usagi could do that!" "Yeah, I couldn't even...hey wait!" Usagi stuck her tongue out at Makoto. Ami managed to recover from her stumble. "I...was going to say, I just left Minako downstairs. She'll be up in a minute." -And then God help us all...- She added mentally, casting a pleading glance at Mamoru, who smiled understandingly. He touched Usagi's sleeve lightly. "Usako, let's go get a table on the other side..." Mamoru put a hand to the side of his head with a rueful look. "I've got a headache and I want to stay out of the sunlight." Usagi promptly melted a little bit and gently reached up to stroke Mamoru's brow. "Oh, Mamo-chan...you should have said you weren't feeling well!" She and Chibi-Usa began to fawn over him at the same time, while he shrugged helplessly at Ami. Makoto and Rei, meanwhile, had been grinning ever since Ami had mentioned that Minako was there, and it was getting under her skin. "Shouldn't you still be in bed?" She asked Rei pointedly. Rei's face darkened. "Staying in bed was making me sick...as long as I don't try to push or lift anything, I'm fine. The only thing I've done today that hurt was knocking Yuuichirou out of the way so I could get out of there." "I see..." Ami glanced over at the door, now praying that Minako would take her time. She was afraid that the blonde Senshi of Love would not react well to this sudden intrusion. ------------------- "Oh come *on* you stupid cheating thing!" Minako snapped, kicking the crane game irritably. One of her prizes already sat next to the control panel, and she was swiftly running out of change trying to get the second. She kissed her second to last coin and put it into the machine. To her delight, her target lifted into the air, and she hunched over the joystick, whispering desperately. "That's it, come on, come on...good machine, I didn't mean it, you're not stupid. Please, please...YES!" She eagerly snatched up both her prizes and darted upstairs to the cafe. She skidded to a halt in the doorway as she saw the crowd gathered around Ami's table, however. But before she could dart out of sight, Chibi-Usa was waving at her. "Hi, Minako-chan!" She forced a smile and held one hand behind her back as she waved, hiding the prizes she had just won. -Oh great...now what?- She thought desperately as she slowly approached the throng. "Hi guys!" She smiled brightly. "How's it going?" "Oh we're fine." Makoto said with a sly smile. "What kept you so long?" Minako waved dismissively. "Oh...I just saw..." She stopped, looking at Ami's face. She was smiling, but there was a sad sort of look growing in her eyes. That look made the lie she was planning to tell wither and die on her tongue. It was one of those tense, frozen moments that seemed to drag on forever. Minako's hands began to tremble and her heart climbed up her throat as her thoughts began to war upon themselves. She looked at Mamoru, who was sitting in the next booth and looking a little embarrassed as Usagi massaged his temples for some reason. She felt a sudden stab of longing for the freedom they had to display their feelings so openly. She saw Makoto and Rei trying unsuccessfully to hide a knowing grin, and flushed with sudden irritation. Finally, she looked back at Ami and saw once again the sadness in her eyes. And there was...nervousness there, as well. The blonde girl's hand tightened around the toys she held behind her back. Anger at her own stupidity rose up to choke her. Was she really so bad about the whole thing that Ami was afraid to see what would happen if she was confronted like this? And hadn't she promised? What was the matter with her? WHAT WAS HOLDING HER BACK? Nothing. "I just saw something I wanted..." She said, trying to stop her voice from shaking as she reached back with her freehand and pulled out a cute little Sailor V plush. "Oh that's CUTE." Chibi-Usa gushed. "Are you going to put it with your other Sailor V stuff?" "A...actually..." She held out her other hand, revealing a Sailor Mercury plush. She walked closer to Ami, who looked up at her with a surprised, almost disbelieving look. "This one's mine...I thought you might want this one..." She set the Sailor V plush on the table in front of the blue haired girl, who slowly closed her hands around it. Without another word, Minako bent over the table and pressed her lips to Ami's. Ami stiffened in shock for just a moment, but quickly returned the kiss. Minako pulled her head back a bit and opened her eyes, a little surprised to see a tear sliding down Ami's smiling face. "Thank you." She whispered. Minako just smiled fondly and winked in response before straightening up. The area directly around the two of them had suddenly become very, very quiet. ------------------- AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, the first of the new batch! My New Year's Resolution begins! I hope nobody minds the Omake, but I thought the scene transition needed a little softening. The 20th chapter...for me, that's quite a milestone! I'm just sorry I had so many false starts finishing this one. Thanks for reading, everyone! Sailormoon and all it's characters belong to their owners. All other characters belong to me. I'm making no profit from their use. So don't sue me...I have NOTHING.
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