A/N: Not much to say here, so I'll let the chapter speak for itself. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nothing from Code Geass or Sailor Moon belongs to me.

Chapter 37

The Rant To End All Rants

Back at Rei's mansion

9:28 p.m.

Ami Mizuno, the senshi of ice, was not one to lose her cool easily, thus her role within the Sailor team. She was a calculating, reserved, and very shy person who tended to keep her emotions at mild levels so she wouldn't blow her top.

But as she sat on the couch in the living room of Rei's mansion, the young woman found that she was being pushed to her breaking point.

"What on Earth are you thinking!" Rei screeched, pacing in front of her while Lita and Serena exchanged giggles at Rei's overreaction. "You know as well as I do that Rolo is part of the O.S.I. Ami, he's dangerous! You can't just randomly go out on a date with him."

"But I…"

"Trust me on this," Rei cut in, stopping to stare into Ami's cobalt blue eyes. "Don't go out with him. It's bad news Ami. He's bad news!"

"Rei has a point," Lita added, her giggle fit having stopped for the time being. "We don't know enough about Rolo. I'm not saying that you shouldn't go out with him if that's what you want to do, but maybe you should wait until we've gotten more info."

Serena scoffed. "Listen Ami, don't mind these two. If you want to go out with Rolo then just go for it!"

"Serena, it's not…"

"This isn't a game Serena," Rei interrupted, turning her wrath on the meatball head. "Ami could be putting herself in real danger because of infatuation! Not only is that not like her, but…it's just plain crazy!"

"Infatuation?"

"It means she likes him you dork!"

"At least I'm not an immature brat!"

"Oh, so you've resorted to stealing Lelouch's lines then? Fine! Two can play at this game!"

"I thought you said it wasn't a game!"

"Serena…I'm going to strangle you if you don't start keeping your little comments to yourself."

"Sure, sure," Serena answered, rolling her eyes. "Keep telling yourself that, just like you keep telling yourself that you don't have a crush on Lelouch."

"Wha…I don't!" Rei stammered, a blush rising on her face. "I just…"

"You just want to kiss him right?"

"SERENA!"

"Girls, this is getting out of control," Lita cut in, trying to stand in between the two raging teens. "Just cool it okay."

Rei was desperately trying to get past Lita's tall frame as Serena smirked and giggled senselessly. "If Lita weren't in my way, you'd be dead meat meatball brain!"

"You only say that because you know what I say is true," Serena answered, making kissing noises as she did. "It's obvious that you adore Lula."

"Don't call him that!"

"Oh, is that nickname reserved just for you?"

"Shut up!"

"No way! Teasing you is just too much fun."

"You immature brat!"

"Now look who's using Lula's words."

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling him that!"

Lita rolled her eyes, still trying to keep Rei away from Serena as she continued to make comments about Lelouch. Easy to say that for Lita, who had a small crush on the guy as well, this was a very awkward situation to be in.

As for Ami, she was fuming inside as the others continued ranting and raving like there wasn't something wrong. For the first time in a long time, a fire was ignited within the senshi of ice.

The shy, calculating girl was not one to go on rants often. On the contrary, she hardly ever got angry period, but again, she was at the breaking point thanks to Rei and Serena's antics. It was because of them that she and Rolo had to escape from that dining room in the first place. Not only that, but all the hard work she had put into the casserole ended up being wasted thanks to them. No way was she about to stand for Rei's verbal abuse, or Serena's childish comments, or even Lita's vain attempt to calm the two hotheads down for a second longer. Enough was enough.

With a determined scowl on her face, Ami Mizuno rose from the couch, her fists clenched and her mind sharp with the things she needed to express.

"QUIT WITH THE INANE BABBLING YOU INSUFFERABLE TWITS!"

If the way the above sentence is written is any indicator, the senshi of ice had momentarily become the senshi of volcanic eruptions.

The others were so stunned that immediately the room quieted. Tense silence filled the room as Ami glared at her three friends.

"Now that I have your undivided attention," she began, "let me start by saying that my date with Rolo is a means to gather information on both sides. He probably wants to get information on you Rei since you were directly involved with the Britannian forces for a time. Plus, based on the other O.S.I. records I accessed, Cornelia had processed a report about me. There was also info from the A.S.E.C. about Serena and Lita. All that data was taken from the Narita battle. I also have a hunch about Rolo when it comes to these facts. I believe that somewhere along the line, he lost someone in Narita just as we did. At least, that's what he told me when we traveled there together…there's something else too."

She paused, her gaze having lost some of its fire. "…The other day…at the pool...I talked to Rolo then, but after…I'm not sure what happened to him, but he nearly drowned and I…thankfully I was able to save him, but when he regained consciousness, something had changed in his demeanor. He went from being a shy recluse into someone who was deathly fearful…deathly fearful of me, the person that saved him." Ami lifted her gaze, focusing on her friends once more. "Then tonight, he randomly asks for a date instead of just asking me the questions he wanted answered when he had the chance. I guess what I'm trying to say is…the point is that I have to know for myself the kind of person he really is and if he's truly a threat to us. There's also the fact that if I can get close to him, I could gain easier access to the O.S.I. facility under the school. With that comes the possibility that we could find more information about Rei's brother and about Nunnally."

She set her gaze solely on Rei. "Do you understand now Rei? Do you understand that this is something I have to do, just as you had to come here…to find Lelouch and discover the truth about your past?"

Rei sighed. "I do, but that doesn't mean I like it. None of us want to see you get hurt Ami."

"She's right, we don't," Serena stated. "Then again, it's possible that maybe Rolo isn't as bad as we originally thought. I still say you should go for it if that's what you want to do."

"Same here," Lita added. "Follow your heart Ami."

A smile broke out on Rei's face. "And if you need back-up, we'll have your back. Just be careful okay."

Ami returned the smile. "I will. You just need to trust me, just as I trust all of you.

"Speaking of trust though…" Lita began, trailing off a bit as she collected her thoughts. "I had a discussion with Suzaku tonight."

"What? Suzaku?" Serena asked.

"When did you have time to talk to him?" Rei questioned.

Lita sighed. "Well, while the two of you were looking for Ami and Rolo, I stayed behind to clean up the dining room. Suzaku stayed as well since I didn't want him tracking through the house. I would've said the same to the rest of you too, but you guys had already left. Anyway, while I was scrubbing the floor we talked."

"About what?" Ami asked.

"About friendship. I guess since Lelouch betrayed him…he feels differently about it. He told me that in friendship betrayal is imminent."

Rei's gaze narrowed. "I see. So that's why Euphie was worried. He's isolating himself so he won't get hurt again, so he won't lose anyone else that he loves."

"I didn't agree with him. I told him that my friends…that all of you are my family and that nothing would change that," Lita continued. "I'm not sure if I convinced him though because it wasn't long after that he started asking me about the Celestial Knights. Since he knows Rei's identity he knows ours as well. He definitely suspected us as being them at first, but he said that the footage from that night contradicted his belief. He doesn't think that you're Zera, Rei."

"Did he ask you about anything else?" Serena asked, noting that Rei was lost in her own world.

"Yeah, he asked about the outer soldiers," Lita replied. "I told him that I didn't know anything about them, just that they were a different segment of the Sailor team. After that, he stopped talking and I went back to cleaning up the mess."

"Why would he ask about the outer senshi?" Rei wondered, her eyes narrowing into slits. "There's been footage on the news about them from that night but not enough to bring about suspicion unless…"

"We should let Haruka know that Suzaku is targeting them." The guardian of fire lifted her gaze. "In the meantime, there's something I need to take care of."

Without another word to the others, Rei grabbed her jacket from off the arm of the couch where Ami had previously sat. Shoving her arms through it, she walked toward the front door, wordlessly making a decision on the course of action she needed to take.

She'd barely made it out five steps when Serena came bounding out behind her.

"Rei, hold on!"

Rei inclined her gaze backward. "What's up?"

Serena sighed. "You're about to meet with Suzaku aren't you?"

"You know me too well for your own good," Rei muttered, turning away to close her eyes for a moment. "Of course, knowing me, you realize that nothing you say will make me change my mind."

"Yeah, I do," she replied. "That's why I'm not going to try, rather…I'm going to say that if you need back-up we've got your back. Just call."

Rei opened her eyes, allowing a smile to lift the corners of her mouth as the subtle breeze lifted strands of her raven locks into the air. "I'll keep that in mind. And Serena…"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you." She glanced back at her. "You're the best friend anyone could ask for."

"So I've been told," Serena replied. "Go on now. Get out of here."

Rei turned away, already headed towards her awaiting motorcycle. "Very well, your highness."

She reached into her coat pocket then, absentmindedly dialing a number she hadn't dialed in a long while. After taking a deep breath, she pressed the phone to her ear.

He picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"

"I need to talk to you. Meet me at Tokyo Tower in thirty minutes."

The raven-haired princess hung up without another word.

At Haruka's apartment

9:50 p.m.

"So then, E.E. decided to take over the Black Knights?"

C.C. was seated at the circular kitchen table. Most everyone else was seated at the table, with the exception of Tomaru and Urabe, who having decided that they didn't want to get too close to the green haired girl yet, chose to stand nearby. Neither of them really knew anything about her.

The same could be said for the five young women sitting at the table, though Kallen had a better understanding of her than the rest. She was the one who had told the story of what happened since the green haired witch had been notified through an email that was sent by E.E. herself.

"Do you have an idea of what she's planning?" C.C. asked, taking the last bite of the pizza. They'd had to order another one since the girl had eaten through the first two in a fraction of a second.

Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but she did gobble it up rather quickly.

"I have no idea," Kallen told her. "I'm just figuring out who E.E. is."

"My mirror hasn't revealed E.E.'s true intentions," Michiru stated, staring down at said mirror. "The only vision I can see in it is one of a big wave with destructive power. However…"

C.C. raised a delicate eyebrow. "However?"

"However," Haruka cut in, "there's another vision, one of Sailor Moon in critical danger."

"And we need to figure out what the vision means before it can happen," Setsuna added. "Sailor Moon is the ultimate protector of this planet. If anything happens to her, the world will be susceptible to chaos and ruin."

"With the war between Japan and Britannia still waging…it's hard to accurately time when this vision of danger will come to pass. We only know that it'll be during a time of great confusion and in a foreign land. That's all."

"For now we can only assume that destroying Sailor Moon is E.E.'s main objective," Michiru stated, "but I'm not sure if the assumption is really accurate, especially since the target of E.E.'s attacks on the settlement were directed towards Rei."

"From my knowledge of E.E., I can tell you that Rei is her main target," C.C. told her. "It's likely that she'll target Serena as well though, especially after what happened on Kanime Island."

"What do you mean?" Kallen asked.

"After you left, Rei fought against K3, E.E.'s cousin, and killed her. In doing so she saved Zero and Suzaku Kururugi."

"Saved him?" Urabe questioned. "Isn't Zero dead?"

There was a long moment of silence before C.C. finally spoke.

"Zero is alive," she told him, "but he has lost his memory. He resides at Ashford Academy as a Britannian student named Lelouch Lamperouge. Until his memory returns you could say that Zero may as well be dead."

Kallen gasped. "C.C.!"

'I don't see the harm in telling him that much," C.C. told her. "Besides, we have bigger issues to deal with now than just the state of the Black Knights. This battle has become much more than a fight for Japan. Now the world is at stake. As things stand, it's clear to me that the Sailor Scouts will not be able to defeat E.E. on their own."

"Hold on," Haruka cut in. "We're not asking for…"

A sudden shrill ringing of the phone cut Haruka off. Tomaru, having been somewhat bored with the conversation, walked to the cordless receiver and picked up the phone.

"Hello," he said when he answered.

"Is that you Tomaru?" Serena's voice asked.

"Serena?" The others inclined their gazes in his direction.

"Yeah, it's me," she replied. "Do you think you can put Haruka on…"

"Put it on speaker," Haruka ordered. Tomaru complied immediately.

"Can you hear us Serena?" Hotaru asked.

"I can," Serena answered. "Listen, I need to tell you something important."

"Go ahead, we're listening," Setsuna pressed.

Serena paused for a moment. "It's about Suzaku. You guys need to be careful. He's been asking questions about you."

"What kind of questions?" Haruka asked.

Suddenly Lita was on the phone. "He asked me if I knew anything about you…rather about the outer senshi since I don't believe Suzaku ever met any of you. We thought we'd warn you to be careful if you see him though, just in case."

"We should warn you of the same," Haruka pointed out. "E.E. is still targeting all of you. We're working to figure out her next move. In the meantime, try to lay low and whatever you do, don't talk to Kururugi."

"Uh…is it too late to say that ship has sailed?" Serena's voice asked.

Haruka narrowed her gaze. "What are you talking about?"

"You see…Rei just left…to go talk to him…"

"WHAT! THAT RECKLESS FOOL! WHERE DID SHE GO!"

"I didn't ask her…"

Haruka took the phone from Tomaru's hand, hanging it up before Serena could say another word. She was fuming, but more than that she was worried that Rei might do something to endanger herself and the other inner soldiers. She couldn't fathom how Serena and the other two inner soldiers could be so stupid as to let her go.

Well, she could imagine that Serena would, but not Lita and Ami, especially not Ami, but Haruka figured that everyone had to have an incredibly dumb moment at some point. She just wished that Ami would've picked a better time.

"Just great," Haruka muttered. She turned toward Hotaru. "After Rei's stunt, we're going to need damage control. You think you can handle it?"

"What are you getting at?" Hotaru asked.

"You are the guardian of death right? Killing Kururugi should be easy for you if you masquerade as a student for a bit. Tomaru can go with you as back-up."

Tomaru smiled. "Sounds good."

"Hold on, Haruka, we don't need to…"

"It's the best course of action Michiru," Haruka interrupted.

Kallen narrowed her gaze toward the table. "I'm not so sure of that."

Setsuna stayed silent, inwardly dreading that she could not reveal what time had in store for them in the near future.

C.C. smirked a bit, seeing that this was an interesting turn of events.

Haruka's dark gaze was still locked on Hotaru. "What do you say Sailor Saturn? Can you do this?"

Hotaru let out a sigh as she closed her eyes.

"Yes, if that is my destiny."

10:00 p.m.

"Where are you going at such a late hour?"

Suzaku Kururugi turned his blank stare behind him. He stood outside the government bureau wearing his civilian clothes, including the dark shades that he really didn't need since it was pitch black outside, but he wore them anyway.

Just outside the entrance of the building stood Gino Weinberg, an uncharacteristic scowl on his face. He seemed worried about something.

"There's something I need to settle," was Suzaku's only reply as he turned away. "Don't slack on the paperwork while I'm gone alright. I should be back with more Intel soon."

It wasn't much later that Suzaku disappeared from Gino's sight. Gino lingered though, wondering just what went on in Suzaku's head sometimes. He didn't really know Suzaku all that well, but Gino was the kind of person that accepted anyone as his friend. For that reason, he was worried.

"You're too kindhearted."

Gino nearly yelped as Anya suddenly materialized behind him.

"Gah! Anya, don't scare me like that!"

"You scare too easily and you worry too much about people you don't know," was her monotonous reply. "Come back inside. You promised you'd spar with me."

"Oh, you mean our date?"

Anya shrugged as she turned away. "If such conclusions make you feel better about yourself, be my guest."

Gino laughed, following her inside. "You're no fun."

As the two retreated inside, Suzaku walked further away from the bureau, traveling toward the destination Rei had told him to go. Why he was going at all was a mystery to him. Was it to gather possible information Rei might provide? Was it Lita's words that made him accept Rei's proposal? He had no way of knowing for sure when it came to his reasoning for anything these days. All he knew for sure was that he felt compelled to talk with Rei and if she wanted to talk to him too then he was going to take her up on it.

He checked the time on his cell-phone, it was two minutes past ten. Approximately thirteen minutes to get to Tokyo Tower on time. If he didn't pick up his pace, he was going to be at least three minutes late. He knew Rei wasn't a patient person. She wasn't going to wait long for him to show up.

Despite knowing this, Suzaku took his time. He removed his glasses from his eyes and stuffed them the pocket of his navy blue trench coat so he could properly absorb the night. Every so often a subtle wind would blow, pushing strands of his curled chestnut hair away from his forehead. As he approached the downtown area, sounds of laughter echoed in his ears and the smell of pizza filtered out from the pizza hut where he and Euphie had gone on their date together.

He smiled at the memory, remembering when he had introduced her to his special spot outside the bureau. The two had danced in each others arms, relishing in each others warmth as he played her favorite song on an outdated CD player. Even so, the moment had been perfect.

"Euphie…I miss you."

"I miss you too."

Suzaku gasped, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. Others shoved past him, grumbling as they did, but the Honorary Britannian turned Knight of the Round paid it no mind since he had just had the shock of his life.

"No way," he murmured, "was that…" he trailed off, unable to say the words.

With a shake of his head, Suzaku continued forward. The past was over, he just had to accept that Euphie was gone for good. She could never come back.

Even so, the sound of her voice in his mind was enough to make him smile, if only for a short moment. He'd always remember how warm her voice sounded and how gentle her lips had felt against his when he had kissed her. The memories of that time felt like another lifetime even though the events had only occurred nearly two months prior.

At any rate, Suzaku knew that he'd be mourning his lost love for a long time.

After another ten minutes, Suzaku found himself standing outside of Tokyo Tower. It was late, so there weren't a whole lot of people around at this time of night. He figured that Rei would have been standing by the doors since the tower housed a museum and it was closed for the night, but she wasn't anywhere in sight.

However, from the corner of his eye, Suzaku noted Rei's motorcycle parked a few feet away. She was here and most likely, inside of the tower.

Suzaku let out a soft but bitter laugh. "She's just like Lelouch, hacking into systems and hiding to ensure that she has the advantage."

The automated doors to the tower suddenly opened. She knew he was here.

"I don't know what she's after, but whatever it is, I'm ready."

With that in mind, Suzaku walked through the doors.

A/N: I wanted to make this chapter longer, but when I got to the end, there was nothing left that needed to be said. Hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Oddly enough, this has been the easiest chapter to write thus far. Everything just flowed and I finished it within almost three hours. Normally it takes me six to seven if ideas are flowing and a week if ideas aren't flowing as much as I'd like, which wasn't the case here. I loved delving into Ami's hidden anger. Maybe it was a bit out of character to yell at Rei and Serena the way that she did, but again, she was at her breaking point. I told you the chapter would speak for itself though. Thanks for reading. Please review!