Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten Forever ❯ Darkness Inherent ( Chapter 2 )

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

Forgotten Forever
Part Two: Darkness Inherent
3/32
by Kihin Ranno
goddess_branwen@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/kihin_ra nno/starlithorizon.html
R

~~Started: June 1, 2002~~
~~Completed: August 10, 2002~~

Hey minna! Its time for Part Two! ^.^ Not much to say for this one...
I finally bring Usagi and Mamoru back to the forefront a little more.
I know that the entire focus of this fic is Usagi and Mamoru and I did
stray from that just a bit... But hey, its all good! ^^ v

Hmm... Well we all know Sailor Moon is not mine. I don't really feel
like going into that at the moment...

Oh well. On with the fic!

~************************************************************ *********~

A woman dressed in a Sailor Suit, which was not unlike those the Sailor
Senshi who lived in peace now wore, stood alone. She was shrouded in a
thick mist and seemingly impenetrable fog, holding an ornate staff in
her hand. She rarely moved at all, ever watchful of her post... And
there was no wind or any other force around her, yet her hunter green
hair moved as if it were touched by an unseen hand. Her garnet eyes
were narrowed into small slits as she stared at the clouded orb before
her...

Her expression showed that she was not pleased.

The fabric of time was beginning to spiral out of control. Things
had changed. Things that had happened were not meant to be... Or
rather, not as they should be... not as she had known them to be... And
now things that were supposed to happen hadn't occurred... She had
known what was to have happened by now... And now she was waiting for
the occurrences, fully aware that they would probably never come...

Time was not as it should be.

All because of her... It was all because she had taken mercy, pity if
you will, on one man... One single solitary man... She had had her
first moment of weakness from her infatuation for this man, and now
she'd be paying for it the rest of her life... They would all have to
pay for it for an eternity it seemed. She had changed one detail,
which had seemed minor to her, and now she realized just what she had
done... And the ramifications of that action.

Things were not as they were supposed to be... Things to be remembered
were forgotten. Friendships that were unbreakable were beginning to
crumble from strain. And most importantly, the love of all time was
now hanging in the balance because of her "silly crush" as her father
had put it...

One choice. She had been presented with only one choice and now she
had destroyed everything...

She had just now tried to look to the future that was supposed to be
crossing over into the past... She had wanted to see all of what she
had done... if at least someone (maybe even her) had benefited in this
change... If one more person was happy because of this...

There had been nothing there. Not a person, not a place... Just the
same fog and mists that kept her hidden from the world... The fog is
uncertain future. The mist is doubt and confusion.

For the first time, the future was not known.

She had always known no future was set in stone... Anything could
change it... One misspoken word. One wrong decision, and a human
being's whole existence could crumble... It was human error. It had
nothing to do with her, and she could not interfere. A human was to
live and love as they chose. Their life was their own, and it was not
her place to interfere...

But because she knew what was to come for him and because she had loved
him, she had been weak... She had intervened. She had broken her vow
to never ever let her feelings get in the way of her duty... She knew
his road would be hard, but in the end he would be happy... All would
turn out in the end. He would be with his love and with his friends
and all would be right with the world...

Just not with her...

And that had killed her inside... That had done such great emotional
damage to her... The fact that he could live without her. That he had
never even thought that being with another woman would harm her... He
didn't know how she loved him. And if he did, he did not know how
deeply... She knew he would care if he did know... He might not love
her back, but he would care... He wasn't the type of man who would not
care...

But she had expected to bear this pain as she did all of her other
burdens and never let on that anything was wrong... She understood that
they two of them could never be. No matter what new circumstance arose
for him, natural or otherwise, it could not happen... They were so
alike, and yet so different in ways only she could see...

So she had sworn that at this crossroads, she would do nothing and let
the course of time flow naturally. She had promised herself that. She
never did anything other than that... She wanted it that way. She knew
if she didn't there would be problems abound...

But for some damned reason she had decided not to. She had intervened.
She had gone against her own willpower; her self restraint finally
crumbling after existing without him for so many eternities, so many
cycles of time... She had screwed up... And now they were all doomed...

All was lost because Sailor Pluto had presented with Mamoru with a
choice... Knowing he would chose ignorance over knowledge...

Sailor Pluto finally moved her head to stare at the unseen ground,
letting out a long sigh... She shook her head, causing the tresses that
lay flat on her back to move once more. She looked back into the orb
as if trying to see through the clouds obscuring her all seeing sight.

Nothing.

Sailor Pluto finally stepped away for what could have been the first
time in centuries, but she couldn't be sure... Ironically enough, time
did not exist at the time gate. There were now hours, minutes, or
seconds... no months, weeks, or days... no millennia, centuries,
decades, or years. Everything just was, as it was, and when it was did
not exist. She gripped the Time Key in her hand and cursed aloud, her
own voice slightly hoarse from obvious lack of use...

Sailor Pluto paced back and forth, mulling over things in her head...
And then began voicing her thoughts aloud, "I'm such a fool... Such a
damn fool..."

"No arguments here..." boomed a deep voice form somewhere in the fog.

The guardian flinched and said, "Father... Why do you return now? You
came once already, and I have done nothing but berate myself since...
If you come to relieve me of my post, then do it, but spare me the
humiliation and get on with it." Pluto managed to keep her voice calm
and steady, even though her hands were shaking as she gripped the staff
in her hands.

No man appeared from the fog, as one might expect to happen... There
was not even a silhouette or anything to indicate that the voice had
an owner beyond the metaphysical... Only the voice, "You have shamed
me daughter... As I am sure I made you aware of during my last visit,"

"Yes," Pluto said simply.

There was a silence as if the voice expected Pluto to continue her
thought, but she did no such thing. He sighed and continued, "However,
it is not my place to remove you from your post as Time Guardian... I
have spoken with Queen Serenity, and for some reason she would like you
to stay on."

Pluto was surprised and said, "Are you certain?"

The voice made a noise very reminiscent of a growl and then he boomed,
"I am not deaf nor dumb daughter! I know exactly what the Queen said!"

Sailor Pluto bent her head and said, "Yes father. Did she tell you
why?"

"I received no explanation, nor did she wish to give me one... She
merely said, "Destiny changes... And perhaps its time it did." I know
not her meaning... Do you?"

Pluto shook her head and said, "No father... its as mysterious to you
as it is to me..."

"I thought as much... Continue to guard the gate from intruders. And
it is now possible for you to watch only what you have created... I
suggest you do that. That should be punishment enough for you..."
and though he had given no parting words, and there had been no real
indication, Sailor Pluto knew that he was gone.

The Time Guardian sighed and formed a cloud from the abundant mist
about her... She shook her head, wondering why she had to be the
unloved child of Chronos...*

****************************************************** *****************

At that precise moment (not that the guardian in the previous scene
would have realized as much) in a place that was both far away from
the Gates yet right at hand, Mamoru lay in his hospital bed, his mind
throbbing form the hundreds upon thousands of problems that were
floating about his mind. And the main problem was that all of them
were important, and he felt it was imperative he solved them all at
once. Of course, he quickly learned that he could do no such thing.
That is unless of course he enjoyed the feeling of his head pulsating
with an indescribable pain that was liable to make his brain explode if
he did not grant it rest soon.

Mamoru growled, curling up the fist that was not hooked up to the IV
and brought it down against the bed as hard as he could... Of course
that wasn't much considering all he had been through as of late, but
that wasn't worth his time to fret over. He had countless other things
to busy his mind with than his strength (or rather lack thereof).

Mamoru hated being in this bed, reduced to some weak, little, angry man
who couldn't even understand his own life anymore. He couldn't recall
the last time he felt this powerless... This weak.

Oh wait... Yes he could.

Watching Usagi's very life being drained away a few days earlier by
that tree had made him feel helpless... And then when he had been taken
up by that tree and reached for the poor girl... He had practically
dislocated his shoulder trying to grab her... And then being kicked
away by a vengeful alien. He had been so close to reaching her. It
had killed him when he couldn't reach her. He had felt maybe if he
could only grab her hand, she could be saved. That maybe he could do
something, if only he had her hand in his. And then when they were
finally released, he blacked out. And when he awoke, Usagi was gone.
he never would know what happened to her, but Sailor Moon WAS there
when he woke up... That had to mean she was safe, right? It had to.

And then Sailor Moon had fought for his life... Putting her life on the
line to save someone like him, who didn't deserve that... And who
certainly didn't deserve her love! And she had proclaimed that as
well! They were blasted again and again... he tried to help, but he
was only one man... One man can only take so much. And so he had
died.** And when he breathed again, for a reason he could not
understand, Sailor Moon's words still rang in his ears, "I'm just a
girl who loves you..." And he wanted to find her and hold her...
protect her...

And he didn't have the vaguest idea as to why.

Mamoru covered his eyes with the same hand that had assaulted the
mattress and let out a very long, tortured sigh. He didn't even know
Sailor Moon, or at least he didn't think he did, and she was declaring
undying love for him... Okay maybe not that, but even so she had said
she loved him. And he had held her hand like he reciprocated that
emotion, and he wasn't sure if he did or not. He didn't know her. Yet
he felt this need to protect her. He felt a connection. And that did
not make any sense to him.

"Damn it!" Mamoru cried out suddenly. His angry voice seemed to echo
throughout the small room, and some of the other patients were roused
from their sleep. Mamoru did not notice them or perhaps he did not
care. In any event, he did not silence himself, "I swear, ever since
I stopped having those damned dreams, my entire life has fallen to
shambles!" Mamoru tried to force himself into a sitting position, but
failed miserably and fell back to the bed. He let out a frustrated cry
and lay there prone, his heaving chest the only sign that he lived at
all.

Mamoru lay there with his eyes shut tightly, lines starting to form on
his face from his concentration. He lay there in such deep thought
because of that princess who had haunted his reams for so long, and
then suddenly had stopped coming to him. And while he remembered her
being there, he could not remember her... He strived to recall her...
Anything about her. Her face or her voice... Maybe even one tiny
feature... Something!

But he remembered nothing.

Just a few months earlier, he remembered being constantly plagued by
those awful dreams... He was haunted by that princess and her pleas
for help. But suddenly, it had stopped. It was rather jarring seeing
as he had had that same dream every night for the past ten years or so,
and then suddenly it stopped. There had been absolutely no reason for
them to stop, but they had.

Of course now Mamoru realized that the halting of the dream had
coincided with the arrival of Ail and Ann, so they obviously had a hand
in it. But they were gone now, and the dreams hadn't started up again.

It wasn't as though they didn't have the power. Call him crazy, but
he had a hunch that Ail and Ann were the cause of all those monsters
popping up everywhere.

Correction: Everywhere he went.

Seriously, had he had horrendous luck or did those two... things
literally follow him everywhere he went? It seemed like every time he
had turned around there was some kind of attack. He supposed his
presence had been a bit of both, but it wasn't like he was alone in
this... Because every time he turned around, Usagi and her friends were
right there too.

Usagi...

Mamoru furrowed his brow at the very thought of the young girl, trying
to think of what might have happened to her or remember something that
might give him a clue as to where she was now. Everything before
Sailor Moon arrived was sort of a blur... He vaguely remembered the
other senshi arriving and Usagi yelling something... But that was about
it. He had been in and out of consciousness throughout that whole
ordeal, especially when he started taking hits for Sailor Moon...

What in God's name had possessed him to that? But then why had he done
anything like what he did that day...

Two other things were bugging him about that day... For some reason,
he had become accustomed to calling them the Angel of Light and the
Angel of Darkness. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he assumed all the
drugs the doctors had him taking had something to do with it. But
anyway, he was still deliberating over which of the two had been more
upsetting. Maybe the first one because at least he could remember that
clearly. But then again, maybe the second was more unsettling because
he couldn't... And he had at least known of the Angel of Light.

And that Angel of Darkness had appeared to him when he was dead... That
was possibly the clincher that made her appearance more disturbing.
She had worn a long black gown that clung to her figure like the dress
was painted on her. He couldn't remember anything other than that, not
even her face, except for one thing... Her eyes. Her eyes were a shade
of crimson that he had only seen in wines before that day. They
haunted him now as the princess once had...

Despite the fact that she came in Darkness and coined that name, he had
not felt anything evil about her. Mamoru was certainly no psychic, but
he did consider himself a fair judge of character (he had always felt
unnerved around Natsumi and Seijuurou). In any event, the two of them
had spoken for a time, but of what, he was unsure... Except for her
parting words...

"You have chosen the fog... The mists of ignorance will now make you
forget what you were to remember on this day. I wish you luck my
p--" she had stopped, as though beginning to say something, but
thinking better of it, "Good Luck Mamoru. I pray we both shall benefit
from your decision."

Mamoru briefly wondered what exactly she had meant by that, but he did
not dwell on it for very long.

Mamoru's thoughts immediately switched over to the Angel of Light. He
knew her and remembered her very clearly. She was one of the five
protectors of the Earth and Tokyo, Sailor Venus. When Mamoru had first
noticed her hovering over him, he had thought she was an actual angel
and that he was dead. He quickly snapped out of that reverie and had
thankfully not said anything overly embarrassing to her.

Not that he wouldn't have been humiliated any less by the gold senshi.

Mamoru was a very simple man when on got right down to it, and he
simply could not comprehend why the senshi had been so angry with him.
Who had she referred to when he told her to remember? And what
difference did it make either way?

And what could she do to him if he didn't do as she said... What would
she do to him?

Mamoru shivered slightly in fear, a few gory possibilities flying
through his head that he quickly forced out. He sighed again,
attracting a miniscule amount of attention from the nursing staff and
the other patients. He let his thoughts drift back to that princess
in his dreams. When she left him, it seemed the world had fallen
apart. But how was that possible? She wasn't even real...

Right?

****************************************** *****************************

And once again, during those events, another occurred. Usagi was lying
prone on her bed, watching her bird shaped clock tick away the seconds.
It was 9:17 and 24 seconds in the AM. Usagi had refused to go to
school that day, on the basis of grief. As far as everyone know,
Ginga Natsumi and Ginga Seijuurou were dead. Her father had been ready
to pack her off to school no matter what was wrong with her, but by
some clandestine miracle, her mother had agreed to let her stay home.
She had made no remarks about what would happen tomorrow, and Usagi
could only hope that her mother would take pity on her for yet another
day...

Usagi sighed as the clock hit 9:18 exactly. She turned over, not
wanting to look at that wretched clock anymore. It was just a
reminder of how slow time could move... And to her, this was a symbol
of her shunning time itself, and not just an annoying clock.

Because time had become her enemy.

Usagi could not transform into Sailor Moon and use her Moon Rod to
vanquish it into oblivion, but it was her adversary nonetheless. Time
was the one opponent she could never destroy with a swoop of the Moon
Rod. it would always exist and it would always move, always going
towards the future at an alarmingly slow pace, and never looking back
at the past... It would never again acknowledge what had been once,
only what was and what was to come.

Usagi sighed again, fighting back tears that stung at her eyes. She
wanted to declare war on the bodiless entity, slow moving as it was.
But it was an impossibility. Time was everlasting, and always played
against her... She was angry at the time that had passed between the
kidnapping of Tuxedo Kamen and when the Doom Tree fell. All that
time had gone by, and still, time thought it was necessary to keep her
separated from her prince. Had she not suffered enough? Had time not
put enough distance between the two of them already?

All that and she could do nothing about it.

Usagi flopped over onto her back and stared at the morning light
filtering in through her window. And then her gaze drifted upwards as
she watched the shadow of the trees that fluttered across her ceiling,
pretending that they were terribly interesting... Unfortunately, they
were so dull that she couldn't keep up the charade even for herself for
more than a few seconds.

Usagi finally let her thoughts drift from the hate of time, of which
she could do nothing about, and go on to the place she had been trying
to keep her mind away from... Mamoru.

The girl felt her heart break again at the thought of his name alone.
And of course with that simple thought came more. The sound of his
laugh... it was a rare sound considering his serious nature, but it
was like a black pearl that way... Precious and valuable, and very
hard to find... But when it was there, she was filled with joy and
marveled at its beauty.

The color of his eyes that were a shade of blue that seemed to be
nothing but endless color. She remembered looking into his cobalt eyes
once long ago, watching with a broken hard as they filled with poorly
concealed tears. His face was not twisted into a look of anguish and
pain for he didn't want her to know that he was in pain... but his eyes
spoke the truth as if he had shouted it at the top of his lungs. She
had taken him into her arms, cradling his head and she had wanted to
drown in his tears if only his pain would end... And then it did. He
had given everything for and at that moment she wanted nothing more
than to return the favor...

And so Metallia was sealed into the hell she came from.

And his lips... His cold mouth had hung open as death stole his breath
from him. The silence of death had offered her a kiss she had refused
to take. Her friends had not had the pleasure of tasting the kiss of
their loves, and some of them would not be able to if they had wished
it. And so she had refused to have what they no longer could have now
that they were as dead as he was... Even though his lips were stiff and
cold, she had refused his silent beckoning and gone to fight instead.

Usagi regretted that decision with every fiber of her being.

She supposed she was an awful person for doing so... She loved her
friends and she wanted them each to be happy. When they had been
unable to kiss their loves, she didn't want to take that when they were
dead. but would they really have minded? And they were reborn anyway.
They got their second chance...

God had she only known they would get their second chance! Had she
only known they would all live again! She could have taken that kiss
without regret or second thought! And had she realized everything
would be forgotten when they awoke... And realized that Mamoru would
take the longest to recall their first life...

Had she only realized she was going to be forgotten forever.

Usagi was about to roll over again and she just sob until she fell
asleep, when she stopped herself. Had she really become this? This
poor slob who couldn't even get out of bed in the morning because one
man did know they were supposed to be in love? When had she become
this despaired? When had she given up?

How could she have given up?! All was not lost yet. As long as Mamoru
was alive, he could remember. And as long as Usagi still had a voice
she could make him remember.

And with that mind set, Usagi got out of bed, preparing to go visit
Mamoru in the hospital. She'd make him remember her and what they had
once had if it was the very last thing she did on this earth. Usagi
smiled and looked in the mirror. She looked better than she had in
days, although her eyes were still puffy and she looked a little gaunt.
She smiled and flashed herself the V-sign, knowing she could do this.

"Mamo-chan, here I come!" Usagi shouted, and then ran to get dressed.

********************************************************* **************

Meanwhile, a group of people that seemed to have no connection to the
senshi yet, but would soon enough, were living their own lives well
above the earth. Their presence was not known to any of Earth's
scientists (thanks to certain illusionary spells that concealed their
space ship very well). Only four of the five who normally lived there
were present at the time, and those four were floating around the
inside, enjoying the lack of gravity.

Beruche sighed as she braided her hair, floating before the mirror with
her legs crossed lazily, "When do you think Lord Rubeus will be back
from reporting to Prince Demando?"

Cooan smirked slightly, tossing her long violet hair over her shoulder,
"I'm not sure... Rubeus said it should only be an hour. And that was
yesterday,"

Beruche and Cooan laughed a little at her joke, which was hardly an
exaggeration of the truth. They were interrupted by the sound of a
whip cracking into the air. They both stopped giggling and turned
towards the sound, glaring.

Karaberas floated towards her two sisters, saying, "I'll not hear such
lies in my presence! As of ten minutes ago it was a day and a half!"
her hard face shifted into a smirk as her two sisters started
snickering again. Then she crossed her legs in the air, mirroring
Beruche's position, and looked thoughtful until at last the two
quieted, "Joking aside, I wonder what could be keeping him."

Petz came forth, mumbling about immature brats that the other three
couldn't make out. She shook her head and said, "What does it matter
if he's gone an hour or a day? He'll return eventually."

"I know, but it pains me to go even a day without him around!" Cooan
whined, looking over her array of lip sticks and glosses, trying to
pick a good one, "There's only so much time before he makes us start
working you know,"

Petz rolled her eyes at her grating voice and said, "Honestly, can't
you go even a little while without throwing yourself at him? Karaberas
is revolting enough without you and Beruche,"

Beruche looked ready to speak when Karaberas said, "A day I can live
with easily, but a day and a half is rather trying,"

Beruche raised her eyebrow and said, "I don't go after him Petz," she
finally finished plaiting her long ice blue locks, when she noticed her
hair tie had drifted to the other side of the ship. She let out a long
sigh and floated over to it, adding, "I have no interest in the man
whatsoever."

"I could have gotten that for you," Karaberas said as Beruche reached
it, "I'm not doing anything and it isn't like it would have been a
chore. Now you have to start all over again,"

"Its all right," Beruche assured her as she moved over to another
mirror to begin again.

Cooan reached for a random tube of lipstick and said, "And besides
Petz, its not as though you haven't tried to get him to hit the sheets
with you,"

Petz sweatdropped and said, "Nice phrasing... And I'd like to know just
what the heck you're talking about," she snapped.

Cooan smirked, taking the top off of the lipstick without checking to
see what color it was and turned to Petz, "Well for one, I loved that
oh-so-subtle approach you tried last week," she cleared her throat
and began to speak in a voice that although mocking, sounded eerily
like Petz's, "Oh Lord Rubeus! Is this YOUR shower? Now how did I get
that mixed up?" Cooan suddenly made a gagging noise as she realized
she had very nearly applied a shade by the name of Dark Forrest, a very
ugly looking green. She tossed it to Petz and said, "Here. You're the
only one who would wear this disgusting shade,"

Petz glared and caught it, saying, "Well it didn't work so I don't see
the point in bringing it up and then insulting me further... And I
don't know what you hope to accomplish with Rubeus. You aren't old
enough to be concerned with sex anyway."

Cooan hissed, making her scribble some of the red lipstick she was
applying so carefully onto her chin. She got to her feet and floated
over to the older woman, shouting, "I am so! I'm more than old enough
to be concerned with such things!"

Petz sweatdropped again and said, "Yes and that mature display just
makes me have full confidence in you,"

Karaberas sighed and said, "Oh don't be such a stick in the mud, Petz.
I did it two years younger than she is now,"

Petz growled and said, "Stay out of this, Karaberas! You are not
helping!"

"Exactly," Karaberas snickered, "You aren't our mother, Petz. If she
wants to sleep with him, she can... But she won't of course. When
all is said and done, he'll choose me,"

Cooan gasped, as if scandalized by the comment and cried, "He will not!
What have you got that I haven't got?!"

"Boobs," Karaberas said pointing to Cooan's smaller chest, "You won't
even show cleavage with that ridiculous tutu you always wear. That's
how inhibited you are by the rest of us,"

Cooan folded her arms in front of her chest, looking down at the
ground. She spoke softly so Karaberas wouldn't hear, "You were being
nice to me a few minutes ago,"

Unfortunately Karaberas did hear and shrugged, "I'm fickle. Besides,
you know how the song goes..." she cleared her throat and sang an
American song they had heard during their stay above the earth, "Lord
help the mister who comes between me and my sister... And Lord help the
sister who comes between me and my man!" she didn't realize how
grating and off key she was as she sang it, and she wouldn't have cared
if she did.

Petz scoffed and pulled her fingers from her ears and said, "Give me a
break. first of all, your voice is terrible, and I would appreciate it
if you never sung again. And secondly, he is not YOUR man. And if he
is judging on chest size alone, I have all three of you beat,"

Beruche sighed, tossing her now finished braid over her shoulder and
said, "Once again, it doesn't matter to me because I do not want Rubeus
in my bed or anything of that sort. Now would you three please stop
behaving like three streetwalkers hot to get in the first available
man's pants,"

Karaberas blinked and said, "Since when do you talk like that?"

"I can be crass when it suits me," Beruche said complacently, "I prefer
to be proper, but if it shuts you three up, I can force myself,"

Cooan picked that time to break in, saying, "I don't see why you
wouldn't like him. He's cute,"

Beruche sighed and said, "He's even more brash than you three put
together, and he would sleep with each of you if we weren't at war...
As a matter of fact, I'm surprised that's stopping him. I'd prefer
someone with a nicer tongue and a capacity to commit," Beruche said
as she picked up her blue hand mirror with gold engraving in a water-
like pattern.

Karaberas saw an opportunity to be snide and said, "Really Beruche? It
sounds to me like you'd prefer a woman. Is that why you don't want
Rubeus? Because you'd prefer one of us, if only you weren't related to
us?"

Beruche's heart skipped a beat at Karaberas' words. She flushed
slightly and gripped her mirror a bit harder, trying to control
herself. She prided herself on infinite self control, and would not
let Karaberas' taunting make her lose her temper, "Don't be silly
Karaberas... You know me better,"

Karaberas snickered at Beruche's words, seeing yet another opening,
"Oh so it doesn't matter that we're related to you. Well let's see...
I wonder who you prefer... Petz is probably far too manly for your
tastes. Cooan's chest is most definitely too small to attract your
attention. So I guess you want me. Is that why you're blushing? Is
that why your acting so nervous, sister?"

Beruche noticed her cheeks growing redder and said, "No... Don't be
ridiculous Karaberas."

Karaberas smirked and said, "Oh come now Beruche... its nothing to be
ashamed of. I can understand why you'd desire me," Karaberas suddenly
got a bold idea and she acted upon it. She cupped her breasts in her
hands as if offering them to Beruche and said, "You shouldn't fight it
Beruche. Its not healthy,"

Beruche felt a heat rising between her legs and the sight, but quickly
reminded herself who was speaking. She shook her head and turned away,
saying, "Karaberas stop it. You're only making a fool of yourself."

Karaberas snickered again and said, "Beruche if you want me... Why
don't you just take me?"

That was when Beruche finally lost it. The giggling of her other
sisters and Karaberas' blatant sarcasm had finally driven her over the
edge. She turned back to the group, fire in her eyes as she shouted,
"Shut up! I'm not like that, and even if I was, I would not lust after
my own sister!"

Karaberas nodded after considering her words for a time and letting her
hands drop to her sides. She shrugged her shoulders a bit and said,
"You're right Beruche. You have too much self control to go after
someone you were related to. You'd like someone you have no blood bond
too... Perhaps its Esmeraude?"

Beruche growled, losing any small remnants of her self control. She
gripped her mirror a little harder and then let it fly for Karaberas'
head, cursing the woman under her breath. Karaberas gasped, but for
one reason or another did not duck or move away. She just stayed there
staring at the mirror as it turned end over end and flew right towards
her. Then she shut her eyes and braced herself for the pain, all the
while wondering what had gotten Beruche so upset, 'I was only teasing
her... Had I known she was so sensitive, I would have kept my mouth
shut.'

Fortunately for Karaberas, she never got to experience the immense
amounts of pain she should have been sure to face from that mirror.
For at that precise moment, a certain red headed in combat gear
appeared directly between the two.

Rubeus stared at the mirror hurtling towards him for all of three
seconds. Then he rolled his eyes at the sheer stupidity of the whole
situation, and blasted the mirror. The Akayashi Sisters gasped as the
mirror was turned to dust, four feet before it would have hit him. He
gave Beruche a reprimanding stare and said, "really Beruche. I expect
better from you."

Beruche, who had returned to her normal pallor, flushed scarlet again,
turning an even darker shade of crimson as her sisters began snickering
at her. She cleared her throat and tried to maintain at least one
shred of dignity before Rubeus and bent her head in subservience
and said, "Forgive me Lord Rubeus. I lost my head... Might I retire to
my chambers now?" Beruche asked hopefully. She really wanted nothing
more than to get out of their questioning looks and their laughter,
mocking her every move. But she would not let her desperation be too
apparent lest they continue.

Rubeus very nearly waved the girl away in his usual dismissive manner,
but at the last second he thought better of it. He shook his head,
much to Beruche's disappointment and surprise, and said, "Not yet,
Beruche. There is business to discuss and the Wiseman is paying us a
visit in a few hours,"

All four of the sisters gasped, taken aback by his words. The Wiseman
rarely left Prince Demando's side; the old man was always advising the
prince on one thing or another. He was revered among the members of
the Black Moon Family, for as his name suggested, he was very wise...
But while he was respected, he was also feared. He had taught them the
power and capabilities of the Jakokuzuishou, and he most certainly had
power... But how much was what concerned them...

Because nobody had a clue how much power he did posses.

But how much magic the Wiseman possessed was not the only enigmatic
thing about him. While no one knew his capabilities, just as many
people knew what he looked like. He always dressed in a purplish/black
robe that seemed reminiscent of the Druids, and his face was always
masked in shadow... The Akayashi sisters had always speculated over
what he might look like when they knew no one was around to hear
them...

The possibilities they had come with had given Cooan nightmares. While
she was 19 in Earth years, she was still very immature... And downright
petrified of Wiseman, "What does he have to come here for? Couldn't he
have just sent word through you?"

Rubeus narrowed his eyes at the young girl and snapped, "I am not a
messenger boy Cooan. And some things are best heard first hand, even
if the listener is deathly afraid of him,"

Cooan floated backwards, as though she had been slapped. She did not
like it when Rubeus spoke so harshly to her, and he was after all, her
first real love. She looked down, not wanting to meet his gaze, and
folded her arms in front of her chest. Her lower lip was trembling a
little and she felt very unworthy of him right now.

Petz, who had always taken it upon herself to watch out for her three
younger sisters, moved beside Cooan and wrapped an arm around her
shoulder and soothed her slightly. Then she looked back up at Rubeus
and said, "Calm down Rubeus. She meant no harm in the comment, and we
are all in awe of the Wiseman. We also fear him, and I know you feel
the same way. He prefers it that way." she looked back at Cooan, who
didn't seem to be doing any better. Petz sighed and said, "And we are
not here for you to take out your frustrations on,"

Rubeus was about to dress her down as well, when he realized he would
have to be at least civil to the sisters in order to keep them under
his control. He sighed and said, "I know... I'm just at my wits end
after talking with his highness for nearly two days straight," while he
was being kind, he would never apologize to them,... It was too far
beneath him and he would not stoop to such a level.

"We know Lord Rubeus," the sisters all said in unison, their voices
lowered in reverence.

Rubeus sighed once more and said, "Anyway... The reason it took me so
long to get back was because Prince Demando was very interested in the
information Karaberas gathered on Sailor Venus... And we've devised a
plan,"

***************************************************** ******************

Rei woke that morning some time around nine. It was the day after she
and Usagi had attempted to speak to Minako about that horrid headline.
That conversation (if it could be called that) had actually gone better
than the one she had had with her grandfather about her getting
suspended (and possibly expelled). It might have gone a bit better if
the school hadn't had the nerve, or as her father would say, the
unmitigated gall to call her father. Her father had most certainly not
been pleased with what the school had to say, and had immediately
contacted his former father in law, her grandpa. He had given him the
tongue lashing to end all tongue lashings (it had often been said that
Rei got her temper from her father), so the old man had not been
pleased by the time Rei got home around three that afternoon.

It also had not gone well because Rei hadn't exactly been planning on
telling her grandfather... Not yet anyway.

Rei sighed, her ears still ringing from when her grandfather had forced
her to call her father and explain herself. She had seen and heard the
man angry before, but she was still a little shaken up by all of what
her father had said to her. And Rei was by no means easily frightened.
He had threatened to come to the shrine and speak to her about this
face to face, but she knew better than to believe him. He had said he
would come see her before, but he never did. Even on her birthday, he
would not come... She had nothing to fear of a personal visit.

Rei shook her head and told herself that it was better in the long run
if she just didn't think about her father and his non existent presence
in her life. The miko sighed, exasperated at herself for getting into
this awful mess to begin with. If she'd only kept her mouth shut in
class, things would be so much easier...

Then again, she'd still be suffering in silence. So maybe good and bad
situations weren't as clear as she believed...

Rei dragged herself out of her bed, wanting more sleep, but refusing to
let herself be lazy. She was already up later than usual... She
usually woke up at four in the morning... Or rather her grandfather
woke her up, but she supposed he had acted out of character and taken
pity on her, letting her sleep in just this once. But she knew her
grandpa all too well, and she was sure that this was a one time thing,
and she would have to wake before the sun tomorrow like always.

Rei grabbed a towel and staggered into the bathroom, feeling
uncharacteristically sluggish. She wasn't really a morning person, but
she had never gotten up in the morning feeling like she'd been run over
by a truck. As she turned on the tap and allowed the steam to fill the
room, she wondered if perhaps she had had some dream that she couldn't
recall. She pondered this as she gathered some other few necessities
for her shower. It was rare when she couldn't remember a dream,
because most of her dreams were visions...

With that thought, Rei remembered how she had neglected to predict
Mamoru's continued memory lapse. She cursed under her breath and
finished preparing for her shower, being a little rough with the
various inanimate objects she required.

Rei continued berating herself as she started to undress, wondering why
whenever she tried to look for the truth about Mamoru, the fire
concealed it from her... And why a dream would elude her as well... Was
she losing her touch?

Rei suddenly stopped undressing, letting her night shirt hang open,
feeling compelled to look into the mirror... She had read in some
fiction book Ami had lent her about the days of King Arthur and the
women behind his throne that it was possible to see like she did with
the fire in a mirror. She narrowed her eyes and wondered if she could
repeat the action without going through the whole ritual... After all,
she was a natural psychic. How hard could it possibly be?

Rei concentrated on the steam filled mirror, willing the steam to part.
It did not obey her at first, but after a few moments of meditation,
the condensation that had formed on the mirror subsided. When it was
only present on the very edges of the mirror, the reflection seemed to
fade to black...

Rei felt something unseen slam into her, causing her to stagger back.
She cried out, stopping herself before she ran into the door, but
knocking several things over in the process. She never took her gaze
off of the mirror and soon realized why she had been hit with that
invisible power... The vision was beginning.

Rei watched at four lights appeared at each corner of the mirror; gold,
red, green, and blue respectively. They glowed, flickered, and flared
for a few minutes, until finally they began to move together until they
came to the center and formed a square, not a speck of black between
them. That's when the red and gold lights began to flare up violently,
much more than before. The green and blue ones soon followed suit.
They continued to grow larger and more violent, until finally they all
exploded, forming a patch of white... And in the center of that field
of white, was an inverted black moon...

Then the vision receded as Rei blinked. The girl was left covered in a
thin film of perspiration and gasping for air. She hadn't realized
that it would take this much energy to scry out of her element. She
was overcome with a strong wave of dizziness, and she staggered back
again, this time running into the door and using the doorknob to hold
her up. She remained there panting for a few minutes, until she
started to try and slow her breathing down. She slowly did return her
breathing back to normal and felt much better when she did. Then she
was able to stand without using the doorknob like a crutch, but didn't
bother to move away from the door.

The vision's meaning had been mercifully obvious. Something was going
to tear the senshi apart in some way. And it was most likely going to
be done by severing their friendship. So she was going to have to make
things right with Minako in order to keep them from permanently
separating along with Ami and Makoto. But two things did bother her
about the vision... Where was Usagi? Had she been the field of white?
And if she was, why was the black moon on top of it? And who... or
what, was the black moon representing?

Rei shook her head and murmured, "So close, and yet so far..."

Suddenly, the bathroom door Rei was leaning so heavily against flow
open, throwing Rei forward into the room. And by some odd twist of
architecture, force, and sheer chance, she was thrown into the shower,
still clothed... Somewhat. She shrieked both from surprise at the
occurrence and anger at whatever idiot had done this... And also
because at this point the water was positively scalding.

"Rei! Rei, are you all right?! I heard you yell and there were some
other weird noises and I had to come make sure you weren't hurt or
being kidnapped by some band of marauders! Rei? Rei where are you?!"

Rei growled menacingly at Yuuichiro's all too familiar voice. Why in
the name of Ares did Yuuichiro always have to make her life ten times
more difficult with his ridiculous crush and that annoying need to make
sure she was all right at every single little strange noise? Could he
not just get a life of some kind (that did not involve singing in any
way) and leave her the heck alone?

Rei stuck her head out of the shower, sopping wet and screeched,
"Yuuichiro!! Don't you know to knock when a girl is obviously in the
shower?!"

Yuuichiro's face was a very strange shade of vermillion and he wasn't
exactly making eye contact as he fumbled for an explanation... As a
matter of fact he was staring farther south. Rei picked up on this
immediately and was about to demand an explanation when she realized
that her shirt was hanging open... And she never slept in a bra.

Rei blushed fiercely and she quickly covered herself up and shouted,
"Oh never mind! I'm fine, now would you please just get out of here!!"
Yuuichiro began to apologize, but Rei just screamed at him to get out,
and the she heard her grandfather's voice saying something along the
lines of 'shower peeping pervert' and 'I'll teach you to look in on my
grand daughter.' Then there were several frightened yelps, war cries,
and various things crashing.

Rei sighed, almost feeling sorry for Yuuichiro... If only he weren't so
annoying. She shook her head and walked over to the door, making sure
it locked this time.

************************************************************ ***********

Meanwhile, Minako was out walking around the streets of Tokyo... yes it
was a school day, but she had better things to do than waste her time
at school. So she had decided to cut for today, and catch hell from
Mr. Kokuo and her parents later. He'd probably be sure to bring up her
"earth shatteringly important thoughts" that seemed to warrant her
failing each and every one of his tests, but she really didn't care.
The fate of the Sailor Senshi was more important.

All right, so they didn't have any enemies right now... But Rei had had
a point; you never knew when the stupid things would pop up. And with
her, Rei, and Usagi at odds, it wasn't the best of situations. Should
they be attacked with these rifts between them, they'd be killed faster
than a spider.

And that was not something Minako would have been looking forward to.

And so Minako had decided not to waste her thoughts on academia and
instead think of the fate of the senshi and possibly the rest of the
world. There was nothing wrong with that. Of course it would be nice
to be able to explain this to Mr. Kokuo and her parents, but of course
that wasn't an option.

Minako sighed and stared at her feet as she walked, unknowingly walking
in the direction of the shrine. She wasn't paying much attention to
where she was going, but it wasn't as though there would be anyone else
on the street at this time of day. Even in Tokyo, the streets would be
cleared with the adults in work and the children in school.

At that same moment, Rei had finished her shower and decided to escape
the shrine before either her grandfather or Yuuichiro found her. She
was literally running out of the shrine, happy that she did not have to
go to school and that her grandpa hadn't caught up with her and ordered
her to stick around and do extra chores for punishment. She wanted to
go to the hospital and see if Mamoru was out of the ICU and she could
visit him. She was also not paying attention to where she was going,
although her mind was not exactly preoccupied.

And seeing as this was Tokyo and the senshi were even remotely
involved, fate stepped in. For just as Minako was rounding a corner
that would have unwittingly led her to the Hikawa Jinga, still lost in
her thoughts, Rei was running around that same corner, looking skyward
and lost in her reverie. And because Fate and Destiny like a good
laugh every now and then, they made it so Hino Rei and Aino Minako ran
into each other... Literally.

And so both girls crashed into one another, both of them screaming as
it happened. They fell to the ground in a massive tangle of limbs and
appendages, cursing and screaming at each other, neither one of them
knowing who the other one was. After several unsuccessful attempts at
untangling themselves, most of them resulting in several minor injuries
for both, Rei and Minako pulled apart. They stood, dusting themselves
off and then moved to yell at the other, mirroring each others actions
as the both pointed an accusing finger at the other and then doing the
same with their words as they yelled, "Why don't you watch where you're
going!!"

Rei was the first to realize what was happening as she said, "Minako?"

Minako blinked at the use of her name and suddenly recognized the miko,
saying, "Rei?"

They stared at each other for a moment and then simultaneously said,
"What the heck are you doing here?" they sweatdropped, realizing that
this oddly comical moment was continuing when they didn't want it to.

Rei spoke again, saying, "As I was saying... What are you doing out of
school... And decidedly out of uniform," she raised a delicate eyebrow
at Minako's attire, which was a form fitting, low cut beige top with
three quarter length sleeves. It had black detailing at the top,
complete with two coral colored roses and each side of the top and
black pants. It was most definitely not her uniform.

Minako tossed a lock of blonde hair over her shoulder and said, "I was
about to say the same about you..." she folded her arms in front of her
chest (but not covering up the moderate amount of cleavage she had
showing in case any cute guys happened to pass by) and looked at Rei's
blood red Chinese style dress which hugged her figure tightly and was
cut a little too short for Minako's liking.

Rei sighed and said, "Actually I was suspended yesterday," she watched
as Minako's cornflower blue eyes widened in shock, and her jaw hung
open. Rei rolled her eyes a little and clamped Minako's jaw shut
roughly, saying, "Honestly Minako, you are not a codfish. And for you
information the reason I was expelled was because I finally got tired
of being bossed around by nuns and being told that I was going to
"hell" because I didn't believe in what they believed. It got too
trying,"

Minako nodded, rubbing her jaw a little. She and Rei had discussed the
private school many times and Minako was familiar with all the things
Rei went through, including persecution and prejudices, and not
necessarily just about her psychic abilities... But of her religion.
Minako cleared her throat and said, "Well I'm just cutting,"

Rei sweatdropped and face faulted right to the hard cement. Minako
looked at her like she didn't know exactly why she was so shocked. Rei
quickly got up off the ground and said, "You're ditching school?!
Minako, why in the name of-"

Minako held up her hand and said, "I needed to think and school hinders
that. While its supposed to be a place to learn, I had no interest in
thinking about what they have to teach me... I was sorta thinking
about what you said yesterday..." Minako looked away, feeling a little
embarrassed at bringing it up to begin with.

Rei's other eyebrow arched itself up, this one traveling up father on
her forehead, "Oh?"

Minako nodded and said, "Yeah... You see, I don't think we should have
any rifts in the group. While there isn't an enemy, one could rear its
ugly head at any time. I just don't think we should be fighting,"

Rei smiled softly and said, "I'm glad you feel that way... So...
friends again?" this felt way too simple for her tastes, but she didn't
want her vision to come true... She also didn't want to tell Minako
about the vision so that this pseudo-apology wasn't tainted anymore
than it was already.

Minako didn't really think they should just make up that quickly, but
remembered that if there were rifts, there was death... She shuddered a
little at the though, but quickly managed to force a smile and say,
"Yup!" they both giggled a little, neither one of them sounding all
that convincing, and Minako continued once they had quieted, "I guess I
was just really upset yesterday. You know that whole catastrophe with
Mamoru's idiocy,"

Rei blinked, not expecting to hear Minako deliberately attack Mamoru's
intelligence. While Rei had gotten over her romantic involvement with
him, she still held a special place in her heart for the man. And she
was not happy with Minako defacing his character. She narrowed her
eyes and said, "What do you mean "Mamoru's idiocy?""

Minako noticed the edge in her voice, and wondered why Rei was getting
so touchy. It wasn't as though she still liked the guy, right? Minako
frowned and said, "I mean he's being an idiot. He could remember Usagi
if he wanted to, but he won't. He's choosing to do this,"

Rei scoffed a little and said, "What are you babbling on about? Mamoru
has no control over what he can and cannot remember. You don't know
what you're talking about,"

Minako's eyes widened, and she seemed slightly shocked by Rei's
statement. She pointed to herself and said, "I don't know what I'm
talking about? Oh no, Rei... Its you who doesn't have a clue,"

Rei was none too happy with that statement and said, "Excuse me? Who's
the one talking nonsense about a man she doesn't even know? You've
never even spoken to Mamoru alone or bothered to get to know him. I
have,"

"Yeah because you dated him," Minako said, annoyed, "And you know I
thought you got over him, but it looks as though you're still looking
to snatch him. Why else would you be so sensitive about him?" she got
up in Rei's face and lowered her voice to a threatening tone, "Usagi
and he are destined Rei. Butt out,"

Rei gasped, scandalized at the blonde's words. None of what she said
was true in Rei's mind. She liked Mamoru, but she no longer thought of
him in that way. She backed up so that Minako was not invading her
space and cried, "Now you're really talking stupidly! I do not still
want Mamoru for my own! He and Usagi are meant to be, and I'm willing
to stay out of it if it'll make them happy! What, can't I be friends
with the guy?"

The fair haired girl was about to answer with a sarcastic quip, but
thought better of it at the last minute. She remembered where this
road would eventually lead to and said, "Where were you going?" Minako
asked dryly, knowing the answer before she asked.

Rei blinked a little and said, "The hospital to see him... Why?"

Minako snickered a little and said, "You were going to visit Mamoru
wearing _that_ and you're wondering why I'm questioning whether you
want him or not? God Rei, that thing's is practically painted on!"

Rei's jaw dropped and she shouted, "You're still acting like a moron!
For your information, I was in such a hurry to get away from my grandpa
and Yuuichiro, I didn't really pay attention to what I was wearing.
And look who's talking about painted on... I'm surprised you can even
breathe in that top. And at least I don't show more cleavage then a
common street whore!"

Minako looked like she had just been slapped and she shouted, "I am not
some harlot you can boss around! And putting that aside, I know
Mamoru's choosing to not remember her, because Luna already tried to
revive him, and it wouldn't work! It only works if you really want to
remember, and he didn't!"

Rei growled and shouted, "That was then! You don't know if he was
presented the same option when Tsukikage no Knight re-entered his
body!"

"It's the same principle!" Minako shouted, "It stands to logic!"

Rei rolled her eyes and muttered, "Like a bimbo like you would know
anything about logic..."

Minako turned a shade of red and growled under her breath, curling up a
fist. Had anyone been there to witness this argument, they'd be
completely lost... This had begun out of the blue, partly because the
girls hadn't really gotten over their animosity form the day before,
they just said they had. And then they had touched a very delicate
subject, which ventured out into more...

And now Minako was raising a fist to strike Rei for such an insult...

******************************************************** ***************

At about that time, a few blocks down the same road Rei and Minako were
arguing on, Usagi was skipping towards the hospital. Her pigtails
bounced up and down in the air, and she earned a few odd stares from
the few people that were walking around at this time of day. She did
not notice them or she just didn't care, because she was in a very good
mood. She had explained to her mother that she felt it was necessary
that she visit Mamoru that day and that he had been involved in the
tree incident. She had agreed to let Usagi go, and once Ikuko had been
out of earshot, Luna, who had been sleeping with Shingo as of late due
to Usagi's behavior, had insisted on going with her.

Luna growled a little and said, "Usagi, must you make this trip so...
bouncy? I feel ill..."

Usagi giggled and said, "Well that's good because we're going to a
hospital! If you get sick, they'll know just what to do!"

Luna sweatdropped and said, "I just don't think I'd be comfortable
getting treatment from people trained only to help humans,"

Usagi waved her hand flippantly at the cat and said, "Oh don't be such
a scardey cat..." then she looked up at the hospital looming above her
and said, "Now to visit my Mamo-chan!"

Luna sighed and said, "Usagi, I feel its very necessary to bring a few
things to your attention... First of all, according to this sign it is
isn't visiting hours until noon."

"Your point?" Usagi asked.

Luna sweatdropped and said, "So you can't get in... Besides, he may be
in ICU, where its strictly family. And even if he isn't, what makes
you think they would let a kid see him?"

Usagi giggled slightly and said, "Luna, if I didn't know any better, I
would say you have no faith in me whatsoever,"

"I don't have any faith in you," Luna quipped.

Usagi sweatdropped and gave Luna a hard look and picked her up by the
scruff of the neck, plopping her into the large purse without ceremony.
Then she pulled out her pink disguise pen with a devilish grin on her
face... then she ran in and headed straight for the bathroom...

When she emerged a few minutes later, she was dressed as a nurse and
her odangos were hidden under a cap of sorts. She was carrying a
white first aid kit with the red cross on it, and had anyone looked
closely, they would have noticed it moved every once in awhile...
because in that bag was Luna.

Usagi swiftly breezed over to the reception area and struck up a
conversation with the receptionist. Luna listened to Usagi speak to
her in awe of the girl's composure... Was this the same girl who had
cried every time anything got too hard or too scary? Or the same girl
who could not be remotely convincing when she assumed an identity?

Luna immediately decided it couldn't be and Usagi had been replaced by
some alien clone.

Suddenly, the bag opened and Usagi said, "I found out his room number
and floor while I was talking to that receptionist. He was in ICU
until several patients complained he was disturbing their peace. They
just moved him to a private room a few minutes ago. I got there just
as some guy was changing the board,"

Luna looked at her wide eyed and said, "What are you on, and I can I
please have some to give Artemis?"

Usagi gave her another reprimanding look and stuffed her back into the
bag. She hit the button to close the elevator and pushed the button
for floor 16. She leaned against the wall and started muttering under
her breath, "What am I on... I can be resourceful when it counts.
Especially when my Mamo-chan is involved,"

Luna heard her and spoke up, saying, "Speaking of which, since when do
you call him Mamo-chan?"

It took Usagi a few minutes to figure out what she was saying because
her voice was muffled in the bag. But after awhile Usagi realized what
she was saying and said, "Since I came up with it!"

Luna was about to comment, but that was when the doors to the floor
opened and Luna knew better than to speak aloud.

Luna was about to comment, but that was when the doors to the floor
opened and Luna knew better than to speak aloud. Usagi walked out of
the elevator, a spring in her step that most people at the age she was
impersonating did not have, thus she got a few stares.

Usagi walked right over to the room where Mamoru was in and pretended
to be checking on his chart that was hanging outside on the door. Once
the hallway was clear, she let the disguise fade and she quickly went
in. Usagi shut the door behind her and let out a long sigh, saying,
"Thank heavens that's over..."

Mamoru sat up in bed at the sight of Usagi and said, "Usagi?" she
looked up when he said her name, as if she hadn't been expecting him to
be there. He smiled slightly and said, "I'm glad you're all right...
I was really worried about you when I didn't see you when I-- woke up,"

Usagi felt her heart soar. He had been worried over! He had been
concerned over her well being! He had thought more about her then just
an annoying teenager! He'd said her name!

Usagi blinked at that and said, "Hey, since when do you call me by my
name and not that stupid nickname?"

Mamoru smirked and said, "Would you rather I called you that... Odango
Atama?"

Usagi flinched at the sound of that name and she stalked up to him,
hands on hips and said, "Hey listen up buddy! In case you haven't
noticed, I'm cutting school to be here. Not only did I have to sneak
into the hospital, find out where the heck you were, get up here, and
get into the room without being stopped or getting any funny looks, but
I also had to sneak a cat in!" Usagi turned the bag upside down and let
the black cat tumble out of the bag, landing on her head beside
Mamoru's leg. Usagi however, did not seem to notice her cat's distress
and continued, "I do all of this, and now I do not need to be called by
that ridiculous nickname, thank you very much!"

Mamoru stared at her for a minute and then started chuckling, saying,
"I'm sorry Odan-- Usagi. I know it must have been hell getting here,"
he picked up Luna and set her on her feet, causing Luna to purr and rub
up against him, "Although you didn't have to cut school you know... You
need it,"

Usagi stuck out her tongue at him and said, "Well technically i didn't
cut... Ms. Haruna actually sent me home yesterday, and I'm staying home
today as well. Or... Well not technically but... Oh you know what I
mean!"

Mamoru chuckled again and said, "Whatever you say Usagi... So where did
you go to anyway?"

Usagi blinked and said, "Where did I go... Umm... Well I just kinda
blacked out. I woke up at home with a note saying that you were in the
hospital from Sailor Moon. I don't really know what happened."

Luna shot her a look and thought, 'A little too much hesitation... He's
suspicious,'

And suspicious he was. He knew that Usagi was keeping something from
him... But maybe she had... died too... Mamoru gulped a little at the
thought, but he quickly put it out of his mind. If that was the case,
it wasn't any of his business... And if it wasn't, it still wasn't his
business.

Mamoru cleared his throat and said, "Yeah uh... Pretty much the same
here,"

Usagi nodded, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. Then she
remembered why she had come there to begin with and she said, "So
Mamoru... What's wrong with you, exactly?"

Mamoru chuckled and said, "Ask what isn't wrong with me... Well
amazingly, nothing's broken, but just about everything is bruised.
There was some internal damage, and I had a concussion. Actually, that
is about it, except for a few minor things. The doctors wonder how I
got out of that situation as well as I did,"

Usagi smiled, knowing full well how Mamoru had lived through it...
Tsukikage no Knight, "You're very lucky,"

Mamoru nodded and said, "You look good... Were you hurt at all?"

Usagi's heart fluttered slightly at the compliment, but quickly said,
"Nothing that required hospitalization. Emotionally... That was
another thing..." she looked down and said, "I'm sorry about Natsumi--
Ann. You two seemed... close,"

Mamoru felt his stomach clench. He hadn't really liked Ann all that
much even when she was Natsumi. She wasn't only clingy, but she was
vindictive and downright bitter. Even so, he had seen something in her
to take her flowers that fateful day... He supposed she wasn't all bad.
Maybe he was just upset that she had tried to kill Usagi. She was just
a kid, she didn't need to be worried for her life.

Mamoru realized he had been silent for a bit too long when Luna rubbed
her head against his good hand, her teeth grazing over his hand. He
shook his head slightly and said, "Well I didn't know her... THAT well.
I just... felt sorry for her when she was sick. And she always seemed
pretty lonely."

"She was..." Usagi said softly, looking down at her feet. She cleared
her throat slightly and said, "So when do they say you'll be out?"

"The bruises are pretty severe... And my ribs and tailbone are both
really banged up. Not to mention it was hardly a mild concussion. All
the doctors say that they want to keep me for at least two more weeks.
I've been here a few times before in motorcycle incidents, and I'm
planning on doing my residency here... They all know me and they also
know that I never follow doctors' orders."

Usagi brightened and said, "So you want to be a doctor then?"

Mamoru nodded and said, "Yeah... They help people. They helped me a
lot a little over ten years ago..." Mamoru's voice trailed off as if
remembering something important. After a few moments of awkward
silence Mamoru realized that she was waiting for him to speak. He
apologized and said, "Say what are you planning to be anyway?"

Usagi flushed slightly and very nearly said 'your wife', but resisted
the urge. She wasn't as bold as Minako in these matters. Instead, she
just said, "Oh I'll probably just end up being a housewife... I mean, I
couldn't amount to anything, right?"

Mamoru blinked in surprise as Usagi's gaze dropped to the floor. All
right he had said some pretty nasty things to her in the past...
Including that, but she didn't actually take him seriously...

Right?

Mamoru shook his head and said, "Usagi what on Earth are you talking
about?"

Usagi blinked and looked up in surprise. He was using a strange tone
with her... Not angered, but like she was talking nonsense. And at
the same time, compassionate. She had never heard that tone in
another human being's voice, and she didn't care if she never did
again. She heard it in his.

Usagi blushed and said, "Well you said that--"

"You listen to what I say?" Mamoru said with a bit of a shocked laugh.
He looked down at his IV as if it held the answer to his query. At
last, he shook his head and said, "God I'm such an arrogant ass... I
had no idea you actually listened to what I say. I was only teasing
you Usagi. And trying to make you try harder, but I wasn't trying to
be cruel. You should just give up like that,"

Usagi stared at him for a moment, feeling elated for a brief second,
before a few more thoughts hit her that sent her back to earth. She
shook her head and said, "Its not just you Mamoru... People have been
telling me that all my life. I'll never amount to anything, so I may
as well just try and look good and act proper so I can catch a good
husband. And I can't even do that right,"

Usagi was surprised at herself. Yes, this was the man she was in love
with, but she had no idea that she would end up telling him all of
this. Not even the senshi knew how she felt about this. And while she
hadn't stated her feelings explicitly, she could tell that he knew. He
knew how she felt and he understood.

Mamoru was in disbelief. Did she really not notice how cute she was?
Yes she was only fourteen or so, but she was still pretty good looking.
Not that he'd ever consider any kind of involvement for anyone her age,
but she was pretty. He shook his head and said, "You my dear are
unbelievably naive..."

Usagi felt like jumping for joy at the 'my dear', but quickly took in
the rest f the sentence. She folded her arms in front of her chest and
said, "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Mamoru chuckled and said, "Do you really think you're ugly?"

Usagi blinked in surprise at the question. It was... rather forward
and blunt. She cleared her throat and regained her composure and said,
"Well I'm not gorgeous like Minako, or exotic like Rei... And Makoto's
pretty like the girl next door, and she's the kind of girl guys marry,
you know? And Ami is pretty, but just in a classic, quiet kind of
beauty... Ya know? I'm just sort of there... The only reason I get
noticed is because of this _original_ hairstyle, and Minako's huge bow
nearly has me beat. I'm not ugly, but I've never really seen myself
any other way but "there","

Mamoru looked at her again as though she were insane and said, "Cut
yourself some slack already. Don't compare yourself to other people
like that; that's how people get anorexic,"

Luna snorted, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to be able to talk
and muttered, "As if she could stop eating for one--" Usagi reached
for the cat, picking her up while simultaneously covering her mouth.
Mamoru hadn't really heard Luna speak and wondered why the blonde was
holding her cat so tightly and why she had that annoyed look on her
face.

Finally, Usagi released Luna, who promptly ran to Mamoru for
protection and perhaps a few scratchies behind the ears. Usagi
straightened her skirt and said, "Anyway... Don't worry about me
getting any eating disorders. Like I could ever give up odangos!"

Mamoru sweatdropped and murmured, "My God the sayings true... You are
what you eat,"

Usagi blew him a raspberry, having heard the comment and said, "Anyway,
if you're so fired up about how I look, why don't you tell me how I
look!" the second that the words were out of her mouth, Usagi wanted to
take them back. Now she was putting Mamoru on the spot, and he might
revert to his ways as King of the Jerks.

Mamoru was taken aback by her statement and just stared at her for a
few moments. Then he noticed how flustered she was at the comment and
did her best to take it back. So now he had to say something. He
plastered on a smirk and scratched Luna behind the ears and under her
chin as he thought about this. He knew that a snide comment was the
last thing she needed, but he could always pretend like he was going to
say something that would tick her off. But then he'd be nice and come
up with something that she hadn't used to describe the others.

Usagi sat down in a chair, sighing as Mamoru though this over... He was
obviously trying to come up with the perfect put down, and she couldn't
just leave... She didn't want to be rude and possibly blow any chance
at making him remember. And he was holding her cat hostage with
scratchies...

Why couldn't he be a dog person?

Finally, Mamoru came up with the perfect things to say, still not
realizing what most would consider the crush Usagi had on him. He
stopped scratching Luna, much to the black cat's dismay and said,
"Well no you're not exotic or incredibly gorgeous or the girl next door
and you don't have classic beauty..." he began.

"You're not helping," Usagi said dryly.

Mamoru smirked and said, "But you are cute. And I think when you're a
little older you'll like some princess that just stepped out of a fairy
tale."

Usagi paled at his words... A princess? God, did he remember? Did he
suspect? Did he even have a fragment of a microscopic inkling of what
they had had so long ago? Did she have a chance?

Usagi stood up and said, "Mamoru... Do you remember? Is that what this
is about?"

Mamoru blinked in surprise, Venus' words echoing in his mind, 'For her
sake and yours Mamoru... You had better remember what I know you would
rather forget quickly... Or I'll make you pay for it.' Had she been
talking about Usagi? But why in heaven's name would Sailor Venus be
worried about Usagi? She had nothing to do with them, right? She was
just an innocent little girl who cried when things went wrong and never
did anything to fix them... A girl who was young and didn't really know
the ways of the world yet... A young woman who was now inches away from
his face and looking into his eyes with the most intensity he had ever
seen in a person's gaze... A desperate longing... Hunger...

Usagi had finally thrown caution to the wind and lowered her face to
Mamoru's... She was sick and tired of waiting for him to remember while
she was going crazy. She regretted taking that kiss while he was dead
and he had known her... Did she really want to regret not stealing a
kiss when he lay out before her but he didn't know what they were to
each other...

She was tired of regretting.

"Endymion..." she said softly, "Please say you remember me...
Please..." but Usagi didn't let him answer. She finally gave up her
fight and lowered her face to his own, placing her lips softly on his.

When she did that, seemingly out of the blue, Mamoru's thoughts were a
whirlwind. The face of his princess flashed before him over and over
again... Calling him by that strange name, Endymion... She called to
him in a soft voice; the voice Usagi had just spoke in... The face of
the princess became imprinted on his mind; it was the face of Usagi.

Mamoru placed his hands on Usagi's shoulders and pushed her away,
saying, "Usagi what are you doing?"

Usagi stared at him in disbelief, as his shocked eyes locked on hers.
God this couldn't be a wasted effort... he had to have remembered
something!

"God Mamoru, haven't I suffered enough without you? Can't you just
say that you remember something. Anything. Anything at all, just
please tell me you remember something!" Usagi cried desperately.

Mamoru stared at her like she was crazy and he looked away. He
clenched his jaw, becoming frustrated with this whole ordeal... Why
were they all insisting he had to remember? What was he supposed
to remember? Was it what he had chosen to forget, courtesy of the
Angel of Darkness? It had to be... But what was it?!

Mamoru looked back up at her, his Prussian eyes filled with anger, "You
all tell me to remember! Always for "her sake"... Is it you that I
have to be worried about? Am I supposed to be worried about you?! God,
Usagi would somebody just tell me what it is I'm supposed to remember,
and why I want to keep myself from remembering!!"

Usagi stared at him in shock for a moment and said, "Who? Who's been
telling you to remember?"

Mamoru sighed and said, "When I woke up on the roof of the apartment a
few days ago, I talked with Sailor Venus. She said I needed to remember
for "her sake" or she'd make me regret it. And then you come here and
ask me if I remember, and you make me see things I haven't seen in
months!" he shook his head and hissed, "What are you doing to me..."

Usagi paled and said, "What? What did you see?! That might be--" Usagi
stopped, as she realized what it had to be, "You saw her didn't you? You
saw your princess, didn't you?!"

Mamoru stared at her in shock and said, "How... How do you know about
that?! I've never told anyone about that!"

"You told me," Usagi said forcefully, "You told me when we stuck on the
elevator at Tokyo Tower. It was right before Zoicite tried to kill us
with the fire. Oh God, Mamoru... Please, you have to remember
something!" she cupped his face in her hands and said, "We want you to
remember what you had once a very long time ago.. Some memories are
painful, but it will lead you to happiness. God Mamoru, if you'd just
think for a minute, you'd remember! Please, just remember, Endymion!!"

Mamoru stared at her in disbelief and then removed her hands from his
face saying, "I think you better leave Usagi,"

Usagi felt like she'd had a sledgehammer driven through her heart as
Mamoru turned away from her... She'd acted too rashly. She'd ruined it.
She'd ruined everything. She backed away and said, "I'm sorry... I
just... I just wanted you to remember so badly..."

"remember what?!" Mamoru cried out in vain, "What is so damn important
that I have you and a Sailor Senshi bugging me so that I might know?!!"

Usagi backed away again, scooping up Luna in her arms. She looked at
Mamoru with tears forming in her eyes as she choked out, "That I love
you..."

************************************************* **********************

Makoto and Ami were both walking towards Rei's shrine when it happened.
They weren't in school because it had been called off for a funeral
service at the former residence of Ginga Natsumi and her brother,
Seijuurou. A few people had commented that they were surprised Usagi
wasn't there, but Makoto explained she was too upset to even come out
of her room and that was enough to keep them preoccupied... It had been
a fairly nice service, complete with Shinto blessings and Buddhist
prayers. When it was over, they had wanted to go inform Rei that it
had taken place. By now, they both had heard about Rei's suspension
and they had figured that she would be doing double duty on the chores
at the shrine. They would then go to Usagi's and tell her about it,
and by the time they were done with both, Minako would be out of school
and she could be informed.

However, about a block from the shrine, they found two out of three.

There were Minako and Rei, screaming their heads off like two banshees
and neither one of them looking at all happy. Makoto and Ami exchanged
a glance and ran forward. They were used to breaking up squabbles
between Rei and Usagi, but Rei and Minako might be a little
different...

And it was. For just as Makoto was within arm's reach of the blonde,
Minako brought her hand back as if preparing to slap Rei. She
propelled her hand forward, a fire in her eyes, but Makoto wasn't
about to let that happen. She lunged forward, grabbing her arm and
wrenching both of them behind her back before she did anyone any harm.
The smaller girl struggled a little and told her she was being
ridiculous, but quickly realized that so was she, and she stopped
struggling.

Ami was the first to see, "I won't ask how you two are both here, but
I'm afraid there is one thing we must know..."

"Yeah, like what the heck is the matter with you two? I know you're
not happy with each other, but senshi do not hit senshi," Makoto added.

Rei and Minako quickly relayed what had happened, both of them doing a
good job of interrupting the other and sparking smaller squabblings.
Pretty soon, Makoto and Ami had the whole story about what the
argument was bout... And both of them thought they saw the logical
answer...

Makoto sighed and said, "Really Minako, Rei's right. There's no way
you can be absolutely sure that Mamoru's refusing to remember this on
purpose,"

Ami looked at her strangely and said, "What are you talking about?"

Makoto blinked and said, "Well she can't read his mind. There's no way
to be 100% sure that he's being an ass,"

Ami raised an eyebrow at Makoto and said, "But it stands to logic! If
he had to be willing to remember in the first instance, it stands to
reason that the same would have to be true when he was presented with
the opportunity again. Its the same thing only at different times and
involving different persons,"

"With different magic," Rei said indignantly.

"Of the same element... And one could argue that Tsukikage no Knight's
re-entrance was stronger than the Lunar Mind Meld, but then why wasn't
he able to force his memories to come forth? Either way, he should
remember. Only he obviously doesn't want to!" Minako yelled as she
once again struggled against Makoto's grip. She growled and said,
"What are you a grizzly bear?"

Makoto sweatdropped and said, "I don't know, you're the one who's
growling."

Minako shot her a hard look, but was interrupted by Rei saying, "Oh
Minako would you please shut your mouth? I've heard more than enough
of you,"

Minako turned to her and was about to speak again, when Ami said,
"Actually Rei, statistically, we have heard enough out of you to last
us all several lifetimes,"

Minako snickered a little, but was quickly silenced with a look from
Rei. The fiery miko quickly switched her gaze over to AMi and said,
"You're supposed to back me up when this happens!"

Makoto raised an eyebrow and said, "Rei, I'm on your side this time...
Do you have a probelm with that? And I don't even have to take sides
you know. I could always just let Minako go,"

Minako brightened and said, "I knew it! I knew you would abandon me
for Ami, Mako-chan!"

Ami's mouth fell open and she said, "I'd think you'd be happy to have
me backing you Minako... Had I known you prefer Makoto, I would have
thought so logically."

"Like you could stop thinking logically..." rei murmured.

"I'll say..." Makoto muttered, "I'd love to see you act rashly some
time Ami. It would be interesting to see,"

Ami narrowed her eyes and said, "You're about to see Makoto, now I
suggest you quiet down!"

"Whoo!" Minako yelped, "Go Ami!"

"Minako your incessant cheerfulness is really beginning to bug me,"
Rei growled.

"Yes would you please be silent for once? You're catching up to Rei
in the statistics," Ami said dryly.

"Don't tell me you're really keeping score Ami..." Makoto groaned.

"So what if I am?"

"Its stupid!"

"And a complete waste of time,"

"Look who's talking about wasting time..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're the one who spends all your time trying to catch a guy by
dressing like a streetwalker,"

"Look who's talking,"

"I do NOT dress like a slut,"

"Statistically? Rei's closer,"

"Ami!!"

"Hah! You tell her Ami!"

"Minako, I'm going to have to hurt you if you don't stop moving!"

"Then let me go!"

"Don't you dare!"

"Don't tempt me!"

"Would all of you please shut up?!"

And the fight continued on from there... And steadily got more childish
and worse...

********************************************************* **************

Meanwhile, well above the earth, the Akayashi sisters and Rubeus all
sat and lay in wait of the Wiseman's arrival. Karaberas was sitting
driectly across from Rubeus, crossing her legs in a way that showed
way to much leg and pulling her bodice down a little so it only covered
up what was necessary. Petz, who had been lying about the air lazily,
noticed and floated over to Karaberas, pulling her skirt down and her
dress up. Karaberas flushed scarlet and made a move to smack the older
girl when Rubeus made some noise that discouraged them. Meanwhile,
Beruche was floating over head, trying to calm herself after her
uncharacteristic outburst. Her eyes were closed and her thoughts were
focused on water... Water was soothing and calming... And Cooan was
floating about in a dark corner, trying to ignore her shattering teeth.

Suddenly, an odd series of different colored lights filled the room.
All the warriors stood at attention, save Cooan who pressed herself
further into the corner, trying to blend in with the wall. Rubeus
rolled his eyes and quickly pulled her closer to the rest of them as
their visitor entered...

Rubeus and the Akayashi sisters bowed deeply, but it was only the
former who spoke, "We welcome you Wiseman and anticipate your wisdom."
the sisters made several affirmative responses and awaited Wiseman to
speak.

The Wiseman chuckled darkly and said, "Never were one for protocol,
Rubeus... You were raised to be far too blunt."

Rubeus straightened and stared at the Wiseman in surprise. Cooan
whimpered and moved behind Rubeus, and he did nothing to stop her.
Finally, it was Beruche who bid the old man to speak by saying,
"Wiseman, you have traveled far and I'm sure you're tired from when
Lord Rubeus came to report. Why don't you tell us the plan you have
devised so that you might return to Nemesis in the 30th century and
rest?"

The Wiseman nodded approvingly and said, "Take a lesson from her
Rubeus. She had respect and common courtesy. And she doesn't cower
behind you or bicker behind me!" he looked over his shoulder and Petz
and Karaberas arguing over the latter's behavior. Both quickly looked
down and fell silent.

Then the Wiseman spoke by saying, "Now then... I doubt Rubeus was smart
enough to inform you of the basics. To be brief, we know the
identities of the Sailor Senshi, what we don't know is how old they are
in this time or where they are. They shouldn't be too hard to track
down...

"That would be your job. You have each been pitted up against one of
the Sailor Senshi based on elements and skill. That is why your Lord
Rubeus took so long to come back because it was close. You are to
find out where your senshi resides and devise a plan to capture them,
not kill them. You're to bring them back to Nemesis in our time,
until Sailor Moon is the only one left... The revolution will be
easier to stage if the queen is alone."

"Not to mention she'll be easier to deliver to Demando," Karaberas
whispered under her breath.

The Wiseman whirled on the girl and shouted, "You will show respect for
his highness in my business Karaberas! Rubeus!" he shouted, turning to
the man angrily, "Have you been allowing them to speak so flippantly
about the prince?!"

Rubeus shook his head, shaking either on his own or from the fact that
Cooan was clinging to him like a cat to furniture, "No Wiseman. I have
never heard Karaberas speak so before,"

Beruche saw an opportunity for payback against the comments from
earlier and said, "Well I've heard Karaberas speak so about Prince
Demando many a time. And you as well Wiseman,"

Karaberas looked at Beruche as though she'd been stabbed in the chest
and cried, "Beruche!"

Wiseman turned back to Karaberas and said, "Oh really... Since I have
heard only one utterance, I will let you go unpunished. But should I
hear of this again--"

"You won't Wiseman," Karaberas said, her voice shaking, her eyes on
Beruche.

"Good..." The Wiseman turned and continued, "The pairings are matched
up as follows:

"Cooan and Mars
Beruche and Mercury
Petz and Jupiter
Karaberas and Venus"

The Wiseman watched as they took the information in and retained it.
Then he continued on, "That is the order you will go in, so Cooan," he
turned in the remote direction of Cooan, although he could not see her
because she was still hiding behind Rubeus. He sighed and said, "You
will be the first to fight against Sailor Mars... I hope you can at
least get three feet away from Rubeus..."

"She can," Rubeus said, eyeing Cooan angrily.

"Good," the Wiseman said coldly.

Beruche drifted over the group lazily and said, "Why are you sending
out Cooan first Wiseman?"

Had the Wiseman been able to, he would have smirked when he replied,
"Because Sailor Mars is the second most powerful of the Inner Senshi.
If we take her down, the others will be easier... You go next because
then we get rid of the tactician... And then Petz goes to get rid of
the muscle. Then all that's left is Venus, and she is the weak link.
She's thone who doubts herself so much that she'd admit worldwide...
She'll come down easly if she's alone,"

"Then its just the future queen and we're home free," Petz said
hopefully.

Karaberas got the nerve to speak again by saying, "What's to be done
with them once we deliver them to you,"

"It hasn't been decided yet." Wiseman said in an even tone, "When it
is, I'm sure Rubeus will be happy to tell you," then the lights began
to flash again as the Wiseman said, "There are other elements to my
plan that you needn't concern yourselves with. But they should help
you without your knowledge. In the meantimte, I must take my leave.
Good luck to you Cooan... I hope you can tear yourself away from Lord
Rubeus long enough to do something productive,"

And then just as quickly as he came, he was gone.

************************************************************ ***********

Usagi ran out of the hospital at top speed, ignoring as some of the
staff called after her to find out just why she had been in a patient's
room. In her haste, she ended up dropping her purse and Luna along
with it. But she didn't seem to notice.

'He still doesn't remember...' Usagi thought in anguish as she ran, 'I
did all that... I kissed him, I confessed... And he doesn't remember!
He sees the princess, but that's all he can see!

'Why is it that he doesn't see any more than the Moon Princess? It is
a start... But its like that's all he wants to know! Like he doesn't
want to remember me...

'I love him, but... He'll never love me if he doesn't remember,'

That's when Usagi heard the sound of fighting... The voices of the
senshi ringing in her ears. She looked up and saw Makoto holding onto
Minako, who was fighting against her like a madwoman. Rei was
screaming at the top of her lungs at all of them, and every once in
awhile Ami would speak up. Usagi stared at them from across the street
for awhile... What had caused this? Why were they doing this?

Why was she angry too?

Usagi put those questions aside and stalked across the street to see
what was happening, not even bothering to make sure no cars were
coming. Her fists were clenched and tears were continuing to splash
onto her face.

It was Minako who noticed her, and it was Minako Usagi wanted.

Usagi stalked up to Minako and cried, "I don't care what all of you
are fighting about and I don't care who's right and who's wrong! I am
not getting involved in this one! I just would like to know what _you_
were thinking when you threatened Mamoru,"

Minako blinked and said, "Usagi I... I was only trying to make him--"

"Remember?" Usagi said bitterly, "You're threats made him not want to
remember! I went to visit him today to see if he was all right, and to
make him love me again... But when I tried to get him to know about his
past life, he clamed up! Because of what you said to him!"

Minako felt hurt, and guilty... She had been trying to help, but it
seemed she had done nothing but make it worse. She looked down and
said, "I... I'm sorry Usagi. I was only trying to help."

Usagi shook her head and said, "And what good did that do me?" she
sobbed slightly and said, "As I said, I don't care what this was about.
But what good does it do you to argue like little brats. Go your
separate ways, and don't contact each other... And definitely do not
talk to me. I don't want to see your four again for awhile," then
Usagi turned on her heel and ran for her house, still sobbing.

Minako looked down, ashamed at her self for arguing like she had, and
over nothing. But she was still made at them all... And she still felt
guilty for pushing Mamoru and Usagi apart when she had been trying to
push them together... She stooped her shoulders and felt them begin to
shake with oncoming tears. Makoto knew better than to keep holding her
and released her... Minako did fly forward, but she moved past Rei and
started for her own home, not wanting to stay around them anymore.

Makoto stared after her, and cleared her throat saying, "Well I uh...
Yeah," then she turned around and stuck her hands in her pockets,
trying to think of how she got roped into that fight anyway...

Ami sighed and turned to Rei saying, "You know... Statistically...
Most friendships don't last forever," then she looked down, as if she
shouldn't have said that and meekly walked towards her own home.

And Rei was left standing alone, wondering where she had gone wrong
with the discussion with Minako... again. She supposed they had made
up too easily, too soon. They had left so many resentments unspoken,
and then they blew up about things they didn't care about...

Rei shook her head and said, "So much for keeping the senshi together.
Damn it..." then Rei slowly turned around and walked back to the
shrine...

None of them realized that another pair of eyes had been watching...

~***************************************************** ****************~

* In the manga, it was stated that Sailor Pluto was the daughter of
Chronos... I know this is an anime story, but I thought that was a
nice element to throw into the mix... And I have always considered the
god Chronos to be more of an entity then an actual being... And it
served its purposes well here.

** I have looked up every resource I can think of, and all say that it
was never disclosed as to whether he was unconscious or died... I
always thought he bit the dust, so that's what he did here. ^.^

I honestly did not intend for it to be this long... O.o I may have
gotten a teensy bit carried away... *smiles innocently*

As for the Akayashi sister's personalities, I realize they are not
exactly how they were portrayed in the anime... But they really weren't
given much personality other than being vain, Beruche was the brains,
and Petz and Karaberas bickered constantly. So I spruced them up a
bit. ^.^

And that book mentioned in Rei's scene is "The Mists of Avalon" by the
late Marion Zimmer Bradley. I admit, I'm not done with the book, but
so far it has been a wonderful read. I implore you all to buy it now!
*.*

Anyway, I apologize for taking so long to get this out, but I have been
so damn busy with trips and illness I haven't had much of a chance to
write this... But its here now and now we can all rest easier. ^^;
Thanks for reading, and I hope you give me feedback. *puppy dog eyes*

Coming Soon: Part Three: Fires of Hate