Sailor Moon and her friends belong to Naoko Takeuchi. They're used here 
without my permission. Cobalt and the others are mine. Personally, I don't 
mind if you use them but they've threatened to drain all the energy out of 
anyone who tries to make them work extra.

All previous chapters can be found at my website: 
http://www.furinkan.net/fanfic/

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful feedback on the story so far. As I 
noted before,  plot is pretty much final, but corrections, suggestions, and 
any other kind of C&C are very welcome.

----------

	"I hate to keeping coming back to this," Minako began, "But
what if the Starlights hadn't tipped us that Shadow Galactica was
coming? What if they had been killed as 'invaders' or even just run
off before they got the chance to tell us what we were up against?"

	For a second, there was hesitation in both Haruka and
Michiru's faces.

	"We would have annihilated Iron Mouse," Michiru said after a
few seconds hesitation. Haruka nodded in a agreement.

	Neither Minako, Usagi, Mamoru, Artemis, or Luna replied to
Michiru's statement.

	The logical fallacy of the argument was bare and open. After
a few seconds of silence, even Haruka and Michiru began to see it. To
kill Sailor Iron Mouse any of the times she escaped, leaving a Sailor
Monster in her wake, would have required that they either kill the
person who had been involuntarily transformed, or allow it to do more
damage, almost certainly killing others.

	Even if Iron Mouse could have been killed without making that
kind of sacrifice, it would not mean that any of the other Sailor
Animates could have been killed without the Starlights' help.

	Minako, sitting cross-legged in a oversized swiveling lounge
chair looked somewhat like a little girl who was sitting in her
father's favorite seat. The words that came from her mouth, however,
were not the words of a little girl.

	"The Sailor Animates steamrolled us," she said. "Tuxedo Kamen
died. All of the inners died. All of the outers died--" she was
tactful enough not to say how, exactly, all the outers had died, "--
and, in the end, if not for the Sailor Starlights, Sailor Moon
probably wouldn't have survived long enough to confront Galaxia."

	Haruka began to open her mouth. "But--"

	"We were DEAD," Minako repeated, cutting her comrade off. "We
were a complete and total write-up--"

	"Write-off," Mamoru gently corrected.

	"--And the guys you had been harassing as invaders were a big
part of the reason we're here now, chatting so amiably."

	"What if they were hostile?" Haruka argued. "What if they
were here to try to strike at us? What if they had been Galaxia's
spies? What if the *next* set of invaders prey upon our trust? Are
you willing to take that chance with the lives of Earth?"

	"Do the ends always justify the means, Haruka-san?" Usagi
asked. "How can we find out if we can get along with someone new if
we never give them the chance?"

	"You say that we're gambling the lives of Earth," Mamoru
added. "When you boil it down, there are a lot of really nasty people
on Earth. The guy who attacked Rei and Callie last week is a good
example if you need one. With that in mind, how can you assume that
every enemy is one-hundred percent evil?"

	"You always try to reduce it down to those terms," Michiru
accused. "Good and evil! I'm not sure that I believe there is such a
thing. Our notion of 'Good' is what we perceive to be the best way to
preserve our own lives. 'Good' for another race, even refugees like
the Starlights were, might mean the elimination of mankind so that
they can preserve their own lives."

	"Preservation means working together," Luna said.

	She had been strangely silent most of the evening, so her
words seemed to echo through the room even though she was laying on
the floor. Her abdomen was hugely swollen, even more so than a normal
cat's would be even at the very end of pregnancy. Although she looked
like a cat attached to a balloon, nobody brought up this fact.

	"Luna's right," Minako said. "When we fail-- and we have
failed horrifically in the past-- it's always been because we went
our separate ways and did our own things. That was what happened when
we fought the Dark Kingdom, and it was what happened when we fought
Shadow Galactica. If we had started at the very beginning--"

	"YOWLLL!" Luna yelled. Artemis nudged her face curiously with
his nose.

	"--beginning, working to see if we could trust Seiya and his
friends, then we might have lasted longer at the very end, if nothing
else. You okay, Luna?" she finished, changing the subject.

	"I'm fine," the pregnant cat replied in a sheepish tone. "My
babies are active this evening. My poor bladder has turned into a
punching bag."

	"You should have heard her last night," Artemis noted. "She
kept me up all night."

	"What that what that was?" Minako asked. "And there I thought
there was a cat-fight going on in my closet."

	"MEEEYOOOOOOWWWWLLLL!" Luna cried, hopping to her feet.

	Minako cringed, thinking she was going to be attacked for her
quip, but relaxed when she realized that Luna appeared to be frozen.
Her eyes were staring pointedly at a spot three feet behind Minako's
chair and all twenty of her claws were visibly extended.

	"Luna?" Usagi asked in concern.

	"I think that further conversation is going to have to wait,"
Michiru noted. Haruka looked on curiously.

	"Uhh..." Artemis sweatdropped.

	"YEEEOOWWWLLLLLOOOHITHURTS!" Luna screamed.

	"Uhm," Minako noted, a sardonic smile rapidly creeping over
the top of her brooding expression. "I think we better call Ami."

	"DOOOOSOMETHING!!" Luna complained, sinking both sets of
front claws into Artemis's side.

	Unprotesting, the white cat fawned nervously over his mate.
"What's wrong, Luna? Are you hurt? Did you injure yourself?"

	"Calm down, flea-bag," Minako said kindly. "Luna's just gone
to work--"

	"She's gone into labor," Michiru clarified.

	Minako nodded. "I think you're about to be a daddy!"

----------------------------------------
Hidden in Darkness

A Bishojou Senshi Sailor Moon fanstory

by Chris Jones

Chapter 5: The Jester, The General
----------------------------------------

	"Now, lift your arms above your head," Ami commanded.

	Dutifully, Achorite lifted her arms, gasping in pain as the
action started her abdominal muscles moving against each other.

	It was early evening, late enough for Ami to have had time to
get off work and eat dinner before doing her daily checkup on
Achorite. The youma woman had been brutally wounded several days
previously and was still deep in the process of healing from both the
attack that injured her and the surgery that saved her life.

	While it was certainly troublesome to do a be responsible for
a patient who had to keep her identity discreet, especially as
someone in almost exactly the same boat, Ami relished the opportunity
to practice her bed-side skills, something she got very little of
during her day-job.

	"Hmm... You're healing very rapidly, Akie," she noted. making
a mark on her clipboard. "I think you'll be ready to go into physical
therapy by the end of next week."

	"Sounds painful," Achorite noted, gingerly lowering her arms
to rest on the bed.

	"It will be," Ami confirmed. "At least at first. You've
largely repaired the damage to your muscles, but they're still weak
and atrophied. You've got to build up a little muscle mass in your
abdomen to keep them from hernia ting or even tearing."

	"How long?" Achorite asked in dread.

	"How long until you regain complete mobility? After six weeks
of physical therapy, you'll probably have about eighty percent of the
mobility you're used to. It will probably take you six months to a
year to feel 'normal'.

	If Achorite could have slumped over any further in her bed,
she would have.

	"I hate this," she said darkly. "I feel like a complete slug.
I'm not any help at all to Callie. She has a lot more important
things to worry about than helping me when I need to go to the
bathroom or helping Brooke watch the kids."

	"Aren't you glad you're going to be able to do more, soon?"
Ami asked in an encouraging tone.

	Achorite didn't get the chance to answer. Ami started beeping
loudly. She pulled a cell phone out of her pocket and tried to answer
it, but the beeping continued.

	"Wrong phone," she noted sheepishly.

	She pulled her blouse sleeve back over her wrist to display
what looked like, upon initial examination, a child's novelty watch.
She flipped the pink cover and began to speak into it.

	"Usagi-chan?"

	Achorite could just hear a tinny squeaking coming from the
small device.

	Ami's eyes popped wide open.

	"Already?! Now? I'll be right there! Excuse me," she said to
Achorite, bowing deeply. "I'm afraid I have an emergency."

	"Oh, is someone hurt?" Achorite asked in concern.

	"Oh, no! One of my friends is having a baby!" Ami replied
enthusiastically.

	"Is it the kitty?" a voice asked from the doorway of the
room.

	Ami froze. Once she managed to get her muscles to unlock, she
turned to see a small girl in the doorway. She had thin, silvery-
white hair, pale skin, and colorless, grey eyes. In one hand, she was
clutching a teddy-bear. Ami realized that hand, for the first time
she had seen it, looked like a real little girl's hands, complete
with well-trimmed fingernails.

	"Is it the kitty?" Kaliborite asked again. "She had baby
kitties inside her when Jasper and I met her."

	Ami paused for almost an entire minute before answering.

	"Yes," she replied. "It is the kitty. Her name is Luna, and
she's in labor right now."

	"Can I see the baby kitties once they've come out of her?"
Kaliborite asked her.

	"I'll have to ask her," Ami explained, hesitant and unable to
meet the little girl's eyes. "Luna's never had kittens before, so she
may be uncomfortable with guests."

	Apparently unaware of Ami's discomfort, Kaliborite smiled at
her and nodded.

* * *

	In a place of darkness, three figures that appeared to be
young women were busy preparing for war.

	"I don't understand," Lead admitted, holding up a curious
looking device. "What are we doing with these again?"

	The object was basically cylindrical in shape, but had dozens
of small protrusions and clips attached to it.

	"It's very simple," Silicon explained. "While Germanium is
attacking Cobalt--"

	Overhearing Silicon's explanation, Germanium's chest swelled
with pride as she worked.

	"-- we will attach these batteries to the teleporters. They
will force energy back through the teleporter's circuits, destroying
them--"

	"So Cobalt can't corrupt any more of us," a new voice
interjected, cutting Silicon off.

	"Ytterbium," Germanium greeted the robed figure as she
stepped up to the other three.

	"Are your preparations complete?" Ytterbium asked.

	"We're ready," Germanium replied, beating her fist against
her chest. It echoed off the crystalline body armor the youma was
wearing. "I'll bring Cobalt's head to you, Ytterbium!" she promised,
her eyes full of zeal.

	"That is a fitting fate for Cobalt," the older youma replied,
"but remember that our primary goal is to undo the damage she has
done to us. Tin was already so corrupted by her ideas and her
weakness that there was no help for her."

	"We will be strong," Lead assured her. "Stronger than Tin!"

	"You had better," Ytterbium warned.

* * *

	It was after noon the next day when Minako shook Mamoru
awake.

	"Uhm. Oh, sorry 'bout that," the man replied sheepishly.
"Didn't mean to fall asleep on your... crap. What time is it?"

	"Just before two," Minako replied in an amused tone as Mamoru
roused himself from her sofa.

	"Ah... Wonderful. I'm dead meat. I was supposed to be at work
six hours ago."

	"Don't worry about it," Minako urged him. "Usagi called the
lab for you early this morning. We've both been missing from the
studio as well.

	"I assume we have kittens by this point?" Mamoru said.

	He didn't really even need to ask. The subtle senses that
went along with his secret persona had been telling him more and more
insistently that where there had been two cats in the house, there
were now four.

	Minako nodded happily, dragging him to his feet. She lead him
past her massive home theater system and into her bedroom.

	Inside the darkened room was a low bed and a couple of futons
that had been thrown down on the floor rather haphazardly. Ami was
asleep on one of the futons and the other had apparently been
occupied by Minako at some point during the last several hours.

	On the bed, Usagi lay on her side, her long hair out of its
customary pigtails and splayed about underneath her. She was curled
up around a small pile of cat flesh.

	The room was filled with loud purring.

	Mamoru could pick out both Luna and Artemis, who looked
exhausted even as they dozed. Nestled in between the two cats were
two tiny newborn kittens, hardly recognizable as feline.

	Both kittens had black and white stripes. Turning his head,
Mamoru could see that the kitten that did not have its face hidden
under Luna's foreleg had a tiny golden star shape on its forehead.

	"Not Diana," the man mused quietly.

	"You think you're surprised," Minako whispered to him.
"Artemis kept waiting for a third kitten."

	"We'd be silly to think that we know everything about the
future," Mamoru said.

	"It would be boring if we knew everything that was going to
happen," Minako agreed. "If anything, Diana was probably coached not
to reveal anything about her siblings when she visited us from the
future."

	Usagi's eyes opened. She smiled lovingly at the pair.

	"Aren't they beautiful?" she asked.

	"You act like you did all the work," Minako chided her.

	Usagi didn't even respond. Smiling, she began to gently
stroke the tired black cat laying against her breast.

	Luna twitched in her sleep and began to automatically clean
the kitten closest to her.

	"They'll start crying again in just a bit," Minako warned
him. "They want to eat every few minutes."

	"That sounds about right," Mamoru noted. "Ugh," he
complained, scratching his side. "I desperately need a shower. And I
vaguely remember promising to get in touch with Haruka and Michiru
today."

	"They both stayed until Luna gave birth-- well after you
passed out."

	"That's good."

	"It was funny," Minako noted. "Haruka's been staying with you
guys for a couple weeks now. She was happy to be going home with
Michiru, but was really nervous about leaving Usagi."

	Mamoru shook his head, still groggy. "Usagi's starting to
have a pretty profound effect on her, I think."

	Minako nodded. "You can only sing 'Happy Happy World' so many
times before your brain starts to seriously warp."

	Mamoru had the decency not to laugh out loud.

	"I'd be happy if either one of them would think twice before
doing something drastic," Minako continued. "Anyway... you can use my
shower if you like," she said, gesturing down the hallway. "Setsuuna
called earlier asking if we would pick her and Hotaru up from school
so that they could see the kittens, too. I thought we might go pick
them up after you get cleaned up."

	* * *

	The worst part of using a business as a front for collecting
energy was actually running the business.

	Cobalt closed the drawer on the cash register and stretched
her arms. She had just recounted it five times and had come up with a
different sum each time. She was fairly certain that the miscreant
who had just tried to short-change Brookite had gotten away with no
more than a few hundred yen by the time she chased him out of the
store, but it was still fatiguing to have to deal with such problems.

	Part of her wanted attack the young punk and drain every
ounce of energy from her body. Another part of her wanted to ignore
the problem since earning money wasn't part of her long-term goal
anyway. The rational part of her was the part that chased him out of
the store with a broom handle and then called the police with an
accurate description of the young man's face and clothing.

	"I'm not suited to this," she complained out loud.

	"What's wrong, Callie?" a voice asked from beneath her.
Cobalt looked down to see Kaliborite playing in the doorway that led
from behind the counter to the private areas of the shop.

	"It's nothing bad, Kelly. I'm just trying to make sure that
the register has the right amount of money in it."

	"Can I go play outside?"

	"No, sweetheart. You need to stay inside until one of us can
watch you. Chelsey will be here at four, so we'll go outside for a
few minutes to play then, okay?"

	"Okay! Can we go see the kitties?" Kelly asked.

	"Uhh... sure," Cobalt replied unsure of what the child was
talking about. Perhaps she wanted to go to the zoo again. Actually,
that sounded like a good idea, especially if it would help Achorite
to get up and around. A nice sedate walk through the zoo would
probably do her a world of good, even if she had to sit in the
wheelchair that Doctor Mizuno had lent them. "It will be a bit before
we can go, so why don't you play until we're ready, okay?"

	"I'll go tell Jasper," Kaliborite volunteered.

	Cobalt nodded, happy that some things, at least, were working
like they were supposed to. She was no expert, but it would take a
highly trained eye to spot the difference between Kaliborite or
Jasper and real human children.

	"There's a weight-loss order at table three," Brookite told
her from the other side of the counter.

	Jostled out of her reverie, Cobalt nodded and flipped a
switch under the counter. This was something that she had worked out
with Sailor Moon. Healthy or overweight customers who ordered off of
the 'Weight Loss' menu got the energy collectors at their table
turned on. Since Cobalt was collecting energy at a level that even
Doctor Mizuno had declared as 'safe' for people who were trying to
burn off extra energy anyway, the Sailor Senshi had agreed to let her
do this.

	It was a complex operation, but it was better than trying to
balance the cash register.

	Cobalt did a quick bit of math in her head, hoping that the
figures would work out better there than they had on her cash-
register journal.

	"We've relocated fifty-two, including myself. That leaves
four hundred and thirty. Thirty-three... no thirty four weeks."

	Eight and a half months was a lot of time for something to go
wrong, Cobalt thought darkly. She could only hope to figure out what
was going on with the four girls who had gone missing before too much
time had passed.

* * *

	After a shower, Mamoru felt quite a bit more human. Minako
offered him the use of her razor, but Mamoru politely declined.
Mamoru didn't know if Minako shaved or waxed her legs but decided
that he didn't want to find out. Better to go with a little stubble,
he thought, than use an unfamiliar razor.

	The two made it to Juuban high during the last period of
school and made their way to the nurse's office.

	Inside, Setsuuna Meiou and Hotaru Tomoe were straightening
up.

	"Hi!" Hotaru greeted Mamoru and Minako as they came in. The
young woman rushed over to embrace Minako. She glanced shyly at
Mamoru, who did his best to act like he hadn't noticed.

	Minako winked at him, but he tried to gesture for her to drop
it.

	"So are you guys ready to go?" Minako asked.

	"Hotaru's my assistant this period, so she can leave when I
do," Setsuuna said, "but I'm waiting on something from the
principal's office. It will be just a minute or two. In fact..."

	There was a polite knock at the door of the nurse's office. A
broad-shouldered young man in a Juuban uniform stepped in, a paper in
hand.

	"Shingo-kun!" Minako greeted him. "How are you doing?"

	"Oh... Hi, Aino-san," Shingo said in response, surprised by
the woman's presence. "Here's the paper you need, Meiou-sensei," he
said, handing the document over.

	"Thank you, Shingo," Setsuuna told him.

	Nervously, his eyes darted around the room until they found
Hotaru. "Uhm... Tomoe-san," he said. "Some of us are going to the
Crown fruit parlor after school and I was... uhm... wondering if you
might like to go."

	"Oh, I'm sorry, Tsukino-san," the slight girl replied, her
eyes still fixed on Mamoru. "I'm going with Chiba-san after I'm done
here."

	There was no missing the blush or the shy expression on her
face, Mamoru realized. He groaned internally.

	Shingo's expression was at first shocked and hurt. Very
clearly, he had been working up to this for a while and Mamoru had
just very neatly ruined it for him. After a few seconds, the shock
was replaced with killing hatred. Mamoru began to wonder what he
could possibly do to erase the problem he had just caused.

	Despite being a step away from being brothers-in-law, Mamoru
had never gotten along well with Shingo. When he was younger, he was
very much Usagi's bratty younger brother who was better ignored than
dealt with. Now that he was in his last year of high-school, he was
distant, which was probably worse. Mamoru didn't think that Shingo
resented him for 'stealing' Usagi, but he thought that it was a
possibility. Even if they were completely aloof, Mamoru didn't want
animosity.

	It was a mistake, he thought a few seconds later, to glance
at Minako for support.

	"Why don't you come with us, Shigo-kun?" Minako suggested,
winking at Mamoru again. "We're all going back to my place to see
Luna's kittens."

	"Kittens?" Shingo asked. "Luna? My sister's cat? Isn't she a
bit old? I thought Usagi was joking when she said that Luna was
pregnant."

	The youth never really liked cats very much, Mamoru
remembered, a sinking feeling growing in his gut.

	"It's never too late to teach an old cat new tricks," Minako
replied. "Anyway, I bet Usagi would be glad to see you. Do you think
there's room in your car for five, Mamoru-kun?"

	"Not really," Mamoru admitted.

	"That's okay. Hotaru can sit in Shingo's lap. You don't mind
do you, Hotaru-chan?"

	It was going to be a long trip back, Mamoru realized.

* * *

	Hotaru did not quite have to sit in Shingo's lap, despite the
fact that Mamoru's car could usually barely seat four. She was
crammed in very tightly between the Minako and Shingo, however.
Minako didn't help matters very much by taking up much more space
than she needed and nudging the two further and further into each
other's personal space.

	Both were profusely blushing. Shingo didn't seem as upset as
he could have been, though.

	Shingo almost fell out of the car when he opened the door.
Hotaru tried very hard not to fall over as well. For a brief second,
he had to wrap his arms around her waist to keep her upright.

	"I'm s-s-orry!" he stammered after helping her to her feet.

	Minako grinned at Mamoru and flashed a 'V' sign at him as she
stepped out of the car into the parking garage beneath her apartment
building.

	"Maybe it would be better if you didn't help them," Mamoru
urged her.

	"I'm the goddess of love and justice," Minako said. Mamoru
wasn't sure if she was serious or not. "How can I not help them?"

	Whatever the case, Hotaru wasn't staring at him any more. She
was trying very hard not to meet anyone else's eyes, especially
Shingo's.

	Minako led the group to the elevator. Inside, she made an
fairly obvious effort to nudge Hotaru into Shingo again.

	"You're really embarrassing them," Mamoru noted as they
stepped out of the elevator.

	"A moment of embarrassment can bring a lifetime of
happiness," Minako said quietly.

	For once, Mamoru thought, Minako said something that made
sense. Still, it was painful to watch. Sighing, he followed as Minako
led the group to her apartment.

	Then he paused, realizing that Shingo and Hotaru were both
gawking at the inside of the apartment.

	Unlike his own apartment, Minako's apartment-- more of a
condo, really-- could be described as lavish. She had spent a great
deal of her earnings on it.

	The spacious front room, in which the group was now standing,
was elegantly furnished with modern faux-leather furniture and a cut-
glass table. The couch, with the addition of a blanket, Mamoru noted
to himself, was comfortable enough to sleep on, but it was still a
fairly tasteful piece of furniture. The walls were decorated with
original paintings and the floor was slate tile.

	On one side of the room was a well-decorated dining area with
a wet-bar and a fountain. Since the apartment was a penthouse, it had
a beautiful sky-light that illuminated the whole area with golden
afternoon light.

	At the back of the front room was a small alcove that was
more garish than it was lavish. It contained both the throne-like
swivel chair that Minako preferred to sit in, as well as her home
entertainment system. The walls of the alcove were lined with shelves
containing action figures, dolls, posters, souvenirs, and literally
thousands of movies and anime on DVD and video cassette.

	A smiling 'Sailor V' plushie sat in the seat of Minako's
'throne', waiting for its mistress to sit and be entertained.

	With the exception of the alcove, the whole apartment was
rather airy. There were numerous windows, offering an excellent view
of the Tokyo skyline.

	"Minako has us over to watch a movie once a week or so,"
Mamoru suggested to the two teens. "Maybe you two should come with us
next time."

	"We're back," Minako called out before they could answer.
"We've brought Setsuuna, Hotaru, and Shingo," she stated.

	Shingo would probably pass it off as the flighty woman's
mercurial nature that she felt the need to repeat the obvious, but
everyone else realized that it would help Usagi and Ami to halt any
conversations they may have been having with the cats before Shingo
heard something that would confuse or upset him.

	Indeed, the two women stepped out of the hallway, each
cradling one of the black and white kittens in the palms of their
hands. Luna and Artemis followed behind him.

	"Oh, how cute!" Hotaru cried out, rushing over to Usagi. "May
I hold her?"

	Luna nodded almost imperceptibly.

	"This one's a him," Usagi said. "Iris."

	"And this one is Electra," Ami said, handing the kitten she
was holding to Setsuuna.

	"You must be very proud," Setsuuna said.

	Luna nodded again, but Usagi answered for her. "We are proud!
Luna had a wonderful delivery."

	Shingo backed up, a little uneasy when the kitten in Hotaru's
hands started to cry piteously.

	"Isn't it kind of dangerous to have the father cat around?"
he asked. "I thought they could get violent around newborn kittens."

	Luna didn't seem to notice, but Artemis shot him a look of
disgust.

	"What's wrong?" Hotaru asked after a few seconds. "Is he
hungry?"

	"He just nursed," Ami replied. "More likely, he's cold. Small
animals lose heat very rapidly," she explained. She helped Hotaru to
wrap the kitten in a small blanket. It seemed to placate him.

* * *

	In an alley behind a deserted warehouse, four dark figures
faded into view. As the darkness faded from around them, the four
spread out and began to look around.

	The figure in the center, Ytterbium began to glow. The other
three could feel the crackles of energy coming off of her.

	"I must leave quickly," she said, gasping. "I just can't keep
from bleeding energy here. Do you know where you are?"

	"We're close to the first of the teleporters," Silicon said.
"Go, Ytterbium, before you lose too much," she urged.

	Taking great, heaving breaths, Ytterbium faded back out, the
last trickles of her expended life energy arcing to the ground like
electricity.

	After watching their leader disappear, the three sprinted
down the alley past a couple more warehouses. They darted inside a
similar building and made their way through its darkened hallways. In
just a few minutes, they were standing in the shadows near a
tarpaulin-covered object. Near-by the object was what appeared to be
a pretty young girl. She had a deck of cards and was playing
Solitaire on the top of a packing crate.

	"Ready?" Silicon asked.

	Germanium didn't even wait for an answer. She leapt out of
the shadows in front of the girl.

	"Germanium!" the girl squeaked. "You frightened me! Oh,
Cobalt told me you'd gone missing. Are you okay?"

	Germanium's only answer was an eviscerating slash with foot-
long metallic claws. The girl in front of her collapsed to the ground
with a wet, meaty splash. She didn't even have time to scream.

	"Quickly!" the monster commanded, gesturing to her comrades.

	Turning her eyes away from the body of the dead youma girl on
the floor, Silicon darted out with one of the destructive batteries.
She reached up under the tarp, working rapidly.

	Within seconds, smoke started to pour out from under the
tarp.

	"Run!" Silicon cried.

	The three youma had just managed to get out of the building
before they were thrown to their knees by the explosion.

	"You're sure that will work?" Lead asked.

	"It destroys both the teleporters here and back in the dark
Kingdom," Silicon replied. "When those waiting for the teleporter to
open see the thing explode, they'll lose faith in Cobalt and refuse
to come here, just like Ytterbium said they would."

	"That's excellent," Germanium said. "The other two
teleporters are closer to Cobalt's hideout. I'll go take her out
while you two take care of the next one. We'll meet back up at the
third."

* * *

	"Can we go yet?" Kaliborite asked petulantly.

	"Not yet, Kelly," Cobalt told her. "We're still waiting on
Chelsey. She should be here any time now, and then we'll go, okay?"

	Kaliborite crushed the teddy-bear against her face, probably
to hide her expression of anger, Cobalt thought. She wondered if all
children were as impatient as youma.

	"I'm going to go see the kitties," Kaliborite said out loud
once she had returned to the kitchen. She quietly opened the back
door of the restaurant and stepped out into the alley beyond. Her
particularly penetrative brand of vision, which she was only just
beginning to realize that everyone else didn't share, told her that
none of the adults in the restaurant had noticed her actions. Slowly,
careful not to let it slam, she closed the back door of the deli.

	Teddy-bear in hand, she set out.

	Now which way was Bunny's house again?

* * *

	While the women were busy fawning over the babies, Mamoru
retreated to the back to the front room and sat down, still a little
tired from his late night.

	Shingo joined him a few minutes later, either uninterested in
or upset by the cats. He was still staring daggers at Mamoru.

	"You, ah, go to school with Hotaru?" Mamoru said, trying to
figure some way out of his predicament.

	"We're not in the same class," Shingo said hesitantly. "But
yeah."

	"I'm sorry if I interrupted anything for you this afternoon,"
the older man apologized sincerely. "Maybe I can make it up to you
somehow."

	"Uhm..."

	"He'll lend you his car to take Hotaru-chan on a date,
right?"

	Both men looked at Minako who had wandered over to where they
were sitting. Shingo looked desperately over at Hotaru to make sure
she hadn't heard.

	"What?" he said, not instantly understanding what Minako
said.

	"I'm going to do what?" Mamoru asked incredulously.

	"You're going to lend him your car," Minako repeated, slowly
and quietly, "So that he can take Hotaru-chan someplace nice, aren't
you?"

	"I'm uhh..." Damn. Mamoru realized that there wasn't any way
out of this without either embarrassing the hell out of himself or
going ahead and following Minako's advice, something he had promised
himself he would never do on multiple occasions. "Sure," he stated
finally. Resolutely, he pulled his keys out of his pocket and handed
them to Shingo.

	"As a matter of fact, we're all getting rather hungry,"
Minako continued. "Everyone's hungry, right?" she called out.

	Across the room, next to Luna and her kittens, Setsuuna shook
her head. Ami, Usagi, and Hotaru all nodded.

	"Wonderful! Shingo just volunteered to go get dinner for
everyone."

	"I what?"

	"Hotaru, you'll go with him, won't you?"

	The short girl blushed, but nodded in agreement.

	"But I can't drive!" the young man hissed at his sister's
friend, his face and ears lighting up. "What am I supposed to do
now?!"

	"Well, that's no problem," Minako assured him. "I'll drive
and you can carry food for us. The more, the meatier, right?"

	"Uhh..."

	"Let's go!" Minako said, grabbing the boy by the arm. "I know
just the place!"

	She dragged Shingo over by Hotaru, who she also latched onto.
Usagi barely had time to catch the kitten the young woman handed to
her before she was dragged away. She snatched Mamoru's keys out of
Shingo's free hand and led them out the front door of the apartment.

	"My car..." Mamoru mourned.

* * *

	"When was the last time Chalcedony checked in?" Cobalt asked
Brookite, her voice lowered to a whisper. She held a radio in her
hand, but there was nothing coming from it but the tiny hiss of
static. "She was supposed to be here by now," the blue-haired woman
clarified.

	"Chelsey? A while ago, I think." Brookite pulled a small
clipboard out of her apron pocket. "Just after noon."

	"She didn't check in at three? Akie!" Cobalt rushed up the
stairs to Achorite's bedroom. "Chalcedony didn't call you on the
phone did she?"

	Achorite, who was doing her best to read a book from her
reclined position, shook her head. "No. The phone hasn't rung at all.
Hey, have either of you seen Kelly at all? She was playing with
Jasper earlier," she said, gesturing across the hallway where the
little boy could be seen playing with a toy truck in one of the other
bedrooms. "I don't want her getting under customers' feet downstairs
if we can avoid it."

	"It's probably nothing," Cobalt said, the color draining from
her face. "Chalcedony was probably playing cards again and forgot to
call in. She may have left her radio in the bathroom or something."

	Over the sounds of the restaurant down below, Cobalt,
Brookite, and Achorite could just hear the sound of a distant siren.

	"We should check on her," Brookite said, growing more and
more nervous.

	"You stay here and figure out where Kelly's hiding," Cobalt
commanded. "I'll go check the teleporter."

* * *

	A few minutes later, Minako, Hotaru and Shingo were in
Mamoru's car, speeding along city streets at speeds best described as
irresponsible.

	Shingo was rather nervously white-knuckling the passenger
rail above his seat.

	Hotaru, who had ridden with Minako before, had closed her
eyes and had crossed her hands in her lap.

	"We're here!" Minako shouted with glee, slamming on the
breaks.

	The car jerked to a complete halt in busy traffic, hopping on
screeching tires into a spot on the side of the street that was
really too small for it.

	Hotaru opened one eye, glancing around nervously. Shingo
released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. More
comfortably, he opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

	He nervously held a hand out to Hotaru, offering to help her
out on the same side, so she didn't have to step into traffic.

	Somewhat shyly, she took his hand.

	"I know the owner of this place," Minako said, stepping up to
the door of the delicatessen. "We'll get some sandwiches and take
them back to my place. Any preferences?"

	"I can't believe we're still alive," Shingo whispered,
shaking his head at Minako.

	"The scary thing is that she drives like that anywhere she
goes," Hotaru whispered back. "School zones, freeways, parking
lots..."

	Shingo shuddered, holding the door open for his classmate.

	"I didn't realize you were such close friends with my sister
and her friends," he said after Minako stepped up to the take-out
counter.

	"They helped me and my father with a problem a few years
ago," Hotaru admitted. "Setsuuna, Haruka, and Michiru took care of me
while Papa was in the hospital. I'm sorry if they... if I've
embarrassed you. I didn't know you interested in..." She trailed off,
unable to finish. Her face and neck, normally unusually pale, were
both shining red. Shingo could see that the tip of one of her ears
poking through her violet-black hair was also bright red.

	"It's okay," he said, blushing a little bit himself "I didn't
realize that you were... interested... in someone else."

	"I'm not!" she said. "Even if I was... he's not available. I
guess I've had a crush for a little while," she admitted. "I'm
sorry."

	Shingo shrugged, grinning sardonically. His grin didn't quite
reach his eyes, however. "Don't be," he urged her. "Believe it or
not, this is the second time this has happened to me."

	"Hmm?"

	"When I was about twelve years old, I had a monster crush on
Ami Mizuno," Shingo confessed. "Despite the fact that he was dating
my sister, I'm pretty sure that Ami had a crush on Mamoru. It was
kinda deflating for me to be outclassed so easily. Some guys are just
like that, I guess."

	"You shouldn't feel that way," Hotaru told him.

	Shingo was about to answer when Minako walked back up to the
both of them. "Hey, did either of you see a little girl when we were
walking in? With white hair? Maybe holding a teddy-bear?"

	Shingo shook his head. He looked around Minako to see two
unfamiliar looking women standing behind the counter. They both had
short blonde hair, but one of them-- the girl was hunched sideways in
a chair and looking really uncomfortable-- was wearing pajamas and
slippers rather than the store uniform. Both women had supremely
worried expressions on their faces.

	"Kelly couldn't have been gone for more than just a few
minutes," the sick-looking girl said. "But Callie left to check on
something else. Something's gone really wrong," she gulped out.

	Shingo glanced at Minako who was suddenly whose normally
absent-minded, happy-go-lucky expression had been replaced with a
scowl of intense concentration. Her face bore no trace of the manic
glee she had shown while teasing him and Hotaru the entire afternoon.

	"I'll call my friends," Minako said seriously. "We'll look
for the both of them. You're hurt, Akie. You should still be up in
bed. Ami will skin me alive if she finds out that you worsened your
injuries while I was here."

	"But--"

	"It's okay," Minako assured her, reaching for her watch.
"I'll call Usagi and Mamoru right now and--"

	A shadow fell over her from behind. She turned to see what
was blocking the light coming in from the window.

	"Oh hell. EVERYBODY DOWN, NOW!" she screamed.

* * *

	The world is scary place when you can see through it.

	For Kaliborite, who saw more in the radio spectrum than the
normal color spectrum humans did, it was terrifying. The daytime sky
was a distracting, shifting morass of colors. The traffic lights and
signs that seemed to tell everyone else where to go were dark and
meaningless to her. She bumped into people because she tended not to
notice them until she was staring directly at them.

	When she did stare directly at people, she was frequently
frightened. She as convinced that one man, who was trying to ask her
were she lived, was being attacked by a parasite that had attached
itself to his heart. It wasn't until she ran away from him in terror
that she remembered that Brooke told her that some humans put devices
in their chest cavities to fix failing hearts. Pacemakers, she
thought they were called.

	When Kaliborite did notice them, it was hard to tell if they
were looking at her or talking to her because she had a hard time
focusing clearly on the surface of their faces.

	It was a lot easier to get along when there were just one or
two people nearby her or she was in a dark, quiet place, like
Brooke's apartment, or the alley behind Callie's restaurant. Lost in
what seemed like a seething jumble of wandering souls and
incomprehensible shapes, Kaliborite's resolved crumbled.

	Her mission to find the kittens had all but been forgotten.
All she wanted now was for someone to help her find her way back to
the restaurant or to Brooke's apartment.

	Finally, she did come across two familiar-looking shapes.
They were similar to the shapes of humans all around her, but looked
more solid in certain places. She knew them instantly. Unfortunately,
the two of them were both moving rapidly away from her.

	"Wait!" Kaliborite cried out, running as fast as her legs
would take her. "Wait, Silicon! Lead! Please don't run away from me!"
she screamed.

	The two figures halted, letting the tiny girl catch up with
them.

	Kaliborite threw herself at Silicon's legs and began to cry
into them.

	The youma seemed to be at a loss.

	"It's Kaliborite," Lead noted, some concern on her face.
"What's wrong?" she asked.

	"We don't have time for this," Silicon said, clearly torn.

	"But didn't you hear what Ytterbium said?" Lead asked her.
"We're supposed to undo the damage. Doesn't that mean we're supposed
to help the children when we can?"

	She knelt down and wrapped her arms around Kaliborite. "It's
okay. We'll help you," she promised.

	After a few seconds, Silicon nodded in agreement. "You're
right. Take her back to the meeting point. We'll take her back with
us."

	"Will you be okay alone at the last teleporter?" Lead asked
in some concern.

	Silicon nodded tersely. "We're still on schedule. Germanium
should catch up with me. Hurry. We don't have much more time before
Ytterbium is supposed to pick us back up."

	Lead nodded and picked Kaliborite up as Silicon ran away. She
balanced the child on her hip.

	"Are you going to take me back to Brooke and Callie?" the
girl asked after she and Lead traveled several blocks.

	"I'm taking you home," Lead assured her, looking around
carefully.

	Kaliborite was suddenly distracted. A bright blue flash arced
overhead like lightning. Where it hit the ground in front of them,
tiny pinpricks of light appeared and began to spin. In the narrow
range of brightness and color of normal sight that Kaliborite had
access to, confetti began to swirl.

	"Cobalt!" Lead hissed.

	"Put the girl down, Lead!" Cobalt yelled, her jaw set and her
fists clenched at her side.

	Tightening her grip on Kaliborite, Lead turned and ran.

* * *

	"COBALT!!" Germanium screamed as she barreled through the
plate glass window on the front of the delicatessen. She had long
since abandoned her human form and now appeared as she truly was... a
three meter tall apparition of death. Her arms and legs both ended in
large, powerful, leonine paws that sheathed foot-long claws. The body
armor she had donned previously was now augmented by her own natural
armor, metallic scales that ran up and down her forearms and shins.
Her mouth was filled with long, cruel fangs.

	The glass from the shattered window rained down on her as she
bulled her way through. What didn't deflect off the body armor
cracked against her scales. The few points that dug into her exposed
flesh didn't even draw blood.

	"Run!" A young blonde human man in a school uniform shouted,
interposing himself between Germanium and two human women. "Try to
get help," he commanded. "I'll buy as much time here as I can," he
snarled.

	"Shingo, no!" the woman with long blonde hair behind him
cried out.

	It was already too late. As people were streaming past
Germanium, desperately trying to get out of the shop, the youth
charged her.

	"Out of the way, meatsack," Germanium growled, swatting the
youth with the back of her fist. Her claws didn't dig too deeply into
his torso, but he did make a nice crunching sound when his body
impacted the wall next to her.

	She turned back to the blonde woman. "Get Cobalt out here
NOW!!" she screamed as the shorter of the two women who still
remained in front of her ran over to the fallen boy.

	The woman with long hair glared darkly at Germanium.

	"You monster!" she shouted. "VENUS STAR POWER, MAKE UP!"

	For the first time during her mission, Germanium began to
feel a sliver of doubt about the chances of her survival as she
watched the glowing apparition in front of her. Still, she had to
remember that she was stronger than this. She had prepared. It was
her time to shine! Germanium *would* wipe out the Sailor Senshi. Then
she would destroy Cobalt and everything she stood for!

	"Monsters who hurt innocents without reason or rhyme have no
place in this world," Sailor Venus declared. "In the name of Venus, I
will punish you!"

	"Bring it on, bitch!" Germanium said, leaping at her
opponent.

	"VENUS SPOTLIGHT!"

	Germanium faltered, staggering as an intensely bright light
seemed to grow from Sailor Venus's outstretched hands. She crossed
her arms across her face as it began to burn her. Searing under the
onslaught, Germanium screamed in agony. After a few seconds, however,
it was finished.

	She was in pain. In fact, Germanium felt like she had been
flayed. Every bit of her body, even the flesh under her armor, was
throbbing. Still, she could move. With the smell of burnt metal and
flesh all around her, Germanium dropped her arms, staring at Venus in
shock.

	"That's it?" she asked, trying to mask the pain she felt.
"That's all of it? You don't have anything better?"

	"VENUS--"

	Germanium reached out and grabbed Venus around the throat
before she could attack again.

	"You hurt me. I'm gonna drain you dry, bitch," Germanium
promised.

	Struggling, the youma clenched her teeth and began to suck
the life energy out of Sailor Venus's body as rapidly as she could.
It was slow going, difficult for her, but Germanium wanted her
opponent to know the torment of having all of energy ripped out of
her.

	"Arghgh!" Venus shouted. "No! Don't drain me! Aggh! I'm
melting! I'm melting!"

	The woman began to kick her heels futilely against the ground
and Germanium's legs.

	"Suffer!" Germanium commanded sadistically, doing her best to
keep the flow of energy going as Venus clawed ineffectively at her
paws. Germanium had never had an easy time draining energy like this,
but she could feel Venus's stolen life energy restoring her wounds.

	"Let me go! Stop hurting me! Please! Somebody help me! Argh!
Argh! Argh!"

	Germanium tried to figure out what was going on. Did humans
usually say 'Argh' when they were being tortured?

	"No more!" Venus begged. "I'll do anything. "Please, just
don't hurt me any more. Don't throw me in the briar patch! Argh! I'm
going, Dave! I can feel it. I can feel my mind going. Daisy...
Daisy..."

	Germanium was beginning to feel like something was very
wrong.

	Finally, a tired expression replacing the horrified agony on
her face, Sailor Venus looked over to where Germanium had batted the
boy aside.

	"Do you need more time, Saturn?" she asked, her voice
quavering with exhaustion.

	"No. He'll be okay now."

	"Good. Venus Laser," the woman said, almost offhandedly
making a gun shape with one hand directly in front of Germanium's
face.

	The last thing Germanium saw before Venus blinded her was a
flash of violet and black and the horrible, terrible expression on
the face of Sailor Saturn.

	Sailor Venus dropped to the ground when Germanium began to
claw at her own face. With some effort, she staggered to her feet,
her hands clenched in front of her, ready to attack.

	"NNGGGG!!" Germanium cried. "MY EYES! I'LL KILL YOU!"

	"Surrender," Venus commanded. "We can help you. We can heal
you. All you have to do is quit trying to hurt us."

	"I'LL RIP YOUR GUTS OUT!" Germanium screeched, still rubbing
her eyes. "I'LL TEAR YOUR HEADS OFF AND EAT YOUR BRAINS! I'LL CHEW
YOUR HEARTS WHILE THEY STILL--"

	"Now, Saturn," Venus commanded, her voice still weak.

	Grimly, Sailor Saturn rose from her position next to Shingo's
prone body, stepped towards the youma and raised her glaive.

	She whipped it back behind her, spinning it to build
momentum.

	The darkness was just beginning to clear for Germanium when
she saw Sailor Saturn whip the Silence Glaive at her.

	It penetrated the crystalline body armor with a loud crack,
sinking deep into the monster's chest.

	Stupidly, not really understanding what was happening to her,
Germanium grasped the shaft of the glaive, trying to pull it free.

	"SINGULARITY RIBBON!" Sailor Saturn cried out.

	From some where deep inside Germanium's chest cavity, the
Silence Glaive erupted. The youma didn't even feel pain when the
black ribbons came coursing out of her wound, or her nose and mouth.
Her only thought as the ribbons wrapped around her head and her limbs
was that she had failed in her task.

	Germanium was probably dead long before the horrible cracking
sound that indicated that her alien body was being crushed inside the
dark cocoon formed by Saturn's ribbons. Tighter and tighter they
constricted, compressing Germanium's body until it was no longer
recognizable as a body. Tighter and tighter still they pressed,
shrinking down further and further and beginning to glow.

	Finally, all that was left of Germanium was a glowing point
of light at the very tip of the Silence Glaive. Even that slowly
faded away. Germanium was no more.

	Tears streamed down the faces of Sailor Venus and Sailor
Saturn.

	"Shingo..." Sailor Venus started, one hand going to her
bruised throat.

	"He'll be okay," Saturn promised. "He tried to protect me."

	Venus shook her head, laughing through the pain she felt.
"Idiot. He's in love with you, you know."

	Saturn couldn't return her comrade's pointed stare.

	"Akie? Brooke?" Venus called out, her voice rasping slightly.
"You okay?"

	"Not really," Achorite replied weakly from behind the
counter.

	"Akie fell off her chair," Brookite said, still hiding next
to Achorite. "I think she may have torn her sutures."

	"We still haven't found Kelly yet," Achorite said in concern,
less worried about herself than the small child. "What if Germanium
did something to her?"

	Holding herself straighter and rubbing at her sore neck,
Sailor Venus lurched over to the counter to see Brookite and Achorite
cowering behind it. Brookite had her hands over her head and was
still shaking from the violence of the ordeal. Achorite was laying
next to her, holding a dishtowel against her abdomen. Both the towel
and pajama top she was wearing were rapidly turning red.

	 "Ami's already on her way," Venus informed her. "Where's
Cobalt?"

* * *

	Cobalt was attacking Lead, Silicon realized once she had
caught up with the youma woman near the meeting point. Germanium had
either failed in her goal or missed her target altogether.

	Still sick from what she had to do to the two youma standing
guard over the last of the three teleporters, Silicon began to move
forward to try to protect her ally. She lifted the same green-smeared
glass blade she had just used on those who thought she was still
their ally and prepared to do what her real ally had apparently not
be able to. She brutally crushed down the nausea and sickness she
felt. She had to this. Nothing could distract her.

	"PUT KELLY DOWN NOW, LEAD!" Cobalt screamed, her fist raised
to attack.

	Lead cowed against the brick wall of the Alley, clutching
Kaliborite fiercely to her breast.

	"I won't let you corrupt her the way you've corrupted
everyone else!" she declared, not yet seeing Silicon creep up behind
Cobalt.

	Silicon raised her knife.

	Lead's eyes flicked up, tracking the sudden motion.

	Feeling the bottom drop unexpectedly out of her stomach at
Lead's minor movement, Cobalt dropped to the ground. Her veins ran
cold with dread as she heard the whistle of blade overhead.

	"Dammit," Silicon swore, dodging back and raising her glass
sword overhead in an unpracticed gesture. She swung at Cobalt again,
who rolled out of the way and up against a brick wall.

	Silicon's glass blade sunk deeply into the asphalt beneath
her. She clutched at its rounded handle and tried to lift it again,
with little success. It grated noisily against the tar and gravel of
the asphalt, but wouldn't come loose.

	"What the hell are you doing, Silicon?!" Cobalt screamed,
backing further up against the wall. "What the fuck has got into you?
Either of you?!" she demanded, staring at both Lead and Silicon, who
was just barely working her blade out.

	"I don't have to listen to your lies anymore, Cobalt,"
Silicon declared, finally getting her sword out of the ground,
breaking an inch or two off the end of the blade in the process.

	"What did you do to Germanium?" Lead demanded, still cradling
Kaliborite, who was by now too frightened to even open her mouth to
scream.

	"I haven't seen Germanium in three or four weeks," Cobalt
said, slowly inching to her feet, unsure of how she would react if
Silicon were to lunge at her with her blade again.

	Terrified of what was going on, she raised her hand again,
and began charging an attack.

	"Let's not fight," she said. "Put Kelly down, Lead, and we'll
go back to my restaurant, and you can tell me why you're doing this.
Please."

	For a second, Lead's face wavered. If anything, Cobalt
thought, the woman looked more terrified than she was. Cobalt nodded
slightly, trying to urge the woman who was once her comrade to calm
down.

	"Don't believe her, Lead," Silicon growled, keeping her
damaged sword low and ready. "This is just what we were warned
against. Think about it for a second. Why would Cobalt even be here
if she hadn't already murdered Germanium?"

	Lead's face twisted in terror and betrayal. She clasped her
arms even more tightly around Kaliborite.

	"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO GERMANIUM! I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE
FUCK HAS HAPPENED TO GERMANIUM OR EITHER OF THE TWO OF YOU!!" Cobalt
screamed, her hand beginning to glow.

	For a second, there was a standoff between Cobalt and
Silicon.

	In her human-seeming form, Silicon was a small and weak. Even
as a youma, she didn't have much more strength. Either way, her sword
form, her only real weapon, was unpracticed-- practiced enough to
kill, Cobalt noted, seeing the green smears that still decorated the
weapon.

	In an instant, she knew that Chalcedony and the other youma
she had set to watching the teleportation portals were dead. The
portals themselves had probably been destroyed as well.

	Tears beginning to run down her cheeks, Cobalt prepared to
release her attack.

	"You killed them! You bitch, you KILLED THEM, DIDN'T YOU?!"

	Shaking with terror, but resolute in her determination,
Silicon turned her shoulders, preparing to charge.

	Before Cobalt could release her crystalline attack or Silicon
could rush in to disembowel her, the alley filled with shadows.

	"Pull back now!" A voice commanded from within them.

	Lowering her weapon, Silicon turned and ran. Lead was already
gone-- Kaliborite with her.

	Cobalt charged after them, eventually getting far enough into
the shadows that she could see a hooded figure in front of her.

	"Give Kelly back!" she screamed. "Don't take her away!"

	The hooded figure raised one hand and fired a bolt of pure
golden energy at Cobalt.

	Cobalt managed to dodge, but the energy still caught her and
sent her spinning. She slammed up against the invisible brick wall of
the alley.

	The darkness began to swirl around her as her consciousness
faded. The last thing she saw before passing out were the retreating
shadows and, concealed within them, a pair of glinting eyes and a
glowing green scar.

- - -

~to be concluded

----------
* * *

C. Jones - guilty@furinkan.net - http://www.furinkan.net

"Responsibility and the understanding of responsibility is the first
step in ethical and moral growth. Since 'Zero Tolerance' is all about
eliminating responsibility, I think there's a damn good indicator
that zero tolerance policies stunt ethical and moral behavior."

http://www.furinkan.net/display.php?pageid=92


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