Author's Note:

Yes, another fanfiction. As before, the disclaimers go as follows:

My email address is Guardian4@atlantic.net. If you want to email me about my story, please put fanfiction in the subject line. Sailor Moon was made by Naoko Tacheuchi, I don't own it.

Also, Rei and Mamoru never went out, k? And Kunzite and Zoisite are not lovers. I also used the relationship between the Shitennou from the manga, not the anime, which means they don't hate each other. I also use only the manga attacks for the Senshi. (Since in the Manga, Mars doesn't have Fire Soul and only talismans in the first season, I'm going to borrow a second season one, even though she doesn't have her Star Power transformation.)

Hidden Truths

Chapter 18

Makoto debated between the long forest green dress with darker designs on the sides or the fairly short pale pink dress that sparkled. Her friends threw in helpful hints, but it ended up nearing twenty minutes until Nate picked her up and she still hadn't decided.

"Mako-chan, you look great in both. Just pick one," Rei told her.

"But I can't!"

Minako stood up. "This always works for me. Close your eyes." Makoto did. Minako did a few switching of garments from one hand to the other and said, "Keep your eyes closed and pick the number one or two."

Makoto frowned. "Um…two."

"Open your eyes."

She did and Minako held out the green one. "You're wearing this."

The girls burst out laughing and Makoto managed to thank her blond haired friend for her help. It took less than two minutes to get in the dress and put her makeup on. It took longer, however, to do her hair because three of the four girls had different ideas on how it should be done.

Finally, Makoto decided to just let it down, though she tucked most of it behind her ear, much to the protestations of the three girls.

"Where do you think he'll take me?" she asked, suddenly unsure. "Do you think I dressed up too much?"

"Don't worry Mako-chan," Ami reassured her. "No matter what happens, I'm sure you'll have a good time. Isn't that more important than what you look like?"

"She's right," Usagi said. "He'll like you no matter what you wear."

Five tense minutes later, her doorbell rang. She opened it to see Nate in a good looking black tux. Pinned on the lapel was an emerald in the shape of a star. He smiled when he saw her.

"You look beautiful," he murmured.

Makoto blushed. "So do you."

He laughed and led her from the apartment on his arm, as if they were going to a ball instead of a restaurant.

"Nate?"

"Hmm?" he responded as they were in the car.

"Did the Shitennou have normal lives in this time before Beryl?" she blurted out.

He was silent for some time and she was afraid she had angered him until he spoke. His voice was barely above a whisper and he was a little wistful and more than sad. "Yes. I haven't told the others because I think it would be too much to bear."

"Don't they remember?"

"No. I remember feelings not really memories. Well, except one. The stars told me when Jason repeated that same question to us that Rei had asked him when they went on their first date. I think it would have been too hard to live through, knowing that no matter what we tried that we'd always fall in Beryl's hands so I didn't tell them. I begin to wonder if it isn't our Destiny to always somehow be pitted against the Senshi."

"That can't be!" Makoto told him forcefully. "If it was, then Destiny wouldn't have allowed us to heal you and bring you back."

"That is true," he murmured with a sad smile.

"What memory do you have?" she asked a few seconds later.

Nate laughed. "I think it was just before we were taken by Beryl. I remember playing in some snow and laughing. My parents came out to watch me and I tripped in a snow drift. I was covered in white and they were laughing. I ran to my mother and she picked me up as I shook off the snow. I think I was five then."

"Five and taken by Beryl?" she exclaimed. "I…"

"Don't worry about it, Mako-chan. It was a long time ago and I don't remember anything else," he lied smoothly to her. She seemed to believe him and moved on to another topic.

It wasn't that he wanted to lie to her, but he knew she would feel bad if she knew just how many memories that he had. The Shitennou had been taken when they had been twelve to fourteen, not five. He also knew that his friends remembered just as much as him about their born life. Eventually he knew he would have to admit to Makoto that he had lied to her, but not then. Not until Beryl had been dealt with severely.

He parked the car outside a pale gray building. It wasn't the one that he knew Jason took Rei. He helped Makoto out of the car as if they were back in the Silver Millennium, the only way to treat such a treasure as her: as a princess.

"I have reservations," he told the person at the podium.

"Ah, Mr. Hawkin. Yes, follow me."

They were taken to a table at the back and quickly ordered. He smiled, thinking of her reaction to watching them cook their food in front of them.

It was everything he had ever thought it would be. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she watched with fascination. She also kept up a stream of conversation, chef talk, that had the man with nearly tears of happiness in his eyes.

When he had left, Makoto turned to Nate with shining eyes. "This place is wonderful!"

"I thought you might like it."

The dinner and a little dancing was like heaven to Nate. Being with Makoto was like nothing compared to anything he had ever experienced before and he knew he wanted to live his entire life with her.

However, time couldn't be stopped, but it could have given him a little more time, he thought resentfully later. They had been dancing on the dance floor when the sound of an explosion outside the building caught everyone's attention and curiosity. Automatically both their communicators started ringing in the emergency ring and he sighed.

They paid for their dinner and ran from the building. A portal in the sky signaled bad news as youma upon dozens of youma poured from it. Beryl had launched her offensive, and with a vengeance. Nate pulled Makoto into an alleyway to transform.

Just as she moved to leave the darkness, he grabbed her arm and kissed her. "For luck and my love."

She blushed but kissed him back. "For luck and my love."

"Hope we can continue our date soon."

"Me too," she murmured as they burst from the alcove to fight.

The Senshi and Shitennou were fighting with all they had, but it was not nearly enough to cut down the thousands of youma that were there. Red light shined and Beryl appeared, her hair floating up in the air like a burning, blood red fire. Her fangs seemed to glow of their own volition and she laughed cruelly.

"Senshi, I can stop this now. Just give me the Ginzuishou."

"Not on your life," Jadeite responded immediately, tightly gripping his two maces.

She suddenly frowned at them. "You Shitennou are another matter entirely. I cannot forgive your desertion. You will pay dearly for that."

"Are you going to implement the punishment or try to talk us to death?" Zoisite said sarcastically, thrusting his spear into the heart of a youma. Wisely, all civilians remained inside and AWAY from all windows.

"Zoisite, you will be the first to go," she decided. "Attack!"

Nephrite swung his axe in an arc that cut down five youma in front of him. Black and green blood coated his blade as he worked his way toward where the prince was fighting alongside the princess.

Mercury cried out as she caught a glancing blow on her leg and the youma was immediately engulfed in a veritable flood of lightning. Jupiter made her way over to her injured comrade to see if she was all right. Mars had paralyzed the slower moving youma on their way to various targets and Kunzite and Venus were cutting down creature after creature with their swiftly moving swords. Nephrite joined Jadeite protecting the prince and princess. He could not see Zoisite at all in the throng and he began to grow worried.

Beryl laughed at them and said, "Your pitiful attempts are nothing at all compared to the force that is Queen Metallia! Surrender and I promise that your deaths won't be as painful as they will be if you continue to oppose our rule."

"You're not ruling anything yet and won't if I have anything to say about it!" screamed Mars. "Burning Mandala!"

The fire red rings flew towards Beryl and she screeched in surprise. She dodged and the most that happened was her hair was singed, but she didn't appreciate the attack. Mars gave her a sickly smile and saluted her with a middle finger raised.

The dark queen cried out in rage at their continued defiance. She raised her sphere-topped rod into the air and the sky went dark, almost as if someone had pushed a switch. But no switch could make that black cloud in the sky appear…

"Metallia," Sailor Moon whispered.

End Chapter 18.