The next night, Naru, Usagi, the other Senshi, the children, and Nephrite gathered at Naru's apartment. Mitsu wore the nondescript school uniform she had been wearing when she first came from the future. She nervously clutched her Andromeda Senshi Invincible comic book and the stuffed Hello Kitty doll Naru had bought for her the first day at the mall. She and her twin, who looked at least as scared as she did, stood huddled close together.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Nephrite asked the Senshi.

Haruka spoke up. "I'm still not sure I trust you."

"I trust him," Naru said firmly.

"You have no idea what sort of thing we're dealing with."

"I think I do." Naru was even more annoyed than usual at the older woman's cool, distant cynicism. "I was getting my energy stolen by these guys long before you ever came on the scene."

Haruka opened her mouth to respond, but her lover grasped her hand. "I think Naru is in the best position of any of us to tell whether or not we should trust him," Michiru said.

"She's in love with him, so how can she possibly judge him objectively?"

"They're her children; I doubt she would take a risk with their safety."

Nephrite interrupted the discussion. "Lady Haruka, if I do anything at all that makes you think I mean any harm, you are welcome to kill me on the spot."

Haruka fell silent; Naru started to protest, "Nephrite -"

"Let's get on with this," Nephrite interrupted her, "before these children become any more frightened than they already are. Meiko, come here, please."

Meiko walked over and stood in front of Nephrite. He looked very small compared to his tall, broad-shouldered father, but he squared his own slender shoulders and stood as tall as he could. "I'm ready, Papa."

A glow of pride shone briefly on Nephrite's face, then was quickly hidden by a more serious expression. "Meiko, I'll be as gentle as I can, but this will still hurt. If you're willing to release the crystal to me, that will make this easier. Do you understand?"

Meiko nodded. "Yes, Papa."

"Good." Nephrite sat down on the couch and pulled Meiko to stand between his knees. "Remember, Meiko, don't resist." Meiko nodded again, then Nephrite rested his right hand on his son's chest, over his heart.

Meiko closed his eyes; Naru, sensing him tense up, moved to stand behind him and gently stroked his hair and shoulders. "It'll be all right, Mieko-kun," she murmured, feeling him relax beneath her touch.

Nephrite gave her a brief, grateful nod, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. As he exhaled, his eyes and mouth narrowed in concentration. A swelling began to bulge out of Meiko's chest, beneath Nephrite's hand. Naru had to look away from the grotesque sight. From the corner of her eye she caught a brilliant flash of light. There was a quick, muffled cry from Meiko. Then the boy sagged back against her, trembling.

Naru looked at Nephrite. With his fingertips he held a round, cobalt-blue crystal, perhaps five centimeters across. He folded his hand around the crystal, took another deep breath, and closed his eyes for a moment. "Yes," he said softly. "This should do it." He slipped the crystal into the pocket of his black uniform trousers, then looked at his son. "Thank you, Meiko. You were very brave. Now, Mitsu," he said, standing and turning towards his daughter, "are you ready?"

Mitsu nodded, going even paler than she had been before.

"I want to go with my sister," Meiko suddenly said.

"Meiko -" Nephrite started to say, but Meiko interrupted his father. "She's my sister, and I want to help protect her."

"Listen to me, Meiko."

"What?" the boy said sullenly.

"Meiko, part of being a man is doing what needs to be done, even if it's difficult or you don't want to. That's what your older brothers are doing, and that's what I need you to do. Do you understand?"

"Yes, but -"

"Meiko, you haven't even begun your training yet," Nephrite went on. "I know you mean well, but you wouldn't be able to protect Mitsu from the kind of danger we'll be facing. And I won't be able to look after her as well if I'm also worried about you. The best thing you can do now is stay here with Naru and help her be brave while she waits for us."

Meiko looked like he was going to argue some more, then he let out a loud sigh and his shoulders sagged. "Okay, Papa."

Nephrite suddenly crushed Meiko close against him in an enormous hug. "My fine, brave son," he said. "I'm very proud of you."

Meiko pulled back, mouth trembling as he tried not to cry. "Thank you, Papa."

Nephrite turned to Mitsu, and easily lifted his daughter, still holding her doll and comic book, into his arms. "I'll bring her back as soon as I can," he said to Naru. "Don't worry."

"I'll try," Naru said uncertainly. She almost wished she could go with, to make sure they were both all right. But Nephrite was right; he could protect Mitsu better if he weren't worrying about anyone else.

"You have to come back soon," Meiko said, his voice a little too loud as he tried to sound brave and unworried, "'cause I haven't finished reading that manga yet."

"You'll get to finish it," Nephrite said. Then, in a swirl of red and white light, he and Mitsu teleported away to the Time Gate at the dock.

* * * * * * * *

From the Time Gate, they arrived in Nephrite's sanctum, high up in the observatory tower. Nephrite set Mitsu down, holding on to her until he was sure she was steady on her feet. "Are you all right, Mitsu-hime?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Papa."

"Good." His children were used to teleporting; he started carrying each of them on teleports when they were barely old enough to walk. Being accustomed to the dizzying, stomach-twisting sensation of nothingness would make whatever future magical training they underwent that much easier. But he remembered how sick Naru had been the first time he teleported her after his return to life - it had been three days before she got over her embarrassment enough to look him in the eyes again - and was concerned that Mitsu's time in the mundane world of the past might have cancelled out the benefits of her training.

Mitsu was staring into a dark corner of the room, at the blanket-covered figure lying there. "Papa, is that the man who tried to kidnap me and Jasmine?"

At first Nephrite couldn't bring himself to answer. What have I done? he asked himself again. What harm had he done to his children and to their trust in him? He had learned from Naru that the first step in building and rebuilding trust was honesty, painful though it might be. "Yes, Mitsu, that's him."

"You sent him after us, didn't you?"

"I did. I'm very sorry, Mitsu-hime. It was wrong of me. I hope you'll be able to forgive me someday." Though I'll probably never forgive myself.

Mitsu considered, her small face scrunched up in that thoughtful, serious look that always reminded Nephrite of her mother. "Well, you weren't really you when you did that. When you came to try to bring us back, and when you tried to take the crystal from Meiko, you didn't really look like you. It was like there was something inside you that was dark and mean and hated us. If that wasn't there, you never would have tried to hurt us, would you?"

Again Nephrite found himself at a loss for words, this time by his daughter's wisdom. It must have come from her mother, because he was such a fool... "No, Mitsu. I would sooner cut off my own arms than hurt any of you."

He pulled her close to him, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. "I know you wouldn't, Papa," she whispered. Then she straightened up again and pointed at the man in the corner. "What about him? Will he tell anyone what you're doing?"

Nephrite ran his mind through the spells that bound the soldier to him. They were holding, though just to be on the safe side he tightened them up a bit. It could damage the soldier's mental capacity if the bonds were too tight, but he couldn't risk the man breaking free to betray him and Mitsu. "Don't worry about it, Mitsu. He's under my control. Now, if you're ready, let's get on with this before the Lady realizes that I'm back here with you."

Mitsu nodded. "Okay, Papa."

"We may be watched once we leave this room, even if we don't see anybody. I'm going to put my arm like this." He gently wrapped his right arm around Mitsu's neck, catching her head in the crook of his elbow. "Does that hurt?"

"No."

"You let me know if it does, all right?"

"I will, Papa."

Nephrite smiled to himself. Mitsu was never one to keep her feelings to herself when she was uncomfortable. "I'm sure you will. Now, without yelling too loud or anything, I want you to act like you don't want to come with me. Can you do that?"

"I'll try."

"Good. Ready?"

"Ready, Papa."

Yet again, Nephrite felt a small glow of wondering pride at his children. He had done well in his choice of their mother, he thought. "Let's go, then."

He opened the door and checked to make sure the hall was empty. He stepped into the crystal-walled hallway, carefully pulling Mitsu alongside him. She dug her heels into the floor and stiffened her knees, just barely giving way enough to allow him to keep her moving. "I don't want to. Let go of me. I don't want to go with you...." Mitsu kept up the litany of complaints all the way down the stairs and through the back hallway to the tower where the Royal Family and the other prisoners were trapped.

They reached the sealed entry without meeting anyone. Nephrite allowed himself a few seconds' feeling of relief. He had been afraid of running into one of the other Lords or a youma. He could deal with the Lady's questions if he had to, but he didn't want his daughter to come under the evil, implacable, hate-filled scrutiny of those demonic red eyes. "Good girl," he said to Mitsu. "Now, get behind me and hold on."

Obediently - Nephrite wondered briefly if it was too much to hope for that this instant, unquestioning cooperation would become a permanent trait - Mitsu stood behind him and wrapped her slender arms around his waist. Hopefully, if there was any backlash from unlocking the guard spell, his body would absorb it and protect Mitsu from the worst of it. He chose not to think about what would happen if he couldn't absorb the backlash.

Nephrite took the crystal from his pocket. Normally he would have stored something this valuable in a pocket of negative space, but his research into whether such pockets were portable through the Timestream had proven inconclusive. He sought with his mind, and found the crystallization and vibrational patterns of the stone, and matched his thoughts to the patterns. Soon he felt the glow of enhanced energy and magical power, warm along his spine and inside his head.

He concentrated the increased power and strength, then reached out with his mind, seeking the pattern of Zoisite's spell, tracing the threads of it. It was twisted and unexpected and wholly ingenious. Only one familiar with the structures of the four Lords' crystals would be able to recognize any pattern in it at all. Nephrite sought through the tangle of spells, seeking the weak place, the place where the end of the pattern joined with the repeat, the seams between the tiles.

There seemed to be no such joins, though. But surely it was impossible for even the most skilled mage to join together pieces of a spell so seamlessly....

The spell was all one long continuous weave, not a shorter spell repeated over and over, Nephrite realized. The weak place was not where the threads met, but in the spaces between them. Highly unconventional, and wretchedly clever. No wonder he'd never been able to construct a guard spell that could keep Zoisite out. He chose a likely-seeming spot right in front of the doorway, and forced a wedge of pure magical energy in between two threads of Zoisite's spell. It probably wouldn't be possible to wedge apart an opening big enough for him to slip through, but the threads of the spell would likely snap beneath the strain being put on them. That would have the desired effect of allowing him and Mitsu into the tower, but the backlash would be quite strong. He braced himself, prepared for the moment when the spell would snap and spring free.

Nephrite was vaguely aware that his body sweated and trembled from the strain of the tremendous magical effort his mind was making. He could barely feel Mitsu's arms, still wrapped tightly around him from behind. Just a bit more, he thought, stretching the spell-threads farther apart, just a little bit more -

With a flash of light and a stinging sensation that ripped through Nephrite's mind, the spell snapped like a rubber band that had been stretched beyond its capacity. The backlash jarred him so that he didn't even know if he were still on his feet. Everything went black for a few seconds.

When he collected himself, he was on his hands and knees on the floor in front of the open doorway to the tower. Mitsu was kneeling beside him, looking worried. "Are you okay, Papa?"

Nephrite took a deep breath, quickly assessing his body and mind. Everything seemed to be intact. "I'm fine. You?"

"I'm okay."

"Then let's hurry. Zoisite may be aware that I've broken his spell." He grabbed Mitsu's hand and started running up the winding staircase, pulling his daughter behind him. Members of the palace guard, positioned along the staircase, drew swords and firearms as they saw him, then hesitated in their attacks when they saw the child with him. A few tried to block his way; he tossed them aside with a few careless blasts of blue energy. Finally they reached the door to the living quarters at the top of the tower; Nephrite blasted it open with another energy ball.

His sons and a few of the Senshi were inside. They were startled into motionlessness by the invasion, or perhaps it was Mitsu's presence that made them hesitate. Nephrite dropped to his right knee and pressed his right fist over his heart. "I have to see Serenity," he said, trying to catch his breath. "Now!"

"What's happening -"the Queen said as she entered the room. "Nephrite!"

"Your Majesty," Nephrite said, not moving from his position. "I've broken free - I've been healed, by your past self."

The Queen looked puzzled, then her expression cleared. "I - why, yes, I remember now. And Mitsu has my Silver Crystal inside her."

"Yes. You can use it to heal the other Guardians. But you need to hurry - Zoisite may know that I broke his guard-spell on the tower." Even as Nephrite spoke, he could hear a commotion of fighting from lower down in the tower. He stood, and reached the open door in a few long strides. His sons followed him, along with the Senshi who had been in the room with them. The other Senshi quickly joined them on the landing outside the door.

Nephrite quickly gave orders. "If it's youma, kill them. If it's the other Guardians, don't kill them, just hold them off long enough for Serenity to get the Crystal from Mitsu.

"Yes, sir," Benjiro said. He and three of the Senshi took up positions beside Nephrite, on the landing atop the staircase. "You guys stay in the room," he said to his brothers. "Be ready to fight if they get past us." Nephrite noticed his son's calm ease in giving the orders. He would make a fine Guardian when his time came.

Kunzite, Zoisite, and Jadeite suddenly appeared in the stairwell. Before they could attack, Nephrite met them with a spray of starlight, followed by flames, lighting, and water fired off by Sailors Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune.

The three evil Lords threw themselves against the wall to avoid the assault, but before they could regroup, Nephrite and the three Senshi sent another wave of attacks at them. "Nephrite, you traitor! What are you doing?" Jadeite shouted just before one of Neptune's Deep Submerge waves flung him down a dozen stairs and into a curving crystal wall.

"Is it treason to go back to the side you were on first?" Nephrite shouted back. Five or six youma had appeared behind the Lords, and Nephrite shot out several globes of blue energy, destroying the youma in a fury of noise and light. Hurry up, Serenity, he thought.

Something stung his side. He spun aside in time to see Kunzite prepare to throw another ice-blade. The blade was aimed at Benjiro's head; Nephrite launched himself towards the blade, to intercept it before it reached his son. Just as the pain struck him, his eyes filled with a blinding light and he heard a distant echo of the Queen's voice, "- Obliteration!"

Then, darkness.

* * * * * * * *