Standard disclaimer - I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of its wonderful characters. However, any OCs belong to me.

Garrett Walker strode slowly down the sidewalk, just another citizen of Tokyo going about his business. The early morning sun shone down on him, and he honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd felt its warmth on his skin. Probably a thousand years ago, he was forced to admit. It was still quiet on the streets, and that was how he preferred it. Tokyo was far too bright and busy for his liking; he conducted most of his 'scouting trips' at night, while everyone else slept. He wasn't sure what had compelled him to come out this morning, but he was glad he had; it was a fine day. Little by little, this city was growing on him. It was a shame it would all be destroyed so soon.

Up ahead, he saw a tall, brunette woman carrying several bags of groceries. Evidently she liked to avoid the bustle as well. A pair of high school students ran past, bumping into her in their hurry. She dropped two of her bags, and they shouted insincere apologies as her items spilled to the pavement. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he stopped to help.

"Here, let me."

She turned, started by his sudden appearance, and immediately smiled. "Oh…thank you."

"Not at all." Between the two of them they quickly repacked her bags.

"I appreciate the help," she said, extending her hand. "My name's Makoto."

Corey rubbed his face blearily as he stared at the early morning sun through his living room window. Yet another restless night. This was becoming frustratingly common. He'd woken up at three AM, after a particularly vivid dream – or memory - involving himself and Princess Venus. Not a nightmare by any stretch of the imagination, but equally annoying when all he wanted was one night of uninterrupted sleep. So he'd sat on the floor of his living room for the last four hours, trying to 'centre' himself and summon his Judicial Flames ability. He'd failed spectacularly.

"Another rough night?"

He turned to Titus, as the cat sauntered out of the bedroom, stopping to stretch. "Yeah…"

"That's a shame. What do you think's causing these nightmares?"

Corey shrugged. He knew full well what it was, but he wasn't sure he wanted to explain it to Titus. After finding out that Titus had lied about his past – to him and the Senshi – he wasn't exactly willing to trust him with this kind of knowledge. Not yet, anyway. "I'm not sure…"

"Well, I have a theory, if you're interested."

"Shoot."

"Corey…you died," Titus said. He sounded uncomfortable. "As the others describe it, you were clinically dead for at least three minutes..."

"Yeah…" He remembered standing in the black void of his own dying mind. On reflection, it had been pretty terrifying.

"It's only natural to be…shaken up, after something like that."

"Yeah, I guess so. But…it'll pass. Right?"

"Well, I'm no psychiatrist," Titus admitted, "so…I don't know?"

"Very helpful," he muttered.

Their quick back and forth banter reminded him of simpler times, when there'd been no worries about trust or lies. He actually managed a faint smile as he remembered the time Titus had stayed up all night with him, helping him cram for a math test. And there was another night, when they ate way too much pizza and talked about the Moon Kingdom until the sun came up. Or the time he got shot down by Chrissy Taylor, and Titus cheered him up with some really bad jokes. Come to think of it…there'd been a lot of good times to go with the bad. Would it really hurt so much to give Titus the benefit of the doubt? Sure, he was tough on him…but he knew the cat cared about him, in his own way.

No…he just wasn't sure. He couldn't take the risk. Not yet. Perhaps he'd ask Usagi, when he saw her later. She was such a good judge of character…surely she'd have some good advice.

"Something on your mind, Corey?"

He glanced back down at Titus, and smiled gently. "I just remembered that you've been a pretty good friend to me the last three years. Maybe I don't show it enough, especially lately…but I really appreciate it, buddy."

Titus smiled. "I know you do, Corey, and I understand. Coming here, to Japan...it's been a tough transition for you, but you've handled it well. And..." The cat lowered his voice. "I'm very proud of you."

Corey just nodded in return - wouldn't want to push his luck - and glanced at his watch. "Damn. I'd better hit the shower. Otherwise I'll be late to class."

"Well, we don't want that. Your education's important," Titus said in a monotone voice, throwing him a cheerful wink.

"Right. You're a real slave-driver, Titus."

"So, Garrett…are you English?"

He considered the question. Technically, he was; he had been born in England - just a very long time ago. Lying was usually easiest if you stuck close to the truth. Mistakes were much harder to make. "Yes, I am. What gave it away? Is my accent that obvious?"

"It's almost non-existent," Makoto replied. "It was more your name...it just sounds English. You actually speak Japanese very well. Have you spent a lot of time here?"

He couldn't exactly tell her the truth on this one, but it wouldn't be too difficult to stretch it into a believable tale. "I work in…acquisitions, specialising in Japanese artefacts. My current employer has me searching for a specific item he wants to…obtain." There. Not a lie...at least not in the strictest sense.

"Well, it sounds like interesting work. It must keep you moving around?"

Another easy to spin answer. "Indeed it does. I haven't been back here for a long time." Curious, he pressed on. "What about you, Makoto? What is it you do with your time?"

She actually blushed; he hadn't seen a woman blush in a thousand years. Not since…Liara. Immediately, he forced the thought of her back down, deep into the recesses of his mind. What was happening? He hadn't thought of her in centuries...why now, of all times?

"I'm actually at culinary school right now…studying business management on the side. I, uh…it's silly, but I'd like to open my own restaurant someday."

Garrett felt a smile coming on. How fascinating indeed. The dreams of everyday people intrigued him...his own dream had been snuffed out a lifetime ago.

"It's not silly," he said softly, staring up into the sky. "Your dream is unique. It's your own. It doesn't have to make sense to anyone but you. Nothing else matters as long as it makes you happy."

"That's a pretty positive outlook." She sounded surprised.

"Dreams are…a fascination of mine," he admitted.

"So I see…" She stopped abruptly, staring over her shoulder at the building behind her. "Oh. This is me."

He didn't realise her meaning, at first. The building was her? Ah. She lived here. He marked that down in his mental notebook of current Earth slang. "Well…it was nice to meet you, Makoto. Best of luck with your dream."

As he walked away, something unexpected happened; she called after him. "Garrett, wait!"

"Yes?"

"Look, this might sound crazy but…I'd really like to see you again. If you have time to fit me into your schedule, that is?"

Was she asking him on some kind of romantic rendezvous? He was quite rusty on the basics of courtship after such a long time, but wasn't it normally the male who initiated such things? On top of that, he had no interest whatsoever in entering into any kind of romantic relationship with Makoto. And yet…somehow, he found himself unable to turn her down. She was a…intriguing person, and he found he wanted to learn more about her.

"That sounds…fun," he managed, forcing a smile.

"Great!" she exclaimed. "How does Friday work for you?"

He had no immediate plans; admittedly, that depended on his quarry, at least to a degree. "That will work well. I'll meet you here, then. Shall we say seven o'clock?"

"That's fine!" The brunette suddenly seemed…embarrassed. There was that blush again…what was it about this woman that reminded him of her so much? "Well…I'd better let you get going. I'll, uh, see you Friday. Thanks again for your help before!" With a quick wave, she retrieved her bags and headed inside.

Garrett merely smiled. Such was the unpredictable nature of everyday life.

Corey couldn't help but shake his head as he watched Usagi polish off her milkshake in a matter of seconds. It was really quite remarkable the way she could put away food and drink. He was amazed she was able to keep herself so thin, all things considered. Then again…fighting monsters by night probably burned up a lot of calories.

"Thanks for the milkshake, Corey!" she said. "I could have sworn I put my purse in my bag this morning…"

"Don't worry about it," he assured her. "What are friends for?"

She looked around the Crown, impressed. "They really got this place fixed up in a hurry. I can't even tell you fought those Constructs in here!"

"Not that it was much of a fight," he admitted. That was the first time he'd really gotten his ass kicked in a fight. He'd quickly grown to realise he was nowhere near as strong as he thought he was. "You and Minako really had to pull my ass outta the…uh, you had to save me, I mean."

They were actually sitting in the same booth they'd occupied on that fateful day. This was the same window Minako had been thrown through. It was hard to believe she was the same flirtatious blonde he'd met a little over a week ago. As soon as they confessed their 'like' for each other, she'd become shy. Not that he minded - he found that even cuter than her flirtatious side.

"You're thinking about Minako," Usagi laughed, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"What? No!"

She ignored his protests. "Whenever you're thinking about Minako, you get this faraway look in your eyes and this kind of…I dunno, goofy smile on your face." She giggled. "It's cute."

"I'm not cute," he said, waving his hand dismissively.

"I'll bet Minako thinks you are," she teased.

"Well…perhaps, but I don't mind that so much," he admitted. Not at all.

"Of course you don't."

He waited a few seconds to make sure she was finished, and leaned forward on the table. "Listen, Usagi…there was something I needed to tell you. About me."

"What's up?" she asked.

She deserved to know. Usagi had trusted him when nobody else had, except for maybe Minako. He could hardly keep the return of his memories from her. "It's about me. And what happened to me at the Skytree." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "I know I've been a bit of a recluse this past week, and I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologise, Corey. You were dead…that can't be easy to deal with."

First Titus, and now Usagi? Maybe there was something to this 'you died' thing after all. "No, it's not. I don't think so, anyway." He let out a long sigh. "Usagi, when I came back to life…my memories came back with me."

Her eyes lit up. "That's great! Why didn't you tell everyone?"

"Well, at the time I wasn't so sure I wanted Titus to know. I'm still not."

"I understand." Something seemed to occur to her. "Hey, this is great! Terror said you weren't a traitor, but now you know for sure, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I admit, I had my doubts about that whole 'traitor' thing…but it's still nice to know for sure."

"What do you remember? How much of your life, I mean?"

"Little bits and pieces, mostly," he said with a sigh. "The entire final battle with Honour and Faith. My last conversation with your mother. A bunch of other snippets from the last few days of that life…but the rest is just a jumble of random images."

"I know how you feel," Usagi said. "We all do, really. None of us seem to have a complete set of memories of our past. It's always the big moments we seem to remember…the traumatic ones. The rest is all hazy."

"Sounds about right." He wasn't sure why he said what he did next; he probably just needed to tell somebody. "Princess Venus and I…we were in love."

"You and Minako?" she gushed. "That's so great! What did she say when you told her?"

"I…haven't told her. I don't think I will."

"What? Why not?"

"It's pretty clear that Minako doesn't remember any of that, Usagi." He sighed, and looked down at the table. "We've been on exactly one date…how am I supposed to just turn up one day and say 'oh, by the way, we used to be in love a thousand years ago'?"

She was silent. It seems she had no idea. Just like him.

"I just…I want her to like me because she really does…not because she feels obligated to."

"Well, Corey, I think you're making a mistake…but it's one I can understand. When Mamoru and I first got our memories back, I used to worry about exactly the same thing. Maybe he only loved me because of those memories…maybe they'd fade one day and he'd realise he didn't really love me at all?" She stared wistfully out the window. "Thankfully…we're past that. I know he really loves me…and I love him."

In that moment he was insanely jealous of both of them. He wanted what they had. Hopefully, he and Minako would make it to that point someday. "Thanks, Usagi."

"Anytime."

They sat in silence for a while; Corey mulled over what she'd said, while Usagi studied her fingernails rather intently.

"Hey, Corey?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you remember about my mother? Queen Serenity?"

He thought about it for a moment. "She was always kind to me. Even though she didn't have to be."

The blonde frowned at him. "That's it?"

"No…but that's my favourite memory of her. Out of the ones I have, anyway."

"Terror…" she whispered. "He said some terrible things about her. He said that she'd betrayed the Moon Kingdom…that she'd let her people suffer. That's not true…right?"

"I…don't really remember."

"Don't lie to me, Corey. Please…tell me what you remember."

Damn, she'd seen through him. "Usagi…you don't want to hear what I have to say."

"Corey. Tell me." There was a hint of steel in her voice now. There was no getting out of it.

"Fine." He let out a frustrated sigh. "Your mother had lost control of the Moon Kingdom...only she couldn't see it. She was too much of an optimist. Injustice and corruption were rampant...the laws had been gradually altered to favour the aristocracy over the common man...and she only made things worse with her unwillingness to put the nobility in their place. Justice...I saw a lot of things that I didn't like."

"I don't believe you," she said softly.

"Usagi?"

"You're lying!" Usagi snapped as she abruptly slid out of the booth. "Why would you try to hurt me like this?!" She stormed out of the arcade.

Corey followed, but she was already gone. Damn, she could run when she wanted to. She'd asked him to tell her what he remembered...why had she flipped out like that?

"Corey! Hey!"

He turned to see Mamoru walking towards him, still dressed in his scrubs. Great. Now he got to explain the situation to her boyfriend too.

"What's up, Mamoru?" he asked, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Oh, just meeting Usagi. I'm a little surprised to see you, though. You've been missing in action since…well, for the last week." The older man peered at him carefully. "How are you feeling?"

"I've…been better," Corey admitted. He was too tired to lie, and it all just slipped out; the return of his memories, his trouble sleeping, Titus' lies, Usagi's questions about her mother and her sudden outburst. All of it.

"Well…that's certainly a lot to have to handle at once."

That was the world's biggest understatement. "I just don't know what happened. One minute, we're having a friendly conversation. The next, she's calling me a liar and running out the door!"

Mamoru nodded thoughtfully. "Corey…you have to understand that Usagi doesn't remember much of her mother at all. Everything she knows, she learned from Luna, or Artemis. As such, she tends to treat Queen Serenity with a sort of…quiet reverence. She was seeking your clarification as a friend that Terror was lying, but when you started confirming everything he'd said…"

"She saw it as a betrayal," Corey sighed. Of course she did. Damn, he was an idiot sometimes.

"Exactly," Mamoru agreed.

"I just…she asked me to tell her. Practically ordered me, in fact. If I didn't tell her, she was going to get mad. If I lied, she'd work it out and get mad. I told her the truth and, big shock, she got mad! What the hell was I supposed to do?"

Mamoru chuckled. "Corey, you don't have much experience with women, do you?"

Nope. "Practically none."

"All you can do is learn from this. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation with Minako, where there are no good options…just run. Or try desperately to change the subject." He actually seemed to shudder. "An angry Usagi, I can handle. Angry Minako, though? That terrifies me!"

"Why do you say that?"

"Minako is…well, you know how she is by now, right?"

"No?"

"Oh." Mamoru paused. Corey figured he was trying to work out how to say whatever he had planned…diplomatically. "Minako can be quite…enthusiastic, when she wants to be."

Another reference to 'crazy'. "You know…people keep saying stuff like that about Minako, but I'm not seeing it…"

"That probably says more about you than it does about her…"

Maybe Mamoru had a point there. "I'm just gonna ignore that one for now."

Mamoru laughed. "That's your right." He checked his phone as it beeped. "That's Usagi. I'd better go see how she's doing. Chin up, Corey. She'll come around in no time, I'm sure!" He slapped him on the shoulder before jogging off after the blonde.

Corey sighed. Mamoru was right. He really didn't understand women. At all.

Garrett watched as the Black Gate appeared. Moments later, three Constructs spilled out, uncoiling and setting about the business of draining the people in the area of their energy. They were simple enough creatures to create and control, but that was also their one glaring weakness; they were extremely 'simple'. He avoided using them wherever possible. It was unfortunate, but today's plan necessitated their presence. At least this looked like the perfect location; nice and central, lots of people, and a TV station just around the corner. Lots of witnesses for what was to come.

Within moments, there were easily a dozen people lying unconscious on the sidewalk. The energy being gathered was secondary, but he was sure his master would appreciate it all the same. Two of the Constructs disappeared into a nearby store, detecting more energy to be collected. He frowned as the remaining one bounded towards him, claws extended. Garrett sighed, and held up his hand, allowing a clawed gauntlet to materialise. That should do the trick. Sure enough, the featureless creature turned away, looking for someone else to attack, and he shook his head, annoyed. Mindless things indeed. The sooner this phase of the plan was complete, the better.

"Hold it right there!"

He smiled. They were right on time.

They stood atop a building across the road; all five of them.

"For Love and Justice, the pretty sailor suited soldier Sailor Moon!"

"Sailor Mercury!"

"Sailor Mars!"

"Sailor Jupiter!"

"Sailor Venus!"

Moon pointed down at the Construct. "On behalf of the moon…"

The others finished for her. "We'll punish you!"

They were perfect. Absolutely perfect. Exactly as the footage had shown, down to every last detail.

The five Sailor Senshi leapt down off the rooftop and engaged the Constructs. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus headed right for the store, presumably after the two creatures inside. The remaining Senshi faced off against the lone Construct outside.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

"Burning Mandala!"

The two attacks sped out at the Construct, but it dodged them and launched itself at the Senshi, swinging its clawed hands wildly.

Sailor Moon leapt forward, moving so fast she was almost a blur. "Sailor Moon Kick!" The impact of her foot snapped the Constructs head back with enough force to actually separate it from its body; it crumbled into dust before the blonde Senshi had even landed.

The assembled crowd began to cheer. Garrett spotted two news crews in the crowd, as well as countless mobile phones. This was going exactly according to plan.

With the unmistakable crash of breaking glass, one of the Constructs from the deli came flying through its front window, hitting the street hard. A moment later, the second joined it, slamming into the pavement. The brunette and blonde Senshi followed them outside.

Venus giggled and pointed her finger at the first Construct. "Crescent Beam!" A golden blast of light shot from her finger and blew a large hole through its head.

Jupiter simply picked up her opponent…and drove it into the ground hard enough to turn its upper body into powder.

Garrett frowned. Not quite perfect…but the masses seemed to be eating it up. The news cameras focused in on the Senshi as they reunited outside the store. A rather short, rotund man came running out; presumably the owner.

"Thank you for saving me," he gasped, resting his hands on his knees as he gulped down air. "But I just wonder…was it really necessary to break my window?"

"What?" Sailor Moon demanded, leaning down right in his face. "How dare you criticise us after we saved your pathetic life?!"

"Uh, no, you don't understand-"

"We don't understand? Sailor Mars, show this old fool what would have happened to his shop if we weren't here!"

"You've got it, Sailor Moon!" The raven-haired Senshi grinned cruelly. "Fire Soul!" A blazing ball of fire shot from her fingers, straight through the store's shattered window. Moments later, the entire building exploded into flames with a deafening boom.

Moon kneed the owner in the stomach, dropping him to the ground. "That's what happens to anyone who dares speak out against the Sailor Senshi!" She buried her boot in his ribs and turned to the crowd. "We're tired of fighting for you ingrates and getting nothing but complaints in return!"

"That's right!" Jupiter snapped. "From now on, if you get in our way you'll get the same treatment as these monsters!"

"Ta-ta!" Venus giggled, blowing the nearest camera a kiss. They leapt up onto the same rooftop and disappeared from view. The crowd began murmuring, clearly unimpressed with the Senshi's actions.

Garrett smiled. That had been an extremely successful first run. He chuckled softly to himself and disappeared in a swirl of black smoke and ash.

Across the street, oblivious to his presence, Usagi and Mamoru stared up at the rooftop in wide-eyed astonishment. The blonde looked at Mamoru, across the street to the burning store, up to the rooftop, and finally back to her boyfriend.

"What?!"

AN: Boy, oh boy, did that take a while to finish! I always find the first chapter the hardest to get right...but it's finally done, and I've got a pretty good idea of where to go from here. I hope you enjoyed it.