Silver Millennium

By: Amber Evans Potter

Chapter 2: Future, Past, Present

Summary: When Queen Serenity's spell goes haywire, the entire population of Earth must watch the chain of events that led to the Moon Kingdom's destruction. Sequel to Lunar Expedition.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. All rights reserved to Naoko Takeuchi and everyone else who owns the rights to Sailor Moon – people who do not include me. Oh, how I lament the tragedy!

Author's Note: hello and welcome to the sequel of Lunar Expedition, the story of Silver Millennium. Like it's predecessor, SM is going to be pretty long so I hope you're ready for a huge story.

Thank you everyone for the wonderful messages! I'm so excited that people not only remember this story, new fans are also finding the entire series. I hope that I can live up to the best expectations for this story as I write it. Each time I think that I should take a break or do something else, I remember that people are waiting for more chapters and it makes me happy. So while my wife plays Persona 5 Royal in the background, I'll keep writing this story for all of you. Thank you, this chapter is definitely dedicated to the long-time fans and new fans alike who are so kind to cheer me on!

Despite the enormous size of the bunker they were staying in, Chibi Usa felt claustrophobic. They were permitted to go to the surface once every week for fresh air and supplies for the many scientists, soldiers, and other military personnel working (and hiding) there. Youma had infected the world like a plague. While the barrier kept the strongest and most destructive groups at bay, there were still the occasional dangerous individuals who snuck by and attacked humans whenever they came upon them. Stories of people drained of all their energy and left to die in their homes were often broadcasted into the control room where Michiru and Haruka had taken up their posts.

If she wasn't outside or wandering the museum-like spaces where ancient Lunarian artifacts reminded her of how little she knew her family's history, she was thinking of how trapped she felt. She'd grown up in the Crystal Palace for most of her life so she was accustomed to feeling small in very large places. Bran wasn't handling it much better.

"For fuck's sake, you're powerful enough to kill anything out there," he said for the tenth time as he walked beside her, ignoring the clear barriers between him and a set of make up jars lined in silver. He flicked them, watching them rock back and forth on their display stand. "And I can get us around just fine without being seen. Why do we have to stay in here?"

"Stop doing that," Chibi Usa said, smacking at his hand. She was clumsy by nature and the sight of him touching things that looked so fragile was going to give her a heart attack. "Because if anything happens, the Senshi want to be there fast."

"Don't know why you need them when you're powerful enough by yourself," Bran muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets and folding his ears back. He hadn't looked her in the eye since he'd come back with Hotaru after the last fight.

"I'm not…that strong," Chibi Usa said, grabbing his shoulder. He flinched, which made her let go immediately. Hurt suffused her when he shot her a surprised look.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," he said, quickly raising his hands.

"I'm not!" she insisted, getting more frustrated as angry tears pricked the corners of her eyes. "I can…I can make things worse, and I can use the Crystal, but I can't just use it every time something threatens me. It hurts! And it's exhausting! It can kill me if I'm really weak when I use it, and I've lost it more than once! No way am I going to treat it like it can just shield me!"

"Alright, stop screeching," Bran said, his tail bristling.

"And it drains me of my energy," Chibi Usa kept saying, angry tears making her voice more high pitched and strained. "I just want to be normal, for a little while, without anyone trying to kill me."

"Alright, alright, I heard you!" Bran grunted, stopping short to glare at her. "I get it, I'm sorry, I'm just going fucking crazy in here!"

Chibi Usa opened her mouth, to be angry, to shout some more, but she was tired. She sighed, her shoulders drooping as she rubbed her face. She was still recovering after using the Silver Crystal, and the Golden Crystal that now pulsed like a reassuring warmth against her heart, and she was feeling more emotional than usual. Bran had been trying, really trying, to give her space, to be careful of her. She hated it but she also…appreciated it.

"You're right," she said at last. "I think you should be able to go outside with the others. Staying here just because I have to isn't going to help anyone."

"I mean, you could always sneak out with us," Bran said, half grinning. Chibi Usa was already shaking her head.

"You don't really get it," she said quietly. "That attack you were part of?" She swallowed tightly. "That's happened, countless times. Ever since I was little, groups of youma have tried to attack the palace: if there's a rumor that I'm out, if one of the Senshi is away, an army will descend to try to catch me. They've caught me before. Hurt me. Hurt other people." Bran was silent, a stunned expression on his face. She smiled and rubbed at her face. "Just trust me, okay? It was easier when no one knew who I was. Using the Crystal means I have a big fat target on my back. It's why my mom is still in hiding and no one knows who she is or where she is."

"Tokyo," he said promptly. Then added, "But I see what I mean."

"Don't tell anyone," Chibi Usa said, her voice growing hard. "Don't tell anyone where she is."

"I wouldn't," Bran said, rolling his eyes. When she kept glaring at him, he frowned and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I wouldn't. It's your mom. Who knows how the hell it would fuck us all over if I messed with the future like that? Besides, you saved my tail. I owe you."

"Then don't tell anyone where my mom is," Chibi Usa said with a sigh, rubbing over her face. "I'll talk to Haruka about you going out with your friends. You should be cooped up in here just because I am."

Bran balanced on one foot and then the other. "Are you sure? I was just whining. I don't really need to go."

"Let off some steam, enjoy being out. And come back if you want." She shrugged. "No one ever stays who isn't my family. I won't…" her throat tightened up. "I won't be surprised if you don't come back."

"I will," Bran insisted. "I'll come back."

"Sure," Chibi Usa nodded and smiled as brightly as she could.

Bran lingered, his ears flicking irritably as he worried his lip under a fang. He seemed to think about it, think again, and eventually nodded. "I'm useless if I don't stretch my legs. I'll be back. Just wait for me, alright?"

"Alright," Chibi Usa agreed. She kept herself smiling even as they spoke to Haruka, who glared at Bran the entire time, then they spoke to Bran's youma friends (who glared at her the whole time), and then to the human security so that they wouldn't try to fight the youma (and get killed the process). It took almost all afternoon before Bran finally went through the doors and swore, one more time, that he would come back. Chibi Usa's face hurt from smiling but she was used to this part. She said goodbye to a lot of people this way, it just hadn't happened for some time.

As the doors closed, a new kind of silence followed her. Hotaru had tried to spend more time with her but the moment that the other Senshi needed her, Chibi Usa was once again alone.

The question of what to do felt like a silly one: as a child, she'd invented any number of games to occupy herself, but she felt she was too old for most of them. In truth, she was too lonely to admit she had to play by herself. Or be by herself. She hated being alone, and the Golden Crystal sensed her sorrow if she thought about it too long, giving an uncomfortable lurch against her chest.

"Chibi Usa?" a soft, familiar voice drew her attention. For a moment, she was confused about where she was. Had Mama followed her somehow?

Queen Night Serenity approached her from behind a long pathway of paintings, her steps light. She'd clearly been waiting for Bran to leave to approach her. Nerves and discomfort made Chibi Usa wrap her arms around herself, taking a step back.

"What?" she mumbled, looking up and up…and up to meet her gaze. "What do you want?"

"I…" Night looked so much like her mother, and yet so different. There was a coldness to her, a grace and poise that was a bit unapproachable. Chibi Usa's mother was warm, she cared about everyone she met, she cried when she heard about other people's pain because it became her pain. This woman looked like her but she was more like a beautiful statue. Some of that polish faded when she knelt in front of Chibi Usa, offering her a weak smile. "I wished to speak with you, if you'll allow me."

"What do you want to talk about?" Chibi Usa asked, a hint of rebellion entering her tone, her jaw jutting out. "I'm still mad at you for what you did."

"That's fair," Night agreed. "But you're still my grandchild. My only grandchild. I would wish to meet you. I doubt we will have very much time to get to know one another before whatever will distracts us makes such a thing impossible."

Guilt clawed in beside her grumpiness, reminding her of just that. Even when she thought she would have a lot of time in the past, it always dwindled quickly. She was never going to have this opportunity again, she was almost sure of it, and she didn't want to pass up a chance to understand a little more about her own history.

"Fine, but I'm still mad at you," Chibi Usa said. She glanced around awkwardly before she said, "So this warehouse has pieces from your kingdom?"

"The Silver Millennium, yes," Night said, smiling as she too looked around, a longing in her voice drawing Chibi Usa's gaze. "It's startling to think that it is truly gone. Worse, that you do not even know about it. Or that the people of Earth have forgotten it. Except for those exposed to the Silver Crystal when I was Queen."

"What do you mean?" Chibi Usa asked, frowning as she walked alongside Night. Night seemed to be reliving some sort of memory since she paused at certain tables and moved a few things, seeming to recall where they went in relation to each other. The scientists seemed to get very upset every time she wandered by their work stations (or very excited, depending on what they were looking for).

"No human would live as long as they have without exposure to the Silver Crystal," Night explained. "King Sol and Queen Gaea would have longer lives due to their proximity to the Golden Crystal, back when it was under the control of King Sol, but even that would only be a few hundred years. Nothing like the thousand years they have been alive." She shook her head. "I don't know how many are still alive from that time, living somewhere else, remembering a history that is no longer true. Like seeing a star's light, even after the star itself has died."

Chibi Usa frowned, hugging herself as she followed Night and paused by a pair of strongly decorated urns: the chair. It wasn't a throne, not like Mama's throne, but it was certainly pieces of what could have once been a throne. Some of the scientists had tried recreating it but they'd only succeeded in finding the bottom half of the backing and the legs, the seat cracked but functional. Night went to sit in the chair, turning her focus onto Chibi Usa.

"That brings me to why I was looking for you," she said. Chibi Usa tensed, frowning.

"To talk about longevity?" Chibi Usa said. "I know all about that. I'm a lot older than I look."

"I know," Night smiled. "Of course I do. You're aging up, which means you're at least a five hundred years old, at the minimum." Chibi Usa's eyes widened. "Lunarians grow more slowly than other races, especially in this lonely galaxy. Our family is not originally not from here, did you know that? We come from a place far from here called the Shining Galaxy. Have you ever heard of it?"

Chibi Usa swallowed tightly and shook her head. She'd never heard anything of this before, and she'd had daily lessons with her mother for a long time, especially once she became Sailor Chibi Moon.

"The Shining Galaxy is in the heart of a sea of shining stars," Night explained, smiling as she stared upwards, as if seeing it. "Senshi are everywhere, from every walk of life, from planets big and small. It's cultured, sophisticated, highly technologically advanced…and we are special, even among that ilk. We are the keepers of the Silver Crystal, the Shining Crystal, the brightest light in the entire universe. Our duty as its keepers extends far beyond simply wielding its power: we nurture its light and evolve with it, change with it. A Silver Crystal is the heart of a Lunarian, born in a new generation, leading its growth so that it may develop with that time, grow stronger and stronger."

Chibi Usa couldn't imagine something like that. Crystal Tokyo was a lot like what she was describing, a hub of commerce and culture for the entire galaxy, open to visitors from beyond who brought new ideas and items into circulation. Trade, political policy, love, marriage…Crystal Tokyo offered no judgment in the desires of others, freely offering support and acceptance for many who were not allowed to remain in their own solar systems. They had refugee programs that her mother headed with absolute empathy, always willing to give and work tirelessly with others to make space for others. The youma attacks were frequent and enormous but their uprisings were always swiftly managed and removed. No one wanted to risk the freedom Crystal Tokyo and Earth offered to its neighbors.

When Chibi Usa was older, she was going to learn more about the politics of their surrounding galaxy of friends and neighbors. For now, she knew the different families in her own solar system but one day, she would meet more. But she had never met anyone from the Shining Galaxy.

"Chibi Usa?" Night said. Chibi Usa snapped back to the present, jumping slightly. "Sorry, am I boring you?"

"No, you're not," Chibi Usa said quickly. "I've just never heard of the Shining Galaxy. I was trying to think if I just didn't remember studying it. My papa usually teaches me some of that stuff but—," she paused abruptly. "Anyway, it sounds like it was a beautiful place."

"It was," Night said, smiling faintly. "I bring it up for a reason. As the brightest light in this world, we hold a strong responsibility to take care of it."

"I do take care of it," Chibi Usa said, flushing with guilt and indignation. She'd lost it a few times but it had always turned out just fine. Even now, it was somewhere close by, she just knew it. It would come back when she needed it, she just had to have hope. "I know what I'm doing."

"You haven't been trained," Night said after a long, tense moment. "I trained your mother. She…struggled. I see you might struggle as well."

Her face said it all, that restrained disappointment, that disapproving stare. It was the expression Chibi Usa had nightmares about, the one that the Dark Moon family had used to persuade her that her mother hated her and neglected her. An expression her mother never, not once, wore or directed towards her. A surge of protectiveness made her too angry to be polite.

"Mama is amazing with the Crystal," Chibi Usa said, hot anger making her vision blur with angry tears. "She trained me just fine!"

"I don't mean to be cruel," Night said, holding up her hands, her tone firm, "but you were not trained. You don't have the energy scars from using the Crystal." She gestured to Chibi Usa's hair, making her flush. "That is your natural color, isn't it? We are all like that, born with different coloring. When I was born, my hair was black, as was my sister's. The more we use the Crystal, the more it bleeds us of our natural coloring."

Chibi Usa's eyes widened. Her Mama was, admittedly, very pale and the blond hair Usagi had clearly had changed once she became Queen Serenity. It had never occurred to her that it might have been due to repeated exposure to the Silver Crystal's light. Or that her own bright pink hair might have been a sign of her failing to use it the way she was supposed to be. Trained? Trained how?

"I can use it," she said quickly. "I don't need more training."

"Speaking of training, there is another matter I wished to discuss with you," Night said, speaking over Chibi Usa as if she wasn't there. "I had a sister once. A long time ago. She was Sailor Moon, the Senshi of the Moon, as our aunt before her was, as her aunt before her was. Lunarians are born as twin sets: one to wield and guard the Silver Crystal, the other to fight those enemies who would wish to take it." She paused. "Serenity did not have a sister, she was born an only child. That is a distortion on its own, that should never have happened. But there is a Sailor Moon here now. That should not be possible." She hesitated. "I worry that with her distortion, taking on the role of Sailor Moon when it should have never fallen to her, being reborn on Earth, it might be manifesting in you. Which is why you must let me train you."

"No!" Chibi Usa blurted out. "I don't need training!" Distortion? What, was she…was she saying Chibi Usa was born wrong?

"You clearly do," Night said, her tone growing more and more cold. "Just look at how you have been lenient with those youma. I place the blame with your father, clearly his influence cannot be denied in how you tolerate those with evil energy and intentions, but the blame cannot lie entirely with him. You are naive, at the very least. Do you truly believe their interest is authentic, when you have already revealed yourself to be instrumental in their survival?"

"They could be!" Chibi Usa said hotly, angry tears making it harder to see and hear. "You don't know anything about me! Your stupid kingdom died and all you want to do is keep being queen!"

Night drew back, her eyes narrowing. She didn't look like Mama anymore, not now. Cold, tall, impenetrable. "That is not my intention," she said at last.

"Yes it is!" Chibi Usa shouted, scrubbing at her face. "You want to force me to be something I'm not, something Mama isn't either!"

"Your mother defied my wishes and killed everyone she ever knew," Night said. "Including your father. Including herself. You are clearly on that road yourself if by your own admission, you put the needs of youma above those of your planet's people."

Chibi Usa stared at her. The anxiety she had been feeling for weeks was nothing to the mixture of intense, furious emotions rooting her to the spot. And guilt. The guilt felt like it would choke every angry word from her throat. Taking a deep breath, she made a physical effort to compose herself. Tucking her hands behind her back, she straightened and looked Night straight in the eye.

"Excuse me if I am blunt," she said. "I have been trained: as a lady, as my mother's successor, and as a Senshi warrior. I don't need training for what you're asking me for. If my mother thought I needed it, she would have taught me. She wanted me to be a normal girl." Setting her jaw, she took another deep breath through her nose to keep her tone level. "As much as it was possible for me to be normal. I respectfully decline your offer."

Before Night could say anything, Chibi Usa pivoted on her heel and walked, as calmly and as quickly, as she could away from the broken chair and its broken queen. Who cared about…about stupid Silver Millennium and stupid Night, who pretended to be a grandmother but was...was so cold, so removed. She wasn't like a warm grandmother at all, nothing like Ikuko. Usagi's mother was more a grandmother than whoever that person had been, more like a person Chibi Usa would go to for help or support.

She would rather run through the world an ignorant Rabbit than a trained monster like she was describing.

Bran knew the second they were free of the doors and the bunker that going outside was a shit idea. Jukai floated overhead, laughing and playing with balloons he manifested to entertain himself, which was fine. He liked the kid, liked looking after him. He made a terrible pirate but he'd been through hell with the Senshi of the galaxy they'd found him in, he cut the kid a lot of slack. Chixota, on the other hand, took one look around, wrinkled his nose, and said, "It was a mistake to come to this dumb-fuck planet."

He rose up into the air using the charm he'd stolen from the main hoard (Bran couldn't prove it, his father said not to be such a pushy asshole about it, but he knew Chixota was a lying sack of shit and stealing from all of them) and seemed to be going in a specific direction. Jukai waited for Bran, upturned face smiling with admiration as he waited for their next direction. Bran sighed and followed after Chixota, dread pooling in his stomach.

He'd promised Usa he'd be back. Not that he didn't lie. He lied all the time. But he liked Usa. She was cute, in a prissy sort of way, and her…eyes…had a way of being so fucking open, so trusting, even when she said she didn't trust him. Hell, she was the Small Lady of Crystal fucking Tokyo. She had more reason than anyone not to trust a single thing he said. But he'd promised and he felt more and more uncomfortable as he felt the negative energy charge shift around them.

The barrier that the Senshi had created was an incomplete, patchwork mess in a lot of places. He hadn't said anything to anyone but he had seen the way the sky lit up when lightning struck or when the wind blew, and he could see the gapping holes where the youma above teamed. It wasn't just their crowd either, the ones from the future that had attacked Crystal Tokyo, swarming high above.

Must have been youma from other times, other places, all given an opening in the Time tunnel to escape wherever they'd been trapped. Bran shuddered, thinking of the hours he'd spent there before he noticed Usa. He hadn't told her how long he'd been there. Truth be told, he wasn't sure himself. A long ass time. A long ass, lonely time.

"Hurry up," Chixota called behind him. Bran muttered but sped up, for a crazy moment thinking that maybe Chixota knew where Bran's father was.

Instead of the sleek, low-hulled Drake with its tattered black sails and masthead of a many-tailed mermaid, something else manifested in the storm cloud above the compound. First, the gardens. Bran wrinkled his nose at the familiar scenery as it appeared: wrought-iron gates, manicured patches of darkness like grass, trees with gnarled branches. At the end of the long path, a palace of black on black on black. Shadows. How the hell did youma expect people to see in that shit? He had amazing night vision but even he found staring at just one color boring.

"Where are we going," Bran muttered, growing more annoyed as Chixota kept going on the path like this was the best haul ever. No surprise either.

Fuck.

He knew it. Chixota, landing on the Drake, preening like a fucking peacock youma about finding the best heist this side of the galaxy. He'd pretended he'd only just found out about it right before the attack on the Crystal Palace: get in while others fought, steal a few valuable souvenirs from the palace, get out before the Senshi dusted everyone who had a bone to pick with them. But it was Chixota, so of course there was some other angle he wasn't going to tell people about.

"Just be quiet and let me do the talking," Chixota said, his shoulders squared and his chin up. Posturing. Perfect. "This isn't a place where they're going to be impressed about your father. These people are serious."

That usually meant they fucked with Senshi. Just perfect. Bran shoved his hands into his pockets and whistled sharply. Jukai, who'd been floating from bush to bush, inspecting the sad-looking gray flowers, floated up to his side.

"Stick with me," he said firmly. "Whatever's up ahead, they're going to be just as likely to kill us as help us."

Jukai, for all his carefree attitude, knew when Bran was looking out for him. He floated and moved up behind him, wrapping his arms around Bran's shoulders and holding onto him. He did that thing where he muttered quietly to himself to be quiet and be good, but only Bran could hear so it was fine. The kid got nervous around youma bigger and scarier than him, which basically meant everyone.

He expected a grand foyer with double staircases and chandeliers lit with candles that glowed with evil energy, maybe a grand party, youma feasting and dancing inside. He was surprised that inside of the palace was not more luxury, but simple, plain walls. No adornments, not even paintings of the grand youma before them. As he looked around, shadowed youma dashed nearby in regimented groups.

Military drills.

Alarm crawled up Bran's spine as he looked around. It reminded him of the Shining Galaxy, and that was the worst thing he could think of in a place like this. He carefully took his hands out of his pockets and walked with his claws relaxed but extended. Ready to defend or flee or fight, if he had to.

"Where are we," Bran muttered. "Chixota, this place…I don't think we should be here."

"If you are new recruits, we are assigning tactical roles in the courtyard behind you," a voice said from the doorway ahead of them. A woman with a bow for an arm came closer, her other arm (in the shape of an arrow), pointed back and away. "You cannot wander here freely."

"They are here to see Wise Man," another voice said. Bran couldn't quite see the broad-shoulders man, his reddish-black hair on fire as he walked by, but all of the shadows nearby stopped what they were doing to bow to him. Oh, hell no. Not a youma. Or not just a youma. Bran didn't fuck with possessed people, or corrupted people, or people who had once been fine and were now more negative energy than anyone else in the room. They did crazy shit for revenge and Bran didn't want any part of it.

"Of course, Master," the bow-armed woman said, lowering her head before following after him.

"Chixota," Bran started, his voice low and tense.

"Ah, you're back, and you've brought companions," a quiet voice said. Bran expected some kind of shadow to approach them, since this place had no color - he stood out like a canary, all brilliant blues and greens, Jukai with his bright child's red and purple balloon pants–but the man who approached them had human arms, with human fingers and faintly pinkish-colored flesh. The only weird part about him was that his hood completely obstructed his face so that only his arms were visible while the rest of him was shrouded. He even smelled human.

"Wise Man, it's a pleasure to see you here, I wasn't sure you'd made it through the tunnel," Chixota said, bowing his head as he stopped in front of him.

"It takes more than the power of one Senshi to stop me," the human chuckled, shrugging one shoulder. Not human? From another planet? "Although, I had only heard rumors of a Senshi powerful enough to control Time. I thought she was only a legend."

"She's real enough," Chixota said eagerly. "We've seen her. She isn't in the compound anymore, she's gone back to the tunnel to close it so she is no longer defending the humans."

"Ah, that is very interesting," the man said, his head turning towards Bran. It was hard to see where he was looking, with the hood, but Bran could feel the gaze on him like a wet hand. Bran's hair stood up, his back straightening. "You have not introduced your companions."

"This is Eoxinobran, son of Doxinohan, the Captain of the Drake that travels across the galaxies," Chixota explained. "And this is Jukai." He gestured dismissively at him. Jukai didn't even lift his head, staying huddled behind Bran. Bran didn't blame him - the guy's energy was making his skin crawl. "Bran, Jukai, this is the Wise Man."

"Is that really your name?" Bran asked before he could shut his big mouth. Having that attention back on him made it worse, especially when the man chuckled.

"I do know the Drake," he said. "Although, it is not sailed by Doxinohan. I am certain he will one day come to it."

"But is Wise Man your name," Bran said again. Chixota shot him a glare but he ignored it.

A name was powerful among youma. You could get a real sense for a person, a good idea of what sort of being they were and how they saw themselves. Wise Man was clearly some kind of alias. Bran made it a point to follow in his father's footsteps: always get a true name, stay the fuck away from Senshi, steal anything that wasn't nailed down. Simple.

"You may know me as the Death Phantom," the man said, the laughter in his voice sending another chill down Bran's spine. "I was a citizen of Crystal Tokyo…that is, before I was exiled to Nemesis. It seems I have quite the opportunity to turn the tables, don't I?"

Bran swallowed tightly and nodded. "Sure," he managed to get out through clenched lips. Fuck. The Death Phantom? THE Death Phantom? He'd heard of the fucker alright. He had to suppress the shudder he felt being so close to him. He straightened, surreptitiously brushing his hair back and wishing he'd taken the time to at least clean his shoes before they came to this hellhole. "Sorry for being rude, sir. Just like to know who I'm dealing with and my companion didn't mention knowing you."

"That secrecy was at my behest, I'm afraid," Wise Man said (even if he was the Death Phantom, Bran had no plans to go against whatever he wanted to be known as). "I was very surprised to come here into this past and I felt it better to be conservative. But what an opportunity, don't you agree? Where is Neo Queen Serenity? Where are the Senshi? They are here but so primitive. So young. So defenseless. I find the opportunity irresistible. Don't you?"

That's when Bran felt it: that tug of persuasive energy. He'd heard rumors about the Death Phantom, knew that he was considered evil among evil youma. Going toe-to-toe against the people in Crystal Tokyo, anyone not interested in politics stayed the hell away from him and his people. His father had made him swear never to dip into Death Phantom affairs. So much for that.

Most youma were solitary or clustered for survival. Outright chaotic, scrappy, most youma kept to themselves, quietly taking their meals of energy, trying to just get by. But there were youma in the universe with evil intent, true evil intent. The Death Phantom was the sort of thing his father had used as bed time stories to terrify him when he'd been a brat all day. Meeting him in the flesh felt both anticlimactic and somehow far worse than Bran'd expected, mostly because he'd never thought to be in a situation to meet him.

"I think it's a good idea to find a way home soon," Bran said. "I'm a simple pirate: get in, get out with some treasure, sleep on the Drake, plan for a way to spend all that money I'm going to make. I leave the big plans to people like you, sir."

"As it should be," Wise Man said with an amused laugh. "You have a straight-forward nature about you, Bran. I like you. Hopefully, we will cross paths again. Where are you headed? Or has Chixota persuaded you to join our cause?"

"I have to find my crew," Bran said, trying to sound contrite. "Sorry. Good luck though, I won't stand in your way."

"Are you certain?" Wise Man said, smiling wider. "Chixota seems to think that you know something that might be valuable to me." Bran shot a glance at Chixota and there was an odd haze around his head. Persuasion? Or was Wise Man trying to dig inside of his mind for information? Whatever it was, Chixota had clearly agreed to it because he was conscious and nodding.

"Met the princess," he volunteered, shrugged. "She seems pretty naive. She just let me leave, just like that."

"How interesting," Wise Man said. "Perhaps I will see about meeting her. I've heard a great deal about the young princess. Do you know that the youma call her Rabbit?" He chuckled. "Every time she has left the palace, we call it Rabbit Hunting."

Bran felt an odd wave of protectiveness for Usa hit him. Fuckers didn't have to treat her like that, she really hated that shit. He didn't, just forced himself to snort a laugh. "Yeah, well, not my concern. I'm not from this galaxy, I travel around a lot."

"I haven't traveled in some time," Wise Man said, producing a crystal ball from the depths of his robes. "Where did you say you came from?"

"Here and there," Bran said, glancing around. "Anyway, it was nice to meet you. I've really got to get going. Who knows how this whole thing is going to turn out, right? Senshi, you being here…not really a place for a fox like me."

"Certainly not," Wise Man said, still chuckling. "Very well. I shall tell Ares and his ilk to let you by. They're more interested in bigger fish." He drew back and vanished through the wall, leaving the space somehow lighter for his presence.

Jukai made a whining sound but Bran didn't say or do anything. Just because the fucker wasn't visible didn't mean he was gone. Or not watching. Instead, he glared at Chixota.

"What the actual fuck," Bran muttered through clenched teeth.

"I'm sticking around," Chixota said, grinning as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "This is going to be huge. You've got no idea. You should stay. Make some decisions for yourself, for once."

"Yeah, no," Bran said, pivoting on his heel and walking (walking, definitely not running), as fast as he could through the eerie courtyard, through the archway, past the grounds, through the wrought iron gate, and finally to the gardens extending beyond the Shadow Palace. Wherever, or whatever, that place was, he suddenly missed the suffocating familiarity of the Artemis IV compound.

"Bran," Jukai whimpered.

"Yeah, yeah, you're okay," Bran said, twisting in the air as he moved quickly, offering Jukai a big hug. "You're okay. He's not going to do anything to you."

"He kept STARING at me," Jukai said, his voice small and terrified. "He's evil. He's MEAN."

"Well, the Death Phantom doesn't have a reputation for handing out cookies," Bran admitted, patting his back. "It's okay. We're out of there. I don't care what Chixota thinks he's doing, he's out of his mind. We stay the fuck out of politics, I don't care if it's for or against the Senshi. Not sticking my nose in it. You can't pay me enough to get involved and I don't want to hear a word about you trying to go back there by yourself. You hear me? We didn't even see everyone who's in there. Just stick with me and everything's going to be okay, yeah?"

"Yeah," Jukai mumbled, squirming free from the hug to hide behind him again. Bran sighed, hurrying down to the ground and back towards the compound. The longer he stayed out, the longer he was going to be a moving target.

Senshi wanted to kill him, now youma he knew for a fact killed other youma were in on the equation. And there were more of them, Wise Man had said it himself. Would the Senshi know him by reputation? Probably not. Oh, fuck, he was from the future. Only Usa might know who he was. Maybe. But how could she? She barely knew anything about youma, why would she have heard of a famous one like that?

He just wasn't going to mess with it. Either the Senshi were powerful enough to keep him out and eventually send him back to where he came from or he'd kill them and Bran would have no say in it anyway. Regardless, he was getting his ass back in the compound. No more whining about being trapped inside if this was what waited for him outside.

He expected to find Usa wandering around looking at exhibits and being bored some more but he had a lot of trouble finding her once he got back inside (the human security was laughable but extensive, and he was trying not to draw attention to himself by anyone). Eventually, he went to the cafeteria on the bottom floor, deep underground where everyone had taken up residence. Usa was curled up in the corner of the room, knees tucked up under her chin and staring at the wall. Her hair was in those weird cones, trailing over her shoulders and reminding him of the Rabbit comment. She'd clearly been crying.

"I leave for a few hours and you're bawling in the basement?" Bran said, grabbing a chair and moving to sit with her.

Usa jerked up, scrubbing at her face. "You came back!" she cried. Loud, she was really fucking loud, but Bran just grunted.

"I told you I would."

She launched herself at him, and for someone so small, she packed a punch when she hugged him. And started bawling all over again.

"What in the hell!" Bran complained, even as he hugged her reflexively.

"I th-thought you'd n-never come back!" she sobbed, hugging tightly to him.

Bran was flabbergasted. What in the hell…he was gone for a little while and she was a crying mess? What was going on? He struggled to figure out what to say but he didn't seem to need to do anything because Usa just kept bawling and talking while she was bawling.

"N-Night said I was born wrong," she admitted, in a hiccuping whisper that turned into louder crying.

"The Queen?" Bran said, flexing his ears back. "She's weird. Who the fuck is she to talk anyway?"

"Yeah," Usa mumbled, squeezing him. "She said she wanted to train me. Said my mom was…" but she didn't say any word that Bran understood through the sobbing. He decided to settle for grunts and pats because he had zero understanding of how to handle a crying woman, whether she was human or otherwise.

"She said we're from the s-stupid S-Shining Galaxy," she said.

"That shithole?" Bran muttered. That got Usa to stop crying and lift her head to stare at him.

"You know it?" she asked, her tone going low and miserable and quiet. "Is it…is it really a shithole or is it actually really nice and I was stupid saying I didn't want to be like them?"

Bran thought about that. Really thought about it. It helped that Usa had stopped wailing in his ear but it was also a complicated question. Finally, he settled for, "If it was really so great there, why'd you leave?" He wrinkled his nose. "It's the worst place for youma. Of any kind. Even the…none-trouble-making ones. You know. Not…like me. Like Jukai."

"Oh," Usa said, clearly calming down. She jumped across emotions like they were ledges, from extreme to extreme, but he was grateful she wasn't crying anymore. "Good. This is much better." She waited for him to agree with her and for once, he didn't feel any regret nodding.

"Hated it there," he admitted. "Better here for sure."

He had planned to at least warn her, about the Shadow Palace, Wise Man, this weird Ares guy who seemed to have his own agenda. But she just looked so grateful for helping her feel better about some weird fight she'd had that he didn't want to make it worse scaring her.

"Thanks," she said, sitting back and scrubbing her eyes. "Where did you go? Where are the others?"

"Chixota's gone," Bran admitted. "Jukai's getting some sleep in the control room." He considered it, then added, "The fresh air was a bust. Really boring. You should be glad you didn't come along."

He hated that her grateful smile made him happy.

Makoto thrashed, a heavy weight like an anvil on her chest making it impossible to do more than kick and thrash. She couldn't even gather the breath to scream, or fight, or do anything but sink lower and lower and even lower. Until she heard more than felt a pop, something puncture, something wet where air should be, so much pressure she couldn't think, couldn't see. Couldn't escape.

She woke when she thrashed herself out of bed, landing in a heap on the floor breathing so hard she felt dizzy. She didn't bother getting up, sinking to her knees and resting her forehead against the floor. Hell.

It took her another minute to sit up and stare at the alarm clock ticking lightly. Two in the morning. Their flight was at seven in the morning. She still had a handful of hours to sleep but it was just impossible after that never ending nightmare.

Going into the kitchen, she made herself a cup of tea and sank into a chair.

A plane. A country where she didn't know the language. Who knew what kind of history? Was she weird because she didn't remember anything about her past life? Everyone else seemed to.

Closing her eyes and rubbing both hands over her face, Makoto wished she could talk to someone about it. Ami might have been awake but Makoto would never forgive herself if she woke Ami in the few hours she let herself sleep. They were all running ragged and she was whining about stupid nightmares she couldn't even remember.

Standing back up, she put the tea in the sink and went to check her packed bag one more time. Soon, she would leave the country with Minako and Mamoru and Artemis. Soon, she would be in a place to confront a past she had no recollection of. And maybe soon, the irrational fear blossoming in her heart would have a face and a name, and she could kick it, or kiss it, or…figure out what it was that had her all tied up in knots like this.

At times like this, she wished she had someone…like Usagi had Mamoru, like Minako and Rei had each other now. It was such a dumb thing to want but…she still wanted it. Maybe someday, if they ever stopped fighting long enough, she'd find someone worth spending her life with.