A/N

Happy birthday to Darkangelmi128, who guilted me into finishing this chapter and posting it. (Sorry, I'm a wee bit late). I also added a little surprise at the end, which I hadn't intended but hey, it works.

Disclaimer: Neither I nor Darkangelmi818 own Sailor Moon and it's characters… yet.


In the end, what mattered was that I did indeed get the house.

It was a little chaotic there for a moment, and by no means did any of it go according to plan, but hey, life and lemons. I mean, Rini might have jumped the gun just the teensiest bit –Yamada had taken to calling me Tsukino-sama, despite my insistence that he not- and yeah, I'd had to call the guy a taxi as he had seemed far too dazed and out of it to be driving, but it was just a minor bump in the road, a small hiccup. I had a house ready for Serenity, meaning the first part of this little project was over with and I could now move on to other things.

Like… that insidious third party. Or the long overdue conversation I needed to have with Serenity about the many, many topics I'd been steadily avoiding such as what happened in the Dim Kingdom, and how she didn't seem to be in the loop much anymore, possibly because she was using her energy on other things. There was also the whole Getting-To-The-Future issue so I could retrieve potential information on how to revive Serenity and not die in the process. Oh, and that odd feeling I had about Minako that just wouldn't go away. Not to mention my impending demise and the fact that I had absolutely no idea how to fix my friendship with Matsuo, especially considering I had a mountain of secrets to hide and was actually using the Order he treasured so much to achieve my own ends.

…Yes… Lots of work to be done.

"You okay? Usagi-chan?" Fingers snapped in front of my face, and I blinked. Matsuo hovered next to my chair at the conference table, features twisted in concern. For whatever reason, I found my gaze wandering across the warehouse to the first office, where Kunzite was attempting to discuss something with his Prince. Though it appeared that Mamoru was listening to him, his eyes were on me, expression matching Matsuo's.

I turned back to my friend, blandly offering, "It's been a long day."

"That's right, you had the night shift." His grin was faint. "exciting stuff, huh?"

"I watched Rei stare down a candle. It was thrilling."

"An eventful night."

Thoughts of the still pristine golden script on that wrinkled note, of Rei's simmering gaze, floated to the forefront of my mind. We tell no one. "I'm sure there'll be no shortage of those in the coming weeks, given my track record."

Matsuo, the jerk, didn't even deny it.

Arms crossed, he leaned against the table and let out a puff of air, attention moving to Makoto and Nephrite and whatever report they appeared to be working on for Ami across the table. In turn I drifted back into unpleasant thoughts, fingers tapping against the arm of my chair almost subconsciously as I mentally constructed a list of sorts.

Side projects: furnish the house, perfect my body-double lessons, resume aikido.

Serenity's return, while important and a top priority, could not be accomplished until a few other issues were resolved. I needed to investigate this third player, find them and assess the risk they presented, and while I was at it I might as well touch base on the lingering suspicion that was Minako. I also needed to finish the mental outline for the Crystal Tokyo plan; I had a vague idea of how I wanted to go about it, but factoring in all the possible mishaps and securing a contingency plan was critical. The Black Moon Clan… I'd have to cut off their access to the past while in Crystal Tokyo if possible.

At the very least I figured I should make a bare minimal attempt.

It'd be one less enemy to interfere.

As for the other issues…. Well, I'll get there when I get there, bigger fish to fry and all that. There was one more thing I wanted to get done today while I had the chance, and incidentally it just so happened that a majority of the conditions needing to be met in order for me to do so were… well, being met.

I nudged Matsuo's hip with my elbow. "Do you wanna get out of here? I think my pillow is calling out to me. Come, Usagi, come and rest your gorgeous head on my plush, feather stuffed form."

"I wouldn't be surprised." He murmured, pushing off the table. "But yeah, it's getting late anyway and some of us have school in the morning."

"My condolences." I ducked the halfhearted swipe sent my way, a small laugh slipping out. I caught the glance he sent across the table as I stood, stretching, and I wasn't sure whether to laugh or be miffed with my friend; really, he was making it too easy. "Are we walking her home tonight then?"

"Makoto-chan has the night shift tonight. Let me tell her goodnight and then we can head out."

I waved him off.

He didn't even question it, just trotted over to the other end of the table. Nephrite looked supremely uncomfortable as the couple began speaking in soft, gentle tones and suddenly the General had a newfound fascination with the buttons on the cuffs of his school shirt. When Matsuo was finished Makoto had a faint blush on her cheeks and Nephrite's expression was something along the lines of nauseated.

I savored the image as we departed.

After a few blocks of walking, Matsuo suggested we hail a cab and split the fare. As the temperature in Tokyo currently fell somewhere between Frozen Tundra and The Ninth Circle of Hell, I had zero problems with that.

"There aren't going to be any cabs around this neighborhood though." I felt compelled to point out. Seriously, this district was a dead zone for all living things; I couldn't recall ever spotting a single bug or animal in any of the times I'd had the misfortune of finding myself around here. The only things that grew were weeds and the occasional tuff of persistent grass.

"Then I guess you better pick up the pace, midget."

If it wasn't so cold, I might have kicked him; sadly, that would mean prolonging our walking time and, as I said before, it was just too damn cold for such a sacrifice. We walked for another fifteen minutes before finding civilization –and therefore cab drivers. It began to flurry just then, and I tugged my hat further down over my head as Matsuo found us a taxi and all but shoved me into it. I welcomed the warmth, and pretended not to see the smug look on his face as both my and his shivering eased.

"Where to?" The cabbie prompted us.

"North-east part of town please." I quickly said. "By Juuban Square. Do you know the place?"

The cabbie man made an affirmative noise, started the meter and we were off. There was a moment of silence where I could feel the alarm of my companion next to me, but refused to acknowledge it.

"…We're not going home." Matsuo stated.

"Nope."

"…You said we were going home."

"Well, we aren't."

Another moment of silence, where Matsuo accepted that he had been tricked, mentally backtracked on the last half hour, and conclusively said, "You knew we wouldn't be walking Makoto-chan back tonight."

I leveled him with a stare, because of course I'd known.

There was a set rotation of which Order member would be at Elysion headquarters for the night shift and what other members would be on call. That was extremely useful information to have, so why wouldn't I have memorized it right away? Matsuo wasn't going to think too closely on it though. He wasn't going to see the correct conclusion, though it should be clear as day. I didn't blame him though; had our positions switched even my paranoid mind wouldn't make the connection, at least not right away.

No, he wouldn't realize the potential that information had given me to work with. There was a reason I'd volunteered for last night's shift, a reason I had chosen today to be the one where I procured the house and later confirmed a theory of my own. Last night Rei and I had been on the night shift, but it was Jadeite and, more importantly, Ami, that had been on call; it was no secret that whoever was on call wouldn't be sleeping all that well.

Getting the timing right had been tricky.

Pulling Rini out of school an hour and a half early had been just enough time to get us across town, procure the house, and then quickly haul ass to a café two neighborhoods over, only a few minutes before the elementary school would've finished for the day. It took them twenty minutes to track us down to a café I hadn't been to before; twenty minutes when I hadn't left any clues other than my name to the teacher, when I had stashed Rini's ball and her new communication bracelet in an alleyway across the street.

They hadn't been tracking her.

After my shenanigans the spotlight was on me, and I was likely to be checked up on. Only, with Ami tired from the night before, and Makoto at the wheel, there were two people more likely to be checked on throughout the night. Rini, who had given Makoto a scare, and, of course, Matsuo. If, late at night, I went to a place not normally associated with me? That'd be weird. However, if I wasn't alone, and the person with me was known to frequent said place… well, no one was going to think much on it.

The only person that was going to look back on this night any time in the future was Matsuo, and even then I wasn't too concerned about it.

People only ever saw what they wanted to see.


It was a short walk from Juuban Square, and I did not waste time.

"Who all knows I used to work there?"

Matsuo sent an unimpressed glance my way. "Just Mamoru, Jadeite, and Nephrite."

"So the girls never heard about it?"

"No." He pressed his lips together. "You left. It wasn't exactly a conversation starter."

Ouch. "Does-"

"Yes, Makoto-chan visits me at work from time to time. It's no secret that I work there. Sometimes the others tag along."

"Why?" my voice turned more accusing then intended but I continued anyway, irritation welling. "They shouldn't hang around when none of them have any business being there."

"Well you weren't around, were you?" he snapped.

"Oh, and what? You weren't capable of stopping them? You, who knows the risk?"

"They aren't hurting anything."

"They know the risks." I told him. "You know the risks. But Harumi? His employees, and Hajime-sensei? They don't. None of them have given their consent, they don't know the danger that follows people like the Sailor Scouts and it isn't fair to them."

Matsuo stopped dead and leveled me with a look.

"…If it was any other place," He began lowly, "any other place in Tokyo, you wouldn't be bothered. So don't lecture me on the morality of it, because you aren't concerned for the commonwealth. Hell, I doubt you're even all that concerned about our co-workers."

And that was telling, wasn't it?

Because no, I didn't particularly worry for any of those people; my co-workers had always been little more than strangers with the same job. I had never been interested in their personal lives, their wellbeing. At the end of the day the space in my heart was limited and I did not (could not) waste time or emotions on anyone less than worthy. Maybe that made me a lesser woman, but caring for the world only to see it fall bit by bit… that would have broken me.

I was not Tsukino Usagi; I did not have that kind of strength.

I met Matsuo's stare head on. "We don't drag Harumi into this. We don't involve him, and we don't involve Hajime-sensei."

His expression crumbled a bit, a flash a disappointment in his gaze. He'd wanted me to deny it. Finally, with a deep exhale, Matsuo nodded and began walking again. "Fine, we won't involve them."

"You'll tell the others to back off?"

"Yeah." He ran a few fingers through his hair. "Yeah, I will."

Watching his back, the widening distance between us, hurt. I matched his pace and tugged my hat down, the two of us falling into silence after that. I focused on the soft rhythmic crunch of our boots on snow, the muffled sounds of the city, still bustling even at this hour; cars driving down streets of half slush and half salt, shop owners sweeping a thin layer of gathered snow from their front entrances, the occasional city dweller passing by with a warm beverage or a steamed bun in hand. We rounded a corner and The Fabler came into sight.

My heart clenched. "I'm sorry."

Sorry I couldn't be what he wanted me to. Sorry that I felt no shame for who, for what, I was. Sorry because, despite it all, I had no intentions of changing, no matter how disappointed in me he would ever be –and god, I was going to disappoint him so terribly, when he figured out the truth. Sorry because I wasn't actually remorseful, because how could I be when I was alive, when we were all alive?

Always apologetic, always unwilling to change.

I felt Matsuo's gaze burn into the side of my face. After a moment, I heard him sigh and he threw an arm over my shoulders, tucking me into his side. "It's okay, Usagi-chan."

Then, more quietly, "I am too."

I slipped in the back alley door of the shop with Matsuo, and made 'shoo' motions until he rolled his eyes and made himself scarce. With light footsteps I made my way to the doorway of Harumi's office, and peered in, finding him bent over some documents at his desk. He'd just had a haircut recently, his short red locks cut closer than usual, probably to show off the pearl studs in his ears. Those were new.

Staring at him, I found myself frozen and at something of a loss.

I examined him, an irritating swell of emotion cementing me into place. Harumi was wearing gold eyeshadow today, the glittery kind just a few shades darker then his irises. He still had on the same tailored vest, button down, and slacks, all of which framed him nicely. His winter outfit consisted of a long sleeved button down though and, surprise of all surprises, a tie. It was a cute tie, actually; black with little red hearts. I was mildly impressed. Harumi must have finally sensed my presence, because his gaze flicked up almost dismissively before finding my own and freezing.

He blinked, and ever so slowly, rose from his chair.

I waved, and croaked out, "Hi. I'm back, sort of."

"Usagi." Was all he said and then suddenly I was being embraced. I hugged him back, my face buried in his tie and his cheek resting on the crown of my head. I thought I felt him kiss my hair but I couldn't be too sure because then Harumi was shoving us apart and his hands smacked onto either side of my face, pinching my cheeks rather painfully.

"You have some nerve!" He seethed. "Disappearing in the middle of the night, running off on your own for months! In the middle of winter, no less! You could have been hurt! Or kidnapped! How dare you worry me like that! I am too young for gray hair and wrinkles, do you hear me?! TOO YOUNG! I am DELICATE, delicate, and you- rgh!"

"Ouch, alright, I get it!" I tore myself from his grasp none too gently. "I'm delicate too, you know?"

He ran a critical eye over me, and out of habit my posture straightened.

"You need a haircut." Harumi declared, strolling past me. "Come."

And like the good worker puppy I was, I trailed after him.

Harumi plopped me down into the vanity chair in the employee dressing room and went to work with a sort of vicious glee that frankly alarmed me, though I didn't mention it. The few times I caught my reflection in the mirror, I grimaced; I looked like shit, and there was no way in hell Harumi hadn't noticed. Dark circles under my eyes, a bit skinnier than I was a few months back, and perhaps a bit more haunted, a bit more hunted. Harumi did something to my hair with layers, curling the ends slightly; I didn't have the heart to mention how in vain it would be. If it made him happy than what the heck, right?

When he was finishing up, I met his gaze through the mirror. "Looks like I'm in need of a job… I'll be around for a while."

He paused.

"Oh? How long?"

I shrugged. "A few months, maybe more. I'm looking for something full time though."

Harumi narrowed his gaze. "Is that so? And how, pray tell, do you plan to work full time with school and aikido?"

I sent him a knowing glance. We both knew I wasn't going back to school. Harumi's lips thinned but he made no move to scold me, instead turning his attention back onto my hair, curling a few strands with his fingers. "I'll work you like a dog. I slaved over your outfit for the Gods of Olympus theme and you just disappear without ever wearing or seeing it. And now I have to come up with a costume for this month's theme on such short notice, so I expect to be reimbursed for my significant trouble."

"Absolutely."

"And I don't want to hear any complaints about what I choose to dress you in."

"That's… fair." Sad, but fair. "Oh, there's something else I've been meaning to ask for your help with, if you're up to it."

He arched a brow. "Shoot."

I grinned. "How much do you know about interior design?"


I stared at the Pacific Ocean as the Earth continued its lazy rotation, a large expanse of blue dotted by green on either side. Fingers twisted through my locks, braiding deftly, and every once in a while nails would rake gently against my scalp as more hair was pulled into the braid. The courtyard was silent as usual, and I reveled in the stillness while I had the chance. Ever since Rei's little epiphany and the beginning of our hunt a few days back, I had been nonstop busy. It was nice to relax once in a while.

"So, how goes the search for your creepy golem?"

I huffed. "It's a body, -your creepy body, might I add- and the hunt is going… well, not as quickly as I would have liked."

Serenity laughed "See, you say that now, but if I know you then I can say with certainty that you've already planned out your next ten moves. Slow for you is not so slow for the rest of us."

"Yeah, whatever. By the way, what's your favorite color?"

Her hands paused as she considered. "Pink, a light pink. Or perhaps silver or gold. You know, there are quite a few lovely colors."

I hummed in agreement. "I need to go to Crystal Tokyo."

Serenity's grip tightened on my hair. "What."

Gently, carefully I detangled her hands from my hair and turned to face her. Serenity's expression was not as understanding as I might have hoped, and I hurriedly explained, "Look, it turns out I need some stuff from Crystal Tokyo, so I'm just going to pop over, grab what I need, and come back."

"Pop over." She said flatly, disbelievingly. "You're just going to… pop over, to the future. The future where the Black Moon Clan is, where that witch is."

It took me a moment to realize she meant Koan.

"Well, yes, but-"

"But nothing! It's dangerous! She nearly killed you the last time!"

"Yes but who's to say she'd be able to accomplish such a feat again?" It was the wrong thing to say. Immediately both our minds jumped to that horrible truth; I was going to die, by unknown causes and at an unknown time. "Look, I have to go. This isn't something I particularly want to do, but I have to in order to get the materials I need. I'm not heading off to war or anything, it's a stealth mission."

"A stealth mission!" She scoffed. "That place is swarming with enemies, Usagi; I would hardly consider it to be anything less than a battle. At least tell me that you plan to take one of the Order with you, someone other than me."

I paused.

It was entirely possible that I had been spending too much time with Serenity, because it took her all of a second to read the hesitation in my expression and come to the right conclusion. With dawning horror, she asked me, "You do intend to take me with you, correct? You wouldn't be so careless as to go to Crystal Tokyo without the Silver Crystal…"

I said nothing.

She paled. "That's suicide."

"Bringing you would be suicide." I murmured. I couldn't take her with me, I wouldn't. Everyone was always after the damn Silver Crystal, the Black Moon Clan was after it too and I wasn't about to lose Serenity to them. The Silver Crystal was my strongest defense, but at the moment it contained Serenity's soul and I would sooner die than leave her fate in the hands of an enemy I wasn't sure I could overcome on my own.

"You need the Silver Crystal to transform, to become Sailor Moon." Serenity began, "To go in without it- you might as well lay down and die. I implore you, please, do not go without it. Do not force my hand, or I will find a way to warn the others."

My fists clenched. We stared one another down.

I wasn't certain she could even manage it, what with the issues she'd been having lately –though that was a debate I wasn't ready to get into- but if she did somehow manage to do so… She couldn't tell anyone, she didn't know there might be a traitor among them. I couldn't bring myself to tell her, either; I wanted her to have faith in the people that would one day follow her, I wanted her to be able to feel safe with the Order, because they were going to be her protectors, they were going to be the ones that stayed.

They were going to be the ones that lived.

"Fine." I relented. "I'll take the Silver Crystal with me."

Perhaps that would be for the best; if I left it here, and the Black Moon Clan or a third party got to it, I'd never forgive myself. I go on to inform her I'll need her help getting to the future as soon as possible, and the look I receive is exactly as displeased as I had expected it would be.

Serenity's shoulder's slumped. "You are too hasty; do not act as though you are running out of time, because you are not." She said it so firmly, with such conviction that I nearly believed her. I wanted to believe her, to believe that she could somehow stop my prophesized death; the only issue was, I was not in the habit of such things.

If I did not want to die, then I had to make my own counter measures.

I could not put that burden on Serenity.

With a mental sigh I turned my thoughts away from the matter, not wanting to fight with her. It seemed like I was always fighting with those closest to me. My gaze drifted down catching sight of a small fistful of flowers in Serenity's hand. I blinked, belatedly grabbing ahold of the elaborate braid my hair had been styled into to find the very same flowers woven into it. They looked like miniature lilies, the petals a dark, periwinkle blue in the center, fading out to a lighter hue. The edges were white, and each flower was no bigger than a dandelion.

They were stunning.

"Where'd you get those?"

She furrowed her brows. "They grow all over the palace. They're called… well, I can't quite recall what mother used to call them-"

"Moon Lily." I stated. "They are now moon lilies."

She arched a brow. "Is that so?"

I nodded firmly. "I bet they aren't native to earth, so they only grow here, and they are clearly lilies; therefore, moon lilies."

The flowers had an ethereal, captivating beauty; they were so obviously otherworldly that there was simply no way they grew on earth. Serenity humored me, and with a regal tone, proclaimed them to be the official flower of the Moon Kingdom. Then, to my dismay, she brushed herself off, stood, and said, "Resting time is over, let's return to the ballroom; your dancing truly is an abomination."

"You're too kind."


Weeding out the third party was no easy task.

Ami's writing did not match the elegant script, and she seemed to have no connection to any of the other evidence, but that hardly meant she was innocent.

If anything, Rei just wasn't searching through her belongings thoroughly enough.

Of course, it wasn't as though I could do it, what with being tracked. I'd discovered the tracker sewn into the lining of my boot, but unfortunately, discarding it wasn't an option. I preferred to let Ami and the rest think I didn't know I was being tracked until it suited me otherwise. It meant sacrifices, like no longer being able to hide the fact that I worked at the Fabler, but that secret was more or less out in the open. So long as I wasn't bothered there (and so far I hadn't been), I didn't particularly hate the others knowing about it. Well, that wasn't quite true. I did hate it, but again, sacrifices; sometimes in order to get what you want, something else had to be given away.

But I digress.

Rei was looking, sure; the only dilemma was that she was looking not for evidence of guilt, but evidence of innocence. I wanted Ami to be innocent, because fighting her would surely be a nightmare, but at the same time, I wanted the truth more. Rei was making things difficult, or perhaps I was making things difficult. I wasn't used to working with others. Trusting someone else to do the digging, to not miss anything or dismiss an essential detail was… overwhelming.

I did not play well with others.

So I waited, watched the nightly rotation and waited for the right time to do my own digging. That time came a few days later, with Minako on the night watch, and Kunzite and Naru on call. The warehouse was void of the usual noise and movement, quiet save for the sound of Minako flicking through reports. It was long after the others had left, far past the time I should have departed, and perhaps she had thought I had, because when I appeared in the doorway to her office, Minako started faintly in surprise.

She blinked tiredly. "Usagi, what are you doing here?"

"…I used to hate you, you know."

Minako furrowed her brows. "Pardon?"

I leaned against the frame, fingers tapping against my forearms. "In the beginning, when I… awoke, when I finally understood what had happened, I hated you. I mean, I hated all the Sailor Scouts, but I think I hated you just a little more."

It was the first time I had ever truly offered a piece of myself; Minako jumped at the chance, sitting back in her chair to ask, "Why?" rather than taking offense as anyone might.

"Because you were Venus." I began, "You were the first Sailor Scout to get her powers and from the very beginning, you were ready to give your life doing your duty, finding the Princess. So driven, so willing to head into battle. God, I hated you for that. I never wanted this, I tried my damnedest to run from this the very second I understood, and you took up arms like it was nothing, like the choice was so obvious."

I had made a different choice, the decision to not get involved, and it hadn't mattered anyway.

As Minako contemplated this I allowed my gaze to wander the room before falling on the Legendary Sword, now mounted above her desk. The damned thing would surely provide me with some clue as to who sent it, but first I needed to get it.

"You pissed me off before I even knew who you were." Minako eventually told me. "That letter, the moment I got it, the moment it clicked and my hunt began… I was angry. And then I found the others, and Rei found me, and we met you. Words could not describe the amount of trouble you caused me with one little poem."

It wasn't funny, but I laughed anyway. "We were a pain, weren't we?"

"The biggest." She agreed blithely.

I walked over to what must have been Mamoru's desk –neat, sporting a few books from his shelf at home- and hopped up onto it. I'd had plans, clever ideas of how to get the sword and swindle some information out of Minako; however, now that I was here, now that it was just me and her, those plans seemed to crumble.

I was… tired.

Planning and scheming were what I did best, but these days it felt as though there was always another obstacle to overcome, ten more on the horizon, and just once, just this one time, I wanted to bypass the cleverness and cut straight to the issue at hand. There had been something on my mind for a while now, and I was tired of waiting.

I leveled Minako a look. "What are you not telling the others, Minako?"

"…I'm not quite sure I understand what you're asking."

My smile is grim. "I really did have a grudge against you, you know. Loathing someone makes it easier to notice them and the actions they take. Let's not pretend that we haven't been analyzing one another from the very beginning; we both know otherwise and I'm afraid I don't have the patience to play games at the moment."

Her gaze becomes more scrutinizing. "Is that so? Then, may I ask what exactly you've been up to with Rei?"

I take a moment to examine Minako, her relaxed posture, tilted head, inquisitive eyes; there was no sign of distress, or of worry from her and somehow that left me concerned.

"Tell me what you're hiding, and I'll return the favor."

She laughed. "And why would I do that?"

"Because you want me to stay." I said, and her smile waned. Still though, she offered no information; I hopped down from my perch and began pacing, walking the both of us through my thought process. "From day one, I think you've been planning something, and of this Order of Elysion business is just another factor of it, stage two or three or four. You left England and tracked down the Sailor Scouts with a speed and drive I hadn't expected. You were extremely kind with Naru when you thought she was the Moon Princess, and you appeared content to not pull her into the mess with Beryl.

"Then Jadeite and the other Generals came along, and for some reason you had no reservations with bringing them into the fold, no problem with Mamoru either. What's remarkable here is how you were able to bring two groups of people together and unify them; that required you to give up full leadership, so what did you stand to gain from the creation of the Order? Why were you so insistent that I join you, and most importantly, why in god's name are you trying to take over the world?"

Minako remained silent.

The more I considered it the further irritated I was; people did things for a reason, and not understanding what that reason was killed me. Motives were essential, motives gave you a peek into the person behind the scheme and what it was that made them tick. Jadeite lied about me to protect Mamoru, Rini had jumped a thousand years into the past to find me because she wanted to save her family, but why-

My eyes passed over the sword once more.

"Why," I mused quietly, "would you have the very sword Serenity used to end her life mounted on your wall? The Legendary Sword is a reminder of your failure, is it not? So why…"

Why place it in plain sight, where it would only serve to remind Minako of the price paid for her failure to do her duty?

Unless she didn't want to forget.

"A reminder, or a promise?"

"A promise." She stood, gaze stuck to the sword as well. From beside me, Minako said, "A promise to do whatever it takes this time around. Do you remember how quickly our kingdom fell, how easily beaten we were? Princess Serenity… she died because we weren't strong enough, to save her or the Moon Kingdom. But that will never happen again; everything will be different this time, I'll accept nothing less."

So… Finding the Scouts, Recruiting Matsuo and Naru, teaming up with the Generals to create the Order of Elysion… it was all for Serenity. So she could return to a safe haven, with the knowledge that they would not fall ever again. Minako wasn't the third party, that much was clear; there was simply no way she would have had the restraint to stand by and watch. No, Minako was a warrior, a woman of action. She was building a home for Serenity, she was building…

A court.

Serenity was royalty, the Crown Princess…

Minako could see the realization dawn in my gaze. With a fierce expression and a slow smile, she confirmed my suspicions. "I'm creating the court Princess Serenity deserves. A court brighter than the stars and strong enough to outlast god himself."

A court to make the earth tremble.

"Now, why don't you tell me what you're up to with Rei?"


Interlude, Serenity P.O.V.

For a long time, she had been alone.

Serenity had slept, for years and years, and when she had finally awoken, it had been to the horror of a lost battle. Not one of blood and men –no, that war had passed long before, another war lost- but one of the mind, one against an invader. It was the Silver Crystal that saved her, in the end; it whisked away the part of her that had slept and carried her soul even now, when the other half of her had…

Well, it was of little importance now.

She had slept, and when Serenity had awoken, it had been to a stranger slowly killing her. Then she had been safe, safe in an illusion of her fallen kingdom. It was months of silence, months of navigating ruins before Serenity realized she could make her home look complete merely by wishing it so. The passage of time had no meaning there, and she did not require sleep. There were only two things known to Serenity during those days; silence, and overwhelming grief.

Endymion was dead, murdered.

He was dead, her kingdom was lost, her people slain, and she had chosen to die with him, with her love. She thought and thought and thought about Endymion, about her mother, about her beloved friends. They were all gone and she was here, trapped in this in-between and unable to die, to rest in peace. So many things she could have done differently, so many errors she could have avoided simply by abiding by the rules. Those of the Moon Kingdom were not supposed to fall in love with children of earth.

How many could Serenity have spared, by following that one law?

How many had died because she hadn't truly tried to stay away?

Silence and grief were her companions.

Then came Usagi.

The moment she had become Sailor Moon, Serenity's world expanded ever so slightly. Suddenly, Serenity could see the outside world, could make sense of everything around Sailor Moon. The invader of her mind had become her link to the outside, and what Serenity saw had brought the princess to her knees.

The Sailor Scouts were alive, Endymion was alive.

As was the Dark Kingdom.

The war wasn't over; Serenity had still one more chance to make it right.

What a gift that had been, more than anything she could have ever hoped for, more than she had ever expected. There were no words for how grateful she'd been, how easy it became to stop fearing Usagi upon learning the girl was not a monster, but another victim in a cage of her own. Neither of them could break free, but… perhaps, they could provide help to one another. To see the Dark Kingdom fall… it would be more than enough.

It had been more than enough.

Upon waking, there were two distinct parts of Serenity's life.

There had been before, and after Usagi. Before Usagi there had been silence and grief. After Usagi…

After Usagi, there had been hope

It was Usagi that had taken away her loneliness, Usagi that had shown her she could still make things right, Usagi who had done the impossible and continued to promise even more. It was, ultimately, Usagi who she deemed precious above all else; and it was Usagi who was destined to die. Serenity couldn't bear the thought, couldn't imagine a world without her friend.

There was before Usagi, and there was after.

And Serenity would use whatever means to keep them both alive.

To save the girl that had somehow saved her.


A/N

My. God.

We are already five chapters into this arc, which is technically a third of the way through. So, yikes. Pretty sure I fucked up that timeline.

Anyway, while I'm here I figured I'd let you all in on my current projects. Right now I'm completely rewriting my first fic (Expectations & Revelations) because it is trash. I'm also weaving the first couple of chapters for the next fic I'm going to post and I'm also working on my first novel which is exciting. I mean, its going to be great to have editors and proof readers and a bunch of grunts doing all the other stuff that goes into a story while I just.. write. A dream come true.

I'm! Also! Going! To! Harry! Potter! World! At the end of June (My best friend is coming down for a month) so between all that please lower your expectations as there's little likelihood of any regular update for the next month or two (though there's no accounting for random bursts of inspiration). I mean… maybe if you guys give me stellar, long-winded reviews I'll find the inspiration to write up one more chapter before Chaos Strikes™.

Anyway, once again please thank Darkangel818 for this chapter!

Thoughts? Questions?

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