Life's Lessons
A Sailor Moon fanfic by Kristin Renee Taylor

Chapter 7 -

Shouji tugged at his boots, wiggling his toes to test the fit. The
outfit was a little small, but it would work for the time being. He
grinned and flipped down the black visor that would hide his eyes
from the other Enforcers. As he did so, it glowed a brief green, and
suddenly he could see every detail of the dark tunnel as clearly as
if he were in daylight. 'I never thought I'd be wearing this get-up
again.'

   "Hey!" Someone called down. "Did you find him?"

   "No," Shouji said loudly. "He must have escaped."

   "Then come back up here. I think the others are getting ready to
leave."

   "Right." Shouji glanced once more at the Enforcer he had knocked
unconcious, then leaped up to grab the walkway overhead and hoisted
himself up over the edge onto the concrete. The Enforcer that had
called to him greeted him by tossing Shouji a long, black spear made
entirely out of crystal. "C'mon, Kenneth. That Priestess is gonna be
pissed if we don't get back soon."

   Shouji nodded and followed the man.

   It had been a stroke of blind luck that had saved Shouji from
being caught. A few minutes ago he had climbed down to the railway
floor to find a suitable spot to go about Nature's business, and the
next thing he knew, an Enforcer (Shouji figured it was Kenneth) had
practically dropped on top of him. The man had been fast, but Shouji
was faster, and in the end Shouji had won himself a change of clothes
and a chance to see what had happened to Terri and Kiyomi.

   They met up with what Shouji figured to be the main group a few
minutes later. One of the group nodded in greeting to Shouji, and he
returned the gesture as he looked around, counting heads.

   Including him, there were seven Enforcers. Four stood near a
blue-robed Priestess, and two others guarded a pathetic looking
creature that, with a shock, Shouji recognized as Kiyomi. The
Enforcer that had mistaken him for Kenneth joined the other four.
Shouji moved towards Kiyomi.

   "You. Kenneth." That voice did not belong to an Enforcer.

   Shouji froze, then slowly turned around. How could he have missed
seeing Her, of all people?

   Mercury fixed him with a steely blue gaze. "You found no sign of
their male companion?"

   Shouji straightened automatically, "None." He quickly added, "My
Lady."

   Mercury nodded absently. "Then help out the others. I wish to
leave."

   Shouji saluted, fist to heart, and barely restrained his sigh of
relief. He walked over to Kiyomi.

   As he reached her, an eigth Enforcer hauled himself up and over
the edge of the walkway, an unconcious Terri in tow. He dumped her on
the ground. "Found her, Lady Mercury."

   Mercury told Her Priestess, "Take them back to the Odyssey. I have
more pressing matters to attend to at this time."

   The Priestess nodded, and Mercury vanished.

   The Priestess glared at them all. "Well, don't just stand there!
Let's go!" She pointed to Shouji. "You! Bring that sniviling little
bitch. If she can't keep up, then leave her behind. As for the rest
of you: Move your lazy asses!"

   Grumbling, the Enforcers trudged off, one of them carrying Terri
over one of his shoulders.

   Shouji looked down at Kiyomi, and bent to grab her arm. "Come on,
Kiyomi," he said quietly.

   At his touch, Kiyomi's eyes snapped open. One hand lifted, and,
lightining swift, she clawed at his face with her nails, shrieking
wordlessly. Shouji made a grab for her wrist, missed, and she raked a
long, bloody furrow along the left side of his jaw before he managed
to catch both of her hands.

   He was suddenly aware that the others were watching them.
"Kiyomi!" he growled in a whisper, although he doubted if anyone
could hear him over her screaming. "Damn it, woman, get ahold of
yourself!"

   Kiyomi, however, did hear him. She blinked rapidly several times,
and some of the hysteria left her face. "Shouji?"

   "What is taking you so long?" The Priestess shouted at him. "Just
knock her out and let's go!"

   Shouji pulled her to her feet. "They think I'm one of them. Just
keep it down and act scared."

   She giggled hysterically. "Oh, I don't have to act." She took a
few steps forward and stopped. "Oh God, it's so *dark*!"

   Shouji gently grabbed her elbow and guided her after the others.
"Sorry. I forgot you're not wearing a Night Visor," he said
sotto-voce.

   She tripped, caught herself, and attached herself to his arm.
"Yeah... well... I guess I'm sorry for scratching you. I did scratch
you, right?" She fumbled for his face, and he winced as her fingers
pressed against the cuts. "Okay," she said softly, "Maybe I more than
scratched you."

   "Maybe. What happened?"

   "Terri and I were talking about..." She shuddered. "Well, we were
talking. And then that Senshi and her cronies showed up. Mercury did
some flashy thing and... that's all I remember up until I attacked
you." She gasped. "Oh my God! Where is Terri?"

   "Quiet!" he snarled, noticing that some of the Enforcers were
looking back curiously. "Damn it, don't you ever shut up?"

   The others laughed and went back to talking amongst themselves.

   Shouji sighed. "Let's try *not* to get caught, okay Kiyomi?"

   "Sorry."

   "One of the other Enforcers is carrying her. She doesn't look to
good. What happened to her?"

   "I don't know... It all happened so fast..."

   "Nevermind, then."

   "Shouji? What's going to happen to us?"

   "I don't know, Kiyomi, but I've got a real bad feeling."


Minako pushed the box away with a weary sigh. Placing her elbows on
her desk, she buried her face in her hands, wisps of hair sticking
out between her fingers. For the first time in a millenia, she was
feeling her age. "Tell me again how you found it?"

   "When I took Ami-chan back to her room, I noticed that the place
reeked, like something had died in there. Which, I guess, is true
enough."

   Through her fingers, Minako watched Makoto give the box a
disgusted look.

   "Anyway," Makoto said, "I searched around and found it in her
closet, hidden underneath a trap door she had built into the floor.

   "And that's not the only one I found, either, only the most
identifiable one. The others were so badly mutilated that I could
only hope they were dead before Ami... before Mercury did what she
did to them."

   Minako lowered her hands. "Were any of them-"

   "No," Makoto said firmly. "None of them were human."

   Minako nodded, relieved. "Then bury them. Or burn them. I don't
care, just get rid of them." She rubbed her forehead. "How's evac
prep going?"

   Makoto winced.

   Minako looked at her, surprised. "That badly? Why?"

   "You seriously can't expect five hundred people to be ready to
evacuate in under an hour, Minako-chan. Don't you remember what
happened at Watabe?"

   "Ugh... You had to remind me, didn't you?"

   "Same situation, twice as many people. Frankly, I'd be surprised
if we managed to get half of our non-essetials out of here before
that tidal wave hits us. If we had more time..."

   "How the hell are we supposed to get more..." She trailed off,
eyes widening in revelation. "Kami-sama, how could I have missed it?"

   Makoto blinked. "What's 'it?'"

   Minako ignored her and stood up. "Mako-chan, I need twenty-five,
no, fifty volunteers. Make sure none of them have families or strong
emotional ties to life."

   "Minako-chan..."

   "Go to Ami-chan's lab and find that assistant of hers, Jesus or
Emilio or whatever the heck his name is. Tell him I need to borrow
Ami-chan's TMD Amp prototype. And announce that I want the first
level and the Ark cleared in fifteen minutes. *Completely* cleared,
got that? Send the people to the Catacombs. Anybody that argues won't
be evacuated."

   "Minako-chan, calm down! What are you talking-"

   "Can you work the Gate by yourself?"

   Makoto was caught off guard. "I... um... I think I can. But why?
Where will you-"

   "Great! Now I'm going to need-" Minako stopped in mid-sentence as
a column of fire erupted into existance near her door, out of which
appeared Rei. The fire vanished.

   Makoto turned in her chair and smiled at Rei. "You know how to
make an entrance, don't you?"

   "It's a talent." Rei's own smile faded and she looked at Minako.
"We've got a problem."

   "Hold that thought, Rei-chan." She said to Makoto, "Did you get
everything I told you?"

   Makoto shrugged. "I guess I did. That still doesn't explain what
you're going to be doing."

   "I'm going to buy us time." To Rei, "Any sign of Terri-chan?"

   Rei produced a sheet of paper. "That's the problem." She handed it
to Minako. Minako read it silently. Her eyes widened. She read it
again. "Oh, Kami, why now?" she whispered, stunned.

   Makoto stood and plucked the paper out of Minako's hands. "What is
it?" Her eyes scanned the page, and her expression became one of
stunned disbelief. "They went *WHERE*?!"

   Rei said, "To scout out some coordinates given to them by
Ami-chan. Or should I say Mercury? Those coordinates look familiar,
don't they?"

   Minako paused in the act of sitting down. "Now that you mention
it, they do." She sat and looked at Rei. "Why?"

   "I checked with Robert's report. Those cooridnates are around the
area where Robert had spotted the CTDF force."

   'Must stay calm... Must... stay... calm...' Minako closed her
eyes. "Can you reach her from this distance, Rei-chan?"

   "Don't you think I've tried?" Rei said, irritated. "Somebody
blocked me."

   Minako felt a fierce headache coming on. "Mars?"

   "She's the only one capable of blocking me."

   "Shit!" Makoto shouted. "What are we sitting around here for?
We've got to go rescue her before she's caught!"

   From Rei, "My thoughts exactly, Mako-chan. If I take ten people
with me, we can hit 'em hard before they've got a clue about what's
going on, and we can get Terri-chan out before Mercury and Mars can
regroup. They won't expect a head-on attack so soon."

   "I'll go with you. I'm gonna kick Mercury's ass for messing with
Ami-chan like that. You coming, Minako-chan?"

   Minako took a deep breath and opened her eyes. "None of us are
going anywhere."

   Makoto, standing now, and Rei both whirled in her direction. Rei's
eyes narrowed angrily. "What did you just say?"

   "I said no," Minako answered calmly. "The only reason why Mercury
would consider Ami-chan worthless, and give up her best chance in a
thousand years to kill us, would be if she no longer considered us to
be a threat. The only way *that* could happen is if she has, or very
soon will have, our secret weapon, that is, Terri-chan. And I'm
willing to bet that she does.

   "Mercury wants to draw us away from the base, divide us if she
can, so either she or Mars can tear us apart. She's already put
Ami-chan out of commission, and I don't intend to give her the chance
to do the same to us."

   Minako looked hard at them both. "Besides, Venus is near, and I
have *no* intention of letting her come near these people. We all
know what Venus'll do."

   She saw a surprised, then a thoughtful look cross Makoto's face.
Rei, too, looked surprise. And then the true meaning of Minako's
words sank in, and she went crimson with rage.

   "So you're just going to leave Terri-chan out there? You're not
even going to *try*?! Minako, we have spent close to three hundred
years on this project, and if you think I'm crazy enough to let you
let it all go to Hell, then you're not just insane, you're frickin'
MAD!"

   Minako stood slowly, facing Rei's wrath directly. Her voice was
deceptivly mild. "Are you challenging my authority on this matter,
Hino Rei?"

   Rei was taken aback, but she countered quickly enough. "Hell, yes,
I'm questioning your authority! What right do you-"

   "I have every right, Rei! I'm your *leader!* And I'm not about to
allow a suicide mission against the Senshi just to rescue three
people. We have an obligation to get our allies out of this place
alive, and if you're not going to help me fufill it then I will have
you confined to your room until evac begins! Now, you are going to
leave my office, find Ami-chan, and do your damn best to make her
sane again and I'm not going to hear anything else about this. HAVE I
MADE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

   Minako realized she was screaming at the top of her lungs. Makoto
was staring at her in open-mouthed shock. Rei looked as though
someone had dropped a piano on her, but Minako knew that, any moment,
Rei would work herself into such a righteous wrath that there would
be no stopping her. Minako's headache suddenly seemed well on its way
to turning into a migrane. She sat down hard, rubbing her temples.

   "Minako-chan..." Makoto begin.

   Minako cut her off with a sharp gesture. "I don't have anything
else to say to either of you. You have your orders; you're
dismissed."


Fuming, Rei took a step towards Minako. Makoto moved quickly,
grabbing Rei's arms and bodily dragging her out to the hall.

   Once the door closed, Makoto released Rei and started to walk
away. "She has a point, y'know."

   Rei shot Minako's door one more glare, then started after the
taller woman. "What the Hell do you mean? You don't actually *agree*
with her, do you?"

   "Of course not," Makoto said calmly. "You know I've never been
comfortable abandoning people. But," she lifted a finger to silence
Rei's protests, "that doesn't mean I'm going to go against
Minako-chan's orders. Not anymore, at least. And the reason why I
won't is because I trust Minako-chan. I trust her plan, I trust her
logic, but most of all I trust her as a person. I may not agree with
her all the time, but, damn it, she knows what's going on better than
I do. So if she says we can't afford to rescue Terri-chan now, then I
believe that she's right... which is more than I can say about you."

   Rei scowled, "I still don't like this."

   "Imagine how she must feel, Rei-chan. To us, Terri-chan's just a
person, our student, and possibly a friend. But she's Minako-chan's
only living relative."

   "They're not related, Mako-chan."

   Makoto stopped in front of an elevator and pushed a button. "So
what? It is true Terri-chan is Minako-chan's God-daughter, but
family, whether related by blood or not, is still family.

   "If your best friend's, and sister's, daughter was in trouble and
you knew that you couldn't do anything how would you feel, Rei-chan?"

   "Furious," Rei said immmediatly. She glared up at Makoto, "And
I've got no doubt that Minako-chan's furious, but *I* wouldn't be
sitting around on my ass doing nothing. I would go out there and
rescue her."

   The elevator pinged and the doors slid open. Makoto smiled sadly
as she stepped into the cab and pushed a button. "And that's why
neither of us are the leader, Rei-chan. Not only do we lack
perspective, but you and I never got over the guilt of failing a
child that never existed."

   "Chibi-Usa-chan..." Rei whispered.

   The doors slid shut, leaving Rei alone.


Kiyomi's foot caught on something she couldn't see and she fell
heavily, brusing her knees on the concrete. "Shimatta..."

   Shouji was there immediatly. He grumbled something, she had heard
a clatter, and then she was being lifted as easily as a feather.

   "What are you doing?" the Priestess shrilled. "I told you that if
she couldn't walk, then you were to leave her!"

   Kiyomi cringed away from that voice, but Shouji's chest rumbled
with his angry reply. "You said that if she couldn't keep up I was to
leave her. If I carry her then she'll be able to keep up easily."

   "You dare defy me?!"

   "Lady Mercury told us to bring them, 'them' being plural. If you
wanna leave this one behind, then you can have the pleasure of
explaining to our Lady why we brought back only one person."

   Someone made a comment about "Kenneth" being overly protective of
Kiyomi and another remarked about "sharing." Kiyomi buried her face
in Shouji's chest and tried to tune them out.

   Wind swirled through the air, catching strands of Kiyomi's hair
and blowing it about her face. The air was growing bitterly cold, and
Kiyomi could feel occasional flakes of snow landing on her face and
hands. Kiyomi shuddered.

   She wanted, very badly, to crawl off somewhere and cry... or
scream. Perferably scream and scream and scream and scream and...

   Kiyomi shuddered again, more violently this time. Shouji shifted
her slightly, so that he was cradling her rather than carrying her.
"It's okay, Kiyomi..."

   He knew about her phobia, the intense fear that came over her in
the dark, and it came as no surprise when he had pointed out that the
tunnels were getting brighter as they neared the entrance.

   What neither had planned on was Kiyomi's inability to see that
light.

   'A dream,' Kiyomi thought dully. 'This all has to be a dream. I
dreamed Mercury killed me, and for some reason I'm dreaming that I've
been sent to Hell. I didn't know Hell was so black...' She wanted to
laugh at the bleakness of her own thoughts, but something told her
that laughing would be a very, very bad idea.

   She couldn't go crazy. She wanted to go crazy, because being crazy
would mean that she wouldn't give a damn about what was going on, but
she couldn't. Shouji had told her that once they reached their
destination, he would do his best to find a way out. And that meant
that Kiyomi had to watch the still unconcious Terri.

   Of course, "watch" was probably the wrong word for this situation.

   "Holy crap," Shouji said. He stopped walking. More snow and wind
whirled around them. They must be outside, Kiyomi realized.

   Kiyomi started to look, and realized immediatly the futility of
that action. She settled for asking, "What?"

   "It's a fortress... on skis."

   "That doesn't make sense." Of course it didn't make sense. This
was a dream, and not all dreams made sense. She choked down a giggle.

   Shouji started walking again. "I know it doesn't make sense. But
that's what it is: a fortress on skis. I don't remember there being
something like this when I was an Enforcer."

   "I hate to sound cruel, Shouji, but I really don't care. I just...
I... just..." She trailed off, shaking harder than ever.

   "Hey, remember what I said. Don't you dare freak out on me."

   She laughed sourly. "I wouldn't dream of it."


<<<"Kunzite? Isn't that some sort of element?"

   "You're thinking of Beryllium. Kunzite is a rock, sorta like
malachite, but I think its more bluish or something like that."

   "Oh... and what does kunzite have to do with anything?"

   "You don't remem... the name doesn't ring any bells?"

   "Nope. Was it supposed to?"

   "Well... um... I dunno. Rei-chan just wanted me to ask you if the
name meant something."

   "Why would it mean anything to me? And who's Rei and why are you
asking strange questions for her?"

   "Oh! Rei-chan! Well, she's a friend of mine. You remember her,
don't you, Terri-chan? The girl with the black hair? You met her a
couple of weeks ago when I gave you that tour of the university
campus."

   "You mean Hino-san! I'm sorry, Minako-chan. I have a horrible
memory for faces."

   "Eh, don't worry about it."

   "Okay, I won't. But... why did she want to know if a rock meant
anything to me?"

   "You remind her of him."

   "Him? I thought kunzite was a rock."

   "Yeah, well, you see she used to date this football player from,
uh, from... England! Yeah, he was from England. And his name was Kunz
something or other, but everybody called him 'the Rock.' So, y'know,
she called him Kunzite. As a nickname. Kunzite. Heh."

   "Oh... You still haven't told me what that has to do with me."

   "She thought, um, well, you know, if you two could be related,
since you look a lot like Kunzite does... did. You look like he did."

   "Hm... well, I wouldn't know. I doubt if we are, though. I mean,
what are the odds of me being related to some guy named Kunzite?
Pretty small, I think. Don't you?"

   "Yeah... small..."

   "Minako-chan?">>>