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Forgotten Forever by Kihin Ranno

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Minako couldn't remember the last time she had been so thoroughly exhausted. She was weak in every understanding of the word. She had no idea when or if she was ever going to feel strong again.

She had run for ten solid minutes in hopes of coming to Makoto's rescue, only to find that she was once again too late to do anything. She and Sailor Moon had reached the scene at almost the same time, and neither one of them had been close enough to do anything but stare as Jupiter was taken away from them. They had been slack-jawed as the aftermath unfolded, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

After the shock subsided, they hadn't even looked at each other. They'd just started walking in opposite directions, where they would mourn their third loss in private. They would not turn to each other in comfort. Not even when there was no one else left.

She sat down, weary past her bones and into her blood. She leaned forward, burying her face into the palms or her hands. She breathed. It felt like it was the only thing she had control over any more, so she stayed focused. In and out. In and out. In and out again. But even as she tried to block everything out, one single thought would not be forced out.

Three down. Two to go.

Minako trembled and dug her nails into her scalp. There were so many things she should have done and had failed to do. She had failed Ami, Rei, and now Makoto. And Usagi had made it clear that she felt betrayed by Minako as well. She's screwed up. Bad. And there was no way to fix it.

She had never felt so low in all her life.

"It's going to be all right you know," a voice soothed beside her.

Minako didn't look up. She didn't have to. Only one person - well, cat - was willing to stick by her no matter what. "You don't know that," she said, her voice muffled by her fingers.

A soft paw rested on her leg. "Minako, it has to be all right."

"Why?" she asked, looking at him now. She was ready to launch into a screaming, crying argument. She was prepared to let him have it for daring to tell her that after everything that had happened, but she stopped. But she saw the look in his eyes, saw the tears he would not even allow himself to form, and she thought better of it. She softened and gathered Artemis into her arms, holding him like a child would hold a comforting stuffed toy.

Artemis endured Minako's too-tight squeezing without complaint, though he shifted uncomfortably when given the chance. She did not put him down for awhile, and he did not wait long to speak to her. "They're alive," he reminded her.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Minako asked. "People can only endure so much, but when you add our power... Artemis, they could be torturing them, my best friends, and I'm just... sitting here."

Artemis did not respond to that for a moment. She was glad that she could not see his face. "They want something from them, and somehow I doubt it's information. They want you, and for whatever reason, they want you intact. I doubt torturing would do them any good."

"Would that stop them?" Minako asked, remembering the hatred in Rei's captor's eyes and the screeching voices of the women who had taken Makoto. There had been loathing within them that unsettled Minako deeply. Somehow she thought that if they had been allowed to do it, she would be mourning three deaths instead.

She felt him nod into her neck. "Those women are organized. Someone is controlling their movements. And whoever that is must be keeping them in check."

Minako considered this for a moment. Whoever was their leader had to be fierce enough to control those women. They had to be stronger, better, and much more deadly than those women could ever hope to be. She shuddered and held Artemis closer, hoping he could chase away the terror that gripped her.

Artemis sighed. "We'll get them back," he assured her. "We will."

Hearing the certainty and the hope in his voice, Minako began to get a grip. She could not allow herself to be frightened of things she didn't even know existed. And she did not have the time to waste in emotional turmoil when she should have been thinking about a way to fix all of this. It wasn't her strong suit, but she was the only one capable of doing it now.

"How?" Minako asked, less petulant now. She set him down and started to force her mind to cooperate. "Even if we knew where they were, we're outnumbered."

Artemis's eyes darkened, wondering just how far Minako's understanding of the word "we" was extended. "Even if she has an issue with you--" he began with uncertainty.

"I know that she would never abandon the others," Minako interrupted, letting her eyelids droop. "That's part of the reason why I want to figure this out. Maybe if I can come up with a plan, Usagi..." she trailed off, unable or unwilling to complete the selfish thought.

Artemis hesitated before he spoke, and Minako was instantly sure that she was not going to like what he was about to say. "You know, you could always just tell her that you were wrong and that you're perfectly willing to forget the whole thing happened."

Minako frowned and shook her head. "No."

Artemis flicked his tail in frustration. "Why not? You were never planning on telling her in the first place. Why not take it back now?"

"Because it's out there," Minako explained with a sigh. "I can't go back on what I said. I could apologize, but I'm not certain she would ever be able to forgive and forget. If she's going to do it, she'll do it in her own time and without my help."

Artemis's tail fluffed out, a scare tactic Minako had always thought was quite comical. "That makes absolutely no sense."

Minako shrugged. "Well, what can you do?"

That seemed to signal the end of the conversation, and neither one of them was willing to try and force it to go any further. Then both Minako and Artemis to stare straight out in front of them at the Tsukino's home. It wasn't the best view they could have gotten, nor was it the most comfortable tree in existence, but it would do.

Minako had allowed three of her friends to be kidnapped because of distance. She was not going to let Usagi suffer the same fate.

-----

Usagi was scared.

On the one hand, she was terrified of what was happening to her friends. She knew that Rei and Makoto would not be model prisoners no matter how much Ami would struggle to make them behave as such. They would talk back, rant and rave, even try to fight if given the chance. She could not stop thinking of them doing something wrong and of the punishment for their mistake. The retribution was swift and varied, and it always ended in blood.

She was afraid of what they wanted with the three girls for. When Mamoru had been kidnapped by Beryl, he had reappeared as her enemy. He had tried to kill her and her friends, and he had tried to fetch the Ginzuishou for the Dark Kingdom's purposes. She didn't want to close her eyes, fearing that she would wake up with Makoto's hands around her throat or Ami holding her head underwater or Rei setting her body on fire. It had been hard enough fighting someone she cared about the first time. She did not think she would be able to survive it again.

And she was scared because she knew they must be scared. Snatched from their lives, cast into some dark dungeon without warning or explanation. She was scared that they weren't being fed or cared for. She was scared that they were dying slowly and that their captors weren't noticing. She was scared that she and Minako would not be able to help their friends because of their feud, and she was scared that it didn't make any difference. She was terrified of the thought that they were destined to fail.

But she was also afraid because she didn't want to join them.

Usagi was lying in bed, her back to the window, curled up in as tight a ball as she could manage. She was hiding under her covers, doubting that they would provide her any real protection but taking comfort in them anyway. She was trembling like a guilty man before the gallows, and she desperately wanted a hug from one Chiba Mamoru.

She felt a pang when she thought of him, as she always did. She had scarcely had time to think of him lately, save in connection with what had happened with Minako, but she was going to force herself to ignore that for the time being. She thought only of how it would feel when he finally opened his eyes - really opened his eyes - and remembered her. She thought of the moment when she was finally wrapped up in his arms as his lover. She was certain she would cry, unsure of whether he would cry as well. But she knew that it would be the happiest moment of her life. Waiting for it was what kept her going. He was her strength even though he knew nothing of their destiny.

Without that hope, Usagi knew that she would not have made it that far. She would not have been able to handle the new enemies' tactics. She would have lost her mind, and that would have been the last kindness Fate handed to her. She would not have been able to endure this suffering without the thought of how he did love her and that once he was aware of it, everything would be all right.

And that was why she could not forgive Minako for trying to ruin it.

Thinking of her blonde friend made Usagi remember what Luna had asked her. When she had asked how Usagi would react if she lost Minako just as she had lost the others. She was the only other Senshi left, and it certainly stood to reason that she was the next target if their enemy followed the pattern. Usagi had answered that she would not care. Minako was a traitor. Minako didn't want Usagi to be happy. Minako wanted to tear her and Mamoru apart for reasons that Usagi could not fathom and did not want to fathom.

When she thought of that, she thought of how Minako had been the only one successful in cheering Usagi up right after Mamoru had disappeared. She thought of the sorrow in the girl's eyes as she explained that he was no longer their ally or their friend. She thought of Minako's constant assurances that they would be able to turn Mamoru back. She had been so earnest. She had seemed so genuine. Usagi had been sure that Minako wanted her and Mamoru to get together if that was what made Usagi happy even while she was being denied her own love.

Had all of that really been a lie?

Usagi didn't want to think so, but what else could she think? It seemed to Usagi that Minako had done a complete about face. She insisted that Mamoru would not bring her happiness, as if she had any idea how to fulfill Usagi's dreams. She was clueless about everything, but she would not admit that. She acted like she knew better when she didn't. It was infuriating.

And it was terrifying.

"I want Mamoru," Usagi whispered fiercely, holding the Ginzuishou to her chest. "And I want Rei and Ami and Makoto. I want everything to be peaceful again. I want to be normal. Please, please I want to be normal."

She looked down at the brooch expectantly, but of course, nothing happened. With that last hope dashed, Usagi wrapped her arms around her knees and cried herself to sleep. She didn't know what else she could do.

-----

Karaberas was still sitting on the cool floor of the dungeon room long after her sisters and Master Rubeus had left her. It took her several minutes to realize that she was in shock and another relatively short length of time to remember that being in shock was a bad thing. It was only after that she felt calm enough to start shaking, and it took some more time before she was finally able to stop. When that subsided, Karaberas took comfort in something familiar.

Hatred.

Never had she been so humiliated in all of her life. Petz could not have conspired a better downfall for her sister if she had put years of effort into it. An unplanned series of events should not have had the effect that they had on her for Karaberas was far more used to plots and schemes. But she could not sit there and think of how impossible it was when it was clearly very possible. She did not have the time to waste to curse Petz and rage at Rubeus and spit at her sisters for standing idly by. She didn't even have the time to take revenge on Sailor Jupiter, for it was clear that she was to blame for all of this by refusing to cooperate.

Karaberas only had time to make herself presentable and then go out and find Sailor Venus. She had possessed a healthy amount of disgust and loathing for the woman before, but now Karaberas had more reason to go after her. She had to redeem herself in the eyes of her sisters and her superior. She had to drag Sailor Venus back just as she had been instructed, and she had to do it quickly. It was the only chance she had for not being a laughing stock, or worse, to avoid Rubeus's punishment.

Or worse still, to avoid Demando's punishment.

Karaberas shuddered before she had a chance to stop herself. It wasn't something that she could stop no matter how hard she tried. She had seen Demando's wrath firsthand, and even Rubeus had been unsettled by it. She was in no hurry to see it again, much less be the brunt of it. The first time had been personal enough.

Karaberas traced the outline of the mark on her brow by way of memorial. Then she set about to fixing her appearance. She put her hair back into its customary bun without a mirror and then straightened out her clothes. She then began to walk out of the room, deciding to walk around a bit before heading out. She was still nervous after her encounter with Rubeus, and she needed a few more minutes yet to completely collect herself.

"You're going after Venus, aren't you?"

Karaberas looked over her shoulder at the three captives. She was surprised to hear them speak although she had not forgotten they were in the room. She was even more surprised to see that Mercury was speaking to her. Beruche had nicknamed her the Little Mouse for a reason.

"The rumors are true," Karaberas taunted. "You are the smart one." She then turned to finish leaving for she had not time to spend baby-sitting future tyrants.

"Why are you doing this?" Mars asked, and Karaberas did not have to look to know what her eyes looked like. "We have done nothing."

"You'll do plenty," Karaberas reminded them. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go capture your friend."

"But what do we do that's so horrible?" Mercury asked, disbelieving in the idea that her morals could be corrupted enough to spawn a revolution willing to go to any lengths to take them out.

This was enough to make Karaberas stay behind. They had all been instructed to keep the information they handed out to their captives to a minimum, but Karaberas did not think she would be able to hold her tongue on this subject. For one, she almost thought they had a right to know, and she was of the opinion that they had very few rights at all. She also wanted to see the looks on their faces when she told them, though there were details that even she would prevent herself from revealing.

"You exiled our families for standing against you," Karaberas said in a low voice. "My sister Petz was just a baby when you banished our parents to a dark, desolate planet for disagreeing with you. You tattooed us with these inverted moons so that everyone knew who we were if we dared to try to escape. And some people did. Like my father. He was stoned to death.

"You sent us away hoping we would die quietly. You never thought that we would come back to haunt you while there was still breath in our bodies. And now we're taking the planet back and getting rid of you once and for all."

There was silence for a moment and Karaberas thought that they were done. She once again started to leave them when Mars interrupted her again. She sounded like she was crying.

"So why not just kill us then?" she dared Karaberas. "You obviously want to."

Karaberas chuckled wryly. It was another fair question and one she was more than happy to answer. "The four Guardian Senshi are going to be used as leverage."

Mercury had the good sense to sound afraid. "Leverage for what?"

Karaberas thought of looking at them again, finding that it would have been quite dramatic to do and then vanish. But she did not, fearing that she would see their faces clearly and remember how much she desperately wanted them dead. Especially given the topic of conversation, Karaberas did not know if she could trust herself.

"Sailor Moon."

And then she really left, vanishing in the same moment that she pulled a list of five names from her chest. She had work to do, and it could not wait any longer.

-----

It was Friday, but Usagi did not greet it with the same amount of joy as she usually did. There was absolutely nothing for Usagi to look forward to. School did not seem nearly as much like a prison now that her friends were experiencing the reality first hand, and the promise of it ending for the week left her hollow.

Usagi rose from bed and went through the motions of getting ready. She showered, put up her hair, and dressed for school. She thought of staying home, and she was certain that her parents would not object to it, but there was no point. There was also no point in going to school, but the routine might bring some comfort.

Usagi was in no particular hurry. She had woken up before her alarm thanks to a fitful sleep full of plausible nightmares, so the morning lacked the usual frenzy. Her mother gave her a strange look when Usagi sat down at the kitchen table. Her father had already eaten and left, leaving the morning paper sitting haphazardly on top of his chair. It was because Usagi was not rushing and because she did not feel like forcing conversation over breakfast that she happened to look at the front page of the newspaper.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT ATTACKED
Another victim of the magical abductions?

Usagi grabbed the newspaper, ignoring the hearty helping of pancakes her mother had loaded onto her plate. She saw the older woman exchange a fretful glance with Shingo, who reached down and held Luna in his lap. She saw all of this, but it barely registered. She was far too busy reading the article, which recounted how a girl had been dragged into an alley by a woman vaguely matching the descriptions given by witnesses at the other kidnappings. The victim was a mystery; all they knew was that she was a tall brunette. There was considerably more detail about her assailant, most of conflicting. The article went on and on as it drew parallels between this and the other kidnappings. Ami's and Rei's names appeared frequently.

Makoto's was nowhere to be found. And the journalist didn't even mention whether or not any effort was being made to find out who had been taken. All it said was that no one had been reported missing.

"I meant to get rid of that," Ikuko said lamely, knowing that it was far too late to undo the damage, but hoping that something could be done to help. She started to reach forward to take it away. "I can--"

"No," Usagi said softly, setting the newspaper down. She saw Ikuko's eyes widen. Usagi wondered it it was because of how tightly she was gripping the paper or if it was the look on her face.

No one knew that Makoto was missing. No one even seemed to care that a third girl had been kidnapped even though that was supposedly what the article was about. Everyone seemed far more concerned about Ami and Rei because their parents were rich and well-known. And this third girl was clearly of no importance. No one had reported her missing, so no one cared about her. Why should anyone else?

No one cared that Makoto was one of the nicest girls Usagi had ever been blessed to meet. No one cared that she was fiercely loyal and unbelievably brave. No one cared about how deeply she loved or how she never allowed countless disappointments get her down. No one cared that she loved to cook or that she was good with plants. No one cared that Makoto had been the first one to lay down her life at the D-point and that she had once told Usagi that she would have done it again in a heartbeat even if she knew that she wouldn't be reborn.

Not even Usagi had cared enough to report her missing. She hadn't thought about it. She had forgotten that Makoto didn't have any parents to know she was gone. It had been her fault that Makoto had been taken, and she hadn't even had the decency to acknowledge it.

She was horrible.

"I feel sick," Usagi whispered before leaping to her feet and running into the nearest bathroom. There was absolutely nothing in her stomach, so she sat in front of the toilet heaving up nothing. That was how she was able to hear her mother crying and Shingo try to soothe her and Luna meowing sympathetically the whole while.

Usagi wanted to reassure them, but she couldn't. She didn't have enough confidence in the future.

-----

It had taken a longer amount of time than Ami and Rei would have liked, but Makoto eventually came around. The moment the taller girl had opened her eyes and saw them there, all three of them had come together in a tangle of limbs, hair, and tears. None of them could think of ever having been more relieved to see another human being in their lives. They clung to each other for most of the night, sleeping fitfully and usually in shifts.

When morning finally came without breakfast, they felt calm enough to speak. Makoto glanced around at their surroundings in a mixture of awe and fear. Naturally, the latter outweighed the former. "So you still don't know where we are?"

Rei shook her head. "Cooan, the woman who captured me, said something about us being up somewhere. I don't know if that means we're on a mountain or in a tower or what."

Ami sighed. "If I had my computer I'd be able to tell."

"If you had your computer, we'd have gotten out of here by now," Rei reminded her bitterly.

Ami chose to ignore Rei's petulance in favor of looking over Makoto. To be honest, she was quite embarrassed that she hadn't done anything about her health previously. She had been too relieved that her friend was breathing and in one piece to care much about the state of her nose. Now that the tears were no longer clouding her vision, Ami wished that she had worried about it more. It didn't look like a nose was supposed to.

"Does it hurt?" Ami asked, gently pushing Makoto's hair out of the way. One of her knuckles brushed against the bruises on accident. Makoto instantly cried out and pulled away, tears springing to her eyes.

"Sorry!" Ami said hurriedly, ducking her head out of habit.

Rei frowned. "I suppose that answers that question."

"Let's put it this way," Makoto said, breathing deeply to try and ease away the pain. "It's distracting me from my ribs well enough."

Ami winced, remembering that the state of Makoto's health had been none too pleasant before any of this. Then again, her fingers were still bound tightly and Rei's ankle was currently swollen up to the size of a grapefruit. None of them had been physically or mentally prepared for this experience.

Makoto eyed Ami and Rei warily, looking as though she were about to tell them something that neither of them were going to like very much. She opened her mouth and said, "This isn't the first time that someone's broken my nose. And frankly, I can only think of one thing that's going to make it better in a hurry."

Catching on quickly, the blood in Ami's face disappeared. She turned away quickly, instructing Rei to do the same.

"Why? What's she going to--"

Rei was interrupted by the sound of Makoto's bones snapping back into place as she gave her nose a hard upward jerk. Rei turned away too late, her fingers covering her mouth in horror. She swallowed hard and said, "I really would have appreciated a more explicit warning."

Makoto laughed sheepishly. "Sorry."

"If you had bothered to wait, I could have made that experience far less gruesome."

The three girls looked up to see Beruche standing a few feet away from them, a tray of their food in her hands and a bag of medical supplies slung over her shoulder. She was smiling at them with some amusement and, as always, a fair amount of disdain.

Makoto was the first one to react. She tried to get to her feet, but she quickly realized that she wasn't strong enough to do that. So she had to settle with glaring up at Beruche on her knees, her lip curled and both of her fists trembling. "Why would I accept any help from you?"

Beruche arched an eyebrow, chuckling quietly. "Because I'm afraid you'll find that I'm the most sympathetic of the bunch."

Rei glanced over to Makoto and nodded, confirming the idea. "I don't like it either, but she's the only one who bothers to feed us."

"Or dress your wounds," Beruche added with some amount of importance. She looked at all three of them, but no one missed the obvious emphasis on the newest arrival. "Now then, you girls have a choice. Either you can let me in without trying anything stupid and remain unharmed, or you do something stupid, I set off those collars, and you get no food and no medical attention. Your choice."

Makoto was still all for doing something potentially stupid, or at least that's what could be assumed by the fact that she refused to relax her position. Finally, Ami reached out and laid a hand on Makoto's elbow. It seemed to have a calming effect on the girl. "It's all right. She won't hurt us. She isn't like Petz or Cooan."

"Or Sister Number Four apparently," Rei muttered bitterly.

Beruche opened the door to their cell and entered with ease. She was pleased to see that none of the captives made a move, too tired and too hungry to try and stage an escape. She set down their breakfast, which was the same as every other meal they were given - rice and water. She looked up at Rei, her lips pursed. "I take it you've had the pleasure of conversing with Karaberas then?"

"You could say that," Rei answered, eyeing the food greedily.

Beruche caught the look but said nothing about it. "Karaberas is a fool. She's desperate to prove herself to Master Rubeus and to surpass Petz. It isn't a good combination for either of our sides."

"Do you think she'll hurt Venus?" Ami asked quietly, betraying her concern.

Beruche shrugged coolly. "I can't predict her behavior. All I can assume is that after her mistake with Jupiter, she'll do whatever it takes to regain favor in Master Rubeus's eyes. That means she won't kill her, but I don't know how much restraint Karaberas will show, all things considered."

Ami began to look ill and turned away from Beruche.

She moved over to Makoto and took a closer look at her face. She shook her head and said, "You waited too long to set it back into place. It'll be probably crooked for the rest of your life."

Makoto shrugged, but both Ami and Rei noticed the flash in the girl's eyes at the veiled insult. Still, she said nothing, deciding that it was safer to remain quiet given their current circumstances. "It was crooked before."

"I'd never noticed," Ami said, trying to be helpful, still pale from Beruche's news on her sister.

Makoto gave her a quick smile but said nothing more.

Beruche got to her feet and fumbled around in her bag. "Since you saw fit to take care of most of your wounds yourselves, I don't have much more to do. But Cooan's arms are coming along better than expected and we'll no doubt be home soon. I see no harm in giving this to you." She tossed a jar of salve over to Rei, who caught it with some difficulty. Her hands were shaking.

"What is it?" she asked, turning the jar over in her hands.

"It's a cure-all stolen from Mercury's labs when--" Beruche cut herself off, obviously censoring some information from them. The three girls knew better than to try and press her for anything more. "Rub it on your wounds several times a day and it should speed up the process. It's more effective on flesh wounds like Cooan's burns, but it should be of some help."

"Showing mercy to the enemy, Beruche?"

Beruche sighed, pouting slightly. "Aren't I allowed to show some goodwill, Petz?"

The green-clad soldier stepped out of the shadows when her name was spoken, a hand balanced on her hip as always. She glared at the four assembled collectively, focusing on Makoto for a brief moment before turning to her sister. "Not when it comes to them."

Beruche stepped forward, deciding it was best to move away from Makoto in case she decided to ignore what Beruche had said earlier. "Petz, you know as well as I that they're going to need to be able to walk once all of this is over. Better they can do it quickly and without aid."

Petz sniffed and nodded as Beruche stepped out of the cell once more. None of the other girls moved, though it was clear that Rei and Makoto were both sorely tempted. "True enough. Any one else would likely take advantage of the situation."

"And kill us?" Rei asked, her voice like stone.

"That would be inconvenient for you, wouldn't it?" Makoto ground out.

Petz narrowed her eyes and glared at Beruche. "What have you said?"

Beruche held up her arms defensively. "Don't look at me. If you want to blame someone, look to your usual target. Karaberas spoke with them earlier."

"And what did she tell you?" Petz snarled, focusing her attention on Ami. Beruche's nickname for her did have some truth in it after all.

Ami shrank back and glanced at Rei and Makoto. It was clear that they would not have said anything, but Ami knew the punishment for disobedience. She did not think she could withstand another shock, and it was better for her friends if she just cooperated. Perhaps if it was just her, she would have kept her peace, but she was not going to put them through any more pain than necessary. "She just said you needed us to get to Sailor Moon. She didn't explain what that meant."

Beruche sniffed. "Well, at least that's all she said."

"What do you want from Sailor Moon?" Rei asked, her usual fire returning where Usagi's safety was concerned. "Are you planning on having her switch with us? Our lives for hers?"

Beruche laughed a bit at that. "Goodness no. That would be far more work than necessary." Her lips curled into a cruel smile. "Besides, she'd be of little use to his Highness dead."

It wasn't exactly a slip of the tongue, but it earned her a glare from Petz. Rei did not fail to notice it and filed it away in order to consider it further later.

"What is it then?" Makoto asked, her back straightening. "What do you want her for?"

Petz scoffed. "You aren't even supposed to know that much. I see no reason to give you any further details."

"If you're smart, you'll figure it out," Beruche told them. She gave them an oddly pleasant smile and waved, saying, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other places to be." And with that, there was no reason for her to stay, so she left.

Petz remained a moment longer but only to give the three captives a stern look. She folded her arms in front of her chest and said, "You're lucky Beruche is here. If it were up to me, you'd starve."

"And if it were up to me, you'd bleed," Makoto spat. It was fairly clear that if the bars had not been between them, she would have attacked Petz some time ago.

Petz glared but said nothing. Instead, she snapped her fingers and left the girls to their cooling breakfast and Makoto's anguished screams.

-----

Two girls were already crossed off the list, and Karaberas was working on number three.

Rubeus had been sending her after girls that vaguely matched Sailor Venus's description for several days now, and so far she hadn't been able to find anyone who could even come close to being the Solider of Love. There was always something wrong with them. And thus far, the names on her lists didn't seem to be much better.

However, Rubeus had been more confident about these girls than he had been before. After catching Mercury and Mars, Saffir had done a cross reference of their names in order to come up with results that should be more on the mark. The girls on this list frequently visited the Hikawa Jinja, attended the same jukus, or had some other connection to one or both of the girls. Obviously, they didn't all have the exact same traits, but Saffir was certain that one of these girls was Sailor Venus.

So far, he couldn't have been further off the mark. One girl had been out of town for the past week and the other was currently in traction. Obviously, that took them out of the running.

Karaberas was currently tracking her third target, who was traveling by car. It was Saturday now, so she could have been going anywhere. The only thing Karaberas could be certain of was that her target was in a hurry. She was speeding as much as one could speed in Tokyo, sticking to roads that were not as laden down with traffic.

Karaberas frowned as she continued following the car. She was levitating in the air, practically flying after the vehicle in order to keep up. She had no idea where the girl was going or if she was even going to stop any time soon. She'd wasted quite a bit of time investigating the two other girls, and she was getting restless.

"I think its time to speed up the process," Karaberas muttered, her frown quickly twisting into a crooked smile.

She checked to make sure there weren't too many people around and then vanished from her position in the air. She reappeared on the road just ten feet away from the speeding car. The driver panicked and swerved the wheel in a desperate attempt to avoid Karaberas. Unfortunately, her speed had done her no favors. She lost control of the wheel, and while it was only for a short time, it lasted long enough for her to crash into a telephone pole.

Karaberas wasted no time. She teleported over to the car and forced the passenger's side door opened. The driver was slumped over in the seat, held up only by her seat built. Karaberas leaned in and picked up the girl without much delicacy. Her target had the same features as all the others - blonde hair and blue eyes. She had a fairly muscular build and was within the height range to be a fairly successful gymnast. She was also bleeding profusely from several injuries Karaberas's stunt had caused, but she couldn't be bothered with that.

She looked at the girl's wrists and found no communicator similar to what Mercury and Jupiter had possessed. Still, it was possible that her target had it and her henshin stick stashed somewhere else in the car. One thing was for certain however; there was no way that Sailor Venus would be without those tools. So all Karaberas had to do was find them and then she could confirm this girl's identity.

Working swiftly, Karaberas searched nearly every inch of the car. She dug through the girl's pack and the three purses she had stashed in the back seat of her car. She searched every compartment the vehicle contained. She even went through the girl's pockets, but she found nothing.

Karaberas was about to take another look around the car when she heard the sirens of an emergency vehicle on their way. She swore, afraid that she had overlooked something in her search. She nearly left in spite of the fact that she was going to have to return later when something stopped her. She leaned forward and took a closer look at the girl's hair. She hadn't noticed it before, thinking that it had been blood, but upon closer inspection, she received her confirmation.

The driver had dark roots.

Karaberas grabbed the girl's hair and instantly knew that this was not a match. In her fights with Sailor Venus, there had been a fair amount of hair-grabbing on her part. She'd yanked out enough to know that Sailor Venus was no bleach blonde. This girl must have lied in her records, which would explain why Saffir hadn't caught it before.

While it was a relief to have a clear answer, Karaberas was not happy that this was yet another lead turned cold. She growled and vanished once more, the flash caused by her movement vanishing just as the ambulance rounded the corner.

-----

Motoki was stuck with the Saturday shift at the Crown again, and he couldn't say he was thrilled about it. It wasn't as if he had anything better to do of course. Reika was still out of the country, he didn't have any especially important exams to study for, and he could hardly go out with Mamoru considering he was still in the hospital. But it didn't change the fact that Motoki sincerely wished he had the guts to refuse to work on Saturdays, but as everyone loved informing him, he was really too nice.

Motoki's hatred for the Saturday shift stemmed from the very simple fact that it was one of the Crown's busiest days. All of the schools that didn't have Saturday session that week seemed to congregate at the establishment, and he was usually the only person on duty. He had gently hinted that they hire someone else to help out when things got so busy, but apparently his gentle hints had a tendency to fall on deaf ears. So, Motoki was stuck waiting on too many people at once, and he went home exhausted every Saturday night, cursing the fact that he had to be such a nice guy.

And that was why Motoki was supremely saddened when Usagi came into the Crown early that morning. He could tell immediately that she was distraught and needed to talk to him. Unfortunately, he couldn't get to her as soon as he would have liked. When she tried to attract his attention, he threw her a desperate look and gestured to the masses of people that had gathered in the arcade. She'd understood and nodded somberly, but she hadn't left. She merely slid into an open booth and waited for him.

It literally took him several hours to find time to speak with her. Things simply would not slow down. He didn't even notice when yet another familiar blonde slid in after her, keeping herself hidden from unwanted eyes.

When he did sit down across from her, he started babbling, not really looking at her. "I'm sorry about that, Usagi. You know how crazy it tends to get on Saturdays. This weekend seems to be even more insane than usual, though I can't think of why that would--"

He brought himself to an immediate stop when he took a good look at her eyes. He had noticed her distress instantly, but he had not gotten the whole picture until that moment. Motoki was so used to seeing her with a smile that her haunted, anguished expression nearly made him shudder. He had never seen a person look so lost in his entire life. He looked into her eyes and saw her pain, and he could think of nothing he would have liked more than to rid her of it.

"Usagi, you look..." he tapered off, remembering lectures from his girlfriend on such subjects. He swallowed and leaned forward, saying, "I can tell you're upset." He winced at the inappropriateness of the term, but he didn't know what else to say.

She nodded silently, her hands folded in her lap. Her eyelids drooped, apparently self-conscious about baring herself without meaning to. She shook her head and whispered, "I just don't know what to do anymore."

Motoki felt his heart ache at how small and tired she sounded. Usagi was like a little sister to him, and he couldn't stand her being so pathetically despondent. He swallowed and said, "I can't imagine what you must be going through."

Usagi looked up at him, genuinely surprised. Apparently she thought that he did have some experience with it. "They're your friends too. Aren't they?"

"Yes, but..." Motoki trailed off, wincing at how her lip quivered at him. He sighed and glanced down. It was hard to look at her. Almost painful. "I'm not as close with Ami and Rei as you are. I'm worried about them, and I miss them, but it's different with me."

"Makoto's gone too."

Motoki's heart dropped somewhere by his feet. His head snapped up immediately, making his neck hurt. "Makoto? What happened to--"

"She was taken," Usagi whispered, her quiet voice stopping him more thoroughly than if she had shouted. "Just like the others."

He stared at her, starting to feel sick. Knowing that Makoto had met the same fate as two of her friends made all the difference to him. Unlike Rei or Ami, he and Makoto had their own bond. He wasn't oblivious to the crush she still had on him, but that didn't stop them from being good friends. She was as much of a sister to him as Usagi or Unazaki, and knowing that she could be hurt or worse was the most devastating thing he had ever heard.

"My God," Motoki whispered.

"I reported her missing yesterday," she continued softly. "I don't know if they believed me. They were treating the disappearances as if Ami and Rei were targeted for their parents' wealth. But Makoto doesn't have any parents."

Motoki hadn't known that. It made him feel even worse.

"No one even knew she was gone," Usagi continued. "Not until I told them that she hadn't come to school and that there was no one at her apartment."

Motoki rubbed his chin with his palm, the beginnings of stubble grating against his skin. "Did they send someone to search it?"

Usagi shrugged. "They said they would, but like I said, I'm not sure that they believed me."

Motoki shook his head. She didn't deserve to endure this. And they didn't deserve whatever fate had been dealt them. He was optimistic about it, but it was hard to have that much hope. "This doesn't make any sense."

Usagi looked up with as much surprise as she could muster. She was currently numb. "What do you mean?"

"Three of your friends were taken," Motoki said, his gestures sharp and quick as he worked it all out in his head. "You were all involved in that... thing with the tree. Don't they consider that?"

Usagi sighed. "I don't know. I guess they just want to stick to plausible theories they can actually do something about."

Motoki wanted to protest that more. After all, everyone already knew that the attacks were supernatural in nature. Only the desperate skeptics were continuing to contest that. Tokyo was just too strange to deny that paranormal activity existed.

But even as he began to formulate the argument in his mind, it occurred to him that the police must be endlessly frustrated with so many cases that they simply couldn't solve. They couldn't hold a séance to chase down leads or something equally outlandish. But they could look for a common thread - like wealth or location - something they could actually investigate. It made sense that at least one police officer would turn a blind eye to more leads he couldn't investigate. Unfortunately, Usagi happened to talk to that one.

"I guess you're right," Motoki said softly. "Still, I wish there was more that could be done."

"So do I."

Motoki blinked. He supposed it shouldn't surprise him so much considering what she had been through, but the sound of her voice was enough to make his breath stop in his throat. There was steel and iron there, something he had never expected from her. He had assumed that Usagi would shatter, and she did seem a little broken. But somehow, she wasn't letting that stop her.

Motoki reached across the table and grabbed Usagi's hand. It surprised her, and she almost pulled away from him. But when she looked up and saw his empathy and the soft smile on his lips, she stilled. After a few seconds, she squeezed back, acknowledging his attempt to help her.

He just wished there was more he could do.

-----

"Any word from Karaberas?"

Petz looked up, partially surprised to see Cooan standing a few feet away from her. The younger girl was no longer wearing as many bandages on her arms thanks to the quick acting healing salve. She still had restricted mobility, but she seemed to be in less pain than she had been at first, and for that they were all grateful. The less they had to listen to Cooan's whining, the better.

"Why are you asking me?" Petz queried without humor. "Why should I know where she goes or stays?"

Cooan seemed slightly affronted, but she did not back down. "Because you would be the first one to know if Karaberas triumphs or fails. She'll come singing it to you for the first, and you'll sense her misery if it's the other one."

Petz chuckled, conceding that point. "In that case, the answer's no. I haven't even seen her since yesterday."

Cooan frowned at the memory. "I never thought that Master Rubeus--"

"Was capable of doing that much damage?" Petz asked, an eyebrow raised. "If you thought he was a merciful man, you're a fool."

Cooan narrowed her eyes and snapped, "I never thought he was merciful. I just didn't think he'd turn on one of us so quickly."

"Karaberas is an idiot," Petz continued scathingly. "I would have done the same thing."

Cooan snorted. "I don't doubt it."

Petz could tell that the remark had not been a compliment, and she glared at Cooan darkly. Once again, her sister refused to concede defeat. However, Petz had no patience for Cooan at the moment, so she prepared to send the girl on her way. "You have asked me your question. You can leave now."

Cooan did not budge. "I wanted to ask you something--"

"Then ask it!" Petz said sharply. "I don't need a prologue."

Cooan's eyes darkened and her weight shifted to her left foot. Petz could tell that if her arms were not so tender, she would have folded them in front of her chest. But the stance was still unavailable for the time being, and the lack of it was distracting to them both. "What do you think about the Senshi?"

Petz wanted nothing more than for Cooan to leave at this point. As if she cared at all about this conversation. She rolled her eyes and said, "I don't think much of anything except that I wish we could kill them."

"But doesn't something seem off?" Cooan pressed.

Before she could stop herself, Petz asked, "What do you mean?"

Cooan paused for a moment, giving herself time to collect her thoughts and Petz time to sincerely regret being related to Cooan. "They just seem different that's all. I wouldn't expect them to grow up to be bloodthirsty tyrants."

Petz looked at Cooan in complete disbelief. "I always took you for a fool, but I never thought you were this naive."

Cooan's temper flared instantly. She stalked forward, trying to clench her fists and failing. Her lips curled as she snarled, "Wait a minute, Petz!"

"No, I don't think so," Petz said, not even bothering to rise from her seat. Cooan was no threat to her; she had no reason to face it with any amount of seriousness. "Cooan, they're young yet. Of course they seem different now than they do in the future."

Cooan looked ready to stamp her foot. "That isn't what I mean--"

"And I can't even believe that you're suggesting such a thing," Petz continued, pretending that Cooan had not spoken. "Mars is just as much of a bitch as she ever was. Jupiter all but worships violence. And Mercury's sympathy rings just as false now as it will then. I fail to see how you can think that these aren't the right women. We know they're the Senshi."

"That's just it," Cooan insisted. "I know they're the right girls, but at the same time... They seem wrong."

It took Petz a moment to understand what Cooan was saying. Now she felt the need to stand up. "Are you questioning our cause, sister?"

Now Cooan looked at her like she was stupid. "Of course not. I'm just... confused."

"You'll be even more confused if you say anything like this again because I will hit you upside the head so hard you'll barely be able to see straight," Petz growled. "Listen to me, Cooan. If you breathe a word of this conversation to anyone else - especially Master Rubeus, you'll be in worse trouble than ever. This is as good as treason."

Cooan sighed in exasperation. "I'm not being treasonous. I'm just asking a--"

"Well, don't!" Petz shouted, cutting her off. "It's nothing but idiocy, and I expect better even from you." She shook her head quickly, her bangs falling into her face. "What made you even think it was a good idea to bring this to me?"

Cooan looked at her, wondering why she had done it herself. But it did not take her to realize it. "I came to you because you're the leader and the eldest. I thought you might be able to offer some guidance instead of cruelty." She shook her head in regret. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I am a fool."

And then Cooan was gone. Petz was left alone in the viewing chamber, staring at nothing. She had been anxious to get rid of Cooan, but now that the younger girl was gone, Petz realized that she felt something altogether different. It knotted itself into her stomach, tightening and making her uncomfortable. She had said nothing more than the truth and acted as she always did, but she still couldn't shake some strange emotion that was only vaguely familiar to her. It took her another five minutes to realize was it was.

She almost regretted what she had done.

-----

The worst part about it was that it was silent. She tried to will her heels to clack against the ground or her heart to pound in her ears, but nothing would utter a sound. She even tried screaming, but her throat would not cooperate. It was like every nightmare she had ever had where she needed help but could not call out for it. Only this time, Venus wasn't fighting anything. She didn't need help. She needed noise.

She was just walking. She had no idea where she was going, though she was certain that she had to reach her destination before it was too late. Not that she knew the reason for her desperate deadline. Sometimes Venus thought that she was going to find her missing friends and other times she was quite certain the dread lodged in her stomach was something far more innocuous like an important exam or a volleyball game. That didn't explain the transformation, but it wasn't as if dream logic was at all logical.

The path she was walking stretched out for miles. At times it was worn through a dense forest and other times it was winding through an empty ghost town that looked frighteningly like the Juuban district. But that was only when she could see the road; sometimes it hid from her.

It was when she couldn't see the road (or when it didn't want to be seen) that she fell. Her forearms hit the ground, absorbing most of the impact and displacing it more evenly than if it had been her palms or her elbows. She groaned, wincing as it echoed against unseen, distant walls. She got the distinct feeling that her foot had caught on something, but there didn't seem to be anything around. She looked down at her foot to see what it was.

She was wearing blue shoes.

She gasped, her lungs protesting at the amount of air that filled them up at once. She glanced down at her outfit, still hoping to see a gold skirt and other signs that her worst fears hadn't somehow come true. But she couldn't deny that she was looking at a blue skirt, trimmed in red, and her stomach peaking out of a crop-top that had always been more trouble than it was worth.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "I'm not her anymore."

She pulled herself to her feet and started trying to rip the costume off. She had renounced this persona ages ago, and she had no intention of taking it up again now. But no matter how much she wanted to get rid of it, she couldn't get the uniform off. Neither strength nor patience would make it budge.

"No, no, no," she hissed, her desperation climbing. "Didn't you hear me? I'm not her anymore. I'm not!"

The lights went on, though she hadn't even realized before how dark it had been. She looked around, searching for something to get the costume off, but all she saw was her reflection. She was surrounded by mirrors.

She stopped moving and stared at Sailor V.

"I am not you," she said, her voice shaking. "You can't make me be you again."

Sailor V smirked, startling her. She hadn't expected that from the reflection. "You're not me? How strange. You're wearing the costume. You look like me. Sound like me. How are you not me?"

"Sailor V fights alone," she snapped.

"You're not alone?" Sailor V asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I don't see any companions."

She shook her head, flaxen hair getting caught on a mask she did not want to be wearing. "I have allies now. The other Sailor Senshi."

"Three of whom have been captured," Sailor V recounted, folding her arms in front of her chest smugly. "And the other one - the princess no less - who hates you."

She flinched. "She doesn't hate me."

Sailor V laughed. It sounded like silver bells and twisting metal. "Really. She certainly fooled me."

"Usagi is just angry," she insisted.

"But aren't you the one who said that she would never forgive you?" Sailor V asked.

She hated logic. She'd never been good at it. "Yes, but--"

"Isn't that hatred?"

"Usagi doesn't hate people!" she maintained.

"She just refuses to forgive them?" Sailor V questioned.

She nodded. "Yes!"

"Doesn't she tend to kill those she can't forgive?"

Her heart stopped for a moment. She swallowed, clenching her fists. She should have known all along that she was wearing the wrong outfit. It made her feel sick. "She... Usagi wouldn't kill me."

"I'm not suggesting that," Sailor V said, holding out her hands in a placating gesture. "But I'd say that it's safe to assume that she's abandoned you."

"If I needed her, she would help me," she insisted.

Sailor V scoffed. "I doubt that."

"How can you be so smug?" she demanded. "You were always so cocky, so sure of yourself. But you almost died when the building fell in on you--"

"No!" Sailor V raged, her subtle disdain quickly switching to fury. "I almost died when I discovered the truth about Alan and Katarina! It's other people - supposed friends that almost killed me."

She blinked. "That's why you think it's better to be alone?"

"No, but it helps support the idea," Sailor V snapped. "Don't you remember what it was like to be me? It was better then."

"It was lonely then," she said, shaking her head again. "And terrifying. I cried so much then--"

"Do you really cry less now?" Sailor V challenged.

She narrowed her eyes. "I have other people who cry with me. Other people who understand what it is like to have died and come back only to face death again. It is better now."

"Those other people have abandoned you!" Sailor V shouted.

"I'm going to find them!" she yelled back. "That's where I'm going!" As she said it, she knew it was true.

Sailor V scoffed. "You won't make it in time. Not even Sailor V can save them now."

"No, she can't. But Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus can save them. And that's what we're going to do."

"If that's true, then where is Sailor Moon?" Sailor V demanded. "Where is Usagi?"

She couldn't answer that question.

Sailor V smiled coolly, reassured of how right she was. "Listen to me. You were a better fighter when you were me. You took more risks. You had better results. You were a star. And what are you now? An abandoned lackey for a spoiled princess."

She closed her eyes, shutting out the reflection. "No."

"Stop denying me," Sailor V insisted. "It's better to be alone."

Just for a second, she was tempted. After all, if she was Sailor V, there would be no one to abandon her. Even Artemis had been a distant presence in her life before she had moved back to Tokyo. He had only become a real confidante when he saw how damaged she had been in the last fight as Sailor V. If she took up that mantle again, she could be free of the others. She could be famous again. She'd be the people's hero. And then everyone would forget about Sailor Moon.

But they'd forget about Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter too.

"I am not you!" she shouted. She brought both of her hands up to her mask, her signature, and started to pull. It was just as firmly attached as every other part of her costume, but this was different. Every yank was painful, and it took her a moment to realize that it was attached to her skin.

Sailor V was laughing. "You can't get rid of me."

She pulled.

"You can't deny me."

She ground her teeth and pulled harder.

"I am you."

She inhaled and tightened her grip.

"I said, 'no.'"

Finally, the mask came off with a terrible rip and unbelievable pain. She thought she was screaming and was reasonably sure she was bleeding, but the only thing she could really be sure of what that Sailor V was still laughing. And it was never going to stop because she was right.

-----

"Minako!"

She sat up with a shriek, panting desperately. She looked around desperately, looking for the mirrors and the reflection of Sailor V. When she didn't see that, her hands flew to her face. She was relieved to find that it was still there and that there was no mask. Only then did she allow herself to calm down and figure out what was going on.

"Minako, are you all right?"

After a second, she recognized the voice. She swallowed and said, "Yeah. I'm fine, Motoki. I'm fine."

Her eyes began to adjust to the lack of light. She had no idea why it would be so dark, but she didn't dwell on it for long. She was too busy deciding that she was still at the Crown and that some time had passed since she had followed Usagi inside. It was much quieter now.

She was finally able to find Motoki. She couldn't see much of him, but his eyes were clearly visible. He obviously did not believe she was fine. "You were asleep.
And shouting."

"I was?" Minako asked, pushing her fingers into her bangs in an attempt to cover up how violently her hands were shaking. "I must have dozed off."

"Must have," Motoki agreed, the frown evident in his voice. "Minako, are you sure you're all right? It took me awhile to bring you around, and you don't look so great." He managed to catch her free hand, his thumb resting on the veins in her wrist. "God, you're trembling. And your pulse is really erratic."

Minako pulled her hand away and waved it at him. "Don't worry so much. I'm okay." She stopped, quickly remembering the subject matter of her nightmare. She swallowed but found that her throat was as dry and rough as sandpaper. "You said I was shouting, right? Did you hear what I was saying?"

Motoki shook his head. "Not really. I caught the word 'no' plenty of times."

Minako chuckled without much enthusiasm, but the news was another relief. "Yeah. That Boogeyman just can't take a hint."

"Apparently," Motoki murmured, his brow furrowed. "Minako, how long have you been here?"

"That depends on what time it is," Minako answered.

Motoki glanced down at his watch, pushing a button on the side to make the display screen light up. "As I suspected, it is almost Sunday."

Minako scrambled to her feet, nearly knocking Motoki over. "You're kidding, right? Motoki, please tell me that you're kidding!"

He shook his head. "Nope. Can't say that I am."

Absurdly, the first thing that Minako thought of was that her mother was going to be furious with her for getting in so late. But immediately afterwards, Minako remembered why she had gone to the Crown in the first place. If it really was almost midnight, then she had let Usagi go around unwatched for at least seven hours.

"Damn it," she swore, surprising Motoki and herself. Minako instantly brought up the wristwatch communicator to her face, checking to make sure that Usagi hadn't called her for help while she'd been out. The two might not have been speaking, but Minako was relatively sure that she would call for help if it was needed.

"I just told you what time it was," Motoki said, mystified rather than irritated. "And since when do you--"

Minako started to gather up her things. "Motoki, thank you very much for waking me up and not locking me in or whatever, but I really need to get going." She started to push past him when he grabbed her arm. His grasp was gentle enough, but it still startled her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm walking you home," Motoki insisted, sounding more serious than she could ever recall.

She blinked. "What?" she laughed nervously. "Motoki, you don't have to do that."

Motoki smiled, looking a little sad. "Actually, I do. It's too late for a young girl to be walking by herself under normal circumstances. You still seem out of it,
and I'd hate for you to go wandering into traffic or..." He hesitated, betraying his real reason for accompanying her.

She looked down. "You heard about Makoto, didn't you?"

His fingers relaxed to the point where he nearly let her go. "Yeah. I heard."

She sighed quietly. There was no getting around it now. Even though she could very well be endangering his life, there would be no talking Motoki out of walking her home. Thankfully, he didn't know where she lived. She would just lead him back to Usagi's place and take up her post outside of her window again. At least she wouldn't have to worry about falling asleep. She'd gotten quite enough of that at the arcade.

"Well, if you're going to insist on being a gentleman, I suppose there's no stopping you," Minako dramatized. She waved her hand and added, "Let's get going."

-----

Karaberas had experienced moments of indecision with the other girls, even after she had presumably ruled them out. She continued going over the information she had gathered, second-guessing herself, even going so far as to check up on them again. Normally, she was not so careful, but it was imperative that she make no mistakes if she was going to win back Rubeus's favor. It was enough to make her chew on her lip until she had to swallow the skin and taste her own blood, a habit she thought she had broken in her adolescence. It was giving her headaches and heart palpitations, and she wasn't enjoying any of it.

However, she had never been more sure in her life that a girl was not Sailor Venus when she saw her fourth target sneak a kiss underneath the streetlight. Normally, this would have proven nothing. Except the target's companion was another girl. And if there was on thing Karaberas was sure of, it was Venus's sexuality.

Karaberas reached into her bosom and drew out the short list of names she had been given. She skipped the first four and allowed her eyes to settle on the final name. She smiled.

"Gotcha."

-----

"So, how are you holding up?" Motoki asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over them for the past few minutes.

Minako didn't answer him immediately. She was too busy trying to remember if the next turn was a left or a right. She slowed her pace as discreetly as possible, hoping that it would come to her in a moment. "All right. I guess."

Motoki glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "So that's why you're having nightmares in restaurant booths?"

Minako closed her eyes and came to stop. It would buy her more time. "Motoki--"

"Don't lie, Minako," Motoki said gently, not chiding her like Rei would have done had she been there. "Especially not when it's obvious."

Minako found her fingers curling into fists, the jagged edges of her nails scraping against her skin. "So maybe I'm not all right. And maybe it was stupid to say that with three friends missing, one not speaking to me, and Mamoru--" Minako stopped, remembering that Motoki wasn't supposed to know about that. She sighed and said, "It's left." She started walking again, listening for Motoki's footsteps to echo her own.

"What about Mamoru?" Motoki asked, catching up to her.

Minako looked at him as if he were being the slow one for once. "He is in the hospital."

"You're not friends," Motoki answered, looking like he regretted it immediately.

Minako laughed wryly. "No, we aren't."

"I just meant..." Motoki trailed off, shoving his hands into his pockets. He shook his head and finally said what he had been trying to get at from the beginning. "I want to know what's going on, Minako."

Minako pretended not to hear.

"Why are you and the girls always involved in these strange incidents?" Motoki pressed. "How did you get out of that Tree thing with barely a scratch and Mamoru ended up in the hospital half-dead? Why are Rei and Ami and Makoto missing?" He paused, obviously waiting for her to answer. When she continued ignoring him, he reached forward and grabbed her arm, stopping both their progress. He spun her around, glaring directly into her eyes. "Why won't you answer me?!"

Motoki kept looking at her, trying to maintain his scowl, but it quickly began fading. He swallowed, his eyes growing wide. He was getting nervous and all because while he had been expecting Minako to look at him in surprise or even fear, she was returning his stare multiplied by ten.

He released her without being asked.

Minako kept looking at him, wanting to soften her look, but knowing that he wouldn't listen to her unless she kept looking this rough. "Don't ask me those questions again," she whispered, not bothering to speak the obvious addition: "If you know what's good for you."

They stood there for a moment, the sound of the wind blowing across the virtually empty street. It was unusual for Tokyo to be so dead at night, but people disappearing tended to make others more cautious. Obviously, they were forgetting that all three victims had been taken in broad daylight with plenty of witnesses. But the solitude was helpful for Minako's cause. It made their surroundings seem eerie and that much more threatening. It would make Motoki listen to what she was saying.

He still looked anxious, but he couldn't seem to stop himself from saying, "I just want things to be normal again."

Unsurprisingly, that was what made Minako's sharpness fade. She smiled at him and said, "So do I."

"How touching."

Minako recognized the voice immediately. She might not have heard it for very long, but she could never forget the sound of the woman who had taken Makoto away. She whirled, scowling at the gold-clothed woman standing in their path.

She smirked, chuckling to herself. "Well, your stance certainly erases any doubts I had about who you are."

Minako was about to respond when her view was blocked by a sea of blue. She blinked, and had to take a moment before she realized that Motoki had come to stand in front of her.

"Who are you?" Motoki asked, trying to sound more imposing than he could ever hope to be. "What do you want with Minako?"

"Motoki, you idiot," Minako hissed. "Get out of the way!"

The woman laughed aloud, and Minako flinched, thinking it sounded far more like the metal of a car twisting on impact. "My name is Karaberas, and what I want with... Minako is none of your concern. Move, boy."

Motoki stood his ground, planting himself even more firmly. He even reached behind him and grabbed Minako, holding her in place lest she try to change their positions. "I'm not letting you get her too!"

Minako started to panic, remembering Yuuichirou in the hospital. The memory of burnt flesh overwhelmed her. She trembled. "Motoki, stop it! You're not supposed to--"

"I'm not supposed to let my friends get hurt," Motoki interrupted, his voice so steeled that she almost believed he could save her. "And I'm not losing anyone else."

"Don't be foolish," Karaberas snapped. "I will remove you if I have to."

Minako pounded on Motoki's back with her free arm, knowing that she could get away if she wanted to, but not without hurting him. "Motoki, stop it!"

"No!" Motoki shouted back.

Minako heard Karaberas sigh. "So be it then."

The next few moments were a blur. Minako was cognizant only of a sharp sound - almost like a gunshot. Then she felt Motoki squeeze her arm and pull, and the next thing she knew she was stumbling into the street, skidding to the ground. She heard him yell, but she didn't turn around or even stop her momentum in time. When she did finally manage to look back, Motoki was sliding down the wall. His eyes were closed, and he left a trail of blood.

"Motoki!" Minako screamed as she ran over to her fallen friend. She didn't take the time to stop from bruising her knees as she knelt by him. She reached forward, shaking him as gently as she could in her panic. She knew she was crying, sobbing maybe, and she couldn't stop saying his name.

"Hmph. Serves him right for not listening."

Minako's head snapped over to where her enemy was standing. She could scarcely see Karaberas through the water in her eyes, but that didn't matter. She knew where her target was, what they had done, and how they were going to pay.

"He wasn't involved," Minako hissed, her voice so low that it almost frightened her.

"He made himself get involved," Karaberas insisted. "I warned him."

Minako shook her head. She reached into her pocket as she got to her feet, pulling out the transformation wand she didn't have to hide from her enemy. She gripped it like it was her lifeline, her skin turning white. She blinked away her tears, glaring. "I will never forgive you."

"Neither will I," Karaberas spat.

Minako didn't answer her. She merely lifted her wand into the sky and called out the familiar transformation phrase. As she twisted and turned among the light, she knew that she was in for the fight of her life.

-----

After leaving the Crown, Usagi had been lying in her room, trying to figure out what to do.

Talking to Motoki had helped, yes, but it wasn't the same. She was used to having someone there who understood what was wrong. But there wasn't anyone around anymore. After her breakdown Friday morning, Usagi hadn't seen Luna. Presumably, she was off with Artemis trying to devise some kind of plan. Neither of the cats were around to talk to her, and Usagi didn't want to be around Minako.

That's what she'd thought anyway.

She couldn't get the threat of losing Minako out of her head. She remembered learning of Minako's feelings at Hikawa Jinja bitterly. Sometimes she could still feel her hand sting from where it had struck the girl across the mouth.

But there were other things to remember too. Times when Minako hadn't been a sworn enemy. Times when Minako had been a friend.

She hadn't called out to Minako when she was begging the Ginzuishou for everything to be normal again, but Usagi realized now that she should have. Normalcy was having Minako as a friend. Or baring that, Minako as an ally. Minako in her life.

Then again, there was really no way to get Minako out of her life. They were comrades. And it was hard to fight alongside someone she was fighting with. Just like it was hard to keep getting through every day with no one but people who could not be told what was happening to comfort her.

She couldn't lose Minako. Maybe she couldn't forgive her yet, but she couldn't lose her either.

Before she was even aware that she was moving, Usagi had walked out of the room and down the stairs to the telephone in the hallway. As she dialed Minako's number, she thought of how it would be nice to call Minako on the communicator, see her face, but that would undoubtedly make Minako come running when nothing was wrong.

She finished dialing the number and waited. The phone didn't even finish ringing once.

"Minako?" an older woman said at the other end of the line. "Is that you?"

Usagi felt bile begin to rise up in her throat. "Mrs. Aino? I'm sorry, it's not Minako. It's her friend, Usagi. I was just calling--"

"Then Minako isn't with you either," Mrs. Aino said, irritation and worry evident in her tone. "I had been thinking about calling, but I knew you two were... in the middle of something."

Usagi closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the cool wall. Her mother even knew that they weren't speaking. "I was calling to see if I could talk with her... So Minako hasn't come home?"

"No, she hasn't," Mrs. Aino confessed. "I'll be honest, I wasn't sure if she was at home at all last night either. I came in to wake her up, and her bed was made. That never happens."

Usagi started to feel even more panicked. What if Minako had been gone for hours and Usagi had had no idea? But Minako would call if she was in danger. She wouldn't try to face her enemies alone just for the sake of pride. Rei would do that, but not Minako.

Right?

"Do you have any idea where she might be?" Mrs. Aino asked.

In truth, she had no idea. But that didn't change her answer. "I'm going out to look for her, Mrs. Aino. I'll let you know if I find anything out."

Usagi could hear Minako's mother start to protest, reminding her of the recent kidnappings Usagi doubted her mother realized were connected to Minako at all. Minako made a point of keeping her mother out of her personal life. Usagi was the only one of the girls Mrs. Aino knew about, and Minako planned on keeping it that way.

Before Usagi set out into the night, she glanced down at the pink communicator strapped to her wrist. She flipped it over, depressing the orange button in hopes of contacting Minako and finding out that she'd fallen asleep on a park bench or gotten distracted by following a cute guy. If that was the case, then she was safe. As soon as Usagi knew that, she could think of what she felt for Minako and what she was going to say.

She waited for exactly sixty seconds. Minako didn't pick up.

That did it. Usagi marched towards the foyer, grabbing for her jacket and stepping into her shoes. She was struggling with the sleeve when she was stopped by her brother's voice.

"Where are you going?" he asked, eyes narrowed and arms akimbo. He was standing at the bottom of the stairs. There was no telling how long he had been there. She hoped that he just thought she'd been checking her watch and couldn't tell the difference between the minute and the second hand. "It's too late for you to be going out."

Usagi looked up at him, glaring. "You're not Dad."

"I could tell Dad."

"Shingo," Usagi said testily, her voice cracking. "I think one of my friends is in trouble. The only one that isn't already in trouble as a matter of fact. You can't expect me to sit around at just let something happen to her."

Shingo's eyes widened in understanding. "I could get Dad and we could all go out--"

"No," Usagi said forcefully, perhaps more so than her brother had ever heard her before. "Shingo, listen to me. Don't tell Mom or Dad anything about this."

Shingo balled up his fists and walked down the rest of the stairs, getting up in her face. "I don't want you to go out alone!"

"And I don't want you guys to get in the middle of this!" Usagi cried, tears rushing to her eyes.

Shingo stared at her, blinking several times. At first, he seemed bewildered, but slowly Usagi watched the recognition dawn. He leaned forward and whispered, "You know why this is happening, don't you?"

Usagi swallowed, wanting to lie, but knowing that she couldn't. Her brother would never believer her, and if she didn't tell the truth, he was liable to run off to their parents and tell them everything he knew. She was going to have to be honest if there was any hope in keeping him quite.

"Yes," Usagi said soberly. "And I'm the only one who can fix this."

Shingo kept staring at her, and she could tell that he was almost to the point of figuring it out. And she didn't want that either. So she leaned forward and kissed his forehead, knowing that alone was enough to distract him from his train of thought. Then she turned away, sticking her hands in her pockets to make sure that she had her brooch.

"If only Sailor Moon could sort out my problems," she muttered just loud enough for him to hear. Even though it sounded like it, she wasn't lying.

-----

Karaberas scarcely gave Venus time to breathe before launching the attack. Venus raced to dodge as the whip came racing for her ankle, evading it only by rolling to the side. Even then, Venus felt the leather cut her arm. She didn't dare wince.

She raised the bleeding arm, extending one finger towards Karaberas. "Crescent Beam!" she called out, watching as the light shot out from her hand like an extension of her will, racing towards her target and threatening to gouge a hole right between Karaberas's eyes. Unfortunately, Karaberas had been expecting such a move, teleporting away so that the beam of light continued flying through the night until it impacted a store window, shattering the glass on impact. Venus cursed and got to her feet, spinning around to where she thought Karaberas would reappear.

Her instincts had been right in the direction, but not in their proximity. Venus blinked and suddenly Karaberas was standing there, her leg swinging up towards the blonde's head. Venus jumped back, catching Karaberas's ankle with her hand and pushing it away. She then returned the kick, only to find that Karaberas was still not about to stand still long enough for Venus to get a shot in. Once again, she vanished before blood was drawn.

Venus snarled and turned. "You can't keep running forever!"

"Sure I can."

Venus was surprised to find that the voice was coming from behind her. She was about to confront her enemy once more when she heard the crack of the whip. She dove wildly, hoping to avoid its sting, but she wasn't as lucky as the last time. This time, the leather slashed against the length of her back. Venus screamed and fell to the pavement, curling inwards in response to be pain.

"So this is the leader of the Sailor Senshi," Karaberas sneered. "Pathetic."

Venus flinched, but thankfully Karaberas couldn't see that. "That doesn't work on me," she lied.

"Yes, it does," Karaberas said, calling her bluff. "If it works in the future, it works now."

Venus silently cursed herself not for forgetting that her enemy was from the future but for failing to take it into account. Venus sighed, shoulders heaving, and muttered. "Fine. It works." She glanced over her shoulder. "That doesn't mean it stops me."

She swung her arm around and fired another Crescent Beam, this time without calling out the attack phrase. It always gave her a migraine afterwards, but it was worth it if the strategy worked.

Her aim was true, slicing into Karaberas's right arm at exactly the same place the whip had cut hers. The brunette cried out, dropping her weapon and covering up the bleeding wound. She looked up and glared.

"Bitch," she hissed.

"Now that really doesn't work on me," Venus quipped getting to her feet.

Karaberas gnashed her teeth. "But this might." She opened her hand and the whip quite literally leapt back into it, a development Venus wasn't expecting. Karaberas lashed out in her direction quickly. Venus jumped back as far as she could, but it wasn't enough. The length of the weapon slapped against her thigh, sending small rivers of blood racing down her leg. Venus bit back a scream.

"Why are you doing this?" Venus asked through her teeth, shifting her weight to her left foot so that she wasn't putting all of her weight on her injured leg.

"You know, I never tire of that question," Karaberas snarled, drawing her arm back and then thrusting it forward, her whip striking like an angry serpent.

Venus leapt up, playing jump rope with the weapon. She landed painfully and blinked back tears. "Fine. I'll try something different then." She jerked her head to the side to avoid another hit. "Are the others all right?"

"Points for originality," Karaberas commended, vanishing once again.

Venus ground her teeth and began to look in all directions for where Karaberas might be. She kept her weight on the balls of her feet, ready to move at the slightest notice.

"They're in pain."

Venus whirled in the direction of her voice, shouting when she saw the whip heading for her face. She leaned back so that her torso was parallel with the ground, but that didn't stop the tip of the leather to impact her face. It ripped open her skin, causing blood to pour out of a wound just beneath her left eye. She straightened, staggering back. She wondered if it looked like she was crying tears of blood.

"But then so are you," Karaberas taunted, a hand on her hip.

Venus wiped at the blood, wincing as her gloves made her skin sing with pain. She remembered her nightmare, ripping the mask away from her face and bringing forth far more blood. She made her back tense to control the shudder. "Are you hurting them?"

"Only when they piss me off," Karaberas said.

Venus narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't inspire confidence."

Karaberas shrugged. "It isn't meant to." Then she lashed out again with a cry, lunging forward so that the thicker length of the whip threatened to leave its mark.

Venus stood her ground, whipping her right arm around again. "Crescent Beam!" she shouted, watching as the beam of light shot out, heading right for the whip. Karaberas had no choice but to teleport away without losing her weapon. It wasn't how Venus preferred to use her power, but it had been effective. That was the important part.

"Are you planning on fighting this one alone, Sailor Venus?" Karaberas called out, her voice echoing so that Venus couldn't tell exactly where it came from.

Venus assumed that she was above her. She stepped out into the middle of the street, searching the roofs and tops of trees for a sign of her opponent. "Only cowards hide."

"No, only smart people hide until its time to come out," Karaberas corrected. "Why haven't you called for help?"

Venus did not dare look over at where Motoki lay, but she wanted to. "I have seen enough of what you do for people who try to help me."

Karaberas laughed. "Sailor Moon would have a great deal more chance of defeating me than your broken boy."

Venus swallowed. "Maybe I just want to fight you myself."

"But you hate being alone."

The sentence took all of the air out of her lungs just as easily as death. Venus found herself staggering with the frightening clarity of the statement. It rang so true, went right to her very core.

"How do you know that?" Venus asked, her voice hoarse.

"Because I know you, Venus."

Karaberas leapt from the shadows of a nearby tree, her weapon already prepared to attack. Venus was shaken by their exchange, and she couldn't bring herself to move in time. The whip circled her, cutting into her flesh and pinning her arms to her sides. She toppled instantly, landing on her right arm. She didn't bother to hide the wince now, hating herself for hesitating in those last moments.

"I can't believe it took me that long," Karaberas hissed chuckling. "And I can't believe how happy Master Rubeus is going to be when I bring you home." She paused cruelly. "I rather think he likes blondes. They're rare where we come from."

Venus struggled against her confines, wishing she could get just one arm free to shut Karaberas up for good. "You're not going to get away with this. I'm not going to let you get away with hurting Motoki!"

Karaberas laughed aloud. It felt like steel fingers were scraping against Venus's bones. "Stupid girl. You're done for! There's no one around to save you."

"Wrong."

Both Karaberas and Venus looked up in surprise to see a familiar silhouette standing on the other side of a lamp post. The figure stepped into the light, blue eyes blazing, scepter brandished like a sword.

Venus stared in disbelief. She'd come. Even though she hadn't called, she'd come to help her.

"Let her go," Sailor Moon threatened.

Karaberas narrowed her eyes and yanked on the whip, dragging Venus towards her. "I might have been ordered not to touch you, girlie, but not at the expense of losing my prey."

"I said, 'let her go,'" Sailor Moon repeated.

Venus finally tore her eyes away from her last ally to look at Karaberas. She was not surprised to find the woman tense, but she was shocked to see that she seemed out of her depth. It was like she didn't know how to respond to Sailor Moon's threats. Like she had no other weapons at her disposal.

That's when Venus realized she didn't.

"You've only got the whip," Venus breathed, disbelieving. "You don't have any power at all!"

Karaberas turned red and turned to Venus, screeching, "Don't you ever, ever call me powerless, you stupid whore!"

Now that Karaberas was distracted, Sailor Moon had her opening. The other girl narrowed her eyes and swung her scepter around once, just to get it warmed up. Then without wasting another second, she called out, "MOON PRINCESS HALATION!"

The pink light spiraled forth from her weapon, racing directly for Karaberas's upper body, leaving just enough space so that it could pass over Venus unharmed. Karaberas turned around just in time to see the attack coming for her.

"No! Stop!" Karaberas yelled.

"You should have let her go," Sailor Moon said quietly.

Karaberas looked around in panic, trying to find a way to get out of the blast's range. The attack was too wide for her to go to either side, and ducking put her in danger of having Venus attack. She started screaming as the attack came for her, vanishing before the brunt of it hit.

Much to Venus's relief, she took the whip with her.

The pair didn't move for a moment, waiting. After a few seconds, they got what they wanted. Karaberas reappeared on top of a building some feet away. Neither Sailor Moon nor Venus could look at the picture Karaberas made. The attack seemed to have burned some of her skin away, blackening it. It shone with her blood. Her body was smoking as if she had been struck by lightning. Even though she had gotten away before the worst of it, she looked very near death.

"I'll be back for you," Karaberas promised. "Both of you! I'm not so easily defeated."

Venus dragged herself to her feet and pointed, aiming right between Karaberas's eyes. "I don't like attacking when my opponent is down. But if you don't get out of here in the next three seconds, you'll never get another chance."

Karaberas glared and spat, "You had better pray that one of my sisters seeks vengeance for me."

And then, Karaberas was gone.

Venus kept her arm raised for a few more moments, refusing to let her guard down until she was sure. After all, Karaberas might immediately send reinforcements to take them down. It seemed unlikely, but it would have been the smart thing to do. Finally, Venus decided that the fight was over for now, and she let her arm drop to her side. Her fingers brushed against the gash on her thigh, and she whimpered.

"You're hurt," Sailor Moon said in surprise, looking down at the wound as though she had just noticed it. "It looks bad."

Venus shook her head. "I'll be fine," she said quietly, happy that her hair was more than long enough to hide the far more serious injuries on her back. She licked her lips, briefly glancing up at Sailor Moon's face and then looking elsewhere again. "You came."

"I was worried," Sailor Moon responded immediately. "You didn't answer your--"

"I know," Venus said, cutting her off. "I was transforming, so I--"

"Right."

Venus nodded awkwardly, sniffing. "Thank you. For coming I mean."

Sailor Moon took a step forward and said, "I wouldn't let anything happen to you. You know that right?"

Venus closed her eyes, pursing her lips. "Not unless you do it to me?"

The words seemed as effective as Karaberas's whip had been in doing damage. Sailor Moon took her step back. Venus could feel her eyes on her, wide and surprised. "Minako, I--"

"Are you sorry?" Venus asked, keeping her eyes shut. "For hitting me. For yelling at me. For treating me like the enemy when I was only trying to help. Are you sorry about that?"

Sailor Moon didn't respond immediately. Venus could hear her swallow, feel her fidget beside her. She started to speak several times, but it took her awhile to get the right words out. Even then they were wrong. "I'm sorry that I hurt you."

Venus's heart sank. Sailor Moon had come, but nothing had changed. "So you still blame me."

"I love him!"

"And I love you!" Venus shouted with enough vehemence to make both of them jump. She locked eyes with Sailor Moon now, knowing that her gaze was damning and not caring. "That's why I don't want you to get hurt."

"He won't hurt me." Sailor Moon countered, her fingers curling into fists.

"He already has." Venus sighed and reached forward, grabbing Sailor Moon by the shoulders. She shook her gently and said, "Don't you see what's happening? He's not even here, and he's driving us apart, just like the last time. Usagi, I know he loved you in the Silver Millennium and I know he's saved you in this lifetime, but I'm just trying to help you when I tell you to be careful. I don't want you to--"

"You're hurting me!" Sailor Moon accused, pulling away. "You, not him, you!"

Venus stared at her in disbelief, not wanting to take anything back but still wanting to fix this somehow. But all she did was turn on her heel and walk over to where Motoki was lying still unconscious. "Just go, Usagi."

Venus became Minako and busied herself with trying to rouse Motoki. After a few moments, she looked behind her and saw that Sailor Moon wasn't there anymore. Minako had been abandoned again, but this time she'd asked for it. And this time she knew there was no going back.

While it was still safe to do so, Minako bent her head and wept for all that she had lost.

-----

Usagi ran from the scene and didn't stop running until she got home. And even then she only slowed down enough to slam the door behind her and take off her shoes. She kept right on running, thumping loudly up the stairs until she got to her room. There, she threw herself on the bed and sobbed, beating her fists into the pillows. She was throwing a tantrum just like a child, but she didn't care. She wanted to be a child. Back then all she had to do was say she was sorry. Now she couldn't even get to that part without making things worse.

'I'm sorry that I hurt you.' That's what she'd said. And of course she'd set Minako off. That was natural.

But this gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach, the anger, the defiance in the face of one her friends and soldiers, that wasn't natural. None of what Usagi was doing was natural. It was all wrong.

She had meant to try and fix things, but she had only made things worse. And now there was a chance that there was no turning back. She might not be able to forgive Minako, and now Minako might not be able to forgive her.

"What's wrong with me?" Usagi sobbed loudly. "What's wrong?"

Even as she asked, she knew she wasn't going to be able to find the answer. All she knew for certain was that everything would be all right if only Mamoru were there. He was her savior. He would fix everything.

And the knowledge that he wasn't going to come made her scream into the night.

-----

Motoki woke up with a pounding headache that, contrary to what others might have believed, was not soothed by the sight of Minako hovering above him.

"Minako?" he groaned, trying to sit up. "What's going--"

"Lay down," she instructed with far more force than he thought her capable of. When he didn't obey immediately, she reached forward and pushed him back down, with soft hands and steeled arms. "I've called the ambulance. They're on their way."

There were a lot of things that he needed to say to her. He needed to figure out why he was so dizzy. He needed to know where that woman had gone. He needed to tell her to get in touch with Reika and Mamoru and let them know what had happened. But there was one thing taking precedence above all that.

"You're all right," he whispered. "You're still here."

Minako stared at him for a moment, blinking. Then she softened, smiling at him. "I am."

He shook his head, almost not believing it. After she'd lost three of her friends, she'd managed to escape the same fate. It was incredibly lucky. "But... how?"

"The Sailor Senshi showed up and sent her packing," Minako explained easily.

Motoki scoffed. "Where were they when Makoto and the others were taken?"

Motoki watched as her face fell. her pink lips turned white as she pressed them together. Shadows passed in front of her eyes. "I didn't get a chance to ask."

Something was wrong about that. That's when he glanced down and saw the blood stain on her skirt, staining the dark material purple with blood. He reached forward, stopping before he touched her. "You're hurt."

Minako laughed humorlessly. "I didn't say they got here immediately."

That was when he noticed how pale she was. Her jaw was clenched, and she seemed to be struggling with every movement. Something was seriously wrong with her. "Minako, tell me what happened."

She just shook her head.

He reached forward, grabbing her arm just like before. "Minako, please, I--"

"Weren't you listening?" Minako asked, her voice breaking. The sight of her tears scared him even more than when she had been serious with him. Both of the concepts were unfamiliar when he compared them to Aino Minako. He didn't know how to react. "You can't know these things. Stop asking me."

"I want to help," he insisted.

"You want to..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "If you really want to do that, then stay away from us."

Motoki swallowed, listening as the sirens in the distance grew louder. "But you're my friends."

Minako leaned forward suddenly, pressing her forehead against his own. It felt cold. He felt her hands on his shoulders and realized she was trying to hug him without moving him.

"I will not let you die," she whispered, terrifying him.

She left him without another word, directing the paramedics over to him. Then he was surrounded by strangers, poking and prodding at every angle. He tried to speak, tried to tell him that she was hurt too, but they wouldn't let him get a word in edgewise. They barely even seemed to notice Minako after awhile, and he marveled at her ability to suddenly blend into the background when she seemed so adept at hogging the spotlight.

After a few moments, he was strapped in and being loaded into the back of the van. She was still standing there, watching. He kept his eyes on her the whole time, trying to decide whether to shout out one last question, hoping she would tell him the answer out of sheer irritation.

But he said nothing because he liked being alive.

-----

After resting a few blocks away from where her battle with Venus and later Sailor Moon had taken place, Karaberas went back up to the ship. She landed in a crumpled heap in the center of the viewing chamber. She could barely breathe without moaning in pain. She forced her eyes to stay open, and she saw that all of her sisters were there. She wondered if they had seen how miserably she had done. The possibility of that made her wish that her enemies had killed her after all.

"Karaberas!" Beruche cried, her heels clacking against the metal as she ran. The blue-clad woman was at her side in seconds, trying to see how badly her sister was hurt. Karaberas thought it was probably hard to tell. It felt as if she had been drowning in blood and fire.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Petz drawled from some distance away. She was making no move to check on her fallen sister. "And look at what the rat didn't bring back."

"Shut up, Petz," Cooan snapped, crossing over to Karaberas as well. She reached forward, pushing the fallen hair out of her sister's eyes. "Karaberas, what happened?"

"She failed," Petz called out. "I, for one, don't need to know any more."

Beruche looked up, her eyes cold. "Venus at her best couldn't do this much damage alone."

"Sailor Moon showed up," Cooan surmised. "Didn't she?"

Karaberas nodded. It was all she had the strength to do.

Cooan leapt to her feet, stamping one against the ground. "Bitch!"

Beruche shook her head. "We should have counted on her desperation to hold on to her last ally. You should never have gone out alone."

"I didn't see you volunteering!" Cooan snapped.

"Nor did I see you leaping to her defense," Beruche said coolly. "Don't point fingers at others when you could easily point them at yourself."

"None of that matters, sisters. She would never have taken back-up," Petz scoffed.
"She can't prove herself if she had help."

"Well, she can't prove anything now!" Cooan yelled. "Back off, Petz! Why don't you make yourself useful and get Master Rubeus!"

"I'm here."

All activity came to a grinding halt as Rubeus entered the room. Karaberas could not see him as her back was turned. But she heard him walk over to her, his footsteps painfully slow. She closed her eyes, expecting him to kick her while she was down. It was what she deserved. Petz was right; she'd failed.

She nearly died from the shock when Rubeus touched her gently on the shoulder.

"So Sailor Moon did this to you, did she?"

Karaberas couldn't move she was that surprised. She had never seen or heard (or heard of) Rubeus being gentle with anyone. She had no idea how to respond.

"Well, in that case, we're just going to have to take care of her. Aren't we?"

Karaberas watched as Beruche's eyes widened. "What are you saying?"

Rubeus planted his feet, and suddenly his arms were wrapping around Karaberas's bleeding, smoldering frame. He lifted her up slowly, taking care not to touch what looked like the worst of her wounds. After he straightened and made sure he was steady, he answered.

"We're taking her."

Coming Soon - Part Eight: Fragile Hope

 



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