School was in such chaos after the attack that Usagi and Makoto were able to get away undetected, Hiroki—now known to be Soldier Hera, whatever that was, in tow. He had protested, but, as they had pointed out, he was a target, and he knew who they were.

Walking to Rei's temple, if Usagi noticed the odd tension between Hiroki and Makoto, she said nothing. By the time they got to the temple, school would be out, and the others would be there.

Hiroki decided his day had gone from disturbing to a full-blown bad day. He still hated Makoto—Sailor Jupiter—and didn't know why. He was also uncomfortable around Usagi. On the way to the Sendai Temple, they asked questions.

Did you know that senshi? Do you know Sailor Nemesis? Do you know who Soldier Hera is? Are you Soldier Hera?

He wanted to yell that no, he didn't know. He had no idea what was going on. He was a farm boy who'd been insane enough to convince his parents to let him go to the city to 'broaden his horizons.'

Well, they were quite broad enough.

Makoto was edgy the entire trip, understandably. She still got the fear/guilt vibe from Hiroki, and she had noticed that when Usagi wasn't peppering him with questions that he, probably without noticing, glared daggers at her.

It had occurred to her that, maybe, he had had a former reincarnation from the life Nemesis had mentioned—the Dual Kingdom—and she had done something to him. Before her train of thought could progress farther, Usagi turned to her.

"Makoto, do you know what that senshi was talking about?" She twitched, and then sighed. Her most recent visions, courtesy of Nemesis, were going to have to come out now.

"Maybe. I'll bring it up when we get to the temple." Makoto was spared any more questions when a voice called out from behind them.

"Usagi! Usagi!" It was Ami, and they stopped as she caught up.

"I was in lab, and saw the whole thing, but I couldn't get away. What's going on?" Then she suddenly caught sight of Hiroki and stopped, unsure. Makoto answered her unsaid question.

"He's Hiroki. That senshi called him Soldier Hera, mentioned a sister he says he doesn't have, and said I was unforgivable. We're on our way to the temple." Her voice was clipped and annoyed, she knew, and Ami looked a bit taken aback at her sharpness, but Makoto had had a rough week, and it was only Tuesday.

For the rest of the trip, Usagi and Ami talked among themselves, and Ami asked Hiroki more questions, which he answered as testily as Makoto.

As they entered the temple gates, she smirked a bit.

Well. I'm not the only one having a bad day.

Minako and Rei were waiting for them, both annoyed, even if Rei was more so, at their lateness. An explanation later, they weren't really better off. Then Ami had her say.

"At this point, my idea is that there are soldier counterparts to the sailors. Makoto, you mentioned that both Nemesis and Ganymede were unafraid of lightning, even if Nemesis, who seems more powerful, was more resistant. And Nemesis mentioned-"

Makoto cut her off as she realized something.

"-that her master had a bad temper and threw around lightning! In my first dream, there was lightning, and-" Now if was Makoto's turn to stop. She did not want to say that the man from her vision with Mercury had thrown lightning, and had looked disturbingly like herself. Unfortunately, she saw no choice.

In a lower voice, she started to tell the other visions. The senshi—and Hiroki—listened silently.

The silence continued after she finished. Makoto didn't dare look up. She didn't want to see their faces.

Then Ami started to talk again.

"This cements it. In this Dual Kingdom lifetime, there were soldiers and senshi. Minako's brother would have been Soldier Aphrodite, who Nemesis mentioned. He was obviously on Jupiter's side, hence Venus's accusation. The man with blue hair and winged shoes was probably Soldier Hermes, my brother. Mars was set to shoot you because you weren't on our side in whatever war." Ami finished, then, suddenly, gasped.

"Of course! Dual! Dual Kingdom means a kingdom with two fighters per planet! A soldier and a senshi for each!"

"So close, Mercury. So very close." Turning, the senshi saw Sailor Nemesis standing in the doorway.

"The Dual Kingdom was a bit more than that. Two fighters for each planet—and two kingdoms supposedly in balance. On one side, the Silver Senshi with their crystal, with the strongest pure power. On the other, the Jupiteran Kingdom, with the largest population and army. Balanced—until Soldier Zeus decided it would be far better if he and his sister ruled everything. The wars began." She smiled nastily.

"At first, Jupiter listened to her brother, like a good girl. But then she betrayed him, all for love of the Moon Prince." Nemesis smirked. "How tragic. You should have shot her, Mars."

Surveying the stunned senshi—and Soldier Hera—she grinned widely. Ganymede was weak. Nemesis knew better than to drift off. While the senshi were still processing, Nemesis leaned forward and put a hand to Hera's forehead. That snapped Jupiter out of it.

"No!" the untransformed lightning senshi leapt forward and Nemesis dodged, keeping a hand to the frozen boy's head.

"Memory Awaken!" Time seemed to stop as she looked into him. Just like with Aphrodite, she would have to bring everything back, and that would tax her. Also, an awakened Soldier Hera would likely kill Jupiter—and her master would be unhappy if anyone other than he claimed that honor.

Finally finding the correct life, she pulled it to the surface.

Hiroki wanted to scream as white hot daggers seemed to plunge into his brain, but he couldn't move. This sailor—Nemesis, he guessed—could see everything. All of his secrets, his irrational hatred for Makoto—everything.

Then he felt a bubbling, deep within, and memories swarmed at him. A sister, his twin, with the same hair and eyes. Juno. How could he have forgotten?

Zeus, his king, Jupiter, his former queen, the order from Zeus to destroy the Moon and Earth, Juno gathering energy, Jupiter—

Words failed as he saw Juno scream with her planet as the blast, knocked away by Jupiter's attack, destroyed it from within its core. Hiroki felt himself fade away as Hera's hatred washed over him, hissing words repeated from a lifetime away fell from his lips as Nemesis, job done, removed her hand.

"You'll have to look behind your shoulder every lifetime, Jupiter, because I'll be hunting you."

AN: And short again. Ah well. Since this is Episode 5, there will be a break from updates while I double check and revise, which I do every five episodes.

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