This story is a complete co-write with PD (pderdy on ao3). If you go to her ao3 page you can see part 1 with Ami! I'm writing parts 2 and 3 myself and she's editing them! So you get a total twist of our writing. The story will be posted on both sites! And yes...I'm still working on High Tension!

Minako didn't want to have this meeting.

It was so stupid and pointless. How could you sit there and point out the flaws that each person had to their face? And even have a group of people doing it? But it had to be done, after what Minako saw.

Even though she had rewatched that convenience store footage multiple times and nothing had been there most of the time, she knew subconsciously; she was seeing what was to come. The good news? She only mostly ever saw her own evil self. The bad news? She only mostly ever saw herself. It meant that, if anything happened, she was going to be the very first.

Taking in a deep breath, she looked about the room.

They had chosen the outers' house, again. It had been cleaned, the carpets replaced, the table gone, and a cup of hot tea sat in front of her. Coffee was a thing everyone had agreed to stop drinking. That didn't stop Minako's urge for a strong cup mixed with some alcohol today, especially today of all days.

She was rather amazed that they didn't want to move houses after the tragedy that had occurred here. It made her uncomfortable; she refused to sit on the same couch she was dying on before, instead opting for a spot on the floor next to Rei. For comfort.

...Rei.

She was still healing and had to stay laid down on that damned couch. It was amazing that she had lived, after she had asked Ami how bad it was.

A thread. She held on to life by a single thread. After she had been told of everything she hadn't seen firsthand, Minako had looked deeper into it all, and thought she was going to vomit when what Rei had suffered through started to sink in.

By now, everyone but Rei had healed up, except maybe Makoto's mental state regarding Ami. Minako's eyes flickered that way. It's reasonable to be freaked out, all things considered, but Makoto hadn't even seen or heard any of the shit the others had.

That part made no sense... Oh, must have been the part where she crushed fake Ami's skull in until she died. Yeah, that might freak a person out. They were working on talking it out some, a little, from what she understood.

Ultimately, everyone else had suffered at the hands of the fake Mizuno Ami, except for Usagi and Mamoru who took an hour and a fucking half to get food. Maybe that was a good thing, maybe it wasn't. It left marks on them all. Minako refused to ever put a single ice cube into a drink again, regardless of whether it was supposed to belong there or not.

She had also avoided wearing the chain that her sweet Rei had bought her, because it reminded her too much of the pain Rei had gone through.

She couldn't say much for the others, however.

Really, they can't afford a repeat of all that. That's why, now it's time to look at everyone and think things through. Most of these were her own team, outers aside. She's the one leading them into battle, and, ultimately, her idea to go out to a stupid bar - which, mind you, they were banned from now - got them in this mess in the first place.

Still, none of it wouldn't have happened in the very first place if none of them had sat on their issues as long as they did... Minako looked at each of them, assessing them one by one in her head.

Usagi was the first one she scrutinized, but there really wasn't anything in that dumpling head. From what she was told, Usagi's double had appeared once, at the chasing scene with Ami... and that was about all they saw of her. Useless was a pretty good way to describe that one. Usagi herself was in no immediate danger of… what was that word she heard them say? Retrograding? It sounded fancy.

That said, it didn't mean she wasn't in danger of the others, and Minako was pretty sure a safe distance was going to be required.

Next she addressed Ami, who had been fairly quiet on the matter. Thus far, she had simply been analyzing all she had been told and learned, mixed in with what she knew. No one actually knew yet just how she got away from the other evil scouts. ...God, why hadn't she learned their stupid names? 'Evil Ami' just sounded stupid and lame…

Well, whatever. The girl had showed up just in time to be some sort of a saving grace to the rest of the team. As for her issues… that medicine she's taking was still impacting her here and there. Once in awhile she'd be just fine and the next, passed out on Makoto. It's balancing out lately. Oh, and, the fact that her evil self had been so... twisted?

Just how fucked up was Ami, really? Minako has had an underlying thought of that before. Ami was quiet, and she had always heard that the quiet ones were the most deadly. After what they had gone through, Minako would have to agree. What would it take for the girl to snap and really show that side of her to the rest of the team?

Even if she didn't really show it outright? She's their tactician; if she wanted them all killed, she could do it, and no one would question what she'll suggest as an idea. They'll follow her to their deaths. Well, hopefully whatever the hell she was on would stop that from happening.

It didn't help that Minako's seen Ami create ice daggers out of thin air. Not even Mercury; just Ami. It was a bit… chilling, to think about. Minako didn't even think of it jokingly at all. It was the appropriate verb.

Okay, next. She looked at Makoto, up on the sofa next to her. Makoto is tall and strong, which meant that her evil self met her at that same front. What would be the difference between the two of them?

Oh. Right, Makoto had always sacrificed herself for the others. Her kindness was now her ultimate weakness. That sounded like something you'd hear from a drama on TV, but it was the truth. Was the evil version actually stronger? Or was it more that she wasn't afraid to smash your face in on the first punch?

From what she'd heard, evil Mako didn't really seem like a bash your face in now, ask questions later thing. More like a 'I'm going to completely destroy you' kind of thing… There it is again, 'from what she's been told'... Minako hated that she hadn't seen the others' evil versions. She knows the least about them, and she was supposed to be the fucking leader.

She stopped that shit to think about Rei next. Now that's a lot to think over... What would Rei's issues be aside from the obvious? …

… Her shitty dad. Abandonment, then? And how it's a legendary feat to earn her trust? For fuck's sake, Minako had used her as practical target practice when fighting youma as a distraction... She feels like she's out of her depth with that. Rei's always been bristly about it, and she respects that.

That just leaves her with Rei's anger issues. Rei would admit to it quickly. And her rashness... this one Minako had seen first hand, when she tackled her evil double that loomed over her as she was sprawled on the ground by a trash can, with two broken ribs, and unable to move. It wasn't until much later that Rei told her she had rushed in like that because her evil version was about to slit her throat. It made it a little less stupid, at least...

… Which brought Minako to evil Rei. She had noticed immediately; those eyes… they weren't Rei's. They were dark, and she had this smirk on her face, a very cocky one. Then, she had seen it again as she briefly regained consciousness near the end of the battle; the retrograde spirit had manifested again.

The next thing, Rei had wiped out two evil scouts in one go before collapsing to the ground. Minako still wasn't sure how Rei had managed to pull all of that fire out of her dying ass, but... It left her in awe. That cold fury in what she could see of evil Rei's phantasm in the flames though…

That version of Rei didn't care who the hell you were or what your deal was. It was almost like looking at the face of an assassin; grinning, revelling in the satisfaction of revenge well served as they slit your throat. Minako had to stop herself from continuing that thought.

She really really wanted to analyze the outer scouts too, but she's got nothing to run on. All they had said was that their issues were resolved with no problems, and there would be no recurring retrograde spirits on their behalf. Real comforting. It pissed Minako off to no end.

They always seemed so perfect. When Minako made a mistake, Haruka wouldn't hesitate to tell her that her problem was that 'she thought.' Michiru always gave her a thousand year stare of disappointment. Setsuna never said anything and her face gave no indication one way or another, but it was clear she was with the others.

Not to mention, they harbored the child of death and destruction in their own house. How is it that, the one place that seemed like the most fucked up of all places, manage to come out okay every single time? It wasn't fair. It made Minako bitter about it all.

"Alright, settle down everyone." Haruka was the one to start it up.

"We all hate it, but it's clear why we're here. Minako said she's been seeing retrogrades of everyone. Well, almost everyone, I guess."

Minako started to mumble to herself. "Yeah…"

It had been a lie. She had seen just her own, and that one time where she saw Ami's, but that one might've just been a nightmare. After what she had to endure, it's a surprise she's only dreamt about it once…

She needed a cover up, to make sure that if - when - the others' retrograde spirits returned, everyone was on the same page. Better to assume all of them has that risk, than to think it was just her losing it over what had happened. After all, her evil self tried to stab her through the throat with a shard of glass. God, her evil self had no class. Not to mention that ugly gold tooth. Who even does that?

"So, from what Michiru and Setsuna were able to figure out - and from what we all experienced - this occurs from what we hide, or something. What you keep hidden inside you or something… like… your dark side?"

"Haruka..." Michiru sighed a little and picked the ball that was dropped. "These evil versions of ourselves are manifestations of the darkest part of our hearts. Ami being the most prime example we have... She's the kindest person I know, because she had actively chosen to be. - So, with her evil counterpart, what we had seen was her without the guilt of hurting others."

Minako watched Ami shrink back into the couch some. Did that seriously mean she had considered hurting them before? Note to self: double check whatever Ami tells you to do before she gets you killed.

"So…" Makoto spoke up this time. "How do we uh… have that not happen again? Like do we just unleash it all ourselves, or… ?"

"No... It's more about coming to terms with what the problem is. Meaning that, today, everyone will be either admitting their own faults, or have those pointed out for them. We did it ourselves and it was rough, but it helped out."

"... Haruka, why the hell would you do that without the rest of us?" Minako felt pissed off about it. What right did they have? Weren't they all supposed to be one big team?

"It was a test. No need to drag everyone out here while we were ripping up carpet, just for it to amount to nothing."

"And how do you know it worked? How do we know you won't retrograde in like, five years?"

"Well… we don't."

What the hell? Was that supposed to be a comforting thought?

"You said two seconds ago you had worked it all out, but now you're saying you don't know if it fucking worked? It's one or the other-" She bit back the blond joke for now.

Setsuna decided it was time to step in. "Because I know."

Right, of course. This household has the all seeing time guardian around for them at all times. Just fucking great. Why even bother being a scout with this perfect team around, then. They were stronger, worked together better, knew far more, had actual weapons. Maybe, Rei's thought about quitting a while back wasn't such a bad idea. Minako swallowed her vitriol. Setsuna continued.

"So, who do you want to start with?"

"Well… we were going to say Usagi, but…"

Usagi gave a small smile and a shrug. "Useless. I know. Sorry."

"It's better, you know? I really think yours manifested more from the rest of us, honestly. Doesn't make sense for one to exist for you."

It irked Minako. One more thing about Usagi to grind her nerves with. She loves her as a friend, she really does, but as a scout? It was totally unfair. Usagi could heal everyone and anyone and destroy youma with like, three words. And now, she got out of the retrograde spirits issue scot-free.

"Next." The word came out a little harsher than she wanted and Rei's hand was on her shoulder suddenly and she flinched, looking back her it.

"It's okay, Mina. Relax." Bless you Rei for being here. Minako took a deep breath in and let it go, relaxing just the tiniest bit.

"I figured we'd go with Ami next, since we know just how dangerous that can be." Haruka addressed Ami, then paused for a moment and frowned. "You're not gonna have a down moment, are you?"

"No… they've become few and far between. I took a nap before coming here to prevent one from coming on." Ami still looked small on the couch, tucked into herself. Michiru had shown her what had happened in the mirror. She better know just how dangerous she can be.

"I think..." Ami licked her lips. "... I'm fairly sure I can point my own issues out."

Of course, girl genius knew it all. Minako huffed a little bit and crossed her arms, waiting. She had a whole lot of shit lined up for that ice cold bitch. She's taking her time to put her words together just right…

"You see, I'm never actually involved in the fights, for one. I'm the tactician, and I'll admit, a part of me wants to exist for more than a Shabon Spray. It's… frustrating. Outside of that, I tend to keep a distance from most people. I'm… aloof. I mean... At school - before meeting Usagi, I had been cold and callous and sometimes, I'm still that way. Less so, now, but it's there. Even when I work at the hospital I kept to myself and I was… into dark humor."

"Dark humor?" Rei looked over to Ami at that one.

Makoto shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Yeah… I saw her do it once. After evil Ami… I wouldn't say it's a coping mechanism, per se. You know those rumors about doctors making jokes about patients, alive or gone?"

The room went dead silent at that and Minako swore that if Ami tried to shrink any further into that couch, she was going to become one with it. Dark humor. Minako could understand that one herself. Makoto continued.

"Anyways, we got into a fight over it. Ami got violent and tried to hit a wall, but I stopped her. Girl has way more strength than she lets on. … Letting her fight wouldn't be a bad idea, honestly."

Minako let out a heavy sigh, thinking that one over. That was her call, not anyone else's. "... Fine. But only if it's a fairly weak one. And I don't mean quick to take out, anything big and tough is risky, and we need a plan for that. But if shit hits the fan…"

Ami gave a nod in response and Minako nodded back. It irked her to have a change in the plan and system that had been working for many damn years. "Let's do Makoto next, then."

Makoto frowned at that, apparently she wasn't looking forward to this either. "I've got nothing-"

"I do." This time it was Rei speaking up and Minako turned to look at her again. "You give, and don't take. Every time. Like, you make food for all of us all the time, and it comes out of your pocket money, and we don't pay it back until later. You say it's fine, then you struggle for like a week or so, rinse and repeat."

"But it is fine..."

"It seems fine, but you can't say you haven't been frustrated by that. I mean, we all eat a lot since our senshi powers require it to function. A whole lot. No food, no power, useless."

"I…" Makoto frowned and seemed to think on it for a bit. "Yeah, I guess. A time or two."

"So that might manifest." Haruka sighed as she leaned back. "Ami was closest in contact with your doppelganger."

"... Gakuzen."

"... Bless you?" Makoto turned to Ami with raised eyebrows.

"No. Your doppleganger was named Gakuzen. Minako's was Kinbaku. I caught their names, but that was about it."

Well that made life a tiny bit easier.

"Anyways. Not much h… happened." Ami stumbled over her words, shuddering a bit. "Rough…brutish, more than Makoto. Very strong. Disgruntled. All about getting it done and over with. …Pretty sure she intended to strangle me in the bathroom when I tried to escape... with the gold chain I saw Kinbaku with beforehand." Brutish. Probably a good descriptive term if Makoto's strength was anything to show about. Next…

Minako glanced at Rei and frowned. It was her turn. Rei tried to give her a smile to relax as she carefully sat up. Minako did not relax. "Rei. Lay back down before you hurt yourself anymore than you have."

"I'm fine, Mina. Just for a few minutes. It's hard to hear me laying down…" Rei still looked very tired, and she tried to be careful with her injured side. She had been stabbed there and kept it to herself. Minako had even asked if everyone was okay and Rei had said yes. She had lied for Minako's own good because she was paralyzed and couldn't do anything about it. It wasn't fair. Not to mention, her body was still fighting off infections that'd flare up once every few days until medication was given...

Rei took in a careful deep breath. "We all know I've got a lot of issues, there's no hiding that… I mean. Mom dying when I was young, dad leaving me? I still…Let's just say that it's pretty unhealthy. And I…" Rei looked to the side, picking at the cushion of the couch. "Have a very nasty temper at times. I bottle things up until I explode and right now, that's pretty dangerous. ... For everyone." Then suddenly Rei was looking at Minako, and that startled her like crazy.

"And I feel…like I'm target practice. A lot of the times. Go into a youma fight, and I draw the fire in. 90% of the time." Minako blinked. Rei…Rei has an issue with her tactical battle methods. That was one which Minako hadn't expected, and she felt her breath leave her. Her own girlfriend…against her?

"I know it's a method that works a lot, but it's tiring. And dangerous. You've seen it happen where we get something unpredictable, and then I'm always hurt. Grandpa is really starting to get worried about me coming home with bruises and cuts and a limp."

"I… you…" Minako was at a loss for words for a few moments before she suddenly stood up, pulling away. "My methods, my way of battle, have worked almost every time. Do you know the percent of times it's failed? Three percent. Three."

"Three too many." Haruka spoke up and that was it. Minako was fucking done.

"You have no fucking room to talk! By the time you all finally decide to show up, the battle is done and so is the damage! What right do you have to judge in something you took shit-all part in!?"

"Mina-!" Rei was moving to stand up, but Minako shoved her back down and that stunned everyone in the room.

"No! They think they're just so perfect and I'm a piece of shit. They get magic weapons. They get destruction itself. They get the time guardian. What have we got- what have I got? A sword? That, and nothing but the years I spent trying to get all this figured out so it was a quick job with minimal damage, because guess which one of us has to file all that paperwork at their job? Me. You know how much I've had to tamper with all the damned evidence at work to cover things up?"

Ami spoke up now, trying to calm Minako down. "You could have asked; the Mercury computer-"

"I don't trust you right now."

"... Excuse me?"

"You heard me right. You've honestly had the thought of hurting us, and I have no clue if you've done it intentionally in the past, or will in the future. It'll be so easy for you to do during battles. You're fucked up, Ami. More than anyone else in this fucking room."

Immediately Ami was on her feet and in Minako's face. Her medicine apparently gave her some form of chemical courage. "I would never. I've analyzed each situation and even gone to you with what I have to decide the best course of action. You don't even fight most of the time; you stay in the back rank and excuse yourself with protecting Usagi!"

Minako bristled hard at that; she picked her tea cup up and flung it straight at Ami, who dodged it. So much for a fresh new carpet. "Because none of you have the restraint required to protect her! You're all still royal fuck ups after all this time!"

"Enough." Rei was standing, despite grimacing from pain, and had grabbed Minako's arm hard, glaring at her. "What the hell has gotten into you!? You're acting like everyone in the room is the damned enemy right now!"

"Because they are! You're the only one I can-" Minako cut herself off and looked away. She yanked her hand hard out of Rei's grip; who had sank back onto the couch from lack of energy. Minako risked one look back at Rei and immediately turned around.

"... Forget it. Whatever. I'm done here. This was stupid."

And with that, Minako stormed out of the house and down the street. She could trust no one... not even herself.