Life's Lessons
By Kristin Renee Taylor
Chapter 10
Venus stepped into the room and walked to the foot of the bed. Yoko, bandaged, drugged, and awake, smiled weakly at the Senshi. "Lady Venus. You honor me with Your presence. I'd rise to meet You but, as You can see, I don't think I'm capable of that right now."
"In a few hours, you will not be capable of much of anything." Venus said coolly.
Yoko blinked, puzzled. "What do You mean, my Lady?"
"Recently the Santallius passed the Odyssey, or what remained of it. Apparently the explosion you mentioned also took out the propulsion system, destroying a full ninety percent of the ship. Only seven people survived, and I find it a bit too convenient that you are one of them."
Yoko's eyes widened. "You think that, somehow, I rigged the explosion and escaped on my own?"
"I don't know. Truth-telling is not My forte, which is why you are going to be paid a visit by Jupiter the instant we arrive at Crystal Tokyo."
Yoko struggled to sit up. "But... But, what about my protection? You promised-"
"I promised you protection... provided you brought down Aino Minako's shield and delivered her and Terri into my hands. Neither of which you have done."
"I didn't have *time!*" Yoko protested, paling as she realized the depth of the hole she was in. "Terri killed Mercury before I could set my own plans for Her into motion!" Venus' eyes narrowed dangerously, and Yoko paled further. "Truly, Lady Venus, I did not intend for Lady Mercury to die, I was only going to borrow Her power for a short while. By doing that I could have-"
"ENOUGH!" Yoko cringed. Venus scowled, "I have no further use for you. Perhaps I'll just kill you now and save Jupiter the trouble."
"W-wait! I can still be useful to You. With Mercury gone, Her followers are going to begin to revert back to the way they were before She programmed them. Many of them aren't as loyal as I am, and the first thing a lot of them are going to do is make a run for it, probably to join the Descendants, or to any other underground organization that will accept them. Almost all of them know something vital to the security of Crystal Tokyo, and it would be devastating if it fell into the wrong hands."
"I shall have someone deal with that matter, Yoko. You're help is not necessary."
"But it is," Yoko insisted vehemently. "I made it my mission to become familiar with everything Mercury does, something that none of Her other followers did. I'm the *only* one that knows how to keep their programming intact, and I'm the only person qualified to perform the work involved. If You kill me, You'll lose all of that."
Venus studied her. "Make a single mistake or one move against Me and you *will* die."
Yoko sighed in relief. "I will not disappoint You, Lady Venus."
Venus smiled. "I hope you keep your word, this time."
* * * * * * * * * *
Jupiter didn't turn as Mars approached Her. "Magnificent, isn't it?"
Mars looked up, studying Jupiter's latest project. "What is it?"
"An academic center for the younger children."
"You're building another University?"
Jupiter looked at Mars. "Nothing quite as complex as that. Younger children lack the attention span necessary to attend the University. This institute will firm up their belief in the Senshi, and Her majesty, Queen Serenity, using methods more suitable to their immature minds."
Mars smiled, a rare occurrence. "You are going to have them play with action figures?"
"'Action figure' is such a derogatory term. I prefer the term 'demonstrative models.'"
Mars watched construction workers swarm over the building. "Mercury is dead."
Jupiter's expression didn't change. "I am aware of that fact."
"Venus reports that Terri is responsible for Her death."
"I am also aware of that."
"And Mizuno Ami is-"
"Do not make Me repeat Myself, Mars."
Mars snorted and folded Her arms. "What will We do?"
"We will wait for Venus to return to Crystal Tokyo."
"And?"
Jupiter looked at Her. "That is all."
"You mean... We are *not* going to attack the Descendants?!"
"No. At least, not now."
Mars stared at Her. "Have You lost Your mind? We should strike while they are still reeling from the last attack!"
"We did attack them. Look what happened as a result." Jupiter looked back to the unfinished building. "We will wait. There is a proper time and place to attack them. And Pluto will let Me know when."
"I think You rely on Her too much," Mars said, annoyed.
"I'd rather rely on the oldest of Us then the youngest."
* * * * * * * * * *
At the North Pole there was the D-point. At the D-point there was a volcano. In the volcano there was a crater. In the crater there were people, many people, all from different professions, different countries, different backgrounds, but they all shared one thing in common: the freedom of choice. The freedom to do what they want when they want and to do it of their own free will.
'And right now,' Makoto thought as she walked among the people, 'I wish they'd exercise their freedom to sleep.' Living underground had thrown off a lot of people's sense of time. Combine that with the fact that the sun, still high up in the sky, had not moved in two hours since Makoto and the others had teleported here, and it made one hell of a recipe for insomnia. And to make matters worse, the volcano seemed to ooze malice, which nobody but Makoto seemed to notice, and it was gradually wearing on her nerves.
Makoto sighed and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. Physically, she was fine, but emotionally she was slowly turning into a wreck. 'I hope we're not here much longer.'
"Miss Kino! Missssss Kiiiinoooo!" A couple of boys, barely ten, ran up to Makoto and skidded to a halt, panting. Makoto smiled. "Sam-kun. Riff-kun. What are you two doing here?" She didn't ask where their parents were. No one over the age of eight had parents, one of the stranger and sadder side effects of Earth's second Ice Age.
Riff looked up at her, blue eyes bright. "Can Sam and I go explore the tunnels?"
The same tunnels that connected the D-Point to Tokyo? 'Oh, great. Just what we need. Kids disappearing. Better change their minds real fast.' She looked down them. "Why would you wanna go down there?"
Sam beamed. "We read they were haunted, and we wanna see the ghosts!"
Inwardly, Makoto winced. She looked from one to the other. "Ghosts? There are no ghosts down there."
"Yeah, there are," Sam said, stubbornly, and Riff added, "I read it in my Otaku's Guide to Magical Girls. I'd show it to you... but I had to leave it behind when we evacuated."
Makoto laughed a bit too loudly. "Ghosts at the North Pole?! That's as silly as gargoyles living in Manhattan."
The two boys looked crestfallen, so Makoto knelt and ruffled their hair playfully. "Tell ya what: you guys help with the settling in, catch some z's, and meet me back here tomorrow morning and we'll spend the whole day messing around outside. I'll help you build a giant snow fort. How's that sound?"
"Do we have to wait so long?" Riff whined.
"Well..." Makoto stood and folded her arms. "We don't have to go..."
Sam grabbed Riff. "We'll go help, Miss Kino, you'll see! We'll be the best helpers ever! C'mon, Riff." Sam hauled Riff off into the crowd of people.
'That is the *last* time we let Minako-chan answer her Sailor V fan mail,' Makoto thought irritably as she stood. She looked around and spotted a familiar blonde woman lounging on a couple of crates, talking. 'And speaking of Minako-chan...'
"Why aren't you resting?" Makoto demanded as she strode over to where Minako, Rei, and Ami were sitting. She glared at Minako.
Minako peered blearily up at the taller woman. "Don't wanna."
"But you look like shit!"
"Feel like it, too," Minako agreed amiably. "But before you lash into me," she gestured at Ami, "better lash into her."
Makoto scowled. "Why would I be mad at Ami-chan? You're the one who won't go to bed!"
"She's the one that wants to leave."
Makoto was taken aback. She blinked, slowly. "Leave? Where? And for how long?" She turned. "Ami-chan?"
Ami blushed scarlet and studied her hands. "It wouldn't be forever," she said softly.
"Only a couple of years," Rei growled.
"You don't know that," Ami said.
Makoto stared at Ami, shocked. "But... but why?!"
"I don't think... It just wouldn't be a good idea for me to be here, right now. Not so soon after... after..."
Minako said, "What she's trying to say is that she thinks she's gonna lose her mind, go postal, and kill us all. Something Mercury told her to do just prior to breaking their link."
Rei said, "And I keep telling her that it won't happen."
"And *I* keep telling you that we don't know that," Ami said, looking at Rei. "You told me yourself, Rei-chan, that you had trouble discerning my thoughts from Mercury's when we were separate. Now that Mercury and I are one again, it would next to impossible to locate any of Mercury's instructions, let alone remove them from my mind." She looked around at the others. "Which is why I want to leave. Once I know that what I'm thinking is *really* me and not something leftover from Mercury, then I'll come back."
Makoto frowned. Ami had a point. But, to just leave? So soon after arriving?
Rei leaned forward, staring intensely at the blue-haired woman. "Ami-chan, listen to me. You. Don't. Have. To. Go. Anywhere. Nothing will happen. You'll be fine, so stop being so paranoid."
"And if something does happen? What will you do, Rei-chan? I don't want you guys to have to fight me."
"Then we won't. And do you want to know why? Because *nothing* is going to happen, Ami-chan. Trust me."
Makoto said, "Rei-chan, why are you being so stubborn? We're safe for the time being, and Ami-chan isn't really needed now, so it would be fine if she left for a while. It's not like she's abandoning us."
Rei looked up. "It doesn't matter if we're safe or not. It's not necessary for her to leave!"
Something clicked in Makoto's mind. "Why?"
Rei jerked back, surprised.
Makoto loomed over Rei. "Why are you being so insistent, Rei? Why are you so certain that she won't freak out and kill us all?" Rei's face was blank, but her eyes gave everything away.
Surprising Rei and Ami, surprising even herself, Makoto grabbed Rei by her shirt and hauled her to her feet. With her face centimeters away from Rei's, Makoto hissed, "What the Hell did you to her?" and heard Ami gasp.
Rei broke Makoto's grip and staggered back, glaring. "I did what I thought was necessary." She looked at Ami. "I locked down certain parts of your mind, to prevent anyone other than you or myself from accessing what they had no business looking at. I also built in a set of safeguards, which makes it nearly impossible for you to betray the rest of us. Mercury must have found a loophole around some of them, which is understandable since I haven't updated them for a while, but I'm positive that you can't 'go postal.'"
Ami was pale, but her eyes blazed with anger. She stood slowly. "'A while?!' When did you install these so-called safeguards?"
"Nine hundred and forty years ago. After her death."
No need to say who 'she' was. Makoto grew so enraged that small sparks of electricity leaped from her skin. "You just couldn't resist, could you, Rei? Her body wasn't even cold before you started screwing with us! Why didn't you finish it, huh? What happened? Did you finally get bored with your ego-trip? Or did it finally get through your thick skull that we *didn't* want you as our leader?"
Rei was stunned. "It's not like that! I-I never intended-"
"Shut up! I'm sick of you and your better-than-thou attitude. I don't want to see you. *EVER.* And if I do I swear to God I'm going to kill you!"
"Mako-chan-"
Minako had been silent, apparently oblivious to what was happening. Now she stood, and caught Rei's shoulders. "This isn't the best time to appeal to Mako-chan's sanity."
Makoto lunged forward, but Ami stepped in front of her, grabbing Makoto's fists before the brunette could physically attack Rei and Minako. Ami glanced over her shoulder at the other two. "Get out of here."
Rei looked first at Makoto, then at Ami. Stiffly, she shook herself free from Minako and walked away, disappearing in a column of fire. Minako hesitated, then did likewise.
Makoto pulled away from Ami's grasp. "How *dare* she?!"
"Where do you think Rei went?"
Makoto backed up, giving herself room to teleport. "Don't know. Don't care."
Ami looked at her. "Where are you going?"
"To find Minako. The way she acted... I *know* she's involved somehow."
* * * * * * * * * *
Minako watched as another chunk of ice arced upwards, pausing for a moment in the air, before plunging down to join its brethren far, far below.
A slight tingle ran up her arms, alerting her to the fact that she was no longer alone. She smiled, and crouched in the snow, blasting another chunk of ice loose.
Footsteps crunched along the ice and halted just behind her. "You knew, didn't you?"
Minako nodded. Picking up the loose chunk, she stood and hefted her latest ice block in her hand as she contemplated its doom.
A hand landed on her shoulder, gripping it tightly. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shove you over that cliff."
"Because then you wouldn't have such a wonderful, charming young woman like myself in your life?" Minako grinned.
Makoto made a disgusted sound and released Minako. "Dammit, can't you be serious for once?"
Minako hefted her ice chunk. "It's kinda hard to be serious when you're mourning the deaths of your stuffed animals."
Makoto lifted a fist, aimed it at Minako's face, and let it drop with a heavy sigh. "Now I know why the Senshi try to kill you all the time: you're always pissing them off."
"Nah. They're just jealous of my stunning good looks." Her smile faded. "You can't be too mad. You haven't killed anyone."
"Trust me. I'm fuming."
"Oh, c'mon, Mako-chan. You have to admit, we benefited at least partially from Rei-chan's mental tampering."
"You're taking *her* side!?"
Minako lobbed the ice chunk high into the air. "I kinda have to. I'm the one that ordered Rei-chan to do it."
The air, already crisp from the cold, suddenly became charged with electricity. Minako looked up, tracking the ice chunk as it fell to the ground, and waited for the blow to fall.
When it didn't she lifted a hand, pointed, and the ice chunk vanished in a rain of light. She tucked her hands into the pockets of her jacket and watched her newly created snow drift to the ground. "I'm not gonna go into the circumstances that led up to Rei-chan doing it, or why I got involved. That's for her to talk about. But, she didn't do it because she wanted to, Mako-chan. I ordered her to do it, for reasons she doesn't know about, and we're going to leave it at that."
"This is more of that 'I'm the leader so do as I say' stuff, isn't it?"
"Yes. Yes it is."
Makoto entered Minako's line of vision. Arms folded, the brunette stared up at the sky. "You know, it isn't the fact that Rei did it that pisses me off, because if she did have a good reason, then I'll forgive her and forget it." She glared at Minako, green eyes hard enough to fracture rock. "It's the fact you didn't trust me enough to tell me!"
Minako shrugged. "What can I say? I can't be a good leader without a few secrets." She looked at Makoto. "Besides, had I told you, you would've blabbed it to everyone that asked. You're not exactly the best at lying, y'know."
"You did all of this so I could have plausible deniability?! What kind of excuse is that?"
"Hey, it worked in Independence Day."
"You're an asshole, Minako-chan."
Minako smiled at her, and watched as clouds drifted by. "You'll deal with it, Mako-chan. You always have."
* * * * * * * * * *
'Snow... so much snow...'
How long had she been walking? It felt like forever. Forever and a day. Maybe she had always been walking. Maybe she was dead, and this was Hell, and her eternal damnation was too walk through snow.
It was almost ironic. First darkness as far as the eye could see. Then snow. Maybe it would have been better if she had stayed blind; at least then she was warm.
She was lying on the ground. She didn't remember falling. For a moment she thought about getting up, then changed her mind. She was tired.
Hands wrapped around her arms and hauled her up. Anger flared briefly. Why couldn't he just leave her there? She was tired. She wanted to sleep. Sleep was good. Sleep was...
Somebody was on her other side. Supported between her friends, they walked and, automatically, she walked with them.
Time passed, measured only by the never-ending fall of snow.
The people supporting her were gone and she walked alone. When they had vanished, she had no idea and, frankly she didn't care. For a while she walked along. Then she stumbled. Then she stopped and just stood in the snow. All of the snow.
So much snow...
Back | Next | Sailor Moon