Hello all!

By now you know what goes here almost better than I do, so pretend it's here, okay?

Sailor Moon Universal

Chapter 11:

"YYYEEEAAAHHH!" Sailor Moon yelled as the four stepped through the teleportation pod and ended up back on Earth. "We did it!" she yelled, holding up the four transformation pens. She quickly detransformed and swept a cheering Reenie around into a hug. Serena ran over to a still sober Tuxedo Mask and Sailor New Earth and kissed them on their cheeks. "What's the matter?" she asked, grinning. "We did it, we got them back, why aren't you happy?"

"We might have gotten the transformation pens back," New Earth said before detransforming, "But I think the price was too high."

"What do you mean?" Reenie asked in confusion.

Tuxedo Mask detransformed as well and Darien looked soberly at his daughter. "We lost the Sun Stone and the Earth Gem, Reenie," he reminded her, "and without them we can't even go back into the Negaverse to get them."

"Can't we..." Serena started a little more solemnly, motioning to where they had stepped through. "Oh, yeah, I forgot it couldn't be used both ways." Her expression became dejected, but then lightened again as her gaze fell on the pens in her hand. "But now that we've gotten these back, Mercury will be able to figure out a way."

"Serena," Darien sighed.

Serena looked up at him. "She will," she said seriously.

"Maybe she will," Travis said. The others looked at him. "Until it's proved otherwise, I'll believe that she can. It's better than the alternative."

"It'll be alright, Uncle Travis," Reenie piped up. "If this is why nobody fought, then we've already changed the future back to the way it should be and you'll have the Sun Stone and Earth Gem back in the future."

"So," Serena spoke up. "Let's call and ask her, okay? We should tell everyone we're back, and then they can use their pens, and they'll all feel a lot better."

Without giving time for anyone to answer, Serena raised her communicator and hit the all call button.

Several blocks away, Jake stood there, still lecturing the girls on what a stupid thing they had done, when he was stopped by all of their watches going off at once. Artemis' and Luna's collars beeped quietly, as did Apollo's. Diana's bell rang softly.

Mina barely kept herself from yelling in delight. Looking around, she could see the same response on every face. The only people that had communicators and weren't already here were Serena, Travis, and Darien. For the communicators to be ringing, they had to be back, hopefully safely, and with the pens and Sailor Moon.

"Was there somewhere you were supposed to be?" Jake asked critically as he heard the watches go off.

Luna snuck away and answered. "Serena?" she asked hopefully.

"Hi Luna!" Serena's voice came through clearly. "We're back, `and' we've got the pens!"

"All of you?" Luna asked anxiously, "And no one hurt?"

"All of us," Serena agreed, "and we're all fine... Well, except for... I'll explain when we meet," she said, worrying Luna. "Do you know where the others are? I was expecting more than just you to answer. Has... has something happened?"

Luna quickly explained everything that had happened, from the youma showing up, to Jake's continuing lecture on the danger of fighting youmas. "He's been asking where you are," Luna finished.

"I have an idea," Darien's voice came through. "We'll be there soon, with a reason for not being around."

Darien put down his communicator and looked at the clock in the middle of the park. "Almost ten, we're going to have to hurry," he said, heading quickly out of the park.

"Almost ten?" Reenie asked in surprise, "No wonder I'm so tired," she yawned, proving her statement. The yawning proved contagious, and Serena and Travis found themselves covering yawns of their own as the three moved after Darien.

"An ice cream parlor?" Serena said in a surprised tone, looking at the building Darien was heading for. Then a smile grew on her face. "How did you know I'd like some ice cream, muffin?" she said, running up and attaching herself to Darien's arm.

"This isn't for you, Meatball Head," he grinned. "It's to explain where we've been." The ice cream parlor was about to close when the four stepped in, and the manager didn't seem too happy at the thought of customers. Darien gave him his best smile. "We just decided to have a kind of moonlight party down by the lake, is there any way we can just buy some of the unfinished containers of ice cream to take with us?"

The manager's face lost its cross expression. These people not only weren't going to stay, but he wouldn't even have to scoop out ice cream for them. "Certainly," he said immediately. "However, the price can only be estimated without weighing the containers or scooping out the ice cream."

"That's fine," Darien told him. "I'd like that half empty container of Neapolitan please."

Serena was tugging at his arm and looking longingly at one particular container. Reenie wasn't saying a word, but her eyes were staring at another. Darien blanched slightly when he saw which one. "How can you eat that, Reenie?" he asked. He turned back to the manager. "Let me have the triple chocolate and the bubblegum as well. Bubblegum," he muttered. "Why anyone would like bubblegum ice cream, I just don't know."

"Because it's good," Reenie beamed as the manager handed her the mostly empty container to carry. "And it's fun to chew the bubblegum afterward."

"Um... guys? We're going to be late if we don't get the ice cream and go," Travis reminded them.

"Right," Darien replied. "How much is it going to be?" he asked the manager, reaching for his wallet. He opened it to pay to find only three dollars left in it. His mind went back to buying Serena lunch, and his face started to get red as he realized he already spent his money.

Travis wanted to enjoy his blood brother's discomfiture for a while longer, but he also wanted to reassure his guardian that he was alright. As Darien started to explain that he didn't have the money, Travis reached around him and paid the bill.

Serena picked up the tub containing the triple chocolate as Travis grabbed the bag of cones and scoop that they had also ordered. "Cold!" she exclaimed, handling the container carefully.

"What did you expect?" Travis asked her laughingly, leading them out of the store. "It's ice cream. Did you think it would be hot?"

The four cheerfully argued as they headed towards the others. The loss of the Sun Stone and Earth Gem were weighing heavily on the two boys, but they let themselves be lulled into the girls' optimism for a while.

As they reached the almost destroyed section of shops, they saw the others already there. "Uncle Jake!" Travis called out. "What are you doing here? And what happened?"

"Travis!" Jake called back in relief. "Where have you been?"

"We went to get the ice cream," Serena told him, holding up her container.

"I thought we were supposed to meet at the lake," Darien said to the other girls. "Did something happen here?"

"Yes something happened," Jake said immediately. "There was a youma attacking and these girls decided to fight it."

"You fought a youma?" Serena asked with wide eyes. "By yourself? I mean, without even a Sailor Scout to help? That's so cool!"

"Yep," Lita exclaimed. "Seems the thing didn't like electricity, and we shocked it until it disintegrated."

"Don't say it like it was a good thing!" Jake turned toward her. "You could have gotten hurt! Because the Scouts didn't show up, you could have been hurt."

"Because the..." Travis started in surprise. "Uncle Jake, you can't blame them for not showing up, they can't be everywhere."

"If they had been here, these girls wouldn't have had to take the chances they did. They should have been here."

"Why?" Travis asked him. "You've been trying to figure that out for months. There's nothing that says they have to be here when there's a youma. And if they aren't, if there is some reason they can't be, then whoever's around that thinks they can fight, should."

"Are you saying that you would fight if you saw a youma?" Jake asked.

"Of course we would Uncle Jake," Serena put in. "We're taking martial arts classes, we can help."

"It's not your job to fight! The Scouts should have been here."

"Why? So you could get pictures of them?" Travis asked bitingly.

"Travis!" Serena said in shock.

Jake looked in much the same condition. "Is that what you think?" he asked quietly once he could think again.

Travis sighed and shook his head. "No, I don't. I'm sorry. It's just... forget it."

"Travis," Jake said intently, "have I been ignoring you again? I have, haven't I? I stay here so I can spend more time with you and instead get so caught up in the story..."

"No!" Travis interrupted. "Of course you haven't been ignoring me! I just... I don't know how to explain it. It's like you're becoming obsessive about finding out anything you can about the Sailor Scouts."

"Does it seem that way to you?" Jake asked softly. "I'm a reporter, I don't like secrets, and the Sailor Scouts are the biggest secret in Tokyo right now."

"People usually have secrets for good reason, Uncle Jake," Travis drew himself up. Several feet away, Serena drew in her breath sharply as she realized what he was going to do. She searched her mind frantically for some way to stop him.

"You want to know a secret, Uncle Jake?" Travis asked. As Jake looked at him, Travis continued, "I have a secret, do you want to hear it?"

Not too far away, Crystal held her breath and leaned forward. *He's going to say he likes me!* she thought gleefully. *Of course, he should be telling me, not them, but that's alright.*

Crystal had recovered from the draining in time to watch the destruction of the youma, and stayed in her out of the way spot as Darien Jacobson lectured the four girls. Not that she quite understood why he was lecturing them, after all, they `had' won.

"The ice cream's melting," Serena spoke up, almost frantically. "Why don't we continue this over ice cream down by the lake?"

"Go on without me," Travis said, not taking his eyes from his uncle's.

"You've got the cones," Serena reminded him, coming up next to him. "What do you think you're doing?" she hissed.

Travis handed her the bag containing the cones and scoop. "I think you know," he murmured.

"Yes, I know, but why? You're the one who said not to tell him because you thought he'd print it! Why are you going to take the chance now?"

Crystal leaned forward to try to better hear what was going on. Travis had been about to speak when Serena stopped him. *Oh, come on! Why don't you want him to say it?* Crystal thought. Inadvertently, she leaned against a nearby trash can and it tipped over, falling with a resounding crash.

Travis closed his mouth and turned around when he heard the clatter. "Crystal!" he said in disbelief, hurrying towards her.

Raye sidled up next to Serena. "He wasn't really going to tell, was he?" she asked softly.

"He said he was," Serena told her, looking worriedly after her brother. "But I didn't have time to find out why."

"Crystal," Travis said, helping her up. "What are you doing here?"

"That awful youma took my energy," Crystal told him, pretending to still be weak. Travis automatically put his arms around her to steady her.

"Maybe I should try that some time," Lita remarked in a stage whisper. "I didn't know acting weak and wobbly worked so well."

"It depends on the boy," Mina replied with a grin. "Most boys aren't as gallant as Travis."

"Oh, Darien's pretty good at it," Raye and Serena said together. Serena stuck her tongue out at Raye.

"At least with her around, he's not going to blurt out anything," Serena continued in a more serious tone.

"The ice cream's melting," Reenie said sadly.

Jake had followed Travis over to Crystal so Serena suggested, "Let's go ahead and go to the lake so you can get your pens back."

"You got them?" Amy asked as they started to move.

"Yep, I sure did," Serena answered proudly. Reenie turned to glare at her. "I mean," she corrected herself, "`we' got the pens back." She looked around, "I expected you guys to ask about that first."

"Well," Mina smiled slightly, "we now know that we can fight a youma without our powers if we have to."

"Besides, if we had asked, we probably would have started arguing about how stupid you were to go into the Negaverse alone and Mr. Jacobson would have heard us," Amy's voice was as calm as ever, but something in it told Serena she was angry.

"I agree," Lita added. "We would probably have started to talk about how worried we were to think of you there alone. We might even have started to talk about all the things we imagined happening to you."

Serena's expression was dejected. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, a tear seeping down her cheek. "I didn't mean to worry everyone."

"We're not the only ones you should be apologizing to," Raye reminded her.

Serena stopped, bent over, and picked up Luna. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry for being so foolish. Will you forgive me? Please? Pretty please with sugar on top?"

"I don't think I'm the one you need to apologize to," Luna told her severely. "Although, I do want to know `everything' that happened, including exactly why you felt the need to go in there alone in the first place!" Luna was almost shouting, and took a deep breath to try to calm down. "Your mother is practically worried sick. She also said that she wouldn't cover up like that for you again."

Serena looked as if she was on the verge of tears. She looked at Darien for help, but his face was expressionless, remembering vividly his own worries about her. "I didn't mean to worry her; I just didn't think," she said in a small voice.

"Is that a surprise?" Raye asked. "You don't ever seem to think."

"I know you gave Reenie a long lecture on responsibility and not jumping into dangerous situations, but you seem unable to follow your own advice," Amy remarked.

"Yeah," Lita agreed. "Even I know there are some things you can't tackle by yourself. The Negaverse is definitely one of them."

"I was really worried too," Diana said in a soft voice from her perch on top of Reenie's head. "And Mama almost cried."

Luna looked uncomfortable as Artemis and the others turned to stare at her.

"Luna?" Serena asked contritely. "I didn't mean to worry you."

"I know you didn't mean to," Luna snapped, not liking having her private thoughts out in the open. "But the fact remains that because you, as you put it, didn't think, you did something stupid and extremely irresponsible and dangerous!"

"Why are you all being so mean?" Serena asked in a small voice.

"Because you scared us to death!" everyone else shouted. Serena shrunk back.

"In fact," Raye said, reaching over and taking the container of ice cream from her. "I don't think you should get any ice cream after the stunt you pulled."

"But... but..." Serena said, "But we got the pens!" She pulled them out. "Doesn't that count for anything?"

Mina grabbed the orange one, barely beating out hands reaching for their own transformation wands. "VENUS STAR POWER!"

"MARS STAR POWER!" and "JUPITER STAR POWER!" echoed the others. Amy had her mouth open to speak, but was instead staring at Mina.

Mina was staring at the inactive transformation stick. She looked around to find Raye and Lita detransformed as well.

"What happened?" Darien asked after a moment.

"Nothing," Lita answered. "I didn't feel anything."

Mina suddenly gave a low cry as her pen seemed to implode. She opened her hand, and they watched in silence as a stream of dust fell to the ground. Raye and Lita's followed.

Amy quickly pulled out her computer and did a scan of the last remaining pen. "It's a counterfeited one, a fake," she said quietly.

Serena burst into tears. "It's not fair!" she wailed. "We fought so hard! We lost the Sun Stone and the Earth Gem, but I thought at least we had the pens. At least we had the pens!" Serena's tears turned into wracking sobs.

Darien and Reenie hurried over to her as the others hovered around worriedly.

Serena threw herself into Darien's arms. "I was so scared! And hungry, and tired! But I thought if we found the pens, everything would be okay again! But we didn't, and it's not, and it's just not fair!"

"Shh," Darien murmured. "It's alright. We'll get everything back, and we haven't lost any of the important things."

"How can you say that when we lost the Earth Gem?" Serena hiccuped.

"Look around," Darien ordered gently.

Serena looked up into the worried faces of her friends.

"We haven't lost anything important," Darien said again. "Everyone is safe and well, and that's the most important thing."

"I guess you're right," Serena sighed, although she didn't sound totally convinced.

Reenie suddenly left the circle that had gathered around Serena and then burrowed her way back through. "Here," she said. "Your ice cream spilled, so you can have some of mine." She handed Serena and ice cream cone of bubblegum ice cream.

"Thank you Reenie," Serena said softly.

Meanwhile...

"Come on, Crystal, I'll walk you home," Travis said gently. He was aware of the others leaving, and Uncle Jake still watching him carefully. For a moment, Travis wanted to follow the others, and see them take back the transformation pens, but Crystal still looked weak.

The walk to Crystal's apartment was mostly silent. Several times she tried to start a conversation, only to find neither Travis nor Jake seemed to be listening to anything besides the voices in their own heads. Both seemed deep in their thoughts, and almost walked right by her apartment.

"We're here," she said. "Thanks for walking me back, Travis, I really appreciate it."

"Huh? Oh, you're welcome, Crystal, I hope you feel better tomorrow," Travis said absently, before turning and walking away.

Crystal sighed. *Maybe if his uncle hadn't been here, he would have said something. He will eventually, I hope.* She turned to go inside.

Travis turned around and started walking away. As soon as he was sure they were alone, he turned to his uncle. "Do you want to know my secret? It's simple, I'm..."

"No!" Jake interrupted him sharply. "I don't want to know."

"I thought you didn't like secrets?" Travis said in confusion.

"I don't," Jake said. "But I also don't want you telling me like this."

"What do you mean?" Travis asked.

"You don't really want to tell me, do you? You just think I want to know. I don't want you to tell me something that's obviously very important, not only to you but to Serena as well, just because you're mad at me. And that `is' the main reason you were going to tell me whatever it is, isn't it?"

"No, of course not," Travis said immediately. As Jake continued to stare at him, he changed it. "Well, not really. Not totally."

"Travis, if you want to tell me something, go right ahead. I would love to hear whatever you have to say, whether it's talking about girlfriends, driving, your sister, your parents, or something even more important. But I want it to be because you want to tell me, not because you think I want to know, or because you're testing me."

"Testing you?" Travis looked up in shock. "I wasn't testing you!"

"Yes, you were," Jake spoke steadily. "You would have been very disappointed in me if I hadn't stopped you, wouldn't you have? You would have told me whatever secret you had, but you would probably not have trusted me with any others." He suddenly smiled. "Don't look so stricken, Travis. You didn't do it on purpose, but you can't help but do it every once in a while."

Jake was silent for a moment, as Travis tried to gather his thoughts. *Could it be true? Was I really testing him?*

"I've seen you, Travis," Jake spoke up, looking away. "When I've made a promise to you, you watch, almost expecting me to break it. When I do something you like, buy you something, take you somewhere, sometimes I see you, trying to figure out why, looking for there to be a reason, something I want in exchange. There are times I would really like to see your parents again, one more time." Jake's voice was low and threatening before he shook himself out of it. "You trust me a lot more now then you did when you came, I've seen that. And I've rejoiced in it, believe me. But I don't expect you to tell me everything you do and everything you think, I don't expect you to tell me all your secrets. Even if I was your real father, I wouldn't expect that." Jake flashed a smile at Travis. "Aren't you supposed to be with your friends now? I'll see you at home tomorrow."

Travis watched as his guardian turned and walked away. He opened his mouth to call out something and then stopped. He watched until his Uncle Jake turned the corner out of sight. *Is he right? Have I been doing that?* His thoughts went back to his adoptive parents. The only time they were ever really nice, or got him anything was when they wanted something. And even then, if they made a promise, after they got what they wanted the promise was forgotten.

*I've trusted Serena from the very beginning, but that's not surprising. The others... yes, I've trusted them too, but they're kids. Adults, adults, I have trouble trusting, especially family.* Travis' expression was dejected as he tried to come to terms with his own feelings. *My parents, the teachers at school, the servants, they all wanted something from me. I can't help thinking that he does too, though I don't know what. It's certainly not my money.* Travis reached the park and saw Serena sitting in the middle of a group of very concerned looking girls, and immediately pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind.

"What's the matter? What happened?" he asked, pushing his way forward.

Serena looked up. "The pens don't work," she said with a quiver in her voice. "They were fakes!"

"Fakes?" Travis asked in disbelief, sitting down with a thump next to his sister.

Serena took a lick of the ice cream cone in her hand before continuing. "And we lost the Sun Stone and the Earth Gem for nothing!"

"One of the fighters too," Travis said almost to himself.

"What do you mean?" Serena asked, not wanting more bad news.

"Duoing only works between two people. That means you can Duo with me, or with Reenie, but not with both."

"I didn't need to hear that right now," Serena said softly.

Reenie was ready to staunchly defend her right to fight, even over her uncle's, but a look from Darien, and another look at an almost in tears Serena convinced her to leave it until a better time.

"Did you tell?" Serena suddenly asked.

"No," Travis said, hearing the sighs of relief from the others. "He gave me a lot to think about though."

"Why don't we take the ice cream and go to Lita's to sleep?" Serena suggested around a yawn. "And then tomorrow morning you can all yell at me for being stupid again."

"And we can figure out a way to get the pens and the stones back," Lita said, confidently. Serena seemed about to ask a question. "We will get them back," Lita told her.

"Right," Mina replied. "And I, the great and wonderful Sailor V will lead us into battle again if a youma shows up," she said cheerily, posing dramatically with a V for victory sign.

"`You' lead us into battle?" Raye asked. "Maybe I should lead next time."

"Hey! I'm still leader of this group!" Serena spoke up. "Aren't I?" she added in a whisper.

"Of course you are!" Amy said immediately. "They were just teasing."

"Yeah, don't worry," Lita said with a grin. "We could never replace you. After all, where would we find someone else with your appetite?"

Serena glared as everyone else laughed. The laughter was real. The second loss of the power sticks was a blow, but they had just proved that if they worked together, they could defeat foes even in their normal form. They'd just have to work a little harder.

"Let's go to bed and get a good night's sleep," Darien suggested as Reenie suddenly started yawning. "I know we've all got to be tired. I am anyway."

Everyone agreed and started to stand up. Serena walked over to the ice cream containers. "Reenie? Where's the rest of the bubblegum ice cream?" she asked.

"There isn't anymore. There was only enough for one cone," Reenie told her.

"And you gave it to me? That's so sweet," Serena smiled. "But you really wanted this kind."

"That's alright," Reenie responded. "Yours got all messed up."

"It's nice to see that she has better manners than Serena," Raye whispered to Mina. "Serena wouldn't give up her favorite ice cream to anyone."

"Come share it with me then," Serena said gently, holding out the half eaten cone.

"Thanks!" Reenie chirped. The two walked off, sharing the ice cream cone.

"Now there's a sign of real love," Lita said laughingly. "If Serena will share her food with her, you know she loves her."

Luna suddenly cleared her throat.

"What's the matter, Luna?" Travis asked.

"Nothing to do with you, Travis," Luna said. "Serena!"

"What?" Serena asked in exasperation. "Can't I just go get some sleep?"

"No, Serena, you can't," Luna said severely. "You're mother must be worrying even more than we were!"

"Oh, yeah," Serena remembered. "I had forgotten you told her."

"So let's go home and tell her you're all right, and then go to Lita's," Reenie suggested.

"No, Reenie, you go on with Lita, I think this is one chewing out that I'd prefer not to have witnessed." Serena handed Reenie the ice cream cone and started walking the opposite direction. Her shoulders were slumped slightly, and she almost looked as though she was walking to her execution.

Reenie looked after her. "Come on, Reenie," Lita said kindly. "You can tell us everything that happened."

"Yeah, Rabbit, we'll walk you over there," Travis grinned as Reenie glared at him. "Just for curiosity, how did Crystal get behind those garbage cans? I would have thought if she was there, she wouldn't have gotten drained." Travis' mind replayed that last run through the Negaverse. Although he had never seen more than a glimpse, he still had the impression that it had been Crystal ahead of him.

"We put her there," Amy told him. "She was waking up early, and we wanted to make sure that she didn't stand up in the middle of the fight and get put in danger."

Travis smiled in relief, the thought that it had been Crystal had been weighing on him, but it obviously couldn't be. He set the thought aside.

Serena and Luna walked slowly towards Serena's house as she told Luna of the Negaverse and what it had been like. "I was scared," she admitted. "I don't know what I would have done if Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Sol, and Crescent Moon hadn't shown up when they did."

"You would have figured something out," Luna said softly. "The same as you did for that first group of youmas."

"Why Luna, a compliment? I thought you were mad at me," Serena said, but her head came up a little higher.

"I am mad at you," Luna said, turning her head away. "But I'm also very proud. You did a good job, Serena."

"You mean it?" Serena asked. At Luna's affirmative, she picked her up and whirled her around.

"Put, me down!" Luna almost shouted.

Serena did, and then stood looking at her. "I usually don't get compliments from you," she said. "Will you make a recording of it so I can listen to it again?"

"Let's just get home, Serena," Luna said with a sigh.

"Oh, yeah," Serena sighed as well. "Home, and yet another lecture on how stupid, reckless, and irresponsible I was."

"Don't you think you deserve it?" Luna asked.

"Well, yeah," Serena replied. "But that doesn't mean I have to look forward to it, does it?"

Serena and Luna stood outside the darkened house. "Well, looks like they're all asleep, I don't want to wake them, let's come back in the morning."

"Serena," Luna practically growled. "Get to your room, and I'll go wake up your mother."

Serena sighed and used her key to open the door. Trying not to make any noise, she quietly tiptoed up to her room. She opened the door, to find her mother sitting on the desk chair, staring at the bed. A position she had been in several times when she would wake up to find Serena out.

"Mother?" Serena said quietly.

Ellen Tsukino jerked around to find her daughter at the door. With a low cry, she ran to her and hugged her furiously for a long moment. "How could you do something like that?" she asked when she finally pulled back.

"I didn't think. I just didn't want anyone else to be hurt the way Mina was," Serena said softly. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Worrying me," Ellen repeated quietly. "I thought I couldn't be anymore worried than I was when I would come in here at night to find you gone. I was wrong. I've never been more scared in my life than when I had heard you'd gone into the Negaverse by yourself. The fact that the others followed after you didn't help much."

"I wish there was a way I could make you not worry," Serena told her. "I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't mean to scare anyone! But the thought that Darien, Travis, and especially Reenie would get hurt... that scared `me'! I reacted because of that."

"And if they had gotten hurt because of what you did?" Ellen Tsukino asked.

"I don't even want to think about it," Serena shuddered. Her eyes were haunted as she looked at her mother. "I want the people I love to be safe," she said quietly. "You understand that, don't you?"

"Oh, yes," her mother answered. "I understand that all too well." She got up and started to pace. "The thing I want most in life is for my family to be safe. Whether it's my husband, my children, or even my grandchildren. I can't bear the thought of losing one of you. I also want all of you to be happy."

"I know exactly what you mean," Serena agreed. "I'd do almost anything to keep my friends and family safe and happy."

"Will you stop being Sailor Moon?" Ellen asked in an almost non-existent voice.

"WHAT?" Serena and Luna yelled in unison.

"I'm scared for you, Serena!" Ellen said, keeping her voice down to avoid waking the rest of the household. "What you do is dangerous! I thought I could handle it, but I can't! The thought of you being in danger like that, when there is nothing, nothing that I can do! I want you safe! I want Reenie safe! I want you to give it up."

"Mother," Serena said in an agonized whisper. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. But I can't. I can't give it up; there's no one left."

"Why?" Ellen Tsukino looked at her daughter. "Why you?"

"Because I can," Serena said steadily. "I have the ability to do something about the evil and danger that surrounds this world, this city, this family! As long as I have the ability, I also have the responsibility to do what I can to make the world a better place. To make it safe for kids like Sammy to play in the park without worrying about getting their energy drained."

"And I can't give it up, because there's no one left," Serena continued. "There are three of us left after tonight, Tuxedo Mask, me, and whomever I duo with. That's it, that's all there is. We're all that stand between this universe, and the Negaverse. We can't give up. I can't give up. Would you honestly ever forgive me if I did?"

"What do you mean?" her mother asked in confusion.

"Think of it this way," Serena said, still speaking in a steady and solemn voice. "If I gave up, stopped being Sailor Moon, and let Tuxedo Mask take care of everything, and then a youma comes and starts causing destruction at one of the schools, and several children, including Sammy, get hurt, or even killed, would you ever forgive me for not being there?"

"I..."

"I never would," Serena turned away. "If I just gave up, I would never be able to live with myself, especially if something happened like that."

"I... I guess you're right," Ellen Tsukino said. She tried to add some lightness to the conversation. "And after that, I can't even ground you, can I?"

"That's a benefit I hadn't thought of," Serena said with a trembling grin. Serena suddenly threw herself into her mother's arms. "I wish it could be different, I truly do. I wish I could be nothing more than your little girl."

"You'll always be my little girl," Ellen whispered in her ear as she enveloped her in a hug. "You're just getting to be a grown up little girl." She buried her head in between her daughter's familiar meatballs, and hid the tears standing in her eyes. She wiped them off quickly. "Just, promise to be careful and think things through a little more, please?"

"I promise," Serena assured her. "Trust me, I won't be doing that again."

"I'll let you get some sleep then," she dropped a kiss on Serena's forehead and left the room.

"It seems I have another reason to be proud of you," Luna said quietly.

"Don't be," Serena said almost savagely. "I wanted nothing more than to say yes."

"Serena?" Luna asked.

"I'm so tired of being the one that has to do it all! I wish the Negaverse would take my Crystal too, and then I would have a reason for not having to fight! I've never wanted to fight! But I don't have much choice, do I? As long as I have this dumb brooch, I'll be Sailor Moon, and as long as I'm Sailor Moon, I have to fight. I want to be a normal girl!"

Luna stared at her. "Do you mean that?" she asked in a small voice.

Serena plopped down on the bed. "No, not really. Well, sometimes. I get so tired of it sometimes, you know. It seems like we're not doing anything but fighting, and we're losing. And that scares me almost as much as going into the Negaverse did. The Silver Imperium Crystal is the only thing standing between us and them, and I'm starting to think it's not going to be enough."

She stretched out. "I'm only fifteen, Luna. Sometimes, even I forget that I'm only fifteen. No matter how hard I try to still act my age, to be normal, I'm not. I love the Scouts, and Tuxedo Mask... but... do you know how long it's been since I went out on the town with Molly? Or any of my other friends from school? I don't even really have friends at school anymore, I never have the time for them, with the Scouts and everything. And when I get to thinking about it, it hurts. That's when I really wish to be normal. I even missed Molly's birthday party, the first time in the twelve years we've been friends. I forgot it. She's been my best friend almost all my life, and I forgot her birthday. I know that hurt her, but what can I do?" She drifted off to sleep, but Luna sat awake long into the night, her eyes shining.

Meanwhile, in the Negaverse...

Quartz had left the teleportation room and headed for the high security rooms in the medical wing. It was a guess only, but Garnite had said her father was being brainwashed, and no one short of Queen Beryl with the backing of the Negaforce had the power to do it with mind power alone. However, add drugs and other treatments to it, and it became a frightening possibility.

Reaching the wing, she saw a larger number of guards than had ever been stationed there before. She wanted desperately to just head in their with her crystal powers and her knives, and get her father out by sheer force, but knew better than to even try. *I've got to get the guards away,* she thought. *Or, do I?* There had been a thought niggling at the back of her mind, and she finally was able to realize what it was. *The high security rooms always had an extra entrance, so that if necessary, Queen Beryl, or whoever could be brought in secretly, without anyone knowing they were sick or hurt. Might have hurt morale to know they're leaders could be hurt,* she finished sarcastically.

Without hesitation, she moved away from her hiding spot. It took almost an hour of skulking through tunnels, finding secret doors and pathways and hiding from patrols, before she was sure she had found the tunnel she was looking for. She ran along it until it ended in a small hole. Looking through, she saw it was the right room. Sitting there, chained to the bed, was her father!

Quartz quickly opened the door and ran through. "Father!" she called, running to him. She threw her arms around him, and felt his go around her. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," he answered. "You, however, are not." With that his arms tightened around her until she couldn't move.

"Father?" she asked, afraid to look in his eyes. When she did, she saw what she half expected, yet greatly feared to see. His eyes held no recognition, almost blank.

"Spessarite!" he called.

Spessarite walked into the room, chuckling. "A little too late, weren't you?" he asked conversationally.

Rhyolite's arms were still around Quartz, and she didn't dare do anything serious to make him let her go, for fear of hurting him, so her struggles were ineffective.

"You won't get away with this, Spessarite," Quartz glared at him.

"Now there is an overused line," Spessarite grinned. "Don't worry, I will get away with it. The changes will be small at first, practically no difference from before, except a little more power to me. And then a little more, and a little more, and before people know it, I will rule."

"But, you know, it doesn't really matter to you, does it? After all, you'll be dead by then. Kill her," he ordered Rhyolite.

At that, a sliver of intelligence struggled through Rhyolite's drugged brain. His arms slowly started to release. Quartz closed her eyes in thankfulness, then opened them again in terror as his hands moved to her throat, and he started to strangle her.

Spessarite gloated as Quartz continued to glare at him with hate filled eyes. Her eyes slowly closed as she began to lose consciousness.

::QUARTZ!:: screamed through her brain. ::Wake up! Don't let this happen! Please!::

The sudden mental shout snapped Quartz back into wakefulness, and she started struggling desperately. Encouraged by the voice that wouldn't leave her mind, she brought up one of her knives, and sliced across the back of the Emperor's hand.

It wasn't a bad cut, but it startled him into letting go and Quartz quickly rolled away from him.

"So you live for another minute or two," Spessarite shrugged. "It would have been fun to see him kill you though. You know, I've been thinking about it, and you're right."

Quartz looked at him in shock.

"It wouldn't work, people would start to wonder about the differences in the Emperor." He turned to Emperor Rhyolite and held out a knife. "Take this and slit your throat," he ordered calmly.

"NO!" ::NO!:: Only Quartz's voice echoed through the room as her father took the knife, the other voice echoing through her head.

::I'm sorry,:: she thought quietly to the other.

"Wait!" she called out. "If you don't kill him, I'll... I'll tell you who the Sailor of the Sun really is, and how to get him here, into the Negaverse. That way you can brainwash him! Wouldn't you rather have a live Sailor Scout helping you than a dead Emperor?"

"You know who the yellow and gold Scout is? Why should I believe you?" Spessarite asked. However, he waved the Emperor's hand back down.

::?:: came the thought from the Head of Intelligence on Earth.

"I saw him detransform when your slitherer stole the Sun Stone. His name is Travis William Watson, and I know how you can bring him here without any trouble at all. It won't cost you one single youma." Quartz looked steadily at Spessarite, ignoring the commotion in her own mind.

::You can't, Quartz! You're wrong, you have to be!:: the voice said frantically. ::And even if you're right, you can't do that!::

::I'm sorry, Crystal, I really am, but our father's life is more important than that of a boy you like. I'm sorry, my twin.::

I wonder how many people had figured that out yet? grin I know some people who had and some who hadn't. Actually, I hope you hadn't.

Chapter 12 is going to be good! If it gets as far as I hope anyway. Well, even if it doesn't, it's going to be good ^_^ But if it gets to where I want it to get...