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Forgotten Forever by Kihin Ranno

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"We have received new orders."

For the briefest of moments, the crew aboard the hidden spaceship fell momentarily silent, though it was hardly a thoughtful pause. It was merely brought about by utter surprise and shock, as much as that could be marginalized. No one had ever anticipated on their mission changing, though it certainly explained why Rubeus had been gone so long. Still, such a small sentence carried a lot of weight for the four sisters. It meant that whatever plans they had made now had to be scrapped. It was all about improvisation now, and while they knew they could do it, it didn't exactly thrill any of them.

Petz arched an eyebrow thoughtfully, folding her arms across her chest. "New orders?"

"What kind of new orders?" Karaberas questioned, uncrossing and recrossing her legs, feigning an interest in the conversation.

"I thought that the plan was set," Cooan added, obviously irritated. "Why are they changing it all of a sudden?"

"Something's gone wrong, hasn't it?" Beruche put forth, narrowing her eyes at Rubeus. As usual, her sweet tone of voice didn't seem to match up with the rest of her personality. "Has the timeline been damaged?"

Their leader heaved a frustrated sigh, tossing his jacket off into some unseen corner of the ship. He strode up and down the platform for several minutes, batting at his earring roughly before answering. "We're not entirely sure. All we know is that the Rabbit has disappeared from the Timeline."

Karaberas sat up, her back ramrod straight. "Disappeared? But she was supposed to arrive today!"

"I know," Rubeus groused, sounding none too pleased with his subordinates or himself in that moment. He did spare a moment to glare at Karaberas for insinuating that he hadn't known that. He didn’t know how he felt about the fact that she didn’t shrink under his gaze. He put it out of mind and went on. "The Wiseman suspects that Sailor Pluto managed to catch wind of our presence here and altered the princess's course at the last moment. At the moment, it's the only feasible explanation."

"Is he looking for her?" Petz asked.

"Yes, but Pluto's blocking his sight fairly well," Rubeus answered bitterly. As if that woman hadn’t given them enough trouble getting there, now he had to deal with this mess she had caused. "Needless to say, this is something of a problem."

Cooan frowned, clenching her fist slightly. "But without the Rabbit... How are we to accomplish our goal without the Princess?"

"Don't get upset, Cooan," Rubeus chastised lazily, glancing at himself in the mirror. He examined his chin from several angles before continuing. "Prince Demando has already thought of an alternative plan to alter the future, thereby ensuring our plan to take over Crystal Tokyo.

"The original plan was the kill the Rabbit, sending the future events into a tailspin that would naturally result in our victory," Rubeus explained, not noticing Beruche's dubious look at that version of events. "The new plan remains grounded in the same principles. It is going to be much more difficult than snatching the kid, but it's going to have to do.

"In order to irreparably alter the future of Tokyo, we are going to have to do away with its very defenders," Rubeus concluded.

Beruche straightened, turning her heard in Rubeus’s direction. "You mean we're to kill the Sailor Senshi?"

"No," Rubeus said testily. "The Wiseman's sight cannot pinpoint it down that easily. There are too many variables in the deaths of five women to be certain that their deaths would result in our victory."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Cooan snapped.

"Cooan, be quiet," Petz threatened, sending a glare in the younger girl's direction so that Rubeus wouldn't have to.

Rubeus turned away from them when he continued his explanation, his voice tight. "We are to merely remove them from the timeline. Kidnap them, but not kill them. If we can rid the world of its defenders, they can't stand a chance against us."

Beruche still was not convinced. "But that doesn't make sense. We may as well just kill them. Strike fear into the hearts of the people and all that."

"How Machiavellian of you," Karaberas said lightly.

"You forget the Great Ice," Rubeus reminded her. "When that comes, we will need the power of the Ginzuishou to heal the world. It may be nothing next to the Jakokuzuishou, but it isn't in its nature to awaken or to heal. We need a descendant of the White Moon to use the crystal to renew the Earth."

"Sailor Moon," Petz concluded, folding her arms across her chest thoughtfully. "And we are kidnapping all of the Senshi not only to remove them from Tokyo, but to use her friends as a bargaining to tool. To make sure that she does what we want."

Rubeus nodded. "Exactly."

"That's a fairly tall order," Petz observed. "Not impossible, but difficult nonetheless."

Karaberas sniffed, patting her hair into place. "Well, maybe it's difficult for you, Petz. I think it will be a snap, myself."

The normally unshakeable Petz hunched her shoulders and growled, clearly longing to punch Karaberas hard in the mouth. Cooan wasn't entirely sure what stopped her from doing so.

"We don't have time for your bickering, Petz. Karaberas," Rubeus snapped even as it became clear that neither sister was going to start a fight just then. "Needless to say, it is imperative that we capture Sailor Moon. She is the key to ensuring our success. And that means that we are going to have to pick off her four guardians one by one. There will be no getting near her otherwise."

Karaberas smirked slightly. "I wonder if that has less to do with the fact that she can control the crystal and more to do with the assumption that Sailor Moon is actually Neo Queen Serenity."

Rubeus shut his eyes, the level of his irritation steadily rising. "Karaberas--"

"Oh, don't get mad at her, Rubeus," Cooan said, leaning against a pillar. "Everyone knows that Prince Demando has some sort of infatuation with the Queen. He doesn't try to hide it, so I don't see a reason why we can't talk about it."

"Our prince's romantic inclinations aside," Rubeus said, redirecting the conversation gracelessly. "If Sailor Moon is in fact Neo Queen Serenity, of course it's important that we capture her. As the most powerful, she's the one we have to worry the most about."

Beruche smiled softly. "Then where did she go?"

The group fell silent at that, each pondering the final battle in which Neo Queen Serenity had made her final appearance. The Black Moon had launched a full scale attack against the palace. The White Moon, as they had come to be called, had had no time to prepare for the assault. Still, all of them had found it odd when Neo Queen Serenity was the first to appear outside the palace, hiking up her skirts and looking around frantically as if she'd lost something. None of them had been close enough to hear just who or what she had been looking for. Still, they'd all seen as Demando called down to her, perhaps offering a chance to surrender. She'd glared back up at him, defiant as ever. She would never bend to his will.

The two monarchs had been locked in battle many times before, so Prince Demando had almost felt foolish launching a blast of dark energy at his powerful adversary. He had tried it many times before, and failed each time. He had always found himself pitted against the might of the Ginzuishou. No amount of training from the Wiseman could prepare him for the raw power of that tiny stone.

They had all been surprised when she merely brought up her arms to defend herself.

Moments later, the Guardian Senshi had appeared. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury each shouted something that many heard, but no one could agree on. Light poured out of their hands, blinding anyone close enough to see what was going on. When they could see again, the great queen was gone, leaving only her soldiers to fight against the dark forces storming the palace. They had fought back valiantly, momentarily stemming the tide. They'd bought themselves just enough time to flee to the center of the palace and use their collective powers to form a shield around the palace to protect them all.

It was a tactic the Black Moon had never thought of them using. It seemed rather silly to do so. After all, their Queen certainly didn't need much protecting. She was stronger than all of them put together. So why would they do something like that?

It was a question that quite possibly would never be answered.

Rubeus shook his head, clearing his mind of all of these unbidden thoughts. "Forget the future for the time being," he instructed. "Though our purpose is to bring it to its knees, we must first conquer the past. That must be our focus from now on."

"How are we supposed to accomplish this, Rubeus?" Petz questioned, apparently still holding on to her opinion that this was not going to be an easy battle to win.

Rubeus sighed. "Another reason why I was so late in returning..." He ran a hand through his hair before he began to pace about the spaceship, the metal clanging loudly beneath his heavy combat boots. "As I'm sure you all know, many people did not survive the Great Ice. The monarchs of Crystal Tokyo kept notoriously exact records, listing the names of all of those that were classified as missing as many did not remember who they had been before they fell asleep.

"We also know that the Sailor Senshi must have all had civilian identities in this time period as they do not exist continuously as they do in the future. Saffir reasoned that the women they co-existed as were no doubt listed as either dead or missing in these records in order to grant their families some peace in the future and to tie up all the lose ends.

"It took... a very long time, but we managed to cross reference all of the names to photo identification databases existing in this century. Though we're still working on it, we were able to discover the identity of one Sailor Mars."

As he spoke, the projector in the middle of the floor of the spaceship whirred to life and a hologram of a young girl with long dark hair appeared. She was dressed in the traditional miko robes and standing on the top of a set of steps that was vaguely familiar to them all.

"Hikawa Jinja," Beruche said aloud.

"Indeed," Rubeus said with a nod. "There was always some question as to why the Royal Family was so particular about caring for this particular shrine. When it occurred to us to check into the owners at the time when the Great Ice came, it made the search considerably less painful.

"This is Hino Rei, and I'm sure you can see the similarities between her and Sailor Mars of our time. Though we cannot say that she is Sailor Mars with one hundred percent certainty, it is the closest we've been able to find at this time."

Cooan stepped forward, eyeing the image of the girl hovering before her. She had been pitted against Mars often in the future battles. Their elements and abilities were almost a perfect match for one another. They'd often found themselves stalemated, but there had been a few times where Mars had managed to outclass her as a warrior. It had been humiliating for the young assassin to endure. Especially since she had been unable to return the favor.

"I'll take this mission, Master Rubeus," Cooan offered, smiling in a manner she probably thought was alluring. Karaberas rolled her eyes, sending a look in Petz's direction that Cooan didn't notice. "I'm so looking forward to getting reacquainted with Miss Mars in a different setting."

Rubeus smiled slightly, as if he had been expecting Cooan to take the assignment. Then again, her decision was a surprise to no one. Cooan’s grudge against Mars was hardly a state secret. "Don't let me down, Cooan."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Cooan purred.

"Of course," Rubeus said, sounding just the slightest bit dubious. "Just be careful. The Sailor Senshi may be weaker than they were the last time we faced them, but that doesn't mean that you get to underestimate them. If you fail, it becomes my failure, and that would not make me happy, Cooan." His explanation had seemed to get darker as he went on, making all of the sisters uneasy.

Cooan looked away and sniffed slightly, inspecting her long nails, trying to make it seem as though she hadn't been affected by him. "That's a rather silly thing to tell me, Master Rubeus.”

Rubeus briefly considered keeping his peace and not answer her, even though she had obviously been baiting him. However, against his better judgment, he responded, “Why is that, Cooan?”

“Because I'm not going to fail," she informed him, sounding surprised that he hadn’t been able to figure it out for himself. She giggled girlishly before vanishing in a flash of purple light.

-----


The meeting had been over for several hours, but Rei was only just beginning to feel settled enough to give what had happened some real consideration. Usagi, of course, had walked in nearly an hour late with Makoto in tow. Rei had instantly snapped at her about not answering her communicator when she was always supposed to answer it because it was for emergency use only. Ami had then reminded her that this meeting wasn't technically under their normal umbrella of emergency and that they had often used it to call meetings when there was no other way of contacting each other. This had left Rei with no leg to stand on, so instead she focused on Minako's sudden absence.

Makoto had been about to say something when Usagi interrupted, saying that Minako had remembered a family emergency she had to attend to. Though this made sense to no one in the room, including Makoto, who had been out there with them, Rei had decided to ignore it for the time being. She had made a mental note that she would call Minako later and figure out what had actually happened.

Of course, it was later, and she still hadn't called Minako. Rei just didn't feel like talking to anyone at that precise moment.

The meeting hadn't exactly gone well. Though she hadn't been expecting anyone to have an epiphany, she couldn't seem to make Usagi in particular understand the gravity of the situation. It wasn't just another vision she'd had. It had been the feeling when she'd seen those images that unsettled her. She still felt a certain amount of unease hours later, though she would rather feel that than the overwhelming sense of dread she'd experienced earlier. Even so, she felt like they spent the entirety of the meeting trying to rationalize her premonition into something harmless. Rei had never appreciated being contradicted, but it was in these matters that she became particularly testy. It didn't help that she spent half of her time trying to keep both Makoto's and Usagi's separate attentions.

Usagi's behavior was still worrisome, but Rei knew that it was time to stop coddling her. They needed to drag her back to reality kicking and screaming if they had to. Yes, Mamoru not remembering was tragic for Usagi, but it didn't mean getting him back wasn't impossible. It was destiny. This was hardly the end of the world.

Then again, Rei had never really understood how people could become so deeply affected by these matters. After all, Usagi wasn't the only one who had lost Mamoru at one time or another. Not that Rei had ever really cared for him like Usagi did. He was an interesting person to be around, and a nice figure to have on her arm, but little more than that.

Rei supposed it was one of those things she would understand when she was really in love, but for the time being, she was completely at a loss.

"Rei?"

She looked up, startled to hear her name. She blinked when she saw Yuuichirou standing in front of her, precariously balancing a tea tray in front of him. Before the inevitable disaster occurred, Rei reached up and took it from him, setting it on the low table she was seated at.

"Yuuichirou, what are you doing up?" Rei asked, rather ridiculously. "It's late. You should be in bed."

"So should you," he countered somewhat sheepishly. He sat down across from her, taking her acceptance of the tea as a form of invitation.

Rei sighed, reaching forward and pouring the tea into the two cups Yuuichirou had provided. "I can't sleep. I have too much on my mind." She inhaled the aroma from the tea as the steam wafted up to her nose. It was chamomile. Just the sort of thing she needed if she had any hope of getting to sleep that night.

"I can't sleep either," Yuuichirou said hastily, fussing with the tie on his robes. "Not that I have too much on my mind. I just... Well, it doesn't matter. I'd rather stay up with you anyway." He flushed a bit, quickly reaching for the tea to mask his behavior. He took a long sip of it without bothering to cool it off. He practically dropped it again, turning even redder for an entirely different reason.

Rei shook her head, slowly getting to her feet. "I'll get you some water, Yuuichirou. Try not to hurt yourself while I'm gone."

"Yesh, Lei," he muttered gloomily, averting his gaze like a scolded child.

She looked at him with a familiar kind of disbelief and went into the kitchen to pour him a glass of water. Rei returned a few minutes later, handing the water to him, and retaking her seat at the other end of the table. As long as she was going to be awake, she figured she may as well have some company, unwanted as it was. If Yuuichirou could avoid any more accidents, there was a chance that he might be boring enough to lull her to sleep. She knew that the chances of that were slim to none, but she was allowed to hope.

"So, Yuuichirou," Rei began as soon as he'd downed the entire glass of water in one obnoxious gulp. "Why can't you sleep? Did the monster in your closet come back?" she queried, referring to the time that her grandfather had turned into a youma, thanks to Zoisite's interference. She had convinced a terrified Yuuichirou that it had been a figment of his imagination and often found herself teasing him about it. Usagi once told her that was mean, but Rei assumed that it would look odd if she didn't say anything.

He smiled slightly at her jab, picking up his cup of tea again, remembering to blow on it this time so that his tongue wasn't subjected to any more torture. "No, it's just... You seemed really out of it when you got home, and then it didn't seem like you and your friends were getting along this afternoon."

Rei blinked in surprise, looking up at him with wide eyes. "You-- You heard us." She swallowed and turned her attention down to her cooling tea. She gripped it tightly within her hands, absorbing the warmth into her stiff fingers, and readied herself for the worst. She certainly hoped that a certain discovery about the five girls was not what was keeping Yuuichirou up, but she knew that there had always been some risk in it. Yuuichirou and her grandfather had a habit of “accidentally” overhearing other people’s conversations. "What exactly did you hear?"

"I didn't take notes on the exact conversation," Yuuichirou assured her. "I just heard you yelling... more than usual."

Rei laughed mirthlessly, a little relieved. She couldn’t allow herself much of it unfortunately as Yuuichirou had just reminded her of the bulk of her troubles. "Yeah. Things have been a little tense lately."

Yuuichirou frowned slightly, looking at her through the spaces between his shaggy brown bangs. "What are you all so stressed about? Is there a big test or something coming up?"

"I wish it were that simple," Rei murmured, taking a sip of her tea to try and soothe her restless mind. Unfortunately, chamomile did not have an immediate effect on her. "It's pretty complicated, Yuuichirou. I'm not sure I know about everything that's going on anymore.” She frowned, remembering Minako’s sudden disappearance and Makoto and Usagi’s odd behavior. A moment later, she shook her head and continued. “I suppose most of it is that Usagi is still very worried about Mamoru, and we're all worried about her."

Yuuichirou didn't immediately recognize the name. Then after a moment, he looked away, sounding sullen and bitter. "The guy with the dark hair you used to go around with?"

Rei glared. Yuuichirou always got testy at the mere mention of another male who had accidentally bumped into Rei on the bus. She didn’t want to think about how unreasonable he would get if she entertained this conversation for a moment. "We did not 'go around,' Yuuichirou. We were..." Rei trailed off for a moment. What had they been exactly? She had assumed they were something, but she later realized that Mamoru had been completely oblivious. She was beginning to realize that this was a character trait she would encounter often if the mess with his memory ever got straightened out.

After a moment, Rei finally finished her sentence. "We were just friends."

He seemed to perk up considerably at that, not noticing or perhaps actively ignoring her hesitation. "Oh, well, that's all right then."

Rei smiled slightly. Yuuichirou could be amusing every now and again. And he was certainly easier to deal with than some certain four females. "I'm glad you approve."

Yuuichirou seemed mildly embarrassed about her response, which was surprising because his feelings could rarely be classified under the umbrella of mild. She supposed maybe he was a bit more tired than he was letting on. It was the only explanation she could come up with for not turning the same color as her robes.

"So, he's still not doing too well?" Yuuichirou questioned, his voice indicating that he was truly concerned and not just making conversation to fill time.

Rei started to shake her head, but soon revised that to a shrug. "We really don't know much actually. We haven't seen him since we were all taken to the hospital the other night, and even then only Ami managed to get in. She said he didn't look too great, but then it was miracle he managed to get out alive at all much less without needing surgery."

Yuuichirou’s face tightened as it did every time that she had brought up this subject. She wished she would have learned to avoid it, but she continued to make the same mistake, often landing them in the same conversation. He pounded his fist on the table, quickly reaching out to grab the tea kettle when he nearly knocked it off. He sighed, completely frustrated with himself and said, "I should have been there.”

Rei’s eyes fluttered closed in exasperation. “Yuuichirou--"

“No,” he interrupted, a bit more harshly than he probably intended, but it was not like his tone was all that off-putting for her. “I should have been with you. Or I at least should have been here at the shrine instead of out with my stupid friends. I get home and find you limping all over the place, but I couldn’t even help you then because I wasn’t exactly steady on my feet either. I was just... stupid." His face fell considerably, and he poked at his tea cup irritably. “Like always, right?”

Rei's face softened sympathetically. Yuuichirou always wanted to play the knight in shining armor, riding in on a white horse to save her from peril. It was really too bad he would never be able to keep his seat. "Yuuichirou, I told you. There was nothing you could have done. If you'd been with me, you'd probably in worse shape than Mamoru."

He couldn't contradict that sound argument. "But then you were all alone at the hospital, and--"

"I wasn't alone," Rei reiterated for what felt like the fiftieth time. She didn’t know how she managed to keep the irritation out of her voice. Actually, she probably wasn’t. Her grandfather said she had a tendency to sound vexed even when she was given a gift that she honestly liked. "The girls were with me."

"I know, I know," Yuuichirou muttered miserably. "I just... wish I could have been there I guess."

Rei smiled, finishing her cup of tea. "That's very sweet of you, Yuuichirou." She stretched, yawning slightly. "That chamomile really did the trick. I think I'm going to try and get some sleep. Maybe things will seem better in the morning."

Yuuichirou nodded hopefully, his bad mood forgotten or set aside for her sake, trying to encourage her with his earnestness. "Yeah, maybe."

Rei slowly got to her feet, moving to head to her room. Before she left, she turned back around and bent at the waist so that she was level with Yuuichirou's face. She later would wonder what horrible demon had possessed her to make her do it, but at the moment, it was simply a gesture of her gratitude. She leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek, smiling at the surprised little noise he made.

"Thank you," she said honestly. "You know, there are times that I'm actually glad that you're here." Then, she straightened and began walking back to her room, leaving Yuuichirou to wonder at what point during the conversation he had died and gone to heaven.

-----


"This is the harpy who tried to light my hair on fire?" Cooan said in complete disbelief as soon as Hino Rei had exited the room. She had been sitting outside the window, which had been left slightly ajar to allow a breeze to waft through the shrine. Luckily, it had also served Cooan enough to overhear the pair’s conversation. Sadly, it had also made her very much doubt whether or not Rubeus had been correct in this selection.

None of the evidence presented to her seemed to add up. The girl certainly had a temper to match the Mars she was acquainted with in the future, but everyone knew that the Sailor Senshi had all been born on the Darkest Days, coinciding with some of the worst events that had befallen the Black Moon since their exile to Nemesis. Every act they had committed from the time of their birth was catalogued in Nemesian history, and nothing suggested that they had ever been benevolent or kind. They defended their territory at any cost, they attacked so-called enemies before learning of their motives, they clawed their way to power in the aftermath of disaster, and manipulated the people of Earth into actually thinking that they were doing the right thing.

Her ancestors had been the only ones to stand up against Neo Queen Serenity and her four soldiers. They had stirred up a revolution, they had defended themselves against tyranny and tried to make others see the truth in what was going on around them. And then, just as they were beginning to be truly successful, the palace struck back with such brute force that only twenty of the original revolutionaries remained. They were not given a trial. They were merely shipped off to Exile on a dead planet and the White Moon called them dangerous menaces to society. Some even made Neo Queen Serenity out to be merciful for she had let them live.

Yes, she had let them live, but she had condemned them to such misery that three of the original survivors committed suicide in the first year of exile.

It wasn't until later that they had begun to build up their clan. Families were created, children were born, and the fire was quickly spread. It took many years,
but finally the Black Moon clan had worked up enough power to strike back against their oppressors. They had come up with a brilliant scheme, a flawless plan of action. To journey to the past and remove the Sailor Soldiers before they had a chance to do take the throne of Earth while hundreds of people struggled to understand what had happened at all.

And Hino Rei, the girl who was supposed to be the most vicious of the Four Senshi, understood benevolence? No, Cooan could not wrap her brain around that. It flew in the face of everything she had been taught.

Cooan would have liked nothing more than to rush in at that exact moment and kidnap Rei immediately, but she would not do so without being sure. Kidnapping the wrong girl could be disastrous. They would not be able to put her back, for there would be too much of a chance that the Senshi would learn that they were being hunted and put them on guard before the Black Moon was even able to take one. But killing her could also alter the future in ways that the Wiseman could not foresee. And while they could keep her, no one would want to, no matter what the risk.

Besides, Rubeus would consider it her failure even though it would have been his mistake. He would lay the blame on her even as it was being put upon him from higher up. The last thing Cooan wanted was for Rubeus to be disappointed in her, and so Cooan decided that she had no choice but to wait and be certain.

Cooan stayed outside for a few while until she thought everyone in the house were sound asleep. Then she suddenly appeared in Rei's room, dimming the flash of light so as not to disturb the slumbering girl. Cooan held out her hand to summon something from the ship. A moment later, a tiny black crystal appeared in her palm, glittering in the low light. It wasn't so much as a quarter inch in diameter, made of the same material as the earrings every member of the Black Moon Clan wore. It was a tracking device from their time, and it would allow Cooan to keep an eye on Rei. Hopefully, she would be able to gather more clues in order to see if Rubeus was right about this girl's identity.

Cooan poked about the room for awhile before finding something she could put the tracking device in. It was a briefcase obviously meant for school judging by the books inside. It was no doubt something that would remain near Rei at all times. She emptied the case and placed the tiny gem on as inconspicuous a spot as she could think of, nodding in satisfaction when it was done. A quiet moan from Rei's bed startled her into replacing the books, glancing over at her to see if she was beginning to wake up. Thankfully, she wasn't. She was merely sleeping fitfully, turning away from Cooan rather than toward her.

Cooan looked back at the slumbering teenager, all dark hair and pale skin. Yes, Cooan had been right about one thing. She certainly looked like Sailor Mars.

But Cooan still couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong.

-----


The next morning was almost routine at the Tsukino household. As usual, Usagi overslept and her mother had to wake her up several times before the blonde actually dragged herself out of bed. Usagi was surely going to be late, but no amount of telling her this would make her hurry until she saw the time for herself. Then, and only then, did she rush about, throwing her clothes this way and that in order to try and find a clean uniform for that day's outing. She still jogged to get out the door, having to reenter to grab her shoes as she forgot to put them on. She also forgot her lunch, but she didn’t go back to retrieve that, and Shingo had already left earlier.

Luna, more than the other members of the Tsukino family, noticed the lack of vigor in Usagi's mad dash. Normally, Usagi's desperation was accompanied by a number of harried accusations towards her mother's nonexistent negligence as well as quite a number of pleas to the Kami to turn back time or at least slow it down a bit. Today, it was all done in silence.

Usagi obviously still hadn't gotten over the blow Mamoru's continued selective amnesia caused her. While Luna could sympathize, Usagi remaining this depressed simply wasn't like her. The disparity between this and her normal self was so disturbing that Luna could hardly breathe around her. Still, she knew that as Usagi's guardian, it was up to her to at least put forth an effort to mend a young girl's heart.

Luna trotted after the pigtailed blonde, watching as her jog eventually slowed to a walk. Usagi had apparently ceased to care about even trying to get to school on time. Luna couldn't say she was surprised.

"Usagi?"

She barely looked up when the cat called her name. It was more like a slight twitch, an attempt at a reaction, only to find that she was too weighed down to do much. "Hmm?"

Luna frowned slightly and said, "Usagi, don't you think you should at least try and cheer up? I know that this situation with Mamoru is... difficult, but--"

"It's not just about Mamoru, Luna," Usagi informed her quietly, her voice trembling, yet sounding utterly resolute.

The black cat narrowed her eyes, wondering what else could have possibly happened. Then she remembered a late night visit she'd had from Artemis. He'd come to inform her that the girls had had a meeting earlier that day, and Minako had been utterly inconsolable since she had arrived home. She wouldn't tell him exactly what happened, but she had insinuated that it had something to do with Usagi. Artemis had been hoping to get some idea about it from Luna. Luna hadn't even known there was a meeting.

"Did you and Minako have a fight?" Luna asked cautiously.

Usagi immediately went rigid and started to walk faster. "I don't want to talk about it."

She'd been right.

Of course, Luna couldn't imagine what Minako and Usagi could have possibly fought about at a time like this. Minako of all people should have been the most sympathetic to Usagi's predicament. Not that either blonde had been behaving typically as of late, but even so...

"Are you sure you don't--"

"Luna, I really don't want to talk about it," Usagi repeated, her voice strangely quiet.

The cat paused, deciding it was best to follow Usagi's wishes in this matter. "All right, Usagi. I just...” Luna trailed off, searching for the correct way to phrase things. “We all just wish there was something we could do to make you feel better. I’m sure the girls would be happy to take you on some sort of outing--"

“Ami offered yesterday,” Usagi interrupted. “After the meeting. I don’t want to go out anywhere, so please don’t suggest that.”

Luna’s frown deepened, and she wondered if it was possible for a cat to get worry lines. Still, she continued, deciding that she had to do something to lift Usagi’s spirits, or at least change them. She’d take an angry Usagi over this desperately morose one any day. At least she had seen that before. “I'd even drag Mamoru to our house for a sit down if I could, but that's impossible. You could always visit him some time if it would make you feel better."

Usagi abruptly stopped in her tracks at the suggestion. Apparently, the idea had not occurred to the girl before. The force with which it dawned on her caused her entire demeanor to change. Luna thought the girl looked just a little bit lighter,
and she felt utterly relieved.

"That's a great idea, Luna," Usagi said, almost chirping with excitement. "Come on!"

Luna stared after the retreating girl's back in utter disbelief, quickly realizing that Usagi had taken ‘some time’ to mean ‘right this minute’. This wasn't what she'd meant at all. "Usagi!" she shouted, running all out to catch up with her charge. "I meant after school! I’m not even certain that I meant today!"

"But Luna, there's no time to waste!" Usagi insisted, her usual determination slowly coming back into her gaze. "If Mamoru's going to remember me, then he's going to have to do it quickly. The sooner we can manage it, the easier it will be on all of us."

"And it can't wait until after school?" Luna muttered irritably, knowing there was very little she could do to dissuade Usagi at this point.

"No."

And that was that.

"Fine," Luna groused. She realized it was very unlike her to encourage this sort of behavior, but she was granting a certain exception in this case. It might not have been the correct thing to do, but it was what she wanted to do, and for once, Luna was going to follow her impulse. "I won't nag you, but only this once. This is how much I don't like you moping. I want you to keep that in mind."

Usagi almost smiled.

"And just how do you plan on getting in to see him? They’re going to know that you’re supposed to be in school. The uniform is a bit of a give away?"

Usagi reached into the pocket of her blouse, unclipping a pen that was hanging over the cloth. She pulled out a very familiar pink pen with a gaudy jewel on top, making Luna groan.

"I know I've said it before, but sometimes I really regret giving that to you."

-----


At lunchtime that same day, Ami and Makoto practically ran into each other in a nigh desperate attempt on the part of one to reach the other.

"Did she ever show up?" Makoto asked worriedly, crinkling her forehead.

Of course, she was referring to Usagi, who had not arrived for school that morning. At first, neither Makoto nor Ami had been particularly alarmed. After all, Usagi wasn't exactly known for her punctuality. They'd gone to their separate classrooms, expecting to hear Usagi careening down the hallway at any given moment.

Makoto had never heard so much as a peep from outside the classroom.

"No," Ami said miserably, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "She didn't."

"Damn!" Makoto cursed, punching the wall next to her. She didn't notice that her fist landed directly between two of her male classmates, who went stone white when her hand slammed between them. They gave each other a look, and then sent one to Makoto, ensuring that she wasn’t paying them any attention before they fled.

"We could be overreacting," Ami attempted to reason, though she didn’t sound all that sure of herself. "She could very well have made herself ill. She didn't look too well at the meeting yesterday, and--"

Makoto sighed loudly, cutting Ami off. “No, I don’t think it has anything to do with that.” She clenched her fist and looked away, saying, "Ami... There's something I need to tell you about the meeting yesterday. About when Minako and I went outside."

As Makoto told her story, Ami's hope for a normal problem died more and more with each word that fell out of the brunette's mouth. When Makoto was done, Ami grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the bathroom, pulling out her communicator. She was now certain that desperate times called for desperate measures, hoping that both of the other girls had lunch at the same time that they did.

That was quite possibly the only thing that was currently going as planned. Rei and Minako both answered immediately.

"Ami, what's wrong?" Minako inquired, instantly concerned.

"It's Usagi," Ami said quietly after Makoto had checked to make sure all of the other stalls were empty. "She never showed up for school today."

Rei sighed, clearly irritated. "Oh, great. She's letting this get her down enough to stay home from school now?"

Minako looked pale, even a little ill herself. Ami couldn’t say that she blamed her considering what had happened. She sent a little look over her shoulder at Makoto to ensure that she noticed.

"I... don't think it's just that, Rei," Minako admitted quietly.

"Eh?" Rei asked, now clearly the only one who did not know about the fight.

"Later," Makoto advised wisely. Rei would not take kindly to being misinformed, nor would she take kindly to the situation itself. Makoto wasn't sure who she would blame for the incident, but Makoto knew that she was not blameless. She was in no mood to be at the recieving end of Rei's wrath, and they didn't have time for it besides. "Look, it's entirely possible that she's just made herself sick over this whole thing. It could just be that."

That suggestion didn't seem to do much to make Minako feel better.

"You don't seem convinced," Rei observed. "You think she ditched?"

"To do what?" Minako forced out.

Ami shrugged helplessly. "Maybe she just needed some time to think away from her family and the rest of us. She didn't eat lunch with us yesterday. Maybe it wasn't enough space."

Rei huffed slightly. "I'm all for Usagi pulling herself together, but skipping school? This is becoming unhealthy. Scratch that, it's becoming even more unhealthy."

Minako frowned. "What should we do?"

"I think we should go look for her after school," Ami suggested helpfully. "I'll go to her house and see if she just stayed home with the stomach flu or something."

"Let's hope it's just that," Makoto mumbled. "I'll check around the arcade."

"And I'll take the other haunts," Minako agreed, not sounding particularly eager to do so.

"I'll wait around the shrine to see if she shows up there," Rei offered, though everyone else could tell that she would much rather be tearing through all of Tokyo to see where Usagi was hiding. Nonetheless, they all thought that someone ought to stay at the shrine should the girl venture over there, and Rei was definitely the most likely candidate for that, even if it wasn’t what she wanted to do. "So, it's agreed?"

"Definitely," Ami responded. "I'm sure we're all overreacting, but..."

They all fell into silence after that. Yes, 'but.' That was the one word that led to a thousand ideas that made them decide that they had to find her without sparing a second, if only to ease their troubled minds.

-----


Usagi had never before realized just how difficult it was to navigate hospitals before. She couldn't recall ever having this problem in the past, but then, she had never snuck around a hospital in search of a patient she wasn't technically supposed to see before. She'd always had directions and a general idea of what floor the person would be on.

She also hadn't been forced to duck nearly every time a doctor or some other personnel came by, pretending to look busy so that they wouldn't try and have her assist on a surgery or give someone a sponge bath or something else equally mortifying. She glanced down at her stark white nurse’s uniform, shaking her head a bit. Her cap was on a bit lose, so she had to reach up and straighten it after doing so, closing her eyes to keep from getting any more frustrated with herself. She could not help but think that it would have been easier to choose someone with less authority to disguise herself as, but things were working out well enough for the time being. She just hoped that they stayed that way.

Usagi had now been wandering around the hospital for hours in search of Mamoru's room. She was very glad that she had told Luna to wait outside as the feline would no doubt have insisted they give up some time ago before something happened. But cats weren’t exactly welcome in a hospital, and Usagi hadn’t particularly wanted to carry her around in a basket for an unspecified amount of time, so she’d had Luna wait outside. It had been the best decision she’d made in awhile.

She didn't have to glance at a clock to know that it was lunch time, if not later than that. Her stomach was growling loud enough for some of the elderly patients to give her very disapproving looks. It was mildly embarrassing, but she knew that she couldn't afford to stop for food. In trying to find it, she would likely get herself even more turned around, and then she might never find Mamoru. She'd already been forced to take a forty minute detour in search of a bathroom, and she refused to allow herself any more delays.

She wasn't entirely sure what floor she was on, but she supposed it looked promising, though not in a way she cared for. The hallways on the other floors she had been on had been full of people, personnel, visitors, and patients. This floor was alarmingly empty by contrast. There were some nurses flitting about and a mother and son exiting a room very slowly, their eyes downcast. Usagi knew that Mamoru's injuries had been bad; perhaps bad enough to put him on a floor where the patients couldn't leave their room.

Usagi walked briskly into the hallway, checking the names on the doors as she went. She made an effort to look like she was walking with purpose, finding that less people stopped her if she did that; however, she assumed her refusal to look forward while she was walking did something to hinder that.

"Chiba-san, you really should make an attempt to eat more."

Both Usagi's footsteps and her heart stopped. Her head snapped over to a room on the other side of the hallway. A rolling cart filled with empty trays was sitting just outside the room, and Usagi could see a nurse standing next to someone's bed. She could only hope that it was the right someone.

"I know. I'm sorry," a baritone voice responded, sounding something like her father sometimes did when he came home from a long day at the newspaper - very tired, but trying to be happy for other people's sake. It also sounded something like Mamoru's, but it was raspier than she remembered. She didn't know what that meant or if it was just her imagination, but Usagi found herself biting her lip and hoping that it was really him in that room. "I just haven't been able to work up an appetite since..." He trailed off, not wanting to finish.

The nurse shook her head at him, putting her hands on her hips. "I find that very troubling, Chiba-san. You need to eat more to get your strength back. I don't need to tell you about the ordeal your body has been through."

"I'll try and do better at dinner," the patient responded, his voice charming, but clearly for the purpose of getting the nurse out of the room.

It worked well enough as she leaned forward and picked up his tray, still shaking her head. "See that you do, Chiba-san."

The nurse turned to leave, walking in the direction of the door. Usagi quickly reached up and plucked a chart out of a nearby doorway, making a great show of studying it intently, holding it straight in front of her face to prevent being recognized. She peeked out from side of the chart, watching as the nurse kept walking forward, preparing to pull the door open wide enough for Usagi to see inside.

"Oh, and nurse?"

She looked over her shoulder, her foot poised to maneuver through the doorway. "Yes, Chiba-san?"

"Would it be possible to leave me alone for a few hours? I'd like some time to myself, if that's all right."

The nurse paused for a moment, and then nodded. "I'll put a note on your chart."

"Thank you."

That said, the nurse slowly kicked the door open wide, allowing Usagi to see inside. She nearly dropped the chart when she saw Mamoru sitting in bed, his head turned to stare out of his window down on the Tokyo streets. She felt her heart pounding in her ears and her fingers curled around the plastic clipboard so fiercely that she thought she might break it in half. She felt a painful smile split across her face when she saw him. It felt like it had been years, though it had really only been a few days.

Still, things were different now. He may not have known that she was Sailor Moon or that he had once been Tuxedo Kamen, but he had protected her as Tsukino Usagi and as Sailor Moon, even while he was just Chiba Mamoru. He had proven that the part of him that loved her was still in there, even if he didn't remember it. It was now up to her to make him remember. Maybe Luna couldn't do anything for him, but there had to be a way to give him his memory back.

Usagi would stop at nothing until she found out what that was.

The nurse closed the door behind her and added Mamoru's tray to the rest, dumping his leftover food in a garbage bag attached to the side. She pulled out Mamoru's chart, leaving the appropriate notations that he had requested. She then pushed the cart forward towards her next destination, stopping it in front of the next room in order to repeat the same collection process.

Usagi glanced around, seeing that the hallway was miraculously empty. She knew that this might be her only chance to get Mamoru alone until he was out of the hospital, and who knew how long that would take? Mamoru may have asked to have been left alone, but there was no telling how long that would actually last. She didn't have much time, but she was going to make the most of it.

Granted, she still had no idea how she was going to go about actually jogging Mamoru's memory, but she decided that she could only handle one brilliant plan at a time.

After checking around one last time to make sure that no one was going to pop out at her suddenly, Usagi let her transformation fade out. She breathed a small sigh of relief, happy to be just a junior high school student again. She didn't allow herself too much time to linger, practically leaping across the hallway to Mamoru's door. She reached out, gripping the cold metal of the doorknob as she felt fear wrap its fist around her heart.

This might not work. As a matter of fact, it was fairly likely that it would not work. She had been trying to make everything right before Mamoru had ended up in Ail and Ann's apartment, before the Makaiju had gone berserk, and nothing had come of her efforts. Now more time had passed, and perhaps the memories had receded beyond her reach. Perhaps not even her power could help him now.

Usagi felt her eyelids pull closed as she thought of the terrifying possibility that this life would continue. She thought of how horrible it would be to be permanently isolated from Mamoru. True, there was a possibility that if she hung around him enough, he would come to love her in his own time, in his own way. But Usagi knew that she would always be burdened with the memory of the past life, and it would eventually do any relationship with him, even a friendship, more harm than good. She couldn’t shoulder that by herself, not when she thought back to how intense and how wonderful and how right it had been all those centuries ago. She would long for more than he could possibly give without those memories, and it would eventually ruin everything.

Usagi didn’t think she would be able to survive if Mamoru didn’t remember.

Usagi shook her head adamantly, her blonde hair flying about her for a moment. No, things were different now. Surely after what had happened he was close to a breakthrough. Perhaps it was now on the edge of his mind, dancing on the border of remembering and repression. Maybe it wouldn't take very much effort at all to get Mamoru back. Maybe he was searching himself, feeling that he had lost something very important just as he had when he had been looking for his princess all those months ago.

She could help him find it. She would help him find it.

She would make him find it.

That decided, Usagi's fingers flexed against the handle. She turned it swiftly, pushing the door open before she had a chance to lose heart or to give anyone else a chance to stop her.

Mamoru jumped a bit when the door opened and closed so suddenly, as Usagi had been afraid of being seen at the last minute. He was even more surprised when he saw the blonde fourteen year old standing in front of the door, breathing hard to accommodate from the adrenaline rush. They both stared at each other for a minute, and it would have seemed to anyone else that they acted as if they might never see each other again, and this meeting was a surprise.

But it wasn't like that at all for Usagi. She would have traveled any distance and fought any number of obstacles to see Mamoru's face again. She knew that as well as she knew her right from her left.

Still, she couldn't help but stare. She hadn't noticed, or perhaps had not let herself see, the extent of the injuries that Mamoru had sustained. Ami had been vague in describing them, and now Usagi could see why. His limbs were almost entirely caught up in bandages, along with his head and apparently his chest, from what little of that she could see. What flesh she could see was almost entirely covered in bruises and cuts. Even his face had apparently taken a beating as a welt on his cheek clearly suggested.

He was hurt and hurt badly. He was lying in a hospital bed looking worse than she'd ever seen a live human being look. And he was lying there because he'd been trying to protect her.

Mamoru blinked, a smile breaking out on his face. "Usagi! I didn't expect to--"

Before Usagi knew precisely what she was doing, she found herself sobbing and running over to his bed. She collapsed beside him, her knees giving out at the last moment. She threw her arms around his waist and tried not to squeeze to hard as she sobbed into his lap. She cried as if she hadn't spent so much time crying over the last few days, like she hadn't cried in years and now all the built up torment was spilling out of her in an uncontrollable flood. Her shoulders shook so much she thought that her arms might fall off, and the tears kept coming no matter how hard she tried to stop them. She kept trying to apologize but she couldn't quite catch her breath, not even when Mamoru's initial shock wore off and he started patting her head, telling her over and over again that it was going to be all right. That he was going to be all right. Though she believed him, she still couldn't make herself calm down because the guilt of seeing him like that was choking her.

He was hurt because of her, and he didn't even know that he loved her. It was too cruel to both of them, to be torn apart like this again. And she couldn't decide if it was crueler to her to have her remember and long for him when he didn't have a clue or to deprive Mamoru of his memory again, something he had nearly died for all those months ago.

Usagi decided that it was equally cruel, and so she cried for both of them, unsure of whether or not she'd ever be able to stop.

-----


Rei arrived home after a very tiring day at TA Academy wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed and never emerge. It had been taxing physically, mentally, and emotionally, and most of that was due in fact to Usagi's strange disappearance. Ami had contacted her again after Juuban School had gotten out to say that Usagi had not arrived late, and that several attempts to contact her via the communicator had not worked. While none of the girls were worried for her safety, there was some concern about Usagi's mental and emotional state. She had been literally shattered by Mamoru's memory loss after getting her hopes up so high, and thus far, things had been too hectic for them to even attempt to cheer her up.

Rei sighed, flopping back onto her bed and covering her eyes with her palm. She wondered if any attempt to cheer Usagi up would have worked even if they had gotten the opportunity to do so. She hated thinking such things, but Usagi should have bounced back by now. Even when Mamoru had been made into an enemy, Usagi had managed to smile and have fun frequently. That had been in thanks at least partially to Minako and Rei and the other girls keeping her distracted on a fairly regular basis. And Rei thought that perhaps if they had done that this time around, Usagi would be in a much better position than she was now. Still, there was something in the girl's eyes, something in the way she carried herself that just seemed... inconsolable.

Rei shook her head intensely, attempting to physically dislodge the notion from her mind. It was ridiculous. The girls just should have tried harder to make Usagi feel better. And Rei was beginning to think that she should have kept her vision to herself. She had done nothing but put everyone on edge. Now they were all sitting around for a danger than may or may not arrive promptly or at all, and not one of them, including herself, was reacting to it well. Minako was growing quiet and stoic at the threat of impending doom, something that put Rei ill at ease considering her normally outrageous personality. Makoto was getting fidgety and restless. Rei had caught her hands twitching as if wanting to curl into fists several times the day before, and it would likely make her insufferable if things remained calm. Ami had been slightly disconnected, trying to puzzle everything out. The girl had never been able to deal with the ambiguities that Rei's visions often gave them, and usually set herself towards trying to figure them out immediately. In spite of her intelligence, she had minimal success. This did not stop Ami from trying. As for Rei, her grandfather probably would have laughed at her if he knew that she thought she grew more irritable in these situations. It was true, nevertheless.

And Usagi? Well, she was missing, wasn't she?

Rei heaved a quick, frustrated sigh, kicking the air and wishing it were a solid object that could have broken apart. At least it would have made her feel productive. It had been stupid of her to offer to stay back at the shrine and wait for Usagi. Still, she knew someone had to do it, and better it be her than one of the other girls. There had been several times over the past month or so that Usagi had called her in the middle of the night and asked if she could come over, though more often than not, she showed up unannounced. Rei wasn't sure why Usagi chose to come to her as opposed to any of the others, but whatever the case, Usagi had chosen her to be her confidante in these matters. Rei wasn't about to be anywhere else than the most likely place she could think of Usagi going to when she was ready to talk.

But that of course was assuming that Usagi wanted to be found at all.

Rei grunted, kicking once more. There was that blasted thought again. It was becoming a bit of an obsession with her, and that was bothersome. Besides, it was a ridiculous idea to pursue. Usagi would never leave any of them. Especially not Mamoru. At the moment, Mamoru was the crux of her existence, and she would not abandon him.

Rei wondered if she should consider that a form of betrayal.

She heard the door open, and she looked up, her brows furrowed in consternation. It was Yuuichirou, of course. There was a faint blush in his cheeks already, though she almost suspected that it had been there since the night before.

"Don't you knock?" Rei snapped, sitting up and leaning on her elbows. "For all you know I could have been naked." She paused, narrowing her eyes. "What am I saying? That's probably what you were hoping for."

Yuuichirou's blush deepened, and Rei already wished that she hadn't brought it up. "No! No, I wasn't hoping for that at all! I--"

"I was being sarcastic, Yuuichirou," Rei interrupted, sounding like an older sister trying to get rid of a very annoying little brother. "Just tell me what you want so that we can get this over with quickly."

Yuuichirou nodded quickly, always eager to please. "Well, you see, I was... Umm..."

Rei waited a few seconds for him to get to his point before getting snippy. She was in a poor mood to begin with, and therefore in no mood to deal with a lovesick puppy dog, no matter how sweet he had been the night before. "Yuuichirou, if you're going to stand there stuttering for twenty minutes, you might as well leave. I am not in a good mood."

For reasons that bewildered Rei, Yuuichirou seemed to perk up. "Oh! Would you like to--"

"Burn down a few buildings and bash Usagi's head in for making my life so difficult? Yes," Rei groused, falling back on to the bed, folding her arms underneath her head. "Talk with you about it? No."

Yuuichirou's face fell, his shoulders sagging about. "Oh..." he said quietly, shuffling his feet. "Well, I just thought--"

"You thought wrong," Rei said harshly. Then she remembered what Usagi had told her about being mean, and she added, "Look, I appreciate your concern, but I just... need to brood." Then she was overcome with that usual fear of seeming too inviting, especially after than impulsive kiss on the cheek that she was regretting more and more with every second. "You should really know better by now, Yuuichirou."

He nodded slowly, agreeing completely. He swallowed, looking down to the ground as if he might like to crawl underneath it for a rather large chunk of eternity. "All right, Rei. If you change your mind--"

"I won't," Rei said, and thought that maybe she should thank him, but she didn't. She didn't bother to come up with any explanation for why.

Yuuichirou nodded and finally left Rei to her silence, partaking in some of his own as he shut the door behind him.

-----


Upon seeing that Rei had made her way back to the shrine, Cooan had retaken her spot just outside the girl's window, and she had been able to hear everything that transpired through the cracked window, just as before.

Cooan couldn't believe what she had heard. The poor boy may have been delusional in his expectations, but she had been perfectly nice to him the night before. She had been nice enough to him to constitute leading him on, and now she had sent him packing just because she was in a poor mood?

Cooan curled up her fingers, watching as the sharp, purple nails dug into her smooth palms. She couldn't believe the arrogance, the callous flippancy that Hino Rei showed that poor boy when he was so clearly in love with her. She acted as if she could treat him anyway she wanted to, secure in the fact that he would remain near no matter how badly he was treated, and while that may have been true, that didn't give her the right to act like that. People with those feelings should never, ever be treated as if they didn't matter.

Cooan was reminded of her situation with Rubeus. She loved him. She had made that very clear in her actions if not with her words. There was no feasible way that Rubeus could have been unaware of her affections, but still he treated her with the same cold distance as her sisters. Sometimes, he even grew colder towards her, speaking to her harshly and calling her impetuous and childish. And just as quickly as he would spurn her, he apologized and gave her a soft word or two. Any anger she had worked up over the last incident would face, and she was right back at his side again.

Not that she had ever left it in the first place. Rubeus could have done just about anything to her, and she would have stayed by him. Not just out of her loyalty to the Clan, but out of her loyalty to him. Regardless of his tempers, he had always been there for the four sisters. He had trained them, he had watched over them, and he had been the one to suggest that they accompany him on this mission. He was their leader, and no amount of harshness would ever change Cooan's loyalty.

Perhaps she also stayed out of a distant hope that someday, his feelings would be returned.

Though Rubeus paid her attentions no mind, he did not mock her for them. He merely ignored them as if he did not know of their presence. But this girl, this Hino Rei, seemed to take some pleasure in taunting that boy. She kissed him one night and sent him packing the next, all the while knowing how hopeful and earnest he would always be. She was being cruel.

It was at that moment that Cooan decided that no mistake had been made. She had been manipulated into thinking that Hino Rei wasn't as awful as she had been taught. She had fallen prey to the very tactics she no doubt employed to ensure that she wasn't found out immediately. She'd allowed herself to be duped, and she wasn't going to forgive her for it. This horrible little girl was Sailor Mars, and it was time to complete the mission she had been assigned.

Cooan bared her teeth and curled her fingers painfully. Seconds later, her nails extended, glinting dark purple in the afternoon sun. Without wasting another moment, she burst through the closed window, sending a shower of glass throughout the room.

Rei shrieked, sitting straight up on her bed and scooting away from Cooan. She did her best to look simply terrified, but Cooan could see the warrior now as plain as day. It was in the fire in her eyes, in the way she shifted her body to spring away if necessary, and every other facet of her personality and of her soul. Cooan could not believe that she had ever doubted the identity of this girl, angry with herself for being dubious and angry with the girl for being misleading.

"Who are you?" Rei demanded, her right hand curling into a fist. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"My name is Cooan, the youngest of the Four Sisters of the Black Moon Clan, sworn enemies of the White Moon Kingdom, and I'm here for you," Cooan explained clinically, her tinted lips shifting into a cruel smile. "Sailor Mars."

Rei's eyes widened in shock, her back becoming what Cooan would have thought was impossibly rigid. "What? How do--"

Before their confrontation had a chance to continue, Yuuichirou burst back into the room. He took one look at Cooan and turned white as a sheet. He took another look at Rei and narrowed his eyes, leaping in between Cooan and Rei.

"Yuuichirou!" Rei yelled, sounding as if she was trying to decide between being surprised and being furious.

Cooan sneered, her eyes darkening. She gestured threateningly, her temper stirred by this boy's appearance. That girl, Sailor Mars, had made her feelings for him all too clear. She cared for him about as much as she cared for something stuck to her shoe, but there he was, prepared to defend her when she was the last person who needed or wanted his protection. It was all too frustrating for her to endure. "Move over, boy. My business isn't with you."

"If you want to lay a hand on Rei, you have to go through me first!" Yuuichirou said bravely, perspiration dotting on his forehead. He was afraid and he would have liked nothing better than to run. Yet still, he stood his ground.

Cooan rolled her eyes. "Oh, as if I have time for this."

"Yuuichirou, stop this!" Rei shouted, not moving from her position on the bed. "You're being an idiot!"

He nodded. "That may be true, but I'm still not going to let her hurt you, Rei," he informed her gravely, narrowing his gaze further. "So you might as well just leave."

Rei narrowed her eyes, no longer so worried and now completely irritated with him. "Stop being an idiot! You can't--"

"You're being the idiot!" Yuuichirou cried, showing more backbone than either woman had ever seen him show. He regretted his outburst, shutting his eyes heavily. He took a breath and said, "Rei, get out of here."

Rei shook her head, unwilling to leave. "But--"

"Go!" Yuuichirou barked, surprising her again with his nerve.

Rei stared at Yuuichirou for what may as well have been an hour. Cooan could have knocked him out of the way at any time, but she was almost interested to see what the two of them would do in their current situation. She couldn't deny that she had some interest in what happened to them. She could see Rei striving to make her decision. No matter what she did, Yuuichirou had no intention of moving and leaving Rei open to attack. She was the one who should be protecting him, but it was obvious that he had no idea of her identity. She had no intention of revealing it, and if she left, she would have time to transform. It would be the sensible thing to do, but the Sailor Senshi all had a very strange idea of what being noble was.

Finally, a decision was made. Rei looked up at Cooan, gazing over Yuuichirou's shoulder. "If you hurt him, I will kill you."

Before Cooan had any more time to react, Rei threw herself off the bed, landing heavily on the ankle that wasn't wrapped in medical tape. She took off running immediately, pulling a pink calculate from the pocket on her blouse.

Recognizing it from legend and history, Cooan snarled and levitated into the air, prepared to follow her. The last thing she needed was the other four Senshi coming to interfere. One civilian was proving troublesome enough. "Oh, no you don't."

Yuuichirou moved in front of her, almost too quickly for her to realize that he was even in her way. He looked up at her in foolish bravery, extending his arms to keep Cooan from going after Rei. "Don't move," he ordered, as if he had any authority.

Cooan laughed at him, folding her arms in front of her chest. "It’s foolish to protect her. She doesn't even care about you."

Cooan could see his green eyes widen beneath his unruly bangs, wounded and knowing that she was right. However, a moment later, he was shaking his head, and his eyes reverted back to their original gaze of courage and defiance. "That may be true," he conceded, his voice unwavering for the first time since he'd run through the door. "But maybe she can learn."

She sniffed derisively. "She was right about one thing," she told him, flexing her fingers. "You are an idiot."

-----


Ami could not recall the last time she had made such a horrible mistake.

She had made the very large error of asking Usagi's mother where her daughter was. Granted, that had been precisely what she had gone to their home to figure out, but she must have said in such a way that made Ikuko suspicious of her motives. She asked why she wasn't with Ami and why Ami didn't know where she was and why she had not gotten the information from Usagi herself before she left school. Ami wasn't quite sure how Ikuko had managed it, but it hadn't taken very long for Ami to admit that she was worried because Usagi had not been in school that day.

Needless to say, Tsukino Ikuko had not been pleased.

Before Ami had been cognizant of what was going on, Ikuko had pulled her inside and sat her on the couch, grilling her about her daughter's current disposition as well as the various places that Usagi could have been. To be perfectly frank, Ami found her terrifying and now understood why Usagi was so frantic to hide every poor test she'd ever been handed back.

Ikuko was currently calling every number she had, asking them if they had seen Usagi at all that day. Judging by Ikuko's tone, Ami could venture that things weren't going well. Unfortunately, every time Ami was brave enough to offer to go out and look for Usagi herself, Ikuko ordered her back to her seat.

Ami was effectively trapped by the woman's temper, and it was endlessly frustrating. Of course, she had no one but herself to blame for upsetting Ikuko, but she wished that she could be released. There were other places that Ami had wanted to check. For instance, it had occurred to Ami on the way there that she should head to the hospital to see if perhaps Usagi had gone to see Mamoru. She was annoyed with herself for not thinking of it before, but none of them had been thinking straight. Even if she had thought of it, Usagi's house was closer than the hospital, so she would have gone there first to begin with. Her position would have been hopeless regardless.

Still, Ami couldn't help but sit on her hands to keep from wringing them anxiously. Ikuko was doing more than enough of that for both of them.

"Damn it," Ikuko swore, slamming the phone down into the receiver.

Ami looked up, a little worried at addressing the frantic woman, but at the same time wondering what had prompted her reaction. "What is it?"

Ikuko turned to her, her jaw clenched in a way that made her look unpleasant. "I've just tried reaching the shrine three times, but there's been no answer."

Ami blinked in surprise. She knew that Grandpa had been busy with some sort of business with the bank over the past few days, but there was no reason why Rei or Yuuichirou hadn't answered the phone. Yuuichirou was almost always there, and Ami knew that Rei had agreed to be there on the off-chance that Usagi showed up. "Are you sure you had the number right?"

"Yes!" Ikuko snapped, a little too unkindly. She put a hand to her forehead when she saw Ami jump, sighing. "I'm sorry. I'm not upset with you... It's just that Usagi has been acting so strangely every since... ever since the hospital."

Ami bit her lip when she heard Ikuko's voice start to break. She realized that she should have been more sympathetic towards the woman immediately. She'd had been forced to witness Usagi's breakdown just like the rest of them, but she had also had absolutely no idea what caused it. She was likely having a harder time than all of the girls combined as she was constantly dealing with Usagi's mental state but without the slightest idea what was wrong.

"I just don't know what's wrong," Ikuko confessed, sounding very tired and very alarmed. "I thought it might be because of that boy, but then I heard that he was going to be all right. I can understand Usagi feeling a little guilty, but this..." Ikuko shook her head, her long, dark hair moving in time with her neck. "I don't know. Maybe I should have pushed harder to move when all of this began. These weird incidents and demons and whatever else keep popping up around Juuban. But Kenji's job, Shingo and Usagi's school..." Ikuko took a deep breath, covering her eyes with her palm. Ami suspected that she'd begun to cry. "I just don't know what to do anymore."

Ami opened her mouth, beginning to stand to say something reassuring to Ikuko, but just then, Ami heard a beeping coming from her briefcase. She narrowed her eyes, looking down to it with a worried expression. Granted, when Rei had called them yesterday, it had meant nothing...

But now Rei wasn't answering her phone.

Ami reached down and grabbed her briefcase, bounding to her feet. She headed towards the door in a swirl of skirt, apologizing profusely as she walked. "I'm very sorry about everything Mrs. Tsukino. I promise that if I see Usagi, I'll send her straight home. But I have to go."

"Go?" Ikuko asked, sniffing. "Go where? And what's that noise?"

Ami didn't answer, continuing to walk briskly out the door, reaching down in her briefcase to retrieve the communicator and see what the matter was. She was having a hard time getting her shoes on at the same time, but she managed it before Ikuko caught up with her. She threw open the door, apologizing again, and then closing it in Ikuko's face.

Ami didn't even look back when Ikuko opened the door and called after her. She just jogged faster as her fingers closed around her communicator, hoping for the best.

-----


Makoto leaned over the counter again, leering at Motoki in a way that was making him decidedly nervous. He might have been cute and his girlfriend might have been in Africa and she might now be blowing whatever chances she had with him should that relationship fail, but she didn't care for the moment. Finding Usagi was important, and if she had to frighten Motoki into giving up information, she would do it.

"You're absolutely positive that you haven't seen Usagi today?" Makoto repeated for the second time, narrowing her eyes. She flexed her fingers subtly, but he noticed the movement and swallowed.

"Yes," he answered again, his voice betraying his nervousness.

Makoto leaned forward more, now completely curling up her first, forgoing subtly. "And you wouldn't lie to me? Not even if she asked you to?"

Motoki shook his head adamantly. "No! I promise!"

Makoto was now leaning over the counter so much that she had to stand on her tiptoes, and considering her height, that was saying something. She studied Motoki for a moment, trying to decide whether or not he was lying to her. A moment later, she sighed, flopping down onto the counter, her forehead resting against the cool surface even though she felt anything but cool. "You're not lying. Damn it."

Motoki wasn't certain how he should respond to that, save sound relieved. "Thank you?"

Makoto looked up, resting her chin in the palm of her left hand. "I'm sorry, Motoki. It's just... Usagi hasn't been herself lately--"

"I heard," Motoki said with a nod, smiling kindly in favor of verbally telling Makoto that she was forgiven.

Makoto looked up, surprised. "You did? From who?"

"Minako came in a couple days ago," Motoki told her, reaching for a dirty glass and rag, beginning to clean it. "She told me about what happened in case I wanted to go see Mamoru."

"Oh," Makoto said, frowning a bit at the mention of Minako. She hadn't been particularly happy with her after their conversation the day before, but she couldn't say she was much better for abandoning Minako after Usagi had hit her, something Makoto was still having trouble grasping. She'd wanted to speak with both blondes about the day before, but she hadn't gotten a chance to as of yet. She was worried for them both, but of course, Usagi was more important. "She didn't tell me she was doing that."

Motoki chuckled awkwardly. "You sound as if she did something wrong."

Makoto looked up at him, her gaze serious, but she dropped it a moment later, seeming thoughtful. Yes, she had been acting as if Minako had done something wrong. That was the problem.

"Anyway," Motoki said, changing the subject. "Why are you looking for Usagi so... aggressively?"

Makoto smiled softly, though her heart wasn't in it. "It might not be a big deal, but she wasn't in school today. And with the way she's been acting--"

"You're worried about her," Motoki finished, his eyes narrowing. "And maybe with good reason. Usagi may not enjoy going, but it still isn't like her to skip school."

"I know," Makoto said, curling up her fist. "I know."

Motoki pondered this information for a moment, wiping the same area of the glass long after it had been shined. After awhile, he blinked and raised his voice, a little excited at his idea. "Have you thought about checking the hospital? Maybe she just went to see Mamoru."

Makoto stared at him for a moment, not so much because of his suggestion but because she hadn't thought of it herself long ago. She hit the counter lightly,
more frustrated than anything else with this new lead, shaking her head. "Of course, that's exactly where she'd go. It's what she's so upset about, so why wouldn't she... God, I am such an--"

Before Makoto could finish her sentence, she heard a familiar beeping coming from her pocket. She reached into it, staring at the pink rectangle in surprise. Had one of the other girls thought to look for Usagi in the hospital? Or had she made her way to the shrine as Rei had expected she would? And if either of those were true, why did Makoto have a very strange feeling in the bit of her stomach.

"You know," Motoki said. "I never understood why all of you girls had pink beepers."

Makoto turned and stared at him for a few seconds before shaking her head, her ponytail whipping around violently. She reached down and gathered her things, turning on her heel. "Sorry, Motoki. I have to go."

"Hey!" he called after her, slowing her down, but not bringing her to a halt. "Let me know when you find Usagi, okay? And I'll keep an eye out for her."

Makoto nodded. "Thanks, Motoki."

She pushed her way out the door, hastening her pace with each step. She stared down at the communicator in her hand, her thumb moving her to press the button to receive the call.

-----


"Usagi?" Minako called out in a voice that was barely above a whisper as a trio of screaming children ran past her. She looked around as they passed, paying no attention to detail as she moved briskly over the well-worn path. She did briefly pause at the sign of a blonde ponytail and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was not who she thought it was.

Of course, it had occurred to Minako several times during this endeavor that she should have been putting forth a considerably larger effort into tracking down the missing princess, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was worried about Usagi's well-being just as much as any of the other girls, but she was in a rather awkward situation. After all, Usagi had never slapped any of the others across the face, had she?

Minako slowed to a stop, gently fingering her mouth, flinching slightly. Usagi hadn't hit her as hard as she was able to, so she hadn't left any discernable mark,
but her lips were still sensitive to the touch. It was a very vivid reminder for a misdeed Minako didn't think she had committed.

Minako sighed quietly and plopped down on a nearby bench, rationalizing that her feet needed a break seeing as she'd also searched the length of the Juuban Shopping District over the past few hours. She'd ducked out of classes early, determined to figure out what was going on before she had bothered to realize just how much she didn't actually want to find Usagi. She wanted her to be at home in bed or at the arcade eating a sundae and pouring her heart out to Motoki or at the shrine waiting for Rei so that one of the other girls could find her. She did not want Usagi to be anywhere that she could find her. She told herself that it was because she didn't want to upset Usagi anymore, but really Minako knew it was because she didn't want to face Usagi. Not after what Minako had said and not after what Usagi had done.

She leaned her head back and shut her aching eyes to the ill-placed sun, mulling over the past twenty four hours. She had spent much of the school day (well, what she had bothered to stay for anyway) thinking back on the day before. Minako had thought that maybe there was a way she could have phrased it so that Usagi wouldn't have had such a violent reaction, or maybe there was a look she could have given Makoto to have the brunette do something other than follow Usagi inside without another word. Of course, this sort of reminiscing did nothing more than make her feel even worse about what had happened, and it was part of the reason why Minako had gone out to search. She preferred action to thought, and she had thought that the search would have been a welcome distraction.

Then she'd stopped trying, and thinking was all she was doing that was of any consequence.

"You're blaming yourself again, aren't you?" a familiar voice asked from by her feet.

Minako looked down to see her feline companion sitting next to her patent leather shoes, his green eyes wide with an oddly paternal worry. She sighed and resumed her previous position. "You're so sure you can tell what I'm thinking based on my facial expression?"

"I'm sure that you're thinking that you could have done something differently," Artemis supplied.

Minako shrugged. "Maybe I could have."

Artemis sighed, hopping up on the bench beside her. She felt his whiskers brushing up against the bare skin of her arm as he spoke. "And maybe Usagi was too upset to think straight and needed someone to blame. And maybe Makoto went with Usagi because she was clearly the more disturbed of the two of you."

"Sure," Minako said, not without her share of bitterness. "I would certainly abandon the girl who got slapped by her best friend. She wouldn't be damaged at all."

"You're not being fair," Artemis said.

"Well, neither were they," Minako murmured softly. "And I know I'm being stupid and childish, but... sometimes I miss it."

Artemis was confused. She could tell that by the way his whiskers moved against her skin. He was tilting his head to the side, a sure sign that he was puzzled. "You miss what?"

Minako opened her eyes and turned her head to look down at him, her face and voice gravely serious. She sighed and said, "I miss what life was like before you came along."

Artemis blinked, looking hurt, but neither of them had time to continue the conversation. In the silence, Minako could hear her communicator going off as plain as a siren even though she wasn't entirely sure where she'd stashed it. She was on her feet in a moment, her eyes narrowed in determination as if the last few moments had not happened. Then again, Minako did have a tendency to compartmentalize, so Artemis wouldn't have been surprised if she had pushed their conversation completely out of her mind, as if it had been nothing more than a dream that would be forgotten if she moved away from it.

"It might be good news," Artemis chided as Minako scooped him up.

Minako shook her head, too certain to be swayed by his words. "If it was good news, they wouldn't call me."

-----


After Usagi had finally gotten control of herself, she'd apologized for her outburst, but Mamoru hadn't seemed to notice that. They'd fallen into a somewhat awkward conversation about whether she was all right, whether he was all right, and whether everyone else was all right. Their talk had progressed from there, speaking without actually saying much of anything as things were decidedly awkward between the two of them.

Usagi couldn't say how much time had passed when she finally worked up the courage. "I didn't get a chance to thank you," she said softly, glancing down at her hands, which were folded in her lap. She didn't know if it was in an effort to keep them from trembling or so that she could seem older than she was.

Mamoru blinked, not quite understanding. "For what? I just--"

"You saved me," Usagi insisted, looking up earnestly. "Or you tried anyway. And you... You didn't run away."

Mamoru narrowed his eyes, perhaps a little insulted by that. "Of course I didn't run away. You were screaming and everything was going to hell. I wasn't just going to leave you there."

"A lot of people would have," Usagi said sadly, knowing firsthand just how selfish other people could be in times of crisis. She had seen friends leave other friends behind when they were in danger plenty of times while fighting the various and sundry beings that insisted on attack Tokyo. It depressed her, how people could behave towards each other. She was glad to see that Mamoru was not one of those people. She couldn't have loved him if he was. "I think it's... very noble. That you stayed."

Mamoru looked at her for a moment, his face softening over time. After awhile, he almost smiled. "I'm not like that. Not selfish or noble. I'm just--"

"No," she interrupted sharply, making him jump a little. She probably should have apologized for her vigor, but she never did that. She just shook her head adamantly, reaching forward and taking his hand boldly. "You're wrong. It was noble and brave and a whole lot of other things."

He looked at her for a moment, his eyes flitting down to their hands. It made her self-conscious, but at the same time, she couldn't convince her fingers that it was best if they moved themselves off his skin. She couldn't make herself think that, not when she knew that it was right and that it was what she wanted more than anything.

He sighed and said, "I still think you're wrong, but I should know better than to argue with you... Frankly, I think I was stupid above all else."

Usagi blinked, unsure of what to make of that. Did he mean that it was stupid of him to stay behind for her? Did he regret his actions? Was that why he was refusing to take the compliment? She felt her mouth go dry as she asked, "Stupid? But why?"

Mamoru shut his eyes, hitting his head on his pillows harmlessly. "Because you tried to tell me not to go up there. You knew something was wrong, and you told me that. But did I listen?"

Usagi's eyes softened in sympathy even as her shoulders sagged in relief. "You had no way of knowing. You had no reason to listen to me. I mean, it's not like I'm right very often."

He gave her an odd look when she said that, one that she couldn't read. She felt embarrassed when he looked her directly in the eye, which was what he was doing now, and she looked down, her cheeks coloring. She didn't look up again until he spoke, saying, "I've been wondering about that actually."

Usagi tipped her head to the side, puzzled. "Wondering about what?"

Mamoru furrowed his brow, his voice very serious. He licked his lips, sitting up a bit in bed. She was suddenly even more aware of her hands resting over his and thought about moving them again. All she could do was tighten her grip.

"How did you know?"

Usagi blinked, leaning back in her seat. She had never thought about him throwing that question at her. She should have counted on it. She had been babbling about an alien tree long before the Makaiju had actually attacked, and it only made sense that Mamoru would realize that there was something wrong with that. It wouldn't be hard for him to realize who she was from there, and maybe then he would remember everything else. It wasn't hard.

But what made it even more frustrating was that he hadn't yet.

Usagi bent her head, shutting her eyes to stop herself from crying again. It was ridiculous, crying this much. She knew that even though it was her nature to shed tears over everything that went wrong. But Rei and the others didn't fall apart like this, and she should learn to be like them. Luna said so often enough.

At the same time, she knew she would never learn to be like them. Not as long as she was apart from Mamoru. There was no way she could be strong when it felt like there was a hole in her heart, a wound that only he could heal. Until then, she would be weakened, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. No one except for him.

"Usagi?" he asked, sounding concerned. "Are you all right."

She shook her head. "No. No, I'm not."

Before Mamoru could ask her what was wrong, Usagi heard her communicator go off. She sighed in vexation, looking up at the ceiling to keep her tears from spilling down her cheeks. "No!" she hissed selfishly. "Not now! Any time but now!"

Mamoru looked around, searching for the strange beeping sound, a little worried that it was one of the machines he was hooked up to. "What is that?"

Usagi swallowed on a tight throat, quickly getting to her throat. She may not have wanted it, but she had to answer her communicator. She'd ignored it earlier, but if she kept doing that, the others were likely to track her down. The last thing she needed was Rei snapping at her or Minako anywhere near her. The best thing to do was see what was wrong, and she certainly couldn't do that with Mamoru in the room.

Besides, there was a chance that something else had gone wrong.

"I'm sorry, but I guess I have to go," Usagi said, turning to walk out the door. "It's probably just as well. That nurse won't leave you alone forever, right?"

"But you didn't answer my question!" Mamoru called out after her. "How did you know about Natsumi and Seijuurou?"

Usagi stopped with her hand on the doorknob again. She felt her shoulders shake before she was cognizant of the tears falling on to her cheeks. She wondered if Mamoru noticed either of them.

"And you call me an idiot," she whispered sadly before turning the doorknob and fleeing his room, running into the hallway as fast as her legs could carry her.

-----


The other girls answered Rei's call at almost exactly the same time.

"Rei, what's going on?" Ami questioned, her voice anxious.

"Did you find Usagi?" Makoto asked hopefully.

Minako was brusque, as if already certain of disaster. "What happened?"

Usagi didn't say anything when she answered, but Rei knew she was there all the same. She could hear her sniffling.

Rei was tempted to snap at her for not answering their calls earlier, but she knew that now wasn't the time for that. She had no idea how long she had before Cooan made it past Yuuichirou, but she knew it wasn't endless. As a matter of fact, it was the exact opposite of endless. She probably only had a few seconds before Cooan came flying after her, and she was going to attempt to outrun her on a sprained ankle. Needless to say, she was not especially fond of her odds.

"There's been an attack at the shrine," Rei explained quickly, glancing over her shoulder. No Cooan yet at least. "Some weird woman I've never seen before just showed up out of nowhere. She’s already done property damage, and Yuuichirou had to go and be all noble."

Rei’s eyes closed as she thought back to how Yuuichirou had behaved back in her room. She didn’t deserve that kind of loyalty from him. She’d been kind to him one night, only to be cruel the next day. If anything, he should have saved himself, but he wasn’t like that. He was almost as painfully selfless as Usagi could be, and sometimes she found herself hating them both for it. “Damn him! He’s going to get himself killed just because--"

“Rei, calm down,” Ami soothed. “No one is going to get themselves killed. It is going to be okay.”

“How am I supposed to be calm?” Rei countered, her eyes narrowed dangerously. “I had to leave him to call you guys, and it’s not like we’re just dealing with some youma here. I can sense a great deal of power from her, and I am not up to it. I still haven’t recovered, and she can tell.”

"Wonderful," Makoto groused, her breath growing harder as she upped her jog to a full out run.

"It gets better," Rei added, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "She knows that I’m Sailor Mars."

"What?" Usagi asked, speaking for the first time, her voice strangled. "But how--"

"I don't know; I don't care," Rei interrupted. She had no patience for trying to figure that out. All she wanted to do with go back to Yuuichirou, but she couldn’t. Not until they were done.

"Rei's right," Minako said. She had been panting since she got on the line, and Rei suddenly knew that she could count on Minako to wrap this up. "What matters is that she's dangerous. Rei, hold her off for as long as you can. I'll be there in ten minutes. Hopefully less than that."

The others echoed similar sentiments, and Rei shut off the transmission, pulling out her henshin pen in the same movement. She looked down at it, slowly coming to a halt.

This was the sort of thing that a hero carried, but did a hero really act like she did? Yes, Rei could rationalize it by saying that she’d been stressed, but when wasn’t she stressed? Furthermore, she could say that she always acted like that, but it didn’t make it right. Yuuichirou was always doing things like this for her, and she was always treating him like crap. Now she had no idea what was happening to him, and she’d left him to protect her identity. That certainly didn’t feel very heroic.

If anything, Yuuichirou was the nobler of the two. He was the one who operated without an agenda. He was the one who could be clumsy, who could be moronic, but he was always devoted and he never stopped trying, and all for her sake. He was the one who sat up with her in the night when she was worried even if she was teasing him. He was the one who protected her after she’d just thrown him out of her room. He was the only one brave enough to call her an idiot, and the only one kind enough to be sorry about it afterwards. All this he had done for her, but Rei never learned her lesson. She wasn’t foolish enough to vow that she would change. She didn’t have time to make any vows. She could only fight and hope that she came out of it doing the right thing.

Before she let any more time pass, Rei lifted the pen aloft and cried out, "MARS POWER, MAKE UP!"

Cooan appeared mere seconds later, looking just as put together as she had been when she arrived, meaning that Yuuichirou hadn’t put up much of a struggle. Mars hadn’t heard him cry out, and she wasn’t sure whether that was something to give her comfort or alarm. Still, she didn’t feel any overwhelming sense of dread, so she forced herself to believe that everything was going to be all right, just as Ami had told her.

It was the only thing she could cling to.

Sailor Mars turned to face her opponent, now favoring her uninjured ankle even more than before. She had been warned not to run on it, and she had been hoping that she would be able to obey the doctor’s orders for once. As usual, they would both be disappointed.

Mars knew that she was at something of a disadvantage with her injury, but she had to do her best to stall Cooan until the others could arrive. In her current state, Mars was even more certain that Cooan would not be as easy to beat as a youma or a cardian. She had a feeling it would be a bit more like going up against a Shitennou or one of the aliens themselves. She was not looking forward to fighting that battle alone, knowing that she had no chance of winning. She was still suffering from the effects of the last battle, ankle not withstanding. All she could do was survive, and ensure that a certain friend of hers was extended the same courtesy.

"Where's Yuuichirou?" Mars demanded, her voice a bit frantic. She was counting on that boy’s irrepressible will to live. He'd nearly gotten himself killed in several situations on her behalf, and had miraculously survived them all. However, the more Mars thought about it, the more she was certain that she'd been the stupid one in that room, just as Yuuichirou had said. "What did you do to him?"

"He'll live," Cooan said in a simple, cruel tone. "As I said, he was not my prey. I could have gotten rid of him altogether, but I felt pity after what you had done to him.”

Mars snorted, looking skeptical. “You can pity?”

Cooan narrowed her eyes, clearly insulted. “I’m not as demonic as you women... No, you girls like to make me out to be. And spare me your false concern for that boy, Sailor Mars. I know just how much you feel for him, and it’s appalling. Perhaps I should have killed him just to spare him the pain you cause him."

Mars narrowed her eyes and all but shrieked at Cooan. She couldn’t believe her audacity, let alone her rationale. She was now even more concerned about Yuuichirou, wondering if Cooan had underestimated whatever harm she’d done to him. She wanted nothing more than to run back inside and check on him, but she knew that she’d never be able to outrun Cooan. "Don't act sympathetic after hurting him! And don't act like you know anything about me!"

Cooan glared, almost curling up her fists, but then remembering her nails. It wouldn’t do her to stab herself, now, would it? "You stupid brat! I probably know you better than that boy and a lot of other people besides! I know who you really are, and I don't just mean your identity. I've seen who you become, and believe me, you don't get to act all high and mighty to me! I know you!” Cooan shook her head, regarding Sailor Mars with a kind of disgust she was used to feeling for others. She had no idea how to react now that it was turned on to her. “You Senshi think you're so righteous, when really you're the ones who should pay. What you have done is sickening, and we are going to make sure every last one of you is held responsible for it!"

Mars stared at her, completely confused about what this woman was babbling about. For one thing, she was certain that she had never seen her before in her life, so there was no possible way that she could have known her. Even if she did recognize her, Mars suspected that she would have no idea what she was talking about. The woman’s ramblings resembled those of a madman’s, and perhaps they weren’t meant to make sense at all. Still, she tried to make sense of it all, but found herself failing miserably. "What on Earth are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the future," Cooan growled in a way that didn't seem very feline to Sailor Mars. "The one that you ruin."

Mars blinked, finding that she was gaping. Of all the things she'd expected to hear, that was certainly at the bottom of the list. Hell, it wasn't even on the list.

Still, she didn't have very much time to contemplate it as her opponent leapt into the air. Cooan practically flew forward, her nails extended to tear Sailor Mars to shreds. Her goal was now all too obvious, and it seemed that she wasn’t willing to waste any more of her time chatting about it.

Sailor Mars narrowed her eyes, keeping her weight on her good leg and preparing to spin out of the way at the last moment. Unfortunately, Cooan seemed to anticipate this move, vanishing just three feet away from where Mars stood. The red Senshi looked around frantically, trying to figure out where Cooan had disappeared to. She knew that the other woman couldn’t have gone far. She had it out for Mars and wouldn’t leave her on a whim.

As it turned out, Sailor Mars should have checked the most obvious place first. She felt something hard, possibly the heel of Cooan's shoe, slam into the back of her neck. It sent her sprawling onto the pavement, landing hard on her side. Pain shot throughout her body, and Mars had to bite her lip to keep from crying out. She was having a hard enough time allowing herself wince at being caught with such a cheap shot. A cheap shot she should have seen coming.

Mars glanced toward the shrine, looking for some sign of Yuuichirou. She didn’t see anything at all.

Before she had a chance to scramble to her feet, Cooan vanished, reappearing just above Mars faster than the other girl could blink. Shepinned the girl's arms down, kneeling on her legs to keep her from kicking. Mars struggled beneath her, trying to wiggle her legs free to kick her off. Cooan looked like a pushover, but she was actually quite strong, and Mars was having a hard time trying to get free.

Mars strained for a few moments before turning and scowling at Cooan, looking directly into her eyes. "What do you mean you’re from the future?” she demanded haughtily. “That would mean--"

"That we traveled through time?" Cooan hissed, tightening her grip on Mars's arms. Mars flinched, and she only seemed to increase it once she saw the other girl having a reaction. Her nails, though they had retracted, were still painful as they dug into her arms. "Funnily enough, that's precisely what we did. To get rid of you people before you have a chance to ruin everything."

Mars nearly got one of her legs free, but Cooan repositioned herself so that her heel was digging into her bad ankle. Mars's face screwed up in pain. She could feel it start to swell up again, but she was more upset that Cooan had just erased any chance of being able to launch any sort of physical assault once she managed to get free. If she managed to get free.

"How could we have ruined anything?” Mars asked, her temper rising. “We wouldn't do that!"

Cooan laughed, shaking her head and leaning forward. "You know, that's exactly what's wrong with you people. You're so convinced of your honor and nobility that you don't see just how horrible you've really become."

Mars narrowed her eyes, unwilling to endure this kind of abuse for something she knew nothing about. She shook her head and ground out, "You attack an innocent person, and you think I'm the bad guy?"

She bent her neck back and brought her head up fast, hitting Cooan hard in the forehead. It didn’t do much to spare her any pain either, but the results were more than worth it. The purple clad woman reared back on instinct, giving Mars time to push her away. Cooan fell back, landing on her backside, and glared up at Sailor Mars from in between her fingers.

Mars got to her feet, her ankle throbbing even more than before. She stumbled a bit, nearly cursing herself for revealing just how much of a handicap Cooan had managed to give herself. She pulled out several ofunda, still furious. "You can act as righteous as you want, but these will still work on you... AKU RYO TAI SEN!"

Cooan looked up, curling her lip. She held out her hand, and seconds later, fire the color of a frozen lake surged out of her fingertips. It curved and twisted out of her hand like a snake, swerving in the direction of Mars’s attack as if it could see it coming.

Sailor Mars could do nothing but watch in mute horror as the cold-looking fire ate away the strips of paper, rendering them nothing more than useless ash. The flames may have looked like ice, but Mars could feel their heat from where she stood, looking up at Cooan with an expression of shock clearly reading on her features. She couldn’t believe that this woman shared her element, much less a knowledge of her future. There was clearly something more to this. “You said you know me,” Sailor Mars recalled, her voice barely above a whisper. “How?”

Cooan couldn’t believe that she hadn’t figured it out by now. Mars could tell that much from her looks, even before she started to speak. "Do you really think this is my first time to face you?" Cooan spat, looking insulted. "I've fought you once already!" She paused, looking over at Mars cruelly. "And you were a lot better last time."

Now it Mars’s turn to be insulted. She glared unpleasantly, pulling out another ofunda. This time, she added her fire power to the mix, calling out, “FIRE SOUL BIRD!” A phoenix born from the flames of Mars appeared before her, crying out a warning for Cooan, to flee or be harmed.

Cooan paid it no mind. In fact, just as before, she seemed to have been expecting it. A second later, she had vanished from where she stood once more.

Recognizing the trick, Sailor Mars whirled around, prepared to face her once again. Her dark eyes darted around, searching for any sign of Cooan or her attacks. She did not see any immediately, and she had to quash a scream that was rising in her throat. She wanted nothing more than to be done with this and check on Yuuichirou, but she could scarcely move three feet. How was she supposed to win?

She heard the bird searching for its prey behind her, as it would not dissipate until it found a target. It flapped its wings, the fire crackling and absorbing the oxygen in the air in order to keep breathing. This could go on for hours, though it would have been taxing on Sailor Mars. But still, it would not vanish until its thirst for blood had been satisfied or until Mars told it to rest.

Suddenly she heard it cry out again and change direction.

Sailor Mars looked around frantically, trying to figure out where the bird had gone. But even with that aid, she never saw the real attack coming. She merely felt Cooan’s fire bear down on her head, and it was then that Mars realized that she was going to have to accept defeat.

It was just as hot as she had anticipated, but twice as painful. She collapsed instantly, screaming loud enough to wake the deaf and the dead while the blue flames engulfed her. She tucked her head in an attempt to protect herself, but it seemed that the fire could find her anywhere. No amount of ducking was protecting her. It felt like her entire body was on fire for a number of long, excruciating seconds.

She was given a brief reprieve when her own attack hit home. She was given the all too short satisfaction of hearing Cooan shriek in pain and the bird screech at her for harming its mistress. Unfortunately, she was able to dispel it after a few moments, and once that was done, Cooan was that much more determined to make Mars suffer. She attacked again, this one even stronger than the one before. And Mars’s screams were doubled alongside it, her pride forgotten or perhaps cast aside in favor of it.

Thankfully, Mars wasn't conscious long enough to feel the entire length of Cooan's attack. She passed out after another thirty seconds, but Cooan didn't let up until after sixty had passed.

Cooan finally halted her assault, letting her arms drop to her sides. She looked down at the prone body of her opponent, waiting for her to roll over and fire her own attack up at Cooan. When she didn't, Cooan decided it was safe to assume that the younger girl was unconscious and that it was safe to take her back to the Black Moon Base currently floating higher than the sky.

Cooan dropped down beside her, struggling to lift her up. Mars’s previous attack had gone right for her arms, perhaps sensing that her power was coming from there or perhaps just attacking them out of pure luck. Nevertheless, her arms and sleeves were scorched horribly, and tears were filling in her eyes because of it. The girl had done her wrong once again, even now when she had less power and less skill. She was tempted just to kill her now and call it an accident, but she resisted the temptation. If Prince Demando wanted a public execution, he would get one. And Cooan was not about to exchange Mars’s head for her own.

As she worked to heave the smaller girl up, Mars’s neck flopped over to the side, allowing Cooan a look at her face. Her eyes were shut at that moment, but she couldn't help but remember when they had been open and filled with passion at the idea that the boy who was living with her, the one Cooan was certain she didn't care about, had been harmed.

Cooan shook her head. What did it matter how she thought about that boy? Nothing mattered except getting back to the base so that she could begin to heal. The longer she sat around, the more time the wound had to begin to scar, and there was no way in hell she was going to live her life with mangled arms.

With that in mind, she began to ascend into the air, preparing to work up enough energy to teleport back to the base with her injuries and another body.

"Sailor Mars!" someone screamed.

Cooan looked up and saw three of the other Sailor Senshi running towards them. She all but cursed at the sight of them. She'd been so close to getting out of there without an all-out fight, but it looked like that wasn't going to be the case. Her best bet was to teleport out of there before they could attack.

Unfortunately for her, that wasn't going to happen.

Sailor Venus had managed to make it to the head of the pack, but she was the first one who stopped, pointing one finger in Cooan's direction. She shut one eye, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth before she fired wordlessly. Her familiar looking Crescent Beam shot forward with a speed that continued to surprise Cooan. Her precision, on the other hand, did not. Venus's attacks were made for this sort of thing, so Cooan was not surprised when the golden beam of light impacted her shoulder. Nevertheless, she was still enraged, even as she lost her grip on Mars, dropping her back to the ground.

Her three comrades ran forward, catching her haphazardly before she hit her head. Sailor Mercury and Sailor Venus immediately set to checking on her, but Jupiter had never had that kind of patience. She looked up at Cooan and shouted, "How dare you attack her! I'm not going to forgive you for this!"

"I was wondering when you girls were going to break out the speeches," Cooan snarled, her fingers itching to touch her wounded arms. "You're usually better at them."

Mercury looked up, confused at these words, but neither Venus nor Jupiter seemed to notice, too preoccupied with their respective tasks.

Jupiter sprang forward, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Cooan recognized the move, teleporting away just in time to avoid the crackling lightning that might have made the entire trip useless and unsuccessful. Cooan reappeared some feet away, extending her nails once more and taking a swipe at Jupiter's head.

Sailor Jupiter yelped, ducking just in time to spare her face from getting clawed. Cooan followed up quickly, dragging her nails down her left arm, drawing a fair amount of blood. Jupiter winced, but refused to show any more pain than that, just as prideful as Mars was. She reached around with her other arm, taking a swing to make up for the blow she had taken. Cooan jumped back and was forced to go on the defensive for a few moment, having to continue moving away from her primary target in order to avoid Jupiter's physical assault. Jupiter had always excelled in this kind of combat, and while Cooan had been trained in all aspects of fighting, this was really more Petz’s area. It was why she and Jupiter were so well matched after all. Cooan had no idea how she managed to move out of the way of almost every punch and kick thrown at her. A few nicked her, but none did any serious damage to her skin, especially her arms, which she was guarding even more steadfastly than her head.

Cooan allowed this to go on for a few minutes, unable to stop long enough to regain her center. Finally, she teleported out of the way of what would have been a vicious kick, reappearing just a few feet away. It was just far enough to ensure that Jupiter wouldn't have a chance to try and attack her again.

"Enough of this," Cooan hissed, holding out her hand again. Her same attack shot forward, taking Jupiter completely by surprise. The girl was thrown back into a tree, her back connecting with the trunk with a sickening thud. Several of the paper wishes tied to the branches fell off, littering the dirt like morning snowflakes.

Cooan whirled around, preparing herself for one of the other Senshi to take Jupiter's place as if one Senshi had never left. As she suspected, Venus was moving forward, but it was Sailor Mercury who attacked. She cast a fog in order to hide Mars from Cooan for a few moments, buying them some time.

She screamed in frustration and immediately began swiping at the air, her nails and hands tearing through the cold moisture in the hopes that she would run into one of her opponents. "Where are you?" she called out, impulsively giving away her position, but not particularly caring.

She wouldn't know until later if the tactic worked to her advantage. But for the moment, it didn't as she saw the fog shift to her right. Cooan turned, preparing to fire off another attack. Unfortunately, Sailor Venus had come out of the fog swinging, both of her feet flying into the air and directly headed for Cooan's face. The first one made contact, knocking Cooan back. She cried out in pain and fury, her hands flying up to her bleeding cheek. Cooan looked back up at the advancing soldier in gold and screeched, "You bitch!"

Venus actually had the gall to look smug.

Just as she had done moments before, she let out another stream of fire. Venus dodged the first volley, having been expecting it. What she didn't expect was for it to curve around at hit her in the back as Cooan commanded it to do. Venus screamed in pain, hunching over and coming to a stop. Now at an advantage, Cooan attacked again, and this time, Venus didn't move. She went flying backwards into parts unknown, not that her landing mattered at all to Cooan.

To her advantage, her two attacks burnt away the majority of the fog. She could now see in front of her and was able to make out Sailor Mercury struggling to lead Sailor Mars to safety. Cooan shook her head and teleported in front of Mercury, taking the smaller soldier by surprise.

Cooan smiled. "You're not going anywhere, little girl."

Mercury quickly got over her surprise, narrowing her eyes steadfastly. "And you're not taking Sailor Mars anywhere."

Cooan scoffed. "I beg to differ." Cooan knew she had just enough power for one more weak shot, but luckily, it wouldn't take much to throw Sailor Mercury off balance. She had positioned herself poorly, too close to the edge of the stairs. She could be sure that that would work in her favor.

Cooan fired off a small shot with one arm, reaching around with the other to grab Sailor Mars's limp wrist. Sailor Mercury went flying back with a cry, rolling down the stairs at what would have been an alarmingly rapid rate if Cooan had cared enough to look. Satisfied that she had now done away with all of the other obstacles, Cooan gathered Sailor Mars into her arms and vaulted up, just as she heard the other two Senshi beginning to make their way towards her.

During her ascent, Cooan caught sight of none other than the legendary Sailor Moon, the rumored Neo Queen Serenity, jogging up the stairs with the two Lunar Cats at her side. They both looked up at her as if she had committed some kind of betrayal, arching their backs and spitting at her. But Cooan was not paying attention to them.

Cooan stared at Sailor Moon as she knelt down beside Sailor Mercury, shaking her in worry. She could not help but be curious as to whether or not the leader of the Senshi really was Neo Queen Serenity and found herself unable to look away. She looked up in time to see Cooan, and the girl had to admit, she saw some resemblance. She had a similar look in her eye – a mixture of fear and defiance. The fear only increased when she saw the crimson clad soldier lying limp in her arms.

Sailor Moon’s eyes widened in alarm. She almost ran forward, but remembered the wounded girl at her feet. She swallowed and remained by Mercury’s side, shouting, “What are you doing to Mars?”

Cooan looked at her, still intrigued by the mysterious soldier. “I’m kidnapping her. What do you think I’m doing, Sailor Moon?”

She seemed a bit surprised to be addressed, but she shook it off, bringing forth her weapon menacingly. “Let her go right now, or I’ll--"

“Or you’ll what?” Cooan taunted, laughing a little. “Even your minions know better than to attack me with Sailor Mars in my arms. You throw one tiara my way, and I’ll use her as a body shield. I’m meant to bring her back alive, but I’m sure I’ll be forgiven if I was given no other choice but to save myself.”

Sailor Moon’s eyes widened even more, even though Cooan would have thought that was impossible. Her eyes darted to both Jupiter and Venus before she said, “What are you going to do with her? What do you want?”

“Same as what everyone wants,” Cooan remarked glibly. “Revenge.”

Sailor Moon stared at her, hurt and terrified. She shook her head, forgoing reason and began to run forward. “Sailor Mars! Wake up! Wake up and fight, please!”

Cooan almost wanted to stick around to see if she could glean any more information from them, but she knew that time was of the essence. Besides, it was neither the situation nor the moment to arrive at any conclusion, and there was plenty evidence to support and just as much to contradict. What mattered of course was that they were going to get rid of all of them, one way or another.

"We'll be back for you," Cooan warned, threatening each and every one of the Senshi, but only looking at Sailor Moon. "You can count on that."

And then Cooan vanished. She left behind only four Sailor Senshi, three of them battered and one of them already broken.

Sailor Moon stared up at where Cooan had been, dropping to her knees at the top of the shrine’s steps. She was shaking, perhaps even shivering from her shock. She couldn't believe that she had just watched her best friend be kidnapped by some nameless woman with a grudge Sailor Moon couldn't even begin to imagine. And she had done nothing but watch, arriving too late to try to help her and crippled when she had thought to attack with the threat of hurting Mars. She had failed. They all had failed, and now Mars was gone.

She was reminded of when Mars had gone off to face the last of the DD Girls, when she had lost the last of her friends and then willingly walked on to watch the love of her life die in front of her eyes.

She wondered now if it was working backwards, and tried very hard not to cry. For Rei's sake. She shut her eyes, holding back the tears and clenching her jaw to keep her lower lip from trembling. She could feel the others watching her, feel them preparing for her to wail. They knew precisely what to do if she cried. They would soothe, they would vow, the would reassure, they would do everything they could to make her stop crying and promise to fix everything that had gone wrong. But she didn’t want to cry because Rei hated it when she cried, and for once, she was able to hold it back.

No one knew what to do when Sailor Moon remained silent.








Coming Soon - Part Five: Freeze Over


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