Gluon was kneeling on the stone floor of a wide cavern. The floors, walls and ceiling of the chamber glowed a very faint white, giving the entire chamber a ghostly luminescence. This cavern was thick with stalactites and stalagmites, and they did not glow, jutting from the floor and ceiling like black fangs in the otherworldly maw of the cave. It was an oddly beautiful setting, and it was the nerve center of Lord Hadron's empire here on Earth. "You have acted very rashly Gluon." Meson's clipped, military voice rang out from somewhere in front of him. Gluon kept his eyes fixed on the glowing floor and his right arm crossed over his chest. He knew better than to move or respond. "The World Anchors are difficult to produce, and even harder to transport between worlds. Your foolishness cost us one needlessly. And it cost us one of our stronger warriors." Gluon could hear Meson's steps, winding back and forth between the stalagmites. Meson's white clad feet suddenly appeared in Gluon's line of sight, and for the first time he looked up. She was looking down on him, an utterly blank expression on her face. "This is the first time you have been given so much authority and freedom in your duties. So far, Lord Hadron and I are unimpressed." Her booted foot suddenly lashed out and the point caught Gluon right below the chin. The kick threw him onto his back, and he felt blood running from the corner of his mouth. "You will do better." Meson said commandingly. "You're talented Gluon, but you're far from irreplaceable. And those who fail Lord Hadron are replaced very quickly." Gluon found his voice, and he propped himself up on his elbows, nodding. "Yes, Lady Meson." Meson nodded in return and waited for Gluon to rise to his feet. "You'll get another Anchor in four days, Gluon. I strongly advise you to treat this one a little better." Gluon bowed deeply. "Yes, Lady Meson." He paused. "My Lady..." Meson crossed her arms over her chest and cocked an eyebrow. "Gluon?" "May I speak with Tachyon? I would find it far easier to form a plan if I could use her talents to find the best time and place to launch the next attack." Meson's face hardened and Gluon shut his mouth with a snap. "Two things, Gluon. First, her predictions are far from being a detailed map of the future...we're lucky to get the little information we have. Second, her efforts to mask us from detection and her special duties to Lord Hadron leave her no time to save you from botching *your* duties. You'll handle this on your own." She smiled cruelly. "Or you won't." As an afterthought, she added, "If you really can't do this on your own, I'd suggest asking Muon. He's there to help." Her eyes glittered with amusement at the rage she saw surging beneath her servant's calm exterior. "Now, go." Gluon bowed without a word and stepped back into a portal that opened just behind him. When he was gone, a childish giggle echoed through the chamber. "He was so upset..." A childish female voice chimed in happily. "I sort of felt bad for him. Maybe I *could* give him a little help." Meson looked up. "No, Tachyon. You have to finish the job Lord Hadron gave you. You can't help him." "Oh, that's too bad. I liked him." The giggle sounded through the cavern again. ------------------ Ami had arrived at the Hikawa Shrine before anyone else, exhausted but excited. She spent the time talking to Rei about the miko's continued inability to read their enemies through the fire, but refused to give any hints about her own discovery. Rei seemed to have a secret of her own and kept giving the most intelligent of the Sailor Senshi a knowing smile when she thought Ami wasn't looking. Usagi soon arrived with Mamoru and Chibi-Usa, Luna trailing behind. When the attack had occurred yesterday, Mamoru had been on the outskirts of Tokyo...far too much distance for even Tuxedo Kamen to cover in such a short time. However, he had shown up soon afterwards to make sure everything was okay and help Naru and her mother clean up their store. The damage was extensive, but so was their insurance policy. Setsuna and Hotaru showed up a few minutes later, and Ami hoped that Haruka and Michiru would be able to return early as planned. They couldn't afford to be shorthanded for what was coming. Minako, Makoto and Artemis came at about the same time, Minako giving Ami a very warm smile, which was returned, and Makoto smiling like a cat who'd fallen in the cream. Artemis just looked a bit bored and curled up on the steps. Rei gave Makoto a questioning look, and Makoto grinned and nodded in return. Rei blinked, then coughed and cleared her throat. "Ami-chan says she's found something important." All eyes turned to the Senshi of Water, who blushed shyly and smiled. "That's right..." She opened her bag and took out her laptop, opening it so everyone could see the screen. "I think I know what our enemy is up to. And I think I have a plan to stop them." Everyone murmured surprise at that and crowded around the screen on Ami's lap. She tapped a few things into her miniature supercomputer, and a diagram of the pyramid the deava had yesterday appeared on both screens. "This thing acts kind of like a wedge." She said. "But it works on space. It's keyed to the coordinates of some other world, and put in the right spot, it pushes our world and that world closer together." "The right spot?" Minako asked. Ami nodded. "A weak spot..." She tapped a few keys and the screen shifted to a map of Tokyo. A red marker appeared where Osa-P Jewelry stood. "Kind of like a crack in space." A little pyramid icon replaced the marker, and an irregular red mark spread out from it. "If that wedge had been totally activated, it would have been much easier in that area to open portals between our world, and the world the wedge was keyed to." Another pyramid appeared close to the first, and where its red stain overlapped the other, little specks of black appeared inside. "With two active, portals would begin opening at random, all on their own." Several more appeared at random points around the city. "With six or so..." The red blotch covered the Tokyo now, and a huge black stain appeared in the center of the city. "When if reaches that point, in that black spot our two worlds will be the same place. Moving from world to world will be as easy as walking. And there'll be no way to separate the two again." "They could move an entire army of daeva into Tokyo!" Makoto exclaimed. "But...couldn't we just destroy the wedges?" She asked. Setsuna was already shaking her head however, and Ami nodded to herself at that confirmation of what she had surmised. "No." Ami said. "Once they're active they leave space as we know it, and they become pretty much indestructible. The one yesterday was just starting to activate when Sailor Saturn destroyed it. A minute or so later and not even she would have been able to do that." Rei looked curiously at the map. "So what can we do?" Ami actually smirked at that. "Look...these other spots on the map are just random guesses. I don't know where any of the other dimensional faultlines are that they could use...but I can find out." She tapped again, and the projection vanished from the screen. Just the first known spot remained. What looked like radar sweeps went out over the map periodically, and a complicated series of numbers and symbols appeared off to the side. "I'm collecting spatial data over the entire city...it's going to take awhile, but I think I can find the most likely spots that they'll attack. Once we have those, we just have to watch and wait." Setsuna smiled. "That's wonderful Ami-chan. It doesn't matter if Rei and I can see the future if we know where they attack." Minako grinned. "And, if they think they've cut off all our ways of gethering information, they'll never see us coming!" She smiled proudly at Ami and gave her a thumbs-up. "You did great Mercury!" Ami flushed and smiled softly. "Thanks Minako-chan." She said. Makoto and Rei shared a knowing grin at that. Ami didn't notice, however, and with the push of a few more buttons, the screen went blank. "Well, that's all I have...anybody else?" Setsuna spoke up. "Devices like these wedges aren't at all easy to make, no matter who you are." She said in her soft voice. "It's risky and takes time and energy. If we can keep holding them back, they have to run out sooner or later." She allowed herself a small smile. "Probably sooner." "That's good news." Luna said, stretching. She looked up at Usagi, who had been dozing as she leaned against Mamoru's shoulder. With a long, long suffering look she hopped up on Usagi's shoulder and shouted in her ear. "RIGHT, USAGI?" The pigtailed princess jumped and gave a small shriek of surprise, then blushed as she noticed everyone looking at her. "Um...right." She rubbed the back of her head and grinned. "Sorry I dropped out there, but I'm sure everyone did great!" Mamoru chuckled and helped her to her feet. "I'll explain it to you later, Usako." Ami closed her laptop and put it away. She was eager to get back to work. "I guess that's it." She heard Makoto say. "All right, I should go home and get back to work." Ami said, standing. Minako stood at the same time. "Mind if I walk with you part of the way?" Ami felt a warm flush at that. "Sure." She replied, smiling. She headed down the stairs, Minako keeping pace. Ami was consistently surprised by the leader of the Inner Senshi's behavior. She had initially assumed that Minako was simply doing her a favor by helping her study, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that she was just genuinely enjoying Ami's company. That wasn't really surprising, they *had* always been friends, after all. But they were swiftly approaching best friend status. Ami had never really had a 'best' friend before. Usagi, perhaps. But in a way Usagi was everyone's best friend, so that hardly counted. But Minako...she was friendly and open, insightful, artistic and energetic. And of course, absolutely beautiful. Just being near her made the blue- haired Senshi feel warm down to her core. And knowing that they were becoming so close was enough to paste a huge, goofy smile on her face. When nobody was looking, of course. "I'm really impressed, Ami-chan." Minako said. "You really helped us out." That was the leader in Minako talking. Ami had come to recognize the tone. She smiled in return. "Thanks, but its no big deal...it was really obvious once I looked at the data." Minako chuckled softly. "Obvious to you might not be so obvious to everyone else." She gently reminded her. She looked over at Ami, tilting her head and smiling. "How much extra work is this going to be for you?" Ami shrugged. "There's going to be a lot of data to go through...it won't be very hard, just tedious." She tapped her mouth thoughtfully. "I'll probably have a complete list of likely places by...Saturday?" Minako nodded. "And the next practice exam's on Friday, isn't it?" "It is." Ami nodded in agreement. Minako puffed out her cheeks slightly and let out a sigh. "I feel bad about having you do so much work, Ami-chan." She said after a moment. Ami shrugged noncommittally and smiled a bit. "Well, I'm not going to have much free time this week, it's true." She smiled shyly, feeling herself blush. "But it won't be so bad...you and I will still be studying together." Minako smiled back, a small blush on her own cheeks. "Yeah...that's true." All too soon, they had reached Ami's apartment building. "Well...I guess you can't do anything today." "No...I'd really, really like to...but I can't." Ami said, feeling far more disappointment than she had anticipated. There was literally nothing she'd rather do than drop everything and go have fun with the girl standing before her. But, of course, she couldn't. Minako nodded with a sigh. "Okay...don't work yourself *too* hard, okay?" She said seriously, with a concerned look that really touched Ami. "Okay." She smiled. She looked surprised for a moment as Minako gave her a warm hug, then smiled fondly with a blush and returned it. Minako stepped back, grinning. Ami felt her smile widening to a grin as well. The two of them stared for a long moment and then started laughing softly. "Well," Ami said, wiping her eyes. "I really need to go." She smiled again at Minako. "Thanks Minako-chan." Minako just smiled back and nodded. "Anytime!" She headed off down the street, waving. Ami headed inside. As she walked through the lobby, she noticed everyone smiling at her. It rather surprised her, until she realized that she had a big, happy smile on her own face. And in the elevator, she found herself humming, something she very rarely did. Despite her disappointment at not being able to spend time with Minako, she felt completely happy. She wasn't precisely sure why, but she did. -So who cares why?- She told herself. Seeing the logic of that, she lost herself in the happy tune she was humming as she entered her apartment and began processing data. ------------------ "Do you really think that's what's happening?" Makoto asked Rei. Usagi, Mamoru and all the rest had left in a group shortly after Minako and Ami, leaving the two girls behind to talk and compare notes. Rei nodded emphatically. "I'm just about positive...whenever you mention Minako to Ami, she gets the softest little look in her eyes." She giggled softly. "It's *really* cute." Makoto nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah...Minako did the same thing. And she kept pushing the conversation we were having back to Ami...how smart she was, how cute, how sweet..." She grinned. "She's lucky I'm Ami's friend too, or I would have been really sick of hearing about her." Rei crossed her arms and closed her eyes, nodding. "See? It's just like I said...they're in love." Makoto placed a finger on her cheek thoughtfully and looked up. "I wonder why they're keeping it a secret. They have to know we wouldn't have a problem with it, between Haruka and Michiru, and Hotaru and Chibi-Usa." "I'm not so sure they are." Rei replied. "I mean...I think they're keeping it a secret, but probably from each other, too...honestly, they might not even realize how they feel about each other." "That might be true..." Makoto replied. "Well...I'd be kind of surprised if Minako hadn't figured it out by now." She chuckled. "But Ami can be *really* clueless about this kind of thing." "So what should we do?" Rei asked rhetorically. She was getting a match- making gleam in her eyes. "Nothing." Makoto replied, firmly. Rei blinked in surprise and looked up at her. "Nothing." She repeated. "If they're at that stage, it could be really bad if we tried to help them. They might be humiliated...they might even get scared away from each other. The best thing to do right now is to let them figure this out on their own." Rei sighed deeply. "I guess you're right..." She looked sidelong over at Makoto with a smile. "But if they come to us looking for help..." Makoto grinned back. "It's our duty as friends to help them be as happy as they possibly can! So we should make sure that they know that we're available and ready to talk." Both girls nodded at each other seriously, then grinned again. ------------------ Minako stepped into her house and removed her shoes before she heard the tell-tale sounds that indicated she wasn't the only person in it. She quickly began slipping her shoes back on, but too late. "Mimi, is that you?" She cringed at the pet name and her mother's strident tone. She sighed deeply and rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mother, it's me." She called back. "Where have you been?" "With my friends at the Hikawa Shrine." "Oh, right, your volleyball friends." Minako gritted her teeth. "No mother, my *other* friends." Minako sometimes wondered how the other Senshi were able to keep their identities as Senshi a secret from their families. In her case, however, it was rather less of a mystery. Father still worked in London, only coming home to Tokyo once a month, if then. And Mother...was Mother. "Well, anyway Mimi...I hate to run out like this, but I have a lunch I just can't miss. And then I'll probably be out most of the night...Kareda-san is throwing a dinner party tonight. Will you be okay by yourself?" Minako's mother, a slightly taller and much skinnier version of Minako herself appeared in the hall, heading for the door where Minako was still standing. "Yes, Mother." She said shortly. "I always am." Her mother paused to give her daughter a quick peck on the cheek before hustling out the door. Minako took the one shoe she had managed to get on off and sighed, trudging up the stairs. When she was younger, she used to wish that her mother would take her with her when she went out. Now, she was just glad to get a respite from the flaky, selfish and shallow woman. When she reached her room, she lay back on her bed and tried to think of something pleasant. Of course, her mind immediately turned to one Mizuno Ami. Her eyes closed, she pictured the cute genius of the Senshi in her mind's eye. She really was proud of her friend, finally giving them the edge they needed to fight back against their new enemy. Of course, if anyone could do it, Sailor Mercury could. Minako was worried about her, though. She worked so hard...too hard, much of the time. She made a mental note to look out for signs that Ami wasn't sleeping, pretty much a sure bet considering all she had to do. She smiled a little bit. That was Ami, though. She poured herself, mind and heart, into everything she did. Minako doubted Ami even understood the concept of not giving a task her all. The Senshi of Love rolled over onto her side and rested her head in the crook of her arm. She yawned softly. Images of Ami still swirling about her head, she drifted off into a light sleep. ------------------ Hours later, as the sky was growing dark, Artemis padded into Minako's room to find the blonde girl snoring softly into her mattress, fully dressed. The white cat chuckled and shook his head fondly, then hopped up onto the bed and placed his forepaws on the side of Minako's head, pushing down slightly. "Minako..." He said softly. Other than a muffled grunt, there was no change. He began to bounce up and down a little harder. "Minako!" Still nothing. With a cat's grin, he extended his claws. "Minako!" Minako snorted loudly and sat upright, tossing Artemis across the room. "What? Who is it? Where?" She asked blearily, looking around the room. Her cat guardian shook himself out of his daze and scrambled to his feet. "Well, it's about time!" He said. "How long have you been asleep?" Minako yawned a bit and took a brush from the nightstand, straightening her hair. "What time is it now?" "It's almost seven." Minako blinked in surprise, then continued her brushing. "That late? Wow...I've been asleep all day!" "Well, you didn't really get a lot of rest after the fight yesterday...you were tossing and turning all night." Artemis replied. "You'd think you could have a little consideration for your poor suffering guardian!" He sniffed piteously and then yowled and ducked as a pillow sailed his way. "Oh, hush cat." Minako said, making a face at him. She was smiling gently and humming to herself. Artemis looked at her in surprise. "Are you okay? You're never this happy when you wake up." Minako tilted her head. "Hm...I think I had a really nice dream." "Oh? What about?" Minako smiled. "You know, I can't remember at all. It really put me in a good mood, though." She yawned and stretched, sliding off the bed. "Come on cat, let's have a little dinner." Despite her socialite mother, the Aino family had never been in much of a position to employ servants. There was a housekeeper that came in once a week, a very nice woman named Keiko that Minako liked very much, but most of the day to day stuff was left to the family. Which, of course, meant Minako. Ever since she'd outgrown her nanny at the age of ten, Minako had been cooking for herself. She didn't have the knack for it like Makoto did, but she could keep herself from starving to death. She entered her wide kitchen and checked the fridge. Some takoyaki and a few dumplings that she could fry up stood out. "That'll do." She hummed. She also got out a can of tuna and opened it onto a plate on the kitchen table for Artemis. Of course, by the time her own meal was ready and she sat down to join him, the greedy cat had licked the plate clean. Silence reigned for a few minutes as Minako began eating. She paused for a moment to listen to the sounds of her house. She remembered being a girl of only eleven and hiding in her room when it was windy and the house began to creak in a frightening way for a little girl. She'd been too scared even to come down and eat. Minako honestly didn't like her home very much...she'd been abandoned there far too often. It wasn't huge, but it would always feel big and very empty to her. She'd been very disappointed when they moved back in on her return to Tokyo. She sighed a bit. Artemis, familiar with this line of thought, sat next to her arm and lightly nuzzled her hand. She smiled down at the cat. "Artemis..." She said, trying to think of something less gloomy. "What do you think of Ami?" Artemis made a thoughtful humming sound and licked a paw to bathe his face. "I think she's great...or at least she'd better be, with the way you've been ditching me for her this week!" Minako poked his head lightly and he grinned. "Artemis, I was being serious!" "Okay, okay..." He continued to wash his face as he thought. "I think a lot of the time she doesn't let herself feel." Minako leaned forward, nibbling on a dumpling. "Explain." Artemis yawned and stretched in that particular catlike manner before sitting down again, resting his head on folded paws. "I think she tends to just push herself through whatever she has around, concentrating so much on her task that she never has time to really get in touch with her feelings." He closed his eyes. "I've really noticed this last week, with the two of you spending so much time together. She throws herself into her studies or whatever to the point that she can't possibly pay attention to anything else." "But that's a good quality!" Minako protested, feeling rather defensive. "She works really, really hard." "I didn't say it wasn't a good quality." Artemis said. "I think she takes it to extremes, though. She uses work as a way to escape from having to really deal with her problems. I doubt she even really notices herself doing it at this point." Minako thought about that for a moment. "So you noticed her doing this while the two of us were studying?" Artemis nodded into his paws. "Yes." "I wonder what she was trying not to think about..." Minako mused quietly. Artemis just shrugged a bit. "Who knows? I don't think it's really dangerous...yet. Luna and I worry about her sometimes, though." "So do I." Minako murmured. "I think getting close might be good for both of you." The white cat said softly. "What's that supposed to mean?" Minako asked peevishly. "You both keep too much bottled in, Minako." Artemis looked up at as she began to speak. "Don't try to deny it...I know you better than just about anyone. I know how much you keep your real feelings to yourself." He settled his head down once again. "It would be good for you both to have someone you can confide in." "I've always confided in you, Artemis." Artemis chuckled a little. "Yeah...but maybe you'd feel a little closer to someone your own gender and species." Minako smiled and chuckled as well. "Yeah...maybe so." She pushed her chair out and headed upstairs. Artemis followed behind her after a moment. She had homework due tomorrow...she hoped she could handle it. Well...she smiled to herself. If she couldn't, she was positive Ami wouldn't mind it if she gave her a little call for some help.
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