Sorry about last week, everyone! It was my birthday and my best friend surprised me by flying out to visit me so I was pretty busy and didn't post. But I had a good time. :D

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, as always I can't thank you enough. This story has definitely not gone the way I thought it was going, but who's counting? I hope you still find it interesting.

A Little Late

Chapter 7/9

Endymion laid the stone that had once been Kunzite in front of Queen Beryl and backed away slowly, bowing as he did so. He had told his version of events, severely edited to not include Usagi in them at all, of course, and was awaiting his ruler's response. The dark energy swirled around them and the youma that made up her court were in a hushed reprieve as Queen Beryl pondered his version of events, the only version she had to go on, and they waited for her to give her ruling.

"Kunzite was weak, like the other Shittennou before him," Queen Beryl finally announced, much to Endymion's relief, but not shock. "He served me well, but it is no surprise that his jealousy eventually made him turn and try to take your life, Prince Endymion. You are for more powerful than he could ever hope to have been." She smirked and touched her fingers to her lips. "Tell me, did you make him suffer?"

Endymion knew that because Sailor Moon had been the one to actually kill Kunzite there had been no suffering, not even a scream to indicate that there was any pain. But he knew what the answer was that the queen was looking for. "I made sure he tasted what pain truly was before I killed him, my queen."

"It would seem that you're my last general, Endymion. I expect you to have a new plan for me by the end of the day on how to take care of those Sailor Senshi."

XxXxXxXx

The next day was a sunny day filled with deep regrets at the Hikawa Shrine. Usagi sat with her legs tucked under her chin, having just relayed the entirety of her tale from the night before regarding Endymion and Kunzite to the Senshi. They were enthralled, impressed even, with the story of how Usagi had managed to use Kunzite's own plan against him. Luna had scolded her for not taking the fight to a less populated area, but Usagi had felt bad enough about that, and had little options when it came to Kunzite. He set the rules for fights, or had. Now he was nothing more than a rock.

Now their only obstacle to Queen Beryl, and subsequently Queen Metalia, was Endymion himself.

Endymion – who seemed perfectly content to lead Usagi around by the nose and use her for some unknown purpose to fulfill some unknown need. Now made worse for Usagi by the fact that her family was no longer going to support her decision to attempt to free Mamoru's soul from the Dark Kingdom. Everything was falling down around Usagi, even with the defeat of Kunzite.

"What are you going to do, Usagi-chan?" Makoto asked while she helped herself to one of the cookies she had brought with her to the meeting.

Usagi relaxed her legs and stretched out a bit. She had been up all night thinking about what she was going to do, and come up with nothing so far. She didn't want to disobey her parents and Luna, but she didn't want to continue to leave Mamoru to the tender mercies of the Dark Kingdom. Not to mention she wasn't sure how Endymion was going to react when she told him she 'wasn't allowed' to see him anymore. She just had a feeling it wasn't going to go over very well.

"Usagi?" Rei asked when Usagi didn't answer Makoto's question.

Head down, Usagi shook her head and whimpered a little. "I don't know. Mamoru-sa-Endymion," she corrected herself, "isn't just going to give up if I tell him mama doesn't want me not to see him anymore. He might attack her! He said that as long as I went with him, he'd stay away from them, so I have to go. But I don't …I don't…" she trailed off.

"You don't want to go against your mother," Ami said compassionately, her face soft and understanding. "Usagi-chan, we understand. But it's dangerous, you have to understand that. He's dangerous."

"Ami-chan's right," Minako agreed, selecting another cookie and swallowing it down with a gulp of tea. "We know he's had it in for Kunzite for weeks, you were just a means to an end there. He's not going to be all that disappointed that he's gone, in fact I think we should be prepared for him to reward you for what you did."

"Reward her?" Rei said. "Reward her how?"

Minako closed her eyes and counted to three. She had been up most of the night thinking about what Usagi had told her, preparing for what they would likely encounter because of this. None of what she could figure was positive, and some of it made her feel more than a little uncomfortable. But the red cord of fate tightly bound Usagi with Mamoru, it had for at least one previous life time, if not many others, so expecting him to just back away at this point was a futile hope.

"I think he may become more aggressive," Minako explained. "From all that Usagi-chan has told us Endymion is basically enthralled with her. He's tried to kiss her, he's constantly holding her, he's making advances that are blatantly sexual in nature." Everyone was staring at her and she blew out her bangs. "He's got the hots for her, duh."

Usagi and Ami blushed while Makoto and Rei nodded sagely. Luna and Artemis just sighed.

"On that note," Luna said, "I understand how hard it will be for you to not see him, I know how much it means for you to try and get his memories back, Usagi-chan, but you must – "

"What about my family?" Usagi asked. "Why is no one concerned about my family?"

"We discussed this last night. Your family is willing to take the risk while you sort out the problems with the Dark Kingdom."

"Well I'm not willing to risk them!" Usagi argued, her cheeks now flushed with anger. "They don't get to make those decisions! What if they die? What if Endymion kills them, or sends a youma after them? Or captures them and holds them prisoner to make me do things against my will? Has anyone thought about that?"

Ami motioned for Usagi to lower her voice. "And what if something happens to you when he comes to collect you, Usagi-chan? Have you ever thought about that?"

"Of course! I always think about that," Usagi reassured her. "I don't just go with him and forget about you guys or the mission. It's always about the mission."

"It just so happens that the mission is about restoring your previous lovers memories, so it doesn't hurt," Makoto teased lightly. She then became serious and her voice was a little darker. "But even though you've made some headway you can't always trust him."

"I know, Mako-chan, I know," Usagi moaned. "But I have to keep trying."

Artemis furrowed his brow. "Has he asked about the ginzuishou lately?"

"No, not in the last two times I've seen him," Usagi said with a shake of her head. "I thought that was a good thing."

Luna and Artemis exchanged a look that plainly said that they were relieved about this, but that they also didn't know what to make of it. "If his goal is strictly to get the ginzuishou, it doesn't make sense for him to stop asking about it," Artemis conceded.

"No, I suppose not," Luna agreed.

"Well, we know that's not all he wants," Minako pointed out. "He's been asking questions about his past, but for him to drop the ginzuishou topic completely must mean that his past is more important than his present."

Rei shrugged her shoulders. "I haven't been able to get any insight to this from the fire, or any visions. All I can say is that there is a general state of unease anytime I ask for guidance. Nothing specific."

"That's worrying," Ami mumbled in a soft tone. "But not as worrying as our current conundrum. Does Usagi-chan keep going to see Endymion, or…"

"Or what?" Makoto asked.

"Or do we make a final stand against him next time he comes for Usagi-chan and defeat him, get his memories back and bring him back to our side."

"Ami-chan, we've been trying to do that for weeks now," Rei said, leaning her head down on the table. "It's not that we can't do it, it's just not that easy."

"Yeah," Minako agreed. "Usagi's already almost done it once and even that wasn't enough."

Usagi curled into herself a little and listened to them go back and forth on her life, wondering what conclusion would eventually be drawn. She had already come to it the night before, of course, and that was that nothing would change. She would keep risking herself, but she wouldn't risk her family like she had been before. Even if it meant going against her parents. She didn't want to, but what other choice did she really have?

Rei slammed her hand down on the table suddenly and leveled her gaze upwards. "You!" she hissed.

Usagi turned around to where Rei was looking and jumped a little. Standing right behind her, dressed in his typical black pants and black shirt, was Endymion. She leapt up with the others, all of whom reached for their transformation pens, and backed up, nearly falling backwards over the table in Rei's room.

"Endymion, what are you doing here?"

Endymion cocked his head to the side. "I'm here for you, of course," he said as though it were obvious. "After yesterday, I thought I would take you out to dinner, it seems only fitting we celebrate our victory. Oh, please pardon me if I don't invite the rest of you," he addressed the other Senshi. "I think you will be a bit crowding."

Makoto growled under her breath and cracked her knuckles. "I'll show you crowding, pretty boy."

"Now, now, Sailor Jupiter, we promised," he taunted back at her.

Usagi sent Endymion a pained look. "Endymion, please, don't."

"Well, why shouldn't I? You were, after all, talking about fighting me. You were seriously talking about attacking me and finishing the job you started last week, weren't you Usako?" He reached forward and grabbed her by the neck, shocking everyone in the room. "Weren't you?!" he demanded.

"Put her down now, Endymion!" Minako ordered.

"Venus Power! Make Up!"

"Mercury Power! Make up!"

"Mars Power! Make Up!"

"Jupiter Power! Make Up!"

Endymion dropped Usagi, who coughed and choked for air and vanished only to reappear right outside the door. "Come at me, if you dare, Sailor Senshi."

"Mercury, check on Usagi-chan!" Mars ordered before rushing out of the room with the others, following Endymion as he led them into the courtyard.

Mercury kneeled down next to Usagi, who was rubbing at her bruised throat. "Usagi-chan, are you alright?"

"Yeah," Usagi coughed. "Yeah, I just didn't see that coming."

They could hear the battle sounds from the courtyard and Mercury helped Usagi stand up. "Can you fight him again, Usagi-chan?"

Usagi put her hand over her locket and heard Mars call out her attack. Inside, she was a mess, tangled up and twisted as she thought about what was to come. This was going to have to be it. Just like last night had been her final battle with Kunzite, today she had to get Mamoru back. She didn't have a choice.

"I'll get him back," Usagi said with determination.

"Moon Prism Power! Make Up!"

XxXxXxXx

"Crescent Beam!"

Endymion blocked Venus' attack with his sword, and then slashed at Jupiter, who ducked and rolled out of the way, landing with cat like grace on her feet. He smirked and jumped at Mars, who was trying to prepare her talisman to use against him and stopped her before she could complete her chant. He was too fast, too bold, too good to be taken down by mere Senshi.

The three Senshi faced off against Endymion, wondering if they could combine their powers to subdue him, or destroy him if that was what was needed. They knew that would tear apart their princess, but right now keeping her, and the hope for the planet, alive was more important than Mamoru's life. They didn't want it to come down to this, but there was little choice in the matter.

"Are you afraid, Sailor Senshi?" he taunted them. "Afraid to fall on my sword?"

"You wish," Jupiter said between clenched teeth. "Now!"

"Hold it right there!" Sailor Moon cried out as she entered the battlefield, hair whipping in the wind and Sailor Mercury in pace right behind her. "I'll be your opponent."

Endymion cocked an eyebrow at Sailor Moon as she stepped in front of her Senshi and took a battle stance. "You sure you want to do this, Sailor Moon? What do I get if I win?"

"Me. And with me comes the ginzuishou." She gulped back the butterflies in her stomach. "You get exactly what you want."

"Sailor Moon!" the Senshi gasped together.

Venus ran forward and grabbed Sailor Moon by the arms and, with a look of absolute crushing despair on her face, exclaimed, "Sailor Moon, you can't!"

But Sailor Moon shrugged Venus off. "Yes, I can. And I will." She smiled at Venus and took her hands off of her very gently and with a sad smile. "Don't worry, we'll go home soon. I just have to finish this up really fast."

"Usagi-chan…"

Endymion stuck his sword into the ground, admittedly intrigued. "And what do you get?"

"If I defeat you I'll get everything I need," Sailor Moon told him, her Moon Stick at the ready.

Endymion pulled his sword out of the ground and mock-bowed at her, a smirk on his face. "Well then, shall we dance, Sailor Moon?"

From behind his back he pulled out a rose and threw it at her, but she ducked out of the way and came at him with a reverse side-kick, which he blocked easily with his left arm. From there she landed heavily and tried to land a punch on him but he phased out from in front of her and came up behind her, ready to slash with his sword. She turned and ducked out of the way just in time to come up behind him and knock his feet out from under him sending him to the ground with a grunt.

Sailor Moon stood back up and held her Moon Stick out in front of her and began to gather the energy.

"Moon Healing – "

A rose sailed her way and Endymion was up again, this time as Tuxedo Kamen, this cane ready like his sword. He met Sailor Moon's Stick with a resounding 'thwak' and the two held there, each pushing against the other, digging their heels in to try and force the other to fall backwards on their own power. Around them, the Sailor Senshi shouted encouragement to Sailor Moon and jeered Tuxedo Kamen, though they felt a little odd about doing so, because they knew this was not a fight they could interfere in.

Finally Tuxedo Kamen was able to get the upper hand and he pushed Sailor Moon away from him and then hit her in the side with his cane which caused her to wince at the pain. She ran forward though, recovering quickly, and elbowed him in the gut, which caused him to double over. She followed that with a swift punch in the face, but found that probably hurt her more than it hurt him, as it had the other day, and retreated back to the safe distance where she could try to power an attack up again.

"Moon Tiara Action!"

He easily batted the tiara out of the way and threw a barrage of roses at Sailor Moon in response. Sailor Moon directed her tiara in front of her to protect her, causing a small explosion of magical energy when the two met. Sailor Moon covered her eyes for a brief second, but then went back to the battle, only to find that Tuxedo Kamen was a step ahead of her and nearly on top of her. He went to hit her with his cane again but she leapt out of the way, just barely missing, and jumped over Tuxedo Kamen's head to land gracefully on the other side of him.

They turned simultaneously so they were facing each other and only inches apart, breathing heavily and shaking from the energy exhausted from the brief battle.

"Kiss me," Sailor Moon whispered against his lips, so close she could almost taste him already.

Tuxedo Kamen did as she ordered, not questioning her, or the need that surrounded him to follow this compulsion. He had been denying himself for two weeks and now as he kissed her he had to wonder why. Her lips were soft, sweet, and she was making little sounds of pleasure beneath him as he continued to kiss her. He let his lips devour hers and it wasn't until he became desperate for air that he broke the kiss.

They were both breathing heavily, now for a different reason, when Tuxedo Kamen snaked his arms around Sailor Moon's waist. "Now what was that – "

In the middle of his sentence he stopped, a sudden warmth flooding through him like nothing he had felt before. It started in his core and spread through his body like wildfire, consuming him. He pulled away from Sailor Moon and grabbed his head as images, long forgotten, began to explode in his mind and overwhelm him. He groaned and sank to his knees, excruciating pain all he was able to think about as his memories came back to him.

Sailor Moon and the Senshi watched in horror as Tuxedo Kamen screamed and crumbled to the ground. His transformation faded away and him and he was left in the simple black garments that they had come to see him in when he had appeared in 'civilian' clothes as Endymion. They approached him with caution, not knowing what, exactly, had happened.

"Why did you have him kiss you?" Mars asked.

"I don't know!" Sailor Moon said as she kneeled down and pulled Endymion's head into her lap. "It just felt…right. I was really, really…ugh. I can't explain this to you. You've never been in love."

Mars flushed and stamped her foot. "I have so been in love! What makes you think I've never been in love?"

Mercury pulled her computer and visor out and started doing scans of Endymion. She was staying out of this fight.

"I don't think she meant that, Mars," Jupiter tried to placate the fire Senshi. "I think she just meant that you're not in love now."

Venus jumped on the explanation bandwagon before a fight could break out, agreeing with Jupiter and covering Sailor Moon's mouth with her hand. "After all, are we all lovers of the past and present, are we not?"

Jupiter looked at her strangely and Mars just sighed, "Do you have any idea what you're talking about?"

Endymion groaned and everyone turned their attention from their would-be fight to him, and the possibility that they might still have to fight him.

"Endymion?" Sailor Moon asked tentatively.

"Mamoru," he replied back, his tongue thick.

Sailor Moon gasped, and grabbed onto his hand. "Mamoru-san? Mamoru-san is that you?"

Mamoru groaned and then looked up at Sailor Moon from his place in her lap. He smiled. A true smile, not a smirk, not a grin, but a smile that showed he was truly happy. He reached up and touched her face gently. "You found me, Usako."

"So I'm still 'Usako?'" Usagi asked him, a light blush on her cheeks, which faded in realization. "Wait, you remember all of that?"

Mamoru's eyes darkened and he pulled away from her suddenly, ashamed of what he had done. "Yes, I remember it. I remember everything." He sat up so he was facing her and snatched her hand. "Usako, can you forgive me?" he whispered. "I threatened your family, tried to kill you, your friends. I caused havoc in the world, I did terrible things that I have no excuse for – "

"Except for the fact that you were brainwashed," Sailor Moon said softly, kissing his palm. "Not forgiving you would be like not breathing. There's nothing to do, it's automatic."

Around them, all of the Senshi were in various states of fawning over the couple, except for Mercury who was making sure that no dark energy remained in Mamoru's body. After a few minutes she gave the all clear and Jupiter helped him stand.

"I guess the most obvious question you're going to ask is where are they, isn't it?" Mamoru finally said after they waited for several minutes in tense silence.

"That was going to be top of the list after are you going to kiss Usagi-chan again or not, yeah," Venus said. When everyone stared at her blankly she snapped at them, "I have my priorities!"

Mamoru chuckled, kissed Sailor Moon on the cheek and then turned back to the rest of the Senshi. "The North Pole. D Point."

Mercury was typing furiously into her computer and it beeped at her after a few seconds. "It's blank," she muttered. "The entire D Point is blank, almost as though it doesn't exist at all. How could I have missed this?"

"Metalia is going to be ready soon, so we'll need to make our move soon," Mamoru continued as his mind cleared up. "Especially since I won't be returning to Beryl, she'll become desperate."

Sailor Moon touched his arm, drawing his attention down to her. "You let us worry about Beryl. Right now, let's get you home so you can rest."

XxXxXxXx

"You didn't have to walk me home, Usako," Mamoru said as he fished his spare keys from his hiding place and entered his apartment. They had spent some time at the temple going over everything that Mamoru knew, every detail he could remember, and discussing their strategy for when they went after Beryl and Metalia sometime in the next couple of days. Time was short now

Usagi smiled softly and closed the door behind her. "How else was I going to get you to myself for a few minutes, Mamoru-san?"

Mamoru chuckled and set his keys down on a nearby table. There was a thin layer of dust gathering on his things, but he paid it no mind as he walked back towards where Usagi was standing at the door. "Cleanse me of evil, have me lean on you on the way home, not exactly a romantic night."

"More romantic than killing Kunzite in the middle of a theme park," Usagi pointed out dryly.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Mamoru murmured, still feeling more than a little malevolent towards the dead Shittennou.

Usagi laughed and sauntered up to Mamoru, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Mamoru-san, kiss me again."

"Wait a second," Mamoru said against her lips, pulling back. "How did you know the kiss was going to work? That you'd cleanse me of the dark energy by kissing me?"

Usagi looked down and then met his eyes and winked at him. "That's my little secret." Because she hadn't known, she had just felt, hoped, deep within her heart, that something would work, and at that moment when she had wanted him so badly that had been what she wanted to work more than anything. A kiss, like in the fairy tales. True love's kiss.

Mamoru leaned down and his lips met Usagi's in a passionate kiss, melding the two of them together, for nothing could tear them apart.

To be continued…

Okay, so that's corny as all hell. Even I think that. But I'm like that with romance, it's just…corny. I almost, ALMOST, ended it here. But where's the fun in that? We still have D Point. *grin*

Please review, or favorite, or what not, I'd appreciate it.

-Ginzuishou