The Inner Guardians gathered at the Hikawa Shrine for a much different meeting than they originally intended, with Usagi calling in Mamoru.

"Alright, so, here's what we know." Mina said, gesturing to some writing on a chalkboard which she got from… somewhere. "Their name is Reign, they have a piece of the Malefic Black Crystal, and based on their comments, they seem to have some history with us… that's… about all I've got."

"I thought the Malefic Black Crystal was destroyed?" Mamoru questioned.

"Join the club." Makoto said, "But what's the issue here? We beat Death Phantom when we were in middle school. We're way stronger now! Whoever this is, they don't stand a chance."

"Don't be so sure, Mako." Ami responded, "Something was off with the crystal's energy. It wasn't exactly the same as last time. Not to mention, the readings I got suggested they possessed considerable power outside of the crystal."

"More importantly, they knew us." Rei interjected into the conversation, "And they didn't seem the least bit upset that we'd beaten Ail and An. I think that was meant to be some kind of test, seeing if we'd lost our edge."

"Who could it be though?" Makoto questioned, "Pretty much all of our enemies are either dead or turned over a new leaf."

"And what's the deal with my new powers? Why did I shoot fire?!" Usagi asked, confused.

"I explained it to you already, Usagi." Luna said with a sigh, "Your new transformation allows you to use the powers of the other Sailor Guardians."

"Yeah, because that's fair." Rei said, pouting a bit.

"Alright everyone!" Minako said, bringing the conversation to a halt, "We've all had a long day, and it's unlikely that we're gonna figure this all out tonight. So how about we all go home and get some rest?" The Guardian of Beauty said in a much more serious tone than her team often heard from her, "We'll need it for what's ahead."

It had been so long since she last fought a monster that Makoto almost forgot how dirty she would get. Constantly rolling around to dodge attacks, or getting hit by clouds of dirt that get kicked up, not to mention that fighting a monster worked up quite a sweat. However, this allowed her to return to her favorite post-battle ritual, which was taking a nice, long shower to clean off all the grime.

Stepping out and drying herself off, her thoughts wandered to their new adversary. It was true that they spoke like they had met her and her friends in the past, but Makoto couldn't even begin to place who it might be. Their voice was distorted by their mask, and their armor made it hard to make out their build. As well as this, she couldn't think of anyone who would know about both Ail and An as well as the Black Crystal. Another time traveler, maybe? But if that were the case, surely Chibiusa would've shown up by now to help, right? Or was that not how that worked?

Suddenly, Makoto heard a knock from outside her bathroom. She threw on her green robe and made her way to the front door of her apartment, confused about who would be showing up on her doorstep at this hour. Upon unlocking and opening the door, she was shocked to see none other than her girlfriend standing there, an anxious look across her face.

"Ami?" Makoto questioned, "What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Can I come in?" The bluenette asked timidly.

"Of course." The auburn-haired girl responded, gesturing for her to come in.

"Thanks, I… um… y'know, you look really pretty with your hair down." Ami said, a light blush crossing her face.

"Thank you. But don't change the subject, why are you here?" Makoto asked, concerned.

"Well, I… I just… my mom's working over tonight and with everything that's happened I… I didn't wanna be alone." Ami finally said, "I don't wanna be intrusive but I just-"

"Ami, don't you dare call yourself intrusive." Makoto said firmly, "You are always welcome here, okay?"

Ami simply nodded her head in response.

"Good. I'm gonna go throw on some PJs, and I'll make us some tea after that. Did you bring anything to sleep in?" Mako asked, noticing Ami did not appear to have anything with her other than the clothes on her back.

"No I… wasn't really thinking when I-"

"It's fine, I wear a few sizes bigger than you so you can just use one of my shirts." The taller girl said, prompting a blush from her girlfriend.

"Um… okay."

Before long Makoto had thrown on a tank top and some sweatpants, laid out a sleep shirt for Ami, and made some tea which the couple were currently enjoying in her living room.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to-?" Ami began.

"Ami, I don't know if you noticed, but I kind of love you more than anything." Makoto said with a smile, "I will never be upset about getting to spend more time with you."

"A-alright." The smaller girl said, sprouting another blush.

After the two of them finished their tea, Makoto instructed Ami to get ready for bed while she tidied up. Once she reached the bedroom she was rendered speechless by the sight of Ami in nothing but her underwear and one of Mako's shirts, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"God, she is so hot." Makoto thought to herself, before Ami looked up at her and tilted her head.

"You're ogling." She said with a smirk, causing Mako to turn red.

"I'm your girlfriend, I'm allowed to ogle!" Mako said defensively before switching off the light and going to join her in bed.

Once the two settled in, with Mako holding Ami in her arms, she asked a question that had been on her mind since Ami showed up.

"Why are you so worried about this? We've dealt with bad guys before, and we always make it through. This isn't any different."

"I know, I know, it's just… never mind."

"What is it?"

"Nothing. I'm being ridiculous."

"Ami… please tell me what's wrong." Makoto pleaded.

"Well I just… I thought it was over." Ami finally said, "I thought we could finally just live normal, peaceful lives. I thought we could just go on dates and go to school and… and that we were finally done risking everything over and over and over again. And I… I feel like I finally have everything I have ever wanted. I have friends, a good partner, I… I'm happy. And now I have to face the fact that I could lose all of that and… and…" Ami continued, her voice growing shakier and shakier, until she threw herself into Mako's chest and started sobbing, "I don't wanna do this anymore!"

"Oh sweetheart." Makoto said gently, stroking her lover's hair.

"W-what's wrong with me?" Ami finally choked out, "This is my job. It's what I was born to do, I'm supposed to be a soldier but I just… I…" The blue-haired girl said before once again devolving into sobs, "God I'm so pathetic."

"Hey hey hey." Makoto said, holding Ami close, "No you are not. You are one of the strongest people I know. None of us asked for this. There's nothing wrong with being scared or… or overwhelmed by all of this."

"But… but…"

"No buts." Makoto said.

The Guardian of Thunder looked down at Ami, whose face was still buried in her chest, "Ami can you look at me?" She asked, getting no response from the smaller girl, "Please?"

At that, Ami looked up at Mako, revealing her tear-stained face, "There's my girl." Mako said, caressing Ami's cheek, "Now listen. I know this is scary, and I know it sucks, but I promise you I will be by your side every step of the way. And I won't let anything happen to you. To any of us. Okay?"

"O-okay." Ami said shakily before laying her head back down, "Um… Mako?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you… um… do you think you could stroke my hair just a little bit more? It um… felt nice…" Ami said, clearly embarrassed.

"Of course." Makoto said with a smile.

As Makoto lay there, holding the girl who mattered to her more than anything in the world, only one thought occupied her mind:

"I won't let anything happen to you."


Finally, some good f***ing MakoAmi.
Gotta say, of the chapters I've released so far this one is definitely my favorite for... what I'm sure are obvious reasons.

But please, let me know what you guys think! Reviews are very much appreciated!

And come back next time for Chapter 7: The Four Queens of Heaven.