Okay, now here is where the M rating starts to take effect. It was all puppies and butterflies before now, but this chappie has some violence in it. Nothing too graphic, cuz that ain't my deal, but just to warn ya that there do be some violence, at least for the next few chapters.

I still do not own Sailor Moon. I do, however, own a very nice polo shirt that I wear on occasion.

No, that had nothing to do with anything. Sorry. :(

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Over the next few days, the palace was buzzing with talk of the Dark Kingdom's scout. News traveled fast, despite the Queen's best efforts to quell the details, and in no time at all rumors were circulating every level of the kingdom.

Tachi had returned from the planet Uranus to have a serious, in-depth talk with Haruka about the prospect of battle and to discuss some tactics. The two were immersed in such talks, and Tachi spent much time frequenting transports back and forth to further involve Kayle in Haruka's ideas and suggestions, and to withdraw his own strategies.

With Haruka tied up in such meetings, Michiru spent even less time with her partner than she had before. She spent the majority of her time on her own painting or swimming. Other times she would travel to the Inner Senshi's wing on the other side of the palace, and get to know the younger girls and share with them her experiences.

On this day, however, she was alone with her thoughts. She observed Haruka and Tachi, from afar, as they conversed about their plans of action- judging by the more frequent trips by Tachi, they were very close to summarizing their plan.

Longingly, she watched Haruka smile and immerse herself in the matter at hand. She wished that Haruka would pay that much attention to her, regardless of what intentions were behind it. She halfway missed training class, for at least in class they would spend the majority of their time together. Truthfully, she missed her athletic partner's company.

"Lighten up, Michiru…"

The aqua-haired girl looked up from her reverie at the cryptic voice. "Hm?"

Sailor Pluto had appeared, standing a few feet from her, smiling in that knowing way. Pluto always knew what was happening- after all, she was the Guardian of Time. "Your future has a few small rain clouds hiding the many, vast clear skies."

Michiru gave her a puzzled look and glanced at Haruka again, who was now walking with Tachi down the hall, her black boots making no sound as she stepped ever farther away.

"They don't seem all that small," Michiru mused as she watched the blonde go.

She received no answer, and Michiru nodded slightly. She knew Pluto had gone. Michiru decided that perhaps she should take the initiative… Obviously leaving things the way they were was not pleasant to her.

That night, Michiru knocked on Haruka's bedroom door, hoping for a response. Haruka answered, a little startled to see Michiru there.

"Come in," she said, moving to allow Michiru entrance.

It was only the third time Michiru had been into the tomboy's bedroom, but she found it the same as always- mostly clean and tidy, with maybe a few freshly worn articles of clothing littering the floor.

"What brings you?" Haruka asked, somewhat nervously. The aqua-haired girl's presence made her edgy, although she had no reason to be. It was just that their prolonged absence from one another had helped to quell some of the desire the blonde was feeling for her partner, but now that the Neptunian princess was standing in her quarters in such close proximity, the passions and emotions, so long subdued, were quickly returning.

"I… missed you," Michiru answered honestly. Haruka swallowed hard.

"I see. I've… missed you, too," the blonde returned softly, her head lowering slightly, almost as if she were embarrassed to admit it.

"How are your battle tactics coming along?" the artist asked, suddenly changing the subject. She did not want to make Haruka uncomfortable.

Haruka raised her head. "Very well. We think we've figured out where their makeshift base is located."

"Oh?" Michiru raised an eyebrow.

Haruka grinned. "Yeah." She reached for a scroll that was on her dresser and rolled it out on her bed. "See…" she started, gesturing Michiru closer, and pointing to the star chart. "We figured that Uranus is the likeliest target for a ground operation.. Pluto is too far, and Saturn is too well defended, along with your planet." She nodded at her. "The fact that Uranus has just gone through a civil war and that their ruler is away on Senshi duty is just the kind of opportunity they would need. If scouts have reached the moon, they surely have a strong base set up in this solar system. My planet just seems like the easiest target."

Haruka rolled the chart up and looked into Michiru's eyes. "Tachi and I have been talking with Kayle, and he thinks that he might've found their location. Tomorrow he will gather our ground forces to prepare for an assault, once I get Queen Serenity's approval for senshi backup." She grinned devilishly. "We'll show those Dark Kingdom lackeys what we're made of."

Despite the confidence so evident in her partner's voice, Michiru neither shared nor believed it. She had a bad feeling about the coming battle.

A very bad feeling.

As promised, the next day Haruka was on a transport back to Uranus, despite the fact that the inners were not ready to leave. She claimed it was only a matter of time before their efforts were discovered and surprise was an element they could not afford to lose. Time was of the essence.

"Michiru… are you coming?"

The aqua-haired girl had nodded then, though she was afraid of the coming battle. Afraid for herself or for Haruka, even she did not know.

She gently laced her fingers into the blonde's sturdy grip, her soft touch caressing the calloused hand. "We're partners," she said firmly. Haruka had only smiled at her then, her heart feeling as though it would swell and burst. She could not describe what the feeling was, but she thought it must have bordered on love- it was stronger than anything she had ever felt.

The ride was quiet, uneventful, and long. The moon and the planet Uranus were on opposite sides of the galaxy at that point during the year, making the trip agonizingly slow. Neither spoke, both lost in their own scenarios, their own versions of how things might or might not play out. Michiru had realized that, despite Uranus's close proximity to her own planet, she had never before visited the windy planet. She wondered what it would be like, if the gravity was much stronger, if her powers would flow as freely, and she was nervous about meeting Haruka's cabinet.

The transport landed roughly and the door opened.

Michiru swallowed. This was it.

"Ah, Princess Kaioh, I've heard so much about you," a brawny man even taller than Haruka had said to her in his thick Uranian-accented voice, before she had even stepped off the shuttle.

"Kayle, nice to see you, too," Haruka said dryly as her feet touched Uranian soil once more.

The brawny man known as Kayle laughed loudly and winked at Michiru, who had just now stepped off the transport ramp. "Ladies first," he said, grinning broadly.

Haruka approached Kayle and their arms met between them. Michiru observed the strange arm-grasping gesture in amusement, and smiled as Haruka finally hugged the older man. "I've missed you," she said hoarsely.

"You halfwit," Kayle chuckled, "You didn't do Princess Kaioh any justice in your descriptions." His brown eyes caught Michiru's and there was a mischievous twinkle in them as he added, "She's much more beautiful in person."

Michiru blushed like mad.

Later, after dinner and introductions and even more battle tactics had been discussed, Haruka was walking Michiru to her private quarters. "I hope you don't mind staying in my old bedroom," she said. "Kayle insists I take the master bedroom, even though it belonged to my parents. It still kind of creeps me out a little, I suppose…" she grinned wryly. "That leaves you with the bedroom that was mine. I would have had another room prepared, but with the reinforcements that've traveled from across the continent--"

"I'm sure it will suit me just fine," Michiru interrupted, flashing Haruka one of her award-winning smiles. Haruka felt her heart skip a beat.

They walked together in silence, with only Michiru commenting on how warm it was compared to the moon.

"It's summer time for us, since we're on a different rotation," Haruka had responded, and Michiru told her that it was always the same temperature on Neptune because of the humidity and the way the heat from the sun, although so distant, was retained in the haze.

As they walked, Michiru took note of her surroundings- the location of the nearest grand hall, how to return to the dining hall from where she was, and other things she might need to know during her stay. Once they arrived, Haruka lead Michiru into the bedroom, smiling almost sadly as she gazed around the room.

"It's been almost 2 years," she started, her back to the artist.

"Since they died?" Michiru questioned, and at a slight nod from Haruka, she added, "I'm sorry. It must be hard-- losing your parents."

"It gets easier with time," Haruka said softly. "But Kayle and Tachi are all I have left, and even then… Kayle's like a father to me. Tachi's just an annoying older brother," she joked.

Michiru felt the sudden impulse to touch the blonde, to slide her arms around her waist and lay her head against her back. She resisted, barely, and instead placed a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder. "You have me," she said in a low, quiet tone.

Haruka smiled slightly. "Thank you," she said. She straightened up, all trace of sadness wiped from her façade. "If you need anything, you know where to find me." Michiru nodded slowly, her eyes locking with Haruka's. "Good night, Michiru…"

"Good night…"

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"Kayle, how many are there?"

"No word as of yet, M'lord," Kayle responded, his dark eyebrows furrowing with worry. "Although my guess would be in the thousands."

Haruka reeled back as if she had been hit. "The thousands," she stated blankly. Her eyes narrowed. "No matter. We will defeat them."

Kayle smiled weakly, the smile never reaching his eyes. "I certainly hope so."

Michiru stood next to Kayle as Haruka unsheathed her sword and walked along the line-up of her top fighters, her Jou- each she offered encouraging words, and each brought their sword up in a sign of respect and honor.

"The inner senshi are on their way," Michiru informed him as they both stood watching Haruka make her rounds.

"Aye, but we can't wait for them to arrive," he stated matter-of-factly. "This battle counts on the element of surprise, and if we wait much longer, we may not have that. We have already come close to being discovered." He sighed deeply, placing his hand on the hilt of his broad sword. "I will lead our ground forces in the assault- hopefully it will be enough until they arrive to finish it."

Michiru swallowed. "Kayle…"

Kayle grinned bitterly. "Don't worry, princess. I know where my duty lies. It's just a shame that the Dark Kingdom scum made it this far… But I'm ready. It's time…"

Michiru could do nothing to stop him as he marched purposefully towards the door.

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"Destroy them!!" Kayle shouted, charging the large group of Dark Kingdom daimons that were gathered in the precise spot where Tachi, Haruka, and himself had predicted. He had seven hundred of his strongest men behind him, flanking him, ready to take on this horrific enemy, consisting of mutated bodies and dark intentions. The Jou made quick work of the first round of daimons- almost all of them were trained in the use of Uranus's natural planetary powers, Kayle himself having mastered proficiency in them along with Haruka, who was not by his side.

The memory came back to him as his sword tore through a daimon's throat. He could still hear her voice echoing in his mind.

"Kayle, I would rather be on the front lines with you," Haruka had said, her voice strong and determined like the leader she was.

"And you know exactly why you can't be," he said quietly, but just as firmly. "Haruka, let me lead this fight. You are needed for other things, your destiny is elsewhere… Mine is right here, where it's always been, and right now."

"Kayle--"

"Enough. Do this, Haruka. We've no time for arguing."

"I will bring the cavalry then…"

"Fair enough."

He gritted his teeth as he beheaded another daimon. "Tear them down!" he shouted, trying to rally his men. They were gaining ground, but he knew they were not even facing a fraction of the Dark Kingdom's forces. He prayed he would stall them long enough for the Senshi to arrive.

The Inners arrived soon after, transformed and ready to fight. Uranus had guided them to the battle which was already raging. They jumped right into the melee, the battle being the first real one the inners had experienced.

They seemed to be doing quite well. Jupiter took to fighting like the natural she was, her lightning raining down on daimons left and right. She had a grin on her face as she used her judo techniques to take out daimons without the use of her senshi powers. Mars wasn't about to be shown up, and her fires were raging, causing many daimons to burst in flames as the infernos consumed them.

Venus and Mercury had veered off and had teamed up to watch each other's back, and Usagi, now as Sailor Moon, was holding her own as well.

Uranus smiled at them, somewhat proud of the progress they'd made. She had some blood covering her in various places, and her and Neptune had been split apart as the battle raged on, though she could see the waves of crushing water engulfing daimons not far off.

She was encompassed in her fighting, taking on several at a time and not bothering to use her powers except when necessary. She found simple kicks and punches more effective and less time and energy-consuming than the use of her senshi powers. This was what she was good at- the fighting. This was what she could do, and do well. She, like Jupiter, grinned. It was a grin the daimons showed no fear of, though it proved to be a fatal mistake on their part.

Uranus's attention was caught, however, when she heard a familiar cry go up. She focused on the crowd of her men fighting in the distance. These were not her senshi partners, but her Uranian fighters who had responded to her call of defense. They were ordinary husbands, brothers, sons, fighting honorably for their planet, and, Uranus realized, they were losing!

In the thick of the mass of daimons surrounding her now devastatingly low-numbered group of soldiers, Kayle was refusing to give up. He was covered in blood, and hopelessly outnumbered, but still fighting with all his skill.

"No!" Uranus cried, as she witnessed a reinforcement of daimons moving forward to overrun Kayle and his small forces.

"KAAAYLE!" Uranus began to rush forward when a gloved hand caught her wrist, holding her back.

"Haruka!" It was Neptune.

Uranus whirled on her partner, glaring, her dark teal eyes flashing dangerously, her sword brandished threateningly. "Let me GO!"

"There are too many of them, you'll be destroyed!" Neptune argued, her eyes betraying her worry and concern.

"And what of Kayle?" Uranus demanded angrily. "Shall I stand by and watch HIM be destroyed?!"

"Haruka…"

"Out of my way!" Uranus pulled her hand free and took off, her legs moving faster than they ever had in her life.

She was so close, but at that moment, it was almost as if time stopped. She saw the daimon closing in, and Kayle, for all his efforts, was at a disadvantage. He finished off one foe, but as he turned to take on the other, it rushed him and its three long, spiked claws impaled his chest.

Uranus watched in horror as Kayle shuddered, and finally fell back, the claws of the daimon pulling out of him. He landed on his back, his last few breaths ragged and shaky.

The daimon moved forward to finish the job but Uranus was close enough to matter, now. Her sword caught the daimon's claws as they were descending and severed them in a neat line. With sudden rage, Uranus threw her hand up in the air.

"WORLD… SHAKING!!"

The daimons in close proximity were destroyed, but already she could see more advancing.

She turned to Kayle. He was lying in a pool of his own blood, and his chest neither rose nor fell. Uranus felt her heart being ripped apart all over again, memories flooding her mind. She remembered Kayle correcting her on how to hold a sword; Kayle, riding out with her on her first real terrain scout, Kayle comforting her after her parents' funeral, Kayle laughing with her after her first victory, and many more that nearly overloaded her shocked brain.

The pain of loss filled her in a huge, sudden flood- it was as if she was losing her parents again, and behind that feeling, another always followed. Revenge.

Anger, now, began to fill her in such intensity and degree that the aura surrounding her, once a faint gold color, was now brightening into a light shade of yellow, and finally, to pure white. Her teal eyes darkened impossibly further, and her hands clenched into fists.

The daimons did not seem to notice the obvious change, and continued to advance, and as Uranus stood up straight, an impossible amount of planetary energy was gathering at her core.

Neptune felt the sudden change in her partner, and a chill went up her spine. The intensity of the hatred flowing from the senshi of the wind was frightening. She had been trying unsuccessfully to reach Uranus, but the battle had shifted and daimons had closed in the gap between them. Her surging oceanic waves were proving effective, but there was no way she'd reach Uranus in time- the blonde was surrounded.

Uranus felt tears welling in her eyes as she continued to stare at Kayle's lifeless body. Her anger was starting to fade, and sadness was overtaking her. Her blonde hair was damp with sweat and tousled, her uniform spattered with blood, and somewhere on her leg she was bleeding, but these small details were of little concern to her.

The hiss of a daimon behind her reminded her that she was still in a battle. She turned almost indifferently to the sound, and the daimon swung its claw and cut her cheek.

The small pain of her cheek splitting open was enough to bring Uranus back, and her anger flared up again. With an enraged cry, she summoned all the energy she was able to muster to her, and with another ferocious scream, slammed her fist into the ground, unleashing an amount of power never before seen from her.

At once, all the senshi stopped what they were doing for a split second. The amount of power was incredible and unlimited.

Neptune shivered as she watched the blinding energy spread from Uranus in a circle, and hundreds of daimons surrounding her simply disintegrated, vaporized by the raw power.

After a few minutes, Uranus stood up, slightly shaky. She was somewhat exhausted, having never released that much energy before, and despite the fact that she had taken out an impressive amount of daimons, she was disconcerted to see that at least ten more were approaching her for what they thought was an easy kill.

She smiled slightly, her chest heaving, and spit some excess saliva from her mouth.

"So," she said quietly, "Let's begin, then…"

Neptune, the daimons that she had been fighting having been destroyed by Uranus's energy blast, began to make her way over to the blonde, who was now locked in hand-to-hand combat with two to three daimons at a time. Uranus was doing the best she could to keep up her stamina, and was barely winning, but the daimons had overwhelming numbers to their advantage; each one was fresh and energized, and without the use of her planetary powers, Neptune was afraid Uranus, by herself, could not keep up her defense for long.

Uranus slashed with her talisman, severing one daimon's arm, and as she pushed the daimon to the ground with a square kick to its chest, another daimon caught her in the stomach, taking her breath away. She doubled over slightly, wincing in pain, and the daimon cackled and quickly used its forearm to give Uranus a sharp blow to the side of her head.

Landing on her back, she managed to bring her sword up defensively to block one daimon's attempt to stab her in the head, but as she knocked its claws away, the other one seized the chance to strike- Uranus screamed in pain as the daimon's body-blade entered her shoulder. She had experienced physical pain before, but nothing as intense as this! The dark energy from the blade circulated in her wound, setting her severed nerves on fire and radiating pain throughout her entire body.

The daimon removed it's body-blade slowly, and withdrew to make the killing blow. Uranus could do nothing but lay there in agony, her shoulder muscles twitching from shock. The rest of her body felt numb, her limbs heavy. Her vision started to blur and her head was pounding.

Was this it?

"DEEP SUBMERGE!" Neptune shouted as she arrived on the scene, trying not to think of Uranus's wounded body lying before her. She made quick work of the nearby daimons, angrily blasting them with her surging waves of water, and was relieved when Mars and Jupiter arrived to finish off the others, flanked by Mercury, Venus, and Moon.

Neptune fell to her knees besides her fallen partner, examining her shoulder quickly and gazing into Uranus's eyes, which were slowly drifting closed. She was losing blood at a fatal rate, and finally her body was too weak to hold her transformation. Her uniform melted away and she was once again Haruka, though her life force was so weak, Neptune struggled to detect it.

"Haruka," Neptune said tearfully, placing her palm on the blonde's cheek. "Stay with me…"

The last thing Haruka saw was Neptune's worried face before she fell unconscious.

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DUN DUN DAAAAAAAA! Okay, okay, so it wasn't THAT dramatic. ;) Just so you know, I do randomly make up all the information about the planets and stuff. I did take Astronomy, but most of the info is totally convenient for my story. Is it believable? ;)

Thanks for the reviews! See ya next time. :D