During a meeting, Usagi, Mamoru, Ryo, Luna, Artemis, and the Guardians come together to discuss and share the information everyone has. Theories are confirmed. Tests are run. A missing piece gives Ryo an idea of what needs to happen next. What is discussed between the group?
When Mamoru walked out of his bedroom after taking a shower, he saw that everyone had arrived and were talking amongst themselves. He had already admitted to himself he was nervous even though he knew he had done well with them last night, and this morning, he even won over Artemis. He knew Luna was going to be an obstacle because she loved Usagi so, and he prepared himself for that fact while he was in the shower.
Mamoru noticed that Usagi had changed into new clothes, but he sensed her when she had walked into his bedroom for a few minutes when he was taking a shower
When Usagi heard his bedroom open, she smiled in his direction. "Mamo-chan," she said instantly.
"Ah-ha," Minako said, pointing at her. "I knew it."
Usagi rolled her eyes and didn't comment on what she said. "Meeting?" she asked.
Mamoru walked to the couch and sat on the arm of the chair next to Usagi and linked his fingers with hers. "Usako-"
"Ah-ha," Minako said again.
Usagi only said, "Minako" as a warning.
"Sorry," Minako said, as if she had been chastised properly.
Usagi looked up at Mamoru. "As you were saying?" she prompted him with a smile.
Mamoru winked at her which made Usagi smile. "As I was saying, Usako and I have a theory as to why the Shittenou have been brainwashed in the last life as well as this life," he said, "as to why I was brainwashed in this life and not in the last life."
"Love," Usagi said, simply. "It has to come down to love. Serenity and Endymion were well aware of each other's feelings; Mamo-chan and I weren't aware of each other's feelings until last night."
"Wait," Makoto said, believing she was following what the couple was theorizing. "Are you saying that the Shittenou were able to be brainwashed by Beryl, in this life and in the last, because they didn't know how the Sailor Guardians felt about them?" Even to her, it sounded ludacris, but it also made sense. The conundrum that is their lives now.
"Yes," Usagi answered. "After all, we are dealing with magic here, and love is its own kind of magic."
"And there is possibly a force behind Beryl," Mamoru said. Even under Beryl's influence, he felt there was something she was hiding from him. "She hid that from me and possibly Kunzite, but Kunzite didn't trust me as far as he could throw me."
"Do you think that maybe he remembers on some level that he remembers his betrayal?" Ami wondered out loud.
Mamoru looked over at Minako. "What do you think, Minako?" he asked, knowing she would have a better answer than he did.
"Mamoru," Minako said. She couldn't sit anymore and walked over to the window to watch the street. The whole thing broke her heart. "You know as well as I do, in the past, he had a strong mind and liked to be challenged." She looked back at Mamoru and then faced the others before answering. "I think, on some level that is buried to the depths of his mind, he's angry at you because you succumbed to the brainwashing in this life because you had shown him how easy it was for someone to brainwash you, to manipulate you."
"It's an interesting theory," Artemis said, giving the couple that one and taking it under consideration. "But is it true?" He looked at Minako, Ami, Rei, and Makoto. If he knew his own partner (and he liked to think he did), this was going to be something she and other Guardians were going to have to swallow if it was true. "Did you tell any of the Shittenou how you felt about them?"
"Minako?" Usagi asked, taking point once again.
Minako shook her head. "No," she said.
Usagi looked at Ami. "Ami?"
"I didn't," Ami said.
"Rei?"
"I didn't either," Rei said.
At this point, the four girls were in tears as they had all wished that they had said something to them. Usagi didn't like asking this question of them, but they needed this confirmation as it was a possibility.
"Mako?" Usagi asked.
"No," Makoto answered. "I don't know why you're asking if you already know the answer."
Usagi untwined herself from Mamoru, who didn't fight her as he understood her link to her Guardians, to get up from the couch and walked over to Makoto. She wrapped her arms around her friend who refused comfort at first, but Usagi refused to take no for an answer. "I'm sorry," she said with so much sympathy that it touched everyone's heart who witnessed the exchange. "We needed confirmation." Usagi's eyes met Mamoru's eyes who nodded knowing what Usagi was silently asking. "Mamo-chan told me this morning when our memory of them had been unlocked that Nephrite had planned to tell you how he felt about you, the day before he disappeared, days before the Dark Kingdom invaded the moon."
"Oh, my God," Makoto said, hugging Usagi even tighter against her. She was shaking as the tears continued to fall with no sign of stopping. She was just grateful that she had faced away from the group which made her embarrassment lessen a bit. At that moment, though, she had made a decision.
Usagi, who was crying silently mostly out of sympathy, kept her eyes on Mamoru who kept his eyes on her knowing she needed his strength. She used him as a rock as she comforted her friend. She had an idea of how her friend felt, how all of them felt. Not having the chance to say what was in your heart, and possibly missing out on it, not once, but twice. Though she nearly missed once, not twice; it still hurt that she nearly missed it.
Ryo laid his hand on his hand and groaned in pain. "That's it," he said to the group, still holding his head. "That is one of the missing parts."
"Ryo?" Ami said, worryingly.
"I know what needs to be done next," Ryo told Ami. "It's going to be hard on all of us." He looked at Makoto. "And you most of all, during this round."
Artemis, who had been sitting next to Minako, walked over to Ryo. "That's something else I wanted to know, something I wanted to be explained," he told the young man. "How exactly does your ability work?"
"Ryo?" Ami said, knowing he knew what her question was going to be.
"It's okay, Ami," Ryo said as he took her hand and squeezed it. "I see the worst possibility first which was, in this case, the Dark Kingdom winning this war." He let go of Ami's hand and stood up to look out of the window for a moment. He turned back to the rest of the group. "Then once when Usagi saved me and healed Mamoru, I saw a possibility that still could have been acceptable, but I didn't see the full outcome until the possibility was no longer an option."
"He saw all of us dead," Ami told the group, quietly. "We had sacrificed ourselves to save this planet."
"However, the only thing I didn't tell you last night, Ami, was that I also see the best possibility second," Ryo said. "The one where everyone does everything possible to get that outcome."
"And that is resurrecting the Shittenou and saving or healing Kunzite?" Artemis had probed. He wanted to make sure he understood how Ryo's ability worked.
"Yes," Ryo answered. "I should also see eventually how the Shittenou are resurrected and how Kunzite is saved or healed." He looked at Makoto who was still being hugged by Usagi, who was still crying. "However, I have only been shown how to resurrect Nephrite so far. Not the others. Not yet."
Ami looked at Makoto and a thought struck her. "Do you think it's because Mako had decided something while Usagi was holding her?" she asked.
"I don't know," Ryo said. "Maybe."
"Usako?" Mamoru prompted, knowing it would be best that she ask that question of her Guardian.
Usagi nodded, understanding what Mamoru wanted her to ask. "Mako, what did you just decide after what I told you?" Usagi asked, gently.
"Oh, my God," Makoto said with surprise, putting together what is being asked of her and what the ramifications are or rather may be. She started to calm down so she could explain what she was feeling, what she was thinking, because she knew this was important. "If we are able to resurrect him, if he didn't want me, if he still wanted Naru instead, I would be okay with it because I knew at one point, even if it was a past life, he did love me. I would let him walk away. Of course, It would hurt, but I would let him walk away if that's what he wanted."
"Thank you," Usagi said, laying Makoto's head on her shoulder sensing her friend and Guardian starting to calm. Then she looked over at Ryo. "Could that have given you the key to resurrect Nephrite?"
Ryo nodded. "That was exactly it," he told her.
"Decisions," Artemis said. "Each decision each of us makes leads to an outcome." He looked at Ryo. "Hopefully that outcome. The outcome that is most favorable."
Ryo nodded. "It seems that way," he agreed. "Cause and effect."
"The question is does she have the resolve to keep that decision?" Luna asked.
"Luna," Usagi said, chastising her partner. She was still holding her much taller friend who was starting to calm and started a new bout. "Why wouldn't Mako have the resolve?"
"I just meant," Luna said.
"Luna," Usagi said before Luna could continue or backtrack. Even if Luna didn't want to admit it, Usagi knew her well. "We finally have an advantage against Beryl. An advantage Beryl doesn't know about. I know this doesn't come every day, and we're taking it."
Everyone stayed quiet. The Sailor Guardians knew this was a long time coming, and they didn't know when it was going to happen. They should have known it was only a matter of time after she healed Mamoru as their princess was finally starting to act like herself.
Usagi pointed to Mamoru. "From what Ryo is saying, I wasn't meant to heal him. I have the resolve to accept the decision I made," Usagi said. "I made my choice whether or not it was the right one."
Mamoru didn't like hearing that coming out of her mouth because it made him feel like saving him wasn't the right choice. He didn't want her to think that, and it made him believe she hadn't quite accepted the decision. "Usako, you made the right decision," he told her. "As it stands, so far, we are making our way to the best possible outcome." He looked over at Ryo. "Correct?"
Ryo nodded, confirming what Mamoru said to be true. "Correct," he said.
"Mamo-chan, I still made a choice that affected everyone here," Usagi said. "I damned those consequences to heal you, to save you." Her own eyes had started to flood and the tears started to fall which tugged on his heart.
Mamoru walked over to crouch down in front of Usagi, and took her free hand just to hold it. He laid the other hand on her cheek to wipe her tears away. "Do you regret it, Usako?" he asked her, gently. "Do you have the resolve to accept the decision you made?"
Usagi sighed, knowing what his underlying question was, what he was really asking. "It's not that simple, Mamo-chan," she said. "I don't regret saving you. I can't, but that one decision left us with an impossible outcome. Impossible choices for my Guardians." She tightened her hold on his hand. "Was I being selfish?"
"Usagi, we're all working toward that one goal," Makoto said before Mamoru could even answer her question, strengthening her resolve about what she had decided about her and Nephrite.
"If we stick together, we can find a way," Minako said from the window.
"We just have to listen to what Ryo says to us," Rei said.
"And we're all going to be here for each other," Ami said. "We may falter, but we're all going to be here for each other."
"You love us too much, Usako; you can never be selfish," Mamoru informed her. He had also appreciated the back up he got from her friends, her Guardians, who knew she was now faltering a bit and who were supporting her decision to heal him. "What do you think?" he asked her.
"If it leads us to the right possible outcome, then I'm all for it," Usagi told him, clasping her hand to his.
Mamoru smiled over her response and kissed her forehead before he stood up to stand next to her. He knew she just needed that little boost to her confidence about the fact it was the right decision to make. He knew she would still worry over the decision she made that led them here, but he knew his Usako cared about him as well as her friends.
Though she knew she would still worry if it was the wrong decision, Usagi was going to accept the decision and the consequences of that decision she made last night. She won't regret saving Mamoru, not anymore. "It seems, Luna, we are all for it knowing it's not the easy path," Usagi told her partner. "We're not signing up for the easy path."
Luna looked around the room and amazed her how everyone came together and that they supported Usagi's decision even though it held acceptable consequences. "You're all alright with signing up for the hard path?" she asked.
The entire room nodded without any comments. They all knew what they were signing up for. They all knew that wasn't going to be easy. Love isn't easy, but it can be beautiful if both people are willing to work at it.
"Very well then," Luna said. She turned and sat in front of Ryo. "Tell us what you have foreseen."
Ryo looked over at Usagi who had been taking point during the discussion for confirmation. When she shook her head, he walked over back to the couch and sat down next to Ami.
"Not just yet," Usagi said, remembering there was another topic that needed to be made aware of. "Mamo-chan?" She looked up at the love of her life for confirmation.
Mamoru nodded. "Ami," he said and looked over at the bluenette. "Usako and I have abilities. I have one from before being kidnapped, and one I figured out this morning. Usagi only discovered hers this morning."
Ami made a face and pulled her compact computer. "Abilities?" she asked. "Both of you?" She walked over to Usagi.
"Yes," Usagi confirmed. "I can sense when he's hiding something from me."
"Handy," Rei commented sarcastically.
"Rei," Minako said. She was aware that she had dated Mamoru previously, and she believed that Rei was now jealous of that ability. Though, Minako couldn't fault her as it would have been handy to sense he was holding something from her.
"How did you figure that out?" Luna asked.
"Uh…" Usagi started and then started to blush.
"Does it really matter?" Mamoru asked her who was just turning as red as Usagi.
"Hmm…" Ami said as she input data and scanned the two people in question. She, like the rest of the group, was starting to have an idea of what that subject could be. "Usagi, could you stand next to Mamoru for a more accurate reading?" Though she thought it may help to get accurate data, she also thought it would also help with her friend's and her friend's true love's embarrassment.
Usagi nodded and untangled from Makoto who had adjusted in her spot to be a little more comfortable on the couch when Usagi had gotten up. When Usagi stood next to Mamoru, he took her into his arms and kissed her forehead. "It'll be okay," he promised her when she laid her head on his shoulder. He laid one hand around her shoulder and the other around her waist.
Usagi nodded as Ami continued scanning them.
"Mamoru, what are your abilities?" Ami asked him, ignoring the question that had been asked of the couple. She knew they would circle back to that and have an idea what he had been holding back from her.
"I can sense when she is transforming into Sailor Moon, and I can also pinpoint her location," Mamoru said.
Ami nodded, considering everything presented, but she wanted more. "Well, they're registering as normal," she told the group.
"I suppose that's a good thing," Mamoru said.
"Yes, it is," Minako agreed, but she knew that Ami wanted more information, more concrete data because Usagi and Mamoru both mentioned abilities, "but that's not enough for you, is it, Ami?"
"No," Ami said, shaking her head, confirming what Minako already knew. "I have a guess, but I need to ask a few questions."
Minako nodded knowing Ami didn't want to say or ask anything because she wanted to elicit a promise from their friends. "Ask those questions," she told Ami. She looked at everyone because she knew there would be a few someone's would make a comment. "And the peanut gallery is not going to comment on how our princess and her true love came upon this information, got it?"
There was a lot of bickering and sarcastic comments being thrown around the room, but when it didn't stop, Ami who was fed up with the whole group, mostly Rei and Luna, had herded the royal couple, Usagi and Mamoru, into his bedroom.
"I'm sorry we had to do it this way, but I need this data to help figure out where this is coming from," Ami told them. She looked at Usagi. "How did you know that Mamoru was hiding something from you?"
Usagi started blushing again and closed her eyes to try to push it away. She laid her head against Mamoru's chest. "I just sensed something was off with him," Usagi said. "I didn't sense something was off last night." She turned to look at Ami who was still in front of them. "Please don't make me tell you what that subject is."
"Usagi, I have an idea," Ami said to her gently, "so does everyone else out there too. For the sake of both of your embarrassment, that's why I brought you both in here."
Usagi hid her face in Mamoru's chest and groaned. "Oh, my God," she said as she felt her true love stroking her back as if to comfort her.
"Both of you were exhausted last night," Ami said and then looked at Mamoru, "so I'm not surprised the thought didn't enter your mind until this morning."
It was Mamoru's turn to turn red. "When the five of you left last night, Usako was still unconscious," he rem`inded her. "I wouldn't have taken the choice from her like that. I want her to be a willing partner when she's ready."
"No, you wouldn't have taken that choice from her," Ami had commented and without thinking, continued with "Endymion didn't either."
Mamoru stared at Ami before he smiled remembering the first time Endymion had Serenity underneath him. "When she's ready," Mamoru promised Ami.
"Good," Ami said.
Mamoru had told her about how he figured it out when she had sensed it was about his Shittenou in the Silver Millenium. "It was when she had said sensed," he said. "I was already hiding my arousal from her and wanted to test it out."
"I confirmed," Usagi said. "I haven't sensed anything off again since this morning."
"Okay," Ami said. "That tells me you two are communicating. I think that was the most embarrassing of them." She looked over at Mamoru. "You can sense when she transforms, correct?"
Mamoru nodded. "Correct," he said. He got up and walked over to the sliding glass door to look outside. The sky was dark and cloudy as if it were going to rain, and it still may. "When I sense she has transformed into Sailor Moon, I had to assist her, protect her." He quite had gotten around to informing Usagi he couldn't help it; he had to do it.
Usagi and Ami listened to him, and neither one knew exactly what to say, but Ami knew how to ask questions. "While you were under Beryl's spell, did you still have the same instinct?" Ami asked, thinking instinct was the right word.
Still facing the sliding glass door, Mamoru paused contemplating the question and the word Ami used. "It was there," he said, confirming Ami's theory, "but it was an underlying instinct. I was caught between Beryl's spell and my instinct to protect her."
"Mamo-chan?" Usagi turned on the bed, crossing her legs to look at him.
"When you healed me last night, Usako, it was like I could literally breathe again," Mamoru told her. "I was me again, and all that was left was that instinct."
Ami smiled at him. "Well, it's handy that you have it," she said. "So if you're in trouble, Usagi, and can't get to one of us, Mamoru will be there."
Mamoru turned then to look at them and shrugged. "I didn't have any other plans," he confessed to them, "but to do just that."
Ami smiled. "And the other one?" asked. "You can sense where she is related to you?"
"Yes," Mamoru said. "I had concluded that it may be just an extension of my other ability."
"That's possible," Ami agreed. "Do you know how far it goes?"
"While Usako was in the shower, I stepped out to get some essentials," Mamoru said. "The market isn't far. Maybe a five minute walk?"
"You could sense she was still in your apartment in the bathroom getting a shower?" Ami guessed.
"That's correct," Mamoru said. "I haven't done anything long distance, but either way, it was reassuring to know Usako was safe when I went shopping."
"I am going to want to test that," Ami said, "but we'll test that later." She typed information on her compact computer. "However, with the information you both gave me, you two are connected through your abilities, through your love."
"Ami, is it possible that these abilities will grow?" Usagi asked her friend. "The longer we're together?"
Ami smiled. "It's possible, Usagi," she said. "But that's exactly what a possibility is, just as each decision causes an effect." She looked over at Mamoru and realized he and her friend needed a moment together. "I'll give you two a moment." She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Mamoru walked over to Usagi, realizing that Ami knew that Usagi had gone shy. "I wasn't hiding it from you which is probably why you didn't pick up on it," he told her. "When I was under Beryl's spell, it didn't make sense. When you healed me, it started to. When I accepted the fact that I love you, my world was righted." He took Usagi into his arms. "You right my world, and I will use my abilities, Usako, to keep you safe." He leaned and kissed her. "I promise."
Usagi took his face into her hands. "I will do everything possible to make sure we succeed," she told him. "I refuse to lose you. Not again. I have a strong heart, but even my heart can only handle so much." She smiled at him. "If our connected abilities grow, then we can go through it together." She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt content when he wrapped his arms around her middle. "I love you, Mamo-chan."
"We have work to do if we want to save my Shittenou and defeat Beryl," Mamoru told her. "We can do it if we work together."
"Right," Usagi said as she dropped her hands and walked over to his bedroom door. "Let's see what Ryo has to say about resurrecting Nephrite."
"Wait, Usako," Mamoru said, before she could open the door. "What I told Ami, it's true."
"I know," Usagi said, knowing what he was talking about. "And you're right, I'm not ready yet. I will let you know." She smiled at him. "Like Ami said, neither you nor Endymion pushed me or Serenity. It's one of the reasons why I love you."
All Mamoru could do was smile. "Alright," he said, knowing Usagi would let him know. "Let's figure out how to deal with Nephrite."
When everyone was settled back in, they had Ryo begin about what he saw about resurrecting Nephrite. "It was in a forest," Ryo said. "I'm guessing where he was defeated."
Rei had her arms crossed. "We didn't even defeat him," she said. "That was all Zoisite." She looked over at Mamoru and pointed at him. "You might want to have a conversation about loyalty with them."
"Rei," Usagi said. "Let Ryo finish."
"Hmph," Rei said.
"You had already been transformed as Sailor Jupiter, but you still had your transformation wand and pointing to where he had died," Ryo said. "You had said your transformation saying, and he materialized."
"How did he look?" Mamoru asked Ryo, curiously. "Could you tell if he remembered everything? Anything at all?"
"We're going to her with her Moon Healing Escalation," Ryo said. "There's also a problem." He looked at all of them. "Kunzite shows up as well. I don't know how or why he knew what was going on. I don't know how he found out, but somehow he does."
"Kunzite has all sorts of monsters under his command," Mamoru said. "I'm not surprised to hear that, at all."
"We're going to have to use your ability to find the best possible way to win and resurrect Nephrite," Ami told Ryo.
Ryo took her hand and kissed it. "I have a few ideas," he told the group as they started to talk about strategy.
xXx
Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom was not happy. She believed after her loyal prince would come running back to her the minute after he finally had defeated Sailor Moon or rather that rotten princess that sunk her claws into her beloved prince. She knew he would normally check in by now, but there still wasn't any word. iI will just have someone find him/i, she thought. iAnd I know just the one to do so./i
"Kunzite!" Beryl yelled beckoning for him.
Within seconds of being summoned, Kunzite materialized in front of her. "Yes, Queen Beryl?" he asked, bowing to show respect to his queen. "How can I assist you?"
"Prince Endymion hasn't checked in as of yet," Beryl said, informing him. "I want you to see what is holding him up. Bring him back here alive, at all cost, or suffer the consequences, Kunzite." Beryl didn't want to lose another general, or the prince for that matter, but she knew which one mattered more to her. She knew which one would hurt the princess more.
Kunzite was well aware of the fact that his queen blamed all of their failures on him, even though not all of those failures were his. Some of those failures had belonged to Prince Endymion himself.
Kunzite didn't like the order, but he knew he didn't have any other choice. Try as he might, he couldn't defy her, his queen. "Yes, my queen," he answered. "I will find him and bring him back." He made a fist over his heart and bowed to her.
"You better find some answers, Kunzite," she said and then nodded to let him know he was dismissed.
Kunzite dematerialized in front of his queen and rematerialized in an alley close to where he believed Prince Endymion was last seen. He felt he was going on a wild goose chase. He believed his time could be better used doing something else.
When Kunzite looked up at the sky, it literally had just opened up and rain had started pouring down on the streets of Tokyo. "Excellent," he said. "This is exactly what I needed." He materialized into a black and blue suit and trench coat while holding an umbrella. He opened up the umbrella and left the alley. With the only lead he had on Prince Endymion, he went in that direction.