"What the hell are you doing!?"

Usagi's head shot around like an owl's on a swivel. She fought the instinctive urge to cringe, but that particular tone always had the uncanny ability to make her feel like a kid with its hand caught in the cookie jar.

"Luna," she said nervously. The acknowledgement really only served to fan the cat's ire; through the veneer of black-and-white she saw the bristling fur and flashing eyes.

"Don't 'Luna' me," the aforementioned feline growled. "If you're doing what I think you're doing..."

"I can explain!"

Usagi realized at that moment from the sounds of movement below that her bedroom door was still wide open, and she cursed herself for her stupidity, rushing to shut it before her family heard her arguing with her pet, and the pet talking right back. They were usually much more careful than this - which was testament to how truly riled up they both were. She turned back to face the firing squad, belligerent and determined.

"I know what you're going to say. But Luna... I tested out my transformation yesterday and I can see! Well... it's not quite the same as before. It's all sort of colorless and maybe a bit blurry but it's seeing and that's all that matters, I can fight now and-"

Luna was shaking her head back and forth. "Usagi-chan. No," she interjected. "You said it yourself. It's not the same as before. An impairment like that could cost you precious seconds in the battlefield. It could be the difference between life and death!"

Usagi was really starting to get angry now. "Don't you get it? I can help them. I can prevent the girls from having to use my wand and be laid up for hours, days, afterward!"

"I'm not sure you get it. You want to take on youma with half sight. This isn't just risky, it's foolhardy! You, of all people, should know the dangers, Usagi-chan!"

Usagi felt like that wasn't quite fair. "And what's the difference between what I'm doing and what they're doing, huh!? They're sacrificing themselves for the greater good. For me. I refuse to allow it anymore, not when there's something that can be done about it." The sailor-suited heroine drew herself up to full height, surprising even herself with the authority she could feel exuding from her in waves. The posture, the voice... it was as if she were possessed by another person. But at the same time... she knew this was all her.

"Luna. I'm not asking you. I'm going to the shrine - whether you're with me or not." Her eyes softened. "But I hope you'll be with me. I could sure use another pair of eyes out there. Someone to alert me to anything I may miss."

Luna was still frustrated but there was an odd, unplaceable glimmer in her eyes. Almost... recognition of sorts. But it was there and gone, and the little cat seemed to visibly shake herself before sighing with extreme reticence, "I can't believe I'm saying this... Fine. I'm coming with you. But only because it appears there's nothing I can do to stop you and I'll be damned if I'm going to let anything happen to you again, Usagi-chan."

The teen smiled. She knew, intuitively, that this was Luna's true motivation for not wanting Usagi to go in the first place - her fear. She cared too much about Usagi to see her putting herself back out there. It was written all over her face. But Usagi could feel deep within every bone of her body... She was meant to do this. She was a Sailor Senshi - sworn to defend her planet from evil. She could not sit idly by any longer. She made for the window only to be halted with a "Wait!"

Usagi turned back around. "We don't have much time, Luna! Rei-chan needs us now!"

"I know, it's just - I have an idea!" Suddenly Luna was back-flipping in an all too familiar way. Usagi felt a tingle of excitement and curiosity as something white flittered feather-like to the floor. She barely had time to blink before Luna was on her shoulder and gently depositing it from her mouth to Usagi's gloved palm. "Here - put it on!"

Usagi's mouth fell open as she marveled the mask in her hand. It reminded her of the one Tuxedo Kamen wore, only hers was... well, cute. Fashionable wings jutted off either side, lending a very feminine look to what was otherwise an unassuming and plain white accessory. She had the brief thought that it was going to complement the rest of her uniform nicely before she placed the mask over her eyes. What she observed made her gasp. "No way!"

"It works rather like reading glasses - sharpening what's in front of you. I'm afraid there's not much I can do for the long distance - the only other individual a mask has been created for was rather more concerned with how 'cool' it made her look - but it will suffice for the short term. And anyway, we can't have you giving the enemy any advantages should they catch you squinting."

If there was a hidden meaning to be found in Luna's message, Usagi did not pick up on it. She was far more fascinated with the clearer image she was now being granted, the way everything in her propinquity stood out in a way she hadn't been able to experience since... well, since before going blind. She only paid Luna half her actual attention until quite alarmingly the cat shouted in her ear,

"Usagi-chan! Are you just going to stand there and gawk!?"

The superheroine jumped. "Right! Rei-chan!"

"Honestly, some things never change," Luna grumbled, digging her claws in for leverage as Usagi scrambled out the window. The unabashed affection lurking in the shallows of her tone belied any exasperation she might have been trying to pass off.

"Hush, you."

oOo

It all started coming back to her bit by little bit.

As Usagi ran, she could feel the thrill pumping like blood through her veins; that feeling only being Sailor Moon could produce of simultaneous elation and terror. She felt more powerful in this form, there was no doubt. Magic danced just beyond her fingertips - a raw celestial energy she could call upon with just the right words; the right force of will. Yet there was a vulnerability too. As Tsukino Usagi, she could walk through the streets completely unbothered - a blissfully normal girl. But as a defender of justice, she was a public figure - hunted by paparazzi and aliens alike. One slip up was all it would take for that balance to come crashing down around her. For the world to come crashing down around her. She carried a heavy burden, and though she'd managed the load so far, it was only getting heavier. This crusade against the Dark Kingdom had already stolen her sight from her. She feared another blow like that would be death of her.

Literally.

The teen shivered, but shook off her broodings, focusing on the task at hand. She'd learned long ago not to let her mind linger overmuch on the 'what if's of her mantle. Best to just keep an optimistic attitude and hope everything else would fall into place as a result. Battles were tough enough as it is, without constantly worrying whether she'd make it home that night in one piece.

Speaking of battles...

She skidded to a halt upon reaching the shrine and already could hear sounds of a commotion from above. Passers-by were either bolting in the opposite direction, or stopping to stare from a safe distance. Usagi knew the return of Sailor Moon was sure to splash headlines come tomorrow's newspaper, but she paid the whispering oglers no mind as her heels began to lurch up the mighty stairway. The belated thought that this was a much easier ascent than last time almost gave her a proud smile at proof of her progress, but then Usagi was mounting the final step and what she saw wiped out any good feelings she might have entertained.

She had arrived just in time to see a monster that strangely resembled an overgrown gorilla aiming at her best friend with what looked like supersonic wind. Rei had her hand outstretched towards it and was screaming "No, Ojii-chan!" even as the beast unloaded its full power upon her. Usagi watched in horror as Yuichiro came lunging toward Rei as if to put her behind him and attack the youma himself, but they were both caught in the torpedoing blast and flung viciously into a tree. The crack that followed resounded grisly across the yard, and Rei slumped over unconscious as her would-be rescuer. Usagi let out a strangled exclamation of both grief and anger.

"Well, well, well! What have we here... the prodigal Senshi returns!"

Usagi whipped around, evoking a defensive stance as she caught sight of the figure floating in the sky, a swirl of petals trailing in their wake.

"Zoisite!" she ground out.

The Dark Kingdom general narrowed his cold and beady eyes at her, his affect bored but his body taut for war as he acknowledged, "Sailor Moon. So it is you under that garish new mask. And here I thought I was finally rid of the most annoying pest of them all! You are still as much a glutton for punishment as ever then, I suppose." One hand moved up and down in teasing fashion, catching Usagi's attention, which she figured was the point. She saw the glint of what would have been indigo, had her eyes the gift of color, as it was being tossed cavalierly into a waiting palm... just as surely as she spied Zoisite's gloating quirk of a smile. The dots connected and with dawning revelation the superheroine knew that could only mean one thing...

Oh, no. Rei's pleading cry of earlier as she faced off the youma suddenly made devastating, horrible sense. Ojii-chan was a Rainbow Crystal holder! So that means...

"Jiji, of the Seven Great Youma! Dispose of Sailor Moon! Let this be her first and last great comeback," the evil henchman sneered.

"Behind you!" Luna gasped in warning, from at Usagi's feet. The girl whirled around again, starting to feel rather unnerved by her lack of peripheral vision. But thanks to the mask, she got a really good look at the shaggy mane of hair and disturbingly googly eyes of Grandpa-turned-monster before it leapt. Sailor Moon shrieked, her backside taking most of the brunt of her fall as Jiji dove in for the kill. She rolled around, trying to gain the upper hand, but the youma was so strong. It had muscles like immovable steel. She was quickly pinned, and overhead, Zoisite laughed as if he had never witnessed anything more amusing.

"You should have stayed away, Sailor Moon! This will be the end of you!"

Sharp claws extended from the nails of Jiji's hand and it raised its great paw, Usagi breathing in frightfully as she struggled once more to free herself, even just a hand, to protect from what was sure to be a fatal blow.

"Rrrrrrrr-eowwwwww!"

Luna latched onto the monster's arm with razor-edged teeth sunken into flesh, and if Usagi weren't so terrified for her life right now she would've spared a cringe for poor Ojii-chan as Jiji let out an agonizing, animalistic scream. The cat held on for all she was worth as Jiji bucked and writhed, and Usagi knew when her opportunity for escape came as the creature began to topple sideways in its pain. She had just crab-crawled out from beneath Jiji when the youma regained its bearings enough to grab the tiny assailant, rip her mouth from his shredded arm, and send her flying.

"Luna!" Usagi howled, helpless to prevent her guardian feline from landing hard halfway across the courtyard. She strained to see if the cat was alright afterward, the distance just barely outside her mask's zone of clarity.

It didn't look like Luna had moved.

Where oh where were the other Senshi? Usagi scrambled up, immediately backing away as Jiji once more set his sights on her. I need help... I need my wand! She had no hope to defeat this youma and bring back Ojii-chan without it!

Her hand darted to her forehead, unsure if the tiara would make much difference; whether it would even incapacitate this monster or if it would just enrage it further. She hated how rusty she was but she had to at least try. "Moon Tiara-"

Jiji roared, but it was no ordinary roar. The explosion of wind it unleashed was like a freight train ramming into Usagi; it wielded all the power of a tornado. The Senshi barely even registered as her body left the ground, blown backward, sent spinning boneless through the thin air - only to collide with something firm, unyielding, and...

Warm?

There were arms around her middle. They shifted as the pair sailed against the darkening backdrop of early evening sky, the beautiful paint-spatter sunset lost to Usagi but for a shaft of golden light that she spied as she tried valiantly to crane her head, to see the face of her savior, even though she knew, just by those familiar arms... it was him. He came for her once again, even despite his heartbreaking declaration to the other Senshi...

Grass cushioned their fall but the hard earth beneath was still jarring upon impact; the arms tightened their hold as Moon and man tumbled and rolled a few feet into the brush. Usagi groaned and clutched her temple, feeling all kinds of dirty and disheveled after the many spills she'd taken today. Her mask was dislodged and she could have sworn more had been knocked loose -

Yes. The star locket she'd worn all day and upon transforming was now digging uncomfortably into her side, the space pocket all Senshi possessed not impervious to such rough handling either, but no matter, she had promised herself that when given the opportunity she'd return that which was rightfully his, as sign of her continued faith... Usagi tugged the necklace into her grip and held fast to the cool metal, the five rounded points reminding her strangely of the starfish enchinoderm she'd cradled earlier today - had it only been today? - as she sat up, heart pounding. Her other hand readjusted the mask, wondering with a rush of excitement if he'd notice the similarities and tease her for trying to copycat him, and speaking of cats maybe Luna wouldn't mind if she explained her situation to him, especially if it would open him up to her and... and...

"Tuxedo Kamen-sama," she crooned breathlessly, just so overwhelmingly happy to be in this intoxicatingly mysterious man's presence again after so many weeks apart.

He was sitting up as well, one hand still curled protectively upon her waist, and as he straightened Usagi gave him a blinding smile...

That quickly faltered as something like shock flickered onto her partly obscured features.

"Sailor Moon," he was saying, and that voice - how could she have ever not placed that voice... then again... it had never been this tender until recently - broke through her haze just enough for her to drag her eyes up past the glowing golden chest that gave him away, and into the face of a man as masked as she.

She wouldn't have needed to remove the mask to know whose startlingly deep eyes would gaze back at her.

"Where have you been, I can't believe you're..." He trailed off, suddenly seeming to notice that not all was right with the blonde, and with a lip that puckered in concern his eyes began quickly sweeping over her, as if searching for injuries, only to alight upon the object in her grasp...

It was then that Usagi - Sailor Moon - realized her grave mistake.

It was too late to snatch the locket back, to hide it away. She could do nothing but stare at him, staring at it. It was obvious when the puzzle pieces connected. Usagi may have been reeling, still trying to make freaking sense of it herself - the bad shoulder, the lack of lessons on days the Senshi were also out fighting, the skilled avoidance of questions, the gold aura and the healing powers... all of it was coming together in a dizzying picture in her mind - but she knew him well enough now to accurately discern the meaning in his tone when he said one word. One singular word, that brought the entire balance of her universe crashing down around her.

"You."

It was useless to pretend; now that she had been found out he would know her expressions anyway. She was an open book like that. And so Usagi uttered the only response she could manage, with a dry mouth and aching effort to center her eyes back upon his...

"You."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author's Note: I DID NOT JUST DO THAT. Okay, okay. I totally did. But that should be the last of the really evil cliffhangers (for a little while, at least ;P). So how are all you lovely readers feeling, huh? IT FINALLY HAPPENED! THE BIG REVEAL! Now of course the question is... what next? How do they both react? Will Usagi let the Senshi's opinion of Tuxedo Kamen get in the way of trying to understand his motivations?

Usagi's mask is an homage to Naoko Takeuchi's original prototype for Sailor Moon. If anyone is unfamiliar with the manga I suggest Googling it. The mask she has in my story looks the same as the one Naoko drew. It's something I've been excited to include since the beginning. I can't believe I'm finally at this point!?

How are we all doing quarantine-wise? Staying safe? Relatively sane? Emphasis on the 'relative' for me, hehe. But writing certainly helps stave off boredom and I'm glad I can make you guys happy in the process! Big thanks to the once again HUGE outpouring of reviewers who helped kick my butt into gear, getting this chapter out faster! I only stopped writing this past week when it came time to celebrate hubby's birthday xD The rest of my attention was on this story! RogueAlly, Tina Century, Serenity Red Eclipse, lolopptt, Astraearose-silvermoon, Princesakarlita411, NikkiBC, AimlesslyGera, phillynz, Moon Bunny, Sonata IX, Serenity24Luna, chimichurri, aldoraspritelette, karseneau1, dayfreshie, Rufael, CassieRaven, TinkStar87, Oreo596, Jwalla1986, Daire123, SaphireShimmer, Rhnnnn, Alsc Petrelli Winchester Stark, WestOfTheGlass, MyIndy13, and smoon4409 - YOU. GUYS. ROCK! You're the reason I do this! Can't wait to hear your opinions on this bad boy!

All my love,

AngelMoon Girl