A/N: For those of you who couldn't guess, for some reason I can't get my stories to space right. I apologize for any difficulty this causes, and will continue chastising my computer until it obeys me. Special Thanks go to Kishi (You make me blush!), Starfighter626 (Glad you like it!), Lokileysmith (Hope you like the next bit as much!), and Verloren, (Hope I can live up to your expectations!)
Disclaimer: I still own no part of Sailor Moon or any of these characters.
Makoto hurried down the street, her eyes focused on the grass under her feet. She was cutting across a park, the fastest route to Ami's. As she walked, she found she could not focus on the beauty of the day. Even the soul shaking terror of the previous night paled in comparison to the horror she had found in the morning. She closed her eyes, pressing the heels of her hands against the lids.
The picture played over and over again against the darkness. The thin trail of crimson spilling from under the door into the hallway, her trembling hand reaching for the knob, the resistance as she pushed the door, the giving, and inside the apartment...
"Stop!" she cried out. Her hands fell back to her sides, and she broke into a run. All she wanted was to reach the safety of her friends.
Reaching a small clump of bushes, Makoto had to slow back to a walk as she pushed her way through. Her sleeve caught on a branch. She tugged hard, ripping free and stumbling directly into a tall, warm body. Gasping, she spun around, her face flushing.
"Gomen!" she cried, embarrassed. Her eyes only had time to take in the strangely familiar boots and gray pants before he spoke.
"Jupiter?"
Her eyes snapped up, past the soot gray tunic to the handsome, angelic face haloed with golden hair. Millennia fell away, and her head spun dizzily. She raised a hand to her forehead, feeling strangely distant, almost as though she had, without warning, been dropped into a dream. For a split second, she heard voices, happy voices, laughing. Then a voice not her own spoke a name in warm tones. The memory slipped thousands of years forward to fall from Makoto's lips.
"Jadeite."
Senshi and Shitennou stared at one another, blue eyes on green, both frozen with shock. Makoto's mind groped desperately to understand. This man was dead. He couldn't be standing before her, his expression as stunned as hers. It had to be an illusion, a strange hallucination from her exhausted mind.
"You're not real," she whimpered.
"Jupiter, what's happening?" Jadeite demanded, his voice sharp but trembling. "I can't remember... Where is Mars? Where is Nephrite?"
"Nephrite," Makoto whispered in broken tones, "is dead. Just like you."
"I'm not dead!" he argued. "Look at me!"
"You are dead! You're all dead! You're not real!"
"What do you mean, all dead? The others? Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite..."
"Dead, dead, dead."
"Where's Mars!?!" he yelled. "Is she...? She can't be! Tell me where she is!"
He lunged forward, grabbing her shoulders fiercely. His grip hurt, and all at once, Makoto could not deny it. Impossible as it might be, Jadeite was a living, breathing man standing before her.
A living, breathing man who broke the heart of one of my best friend's. A living, breathing man who tried to kill so many innocents. A living, breathing man who helped that monster destroy my kingdom!
Rage welled up in her heart, real, pure fury that sliced through her confusion and dismay. She reared back, and swung with all her might. Her fist slammed into his jaw, and he staggered back.
"What the hell are you doing?!?"
"YOU BASTARD!" Makoto shouted. "YOU TRAITOR! You stay away from Rei! Stay away from us all! You've hurt enough people!"
"Traitor?!? What are you talking about?!?" Jadeite cried. "Who did I hurt?!?"
Instead of answering, Makoto plunged her hand into her pocket. Her wand fell into her hand, and she pulled it out. "JUPITER STAR POW-"
"You lunatic!" He kicked the wand free of her fingers. "Are you trying to kill me?!?"
"YES!" Makoto yelled. "Apparently we didn't kill you enough last time! You should have stayed dead! You deserve it, after what you did to our home!"
Jadeite froze, blue eyes wide. She pressed her advantage, not even trying to recover her wand. Her foot lashed out, catching him in the stomach with shattering force. He doubled over, wrapping his arms around himself protectively. She brought her elbow down on the back of his neck, and he sprawled to the ground.
"Jupiter, stop! Wait!"
"NO!" She dove across the grass, her hand seizing up her wand. She turned to find Jadeite struggling to his feet. She held up the wand, as though it's very presence might keep him at bay. It seemed to work, as he backed away, eyeing the green jewel nervously. Makoto kept it leveled at him until he slipped carefully out of the bushes.
The second he disappeared, Makoto turned and ran as fast as her long legs would carry her. She pushed out of the little wooded hollow, and raced up the street towards the Mizuno's palatial mansion.
"Ami!" she cried breathlessly, hitting the call button by the gate.
"Makoto? Come in!"
She dashed up the long drive, then ran straight into the house, slamming the door behind her. Turning quickly, she found herself faced with every Senshi, from Mercury to Pluto, plus both cats, staring at her in wonder. She gulped down several breaths, her hands on her knees, as Haruka came forward.
"What happened?" the older girl asked, rubbing her back gently. "Are you alright? Breathe slower. In through your nose, out through-"
"Jadeite!"
"Nani?" Eight voices chorused
"JADEITE!" Makoto shouted. "I saw him!"
"When? Where?" Minako asked, her eyes more concerned than alarmed.
"On the way here! I wasn't looking where I was going, and I ran straight into him, right there in the park!"
"Mako-chan, you're very upset," Ami reminded her unnecessarily. "Are you sure it was Jadeite, and not just someone who looked like Jadeite?"
"He was wearing a Shitennou uniform, and he called me Jupiter!"
"Oh!" Ami's eyes widened with shock. "But, no, that's not possible! Jadeite died!"
"So did we," Makoto reminded her. "Several times, in fact."
"But we had the Crystal, and... and it doesn't make sense!" Usagi interposed.
Makoto straightened and kicked off her shoes. "I know, but I saw him. I touched him. I punched him! He's real!"
"You punched him?" Setsuna asked.
"Of course. I wasn't going to wait for him to attack me."
"Good call," Haruka agreed, smiling proudly. "Did you hit him with your Sparkling Wide Pressure, or Oak Evolution?"
"Actually, I just hit him."
"Where is he now?" Minako interrupted.
Makoto shrugged a little, embarrassed. "He retreated, and I ran here. Maybe I should have gone after him."
"Absolutely not!" Luna said firmly from her place on Ami's head. "We have no idea what is doing all this, and until we find out what we're up against, you should all be careful!"
"What's doing all of what?" Makoto asked. "Did I miss something?"
Everyone shifted uncomfortably, casting quick looks at each other, then glancing away. Finally, Usagi moved up beside Haruka, laying her hand on Makoto's shoulder. Her blue eyes looked gentle and sympathetic.
"Did something happen to you last night?" her Princess asked. "Were you angry, or sad, or... anything weird?"
Makoto looked to the others. "You all felt something strange last night?"
Everyone nodded, and, of all things, relief flooded her. She sagged weakly against the wall, and breathed a thankful sigh. "So I'm not going crazy."
"What was it, Mako-chan?" Haruka asked. "What did you feel?"
"Terror." Makoto raised wet green eyes to her friends, her sisters, her family. "I have never been so scared in my whole life. I couldn't even tell you what I was afraid of. I just felt like something horrible was waiting to pounce on me at any second. I was so scared I couldn't even move! And then, this morning..."
After nearly a minute of silence, Michiru gently prompted, "This morning?"
Makoto took a deep breath. "This morning, I decided to go for a jog and run off my fear. I got out of my apartment, and... Oh, God!"
Her hands covered her face as Makoto gave a choked sob. She felt two sets of arms wrap protectively around her, as Haruka and Usagi hugged her from either side. The three rocked back and forth for a moment, both girls making sweet, soothing noises. Finally, she recovered her voice.
"From under my neighbor's door, there was... blood. I stepped right into it before I saw it. I tried the knob, and it wasn't locked, which was weird, because Mr. Senno always locks his door. I pushed it open, and it hit something. Then that something moved, and I looked in. I saw Mr. Senno, laying in front of the door. He was laying face down." Makoto had to pause again to swallow back the bile rising in her throat. "I turned him over, to see if I could help him."
"He was dead?" Setsuna guessed in a hushed voice.
"I wish he had been," Makoto whispered wretchedly. "That may sound terrible, but if you had seen him... He was clinging to this shard of glass in his hand.. I thought at first he was dead, but when I rolled him over, he swung the shard at me. He couldn't see me, though, because..." Makoto looked up suddenly, her eyes finding the littlest Senshi, holding tightly to Michiru's and Minako's hands. "Maybe Hotaru shouldn't hear this."
"I'm fine," Hotaru whispered shakily. She raised her chin bravely, and added in a firmer tone, "I want to help everyone."
Setsuna frowned uneasily at her little "daughter", but finally nodded her agreement. "Why couldn't he see you, Mako-chan?"
"His eyes were cut out."
"Oh!" Minako cried out, horrified. She drew Hotaru protectively closer. The little Senshi of Silence clung tighter to both the older girls' hands, but kept her face mostly calm.
"Will he be alright?" Hotaru asked quietly.
"I don't know," Makoto said. "I called an ambulance, and the police. The police took forever to show up."
"Terrible things have been happening all over the city," Ami explained. "The news was full of awful reports. They probably had to finish with another crime scene first."
"Actually, they don't think Mr. Senno's apartment is a crime scene, necessarily," Makoto said slowly. "They asked everyone in the apartments around his, and none of us heard him scream once. They think he cut out his own eyes."
"No!" Usagi gasped. "Not Mr. Senno!"
"Why would he do that?" Rei added.
"Why would Hotaru barricade herself into her bedroom?" Artemis asked, perched on Minako's shoulder. "Why would Ami destroy her room, or Makoto be too afraid to move? He was probably possessed by whatever force made you all act the way you did last night. Maybe he thought he saw something terrible."
"Mr. Senno is really old," Minako reminded them all. "He fought in the war, right? Maybe he remembered something bad."
"There are plenty of bad things to remember from war," Setsuna agreed softly.
Rei groaned, rolling her eyes. "So, do we actually know anything?"
"We know plenty," Minako said. "We just need to figure out what it means. Ami, is your computer all right?"
"Yeah. I just broke the one from school. I'll go get the other one."
"What happened to her computer?" Makoto asked, confused.
Haruka and Usagi began leading her towards the living room. "Sit down. This could take awhile."