A/N: God, rereading last chapter, I'm disgusted by how much talk and how little action there was. (shudders) I'll try not to do that anymore. Now, a word from our sponsors.

Serena: Does anyone feel like this has been an unusually LOOOOOOOONG day? I mean, it's been like four chapters long!

Darien: (pushing his spectacles up on his nose and scanning an official-looking sheet of paper) Yes, I'm pretty sure she's been violating some child labor laws – especially since we're not even getting paid.

EightofSwords: (gasps and makes a slashing motion at Darien)

Serena: (dangerously) What do you MEAN, we're not getting paid?

Darien: I mean – uh – Just being able to spend time with you is compensation enough for me?

Serena: (melts) Aw, Darien….

(Smooching noises)

EightofSwords: Whew. That was a close one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. (bows head) Please, a moment of silence for my loss.

Subject to Change

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Shatter

Silver Millennium:

"I hate it when we're all apart like this," Minako grumbled, picking at a thread in her bedspread. "I always feel so isolated when I'm here on my own."

"That's because you're a snob," said Mercury with her usual cheeky grin. She was making ice sculptures with the decorative fountain in the corner of Mainko's suite. First a stallion, now an otter, next a swan. "You don't think anyone's worth your interest – aside from yours truly, of course." She batted her eyelashes.

"Not true!" exclaimed Minako, swinging a leg up over the stallion's cold back. "It's just that… after spending so much time with my insane Senshi, everyone here seems so flat and two-dimensional. Booooooring – hey, you couldn't make this move, could you, Merc?" she asked in an aside.

"It would require melting the joints," mused Mercury thoughtfully. "To allow lubrication…olly oop, there you go!"

Minako shrieked in delight as the stallion cantered stiffly out of the fountain basin and towards Mercury. "Brilliant, Mercury! Now can you make it whinny?"

Mercury snorted incredulously. "What do you think I am? God?"

"Mercuryyyyyyyyyyyy!"

"I can't breathe life into a chunk of ice, V-babe-baka!"

"If you can beat Mars in a training match, you can do anything!"

Mercury snorted again. "You have too much faith in me, V-babe." Nevertheless, she shut her eyes, and suddenly, the ice horse made a whinnying sound. Minako squealed again.

"You'll have to get off it, soon," Mercury warned. "Remember, it's made of ice, and ice melts."

Minako's body felt frozen, as though time had stopped. For a moment, she wondered if perhaps Pluto had decided to take a hand in the proceedings. An eternity seemed to pass as Luna's bitter eyes traversed Minako's face

What would Luna do? If it were Minako herself in Luna's positin, and Malachite dead instead of Artemis, she would surely have clawed Luan to shreds. But would Luna endanger the mission to find the

Slowly, Luna's face smoothed, and she turned away from Minako. The blonde let out a small breath of relief. Thank the Crystal.

In truth, Luna had at first thought that Minako was Serena. She had turned away because she had realized that she wasn't.

But Minako believed that Luna had smothered her own desires for the princess' welfare. Just as Artemis had done – and as Minako had not.

Shame flooded her. But she shoved it aside. There more important things than self-contempt at the moment. Here she was, reunited with her Senshi at last! They culd fill in the blanks still left in what Malachite had told her about this time, and of course Mercury would have a plan to recover the princess and defeat Beryl. They would be able to tell her what Jupiter was up to, and hopefully, who Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask were. By next week, the Princess would be safely in their hands, Moon and Mask would be dealt with, Malachite would be free to stay with her, and Beryl would be ancient history.

At the thought, a wide grin stretched Minako's face, and tears stugn her eyes. She swiped them hastily away and smiled brightly at her Senshi. She opened her mouth to speak.

And then a youma appeared.

"Oh, for the love of Selenity!" snarled Minako, her brief rapture bursting into flames of fury. She clenched her fist, reaching into her core to transform and slay the damned creature, but Mercury stumbled into her.

"Mina!" she cried. "Go! Let us handle this!"

Minako sighed. Oh, how she wanted to dust this youma…her hands were positively itching…but there would certainly be many more to slay in the days ahead. She moved behind a sopse of trees, out of Mercury's way. Despite her disappointment, a little excitement flickered to life within her. It had been an eternity since she had seen her Senshi fight – what splendid new battle tactics and attacks would they have perfected in the past thousand years? Not that tactics would be needed against one measly youma…

Obviously, Minako held sky-high expectations for her Senshi. And as you, readers, could have foreseen, they quickly crashed down around her ears. She watched in shock, horror, disgust, and mounting anger as Mars' pathetic fire streams consistently missed the youma; as Mercury made no attacks but merely alternated whimpering and scuttling out of the way os youma projectiles with typing on her mini-comp; as time after time, both girls were hit by attacks that would have been easy as pie to dodge!

At long last, she roused herself out of her disbelief and burst out of the trees. "CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!" she yelled, practically even before she had transformed.

The youma exploded into a cloud of ash in Mercury's face. She coughed violently. Venus rose, crossing rapidly to her and yanking her roughly to her feet.

"What the hell were you doing?" she snapped.

Mercury just stared up at her. Tears streamed from her reddened eyes, carving paths though the soot that coated her wan face.

"What are you lot playing at?" Venus demanded again, jerking Mercury along with her as she spun on Mars. "Why did you not just kill the blasted thing?"

Sh frowned fiercely at Mars, who was staring at her intently. "Mars!" she barked.

"Princess?" Mars breathed.

Venus spun to look. But she saw nothing, only the tempe steps. "Where?"

"You!" Mars fell into a kneeling position. "You!"

Venus stared at the bowed black head. "You…you think…me?" Her mouth went dry, then a scowl more fierce than ever before darkened her face. "Stop joking around, Mars," she said tightly. "That's Mecury's forte, not yours."

Mars' head flew up; she stared at Venus with those violet eyes. "But – "

"I said you're not funny!" roared Venus. "Now stop joking and explain your inability to slay a single youma!"

Luan sprang down into their midst, and Venus fell abruptly silent. She tensed as Luna's eyes locked with hers.

"Your attack involved a crescent," said the cat, and Venus could scarcely believe what she was hearing. Soemthign huge inside her was shifting. Falling, like a huge chunk of ice slding from a glacier and sinking into the ocean. "Crescent like the moon. How could you not be our princess?"

"If you're not the princess," injected Mars, tossing her hair back and glaring, "Then who are you?"

Horror was flooding Venus' heart, icy and dark. "Oh, great Selene," she breathed. She fell to her knees. "My Senshi. My Senshi!"

Mars stared at her with narrow eyes. Luna's regard became similarly supicious. Venus took no note, crying brokenly to the ground. "My Sensh! My Senshi!"

At logn last, a small voice broke the silence.

"You're Sailor Venus," whispered Mercury. "Aren't you?"

Venus' head lifted slowly. Her eyes half-crazed. "Yes! You remember me? You remember me, Mercury!"

Mercury was shaking her head back and forth hastily, eyes wide. "No. No," she whispered. "I don't, I'm so sorry – "

"Then how'd you know who she was?" Mars said scornfully.

Mercury ducked her head. "The symbol that shone while she transformed was Venus' sigil."

Something like hysteria was clawing its way up Venus' throat, spasming her body with the simultaneous urges to laugh and to cry. "You don't remember me."

Mercury shook her head, and Mars and Luna slowly followed suit.

"And you…don't know where the princess is?" Her voice broke on 'princess.' "You have…no plans? No…strategy?"

Again they shook their heads.

Venus' body spasmed. Her shoulders heaved, her limbs shook as she stared at the sidewalk beneath her. "Oh, Selene," she whispered, ostensibly to herself, but the others could hear her. "Oh Selene, oh Selene, they don't remember anything…they fight like two-year-olds...Mercury doesn't have a plan…Mercury doesn't have a plan…"

Still mumbling desperately to herself, she climbed to her feet. Swaying slightly, she began to walk away, disappearing down the temple steps. "…oh, great Selene! "

"You know, I haven't seen Lita."

Darien's eyebrows rose. "Now that you mention it…" He himself hadn't spared her a thought. Too much had happened… "Well, it's probably pretty safe to say she's not in too much trouble. She knows how to take very good care of herself."

"What if she saw a youma somewhere, though?" Serena murmured, knuckles pressed to her mouth.

Here was a thought that had not occurred to Darien. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "But wouldn't we know if there was a youma…?" He trailed off. "No, of course we wouldn't. All those times we've found them have been coincidences. Wow."

Serena, walking beside him, appeared unfazed by this sudden realization Darien had just come to. Or maybe she was just hadn't been listening to him at all.

"She's only ever transformed once, what if she gets hurt – "

"Hey." Darien flicked her in the head. "Give it a rest, okay? Let's wait until we see if she's at Toki's or not to stress out. If she's not there, you can stress all you want."

Serena fell silent, but Darien doubted that she was following his the advice.

They reached Motoki's modest sky-blue two-story house and turned up the neatly cobbled front path. The Furuhatas' front yard and house were every bit as cheerful as their arcade. Cheery red flowers lined the path; a cherry blossom tree stood in the corner of the yard. On the porch perched several well-worn pieces of wicker furniture, and to the side of the bright yellow front door was a porch bench. And swinging back and forth on it were Motoki and Lita.

"Lita!" cried Serena in relieved joy, running to the brunette. "You're okay!"

Darien followed Serena more sedately up the steps, scooping up her book bag from where she had dropped it and placing it with his on top of an empty wicker chair.

"Gee, you'd think Lita was the one who got attacked by a youma, and not me" Motoki said loudly, catching Darien's eye and giving him a little smile.

Darien hid a grin.

"Oh, onii-chan, I didn't mean to!" Serena let go of Lita and gave Motoki a big hug. Pulling away, she paused, staring very intently at his face. Then she began to giggle, shooting a grin at Lita.

"What? What is it?" A confused Motoki patted his face, turning to Darien. "Do I have stubble or something?"

Serena whispered something to Lita. Lita whispered back. Motoki was becoming alarmed.

"What? What is it?" he exclaimed in mounting panic.

"Evidence of your manhood," replied Darien finally, clapping Motoki on the back. A wide grin rolled across his face, and this seemed to make Serena laugh harder. "Congratulations, Motoki, you now have your red badge of courage."

Motoki blushed, finally realizing what Darien must be referring to – there was a big red lipstick smear on his cheek. "Uuuhhh – "

"Oh, stop being so immature about it." Lita rolled her eyes and pulled Motoki's face towards her with no ceremony whatsoever, then dabbed the lipstick from his face with her sleeve. She and Motoki exchanged goofy grins for a minute (causing Darien and Serena to gag at each other – well, actually, Darien gagged while Serena went starry-eyed and sighed wistfully); then Lita turned and flashed a wicked grin. "Just because you have virgin lips doesn't mean you can take it out on the rest of us."

After an initial moment of shock, Motoki and Serena exploded with laughter.

"Yeah…well…at least my brain isn't a virgin!" Darien shot back.

Cricket chirps followed.

Into the silence, Darien tried to explain: "Virgin, you know…not used? Meaning Lita's never used her brain…?"

His audience shook their heads dolefully.

"Sorry, Darien," said Serena, reaching up and patting his shoulder. "But I think you've found your match when it comes to word-fencing."

Darien rolled his eyes skyward. 'The day just keeps getting better and better."

"At least you got that red badge of courage jab in," consoled Serena.

"Aw, don't soften it for him, Serena. He lost, fair and square." Lita crossed her arms and smirked, leaning closer to Darien. "Like a LOSER."

"How mature of you," muttered Darien. Aloud, he said, "Motoki, call off your girlfriend. I've got to talk to you."

"Uh…okay." Motoki rose, somewhat unsteadily, and moved to the front door, opening it. "You wanna go inside?"

Darien shrugged. "Anywhere's fine." He hesitated, then turned to Serena and Lita as they moved to follow the two boys in. "Hey, here's an idea. Why doesn't Lita sleep over at your house, Serena?"

Both girls blinked.

"Uh – that sounds great, of course, Lita," said Serena, tilting her head backward to speak to the brunette behind her, then turned back to Darien, "but since when do you arrange play dates for me, Papa Shields?"

"It was a suggestion," said Darien who secretly was beginning to sweat under the collar. He needed to talk to Motoki, but he didn't want Serena left alone; Lita could keep an eye on her since she was a Sailor Senshi, but he couldn't ask Lita to do it outright because a.) Motoki was present, b.) Serena didn't know that he'd been, essentially, stalking her to keep an eye on her, and c.) he didn't want to ask Kino for a favor outright. "Don't jump down my throat, Dumpling."

Lita was watching Darien strangely. Finally, she said, "I'd love to come over if you'd have me, Serena."

Serena threw Darien a look that clearly said, "I'm going to lecture you about this later," and at the same time, grabbed Lita' s hand and chirped, "YAY!"

Darien had to smile, he really did. He found it amusing to watch her act out two different moods simultaneously. Until Serena threw him another Look, of course, and then he had to swallow the smile and look serious once more.

So, anyways, Darien thought he had things all covered now until he moved to walk inside with Toki again. And again, Serena made to follow them.

"No," he said in exasperation, barring the way with his arm. Serena's nose bonked into it, and she glared up at him, rubbing it. "You can't come in! Go have your sleepover."

Motoki, from inside, cast Darien a quizzical look, but supported him. And so, surprisingly, did his girlfriend.

"Go on, Serena," said Toki. "Me and Dare are talking gross guy things like – uh –"

"Jockstraps," supplied Lita. She tugged on Serena's arm. "C'mon, let's go rent some movies for tonight. I wanna see that new chick flick!"

Serena looked a little hurt, but recovered. "Yeah, sure!" She put her arm through Lita's and tugged her away, skipping down the steps. "Are you talking about that movie

with Mathew Maconawhatsit?"

Darien sighed in relief as the sound of their footsteps faded, then noticed Serena's bag still sitting next to his on the wicker chair. "Odango! Odango, your bag," he called, scooping it up and jogging down the steps. "Odango – oh, forget it."

He returned to Motoki with both backpacks. Motoki raised an eyebrow. "I'll just give it to her tomorrow," said Darien.

"You guys have plans for tomorrow?" asked Motoki interestedly as he made his way effortfully to the couch and sank into a cushion.

"Not really," said Darien, glancing around. "Your parents not home?"

"Lizzie's softball playoffs were today, so I made 'em go." Motoki made a face. "Mom didn't want to leave me, but I kicked her out. So. Spill. What's got you so wound-up? Why'd you make Usa leave?"

Darien thought about Miss Lanai and the painting, he thought about Dr. Ludisae from Yale, and about Asanuma's explosion at Serena.

"Uh – " he swallowed. "Uh."

And then he spilled his guts.

"Wow," said Motoki quietly when he was finished. "Numa said all that stuff to Serena?"

"Yeah, that was my reaction, too." Darien gave a bitter laugh. "But yeah, he did, Serena wouldn't lie."

"But Numa adores Usa," murmured Motoki to himself. "He always says she's like the little sister he never had! Although," he said in an aside to Darien, "little sisters can definitely get annoying, I should know…"

"I think it's Rei," said Darien decisively. "All this time, he's been kind of teetering back and forth on whether he has a chance with her, but now he's decided that he doesn't. And now you've got a girlfriend – "

"And you've got Serena," reminded Motoki.

Darien waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, yeah, whatever – and so he feels left out."

Motoki sighed. "But that's nothing we didn't already know from what he told Serena that she told you. What we need is a way to get him out of the funk."

They thought.

"I bet Serena's got an idea," blurted out Darien finally. "Or will."

Motoki nodded. "How did she take all of…it?"

Darien didn't need Motoki to clarify what he meant. He rose restlessly, circling the coffee table while Motoki watched him from the couch.

"She got upset. I told her it was Asanuma's fault – by which I meant to tell her that it wasn't HER fault – but then we got into a fight, and she gave me a lecture. I was just telling her – I was – I was TRYING to tell her that – urgh!" He expelled a whoosh of breath, chest heaving, and jammed a hand into his hair. "She has all these friends, Toki, and what have they done to her? They've all turned on her, every single one – even Numa now! And yet she keeps making new friends and trusting them – like Lita, and some new girl, Mina, that she mentioned on the way over – and even when they turn around and stab her in the back like Rei did, she still drives herself to tears trying to figure out how to make them happy!"

He threw himself down on the couch, fists clenched.

"Well," said Motoki, rubbing his jaw. "First of all, I'm going to let that thing about Lita slide." He smiled at Darien, apparently trying to lighten his heavy mood. When Darien's scowl failed to disappear, he continued.

"A lot of Serena's friends have…'betrayed' her. It's true, I won't refute you on that point. But she's so trusting and open that she has a LOT of friends. So, looking at this from your usual analytical math genius point of view, doesn't it make sense, in terms of proportions, that since Serena has so many friends, there will be a larger protion of bad apples in the bunch than there would be if she had less friends?"

"I guess," conceded Darien haltingly. "But…"

"But…?" prompted Motoki. When Darien did not continue, he smiled broadly. "Dare, you wanna know what I think?"

Darien grunted.

Motoki grinned. "I'll take that as a yes. I think the reason that this – Serena's friends hurting her – bothers you so much is because you're afraid you've done the same thing. Or that you're GOING to do the same thing. All those fights you guys used to have – sometimes they really hurt her. And you know that. But now Serena's gotten really close to you – even kind of dependent. And because you guys started out so shaky, and because of your past – " Darien flinched. " – you don't trust yourself not to hurt her. So you're trying to make her close up the same way you did after...you know. Your parents' accident."

Darien sat very, very still. He had his face hidden in his hands. Motoki licked his lips, hoping very fervently that he had not made Darien cry.

"Look, Darien," he said. "Serena trusts people. It's what she does, it's who she is. It's the reason all the teachers at school love her even though she's horrible at school, and it's why she has half the school crushing on her. Heck, it's why you finally came out of your shell last year and started enjoying your damn life!" Motoki added half-jokingly.

"Her ability to trust is what makes her such a gem," he continued more seriously. "And trying to make her abandon it would be like turning her into a boring old piece of coal."

A long silence followed. Motoki licked his lips again. He really hoped he hadn't made Darien cry…he would be so dead…

Finally, Darien looked up. His face was dry, but when he smiled, his eyes were old. "I think you mixed up your metaphors, Toki." His voice was hoarse. He cleared his throat. "Diamonds come from coal. Not gems."

Motoki let out a high-pitched laugh of released tension. "Darien, you're lucky I'm friends with someone as nerdy as you."

"Motoki, you're lucky I'm friends with someone as fruity as you."

"Hey, I have a girlfriend! You guys can't call me fruity anymore!"

"What else am I supposed to call you after that long emotional analysis? Dr. Phil?"

Darien unlocked his apartment a couple of hours later. He and Motoki had gone a couple rounds of Galactic Battlefront of Motoki's Xbox, and he had to admit it had left him feeling galaxies better. (He refused to consider the idea that it was his talk with Motoki, and not his videogame playing with Motoki, that had rejuvenated him. That would just veer too close to fruitiness.)

Rather exhausted from all that male bonding, he stripped off his school uniform and pulled on boxers and a white t-shirt, then fell into his bed. It was a strange feeling, to sleep in his own bed again – and it was an ever stranger feeling not to worry about Serena. Because no matter what he had said to Toki or Serena or Kino herself, he trusted Lita to take care of the Odango Atama.

Especially when she could take care of a youma with her bare hands. He chuckled.

He turned over on his side and tranquilly drifted into a drowse…black, starry sky, closer than he had ever seen it before…a cratered white surface stretching out before him…a white gown, fluttering…silver hair…

He bolted up., heart pounding. Turned, squinting through the darkness to where his book bag sat.

Within which was the folder containing the Yale information from Dr. Ludisae.

Oh, damn. He'd forgotten all about that. Darien groaned and dropped back onto his mattress, his mind already racing with the pros and cons. He'd have to leave his friends, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. A full scholarship, but how could he in good conscience leave Japan to the mercy of the Dark Kingdom? At the same time, he couldn't let the Dark Kingdom dictate his life because then he'd be fighting until he used a walker and had liverspots…but…and if…but then…which meant… Doubt chased certainty chased guilt chased longing chased doubt in his mind.

So much for a night of serenity.

Rei left the temple soon after their newest Senshi did. She couldn't stand Ami's pathetic expression, Luna's disapproving "hmph"s, or the faint coughing from Grandpa's room.

She kicked a pebble viciously with a sandaled foot. It skittered away from her as though frightened. She looked for more to kick, but the rest of the sidewalk was pebble-free.

She had no destination. Which was just as well, since she wasn't seeing where she was going. Her mind was occupied with other things.

Did you see that look on her face? She thought you were pathetic.

She hadn't needed to see it in her eyes, the new Senshi had said it outright. 'They fight like two year olds…'

She's right, too. Look at her, she dusted the youma with one try. Did you see how powerful that attack was? And how come you didn't notice how strong her aura was before? You used to pride yourself on your perception, but you're just as oblivious as Serena.

And as if to prove that point, she suddenly collided with a warm body and stumbled backwards, landing on her bottom.

"Sorry – " said a disinterested voice, but then it cut off. Rei didn't really care, she wasn't listening to it anyways. She scooted back on the sidewalk until her back hit a wall. She kneaded her eyes with her palms and watched the fireworks explode behind her eyelids.

I want to die, she told herself.

"Rei? Is that you?" A pause. "Are you okay?"

Tell her that she was dreaming. Please.

"Rei?"

She lifted her head –

And sure enough, there were Asanuma's killer features inches from her own. But he looked different, why was he frowning? When did he ever frown?

"Fine," she croaked.

"Why, yes, I am!" Asanuma stated proudly. His usual smile, the expression that had somehow lodged a hook in her heart, resurfaced as he preened playfully – only to vanish just as quickly. He sighed, deflating. "I mean – sorry. That annoys you, doesn't it? I'll stop."

"…" What was she supposed to say? "No, I love it when you make me laugh?" She might as well tattoo "I love Asanuma" on her face.

"Uhhh – want a flower?" Asanuma plucked a lily from a bouquet of flowers that he held in his hands and proffered it to her.

She looked at the lonely lily and then at the bouquet. "Who's that for?"

Asanuma looked away, his face shadowing. "Serena."

She swallowed. "…oh."

"I was kind of mean to her today – said some stuff I shouldn't have." Asanuma bit his lip. "Anyways…" he moved the hand with the flower closer to her. "Want it?"

Rei shook her head, features cold. "No, thank you." She rose regally, not meeting his eyes, and strode away nonchalantly. "Enjoy your weekend."

When she got home, she cried.

Serena chattered nonstop to and from the rental place. "I can't wait until number thirteen comes out, oen of the girls told me Akito's definitely a woman, and tey did call her a 'her' in one of the books, but that would just be so weird! And I hope Haru and Rin get back together! They're both so sad! I wish I could hop into the book and give them a hug – "

Lita was content just to sit back and laugh at her jabbering. No longer did she feel any bitterness or uncertainty towards Serena and the fact that she had not revealed to Lita that she was Sailor Moon. Serena was trying to protect her, and that was all. No if's, and's, or but's about it.

Maybe it was her talk with Motoki that had peeled away her insecurity. But more likely, it was that fact that Shields – Tuxedo Mask and the self-proclaimed official bodyguard of the little blonde – had asked her to watch over Serena. Granted, he had asked with his eyes and with face gestures, but he had asked nonetheless, which meant he trusted her with Serena, and he was the most suspicious one in the group, so…

So she had nothing to complain about. No reason not to be content.

"Hey, Serena," she heard herself say, "How do you feel about lasagna?"

"To Italian food, I say oui!" exclaimed Serena happily.

Lita burst out laughing.

"Lita, can I do your hair?" Serena asked suddenly, in the middle of their second movie.

"Ummm…sure?" said Lita.

Serena let out a squeal and scampered upstairs. She zoomed down again seconds later, arms full of brushes, pins, curlers, combs, spray bottle – the list went on and on.

"I stole most of it from my mom's room," Serena confided later in the evening. "I just use brushes and bobby pins for my hair. I don't even know what half of this stuff is!" she confessed gleefully, waving a spray bottle around. This did not exactly assure Lita, but so soothed was she by the rhythmic strokes of Serena's brushing that she saw no reason to dissent.

When Lita was young, she could vaguely remember that her mother had brushed her hair, and that she had enjoyed it. But in the lonely years since her parents' death, in which she rose every morning and yanked her stubbornly wavy hair into a ponytail, she had forgotten what made her mother's brushing so enjoyable. But now, as Serena hummed and stroked slowly, carefully, Lita remembered. It was a warm feeling, like being enveloped in a blanket. It was relaxing, it was soothing, it was wonderful. Made her feel precious.

This really was turning out to be a wonderful day.

"Your hair's like mine," Serena said out of the blue after she'd been brushing for a while. "It's…strong."

"Really? I'd never guess, with all the split ends I keep finding," said Lita ruefully.

Serena laughed. "Yeah, tell me about it." She fell silent, and Lita felt her hair being tugged gently. "No, but it's…I don't know. It's like mine. I can drag a brush through it, and it moves smoothly, And it just kind of goes back together even after the brush bristles separate it. My hair does that, too, otherwise I'd never be able to keep it so long. Although…" Serena giggled a little to herself, apparently at a private joke. "It seems to have a problem staying short, too. Anyways, I've done my friends' hair at sleepovers, and it's not like this. It breaks like that – " Serena snapped her fingers. "And gets all frizzy after you brush it. I wonder why."

Maybe because we're Senshi, both girls mused separately to themselves.

Comfortable silence followed again.

"Do you get your hair permed, Lita?" Serena asked.

Lita chuckled. It was a question she'd been asked many times. "Nope."

"Well. You're lucky, then," said Serena through a mouthful of bobby pins. "It's really pretty."

A warm glow spread in Lita's chest. "Thanks, Serena," she said shyly. "Thanks."

Saturday morning:

Serena awoke in the living room in front of the TV, cocooned in blankets like a caterpillar. Sunlight peeked in through the shuttered windows, and the mouth-watering aroma of warm syrup and sizzling bacon filled her nose.

Her first thought was that Darien must have snuck into her house again. A wide smile stretched her face. Then she remembered that Lita had slept over. And her smile faded a little, which made her feel rather guilty. So she compensated for it by making her smile EXTRA bright when she walked into the kitchen.

"GOOD MORNING!" she bubbled. "Lita, this smells so GOOOOOOOOOOD!"

Lita grinned around the straw she was chewing on. "Not just good, it's grrrrrrrrrreat!"

"Purrrfect!" returned Serena gleefully. And she fell onto a heaping plate of pancakes. With her mouth full, she grrrhumffled, "Wow, Yida, yorsh are mush fluhhier dan Dariensh!"

"Glad to hear it, if not understand it," replied Lita graciously. She frowned down at the newspapaer's morning crossword, which she had propped on her knees. "Okay, Serena, a 'misogynistic sculptor.' Nine letters."

Serena gulped down some orange juice. "What's miss – missosywhat?"

"I think it means you hate women." Lita frowned darkly at the crossword. "If one of my other answers is right, I think it starts with a 'p.' "

"Puh – puh – puh." Serena thought hard, her nose wrinkling in concentration as she chewed. "Oh!" She swallowed the pancakes that were in her mouth. "Pygmalion!"

"Yeah, he sure is a pig if he hates women," muttered Lita.

"No, no, Pygmalion was a sculptor!" Serena waved her arms around. "In mythology!"

"Mythology? Like the Greek stuff?" Lita said disbelievingly. "You mean you actually paid attention wen they taught as that stuff back in middle school?"

"Oh, yeah!" Serena nodded enthusiastically. "I liked mythology! It was like getting to read fairy tales in class!"

"Well, so who's Pygmalion, then?" asked Lita, already penciling the name into the squares.

"He was this sculptor guy who hated women," Serena explained. "But then he sculpted this knock-out babe of a statue who was drop-dead gorgeous. He fell in love with her and made this wish to the goddess of love that he would find a girl just like his sculpture. Aphrodite – that's the goddess of love – turned his statue into a real girl instead, and they lived happily ever after." Serena sighed happily.

"Sounds like Pinnochio on ecstasy," said Lita, not quite as enchanted.

Luckily, Serena didn't hear her. She was staring at the clock.

"OOH!" she shrieked, leaping up. "It's time for Xiaolin Showdown!" She zipped out of the kitchen to the living room and pounced on the remote. She heard Lita laughing at her but disregarded it, intent on turning on the TV and flipping it to the right channel. But something caught her eye: the local news network – which Darien must have had on the last time he was here, because SHE certainly didn't concern herself with world events – was broadcasting a youma attack at the north side mall. A LIVE one, according to the ticker.

Serena gasped and nearly broke the remote as she punched the off button for the TV. She cast a harried look at the kitchen – Lita hadn't heard, had she? No, she was still doing her crossword puzzle.

Serena had to go fight that youma. She couldn't let Lita know because Lita would want to come, and she might get hurt. Soooooooo…

Lita jumped as a sudden holler split the air: "OH NO, THE MAILMAN'S GETTING ATTACKED BY THE NEIGHBORS' SNAPPING TURTLE! STAY HERE, LITA, I'LL BE RIGHT BACK! HOLD ON, MR. MAILMAN, I'LL SAVE YOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Once her heart rate had slowed down again, Lita poked her head in the living room. Her foot landed on something small and hard, and the TV screen lit up. She ignored it at first, crossing to the window to peer out for Serena. But then she heard the word "youma" and spun around.

A youma was attacking. This very second. At a grocery store just a few blocks away.

The realization clicked instantly in Lita's brain: Serena hadn't gone chasing after some mailman, she'd gone after a YOUMA.

"Damn it," groaned Lita and sprinted outside.

In the Tsukinos' living room, the breaking news broadcast rolled on, relaying video feeds of the three youma attacks taking place simultaneously across the city.

Ami's alarm clock was screaming. Somehow the sound slipped into her dream, and she was dreaming about her mother shouting at her to get up and stop wasting her life. Then she transformed into something huge and dark and groping, and Ami was flailing, screaming, and then the scream was cutting off as something disconnected her head from her throat –

She sat up. Her chest burned from breathing too hard; hr throat felt sore, as if she'd been screaming all night, and her sheets were wet and twisted around her. She whimpered and wrapped her arms around herself. She did not turn off the shrieking alarm clock. Its voice was too reassuring – an anchor she needed desperately to keep herself here and out of the nightmares.

As she sat trembling, the mundane issues of the day eventually filtered into her brain. Juku today. No homework done. Have to swab leg wound to ward off infection. Wear long sleeves today to hide bruises – oh, and it was going to be sweltering today.

She caught the bus to school instead of walking. Even so, her leg was trembling violently under her skirt when she finally collapsed in her desk.

The teacher apparently saw her pallor, for she laid a hand on Ami's forehead as she passed. Not expecting the gesture, Ami flinched backwards.

The teacher spoke not in English, as was customary at the school to improve the students' foreign language proficiency, but softly in Japanese. "Are you ill, Mizuno-san?"

Ami shook her head vehemently.

The teacher pursed her lips, eyebrows still furrowed in concern. "Do you have your makeup work from the past couple of weeks?"

"I…not all of them, Sensei." Avoiding the adult's eyes, Ami handed her a pitifully thin sheaf of papers – less than half of what she was supposed to have completed by today.

"I'll have to take off late points, Mizuno-san."

Ami ducked her head in a nod of comprehension.

"But I'll give you until Monday to complete them."

Ami looked up, speechless with gratitude. "S – s – sensei, thank you!"

Ami arrived back home just before noon and set immediately to work. Finishing everything would be difficult it would probably take her the rest of today and all of tomorrow, but it wasn't impossible. She would do it. She would get her life back in order, she had to –

Beep. Beep.

The scritch-scratch of Ami's pencil died.

She stared dumbly at the blinking youma detector. It would be so easy to ignore it…

Darien was dreaming. It was the same dream that he had become so accustomed to: the princess crying out. But it was strange. The past nights that he had spent in Serena's tree, the fog in the dream had been thinner, the princess' voice closer and louder. He had even been able to see an outline foe r form, which had been totally concealed by fog before – she wore a billowing dress and had hair even longer than Serena's.

But tonight, in his own bed, the dream had returned to its original static, with the princess' voice distant and her figure shrouded.

He wasn't sure if this was good or bad.

Even in a dreaming state, Darien was analytical.

He wasn't woken, like Serena, by sunshine, or like Ami, by an alarm clock. What roused him from his dreaming was the familiar sensation of Serena transforming.

He bolted straight up in bed, merely sitting still and staring into space for a moment as he rolled the taste around in his mouth. Yes, it was Serena, and she didn't seem too worried –

But by God, Lita better be with her, or there was going to be hell to pay. Little imp.

He crossed swiftly to the balcony and wrenched open the glass doors. He felt warm breeze on his shirtless chest for a minute before his tuxedo materialized around his body. He perched on the railing for a moment, his ears perking. Did he hear screaming? Coming from…he strained his ears, squinting across the horizon. There, a couple blocks away, where all those trees were – the park.

Within him, he could feel that the park was not where Serena was. But after all the simultaneous youma attacks the Dark Kingdom had engineered recently, he had no doubt that a youma was at the park.

He dropped from the railing, headed for the park. Odango would have to hold her own for a little while.

She would be able to do it.

Hopefully.

He was pretty sure, anyways.

Or – maybe he shouldn't.

No, but if there was a youma at the park and no other Senshi was there to fight it, the civilians there needed him more than Serena did. After all, the lives of many over the lives of one…

Right?

Sure enough, there was a youma at the park. A lot, in fact. This youma was capable of duplicating itself.

Which would have been bad enough in itself – but it was even worse because Ami – Sailor Mercury was there. And she was getting beaten badly.

Tuxedo Mask aimed a stream of a dozen roses at the one to the left. Long-haired, long-legged, and big-chested (A/N: Kind of like a Sailor Senshi. Or a Barbie.), it blurred and vanished. Tuxedo Mask concluded that it must have been the duplicate.

But then the youma duplicated itself again. And Mercury noticed his roses, turned to squint at him from the under the blood that dripped from a cut on her forehead. Fear flickered across her face, and she gasped out, "Mercury Bubbles!" to shield herself.

Fog sprayed everywhere. Now, Tuxedo Mask could not see Mercury OR the youma. He cursed internally, drawing his cane. He spun it deftly before him like a baton, trying to blow away some of the fog. But then the cane hit something solid that let out a feeble cry. Mercury, he guessed with a wince. He opened his mouth to apologize –

Then, next thing he knew, he was on the ground, wrestling with the slimy-skinned youma as it wrapped its arm around his neck and squeezed. First on instinct, he thrashed around, trying to break loose as black dots danced before his eyes. Then intellect took over, and he clenched his fists, two razor-stemmed roses materializing within them. He jammed them into the flesh behind him.

Her scream was horrible, especially since her mouth was right beside his ear. Worse than Serena's, even. He twisted away while she was writhing, spun back to her and buried his cane-blade in her chest.

Youma dust exploded in his face. He coughed and staggered away, grabbing a fistful of his cape to breathe into.

The fog was clearing. He hefted his cane once more and spun it, blowing the remaining patches away. The flavor of the Serena-spot in his mind changed; the adrenaline was fading, and he could feel her moving closer. She was headed towards him; she must have disposed safely of her youma.

His concern assuaged, he turned to check on Mercury. But what met his eyes was not one Senshi, but three.

In the center was an orange-clad Senshi whom he had never before lain eyes on. She greatly resembled Serena, and this in itself made Tuxedo Mask suspicious. But before anything else, he addressed Mercury.

"Mercury, please accept my apologies for hitting you," he said sincerely, removing his hat and inclining his head to her. Mercury cringed back. Guilt chewed on his guts when he saw how the skin around her eye was swelling and rapidly darkening to a deep purple. "If there's anything I can do to help – "

"I'd thank you to keep your hands off my Senshi from now on, Tuxedo Mask," interrupted the new Senshi. She stepped forward, blocking Mercury from the masked man's view.

Duly, Tuxedo Mask turned his attention to her, rather intrigued. Her Senshi? "And you would be?"

There was no prideful lift of her chin, no pleasure in her voice as she answered. "I am the leader of the Princess' Senshi. Sailor Venus."

Tuxedo Mask quirked a wry eyebrow. "Really. I guess Sailor Moon's just their babysitter, then?"

"I am their TRUEleader." She lifted her gloved hands palms-up, almost in a 'beats me' gesture. But then something shimmered into existence in the spread palms – a gold chain embedded every few links with fat oval gems.

"And you, Tuxedo Mask," she continued, "are a threat."

HISS – CRACK!

He screamed.

Oh, God, he didn't think he'd ever screamed like that in his life, he didn't even sound human – the pain wasn't even human, how could something hurt this much – he could hear air hissing in and out of a hole in his neck, what had that bitch done to him with that damned chain –

His back slammed into a tree trunk, and he slid down it, writhing on his back amidst the acorns and tree roots like a snake with its head cut off– god, god, god – there came this hiss of that whip-chain of hers again – move, move, movedamnit – he rolled away just in time – god – now there was dirt in the huge wound she'd opened in his neck and chest –

The hissing stopped, he heard shouting, a screamed curse, then a venomous SCREAM -" ENDYMION!" And then - "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

His eyes cracked open, blurry was his vision; half of it obscured by golden sparks arcing hurriedly across his throat – there was something else, something gray wrestling, fighting with the orange bitch now – red had jumped into the fight –

Pain exploded. The taste of agony, red and salty and hot like blood, flooded her mouth and mind. Sailor Moon, smack dab in the middle of a jump between skyscrapers, nearly fell. Terror shot through her – not from her own danger but from his – she flung out a hand and grabbed the edge of the next building with the very tips of her fingers. Grunting and sweating and crying, she scrabbled and struggled her way up and then shot off again, bounding across the roof like the Easter Bunny. Darien, Darien, Darien –

Malachite had appeared and seized Venus roughly by the waist, yanking her and her Love Chain from the black-clad youth glowing golden on the ground.

"LET ME GO!" Venus snarled and backhanded him with a crack! She scrambled out of his grip; he snatched her back again, throwing up a hasty shield in front of Tuxedo Mask – his prince, god, his prince – mere seconds before Venus' Love Chain lashed down again. "HE's the one! He's the bloody bastard who screwed up our lives – "

Malachite teleported back to Beryl. And took Venus with him.

"BRING HER BACK!" Mars bellowed, her demand deafening to the ears in the park, but from Beryl's crystal ball, it sounded tinny and pleading.

"WITCH! WITCH!"screamed Sailor Venus as Malachite re-appeared and dragged her to Beryl's throne. She launched herself at the queen, cracking her Love Chain. It had been Endymion, the bastard who seduced her princess – "I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL BOTH OF YOU!"

With a mere wave of her hand, Beryl sent Venus flying. Venus wasn't finished, though – her chain hissed out and snapped around a stalactite. She hung safely for a moment, then dropped gracefully down into a crouch before advancing on Beryl again. "You KNEW! You KNEW he was Endymion – "

"I did not," said Beryl. Her voice was clear, but feverish; two red spots had appeared high in her cheeks, and her eyes glittered. "Oh, believe me, wench, I did not. If I had – oh, if I had…" Her eyes dragged back to the crystal ball, as though she was trying very hard to keep them from doing so but could resist the urge no longer. Tuxedo Mask's image appeared in it, the golden sparks darting across the huge bloody gash Venus had opened up. The healing golden sparks that belonged only to those of the Terran royal lineage – of Endymion, High Prince, Bearer of the Golden Crystal – she had finally found him –

"So many years I've been waiting, Endymion…" Her tongue slithered up and down her elongated incisors. "So many years…" She spun abruptly, plunking down in her throne. "You will bring him to me."

"I won't!" snarled Venus. "I'll kill him, I'll – "

"You won't," said Beryl sharply. "Or I'll kill your mate."

Venus did not visibly shrink, but through their bond, Malachite felt the wilting of her psyche.

"I hate you," she told Beryl.

"I'd be blind not to have noticed that, sweetness," returned Beryl. "Now begone. Don't tell your Senshi who he is."

"Please!" spat Venus. "They don't even know that Endymion existed, much less what he did!"

"Even so," said Beryl coolly. "Tell them you fought free of Malachite. Here, I'll give you some credibility." She twitched a finger. Glittering beryl shards shot from her fingers and hurtled towards Venus, shredding open cuts along every inch of her skin.

Venus screamed, cursing, and teleported out of the shard-hurricane and back to the park.

"Now, Malachite." Beryl beckoned him closer, her eyes still fastened hungrily. "You will bring him to me. I don't care how, but I want him soon. Yesterday, even. Use your lover if you must, but be sure she doesn't kill him. I leave the methods to your discretion."

She seemed to have forgotten that Endymion was Malachite's prince. Malachite's vowed liege. And also that she had just nearly killed his soul mate – for the second time.

"Beryl – "

She did not even look at him. Merely held up a long finger and said as though bored, "Your soul mate or your prince, Malachite. I can drain the life from her body this very moment if you irk me. And you are beginning to irk me."

Malachite gritted his teeth.

"Besides, it's not as though I'm going to hurt him," added Beryl, stroking Endymion's agony-contorted visage in the crystal ball. She smiled dreamily. "Our wedding night wouldn't be half as much fun if he were dead."

"TUXEDO MASK!" Sailor Moon screamed when she saw him. Chest heaving, she scrambled over to him on fatigued and trembling limbs.

His eyes were screwed tightly shut behind his mask. She dropped down on her knees beside him and knotted her hands together anxiously. She dared not touch him in case it disrupted the sparks' work somehow. "Darien…"

"Sailor Moon?"

At the cold, accusing voice, Serena looked up. And squinted at the Senshi who was walking out of the trees with tiny bloodstains all over her orange fuku.

"Mina?" She closed her eyes and checked again. "Mina! You're a Senshi – and you're hurt!"

Mina continued on as though Sailor Moon had not spoken. "You are an ally of this youth?"

"Ally?" repeated Sailor Moon distractedly, her eyes returning to Tuxedo Mask as he flinched a little. "Yeah – yes, allies. That's us."

Mina raised her palms, light beginning to glitter within them. "Then goodbye, Sailor Moon."

"Huh?" At Mina's cryptic remark, Sailor Moon turned around to look at her – just in time to see a deadly chain-whip hissing down through the air towards her.

A cry of terror fled Sailor Moon's lips – with one hand, she reached down to shield Tuxedo Mask, with the other, reached up to shield her head. Then, on a flash of intuition, she reversed that hand's direction. Instead, she grabbed her brooch tightly.

And the chain-whip passed right through her body. As though she were't even there.

Venus took a step back, staring down at Sailor Moon. The tiny blonde now looked rather angry, her cheeks flushed and brows knit, rising to her feet.

"You could have killed him!" she shouted.

"Or worse yet," called a new voice, "You could've killed her."

Sailor Jupiter appeared at the edge of the playground, panting slightly. Her ponytail was undone, leaving her hair to fall in shiny waves down her shoulders, and a bruise was swelling on one cheek, but she appeared otherwise unhurt. What she did appear was angry. You'd be mad too if you ran after your best friend because you thought she was fighting a youma, then discovered th eyouma but no best friend, then got into a fist-fight with the youma before finally killing it, and then overheard a bystander talking about an attack at the park, and ran all the way to the park to find the new kidn from school about to murder the best friend for whom you went through all that hullabaloo.

She stalked over to Sailor Moon, shaking her by the shoulders. "Pull another stunt like this morning ever again, and I'll – I'll – well, I'll never go hot guy-stalking with you ever again!"

The clueless Sailor Moon's jaw dropped open. Lita KNEW!

"So you have, then, Jupiter?" Mina's sad voice turned Lita's head. She turned to face the tall blonde, keeping herself in front of Serena like a shield. "I didn't want to believe it, but…"

"Believe what?"

Mina gazed at Jupiter for a long minute. "Don't mock me, Jupiter."

"Don't flatter yourself, chica," said Lita in her no-nonsense way. "I haven't got a clue what you're talking about. OR why you were about to slice Se – Sailor Moon in half. But you're going to tell me, aren't you?"

It was not a request but a demand.

"You don't remember anything, either!" Mina ran a hand through her hair. "Jupiter, this …" she gestured a hand at Serena. "This Sailor Moon isn't one of us. She didn't exist back in the Silver Millennium. And this youth, this Tuxedo Mask, he – " She hesitated, gritting her teeth. The two strings, yanking. Damn you, Beryl… "He was one of the reasons our kingdom fell."

"I see…" said Sailor Jupiter, although the look she exchanged with an intently listening Sailor Moon clearly relayed that she didn't. "So just because Ser – Sailor Moon didn't exist back in the Silver Whatever gives you the right to kill her?"

"She's a threat to our princess!" snapped Mina. "But never mind, Jupiter, clearly you don't want to hear the truth!"

Her voice broke a couple of times, to Jupiter and Moon's shock, and by the times she finished, tears ran freely down her face.

"Damn it, Jupiter!" The orange Senshi summoned her chain again. Stuffed-up and mucusy, her voice rose to a garbled scream. "I thought I could depend on you!"

Before she could draw back the chain to crack it, Lita lunged. The two Amazons flew backwards, landing in the grass, tussling violently for the chain. Punches and slaps rang in the air; Sailor Moon cried out and ran forward to pry them apart. Mars seized her by the arms and swung her around in a circle, then let go. Moon's momentum carried her headfirst into a tree trunk. She crumpled at its roots.

"STOP!" Mercury cried, sobbing. She grabbed at Mars' arms. "Stop, stop, please!"

Luna yowled and leapt for Sailor Moon while she swayed, dazed, by the tree. But by some coincidence – or perhaps not – a sudden breeze blew a tree branch careening into the black cat. Luna flew backwards, receiving a fate similar to Sailor Moon's.

Sailor Moon, who hadn't even noticed Luna coming after her, much less the tree's commendable job of dealing with her, pushed herself to her feet. Swaying, she looked around frantically for Tuxedo Mask – but he had vanished from the spot where he had lain.

Horrible images of one of the Dark Kingdom generals carrying him off filled her head - but then black swirled in the corner of her eye. She spun and gasped, relieved, as she spotted him crouched high up on a tree branch.

He was watching the brutal match between Lita and Mina, but he seemed to sense her gaze, for he glanced down at her. He extended his cane to her, and she stared at it for a moment before closing her fingers around it. The next thing she knew, she sat beside him on the tree branch. One hand lingered securely on her waist, as though he didn't trust her not to fall.

His attention turned back to the fight, and she took an instant to scrutinize him. Dirt, sweat, and blood begrimed his face and tux; his crisp white shirt and black vest were torn and hung forlornly at the junction where his shoulder met his throat. But the skin there was smooth; the huge, gaping wound that Venus' chain had torn in his flesh had vanished. The golden sparks had done their job once more, thank God.

Assured that he was alright, she gripped his sleeve. "Darien, we've got to stop them fighting!"

He glanced over at her, eyes cool behind his mask. "Why? Lita's beating that bitch into a pulp."

Serena reeled back, and would have fallen if not for his nonchalant grip on her. Darien barely ever swore in front of her – or anyone else, so far as she knew – other than the 'h' and 'd' words.

"Yeah, and Lita's getting beaten just as badly!" she shot back, recovering quickly. "Besides, we can't let them fight each other! They're both Senshi!"

"You didn't see what she did to me," Tuxedo Mask said fiercely.

"No, but I felt it!" retorted Sailor Moon. She backpedaled. 'Wait – Mina was the one who did that to you?"

"Mina, Venus, whatever her damned name is." He frowned suddenly. "Wait, Mina – the new girl you were talking about?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Damn it, Serena, what is with your freaking friends?" he muttered, then shifted. "I'm going down there to help Kino. You stay here."

"Oh, I don't think so!" cried Sailor Moon. She hopped down herself before he could, and got whapped in the face by quite a few bushes in reward. "You're not their leader, I am. I'll deal with this. Don't you interfere with my Senshi, Shields."

She strode purposefully forward.

"You might not want to call them your Senshi in front of little Miss Aphrodite complex," muttered Tuxedo Mask, dropping to the ground far more gracefully than Sailor Moon.

He briefly considered following her into the melee, then decided that Serena didn't get serious and territorial often, and that when she did, like she just had, she probably meant it. Meant it as in "Shields, I'll kick your butt and sic Asanuma and his Polaroid on you if you interfere."

So he settled for prowling around the edges of the Senshi war.

"Hey!" Sailor Moon yelled. "Hey!" With no response, she finally tapped her odango barrettes and tried again. They amplified her shout into a roar –

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

Motion ceased. All heads turned to look at her. Lita took the opportunity to kick the two Senshi off of her, then strode over to Sailor Moon with as much dignity as she could. (Which was not much, as Mars had singed her skirt so that it was five inches shorter than usual – and it was only nine to begin with.)

"Lita, you could retransform and fix that," Sailor Moon whispered to her.

Jupiter scowled darkly, eyeing Venus. "I'll wait."

Sailor Moon cast both Mars and Venus an apprising look, then walked slowly and nonthreateningly to where Mercury slumped against a tree. Trusting Jupiter to watch her back, she knelt beside the sorely beaten girl-child.

"Ami," she whispered, slipping her hand through Mercury's own. "Ami, you don't have to do this."

Mercury was trembling very violently; if her glasses had been on, they would have tumbled off with all the shaking. Her teeth chattered.

Sailor Moon stilled Ami's vibrating jaw with a gentle hand. She smoothed Ami's hair back from her forehead and said again, "Ami."

Slowly, tremulously, Ami forced her gaze up to Sailor Moon's own.

"I don't think you should come to battles anymore, Ami," said Sailor Moon softly. "This isn't the life for you. Give the youma detector to Luna. I don't want you to worry about this ugliness anymore."

"N-no," stammered Ami. "I – I can't. I'm not strong like you, Serena. I can't stand up to them. Luna would kill me, I – I don't – " her voice broke, she swallowed, eyes desolate as glaciers. "I don't have friends like you, Serena. I've tried, but I'm just – I just – I can't."

"You can, Ami," Sailor Moon urged. "I'm your friend. I'll protect you."

"STOP IT!" The shout rang out. "Witch, stop poisoning her!"

Sailor Moon ignored the order, squeezed Ami's hand.

Then something heavy slammed into the side of her head.

Her hand slipped out of Ami's.

Her body flew into the air. Then fell. Smashed into the ground.

Blurred became the world. Red smears flew every which way; blonde hair whipped; white gloves flashed with oranges and yellows and greens; black swallowed gold.

And then black swallowed everything.

A/N: Cliffhanger! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease review! Save me from the post-present blues!