Author's note: All of Zara's ex-boyfriends mentioned here in this chapter are Easter Eggs for M'Lila. Ten points to anyone who guesses the anime Aki comes from correctly!

"Sailor Angel and Sailor Phosphora: The Fight Against Catastrophe"

Chapter Twelve

By Angel Sentier and M'Lila Cronk

Mercury, Wind, and Pluto stood at the center of the street near Tokyo Tower while the rest of the senshi secured the perimeter. There was no telling when or if Catastrophe would return, or if he would return the same way he left, so everyone was on their guard.

"This was the place, you said?" asked Mercury.

"That's correct," said Wind.

Mercury activated her VR visor and began tapping away at her computer. Pluto raised her Time Key and the heart talisman began to glow. She closed her eyes as she ran her own scan of the area.

Phosphora took to her task of patrolling with an almost fierce intensity. She'd never been so mad before. If there was anything she could do to help defeat this baddie, she'd do it. Now it was personal.

From a few feet away from her, Venus sighed. Phosphora looked over at her, but didn't let her guard down even as she spoke.

"What's up, V?" she asked.

Venus pouted. "You're so lucky, is all," she said.

"Huh? My best friend was kidnapped, how does that make me lucky?"

"Oh, no, no... Not that. That's awful. I meant about how you've gotten Seiya to notice you in such a short time. I've been trying to get Yaten to look at me for so much longer, but he's just not interested." She sighed again.

Phosphora didn't hear much of Venus' last sentence. She was stricken by what she'd said about Seiya. "What?!? That conceited jerk?? We hate each other!"

Venus gave her a confused look. "Really? I just thought that it was a natural form of attraction, displayed as frustration. People who appear to hate each other are really just hot under the collar in a steamy way." She winked.

She saw then what V was trying to do. "Oh, no! Uh-uh! You are NOT going to play matchmaker with me!"

"Well, I would, but sweetie, you've already done my job for me. You and Seiya have got it bad for each other, it's just that neither one of you will admit it."

"Whatever, V."

"Come on, Z. Think about it. ALL of your old boyfriends have been what you termed 'conceited jerks.'"

"Name one!"

"Tasuki."

Phosphora sniffed. "THAT was a fling."

"Okay. Aki."

"Fling."

"Ranma. Another conceited guy who turned into a girl, I might add."

"VERY much a fling. Dumped him as soon as I found out he had a fiancée. Several, actually."

"Gohan."

"Hey, Gohan was NOT a conceited jerk!"

"This is precisely why you dumped him."

"No, I dumped him because he knew absolutely nothing about how to deal with women. I think he got it from his father. For heaven's sake, he thought marriage was something you ate!"

"Whatever you say. But don't write him off just yet, Z. Seiya IS quite a guy."

Phosphora snorted. "Yeah. MOST of the time!" She laughed.

"Hey!" said Jupiter. "We're supposed to be working here! You two can giggle on your own time."

Guiltily, Phosphora and Venus turned back to the patrol.

"I'm getting a reading," said Mercury. "But it's so scrambled. This isn't anything I've seen before. Pluto?"

Pluto lowered her Time Key. "Yes. This is a realm of time space that is completely new. As if it was created very recently."

"Or," added Mercury, "too long ago."

"Hypothesis won't help us," said Uranus. "Is there a rift we can use?"

"Maybe," Mercury said, beginning to type again. "There seems to be a kind of spell on it. It's strong, but if we all work together, we may be able to break through. I'll need a few days to try and find a weak point."

"A few days?!" Phosphora exclaimed.

"It's the best we can do," said Rei. "And it's the only plan we have at the moment."

Phosphora sighed. "Fine. I'm going home."

As she turned to go, Venus made a move to go after her, but was stopped gently by Neptune.

"Let her go," she said. "She's worried for her friend, that's all."

"I know," said Venus as she watched the red haired senshi walk away. "But who's going to worry about her?"

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Meanwhile, at the temple, Mamoru finished tucking Usagi into bed. He gave her a light kiss on the forehead and quietly left the room. Taiki and Yaten were guarding outside the temple, he and Seiya would protect the inside.

The other young man was sitting right outside the door, his knees drawn up to his chest. Mamoru sat down on the other side of the door.

"Is she asleep?" Seiya asked.

He nodded. "She'll be down for the night."

Seiya gave a slight smile. "Nothing wakes her up."

"That's for certain."

The two men cast glances at each other for a moment.

"You're a very fortunate man, Mamoru-san."

"I know."

"Good. Because if you didn't, I might have had to beat you up." Mamoru looked at Seiya, but the singer just shrugged. "Just kidding." He only sounded half-serious. "I have to admit something to you."

Mamoru waited. This didn't look easy for Seiya to say.

After a moment, he began again. "Ever since I was young, I grew up wanting to serve the princess of Kinmokusei, Princess Kakyuu. I thought no one could ever be as kind or as gracious or as benevolent as she. She was the perfect leader of our people. As I grew older, I thought I loved her. I knew nothing could come of it, but I was happy just serving her.

"Then, the worst happened, and our planet was attacked. Our princess was lost and most of our people died. I could only salvage Taiki and Yaten, and the three of us went in search of Kakyuu. Knowing she might look different and may not remember us, we disguised ourselves as men to attract women. We'd know our princess when we saw her. At least, that's what we thought.

"That's when I met Odango." He put his head down on his knees and sighed. "At first, I thought she was just a silly, clumsy little girl who ate too much."

Mamoru chuckled a little, remembering his first impression of Usako.

"But... after a while... I saw she was much more than that. I hadn't thought I could love anyone but Princess Kakyuu... But Odango shone just as brightly. She left her light inside of me and I couldn't forget her. I couldn't distrust her, as my friends told me to. They told me to keep my head on the mission. And after everyone's senshi secret was out, her own friends told her to stay away from us. From me." He lifted his head, a fierce light in his eyes. "But something in me cried out to protect her, as I'd only done for my princess before. Something made me return to her, again and again, even if I got hurt. As long as she was safe, then I was happy."

He turned to look at Mamoru. "I'm sorry, Mamoru-san. I fell in love with your girlfriend. And I tried to have her love me back." He shook his head. "It didn't work, though. She loves you more than life itself. And when I left the last time, all I could think was 'I hope he deserves her.' This time... All I want is to protect her. Will you allow me to give her my love in this fashion? I'll do it with or without your permission, but..." He gave him a half-smile. "I would rather have such a worthy opponent on my side."

Mamoru smiled slowly. "How could I say no? All of Usako's friends protect her because they love her. I understand how you feel. When Usako decides to care for someone, she gives each of them something special. Because of her, I'm no longer alone. None of us are."

Seiya nodded. "I carry her light inside me, too." He held out a hand to Mamoru. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, taking the proffered hand. "Although, I feel like I have a lot to live up to, now."

He grinned. "You'd better. If you hurt her, I'll have to hunt you down."

Mamoru returned the grin. "You'd have to stand in line."

Yaten came walking through the hall then. "Hey, the others are returning. Taiki and I can watch over Usagi-san, you two can go find out what happened."

The two men nodded and stood up. Mamoru clapped Seiya on the shoulder and gave him a smile. Yaten furrowed his brow at this and gave his fellow singer a questioning look. Seiya just smiled.

"Thanks, Yat-chan."

In return, he gave Seiya a look that said he'd get a sound kick in the backside later.

To be continued...