Chapter Nineteen
"Just what exactly do you think you were doing?!" Rei screeched at Tuxedo Kamen in rage, her purple eyes flashing indignantly. She thrust a finger against his chest angrily, glaring up into his face. "Well?"
"Rei, please!" Usagi said quietly.
Tuxedo Kamen relaxed slightly, thankful that his angel had saved him from her fiery-tempered friend. ["Thank-"] he began, but was drowned out my Usagi's mental blast.
["I get to shout at him FIRST!"] she told her friend, turning malevolent eyes on her 'boyfriend'. She saw him swallow and was glad that he was nervous. ["You should be, buster"] she told him softly, then let loose. "Just WHAT do you THINK that you were DOING? Carrying us around over your shoulders like sacks of potatos?" Usagi screamed at him, eyes blazing wrath.
"Er-" he tried to say, but was cut off again.
"A fine way to treat your 'girlfriend' you creep! I ought to bash your lights out!" Usagi went on, oblivious to the resigned way Tuxedo Kamen rolled his eyes and settled his back against the door to wait out the storm. Deep blue eyes glared into his own as Usagi thrust her face up close to his, breath wafting gently over his mouth. "And WHAT was with us making out on the COUCH exactly?" she finished her tirade with bewilderment and embarrassment.
Tuxedo Kamen looked down at his angle, standing so close that her chest brushed his. She was standing on her tippy-toes to glare as closely as she could into his eyes behind his white half-mask and her lips were almost brushing his. A flush spread over her creamy skin as she finished speaking and they both stared at each other, eyes locking.
"Guys? Hello?" Rei said, waving a hand near their heads to grab their attention, but they didn't even hear her. The priestess didn't doubt for a moment that they hadn't gone into another trance-they were just AMAZING attracted to each other...even when fighting. Sexual tension crackled through the air, making Rei blush hard, wishing she was anywhere but there. ["This is getting embarrassing, you guys!"] she muttered mentally in their general direction.
Tuxedo Kamen's lips turned up in a big grin. His eyes flitted past his angel to a furiously blushing Rei. "Get used to it" he said silkily. He shimmered briefly and his tuxedo faded, leaving a bare-chested Mamoru standing there, practically nose to nose with Usagi.
"But-" Usagi began, remembering the kiss on the couch rather vaguely. How exactly had she gone from pounding to kissing?
Mamoru continued to smile, looking slowly back at Usagi-who was surprisingly still up on her tippy-toes, having forgotten completely what she was doing as she tried to recall the couch-event. "Usako?" he said softly, looking deeply into her shadowed eyes. He saw her blink and then she focused on him-and he saw realization flooding her eyes.
"The Princess!" she exclaimed, going pale.
Mamoru's smile faded, as he too suddenly remembered how they had begun to kiss. ["Yes-the Princess...and the Prince"] he said slowly, mind reeling with the implications. He remembered now, being taken-over...sort of. It was like...remembering, but they were stuck in the dream with no control over their bodies.
"THE PRINCESS?!" Rei exploded, her words almost a scream of shock. "What does She have to do with this?" she demanded urgently, purple eyes flittering from Usagi to Mamoru.
"THE PRINCESS?!" several voices screeched back from the opposite side of the door.
Before anyone could move, the handle to Usagi's door turned and was thrust open. Mamoru was sent flying into Usagi, who fell back underneath him. Rei hastily skipped out of the way, watching with disbelief as everyone piled inside the room...and bore witness to Usagi being crushed compromisingly underneath Mamoru's half-naked body.
"You-!" Kenji began, voice shakily.
But surprisingly, Usagi spoke up, voice slightly muffled. "Don't dad! You PUSHED him into me!" she complained loudly, sounding like the old Usagi.
Mamoru looked down into Usagi's eyes and his lit up with devilry. He lowered his head and kissed her quickly and then jumped to his feet.
She lay there stunned for a moment, gaping. ["You kissed me AGAIN, in front of my parents?!"] she fairly wailed at him, not sure whether to be furious or embarrassed.
Ikuko giggled. "You two are so cute!" she said happily. "Ami and Makoto have been telling us about how you two HATED each other two days ago"
"And what was your conclusion?" Mamoru drawled, leaning over to help Usagi to her feet. He pulled her to his side, slinging a hand about her waist possessively.
Usagi flushed, but didn't move away, one had coming up to touch his chest tentatively. Her fingers splayed out over his warm skin and she felt comforted-though Mamoru did stiffen somewhat.
["Sorry, Usako-habit"] he said apologetically to her, realizing again. ["Do you have any idea what your touch DOES to me?"]
["Noooooo"] Usagi said, drawing the word out doubtfully. She eyed him with curiosity as he groaned aloud.
Rei flushed brightly. ["You Odango!"] she yelled incredulously. ["He MEANS that you turn him-"]
"REI!" Mamoru roared at her, blue eyes blazing warning. He quieted as everyone stared at him, shocked.
Rei quickly caught on to why he was angry and flashed an apologetic smile. "Sorry" she said, grinning lopsidedly. She sometimes forgot how innocent her friend was.
"What? What'd he say?" Makoto demanded. She turned to look at Rei. "What'd you say?"
"Never mind that! What were you saying about the Princess!" Luna said urgently from somewhere below. Everyone looked down to see Luna standing a foot from Usagi-as if protecting her from something.
"Luna! Where have you been?" Usagi cried out in relief. She looked her guardian over for signs of injury-but Luna looked fine...if a little ruffled. And her red eyes were-deliberately blank.
"I'll tell you at a later time, Usagi" the cat said, lying. ["Central Command was quite explicit about me not telling the Princess that the new Senshi was coming here to Tokyo"] she thought. Sailor Venus was here name. And if Luna recalled correctly, the Senshi was the LEADER, NOT Sailor Moon, who was really the Princess. She sighed. ["This is so difficult to keep all of this a secret-but at least Central is helping"]
"All right, Luna" Usagi said quietly, feeling as if the small black cat were keeping something from her. Their eyes met for a long moment and the silver-haired girl saw sadness in Luna's red depths. Sadness and fear. ["She's afraid again"] Usagi said to Mamoru, feeling a frizzon of nervousness. Luna was always the stable one.
["Yes, she is"] Mamoru murmured back, eyes gazing at the cat. In return, she looked rather started and nervous to be stared at by Usagi and Mamoru so intently.
"Usagi? What were you saying about the Princess?" Luna prodded, waiting expectantly.
"The-Princess" Usagi muttered worriedly, looking up at Mamoru with a slightly-pleading expression. ["What do we say?"]
["The truth"] he answered. His hand rose to brush the soft silver fringe from Usagi's eyes. ["They're all too far into this now, not to know everything"] he turned to face everyone, frowning heavily, as if not sure where to begin. "I suppose you want it all? From the beginning?" he asked them.
"From the closet?" Rei said eagerly. ["I'm finally going to find out what happened!"] she thought gleefully, exchanging a triumphant look with Makoto.
"Yeah. Spill, you guys" the brunette demanded, eyes glued to Usagi's face.
Usagi flushed, casting her eyes down and clutching tighter at Mamoru. ["Oh, this is going to be so embarrassing! Don't tell them ALL the details, Mamo-Chan!"] she told him urgently.
He grinned mischievously. "It er-happened like this. Usagi and I were thrown into the closet together after spinning the bottle and..." he trailed off, looking embarrassed. "I kissed her"
"YOU kissed HER?" Rei and Makoto screeched in disbelief.
"WHERE?" Kenji thundered, glaring.
"None of your business, dear" Ikuko cut in, glaring at her husband warningly. Apparently the two had had words earlier.
"Right" Mamoru said, rolling his eyes. "Anyhow-then she kissed me back and-"
"You kissed him BACK?!" Ami, Makoto, Rei and Ikuko screamed in delight, eyes dreamy.
"Guys!" Usagi wailed, flushing as bright as a tomato.
"ANYHOW!" Mamoru shouted at them all, trying to regain all. "Her broach dug into me and when she showed it to me and I touched it-it exploded into light...transforming us and revealing our secret identities to each other...and-" he hesitated, coming to the most important part.
"Usagi-I never told you this-but I've known the Princess almost as long as I have you. She comes to me in visions and pleads for the Silver Crystal"
Luna's eyes widened, mouth gaping. ["Great Serenity! What is this?!"]
"And when I touched the broach, Usagi was taken into a vision of the Princess with me. She faded, after sounding..." he searched for a word.
"Frightened" Usagi supplied in a small voice, then bit her lip.
"Yes" Mamoru murmured, frowning in thought. Then he went on. "Anyhow, after she faded, we came out of the vision to find ourselves still in the closet and we were transformed. And ever since-sometimes we're...taken over by the Princess"
"And her Prince" Usagi added absently.
"Are you sure?" Luna said sharply, all of this news to her. It was much more serious than she had ever imagined! Somehow, the spirit of Princess Serenity was leaving Usagi's soul and going into Mamoru's mind to make him search for the Silver Crystal. The Princess would have known as well as Luna, that she would need the Crystal to regain her whole birthright. But now-with Mamoru touching the Moon Broach, it had freed the Prince's soul dormant in him and the Princess' in Usagi. ["It wasn't MEANT to happen yet!"] Luna exclaimed, stunned. ["No wonder the Princess keeps emerging! She was suppose to merge with Usagi only AFTER the Silver Crystal had been found!"]
"There's a Prince too?" Rei said in curiosity. Her eyes went to Usagi's and then Mamoru's. "I didn't know that we were looking for a Prince too"
Everyone turned to look at Luna, who looked supremely horrified to see them all seeking answers from her.
"What do you know about the Prince, Luna?" Usagi said, moving closer to Mamoru. After all, they knew nothing about the people who took them over periodically! "You never mentioned him"
"I-didn't remember a Prince" Luna finally admitted, looking downcast. "In fact, until Mamoru and Usagi started to be-taken over by...the ghosts of the Prince and Princess, I remembered almost nothing" she hesitated. "Prince Endymion. He was engaged to marry the Moon Princess, Serenity"
"You remember nothing at all. Only their names?" Rei exclaimed. "So, you don't know what this Princess looks like?"
"No" Luna said, trying to sound honest. Her eyes were firm as she looked at everyone slowly. "No idea at all"
"But wait a minute" Makoto said, frowning in perplexity. "If Usagi and Mamoru are being taken over by GHOSTS, then how can we be looking for the Princess?"
Luna's eyes went wide with horror at her blunder. She stiffened, her tail going three times it size. "I-"
Suddenly, the phone rang from downstairs. Everyone started in surprise and then they all ran down the hall in a close group. ANYTHING to break the tension in the room!
Ikuko made it to the phone first and picked the handle up, raising it to her ear. "Hello? Tsukino residence? Usagi? Sure, I'll just get her for you dear"
"Who is it?" Usagi said with surprise. So much had happened over the last few days that she had completely forgotten about anyone in the outside world.
"It's someone called Minako" Ikuko said, confused. "The call is long-distance"
Usagi looked confused also and took the phone slowly.
"Minako?" Rei, Ami and Makoto chorused, looking surprised also. They didn't know anyone by that name!
"Hello?" Usagi said tentatively, trying to remember who this stranger might be.
"Hi girl! Sorry for the mysterious phone call" the girl giggled, sounding excited. "But Artemis insisted that we do it this way, in case your parents were around to hear this-are they gone yet?" the last words were anxious.
"Gone?" Usagi uttered, eyes glazing over. It had been hard to follow the girl's bubbly speech. "Whyyyy?" she said curiously, staring at everyone gathered around her and the phone.
"Senshi business!" Minako giggled again.
Usagi almost dropped the phone. "WHAT?!" she shouted into the phone, pole-axed. "SENSHI BUSINESS? Who IS this?" She demanded, feeling fear.
"SENSHI BUSINESS?!" the other three Senshi exclaimed, eyes boggling.
"Oh! Silly me! Luna didn't TELL you, did she"
"Why am I not surprised?" a male voice said vaguely from somewhere in the background.
"Luna didn't tell me what?" Usagi said, tone strangled. ["Maybe I can deny everything? Tell her she's nuts?"] she asked Rei and Mamoru mentally, unsure what to do.
Everyone looked down at Luna, who looked pole-axed. Her eyes were wide and glazed and she resembled a statue.
"I'm Sailor Venus!" Minako exclaimed happily.
"SAILOR VENUS?" Usagi shrieked incredulously. She tossed a glanced to the other Senshi to see their reactions. They were still gaping. "Er-who's Artemis?"
"My cat! I understand you have a guardian cat too? Luna? Well, my cat is white with a crescent moon mask on his forehead" Minako said, sounding slightly doubtful. "Er-this IS Tsukino Usagi? Sailor Moon?" she asked, sounding panicked now.
"You ditz!" groaned the man in the background.
"Yes, this is Sailor Moon" Usagi hesitated over the title, uncomfortably aware that she was no longer Sailor Moon.
"Usagi!" Rei hissed, shocked. "What if she isn't who she says?"
"She is" Luna sighed, resigned. "I contacted-a friend for help with this situation. He was training the new Senshi, Sailor Venus"
"Her name is Minako" Usagi supplied, eyes glowing with delight suddenly. "Where are you?" she said quickly, wanting to meet this cheerful girl.
"Oh! Silly me!" Minako giggled again. "I'm SO absent-minded! I'm at an airport in England-that's where I live. Anyhow, Artemis said that Luna contacted him and said that you all needed some help, so I told my parents that I wanted to take a holiday from exams. Anyhow, I SUGGESTED that I'd always wanted to see Japan and they agreed. So, Artemis and I are on our way!"
"On your way from England?" Usagi repeated for the benefit of the others, who couldn't hear a thing.
"Wonderful!" Luna exclaimed happily, eyes lighting up with relief. "She's on her way"
"They" the silver-haired girl corrected.
"THEY?" Luna said, bewildered. "Central is coming too?" she frowned. ["But I thought that Central couldn't leave...wherever they were"]
"Central?" Usagi said, confused also. "Hang on a second, Minako!" she told the blonde.
"Sure! But not too long! Our flight is soon" Minako called back.
"Who's central, Luna? Venus is coming with a cat guardian-like you-called Artemis!" she finished with delight. ["Isn't that great, guys?"]
["There's another talking cat?"] Mamoru said with disbelief. Then he sighed and rolled his eyes. ["Why am I even asking about such a weird occurrence? I'm Tuxedo Kamen!"]
["Wow. Another cat Guardian?" Rei frowned in thought. ["So-you got one as leader of the Senshi...and she got one...why?"]
["Good question"] Mamoru approved, looking at Usagi with expectancy, as if she already had the answer.
Usagi scowled at them both. ["Why do you assume that I know?"]
"Central is-my contact. We relay information about the Dark Kingdom to each other. And any new Senshi we locate"
"Well, now you know his name!" Usagi grinned impudently at Luna. "He's called Artemis!"
"ARTEMIS!" Luna screeched in rage and shock. "That furball?!"
"Oh dear, I'm in trouble now. She figured it out" the male voice said from the phone.
"Is that Artemis?" Usagi said gleefully, throwing a speculative look at her cat. "A GUY cat?"
"Yep!" Minako said, just as gleefully. "And Luna is a girl cat?"
"Yep" Usagi answered, expression turning evil. She looked at Rei slyly. ["I sense a match-making opportunity coming on!"]
["Luna and someone?"] Rei replied doubtfully, staring at Luna askance.
["Everyone has to have someone"] Mamoru cut in, voice amused.
Rei suddenly felt sad, remembering how she'd wanted Mamoru to be her guy. She quickly squelched the feeling before Mamoru could read her thoughts and smiled. ["Right"] she looked away and met Usagi's gaze-whose was fixed on Rei's face sadly.
"Oh Rei-" Usagi said gently, biting her lip.
"Rei? What's wrong with Rei?" Ami said, peering at the raven-haired priestess.
Rei turned red under the scrutiny as everyone also looked. "Cut it out! There's nothing wrong!" she glared at Usagi mutinously, pouting.
"Hello? Our plane has just been called! I have to get Artemis into a carry cage and onto it!" Minako sang out through the phone line.
"Oh, okay then!" Usagi drew her attention back to the phone, having momentarily forgotten it. "We'll see you-when you get here"
"Sure! I'll call you! I can't wait to meet you guys!" Minako squealed and then hung up.
Usagi lowered the phone to its cradle and looked up slowly, eyes meeting Mamoru's. "Well-a new Senshi" she muttered, eyes surprised.
"I didn't know that there were more" Ami said with interest. "We all came to Juuban and became Senshi then-but this Minako looks like she became one in England. Hmm" she frowned in concentration, trying to figure it out.
"She's only on holiday too. Not staying here permanently" Usagi added, wringing her hands together. "Do you think she can help us solve this mystery with the Princess AND the Dark Kingdom before she leaves?"
"I hope so" Makoto said grimly, green eyes narrowing.
"Lets just hope Zoisite doesn't locate that last Rainbow Crystal for a while" Usagi said, uncertainly. "With three of us linked and me not being able to transform..."
"Hey! That was something else I was wondering about" Shingo broke into the conversation. "How did Usagi and Mamoru get bonded if they didn't die like Rei did?"
Usagi and Mamoru exchanged a glance. They really had no idea.
But Luna did. Thought she wasn't telling a soul. "Lets talk about this later everyone. We have to make accommodations for Minako and cook dinner"
"Oh my, yes!" Ikuko exclaimed in dismay, turning to head for the kitchen. "Dinner completely slipped my mind"
"I'll help" Makoto offered readily.
"And me" Yuuchiro said shyly.
Makoto, Yuuchiro, Grandpa and a reluctant Shingo followed Ikuko into the kitchen. Ami hesitated, then followed also.
"How about you, Usagi?" Kenji said, looking sideways at Mamoru as if he'd like to have a private moment to bash the guy.
"WE THREE need to talk" Mamoru said suddenly, voice cold.
Usagi looked up quickly in surprise at his cool tone. He was standing proudly, shoulders thrown back and his face handsome and icy. She'd never seen him look like that before- ["I think"] she frankly wasn't completely sure, because there was SOMETHING familiar abut Mamoru's stance.
"And Luna" Endymion went on, eyes going to the black cat, who looked as if she were about to run for it.
"All right" Luna said weakly, staring back into cool blue eyes. ["Oh dear, I remember that look. It's Endymion"]
Kenji looked rather-stunned at Mamoru's tone and the commanding way in which it had been spoken. Before he could fully explain why, he found himself hastily backing off from the remaining three in the front hall, almost bowing. "Er-maybe later then" he said, then bolted into the kitchen.
"Upstairs please, Mars....Serenity" Endymion said, tone softer.
Usagi blinked at him, staring for a long moment. "Serenity?" she questioned slowly. ["That's the Princess' name"]
["Yeah, it is"] Rei said, staring at Mamoru also. She looked into his eyes, then quickly took Usagi's arm and led her into the lounge, then up the stairs. ["Do as he says, Usagi! I think that the Prince has taken over Mamoru! And if he's the Prince, then we have to obey him as Senshi"]
["But they were only engaged"] Usagi protested. ["Are we the Princess' Senshi? Not his?"]
["Do you really want t make a ghost angry, Usagi?"] Rei hissed in warning, turning the corner to enter Usagi's room. Mamoru was right behind them, close.
Usagi was confused. Very confused. How exactly did ghosts keep taking over her body? And Mamoru's? She looked up into Mamoru's eyes. They were rested on her tenderly, even though he still bore himself with pride and command. ["He won't hurt me. Or you"] Usagi said with certainty. She tentatively reached out her mind towards Mamoru-but found nothing. Her blue eyes widened. ["His mind is gone!"] she wailed in horror.
["What?"] Rei said, shocked. She quickly reached out her mind also-and encountered nothing. Mamoru's familiar presence had gone. ["This is bad"] Rei thought in slight panic to Usagi. The two stood together, staring at the stranger before them. It was Mamoru-but not. His features were the same, but his bearing and mannerisms were NOT. This was certainly NOT Chiba Mamoru.
["He's not?"] Usagi said weakly, eyes locking onto those of a strangers-yet not. She bit her lip, searching the deep blue depths intently. Somehow, the person who took over Mamoru was...familiar. ["It's Prince Endymion?"] she threw the question hesitantly at Rei, mental voice uncertain. It FELT like him. His presence was warm and-familiar. Her lips turned up involuntarily at the corners as she and the stranger in Mamoru's body continued to stare at each other intently.
["Why are you grinning like a love-sick idiot, you Odango!"] Rei almost screamed into Usagi's head, startling the silver-haired girl.
Usagi started and ripped her eyes away from Endymion's, turning to glare accusingly at the priestess. ["LOVE SICK?! Excuse me?"] she yelled indignantly. ["I was most certainly NOT-"]
"You two can talk later on" Endymion cut in, voice soft and low.
The girls both started and whirled to look at him, surprised that he knew about their mental link. Maybe-he WAS Mamoru somewhere inside?
"Mam-" Rei began, but was silenced as Endymion held up one hand swiftly in a warning gesture. She and Usagi watched as he cautiously put a finger to his lips, telling them to keep quiet.
A moment later, the doorbell rang from downstairs.
Rei and Usagi jumped, looking quickly at the closed bedroom door and then at each other.
Endymion's lips firmed. His shoulders went back further, eyes narrowing into icy chips. His nostrils flared slightly as he seemed to stare at nothing with a frightening intensity.
"Who's there?" Rei whispered, not understanding why they had to keep quiet.
"I can sense the presence of the Dark Kingdom" Endymion whispered back grimly. His hand inched down to his waist-then then groped around futilely for a moment. His blue eyes widened in shock and he quickly looked down.
Usagi and Rei actually SAW the way his skin paled so abruptly. He touched his naked chest, then plucked at his black slacks as if he'd never seen them before. Then, his eyes shot up abruptly, with shocking swiftness and pinned them both to the spot. They swept over Usagi and then Rei's forms as if seeing them for the first time.
"What is going on here?" he demanded of them, chips of ice falling from his lips.
The two girls stared back, moving unconsciously closer to each other as Endymion seemed to loom over them both menacingly.
"G-going on?" Usagi stammered, eyes huge as they swept over Endymion. He suddenly didn't seem HALF as comforting as he had a moment before.
"Serenity-where IS this place? Where are we?" he asked her, eyes again pinning her to the spot. He looked about the room, bewildered and suspicious-as if he'd never laid eyes on it before.
"My-room?" Usagi tried weakly, not understanding what the Prince was asking. ["I don't know what he means, Rei"] she said, mental tone panicked. Her fingers gripped together, tongue darting out to wet her lips nervously. ["Why did he call me Serenity again?"]
Endymion's eyes followed the movement, as if mesmerized. "This isn't your room" he said absently, eyes sweeping over her form again. "And these aren't your usual clothes my love-nor mine. Mars?" he turned then to face her, eyes going up to her long dark hair. He frowned in perplexity. "What did you do to your hair, Mars?" he managed, choking slightly.
"What's wrong with my hair?" Rei said, hands going up protectively to her luxurious wealth of dark locks. She fingered a lock and then pulled it around to stare at it.
"Nothing is wrong" Usagi assured her, turning back to stare at Endymion with as much confusion as Endymion. "You-recognize...Mars?" she said tentatively, suddenly remembering that the Prince had known what Sailor Mars looked like, even de-transformed.
["Yeah!"] Rei exclaimed, looking at the Prince also. Her purple eyes narrowed. ["How DID he know that?"] she eyed him with suspicion.
Endymion looked at Usagi as if she had lost her senses. "Am I not meant to, Serenity?" he asked with slight amusement. "To be sure, Mars' hair is a different color than her customary purple locks-but it is no great change" he told them, eyes flickering warily to the bedroom door. Then, he stared right down at his feet, as if trying to see through the floor.
"Purple?" Rei choked out, eyes going wide and glazed.
["Purple hair?!"] Usagi exclaimed mentally, eyes going just as wide as Rei's. The two girls stared at Endymion, utterly bewildered. Usagi blinked, swallowed and then tried to figure everything out. The Prince had SEEN Mars-sometime in the past...and-she had PURPLE HAIR?
Rei swallowed hard, staring at Usagi with an almost desperate expression. ["Usagi? What's going on here? How could he have seen me in the past?"]
Usagi's eyes firmed slowly, expression becoming hard. ["I have a distinct feeling that Luna hasn't been telling us everything"] she said, tone sardonic. It was a very un-Usagi-like tone that made Rei's skin crawl with worry. The silver-haired girl was looking at her as if she were a stranger. She turned suddenly to Endymion, certain of something. "Endymion-who's downstairs?" she asked slowly, voice faint. There WAS something downstairs that was threatening them, she was SURE of it.
"Zoisite" Endymion said shortly. His dark blue eyes closed, brow furrowing in intense concentration. Slight sweat broke out on his forehead-as he attempted to do...something. Then, he stiffened, looked down at himself once more-then sort of...shimmered.
The two girls gaped as Mamoru's form disappeared and another took his place. This person was different in ways-yet was still Mamoru. Clad in black and silver armor, with a long black and red cloak like Tuxedo Kamen's and a sword at his waist.
Usagi's eyes widened even more, mouth falling open slightly as everything clicked. ["So THAT'S why Mamoru was always reaching for his waist when he was taken over by Endymion! He was looking for his SWORD!"] Usagi shrieked into Rei's mind, her own reeling with shock and revelation.
"Stay here, Serenity. And you too Mars" Prince Endymion commanded, his bearing authoritative and proud. "Protect her for me"
Usagi slumped in dismay. So-Endymion somehow thought that SHE was his Princess from 1000 years ago. How could she tell him that she was only a normal girl?
"Wait-M-Endymion!" Rei cried out as the Prince thrust his way past the, opened the door and was striding down the hall before they could stop him. She and Usagi tensed as they waited to feel the horrible pain that always accompanied a separation...but it never came.
Usagi's eyes opened. She peered around cautiously, then realized that there was no pain...and Endymion was far down the hall. "what?" she whispered incredulously. Usagi felt along her arms, then touched her chest lightly with her finger-tips. She glanced inquiringly at Rei. "Any pain, Rei?" she asked.
Rei shook her head, looking flabbergasted as well. "No-nothing" she frowned. "I'm NOT staying up here, while he and the others fight Zoisite, though!" she announced, heading also for the door. She hadn't gotten a few feet from Usagi when both girls suddenly collapsed, waves of agony rolling through them.
"Rei" Usagi groaned, forcing herself onto hands and knee's with difficulty. She crawled over to her friend and collapsed next to her, panting. She stared up at the white roof as everything spun once, then settled. ["So-WE'RE still connected"] she conceded wryly, wiping the sweat from her brow.
Rei nodded, thinking hard. "Maybe-when Mamoru and you are taken over by the Princess and Prince, the bond doesn't work!" she exclaimed, eyes going wide.
"But-it might be the Prince down there...But he's in MAMORU'S body, Rei! And the others need us!" Usagi faltered, eyes filing with helpless tears as she remembered that she couldn't be Sailor Moon. "I mean-they need you, Mars" she finished in a whisper, turning her face away.
"Usagi-" Rei began, half-reaching out a hand to console the silver-haired girl. But then they both heard screams from downstairs and a great crash as something exploded. Both girls looked at each other, frightened. Endymion had told them to stay there-but the others....needed them. "I can't go without you" the priestess said, agonized. She bit her lip, purple eyes seething with emotion.
"They-can handle it. I hope" Usagi said quietly, heart beginning to pound loudly in her chest. "Oh!" she cried out, frustrated and frightened. "If only you weren't bonded to me-and me so helpless!"
"Its not your fault" Rei said comfortingly, stepping closer to Usagi to wrap her arms about the girl. They both trembled and waited, listening as sounds of a battle from below reached them. They heard the cries of the Senshi's powers, Ikuko's frightened screams and occasional yelling.
Usagi's fingernails dug into her palms hard, her teeth biting so hard into her bottom lip that she drew blood. ["I can't stand this!"] she cried out to Rei, gripping the priestess tighter. The crescent moon on her forehead began to glow dimly, unseen by them both.
["I can't either!"] Rei said back in a rage. She felt so helpless! Her friends could be dying down there-
["Go to him"] a voice said to Usagi, deep in her mind.
Usagi stiffened, eyes widening in surprise. Where had that voice come from? It had sounded-so FAMILIAR! ["Who's there?"] she thought tentatively.
Rei looked at her, perplexed. "Who's where?" she looked at Usagi weirdly.
["Go to Endymion. He needs you"] the voice went on, tones musical and filled with love and concern.
["The Prince?"] Usagi said faintly. Why did the voice want her to go to the Prince?
"Are you all right, Usagi?" Rei said sharply, suddenly feeling a strange presence. She looked about the room, but could not pin-point it. It didn't FEEL threatening, but still. She looked back to the silver-haired girl to see that Usagi's eyes had gone completely black, face expressionless. And-her presence was suddenly gone. ["Usagi?"] Rei said frantically, profoundly frightened. There was no response. Usagi's mind was gone.
["Go to Endymion and face your destiny, my daughter"] the voice said gently.
Usagi's mind suddenly blanked-and then...Serenity blinked and wondered where she was. ["Mother?"] Hadn't her mother been talking to her? She looked around and saw a strange room. Sitting beside her was Sailor Mars, who was staring at her with large scared eyes. "Mars?" she questioned, reaching out a slender hand to brush the dark locks from the girl's eyes. She paused, dark blue eyes on the hair that she was stroking. Black. "Your hair" Serenity murmured, shocked. "It's black"
"Usagi?" Rei said, voice trembling with fear.
Serenity blinked at her, perplexed. "Usagi? Who is Usagi?" she leaned forward, examining her dearest friend's eyes. "Are you all right, Mars?" she asked tenderly.
"I'm-fine" Rei said, sighing deeply. There was still fear and sadness in her eyes, but then her lips firmed. So-this was why Endymion had asked Rei to protect Usagi. He'd known that the Princess would emerge sometime. ["I WILL protect her AND Usagi. It's the Princess' spirit using Usagi as a vessel, but it's my friend's body!"] she told herself angrily, ready to kill Zoisite if she shoulder enter the room. Her purple eyes turned towards the open doorway warily. "Mars Power, Makeup!" she called out. In moments she was transformed-and turned to see that the Princess was eyeing her with a strange expression.
["Go to Endymion, Serenity!"] this time, Queen Serenity's voice sounded frantic.
Serenity never even thought. She obeyed her Mother's words and was out the door and down the hall in moments, faster than Rei's eyes could have followed.
One moment, Serenity was there-the next she had blurred and was gone. Rei gaped in shock and disbelief, quickly racing out of the door and looking down the hall. Usagi's long silver hair was just disappearing down the top of the stairs. "Usagi! Serenity!" Rei hastily corrected herself, remembering that the Princess would not respond to Usagi's name. "Oh my gods!" she gasped, realizing that the bond was completely gone. And-she had not followed the Prince's orders and protected his love!
"Great Mars!" she breathed, running down the hall faster than she could ever remember. She was down the stairs in two leaps and into the lounge. It was a battle-field, little resembling the house that Ikuko kept so neat. Walls were charred and burnt down, curtains on fire, couches overturned. Grandpa, the Tsukino's and Yuuchiro huddled behind an upturned couch, faces white and staring. Zoisite floated a foot above the charred carpet, repeatedly hurtling balls of dark fire at Sailor Jupiter and Mercury. Prince Endymion was leaning over two forms and Mars gasped as she recognized them as Reika and Motoki. Luna was being held tightly against Ikuko's chest, being physically held back from the fight.
"Face ME, witch!" a soft voice commanded.
Mars' head jerked up. She stared to her far right, where she had not seen the form of Serenity standing in the shadows of an overturned light. The Princess walked out of the shadows, looking strange in her pink bunny pj's. Her figure was proud, her face haughty and furious and her long silver hair glinted in the lights from overhead.
"Well, well. What do we have here? Another brat? Do you really think that you can face me, human?" Zoisite laughed shrilly.
Endymion turned and leapt at her, sword glinting in the light. Zoisite threw a bolt of dark energy at him at the same time and he dodged. His sword sliced through her uniform and into her arm, dark green blood spurting over his face.
Zoisite shrieked in pain, then looked beyond him, eyes narrowing maliciously. She flicked her fingers and another ball leapt from the tips. It flew across the space between her and Serenity within seconds. Before the Princess could move, it had impacted into her stomach. Serenity gasped in agony as she was thrown backwards, chest exploding in agony. Her head hit the wall and everything swum.
"Serenity! NO!" Endymion roared, turning to run to her.
But Zoisite was faster. Despite her pain, her hate was even greater. As Endymion turned, she grabbed his sword and swiftly plunged it though his unarmed back, right through armor and cloak. She laughed again as he froze, sword sticking out through his chest. "Too easy" she said, amused. Prince Endymion toppled over helplessly to his knee's, eyes wide and shocked as he locked eyes with his love.
Serenity felt his agony and shock and opened her eyes weakly to stare across the room. When she saw the sword sticking through his chest, something snapped inside her mind. "Endymion!" she screamed at him, eyes filling with tears. "No! NOT AGAIN!" she screamed, her voice so loud that it hurt everyone's ears. The crescent moon on her forehead flared to brilliant golden light, consuming her whole body. When it faded slightly, Princess Serenity stood there. Usagi no longer. She was clad in her long silken white dress, barrette in her hair and golden earrings dangling from each lobe. She stood there, glowing brightly, blue eyes burning with hatred towards Zoisite. "How dare you take my love from me again!"
"Serenity" Endymion groaned, eyes dimming. He fell forward, bracing himself on the carpet with one hand, sword point still sticking from his chest. The wound was fatal he knew and...this had happened before. Serenity was right. Endymion suddenly had a vision of a sword plunging into his love's chest. "Serenity-no. Get away!"
Everyone else was frozen in horror and shock. And Zoisite was staring at Princess Serenity was if she was seeing a ghost. "Who ARE you?" she demanded, a hand clamped about her wounded arm. She watched the Princess with slight awe as the girl pulsated with golden light, hatred blazing from her eyes.
"No more!" Serenity shouted, a single tear making its way down her cheek. She locked eyes with Endymion's knowing that he was close to dying. But he would NOT DIE! As her tear fell from her cheek, it turned into blazing silver light. Zoisite’s form blazed bright red, then something shot from her into the silver teardrop. Endymion blazed brightly orange and blue and then two more Rainbow Crystals flew into the tear. Serenity watched with astonishment and an overwhelming delight and love as a bright pink crystal emerged from her and into the tear. Then from nowhere three more merged into the tear.
Everyone watched with awe, frozen as the crystals all went into the tear and it blazed bright silver. It dimmed then, revealing...the Silver Crystal. Another flash near the Princess and the crescent moon wand emerged from subspace. The Silver Crystal inserted itself into the wand and floated before the Princess.
"The silver Crystal!" Luna cried out, voice relieved. "Take it quickly, Serenity!"
"No you don't. It's MINE!" Zoisite snarled, leaping over Endymion's body and throwing herself at the wand.
Her hands reached out eagerly, but Serenity's were there first. She reached out and grasped around the hilt of the wand, power surging down her arms and into her body. Warmth and love filled her body, along with an un-seen chorus that seemed to be sung by a million sweet voices.
["Use the power, Daughter!"] Queen Serenity urged, from somewhere unseen, voice urgent.
Princess Serenity once again obeyed her Mother's urging, without thinking. "Moon Crystal Power!" she cried out. A burst of silver light sprang out from the crystal, almost leaping at Zoisite’s stunned form. It hit her with all the strength of a truck out of control and smashed the General right across the room and out the window. Serenity's hair fell back down to her feet as the power died, leaving her both triumphant and tired. Her eyes fell immediately upon her love, who was looking deathly pale. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be using all of his strength to keep himself on his knees. "My love" she whispered, tears pooling into her eyes.
"DIE!" a voice roared from behind her.
Serenity could not turn quick enough to see who had spoken and so was struck in the back by a white-hot agony. It launched her across the room and into Endymion. She hit him and they both tumbled backwards, her on top. But the agony did not stop there.
"Serenity" Endymion gasped out, looking up at her with horror and sadness. His hands came up to touch her shoulders limply.
"USAGI!" Several voices called out, filled with utter horror.
"SERENITY! NO!" Luna screamed, voice filled with unutterable loss.
Behind the Princess, Malachite watched them with hate and satisfaction-then he shimmered and went to look for Zoisite outside the ruined house.
At first, Serenity couldn't figure out what was wrong. Why her Senshi and her love seemed so horrified. All she could feel was pain. She looked deeply into Endymion's murky eyes and saw a deep sadness there. For her. For them.
"Oh, my love" Endymion whispered, reaching up to touch her face tenderly. "Serenity"
"End-" Serenity began to speak, but her voice choked, something flooding into her throat and mouth. She realized with shock that it was blood. It seeped down from the corners of her mouth and only Endymion. The Princess looked down slowly and saw what they had all seen. Why she was in so much pain...She had been impaled on Endymion’s sword. Right through the heart...
Chapter Twenty
"Usagi?" someone whispered fearfully.
Serenity turned her head slightly to see that Mars, Mercury and Jupiter were crouched close to her, eyes filled with horror and fear. Behind them were three strangers. A woman with blue hair, a man with glasses and brown hair and a young boy. The three looked just as horrified and as if they were in acute shock. They didn't seem to know what to do, but merely stood there, frozen statues. "Mars?" Serenity whispered back with difficulty, trying to swallow back the blood that had invaded her mouth.
Mars shook her head, looking incredibly sad and bewildered. "No, Usagi-I'm Rei....Don't you remember me?" the girl asked, voice trembling. Her purple eyes were filling slowly with despair, as were those of Jupiter and Mercury.
Serenity was perplexed, even through her incredible pain. ["Why do they call me Usagi, Endymion?"] she threw at him mentally. But still her tone was so weak that she was not sure he had heard her. Her love was dying even faster than her. In fact, they were both surprised that they had not already died...
["I-don't know...Serenity"] Endymion managed, eyes closing.
["Endymion?!"] Serenity cried out, involuntarily jerking against the blade of the sword. Pain ripped through her chest, blood flowing into her mouth. She fell into a couching fit that left her even weaker. She slumped against Endymion's chest, spent.
"I'm alright, Serenity" he whispered just above her ear, breath weakly stirring the silver bangs at her temple. The bright blue symbol of earth began to fade upon his forehead and he knew that Serenity's beautiful golden crescent moon was fading also, as their lives spilled form them onto the floor of this strange place. He still didn't understand what they were doing there. Who the strangers were-and why Malachite was there. But somehow, he knew that this was earth. He could feel the strength of the planet beneath him. It was the only thing currently sustaining him-and his love. She didn't realize it, being so weak-but he was giving her energy just to keep her heart beating.
"Usagi?" Shingo whispered, deathly afraid. His sister no longer looked like Usagi-but a stranger. A beautiful older stranger, who had shown amazing powers. But somewhere inside, he was sure his sister was there.
Serenity slowly turned her head, still resting her cheek against Endymion's cold armor. She looked at the boy over her Senshi's shoulders and saw the fear and pain in his eyes. He was scared for HER...so, who was he? "Who is this Usagi?" she asked gently. Perhaps, she reminded him of someone he knew? Even as she knew she was dying, her gentle nature reached out to comfort a young boy, who seemed in such mental anguish.
"You are!" Sailor Mars burst out, eyes blazing. She reached out and grasped Serenity's shoulder hard, making sure that she did not jolt the Princess and her wound. "Usagi! Don't you REMEMBER?!" these last words were almost screamed, seeming to come right from the soul.
It touched Serenity, the way they were all staring at her longingly. As if she were this girl-Usagi. "But Mars...You know that I am Serenity" she said, rather bewildered. For a moment, her lashes dropped over her silver eyes, darkness swimming in.
"USAGI! NO!" a voice cried out.
A small weight hit the side of Serenity's body, jolting her slightly. She winced in agony and then managed to open her eyes and glanced down. It was Luna. The cat looked frantic, agonized-her small warm body pressing hungrily against Serenity's side as if she would never leave. "Luna" Serenity said softly, a smile curving her lips. Luna had always been there. "My dear friend and advisor"
"Oh Serenity!" Luna cried out, tears running freely from her eyes. She rubbed her furry face against her Princess' bloody side. "Usagi"
Serenity's eyes clouded as she heard her advisor say that girls name again. Even Luna had called her Usagi..."Who is Usagi?" she demanded slowly, trying to focus her thoughts. it was so hard though. So hard...
"You are" Ikuko woman burst out, voice strangled with tears. Her eyes were blood-shot. "My daughter"
["My daughter..."] the woman's words echoed around Serenity and Endymion's heads like a bell-tone. Suddenly, everything around them disappeared in a bright silver light. When they could see again, they were standing side by side in the ruins of a palace-and standing before them was Queen Serenity.
"Mother!" Serenity cried out, running towards the Queen. She threw herself into her mother's arms and held her tightly, feeling a steady heart-beat against her chest.
Queen Serenity's arms closed warmly about her daughter, but her eyes as she met Endymion's were filled with a great sadness. "Serenity-Endymion...you must listen to me" she said urgently. "My time is short in this place"
"Where are we, Queen Serenity?" Endymion asked, bewildered. Hadn't they been somewhere else a moment before? Somewhere with-people crying over them?
The Queen's beautiful face crumpled slightly. "We-are in the ruins of the Moon Kingdom" she admitted hesitantly.
"The ruins?" the Princess said, bewildered. "But-"
"Serenity, please listen very carefully" Queen Serenity said gently, but with a sense of urgently that sent waves of unease through her daughter and her prince. "Something has happened that was too early and it has thrown off all of time" she looked up into their eyes, just as the golden crescent moon on her forehead began to blaze with light. "Come with me now, to the final days of the Silver Millennium..."
"Oh my god!" Ikuko screamed, lunging past the girls. She fell to her knees beside Serenity, who was slumped limply over the armor of Prince Endymion-blood pooling over the carpet beneath and all around them. In seconds, Ikuko's blue dress was staining brown from the hem up, but she never noticed. "Usagi. My Usagi" she whispered, hands fluttering helplessly over her daughter's body.
"Is she alive?" Rei whispered, voice breaking. Her eyes were large pools of purple pain and horror.
Shingo clung to his dad, eyes glazed with shock. What they had witnessed in the last half hour had been more horrific than he could ever have imagined in his worst nightmares. ["Usagi..."] he thought fearfully, eyes sweeping over the barely-recognizable form of his sister. She looked beautiful, even covered in blood, a strange dress, older and...possibly dead. So beautiful. Like an angel.
Sailor Mercury crawled closer to Ikuko and inserted her arm between the woman and the Princess. She tentatively picked up one slender wrist belonging to Serenity and held her breath. She felt a faint pulse. very faint-but there. Mercury's breath exploded out so fast and loud that everyone jerked in shock.
"Is she-" Jupiter said, eyes shadowing with grief.
"She's breathing" Mercury reported, reaching up a gloved hand to wipe the sweaty bangs back from her eyes. next, she reached for Endymion's wrist. He too was still alive, but his pulse was even slower than the Princess'. "Endymion is also-but barely" the blue-haired girl shook her head, pulling her arm back into her lap and gazing solemnly at Serenity's profile.
"Can you take that sword out? It looks so..." Motoki choked, hiding Reika's face into his shoulder. It was all his fault. They'd led that-woman right to their friends. And now Usagi was laying dying. Mamoru too. "It's my fault" he whispered, shutting his eyes in grief.
"It's not your fault, Motoki. Or Reika's. It's Zoisite's and Malachite's" Rei said harshly. She crawled close to Ikuko and touched a hand lightly to the sharp blade protruding from Serenity's back. It looked so ugly there, against the purity of the dress. And she still didn't understand what was going on. How could the Princess and Prince have transformed into those clothes? And-why did they still look like Usagi and Mamoru?
"I feel your pain grand-daughter" Grandpa boomed from behind them all. He had stood there at the back with Yuuchiro, not wanting to interfere with such a delicate moment. But now, he felt that he must speak.
"Grandpa?" Rei said hopefully, eyes turning to look back at him. ["Maybe he knows what's going on?"] she thought desperately.
"No" he shook his head, reading the question in her eyes. "I can't say what has happened, Rei" Grandpa shook his shoulders, looking grim. "I've never felt such power between these two. Never"
"I know" Rei whispered, turning back to Serenity. She reached out to touch a long lock of silver hair, trailing into the blood and over the Prince's body like a cloak. Her fingers dipped into a pool of blood and pulled out a handful of silver-red hair. She cradled it gently. ["Usagi. Come back to us"] Rei thought, sending out her words as strongly as she knew how. "Don't leave us"
"Don't leave us" Ami and Makoto repeated, as if urged.
Rei's eyelashes closed over her purple eyes to hide the expression in them-one of cool calculation. "How did Zoisite come to be here?" she asked slowly, a strange inflection in her voice. Her fingers continued to caress Serenity's long gently.
Mercury and Jupiter immediately stiffened as the air crackled with some strange power-and it was coming from Rei.
It was Motoki who answered, voice filled with horror and guilt. "We came over here to see how Usagi was going. And that-woman followed us. We didn't realize until we'd arrived here. She wanted-" his voice broke off. "She said that she wanted a Rainbow Crystal"
"It came out of me and-something began to happen, but then Jupiter hit me with a bolt of lightening and I changed back" Reika went on, voice hollow. She turned her face towards Endymion. "And then HE came down-and we knew it was Mamoru...but he acted so different..."
"We know the rest" Kenji said grimly, still holding onto Shingo. He honesty didn't know what to do. His life had turned upside down in only a few days. Keeping boys away from his little girl, he could handle. Work he could handle. But superheros? Princes? Evil beings from another dimension? No...
Mercury reached past Rei to once again feel Serenity and then Endymion's pulses. "They're still there" she told everyone, taking a deep breath. She frowned at the Princess and Prince in perplexing. ["If the bodies die, will the Princess' soul be transferred to one of the Senshi's bodies?"] she thought, then almost slapped herself for the horrible things going though her head. ["Usagi is my FRIEND!"] she screamed at herself.
"Mercury" Rei said gently, forcefully removing the Senshi's gloved hand from about Endymion's wrist. Mercury had been squeezing so hard that the Prince had winced, even unconscious.
"Sorry" Mercury whispered faintly.
"Isn't there ANYTHING you can DO?" Ikuko suddenly screamed at them all, eyes wild. She held up a hand covered in bright red blood. "She's DYING!"
"What can we DO exactly? Huh" Jupiter yelled back at the woman, green eyes blazing. She was close to snapping. And wanted nothing more than to destroy something. Her eyes fell upon the gaping hole in the wall, where Zoisite and Malachite had disappeared.
"NO!" Mercury's hand shot out once again, clamping in astonishing grip about the stronger girl's upper arm. "You STAY here with me" she hissed urgently. "Revenge later, JUPITER" she emphasized. "Our first loyalty is to the Princess"
"She's right" Luna whispered, raising her head from where she had been buried against the Princess' side. Her whiskers and face were covered in blood. It looked as if Luna had been crying tears of blood.
"The PRINCESS?!" Kenji thundered, outraged. "What about my daughter? She's IN there! It might be that Princess' spirit, but it's Usagi's BODY!"
"Right" Rei murmured, hands tightening around Serenity's lock of hair painfully. ["There must be some way..."]
Suddenly, her skin began to crawl weirdly. She felt a tingling all over, as if covered with ants and gasped with surprise. She heard other gasps from the other girls and turned her head to see the other Senshi with their eyes wide and writhing about on the floor. "What-" Rei began, but was abruptly consumed in a searing wave of heat and power. Everything in her vision disappeared to be replaced with a haze of red fire...
Mercury screamed as her vision was covered up by a haze of blue fire, writhing about her body. The last thing that she saw was everyone's horrified eyes...
Jupiter held her breath as everything disappeared into green waves of fire, consuming her. ["Am I dying?"] she wondered, feeling a brief satisfaction. Perhaps she would join Usagi.
"Arrgggggggh!" all three screamed simultaneously, as a wave of power shot through their bodies from their toes to their head. Then-it was just gone. Their vision cleared and they were laying face-down on the carpet.
"Good lord!" Grandpa exclaimed, sounding...completely poleaxed. "Rei?"
"I'm-fine" Rei grunted into the carpet, wondering if it were true. She mentally checked herself before moving and realized that she felt-amazing! ["What?!"] she gasped to herself, shooting up into a kneeling position. Her long hair fell over her shoulders to pool around her knees and hands and that was when she saw it. "Arrgggh!" She shrieked, purple eyes going wide with shock. "MY HAIR!"
"YOUR HAIR! WHAT ABOUT MINE?!" Jupiter screeched back.
Rei spun to look at Jupiter, who was also kneeling and holding a ponytail of-long PINK hair! Not bright pink, but still...a definite light shade of browny pink. Like a cherry-blossom in spring. Rei pointed, gaping. "Your-and mine...WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!" she shouted, flinging back her hair.
"You have purple hair, Rei. And you Makoto have pink and me-" Mercury cast her eyes upwards expectantly. "Hmm-it's a little darker blue" she mused.
"What is going ON here?" Ikuko yelled, eyes impossibly wide.
"And what-" Shingo began. But he was cut off as something exceedingly bright exploded to their left. They all looked that way in time to see Serenity and Endymion's bodys' quickly consumed by a silver and golden light. It intermeshed in a beautiful display of color from their toes to their heads and consumed the two. They disappeared from sight for a moment-and when the light abruptly was gone...Usagi and Mamoru lay there.
Everyone gaped, too stunned to move. Usagi was in her bunny pj's, Mamoru half-naked and in his black slacks. The sword was gone from Usagi's back, all the blood had disappeared and, the two looked as if they were peacefully sleeping. The golden crescent moon and bright blue earth symbol burnt steadily on their foreheads. Usagi against looked only fourteen and Mamoru 19.
Rei's eyes went quickly to Usagi's chest, pressed against Mamoru's tightly as she lay above him. They appeared to be breathing normally and completely unharmed. "Usagi?" Rei whispered disbelievingly, half-reaching out a hand for her friend.
Usagi's eyes opened slowly. At first, all she saw was a naked chest beneath her nose. Familiar. She raised her head and gazed up at the sleeping face of Mamoru. Not Endymion. ["Mamoru?"] she asked mentally, feeling slight fear. What if he hadn't returned with her.
["USAGI!"] Rei shrieked mentally, overjoyed. ["I can hear your voice again!"]
["So can I"] Mamoru winced, then opened his eyes. He looked up at everyone's stunned expressions. "We're all right" he told them.
Everyone was still frozen.
"You're-okay?" Mercury asked tentatively, eyes skimming over Usagi and then Mamoru.
"What HAPPENED?" Ikuko shouted, sounding hysterical.
"Mom" Usagi whispered, reaching out a hand. It was quickly clung to by Ikuko. "The Silver Crystal healed us" she carefully leant back onto her legs and revealed the front of her bunny pj's. There was her golden broach, the silver crystal nestled into the center of it.
"Serenity!" Luna whispered, eyes shooting up to Usagi's. "Only the Moon Princess can touch the Crystal! You remembered!" she cried out gladly, eyes filling with tears.
"What?" Rei said in a hushed tone. "I don't understand"
"Oh Rei-I saw my Mother-" Usagi began, then broke off as she looked up into Ikuko's shattered gaze. "The Princess' Mother, Queen Serenity" she amended.
"No-you said YOUR Mother" Jupiter said slowly, eyes narrowing. "Just what is going on here? One moment, you're dying and the next-everything is okay?" she spat out, eyes filling with tears.
Usagi's eyes went to Jupiter's pink hair and then Rei's. She smiled gently. "Just how I remembered you all" she told them, carefully pulling her hand from Ikuko's strangle-hold. She got off of Mamoru and knelt beside him as he did the same. Their hands reached unconsciously for each other's and fingers entwined. "It's-hard to explain...Luna?" she appealed to her guardian, silver eyes bewildered. Clearly, Usagi was still in shell shock from whatever revelations Queen Serenity had revealed.
"I've been lying to you all" Luna said heavily, closing her red eyes so that they wouldn't see the guilt in their depths. "When I first found Usagi-I truly thought that she was a Senshi. Such power I sensed-and the potential..." the cat trailed off, opening her eyes. "But she wasn't meant to be"
"She-not?" Jupiter said disbelievingly, staring at Usagi.
"She's not?" Rei and Mercury echoed, equally shocked.
"No" Luna went on, looking very guilty and stunned. "You see, when you were reborn...that is...you're not human any of you. Not really. When the Moon Kingdom was destroyed, Queen Serenity sent her daughter, her fiancée, her Senshi and I and Artemis a thousand years into the future. In case Beryl should ever escape her dimension again"
"I think that I see where this is going" Grandpa nodded, eyes a little wild.
"I don't" Yuuchiro said, perplexed.
"You've lost me" Shingo added, still clinging to his dad. Constantly, his eyes swung back to his sister, hardly believing that she was really alive.
"The Senshi were reborn through mortal families, but their souls remained intact. I could have given you your planet wands and if you hadn't had the souls of the Senshi in you, they would never have worked" Luna said, trying to make them understand.
Slowly, understanding dawned in Ikuko's eyes. She gazed at Luna in some horror and disbelief. "Are you saying-that Usagi ISN'T really my daughter?"
"Mom" Usagi whispered, looking anguished. "You know that you are-"
"No-let Luna answer" Ikuko demanded, throwing a haunted look at her 'daughter'.
"Essentially-no" Luna admitted with a heavy heart. "Yes, you birthed her-but you had nothing to do with her appearance. Usagi and the Senshi AND Mamoru look exactly as they did on the Moon Kingdom 1000 years ago. The changed hair color included" she added, looking pointedly at Rei's deep purple locks. "You'll also receive increased powers and-possibly even start to age faster"
"WHAT?!" The girls exclaimed, gaping.
"But wait-" Mercury said, frowning. She still looked extremely confused. "You SAID that Usagi wasn't meant to be a Senshi-so who WAS she?"
Usagi smiled gently at everyone, as their eyes went automatically to her to seek the answers. "You haven't guessed?" she said clearly. "I'm the Princess"
"You're-" Rei gasped out, choking over the word. Now, everything made complete sense! "You weren't haunted at all! The Princess' soul was trying to get free!"
"Yes" Luna nodded, failing to see that the three Tsukino's had gone very still. "Usagi IS the Princess Serenity. Apparently, when Mamoru touched the Moon locket, he inadvertently freed Serenity and Endymion's souls into his and Usagi's bodies. Confused, the Princess and Prince emerged whenever they were together or their was danger"
"Sailor Venus is really the leader of the Senshi" Mamoru said quietly, fingers tightening about Usagi's.
"But we don't know her" Mercury said with dismay.
"I think that everyone is MISSING the big picture here" Shingo announced, pulling away from his dad. He got to his feet and glared around at each other. "Usagi might be a reincarnated Princess from 1000 years ago, and so are you guys-but that doesn't change that you were ALL human girls born here in Juuban! Usagi is STILL my sister!" he breathed out urgently. "The blonde ditz!" he pointed at Usagi, who watched him with wide startled eyes. Suddenly, before anyone could speak, he threw himself bodily at her.
Usagi caught him up close and held his head against her shoulder tightly. "Shingo" she said delicately, breathing into his ear. "You're my brother too, no matter who I was" she told him, closing her eyes and resting her face against his soft brown hair.
"And you're alive!" he sobbed at her.
Suddenly, there was a mad scramble as everyone also threw themselves at Usagi and Mamoru in a large group hug.
"You're right, Shingo" Ikuko said, sniffing. She held her daughter from the back, grip gentle yet desperate. "She's my daughter. No matter what"
"And we'll all stay together, no matter what" Jupiter added tearfully, unabashedly kissing Mamoru soundly on the cheek and hugging the life out of him.
Everyone was crying and clinging to everyone else, all trying to talk at once.
Mamoru held onto Usagi's fingers tighter. ["We stay together now"] he whispered to Rei and Usagi. He cast his blue eyes over the other two Senshi. ["I have a feeling that they will soon be joining us"]
Rei stiffened, arm freezing about Shingo's shoulders. She slowly looked up at Mamoru, purple eyes wide. ["That means that they have to die-right?"]
["I can't let that happen"] Usagi said solemnly, making it sound like an oath. "Even to protect me" she finished aloud.
"Protect you" Kenji repeated. His abruptly straightened his glasses, looking determined. "Right! everyone up!" he ordered them, jumping to his feet. A dozen pairs of tearful and happy eyes stared at him as if he were mad. "UP PEOPLE!" he bellowed at them, gesturing wildly over their heads with his arms.
"Huh?" Ikuko muttered, wondering what on earth her husband was up to.
"Look!" Kenji said in exasperation, reaching down to yank Mercury up to her feet by one arm. he did the same to Shingo. "This Zoisite person knows where we live. They know what Usagi LOOKS like. We have to LEAVE now!"
"He's right!" Grandpa exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He hit Yuuchiro on the back with his cane demandingly. "Up boy!"
"Kenji is right. If Zoisite knows where we live, then she can come back anytime" Mamoru said, getting to his feet gracefully and pulling up Usagi after him. Everyone else reluctantly got to their feet, seeming automatically to look at Mamoru for orders. He grimaced slightly at them. He was a Prince-but one who didn't fully remember his past! "Gather anything that you can carry-we have to leave NOW"
"NOW?" Ikuko said in dismay, staring about the ruins of her once-beautiful house. "I suppose you're right" she looked at the Senshi and Mamoru. "Go up to Usagi's room and put on anything warm you can fit into. Mamoru, put back on your shirt and jacket. Shingo you go to your room and grab a coat and some shoes. Grandpa and Yuuchiro come with Kenji and I-we'll find something for you to wear"
"I doubt it" Grandpa smiled up at her from his diminutive height. He seemed very approving of the battle plan.
"Umm-is the bond still working?" Rei asked Usagi tentatively, as the girls followed Mamoru up to Usagi's room hurriedly.
"Yes" Usagi said slowly, thinking hard. "My Mother-that is, Queen Serenity said that the more I become the Princess, the less the bond will become. We will always be able to hear each other's thoughts though" she finished impishly, trying to break the tense atmosphere. She really didn't want to think about how close she and Endymion had come to death-or what her Mother had told them in that world where she existed in the ruins of the Moon Palace.
["Be careful Serenity"]
["I will Mother"] Usagi whispered mentally, hoping that her Mother could hear. She'd have to talk with her mom later. Ikuko. She looked so-devastated to learn that Usagi wasn't her real daughter...
["Later, my love"] Mamoru murmured silently, urging Usagi forward with a hand in the base of her spine. The girls all rushed to Usagi's wardrobe and grabbed up what warm clothes they could.
"Blankets too" Mercury muttered, hastily rushing to Usagi's bed to tear off the covers. Makoto did the same with Mamoru's make-shift bed, shuffling a pink coat on one arm.
"Good, you're ready girls. Lets go" Ikuko called from the doorway.
Usagi sighed and threw a blue coat over her pj's, then slipped her school shoes on. She double-checked that the Moon Broach was still on her chest and then they all excited the room.
Kenji, Motoki, Reika, Yuuchiro and Shingo were already gathered in the front hall, looking nervous.
"Let me check first" Jupiter advised, slipping up to the front door. She wrenched the knob open and glanced outside, at the ready to attack. The ruins of the window and wall from the lounge were all over the front lawn, but there was no sight of Zoisite or Malachite anywhere. "It's clear" she told them in a hushed voice, leading the way.
"To the Temple?" Grandpa asked Kenji inquiringly.
Kenji shook his head, then glanced at Mamoru almost reluctantly.
"It might not be safe to go back to ANY of our houses. Who knows how long Zoisite was following Motoki and Reika?" Mamoru said shortly. His deep blue eyes glinted strangely in the sunlight. "Drive us to the nearest real-estate agency. I can find us a large secluded house somewhere and pay for it with cash"
"You're rich?" Ikuko said, surprised.
Mamoru smiled wryly. "Very" he ran a hand through his dark hair in distraction. "Lets go"
They all piled into Grandpa, Motoki and the Tsukino's cars, slowly moving down the street like a funeral procession.
Usagi looked out of her passenger window sadly, stroking Luna's head gently. Her house was in ruins, as was her life. In just a few days, everything had been destroyed. But she had also found love and an incredible bond with her friends. Her parents also. Everything would work out. ["I know it will"]
["We'll start afresh"] Mamoru murmured mentally to her, arm going abut her slender shoulders.
She leant her face against his chest and saw Rei do the same on Mamoru's other side. ["This isn't the end Usagi"] the priestess said solemnly, staring directly into Usagi's silver eyes. "This is the beginning. And we still have Zoisite to battle" she finished aloud.
"And Malachite" Jupiter murmured from the front seat, next to Kenji.
"And Beryl too" Mamoru said, voice cold as ice. "We mustn't forget HER"
Usagi's fingers curled into Mamoru's Tuxedo jacket, eyes turning into chips of silver ice. ["Oh no"] she thought purposefully, memories of the pain and despair that the evil Queen had left in her wake, filling her mind's eye. ["We mustn't forget Beryl at all..."]
The End
