Part Three

It Is Discovered That Plutonians Are Not Known For Stealth

~*~

Not long after, the Sailor Soldiers were all sitting around at Usagi's, eating Michiru's pizza and discussing the latest developments. Rei and Makoto seemed a bit angry by it, and they and Haruka were giving each other death glares across the table. For as much as they seemed to be fascinated with Haruka, they were also quick to distrust her, and any of the Outers for that matter. "She shouldn't have abandoned the Soldiers!" complained Rei. "She's performing traitorous acts!"

"She is not!" argued Haruka. "She's just miserable! And what do you expect, the way you all treat her?"

"Haruka's right to that effect. Did any of you say or do anything that would make her upset?" Michiru gave them all a look that suggested they had.

Makoto pounded a fist into her palm. "Why do you think we did something? Maybe it was you two! You're really not as perfect as you think you are."

"But we haven't done anything," Michiru said honestly.

"And if we're not allowed to assume it was you, then you can't assume it was us." Haruka shot fire from her eyes at the Inners.

"Quiet down!" ordered Ami. "I located her on my computer." She consulted her computer screen, and Usagi peered over her shoulder.

"Where is she?" Michiru asked.

"It may not be the most stealthy hiding spot, but it is hard to get to. She and Hotaru have taken up residency in Charon Castle of Pluto."

"We probably should have thought of that on our own. Then we wouldn't have even involved them." Haruka pointed at Rei and Makoto, both of whom looked indignant.

"You're not always such a joy to work with yourself!" countered Rei. Yes, tempers were indeed flying high.

Haruka whispered to Michiru, "You see? No one really likes me."

"They like you," Michiru whispered back. "They've just never fully forgiven us for the whole Galaxia thing. But they really need to get over that."

Ami tried to speak over the general hubbub. "Listen. We might be dealing with more than we think. I have reason to believe that Pluto may be planning some sort of revolt."

There was a collective gasp. "Why would you think that, Ami?" asked a shocked Usagi.

"The computer shows more people in the castle than just Setsuna and Hotaru, and they may not be very nice. They seem to be Sailors from the underworld. We could have another battle coming up, and it looks like Pluto may be instigating it." Ami looked grim.

"That's preposterous!" cried Michiru. "Setsuna would never…!"

"-But it looks like she is. If she's planning some kind of revolt we have to stop her." Makoto shrugged helplessly. "We can't make allowances for deserters, can we?"

Usagi hesitated and then slowly shook her head. "We have to protect the solar system. If Setsuna has really decided to go against us and has abandoned the Sailors, we have to stop whatever she's planning. But I don't want her hurt!" she said firmly. "I don't want any more pain."

However, the other Sailors looked like they were out for blood. General chaos broke out as plans were made to storm Charon Castle. Michiru tried to tell them all to quit it, in defense of Setsuna, but she would scream herself hoarse before the betrayed Inners would listen. Rei and Haruka promptly got into a heated argument, and Michiru had to drag her girlfriend out the door. "Just try to get to her first, Inners!" Haruka yelled. "We know a lot more about space than you do!"

"This is war, Haruka!" yelled Rei. "You have no more loyalty than Pluto!"

"Want to say that again, Pyro?"

"You're all being childish!" cried Ami.

Usagi and Minako just stood there with their mouths open, watching the heated display. Oddly enough, a state of civil war had been declared between Haruka and Rei, with Makoto and Michiru somewhere in-between, and Setsuna had been named Public Enemy Number One, all within a half an hour.

"How did this happen?" asked Usagi. "Are we really this unstable? We have to make sure that Pluto isn't going to do something that gets herself hurt, but do we have to fight about it?"

"And what is with Rei and Mako? They don't normally act like this. Is it just because they no longer trust Haruka and Michiru?" added Minako.

"It doesn't matter," said Ami. "The important thing is that we three stick together and do what's best for Setsuna and the solar system. We have to be the sensible ones." It suddenly occurred to her how odd this was to say about the resident blondes. They must have been re-forming brain cells as they got older. "We'll stay in our orbits, and the rest of our planets will gradually fall back into alignment." This last statement was completely lost upon the two girls, so Ami sighed and held out the pizza box in defeat.

"Yay, pizza!" yelled Minako.

"Yum!" agreed Usagi.

*****

~Lady Grizabella

setsuna_haruka_michiru@yahoo.com

http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/ladygrizdrawings/sailor_moon.html