"Mars called," Nephrite announced before Ami was through the apartment door.

Nodding soberly, Ami put her things down on the kitchen counter. She wondered briefly if Michiru had already contacted Rei, but then realized she'd find out soon enough when she called Rei back.

Luna was nowhere in sight, so she dialed Rei's shrine. If Rei had bad news, then she would mostly likely be at the shrine, kneeling in front of her fire.

Rei's voice sounded strained and slightly dazed. "What happened with the girl?" she asked before Ami even finished her greeting.

"So you did talk to Neptune then," Ami said quietly. "It's worse than we thought. It appears that the miko got there first."

Rei's answer was just a sharp intake of breath.

"Rei-chan?" Ami asked after a few tense moments.

"When Neptune told me her vision, I could immediately see it melding with my own. If this girl really is Sailor Saturn, she will bring utter ruin to the planet." Rei swallowed audibly. "We need to stop this miko, now."

"I know, but how?"

"I don't know. Maybe if the other senshi can work together, they will be powerful enough to defeat them."

Ami sighed. "I don't think they're that much of a team. But I can ask them to."

After hanging up with Rei, Ami turned to Nephrite, who was lounging lazily across the futon. "Why did you answer my phone?"

"She called thirty times. In one hour," he replied. "It was making my head ache."

"I'm just glad it wasn't my mother on the line."

Nephrite immediately turned to look her straight in the eyes and asked, "You still haven't said anything about me to her?"

"No, I-" She caught the look in Nephrite's eyes and looked away. "I just can't deal with her making a fuss about you staying here. I've got too much to deal with as it is."

"She's going to find out eventually," he muttered.

"I'll tell her after we stop the coming apocalypse, okay?" Personally, Ami wasn't sure that it wouldn't cause an apocalypse on it's own, but she wasn't going to voice that idea to her boyfriend; at least not while he was looking at her like a wounded puppy.

She peeled off her cardigan and plopped down beside him on the futon, cozying up to his side. "I don't know what to do about Hotaru," she murmured.

"I was thinking that you might want to talk to Kunzite or Zoisite if you really think she's under some kind of mind control," Nephrite said slowly.

Ami involuntarily tensed. Kunzite's name brought up unpleasant memories once again. "I'd rather not…" At least not by myself.

Nephrite looked at her sideways. "Do you want me to talk to Kunzite?" he asked resignedly.

"Maybe we should try Zoisite first," she offered. Nephrite would probably rather have his kneecaps broken than admit he needed Kunzite's help.

"No. Kunzite really is the one to go to." He reached over and tugged Ami into his lap. "Since it's really for the sake of the planet, he probably won't give me too much trouble."

--

To Nephrite's surprise, Zoisite was not in his music room. He had been hoping to ask his enigmatic comrade if he knew where Kunzite had gone off to. Moreover, it would give him an excuse to stall; Zoisite would want to know what was happening in America as well.

Jadeite was easier to find. He had taken to haunting the arcade run by the same owner as Crown Karaoke and Nephrite checked there first. The blond was standing in the middle of the vast maze of noisy machines, watching two girls play a noisy spin-off game from one of Venus' movies. The game looked about as entertaining as watching grass grow, so he had to assume that the main draw for Jadeite was the two girls themselves.

"Oi, Jadeite-hime."

Jadeite rolled his eyes. "Don't call me that."

"Whatever you say, Princess," Nephrite said, eyeing the girls. "Do you know where Kunzite is?"

"Probably stalking Master. He's gotten really over-protective now that the princess is ready to drop her kid."

"Drop her kid? You make it sound like she's a farm animal." Nephrite shook his head. He wasn't particularly fond of the princess either, but they should show her at least a little respect now that she was their Princess.

A smirk picked at the corner of Jadeite's mouth. "Have you seen her eat? I think she's part cow."

Nephrite smiled slightly at the irreverent comment. "Just don't let her here you say that. Pregnant women can be dangerous."

The younger tennou's eyes lit up. "You would know?"

"Not from personal experience," Nephrite said and cuffed Jadeite on the back of the head. "If you're done gossiping, would you tell me where the prince went?"

"What's in it for me?" Jadeite asked, rubbing at the back of his head theatrically.

"I won't smother you while you sleep?" Nephrite offered.

Jadeite just laughed. "You'll have to do better than that."

"Okay, fine. I won't tell Kunzite about the time that you pissed in his coffee."

"Fair enough. They're at the aquarium," Jadeite said. He watched appreciatively as one of the girls bounced up and down in celebration of beating the high score. "I think Zoi may be with them."

"Okay, thanks," Nephrite said, but Jadeite was too distracted by the girls hugging together and squealing. With a roll of his eyes, Nephrite made his way back through the maze of arcade machines.

He was nearly out the door when he heard a voice call out "Nephikichi-kun!"

Every muscle in his body tensed at once and he calculated the odds of managing to get down the street before he was caught. His eye twitched involuntarily as he slowly turned around.

An impossibly cheery Motoki was coming towards him, mostly buried by the huge stack of paper towels he was carrying. A less enthusiastic Jupiter was following him, equally laden with toilet paper. "Nefurin! I thought you were in America."

"I was," Nephrite said shortly. "I'm here to visit a friend."

Jupiter gave him a questioning look. "Right now, I'm supposed to meet with Endymion at the aquarium," Nephrite added, trying to edge towards the door.

"Ah, so Ami's dealing with things at home on her own then?" Jupiter asked.

"No. She has her new friends," Nephrite said, racking his brain not to alert Motoki. "Although one of them has been acting a little strange lately."

Jupiter's eyebrows shot up. "I hope they can work that out then. I'll have to call Ami-chan and see if there's anything I can do."

"She'd like that." Nephrite shuffled closer towards the door and freedom. "I really have to go now."

Motoki looked like he was going to say something, but a look from Jupiter shut him up and Nephrite escaped into the sunlight.

Endymion and Serenity were indeed at the aquarium, but Kunzite was nowhere in sight. That was no indication as to whether or not he was present, though, and after several moments of feeling for his energy, Nephrite located Kunzite behind a tank full of repulsive looking jellyfish.

He was dressed as a normal twenty-something, although he kept his long hair pulled-back into a loose ponytail at the base of his neck. His circlet was wrapped around his wrist several times, looking like a badly designed bracelet. Zoisite was not with him, though, and Nephrite wondered briefly where his friend had gone.

"I don't suppose you've come to relieve me," Kunzite said dryly, acknowledging Nephrite without looking at him.

"Only if you will do me a favor," Nephrite said.

"That depends on what kind of favor it is," Kunzite responded, still without turning his head.

"It's about the miko problem," Nephrite answered.

Apparently, Kunzite was now interested, because he finally faced Nephrite. The eldest tennou had such heavy bags under his eyes that Nephrite had to force himself to swallow a comment about them. He'd seen Kunzite look healthier after an all-night celebration, than he did now.

"Yes, I know I look like hell warmed over, Kunzite commented, quickly acknowledging the elephant in the room. "The youma have been increasing exponentially in the past two weeks."

"Why aren't Zoisite and Jadeite helping, then?" Nephrite asked.

"They are. Jadeite is watching Jupiter and Zoisite is watching over Mars and Venus." Kunzite began to walk slowly, dropping his voice as they followed their master into the next exhibit. "The attacks are concentrating on the princess and her child."

Nephrite made a small noise of acknowledgement. It seemed the rest of the Shitennou were as busy as he was. "The senshi in America are being targeting as well. We've already lost one."

Kunzite's eyes widened alarmingly. "One of the senshi has been killed?"

"If only," Nephrite grumbled. He took a deep breath before admitting his failure. "It appears that Sailor Saturn may be under the miko's control."

Kunzite swore quietly and glared at the clown fish in the tank next to him, his fingers tapping on the glass, as he seemed to contemplate what to say next. Silently, Nephrite waited for the rebuke he was sure was coming.

Kunzite let out the breath he had been holding, his eyes half hidden in his long bangs. "I knew I should have sent Jadeite to help you."

Nephrite was silent.

"That was too many people for one of us to protect," Kunzite continued. "I had just hoped that the senshi could protect themselves."

A few seconds later, it registered that Kunzite was placing the blame on himself, and Nephrite tried to keep the sigh of relief undetected. "It's not like any of us could have known what would happen," he said diplomatically.

"You wanted me to deal with Saturn, didn't you?" Kunzite said, dismissing Nephrite's comment.

"Yes," Nephrite admitted. "I thought maybe that because you had experience with this sort of thing, you might know how to fix it."

The blue glow from the fish tank made Kunzite appear sickly as he furrowed his brow in thought. "I doubt I can do anything. It was the Princess who healed Mercury, not me." He sighed. "I suppose it's worth a shot."

"If you're not feeling up to it, maybe you shouldn't try." Nephrite winced as soon as the words were out of his mouth. That wasn't how he meant to phrase it.

"Hmph," Kunzite grunted. "How can I retain my smug feeling of superiority of I don't succeed where you can't?" His lips curled upwards into a smirk.

"Have I told you lately that you're a complete bastard?" Nephrite asked only half-jokingly.

"Yes," Kunzite said deadpan. "Do you now where Saturn is?"

"No, but I can give you her address." He dug around in his pocket until he found a crumbled scrap of paper.

Kunzite snatched the paper out of his hand and squinted at it. After a moment, he turned the paper ninety degrees, repeatedly.

"Need your glasses, Grandpa?" Nephrite asked.

"No amount of magnification would make your chicken-scratch legible." Kunzite stuffed the paper into his pocket. "You know you to baby-sit until I get back, right?"

"Yea, yea, I know." Nephrite glanced back at the waddling princess, who looked ready to drop from exhaustion. "This will be a piece of cake."