Flicking his tail, Artemis looked sadly at Minako, her wincing face illuminated in the moonlight. This was becoming routine for him. Every night, she would have nightmares so intense and vivid she would wake up screaming. When she would wake up, he would comfort her, telling her everything was okay. Nothing was wrong. The senshi had been at peace for a year, nothing was attacking her. Not that he knew what she dreamed of. Minako had been disturbingly quiet about what was making her wake up in tears. By day she would put on her happy face and prance around like nothing was wrong, but Artemis knew better.

Snuggling up to her face, the white cat wiped away a tear with his paw. She wasn't screaming tonight, just crying, clutching her pillow to her chest. Perhaps being a superhero since she was 13 had finally taken its toll. Maybe she, and the rest of them, just needed time to heal, to be normal teenagers. Hopefully this will pass, like all the other trials in Minako's life. She was a fighter.

Seeing her eyes dart open, Artemis lept on the pillow Minako was holding, looking down at her with concern. "Minako, please, tell me what's bothering you." Opening her mouth, she began to speak, but choked up, fighting back tears.

"I-I remember," was what she was able to say, shaking as gruesome images of death flashed through her mind. "I remember everything."

In her eyes, Artemis could see heartbreak, suffering and agony only brought on by loss of love. It was then that he knew what she dreamed of. Who she dreamed of. In the beginning, when they were fighting the Dark Kingdom, Artemis had elected to not let her remember of her past self's love. She was too young to be able to handle the task of killing him if she knew, but the senshi were regaining their memories on their own rather quickly, not just remembering basics, but having vivid recollections. Now she knew a man she helped kill was her meant to be, and that the Goddess of Love was, indeed, doomed to be unloved herself. She would never get him back.

She whispered his name so softly that Artemis could barely hear her despair. Hugging herself, Minako stared into space, whispering his name again and again, each syllable rolling off her lips with a familiar longing.

"Kunzite..."

***

When daylight broke, the tears stopped, and Minako forced a dazzling smile on her face as she got dressed that morning, singing to blasting music as she went through her clothes, showered, dressed and put on makeup. Finishing her ensemble with her signature red bow, she swept Artemis up in her arms and planted a kiss on his crescent moon.

"Good morning my favorite kitty!" Minako beamed.

"You seem very well rested for someone who was up half the night," Artemis said with concern, looking at her seriously. Minako pretended she didn't know what he was talking about, and instead focused on picking out the right shoes. Not heels, since she was walking all the way to Makoto's for a group breakfast to celebrate the beginning of their summer break, but something cute.

"Aha!" Minako said, grabbing a pair of red flats with ribbons on the toes, "These will be perfect!"

"Minako, are you even listening to me?" Artemis asked, jumping onto her desk where she was about to grab her bag from.

"Artemis, I'm fine," Minako insisted with a waive of a hand, "It's nothing. I promise."

"Do you expect me to think it's nothing now that I know what this is about? I know how deep your feelings for Kunzite were," said Artemis adamantly.

With a very forced smile, Minako turned to the door, flats in one hand, bag in the other and said, "Please, Artemis, don't say his name."

Sighing, Artemis curled up into a ball at the foot of her bed, wishing he could do something to help her.

Minako said few words to her parents as she grabbed a water bottle for the road beyond good morning wishes. Keeping her smile on the whole time, she left the house, hair gently flowing in the light summer breeze. Like the breeze she felt when she woke up in the morning, standing on a balcony, wrapped in strong, dark arms.

Stop it, Minako. That was then, this is now.

She had to push those memories into the back of her mind. "No use crying over spoiled milk," she muttered to herself. Being with the others would cheer her up just by being them.

Ami and Rei had already arrived when Minako got there, leaving just Usagi to show up, though that didn't stop them from asking Minako what too her so long to get there. Laughing it up to being unable to decide what to wear, all three of the other senshi rolled their eyes.

Makoto had baked mini muffins to snack on until Usagi joined them, remarking "She stayed with Mamoru last night, so it might be awhile."

"We have less than a year left of high school, she should really focus on making the best of that and just be patient until they get married after graduation," said Ami, setting her book down so she wouldn't get crumbs all over it.

"Lighten up, it's summer vacation, she should be able to enjoy herself," Minako defended, "besides, I wouldn't mind spending these hot summer nights in bed with a cute guy all night."

Turkey was a very hot place, wasn't it?

Shut up, Minako. Stop it.

Remember how the sweat glistened on his skin as we made love those hot nights? The way his hair stuck to his neck as he took me lovingly?

Please, brain, stop it.

He was so handsome, so strong, polite, intelligent. Could anybody in any world ever compare to him?

Usagi was walking in the room as Minako dwelled on her memories of a cool, desert morning, wrapped in warm blankets on a soft bed, Kunzite's hand stroking her hair while he slowly woke up. After a half-hearted hello to the future Queen, Minako sighed and ventured into territory she wasn't sure she was ready to go.

"How often do you guys think about the Silver Millennium?" she asked, garnering confused looks from her peers. They weren't sure why Minako would bring that up, but they wouldn't question it.

"I remember Princess Serenity was a handful and never listened to us," said Rei with some tease in her statement, though it was completely true.

"All the gardens were beautiful. I could have spent days just relaxing in the garden," Makoto reminisced, inhaling deeply, almost smelling the aroma of the Moon Palace's gardens right there. "It was nice to be able to tend it in our free time."

"But all of you were so mean about letting me see Endymion! Except you, Minako, you actually let me spend time with him before taking me home. Better than you, Rei, who would drag me by the ear away," said Usagi, pouring herself some juice.

"That's only because I knew that it was a bad idea to be sneaking off to see a guy all the time. You were a princess, after all," said Rei, "And I always thought those Shitennou were trouble."

"Says the one who always checked Jadeite out at every opportunity," Minako teased, "And don't just say it was because you were looking to see if they were going to pull something, you had the hots for him!"

Flushing red, Rei crossed her arms and glared at Minako, but Rei's silence told Minako she was right.

"It's so strange to think that our first enemies used to be our allies and friends. I used to really enjoy some of the conversations I had with Zoisite. Earth culture was so fascinating at the time," said Ami, thinking back to how often she had to ignore the strange feeling in her gut while fighting Zoisite a few years ago.

"And they were always good sparring partners. Once I beat Nephrite so bad I baked him a cake. I think he started making sure I'd win just to get free cakes from me," Makoto laughed, "Honestly, he was a good guy."

"I kind of wish that they were reborn. I think things would be a lot different if they were on our side," Minako mused sadly. "Does Mamoru ever talk about them? They were his guards, after all."

"Um, I think he used to actually be able to talk to them, in these stones he had," said Usagi thoughtfully, "But he also said that stopped working a year ago, when he went to study abroad. I don't know what happened to them."

"With seven billion people on this planet, they could easily have been reincarnated without us knowing," Ami stated.

"And with our luck, if they are, we'll eventually see them, especially when Usagi becomes Neo Queen Serenity," Makoto agreed, placing pancakes on the table with a strawberry sauce.

"Mamo will want them in his court if they do come back," said Usagi, helping herself to multiple pancakes. "These look to die for, Mako!"

Unfortunately, not even the delightful pancakes and company of friends could keep Minako from feeling totally and completely alone.

***

Minako wasn't alone, though. Less than ten miles away, Ichiou Shin was looking deeply at his reflection in his cup of coffee, mulling over the dreams of the night before. Shock was not his reaction, but sadness, for shock had been his state a year ago after he woke up from a coma. Though his body had been very, very still those two years, his soul had been not.

Thinking back to his initial awakening, his stomach lurched as he remembered how he had been brainwashed, hoodwinked into serving the one who brought about the Earth's destruction a thousand years ago. How he hurt the people of Earth, those he swore to protect, and was only saved by the appearance of Endymion, his own death, and saving his Prince and Master from his own. Then came the redemption, the time spent guarding Chiba Mamoru, trapped in a stone of his namesake until he regained enough power to return to this mortal body. The son of a real estate tycoon in Tokyo, his coma was said to have been caused by overworking himself and too much stress. Because of that, his parents had refused to let him back into his old position at his father's company, leading him into a life of self-imposed exile for his sins. Slowly, Shin had disappeared, being replaced nearly completely by Kunzite.

Physically, he had changed from the skinny businessman into the fit, tanned general of the past. Instead of his silver hair being cropped to his head, he wore it long, down to his shoulders, tying it back into a short ponytail and donning glasses in order to mask his own identity from himself. He couldn't feel comfortable unless he felt like his former self, but sometime he couldn't stand to look in the mirror unless it was in disguise.

The only people he associated with anymore were the Shitennou, who he was lucky to even meet again in this life. The first he met was Zoisite, or Suzuki Akihito, out at a lounge for a drink with his father and business partners, the young General playing the piano. As it turned out, in this life, Akihito was a famous classical musician and child prodigy, proficient primarily in Piano, who had miraculously woken up from a long coma after collapsing onstage. Zoisite was like a brother to Kunzite, and it was good to meet him again. While the two of them were out for coffee, playing catch up, they met Jadeite, now known as Ito Kyou, a student at the Tokyo University of Technology. Kyou ended up skipping class that day in order to speak to his friends and companions. Companionship was a comfort all of them had been without for far too long.

It took a longer time to find Nephrite, who had attempted to completely abandon any trace of his old identity. Sanjouin Masato had cut his hair and grown a beard, which was the largest deterrent from them spotting him. It was Kyou that found him, studying in a library one afternoon. Though took a lot of convincing to have him meet up with the other Shitennou, eventually relented. Out of all four he was the most reluctant to embrace the past, but they had made an agreement: if Endymion was ever in danger again, they would unite and resume their oath of protection. So far, that hadn't been necessary.

Part of him almost wanted something to happen. Though the safety of Prince Endymion was of the utmost importance, if there was a problem, the Sailor Senshi would be there, and if the Senshi were there, their leader, Venus, would be, too.

Silently, his heart ached for her. To run his hands through her golden hair, to kiss her soft lips, to hold her in his arms during the night. In the past, their love was secret, forbidden, but that never stopped her from meeting him, spending days and nights meant to be spent with her fellow warriors in his arms, in his bed. Some nights, as he stared at the ceiling, wide awake, he thought about searching for her, but the thought of her spurning him was too much to bear. How could she forgive him after everything he had done? That would be impossible to ask of her. Besides, she obviously didn't remember him then, what would be to say that she would know their past now? No, he wouldn't try to force anything. Should fate bring them together, he would be satisfied, but he was never the pushy type. Perhaps if he repented long enough, he could be rewarded with what he desired above all.

"You have a brain in there, Shin?"

Looking up, Kunzite saw Jadeite had sat down across from him in their usual cafe. "Yeah, Kyou, just thinking." When speaking in public, they always used their new names, but nothing would stop them from thinking of each other as their old names.

"Well, I have some good news," Jadeite said, handing Kunzite a tablet, "Take a look at what I found."

Kunzite was looking at an online profile of a man, Chiba Mamoru. For a second, he was confused, until he saw the profile picture.

"You found Endymion? How?" Kunzite asked, scrolling through the page. Dating Tsukino Usagi, who was obviously the Moon Princess, with her blonde odango hair. Medical student. Had over 400 friends.

"Complete luck. I'm in school with a former classmate of his and he popped up as a possible friend I could add," explained Jadeite.

"Who are you talking about?" Zoisite asked, sitting down next to Kunzite. Nephrite was with him, sitting down next to Jadeite. Grabbing the tablet away from Kunzite, Zoisite gasped, "You found Endymion!"

"Not so loud, Akihito," Kunzite sighed, "You'll make people stare."

"Well, we have to go see him," Zoisite said adamantly, "We can't just keep letting him think we're gone. We've been out of those stones for a year."

Taking his turn to stare at Mamoru's profile, Nephrite sighed, "So, it's really going to happen, huh? We're going to face our master and own up for everything we did. I don't know about this."

"I'm sure he'll find the guilt you hold humbling, and will accept our apologies, Masato. You've punished yourself enough already," said Kunzite wisely.

"I think his forgiveness was already given to us when we were trapped in the stones, anyway," Zoisite offered, "Just because we have corporeal bodies now shouldn't change anything."

"It's not Endymion that will be the problem," Nephrite explained, "but what comes with it. The Senshi. If we show ourselves to Endymion, we may as well be inviting the princess's guard to come and chop off our heads right there."

"Come on, you know Princess Serenity wasn't that type, and we all know Sailor Moon was reborn with the same personality," Jadeite countered, "Besides, she's so in love with Endymion that she'll listen to him if he wants to keep us alive."

"And Mercury is far too rational to jump to conclusions, especially if our Master is on our side," Zoisite agreed. "I'm not saying it's going to be a comfortable, or easy, situation, but it's our duty."

"They may be more forgiving, but the others? Mars never seemed to like any of us anyway, I knew Jupiter well enough that even if she doesn't attack, she'll be damn skeptical, and Venus? Well, I guess that depends on how much they remember. If it's not much, we may as well call ourselves dead men. If it's a lot, well, Kunzite better hope she doesn't hold a grudge on the whole him killing her while she was pregnant thing."

Kunzite tensed up at Nephrite's words, feeling like he had just been kicked in the gut multiple times. That was always his reaction when he thought about his last moments with Venus, or when someone reminded him of what happened.

"She killed me, too," said Kunzite meekly, but continued speaking with his usual calm confidence, "and, remember, we were brainwashed. We had no idea what we were doing. They know how powerful Metallia was, so all of this may be non-issue if they already understand. I'm not sure if I want Cytherea- I mean Sailor Venus- to learn from a third party. I want to be able to tell her myself."

"So we'll just ask Mamoru to not say anything. He'll respect what we want," said Zoisite.

"Maybe with you, Kunzite, or Shin, or whatever you want to be called, but he is more than welcome to tell Mars about me. Any chance of me being able to rekindle that romance is completely out of the question," Jadeite sighed. "You may have delusions of a warm welcome, but the only thing warm about me would be the fire lighting up my ass."

"Under these circumstances, I'm glad Jupiter and I kept it platonic. Not that I always wanted to, but at least now I don't have this hurdle to jump over. Right, Akihito?"

"All of you are a bunch of poon hounds, I swear," Zoisite sighed, "What happened to us being gentlemen? Just because we're not living in palaces anymore doesn't mean we're not kings."

"Says the man who just used the phrase 'poon hound,'" said Nephrite, "Really, poon hound? Where did you learn that one?"

"The same place you learned to call me a faggot and thought it was appropriate," Zoisite snapped.

"Well, in my defense, you've always come off as a little... fruity." said Nephrite. "And womanly."

"Gentlemen, please," Kunzite sighed, "We're allies. We're not being pitted against each other by anyone anymore. All of us need to come to an agreement on what to do, and to not keep insulting each other. Yes, our new lives are strange, yes, we all feel like shit for letting ourselves get hoodwinked and brainwashed, but we can't take it out on each other. So, are we going to stop behaving like chastised children, hanging our heads in shame or are we going to man up and do our jobs? I know that tomorrow afternoon I'm going to go visit Chiba Mamoru, and if any of you want to join me, please do, so long as you can behave for five minutes!"

Everything felt so corroded by the Dark Kingdom. Spats like this were common, but they were never as malicious before. Wounds given to each other while brainwashed still festered, still seemed all too fresh. Even after regaining all their memories, there still seemed to be a tinge of darkness left in their hearts. It needed to stop.

"I'm going," said Jadeite, "I think we'll all be better off if we just go and see how everything ends up."

"I don't see a reason not to go if everyone else is," Zoisite agreed.

"Masato?" Kunzite asked, looked to Nephrite. After taking it the hardest, Kunzite wondered if he would be ready.

With a small nod, Nephrite said "I don't think I'll ever be more ready to do this."

At that moment, all four of the Shitennou silently put the lives they had in this time aside. No longer would they be Ichiou Shin, or Suzuki Akihito, or Ito Kyou, or Sanjouin Masato. There was only Kunzite, Zoisite, Jadeite, and Nephrite.