The Return

Chapter 14: Confessions

by Richan

Disclaimer: The great Naoko owns Sailor Moon. I, on the other hand, seem to own nothing. WAI! What a bum deal!

Makoto looked at the large crystal piece that lay on the floor in horror. Something had woken her up from a deep sleep, and she had to know what had caused it. Now she knew. Judging from the jagged shards left behind, it was a pretty good bet that Alecto, the last of the Furies, had managed to break free.

Not good.

A panic rose in her mind and she fought against it. Everybody else was asleep, and she didn't really want to wake them up. An overwhelming sense of disorder crashed through her before she got a hold of herself.

She wasn't the senshi of Jupiter for nothing, was she? No, she could handle this by herself. After all, what could go wrong?

******

Usagi woke from the dream abruptly. Strong vibes ran through her, alerting her to something terribly wrong. Even wrapped in Mamoru's arms as she was, she felt a cold shiver race down her spine, foretelling of something not right.

She slid out of his arms and the bed, careful not to wake him or the others in the room. Creeping out the door, she paused for the slightest hint of sound coming from anywhere in the house. All that met her ears was the small creaks of the house, the same sounds that she had heard since they had begun staying here.

A small sigh escaped her. Her mind was probably trying to tell her something that wouldn't make any sense if she were more awake. Turning back to head to bed, something stopped her. Intangible, the feeling of danger grew stronger. Not personal danger, but the sense that a loved once was in peril.

Going on the feeling, she quickly searched the rooms, trying to keep calm as the panic inside her grew. She counted everybody in each of the bedrooms, coming up one short. Who...? Then she remembered that Rei and Ami hadn't seemed smushed. It had to be Mako-chan, then. But where was she? Usagi went down the stairs to the first floor, first checking the kitchen. Her stomach reminded her that this was the first place *she* would check, not Makoto. Besides, that particular organ wanted to head back to bed. It was too tired to be hungry.

Ignoring her stomach for once, Usagi wandered into the living room where she came to a sudden halt. Now she knew why Makoto was missing. Well, partially. She just had to figure out the rest before her friend got hurt.

Reaching out to the silver crystal, she settled into the faint pulse that always ran through it. In sync with the beat, she let herself become in tune with her senshi. Usagi could feel the emotions of each as she reached out to them. All but Makoto. Her connection with the senshi of Jupiter was too weak to feel anything meaning one of two things: either she was suppressing emotions or somebody was trying to disguise them from Usagi.

Usagi closed her eyes, reaching for the faint trail of feelings that floated to her from Makoto. Instead of strengthening, it was steadily growing weaker, alarming her. Jumping up, she quickly transformed. Closing her eyes, Sailor Moon willed herself to the place where Sailor Jupiter's spirit dwelled.

Mamoru's eyes shot open as he tried to figure out what was wrong. A coolness to one side was a good indication of what. When had his Usako gotten out of bed? He hadn't heard her. In fact the entire house was still.

He sat up and looked around the room. On one bed lay Shingo, curled around a pillow while the floor between the two beds was taken up by a rather squished Hotaru as she battled for floor space with Minako. Shaking his head slightly, Mamoru twisted to look at the other bed, upon which lay Unazumi and Motoki. He chuckled silently at the sight of his friend trying to protect his sister, even though they both had changed.

A frown crossed his lips. Where had Usako gone? It wasn't like her to net go anywhere in the middle of the night. At least, ever since they had woken up after their long sleep. Since then, he had held her in his arms each night, secure in the knowledge that she was safe.

Climbing out of bed, Mamoru crept down the stairs. Passing the living room, he noticed that something was missing. A second look told him that Alecto and her prison were gone. The information sent a shock through him as he realized where Usako had disappeared to. Summoning his armor, he concentrated to join his love in the battle he suddenly knew was fighting.

******

Makoto couldn't move. She somehow knew her eyes were open, but nothing crossed them but black. Was she blind? All that she remembered was transforming and running off to find Alecto. She had come to a place of immense cold and then nothing after that. Something had gone wrong, because even now she didn't feel the power that usually lay dormant within her. The power of Jupiter had disappeared.

She felt helpless, more helpless than she had felt in a long time. It was the same feeling she had when learning her parents had been killed in a plane crash. Makoto had been devastated for weeks, and nothing anybody had done could touch her. Numbness had filled her days as nightmares haunted her dreams. She also became angry. Her parents had left her when she had needed them the most. After they had been killed, life had become harder as she tried to fend off cloistering relatives who really never seemed that sympathetic. Then came the mess her life had grown to be as everybody at school picked on her. They hadn't understood what it was like to have no parents, secure in the pressure they had from their own parents. No, they had tried to force themselves on her, whether in a physical fight or just a verbal one. Not one of her old classmates had seemed to understand just *what* she was going through.

Shaking her head mentally since the physical didn't work, Makoto tried to forget that pain, willing it as far away from her as she possibly could. Instead, it seemed to crowd more and more in her heart and mind.

Panic started to rise in her as everything that had happened since her parents had been taken began to swirl in psychedelic colors as they ran at high speed through her mind's eye.

"Mako-chan!"

Dimly she heard her name being shouted, but it sounded as if it was at the top of a large mountain and she was at the bottom of a deep valley. The syllables echoed for a moment before they faded away. Again she heard nothing but the roar of some unseen wind as it rushed past her ears. A deep sigh was caught in her lungs as she tried to physically breathe. What was wrong with her that she couldn't do so? Some part of her mind knew she was alive, but all she wanted to do was sleep. Maybe this was a dream, where she would wake in the morning squished between Rei and Ami, or even back in her own little apartment where she had lived for so many years alone....

Sailor Moon stopped at the sight of Makoto. The strongest of the senshi was huddled in a little ball, unmoving in the chill air that swiftly blew through the large space. Blackness seemed to fill the cavern, so much that Sailor Moon couldn't see the walls. As she wondered what this place was, she could feel something.... What was it? Maybe it was what Makoto was trying to fight. Compassion filled her heart as she saw what was really going on.

In the dim light that surrounded Makoto, she saw Alecto was really the wind as she whispered into the brunette's ears.

"Alecto!"

Sailor Moon watched as a form took shape in that of a tall woman. The regal bearing was belied by the maddening look in dark eyes. Pain glinted in them as Alecto spied her most hated enemy. Blue eyes widened slightly when they saw the pain before they closed briefly in thought. What had brought so much pain to this woman that had driven her to be so angry in the first place, Sailor Moon wondered. Whatever it was, she would try to find out.

Alecto paused for a moment. The senshi in front of her didn't even seem to be trying to fight her. This lone senshi stood before her, with no indications of even totally being aware of what was going on. Well, this just made it easier for her to get rid of her before she turned back to the senshi she had first brought here. Sailor Moon had been foolish enough to follow the one behind Alecto, as it would be her downfall.

Gathering energy, Alecto raised her hands. She had to use her most powerful attack to even touch Sailor Moon, so she had to make sure that it hit her precisely. The energy consumed by the attack would leave her weak for a while until she could regain her strength. She didn't worry about the senshi on the floor. That one was so wrapped in her misery nothing could touch her now.

Alecto smirked as she thought of the anger within the one called Sailor Jupiter. She had been able to twist it so that no one could touch her, the anger was directed so inwardly. But she still had some work yet to do before it was all over. At the moment, though, she had to deal with Sailor Moon.

The energy in her hands pulsed brightly in the dark space, lighting the sides of it. Sailor Moon could make out faint shapes as the light danced on the far away walls. Ignoring the energy in Alecto's hands for the nonce, she concentrated on the shapes. What were they? And why were they in shadow? She had the feeling that this place had once been filled with only light. Only recently had the shadow been allowed to consume what had once been such a happy place for the woman before her.

Sailor Moon didn't notice when Alecto had released the energy towards her. What woke her from her thoughts was being violently pushed to the side by someone. Looking above her, she saw concerned blue eyes watching her face.

"Endymion!"

"Sailor Moon," he answered. He had just been in time to rescue his love from the awesome wave of life force the last of the Furies had unleashed. Making sure that Sailor Moon was all right, he helped her up before the two of them looked in Alecto's direction.

The woman lay panting on the floor, unable to gain enough energy to sit up. All she knew was that she had been unsuccessful in getting rid of Sailor Moon. That man had come out of nowhere to push her from the path before it hit her. Alecto felt the vibrations of their footsteps as they grew closer, close enough for them to touch her before they stopped. Opening her eyes, she looked into empathetic eyes, the same color as the summer sky.

Sailor Moon crouched beside the last Fury and gently touched her cheek. "What happened that made you like this?"

Both Endymion and Alecto started. Neither of them had been expecting such a question. Endymion trusted Sailor Moon, though, as he waited for Alecto's answer.

Alecto turned away from the touch and saw Makoto a few yards away. Sailor Moon was asking what the problem was even though she had done that to one of her friends? It made no sense at all, and yet... something about this woman kneeling next to her called to some small part of her soul that had been overtaken by the darkness.

With her sisters gone, what had she to live for? The energy she had used in the attack had been far more than she had been able to handle. Using what little she had left, she released the senshi of lightening from the bonds around her. Alecto looked back into those sky-blue eyes, whose joy at the return of her friend seemed to overflow onto the Fury.

Makoto woke from her trance her head clear once more. Shaking it to clear the remnants of the strange and nightmarish thoughts that had almost overwhelmed her, she saw her Princess comforting Alecto. She wasn't quite sure how to take the sight. Then she saw Endymion standing patiently to one side, making sure that everything went smoothly for his eternal love. The expression on his face clued her into the fact that Sailor Moon knew Alecto was dying, and only wanted to give what little she could to make sure that she didn't die alone.

Standing, she could once more feel the singing of power in her body. "Jupiter Lightening Power, MAKE UP!" Transforming, she felt a shift towards her Princess. Almost undetectable, it flowed easily towards the senshi of healing as she knelt on the floor. Sailor Jupiter wobbled for a moment before she realized that her new power had awakened without her knowing. The power the king of the gods wielded had shielded her from the last of Alecto's power to completely destroy her sense of self.

Offering a small prayer of thanks to her protector, Sailor Jupiter raised her staff.

Alecto felt the energy ebb through her. The cleansing effect fought the darkness in her soul, offering a chance to be free of the hatred that had festered for so long. Healing energy flowed through her as she was able to sit up in Sailor Moon's arms. The Fury looked towards her and Sailor Jupiter before her eyes widened in amazement. Only once had she ever seen the god Jupiter wield the power to create new life, as he usually left that up to others. Just now Sailor Jupiter looked the same as he at that moment.

Endymion watched the action before him. Sailor Jupiter seemed to know the correct way to use the staff after puzzling over it the last week. Secretly he had wondered why each of the senshi in the Moon Princess' court had been given such strange weapons until this minute. He now knew they had been given talismans like the Outer senshi. They were like an extension of their power more than a weapon, giving new form to their energy as they used it.

He saw the glow from the staff fade before a brighter light enveloped the entire space.

******

Motoki awoke as the house shuddered. Opening his eyes, he discovered the sun was just peeking past the horizon, its pale glow giving the sheen of gold to everything the rays touched. Once again the house moved, the movement gaining in violence as it continued to do so. He quickly rose, noticing that the others were starting to panic when they couldn't find Usagi, Mamoru, or Makoto in any of the bedrooms. As they moved down the stairs, the group found the remains of Alecto's prison as it lay shattered on the floor.

Scanning the room, Motoki ran a hand through his short blond hair as he thought. Where had those three gone? They must have gone after the last of the Furies after she had escaped. The puzzle here was why they had left without any notice to the rest of them. Blue eyes searched for any clue to their whereabouts.

Setsuna refused to panic, but her sense of time flow had restarted and things did not look good. Part of her was relieved that her Princess and the Prince were safe and sound, but much of her mind was preoccupied by the panicked thoughts that seemed to run amuck. Putting on the mask she usually wore, she glided among the others to round them together for when the missing three returned.

On the other side of the room Hotaru was baffled by her behavior. In all the battles she had fought alongside of the senshi of time had she never acted this way. A slight frown on her face was the only indication that she thought something was wrong with Setsuna.

The house shook one last time, the movements seeming to rip the house off its foundation as a bright light blinded them momentarily. When sight was possible each of them saw Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion. With them stood Sailor Jupiter, her lightening staff glowed with a barely perceptible pulse. A light again flashed in front of their eyes, the bright glow concealing one last person from their sight.

Setsuna raised blood red eyes to see the last of the Furies standing beside her queen. Widening slightly, they narrowed as she gazed across the possibilities now offered by this unexpected happening. She studied Alecto as two possible futures arose in her mind. The Fury would either turn out to be a valuable ally, or she would once again be swallowed by the darkness that had overtaken her.

Rei took a defensive stance. "What is she doing here?" she asked the others.

Serenity shook her head. "Do not worry, Rei," she stated solemnly. "She is here to tell us some interesting things."

Rei looked at her friend. The formal speech was startling to hear from the lips of a girl who cried at the smallest things. She wondered what had happened to her as the entire group gathered. She kept a close eye on Serenity as she chose a seat close to her.

******

Jadeite sat as close as he could to Makoto, who had changed back from Sailor Jupiter after they had arrived back from wherever they had gone. The transformation had used much of her energy, evidenced by the dark circles under her eyes and the way she often yawned. He held onto her left hand, rubbing the back softly in a comforting way as Serenity and Endymion spoke.

He had been surprised to see them as such, but the two of them had explained that now that all of the senshi had their talismans, it had released the last of the energy needed to change them into their rightful forms. Jadeite had looked around the room as they had told this and saw many expressions on the others' faces. What had really captured his attention was the hurt expression on Rei's face. She was the closest to Usagi, and he guessed that she really didn't know what to make of this stranger, basically, who had taken over. Even Makoto had had some trouble adjusting to this as well, since it was her transformation that had set off the whole thing.

Jadeite turned his attention back to Endymion, who was speaking.

"There are six places on the planet that were in need to of recovery before we started the battle against Beryl," he said. "Three have already been cleaned. The first by Sailor Mercury, the second by Sailor Venus, and the third by Sailor Jupiter. The places where the Furies dwelled held much of the darkness by the one we must truly fight to save humanity."

Serenity nodded and continued. "The last three will be more dangerous, for they are within Beryl's fortress themselves." She turned to Alecto. "Please tell everybody what you know."

The Fury cleared her throat nervously at the many pairs of eyes turned her way. Most of them seemed very hostile to her, but some held expressions of curiosity. Clearing her throat again, Alecto started. "There are three defenses within the castle before one can reach the inner sanctum. The first is held by the god Faunus. Any person, whether mortal or god, that crosses his path uninvited is lulled to sleep by the power he has stolen from Morpheus and is driven insane through the nightmares he brings.

"The second defense is that of the god Quirinus. The lesser god of war, he inflicts a great battle with intruders, before brutally slaying them. The third however, is against Cybele, the goddess of nature. She pits the intruder against all of nature."

Silence greeted the last of her words. Serenity and Endymion looked over the group and watched their faces.

Turning to Alecto, Serenity thanked her.

Alecto frowned. "I did nothing to be thanked for," she retorted. "In fact, you shouldn't even be trusting me now to be among you."

Endymion shook his head. "Do not heap more trouble upon yourself. We forgive you for everything that you've done against us. It was not your doing."

Alecto still didn't completely buy the trust written on the two rulers' faces. She was more comfortable with the intense expressions of fore coming battle shown by most of the group. As they broke off into smaller groups through the rest of the night, she stayed by herself to watch for distrust.

******

Minako turned concerned eyes at Yaten. Ever since he had come back from the battle within Rei, he had become distant. She didn't like this at all, but wasn't sure what to do about it. On top of this was the upcoming battles they would have to fight to reach Beryl, and who knew how many they would have to join in against the one who had woken the former leader of the Dark Kingdom. Sighing, she turned back to the book held almost forgotten in her hands.

She missed Yaten's raised head before he shook it. Even now he wasn't sure that he could trust himself. Most of the others who had been locked in the small room seemed to have gotten over what had happened. He alone still felt some of that anger, though it was self-directed. He should have been stronger. He should have tried to ignore it.

"Self-recriminations will do you no good," a soft voice from behind him said.

Yaten and Minako lifted their heads to see Seiya behind them. Yaten started to sputter before the blue-eyed man held a hand up.

"Yaten, stop playing that same old record you always do."

Minako looked at Yaten, thoughtfully. She had thought something was still wrong, but hadn't been completely sure about it. Now that Seiya said something, she knew he was still having problems. She turned to look at Yaten as she reached out to touch his hand.

"Yaten-kun," she said in a sweet voice. Both men looked at her, somewhat afraid of what she was going to say. "The past is done with. It can never be changed, so why bother? After all, what's done is done."

Blank looks greeted her words. She returned it with puzzlement. "Did I say that wrong?"

Yaten shook his head slightly while Seiya stood stock still for a moment.

"Uh," Seiya muttered. "I just remembered something I have to do."

Yaten watched him leave. It was just as well that the other man had left. He had some things to tell Minako.

Screams of laughter flowed through the house from the kitchen. Luckily, only two people were in the house at the moment or there would have been trouble. At the sink, Makoto was trying to wash the dishes, but the scene coming to her from the other side of the window kept distracting her. Next to her, Unazumi was in stitches and trying to regain some breath.

For on the other side of the window were the Generals trying to figure out how to put together a game of Twister without looking like complete idiots. It wasn't working. On the other side of the garden were Setsuna and Kashikoi as they talked on the bench as they missed the fun. Makoto raised an eyebrow when she saw that after managing to pull her attention away from the comedy taking place on the patio. As the Generals gave up, she let her gaze wander even further.

By the pond strode Serenity and Endymion. It was strange, but it was as if they had changed, yet at the same time hadn't. She wasn't sure just how to describe it, but she instinctively knew that this was how it would be from now on. They wouldn't transform anymore, either to Usagi or Mamoru, or to Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen. In the back of her mind she wondered when they would stop to transform and just become the sailor senshi.

Shaking off the disturbing thought, she returned to washing the dishes. She needed them to cook the special dinner that she was planning to serve tonight. After all, it wasn't everyday that one of her friends would get married, and officially be crowned Queen.

Serenity and Endymion stood face to face with each other. It was strange to be in these bodies, since it had just yesterday seemed so long ago that they had just met. Now, though, their powers had matured to the point where this was where they should be, and nothing was going to change it. The only thing left for them to do was to awaken their own guardians to complete the power of their crystals. Then the would be fully aligned for as long as they both lived.

They both turned to face Sailor Pluto, who was the only one to remember the ceremony of coronation of both the Earth and the Moon. With a little judicious juggling by her and the Generals they had been able to piece together a joint coronation, uniting the ancient kingdoms of the Earth and Moon together as one.

Thus, the birth of the Crystal Kingdom was about to be born.

******

Luna sighed in happiness. All of the work she and Artemis had put in, as well as all the speed bumps that had lain before them had been worth the effort. Just seeing Serenity and Endymion reunited surpassed all the pain that had come before. Still, signs of the old Usagi shone through, relieving Luna of the terrible thought that her charge had completely been consumed by what the silver crystal deemed her true persona.

Curious bits of the former slacker made their appearance every now and then, such as when they were dining on the sumptuous feast Makoto had prepared with help from Unazumi, Motoki, and Suru. It was a good feeling she got at the sight of some mischief on her queen's face, no matter the grave battle that lay ahead of them. A wise ruler knew that there had to be some way to let off steam, although Luna hoped Endymion would stop it before it became to much.

Next to her, Artemis drooled over the different kind of foods. It had been a long time since he had seen a feast such as this. How Makoto and the others had known what had been served at that last ball was beyond him. All he cared about at the moment was how stuffed he could get. Sometimes it was nice to have opposable thumbs.

Sitting back after dinner a couple hours later, Artemis let his eyes wander around the room.

******

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