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Segment 15:

City by the Sea

Summary:

Wufei joins Sally and Alexander Venli in Russia. Venli tells about the events leading up to the death of his sister, Anya Karikov, including her adoption of a boy named "Aaron". In space, Duo and Mariemaia visit L4 to explain the situation to Quatre, Rei, Ami, and Dorothy Catalonia. To their surprise, Relena is also on L4, contrary to their knowledge of her presence on L1. Setsuna takes Rini and Hotaru to Istanbul where she introduces her son, Jabreel, explaining that if anything should happen to her, they would be responsible for his welfare. Back in Volgograd, Wufei, Sally, and Venli return to the journalist's apartment to find it ransacked. Even more surprising is the dead Leute and the injured Heero they discover in the bedroom, along with a picture of Aaron, recognized by the Preventors as Aethrin. They receive a phone call from Duo explain about their required presence in South Africa.

"You okay, Maia?" Duo asked as they sat in the back of a cab. After leaving L4, the two found themselves en route to Rome, where Setsuna had reported that Trowa and Lady Une would be. Neither had mentioned what had happened that night at Quatre's, but as Duo looked over at the pretty young woman in the short skirt and tight shirt sitting next to him, he couldn't help but think about the feel of her hands on his skin.

Mariemaia exhaled slowly. "I'm nervous."

"About what?"

"About what Lady Une's going to do to me."

He looked at her incredulously. "Why would she want to do anything to you?"

She brushed a magenta strand of hair behind her ear. "Because I ran away from home when I was fourteen and never came back," a small grin crossed her face. "Guess I kinda broke curfew, didn't I?"

Laughing, he put an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry about it Maia. I mean, she's gotta be feeling a little guilty too, right? I say, just kiss and make up. If she really is your maternal figure, she'll forgive you."

"I hope so," she murmured, turning to look out the window.

The taxi pulled up in front of a fancy hotel. Duo paid the driver and pulled their duffel bags out of the trunk. Squeezing Mariemaia's hand reassuringly, they walked into the lobby. They checked in, then entered the elevator and pushed the button for the eleventh floor (Mariemaia smiled at Duo's nervousness about the device. Would he ever recover from being jumped by Aethrin in the elevator in Budapest?). It stopped at the eighth.

A tall, brown haired couple walked into the elevator without paying much attention. However, the woman looked into the shiny aluminum door and gasped.

"Mariemaia?"

Smiling nervously, the girl smiled as Lady Une turned to face her. "Um…hi?"

Trowa's face was straight as he glanced at Duo. "I was wondering what was taking you. Where'd she come from?"

"L3. Long story," the braided man replied matter-of-factly. "Where's the Leute?"

"Gone. Another long story."

"Ah."

The two turned their attention back to the women staring at each other. The look on Lady Une's face was surprised and suspicious, while Mariemaia's expression was simply sheepish and awkward. Duo realized that for the first time since he had met her, the spy was completely unsure of what to do.

"What are you doing here?" Une asked softly.

"Looking for you," Mariemaia answered. "Did Setsuna mention that I'm with you guys? Red Delta?"

"You're with Red Delta?"

There was an awkward silence. Then Lady Une smiled and embraced the younger woman tightly. "Damn it, what have you been doing these past four years, Mariemaia?"

Sighing in relief, she hugged her tightly back. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I ran off like I did. I…I should've never…"

"Shhh…it's all right. Don't worry about it," Lady Une murmured, smoothing down her hair. For those few moments, they had reverted back to the orphan and the lonely widow. But when the elevator stopped, the link snapped and they stepped apart. Lady Une's businesslike manner returned just as quickly as Mariemaia's confident one did.

"Well…of course you remember Trowa…" Lady Une put a hand on his shoulder.

Mariemaia nodded. "It's nice to see you again."

"It's nice to see you too. Though seeing you and Duo together was a surprise," the emerald-eyed man replied.

"Hey!" Duo cried indignantly. "What, you're saying she's not my type?"

The awkward silence returned, only to be broken by a sound WHACK to the side of the braided man's head.

"Ow! What? What did I say?" he looked at Mariemaia.

"You can be such a moron sometimes, you know that?"

"Wha? Oh come on Maia…"

Trowa and Lady Une looked at each other amusedly, sharing miniscule smiles. They made an interesting pair, the ex-revolutionary and the ex-pilot.

"Well, anyways, we were just going to grab our bags and head to the airport," Lady Une replied as they walked down the hallway.

"But you're supposed to be going too—"

"South Africa. We know. Heero contacted us late last night. He's with Sally and Wufei and that Russian guy. They're already down there. So is Quatre and the two Senshi," Trowa answered.

"Any word about Dorothy or Relena?" Mariemaia asked.

He shook his head. "No, nothing. Why?"
She bit her lip. "I don't know. I just…I got a bad feeling about it. About her. Dorothy, I mean."

"Try not to let it bother you. She's definitely got her own agenda, but she's just as much endangered by the Leute as any of us. She's not going to screw around with this," Lady Une said.

"I hope so. Well, we were going to stay the night, but if you're leaving…"

"Hold it. Let's just take it easy for a few hours, okay Maia? We've been going and going for the past two days. Let's just catch our breath, all right?" Duo said.

"Hm…okay. Well if that's the case," she looked back at the elder couple. "Well see you in South Africa tomorrow?"

Lady Une nodded. "Yes. Take care, Mariemaia, Duo."

"You too," he answered solemnly.

"You used to live around here, didn't you, Miss Mizuno?" Quatre asked as he and the two women walked down the busy afternoon streets of Cape Town.

Ami shook her head. "No. I was stationed in Johannesburg when I was with the Alliance Military Medicine Association. But I had a close friend who lived here at the time, so I came down to visit him whenever I got the chance."

Rei smiled slyly at her friend. "'Close friend'? Ami-chan…"

The blue haired woman blinked. "What?"

"Nothing."

"No, what?" she blushed slightly as realization dawned. "It wasn't like that! Really! It wasn't!"

Quatre smiled and laughed softly at them. Despite whatever past hostilities there had been between Ami and Rei, it seemed as though everything had resolved itself. It was strange to see them laughing and carrying on like any young twenty-something woman would, considering the years they had lived. Ami was still pretty shy around him, but then again, she was shy around everyone. And Rei…well, she still had her quiet moments, true, but he looked at her now and saw a completely different person than he had found in the hospital room at Saint Teresa's. She was passionate and energetic, but also had a quick temper and a sharp tongue when angered (this was proven when their flight had been delayed; everyone in the spaceport knew exactly what she thought about Gemini Spaceways).

It was as though he had seen a dead person come back to life.

"Quatre-kun?" a pat on the shoulder woke him from his reverie. He shook his head and looked at Rei.

"Yes?"

"We're here," she pointed to the towering Preventor's African Base. Quatre nodded slightly and reached for her hand.

"You're…you're going to be all right?" he whispered in her ear.

She was quiet, then nodded. "I hope so, at least. If I can't learn to trust my allies…how can I defeat my enemies?"

He smiled at her. "I'm here if you need me."

Rei squeezed his hand softly. "Thank you."

Ami, trying to stay out of the way of the tender moment, stood by the door and waved them over. Still holding hands, they followed her inside. During the time she was with AMMA, Ami had visited the building when it was still an Alliance administration center. So, after finding out the location of the meeting from the clerk at the desk, she led the other two up two flights of stairs and down a short hallway to boardroom 2C.

When they entered, six other people were already seated at the end of the table. Two she knew, two she didn't recognize, and two she had never thought she would see again.

"Ami? Ami-chan, is that you?" the short pink-haired woman stood slowly and looked at her. "And Rei-chan?"

"Rini?" Rei gasped.

"Rei-chan!" Rini cried, striding forward and embracing her old friend tightly before moving on to Ami. A smiling Hotaru followed suit.

"It's been…ages…" she replied as she hugged Ami close.

"I know. Wow…you've both grown up so much," the blue-haired woman answered, astounded. Another tap on the shoulder caused her to turn and face a grinning Sally.

"Hey there. How's the rich life been?" she asked, clapping her on the shoulder.

"All right," Ami answered. "How was Russia?"

"Cold," Wufei remarked bitterly, walking up behind Sally. A bespectacled man with maroon hair followed behind.

"Ami, Quatre, this is Alexander Venli. He's our press representative," she smiled.

Venli laughed. "Press representative-turned-investigator, is more like it," he commented in his light accent.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Venli. I am—"

"Quatre Raberba Winner," he finished, shaking the executive's had. "You may not remember; I interviewed you a few years ago about the amendments to L4's trade policies?"

"Oh yes, that's right!" Quatre remembered. "It's good to see you again. Although I never imagined you'd be involved in a…situation…like this."

"Neither did I," Venli murmured.

"Alex, this is Amy Mizuno, a good friend of mine. And this, I presume," she looked at the brunette. "is Rei Hino?"

"Yes. Sally Po, right? Ami's told me a lot about you and Wufei," Rei replied.

"Only good I hope," Sally smiled.

"Of course."

"But wait…" Rini cut in. "You've forgotten someone." She pointed to the young man still sitting, head bowed over a laptop and brown hair falling in his eyes.

"Heero!" she snapped, closing the computer. "Be sociable, damn it!"

He glared up at her, but rose anyways. Quatre looked at Wufei.

"How does she do that? He doesn't even listen to Relena!" he whispered.

Wufei shrugged. "Damned if I know."

"She's his boss," Hotaru supplied.

The two men blinked in surprise. "What?"

She nodded then poured them cups of coffee from the coffeepot near the back of the room. "Yeah. Right after Mako-chan died, he came to visit Setsuna. Apparently, she used to be in contact with the five scientists who developed the Gundams. She arranged for the funding, or something like that. Anyways, Heero had been told to contact her if anything suspicious happened. And since Setsuna can't afford to always go chasing off after Heero, and she doesn't want him finding her all the time, she arranged for him to report any and all new findings to Rini," a slow smile spread across the pale woman's face. "She's also in charge of his paycheck."

"Damn straight," Rini replied, putting an arm around Hotaru's shoulders and grinning back at Heero, who just glared back icily.

"I'm, ah, sensing a little hostility here," a new voice commented.

The group turned to see Mariemaia, Duo, Trowa, and Lady Une walk through the doors into the room.

"Yo Maia!" Rini grinned and waved, then embraced her friend. "How's it going?"

"Good! You guys run into any trouble?" she asked.

"Well, there was a crappy in-flight movie on our way here, but if you mean Leute trouble, nah. Alles gut," she grinned

"Practicing your German, I see?" Ami smiled.

"German, Russian, Japanese, Swedish, Greek, English," Hotaru laughed. "The only one she doesn't know is Swahili."

"Hey, I'm learning!"

"Yeah, right," Mariemaia replied amusedly, then looked back at the others. "Lady Une, Trowa, I don't know if you know them, but this is Serenity Chiba and Hotaru Tomoe, the other two members of Red Delta."

"Also known as Princess Small Lady Serenity, and Sailor Saturn, respectively," Ami supplied.

"I see," Lady Une replied, looking from one girl to the other, then back at her. "And you must be Amy Mizuno?"

"Yes. And this is Hino Rei, my friend and fellow ex-Senshi," she introduced.

"Nice to meet you," Rei said, shaking her hand.

"And last but not least," Rini motioned to Venli. "Alexander Venli, Volgograd Sentinel."

He nodded to Lady Une and smiled. "An honor to meet you, Lady Une."

"My pleasure as well," she answered.

"Yeah, okay, that's all swell," Duo remarked, sitting down in one of the large chairs around the table and putting his feet up. "So who are we still waiting for?"

"Setsuna, Dorothy, and Relena," Sally answered, then glanced at her watch. "They've got five minutes."

"Three," Setsuna replied, walking in the room. "Your watch is slow, Sally." The ivy-haired woman stopped to smile at Duo. "Good to see you again, Mr. Maxwell. I see you're relaxed."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, putting his feet down. "Man, you're worse than the nuns I went to school with!"

Giggling, Mariemaia sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Duo. Compared to the way some janitors can be, Setsuna's being very kind to you."

"Mariemaia does have a point," Hotaru agreed. "After all—"

Wufei cut her off. "Wait…Mariemaia?"
The magenta-haired girl looked at him. "Yeah?"

He was silent for a moment, then sat down across from her. "You've…you've grown up."

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah…you know, it's an epidemic. Happening to everyone my age." Pausing, she narrowed her eyes. "Wait…I remember you. Chang, right? Chang Wufei?"

He nodded.

"You were the pilot of Altron. You…you protected me on the way to Earth. Fighting…him?" she pointed at Heero. "I remember your face too. Heero Yuy. And…Trowa Barton. The same name as my uncle."

"Kind of a blast from the past, huh Maia?" Rini asked gently.

She let out a little laugh. "Yeah, you can say that again. Pardon my Swahili, but it's fucking scary."

"Mariemaia…" Lady Une began.

"No, it's okay. Just…kinda brings up some shit I'd rather forget," she took a drink of coffee. "Yeah, anyways, I'm good. Can we start figuring out how to save the world now?"

"Well, I…oh my. We've got a surprise guest," Setsuna replied, motioning to the door. A young couple stood together there.

"Zechs? Lucrezia?" Hotaru blinked. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Didn't want to be left out," the tall woman replied. She looked at Lady Une. "Hi."

Smiling slightly, the brunette hugged her friend. "Good to see you again, Lucrezia. Your children are well?"

"With their grandma," she answered.

Heero and Zechs looked at each other. Neither spoke, but there was a sense of first distrust between them, and finally grudging respect. Still, they took opposite sides of the table.

"So all we're waiting for now is Dorothy and Relena," Sally answered.

Setsuna nodded. "Still…we can't afford to wait much longer. They can come in when they come. Thus I declare this meeting in session."

The first ten minutes consisted of running through a synopsis of what had already occurred. The story ran from Makoto's death, to the location of Ami and the public murder of Roderick Bailey, to the adoption of Dahlia and the freeing of Rei, Sally's meeting with Venli and the attempted assassination on Vice President Dorlian, and finally the destruction of the passenger shuttle brought on by the Leute's "Chimaeras". From there, Trowa and Lady Une added the information about Dahlia's quick exit, and Quatre explained about Haruka's plan to search for Michiru.

At this break, Rini made her way to the front of the room where a large video screen stood blank and dark. Inserting a disk into Heero's laptop, she paused at looked at the people grouped around the table.

"I don't know if this will mean anything to those of you that…that weren't around in Crystal Tokyo," she began. "But I know everyone will take it seriously. Because…because we are all in this together, and as Setsuna has said many times, to us at least, we will all have to work together if we're going to live through this. I've never been great at public speaking, as Hotaru-chan can verify, but…I don't know. I think that what I have to show you speaks for itself."

With that, she played the disk.

Aethrin and the bloody Neo-Queen Serenity appeared. "This is a message to Red Delta, and whoever else is serving Setsuna Meioh. The woman you see before you is the former Queen of Crystal Tokyo, Serenity Tsukino Chiba. If you disbelieve this, then here is your proof," Again, he showed off the Ginzuishou. "We have the Ginzuishou, and by keeping it whole and using it as necessary, we are granting Serenity her ability to live. A warning to you: oppose us and the Ginzuishou will be destroyed, the queen along with it. This is also one last message to those remaining Senshi as well as to Princess Small Lady Serenity Chiba, that if you surrender to us, you will not be harmed. But if you continue to resist, you will be killed mercilessly, and not before we have made you suffer. And also, a warning to any humans watching this: your doom is at hand. Justice will be served."

When the screen when blank, there was a scream. The group looked to the back of the room where three blond women stood. One had fainted.

Rini paled. "Mother?"

"Mother!" she cried, running to the collapsed woman. The lights came on, illuminating the figures of Relena and Dorothy. In her arms, Rini held a petite woman with long blond hair in a style similar to her own. She was dressed in a plain white blouse and long black skirt.

Rei, Ami, Hotaru and Setsuna blinked in surprise and ran to the back quickly.

"Rini, let go," Hotaru said softly. She took the woman in her arms and gently touched her forehead. A soft purple light pulsed from her fingertips, and a moment later the woman opened her eyes.

"H-Hotaru-chan?" she asked softly.

Tears filled her eyes. "Usagi…"

She sat up. "What…what happened? Where am I? Dorothy?"

The businesswoman knelt down next to her. "This is the Preventor's building in Cape Town. Remember? I told you I was taking you home?"

The woman looked at from Hotaru, to Setsuna, to Ami, to Rei, and finally at Rini. "And…and you did, didn't you? You brought me home."

"Mom!" Rini whispered.

"Rini…" she answered, embracing her tightly. Both were crying.

The others gathered around the table watched in shock, then looked questioningly at Mariemaia.

"Well?" Wufei asked.

"What?"

"What's going on?"

"How the hell should I know?" she snapped. "I've never seen that lady before in my life."

"But wasn't she just the one on there?" Venli pointed at the video screen.
"Well obviously not!" Lady Une answered. "She looks fine to me. A little upset, but fine health wise."

"But Rini called her "Mom", just like the lady with Aethrin," Duo said.

"What the hell is this?" Mariemaia murmured.

By now, the blond woman had stood and was looking around at her friends and the confused revolutionaries. She smiled nervously and wiped the tear streaks off of her face.

"Um…hi?" she asked uncertainly. "I'm uh…Usagi. Or Serenity, whatever you prefer. I'm Rini's mom."

"And the former Queen of Crystal Tokyo," Dorothy added.

"Yeah, that too."

Duo blinked, and looked at Rini. "You're kidding me."

She smiled and shook her head. "Nope. I'm happy to say I'm not. It's really her. I can feel it."

"So can I," Hotaru added.

"And I as well," Ami agreed. "It's our old Serenity."

"Pardon me, er…Your Highness," Venli began. "But this is really quite unbelievable."

"You're telling me. I just saw myself getting killed," Serenity replied. "Not to mention I've suddenly found myself in the company of friends and family I haven't seen in four hundred years. Plus there was this delicious-looking cheesecake they were selling on the street outside, and I wanted some so bad, but we got stuck in traffic so we were late, and--"

"Huh. You know, she and Rini must be related," Duo commented. "They both cry one minute, and go onto a completely random subject the next."

"Do not!" the two women snapped in response. Everyone else in the room gave each other a look.

"Well, um, anyways, Usagi-chan," Hotaru spoke up. "If you want the abridged introductions…"

"And I do," Serenity replied.

"Okay. From the right: Duo Maxwell, Mariemaia Khushrenada, Quatre Raberba Winner, Heero Yuy, Zechs Marquise, Lucrezia Marquise, Lady Une, Trowa Barton, Chang Wufei, Sally Po, and Alexander Venli."

"It's nice to meet you all," a look of peace and confidence suddenly appeared on Serenity's face. "I am Serenity Chiba, Dowager Queen of Crystal Tokyo. I hope all of you understand how much it means to me that you are willing to contribute to our fight against the Leute. Your courage and dedication is obvious; you've come this far without turning back. But please remember that there is no need to sacrifice an innocent life. I will not ask you to enter the battlefield if it should come to that."

With that short speech said, Serenity turned to Relena, who cleared her throat.

"I know that, up until now, I haven't really been doing my part to help all of you. My reasoning had been shabby. All I kept telling myself was that I had to think about what happened during the Eve Wars. That I had to think about how many people died. How many people could have been saved if the weapons had been put down and people had just tried talking. I thought…I thought that was what could be done now. And I was wrong." The vice president took a deep breath. "The Leute...the Leute are not human, that's clear. But what is even more important is that they lack even simple human compassion and sympathy. They were willing to attack a shuttle of civilians. Civilians! And what moves have we made against them? None. All we have tried to do is defend ourselves. And clearly, that is not enough anymore.

"By some twist of fate, Serenity came to Dorothy's house. She knew her for what she was immediately, after working for Miss Meioh for the past eight or nine years. That was why she contacted me and insisted I come as soon as I could. I've only known Serenity for the past five days. But she has taught me more about pacifism in these past five days than I have learned in twenty-five years. I know now that it is more important to protect the innocent rather than an ideal. What good is peace when none are left alive to enjoy it?

"It hurts for me to think that people will die in this new war against the Leute. I cannot sleep at night because of it. But…it is better we strive to live than to all be massacred. We learned during the Christmas Revolution that peace comes at the cost of lives. And these past ten years, we may have forgotten it. And now, it seems, that lesson must be taught yet again.

"That is why, at 9:00 AM this morning, I signed a bill that will allow for the construction of military weapons. And at 9:30 AM, that bill was made a law."

There was silence, and finally a collective sigh of relief. Serenity put a hand on Relena's shoulder and smiled approvingly. "You did the right thing," she whispered. Relena only nodded silently.

As the two sat, Lady Une rose and set a briefcase on the table. "I received a phone call this morning with notification of the new law. That is why I brought this." She pulled out a folder and a set of schematics, then spread them out on the table. It appeared they were for some sort of large spacecraft, one used in battle. The title at the top of each sheet simply said "PEGASUS".

The group looked over the sheets one by one, then looked back at Lady Une in awe.

"Where the hell did you get this?" Lucrezia asked.

"It was a gift from Dahlia," Trowa answered. "She left it to us before she went away."

"A gift? From Dahlia?" Sally said incredulously.

Lady Une nodded. "Yes. That's another part of this. We have to remember that our real enemy is not the Leute as a whole. The only ones we should be fighting are Eljira, Aethrin, and their followers. And those like Dahlia and her associates at the Kentauros Institute are neutral, and possible allies."

"But have you even talked with anyone from the Kentauros Institute?" Rei asked. "Dahlia may be on our side, but how can you be sure about the others?"

"We were planning on searching for it when we were finished here," Trowa answered.

"Hm," Setsuna murmured. "It seems we have the makings of quite an elaborate operation on our hands." She paused. "At this point, it would be a good time to ask if anyone wants out. I will be honest: by the time this is over, there will not be a person in this room without blood on their hands. I am also asking to you risk your lives, your livelihoods, and that of your loved ones. If this price is too high, you are free to walk out now and catch the next flight back home."

Everyone looked at each other. But no one stood.

"I see," she said. "I commend you all."

Pulling out a briefcase of her own, brought out a laptop and connected it into the video screen. A long, detailed looking text file appeared. The title read "OPERATION: DAYBREAK".

"This operation will be simple, but difficult, and will require all of you to work in teams to accomplish the individual operatives. They are as follows:

"Operative One: Locating the Leute Headquarters. We have reason to believe it was formerly located on L2, but has since moved."

"Zechs and I can handle it," Lucrezia said firmly. "We've been gathering research for the past couple of weeks, and we have several leads on where it might be."

"I want to help too," Ami volunteered. Her fellow Senshi looked at her in surprise. She blushed slightly. "I can't say how…but, I think I could find it again. I was there once, which was more than enough, but I…well, with all of the things they did to me, I think I could find the way back, even if it did move."

"Are you sure, Ami?" Setsuna asked gently. She nodded.

"All right then. The Water Team will consist of Ami and the Marquises. After the meeting, I'll leave the three of you to arrange your own flights to wherever you need to go. Now, moving onto Operative Two: Commencing construction of the Pegasus. Self-explanatory, I think. Quatre, Dorothy, I think the two of you would be suited to this, considering your leadership skills and resources."

Quatre hesitated. The last thing he wanted to do was go back to working with Dorothy. But he knew it had to be done. "Yes, of course. I'll get started on that as soon as I get back."

"Sorry, I'm out," Dorothy answered. Everyone looked at her in shock. She smiled. "Oh don't worry. I'll still pay for it. But overseeing everything; that's Quatre's area, not mine. I've got my own things to deal with. And I suppose if things get really messed up, I can come in and do damage control. But the day-to-day stuff is a no-go."

"Understood. However, I think for the sake of organization, we will still use your name on the Operations Report," Setsuna answered.

"Do what you like," she commented indifferently.

"Very well then. The Air Team is Quatre and Dorothy. Operative Three: Locating the Kentauros Institute. Do I even need to ask?"

Trowa and Lady Une shook their heads.

"Earth Team: Trowa and Lady Une. Operative Four: Terror Control. This one will be a little more challenging. We need to make sure that the future attacks on civilians are as few as possible. I'd recommend a co-op between the Preventors and Red Delta," Setsuna suggested.

"All right then. Hotaru and I can handle it. Wufei, you in too?" Rini looked at the Chinese man.

"I suppose," he grumbled.

"All right, you three will be the Crystal Team. Operative Five: Infiltration and Sabotage. Again, need I ask, Duo?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he cried.

"Duo, shut up and say yes," Mariemaia instructed.

"Okay. 'Yes'," Duo replied.

"I'll come too," Heero said. Duo grinned.

"All right Heero! Now we'll have some fun with those guys."

Setsuna typed their names into the report. "Shadow Team will be Duo, Heero, and Mariemaia. Operative Six, our final Operative: Citizen Rally Points. Relena, Sally, Mr. Venli, and Rei are left. I think this will fit you well too. It will be your duty to encourage people to join in this fight against the Leute. If Relena and Mr. Venli act as spokespersons, and Sally and Rei set up training facilities—"

"No," Rei said.

"What? Rei-chan…" Serenity looked at her.

The black-haired girl shook her head. "I can't do that, Setsuna. You've forgotten something."

"What?"

"Play the disk again," she requested. Setsuna obliged. The disk played, and when the image of Serenity came up, Rei pointed at it.

"Stop!" she cried. The image froze. Walking up, she looked hard at the image. "It's not Serenity."

"Um, yeah. We kinda figured that out when she walked in the door?" Duo pointed out.

"No you idiot! It was a mistake! We…they…it was a big mistake!" she looked at the Senshi. "It's not Serenity at all; it's Minako!"

They froze. Ami took a closer look. "Oh my god…she's right. It is Minako."

"Who's Minako?" Sally asked her.

"Sailor Venus. Our leader. And Serenity's body double. She must have allowed herself to be captured in her place," Ami explained.

"You mean…she got captured because of me?" Serenity paled. "Oh my lord…"

"It's not your fault!" Hotaru reasoned. "It was Minako's duty to protect you above all else! And she's still alive, I can feel her!"

"But for how long?" Rei murmured, then clenched her fist. "That's the operative I'm going to take, Setsuna. I'm going to save Minako. I won't let them do the same things to her that they did to me. I won't."

"I'm helping too!" Serenity cried. "It's all my fault she—"

"NO!" the Senshi all snapped in unison (Duo, amazed at the synchronization, would joke about it for years to come).

"What? Why?" she asked.

"Don't you get it odango-atama?" Rei said. "The only reason the Leute haven't won yet is because they don't have you or the real Ginzuishou. The last thing we're going to do is send you to them on a silver platter!"

"But…Rei-chan…I want to help!" Serenity cried.

"Then stay here and help me," Setsuna said. The blond woman looked at her.

"What do you mean? What can I do to help you?"

"I can't stay in contact with everyone all the time because I'm constantly moving. If I set you up in a base location, you can serve as the main contact. And if anything happens to anyone, or if anyone needs to take a quick break, they can come to you and you can take care of them," Setsuna explained.

Serenity narrowed her eyes. "So you want me to be the Den Mother?"

"You say that with a lot of negative connotations."

"That's because it has a lot of negative conn…connotative…well, whatever you said! I don't get to do anything!"

"Sorry, Usagi-chan," Ami said gently. "But it's like Rei said; if the Leute get you, its game over, and we don't get to start again. We can't risk it. It's best if you just stay in one place."

"But—"

"No arguments, odango," Rei finished. "You stay. We go. Got it?"

"Fine," she huffed.

"All right then. So, the Metal Team, Relena, Sally, and Mr. Venli, will be in charge of Operative Six. Rei will be the Fire Team, and handle Operative Seven: Rescuing Minako. Are there any other questions?" Setsuna asked.

No one said anything.

"Good. Commence Operation: Daybreak."