He was getting quite frustrated. Mamoru lay in bed just staring up at the ceiling. Two days had passed since Usagi's disappearance, and he hadn't moved from that spot. He didn't care. As long as he had no idea where she was, he wasn't going to allow himself any luxuries such as eating, sleeping, or bathing. He didn't want to be caught off guard when Sailor Pluto's call came to go to action. 'Damn,' he thought as the phone rang for the umpteenth time. 'When is she gonna get it in her head that I'm not gonna answer?' He winced as his answering machine picked up.

"Mamoru-san?" came Hino Rei's worried voice. "I KNOW you're there. Make an effort and answer this phone! Have you eaten anything? Have you slept at all? What good do you think you're going to be for her if you don't watch after yourself? That's it, Mamoru-baka! I'm sending Mako-chan over to see that you eat something, and I'll make sure Haruka-san goes with her to make sure you get your lazy carcass out of bed!" She slammed the receiver down.

Mamoru rolled his eyes. 'That's the tenth time she's threatened to do that.' Still, the possibility of either Ten'ou Haruka or Kino Makoto coming over to his apartment for ANY reason sent shivers down his spine. He remembered how they had both flipped out when Usagi had been taken.

Usagi...his thoughts drifted back to her. "Usako...My little rabbit. Where are you?" He reached over to his nightstand and grasped Usagi's brooch. "I think I finally understand how you must have felt so many times. Just not knowing is killing me, Usako. How did you manage when you didn't know where I was? You are much stronger than I am, or ever could be."

Then he realized. It was because she had her friends with her. Maybe Rei was right. Maybe what he needed to do was to get out of the self-pity slump. Perhaps he would join the others at the Hikawa Shrine, where they stood vigil. Yes, that was exactly what he was going to do. He swung his legs out of the bed and sat up...just as someone attempted to break his front door down.

"Mamoru-san! Open up!" Makoto hollered as she continued to pound on the poor door. "Open this door, or you shall face the wrath of the senshi of thunder and wind!"

A second pounding was heard: that of someone much stronger. Makoto had Haruka with her. "Open up, Mamoru-san. We have orders to bring you out of there dead or alive."

With a sigh and a roll of the eyes, Mamoru went to the door and opened it. He stood in the doorway and smirked at the two girl's surprised expressions. They were too busy gawking at his disheveled appearance. He was still wearing his tuxedo shirt and pants from two days prior, his eyes had dark circles under them, and his unruly black hair stuck up in several different directions. "Can I help you ladies?"

Makoto closed her mouth and took a breath. "No, I think it's YOU who needs all the help you can get."

"You have definitely seen better days, Mamoru-san," Haruka said with a sigh as she pushed him back into his apartment. "Please, don't let anyone else see you like this." Makoto followed her in, and that's when Mamoru realized they had someone else with them. Mizuno Ami followed Makoto and closed the door behind her with a soundless click, her eyes never leaving the floor.

"Ami-chan?" he asked, a little surprised. "So you're a part of this witch hunt too?"

She raised her eyes to meet his, and attempted a smile to respond to him, but only managed a semi-pleasant blanche. "No, I just tagged along so I could give you some information on this new enemy."

"You've found something out?" he asked with surprise as he quit fighting Haruka. She proceeded to shove him onto his couch.

"Take a load off." She dusted her hands off as she made her way into his room. Being the expert in men's clothing that she was, she helped herself to an assortment of clothing. She laid the clothes down on his bed, and went back out to where Mamoru and Ami sat.

"So, you're saying that those things that we fought," Mamoru took a breath. "Are human?"

"All of the data that I managed to collect points that way, yes," Ami replied.

"But...how?"

Ami shrugged. "Maybe Sailor Pluto has the answer to that."

Mamoru looked at Ami just as she wiped an unseen tear from her puffy red eyes. He handed her a box of Kleenex. "Here."

She sniffled before taking a tissue. "Thank you."

"Are you still that upset about what happened to her too, Ami-chan?" He set the box down on the table between them.

She dabbed at her eyes and attempted another smile, this time a bit more successfully. "Yes and no. We've been talking a lot at the shrine. About things that you really should have been there for, Mamoru-san."

"Like what?" He was almost afraid to ask.

"Like what happens if she doesn't come back," answered Haruka as she put a comforting hand on Ami's shoulder. "Ami-chan didn't particularly care for that kind of discussion, and neither did I. That's when Rei-chan told Mako-chan and I to come here. She needed the diversion too."

Makoto, who had been rattling around in Mamoru's kitchen, entered the room with a scowl on her face. "That kitchen is a disgrace, Mamoru-san!"
She went to the door muttering, "It's a good thing I came prepared." She grabbed a grocery sack that had been set by the front door, and stormed back into the kitchen. Various clatters and bangs, as well as a luscious scent emanated from that room soon after.

Ami giggled at the display. "She's been suffering from cabin fever the last couple of days." A few seconds later, a small sob racked her body. She grabbed another tissue. "And I've been a basket case."

Mamoru went over to her, kneeled by the chair she was sitting in and took her hand. She looked at him, surprised. "Ami-chan. I know for a fact that Usako would be reacting in the same way. The seven of you girls are the most tight-knit group I have ever seen. You're more like sisters than friends. You're also the closest thing I've ever had to a family. Now that I'm through being a jackass, I won't hold us back from getting that family back together. And we're gonna make the new enemy pay, even if they are hairy, freaky-lookin' humans."

By this time, Ami had stopped crying and had cheered up quite a bit. When Mamoru finished his last sentence, she was giggling uncontrollably. "That's funny to hear you say that, Mamoru-san!"

He gave her a quizzical look. "Why?"

"Have you taken a good look at yourself today?" She handed him a small mirror from her pocket.

He stared at his reflection for a few seconds before he began laughing with her. "I see what you mean." He had no idea that hair was physically capable of maintaining such bizarre angles. He also noticed the baggy circles under his eyes, as well as a five o'clock shadow that looked like it was closer to quarter past nine.

Makoto peeked out of the kitchen and pointed a spatula at Mamoru. "I will not have anyone that looks or smells as bad as you to so much be in the presence of this masterpiece I am constructing in here. I insist you take a shower!"

"You are a bit ripe, Mamoru-san," Haruka quietly noted as she cracked a sarcastic smile. "Go ahead. We'll keep Setsuna busy if she happens to show up while you're indisposed."

"Fine, fine," he replied as he stood up and walked into his room. He saw the clothing that Haruka had laid out for him, and smiled. 'How did she know that's the outfit that Usako loves so much?' Five minutes later, he emerged feeling (not to mention looking and smelling) a whole lot better. Even the circles under his eyes had reduced a bit.

He fastened the last button on the collar of his shirt as he noticed Makoto preparing an impressive spread on his table. One that rivaled any holiday feast. 'I wonder if that means I'll have leftovers in my fridge for the next six months,' he thought with a chuckle. He knew that was her intention in the first place.

He also realized that there were extra people there: three extra to be exact. Rei had brought Kaioh Michiru and Aino Minako with her. "We decided to join you guys," she said matter-of-factly. "It was pointless to stay at the temple when most of us were here."

"Welcome," he said just as Sailor Pluto stepped through another portal. "Well, well...looks like the gang's all here, save one."

Sailor Pluto gave him a tired smile. She had almost as much sleep in the last two days as he had. "And that one has been found."

All commotion, talking, and even breathing stopped. "Say that again please, Pluto?" Rei said after a very long pause.

Pluto sighed and looked to the floor. Her smile broadened. "She's been found."

Every breath was released and there was a quiet commotion raised. Makoto went over to Pluto and took her arm. "Come this way, Setsuna-san!" She dragged the Senshi of Eternity over towards the table that held the feast. "This has just turned into a feast of celebration!"

Everyone else followed them to the table, and soon was digging in to Makoto's delicious food. After she had satisfied her desperate appetite, Sailor Pluto spoke and raised her hand to quiet everyone. "I'm afraid I have some bad news as well."

"Okay," Mamoru said after he had taken a breath and scanned everyone else's expressions. "What's the bad news?"

"This is a long story, so bear with me." Pluto paused to take a drink from her glass. She then raised her staff to open a window into another dimension. "There she is, everyone." As the image sharpened, everyone else leaned across the table and squinted to make it out. What they saw floored them all. A humble-looking girl with shoulder-length red hair, forlorn expression, and slightly stocky build was wearing some sort of uniform and standing behind a counter. The only feature that looked remotely similar to Usagi were her sparkling blue eyes.

"THAT'S Usagi-chan?" Rei asked incredulously.

"How can you tell, Setsuna-san?" Minako tilted her head slightly so as to observe the girl from a different angle.

"Her psycho-energy is exactly the same as the Princess'," Pluto replied simply. "Absolutely no one has a similar psycho-energy. It's more identifiable than a fingerprint."

"But, Setsuna-san," Michiru said as she looked at Pluto with confusion. "How were they able to change her that much so quickly? I mean, the hair could be changed rather easily, but what about the rest of her?"

"I have no answers to that, unfortunately," she replied with a shrug. "Those creatures are unknown to me. All I know is that this is our princess, and we must get her back."

Mamoru had stared at the girl and her movements for several minutes without blinking. His eyes began to mist slightly as he let out a small chuckle. All eyes turned to him questioningly.

"What's so funny, Mamoru-san?" asked Makoto.

"That is most DEFINITELY my Usako," he replied with a smile.

"How can you tell?" Minako asked again as she turned her still-tilted head to Mamoru. "I still can't see it."

"Look," he said as he gestured towards the dimensional window. Everyone looked again to see the girl laughing at something apparently hysterical. A small smile lingered on her lips long after the laughter had subsided. He closed his eyes and sighed, still smiling. "So what's the plan?"

"Simple," Haruka replied. "We go in, grab her, and come back. We'll use the Silver Crystal that Mamoru-san has been keeping safe to bring her back to normal."

Everyone else looked at her like she had grown an extra head.

"You haven't had a lot of sleep lately, have you?" Michiru said with a giggle.

"That sounded like something that SHE would've said," Rei said with a gesture towards Minako, whose head was still tilted.

"HEY! I resent that!" She glared sideways at Rei.

"CUT THAT OUT!" Rei placed both hands on either side of Minako's head and straightened it. "PLEASE! ANYBODY think up a better idea! I can't stand Minako-chan being the head ditz! I want Odango Atama back!"

"We all do, Rei," Mamoru said as he stood. "Sailor Pluto, I will go and get her."

Pluto, who had found amusement in Minako and Rei's display, jerked her head up suddenly and put on a shocked expression. "You can't do that, Prince! We can't risk losing you, too!"

"I don't care about the risk," he replied. "It's about time that I did take a risk for her. God knows how many times she's done the same for me."

"You can't go alone then," Haruka insisted. "We will all go with you."

"I'm afraid that can't happen, Haruka-san," Pluto said as she pushed her chair back to stand. "The space-time continuum has already been severely compromised due to those creatures' careless use of the cosmic time warp. I don't want us to be responsible for the destruction of time, and the world as we know it."

"So, take just a few of us with you, Mamoru-san," pleaded Michiru. "Setsuna-san is right. Your safety is just as important as Usagi-chan's."

"I'll take one of you with me," Mamoru replied with a sidelong glance and a smirk to Sailor Pluto. "I wouldn't want to put too much pressure on poor ol' Sailor Pluto."

"Gee, thanks a lot," Pluto declared under her breath.

"So, who do you want to go?" Minako finally got serious. They all began to go for their henshin sticks.

He smiled again and looked at Ami. She hadn't moved her eyes from the dimensional window and the girl that lived her life, oblivious to the fact others were watching her. "Let's go, Ami-chan."

"Huh?" A word that has hardly ever escaped Mizuno Ami's lips rolled off of them.

"You're the one I choose. Let's get going." Mamoru looked at the other startled girls. "You all need to stay here and guard the home front. There's no telling if those Brutes plan on returning for anyone else."

Everyone signaled that they understood. Sailor Pluto stood and with a wave of her staff, the dimensional window disappeared and a portal took its place. Ami stood and went over to where Mamoru was standing. "Why me?" she whispered.

"Why not?" he replied as he motioned for her to follow Pluto, who had already disappeared through the gateway. In a flash, the three warriors were gone to rescue their princess.