Commander Galos Rating: PG SAILOR JOURNEYS: SECRETS OF AN UNKNOWN PAST Chapter 16: Downward spiral. With the exception of Setsuna, everybody was in the base, trying to get a hold on themselves. After spending nearly 20 hours in complete ostracism, even Yohann had decided to join in the activities, although everybody noticed that he was doing it just for their sake, not because he was feeling fit to it. Everybody thought that he might be interested in knowing that Technuma wasn't holding a personal grudge against him. However, he just acknowledge it with a nod and a 'that's nice.' But when the general alarm began to sound, everyone literally jumped out of their skins. So far, this was the first time it had been activated. No real reason was known for its activation. "What's going on??" asked Usagi, looking around frantically. "I don't know..." muttered Mamoru, holding her. He was surprised as well. In that instant, Makoto sprinted out of the kitchen, and without stopping, she yelled. "Come on! It's in the laboratory!" Usagi and Mamoru didn't lose another second, and followed her towards the pool complex. Almost at the same time, Shingo, Laurella, Rei, Yohann, Haruka and Michiru joined them. They almost trampled each other in their haste to get inside the base. Once inside, they saw Sonya, Ami and the Guardian running towards the lab as well. Without asking anything, all presents stormed the lab, and were greeted by a stunning sight. Robin, having transformed into Sailor Saturn, was trying to open one of the Nanoreactors, her Glaive striking over and over against the glass cylinder. So far, her attempts have been for naught. "Robin!" exclaimed Yohann, hurrying to her side. And after grabbing her hands, he said. "Stop it! What are you doing?" "Let me go!" said Saturn, struggling against Yohann. "My Father is inside! I have to get him out of there!" "Say WHAT?!?!" exclaimed Sonya, Ami and Alex at the same time, their voices showing a lot of puzzlement. "He's in there! He's going to die!" repeated Saturn, resuming her struggle against Yohann's grasp. "Robin, calm down! Breaking the glass won't accomplish anything!" said Yohann. "Tell us what happened!" Robin took some breaths in an attempt to calm down. After a minute, she began to recall the events that transpired before she activated the general alarm. "... When I heard the alarm, I... well, decided to take a more direct approach to the problem... so..." "Don't say a thing, Saturn. We understand." Said Usagi, standing next to Saturn. She then addressed Yohann. "What now?" "First, let's see what's going on in there. Sonya, Ami, Alex... you three worked on the Nanoreactors before. Can you check the kind of program it's running now?" said Yohann. Nodding at him, Sonya and Ami moved to the control panel, while Alex linked with it. A few moments later, the only thing that could be heard was their amazed comments: "How did he do that?" "What does this subroutines do?" "So, that's how he solved the problem..." "Compatibility ratio sub-program? For what?" "look! He refined the mineral integration routines here." "The overall efficiency was increased in an 87%! An amazing achievement!" A few more minutes passed, the general impatience growing exponentially. Finally, Haruka snapped. "Very well, stop it! He's a genius, granted, but what in the hell is he doing inside that thing??" The chatter died immediately, with Sonya and Ami turning around, looking slightly flushed. Ami was the first one to talk. "Sorry... I guess we got a little... carried away." "Please, tell me... is Father all right in there?" asked Saturn, her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. "Don't worry, Saturn. He's fine... at least, that is what the instruments say." Indicated Alex. "For what we can decipher, he is trying a new kind of program, but in order to avoid unnecessary interference, he locked the whole system." At the general blank stares, Sonya added. "Translation: it's on automatic." "Alex... you've been spending too much time with Ami..." muttered Makoto. "Yes, so?" said Ami and Alex at the same time. "Sorry!" said Makoto, raising her arms. "No pun intended here!" "Calm down, everybody, and let me explain this." Said Sonya, interceding in favor of Ami and Alex. "For what we all could understand, the short story is this: Technuma designed a new program for the Nanoreactor based on his own medical knowledge. I won't lie telling you that I understand even half of what he's done with it. But I'm sure of one thing. He's testing this new procedure on himself, and don't want anyone to interfere." She then looked at Saturn. "Not even you, dear." "But why not??" asked Saturn, mortified. "It's only a wild guess... but I think I can understand his reasons, judging by your reactions when we entered, Saturn." Said Minako. She 'eep'ed when Saturn gave him a murderous glance. "Wow... the bubbles are so thick in there, that I can't see a thing." Commented Laurella. She was trying to see what was going on inside the Nanoreactor. "How can we know that this process is working?" "We can't." said Ami. "The only thing we can do now is wait." "And how long we have to wait?" asked Saturn, clinging to Yohann. "According to the internal clock the program has... about 12 hours at minimum." Said Alex. Everybody felt silent, and as one, they turned around, looking at the Nanoreactor, trying to imagine what was going on inside that cylinder. Finally, Minako voiced what passed through everybody's minds: "This is going to be a loooooong wait." * * * * 5 minutes before emergence... Robin was literally clawing off the walls. Granted, she had gone to try and get some sleep, but after the first 2 hours, she gave up. After that, she spent most of the time trying to decode Technuma's program, but the lockout features he included on it prevented her to go too far. For the last 4 hours she'd been attempting other venues to keep her mind off the actual situation, but the only thing she accomplished was to keep everybody else on their toes. For the moment, she was back at the laboratory, watching like a hawk the clock on the control panel of the Nanoreactor. For a brief moment, she thought that Setsuna was playing with the time flow... that heavy she felt the pass of the remaining minutes. She hardly noticed the door opening. But when she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder, she relaxed fractionally. "He knows what he's doing, dear. You should have more faith on him." Said Yohann. "I have faith on his work." Said Robin, placing a hand on Yohann's. "But there's something that prevents me to completely trust his actions." "I guess I can imagine that." Said Yohann. "Yohann... I'm scared... and if something go wrong? He's risking everything here." Robin felt silent after that, her emotions in turmoil. Yohann then embraced Robin, in an attempt to comfort her. But somehow, he didn't feel adequate for the task at hand. In that moment, a small signal appeared on the control panel of the Nanoreactor. Robin moved swiftly to check it. "Yohann... it's time! The process is finished." "I'll bring a stretcher. Don't do anything until I return." Said Yohann, leaving the lab. Robin, of course, didn't want to wait. The very instant the Nanoreactor stopped, she literally jumped on top of the cylinder, and as soon as the top cleared, she jumped inside. The first thing she noticed, was a tingling on her skin, but she didn't pay any attention to it. Instead, she focussed on trying to take her father out of the fluid. But there was something she didn't take in account there. The fluid of the Nanoreactor was extremely viscous. Also, since she was born in a SPACE STATION, Technuma never thought to 'teach' her how to swim! She couldn't get a good grip of the body. And even worse... she couldn't get out of it by herself! She tried to swim out of the cylinder, but to her dismay, the only thing she could do was to remain in place. Everytime she stopped, she clearly felt herself going to the bottom. A couple of times, she tried to jump as soon as her feet touched the base of the cylinder, but the only thing she got from her efforts were nothing. Desperate, Robin raised her hands in an attempt to reach the border of the cylinder. Suddenly, she felt something grasping her wrists, and being rather rudely yanked off the Nanoreactor. As soon as she sensed herself out of the fluid, she breathed deep, the pounding of her heart almost deafening in her ears. When she calmed down a little, she could hear Yohann's voice. "Robin..." he said, his voice laced with worry. "Why did you do something so reckless? You could have drowned in there!" Robin couldn't respond with words. Instead, she embraced Yohann, sobbing quietly in his arms. He hold her for a moment, before releasing her gently. Tenderly, he helped her get down, and pressed a button on the side of the top. Immediately, the liquid in the cylinder began to lower, at the same time the bottom began to rise. In a moment, Technuma's body was at easy reach, and Yohann began the procedure to place him in the stretcher he brought from the Medical Ward. Robin went to Technuma's side, happy to see him out of the device. The first thing she noticed was that his skin was no longer white, but his normal color. Also, he had 'grown' another arm! And as for the face, she could see that, although he had his eyelids closed, there was the distinctive curve under the left one that indicated that there was an eye under it! The strange material that covered the lower half of his body was gone as well. Alleviated, Robin caressed Technuma's cheek, but... "No... he... he's not breathing!" gasped Robin. Immediately, she put two fingers on his jugular vein. "His heart! He has no pulse!" Yohann didn't waste a moment, and pushed the stretcher to the Medical ward, followed by Robin. In there, were Sonya and Ami. Initially, they gasped when they saw Technuma's body, but they changed when they heard Robin. Immediately, they took out the emergency kit, and proceeded to reanimate Technuma. While Yohann prepared the proper medicaments, Ami and Sonya began with CPR, all the while Robin covered the body with thermal blankets. After three exhausting minutes, their efforts were rewarded with Technuma's gasp and his heartbeat, albeit still weak, was constant. Robin felt her tears start to flow, but she didn't mind them when she embraced her father, happy to have him back. Technuma opened his eyes slowly, his eyes a little unfocussed. It took him a moment to regain his full consciousness, but when he did, the first thing he noticed was the strong grip of Robin. Feebly, he raised his arms and embraced her as well. He then noticed the skin color, and smiled. "Oh, Father! I'm so happy! You're back! You're back!" said Robin. "This was a close one, Sir." Said Sonya, checking the readings on the medcom. "Next time, you better tell us what you're planning to do." "I... guess there are still a couple of bugs on my program, eh?" said Technuma meekly. "But don't worry. Now that I know that it works in general, I'll be able to fix it in no time at all." "According to this readings," said Ami, looking too at the medcom, "your body is now just as it was before your abduction, sir. Whatever you did, it works just fine. There are no traces of any kind of implant in your body." "Didn't I tell you before? My father is a genius!" said Robin. And standing up, she went and embraced Yohann. "Thank you. Without your equipment, I don't know what we could have done." Yohann embraced her on impulse. He was about to answer when he saw Technuma's expression. The older man was looking at him, his face neutral, but with a certain glint on his eyes that Yohann found disturbing. Without Robin being aware, he lowered his gaze and said. "It was nothing, Robin. Now... why don't we let your father rest? You too need to rest as well." Sighing happily, Robin released him, and after placing a quick kiss on her father's forehead, she left the ward. Yohann stared at the door for a few more moments, and then turned around, facing Technuma. He was about to say something, but when he saw again Technuma's eyes, he only gulped, and almost dragging his feet, he left the Medical ward. Ami and Sonya noticed the silent exchange, and looked at each other. Finally, Ami asked: "Sir... is anything wrong? Are you feeling all right?" Technuma only sighed, and stared at the ceiling. A moment later, he answered. "I'm not sure, Ami. I'm not sure anymore..." * * * * An hour later, Technuma had endured a seemingly endless parade of people that wanted to see if he was truly fine. It warmed his heart to see everybody genuinely relieved to see him back on his feet, and even more, to know that his calculations have been correct. Despite everybody's protests of returning to bed, he went back to the laboratory, and after making a few corrections on the Nanoreactor's program, he began to work on the next step of the process. He didn't want to alarm anybody, but after reading the medical reports of the rest, he found out that it was going to be extremely tricky to return them all to normality. Granted, the physical part was already solved, but it was the mental part that had him wondering. "Now... what to do?" muttered to himself. "How am I going to repair all their neural paths?" In that moment, Alex downloaded herself on the laboratory's computer. "Technuma, is anything wrong?" asked the Artificial Intelligence. "You seemed worried. I thought you had everything under control." "Is that a trick question, Alex? Because if it is, it's not funny." Said Technuma. "Well, excuse me! I only wanted to help. At least, you're back being your old self, that's a relief." Said Alex. "After all, I only wanted to offer my help, but since you seem to have everything under control..." Technuma sighed, and looking at the surveillance camera, he said. "Sorry, Alex. It's just that... I'm at a little loss here." "Oh? Care to share your problems with me?" asked Alex in a light tone. 'Why not? What do I have to lose?' thought Technuma. "Very well... you see, I finally solved the physical reconstruction part of the process, as you can see. But... there's a more subtle aspect here to consider." "Which is?" asked Alex, puzzled. "The mental factor." Said Technuma. "You see, the process I designed can be modified to... let's say... implant in the patient certain neural paths that can account for the memory. And this is the hard part. I don't know what kind of neural paths I have to 'create' in order to restore their minds." Instantly, Alex knew why those cartridges were included in the cargo. 'Geez! That pilot is good... really good!' she then addressed Technuma. "Sir... what you're telling me is that, without knowing what they experienced on their lives, whatever you do could backfire, right?" "You got the right idea there, Alex. It would be like walking in the dark holding a case of nitroglycerin. Sooner or later, something in their brains would conflict, and the results would be... well, you understand." "Yes... total system crash." Said Alex. "Sir... If I told you that we may have the solution to your problem?" "Don't kid with me, Alex. This is serious." Said Technuma. "Hey, I'm serious here!" retorted Alex. "Now, do you want to listen to me, or do you want to continue mopping around for a solution until it's too late?" Sighing again, Technuma shook his head, and said. "Very well. You have my undivided attention. But it better be good, Alex! We don't have much time to waste here." "Ok, I'll be brief." Said Alex. She then began. "I think that my sweetie already told you where we come from in reality, right?" "Right." "Ok. Then, you're aware that our main task is observe the happenings all over the multiverse." Technuma nodded at that. Alex continued. "Obviously, some observations have to be more thorough than others. And I mean thorough!" "Is this talk supposed to mean something? Because if its not..." began Technuma, but Alex interrupted him. "Hey, pay attention here! The point here is: since the girls are some VERY special subjects, we included in the observation program for them the watching and recording of all of their lives! And that includes their families as well!" "That's nice, Alex. And how does that help us here?" asked Technuma, feeling a little miffed. "Ok, a demonstration is needed, I see." Said Alex. "Do you see the two metallic portfolios on the table next to the last Nanoreactor? Open the one next to the unit." Technuma shrugged, but did what Alex said anyway. He raised both eyebrows when he saw the cartridges in there. "What are these things?" "Those cartridges have the information collected of a lifetime-worth of observations of each one of the subjects in the Medical ward." Said Alex. "Initially, Ami thought that those cartridges contained the instructions for the Nanoreactors' operation. You understand that I had to lie to her... something I'm not proud of." "A... lifetime-worth... of observations?" asked Technuma, looking at the cartridges as if they were dangerous. "You mean that... in those things... are contained the LIFES of all of them??" "In a word: yes." Said Alex, unperturbed. "From the very moment of their births to the present. All is contained there." Technuma had to take deep breaths to contain the rage he felt raging in him. After he was sure he had his emotions under control, he said. "I can't believe the lot of you... I don't know if feel interested, or outraged at your organization. Who gave you the right to invade their privacy in that way??" "I'm aware that you don't approve what we do, but think of this: Are we that different from what you did when you were still a Technum Guardian? You too watched at them from the shadows, never letting yourselves known, always working behind the scenery." "Our case is different!" screamed Technuma. "The Prime was an evil being!" "Oh... and that make us evil as well, eh? Well, I have news for you, mister!" said Alex, her patience finally lost. "We do all this to LEARN!! Our long-term objective is NOT the domination of the multiverse! The MRMA only wants to create a stable society, and SHARE that knowledge! We don't want to intrude just like that, like some paparazzi, or a vulgar peeping tom! If we want to avoid the mistakes made in other places, we have to study and learn from those mistakes, as well as from the ones we make! This is the best way we found to do it without disturbing anything. We don't intrude in the destinies of people if there isn't a VERY good reason for it!" Leaning on the desk, Technuma listened to Alex' diatribe, but that didn't change the fact that he felt... violated. Like some lab rat that worked only for the benefit of an unknown master. "Get out..." he muttered. "Just... leave me alone." "All right... I'll go." Said Alex. "But remember... you have now the means to do something right. You have the chance to atone for what you did in the past..." with that, Alex left the lab. Technuma felt weak, and literally dropped on one of the seats. He closed his eyes, and began to think on what Alex told him. Minutes later, he opened his eyes, and looked at the cartridges. He then sighed, and taking one at random, inserted it in the open slot located on the control panel of the Nanoreactor he used. After spending a few more minutes of examining the information contained on it, he closed the program, and muttered only two words. "Damn you." * * * * Two hours later... Usagi, Rei, Minako, Ami, and Sonya were together at the Medical ward, watching the patients' last diagnosis. "Is there any change?" asked Usagi. "I'm afraid so." Said Sonya. "I won't lie to you. We're running out of time. If something has to be done, it has to be done in the next 5 hours." "Where is Technuma?" asked Rei, exasperated. "I thought that his process was working fine by now! What is he waiting for?" "Everything's set now." Said Technuma, entering the ward in that moment. "Sorry for the delay, but I had to fine-tune some details on my program." "Then... you can start now?" asked Minako "That is why I'm here." Said Technuma. "Although I'm going to need a little help to move your relatives to the laboratory." "I'll call the guys right away!" said Usagi, running to the comm. But before she could do anything, Technuma interrupted her. "Just do me a favor... don't call Lieutenant Starr and Alex, if you please." "But... but why?" asked Ami, confused. "I thought that you wanted them to be here as well." "Just bear with me, ok?" said Technuma, tensing a little. "O-k... if that's what you want..." said Usagi, puzzled. With that, she then proceeded to call everybody Thirty minutes later, with the help of Shingo, Mamoru and the Guardian, all of the patients were inside the Nanoreactors. Once done, Robin and Technuma began to check the final procedures before activating the units. "Everything set here, father." Said Robin, after checking the units with Rei's grandfather, the Ainos and Yuuichiro. "Thank you, Robin. We can start in a moment." Said Technuma. He then proceeded to a nearby table, and took the cartridges. After checking carefully each one of them, he began to insert them on the slots of each Nanoreactor. "Excuse me..." asked Ami. "But do you know what are those cartridges for?" For a moment, Technuma felt tempted to tell them everything he knew, but he fought the urge. Instead, he said. "Those cartridges contain the final control instructions for the Nanoreactors to work. Nothing more." "If you knew that, then why you didn't use one for your own cure, father?" asked Robin, curious. "Because, up until now, I found out that the cartridges contained the final data to adjust the neural paths sub-program coordinator, dear. Besides, in my case, I didn't need them." Said Technuma, smiling nervously. "Well, everything's ready. Let's begin." "Aaaah... Yes, father." Said Robin. She had the suspicion that Technuma wasn't telling her everything. Filing it on the back of her mind for further questioning, she did what her father asked, and began to activate the Nanoreactors. Soon, all the units were working, the sight of the people inside obscured by the bubbles emerging from the bottom. Technuma went from unit to unit, checking the readings on each one, making a small adjustment here and there. Five minutes later, he said: "All systems work fine. If my calculations are correct, they will be fine and back to their old selves in about 14 hours." The tension on the laboratory vaporized with the news, being replaced with a sense of relief. Ami, Minako, Rei, Shingo and Usagi walked to the Nanoreactors and gently, they caressed the cylinders that contained their respective relatives. Afterwards, they walked in front of Technuma. "Thank you... I don't know what we could have done without your help." Said Usagi, smiling at him. "It's been a pleasure." Said Technuma, returning her smile. "I couldn't bear the thought of all of you suffering." "If that's all, then I should go now." Said the Guardian. "I have to report this last events to Lt. Starr." "Is that truly necessary?" asked Technuma, tensing a little. "Yes, it is." Answered the Guardian, locking his gaze at Technuma. "He is the commanding officer of this base, and has to be briefed. Also, it's my duty as the Security Officer of this installation." Technuma continued staring at the Guardian for a full minute, hardly noticing the puzzled looks the rest were giving to him. Finally, he said. "I understand. But since this has been my project, it would be better to let me brief him, don't you think?" The Guardian considered it for a moment, his face a neutral mask. "Very well. But if you don't tell him in the next hour, I'll tell him." "That is acceptable." Said Technuma. And addressing the rest, he added. "This will take a while. If you have to do something else, please feel free to do it. I'll keep watch over here." Everyone nodded at him, and began to leave the laboratory. After checking a few more details on the Nanoreactors, he left the lab as well, in order to find Yohann. * * * * Yohann had been inside his studio, sitting in the dark. The curtains were closed, and the lights were out. He had been in that position since he left the Medical ward. He acknowledged Alex' presence when she showed up a little while back, but after ordering her to continue working on the Cryssalid files, he had said nothing else. When Yohann heard someone knocking at his door, he only sighed, and after turning on the lights, he opened the door. He showed no emotions when he saw that it was Technuma. "I only came to tell you two things, Lieutenant." Said Technuma, his voice calm and neutral. Yohann nodded, and moved aside to allow Technuma to enter. Once both men took a seat, Technuma began to talk. "First, I'm here to report that the girls' families are already receiving the process that will return them to normality." "I know it sounds lame coming from me, Sir." Began Yohann. "But thank you. They could have been lost without your expertise." "Indeed..." said Technuma. "And now, my second point. I've been giving the matter a lot of consideration and thought, and finally reached to a conclusion. Lieutenant Starr... I'm ordering you, as a father and as your elder, to get away from Robin." Externally, Yohann's only reaction was his left eyelid twitching a couple of times. Internally, he felt like the world came crashing on him, as if those words were daggers slicing his heart. However, he kept his voice calm. "May I ask your reasons, sir?" Technuma nodded once, and began his explanation. "You have been placing my daughter in danger an unnecessary amount of times, neglected to comfort her in her hour of need, showed little respect for the security of the ones around either her and her friends, and relying too much in your own superior technology to achieve your goals, instead of following your basic instincts. The last thing leaves you wide open, and that's something I don't want my daughter to learn. Am I making myself clear?" Yohann felt the muscles at the back of his neck tensing, but continued to keep his expression and voice neutral. He blinked once, and after sighing, he answered. "Crystal clear, Sir." "Good. Then, I must go." Said Technuma. He was about to open the door, when he heard Yohann asking him something. "Sir... is that your final word?" Technuma didn't turn around, and without saying anything, he left the studio. As soon as he was alone, Yohann's attitude changed. He leaned on his desk, and covering his face with his hands, his body began to shake silently. An hour later, he seemed to have calmed, although his eyes were red and puffy. He activated the computer, and connected with the Computer room. "Alex, are you there?" "Yes, sweetie. Working, working, working!" said Alex. "Pork chops... are you ok? Your voice sounds... funny." "I'm fine, Alex. Perhaps it's the communication circuits. I hear you funny too." Said Yohann. "Oh? Well, I'll check them as soon as I finish here. Now, what can I do for you, baby?" "I need a progress report, Alex. How are you doing with the decoding of Cauldron's log?" "Better than I expected, sweetbuns!" said Alex happily. "I'm almost done here. Give me another 5 hours, and I'll have it all done!" "Those are good news, Alex. I knew you wouldn't let me down." Said Yohann. "Always here to serve, sweetie!" said Alex. "Anything else I can do for you?" Yohann thought about it for a few seconds, and after making up his mind, he said. "As a matter of fact... yes, Alex. Do you know the program interfaces of my armor, regarding the sensor array and the nanocomputers it has?" "Yes, I have the specifications. Why do you ask?" "Good. I want to know if it's possible to adjust them, so that they can obey my mental commands, independently of your intervention..." "And why do you want to know that, sweetbuns?" asked Alex, surprised by such a petition. "I've been thinking..." began Yohann. "It could be that, in the nearby future, you could be somewhere else, like on Mercury's compact, and suddenly we could get in a battle situation. I could need a sensor sweep, and with you out, the time you might take to return could become critical." "Say no more, baby!" said Alex. "I'll work on those modifications right away!" "Thank you, Alex. I knew you could do it. That will be all. Starr out." After turning the computer off, he leaned back on his seat, and closed his eyes, a plan already forming in his troubled mind. * * * * The whole team had gathered at the living room, with the exception of Yohann. By general agreement, they decided to let Sonya tell her story, in order to help them pass the time until the Nanoreactors finished their job. "Why can't Yohann be with us?" Asked Makoto. "Why do you think?" said Robin, exasperated. "This time, he said that his armor needs adjustment. I swear... this guy doesn't know the meaning of the word 'rest'!" "Reminds me of a few people I know..." said Alex from Ami's Compact. "Obviously, you all know who I'm talking about..." As if on cue, everybody turned around and looked at Ami, who retreated a moment at their collective gazes. "Hey, why do you all look at me like that?" "Come on, gang! Leave her alone! What, aren't you the same in your own ways?" said Alex. "Alex is right." Said Usagi, smiling. And addressing Ami, she added. "You know we're only teasing. Come on, let's sit together, ok?" "Only if you sit with me too!" Said Minako, taking one of Ami's arms and guiding her to one side of the big sofa. Shacking her head, Usagi sat on the other side, effectively having Ami 'sandwiched' between the two blondes. "Awww... you look sooo cute!" quipped Laurella, all the while she kept snuggling next to Shingo. Everybody giggled at them, creating a more relaxed atmosphere. A moment later, they were ready. "Well, it seems that I have a few things to explain to you about me, right?" began Sonya. Everybody nodded at her. "So... where do I start?" "How about since the beginning?" asked Minako. Sonya smiled at Minako's question, and started. "Ok... In the beginning, there was nothing but silence and emptiness. Suddenly, a big explosion occurred, and the universe came to being. After that..." "SO-NYA!!" screamed everybody. "Sorry..." giggled Sonya. "I couldn't resist. Well, where to start?" After taking a couple of breaths to clarify her thoughts, she began. "My full name is Sonya Nimue. I gained my rank of Lieutenant a couple of weeks before being transferred to New Avalon. I knew a lot of good people there, everybody wanting to make me feel comfortable with my new position there. Suddenly, disaster stroke. "Without warning, a series of portals began to open all over the base, some of them sucking personnel inside them, but others... from those, creatures that can only be described as monsters began to emerge, and began to attack us. While ones began to suck dry of their bio-energy at some of the residents of the base, others started attacking at random. Ones with elemental-type attacks, others with other kind of objects. We began to become overwhelmed by the onslaught, and that's when it happened. Suddenly, the whole base was shifted from its original position, and was transported to Earth. Unfortunately, we were positioned on a low orbit, and it began to decay. Because a group of creatures attacked the control room, there was nothing we could do to prevent the imminent crash. "Finally, when the actual crash occurred, a big percentage of the monsters were killed by it, and the remaining defenders were able to finally defeat them. Once the situation was under control, the survivors began to assess the damage. Since the hangars and the main cryogenic pods facilities were destroyed, we tried to re-establish contact with our main base. Obviously, it wasn't possible. The biggest shock came when one of the astrophysicists that survived made a series of measurements, and concluded that we hadn't been shifted only through space, but through time as well. We were stranded in the far-away past, with no way to return back home." Sonya took a sip of the tea that Rei and Makoto had brought, all the while she fought to contain her tears. No one dared to interrupt her, each one trying to imagine her situation. A moment later, Sonya continued her story. "We were shocked to learn that, besides being in the past, we were on Earth, and in England, to boot! Anyway, a vast majority of the survivors decided to try their luck outside the base, and after finishing the cavern network and marking the place, they went out. Only a small percentage of people remained there to keep watch on the T/S device. Among them, were the medical officer, MerLynn and myself." "Wait a minute." Interrupted Haruka. "MerLynn? The bearded psycho that is now allied with Cauldron?" "The same." Said Sonya. "At the time, we two were good friends. We spent a lot of happy times together, always trying to perfect our own abilities. But those moments weren't going to last. One day, in the laboratory, the medical officer accidentally dropped a small vial containing a variation of the 'mad cow' viral disease... a very vicious strain that affected not only the animals, but humans as well. As a result, almost everybody in the base were infected... and went mad." "But that's horrible!" said Minako, covering her mouth. "You mean that everybody began to kill each other?" "I'm afraid not..." said Sonya. "They exited the base, and began to roam the countryside. With the aid of the advanced technology that they, somehow, still could manage, began to create havoc all over the country. By some twist of fate, MerLynn and I weren't infected. As a matter of fact... we were the only ones that were immune at the time. But the worse was yet to come. "On a fit of mad genius, the medical officer began to experiment with genetic engineering, creating a series of creatures that began to attack the inhabitants of the country. By altering their genetic structure, he was able to create monsters that could breathe either fire, ice, lightning, or could use other elements as well. Those... were the dragons and monsters that are described in the legends." "Amazing..." muttered Mamoru, fascinated by Sonya's story. "So, there was a base of credibility on all those legends after all..." "I'm afraid so." Sighed Sonya. "That only left MerLynn and myself to try and contain the damage that was being done. It was our fault that our compatriots and the creations that the medical officer made were destroying that part of the world. After a grueling battle against the medical officer's creations, we finally arrived at the laboratory, and were forced to kill him. After spending a year studying the use of the different machines and techniques there, we finally developed a plan that could stabilize the order. "After learning the local language and habits, we began to spread a rumor: That one day, a person would come, and after retrieving an enchanted sword from a stone, such person would become the rightful King of England, that would lead all to a great destiny." "Oh, my goodness." Said Michiru. "Then... you were the originators of King Arthur's legend??" "That's right. And... in order to made the legend more credibly, I used the frame of one of the scout ships, and built a submergible. That crude ship was placed in a nearby lake, and I became Lady Sonya Nimue... also known as The Lady of the Lake. Meanwhile, using the remaining operative technology back at the base, MerLynn created his own character. He was known as Merlin, a Demon Wizard. Once our new personalities were established, we started phase two of our plan. "We met a warrior named Uther Pendragon, who had a rather... stormy affair with a local woman. She had a child that was the illegitimate son of Pendragon. That was the child we were looking after. After convincing the woman that her child was going to be happier with us, we began to teach him the things we considered necessary for him to become a rightful ruler. As a precaution, we took a sample of genetic material off him, and made a clone. That clone was named Lancelot du Lac." "Say what!?!?!" exclaimed Alex at that point. "Don't tell me that Lancelot and Arthur were brothers!!! But that's incredible! No one ever suspected such a thing!" "We were forced at the time to do that, Alex." Said Sonya. "After all, we were trying to repair the damage caused by our arrival. Now, where was I? Oh, yes... "Once the children were properly educated, MerLynn and I began to create the powerful sword that would become known as Excalibur. We used all the means in our hands to craft it, but somehow, once finished, it lacked the necessary power to wistand a direct attack from our maddened compatriots. We were about to give up on that plan and try another approach when that crystal appeared our of thin air... "When we found out that such small crystal contained incredible amounts of power, we decided to use it. The moment if became fused with Excalibur was truly awe-inspiring. The sword began to float in the air, and in a flash of light, it became all we wanted and more. We couldn't even measure the final power output of it. "Anyway, once the sword was ready, we placed it in a fake rock, which was in reality a strong electromagnetic lock, and placed it in a church on a nearby village. Obviously, every single man that tried to remove the sword found out that it was impossible. That's when our boy came into scene. Since he knew how to place his hands and feet around the rock to release the lock, he was able to pull out the sword rather easily. After that, all presents accepted him because of the legend we had already spread, and well... the rest is history. "Those were years of darkness, but finally, we were able to finish off the last of the troublemakers. But... the best plans made by men and mice... "During the final years of Arthur's kingdom, I made a mistake... After altering his looks, I sent Lancelot. He was well accepted at first, but... you know what happened." "Yes..." muttered Ami. "Gwynivere felt in love with Lancelot..." "That's right. That sole fact destabilized Arthur's emotions, thus beginning a downward spiral. And to complicate matters further... after opening one of the sealed chambers back at the base, MerLynn became infected with the Mad Virus. That's when his resentment against what we had done so far began." "Resentment? But for what? You did all you could to fix a desperate situation!" said Usagi. "Precisely because of that. He became obsessed with the thought that we were playing God... that no one had the right to dwell in other people's destinies. One night, he attempted to destroy Camelot, and I was forced to fight him. Fortunately, his madness made him careless, and I was able to subdue him. That's when I put him inside that cryo-pod. I thought that the situation was still salvageable, but... "MerLynn had the last laugh at the end. By that time, I had felt in love with one of the Knights, and had an affair with him. I had a child... a lovely girl... the most beautiful girl in the whole world. When I was about to seal the pod with MerLynn inside, he pulled out of his clothes a black sword... and... and..." Sonya began to sob quietly, hurt by the memories. Usagi and Michiru went to her side, and offered her some comfort. After a few minutes, Sonya sobered, and after smiling at Usagi and Michiru, she resumed her recollection. "He aimed the sword at my child, and sent a stream of black energy at her. It was like... he opened a black hole... My baby... was swallowed by it. His deed done, MerLynn laughed maniacally, and closed the pod himself. I was too shocked to do a thing... I don't know how much time I spent on the floor, crying. I wanted to kill MerLynn with my own hands... to destroy him completely... but it was too late for me to do a thing. He was safe inside that pod, and I couldn't open it. After finally regaining my senses, I decided that, the best way for me to get my revenge, was to show MerLynn that our plans were the right thing. "But fate had other things in mind... Arthur was killed, and after his dead, Excalibur was returned to my hands. Shortly after his demise, the country began to collapse, reverting itself to the same chaos that reigned before our arrival. Defeated, I returned to the empty base, and after linking the cryo-pod I was about to use with the security net of the place, I got inside. "During my cold sleep, I began to realize that MerLynn was right in some way... we were truly playing God... trying to change the course of history to our liking. The price I had to pay for my foolishness... was my baby... I never knew what happened to her. Perhaps... she died. Or... she was somehow transported to another place. I don't know. That's the only thing I want to know for sure. What happened to her." All presents felt a knot on their throats, not knowing what to do or say. They felt sympathy for this stranger that entered their lives, and had such a tragic past... Alex began to talk, in an attempt to change the gloomy atmosphere. "Excuse me, Sonya... but you mentioned earlier that you linked your cryo-pod with the security net. And I have a doubt." "Yes, Alex? What do you want to know?" asked Sonya. "It's about the entrance to New Avalon." Began Alex. "How did you come with the idea for that kind of portal? And the way you used Stonehenge as a lock! I never imagined that something like that could be done." "That was MerLynn's idea after we found the crystal." Said Sonya. "Its energy signature was so specific, that we thought of it to be the master key of the base's entrance. I'm surprised that you all could match the pattern." "But... if it's so specific, then how come Cauldron was able to enter?" asked Makoto, puzzled. "At best, the only energy signatures he could have duplicated so far may have been Robin's and Yohann's..." "Not precisely, Makoto..." said the Guardian. "I've been thinking of what you've been telling me about your previous encounters with him, and reached a conclusion." Everybody turned to look at him, which he took as a sign to continue. "Your first encounter with him was as a simple Artificial Intelligence..." "HEY!" retorted Alex. "I'm one too, you know??" "Sorry Alex. No offense intended here." Amended the Guardian. "As I was saying... First, he was just a program. Next, you encountered him here after being reconstructed by accident, and escaped, not before raiding your data banks. After that, you found him with a body. And to add more to the mix, he learns that he can make you 'dance to his tune' by taking hostages that are close to you in order to guide him to where he wants to go. The final piece of this puzzle is that he was able to duplicate my own defense mechanisms. It must have been child's play for him to duplicate your own energy patterns after your last encounter." "A very good analysis, Hogosuro." Said Sonya after a moment. "And thank you for telling me that. I guess I know where you're going." "Me too." Said Ami. "And it doesn't look very good." "Well, what's your idea, guys?" asked Minako. "Do you know what's been going on with that psycho?" "In one word: Evolution." Said the Guardian. "He's been adapting to our attacks every time." Continued Ami. "And becoming more and more resourceful after every encounter." Finished Sonya. "So... what you're telling is that... he's slowly becoming a Senshi?" asked Laurella, amazed at that conclusion. "Not precisely." Said the Guardian. "What I'm telling is that... he's becoming immune to all of your attacks, making them part of himself after each battle." "Also, he's learning how we act and think." Added Ami. "But if what you're saying is true, then that means...?" asked Haruka, not liking the implications so far. "That, at this rate, after four more battles against you, he'll definitely become unstoppable." Concluded Alex. "No known force will be able to stand against Cauldron. Heck, he won't need all those gizmos we've been gathering and destroying all along!" "Great...just great!" said Makoto. "Bad if we face him, bad if we let him do what he wants! How many more places do we have to visit before we can definitely say that this case is closed?" "I finished decoding Cauldron's log before coming here." Said Alex. "Unfortunately... there are still 20 more bases to check. More than enough for him to become a force to reckon." "Beautiful." Said Rei. "Twenty more opportunities for him to strike at us. I don't like where this is going, guys... Cauldron's using us, no matter what we do!" Everybody felt silent after that, deep in thought. * * * * At the same time... ">... Cauldron's using us, no matter what we do!<" Yohann closed the connection with the living room, and sighed. He had listened to the whole conversation, all the while he continued working with his armor. He felt bad for Sonya after she finished her story, and a wave of guilt washed over him, overwhelming his mind. The last part of their conversation had been too much for him to stand, and that's when he finally decided to put his plan into action. After checking the proper function of the modifications he made to his armor, he went to the storage room, and began to move a big quantity of material towards the garage. With that done, he then went to the Computers room, and began to work on a small program he'd been making just in case Cauldron were able to return. Once finished, he went back to his studio to make the finishing touches. 'Don't worry, girls.' He thought. 'You won't be subjected to this anymore. I'll take care of that.' * * * * Everybody was present at the Laboratory the next day, waiting for the big moment. Even Yohann and Alex were there. Technuma and Robin were checking the control panels of the Nanoreactors and were satisfied with the data displayed. Everything had worked perfectly, and it was only a matter of minutes until they could take the people out of the cylinders. "Is everything ready, Robin?" asked Technuma, after checking the last screen. "All set, Father. Ready when you are." Answered Robin. "Everything you requested from the Medical ward is ready too." "Good. In that case... let's proceed." He then began to enter a series of numbers on each Nanoreactor, and stepped back. Immediately, all the units stopped functioning, revealing their contents for all to see. Some of the girls began to cheer when they noticed that all patients were back to normal, no trace of implants or surgery visible from the bodies. Satisfied, Technuma activated the extraction sequences, and with the help of the Guardian, Robin and Haruka, he began to transfer his patients to the Medical ward to examine them. All were relieved to see that the emergency equipment wasn't needed after all, since right after getting them out of the cylinders, all patients were breathing normally. Technuma ran a diagnosis on every one of them, and smiled at the results. He then addressed the presents. "I'm happy to report that the treatment was a resounding success. No trace of alterations can be found on them, and their brain functions are stable. They are out of danger." Usagi, Shingo, Rei, Minako and Ami felt ecstatic with the news, and without further ado, they went to the side of their relatives, happy that they were together again. Technuma smiled at the scene, and walked next to Dr. Mizuno. He fought the urge to hold her... he felt that wasn't proper. He was about to say something, when he raised his gaze, and looked at Yohann. Both men remained staring at each other for a few seconds, their faces unreadable. Yohann relented first, and after nodding at Technuma, he began to leave the ward. "Yohann, where are you going?" asked Robin, holding his arm. "Don't you want to remain here until they wake up? They'll want answers, you know?" "I'm aware of that, Robin." Said Yohann. "But I have to do something before I'm ready to face them. Sorry." "Oh? And what do you have to do? Anything I can help you with?" asked Robin, curious. "Oh, no, no... it's just that... well, I have to buy something at the supermarket. Don't worry, I'll be back soon." Said Yohann, smiling at her. Robin thought his answer for a moment. "You know? If I didn't know you better, I'd swear you're trying to get rid of me." Yohann felt his stomach contracting painfully, but somehow he managed to remain calm. "You know I wouldn't do that, Robin." He managed to say. "Why don't you go with your father? He may need your assistance." Robin raised an eyebrow, suspicious. 'He's planning something, but I can't imagine what. Oh, well... he'll tell me when he feels fit.' She thought. "Ok... but don't take long, do you hear?" "I promise. I'll be back at your side before you know it." Said Yohann. He kept smiling until the door closed. 'I'm sorry, Robin. I hate to lie to you... but this is for your own good. And I'll keep my promise. I'll return to your side... no matter what I have to do.' With those thoughts, Yohann walked towards the garage. An hour later, all patients regained consciousness. To say that the reunion was heart warming is a complete misunderstanding. The girls were more than happy to see them back to their old selves, but knew that they had a lot of things to explain before their relatives could leave the base. Especially for Rei and Minako, since their families didn't know about their 'other identity'. Technuma was standing next to Akane, and after making sure no one was seeing him, he hold her hand. "I'm glad you're back." "And I'm glad to be back. I can't remember all..."said Akane. "After Cauldron strapped us to those chairs... everything became nebulous. I think... that at some point... I fought Ami... but I'm not sure of that." "It's better not to remember that." Said Technuma. "Right now, you have to concentrate on getting better. Your daughter needs you." "Are you sure she's the only one that needs me?" quipped Akane, a mischievous smile appearing suddenly. She then squished Technuma's hand gently. "I don't think so..." "We can talk more about it later. Right now, you need to rest." Said Technuma, smiling. "I'm so glad you're fine, mom!" said Usagi. "I was so scared!" "Don't worry, dear. I'm back." Said Ikuko. "And this time, nothing will separate you from me." Usagi didn't say a thing. Instead, she embraced her mother, happy to have her again with her. "Dad...I was so worried." Said Shingo. "There were moments when I thought..." "Don't say it, son." Said Kenji. "Fortunately, it didn't happen. And I'm glad to see that you became what I expected. You are now a true man." "Thank you dad." Said Shingo, fighting a lump in his throat. "But I only did what you could have done if you were in my place." "Thank you son. Yes... you're right. But there's still one more thing I expect from you." "Yes, dad? What is it?" Kenji looked behind Shingo, and soon found what he was looking for. "That I want you to promise me one thing." "Anything dad! Just mention it!" said Shingo. Kenji smiled at the response, knowing that his son would fulfill that promise. He then waved his hand, and Laurella approached him. He then took the two teenager's hands in his, and said. "Son... Laurella, I want you to promise me this. That no matter what might happen in the future, you two will try to be as happy as my wife and I have been all our lives." Shingo and Laurella didn't know what to say at such unexpected turn of events! They couldn't say a thing. Kenji noticed it, and smiling, he added. "You two have my blessings. And son? If I ever know that you make this lovely lady suffer, you'll have to answer to me, do you hear? Emerald Knight or not, you'll get what you deserve." Shingo's only answer was: "Aaaah... aaah... y... yes, sir! I... I..." Laurella was a little more vocal with her reaction. She embraced Kenji, sobbing a little. "Thank you, Mr. Tsukino! You don't know what this mean to us!" "Just call me Kenji, dear. And when the time is right... I expect you to call me dad." Said Kenji, returning the embrace with one arm. Since the birth of his children, he didn't feel so happy. "Rei... what happened?" asked Grandpa Hino. "What am I doing here? And what's this place?" "Shhh... don't talk." Said Rei. "You're still weak. You need to rest before we can go back to the temple." "It's so strange... like I just wake up from a nightmare." Said grandpa. "I could swear that I was fighting you and your friends, but... you were dressed... different." Rei's face didn't show anything more than a gentle smile, but internally, she frowned. She feared that her grandfather could remember his ordeal at Cauldron's hands. That would certainly be hard to explain! "It was nothing. As you said... it was only a nightmare." She said. "Oh?" Grandpa didn't say anything for a few moments, his body relaxing. A few seconds later, he talked again. "Rei... I want you to be sincere with me. And promise me that you won't lie." "I promise, grandpa. What is it?" asked Rei, puzzled. "When were you planning to tell me that you are one of the Sailor Scouts?" Rei gasped at his question. Obviously, she didn't expect him to know! "Wha... wha... what??" "My dear child. I might be old, but I'm not senile! I've known for quite some time. Even more... I saw you transform one night. Don't get mad at me, it was by sheer chance, if nothing else!" Grandpa Hino smiled at her, a little embarrassed at his confession. "I was on the roof, watching the moon, when I saw you getting out of your room in the middle of the night. I was about to ask you what were you doing out so late, when I saw you transform into Sailor Mars. That's when I remembered all those strange reports on the news and the tabloids. It wasn't hard to figure out that your friends were the other members of the Scouts." Rei lowered her gaze, not knowing what to say. From one part, she felt alleviated that her grandfather knew the truth, but on the other side, she felt ashamed for having to lie to him all that time. Fighting her conflicting emotions, she finally said. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't want to lie to you. I just... didn't want to endanger you . You mean so much to me..." "I understand, Rei. And don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. And if you ever need my help, don't hesitate to ask for it, eh?" said grandpa, smiling at his granddaughter. "now... how about going with Yuuichiro and comfort him? If I recall right, he's going to be part of the family in the future, right?" Rei gulped at that remark, blushing furiously. "Grandpa...!!" "Come on, go! Shoo! This old man needs his rest!" finished grandpa his speech, closing his eyes. But that didn't stop him from keeping a big smile. Rei shook her head, slightly confused. She didn't expect that things went that way. Looking that a discussion with her grandfather was going to be futile for the moment, she did what he told her and went to Yuuichiro's biobed. At first, she thought that he was sleeping, and was about to turn around when she heard him. "Hi..." muttered Yuuichiro. Rei turned around, her face serious. But her eyes betrayed her relief. "Hello, you big fool. When were you planning to wake up?" "Yeah... glad to see you too, Rei." Said Yuuichiro, smiling at her remark. Rei crossed her arms, and approaching him, she added. "When are you going to learn not to put yourself in danger for me? And grandpa, to boot! You two could have been killed, you know? And what was I going to do if you left me alone, huh? Do you think it would be easy for me to be a single mother? With two kids to take care of?" She immediately regretted the last thing she said, but it was already too late. Yuuichiro's eyes literally popped out of their sockets, and made a good imitation of a hooked fish. His mouth moved, but not a sound came out of it. Finally, he was able to speak again. "T... t... t... two kids?? Do... does... that mean... that... that... you... and I... there... you... I..." "Oh, yes... you have a way with words, don't you?" said Rei. "Yes, that's right. I'm going to have twins. What's the big deal with it?" Yuuichiro stopped his babbling, and closed his eyes. After taking a few deep breaths, he spoke again. "Rei... you made me the happiest man on the face of the Earth. I... I promise you. I'll do whatever is in my power to make you and our children happy." Rei couldn't continue holding her angry expression anymore, and taking Yuuichiro's hands in hers, she said. "I know... and I'm happy that you promise that. But I expect you to also promise me to never get in harms way again, do you hear?" "I can try... but I can't promise you that. It's my duty to also try and protect you , you know? After all... that's what I want to do for you for the rest of my life." Finished Yuuichiro. "You big log-head..." said Rei. She tried to get angry with Yuuichiro, but couldn't find in herself a good reason for it. She had to content with staying next to him, holding his hands. Unnoticed by her, grandpa Hino was looking at them, a big smile on his lips. Minako was standing between both her parents' biobeds, chatting about almost everything with them. There were slight traces of tears on her face, but she didn't mind them at all. "... and when I heard that you were out of danger, I came immediately here." Finished Minako. "But you should have remained in school, dear." Said Mr. Aino. "if we were out of danger, as you say, then there was no reason for you to skip classes." "Don't be so hard with her, dear." Said Mrs. Aino. "We should have done the same if it was her instead of us." She stopped talking as soon as she said that. "Funny... somehow, I have the impression that that's how we ended up here in the first place..." "And that reminds me... where is this place, exactly?" asked Mr. Aino. "It doesn't look like any hospital or clinic I know." Minako's mind went into overdrive, trying to find a suitable answer to that question. Different scenarios ran through her brain, and she finally decided for one. She said. "This is a private clinic that opened just recently, dad. This was the nearest one to where you were found, and the ambulance brought you here." "Oh." Said Mrs. Aino. "In that case, that's ok... I guess. But where are the doctors? And the nurses? And why are your friends here?" "Aah... well, you see... the case is... it's just that..." Minako couldn't finish, since her father interrupted her. "Young lady... you owe us a lot of explanations here. To me, it seems that you know more than you've been telling us so far." Mr. Aino gave Minako a stern look, stating that the only thing that could fully satisfy him was the absolute truth. Minako could only sweatdropped, and lowering her gaze, she said. "Yes, Father." * * * * At the Gate of Time... Sailor Pluto finished repairing one more rift, and was about to go to the next one when she felt the timestream starting to shift again. But this time, she noticed that it was readjusting itself to its previous course. She sighed relieved, knowing that somehow, the problem was finally solved. She was about to turn around and check the current events when she sensed a disturbance in the mists. She grabbed Eternity to fend the intruder, and was about to attack when she identified the figure approaching her. She relaxed, and addressed the new arrival. "Well, it's about time you came here. How long do you planned to let me repair all the damage all by myself?" "I apologize, Pluto. But there was a lot for me to do back at my base." Said Galos. He then surveyed the surrounding area. "For the looks of it, it seems that you have everything under control." "I wish I could say it's all my doing, but the timestream shifted to its original course by itself. I was about to check what happened when you arrived." Said Sailor Pluto. She then added. "Care to join me?" "It will be an honor, Sailor Pluto." Said Galos, bowing at her. "Please, lead the way." Sailor Pluto bit a remark, and followed by the Commander, she stood in front of the Gate. Aiming Eternity at it, she concentrated, and opened the Gate, summoning the images she wanted to see. Galos stared at her during the whole procedure, and when she finished, he couldn't stop himself from commenting. "So, you finally reached your Senshi status... Congratulations. That new outfit looks really good on you." Sailor Pluto blushed for a brief moment, but regained her composure almost immediately. "Thank you, Galos. Now, shall we concentrate in the matters at hand?" Without more comments, both began to see what appeared on the Gate. Some time later, the replay of the events finished. "So... it seems that our mysterious benefactor is true to his/her word." Said Sailor Pluto. "It looks like it." Said Galos. "But what really disturbs me, is that he/she got hold of some very high-level information in the form of those cartridges. I don't like it." "You have something in mind, Galos. What is it?" "I'm not sure, Pluto. And that's something I hate. Not knowing... That's the worst thing for me to endure." "I don't envy you. But you can't know everything." Said Sailor Pluto. "I'm aware of that." Said Galos, half-smiling. "But that doesn't mean I can't try, don't you think? Anyway... what do you think is going on now?" "Let's see, shall we?" With that, Sailor Pluto concentrated again, and the Gate began to display the actual events. They watched the happy reunions that were taking place in the Medical ward. "Looks that everything is under control now." "I don't know... something's not right..." said Galos. "I have the feeling that something is out of place, but I can't put my finger on it." Sailor Pluto frowned slightly, and replayed the whole scene. This time, she too got the same impression, but unlike Galos, she found out what was wrong. "I got it. Yohann's going to the supermarket." "Well... yes, he said so. But what's so strange about it?" asked Galos, puzzled. "Don't you see? If he has those replicators, why does he need to go out and BUY anything? He can replicate whatever he needs." Finished Pluto. Galos froze in his place, finally understanding the implications. He paled perceptibly, and turning around to look at Sailor Pluto, he said. "It can't be... he's not planning... just what he don't have to do, he is planning to do! That... that... Maverick!!!"" "He's your adoptive son, Galos. What do you expected?" asked Sailor Pluto, not being able to resist saying a remark anymore. Galos mumbled a string of curses that were too low for Pluto to hear; after a few minutes, he took his clock out of his pocket, and sent a command back to Moon Rider. A moment later, three spherical probes appeared, and zoomed through the Gate of Time. "Perhaps I can't act directly, but that doesn't mean I won't keep an eye on him." Said Galos. "Those units will keep me posted on his activities." "Are you sure you want to do that?" asked Pluto. "He may resent that surveillance if he ever finds out about it." "And what kid wants to have his parents watching over his shoulder all the time?" said Galos, sighing. "However, he still is an officer of the MRMA, and has to learn to obey the orders received. I can't allow this lack of discipline to go just like this." "Officers... always going by the book." Said Sailor Pluto, shacking her head. "There's something you want to tell me?" asked Galos, raising an eyebrow. "Nothing in particular." Answered Sailor Pluto. "Anyway, can you keep an eye on the Gate? I have the feeling that I'll be needed back at the base when they find out what Yohann is planning. Especially Robin. She's not going to like it one bit." "Go ahead, Pluto. I'll be able to receive the data of the probes here. And be careful... anything could happen now." "I know. That's why I have to be there. See you later." With that, Sailor Pluto crossed the Gate. * * * * Everybody had gathered at the living room after they made sure all the patients were fine. With the aid of Technuma and Robin, all of them were on the path of recuperation. That left the Team with only one thing to solve. "Well... that surely is interesting, Rei." Said Haruka. "Letting your grandfather see you transform without you noticing it is really illustrating." "Calm down, everyone. The last thing we need is to have a war right now." Said Luna. "At least, that solves one point. We don't have to worry about him knowing what are we doing here. We can tell him right away." "You're right, Luna." Said Artemis. "And since Yuuichiro knew about Rei's other identity too, that only leaves us with Mr. and Mrs. Aino to worry about." "I'm not sure how they're going to take it." Said Minako. "They can be pretty protective, you know? When they find out that I'm Sailor Venus, and before that, Sailor V..." She shuddered at the thought. "I'll be lucky if I'm grounded until the founding of Crystal Tokyo!" "Come on, they can't be that bad!" said Laurella. "Nope... they're worse." Said Artemis. "One thing, though. They are very understanding. Personally, I don't think there could be any trouble whatsoever." "And I'm glad to hear you approve how we are, Artemis." Everybody turned around, and gasped when they saw Mr. and Mrs. Aino standing next to the garden entrance. Next to them were the Tsukinos, grandpa Hino, Yuuichiro, Dr. Mizuno and Technuma, along with Robin. "I still can't believe that you all are the famous Sailor Scouts, and that my daughter was an active member of you even before we returned to Japan," continued Mr. Aino, "but that doesn't mean that we can't understand you, Minako." Minako looked at them, aghast. "Father... Mother... I..." "Don't say anything, dear." Said Mrs. Aino. "When you all left, me and your father couldn't stand the curiosity anymore, and began to ask. Dr. Mizuno and Dr. Redwing, along with Robin, decided that it would be better to tell us everything." "It was that, or let them live a lie." Said Akane. "I put myself on their shoes, and hated the idea of being fooled." "Also, it was a little hard to explain the kind of equipment we were using." Added Robin. "After all, there's nothing like that anywhere in the world." Minako was shocked at this point, hardly listening to the things said around her. She blinked a couple of times before reacting again. "But still, you are right in one thing, young lady." Finished Mr. Aino. "You are grounded for not telling us anything! You'll remain in your room studying for the next two weeks... that is, unless an emergency occurs. But you'll have to tell us before going out and defend the world. Is that clear?" Minako slumped on her seat, a huge sweatdrop at the back of her head. She was about to say something, when she saw her parents smirking. Her jaw literally dropped to the floor. "MOM!! DAD!!" "You owed us that much, Minako." Said Mrs. Aino. "Still, you're grounded for a week. And that's final." Minako lowered her head, sighing. She was pretty sure that things couldn't be any worse for her! Famous last words... "Excuse me, but anyone knows where Yohann is?" asked Dr. Mizuno. "We wanted to thank him for what he's done for us, as well as for our daughter." Said Mr. Aino. "The last time I saw him, he told me that he was going to the supermarket." Said Robin. "I'm sure he'll be back soon." "That's strange." Said Ami. "Why does he need to buy anything?" "What kind of question is that? Everybody needs to buy the things they need!" said Makoto. "No, Ami's right." Said Technuma. "Remember. This base is equipped with matter replicators. He doesn't need to get out to buy anything. He just have to replicate it." Nobody said a word after Technuma's comment. Finally, the first one to react was the Guardian. "I'll go and check the base. Can someone check the rest of the house?" "We'll do it." Said Laurella and Shingo, the former going to the first floor, while the later checked the rest. A few minutes later, Laurella returned to the living room. "He's not up there. But his desk was on." "The only thing I found was the car missing." Said Shingo upon his return. In that moment, the intercom activated, and the voice of the Guardian was heard. "Hogosuro here. Ami, please come to the Computers room. There's something you should see here." Ami didn't lose time, and went to the Computers room. She noticed that she was being followed, but didn't mind it. A minute later, she arrived at the place. "What's the matter, Hogosuro?" "Ami... you should better take a look at this." Said the Guardian. He then pointed towards one of the screens. On it, was displayed a message. * SECURITY PROGRAM "DEATHLOCK" ACTIVATED. * INTRUDER PROGRAM DETECTED. * INTRUDER PROGRAM DESIGNATED: A.L.E.X. FRAGMENTED. * QUERY: * DELETE FRAGMENTED PROGRAM (Y/N)? Ami gasped after reading that, and began to work as fast as she could. A couple of minutes later, she had found the compiling sub-program she was looking for, and ran it. "What happened?" asked Usagi. "Ami, what's wrong?" "It's Alex." Said Ami. "According to this, a new program detected and disassembled her! Fortunately, it didn't erase her from the memory bank, otherwise..." "But who could have done that? I thought you, Alex and Yohann had purged all of the base's systems from all of Cauldron's tricks." Said Makoto. "And we did." Said Ami. "I'm at a loss of what happened here..." She was about to say something else when Alex came back online. "Who... what... where... when... Hey, what happened?" asked Alex. "That's precisely what we want to know, Alex." Said Michiru. "Hogosuro found you fragmented in here." "Oh, yes... I can remember now." Began Alex. "I was about to check something when a strange program attacked me all of a sudden. I didn't have time to even defend myself! The next thing I recall, is being reconstructed." "Alex, when we found you, the screen said something about a 'Deathlock' program. Do you have any idea of what is it?" asked Mamoru. "Deathlock?? That's the code of the security program Yohann and I were working with! It's designed to act as a program destroyer against Cauldron. But it's not supposed to be functioning!" said Alex. "It looked pretty functional to me." Said the Guardian. "Fortunately, you were only fragmented, Alex. Here, let me show you the log." The Guardian punched a few commands on the console, but instead of the log, something else was displayed. Yohann's face appeared on the screen. His expression was hardened, and was wearing his armor, minus the helmet. ">If you're looking at this, that means that Deathlock attacked Alex. I want to apologize, but it was necessary. Alex, I'm sorry, but it was I the one that activated it.<" "I can't believe it..." muttered Alex. "But why did he do that?? What did I do wrong to deserve it?? I don't get it..." "> I launched Deathlock to prevent you to mention to others the precise location of the other bases that Cauldron intent to invade, and to do that, Deathlock erased from your memory the data pertaining the location of the remaining bases. Also, I installed a new security lock on the Cryssalid files, so no one can learn the location as well. I calculate that Ami could take at least a month of continuous calculations to crack the codes, and Deathlock is guarding them, so you can't access them as well, Alex. One point I want to make clear, is that I can't trust you for not following me to where I have to go...<" "What is he talking about? He was the one that asked for our help in the first place!" said Haruka. "And now he says he can't trust us?? That's insane!" ">While I was working on my armor, I overheard the conversation you all held. And I reached a conclusion. I can't allow you to be subjected to the madness that is Cauldron anymore. Therefore, I decided to begin a series of fast strikes at the last bases located on Earth. I assume that Cauldron won't be able to gain more power if he only faces me. Therefore, the safest thing to do... is for me to fight him alone.<" "This isn't possible... he can't be serious..." muttered Robin, mesmerized. ">Technuma... Sir, you are right. I've been foolish by endangering the girls unnecessarily. This has been my job from the beginning, and I agree with you. I can't keep sending them into harms way. They are needed on this planet, and I plan to fulfill all the promises I made to them. First, I'll fight to the very end to protect their future. Second, I'll do whatever is in my hand to make myself worthy to return to your daughter's side. As I am now, I can't even look at her. She deserves the best this universe can offer her, and I am not that. I've been selfish, putting my mission first... instead of her happiness. I'm sorry Robin... I feel deep in my heart that I'm hurting you, but I want you to understand that this is the best for you.<" "No, I don't understand! I don't care what you say! You can't leave me just like that! You wanted our help!" cried Robin, denying with her head. She closed her fists in an attempt to control her emotions. ">Also, I don't have words to apologize for what happened to your families, girls. They are innocent victims, whom didn't deserve to be involved in all this madness. I'm glad that Technuma was able to help them, but no matter what you said Robin... I didn't do a thing, besides endangering them. That single fact turns me into nothing more than a monster... just like Cauldron. ">I also took the precaution to lock the controls of the Leviathan, so you won't use it to track me. This is my war... not yours. I can hear you going back to the laboratory, so it's almost time for me to go, but not before saying one more thing. ">In case I don't make it back, I prepared a sub-program inside Deathlock. It will initiate the process to transfer the property of this place to you, Robin. Also, I want to ask one favor to you all: if this happen, destroy all the data inside the computers, and if possible, the base as well. No trace of my presence has to remain. Sonya, Hogosuro... take care of the girls for me, and if possible, try to contact our main base. I'm sure you understand the reasons. Alex... I'm sure you'll be happy with Ami. Take care of her, please. ">Well, it's time. Goodbye, everyone.<" The screen went blank after that. The ensuing silence was impressive, all presents in shock because of what they just witnessed. Suddenly, Robin ran out of the Computers room in direction of the Hangar. At the same time, Ami, Sonya and Alex began to check the computers, all the while the Guardian went to the Weapons Test Center and the Storage room. The rest remained where they were, incapable of moving. "He's right! I can't access the files!" said Ami a minute later. "There's a very heavy security system in there!" "And Deathlock is keeping watch! I'm not going to risk facing that thing again!" said Alex. "Also, all references about the decoding of the files has been erased from my memory!" In that moment, the Guardian entered the place. "A lot of heavy weaponry and supplies are missing." Laurella, Shingo, Mamoru and Usagi looked at each other, and as one, headed towards the Hangar. They weren't too surprised to see Robin trying to open the Leviathan's access hatch. Slowly, they approached her, trying not to disturb her. Robin tried once more the access code, and again, the hatch didn't open. "Open up! Open up, dammit! You have to let me in! I have to follow him! I have to follow him...!" she then began to pound at the hatch. "Robin..." Usagi tried to approach her friend, but Robin turned around and faced her, her face tear-stricken. "Usagi... Laurella... you know how I feel... You too have gone to regain your loved ones... you have to help me open this thing... He can't do this alone... He needs me by his side..." "Yes... we understand you, Robin." Said Laurella. She and Usagi then took Robin with them, and in the company of Shingo and Mamoru, guided her towards her room. Nobody noticed when Setsuna entered the house, and watched them climbing the stairs. She shook her head, closing her eyes. 'This is going to be worse than I anticipated.' Setsuna then opened her eyes, and walked towards one of the base's entrances. TO BE CONTINUED...