Standard disclaimer - I don't own Sailor Moon (though that'd be nice!). All OCs are mine.

Justice's thoughts were a jumble as he moved quickly over the rooftops, following behind the Senshi. He'd already sent a message to Titus, telling him to home in on his communicator's signal and meet them. At least Usagi…no, Sailor Moon, seemed to be moving better now. Every now and then, Sailor Jupiter or Mars would turn to check on him. No doubt ensuring he wasn't about to attack. Their attitude was puzzling. Yes, he'd messed up the other day by leaving without a word, but they were treating him like he was an enemy. He frowned beneath his helmet. What were they so worried about him for? Could they have actually believed this Terror's lies?

They came to an old shrine, and slowed down. This must be their destination, he thought. Sure enough, the Senshi took one last leap and dropped down into the courtyard. He followed suit, making sure to land several feet away. Two cats approached, one black and one white. His gaze was immediately drawn to the crescent moon symbols on their foreheads. Just like Titus, he observed. His suspicions were confirmed a moment later, as the black one spoke.

"Sailor Moon! You're hurt!"

"I'll be fine, Luna. I've had worse." Sailor Moon's response was flat and devoid of energy. Tuxedo Kamen and Mercury helped her over to the low wall around the courtyard, where she sat.

"Is everyone else alright?" the white cat asked.

"We're fine, Artemis," Mercury replied. "Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus were able to keep the shadows busy until we arrived. We caught them completely by surprise."

"Good work," Artemis said, nodding thoughtfully. His gaze turned to Justice. "And you…Guardian Knight. What is your business here?"

There it was again, that same tone of distrust. Justice reached up and removed his helmet, tossing it to the ground with a dull clank. "I haven't met most of you before tonight, and yet you all act as if I'm some kind of enemy! Like I'm just waiting for the right moment to attack! Why?"

Artemis glanced back at Luna, and the two cats exchanged a suspicious gaze. He turned back to Corey, looking him over. "You wear that armour, and you claim you don't understand our fears?"

Corey glanced down at his chestplate, noticing the scuffs and scratches that now marked it. "I was told that the Guardian Knights were a symbol of strength and peace, not fear and suspicion." He narrowed his eyes. "Have I been misinformed?"

"Not at all!" a new voice called. Corey looked to his left to see Titus emerging from the shadows. He'd never been happier to see him in his life. The ginger cat nodded towards him before turning to address the Senshi. "I greet you, Sailor Senshi, in the name of Queen Serenity. My name is Titus, and I serve as a guide and adviser to the Guardian Knight of Justice." He glanced sidelong at Luna and Artemis. "Hello again, my old friends. It has been some time."

"Titus!" Luna exclaimed. "I thought you were dead!"

"Not quite," he chuckled. "Though my capsule did malfunction…it opened two years later than it should have."

"Um…excuse me?" Venus raised her hand in a little wave. "Cat people? What's going on?"

"I'll second that," Tuxedo Kamen agreed. "Can we clear up one thing at a time, please?"

"Princess Venus." Titus dipped his shoulder and head forward, in a vague approximation of a bow. "And Tuxedo Kamen. I understand this must come as a bit of a shock. For all of you, in fact. Hopefully, we can clear up any questions you have and move on with a minimum of delay."

Artemis nodded slowly, looking back and forth between Titus and Corey. "Alright, Titus…why don't you start with where the two of you have been all this time? Why have you only come to Tokyo now?"

"Ah. I thought that might be your first question. It's my fault, you see. I awoke two years later than expected, due to a fault with my capsule. I immediately sought Justice out, but when I found Corey he was…a little rough around the edges, so to speak."

"Watch it," Corey muttered, folding his arms across his chest. He glanced over at Sailor Moon. She was still sitting on the wall while Mercury tended to her leg. Her eyes flicked up briefly to meet his gaze before returning to Titus.

"By that, I mean he was…in need of further training," Titus continued. "We had another problem. Your defeat of Metalia and the Dark Kingdom was…incomplete."

"What?" Mars bristled. "Sailor Moon destroyed Metalia and Beryl. Without them, the Dark Kingdom would have fallen apart!"

"That's right!" Tuxedo Kamen said. "With the destruction of Metalia, the power sustaining the Dark Kingdom should have gone too!"

"Indeed it did," Titus agreed. "Unfortunately, that collapse only lasted so long. A former lieutenant of Jadeite's, a man named Surpator, eventually brought the various factions of the Dark Kingdom together under his control. They established bases in North America from which they tried to rebuild. They grew new youmas and started harvesting energy from humans just as the great four had before them. I had to weigh up our options. With you busy in Tokyo, I made the decision to remain in America with Justice to finish them off. While it delayed us in reaching you, it provided a lot of valuable experience for Corey."

"You destroyed the remnants of the Dark Kingdom," Jupiter said, clearly disbelieving it.

"I did what I had to do," Corey shrugged. "Surpator was rather uncreative, but he was a growing threat to the entire world. He had to go."

"And what a magnificent job you did," Titus agreed. "Anyway…to finish answering your question, Artemis, that's where we've been for the past three years. Moving around America, taking down the Dark Kingdom one outpost at a time. Once that task was finished, we came here, so Justice could pledge himself to Princess Serenity's service."

Sailor Moon glanced up. "I have enough protectors already."

Venus prodded her side. "Now, now, don't be hasty. We've seen what he can do in a fight. Sure, he gets hit a lot, but he took down that big shadow when it counted."

"Artemis, after what you told us earlier, do you really believe all this?" Mars asked, sounding sceptical.

"I know what Queen Serenity told us," Artemis admitted, "but Titus is a friend. If he's vouching for Guardian Justice…"

"What happened during the fall of the Moon Kingdom?" Luna asked, interrupting him.

"Well, my understanding-"

"Not you, Titus." Luna nodded towards Corey. "You. How do you remember it?"

This isn't going to go down well, he thought. He took a deep breath. "I don't remember it. At all."

Jupiter turned to Mars. "Convenient, isn't it?"

"Believe me or not, that doesn't change anything. I have no memory of my previous life in the Moon Kingdom," Corey continued. "Everything I know about being a Guardian Knight, I learned from Titus. Everything I know about you, I learned from Titus. Even the little I know about the Moon Kingdom, I learned from Titus." He let his gaze move from Senshi to Senshi, making eye contact with each of them in turn. "I don't know what it is you think I did back then, but it doesn't matter. I don't remember it. I don't even remember being that man. What does matter is this; I'm here now, offering to help you in any way I can. Isn't that enough?"

"Well said, Corey," Titus observed. "Well? What do you say?"

Mercury finished bandaging Moon's leg, and took a seat beside her. "I'll point out that he already knows who you are. If he does harbour some notion of revenge, he can find you just as easily in your civilian garb as he can now. On top of that, he seems to be able to deal a fair amount of damage to these shadow creatures, which only seem to be getting stronger. It might be wise to keep him close, and put him to good use. If you don't trust him, at least we can watch him."

"I agree," Venus said, chiming in. "Usagi…he probably saved Mamoru's life today. I'm sorry, but I couldn't get to you. Those two shadows had me cornered, and the others hadn't arrived yet. If Corey…uh, Justice, I mean, hadn't blocked that big one's attack, then Mamoru would probably be dead. You too." She smiled gently. "Besides…he's your friend. Right? Finding out there's a small chance he may want to kill you can't change..." She frowned. "Wait…that came out wrong."

"Oh, shush, you!" Jupiter snapped, forcing her way around the blonde. "Look…even Artemis doesn't seem so sure he's a threat anymore. I don't trust Corey right now, but Ami's right. If we team up, we can keep a closer eye on him than we could otherwise. I say go for it."

Mars, having listened in on the conversation, simply gave Usagi a brief nod. The blonde sighed, and looked up at Tuxedo Kamen.

"What do you think?"

He turned to study Corey carefully for a few moments. "If he's telling the truth…I can sympathise. I still have little memory of my own life, and I know how frustrating that can be. Maybe he remembers, maybe he doesn't. I don't think it matters. Judge him on his merits as you've witnessed them."

Usagi considered that, then nodded and pushed herself to her feet. Somehow, Mamoru always knew exactly what she needed to hear. She slowly walked towards Corey, stopping just in front of him.

"I want an honest answer." She looked up into his eyes. "Did you know I was Sailor Moon when we first met?"

"What?" He looked almost amused. "No, Usagi…I had no idea. In fact, if you'll recall, it was you who ran into me. I had no idea who you were at all."

"Oh…" Her cheeks blushed red. "Right. I forgot about that."

"Listen…" He cautiously placed a gauntleted hand on her shoulder. "Everything I told you about me was true. Sure, maybe I held back some stuff when you asked me why I came to Japan. I don't exactly advertise the fact that I'm Guardian Justice; I imagine you don't run around announcing your secret identity to the world either. But everything else, my name, where I'm from…becoming friends with you…that was all true."

"I just…I don't know if I can trust you now," Usagi said, bowing her head. "We've heard horrible things about the Guardian Knights…what they did at the end of the Moon Kingdom."

"Well…I can't help you there," he shrugged. "Like I already said, I have no memories of that time. Everything I know, I learned from Titus, and he certainly didn't mention any 'horrible things' I did." He chuckled bitterly. "Hell, I'm not confident he would mention them even if they did happen. I realise how convenient that sounds, and if you feel you can't trust me, then I understand. But I have no secret agenda here. I came to Japan to find Princess Serenity, and protect her." He paused, then shot her a curious look, lowering his voice to a whisper. "I kinda figure you're her. With that, and everything else I know about you as your friend, I trust you. Whether you trust me or not."

Usagi fell silent again, digesting what he'd just said. She was a little shocked to hear him name her as Princess Serenity. He had no way of knowing that, at least none she knew of.

"You're wondering how I know," he chuckled. "Well, first off, your reaction just now proves it. Sorry to trick you. Plus, Titus already told me there was no Sailor Moon a thousand years ago. The Senshi are all princesses of their respective planets, so who else would become Sailor Moon but the Moon Princess?" He looked up at the sky, a wry smile on his face. "I'd call our meeting that day fate, but I don't believe in it. Coincidence either. Of course, I may have to start reconsidering my position, after the events of the past week."

Usagi laughed gently. "Yeah…you may have to." She looked up at his face. "Who was that man from before? The Shadow-Knight?"

He saw the others cautiously approach, obviously eager to hear his response.

"Shadow-Knight?" Titus asked.

"Something else happened?" Luna added.

"After the Senshi defeated the last of the shadow youma…no, scratch that, constructs…a man in armour appeared from the portal," Corey explained. "He introduced himself as Shadow-Knight Terror…and he claims to know me." The pain in his head was returning, and he winced before he could stop it.

"Are you alright?" Moon asked, a touch of the old Usagi returning to her voice now.

"Yeah…it's weird, but every time I try to remember him, I get this stabbing pain in my head." He thought he saw a flash of panic on Titus' face, but if it was there, the cat covered it quickly. Maybe it was just concern. "Then he decided I wasn't the guy he knew after all…he called me 'Pretender', like I wasn't the real Guardian Knight of Justice."

"He's the one controlling the creatures. Constructs," Usagi corrected, turning to Luna. "It sounded like he knew Justice…at least the original from the Moon Kingdom."

"He was wearing Guardian Knight armour," Corey added. "There were subtle differences, and the spikes are new, but it was almost identical to mine."

"Curious," Titus mused. "I searched for the other two knights in this time. As far as I can tell, they're not here."

"Well, one of them apparently took a liking to black," Venus quipped.

Usagi frowned. "Terror also mentioned something else…what was it…"

"He said his lord Revenant was awakening," Rei said, her expression blank. "And that he was hungry."

"Lord Revenant?" Titus echoed. "Those were his exact words?"

"Yes. Why? Do they mean something to you?"

Titus looked around at everyone. "No…I just wondered who it might be. His master, I suppose that much is clear." He shook his head. "At any rate…you're surely all tired, and I need to debrief Corey. Might I suggest we take some time to rest up and consider everything said today? We can meet again tomorrow, perhaps with cooler heads?"

Artemis nodded. "That's probably a good idea. Sailor Moon, you should probably get off that leg."

"I do have chores, as well," Rei agreed. "This shrine won't run itself."

The group began to disperse slowly. Without word, it seemed the okay to detransform was given, and everyone gradually reverted to their civilian clothing. Minako glanced back towards Corey for a few seconds, giving him a small wave and a smile before following Makoto down the steps.

Corey looked down to Usagi. "Hey…are we okay?"

She thought about it for a few seconds. "We're…okay." Her brilliant blue eyes twinkled in the afternoon sun. "I can't speak for everyone else…but I trust you." Her tone turned playful again, and she smacked him on the arm. "Just don't make me regret that."

He shook his head, still serious. "Never."

Tuxedo Kamen approached, and in a shimmer of black his hat, mask and tuxedo disappeared, leaving him in civilian garb. He extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Mamoru Chiba. I've heard a lot about you."

Corey took his hand and shook it firmly. The boyfriend. "Corey McLeod. Likewise."

"Just wanted to say thanks for earlier. I'm a little rusty, apparently."

"Don't mention it. Sailor Moon saved me, you saved her, and then I saved you. Seemed like the neighbourly thing to do."

Mamoru nodded. "Well, I appreciate it." He checked his watch and sighed. "Sorry, guys, I have to get back to the hospital. I managed to sneak out but I'm on call, and they're sure to be missing me before too much longer." He planted a tender kiss on Usagi's lips. "I'll see you later, Usako."

"Bye, Mamo-chan!" she cooed, suddenly right back to being the Usagi that Corey knew.

The knight released his transformation and thrust his hands into his pockets. "Well…I'll see you tomorrow sometime it sounds like." He started off towards the stairs. "Oh, hey…I was in real trouble back there. Thanks for the save, Usagi."

"Anytime," she winked.

"Coming, Titus?" he called.

"I'll meet you at home shortly," the cat replied. "Just going to get caught up with Luna and Artemis!"

"Alright."

As soon as Corey was out of sight, Titus turned to Usagi. "Your Highness, I need a word."

"You know who I am too?" she groaned. "That used to be a much easier secret to keep."

"That's not important right now. How much do you know about the Guardian Knights of old?"

Usagi shot a glance to Luna and Artemis, who listened in with interest. "Well…Luna and Artemis told us that they turned on my mother, and tried to murder her. They think she stopped them with the Silver Crystal."

Titus nodded slowly. Perfect, he thought. "You are correct, of course. I was late to arrive, the last to be sealed in my capsule, but I saw the same thing. Their bodies lay on the floor of the Chamber of Prayer, weapons drawn. It was such a shocking betrayal…" He placed a look of concern on his face. "I'm not really sure how Justice came to be here on Earth…I can only assume it was some kind of accident as the Silver Crystal enacted Queen Serenity's wish."

"So he really was reborn here, like the Senshi?" Luna asked. She turned to Artemis. "That explains how a Guardian Knight could still be alive, at least."

"I trust him," Usagi declared, placing her hands on her hips. "He's given me no reason not to."

"Then you may want to listen carefully. That headache was a memory, trying to resurface; I blocked everything of the Moon Kingdom when I awoke him, just in case…well, you know. I honestly don't know what he'd do if his memories of being Justice all flooded back at once. He may do nothing, or his memories may consume his current personality completely. We'd be left with an extremely angry Guardian Knight looking for revenge."

Artemis looked at him in surprise. "So we may be sitting on a time-bomb?"

"Perhaps." Titus looked up at Usagi, serious. Now, the final nudge, to sell it completely. "I know you two have become friends since meeting, but I urge you. Don't get too close. Keep Corey at arm's length. We need to do everything we can to stop his memories from returning. If we don't…we may all be in great danger."

AN: And that's the second part. Hopefully it wasn't too wordy for everyone – that was the problem with splitting the original chapter four into two parts. You get a whole chapter of action and reveals, followed by the fallout. For anyone who's confused, no, you didn't miss anything. I do have a partially developed backstory for Corey set prior to him arriving in Tokyo that I'm toying with turning into its own fic – but that certainly won't happen until Last Guardian Knight is complete. As always, I hope you enjoyed reading!