Pain ripped through her like ice in her veins. It burned her core, and tore at every cell that was her body. It was unbearable, but she had to push. She had to keep trying, for them. With a burst of energy, she pushed her arms forward, thrusting the crystal forward with the last pulse she could send through the glassy object.
She thought about everybody; friends, family, loved onces, all of the innocent bystanders mere feet from her. They were here to watch Sailor Moon vanquish the evil presence, they were here to watch their friend Usagi vanquish the evil of the world. They were here to watch a girl die trying.
She remembered the look on Naru's face. Terror. She hated these monsters, though they seemed to find her wherever she went. She couldn't take it. So she would kill this monster for her. She would make the world a better place so Naru could never have that emotion grace her beautiful features again.
Her sisters lay around her, unconscious some, others watching, unable to move any longer, as Usagi fought the monster. She could do this. Mamoru was behind her, arms surrounding her, hands over her hands, front to her back. He was supporting her everything so she could do this. She took every scrap of energy, from her mussels, from her heart, every ounce she felt comfortable drawing from Mamoru, so much that she didn't think it'd be possible to move after this, and shoved it through the crystal.
With a scream, the enemy before her vanished and her vision disappeared and unconsciousness consumed her. She collapsed into the arms of the man behind her, as her mind wandered, her body pulsed for a moment, then, it started to fade into ribbons. The crystal didn't have enough energy to keep her transformation, or bring her civilian clothes back around her body, and instead fell around her in ribbons of energy. The ribbons weren't pink as per usual, but they were white. Occasionally a small burst of energy flowed through them, but they were drained, and it would be days before it would be back to normal.
Mamoru glanced around at the civilians, then looking at the nude girl before him, he detached his cape, draping it over her figure. He didn't want all of these strangers; he looked at the cameras around them, the whole world seeing her nude and unconscious. It was one thing for the senshi to see her like that, he didn't mind that himself, but he knew she wouldn't be comfortable like that.
He was breathing heavily. Usagi had unknowingly drawn a lot of energy from him, but he would make it. He couldn't make it back to his apartment, let alone carry her, but he could revive her a bit. Pouring energy into his fingertips, he brushed them along her cheek, the skin beneath pulsed at the new source of energy.
Cerulean blue greeted him as her eyes fluttered open a bit. The ribbons around her were now a dull pink, not vibrant, but energetic. A light smile graced his features, but he had to focus to keep himself composed. She brought a shaky hand up and traced her fingers around his cheekbones and lips.
"Mamo." The name was like heaven to his ears and a lone tear escaped his barriers. They stared at each other, smiling, communicating in only a way they really knew and understood.
A gasp was heard from the audience and a woman stepped past the police barricades. Every other person was consumed in the moment, but when she broke through, paramedics rushed forward to check for life signs in the senshi. Aside from the scuffle of feet, it was silent. Then Usagi looked at the woman.
"Usa? Is that you?" Naru knelt down to touch the fallen angel, but her hand was smacked away by another.
"Don't touch her!" the woman was fuming, angry tears tried to fall down her cheeks. The blonde woman fell to the ground, breathing heavily and venom still in her voice. "She just saved all of you, leave her be!" She shouted again, the tears falling free.
"Haruka," she felt the tiny princess' hand on her own. A calm affect met her eyes and Haruka bowed her head, letting the princess do what she willed. With that she turned to Naru. She looked so surprised, and scared, and…sad. Why was she sad? Usagi sat up, with the help of Mamoru at her back, and grasped Naru's hands in her own.
"I'm okay Naru. It's okay." The blonde managed a smile before Naru enveloped her in a hug. She muttered 'Usagi' over and over again expressing her worries and she merely rubbed a hand along her friends back as she cried into her lap. Usagi looked around at the people surrounding her, then at her naked form and willed the crystal to cover her up. Her skin flushed as the ribbons faded back into the blouse and skirt.
Suddenly a weight appeared on her shoulder and Mamoru had partially collapsed on her, his energy drained as well. He swallowed and fell onto his back, breathing heavily as the tuxedo faded into his civilian clothes.
She looked at the crowd again. Whispers sounded through and flashes indicated pictures being taken. She glanced over at the camera crew and trained her eyes directly on the lens. Everybody was seeing this. Everybody knew who they were. She tried to smile a bit, but couldn't muster the courage. Nerves ate at her stomach, every nerve in her body tensed and Naru felt it.
She rose form Usa's lap, realizing what had just happened. She covered her mouth with her hand and ran away, tears trailing her as she ran away, ashamed of exposing Usagi to the world. Mamoru, feeling the tension as well stood up, standing in front of his princess. He glared at the camera and assumed a defensive stance, only faltering when Usagi touched his hand. He gripped hers and helped her to stand when she tugged.
There they stood, exposed in all of their glory to the world, and nobody could mutter a singe word. Usagi wrapped herself around Mamoru's side, one hand on her lower back, the other supporting his chest. He wrapped his own around her, supporting her.
Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Makoto sat on the couch, leaning against Nephrite as she replayed the news footage again. She watched as Mamoru went over to the shitennou and surrounded them in a golden glow and Usagi did the same for the senshi. The subtitles read "Senshi, secret identities revealed! Teenage girls?"
The helicopter rounded the block once again, shining the search light in through the blinds. Jadeite pulled the blinds away from the sliding glass door and watched the light pass by. Turning to the TV he saw himself appear on screen. He flipped the camera off and pushed the shutters back into place, closing the drapes.
"That was hardly appropriate Jade." Zoiscite said from the kitchen where there were he cradled an ice cold glass of wine in his hands.
"Zoi," Jadeite started, walking towards his brother in arms, "We can't leave the apartment, we can't take the girls to the hospital, even though we've practically run out of medical supplies, we can't do anything because the damn humans are nosy assholes." He walked over to the sink, turning the water on and beginning to wash dishes, for some reason cleaning soothed him.
The front door opened and everybody in the room tensed, posed for a fight, but instead Chibiusa walked in, carrying a brown bag of groceries. Mina heard the door and rushed to get everything from the small girl. She thanked her, patted her head, and sat at the kitchen table with Zoi and Kunzite.
"Sources have confirmed the identities. Sailor Moon: Usagi Tsukino, age 17." Usagi's school ID showed up on the screen. They walked through the identities of all of the senshi and shitennou, then Mamoru's picture showed up. "Tuxedo Mask: Mamoru Chiba, heir to his late parent's fortune, aged 22. Authorities are concerned with the supposed relationship between the two, but Tuxedo Mask never confirmed or denied their relationship in previous interviews." The screen flashed to a picture of Chibiusa. "Sailor Chibi Moon: identity unknown. Though we know who the child is, there are no records of her existing; the family is denying comment at the moment." Everybody looked at the pink haired girl in the room. Her eyes were huge, and she looked panicked.
The screen changed to one of the interviews Tuxedo Mask did for the press a while back, introducing the shitennou to the community and answering a few questions. Chibiusa sat on a chair next to him, substantially shorter in comparison. He held her hand as they answered questions.
"Now, Chibi Moon, how are you related to the senshi? There's already a Sailor Moon, why the need for two?" The reporters question caused anger to flare up in the little girl. She huffed and crossed her arms over her broach.
"Because I'm the future Sailor Moon." She said indignantly, only to be met with a glare from her father. "as in, when Sailor Moon is gone, I'm going to take her spot."
"And what about you Tuxedo Mask, how are you related to the group?" Mamoru smiled kindly at the reporter and clasped his gloved hands together.
"Well, I used to just save Sailor Moon. Now I protect her and fight alongside her and her court. With my assistance, the assistance of my own court comes to play and my men help protect the senshi and the world alongside myself. Chibi Moon is training with us, so that one day when Sailor Moon and I can't fight anymore; she can protect the world, though she already does that." Mamoru smiled over at his daughter and she grinned.
"So is she your daughter?" the reporter fired quickly, and, not thinking completely, Mamoru answered.
"Yes"
That had caused a bit of an uproar, everybody believed that Sailor Moon was the mother, after all the baby moon had to come from a mama moon, but Mamoru never confirmed or denied it.
"So you see, 'Chibiusa' as the pink haired child is called presumably due to her mothers name, is the daughter of Tuxedo Mask, yet there are no records of Mamoru Chiba having a child, or of the girl at all. So this poses the question, who is Chibi Moon?" The reporter signed off and everybody gave a collective sigh, this would never end. There would always be more questions, more to answer, more people to lie to.
"Let's answer all of the questions." Chibiusa spoke up from the center of the room. Most everybody looked at her as if she was crazy. She gave an exasperated look. "No, I'm serious, Mama and Papa have a no secret policy with the public, there are no secrets, so let's start that now, come clean."
The city's reporters were gathered around the podium set up in Juban Park. The stage behind it was decorated in pink, with stars of every color hanging from scaffolding.
Sailor Moon landed before the podium, causing the audience to gasp and then clap. The rest of the senshi and shitennou trickled in behind her, each standing with their significant other and Setsuna standing with Hotaru. Mamoru landed next to Usagi with Chibiusa on his shoulders.
"Welcome" she said to the crowd. They were clapping and chering, some wolf wistling and Usagi could have sworn she head a couple girl call out Mamoru's name. When the chatter died down she began again.
"I would like to welcome you here, all of you, to address a few issues. She pulled her skirt down, needing to giver her hands something to do as she spoke, a nervous habit Mrs. Haruna berated her for on multiple occasions. Mamoru clasped her hand, and squeezed, sending calm emotions through the bond they shared. "I would like to thank you for coming, but let's get one thing straight."
"You may know who the senshi are, but we are still people, and I would very much appreciate being able to leave my house, let alone return to school. Sailor Moon may save the world, but Usagi is still a person. I'm still a person, and so are my friends, so please, stop following us around, we're open to interviews or questions, but please call the number we provide for you. Ami sent a hologram of the number up above their heads so everybody could see.
"This number will take you through a secure line that connects through a computer. There's an option to report an emergency, tell us that an attack is happening and we'll be alerted via out com links." Usagi held up her left hand, showing off the red watch. "there is also an option to set up interviews or whatever you may need. Now I know there are a lot of unanswered questions, so I would just like to say that we are instigating a no secret policy. So that you can all trust us, some of what we may say is far fetched, but it's a real as the ground you walk on. Now, Questions?"
They spent hours answering questions, such as, where did you get your powers from, who is the evil you've been fighting, etc. It wasn't until the last few hands were raised that the question they had been waiting for came up. "Where is Chibi Moon from?"
Usagi smiled at her daughter and Mamoru set her down and handed her the microphone. "My name is Princess Usagi Small Lady Serenity. I come from the 30th century." The entire audience gasped. "My parents are Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon, but from much much farther in the future. My Mama gave her powers to me when I was born, so now she sent me back here to train with Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask."
Questions about the future started popping up, but Pluto stepped forward. "My name is Sailor Pluto, I am the guardian of time and space. I guard the door of time on a regular basis. Though we instigated a no secret policy, not even the senshi are granted knowledge of the future. If Small Lady were to tell anybody of the future, then the balance of space and time would be distorted, so that is one secret that will stay between Small Lady and I."