Makoto Kino was angry.

      Not just angry, furious.

      After searching the palace for five hours, she still hadn't found any clue as to Shinju's whereabouts. On top of that, Michiru had refused to see her, stating that there was an "emergency" currently in progress.

      'Damn her. Damn them all!' Makoto's fist slammed into the wall, leaving a small indent in the otherwise beautifully decorated hallway. Her knuckles had turned a fiery red, but she let the arm drop to her side, her expression emotionless.

      "Elder Jupiter! Elder Jupiter!" the call was frantic and insistent, with a tinge of something else. Panic, was it?

      "What is it?" she said rather calmly, unusual for her current state, turning her head in the direction of the frenzied servant. The name of the man was on the tip of her tongue, but after a few moments of trying to remember it, she shrugged resignedly. Her hand reflexively looked for the cigarettes that she kept in her pocket. Unfortunately, the pack had been used up long ago.

      "I'm not sure." He wrung his hands, and gave her a pathetically confused glance. "Elder Mars told me to find you immediately. She says it's very important..."

      Makoto frowned slightly, but still continued her previous actions, which consisted of staring at the servant and thinking that he looked just like her s--

      "Damn," she muttered, looking cross. She hadn't had a thought like that in over 25 years...

      "E-Elder Jupiter?" He had turned a very odd shade of gray. "P-please... I don't want the General to be angry with me."

      Makoto sighed then and nodded, and the man looked like he was going to fall to his knees and give thanks. "Look, you're fine. No one's going to hurt you."

      She walked purposely past him, causing him to have to run to catch up. She inclined her eyes in his direction, frown creasing her forehead.

      "Now tell me, what is actually going on?"

      A large burst of energy sent another piece of the compound flying, along with several Guard Senshi. Hotaru frowned, noticing the large tear in her leather jacket as she dusted herself off.

      "Elder Saturn! I lay my life before you!" A man of stature more petite than Hotaru's threw himself at her feet, throwing his arms outward in a "You are my Goddess! Do with me what you will!" gesture.

      After a few moments of silence, the man looked up to see Hotaru's Silence Glaive inches from his forehead, in a pose he found frighteningly familiar.

      "I-I'll just go now," he stumbled away from her, on hands and knees, and sobbed with relief when the sigil of Saturn on her forehead slowly died away and she stopped looking at him.

      'A disgrace,' she thought, anger draining out of her. She shook her head, and continued further into the compound on her quest to find and aid Emmeline.

      Truthfully, Neo-Jupiter was doing just fine on her own. In fact, she was doing more than fine. Half of the attacking Senshi had already been wiped out, and the last few brave ones that remained were faced with Emmeline's growing irritation.

      "Idiots," she hissed, amber eyes smoldering. "Are you so eager for death? Run away while you still can...."

      A particularly brave, and rather handsome "idiot" took a hesitant step forward, and raised a hand in her direction.

      "Sailor Neo-Jupiter, please, listen to reason. Something has happened to you... can't you see that? Doctor Gurio can help..."

      Emmeline laughed suddenly, the familiar smirk appearing on her face. "Really, dear, you shouldn't try to say anything intelligent. You're just here to be seen.. not heard. That goes for all of you males," She sent a mock-stern look at the rest of the men. "Of course, you ugly ones," here she gestured at a small man with a pronounced belly, "should be locked up in a little hole, never to be seen again."

      "E-excuse me?" The handsome one blinked, then maintained a firmer grip on his gun. "I'll only give you one more warning, Emmeline-san..."

      Emmeline scowled at him. Come to think of it, she really didn't want to kill him. 'I dated him at one time, didn't I? Now what was his name... Hotohori? No, that was the narcissist. Kurama? No, that was--'

      "Need some help?"

      Emmeline half-turned, and raised an eyebrow when she saw who it was. "Ah.. the enigmatic Hotaru Tomoe. It's been awhile, Saturn..."

      It was at about this point that one of the Guard Senshi let off a shot. This seemed to be an invitation for the others to have a go at it as well and all five of the remaining guards began shooting wildly, their bullets riccocheting off the steel-enforced doorframe, and
penetrating the side walls.

      One stray bullet happened to graze Emmeline's arm, and she dove, cursing, behind the two-way mirror she had previously blown a hole through. Hotaru, on the other hand, calmly raised her arm, and whispered, "Silent Wall."

      Immediately, intertwining strings of violet tinged energy began formulating into an invisible shield. When the shield was fully in place, Hotaru glanced at Emmeline and asked, "Once you're finished cowering, would you mind telling me what you'd like to do with these people? It seemed you were having a detailed conversation with one of them before I came in."

      Emmeline scowled once again, this time directing it at Hotaru, and stared into the other woman's violet eyes, looking for the hint of sarcasm. "I wasn't cowering," she sniffed, finally, "And that guy was my old sempai... My.. wha?" She screwed her eyes shut, clutching her head. 'He... was right...'

      "Emmeline no baka."

      She looked up at Hotaru's calm face, mouth agape. "Did you... what did you just say?"

      Hotaru sighed. "Can we save this for after we get out of here? Now, I think everyone would appreciate it if you would do something about them..." She gestured to the Guard Senshi, who were still firing their guns aimlessly.

      "Before any of them remembers any other attack methods."

      Emmeline staggered to her feet, ignoring the blood that had soaked the side of her fuku, and glared at the men. They suddenly stopped firing, and each fell back a few paces, looking nervous.

      "Neo-Jupiter... Dark Rain... Annihilation!"

      It was almost as if a black cloud had formed over the men's heads, because suddenly rain fell from the center of the room in sheets, punctuated by a crack of lightning. Several of the men were hit by the white-hot bolts of light, and stumbled, screaming from the room, their guns and prey forgotten.

      The handsome one still remained standing until the very end, however, and even tried a few careful steps towards Neo-Jupiter. Unfortunately, the raging weather in the room wouldn't allow him to defy its will, and finally a piece of hail struck him in the head, and he lay on the ground, unconscious.

      When everything had returned to normal, Hotaru banished the Silent Wall, and gave Emmeline an appraising glance. "Interesting. I had no idea you new Senshi had that kind of power."

      "Well, I... got it from my mother." Emmeline smiled brilliantly, then promptly fainted.

      The meeting was held in Rei's quarters. Other than the two Neo-Senshi, Venus and Mars, Elder Neptune and Elder Jupiter, it was mainly attended by people Rei had never met before. So she was thoroughly peeved when one of them tried to usurp her command.

      "Miss Hokuto," she said coldly, purposely not addressing the woman by her proper title, "I am, and will always be, in command here... and unless Serenity herself comes down here and tells me otherwise, I would suggest that you do not question my authority again."

      Hokuto looked sullen, but nodded slowly, averting her eyes from Rei's.

      'I must think of a proper punishment for that one,' Rei thought, sending a small, twisted smile in the other woman's direction.

      "Rei," Makoto said impatiently, "What the hell is going on?"

      Elder Mars frowned, and cast a disapproving look in Makoto's direction. "I would appreciate you addressing me with my proper title," she said stiffly, then continued, "But really, Jupiter, if I pulled you away from your gardener, I am truly sorry."

      Makoto balled her hands into fists, but remained silent.

      "Now, in response to your so eloquently put question, it seems we have a rogue Senshi on her hands. Minako," she stopped, and the hint of some emotion appeared in her eyes, "Minako is dead."

      Makoto froze, disbelief written clearly across her face. Michiru gave a small frown, still looking intently at Rei, while the two Neo-Senshi clung to each other, their eyes red-rimmed, with a hint of shame due to the comrade who had disgraced them.

      "What? Minako... How is this possible?" Makoto looked pale, then anger left its mark on her with the blush that rose to her cheeks.

      "Who did this?"

      "Elder Venus was found in a sub-basement by Doctor Umino Gurio. Umino-kun then logged it in with our AI." She continued conversationally, "Apparently, she was found with a knife in her chest, and the Senshi known as Neo-Moon holding it."

      "Neo-Moon?" Michiru finally spoke, a soft whisper that gave no clue as to what she was thinking. "Daburu Mizuno, Ami Mizuno's daughter."

      "Yes," Rei agreed, nodding slightly. Anger suddenly flared to life in her eyes. "She is a disgrace to us all. She was my pupil, and I will be more than happy to kill her myself," she said vehemently.

      "No. I don't understand." Makoto eyed Rei, distrustfully. "Why wouldn't Umino have tried to save Minako, if he saw her being killed? And Minako and Daburu," Makoto said, frowning, "they were friends."

      "If you want to see Minako's body," Rei said curtly, "go to the morgue. I'm going after the girl. Who is coming with me?" She turned to the silent Neo-Senshi. "You?" She glanced over at Michiru, Hokuto, and the others. "You? Or will I avenge Minako Aino on my own?"

      "We'll come with you," Neo-Mars spoke up suddenly, sounding choked with emotion. "We must bring Daburu to justice." Neo-Venus nodded grimly in agreement.

      "I will come with you as well," Michiru said softly. "As will Lady Hokuto, and the others. We will not let the girl go unpunished."

      "Very good," Elder Mars smiled, truly a mere baring of the teeth. "I will meet you outside of the palace. I know the girl has already begun to attempt her escape.."

      Daburu had been dreaming. It wasn't a particularly pleasant dream, just one that seemed to whisper at her from all sides. The smells, sights, and words hauntingly familiar....

      "Daburu, you mustn't give up hope. We need you..."

      There. That voice was unknown.. as was the body that went with it. She squinted, trying, in vain, to see more than the blurry outline of a dark-skinned woman with green hair...

      "You didn't do this to Minako...."

      The words, however, to Daburu's ears, sounded more like "You killed Minako.."

      It was around this time that she woke up.

      "A replica?" Shinju said incredulously, echoing Iroiro's earlier words.

      She nodded. "Yeah. Her double. But, anyway, I've been told that her double doesn't look much like her..."

      "I've heard the same."

      Shinju and Iroiro spun around in unison, Shinju ending up with an expression of pain on his face from his wound, while Iroiro's mouth slowly spread into a brilliant smile.

      The owner of the brusque, vaguely feminine voice, was a woman who matched it perfectly. Short sandy blond hair blew across her face, and she stared at them with an expression somewhere between a smirk and a frown.

      "Wow! The legendary Haruka Tenou!" Iroiro said eagerly, looking delighted. "I was wondering when you'd show up. Anyway, what do you know about the double?"

      Haruka turned away, but not before an expression of deep sorrow broke through the hard mask. She raised her right hand, limply, and it was clasped by someone standing in the shadows.

      The man stepped out, his expression mirroring Haruka's. His long black hair that was tied back into a ponytail almost trailed along the ground.

      "We believe... the double to be me."

Author's Notes:
I'm definitely a Haruka/Michiru relationship fan... but the reasons behind the new Haruka/mysterious-guy, (anyone care to make a guess as to who the guy is? ;P) oh, yes, and the Rei-explains-why-she's-a-bitch segment, is forthcoming..;)

Anyway.. i'm going to bed now before i pass out.. -_-;;