...

And I don't wanna waste time
Living a half life
Are you listening?
Now give it back to me!
I remember everything
The way it used to be!
Yeah, give it back to me
Yeah, give it back to me
I hear your voice
But inside I'm lost

And I feel so far away, far away from everything
Outside wondering when I got lost?

I threw my arms up in the air, why do I disappear?
How can your love be so close?
When I'm so far away?

"Mamo-chan!"

"Papa!"

Mamoru's eyes opened wide and he continued to breathe hard and the searing burning in his chest continued to blaze as he lay there on his bed unable to remember what it was that had put him into that state. He had been sleeping peacefully and he had gone into a deeper sleep than he had ever found himself before, but then, he remembered, he had found something that had frightened him. The flaring in his chest intensified as he tried to remember and he sat up with his hand over his heart thinking perhaps the pressure of his hand might do something to relieve the burning; at least for a moment. The burning didn't hurt, but the fact that it continued persistently worried him. Like Venus, he wanted to know where it had come from, and why it would not go away. And why had Usagi's kiss sent it into a heated frenzy...

Was there even more power buried deep within him along with this blazing... star? Yes, a star. That was what it felt like. It was a fire that continually fed itself and refused to die even in his calmest of moments.

"Mamo-chan, we all have a star in our heart..." Mamoru froze on the bed as he heard the soft and quiet voice in his mind. It had the same echoed quality as the laughter he had imagined hearing earlier before going to bed, but this time he could not give it up to just being sleep deprived. He was wide awake. He shook his head trying to clear it of everything. It must just be a memory from the past that he hadn't fully grasped yet. He still could not remember the later parts of his past life clearly, but slowly they were coming more into focus, and the more he remembered, the more he didn't want to see it. He could already tell that everything ended tragically.

But... the voice had used his new name...

Mamoru looked over to the alarm clock and groaned to see it shining 12:30 in bright red letters. Morning was still far off, but Mamoru had worked himself up into a worried state: about the star, the visions, and dreams...

And then there was Usagi and Kimi meeting at the park...

Mamoru stood up and tried to push the worry into the back of his mind again. He couldn't worry about that, it would only cause more harm than good. He was just being paranoid. Kimi was angry, he could tell even through her seemingly accepting appearance, but that didn't mean her intentions in meeting Usagi weren't genuine. Besides, she did have the right to know. He had broken a promise to her, on incredibly short notice, and she deserved an explanation. At least... he thought so. Didn't that make since?

Mamoru's chest flared once more and he groaned again as he stepped towards the kitchen: he was starving. He had only eaten once the day before and that had only been because Motoki had forced him as he hung around the arcade waiting for Usagi... in vain he had to add.

He picked through the fridge and sighed at the limited choices. He shut the door with the milk in his hands and poured himself a bowl of cereal. It would have to do. With all that had been happening the past few weeks he had slacked in his house keeping as well as his school work. It just didn't feel important any more. The only thing of importance at that moment was Serenity...

He threw the bowl into the sink a little harder than he had thought and the loud noise caused him to jump slightly. "Calm down." He ordered himself. "You're just going to make things worse if you keep acting so anxious..." There was nothing to worry about! The power within him stirred once more and he paused as he waited for it to settle down, but it continued to burn hotly in his chest. He moved back towards the direction of his bedroom planning to just sleep the time away; if he could. Time went by more quickly while you were sleeping, and at that moment Mamoru just wanted to move by as quick as possible. He walked past the living room and again he heard the same voice echo in his ears as he glanced towards the window as the moonlight shone through.

"Until the day we finish our duty... do you think we can protect this planet together?" He stopped walking and stared out the window towards The Moon that was barely visible above the roof of the building next door. In its bright light he could feel his worries melting away even though the star within his chest was burning with an intensity that he had only felt the night before when Sailor Moon had been in danger. The power was manifesting itself within him. "Can we live together? Forever?" Serenity had asked that... but when? What had he said in response?

"I promise..." He whispered to the moonlight, but his chest flared hotly as the power filled him and he gasped as he saw the vision of the castle shattering once more in his mind and it mingled with the now sad moonlight. He had promised her that, but... he had broken that promise... Something had taken him away from her, and left her crying...

"Mamo-chan..."

He pressed his hand against his heated chest and his heart beat wildly. His power was multiplying at an alarming rate and he could feel it activating within him.

"You know that star is shining when you feel that heat..." Usagi had told him that... a long time ago, but... not in their past... She had helped ignite the star within him, but... How? When? Where did this power come from?

The sound of laughter came from behind him and he turned towards the hallway leading to his room, but no one was there, but he swore he heard running footsteps.

"Who is there?" He demanded, but there was no response. It had just been the echo of a ghost-like memory that his mind was trying to grab hold of. He turned back towards the moonlight, but he caught hold of a stream of soft pink hair in the corner of his eye. He whipped his head back in the direction of the hallway, but the vision had vanished like fog.

"Mamo-chan!" Two sets of girlish laughter called out to him in unison and Mamoru stood there with his heart completely consumed by the star. He stood tall in the middle of his living room with the moonlight surrounding him and he closed his eyes as he continued to press his hand against his burning heart. The laughter had calmed him like an enchanting magic and the fire in his heart no longer felt threatening, but comforting. As if it was right...

It was right. It was supposed to burn like this, but... not this hotly. It should only burn this intensely when he was in the heat of battle... Only when he was fighting to protect those he loved...

On his closed eye lids the vision of a little girl smiling up at him with a small grey kitten sitting in between her two pink, egg shaped buns shone for a short instant and it mingled with the vision he had had before of the glass-like castle... the crystalized castle.

"I know you..." Mamoru thought as he grabbed hold of the vision once more and didn't let it go. "I remember you... from somewhere..." Her smile was just like... just like Usagi's. It warmed his soul as it mingled with the cold vision. "Chibi... Usa..." He whispered the words out loud as they came to him. "Small... Lady..." His eyes widened. He remembered that...

"Can we live together?" Usagi's voice asked him once more, and he saw her smiling up at him and a gossamer veil gently wrapped around her face. He could see her clearly... standing there in her pure white dress surrounded by white roses and a new star beginning its journey within her. "Forever?"

"I promise..." He spoke aloud again as if he were living that moment right then; their wedding. "I promised..." He said breaking free of the memory's hold, and he stepped back in surprise. This wasn't making sense, but he was remembering it so clearly, and not a detail was shrouded in mystery like the others had been. "We would always be together..." There had been a softness in her eyes and her forehead had suddenly burned brightly with the crescent moon as he had caressed her face.

That wasn't what had happened though... He hadn't stayed by her side like he had promised. Something had ended it all...

"Don't leave me! Mamo-chan!" His eyes shut tightly as Serenity's scream filled him. Yes, something had ripped her out of his arms and into the darkness. And then he had fallen for what had felt like an eternity and the years of his life were played in reverse and the memories had been ripped away from him, and then... he had woken up in the hospital... with his parents just recently dead and the memories gone; all of them...

The memories... his face relaxed and his eyes remained closed as they now played back in his mind like a movie in fast forward and he let them penetrate his whole being. The shadow lifted from everything and he could see the world in a new light. The fire in his chest consumed him entirely and he spread his arms out to the side as he embraced its heat. He would no longer hold back against the power of The Golden Crystal. It was right to flare as hotly as if did, for The Earth was calling out desperately in need of help, and this was his reawakening as its true guardian. Time and space was wrong... something in the past had ruined everything, had forced them into a new nightmare...

His eyes opened as the darkness and mystery covering the last few weeks of his past life fell away and the star within his heart flared as his eyebrows furrowed in anger. He knew exactly who was to blame for this...

His anger aimed itself at his own stupidity as well. Why hadn't he seen it before?! But he had, he had never felt easy around her, and yet he had never been able to pull away... Her own power had kept him there, but not anymore...

His hand went to his chest and he let the power surge through him. The Golden Crystal was awakening within him just like it had when they had faced The Dead Moon so long ago, and yet never before... His hand pressed hard against his chest and the hard metal of the pocket watch struck his skin, but he ignored it as the power surged from his chest and into his hands. He lifted his hand out in front of his body and smiled as a golden light surrounded it. He would fulfill his promise... They would be together again; forever. He would protect those he loved and he would restore what they had lost. He shut his hand and formed a tight fist. He would finish his duty to protect this planet and their future...

As he stared at his balled fist the door to his apartment rattled and his gaze turned towards it as the lock turned and he turned his whole body towards it. Kimi's red hair was the first thing he saw and he stared unforgiving at her. The woman shut the door quickly behind her and she turned to face him slightly out of breath from her hasty midnight dash to the apartment. It made since now, why she had been there the night before. She had felt his awakening, just like she had done tonight. He should have been expecting it.

"Beryl." Mamoru's voice came out in a low growl. Kimi smiled as she leaned against the door and then she stepped forward.

"Oh, don't act like that." She said merrily. "After all, we were always meant to be."

"Don't play games with me!" He demanded. "I'm not one of your past live's slaves! You don't own me like the others!" Kimi simply shook her head sadly.

"If you had just given in." She spoke in pity.

"I'll never give in." He seethed. "Sailor Moon will defeat you! Just like before! This paradox changes nothing!" Kimi tilted her head to the side and her eyes seemed to reflect true confusion.

"Paradox?" She asked with a smile.

"I remember..." He growled. "Crystal Tokyo, Chibiusa, the future!" His voice had grown into a shout. "Sailor Moon will fix this, and without your little powers in the way, it will be easy." Kimi laughed still appearing amused.

"My little powers?" Her eyes opened as she finished laughing and they glowed a deep purple. "I wouldn't call them little." She informed him. Mamoru stopped in his tracks as he felt her power sweep through the entire apartment. "I am the queen of this Solar System!" She spoke with her deep voice echoing. Mamoru lifted his hands protectively and he felt his clothes change spontaneously into his tuxedo and mask. Her power increased suddenly and Mamoru buckled under her power. They no longer appeared to be in the apartment, but in a dark void. She stood before him transformed into her own dark indigo dress and she stood before him with her eyes continuing to glow. "Endymion-sama, you will be mine once more." She said, and Tuxedo Kamen lifted himself off of the ground. His eyes closed as the power surged through him but... his eyes opened wide in fear as Beryl's dimension began to shake. The Golden Crystal... it wasn't completely awakened... Mamoru could not access the power he had known as King of The Earth.

"Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber!" He shouted as he lifted his hand and the power rushed towards Beryl as she laughed and with a wave of her hand she cut through his attack like a thin layer of smoke. Desperately Mamoru grasped at his chest willing The Golden Crystal to unleash its true power, but it only flared a bit more harshly, but not enough. Beryl's power struck him and he suppressed a shout of surprise as it sent him backwards onto the ground again. He tried to lift himself off of the ground, but he found his limbs unable to support him. She had begun to drain his energy and the world was becoming out of focus. Her power was different than he remembered. It was not her own, and yet it felt familiar. Mamoru continued to struggle to get up and he ordered his limbs to obey, but Beryl's dark power continually bombarded him and kept him down as she continued to drain him of everything.

"The Golden Crystal..." She spoke in awe and Mamoru looked up at her in surprise. "To think it was hidden away within you all this time while we searched in vain for it." She mused. "Your father hadn't even known." She shook her head. "No matter, I will erase that pitiful Moon Princess' mark upon your heart!" Her hand lifted towards him and Mamoru let out a struggled yelp as her power began to fill him and tear him apart from the inside.

"Golden Crystal!" He tried to summon the power, but it was not strong enough. The power he summoned was weak in comparison to Beryl's own.

"Even if I have to kill you and rip it out of your heart for good!" She cried. Mamoru collapsed entirely under the weight of her power. He couldn't move an inch; he was completely drained, and it had happened faster than he could have ever thought. He lay there breathing heavily as she leaned over him and her hand went over his heart and the golden pocket watch. "Now, Endymion-sama..." Beryl cooed in his ear. "Become mine once more..." The power flooded him and he screamed out as the pain became unbearable. "Sweet dreams." She whispered softly, and the world was fading away.

"Usa..ko..." He breathed softly as his body gave out. His eyes closed with his face falling to the side, lifeless, and Kimi crouched over him with a devilish smile.

"Serenity!"

"Mamo-chan!"

"No!" Usagi pressed back against the bed with her eyes opened wide. Her soul seared with pain and she felt like she was being ripped in two right there on the bed. After a minute the pain ceased and she sat up quickly. Her fingernails pierced her skin through the covers that she clasped onto tightly and she sat there struggling to catch her breath. Her face not covered just in tears like normal but she also shook violently as sweat dripped down her face. She had seen it clearly, and this time... she could remember the vague details as they had fell through the void away from him; away from Endymion... Mamo-chan...

Her hands covered her face and she continued to shake uncontrollably as her lungs wheezed in panic.

"It was just a dream..." She told herself forcing herself to believe it, but the pain had been too real in her soul. "Just a dream..." Her body continued to shake as she removed her hands from her face and began to slowly remove the covers of her bed and she hung her legs over the side but she didn't dare move to stand up with her body so shaky. Her hand held tightly to the covers beside her and her right hand lay on her chest as her heart raced. The Silver Crystal's power felt cool underneath her grasp, but it seemed to give off less power than usual.

In all the times past she would have woken up without remembering a thing and Luna would have cuddled up with her in comfort. Now... Luna wasn't there, and the shadows within the dream haunted her more forcefully and an unnamed feeling floated all around her.

"Find..." She stopped. They had found her... They were together... She had nothing left to cry about. Mamoru was hers again, she had her friends at her side, and The Silver Crystal... Usagi's face buried itself in her hands again and she began to sob.

How could she feel so close to happiness and at the same time feel an even more intense sorrow? Mamoru had asked to meet her and hope stirred from deep within her, but Luna's absence took her into despair. How could the two emotions mix so easily within her and an underlying sense of anxiety fill in the gap?

Usagi's head lifted and she could see the almost full moon in the sky. The night after tomorrow it would be completely full and they would head upwards for answers. It was the only thing, and the prospect of seeing Mamoru tomorrow, that held her together at that moment. Her world was in chaos around her and she couldn't understand why. Again she had to ask, how could everything be so right and it feel so wrong?

The unnamed feeling covered her like a dark shadow and she grasped the covers and Silver Crystal more tightly and pain filled her hands as her fingernails penetrated her skin and The Silver Crystal's pointed end dug into her palm.

The Earth was calling out to her in despair, but she couldn't hear it clearly through the confusion in her heart. She could only see the reasons why she should be happy, and the things that were the source of her sorrow were too confusing for her mind to wrap around. They made no sense, and yet they scared Usagi because she felt like she should understand them... That they should be connected somehow by some loose web even though there was no evidence to say so. From the outside they had no connects.

Luna and Mamoru... The enemy and her pain... Somehow... they were all one big puzzle, but she could only stand there staring at the pieces unable to see how they connected. Perhaps it was just her hopeful thinking that made her see the imaginary connection and in truth someone only had thrown the group of puzzle pieces together knowing what a mess it would be for Usagi to sort through it all and separate the clues back into their own small groups. Usagi's eyes closed as she tried to decipher the strange feeling and shadow's name, but it eluded her.

"Usa...ko..."

Usagi's eyes opened with a gasp, but she couldn't remember what she had heard that had shocked her, but the feeling of utter terror filled her and she could no longer breathe as she sat there with both of her hands clasped over her heart and around The Silver Crystal.

Something... Something had just ended...

Something important to her had just faded away, and its absence lingered around her. Her room grew cold around her and the night appeared a little bit darker, but she attributed that to her own perception instead of accepting the truth that The Earth's sky had indeed darkened in shadow.

"It will be alright..." She told herself forcefully. "Tomorrow will be better. This night wont last, and in the daylight, you'll see. Everything will be better. Mamoru will be with you, and you'll find Luna eventually. Then... everything will be fixed. You'll see." She looked up towards The Moon that shined down upon them less brightly as it was covered by The Earth's new subtle darkness. They would go there soon, and the answers would reveal themselves to her and the others. Soon there would be no mystery to solve and they could just live together... forever.

Rei knelt before The Sacred Fire with her eyes closed as she tried to settle her thoughts. She had slept for only a short time, but she could not get herself to settle down enough to remain resting. Her thoughts swam in her mind and merged into a blurry chaos. She needed to meditate. To concentrate on finding peace.

Her eyes opened and she let herself become lost in the fire's warmth and comforting light. The fire was peaceful unlike Rei's soul and she dared to force herself to relax along with the fire. She took in a deep breath and her head fell back as her eyes closed again and she simply relaxed for a moment. So much had happened in the last week, in the last 72 hours really. She had awoken as a Sailor Senshi and reunited with her best friends. She had seen her princess awaken fully and The Silver Crystal emerge, but what did all of this mean?

"Rei-chan..."

Rei's eyes opened and she lowered her head in order to stare back into the fire. She had asked them to find it, and now they had it. What now? She sighed. They could only hope that The Moon offered the answers they hoped. Rei's hands wrapped together and she began her chants, but without much effort behind it. The fire had refused to tell her anything in the last few weeks and she guessed that tonight would be no different. She was in too much of a worried state to see anything clearly. To even try to begin with felt foolish, but midway through the chants the clock in the other room chimed telling her the top of the hour had come and as it did so they room around her felt cold. Just like before when Jed had sat beside her, Rei could no longer feel the heat of The Sacred Fire, but the coldness penetrated through her whole being and she clasped her hands more tightly together as the fire flared violently; coming alive from its peaceful state. Within the flames a dark figure flashed for an instant, but it had been too quick for Rei to see it clearly, and her whole body shivered as the power surged all around her. Something dark had occurred, something wrong... Rei peered into the fire begging it to reveal its secrets to her. Rei had felt the feeling once before when her mother had passed away when she was younger and she recognized it; the feeling of death and ending.

"What has ended?" She demanded and begged at the same time. She had to know at least something... She poured out her whole power into the order and she willed it to show her at least one thing... Anything! The fire obeyed her and for a brief instance she saw the flicker of a symbol she knew well: The up-curved crescent moon.

The symbol of the royal family.