Chapter 9

Usagi's P.O.V.

As soon as the words left my lips, I felt another wave of nausea. My clutched my stomach and groaned, leaning forward. Mamoru brought a warm hand to my forehead and I looked up at him as the nausea faded."Your skin is freezing Usagi," he said worriedly. I bit my lip, not knowing how to respond. I didn't feel cold...I just felt...well, I didn't feel anything.

"I don't feel anything Mamoru. What's happening to me?" I said, tears forming in my eyes. Darien placed both hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. His gaze made my heart flutter, but at the same time I just didn't want him touching me. I don't know why I felt this way, but I did. I took his hands off of my shoulders and he stared at me in shock.

"We...should probably get back. It's late," I said, turning away from him and grabbing the oars. I started to row us back to the docks, refusing to look at his face. I had to figure this out on my own. I didn't need him fussing over me. We got to the docks and parted, without even making eye contact. I could feel his eyes on my back as I retreated towards my home. I didn't bother to look back, or even say goodbye.

Mamoru's P.O.V.

I watched Usagi go and started to panic. Something was wrong. Normally she was so happy and clingy, but she didn't even say goodbye. My heart raced as I ran towards Rei's temple. Even though I'm technically not a Sailor Scout, I'm still a part of the team and I knew there had to be another meeting, immediately.

I knocked on Rei's bedroom door, having been able to slip inside rather easily. She opened the door with heavy eyelids and gasped when she saw me.

"Mamoru, what are you doing here so late?" she said with a yawn.

"Rei, it's about Usagi. Something's wrong," I said. Rei's nodded in understanding and opened the door wider for me. I leaned against the wall while she sat on her bed. Despite the uncomfortable circumstances, I had to tell her what was going on. She was closer to Usagi than anyone else, therefore, she was the one he trusted the most.

"What's up?" Rei said.

I sighed, trying to find out how to put what I wanted to say into words. "I took her out on the lake after the scout meeting, and she wasn't herself. She just seemed...out of it. I'm sure you noticed after the battle. She just wasn't acting the same. And then...I felt her heartbeat. It wasn't normal...I don't even know how she's still alive," I said, a lump forming in my throat.

"What was it like...?" Rei asked, sitting straighter.

"It was like it only beat once every five seconds. Blank. Not even before we kissed, it didn't change rate at all. I guess that explains why she hasn't been showing very many emotions, but then she pulled out the silver crystal. It wasn't bright anymore. As a matter of fact, it was pulsating at the exact same rate as her heartbeat. And then she told me...she told me..." I stopped, unable to finish my sentence.

"What? What did she say?" Rei asked, worry in her eyes. I took a deep breath.

"She told me the Silver Crystal is dying."

Rei gasped, placing a hand over her mouth. "H-how is that even possible?" she said. I looked down at the floor, and she knew that I didn't know either.

"Rei, if you know anything you have to tell me. Her life is at risk," I said, looking into her violet eyes that were filling with tears.

She gulped, and I knew almost instantly that she knew something I didn't.

"Mamoru, I'm sorry. I can't say anything yet. Please don't worry, the girls and I will find out what's wrong and let you know as soon as we do. But you need to go home and rest, it's been a long day," Rei said, pushing me towards the door. I tried protesting, but she slammed the door in my face. I wasn't giving up yet.

Rei's P.O.V.

After I practicially kicked Mamoru out, I immediately contacted the girls. Except Usagi of course.

"Girls, we need another emergency scout meeting tomorrow morning at nine. It's about Usagi," I said. All of the girls responded positively and agreed to meet the following morning. I buried myself beneath my bedsheets, desperately trying to close my eyes and fall asleep. I couldn't stop thinking about my friend and fellow scout. I sensed something dark within her earlier that day, right after the battle. After tossing and turning for two hours, I decided the best way to calm myself was to do a fire reading.

I quietly padded into the Fire Room where the fire crackled, low and silent. I got down on my knees and pressed my hands together, closing my eyes and focusing my energy. "O Great Fire, please show me what is the cause of the Silver Crystal's weakening," I chanted, almost robotically. I felt the fire grow stronger and I opened my eyes, only to find multiple images flashing through the fire. I scrambled to remember them all, but I could only catch a few before the fire died down. My face beading with sweat, I ran into my room and pulled out a pen and paper, beginning to write what I saw.

Silver Crystal

Usagi

Mamoru

Seiya

Kaliya

Monster from this afternoon

Hotaru

Heart Crystal

Cannon-Armed Monster

I leaned back and stared at the paper, thinking about how all of the images could fit. Well obviously Usagi had the Silver Crystal, and she was in love with Mamoru while Seiya was in love with her. Kaliya is Serena's daughter, but not Mamoru's. The monster from this afternoon went after Usagi, and ever since then she's been acting strange. Hotaru used to feed on Heart Crystals, back when she was possessed by Mistress 9. And as for the cannon-armed monster, the only thing I knew about it was that it wanted to kill Usagi.

Hotaru's P.O.V.

I woke up the next morning and quickly left my father's large mansion towards Rei's house. I was shocked to find the Three Lights walking along the sidewalk alone, the same direction as me. I clenched my fists. Pluto had told me everything, and right now I wanted to destroy them all.

But I didn't. I decided to lay back and follow him. I was only a child after all. An attempt to beat them up while not in my Scout form would be futile, and most likely end in me getting humiliated. I would get them one day. Just not today.

I was surprised to find out that they were heading towards Rei's temple as well. This only infuriated me further. They don't even have communicators; how could they know about the meeting?

They walked into Rei's temple and I followed, glaring at them. They didn't notice me until I shoved Seiya to the side in order to get through. I watched as the rest of the scouts stared at the Three Lights in shock. So they weren't invited. "I hope we aren't interrupting anything," Taiki said coldly, shooting a pointed glance my way. I stuck my tongue out at him, which aroused a giggle from Chibi-Usa. Haruka, Michiru, and Rei stood.

"You aren't welcome here. Leave now," Haruka said, glaring at Seiya. Seiya didn't back down. "We could use them..." I heard Ami murmur. Michiru turned and gave her a look that said, 'Shut up'. Ami clamped her mouth shut and turned back to Rei, who looked torn.

"Why are you here?" Rei said, rather took a step forward. "We've come to talk about the wishes we received from Princess Kakyu," he said boldly. Yaten and Taiki nodded, keeping their expressions blank.

"And what might that be?" Haruka spat, venom dripping from her words. I wanted desperately to cheer her on. None of us Outers liked the Starlights, and we never will.

Yaten started to lunge forward, which caused Seiya and Taiki to grab his arms and Haruka smirked. Yaten forced himself to stand straight, and I giggled when I noticed his clenched fists. "She sensed an evil from far beyond our solar system coming towards your planet. She sent us here to warn you, and to assist you. Where is Usagi? She is the one we should be speaking to," Seiya said, looking around the room.

Chibi-Usa jumped up and got in his face. "You have no right to speak to her! You big two-faced jerk! You need to go back to your home of ponytailed freaks," she yelled, blowing a raspberry at him. Seiya retaliated at the fierceness of the small child's words, and a smile tugged at the corners of my lips. That's my Chibi-Usa. Chibi-Usa had told me what went down when Usagi went to see Seiya, so I knew all about what she was yelling at him for. But the other girls had no idea, and they all stared at Chibi-Usa in shock. "What's going on Chibi-Usa?" Makoto said, putting a hand on the wired child's shoulder. Chibi-Usa looked up at her and shook her head, signaling that she wasn't speaking of it.

Makoto nodded and sat back down, leaving the others to decide what they were going to do with Seiya and the other two. "You guys...despite your hatred for them, they did save Usagi's life and they deserve to know what's going on with her," Ami spoke up once more. She received another glare from Michiru, but deep down Michiru knew Ami was right.

"Alright, I guess they can stay. But don't expect us to 'welcome' you into our group," Haruka said coldly, plopping down onto the floor.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Yaten grumbled, leaning against the wall.

"Alright, so what's going on Rei?" Minako said, leaning forward. Rei took a deep breath and pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket. "Mamoru came over last night..." she said quietly. We all heard her loud and clear, and everyone, even the Starlights, gasped in surprise.

"Rei, you aren't...?" Makoto asked, her eyes wide. Rei shook her head vigorously, causing everyone to heave sighs of relief.

"No! I would never do that to Usagi, and neither would Mamoru. In fact, he came here because he was worried."

I listened carefully as Rei told us of Mamoru's little date with Usagi . When I heard of the Silver Crystal's weakening, I felt my heart drop to my stomach and my mouth go dry.

"And that's why I called you here. There has to be some way we can piece this thing together," Rei said.

My eyesight zoned in on the piece of paper Rei held in her hand and I was able to make out my name written in loopy handwriting. "Why is my name written on your paper?" I asked, pointing.

Rei clenched it in her fists. "Last night, I did a fire reading. The fire showed me a million images, but I was only able to make out these," Rei said, passing the paper around. It finally came to me, and when my eyes scanned over the word Heart Crystal, a shiver ran down my spine. This cannot happen again.

"How is this possible? We destroyed the Heart Snatchers!" I said, starting to hyperventilate. Chibi-Usa placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and I smiled in return.

"We did," Chibi-Usa said, looking at Ami for help. Ami bit her lip, still trying to think of a logical explanation.

"Maybe...these are different enemies, but they're after the same thing," Ami said. Haruka and Michiru shook their heads.

"Impossible. There is nothing more to be gained from a pure heart, because it has already been retrieved. Unless..." Michiru said, realization striking her features. Haruka gasped.

"What is it? What's going on?" Seiya said, looking back and forth from Haruka to Michiru. Haruka ignored them and turned to the Inners.

"Do you remember on Usagi's birthday when Mamoru forgot, and you guys pretended to forget so she was devastated?" Haruka aid. The girls nodded slowly, recalling memories from that awful night that went terribly wrong. "Do you remember when the Heart Snatchers went after Usagi, and her heart crystal shone brighter than any other we had seen?" Haruka continued. I still didn't understand what she was getting at.

"That light shone far past the Earth's atmosphere, stretching God knows how far through space. It's the light of the Silver Crystal and the purity of Sailor Moon's heart. If an evil force were to discover it..." Michiru said, getting cut off by Makoto."Then they would want to go after that energy! Of course! That's what they're after; Usagi's heart crystal!" Makoto exclaimed, feeling proud of herself.

"But why?" Chibi-Usa asked, starting to feel scared for her mom.

I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. I sensed she was about to cry.

"Power? Control? Possessing the heart crystal of the Moon Princess would definitely give the enemy great power, which is why the went after you so long ago Chibi-Usa," Ami said, finally understanding the enemy's motives. Chibi-Usa nodded, even though she felt like bursting into tears. This wasn't supposed to happen.

Suddenly, Luna P started to float into the air and it projected a hologram of Sailor Pluto.

"Greeting fellow scouts. Starlights," Pluto said, seeming to give the Starlights the cold shoulder. "I see you've found the motives behind your new enemy. Now is not the time to discuss this, I'm afraid. I am growing weaker, and it won't be long before the darkness of the future comes back to the past. You must keep the bond between Usagi and Mamoru strong. She's slipping away as we speak," Pluto said, her voice cracking.

Minako leaned forward, a billion questions buzzing around in her mind. "Why is she slipping? What's wrong with her?" Minako asked eagerly. She was dying to know the answers.

"When the monster attacked her yesterday, it stole part of the Silver Crystal's essence. It basically sapped some of her life energy. The Silve Crystal grows weaker and weaker, and with it Usagi herself. Soon, she will be no more. Her very life essence will have been sapped from her body, and she will only live on as a spirit in this world. Only her true love can help her regain her strength again, that is, if she doesn't get attacked again. You cannot let an enemy touch her, understood?" Pluto said, her image starting to flicker. Everyone nodded, even the Starlights.

Pluto turned to Seiya and pointed her staff at him. "And you. You stay away from her, unless it is so imperative that it is a life or death matter. As for the rest of you, please stay strong and help Usagi. Go find her quickly, the dark forces-" Pluto was cut off as the connection was broken, leaving us all speechless.

The scouts all looked at each other, all thinking the same thing.

"We have to find her," Rei said, standing. We all followed, even the Starlights.

"Makoto, Haruka, Chibi-Usa, and Ami go after Usagi, the rest of us will go after Mamoru. Keep Usagi happy, remind her of old memories, do whatever it takes," Minako, stated boldly.

She didn't acknowledge the Starlights, but I knew that they were going to go after Usagi anyway. I shot a glare towards Seiya, warning him to stay away from her.

Everyone nodded and sprinted out of Rei's temple, anxious to find our beloved Prince and Princess.