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

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

Part Five
Freedom of Thought and Movement



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

	Good, the voice said.

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

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


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

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

	"Hyuk....  Nice one, Pluto."  Usagi croaked, now wearing a
labcoat Setsuna had found her before they left the morgue.  Pluto
nodded.
	"Not one of my best efforts, I must admit."
	"Didn't know you were capable of transporting yourself like
that.  Rather impressive."
	"How do you think I make my dramatic entrances?"
	"Hmm, I always thought it was pure accident, like the rest of
us."
	"I never do anything by accident."

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

	"Ah yes, questions such as 'what am I doing in a hospital in
the first place' come to mind."  Usagi crossed her arms as Setsuna
ummed and erred.
	"That'll take a while to explain, its better if you take a
shower first."  Setsuna shrugged.  "Unless, of course, you rather
like being covered in dried blood."
	Usagi screwed up her nose again.  "Oh, thankyou for reminding
me.  Just whose blood is this anyway?  Did I go psycho and tear a
pack of monsters to pieces or something?"
	"Umm...  No."
	Usagi stared at Setsuna for just under a minute.  The older
senshi had managed to maintain an unemotional expression through the
non-verbal probing.  Fortunate, really, that Usagi hadn't managed to
keep it up.  She was about to break underneath the wilting glare.

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

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

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

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

	Setsuna sighed and stepped back, turning away.  "I shall try
to explain this to you as clearly as possible...."
	"Oh yay, that'll be a start."
	Setsuna became angry and turned on Usagi.  "Don't be cynical
with me, little lady.  You may be the direct soul-descendant of the
Princess, but you are nowhere near to being her in all respects."  
Usagi took a couple of steps back, surprised by Setsuna's anger.  
"For quite a while, I've been wondering about your... capacity, so 
to speak, to inherit the mantle of the new Queen.  So I set down to
the other senshi the Rights of Succession, the rules governing who
is to be the next Queen."

	Usagi pondered this as Setsuna paused for dramatic effect.

	"And they decided to have me shafted cos I wasn't doing a
'good enough job' by your standards?"  Usagi sounded as bitter as
she looked.  "Weren't you supposed to be my friends?"
	"Oh, I could have left it at that, have you step down to
become a Miko rather than the next Queen.  It would still have meant
your first daughter would be next in line after the second 
candidate's reign had ended.  The best path has always been the
direct soul-line.  However, the paths of the future showed... 
disturbing possibilities, that made that future less than optimal.  
I guess that future shall come to pass, now, one way or another."
	"What future is this?"
	Setsuna sighed.  "Let me put it this way.  My nervous system
exists within the vortex of time, or is, at least, connected to that
vortex in some manner.  It means the very core of my being is locked
into the myriad of possibilites that the future holds.  They come to
me in the form of visions.  Not all of these visions come true, but
the stronger they are, the more likely they are to occur."
	Usagi looked at her for a moment, and Setsuna saw in her eyes
the distinctive sign of someone who was totally lost.  Why couldn't
this imbecile just work it out herself.

	"So you had one of your visions that something bad would
happen if you simply asked me to step down."
	"Hallelujah.  The girl has got it."  Setsuna could have danced
around the shower room at that moment.  It was the first time in her
memory that Usagi had vaguely understood her motives for something.
	"So why did all the others agree to having me killed?  I mean,
what could drive them to make a decision like that?"
	"Well, this is where it starts getting complicated...."

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


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

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

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

	She'd vomited after the argument with her father just before.  
Dry retch, to be more or less correct, she hadn't eaten at the party 
last night (except for the beer, which she took a sip of and decided 
it tasted like coloured water.  Well, those were Haruka's words).  
She wasn't in the kind of festive mood the others had been in.  She 
couldn't understand why they had been.  Ami and Setsuna seemed a 
little.... quiet, so to speak, but she just put that down to the 
fact that they'd always been.  (Actually, Ami was the one who was 
quiet.  Setsuna spent much of the time lecturing everyone about the 
laws of the Moon Kingdom and getting depressed). Haruka and Michiru 
were also somewhat distant.  Again, she put that down to reputation.  
(In Haruka's case, she seemed to spend the entire night nervously 
trying to laugh things off.  This seemed to work in tandem with 
Setsuna's depression.  It was called alcohol.)

	"Ohayo, Hotaru-chan".  Said the voice to her left.  Hotaru
turned to see Luna sitting there.  She smiled.
	"Ohayo Luna."
	"You seem rather down.  I hope you're not feeling too bad
about things at the moment."
	Hotaru turned away, her expression dropping.  "I've been
thinking things over.  I just don't know how to react in this
kind of situation."
	Luna sighed and settled on the ground, looking up at Hotaru
trying to voice her own concerns.
	"Hmm.  You know, Hotaru-chan, we all have to stick together
on this.  If we let out to anyone about what we've done, the
whole game will be given away.  Not just the fact that we planned
to have Usagi.... removed, so to speak.  We'd be giving away our
identities.  I mean, YOUR identites as the sailorsenshi."
	"I realise that.  I just can't believe we actually went
through with this.  It seems so....  Wrong...  Out of place."
	"Not what we stand for, hmm?"
	"Exactly.  I always thought we were better than our
enemies, in some moral, philosophical manner."
	"We aren't really any better than anyone else.  We're still
slaves to our personal fears and demons.  We just have a greater
responsibility because of the powers we possess, especially you."
	Hotaru shook her head.  "I don't really know if I want
those responsibilities.  And besides, haven't we already made a
pretty bad choice?"
	"And then there was that party last night.  Wasn't that just
a little tacky, especially after convincing all of our relatives we
were going there to comfort each other in our 'time of need'?"
	Luna looked down, not willing to answer.  Hotaru sniffed
and stood up, feeling dizzy for a few moments.  Luna stood in
concern.
	"Are you feeling alright, Hotaru-chan?"
	"Yeah yeah yeah.  I'll be alright.  I had an argument with
father.  I'm all worked up at the moment.  Makes me dizzy when I
get too excited about something."
	Hotaru started walking towards the footpath, then staggered
slightly.  She stopped and smiled back at Luna, giving her the V
for victory sign.  A large sweatdop appeared on Luna's forehead.

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

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

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

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


	Usagi sat on a bench, now wearing an yellow dress and blouse 
found in the collection of clothes on the various racks.  Her mood
did not reflect the gaudiness of the clothing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

	"Hey, just because I haven't seen her in a while...."
	"Best friend, hmmm?"
	"I mean..."
	"You feel you have the right to feel angry at her?"
	"She accepted my death like all the others."
	"Indeed, she did."
	"I'd known her LONGER than the rest of you, at least, I
thought I did."  Usagi looked unsure of herself.
	"The reason for that is plain and obvious.  You were the
first candidate and she was the second.  The longer you retained
Serenity's powers, the less she was required.  As soon as your
capacities were called into question, she began to return to the
fold."

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

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


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

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

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

	"BAKA!  What the HELL do you think your doing?"  She noticed
that the person who had run into her looked familiar.  It was the
woman who had questioned her at the scene of Usagi's death!  "Ki...
Kikotsuka-kyanchou?"  The older woman sat up, her face a mask of
surprise.
	"You!  We must RUN.  Get OUT of this CITY.  Its HERE."
	"Wait a minute...  Whats here?  What are you talking about?
Are you feeling alright?"
	Aoi looked at Ami for a few moments as the young girl moved
to her.  She appeared to be confused, trying to order her thoughts.
"Mizuno... Ami?"  She croaked.
	"Hai, ma'am."  Ami helped Aoi to her feet.
	"What is happening?  Where am I?  how did I get here?"
	"You ran into me, ma'am."
	"I what?  I did what?"
	"You ran into me.  Neither of us would have been looking."
	Aoi shook her head, as if trying to clear it.  Then she took
Ami by the shoulders, staring at her beseechingly.
	"YOU must get out of this city.  Your life is in danger."
	"What?"  Ami was a little frightened by Aoi's earnest
expression.  The older woman gritted her teeth.
	"Your friend, Tsukino Usagi.  She is NOT dead."
	"NANI?"  Ami's jaw dropped.
	"She arrived at her parents' house this morning, whilst we
were there.  Only it wasn't her.  Not the girl WE know...  YOU know.
She killed everyone at the station.  I mean most of everyone.  I
could see it happening.  I could see into her mind.  She tried to
do the same to me, but I resisted...."
	"Waitaminute, hold on here...  You're trying to tell me that
Usagi is alive, and some kind of monster?"
	"Yes.  I think so.  At least, that is what I felt.  She wants
to kill you.  Kill us all.  She has the power to do it now.  There's
nothing we can do about it.  We've got to get away from this city."

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

	Ami slapped the woman, gritting her teeth.  Aoi took a few
steps back, putting a hand to her face.
	"DON'T PRESUME TO UNDERSTAND US OR WHAT WE STAND FOR!"  Ami
took a few deep breaths.  "Ultimately, in the end, everything we
have done has been for the benefit of everyone.  Even YOU."
	"I'm sorry..."  Aoi whispered.  "I didn't mean..."
	"Now listen to me."  Ami continued.  "Tell the others what
you have told me.  You know where most of them will be, at the
Hikawa Shrine.  I take it you know where that is?"
	Aoi nodded mutely.
	"Very well.  Now, I shall check the hospital.  If Usagi's
body is gone, like you say, then I will believe you are telling
the truth...."
	"It IS the truth.  The entire station went up in a fireball.
Even out here, you would have heard it go off."
	"Um...  I was a little... distracted.  Anyway, we don't have
the time to waste.  If she is after us, then we must hurry."
	Aoi nodded.  Ami pointed back along the road.  "That way.
The shrine is in that direction."
	Aoi nodded again and took off, still holding her hand to her
face.  Ami swallowed for a moment and picked up her bag.
	"If you are alive, Usagi...."  She muttered to herself.  "You
won't be taking me.  Not that way.  I won't let the vision come
true."  A grim expression crossed Ami's face.  Then she took off,
transforming into Sailormercury as she did so.  It made the journey
easier, bounding over buildings as she did so.


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

	Strange that Chibiusa should still have been Chibiusa and not
Chibinaru.  She thought that, what with Naru now being the 
Princess...  Of course, it was just as likely that she would have
been named Chibiusa anyway.  Surely a time paradox was in the offing
here.  The girl's hair had transformed into brown curls as soon as
Usagi had been dealt with....  Now they were pink again....  Maybe
they were meant to be pink to begin with.  No matter how much she
tried to rationalise things, she had the sinking feeling that there
was something VERY wrong about these turns of events.

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

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

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

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

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

	"Wha....  What's this for?"
	"Look, I can't argue about this in a place like the front
steps of the loacl library."  Minako found her lips had suddenly
gone dry.  She was feeling very self-concious at the moment, looking
about for anyone who might be watching.
	"You're worried she may give the game away, aren't you?"
	Minako turned to the girl, then nodded, silently.  Hotaru
let out a bitter laugh.
	"I was going to talk to her about this very subject.  I'm not
entirely feeling right about it myself."
	"Then I suggest you feel right about it VERY quickly."
	"Is that meant to be a threat?"
	Minako put up her hands placatingly.  "Hotaru-chan, you know
what will happen if all this gets out.  We'll be in a right fix."
	"I know.  And I don't like it.  I don't have to like it.  I'm
not simply going to give away my allegiances to whomsoever may be
in control simply because they have the 'senshi stamp of 
guarentee'."
	"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU VOICE YOUR OPINION....  Ahem...  Why
didn't you voice your opinion beforehand, when you had an
opportunity."
	"Nobody ever explains anything to me.  I just followed along
with things cos thats always been my way.  When I DID try to say
something, everyone had already made their decision.  You weren't
listening to me.  You NEVER listen to me."
	"WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY?  THAT WE WERE IGNORING YOU?"
	"YES, I AM TRYING TO SAY THAT.  WHAT WE DID WAS WRONG, AND
YOU'RE TRYING TO HUSH IT UP!"
	"DON'T JUDGE ME BY YOUR STANDARDS.  EVEN IF YOU FELT THIS
WAY YOU STILL DID NOTHING.  NOTHING!  YOU COULD HAVE STOPPED ALL
OF THIS AND YET YOU DID NOTHING!  YOU THINK ANYONE IS GOING TO
STAND UP TO YOU WHEN YOU BECOME SATURN, EH?  WELL DO YOU?"
	"A LOT OF EFFING GOOD BEING THAT HAS DONE ME!  AT LEAST YOU
GOT TO BE VENUS.  TRY BEING IN MY SHOES FOR JUST ONE DAY!  DEAL
WITH THE PAINS AND THE ILLNESSES."
	"WE'RE NOT ARGUING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU STAND UP TO THE
ROLE OF SATURN, THOUGH, ARE WE?"
	"WHY BRING IT UP THEN, EH?  YOU'RE LIKE ALL THE OTHERS, YOU'RE
SCARED OF ME.  SCARED OF WHAT I MAY BECOME AND WHAT I MAY D...."
	Hotaru's face twisted and she gripped her throat.  Minako was
about to pound that face when it turned beetroot red.  Hotaru began
to cough and splutter, falling to her knees.
	"H..Hotaru-chan...."  Minako reached out her hands as Hotaru
fell back, unable to breathe.  "Oh Kami-sama...."  She quickly knelt
beside Hotaru and took her head in one hand.
	"Come on, Hotaru-chan, relax yourself, take a slow breath,
come on."  Hotaru tried to, but found that difficult.  She felt a
pain building up in her chest and began to kick and buck, a cold
sweat running across her forehead.
	"Oh shit, oh hell, oh damn..."  Minako began to panic.  "H...
HELP, SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, HELP!!!"  She cried out loud, sweating
profusely as Hotaru began to fade.  There was a voice behind her.
	"Mina-chan?"  Minako turned and saw Luna and Artemis standing
in the bushes.  They stared as Hotaru stopped moving, her eyes
glazing over and her pallour now becoming exceedingly pale.
	"Oh K...  Kami...  I think she's dying...."  Minako was
quivering now.  "We got into an argument, and all of a sudden she
started, like this, she...."  Minako felt tears running from her 
eyes as the two cats slowly stepped to Hotaru's side.  The girl
was mouthing something.  Luna leaned forward.
	"Its going to be alright, Hotaru, we'll get you help."  Luna
looked up at Minako.  "Well WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?"  Minako felt
the lash of Luna's tongue and was about to stand when Hotaru's
voice could be heard.
	"..City...."
	"What is it, Hotaru-chan?"  Both Luna and Artemis leaned up
to her face.  Hotaru pointed skywards.
	"The city... is trying to.... grab us..."
	Minako, Luna and Artemis looked upwards.  To their horror, a
large hole had appeared above them, tendrils of metal and concrete
descending from it, reaching down towards them.  Before they could
do anything, the tendrils wrapped around their bodies and dragged
all four, screaming, into the hole.

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

END OF PART 5


Notes

This chapter simply keeps getting longer and longer.  What started
off as chapter 4 is stretching all the way into chapter 6.  I can't
even say what's going to happen in the next chapter, because I've
already given a hint in the notes of the last one.  Oh well, maybe
it was a bit ambitious to think that these plot threads could be
done with in a few short lines.  ^_^

Difficult chapter to write, this one.  Especially trying to
reconcile a lot of what has been going on with the first chapter,
in itself totally underwritten to the point where it almost seems
separate in some aspects to the way the story is falling into place, 
especially the party scene where I'd overplayed the senshi's joy at 
having Usagi done in.  Of course, how much of that is real or not 
depends on how much of it was Usagi's twisted interpretation.

One of these days I might get round to rewriting it so it slots
more nicely into the narrative.  As it is, I've got part 6 to get
done.  "God's Eternal Waiting Room", the next chapter in "Usagi is
Dead".

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

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

DDFA