As soon as Kunzite's self-imposed deadline arrived, he teleported back to the Dark Kingdom. He curious and impatient and hadn't bothered to change out of his human clothing. He had no plans to see Beryl, so he wasn't worried about his appearance. All he wanted was his very own senshi. His long fingers curled eagerly about the handle of Mars' cell door. Almost as soon as his skin made contact with the heated metal, he hissed in pain and jerked his hand back.

A soft laugh drifted through the iron door. For a moment, Kunzite felt a stab of doubt. Had she resisted Metallia's influence? How could a mere slip of a girl have done what he could not? Then he noticed the door was beginning to glow oddly. A nauseating odor began to emanate from the heating metal, and he pulled the cloth of his sweater over his mouth and nose. The center of the door began to bubble and melt, dripping ominously down towards the floor. For a long moment, he was stunned.

Once a small hole had been bored out of the metal, the glow began to die down. As the door cooled, thickly oozing metal slowly solidified and the vapors began to sink heavily to the ground, no longer polluting the air Kunzite was breathing. He released his hold on the cloth, but disdained stepping into the metal puddle that now blocked his access to the door.

A moment passed and then a gloved hand popped out of the door and twisted the doorknob. The metal door swung open, just missing Kunzite's nose, and a highly amused Sailor Mars appeared before him. She lounged insolently against the door frame. Billows of acrid smoke wafted out from the room, finally finding a source of ventilation. She was stained with soot from head to toe, which made her violet eyes seem maddened. "Hello, Kunzite," she purred, her voice thick with smoke.

"Amusing yourself, I see." Kunzite's voice was flat and cold, displaying none of his pleasure at her increased power and destructive impulses. Now that the haze was clearing, he could see that the entire cell was soot-stained.

She shrugged a shoulder laconically, but straightened up under his gaze. "I was bored."

Her statement made Kunzite smile. "Come with me," he commanded, stretching out his hand. Mars slipped her filthy gloved hand into his and he couldn't help a slight feeling of revulsion. He resolved to never be without his gloves again as he tugged her over the still-hot puddle of melted iron and teleported them back to Juuban.

Usagi's health was rapidly improving. Her natural healing ability was shocking to Dr. Mizuno, who was obliged to conceal just how well her patient was doing from her parents and the police. It had only been a few days since the attack and she had managed to delay the police with the claim that Usagi had not yet regained consciousness from all the sedatives and the shock.

She was coming to terms with her daughter's secret life, as well. She considered herself a very practical woman, so she had to move past the hurt and the fear and accept Ami's path. She had no say in the matter. She was one of the vulnerable, one of the victims. Ami and her friends were their last line of defense. She had to trust Ami to survive this.

Just as Ami had to trust her. She'd realized this early. Ami's revelations had put her mother in a very powerful position. She could have forced the senshi and their protector out of their safe zone. If she'd chosen to reveal what she'd learned, they would have had to surrender their civilian identities completely. They would have had to abandon their homes and families in order to protect them, although she doubted that would have worked. Already, there was a great deal of fear for Mr. Hino and Youchirou's lives.

She had visited the two wounded men at Hikawa Jinja, wanting to see for herself the dangers of being related to a senshi. Youchirou was a hopeless mess. She could easily see the man was broken-hearted and blamed himself for failing to prevent Rei's kidnapping. It was clear that he bought the yakuza kidnapping story completely. The old man, however, knew the truth. His eyes were penetrating enough to clue her in, but once he'd sent a limping Youchirou away to fetch them some tea, he'd been blunt, "So, you know about them, too."

She'd been furious at his revelation. "How long have you known?"

"I've known Rei was different since her birth. I've known about her awakening since it happened, a little less than a year ago, I think."

"Did you know about my daughter?"

"How well do you know my granddaughter?" he'd countered. When she had shaken her head helplessly, he had nodded. "That's my Rei. Locked up tight, afraid of people, afraid of pain. When suddenly she had friends, real friends, do you think I questioned that? Of course I did. Rei had two people that mattered to her. Her mother, who was taken from us when Rei was so young, and myself." He then began coughing, scaring Dr. Mizuno, until she had realized he was doing it for Youchirou's benefit. The boy's approach had been silent to her, but not to his master. He'd slid the hot tea tray over to them, then raced away to fetch water.

"You're quite a deceptive man," she had marveled. He'd merely waved a hand and smiled. "So, the friendship was your clue?"

His shrug had been self-deprecating, "The clue that got me thinking. Both young ladies, Ami and Usagi, radiated unusual auras. I simply kept an eye on them, eavesdropping at times."

"And what you heard didn't frighten you? You didn't think their parents deserved to know?"

"It wasn't my secret to tell."

Dr. Mizuno had been beyond livid at this simple statement, but Youchirou had returned with water and didn't show any signs of budging from his master's side. She had been forced into playing the role of worried friend and doctor, choking down the bitter tea and making small talk for what felt like an eternity, before she could make her excuses. The time spent in Grandpa Hino's presence seemed to wear down her anger and eased her path towards acceptance, she now realized.

She cleared her head of her thoughts, refocusing on Usagi's chart. She was expecting Usagi's parents any time now for a brief update meeting. She hated having to lie to them, but she agreed with Mamoru and the girls that it was safer for them if they didn't know the whole truth about their daughter.

A firm knock echoed through her office. Setting her game face, Dr. Mizuno called out an invitation to enter. It wasn't the Tsukinos who entered, however. Instead, a very well-dressed man whose face seemed full of rage barged into her office. "Dr. Mizuno?" he queried, his voice dripping with condescension.

"Yes. And you are?"

"Hino Takeshi."

"Ah." Dr. Mizuno leaned back in her chair, coldly appraising the man who called himself Rei's father. The idle chitchat at Hikawa Jinja no longer seemed such a wasted period of time. She saw now that Grandpa Hino had been preparing her for an encounter with this man. "How can I help you?"

Her posture and apparent disapproval of him startled and infuriated the politician. But he was too well-schooled to let it show. He gestured at a seat in front of her desk and she nodded coolly. He settled into the chair, leaning forward on her desk, pinning her with a steely gaze. "I want to know why you are obstructing the investigation into my daughter's disappearance, Doctor."

One slim eyebrow arched, but otherwise Dr. Mizuno's expression did not change, "I beg your pardon?"

"You should. That girl knows vital information about Rei's disappearance and you are preventing her from being interviewed by the police. She could be an accomplice!"

"An accomplice? Are you out of your mind?" Dr. Mizuno glanced up to see Usagi's parents in the open doorway. "My daughter has been brutally assaulted by those thugs and you think she was involved in this?"

Mr. Hino slowly shifted to face the angry parents. He gazed coolly at them. "I can not rule anything out without hearing what she has to say, can I? My daughter is missing and the only one who saw anything is conveniently unavailable to assist police."

"My daughter is nearly dead," Ikuko shrieked, "and the only thing she was worried about was your daughter. How dare you insinuate Usagi would betray anyone!"

Voices began to rise in volume as the three parents bickered cruelly. Dr. Mizuno quickly felt the situation spiraling out of her control. She searched for the right thing to say, the perfect phrase to defuse the situation, but she couldn't find anything.

Her daughter saved her. "Excuse me, please, I'd like to say something." A startled silence met Ami's icy cold words. She slipped past the Tsukinos to stand in front of Mr. Hino, eying him with contempt. "Rei-chan has been missing for over a week now. Why are you suddenly here? Did the tabloid criticisms of your parenting skills finally get too hot for you?"

Mr. Hino's mouth opened, but Ami pushed on, "There is no way Usagi-chan is involved in this attack. If you paid any attention to Rei-chan at all, you would know that this is hardly the first time someone has attempted to kidnap her. Out of concern for your political career, she felt compelled to keep those attempts secret, from you and from the police, but as her friends, we have documented each of these occurrences." Ami threw a packet of papers onto her mother's desk. Mr. Hino picked them up and began thumbing through them. Dr. Mizuno instinctively knew that these "previous attempts" were faked and she cast an apprehensive glance at her daughter. Ami ignored it. "The only fault that any of us are guilty of is that we bowed to your daughter's wishes and didn't report these occurrences to our parents."

"So you thought you shouldn't share this with the police?"

Ami shrugged, "We're 15 year old girls. The police aren't interested in anything we have to say. They only want to listen to Usagi-chan because she might be able to identify them. I tried to tell them when they asked if I knew of anyone who might have wanted to harm either of the girls. But they blew me off with my 'wild tales of previous kidnapping attempts'. That's a direct quote, by the way. I documented it in my files." Ami pointed to the folder of notes. "I think the people you should be angry with are at the police station, not here."

Dr. Mizuno gave Ami a warning look, afraid her daughter was pressing her luck. The Tsukinos were staring at Ami in shock, clearly taking her every word as truth. She cleared her throat, "Now, Mr. Hino, I understand you and the police are anxious to speak with Tsukino Usagi and I assure you that she will be made available as soon as I am certain she is capable of it. She was gravely injured, but Rei's kidnapping has clearly taken the greatest toll on her. Until she can speak about this without becoming hysterical, I cannot, in good conscience, inflict more emotional and mental trauma on the poor girl. If you will be so kind as to leave me with your contact information, I will notify you once her condition improves."

Mr. Hino narrowed his eyes at the officious doctor. He had to grudgingly respect her concern for her patient. "Very well. I can see that you are a committed, conscientious doctor." His words rang with contempt in Dr. Mizuno's ears. He handed her his business card. "Perhaps, if my wife had had a doctor like you caring for her, she would not have been taken from us so early." His contempt vanished and both Ami and her mother caught a glimpse of a shadow of pain in his eyes before he turned away from them sharply.

Dr. Mizuno chose to take his words as an apology, out of respect for the pain she had seen. She took his card in silence and carefully tucked it under the clear plastic that covered her desktop.

"Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino, I apologize for upsetting you. I trust you'll understand that a father can't be expected to be at his best when his child is in danger." Ami and her mother exchanged an eyeroll behind the politician's back, but Kenji was completely taken in, grateful to have someone who understood his helpless rage. They shook hands and bowed to each other in that awkward way men do when they have bared their emotions. A moment later, Mr. Hino took his leave.

Dr. Mizuno watched him go, then spoke softly to Ami, "Please go downstairs and make sure he leaves the hospital. Close the door behind you, dear." Ami nodded and left quickly. Dr. Mizuno motioned for the Tsukinos to have a seat and began explaining Usagi's current condition to them.

Minako and Artemis walked slowly on their journey from her parents' apartment to the hospital. Another of her father's temper tantrums had erupted. He couldn't understand his daughter's determination to spend as much of her time at her friend's bedside as she could. He had an office party tonight and he needed his "picture-perfect" family by his side. He'd thrown her out of the house when she'd stood her ground and she knew she'd have to stay gone for a day or two before he realized how badly it would reflect on him if she were discovered to be homeless. She knew from experience he wouldn't be remorseful until the bruise on her cheek faded.

Minako didn't really care about being banished from her parents' home. Nor did she care about the slaps her father was fond of sending her way. His most powerful slaps were nothing compared to the stuff the youma dished out on a regular basis. She knew he felt that an open-handed slap didn't qualify as abuse, yet he was too cowardly to hit her in front of her mom. If his disciplinary strategy was legitimate, why did it make him ashamed? And to claim she did it to herself was beyond believable. She could still remember the first time she'd dared tell her mom about it. She thought her jaw would dislocate completely when her mom bought that excuse wholeheartedly.

"Hook, line, and bait," she grumbled petulantly, kicking a discarded bottle cap down the street. "Stupid woman," she sighed, gazing up at the moon. "Artemis, one good thing about this plan is I won't end up being as stupid as her." She heaved another sigh, "again, anyway."

Artemis bumped his head comfortingly against her chin, not sure what to say and not really capable of speech with his stomach colliding with her shoulder each time she stomped. He wished he could have come up with a way to brain-wash her parents into letting her move to Tokyo alone, but that mother of hers was incredibly stubborn.

The walk was helping Minako calm down, at least. She'd kicked the bottle cap so hard that she'd lost it and she'd stopped muttering to herself by the time she neared the park. She didn't really have any plans, other than getting away from her parents. She supposed she could just stay at the hospital until they kicked her out and then make her way to one of those 24 hours internet café places. She was far more concerned with Usagi and Rei than about herself. Whatever happened to her, she could deal with it.

Her thoughts now focused completely on her senshi. She knew Usagi would recover. A senshi could recover completely from far worse, given time. She was concerned about the battles. She couldn't keep fighting by herself. As long as Ami and Makoto continued to be stand-offish, she was essentially fighting on her own. Oh, they showed up at the battles when she called, but instead of being a team, they fought together and ignored her. Usagi would have unified them.

As for Rei, every day that passed deepened her fear that the girl was in terrible danger. What might she reveal under torture? How long could she survive? They were clueless as to where Rei might have been taken. Minako would have sacrificed herself to save Rei, if only she knew where the miko had been taken. She burned with the desire to storm the gates of Beryl's stronghold and free Sailor Mars. Or die trying. She was okay with that outcome, too. Doing nothing felt like a huge betrayal. On that, the three girls were unanimous. None of them could accept that they had to sacrifice Sailor Mars. "What can we do, Artemis?" she murmured softly in his ear.

"There is nothing you can do."

Minako whirled around at the sound of Rei's voice, hope and terror warring within her. She gaped at the pale woman staring at her from the trees. Rei seemed to have aged about ten years. She looked almost exactly like Minako's memories of their adult selves. "Rei-chan," she gasped.

The woman's lips curled in distaste. "Don't be so familiar, Sailor Venus." Her violet eyes scanned over the shorter blonde and the bristling cat. "I want to talk with you, but not out here." She beckoned them into the park. "Don't worry. It's not a trap and I'm all alone."

Minako followed her warily, even though Artemis protested. "What has happened to you?"

Rei tilted her head and studied her for a moment, "What you hoped. I've fully awakened."

Minako was confused, "I don't understand. You look like you did when you died. Fully awakening shouldn't have aged you."

"I see now why you missed all the signs, fearless leader," she snapped and a burst of flame shot out between them. "Look closely at me. Don't you sense a difference beyond age?"

Minako stared in shock at Rei's control over her element. It was impressive, but far beyond Rei's mastery a mere seven days ago. She realized as well that Rei's coloring had returned to her Martian roots. Her hair was no longer black with purple glints. It was a river of purple. Her eyes were a brighter shade of violet, almost jewel-like. "You're no longer human."

"No, I'm not. No more than you are, Venusian. That's part and parcel of embracing your past self, isn't it?"

Minako nodded in confirmation, "It's true that the human we were re-born as must be subjugated to our past self in order for us to truly awaken. But you are not a senshi."

"No, I'm not. I've been enlightened. I have come to see the antiquated and oppressive Silver Empire for what it was. Our planets enslaved, forced to offer up a child sacrifice to a meaningless, worthless, useless Princess."

Minako's eyes widened in shock as Rei circled her. "How can you . . ."

"Don't worry, Venus, I know you aren't her," she whispered from behind the frozen girl. "I know what you are doing and I know why. The senshi are disposable, aren't we? We were born with no greater destiny than to die for a weak, foolish, love-sick child." She stepped away from the decoy princess, pacing in the night like a restless tiger. "It's what you were trying to tell me that day when you wrung a promise from me that even now I cannot find the will to break." She glared at Minako with a rabid hatred. "Take that as your small measure of comfort. Even now, as filled as I am with righteous hatred for her and everything she stands for, I cannot betray her."

"I don't understand," Minako murmured.

"I am coming for all of you. I will destroy each of you, to please my Generals and my Queen. I will prevent the Princess from finding the Ginzuishou. I will deliver Endymion to Queen Beryl. I will rain terror down on this planet of sheep. But, I will leave her untouched. I will leave her alone. I will leave her to suffer the loneliness and despair that caused her to take her own life last time. I will watch her destroy herself, because she cannot bear the silence, the emptiness. Even if she wins this battle somehow, I will rejoice in knowing she will find no comfort, no joy, no happiness in saving this pathetic rock."

Rei's eyes were full of fanaticism. She practically purred her promises of death and destruction. Minako could see it now, the darkness that poisoned her. She could make the connection now, between what had happened to Kunzite and what was happening to Rei. "You've been corrupted by Metallia!"

Rei clapped slowly, mockingly. "At last, the leader of the senshi sees what was in front of her all along. How is it you could let him kiss you, touch you, love you and never sense the corruption of his soul? You, the senshi of love, the woman who should have sensed any duplicity in any of them? How did you miss this?"

"How did you?" Minako snapped back. "You, the psychic, the one who claimed to see into the souls of men and women. How did you fail to see the danger, then? You rejected Jadeite months before the attack. Yours should have been the clearest eyes, since you refused the love you so desperately wanted!" Memories she hadn't had access to before began to surface, as if rising to Rei's challenge.

Rei narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as she considered the girl before her. She was surprised by the extent of Minako's memories. "You always blame others."

"No, I don't. I take my full share of the blame. You're right. I failed to sense what should have been obvious. I foolishly put love before duty, even though I knew it was wrong. Even when I thought I put duty first, I can see that I only paid lip-service to duty by trusting a man I should never have. But you are no different. You paid lip-service to duty from day one. You hid behind the façade of duty when you rejected Jadeite, but the truth is, you were a coward."

Rei's temper flared and she grasped Minako by the throat, lifting her slightly off the ground. "If the fall of the Silver Empire is my fault, then I take glory in that. If I never wanted to be a living piece of armor, then I am proud of my past self's intelligence. But I was never a coward. You have no idea what I endured, what I lost, what I sacrificed for 'duty'. Congratulating yourself for 'just following orders' and 'tradition' is disgusting. Try to see the truth behind the beautiful mirage of the Silver Empire. Earth was just going to be one more subjugated planet for the White Queen to control and manipulate. It was not up to some lust-driven prince to decide the fate of this planet. The people rebelled and should have been listened to. It was cowardice to hide behind the wishes of three self-absorbed royals."

Minako clawed at Rei's hand, her vision flickering in and out and she struggled to escape the death grip on her throat. She had no desire to die like this again. "Your interpretation of the past is not truth," she spit out in gasps. "Queen Selenity. . ."

Rei tossed the girl away from her. "Don't speak that name in my presence," she spat at Minako, as if the Queen's name left a foul taste in her mouth. "I've said what I had to say. I've given you a chance, Sailor Venus, to walk away from this misguided mission and that waste of life you call your Princess. Once Sailor Moon is healthy enough to fight again, everyone who is moronic enough to still stand by her side will die. I'm offering you and the other senshi a chance to live. What does she offer?"

Rei did not wait for an answer. She turned away from the sprawling, gasping girl and disappeared into the darkness. She knew she would catch hell from Kunzite when he discovered she had left his "inescapable" apartment, but she didn't care. Now that she understood the impossibility of the senshi's mission and the immorality of Silver Empire, she couldn't let the only family she had continue to fight blindly. She had to try to save them. She only wished Jadeite had tried to save her, instead of despising her so much that he'd tried to ensure her eternal damnation as a willing pawn of the White Queen. It served him right, though, dying at her hand. Karma's a bitch, she mentally sang at his memory. She'd been right to reject him, though her reasoning had been flawed at the time. He hadn't loved her enough to save her. Not from death, but from the machinations of a power-hungry Queen who fancied she knew best for everyone.

It was a long time before Minako pressed a button on her communicator, calling for her allies to come to the park. She waited, staving off her pain and the seductive lure of simply blacking out, needing to know she wasn't summoning them into a trap. Ami answered and promised she wouldn't be long, but Minako heard only half of the girl's message before slipping into the welcome darkness. Artemis moved forward protectively as he waited for assistance.

He paced anxiously, fear and helplessness eating at him. He loathed being stuck in his feline form. Minako was an easy target for anyone, not just a Dark Kingdom minion or general. What could he do? Feign rabies to scare people off? Couldn't Queen Selenity have given him a more impressive, powerful feline body, like a tiger or a lion?

Footsteps racing down the gravel path caught his attention. He couldn't tell if they were friend or foe. He raised himself up to his full height, drawing a sword to defend his charge, completely unaware that he'd undergone a transformation while recklessly scolding his late Queen for rendering him useless.

Two senshi skidded to a halt as the reached the clearing and took up aggressive stances. "Get away from her," Jupiter ordered, electric energy emanating from her body.

"What?" Artemis asked, lowering his sword in relief that it was them, then raising it again, suspecting they meant to harm Minako. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Funny question from a man with a sword standing over an unconscious girl, "Jupiter snarled. "This is your last chance."

"Man? Sword?" Artemis repeated dumbly, glancing down. His eyes widened in shock. The ground was far away, very far away. In his hand, he did indeed hold a sword. In his hand . . . "I have a hand!"

Mercury and Jupiter exchanged very concerned glances. "Clearly a mental case," Jupiter muttered, with zero subtlety.

Mercury flinched at Jupiter's harsh assessment, but didn't disagree. "Where is Artemis?" she demanded. "Where is the girl's cat?"

The man was grinning wildly at them, the sword dropped to the ground as he marveled over his hands, "I'm right here, Sailor Mercury. It's me . . ." His last word slurred out in a groan as he crumpled to the ground. Sailor Jupiter had dashed over to him, taking advantage of his bizarre behavior, and walloped him hard on the top of his head.

"Jupiter!" Mercury gasped, horrified. Her computer confirmed his claim.

"Oops?" Jupiter half-shrugged. "Hey, he had a sword, he was looming over Minako, she's clearly been attacked and we don't know by whom. What was I supposed to do?"

Mercury ran her hand through her short hair and gazed helplessly down at the two unconscious people at Jupiter's feet. "I'm not going to second-guess you right now. But, what do we do now?"

The two senshi stared at each other helplessly for a long moment, then turned as one when they heard a man cursing behind them. "Tuxedo Kamen!" they gasped in two-part harmony.

"What happened here?"

"Why are you here?"

He waved Usagi's communicator wordlessly. The girls nodded, then explained their confusing encounter with a human Artemis. He rolled his eyes at Jupiter's justification, but busied himself with checking Minako's welfare.

"Her face and throat are bruised, but I'm not sure they are related."

Mercury approached. "Yeah, that bruising on her face is really dark, but the marks on her throat are still red and puffy. Looks like her attacker scratched her up, too." She brushed Minako's long hair away from her neck to get a better look at the half-moon nail marks that were starting to scab up. What had happened and how long had Minako waited to call them?

"Well," Jupiter interrupted, "we can't stay here all night. Let's lug them back to my place."

"Are you sure about that?" Tuxedo Kamen asked, gesturing towards Artemis.

Jupiter shrugged carelessly, "I'm sure he's a harmless pussy cat." A mischievous grin played around her lips, even though her companions groaned.

Jupiter cradled Minako easily in her arms, while Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen struggled to raise Artemis up into a fireman's carry. "Please don't let anyone see us," Mercury prayed to the moon. What would the good people of Tokyo think if they saw two of their heroes lugging a man through the streets at this time of night? They'd have the cops hunting for a dumped body, for sure.

Usagi slept fitfully. She hated this hospital bed. She hated the constant beeping of the machines. She was really beginning to hate the nurses that woke her every three or four hours to check on her bandages, bring her water, or coerce her into taking more medications. This was not a place to recuperate, it was a place to go insane!

When she did manage to sleep, she mainly had nightmares. They were a jumbled mix of nightmares, though. Sometimes, she saw Rei in Kunzite's grasp, screaming and screaming until he snapped her neck to silence her. Other times, she had dreams of a dark mass with glowing red eyes swallowing up the city. And sometimes, usually when she'd just been given her medication, she had dreams of being a sentient donut, trying to escape from hungry businesspeople.

Her body was healing very well. Too well, she knew. Dr. Mizuno was going to make her wear a cast until a "normal" person would have been able to remove it – 8 weeks or so. She resented it, because she wanted to go back to senshi duty and start hunting for Rei, but she had to acquiesce. There would be way too many questions, since this incident was all over the news. She cried a lot and couldn't eat most of her meals. Mamoru and her mother would guilt her into choking something down, reminding her she wouldn't heal without energy.

Truth be told, it was a miracle Mamoru was able to visit her at all. For that miracle, she had her father's office to thank. They wanted him covering this investigation, convinced that his unique view on the situation would sell newspapers. He'd tried to decline, even threatened to quit, but Ikuko thought this could be a good thing. Maybe he could humanize the media, portraying the case in a sensitive yet informed way that would speak to reporters and newshounds alike. Not that Japanese newspapers were as aggressive and heartless as their American counterparts, thankfully. Society hadn't slipped that far down the drain yet. But you had to put up roadblocks to that kind of tabloid journalism and it was easy to nudge Kenji down that warpath. Visiting Usagi, dealing with the hospital, and caring for Shingo was also a great deal easier when he had a mission, for Ikuko, at least. She wasn't superhuman, even if her family thought she was.

Usagi knew little of what was happening with the senshi. They refused to discuss anything with her, for fear that she would get upset or try to push herself. She felt isolated from the girls, in a way. She wasn't used to being excluded from any part of their lives. While she knew the distance was temporary, she resented it. Rarely, the resentment spilled out in one of her nightmares, a recurring one where one by one, each of the girls turned their backs on her and faded away into the distance, never looking back.

It was from that particular dream that she awoke, startled by a gentle hand smoothing away her tears. "Mamo-chan?"

"I'm sorry, Usako. I didn't want to disturb you, but you looked so unhappy." Mamoru's voice was pitched low, leading Usagi to guess that he'd snuck in again.

"Just a bad dream," she murmured, summoning up a pale smile for him. "I'm fine, really."

"You've been having a lot of those," he commented disapprovingly.

"Blame the noise, the interruptions, the bad food," she laughed lightly. "Honestly, though, I think it's the meds."

He gazed deeply into her guileless cerulean eyes, hating that he had to keep information from her. "I can't stay long, my love. I just needed to see you."

Usagi nodded understandingly. "I'm getting out of here soon," she confided. "Dr. Mizuno says I'm stable enough to go home after the police officers interview me. Can you be here for that?"

Mamoru brushed her bangs out of her face. "I'll be here," he promised. "What are you going to say?"

"I'm going to tell them that I don't know who they were, that my attention was riveted on Rei-chan. I'll have a vague description of the guy who grabbed Rei, but I have no idea what the man who hurt me looked like. Average clothing, average appearance, cold, grey eyes. That's all I remember when I close my eyes, anyway. They were dressed like normal humans and his eyes were so cold, so wintery." She shivered.

Mamoru pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head comfortingly. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you," he muttered for the millionth time.

Usagi had given up scolding him. If she couldn't let go of her failure to protect Rei, how could she disapprove of his own self-loathing? She let him hold her, drawing comfort from him and trying to comfort him. "We'll find her," she whispered against his neck. "We'll save her and we'll punish them for taking her."

"We won't give up, Usako. Never." Mamoru meant every syllable. Rei was their family, and she was coming back to them. He couldn't imagine any other outcome.

Minako had awakened shortly after Mamoru left to visit Usagi. She was ensconced in Makoto's bed and completely unaware of the man passed out on Makoto's couch. Ami and Makoto were sitting on the bed, listening to Minako's tale. It would have been a cute sleepover scene, if Minako weren't explaining her bruises away.

"We've lost her," she summed up. "Metallia, the being that gives Queen Beryl her powers, is a part of her now."

"Surely we can bring her back," Makoto protested angrily.

"Listen to me," Minako pleaded. "Please, just listen. Ami, you'll understand, I know. We've been through this before, in a way." Makoto made a skeptical face, but Ami sighed brokenly. "I know this hurts, Ami-chan, I'm sorry."

Makoto slipped a comforting arm around Ami. "So, these guys, these generals, they were really that important to us? All of us?"

"As deeply as Endymion and Serenity loved, so did the Senshi and the Shitennou," a voice intoned from the doorway.

"Artemis?!" Minako shrieked, startled and frightened.

Makoto looked uncomfortable. "Sorry, we were going to tell you."

"You hit me," he accused Makoto, irritated and disbelieving.

"You were a potential threat to Mina-chan," Makoto justified. "And your behavior was just plain weird."

"Maybe someone should trap you in animal form for years and then see how you react when you suddenly have a normal body again," Artemis retorted, face red.

"Um, Artemis-san," Ami intervened, "could we discuss this incident later? We never would have hurt you, if we'd known it was you. You know that. Arguing isn't going to change what happened and everyone here needs a good night's sleep."

"Fine," he grumbled. "But I got dibs on the couch." He stumbled back down the hallway.

"Artemis is human again?" Minako queried, completely confused.

Makoto groaned. "Ami-chan is right. Let's get some sleep and deal with this in the morning." She opened her closet and pulled out a few of her spare futons that she kept in case she was ever allowed to host a sleepover for all her friends. "Good night, girls."

"Good night."

"Sweet dreams."

Minako smiled contentedly as the lights switched off and her senshi drifted off to sleep. Her first sleepover with the senshi! Okay, it wasn't in a way close to how she'd imagined it, but she'd take what she could get. Makoto's outburst had really warmed her heart. Not only had the girl defended her without question, but she'd called her Mina-chan. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for the group after all.

Mamoru had left, but Usagi was still wide awake. She couldn't sleep. Something was bothering her. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she could feel something malevolent nearby.

Her door squeaked open slightly, the sound mournful to her ears. A sliver of light shone through the opening, glancing off the ancient TV suspended in the corner. A woman she'd never seen before was slipping into her room. Usagi caught a glimpse of a tall woman with dark, wavy hair that was pulled up into doubled odangos before she shut the door behind her. "Usagi-chan, are you awake?" she whispered.

Usagi knew that voice. She gaped in shock and fumbled for the light switch. "Luna?"

Luna smiled awkwardly down at her young charge. "I don't understand why, but yes. It's me."

Usagi shook her head slightly, blinking back tears of joy, "Oh, Luna! You're absolutely beautiful! And way younger than I expected."

Luna's eyes narrowed, "Oh really, young lady?"

Usagi chuckled and Luna reluctantly dropped her offended act. "When did you transform?" she asked, her amusement fading away.

"A few hours ago. I was with Ami-chan and Minako-chan called on the communicator. She left to meet up with her and not long after, I felt over-warm. I tried to roll over, to get closer to Ami-chan's desk fan and then wham! I fell off the desk!"

Usagi couldn't help but laugh at the he mental image of human Luna curled up on Ami's desk and then falling off. Luna scowled, refusing to see the humor in her humiliation. "It isn't that funny."

"Oh, it is," Usagi reassured her, but she struggled to regain her composure for Luna's sake. Laughing was kind of painful after such a long stretch of sadness. "Why have you transformed?"

Luna shook her head in helpless confusion. "Something must have happened, but the girls haven't called me."

Usagi was momentarily transfixed as she stared up at her guardian. She could see a hazy double image of Luna. "So, um, you never really told me you used to be a human."

Luna frowned deeply. "I'm not human. I'm from a planet called Mau. We could take the shape of cats, which we did during the final battle in order to escape the notice of enemy soldiers. When Queen Selenity sent everyone forward, we were trapped in our feline forms."

Usagi mulled this information over. 'Were-cats,' she thought. This label made her giggle again, but Luna must have sensed her thoughts. Her eyes flashed a dark warning and Usagi swallowed the giggles down. "Sorry. Did you try calling the girls to find out what had happened?"

Luna sighed, "I didn't want to freak them out when they saw this face in the communicator. Can you call them?"

Usagi bit her lip. "I don't know. Is my communicator still here?"

"I didn't take it," Luna retorted.

"Well, I've never heard it beep and believe me, I hear lots of beeps all the time."

Luna's eyebrows knitted together in worry. "What do you think happened to it?"

"Oh, I'm sure Minako or Ami took it to protect me. Let me borrow yours."

Luna dug her communicator out of her pocket, pleased she didn't have to figure out how to do a flip in her human body in order to produce it. "Okay. But just to be safe, don't press call all. If someone else has your communicator, they could be listening in."

Usagi pressed the symbol for Mercury. It took a moment, but a very sleepy Ami finally answered. "Usagi-chan? Are you alright?"

"Yes, thank you. Can you come to the hospital, though? Luna and I have some questions."

Ami's tiny face looked very worried and very confused, but she promised, "I'll be right there."

It took Ami a good 20 minutes to sneak out of Makoto's apartment, race to the hospital as Sailor Mercury, and then sneak in past the nurse's station. She was quite out of breath when she slipped into Usagi's private room and completely unprepared for the sight of Luna. "Oh my," she gasped as she slid down the wall to sit on the floor awkwardly. "It happened to you, too."

The police arrived bright and early to take Usagi's statement. She was very nervous as the two very serious, very unfriendly men listened to everything she had to say. One of them wrote furiously, while the other studied her intently. They questioned her about the previous kidnapping attempts. Any attempt from Mamoru or her parents to contribute information increased their hostility and they were warned that if they continued to interrupt, they could be arrested for interfering with a witness' testimony. Usagi blanched at facing these intimidating men without support and her fear did more to control her family than the policemen's threats did.

After the policemen left, Dr. Mizuno arrived with nurses in tow, preparing Usagi for discharge. She was still restricted to bed rest at home and had already made it clear to Usagi, Mamoru and the girls that Usagi was not to engage in any senshi duties without her express approval. She could hardly be able to justify re-casting Usagi's arm after every transformation.

A private ambulance took Usagi and her mother back home and a medical grade bed had already replaced Usagi's familiar one. Ami arrived shortly after and watched the EMTs show Ikuko how to put Usagi's arms in traction, in order to continue to keep her shoulder from dislocating again. Usagi couldn't help but grimace as they demonstrated different "comfortable" ways to arrange her. She was fully healed after all. Ikuko showed the EMTs out of the house, and Usagi whined, "Ami-chan, can't we just tell Mom? Two months of this is going to drive me crazy. She's going to notice the bandages are just for show, anyway."

Ami nibbled her bottom lip. She had discussed that issue with her mother at length. Of course, her mother thought Ikuko deserved to know the truth and they could hardly opt for re-injuring Usagi every day to keep up the ruse. But she knew that Luna would disapprove. Minako would probably do so as well. "It's not up to me, Usagi-chan," she murmured finally. "She's your mom. Only you know how she'll take it."

"How I'll take what?" Ikuko queried from the hallway as she approached. Dread circled in her heart. What could her little girl be so afraid to tell her?

Usagi sighed and clutched Ami's hand tightly in her supposedly weak hand. "Can we talk, Mom? Like, really, seriously, talk? I have something to tell you."

Minako and Makoto made their way slowly towards the Tsukino house. Minako was still in a lot of pain, but they had a lot to discuss. They had to decide what to do about Luna and Artemis, who were currently waging World War Three in Makoto's apartment. And they also had to figure how to tell Usagi about Rei.

By they time they were standing on Usagi's doorstep, ringing the bell, Minako was leaning heavily against Makoto. Mrs. Tuskino opened the door and stared at them coldly for a moment before allowing the two girls entry. Minako swayed dangerously as she bent to slip off her shoes, but Makoto steadied her instinctively. Usagi's mom softened slightly as she studied the weaker girl that looked so similar to Usagi. She wondered what had happened, but she just couldn't ask. She didn't want to know how strong these girls were. It was all wrong. Makoto and Minako didn't question their hostess' icy demeanor, assuming she was worried about Usagi and didn't think they should be visiting. She left them in the genkan, retreating to the kitchen, and the two girls slowly made their way up to Usagi's room.

Mamoru and Ami were already there. Makoto wasn't surprised, although she hadn't seen his shoes in the genkan. She glanced around and noticed they were tucked in a corner of Usagi's room, resting on a piece of newspaper. He must have snuck in the window, she concluded, grinning wickedly at him. He rolled his eyes at her and shrugged his shoulders. Kenji would have never allowed him in Usagi's room.

"Oh, you'll get used to it, Mamoru-san," Makoto chirped, as she lowered Minako into Usagi's desk chair. "I wonder how many years of marriage will be enough before he stops making you sleep on the couch when you visit for the holidays."

Everyone laughed, though Mamoru looked rueful. He was pretty sure he was going to have to convince Usagi to elope because he doubted Kenji would ever give them their blessing.

Minako recovered first, "Is your mother okay, Usagi-chan?"

Usagi sighed. "Not really," she said. "I had to tell her the truth. Dr. Mizuno can tell all the stories she wants, nothing on this planet is going to convince my mom to keep bandaging non-existent injuries. She is angry because she thinks we are defrauding our insurance, because I lied to the police, because I've lied to my family so much. I'm not sure she even has room left to be upset about me being a senshi." Usagi twiddled with the plastic hospital bracelet looped around her thin wrist. "She's right, too. I hate all this lying."

"I'm glad I raised you well enough to be ashamed," Ikuko stated as she entered the room with drinks and food for everyone, even Mamoru. "Although, you could start earning my trust back by letting me know when your boyfriend is over." Usagi and Mamoru flushed. "I know my husband is over-protective, but I'm not sure I like the idea that you two are so comfortable sneaking about."

Usagi sighed, "We aren't comfortable, Mama. We just knew Daddy would flip out. He has to be here for the meetings and I can't go out." She spoke patiently, as if she'd made this argument numerous times. "I wish you wouldn't jump to awful conclusions."

Ikuko stared at her daughter, who lay trussed up in a hospital bed and was still beating herself up for failing to protect her best friend from demonic killers. "Usagi, darling," she said quietly, "I can't help it. I have all the proof I need that you don't make good decisions."

Tears fell silently from Usagi's eyes at her mother's contempt for her role as Sailor Moon and her mission. Ikuko left them to their discussion.

Rei walked into the living room and stood in front of the couple cuddling on the couch. "I need to go to the police station," she announced, ignoring Zoicyte and staring directly into Kunzite's eyes.

Kunzite rose, towering over her. "Why?" he demanded.

"Because your plan doesn't work if I don't. If I just show back up at school after being kidnapped, all hell will break loose." She sighed in irritation, "You don't get it, do you? My face has been all over the news. Everyone knows I was kidnapped by yakuza. I'm not sure what possessed the senshi to tell them that story, but since you two injured Sailor Moon enough that she needed medical attention, they had to say something. They had to explain away my disappearance as well. So, we now have to explain away my reappearance." She was silent for a moment, "Unless you want to abandon your plan of having me transfer to Juuban Middle School." She hoped he didn't. She wanted very much to have time one on one with the others, to try to free them from Usagi. She wasn't going to simply condemn them to death if they could be saved.

Kunzite mused for a long moment. "What will you say?"

Rei laughed, "I'll tell them exactly what they want to hear. That two men attacked Usagi and I and that I had to go with them or they would kill her. I'll cry and beg the police to protect her, in case they go after her again once they discover I have escaped. That should hamper the senshi, as well." She grinned darkly, before continuing, "I have a whole sob story worked up and I've followed the news. I know that they made up previous attempts to kidnap me, so I'll be able to get the police to chase that lead for a while as well. It should help my father with his public opinion problem, too. Of course, it means I'll have to see the bastard," she complained.

Zoicyte piped up from the couch, "Why do you hate him so much, anyway?"

Rei pinned the blond with her iciest stare, "He murdered my mother."

Minako decided they should just rip the scab open and tell Usagi the truth about Rei now, rather than cheer her up and then bring her crashing back down again. Usagi was devastated, especially when she saw that all of her teammates had no hope of getting Rei back. She couldn't believe Rei had hurt Minako and worse, she couldn't believe that Rei had become convinced that Queen Selenity and Princess Serenity were evil. "I don't understand," she whimpered.

Minako sighed, "Metallia changed Endymion's Shitennou by feeding on their doubts and warping their memories. She poisons everything she touches, Usagi-chan. All the pain and suffering Rei had kept locked up inside from her childhood must have been like catsup to her."

"Catnip," Ami clarified, helpfully.

"Yeah, sure. Anyway, knowing Rei, she was terrified for you and felt like she had failed the team. Manipulating her emotions must have been like taking candy from a weird man in a van."

"From a baby," Makoto blurted, horrified, "from a baby!"

"Why would a baby have candy?"

"Why would Rei take candy from a weird man in a van?"

Usagi tuned out Makoto and Minako's bickering. If Metallia could prey on their emotions so easily, any of them could fall victim to her brain-washing. If only Queen Selenity had sent all of them to happy families like hers. Well, like hers had been. She gazed past the girls, to the still open door, wishing her mother would return to comfort her and tell her everything would be okay.

Ami finally got the other two calmed down and the conversation turned to Luna and Artemis. Usagi was dying of curiousity, anxious to see Artemis in his human form, although she suspected that he, too, would have to sneak in her window. Oh, why on earth had they gone and transformed anyway? Like life wasn't hard enough keeping the fact that your cat could talk a secret. Now they were going to have to explain two new people showing up in their lives on top of the disappearance of Usagi's cat. Usagi had been forced to pitch quite the fit in order to be allowed to keep Luna and her parents would probably point to her disappearance as more proof that she was irresponsible.

Their conversation, and Usagi's musings, were cut short when they heard Kenji enter the house, yelling excitedly. Mamoru barely had time to grab his shoes and jump out the window before Kenji burst into Usagi's bedroom, bellowing, "They've found her, Usagi! They've found her! She's alive!"

Usagi burst into tears again, clinging to her bewildered father, as the other three began to pepper him with excited questions, playing their roles with every ounce of determination in their hearts.

Ikuko, who had followed her rambunctiously rampaging husband upstairs, was not fooled. She could see that the girls were just a little too happy and that Usagi's tears were not ones of relief and joy, but heartbreak and despair.

Minako turned to look at her and was chilled to the bone by the look of hatred she received. Minako walked over to Ikuko and murmured, "I understand. My mom hates me, too. But we really are fighting to save the world."

Ikuko motioned her into the hallway, "And what about Rei?"

Minako closed her eyes. "Rei is lost," she said simply.

"And what exactly keeps my daughter from being lost, as well?"

"You do," Minako said. "Everyone that she loves does. Usagi is so strong, stronger than she knows. That's why she is the Senshi of Love and Justice. Her love for everyone keeps her fighting, even when she is exhausted or terrified. And the love everyone has for her gives her strength to recover from even the greatest sacrifice."

"What exactly has happened to Rei?"

Minako sighed heavily, "She has joined the enemy."

"Rei will try to kill my daughter," Ikuko stated flatly. "You are telling me that I need to pray that my daughter will kill her best friend."

"No," Minako confided. "Rei will not harm Usagi. She made a promise to me, before all this happened, a promise on her soul, that she would protect Usagi, no matter what. I didn't know this was coming, but it has worked out in our favor. She can't break that promise, even though she wants to. It is more powerful than her conversion."

"I don't understand, but I suppose I have no choice but to trust your faith in that promise," Ikuko sighed, defeated. She turned to walk away, then turned back. "Why does your mother hate you?"

Ikuko's sudden maternal interest in her broke Minako's shell. The girl began to cry softly and Ikuko pulled the girl downstairs for a long conversation.

Hino Takeshi blew into the police station with his entourage. He gathered Rei to him in a showy hug that looked every bit as fake as it felt. His PR guy took multiple photos of the happy reunion, trying to find just the right angle to both flatter Takeshi and make it seem like a joyful occasion. It wasn't easy when Rei made no attempt to hide her disgust for the man.

She allowed him to whisk her away into his limosine, where they finally had a modicum of privacy. When he told the driver to take them to Hikawa Jinja, she interrupted and gave the driver the address of an apartment building downtown. Her father was surprised, "Don't you want to go home?"

"I am going home," she stated flatly. "I have no desire to ever return to the shrine again."

"But what about your grandfather?"

"Really, father," Rei sneered, "how many more people would you see injured?"

"I don't understand," he replied, his face reddening with anger.

Rei remained icy calm. "Your enemies were willing to kill a girl to get to me. They very nearly did. What do you think they would do to an old man?"

"I am very sorry, Rei," he murmured, mopping his brow. "I had no idea that I even had such nefarious rivals. You must come and stay with me. My security people will keep you safe."

"No, thank you," Rei replied. "I have my own solution. First, I am breaking all ties with you. I have already filed paperwork at the police station to start a legal separation from you and name a family friend as my guardian. Second, I have moved with my friend into an apartment. Third, I am going to apply to transfer from your ridiculously snobby private school to the local public school. Consider this the last time you can use me to score points in the polls."

Takeshi was about to protest, but the limo had stopped outside an apartment building and Rei was already opening her own door. "Feel free to come up and meet my new guardian," she invited sweetly, knowing her father would not refuse. Once Kunzite and Zoicyte worked their magic on him, he would be thrilled to see the last of her. Freedom, at last, from the horrible man who had ruined her life for so many years. She was finally going to do what her weak, foolish mother never could.

AN: Hi again. I know it's been a long time. Thanks for sticking with me. While on a trip to introduce my baby to my husband's side of the family, I not only found time to write, but found the inspiration to finally finish this chapter. Certain scenes have been lingering on my computer since I finished TPP 8. It was very hard to sort through all my crazy ideas for this story. And fellow PGSM fans, please don't worry. My Luna never, ever will be *that* Luna. *shudder* Anyway, as I said in ADABN 20, I am hoping for lots of inspiration in 2014, as well as time to write. Hopefully my son will learn naps are good. ;) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! ~B