AN: This one is kind of talky. Every now and then exposition is necessary, however. I hope that some of this exposition answers questions.

Hotaru sat on her Haruka-papa's lap, quietly listening to Rei recount her most recent vision. While the quiet teen was excited that she was being included, she had to admit that the vision frightened her.

Michiru sensed that her adopted daughter was frightened, and she stroked the girl's hair as Rei told her tale, while Haruka squeezed her other hand, both women thinking the same thing, wondering if the extra power they needed was Saturn's ultimate attack. Haruka leaned over and gently whispered to her wife, "We'll find another way."

Setsuna watched quietly. Sometimes the Guardian of Time wished that she did not have more knowledge than the rest of the Senshi. She saw the strands of time, and while the future was not set, she could tell which path was the most likely to come to past, so she already knew the contents of Rei's vision. Her oath, however, prevented her from being able to change the future, though it did not prevent her from fighting alongside her Princess.

Usagi seemed to be the most disturbed by what Rei told them. She was clinging to Mamoru, crying quietly – a sign that her friends knew meant that she was truly upset. Usagi was known for her loud outbursts, her emotional displays, but when truly shaken as she was now, she quieted, as she was now, sobbing into Mamoru's chest.

Mamoru did not seem to be faring much better than Usagi. A few silent tears had traced their way down his cheek, and he held Usagi as much for his own comfort as for his. He looked at their friends, the girls who had been through so much, the guys who were just recently restored, and he silently swore to himself that they would have the future they all deserved.

Minako was chewing on her lip, clearly trying to think of different strategies, of what extra powers they could bring to bear. Kevin was pacing, stopping momentarily each time he reached Mina to put his hand on her shoulder. Ever so often, he'd stop for minute longer, whispering something to Minako to which she would either shake her head or nod.

Jay was grimacing, holding his head in his hands, wondering how he could have possibly forgotten just how loud quiet could be. He did not notice that Rei, was watching him with a bit of concern mixed into the steely determination in her eyes.

Makoto's jaw was clenched, and her fists were balled up at her sides. The only reason that she was not beating up the wall of the Temple's living room, was that Neil was holding her, gently whispering reassurances into her ear, while deciding that as soon as evening fell, he would commune with the stars, see if they could provide any answers.

Ami and Zack were scribbling together in a notebook. Ami had taken detailed notes of Rei's vision, and the two were concentrating, doing quick calculations and making adjustments. Every now and then, they would whisper fiercely at each other, arguing over some detail or another, with one eventually winning and the adjustments being made appropriately.

Artemis and Luna had slipped out of the living room, having their own discussion.

After a few moments, Kevin stopped with his hand on Minako's shoulder and gestured over to the pair of geniuses. Minako blinked at him and then her gaze followed where he had indicated. She shrugged and mouthed, "I don't know."

He watched them a moment and then whispered to Mina, "Should we ask them to share?"

Minako shook her head, whispering back "Not until they're ready to. I'm not about to interrupt genius."

He grinned and nodded.

Minako, now taking a moment to look around the room, frowned seeing Jay. "What's up with Jay?"

Kevin frowned and then his eyes widened, "I'd completely forgotten about that. He's empathic. He's feeling everyone's distress."

Minako grimaced, "Ouch." She looked at Jay and then back to Kevin, "I'm going to see if I can at least help with that."

Kevin nodded and squeezed her shoulder, as she moved over to Rei.

"Rei." The whisper was quiet, so as not to disturb anyone else. "You need to get Jay out of here. He's empathic. He has to feel like his head is going to explode at any moment now."

Rei blinked, staring at Minako for a moment, before her words made sense. "Oh!" Rei nodded and gently pulled Jay's hands from his head, and whispered softly to him, "Come on." Keeping his right hand in hers, she guided him outside, hoping that that would be far enough from the emotions that were overwhelming him.

Haruka was the one who broke the silence and whispers. "All right, obviously, we all agree that Rei's vision was horrible, and that we're not going to allow it to happen. And I know that we're all scared or angry or…" She tilted her head at Ami and Zack who were still whispering and writing furiously, completely oblivious to everyone else. "Or so caught up in trying to solve the problem that I'm not even sure they're in the same room with us."

Neil chuckled, taking one arm from around Makoto and throwing a pillow at Zack's head, "Hey, Peacock, Nymph. That would be you."

Zack caught the pillow without looking up, "Hold on a sec."

Michiru grinned, "Leave them alone. They'll emerge when they're ready to."

Being half freed, Makoto slipped out of Neil's other arm and moved over to kneel in front of Usagi and Mamoru. She reached up and gently took Usagi's shoulder, turning her from Mamoru's chest to look at her. "Usagi. We're not going to let this happen. The whole point of Rei's vision was to keep that from happening. Ok? Please, trust us. Each of us would willingly die to protect you, to bring about Crystal Tokyo."

Usagi's lip trembled and she turned from Makoto back into Mamoru's chest, sobbing harder against him.

Mamoru frowned and held her closer, though he tried to offer Mako a smile at her attempt to help.

Minako frowned, deciding that they would take care of calming Usagi down once everyone was calm. "Everyone needs to calm down. Apparently, Jadeite and, therefore, now Jay is an empathy. We're giving him a headache, and we need to calm down so that he and Rei can rejoin us."

"Actually, I'm ok now. I just needed a moment to center myself. I had not forgotten this power, but I had forgotten just how bad it can be if I'm not centered. I'm fine now."

He glanced to the sobbing Usagi and barely controlled Mamoru then to the sobered and rejected feeling Makoto. It took him only a moment to realize what the problem was and he smiled slightly, "You misunderstood what was Usagi and Mamoru upset. They're not afraid of dying. They're afraid of us dying for them."

Mamoru nodded slightly, while Usagi's own sobbing did not subside for a moment.

Mako's eyes widened. "Oh! I'm sorry. I… I thought… I thought you were upset about… not… you know… I mean, last time."

Usagi forced herself to calm down, wiping away the rest of her tears and turning to look at Makoto. "I am upset about the possibility of not having Small Lady. But… you all… you can't… you can't die for us. You've all sacrificed so much for us. You deserve to have your futures. I… I don't want you to die for us."

Mamoru gently smoothed his fiancé's ponytails, "Usako's right. We may be your future Queen and King, but even more important than that is the fact that you are our friends. You have to understand that Crystal Tokyo won't be utopia without all of you there with us."

Usagi nodded, "We'll make it an order if we have to. None of you are allowed to die for us."

Makoto grinned and nodded. "Fair enough."

Luna and Artemis had returned just in time to hear the end of Mamoru and Usagi's speech. Artemis appeared to have won some kind of argument, though he did not look remotely happy about it. Luna was sulking.

Before anyone could ask the guardians what the problem was, Ami and Zack seemed to have finished whatever it was that they were working on. "I think we've got something that will at least begin to move us in the right direction." Ami's voice was satisfied.

Zack was positively grinning, "I think you should start by showing them, Nymph."

Ami nodded, "Probably the best way…. Mamoru… your shirt is rather wet. Let me see if I can take care of that." She gestured towards his shirt, concentrating just a moment and drew the moisture out of his shirt and then off of his cheeks and Usagi's. She had been practicing since she first realized what she could do and managed to turn the water into steam and form it into a cloud which she caused to float into the middle of the room. After a moment, she gathered some of the ambient moisture from the air to join with the cloud, causing it to grow. When she was satisfied with it, she waved her hand, and it rained inside the living room for just a moment.

Everyone but the older three women and Zack were staring at Ami. Zack was beaming with pride, while Michiru, Haruka, and Setsuna all wore satisfied expressions.

Minako shook her head after a moment, "Ami! That's fantastic! We can definitely use that in our strategy. And the rest of you guys need to remember what your powers are as well… and we'll have to figure out if Jay's empathy can be used offensively." She turned to Kevin, "We can definitely work with this though."

Zack smiled, "There's more to it than that. In Rei's vision, we were all fighting individually, being overwhelmed by the size of the army, even with all of your 'new' powers. However, if we can figure out how to work together in a new way… Michiru, Ami says that your power has to do with the seas."

Michiru nodded, smiling, "And now that my cousin has reached her full powers, she and I could work together in whole new ways."

Ami smiled, "Exactly."

Makoto blinked, "Wait, cousins?"

Ami chuckled, "Queen Yemaya of Neptune and King Hermes of Mercury were brother and sister."

Haruka was trying not to grin too big, as if she knew something that no one else did. Michiru elbowed her, "Be nice, 'Ruka."

"Do I have to?"

"What?" Minako turned to the couple, "Do you know something else that we don't know?"

Haruka chuckled, "I'd say we know a lot that you don't, Minako. We have our full memories as well."

"Oh."

"'Ruka…"

Haruka sighed over dramatically and rolled her eyes, "Fine. Queen Hera was my mother, Queen Zephyr, were twins."

Makoto grinned, "We're cousins?!"

Harucka chuckled, "Yep. We're cousins."

Minako grinned, "Ew! And you had a crush on her before we realized she was a she!"

Makoto blushed as Neil raised an eyebrow. She glared at her friend, "We all could have done without that reminder, thank you very much."

Michiru grinned, "Don't worry, Neil. She wasn't the only one who crushed on my handsome lady love."

"And none of them stood a chance. I'm thoroughly taken." She smirked, "And crushes ended once they realized that I am a woman."

Makoto got past the embarrassment, "So once I reach my full potential… you and I will be able to work together, wind and storm."

"Yep."

Rei frowned, "That's great… but what about Minako and myself?"

Ami grinned, "There are other ways for us to work together. Fire feeds off oxygen, wind can feed and spread fire. Fire can superheat metal; metal conducts electricity. Boiling water scalds, water also conducts electricity. The simple fact is that we're more powerful working together than trying to work separately."

Zack nodded, looking at the other Shitennou, "Something we know very well."

Sober glances and nods were his response.

Minako frowned, "However, there's a problem. Rei, Makoto, and myself have not gained our full powers, our full memories yet. How long do we have until the battle comes?"

Rei sighed, that was the one part she had kept back. There was nothing in her vision that expressly answered the question, but she knew. She glanced at Usagi, though she looked away before Usagi had a chance to react. "The wedding. It was at the wedding."

Usagi gasped, and Mamoru held her tightly for a moment.

Minako nodded, "Four months then. That will just have to be enough time. We'll have to try to remember."

Sets spoke up, "You can't force them. They won't come that way."

Everyone was quiet for a moment until Usagi spoke up very softly, "I… I don't have my full memories either."

That caused a full silence to fall over everyone.

Finally it was Minako who spoke, "You don't? But you can become Princess Serenity."

Ami answered, "That's the difference, Minako. Usagi and Mamoru can become their past selves, but they're still distinct, though similar, to their present selves."

"Oh."

Usagi smiled over to Ami, "Thanks. But I don't understand why not. Mamoru and I have been together for years. It was being with Zack that triggered your memories, so why haven't mine been triggered?"

Ami was slightly flustered by the question. Fortunately, Michiru was able to answer for her, with a soft laugh, "Because Zack didn't trigger it, Usagi. Ami did something that reminded her of the past, once that happened, the door was opened, and she remembered. The fact that whatever it was involved might have involved Zack, just means that she was open to it now."

"Oh. Well, then… what do we do to remind us of the past?"

"Usako, Sets said it can't be forced. It'll happen."

Rei nodded, "It will happen. I saw it remember." She raised a hand, "No, we'll make sure that everything I saw doesn't happen. But I think this will."

"Let's talk about something that is a bit more quantifiable. Minako, you wanted to know what our powers were. Jay, since everyone knows yours, why don't you start?"

The discussion had continued for what seemed like forever, though Ami was surprised when they left the Temple and the sun was still high in the sky, indicating that it was early afternoon. She looked over to Zack, "Do you guys still have more practice today?"

Kevin answered for him, "No. After that session, I think we all need some time off. He's all yours, Nymph." He smiled warmly to Ami.

She grinned, gently squeezing Zack's hand, "Thanks."

"Really, Stone? Does that mean you're all mine?"

Ami chuckled and rolled her eyes, as Zack lead her away, not waiting to hear Kevin's reply to Minako.

Zack spoke softly to her, "I think everyone's going to be just fine."

Ami nodded, "I agree. And we'll find a way to defeat this enemy." She smiled warmly up to him.

"So, my dear, I'm yours for the rest of the day. What do you want to do with me?"

She smiled up to him, "Promise not to laugh?" She was blushing.

Zack blinked, trying to figure out what would cause her to think that he would laugh at her and make her blush. He knew that it was nothing physical. While she was now more than willing to cuddle and kiss, she was very much his Ami, taking things slow, wanting to be deliberate and careful. So he could not imagine what else could be causing her to blush like that. "Of course I promise."

"I'd like to… read together." She blushed more, "I know that sounds cheesy, doesn't it? But, I'd…"

Zack interrupted her by laying his finger over her lips. "That sounds like fun.. I'd be glad to spend the afternoon reading with you. Will we be reading the same thing together, or just cuddling and reading separately?"

Ami laughed, "I'd like to read together. I was thinking… Stardust."

Zack grinned and pulled her to him, smiling down into her eyes, "That sounds like fun, Ames. The park?"

Ami nodded, "Yeah, the park would be good."

"Then, my Nymph, let's go." He kissed her softly.