Rewrite because upon reflection, a few things weren't clear enough or I 
wasn't happy with. One Shot because I really don't have anything else to do 
with this aside from a few vauge ideas.

Dedicated to Ben Oliver, who's Heart of Sugar Gave me the idea.

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi. No money is being 
made from this fic and no such intent should be inferred.

**************************
"Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is 
shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods." 
-- Albert Einstein
**************

Minako Aino sat up in bed and looked out the window at the newly risen sun as 
its light reflected off the facets of the utopia that was Crystal Tokyo. It 
was over, she realized. The prophecies and their foretellings of the future 
had run out. There was no way to tell what would happen from here on out. 

"Gad, I'm bored," she said.

*******
One week later...

Conrad Howard raised an eyebrow as the stack of data crystals thudded onto 
the desk. Conrad was a tall, skinny young man with brown hair tied back in a 
ponytail and brown eyes. His lips were turned slightly upwards at some joke 
that only he seemed to know. He was a genius at creating new technologies out 
of seemingly irrelevant objects and energy sources. Technically, he worked 
for Ami, but Conrad was fiercely independent and Ami had long ago given up 
trying to actually direct him and had settled for trying to make sure he 
didn't blow up the palace.

His lab was a hodgepodge of crystal devices and nineteen through early 
twenty-first century technology. Parts and assembly equipment were scattered 
in a seemingly unorganized mess. On top of a computer tower an iguana 
perched. It's name was Iggy, which Conrad claimed was short for Enstien.

Conrad and Minako had a relationship that baffled the other senshi. It was 
more than friendship, but not romantic and as near as they could tell, never 
had been. Their conversations/arguments were often about things that 
apparently had happened in their mutual past while Minako was in England, and 
that they refused to explain to the others. The other senshi never mentioned 
it, but it bugged them that there was a part of Minako's past that they knew 
nothing about.

"Let's see here," Conrad mused, picking a crystal at random from the stack 
and reading the label. "Ranma, Tenchi, Utena, Ruroni Kenshin and...F Three?" 
Blushing, Minako grabbed the crystal from his hand. "A gift? I'm flattered, 
Mina-chan."

"It's not a gift," she replied. "I want to enter these."

"Enter?" He stared at the stack for a moment and then looked back at her. 
"No. No way in hell am I going to be responsible for another Cathedral."

"That was totally different!" Minako shouted. "The bear catching fire and the 
totaling of the Millennium Dome was a completely separate incident.

"If that's true, why did the bobbies keep coming by my flat to ask questions 
about it? Do you have any idea how long how I had to listen to my dad give me 
hell?"

"Bother the cops!" Minako slammed her hand down onto the table surface. "Now 
will you help me get into these?"

"Why do you want to get into them?"

"Because I'm bored. Almost all of these ended badly or ambiguously. Somebody 
should do something about it so that everything is fixed and all the 
wrongdoers have been punished."

"That's a novel reason to violate the fabric of space-time," he observed in a 
sardonic tone. "Why don't you go ask Ami to help you?"

"Ididshesaidno," Minako muttered.

"I see..." Conrad picked up a handful of data crystals and stared at them. 
"I'll think about it."

Three days passed and Minako returned to the lab to find Conrad hunched over 
a lab table, soldering a device about the size of a calculator together. Next 
to him was a large cylinder upon which was mounted a vertical drum. Set into 
slots were her data crystals.

"Is that..."

"Yep." He closed the device up and turned it over. The cover opened like a 
book, revealing a few keys, a small two inch screen and a rectangular button. 
He pointed at the keys. "This one determines your location, this one allows 
you to call home, and the big one will get you out, or if you're here, send 
you in. In theory. It might also send you to another world. There's no way to 
tell."

"Great!" Minako said and transformed into Venus before mashing the button 
with her thumb. A glow surrounded her, the drum spun, Venus vanished, and 
then the drum collapsed into slag, scattering the thousands of crystals all 
over the floor. Conrad raised an eyebrow at that. He had cobbled it together 
from spare parts taken from broken equipment and hadn't bothered to test 
them. It was only for show, after all. But still...it was amazing what a 
teleporter, some crystals and a sense of humor would get you. 

He chuckled to himself. Tearing a hole in the fabric of space time to travel 
to other dimensions/universes was only theoretically possible. Hell, even 
Crystal Tokyo technology could only warp space-time, allowing time travel or 
teleportation. But that was about it.

After a few seconds passed, Conrad picked a com off the desk and dialed 
Venus' private com code. "So, Venus, how do you like sitting in the palace 
cafeteria's sushi bar?" No response. "Venus? Minako?" No response. "Computer; 
Locate Sailor Venus." 

"Working...Sailor Venus not found."

"System Wide Search."

"Working." Several minutes passed before the computer spoke. "Sailor Venus 
not found."

"Expand search. Widest parameters. Authorization is Howard Alpha one Cee." 
Minako had fought with Makoto like mad to get him that clearance, which was 
just a step below the Senshi themselves and two steps below the Royal Family. 
"Poke your nose into the Queen's private chambers if you have to."

"Working." "Almost thirty minutes passed before it delivered it's verdict. 
"Sailor Venus is not within scanning range."

Conrad stared at the spot where Venus had been, vaguely remembering, during a 
late night work session, of fashioning a crystal matrix and installing it 
into the transport device.

Was it possible? Could Venus have... "You have got to be freakin kidding 
me..." He flipped the switch on the com. It was after midnight, but there was 
no help for it. "This is Doctor Howard. All Senshi come to lab F Nine. 
There's...a problem."

*******
Neo-Queen Serenity and her husband, King Endymiyon were the last to arrive. 
Unlike the others, who were still rubbing sleep from their eyes, the royal 
couple was awake and one look at Endymiyon's face told Conrad why.

"Where's Minako?" the queen asked, looking around.

"That's why I called the Senshi together, My Queen. I wouldn't have 
interrupted your sleep, or," here he threw a look at Endymiyon that spoke 
volumes, causing the king to glower, "whatever else you might have been 
doing. To make a long story short, Venus has gone missing."

"Missing?" Makoto repeated. The others were instantly awake. 

"How?" Haruka demanded.

Conrad explained Mina's request and his intention to foil it by dropping her 
into the sushi bar. "I usually work at night and I guess my mind was 
wandering. Happens sometimes," he finished. "Anyways, we have to find her."

Rei leaned over to Ami. "Ami, is it possible to do what he said?" she 
whispered. "Breach the...whatever fabric?"

"I do not know," Ami whispered back. "Our minds work differently." She gave 
her friend a helpless shrug. "I am a doctor, not a quantum physicist."

"What do you mean, you don't know where she is? I thought you knew 
everything," Haruka sneered.

"I told you. I created what was supposed to be a teleporter matrix. Maybe I 
misplaced a decimal point on the fifth line or something while I was thinking 
about something else. Genius works like that. The point is, I never installed 
any way to track her and the transporter has no guidance circuits." He 
scooped up a handful of data crystals. "Every work of fiction from every part 
of the world going back twenty-five hundred years in on these crystals. Every 
anime, TV show, movie, comic, manga, Video Game and Book. Even though some of 
them offer only a glimpse, each one is a world, a full fledged universe unto 
itself. There's no way to tell where...hell, when she is. I'm sorry, but I 
think she's gone."

"You little shit," Haruka snarled, starting forward, hands outstretched. She 
and Conrad had gotten along like Usagi and Rei, but unlike them, whose 
rivalry had become friendship, neither one showed any signs of warming up to 
the other. In fact, Haruka was moving towards him more out of a desire to 
remove him from the world then any real anger at Minako's disappearance.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Neo-Queen Serenity asked, freezing Haruka 
in her tracks. "Surely there must be something you can try."

Conrad stared at her helplessly, and then his gaze dropped. Not the revealing 
cut of her gown, but to the scepter topped with a multifaceted crystal that 
she held. He stared at it a moment, then looked up and straight at Hotaru. 
His eyes took on a peculiar look and they could almost see circuits being 
designed in the brown orbs. "Maybe...maybe there is a way." He pointed at the 
crystal. "I'll need that, Setsuna's henshin wand, Hotaru, her henshin wand, 
and a whole lotta luck."

"What the hell does Hotaru have to do with this?" Haruka asked as Conrad 
began to move around the lab.

"Because she and Venus are linked," Conrad replied.

"Linked?" Michiru asked. 

"Each of the Inner Senshi's powers reflect a particular aspect of the Chinese 
Elemental Compass. Fire, Water, Air, Wood, Spirit, and Metal, if memory 
serves."

"So?" Haruka asked.

"So, Venus is also known as the Senshi of Love and Saturn is the Senshi of 
Death."

"And how the bloody fuck does that make them linked?"

"Let me put it another way. Suppose your death would mean the difference 
between Michiru living or dying. Would you sacrifice your life so that she 
could live?"

"Of course," Haruka replied without hesitation.

"Why?"

"Because...I love her," Haruka said, understanding dawning. 

"Exactly. And since you're all linked by the Ginzinhozu or whatever you call 
it, there might be a way to piggy back a line of communication on that link. 
We might not be able to get her home, but at least we can talk to 
her...assuming this doesn't kill one or both of them because of the mental 
shock."

"What?" If you think we're going to let Hotaru-"

"I want to do it, Papa," Hotaru said. Her eyes were frightened, but she stood 
tall and was making an attempt to be brave.

"But...Hotaru..."

"My purpose is to destroy," the frail girl said softly. "Almost all my powers 
are intended to hurt...or kill. If they can also be used to help, I'll do it. 
Even if it means my life." She faced Conrad. "What do I have to do?"

"For now? Go back to sleep. All of you. Building this mother is gonna take a 
while."

*******
Conrad hadn't been kidding. It was almost a week before he sent for Hotaru. 
The lab had been completely altered. In the center of the room was a long bed 
mounted on a pedestal. A large crystal disk mounted on a long metal rod was 
jutted out from the pedestal and then curved up and over the bed like a 
vulture. A one end, Neo-Queen Serenity's scepter and Setsuna's henshin wand 
were mounted on a headboard and thick cables ran from the pedestal to other 
pieces of equipment scattered across the room.

At his station, Conrad was dipping a wire into a cup of tea, then removing 
the wire, taking a sip, then placing the wire back into the cup. 

As Hotaru, Michiru and Haruka entered the room, Ami approached them carrying 
a tray of tools and equipment. "Sit down, Hotaru-chan," she said softly. Once 
Hotaru sat, Ami pushed back her hair and swabbed the area behind Hotaru's 
left ear, her jaw, and then down her neck to her shoulder with gel and then 
picked up a large plate that had been shaped to fit the space she had just 
swabbed and pressed it to Hotaru's face. The plate began to move, forming 
it's shape to the area Ami had covered in Gel. Then she felt pinpricks up and 
down her face.

"There," Ami said softly, "that will allow us to monitor your vital signs. 
Follow me." The blue-haired woman led Hotaru over to the bed and indicated 
that she should sit. Conrad set the cup down with the wire still in it, and 
came over.

"Henshin wand." She handed hers to him and he set it into the headboard 
opposite Setsuna's. Then he picked up a glove and a crescent moon shaped 
piece of red crystal. The glove was fingerless and on the back was a circular 
piece of circuitry. "Left hand," he said, handing her the glove. She pulled 
it on as he fitted the crystal visor over her eyes. "This is going to be a 
bit like virtual reality," he told her. "See that circular patch on your 
glove? Once you're in, it should look to you like a circular patch of 
crystal. Double tapping it like this," he tapped the circular patch twice 
very fast, "will bring you back here, so to speak. Once you find Minako, tell 
her to activate the transporter." He picked up a wire and plugged one end to 
the headboard and the other into the crystal visor as he described the 
transporter's controls. Another wire he plugged into the glove itself. 
"Remember, we won't know what will happen until you come back. We can't 
monitor what you see and hear. You ready?" Hotaru nodded. "Lie down and get 
comfortable." Turning he moved back beyond the arms and sat down at a control 
panel. "All right, focus your thoughts on Minako and don't think about 
anything else."

Hotaru closed her eyes and pictured Minako in her mind. How she looked, 
sounded and smelled.

"You have it?" she heard him ask.

"Yes."

"Okay, now hold onto that visual, you're going in on three. One, Two,"

"We love you, Hotaru!" Michiru shouted over the rising hum of machinery. 

"Three!" For Hotaru, a loud roaring sound fill her ears and she felt herself 
fall into a cold void.

For the others, the crystal flared with white light and Hotaru went limp.

"She's gone into a state of REM sleep," Ami said from another station.

"Now what?" Makoto asked.

"We wait," Conrad said softly. "Once she comes out of it-"

"She better come out of it," Haruka growled.

"-we should know more," Conrad continued as though Haruka hadn't spoken.

"Wonder what she'll find," Makoto said.

***************
Opening her eyes, Hotaru found herself standing in a room full of people. She 
was dressed in her Senshi uniform and holding her glaive. Glancing down at 
her left hand, she saw that the glove with the crystal disc was on her hand 
over the glove of her uniform. She gazed around the room once more. All of 
the people were dressed in strange clothing, many repeating the same action 
over and over, or simply staring at the walls, ceiling or floors. And then 
she looked behind her. Sitting on the floor, staring at her in wide-eyed 
terror, was Venus.

"Hello, Venus-san," Hotaru said, bowing. "What is this place?" Venus opened 
her mouth to say something when one of the other people in the room walked 
through Hotaru as though she wasn't there.

AHHHHHHH!" Venus shrieked and then began grabbing whatever she could lay her 
hands on and throwing it at Hotaru. Within seconds, two burly men dressed as 
hospital orderlies ran in, grabbed Venus and hauled her out. Hotaru stood 
there for a moment before realizing that she wasn't being taken with them and 
hurried out, following Venus' shrieks.

*******
Hotaru stared at sleeping, strapped-down form of Venus as she lay on the bed 
in the small room. By looking around and listening to the conversation of the 
men, and other conversations she had overheard as the men had dragged the 
shrieking Venus to this room, Hotaru had determined that they were in 
America, a place called L.A. The year was nineteen ninety-seven, and this was 
a mental institution. She had also determined that she was invisible, 
inaudible, and immaterial.

On the bed, Venus groaned and her eyes fluttered open. Hotaru held her finger 
to her lips for silence. "Venus, what..." she trailed off as voices were 
heard from the other side of the door. Moments later, the panel slid back and 
they could see several faces peering in.

"And as an interesting parallel to Ms. Conner," said an authoritative voice, 
"we have this young lady, an partial amnesiac, who answers only to Venus. In 
this case, unlike Ms Conner's Paranoia Dementia, which leads her to believe 
in the arising of sentient robots which will wipe us all out,  Venus has 
Senile Dementia, or believes she is a super hero." There were a few chuckles. 
"She was picked up in downtown Los Angeles attempting to stop a mugging by 
attempting to catch him with a 'Venus Love Chain'. Some kind of energy chain. 
Naturally, it didn't work. She is strapped down as she suddenly began 
shrieking during her recreation period and then began throwing various 
objects. When the orderlies came in, she became violent, insisting that there 
was a young lady standing in front of her holding a weapon. She was taken 
back to her room, sedated, and strapped down for her own safety. Treatment so 
far has been mild sedation and sessions with a therapist. Now in the next 
room is a young man who believes he is a creature known as an 'Arby Fish'." 
The panel closed and the voices faded away.

Hotaru stared at the floor for a moment, absorbing what she had just heard.

"Who are you?" Venus asked softly.

"My name is Hotaru. I am a Sailor Senshi, like you." Venus stared at her. 

"Ho...taru?"

"Yes, yes."

"What's a Senshi?"

"That is unimportant. I am here to get you out of here."

"Out of here?"

"Yes." Hotaru looked around. "Where is your transporter?"

"What's a transporter?"

"You had it with you. It opens like a book and had a screen and some buttons 
under the cover."

"Oh, you mean this?" Venus held it up for Hotaru to see. "I made it disappear 
before I went after those muggers. Wish I knew why I did. Go after the 
muggers I mean."

"I can't answer that. Open it up and press the big button. Or do you want to 
stay here?"

"No." With only one hand, Venus fumbled open the device. Looking up, she 
found that Hotaru had disappeared. She frowned. Odd girl, and even weirder 
that Venus felt that she should know her.

She pressed the button.

*******
Hotaru opened her eyes to find herself seeing the world through red crystal. 
Her head hurt and even through the visor the lights from the crystals over 
the bed were almost blinding. Letting out a groan, she closed her eyes again. 
Moments later, she felt Michiru's arms encircle her and moments later, the 
import of what she had seen came crashing down on her and Hotaru began to cry.

"Hotaru? What's wrong?" Haruka asked.

"She doesn't remember, Papa. She doesn't know who she is!"

            #############

Seeking to further the cause of Justice, Minako Anio, Sailor Venus, ripped a 
hole in the fabric of space-time with untested technology....

And vanished.

She awoke in another world, her Senshi powers limited, her memories in 
fragments, and driven by an strange desire to change each world for the 
better.

Her only guide on this journey is Hotaru, who claims to be a Senshi like 
herself, and manifests in the form of a vision that only Minako can see and 
hear.

And so, the Senshi travels from world to world, striving to put right all the 
wrongs and hoping that the next time she presses the button on the 
transporter...

That it will take her home...
            #############

*************
Steve "Komodo" T.
                     ***
Today's Fortune Cookie: (Or: Helping People Out)
*grabs a shotgun* Live free or die!
...
*pumps the shotgun* I said "Live free or die"!
...
*takes aim* I don't think you're living free enough!
-The Fool, Avalon Forum
www.avalonhigh.com

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