Author's Greeting: Moshi-moshi! I'm sooooo sorry for not getting this up sooner, but my life has been a wreck lately, and I'm finally starting to get back on track when my computer decides it's going to get THREE Trojan horse viruses...-grr-
So anyway...here's the long-awaited Chapter Nine. I think either next chapter or the chapter after will be shoutouts. Keep a lookout!

Disclaimer: Today's lyrics are from "Face Down" by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

Just So You Know: The long italicized part is Mako-chan's dreams, obviously. Every new paragraph is a fragment of a different dream, alternately between the Minako dream and her Sempai dream.
Okaa-san means Mother
Demo means But
Nani? means What?

Chapter Nine
Memories, Dreams, and Reality

Do you feel like a man when you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's gonna end
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found...

My dreams resume that night, playing over and over until I wake in a cold sweat, fearful of every shadow that touches my skin. It's not just my Minako dream, either. Broken memories of that fateful night with Sempai also swim around the soupy mess that is my mind.

I smell the sea…

Hard hands push me into my apartment door, which I couldn't get unlocked in time. "You try to run away again, bitch," he spits in my face, "and I'll make it your last living moment."

"Onegai…" she whimpers tearfully. "Onegai, Mako-chan!"

I am terrified, but not terrified enough to stop fighting. I kick my leg forward, my thigh smashing into his crotch. He drops me unceremoniously and bends double in pain. I try to fish out my keys, but I can't find them anywhere.

I am the one with the most control over her existence at this moment.

"Looking for these?" He growls, and I hear the jingle of keys. My keys. I look up at his face, at the keys dangling in front of his joyous snarl. I am frozen for one moment too long; he's grabbed me and slammed me against the wall again, his icy hands sliding quickly up my skirt.

I can choose to release her, and let this fragile soul end its life…

I refuse to back down. "No!" my voice screams, and thunder booms above us. He takes one second to look up at the sky, and that gives me enough time to bring my hand up and send my fist flying at his face, quick as lightning. He stumbles back and hits the balcony railing. I snatch my keys, my fingers automatically finding the right one, and unlock my door quickly, utilizing what little time I have while he's stunned.

…or I can use the last of my strength to pull her up, in which case the cliff would probably crumble and we'd both die.

Just before I am completely in the house, a hand catches my ankle. I trip and fall flat on my face, producing a nosebleed. At this time, I release all inhibitions I may have had. I begin screaming bloody murder. Unfortunately, no one will hear me, because of the storm. Even my closest neighbors will attribute my shrieks to whistling wind. I am trapped.

I am the one with the power. I can either save or destroy a life.

"You are now mine, Hanako-chan," he murmurs savagely into my ear, and my eyes widen in fear. The scream is wrenched from my raw throat by some unknown powers, "NOOOOOO!!!"
"MAKO-CHAN!!!"

I suddenly wake, screaming, "I never wanted this!" with all my might.

Abruptly, I am silenced by water, of all things. Somebody has splashed me with cold water. "Mako-chan," I hear a worried voice. "Daijobu-ka?"

My throat is raw; I cannot speak, so I attempt to drink some of the water that landed in my mouth. There is none left; I cough and sputter a series of harried questions. "Who's there? Where am I?"

"It's only Usagi," the innocent voice speaks, and it resonates in my mind. "And you're still in you're apartment, Mako-chan. I thought you might want some company, though, so I told Okaa-san that I was sleeping over here." Usagi babbles, but her voice helps me calm down.

"Taiki-kun?" I whisper, putting a wealth of questions into his name.

Usagi-chan's eyes widen, and a hand gently pushes me onto my back. "You need your rest, Mako-chan. Don't worry."

Impatiently, I brush my friend's small hand away and sit up. "I want to know where Taiki-kun is."

Usagi-chan hesitates. "Mako-chan…"

I blink; it must be bad. Really bad…

"We can't find him. Rei-chan can only track him when he's conscious. Even Michiru-san can't find him, even though she has the Submarine Mirror and all…" Usagi-chan babbles, but I don't listen.

"Taiki-kun…" I murmur, and Usagi-chan looks up. "he's still with Sempai."

"Nani?"

I look Usagi-chan in the eye. "Taiki-kun is still with Sempai. That's the last place Rei-chan saw him, and if he never left willfully, then he's still there. Oh, Kami-sama…" I throw the blanket off of me and grab some clothes. "I need Minako."

"We need to get everyone!" Usagi-chan says, bounding after me.

I whirl around, giving Usagi-chan a hard stare. "No! You can't come. The others can't, either. This is a mission for Minako and me alone."

"Demo…Mako-chan…"

"You won't be able to do anything, Usagi-chan. Please, forget we had this conversation." I turn to go…and trip over a small white shape on the ground.

I hear a grunted, "Mako-chan…" coming from under my legs, and I quickly roll over and stand to let Artemis breathe.

"Artemis, what are you doing here?" I ask the white cat.

He fixes his green eyes on me. "Minako is gone."

I stare at him. "She's…gone?" I blink in shock. "Where?"

"The little wooden shack that Rei-chan mentioned earlier. She means to see what's going on."

My eyes widen, and my hand tightens on something cold and hard. I look down to see my senshi wand, which finishes materializing and glows warningly at me. "She can't! Sempai will ruin her like…"

My unspoken words hover in the air. Like he almost ruined me.

"Artemis, we have to get her before she reaches that shack!" I pause before hurrying out the door. "Usagi-chan, don't let any one worry about me. And, whatever you do, don't come after us."

"But…"

"No, Usagi-chan! Let's go, Artemis!" I say to the cat, and he precedes me out of the apartment.

The storms have lifted, but the sky is hidden by dark, ominous clouds. I whisper a prayer to Juno, urging my spiritual father to keep Minako and Taiki-kun safe.

As physically weak as I am, I still run strongly, racing out of town, towards the evergreen trees that line the edge of the forest. Artemis falls slightly behind, but I do not stop; I need to stop the crime before it happens.

A flash of blonde hair. Frantically, I shriek, "Minako! Stop!"

She does not hear me. Artemis adds his cries, but she is too far ahead. I pump my long legs faster, hoping to reach her before she reaches the clearing…before Sempai sees us…

All of a sudden, there is a strong pain to my scalp; someone's grabbed a fistful of my hair, halting me immediately. I struggle, grabbing at my hair. Another arm swirls around my chest and pins my arms to my sides, rendering me almost powerless.

Almost.

I raise my leg to slam the booted foot into my captor, and immediately I am face down on the ground, the wind knocked out of me. Dragged up again by my hair, I hear a familiar steely voice that chills my bones.

"Haven't I told you before that if you ran away from me again, I'd make it your last moment?"

Author's Sign-off: Why has Minako gone running off to Sempai's cottage? Who has Makoto captive? What's wrong with Taiki? Find out in the next episode of Drops of Jupiter!