Late the next night, Nephrite drove his Ferrari to the Hikawa Shrine. He could have teleported, but he needed the sensation of speed, he needed silence broken only by the finely-tuned roar of the engine, he needed the satisfaction of controlling something as powerful as that car. He needed to take hilly curves at 150 kilometers an hour and live to remember it.

He was breaking his own rule by leaving the mansion alone, but he hadn't wanted to tell Kunzite and Naru that he was meeting with the Sailor Senshi. As he raced the Ferrari through the hills and into the city he puzzled over his reasons for secrecy. Finally he decided that he didn't want Naru and Kunzite to know about his failure if he wasn't able to convince the Senshi to help them. He was getting damn tired of all these failures.

And he was going to have to tell the Senshi about Thulite, even though he didn't think Naru would want him to. He hadn't wanted to argue about it with her.

The five girls, Mamoru, and the two cats were waiting for him at the shrine. They greeted him tentatively as he joined them at the low table in Rei's room, taking a seat opposite Mamoru. "You look like hell," Mamoru said. "No offense."

"None taken. That's what it's been like at my house." Nephrite hadn't slept, hadn't shaved, hadn't been able to get a comb through the tangle of his hair.

"So what's going on?" Usagi asked quietly.

"Topaz. She's the one responsible for all these junkies and alcoholics they've been finding dead lately. She drains their energy until they die."

"It's the Dark Kingdom all over again," Ami said. "She wants to destroy the Earth, just like Beryl."

Nephrite nodded. "She's Beryl's daughter." He went on, amidst the shocked looks and murmurs going around the table. "She wants revenge for Beryl's defeat, and to rule over a victorious Dark Kingdom."

"But she's working alone, isn't she?" Usagi asked. "That should be easy --"

Nephrite cut her off with a shake of his head. "She isn't alone. She's got Zoisite brainwashed and working for her, and there's another General, Thulite. Jadeite is helpless, and I can't depend on Kunzite to help me fight her because he doesn't want to risk hurting Zoi. I'm alone in this, but I don't know..." He fell silent a moment. "I don't know if I could kill either Zoisite or Thulite even if I had to. Zoisite because he and Kunzite are my friends, and Thulite... He's my son."

Dead silence fell around the table. "Your son," Rei said after a moment.

"Does, um, Naru know about this?" Usagi asked.

Nephrite looked at the faces surrounding the table. "Who else do you think is the mother?"

Usagi's eyes widened, and Rei said, "Okay, okay, hold on a minute. You and Naru have a son old enough to be a Dark Kingdom Lord?"

Nephrite felt the full weight of all the shame and sorrow settle on his heart again. "That was the price Topaz demanded for restoring Naru's life. We had to have a son and leave him behind for Topaz."

"But, the timing! It's impossible," Ami said.

"In the normal course of things, he shouldn't even be born for another four months or so. But Topaz is able to speed up time, and has other magic to speed up growth. The three of them - Topaz, Zoisite, and Thulite - came to my house last night. He's nearly a full-grown man, looks about Naru's age. But there's no mistaking it, he's my and Naru's son. He looks too much like us. I don't know how strong he is, but he's cruel and consciousless."

The others were still trying to catch up with him. "Naru had a baby?" Usagi asked. "Was that when she was gone for three weeks?"

"Yes. It was more like three or four months, I think, where Topaz had her - like I said, Topaz can make time run faster, and she used magic to force the baby to develop faster."

"Oh, poor Naru," Makoto said. "Has it been hard on her?"

"Very."

"Why didn't she tell me?" Usagi demanded.

"She was ashamed," Nephrite replied. "It isn't like we had a choice, though. The price Topaz demanded for her life was our son, or rather my son. Naru still thinks sometimes she should have chosen to die rather than let me -- anyway, the way I see it, there was no choice."

After a short silence, he went on. "Even though Naru's still ashamed about... what we did, she wants her baby back more than anything in the world. Even now that she's seen what he's turned into, she wants him back. She thinks he can change, like I changed. I disagree, but I don't know if I could kill my own flesh and blood, and if I did kill him, I don't think Naru would ever forgive me."

"And that's what you need us for," Makoto said. "To kill Zoisite and Thulite if you can't."

"If we can avoid having to kill them, I would prefer that. I just don't know if I'm strong enough to take on all three of them by myself. I know I'm stronger than Zoisite, and I'm probably stronger than Topaz and Thulite too, but I don't know that. And Zoisite and Thulite won't have the same qualms about killing me that I have about killing them." He trailed off. It almost hurt, having to ask for help. "So, you see..."

"Of course we'll help you, Nephrite," Usagi said. "What did you expect?"

"Thanks," he whispered.

* * * * * * * *

Naru was still awake when Nephrite slid into bed later. "Where've you been?" she murmured.

"Out."

"Hunting for Thulite."

"No, just... out."

Naru was silent a moment. She didn't make even the slightest move towards him. "Promise me something, Nephrite?"

"What, love?"

"Promise me you won't kill him."

"Naru, I can't promise that. You saw what he is. He's evil."

"He can't help it." Naru started crying. "She made him that way. He never had a chance."

Nephrite tried to hold her, but she stiffened until he let go. "Naru, do you think it doesn't matter to me? Do you think I want to kill him? He's my son too, Naru."

"Then promise me you won't kill him."

"I wish I could promise that. But if the choice is between destroying him and letting the Dark Kingdom become powerful again, you know what I'll have to do."

She turned away from him, still crying, and didn't answer.

* * * * * * * *

Naru and Nephrite were outside in the garden the next day. Nephrite had decided that morning that maybe restoring the old, neglected garden was the ideal project to keep Naru's mind from dwelling on everything that had happened. He had had to coax her at first, but gradually, as they started clearing out the dried, overgrown weeds, she seemed to let go of her sadness and anger a little bit. She still wasn't speaking to him, though.

Naru was pulling out handfuls of dead weeds and Nephrite was carrying an armload of weeds over to the trash incinerator when a low chuckle, eerily similar to Nephrite's laugh, startled them. They both froze and looked towards the woods. Thulite stood there, in his gray uniform with violet linings, laughing at them. "Look at my dear parents, so hard at work in their garden." His voice turned bitter and hateful. "You care more for that patch of weeds than you ever did for me."

"No!" Naru cried. "Topaz stole you from us!"

"Not so, Mama dear. You two made a bargain with her. You gave me away. You're whores and hypocrites and I hate you both. I can't wait until Topaz lets me kill you."

With his last two words, Thulite suddenly flung his arm around from his side. Long ribbons of dark violet energy flew out from his hand and wrapped themselves around Nephrite. The energy-ribbons flung Nephrite to the ground, then snapped loose. His shirt and jeans were left in shreds, covered with smoking, scorched areas and spreading crimson stains. "Nephrite!" Naru screamed. She ran towards him, but he sat up and growled, "Get back!" He crossed his arms over his chest then flung them apart. Pale blue balls of energy shot towards Thulite, who dove aside, cursing as one of the balls grazed his side and sent him flying backwards. "No!" Naru cried. "Stop!"

"Thulite!"

Naru looked up, shocked, at Topaz's voice. The gray-clad woman floated in mid-air, legs and arms crossed. Thulite stood, rubbing his side, and looked down at his feet. "Thulite, I told you, not yet. You aren't strong enough, and I'm not done with them yet." She turned her predatory smile to Naru and Nephrite. "I do apologize. Teenagers, you know. Come along now, Thulite." The two of them teleported in swirls of dark yellow and violet energy.

Naru ran to Nephrite's side. He was on one knee, fists clenched, a look of utter fury on his face. "Oh, Nephrite, are you all right?" she cried. "Come on, let's go in."

His face and body relaxed, then he looked at her. "I... Damn, those things hurt."

"Come on." Still crying, she helped him to his feet and into the house. They went upstairs to the large bathroom, where Naru helped Nephrite strip down to his shorts and sit on the counter. "Oh, Nephrite," Naru gasped, looking at the alternating stripes of bleeding cuts and blistering burns. She soaked a washcloth in cool water and began washing the injuries. "How could he? His own father!"

"Naru, listen to me." Nephrite's voice was tight with pain. "He may have been born of us, but he doesn't look at us the way you'd expect a son to look at his parents. We can't think of him as our son. He's evil and dangerous, and he hates us."

"There's got to be some way we can reach him."

"I doubt it. Even Topaz has a hard time getting him to listen to her, it seems, and she's the one who raised him and taught him."

Still holding the bloodied washcloth, Naru came around in front of Nephrite and put her hands on his shoulders. "Please tell me you're not giving up on him. I can't watch the two of you try to destroy each other. I don't want you to kill him, but I also couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."

"I think it's going to be him or me, Naru," Nephrite said shortly.

Naru started crying as she continued washing Nephrite's injuries. "This is crazy. How did I end up like this? I'm seventeen years old, and I've got a son who looks as old as me, and he and my husband are trying to kill each other. How come I'm not going to high school and hanging out with my friends at the mall and going to movies and playing video games?"

Nephrite caressed her hair while she washed the cuts on his legs. "You never should have fallen in love with me, Naru."

Naru dropped the washcloth, laid her head on his knee, and just cried. It scared her to think that maybe he was right.

* * * * * * * *

Naru couldn't sleep that night. Nephrite wouldn't listen to her, and she suspected he was right, that there wasn't any way she could reach Thulite. Topaz had taught him too well to hate his parents. It was inevitable that Thulite and Nephrite were going to fight each other, and try to destroy each other, and she couldn't bear to watch that. She couldn't bear to lose Nephrite again, but she also couldn't give up wanting her baby. There was no chance that Nephrite and Thulite would ever agree to make peace with each other, and no one else was going to help. Kunzite had sunk back into his debilitating depression over Zoisite's defection, and Jadeite was quietly vegetating in the room next door. Naru could think of only one way to not have to watch her husband and their son try to destroy each other.

Early in the morning, before the sun began to rise, Naru found her backpack and filled it with jeans, shirts, socks, and underwear. She wrote a note for Nephrite and left it on her pillow. Then she kissed his cheek, left the house, wheeled her bike out of the storage room on the side of the house, and started riding down the dirt road towards the city.

There was just enough light that she could see where she was going. She couldn't go very fast, and every once in a while she had to stop until the pain in her chest subsided. When she finally arrived the city, she made her way through the increasingly heavy traffic to Makoto's apartment building. Makoto lived alone, and might welcome Naru without the complications that would arise from having to deal with the other girls' parents. And Naru certainly couldn't go to her mother with this.

Naru hadn't let herself think about what she was doing, but as she pressed the buzzer next to the front door of the building and thought about what she would say to Makoto, the enormity of her actions hit her. She started crying just as Makoto's husky voice came over the speaker. "Who is it?"

"It -- it's me, Naru. C -- can I come in?"

"Naru! Of course you can."

The door buzzed, and Naru pushed it open. She left her bike in the bike rack in the lobby, then took the elevator up to Makoto's floor. The tall girl was waiting in the doorway of her apartment, wearing a terrycloth bathrobe, her thick hair loose. "Come on in, Naru. What's up?"

Naru was almost crying too hard to speak. "I need a place to stay for a few days. I promise it won't be too long, just till I get a job and can get my own place --"

"Naru!" Makoto put an arm around the smaller girl's shoulders and led her inside, to her futon-sofa. The two girls sat down together. "Tell me what happened, Naru-chan."

"I just couldn't stay there any more. I had to get out of there --"

"Wait a minute. You left Nephrite?"

Naru nodded and tried to wipe tears away from her face, a futile effort as she kept crying harder.

"You guys aren't breaking up, are you? I can't believe you two would break up."

"No." Naru gulped, then tried to go on. "I'll go back, sometime, but, it's just... There's something going on right now that I just can't deal with, and I had to get away from it."

"Thulite?" Makoto asked gently.

Naru was surprised enough to stop crying for the moment. She looked up at Makoto. "How do you know?" she whispered.

"Nephrite came and told us, the Sailor Senshi and Mamoru I mean, about it the other night."

"He didn't tell me he told you guys. I had no idea."

"Look, I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's okay. At least you know what's going on. He asked you to help him destroy Thulite, didn't he?"

Makoto bit her lip, appearing to consider her answer. "He told us he didn't know if he could do what has to be done. He asked for help, since none of the other Lords are able to help him. He said that if we could avoid destroying Thulite, he would appreciate it."

"I see." Naru sniffled, and Makoto handed her a tissue. "They're going to fight each other, and try to kill each other. Thulite attacked Nephrite yesterday, and Nephrite's convinced there's no chance at all that we can reach Thulite and convince him to stop hating us." Naru started crying again. "They're going to destroy each other, and I just can't watch that."

Makoto put her arm around Naru's shoulders again and let her cry. "I know it's hard, girlfriend. I don't blame you for wanting to get away. We need to talk about this some more, but right now you're just hurting too much. You can stay here, and we'll talk when you feel ready. Okay?"

Naru nodded, and wiped her eyes. "Thanks, Makoto. I don't mean to be a bother --"

"It's no bother. I'm glad to have company. I've got to get ready for school now, but you can go ahead and grab something to eat or take a nap. This sofa is yours, or, if you'd rather right now, you could go take a nap on my bed while I'm gone. It's more comfortable."

"This is fine," Naru said. "Thanks, Makoto."

* * * * * * * *

Nephrite stirred awake, reaching a hand towards where Naru always slept. His cuts and burns, bandaged in strips of torn-up cotton bedsheet, stung and smarted with every move. His hand encountered empty bed where Naru should be. He lifted his head and squinted his eyes at the clock on Naru's bedside table.

It was too early; she was never up this early. Then he saw a folded piece of paper on the pillow. Suddenly feeling cold, knowing what the note was, he picked it up and opened it. "Nephrite," it read, "I had to get away for a while. I just can't watch you two fight each other. Please don't try to find me. I'll be back when it's over. I love you. Naru."

"Naru," he whispered. Tears came to his eyes, and an ache grew inside him. She had left him. Even if it was only temporary, she had left him. She was gone, and he was alone. Zoisite was with Topaz, Kunzite was drunk and depressed, Jadeite was comatose, and Naru had left him. He was alone against that madwoman, his brainwashed and vindictive friend, and his cruel, corrupted son. "Don't do this to me, Naru."

He dressed and ran downstairs, not caring about the pain from his injuries, and took up his customary position in the middle of the great room. Kunzite, who had spent the night morose and drunk in one of the armchairs near the fireplace, looked at him in bleary surprise. Nephrite ignored him. He pressed his hands together in front of his face, and centered himself. "The stars know everything..." He didn't know if this would work, it had been so long since he had called upon the stars.

They responded to him. Slowly the stars and constellations rotated into view, then a beam of light shot towards Nephrite's forehead. He felt the familiar warmth, and knew that the link with the stars was complete. "Where is Naru?" he asked.

A vision came to him, a high-rise apartment building in the city. Nephrite fixed its address in his mind, and teleported.