[:::five:::]
Makoto, Minako and Yaten arrived at the outers' house shortly afterwards. Mamoru was the last to arrive. He was met with cold stares as he entered the room. He knew why he was receiving such a cold reception but didn't let on. He sat stone-faced in the corner.
"Two men appeared when Maker's memories were taken." Makoto explained to the group of eager listeners. "The one with the black hair called himself Kenboushou and the one with the white hair called himself Wasureru.
@~ The Battle~@
Makoto and Taiki were heading towards the temple on their way from Ami's house. They had run into Minako and Yaten who were on their way to retrieve their friends and tell them of their discovery. As they were walking down the street a woman approached Taiki.
~Such intelligent eyes, he must be a senshi.~ She thought to herself. "Excuse me, do you have the time?" She smiled as she asked her question.
"It's 9:30." Taiki replied looking at his watch. While he was looking down at his watch it was all the time the woman needed to transform into a cloaked figure, the same one that destroyed Mars. "Silver!" Taiki exclaimed as he was taken into a hold.
Yaten and Minako did everything they could to free Silver's hold on Taiki but their efforts seemed futile. Makoto had transformed into Jupiter and was about to launch a full-scale attack when she remembered that it would injure and possible kill Taiki in the process. Silver's kiss came and with it the memory of Maker left. Taiki's motionless body hit the pavement only to be retrieved momentarily by Yaten.
Venus, who now was on the scene, and Jupiter bombarded the still fleeting Silver. Their powers struck her with such force that all that remained when they ceased was a wrinkled robe on the sidewalk in front of them.
"I never would have guessed that these Earth senshi were so weak." A voice came from above the senshi's heads. Venus and Jupiter looked up to see two men floating in the air directly above them.
The one with the white hair spoke. "Hello senshi of this planet. You can surrender now, or we will continue to pick you off one by one. It's you decision." He laughed as he folded his arms.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Jupiter demanded.
"Isn't it obvious. We want what everyone wants. To rule the universe." The one with the black hair said in almost a sarcastic tone. "I am Kenboushou and this is my brother Wasureru. We are going to bring this galaxy back into the hands of Chaos once we have rid it of you!" He pointed at the two senshi below.
"Oh, and don't bother looking for Meiki, we have already captured him. So long for now." Wasureru waved.
"'Til we meet again." They disappeared just as mysteriously as they appeared.
"We have to tell the others what happened." Minako stated as she flipped open her communicator.
@~End of Battle~@
".and here we are." Makoto finished her story leaving no details out save the nature of their conversation on the way back from Ami's house. Usagi was heated beyond belief.
Mamoru watched the anger and rage dance across her face as the story had gone on. She appeared to have reached her limit when she stood up suddenly. The previous argument with Haruka had not helped her disposition at all. She lost her composure and much to everyone's surprise began yelling.
"So, Mamoru, do you think it was a good idea now to have left Fighter behind? Are you happy? Maybe Maker, Mars and the others would still be here if we had more help. What were you thinking?" Mamoru was put on the spot as everyone realized the truth in the situation. Every word Usagi screamed at him was like a dagger coming from her mouth. His conviction was apparent and there was nothing that he could say to defend himself any longer without giving up the whole truth.
"I was only thinking of you." His head was down. Everyone stared at him waiting for a further response, but Usagi wasn't going to let it come.
"Well thank you Mamoru. I guess you knew that I wanted to see my friends destroyed in front of my face. Good thing you know me so well." The sarcasm stung his ears as he appeared to wince in pain.
"What do you want me to do? Do you want me to just give up? Do you want me to just hand you over to him? I know he has your heart, but I just wanted to keep you a little longer." Mamoru had risen to his feet to be face to face with Usagi standing only inches from her. His retort began as a loud yell and finished with only a whisper.
"I'm with you for all of eternity Mamoru, there is no escaping that. Even if I wanted to I couldn't leave you. Are you happy now?" Usagi began to cry as she spoke of her tortured life. She looked around to see everyone's sympathetic eyes on her and couldn't take it. "I have to get out of here." She turned and ran out the door.
Mamoru didn't attempt to follow her but instead was left bewildered a sea of confusion. Haruka motioned that she was going after her but was quickly deterred by Michiru's light touch on her arm. "Let's just leave her alone for a little while. Let her cool down and then you can pick up where you left off." Michiru's words had a calming effect on the brazen girl. Haruka sighed in defeat.
Usagi ran as fast as she could until she knew that no one had followed her. She was glad to see that they knew when to leave her be sometimes. Her feet had carried her to the lake in the nearby park. When she reached the bridge she stopped and leaned against the railing. She looked down at the water pacified by its calm flowing.
The moonlight reflected off of the water and tiny shadows played and intertwined on her face. She was lost in deep thought. She didn't want to go back and face the situation that she had just created. She wished that she had never opened her mouth. Now it was impossible. Everyone knew her secret and nothing could ever be the same. She was confused and didn't have anyone to turn to. "Seiya. where are you?" She said bringing her head up to stare at the moon.
"I'm right here Odango." She looked beside her to see Seiya standing against the rail watching her. "I'm right here." He said taking her in his arms as he saw her tears make their way to her eyes. No more words were needed. He let her cry freely in his arms and felt her angst to the unfair world in every sob.
Usagi stopped crying and looked up to Seiya's face. The innocence that he once knew was gone from her eyes. She was no longer a naïve girl, no, she had matured into a knowing and wiser young woman. Her pureness was still present as was her warm glow. If anything, her glow was stronger now to match the strong young woman she had become. "We should get out of here. We will be spotted easily if some one comes looking for me." She said as she let go of her hold.
"Who is Meiki?" Michiru asked. "I've never heard this name before." Michiru picked up her mirror from the table beside her. She concentrated on the name as Makoto and Haruka crowded around her. An image began to appear in the glass. A young man about the age of the inners appeared. He was on his knees with his hands tied and his head down. His hair was streaked with different colors. (Picture George Clinton's hair.)
"Meiki?" Makoto asked. They were captivated by the image they were watching. The young man lifted his head up and appeared to look directly at them.
"Hello Michiru." He spoke and the image was lost. The words had surprised Michiru and made her loose her concentration.
"What was that?" Haruka asked. "How do you know him?" She turned to Michiru, a hint of jealousy sparkled in her eyes. This made Michiru smile.
"I don't know him, but it appears that he knows me. Perhaps Pluto has some idea who he is." Michiru was now light spirited after seeing the look in Haruka's eyes.
Usagi and Seiya walked to the tree line of the park, there they would be concealed by the shadows but still be able to see on coming visitors. The night was getting on and the dew began to set on the grass. The couple sat down on the grass, not minding its dampness.
"Why didn't you tell me before about Mamoru?" Usagi questioned. She wasn't looking at Seiya but instead cautiously watched the park in front of her.
"I didn't want to hurt you. If you were happy with him, I didn't want to ruin that." Seiya was looking at her profile in the moonlight. "I'm sorry." He breathed.
"It's not your fault." Her mood shifted. "I do, however feel honored that you came anyway." She turned her head to his direction.
"Of course I would come. Nothing could keep me away." He put his hand on hers. She felt a blush coming to her cheek.
"We are notorious for bad time." Her mood dropped again as she took her eyes off of him. "We lost Maker today." She didn't know how the news would effect him and she didn't want to see the reaction on his face when she told him.
"I know." Seiya watched the park with her. "I came right after Venus and Jupiter destroyed Silver. There was nothing I could do. I felt so helpless." He looked down at his hands that were held open in front of him.
"I know the feeling."
"We have to get Meiki back." Seiya stated plainly to Usagi. "Then they don't have a chance."
"Wait. you know who Meiki is?" She looked at him with perplexity on her face.
"Yes, I met him once briefly as the princess hosted him on our planet. He is the keeper of Memories. He will be able to reissue the lost memories to our fallen senshi." There was hope in his voice.
Usagi's face lit up. "Why didn't you say this before? This is wonderful."
"When did I have time to tell you?" He chuckled a bit at the situation. "We have to retrieve him. They can not kill him, for if they do all memories would be returned anyway. Therefore we don't have to worry about that, what we have to worry about is them killing us."
"It's nice to have some one to talk to again." Usagi said with a different tone to her voice.
Seiya put his arm around her shoulder. "I've missed you too." He looked down at her with a longing in his eyes. Usagi noticed this, she knew what he was thinking because she was thinking the same thing. She turned the rest of her body to face him and looked up into his eyes. They had both been waiting for this moment for far too long only to have it broken by the sound of an on coming intruder.
Both of their heads snapped to attention and saw Mamoru approaching. He hadn't seen them but was searching for Usagi. Once again as she looked over to Seiya he was gone. She stood up and brushed herself off. ~Time to face the music.~ She thought. ~I'll talk to Pluto tomorrow to see what happens.~
Mamoru was wandering around the park. He knew her well enough to know that this is where she would go. He seemed somewhat preoccupied with his own thoughts though and didn't notice her walking from the tree line. "So you found me." She made her presence known. Mamoru looked up at her and said nothing. She joined his side and they walked back to the outers'.
Usagi, Minako and Yaten were all sitting around the porch. Since the incident with Taiki, the remaining senshi were staying at the outers'. They saw Setsuna approaching up the driveway with what appeared to be grocery bags in her hands. The three quickly ran to help her easy her load. They all entered the house and were joined by the others.
Pluto had been gone for a few days now and was beginning to worry the other senshi. They all wanted to ask her about this mystery person and Usagi had her own problem that she wanted to discuss with her. "Where have you been this whole time? And don't tell me you were grocery shopping." Michiru asked looking the older woman up and down.
"Of course I was grocery shopping. Where else would I have gotten these groceries from?" Setsuna shook her head.
"We have something we would like to ask you." Haruka began as she walked forcefully up to the green haired woman. "Michiru's mirror showed us the man Meiki. Now, who is he and why would the enemy want to capture him?"
Setsuna stood there puzzled. She was stone faced as usual with everyone gathered around her except Yaten and Usagi who didn't seem interested in the discussion. "What are you talking about? Why would I know?"
"Well if you don't know, you'd better get your ass back to the gates of time to find out." Haruka was frustrated and spoke in a huff.
"What are you talking about? What gates of time?" Setsuna looked around at everyone's shocked expressions. Everyone knew what was happening. Minako asked the final question that would lay all of their suspicions to rest.
"Do you know who Sailor Pluto is?" She asked Setsuna with a slight wrinkle to her brow.
"Sailor Pluto? No, I can't say that I've ever heard of them." She shrugged her shoulders and walked away towards the kitchen to put the groceries that she brought home.
"I guess she didn't see that one coming!" Yaten snickered from the other side of the room. His light joke did not go over well with the other senshi. "What? I'm sorry!" He threw his hands in the air.
"What is your problem?!" Haruka shouted at him pointing her finger wildly. "Now we can't find out who this Meiki character is."
"You don't know who Meiki is?" Yaten became serious now. He and Minako had not been in the room when Michiru's mirror showed the captive. "Why didn't you ask me before?"
Usagi sighed at his comment. She knew who Meiki was also because of what Seiya had told her, she also knew that she had to tell everyone what she knew since Setsuna couldn't, but she didn't want to let on that she knew that Seiya was here. Minako looked at Usagi for a minute but quickly passed her sigh off.
"Well out with it already, what do you know?" Michiru sat on the couch across from him.
"Meiki is the keeper of memories. Our fallen senshi, comrades, can regain their memories from him. The enemy knows this and probably therefore captured him because of it." Yaten paused to make sure everyone understood what he was explaining.
"So we have to get him back before they kill him and it's too late." Makoto stood up.
Yaten smiled. "There's no need to worry about that, if they kill him all of the memories are restored and a new memory keeper is created."
"How did he know my name? Or even that I was watching him?" Michiru pried.
"I don't know how he knew you were watching him, but he knew your name because he knows everyone." Yaten finished.
"I know this is a little off subject here but, if Setsuna was attacked, then that means that there is another enemy running around out there hurting innocent people." Minako interrupted. She was right and everyone came to the realization of the matter. "We are going to have to destroy those two men to get him back!"
"We aren't going to do that tonight though." Haruka said calmly. "Since they can not harm Meiki, we have no dire need to rush out in the middle of the night and trace around the city hoping that they find us." Michiru joined her side. "We should all get some sleep and start fresh tomorrow."
Everyone reluctantly separated into his or her own rooms. Haruka followed Usagi to her room because she seemed a bit out of it. She waited until everyone else was in their room as not to draw attention to the upset Usagi. "Kitten? Are you alright?" Haruka lightly knocked on the door. There was no response so she opened it.
Usagi sat in a chair near the window, her back was to the door and her eyes were on the scene outside the window. Haruka could see her tears reflected in the glass. "What do you want?" Usagi said without turning around. She knew it was Haruka.
"Kitten, I'm just worried about you. I'm sorry that I yelled at you before. Can you forgive me?" Haruka was standing right behind Usagi, afraid to lay a hand on her for how she would react.
"Yes, I forgive you. You were right. Everything you said was the truth." She turned around to face Haruka. The tears were visibly flowing down her face now. ".but I can't, I just can't forget about Chibi-Usa." Her hands came up to cover her face and to drown herself in her tears.
Haruka took the delicate girl up in her arms and held her reassuringly. "Everything is going to be alright."
"I wish I knew that. I wanted to talk to Pluto about the future, but now. but now she's gone too." Usagi's body shook with sobs. Her pain was coming from the thought of her lost friends and her possibly lost daughter.
"Do you know why I was yelling at you before?" Haruka stroked her hair. "I had just gotten through talking to Pluto that day concerning you." Usagi stopped crying and perked up.
"What did she say?"
"Well I was trying earlier to tell you what she said but we were interrupted. I know that you don't love Mamoru anymore, and he knows that it is over too, that is why I can tell you this now. Chibi-Usa is not Mamoru's daughter. She is Seiya's." Haruka's grasp on the girl broke as she perked to attention.
"What? How? What are you talking about?" Usagi was filled with questions.
"About a month before you and Mamoru are about to be married you meet with Seiya again. You tell him that you don't want to give yourself to some one who you don't love. You want to give yourself to the person that you care for most in the world. You become pregnant a month before the wedding. You of course don't tell anyone and pretend that Chibi-Usa has just been born a month early. Mamoru and everyone else of course have no reason to think that she is not his. You see Kitten it's alright." Haruka reached out for Usagi.
"What? I cheat on Mamoru? So you're saying that there is absolutely no reason for me to be with Mamoru? Have you told Mamoru this?" Usagi was staring at nothing in particular while being held tightly by Haruka's arms.
"No, I see no reason that he should have to know at all." Haruka pulled her face away from Usagi.
"What about Crystal Tokyo? Who will rule?" Usagi looked deep into Haruka's caring eyes.
"No one. It becomes a democracy and therefore the black moon never strikes." She paused to stare into her eyes. "I'm sorry that we can't go and get him now, but I will make sure that you get to see him after we regain our senshi." She continued to stare into Usagi's eyes, their beauty captivated her. She felt herself leaning in towards her. Haruka kissed Usagi, but it did not land where she had intended it.
Usagi saw what Haruka was about to do and dropped her head in a bow and Haruka's lips fell on her forehead instead. This was all the closure that Haruka needed. The small movement of Usagi's actions told her that they could never be and some how she felt alright with that. She was not heart broken as she thought she would be, a smile crossed her face and she remembered Michiru.
Makoto, Minako and Yaten arrived at the outers' house shortly afterwards. Mamoru was the last to arrive. He was met with cold stares as he entered the room. He knew why he was receiving such a cold reception but didn't let on. He sat stone-faced in the corner.
"Two men appeared when Maker's memories were taken." Makoto explained to the group of eager listeners. "The one with the black hair called himself Kenboushou and the one with the white hair called himself Wasureru.
@~ The Battle~@
Makoto and Taiki were heading towards the temple on their way from Ami's house. They had run into Minako and Yaten who were on their way to retrieve their friends and tell them of their discovery. As they were walking down the street a woman approached Taiki.
~Such intelligent eyes, he must be a senshi.~ She thought to herself. "Excuse me, do you have the time?" She smiled as she asked her question.
"It's 9:30." Taiki replied looking at his watch. While he was looking down at his watch it was all the time the woman needed to transform into a cloaked figure, the same one that destroyed Mars. "Silver!" Taiki exclaimed as he was taken into a hold.
Yaten and Minako did everything they could to free Silver's hold on Taiki but their efforts seemed futile. Makoto had transformed into Jupiter and was about to launch a full-scale attack when she remembered that it would injure and possible kill Taiki in the process. Silver's kiss came and with it the memory of Maker left. Taiki's motionless body hit the pavement only to be retrieved momentarily by Yaten.
Venus, who now was on the scene, and Jupiter bombarded the still fleeting Silver. Their powers struck her with such force that all that remained when they ceased was a wrinkled robe on the sidewalk in front of them.
"I never would have guessed that these Earth senshi were so weak." A voice came from above the senshi's heads. Venus and Jupiter looked up to see two men floating in the air directly above them.
The one with the white hair spoke. "Hello senshi of this planet. You can surrender now, or we will continue to pick you off one by one. It's you decision." He laughed as he folded his arms.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Jupiter demanded.
"Isn't it obvious. We want what everyone wants. To rule the universe." The one with the black hair said in almost a sarcastic tone. "I am Kenboushou and this is my brother Wasureru. We are going to bring this galaxy back into the hands of Chaos once we have rid it of you!" He pointed at the two senshi below.
"Oh, and don't bother looking for Meiki, we have already captured him. So long for now." Wasureru waved.
"'Til we meet again." They disappeared just as mysteriously as they appeared.
"We have to tell the others what happened." Minako stated as she flipped open her communicator.
@~End of Battle~@
".and here we are." Makoto finished her story leaving no details out save the nature of their conversation on the way back from Ami's house. Usagi was heated beyond belief.
Mamoru watched the anger and rage dance across her face as the story had gone on. She appeared to have reached her limit when she stood up suddenly. The previous argument with Haruka had not helped her disposition at all. She lost her composure and much to everyone's surprise began yelling.
"So, Mamoru, do you think it was a good idea now to have left Fighter behind? Are you happy? Maybe Maker, Mars and the others would still be here if we had more help. What were you thinking?" Mamoru was put on the spot as everyone realized the truth in the situation. Every word Usagi screamed at him was like a dagger coming from her mouth. His conviction was apparent and there was nothing that he could say to defend himself any longer without giving up the whole truth.
"I was only thinking of you." His head was down. Everyone stared at him waiting for a further response, but Usagi wasn't going to let it come.
"Well thank you Mamoru. I guess you knew that I wanted to see my friends destroyed in front of my face. Good thing you know me so well." The sarcasm stung his ears as he appeared to wince in pain.
"What do you want me to do? Do you want me to just give up? Do you want me to just hand you over to him? I know he has your heart, but I just wanted to keep you a little longer." Mamoru had risen to his feet to be face to face with Usagi standing only inches from her. His retort began as a loud yell and finished with only a whisper.
"I'm with you for all of eternity Mamoru, there is no escaping that. Even if I wanted to I couldn't leave you. Are you happy now?" Usagi began to cry as she spoke of her tortured life. She looked around to see everyone's sympathetic eyes on her and couldn't take it. "I have to get out of here." She turned and ran out the door.
Mamoru didn't attempt to follow her but instead was left bewildered a sea of confusion. Haruka motioned that she was going after her but was quickly deterred by Michiru's light touch on her arm. "Let's just leave her alone for a little while. Let her cool down and then you can pick up where you left off." Michiru's words had a calming effect on the brazen girl. Haruka sighed in defeat.
Usagi ran as fast as she could until she knew that no one had followed her. She was glad to see that they knew when to leave her be sometimes. Her feet had carried her to the lake in the nearby park. When she reached the bridge she stopped and leaned against the railing. She looked down at the water pacified by its calm flowing.
The moonlight reflected off of the water and tiny shadows played and intertwined on her face. She was lost in deep thought. She didn't want to go back and face the situation that she had just created. She wished that she had never opened her mouth. Now it was impossible. Everyone knew her secret and nothing could ever be the same. She was confused and didn't have anyone to turn to. "Seiya. where are you?" She said bringing her head up to stare at the moon.
"I'm right here Odango." She looked beside her to see Seiya standing against the rail watching her. "I'm right here." He said taking her in his arms as he saw her tears make their way to her eyes. No more words were needed. He let her cry freely in his arms and felt her angst to the unfair world in every sob.
Usagi stopped crying and looked up to Seiya's face. The innocence that he once knew was gone from her eyes. She was no longer a naïve girl, no, she had matured into a knowing and wiser young woman. Her pureness was still present as was her warm glow. If anything, her glow was stronger now to match the strong young woman she had become. "We should get out of here. We will be spotted easily if some one comes looking for me." She said as she let go of her hold.
"Who is Meiki?" Michiru asked. "I've never heard this name before." Michiru picked up her mirror from the table beside her. She concentrated on the name as Makoto and Haruka crowded around her. An image began to appear in the glass. A young man about the age of the inners appeared. He was on his knees with his hands tied and his head down. His hair was streaked with different colors. (Picture George Clinton's hair.)
"Meiki?" Makoto asked. They were captivated by the image they were watching. The young man lifted his head up and appeared to look directly at them.
"Hello Michiru." He spoke and the image was lost. The words had surprised Michiru and made her loose her concentration.
"What was that?" Haruka asked. "How do you know him?" She turned to Michiru, a hint of jealousy sparkled in her eyes. This made Michiru smile.
"I don't know him, but it appears that he knows me. Perhaps Pluto has some idea who he is." Michiru was now light spirited after seeing the look in Haruka's eyes.
Usagi and Seiya walked to the tree line of the park, there they would be concealed by the shadows but still be able to see on coming visitors. The night was getting on and the dew began to set on the grass. The couple sat down on the grass, not minding its dampness.
"Why didn't you tell me before about Mamoru?" Usagi questioned. She wasn't looking at Seiya but instead cautiously watched the park in front of her.
"I didn't want to hurt you. If you were happy with him, I didn't want to ruin that." Seiya was looking at her profile in the moonlight. "I'm sorry." He breathed.
"It's not your fault." Her mood shifted. "I do, however feel honored that you came anyway." She turned her head to his direction.
"Of course I would come. Nothing could keep me away." He put his hand on hers. She felt a blush coming to her cheek.
"We are notorious for bad time." Her mood dropped again as she took her eyes off of him. "We lost Maker today." She didn't know how the news would effect him and she didn't want to see the reaction on his face when she told him.
"I know." Seiya watched the park with her. "I came right after Venus and Jupiter destroyed Silver. There was nothing I could do. I felt so helpless." He looked down at his hands that were held open in front of him.
"I know the feeling."
"We have to get Meiki back." Seiya stated plainly to Usagi. "Then they don't have a chance."
"Wait. you know who Meiki is?" She looked at him with perplexity on her face.
"Yes, I met him once briefly as the princess hosted him on our planet. He is the keeper of Memories. He will be able to reissue the lost memories to our fallen senshi." There was hope in his voice.
Usagi's face lit up. "Why didn't you say this before? This is wonderful."
"When did I have time to tell you?" He chuckled a bit at the situation. "We have to retrieve him. They can not kill him, for if they do all memories would be returned anyway. Therefore we don't have to worry about that, what we have to worry about is them killing us."
"It's nice to have some one to talk to again." Usagi said with a different tone to her voice.
Seiya put his arm around her shoulder. "I've missed you too." He looked down at her with a longing in his eyes. Usagi noticed this, she knew what he was thinking because she was thinking the same thing. She turned the rest of her body to face him and looked up into his eyes. They had both been waiting for this moment for far too long only to have it broken by the sound of an on coming intruder.
Both of their heads snapped to attention and saw Mamoru approaching. He hadn't seen them but was searching for Usagi. Once again as she looked over to Seiya he was gone. She stood up and brushed herself off. ~Time to face the music.~ She thought. ~I'll talk to Pluto tomorrow to see what happens.~
Mamoru was wandering around the park. He knew her well enough to know that this is where she would go. He seemed somewhat preoccupied with his own thoughts though and didn't notice her walking from the tree line. "So you found me." She made her presence known. Mamoru looked up at her and said nothing. She joined his side and they walked back to the outers'.
Usagi, Minako and Yaten were all sitting around the porch. Since the incident with Taiki, the remaining senshi were staying at the outers'. They saw Setsuna approaching up the driveway with what appeared to be grocery bags in her hands. The three quickly ran to help her easy her load. They all entered the house and were joined by the others.
Pluto had been gone for a few days now and was beginning to worry the other senshi. They all wanted to ask her about this mystery person and Usagi had her own problem that she wanted to discuss with her. "Where have you been this whole time? And don't tell me you were grocery shopping." Michiru asked looking the older woman up and down.
"Of course I was grocery shopping. Where else would I have gotten these groceries from?" Setsuna shook her head.
"We have something we would like to ask you." Haruka began as she walked forcefully up to the green haired woman. "Michiru's mirror showed us the man Meiki. Now, who is he and why would the enemy want to capture him?"
Setsuna stood there puzzled. She was stone faced as usual with everyone gathered around her except Yaten and Usagi who didn't seem interested in the discussion. "What are you talking about? Why would I know?"
"Well if you don't know, you'd better get your ass back to the gates of time to find out." Haruka was frustrated and spoke in a huff.
"What are you talking about? What gates of time?" Setsuna looked around at everyone's shocked expressions. Everyone knew what was happening. Minako asked the final question that would lay all of their suspicions to rest.
"Do you know who Sailor Pluto is?" She asked Setsuna with a slight wrinkle to her brow.
"Sailor Pluto? No, I can't say that I've ever heard of them." She shrugged her shoulders and walked away towards the kitchen to put the groceries that she brought home.
"I guess she didn't see that one coming!" Yaten snickered from the other side of the room. His light joke did not go over well with the other senshi. "What? I'm sorry!" He threw his hands in the air.
"What is your problem?!" Haruka shouted at him pointing her finger wildly. "Now we can't find out who this Meiki character is."
"You don't know who Meiki is?" Yaten became serious now. He and Minako had not been in the room when Michiru's mirror showed the captive. "Why didn't you ask me before?"
Usagi sighed at his comment. She knew who Meiki was also because of what Seiya had told her, she also knew that she had to tell everyone what she knew since Setsuna couldn't, but she didn't want to let on that she knew that Seiya was here. Minako looked at Usagi for a minute but quickly passed her sigh off.
"Well out with it already, what do you know?" Michiru sat on the couch across from him.
"Meiki is the keeper of memories. Our fallen senshi, comrades, can regain their memories from him. The enemy knows this and probably therefore captured him because of it." Yaten paused to make sure everyone understood what he was explaining.
"So we have to get him back before they kill him and it's too late." Makoto stood up.
Yaten smiled. "There's no need to worry about that, if they kill him all of the memories are restored and a new memory keeper is created."
"How did he know my name? Or even that I was watching him?" Michiru pried.
"I don't know how he knew you were watching him, but he knew your name because he knows everyone." Yaten finished.
"I know this is a little off subject here but, if Setsuna was attacked, then that means that there is another enemy running around out there hurting innocent people." Minako interrupted. She was right and everyone came to the realization of the matter. "We are going to have to destroy those two men to get him back!"
"We aren't going to do that tonight though." Haruka said calmly. "Since they can not harm Meiki, we have no dire need to rush out in the middle of the night and trace around the city hoping that they find us." Michiru joined her side. "We should all get some sleep and start fresh tomorrow."
Everyone reluctantly separated into his or her own rooms. Haruka followed Usagi to her room because she seemed a bit out of it. She waited until everyone else was in their room as not to draw attention to the upset Usagi. "Kitten? Are you alright?" Haruka lightly knocked on the door. There was no response so she opened it.
Usagi sat in a chair near the window, her back was to the door and her eyes were on the scene outside the window. Haruka could see her tears reflected in the glass. "What do you want?" Usagi said without turning around. She knew it was Haruka.
"Kitten, I'm just worried about you. I'm sorry that I yelled at you before. Can you forgive me?" Haruka was standing right behind Usagi, afraid to lay a hand on her for how she would react.
"Yes, I forgive you. You were right. Everything you said was the truth." She turned around to face Haruka. The tears were visibly flowing down her face now. ".but I can't, I just can't forget about Chibi-Usa." Her hands came up to cover her face and to drown herself in her tears.
Haruka took the delicate girl up in her arms and held her reassuringly. "Everything is going to be alright."
"I wish I knew that. I wanted to talk to Pluto about the future, but now. but now she's gone too." Usagi's body shook with sobs. Her pain was coming from the thought of her lost friends and her possibly lost daughter.
"Do you know why I was yelling at you before?" Haruka stroked her hair. "I had just gotten through talking to Pluto that day concerning you." Usagi stopped crying and perked up.
"What did she say?"
"Well I was trying earlier to tell you what she said but we were interrupted. I know that you don't love Mamoru anymore, and he knows that it is over too, that is why I can tell you this now. Chibi-Usa is not Mamoru's daughter. She is Seiya's." Haruka's grasp on the girl broke as she perked to attention.
"What? How? What are you talking about?" Usagi was filled with questions.
"About a month before you and Mamoru are about to be married you meet with Seiya again. You tell him that you don't want to give yourself to some one who you don't love. You want to give yourself to the person that you care for most in the world. You become pregnant a month before the wedding. You of course don't tell anyone and pretend that Chibi-Usa has just been born a month early. Mamoru and everyone else of course have no reason to think that she is not his. You see Kitten it's alright." Haruka reached out for Usagi.
"What? I cheat on Mamoru? So you're saying that there is absolutely no reason for me to be with Mamoru? Have you told Mamoru this?" Usagi was staring at nothing in particular while being held tightly by Haruka's arms.
"No, I see no reason that he should have to know at all." Haruka pulled her face away from Usagi.
"What about Crystal Tokyo? Who will rule?" Usagi looked deep into Haruka's caring eyes.
"No one. It becomes a democracy and therefore the black moon never strikes." She paused to stare into her eyes. "I'm sorry that we can't go and get him now, but I will make sure that you get to see him after we regain our senshi." She continued to stare into Usagi's eyes, their beauty captivated her. She felt herself leaning in towards her. Haruka kissed Usagi, but it did not land where she had intended it.
Usagi saw what Haruka was about to do and dropped her head in a bow and Haruka's lips fell on her forehead instead. This was all the closure that Haruka needed. The small movement of Usagi's actions told her that they could never be and some how she felt alright with that. She was not heart broken as she thought she would be, a smile crossed her face and she remembered Michiru.
