A Matter of Time

by Crunchysunrises

*New: Chapter 7* Taking place after Stars. The Ginzuishou sends Usagi strange dreams of her past, which helps sent into motion a chain of events that leads to new enemies, unexpected allies and uncovers a centuries old secret.

2. Awakenings

Remember: Be kind and understanding to the newly budding fanfic writer. Sailor Moon and the associated characters do not belong to me but to incredibly rich and powerful people who would make no profit by suing me for using their wonderful characters. This is a work of love not a work for profit. All characters and plots that I make up do belong to me so do not steal them or I will be forced to send my Death Fuzzies after you. Remember you have been warned…

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CHAPTER 2

The horrors were tamer than they had been of late, yet he clawed his way toward the illusive hope of conscieceness, sobbing and screaming. His eyes snapped open and met two huge blue eyes through his tears. A voice penetrated his mind. It was the voice of a young woman or adolescent. It seemed to want something. He didn't want to what she wanted, he didn't care. All he cared about was forestalling the pain that would come with whatever she said. All he wanted was to escape the agony that was sure to come. Maybe-just maybe-he could prevent pain by not letting her speak to him. The voice and eyes seemed to be concerned about him but he knew better. The kinder they seemed now, the more they would hurt him later.

Pain laced up his left arm. 'It's beginning,' a corner of his mind shrieked. She wasn't going to wait to torment him until she had gloated over his inability to escape her. She wasn't going to wait and describe some of the hair-raising things that she was going to do to him. She was probably going to make him pay later for trying to leave and this bout of screaming even before she began to work on him but he couldn't stop screaming. He just couldn't.

He tried to struggle but he couldn't move. He didn't want to be hurt anymore. Some of them liked it when tried to struggle, and they hurt him less. If she weren't one of the ones who liked him to struggle, maybe she would kill him. If only someone would kill him…he would be free…nothing, not even death, could be worst than this…this horror of a life that he endured. Nothing.

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Sailor Moon was struggling not to panic. When she had freed Jadeite, she had been worried that in some way she had hurt him. When the Crystal had shattered she had lunged forward and caught him before he fell to the ground. He had screamed then, a terrible horrifying scream, and passed out. Struggling, she had dragged him away from the shattered Crystal of his imprisonment and laid him on the floor. Gently she had pulled his head into her lap, and waited tensely for him to awaken. Now that he had awakened, he was sobbing and screaming hysterically. She begged and pleaded with him to stop but this only seemed to make it worse. The waves of agony, terror, and despair that had rolled off of him earlier had been nauseating. Now they struck her as waves that hurt her physically and mentally.

At some point Luna had deserted her post in order to find out what was going on. Now she tried to bring Jadeite back to reality by biting and scratching his left arm. The waves only deepened and became almost unbearable. "Luna! Stop!" she shrieked. "That's only making it worse!" Luna stopped and Sailor Moon gathered Jadeite's head and torso up in her arms. Gently she rocked him and murmured soothing things to him softly. It didn't seem to help much. She began to kiss him softly of the cheeks and forehead while smoothing his hair or stroking his cheeks and neck and patting his chest. Over and over she whispered to him, "It's okay. Everything will be fine. I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay."

Eventually he seemed to calm down a bit. His screaming faded away as he realized that nothing terrible was happening to him. Sailor Moon was so grateful for this she nearly started crying herself. His voice had been growing increasingly hoarse and she didn't think that she could have borne watching him silently scream. She continues with her rocking, stroking, patting, smoothing, and kissing augmented by her monologue. The horrifying pain, terror, and despair had slackened.

In the midst of his wracking sobs he looked up at her through eyes that had become swollen and red. His eyes were so deeply rent with confusion and pain and so horribly lost that she couldn't stop the answering sob in her throat. Somehow she stifled her own tears.

"You…You will…hurt me. I…beg…I beg of you…please…please…don't do this. Don't taunt me this way. Just kill-"

"NO!" She couldn't help the venom in her reply. Taking a deep breath she went on more calmly and gently. "I won't hurt you. I won't. It's me Jadeite, Sailor Moon. I won't hurt you. I…I just can't. As a matter of fact, I rescued you."

"Really? No! Its another trick, another deception. You want to…to raise my hopes so that you can smash them again. It won't work this time. Just finish it and kill me. Have mercy and kill me."

"No! It really is me, Sailor Moon. It's been awhile and my uniform has changed quiet a bit, but it really is me and I have rescued you. Look."

Gently she took his head in one hand and turned it toward the remains of the Crystal. "That's what's left of the Eternal Crystal that you were trapped in when I came for you. I shattered it and pulled you from the remains." He stared at the remains of his prison for awhile then turned his eyes on her again. Again she wanted to cry as the confusion, pain, and horror in his spirit was focused on her once more. Now shock and bewilderment swirled in his haunted eyes.

"Why? I'm your enemy."

"No…I don't think that you are anymore. You were once, when there was a Dark Kingdom, but you aren't now." A half-smile tugged at her lips as she added, "Besides you seemed to need rescuing. 'Rescuing' is definitely part of my job description." He nodded his acceptance then turned to regard the shards of crystal that had once been his prison. Softly he began to sob tears of a different kind.

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'What am I going to do with him? He's a shattered mess in every respect. He definitely needs a psychiatrist.' Then another thought struck her as Jadeite slept off his hysterics and relief in her lap. 'I'm responsible for him! Me! Tsukino Usagi! What have I gotten myself into?' Luna opened her mouth to say something but Sailor Moon shot her a fierce glare and she shut it again. Sailor Moon nodded then flicked her eyes at Jadeite's sleeping face. Luna nodded gravely. Sailor Moon returned to her thoughts. 'We have to get out of here! Someone or something must have heard Jadeite and now that his terrifying noises have stopped whoever heard them is going to come and investigate them sooner or later. It's only a matter of time. We have to get out of here!' Jadeite moaned softly in his sleep and Sailor Moon began to gently smooth his hair and stroke his cheeks.
"Sailor Moon?" whispered the Boss' voice in her ear. "Yes?" she whispered.

"What's going on?"

"Jadeite's free and he's now sleeping."

"Good. Do you know if he's-"

"No." Jadeite stirred slightly in her arms.

"Oh well."

"Have you called the others yet?"

"No. I figured that all that noise was Jadeite. Occasionally I got snippets of your conversation with him."

"Good."

"Listen, Sailor Moon. The three of you need to get out of there as quickly as possible."

"I know." She glanced down at Jadeite and began to blush furiously. Jadeite was awake and staring at her. Her hand froze in the act of smoothing back some of his unruly blond hair. 'Almost exactly the same shade mine is when I'm Usagi.'

"You don't have to stop. It felt nice." Her blush deepened and she removed her hand from his hair.
"Do you think that you can walk?"

He concentrated for a few moments. Then his eyes widened and a look of panic began to settle on his face. "I…I can't move. I can't move anything."

"It's probably nothing serious." Luna hurriedly interrupted. "Just the combination of your unhealed wounds and the fact that you haven't moved in almost two years." Luna cocked her head, "Someone's coming!"

Sailor Moon started. "Luna, can you tell how many?"

"Lots."

"Oh dear." Sailor Moon thought as rapidly as she could of all of her possible solutions. The best was her original plan, which was to teleport her entire group out of there. She only hoped there was enough time. "Luna, hurry and get on my shoulder!" To her microphone she added. "Boss we're leaving now the way we originally planned it but there are a few minor complications."

Sailor Moon closed her eyes and concentrated as Luna leapt onto her shoulder. She was going to do a novice's teleport. She had done one once she reminded herself as she mentally prepared herself. It was when she had been doing battle with Reisi under the cherry blossoms and her tiara had failed her a second time. She'd been desperate and panicked then and hadn't really known what she was doing. It had all been instinct then. Now she at least had an idea of what she wanted to do as well as the knowledge to do it.

Her crescent mark once again flared with golden light and a full moon appeared underneath the trio. Moonlight shot up and spiraled around them. Hoards of yoma burst into the room and began their rapid advance on them. "Sailor Moon! They're right on top of us!" Luna shrieked. Sailor Moon frowned slightly and the number of golden rays coming from her crescent moon mark doubled with the new rays splitting off and systematically destroying the yoma. The column of light brightened and the trio sank into the ground with a final, blinding flare of gold and silver.

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Somewhere deep in the bowels of Beryl's palace something hideously evil stirred. That one who shone brilliantly had been here before. A faint memory stirred that was more an impression than a memory, of that light entering and destroying Kunzite, Beryl, and Metellia. There had been others with the Light though. They had shone and shimmered brightly too. They had aided in those endeavors. Before she had always come to fight or take back that one of her Shining Ones that Beryl had stolen. Now she had come to free one of Beryl's Dark Ones…Jadeite…from the Eternal Sleep. She had thrown so much power around while freeing him that some of the wave had widened the cracks in his prison. It had been easy then, to force some of the remaining yoma to his will and tell them to attack her just as she was preparing to leave. As he expected, she threw a lot of energy around defeating the yoma and teleporting herself and her companions out of the Dark Kingdom. He had caught some of her energy and siphoned it off into breaking free of his prison. He was almost free now. The yoma could take it from here. He stretched languorously and summoned some yoma to him.

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Sailor Moon looked around and smiled slightly. She was so exhausted from the teleport that every muscle in her body screamed and she heard roaring in her ears. Luna looked stunned and Jadeite had an inscrutable look on his face.

"Boss, we're on the moon." She turned to the others. "Are you two alright?"

"As well as can be expected." Luna said primly.

"Fine." Jadeite looked at her warily. "What about you? You don't look well."

"I think I'm okay. I'm tired though." Sailor Moon's eyes began to glaze over. "So very tired…" With those words she fell forward and to the side so that her head landed on his chest. Sailor Moon's abrupt loss of consciousness caused Luna to be thrown from her shoulder and into a stone column rather hard. Getting to her feet, she limped to Sailor Moon's side.

"Sailor Moon! Wake up Sailor Moon!"

"Don't bother. I don't think that she's going to come around for awhile. She wasn't well before she went under." He paused. "What happened to her anyway?"

Luna glared at him, suddenly furiously. "Why the sudden interest in her? You people of the Dark Kingdom rarely care about anything but yourselves."

"She…intrigues…me. Besides I'm dependent on her. For now at least. I should know what happened to her and if she's prone to it."

"So you can use it against her later!"

He smiled slightly. "You're suspicious. It's all right though. You don't have to answer that. Do you have any idea where we are?"

"Don't you recognize this place? We're in part of the ruins of the palace gardens. You helped to destroy them if you recall."

"Really? Hhhmmmm." He was silent as his eyes traveled around his environment slowly, taking in the piles of rubble, the smashed columns, and the general desolation around him. "Why did she chose to teleport up here? I would have thought that she would've picked someplace on Earth-Juuban, Tokyo, most likely."

"She's a Child of the Moon. Of all the places in the universe this place is the easiest for her to come to when she has need."

"I see. Who was she talking to?"

"What are you talking about?"

"She was talking into that headset she's wearing to a person she called the Boss."

"The Boss!" Luna leapt toward Sailor Moon's head and tugged the headset off of Sailor Moon's head. "Boss! Boss! This is Luna, we're in trouble."

"What's going on?"

"Sailor Moon has passed out."

"She what?"

"She passed out from exhaustion. We need you to send the other Sailor Senshi to the ruins of the palace gardens to take us back to Earth."

"Right. Hold on." He paused. "How is Jadeite?"

Luna glanced at him. "I don't know. Will you just rescue us?"

"I'm on it."

Jadeite looked at Luna. "You don't know?"

She shrugged. "I don't know about you."

"Fair enough. Do you mind if I take a nap since you seem not to want my company?"

"You've been sleeping for two years!"

"That was different. This is the first real sleep that I'll have had in two years. You have no idea of how tired I am."

"Oh. Fine, do whatever you what. I don't care."

"Are you sure? If you need me for anything I don't think I'll be able to wake up."
"I won't need your help. Everything will be perfectly fine without you."

"Thanks." With those words he closed his eyes and went to sleep with his head in Sailor Moon's lap and her head on his chest. Luna silently kept watch over the pair as she waited for the Boss to find the senshi.

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"Luna, what were you two doing wandering around in the Dark Kingdom?" Artemis asked after the Senshi had teleported Sailor Moon, Jadeite, and Luna back to Earth and into the shrine grounds.

"I don't know." Luna looked down at her front paws. "She grabbed me and sneaked out of the house, then she ran down to the Crown Arcade Center and reported to someone she called Boss." Sailor Venus and Artemis exchanged a look. "They held some sort of conference, he gave her the headset so that he could keep in contact with us, and then she teleported us to the Dark Kingdom where we freed Jadeite. That's all I know."

"She didn't mention anything about this to you before tonight?" Sailor Jupiter asked.

"No."

"Well there's a very good explanation for all of this." Sailor Venus stated firmly. Everyone stared at her. "When I was Sailor V it was the Boss who guided Artemis and I. He wouldn't go along with anything stupid. To find out what's going on all we have to do is ask the Boss."

"I tried!" Luna burst out. "While I was waiting for the rest of you to get up there and teleport with us back to Earth, I asked him what was going on and why he was helping Sailor Moon. All he said was that he had promised the Princess Selenity not to tell until she was ready."

Sailor Venus frowned. "It's not like him to keep secrets. Well, we'll simply have to ask Sailor Moon when she wakes up."

"Until then would you lot mind explaining what the Dark Kingdom is and who lives there to the rest of us? We have no idea what you six are talking about." Sailor Neptune and Sailor Saturn nodded their heads in agreement to Sailor Uranus' statement.

"It's a really long story." Sailor Mars warned.

"We probably have time." Sailor Neptune replied as she looked down at Jadeite.

"Whether we do or not, the story of our involvement in the Dark Kingdom is going to have wait until a more opportune moment." Sailor Mercury looked up from Sailor Moon and Jadeite. "Sailor Moon is going to be alright but she needs to get into a warm and comfortable bed as soon as possible to make sure she doesn't suffer any ill effects from her stroll in the Dark Kingdom. Jadeite though…" Mercury sighed. "He'll be a little more work though. Whatever happened to him after the battle at the airport caused his wounds not to even begin to heal. They're as fresh as the night that he got them. Would you mind getting a first aide kit for me Sailor Mars?"

"Why bother with him?" Mars demanded. "He's the enemy remember?"

"Sailor Moon obviously went to a great deal of trouble to find him and get him out of the ruins of the Dark Kingdom." Luna replied. "We shouldn't let that go to waste."

"Luna is right. We'll take care of him until Usagi-chan and the Boss tell us what they're up to." Sailor Venus decided.

"Don't we even get to vote?" Sailor Mars asked angrily.

"No. Only three people and one cat here ever fought him and it's obviously a three to one decision as to what to do with him. Besides, at this point if we decide not to take care of him and either let him die or kill him, we become murderers." Sailor Venus replied. "Although," she continued, "I don't think we should let him be too close to Sailor Moon while she's defenseless. We-"

"He's one of them." Sailor Saturn broke in. Everyone looked at her. "He's one of the ones that we'll need if we're to win this war. We can't let anything happen to him."

"That definitely settles it then." Sailor Venus decided. "We keep Jadeite here and take Sailor Moon to the Outers' place to recover."

"What?" Sailor Mars squawked indignantly.

"It's okay. Sailor Jupiter and I will stay and help you to keep watch over him in turns." Sailor Venus reassured her. "Besides, Sailor Moon once told me that he found out the identities of herself, you, and Sailor Mercury so we won't be revealing anything to him anyway." Sailor Mars glared at her. "Now would you mind getting Sailor Mercury the first aide kit?" Sailor Venus asked. Sailor Mars glared at her once more before stomping off.

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It was warm. Light, muted by something, spilled over her. People slept on either side of her and instinctively she knew that she loved and trusted those people. She smiled as she enjoyed feeling both loved and safe. Slowly she opened her eyes and regarded the people on either side of her.

On her left lay Ami, who had one arm firmly wrapped across her waist. Curled up against her right side, with both arms wrapped around her neck was Hortaru. Lying at her feet on top of the thick blanket that covered the group of girls was Luna. Looking at the simple yet elegant room that they were in, Sailor Moon decided that she was in a guestroom at Haruka's and Mirchiru's place. Frowning she tried to remember what had happened after she had teleported everyone to the moon but came up blank.

She had a sudden panic attack as she realized that she had no idea where Jadeite was. As she began to try to untangle herself from Ami, Hortaru, and Luna she noticed something that caught her up short. She was still in her form as Sailor Moon. She winced as thought how uncomfortable Ami and Hortaru must have been sleeping on her wings. Sailor Moon willed herself back to being Tsukino Usagi.

As she once again endeavored to free herself of the still sleeping Ami, Hortaru, and Luna the door to the room silently swung open. Mirchiru cocked an eyebrow at Usagi. "Please." Usagi begged. Half-smiling Mirchiru went and helped her young friend to get out of bed without waking the other occupants of the bed. "Good morning." Usagi greeted Mirchiru tentatively as soon as they were a little way from the room.

"Good morning Usagi-chan." Mirchiru replied. They entered the kitchen where Setsuna and Haruka were eating breakfast. "I went to check on the others and look who was up."

"Good morning Haruka-san, Setsuna-san." Usagi said nervously.

Setsuna inclined her head. "Good morning." Haruka however was not in the mood for such pleasantries. "What were you thinking last night?" she demanded. "You could have gotten yourself killed wandering around in the Dark Kingdom like that!" She stormed up to Usagi and glared down at her furiously.

"I do have my reasons. They're good reasons too!" Usagi replied defensively. "Anyway, how do you know about the Dark Kingdom?"

"Ami-chan, Luna, Mako-chan, Minako-chan, Rei-chan, and Artemis told us but that's not the point! The point is that we should have been with you!"

"Why are you all so angry at me?"

"Because we were worried and you frightened us." Mirchiru said quietly. "We were woken up in the middle of the night by someone we didn't know who said that he knew you and Luna and that the two of you were in danger and needed us. Then he says that the two of you are on the moon with someone named Jadeite. By now we're almost sick with worry. When we get there you're unconscious and he's all but dead to the world. Put yourself in our position for a moment and think about how it looked to us." Usagi was silent for several moments as she thought about this. A tear slowly trickled from her eye and down her cheek. Another and another followed it until she was shaking from her tears. "I'm so sorry. So very sorry. I didn't think of that. I just didn't think…" Haruka gently hugged Usagi.

"It's okay Odango Atama. I forgive you for the fright that you caused me."

"We do as well." Setsuna added as she and Mirchiru came forward and joined in the group hug. From the doorway Ami's voice said, "I think we all do." Then she and Hortaru were there as well hugging Usagi and telling here how happy they were that she hadn't been seriously injured.

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Usagi was happily munching on her breakfast listening to the others retell what happened last night after having taken a hot bath and borrowed some clothes from Mirchiru. They were just at the point where Sailor Mercury was diagnosing them when her watch went off. Flipping open the top she saw a very agitated Rei.

"Morning. What's up?"

"Nice to see that you're awake. Can you be kind enough to explain what you were doing in the Dark Kingdom last night? I'm very interested in the reasons behind you're going such a place alone and in the middle of the night."

"I wasn't alone! Luna was with me. Anyway, I'd rather explain it to everyone at the same time during a senshi meeting."

Rei looked at her dangerously and was about to say something when there was a loud crash and terrified screams. "What-"

"Jadeite." Usagi interrupted. "We'll be down there in a little while." Rei nodded distractedly and said something about hurrying before turning off her communicator. Usagi snapped hers off and looked at the others as they stood up to leave. She sighed and looked mournfully at her breakfast before digging in ferociously. A few minutes later she announced while wiping her face with a napkin "I'm ready let's go." The other just stared at her. "Well?" She asked impatiently as she tugged her shoes on.

"Usagi-chan!" they all exclaimed in unison.

"What? I was hungry!" The others merely shook their heads and followed her out the door.

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In the car the others managed to get up to the part where Sailor Venus had decided that they would keep Jadeite in their account before they got to the Hiawaka Temple. As they raced up the stars to the temple grounds, Usagi worried over what could be the matter now. Following the shrieks they had heard over the communicator, they found their way to one of the many guestrooms. As they pulled back the screen to one room they beheld a shocking sight.

Jadeite was on the floor, next to the futon, with twisted and tangled bedclothes all around and over him shrieking loudly enough to wake the dead. Minako, Makoto, and Rei were all kneeling around him trying to get him to be quiet while Ojii-san stood in one corner chanting anti-evil charms. Yuuchiru kept bustling around, asking if there was anything that he could do to help. After Rei snapped at him to stop getting under foot he went to the table in the middle of the room and sat on it.

Usagi rushed into the room and knelt by Jadeite's side. A fold of the bandage around his head had fallen over one eye adding to the overall pathetic effect. Absently she wondered whose pajamas he had on and how they had gotten on him. Gently she pulled his head into her lap and once again began her litany while smoothing, patting, and stroking. Her thoughts caught up with her causing her to blush furiously.

The others moved back to give her room. Jadeite recognized the actions as well as the litany and quickly quieted. Looking up at her a memory flashed from before his imprisonment and he whispered, "Sailor Moon?"

Usagi nodded and whispered in reply, "Ssshhh. You mustn't call me that. My name is Tsukino Usagi." He nodded his understanding. Slowly the others began to crowd around and Jadeite started. As he began to tremble violently Usagi whispered comfortingly, "It's alright. They won't hurt you." He nodded his understanding but the trembling got worse.

"I can't help it! They feel like they're closing in on me! Help!"

He began to cry out for help with his voice getting louder and louder and more and more hysterical. Everyone jumped back again, leaving Usagi to calm him again. This time, by unspoken mutual agreement, only Rei, her grandfather, and Ami approached the pair. His look was a bit wild as they approached but he didn't panic like last time. Without a word Ami began to untangle the bedclothes from around him while Rei asked intently, "Are you alright?"

"No."

"What's wrong with you?" Rei asked.

"Quite a bit. I'm not sure of specifics."

"What happened to you?" Rei's grandfather asked.

Jadeite glanced up at Usagi's face for a split second then lied. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" the old priest asked skeptically. "It must have been terrible to having this done to you, yet you say that you don't know."

Without looking up Ami offered, "If whatever happened to him was traumatic enough, it could have caused amnesia. The fears he has are probably the only things that he remembers from whatever his ordeal was. He also appears to have suffered blows to the head. If they were hard enough and in the correct places, they could have caused amnesia. But that's assuming that the fears are natural which I'm betting that they're not." The old priest frowned but seemed to accept her answer. Before he could ask another awkward question though, Jadeite asked one of his own.

"Where am I and how did I get here?"

"You're at the Hiawaka Temple." Rei told him thinking fast. "As to how you got here…Well, last night I was awakened by one of the Sailor Senshi who asked me if there was any spare rooms in the place. When I said it depended on the circumstances, the senshi then led me outside to the courtyard where there was a group of them surrounding you as you lay on the stones. The one who had fetched me then pointed to you and asked me if anyone would mind if they left you here in my care to which I assured them that we would be happy to take you in. I wanted to know, though, what had happened to you and they told me that they had found you in an alley and bandaged your wounds. They thought it would be a good idea to find a place for you to stay while recovering and decided among them that our temple would be ideal. I set up this room and two of the Sailor Senshi carried you in. Then they disappeared into the night. After that I woke Ojii-chan up and told him about what had happened and he agreed that we should keep you."

"I see."

"Why did you trust Usagi-chan instantly?" The elderly priest asked suddenly.
Jadeite blinked. "I…I don't know."

"Everyone trusts Usagi-chan." Minako put in cheerfully.

"I don't know about you but all these questions have made me hungry." Usagi added. "How about we stop for breakfast?"

"Usagi-chan!" Ami exclaimed aghast. "You already had breakfast!"

"Well now I'll have had two won't I? Besides, two breakfasts never hurt anyone." Usagi added defensively. Groans and chuckles were heard around the room.

"Usagi, you're going to get fat!" Rei warned.

"It's better than being fat already." Usagi replied looking significantly at Rei's waistline. Rei flushed and began to move threatening towards Usagi. "Usagi, I'm going to-"

"Now, now you don't want to upset your guest do you?" Rei paused for a fraction of a second so Usagi continued. "I thought not. Now how about that food? I'm sure that it would go a long way toward his recovering."

"Usagi!" Rei shrieked and stuck out her tongue. Usagi leaned over Jadeite and stuck her tongue out and yet another tongue war started between the two.

"Come on Rei-chan." Makoto said stepping forward. "I'll help you make breakfast for everyone."

Rei got to her feet, glared furiously down at Usagi and hissed, "We'll talk about this later."

"I'm sure we will." Usagi replied sweetly while smiling up at Rei.

Rei glowered at her best friend before sweeping from the room with Makoto in tow. Seeing his granddaughter leave the room, Ojii-san turned to Yuuchiru. "Come on its time for you to get started on your training." He looked around at the girls. "Would any of you care to be trained-"

"No thank you." Usagi interrupted laughing. "Rei-chan would kill us."

He nodded knowingly. "I understand."

"Thank you." Turning he padded towards the door with Yuuchiru, then paused.

"By the way young man, what did you say that your name was?"

"I didn't." Jadeite frowned. "I don't seem to recall having a name."

The elderly man sighed. "See if you can't come up with a name. We can't just keep calling you 'young man'."

"Yes sir." Then Ojii-san and Yuuchiro left.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Well that was close." Minako announced to the other in general. Ami looked up from where she was folding the blankets and sheets and putting them in a neat pile. "Would you mind closing the windows and the door?"

"Why?" asked Haruka.

"I'm going to change." Ami replied sedately. Usagi and Minako looked at each other.

"I'd better go wait outside for Rei-chan and Mako-chan. They might need a hand."

Jadeite and the Outer Senshi looked perplexed. "Ojii-san is a bit of a snoop." Usagi explained. Ami stood up and moved away from the others.

"MERCURY CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE UP!"

A moment later on the spot where the Mizuno Ami had stood was Sailor Mercury. Jadeite cocked an eyebrow. 'Where did the chorus come from?' He thought but out loud he said, "Three earrings?"

Sailor Mercury shrugged as she activated her goggles. "Things change from time to time." Calmly she began to scan Jadeite. "You look vastly improved from last night although I do need to change those bandages."

The panel slide open and Rei and Makoto entered bearing trays of food. Minako's head popped in. She took one look at Sailor Mercury and was about to pop out again when Sailor Mercury called, "Don't bother Minako-chan." Then detransformed. Minako bounced into the room and slide the screen shut behind her. "They didn't seem to need help." She remarked to the others before sitting down at the table. Rei snorted but made no comment. Usagi looked down at Jadeite. "Can you sit up?"

"Maybe." He concentrated and he slowly began to sit. Once he got there though he was noticeably unsteady. Usagi put an arm around his shoulders and helped him move to the table. She continued to support him while he ate and only occasionally nibbled on something. Blushing furiously she finally asked, "Um…Whose pajamas are those?"

Rei looked up. "Those? Those are Yuuchiru's. Ojii-chan and Yuuchiru dressed him."

"Oh."

Rei turned to the Outer Senshi and Ami. "Didn't you tell her what happened?"

"We got to the part where Sailor Venus decided that Jadeite should stay here." Hortaru answered.

Minako nodded. "Well after that, Sailor Saturn and Sailor Mercury took care of Jadeite's wounds. When they were done the Outers and Sailor Mercury teleported Sailor Moon to their place and the rest of us stayed here to watch over Jadeite."

"You mean guarded me." Jadeite said bitterly. "Although I don't see why you're all sitting around talking about this in front of me since you don't trust me."

"I trust you." Usagi said quietly from his side. He turned to say something sharp to her but it died on his lips at the look on her face. Love and trust shone from her face as her eyes caught his eyes and she repeated quietly and quite firmly, "I trust you." He sagged against her slightly.

"I don't see why though." He complained to her.

Usagi laughed. "I've never done anything to deserve either your love or trust."

"She's like that," Rei observed dryly. "She decides whether or not she likes and trusts you, then it's impossible to talk into believing that you might not be what she thinks you are."

"As for the rest us, we don't like or trust you but we…need…you." Haruka broke in. Jadeite looked at her sharply.

"There's a new enemy," Makoto explained. "Hortaru-chan says that there's no way we can win if you don't help us."

"Just as I thought." Jadeite sneered. "None of you trust me or even really want me. You just want to use me." He turned to Usagi. "That's the only reason that you saved me isn't it?"

"No!"

"Don't you dare speak to her that way!" Rei flared. "She's the only one who really wants you around or cares what happens to you."

Mirchiru sighed and pulled the Sacred Mirror from her subspace pocket. Moving to stand behind Jadeite she put it in front of his face. "Watch the mirror's surface." She commanded. Usagi peered over Jadeite shoulder. In the surface of the mirror they watched their retrieval and the subsequent argument over what to do with him during which Sailor Saturn made her startling announcement about him. When it was over Mirchiru made the Sacred Mirror return to her subspace pocket then returned to her seat next to Haruka. "So you see, Usagi-chan had no idea of your value when she went after you." Rei concluded smugly.

Jadeite looked at Usagi then softly, "I apologize for my presumption Tsukino-sama."

Usagi was so shocked that she nearly fell over dropping Jadeite.

"No problem. You're forgiven." Usagi cleared her throat nervously. "But would you not call me Tsukino-sama."

Jadeite looked at her clearly shocked by this proposal.

"You do lead the Sailor Senshi don't you?"

"Yes."

"Then it's proper to show you respect." Jadeite said in perplexity.

"There're other ways." Usagi paused. "Besides, it makes me nervous to have a friend call me Tsukino-san much less Tsukino-sama."

"Friend?" Jadeite was surprised. "Friend. I've never had a friend before."

Usagi gaped in astonishment. "Never?"

Jadeite shook his head. "Not ever."

"Well you do now." She said grasping his hand firmly. He shook his head.
"It isn't proper. In the Dark Kingdom-"

"We're not in the Dark Kingdom and I don't care whether or not it's proper. One way or another I want to be friends with you."

He smiled at her determination. "One last thing then: what does one do with a friend?"
"Umm…Lots of stuff. Umm…It's a little hard to explain, so how about I show you as we go along?"

"Sure. What should I call you then?"

"Usagi-chan."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Speaking of names, what are we going to call you?" Makoto asked. "We certainly can't call you Jadeite in public."

"She's right you know." Artemis concurred.

"What about Jiyuujin Hisui?" asked Luna.

"Jiyuujin Hisui." He rolled the name around on his tongue. "Hisui of the House of Jiyuujin. I like it. Jiyuujin Hisui it is."

"Now that that's settled, what were you doing in the Dark Kingdom? And what gave you the crazy idea in the first place?" Rei demanded.

Usagi sighed and looked deeply troubled. "Lately, I've been very tired. It wasn't that I wasn't sleeping enough because I was sleeping all the time. It's just that I wasn't getting any rest while I slept. While I slept I was seeing my life on the moon. It started with my earliest memories and while I was sleeping I grew up on the moon all over again. And I started to know things in this life that weren't taught to me or shown to me in my dreams-or memories." She looked speculatively at Jadeite.

"I had a cousin whose hair was the exact same shade as mine but had eyes that were several shades lighter than mine. His name was Eurus. I realized quite early on that he looked like a younger version of someone I had met in this lifetime. It took me awhile, but then I realized who he reminded me of. Jadeite. I know that Eurus would never have betrayed his family, the kingdom, his prince, and…and me to turn to Beryl. I began to wonder who Jadeite really was but I couldn't seem to find any of you to talk this over with, and I needed to talk to someone.

"Then I remembered Minako-chan saying something about the Boss guiding her and Artemis before they joined up with the rest of us, so I went to find him. He was in and he was interested. Actually," Usagi blushed slightly, "I think he really wanted to keep me from doing something truly stupid and desperate.

"Anyway, he found the death spots of Nephrite, Zoisite, and Kunzite but kept coming up blank on Jadeite. Eventually he found Jadeite trapped in an Eternal Crystal" Here Luna and Artemis jumped and sent a look of pity mixed with wariness at Jadeite while Setsuna paled and looked at Jadeite compassionately. Usagi's grip on Jadeite unconsciously tightened. "And told me about it. We decided to get Jadeite out of there. No one deserves that type of fate and Jadeite certainly didn't choose to serve Beryl."

"How do you know that?" Rei asked skeptically.

"What's an Eternal Crystal?" Ami wanted to know.

"I'll tell you, and anyone else who want's to know, about Eternal Crystals later." Setsuna hastily put in.

Jadeite sent her a grateful look.

Usagi took a deep breath and tried to organize her thoughts. "For starters Jadeite does almost everything with his mind. Eurus wasn't like that. Eurus was more inclined towards fire. You wouldn't believe what he could do with fire." Usagi smiled as she remembered something. "Also there are huge differences in their personalities."

"That doesn't prove anything except that Jadeite isn't Eurus. It doesn't prove that Jadeite didn't choose to serve Beryl." Minako stated.

"What's your earliest memory Jadeite?" Ami asked.

Jadeite's face closed up and remembered pain swirled in his haunted eyes. "No."

"Please," Usagi whispered in his ear. "I have to prove that you're not evil and this is the only way I can. Please, just tell us."

"I am evil."

"No you're not. Just misguided."

"Those memories are very private and painful. I'd rather not share them."

"Jadeite, the Sailor Senshi are a family. We share almost everything." Makoto pointed out.

"This comes under the 'almost' category." Jadeite gulped. "Remembering brings the wounds' pain back."

"I'll suffer them with you if you like." Usagi offered. He looked at her wide-eyed.

He had only known her for a little while but something about her drew him to her. He suddenly realized that he didn't want her to know the pain that Beryl could inflict off handedly and he had a feeling that if she shared the pain with him, then she would see the memories directly and that was something that he didn't want. Among other things her innocence would be tainted. He tried to convince himself that it wouldn't be so bad. Usagi knew that illusions were one of his strengths, but she hadn't asked him to show his memories to them. Only to describe his earliest memories. He could do that. Probably.

"No, I'll tell you." He collected his thoughts. "I…I remember waking up naked on a cold stone table with a terrible headache. Queen Beryl-sama stood in the shadows and looked me over for a few seconds before coming forward and telling me that my name was Jadeite. I looked her in the eye and asked her where I was and why. She…she blasted me terribly for looking at her directly and asking those questions." He paused and his face darkened with the shadows of remembered wounds. He didn't seem to notice though. "When she was done, I was laying on the floor, gasping for breath, and hurting all over. She looked down at me, then placed one foot squarely in the center of my back and stepped hard. She told me that she was now my mistress and my queen and would be forever. I would learn to speak with respect or suffer terribly. Then I was carried from the room and had some tests performed on me." He flushed which looked odd with the shadowy wounds. No one could determine what exactly made him flush though. "It didn't take me long to realize that Queen Beryl-sama was serious and had very painful ways to persuade people to obey, fear, and respect her, and not desert her ranks." He shrugged and seemed to think of something else with a fierce determination. Slowly his face began to go back to normal. "Anyway."

"No sudden flack backs to any previous memories?" Ami intently asked.

"No."

"Hhhmmm. You're not really prone to amnesia are you?"

"No."

"Are you sure that he looks just like Eurus, Usagi-chan?"

"Positive."

"But their powers are not the same?"

"The major ones are really different. Some of the minor ones are the same or similar though."

"Jadeite's probably a clone, then."

"What?" The others asked aghast.

Jadeite simply stared.

"Why not? There was the technology, the knowledge, and the ability in that time. It's the only thing that fits with what both Usagi-chan and Jade…Hisui-san… have told me."

"So were the other Kings clones?" Rei asked.

"Probably." Ami replied.

"So, what happened to the real men?" Makoto wanted to know.

"I don't know."

"Usagi-chan?" Haruka asked.

"I haven't got a clue. I haven't even got to the point where I meet the other kings' originals yet in my memories. All I know is that Eurus and Endymion, whom I haven't met yet, are very good friends. Anyway-"

"You're talking as if you're the Moon Princess!" Jadeite exclaimed.

Usagi looked at him and blushed. "Well, it turns out that I'm the Moon Princess."

"You might want to tell me a few things that happened while I was-sleeping."

"Later!" Rei snapped. "Anyway what happened?"

"Oh!" Usagi thought for a moment. "Oh yeah! Eurus just got accepted to be a General Guardian of Earth. I'll let you know what happens to them later. After I dream it of course."

"Well, we'll just have to be on our guards, until then won't we?" Haruka asked looking at Jadeite out of the corner of her eye.

The other senshi nodded their agreement to her statement while Jadeite looked around at all the serious faces. He caught the idea that he was in for more than he bargained for or ever imagined. 'And the other senshi aren't going to make it easy for me to prove myself.' With a shock he reexamined that thought as well as a few others that he'd been having throughout the morning and wondered what was wrong with him. 'I must be loosing my mind or I'm sick.'

"But before we get truly serious about this war, let's finish breakfast? Please?" Usagi begged.

"Usagi-chan!" The other groaned at their leader. Jadeite began to choke.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

It had been several days since the one who shone with a blinding light had left with Jadeite and he was finally free of his prison. It had taken the yoma longer than he had first thought it would to free him. It was good to be free after spending several millennia trapped in a rather cramped energy ball. He looked around the throne room appraisingly. Beryl always did have rather gaudy taste.

Beryl and her mistress Metellia now there were two that he had spent centuries plotting his revenge against. Metellia for imprisoning him and Beryl for serving as her toady. He could almost laugh at their humiliating fates. Beryl the Idiot, who was obsessed with taking that boy prince from the Bright One and tormenting her, had never considered the love between the Bright One and her Shining Ones. The love that would give the Bright One the determination to telepathically attack her prince through their bond and force him to remember his life and their love. That in turn would give the boy prince the power to throw off her enchantments and defeat her.

Nor did she suppose that the child Bright One, who was blinding in her brightness already, could call upon her Shining Ones, children themselves, for aide rather than destroy herself defeating the combined forces of her mistress, Metellia, and herself. The painfulness and the humiliation of their demise were such that he would consider that as his final vengeance on them. He gestured and a whimpering yoma crawled up the stairs on her hands and knees. He put his feet up on her back. Calmly he considered possible plans for the future and ways to bring them about.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Usagi nearly danced with impatience and wondered for the seven billion eight hundred and ninety-seventh time what was taking him so long. In exasperation she called, "Hisui-kun are you ready yet?"

"Sort of."

Makoto arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'sort of'?"

"I'm having a few really minor problems."

Minako's eyes began to sparkle wickedly. "Can we help at all?"

"NO!"

"Minako-chan!" Artemis gasped.

"Would you please come out?" Usagi asked.

"I really don't think that's necessary."

"You can't wear temple robes for the rest of your life. Even Rei-chan has other clothes."

"Usagi-chan in the present circumstances, I really think I could."

"Get out here now!"

"Usagi-chan this is the cruelest thing I've ever seen you do." The panel to Jadeite's rooms slowly slide open and he shuffled out. The five adolescent girls and two cats that were waiting for him burst into laughter at the sight.

Jadeite was decidedly unhappy and slightly flushed in a tight tie-dyed t-shirt and a pair of bellbottom jeans that were so tight at the top as to leave nothing to the imagination and flared so largely at the bottom as to look like a dress. In one hand he held a pair of five-inch high clogs which he held over the relevant portions of his anatomy.

"Where did you get that outfit?" Minako choked out.

"Ojii-san."

"Well he said that he had found an outfit for you for our shopping trip." Makoto remarked dubiously.

"I'm not being seen in public like this." Jadeite flatly stated.

"You could ask Yuuchiru to loan you an outfit." Ami commented.

"I don't think he would."

"Why not?"

"I don't think he likes me, Mizuno-san."

"What makes you say that?" Usagi asked.

Jadeite sighed as he thought of the dead fish that kept mysteriously appearing in his bed, and shook his head slightly. "Little things."

"Well what are we going to do?" Minako wanted to know. "He doesn't have any clothing except temple clothing and that tattered, old uniform."

"I'll wear either!"

"No." Usagi shook her head emphatically while frowning slightly.

"Usagi-chan!" He cried out in anguish.

"We can't take him anywhere like that!" Minako put in.

"I know." Usagi smiled slightly and pulled a pink pen with a tiny crystal attached to the top out of thin air. "So I'll fix it."

Luna and Artemis groaned while everyone except Rei laughed.

"Usagi-chan! That pen is only for business. Sailor business to be exact."

"Luna this is business. Sailor business to be exact."

"Yeah!" Minako added her support to Usagi's cause. "We're reintegrating a man, who is used to the dark, miserable life induced by the powers he used to serve, back into the life of the average person so that he can become a valuable, and contributing member of society." Minako put on an angelic face. "You wouldn't want to deprive him of his one opportunity to live a normal life by interfering with Usagi-chan's plans. Would you?" Everyone else face faulted.

"Minako-chan," Artemis rasped out, "Where did you get that?"

"Shadows of the Vampire, Part X," Usagi thoughtlessly rolled off. "That speech was packed with huge excerpts from the opening story. Minako and I went and saw it the other day."

"Usagi-chan…" Minako growled from between clenched teeth.

Artemis frowned. "Aren't you two too young to see that?"

Usagi blinked. "I don't know…Maybe and maybe not." She turned to the other blond. "What do you think Minako-chan?"

"Who cares? It was a great movie!" She turned hurriedly to Artemis. "Not nearly as graphic as the reviews claimed."

"Really?"

"It was worse."

"You two did it didn't you?" Luna demanded.

Simultaneously Minako and Usagi put on innocent faces. "Did what?" They asked together.

"You know!"

Minako exchanged a guilty look with Usagi. Then Usagi cleared her throat nervously and put a hand behind her head. "If you think that we used things that you think should only be used for business to disguise ourselves and sneak into movies that we're far too young to even think about seeing…"

"Yes?"

"You're absolutely right!"

"Oh dear." Luna murmured.

"We can't let them out of out sight for an instant." Artemis commiserated.

"Usagi, you just told one of our worst enemies about our ability to disguise ourselves!" Rei exploded.

"Relax!" Usagi beamed brilliantly at a suddenly stone-faced Jadeite and the furious Rei. "You wouldn't believe the number of times he's seen various women turn into Sailor Moon. He's known about it since…since our second battle. Neither you nor Ami were around at the time." She turned toward Jadeite. "Anyway we're wasting valuable shopping time." She threw the pen up into the air and cried out, "Moon Power…make Jadeite a disguise that he likes and will make him look normal…ni nare."

When the flashing lights cleared Jadeite stood there in a loose white shirt with golden buttons whose high collar and cuffs were also buttoned snuggly around his throat and wrists. He had loose black trousers on and shiny black dress shoes. His outfit was rounded off with a wide black tie that was slightly loose and a white sports jacket was draped over an arm negligently.

"Nice," purred Minako with a speculative look in her eyes.

"It's a vast improvement." Ami agreed readily while blushing.

"Still," Makoto continued, "he does kind of-"

"We know!" Usagi exclaimed jumping in. "There's not need to go into that!"

"What about you Usagi-chan? What do you think?" Minako asked impishly. "Don't you think that he looks handsome?"

"He's handsome." Usagi admitted readily. "But Mamo-chan is handsomer in my eyes." She smiled dreamily. Minako looked exasperated while Ami and Makoto hid smiles. Rei continued to be angry and watched Jadeite carefully. Jadeite stepped up to Usagi's side, and offered his arm to her. "Shall we go?"

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

He sat on the edge of the throne and stared intently at the six people that continuously flashed over its surface. These were the ones that he would use to gather energy until he could create servants of his own to fulfill his plans. Unfortunately he would have to send them to Tokyo to gather energy. The weakest rip between this universe and that universe was situated there and there was the most energy to be gathered was there. As a result of the Bright One, her Shining Ones, and the large number of White Moon People that were situated there, no doubt. Whatever the cause it would serve his ends well. There was only one more problem remaining: how to bring them back from the dead. He would need energy of course.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

For no particular reason, Makoto glanced up from the rack of shirts that she was inspecting. On the far side of the shop, a man with piercing blue eyes and wild brown hair that was more or less pulled back into ponytail caught her attention. He was dressed in a black business suit and was more or less stunning. She stared at him intently with her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed slightly, a black shirt clutched forgotten in her hands.

'He's even better looking than my old boyfriend was. I wonder if I could accidentally bump into him, it would only be an accident of course, and get his name and maybe a date eventually. If I liked him.' The power of her gaze caused him to glance in her direction curiously, whereupon she became engrossed in the buttons of the shirt that she was holding. Peeking from the corner of her eye at the spot where he had been, she gave an involuntary sigh as she noted that the place was now empty. She turned back to the rack and jumped.

Standing directly behind her was the man she had been observing. "I'm sorry if I surprised you." He apologized in his deep velvety voice while smiling slightly. She had a feeling that he meant no such thing. "Although it does sort of pay you back for the discomfort that your stare caused me a few moments ago." He continued the smile blossoming into a grin. Makoto blushed furiously, ducked her head, and wished either that she hadn't been right a moment ago or that the floor would open up and swallow her immediately. She decided to lie this handsome stranger.

"I…I'm sorry about that. You…you reminded me of someone I once knew."

"Really?" He gave the slightest hint of having that grin turn into a malicious grin. "How fortunate for me."

Despite her discomfort and his good looks, Makoto was beginning to get angry with him. She hated being embarrassed, teased, or laughed at by strangers. And she had the feeling that this man was doing all of those things. "If you'll forgive me, I'm here with friends and they're waiting for me." She turned to go but he grabbed her upper arm.

"Please don't be angry." The grin was gone and he was looking at her earnestly. "I didn't mean to make you angry." Minako called to her from two or three racks down and Makoto pulled her arm free. "That's one of them now. Please excuse me."

He drew back stiffly. "Of course."

Minako skipped into their isle. "Mako-chan?" She called. "I found something that would go beautifully with that-oh! Excuse me!" She took a step back and a wicked twinkle entered her eyes. "I didn't know that you were busy Mako-chan. I'll just-"

"No. It's all right. We just bumped into each other is all, so what did you find that would go beautifully with what of mine?"

Minako looked at them doubtfully. "Are you sure Mako-chan?"

"Positive."

"Well," Minako began as she grabbing Makoto by the wrist and dragged her and the black shirt down the isle that she had come from.

The man just stood there and watched them leave and then the spot where they disappeared from his sight. He sighed deeply. "You made a few mistakes," he remarked ruefully to himself. "It's a pity." He sighed again and returned to his shopping while considering the depressingly low possibilities of meeting up again with this "Mako-chan".

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Jadeite was staring in the mirror with intense distaste. Those girls had awful taste in men's clothes. Ami and occasionally Usagi were the only ones he could rely upon to pick out clothes for him that he wouldn't want to die of embarrassment if he wore in public. He sensed that Usagi's choices were made more on the basis of what her beloved Mamo-chan would wear instead of any real taste on her part. That left him to rely upon Ami to temper the choices of her friends on what to present him with to try on. He sighed.

He found himself deeply wishing that the other senshi were there. The very young one wouldn't be much help but the older ones…The girl with the sandy-blonde hair who dressed like a man seemed to have good taste in men's clothes. Or maybe it was her partner with the aquamarine hair and the mirror that insured she dressed well. Anyone who knew the signs could tell that those two were a couple and he definitely knew the signs.

A sudden picture came to mind of the silent senshi with her deep green hair and knowledgeable red eyes. She had been wearing a pale purple business suit with a stone the same shade of red as her eyes between the lapels of her collar. She had very good taste in women's clothes and was probably knowledgeable about men's clothing. He was surprised that he remembered so much about her and a longing to have her opinion on his clothes suddenly stabbed him.

There was a commotion outside the dressing room that had screams of terror intermixed with it. He also felt the overwhelming presence of the negative energy of the Dark Kingdom wash over him and he stiffened. Feet pounded to a halt outside of his dressing room and a fist began to pound on the door. He swung it open and there stood Minako.

"There're yoma from the Dark Kingdom outside! Stay in here until we come for you." Then she was running out the door of the shop.

Jadeite was suddenly suffering from conflicting interests. One the one hand he would like to see someone else thwarted by the Sailor Senshi and see why whoever was in charge was using so many yoma. He could feel the presence of at least five. He also had the feeling that the girls had thought that they had dealt with the Dark Kingdom once and for all awhile ago. But on the other hand this was his one chance to grab and buy decent clothes without having to fight with the others all the way. He decided to get the clothes, then have a look at the fight. Quickly he dashed around the store picking up all the clothes that he liked and could afford to try on. Having made his clothing selections he quickly tried them on and then stopped by the underwear racks. He was very thankful that the girls hadn't thought to help him out in that area of dressing.

He was once again thankful that he and Nephrite had thought to set up a Swiss bank account and a social security box. It meant that he wouldn't be totally dependent on the Sailor Senshi. Concentrating he summoned several wads of small bills from his subspace pocket to pay the cashier. With his huge shopping bags in hand he went to the window of the shop that looked onto the street. The street was empty but there was no sign of a battle although there occasionally could be heard a battle cry or, in the yoma's case, a shriek of pain. Pity filled him as he thought of the poor, stupid yoma who didn't really have a chance. Suddenly he didn't really wish to see this battle or gloat to himself that he wasn't the one getting whipped. Instead he picked up a magazine and waited for the girls to come back.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Chiba Mamoru looked up from what he was doing. This was the second time in as many weeks that his Usako had changed into Sailor Moon to do battle with something or someone. He wondered what was going on in Tokyo. Usako hadn't mentioned any new enemies in her letters to him. Wryly he smiled. If there were trouble, she probably wouldn't write and tell him about it. She wouldn't want him to waste any of his precious time in America on worrying about enemies in Tokyo. Even though she herself hated to study, she was always encouraging him to since it was important to him.

Something about her felt different though. Even when she wasn't Sailor Moon, she felt different to him, almost as if parts of her were only now emerging and old parts were changing and growing. But she hadn't mentioned any changes. 'We're going to have a long talk about these things,' he decided as he sat back to see if she would need his assistance.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

'Barely,' he decided as he carefully regarded all the energy that the yomas had collected before they were defeated and destroyed. 'They call themselves the Sailor Senshi,' he reminded himself as he thought of Beryl's crystal scepter from which he had watched the gradual fall of the Dark Kingdom. They all seemed to be much stronger than they had been during the days they had been at war with Beryl. 'But that's to be expected,' he reminded himself then sternly told himself to keep his mind on the project at hand.

He checked the six stone slabs that he had prepared in the throne room for his six new servants. On two of the byres lay limp bandages. One of made of ragged orange flannel and was slightly green tinted in quiet a few places. The other was of once white cotton that was now stained both by dirt and blood. On the two byres that had been pulled together lay a single cherry blossom petal, a small pale pink flower, and a framed picture that lay face down. On the fifth byre lay a rumpled white cloak that was pristine save for the largish gaping holes in it that were bloody around the edges. On the last byre a single earring made of a black crystal and topped with scalloped gold was wrapped in the remains of a vest. All of it appeared, for the most part, to be worthless rubbish, but in actuality it was all very valuable. At least it was to him.

He concentrated on the focuses on the slabs and began to pull them back by the their very essences to life in the realms of the living. Slowly bodies began to flicker into being, but they were filmy and see through. It was taking more energy than he had thought it would, but he grimy continued telling himself that the benefits he would receive from this would far outweigh the difficulties he was now experiencing.

If that…Sailor Moon…could pull herself, her…Sailor Senshi…and her love from the maws of death, surely he could do it too. The bodies took on substance and the individual power signatures that had belonged to the men began to radiate from their bodies. Finally it was done and he paused to look at his servants. He walked down the row naming them as he went and touching their shoulders. "Nephrite…Zoisite…Kunzite…Rubeus…Safir…Demando." He turned to one of the two groups of yoma in attendance in the room and gestured them forward. "Take everyone but Kunzite and Zoisite and stick them in the brainwashing chambers." As the yoma began to move them, he added sharply, "And do it carefully. If there are any accidents with them there will be very severe consequences." The yoma bobbed their acknowledgement then very slowly and carefully they carried the men off.

He then turned to the other group of yoma. "Carefully pick up Lord Kunzite and take him to that wall next to the throne. Hold him upright against it and do so until I tell you to let go of him." The yoma did as they were commanded. He walked up behind them and gently trailed a finger over on of Kunzite's wrists.

Immediately pulsing vines surged out of the wall and entwined themselves around Kunzite's limp form and held him to the wall. Parts of Kunzite were even sucked into the wall. Even while all this was going on, the terrified yoma continued to hold onto Kunzite. When it was done, all that could be seen of Kunzite, that was recognizably Kunzite, was Kunzite's head and neck, with the hair forlornly straggling around and over them, and his shoulders where the clasps of his cloak held the beginnings of his cloak to his shoulders. "Good. You may let go of him now and leave us." The terrified yoma scurried from the room. He sat down to wait for Kunzite and Zoicite to wake up.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Usagi rolled over on her bed. She was trying to find sleep. It was late, she was exhausted, and she had school tomorrow but, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't get to sleep. Snatches of the meeting that had taken place that afternoon came to her ears. Unbidden, a picture of all the senshi and Hisui, as they sat around a glen in the forest on the temple grounds, came to mind.

They sat in little groups, leaning on each other for comfort and support. Usagi sat with her head resting on Hisui's shoulder as he leaned against a huge tree. Her shoulders drooping wearily, Ami sat on Usagi's other side, her head resting on Usagi's shoulder, busily typing on her minicomputer, but much slower than usual. Luna was curled up in Usagi's lap. On Hisui's other side sat Setsuna, her head also leaned against the tree, with Hotoru's head in her lap. Haruka and Michiru leaned on a tree opposite them, Michiru had her head rested in Haruka's shoulder and Haruka's head rested on Mirchiru's head. Unconsciously perhaps, they each had an arm around the other's waist. Upon entering the clearing, Minako had flopped down in the exact middle and not moved since. Artemis had wearily walked over and curled up on Minako's stomach. Rei had curled up in the roots of one particularly tall tree and Makoto was sprawled beside her.

Everyone's face was serious and worried. Fatigue showed clearly in every movement and gesture of everyone in that glen. Before the day had ended, even Hisui had worked hard. While he had not participated in any of the battles, he had ended up following the groups of senshi around, caring for the wounded or exhausted and standing guard over them until they were fit enough to return to battle.

"That wasn't the normal yoma pattern of attack." Ami tiredly reported to the group. "For those of us who don't know, yoma from the Dark Kingdom usually come down, disguise themselves, hide among the general populace of Tokyo, and steal energy from everyone who falls into their trap. When they're discovered, they real their true forms, and do battle with the Sailor Senshi who discovered them. Usually there is never more than two or three collecting energy at a time. There are exceptions to the rules, of course." She paused. "This time, however, they followed none of their usual pattern. A group of eight appeared in the middle of the Tokyo Subway system, a group of six at an intersection close to where we were shopping with Hisui-kun, a group of nine in the business district, and a group of twelve outside the Tokyo Tower. There were also groups that ranged throughout the city.

"All of them were very hard to fight and defeat because they retreated at the mere hint of the presence of a Sailor Senshi, and, when cornered, they semi-cooperated with each other in the ensuing battle. Up until now, it was almost unheard of for small groups, much less large groups, of yoma to cooperate with each other. Rarely has any yoma run from a battle or denied itself the opportunity to inflict pain and suffering on any human that is crossed. Two of the greatest proofs of this are Nephrite's assassination and the Battle of the Arctic." All the Inner Senshi, Ami included, paled. Despite this Ami continued on in a steady voice. "With their leaders gone, someone or something has risen up and taken her place in the Dark Kingdom. If new leader is so terrifying that the yoma are working together and following orders, we could be in serious trouble." Tiredly she took her glasses off and cleaned them. She was about to start typing again, when Usagi put her hand on Ami's.

Ami glanced at Usagi who smiled at her tiredly. "Stop. You can put that data in when you're not as tired. You'll think much more clearly for one thing. If you forget any details, the rest of us will help you to remember. Anyway, you don't need to write a new program to find the enemy. You already have one that, if I remember correctly, works beautifully." Ami nodded and returned Usagi's tired smile with one of her own as she saved what she had, activated her old program that detected yoma, and snapped her computer shut before returning it to her subspace pocket.

"How did the five of you and the cats feel the energy of the yoma? I would have thought that only Jiyuujin-san would have known where the yoma were going to hit." Haruka asked.

"It's something we developed while fighting the Dark Kingdom." Usagi replied.

"Rei-chan and the cats are best at it, but the rest of us are good enough to be able to pick up the yoma's energy if we're close enough. Ami-chan can pick the yoma's energy signals on her mini-computer and track them. Or any of us, if there's a need to do it."

"That's why you were sure to split Luna, Artemis, and Rei-chan up between the three groups we formed." Hortaru guessed. "And whenever Ami-chan hailed any of the groups over the communicators to tell us where there were more yoma, the five of you responded instantly."

"Right." Makoto confirmed.

"There's something else that's worrying me." Ami said. "Did anyone else notice that the yoma changed their energy storing tactics?"

"Yeah." Usagi agreed. "Usually they carry the collected energy by somehow storing it and tying it to themselves. They never used to return with it to the Dark Kingdom until they had as much as they could hold. This time they returned and gave what they had collected to their leader while they had relatively small amounts, then returned to collect more. Very few of the victims got any of their energy back after we killed the yoma. I've never seen them do that before. Minako-chan, you ever seen anything like this as Sailor V? "

"You were Sailor V?" Hortaru asked excitedly.

"I always thought that Sailor V was a spin off of the Sailor Senshi. You know some sort of urban legend." Haruka exclaimed.

"It certainly looked that way." Mirchiru agreed.

Minako shot to her feet indignantly, accidentally throwing Artemis on the ground in the process. She glared at Haruka and Mirchiru. "Of course there was a Sailor V and I was her!" Minako's glare darkened and she stamped her foot. She accidentally squashed the winded Artemis under her foot. "I simply can't believe that! Telling me that I don't exist! And to my face even! V can stand for other things besides Victory. Things like Venus! Didn't you two notice the orange in the costume? Of all people the two of you should believe in mysterious senshi."

"Min…ako…-chan…" Artemis managed to gasp out.

"And no I am not leaving the subject Artemis!" She spared a glance at Usagi. "I have never seen yoma behave this way before either." Then she returned to glaring at Haruka and Mirchiru.

"Shouldn't we tell Minako-chan about Artemis?" Hortaru softly whispered to those around her. Usagi and Ami looked startled. Hisui nodded his agreement to Hortaru's question and opened his mouth to call out to Minako. Ami and Usagi's hands shot out to simultaneously cover his mouth before a single sound emerged. Usagi hissed. "I don't think any of you have seen Minako-chan when she's mad so remember this: Never interrupt her when she's mad."

Ami continued in a soft whisper. "Minako-chan can be quite dangerous at the best of time, but she's deadly when under the influence of a strong emotion. In battle most people make mistakes when they feel about anything strongly, but not Minako-chan. The angrier she becomes, the better she gets."

"Lucky for the bad guys, she usually keeps herself calm and cool when there's a fight."

Haruka and Mirchiru were both fully alert by now and distinctly uncomfortable.

"We're very sorry." Mirchiru said soothingly. "We didn't mean to offend anyone with our comments." Minako gradually stopped glaring at the pair.

"Please Minako-chan, sit down." Haruka added. "I'm already tired, and watching you use up all that energy being angry with Michiru and I is making me exhausted."

Minako cracked a smile. "All is forgiven." She announced grandly and was about to sit down when a faintly puzzled look crossed her face. "Does anyone know where Artemis is?" Mutely everyone pointed at Minako's foot. Still puzzled she looked down to see Artemis turning purple under her foot. "Oh Artemis! Are you all right? What were you doing under there anyway?"

"Suffocating. Has it ever occurred to you to look before you stamp or to get up more slowly? It would certainly save me a lot of grief in the long run."

"Ungrateful tomcat!" Minako lightly bopped him on the head with her fist.

He mock glared at her, then turned on Ami and Usagi. "I saw you two traitors tell the others not to interfere and get me out from under Minako-chan's foot. With friends like you who needs enemies!"

"Why Artemis what a terrible thing to say!" Usagi exclaimed innocently.

"We do have very good reasons." Ami assured him earnestly.

Usagi picked up again. "You know perfectly well that we've saved you lots of times from dangerous situations. We just couldn't save you this time. As a Sailor Senshi I'm surprised that you even considered trying to force your long lost Moon Princess into doing such a terribly dangerous thing! As your friend I'm horrified that you would put poor dear Ami-chan, Luna, Setsuna-san, Hisui-kun, Hortaru-chan and I in such danger! And Hisui-kun, Setsuna-san, and Hortaru-chan not even know that they were in danger before it was too late!"

"What are you talking about? All I wanted the lot of you to do was free me from under Minako-chan's foot!"

"And force us to face Minako-chan's wrath?"

"Usagi-chan's right you know," Makoto put. "That is a little much to ask of anyone."

"So as Ami-chan said, we had perfectly good reasons behind our actions."

He looked darkly at Luna from Minako's arms. "I suppose that those are your reasons for not helping me?"

"No. My reason is that you should have been faster in escaping the danger zone around Minako-chan."

"I had the wind knocked out of me when she jumped up!"

"No excuses. You're a cat remember? You're supposed to land on your feet."

"Luna!"

"Calm down Artemis." Minako surveyed the area around her carefully before setting Artemis down. "Don't move." She ordered. "I have you exactly where I want you."

"That's what I'm afraid of!"

Minako looked at him. "Did you say anything Artemis?"

"No Minako-chan." He replied meekly. "Nothing at all."

"I'm glad."

Then Minako flopped down in precisely the same spot she had occupied before, in exactly the same position, leaving no marks to indicate that she had ever moved. Muttering, Artemis reclaimed his place on her stomach. He looked at her sternly.

"No sudden movements Minako-chan."

"Of course not Artemis." She smiled at him winsomely. Artemis sighed, then put his head on his paws.

"Can we get back to business?" Ami asked.

"Of course Ami-chan."

"Hisui-san, do you have any idea who could have organized the yoma?"

"No Ami-chan. There were all sorts of unsavory things trapped or lurking in dark corners of the palace. Not even Queen Beryl-sama knew of them all. The only one who might have any idea who's behind the yoma is Queen Metellia-sama. And she's more than dead."

"That puts us back where we started." Haruka observed dryly.

Setsuna quietly asked. "Usagi-chan, when you were in the Dark Kingdom, did you meet any kind of resistance?"

Usagi frowned for a moment. "Not at first, but when were about to leave we were attacked. I blast all of the one nearest to us as I was teleporting the lot of us out of there."

"Did they work together?"

"It's hard to say. They might have been. I was kinda busy at the time. Luna? Hisui-kun?"

"I wasn't in any condition to tell one way or the other. Luna?"

"They did look like they were getting ready to attack us in patterns. I can't be totally sure, because they were killed before they got to do anything serious."

"Another example of concerted attacking." Setsuna mused.

"Why wasn't anyone looking for intruders?" Haruka demanded.

"Even if there were patrols, they wouldn't have found Sailor Moon. Yoma are at the best of times lazy. If any of them were on patrol, they were probably gorging themselves on something disgusting in a secluded corner somewhere." Hisui replied with obvious distaste.

"Wouldn't they have felt the massive surge of energy?" Mirchiru asked skeptically.

"No." Rei frown thoughtfully. "For some reason we can feel their energy but they can't feel ours. We could never figure out why it's like that but it is."

"You mean that even if you aren't in senshi form you lot can still feel the energy that the yoma give off?" Hisui asked incredulously.

"Yes." Usagi said simply.

He laughed. "No wonder you always managed to thwart our plans. In those days I'd see you all the time and I'd never feel anything from you but you could feel me and the yoma."

"We couldn't really feel you kings when you were disguised, unless you dropped your disguise and revealed yourselves to us. After that it's really no trouble at all to feel you." Usagi frowned thoughtfully. "Actually you were the best at hiding yourself. Nephrite did a pretty good job for awhile but he always used the same disguise. He eventually got careless and I found out whom he was posing as during one of our battles."

"Usagi-chan!" Rei gasped. "Do you mind not telling him all of our secrets!"

"He's one of us now Rei-chan. I trust him."

"But you shouldn't! He's not even in the future! I didn't see him when we went to Crystal Tokyo, did you?"

"N…no."

"There is no way that he could have been in Crystal Tokyo when we visited." Ami broke in. "But then neither were Sailor Neptune, Sailor Uranus, or Sailor Saturn. In that particular future the Sailor Starlights, their Princess, and Chibi chibi don't exist or don't come to Earth. The same is true for all of the enemies that we've faced since the Dark Moon Family too."

"Ami-chan, what are you talking about?" Makoto asked in perplexity.

"When the five of us went to the future to help in Crystal Tokyo, everything that we saw there was a possible future for us and this world not a definite future. Haruka-san, Mirchiru-san, and Hortaru-chan hadn't even awakened yet as Sailor Senshi when we left for the future, so they made no appearance in the future that we witnessed, because in that future they had lived and died as normal people."

"That would explain why the Neo-Queen Selenity that we saw had a huge bow that looked like a pair of wings but not a pair of true wings. Usagi-chan, on the other hand, has the most realistic wings that I've ever seen. She can even fly on them."

Ami nodded. "Right Minako-chan. When Chibiusa-chan was with us she probably didn't even notice the changes we caused in her mother because the alterations to her future would be instantaneous."

Usagi suddenly sat bolt upright. With a horrified look on her face she slowly turned toward Ami. "Ami-chan, what your really saying is that the future isn't set isn't it?"

"Yes."

"So if we make one mistake now, there won't be a Small Lady or Diana or a Crystal Tokyo or anything in the future?"

Except for Setsuna, all the women in the clearing looked horrified to varying degrees. The cats were suddenly no longer exhausted and were looking at Ami intently. Minako even sat up, to stare at Usagi. "I…I don't know." Ami faltered.

"Are they right Setsuna-san?" Hortaru demanded.

"Ami-chan is perfectly correct in assessment of the future."

"And Usagi-chan?"

Setsuna turned toward Usagi. "Hasn't it always been that if you made a mistake at a crucial moment, all would be lost and this world or the universe would be destroyed by those that you fought?"

Usagi thought for a moment. "Y…yes."

"So how is your situation different now?"

"It's different because I know what I can loose if I fail, Setsuna-san. Before Chibiusa-chan came back and I met her, I fought to protect now and to keep what happened to my mother's kingdom from ever happening again," Hisui visible winced and shuddered slightly. "I never thought of the future beyond eventually marrying Mamo-chan. Now I know my future daughter. She's not just some faint but pleasant daydream anymore. To me she's a person that I know and love but just haven't met yet. Even though the city was in ruins, it looked like a nice place to live with my little family and raise my daughter. Now I fight to protect that future and try to make it come about in the best way possible. I'm already trying to figure out a way to prevent the Dark Moon Family or just lessen their ranks."

"Then your seeing parts of a possible future wasn't as bad a thing as I once feared it to be Usagi-chan." Setsuna smiled gently. "All you can do is to live your life the best way you can. Whether you worry and fear for the future or not, it's going to come so enjoy life. A few mistakes here and there along time aren't really going to hurt things. A disaster like loosing this war to our enemies on the other hand…"

Relief and new resolve showed in a great many faces around the clearing. The Senshi suddenly seemed to become aware of muscles that they had tightened without knowing it. The tension drained out of Usagi and she leaned against Hisui once again, as Ami once more leaned against her.

Although Haruka, Mirchiru, and Hortaru weren't quiet sure about whom the Dark Moon Family was or what had happened that first time Chibiusa-chan ventured into the past, they had all caught the point of the conversation between Setsuna and Usagi. Hisui, on the other hand, was extremely puzzled. He was used to being told everything that he needed to know and waiting patiently for the rest to be revealed in time to him. The Sailor Senshi seemed to have no such policy concerning information.

He couldn't quite figure out what he was supposed to do. The only available option seemed to be to ask a question. Instantly his mind shrunk from the idea. He knew what happened to people who asked questions. 'But this isn't the Dark Kingdom. Here they ask each other everything, so it may be all right to ask a question or two,' he reminded himself. 'They might not answer me though. Usagi-chan and Mizuno-san seem to accept me better than most of the others, so I'll ask one of them.' Satisfied with his decision, he went back to listening to the chatter of the others.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Zoisite was the first of the two to awaken. Groaning and holding his head he struggled into a sitting position. He sat there for several moments as if he was trying to collect his thoughts while staring at one hand intently. He finally said in a shaky voice, "I should be dead."

"You were dead. I brought you back."

Zoisite tried to spin around and look at the voice that was addressing him, but he was still a little shaky and nearly fell off of the table. Clutching the stone byre he turned more slowly toward the source of the voice. It came from the shadows of the room and Zoisite squinted to try to see the owner of the voice.

"What happened? Who are you?"

"You died. Tuxedo Kamen was brainwashed and Kunzite took over in you're place with the mission to get the Ginzuishou from the Moon Princess. He was very depressed about your death and never quite recovered. He blamed the Sailor Senshi for it, especially Sailor Moon, so his plans always contained the angle that Sailor Moon would die-usually in a terrible fashion. His plans never worked, largely because Tuxedo Kamen saved them at the last possible second, and eventually he was killed by Sailor Moon. Just before he died he called out to you.

Sailor Moon and her Sailor Senshi then went on to attack Beryl in her fortress. The Sailor Senshi died one by one on that trek and in the end Sailor Moon stood alone before the gates. She fought and de-brainwashed Prince Endymion, who is also Tuxedo Kamen. He died in the ensuing battle with Beryl after mortally wounding her. Beryl fled to her Mistress where she was restored and then possessed. Meanwhile Prince Endymion died in his princess's arms. After that Sailor Moon went to find and destroy Beryl and Metallia.

She was on the verge of trying to destroy all three of them and called out to her followers when the dead senshi told her that they wanted to fight with her in this final battle. Together they destroyed the two and Princess Selenity died. While she was dying, she resurrected herself, her senshi, and her prince. After that they faced and defeated assorted enemies." He paused. "You wanted to know who I am? I can sum it all up in two words: Your Master. For that's what I am. As for your beloved Kunzite, he's right there." The figure in the shadows gestured to the wall on the far side of the throne.

Zoisite shakily got to his feet and tottered in that direction. When he caught sight of his beloved's plight, he forgot how shaky he was on his legs and how sensitive his head currently was. "Kunzaito-sama!" he cried out and stumbled into trot. Leaning against the vines that entwined Kunzite, he gently pulled Kunzite's hair out of his face and frantically looked for a pulse. Finding one he relaxed slightly, before turning furiously on the shadowy figure. "What have you done to him? Who are you really and what's going on?"

"I'm going to answer you're questions in the order in which you have asked them. All I did was bring him back to life-nothing else except to bind him into that wall which is completely reversible. I've already told you who I am and what's happened since your death."

"You're not my master! Now release him!"

"No."

"Fine." Zoisite turned back to Kunzite. Concentrating for a moment caused a long, razor-sharp icicle to appear in his hands. Viciously he hacked at a vine. Almost immediately Kunzite came awake bellowing hoarsely as the vines pulsed with a deep black light. Zoisite stopped instantly. "Kunzaito-sama! Did I hurt you very badly? I'm sorry."

"Zoisaito? You're dead." Memory seemed to flood beck to him and he jerked in his bonds. "So am I for that matter. What's going on? What's wrong with me?"

Zoisite jerked his head in the general direction of the shadowy figure. "He says he brought us back from the dead and that he's our master. For some reason he's stuck you in the wall to one side of Queen Beryl-sama's throne."

"Where's Queen Beryl-sama?"

"The Sailor Senshi attacked this place and the Moon Princess destroyed her and Queen Metallia-sama." Zoisite turned and directed a hard look at the shadowy figure. "Let him out of the wall right now."

"I can see that you're going to have to learn the hard way to obey me."

"We'll see who's going to obey whom." Zoisite flicked his hand in the general direction of the shadowy figure. "Zoi!"

A barrage of flower petals and icicles flew from him towards his advisory. It disappeared before it got even a quarter of the way.

"It's very bad for you to raise your hand against me."

The vines surrounding Kunzite began to pulse once again with the deep black light. Kunzite's hoarse bellows began again. Zoisite spun around and tried to absorb some of the energy but that only made matters worse. Kunzite's bellows began to turn to shrieks. Zoisite snatched his hands from the vines. "Stop it! Stop it now!" He shouted. "I'm sorry. I'll do whatever you say, only stop it…Master-sama." The vines abruptly stopped glowing and Kunzite stopped crying out. Instead he gasped for breath.

"What did you say?"

"I'm sorry that I attacked you…Master-sama." Zoisite paused. "I'll serve you, but please release Kunzite."

"No, I don't think so Zoisite. This is the best way that I can think of keeping you firmly in rein. I have neither the time nor the energy to…reprogram…you two like the others." He moved forward into stronger light and for the first time Kunzite and Zoisite saw him. "You, Zoisite, are going to go to Earth and gather energy. With it I am going to reprogram the others and attend to various chores. After that I will share with the lot of you my plans for you and the Earth. During all of this, Kunzite is going to remain firmly in that wall with the vines coiled about him very snugly to ensure your enthusiasm, your success, and your loyalty to me. Every time you fail, Kunzite will pay the price and pay very dearly."

"If you do not mind answering, why is he in that wall and not me?"

"Because Zoisite, you're a bit of a maverick as far as the Sailor Senshi are concerned. While Kunzite has more experience and is stronger, his style is well known to the Sailor Senshi. To them you are unpredictable and have no style as far as the collection of energy is concerned. Also your appearances are deceptive. Kunzite both looks and is a threatening and dangerous person. You on the other hand don't look in the least like you could be dangerous or threatening, both of which you are."

"I see." Zoisite stole a look at Kunzite out of the corner of his eye. "When do you wish me to begin my duties, Master-sama?"

"Right away."

"Then I must go prepare for my new task." He bowed and prepared to leave by beginning to levitate.

"Oh Zoisite." Zoisite immediately held very still. "If anything should happen to me, Kunzite would instantly die a very terrible death. Not that anything will happen to me but I thought that you should know."

"I thank you for informing me. May I leave now?"

"You are dismissed Zoisite."

Zoisite inclined his head and disappeared in a flurry of cherry blossom petals leaving Kunzite alone with their new leader in the empty throne room. Kunzite looked at the other for a few moments speculatively. "You don't really plan to keep us alive." He said it calmly, almost as if he were discussing the weather not the fates of both himself and his beloved. Master turned to look at him, slightly amused. "What makes you say that?"

"Experience. As you said yourself you can't trust either Zoisite or I. As it has been proven in the past, whoever you resurrected along with us will unconsciously return to whoever and whatever they were before your…reprogramming. They won't mean to at first but they will. Eventually they'll turn on you. You can't really afford to keep any of us alive for too long. You know that and I know that."

"But Zoisite does not."

A far away look entered Kunzite's eyes. "No he does not."

"Why didn't you tell him?"

"He didn't need to know. Besides you probably would have made these vines go to work before I finished the first part of my explanation."

"You're probably right." A slightly curious look entered his eyes. "So, Kunzite what do you think I'll do?"

"Keep the lot of us-whoever we are-around until you can get underlings that are utterly loyal to you. Then get rid of us all."

The Master laughed. It was a chilling, utterly insane sound that made Kunzite's blood run cold. Kunzite decided not to show it. "That so called queen of yours was a fool as well as an incompetent. If she had utilized you kings properly, she would not have been so utterly thrashed and defeated by five girl children, a flighty prince, and a pair of snotty cats." He looked around as if seeing something only he could see. "It's been amusing talking to you, Kunzite but I'm needed else where." There was a light swirl of black mist, then he was gone and Kunzite was utterly alone. Leaning his head back he tried to go to sleep and not think of his Zoisaito and the consequences if he should fail-or succeed.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Endnote: I did my very best to come up with a good name for Jadeite that wasn't too corny as I couldn't find out if he even had a name when he wandered Tokyo appropriating energy.
Jiyuujin=Freeman
Hisui=Jade
Other Translations:
Tsukino Usagi = Serena = Sailor Moon
Mizuno Ami = Amy Anderson = Sailor Mercury
Hino Rei = Raye Hino = Sailor Mars
Kino Makoto = Lita = Sailor Jupiter
Aino Minako = Mina = Sailor Venus
Meioh Setsuna = Sailor Pluto
Tenoh Haruka = Sailor Uranus
Kaioh Michiru = Sailor Neptune
Tomoe Hotaru = Sailor Saturn
Chiba Mamoru = Darien Shields = Tuxedo Kamen = Tuxedo Mask
Luna = Luna
Artemis = Artemis
Jiyuujin Hisui = Jadeite = Jedite
Nephrite = Nephlite = Nephlyte
Zoisite = Zoicite = Zoycite
Kunzite =Malachite
Rubeus = Rubeus
Safir = Sapphire
Prince Demando = Prince Diamond