Double Jeopardy

Chapter 27: Of Apples and Oranges

Kneeling in a puddle of rain-slicked blood, Sailor Mercury tightly clung to Makoto's body as she shook her head while burying her face in Makoto's shoulder. Nothing else mattered at this point to her. Besides, with the odds stacked so heavily against her there just wasn't any reason to fight back.

Trista stepped forward and placed a hand on Ami's shoulder tightly ready to rip her away from her trophy, but Ami was able to yank her shoulder out of her grip, still holding onto her dead lover.

Dark Saturn said, "You weak fool! Stand and defend yourself!"

"Give her a moment, for pity's sake!"

Trista pointed her glaive in warning at Amy, then said, "You want a go, little girl?"

Amy stepped forward and said, "She is suffering. It is not right."

Trista laughed then said, "She is an enemy to the throne and must be dealt with. Besides, since when did you care about how any of them felt? I hear you electrocuted this one just for sport."

Amy narrowed her eyes at the taller woman and said, "It was the most efficient way of making her talk. Don't you dare judge me for what I had to-"

Mina put her hand on the bluenette's shoulder and said, "That's enough, Amy." Then to Dark Saturn she said, "Trista? I thought the plan was to kill them one by one."

Trista looked past Ami, and into Makoto's lifeless gaze. Even in death, the woman appeared to have courage and strength. "We can kill three of them right here, right now." Glaring at Amy she said, "It's the logical thing to do."

Thinking quickly, Dark Venus said, "Leaving these two alive would work to our advantage."

Dark Saturn said, "If you know what is best for you, you will not step outside of your new lesser role. If you think you can convince me that-"

Mina stepped forward speaking rapidly, "Killing them one by one will demoralize them. With every victory we would gain strength while theirs will leave them. It may take longer but it is a far more efficient means of defeating our enemies."

Trista tilted her head, saying, "Yes, I know. That was the original plan. But you saw this one yourself. If she is any indication, they are far stronger than we anticipated. It is dangerous to risk letting even one of them live, even for a matter of moments. Especially when such a perfect opportunity to eliminate many of them presently exists."

Dark Venus had now moved so she was standing between Ami and Trista. She looked right into the woman's eyes and said, "What you call strength, I call desperation. Go ahead and kill her if it pleases you, but at the very least, you know it won't be as thrilling for you this way. After all, you like it when they fight back." That was the major difference between Mina and the rest of the Sekkou, and what had allowed her to lead them for so long. She could read people, and if there was one thing she knew about Trista, it was that she lived to watch the life leave her victim's eyes.

Dark Saturn looked down at Ami in thought as she lowered her weapon slowly and stepped away. "Enough of this. We must show Beryl proof that we are worthy of carrying out her orders. This lone dead Sailor Guardian is more than enough of a trophy. We shall leave these two so that they might amuse us more in the future."

Then she said to Amy and Mina, "Prove your loyalty to me, and retrieve the body."

Mina held up a hand, stopping Amy. "No. I'll do it."

She knelt down beside Sailor Mercury and said softly, "She's gone, Ami. You can't follow her where she is now." Mina put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and continued, "Let her go. It will be easier this-"

Ami finally lifted her head, looking right into Mina's eyes. In that moment, the Sekkou knew there was something that had died within the woman. And it had been replaced by intense pain and hopelessness. Ami didn't need to say anything for Dark Venus to know she would never let go of Makoto willingly.

Without letting go of Makoto's body, Ami punched Mina as hard as she could manage.

Mina rubbed her cheek gently, and was glad for the fact that this particular Guardian wasn't physically any stronger. "I'm sorry, Ami, but this is for the best." Mina took a step back, then delivered a hard kick to the side of Ami's head sending her sprawling on her back into the mud.

Mina gave one last look at Rei's unconscious form, then beckoned for Amy to help her lift Makoto's body.

As the two of them started to lift the corpse, Ami groaned, then pushed herself to her feet trying to look as defiant as she could, staggering toward them to make one last attempt to reclaim Makoto's body.

Dark Saturn stepped in front of Ami as she said "You Sailor Guardians just don't give up, do you?" Then she nodded her head, saying, "Take care of my light work."

Dark Uranus and Neptune had moved so that they were now standing behind Ami. Without so much as a thought, Dark Uranus delivered a well placed punch to her back sending Ami to her knees. Then Dark Neptune gave Ami a sharp kick to the gut before stepping over her to join the others.

Dark Pluto activated her pendant as Ami watched from her place on the ground, helpless to do anything as the Sekkou left, taking Makoto's body with them.

The first thing Rei was aware of was a splitting headache.

Opening her eyes didn't help anything either.

Once her senses started to return to her, she realized she was laying in a bed. As Rei touched her head in an attempt to ward off the pain, she noticed that someone had carefully wrapped the top of her head with gauze. Then she remembered what in her mind had just happened.

"Mina!", Rei yelled as she sat up quickly. She immediately regretted the action as a wave of nausea overtook her and found herself slumping back to her pillow.

Rei groaned loudly, as she pressed her fingers against her head saying, "This feels far worse than any hangover I have ever had."

She started to stand, and felt a hand reach out and grab hers helping her to her feet. Rei's head started to spin as her eyes lost focus for a moment. A pair of slender arms wrapped around her waist, supporting her.

Minako said gently, "Hey, take it easy. You took a nasty blow."

With Minako's help, Rei staggered over to a chair. Once Rei was sure she wouldn't fall out of her seat she asked, "Thank goodness, I knew you guys would show up. Where's Makoto and Ami? Are they alright?"

Minako knelt in front of Rei and stammered, "Rei, you ... just need to relax for a minute. Ami says you could have a concu-"

Rei held up a hand and said, "You know better than to mess with a woman with a migraine, Minako. I'll heal. Ami was doing pretty bad last thing I remembered, and Makoto ..." Starting to understand the expression on Minako's face, Rei asked, "How bad is it?"

The blond looked down at her hands the moment Rei started talking but even then, she had seen just enough of Minako's eyes to know that she was crying. Minako said between sobs, "I tried Rei ... we-we all did. It's just ... Tokyo's such a ... big city and traffic ... getting away from our jobs ... and-and ..."

Minako stopped talking a moment, as she sucked in air, trying to force herself to calm down. "Makoto ... Makoto is ..." She closed her hands into fists, then managed to gasp out, "She's dead, Rei. Makoto's dead."

Rei shook her head in disbelief. "No ... She was holding her own. She ..."

Still looking at her fists, Minako continued, "Ami's distraught. She blames herself."

Feeling somewhat numb from her injury and the unimaginable news, Rei moved down to the floor and pulled Minako close while saying, "I'm sure she did her best. If anything it's my-"

Rei could feel Minako's tears starting to dampen her shoulder as Minako said softly, "No, it's not. It's my fault, Rei. I didn't even get there until ... maybe 20 minutes after it was over. Ami ... she was covered in blood. I thought it was yours at first, since she was trying to drag you away by herself. She was totally alone." After that, Minako just couldn't talk anymore as her throat tensed up.

Finally Rei could feel her own tears starting to run down her cheeks. She held Minako close to her as she whispered, "It was no one's fault, Minako. Like you said, we all did our best." Rei shrugged weakly as the full implications of what had happened finally hit her and finished by saying, "Destiny just ... wasn't on our side."

Ami ran a hand through her still-damp hair, then hunched back over the apartment's small dining room table to hide her face. It was the only movement in the room for several minutes.

Aside for his wife and Makoto, Mamoru considered himself closest to Ami. One of the things he admired Ami for was her ability to control her emotions, and to think logically in any situation. For him seeing her unable to do both was almost worse than learning of Makoto's fate.

Moving closer he said, "Ami ..." Then he stopped. He was about to say that Makoto wouldn't have wanted her to be like this, but that was as far as he managed to get. Somehow, he didn't feel it was enough. Or right. Instead he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder then stepped back. Sometimes all one could do was be there.

Usagi sat across from Ami, wiping her own tears from her cheeks. Finally she said "I know you're hurt, Ami, we all are. But you need to talk to us." She tried to smile as she said, "Don't you always tell Rei that bottling up her emotions is a bad thing?"

Ami said, "No ... Usagi-chan, I could have saved her. There had to be a way. All I had to do was-"

Mamoru interrupted her saying, "You're being too hard on yourself. You did your best. Makoto would be proud of you."

Still not looking up Ami shook her head. "No! You don't understand. I was ... Mamoru ... I didn't even try to fight. I just ... I did ... what I did last time. I just ... I gave up. What if I could have gotten Makoto away? What if I had been able to revive her? What if-"

Usagi said, "Ami ... I know my math skills aren't good but ... even I know nine against one wouldn't have been a fair fight."

Ami clenched her hands into fists, then, without looking up said, "I just ... I don't get it."

Mamoru and Usagi looked at each other, then back at Ami. That was the first time they could ever remember her saying that.

Ami unclenched her hands, saying, "I must have done something wrong. I should have anticipated that they would try to ambush Makoto today. It was such an obvious thing for them to have done ... I should have gone to you all earlier and ..."

Mamoru said, "Ami, you need to listen to us. It was not your fault. There wasn't anything you could have done by yourself. You gave it your all. Regardless of how all of us feel, you can't blame yourself for this and we aren't going to let you."

Ami finally raised her head as she pushed her chair back, then looked at the two of them for a moment. She had stopped crying but the lost expression she wore seemed even more out of place. "I just … don't get it. When we went into the future, she was still alive thousands of years from now. I saw it myself. So did you."

Usagi interrupted her, saying carefully, "Ami ... this isn't a math problem that you can just figure your way out of. There wasn't a right or wrong answer. You need to sto-"

Ami shook her head, then put her glasses back on as she tried to regain control of her emotions, saying frantically, "No, not math, physics!"

Usagi sat back up in her chair and said, "Uh ... did I miss something?"

Ami's eyes lost focus as she looked through Usagi at some unseen formula. Then she looked at Mamoru and said, sounding just a bit uncertain, "Novikov's Self Consistency Principle?"

Usagi blinked her eyes in confusion, then looked at Ami as if she had finally cracked. " Uh ... Ami, that's kinda out of the blue, isn't it? I can't even pronounce that ... Nike's self continent principal? What's that?"

Mamoru looked at Ami, shook his head sadly and said, "You know that's only a theory, Ami. There's just as much chance that Polchinski's Paradox is possible. I just ... I don't know if this is something you want to place your heart on."

Ami shook her head, as tears started to run down her cheeks. She looked at Usagi, as she explained, "We know that various solutions to the theory of general relativity allow closed time like curves such as Goldel Metr- ..." Seeing Usagi's eyes start to spin, Ami said, "No wait, let me start over."

Ami started pacing around Usagi and Mamoru as she went over to the counter and picked an apple out of the fruit basket. "Ok, if- no ... that is not right. Setsuna has proven that time travel is possible. So ... since time travel is possible, in theory if I throw this apple through a worm hole that has an opening that is located approximately three seconds into the future at just the right angle, it should be able to strike itself, thus preventing the apple from going into the future."

Usagi nodded dumbly then said, "Um … ok?"

"That is what Mamoru is talking about. That's Polchinski's Paradox. However, because of Novikov's Self Consistency Principle, the apple comes through at a different angle, not the same one. So, the apple still strikes itself in the past, but it knocks it in such a way that it alters its trajectory so that it winds up being the cause of what sends it through the worm hole."

Ami continued, "Or, the apple comes through at the same angle, hitting the apple that came through so that instead of the apple I threw, the apple that exited the worm hole ricochets off of the one I threw and it enters the worm hole that takes it into the future instead, thus knocking itself back through time so that it still strikes itself in such a way that it penetrates the future. Thus, the apple will always go into the future when I throw it, no matter how I throw it or how it comes out the worm hole three seconds into the future. The apple will always get to the worm hole to get into the future.

Usagi got up, and shook Ami's shoulders, "I don't know what you just said, but that's crazy talk, Ami-chan ... and besides, Makoto isn't an apple ..."

Mamoru nodded then said, "Usagi's right."

Usagi said dumbly, "I am?"

Mamoru sighed, then said, "Yes. Ami, what Usagi is saying is we don't want to see you get hurt by putting your hopes up. Plus, even if the theories are correct, then you also should know that we need to factor in parallel universes, an orange being tossed at your apple by me if you will, into your equation. Now that we are aware of there existence, we have to acknowledge that there is always the chance that you are wrong about the ... uh well, your apple. The amount of variables to consider are so extreme that-"

Ami shook her head as she thought through the problem, if for no other reason than to calm herself down as she said, "No. Mamoru, Usagi, the apple, destiny, fate, what have you. I am saying that according to physics we can't change the future. Well ... you might be able to do minor changes ... but the outcome will always be the same. So Makoto ..."

Usagi looked worried as she said, "Yeah, Ami-chan, we need to think about Mamoru's idea too. We have to think about the ... uh ... idea? ... Facts? That there is a bad apple ... or an orange ... or something being thrown and ... not that there's anything wrong with your apple! I mean it's such a nice red apple. It's- It's just ... well, uh ..." She turned to her husband and said, "Well, you explain it to her!"

Mamoru said to both of them, "Either way, it means we have a serious problem on our hands." He watched Ami slump back into her chair and start crying again as he said, "But at least it may give her something to think about."

Queen Beryl stood in the shadows waiting patiently. She knew her minions had returned and was eager to hear what message they had to deliver. Either way she felt it would prove entertaining to her. She watched as the door to her chamber opened and Trista strolled confidently up to Beryl, then knelt before her queen. Holding both of her hands out dramatically she presented her with a chrome serving tray.

Standing beside Beryl was her new guard, Dark Sailor Moon. The woman glared at the intruder then demanded, "What is the meaning of this."

Dark Saturn stepped aside then commanded, "Bring her in."

The rest of the Sekkou entered the room. The first two, Rei and Lita, carried Makoto's body. Once they reached their queen, they tossed her at Beryl's feet and once again formed a line before their queen, patiently waiting to hear what she would say.

Beryl stepped back from the corpse nervously, then looked at Trista. Forcing herself to become calm she asked, sounding more confident with just a touch of steel to her voice, "Is she dead?"

Trista nodded, then glanced at Dark Moon as she said, "Unlike some among us, I would never allow a living Sailor Guardian to get near our beloved queen."

Beryl glared down at the remains, then said to Serena "Ensure that it is so."

Dark Moon walked over to Dark Saturn as she held out her hand, motioning for the other Sekkou to give her the Silent Glaive.

Dark Saturn narrowed her eyes at the woman, but did as was requested of her.

Serena turned then kicked Makoto's body so that she rolled onto her back. Sunken unseeing eyes gazed up at the ceiling and her slack jaw lay open as if yawning.

Serena said sarcastically, "Well ... she certainly looks dead, but one can never be too sure can they?"

She gently tapped Makoto's side a few times with her foot. Then in a fit of unprovoked rage, Dark Moon stomped on the dead woman's chest, causing what little remained of Makoto's breath to escape in a soft, lifeless gasp. Next she stabbed the blade deep into Makoto's stomach. With the exception of herself and Trista, the rest of the Sekkou either closed their eyes for a few moments, or turned their heads away. This had long since passed barbaric even for them.

Trista looked at her queen and said, "Satisfied?" She didn't bother to hide her frustration with the situation. Being robbed of her victory by one who had essentially done nothing infuriated her beyond words. But one did not say such things to a queen with as much power as Beryl.

Rather than responding Beryl lifted her Silver Crystal, incinerating Makoto's battered body with the wave of her hand. As with the Sekkou a small ball of light emerged. But Makoto's was different from whenever she had done so to the Sekkou.

The spirit of Makoto Kino glowed with a brilliance far brighter and more vividly. It also had a slight green tint to the light that radiated from it. Her spirit brought light to every corner of the room, virtually smothering out the shadows. Even in death she was proud and strong. And resisted Beryl's power.

Beryl glared angrily at this strange powerful being. "How dare you defy me!" With the flick of her wrist darkness returned to the farthest reaches of the room slowly starting to twist and weave it's way around the glow of Makoto's spirit. Slowly smothering the light. While Makoto wasn't able to push back, she was able to slow it.

The spirit flashed for a few seconds, sending sparks of electricity arching around the speck of light.

The queen growled in response to an unheard conversation between herself and Makoto, "I think not, you fool!"

More sparks flew from the ball of light as Beryl tilted her head slightly to the side, listening to an unheard voice. Whatever was said caused anger to flash in Beryl's eyes.

Beryl clenched her teeth together as she bit back, "She cannot save you! No one can save you! You are mine now!" Beryl gripped the Legendary Silver Crystal tighter in her hands in frustration as the shadows of the room swirled around the green light, causing it's glow to soften considerably and in it's own way, violently. There was one last bright flash from the light in protest before it was wrapped in a darkness that allowed only the smallest amount of light to radiate from it.

Beryl motioned to Makoto's spirit. Crushed and cloaked in shadow, it obediently hovered over the queens open hand. Queen Beryl whispered, "You see, I can break your kind. Mold you into whatever I want just as I did them! Your power and stubbornness will make you the perfect killing machine against your friends!"

She tossed her prize into the ashes and watched as bright light formed around the pile, slowly forcing it to take shape.

She had Makoto's body, but one could tell by looking into her eyes that she possessed little of her soul. Like the other Sekkou, Makoto's leotard was now black, and her tiara titanium instead of gold. The cloth and jewel on the tiara that had once been vibrant greens was now white. Beside her lay a long black javelin.

Makoto's new body lay on the ground motionless for a moment before taking her first loud, greedy gasp for air.

Beryl said almost mockingly, "Rise Dark Sailor Europa, and abandon all hope. For you, it is forsaken!"

Wordlessly and obediently, Dark Europa slowly moved to picked up her javelin.