Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Toei, and any other companies associated with the Sailor Moon label. I own nothing except for the plot. I'm just borrowing the characters to play around with.

A/N: This is probably based more on Classics and manga than Crystal, set after Stars, since I want to do something where the Senshi and the Shitennou did not have actual relationships during the Silver Millennium. We'll see how things work out as the chapters go on.

I don't have any betas for this, so any errors are mine.

Reviews are love, constructive criticisms are welcomed, and flames will be used as a source of entertainment.

Chapter 1

It happened a week before Christmas.

Light snow was creating a dreamlike haze around the streets of Tokyo and slowly covering the streets with a thin blanket of white.

A princess and her prince—correction, the future queen of the Earth and her king, a priest, eight warriors, and two cats were sitting in the living room of Mamoru's apartment. The news Helios had delivered had received different facial reactions from the people present, ranging from "surprise" to "murder-happy rage", and had yet to draw out a comment.

The second and minute hands of the cuckoo clock (featuring a prince and a princess dancing when the correct hour was reached) continued to tick by, and yet no one could say a word yet.

"Nobody needs them." Haruka Tenoh was the first to react, but her words were soon followed by comments from the others.

"We've been protecting the Earth quite well ourselves for the past couple of years, thank you very much."

"Isn't Crystal Tokyo just around the corner? What are we going to need them for? Butlers?"

"We don't need any help from them out of all people."

"If we don't use them for butlers, I guess we can always use them as target practice."

"The only help we can possibly get from them is if we are itching to get stabbed in the back."

"Everybody," Usagi spoke up, her delicate features scrunched up into a frown. "Please, can't you just wait for Helios to explain?"

"He was obviously waiting for our reactions. Notice the pause he left after throwing that bomb of a news on us," Haruka said, looking at Helios from the corner of her eye.

"I simply thought that you might need some time for the suggestion to settle in," Helios answered.

"Bullshit." Haruka's eyes narrowed, and Michiru placed a hand on hers as if attempting to calm her temper.

"Perhaps I'd taken the wrong approach," Helios said with a smile.

"Well, seeing that what you said could be translated to 'Hey, people! Do you mind if the Shitennou came back to life?', yeah, I think that's probably not the best approach," Makoto said with a snort.

"And for the record, yes, we do mind," Artemis added, casting a quick look at Minako.

"Perhaps we're jumping to conclusions," Ami spoke up. She gazed at Helios. "Is there a particular reason why you want to bring them back to life?"

"It's probably our King's suggestion," Haruka answered.

Before Mamoru could speak up, Helios did, though the calm expression remained unwavered. "No, it's not. I was the one who suggested it to Prince Endymion. If I may explain why I'd made this suggestion?"

The atmosphere in the room remained tense. However, the curiosity was undeniable. After all, Helios was the high priest of Elysion, so he wouldn't endanger the Earth for no reason.

"As you may know, each planet has its own protector in the form of a Sailor Senshi. A planet's well-being is directly connected to the crystal that is held by each and every one of you. As your power grow, so does the vitality of the planet," Helios said, looking at each person in turn. When his eyes landed on Setsuna, they exchanged a brief smile. "I wouldn't be very surprised if there will be reports of the possibility of life on your respective homeworlds in the near future."

"What does this have to do with the Shitennou?" Ami asked, her interest piqued.

"Sailor crystals were never meant to be wielded by men, which is why every Sailor Senshi you encounter are women," Helios explained. "The only exception is the Prince, but of course, you know that he cannot transform into a Sailor Senshi and never will."

The sudden image of Mamoru donning a fuku popped into each and every mind present. It visibly lessened the tension inside the room, though a faint pink now colored Mamoru's cheeks.

"The true reason why the Golden Crystal did not produce a Sailor Senshi remains a mystery, but it may very well be tied to an old Elysian legend, concerning the creation of the Shitennou," Helios continued. "According to the legend, during a specific battle, the true wielder of the Golden Crystal was mortally wounded and the crystal itself was chipped. Before anyone could investigate further, the wielder died and the Crystal, along with the four pieces that had fallen from it, disappeared. Years later, five individuals were born. It was a time of chaos and kingdoms were at constant war with one another. These five individuals vowed to bring peace and happiness back to Earth, and finally, after years of battle, they accomplished their goal."

"These five people must be the wielder of the Golden Crystal and the pieces that fell off it!" Makoto exclaimed.

Helios nodded with a smile. "Indeed, they were. After they brought the Earth under one kingdom, the one who led them to their final victory was crowned king. To thank the four who had provided him with help and strength throughout the war, he named them the 'Shitennou'. Ever since then, whenever the true wielder of the Golden Crystal was born, so would the Shitennou, and vice versa."

"So Mamo-chan had been a woman before?" Usagi asked curiously.

"Usako …" Mamoru groaned.

"Sorry, but for the past couple of centuries the Earth had been doing fine without them. In fact, it probably would've been even better if they hadn't been around harming it," Rei pointed out.

"As I'd mentioned before, a planet's well-being depends on its respective crystal. As long as the Shitennou remain in their bodiless form, the Earth will remain unstable," Helios stated. "Furthermore, regardless of your military experiences in your past lives, most of you are more acquainted with fighting alongside your allies against monsters. You hardly possess the knowledge of leading armies against humans."

The truth of his words hit closer to home than was expected, and for a moment, everyone sat in silence.

"We've … led our own armies before," Minako protested in a small voice.

"Against non-humans, yes. But can you really tell me that you can lead armies to fight against human beings?" Helios countered.

"Wait, who said anything about going to war?" Makoto asked with a frown.

"I cannot predict the future, but humans do not normally take well to change. It is impossible for the utopia of the new Silver Millennium to be created without resistance against it," Helios explained. "The legend has been proven time and time again, the wielder of the Golden Crystal needs his Shitennou in order to maintain the peace and stability of Earth."

"Considering how well it went the last time around, I can see why," Haruka said wryly.

For the first time that day, Helios's eyes dimmed upon remembering past events. "Beryl corrupted them from within. If the Shitennou had maintained their faith in the Prince, the Golden Kingdom wouldn't have fallen so easily."

"Who's to say it wouldn't happen again?" Luna asked. "Can we really risk the stability of the future by bringing the four of them back? What if they get corrupted again?"

"Which is why they need to find their way back," Helios answered. "With the coming of the new Silver Millennium, Neo-Queen Serenity will be cleansing the survivors with the Silver Crystal. The Shitennou would have to find their way back to Prince Endymion's side and swear their loyalty to him before this happens."

"You're trying to fight against destiny," Rei said in disbelief, "against the karmic circle."

Helios nodded, while most of the others sported confused expressions.

"There's a very fine line between failure and success," Michiru said mildly. "Are you sure you want to take that risk?"

"Wait, what in the world is karmic circle?" Makoto asked.

"And what do you mean by they would need to find their way back to Mamoru-san's side?" Luna asked.

"It's the theory of the cause and effect that follows us through different reincarnations. It dictates that whatever we do in the past lives will have a direct influence on what we do in the future, so more likely than not, we would often choose the same path as we did in our previous lives," Ami explained.

"But Mamo-chan and I, we changed it, didn't we? So that means that it's possible for the Shitennou to choose a different path this time around, too, right?" Usagi asked brightly.

"Always the optimistic one, Princess," Haruka said with an indulgent smile and shake of her head.

"So there's still the chance that they might still betray Mamoru-san and Usagi-chan," Luna pointed out, distrust written all over her feline features.

"But there's always the chance that they won't," Usagi said. "And Mamo-chan needs his guy friends! They can't always remain inside pieces of rocks and appear as spirits all the time."

Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on their princess.

"They were around all this time? And you haven't told us?" Minako asked, hurt appearing momentarily in her eyes.

Usagi shook her head. "I didn't know until Helios approached us yesterday about this." She looked at Mamoru.

"I hadn't told Usako about it until last night. They've been with me since the battle with Queen Metallia as rocks. They appear to me in a spirit-like form whenever I call to them," Mamoru said. He took a deep breath. "I understand how hard it is to have our former enemies fight alongside with us. I'm not excusing them for what they had done. However, I feel that they deserve a second chance. They were good men in the past and don't deserve to be condemned just because they'd made the wrong choice because of the wrong information."

"They had been given a second chance already, Mamoru-san," Artemis reminded him.

"It wasn't really a second chance," Helios spoke up. "When they were reincarnated on to Earth, they were still plagued by the curse that was set upon them by Beryl and Metallia. It wasn't until Sailor Moon, Princess Serenity defeated Metallia that they were completely freed from their dark curse."

"They wouldn't have gotten in that situation if they hadn't betrayed Mamoru-san in the first place," Rei commented coolly.

"Their doubt in the Prince had been their downfall, but I can assure you that before they were infused with dark powers from Metallia, they remained loyal to the Prince and the Golden Kingdom," Helios stressed.

"They were worried. They didn't know what changes might be made if Earth had joined the Silver Alliance and they were fed lies," Mamoru added.

"If there's one thing you can't cure, it's stupidity," Artemis scoffed.

"But is it a crime punishable by eternal damnation?" Mamoru asked.

At that, nobody could immediately answer. Some looked like they were ready to answer "yes", but bit it back just in time they said something they would regret later.

"Well, if you've already decided to bring them back to life, there's really no reason to ask for our opinions," Haruka said, raising her eyebrow at them.

"It's not about me or Helios. We just want to give them a chance, one final chance," Mamoru said, "and we don't want to do this behind everybody's back without any explanations about why we are doing this."

"And we're still not very sure about what you mean by the Shitennou having to find their way back to you," Ami said, echoing Luna's previous question.

"They had families before they were corrupted by Beryl this lifetime," Helios explained. "By the power of the Golden Crystal and the Silver Crystal, they would be given new bodies, but their memories of the past would be altered, so they would believe that they are ordinary men."

"So how would they find their way back to Mamoru-san's side? And wouldn't it be easier if they just retain their memories and let them choose right here and now?" Makoto asked.

Helios shook his head. "The passage of finding themselves is a necessary part to the ritual of breaking their connection to Beryl permanently and giving them the true rebirth they need. They need to follow down the path that they should've chosen if they hadn't been altered by Beryl and Metallia's powers."

"I'm not asking for you to forgive them for what they had done immediately. However, I hope that you will be willing to give them a chance. They were good men before they were brainwashed and some of the things they had done weren't … they would never had done those things if they hadn't been brainwashed," Mamoru said.

Everyone remained silent for a while, immersed in their own thoughts.

"I think …" Minako said slowly, and Artemis looked at her in alarm. However, ignoring his glance, she said in a louder voice. "I'm willing to give them a chance."

The other people in the room looked at her, and seconds later, Ami nodded.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt giving them a chance," she said. "If they can't defeat us back then, I doubt they stand a chance against us."

Makoto nodded as well. "We're not the same people we were when we first faced them. We have more experience than they do and we're much more powerful now." She gazed at Rei.

Rei raised her eyebrow. "Don't look at me. I don't like this idea at all." Her eyes landed on Usagi and, after a while, they softened. "But if our Princess thinks it's a good idea, then I'm willing to give it a try."

Usagi beamed at her and within two bounds, she had the girl in her arms. "Rei-chan!"

Disapproval and loyalty warred inside Haruka's eyes as she watched the happy expression on Usagi's face. In the end, she sighed deeply. "I'm going to regret this." Giving Mamoru and Helios both a hard look, she said, "If they do something out of line, they won't be the only ones regretting that decision."

Mamoru's eyes were tumultuous, but after a short while, he gave her a short nod.

"Have you decided when to bring them back?" Ami asked.

"Perhaps this coming full moon," Helios informed.

Sticking her hands in her pants pockets, Haruka stood up. "Since we have all the details worked out, I should get going. Take care of yourself, Princess. Let us know if we need to be around to kick their butts." She subtly glanced at Helios and Mamoru, letting them know without words that regardless of what she said, she would be keeping an eye out for the reborned Shitennou, ready to kill whenever she needed to.

"Haruka!" Michiru gently chided her for the language she'd used in front of Hotaru who giggled.

Haruka gave her a smile, and the four Outer Senshi exited the room. Before Setsuna left, she gave Mamoru and Usagi a kind smile.

"I can't tell from Setsuna-san's expression if this is going to work out or not," Minako said with a frown, her eyes still where the Time Senshi had been standing a few seconds ago.

"If that's going to be your source for fortune-telling, you'll be a horrible seer," Rei said.