SAILOR JOURNEYS: SECRETS OF AN UNKNOWN PAST


Chapter 16: Downward spiral.


With the exception of Setsuna, everybody was in the base, trying to get a
hold on themselves. After spending nearly 20 hours in complete ostracism,
even Yohann had decided to join in the activities, although everybody
noticed that he was doing it just for their sake, not because he was
feeling fit to it. Everybody thought that he might be interested in
knowing that Technuma wasn't holding a personal grudge against him.
However, he just acknowledge it with a nod and a 'that's nice.'

But when the general alarm began to sound, everyone literally jumped out
of their skins. So far, this was the first time it had been activated. No
real reason was known for its activation.

"What's going on??" asked Usagi, looking around frantically.

"I don't know..." muttered Mamoru, holding her. He was surprised as well.

In that instant, Makoto sprinted out of the kitchen, and without stopping,
she yelled. "Come on! It's in the laboratory!" Usagi and Mamoru didn't
lose another second, and followed her towards the pool complex. Almost at
the same time, Shingo, Laurella, Rei, Yohann, Haruka and Michiru joined
them. They almost trampled each other in their haste to get inside the
base.

Once inside, they saw Sonya, Ami and the Guardian running towards the lab
as well. Without asking anything, all presents stormed the lab, and were
greeted by a stunning sight.

Robin, having transformed into Sailor Saturn, was trying to open one of
the Nanoreactors, her Glaive striking over and over against the glass
cylinder. So far, her attempts have been for naught.

"Robin!" exclaimed Yohann, hurrying to her side. And after grabbing her
hands, he said. "Stop it! What are you doing?"

"Let me go!" said Saturn, struggling against Yohann. "My Father is inside!
I have to get him out of there!"

"Say WHAT?!?!" exclaimed Sonya, Ami and Alex at the same time, their
voices showing a lot of puzzlement.

"He's in there! He's going to die!" repeated Saturn, resuming her struggle
against Yohann's grasp.

"Robin, calm down! Breaking the glass won't accomplish anything!" said
Yohann. "Tell us what happened!"

Robin took some breaths in an attempt to calm down. After a minute, she
began to recall the events that transpired before she activated the
general alarm. "... When I heard the alarm, I... well, decided to take a
more direct approach to the problem... so..."

"Don't say a thing, Saturn. We understand." Said Usagi, standing next to
Saturn. She then addressed Yohann. "What now?"

"First, let's see what's going on in there. Sonya, Ami, Alex... you three
worked on the Nanoreactors before. Can you check the kind of program it's
running now?" said Yohann.

Nodding at him, Sonya and Ami moved to the control panel, while Alex
linked with it. A few moments later, the only thing that could be heard
was their amazed comments: "How did he do that?" "What does this
subroutines do?" "So, that's how he solved the problem..." "Compatibility
ratio sub-program? For what?" "look! He refined the mineral integration
routines here." "The overall efficiency was increased in an 87%! An
amazing achievement!"

A few more minutes passed, the general impatience growing exponentially.
Finally, Haruka snapped. "Very well, stop it! He's a genius, granted, but
what in the hell is he doing inside that thing??"

The chatter died immediately, with Sonya and Ami turning around, looking
slightly flushed. Ami was the first one to talk. "Sorry... I guess we got
a little... carried away."

"Please, tell me... is Father all right in there?" asked Saturn, her eyes
brimmed with unshed tears.

"Don't worry, Saturn. He's fine... at least, that is what the instruments
say." Indicated Alex. "For what we can decipher, he is trying a new kind
of program, but in order to avoid unnecessary interference, he locked the
whole system."

At the general blank stares, Sonya added. "Translation: it's on automatic."

"Alex... you've been spending too much time with Ami..." muttered Makoto.

"Yes, so?" said Ami and Alex at the same time.

"Sorry!" said Makoto, raising her arms. "No pun intended here!"

"Calm down, everybody, and let me explain this." Said Sonya, interceding
in favor of Ami and Alex. "For what we all could understand, the short
story is this: Technuma designed a new program for the Nanoreactor based
on his own medical knowledge. I won't lie telling you that I understand
even half of what he's done with it. But I'm sure of one thing. He's
testing this new procedure on himself, and don't want anyone to
interfere." She then looked at Saturn. "Not even you, dear."

"But why not??" asked Saturn, mortified.

"It's only a wild guess... but I think I can understand his reasons,
judging by your reactions when we entered, Saturn." Said Minako. She
'eep'ed when Saturn gave him a murderous glance.

"Wow... the bubbles are so thick in there, that I can't see a thing."
Commented Laurella. She was trying to see what was going on inside the
Nanoreactor. "How can we know that this process is working?"

"We can't." said Ami. "The only thing we can do now is wait."

"And how long we have to wait?" asked Saturn, clinging to Yohann.

"According to the internal clock the program has... about 12 hours at
minimum." Said Alex.

Everybody felt silent, and as one, they turned around, looking at the
Nanoreactor, trying to imagine what was going on inside that cylinder.

Finally, Minako voiced what passed through everybody's minds: "This is
going to be a loooooong wait."

* * * *

5 minutes before emergence...

Robin was literally clawing off the walls. Granted, she had gone to try
and get some sleep, but after the first 2 hours, she gave up. After that,
she spent most of the time trying to decode Technuma's program, but the
lockout features he included on it prevented her to go too far. For the
last 4 hours she'd been attempting other venues to keep her mind off the
actual situation, but the only thing she accomplished was to keep
everybody else on their toes.

For the moment, she was back at the laboratory, watching like a hawk the
clock on the control panel of the Nanoreactor. For a brief moment, she
thought that Setsuna was playing with the time flow... that heavy she felt
the pass of the remaining minutes.

She hardly noticed the door opening. But when she felt a familiar hand on
her shoulder, she relaxed fractionally.

"He knows what he's doing, dear. You should have more faith on him." Said
Yohann.

"I have faith on his work." Said Robin, placing a hand on Yohann's. "But
there's something that prevents me to completely trust his actions."

"I guess I can imagine that." Said Yohann.

"Yohann... I'm scared... and if something go wrong? He's risking
everything here." Robin felt silent after that, her emotions in turmoil.

Yohann then embraced Robin, in an attempt to comfort her. But somehow, he
didn't feel adequate for the task at hand. In that moment, a small signal
appeared on the control panel of the Nanoreactor. Robin moved swiftly to
check it. "Yohann... it's time! The process is finished."

"I'll bring a stretcher. Don't do anything until I return." Said Yohann,
leaving the lab.

Robin, of course, didn't want to wait. The very instant the Nanoreactor
stopped, she literally jumped on top of the cylinder, and as soon as the
top cleared, she jumped inside. The first thing she noticed, was a
tingling on her skin, but she didn't pay any attention to it. Instead, she
focussed on trying to take her father out of the fluid.

But there was something she didn't take in account there. The fluid of the
Nanoreactor was extremely viscous. Also, since she was born in a SPACE
STATION, Technuma never thought to 'teach' her how to swim! She couldn't
get a good grip of the body. And even worse... she couldn't get out of it
by herself! She tried to swim out of the cylinder, but to her dismay, the
only thing she could do was to remain in place. Everytime she stopped, she
clearly felt herself going to the bottom. A couple of times, she tried to
jump as soon as her feet touched the base of the cylinder, but the only
thing she got from her efforts were nothing.

Desperate, Robin raised her hands in an attempt to reach the border of the
cylinder. Suddenly, she felt something grasping her wrists, and being
rather rudely yanked off the Nanoreactor. As soon as she sensed herself
out of the fluid, she breathed deep, the pounding of her heart almost
deafening in her ears. When she calmed down a little, she could hear
Yohann's voice.

"Robin..." he said, his voice laced with worry. "Why did you do something
so reckless? You could have drowned in there!"

Robin couldn't respond with words. Instead, she embraced Yohann, sobbing
quietly in his arms. He hold her for a moment, before releasing her
gently. Tenderly, he helped her get down, and pressed a button on the side
of the top. Immediately, the liquid in the cylinder began to lower, at the
same time the bottom began to rise. In a moment, Technuma's body was at
easy reach, and Yohann began the procedure to place him in the stretcher
he brought from the Medical Ward.

Robin went to Technuma's side, happy to see him out of the device. The
first thing she noticed was that his skin was no longer white, but his
normal color. Also, he had 'grown' another arm! And as for the face, she
could see that, although he had his eyelids closed, there was the
distinctive curve under the left one that indicated that there was an eye
under it! The strange material that covered the lower half of his body was
gone as well.

Alleviated, Robin caressed Technuma's cheek, but...

"No... he... he's not breathing!" gasped Robin. Immediately, she put two
fingers on his jugular vein. "His heart! He has no pulse!"

Yohann didn't waste a moment, and pushed the stretcher to the Medical
ward, followed by Robin. In there, were Sonya and Ami. Initially, they
gasped when they saw Technuma's body, but they changed when they heard
Robin. Immediately, they took out the emergency kit, and proceeded to
reanimate Technuma. While Yohann prepared the proper medicaments, Ami and
Sonya began with CPR, all the while Robin covered the body with thermal
blankets.

After three exhausting minutes, their efforts were rewarded with
Technuma's gasp and his heartbeat, albeit still weak, was constant. Robin
felt her tears start to flow, but she didn't mind them when she embraced
her father, happy to have him back.

Technuma opened his eyes slowly, his eyes a little unfocussed. It took him
a moment to regain his full consciousness, but when he did, the first
thing he noticed was the strong grip of Robin. Feebly, he raised his arms
and embraced her as well. He then noticed the skin color, and smiled.

"Oh, Father! I'm so happy! You're back! You're back!" said Robin.

"This was a close one, Sir." Said Sonya, checking the readings on the
medcom. "Next time, you better tell us what you're planning to do."

"I... guess there are still a couple of bugs on my program, eh?" said
Technuma meekly. "But don't worry. Now that I know that it works in
general, I'll be able to fix it in no time at all."

"According to this readings," said Ami, looking too at the medcom, "your
body is now just as it was before your abduction, sir. Whatever you did,
it works just fine. There are no traces of any kind of implant in your
body."

"Didn't I tell you before? My father is a genius!" said Robin. And
standing up, she went and embraced Yohann. "Thank you. Without your
equipment, I don't know what we could have done."

Yohann embraced her on impulse. He was about to answer when he saw
Technuma's expression. The older man was looking at him, his face neutral,
but with a certain glint on his eyes that Yohann found disturbing. Without
Robin being aware, he lowered his gaze and said. "It was nothing, Robin.
Now... why don't we let your father rest? You too need to rest as well."

Sighing happily, Robin released him, and after placing a quick kiss on her
father's forehead, she left the ward. Yohann stared at the door for a few
more moments, and then turned around, facing Technuma. He was about to say
something, but when he saw again Technuma's eyes, he only gulped, and
almost dragging his feet, he left the Medical ward.

Ami and Sonya noticed the silent exchange, and looked at each other.
Finally, Ami asked: "Sir... is anything wrong? Are you feeling all right?"

Technuma only sighed, and stared at the ceiling. A moment later, he
answered. "I'm not sure, Ami. I'm not sure anymore..."

* * * *

An hour later, Technuma had endured a seemingly endless parade of people
that wanted to see if he was truly fine. It warmed his heart to see
everybody genuinely relieved to see him back on his feet, and even more,
to know that his calculations have been correct. Despite everybody's
protests of returning to bed, he went back to the laboratory, and after
making a few corrections on the Nanoreactor's program, he began to work on
the next step of the process.

He didn't want to alarm anybody, but after reading the medical reports of
the rest, he found out that it was going to be extremely tricky to return
them all to normality. Granted, the physical part was already solved, but
it was the mental part that had him wondering.

"Now... what to do?" muttered to himself. "How am I going to repair all
their neural paths?" In that moment, Alex downloaded herself on the
laboratory's computer.

"Technuma, is anything wrong?" asked the Artificial Intelligence. "You
seemed worried. I thought you had everything under control."

"Is that a trick question, Alex? Because if it is, it's not funny." Said
Technuma.

"Well, excuse me! I only wanted to help. At least, you're back being your
old self, that's a relief." Said Alex. "After all, I only wanted to offer
my help, but since you seem to have everything under control..."

Technuma sighed, and looking at the surveillance camera, he said. "Sorry,
Alex. It's just that... I'm at a little loss here."

"Oh? Care to share your problems with me?" asked Alex in a light tone.

'Why not? What do I have to lose?' thought Technuma. "Very well... you
see, I finally solved the physical reconstruction part of the process, as
you can see. But... there's a more subtle aspect here to consider."

"Which is?" asked Alex, puzzled.

"The mental factor." Said Technuma. "You see, the process I designed can
be modified to... let's say... implant in the patient certain neural paths
that can account for the memory. And this is the hard part. I don't know
what kind of neural paths I have to 'create' in order to restore their
minds."

Instantly, Alex knew why those cartridges were included in the cargo.
'Geez! That pilot is good... really good!' she then addressed Technuma.
"Sir... what you're telling me is that, without knowing what they
experienced on their lives, whatever you do could backfire, right?"

"You got the right idea there, Alex. It would be like walking in the dark
holding a case of nitroglycerin. Sooner or later, something in their
brains would conflict, and the results would be... well, you understand."

"Yes... total system crash." Said Alex. "Sir... If I told you that we may
have the solution to your problem?"

"Don't kid with me, Alex. This is serious." Said Technuma.

"Hey, I'm serious here!" retorted Alex. "Now, do you want to listen to me,
or do you want to continue mopping around for a solution until it's too
late?"

Sighing again, Technuma shook his head, and said. "Very well. You have my
undivided attention. But it better be good, Alex! We don't have much time
to waste here."

"Ok, I'll be brief." Said Alex. She then began. "I think that my sweetie
already told you where we come from in reality, right?"

"Right."

"Ok. Then, you're aware that our main task is observe the happenings all
over the multiverse." Technuma nodded at that. Alex continued. "Obviously,
some observations have to be more thorough than others. And I mean
thorough!"

"Is this talk supposed to mean something? Because if its not..." began
Technuma, but Alex interrupted him.

"Hey, pay attention here! The point here is: since the girls are some VERY
special subjects, we included in the observation program for them the
watching and recording of all of their lives! And that includes their
families as well!"

"That's nice, Alex. And how does that help us here?" asked Technuma,
feeling a little miffed.

"Ok, a demonstration is needed, I see." Said Alex. "Do you see the two
metallic portfolios on the table next to the last Nanoreactor? Open the
one next to the unit."

Technuma shrugged, but did what Alex said anyway. He raised both eyebrows
when he saw the cartridges in there. "What are these things?"

"Those cartridges have the information collected of a lifetime-worth of
observations of each one of the subjects in the Medical ward." Said Alex.
"Initially, Ami thought that those cartridges contained the instructions
for the Nanoreactors' operation. You understand that I had to lie to
her... something I'm not proud of."

"A... lifetime-worth... of observations?" asked Technuma, looking at the
cartridges as if they were dangerous. "You mean that... in those things...
are contained the LIFES of all of them??"

"In a word: yes." Said Alex, unperturbed. "From the very moment of their
births to the present. All is contained there."

Technuma had to take deep breaths to contain the rage he felt raging in
him. After he was sure he had his emotions under control, he said. "I
can't believe the lot of you... I don't know if feel interested, or
outraged at your organization. Who gave you the right to invade their
privacy in that way??"

"I'm aware that you don't approve what we do, but think of this: Are we
that different from what you did when you were still a Technum Guardian?
You too watched at them from the shadows, never letting yourselves known,
always working behind the scenery."

"Our case is different!" screamed Technuma. "The Prime was an evil being!"

"Oh... and that make us evil as well, eh? Well, I have news for you,
mister!" said Alex, her patience finally lost. "We do all this to LEARN!!
Our long-term objective is NOT the domination of the multiverse! The MRMA
only wants to create a stable society, and SHARE that knowledge! We don't
want to intrude just like that, like some paparazzi, or a vulgar peeping
tom! If we want to avoid the mistakes made in other places, we have to
study and learn from those mistakes, as well as from the ones we make!
This is the best way we found to do it without disturbing anything. We
don't intrude in the destinies of people if there isn't a VERY good reason
for it!"

Leaning on the desk, Technuma listened to Alex' diatribe, but that didn't
change the fact that he felt... violated. Like some lab rat that worked
only for the benefit of an unknown master. "Get out..." he muttered.
"Just... leave me alone."

"All right... I'll go." Said Alex. "But remember... you have now the means
to do something right. You have the chance to atone for what you did in
the past..." with that, Alex left the lab.

Technuma felt weak, and literally dropped on one of the seats. He closed
his eyes, and began to think on what Alex told him. Minutes later, he
opened his eyes, and looked at the cartridges. He then sighed, and taking
one at random, inserted it in the open slot located on the control panel
of the Nanoreactor he used. After spending a few more minutes of examining
the information contained on it, he closed the program, and muttered only
two words.

"Damn you."

* * * *

Two hours later...

Usagi, Rei, Minako, Ami, and Sonya were together at the Medical ward,
watching the patients' last diagnosis.

"Is there any change?" asked Usagi.

"I'm afraid so." Said Sonya. "I won't lie to you. We're running out of
time. If something has to be done, it has to be done in the next 5 hours."

"Where is Technuma?" asked Rei, exasperated. "I thought that his process
was working fine by now! What is he waiting for?"

"Everything's set now." Said Technuma, entering the ward in that moment.
"Sorry for the delay, but I had to fine-tune some details on my program."

"Then... you can start now?" asked Minako

"That is why I'm here." Said Technuma. "Although I'm going to need a
little help to move your relatives to the laboratory."

"I'll call the guys right away!" said Usagi, running to the comm. But
before she could do anything, Technuma interrupted her.

"Just do me a favor... don't call Lieutenant Starr and Alex, if you
please."

"But... but why?" asked Ami, confused. "I thought that you wanted them to
be here as well."

"Just bear with me, ok?" said Technuma, tensing a little.

"O-k... if that's what you want..." said Usagi, puzzled. With that, she
then proceeded to call everybody


Thirty minutes later, with the help of Shingo, Mamoru and the Guardian,
all of the patients were inside the Nanoreactors. Once done, Robin and
Technuma began to check the final procedures before activating the units.

"Everything set here, father." Said Robin, after checking the units with
Rei's grandfather, the Ainos and Yuuichiro.

"Thank you, Robin. We can start in a moment." Said Technuma. He then
proceeded to a nearby table, and took the cartridges. After checking
carefully each one of them, he began to insert them on the slots of each
Nanoreactor.

"Excuse me..." asked Ami. "But do you know what are those cartridges for?"

For a moment, Technuma felt tempted to tell them everything he knew, but
he fought the urge. Instead, he said. "Those cartridges contain the final
control instructions for the Nanoreactors to work. Nothing more."

"If you knew that, then why you didn't use one for your own cure, father?"
asked Robin, curious.

"Because, up until now, I found out that the cartridges contained the
final data to adjust the neural paths sub-program coordinator, dear.
Besides, in my case, I didn't need them." Said Technuma, smiling
nervously. "Well, everything's ready. Let's begin."

"Aaaah... Yes, father." Said Robin. She had the suspicion that Technuma
wasn't telling her everything. Filing it on the back of her mind for
further questioning, she did what her father asked, and began to activate
the Nanoreactors.

Soon, all the units were working, the sight of the people inside obscured
by the bubbles emerging from the bottom. Technuma went from unit to unit,
checking the readings on each one, making a small adjustment here and
there. Five minutes later, he said: "All systems work fine. If my
calculations are correct, they will be fine and back to their old selves
in about 14 hours."

The tension on the laboratory vaporized with the news, being replaced with
a sense of relief. Ami, Minako, Rei, Shingo and Usagi walked to the
Nanoreactors and gently, they caressed the cylinders that contained their
respective relatives. Afterwards, they walked in front of Technuma. "Thank
you... I don't know what we could have done without your help." Said
Usagi, smiling at him.

"It's been a pleasure." Said Technuma, returning her smile. "I couldn't
bear the thought of all of you suffering."

"If that's all, then I should go now." Said the Guardian. "I have to
report this last events to Lt. Starr."

"Is that truly necessary?" asked Technuma, tensing a little.

"Yes, it is." Answered the Guardian, locking his gaze at Technuma. "He is
the commanding officer of this base, and has to be briefed. Also, it's my
duty as the Security Officer of this installation."

Technuma continued staring at the Guardian for a full minute, hardly
noticing the puzzled looks the rest were giving to him. Finally, he said.
"I understand. But since this has been my project, it would be better to
let me brief him, don't you think?"

The Guardian considered it for a moment, his face a neutral mask. "Very
well. But if you don't tell him in the next hour, I'll tell him."

"That is acceptable." Said Technuma. And addressing the rest, he added.
"This will take a while. If you have to do something else, please feel
free to do it. I'll keep watch over here."

Everyone nodded at him, and began to leave the laboratory. After checking
a few more details on the Nanoreactors, he left the lab as well, in order
to find Yohann.

* * * *

Yohann had been inside his studio, sitting in the dark. The curtains were
closed, and the lights were out. He had been in that position since he
left the Medical ward. He acknowledged Alex' presence when she showed up
a little while back, but after ordering her to continue working on the
Cryssalid files, he had said nothing else. When Yohann heard someone
knocking at his door, he only sighed, and after turning on the lights, he
opened the door. He showed no emotions when he saw that it was Technuma.

"I only came to tell you two things, Lieutenant." Said Technuma, his voice
calm and neutral.

Yohann nodded, and moved aside to allow Technuma to enter. Once both men
took a seat, Technuma began to talk. "First, I'm here to report that the
girls' families are already receiving the process that will return them
to normality."

"I know it sounds lame coming from me, Sir." Began Yohann. "But thank you.
They could have been lost without your expertise."

"Indeed..." said Technuma. "And now, my second point. I've been giving the
matter a lot of consideration and thought, and finally reached to a
conclusion. Lieutenant Starr... I'm ordering you, as a father and as your
elder, to get away from Robin."

Externally, Yohann's only reaction was his left eyelid twitching a couple
of times. Internally, he felt like the world came crashing on him, as if
those words were daggers slicing his heart. However, he kept his voice
calm. "May I ask your reasons, sir?"

Technuma nodded once, and began his explanation. "You have been placing my
daughter in danger an unnecessary amount of times, neglected to comfort
her in her hour of need, showed little respect for the security of the
ones around either her and her friends, and relying too much in your own
superior technology to achieve your goals, instead of following your basic
instincts. The last thing leaves you wide open, and that's something I
don't want my daughter to learn. Am I making myself clear?"

Yohann felt the muscles at the back of his neck tensing, but continued to
keep his expression and voice neutral. He blinked once, and after sighing,
he answered. "Crystal clear, Sir."

"Good. Then, I must go." Said Technuma.

He was about to open the door, when he heard Yohann asking him something.
"Sir... is that your final word?"

Technuma didn't turn around, and without saying anything, he left the
studio.

As soon as he was alone, Yohann's attitude changed. He leaned on his desk,
and covering his face with his hands, his body began to shake silently. An
hour later, he seemed to have calmed, although his eyes were red and
puffy. He activated the computer, and connected with the Computer room.
"Alex, are you there?"

"Yes, sweetie. Working, working, working!" said Alex. "Pork chops... are
you ok? Your voice sounds... funny."

"I'm fine, Alex. Perhaps it's the communication circuits. I hear you funny
too." Said Yohann.

"Oh? Well, I'll check them as soon as I finish here. Now, what can I do
for you, baby?"

"I need a progress report, Alex. How are you doing with the decoding of
Cauldron's log?"

"Better than I expected, sweetbuns!" said Alex happily. "I'm almost done
here. Give me another 5 hours, and I'll have it all done!"

"Those are good news, Alex. I knew you wouldn't let me down." Said Yohann.

"Always here to serve, sweetie!" said Alex. "Anything else I can do for
you?"

Yohann thought about it for a few seconds, and after making up his mind,
he said. "As a matter of fact... yes, Alex. Do you know the program
interfaces of my armor, regarding the sensor array and the nanocomputers
it has?"

"Yes, I have the specifications. Why do you ask?"

"Good. I want to know if it's possible to adjust them, so that they can
obey my mental commands, independently of your intervention..."

"And why do you want to know that, sweetbuns?" asked Alex, surprised by
such a petition.

"I've been thinking..." began Yohann. "It could be that, in the nearby
future, you could be somewhere else, like on Mercury's compact, and
suddenly we could get in a battle situation. I could need a sensor sweep,
and with you out, the time you might take to return could become
critical."

"Say no more, baby!" said Alex. "I'll work on those modifications right
away!"

"Thank you, Alex. I knew you could do it. That will be all. Starr out."
After turning the computer off, he leaned back on his seat, and closed
his eyes, a plan already forming in his troubled mind.

* * * *

The whole team had gathered at the living room, with the exception of
Yohann. By general agreement, they decided to let Sonya tell her story,
in order to help them pass the time until the Nanoreactors finished their
job.

"Why can't Yohann be with us?" Asked Makoto.

"Why do you think?" said Robin, exasperated. "This time, he said that his
armor needs adjustment. I swear... this guy doesn't know the meaning of
the word 'rest'!"

"Reminds me of a few people I know..." said Alex from Ami's Compact.
"Obviously, you all know who I'm talking about..."

As if on cue, everybody turned around and looked at Ami, who retreated a
moment at their collective gazes. "Hey, why do you all look at me like
that?"

"Come on, gang! Leave her alone! What, aren't you the same in your own
ways?" said Alex.

"Alex is right." Said Usagi, smiling. And addressing Ami, she added. "You
know we're only teasing. Come on, let's sit together, ok?"

"Only if you sit with me too!" Said Minako, taking one of Ami's arms and
guiding her to one side of the big sofa. Shacking her head, Usagi sat on
the other side, effectively having Ami 'sandwiched' between the two
blondes.

"Awww... you look sooo cute!" quipped Laurella, all the while she kept
snuggling next to Shingo.

Everybody giggled at them, creating a more relaxed atmosphere. A moment
later, they were ready.

"Well, it seems that I have a few things to explain to you about me,
right?" began Sonya. Everybody nodded at her. "So... where do I start?"

"How about since the beginning?" asked Minako.

Sonya smiled at Minako's question, and started. "Ok... In the beginning,
there was nothing but silence and emptiness. Suddenly, a big explosion
occurred, and the universe came to being. After that..."

"SO-NYA!!" screamed everybody.

"Sorry..." giggled Sonya. "I couldn't resist. Ahem Well, where to
start?" After taking a couple of breaths to clarify her thoughts, she
began. "My full name is Sonya Nimue. I gained my rank of Lieutenant a
couple of weeks before being transferred to New Avalon. I knew a lot of
good people there, everybody wanting to make me feel comfortable with my
new position there. Suddenly, disaster stroke.

"Without warning, a series of portals began to open all over the base,
some of them sucking personnel inside them, but others... from those,
creatures that can only be described as monsters began to emerge, and
began to attack us. While ones began to suck dry of their bio-energy at
some of the residents of the base, others started attacking at random.
Ones with elemental-type attacks, others with other kind of objects. We
began to become overwhelmed by the onslaught, and that's when it happened.
Suddenly, the whole base was shifted from its original position, and was
transported to Earth. Unfortunately, we were positioned on a low orbit,
and it began to decay. Because a group of creatures attacked the control
room, there was nothing we could do to prevent the imminent crash.

"Finally, when the actual crash occurred, a big percentage of the monsters
were killed by it, and the remaining defenders were able to finally defeat
them. Once the situation was under control, the survivors began to assess
the damage. Since the hangars and the main cryogenic pods facilities were
destroyed, we tried to re-establish contact with our main base. Obviously,
it wasn't possible. The biggest shock came when one of the astrophysicists
that survived made a series of measurements, and concluded that we hadn't
been shifted only through space, but through time as well. We were
stranded in the far-away past, with no way to return back home."

Sonya took a sip of the tea that Rei and Makoto had brought, all the while
she fought to contain her tears. No one dared to interrupt her, each one
trying to imagine her situation. A moment later, Sonya continued her
story.

"We were shocked to learn that, besides being in the past, we were on
Earth, and in England, to boot! Anyway, a vast majority of the survivors
decided to try their luck outside the base, and after finishing the cavern
network and marking the place, they went out. Only a small percentage of
people remained there to keep watch on the T/S device. Among them, were
the medical officer, MerLynn and myself."

"Wait a minute." Interrupted Haruka. "MerLynn? The bearded psycho that is
now allied with Cauldron?"

"The same." Said Sonya. "At the time, we two were good friends. We spent
a lot of happy times together, always trying to perfect our own abilities.
But those moments weren't going to last. One day, in the laboratory, the
medical officer accidentally dropped a small vial containing a variation
of the 'mad cow' viral disease... a very vicious strain that affected not
only the animals, but humans as well. As a result, almost everybody in the
base were infected... and went mad."

"But that's horrible!" said Minako, covering her mouth. "You mean that
everybody began to kill each other?"

"I'm afraid not..." said Sonya. "They exited the base, and began to roam
the countryside. With the aid of the advanced technology that they,
somehow, still could manage, began to create havoc all over the country.
By some twist of fate, MerLynn and I weren't infected. As a matter of
fact... we were the only ones that were immune at the time. But the worse
was yet to come.

"On a fit of mad genius, the medical officer began to experiment with
genetic engineering, creating a series of creatures that began to attack
the inhabitants of the country. By altering their genetic structure, he
was able to create monsters that could breathe either fire, ice,
lightning, or could use other elements as well. Those... were the dragons
and monsters that are described in the legends."

"Amazing..." muttered Mamoru, fascinated by Sonya's story. "So, there was
a base of credibility on all those legends after all..."

"I'm afraid so." Sighed Sonya. "That only left MerLynn and myself to try
and contain the damage that was being done. It was our fault that our
compatriots and the creations that the medical officer made were
destroying that part of the world. After a grueling battle against the
medical officer's creations, we finally arrived at the laboratory, and
were forced to kill him. After spending a year studying the use of the
different machines and techniques there, we finally developed a plan that
could stabilize the order.

"After learning the local language and habits, we began to spread a rumor:
That one day, a person would come, and after retrieving an enchanted sword
from a stone, such person would become the rightful King of England, that
would lead all to a great destiny."

"Oh, my goodness." Said Michiru. "Then... you were the originators of King
Arthur's legend??"

"That's right. And... in order to made the legend more credibly, I used
the frame of one of the scout ships, and built a submergible. That crude
ship was placed in a nearby lake, and I became Lady Sonya Nimue... also
known as The Lady of the Lake. Meanwhile, using the remaining operative
technology back at the base, MerLynn created his own character. He was
known as Merlin, a Demon Wizard. Once our new personalities were
established, we started phase two of our plan.

"We met a warrior named Uther Pendragon, who had a rather... stormy affair
with a local woman. She had a child that was the illegitimate son of
Pendragon. That was the child we were looking after. After convincing the
woman that her child was going to be happier with us, we began to teach
him the things we considered necessary for him to become a rightful ruler.
As a precaution, we took a sample of genetic material off him, and made a
clone. That clone was named Lancelot du Lac."

"Say what!?!?!" exclaimed Alex at that point. "Don't tell me that Lancelot
and Arthur were brothers!!! But that's incredible! No one ever suspected
such a thing!"

"We were forced at the time to do that, Alex." Said Sonya. "After all, we
were trying to repair the damage caused by our arrival. Now, where was I?
Oh, yes...

"Once the children were properly educated, MerLynn and I began to create
the powerful sword that would become known as Excalibur. We used all the
means in our hands to craft it, but somehow, once finished, it lacked the
necessary power to wistand a direct attack from our maddened compatriots.
We were about to give up on that plan and try another approach when that
crystal appeared our of thin air...

"When we found out that such small crystal contained incredible amounts of
power, we decided to use it. The moment if became fused with Excalibur was
truly awe-inspiring. The sword began to float in the air, and in a flash
of light, it became all we wanted and more. We couldn't even measure the
final power output of it.

"Anyway, once the sword was ready, we placed it in a fake rock, which was
in reality a strong electromagnetic lock, and placed it in a church on a
nearby village. Obviously, every single man that tried to remove the sword
found out that it was impossible. That's when our boy came into scene.
Since he knew how to place his hands and feet around the rock to release
the lock, he was able to pull out the sword rather easily. After that, all
presents accepted him because of the legend we had already spread, and
well... the rest is history.

"Those were years of darkness, but finally, we were able to finish off the
last of the troublemakers. But... the best plans made by men and mice...

"During the final years of Arthur's kingdom, I made a mistake... After
altering his looks, I sent Lancelot. He was well accepted at first, but...
you know what happened."

"Yes..." muttered Ami. "Gwynivere felt in love with Lancelot..."

"That's right. That sole fact destabilized Arthur's emotions, thus
beginning a downward spiral. And to complicate matters further... after
opening one of the sealed chambers back at the base, MerLynn became
infected with the Mad Virus. That's when his resentment against what we
had done so far began."

"Resentment? But for what? You did all you could to fix a desperate
situation!" said Usagi.

"Precisely because of that. He became obsessed with the thought that we
were playing God... that no one had the right to dwell in other people's
destinies. One night, he attempted to destroy Camelot, and I was forced to
fight him. Fortunately, his madness made him careless, and I was able to
subdue him. That's when I put him inside that cryo-pod. I thought that the
situation was still salvageable, but...

"MerLynn had the last laugh at the end. By that time, I had felt in love
with one of the Knights, and had an affair with him. I had a child... a
lovely girl... the most beautiful girl in the whole world. When I was
about to seal the pod with MerLynn inside, he pulled out of his clothes a
black sword... and... and..."

Sonya began to sob quietly, hurt by the memories. Usagi and Michiru went
to her side, and offered her some comfort. After a few minutes, Sonya
sobered, and after smiling at Usagi and Michiru, she resumed her
recollection.

"He aimed the sword at my child, and sent a stream of black energy at her.
It was like... he opened a black hole... My baby... was swallowed by it.
His deed done, MerLynn laughed maniacally, and closed the pod himself. I
was too shocked to do a thing... I don't know how much time I spent on the
floor, crying. I wanted to kill MerLynn with my own hands... to destroy
him completely... but it was too late for me to do a thing. He was safe
inside that pod, and I couldn't open it. After finally regaining my
senses, I decided that, the best way for me to get my revenge, was to show
MerLynn that our plans were the right thing.

"But fate had other things in mind... Arthur was killed, and after his
dead, Excalibur was returned to my hands. Shortly after his demise, the
country began to collapse, reverting itself to the same chaos that reigned
before our arrival. Defeated, I returned to the empty base, and after
linking the cryo-pod I was about to use with the security net of the
place, I got inside.

"During my cold sleep, I began to realize that MerLynn was right in some
way... we were truly playing God... trying to change the course of history
to our liking. The price I had to pay for my foolishness... was my baby...
I never knew what happened to her. Perhaps... she died. Or... she was
somehow transported to another place. I don't know. That's the only thing
I want to know for sure. What happened to her."

All presents felt a knot on their throats, not knowing what to do or say.
They felt sympathy for this stranger that entered their lives, and had
such a tragic past...

Alex began to talk, in an attempt to change the gloomy atmosphere. "Excuse
me, Sonya... but you mentioned earlier that you linked your cryo-pod with
the security net. And I have a doubt."

"Yes, Alex? What do you want to know?" asked Sonya.

"It's about the entrance to New Avalon." Began Alex. "How did you come
with the idea for that kind of portal? And the way you used Stonehenge as
a lock! I never imagined that something like that could be done."

"That was MerLynn's idea after we found the crystal." Said Sonya. "Its
energy signature was so specific, that we thought of it to be the master
key of the base's entrance. I'm surprised that you all could match the
pattern."

"But... if it's so specific, then how come Cauldron was able to enter?"
asked Makoto, puzzled. "At best, the only energy signatures he could have
duplicated so far may have been Robin's and Yohann's..."

"Not precisely, Makoto..." said the Guardian. "I've been thinking of what
you've been telling me about your previous encounters with him, and
reached a conclusion." Everybody turned to look at him, which he took as
a sign to continue. "Your first encounter with him was as a simple
Artificial Intelligence..."

"HEY!" retorted Alex. "I'm one too, you know??"

"Sorry Alex. No offense intended here." Amended the Guardian. "As I was
saying... First, he was just a program. Next, you encountered him here
after being reconstructed by accident, and escaped, not before raiding
your data banks. After that, you found him with a body. And to add more
to the mix, he learns that he can make you 'dance to his tune' by taking
hostages that are close to you in order to guide him to where he wants to
go. The final piece of this puzzle is that he was able to duplicate my
own defense mechanisms. It must have been child's play for him to
duplicate your own energy patterns after your last encounter."

"A very good analysis, Hogosuro." Said Sonya after a moment. "And thank
you for telling me that. I guess I know where you're going."

"Me too." Said Ami. "And it doesn't look very good."

"Well, what's your idea, guys?" asked Minako. "Do you know what's been
going on with that psycho?"

"In one word: Evolution." Said the Guardian.

"He's been adapting to our attacks every time." Continued Ami.

"And becoming more and more resourceful after every encounter." Finished
Sonya.

"So... what you're telling is that... he's slowly becoming a Senshi?"
asked Laurella, amazed at that conclusion.

"Not precisely." Said the Guardian. "What I'm telling is that... he's
becoming immune to all of your attacks, making them part of himself after
each battle."

"Also, he's learning how we act and think." Added Ami.

"But if what you're saying is true, then that means...?" asked Haruka,
not liking the implications so far.

"That, at this rate, after four more battles against you, he'll definitely
become unstoppable." Concluded Alex. "No known force will be able to stand
against Cauldron. Heck, he won't need all those gizmos we've been
gathering and destroying all along!"

"Great...just great!" said Makoto. "Bad if we face him, bad if we let him
do what he wants! How many more places do we have to visit before we can
definitely say that this case is closed?"

"I finished decoding Cauldron's log before coming here." Said Alex.
"Unfortunately... there are still 20 more bases to check. More than enough
for him to become a force to reckon."

"Beautiful." Said Rei. "Twenty more opportunities for him to strike at us.
I don't like where this is going, guys... Cauldron's using us, no matter
what we do!"

Everybody felt silent after that, deep in thought.


* * * *

At the same time...

"... Cauldron's using us, no matter what we do!"

Yohann closed the connection with the living room, and sighed. He had
listened to the whole conversation, all the while he continued working
with his armor. He felt bad for Sonya after she finished her story, and a
wave of guilt washed over him, overwhelming his mind. The last part of
their conversation had been too much for him to stand, and that's when he
finally decided to put his plan into action.

After checking the proper function of the modifications he made to his
armor, he went to the storage room, and began to move a big quantity of
material towards the garage. With that done, he then went to the Computers
room, and began to work on a small program he'd been making just in case
Cauldron were able to return.

Once finished, he went back to his studio to make the finishing touches.

'Don't worry, girls.' He thought. 'You won't be subjected to this anymore.
I'll take care of that.'


* * * *

Everybody was present at the Laboratory the next day, waiting for the big
moment. Even Yohann and Alex were there. Technuma and Robin were checking
the control panels of the Nanoreactors and were satisfied with the data
displayed. Everything had worked perfectly, and it was only a matter of
minutes until they could take the people out of the cylinders.

"Is everything ready, Robin?" asked Technuma, after checking the last
screen.

"All set, Father. Ready when you are." Answered Robin. "Everything you
requested from the Medical ward is ready too."

"Good. In that case... let's proceed." He then began to enter a series of
numbers on each Nanoreactor, and stepped back.

Immediately, all the units stopped functioning, revealing their contents
for all to see. Some of the girls began to cheer when they noticed that
all patients were back to normal, no trace of implants or surgery visible
from the bodies. Satisfied, Technuma activated the extraction sequences,
and with the help of the Guardian, Robin and Haruka, he began to transfer
his patients to the Medical ward to examine them. All were relieved to see
that the emergency equipment wasn't needed after all, since right after
getting them out of the cylinders, all patients were breathing normally.

Technuma ran a diagnosis on every one of them, and smiled at the results.
He then addressed the presents. "I'm happy to report that the treatment
was a resounding success. No trace of alterations can be found on them,
and their brain functions are stable. They are out of danger."

Usagi, Shingo, Rei, Minako and Ami felt ecstatic with the news, and
without further ado, they went to the side of their relatives, happy that
they were together again.

Technuma smiled at the scene, and walked next to Dr. Mizuno. He fought
the urge to hold her... he felt that wasn't proper. He was about to say
something, when he raised his gaze, and looked at Yohann. Both men
remained staring at each other for a few seconds, their faces unreadable.

Yohann relented first, and after nodding at Technuma, he began to leave
the ward.

"Yohann, where are you going?" asked Robin, holding his arm. "Don't you
want to remain here until they wake up? They'll want answers, you know?"

"I'm aware of that, Robin." Said Yohann. "But I have to do something
before I'm ready to face them. Sorry."

"Oh? And what do you have to do? Anything I can help you with?" asked
Robin, curious.

"Oh, no, no... it's just that... well, I have to buy something at the
supermarket. Don't worry, I'll be back soon." Said Yohann, smiling at her.

Robin thought his answer for a moment. "You know? If I didn't know you
better, I'd swear you're trying to get rid of me."

Yohann felt his stomach contracting painfully, but somehow he managed to
remain calm. "You know I wouldn't do that, Robin." He managed to say. "Why
don't you go with your father? He may need your assistance."

Robin raised an eyebrow, suspicious. 'He's planning something, but I can't
imagine what. Oh, well... he'll tell me when he feels fit.' She thought.
"Ok... but don't take long, do you hear?"

"I promise. I'll be back at your side before you know it." Said Yohann.
He kept smiling until the door closed. 'I'm sorry, Robin. I hate to lie
to you... but this is for your own good. And I'll keep my promise. I'll
return to your side... no matter what I have to do.' With those thoughts,
Yohann walked towards the garage.



An hour later, all patients regained consciousness. To say that the
reunion was heart warming is a complete misunderstanding. The girls were
more than happy to see them back to their old selves, but knew that they
had a lot of things to explain before their relatives could leave the
base. Especially for Rei and Minako, since their families didn't know
about their 'other identity'.

Technuma was standing next to Akane, and after making sure no one was
seeing him, he hold her hand. "I'm glad you're back."

"And I'm glad to be back. I can't remember all..."said Akane. "After
Cauldron strapped us to those chairs... everything became nebulous. I
think... that at some point... I fought Ami... but I'm not sure of that."

"It's better not to remember that." Said Technuma. "Right now, you have
to concentrate on getting better. Your daughter needs you."

"Are you sure she's the only one that needs me?" quipped Akane, a
mischievous smile appearing suddenly. She then squished Technuma's hand
gently. "I don't think so..."

"We can talk more about it later. Right now, you need to rest." Said
Technuma, smiling.


"I'm so glad you're fine, mom!" said Usagi. "I was so scared!"

"Don't worry, dear. I'm back." Said Ikuko. "And this time, nothing will
separate you from me."

Usagi didn't say a thing. Instead, she embraced her mother, happy to have
her again with her.


"Dad...I was so worried." Said Shingo. "There were moments when I
thought..."

"Don't say it, son." Said Kenji. "Fortunately, it didn't happen. And I'm
glad to see that you became what I expected. You are now a true man."

"Thank you dad." Said Shingo, fighting a lump in his throat. "But I only
did what you could have done if you were in my place."

"Thank you son. Yes... you're right. But there's still one more thing I
expect from you."

"Yes, dad? What is it?"

Kenji looked behind Shingo, and soon found what he was looking for. "That
I want you to promise me one thing."

"Anything dad! Just mention it!" said Shingo.

Kenji smiled at the response, knowing that his son would fulfill that
promise. He then waved his hand, and Laurella approached him. He then
took the two teenager's hands in his, and said. "Son... Laurella, I want
you to promise me this. That no matter what might happen in the future,
you two will try to be as happy as my wife and I have been all our lives."

Shingo and Laurella didn't know what to say at such unexpected turn of
events! They couldn't say a thing. Kenji noticed it, and smiling, he
added. "You two have my blessings. And son? If I ever know that you make
this lovely lady suffer, you'll have to answer to me, do you hear? Emerald
Knight or not, you'll get what you deserve."

Shingo's only answer was: "Aaaah... aaah... y... yes, sir! I... I..."

Laurella was a little more vocal with her reaction. She embraced Kenji,
sobbing a little. "Thank you, Mr. Tsukino! You don't know what this mean
to us!"

"Just call me Kenji, dear. And when the time is right... I expect you to
call me dad." Said Kenji, returning the embrace with one arm. Since the
birth of his children, he didn't feel so happy.


"Rei... what happened?" asked Grandpa Hino. "What am I doing here? And
what's this place?"

"Shhh... don't talk." Said Rei. "You're still weak. You need to rest
before we can go back to the temple."

"It's so strange... like I just wake up from a nightmare." Said grandpa.
"I could swear that I was fighting you and your friends, but... you were
dressed... different."

Rei's face didn't show anything more than a gentle smile, but internally,
she frowned. She feared that her grandfather could remember his ordeal at
Cauldron's hands. That would certainly be hard to explain!

"It was nothing. As you said... it was only a nightmare." She said.

"Oh?" Grandpa didn't say anything for a few moments, his body relaxing. A
few seconds later, he talked again. "Rei... I want you to be sincere with
me. And promise me that you won't lie."

"I promise, grandpa. What is it?" asked Rei, puzzled.

"When were you planning to tell me that you are one of the Sailor Scouts?"

Rei gasped at his question. Obviously, she didn't expect him to know!
"Wha... wha... what??"

"My dear child. I might be old, but I'm not senile! I've known for quite
some time. Even more... I saw you transform one night. Don't get mad at
me, it was by sheer chance, if nothing else!" Grandpa Hino smiled at her,
a little embarrassed at his confession. "I was on the roof, watching the
moon, when I saw you getting out of your room in the middle of the night.
I was about to ask you what were you doing out so late, when I saw you
transform into Sailor Mars. That's when I remembered all those strange
reports on the news and the tabloids. It wasn't hard to figure out that
your friends were the other members of the Scouts."

Rei lowered her gaze, not knowing what to say. From one part, she felt
alleviated that her grandfather knew the truth, but on the other side,
she felt ashamed for having to lie to him all that time. Fighting her
conflicting emotions, she finally said. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't want to
lie to you. I just... didn't want to endanger you . You mean so much to
me..."

"I understand, Rei. And don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. And if
you ever need my help, don't hesitate to ask for it, eh?" said grandpa,
smiling at his granddaughter. "now... how about going with Yuuichiro and
comfort him? If I recall right, he's going to be part of the family in
the future, right?"

Rei gulped at that remark, blushing furiously. "Grandpa...!!"

"Come on, go! Shoo! This old man needs his rest!" finished grandpa his
speech, closing his eyes. But that didn't stop him from keeping a big
smile.

Rei shook her head, slightly confused. She didn't expect that things went
that way. Looking that a discussion with her grandfather was going to be
futile for the moment, she did what he told her and went to Yuuichiro's
biobed. At first, she thought that he was sleeping, and was about to turn
around when she heard him.

"Hi..." muttered Yuuichiro.

Rei turned around, her face serious. But her eyes betrayed her relief.
"Hello, you big fool. When were you planning to wake up?"

"Yeah... glad to see you too, Rei." Said Yuuichiro, smiling at her remark.

Rei crossed her arms, and approaching him, she added. "When are you going
to learn not to put yourself in danger for me? And grandpa, to boot! You
two could have been killed, you know? And what was I going to do if you
left me alone, huh? Do you think it would be easy for me to be a single
mother? With two kids to take care of?" She immediately regretted the last
thing she said, but it was already too late.

Yuuichiro's eyes literally popped out of their sockets, and made a good
imitation of a hooked fish. His mouth moved, but not a sound came out of
it. Finally, he was able to speak again. "T... t... t... two kids?? Do...
does... that mean... that... that... you... and I... there... you... I..."

"Oh, yes... you have a way with words, don't you?" said Rei. "Yes, that's
right. I'm going to have twins. What's the big deal with it?"

Yuuichiro stopped his babbling, and closed his eyes. After taking a few
deep breaths, he spoke again. "Rei... you made me the happiest man on the
face of the Earth. I... I promise you. I'll do whatever is in my power to
make you and our children happy."

Rei couldn't continue holding her angry expression anymore, and taking
Yuuichiro's hands in hers, she said. "I know... and I'm happy that you
promise that. But I expect you to also promise me to never get in harms
way again, do you hear?"

"I can try... but I can't promise you that. It's my duty to also try and
protect you , you know? After all... that's what I want to do for you for
the rest of my life." Finished Yuuichiro.

"You big log-head..." said Rei. She tried to get angry with Yuuichiro, but
couldn't find in herself a good reason for it. She had to content with
staying next to him, holding his hands. Unnoticed by her, grandpa Hino was
looking at them, a big smile on his lips.


Minako was standing between both her parents' biobeds, chatting about
almost everything with them. There were slight traces of tears on her
face, but she didn't mind them at all.

"... and when I heard that you were out of danger, I came immediately
here." Finished Minako.

"But you should have remained in school, dear." Said Mr. Aino. "if we
were out of danger, as you say, then there was no reason for you to skip
classes."

"Don't be so hard with her, dear." Said Mrs. Aino. "We should have done
the same if it was her instead of us." She stopped talking as soon as she
said that. "Funny... somehow, I have the impression that that's how we
ended up here in the first place..."

"And that reminds me... where is this place, exactly?" asked Mr. Aino. "It
doesn't look like any hospital or clinic I know."

Minako's mind went into overdrive, trying to find a suitable answer to
that question. Different scenarios ran through her brain, and she finally
decided for one. She said. "This is a private clinic that opened just
recently, dad. This was the nearest one to where you were found, and the
ambulance brought you here."

"Oh." Said Mrs. Aino. "In that case, that's ok... I guess. But where are
the doctors? And the nurses? And why are your friends here?"

"Aah... well, you see... the case is... it's just that..." Minako
couldn't finish, since her father interrupted her.

"Young lady... you owe us a lot of explanations here. To me, it seems that
you know more than you've been telling us so far." Mr. Aino gave Minako a
stern look, stating that the only thing that could fully satisfy him was
the absolute truth.

Minako could only sweatdropped, and lowering her gaze, she said. "Yes,
Father."


* * * *

At the Gate of Time...

Sailor Pluto finished repairing one more rift, and was about to go to the
next one when she felt the timestream starting to shift again. But this
time, she noticed that it was readjusting itself to its previous course.
She sighed relieved, knowing that somehow, the problem was finally solved.
She was about to turn around and check the current events when she sensed
a disturbance in the mists. She grabbed Eternity to fend the intruder, and
was about to attack when she identified the figure approaching her. She
relaxed, and addressed the new arrival.

"Well, it's about time you came here. How long do you planned to let me
repair all the damage all by myself?"

"I apologize, Pluto. But there was a lot for me to do back at my base."
Said Galos. He then surveyed the surrounding area. "For the looks of it,
it seems that you have everything under control."

"I wish I could say it's all my doing, but the timestream shifted to its
original course by itself. I was about to check what happened when you
arrived." Said Sailor Pluto. She then added. "Care to join me?"

"It will be an honor, Sailor Pluto." Said Galos, bowing at her. "Please,
lead the way."

Sailor Pluto bit a remark, and followed by the Commander, she stood in
front of the Gate. Aiming Eternity at it, she concentrated, and opened the
Gate, summoning the images she wanted to see.

Galos stared at her during the whole procedure, and when she finished, he
couldn't stop himself from commenting. "So, you finally reached your
Senshi status... Congratulations. That new outfit looks really good on
you."

Sailor Pluto blushed for a brief moment, but regained her composure almost
immediately. "Thank you, Galos. Now, shall we concentrate in the matters
at hand?"

Without more comments, both began to see what appeared on the Gate. Some
time later, the replay of the events finished.

"So... it seems that our mysterious benefactor is true to his/her word."
Said Sailor Pluto.

"It looks like it." Said Galos. "But what really disturbs me, is that
he/she got hold of some very high-level information in the form of those
cartridges. I don't like it."

"You have something in mind, Galos. What is it?"

"I'm not sure, Pluto. And that's something I hate. Not knowing... That's
the worst thing for me to endure."

"I don't envy you. But you can't know everything." Said Sailor Pluto.

"I'm aware of that." Said Galos, half-smiling. "But that doesn't mean I
can't try, don't you think? Anyway... what do you think is going on now?"

"Let's see, shall we?" With that, Sailor Pluto concentrated again, and
the Gate began to display the actual events. They watched the happy
reunions that were taking place in the Medical ward. "Looks that
everything is under control now."

"I don't know... something's not right..." said Galos. "I have the feeling
that something is out of place, but I can't put my finger on it."

Sailor Pluto frowned slightly, and replayed the whole scene. This time,
she too got the same impression, but unlike Galos, she found out what was
wrong. "I got it. Yohann's going to the supermarket."

"Well... yes, he said so. But what's so strange about it?" asked Galos,
puzzled.

"Don't you see? If he has those replicators, why does he need to go out
and BUY anything? He can replicate whatever he needs." Finished Pluto.

Galos froze in his place, finally understanding the implications. He
paled perceptibly, and turning around to look at Sailor Pluto, he said.
"It can't be... he's not planning... just what he don't have to do, he is
planning to do! That... that... Maverick!!!""

"He's your adoptive son, Galos. What do you expected?" asked Sailor Pluto,
not being able to resist saying a remark anymore.

Galos mumbled a string of curses that were too low for Pluto to hear;
after a few minutes, he took his clock out of his pocket, and sent a
command back to Moon Rider. A moment later, three spherical probes
appeared, and zoomed through the Gate of Time.

"Perhaps I can't act directly, but that doesn't mean I won't keep an eye
on him." Said Galos. "Those units will keep me posted on his activities."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" asked Pluto. "He may resent that
surveillance if he ever finds out about it."

"And what kid wants to have his parents watching over his shoulder all the
time?" said Galos, sighing. "However, he still is an officer of the MRMA,
and has to learn to obey the orders received. I can't allow this lack of
discipline to go just like this."

"Officers... always going by the book." Said Sailor Pluto, shacking her
head.

"There's something you want to tell me?" asked Galos, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing in particular." Answered Sailor Pluto. "Anyway, can you keep an
eye on the Gate? I have the feeling that I'll be needed back at the base
when they find out what Yohann is planning. Especially Robin. She's not
going to like it one bit."

"Go ahead, Pluto. I'll be able to receive the data of the probes here.
And be careful... anything could happen now."

"I know. That's why I have to be there. See you later." With that, Sailor
Pluto crossed the Gate.


* * * *


Everybody had gathered at the living room after they made sure all the
patients were fine. With the aid of Technuma and Robin, all of them were
on the path of recuperation. That left the Team with only one thing to
solve.

"Well... that surely is interesting, Rei." Said Haruka. "Letting your
grandfather see you transform without you noticing it is really
illustrating."

"Calm down, everyone. The last thing we need is to have a war right now."
Said Luna. "At least, that solves one point. We don't have to worry about
him knowing what are we doing here. We can tell him right away."

"You're right, Luna." Said Artemis. "And since Yuuichiro knew about Rei's
other identity too, that only leaves us with Mr. and Mrs. Aino to worry
about."

"I'm not sure how they're going to take it." Said Minako. "They can be
pretty protective, you know? When they find out that I'm Sailor Venus,
and before that, Sailor V..." She shuddered at the thought. "I'll be lucky
if I'm grounded until the founding of Crystal Tokyo!"

"Come on, they can't be that bad!" said Laurella.

"Nope... they're worse." Said Artemis. "One thing, though. They are very
understanding. Personally, I don't think there could be any trouble
whatsoever."

"And I'm glad to hear you approve how we are, Artemis." Everybody turned
around, and gasped when they saw Mr. and Mrs. Aino standing next to the
garden entrance. Next to them were the Tsukinos, grandpa Hino, Yuuichiro,
Dr. Mizuno and Technuma, along with Robin. "I still can't believe that
you all are the famous Sailor Scouts, and that my daughter was an active
member of you even before we returned to Japan," continued Mr. Aino, "but
that doesn't mean that we can't understand you, Minako."

Minako looked at them, aghast. "Father... Mother... I..."

"Don't say anything, dear." Said Mrs. Aino. "When you all left, me and
your father couldn't stand the curiosity anymore, and began to ask. Dr.
Mizuno and Dr. Redwing, along with Robin, decided that it would be better
to tell us everything."

"It was that, or let them live a lie." Said Akane. "I put myself on their
shoes, and hated the idea of being fooled."

"Also, it was a little hard to explain the kind of equipment we were
using." Added Robin. "After all, there's nothing like that anywhere in the
world."

Minako was shocked at this point, hardly listening to the things said
around her. She blinked a couple of times before reacting again.

"But still, you are right in one thing, young lady." Finished Mr. Aino.
"You are grounded for not telling us anything! You'll remain in your room
studying for the next two weeks... that is, unless an emergency occurs.
But you'll have to tell us before going out and defend the world. Is that
clear?"

Minako slumped on her seat, a huge sweatdrop at the back of her head. She
was about to say something, when she saw her parents smirking. Her jaw
literally dropped to the floor. "MOM!! DAD!!"

"You owed us that much, Minako." Said Mrs. Aino. "Still, you're grounded
for a week. And that's final."

Minako lowered her head, sighing. She was pretty sure that things
couldn't be any worse for her!

Famous last words...

"Excuse me, but anyone knows where Yohann is?" asked Dr. Mizuno.

"We wanted to thank him for what he's done for us, as well as for our
daughter." Said Mr. Aino.

"The last time I saw him, he told me that he was going to the
supermarket." Said Robin. "I'm sure he'll be back soon."

"That's strange." Said Ami. "Why does he need to buy anything?"

"What kind of question is that? Everybody needs to buy the things they
need!" said Makoto.

"No, Ami's right." Said Technuma. "Remember. This base is equipped with
matter replicators. He doesn't need to get out to buy anything. He just
have to replicate it."

Nobody said a word after Technuma's comment. Finally, the first one to
react was the Guardian. "I'll go and check the base. Can someone check the
rest of the house?"

"We'll do it." Said Laurella and Shingo, the former going to the first
floor, while the later checked the rest. A few minutes later, Laurella
returned to the living room.

"He's not up there. But his desk was on."

"The only thing I found was the car missing." Said Shingo upon his return.

In that moment, the intercom activated, and the voice of the Guardian was
heard. "Hogosuro here. Ami, please come to the Computers room. There's
something you should see here."

Ami didn't lose time, and went to the Computers room. She noticed that she
was being followed, but didn't mind it. A minute later, she arrived at the
place. "What's the matter, Hogosuro?"

"Ami... you should better take a look at this." Said the Guardian. He then
pointed towards one of the screens. On it, was displayed a message.

* SECURITY PROGRAM "DEATHLOCK" ACTIVATED.
* INTRUDER PROGRAM DETECTED.
* INTRUDER PROGRAM DESIGNATED: A.L.E.X. FRAGMENTED.
* QUERY:
* DELETE FRAGMENTED PROGRAM (Y/N)?

Ami gasped after reading that, and began to work as fast as she could. A
couple of minutes later, she had found the compiling sub-program she was
looking for, and ran it.

"What happened?" asked Usagi. "Ami, what's wrong?"

"It's Alex." Said Ami. "According to this, a new program detected and
disassembled her! Fortunately, it didn't erase her from the memory bank,
otherwise..."

"But who could have done that? I thought you, Alex and Yohann had purged
all of the base's systems from all of Cauldron's tricks." Said Makoto.

"And we did." Said Ami. "I'm at a loss of what happened here..." She was
about to say something else when Alex came back online.

"Who... what... where... when... Hey, what happened?" asked Alex.

"That's precisely what we want to know, Alex." Said Michiru. "Hogosuro
found you fragmented in here."

"Oh, yes... I can remember now." Began Alex. "I was about to check
something when a strange program attacked me all of a sudden. I didn't
have time to even defend myself! The next thing I recall, is being
reconstructed."

"Alex, when we found you, the screen said something about a 'Deathlock'
program. Do you have any idea of what is it?" asked Mamoru.

"Deathlock?? That's the code of the security program Yohann and I were
working with! It's designed to act as a program destroyer against
Cauldron. But it's not supposed to be functioning!" said Alex.

"It looked pretty functional to me." Said the Guardian. "Fortunately, you
were only fragmented, Alex. Here, let me show you the log." The Guardian
punched a few commands on the console, but instead of the log, something
else was displayed.

Yohann's face appeared on the screen. His expression was hardened, and was
wearing his armor, minus the helmet.

"If you're looking at this, that means that Deathlock attacked Alex. I
want to apologize, but it was necessary. Alex, I'm sorry, but it was I the
one that activated it."

"I can't believe it..." muttered Alex. "But why did he do that?? What did
I do wrong to deserve it?? I don't get it..."

" I launched Deathlock to prevent you to mention to others the precise
location of the other bases that Cauldron intent to invade, and to do
that, Deathlock erased from your memory the data pertaining the location
of the remaining bases. Also, I installed a new security lock on the
Cryssalid files, so no one can learn the location as well. I calculate
that Ami could take at least a month of continuous calculations to crack
the codes, and Deathlock is guarding them, so you can't access them as
well, Alex. One point I want to make clear, is that I can't trust you for
not following me to where I have to go..."

"What is he talking about? He was the one that asked for our help in the
first place!" said Haruka. "And now he says he can't trust us?? That's
insane!"

"While I was working on my armor, I overheard the conversation you all
held. And I reached a conclusion. I can't allow you to be subjected to
the madness that is Cauldron anymore. Therefore, I decided to begin a
series of fast strikes at the last bases located on Earth. I assume that
Cauldron won't be able to gain more power if he only faces me. Therefore,
the safest thing to do... is for me to fight him alone."

"This isn't possible... he can't be serious..." muttered Robin, mesmerized.

"Technuma... Sir, you are right. I've been foolish by endangering the
girls unnecessarily. This has been my job from the beginning, and I agree
with you. I can't keep sending them into harms way. They are needed on
this planet, and I plan to fulfill all the promises I made to them. First,
I'll fight to the very end to protect their future. Second, I'll do
whatever is in my hand to make myself worthy to return to your daughter's
side. As I am now, I can't even look at her. She deserves the best this
universe can offer her, and I am not that. I've been selfish, putting my
mission first... instead of her happiness. I'm sorry Robin... I feel deep
in my heart that I'm hurting you, but I want you to understand that this
is the best for you."

"No, I don't understand! I don't care what you say! You can't leave me
just like that! You wanted our help!" cried Robin, denying with her head.
She closed her fists in an attempt to control her emotions.

"Also, I don't have words to apologize for what happened to your
families, girls. They are innocent victims, whom didn't deserve to be
involved in all this madness. I'm glad that Technuma was able to help
them, but no matter what you said Robin... I didn't do a thing, besides
endangering them. That single fact turns me into nothing more than a
monster... just like Cauldron.

"I also took the precaution to lock the controls of the Leviathan, so
you won't use it to track me. This is my war... not yours. I can hear you
going back to the laboratory, so it's almost time for me to go, but not
before saying one more thing.

"In case I don't make it back, I prepared a sub-program inside Deathlock.
It will initiate the process to transfer the property of this place to
you, Robin. Also, I want to ask one favor to you all: if this happen,
destroy all the data inside the computers, and if possible, the base as
well. No trace of my presence has to remain. Sonya, Hogosuro... take care
of the girls for me, and if possible, try to contact our main base. I'm
sure you understand the reasons. Alex... I'm sure you'll be happy with
Ami. Take care of her, please.

"Well, it's time. Goodbye, everyone."

The screen went blank after that. The ensuing silence was impressive, all
presents in shock because of what they just witnessed. Suddenly, Robin
ran out of the Computers room in direction of the Hangar. At the same
time, Ami, Sonya and Alex began to check the computers, all the while the
Guardian went to the Weapons Test Center and the Storage room. The rest
remained where they were, incapable of moving.

"He's right! I can't access the files!" said Ami a minute later. "There's
a very heavy security system in there!"

"And Deathlock is keeping watch! I'm not going to risk facing that thing
again!" said Alex. "Also, all references about the decoding of the files
has been erased from my memory!"

In that moment, the Guardian entered the place. "A lot of heavy weaponry
and supplies are missing."

Laurella, Shingo, Mamoru and Usagi looked at each other, and as one,
headed towards the Hangar. They weren't too surprised to see Robin trying
to open the Leviathan's access hatch. Slowly, they approached her, trying
not to disturb her.

Robin tried once more the access code, and again, the hatch didn't open.
"Open up! Open up, dammit! You have to let me in! I have to follow him! I
have to follow him...!" she then began to pound at the hatch.

"Robin..." Usagi tried to approach her friend, but Robin turned around and
faced her, her face tear-stricken.

"Usagi... Laurella... you know how I feel... You too have gone to regain
your loved ones... you have to help me open this thing... He can't do this
alone... He needs me by his side..."

"Yes... we understand you, Robin." Said Laurella. She and Usagi then took
Robin with them, and in the company of Shingo and Mamoru, guided her
towards her room.

Nobody noticed when Setsuna entered the house, and watched them climbing
the stairs. She shook her head, closing her eyes.

'This is going to be worse than I anticipated.' Setsuna then opened her
eyes, and walked towards one of the base's entrances.




TO BE CONTINUED...