Disclaimer: I own nothing! I own nothing! (Sing along!)
The following fifteen minutes were chaos.
The silence was broken when Mamoru fell onto Usagi, sweeping her into a fierce embrace and kissing her with all his might. Everyone looked on happily for several minutes, until it became apparent that neither Prince nor Princess remembered their existence. Rei then took steps to keep Hotaru from seeing the conception of her best-friend by stealing the glass of water and threatening their highnesses with an impromptu cold shower.
Then the room was treated to the astonishing sight of Setsuna flinging herself onto Usagi and breaking down. She sobbed into her princess' shoulder like a child and held her in almost as crushing a grip as Mamoru's. All the while she begged for forgiveness.
To add to the noise level, Usagi burst into tears, threw her arms around Setsuna, and began begging her forgiveness for not seeing her pain earlier. Saturn started to cry again, apologizing to everyone for whatever she had done in her possessed state and clinging to Haruka and Michiru. Then Minako confessed her sin of releasing the darkness and added herself to Setsuna and Usagi's pile.
All the Scouts confessed, Makoto collapsed on the couch to cry on Minako's back, and soon there was a soppy, apologetic heap of Senshi on top of Usagi, who still managed to wail the loudest that she had missed them all, and never wanted to fight again.
Mamoru, the Shitennou, and two very confused cats stood back to let everyone get their tears out.
"I thought they were noisy when there were only five of them," Jadeite muttered with appreciation. "This noise level should be an attack of its own."
"Stop it," Kunzite said, grinning. "It's good for everyone to talk these things through."
"Can they even hear each other?" Nephrite asked.
Zoisite nodded. "Of course. Women are truly amazing creatures."
"Apparently," Nephrite agreed. "Though wouldn't it be safer if Saturn were to put down the Glaive before trying to hug everyone?"
Jadeite waved an unimpressed hand. "Everyone still has a head and all the right number of limbs and digits."
The amazing creatures began to untangle themselves, tears and laughter still falling freely. Saturn returned to Hotaru, and sat with her head on Usagi's shoulder, sniffling. There was a great deal of sorting out, and several more runs to the kitchen to fortify the wounded with ice cream or soda. At last they were all seated, on couches or the floor or laps, and a strange sort of peace stole over the room.
Because we aren't fighting against each other anymore, Usagi realized. We've been tested, and we've pulled through. Now we can face the true evil.
She took the bowl of ice cream handed to her and let her tired head fall onto Mamoru's shoulder.
"Usagi," Rei began, "Setsuna said you were talking to the Creature. How did you keep it from attacking you?"
"I said I wanted to talk," Usagi said, her guileless blue eyes wide.
"That's it?" Haruka shook her head in surprise. "What did It tell you?"
"Well, for starters, 'It' is a she," Usagi told them. "And she used to have five children: four sons, and one daughter. But they died a long time ago. She doesn't like to talk about it."
"That's not much of a surprise," Haruka muttered.
"She didn't know much about the Abyss, and she didn't think it could be stopped. But…" Usagi looked into her bowl, and frowned. "But there was someone else who knew what it was."
"Who?" Ami asked, excited.
"My mother. Queen Serenity."
Several people blinked in open confusion. Haruka's jaw dropped just a little. Setsuna looked at Usagi with concern.
"Queen Serenity? When…How…I don't understand."
"After you hit me with the Dead Scream-"
"YOU DID WHAT?"
The eyes went from Usagi to Setsuna in horror.
"It wasn't her fault!" Usagi jumped in. "The Abyss made her do it!"
Setsuna bowed her head, uncertain. "It played off my emotions…"
"If you really wanted to kill me, you wouldn't have brought me back," Usagi told her. "You wouldn't have protected me."
"We'll debate this all later," Kunzite deemed. "For now, what did Queen Serenity say to you, Princess?"
Usagi racked her brain to remember her conversation with her mother. She told all she could about the Abyss, the experiment, and the accident, as well as the stars and black holes.
"Return the balance?" Zoisite mused, looking to Ami. "What do you think that means?"
"She also spoke of a star," Usagi said. "The only way to close the hole is through the star. But I don't know what that means, either."
"It might take the might of a star to close this thing," Setsuna offered. "If stars are alive…can we speak to one?"
Hotaru very slowly lifted her hand. They all looked to her, questioning.
"I think," she said, "we might already have."