Disclaimer: Hahaha, don't own 'em yet, but I will by the end of the
week if Chris Carter, Naoko Takeuchi, and Joss call me back...
hee, hee...

Summary: Hahahahahaha, wouldn't you like to know? The Senshi go
looking for Tuxedo Kamen and don't find him until too late. Hehehehe.
I love these things.

Dic warning: Um, yeah, I refer to that guy that Ami met way back
in the first series as "Greg" because I can't spell his Japanese
name. Um, yeah, I know it's only three letters, thanks. Sorry!

*****

Before criticizing, walk a mile in the other person's shoes. That
way, if you have something cruel to say, you're a mile away and have
their shoes.

*****

Pluto groaned and rolled over onto her back, considering just sleeping
there for a long, long time. Screw the Gate of Time; it could just
watch itself for now.

Suddenly, she felt the sensation of eyes staring at her. Vigorously
willing them to go away, she waited. When she finally couldn't take
it anymore, her prayers going so unanswered, she cracked her eyes
open to survey the mistreators.

It's not everyday you awake to find all the rest of the Sailor
Senshi gathered around you, eyes pleading with your still form.

"Wha...?" she managed to croak out, voice cracking.

"Pluto!" Unshed tears glimmered in Eternal Sailor Moon's eyes.
"You're all right!"

"Thank god," murmured another senshi; Pluto suspected Uranus.

"Princess." Pluto smiled up at her leader and friend. "What's going
on?"

"You were... I thought... you looked... I... the monster..." Tears
welled up in the girl's eyes again and she burst out in grateful
sobs. "Oh, Pluto, you're alive!"

Awkwardly patting the girl that was suddenly in her arms, Pluto turned
to the others, a plea in her eyes.

"We thought you were dead," translated Saturn, who herself had shiny
eyes. "The rune had so little power left."

"Rune?" Suddenly, it all came flooding back to her: Pluto, on the
verge of unconsciousness, unable to find the strength to stand and
save her Princess. A muttered curse. A yellow rose darting through
the air. A black-cloaked figure. A confrontation. A glowing
symbol in the air, fading to the blackness of near-death. She
frowned. *I've seen that figure before...* she thought with a
frown.

"Pluto, what's wrong?" Neptune inquired tentatively, afraid of
the answer.

"I've seen her before." The muttered answer brought an exchanged
group glance.

"The monster?" suggested Uranus. "Where?"

"No, not the monster," deterred Pluto, deep in thought.

"Eternal Sailor Moon?"

The innocent question brought on many disgusted looks; even Sailor
Moon stopped her bawling to blink at the Senshi.

"Venus..." Jupiter murmured in a tone that is most commonly used to
speak to the mentally unstable. "That's sad."

"What?" demanded Venus, indignant. "It's Pluto who doesn't remember
her!"

Pluto stood, stopping the ensuing argument. "The figure. The
black-cloaked one. I've seen him before."

"Who is it?" Sailor Moon asked, also pulling herself to her feet.
"And, why did he take Tuxedo Kamen? Where did he go?"

Pluto shook her head, thoughts confused. "I don't... know. I
can't... I can't remember. I'm sorry, Princess," she added,
attempting to comfort her leader.

"It's not your fault, Pluto." Sailor Moon suddenly seemed very
old. "He's only been kidnapped _yet again_. If I didn't love
him so much, I'd be furious at him for making me go through this."

*****

As the rest of the senshi comforted Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury
pulled back from the group with a worried expression. The
person they were dealing with was very powerful. Kidnapping
Tuxedo Kamen was a difficult task, even if the man did appear
to be a numskull some of the time. Plus, she had a rather
disturbing feeling at the moment: calm. How could she be
so calm? One of the guardians of the Moon Princess had been
kidnapped! Somehow, though, she just couldn't make herself
feel angry or upset about it.

This, perhaps, is what upset her the most. How could she feel
no trepidation at the idea that he had been stolen away again,
right from under their noses? Was she so disloyal to her
Prince and Princess that she could hope disaster on them?

Suddenly, she felt a pang of loneliness. She was no stranger
to the mano-a-mano clause; in fact, she often found herself
considering herself alone, even when in her group of best friends.
Maybe it was because she was so quiet and shy that she naturally
wrapped herself in a solitary aura when confronted by people.
Maybe it was because the others were always quibbling, and she
felt like the helpless mother, left to pick sides and enforce
discipline. Maybe it was because the others paired up,
common interests bringing them together, leaving her to tag
along and remind them of their duties.

Not that she minded. It was her way of life; she wouldn't have it
any other way. When people got to close, it made her afraid
that they would finally look into her soul and figure out what a
terribly dull person she actually was. Even though her brain
disagreed, it could not convince her stubborn heart that she
was actually quite well liked.

Tuxedo Kamen had a way of doing that. Oftentimes, Tuxedo Kamen
and Mercury had found themselves turning to each other in a moment
of crisis, knowing that they could talk. They were almost best
friends, but neither of them could bring themselves to admit that
they could possibly be that close to another human being who didn't
have Eternal Sailor Moon's beautiful, life-giving soul. Each
felt proud that they could be strong for themselves, without
begrudging others who could be so blessed to love and be love.

So, why Mercury felt calm at the prospect of her good friend
being kidnapped yet again was a mystery to her.

*****

"This," moaned Lun@, "has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever
done." Shifting the man's heavy weight on her loudly complaining
shoulder, she staggered a bit before continuing her rant. "I mean,
that little day trip in the Vatican, that was stupid. That thing
with the Canadian mountie's horse was just idiotic. I even admit
that the stunt I pulled during the taping of _The Wizard of Oz_,
the one with all the munchkins--"--she grinned at the memory--
"--was not one of my better moments. This, however, takes the
cake. And, dammit, what did you eat for breakfast," she demanded
of her limp passenger, "Cementy-Os?? Honey-flavored bricks?
You weigh like a truck, man!" Her sarcasm faded into worry,
though. "And you're barely breathing. I'm sorry, please don't
die. I would have healed you, but I don't have the strength
anymore. Please don't die. Please. I'll never forgive you
if you do." A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "Isn't this a turn
of events? An Angel of Death begging for life. Makes me wanna
vomit."

And, indeed, she _did_ have that urge, however well contained.
Lun@'s exhaustion was so immense, she felt like she just wanted
to throw up and sleep. Preferably in that direct order.

*I don't remember Rei's temple being so far away,* she puffed,
a tad desperate.

Suddenly, Buffy was at her side. "Lun@, what's going on? Here,
let me take that." With gentle hands, she pulled the dying man
out of Lun@'s arms.

With a sigh of relief, Lun@ let her burden go, not even thinking
to question Buffy's appearance. "He needs help. Be careful of
his wounds."

Buffy easily carried the comatose body up the mountain of stairs
to the temple. "Where did you go? We were worried."

"I don't know. Put him in the room with the sacred fire."

Buffy looked doubtful. "I dunno, the Priestess really seemed adamant
about keeping us out of there. You sure it's a good idea?"

"I'll deal with Rei and whatever hissy fit she throws. That's
the cleanest, warmest place in the temple, though, and he needs it."
Pushing open the door to the room, she pushed Buffy through gently.

*Besides,* she thought, suddenly having an insane desire to giggle,
*Rei's hissy fit will be the least of my problems. No, I had to
go piss off the ENTIRE Sailor Senshi team. They're gonna kick
my ass.* One lone, strangled, hysterical giggle escaped before
she managed to contain herself. "Here, set him down here," Lun@
indicated, ignoring the concerned glance her student had just thrown
her. "I'm... uh... I'm gonna need blankets, a pillow, warm water,
bandages--"--a miracle--"--er... Angel and Scully. Wait,
on second thought, hold the Angel until I get the blood cleaned
up a little more. There's no use in tempting fate or demons."

"'Scully'?"

"Agent Scully is a doctor. Why, she's not asleep, is she?" Lun@
looked around, confused. "What time is it?"

"About midnight, local. I'll look." Buffy turned to go and
abruptly changed her mind. "Uh... Are you okay?"

Lun@ looked down at herself. "I think so," she answered absently.
"Why, am I bleeding?"

"No, you just look a little... who *is* this guy, anyway, and why
is he wearing formal wear?"

"Tuxedo Kamen, and I have no idea."

Reluctantly, Buffy left her spacier-than-usual mentor to go find
the appointed help.

Examining the body in front of her carefully, Lun@ frowned and
carefully reached out with both hands to the mask on his face.
Delicately holding the corners of the white piece of fabric, she
froze. Should I protect this man's identity, or find out who
the hell he is? Is this need in me to know idle curiosity or
something deeper? Arriving at her decision, she gently lifted
the mask from his pale face.

I _knew_ I'd seen him somewhere before! she gasped with horror
and recognition. "Mamoru?"

His eyelids fluttered slightly and he moaned, turning. "Usako...?"

Staring at the man, a feeling of dread settled over her suddenly
weak shoulders. "Oh, man, Eternal Sailor Moon's gonna pound
me into the floor."

*****

"He's not at any of the hospitals, he hasn't gone home, and for
some reason, I'm having trouble finding him with my computer,"
Mercury summed up, still typing furiously away at the keypad on
her mini-supercomputer. "I mean, I _know_ he's somewhere in Tokyo
and somewhere in this 6-km radius--which is only 36-pi kilometers
square--but it'll take at least six hours to triangulate his position
tonight." Mercury looked up at the sky. "The weather channel
predicts an 80% chance of thunderstorms in the next couple of hours,
which means that there's too much electricity in the air right now to
get a clear reading of much of anything until I re-install the--"

"Thanks, Mercury," Eternal Sailor Moon cut her off, "but we're all
too tired right now to do anything. You look like you're about
to fall over, and Pluto, well..." Everyone followed her gaze over
to where the tallest of the women, Sailor Pluto, had fallen asleep
against a tree. Her long time staff was grasped loosely in her hands,
and her long dark green hair streamed around her, waving gently in
the light breeze. "Ever since you guys've been healed, you've
been really tired. Go home, get some sleep. There's nothing that
can't wait until morning." Her wings faded as her transformation
wore off, and Eternal Sailor Moon once more became Usagi Tsukino.

"Usagi--" Sailor Jupiter began.

"Go home. We'll meet at nine o'clock tomorrow down in the arcade.
Please, everyone," she changed her tone, eyes gently tearing up,
"please."

Gently, Uranus and Neptune lifted the sleeping Pluto and bore her
towards their shared home, Saturn following silently behind with
Pluto's time staff. "Goodnight, Princess. Don't worry; we'll get
him back."

Tall, blonde, and beautiful Sailor Venus de-transformed into her
normal clothes. "Don't worry, Usagi; I'm sure he's fine," Minako
Aino whispered.

"Yeah, he's probably staying at a friend's house, in bed and asleep,"
agreed Sailor Jupiter, once more become the tall, athletic Makoto
Kino.

Waving an awkward goodbye to their best friend, they began to walk
home.

Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars exchanged a glance, allowing their
eyes to speak. "Do you want us to stay over?"

"No, that's okay, really," Usagi insisted. "Go home. Sleep. I'll
be fine."

Blue-themed Mercury melted down to the blue-haired Ami Mizuno. "I'll
walk you home, Usagi."

Mars understood instantly, and allowed her costume to change back to
her normal clothes. "Nine o'clock, Usagi. I'll see you then."

The other two girls waved. "Goodnight, Rei."

And Rei Hino turned back towards her temple.

*****

Scully found herself at the door of the room housing the Sacred Fire.
Inexplicably anxious and therefore overly cautious, she slid the
quiet door open to find Lun@ kneeling next to man with cuts and
bruises covering his body. "Lun@?"

"Scully." Lun@ didn't turn around. "Care to lend a hand?"

"This is..."

"Tall, dark, and handsome from dreamworld, yes."

Amazed, and not a bit creeped-out, Scully knelt next to the man
and began examining him. "He has several abrasions on his epidermis--"

"Small words, Scully. Please, small words."

"It looks like he's been in a fight, Lun@. What happened to him?"

"He was in a fight."

Scully took a better look at him. "In a tuxedo?"

"No, I dressed him like this. Yes, in a tuxedo! Help me get it off
of him! Unless... are we not supposed to move him? 'Cause, then,
I did a bad." Lun@ swallowed hard and crushed Mamoru's mask harder
in her hand. "Is he going to die?"

Scully sighed and began to remove his jacket. "I'm not sure yet," she
admitted. "I can't tell how bad his wounds are. Besides, it looks
tricky. He could either give up or keep on going."

Lun@'s face hardened a bit. "If he dies, I have to do it." She
squeezed the mask tighter.

"Do what?"

"Kill him."

Scully looked shocked. "What?"

"You heard me." Her lips pressed into a line.

"Why?" Scully demanded. "That's murder!"

"So they tell me. But his soul is mine--it--we're... He's not allowed to die! Do you hear me, Mamoru? Who'll protect Usagi if you die? Who?? Answer me, damn you!" she snarled her plea, grabbing his hands.
Her angry expression broke. "Please..."

*****

"Usagi, are you sure you'll be okay?" Ami put her hand on her
friend's shoulder.

"I'll be fine, Ami-chan," Usagi smiled wanly, eyes averted. "Really."
She turned to walk into her house.

"Usagi!" Ami cried suddenly. Usagi turned. "Usagi, you... you're
the first friend I've ever had. I know... I know we've only become
friends in the past couple of years, but... please... I have to...
Usagi, you don't have to be alone right now. My mom's out of town
on a business trip. You can stay at my house. It'll be all right."
Her blue eyes pleaded with her friend.

Her leader's eyes were similarly bright. "I have to stay home
tonight, Ami. Just in case..." She looked up at the window of her
bedroom. "But, you can stay over here, if you want."


Usagi sat on her bed and thought. Though Ami was in the bathroom
now, her friend would be back soon, and Usagi couldn't think about
what she needed to mull over with Ami around.

Ami wasn't just concerned about her friend.

Of course, she was, but that wasn't all that was bothering her.
Ami was being reminded of when _her_ friend had left. Of course,
Ami and Taiki hadn't been dating, but the relationship had had
potential. The three Starlight's quest had ended, however, and
Taiki, Yaten, and Seiya had taken _their_ princess, Princess
Kakyuu, home to their distant empire to rebuild.

It was as close to a dating relationship that Ami had ever gotten,
not counting Greg, of course. But Greg had moved on, and evidently
now had a steady girlfriend from France, or one of those other weird
Western European countries.

And here Usagi was, abandoned by her boyfriend, and here Ami was,
abandoned by her... potential boyfriend.

For these brief moments in time, Usagi and Ami, klutz and girl genius,
cry baby and patient protector, the bottom and top of their class,
were the same.

It was both wonderful and frightening.

*****

Rei felt the uneasy tingling of danger tugging at the edge of her
consciousness as she approached her home. Her frown deepened.

*Something's wrong.*

*****

"Lun@, he's in a lot of danger. It doesn't look good," Scully bluntly
told the uncharacteristically quiet girl squeezing Mamoru's hand.

"Lie to me," Lun@ begged, staring at the man lying on the floor.

Scully sighed and pushed a bright red strand of her hair behind her
ear. "It's not that simple. Why didn't you take him to the hospital?
This man needs professional care."

"I wasn't... I didn't think. I don't know. What's the number for
911 in Japan?"

Scully rattled off the number without thinking. In answer to Lun@'s
questioning glance, Scully shrugged. "When traveling with Mulder,
you learn to be prepared."

*****

Rei stood at the top of the steps, the wind rustling her hair and
the moon casting an ominous shadow across the path in front of her.

"Mars Crystal Power, Make Up!"

*****

His breath caught in his mouth, and he began to choke.

"No, no," whispered Lun@, "don't you dare!" Her hands clutched his
harder, twisting them and eventually meeting palm to palm. "Please,
Mamoru, please!"

Scully was half-way to the door to get her cell phone before a
bright burst of light stopped her in her tracks.

*****

Sailor Mars threw open the door to the room with her Sacred Fire
furiously. Her command, "Hold it right there!" was forgotten as she
stared at the two figures on the floor, fingers intertwined.

Light streamed out of their hands, and Mars and Scully stood in
shock as the two yelped in surprise and yanked their hands away.

Lun@, dark cloak billowing, collapsed on top of Mamoru's body
and lay still.

Mars raced over, high heels clicking on the wood, and carelessly
pulled the kidnapper's limp form off Usagi's boyfriend. "Mamoru!
Mamoru! Are you okay?"

He opened his eyes, blinking a few times. "Mars? Where's Eternal
Sailor Moon?" He looked around.

Mars found herself being pushed away by the frenzied, red-haired
FBI agent in full doctor mode. "Impossible! He was near death!
What happened to all his wounds? How do you feel, sir?"

"I feel... fine. Is Usako all right?" He rose and rubbed a scratched
shoulder.

"Usagi's at home..." Mars trailed off and whipped out her communicator.
"Usagi... I found him."

*****

"So, she should be fine?" Buffy delicately removed a wisp of hair
from her guardian's cheek.

"It looks like she collapsed from exhaustion," Scully replied with a
yawn. "After some sleep, she should be fine."

Buffy covered her gently with another blanket. "Good." Standing,
she stepped outside to face the music.

Sailor Mars was standing there, hands on hips, looking positively
evil. "You're harboring a fugitive in this temple!"

Buffy glared back, their respectively large tempers crashing together.
"Oh, yeah? And who do you think you are?"

"Hey, Buffy, Rei. Woah, what's up with the costume?" Xander
tried to keep from staring at the short skirt and tight body suit
that the senshi fought in. "Are you supposed to be one of those
Sailor Sen... oh." He paled. "Nevermind, I can see you too are
busy. Carry on!" He backed up.

"Rei?" Buffy's eyes narrowed. "Look, if this is about us using
your fire room..."

The black-haired girl looked as if she were about to speak before a
hand descended upon her shoulder. She looked up in surprise.

"Rei," Mamoru cajoled in his quiet tone, "let it go." Usagi hung
at his side, eyes wide and shining happily.

And only Buffy noticed the blue-haired girl in the background
leaning against one of the over-hang supports, a black cat draped over
one shoulder.

"But she--"

"It's okay. She meant no harm." The man and the warrior exchanged
a hard look for a few minutes before the hot-tempered priestess
let it drop.

*****

Scully looked on from the side lines, her curiosity of the man standing
there pulsating through her. She still remembered that voice from
her dream, the whispered desperation that oozed through the whole
sequence: "Come, come join my quest."

This man, this... dark knight that stood before her... who was he?
And, why did she have this insane desire to kneel before him?

Something was not right. No, no, no, not right at all.

After his little staring contest with the priestess, the tall man
turned towards her and extended a hand. "Thank you for your help,"
he said warmly.

She took it and shook firmly. "I'd like to know what's going on."

Mamoru smiled at the tiny, strong woman. "An endless cycle, a battle
between good and evil." He turned to go.

"Wait! What do you mean by that?" she demanded, frustrated, her hand
still tingling from grasping his.

He turned and glanced over his shoulder.

And suddenly, Dana Katherine Scully knew.

There were more dreams ahead of her.

This wasn't over yet.

It wasn't even close.

*****

"Well, you're looking better." Buffy handed her mentor a glass of
juice. "I bet you're glad to know I cleaned up that mess with the
Sailor Senshi for you."

"This experience has taught me two things," Lun@ replied ruefully,
sipping her orange juice. "The first: there is a God."

"And the second?"

"I'm not Her."

Buffy emitted a quick chuckle. "Seems somebody woke up on the
reality side of the bed."

"Yeah, sure, go ahead and chuckle. Laugh at my expense. Go ahead,
yuk it up." Lun@ threw a mock-agonized look. "I'll just sit in my
corner over here and drink my acidic, pulpy orange juice."

"You like it pulpy."

"Oh. Yeah. Right." She blinked. "Okay, then... maybe life isn't
so bad after all."

The Slayer laughed and ruffled the other girl's hair. "You know,
you're actually kinda cute after you pass out."

Lun@ stuck her tongue out at her.

A knock at the door interrupted their playful camaraderie. Rei
slid the door open. "There's someone here to see you," she informed
Lun@ stiffly. The ex-Angel of Death squirmed anxiously. Stepping
aside, the priestess admitted the visitor.

In stepped a small, black cat.

"Hey!" cried Buffy, "that's one of those cats with the bald spot!"

The cat glared at the Slayer.

"Well..." sighed Lun@, "I never expected my next visitor to be all
the way from Mau."

A person followed the animal into the room.

"Warrior of Mercury!" Lun@ smiled. "This is an honor!"

"What?" demanded Buffy.

"Remember how Rei was Sailor Mars? Well, I recognize this fine
young lady from the pictures. She's the senshi of ice, Sailor
Mercury."

"We need to speak with you, Lun@," Luna told her gravely.

"My God, it talks," Buffy groaned. "I'm hearing things."

"Do not talk to creatures you do not wish to understand," Lun@
advised gravely before turning back to the cat. "I see."

"Perhaps we could take a walk," the blue-haired girl suggested.
She stuck out her hand. "My name is Ami Mizuno."

Lun@ shook it. "Call me Lun@, until I come up with a new name."

They left the room and began to wander the temple grounds. Luna
began. "I need to know your intentions. Are you friend or foe?"

A bitter smile crept upon her face. "Am I a good witch or a bad
witch? 'Oh, I'm not a witch at all,'" she quoted. Seeing their
confused looks at the missed cultural reference, her smile slipped.
"I'm here to fight the forces of evil. Whatever side that is in
relationship to you, I'm there. I'm sorry," she apologized abruptly,
"I didn't mean to kidnap Tuxedo Kamen. Well, I mean, I _did_, but
not forever. I just... I... I don't know what was going on in my
head. It's all so muddled..."

Buffy watched, disturbed, as her strong and tough mentor wrapped
her arms around herself and emitted fear. The lost look on her
was extremely disheartening.

Lost.

Lun@ was lost.

*****

"Scully, what's wrong with you?" Mulder demanded, a bit concerned.
His normally clear-headed partner was acting like a fruitcake.

"I'm sorry, Mulder," she apologized, massaging her sinuses and
temples alternatively. "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Bad dreams?" he asked, a bit softer.

"More like one big nightmare, starting from when we got here. Mulder,
this case is a mess. Sure, it's strange, but it's no X-File. Some
girls in bathing suits are parading around, declaring themselves
Sailor Soldiers of justice, defeating 'evil'. So what? This is a
job for the media, not the FBI! Okay, and lets pretend, just for
the sake of argument, that there really is a big, magical battle
going on, and these children really are protecting the world. What
can we do? They've kept us safe so far. And, if we discover these
Girl's secret identities, say, for example, if the Priestess was one
of them or something, what then? We turn in our report and say,
"Adios, amigos, we've got a plane to catch! Hope the government
doesn't hold you for secret testing or anything"? Mulder, we're
just doing the Consortium's bidding again, no matter how we play
this."

"What _happened_ to you last night, Scully?" Mulder demanded jokingly.

She took a deep breath. "I met one of them," she said with a sigh.
"Well, two of them, actually. Maybe a few more, but it was dark.
Lun@ brought in one of their friends; he was badly wounded, almost
dead. Then..." She wondered how she should phrase it. "I saw...
He was healed. All better. He had been going into cardiac arrest,
and then he was fine. It was a miracle."

"And to think I slept through it," Mulder murmured. "Why didn't you
wake me up?"

"I don't know. Hell, maybe I slept through it, too. Maybe it was
a dream. I don't know anymore." She shook her head, setting down
the file she was working on. "I just don't know."