Chapter 14: Recovery

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so boring, but it's necessary to move the plot along. So far, it's been about getting out of the tower, but these senshi have just had all their memories restored, including that the loves of their lives killed them, and that's going to take a toll on them emotionally. This is more about addressing loose ends from the battle and setting up for the next chunk of the story.

A/N 2: Sorry it took so long to post! It's been written for months. I just haven't had time to type it up. Please say you still love me.

"Are you sure you can make it down by yourself?" Mars asked as she escorted the masked hero to the window. He still leaned heavily on her, and his breath came out in labored pants. Looking down at the four-story drop where the other three senshi stood waiting for them, she focused on the burden the senshi of Venus carried on her back. Aside from that one instance of vague awareness, their newly realized Moon Princess hadn't stirred. Anxiety tightened everyone's expressions; they needed to be as far away from this tower as possible. The sooner the better. "It's still four stories. You might make your injuries worse."

Tuxedo Kamen shook his head. "I'm too big for you. That drop with you carrying me will only end up getting you hurt, too." Straightening, he puffed out air forcefully through his nose. Mars watched the sweat trickle from beneath his hat and mask. "I'll be fine."

He disappeared over the ledge, and Mars watched his descent barely breathing. He stumbled slightly upon landing, but other than that he seemed no worse for the wear. Now she was the only one left, and they could get Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen to the Temple and tend their wounds. With a deep breath, Mars took a step back to get a running start—and a strong, gloved hand covered her mouth.

Hot, angry breath ghosted across her ears. "You're coming with me, Miss Mars." Violet eyes widened and she started thrashing wildly, trying to pitch her attacker off her. Kunzite growled when she bit his hand, "You brat!" He let go of her for just a second to nurse his hand, but a second was all she needed to send a red heel into his gut and fire blasting in his direction.

She didn't wait to see if the fire hit its mark before she sprinted for the window. She leaped into the air just as she heard a roar behind her. Panicked, she screamed at the scouts waiting for her. "RUN!" Kunzite materialized in front of her, his hair and uniform singed and his mouth twisted into a snarling rictus. She didn't even have a second this time: he snatched her out of mid-air and flickered away with a fighting and screeching Mars in tow.

xoxoxo

The battered senshi and Tuxedo Kamen stared up at the sky in shock as fire exploded out of the window from which they jumped. A speeding Mars barreled out of the smoke and desperately urged them to run. Jupiter readied her lightning as soon as she felt the static of displaced air. The second Kunzite appeared in the air directly ahead of Mars, she sent her Sparkling Wide Pressure flying at him. But it zoomed through empty space. Kunzite had already disappeared again, and he'd taken Sailor Mars with him.

Dead silence descended on the group. Only Sailor Moon did not stare up at the sky slack-jawed, and that was only because she wasn't conscious. Gnashing her teeth, Jupiter tore her gaze away from where Mars flickered out of sight and looked to Mercury. "Can you track her down?" she asked. They had let their guard down, and they had to fix it before they lost Mars forever.

Despair was apparent on everyone's faces as Mercury shook her head. She put away her visor and dropped her gaze to the senshi on Venus' back. "We aren't in any shape to go after her right away anyway."

"But we can't just leave Mars in the Negaverse!" Jupiter demanded. "Who knows what they could be doing to her?"

Venus looked grim as she readjusted Sailor Moon on her back. "We won't leave her there any longer than we absolutely have to, Jupiter. I promise. But if we try to get her back right now, one or all of us will end up killed." Her hard blue eyes darted to the slumped blonde's head on her shoulder. "And our top priority—even over Mars—is to protect the Moon Princess, and right now, she needs medical attention before she dies on our watch."

Frustrated tears blurred Jupiter's vision as she went to support Tuxedo Kamen, who was quickly drooping. Venus was right, but she felt like she was abandoning Rei. "I don't think our first aid will be enough," she offered, trying to focus on the matter at hand. Her mind kept going back to that panicked look in Rei's bright violet eyes. Her eyes had never seemed so purple, and for some reason that tiny detail made Jupiter the most upset of all.

Venus nodded worriedly. "There will be too much attention if we go to the hospital though," she stated. "I don't want them to decide to take advantage and run tests to check if she's human or not."

"She's been to the hospital as Usagi before," Mercury pointed out.

Tuxedo Kamen coughed, struggling to stay upright even with Jupiter's help. "That was before Serenity was woken up," he exhaled. "It's very likely Usagi's body will start to exhibit Lunarian traits that won't be recognized as human in blood tests."

Jupiter just wanted Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen healed so that they could save Mars, and this indecision was just wasting precious time. If Sailor Moon didn't get help soon, she really would die, and there was no way in hell Jupiter was going to let that happen. "Well they both need a hospital, so we'll do crowd control, and Mercury can follow any blood taken and make sure they only run the necessary tests." She didn't even notice how she'd taken the lead. She just needed to be doing something after being so powerless to save Mars, so she half-dragged Tuxedo Kamen in the direction of the nearest hospital. "Mercury, you should run ahead and clear out a room for them so that we don't waste time waiting."

xoxoxo

The hospital was a madhouse. The second Sailor Mercury was spotted all the press in Tokyo descended on the facility, hoping to manage a shot of the gravely injured Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen as they were carried inside. Jupiter and Venus did their best to shield them from view, but it was a lost cause. The entrance to the hospital was a mob scene, one they had no chance of wading through without jostling the two heroes, especially when Tuxedo Kamen was stumbling every which way and barely clinging onto consciousness.

Mercury came outside to see what was taking the others so long, but when she saw the pack of reporters and photographers essentially blocking the entrance to the hospital, a white-hot fire ignited in the usually placid senshi. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen needed help, and these inconsiderate vultures were keeping them from entering the hospital! Boiling, she brought up her hands without another thought.

"Shabon Spray!" she yelled, spreading her arms wide to create a thick, cold mist that obscured everything. "If anyone obstructs the Sailor Senshi's way into this hospital," she called icily, "they'll have to answer the next time youma descend on Tokyo and Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen aren't there to save them."

Faster than seemed possible, a corridor to the doors opened up between the crowd. The senshi and masked hero hobbled down it, and when Venus came abreast Mercury, she murmured, "A little harsh, but thank you." Mercury's blush spoiled the cool, angry demeanor she was trying to project to the civilians, and she ducked inside the hospital almost on top of Jupiter and Tuxedo Kamen.

xoxoxo

If it were possible to be put into a blender on high and survive, Rei would have sworn that's what had been done to her. Absolutely every muscle in her body felt shredded and heavy. She was no longer Sailor Mars; that she could tell without needing to open her eyes. Jeans covered her legs, and she no longer felt the smooth white gloves on her arms. She felt something else though. A pulsing or a wave, she couldn't decide which. It felt…wrong.

Her eyelids fought her as she opened them, but opening her eyes accomplished little in the darkness enshrouding her. Squinting, she could just barely make out a glass ceiling not even a foot above her face. It looked curved, almost as if she lay in a glass coffin. The thought sent panic racing through her veins as a wave of dark energy washed over her, suffocating and filling her to the brim. She couldn't move, but she had to find a way out. There was no time. She…She had…had to…

xoxoxo

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen lay in adjacent hospital beds hooked up to IVs and heart rate monitors. Jupiter and Venus sat in chairs situated so that they could watch the patients and the closed door simultaneously. Their newly realized princess breathed shallowly, her side heavily bandaged and the dirt cleaned from her face. Venus watched Tuxedo Kamen shift in his feather-light sleep. His coat, cape, and shirt were off and his shoulder covered in bandages as well. Every now and then he'd murmur Serenity's name, sometimes in anguish and sometimes so tenderly Venus felt like an intruder watching over him.

"I remember a lot about the Silver Millennium now," Jupiter whispered sadly, her eyes never leaving the door.

Venus glanced over at the pensive senshi, recognizing the tone in her voice. It was the same way her own voice had sounded when she told Sailor Moon about Kunzite. "To think that I let the man I loved kill me." Her hands clenched into fists in her lap. "I remember him, Venus. I remember Nephrite and it hurts more than I could ever imagine."

Venus felt her heart break for her. She knew far too well what Jupiter felt. Leaning over, she grasped both of Jupiter's hands in hers. "It hurts me, too," she confessed. "I was forced to remember Kunzite in London and watch as he again tried to kill me."

"How did you not go insane?" Jupiter asked forlornly. Desperation glowed in her brown eyes, the frantic need not to feel anymore. Venus knew that look, too.

Squeezing the gloved hands between hers, Venus let Jupiter into her emotional firewall, something only Usagi had managed before then. "You fight. You keep it fixed in your head that the men who killed us then and hate us now…they aren't our loves. They're reanimated bodies filled with dark energy, no better than puppets. You hope that by beating the Dark Kingdom, we'll free their souls to reincarnate truly and come back to us." Her own voice trembled as she said the words for both their benefit.

Jupiter turned her hands around and squeezed Venus' palms back. "I'm just grateful that Neph was already gone by the time I remembered. I can't imagine what it must be like for you."

A knock sounded at the door, and a blond head poked in with an apologetic smile. A smile that went largely unnoticed by the two stunned senshi.

"Hello!" he chirped, clearly thrilled to meet the famed sailor senshi. He came fully into the room holding two fresh IV bags. "Don't mind me. I've just got to refresh their IVs, and then I'll be out of your hair." The second he took a step toward the beds, however, Venus and Jupiter were standing as if preparing for a fight. The nurse faltered, his ocean blue eyes widening in surprise. "I promise, they're safe. Is there a problem?"

Jupiter laughed darkly at his question. Did the Negaverse really think they'd let Jadeite waltz in and harm Sailor Moon? "You can tell Beryl nice try," she scowled.

Jadeite cocked his head to the side, a distinct lack of recognition in his features. "Who is Beryl?" He hefted the IV bags, and his voice grew slightly distressed. "I just need to make sure they have enough fluids."

"You're not fooling anyone, Jadeite," Venus sneered. "Leave. Now."

"Who? What do you mean?" Jadeite's voice raised in alarm as he frantically waved the IV bags in front of him. "I don't know any Jadeite! My name is Jin!"

He looked genuinely frightened, Venus noticed. He had the terror on his face that came from meeting your heroes and subsequently being threatened by them. By all accounts, this Jin looked and acted like a civilian. "You really don't remember, do you?" she realized, her eyebrows disappearing into her tiara.

"I swear to you, I have no idea what you're talking about, really," he promised. His hands once again gestured the IV bags toward Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen. "So can I please replace their fluids?"

xoxoxo

"Princess Serenity," the warm voice—deep but still delicate—began as a slender hand extended toward the visiting party, "I would like you to meet Prince Endymion of Earth and his parents, King Chronos and Queen Gaia."

Usagi dipped into an appropriately deep curtsy, her pearl-white skirts spread wide and her golden bangs hanging over her eyes as she lowered her head. "Your Majesties, Highness," she intoned, her soft voice still tinkling like wind chimes in her youth. Only hints of her mother's refined, matured voice flashed in her speech. "It is an honor to make your acquaintance." Glancing up through her lashes, she watched as the stoic prince bowed just as formally to her. He had the blackest hair she'd ever seen on anybody aside from Mars.

"The honor is all mine, Princess," he responded. His voice was low and rich, not at all unpleasant. Usagi waited until he straightened before rising herself. As her mother made polite pleasantries with the King and Queen of Earth, Usagi took the opportunity to study the prince. In the back of her mind, almost too faint to register, flashed an image of this same man in slacks and a green jacket instead of the silver and deep blue armor he now wore. Her present-day self was then shoved even farther back in her mind. Serenity was trying to show Usagi her life, which could not be done if Usagi's personal memories kept interfering. To understand her past, Usagi had to experience these memories, not simply observe them.

Serenity's silver-flecked irises swept over this Endymion's figure, taking in his straight posture, lean figure, his midnight blue eyes. He was studying her, too, she realized, and she tried to subtly straighten her spine, wishing for her mother's height. A miniscule upward twitch of the prince's lips betrayed that he knew what she was doing. She immediately ceased straining for every inch, heat rising to her cheeks as she watched amusement swim in his cobalt gaze.

Later, when all the dignitaries who'd been invited to the Moon Palace for the annual trade conference had gone to their rooms to freshen up, Serenity escaped to her favorite place on the palace grounds—the Imperial Rose Garden. It stood in an open space in the very center of the Palace. A quiet expanse of every rose imaginable, it served as a peaceful respite from court life, which had quickly grown intolerable following her sixteenth birthday two years ago. Now that every eligible man in the universe contested for her hand—and for the power that would come as a bonus—Serenity sought refuge in the Imperial Rose Garden more often than ever. When the weather was nice, she'd even convince her instructors and senshi to hold her lessons in the clearing by the magnificent fountain.

As she neared that clearing, however, someone already sat on the stone lip of the fountain. She paused a few paces away from the dark-clad man, making no sound as she calmly folded her hands in front of her skirts and waited for the intruder to notice her.

Endymion turned his head away from the sparkling waterfall and smoothly unfolded himself from his seat. "Princess," he greeted, his voice still low and rumbling, as he bowed his head in respect. When he met her gaze again, the sunlight glanced off what seemed like miniscule flecks of gold in his eyes.

"Prince," she answered coolly. "I must say, I'm surprised today is the first time I'm meeting you."

"And why is that, Princess?" Endymion stepped slowly toward her, curiosity slipping through his stoic mask.

She gestured vaguely to the crescent moon on her forehead. "The moment I reached marriageable age two years ago, I've all but met every man in the galaxy."

His eyebrows rose in surprise. "You have been eligible for two years and yet you remain unwed?"

The shock on Endymion's face sent giggles bubbling out of her mouth as she nodded. "It is quite the scandal to everyone," she mused. "But I refuse to marry a man who cares more for the power he'd gain than he does for me."

"So cynical coming from such an innocent Moon Princess," Endymion murmured, then he shrugged. "But I can't say you are incorrect. I've had my share of ambitious supplicants vying for a place in my bed."

Pink tinged Serenity's cheeks at the casual mention of impropriety. "So why have I not met you until now?"

Endymion smirked, mirth dancing in his eyes and voice. "Maybe not every gentleman likes the idea of a powerful political marriage." The man worded his answer so oddly that Serenity couldn't decide if he was mocking her or not. "Until later then, Princess." He flashed her one last smirk before walking past her toward the guest wing entrance, leaving behind a speculative and not the least bit intrigued Serenity peering after him.

xoxoxo

"He has no trace of Dark Energy in or around him," Mercury announced as she tried to understand Jadeite's doppelganger. She stood with Venus and Jupiter in the doorway to Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen's room, scanning "Jin" on her Mercury Computer.

Venus shook off the nurse for the time being. "Could you do a search for Mars?" More than a few members of the hospital staff were sneaking glances at them.

"The chances are slim to none that she'll still be in this dimension," Jupiter sighed, leaning back against the doorframe and scuffing the toe of her boot into the floor.

"I know," Venus responded just as hopelessly, "but if there is a chance…"

A soft beep sounded from Mercury's computer. "I…I think she is still in this dimension," Mercury gasped. Venus and Jupiter straightened immediately. "But her life signs are…muted, maybe because of the distance?"

"Distance?" Jupiter repeated. "Where is she?"

Mercury's face turned grim. "The North Pole."

xoxoxo

Serenity found Endymion again not two hours later being led by a Palace servant to the training grounds. Without a second thought she dashed ahead of him by the way of a side hallway and glided directly into his path.

Cursing, Endymion had his sword half-drawn in surprise by the time he registered the diminutive slip of a girl ahead of him was no assassin. Sliding his sword back into its scabbard with just a touch more force than necessary, he made a small bow and tried to ignore the laughter glimmering in her eyes. "Princess," he greeted gruffly. "I apologize for baring steel in your presence. You caught me by surprise, which is no easy feat."

A twinkling smile came to her face as she gave a delicate shrug. "We can just say I had the advantage of growing up walking these halls." Her voice was just as light and airy as before, but she was obviously teasing him. The thought put his back up.

"Is there any particular reason you sought me out?" He left out the honorific, having enough trouble even keeping the question short of a demand. He bore no patience for mockery.

Serenity took her time answering him, choosing first to kindly dismiss the servant he'd commissioned to take him to the training grounds. When she brought her gaze back to meet his, all the mirth in her features were replaced by open curiosity. "You intrigue me," she offered simply. Vaguely. Endymion suppressed the urge to growl.

"Might I ask how?"

Her bright eyes glittered once more, but she acquiesced. "You are a prince of a powerful kingdom that has very strong ties to the Moon, and yet you had no idea of my coming of age two years ago. And you evaded me when I asked why I had not met you until today." She folded her hands over her pearl-white skirts, and her face grew calm, her eyes searching his. "Those things make you intriguing. Surprising, even, since at your—what, 20 years?—you must be under quite a bit of pressure to marry."

The grip on his sword hilt tightened briefly. "As I told you before, political marriages hold no interest for me, Princess."

"That's all well and good," the petite woman waved off his answer, "but unless you've spent the last two years under a rock, you still would have heard of my coming of age. No doubt, your personal feelings concerning political marriage aside, you would have been all but pestered about meeting me."

Endymion quirked an eyebrow, calming slightly even if the conversation topic still made him tense. "I thought arrogance was a trait very carefully removed from the Royal Family of the Silver Millennium."

His snide remark slid off her like it hit an invisible pane of glass for all the reaction she offered. She was nearly as good as schooling her face to stillness as he was. "Arrogance is hardly the word when you've fielded marriage offers from every barely eligible man in the galaxy for the last two years." This time, however, she saw his attempt at deflection for what it was. "So have you been living under a rock all this time? And know that I will not leave you alone until you answer me."

One look at her raised chin and stubborn eyes, and Endymion knew she was going to follow through on that promise. He let himself finally take notice of her appearance. She really was as beautiful as everyone said. Her heart-shaped face was framed by shining golden hair, with random curls that had escaped her buns brushing against smooth, porcelain cheeks. Her iridescent cerulean eyes seemed to glow no matter the lighting, and her small nose was just as delicate as her Cupid's bow mouth, which seemed to be in a perpetual pout as though she was waiting to be kissed. Her short stature made her reminiscent of a doll. If it weren't for her poking that delicate nose into his business, he would have turned on the charm for her by now, much more than the hint of flirting he'd done with her in the rose garden, when her entire being had seemed to shine softly in the sunlight and make him think her something ethereal. But now she was going to hound him until he told her why he'd missed the biggest piece of news for gentlemen in the galaxy, something he was reluctant to admit. So he allowed the secretive smile to spread across his face and made a bow. "I'm looking forward to seeing you again then, Princess." And he walked straight past her, hoping the training grounds weren't too far away.

xoxoxo

Sailor Moon's eyes fluttered open. She was laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling, which was tinged orange in the fading sunlight streaming through the window. Focusing her gaze, she noted the ceiling was not the one in her bedroom. Turning her head to the left, she saw the still-masked Tuxedo Kamen just rousing. He was in a hospital bed, and an IV stuck out of his right arm. Sailor Moon rolled her head the other way, finding an IV in her own arm.

"Wh…What?" came the groggy question from her roommate. She turned her head back to look at him to find him looking at her with something akin to horror on his face.

"What's the matter?" Sailor Moon asked, bringing her free hand up to her face. "Do I look that bad? I know I'm always a wreck when I wake up…" she trailed off, hoping she hadn't drooled on herself or something.

"No, no, you look…Well, I can't say I love the sight of you in a hospital bed," he mumbled.

Sailor Moon rolled her eyes. And he called her dramatic. "You're one to talk." Remnants of her dreams filtered into her awareness. "We were really boring in our past lives."

Tuxedo Kamen couldn't help the rumbling chuckle that followed her outburst. "I had that dream, too. I think I like how I met you in this lifetime better."

That laugh warmed Sailor Moon so completely it scared her, and only then did it hit her that her dreams were going to show how she fell in love with the man laying in the bed next to her. Heat rose to her cheeks, not sure if she was ready for those memories. She was confused enough around him without Serenity's memories interfer—"I'm the Moon Princess." The words tumbled out of her mouth in shock as the revelation in the tower finally hit home. "H-How did that happen?"

Someone stirred in the corner, and Sailor Moon let her eyes flit to the disturbance. Sailor Mercury stiffly unfolded herself from her chair and was mid-yawn when she noticed her wards were awake. "Oh, good!" she sighed, slumping down in relief. "You've both been out for 24 hours." The water senshi stood and began scanning them with her computer. "Venus and Jupiter are outside to keep people from sneaking looks at you. I'm actually quite surprised you both maintained your transformations after being unconscious for so long, but I guess your wounds are severe enough that you needed the accelerated healing even unconscious—"

Sailor Moon's good hand flew off her bed and gently encircled Mercury's wrist the second the dim light hit the bluenette's face. "You've been crying," she whispered softly, half-statement, half-question.

Mercury stiffened just for a moment before shaking her off. "It's no big deal," she lied. She really was terrible at that.

"No, it's not 'no big deal'," Sailor Moon persisted, wishing she could sit up. It was hard to sound authoritative lying on your back. She patted the side of her bed, which had just enough room for Mercury to perch there. "Tell me what's wrong."

Silence prevailed for a few seconds, until Mercury let herself fall dejectedly into her seat on Sailor Moon's bed. She snapped her computer shut, but instead of putting it away she turned it over and over again. "Did you know that Zoicite and I were engaged on the Moon?" The question was quiet, tightly restrained, almost as if she wondered if Sailor Moon couldn't have given her some kind of warning before all her memories returned.

Sailor Moon's breath caught in her throat, vaguely aware of Tuxedo Kamen's echo. The second Mercury's question left her mouth a memory surged forward. They were on the moon. Serenity stood off on the edge of a clearing by a sparkling lake, and Endymion was by her side holding her hand as they watched one of his personal guards and close friends kneel before a beaming, crying Sailor Mercury. Jupiter, Venus, and Mars stood on Serenity's other side all practically jumping and dancing in happiness for their friend. Sailor Moon closed her eyes in sympathy, feeling just as heartbroken for Mercury as she had for Venus. "Not until you just said it." She opened her eyes and found Mercury's hand with her own. "I am so, so sorry, Mercury. It's okay to cry over him…the old him." She squeezed her hand "But this isn't Zoicite, you have to remember. It's a youma with Zoicite's face."

A miserable laugh shook Mercury's shoulders. "As much as the sensible part of me knows that, finding out you were madly in love with a man who was killed, reanimated and made to kill you…remembering all that at once doesn't really allow for much comfort," she said morosely. "And then having to stand guard all day and look for Mars when all you want to do is crawl into a hole and cry until you pass out doesn't help matters."

"Mars?" Sailor Moon's voice was sharp now. "What happened to Mars?"

"She was taken," Tuxedo Kamen answered, grinding his teeth as the memory floated back to him. "Kunzite attacked her right before she was going to leave the Tower with us."

Now Sailor Moon was more than grateful she was lying down, because she was sure her knees would have given out from under her had she been standing. Mars had been taken prisoner. The Dark Kingdom had valuable leverage on them now, knowing they'd do anything to keep Mars safe. "Do we know where they took her?"

"She's apparently in the North Pole," Mercury supplied, still turning the computer over and over in her hands. "But her signature's muted somehow, and I don't know why."

"But why take Sailor Mars?" Tuxedo Kamen asked. "If they wanted the weakest, why not take me or Sailor Moon? We wouldn't have been able to defend ourselves."

He had a point. Sailor Moon was about to begin theorizing when Mercury cleared her throat. "I couldn't physically tell anybody before this, but it seems the block is gone," she explained. She sounded unsure and…guilty?

"What?" Sailor Moon's voice was filled to the brim with dread.

Mercury shifted in her seat. "Mars…Rei hasn't been fully in control of herself these past few months."

"What do you mean?"

"Something…something infected her. Something dark. It played on any negative emotions and amplified them by several orders of magnitude."

Sailor Moon furrowed her brow and shot a worried glance in Tuxedo Kamen's direction. "What did it do to her?"

"I have a working theory that this was a youma sent to destroy the scouts from within." Mercury's hands clenched around her small computer. "Starting with orchestrating a mutiny against Sailor Moon."

The words silenced the bedridden senshi. That thought still ate away at her heart, even if she'd all but forgiven them when she woke up in the Tower to find them defending her with all they had. "I see," she exhaled. The room spun slightly now. "So why'd they take her?"

"Again, it's just a theory," Mercury cautioned, "but I think when the Silver Crystal formed, that burst of energy killed the youma, and they've taken Mars to…" She bit off the last of her words with a terrified swallow.

"To what?" Tuxedo Kamen prompted hesitantly.

Sailor Moon's face grew grim. "To turn her," she hissed, which Mercury confirmed with a jerky nod. Her hand ached, and she looked down to find her fisting the bed sheet so hard the glove stretched tight over her knuckles. "We have to get her out of there."

"None of us are strong enough yet to mount a rescue from the Dark Kingdom's base," Mercury protested, shifting into Doctor Mode for a distraction. "You and Tuxedo Kamen need to heal and rehabilitate completely before we go."

"That'll take months!"

"She's right, Sailor Moon." She looked to her left to see Tuxedo Kamen staring at her with frightening intensity. "You almost died yesterday. You're not going anywhere near the Negaverse until you're healed and back in fighting shape."

No! They needed to get Mars out of there as soon as possible! As much as the snide remarks she'd been so fond of those last few months tortured Sailor Moon, it would kill her to see those snide remarks turn into physical attacks. "I'm the Princess," she said stubbornly, desperately. "You have to listen to me."

"And I'm the man who gave his life to save you!" Tuxedo Kamen retorted heatedly. The beeping on his monitor sped up with his anger. Sailor Moon felt like she'd been slapped, unable to tell if this was Endymion or Mamoru talking. "Mars will have to manage on her own for the time being, because there's no way in hell I'm letting you go on a suicide mission to save her."

They were both right, but Sailor Moon was too upset, too angry, too hurt to hear them. Mars couldn't stay there, no matter their health! And Tuxedo Kamen struck a low blow bringing up their past lives like that. That stung the worst.

Feeling irritatingly futile, she turned her head away from them, shifting so her right cheek rested on the pillow. It was all she could do to shut them—mostly him—out, but as she let her eyes slide shut, she tried to ignore the tear sliding sideways down her cheek.

A/N: Please still love me? Please? Review!