A/N: Thanks for reviews, guys. I had an interesting question from someone who asked about Diana and the fact that she had returned with Chibi-Usa. The answer is that Luna and Artemis could (theoretically) have another child who has the same DNA and everything as Diana, being that they are a couple and will be having a child. But the odds of that happening are like one in a million. You and your siblings aren't the same, right? Since the future has changed, this is extremely unlikely... Will another moon kitty pop up? Wait and see! Enjoy!


Real. It was real. The frightening word danced repeatedly through Usagi's mind and she found herself gasping for breath, her beautiful dress suddenly seeming too tight. Seiya looked like she was caught in a state of disbelief as she stared at her wrist and the blood sliding down her forearm, but there was no time for her to say or do anything. Beryl was attacking again, and Usagi had no idea what was going to happen because Serenity and Endymion had been out on the balcony when this all had been going on. As far as she remembered, the two lovers had been so caught up in each other that they hadn't even realized the attack had begun, and it seemed like so far, that part of her memories had been fairly valid.

"Sei-chan, come on!" Reacting to the familiar, threatening glow around Beryl's staff, Usagi snapped out of her daze and grabbed Seiya's other, unwounded arm, physically yanking her lover along behind her. Seiya stumbled before she caught her balance and willingly began following Usagi towards a hole in the nearest wall that had been formed by the initial blast. Usagi tried not to look at the numerous bodies that littered the ground as they fled, but her stomach was churning in cold realization. Beryl had killed so many people with just one attack. No wonder the Moon Kingdom had fallen to the Dark Kingdom if that was the kind of power they had wielded.

The Moon Palace proved to have a dizzying array of halls that all looked the same at first glance, and it wasn't long before the two of them were hopelessly lost. Not that it mattered; Usagi had no other thought in mind except to get away from Beryl, and since being lost was accomplishing that nicely, she didn't mind. Eventually, Seiya reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping their frantic run, and the blonde realized that she was gasping for breath that didn't seem to want to come. She bent double, resting her hands on her thighs, and struggled to take slow, even breaths in hopes of calming herself down. It wasn't working. Tears began sliding down her cheeks and she heard herself give a rough sob. At the same time, Seiya leaned down and pulled her upright before crushing her into a protective embrace that was much for Usagi as it was for herself.

"It's real," Usagi whimpered, shaking. "Oh god, it's real."

"Odango, calm down," Seiya ordered, pulling back a little so that she could rest their foreheads together. She stared intently into Usagi's eyes as she spoke with strained calm. "You have to stay with me, alright? Look, this is really no different from any other dream. When you're remembering the Moon Kingdom, you're Princess Serenity, right? And as her you die, don't you?"

Usagi blinked, trying to follow this train of logic. "Y-yes, sort of," she said hesitantly. "I... Well, my mother uses the ginzuishou to trap us inside afterwards. I suppose we're usually dead at the time, but she saves us by sending us to be reborn on Earth..."

Seiya nodded. "This is exactly the same," she said firmly, squeezing Usagi's hand tightly. "We're dreaming, that's all, and even if we died, it wouldn't matter because we would just we wake up."

'I want to believe that.' Usagi squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath, realizing that she had no choice but to believe in what Seiya was saying and hope that the older girl was correct. It did make sense, and if there was even the slightest chance that she and Seiya might not wake up unless they were careful not to be killed, well, she would just have to make sure that no one else was presented with the opportunity to attack. "Alright," she said reluctantly, feeling her pounding heart slowing. "I'm sorry for freaking out. I guess I should have realized..."

"Don't apologize," said Seiya gently, rubbing the remainder of tears from the blonde's face. She smiled thinly. "I wasn't expecting it either, to be honest. I thought that when you said we'd be seeing your memories, we'd be watching, not participating."

"Tell me about it." Rubbing her eyes, Usagi blinked and looked at the thin trail of blood that had leaked down Seiya's arm. "And your arm? It's okay?" It appeared to have stopped bleeding, and she could tell at a glance that it wasn't very deep, but she couldn't help fussing anyway. Quickly, she grabbed the hem of her dress and tore a small strip off before tying it securely around the gash to stop dust or dirt from getting in. "That's not much, but it will do."

"It's fine, but thank you." Dismissing the wound now that it had been cared for, Seiya looked around, wondering where they had ended up. They had gone a fair distance from the ballroom, that much was obvious, as the palace was completely silent around them. That meant they would have to backtrack to get back to the source of the trouble. She walked over to one of the many windows and looked through, grimacing at the sight of the dead and dying guards and citizens below her. Her attention was swiftly caught by the ominous dark clouds that had gathered above the garden, blocking out the view of Earth. There was literally a storm brewing and she had no doubt of who was at the center of it.

"I think that Serenity and Endymion are out there," ventured Usagi, who had stepped up beside her without Seiya noticing. A confused look flashed over her face for a moment and she put a hand to her head. "Wait... yes, I think they are. I don't... It's hard for me to remember. I never noticed before, but there's a gap in my memories. I remember being on the balcony with Endymion, and then somehow we jump to being outside with Beryl standing over us. Then my mother used the power of the ginzuishou to save us. I don't know what happens in between."

"Then let's go check it out. Come on." Taking Usagi's hand in hers, Seiya walked as quietly as possible down the nearly silent halls. The Moon Palace was built much like any other castle that she had been in, and that meant when you wanted to find your way out, going down and forward was generally the best option. True enough, within a few minutes the two of them had found their way back to a hallway that Usagi recognized, and from there, the petite blonde was able to lead the way to an exit that brought them out on the far eastern side of the palace. They emerged from the palace just in time to see Sailor Venus finish off a youma with her crescent beam before she started running in the direction of the storm clouds.

Without exchanging a single word, Usagi and Seiya took off after her at full speed. Even though her memories were spotty at best, Usagi was fairly certain that she knew what was coming and some part of her railed against watching it too closely, which was why she flung an arm out and stopped Seiya before her lover could charge right up to the senshi. From a relatively safe distance, she looked at the senshi of the Silver Millennium, noticing that Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus had been joined by Uranus and Neptune. Princess Serenity was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn't surprising. The princess was likely wherever Prince Endymion was, and in the meantime, the six senshi appeared to be conferring on what their step next step should be. All six of them looked ragged and worn already and the battle had only just begun.

Seiya took a quick look at the assembled group and frowned with curiosity. "You're not there?"

"Sailor Moon doesn't exist here. I didn't become a sailor senshi until this lifetime, when we were searching for the ginzuishou." Usagi caught her breath as the ground trembled beneath her feet. She fell to her knees, unable to keep her balance, as the Seven Great Youma converged on the six sailor senshi. At first glance, the dark shadows didn't seem to pose much of a threat, but it was painfully obvious from the moment that the first attack was thrown that the senshi were being overwhelmed. Their powers weren't nearly strong enough, but the girls fought valiantly in an effort to protect the one place that they could still call home. And for a few seconds, it seemed like they might actually have the combined strength to win.

But then the Shittenou came.

Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite and Jadeite appeared at north, south, east and west respectively, surrounding the senshi in a loose circle. All four of them seemed very much amused by the plight of the senshi. Seiya winced, recognizing Jadeite, and stooped down next to Usagi, not wanting to risk being noticed. She didn't want to draw any attacks in their direction. The Seven Great Youma halted their attacks when Kunzite held his hand up. Looking far more wounded and exhausted, the senshi gathered in a circle and put their backs to one another so that no one could sneak up on them. Kunzite seemed to find this very amusing.

"What is wrong, little princesses?" he called out mockingly, his pale hair whipping wildly in the fierce wind that had sprung up. "Are you not having as much fun as we are?"

"Traitor!" Sailor Venus screamed at him, tears falling freely down her face. "How dare you turn your backs on us!"

"We seek power," said Zoisite calmly, seemingly unaffected by the accusation. His voice was filled with so much disdain that Usagi didn't have to see his face to be able to imagine the sneer on it. "All of you are weak. Queen Beryl has offered us strength beyond anything that you could imagine."

"But it is not worth it," said Sailor Mercury. "Can you not understand that?"

"You... you could help us fight. It's not too late," Sailor Jupiter added. Her eyes were filled with tenderness when she added, "We would forgive you." In the next instant, she screamed in pain as one of the Seven Great Youma lashed out at her and collapsed to her knees, clutching her arm. Venus and Mercury cried out her name, and for a split second, concern flashed across Nephrite's face. It seemed like he would take a step towards her. But Kunzite shot him a stern look and he stopped, his expression smoothing out and becoming cold and haughty once more.

"We are your enemies," Jadeite told them sternly, holding his hands straight out. "It is time you let go of your foolish fantasies. We have joined the winning side, and if you have decided that you don't want to do the same, you will die." Raw power began to build between his cupped fingers. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune immediately strove to attack him before he could unleash it, but Kunzite summoned two boomerang-shaped beams of light and drove the two women back before they could get close.

"Jadeite... Please..." Sailor Mars whispered, violet eyes filled with tears as the rest of the Shittenou began to summon their power. It was the first time Usagi had ever seen her friend with such raw pain on her face, and she realized at that moment that she couldn't bear to watch any more. Impulsively, she spun and clutched at Seiya, burying her face in her lover's shoulder in an effort to drown out what was happening in front of her. Seiya wrapped her arms around the blonde and continued to watch, more because she felt someone should be a witness to their deaths than because she wanted to.

It happened quickly. Though the senshi released their own attacks in an effort to fight back, the Shittenou were ruthless and strong, and their combined power hit the wounded senshi like a battering ram. Their screams of agonizing pain were horrific to listen to, and when the smoke began to clear and revealed their battered, lifeless bodies, Seiya had to fight with herself to remain still. She forcefully reminded herself that there was no point in trying to attack when this had all happened well over a thousand years ago. But that was hard to remember when the Shittenou began to laugh mockingly and Jadeite had the nerve to stride over to Sailor Mars's corpse. He sneered and kicked the girl's body in the side, sending her crashing into Sailor Mercury's before he turned his back on them.

"Come," he commanded, looking at the others. "Our queen awaits us."

"Fucking hell," Seiya said very softly under her breath, unable to move as tears streamed down her cheeks. She was relieved that the Shittenou didn't look in their direction as they strode by, likely dismissing the two girls as nothing more than citizens who had stumbled upon their last hope being destroyed. On the one hand, their lack of attention meant that there was less danger to her and Usagi. But on the other hand, she would have given a lot for just five minutes with the four of them, regardless of whether this was a memory or not. The thought of driving her fist into Jadeite's smirking face gave her untold pleasure.

Usagi was sobbing freely as she fought to keep from collapsing into a broken pile at Seiya's feet. She'd known that it would be hard to watch; though Serenity and the senshi had never been overly close in this lifetime, these were still the former versions of her best friends. But she hadn't realized... "I think I understand," she gasped out, knowing that she would never forget how betrayed Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter had looked.

"What? Odango? What do you mean?" Torn between confusion and worry, Seiya gently tilted the blonde's face up so that she could have a better chance at understanding what was going through Usagi's head.

Harsh, raw laughter came before Usagi had the chance to answer, and both of them twisted to see that Queen Beryl was standing in front of Prince Endymion; he had clearly been running to the aid of the senshi and the evil queen had intercepted him. She was holding her staff up in front of her and there was a broken sword at her feet. The prince himself was kneeling on the ground, one hand cupping the side of his chest. Blood had already begun to soak through his armor, and his face was ashen, his breathing was ragged. They were too far away to hear what Beryl was saying, but she seemed to be very amused as she reached down and cupped Endymion's cheek, pulling his face closer to hers, so that their lips were nearly brushing. Whatever she said seemed to anger the prince, for he jerked out of her hold and pushed himself backwards out of reach. He glared up at her.

"I will never be your pawn!" he shouted, dark blue eyes blazing with determination. "No matter what you have done to my generals or the guardians, or what you will do to the Moon and Earth, I will always be against you, Beryl, even if it means my death. You are nothing more than an evil, horrible witch and I wish you the cruellest, most painful death that anyone could ever suffer!"

Beryl's face twisted with rage. "I offer you a life of power and prestige, little prince, and you throw it back in my face?" she spat. "You could have been happy at my side with your generals, but if you would rather die than I will be only too happy to grant you death." Her fingers tightened around the staff, but instead of summoning power from the crystal ball, she lifted it over her shoulder like a baseball bat before swinging it forward as hard as she could. Usagi flinched, shutting her eyes, but that couldn't block out the sickly squishing sound of the staff impacting with Endymion's head. A sick feeling engulfed Seiya as the prince's body fell over lifelessly. A pool of crimson blood began to rapidly spread around his body as Beryl laughed, a hollow, evil sound that lacked any of her previous exuberance.

"NOOOO!" The pained shriek echoed through the air, making them both jump, as Princess Serenity, still clothed in the royal white gown she had worn to the ball, ran across the field from the direction of the Moon Palace. Behind her were several guards, all yelling for her to stop. Beryl killed them with a flick of the wrist as the weeping girl threw herself down beside Endymion, causing her white skirts to become stained with his blood. She didn't seem to notice as she bent over the still form of the boy she had loved and sobbed helplessly, pleading with him to return to life. Beryl looked down at her with an expression of disgust.

"Foolish little princess," Beryl said softly. "You should have remained in your room where it was safe and your mommy could protect you. Now you are at my mercy."

Princess Serenity looked up. Her face was streaked with tears as she glared at Beryl, blue eyes enraged. "And watch you destroy everything that I hold dear while I hid? What would I have left?" she cried out, rocking Endymion's body back and forth. "Why are you doing this, Beryl? Is it not enough that you have ruined the other planets in our solar system? You have killed countless people and wounded hundreds more, and for what?" She shuddered. "Tell me, was it worth it, Queen Beryl?" she practically spat the name out.

"I will have what I desire most," replied the woman, her distant gaze fixated on a point above the princess's head. The anger drained from her face and she sounded almost dreamy. "That is all that matters to me."

"You're so selfish," Serenity whispered. Her gaze wandered briefly in the direction of her fallen senshi before she closed her eyes and laid her cheek against Endymion's hair. "I cannot bear to be around you for a minute longer. And I... I don't want to live in a world that is devoid of what matters most to me." Her hand trembled as she reached towards the ground and groped blindly for a shard of the broken sword. Seiya's free hand flew to her mouth to muffle her disbelieving gasp as she understood what the girl was going to do seconds before Serenity actually did it. Without hesitating, the princess of the moon thrust the blade deeply into her chest directly over where her heart would be. Her aim proved to be true. Within minutes, her vivid blue eyes had gone vacant and she collapsed on top of Endymion's body. Their blood mingled together as she joined her lover in death.

Beryl stood over the two of them, seemingly too stunned to react at first. Eventually, though, she threw her head back and laughed. "My people!" she shrieked, spinning around to face the Shittenou, Seven Great Youma, and countless other youma that had been ravaging the Moon Kingdom. "On this day, we have at last won! Our goal is ever closer to being accomplished. Together we shall move on to the planet of Earth, and when we have conquered it, we will have enough energy to give our great queen human form at last! Our moment of triumph is at hand!"

Cheers broke out amongst the youma and even the Shittenou seemed pleased at Beryl's proud words. Eyes blazing with triumph, the woman continued, "Finish your destruction, my loyal subjects. Rampage and tear apart everything that this pathetic little Kingdom ever held dear. I don't want there to be a single sign left that the beloved Silver Millennium ever existed! I want – ARGH!" Beryl cut herself off with a shriek of pain as she staggered backwards clutching at her left shoulder, where an arrow protruded from her flesh.

"I think not, Beryl," a very familiar voice declared. Queen Serenity placed the bow and arrow set that she had borrowed from one of her slain guards down on the ground and squared her shoulders, apparently undaunted by the fact that she was facing an army by herself. As she moved, her eyes fell on Serenity and Endymion and visible pain flashed across her face, but she held herself together. "I will not allow you to do as you please. Your reign of terror will end here without hurting anyone else."

"What can you do alone?" Beryl scoffed, reaching up and wrapping her fingers around the shaft of the arrow. She yanked it out without hesitation, leaving a gaping hole in her flesh, and tossed the arrow away. Seiya couldn't help feeling even more ill when she realized that, in spite of the wound, Beryl did not bleed. The woman was truly no longer anything remotely close to human, and Queen Serenity did not deserve to face this creature by herself.

"She's not alone," she announced without thinking, the words escaping before she could pull them back. Usagi stiffened at her side as both Beryl and Queen Serenity looked at them in surprise. In the heat of the battle, the two of them had gone unnoticed. "True soldiers are never alone, especially not when faced with evil like you."

Beryl looked at them in confusion. Faint recognition flashed over her face when she saw Usagi, and she glanced briefly at Serenity's body before demanding, "Who are you?"

Before Seiya or Usagi could respond, Queen Serenity spoke. "That is of no consequence to you, since you will be dead long before they become your problem." From the folds of her gown, she withdrew a familiar object. Usagi gasped softly and dug her nails into Seiya's arm, recognizing the Crescent Moon Wand. Queen Serenity cradled the wand in her hands like an old friend as she looked back up at Beryl. There was no fear in her eyes, only resignation tempered with determination. "I promised myself that I would do whatever it takes to defeat you, Beryl, and I will hold true to my word. If my death is what it takes to stop you, then so shall it be. It will be a worthy sacrifice to protect my daughter."

Beryl's eyes widened with realization and alarm. "Stop her!" she screeched at the Shittenou.

Queen Serenity held out a hand and closed her eyes. White light flared above her palm as the ginzuishou of the Silver Millennium appeared. Usagi's ginzuishou sparkled as Queen Serenity pressed her ginzuishou into place on top of the Crescent Moon Wand. The soft white light shining from her ginzuishou was more than enough to repel the attacks that the Shittenou were hurdling in her direction, and she didn't even seem to notice that she was being attacked. Her sole focus was on the wand and the sacrifice she was about to make. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she lifted the wand into the air and called out.

"COSMIC MOON POWER!"

TLYM

As what passed for the Kinmokian equivalent of a sun began to come up over the horizon, Aino Minako tucked her legs underneath her body and slowly combed her fingers through her long blonde hair. Even though it was early, she was already dressed in a pair of the leggings and a tunic that seemed to be such a popular style on Kinmoku. It was surprisingly comfortable and she wondered if she would still enjoy wearing some of the more confining outfits she was required to dress in as an actress when she returned home. Home. An ironic smile curved her lips as she ducked her head, wondering if they ever would return home. At this rate, she could almost see them setting up shop on Kinmoku for good.

For that matter, even if (when?) they returned, would she even have a job to go back to? Minako had originally asked for two weeks off and she knew that deadline had passed by at least a handful of days, even though she hadn't been going out of her way to keep track of time. Her cell phone, which had been left behind on Earth, was no doubt full of voice mails and text messages from her director and agent demanding to know where she had gone and when she would return. It was likely that if she didn't show up soon she'd be crossed off as yet another teen starlet who couldn't take the heat and took off without telling anyone where she had gone. It would ruin her career, as all it would take to give her a bad reputation was one director who got fed up with her, and then no one would want to hire her. By remaining here on Kinmoku, she was putting her entire future in jeopardy.

And Minako didn't care. Not even a little bit. She'd dreamed about being an actress and singer for practically her whole life and now that she had achieved those dreams, she realized that it meant nothing unless she had the right people by her side. Her job had caused her to become so disconnected from Usagi and the others that it physically hurt, and the longer she spent here on Kinmoku the less she wanted to go back to work. Especially not without... she pulled her knees closer to her chest and chewed anxiously on one of her nails. It was a bad habit she'd picked up in high school and never quite gotten rid of, not that it really mattered, as the second she transformed they would be back to their former glory.

"If Artemis were here, he'd be so angry with me," she muttered around her finger, smiling at the thought of her faithful guardian. Artemis had pushed her to achieve her dreams when no one else had been around and he'd always remained her most faithful supporter. He would be worried that she was throwing it all away for no reason. And, yes, she did know that she was being foolish; if she had any sense at all, she would return to Earth for a few minutes, just long enough to call her agent and request a sabbatical of some kind. There was no real reason why she couldn't do that.

Except... she closed her eyes and sighed. Some part of her couldn't let go of the niggling thought that, if she left Kinmoku and the Starlights for even a minute, they would all disappear and this would have been nothing more than a dream. She had never been as close to Yaten as Usagi had been to Seiya, but the silver-haired Starlight had been a major contender in many of her dreams over the past five years, and she couldn't imagine going back to her life without Yaten at her side. It was like she had been adrift in a sea and Yaten's calm, steady (and sarcastic) presence was the ground she had been searching and longing for. More than anything, she wanted Yaten to come back to Earth with her. She just didn't know if that's what Yaten wanted. That brief kiss in the hallway a few days ago had been the last form of intimacy that the two of them had exchanged.

"Does she even like me at all?" Minako asked the sky plaintively, her big blue eyes fixed on the fading stars. Sometimes she thought that Yaten loved her, was maybe even in love with her, but at other times she wasn't so sure. Every time she tried to do something as simple as slip her hand into Yaten's, the other girl would pull away. And forget anything like kissing. She shook her head slowly, wondering at herself. There hadn't been a second in her life when she would have guessed that she would be on an alien planet pining over another woman, yet here she was. Life could be so funny.

"Minako-chan? Are you talking to yourself?"

At the sound of the familiar voice, Minako dropped her chin against her chest and smiled, unsurprised that someone had finally sought her out. "I find that sometimes I'm the only one who will listen."

Ami raised an eyebrow at that as she edged her way out onto the balcony and stood expectantly beside the chair Minako was sitting on. The blonde obligingly inched over, leaving enough space for Ami to sit down as well. "I'd be willing to listen to you," she said, pushing her glasses further up her nose. "What's wrong?"

Now that she had someone to listen, Minako wasn't sure what to say. She sighed and drummed her fingers together. "Your school, Ami-chan… Weren't you supposed to be back a while ago?"

If she was surprised by the question, Ami didn't show it. "I was on break for a while," she replied. "But… you're right, that ended. The truth is, when we came to Tokyo I called my advisor and told him that I might not return for the next semester. I said if I didn't show up to please officially put me on break and he agreed. So if he's done as I asked, and I expect he has, I have several weeks yet before I face any sort of ramifications."

"You're so smart," Minako said pathetically, feeling foolish. Why hadn't she thought to put those kinds of preparations in place?

"You could go back," Ami pointed out.

"Yeah." There was no need to say that that wasn't an option; Ami understood that without it being spoken. "How are things going with Taiki-san?"

A pretty pink flush covered Ami's cheeks and she ducked her head self-consciously. Talking about love in terms of herself was still embarrassing. She'd never really had a boyfriend or girlfriend before and she felt that her inexperience showed when she was speaking to someone like Minako. "It's going okay, I think," she said shyly. "Taiki and I have been spending time together when we can."

Minako raised an eyebrow at the lack of honorific, but neglected to mention it. Instead, she allowed a wicked smile to cross her face. "Have you kissed yet?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

The pink deepened to red as Ami sputtered, "M-Minako-chan!"

"I'll take that as a yes," Minako said with a smirk. She couldn't help feeling a little jealous. The passion and connection that had previously existed between her and Yaten had led her to believe that it would be easy for them to go that final step. But she hadn't been expecting Yaten's resistance and it was bothering her more than she cared to admit. It would figure that, once again, the goddess of love was then one having the most difficulty!

"Is something wrong?" Her hands pressed against her hot cheeks, Ami watched her friend closely, having noticed the conflicting emotions that flashed across Minako's face when she believed that no one was paying attention. "You've been out here for ages. What's the matter?"

"It's…" she trailed off, uncertain of how to put her concern into words. Every time she remembered the look of affection in Yaten's green eyes before they kissed that time, she wondered how she could possibly doubt the other girl.

"It's what?" Ami prompted gently.

"Yaten," Minako said miserably, deciding that she could remain silent no more. She had to talk to someone, even if it was just to hear Ami tell her that she was being silly. "I don't… We just…" She hung her head and sighed. "You know how I feel about her. Hell, she knows how I feel about her. But I don't think she feels the same way."

Ami's blue eyes widened slightly. "Why? I've seen the way she looks at you. There's no doubt in my mind that she feels something for you."

"But every time I try to… you know…" To her horror, Minako felt herself blushing slightly. She prayed that Ami wouldn't notice. "She moves away or acts like she didn't notice. We've kissed a couple of times but nothing has happened since then even though I've tried, and I thought… well it just made me wonder if I was reading the signs wrong and that maybe all she really wants is to be friends."

"Have you talked to her about this?" Ami asked, sounding a little preoccupied. Minako didn't bother to lift her head to see why. She kept staring at the ground as she mutely shook her head.

"Well, now's your chance."

"Eh?" Minako's head snapped up and around, and she realized with dawning mortification why Ami had been so embarrassed by her questions earlier. Yaten and Taiki were standing in the doorway behind the two of them and had no doubt heard every word that they had exchanged. Her cheeks burned bright pink and she shot a murderous look at Ami, who merely smirked in reply as she stood up, artfully dodging Minako's hands in the process. Clearly pleased with herself, she walked back over to the two women and left with Taiki at her side, leaving Minako alone with Yaten.

An awkward silence fell as Minako twisted back around to look out over the gardens before she could say or do something stupid. Her heart was pounding and she didn't know if it was better to stay where she was or run away. Part of her wanted to know what Yaten would say if the silver-haired girl chose to say anything at all, but another part of her balked at the possibility of hearing a rejection. When she had imagined meeting up with Yaten again, the fact that things might not work out had never entered into her plans. Was she ready for that possibility? She tensed, her muscles ready to propel her into action; she wasn't ready for this.

"Idiot." Yaten's hand fell on her shoulder, but it was the affection in her voice that froze Minako in place. "Why didn't you come talk to me?"

"I didn't know what you would say." It was as close to the truth as she could bring herself to say now that she knew Yaten was there.

Yaten sighed and took Ami's place on the chair. The warmth from her body made Minako tingle all over. "It's not that I don't want to be with you," she said quietly, reluctantly. "I… care for you, Minako. Perhaps more than I should." She looked straight into the blonde's blue eyes and gave a small smile. "But as it stands, nothing could happen between us. When this is all over, I will remain here on Kinmoku and you will be going back to Earth."

Understanding hit hard. Minako breathed out slowly with the force of it. "But if Usagi-chan…" she trailed off, hardly daring to hope that Yaten was saying what she thought she was.

"If some agreement could be found between your princess and mine, then things would definitely be different," Yaten said carefully. She hesitated briefly before adding, "I apologize for not explaining things more thoroughly earlier. I believed you understood where we stood."

"It's okay," Minako said, so relieved that Yaten did like her that she didn't care. "But Yaten… even if Usagi-chan and Princess Kakyuu can't come to an agreement for some reason, I…" She licked her lips, courage failing at her at the last minute as Yaten's green eyes widened and she shook her head almost imperceptibly. It would change everything between them, Minako knew, but she had to say it now that she knew what was truly at stake - now that they had spent time together and she knew Yaten was what she wanted for the rest of her life. A wave of relief flowed through her when she finally managed to say, "I… I love you."

Face paling, Yaten just stared at her for a minute, looking too shocked to respond. "Minako…" she said at last, her voice filled with wonder. Minako just smiled, and this time when she reached for Yaten's hand, Yaten didn't pull away. They sat in silence watching the palace gardens slowly come to life, and even though Yaten never said anything in return to her, she didn't mind; she was contented anyway.


Please review!