Sailor Moon - Rise of the Exalted Knights

by Lisseas

Chapter Thirteen - Reflections on Justice

Posted: 01/05/2017

A few days earlier…

She swung at him again and again, shrieking wildly with every blow. Justice focused on his shield, the translucent, golden disc popping in and out of existence with every strike. A new technique, of sorts; one he hoped would help against multiple opponents. Not that his opponent now was really capable of hurting him...

In fact, he decided, readying himself for the next series of attacks, she's slacking off. "Is that all you've got?!"

She shot him an indignant glare but sped up regardless, and Justice soon found himself struggling just to keep pace. Beads of sweat dribbled down his forehead, and his shield began to falter. Despite many days of practice, this was still as hard as ever. He did what he could to stay in sync, but even his past self hadn't tried such a technique…and with good reason.

It's too hard, he thought irritably. I just don't have enough in the tank to keep this up in a real fight, and…shit! A fraction too late getting his shield up again, he missed her final swing. It glanced off and slammed into his right shoulder with a dull, metallic 'clang'.

"Sorry!" Jess cringed and dropped the pipe wrench immediately. "I didn't-"

"Son of a bitch!" Justice wasn't angry at her, but rather himself. He turned and, without thinking, put his armoured fist through the nearest wall. "Why the hell can't I do this?"

"Oh, boy," his sister observed, deadpan. "Mom's gonna love that."

Corey tore his helmet off and tossed it aside, taking a moment to brush a mass of sweat-soaked hair from his eyes. "Sorry. I'm just-"

"Frustrated? You're telling me." She sat on a convenient cardboard box marked 'Goodwill', frowning as it sank ever so slightly beneath her slight frame. There were plenty such boxes in the basement. Their mother's basement. He couldn't really think of it as home anymore. It felt foreign, somehow, even unfamiliar. Home was his apartment in Tokyo now. With...

"Why don't you just call her?"

Corey glanced over irritably. There was no need to ask which her she meant. "No."

"Okay, okay," she muttered, raising her hands in mock surrender. "Geez. Broody much?"

She had a point. He liked to consider himself reasonably self-aware, and he'd definitely been quote-unquote 'broody' since returning from Tokyo. Feeling guilty, he managed a smile and injected a touch of 'teasing brother' into his voice. "Does the shrieking really help you get into character?"

"Not really," Jess admitted, with a dismissive snort. "I'm sorry I don't enjoy hitting my favourite brother with a pipe wrench."

"I'm your only brother," Corey pointed out, "And I'd train with Dawkins, or Titus, but..."

"Mm." Mood suddenly sombre, she deflated a little. "That monster from the news. It's coming here eventually, isn't it?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Whatever confidence he tried to muster wavered as he remembered his last encounter with Chaos...and the hole it put in his chest. "Of course, getting my shield working properly would help…"

Jess slipped off the box with a weary sigh. "Okay. Again?"

"Again." He retrieved his helmet and slipped it over his head. "Thanks, Jess. Really. You're doing great...for a five-two, hundred-ten-pound shrimp."

She gasped in faux-outrage. "Thank me again after I've hit you a bunch more times. Seriously, it's like you aren't even trying anymore!"

"Am I supposed to be worried?"

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, emerald eyes sparkling with mischief. "You can laugh it up all you want, but now I'm mad."

"Mad enough to go all out?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You'd better believe it." She tucked a loose strand of auburn hair behind her ear, and bent to retrieve her improvised weapon. "Defend yourself, Sir Justice."

"…please don't call me that."

The days went by quickly and, before he knew it, a week had passed since his departure from Tokyo. Corey continued his improvised training with Jess, but grew increasingly frustrated with his utter lack of progress. It seemed to be an issue of stamina. His shield took far more energy to manifest than to maintain, and he inevitably ran out of gas. Sure, he'd improved, but it wasn't enough…and that left him in a sour mood.

I should be out there, he thought miserably, staring out the living room window. Chaos is working its way across the world, and I'm sitting on my mom's couch…but what good does it do to get myself killed? I need to be stronger, faster…but it feels like I've plateaued again.

His eyes lingered on the watch-like communicator strapped to his wrist. He'd caved, just once, and called Minako. He had to explain himself, make her understand...but it had ended in a shouting match…and her hanging up on him. Am I wrong? Was it a mistake to stand against Usagi and the others? Am I just running away, same as her?

No. Corey leapt off the couch and moved to the window, folding his arms across his chest. How can I accept that? I was just feeding everyone's anger back there, making things worse. I had to leave...didn't I? Completely failing to convince himself, his focus began to shift to other matters. Minako doesn't feel that way, though. Even Usagi wasn't really sure. Did I just make things worse? Did I ruin things with Minako in the process?

"For god's sake, Corey. Would you stop brooding and just call the poor girl already?"

His lips constricted in a deep scowl. "Aw, come on, Mom…"

"Don't 'Mom' me, young man." His mother, Samantha McCleod, still utterly terrified him at times, but she seemed more concerned than anything right now. "Talk to her. Clear all this up."

Corey directed a glare at the stairs. "Jess blabbed."

"Of course, she did! I used my special mom voice. You know the one."

That almost got a smile out of him. Almost. "That's unfair. And I'm not brooding."

"Really," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Explain the fist-sized hole in my basement wall, then."

"Oh…" Corey couldn't quite hide a cringe, now envisioning some dry-wall repair in his near-future. "It was an…accident?"

"Try again."

There was no point. "I'm sorry, Mom, I just…got mad and didn't think." He ran his fingers through his dark, unkempt brown hair and sighed. "I thought I was past all this, but I'm right back to where I first started three years ago. Weak and useless."

"Come on, now. You know that isn't true."

"Yeah, well, it sure as hell feels like it."

She nudged him from behind. "I can't pretend to understand how you feel with all…that, but I know I didn't raise you to run away from your problems."

"And you think that's what I did?" Corey countered, meeting her challenge. "You think I ran away?"

Samantha shrugged. "What I think really doesn't matter, son. This one's on you." Her expression and voice both softened. "Why don't you just call her?"

"I did," he admitted quietly, turning to face the window again. "She got mad and hung up on me."

"Well, of course, she did. You left Tokyo without telling her. I'd be mad too if I was her!" She flashed a wry smile. "Trust me, son. She wants you to call her back."

"After she hung up on me?" Corey wasn't exactly thrilled by the idea. "No. Let her apologise first for a change. I'm sick of all her bullshit and-"

"Language…"

"Games," he finished, nowhere near as angry as he'd made out. "Why can't she just say exactly what she means, and why should I be the first one to call?"

"Because you love her." A simple enough answer, but then his mother had always had a certain way with him. She sank onto the couch and patted a cushion beside her, waiting for him to sit. "Minako can be a bit strange, I'll give you that, but she's not playing games, Corey. She just wants you to show her you're still invested, that you still care enough to make an effort. You left her, no matter your reasons."

"But I did it for her!"

"That's all I wanted from your father." It was like she hadn't heard him at all. "After I left, for the last time. Just one, simple gesture. Something to prove he cared enough to try and work things out. If he could've given me that…I would have gone back to try again." He'd never really heard her talk about his father so openly before. "But he chose to see what you're seeing now. He took my ultimatum as some sort of mind game or manipulation…and decided his pride was worth than me."

Corey was troubled by her story. Is that what this is about? Pride?

"I guess that was his answer, in the end." She brushed a hand over his cheek and smiled sadly. "Just don't let it be your answer. Call her."

Training was pointless; Corey just couldn't focus on the drills. His shield seemed less responsive than ever, failing to catch Jess' attacks time and time again. He tried meditating between bouts. No good. Focusing on the evil and injustice of Chaos itself? No help at all. If anything, he got even worse! That left him in a terrible mood, feeling like his own powers were fighting against him.

"Seriously, Corey, are you even trying?" Jess was trying to be more assertive, at his own request. "It feels like you're even worse than you were when we first started!"

He let his armour fade and sank to the floor cross-legged. "I don't know! Something's wrong, but...I'm not sure what."

"Well…" She flashed a mischievous smile. "You could try calling-"

"Enough!" he snapped, surprising even himself with his outburst. "Minako is the last thing I want to think about right now, so shut it!" The guilt kicked in immediately, but he stuck to his guns. "Just-"

Jess' eyes flashed with anger, the damage done. "You know, you can be a real idiot sometimes!" She tossed the wrench and stormed out. "Come find me when you've pulled your head out of your ass!"

Her heavy footsteps faded up the stairs, leaving the basement silent. Corey ran both hands over his face, ending the motion with a frustrated sigh. "I can't do anything right anymore, can I?" He let his head hit the cold concrete floor as he fell backwards, almost welcoming the pain. "I miss you, Titus. You'd have a snide comment prepared for this very situation, ready to nudge me back on track."

Titus, Dawkins…even Dad, I guess. I lost them all along the way. He stared at his communicator for a moment, reflecting again on his mother's earlier warning. Am I going to lose Minako the same way? Have I already lost her? What about Usagi? Rei? Mako? Even Ami? I had friends for the first time in years, and now…I don't know what I have, if anything.

The basement began to feel very large and empty. Corey was alone, and he didn't like that feeling at all. Not one little bit. "To hell with this. I need some air."

The streets of Des Moines were quieter than he remembered. Chaos' attacks were all over the news, of course; people were understandably cautious, perhaps believing it was only a matter of days until it showed up on their doorsteps. Fortunately, as he'd once told Chibiusa, nothing of real importance ever happened here, or so it felt growing up in Iowa. It seems, he thought idly, Chaos believes so too.

As he roamed, it struck him how truly little attachment he felt to his hometown. His high school, the local youth centre, even a former friend's house; it prompted little more than apathy. Finally, he got to the park where he'd fought his first youma. Awkward, sixteen-year-old him, barely able to wield a sword, against a blade-armed monster calling itself Garagus.

Also the sight of my first and last speech as Justice, he thought idly. At least the showy, pre-combat style. I've made a few more over the years, especially after arriving in Tokyo, but never like the Senshi do.

Finally, perhaps even inevitably, he found himself outside the Forge. Weathered signage declared it 'the premier school of swordsmanship in Iowa', but it hadn't operated since the death of its original owner. And even then, he recalled fondly, it was just Dawkins talking out of his ass. He did that a lot.

It didn't take long to fish the keys out of his pocket and open the rusty security door. Corey paused a moment on the threshold before stepping into the dark, musty interior. 'Reception' was a generous, even misleading term for the battered desk taking up most of the tiny entryway, covered in flyers he knew were out-of-date even a year ago. Grimy, black-and-white 'chessboard' tiles led the way down, into the heart of the Forge itself. He passed through a familiar, weathered archway, in reality just an old doorway without a door; a pair of hinges still hung precariously from the frame.

Still, he couldn't help but feel right at home. I spent a good chunk of my teen years in here. God, we had plans. Once the Dark Kingdom was dusted, we were gonna get this place back on its feet. None of that Mechanical Engineering bullshit; just a real, honest-to-god job with a good friend. Any good cheer faded quickly as he neared the sparring circle. The paint marking its boundaries was worn to the point of near-invisibility, but he knew it well enough to stay outside. It never happened, though. That bastard Surpatore murdered John, and Titus decided it was time we met up with the Senshi. Dream over.

At long last, he reached the back wall; the bar. Cheesy neon signs hung from the ceiling, long dark and covered in a thick layer of dust. Several aged posters hung behind them, depicting scantily-clad women from what he tentatively placed as the late-eighties. Settling against the adjacent wall, Corey stared at the bar's dented façade with a sigh; it was Dawkins' final resting place, in a way. The surrounding floorboards were darker than the rest, stained forever by his blood. His friend would always be a part of this place…and he found a certain comfort in that.

"What would you have to say, old man?" he wondered aloud. "Am I just being stubborn for the sake of pride?" Question unanswered, he let his head fall back against the wall behind him. "Who am I kidding? You'd just tell me to shut up and get back to my training." A long, drawn-out sigh followed. "I miss you, ya gruff old bastard."

Time passed – Corey wasn't sure how much – as he mulled over everything once again. His mom, his sister, Titus, Dawkins…even his father. I still can't stand the bastard, he thought irritably. Even if Mom was the one to actually leave, it's not like he fought very hard to us all together. His fists clenched unconsciously at the thought, but that led him to something of a realisation. He decided his pride was more important than Mom, and I can't help wondering; will Minako come to resent me like that? It never really crossed my mind before, but I don't want that. I'm not Dad, and my pride's worth shit next to her.

Mind made up, he put in a call to her private channel. What I've got to say is for her ears only. No sense in giving the others any more ammunition. A gentle beep indicated the call being made, and a second confirmed the connection was complete. A gentle click sounded as their mics switched on…followed by silence. Not so much as a hello, or even an angry 'what'.

"Minako?" Still nothing. "Listen, I know you're mad…and I know I deserve it, but…" He paused, sure he could hear gentle breathing. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry." It seemed inadequate, but this was fairly new to him; what else could he really add? "That's all, I guess. Thanks for listening. I...again, I'm sorry, and…I love you."

The silence persisted, at first. Finally, though, there was something that sounded suspiciously like a sharp intake of breath, and… "I know."

Just hearing her voice made him feel so much better, just as he'd known it would. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just worried that if I told you before I left, you'd-"

"You thought I'd try to stop you." Minako spoke so matter-of-factly, with no hint of the fury he was expecting. "Do you really think so little of me?"

"I…" Corey was genuinely unsure how to respond. Do I? I don't think so. "I'm not-"

"You made me promise to stop making decisions for the both of us, but you made the biggest of all, to leave me…all by yourself." Her accusations hurt all the more because they were true. "That wasn't fair, Corey. It was hypocritical, and…" She trailed off into a short, irritated sigh. "I don't want to fight again."

Are you telling me, he wondered meekly, or yourself?

"Listen…" Minako hesitated, but only for a moment. "I love you too. None of this changes that…even if it made it really hard for a little while. This is all just a…a lump in the street."

Corey couldn't help but smile at yet another of her confused idioms. God help me, I've missed those.

"Just sort yourself out, okay, and come back to me…because I miss you, and I need you." She slipped into more of a whisper, her voice abruptly strained. "Everything's so messed up right now. The team is coming apart, and we-" An odd crackle drowned out her next words. "…Usagi tries to keep…only one person, and-" More static now, consistent in level. "…hear me? A…distortion…wrong with the-"

"Minako?" Concern began gnawing away at his gut. Their communicators were Moon Kingdom tech; there wasn't much on Earth that could interfere with them this way. "Can you hear me?"

"…hell is that?!" A different voice answered him. Distant, as if further from the microphone; Rei. "…a moment…warn Usagi! We're under…Black…" His communicator issued a painful squeal before dying for good.

"Damn it," he muttered, fiddling with its settings. "What's happening back there?" His head smacked against the wall behind him again in frustration. "Calm down, Corey. Minako's a big girl. She can take care of herself. They all can." A snarl of irritation burst from his throat as he punched the floor. "Pep-talks work a hell of a lot better coming from someone else, though!"

"Is that so?"

His eyes snapped open to see a flowing white gown and impossible long, silver ponytails. They led up to a familiar, twin-bun hairstyle…and sad, cobalt eyes.

"Perhaps I might offer some guidance?"

Corey ran a hand slowly over his face, considering several responses before ultimately settling on an incredulous, "You decide to show up now?!"

The Goddess Selene stared back at him in silence, a delicate, silver eyebrow slowly arching curiously.

Committed now, he went for broke. "I mean, I could've used your input a while back now. Were you busy while Chaos was kicking my ass?"

He'd never really unloaded on a goddess before. All things considered, she didn't seem particularly offended. "You were not ready to listen then. Now you are."

"Oh, right, of course," he grumbled, rolling his eyes. "I forgot who I was talking to. Enigmatic chats are your forte, after all."

"Much has changed since last we spoke," she replied, apparently ignoring his sarcastic jibe. "You are a man apart, torn between duty to your Princess and the tenets you have sworn to uphold."

"Yeah…" Corey deflated, realising he wouldn't get a rise out of her so easily…and really shouldn't be trying. She's always done right by me. I think. "Do you think I was right to act against Usagi?"

"You believe it was right. That is all that matters."

He fought the sudden urge to groan. "Were you this frustrating as a living, breathing Queen?"

"Perhaps…" A faint, wry smile crept onto her features. "Though my subjects never had to heart to tell me so." She even threw in a wink. "Until you came along, of course. I confess, I find your utter lack of restraint most entertaining."

"Uh, yeah. Sorry. I can't seem to help acting like a dick lately." He cleared his throat nervously, the gravity of the situation sinking in again. "It's not fair of me to criticise you for being enigmatic. You have your reasons, I'm sure. Pluto talks the same way. Must be a side-effect of gaining cosmic-level power."

Selene offered a distinctly casual shrug. "I frustrate even her, I assure you."

"The two of you in a battle of the enigmatic? Now, that I'd like to…" His mention of Setsuna was a reminder of what he'd just heard over the communicator, and he cut that tangent short. "Are they okay? Everyone back in Tokyo, I mean."

"Does it matter?" she asked, with a healthy dose of implied scepticism. "Would you return to their side so quickly?"

Corey felt like he'd been slapped across the face. "Of course, I would. They're my friends!"

"Yet you abandoned them once already, despite first-hand knowledge of the evil they face."

"I had to," he stammered, protests weakening as his stomach itself in knots. "They were all torn by what I'd done. Angry! They made Minako a pariah for even appearing to support me! Hell, even Usagi left for a while. Staying would've been pointless! I was in no shape to fight anyway, and they didn't need a reminder of everything that had happened."

"Who are you trying to convince, Corey?"

"Nobody!" he argued, feeling his entire argument unravelling. "I left them because-"

"Because you fear responsibility." She never raised her voice. Not once. "Being held accountable for your actions."

"No! Because it was…" It was then that Corey realised he was no longer sure of himself. I never was. All this time, I was just lying to make myself feel better, wasn't I? He swallowed uncomfortably, unable to meet her gaze. "It was the right thing to do…?"

Selene offered a sad smile, one that held only pity. "The right thing for whom?"

After Jess, his mother, and now Minako…he knew the answer. He knew why he'd really left Tokyo, and why he'd gotten so angry at his sister earlier. "...for me."

"Are you sure?"

He managed a slight nod, overcome with shame. "I'm still not all that different from Corval, am I? I ran, just like he did…only he ran from duty, and I'm running from its consequences."

The goddess remained mercifully silent, but indulged him with a reassuring nod.

"Doing the right thing isn't always easy," Corey murmured, remembering one of Titus' final lessons. "Taking a stand against Usagi and the others was the most difficult decision of my life…but it was the right thing to do. If I'm going to make more of those judgement calls, I need to be prepared to face the consequences." His heart ached as he recalled Minako's calm dissection of his actions. "I told myself I had to leave to protect Minako, but she's not some precious snowflake. She's tougher than me! She doesn't want or need my protection, just my love. I wasn't helping her by leaving, I was hurting her; the one thing I swore I'd never do."

Selene smiled once more, somehow more radiant now than at her first appearance.

"My place is with my friends." There was no hesitation per se, but he was aware of his…limitations. "I'm just not much good to them like this. Chaos took me apart the last time we fought. I need...I need help." An unpleasant but perhaps necessary question popped into his head. "Maybe, if there were three Guardian Knights…"

Usually so unreadable, he was sure the goddess perked up. "Yes…?"

"I…" Corey dismissed the notion immediately, knowing it was ridiculous. "No. We don't have time to train a new Honour and Faith and, if I'm honest, I'm not ready for that yet. I may never be ready for that again." A heavy sigh of frustration followed, and he began tapping his head against the wall rhythmically. "I've tried training, even meditation. Sure, I progressed, to a point…but eventually I just run of juice. Is there some way you could give me a little more strength, perhaps? More stamina? Like a loan?"

She drifted down towards him, and he was reminded he still sat on the floor. Up close like this, there was a certain impossible beauty to her. Of indeterminate age, the goddess seemed older than Usagi, yet not quite as old as her mother, Queen Serenity. Hers was a timeless, ageless beauty…but one Corey found paled in comparison to his memories of Minako.

Her angelic smile faltered now, revealing genuine concern. "Chaos is the embodiment of all evil. Its source, its will; its very essence."

A chill ran down his spine at her description of the creature…but he couldn't let it shake him. "We'll find a way to stop it. Sailor Moon and-"

"Do you recall the tales of the first Guardian Knights?" Selene remained at his level, almost kneeling before him.

"Vaguely," he confessed, recalling an afternoon with Lucius in his previous life. "You wanted to give the Moon Kingdom a gift, right?"

"Of a sort," she agreed, bowing her head. "The first Guardian Knights came at my call; champions of my people, and living embodiments of the virtues they were named for. True guardians of the Moon Kingdom I adored. A defence against all evil, great and small...and a voice for all my people."

Puzzled, he nodded slowly. "Right…?"

"In time, however, I developed…regrets. Fears that I had granted them too much power, too soon." She turned her head, as if unable to look at him. "You now know of Varelus, and his crimes." Anger of unfamiliar intensity seethed in her voice but a moment before giving way to a subtle sadness beneath. "After his imprisonment, the new Queen came to me in prayer. She begged me for days, even weeks, to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again, and…in my grief, I agreed."

Corey inhaled sharply as he realised what she was saying. "Oh."

"My surviving Knights knew nothing of Varelus' plans. They were innocent, distraught as I was, yet...I stripped them of so much power. Tore it from them without explanation or warning...and Corval saw the results for himself. The Guardian Knights became little more than ceremonial in nature, reorganised by subsequent Queens, made more dependent on the Crown for decisions."

"I don't believe it," he whispered, drawn back to his previous life in the Silver Millennium. "A leash. They put us on a leash…because they were afraid of us."

"And ultimately, it was my people who suffered most for it," Selene finished, bowing her head in an obvious show of sorrow. "Such was my folly. A folly that led to the collapse of everything I loved."

"Well," Corey said, shifting uncomfortably, "To be fair-"

"But no more! Let that which was taken…" She leaned down with a hopeful smile and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "…be returned."

Power. Raw, unfettered power. It surged through his body, frightening in its intensity…and yet, there was a certain familiarity as well. Somehow, inexplicably, he knew he could do more. Be more. He had always known the link to Selene was there, within, but it now burned brighter. Hotter. Stronger than ever before. In a way, he felt…reborn.

"I grant you my strength, Corey McLeod; as much as your mortal form can take." She drifted back to her full height, pleased but also stern. "Dwell no longer on your fears, nor your doubts. Worry not of criticism or consequence. Focus only on the love within your heart for justice, for your friends, for this world. Use that fire to burn away Chaos' evil wherever you find it, once and for all." She softened, becoming almost angelic again. "Most importantly of all, never again lose sight of who you are…Sir Justice."

With practically no effort at all, he summoned Justiciar to his hand. The sword pulsed with her power, its golden finish gleaming even in the dull light of the Forge. Flames swirled within the pommel-set gem, sporadically licking their way along the blade. Corey rose to his feet, closed his eyes, and breathed.

"For justice," he agreed. "For my friends, and for this world." His armour appeared around him, now almost weightless. As his helmet appeared over his eyes, he caught a brief glimpse of something pure and white at his back. Feathers? Wings? Turning quickly, he found nothing…and dismissed the notion with a snort. I don't think so. That'd be nuts!

"You approve." Selene wasn't asking; she already knew his answer.

"I do." Justice dropped to one knee, fully aware of the scope of her gift. "Thank you, my lady. For everything, pep-talk included."

"You are most welcome." She nodded graciously…and began to fade. "Go now, with my blessing renewed. Go to your friends, your love, and live your life…but never forget who you are."

"Never," he vowed quietly. Glancing around, he smiled sadly under his helmet. "Well. I don't expect I'll be back for a while. Goodbye, old friend. Look after the place for me while I'm gone." As he prepared to blink away, however, a concerning thought occurred to him…and he shook his head. "No. I can't leave again without saying goodbye."

Jess lay on her bed, nose buried in a book as always. She was so engrossed, in fact, that she failed to notice the flash of his teleport. Shaking his head in disbelief, Justice rapped gently on the closest wall with his gauntlet-clad knuckles.

She jumped a good foot off the bed with a shriek and hurled the book in fright. "Jesus, Corey!"

He caught it with ease as it bounced harmlessly off his chestplate. "Hey."

"You scared me half to death! Why are you dressed like that up here, anyway?!"

Crossing the distance between them in four long strides, he handed her the book and removed his helmet. "I'm sorry."

Jess' glare eased a little. "For?"

"For yelling at you before. You were just trying to help me; you didn't deserve that." Swallowing his pride, he managed an awkward shrug. "And, as it turns out, you may have been right, so..."

"Well, duh." Her glare lessened again, drooping now into a wary frown. "Apology accepted and all that. Now, seriously. Why the armour?"

Corey dropped to one knee and enfolded her in a very gentle hug. "I've been gone too long already. I need to head back to Tokyo and tag in again."

"But your training!" she protested, stiffening in his arms. "You said you weren't ready! You-"

"I had an interesting chat with…well, who doesn't really matter." He withdrew slowly, flashing a little smirk. "The point is, someone got an upgrade."

She returned it with one of her own. "Oh, boy, I hope they're tougher than you."

"Brat," he muttered, giving her hair a good-natured mussing.

"Cut it out!" she cried, with a playful giggle. It only lasted a moment, though, before her smile slackened. "Mom's gonna worry."

"Not you?"

"Oh, I will, but…" Jess slipped off the bed and flung herself into another hug. "I know my big brother can take care of himself."

"Look after her, okay?" he whispered, reluctantly pulling away. "And stay safe."

She sank back onto the bed and mustered a very obviously forced smile. "You too."

He found his mother downstairs, snuggled up on the couch with a book of her own. Somehow, he'd never really picked up the bookworm bug, despite being surrounded by it growing up. She stirred as he clomped over, raising an eyebrow at his appearance.

"You called her."

Corey blinked, caught off-guard. "What? How do you know?"

"Your eyes," she answered, with a gentle smile. "A mother knows."

"Ha. Yeah, I guess you do." Steeling himself for her inevitable protests, he struggled to find the right words. "Look, Mom, I…I have to-"

"You're going back to Japan."

"How…?" He just laughed quietly as the stress melted away. "A mother knows, of course." Unsure what else to say, he settled on making amends. "Thanks. For making me pull my head in, for making me see sense, and...well, for just being an all-round awesome mom."

"What can I say? It's a gift." She placed her book down and slipped off the couch, embracing him as best she could around his armour. "You be careful now, you hear? No going off and getting yourself killed. I expect you home again after all this is over, and you'd better bring Minako with you."

Corey brought his arms up around her and nodded faintly. "It's a promise."

"Good." She stepped away as Jess entered the room, holding her gently as they watched him draw his sword. "Give 'em hell, son."

"I will."

Goodbyes done, he turned his thoughts to his friends. Usagi. Ami, Rei, and Mako. Chibiusa. Hotaru. Setsuna, and even Haruka. Luna and Artemis. Mamoru. Even those no longer with them…like Titus and Michiru. Lastly, he pictured her; Minako…and her radiant smile. They'd all been through a lot. Good times and bad. Laughs, tears, fights; even a death or two. He reflected on all of it, and an image began forming in his mind. A run-down department store, and a hastily-assembled camp in its depths...

Focus complete, and his mission clear, the Guardian Knight of Justice took a deep breath, raised his sword, and simply…blinked.

AN: Well, somehow I got this one done in even LESS time than the last chapter! I still don't understand where this sudden burst of productivity is coming from, but I am doing everything I can to keep it alive as long as possible.

With this chapter, Corey returns to the story and gets what I hope is a plausible power-up to help keep him in the fight. Special thanks to metalgear for letting me bounce some ideas off him, especially around the 'retcon' of the Guardian Knights being de-powered after the whole Revenant Knight debacle. I know this was a largely talky chapter, but I'm hopeful my attempts to sprinkle a little humour throughout weren't a complete fail, and I assure you there'll be a little more action next time out. Thank you for continuing to read my work, as always; I only hope it continues to entertain. Stay tuned for the follow-up. We'll be heading back to Tokyo to see how the Senshi are doing. If there's time, we might even see how Usagi, Chibiusa and Setsuna get out of their predicament!

Lisseas