Name: 'The truth about Ami', chapter 12
Author: Cony
E-mail adress: rubi@riemann.mat.puc.cl
Rated: PG-13, (for some violence and swearing)

A glass sliding door behind them exploded, sending shinning little sparks
flying towards them. The girls screamed, and tried to cover their heads
witht heir arms. Mamoru, as he covered Usagi with his own body, faintly saw
as Hiroshi took Reiko and pushed her out of the way. The last thing he saw
was as she screamed something, before dissapearing from his sight. Then, he
had to protect himself, and couldn't look anymore. Everything was a mess.

As a matter of faact, what was happening gave a new meaning to the word
chaos. Screams, yells, and even smoke which had come from nowhere. No one
could see, no one could think. Everything was too confusing. Coughs and
chokes were heard, and a louder scream suddenly was heard over all the
noise: "Don't . . . wait . . . no!". Only some words could be made out,
since the screaming was so loud. Makoto felt as someone walked by her side,
but couldn't even look up to identify him or her. The only thing that
crossed her mind was how strange it was for anyone to be calmly walking
with all that chaos going around.

Slowly, the screams subsided, as the girls discovered there was no threat,
and no more shattered glass falling on them. The smoke was slowly fading
away, revealing the scene with an agonizing slowness. They looked around,
and saw as the couch on where Hiroshi and Reiko had been sitting on before
there was no one, only glass shinning on its surface. Next to it, Mamoru was
still holding Usagi down, shielding her with his own body, while his own
eyes
scanning the room quickly. On a corner, Rei and Minako looked at each other
with surprise, wondering how did they came so close if before the explosiont
hey had been on opposites sides of the room. Makoto was lying behind the
other sofa, and since she had been the closest one to the glass door. Her
back and her hair was covered with shattered glass, which shone all around
her as a deadly halo.

But, there were two people missing. No Hiroshi and no Reiko inside the room.
They stood up, brushing the glass away from their bodies, and searched for
them. They clearly weren't in the room, and the big hole on the wall, that
some time ago had been a door, left little doubts on where they might be.
The
girls and Mamoru ran outside, and saw a body lying on the grass. Daytime had
arrived long ago, and they could clearly see it was Hiroshi. He was lying on
his back, and there was some blood on his hands. His eyes were open, and he
was conscious, but he wasn't moving. He just layed there, looking into
space,
a strange look on his eyes. They all ran up to him, and Usagi was the first
one to notice the blood pouring out of his wounds: "Oh God!. Hiroshi-san!.
Look at those hands . . . let me take care of that!".

She tried ripping her clothes, but Hiroshi sat straight, surprising
everyone. He stopped her: "No need to do that, Usagi-san. They are just
scratches. The glass made these, while I tried to push Reiko out of the
way".
He cleaned his hands on his T-shirt, leaving red trails on it. But, the
bleeding had stopped, and it was clear  they weren't serious wounds. "Damm!.
Stupid of me!. I never thought they would come here!. Less on daytime!.
Damm,
and damm again!". He blowed his fist into the grass with a low thud, only a
slight grimace on his face as his wounds ached. "Who?. Hiroshi, you know
what
happened?", asked Makoto still trying to get rid of some shattered glass
which stubornly stuck onto her hair. "Of COURSE I DO!" came back the reply,
a
little harsher that he had expected. He breathed deeply, and looked down, as
he said: "Sorry, Makoto-san. I'm angry at myself for being so stupid. Sorry
if I sounded too harsh".

Makoto smiled at him, and said, her voice caring: "Hiroshi-san, don't
worry. I understand". "Where's Reiko?", asked Minako, looking all over the
garden, and seen no other body or clue that indicated them where their
missing friend was. "They took her". "They?. Who are they?", asked Rei,
really beginning to worry. "The agency's thugs. They took her". Hiroshi's
voice was sad, and also had another sentiment on it: frustration. He had
failed to protect her, *again*, and had let those guys take her away so
easily . . . . "They kidnapped her. I bet they were hearing everything we
were saying sicne we arrived here. They just couldn?t let her escape; she
is too precious to them".

Hiroshi stood up, and walked to the garden wall. On it, there were rose
bushes, and he stared at them as if looking ofr something. A cry o joy
lefft his lips suddenly, and he ran forwards when he saw what he was
looking for. "I knew it!". He pulled a rose, and some leaves fell to the
floor. He didn't even see them, he was too busy holding whatever was on his
hands. "That girl never stops amazing me . . . though she was brutally
being taken away, she was able to leave us a clue!". He turned around, and
showed them what was on his hand. It was a piece of cloth; a pice of the
T-shirt Reiko had been wearing. "And what'a that suppose to mean?", asked
Mamoru, seeing no appeal on a ripped T-shirt. "Means that she was taken
into that direction", he pointed North, "and that there were three men",
"How do you know that?". "Look. The cloth is ripped on three parts, and
where I found it, it was signaling North". He stuffed the piece of cloth
inside his back pocket, and turned around to face the wall. "I'm going
after them", was the only thing he said.

"Wait!. We're going with you". "Hurry then. We've only got about 30 minutes
to stop them. After that, it would be hopeless. When that half an hour
passes, they will already have done what they want with her, and I don't
even wanna think what that is. Since I can go faster than you, meet me at
the Carcrasi Corporation building. There's where the agency's HQ are". He
didn't even let them answer when he closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and
suddenly dissapeared from sight, wind blowing as a reaction to his speed.
Everyone just stared at the empty space for a few seconds, still not
believing that he had such an amazing ability.

Then, they woke up, and transformed. As soon as they were ready, they sped
into the air, running to the building, in hope to be able to stop those so
like Negaverse people, who had dared to endanger their friend's life . . .

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

<Reiko, hang on!>. Only that thought is set on my mind, as I fly more than
ran through roof tops as quick as lightning. <Please!. Just wait a bit
longer!>. Who knows what horrible things they want to do to you . . . you
don't deserve any of this . . . if I hadn't came back, they would've never
realise you were their missing experiment . . . they wouldn't have tracked
you down . . . none of this would've happened. But there's no time for
feeling sorry. I concentrate of running faster, because I know they have
already arrive to the laboratory, and perhaps are getting her ready to . .
 to whatever they are thinking to do. I grin lightly, thinking on how
difficult it's going to be for them to calm her down, less make her go
willingly . . . that tantrum of hers will at least give me five more
precious minutes.

I see in front of me the building's structure, and inmediatly turn on
everyone of my senses. They are keener than Reiko's as a result of me
having a little more experience, but I would never doubt her abilities. I
beg to the hevaens that they haven't changed the security codes or the
traps they have for intruders . . . I hold my breath as I dial the code we
used to use back when we were part of this organization . . . I can feel
sweat on my back, as I expect a high pitched alarm to go off, and tell
everyone that I'm here . . . but nothing happens. Just a low beep, which
indicates that the code has been accepted.

The door opens soundlessly, and I enter, leaving it open for the rest to be
able to enter. I hope it doesn't take them too long to arrive . . . at this
point, we're going to need all the backup we can get, and they are sure
some powerful allies. I ran throught he corridors, avoiding some agents
here and there . . . they are all rookies, who have no idea on how to
behave as a proper spy . . . it's easy to fool them. But, as I enter the
Red Zone, security starts getting tougher to avoid. In this sector, we were
only allowed once, so my memories are little, but clear. I remember this
corridor . . . it leads to the chief's office on the floor below . . . this
door will take me to the info database, and this other hallway . . . this
is what I'm looking for. This corridor leads to the laboratories and
scientific research zone, where I am sure they took her.

Some laser detectors on the floor make me walk slowly literally glued tot
he wall, and I groan in frustration as I can't move as fast as I would
like. I see hiden cameras monitoring the corridor, and I carefully pass
just outside their viewing angle . . . piece of cake for me . . . but I
still can't shake off the sensation that I'm being watched . . . paranoia
perhaps . . . I hope it's just that. As soon as I turn a corner, I see it
wasn't paranoia . . . about five men are there, with their guns pointed
straight into my heart, seriousness all over their faces. Behind them,
standing as the leader he is, the agency's boss is watching me. "So,
Hiroshi-san, I see you've returned to us", is what he says, carefully
protected behind the human wall that is blocking my way. He knows that if
we both were alone, they would have to rub him off the floor with a spoon.

My eyes flare murderous looks at him, and I don't even have to speak to
make him feel worried and uncomfortable. The look on my eyes is enough to
make all those youngsters' hands quiver. "My, my, Hirohi, aren't we a bit
aggressive today?". His tone stirrs memories on my head, and fury is
winning over common sense. "Move". My voice is final, and has such a threat
on it, I never thought I could put everything I felt on one word . . . well
except when I'm with Reiko . . . but that's another story . . . "No. We're
staying here", says that incarnation of the devil. "Traitor. You betrayed
us". My words are dripping venom, and I can fell him tensing, and his eyes
somehow change their oh-I'm-the-best-so-do-as-I-say look. "I never wanted
to. But you know it was necessary". "Necessary?. It was necessary to ruin
even more that poor girl's life to turn her into a robot?. It was necessary
to put our lifes in danger, just because you wanted a new toy?. *That* was
necessary?".

"If you put it so bluntly, yes". Anger arises inside me, and I clench my
fist, longing so much to have it stick onto his face . . . "Last time I say
it. Move or die". I can't waste more time with them . . . Reiko is juts
opposite the door they are flanking, and I need to get in. "Hiroshi-san,
look. These new agents know you both as a legend. The Blue Thunder and the
Red Lightning have never been forgotten in here . . . everyone who enters
the aagency looks at you both as their masters . . . everyone wants to be
like you . . . if you just say so, we'll accept you back into our troops .
 . you're too valuable to loose you because of a stupid thing like love".
"Poor of you. You'll never fell what true love is . . .you'll never be held
by the woman you love . . . you'll never know how good it is to haver her
near . . . never, because you haven't got a heart!". "Love?. That's one of
the primary reasons we started all this. We knew Reiko was being influenced
by you, and that bothered us a lot. Love is just a silly feeling. There's
no need for love in this world. Love destroys lifes, and I pretend to
change that!".

I see he truly believes what he's saying. He really feels it. I can't help
but say: "I pity you. I hope in your next life you'll be able to feel love
 . . and finally understand it doesn't destroy lifes . . . but creates
them. Love is what keeps the world spinning, and without it, we would be
nothing. Now, move". He stubbornly looks at me, and I realise that if I
wanna go through the door, I'm gonna have to pass them all. I look at the
agents pointing their guns at me . . . none of them is older than 18 years
 . . I grin to myself sadly, as I think on how desperate the agency must
be to start recruiting teenagers . . . we surely must have been a terrible
loss for them . . . stupids . . . trying to replace us with kids . . . we
weren't so good because we were young . . . we were that way because we
were happy . . . because we were together . . . but that obviously isn't
something I can make them understand.

But, I thank them to have enlisted teenagers. And teenagers who were
trained under my *legend* as he has put it. My legend *and* Reiko's. Young
and still innocent . . . and they think of me as a hero and idol . . . hmm,
easy to convince. "Kids, look. You all know me, now do you?. I'm the Red
Lightning. You know my abilities, and know that I could surely kill you all
if I really wished it. But, I don't wanna harm you. If you leave now,
you'll probably live". I see they are confused. They don't know what to do.
The boss realises I'm winning them, and says: "If you dare to move, think
of yourself as dead. Do you hear me?". Their eyes go from me to him, and
back again. Who should they obey?. I see they don't wann hurt me, but they
are too afraid to disobey the chief . . . so psychology takes it's toll. A
weird thought crosses my mind. They were the ones who taught me how to make
people believe what I want them to believe . . . and now I'm about to use
that technique against them.

"I'm gonna kill him, so you can ran if you want. No one will know about it,
and you'll save your life. You'll even be considered heroes, as you
survived an encounter with the Red Lightning". I see they are all young
enough to be my little brothers . . . they are all probably in love with
Reiko . . . I mean, if they are half men the agents were when she entered,
they should be drooling over her. So, I use her name to make them trust me.
"Listen. Inside that room behind you, the Blue Thunder is being used as a
guinea pig. Do you want that?. Do you want your idol to be used as an
animal and controlled like a robot?". That should do it. They stopped
pointing their guns at me, shoved them back into their sheaths and cleared
the way. As soon as they did so, the chief turns around, and enters the
room, trying to prepare whomever is inside of my coming. But, I am fast,
and after nodding my head to the kids, I flash through the floor and enter
the room just a milisecond before he does.

When I do, I look around to see where I am. I have entered the surgery
room, and about three doctors are over a table, looking at their patient,
whom I recognize with just a look at her hair . . . it's Reiko . . . my
Reiko. She's lying there, with her eyes closed, as if she as dead. I ran to
the chief, and grabb his collar. "If anything happens to her, you'll wish
you were never born", I hiss, my tone threatening and full of hate. "Don't
worry", he says, a smile curving his lips and making me shiver in fright
about what it's supposed to mean, "She's Ok. As a matter of fact, she's
more than excellent". I freeze, as I am beginning to find out what was this
plan all about. Since the beginning, everything was carefully planned. They
had stood at the door to avoid me arriving on time. They had stopped me
long enough for the doctors to finish the surgery . . . *the* surgery . . .
I turn around, and I see the doctors have dissapered . . . probably left
hile I was talking to that scumbag I'm holding now. But, what attracts my
attention isn't that, but the fact that Reiko is standing up. The sheet
uncovers her body, to reveal her wearing the same clothes she was using
while we were at her house.

Her eyes are closed, and her chest rises and falls rithmically, telling me
she's Ok. She's with her head bent downwards, so I can't see as she opens
her eyes. What I *can* see, and what makes my heart stop beating and my
knuckles turn white with the strain, is a red spot on her neck . . . a red
spot no bigger than a yen . . . a red spot thay symbolizes my worst fear
made true. They have tried again, and this time succesfully. She has
awaken, and that means they can control her . . . the perfect spy has been
born.

To be continued . . .

Author notes:

        Well, as you may have already noticed, half this chapter was written
by Hiroshi's point of view, and so will the rest of the story.
        So, action started!. And next chapter willbe  even better, 'cause
you'll get to see a *real* fight, between . . . hmmm!, no spoilers!. Let's
just say, I loved writing it, and you'll love reading it!. Well, that's what
I hope!.
        Tell me what you think, I really liked this chapter, but it's up to
you to rank it . . . let's hope it's good!. My adress:
rubi@riemann.mat.puc.cl
I'll be waiting for you!. I'd like to give a HUGE thanks to everyone who
wrote
to me, specially to Stef, who's been a constant source of help and support.
I don't know how far I would've gotten if it wasn't for her . . . so, thanks
a lot girl!. Also, (please forgive me for never mentioning you names before,
it's just that I hadn't have the time), my thanks to Ami-chan and Val, who
wrote to me about my two other stories, 'Past Meetings' and 'Reunion'. Well,
that's it for now. See ya ont he next, (and last!!!. Oh my!) chapter of 'The
Truth about Ami'. ^_^
        One last ramble before I go. If anyone out there that's reading
this,
by chance has ever been to the BEST out of the best Ami-chan's wep page,
that
graces Geocities by the name of 'The Lake of Illusions', please pray that
its
webmistress, Bowaggi-oneechan can make it back someday. You see, she's my
best
friend, and from now on, I'm gonna have to live without her, 'cause she has
had to quit Internet access . . . it makes me so sad . . . (sob;_;) . . .,
Agnes-chan, if by any chance you're reading this, please know that I'll
always remember you, and that I'll patiently wait until your return . . .
you
were my inspiration for so long, and together we shared our love for the
graceful Lady of wisdom, Ami of Mercury and her wonderful soul mate, the
General of Europe, Zoisite-sama. I truly hope you can return some day,
Agnes!.

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all related characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi,
I'm just borrowing them for a while. Inoue Hiroshi belongs to me, and you
may
use him without my permission as long a you give me credit!. Bye! ^_^

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: 'The truth about Ami', chapter 13
Author: Cony.
E-mail adress: rubi@riemann.mat.puc.cl
Rated: PG-13, for violence and swearing
        Stuff at bottom!.

She turns her eyes towards us, me still holding the chief up, and as I look
into her eyes, I only receive a blank stare. No emotions inside them . . .
they are as cold as ice. She just sits there, waiting for something. My
heart aches in pain as I realise what she's waiting for. An order. She's
waiting for someone to tell her what she must do. Tears gather on my eyes,
as I try to reach her with my voice: "Reiko-chan?". She doesn't move,
doesn't speak. It even looks like as if she didn't even hear me.

"Reiko, kill this man". The chief's voice is happy, as he has achieved what
he wanted. I throw him into the wall, so hard, I'm sure he's at least
unconscious if not dead. I look at Reiko. Her eyes followed every movement
I did, and her eyes are now focused on my stretched hand. I see her
traveling downwards, down my arm, across my chest . . . and finally, she's
looking at me directly into my eyes. "Die", is the only word she whispers,
before launching at me, her hands in front of her as she tries to choke me
to death. I move just in time, and her hands only clutch empty air. But,
the order was given and she obeys it like a clock. Inmediatly, when she
realises I'm not there, she turns around and sees me just a few feet away.
She spins like a spinning top and before I can even feel her, she's alredy
by my side, and with her fist planted deeply in my stomach. I choke and
barely avoid bitting my tongue. She retreats, to only then raise her leg
and give me a kick right on my chest.

I fall backwards, surprised on how quick and deadly she can be. Those two
blows really hurt, and I bite my lip until I draw blood out of it to stop
my pain. She's ready again, and jumps to me, her right hand stretched over
her face. I know what she's trying to do. I taught her that move, so I know
how to block it. She pretends to hit me on the neck, and cut my spinal
cord. That would mean instant death. When she's just 10 centimeters away
from me, I crouch quickly, and again, she hits nothing but air. I haven't
got the time to talk to her . . . not that she would listen anyway. For
what I read on that folder, when the mind controller is implanted, there's
no way the person can break it's control. It blocks every feeling, and
makes pleas and begs unhearable to her.

I am held against a wall now, my back pressed on it, and my sweaty hands
searching around for a way of escaping. By now, I could've hit her too . .
 after all, I was her master, and I know how to neutralize her . . . but I
just can't bring myself to do it. The mere thought of hurting her is
disgusting to me, and I can't move my hands when it comes to trying that.
She's looking at me again, and I see she's no longer attacking me. She's
just looking at me, as if she was trying to find a way of keeping me steady
long enough to deliver a deadly hit . . . oops, that's exactly what she's
trying to do. I see her eyes lightly wander to a table nearby and quickly
grabs a scalpel. It shines briefly on her hand, just a second after she
throws it to me. I move my head to the side, and the knife misses barely.
It's sticking in the wall now barely two centimeters away from my ear, it's
handle shaking with the power it was thrown with. I look at it, utterly
amazed that she actually tried to kill me, when I realise I've made a
terrible mistake. I stopped looking at her . . . I lost my concentration .
 . but now it's too late. I feel the presence of someone over me, and
before I can even turn my head, I receive a blow so hard on my stomach,
every bit of air leaves my lungs, and I feel as if I am slowly drowing on a
pool with no hope of getting air.

I look at her through blurry eyes, and I see she's bent over me, with her
knee firmly planted on my abdomen. That mask of seriousness that seems to
be plastered on her face is driving me crazy. It looks so weird to see her
killing someone and not even feel at least a pang of regret . . . I can
almost see her when she killed that police officer, so long ago . . . the
agony she felt, compared to the nothing she's feeling now is so contrasting
 . . it just isn't her. "Re . . . Reiko". My voice is harsh and throaty,
since her knee is still pressing my lungs. I try to speak, to tell her
something . . . anything . . . to make her come back . . . but I can't.
It's as if I was hand and foot tied . . . I just can't do it. But then, she
does something, and it surprises me so I forget to breathe. She bends
forward even more, until our noses are touching, so I can look at her
straight into her eyes. I see they are glassy and teary. The ice glare on
them is a deep contrast to all the feelings those tears mean. A low whisper
leaves her lips, and reaches my ears. Her voice is low, but not because she
can't talk . . . it looks like it's so low because of the strain she's
putting on it . . . "I'm sorry". She then lightly brushes our lips
together, before grabbing my collar and throwing me across the room, to hit
the wall so hardly I'm sure I must have broken something.

But, that hit doesn't register, as I am still so surprised by her words I
let myself slid down the wall without any attempt of stopping it. She . . .
she talked . . . she said she was sorry . . . she had a conscious thought .
 . for a moment she controlled herself . . . she's fighting the mind
controller . . . I raise, this time, hope flaming inside my heart. I can
make her wake up . . . if she's trying so hard, then so should I. "Reiko,
listen. Fight it. I'm with you. If getting you back, means having my butt
kicked over a thousand times, then so be it". She doesn't answer . . . not
that I expected her to do it, but a little barely visible nod on her head
gives me hope that inside that body, her mind is still listening to me. I
stand up, and a sudden pain bursts in my chest. Here goes my rib . . . but
I don't have time to think anymore, as she starts attacking me again. She
rans to me and directs a hit right to my face. I move it again, and her
fist makes a hole on the wall. I can see as blood starts coming out of the
wounds she made to herself, and decide to make this as short as possible.
If *I* don't hurt her, then she'll hurt herself while trying to kill me.

The order was given, and she won't rest until her mission is complete. As I
am beginning to understand my voice somehow brings her closer to reality, I
start speaking: "Reiko, I know you can do it. Remember what I used to
admire the most about you?. It was your will power. If you want to defeat
that thing, you can do it. I know you can". She raises her knee, trying to
kick me with it, but I move out of the way. I try to make her stop the hit
before it's too late . . . I don't wanna see how she breaks her knee
against that hard stone wall . . . but she stops just in time. She ends
with her right fist still planted on the wall, the left leg doubled at the
knee, as if she was some sort of ballet dancer . . . she looks at the wall,
and I can't guess what her net move will be . . . . I prepare myself for
anything, but for what she did next. She turns, moving just her waist and
her free leg. She finishes in a position that would be difficult to achieve
even for a proffesional ballet dancer. Then, when her free leg is aligned
with my face, she stretches her leg, and hit me right below the chin with
her foot. I fly off onto the table, medical instruments spreading on the
floor. I rub my chin as I stand up. Where on Earth did she learn to do
that?. Women can really be a box of endless surprises sometimes. Mentally,
I check if there are any broken bones . . . nope, lucky me. With that blow
she could've killed a normal guy . . . thanks God I'm not normal . . .

"Reiko . . . that was good. If you keep this up, I'm gonna have to defend
myself". A sudden glitter fills her icy eyes. She isn't asking me to hurt
her, now is she?. I can't do it, not even if she asks me for it . . . "You
want me to hit you back?", I ask fearing the answer I'm gonna get. However,
she doesn't answer, she just raises her hands into an atacking position,
and waits for my next move. That was her reply. A yes. I crouch the same
way she did, and thank myself for not teaching her the secret Tiger Fury
move. I didn't have the time to teach her that move, but now I'm grateful,
cause it may mean life or death. If I can hit her before she does, the
battle is gonna end quickly. The Tiger Fury is a secret technique my own
master taught me, and it has two steps: attack and defense. All I have to
do is hit her abdomen with my right leg, while I defend myself with my
hands. It's very much like a true tiger: attacking with your front paws and
blocking the attacks of the other with the back ones; that's where its name
comes from.

So, here we are: student versus teacher. Who's gonna win?. That's a very
good question, but I don't like any of the answers. If I do, that means I'm
gonna have to seriously hurt her, and if she does, then I can start saying
goodbye to life. I feel sweat running down my back. This is a moment in my
life that I could gladly not live through. It's such a tough descision . .
 but Reiko has already taken it for me. As I continue to think about what
to do, she yells a fight cry, and jumps towards me. For a sudden realizing
moment, I see that her hands are on the same position as mine . . . her
legs are moving faster that then usually do . . . she's using the Tiger
Fury attack!!. My body freezes in fear. When did she learn that technique?.
I never taught it to her . . . . and she never saw me do it . . . except
for that one time, when I showed it to her, as a demonstration of what she
should do if she wanted to be as good as me . . . my brain screams at me
the answer: She learnt how to use it by only watching me do it one time!!.
I never thought she had that ability . . . but now it's too late. I see her
holding my hands down with her own, and her leg comes up, and hits me fair
and square under my chin. I can only feel pain, as I vaguely see myself
flying backwards and don't even think about the impact I receive.

Pain is what keeps me awake. If it wasn't for it, I would've already passed
out. Every little nerve on my body hurts . . . but it's a consolation; it
tells me I'm still alive. I try to move my head, to see what's going on,
but it feels too heavy. It's as if I'm carrying a ton of concrete over my
shoulders . . . something blocks my view on my right eye . . . I blink
several times, trying to make it go away, but it just stays there . . . I
then see a flash of red, and I know what it is . . . it's blood. Through my
other eye, I can see as Reiko walks towards me. When she's just by my side,
I see her raising her hand to give the final blow. I close my eyes, waiting
for it to come . . . a strange thought crosses my head . . . she's just
doing what an ancient Japanese law said . . . for a student to prove its
worth, she/he needs to kill its master . . . and that's what she's about to
do now . . . I feel very proud, knowing I was able to train such an
excellent student . . . I relax, my mind making me see her how she truly is
 . . a see a picture of her . . . she's smiling, her giggles reach my ears
 . . I see her hair, long as it should be swaying behind her . . . that's
how I'll always remember her to be . . .

"WAIT!!". A scream makes me open my eyes. My vision is better now, and I
can see as the door is open, and four Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen are standing
there. I see Sailor Moon with her kaleidmoonscope in front of her, traces
of energy still leaving it. I see they are all looking at us, horror
evident in their eyes. "Reiko, what in the name of Serenity are you
doing?", asks Venus, her usually clean blue eyes full of fear. I believe
Reiko wont answer, but she does, in a cold voice which send chills up my
spine: "My orders are to kill Inoue Hiroshi". She then gives their back to
them, and prepares to send the last blow again. Faintly, I hear a cry in
the distance, and suddenly, an orange thing surrounds Reiko's stretched
hand, and prevents her from moving. I recognize it as Venus' chain. I thank
her to my insides, because that gave the time I needed to recover . . . at
least the 50 percent of my strengh. I roll out of the way, while Reiko
stares at the chain which holds her hand.

I stand up, my hands supporting me in the wall . . . if I didn't have that
support I would've already fell to the ground. Reiko then speaks again:
"Anyone who intereferes on my mission is considered an intruder and must be
terminated". Her voice is so robotic . . . it's like she was a machine, not
a human. Her form shimmers, as she transforms into Sailor Mercury. This is
getting hard, I think, while I clean my view with my arm. I try to locate
the source of the bleeding, and I feel pain on my upper forehead. How did I
manage to get hurt there, is a question I can't answer. As soon as she
transformed, Reiko turns around and pulls the chain to her. Venus is caught
distracted, and the weapon dissapears in thin air. Mercury looks at them
coldly, and vanishes from sight. Before any of them can react, she has hit
them all, alterning kicks, punches and some well given elbows. It all took
her less than a second to do, and then she's back to where she was before.
The warriors are on the floor, surprised and very hurt for what had just
happened. For the common eye, it appeared as if she had teleported somehow,
but for me, being trained on that type of movement too, the truth is
revealed. She moved so fast human eye couldn't catch her, managed to damage
everyone, and then returned to where she had been previously.

"Hiroshi-san, what's going on?", says Jupiter, who being the strongest, has
recovered first, and is now trying to stand up. "They did it. They
implanted her the mind controler again, and the order was to kill me. Now,
she's trying to kill you too". Sailor Moon stands up, grabbing the scepter
she had let go before, and points it to Mercury. "I'll heal her". There's
no need for me to stop her, since Tuxedo Kamen does: "Sailor Moon,
Mercury's illness isn't a nega force induced one. It's human evil. You
can't heal her with the Guinshijou". "He's right. We have to defeat her
first. For what I read before, if we beat her in combat, the mind
controller will over load and loose it's control on her. It's the only way
to make her return to us", I say, wondering just how we're going to manage
to do that. For what I've seen, now she's more powerful than I am, and with
her quick moves, she can defeat the Senshi quite esily. Mercury stands in
the middle of the room, surrounded by both sides, but looking calm and
straight. I know that inside her there's a turmoil of held back emotions,
that are fighting to come out, but are being stopped by that little
artifact on her neck.

Her neck!. That's it!. She told us that right after the first surgery they
tried on her, her neck was her weak spot. If we can hit her there, she'll
probably loose the battle. "Listen. Hit her neck. It may be the only way to
stop her!", I tell them, knowing that Mercury won't care about what we say.
Her mind has only one purpose, and that is destroying me, so anything that
appears to do nothing with it, will slip down unnoticed. They acknowledged
my information nodding their heads, and then the real battle started.
Jupiter jumped forward using some karate move, and tries to hit her neck
with her fist . . . but Mercury is quicker, and swiftly moves out of the
way, to then send her friend flying through the room as I previously did.
But Makoto-san seems more ready for that than I did, and before she hits
the wall, she turns around in the air, and makes her feet land on the wall
first. Then, using the same impulse Mercury gave her, she launches herself
back into action. However, Reiko had been waiting for her, and just ducks,
making Jupiter fly past over her head. That was the moment Mars' and Venus'
had been waiting for.

They too jump towards Mercury, who's still on the floor. They try to hit
her with their legs, but she's faster, and gives a leap into the air,
making the both of them hit each other. She's still rolling on the air,
when a rose appears from nowhere and scratches her arm. She somehow looses
her balance, and lands a bit clumsily on the ground, but never falling to
the floor. The cut on her arm is bleeding . . . those Tuxedo Kamen's roses
must be as sharp as a knife. She merely looks at it, and then turns her
view to the couple who's still on the door. Sailor Moon is surprised and
Tuxedo's arm is still stretched. Mercury doesn't even stare at them for
more than a second when she's already headed towards them. With that
movement, she's giving me the perfect aim for her neck. She's running with
her head tilted a bit to the side, and that leaves her neck totally
unprotected. Besides, right now, she's completely focused on the couple,
and has completely forgotten about me . . . and that is exactly what I
need.

Before she can even see me, I jump into her direction, and I am by her side
instantly. I can see her neck hair stiffen when she realises what a mistake
she has done. She tries to move away, but I'm quicker. Stretching my hand,
I lightly brush it across her neck, making sure it goes over the red spot.
Inmediatly, she stops moving. She freezes in mid air, her eyes open wide,
and her mouth opens in a silent scream. I beg for her forgiveness, since I
know the pain she's going through is worse than hell. I jump away from her,
and quite timely, because she falls to the floor heavily, her body
completely paralyzed. Her eyes have turned light blue and her face is
tightened in pain. Her hands are clenching and unclenching quickly, as her
whole body spasms in complete pain. She's crouching into a fetal position,
her mission completely forgotten as the pain is so big. Then, her mouth
gives up, and the higher screech I have ever heard leaves her lips, and
makes everyone cover their ears. "AIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!". It's as if she has
forced her vocal cords to give their best, because I've never heard her
scream so high. I bet that if this was a cartoon, several windows would've
broken. She's now grabbing her head in desperation, and has her eyes shut
completely. She's trashing from side to side, trying in vain to make her
pain get better.

It seems as if hours have passed, but I know that no more than ten seconds
have gone through the clock. Finally, she seems to calm down, and when her
head stops moving, I can see tears trailing down her cheeks, and that she's
bitting her lower lip so tight it's white. She slowly uncrouches, and
stretches on the floor, her hands leaving their firm grip on her head.
Everyone stands still for some moments, until she slowly tries to stand up.
She's dizzy and is very clumsy to do so. When she's finally completely up,
she opens her eyes, tears still coming out of them. She doesn't even bother
to brush them away. The only thing she does is look around the room, until
her eyes land on me. I can look at them straight, and they are as icy as
they were before. She says, in the same robotic voice she had before: "Kill
 . . kill Inoue . . . Hi . . . Hiroshi". Her voice is harsh and forced,
but she doesn't care. She suddenly seems to have another loose of balance,
and her body wavers from one side to the other, until she recovers and
steadies herself. For some reason I can't understand, she closes her eyes
again, and opens her mouth, but no sound comes out of it.

Her hands return to her head, and she grabs it firmly. Her fingers entwine
with her hair and her forehead wrinkles in effort. "No . . . not anymore".
The voice was hers, but her original. Not the robotic one she had been
using, but her true voice. The one I love to hear. The one I know means
she's getting some control over her own mind. Strain is evident on her
body, as it trembles all over, and a blue aura surrounds her. "Kill Hiro .
 . Hiroshi", again the robotic type. "I said . . . NO!!". The true voice
emerges from all around her, and suddenly her aura explodes. I can hear a
cracking sound, as if a glass had just been broken. Her body stiffens
completely, and another sceram is done. Obviously, this time it doesn't
match in tone or feeling the other one. The first one meant true, sizzling,
and barely standable pain, but this one was yelled because of
determination. Sweat covers her forehead, as electric bolts ran through her
body, making it stiffen and then relax as if she was a punching ball.

They are clearly visible to everyone, white light coming from here and
there, with cracking sounds each time. It's as if the lightining bolts are
coming from inside her . . . as if she truly was a robot who has having a
shortcut. Her torture goes on and on, and I can't stop myself in taking a
step forward to try and help her . . . somehow. I can't think of a way of
doing so . . . just touching her would mean instant death; if my
calculation is right, the power that's going through her body is over the
one thousand kilowatts. That, and the fact that I know that five *hundred*
kilowatts are enough to kill a man make me stop. Then, a longer bolt rans
through her, making her whole body strech and strangely raise in the air .
 . and suddenly it's over. Everything finishes, and she falls to the floor
as a spent rug. She's breathing hard and deep, and as I ran to her, I can't
help but notice that her fuku has gone up, revealing more of those creamy
soft legs . . . I spank myself mentally, but I don't have time for more,
since I'm already by her side. I pick her up, and I put her head on my lap.
Her eyes are closed, and her breathing is ragged, as if she was having an
asthma attack. I pick up her hand, and softly squeeze it, making her notice
I'm here. She opens her eyes slowly, and looks at me. I can see they are
back as they used to be, clean and pure. So many emotions on them, it's
hard to say she was the same person that moments ago felt as much as a
block of ice. The rest of the Senshi have ran to our side too, worried
expressions on all their faces.

She lazily looks at them all through semi closed eyes, and when she sees
Jupiter, she says: "Ju . . . Jupiter . . . I now unders . . . understand
how you . . . how you felt back on the . . . the . . . on the North pole".
That's an inner joke I can't get, I'm gonna have to ask later. I see as
Jupiter smiles sadly, and starts answering: "Yet you had better luck than I
did Merc---". Her reply is cut short, as a spasm hits Mercury. Her whole
body contracts in pain, and it arches up, to the near point of breaking her
back. Her eyes are opened wide, and so is her mouth. She's making no sound,
and then, as suddenly as she raised, she falls back to my lap. There, she
starts coughing loudly. It's not a common cough though, it's much more
rough and from miles away anyone could see it's hurting like hell. She
covers her mouth with one hand, muffling a bit her desperate coughing. It
hurts me to hear how ugly it sounds . . . if I wasn't an expert in Biology
I would surely say it sounds like as if something was being ripped from
inside.

She doesn't stop. The fit even intensifies, and the shaking of her body
makes her fall from my lap and land on the floor on her stomach. One of her
hands is covering her mouth as I previously said, and the other one is on
her neck, just where the red spot is. But, it's not pain what she's feeling
 . . at least not pain produced by that. Her coughs fill the air, and I
try my best to hold her still, but it's impossible. Everytime she tries to
stop, another wave comes and everything starts all over again. Suddenly,
her coughing is muffled by something . . . not just her hand . . . but as
if something else was covering her mouth. I can't see what it is though,
she's lying on the floor and her head is turned away from me. Then, her
coughing stops, and she breathes deeply, before rolling on her back. She
now is lying on her back, looking straight up to the ceiling. I look near
her head, trying to see the source of that fit. And what I see makes me
gasp in surprise. On the side of her head there's a little pool of blood.

Blood. I look at her face, and inmediatly see there's no wound to have
caused that bleeding. That would mean that the blood didn't come from an
injury, but directly from inside. I look more carefully at her face, and
see that there's a small trail of red leaving her lips and going down and
down her chin. "REIKO!". My scream makes her look at me, and I see on her
eyes weariness but not pain. "Don't . . . worry. It's out". Her voice is
still rough. So much coughing is the obvious explanation. "Out?. Don't
talk. We need to get you to a hospital, now!", I say fearing the worst. I
know that an internal bleeding is a major cause of death, and in 90 percent
of the cases, it's mortal. I can't even think of loosing her again . . .
but she refuses with a nod of her head. "No need for that. Look". She then
sits a bit awkardly, and I help her steady herself by lying her on my
chest. She grins at me a weak smile, and opens her hand, which until that
the moment I hadn't noticed had kept closed. Inside it, there is a little
black crystal. A crystal I had held in my hand just some hours ago. It's
the mind controller. It's covered with thin lines of red, which I identify
as blood. Her hand is covered with it too, and I again freak on seeing
that.

"You sure you're Ok?", I say, my tone caring and protective. "Yes. Don't be
such . . . such a mother hen, Hiroshi. Remember what I . . . told you at
the . . . at the hospital?. My heal . . . healing powers are well . . .
well developed. I bet I'm already . . . healed". I still am a bit worried,
but the confident look on her face makes me feel more and more sure. Sailor
Moon looks at her ahd, afraid to touch what she's carrying on it. "Mer . .
 Mercury, what was that?". Reiko smiles weakly again, and sighes in
contentment. "Never thought it would hurt so much to get it out". Not
exactly the answer she was waiting for, but she doesn't ask anymore.
Instead, Sailor Venus does: "You mean you just . . . spat it out?". "Sort
of. If you wanna know the truth, that hit Hiroshi gave me on the neck was
enough to loosen it's control a little, just enough for me to be able, at
least for a second, to control my body. So, I made it overload by charging
it with my emotions. That's how I made it break free from my tissues. That
fit of coughing was produced because it wanted to get out. It hurt a lot,
but it's finally out of my sistem".

"I knew you could hear me back there. I hope you can forgive me for the
pain I gave you", I say, hugging her tenderly, but with a grip so firm not
even a bomb could have separated us. "Hey", says Reiko, while cupping my
face into her hands, "you're completely forgiven. Nothing happened. And
yes, I could hear your voice, I just couldn't answer you. The feeling of
being powerless to do what you please is something I don't wish to anyone,
not even my worst enemy. I now understand how you felt Mamoru-san". The
adressed man was thoughtful for a moment, and said: "Pretty similar it must
have been . . . but let us not talk about it".

"Yeah, we should be going now", I say, wondering just how have we managed
to stay awake after all these emotions, surprises and heart attacks. I
stand up, and help Reiko in doing the same. She fails in supporting her own
weight, and almost fell to the floor again, when I grabbed her waist and
pulled her up. She smiled at me tenderly, and moved her hand up to carress
my hair, when her legs got weak again, and she doubled over in defeat. I
then understood the physical and emotional strain she had gone through was
taking it's toll, and decided what to do next. I pulled her up to me, and
take her in my arms, making her head rest on my chest, and her long legs
hang over my arm. After all, she's a little girl, no matter what anyone
else says . . . she's a scared little girl . . . she's my *little* girl,
and since now, I'm never gonna let her go . . . never. She didn't say
anything, just relaxed on my embrace and let her eyes fell close. She
wasn't sleeping, as I could notice. Her breathing didn't slow down, she was
just resting from all the excitement she had gotten on one day. Everyone
stood up too, and walked together out of the room. I stayed behind,
carrying Reiko on my arms.

I had this strange feeling on my heart. As if a chapter on my life had just
ended, and together we were going to write the next one. I looked around
the room, and noticed that the boss was still laying on the floor, on the
exact same place where he had landed. I then know he's dead. Dead for good.
With the boss gone, the agency will soon scatter. So, our main problem is
solved. No more scares, no more fear about them coming again. We are
ourselves again. We are free to do as we please, as we always wanted to.
Reiko sighes on my arms, and I can hear her whisper clearly: "It's finally
over". She opens her beautiful eyes, and stares at me. I can see there are
some tears on them, and I smile at her reassuringly. "Yes. It's finally
over. As it should've been always". She smiles back at me, and closes her
eyes again, too tired to say anything. But, her smile is enough for me to
get everything she didn't say . . . a picture paints a thousand words they
say . . . and it's true. The happiness that simple gesture showed could
never be expressed in words . . . so I did what was obvious: I hugged her
tightly, still not believing I had her back and forever.

At this time, when I am ready to leave, grief settles upon my heart. I look
around the room again, drinking on every detail. It's true that whenever
you leave your home, it hurts . . . it doesn't matter if it wasn't a very
pleasant home . . . it was your home for a long time, and we humans tend to
get attached to material things . . . as it's happening to me now. Reiko
seems to have felt my sorrow, and raising, nestles her head on my shoulder.
"You feel it too?", she says, her tone low as a whisper. "Yes", is what I
say, and there's no need to say anything else. We both are feeling the
same, and perfectly understand the other. "Hiro-chan, you think we can ever
get over it?". Her question is the same thing that was troubling me. Aren't
we going to miss this?. The days when we were the most wanted ones of
murderers, mercenaries and hired killers?. When we could ran around
buildings unnoticed?. When we could feel the delight of fear and the
pleasure of a well done mission?. Indeed we will. It was a part of our
lives, and that can never be changed. We will always remember this, and
even yearn for these days to return . . . but the past is the past, I say
to myself.

"Of course we will. And know why?. Because all these memories will soon be
erased by new ones of us together". She snuggles deeper against me, and I
barely can hear her reply: "I trust you, Hiro-chan". Hmm, nice pet name she
came out with. Hiro-chan?. Sounds good to me. I close my eyes, and silently
close the door for my past, and open the door for my future. "And I love
you, Reiko-chan". I then walk outside, following the others footsteps. This
was the end of it, and the beginning of another stage for us. I can fear
what is to come, I can wonder if we will make it . . . but what I know for
sure is that together, we will face it. And that is enough for me.

The end.

Author notes:

        Finished!. It's done!. Long trip, ha?. Well, now that everything is
done, let me tell you this is a very special story to me, 'cause for the
first time, I'm satisfied with what I've done. On my two other stories, (and
several other which are buried inside my hardrive, and begging me to let
them see the light of the day), there was this . . . thing missing . . .
always something that was needed to make it complete, but I never got a grab
on it. But, TTAA, has filled all my hopes and more. I'm very proud of it,
not
only for how good it came out (aren't you amazed by my humbleness?), but for
how long it was!. I mean, it's over 100 pages long on Microsoft Word!!.
        But, it's your opinion that's really important for me . . . you're
the real judges on this, so please tell me what you think. My adress is
rubi@riemann.mat.puc.cl, so come and write to me with your C&C, I'll be
waiting for them!!. But, let me tell you I'm going on a long trip for entire
February, so I won't be able to answer . . . but that doesn't mean I'm not
reading them. So, don't worry if I don't answer right ahead, I promise I'll
get back at you on the last days of February . . . after all, February 23rd
is my birthday!!. So, you just right to me, I'll surely be reading them, and
I promise you to answer them as soon as I can.
        Well, I'd like to thank so many people I'm sure I'll forget someone
 . .  so I'll just say, so many, many thanks to you out there, who kept up
with me during this, I'll never stop being grateful . . . you know who you
are, so THANKS!!. And also a HUGE tanks to all those who are reading this,
but didn't write to me, I understand that some of you are a bit lazy, and
don't write to authors you like or dislike . . . believe me, I'm one of
them.
I NEVER write to anyone, unless his/her story made me cry, or gave me such a
big emotional impact that I just HAVE to tell them . . . well, enough
chit-chat, again thanks to all of you who read this, I'm happy if you liked
it .. . . after all, all I wanted was give you Ami fans and Senshi lovers a
good story to read . . . I just hope I filled your expectations!, Bye!. ^_^

Cony, January, 1999.