The senshi had adjourned for the evening to give them all a chance to mull over the tremendous amount of information that was thrust upon them that day. So much had happened, and so much of it was deeply personal, and the girls needed a chance to feel out where they stood. Ami took custody of Serafim, since he made it very clear it he was rather inseparable from her, and she gladly took on the duty of defending the bearer of the Dark Crystal.

Tiredly rubbing her eyes, she opened the door to her spacious condominium and she was instantly attacked by her mother, barraged by hundreds of questions about her health and what had happened. After a quick examination and writing off the day's events as a result of low blood sugar from forgetting to eat, the doctor dismissed her daughter, hugging her tightly and gently reprimanding her about the importance of regular meals, to which Ami promised to be more careful about, and she was sent on her way.

The blue haired girl opened the door to her bedroom and ushered her companion inside, quickly shutting the door behind them. With a great sigh, Ami dropped into her desk chair. "What a day…"

"I'm sorry," Serafim said softly, and Ami quickly brushed him off.

"Nonsense, it's not your fault. You're just caught up in the middle of all this." She looked him over quickly and felt a twinge in her heart as he stood sadly, head bowed, and she indicated toward the bed. "Please, sit down."

He uneasily glanced in the direction she was indicating, and he flushed slightly. "Am I allowed?"

"Yes, of course."

The red eyed man quickly nodded and seated himself on the bed, feet firmly planted on the floor and body as stiff as a board as he faced the intelligent woman. "Thank you for allowing me in your home."

"You don't need to thank me for that, it's my pleasure to have you," the blue eyed girl said sweetly, smiling for a minute before she sighed heavily, her features tired and worn. She shifted in her desk chair, crossing one slender ankle over the other and quietly asked, "What do you think of all this?"

"I'm scared of the man we saw today," the blonde said firmly. "He couldn't stop looking at me, and…and I saw it in his eyes, he wants to kill me."

"He listed other options," Ami said softly, a faint smile playing across her face. "Your death was not his prerogative."

"No, listen to me!" Serafim said frantically, loudly, and the senshi of wisdom watched his wide, frightened eyes intently. ""He may have said other things, but he wants to kill me. After Sailor Moon said that he couldn't kill me, he didn't even mention alternatives, he just gave reasons why I had to die!" He was trembling now, his long fingered hands tightly gripping the covers on the girl's bed and the light from the moon outside made his red eyes appear all the more frantic. "Please, don't let him mislead you. I need your help. How am I going to do this alone?"

Ami was silent for a while, her hand at her chin as she stared blankly at the wall, her sharp mind working furiously to organize her thoughts and make sense of things that she simply could not yet comprehend. Finally, after several minutes of weak pleading from the man that fell on deaf ears, Ami finally said, "I am glad you saw that too. I am not sure they are to be trusted." Serafim breathed a sigh of relief, and Ami tapped her fingers against the back of the chair, biting her lip for a moment while she contemplated the situation. "I'm a little torn, to be honest. The Moon Kingdom is a force for good, and I do believe he was telling us the truth about the war with Nemesis and the origins of the Black Moon Clan. But a great deal of his implications don't make sense, and he raised a great deal of questions that we need to answer before we have any dealings with him."

"So…" the red eyed man said slowly, his guard up. "You're going to help him?"

"If the Moon Kingdom is being attacked, then I think, as senshi, we have a duty to help defend it," she said, but her voice was distant and aloof, almost as though it was an automated response, not the usual clear and measured words that left her lips. "It doesn't make sense. If he could just extract the crystal from you, why would he need to kill you?" She spent a moment in complete silence before her eyes shot open, wide with revelation, and she held her breath, alerting and worrying the tense Serafim.

""What, what's wrong?" he asked, swiftly jumping from his place and laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"If the Silver Crystal breaks, Sailor Moon will die, right?" the young senshi said quickly, and Serafim looked at her, dumbfounded and unable to really follow.

"Uh, I guess?"

"It stands to reason that it is because her life is entwined with it. And by that reasoning, if she dies, the crystal will be destroyed as well. It is purely conjecture, but I think it makes sense that one cannot exist without the other."

"Oh?" he questioned, but only a second later, his eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh…"

"It doesn't matter if the crystal is removed or not," she said solemnly. "If this is true, when the crystal is destroyed, you will die."

Serafim dropped back on the bed, a knot in his stomach and feeling as though his chest were empty. "I can't just give it back, can I?" he said lifelessly. "So if you help the Moon Kingdom, I'm going to die…"

Ami looked intently at the floor, counting on her fingers as she muttered quietly to herself. "We can do both," she said softly. "We can help them by keeping you safe. Guarding you will have the same effect as killing you so long as you are out of enemy hands. I think that's a fair compromise."

"You would do that for me?" he asked, and Ami smiled sweetly.

"Of course. It's our job to triumph over evil, and keeping the Dark Crystal away from those who will use it to hurt others constitutes that. And we simply can't do that if we're willing to kill to get the job done, that makes us no better than our enemies." She paused a second to take a deep breath, and the man looked at her, red eyes soft and longing, the intelligent girl completely oblivious in the intellectual brainstorming. "The end does not justify the means. What we do means nothing if we are willing to do horrible things to get there."

"I hope the others agree."

"I know they will. Sailor Moon has already decided to defend you, and once she has her heart set on something, it is impossible to change her mind. Remind me, though. I must ask Luna about the nature of the crystals; that is the key to solving this problem."

They were quiet for some time, each absorbed in their own thoughts, and very cautiously, Serafim ventured, "What are you studying in school?"

"Hm?" Snapped out of here revere, the thoughtful woman had her full attention back on her slightly flushing guest.

"What are you studying?" he asked again, but quickly changed his mind, shaking his head and added, "What do you like to do?"

"I'm studying to be a doctor," she said, a slight hint of pride in her voice and a faint smile on her face. "And I guess I like swimming and playing chess and spending time with my friends." She giggled softly, laying her hand over her mouth, and her companion smiled slightly to see her light up like that. "You're going to like my friends."

"The other senshi?"

"Yes. You'll come along me tomorrow and we will properly introduce you. I don't think that today's introduction really counts."

He smiled softly, his entire being slowly relaxing as he sighed happily. "Thank you. I…I don't know how I could ever possibly hope to repay you."

She laughed good naturedly. "You don't have to. I'm happy to help."

"I…" He paused, breathing deeply, his face lightly flushed and he said, much quieter, "I knew to look for you because I, uh…What I mean is that I dream about you." Ami looked rather taken aback, and the man quickly and furiously blushed a deep red, bablbing incoherently for a moment before, much louder than he intended, exclaimed, "Wait, no! That's not what I meant to say! I mean, I didn't mean the implications about dreaming about you. Which I don't! I mean, uh…" He finally trailed off with an irritated growl, his face intensely flushed, and Ami couldn't help but laugh a little at the sheer magnitude of flustered-ness the man was exhibiting.

After a few deep, calming breaths, Serafim said slowly, measured, "I have been having dreams that you have been a part of, and in them, you guide me and protect me." He blushed slightly again, looking down at the floor. "As soon as I got the Dark Crystal, I knew that if I found you and the senshi, then I'd be safe."

His eyes bore into her, and Ami blushed furiously under the intense gaze, hand to her mouth as she focused on a speck of something on the floor to divert her attention. Slowly, the gears in her mind began moving, the sudden spark of realization pushing her modesty to the side as she inquired, "What happens in the dream?"

The man seemed shocked at the question. "I, uh, well…" he started, exhaling quickly. "I'm trapped, right? In just, you know, this black empty place. And then there's this light, far, far away, and then you," he said quietly, his voice softening. "You show up, and you take me from there, but all along the way, these dark hands try to pull me back. Buy you…you keep them awak. They fear you." He smiled softly, gazing at her in absolute adoration, but the oblivious genius missed this entirely, her bright, knowledgeable eyes alight with sudden understanding as the gears in her mind swiftly put the pieces together.

"I know what to do," Ami said quickly, her blue eyes seemilg to shine in the dull light of the room. "I've dreamt about you too, and I'm beginning to believe Raye when she says it's prophetic. But in my dream, you're killed. Perhaps it's a vision of what will come to pass, but I think it's a warning of things to come if we are not vigilant, alert, and stupidly naïve like we were today."

"I'm going to be killed?" Serafim asked quietly, his red eyes brave, but his skin paled at the thought.

"I don't think so," Ami smiled, triumphant but somehow somber as one is when they learn of an awful truth. "Not anymore. I know who kills you, and I know his motive."

"Who?" he asked swiftly. "What is it?"

She smiled grimly, hands gripping the back of the chair so tightly her knuckles turned white. "More than try to kill you, he is trying to resurrect a dark god." Breathing deep, she tensed, eyes locked with his and holding him transfixed. "The other man in my dream is Alkaios."