Chapter Twelve

Haruka padded down the stairs and toward the kitchen. Along the way she let out a sigh. It wasn't just her body that hurt, her pride had taken a beating too. After all, it wasn't everyday that your daughter beat you up, even if she did happen to be the vessel for the single most dangerous entity in the solar system.

"Still," she muttered. "I've got to get Hotaru to show me some of those moves." She shook her head. On second thoughts, sparring probably wasn't such a good idea, at least until they managed to sort this whole mess out. A dark looked crossed her face. It really was a mess and now that she'd had a night of painful half-sleep under her belt – a night in which her bruises made it hard to enjoy Michiru's loving attentions – her sympathy for Setsuna was at an all time low. One way or another the crimson-eyed woman was going to tell them everything.

However there'd be plenty of time for that later. Right now she was tired and sore and she wanted a glass of juice. Maybe she'd be able to have a fridge put in upstairs although Michiru probably wouldn't think too much of that. She was almost to the kitchen when she heard some light snoring from the living room. Strange, she thought. Maybe Setsuna had decided to crash there last night after drinking herself stupid.

She crept over to the living room and grinned. She could see Setsuna sprawled over one of the couches, one arm flung over her face. This was her chance. The other woman was probably going to wake up with an enormous hang over and Haruka felt absolutely no need to go easy on her. Yes, she thought nodding. It was a simple matter of payback. She was halfway across the room before she noticed that Setsuna wasn't the only one sleeping in the living room. Hotaru was there too.

Haruka stopped where she was. It might be fun to wake Setsuna up when she was hung over, but that would probably wake Hotaru up too and she needed all the rest she could get. Damn, she'd have to content herself with talking really loudly at breakfast or something similarly petty.

"They make quite a sight don't they?"

Haruka turned to find Michiru standing in the doorway, a gentle smile on her face. Then her gaze slipped from the aqua-haired woman's face to the robe she had on. Haruka grinned. The robe wasn't closed quite tightly enough to cover all of her beloved's cleavage.

"Pervert," Michiru said, still smiling, although her eyes were dancing with mirth now. Her gaze flicked back to Setsuna and Hotaru. "But they make quite a sight don't they. Do you think they made up?"

Haruka shrugged and eyed Michiru's chest a moment longer before shifting her gaze up. "Probably, otherwise Setsuna wouldn't be lying there in one piece."

"Haruka, don't say that." Michiru's glare was accompanied by a faint quirk of her lips. "It would be horrible if something happened to Setsuna."

"Yeah, yeah, you know I'm only kidding." Haruka tossed a glance at Setsuna and crossed her hands over her chest. "I'm still angry that she didn't at least warn us that something like this might happen. Saturn nearly took my head off at least twice yesterday and you saw how Hotaru was afterward."

Michiru nodded. "I don't like that she hid things from us either, Haruka, but getting angry isn't going to help and pulling a prank on her is only going to make things worse." Haruka did her best to look innocent but Michiru would have none of it. "Yes, Haruka, I know you and while I love you, sometimes you can be just as bad as Usagi and Minako."

Haruka pouted. "Spoiled sport."

"Don't be like that." Michiru laughed. "I'm going to make breakfast. We can talk with Setsuna and Hotaru after that."

"Breakfast?" The thought of food was definitely welcome and Haruka bounded after Michiru. "Can I help?"

"No." Michiru gently pushed Haruka away from the kitchen. "There are still scorch marks on the walls from when you last tried to cook."

"Then I can supervise!" Haruka grinned.

"Supervise? Your idea of supervision involves invading my personal space."

Haruka's eyes twinkled. "You know you like it."

X X X

It was only centuries of practice and a naturally stoic disposition that prevented Setsuna from reaching across the table and strangling Haruka. The blonde was talking even louder than usual and Setsuna didn't doubt for a moment that it was because the other woman knew that she was hung over. Haruka had also opened every single window to let the bright morning light in.

A quick look at Michiru suggested that she knew exactly what Haruka was up but was in no mood to interfere. Clearly the two other senshi were still displeased with her about the recent events. Not that she could blame them. Her gaze then drifted to the other occupant of the dining room. Hotaru was focusing on the pancakes with almost uncanny intensity, refusing to look up at anyone and generally acting as though her food was the centre of the universe. Setsuna wondered if she even tasted any of it, or if it was just a way to avoid having to deal with the inevitable apologies and recriminations.

Finally they ran out of pancakes and Setsuna waited calmly for one of the others to make the first move.

"Um… shouldn't I be at school today?" Hotaru asked.

Both Haruka and Michiru flinched at the very obvious attempt to keep things restricted to trivial topics and Setsuna remained silent. Right now, her hot chocolate looked very interesting.

"We thought it might be best if you stayed at home today, Hotaru." Michiru smiled. "We do have a few things to talk about."

"Oh."

Silence.

Setsuna lifted her eyes from her hot chocolate and watched the others again. Hotaru was still doing her level best to avoid meeting anyone else's eyes and now that she'd run out of pancakes she was studying the tablecloth intently. Haruka, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to either scream, hit something, or both. Setsuna almost smiled. Most likely the blonde was imaging screaming at and hitting her.

"May I be excused?" Hotaru asked softly.

Haruka's hands, which had so far been placed flat on the newspaper, clenched and the newspaper tore loudly. Had the situation not been so serious, Setsuna would have found the whole thing hilarious. As it was, she could only continue to maintain a stony silence.

"Not just yet, Hotaru," Haruka said with clearly false cheer.

"Oh."

Silence.

"About yesterday –"

"I'm sorry about –"

Hotaru closed her mouth and Haruka spoke. "Okay, why don't you go first."

Hotaru nodded slowly. "I'm really sorry about yesterday."

Haruka nodded crisply. "Apology accepted."

"Huh?" Hotaru gaped. "I… I tried to kill you Haruka-papa and you're just going to forgive me? Just like that?"

Haruka nodded sagely. "Yes."

Hotaru fell silent again and Setsuna closed her eyes as her lips curved into the faintest of smile. She shouldn't have worried about how Haruka would deal with this. Haruka loved Hotaru and to the straightforward blonde things probably were really this simple.

"But… but why?"

Haruka grinned. "Would you rather I didn't forgive you?"

Hotaru gaped again.

"Besides, I know it wasn't your fault. If anything, I'm blaming little miss secret-keeper over there." Haruka shot Setsuna a vicious look. Setsuna returned the look calmly. "So you're forgiven."

"But don't you want to hit me back or something?" Hotaru asked.

Haruka smiled. "You really don't get it, do you, Hotaru? You're my daughter and that means I love you and I forgive you. But if you really want me to hit you…" Haruka stood and stalked over to Hotaru. "I guess I'll have to oblige."

"Haruka…" Michiru whispered.

Setsuna tensed. If Haruka really was stupid enough to try and hit Hotaru, she might trigger Saturn again and if that happened she'd probably be dead inside of ten seconds, what with the large number of pointy pieces of metal on the dining room table. Although, she doubted that Haruka was actually going to do something like that, not with the gleam in her eye.

"It hurts to have to do this, Hotaru." Haruka drew herself up to her full height. "Take this." And before anyone could move Haruka pulled Hotaru into a headlock and began to noogie her.

For a moment the only sounds in the dining room were Hotaru's cries as she tried to get away and Haruka laughter as she continued to noogie mercilessly and then first Michiru and then Setsuna began to laugh.

Setsuna laughed, regardless of how much it hurt her head. She laughed until she had to struggle just to breathe and it was only a supreme effort of will that let her rein her mirth in. Finally, Haruka pulled away and the atmosphere settled somewhat, although it was much lighter than before.

"Now we're even," Haruka said. "But if you ever attack me like that again, Hotaru, you'll get it twice as bad."

Hotaru nodded, lip shaking. "Okay, Haruka-papa."

Haruka grinned. "Just remember, whatever's going on with you, we're with you, all of us. We love you and we'll take care of you, no matter who or what the threat is, even if it is Saturn."

Hotaru said nothing but her smile was all the answer they needed.

Setsuna thought that now would be a good time to broach the issue more seriously. "We should consider our next move now." She took a sip of her hot chocolate and used the time to gather her thoughts. "I think we should restrict Hotaru from her duties as a senshi until she's had time to deal with this situation."

"What?" Hotaru squeaked.

Haruka frowned but steadied as Michiru laid one hand on her arm. "Explain."

Setsuna sighed. "I think that fighting is what's triggering Saturn's memories." She looked at Hotaru. "Would you agree?"

"I think so. I mean, I'd had a few dreams, but each time she took over it was while I was fighting." Hotaru lowered her gaze. "Maybe if I don't fight she won't come back."

Michiru folded her hands together. "Is it really alright to do this, though? Eventually, she'll have to face Saturn, won't she?"

"Most likely," Setsuna admitted. "But it would probably be safer if she wasn't on the battlefield when she did it."

Haruka looked disgusted but nodded. "I can see your point, but these new things we've been fighting are tough. We didn't exactly do well the last time we faced one of them, now did we?"

A little gloom fell over the table as they remembered how hard fighting the monster in the park had been until Saturn had made her presence known in the bloodiest way possible.

"We can manage," Setsuna said firmly. "We have to."

Haruka and Michiru nodded. "I guess so," Haruka said. She reached over and ruffled Hotaru's hair. "Looks like you're on leave until we get this whole thing sorted out."

Hotaru nodded.

"So what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" Haruka asked, grinning broadly.

Setsuna hid her smirk behind her mug. Wasn't Hotaru supposed to be resting?

"How about a movie?" Michiru suggested. "It could take our minds off everything."

Haruka nodded. "Not a bad idea… but I get to pick the movie."

That got groans from everyone at the table.

X X X

Shinjiro sighed and continued to study the clouds. Really, it was quite comfortable up on the school's roof, what with the cool breeze and all. Some days he just wished he could stay up here forever, but he did have to keep up appearances. A loud creak filled the air and he shifted to look at the now open door to the roof.

"Why am I not surprised to see you lazing off up here?"

He chuckled and flashed the speaker a grin. She was about his age, with a slim, athletic figure. Her eyes were a deep blue and her mahogany hair fell in loose waves to the small of her back. He grinned. She really did look good in a school uniform. "Why, Sayuri, you look utterly ravishing."

Sayuri's face contorted into snarl and had he not rolled out of the way in time, his head would have been nothing more than a smear on the roof. "Stop being stupid. Where is she?"

"Well, she wasn't in class today." He backed up to a safer distance and then sighed theatrically. "Perhaps we pushed her too hard yesterday."

"Even so," Sayuria said, "We can't afford to waste too much time."

"Yes, yes, yes. Horrible doom for all of us and all that."

"How can you take this so lightly?" she spat.

He shrugged. "Getting angry won't help. Our plan is working, we just need to keep pushing."

"Why not attack her directly? We do know where she lives." Sayuri tapped one foot on the ground impatiently.

He grimaced. "We can't push her too hard, or have you forgotten what happened the last time someone forced Saturn out?"

A dark looked passed across her pretty face. "Of course not. There's no way I could forget that." She tugged at her uniform. "I just hate being here and having to wear this stupid uniform and having to go to this stupid school."

"A young lady shouldn't speak so uncouthly." Shinjiro dodged a petite fist. "But this is the best way to keep an eye on her. She can't take more than a few days off school and I've already made myself known. I might even be able to become her friend and that'll definitely come in handy later." He shot her a grin. "Somehow you're not in her class, so until I fix that up, you could try and join some of the clubs she's a part of." He grinned. "Why not join the swim team?"

Her eyes narrowed. "She isn't on the swim team."

He only continued to grin and just for extra effect he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Her eyes widened in shock before she lashed out again. "Your pervert."

He was still grinning as she stalked away. What a wonderfully murderous look she'd shot him. But damn, he thought as he rubbed his jaw, even in her human form she hit hard.

X X X

Setsuna sighed softly as they left the cinema. Somehow Haruka had managed to convince them that an action movie was an appropriate way of taking their minds off their problems. Needless to say, things hadn't gone exactly to plan. It hadn't helped either that one of the movie's characters had something of a penchant for blades.

"That wasn't too bad was it?" Haruka asked. Setsuna said nothing, choosing instead to level a faintly disapproving frown at the blonde. "Oh come on," Haruka insisted. "You just need to lighten up a little."

"Well there certainly were a lot of explosions," Michiru said. Setsuna chuckled inwardly. Michiru didn't actually dislike action movies. She simply preferred films with more emotional involvement.

"Say, Hotaru, what did you think of the movie?" Haruka asked.

"It was okay." Setsuna studied Hotaru closely. The girl hadn't said a word during the movie. Instead, she'd watched it with almost frightening intensity, almost as though she were breaking down each of the action sequences in her mind. "The action was a bit off though."

"Oh?" Haruka frowned. "I thought it was okay. What was wrong with it?"

Hotarua hesitated for a moment. "I just thought that the way they were fighting was a little unrealistic." A lock of hair fell in front of her face, but she made no move to push it aside. "It's just that they were fighting so extravagantly. It would have been much easier to win the fight if they'd just been more efficient."

"I… see." Haruka's smile was awkward. "Well, it was a movie, so I suppose looking cool is more important than being realistic."

"How would you have done things?" Setsuna asked. The others looked at her in surprise, but she gave Hotaru a reassuring smile. However as the younger woman explained just how she would have done things differently, it became harder and harder to keep the smile up.

To the best of her knowledge, Hotaru had no training in combat strategy or tactics outside of what she'd picked up from her and the other senshi. However what Hotaru had just said spoke of a level of insight that she simply shouldn't have. In fact, she'd even mentioned several things that Setsuna hadn't thought of while watching the film. On the other hand, Saturn had been very well trained in the arts of war.

She was pulled from her thoughts by the beep of her communicator. Pulling the device out, she gestured for the others to lower their voices.

"Pluto here."

"This is Venus." The other senshi's words were nearly drowned out by the deep boom of an explosion. "I've got some trouble here. Can you guys give me a hand?"

Setsuna looked carefully at the others. They nodded. "Of course." She paused in thought. "Where are the other Inners?"

Venus cursed wildly and Setsuna heard another explosion, louder this time, or closer. "I was on my way back from this manga store I know when I ran into trouble. I called the others, but apparently they've got some trouble of their own to deal with." Another explosion, this time followed by a wince and some more cursing. "Look, just hurry up, okay?"

"We'll be there in a few minutes." Setsuna deactivated the communicator and turned to the others. "Shall we?"

Haruka and Michiru nodded and the three of them immediately began looking for a place to transform. Hotaru made as though to follow them, but Setsuna stopped her.

"Hotaru, we talked about this. Until you've had a chance to sort things out, you're off patrol." Setsuna put one hand on Hotaru's shoulder and squeezed gently. "Do you think you can take the train home?"

Hotaru nodded slowly. "I guess I can do that." She caught Setsuna's hand. "Just be careful, okay? And… and if things really get bad, call me. I don't want any of you to get hurt."

Setsuna inclined her head. "Have trust in us, Hotaru."

X X X

Pluto landed easily on the rooftop overlooking the train station. It didn't take her long to spot the creature or Venus. The creature was a fairly unpleasant looking thing, fifteen feet of jagged rock in a vaguely humanoid shape. Like the creatures they'd encountered earlier, its hands and feet ended in claws and it moved with a speed and grace that belied its large, hulking frame. A deep orange glow spilled out from several large cracks in its exterior, reminding her oddly of lava, and she made a mental note to be careful.

"What are we waiting for?" Uranus shouted. "Let's get in there!"

Neptune flashed her a semi-apologetic smile as she lifted her hands and flung a sphere of water before following her partner toward the creature. Pluto suppressed a wry smile. She shouldn't have expected anything less from Uranus. The blonde loved a good fight and she already had the Space Sword drawn.

The sphere of water caught the creature in the back and drove it into one of the pillars that supported the roof of the train station. Thankfully, the station was above ground so they wouldn't have to worry about the whole thing collapsing, but Pluto couldn't help but mentally tally the cost of repairs. Uranus struck while the creature was still finding its feet. Sparks flew as the Space Sword cut into the dense rock across the creature's back.

"Damn this thing is tough," Uranus growled, transferring the Space Sword quickly to her left hand as she gingerly rolled her right wrist. The sword had managed to cut into the creature, but not before the jolt of impact had jarred her wrist.

"Well, it's nice of you two to show up," Venus remarked. The younger woman's uniform was torn in several places and she had a number of nasty looking bruises. "Where are Saturn and Pluto?"

Uranus grimaced. "Uh… we thought it was probably best to give Saturn some time off after… you know." She brightened. "But Pluto is here, she's probably just looking for the best time to strike and make a dramatic entrance."

"Heh." Venus chuckled. "That's so like her. Now come on, this thing blew up my manga so I need to get revenge."

With that the two blondes charged the creature together. It met them head on, one claw shooting toward Venus. She dodged and the claw went wide, kicking up a plume of dust as it struck the platform of the train station. Uranus seized the chance and brought the Space Sword down on the creature's arm.

There was a crunch and the blade bit into the creature's arm, but ground to a halt after several inches. Stunned, Uranus rather inelegantly put one foot on the creature's arm and kicked in an attempt to pull her weapon free. Part of her was aware of how ridiculous she must look, but she paid it no mind.

"Uranus, duck!" Neptune cried.

Uranus looked up and blinked before throwing herself to the ground. The creature's other claw swept through the air where's she been only a moment ago. As the creature brought its arm around for another attack, a jet of water struck it, sending it sprawling into another pillar. Uranus was up on her feet in an instant, a World Shaking already forming her hands.

"Uh… guys," Venus murmured. "Maybe we should watch out for the pillars."

Her words were a fraction too late, however, as Uranus let loose her attack. The creature dodged with uncanny speed and the attack instead obliterated another column. Above them, the roof began to creak ominously.

"Oops," was all Uranus could think to say as the three of them leapt aside. The roof of the train station teetered for a moment and then toppled to the ground. Dust billowed outward and the piercing shriek of mangled metal filled the air. "Uh… maybe we killed it."

Neptune sighed. "We should be so lucky and even if it is dead, what do you think Pluto is going to do to us after this?"

All three senshi shivered. Over the years, the senshi's powers had grown considerably. They were always careful not to harm any civilians but the same couldn't be said for the surrounding environment. Pluto, of course, was never pleased when they damaged their surroundings and every one of them had been on the receiving end of one of her lectures. Destroying a train station, however, was not something any of them had accomplished until today.

"It was her fault!" Venus said, pointing at Uranus.

"Never mind that," Neptune said as the rubble scattered over the ruined train station began to stir. "I don't think it's dead."

An instant later, a piece of metal several yards long – a piece of one of the pillars – shot through the air and imbedded itself in the wall beside Neptune's head. The senshi stared for a moment and then broke into motion as the creature stepped fully out of the rubble. The rock covering most of its body was gone, exposing a seething mass of lava. With a roar, it drew its head back and then spat a glob of molten rock.

The projectile struck the building Venus was on and immediately began to melt through cement and metal. The blonde senshi scrambled for steadier ground as the pool of lava spread and enveloped the entire roof. A hiss escaped her as she felt the skin on her leg begin to blister from the heat that the pool of lava radiated.

"Neptune!" Venus shouted. "You're the water person, hit it!"

Neptune needed no further urging. She took a moment to steady herself and then gestured violently with both hands. A torrent of water streamed through the air and struck the creature. Steam rippled outward, nearly blinding all of them, as she pressed the attack. Suddenly there was a surge of heat and she flung herself to the side just in time to dodge a ball of lava.

"Pluto!" Uranus cried, darting over to grab Neptune and pull her out of harm's way. "What are you waiting for?"

"Dead Scream."

An orb of crimson energy cannoned into the creature's head. The blow knocked the creature's aim off and rather than firing another ball of lava at Neptune and Uranus it melted a patch of the platform instead.

"We need more water," Pluto said. "How much more can you summon, Neptune?"

The blue-haired woman winced. "That was about as much as I can call."

"I see." Pluto took a moment to assess the situation. "In that case, I want you to distract it Uranus. Lure it onto the street. Neptune, stay back until I give you a signal."

"What about me?" Venus asked.

"You're with Uranus."

"Pluto," Neptune asked. "Why are we luring it onto the street?"

Pluto's eyes glittered. "Don't worry about it. Just remember, don't do anything till I give you the signal."

As Venus and Uranus ran forward to engage the creature, Pluto directed Neptune to one of the rooftops overlooking a now deserted intersection. Pluto herself studied the area intently before finally nodding in satisfaction.

"Bring it over here!" she shouted.

Venus and Uranus needed no further urging to turn and run. The creature was deadly fast and its claws made for a difficult opponent at close range, but the lava it spat made fighting it at range a tricky proposition, as well. It followed them, stomping through the ruins of the station and leaving a trail of melted concrete in its wake. Then they were out on the street and it was only a few steps behind them.

Uranus felt her eyes widen as she took in the sight of Pluto. The green-haired woman had her staff raised with a crackling ball of red energy at its tip. What was she thinking?

"Move!" Pluto shouted before she tossed the ball of energy not at the creature but at the ground just beside it.

There was a boom and suddenly a hiss as water began to gush from the ground. Uranus laughed wildly. Pluto had blown out one of the water mains. Water shot out from the hole in the ground, bathing the creature in a torrent of liquid.

"Now, Neptune!" Pluto cried.

More water struck the creature as Neptune added her attack to the flood from the water main. The creature faltered, the lava that made up its flesh beginning to harden and cool. In its original form, there had been cracks in the rock to allow movement, but now it could scarcely move an inch as the water continued to pour down on it. No, Uranus thought, it was more than that. The water wasn't just cooling the outermost layer of lava into rock, it was cooling the creature all the way through.

"Uranus, Venus," Pluto said. "Attack."

The two of them nodded and their combined attack blew the creature apart. Half-cooled bits of lava and rock rained down on them as the remains of the creature sank into the growing pool of water at the centre of the intersection.

"That could have gone better," Neptune said, panting lightly as she jumped down onto the street.

Pluto nodded. "Indeed." She studied the others. Venus was badly bruised and had several burns, as did Uranus, for that matter, and Neptune looked exhausted from having to produce so much water.

"I hate to say it, but it would have been very handy to have Saturn around today," Venus said.

Though she said nothing, Pluto couldn't help but agree. Saturn probably would have made very short work of the creature, memories or not. "Venus, get in touch with the others. Hopefully their battle went a little better than ours."

And with that the senshi took to the rooftops, leaving behind a demolished train station and a flooded intersection with a geyser of water still shooting up from the broken water main.

Shinjiro chuckled as the first of the emergency services arrived to try and clean up the mess at the train station. He grinned as a flash of movement at the corner of his vision told him that Sayuri had arrived.

"Can I assume that the other senshi handled their end of things?" he asked.

Sayuri sat down beside him but shot him a glare when he moved to pull her closer. "Unfortunately, yes." She looked down at the train station. "Did Saturn cause all of this?"

"Actually, she wasn't here."

"What?" Sayuri grabbed him by the lapel of his shirt. "So what was the point of all of this?"

"Relax." He gently pulled her hands off his shirt. "She was with them earlier but she went home instead of joining them. Clearly, they don't want her to fight, most likely because she is beginning to remember and they don't want her to." He smiled. "After all, Saturn never did get along with the other senshi too well."

A frown crossed Sayuri's face. "I guess this night wasn't a completely loss then. But did you really just let her go home?"

Shinjiro's smiled widened. "Now when did I say that? She's going home by train all on her little lonesome. I already have one of our little friends headed her way. She'll have no choice but to fight and he's strong enough to push her. Hopefully, he's also smart enough to run once she gets serious."

"You actually care if he lives or not?" Sayrui asked in surprise.

"Not really, but filling in the paper work whenever one of our subordinates gets killed is so tiresome." He flashed her what he hoped was a winning smile. "Of course, you could always help me with that."

Fist met face. "Not a chance," she muttered as she stomped away and then vanished. "Do your own paper work."

X X X

Author's Notes

Once again, I neither own Sailor Moon, nor am I making a dime off this.

So, yeah, I actually updated approximately on schedule. This chapter's a bit longer too – consider it an apology of sorts for not updating for ages. Anyway, not too much to say here, other than I still haven't found my old files, but I'm making do.

As usual, get in touch. I welcome your reviews and comments.

By the way, I do intend on revealing more about Saturn's past, although I'm sure some of you are a bit aggravated at having to keep up with three different time lines.