CHAPTER THIRTEEN

She was blind. Swallowed by darkness.

Gravity ceased to make sense, pulling Usagi's body in all directions at once. The chaotic force seemed to tear at her very skin as if it sought to flay her alive. When she opened her mouth to scream, shadow swept in, freezing her tongue and searing her throat. Panicked, Usagi snapped her mouth shut but the darkness was already creeping deeper within her, breaching her airway, permeating her lungs, and curling around her heart. Only when she was certain that all was lost did the darkness finally release her.

Usagi emerged from the shadows shaken and disoriented. The world spun as a powerful wave of vertigo crashed over her. Fearing that she might faint, she tried to lock her knees and gasped when a pair of strong arms swept her up, clean off her feet. She hissed as pain shot down her left leg then gulped as her stomach lurched up into her throat. Squeezing her eyes shut as the world pitched and swayed, Usagi grabbed hold of the person carrying her and tried her best not to vomit all over them.

As soon as she was deposited into a chair, she leaned forward and placed her head between her knees. The floor was spinning, her head was throbbing, and a violent ringing in her ears had rendered her all but deaf. Usagi closed her eyes and sucked in several shaky breaths, counting each one. When she reached five, she opened her eyes and stared down at her boots. They were still, as was the floor beneath them. As the ringing faded from her ears, Usagi rested her elbows on her thighs and trembled.

What on earth had just happened?

Before she could begin to theorize, a low grunt sounded above, reminding her that she wasn't alone. Sitting up with some difficulty, she raised her eyes to Endymion. He was standing in front of her with one hand pressed to his forehead, soft golden light emanating from his fingers. Usagi made to rise, but her woozy head and injured knee sent her tumbling right back into the chair. Endymion lowered his hand to his side and crouched down before her, bringing their eyes level. When Usagi braced her feet against the floor to shove the chair back, he grabbed the armrests to prevent her retreat.

Effectively caged, Usagi pressed herself as far back as the rigid wood would allow and met her captor's eyes. "Where are we?" Though she'd meant to sound strong and assertive, the question came out sounding meek and fearful.

Endymion studied her face with his intense blue gaze but offered no response. Unnerved by his silent scrutiny, Usagi turned her eyes away and looked around the room, but the dim lighting revealed little else but the man in front of her. A heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach told her they weren't in the mountains anymore, or anywhere nearby for that matter. Her palms grew moist and her toes curled in her boots when it occurred to her where she could be. Where she very likely was.

When Usagi turned her eyes back to Endymion, he was still watching her. Reluctant though she was, she forced herself to meet his gaze. Her boldness seemed to amuse him, because one corner of his mouth ticked up in the hint of a smirk, and that one small sign of pleasure was all it took to ignite Usagi's temper. He wanted to intimidate her, to frighten her, but she couldn't let him. She needed to get out of here, and to do that she would have to be strong and smart.

She glanced at his brow, freshly healed but still streaked with blood, and leaned back in the chair. "Took a little hit there, did you?" she said, nodding at his forehead. "Looked like a nasty scratch. Doesn't take much to get you running, does it?"

Endymion's smirk persisted as he curled his fingers around the armrests. "A smart opponent knows when to retreat."

"So do cowards."

Usagi's head jerked back when Endymion pulled the chair forward. His amusement had vanished by the time she recovered. "A smart opponent also knows when to be silent."

"If you didn't bring me here to talk, then what—"

Endymion clamped a hand down on her injured knee, drawing a loud yelp from Usagi's lips. Sharp jolts of pain shot up and down her leg, but when she reached forward to push him away, he caught her wrist in his other hand and held it still. Usagi whimpered as he pressed his palm against her kneecap and curled his fingers around her pulsing wound, keeping his eyes trained on her face all the while. Gritting her teeth, Usagi tried to think of anything but the pain, anything but the warm trickle of blood running down her leg and into her boot, anything but whatever Endymion planned to do next.

Heat bloomed in her knee. At first, Usagi mistook it for pain, but as the familiar sensation of flesh knitting flesh flared anew, her eyes grew wide. Endymion's fingers seemed to sink all the way down to the bone, stitching tendons, mending muscles, and sealing skin. When at last his grip eased, Usagi lowered her gaze to watch as he pulled all but one finger away, revealing his handiwork. Like his forehead, the blood remained but the wound had vanished, leaving little more than a faint golden scar in its wake.

Usagi looked up in astonishment and found herself arrested by the heat in Endymion's gaze. She trembled as he trailed his lingering finger along her kneecap, sending a flurry of tingles running up and down her leg. When her breath hitched, his gaze dipped down to her throat where her pulse was beating a mad rhythm. The corner of his mouth twitched upward once again, prompting a hot blush to flood Usagi's cheeks. She tried to calm her breathing, slow her heart rate—tried to convince herself that he didn't know what was going on inside of her, that it was all in her head.

But that damnable smirk said otherwise.

Usagi tore her eyes away from his face and turned her attention back to her knee. Why? Why had he healed her again? Wasn't it more to his advantage to leave her injured? Was he trying to disarm her, or was there more to it than simple strategy? His actions didn't make any sense, threatening her one minute and tending her wounds in the next. Who was this man in front of her, and what was going on inside of his head?

Endymion released her captive wrist and returned his hand to the armrest, grazing her fingertips with his. When Usagi jerked her hand away out of instinct, something dropped into her lap. Endymion's eyes flashed, and she moved without thinking, snatching the object a moment before he could. He was upon her in an instant, grasping at her hands as she squirmed to evade him.

Thrusting her newly mended knee against his chest, Usagi twisted in the chair, seeking to escape over the side, but Endymion hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her back. She squawked in protest as he hauled her up to her feet then swayed when the blood rushed from her head. Her vision dimmed, and when she reached out to steady herself, Endymion seized upon her moment of weakness and took hold of her wrists. His hands clamped around her delicate joints with brutal force, drawing a pained whimper from her lips.

Tiny stars swam in the periphery of her vision as Usagi winced at his ruthless expression. "Please, you're hurting me."

There was no mercy in Endymion's unflinching gaze. "Open your hands," he ordered. When Usagi hesitated, he gave her wrists another vicious squeeze. Fearing he would break her bones, she relented, unfurling her fists one at a time. A tremor of dismay quivered through her when she flattened her right palm and revealed the star locket.

Usagi wasn't surprised to see it, per se—she'd recognized its distinctive shape during their struggle, but she hadn't even been aware of it until it had fallen in her lap. She must have had it in her hand since the showdown with Mars, but with all of the distractions, she'd failed to realize that she'd summoned the locket instead of the ginzuishou. As she puzzled over why that was, the locket popped open and began to play its familiar melody.

"What…is that?"

Usagi's gaze shot upward. Endymion's attention was fixed on the locket, and an odd glimmer in his eyes kindled a spark of hope within her breast before a tranquil presence at the back of her mind burst forth with dizzying force. Usagi's earlier vertigo returned with a vengeance, blurring her vision and stealing her equilibrium in the span of a breath. The floor dropped out from under her, and she plummeted down a long tunnel before coming to a very hard, abrupt landing.

Stunned by the impact and disoriented by the moments preceding it, it took some time for Usagi to recover. The locket's haunting music continued to play as she tried to make sense of what had happened, and roused by an urge to silence it, she made a distressing discovery. She couldn't. She couldn't move her fingers, couldn't part her lips, couldn't make a sound. Usagi couldn't do anything. She was trapped.

Again.

"You don't recognize it?"

Though the question had passed through her own lips, Usagi had not been the one to ask it. No, it was not Usagi nor Sailor Moon who was speaking—it was Serenity. Somehow, once again, the princess had slipped into Usagi's consciousness and taken control. Outraged, Usagi railed at the intrusion, hurling a string of expletives and heated accusations at her counterpart, but Serenity ignored her. The princess had her attention firmly fixed on Endymion, and though Usagi had no clue of Serenity's intentions, she knew she had to stop her.

"How could you forget?" Serenity asked, referring to the locket. "I gave it to you as a keepsake."

Endymion pulled his gaze from the locket to look her up and down. "What is this? What are you up to now?" Despite the confused furrow in his brow, his voice was hard.

"It's me, my love. It's Serenity. I know you cannot have forgotten me." Endymion's eyes widened ever so slightly before he let go of her wrists. Instead of retreating as Usagi would have done, Serenity used her newfound freedom to take one of his hands. "You are lost, my love, but I have come to find you." When Endymion tried to pull his hand away, Serenity held fast. "So long as you hold on to me, the darkness cannot consume you. I will not allow it."

Endymion's features darkened in a scowl. "I warned you that lies will get you nowhere with me."

"I would never lie to you," Serenity replied. "My heart is true; you need only look into my eyes to be convinced of my sincerity."

Endymion studied her face, and when his gaze travelled to her forehead and lingered there, Usagi paused in her efforts to regain control. For the briefest of moments, a speck of gold glinted in his eyes, and Usagi watched with reluctant fascination as he reached up with a tentative hand and touched two fingers to the centre of her brow. The contact, though gentle, burned, and Usagi recoiled as though scalded. Serenity, meanwhile, leaned into the touch.

"Serenity?"

The tremor of uncertainty, the undercurrent of vulnerability, in Endymion's voice made Usagi's heart swell. The knowledge that it was not her name he had spoken, nor her appeals that had elicited such a reaction made it shrivel. Was Serenity actually getting through to him? Would she succeed where Usagi had failed? A resurgence of her earlier ambivalence—similar to the hope and relief she'd felt when Mars had tried and failed to purify him—forced Usagi to face a hard truth.

She wanted to save Mamoru.

She, Usagi, wanted to save Mamoru.

Serenity stepped forward the instant he said her name. "Yes, my love, I am here." When Endymion lowered his hand from her brow to cup her cheek, Serenity smiled and raised the locket between them. "I will always come for you."

"Always?"

"Of course," Serenity answered. "No force on earth could stop me. I know you have suffered, but I am here to end your torment. There is no doubt shadowing my heart, no fear clouding my mind. My love for you will never falter."

Usagi flinched, certain that these last words were meant for her every bit as much as they were for Endymion. Just this morning, Serenity had encouraged Usagi to be brave and embrace her strength, yet now, less than twelve hours later, she was hijacking her. Serenity didn't think Usagi was up to the task—didn't trust her to handle the situation. Princess Perfect thought she could do better.

Was she right?

Endymion pulled Serenity to him and cradled her head against his chest. "Your love," he murmured. "You had faith in me, even when I gave you no reason to hope." When he settled his other hand on the curve of her waist, Usagi felt an undeniable urge to tremble.

Serenity, meanwhile, melted like butter in his arms. "My faith in you is unshakable. There is nothing you could do to lose my trust. It is yours forever, along with my heart."

"Precious gifts, to be sure," Endymion said, curling his fingers around her hip. "Though I admit, I am not so certain that I am worthy of them." As Serenity snuggled into his embrace, Usagi yearned to withdraw. To turn away. To extricate herself from the forced intimacy of this awkward threesome. Somehow, the tables had turned, and Usagi now felt like the unwelcome intruder. Her thoughts, her feelings, her wishes had ceased to matter.

Usagi had ceased to matter.

"I can think of no other more worthy," Serenity replied, pressing the locket to her breast. "I pledged my heart to you long ago, and I would do so again a thousand times over, regardless of circumstance. You are my choice, Endymion. I have always chosen you, and I always will."

Endymion's embrace tightened in the wake of Serenity's heartfelt declaration, and though Usagi couldn't see his face, she knew the words had affected him. "There are doubtless few men in this world who would not feel humbled in the face of such devotion," he said after a time. "I will not deny that my thoughts have been dark of late, but your ardent pledge gives me reason to hope."

Endymion stepped back to cup Serenity's face in his hands and tilted her head up toward his. "Serenity,"—the princess beamed when he said her name—"you glimmer like a star in the darkness, and I am eager to bask in your light. Will you share it with me and cleanse the shadow that lingers on my soul?"

When Serenity gazed up into Endymion's eyes and nodded, Usagi tried to be happy. Tried to be content. Tried to fight the feelings of anger, resentment, and inadequacy that threatened to swallow her whole. Mamoru didn't need her. She wouldn't be the one to save him. Usagi wanted to tell herself it didn't matter—that nothing mattered more than his safety—but her heart said otherwise. Would he even be the same when Serenity brought him back, or would he, too, be forced to yield to his past self?

Would Usagi and Mamoru simply disappear?

Though the thought of facing Mamoru had terrified her only days ago, the thought of never seeing him again was infinitely worse.

When the summoning magic tingled in her hand, Usagi felt a surge of renewed resolve. She couldn't let it happen this way. She wouldn't fade into the background of her own life. She would take back control of her body and her fate. Usagi slammed a hand against the wall of her prison, and when it stood firm, she slammed it again, shouting Serenity's name as she did so. The princess continued to ignore her, and when the wand materialized in her hand, Endymion's eyes glinted in the low light.

Usagi froze, recognizing the covetous glee in that momentary glint, then began pounding in earnest. 'Don't trust him!' she cried. 'He's trying to trick you!'

[[From the outset you have chosen to believe the worst of him, but I choose to have faith.]]

As soon as Serenity raised the wand, Endymion grabbed hold of it, trapping her hand beneath his. "Thank you, my dear," he said, grinning as he slid his other hand to the nape of her neck, "you have been most accommodating." He threaded his fingers into her hair then jerked her head back as he wrenched the wand, and her arm, out to the side. Serenity gasped as the unexpected shock of pain brought tears to her eyes. "Now be a good girl and let go, or I'll be forced to hurt you."

Usagi kicked and clawed at her cage with renewed determination, desperate to prevent the unthinkable from happening. This was no longer a struggle for dominance, this was far more serious, and Usagi refused to leave the fate of the world in Serenity's untrustworthy hands. 'Let me out!' she cried, but Serenity was unresponsive, frozen with fear. She whimpered and clutched the star locket in a trembling hand before it disappeared, but the wand remained, and a tear slid down Serenity's cheek as her grip faltered under Endymion's punishing hold.

"That's right," he coaxed, "give the wand to me and this will all be ov—"

Frantic, Usagi threw herself against the mental barricade with everything she had. The barrier shattered, crumbling beneath the sheer force of her will. Carrying the momentum from her mental feat into her body, she launched into Endymion with the force of a battering ram, knocking him clean off his feet. They crashed to the floor together, Endymion taking the brunt of the fall, but neither relinquished their hold on the wand. Capitalizing on her momentary advantage, Usagi wasted no time doubling her grip.

Recovering from the shock of her tackle, Endymion tried to likewise bolster his grip, but Usagi wriggled to the side, positioning herself between him and the wand and trapping his arm beneath her. She ground her elbow into his bicep without remorse, hoping the action would loosen his hold, but Endymion hissed and rolled toward her, forcing her onto her stomach. Caged between his body and the floor, Usagi hugged the wand to her chest and tried to will it away, but Endymion's hand prevented the magic from activating.

"Let go," he ordered, "or—"

"Or what?" she snapped, grunting under his oppressive weight. "You'll heal me again?"

Endymion was silent for a moment, startled perhaps by her response, then he fortified his grip, crushing several of her fingers against the wand's handle. "Perhaps, but I cannot heal what is not broken. Shall we begin with a few fingers?"

Usagi grunted as the pressure of his hold threatened to splinter her knuckles. When she bucked against him and tried to pry his fingers loose with her other hand, he laughed and settled more of his weight upon her, flattening her against the floor. Usagi drew in one laboured breath then another, trying to fill her lungs and stave off panic as his sheer size threatened to suffocate her.

Endymion lowered his chin to her shoulder, brushing the smooth skin of his cheek against her neck. "Submit."

Usagi bit down on her lower lip and squeezed her eyes shut. "No."

"It matters little to me whether you choose to cooperate or not, but know this: fighting me will only delay the inevitable. I will have what I want, and if I must break you to get it, then so be it."

"You don't mean that," Usagi whispered, but the quaver in her voice betrayed her fear.

Endymion shifted his weight onto his knees and reached between them to grab her right shoulder and roll her onto her back. Usagi clutched the wand to her chest and felt the rapid beat of her heart pounding against her ribcage. "I would never lie to you," Endymion said, pinning her shoulder to the floor with his free hand, "you need only look into my eyes to be convinced of my sincerity."

Serenity's earlier words—tainted by Endymion's mocking tone and malicious expression—hung heavy in the air between them, twisting a vow of sincerity into a promise of violence. Usagi ignored the racing heart she couldn't calm, the aching lungs she couldn't fill, the knotted stomach she couldn't unravel, and focused on the one thing that mattered. The ginzuishou. She couldn't let him have it. She wouldn't.

Usagi tightened her grip on the wand, clasping his stubborn hand between hers, and steeled her spine. "Your entire existence is a lie."

Endymion's brow puckered in a frown, but the bold statement failed to spark his temper. "That is rich, coming from you of all people." Usagi bristled at the comeback then tensed when he lowered his gaze and dragged it down the length of her. Flustered by his slow perusal, it was all she could do to stop herself from squirming. When his gaze returned to her face, Endymion raised an eyebrow. "Done playing dress up?"

Usagi's lips parted in silent question before it occurred to her that Serenity's power play must have changed her appearance. Squashing an involuntary flare of petty resentment—the princess's elegant gown had no doubt caught his attention in a way Sailor Moon's ridiculous costume never could—Usagi bit back a scathing remark and muttered, "You're not worth the effort."

Endymion smirked. "Ah, the fickleness of women. Just a moment ago you could think of none more worthy. No matter," he said, scanning her fuku once again, "while your current ensemble is a veritable feast for the eyes, it is your accessory that truly interests me." He jerked the wand toward him, pulling Usagi up with it when she refused to let go. "Give me what I desire, lest I am tempted to turn my attention to your other charms."

Usagi balked at the threat and leaned back to drive a knee up into his groin, but Endymion anticipated her attack and pinned her thighs with his shin. When he forced her back to the floor, Usagi writhed beneath him. "Get off me, you creep. I'm not giving you anything."

Endymion sneered at her. "I already have your undying love and trust—what's one more thing?"

Usagi went still as fury flared in her breast—not just for the man who held her captive now, but for the princess who had done the same. They were both to blame for this mess, both working against her, but while their actions were equally reprehensible, only one of them had broken Usagi's trust.

"That wasn't me," Usagi said, steel in her voice.

"No?" Endymion replied, arching a brow. "Am I to believe that your diminutive form hosts more than one individual?" Though he was clearly mocking her, the inadvertent truth in his remark struck a nerve, and Usagi went rigid. "Is there anyone else in there you'd like to introduce me to?"

"No!" Usagi snapped. "And you can forget about her, you won't be seeing her again." Not if Usagi could help it.

Endymion smirked, seemingly amused by her vehemence. "A shame," he said, leaning forward, "I found her most diverting." The wicked gleam in his eyes made Usagi flush despite the cold floor at her back. "I was sorely tempted to see how far your little ruse would go. Care to enlighten me?"

Usagi scowled. "I thought we were done playing pretend."

"As did I," Endymion said, drawing back. His smirk faded as he considered her, and Usagi flinched when he let go of her shoulder to trail a finger down her cheek. "But I wonder if you are capable of anything else. I find myself strangely compelled to uncover the true face hiding behind your many masks."

For a moment, Usagi forgot the wand. Forgot the ginzuishou, forgot the danger, and let herself gaze at the face she, too, had waited so very long to uncover. When the moment passed, and reality came crashing back down around them, Usagi blinked and looked up with fresh understanding. Everyone wore masks for one reason or another. For protection, for comfort, for fear… Whatever the case, it was human nature to hide. Some secrets were better left kept. Some lies were better left unchallenged. And some truths were better left untold.

Endymion didn't want to know her, he only wanted to hurt her. He didn't care about the girl behind the glamour—why would he? Tsukino Usagi didn't exist in his skewed reality, and Usagi had every intention of keeping it that way. She didn't need to prove herself to him, he wasn't even real. Not really. He was just another mask, created by those who wanted to destroy her and everything she loved. She couldn't let her fear of what lay beneath stop her from reaching out and stripping it away.

"Let me go, and I'll show you what you're too blind to see."

Endymion's gaze sharpened before he planted his hand on the floor beside her head. "Release the wand," he said, giving it a sharp tug, "and I will consider being merciful."

Usagi answered his tug with one of her own, and they began to struggle in earnest. Though she knew he outmatched her in strength, she was tenacious, and she had no intention of giving in. "I don't need your mercy," she said through gritted teeth, "I just need you to let"—she ceased pulling all at once and gave the wand a savage shove—"go!"

The sudden reversal in force drove the wand, and their clenched fists, straight into Endymion's chin. When his head snapped back, Usagi gave the wand a mighty tug and rejoiced as it came free from his grip. Not wasting a second, she shoved him and twisted away the moment his shin lifted off her thighs. She was scrambling away on hands and knees when a sharp yank on one of her pigtails wrenched her head back. She cried out and reached for her hair as another vicious tug pulled her backward.

"You," Endymion growled as he pulled her further back, "are not going anywhere."

When her hair tie broke, Usagi tried to gather her hair at the root to stop him from ripping it out of her scalp, but he wrapped the loose strands around his fist and knocked her hand away. She yelped as he yanked her up off the floor, sending her careening face first into his chest. Before she could right herself, he gripped her shoulder and shoved her back so he could catch her chin in his hand. Usagi winced as his long fingers clamped around her jaw and forced her head to tilt up toward his.

Endymion's face was etched with fury—nostrils flared, jaw clenched, eyes as dark as midnight. He pinned her with a contemptuous glare as he reached up to wipe away the blood trickling from the corner of his scowling mouth. "I have tried to be lenient, but you have exhausted my patience. If a fight is what you want, I am more than willing to oblige."

He looped her hair around his fist one more time, anchoring his grip and sending a searing jolt of pain through Usagi's scalp as several strands pulled free. She leaned toward him, the cold, hard floor bruising her bare knees, and grasped the fabric at his chest with her free hand while the wand hung forgotten at her side. "Please," she begged, tears spilling from her eyes, "you're hurting me."

Endymion laughed, no more moved by the plea than he had been earlier. "You have no idea what pain is." He jerked her head back to meet his dark gaze. "But you will soon enough."

"Please," Usagi pleaded, "don't do this."

Endymion's bloodied lip curled back in a snarl. "Cry and beg all you like, it will not save you."

He descended on her without another word, forcing her back down to the floor, and as the air whooshed from her lungs and pain screamed through the nerve endings in her scalp, Usagi clutched the wand and realized it was no longer his focus. She was. Though he had one hand still wrapped in her hair, his other hand wasn't reaching for the wand, it was skimming down her side. Across her hip. Along her thigh. When he hooked his fingers behind her knee and lifted it up off the floor, a new kind of terror washed over her.

Frantic, Usagi pushed at his shoulder. "What—" her voice faltered, unsteady with panic, "what are you doing?"

Endymion dug his fingers into her scalp and looked down at her, eyes burning with barely restrained emotion. Usagi's pulse skyrocketed when his gaze dipped to her mouth.

"No," she whispered, "please."

His eyes moved back to hers, but there was no sign of hesitation in their navy depths, only resolve. Usagi shook her head as tears ran down her cheeks. She didn't want this. Not with him. Not when he wasn't—

Endymion's head dipped down, and Usagi's voice rose up in one final, desperate cry.

"Please, Mamoru, stop!"

Endymion froze, his mouth inches from hers, and met her gaze. "What…did you just call me?"

Usagi blinked once, twice, before comprehension dawned. Mamoru. She had called him Mamoru. But why was he looking at her as though he'd never heard the name? Surely she'd said it before. Hadn't she?

"I called you Mamoru," she said with some uncertainty.

"Mamoru," Endymion echoed, but the name sounded foreign on his tongue. "I do not know anyone by that name."

"No," Usagi said, tracing the lines of his face with her eyes, "you don't." The familiar features were all there—the smooth, sloping jawline, the narrow, thin-lipped mouth, the straight, patrician nose, the high, regal cheekbones…and those eyes. Dark. Penetrating. Unforgettable.

Unmistakable. "But I do."

A hush descended as they stared at each other. Usagi held her breath and waited, wondering what would come next. Wondering if this was only a brief calm before another storm. After a long silence, Endymion closed his eyes, dropped his chin, and let out a low groan. Usagi froze, unsure of what was happening, but when his eyes opened again, they were full of confusion. His gaze shifted left and right before settling on her face.

"Usa…Usagi?"

Usagi's heart stopped. Had he actually said her name, or had she only imagined it? She bit down on her lip, torn between caution and hope as those deep blue eyes stared down at her. She knew Endymion couldn't be trusted, especially after seeing the way he'd fooled Serenity, but Endymion didn't know her real name. The only one who did was—

"Mamoru?"

He blinked then looked to the wand, her hair, her face. A look of horror washed over his features as he released her hair and dropped her leg before scrambling back, away from her. Usagi pushed up from the floor and debated whether to follow him or retreat. He looked so lost and confused, so…familiar. A moment later she was kneeling in front of him, reaching for his shoulder.

"Mamoru, is it really you?"

His eyes dropped from her face to her lap, where she held the wand. Usagi flinched when he doubled over and clutched his head in both hands. When a low cry ripped from his throat, Usagi reached for him again.

"Mamoru? What's going on?"

He lurched back and staggered to his feet before retreating. Watching her with a tortured expression, he groaned once again then extended an arm toward her. Usagi jumped to her feet, but when she tried to go to him, he caught her by the shoulder and held her away. "Go," he said, "go now before I lose—"

"Mamoru?" Usagi's voice was shrill, full of fear. "What's happening? Tell me what's wrong." Desperate to help him, but not knowing how, she clenched her fists and froze. The wand. Of course. How had she forgotten the wand?

"Go!" he shouted, shoving her away. Usagi stumbled back, startled by his terse dismissal. "Into the portal, before it's too late."

Usagi swivelled and blinked at the black portal looming behind her. Where had it come from? Ignoring the overwhelming instinct to run toward it, she turned and raised the wand. "I'm not going anywhere. Not until I heal you." She had been too afraid before, but she wouldn't fail him again. "We'll leave this place together."

Mamoru gazed at her, his features etched with pain, confusion, fear…and longing. "I wish I could." His gaze fell to the wand and an agonized scream ripped from his mouth before he doubled over again, clutching his hair with white-knuckled hands.

Usagi's heart wrenched as tears spilled from her eyes. She rushed to him, reaching out to embrace him, but he reared up and caught her by the shoulders. When their eyes met, and she saw his grim expression, Usagi's stomach lurched with dread.

"Just"—he grunted, forcing her back a step—"listen"—then another step—"to me."

Seeing his intention, Usagi grasped at his chest and dug her heels into the floor. "No, don't do this!" The soles of her boots failed to find traction, and he continued to force her back despite her pleas, his expression a blend of intense concentration and fierce determination. "Wait, please! Let me use the ginzuishou to heal you." She raised it up between them. "Moon—"

His hand closed over hers in an iron grip, startling her into silence. Usagi watched his pupils dilate as he fixed his eyes on the wand. Beads of sweat glistened at his temples, emphasizing the vein that pulsed in his forehead. When he slid his gaze past the wand to her face, Usagi went still. Closing his eyes, Mamoru lowered his head and released a low, plaintive cry.

"I won't…" His hand flexed on the wand.

"Let you…" His head lifted.

"Hurt her!"

Realizing what he meant to do a moment too late, Usagi shook her head and sobbed a mournful protest as he grabbed her by the arms and flung her away from him. Sailing backwards into the darkness, she reached out in vain as he crumpled to the floor. The sound of his tortured cry rang in her ears before the world disappeared.

Usagi hit the snow with a dull thud and stared up in shock at the evening sky above. No trace of the portal remained. Before she could begin to process what had just happened, a high-pitched wail sounded from behind, pulling her from her stupor. She rolled over and forced herself to her feet before taking in the scene in front of her.

The youma, Blizzar, was down on one knee, surrounded by Senshi. Usagi raised the wand without hesitation and performed her cleansing ritual. The youma's submissive cry filled the air before the Senshi's shocked voices drowned it out. Moments later, a beautiful woman collapsed against the snow. Echoing the movement, Usagi dropped to her knees.

The Senshi were around her in a flash, embracing her and voicing their relief as they fussed and fawned. Usagi said nothing, absorbed nothing, until her gaze fell on Mars. Standing behind the others, her lips pursed in a frown and tears glimmering in her eyes, Mars looked like she didn't know whether to rage or cry. Surprisingly, she did neither, opting instead to remain silent in an uncharacteristic show of restraint. Usagi could see her relief but there was no mistaking the quiet reproach in her violet gaze. Consumed by her own guilt, Usagi turned her eyes back to the sky.

The youma was cleansed, the battle was over.

Mars was safe.

The others were safe.

Usagi was safe.

And Mamoru was gone.

My thanks, as always, to my readers. I love being able to share this with you.
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