Chapter 11

"Nessa. Nessa, wait!" Holden shouted, his hand stretched out, trying to reach her. Suddenly, Nessa's mother's words rang clear in her mind.

Anyone, any human, can betray one another.

Her mother had told her that the month before her parents' divorce. There was an unusual shade of sadness in her eyes along with something Nessa did not understand then. She now understood her fully. With everything that she experienced, with Ricky, no, Timber, and Izzy, she wouldn't be surprised if a betrayal from her own father was the reason of their divorce. Although same goes for her mother, but she always had the hint of sadness in her eyes, along with something Nessa still couldn't quite name.

She ducked into the crowd and blended in with the rest. Unfortunately for her, her pink hair streaks stood out and was painfully obvious comparing to the rest of the people around her. It didn't take the group a long time before they catched up with her.

They had all headed back to Usagi's house, thinking it would be the most private place they could talk, but they were wrong. When they returned, all the girls, the Three Lights, plus Mamoru, and the two cats were there. Nessa led the group upstairs, trying to give them space and privacy, before she let them ask more questions about Timber and many skeletons in her closet.

"Was he really just a crush?"

"Who really, is Sailor Angel?"

"Who do you think you are? We can't have you run off in the middle of a battle!"

"What did you hide from us?"

All the questions burst at Nessa. She couldn't help but feel nonstagic. Back home, with her dad, he would never ask questions. Because he had believed in his daughter. That she wouldn't hide something so big from him. She chuckled bitterly at the thought. How innocent her dad is, it makes her sick just thinking about how many things she had hid from him.

Her chuckle fell on deaf ears, although an idea popped in her head. She doesn't have to tell them. She could show them. But that would require the Great Fire at the shrine...

Nessa sighed. What was she suppose to do now? She raised a hand, silencing the group. She could feel their eyes piercing through her as she stood up, the group following her. She decended the stairs and felt the group of girls shuffle around downstairs, away from the door. She can't help the bitter feeling that had appeared as she realized they were trying to eavesdrop on them. Her mother's words keep on coming back to her.

Anyone, any human, can betray one another.

"If information was what you needed, or rather, wanted, all you had to do was ask." Izzy said rather bitterly as she opened the door, she heard their shuffles as well.

No one dared reply, for their skin burned with embarrassment. For a second, Nessa though she saw Usagi open her mouth to say something, but shakes her head at herself.

"We are terribly sorry." It was all Usagi muttered. Nessa knew that it was the truth, but she can't help but feel betrayed herself that they had to eavesdrop on them.

"ChibiUsa-chan." Roni suddenly said. Every head snap to hers, even Nessa. Nessa could practically see the whole group tense up.

"Mistress is stopping her from coming back. She lost her time key." Roni continued. Setsuna gritted her teeth, trying to keep calm, but deep down, she knew that it was the truth. ChibiUsa haven't tried to cross the time gate in the last month or so.

"So Mistress can go back in time now. She can see my past." Nessa said. Something about her tone made Setsuna wonder why she was so worried.

"She can figure out who we really are." Usagi stated with a frown, forgetting that Nessa, Roni, Holden, Izzy, and Hinata were still there.

"She can kill us when we're defenseless." Izzy added. Hinata and Izzy exchanged a worried look.

"Go. I'll take over here. Take Angel and Pluto with you." Nessa said to Hinata and Izzy, suddenly forgotten the other 12 girls in the room.

"So you are Sailor Meteor." Taiki said, his voice accusing. Nessa looked shocked for a moment, but quickly regained herself. She cleared her throat.

"It was nor my intention or my goal to reveal myself so early on to you all. But I'm afraid Mistress has the upper hands and we are running out of time." Nessa said, her voice turned cold without emotions. Somehow, she seems like a different person now, the way she talks is just... off.

"She knows every one of the skeletons in my closet and you know why? She isn't called 'The Mistress' for no reason. She is one. I knew I recoginzed her from somewhere the minute I saw her. I just didn't know where. You did as well, didn't you, Rosewood?" Nessa explained, her eyes turned dark. She addressed Izzy in such a weird way that Izzy even flinched.

"I didn't read those emails, Mamoru-san. But I don't have to read them to know that she was the reason Izzy's parents almost divorced, not the fact that Izzy wasn't a Rosewood by blood," Nessa said, crossing her arms. Izzy trembled in fear. She knew her parents weren't on the greatest terms, but she didn't know her father had cheated on her mother.

"How do you know these things? You two hate each other," Asteroid said, there was an unusal hint of fear in his eyes that Nessa haven't seen since she told him everything, well, almost everything, about her past.

"Anyone, any human, can betray one another," Nessa and Roni said at the same time. It was creepy and made skins crawl. But the way the two sisters just stared at the floor, made Usagi's heart break. Those two girls were younger then her. But she can tell, by the hint of tireness in Nessa's eyes that she tried to hide from everyone, that the two girls had been through a lot. Maybe not comparing to her and what she dealt with, but still a lot comparing to Holden and Hinata.

"My parents divorced just a few months, after Roni's birth. My mother always told me that. I didn't understand her then. But I did now," Nessa said. She tried so hard to hide the truth from Roni, just for her sake, but it seems like she wasn't surprised at all when Nessa hinted the fact that their parents cheated on each other.

"Oh I'm so sorry, Nessa," Usagi said. She hugged the other girl, noting to self of the scent of berries from the 15 years old girl before letting go and hug Roni.

"Is there any way to project or show one's life?" Nessa asked curiously. Usagi furrowed her brows and tilted her head.

"Not that I am aware of, why?" Usagi replied. Nessa shook her head, as if saying, 'nevermind'. There is no way she can explain everything that happened in her life without showing it. She doesn't want to explain it personally. It will just make her experience every memory again.

"We'll leave in an hour." Hinata's usual warm voice was cold. It seemed more like an order then a comment. Izzy nodded, not meeting anyone's eyes. Setsuna nodded. It was her duty afterall.

"But-" Usagi tried to protest, but Setsuna cut her off.

"It is my duty. I'll make sure Small Lady is safe, princess." Setsuna said in her usual calm voice. Nessa didn't miss the flinch on Usagi's face as Setsuna hugged Hotaru, Michiru, and Haruka goodbye, linguring on Michiru and Haruka, whispering something in their ears.