There was one review that asked, if Usagi and Mamoru loved each other before they found out who they were. I dropped hints from the start of the story that they did, but never had them say it because I wanted them to say 'I love you' at the most romantic moment. But I added a little something extra for you, It was a great thought and it helped me decide how this chapter would flow
Thankx again to everyone. OOH and by the way, I don't own Sailor moon ..I know I should HAHAHAHAHA j/k
Chapter Seventeen: Duel dilemma
Usagi and the senshi were gathered at Rei's temple. Each one silent as Luna and Artemis started to regain some of their memory.
"I don't understand, why didn't you remember any of this before Luna-chan?" Makoto asked, a tad bit stressed. This whole time, they were running around trying to find a princess, when she was right under their nose.
"How do we know for sure that Usagi is really her, I mean, it was just a dream….right?" Minako added, feeling that they needed more than just a vision. Usagi thought about it, what if it was just a dream. She looked down to the necklace Mamoru gave her, it couldn't have all been a dream.
"I'm certain it wasn't. Usagi-chan and Mamoru know the names of the Prince and Princess, who I never had mentioned before." Luna argued, she knew that something had happened to bring back this memory in Usagi.
"It wasn't a dream." They looked back and saw Mamoru walking up the stairs towards them. Usagi blushed and quickly looked to her feet.
"Prince Endymion?" Artemis asked. Mamoru smiled and walked to Usagi, standing beside her like he had to defend her. He knew that the girls would have a hard time believing this, not that they thought Usagi was lying, but because they needed more.
"How could two people have the same vision. Usagi has to be the princess." Ami sided. She had this strong feeling that Usagi was someone very special, someone more special than just Sailor moon.
"We need to figure this out. If you are the princess, we can't have you getting into danger. I mean you're the only one who can use the crystal." Rei asserted, folding her arms. She was getting really stressed out. With everything that had happened to Usagi, being the Princess would add more stress to her.
…………………………..
"That witch!" Akio shouted breaking another wine glass. He was furious that he spent the night in jail because of her. He was irate, and frustrated because of her. He furiously walked to his couch and sat looking outside his balcony towards Mamoru's apartment building. He wanted him dead, he wanted her, to have his way with her; to make Usagi his. He didn't understand where this crazy need to have her was coming from, but he knew that he would get her, no matter what.
He got up and walked to the bar, pouring himself another glass of wine, when a flowery tornado bursted in front of him. A horrible laughter annoying him. He squinted until the man was standing a few feet away.
"What the hell are you!" Akio shouted, slamming the glass on the floor. He was mad and slightly afraid.
"I am Zoisite, and I can help you." Akio's eyes looked around his apartment, wondering if this was some kind of joke, or if he was maybe loosing his mind.
"I've been watching you from a far, admiring you." Zoisite giggled, much to Akio's displeasure.
"What the hell do you want!" He shouted back angrily. Zoisite giggled once more. A big grin on his face.
"That girl, Usagi. I can help you get her." He smirked. Akio was paying attention now, he was interested in the offer.
"How?" He asked, stepping closer, still cautious.
"I can give you power, so much power that you can just take her. And no one will be able to defeat you." Zoisite grinned. Akio didn't think about it, he smirked. He liked power, it was all he ever wanted.
"Fine. What do you want in return?" He asked smirking. He knew that nobody just made a deal ever just for the heck of it, he knew that Zoisite needed something in return.
"Nothing, with more power in your hands, I will be able to fight my battle better." Zoisite was too calm and Akio speculated the truth.
"What are you?" Akio asked.
"I am a youma from a world of darkness…power is the only thing we have." He smirked walking to the bar beside Akio, he smelled the wine, relishing the taste of fine things.
"So what do you say Akio-kun? Is this girl what you desire? Than allow me to give you the power you need." Zoisite was mysterious and criminal, but at the sound of power, Akio accepted. He wanted Usagi and if it meant accepting the evil powers of a monster, so be it. Zoisite smiled and leaped into the air, throwing her black crystal towards Akio's body. His head pulsed, he was surrounded with dark windy aura.
"Hmm, he is full of evil energy, this one will be easy to transform." Zoisite whispered, watching Akio start to surge with electric energy. When he was finished, his eyes glowed red, and his smile even more wicked. He was not a monster yet, but when the time was right, he would transform. For now Zoisite would give him the false belief that he was powerful.
"I can feel it." Akio laughed madly as Zoisite vanished happily into the air.
"Usagi…you're mine." He grinned.
…………………………………
Usagi was sitting on Mamoru's couch re-thinking the experience she shared with Mamoru.
'Do I love him because Mamoru…or because of our past?' She pondered looking down to her peach juice.
'Did any of it even happen…' She questioned again. Mamoru saw the look of confusion and hurt on Usagi's face. He hated to see her so sad. He sighed getting up from the couch and sat down beside Usagi.
"Usako? I bet I know what you're thinking." Mamoru smiled, catching Usagi. She felt embarrassed. She wondered if he could really tell what she was thinking. He leaned back a bit, inhaling.
"You're wondering if our vision was really real." He smiled again, a little hurt. He was never the type to believe in things like this. In fact, he should've been the one who sat back and logically thought things through. Usagi, with her blushed face, looked down to her feet.
"And you're wondering if I really love you for you…." Usagi swallowed hard, feeling like she cheated on him some how. She didn't say anything, she didn't deny it, she was thinking about that. Mamoru was hurt, but he just smiled. He took the drink from her hands and put it on the coffee table. He took her hands in his and knelt down in front of her. Her eyes widen in surprise and embarrassment. He was being very romantic and gentle.
"Usako. You should know that I have always thought about you. I loved you than as Serenity and I…love you now as my… Odango atama." He smiled meeting her gaze. She was blushing again, this time really brightly. She was so happy that he said that he loved her. The confession made her heart race.
"I never believed in fate, and destiny, but because of you, I do now. If I didn't love you than I would never have met you….here on earth." Usagi realized the truth. But she still didn't know if she was really the princess, and if she was, what happened to them on the moon. Why did they die and why were they here.
"And if we're not who we think we are, it doesn't matter, I'm still going to love you. Even death won't let my love for you fade." He grabbed her by the shoulders gently. He was looking down at her eyes, a bit teary. She was very happy. Her confusion was disappearing.
"Doesn't matter who we are Usako, right now you're Mamoru's Usagi." He smiled. She was flushed. He started to come down to her face, his eyes closing and his lips lightly touching her.
"I love you Usako." His lips moved over hers as he confessed his love. She smiled accepting his light kiss.
"I love you Mamo-chan" She whispered back. He bent forward all the way down, pushing her to lean on the couch as he kissed her. There was so much passion in him, a fire that only happened when he was with Usagi. Every time she came close, he never wanted to let her go. The constant separation would sadden his world until he was once again standing beside her.
Small white sparks started to form and in a slow rhythm a glow was transforming them into Serenity and Endymion. The warm sensation spread through out their bodies, they could feel each other the way they felt back on the moon. It was than they pulled back from the kiss and realized they had transformed. In a state of shock, they still held on watching their clothes fade back to normal. Their eyes met once again, each looking at the other waiting for an explanation.
"We really are them." Usagi softly said.
"We are, I never had a doubt." He smiled cupping her face as his amour completely faded into his white shirt and blue jeans.
"Do you doubt my love for you Usako?" He asked, his eyes carried such a soft passion. He truly did love her, his eyes always stayed the same, even as Endymion.
"I look at you with the same heart." He moved his face close to hers so that she could inspect his eyes, look deep into his soul and find the truth. Usagi blushed.
"I know Mamo-chan. I don't doubt your love." She placed a gentle hand on his cheek. The feel of her soft skin on his face, calmed him. Nothing in the world mattered to him but her, not even his life.
"I know how we can help the senshi realize who they are Usako." Usagi looked blankly at him, not following. He knew that she didn't see all her past, only the part with him. But when they kissed, he could feel the presence of the senshi around him; protecting them.
"You'll understand when we get to the temple." He smiled, rubbing his forehead against hers. She loved how he touched her, how he made her feel like she was the important gem in the world to him. They got up, and headed back to the temple. The senshi would need to round up once more, this time, they would believe.
…………………………………….
"What's going on?" Rei asked. She was still in the middle of chores when Usagi called her up to tell her that she and Mamoru were on their way. The other senshi members were sprawled out on the stairs waiting patiently for the news. The sun was setting on them as the day was coming to an end.
'Are they going to announce they're getting married?' Minako thought, happily. She was the one who resembled Usagi the most and the one who understood her the best.
"There is a way for all of you to remember who you are." Mamoru said, catching them all off guard and even disappointed Minako, who sighed loudly. Everyone looked back at her as she recovered by laughing madly.
"When Usako and I make a connection, something happens and memories come back." Everyone was surprised to hear his name for her and their mouths fell to the floor. Usagi turned beat red as they looked over her. Mamoru stepped closer to her, pulling her into his embrace, he was leaning down for a kiss. Usagi squirmed embarrassed as the girls gasped.
"Hey hey hey, this is a place of worship, you can't do that here." Rei shouted, dropping the broom. She was blushing, Mamoru had never kissed her, never even hugged her; this meant that his love for Usagi was real.
"AHH don't kiss her!" Luna shouted with Artemis. Mamoru ignored Rei's shout, the girls horrible gasp and Usagi struggled to get free. He pulled her head up and closed their lips together. She melted. The world disappeared and she returned the kiss, relaxing in his arms. The girls fell back as they continued to kiss in front of them, they were all blushing horribly. But than they started to blink as they noticed something different. There were little sparks flaming around the kissing couple. Suddenly in a white hot flash, they were on the moon, looking out to the earth. In the middle of the court yard was Serenity and Endymion talking. Everything around them was falling to disaster as the dark forces destroyed the kingdom. They saw the sailor senshi surrounding the Princess and Prince as they pulled together for a kiss. A hot white light emitted as their lips touched. The senshi circled the couple.
The flash ended with the girls standing back at the temple, gasping.
"Did we really go to the moon? Were we really there?" Minako asked feeling her forehead.
"No, it was just a vision. Do you know who you are now?" Mamoru asked, still holding Usagi close to him. Usagi realized now, that the senshi were the guardians from the inner planets. They were part of the moon kingdom.
"We're from the moon kingdom. We were the guardians…Usagi's guardians." Rei looked up still trying to make sense of everything.
"So we existed on the moon too?" Makoto asked sitting on the steps.
"Well what happened there, why are we here on earth than?" Ami asked Mamoru. He didn't know the answer, but something horrible happened to the moon, and now, they were on earth. With no memories of the moon or they're lives there, they started new lives here. But somehow fate brought them together. It was than that Luna and Artemis's crescent bald spots started to glow, than the spot appeared on Usagi. Her eyes fell blank as lights from the furry guardians met hers. Everyone stepped back to watch in astonishment. Mamoru looked down to Usagi, how pale she got and how her bruises vanished. When the light stopped, the moon was still left on Usagi's forehead.
"I remember now." Luna said starting to cry with Artemis. The girls sat back up.
"Princess Serenity, all this time, you were right in front of me." She ran to Usagi.
"Luna-chan it's not your fault. Like the rest of us, you didn't know." Usagi smiled.
"All I ever thought we were was the senshi and that's it. No body could have known that we were actually all part of the moon kingdom." She smiled. Mamoru put his hand on Usagi's shoulder, smiling. The girls sat up with big smiles.
"So you're our princess." Makoto asked.
"I do remember who destroyed the moon kingdom, it was the evil forces that are trying to destroy this world." Artemis said with a determined face. The girls turned to him, remembering that when the moon kingdom was crumbling they saw, Jedite, Nephrite, Zoisite and Malachite standing and laughing. With a tall figure hiding in the shadow.
"They are the ones who destroyed the moon. They're gonna pay for it!" Makoto shouted.
"We need to get rid of that crazy guy, and save this planet!" Minako smiled.
"It's good to finally see you again Princess Serenity." Rei smiled. There was no denying it, it was very apparent. Usagi was the princess they searched for, and Mamoru was the princes who fought for her.
"I don't know what happened exactly, but we need to find out what happened to the moon, and why we're all are here. And the only way we'll be able to figure this all out, is if we get the crystal." The girls suddenly realized the reality of the battle ahead, and the fact that Mamoru still had three of the crystal pieces in his possession.
"Does this mean you're with us?" Ami asked.
"I always was, we were going after the same goal Ami-san, and that was to save the Princess." He smiled.
"But the battle that we're going to have to face now, is going to be harder than ever. And there is still no sign of the last crystal piece." Artemis said.
"Well girls, and you Mamoru-san, we're in this together, and I know if we fight hard, we'll save all from being lost." Rei smirked with a brilliant confidence. They put their hands in to a point in the group huddle, vowing to protect the Princess at all costs, and to get the crystal.
So I hope that makes things better. On the next chapter: Akio and Usagi have a project to do and Umino gives Mamoru a headache.