Blueeyeddevil06, thank you for being my beta!

Jadeite held Raye tightly, not caring that her grandfather was standing there watching them. He'd asked his granddaughter if she knew what happened to her father. Colleagues had called and said he'd been acting weird and then gone missing. Raye burst into tears, and Jadeite pulled her into his embrace and kissed the top of her head. He wanted to shield her from the world and the coming conversation.

"I asked while you were here on purpose, Jadeite. I have a feeling there is more going on than I know," her grandfather added.

"Thank you, Sir." He then lifted Raye's chin and kissed her nose. "Firecracker, please go ahead and meditate in front of the Great Fire. I got this." He sincerely appreciated that he was there when her grandfather asked the question.

Her grandfather sucked in a breath and whispered, "She's going to kill you." His eyes were as big as saucers.

She had a slight smile on her face and looked over at him, shaking her head, "I'm not. He's protecting me, and I'm strong enough to admit I need him to do just that right now." She then looked at Jadeite but kept speaking to her grandfather. "He knows how strong I am. I don't have to bluster in front of him." She then stepped out of his embrace and left to go sit in front of the fire. It always calmed her.

"Well, that surprised the hell out of me."

Jadeite smiled at him and said, "I love her completely. She knows I would never intentionally make her feel diminished or brushed aside." He then cocked his head and said, "Let's go find a comfortable place to talk. This is going to be a lot to handle."

As they headed there, he pulled out his cell phone and called Darien. "Hello," Darien said, answering his phone quickly. "Grandfather's asking questions about Raye's dad's disappearance. I need -" Darien interrupted, "Go ahead and tell him everything. He, of all people, needs to be brought in on this." "Thanks. I'll update you later." They then both hung up.

Grandfather looked over his shoulder at Jadeite, "I was right. Something bigger is going on."

"Yes, and I have permission to tell you everything. You might want some tea before we get into it all."

"Nah, I have a feeling I'm going to need saké." He then opened the door to a sitting room and gestured for Jadeite to sit down. "I'll be back as soon as I have it warmed up."

Jadeite sat and rubbed his hands over his face as Raye's grandfather left for his drink. He admitted that saké would be a much better choice for this story. He was about to tell the man that his son was evil and trying to take over the universe with the help of an evil entity. And worst of all, he would have to tell him he was trying to kill his own daughter, the man's beloved granddaughter.

Darien held Zoisite's research in his hand as he read over it for the fifth time. "Seriously, how in the world did you not kill yourself?" He then held up the sheet and added, "Everything you found said that removing the dark energy that way should kill you."

Zoisite shook his head and jumped up off the couch where he sat next to Amy. He grabbed the research and flipped pages. Pointing, he said, "See there? That was how I made it work. It hurt like a son-of-a-bitch, but it didn't kill me."

Darien leveled a look at him, "I think you're underplaying the pain. It had to feel like you were dying."

"Don't, okay?" He glanced apprehensively at Amy's pale face and then back to Darien. "Let's just leave it at the fact that it was...uncomfortable."

"Okay," Darien got that he didn't want to lay it all out for Amy. "That aside, this was really tricky." He then looked at Serena. "What do you think?"

"Moon wand?" She asked. "Is it even powerful enough?"

"He needs an anchor. I knew I was being manipulated, but I hadn't been waking up like the other guys. I just researched my way into the knowledge. I was still fully evil, but even then -"

Amy struck him on the arm, cutting him off. "It just dawned on me! Kunzite told me about the agony he went through when he broke out of the darkness holding him, and he was already waking up. It was worse than that?" She looked up at him with teary eyes.

He cupped both her cheeks in his hands and said, "You were my anchor. I was still fully evil, but I knew you mattered. You brought me through it all, and I arrived safely in your loving arms. What does momentary pain matter when I have a lifetime with you?"

Darien pulled Serena with him from the room as Zoisite was talking sweetly to Amy. He pulled her into the bedroom and shut the door. "They need some time."

She smiled at him, "Look at you accurately reading a social situation. I'm proud of you."

Serena then cast her eyes to the floor and said, "I'm worried that the cure to the evil in him will kill him. I don't think I'm strong enough."

He lifted her chin and made her look him in the eyes. "I would never put you in that position, trust me."

"Always."

He pulled her into his arms, and then his cell phone rang. "It's Jadeite."

Grandfather was sitting across from Jadeite, sipping his saké. "Is he dead?"

"No, Sir, but that's not to say it's good news."

"Call me Grandfather. The girls all do, and I have a feeling that you'll be related by law soon."

"Grandfather, this is all going to sound really crazy," he then brought his hands together and rubbed them. He knew he was stalling.

"Crazier than Sailor Scouts defending the world from youma? I think I can handle whatever this is."

Jadeite shook his head, laughing. "You have no idea. Raye is Sailor Mars. I guess I'll start there."

Grandfather looked at him in shock, drained his saké cup, filled it, and drained it again. As he went for another refill, he said, "You can continue now."

"I think you have the right idea there." It then dawned on him that he lived there at the shrine as an evil general of Beryl's. He wanted a drink too.

"Raye is Sailor Mars?" he said, encouraging him to continue. "I didn't see that one coming."

"Yeah, you know all the Sailor Scouts. Serena is Sailor Moon, Amy is Sailor Mercury, Lita is Sailor Jupiter, and Mina is Sailor Venus. Trust me when I say I really know how strong Raye is." He then let out a large breath. "Serena is actually the Moon Princess, and the girls are all her guards, but that's jumping forward… or backward…."

"What?"

"This actually all starts thousands of years ago."

"I feel so useless!" Molly screamed out. "I sit on my ass while my oldest friend risks her life, and I do nothing!"

Rick wasn't so stupid that he attempted to calm her down. He knew she'd just turn her heartbreak on him, and it wouldn't help her. Instead, he took a different tactic. One he knew his fiercely protective Molly would appreciate. "So, what are we going to do about it?"

"I can't do anything," she said, throwing her arms up in frustration. "I'm useless!"

He set his hands on both of her shoulders and said, "Look at me and listen well. First, you're everything to me. Second, that wasn't what I meant. I mean, kitten, what are we going to do about that feeling? I say we discover a way that we can both contribute more. We made vows just like everyone else."

She pressed herself against his chest, and he wrapped her in his arms. "It could mean me being in danger. Are you really okay with that?"

"No way in fucking hell am I okay with that!" He then deflated, "But the idea of holding you back and asking you not to be who you are is even more reprehensible to me."

She smiled and said, "I want to go to the battles when civilians are involved. I know more about what's going on, and I can help people get away from danger." She looked up at him tentatively.

"Well, that's a horrible idea." He then smiled down at her, "Let's do it. I'll be right by your side helping you."

She kissed his cheek and said, "Thank you for hating it, but being okay with it anyway. I love you."

"And I love you just the way you are. I mean that completely."

"How does my son fit into all of this… Millennial Kingdom thing?" he asked, waving his hand.

Jadeite sighed, "He's the reincarnation of Elis and our current adversary. He was a jerk before, but now he's really evil. Beryl infected him with dark energy, and he remembers his past now."

Grandfather set down his saké cup. "That's enough of that. I need to keep a clear head for this. You said the Negaverse wants them all dead, and now he's a part of that?"

"I won't let it happen, Sir. Grandfather," he amended quickly. "And Elis wants her dead. He's different from the man you know."

"So one of them has to die…? Am I horrible for saying -"

Jadeite cut him off before he had to finish that sentence. "You don't know Serena at all if you think he has to die to lose. She's going to remove the dark energy from him. He might still be a dick then, but he won't be a threat to anyone, especially Raye."

"That seems like a lot to ask of her."

"No one's asking. She has to live with herself, and she's so tender-hearted she needs to find a way to save him. It's who she is."

"She's a really sweet girl." Grandfather then stared out the window towards where Raye would be sitting in front of the Great Fire. "Thank you for being the man she needs. You don't have to sneak out in the mornings anymore. I won't kill you."

Jadeite looked at him in shock. "You knew?!"

"Of course I knew. I may be old, but I'm not dumb."