Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Blinded By Science ❯ Battle Of Wits ( Chapter 6 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

BLINDED BY SCIENCE
Chapter 6: "Battle Of Wits"

by Bill K.

"Viluy? But didn't she get eaten up by those thingy-bots of hers?" Usagi asked.

"That's what appeared to happen," Michiru nodded. "Clearly from Rei's vision we were
mistaken to assume that."

"And if Viluy survived, how many of the other Witches' Five survived?" Makoto
proposed. "Maybe Tomoe and that Kaolininte witch are still around, too."

Sensing her sudden distress, Rei came over to Usagi. Usagi had her right hand covering
her left fist and both were pressed to her lips. The girl seemed suddenly pale.

"Usagi?" Rei asked, her hands on the girl's shoulders.

Usagi shook her head. "Just - - bad memories. Kaolinite is dead. I watched Mistress 9
destroy her."

"I saw it, too," Michiru added. "And Dr. Tomoe died at the rest home over two years ago,
during Galaxia's rampage."

"Yeah, and we all watched Mimet get it," Minako said. "And Cyprine and Pikurl killed
each other."

"And I saw Tellu be killed by that plant," Usagi added. "But we saw it happen to Viluy,
too!"

"But in each of the other cases there was a body," Minako told her. "I'm not going to say
for certain that someone like Eudial is gone because I haven't seen a body. Same with Viluy; but
the others are gone."

"Was Viluy capable of building a mechanical person that was that good?" Makoto asked.
"I know she was smart."

"Nobody living in this era could construct an android this sophisticated," Artemis stated
firmly. "I'd stake my reputation on it."

"That's not much of a bet," murmured Minako. Artemis shot her a glare.

"OK, so that makes the important questions these: How did Viluy get to the future to get
this technology; How did she make it back; and did she maroon Ami in a future time or does she
have some sort of futuristic shield that blocks the communicator trace?" Rei asked.

The silence in the room was not encouraging.

"Well this isn't accomplishing anything," Michiru said. She turned and headed for the
door.

"Sorry if we bored you," Makoto grumbled.

"I'm heading for the crater that used to be Infinity Academy," Michiru replied in a
controlled tone. "I don't know what, if anything, I'll find there, but I don't know anyplace else to
start looking. If you'd like to join me, feel free. If you have some other place you'd prefer to start
looking, I wish you a successful hunt."

Without waiting for a response, Michiru continued on for the door.

"I'll come with you," Minako said, heading for the door, too. "You know the old saying:
Four eyes are better than two."

Rei grimaced, but refrained from saying anything. As they were leaving, Rei's
grandfather peeked into the door. Immediately his eyes latched on Michiru.

"Ah, I've never seen you here before!" the old man smiled and blocked Michiru's path,
bowing deeply. "Welcome, pretty lady, to the Hikawa Shrine. Was there anything I could do for
you?"

"No, Sensei," Michiru replied in a tone that was faintly amused by the stubby priest, "I
was just visiting your granddaughter."

"Another one of Rei's friends, huh," he smiled. "That girl sure can pick them lovely."

"Oh, I can see you're a dangerous one," Michiru responded playfully.

"Nah, I'm a pussycat," Grandpa grinned. "You wouldn't be interested in becoming a
shrine maiden, would you?"

"GRAMPA!" fumed Rei.

"Oh, all right," the old man scowled. Michiru exited, twittering her amusement. As
Minako passed, she leaned in close to him.

"You knew she was a lesbian, didn't you?" she whispered devilishly to him.

Grandpa's face fell. "What a loss to men," he clucked.

"Did you want something other than to ogle my friends?" Rei demanded.

"Oh, yes. Ami's mother is on the phone for her. Is she here?"

Usagi, Rei and Makoto exchanged nervous looks.

"Um, no, Grampa, she isn't," Rei began. "Tell her . . ."

"Tell her I'll be over," Usagi chimed in gravely. "Tell her - - I'll explain everything."

"Usagi?" Rei inquired.

"I should do it," Usagi replied.
- - - -
With intense concentration, more so than usual, Ami summoned her henshin stick. She
didn't know why it was harder to summon. Perhaps the band around her throat was affecting
more than just her vocal cords. Perhaps it was something else. When it was finally in her hand,
though, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she heard the pneumatic puff of the door. In the seconds it took for Viluy to enter
the room and fix her gaze on her prisoner, Ami weighed her options. She didn't want to send the
henshin stick back into the limbo it came from. But there were no hiding places for it. She was
in a clear plastic room stripped down to bra and panties. Knowing she couldn't afford Viluy
seeing it, Ami sent it back where it came from.

"You look distressed, Mizuno," Viluy commented. She still wore the white lab coat, but
had changed clothes underneath to a white button front blouse and a close-fitting black knee
length skirt. "Did another one of your escape plans get trumped?"

"You're gloating again," Ami typed.

"Ah, where would I be without you to put me in my place?" Viluy smiled. "Perhaps I'm
surrendering to sentimentality again, but I am enjoying these little jousts between us more and
more. I'm almost regretting how you're destined to end up."

"You don't have to do it," the synthesizer said.

"Ultimately I would have to, simply because you're sure to remain intractable concerning
your allegiance to Sailor Moon." Viluy pressed a hand up against the vinyl partition. "Is there
any hope? Does the possibility exist that you could embrace my way of thinking, even
moderately?"

"Do you want the truth?" Ami typed.

"Always, Mizuno. Never think for one moment that you have to lie to spare my feelings.
I like to think I'm above petty vengeance."

"No."

Viluy looked down, clearly disappointed.

"Just as I predicted," she whispered. "I hoped I'd be wrong for once."

Straightening up, Viluy turned and engaged the video monitor.

"You've duplicated someone else?" the synthesizer asked.

"Yes," Viluy replied. On the monitor was a man in his early sixties looking in a mirror as
he straightened his tie. "This is the replacement for Jurota Kawakami, president of Golden
Fortress Heavy Industries. Kawakami-san has already been disposed of. I spared you the gory
details due to your sensitive nature."

"You need Golden Fortress to mass produce the androids?" Ami typed.

"Of course - - it's far too slow a process to produce them by hand and I have an army to
raise. There's still work to be done, Mizuno. But once everything is in place, Japan will be
overrun before it even realizes what happened to it. And from there, armies of androids will fan
out until all resistance is crushed." Viluy grew solemn. "I will not see my dream come to
fruition. Despite my skill and knowledge, I will not survive to see the end. I know when I'm
destined to die, Mizuno. That was on the playback records, too. I won't see my dream become a
reality."

"Then why do it?" Ami typed.

"Because logic and intellectual superiority is the natural order of things," Viluy replied.
"Whether in humans or androids or a combination of both, that must become the way of things if
this planet is to survive. That's a legacy I must leave to posterity, whether I'm able to see it
happen or not. I owe it to the future."

Viluy returned to the video monitor. Ami put her head in her hands.
- - - -
"You didn't have to come with me," Usagi said to Makoto as they rode up the apartment
building elevator to the penthouse.

"This is going to be hard enough," Makoto replied. "Having a little support will help you
get through it." She shrugged. "Besides I'm not doing anything tonight. And it's not like I've got
any parents worrying about where I am."

Usagi glanced over sympathetically. She reached out and squeezed her friend's hand.

The elevator opened and the two girls stepped out. There was only one door, as there was
only one penthouse in this building. They walked toward it.

"I never get used to how swank this place is. Ami's mom must make a ton of money,"
Makoto mused.

"I wonder if Mamo-chan and I will be living in a place like this in twenty years," Usagi
said, "once he's a successful doctor."

"Is he going to continue with medical school?" Makoto asked.

"Sure. Why not?"

"Well, you two are getting married."

"So?"

"And you're going to art school, right?"

"Yeah?"

"So who's going to earn the paycheck?" Makoto asked.

She glanced over at Usagi. Obviously it was the first time the girl had considered that.
Makoto allowed herself a knowing smirk.

They arrived at the Mizuno front door. Makoto pushed the buzzer. Seconds later Ami's
mother opened the door.

"Has something happened to Ami?" the woman asked, directly and with a touch of frantic
just under the surface.

"W-what makes you think that?" Usagi replied, intimidated by the woman. Makoto
rolled her eyes. She knew you didn't get things past Ami's mother for very long. The woman
was too sharp.

"Come in," Mrs. Mizuno said, realizing her manner was intimidating her guests. "I could
tell by what the priest told me, Usagi. There wasn't much else I could infer from it." They sat
down, Dr. Mizuno staring intently at Usagi. "Please be honest with me. Is this some sort of
Sailor thing? Has something happened to Ami?"

"Yes," Usagi admitted. Makoto was about to speak for her, but pulled back when she
heard Usagi speak. Some admiration for her friend began to grow. "We think - - no, we know
she's been kidnaped."

"By whom?"

"An old enemy of ours. We think it happened yesterday or last night, but it could have
been earlier."

"That's not possible," Dr. Mizuno interjected. "I saw Ami at breakfast just this morning.
So did her father."

"That wasn't her," Makoto spoke up. She found her voice suddenly as timid as Usagi's.
"When she was kidnaped, the enemy put a duplicate in her place. I think Artemis called them
androids?"

"T-that was an-an android?" Dr. Mizuno gasped in shock. The girls feared she was on the
verge of collapse. "But - - it was just like her! I didn't - - I didn't know!" She shook her head
numbly. "I'm her mother. I should have known it wasn't her."

"We'll get her back, Mrs. Mizuno!" Usagi sobbed, kneeling before the older woman and
grasping her by her shoulders. "I promise you, we'll get her back! She's still alive! We know
that for a fact!"

Ami's mother sat there for a few seconds trying to digest this horrible revelation. Usagi
and Makoto looked on helplessly.

"Was it really Ami," Dr. Mizuno whispered, "at graduation?"

"We're pretty sure it was," Makoto assured her.

"Thank goodness for that," the woman said.

"Mrs. Mizuno," Usagi said, her eyes bubbling over with tears, "we're sorry about this."

Dr. Mizuno nodded. "I understand. She's doing this to achieve a greater good. She knew
there were risks." Summoning all her strength, Dr. Mizuno forced a timid smile onto her face
and patted Usagi's arm. "Do what you have to do, Usagi. I'll wait for her." The woman took a
deep breath. "Please excuse me. I have to tell Ami's father."

"Of course," Makoto said while Usagi nodded. The girls quickly headed for the door and
out.

Out in the hall Makoto glanced over at Usagi. The girl was awash with torment.

"Mako-chan," Usagi whimpered, "I pray my parents never have to go through that."

Makoto draped an arm around Usagi and pulled her close.
- - - -
"What are we looking for?" Sailor Venus asked as the pair edged their way around the lip
of the Infinity Academy crater.

Three years after it had been consumed by the collision of energies between Pharaoh 90
and Sailor Saturn, it still sat like an open wound near the bay. For three years the Tokyo
government had tried to hack through the red tape woven by Dr. Tomoe to protect ownership of
the land so they could address the crater. Three years later it remained, the rotting corpse of the
Deathbusters and their evil scheme.

"Some sign of life to indicate Viluy is here," Sailor Neptune replied as she surveyed the
ground, "or was here recently."

"I found a bottle cap," Venus remarked. Neptune looked over to her.

"Does it have Viluy's name on it?" Neptune asked, eyebrow arched.

"No," Venus replied blankly.

"Then throw it back," Neptune said with measured patience.

Venus sighed and began looking around again.

"Can't you use your mirror or something to find out if she's been here?" Venus asked.

"I suppose I could," Neptune answered. "I can't guarantee the results." She summoned
the Deep Aqua Mirror and gazed into it while Venus continued to look around.

"Hey, you're close with Setsuna," Venus murmured as she scanned the ground with her
eyes. "Why do you think she doesn't want to get involved in this?"

"I couldn't say," Neptune replied distantly, focused on the mirror. "I'm sure she has a
good reason."

"But this is Ami! Senshi are supposed to have each others' backs no matter what."

"Setsuna knows what she's doing. I trust her to know the best course, even if I can't see
why she does something."

"Well she could at least tell us."

"I'm sure she has a good reason," Neptune murmured, then came out of her trance.
"Although I wouldn't presume to speak for her."

"No, just Haruka," Venus smirked.

"Only when she's not capable of it herself," Neptune added, smiling at a private joke.
Venus gave her a curious look. "There's no point in looking here any longer. Viluy hasn't been
here since before the academy was consumed."

"You're sure?" Venus posed.

"I can corroborate it."

Neptune turned her head slightly so her right ear was pointed out to the waters of the bay.
She hesitated for a few moments, listening to something only she heard. Venus looked at her
even more curiously.

"The sea confirms it," Neptune said.

"You can talk to the sea?" Venus asked.

"No. The water knows what I want and it tells me."

"What did it say - - glub glub?"

"No," Neptune smiled maliciously. "We've gone way beyond the formal stage."

With that, Neptune turned and headed back up to the surface. Venus stared after her, then
shook her head.

"And Rei thinks I'M weird," Venus grumbled.
- - - -
As Ami sat in her cubicle, she watched Viluy pace. All the while she wished Viluy
would leave and give her a chance to test her latest theory of escape. But the woman lingered.
She seemed reluctant to leave Ami. Did she suspect something? Viluy was certainly bright
enough to interpret a single clue into suspicion.

Or was it something else? She didn't seem suspicious. It was almost like she wanted
Ami for company.

"So tell me, Mizuno," Viluy began, trying to affect a tone that wasn't haughty. "How
have you fared in the last three years? Have you graduated already?"

"Just this week," Ami replied on her computer keyboard.

"You didn't take accelerated graduation?"

"I could have. I wanted to stay with my friends."

"Didn't that retard your intellectual growth?"

"I studied on my own. I've completed nearly half of a college freshman course of study,
except for the tests and the papers."

"Sometimes you so completely astound me," Viluy replied, shaking her head. "So what
college were you off to?"

"Oxford."

"Interesting choice. Won't that separate you from your 'dear friends'?"

"For a time. Sometimes sacrifices must be made."

"Just so," Viluy nodded. "You see, you're not completely hopeless." Her high heels
clicked on the floor as she began pacing again. "Any romantic entanglements?"

"Why do you care?" Ami typed.

"Everything about you interests me," Viluy smiled. "Let's just say I'm interested in how
your evolution compares to mine." The woman ambled back to the cell looking smug. "I
promise I won't tell anyone."

Ami flushed. "There have been a few." She couldn't understand why she confessed that.

"Were any of them your intellectual equal?" Viluy asked. "Or did you succumb to a
momentary attraction to a handsome neanderthal?"

"I consider two of them my intellectual equal," Ami typed furiously, "for what little that
matters."

"And?" Viluy asked, genuinely interested.

"Circumstances," Ami typed haltingly, "prevented anything meaningful." She looked up
and caught sympathy in Viluy's expression. That puzzled her. Viluy instantly slid behind a mask
of disdain. "And you?"

"I couldn't love anyone who was my intellectual inferior," Viluy replied. Ami considered
that an interesting choice of words.

"You didn't succumb to a momentary attraction to a handsome neanderthal?" Ami typed.

Viluy's mouth hardened. "Men aren't worth the trouble," she replied.

Ami looked at her, looked with a gaze that seemed to dissect her. Viluy instantly became
uncomfortable. Her expression hardened.

"Enjoy your time, lab rat," she sneered. "I have work to do." With that Viluy stalked out.

The moment she was gone, Ami summoned her henshin stick. As she waited for it to
appear, though, part of her mind mulled over the last exchange with Viluy.

continued in Chapter 7