+++++ Azabu-Mamianachō, Japan. (Thursday + 5)

Shinji was tired. He was sore. He was scared. He was nervous. Despite all of this, he kept his mind quiet and his pace to Usagi's. She had been steering him towards somewhere, slowly. Day had begun to break, cold and sterile, making it easier to see how pale and drawn the woman on his arm had become. He was stronger, at least physically, and so he took the initiative to gently pull her to a stop by simply not moving forward anymore. Dropping down to one knee, he bent forward. Hop on. You can tell me from on my back where we're going.

Wordlessly setting herself on his back, Usagi hugged him from behind and laid her head on his shoulder with her face turned towards his neck. Once he looped his arms under her knees and stood, she breathed out, "Wherever you work. I know it's somewhere around here. I took the business card from the kitchen. Don't know where the address is, though. Never even seen a number that high."

With a destination in place, Shinji changed the direction they'd been moving and began making progress again. There was a part of his mind that was screaming in horror at what he was doing. He had a frankly phenomenally beautiful young woman laying against is back, breathing softly into his neck, with his arms holding her legs. It was per-

"It's fine," Usagi huffed out with irritation. "If we ever make it back to where you're from, I'm going to kill that redheaded bitch." Nuzzling her cheek against his trapezius muscles, she hugged him tighter. "Shin-Shin isn't perverted. He's just awkward because of inexperience." A tiny giggle bubbled up. "Of course, I don't have any experience either. Not anymore. Lies. All lies."

It was a wretched pain, this time. To be sure, the glorious agony that was contact with any of the Sailors still existed, but it was undercut throughout with the knowledge of how much suffering Usagi had experienced in such a compacted period. The bright, glowing, beacon of joy that he'd met on the field of battle was gone. Replaced by a darkened loathing that he was all too familiar with.

"But you'll never lie to me," her hands tightened around where she was gripping his shirt. "You made a promise, and you keep your promises. You always keep them, even if it hurts."

"Pet?" Maria's voice came from behind him, and when he turned, he saw his employer scowling at Usagi. The red dress his boss was wearing flattered her figure in all the right ways, contrasting her pale skin and dark hair to create just the right amount of 'pop' when you looked at her. "You'll forgive me for being blunt, but why are you carrying a high school student and wearing a slave collar?"

Shinji realized another of his many problems. I don't have my blackboard. Damn it.

"Considering we're already accepting what one another exists as, we'll do away with the polite fiction that I can't read your thoughts." Maria waved away several questions. "No. Not out here. Let's get to the shop. You had better have a good explanation for this, mahou shoujo. If you think to lay claim to him, I will disabuse you of that delusion before breakfast." Walking past Shinji, between two steps she managed to attach her decorative belt as a leash to the collar and was pulling him quickly along beside her. "When we get in the shop, that comes off. One way or another."

Usagi was too tired to think clearly, and was becoming more disoriented as time wore on. "Shin-Shin, who is-"

"You can call me 'ma'am', at least until I have an explanation and he has an apology." Turning down the alleyway that played host to her place of business, she cut Shinji's protest off before he could put voice to it. "I do not care what she has been through. You. Are not. Property."

Usagi's anger was briefly dismissing her fatigue. "This from someone who calls him 'Pet'."

"I call him 'Pet', child, because he is a dear man whose first thought when I put the heaviest seduction I could manage at that point upon him was to make sure I hadn't been harmed. He is far from home and completely lost. I adore him in a way that you cannot possibly understand." Touching her door, the portal unsealed itself and swung open for the trio. Once it closed behind them, she yanked Shinji down to his knees and snapped off the collar. Taking Usagi by the ear and twisting it hard, she hauled her off of him as well. "And so, if I find you or your backup dancers have done harm to him, no amount of magic will heal what I do to you."

Shinji vied for peace, Maria-san-

"You are not an appendage, Pet. You are not 'part of the bargain'. The one you walked with the other night has a great deal of confusion in her mind. You remind her of a good man, someone who she admired but was never old enough or bold enough to attempt to gain the attention of before he chose someone else. Her heart wants to lash you to her so that you never look at anyone else. She has control over it, which is why I ignored the problem for the moment." Pinching with enough force to drop Usagi to her knee, silencing the blonde, Maria's voice grew dark. "This one wants to meld with you. To bind you to her for all eternity. The problem is," she pointed at Shinji as he made to physically intervene, "it's not entirely her. Back room, third drawer in my desk, get the eggshell colored candle. Not the ivory colored candle. Go."

He was in motion before she said the final word. As always, a powerful woman had his complete attention. Misato had carved that spot out in his mind, the portion that would forevermore allow a woman he respected as 'in charge' to demand anything of him. Pulling open the third drawer down, he saw an orderly row of seven shades of white candles. There was a moment of gratitude for his old sensei, which felt horrifying, for his instruction in chromatic theory and classical art. Snatching up the candle that had been requested, he hurried back out.

Before he could even show it to her, Maria pointed to the bar where she spent most of the day working. "On there, closer to me. Matches are under the cash register. Clap three times before lighting it, if you would be so kind."

Matches, and ceremonial slapping of hands, were presented and administered. When the wick caught aflame, the fire burned a pale rose and leapt several centimeters past where it ought to have for the size of the candle itself. O-ok. What next?

Smiling at him with a dread kindness, she gestured to where he stood. "You stay there. Behind the candle. No matter what happens, you stay there." There was a cast to her eyes that begged him to not disappoint her. "Please. I'll have your word, or I'll be forced to do far worse than what I'm about to."

I won't let you hurt her. The words came unbidden, well before he could think of what to say to the odd request.

"Your heart is in the right place, Pet. As are your feet. Keep both where they are, and the only pain she will feel is what she must feel. I am not a cruel woman, you know this for truth, but I am a hard woman. I'm becoming incredibly fond of you, and I will not allow you to be harmed through your own ignorance."

Shinji pressed his hands down against the counter, his muscles tensing with the anxiety building up inside of him. I…I can't say I trust you. I don't even trust me. Please…don't prove me right.

"You'll see." Turning her attention back to Usagi, Maria touched her forefinger to the young woman's nose. "You are not of this world, spirit. The Moon Princess is powerful, no doubt, but she does not have this type of power. Speak your name, so that I may know you."

What Shinji heard come from Usagi's lips did not qualify as words. It was scarcely sound. A presence that caused a sudden desire to kill uttered chidingly, "You are not nearly strong enough, Mother of Divination, to compel me to do anything."

Maria could almost smell the eagerness Shinji had to rush over. It was a decadent feeling, as she knew it was not only the blonde chit before her that he feared for. Clicking her tongue in irritation, she kept her finger in place. "You see, where you made your mistake here was admitting that you knew who I was." Her voice turned playfully petulant, "But I've heard from more than one reputable source that 'mistake' is a very good choice of a word to describe you. My dear sister has let me know all sorts of horrible tales, after all." Brightening as the indescribable voice began to writhe in torment, she fixed Shinji in place with a sharp gesture, though her eyes remained on Usagi's. "I will give you any seven things you desire, Pet, so long as you stay where you are."

He's hurting her. He's going to hurt you. His desire to protect others may have stemmed from his inability to protect those he'd left behind after promising to, but that made it no less potent a desire.

Ecstasy flowed from her throat, given vocal form in the words, "He couldn't hurt me if he tried. A good man has made certain of that." Power erupted from her gaze, boring into Usagi's skull, "Your name, give it to me."

A pained screech preceded sounds from whatever possessed Usagi that Shinji couldn't make sense of, "….הראשון"

"Cute, but not your name. You and I both know you just lied, which means that you and I both know what is about to happen. Give me your name, and I'll make this less painful." Maria was calm, though clearly aroused. "Or, if you'd rather, I'll let the Laws resolve this."

"!אָדָם"

"There we go," snapping her fingers, she covered Usagi in a pitch-black sphere of nothingness. "Now be a good little anachronism and find someone else to torment for a while." Gesturing for the orb to rise, and then dismissing it through the closed door of the store, she caught Usagi as the young woman fainted, dead to the world. "Come help me put her on the cot in the back. I think she'd be more comfortable with you handling her, for the moment."

Shinji did not bother with moving around the counter, simply vaulting over it and scooping up the listless beauty. What happened? Who was that? I couldn't understand their name!

Following along behind as he made his way to the back of the shop, Maria gave him a non-answer, "You don't need to know their name. That particular problem is a two-way street. Since I know what happened here, and I know what happened 'back home', I'm urging you to not pollute your mind with that particular issue. It's safer for you, safer for them, and safer for everything in your area of potential destruction." She pulled up the blanket off of the cot, holding it aside while Shinji gently laid down his burden. Covering her over, she turned and patted his chest, "Come, Pet. She'll sleep for several hours, and we'll know if she wakes up. The best thing for her at the moment is sleep. Her mind needs time to begin to heal from everything that has happened to it."

He hesitated only long enough to verify for himself that Usagi was still breathing. He wanted to punch things. He wanted to break things. He wanted…he wanted to cry. Stepping back through the swinging doors he moved out into the store proper and beginning to put things back into place that had been knocked around by their haste, the objective came about more for something to occupy his hands than out of any true desire for order. Nothing I do is safe, for anyone. His hands shook too much for him to be steady, causing him to take five attempts at restocking a single item. If this thing is going to attack me, I need to find it, and I need to kill it. That means I need to know about it.

Maria slipped her hand under his shoulder, urging him to his feet. Once he stood, more than a head taller than her, she gave him a level look that made clear her opinions on several issues. "The more you know about it, the more it will know about you. You came to my world through the machinations of a being far stronger than you yourself. This…thing, this presence, is aligned with you in a way that you have no comprehension of. The problem is, the being I just sent on a long trip somewhere else? It is aligned with the ladies you've become entangled with. Your world is…contradictory, to this world. It's like a negative of a photograph, backwards in every way my world is forwards. To say you shouldn't have come here is not a mark on you, it's an attempt to express the tragedy unfolding before us as this being tied to you begins a new assault on what is now our reality."

His heart calmed as her hand remained over it. So…I brought bad things here? It really is my fault that-

"You are every inch like she says you are," Maria sighed, cutting him off. Lifting her hand higher, she gripped the neck of his dress shirt and pulled him down into a kiss that was far beyond anything he'd ever dreamed of experiencing. She could feel his hands waving around, trying to determine where to go, and so she let go of his shirt long enough to put his arms around her so that he held her as she calmed his nerves.

Shinji and calm likely didn't belong in the same language, let alone the same sentence. A ravishing woman was giving him a first-rate education in exactly how glorious kissing could be, he feared that his breath would taste too sharply of the fruit he'd eaten at the Mizuno's home, and every second he spent sharing this kiss was another second he was forgetting about thirty things he had questions about. Her body felt wonderful in his hands, strong and soft, firm and supple. When he realized, eventually, that he was no longer stooping down, he finally was allowed up for air long enough to appreciate that Maria was floating before him. Y-y-y-y-y-y-

"How do you taste like spearmint?" Every breath she took pressed her chest against him, every motion she made with her fingers along the back of his neck, and the back of his head, distracted him. "I can see why my dear sister is taken with him, if he's anything like you." A smoky seductiveness clung to every word she exhaled, "Mmmm, I have never seen a man take my best shot and not be putty in my hands. I do enjoy a challenge."

What are you talking about?! It was almost impossible to become angry, as there was too much pleasure washing over him like a tsunami. Annoyed, however, he could do. Why does everyone compare me to someone else? Why can't I-

"I'm comparing you, to you," she tutted, tapping his nose like she was correcting a misbehaving hound. "My sister, a dear woman who spent far too long in an abusive relationship, built up a version of you that helped pull her out of a very destructive cycle. That version of you, from what she has told me, is remarkably similar to the you I'm holding. I do not want him. He belongs to her. Well," she giggled, "her and an increasing number of others. She has more than enough people to sate her, and I don't want to share with her."

You…me?

"You're a puzzle I've never played with, Pet." Wrapping her legs around his waist, she sat back and let herself press against him hard. "A man, who is immune to my charms, who has been gifted powers beyond his wildest dreams, and who refuses to use either me or those powers for his own purposes. To be perfectly blunt, I could have any man or woman I wanted on this planet. Except," her hips rolled, sliding lingeringly against him, "for you."

Swallowing hard, he found it difficult to keep his hands where they were 'safe' on the woman before him. I…I'm….

"Oh, you're attracted. I'm not denying that you look at me and see a woman that you believe would never look twice at you. A woman that you place on a pedestal so high that it would take eons to even touch the base of it. You're a confused, scared, man." Shrugging, she set certain things to bouncing delightfully. "Which is why I'm not simply tripping you to the floor and pounding your hips straight through to Uruguay. If you let me show you the wonders this world has to offer, I want it to be because you want it. Anything else cheapens my victory." Dropping back into a position where she stood on empty air before him, she shifted her shoulders flirtatiously. "That doesn't mean I'm opposed to giving you a hug or kiss, now and again. Have to put myself out where your heart can find me, after all."

K-kiss?

She leaned forward and gave him a smaller sample of what she'd given him once already. Freeing him, again, she winked, "You did ask, after all."

Shinji blinked, the statement sparking a train of memories. Makoto. Everything that had happened from the point he'd sat down with Usagi at the apartment began playing back through his mind. I…no. He shook his head. Please, don't tell me anything about what they're thinking. That's…wrong. It's…I-I don't know, it's just wrong.

There was no reprimand or discouragement in her tone when she asked with sincere curiosity, "Interested in taller ladies, are we?"

Girls like her don't…. The recent conversation, and what they'd just been doing, slapped that line of thought down hard. W-well, girls like her settle for guys like me. I'm not 'Choice Number One'. I'm probably not even choice one hundred. I get compared to Mamoru Chiba, or Makoto's Senpai, or Mister Kaji. I wasn't even the first person my own damn father chose to pilot! I'm always the backup, never the plan.

"So…don't go along with their plans." Maria smirked when he looked shocked. "Last time I checked, nobody was pulling your strings anymore. You're an Elder now. You have the power to set your own policies, your own plans. So, start planning."

He frowned, confusion and worry circling like sharks. But…but I need to help them.

"Does helping them mean sleeping with any of them?" Her question wasn't asked sarcastically, or pointedly. She was having a frank discussion with honest questions, nothing more. "What do you want, hmm? Is it Makoto-chan? Usagi-chan? Do you want a girl that challenges you physically, but will never be your peer intellectually? Do you want a girl that's as emotionally ruined as you are? Do you want a girl who can push you farther intellectually, but is unlikely to share your love of taking long walks through dark forests? Your mind judges them, and not in the way that you just thought of, before you snap at me." The way he frowned, again, made her smile. "Yes, I'm pushing you to define what you want. Yes, I realize that to you that seems like it would be detrimental to my own attempts at seduction. However, much like you don't want to be 'second place', I'd like to know if I'm actually a match for you. I'm approaching you as a woman, not as what I am."

What…uhm, what are you? I mean…you look…human.

"I'm…special." Drawing small sigils on his chest with the tip of her immaculately manicured nail, she pursed her lips in thought. "There were four of us, back in the beginning. After Lilith grew tired of being constantly assaulted, she contracted every single universe down to a single point. Unfortunately, because of the way that the universe she chose was built, there was no place for me or our two other sisters. Magic, as you would call it, just wouldn't play well in the same sandbox as The Wanderer. His mind wasn't ordered for it at the point, so to speak. Now, as we stand here, there are only three of us. Myself, and my two other sisters. Lilith has limited herself to those realities where you exist, in some form or fashion. Since you didn't exist here, neither did she. Since you were pulled here against your will, she's…taking steps to prevent catastrophe in your world. The Wanderer won't interfere directly, but he won't stop Lilith from exercising her own prerogatives."

That didn't answer my question, and it also didn't make any sense. Shinji's frown turned from confusion to irritation. You keep calling me an Elder, which I have no idea what that is. Now you won't tell me what you are!

"Ok," she remained calm, unflappable, "what are you, then? I would call you an Elder. What would you call yourself?"

Human.

"Because, as we both know, humans are capable of transforming into bio-mechanical murder machines. Humans can survive travelling through extradimensional portals, plummeting to the Earth hundreds of meters below, and having a bus slam against their back. Humans can survive being stabbed, and don't think I haven't noticed you favoring your side, clean through with something the size of your arm through their liver, pancreas, and kidney." Her head tilted slightly to the side, "Humans are known for those things."

But that's all because of…because of Unit-01. He realized he'd been explaining things away, despite knowing for sure and certain that at no point were Evas ever capable of any of the things he'd managed so far. The lack of power source alone would have condemned him in the fights recently. That lack of introspection stopped him cold.

"What I am, Pet, is what you see. A word to describe me in any specific fashion is pointless, especially since it would only apply to a handful of women you'll ever possibly meet. We call things 'cars' or 'planes' or 'rutabagas' because we come across them all the time. They're replicable, consistent, definable." Bending her finger and rapping her knuckle against his forehead, she smiled with genuine pleasure. "There's only one me. So you ask what I am? To you, I'm Maria. Isn't that enough?"

It was her calm delivery, her steady cadence, that made him realize he was having a panic attack. He'd let himself be wound up over things he couldn't resolve right then and there, and was lashing out at things that bothered him unrelated to those things that he knew he couldn't do anything about. Looking down to the ground, he unsuccessfully fought against tears. I'm sorry.

Filling his vision with her presence, Maria moved in and hugged him tightly, stroking his hair as he wept into her shoulder. "Shh, shh, shh. It's ok. It takes a good heart to worry about how to help those who can't do anything to help you in return. They can't get you back home. They can't even seem to find a way to make a home for you here. But you still want to see them safe, and that's all that matters right now. Hold onto your heart, keep it from flying apart, and I'll always be here to do the same for your mind."

+++++ Minako Aino's House, Azabu-Juban, Japan. (Thursday + 5)

"Ugh, really?" The beautiful Sailor for Venus rubbed her eyes to try and push for more wakefulness, having had another hour before her alarm was supposed to go off. Having been disturbed by Artemis, to have the day's issues explained well enough, she began to desire simply going back to bed and not getting up at all. "So, Makoto-chan shoved her foot in her mouth, like always. Ami-chan didn't notice her mother knew about everything. And Usagi-chan is losing her damn mind." Swinging her legs out of bed, she eyed her cat warily, "Anything from Rei-chan?"

"Phobos and Deimos say that she's been studying ways to perform a blessing ceremony that doesn't involve direct contact between her and the Tin Man." The white feline flicked his tail in irritation. "Minako…this could very well be the beginning of something far, far worse than we're anticipating. I need you to consider the possibility that the Princess might be-"

"She's tougher than that." Was Minako jealous? Sure. Was she willing to throw down and compete against her friends to draw Shinji's attention? So long as he kept behaving like a good man ought to, absolutely. The one thing she would never accept was that Usagi Tsukino had been broken by tragedy. They all had memories of previous lives, and even as confused and scattered as those memories could be, they still painted a picture of a woman who was rock solid when it came time to throw fists. "We'll get together after school and have a talk. The four of us need to make it clear to her that we support her, but that she needs to lean into us for right now."

Artemis shook his head. "It's not as simple as-"

"We are not giving up on Usagi. Period. End of discussion." Stretching her limbs out, she waved her friend out. "Go bother Luna. Until I talk to her, I'm not going to change my mind on anything."

He knew she was right, at least on that last portion. Once the woman had her mind set on something, the only thing to do was let it blow up on her and try to pick up the pieces afterwards. Without saying anything else, for worry that it would come out as a series of curses, he hopped up onto the windowsill and made his way back to the Command Center.

+++++ Mizuno Apartment, Hiro-o, Japan. (Thursday + 5)

"Yes, both my daughter and Makoto Kino. I haven't been able to reach the Aino girl yet, but she may very well be taking today off as well to help Tsukino-chan begin to process this terrible tragedy." Saeko Mizuno was a woman who new her limits, and at the moment the last thing she needed was sleep. She'd been given an unprecedented chance to find truths that she honestly hadn't anticipated being possible just one week prior. Giving her daughter a day off of school, covering for her daughter's friend who was suffering from her own problems while both tried to help a young woman cope with a terrible loss, it was a small price to pay. "Thank you. I will make certain that they remain safe for the day, though I cannot say when Tsukino-chan might come to school again. I would assume the authorities will be helping her make that determination in due time. Yes. Yes, you as well. Goodbye."

Makoto felt nauseous. Three other women now had access to unfalsifiable proof that Shinji Ikari looked at her with a forlorn heart. That he believed himself unworthy of her presence. And she had basically spit in his face by forgetting that his was not a world filled with kindness and love. "We have to go find Usagi. Right now, Shinji's not the best person to be protecting her from anything, including herself. If he's this compromised, if even a quarter of what you're saying is accurate, he's going to make a whole bunch of very bad choices. We have to protect him, and we have to protect her."

"I don't disagree," Ami yawned. "The problem being, neither of us knows where they are or has the energy to really go on the hunt. Our best chance of success would be to go talk to Luna and Artemis."

"After both of you take a nap, and have some food." Saeko entered the conversation with the firm voice of motherhood, "We already have two compromised individuals wandering around causing trouble. I will not send two more out to echo their mistakes. I assume that your allies will contact you if they find anything, which means that for now a few hours of sleep will give you clearer heads."

Her statement would have been more convincing had Makoto not wobbled as she stood up, "I don't need sleep. I need to know that-"

"You're not going to win this argument," Ami too wobbled as she gained her feet. Reaching out and taking Makoto's hand, she pulled her towards her bedroom. "Come on. We can share my futon. I'll set the alarm, we'll get a few hours of sleep. Luna and Artemis can reach us with the wands here, it's how I knew Shinji-kun was in danger. We have to trust that he's as smart as I know he is. His mind was filled with doubts, anxieties, and fears. But it also was focused completely around keeping Usagi-chan safe. He won't let her get in trouble."

Reluctantly falling in line, Makoto grumbled, "Yeah, but who's going to keep him out of trouble?"

+++++ Maria's Market, Azabu-Mamianachō, Japan. (Thursday + 5)

Shinji was still emotionally fragile, working on a circuit board with a soldering iron, when a familiar face hurried into the shop full of worry and dread. His combat instincts caused him to suddenly be encased in Unit-01 and looming over a man he only recognized after he had done so. Oh.

Maria, far faster than Shinji believed possible, was already between him and Satou. She'd taken her employee's arms and wrapped them around her front, enfolding herself in his supposedly protective embrace, and then trailed her fingers along his forearms as she greeted their guest, "Welcome to my store. What can I do for you today?"

The hardened detective kept his eyes on Unit-01's faceplate, his tongue rolling along his teeth. "You can keep him on a leash and take him the hell out of my city." He never once spoke to Shinji, but his words were clearly meant for him. "The park is quarantined. Some people saw the fireworks before we could get there, and now they've gone and told the media. People are asking questions, drawing connections. The spell's failing, and we could be looking at the Masquerade tumbling down around our ears within the week."

I…I didn't mean to…. Shinji trailed off as Maria caressed his wrist.

"So, are we back to blaming witches for poor harvests, then?" Her tone was both bored and growing dark. "Burning the kami out of their caves? You, of all people, would blame him for the savagery of others?"

"Lady, I'm trying to save as many lives as I can." To his credit, Satou didn't back down against a superior predator. "Potentially his, and those mahou shoujo in the bargain. I have thirty-three million lives to consider, and he's drawing beasts unlike any we've ever seen to him like ants to sugar. Three attacks leading to massive property damage in five days. I can't work miracles, and the bosses are under the impression that the Laws aren't being obeyed anymore."

Where should I go? Shinji tried thinking of places that weren't densely populated, and failed, owing to a knowledge of geography that was from a far different world. I-I need to go somewhere I won't be-

"He's not leaving." Maria didn't declare this as a threat, or a warning, or even an item for debate. She stated pure truth, unyielding and unbreakable. "These attacks are not his fault, and he will not long survive abandoning this area. His death will be our death."

I can't stay here if it means millions of people dying! He was aghast at the way she dismissed that potential.

Leaning her head back and laying it against his chest, she smiled sadly up at him. "Leaving here would kill them just as dead as staying. You won't convince her to leave until she's ready to, which means you won't be here to protect her. You're not wrong, she must live if any of us are to have a chance at survival. You alone are not strong enough to do what must be done."

"This place is going to become a warzone." Satou would not relent, not when it meant civilian casualties. "That first one was bad enough, then the youma decided to get stupid. This last one? I have eyewitness reports, Na-"

Shinji wasn't sure when Maria had moved out of his arms, but suddenly she was holding onto Satou's tongue with a grip that was drawing blood. "That name does not exist on your lips. That you think it is bad enough. If you require a refresher on our agreement, I will be more than glad to provide one for you. Now, I have given you his answer. He is not leaving. I expect to see the appropriate paperwork before the day's end for him to receive the citizenship he is due, or I will be tracking you down. This is far beyond your abilities to prevent." Letting go of his tongue, she kept her finger pointed at his face. "I will also expect an appropriate apology. I had believed my friendship meant more than you using that name."

Satou glowered at her. "He'th gonna geth joo kilt."

"Everyone dies, one day." There was no fear in her bearing, only disappointment. "Go in peace."

Lingering for a moment longer, looking over to Unit-01 and silently pleading for him to consider his position, Satou made his way out of the shop. When the door closed behind him, the aura in the store became calm once again. Maria turned to face him, her eyes weighing her words against his demeanor. She knew he was being pummeled by life, and she knew he was far tougher than he himself believed, but as hard as she was, she also was serious about enjoying his presence in her life.

I don't want to get you killed. Unit-01 faded away, revealing his pain and turmoil. I don't want to get anyone killed. But there are at least eight more Angels coming. These first two were the weakest, and if the pattern keeps up…there was a lot of broken buildings in Tokyo-3 after our fights. This next Angel…if the pattern holds, I don't know how I'm going to penetrate its shielding. It was capable of firing a beam of energy that melted through my A.T. Field like it was nothing. If I fight that in the city, how many-

"You cannot claim responsibility for the deaths others cause in their hubris and vanity." Stepping up invisible stairs, she once more filled his face with her own. "Yes, you have an obligation to fight. A duty to try and save people. But when the wolf attacks it is not the shepherd's fault if children die through foolishness and fate. You can only fight the battles before you, Pet. This is beyond either of our abilities to prevent, as well." Resting her forehead against his, she smiled sadly. "You need to buttress those who can stop the madness. Fight to keep them safe, so that they can shine as a beacon of hope and love for all to see. It will get bloody. You will be hurt. People will die. We did not bring this war upon ourselves, but we cannot afford to be sparing in our defense."

I…I really don't want to be hurt, either. He felt like a coward admitting it, but the woman before him deserved to know the truth.

"Neither do I, you silly man." Laughing, she took his cheeks in her hands and rubbed her thumbs under his eyes. "You can do this. You can live through this. If you ever find yourself doubting, just come see me." A playful grin was paired with a teasing wrinkle of her nose. "I'll do what I can to motivate you properly." When his cheeks glowed scarlet, she laughed once more. "Oh, you are such a delicious little treat." Her laughter faded, replaced by a contented sigh. "I had honestly never thought I would meet someone who could deny my presence. Despite the disharmony your arrival heralded, I thank whatever force brought you here so that I could meet you."

A tremulous voice drifted into the room from the back, "Sh-Shin-Shin?"

"Go." Turning him around and slapping him on the ass, Maria set Shinji in motion before indecision could cause delays. "I'll mind the shop; you tend to the poor dear."

Hurrying through the doors, Shinji caught sight of a clearly confused and distressed Usagi, clutching the blanket covering her close to her chest. Three broad steps brought him to her side, and he knelt down so that he wasn't looming over her. I'm here. Are you ok? Are you hurt?

Trading her blanket for a grip on his shirt, she pulled him down into a hug that cried out with a need for sheltering, "I-I saw…I saw you…."

After a few seconds of trying to determine where his hands should go, he took Makoto's advice to heart and gently cradled the shattered blonde before him. It's ok. We're safe here. Maria-san is keeping us safe.

"You died." Her voice was thick with agony. "You died, and you left me alone. Everyone…everyone died, but you died last. The, the Darkness fused with the Light and tore you in half. I couldn't…I-I couldn't…." Sobbing, she could make no more sensible words. She was, however, attempting to speak to him. A wretched combination of choked breaths and slurred whines only managed to make it obvious that at that moment, she was far worse than he'd feared.

I'm still here. He had no experience in comforting anyone, and so he tried the obvious first: what he would have wanted someone to do. I mean, you can feel me, can't you? Big dumb lump of Shinji, right here.

Weak, ineffectual, slaps against his chest informed him of her opinion on his statement. Her words didn't become clearer, and her crying only changed pitch. She had managed to slide out of the bed, sitting sideways on what had become his lap as he corrected his position to accommodate her. With one hand clutching his shirt, and the other gesticulating haltingly to support whatever it was she was attempting to say, she did little to help him help her in any way.

I-I'm sorry…I can't understand you, Usagi-san. He wanted to. He wanted to know what she needed from him, what she wanted from him, what he could do to make her world even slightly better. I don't know what to do, but I swear I'll do whatever I can to keep you safe. Whatever you need me to do.

Crumpling into his chest, she began to weep even harder. Clutching to him like a newborn, she cried herself hoarse over the course of several hours. Pain such as few would ever understand had her in its grips, finally. The days of pushing it off for another had come and gone far too fast, and the purest heart the world might ever have known…was now tainted.

+++++ Maria's Market, Azabu-Mamianachō, Japan. (Thursday + 5)

Maria didn't look up as the bell chimed with the entrance of another into her domain. Vocalizing the formalities to keep things civil, she maintained the slow process of repairing a frayed seam in an otherwise perfectly good leather bag, "Welcome to my store. What can I help you with today?"

"I was wondering if you had any aliens or blondes in stock." Luna padded her way over to the counter, hopping up onto one of the bar stools and flicking her tail in irritation. "Alien being somewhat relative, we'll go with 'not from our neck of the woods' as the definition."

"Unfortunately, neither are for sale right now. You see," she looked up with a grim smile, "I refuse to sell broken merchandise. It's bad for my reputation, after all."

The black cat considered the creature she knew could kill her without batting an eyelash. "Is it that bad?"

"The crying stopped half of an hour ago," Maria returned to her work, "I've been listening to him do the best he can to perform a task he's never once seen performed. It's…heartbreaking. Clumsy, even juvenile…but heartfelt. He doesn't love her in the way that a man loves a woman, he doesn't even understand what it means to feel love at all. He's a man with no hands attempting to put a vase back together with his toes and no glue. I haven't intervened, specifically assuming another already had the duty of minding the Princess."

Luna sighed, nodding her gratitude. "Thank you. For both your generosity, and your courtesy. I've been busy trying to locate the source of these attacks, working with my mate to do what we can to stem the tide. I don't honestly know of anything I can do to make her feel better, really. The man she's loved for thousands of years betrayed us. Her family was turned into ravening monsters that ate her brother, and her new ally was forced to murder them all to save her. Her friends are fracturing with confusion as the strength that had been a constant is sorely tested." Looking towards the back room, she chuckled darkly. "Since you don't have anything in a human-sized container, do you maybe have something we could use to help cover for his presence?"

"That, I am already working on." The proprietress felt her own burst of gratitude that the small familiar wasn't solely focused on her liege. "The problem should be resolved before the end of the day, unless my…ally has decided that he no longer wishes to frequent this part of the city. I would recommend you spend your energy keeping the other four out of trouble. The youma are becoming restless with so much negativity floating around. Without Miss Moon brightening up the décor, we're going to experience an increased number of attempts by The Unspoken."

"I don't think that explains all of the energy we've been detecting though." With a chance to finally speak with another person 'in the know', Luna was making the most of it. "The Dark Kingdom hasn't manifested a new leader since we took down Queen Metalia, whatever forces she'd summoned that avoided purification can't account for all of this. It doesn't take a direct hand in affairs, always uses proxies. We've only had skirmishes with these Black Moon idiots, and they haven't been nearly strong enough to do any damage on this level."

Maria nodded, aware of both issues. "Are you familiar with the Domino Theory?"

"Where a series of events causes previously stable regimes to succumb to Communism? I'm familiar enough with what the Western world believes, yes." Luna tilted her head slightly to the side. "Though I'm not clear as to why that would be germane to our conversation."

"Humor me." Taking a deck of cards from next to her cash register and setting aside the bag she had been working on, she began standing the individual cards on end in a long line along her bar as she spoke. "A series of events where the end point is known, set forth by a combination of free will and predestination, require each event in the series to unfold as anticipated. Any deviation, no matter how minor, can cause unexpected changes." With the entire deck laid out, standing tall by magic, she tapped the first in the row and caused them to topple into one another slowly. "My finger caused the first event to happen. Without my input, the last card will not remain standing. With my intervention," she set her hand between two cards in the center, stopping the chain reaction, "the last card remains standing."

The black cat frowned, knowing instinctively that there was a point being made and that she wasn't going to be simply gifted the information. She was dealing with an Information Broker, and they never gave anything away for free as a rule. This example, however, was a way around that business practice that wouldn't compromise her. "So, It either tapped the card, or intervened…or both." Her whiskers twitched as she worked her way through what had happened. "Endymion attempts to steal Pandora's Box. He was, we assumed, brainwashed by Metalia only recently. He'd been working against us since long before that, supposedly sleeping with Beryl from what we've found. Metalia worked for It, Beryl worked for Metalia. But…if Endymion worked directly for It, and threw us off the scent by pretending to work for Metalia, the power of Usagi's love wouldn't have worked to heal his mind! Endymion stays as a plant, the Angel attacks, he tries to shove the Princess into that portal and trips. But why would It…It didn't. The Angel was an outside play. Someone else, someone powerful, came over to our world. Something capable of denying It?"

Maria bumped the cards that had already fallen, sending them toppling back upright only to fall backwards in the other direction. "The enemy of my enemy is not always my friend. Sometimes, they're all just enemies. Sometimes, they have their own agendas and their own abilities to start terrible wars. Sometimes, they get the two biggest dogs to fight it out so they can murder the winner at their weakest." Her hand tipped the other direction, sending those cards that had remained upright toppling over. "Sometimes, they have no interest in leaving survivors at all."

+++++ Juban High School, Azabu-Juban, Japan. (Thursday + 5)

Minako was bored. In her boredom, listening to the final teacher of the day prattle on about useless topics involving levels of math that she'd never use outside of her classroom, she pondered what it was that had happened. She knew Usagi lost her family, lost her love, and now had seemingly lost her strength to the point that Artemis begged Minako to step in and declare herself the center of the group. She had been the first Sailor to reawaken, this time around. She'd fought for justice alone. But in unity, there was far more strength.

She might bicker with Usagi from time to time, but it was never truly intended to be harmful to anyone. Certainly not as dark as Rei had taken it, of late. A slight frown curved her lips as she drifted towards that particular topic. Rei Hino had access to Shinji's mind. Whatever she had seen had caused her to halt almost every ounce of hatred towards him for existing as he did. Minako knew the difference between actual hatred and hatred that was simply born of fear or uncertainty. She'd never deny that Rei's fear of men groping her was valid, too many men got handsy with young women and it was especially easy to be handsy with a Shrine Maiden. Still, she did wish that the woman would learn the difference between a bad person and a man.

Bad people existed. They existed as men, as women, sometimes as neither or both! One of the youma they'd fought had reverted to human after Usagi healed them, revealing two sets of…parts. The thought brought a small blush to Minako's face, as it had been the first time she'd ever actually seen that kind of part in the flesh. It was so tiny, though. Certainly didn't seem like the colossal totem that some of the looser girls bragged about.

Waving her hand before her face as if she were batting a fly away, she brought her thoughts back into focus. She had to convince Rei to reach out to Shinji, for the sake of Usagi. She also had to reach out to Usagi and make sure that she wasn't going to fly apart at the seams. Those two destinations, however, were at different points of the city. Wherever Ami and Makoto were, they were unlikely to be able to be contacted right away. Which, unfortunately, meant that whatever she did she risked going to the same place as the others and wasting time.

Her eyes went up to the ceiling, irritation now flowing through her thoughts. It'd be so much easier if I could just reach out and think at Shinji-kun. He has to be wherever Usagi-chan is, because Usagi was clinging to him at the Command Center. If I could think at him…I could show him that I think he's cute. I could tell him that he needs to have more confidence. That he has done good things, and shown good morals, and has a killer butt.

The door slid to, and one of the school's higher-level administrators motioned for the teacher to step outside the classroom for a moment. This, as would happen in any classroom, caused something of a swell of murmurs. With her position in the class due to the seating chart, Minako was close enough to hear the man as he spoke.

"It is unlikely that Usagi Tsukino will be returning to this class, or this school. We have good reason to believe that Makoto Kino might also be taking a leave of absence, potentially permanently. With everything that is happening, the Principal will need to talk to all of us who have had contact with them after school. There are…rumors." The man hesitated. "A young man has moved into the area recently, and a number of students have commented that they saw him hurry off right before the unfortunate fire. They had been told he was a close associate of Kino-chan, and Minako Aino commented to them that he was in town 'on business'."

Minako felt her veins go cold. Are they trying to pin this on Shinji? I thought he said that cop was taking care of them!

Her teacher sounded genuinely concerned, "Should I ask Aino-chan to go to the Teacher's Office after class?"

"No. The Principal has yet to speak to her family, and her father is one of our more frequent benefactors. He doesn't want to risk anything until we know more." The administrator shook his head and sighed in irritation. "We never should have accepted Kino-chan. She had no parents, no foundation for good behavior, and she's showing that in who she keeps company with. Tsukino-chan's grades weren't spectacular either. Leaving school and finding somewhere else is probably for the best, in her case."

Now, Minako felt her veins grow hot. She might tease her friends, she might get in fights with them, but she would not listen to slander and sit there quietly-

The bells signaling the end of the day spared the teachers from her wrath, as their math teacher stepped in and dismissed the class formally before turning and leaving with her compatriot. As the students all gossiped about what had just happened, she jammed those few things she'd need into her bag and ignored the Class Representative's attempts to get her to take the day's coursework to the three absent students. The last thing she wanted, at that moment, was to show up somewhere with coursework after what she had to tell them.

+++++ Mizuno Apartment, Hiro-o, Japan. (Thursday + 5)

Makoto was running. She could see him, ahead of her. The tentacles had wrapped themselves around both legs, and one of his arms, leaving him only his left hand free to attempt to free himself. She knew it was useless, that he wasn't strong enough to win. The creature that held him suspended was waiting, patiently, for her to be just short of reaching him before acting. When she was finally two steps away, having given all she could to make it in time, it tore the three limbs it held off of the main torso. The wet 'thwack' of his body striking the ground wasn't covered by the shriek of agony that escaped from his lips. Gouts of blood gushed free, causing him to quickly exsanguinate and perish.

"SENPAI!" Sitting bolt upright, waking from the nightmare she'd been having, the Sailor for Jupiter looked around in confused embarrassment for a moment.

Ami, who had returned to the room with some food after having woken up earlier, quirked her eyebrow at her friend in concern. "Bad dream?"

Embarrassment metastasized into humiliation, having been caught screaming out for a man that she'd compared Shinji against. Turning away and climbing out from under the sheet she'd been using, the statuesque stunner grumbled, "It was nothing. Don't worry about it." And don't tell Shinji that I said anything like that.

"There is a slim chance of that, I'm afraid." Hooking her foot on one of the stools she kept in her bedroom, Ami tugged it to where she could set the food down and share a quick meal with her partner. "Persistent nightmares can worsen into night terrors, which I can only imagine will cause problems for you down the road. Sometimes, talking about the issue can help settle things in your mind to help them stop."

She rolled her eyes where Ami wouldn't see. "I think talking about the issue is what got me into this mess." Turning around and crossing over to sit with her friend, she shrugged and began to eat quickly. In between bites, she scowled at the plate. "I fixate on things. Usually, things I like. After I lost mom and dad, senpai was the first person to treat me like a normal human being. He was handsome, brave, and believed in justice. He was everything a young girl could ever want in a guy. I kept telling myself, after he had found a girlfriend, that I'd find someone like him. That there was someone out there just for me." Her sigh carried heavy irritation. "I found someone who fits the criteria, and didn't bother thinking that the last thing he would want is to be constantly compared to someone I had a huge crush on. That he wouldn't find it great that the first person to treat him like a normal human being, would only see him as a 'stand-in'. Turns out Shinji was wrong, I'm not as wise as he said he thought I was."

"…I won't sugarcoat this and say you're wrong." Ami herself had more than enough flaws she was working on, and she knew that several of them could scuttle any chances of dating someone as pleasant as Shinji Ikari. "But I don't think he's the kind of guy to hold a grudge like that. You're right in that he's frustrated because we're the first people to actually see him as human, robot armor aside." The giggle that got from her friend eased the tension in her neck. "It isn't impossible to think that you will have a chance to talk to him. Explain things. I mean…you do think of him as a friend because he's a good person himself, and not just because he reminds you of someone you knew, right?"

Wishing that the answer to that question existed in her teacup, Makoto just shrugged again noncommittally as she swirled the liquid around inside of it.

Ah. The Sailor for Mercury didn't really have any advice for that. If Makoto could never get over 'the one that got away', any relationship she did find would be doomed from the start. "Well, then…let's get your mind off of this for now. Brooding isn't going to help us help either Shinji-kun or Usagi-chan. I'm glad we both agreed to actually get some sleep instead of just running off and risking things." Shifting the topic towards future actions, instead of dwelling on the past, she hoped to help in her own way. "Because this might be a long search. We have a couple of options, in where we go. We can head to the Shrine, and get Rei-chan to help us. We can go to the Command Center and ask Luna and Artemis if they have any ideas. Or, if you know of a place Usagi would be likely to take him, we can try there."

Her attempt missed the mark. "They won't be at ou…my apartment. Usagi said, before she came over here, that she would find a place for them to live in, until they could find a way to send him home. That since I had scared him away once, she couldn't trust that I wouldn't just do it again."

…Ah. "I don't know that we want to take anything Usagi said last night as literal truth. She's hurting a lot worse than we can imagine, and I've read more than enough literature on the topic to know that her lashing out at us isn't heartfelt. She's scared and confused. If Shinji-kun is helping her calm down with his presence, then it's possible that she'll be calmer when we find them. Let's try and stay positive ourselves, because we're not going to help anyone if we've given up hope."

"Ok, then I'm positive that Shinji and Usagi will be happy together." Makoto stood up, heading for the door. "Because any guy would love to be the man who helped put a beautiful woman back together again, and any woman would love to have a man like Shinji helping them in bad times."

…Ah…. Gaining her own feet, Ami picked up the remains of the food and headed towards the kitchen. The problem is, nobody wins in a codependent relationship. They only lose themselves.

+++++ Lunar Command Center. (Thursday + 5)

When Minako stormed down the crystalline stairwell, her mind had reached peak darkness. People were accusing her friends of things they did not do. They were calling them bad things, and preparing to make their lives harder just when they needed them to be made easier! Her school would be lucky to have a student like Shinji around to show the other boys how to act like men. How to treat women with respect.

"Stupid ass-backwards technology!" Artemis' curse echoed up the corridor towards the blonde. "How is it that a planet capable of spaceflight can't keep itself from polluting bandwidth with wasteful broadcast methodologies?" This was followed by the sound of something metallic bouncing off of the ground as if thrown. "I'm not even asking these idiots to enable long-range point-to-point communications! Just stop cluttering up the troposphere with reruns of shitty radio transmissions!"

Guess I'm not the only one having a bad day. Rounding the final corner, Minako saw the white feline half-buried inside one of the consoles. Making enough noise that her approach would be heard, she tried to avoid startling her friend. "Hey, Artemis. You haven't happened to have seen Usagi-chan or Shinji-kun?"

"They're at that youkai's shop," he called back without moving out from the console. "Luna's gone there to get a feel for the situation." There was the sound of something being tightened, and then one of the screens changed from amber to green. "Now why the…. Whatever. It works now." Clambering back out, his upper half was covered in grey dust from the poorly ventilated interior of the computers. "I think I have this set up so that I can reach them there. Pull out your wand and give it a try."

Willing the device to her hand, she held it close to her face and urged it to connect her to Shinji. "Shinji-kun? Shinji-kun, are you there?" She could see Artemis futzing with various controls on the console, a look of studious concentration on his face. "Should I keep trying?"

"Yeah. Try the others. It's possible the Tin Man is somewhere that would block the signal." His paws skillfully manipulated knobs and dials. "I really wish things hadn't snowballed to the point that he was unable to work with me. This whole system needs those repeaters placed!"

"I'd really have rathered that my friend's family hadn't been murdered," Minako glared at the cat. "You know, so that she wasn't in serious pain?"

Artemis rolled his head sarcastically towards her. "Kind of taken as read, don't you think?" Thumping his tail in irritation, he bored his stare into hers. "I wish Endymion hadn't been boffing our enemy. I wish he hadn't been seduced and brainwashed. I wish that the future had panned out the way it was supposed to. But right now, I wish that a young man with a great deal of pain in his heart hadn't been pushed past his limits so that I could set up a system that would help us pick up the pieces. Now are you going to try and contact our friends, or are you going to assume I don't care about a woman I'm sworn to serve some more?"

Minako wasn't generally known for her intuition. It wasn't that she was dumb, none of the Sailors were, it was just that she valued surface-level analysis over more deep-thought exercises. However, when those surface level thoughts repeated themselves enough in her presence, she was more than capable of picking up on the trend. "…Have you noticed that we're all getting really angry at each other over things recently?" Dispassion claimed her, as fear made itself known. "I mean, since Shinji-kun arrived we've had a lot of bad luck. But even during the worst of dealing with those idiots from the Dark Kingdom we never got this angry."

"The balance of the world is being thrown off." Artemis was still irritated, but he was glad that Minako had come to this naturally. "Wherever the Tin Man is from, it is a horrible place that is full of horrible things. Whatever brought him here, brought other things with him. You know that, I know that. I think…some of those things are darker than anyone knows, even him."

Placing the wand back up to her face, she tried again. "Rei-chan? Rei-chan, can you hear me?"

A few heartbeats later, a hushed answer came back through. "I'm a little busy right now, Minako-chan. What's going on?"

"We all need to talk. How 'busy' are you?" The Sailor of Venus bopped her hip in time with a popular song that was stuck in her head.

"Busy trailing a couple of youma that I heard. They're moving towards the NHK Headquarters, they said they're 'preparing the oath'." There was the sound of rapid footsteps, and a short slide on grass. "Is Artemis with you? I might need backup here."

"When it rains…." Artemis shook his head, tapping a few buttons on the console. "Start heading towards her, Mina-chan. I'll tell the other two to meet you there, and ask Luna if either of the others are combat functional."

+++++ Author's Notes:

One quick comment, as several people have asked for information. Yes, eventually the Outer Senshi will make their presence known.