Author's Note:

This is a sequel to Angelic Embrace. I thought about doing it, but I didn't until someone told me they thought a sequel was possible. You will really want to read the first one to find out what's going on.

As we all know the names of the Senshi, there's no need to go there, except to say that I use the Japanese names.

For a review, I'll list the names of the Shitennou:

Keagan Kris MacNeal (Kunzite)

Nick Michael Canter (Nephrite)

Jace Daniel Taencer (Jadeite)

Zale James Indiano (Zoisite)

You can contact me at Guardian4@atlantic.net.

I guess I should mention this, in case it gets confusing about how long it has been since the epilogue of Angelic Embrace. It's been six to seven months, not another year and a half.

The Last Journey

Chapter 5: Draconic Dreams

"How ya feelin' Neph?" asked Jadeite as he sauntered in to the medical ward.

Nephrite levered himself to a sitting position. Not three hours ago, Mercury had taken the bullet out and already he felt his Shitennou persona healing the damage at, for a human, an alarming rate. "I suppose I'll live."

"You'd better or Jupiter will revive you just to kill you with her own hands."

He laughed, knowing full well how badly his wife would have reacted to his death. But when he remembered the reason why she was so fearful, it became hard to stay amused or happy. "I know. With her present life family dead, and what happened on the day the Silver Millennium fell, I don't blame her."

"True. Listen, we found out who the assassins were, to some extent."

When the rundown was completed, Nephrite clenched his hand into a fist. "I can't believe this! Why would anyone want to kill Endymion and Serenity? They're the best people in the world!"

"Nephrite, you know as well as I do that people don't like change. Is it any wonder that the world is overreacting?"

"I suppose not," he grudgingly admitted. "But I still don't like it."

"I don't like it either, but at least we can understand it, right? Unlike in the Silver Millennium," Jadeite added.

He struggled from the bed, Jadeite supporting him slightly. Trying to take a deep breath, however, resulted in a coughing fit so he settled for inhaling shallowly. Nephrite straightened and adjusted his shirt. "It's time I get back on duty."

"Speaking of duty," his friend told him as they walked through the halls, "the President of the United States is coming."

"Here? As in, Crystal Tokyo here?"

"In three days, he'll fly in and spend three weeks in the guest area of the palace. A week and a half will be with Endymion and Serenity in discussion, and the other week and a half will be touring our fair city."

"May the gods smile on us," the brunette muttered fervently.

"Well this is certainly impressive," Bush murmured, looking around at the halls.

Mercury rolled her eyes as she led the US president around. As she had explained repeatedly in her arguments to her companions, she was not a tour guide. However, Endymion seemed convinced that to get the man who ruled the most powerful and influential country on their side, to see Crystal Tokyo in a favorable light, would make it so much easier to cajole the other leaders into that area of the board.

"Yes, the Crystal Palace is the largest structure of our city, twice as tall as your Twin Towers, and more solidly grounded."

The man winced and she suddenly remembered two years ago when a terrorist had taken them both out. She could have hit herself for being so dense.

"Where are your fellow…companions?"

"They are in the training room."

There was silence and she sighed inaudibly. "Would you like to see it?"

"Yes, I would most like to see it."

They rode up the lift, but long before they reached the floor, she could hear the cries of her fellow Senshi, practicing their combat and magic skills.

"Ah, Mercury," Venus panted, having dropped from her 'Star Children' final position. She immediately noticed the men behind her Senshi of Wisdom and the smallest of frowns touched her lips.

"They wished to see the training room." The blue-haired Senshi shrugged, giving the silent question, 'What else was I supposed to do?'

Mars and Jupiter made their final lunges, Jupiter pinning the red Soldier to the floor. A moment of gasping and the green Senshi helped up her comrade.

"How do you like our city so far, President Bush?" Venus questioned with cordiality.

The man smiled amiably. "I've only seen the palace so far, but if the rest of the city is like this, it will most positively glitter in the light."

Small smiles touched their faces, but Mercury noticed that all of them were a little forced. They did not like outsiders to their city any more than she did.

"They will be taken on a tour of the actual city tomorrow and the next week, as there is much more of the city to see than there is of the palace," Mercury stated in the ensuing silence.

"Ah," was the only reply from Venus.

Somehow, Mercury wasn't sure how, she got her entourage turned around and onto the lift with the politest of words and ease. She supposed that it must be from all the practice she'd had when dealing with irate parents or people at the hospital when loved ones were injured and wanted reassurance.

"Unfortunately, you will not be meeting the Outers during your stay," she lectured as she led them down another hallway."

"The…Outers?" Bush faltered.

"Yes. There is a difference between the Senshi. There are the Inners, of which you have seen, which guard the King and Queen. Then there are the Outers, who guard the city itself and are rarely seen at the palace. They have been dispatched on a special mission."

"Let me guess," said one of his aides, "it has something to do with that assassination attempt?"

"Yes," she replied reluctantly. "We plan to route them out and prevent any other attempts."

"And who are the men, then? Are they…Senshi too? And what does Senshi mean?"

She glanced behind her and at the president. "The men are the Shitennou. Roughly, it translates to 'Four Heavenly Kings' in English. They are…the main protectors of King Endymion. 'Senshi' means 'Soldier'. It may be used as plural or singular. So, in essence, one could translate 'Sailor Senshi' as 'Sailor Soldiers' or 'Sailor Soldier'."

And that was how it went for the afternoon: peppered with questions and Mercury answering. By the time they retired to their rooms for the day, the Wisdom Senshi had a migraine from talking and listening to English constantly. It was no wonder that Mars and Jupiter had said nothing. Jupiter had only the barest smattering of the language, from the few times she had been in America on her street tournament rounds, and Mars knew none, as far as Mercury knew. Mercury and Venus were quite fluent, as she had studied it in school and Venus had lived in England for a great many years.

But Mercury also found no need to mention the magical translators hidden among the palace and the ones that Serenity and Endymion wore when they had left the country, none of which (to her displeasure) were currently working. She would have to be sure to let Zale to fix it. While she was good with programs, she was not so good with the actual fixing of the hardware. It was partly the reason they worked together so well.

"How's the baby, Mercury?"

She turned at Jadeite's offhand question as he approached, obviously headed in the same direction as her.

"I'm sure it's fine. I'm barely a month pregnant; there won't be much movement—"

"Spare me the lecture, Ami-chan. The only reason I asked was because Rei could always feel the baby even when she was a week old. Something to do with her psychic powers."

He seemed unusually snappy and she took a long look at him. His hair tousled, as if he had run his hands through it a million times, and he looked harried.

"What's the matter?"

"I'm on my way to see Venus right now. The Outers called in, through the special channel. They figure they're going to need more fire-power, if you get my meaning, than they thought. Apparently there is a whole lot more than anyone could have figured."

"How much more?" she asked in apprehension.

He sighed with hesitation. "They said around a thousand."

"A thousand?"

"Yes. I have to tell Venus. The Inners are going to be needed and we'll have to protect Serenity and Endymion."

Mercury watched him walk toward the lift with jerky steps. She knew he felt guilty and worried about the fact that the Inner Senshi would be going. Not only did he know Zale would be upset that his pregnant wife would be going out there, but his wife as well, leaving him with his son and no way of knowing if she would make it back alive and in one piece.

But she paused in her walking as it occurred to her. It was in some other country; it would be a violation unless they contacted that government. What would they do? What would Venus say?

It was all speculation and she hated speculation.

End Chapter 5.

I think this is noteworthy. In Chapter 6, we will have some action, but the amount of action will be the amount of fighting done in the story. There will be more fighting, but much later in the story, around when we hit 60% to 70% finished. Then there will be a lot of fighting. Up until then, this will be most likely political battles and such. If you love fighting scenes and such, and if you can bear with this story until then, then you will have a battle worth waiting for. Something is going to happen, and I wonder if any of you can guess what?