The Tsukino family was flabbergasted. They had two of Japan's most famous heroes in their Christmas cabin. What an honor! On the other hand, they were also surrounded by what sounded like ferocious beasts.
As she lay on the couch where Endymion refused to let her leave, Sailor Moon was suddenly glad that he had had the foresight to add a mask to his armor. It wasn't likely that her family would have recognized him, as they didn't seem to recognize her, but she didn't want to take any chances.
"What's going on out there?" Kenji demanded.
Taking a breath, Sailor Moon sat up. "Again, we're sorry to impose on you." Before she could speak, Endymion beat her to it. "Outside are what we believe to be beasts left over from an ancient time that few on this planet remember. In fact, only the Senshi have any knowledge of this long-ago time." He paused. "This creature was thought to be dead, along with everything else from that era. However, that appears to not be the case."
Sailor Moon had noticed that the banging at the door had stopped during his explanation. Had they given up or, more likely, were they planning another strategy? She chafed under the restrictions that Endymion placed upon her, but she knew that he was right. She had used far too much power, and it had resulted in the defeat of only one enemy. Now there was a pack of five – certainly too many for Endymion's sword, if he could even fight them that way. Were they magical?
She tried to remember more about Serenity's encounter with the devil's cat. As she concentrated, she could smell the fetid breath in her face, the claws digging into her shoulders. Something had stopped it from killing her, most obviously, but what had it been? She felt Endymion's hand on her shoulder, but she pushed it to the back of her mind as she fought to retrieve the memories.
Blood. A cry of pain… That's right, Endymion had arrived just in time to wound the animal. It had run off in pain, but it hadn't been fatally wounded. Could these be its descendants? Or could one of them even be the original attacker?
Quickly, she relayed the information in a whisper to her lover. A sword could wound, could buy them time. Sailor Moon looked at the scabbard at her lover's thigh, thinking of the steel within. It had been forged with magically-infused steel that should never break, never grow dull. That same steel was worked into his armor, protecting the heir to Earth's throne.
"We know next to nothing about these creatures," she said with a tone of defeat. "There are no phones; we can't even contact Am- er, Mercury, to see if there's any information in the central computer."
"Your communicator?"
She blushed. "I-I forgot it at home. I didn't think I would need it. We were together, and it was Christmas, so… I thought it would be safe."
He sighed. "It's okay."
While they had been having a personal conversation, the three others in the cabin hadn't been idle. Ikuko came from the kitchen with hot tea, Kenji sat close with his notepad (he couldn't pass up the chance of an interview for his newspaper!), Shingo kept his eyes on his idol. The two accepted the tea gratefully, Sailor Moon careful not to be too familiar with her mother. She took sugar, two spoonfuls, and sipped at the tea. Perfect, just the way her mother always made it.
"Well, we haven't even been introduced!" Ikuko said suddenly, blushing. Please excuse our bad manners. It was just such a shock, the two of you showing up like this!"
Sailor Moon started a stammering protest when her mother prostrated herself on the floor in front of her. "I am a humble housewife, Tsukino Ikuko. This is my husband, Kenji, and son Shingo. You have already met my daughter, Usagi, I think."
"Please, please, you needn't stand on ceremony!" Endymion said, squeezing Sailor Moon's shoulder. "Just treat us as any normal guests."
"Yes," Sailor Moon squeezed out. "Normal guests."
As Ikuko sat up, she looked at the blonde with worried eyes. The eyes only a mother could have. "Please, you said you saw my daughter safely toward the lodge. Are you sure she got there? I know Mamoru is with her, but they were only out for a walk! Nothing like this was supposed to happen."
"I can assure you that your daughter is safe," Sailor Moon said, adding a soft smile to calm her mother's nerves. Suddenly, she had a flash of her mother's worry and pain if she would fall in battle one day. Ikuko would probably never know why her daughter didn't come home, and that would break her. She couldn't allow that to happen. She would fight as long and as hard as she could to make sure that she kept her family together.
Before Ikuko could say anything else, the reporter in her father kicked in and he started firing rapid questions at the two of them. Most of them quite personal, ignoring the threat at their door. Endymion frowned forbiddingly at him. Kenji might be his girlfriend's father, but right now, he was only a man. A foolish man who only saw the next story, instead of realizing that the two he was bothering needed to plan a strategy to get them all to safety.
"Just be quiet so we can figure out what to do," Sailor Moon snapped. Normally she wouldn't say anything like that to her parents, but there wasn't much time to plan a strategy that would keep them all safe.