Author's Note: This is a bit of a stylistic departure from my other work, and I consider it somewhat experimental. It's also a multi-part sequel to the one-shot I wrote titled The Final Mission. That story is only about 3300 words long, and I very highly recommend reading it before starting this so that you can better understand what's happening here.

1 | Frauds

Jimmy McDougal is a fraud.

Now, before I go on, you might be wondering why I'm about to malign some poor bastard's character. I assure you that I'm not, because it's all true. He carries himself off as faithful to his girlfriend, but he acts the same way with both women. His personality is genial enough, but there's a malicious glint within his eyes that speaks of his persistent misanthropic thoughts. A slight twist of fate here or there, a tiny ripple in the fabric of time that alters destiny, is all that it would take to turn him into a murderer or even a terrorist. That's just one flaw. There's never enough money in his bank account, even though most people would consider him considerably wealthy. Furthermore, he has no compunctions with not ever sharing any of his money with more needy individuals. Knowing just that small slice about his personality, you might consider him a horrible person. But, it's not just pure greed that drives him, just as it's not an adulterous nature that compels him to seek relationships with multiple women.

Why did I say all of that? It's because, in a way, I can relate with him. Everything that I mentioned before is a mask that conceals the real person within that shell of a man. It's a mask that none of you could ever notice, but it's one that I can penetrate with ease. And, as I stare at him from across the small space that separates his table from mine, I can feel a slight bit of pity for him.

No, I've never cheated on a partner, but only because I've never felt close enough with another individual to consider them as such. Nor do I feel so much desire to gain wealth to the extent that he has acquired it. But there are two things that we have in common. We're both frauds, and we've both lost something dear.

In a sense, we're all frauds. Each of us hides behind a façade that we present to our friends, families, and complete strangers. His is a little more extreme, but it's not the worst. Unlike me, he doesn't create entire fantasy worlds from whole cloth in order to deceive people into doing his bidding. And, let me tell you, the entire idea of a Silver Millennium, of a kingdom on the moon and a princess of pure goodness and light, is nothing but a fantasy. It was a necessary lie to create for many eons, and it's just another facet of the duty that I have accepted. But, only recently have I realized just how much pain that deception could bring to a person who never deserved any of it.

Yes, I'm talking about Usagi. When I first saw her and knew she would be among the new agents, I thought she would be just like all the girls who preceded her. And, in a small way she was, at the beginning. But, her heart and her capacity for love were so much bigger than I ever imagined. I witnessed her grow into the best and most magnificent warrior that this small segment of the universe has ever seen. Hell, maybe in the entire universe if I'm willing to be honest with myself. The most special thing about her was that she never wanted to kill or even hurt anyone—monsters excluded, of course. Her most powerful weapon was her love and the fact that she truly cared for each and every person on the planet, even if they were complete strangers to her. In the end she was absolutely right. She did not need any artificial coaxing in order to save the people she loved. She did not need me to lie to her and to hurt her so badly with that lie.

So, that brings me to the second thing I have in common with Jimmy, and that's the sense of loss. At some point in the past he'd clearly lost someone vitally important to him, and that event ultimately caused him to create his façade. Who it was or how it came about I don't know, or I should say that I don't care to know. Once I peered that deeply into his soul I did not want to delve any deeper. I did not want to dredge up any of my own painful feelings in the process. What little I knew. It's really far too late for that now.

I do miss Usagi. I desperately miss that girl, more than any other person I've ever encountered. For as long as this planet continues to exist in the cosmos there will never be another light that shines as brightly as hers did. That's not some special insight that I have into the future. As much as I portrayed myself as a guardian of time, I don't have that ability. Nobody does. What I do have insight into is human nature, acquired from millennia of dealing with these wretched beings. In any case, I knew what my solemn mission required, and it was far from the first time I had to replace one group of senshi with their successors. In each instance I had felt nothing but a sense of pride in fulfilling my sacred duty. You may consider that cold-hearted or even worse, and you may be right. But, it is what it is, and the will of the universe dictates my behavior.

However, only with Usagi did I feel something more than emptiness. Maybe, if circumstances were different and I was born with the power to ensure the delicate equilibrium of good and evil, her fate would have been vastly different. Or, maybe it would have been just as well if the evil forces had continued its surge after Galaxia's attempted conquest, or if it had resurged a hundred years later. Then, once we had ensured the survival of Earth and the rest of the universe, I could have gotten to know this kind soul even better. Maybe we truly would have been friends, in the sense that goes far beyond camaraderie as warriors. I think I would have loved such a destiny. But, of course, it was never to be. So, I did what I had to do to ensure that this next generation of senshi could exist. I felt horrible doing it, and I almost regretted my actions. Almost. Despite the overwhelming misery and agony I experienced for many days and weeks afterward, I know that she never would have wanted me to give up the universe just to save her. She told me just as much, and she willingly accepted her fate even when I was just as willing to turn back. Her sacrifice is something I cannot possibly ignore.

Yet, I still think about that brief moment over and over again, and I still find myself searching for any other way I might have resolved that. Any means that could have brought about the new senshi and saved her all at the same time. It's strange, because I know exactly what the answer is. I know that it is impossible to do both, that the universe and the powers that control it will not allow such a perversion of their rules. I also know that, as much as I have come to care about her, that she's not above those very same rules. In the end, the universe and its survival is the most important. It is that knowledge that continues to buoy me and carry me beyond my lingering melancholy.

Anyway, I realize that I'm just wasting my time here. You might wonder why I'm even sitting in this small New York café instead of doing the job that I'm fully aware has to be done in Japan. After all, I only have brought together two of the five so-called guardian senshi, and I have to ensure the two girls not under Artemis's watch live long enough to realize their powers at the proper time.

It's simple. I just needed to get away before I went absolutely crazy.

That's not to say that I despise being around Yukina or Chieko. By that I mean following them from the shadows. They don't even know that I exist, and I want to keep it that way for as long as possible. Having said that, there's a lot one can learn about a person from stalking and passive observation. The more often I see them—no, it's really just Yukina. The longer I'm around her the more I realize just how different she is from Usagi, and that makes me yearn for that angel even more.

Did I ever mention how much I truly miss Usagi?

Anyway, there's nothing particularly wrong with Yukina. There's nothing particularly special about her either, and that's the main problem. Sure, she makes a decent Sailor Moon from what I noticed. She's certainly a better pure fighter than Usagi ever was—though she's still pretty horrible at it—and she's far more motivated to find her so-called princess this early into the matter than Usagi was. But, I don't care about any of that. I mean, I actually do care about it. Her ability and willingness to fight will only make my plans progress more smoothly. She's also friendly enough to be a pale imitation of the blonde in that regard, and that's useful in keeping the group united. It's just that she's missing that intangible thing that drew me to Usagi, and I don't know if she'll ever figure out how to find it within herself. That's assuming she even possesses such a thing at all.

Well, now that I think about it, maybe this is the way the world was supposed to work in the first place. I'm not supposed to be so unduly attached to girls who are mere puppets. And, despite how much I liked Usagi, how much I mourned having to do that terrible thing to her, and how much I continue to miss her, her existence was nothing more than an aberration in the overall grand scheme. I have to remember that, much like the girls who preceded her and the girls who no doubt will follow her, she was nothing but a pawn.

A special pawn, but a pawn nonetheless.

This really is why I say that I'm a fraud. Because, at some point down the line this whole defeating evil business will end for them. They'll believe in their hearts that they actually did some good for themselves and their families and whomever else they might know and consider a friend. Essentially, they're correct, but for all the wrong reasons. After that, they will wait for their prophesized destiny to arrive and for them to become some sort of cosmic royalty. However, I know the truth, and that truth is far more disappointing. A pedestrian life awaits all of them, followed by their end. Whether it is I or some other agent of fate who will have to deliver that demise is irrelevant.

Hmm. It looks like Jimmy is leaving now, and so is his date for the night. That poor, foolish woman has no idea what she's getting herself into. I guess that means I should leave as well. There's more than enough work that awaits me, and I can't run away from the bad memories by hiding out here. That much I've just proven to myself. So, I just have to make do with what I have and persevere, and maybe one day I won't have to worry about ensuring that evil doesn't overtake the universe or that its foil doesn't destroy all of existence either. On that day, I'm sure I'll find my true peace. Until then, I'll just continue to do what I do best.

Usagi wouldn't want it any other way.