Blueeyeddevil06, thank you for being my beta!

Checking in with various characters in the story.

Beryl lounged on the chair by the pool of her enormous beach house. She relaxed as she heard the crashing waves against the shoreline and the seabirds making noise as they circled in the air. The sun was out, and there were only a few wispy clouds in the sky. She peaked out from under the brim of her wide hat and watched as her assistant bowed to her. She asked, "well, how many have you collected?"

"The Grave Apartments they have in Japan are quite handy. We have stolen the ashes of fifty-four people and have managed to remain completely undetected. We replaced their ashes with wood ashes to not raise suspicion."

"How long until you reach the number I gave you to collect?"

The assistant blanched, "you meant that?! One hundred is-"

The woman was dead before she could finish her sentence. Beryl had destroyed her with her magic and a flick of her wrist. All that was left of the woman was a rotting corpse.

Beryl looked over at her bodyguard, "clean her up and then tell Balm she's been promoted."

Morgan had been a disappointment to her, after all, just as she had expected. She grew frustrated that it felt like she had to do all the work and couldn't rely on anyone.

She stood, walked to the railing by the pool, and looked out over the ocean. Her general came out and whistled, "I enjoy how free you are with your body."

She glanced over at him, "I like to sunbathe naked, so I don't get tan lines."

Rubeus walked closer to her and stood at the railing with her. "I have secured their allegiance for you. With Diamond dead, they needed a leader, and your name is well known. It was simple. Next time, I need a more challenging task."

She looked over at him and smiled; he was staring at her tits. It calmed her. At a young age, she learned how to keep a man in line. She watched her mother get jewels and money as the mistress of a wealthy Russian diplomat, and she got everything they could ever want. She kept him obedient with her body, and she paid close attention to her mother's lessons. Rubeus had been Diamond's man but was ignored and unappreciated. She needed someone who knew Tokyo and who would be loyal. She knew she had both in him. Lust would ensure his loyalty.

"Soon, I will have one hundred animated dead for you to command. Use them to destroy those that killed Diamond; with them there, I can't make a physical move into Tokyo. I will have to remain here."

She moved then and pressed her naked body against him. "But tonight, your task is to bring me to orgasm again and again."

"Anything for you, Beryl, my queen."

Luna sighed and rubbed her eyes. She had been staring at the computer screen for hours. She stood and left her office in the penthouse and walked over to its floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out over the city.

She thought of the fact that Mars had told Rei it was a problem if Beryl remembered the past, and then Minako informed them that she, in fact, did. Then she told them she was making a move into Tokyo.

Not one of them was fooled. The power vacuum left by Diamond's death was going to be filled by someone. And now they all assumed that would be Beryl. The problem was that no one... well, no authorities, knew what she looked like.

She walked over to the fridge and pulled out her water bottle. Artemis was demanding she drink enough water while she was pregnant. He had also taken to preparing healthy meals for her.

Luna took a sip and looked back over at the skyline. She could see the tangled, blackened creator left of the police station. She willingly let him be overprotective of her. She knew he still woke up screaming at night. The whole experience had been more traumatizing for him than for her. She was out of the building before she knew anything. That wasn't to say it wasn't hard. She just never faced the sheer terror he had.

So she let him take care of her, hoping that it would ease some of his anxieties.

Yamato was still trying to get used to everyone's attention. He had been surprised that his kidnapping had been used to create holes in the police force. And now, with him back at work, he started to realize how much he was appreciated.

But now, after more time back, he realized he had become like a talisman to people. Instead of them being resentful that his kidnapping helped enable the attack, he realized he was like a sign to them that the wicked didn't always win. Yamato had become proof that evil plans didn't always work out. It gave them hope.

The police chief, now over him, had come to him the first day and offered to help him find a new, safer place to live. Yamato had explained he appreciated it, but he was staying with his intern, Mamoru, right now and his girlfriend. He blushed when he had to explain she was loaded and had a state-of-the-art security system alert after the chief had objected to him not staying in a more secure location.

And then it was settled, and as the chief walked away, he knew he would have to take Usagi up on her offer to stay long-term. If he didn't, the higher-ups might try to get involved again, and that was more embarrassing to him than accepting her help.

Plus, he got into his job to help the victims talk and find their killers. Now, with Usagi, he could help keep some of them out of the morgue. That gave him new excitement in his life.

Mamoru stepped into the bathroom of the science building before his next class, locked the door, and pulled a big glass vial from his school bag. He then opened up the stopper and drank Usagi's blood. Thankfully, Ami had been right; drinking the blood calmed him. It was like he needed her in his veins constantly, and this helped to fulfill that need.

He closed up the vial and then went to wash his hands. He did touch the stall door, after all. Even though he couldn't get sick anymore, he was still a bit of a germaphobe.

As he made it to his next class, he was relieved to feel calm. It hadn't been like that since before he transitioned. He closed his eyes, and his expression softened. Mamoru could feel her blood inside of him. And to make it better after this, he would go home to her and make love to her. Even calm like he was, sex with her was a foregone conclusion. If he didn't demand it, he knew she would.

He heard his classmate Rick sit down next to him. He could identify so many people by scent now. Rick said, "don't you look like a happy man."

Mamoru opened his eyes and looked over at him. "I really am." For the first time in my life, he mentally added.

"A hot woman can do that," Rick said, laughing.

"That they can," Mamoru agreed, not caring to enlighten him. After all, how could he explain his reincarnated, almost five-century-year-old vampire lover to his classmate?