(Read, review, enjoy)

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will own Sailor Moon. It is the blessed creation of Takeuchi-sama.

Ryuuji let out a grunt as his back met the wall, coughing a bit as a pair of furious emerald orbs burned into his. He hadn't expected for this to happen so soon, but he had known that this would've happened sooner or later.

"You're going to start talking. Now." Sailor Jupiter ordered, forcing him up against the wall with one arm.

"Let him go, Jupiter!" Sailor Mars demanded, storming over to her.

Jupiter's glare stopped her cold, "You knew it too, didn't you? Both of you!"

Ryuuji swallowed hard, trading stunned glances with Rei before letting out a sigh. "Yeah, we did."

Jupiter shoved him harder against the wall, looking like she wanted to just zap him into dust right then and there.

"I knew first!" Mars declared suddenly, earning herself a hard glare from Jupiter, sending one of her own right back. "He didn't know about everything until later and only after he was freed from Beryl's control. And even then, our accounts are split."

That didn't seem to matter to Jupiter though. "You still should've told me," she argued, returning her gaze to Ryuuji who seemed resigned at the situation. "How much do you know? Who else knows?"

"Besides us, there's Usagi-chan and Ami-"

"Even they know?!"

"We didn't!" Sailor Moon burst out, standing on the sidelines with a very worried expression on her face. "R-Rei-chan told us, after…after Ryuuji saved us, even though he didn't mean to back then. Please Mako-chan, don't be mad at Ryuu-chan. It's hard on all of us knowing what we know."

"And what exactly do you know?" Jupiter bit out, feeling a tinge of guilt watching Usagi flinch at her words.

"I'd tell you if you let me down," Ryuuji directed her attention back to him. Jupiter gave him a level stare for several moments before removing her arm from around his throat, backing up from him. Ryuuji coughed a bit, sucking much needed air as he felt Mars kneel at his side.

"Really," a voice drawled from the doorway, belonging to the newest member of their group, who was leaning up against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest, "you should've seen this coming, keeping secrets like this."

"Like you're any…better," Ryuuji shot back at the masked senshi. "Just how long are you planning on playing hero?"

Sailor V just gave him a stare, unamused.

Ryuuji brought himself up to his full height, his face adopting a serious expression, "Like Rei said, the account is split between the two of us, and you need to hear both. Please Makoto…trust us. We're not your enemies."

Jupiter gave them a level glare for several long tense moments, before she sighed and let her henshin go, putting her back into her school uniform. The rest of the senshi save for V also dropped their henshin, but Rei stayed resolutely close to Ryuuji in case Makoto went into another rage.

Ryuuji exchanged a look with Rei, who nodded and began addressing the taller girl.

"All that you know about the Silver Millennium, our past lives and our duties – that hasn't changed. Other than that, there is little else we know aside from what Ryuuji knows. And there's something else… Do you know how I saved Ryuuji?"

"Something about you purifying him or something," Makoto said curtly.

Rei nodded. "But there was something else too, something that helped me remember who he was and why I had to fight for him. When I first transformed, something happened between Jadeite and I."

Makoto's eyebrow lifted slowly, turning an expectant look over to the only male of the group.

"At the time, I was in possession of a crystal that burned my hands whenever I touched it. Despite that, I never got rid of it, holding onto it because I knew it was somehow important. I always kept it with me for that reason, for fear of Beryl discovering it and smashing it. When Rei became Sailor Mars for the first time, that crystal returned to her and when it did, well, let's just say I knew I was in real trouble."

"You still are," Rei reminded him crossly, but took hold of his hand and squeezed it. "The crystal he had gave me a portion of my memories back, things that even Luna didn't know. I recognized Jadeite instantly because of who he was to me."

"You mean you realized how much you loved him even when he was trying to kill you and everyone else?" Makoto shot back, watching as Ryuuji flinched and Rei's eyes flashed indignantly.

"It's more complicated than that, actually," V made her voice know, walking over to the group. "The crystal she's talking about, it's real, and it is more precious to us than you can even realize." She held out her hand, and within seconds a bright golden light began to fill the room, manifesting into a glittering, intricate looking piece of gold crystal. "This crystal is essentially a relic of who we once were, an artifact of our hopes and our fears."

Makoto stood in awe, just as the others were equally mesmerized by the crystal, having been the first time they had even seen one. "What does this have to do with anything, though?"

V met her eyes with an intensity that made even Ryuuji shudder, "In the past life, we, gave crystals like this to four men who we cherished more than anything, who made us feel as though we could be something more than what we had been destined for. Four men, who we fight even now."

There it was, the bomb had been dropped. And Makoto's reaction was nothing short of atomic, when the shock wore off anyways.

"What the HELL?! You mean to tell me that all this time, all we've been fighting were our…our…what?"

V calmly waited out the storm before speaking again, "Lovers, betrotheds, intendeds, whatever you want to call them. They were ours," V's expression darkened considerably towards the end, but it was only brief. "Each of us, the Inner senshi, paired off with a shittenou, who we eventually fell in love with."

"You can't expect me to believe-!"

"Mako-chan," Ami's soft voice carried across the room like a wave of rushing water, "it's the truth…no matter how much I wish it wasn't. Rei and Ryuuji-san, they are destined for each other. With me, Zoisite was…was mine, and you…"

Makoto shook her head slowly, clutching her head in a fit of panic, "No, nononono, this can't be happening. You mean all this time I've been fighting the one I…?"

Ryuuji gave a deep sigh, cursing himself for not telling her sooner but there was no point in wallowing in it. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Makoto. Believe me, I wish things were simpler and that it didn't have to be this way."

"But there is a way to save everyone, a way that we can save Nephrite and maybe even Zoisite," Rei stated quickly. "The crystal was something we each gave to the Shittenou, and if Jadeite had mine, then Nephrite certainly has yours somewhere."

"How…how do you expect me to face him after this?!" Makoto cried, tears leaking out of her eyes onto the floor. "Before I was ready to wipe the floor with him, to make him PAY for using me, but…how am I supposed to do this?"

Ryuuji wanted to do something, anything for the girl he had quickly learned to call a friend of his, but before he could do anything, V made up her mind first.

With a few long strides over to the distraught brunette, V slapped the girl across the face, shocking her out of her misery. "Is this how you're going to fall, just give up without even trying? This isn't the Sailor Jupiter I know. You're stronger than this, I know you are."

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME?!" Makoto screamed in her face, wiping furiously at her eyes. "You, all of you, have no idea what it's been like for me! To have to go home every single day and find that you're completely alone, to have to face your worst nightmares all on your own! I'm scared…I'm so…scared."

"Mako-chan!" Usagi sobbed, only held back by Ami who was struggling herself.

V suddenly pulled the sobbing girl into a hug, stopping the latter's sobbing for a moment. "You think I'm not scared? That I don't want to just run away from it all, to just forget it even exists? I do, more than anyone will ever know. But that's completely selfish, and it's not just me that suffers for it. This world, the people in it, our families, our friends…the ones we love, all suffer for our indecisiveness. We've been brought back for a purpose, Makoto-chan, something bigger and more important than anything we could've ever imagined. It's a scary thing to face, yes, but it's also a wonderful thing because we can do something instead of just wishing for it. That includes this," she pushed Makoto back and held her by shoulders, giving her a gentle smile through her own tear-laced eyes, "and I know you, I do. And despite what you may think, you're not alone in this."

"She's right!" Usagi shouted, rushing over to her friend with a tearful smile, "We're always with you, Mako-chan, now and forever!"

"We're a family," Ami said, forcing back her own tears.

"And we'll face all of this, together, as one," Rei said, her voice choked up a bit by the scene.

"You guys…" Makoto looked around in awe, almost in disbelief at the sight before her. She then looked at Ryuuji, and something in her eyes made even him want to join in on the sob fest.

But he couldn't, he had to be strong.

But damn if V's words didn't get to him.

"I'm me again because of you girls. You don't think I'm just going to abandon you now, do you? Besides, there's still my own prince I – we, the Shittenou – need to find

Makoto wiped at her eyes again, giving a tremulous smile to her friends, "I…thank you, everyone. For everything."

"We're always here for you," V said passionately, before giving an impish grin and pointing at her, "now then! Couple of things: you love Nephrite, right?"

Makoto and the others were taken aback by the sudden shift in gears, the former just giving a faint blush, "W-well, I don't-"

V tutted at her, wagging a gloved finger, "Yes or no, Mako-chan. And don't lie because this love goddess knows all."

Makoto blushed even deeper, remaining quiet for a few moments before she spoke quietly, "I…do."

"Hmm? What was that?"

Something in Makoto's eyes changed, something he'd only seen once before. But it wasn't in this life. "I do, damn it! Gods help me, I love that big jerk and when I get my hands on him, I'll make him regret ever trying to run away from me!"

Ryuuji blinked at the sudden declaration, stunned by her gumption. Even she seemed surprised at first, as did the others but then gave a wide grin. The blond man just glared at the back of the heroine's head with a narrowed gaze.

You're still as scary as ever, Venus, he remarked. Kunzite's in for it, for sure.

"That's my girl! I've missed you, you have no idea."

"Yeah, yeah group hug," Makoto brushed off the blonde's hands, giving a warm expression to each of her friends, "Seriously though, thank you. But we've got bigger fish to fry right now."

V's face sobered at that remark, "Right, and with Kunzite at the helm, you just know that they'll be pulling out all the stops. Luckily we got our own little Shittenou to help us out, ne Ryuu-chan?" V glanced back at him, batting her eyelashes.

Ryuuji made a face, "Don't get cocky. Even I'm not sure I can handle the rest of them the way I am."

"Good thing you're not going to be alone," Rei said determinedly. "If we're doing this, we're doing this together."

V shrugged, then smirked, "Fine, but leave Kunzite to me. He and I have a lot of catching up to do after all."

"Same goes for Nephrite," Makoto stated, narrowing her eyes. "I'm going to knock some sense into that big jerk even if it kills him!"

"I'll handle Zoisite," Ami said bravely.

Both Ryuuji and Rei turned a surprised look over to the bluenette, "Are you sure, Ami-chan?" Rei asked carefully.

Ami nodded, "I have to face him at some point, don't I?"

"What about me?" Usagi whined, feeling put out.

V just put a hand on her fellow blonde's shoulder and winked, "Just be yourself, and you'll be fine. Besides, I'm sure Tuxedo Kamen will be right there with you."

Usagi flared up and started spluttering denials, much to the other's amusement.

Ryuuji just watched the five girls as they prepared for what he knew would be one of the toughest fights of their lives. And he knew it wouldn't be the end of it either. Come hell or high water, this would be the beginning of the end.

Bring it on.

Nephrite ducked underneath a swing of Kunzite's sword, trying to put up a defense against his commander who seemed to be reminding him just why he was the one in charge. He hadn't trained much since Jadeite defected, and Zoisite didn't care much for swordsmanship despite the fact he had a natural talent for it. Kunzite and he seemed to be the only ones who cared enough to use a blade, even though Nephrite personally preferred to use his fists instead. And Kunzite was the master of perhaps every bladed weapon in existence, even some he'd never heard of.

Of course, that wasn't to say Kunzite needed a blade to be powerful. No, he was a force of nature all on his own. He could bring entire cities to their knees if he wished without breaking a sweat. He just found the use of a blade to be comforting as crazy as it sounded, but Nephrite could admit the same. The feel of a blade in his hand was strangely familiar even though he knew for sure that he had never held one before in his life before entering Beryl's service. Still…

Blocking Kunzite's next strike, he put his all into holding the older general at bay who didn't look the least bit fazed by the exercise. If anything he looked bored.

"You've been slacking off," Kunzite noted calmly.

"I've been busy," Nephrite replied back with strain in his tone.

Kunzite made a thoughtful grunt, before leaping back from Nephrite. "Filling in for Jadeite couldn't have been difficult for you given you ran North America by yourself for almost a year."

"Running America was simple because I didn't have to deal with upstart girls in short skirts," Nephrite fired back, grumpily. A certain girl in particular came unbidden to his thoughts, but he shoved it away harshly and clamped down on it with all the force he could muster. "And what about you? Didn't you have to go and hunt down one of them anyways? Why were you-?"

His instincts were the only thing that saved him from being beheaded by the man, throwing up his blade at the last second to block Kunzite's.

"Distraction is death," Kunzite intoned.

"With you it always is!" Nephrite growled, summoning his strength to throw the man back from him. He put up his guard this time, waiting for Kunzite to make a move against him. He didn't have to wait long.

Kunzite rushed in once more but he had a bit more difficulty with Nephrite this time. Nephrite matched him blow for blow, ferocity going against precision with some degree of success. He actually began to push him back, but the relief was only brief. After all, Kunzite was still the master.

After one particularly deadly stroke, Nephrite felt his blade ripped from his grasp, the sword hurtling through the air before being embedded in the ground nearby. Kunzite's blade was at his throat in seconds, just inches from his jugular. All it would've taken was one thrust and that would've been his end…

Kunzite drew the blade back, brandishing it with a flourish before sheathing it. "Your skills haven't diminished, but neither have they improved. I had expected some progress with my absence but it seems I expected too much out of you." Before Nephrite could argue that, Kunzite plowed on. "It matters little. Your current abilities are still more than enough for my plans."

Nephrite stared at him for a few seconds, then glared at him with clenched fists, "So…you drug me down here for some kind of test?"

Kunzite gave him a blank stare, "The queen has been questioning your ability recently to perform to her expectations, thus assigned me with measuring your skills to see if there was any decline. They have not, and I will report as such to her. Be grateful," the first signs of a smirk, however little, appeared on the man's face, "you're still worth some use."

Nephrite let out a growl but didn't do anything else. He knew how outmatched he was. "And this plan of yours? How exactly do you intend to trap the senshi? Zoisite tried that before and it didn't work."

Kunzite's eyes narrowed at him, "According to Zoisite, you went off to deal with the senshi on your own instead of guarding him like you were ordered to."

"So, what, I'm his babysitter now?"

"If you had stuck together, you might've been able to finally deal with those brats but you didn't, and here we are. Now I have to clean up your mess."

Nephrite scoffed, "And I can tell you're thrilled about it."

"And because of it, I was recalled just as I was about to prevent them gaining another troublesome ally."

Nephrite's eyes widened at that. Troublesome ally? He couldn't mean… "That showoff? She's here?"

Kunzite's eyes became dark with anger, "And I had her right where I wanted her until the queen called me back. Now we'll have to deal with both her and our treasonous brother on top of the senshi. All because you and Zoisite couldn't do your damned jobs."

Nephrite opened his mouth to say something, but Kunzite was already turning away. "I have to report to the queen. Make sure you and Zoisite are ready to move at a moment's notice. Do I make myself clear, Nephrite?"

"…yes sir."

The head of the Shittenou exited the chamber, leaving Nephrite to stew in his thoughts. Eventually he grew frustrated and stormed out, heading to his quarters. Once inside, he grabbed a chair and hurled it against the crystal walls, shattering it but leaving the wall undamaged.

"Cocky son of a bitch. Struts in here like he owns the damned place… If it weren't for him being so damned strong, I'd take my chances and wipe that damned smirk off his face sometime."

But they needed him, because he was Beryl's trump card. And if this plan of his failed, then…

Then what, he wondered.

Beryl would probably kill them all or worse, send them into eternal sleep. And he would prefer death over that living hell, trapped forever and never able to rest. But those were the stakes; either they would succeed, kill the senshi and hunt down the Imperium Silver Crystal, or they'd all be sentenced to a fate worse than hell.

All because they couldn't deal with four stupid teenagers!

Her face burst into his mind again, and this time he couldn't block her out. Her face, her smile, her voice…whispering his name in such a loving manner…

"GRAAAGH!" He started grabbing anything and everything he could get his hands on, hurling it against the wall. Chairs, desks, dressers, even the entire bed at one point all ended up smashed against the wall, littering the floor in broken chunks. Nephrite breathed heavily, his form slouched and his eyes wild as he glared murderously at the walls around him, for the first time realizing it at it was: a cage.

Before he could go into another rage filled rampage, something glittering out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was poking out of the debris of what had been his dresser, something green and sparkling. He walked over and kneeled down, sifting through the debris to get at the object, finally pulling it out to get a better look at it.

The moment he did, something inside him lurched.

A crystal of the richest emerald gleamed in his palm, glimmering innocently up at him like it had been freshly polished and shined. The emerald was so vibrant, its color so deep, and it felt as though it were drawing him in.

He shook off the trance before it sucked him in. "Damned thing, how'd I end up with this?" As he moved to toss it, a powerful shock ran through his hand, so strong it damn near caused him to black out. But that wasn't the worst of it.

The voices, were. And they were all hers.

"This planet is so full of life!"

"I'm the princess's guardian…"

"And who are you to try and tell me how to fight?"

"Don't underestimate me, general…"

"Nephrite…Nephrite…Nephrite…"

"SHUT UP!" he screamed, shutting his eyes tightly. "Shut up, shut up, shut up get out of my head!"

"I HATE YOU!"

Nephrite's eyes popped open, and he realized that he was no longer in his room anymore. Instead, he found himself on his knees in front of a massive palace, the Moon Kingdom, but that wasn't what got his attention. The familiar green fuku-clad figure standing in front of it, her uniform torn and burned in several places, her long brown hair without its usual ponytail and spilling down her shoulders in messy, scorched curls. She looked like she were about to collapse any second, her body definitely showed it. But her eyes…

Her eyes were as bright, and as powerful as ever. And they burned brightly, not with the love he'd seen like before. But hate, complete and spine-tingling hatred.

"YOU'RE A MONSTER!"

Nephrite for once found himself paralyzed with something he never thought he'd feel: fear. He couldn't force himself to speak.

Sailor Jupiter threw out her hands with a blood-curdling scream, and everything turned bright white.

Her scream however morphed into someone else's – his.

The feeling of being electrocuted was more intense than anything he'd felt before. But as quickly as it came on, it faded just as fast, leaving him huddled into a ball with sweat pouring down from every pore on his body. Forcing himself up, he looked around wildly before relaxing somewhat.

"What…the hell? A…dream? No…no that wasn't just a dream. A memory? But why, and why…why was she there?"

In the far corner of the room, forgotten, the emerald crystal glowed bright green for a moment before it faded away into thin air.

When night fell, everyone went home for the evening, and Luna and Artemis were pulling an all-nighter at the command center underneath the arcade, the two guardians cats quite happy to be reunited with one another. That left only Rei, Ryuuji and V at the temple, the latter sticking around for her own reasons.

Rei was sitting outside of the temple, staring up at the night sky as the stars twinkled above. She tried to see if she could spot her planet but no dice, though she could still feel its power. Filling her with warmth…with strength…with purpose.

A purpose that she would have to stand for before long, for the sake of everything.

"Shouldn't you be resting," she called out to the open air. Her ears picked up the noise of bushes rustling, followed by the tell-tale sound of heels click-clacking on stone.

"I could say the same to you. Isn't Ryuu-chan getting a little lonely in there?" V asked impishly.

Rei scoffed, "Do you ever think about anything but people's love lives?"

"Rarely," V replied sticking her tongue out a bit before her face sobered. "Still, you should spend as much time as you can with him. This is going to be a tough fight, and if-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Rei said calmly, but with intensity. "We have all the time in the world because we are going to face this, and we're going to win. Just like you said, right?"

"Right…"

The two sat in silence for a while after that, the crickets filling the air between them with the wind blowing softly through the area.

"…do you think she can save him?"

"I hope so. I saved Jadeite because he was possessed by a youma, but I don't think the same applies to Nephrite," Rei replied. "Those two were always so fierce, in everything that they did. Their relationship was no different. And if they are anything like they were in the Silver Millennium, then Nephrite is really in for it this time." V didn't laugh, which Rei caught onto. "…there's something you're not telling me, isn't there?"

V took a deep breath and looked her friend dead in the eyes. "Yeah…and even after all this time, it still makes me sick to think about. Beryl is a truly wicked bitch and the things she's made them do is nothing short of atrocious."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Rei…Nephrite killed Jupiter at the end of it all, like the rest of us."

Rei clenched his fists reflexively, "Why are you bringing this up now?"

"Because when she remembers what he did to her before they died…she might just kill him on the spot. And if he remembers it too, he wouldn't blame her."

"What could've been so bad that he'd let her just kill him?"

V's next words made her want to vomit, cry, and scream – in that order.

"That day, when he fought her, he killed their unborn child."

(I'm going to get this out before I get locked up and too exhausted to think about anything else for the next week. This is my last week of catering so after this, the updates will go back to normal. This chapter wasn't easy to write mostly because I wanted to make my redemption angle seem unique, and the crystal was my method. Granted Jadeite was a special case because he literally had a youma possess him to keep him in line, but Nephrite is considered more loyal so he's just denying his feelings instead. Everything will soon come to a head. The storm is about to arrive and believe me, things aren't done yet.)