Third Time's the Charm

By Bashfulglowfly

Chapter Seven

Mamoru and the Senshi waited at the Hikawa Shrine in various degrees of impatience.

They were waiting for the Shitennou and their Princess to arrive.

A few days before they had attended the funeral for the parents of Kazuya, Usagi and Shingo. They hadn't been able to speak to her but they knew she knew they were there because they felt along their bonds a silent greeting and thank you. At the side of the three siblings was a little pink-haired girl that Mamoru had guessed was his daughter but said nothing as the Senshi wondered who she was. They also saw Sailor Pluto with two other women and a young girl but they left before any of the Senshi could approach them.

"I don't know why we have to meet here! This is my home! I don't want any of them tainting it!" Complained Rei.

Mamoru stared at her with a rather cool expression on his face. "So, you think that Serenity is tainted."

Rei flushed "No, that's not what I meant."

"Then by all means, please explain what you meant." Came his even colder reply.

"I just don't want the Shitennou here. They tried to kill us. They're evil. Nothing is going to change that!"

Mamoru didn't bother to smile. "You don't remember the truth. Trust me. It's not pretty and you WILL regret saying that. Besides, THEY are the ones who have been Serenity's Guardians this time around. Are you going to deny her their companionship?"

"Shut up, Rei." Minako ordered before the hothead could snarl at Mamoru again. "They wanted to meet here for several reasons, one of which is you." Rei sputtered angrily as Minako glared at her. "Your hot-head and not thinking but reacting when you're angry would be disastrous if we're in public. Besides, Kazuya said that the Shrine is one of the safest places in the City to meet."

"What did he mean by that?" asked Makoto.

Minako shrugged. "Not really sure."

Ami frowned and pulled out her mini-computer and began conducting scans. "OH!" she gasped but before the others could ask anything, she dashed off around the corner with her computer still held in front of her.

"Huh. I wonder what she's seeing." Murmured Mamoru.

A few minutes later Ami came around the corner from the other side. The others were surprised because they'd never seen the quiet girl so excited before. Her normally calm blue eyes were practically glittering. "This place could be hit with the Magical equivalent of a nuclear bomb and IT WILL SURVIVE!" Her voice rang with excitement.

"What do you mean?" asked Rei sharply.

"Look!" Ami tilted her computer so that everyone could see the diagram on it. It showed the Shrine and several layers that seemed to encircle it. She pointed to the innermost layer. "See this? This is Rei's power surrounding the Shrine. But it's not that stable and it only goes to the ground."

"Not stable?!" Rei's voice was offended.

"Hush, Rei." Minako spoke rather absently she was so intent on the computer. "What's the rest?"

"This layer is Jadeite's power. It's similar to Rei's but it's stable and encapsulates the Shrine above and below."

"Encapsulates?" asked Makoto.

Mamoru replied. "The Shrine is in the middle of a ball of energy that is protecting it." He pointed to the next layer that seemed to flow like water against the flickering flames of Jadeite's power. "That's…Zoicite's power, isn't it?"

Ami beamed at him. "Yes, one would think that fire and water wouldn't work well next to each other, but they manage. The next layer is Kunzite's." That layer seemed almost opaque but firm. "The last layer is Nephrite's." Nephrite's layer was a glittering latticework of stars. "I'm not sure as to why his is the last layer. I'll have to do more research into it. But, like I said, I think that the Shrine could withstand a Magical version of a nuclear bomb and come out of it unscathed."

Rei sniffed, she was clearly offended that her power wasn't enough to defend her home. "So why doesn't my power do what theirs does?"

Ami looked evenly at her fiery friend. "I'm going to guess it's because we aren't fully awake yet."

Rei just tossed her long black hair, folded her arms and stared into the distance.

"What time is it?" asked Makoto.

"Almost 11 a.m. They should be here soon." Replied Mamoru as he glanced at his watch.

Rei looked up as Phobos and Deimos took to the sky. "They're here." She continued to watch as the two crows continued to circle idly over the Shrine.

As they watched, they saw the Shitennous' heads slowly rise above the stairs. First Nephrite and Zoicite, then Jadeite followed by Kunzite who was supporting Serenity who was obviously struggling up the stairs.

"You going to be okay?" asked Nephrite.

"Yes." Came the breathless reply from the blond girl. "It's just a lot of stairs and it's been a while since I've exercised."

Zoicite scowled at Kunzite. "You should have carried her up the stairs."

"I could have, but she needs to get her strength back." Kunzite's voice was even.

"I don't want to be babied. I'm fine!" protested Serenity.

"You were bedridden for several days. That takes a lot out of you. You just need to go slow and recover." Said Nephrite.

"We don't have the time." Said Serenity sadly.

Jadeite reached out and lightly tugged one long blond tail. "Don't you worry about it. We'll keep things, and you, safe while you get stronger." Jadeite looked up just as Phobos and Deimos came diving down at him.

Rei grinned. Boy, is he going to get a surprise! She thought.

But she was the one surprised.

Jadeite held out his arm and instead of attacking him, the two crows quickly back-winged and landed gently on his arm. Then began "chattering" at him. He listened gravely while gently scratching the pair behind their heads. After they finished "chattering" he gently tapped them on the beaks. "I know it's fun to go chasing cats, but you HAVE to be careful when you go chasing them when you aren't in the Shrine. Here you're protected from harm, you aren't protected elsewhere."

Phobos squawked. Jadeite replied, "I know. But what would Rei do if one of you got hurt? Think about that!"

The two crows looked at each other then leaned forward to stroke their heads against Jadeite's cheek. They launched from his arm to Rei's shoulders where they also stroked her cheeks then flew up into the air and out of sight.

"You're really going to have to have a long talk with those two. They shouldn't be chasing cats off the Shrine grounds."

"They shouldn't chase cats at all. It's really not very nice!" said a new voice. Everyone looked down. It was Artemis, his face scrunched up in disgust. Luna at his side, nodding in agreement. "Sorry we're late. We got to talking."

Kunzite spoke. "It's alright, Artemis. We just got here ourselves."

Luna scampered over and leapt into Serenity's open arms. She wrapped her paws around the Princess's neck the best she could. "I'm so sorry I didn't find you sooner. Forgive me?"

Serenity stroked one hand down Luna's spine. "There's nothing to forgive! I was too far away for you to find."

Luna gently patted one cheek. "I'm sorry about your parents."

Serenity closed her eyes as a tear trailed down. "Thank you."

Artemis jumped into Kunzite's arms then to his shoulder. "Luna, I told you that I knew where she was all along."

Minako was shocked. "You knew! And you didn't tell us?"

Artemis looked at his ward. "Yes, I knew where the Princess was. Yes, I kept it a secret from you. But, I was under orders. Orders that I couldn't disobey."

Minako opened her mouth to say something but Rei spoke first. "I don't appreciate you messing around with MY home." She glared at Jadeite. "I'm perfectly capable of protecting it without YOU!"

Jadeite glared back. "Oh really?" He drawled. He looked at Ami. "I know you've probably analyzed the shield. Tell your friend how many attacks it's held off."

Ami looked down at her computer. She tapped a few keys. She looked up, shocked. "There have been fifty separate attacks on the shield. Thirty since the Dark Moon clan arrived." She looked down at the computer again. "The last attack was…last night…around 3 a.m."

Makoto looked at Rei. "I didn't feel anything." She stared at her friend. "Neither did you."

Rei bit her lip and turned her head, refusing to look at Jadeite. "It doesn't matter." She turned back and glared even harder at the blond Shitennou. "You betrayed us. You betrayed everyone including your own prince!"

"No they didn't." The hard voice came from Serenity.

Rei sneered at her. "Prove it."

Serenity smiled sadly. "Fine, I will." She closed her eyes and cupped her hands level to her breasts. In her hands appeared a small multi-faceted jewel.

It began to glow and white light surrounded them…

…and they were flung into Hell.