Twelve

By the time Usagi, Luna, Mamoru and Artemis arrived, the other four girls had exchanged their stories. Usagi seemed too preoccupied with her own fears to worry about their retellings, and was reluctant to speak of her own encounter. The very thought of her might conjure that…thing from the shadows.

'Usagi, listen!' Luna said again.

Ami handed the distracted girl a cup of tea and put a consoling hand on her shoulder.

'We'll be all right,' she smiled.

Usagi half-heartedly returned the smile.

Ami looked the least effected out of all the Senshi, Usagi thought.

'What are we up against?' Rei was seeming to return to her firey self. It seemed that Artemis had been right that they would be more powerful together, for Makoto's ventilator had lain discarded on the floor since Usagi had burst into the room.

'It's happening?' Artemis asked himself in shock.

'What?' Minako queried her protector.

'You are all marked. And your symptoms – it's so obvious. What is the common trait in all your attackers?' Artemis asked quickly.

'That they're freaks?' Makoto fired.

Both Artemis and Minako winced visibly.

Mamoru spoke up quickly. 'They seem to harbour elemental power,' he answered.

'Exactly. Oppositi,' Artemis announced plainly.

'Artemis, no!' Luna was aghast.

'Meaining…?' Rei urged.

'Exactly what it implies. Your opposites,' Artemis spoke from Minako's lap. 'Opposing elemental power – ice against fire, hate against love, darkness against light, air against earth and electricity against water. And Mamoru's stalker, who doesn't seem to have done anything but mark him.'

'Who marked you Mamo-chan?' Usagi rested a consoling arm on his elbow idly. She wasn't whole-heartedly concerned, still wound up in her own experience.

'Where did they come from?' Ami asked Artemis quickly. 'How many are there?'

'If it is the Oppositi…there are six now, just as there are six of you. I suspect there are at least four more Oppositi to balance out the four outer kingdoms as well,' Luna theorised somewhat half-heartedly.

'You suspect?' Makoto's eyes narrowed. 'You don't know?'

'How can we know?' Artemis seemed highly annoyed.

'Art,' Minako stroked his head. 'Please, it hurts.'

'What…' Usagi's drifting gaze focussed on Minako. 'What hurts?'

Mina shook her head. 'When they fight. It's just giving me a headache-'

'That's exactly what we're talking about!' Artemis took the opportunity impatiently. 'Minako's element is love. Since Minako's Oppositi has already marked her, any minutely hateful thoughts or actions will bring her pain - it will effect her more since all your elements are environmental, but Minako's are emotional – it conflicts with-'

'Ok, we get the picture,' Makoto shushed the scientific explanation. 'What do they want?'

'To bring down your kingdoms, as they did before,' Artemis said matter-of-factly.

'We don't have kingdoms anymore,' Rei shook her head, almost angrily. 'They should be after Endymion and the Earth, not us.'

'They are after me as well, Rei,' Mamoru spoke up defensively.

'Oh, we can see that,' Rei snorted sarcastically.

'Be thankful that one of your own hasn't been so badly effected!' Artemis cried in exasperation.

'They will always seek you, and always be drawn to you,' Luna told her in an annoyed voice.

'Because opposites attract,' Usagi murmured.

'Precisely,' Luna nodded.

'How do we overcome this?' Minako asked Artemis sadly.

There was a pause.

'You don't know,' Ami stated. 'Because it hasn't been done before.'

'Wait a moment…you're telling us that the Oppositi came after us when we HAD kingdoms, and we didn't defeat them?' Rei asked.

'You weren't around either by that stage,' Luna sighed.

'What?'

Artemis looked to Luna. The grey cat shifted uncomfortably.

'You had all already passed on. Selenity and Endymion were dead – the Senshi were sent away by the Queen to protect her daughter at a later date. The Moon Kingdom was declining, and your peoples were mourning your tragic losses. The Oppositi attacked at the right time, taking out all that was left of your planets. That is why Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and the moon are barren wastelands.'

'But they never got us in that time,' Ami caught on. 'And are after us now.'

'They were after you to start with,' Luna sighed.

'Right,' Mamoru shook his head, almost in disbelief. 'What do we do?' he asked this time, stressing each word. 'Something must have gotten rid of them in the end, we just have to find out what.'

'Just as something, some trigger, must have brought them back to our time,' Ami added.

'That's right,' Artemis picked up. 'Something must have. You have to remember more.'

'How do we do that?' Minako asked. 'We weren't there. No one was.'

'There has to be an answer,' Artemis was adamant.

'And we have to find it,' Usagi shook her head, shifting closer to the window. The sun filtered in on her, and she felt almost safe. The light was her ally.