AN: I'm back! And well... it hasn't even quite been a full year since my last update! I'm so sorry for how slow and erratic my updates have been lately. Essentially, the primary reason for that is these past 4 years I've been in college, which has taken up the majority of my time. But the good news is, I've graduated now! The slightly less good news is I'm still balancing far too many projects and time management is hard, but I promise I'm going to see this through to the end. And I have a fairly clear idea of how the story goes from here, so hopefully it won't take too long.
As always, a milliion thanks to my amazing reviewers: smoon4409, TinkStar87, Guest, Guest, Princesskarlita411, jdsfire, lilymoon80, Jakeros and HyenaYu. Honestly, it both amazes and humbles me that even with my terrible update schedule, I still have loyal readers and reviewers, so thank you, and I hope you are all staying safe and healthy during these trying times.
"Venus, on your left!" Sailor Mars called out, sending a blast of fire towards the latest Black Moon Clan droid.
Sailor Venus dove to the side, right into the incoming attack. "Ow! Thanks for nothing, Mars."
Sailor Mars just let out an exasperated sigh. "Your other left, Venus!"
"Whatever," Venus grumbled, picking herself up off the ground. "Venus Love-Me Chain!"
The droid struggled underneath the grips of the chain, snarling and snapping at the group.
"Supreme Thunder!" Jupiter's attack hit the droid head-on, weakening it enough for Sailor Moon to finish it off.
"Moon Scepter Elimination!" The droid crumbled into dust and Sailor Moon breathed a sigh of relief. It was just past one in the morning, on a school night no less, and she was exhausted. She'd been fast asleep when her communicator had gone off, buzzing with news about a new attack in one of the parks downtown.
The upside of it being the middle of the night meant that there had been very few civilian casualties, but the downside meant the whole team was fighting off exhaustion.
"Good job, everyone," Sailor Moon said, stifling a yawn. "Let's go home."
But before they could even make it more than a few steps, an ominous fog started rolling in. It was green and foul-smelling, and breathing it in made Sailor Moon's eyes and lungs sting.
"This doesn't look good," Mars said, coughing.
"Try to stay out of the fog," Mercury said, already scanning the fog for information. "There's a droid back there, the fog extends in a radius of 20 feet around it. The droid itself is primarily a water-based form and is vulnerable to lightning. The fog is poisonous, so be cautious."
"Great," Sailor Moon muttered under her breath. "Poisonous fog. Just what I need in the middle of the night."
"How am I supposed to target the thing if I can't see it?" Jupiter complained.
"Shabon Spray!" Mercury called out. The fog from her attack cleared some of the poison fog from the droid, albeit only slightly.
"I've got an eye on it!" Jupiter yelled. "Supreme Thunder!"
With the fog cleared slightly, Sailor Moon could make out the outline of the droid—an amorphous blob that jiggled slightly as it moved forward. Jupiter's attack hit it directly, but the droid seemingly absorbed it.
"Uh, I thought you said it was vulnerable to thunder?" Jupiter asked.
Mercury frowned, calling up her visor again as she re-scanned and typed a command into her computer. "I'm not sure. It should be!"
"We don't have time for this," Mars muttered. "Burning Mandala!"
Once again, the attack seemed to do little to the droid, as it just kept inching forward, the fog slowly rolling out in waves.
"We can't keep retreating!" Sailor Moon said, coughing as her eyes began to sting from the poison vapors. "We need to get it on the defensive!"
"Crescent Beam!"
Still nothing.
"Okay, let's think about this for a second," Sailor Moon said, chewing on her lower lip. "Mercury said it's vulnerable to thunder. It hasn't reacted to that yet, but I trust Mercury's scans, so Jupiter, keep putting pressure on it. Mercury, you keep scanning, let us know if anything changes, and keep your shabon spray up, that helps a bit. The rest of us will support Jupiter as needed. Be careful of the fog, but that seems like the only thing to worry—"
Before she could even finish her sentence, a slime tentacle shot out and wrapped itself around Sailor Moon's ankle, pulling her towards the droid.
"Aaaa!" she screamed as she was pulled off her feet. Her ankle burned where the tentacle made contact, and she was rapidly being pulled along the ground, towards the droid, which had opened up its mid-section to reveal a row of very pointy, jagged teeth.
She tried to dig her hands into the earth, to slow the speed at which she was being dragged to a very sharp, very painful demise, but all she managed to do was get her gloves dirty.
"Sailor Moon!" Venus yelled, her voice panicked. "Hold on! Venus Love-Me Chain!"
Her chain wrapped around the tentacle pulling Sailor Moon along the ground, but as hard as she tugged, she couldn't get the droid to relinquish its grip, and her chain broke off after only a few seconds.
Sailor Moon was close enough now that her nostrils filled with the foul smell emanating from the creature and she could feel the heat from its breath. The poison fog was thickest here and she could barely breathe—every desperate lungful of air she tried to suck in ended up with her choking and spluttering, her lungs stinging.
She wasn't the type to just give up and die, she had to do something, but what? Jam her scepter into its jaws to keep them from closing on her? Maybe, but if it had so easily broken away from Venus' Love-Me Chain, would her scepter really hold for long?
Her mind made up, Sailor Moon was ready to try it in a desperate, last-ditch effort, but just before she could be pulled into the creature's mouth, a rose pierced the tentacle and suddenly, she was airborne.
"You know," Tuxedo Kamen said mildly, as he carried her away. "Now that we're together again, it might help if you actually told me when there was a battle, rather than waiting for me to wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night because I can feel through our bond that you're in danger."
"Sorry," Sailor Moon said sheepishly. She really had meant to bring Tuxedo Kamen into the fold, to include him in all the decision making and notify him about fights, but she was so used to doing things this way. When fighting the Dark Kingdom, she hadn't known who he was yet, he was just a mysterious, handsome stranger who always showed up at the right time. By the time she figured it out, it was too late, and he'd been kidnapped by Queen Beryl.
And then everyone had died, and they'd been resurrected, but they didn't have their memories, and then they got their memories back, but Tuxedo Kamen broke up with her and… it had been nonstop chaos. Even though it had been a few weeks since her near-death experience—the most severe one, at least, there had been a lot—and her reconciliation with Tuxedo Kamen, she'd just… forgotten that there was another option. That he could be a full member of the team. That, and the droid attacks the past few weeks had been fairly easy to deal with.
Tuxedo Kamen just sighed. "Are you okay?"
"I think so," she said, examining her ankle. There was a ring of nasty burn marks from where the tentacle had gripped her, but it was manageable. Her lungs and eyes still burned, but now that she was out of the fog, they were already starting to clear up.
"Thanks for saving me," she said. "Again."
Tuxedo Kamen's lips twitched into a smile. "That's what I'm here for. Come on, let's get back to the fight." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and Sailor Moon smiled. It felt nice, fighting evil with her boyfriend by her side. Weird, too, because it was so unfamiliar, but… good weird.
"Sailor Moon!" Mars said when she and Tuxedo Kamen rejoined the fight. "Thanks goodness. I've still got my eye on you, though." She directed the last part at Tuxedo Kamen, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Mars, it's fine," Sailor Moon said, laughing slightly. "We've been over this."
She appreciated how protective her friends were, even if they were at times over-protective, but she and Tuxedo Kamen were solid. In their civilian forms, they'd spent the last few weeks in bliss, getting to know each other again, and enjoying being open about their relationship for the first time—even though Motoki started keeping a PDA jar that he made the two of them drop their spare change into every time they got too "sickeningly cute," as he put it.
"Any updates?" Sailor Moon asked, but Mercury shook her head.
"It's a mystery, it should be vulnerable to thunder, but—wait." She narrowed her vision, frowning slightly as she typed a command into her computer and turned her scanner back on. "Unless… hm. Maybe? I wonder if…"
"Uh, Mercury?" Sailor Moon said, dodging another slime tentacle. "Mind sharing your findings with the class?"
"There's a gem in the center of its forehead," Mercury said. "I think that's where its vulnerability lies. If you target that, your attacks should be more successful."
"One slight problem," Jupiter said, coughing as the poison fog started to roll back in. "We can barely see the damn thing behind all this fog. All I can see is a rough outline. How are we supposed to see this gem?"
"You'll have to get closer," Mercury said. "I'll see what I can do to dissipate the worst of the poison mist. Shabon Spray!"
The cleansing fog she sent out did help, and they pressed forward, trying to breathe in as little of the poison fog as possible.
"I see it!" Jupiter said. "Supreme Thunder!" Her attack hit the gem and this time, the droid let out an ear-splitting keening noise as it writhed in pain.
"Great work, Jupiter!" Sailor Moon said.
Jupiter cracked her knuckles and stretched out her neck. "Alright, big guy. Let's end this. Supreme Thunder!"
The attack hit the gem, just as before, but nothing happened. In response, the droid sent out another slime tentacle, striking Jupiter across the leg and she cried out in pain and dropped to one knee.
"Jupiter!" Sailor Moon yelled.
"I'm fine," she grunted. "Mercury, what's happening? Why isn't it working?"
"I'm working on it…" Mercury said, her fingers flying over her keyboard. "Aha! It appears that every time you strike it, its base element shifts, as does its weakness. Mars, it should be weak to fire now."
"Burning Mandala!"
Mercury's predictions proved to be true, and once again, the droid wriggled and writhed in pain from the attack.
"That's got to be enough," Sailor Moon said. She was exhausted. They'd just had two back-to-back droid fights, her lungs burned, her eyes stung, and the pain in her ankle from where the tentacle had gripped her was increasing by the minute. She wanted this to be done already.
Tuxedo Kamen squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "You can do this."
Sucking in a deep breath, Sailor Moon pulled out her scepter and summoned the last scraps of her energy. "Moon Scepter Elimination!"
She felt the power flood through her and channel through the scepter, hitting the droid right in its gem and reducing it to moon dust. Finally.
She rolled out her shoulder, her whole arm aching a bit from channeling so much raw power. Her fingertips bore the brunt of it, but her whole arm, all the way up to her shoulder, tingled and ached. She knew it would pass soon, and it was worse than usual because she was still recovering from the attack a few weeks ago, but it was always an unpleasant side effect of possessing so much raw power.
"You okay?" Tuxedo Kamen asked, and Sailor Moon nodded.
"Just tired."
"Good job, everyone," Venus said. "Man, I am so ready for a nap. I can't believe we have school tomorrow." Even as she said that she stifled a yawn, and Sailor Moon smiled slightly. Sometimes it was a refreshing reminder that despite all the power she and her friends possessed, they were still just a group of teenage girls.
Once more, the Senshi started to leave the park, but once more, they didn't make it more than a few steps before they were interrupted. A large spike of ice pierced the ground right in front of them, nearly hitting Sailor Moon in the foot, and she jumped back in surprise.
Whirling around, she came face-to-face with yet another droid. This one was humanoid, and feminine in appearance, though it had an extra set of arms. Icicles dripped down from its limbs, and with each step it took, the ground froze over beneath it.
"Fire Soul!" Mars called out, but the droid swiftly dodged the attack. In retaliation, it sent out a spray of ice shards, causing everyone to dive for cover.
"You can't escape from me," it said, and Sailor Moon shivered. Its voice howled like the wind, and as it opened it spoke, a flurry of icicles and snow dripped down from its mouth.
"Crescent Beam!" Sailor Venus' attack missed as well, the droid proving to be quite nimble.
Biting back a groan, Sailor Moon flipped open her communicator. They were all exhausted, and they needed backup. "Neptune. Uranus. We've got a sticky situation in the park right near the Arcade. We could use some backup."
"On our way."
With that taken care of, Sailor Moon turned her attention back to the fight. Mars and Jupiter were dodging ice daggers while the droid laughed at them, an eerie sound that filled Sailor Moon with dread. Mercury was scanning the droid for information while Venus tried to get a good angle on the droid to attack it.
"Hey, Mercury, have you—?" Venus started to say, turning to ask Mercury her question. But the moment she took her eyes off the droid, it made a move to attack, exhaling a blizzard of snow and ice particles.
"Look out!" Sailor Moon shouted, running towards Venus, and shoving her out of the way. Unfortunately, that meant she got caught in the attack. The moment the flurry of snow hit her, Sailor Moon froze. Ice started forming over her arms and legs, but it quickly began to spread over the rest of her body, trapping her.
"I can't—" she started to say, her eyes wide and panicked, but before she could finish the sentence, the ice closed over the top of her head, fully encasing her.
"Usako!" Tuxedo Kamen cried out, immediately running over and pounding his hands against the ice, but he couldn't so much as make a crack in it.
"Maybe I can melt the ice," Mars said. "Fire Soul!"
The ice shimmered, the top layer starting to melt, but it wasn't enough to melt the inches-thick ice that Sailor Moon was trapped in.
"Crescent Beam!" Venus' attack chiseled a narrow wedge out of the ice, but once again, it wasn't enough to free Sailor Moon.
Tuxedo Kamen cursed under his breath. "Hold on!"
While Venus, Mars and Tuxedo Kamen tried to work on freeing Sailor Moon, Jupiter and Mercury did their best to keep the droid on the defensive, but it was hard work, and they were clearly starting to become worn down.
The droid opened all four of its arms to the sky, letting out a piercing howl before bringing them swiftly back down to the ground. As it did so, the skies opened up, a sudden storm pouring in. Snow filled the air, lowering the temperature by several degrees, and reducing field of vision.
"I can't get the ice open!" Venus said, still slowly chiseling away at it with her crescent beam, her voice panicked.
Tuxedo Kamen stared at his hands. "A few weeks ago, when Usagi was caught out in the thunderstorms and got injured protecting Chibiusa, I did… well, I'm not quite sure what, but I did something. I accessed some power in me and destroyed the droid."
"Can you access it again?" Venus asked.
Tuxedo Kamen shook his head. "I'm trying. But I don't know what I did. Damnit, why can't I access it again now? We have to get her out of that ice!"
"Keep trying," Venus said, continuing to chip away at the ice. "We have to keep trying."
The droid was still keeping Mercury and Jupiter on the defensive, dodging attacks left and right, and with the blizzard, it was becoming increasingly hard to stay alert and aware of where the droid was.
Between the cold, the exhaustion, and the increasing amount of snow on the ground, Mercury stumbled, falling to her knees in the snow, and leaving her wide open for an attack.
"Mercury!" Jupiter called out, rushing over to help her fallen friend. But before either she or the droid could make an attack, a ball of energy slammed into the droid, causing it to screech in pain.
It was hard to see through the snow but coming through the blizzard was the unmistakable outline of two people. Both tall, one with long hair, one with short, both clad in flared skirts and bows. The cavalry had arrived.
"Looks like we got here just in time," Neptune said.
"Perfect timing," Mercury said, picking herself up off the ground. "The droid is very agile, and as you can tell, focuses on ice-based attacks. Sailor Moon's been trapped in ice, and we can't free her. I hope that if we finish off this droid, all its attacks will dissipate."
Sailor Uranus' expression darkened. "Let's do this."
"Deep Submerge!" Neptune called out, the ball of energy and water hitting the droid. Due to the freezing temperatures, her attack partially froze around the droid, trapping it in place, and leaving it vulnerable to further attacks.
"World Shaking!"
"Supreme Thunder!"
Jupiter and Uranus' attacks combined into a super-charged ball of energy that hit the trapped droid and finally finished it off.
Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus rushed over to Sailor Moon, but she was still trapped in the block of ice.
"Why isn't this working?" Venus yelled, wiping away tears. "The droid is dead, she should be free now!"
"I'm scanning now," Mercury said, fighting off a shiver. The blizzard had died down somewhat, but it was still freezing, and visibility was still low. "With the storm continuing on, it appears we are still feeling the effects of the droid's power, and it could take time for it to fully dissipate and go back to normal."
Tuxedo Kamen clenched his hands into his fists by his side, willing himself to call upon the power he'd accessed once before. He didn't know where it had come from, or what exactly it was, but he knew he was capable of something. He and Usagi hadn't reunited just for things to end like this. They didn't have time to just wait.
He placed his hands on the ice and closed his eyes, concentrating as hard as he could. Just when things were starting to feel hopeless, he felt a warmth start to grow deep within him before slowly spreading out. When he opened his eyes, his hands were glowing, and the ice beneath his hands started to crack and break apart.
"Sailor Moon!" Jupiter cried out as Sailor Moon fell out of her ice prison and into Tuxedo Kamen's arms.
"She's so cold," Tuxedo Kamen murmured, pressing a hand against her cheek. "Sailor Moon?"
"This is all my fault," Venus sniffled. "I should have been paying attention."
Mars laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault, you know Sailor Moon would do that for any of us. And she will be okay."
"T-tuxedo… Kamen?" Sailor Moon said, her voice weak and warbly.
"Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Kamen pulled her into an embrace. "Thank Kami. Are you okay?"
"I'm f-fine," she said her teeth chattering. "Just c-cold."
From behind them, a grating laugh suddenly pierced the air.
"My dear, dear Sailor Senshi," Esmeraude giggled. "Just a few droids and this is the shape you're in? Worn down, injured, and barely holding it together? Pathetic."
"Esmeraude," Mars spat, her eyes narrowing as she moved in front of Sailor Moon protectively.
If Uranus and Neptune were surprised by Esmeraude, or the fact that the other Senshi had clearly tangled with her, they didn't show it. Instead, they too formed a protective wall in front of Sailor Moon.
"What do you want?" Jupiter asked, crossing her arms.
"Oh, nothing," Esmeraude said, fanning herself coquettishly. "I figured that surely the great Sailor Senshi would be able to handle a few measly droids, and I came to extend my congratulations, but I see I was wrong."
"We're still standing," Mars said. "But if you don't explain what you want from us in the next five seconds, you won't be for much longer."
Esmeraude just laughed again. "Your misplaced confidence entertains me. But I grow bored of toying with you. I will have to report to my dear Prince Demande that unfortunately, while taking out the Senshi once and for all, poor little Sailor Moon was also caught in the blast. Such a tragedy. He'll never be the wiser."
Sailor Moon had been observing the conversation, gripping her scepter in case she was needed, but hoping she wouldn't be—she couldn't stop shivering and her teeth wouldn't stop chattering, she was so cold and she just wanted it to be over. But at Esmeraude's words, her spine stiffened and she gripped her scepter a little tighter.
The first time they met Esmeraude, the woman had hinted at something similar, said something about how she would kill them all, "even Sailor Moon." At the time, she'd shrugged it off, but now it could no longer be ignored. What did that mean? Did the Black Moon Clan want her alive for some reason?
She opened her mouth to ask—not that she was expecting any real answers from Esmeraude—but closed it again and frowned. Through the flurry of snow, she could just make out four shadowy figures approaching from behind Esmeraude. It was too hard to make out any distinguishing features, or tell if they were friend or foe, but one of them broke into a jog and started to clear the distance.
"You'll never take us down," Jupiter said. "And if you want Sailor Moon, you'll have to go through us first."
"Oh, I intend to," Esmeraude said, snapping her fan with a flick of her wrist. Before she had a chance attack, the figure Sailor Moon had seen jogging up behind Esmeraude earlier cleared the remaining distance and punched her hard in the face.
"My face!" she screamed. "You'll pay for this!"
"Booyah!"
The man who'd punched Esmeraude pulled a pair of snow goggles off his face, put them on top of his head, and winked at Sailor Mars. Jadeite.
"Sorry we're late," he said, looking insufferably smug as he grinned.
The other figures Sailor Moon had seen behind Jadeite—the other Shitennou—showed up behind Esmeraude as well. Kunzite had a ball of energy in his hands at the ready, Nephrite and Zoisite circled around to fully surround Esmeraude, and Jadeite looked like he would happily punch her again.
Now that she was surrounded and even more outnumbered, she got to her feet, clutching her cheek. "This isn't the last of me!"
With that, she vanished, leaving the Senshi and Shitennou alone on the battlefield as the snowstorm slowly started to clear more and more.
"I hope you're not expecting any credit for the fight," Mars said, her voice dripping disdain.
"Oh come on, I totally saved you!" Jadeite whined.
"Throwing one punch, right at the end, when we've been fighting droids for hours does not count as saving us," Mars said, crossing her arms.
"But—"
"No."
"Um," Sailor Moon started to say. "I h-hate to break up this l-lovely reunion, but it's nearly d-dawn."
Although the temperatures were slowly returning to normal, she was still chilled from being trapped in the ice prison, and still couldn't stop shivering, despite Tuxedo Kamen's jacket draped around her shoulders.
"We need to get you warmed up," Venus said.
"I'll be f-fine," Sailor Moon said. "We still have s-school, so I should just g-go home and s-sleep."
"I'll escort you," Tuxedo Kamen said.
"We should all get going," Mercury said. "There will likely be news crews and journalists here soon, to report on the attack, and we could all use some rest. Neptune, Uranus, thank you for the assist."
Neptune inclined her head in recognition of Mercury's thanks. "Of course. While our goals may be slightly different than yours, we are always happy to lend a helping hand when needed."
"Hey, what about us?" Jadeite complained. "That green-haired lady totally would have kicked your butts if I hadn't punched her and scared her away."
Mercury sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Thank you, Jadeite, for showing up at the last minute and doing the absolute bare minimum."
Jadeite just grumbled under his breath, but everyone was too tired from the long fight to argue, so the Senshi and Shitennou said their goodbyes and parted ways.
By the time Usagi and Mamoru—still as their alter egos, as Sailor Moon was stronger than Usagi, and thus more capable of warding off the deep chill— got back to Usagi's house, dawn had broken, and streaks of light pierced the sky.
"Papa might be up by now," Sailor Moon said, frowning. She was still shivering, but at least her teeth had stopped chattering. "I'll have to try and sneak in through the front."
"I have a better idea," Tuxedo Kamen said, scooping Sailor Moon up in his arms.
The window to Usagi's bedroom was open, as she'd used it to sneak out when word came about the droid attack. While her family knew now that she was Sailor Moon, her dad still had a hard time accepting it, and she was worried going out the front door—which meant walking past her parents' bedroom and down their creaky stairs—would potentially wake her dad, and force her to have to explain things and convince him to let her leave. So, the window was easier.
With one leap, Tuxedo Kamen cleared the distance to Usagi's window, nimbly navigating himself and Sailor Moon through. Well, sort of nimbly, they ended up in a small heap on Usagi's bedroom floor.
"That went smoother in my head," Tuxedo Kamen admitted, and Sailor Moon giggled.
"It's okay," she said, finally dropping her transformation now that they were inside. Being regular old Usagi again meant the cold that had settled into her bones intensified and she fought off a shiver, but she pulled a blanket off her bed and wrapped herself in it.
Tuxedo Kamen dropped his transformation as well, and suddenly Usagi's heart started to beat faster. There was a boy in her room. It was one thing when they were Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen, Tokyo's favorite heroes and saviors of the galaxy, but it was entirely different when they were just Usagi and Mamoru. She was just a normal girl with a normal boyfriend who had just snuck into her room.
Her dad would really throw a fit if he could see them now.
"How are you feeling?" Mamoru asked, shuffling his feet a little, and it occurred to Usagi that maybe he was nervous, too. "You scared me back there."
"I'm sorry," she said, picking at a loose thread on her blanket. "I wasn't even thinking about the consequences, I just… I saw that Venus was about to be hit, and I knew I had to do something. I'm the leader, I have to be responsible for them."
Mamoru sighed. "I know. I just wish I could have protected you better."
"It's okay," Usagi said shuffling over to rest her head on his shoulder. "I'm okay."
"I'm glad," he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "… and I've just realized I'm being a terrible boyfriend, keeping you up like this. You need sleep."
Usagi stifled a yawn. "Thank you. For the help earlier, and saving me again and just… being you. Even though you were a stupid baka for ages who broke up with me because you were too scared to actually talk to me, I still love you."
Mamoru chuckled. "And I'm sorry for that, it was a stupid and hurtful decision. But I love you, too."
"G'night, Mamo-chan."
"Goodnight, Usako."
Back at the house that the Shitennou shared, Jadeite flopped onto the couch with a dramatic groan. "I don't get it."
"Yes?" Zoisite said, looking up from the book he'd been reading.
"Mars. Rei," Jadeite said. "I don't get her. I keep trying to get through to her, but nothing works. I try to be nice, she scorns me. I make a joke to ease tension, she scorns me. You saw what she was like earlier—she scorned me for helping out with the fight!"
"To be fair," Nephrite said. "We didn't help much. If we'd gotten there sooner, perhaps we could have done more, but the Senshi still do not fully trust us, and we must respect that."
"But I don't know what to do!" Jadeite said. "When Serenity was injured, Rei let me comfort her, and I thought maybe we'd turned a new leaf in our relationship. But now it's back to her glaring daggers at me every time I open my mouth."
"Have you tried not opening your mouth?" Zoisite quipped. "I, for one, would welcome that change."
Jadeite scowled and threw a pillow at him. "Ha ha, very funny. I just… I don't know what to do. The three of you are mending your relationships, why can't I? Zoisite, I know you and Metis—"
"Ami," Zoisite interjected.
"Right, Ami, sorry," Jadeite continued "You and Ami had that little date to the observatory lately. Nephrite, I know you've been seeing Makoto regularly, and Kunzite, I saw you and Minako getting all cozy earlier. What's wrong with me?"
"Would you prefer the information in alphabetical or chronological order?" Zoisite asked, and Jadeite threw another pillow at him, but the blonde man dodged.
Kunzite held up a hand to stop the fight. "It's not that simple, Jadeite. Minako and I have only just started to mend our relationship, and there is still a lot of work to be done. It's easier for us—we've had our memories for longer, and we were the ones who were brainwashed and betrayed the Senshi. We have to deal with the guilt, but less of the pain. They are all still healing, and we have to respect that. Perhaps Rei just needs more time."
Jadeite pulled a face. "I don't want to be patient, why can't she just get over it?" He sighed and sat up, his expression becoming serious. "I know you're right, I just… I don't know what to do. I don't know how to make it up to her—I killed her. She's the love of my life, and I murdered her in cold blood. I don't blame her for not forgiving me, I don't forgive me, either, but… I still love her."
The other three Shitennou shared a look, and eventually, Kunzite was the one to speak up. "Beryl was an incredibly powerful sorceress, the link with Queen Metalia was strong enough that she was able to corrupt the majority of Endymion's kingdom. We were all taken in and brainwashed by her, it's not a personal failing of yours. I'm sure Rei will come around eventually, the Senshi have fought Beryl and Metalia, and know how strong their corruption was. They are still healing and processing the return of memories, but I know eventually, they will understand and forgive us in time. But you have to forgive yourself, too."
Jadeite groaned. "Ugh. Who made you the leader, Mr. Wise Guy?"
"Endymion did," Kunzite said, his lips twitching in amusement. "You know, the prince we all swore fealty to."
Jadeite reached for another pillow to throw at Kunzite, only to realize that he'd used all of the pillows as ammunition against Zoisite. The other three Shitennou laughed at him and Jadeite scowled, though before long, he started laughing, too.
He wasn't good at emotional stuff, and he'd never admit it to the other Shitennou, but he was incredibly grateful for their friendship. They'd all been through hell and back, what with the being brainwashed and forced to kill the Senshi, dying, being reincarnated but still brainwashed and trying to kill the Senshi again, and then dying again and then finally being reincarnated as their true selves. He couldn't have asked for a better group of friends to go through all that with.
And as for Rei… all he could do was hope that, in time, she could forgive him for his past crimes.
Late that night, Motoki was cleaning up the Crown Arcade. It had been a slow night, so he'd sent the rest of his employees home while he finished closing up on his own. He whistled a little tune to himself as he wiped down counters and tables, finding satisfaction in watching the grease, grime and leftover food particles disappear with a bit of scrubbing from his soapy cloth.
"Counters, check," he said to himself. "Tables, check. Kitchen, check. Should probably check on the arcade games, kids can have grimy fingers."
After ditching the soapy water for a cleaning spray and a fresh cloth—don't want to get the electronics wet, after all—he inspected the games. Sure enough, the Sailor V game had some noticeable grease marks on the buttons, and he tsked and shook his head. Kids could be so disrespectful, not cleaning their hands before playing the games.
Still, nothing a bit of spritzing and rubbing couldn't fix, so he got to work cleaning the buttons with his usual methodical approach. He'd just started wiping down the last button, when the game machine suddenly slid back a few feet, revealing a staircase.
"That's odd," Motoki said, frowning. "What's that doing there? There's no basement here. And why is the staircase hidden under the Sailor V game?"
He took a few cautious steps forward, pausing at the top of the stairs for a moment before slowly making his way down. About halfway down, he started to hear far-off voices, but he couldn't make out anything they were saying.
Finally, as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he could see that the area opened out into a large, circular room, with an array of computers in the center. Stranger still, Mamoru, Usagi, and all of her friends were there, though no one could see him yet.
Everyone was sat in a loose circle, and looked to be in the middle of a conversation. Usagi sat on Mamoru's lap, her head tucked beneath his chin, as she spoke.
"… all I'm saying is, if this Prince Demande wants Sailor Moon, let's give her to him," she was saying. "Obviously, we don't actually give him me, but we set up a trap. I'll be the bait, make him think he's captured me, and then you guys swoop in, catch him off guard, we fight, I turn him into moon dust, boom."
Before anyone else could respond, the bottle of cleaning spray that Motoki was still holding fell to the ground with a loud thud as he stood there, eyes wide and shocked. "What?"
AN: I hope you enjoyed, and please review! I'll do my best to get the next chapter out soon and not leave you hanging for too long.
