Part 8
"We have a problem."
Quatre set his mug down on the kitchen table that morning with a small thud, looking up at Wufei. Everyone else was still asleep, and Quatre had awoken feeling far better but in need of coffee and fast. Luckily, Wufei had been up before him and a pot had already been brewed.
"A problem," he repeated, watching Wufei nod.
"Kaden."
"I don't think we'll have to worry too much about him."
Wufei shook his head again. "Quatre, the problem is that seven of us couldn't take him down yesterday. All seven of us.....and we plan to charge the base."
Quatre sighed heavily. "You've been worried."
"Of course I am. The security agency has several agents working on the premises. How many of them could be away at work at once? How many are as powerful as Kaden?"
"I'm guessing about fifteen to twenty."
The two turned to the doorway of the kitchen, wear Ami stood watching them. She smiled, speaking again. "Good morning."
"Well you look better," Quatre noted cheerily.
"I am," She said with a nod, tipping her head at them. "How are you two feeling?"
"Better," Quatre said with a smile, Wufei nodding.
"So you think fifteen to twenty are as strong as Kaden?"
"Or stronger," Ami added. "I observed that there were many lower members walking the streets of town when I went to Garderville. They could be loyal members to the group or brainwashed missing people, fairly simple to detain or take down. Others, like Kaden, are loyal members of the group- its core, if you will. When I say some may be stronger than Kaden, I mean that there are at least a couple of agents higher in rank and power than agents like Kaden. Then above them, are the leaders. The leader or leaders are at most two people and are the reason that Kaden or any other agent even has supernatural abilities. They are the ones that we have to worry about and they are the reason we need Sailor Moon and the other Senshi. Hopefully when we break in to free the others, we won't come across the leaders."
Duo padded into the kitchen at this point, passing Ami as he searched for a mug. A frown marred her features when she saw how bad the bruising on his face was that day.
"You feeling okay Duo?" She asked. He nodded glumly, finding the mugs and offering her one, not wanting to discuss his own face. She noticed that Wufei kindly kept quiet, although she was sure that he would make fun of Duo once he was fully awake.
Wufei spoke again now. "It just...it feels impossible...charging the base and getting out alive or getting out in general. I didn't know how powerful agents like Kaden were."
"It'll be fine," Heero's tired voice said from the doorway, entering the kitchen with Trowa. Trowa was quick to grab a glass of water and some Tylenol for his concussion, the group all standing or sitting around the kitchen silently as he drank it.
Quatre broke the silence hesitantly. "I- I'll call for breakfast. I'll tell my staff we have guests." He left the room, leaving the group in silence again.
"When will Setsuna come today?" Duo asked, breaking the silence once more. Ami took a sip of her coffee, pausing, before responding.
"When she feels it's time."
Heero glanced at Duo. "Did you call the office this morning?"
Duo nodded. "Yep. I told them everyone is still not feeling well."
Quatre returned to the room, sitting down and starting on his coffee again.
"We have to charge that base soon," Ami muttered. "We have to free the others. We can't wait anymore; we can't wait past tomorrow night."
"We are a half injured group of people. Besides, Setsuna had a stomach wound yesterday. We should wait a few more days," Heero stated.
"Setsuna is fully healed by now," Ami responded. "We heal much faster than all of you."
"And you?" Heero questioned.
"I'm healed as you can see," she replied without hesitation. The others in the group continued to sip at their coffee silently, watching the exchange with mild interest.
"I can see that you look fine now....and an hour from now when you have an attack from your power upgrades, we'll be trying to get you off the floor and see if you are breathing."
Ami pursed her lips a moment, then spoke. "That can't be helped. If it bothers you, I will try to leave the room when I feel an attack coming on."
"That's not what I meant, I don't want you to be alone when that happens," Heero snapped back.
"Don't worry about it, and I'll be fine to charge the base as planned tomorrow."
Heero stared her down, but she chose to look away and drink from her coffee, causing a slightly pissed expression to take over his face as he too picked up his coffee and downed a few gulps.
Duo his a smirk behind his mug. Heero never let loose his monotone. He supposed that Ami had more of an effect on Heero than the perfect soldier let on.
That afternoon, Setsuna stopped by briefly to check on the group and finalize their plans. No one had left Quatre's estate yet, as it was safer not to be seen driving around town before they freed the other Senshi. Ami planned to take at least the inner Senshi back to her apartment with her once they were freed. She knew Quatre's estate was large, but she didn't feel right about inconveniencing him with all of her friends. The outer senshi could choose where they wanted to live until they were able to go home, whether it was with her or someone else. Besides, every pilot had his own home and they would all be back at home after they freed the Senshi, plotting to take down the enemy for good.
"The sun is setting around eight tomorrow. We will arrive in Garderville after sunset. Now, we've planned to go ahead and start in that third building?" Setsuna questioned.
Everyone nodded. "I just have a gut feeling that the Senshi are there. It's perfect to hold captives, even if they are all on different levels," Quatre muttered.
"Alright. Good luck everyone and sleep well. I will arrive here at six so we can drive to the city."
"We'll be carrying seven to eight extra passengers once we leave depending on how things go with Mamoru. We'll need enough cars," Ami pointed out.
"We'll have to pick up our vehicles from the Preventer's building then," Trowa suggested.
"If we have seven extra people plus the seven of us, we'll need three cars that each hold five people, with one car holding one less unless we get Mamoru," Heero noted.
"Well we still have the van we took last time," Duo pointed out. "That takes seven people already, but unless we have another van we will need the other two cars. Do you want to drive it again Trowa?"
Trow nodded once.
"I'll drive," Heero offered.
"Me too," Wufei commented, everyone nodding.
The next day, Setsuna was at the door promptly at six o'clock.
Ami followed Duo out to the back where the three cars were parked, glancing at Duo's heavy looking backpack, which all of the pilots had. No doubt, they were filled with weapons.
Wufei and Setsuna stood conversing by Wufei's SUV. Ami did a double take at the pair but was distracted by Duo, who seemed in a better mood than the previous day and fully at ease as he startled Trowa and Quatre by the van.
Her eyes searched the area for Heero, not too surprised when she heard his voice from behind her.
"Ride with me."
Turning, she was met with his calculating gaze, and could at first only nod dumbly, managing to speak evenly a moment later. "Alright."
The two hadn't spoken more than two words to each other since their disagreement the previous morning. Ami felt bad, because Heero didn't often show his emotions and she had clearly worried him. At the same time she didn't like that he was taking her so lightly.
Not that Ami wasn't worried. Her last attack from her powers had been the night before, and she had been in bed luckily. Now she was concerned. She had expected to have an attack sometime in the day before they left to Garderville, and it hadn't happened. The last thing she wanted was to have an attack and become a vulnerability to the team, whether it meant blowing their chances of saving the girls or getting herself or anyone else caught.
"Everyone ready?" Setsuna called as she was climbing into Wufei's SUV. "Remember, we're meeting at the parking garage three blocks from the base."
Trowa climbed into the drivers seat of the van, Duo running to get shotgun and pouting when he saw Quatre was already upfront, climbing into the back. Wufei and Setsuna pulled out first, dissapearing around the corner of the estate. Ami followed Heero to his car, waving at Duo as the van left the driveway. She climbed into the silver sports car, tense all of a sudden although she had riden with Heero several times.
The two sat in silence, which was unusually deafening for Ami. Heero pulled out and was pulling on to the highway ramp a few minutes later while she fumed silently to herself. Heero was acting normally: silent and monotonous. So it lead her to believe that something was wrong with her for feeling awkward to begin with.
Heero seemed to sense her discomfort, because he kept watching her when he had the chance. Deciding to speak finally, he broke the silence.
"Stop worrying."
His words took her off guard, mostly because he had looked past her discomfort at their argument and seen the real problem: her fear that everything would go wrong. He knew that deep down, their argument had bothered her because she believed what he had said to be true. That fact that he understood her scared her further.
He glanced over at her quickly, taking notice that she was unusually distracted.
"Everything will be fine," he clarified, letting the silence fill the car comfortably at his words. Finally, she spoke.
"How do you know I'm not dragging you to your death?"
He paused, but responded quite seriously. "Impossible. I'm the perfect soldier."
Ami laughed despite the situation, nodding. "Okay, I guess you're right."
They arrived in Garderville after dark as planned. Ami and Setsuna leaned against the car while the pilots talked in hushed voices a foot away, sorting out weapons and talking more strategy than she remembered all of them discussing.
They were in the parking structure three blocks from the security agency, but Ami felt it was too close for comfort still.
"The pilots.....are more capable than you're expecting," Setsuna said quietly. Ami turned to look at her, her mouth gaping slightly before she responded.
"Setsuna, I know they're amazing. It's just....you know why I'm worried."
Setsuna nodded. "The enemy will know we've broken in almost immediately after we've done so. That's why your friends have worked out a diversion."
Ami tipped her head. Had she been so out of it the last couple of days that she hadn't known many of their plans?
"They've only worked this out recently," Setsuna clarified. "It's good though. They're setting off a bomb in the fourth building."
"A- a bomb?" Ami repeated. "What if our friends get hurt? Or brainwashed lower ranking members on missing persons lists?"
"Our friends are most likely in the third building. The bomb isn't large, they're setting it off outside the main floor as a distraction. The building our friends are in is likely heavilly guarded, so this could help us out for a little while. Anyways, once your in the building our just outside, your computer will be able to trace the Senshi?"
Ami nodded. "Yes, we can figure out which building they're in from outside if we're able to sneak up close enough to any of the buildings without being seen."
"Ready?" Duo's voice asked, cutting into their conversation.
"Yes," Ami said, pulling out her transformation wand. "Let's go."
"Pluto Crystal Power!"
"Mercury Crystal Power!"
Heero shook his head, stepping back slightly and trying to wipe the awed look off his face. He had seen Ami transform twice already and he was still acting stunned.
The group hurried towards the buildings, swiftly but silently. The darkness hid them and they were soon coming around the back of the security buildings, rather than the front where she had analyzed them before.
The fourth building was nearest to them, and after the pilots tried to see if there were any cameras, the group huddled against the wall of the fourth building. Mercury opened her computer, pausing as she waited to see if any of her friends were inside.
Her visor opened up over her eyes, readings beginning to flash across it. The pilots leaned forwards with interest at the new gadget, stopping when she spoke quietly.
"None of our friends are inside. According to my computer this building has a lot of negative energy coming from it, which means it could contain a lot of their power."
She saw Wufei and Trowa smirking at this.
"Perfect," Duo clarified quietly, not hiding his grin. "They'll go nuts if something happens to this building. Let's set up the bomb here and go hide."
Quatre pulled open his bag, Pluto and Mercury stepping back to allow them to work. A couple of minutes later they pilots stepped back.
"We have three minutes to duck unseen somewhere by the third building. When the agents come running to the noise, we'll already be inside," Heero said. "Where's the nearest possible entrance on the third building?"
Mercury turned back to her computer. "Nearby, against that wall," she ushered towards it. "Let's go."
The group quickly moved to the spot on the third building she had ushered to, still concealed by the dark and hopefully unseen. Mercury's computer beeped very lightly, and several readings began to flash across the screen of her visor. Relief washed over her features, the small blinking dots of her missing friends filling her with unbelievable joy. Heero watched her carefully, already knowing what she was going to say and feeling happy just at the natural sight of her true happiness.
"They're in here, all of them except Mamoru right now," she said quietly, happiness in her tone. "They're in different areas but-"
A loud explosion silenced her, and flames engulfed the bottom portion of the fourth building as several shouts were heard.
"You said it was a small bomb," Pluto accused, although she looked pleased. Mercury spotted the entrance she had been referring to, a large vent.
Heero looked to where she indicated, pulling out a small metal tool whose name Ami did not and would never know and quickly breaking the hinges off the large vent, allowing it to swing open. He looked in to make sure it was safe, pulling out a flashlight and nodding.
"Let's go, quickly."
Wufei crawled in first, followed by Pluto, Trowa, Duo, Mercury, Heero, and Quatre. Quatre tried to shut the vent behind them as much as possible. It was broken but would look sealed if there was a quick inspection of the perimeter done.
Mercury paid careful attention to the readings on her visor.
"The vent ends soon, and we'll have to drop down into the room it leads to, somewhere in the basement."
Wufei paid close attention as he was in the front, knowing he would have to drop down first. Heero, in the back, was shining a flashlight down the vent, and the vent latch became clear to Wufei.
"It's here," he muttered, peering down and trying to listen and make sure no one was downstairs. "I think we're good."
Sitting back, Wufei gave the vent's cover a swift kick, and it swung down and open, revealing a totally dark room beneath them.
"It's not a big drop," Mercury clarified from where she was crouched, typing on her computer. Wufei nodded, slipping his legs through the opening and dropping down into the room, landing easily and trying to be quiet. He reached up to help Pluto down, surprised to see her leap down and land in a crouched position, standing and stepping back swiftly so that Trowa could jump down.
The rest hurried down the vent, and Heero closed it as the group stood quietly in the room.
Mercury was tense. No one had come for them yet, which meant that no one knew where in the four buildings they were. Yet.
"Jupiter is the nearest, she's down here," she said confidently.
"Then lead the way," Pluto said with a nod, Mercury nodding as well and following her computer's directions. Jupiter was in a room down the hall, to the right. So far, there weren't any nearby agents except for the one guarding Jupiter.
"There's someone guarding her according to my computer."
"Be ready to attack," Pluto said, stepping forwards.
The groups footsteps, however stealthy, seemed loud as they approached the room Mercury knew one of her best friends was in. Pluto was quick to push open the door and look around, surprised that the room seemed empty of a guard. She paused in the doorway.
"Where's the guard."
"I- I don't know. He's no longer on my computer," Mercury responded, knowing things looked a little suspicious now but anxious to get to Jupiter. She pushed past Pluto, rushing towards the back and gasping.
Jupiter was chained against the wall of the room, her wrists hung above her head. She looked exhausted and weary, more broken than she remembered her being.
"Jupiter!"
Jupiter looked up sharply, her eyes widening as she spotted her friend through the darkness of the room. "A- Mercury! How did you get in here?"
"It doesn't matter, are you alright?" Mercury asked, feeling her eyes welling up with tears at the sight of her friend. She rushed to Jupiter's side, unsure of whether she was injured.
Pluto stepped forwards. "We're pressed for time. Hello, Jupiter."
Jupiter nodded at Pluto, her eyes widening at the group of people behind her.
"Hey! There's-"
"They're with us," Mercury clarified, Heero stepping forwards as he inspected her chains.
"It contains our powers, which is why they're fine leaving us like this. By the way, my guard ran out of the room a minute ago so I'd be quick if I were you. We're going to need a lot of manpower to get out of here."
"Maybe if I concentrate my attack at the chains?" Pluto guessed. She stepped back, everyone getting away from Jupiter as she focused her attack, at the tip of her time staff, ,uttering her attack and watch the tip glow as she used the energy to slash through Jupiter's chains.
Jupiter, who had closed her eyes, blinked them open, lowering her once bound hands and watching as whatever parts of the chain that weren't destroyed fell apart. She brought her hands to rub her sore wrists, wincing slightly.
"Thanks."
Mercury helped Jupiter stand, watching her friend stumble to her feet with worry and smiling as Jupiter stood steady on her own proudly. The two hugged briefly, before Jupiter spoke.
"I'm ready to get out of this hell whole."
Mercury laughed lightly, Pluto smirking. "Then let's go."
A loud siren suddenly went off, and Duo rushed to the door and shouted.
"They've found us!"
Mercury suddenly gasping and letting loose a rare curse as her computer indicated what was happening a second before.
"Damn it!" Heero searched for Mercury in the dark, unaware of what was about to happen.
The floor dropped beneath the groups feet, plunging them into darkness and separating them.
Jupiter clutched her head, groaning slightly and struggling to stand. She collapsed to her knees once she was on her feet, shaking her head. While in captivity, she had heard talk of a plan liek this from the Dark Alliance. It was basically a trick to stop intruders. The magic would separate everyone into different parts of the building. While the enemy didn't know where everyone was, they had successfully weakened them by dividing them in the building, and would now search the building for them.
"Are you alright?"
She glanced up, meeting the emerald green eyes of one of Mercury and Pluto's friends. Well, she met one of his eyes. The other was concealed by a long bang, and she was stunned into silence for a moment as she took in his extremely attractive face. Had the situation not been serious she was sure she would have blurted out that he looked nothing like her old boyfriend.
"Yes," she managed finally, hoping her voice didn't give her away. He extended his hand to help her up and she accepted, the two surveying the training area they had been dumped in. "The name's Jupiter in this form, by the way."
"Trowa," he responded with a nod, turning away lest she see him appraise her beauty. Thank God it was dark.
Wufei and Pluto moved quietly down the hall they were in. It was one of the upper floors of the building and no one had located them...yet. Footsteps pounded around the corner, and Pluto and Wufei looked around wildly for an escape.
Wufei grabbed her wrist, pulling her into the darkened room on their right.
The security agents ran by, Pluto releasing a low sigh of relief. "Good."
"Setsuna-mama?"
Wufei frowned as Pluto's eyes widened, watching as she turned and rushed to the back of the room, towards the weak voice.
Wufei was at her heels, stopping when he saw the young Senshi, perhaps no older then fourteen or fifteen, chained in the same way as the previous senshi had.
"Saturn!" Pluto exclaimed, having to remind herself to be silent as she knelt besides the weak girl. Using her time staff, she quickly destroyed the chain in the same way she had destroyed Jupiter's, catching Saturn who slumped forwards.
Saturn wasn't visibly seriously wounded, although she was exhausted and probably weakened from the ordeal. "We're getting you out of here," Pluto muttered, looking at Wufei who approached.
"I'll carry her."
"Duo, please be quiet, all we need is to get caught before we find the others," Quatre said patiently, the group ducked inside a small kitchen on one of the floors.
"What Quatre means is shut up or die," Heero snapped, more angry than usual.
"Take it easy Hee-man," Duo responded. "We'll find Ami soon."
Heero blanched, but quickly composed himself to his typical monotone. Footsteps sounded from outside the room and all of them flattened themselves against the cupboard they were ducked against, relieved when whoever was outside walked away.
"We have to move," Quatre commented, the trio standing and quietly heading into the dark hallway.
They walked for about a minute, not coming across anyone yet. A buzzer sounded and a voice came over the intercom of the building.
"Recovery Personnel to Building 4. All other personnel to building 3 for search and lock down."
"This si about to get a lot harder," Duo complained, the three pulling out their weapons and running down the hall. Hitting a dead end, they heard footsteps and ducked into a room on their left.
"Who are you?" A suspicious voice asked from nearby. The footsteps neared the room, and the three ducked deeper into the dark room, finding a women with dark hair in a red Senshi uniform chained in the back.
The three ducked next to her, the footsteps outside the door.
"Hey, what the hell? Get away from me," she snapped, Duo immediately throwing his hand over her mouth as the door to the room opened. Whoever was in the doorway was met with silence, and stepped out and shut the door. When the footsteps were far away enough in the opposite direction, Duo removed his hand from the girls mouth, his jaw dropping at the fierce glare she was giving him. Her large violet orbs left him speechless a moment, before he stammered.
"Woah, babe, I'm sorry! We couldn't get caught!"
"Like I give a damn about you. Who are you?"
"We're friends of Ami," Quatre cut in, not needing Duo to piss off one of Ami's friends. "Here, let's get you out of those chains and get a move on."
Quatre and Duo set to breaking her chains, while Heero stood impatiently. They had found one of Ami's friends, which was good, but he didn't know where Ami was or whether they should make for the exit now that they had found one of them. No, leaving was not an option.
Heero heard the sound of the girls chains breaking, looking up to see her stand unsteadily.
"So everyone got separated? We may as well try to find the others," she said, and he realized he hadn't been listening as she spoke with Quatre and Duo. "Call me Mars."
"I'm Duo babe," Duo said cheerily, appraising the woman who blew him off and made him more attracted to her.
"I'm Quatre, and this is Heero," Quatre said, ushering at Heero, who seemed preoccupied.
"Hey!" A loud voice was heard from the doorway. "Mars is free! Get her down, now! Before she attacks!"
About five soldiers entered the room, the pilots raising their weapons. Mars looked unconcerned.
"These are just lower members." She stepped forwards, raising her hands. "Mars flame sniper!"
What looked to be a bow and arrow made of flames came alive in her hands, the soldiers cursing as she pulled the flames in the form of the arrow back and released them. They screamed loudly, the fire scorching them and knocking them all out. Mars stepped forwards, looking at the men on the floor a moment and speaking.
"Bastards."
Glancing back at the pilots, she nodded.
"Ready? I want to find my friends as quickly as possible, before stronger soldiers than these find us. I think Venus is around here actually."
Quatre and Heero nodded, impressed, while Duo could only stumble forwards, speaking lowly. "I'm in love."
Mercury got to her feet, her head spinning. The room she was in was large and pitch black, the atmosphere in the room almost heavy. Luckily, she still had her computer. She would find her friends.
Picking her computer up off the floor where it had fallen with her, she opened it up, thankful that it was durable. A gasp escaped her lips as she saw the flashing symbol of Sailor Moon in the room. Moon was here- but where? The room was dark, but Mercury used her visor and computer to guide her as she stopped just short of hitting the wall at the back of the room.
"H-hello?" A weak voice asked from beneath her. Mercury was taken aback by the weak and broken voice of her princess, hardly above a whisper, the extreme opposite of the usual.
"Sailor Moon?" She muttered, crouching down and grasping her friends hand in the darkness. Her friend gripped back weakly, and spoke again.
"Ames....I-I knew you would be alright."
Tears filled Mercury's eyes immediately, at the thought that her friend was concerned for her well being while captured in this horrible place.
"Are you hurt?"
"No," Moon responded quietly, and as Mercury's eyes adjusted to the darkness she saw that Sailor Moon was only chained by one of her wrists.
"What's wrong?" Mercury questioned, needing an idea of what had happened to her to help her.
"They couldn't figure out how to get the crystal away from me. It continued to- to shield me and respond to me alone. So they've been starving me the last week."
Mercury gasped. "What? That's too cruel- have you had any water?"
Moon cleared her throat, her words coming out more raspy than before. "I think three or four days ago.....I couldn't really keep count in this dark room."
"Oh my God, Usagi we have to get you out of here and get you some help right now," Mercury said, forgetting to call her friend by her Senshi name. Carefully concentrating her attack, she froze the chain holding her princess, bashing it against the wall and watching it shatter.
Mercury reached down and picked up Sailor Moon, carrying her piggy back style and noticing that she was easier to carry than she remembered. The thought saddened her.
"We're going to be fine Sailor Moon, just hold on," she said, heading out of the room.
"What about the others?"
"I have friends here who will help, just don't worry," Mercury assured, biting her lip in hopes that she wasn't lying to her princess.
"The stairwell is this way," Trowa corrected as Jupiter walked down the hall, ignoring him. Trowa had tried to learn the layouts of the buildings before coming from Mercury's computer, so he was pretty confident that Jupiter was in the wrong. He followed her, frowning, as she stopped, staring between two doors.
"I know, but if we're on the floor that I think we're on, then I saw Sailor Neptune get dragged into one of these rooms a week ago."
Trowa nodded, reminding himself that the purpose was not just to get out but to save all of Ami's friends.
"I think it was this one," Jupiter mused, heading to the room on the left and pushing open the door. She blanched when she opened the door. "Shit, wrong room."
"No, right room. We were just ready for you," a voice said, the higher ranking officer Domonic stepping forwards. She glared at him, backing out of the room and next to Trowa.
"This one is trouble, his name is Dominic and he's been watching over me the last few weeks. He's strong and higher in rank."
"As high in rank as Kaden?"
"Yeah, how do you know?"
Trowa didn't respond, knowing that this Dominic was probably promised the same thing from Jupiter that Kaden was from Mercury. The dark haired violet eyed man suddenly stepped out of the room, and Trowa wasted no time in beginning to fire.
Dominic was fast, dodging as fast as Kaden could, but the five men behind him were easy targets, three of them dropping instantly. The last two men crowded behind Dominic, looking worried now. Dominic simply laughed.
"You're one of the pilots, right? You're as good as Kaden said you were." Trowa said nothing, trying to assess Dominic and see what he was up to. Dominic spoke again.
"He also mentioned that it took all five of you and two senshi just to get him down."
"So Kaden is still alive then," Trowa said, Dominic laughing.
"It takes a lot to kill us."
Jupiter seemed impatient, not willing to wait and get to her friends.
"Enough talk. Jupiter Thunder, crash!"
Trowa backed up as an antenna seemed to come out of Jupiter's tiara, crackling with electricity. He watched with awe as Jupiter released a barrage of lightning at the remainig three men.
The two lower ranking soldiers who were behind Dominic hit the ground, Dominic having tried to dodge but being unsuccessful in the small hallway.
"That hurt. I'm not going to lie though, that feisty attitude is what I like about you."
Anger fueled Trowa although he didn't know why, as he raised his automatic and began to fire unrelentingly. In the small space Dominic could hardly dodge the bullets, shouting in rage as blood began to seep from his mouth.
"I'm getting help and coming back for you," he seethed, glaring at Trowa and disappearing.
"Wow, good job Trowa," Jupiter appraised. "Are you a soldier or something?"
"Something like that. Let's get your friend and get off this floor and out of the building before he gets help."
Jupiter nodding, running into the room to unchain Neptune with Trowa at her heels.
"I'm sure we'll find Uranus and Neptune soon Saturn," Pluto assured Saturn, who Wufei was carrying. The trio was headed towards a place on the floor above where they had freed Saturn from, since Saturn said she knew Uranus was somewhere on the floor.
"Where do you think she is?" Wufei asked, growing impatient of wandering.
"They kept her somewhere with more security. They said she made too much of a ruckus," Saturn explained, Pluto smirking.
"That sounds like Haruka alright."
"Hey," Saturn tapped Wufei, carrying her piggy back style, on the shoulder. "This room seems familiar to me."
Wufei turned to look at the heavier looking metal door. It definitely seemed more secured than the other rooms, and a loud soldiers shout from a few feet away confirmed that it was more heavily guarded.
"Intruders at Uranus' cell!"
The three turned to assess the soldier that had shouted, who was followed by eight more soldiers.
"Don't worry too much, they're lower in rank," Saturn said, her silence glaive appearing in her hand even whilst Wufei carried her, and blocking the first round of attacks with a purple shield.
"Thanks Saturn," Pluto said, stepping forwards and attacking. "Pluto deadly scream!"
The attack knocked out four of the men, the last five still charging. Without warning, Wufei reached down into the bag Pluto had set on the floor. It was the bag he had carried into the base like the other pilots, filled with weaponry and some bombs if necessary.
Saturn clung on to Wufei tighter as he did so, gasping as he withdrew a long katana from the bag, unsheathing it and leaping at the five soldiers with a startled Saturn in tow. Pluto laughed at the expression on Saturn's face as the last man was forced to his feet by Wufei, the tip of the katana at his throat.
"Open that room for us," he commanded stiffly. The man nodded apprehensively, hurrying towards the room and typing a code into the keypad, also pulling out his keys and unlocking the door on top of it.
Wufei stared at his keys. "Will one of those open the onna's chains?"
The man nodded once more, and the four entered the room to see a pissed looking Uranus chained against the wall.
"I missed the fight, right?' She asked flippantly, although she seemed quite relieved to see Pluto. "Glad you were able to come through Sets."
"I had some help," Pluto responded, watching as the shaking soldier undid Uranus' chains. Uranus stood, a little less stable than usual, and glanced between Pluto and the soldier that had released her.
"I'd suggest that you lock this dumb ass in here before I do some real damage."
"Venus was right here I think," Mars said to the three men walking by her as the group moved down the hall. "Here."
She pushed open the door, Duo at her footsteps and checking her out while she walked. Quatre looked embarrassed by how Duo was acting, walking next to Heero, who was silent and more tense than usual.
"Venus?" Mars called in the darkened room. The room remained silent, the group staring around unsure.
Quatre walked a couple of feet to his left, feeling his foot hit something soft and gasping and stepping back.
"Ow," a tired and sleepy voice responded. "Who's here?"
He crouched down, his eyes adjusting to the darkness as he realized he had stepped on Sailor Venus.
"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm Quatre Winner, we're friends of Ami's. We've already freed Mars and we want to get you out of here."
"Ami? Okay, I'm glad she's okay then. I'm Minako or Venus right now," Venus said, quickly waking up and sitting up while Heero and Duo set to work on her chains.
"Well we don't know where Merc is, everyone is separated so we'd better get a move on and find everyone, I'm worried," Mars said.
"Take it easy Mars," Venus chided as her chains were broken. Quatre helped her to her feet, his eyes now having adjusted to the dark and allowing him to lay eyes on the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
His heart only sped up further when Venus smiled at him.
"Hold it right there my dear," a low voice cut into the room. Venus groaned.
"That's Cole. He's a higher ranking general, and he's been guarding my cell the last three weeks. Actually if you don;t mind, I'd like a shot at him."
"Go right ahead Venus," Mars said.
"Be quick," Heero added, Venus exchanging a look with Mars. This guy was in a major hurry.
Venus stepped forwards. "Ready Cole?"
"Always for you."
She nodded. "Good, I've been waiting for this." A light burned at the tip of her finger, exploding into a bright beam, which she quickly unleashed on the man.
"Venus crescent beam, smash!"
He deflected it, but she wasn't finished.
"Wanna double team him Mars?"
"Sure," Mars said, knowing what Venus was about to do.
"Venus love chain, encircle!"
The chain held the unsuspecting general in place, and he began to curse. "Dammit I hate when there's more than one of you!"
"Mars celestial fire, surround!" The general screamed as Mars' attack hit him head on.
"Anyone else?" Venus asked, her smile fading as Heero pulled out his gun and fired at the general about six times, enticing more screams.
The general muttered a threat but could barely find the strength to escape into a portal, Heero stalking out of the room almost immediately. "Let's go."
"Yeah he was definitely in a hurry," Venus said, "but he's right, we should go." She slyly grabbed the shy man she had been introduced to by the arm. "Walk with me Quatre."
Mars rolled her eyes, following and ignoring Duo as they tried to find their friends.
"I think we'd better head towards an exit, it's been over an hour and I bet some of our friends are outside. We can see who's out and then go back in for the rest," Quatre suggested. Heero pursed his lips, wanting to find Ami, but knowing that she had her computer and was possibly outside already.
"Moon, are you still with me?" Mercury asked quietly, positive that she was unconscious by now. As she had thought, she received no response from her starved and dehydrate leader.
According to her computer and visor, there was a stairwell nearby. Mercury followed the directions, trying to be as quiet as possible and also quick while carrying Sailor Moon.
The computer indicated that she cross through a room to get to the stairwell. Mercury paused, staring into the darkened room. There didn't seem to be anyone inside, and if the stairwell was there then....
Mercury quietly pushed open the door, pausing once she had entered the room. Her computer beeped lowly, still telling her to cross the room and head to the stairwell, but something just felt off, something it wasn't able to pick up on.
The lights in the room suddenly flickered on, and she realized that the room was something of an infirmary. She guessed it was more of an infirmary for their captives and not their workers, as there were only about two cots, but what stunned her more was the unfamiliar man sitting on the edge of one of the cots.
"Ah, Mercury, so good of you to join us. Although....I see you're trying to go somewhere with my precious Sailor Moon."
Mercury felt her blood boil at his statement, remembering what Kaden had told her about their files and each Senshi being promised to an agent. The man continued anyways.
"The poor thing looks terrible. Not to worry, their plan to starve her did nothing to the crystal, so the word is that they're feeding her tomorrow."
"Who are you?"
"Oh how rude of me. I'm general Ryder." The man was tall and slightly leaner than Kaden, although she knew not to take him lightly. His hair was light brown and his eyes were a pale blue very much like Minako's, but he assessed her coldly, his eyes burning holes into her for what she was trying to do. He was nothing like Minako.
A sudden pang in her stomach stopped her assessment of her opponent, a feeling of disgust welling up within her as she realized that she was about to have an attack at the most inconvenient and crucial of times.
The pang was replaced with a wrenching pain as Mercury unwillingly collapsed to her knees, the unconscious Sailor Moon sliding off her back and slipping to the floor.
"No," she muttered, her body beginning to shake, followed by being racked with coughs. Blood coated her hands and another wave of pain hit her, worse than the last as she collapsed from her knees to her side, her breaths strained and painful.
General Ryder's chuckle cut through the pain. "Oh my, you're having one of those attacks, aren't you? Most interesting......" He paused and Mercury turned, her heaving breaths quickening as she realized that he was picking up Sailor Moon.
He simply moved Sailor Moon to the cot he had been sitting on, turning and approaching Mercury on the floor.
Her head was spinning as he crouched next to her, tipping his head.
"Unlike Kaden, I won't be taking it easy on you when I have the clear advantage."
He grabbed her collar, smirking at the blood leaking from the side of her mouth and how her body shook.
"It's....it's too easy. Oh well." Standing, he kicked her in the stomach, causing her to cry out at the blow. More blood filled her mouth and her hand flew to it, coughing up more of the blood. It was exactly what she and Heero had been afraid of.
He kicked her again, smirking as it was a better hit, her body rolling back and hitting into a silver cart. Whatever was in the cart fell around her, and her eyes widened at the scalpels and various knives that littered the ground. Was this an infirmary or another sick experimentation room?
She didn't have time to move as Ryder was attacking again, and she could see the black energy crackling like lightening around his hand from where she lay on the floor, but didn't have the strength to move away from her attacker.
The pain was crippling when mixed with the pain from her attack, but she wasn't able to scream as all that happened was once more getting a mouth full of blood. Her hands trembled as she tried to get off the ground, but Ryder wouldn't let her, throwing another attack at her and knocking her out a few seconds.
She came to only to find Ryder holding her collar. He lifted her up off the ground, smirking. "Don't worry, I'm not allowed to kill you until they're done experimentation. Anyways I don't want to upset Kaden, he's been waiting for them to finish. I do however have permission to incapacitate you as I please."
At this, he threw her against the wall, her head hitting it with a thud as she collapsed onto the floor. Approaching her, Ryder readied a different blast in his hand, and threw it at her stomach. Her cry of protest was short, her hands touching her stomach carefully to assess how badly she was bleeding. Ryder again threw the same attack at her and smirked as she was silent this time, her eyes becoming glassy as more blood filled her mouth, blood from the wounds covering her hands which only weakly touched her stomach.
"W-water..."
The sound of her princess' voice helped her to look up through the pain. Sailor Moon had come to, hardly, and was weakly just asking for water. She saw Ryder's face when she asked, a small frown marring his features as he approached Sailor Moon.
"Will you survive without it tonight?" He inquired, looking for a cup and clearly counting Mercury out for the count. Mercury, despite the pain, hid a smirk. Sailor Moon was indeed severely thirsty, but Mercury knew she was distracting Ryder to give her a second, as Ryder wanted Sailor Moon alive when his superior's experimentation was over.
Ryder was giving Sailor Moon the water as she spotted one of the knives that had fallen off of the cart. Reaching a trembling hand for it, Mercury swiped the knife and tucked it carefully beneath her body, waiting for Ryder to return. One good hit with the knife would give her an opportunity for an ice attack, that would hopefully incapacitate Ryder long enough for her to get Sailor Moon out and down the stairwell. That was, if she could stand let alone carry Sailor Moon while having the attack. She pushed the pain back, watching as Ryder left Sailor Moon. Her thirst was satisfied but she was unconscious again. Ryder crouched down next to her, grabbing her up by her left arm and beginning to pull her from the ground.
Without a second thought, Mercury plunged the knife in her right hand into his chest before he could stop her. His loud scream echoes through the room as he temporarily dropped Mercury, stumbling backwards and trying to pull the long knife from his chest.
Pushing back the pain, Mercury got to her knees, knowing she didn't have a moment to spare before Ryder attacked again. "Mercury ice storm!"
Ryder screamed once more, becoming frozen in the ice before he could remove the knife from his chest. Mercury poured as much energy as she could into the attack, wanting it to hold him as she stumbled to her feet, falling onto the cot Sailor Moon was on. Sailor Moon didn't move, worrying her, and the pain she was feeling was crippling. Taking a deep breath, Mercury pushed past everything, knowing that these next few minutes were crucial as the stairwell would lead her to an exit. If she managed to get outside, she would surely find help from anyone else who did.
She pulled Sailor Moon onto her back, carrying her piggy back style and stumbling towards the stairwell, her strained breaths the loudest sound in the area. She grabbed the railing of the stairs with the arm that wasn't clinging onto Sailor Moon when she was about to fall, her bloody coughs echoing in the stairwell.
She had to keep moving.
Sailor Moon nearly slipped off of her as she reached the bottom- another scare, and when she pushed open the emergency exit she was more than surprised when she saw every single one of her friends except for the brainwashed Mamoru, standing about a hundred feet away at another darkened exit.
There was no way she could shout; she knew it was crucial that they make a silent escape. Mercury staggered over to them, needing someone to take Sailor Moon before she herself passed out from how much she was hurting.
Heero tensely gazed around the group as the last to exit the building was Wufei and Pluto, with two other Senshi. One was younger than the rest and Wufei was carrying her, while the tall blonde leaned against Pluto. Everyone was trying their best to keep quiet, not having the strength to have a major fight right now should they all be discovered.
"Ami isn't out yet, we have to go back in," he stated, Quatre moving from the tense and tired group and coming to stand by him.
"Yes, the other Senshi said that their princess isn't out either, and Ami stressed that her escape was crucial. We can hope we'll find the two together when we go back in, but there's no guarantee. Everyone else should head towards the cars and get out of here, the two of us can go back in and catch up."
"There's no need," Trowa's voice cut through their conversation, and Heero turned and followed where Trowa was pointing.
Mercury was limping towards them, and in the darkness he could make out a figure being carried on her back.
"Wow," Quatre muttered, sounding relieved as he turned to speak lowly to Venus.
Heero's feet we're pushing him forwards before his mind registered the action, as he quickly closed the remaining distance between them, only to stop short, Trowa at his heels and Quatre having told the group to stay back to avoid a commotion and get them caught.
Mercury looked beaten and exhausted, but what was more concerning was that she was bleeding severely from her stomach. She'd also clearly had an attack and was still not through it yet. Now that he was close, he could see how her body shook, how pale she was, and the blood leaking from her mouth. Her breaths were erratic and strained, and she was swaying slightly on her feet.
"T-take her from me, please." Her voice was low, slightly raspy yet clear in her instructions. Trowa immediately pulled the woman from her hold, taking in her appearance and frowning. Heero caught Mercury by the shoulders as she slumped forwards, more bloody coughs racking her body.
"They starved her," she said between coughs, referring to Sailor Moon.
"We'll get her help." Heero turned to Trowa. "Let's go."
Trowa nodded, walking towards the group. Heero reached for Mercury, pulling her off the ground and heading towards the group, who all began to quickly exit the premises and head towards the parking garage three blocks away.
"Hey, is Mercury having an attack? Oh my God, she's bleeding badly," Venus said as they walked quickly through the dark, pushing over to where Heero stood. "I've never seen her attacks that bad."
The other Senshi muttered worried statements, trying to see in the dark, but Heero spoke quickly.
"Don't worry, focus on getting out of here before we're followed."
Venus nodded, and pushed to the front confidently where Quatre was leading the group, checking on everyone along the way. Heero remembered Ami mentioning that Venus was second in command, and it showed.
They reached the parking garage in no time, heading up the stairs and to their floor quickly, hoping no one was following.
Trowa, who was driving the van, passed Sailor Moon to Jupiter as he opened the car. Jupiter set Sailor Moon in one of the seats, climbing up front with Trowa. Duo and Mars, Neptune and Uranus also got into the van. Wufei and Pluto with Saturn in tow headed for Wufei's car, and Quatre and Venus decided to go in Heero's car. Heero stopped outside his car where he held Mercury, frowning.
"She really doesn't look good. Drive my car Quatre, I'll sit in back with her."
"I'm fine," Mercury muttered, but more blood filled her mouth and she turned away, growing silent.
Quatre nodded, taking the keys and ushering for Venus to sit up front. Venus did so with a frown, worriedly watching as Heero sat in the back and laid Mercury out as much as possible. Heero rushed to the trunk, pulling out the emergency first aid kit he had in there and climbing into the car.
"You all don't stay transformed, how does it go away?" He questioned Venus as Quatre started the engine and followed Trowa and Wufei out and towards the expressway.
"Just click her tiara like this." Venus demonstrated on her own tiara, having been transformed for much longer than was comfortable while in captivity anyways. She was returned to her dark blue skinny jeans and off the shoulder yellow sweater, Quatre glancing over at her and blushing lightly.
Heero did as Venus said, Ami's clothing immediately returning to normal after a blinding light washed over her. His frown deepened as she looked even weaker than she had while transformed, her strained breaths the loudest sound in the car.
"She never had attacks quite this bad," Minako commented from the front. "I'm amazed she was able to get Sailor Moon out while having one of those attacks and obviously fighting an agent, she normally can't even stand."
That was true. Heero was impressed, to say the least. He was concerned however that she had clearly aggravated her condition, especially with the wounds on her stomach.
Ami hunched over suddenly, beginning to cough again and violently. Heero caught her around the shoulders, the action catching her off guard although she realized he was safe guarding her as the car was still moving. The coughing felt rougher on her than usual, each cough reminding her of the pain in her limbs and the nausea and faintness she was feeling.
Minako spotted a tissue box in Heero's car, grabbing it and frowning when she turned to give it to the pair in the back. Ami's eyes were half open and she was now totally unresponsive, pale as a ghost and breathing with difficulty. Blood continued to pour steadily from the side of her mouth and if Minako was being honest with herself, she knew that it was a good thing that Heero had sat with Ami because she had no idea what to do for her friend.
Heero recognized this from the last time they had been attacked at the office, wondering how severe this was. He accepted the tissues, wiping at Ami's bloodied hands and face, although her mouth was still dripping blood.
Pulling her back onto the seat properly, he kept his hold on her waist, touching her face lightly and frowning when she realized she was severely feverish.
"How's she doing Heero?" He glanced up at Quatre.
"Not so good. Your house is about to get majorly overcrowded and Pluto likely won't even stay the night. We're also expected at the office tomorrow morning, before the Preventers decide to launch a full fledged investigation into the office attack. Ami is expected to go in for questioning too, she has to show up to work."
Heero opened the first aid kit, setting to work on stopping the bleeding on Ami's stomach. He pulled up her shirt carefully, wincing at the blood and ignoring Minako and Quatre's conversation.
"Work?" Minako questioned.
"At the preventers headquarters. Ami will explain tomorrow," Quatre ran a hand through his hair, continuing. "Then I'm dropping you and Ami off at your apartment building so she can rest up before work. I'll keep the Senshi at my place overnight and give Trowa, Wufei, and Duo a chance to get home and ready for work tomorrow."
Heero's head perked at this. "Fine, but you know their leader is starved and dehydrated and you'll have to accommodate."
"I'll take care of her," Minako cut in.
"Good, then I'll come by in the morning with Ami before work, around eight? She can check on her friends and see if anyone has any concerns before we head to work."
"Okay, I'll let the girls know what's happening. I think everyone is too tired now anyways, they're probably anxious to sleep in a warm bed," Minako said.
Heero nodded, glancing down at Ami and seeing that she was now fully unconscious, her breathing having calmed but her body still trembling slightly from the attack.
"How far is the city we're driving into?" Minako asked.
"Almost two hours more, sleep if you'd like," Quatre offered.
"No, I want to be alert when I take care of Usagi tonight. That's Sailor Moon's name, by the way."
Quatre nodded, Minako's caring and yet outgoing personality charming him despite the situation they were meeting under. Heero chose to tune out the conversation up front, focusing on wrapping her stomach. Tomorrow would be another hell of a long day.
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