Beryl sneered over the report that Rubeus was dead. It had been sent to her, complete with photos. The images had shown, graphically, that his neck was snapped, and his body had been left to rot. It also detailed how he was now disposed of, and his body was left to decay further in a shallow grave. His end location pleased her since he was no longer helpful to her and her mission.

She called in her next minion, Balm arrived right on time, and that pleased her. The woman was always extremely punctual, and it was one of her best qualities in Beryl's eyes. One that was only eclipsed by her blind obedience. And in Beryl's mind, those were as far as any of her assets went. Still, Beryl tolerated the rest of her since she loved being obeyed.

"How may I serve you, my queen?" Beryl smiled at her words; they always appeased her.

"Rubeus is dead." She snapped at Balm, eyeing her intently. "You need to go to Japan to replace him. Your first priority is to look for Endymion. It is important for you to remember that."

Balm bowed low. She was very nervous since the description she had of the man seemed wildly inaccurate. Beryl had insisted her own drawing of the man was a perfect likeness, and it would help her find Endymion, Beryl's obsession. The truth was, she was a rotten artist and would have been better served finding a sketch artist to draw him for her.

"I will use the men there to draw him out and identify him, my queen. I won't fail you."

Beryl pursed her lips. She highly doubted that Balm would succeed where Rubeus failed, but she said nothing. Her plan was to discover Endymion by sheer numbers. She didn't care how many people she had to throw at the problem. She could supply money and power, and that gave her unlimited humans to send out to discover his whereabouts.

Satoru sat holding hands with Mayumi on the couch in their home. He was overjoyed to have her back and talking to him again. He had been terrified that he'd lost her before.

He squeezed her hand, lifted it, and kissed her fingers. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied, smiling. "I'm so glad you didn't abandon us."

"Is that how you saw it?" He then held up his other hand in a motion to stop what she was about to say. "No. Don't answer that. Of course, you did. My hate almost turned me against our own daughter. I'm ashamed of that."

"And now you have a mother and father," she prompted, wanting to know what he felt about that.

He closed his eyes and nodded in agreement. "I'm still trying to process this reincarnation stuff. I'm just struggling."

Mayumi kissed his cheek. "She's not a raging alcoholic, and he doesn't seem like the type to disappear while he goes out to buy cigarettes."

"True. Rei and Jadeite seem kind. It's not my experience with parents, that's for sure." He shook his head. "But they're Ami's age. It's really weird to think about."

"I'm not saying you have to treat them like they are your current parents. I just thought it was nice for you to see that you're wanted."

He gave her a huge smile. "That is an enormous blessing."

Mamoru stepped up behind Usagi and pulled her back into his arms. "My Queen, what's on your mind?"

She smiled as she leaned back against his chest. "That your love for me brought me back from an impossible situation."

He kissed her temple and smiled against her skin there. "I can be relied upon to protect you."

"I wasn't saying you couldn't," she immediately protested.

He caressed her stomach. "It was something I only now am realizing myself. I was so afraid of you being hurt for so long. I didn't give you enough credit for your strength. Which means I underestimated mine, too, since all my power as a vampire comes from you. I still even acted like a human."

"Of course you did. It takes time to adjust to the fact that you have all of these incredible powers."

He kissed her again. "You're adorable defending me to me. Usako, I'm finally seeing that I can be your protector when you need one."

She looked up at him over her shoulder, "What made you realize that? It sounds like something else happened."

"Dracula called me, and we had a long talk. It gave me a bit of perspective on my parents. He believed my mother saw enough to know she was leaving me to a future with unparalleled love. Also, that I shouldn't have been able to bring you back, he detailed what should have happened. When I explained what I did and how relatively quickly, apparently, you came back, he was floored."

She shifted and spun around in his arms, facing him, still in his embrace. "You have no idea how glad I was to come back to you."

He tightened his arms around her and sighed in contentment. "I will always bring you back, and I will forever protect you." He then added, "Dracula explained more to me about what it meant to be your king. I guess I saw it before, but it didn't really dawn on me then. All vampires bow to us. I have an army at my fingertips to help protect you."

"We already have an army," she objected.

He shook his head. "He gave me the contact information for a lot of the stronger vampires around the world. I've begun video conferencing with them, and they have sworn allegiance to us both. They are also looking into what they can discover about The Order. I do believe that Satoru is trustworthy, but he heads one branch of an organization that's already interested in our activities. Not to mention that you were already on their radar. I want The Order destroyed."

"It's worldwide," she objected.

"So are the vampires that are loyal to us." He gave her a big smile. "I don't like our enemy's chances. Either of them, The Order, Beryl, or really, anyone else that goes against us. And now I finally realize that I'm strong enough to keep not only you safe but everyone you care about."

She snuggled into his chest further. "As long as you put yourself at the top of that list."

He smiled and gently nodded. "I realize that when something happened to me last time, you killed yourself. I wish you hadn't given up on life for me."

"You weren't the only one who died, Mamoru. Don't forget that my friends were killed and Beryl was winning. On top of that, she had complete control of your generals."

"I need you to live," he admonished.

"I have now," she objected. "I've lived for centuries without you. And I can honestly say I've lived more since meeting you than all those centuries before. Don't ever die to protect me again. That's not what I need. What I need is for you to live for me. Don't forget you chose death too."

"You're right," he agreed, surprised by her point. "I did choose to die, and if I hadn't, I knew you would have. I did the same thing you did."

He slid his hands down and grabbed her ass. "We will survive for each other this time. It's a promise, right?"

"Right," she readily agreed.

He then kissed her temple. "I'm the first hybrid vampire/werewolf in history. I've been passing that around, letting every vampire that I talk to know to reach out to the werewolves they meet and have them contact me. I'm looking to make allies between the two supernatural beings for the first time in history. Dracula has given me permission to say he's on my side with this. And, once they find out I'm your husband, they are very interested in what I have to say. Both go a long way to getting them to listen."

Usagi smiled up at him. "You'll need the guys to be your generals again. You'll need them to help manage the werewolves since they won't be automatically open to obedience. You're not their destined king."

"You're right, and I'll talk to them because I will become their king one way or another. I will make sure to have an overwhelming force around me for you to have at your disposal. You will become the undisputed Queen."

"I don't need all that, Mamo-chan. I have you."

"I know that, Usako. I really do know, but I want this for you."