Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story but the idea and the title.
A/N: I know you guys are tired of all talk and explanation, and I promise, after this chapter, more action! This story was never supposed to be this long. Arigatou and kisses to everyone who has stuck it out this far!
"You decided WHAT?!?"
Several people winced as Usagi's voice climbed into the eardrum shattering decimals. The future Queen of Crystal Tokyo stood before her beloved, his Shitennou, and her own Outer Senshi, blood rushing to her face, sparks flying from her eyes. Her dainty little fists clenched at her sides, and she breathed raggedly through her teeth.
"We all promised we were going to stick together!" she shrieked. "We promised we would make our decisions together! And you all go and make these plans behind our backs!"
"We did not go behind your back, Usako," Mamoru tried to soothe her. "You were asleep, and-"
She would hear none of it. "You called Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna to be there while you knew the rest of us were asleep on purpose!!!"
The other seven defendants looked at him with little shrugs, as though to say, "Well, you did."
"Usako, please call down," Mamoru urged, reaching for her hand. She slapped his wrist angrily, and he withdrew with a sigh.
"You all lied to us!"
"Technically, we didn't lie," Jadeite jumped in suddenly. "We only promised to obey the Prince, and we were just following his orders."
Kunzite, Nephrite, Zoisite, and Mamoru all glared at him, the latter adding, "Arigatou, old friend."
"I DON'T CARE!!!" Usagi screamed. "You still went behind our backs and made plans without us!"
"What plans?"
Rei and Minako stared at them all quizzically, both balancing several thin, square boxes emitting a delicious aroma.
"If we can discuss this in a calm fashion," Michiru said gently, "you will understand why we did what we did."
"I don't want to understand!" Usagi argued stubbornly as Rei handed the first box to Haruka.
"Let's wait until Jupiter, Mercury, and Saturn-"
"Makoto, Ami, and Hotaru!" the girls chorused impatiently.
"Until everyone is here," Jadeite corrected himself, "so we can consolidate the insults and recriminations. Did you bring anything to drink?"
Rei glared at him, slapping the last pizza onto the picnic table. "Why didn't you bring anything?"
"With everyone always over the last couple of days," Mamoru explained, taking a slice of pepperoni, "my cupboards are kind of bare."
"Mamo-chan!" Usagi yelled, stomping her foot. "How can you eat pizza right now? We're fighting!"
"If you don't eat now, Princess," Kunzite said in a coaxing tone, "all the good pizza will be gone."
This logic appealed to her, as she leaned in to snag a slice with every imaginable topping on it.
"We brought desert!"
Makoto, Ami, and Hotaru came jogging toward them with a packed basket, followed by two yawning cats. There was a great amount of shuffling to fit all the food, as cookies, cakes, and soft drinks came out of the hamper. Fitting everyone around the table was an even bigger trial, ending with the men sitting on the grass beside the table, and Michiru perched on Haruka's knees.
"Now that everyone is here, can we continue arguing?" Usagi asked around a mouthful of melted cheese.
"We're arguing?" Hotaru whispered in confusion.
Rei shrugged. "Apparently."
"You seven," Usagi pointed accusingly, "deliberately met while we were all asleep to make plans without us."
"We did not mean to leave you out," Michiru said, "but you needed rest."
"And you didn't?" Makoto shot back. "We were all tired!"
"But we are bringing you up to speed now!" Haruka argued.
"By telling us what we will and won't do!" Usagi cried.
The other Inner Senshi and Hotaru exclaimed angrily. "What's that supposed to mean?" Minako demanded.
"They have decided what is to be done about the portal in the alley," Usagi explained. "They are going to guard it at night to keep it from growing, without us to get in their way."
"That's not how it is, Usako," Mamoru said. "We, well, Zoisite, came up with the ideal place to guard the portal without being outside at night, and hopefully without raising questions. But we just felt it would be better if you younger girls weren't involved in this part."
"Why not?" Rei snapped.
Jadeite raised his eyes to her with a grave expression. "The only place we could think of to safely guard the alley at night is the apartment where the young woman killed herself."
Every arguing jaw snapped shut. The six younger girls stared at them with wide, horrified eyes.
"You can't be serious," Luna breathed. "You plan to spend the night there?"
"It's a crime scene!" Ami added. "It's illegal!"
"It's not a crime scene," Setsuna corrected her. "A suicide is not exactly a crime. There will be no police, and no one else will want to be anywhere near it."
"It's still illegal," Ami said.
"Illegal, but necessary," Michiru reminded them. "We cannot permit that thing to devour anymore energy. It is too close to breaking through as it is."
"But why can't we help?" Makoto pleaded. "Why do you always have to treat us like children?"
"What happened in that room is a terrible thing," Haruka said. "You shouldn't have to be exposed to it."
"We have seen terrible things," Rei snapped.
"Not this terrible."
Angrily, she dropped her eyes to glare at the tabletop. The wood glowed in the warm sun, and the cheerful chirps of birds filled the air. The day was beautiful, the food delicious, the friends dear… It should have been the perfect picnic.
But the fate of the planet, and perhaps more, hung in the balance. The food turned to ashes in their mouths, and the light felt too bright, the birds too loud, the warm air too close. Everything took a step passed perfect, and tumbled into the pit of chaos.
"Do we have to fight about this?"
Hotaru's sad voice made everyone turn to her. A half eaten piece of pizza lay discarded in front of her, and her violet eyes were downcast. The hint of tears streaked her cheeks.
"We're all friends, and all on the same side. Do we always have to fight with each other?"
"No," Usagi promised, leaning across the table to seize her hand. "We won't fight anymore. Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and the Shitennou will guard the alleyway at night."
"So will I," Mamoru added.
"You will not!" Usagi snapped in a surprisingly firm voice.
Unexpectedly, Kunzite rose to her aid. "Not you, my lord. It is our duty to protect you. So we will watch this thing, with the three ladies," he gave them a slight bow, "and you will stay with your princess, and protect her."
Mamoru frowned, but at last nodded. "Alright. But unless absolutely necessary, no one is to do anything anywhere near that portal! No planet attacks, no fighting, nothing that could feed it any energy! We are all agreed?"
"Hai," the others agreed.
"Meanwhile, it is not enough to just guard it," Kunzite spoke up. "We must also close this thing. I wonder, can we siphon energy away from it?"
"There is one other thing we haven't discussed," Jadeite began, pulling a soft drink from off the table. "What are we going to do about the- Gah!"
Everyone shouted with alarm as a brown geyser erupted from the bottle. Cold soda soaked him from his golden hair to his borrowed tennis shoes. A stunned silence followed, until everyone burst into peals of laughter.
"Minna!" Jadeite shouted angrily.
"Oh, you should see the look on your face!" Rei shrieked, leaning weakly on Usagi's shoulder, her whole body shaking with giggles.
He stared hard at them all a moment longer, then cracked, falling onto his back laughing. This did not help the others, who found themselves besieged with more hilarity. At last Rei had to hide her face in her arms, unable to meet Usagi's eyes without loosing control again.
"We…haha…we need to focus!" Kunzite announced in a somewhat shaky voice. "This is a very serious matter! Minako, please stop making that face!"
"I can't help it!" she cried, throwing her hands over face and giggling harder. "Stop looking at me!"
"The world is in peril!" Michiru laughed. "We need to… Stop it, Haruka!"
Haruka shook her head, her face buried helplessly in her lover's back.
"Come, now," Nephrite said, grinning weakly. "We all needed a good laugh."
"We did," Mamoru agreed. "But we also need to-"
"What is that?"
Jadeite, still lying on the grass, rolled over onto his stomach and pointed. "There, under the bush, near those swings. What is that? It looks like…"
They all followed his point, and the last traces of mirth vanished. Everyone rose, but no one took the first step. Deep inside, they all knew what they would find.
"Someone has to check," Makoto whispered.
Slowly, as though propelled by her quiet plea, Nephrite started forward. One by one, the others followed. No one rushed forward to offer aid. It would do no good.
Placing a gentle hand on the slim shoulder, Nephrite rolled the body over to face them. Black eyes stared out of a bone white face. Black, sinister lips contorted into a twisted O. A black tongue hung from the corner of that mouth. Sunken cheeks and a sunken chest made the body look small and skeletal. Fingers, twisted into claws, grasped an invisible assailant with black nails.
"Just like the man we found the night before," Kunzite noted. "It sucked the air out of her lungs until they caved in."
"Why?" Usagi whispered. "Why does It do this?"
"Why does anything do anything evil?" Nephrite muttered. "Some things just are."
"I don't believe that," she argued.
He looked up at her, and smiled a little. "And that is why only you can be… exactly who you are."
"I don't care why It does this," Haruka snarled fiercely. "It must be destroyed!"
"That's what I was trying to say, before…" Jadeite picked at his wet tee-shirt. "We have the portal covered, but we still need to deal with its unholy offspring."
"It is weak during the day," Ami noted in a hushed voice. "We can, maybe, defeat It if we find Its new lair while the sun is still up. At least, we'll stand a better chance than last night."
Usagi bent to touch the dead girl's long, beautiful brown hair, and fear seized her heart. The moment of joy, when they had all laughed together, had spiraled all too soon back into chaos.
"This thing has to be stopped," she whispered, "or I don't think it will ever be safe to laugh again."