Chapter 10

Unfortunately for Venus and Kunzite, this cardian was considerably more powerful than the ones that had been terrorising the city. Shaped like an oversized wolf, with fiercely glowing red eyes, it had the strength of at least two Senshi, and was made stronger by the countless people it had already drained. It was times like these that Venus hated how popular Juuban Park was, even at night. It only made it easier for the monsters, and so much harder for them.

Her love-me-chain was ineffective against such a strong creature, and Kunzite's sword was doing minimal damage, but at least the damnable thing was being distracted. Just a few more minutes, Venus told herself as she dodged yet another lunged attack, They'll be here soon.

It was a mantra repeated by Kunzite. They were strong enough to hold it off, the problem was making sure neither of them were injured in the process. The Shitennou was also fighting back an unwavering desire to protect Venus, one he knew was utterly and ridiculously irrational – after all, she was the leader of the Senshi, their strongest fighter, and had been fighting without him and without serious injury for months now! It would do neither of them any good if he attempted to deflect blows aimed at them both. But he wanted to. He really really wanted to.

The giant sinister cardian lunged again at them both, its teeth gouging holes into Kunzite's leg while its claws lashed out at Sailor Venus, half destroying her fuku and leaving painful gashes along her stomach. She doubled over in pain as he clutched his leg with one hand, the palm coming away bloody. They shared a look of distress and threw themselves back into the fight, preventing the cardian from attacking yet another innocent bystander who didn't have the good sense to run away, and therefore probably deserved to have his energy drained. Stupid bystanders.

Thankfully, it was at that moment, just as the cardian was poised to attack the first line of defence once again, that the back up arrived in the form of the Sailor Senshi (and Tuxedo Kamen), heralded by Sailor Moon's traditional war-speech.

The weary blonde warriors sighed in relief, and allowed the Senshi to take over, resting briefly while their wounds healed enough that they could throw themselves once more into battle. But somehow the tide of the battle was still in the favour of the cardian – it was impervious to both Mercury's and Mars's attacks, and barely damaged by Tuxedo Kamen's roses or Jupiter's lightning. Without the Senshi doing the initial damage, Moon could not use her Moon Wand, and was getting steadily more anxious.

Venus's Love-me-chain could do little more than hold the monster in place, while the other girls combined their attacks and struck, cheering as the energy bolt opened wounds on the wolf, and gasping as they healed without scars, not appearing to affect it at all. One cardian should not have so much power! It lashed out at Mercury, who fell to the ground and ceased moving, out cold…

… or worse.

There was a yell from the left of the battle, a man's voice, full of distress.

Kunzite had told them not to reveal themselves unless necessary, that they had made a promise to their Prince and Princess, and that only the direst circumstances could allow such an oath to be broken. He had, however, known that all of his men would do so in an instant if a significant enough threat was made to the life of their soulmate. Admittedly, Mercury was not moving, so understandably Zoisite was going to join the battle; and if one Shitennou joined a fight, they all did – it was part of the unspoken rules.

Thus, the blonde leader of the Shitennou was not surprised to see three of his men come charging into battle, positioning themselves either behind (Jadeite, out of fear Mars would blast him), in front (Zoisite, needing to protect the prone Mercury) or beside (Nephrite, as Jupiter was utterly spent but too stubborn to admit it) their counterparts. Kunzite mock glared at them all, which they all ignored, before running back into battle.

They scuffled with the monster for a few minutes, losing track of who landed what hit where, before a strategic lunge of Jadeites managed to pierce the creature's side. The Shittenou and Senshi fell back, and Moon pulled out her Moon Wand. She cried out the required phrase – Moon Healing Esclataion – only to watch in horror as the Ginzuishou flickered and its light died died. Her face grew stricken as she stared at the Wand – never had it failed her against an enemy, never.

The eyes of the conscious Senshi widened in shock. The Ginzuishou was the basis of the power of the Moon, and without it the only way to remove the threat of a monster was…

To blast it. They had to use all of their powers, combined as one, Senshi and Shitennou alike, and blast the crap out of the monster, all the while hoping it would be enough. Thankfully, Mercury had regained conciousness, and was supported by General Zoisite. Venus and Kunzite looked over their comrades and nodded, signalling with a curious hand gesture. They all knew what it meant.

Moon and Tuxedo Kamen watched on in horror, knowing there was nothing they could do but to allow their friends to do their jobs, and hating every single powerless moment. She didn't understand why the Ginzuishou had failed her, it was incomprehensible.

Each of the eight drew upon their powers, the Senshi linking hands with their Shitennou and channelling their strength through the swords. Once this was completed, all four Shitennou lunged at the creature at once, metal shining blue, green, orange and red, still clutching the hands of their soulmates. The blades pierced the monster simultaneously, and it let out a pitiful wail before shrivelling into a card which turned black and disappeared.

The eight Senshi and Shitennou shared a victorious grin of relief and exhaustion, they had done it, and without the help of the Ginzuishou. That had to count for something.

Then the eyes of Mars and Mercury widened.

Mercury's mouth opened slowly, as though she was waiting for her eyes to deceive her and take Zoisite away, whispering his name in disbelief as she stared down at their intertwined hands.

Finally realising he was actually, definitely, certainly there, Mercury let out a high-pitched squeal of delight (much more like Usagi than her usual composed self) and leapt up into his arms, pressing her lips desperately to his. She almost spontaneously combusted when he kissed her back. It was the most incredible thing she'd felt in a millennia.

Mars's reaction was strikingly different.

Always one prone to melodramatics (though they always appeared natural when performed by her, thank you very much), the redhaired Senshi deliberately looked slowly down with piercing crimson eyes at the hand holding hers, then back up to the face of their owner, and quickly used her free hand to slap him. His glorious face looked hurt, but in that sulky way that she was fond of, not in a serious way.

"Awwww, come on Mars, what was that for?" he whined, pressing a hand to stinging face.

"Think on it, I'm sure you can come up with something," she said coldly, turning her face away from his but never letting their touch falter.

Jadeite frowned before a smile lit up his face, "Because I forgot to do this?"

"What do you mean by -" Rei's haughty words were cut off as Jadeite bent her back into an enthusiastic and dramatic kiss that took her breath (and thought-processes) away. The boy really did know her too well.

After a significant amount of time had passed (more than one mind had begun to think that it must be their superhuman powers that gave them such abilities, and perhaps they ought to be trying them out themselves), Makoto began to cough in a not-so-subtle way to hide snarky comments designed to make the pair break apart. She achieved her goal, earning a glare from Jadeite and a…

A giggle from Rei?

Everyone stared at Rei in shock, blinking rapidly as though they couldn't believe such a sound could emanate from the girl before them. She frowned at them all, and they were glad to see their friend re-emerge.

"I swear Rei-chan, if I ever hear that sound come from you again, I might have to start looking for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, because the end of the world must be nigh," Venus said seriously, earning some stares of shock from the group as well. She shrugged, it was possible that she got things right every now and then.

There was a long, awkward silence, wherein everyone seemed to be staring at everyone else, not entirely sure what they should be saying to the people they hadn't seen in a millennia. It was only broken by the slightly panicked look on Moon's face, and her awkward giggle.

Mamoru wrapped one arm around her small waist and turned to face the group properly. "I think we need to discuss this, and properly. I'll meet you all at my apartment in fifteen minutes. Remember to go separate ways."

They all nodded, and some of the Shitennou (read: Jadeite) rolled their eyes at his reminder. They were professionals! Nevertheless, they all split off, with Moon and Tuxedo Kamen arriving at the apartment first, and gratefully detransforming. Usagi was, understandably, worrying. There was no explanation for why the Ginzuishou had ceased working, none at all. Sure, this whole situation had left her stressed, left her wishing like they could all just be normal teenagers, but that wouldn't explain her inability to help her friends!

Usagi shook her head, avoiding dangerous thoughts, as Mamoru pulled her into a tight comforting hug. Here, like this, it was easy to believe everything was okay. Even when they were facing a new enemy and her powers weren't working, and even when the Senshi were likely to be feeling something akin to anxiety over the return of the Shitennou. Mamoru's hugs were like that. All-encompassing, and great at making her forget anything but being in his wonderfully warm and strong arms.

Jadeite and Rei were the first to arrive, knocking on the door and continue to bicker playfully as Mamoru let them in. As the recently reunited pair settled on the couch, Usagi heard a rap on the glass sliding door that led to the balcony, and walked over to let Mercury and Zoisite in. A few minutes later, Kunzite, Nephrite, Makoto and Minako appeared at the front door, giggling and flirting as they attempted to pretend Mamoru was having a party, rather than a gathering of superheroes with secret identities to hide.

When they had all settled in the living room Usagi stood, drawing courage from Princess Serenity, since Serenity had been forced to address them many times as leader and future ruler, rather than as friend. Mamoru took a position behind her, watching cautiously. She waited for her girls and best friends to question her, blue eyes hard and posture stiff. As she had expected, Rei and Ami looked at her with faintly accusing eyes after having spoken with Jadeite and Zoisite on their way over. It appeared they had been told about the promise she had forced them to make.

"I-… I'm sorry. You… I suppose you all know what has happened," Usagi took a deep breath and let Serenity take over completely, knowing fully well that she could not talk them as though she were not at fault in this situation.

"I do not know much. From what I can hypothesise, the Shitennou have been returned to us for a two-fold reason. Firstly, I believe they are here as a reward to our Senshi for their dedication. Secondly, I suspect they are here to help us defeat our new enemy."

There was a pause, and Usagi realised she had to do the rest on her own.

"I-I… I'm not sure how to explain what happened next though. They arrived a little under a week ago…and I… I knew… I knew that all of you still hated them," her eyes appealed to her Senshi, and found every one of them staring back at her. "I would never have done it if I didn't think it was for the best, you have to believe me. I didn't do it to hurt you, I didn't… I wanted you to have what I have, and I knew that if I just told you straight away, that you would want to kill them. It was worse, when you started remembering your pasts together."

She took a moment to breathe, and found tears falling from her eyes. Usagi wiped one away carelessly, blue meeting blue and green and yellow and red. "You have to believe me. Because I don't think I could handle it if you hated me. But I'm sure you do. I kept you from each other, I lied to you, I didn't give you the answers you needed. I'm so sorry. So sorry. You must hate me."

Mamoru, sensing she was finished, moved to wrap his arm around her waist, comforting her as no one spoke. Usagi grew more and more panicked. What if they did hate her for making them wait? What if she had made a mistake? She couldn't lose them. They were her sisters. They meant everything to her. Surely they couldn't hate her, wouldn't hate her. Right?

"Usagi-sama."

Ami-chan.

Usagi stared at her oldest friend of all the girls.

"We don't hate you."

Usagi's eyes widened. She couldn't speak.

"Nope," Minako piped up, "We don't. We couldn't! Seriously girl, a week ago we hated them with the burning passion of all the fires of Mars. There was nothing you could have done until we started remembering more!"

Rei nodded, "Don't be ridiculous, Odango! Honestly, that's just like you, trying to take all the blame. I probably would have killed Jadeite if I'd seen him any sooner!"

The blonde Shitennou's eyes widened and he nodded eagerly, "She would have! She's tried it before! Please milady, you must save me if she ever tries again!"

Rei glared, and hit him.

"Anyway, now that Jadeite is done trying to be funny… Of course we don't hate you Usa-chan. We love you! Sure, we wish you'd let us know a little sooner that the boys were back, but you did what you thought was best. And it wasn't a bad decision. It really wasn't. You did good, girl!" Makoto laughed and snuggled into Nephrites side, "After all, any situation where I get Nephrite is a good one."

Usagi's audience all nodded.

Minako piqued up, "Yeah! So stop being silly and plant your cute little patootie on a seat! Kunzy promised me he'd tell me a story!"

Everyone laughed at Minako's use of the old pet name as Kunzite cringed. Some things never changed.

-- End Chapter 10 --

So. Apparently I suck. In a really bad, this-chapter-has-been-sitting-on-my-harddrive-for-10-months kind of way. What can I say except I'm sorry? I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!!!

The plan is, I'll post this, and then I'm going to go back and rewrite it a little, because I can't think of another way to get my inspiration back. I'm only 3-4 chapters from the end. So hopefully one or two chapters of that will solve my problem, and you guys will finally get your ending.

Once again, I'm sorry!

xx Usa