Two days later Chibiusa was beginning to think that her entire school had gone insane. Word had spread quickly that the daughter of international pop music sensation Minako would be attending that school and it seemed that everyone wanted to meet Mizuki in the hopes of being introduced to her mother. Luckily for Chibiusa, Rio, Akemi and Mariko nobody really new of the long-standing friendship that the four of them shared with Mizuki, so they were left in peace.

The first morning she was there, though, Mizuki put a quick stop to all of the clamoring for her attention. Before the first bell rang she made a loud announcement in the hallway to the effect that she was just another student wanting to do well and she expected everyone to respect her wishes and leave her alone. There was a bit of grumbling, but no one bothered her after that.

"I can't believe that worked!" Mariko said, amazed.

Mizuki grinned. "I've made that speech at five different schools," she said, "and each time it's worked like a charm. As much as they may want to get close to me for a chance to meet my mom they don't want to offend me even more. So they leave me alone thinking that that's the way to get on my good side."

They all laughed as they made their way to the classroom. While waiting for the teacher to arrive they talked more, continuing to get caught up after almost three years apart.

"It's so funny how unlike our mothers we are," Mizuki said with a smile. "I know my mom had a reputation of being late to school constantly -"

"As did mine," Chibiusa added.

"But I go out of my way to arrive early," Mizuki finished. "And I come home to find out that Mariko is the brains of the gang instead of Akemi, who is the martial arts master. That's pretty much the exact opposite of what I would have expected."

"You don't have to make any comment about me," Rio said. "Everyone here is all too aware of how different I am from my mother."

There was a brief, uncomfortable silence that Akemi broke with an abrupt change of subject. "Are you really home, though, Mizuki? For good?"

"I don't know about for good, but I'm staying here to finish high school," Mizuki replied. "Mom still isn't sure about retiring, but she's said that even if she does another tour I'm staying here." She gave Chibiusa a meaningful look. "There are important reasons for me to have a stable life right now."

Chibiusa listened to her friend's words but also caught the unspoken message. As soon as they could manage it the two of them would have a lot to talk about.

When the lunch break came Chibiusa was worried about inventing excuses to have a private talk with Mizuki but luck was on her side. Mariko needed to go to the library, Akemi to the computer lab, and Rio was leaving school for a doctor's appointment. They found a quiet corner of the school grounds and sat in the shade.

"You know, don't you?" Mizuki asked, getting straight to the point.

Chibiusa almost choked on a bite of her sandwich. She had expected they would at least eat first. She swallowed hard. "Know what?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

Mizuki rolled her eyes. "There's hardly a need to play dumb," she said. "You know that I have my powers now - that I'm Sailor Venus."

Chibiusa grinned. "Oh that. Yeah, I know." The girls threw their arms around each other in a celebratory hug. "I'm so glad!" Chibiusa enthused. "I was beginning to fear that I'd never have any help."

"Well, you're stuck with me now," Mizuki said, and she told her friend how it had happened; the armored car being robbed, her mother being caught unaware and unable to transform and how she had stepped in.

"But your mom is still Sailor Venus as well, right?" Chibiusa asked. "I mean, my mom didn't lose her powers as Sailor Moon when I gained mine."

"Mom's fine, and just as powerful as ever. I think it was a one time thing; the powers that be handicapped her to force me into awakening. And it worked."

"I wish those so-called powers that be would do something to force Akemi, Rio and Mariko into waking up as sailor warriors," Chibiusa said.

"Well, since my own experience I've been wondering a lot about that," Mizuki said, thoughtfully munching a pretzel. "What could possibly be holding them back? And what did Rio mean by her comment about how different she is from her mother?"

Chibiusa sighed. "I forgot that you wouldn't know, since you've been gone for three years. It started just over eighteen months ago. Rei was asked to serve on the committee of a charitable foundation; they provide university scholarships and grants to local artists as well as funds to assist young people that expressed an interest in training to become Shinto priests and priestesses."

"It makes sense that they'd want someone like Rei on their committee."

Chibiusa nodded. "Everything started to fall apart about four months after Rei joined the foundation. First Rio told her mom she didn't want to serve as a miko at the shrine any longer, then she got kicked out of her school -"

"She WHAT?" Mizuki exclaimed, looking as if her eyes were going to pop out of her head.

"I know, it was a surprise to all of us as well. Didn't you wonder why she was here at school with us?" Chibiusa asked.

"Well, yeah, I did, but I didn't think for one minute she had been thrown out of her private school!" Mizuki replied, shaking her head. "Go on, tell me the rest."

"Rio started hanging around with a bad crowd and dating some not-very-suitable boys. Word got around, and her mother confronted her about what was going on. Rio told her mom that since she wasn't hardly ever around anymore she found it difficult to believe that she gave a damn, and the two of them have been co-existing in an extremely chilly truce since then."

Mizuki whistled. "Wow," was all she said.

"Tell me about it," Chibiusa agreed.

"Do you think that all of these things are keeping the three of them from awakening? I mean the problems and the differences that they all seem to have with their mothers?"

"I haven't a clue, but I hope things change soon. I have a really strong feeling that something potentially big is coming," Chibiusa said and went on to tell Mizuki about the mysterious call to the hospital that her parents had received and how they had been out all night as a result.

"You might be right," Mizuki commented after a few moments thought. "It doesn't sound like anything normal, at any rate." She glanced away then, knowing that her next question was guaranteed to get her friend riled up. "What about Seiya?"

Chibiusa froze with the last bite of her sandwich halfway to her mouth. "What about him?"

"Nothing, really," Mizuki said, shrugging. "I was just wondering if he was showing any signs of having powers."

Chibiusa bit back the angry retort she had been about to make and felt tears start to sting her eyes. She blinked rapidly in an effort to stop them from falling. "No, he doesn't have any powers, and he said I need to hope and pray that he gets some. He said I'd be out of luck if I had to depend on just my friends if another big battle happens."

"When did he say that?"

Chibiusa threw what was left of her sandwich away. "The other morning we had a huge argument. Neither of us had slept the night before while our parents were at the hospital and I guess we didn't feel like keeping a guard on our feelings, or our tongues."

"What did you say to him?"

The tears that Chibiusa had been fighting started to fall. "I said that destiny should never have been changed; that he should never have been born," she whispered.

"No wonder he lashed out at you where it would hurt the most!" Mizuki exclaimed. "Did you also talk down to him and make fun of him for not having powers?" When Chibiusa nodded she continued. "That was a really stupid thing to say. Honestly, Usa, would you be surprised if Seiya does have powers? I know I wouldn't."

"Well, not really," Chibiusa replied, looking chagrinned. "He is my brother, after all."

Mizuki smiled. "I think you just need to accept the possibility, and deal with it if it happens. Besides, Seiya isn't the only one affected by the change in your parents' destiny - you were also."

"That's what Luna said. She also said that the full effect of that altered destiny is still unknown."

"Luna's smart, and you need to listen to her more." Mizuki looked away, staring into the distance. "I can't help but think, though, that everything is going to turn out to be much simpler than it at first appears."

Chibiusa spent the rest of the school day wondering just what Mizuki meant by that.

"I can not remember the last time I was so happy for a day to end," Mamoru said as he stretched out on the sofa with a sigh.

Usagi laughed and shoved his legs down, seating herself in their place. "And what, exactly, has brought this on?" she asked, pulling Mamoru's legs back up to rest on her lap.

"Nothing in particular," he replied. "More like the cumulative effect of the last couple of days."

"I know what you mean; I think I'm still trying to recover from that sleepless night," Usagi said, resting her head against the back of the sofa. "I can't imagine how much harder it's been for you. At least I've taken some time off from my job."

"It's not so bad," Mamoru said, pushing himself up into a sitting position, removing his legs from his wife's lap. "It's important that I work right now if we're going to get some sort of heart-snatch warning system." He took his cup of tea from the end table and sipped, not looking directly at Usagi. "And speaking of work, Seiya paid me a visit at the office a couple of days ago."

Usagi jerked her head up so fast the muscles of her neck popped. "He did what?"

Mamoru grinned. "I know, a little out of character for him," he said, reaching out to massage his wife's neck. "He overheard you telling Chibiusa about Mizuki getting her powers, and -"

"And he wanted to talk to the one person who would understand his own confusion about the whole issue of this mixed up destiny. Is that about right?"

"Pretty much, yes." Mamoru told Usagi the substance of his conversation with his son, ending with "Apparently earlier that day he really lit into his sister about her attitude towards him, saying that she'll be out of luck if she has to depend on her friends to help her fight and maybe she'd be better off if he had powers."

"And then he heard that Mizuki became Sailor Venus," Usagi said, sighing. "So he's feeling even less confident about whether or not he has a role to play." He face suddenly twisted with anger. "Chibiusa didn't say a word to me about that lovely little confrontation the two of them had," she all but growled. "If she had I might not have been so easy on her when I chastised her about their fighting."

"I'm sure you'll rectify that oversight," Mamoru commented, struggling to contain a smile. "But right now we have something more important to talk about. I said I didn't take any time off from work so that I could work on this warning system, and I think it's just about ready for the final step."

Usagi swallowed. "So soon?"

Mamoru took her hands in his. "I know, but we have to do this." He raised a hand and brushed the hair out of her face. "If it makes you feel better I'm as scared as you are. Maybe more." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Look at what I have to lose," he whispered.

"I know."

"Besides," he went on, this time letting the smile come through. "I'm sure you've already told all of your friends about this, and they'll be there for the whole thing, ready to offer up their heart crystals as readily as you offered yours."

"You're lucky I don't hit you with one of these sofa pillows," Usagi, said, laughing. "But you're right, they did offer their help, but I won't allow it. I can't stop them from being present when we do this, but I can damn well make sure they aren't put at risk."

"I'm glad you told them though, because at the very least we'll need Ami." When Usagi shot him a glare he held up a hand. "As a doctor, I mean. Someone will have to be monitoring your vital signs the whole time."

"Well, now that that is all settled we may as well get this done as soon as possible." She grinned sidelong at her husband. "What's your schedule look like for tomorrow night."

Mamoru laughed. "It's all clear."

"Well, then, it's a date."

The next night they all gathered in Mamoru's lab while he took a few minutes to give instructions to the security guards on duty.

"Just make yourselves scarce tonight," he said, noting their puzzled looks. "Change your pattern when you make your rounds and stay away from my lab."

"But -"

"No buts, you two. I mean it." He nodded to the bank of monitors behind where they sat. "And disable the security cameras while you're at it. Don't worry, I'll take full responsibility if anything goes wrong. I just don't want any more people involved in this, even peripherally."

"What's going on?" one of the guards asked.

Mamoru smiled grimly. "Believe me, you don't want to know.

In the lab Ami was busy getting Usagi ready. Minako and Rei had found a hospital-like gurney in another of the labs and appropriated it for their use and Usagi lay on it, her upper body inclined halfway. Ami was fixing the electrodes of a portable heart monitor to her chest and setting up the equipment to keep track of her pulse and blood oxygen level. Last came an IV, which was simple saline to ensure Usagi's blood pressure stayed within normal range.

Once everything was all done and the various monitors were softly beeping Ami took a syringe out of her bag. "I'm going to give you a sedative, Usagi," she said. "It's not enough to knock you out but it will keep you relaxed and lessen any pain that you might feel."

Usagi nodded and watched as Ami administered the drug through the IV. Whatever it was worked quick, because barely five minutes later she started to feel lightheaded and sleepy. She didn't even notice Mamoru's arrival until he took her hand.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked, a whisper for her ears only.

"Not even close," she replied with a soft smile. "So get it over with before I change my mind."

Mamoru grinned and nodded before addressing his next words to everyone present. "This won't be anything like the heart snatchings that we all remember," he said, crossing the room to a work table that had a rack of test tubes on it. "I was able to isolate the - let's say active ingredient - in a daimon pod and used it to synthesize a solution that can be administered intravenously. It's meant to work almost like the body's natural rejection process that is sometimes seen in transplants, only it'll be rejecting the pure heart crystal." He held up a vial of murky red fluid and a syringe. "I can't guarantee there'll be no pain," he said, meeting his wife's eyes, "but I can guarantee it won't be anywhere near as bad as what you remember."

He held the vial and syringe out and Ami took them with no noticeable hesitation, although her hands were shaking slightly. She filled the syringe then took a deep, calming breath before injecting the daimon fluid into Usagi's IV. Everyone caught there breath.

It happened faster than expected. One minute Usagi was fine, if a little groggy from the sedative. The next her eyes closed, her brows drew together and her face contracted in pain. She didn't make a sound, but she leaned forward slightly for a brief time before slumping back against the gurney. Her heart crystal appeared, it's shine lighting up the entire room.

Mamoru took the crystal and moved to the work table while the others stayed close to Usagi. Ami's eyes were glued to the monitors while Rei pressed her fingers to Usagi's wrist, feeling the pulse there. "It's faint, but steady," Rei said.

"Blood pressure holding steady as well," Ami added.

Mamoru blocked out everything else and focused on what he needed to do. He swabbed his wife's heart crystal first, then used a razor blade to shave off a sliver of the crystal itself. The swab was dropped into a test tube with the daimon solution and the sliver of crystal sealed in a phial with neutral fluid to preserve it.

"Blood pressure dropping!"

"Her pulse is slowing and her body temperature is going down!"

"Mamoru, we can't wait," Ami said, sounding slightly panicked. "We need to get the crystal back inside of her."

"One more minute."

"No pulse!" Rei called out just as the alarm on the heart monitor started blaring. Ami pressed a finger to Usagi's neck and felt a telltale fluttering.

"She's in V-fib," Ami said, not caring that no one understood what she meant. Her panic of a moment before receded in the face of a genuine medical emergency and she started snapping out orders. "Minako, lay the gurney flat. Rei, get my bag. Mamoru -"

"Done!" he shouted, moving quickly across the room and releasing the heart crystal, which floated towards Usagi before disappearing back inside her body.

Ami watched the monitor closely, her fingers still pressed to Usagi's neck. She shook her head. "No good," she said, grabbing her bag from Rei and taking out the plastic case of an automated external defibrillator . She pulled open Usagi's shirt, sending a couple of buttons flying, and quickly swabbed the skin clean before attaching the two pads.

"Everyone stand back," she said, waiting until they all followed her orders before pressing a button on the machine to begin analyzing Usagi's heart rhythm.

"Shock recommended," a computerized voice said.

"Stay back," Ami ordered, pushing the button to send an electrical surge into her friend. They all waited for another few anxious seconds, then the alarm on the monitor stopped. Ami's face relaxed into a smile.

"Pulse strong and steady," she said with a sigh of relief.

"Shock successful," the computer said, echoing Ami's report.

Usagi's eyes fluttered and then opened, taking a minute to focus. Mamoru moved to her side and took both of her hands. She gave him a weak smile.

"I just hope to hell this works."