Chapter 26: Cat and Mouse

"I was looking for you," I told them. I decided to let them think I was alone. "The others thought you might have been captured or were under the Spymaster's control."

Sailor Uranus retained her composure and straightened her back, as if she were the one interrogating me. "We thought that the Shadows were a threat to the Moon Princess. We wondered why they didn't hunt us down when they had the numbers."

"When we learned that he spared you back at the Temple, it was very confusing. Then he reached out to us," finished Sailor Neptune. I didn't like where this was headed...

"He cares about the Shadows under his command. He doesn't want to lose any more of them. With his forces weakened, he might be open to compromise ," said Sailor Uranus.

"Compromise?!" If any of the Sailor Scouts were thinking of compromising, these were the last two I expected to raise the option."They came to your house looking for Sailor Saturn!" I told them.

"We know. He thinks that shortly before Queen Beryl destroyed the Palace, Queen Serenity fashioned a bracer that could restrain a Sailor Scout's powers the same way that your bracer restrains yours. If there is a way...she might finally have some semblance of a normal life. He told us there was still a place for the Sailor Scouts in the new Kingdom," said Sailor Uranus. This has to be a trick, I thought. They can't seriously believe him. But there is a point to what he told them...

"The Spymaster said that Sailor Moon might be useful to him later. After all that talk about how you guys are using me, he wants her as his puppet!" I realized.

Uranus' eyes narrowed. "You would have gone a lot farther if you were still the Spymaster, Charon."

I threw my arms up in the air and shouted "Of course I'm still the bad guy! But what happens to everyone who isn't a Sailor Scout? Like Raye's grandpa? Amy's mom? Serena's parents?"

The two Scouts turned away from each other. I thought it might be a sign they really didn't believe what they were saying, or were at least unsure. "Maybe a new start wouldn't be such a bad thing, Charon," said Sailor Uranus. "You have to admit, there's a lot of messed up things in this world. There's only so much we can change as Sailor Scouts."

Sailor Neptune leaned over to one side. "Luna Ball!"

Luna Ball once again turned into a sphere of light blue energy to reveal Trista, Raye and Rini watching from inside my hideout. "We heard everything you just said!" shouted Trista.

"I can't believe you two would abandon Hotaru!" Rini's voice cried.

"We're not abandoning her!" cried Sailor Neptune. "Things in the future can stay exactly the same if we just go along with his plans!"

"He didn't offer to make peace! He threatened us if we interfered with his plans," shot back Raye. "Even if he keeps his word, we'll all be living in fear! Did you forget what we stand for?"

"It's easy for you to keep riding on your high horse, Sailor Mars!" shot back Sailor Uranus. "We stayed vigilant while the rest of you put your duties on hold for your personal lives!"

I barely heard him, but I turned around just as a Shadow teleported behind me. I punched him in the stomach, flipped him onto his back, and stuck him with dark energy. Another Shadow appeared to take his place behind me as my would-be attacker shuddered like he had been hit with a stun-gun...though he wouldn't stay down for long. Uranus and Neptune just stood there and watched.

"Looks like you've picked your side," I said to the traitorous Sailor Scouts.

"We knew you would come for them, Turncoat!" the Shadow taunted. My senses reached out...like echoes, I heard their footsteps patter through the halls, lying in wait for me to leave the room.

"You can't fight your way out on your own. And you can't attack Sailor Scouts as long as you're wearing the bracer," recalled Sailor Uranus.

"If you surrender, we can protect you, Charon," offered Sailor Neptune. I knew she didn't believe that...I threw a ball of magically-charged smoke in the direction of the Shadow blocking the hall. I charged him, grabbed his wrist, and flipped him over my back and off the railing. I jumped over the handrail and ran back towards the courtyard. A Shadow was perched on the balcony above me when I barged through the door. I sensed him about to come down down on top of me, so I teleported out of his way and spun him into the wall headfirst, knocking him out. With few hiding options, I hid in the plant life as a pair of guards decked in silver armor and two Shadows ran past. Uranus and Neptune appeared later with two others as I began low-crawling away from the center.

"He disappeared!" exclaimed Sailor Neptune.

"What did you expect him to do? Stand in the middle of the hallway and give an opening speech?" quipped Sailor Uranus. Neptune rolled her eyes at her partner.

"You two guard the exit," the Shadow in charge sneered to the Sailor Scouts. Her robes were adorned in silver and gold, like the previous Commander. I recognized her voice; it was the same Shadow we had spared twice! Next time I get a chance, you're finished, I thought to myself.

"What makes you think you can order us around?" Sailor Uranus snapped back. Whatever arrangement they had made with the Spymaster, it was clear they still didn't get along with the others.

The new Commander stood an inch away from Uranus' face. "Has the Spymaster shown you his sickle yet? I'll reenact what he did to Sailor Moon's pet if you don't help us find him!" she smirked. Uranus and Neptune glared back, but ultimately complied and left.

I sneaked closer towards the pillars, trying to make as little noise as possible as I crawled on the ground with Luna-P closely following. I opened my communicator and whispered, "is anyone there?"

"Logan, we heard everything too," said Darien. "I found a way up to the courtyard, the others are on their way."

"Find him! NOW!" the Commander screamed to at least two robed figures. One ran in Uranus and Neptune's direction, the other started combing the grounds in my direction. I heard a few doors open above me; they were checking the upper floor as well.

"Can you see how many there are?" I asked him.

"Hmm...four Shadows and three of those guards. Only two of them are searching the garden, the rest went to the second floor," said Darien.

"I can pick them off one by one," I said. Hopefully, the Sailor Scouts would get here before the Shadows I subdued woke up. "If I can draw Uranus and Neptune away from the exit, we can get out on our own."

"They never saw eye-to-eye with Sailor Moon and the others, but I thought they were still on our side," he whispered.

I looked up at the balcony above. I could hear the figures combing the garden getting closer to where I was hiding. "I need you to tell me when I'm clear."

"Can't you just teleport up their?" he asked.

"Too high. They knew what they were doing when they designed this place," I answered back. My eye caught one Shadow farther ahead of the other, so I crawled towards the right until I was directly in front of him. He must have sensed something just as he walked over my legs, but I quickly wrapped them around his right leg and tripped him. I lifted his head and slammed it into the ground again to make sure he was out.

"Go!" whispered Darien. I climbed up the pillar and watched the Shadow combing the grounds behind me; it was the new Commander, but she was looking off to the side. The door I opened in front of me led to a hall with several rooms - perfect for ambushes.

"Can you lead them in, Darien?" I asked. I heard the Shadow Commander scream that I was in the halls as Darien ran in through the other side. I heard the two Shadows upstairs give up their search of the rooms and hastily charge outside towards the way I came in. I hid in the door closest to the hallway entrance,. After they charged in, I charged out and tackled the closest Shadow, kneed him in the stomach, and threw him into the wall. The second Shadow charged his hand with dark magic, but Darien threw a rose at his arm. The distraction was enough for me to get him in a sleeper hold and subdue him. One of the silver-armored guards appeared behind Darien, but Darien pulled out his cane and struck the figure square in the chest, sending the guard to the ground.

"Logan, it's Molly!" exclaimed Darien. Looking over the figure, I realized he was right: it was the brownish-red-haired girl in the photos.

"Hide her! There's only one Shadow still conscious!" I urged him. But when I ran to the balcony, I saw dark energy swirling around her like a fog around a city. The last guard standing pulled out a sword pulsating blue energy, like the one Beryl's troops had used.

"You think sparing me was a kindness, Turncoat?" she screeched. "You shamed us!"

"Luna Ball, distract her!" I cried out as the Shadow's eyes started glowing red. She was transforming, like the Shadow in the arcade and the previous Commander did. The last thing we needed right now was a dark magic dragon, land kraken, or any other monster to deal with. Luna Ball flew forward and burst like a water balloon, interrupting her transformation sequence and stunning her. I charged forward and threw magically-charged smoke in her face to keep her distracted as I charged the guard. I easily dodged his clumsy swing, wrapped my arm around his and elbowed him in the back of the head. I grabbed his sword and threw it at the Shadow Commander. She screamed in pain as it flew into her shoulder. I charged both my hands with all the dark energy I could muster and flew into her, sending her to the ground.

"Did you get the same lecture on pride?" I asked as she convulsed and twitched. "You underestimated me," I taunted before she passed out. I ripped away a pendant in the shape of a full moon hanging around her neck. A transformation pendant, I suddenly remembered.

"Uranus World Shaking!" I heard Amara shout. I barely jumped out of the way in time. I thought she had turned against the Commander, but the ball of energy didn't even come close to hitting her. It was directed towards me.

"Uranus! Darien is here with Molly, and the others will be here soon! Just let us walk out of here!" I pleaded from behind one of the pillars. "You're not traitors!" But Sailor Uranus was about to charge another attack when I heard a pair of footsteps fall to the second floor just above me. I saw bubbles fly in Sailor Uranus' direction. She jumped out of the way, but the bubbles turned into streaks of blue light and flew towards Uranus. The streaks turned into a wave that smashed Uranus against the pillar directly across from me.

"Leave him alone!" Sailor Mercury's voice shouted. She jumped down to the courtyard, followed by Sailor Moon.

"Sorry it took us a while to get here," Sailor Moon apologized when I slipped from cover. "We ran into some guards, and then it took us a while to climb up."

"One of us took longer than the others," added Sailor Mercury. Three guesses who, I thought.

"Sailor Moon! Mercury!" Sailor Neptune left her position at the main entrance to investigate. Sailor Venus jumped from the balcony above her and wrapped her love chain around the green-haired traitor. Sailor Jupiter jumped down after her.

"Serena, I can explain - " began Sailor Uranus. At first, I thought Sailor Moon raised her hand in the air to motion her to be quiet, but then it came down hard across Sailor Uranus' face.

"You should have yelled 'Sailor Slap'!" taunted Vigil's voice from Luna-P.

"Not the time, Vigil," I whispered back.

I caught a glimpse of rage burning in Sailor Moon's eyes, something I never would have expected to see in Serena's. Sailor Moon turned her head back towards Sailor Uranus. "I already heard your explanation! You're the real Turncoats!" shouted Sailor Moon. I watched her remove her tiara...

"I really thought there was a chance for peace, Serena! The Shadows aren't like the enemies we faced from the Negaverse! But I see that the others are different from the Spymaster!" pleaded Sailor Uranus.

"We realized we made a mistake listening to the Spymaster before, but we had to help them capture Charon to keep our cover! This is our best chance to find out what they're planning!" added Sailor Neptune. But Sailor Moon said nothing as she clutched her tiara while the others continued glaring. I wondered if she was about to execute Sailor Uranus and Neptune...

"Serena," I called gently to her. "I don't think they were going to betray you. You don't have to do this," I said.

"They almost killed you. Again," Sailor Moon answered without looking at me. "They won't listen to us, and they don't respect me as a leader."

"Of course we do! You're the Princess of the Moon! We might not always agree, but we respect your decisions! And it's clear you don't want us cooperating with the Spymaster!" said Sailor Uranus.

"He trusts us. We'll find a way to keep him off your backs until we find out what his plans are for Hotaru. Then we'll help you stop them, we promise!" offered Sailor Neptune.

Darien appeared from the second floor, holding Molly in his arms. "Please, Sailor Moon. Give them a chance to redeem themselves."

Sailor Moon turned her head slightly in my direction. Unsure if she could see me, I nodded anyway. "You're lucky that Logan trusts you." I saw Uranus breathe a sigh of relief as Sailor Moon placed her tiara back on her head. "But if you try to hurt Logan, or any of us, you're dead to me," she threatened.

Sailor Jupiter stayed behind to survey the damage Uranus' attack caused as the rest of us left for the main entrance. "Good luck explaining this," she sighed before she ran to catch up with us.

I came up alongside Sailor Moon. "Hey, are you OK?" I asked her.

"I was just about to ask you," she said as she turned to face me. The anger had vanished, but I knew she was still hurt. "You've proven that I can trust you over and over again, but it still took me a while. This isn't the first time they've stepped out of bounds, but I still trusted them," she confessed.

"I think they mean well, they just don't always go about it the right way," I said.

Sailor Jupiter mumbled "that's an understatement."

"Appearances can be deceiving, right?" added Sailor Venus.

"Mina! It's - wait, that's right. Sorry, I got used to automatically correcting you," apologized Sailor Mercury.

"I'm glad you trust me now. And I need to trust you won't throw me out, like the Spymaster said," I told Serena.

"Never," Sailor Moon finally smiled. "Molly! How is she?" she called out when Darien joined us.

"She's OK! She's still out from - " Darien paused when Sailor Moon stared at me. "Actually it was me," he admitted. "I can take her someplace safe."

"I know they didn't give you guys much of a choice back there," acknowledged Sailor as we all marched back into the bitter cold, hoping not to run into Henry or any Shadows returning. "We should stay together tonight. It's gonna be a tight fit."

"Don't worry about space, the Spymaster loved his secret rooms," quipped Vigil over Sailor Mercury's communicator.

"I'd better take another look at your wound before we turn in, Logan," said Sailor Mercury. "My mom's shift at the hospital is over, but we can't ignore put it off until morning."

"I feel fine. I was able to fight, no problem. But yeah, another look won't hurt," I admitted.

"You did well tonight, Logan. Those Shadows are going to be embarrassed when they wake up," added Sailor Jupiter. I wonder what the Spymaster will do to them when he finds out, I wondered. "Though if Uranus and Neptune change their minds again, that bracer's going to be a problem," she noted.

"Right - you can't attack any of us while you're wearing it, traitor or not," said Sailor Venus. "I hope it has adjustable settings. No way we're cutting him open and filling him with Dark Shards."

"We'll talk to Luna and Artemis about it later," suggested Mercury. "Vigil said there's a tunnel entrance near where you parked."

"You know, you shouldn't leave Amara and Michelle's car here," Sailor Jupiter suggested to Venus. "Why don't you take Logan for a spin? We'll bring the rest of the supplies inside and get everything ready."

"Artemis goes with you," Mina insisted. We made our way back up the hill. Sailor Moon and the others brushed snow off their boxes and bags of food and other supplies before directing me to another tunnel leading to my hideout. I slid back down the hill again and quickly found another tree with a crescent moon etched into it. I opened it for the others and Sailor Moon said she would see us in a couple hours. I noticed her wink at Venus before she tugged me back up the hill towards the car.

"I heard Uranus mention the Negaverse?" I asked Sailor Venus.

"It was the universe that Queen Beryl once ruled," she answered as she climbed in the car and put the keys in the ignition.

"Negaverse...that's a stupid name," I commented.

"Oh yeah? What would you have called it?" she asked when she started the car.

"I dunno, the Dark Kingdom?" I answered back.

Mina smirked. "Real original! You do suck at coming up with names!" she teased. She laughed when I stuck my tongue out at her. Everything after that became a blur...

"Lo-gan! Wake up, sleepyhead!" I winced when Venus started tickling my side.

I groaned in response. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yup! Don't worry, I was watching you the whole time - er, I mean I was watching out for you!" she grinned uncomfortably. "You looked like you could use a nap."

"I'm sure I'm not the only one," I said to her.

She nodded, but she looked peppy as usual. "Come on, the others are waiting for us," she chimed as we got out of the car. It was pitch black outside and the snow was still coming down. Conveniently, the lot where Mina was parked held another secret tunnel entrance, this time next to an old power transformer. I looked around to make sure there was nobody watching before I opened the door.

"Have any interesting dreams?" Venus asked as we jumped down.

"Not this time," I said with some relief. "I did before though - I met you my first day in the Moon Kingdom."

"You did?" Mina asked excitedly.

I nodded. "You were ice skating on the lake. You brought me to meet Queen Serenity."

"I wish I remembered that," she wished.

"I'm kind of glad you don't, I embarrassed myself a bit," I admitted. She smiled back. It was close to midnight when Sailor Venus and I reached the end of the tunnel. "Vigil, why aren't the lights on? Don't tell me someone's been billing me for electricity the last thousand years."

Vigil's hologram didn't appear in the terminal. Serena exited one of the rooms, wearing a jean jacket over a pink shirt. "Everyone's gathered in the dining...er, cave. We fixed this place up a bit, but I wish my mother had given you a bigger budget," said Serena.

"I get the feeling that Queen Serenity saved the best stuff for the Sailor Scouts," I taunted and lifted my sleeve to show my hand-me-down communicator. "I guess we need to talk about Uranus and Neptune," I remarked.

"We'll get to that," said Serena. The darkness helped hide her face from me, but I noticed she was avoiding eye contact. "Logan, I found out there's something else that you haven't told us about yourself."

I felt a lump forming in my throat. My eyes were glued on Serena, looking at her face for any hints as to what this interrogation was about, but she was doing an uncharacteristically good job at hiding her feelings. "Just ask me, then. What do you want to know?" I asked.

"Something very important is going to happen in a couple of minutes. Vigil told us, and Amy confirmed it. I said I trust you, but it's hard for me to believe you'd just forget. " she chastised.

I was completely stumped. "I...I don't know what he's talking about," I said.

"Logan," she said my name more firmly, "this is something you knew long before we met."

Now I was even more confused. "Serena, if this has anything to do with the Shadows or Silver Millennium, I don't know any more than you! I just have a few pieces from that dream that didn't make sense!"

"Serena, you're scaring him!" said Sailor Venus. Her words were serious, but I noticed her voice quiver as if she was trying to keep herself from laughing.

"I had to make sure you weren't holding out on us..." I saw the corners of Serena's mouth lift as a smile crept on her face. "Because no matter what, we're still celebrating."

"Celebrating?" I asked. Before that word had finished leaving my lips, the hidout suddenly lit up. I saw all the other Sailor Scouts (minus Uranus and Neptune of course) and Guardian Cats gathered in the back room. The were mischievously smiling and laughing after witnessing the whole scene. Only when I saw them all together did I realize that I hadn't been keeping count of the days. Then they all shouted in unison:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN!"

To Be Continued

A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! My longest chapter so far...I wanted to have that little 'twist' at the end to lighten things up. I would've liked to go more into Logan's party but this was the best spot to end it. The good news is that means I know where to start the next one! Thanks for the reviews and support!