The evening meal that night brought with it another surprise; Chibiusa and Seiya appeared to have settled some of their worst differences and were even getting along. Mamoru, with a father's desire for peace and quiet in the household, was nothing but pleased. Usagi, with a mother's suspicion, was too busy wondering why to even think that this might be a good thing. She only hoped that when everything else was revealed to them they wouldn't revert back to their old ways.
When the two teenagers stood up together and offered to do all of the clean-up her suspicions finally ran over. "All right, that's it," Usagi said, looking from her son to her daughter. "What is going on here?"
The pair of them tried to look innocent, but it was completely spoiled by Seiya's lips twitching and Chibiusa biting her lower lip in efforts not to laugh. Usagi felt a smile start to make it's way across her face, and she didn't even try to fight it.
"OK, fine. I should just be thankful that you're getting along, right?"
They both came forward and hugged their mother. When Chibiusa pulled away she met Usagi's eyes. "We just thought that with something potentially big in the works it'd be best to stop fighting," she said, looking to her brother for agreement.
Seiya nodded. "We don't want to make anything harder," he added. "Especially not by being selfish brats all the time."
Usagi blinked back tears as she saw the two of them smile at each other. She knew her son and daughter too well to think this new found maturity would last on either's part, but she'd enjoy it while she could. She covered up her emotions with a cough and resisted the urge to elbow Mamoru in the stomach when he chuckled.
"It's good that the two of you decided this on your own," Mamoru said with a touch of laughter still in his voice. "Because you're absolutely right that something big is in the works."
"The sort of big we haven't seen in nearly twenty years," Usagi added, slipping back into her chair at the kitchen table. The others followed suit, but no one said a word. Mamoru took his wife's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. A moment later Usagi took a deep breath and started to speak.
She told them everything, going back to the first battle with Dr. Tomoe and the Deathbusters, since the Chibiusa that now sat in front of her was not the same girl who had gone through all of that. She talked about Sailor Galaxia and the Light of Hope, and the world in which Chaos resided in everyone's mind. The only interruption to her story came when Mamoru took over to tell about the disappearance of Tomoe's research. The children were too engrossed, and surprised, to offer any comment.
"The other night, when we were out at the hospital, was because we feared that a heart snatching had happened," Usagi said when Mamoru finished his part of the tale. She was surprised at how hoarse her voice sounded and stood to get a glass of water. She drank it down, refilled the glass, and went back to the table. "Unfortunately what we feared turned out to be true. It took most of the night to find the man's heart crystal."
"That one heart snatching was probably just a test," Mamoru put in. "A test to see if Tomoe's research was valid. We haven't been able to think of any reason why they would want to keep the heart crystals."
There were a few moments of silence in which Chibiusa and Seiya exchanged a look. "What about last night?" Chibiusa finally asked. "I saw you when you got home, Mom. No offense, but you looked like death warmed up."
Usagi looked like she very much wanted to take offense, so Mamoru laid a hand on her arm, enjoining her to silence. "That was my fault," he said, and went on to tell them about his idea to use Tomoe's experiments to create a way to detect the Daimon pods. "Unfortunately your mother had to put her life at risk so we could make such an attempt, but it worked. We've got an early warning system in place now."
"But nothing's happened since that first heart snatching, right?" Seiya asked, looking worriedly from one parent to the other. "If all they wanted to do was test something they should be satisfied with the results."
"Whoever they are," Chibiusa added.
Usagi coughed; a small, embarrassed sound. "Well, we do have a bit of a clue about that as well." And she handed each of her children a copy of Aaron Henderson's Chaos In The Human Heart article. She and Mamoru both held their tongues while Seiya and Chibiusa read, but Usagi reached out and took her husband's hand, twining her fingers in his.
Seiya finished reading first, and when he looked up his face was pinched with disgust and anger. "This Henderson thinks he's the only person on the planet worth anything, doesn't he?" he asked, his voice husky. "He sure writes like he's the final arbiter of morality for the entire human race."
Chibiusa laid her copy of the article down and took a deep breath. "It's just like Sailor Galaxia, isn't it? He sees himself as person who can save everyone else, no matter the consequences." She clenched her hands together so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Is that Chaos?"
Usagi nodded. "I'm afraid it might be. Until two years ago Dr. Henderson was a world-renowned philanthropist who spent most of his time in charitable good works. That changed almost overnight."
"And that change coincided with his burgeoning interest in Tomoe's work," Mamoru added. "It's not proof of anything, but right now we have to focus on the most likely possibility, and that is Henderson."
Much later that night Seiya sat up, unable to sleep. His mind reeled from everything that their parents had told him and Chibiusa. It was, admittedly, a lot to take in, but what gripped him the most was a gnawing fear. He was the only powerless one in his family. What if this was so big that not even his mother could protect him as Sailor Moon? Was that the ultimate result of the altered destinies? That he would die in a fight that no one could keep him out of?
He slipped out of his room and into the oppressively quiet hallway. He took three steps and then froze in response to a sudden sound. He stayed perfectly still, his heart pounding, until he realized it was just his mother's snoring. He grinned and gave his head a shake, making his way to the staircase that led to his sister's bedroom.
"Usa?" he whispered when he was halfway up the stairs.
"I'm awake," she replied as a soft red glow lit the upper part of the stairs and her room beyond. Seiya finished the climb and sat on the end of her bed, hugging his knees close to his chest.
"You're as scared as I am," Chibiusa said. It wasn't a question.
Seiya half laughed. "Probably more scared," he admitted. "I don't have any powers to defend myself with," he continued. "At least if something happens to you you can go down fighting."
"That doesn't make me feel better."
The two of them sat in a companionable, if slightly uncomfortable, silence for a time. Neither seemed to want to talk about what was really going on in their heads. It was all just a little too huge to put into words just yet, but at least they could each have the other near.
Finally Seiya broke the silence. "Do you think that's what changed destiny?" he asked.
"What?"
"Chaos. Mom said that Chaos was released from the body of Sailor Galaxia and went back into the hearts and minds of everyone. So if it was sealed away originally, when a particular destiny unfolded, isn't it logical to think that releasing it is what changed everything?"
"I suppose it is," Chibiusa replied. "At least I don't think it's silly to think Chaos could be a factor. But we can't assume it's the only reason. As Luna reminded me the other day the full story of the change in destiny hasn't yet been told, so I think that means that we can't yet know the full story of why."
"What if this is the end of the story?" Seiya asked, his voice so quiet that Chibiusa had to strain to hear him. "What if this battle is the disaster that causes Mom to suspend life on Earth, freezing it until the thirtieth century?"
"Everything would still be different, silly, because you'd still be alive." She looked at her brother's profile in the glow of her nightlight; his face was pale and his jaw clenched. Her heart sounded loud in her chest when she realized why he was so scared. "You still will be, you know. I don't believe for even one millisecond that fate, or destiny, or whatever, thinks you should die in order to put things back the way they're supposedly meant to be."
Seiya smiled slightly then. "I'm the pebble in the pond," he said.
"You're what?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. Just something Dad said to me the other day about dropping a stone into water and waiting for the ripples to subside. I've been trying to decide ever since then if I'm the stone or one of the ripples. But now I definitely think I'm the pebble."
"And even taking the stone out of the water doesn't change the fact that the ripples happened." When Seiya looked at her in surprise Chibiusa laughed. "Luna said basically the same thing to me the other day, and I knew right away that you were that bloody pebble."
Another week passed by with nothing eventful happening. Usagi went back to work, unable to justify taking any more time away from the classroom. But she found herself almost constantly worrying that it was too quiet. She had even started to doubt that Mamoru's Daimon detection system was functional, and he didn't disagree with her. They both felt a little better when Ami reported that there had been no other unusual cases that looked like heart attacks at any hospital in the city, but Usagi couldn't let go of her concerns. What if there had been recent victims, but they had died before getting to a hospital? There was only one way she could think of to get that information, so on the Saturday after she had returned to work Usagi went to the local police headquarters and sought out her brother.
Shingo Tsukino had gone off to university with a passion for science and engineering, determined to pursue those fields. The course of his life changed abruptly when, midway through his second year, his best friend was brutally murdered. With a newly discovered desire to administer justice he had changed his studies to criminal and forensic science and never looked back. He was currently the head of the criminal investigation section of the local station. If anyone would be able to answer her questions it was him.
Shingo was surprised to see his sister, and even more surprised by her question. "Unexplained deaths that looked like heart attacks?" he repeated, incredulous. "Why in the world are you curious about that?"
Usagi fidgeted in her chair across the desk from her brother. She had kept her true self a secret from her parents, and from Shingo, for so many years that it was almost second nature, but occasionally she would be brought up hard against the fact that she consistently lied to them. Now was definitely one of those occasions.
"Would you accept it if I told you I can't really explain?" she asked, looking hopeful.
Shingo scowled. "Not really," he replied, but he turned to his computer and entered in the search parameters. After a moment he turned back to Usagi. "In the last week there was only one unattended death, and the autopsy confirmed that it was, in fact, a heart attack. That's all." He crossed his arms on the desk and regarded his sister seated across from him. "You can't explain, or you won't explain?"
Usagi blushed and dropped her eyes. "A bit of both, but mostly won't," she said. "I'm sorry, but -"
She got no further with her apology because an alarm on her watch started to sound, shrill and loud. Her heart skipped a beat and then started to pound, her blood roaring in her ears. Without another word she leapt from her chair and bolted from her brother's office and out of the station.
Not too far away Chibiusa and Mizuki were out, enjoying the beautiful weather in the outdoor shopping district. They had both come to a halt to admire a dress in a shop window when Chibiusa suddenly tensed and whipped her head around, glancing about. "What?" Mizuki asked. "What's the matter?"
Chibiusa shook her head. "Can you feel it? Something's wrong."
Just then screams started to sound from around the corner. The two girls stood for a moment, frozen, before they were galvanized into action. They ran off, dropping the bags that contained their recent purchases, and sped along the street until they found the source of the uproar. It was in an open, pedestrian only, area that was thronged with people. Everyone was pushing and shoving in an effort to get themselves clear and out of the danger.
Suddenly a clear line of sight opened and Chibiusa saw what had frightened everyone. A woman lay on the cobblestones, unconscious. About a foot above her body floated a brilliant, multi-faceted crystal, it's glow undimmed by the brilliant sunlight. And beside her was a park bench, writhing and moaning for all the world as if it had come to life.
Mizuki had stopped short. "What the -"
She got no further. Chibiusa grabbed her by the shoulders, spun her around and shoved her towards a shadowed alcove between two storefronts. "Hurry!" she whispered, her hand going to the front of her shirt and clasping her locket. "Transform, NOW!"
Once outside the police station Usagi called her husband.
"I know, my alarm went off as well," Mamoru said. "I'm trying to pinpoint the location now." The tap of computer keys could be heard in the background. "Got it! I'm sending the location to your phone right now; it should be easy to find since I linked the warning system to the phone's GPS."
Usagi hung up without even saying good-bye and pulled up the GPS function. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw she was less than five blocks away and broke into a run. She hadn't stayed on the phone long enough to know for sure, but she felt certain that Mamoru would make his way there as quickly as possible. She debated about calling Seiya but decided to save her breath for running.
She had gone just over one block when another body careened into hers from the pathway between two houses. She felt strong hands on her shoulders, preventing a fall, and recognized that grip. Her son grinned down at her. "No time to explain," he said, grabbing Usagi's hand and pulling her along behind him. "Usa's in danger; I can feel it."
Seiya set such a rapid pace that Usagi soon had no thought for anything but keeping up with him. She shoved her phone into her son's hand, trusting that he would quickly figure it out and get them to the location in time to stop whatever was happening. She'd think about how he could feel his sister's danger later.
In no time at all, it seemed, they turned a corner and were confronted with a chaotic, and frightening, scene. Chibiusa knelt beside the body of an unconscious woman, doing her best to protect the fragile heart crystal until it could be returned to its body. She was being jostled constantly as the terrified crowd continued its efforts to escape.
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM!" A blinding light streaked across their path, causing both Usagi and Seiya to shrink back as Mizuki's attack shattered against the park bench, doing no apparent damage.
Usagi ran to her daughter. "Help Venus!" she shouted to be heard over the panicked cries of the crowd. "I'll take care of this!" Chibiusa struggled to her feet, her hand already going to her tiara. Usagi didn't spare another thought for the fight, though. She gently cradled the heart crystal between her hands and brought it close to the woman's chest, releasing her held breath when it sank back into its owner.
"MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!"
That shout, and the accompanying sound of rushing water, brought Usagi to her feet. The strangely alive park bench appeared to stagger under the newest onslaught, giving everyone time to draw breath. Ami quickly rushed forward and dragged the heart snatching victim out of the way of further harm. That movement, unfortunately, drew the bench's attention and seemed to give it a new power; it reared back like a horse and then released a burst of energy.
Chibiusa was caught directly in this latest attack and collapsed, her transformation coming undone as the others watched. Usagi quickly grabbed her brooch to transform and fight in her daughter's place, but she never had the chance. So fast that he almost seemed inhuman Seiya rushed to his sister where she had fallen and pulled her locket from around her neck. Still on his knees beside Chibiusa he raised the hand that held the locket.
"SILVER CRYSTAL POWER!"
There was a moment pf paralyzed stillness, as if the entire universe held its breath, before the locket in Seiya's hand began to glow. The entire plaza exploded with a dazzling, silver light, so bright that it hurt the eyes. There was an unearthly scream as the bench writhed in its death throes, then it disintegrated into nothing.
Quiet descended on the plaza, and Usagi opened her eyes, blinking rapidly to try and dispel the orange spots that clouded her vision. Close by she saw Ami helping Mizuki to her feet; the young girl looking scared and shaken. And beyond them, beside his sister, Seiya lay unconscious, his hand still tightly clenched around the locket.
