Italics dreams

Italics and bold flashback

' ' thoughts

Soft Blonde—Kikenbutsu

Chapter 12: Enter the Senshi: Orange

-----

"Where am I…?" Small, effeminate hands reached out around her, feeling nothing and seeing nothing but the dully illuminated mist that surrounded her.

Her fingers reached for something, anything to let her know that she wasn't lost, instead a long white gloved hand reached from the fog and grabbed her own.

The woman was tall, and any other characteristics beside that of tall were lost.

"Shhh…cry no more little one…"

"Who are you? Why do I feel like I know you?"

"Rest, firefly, rest…All will be revealed in due time."

Faye shot straight up in her bed, awaking to a dark room. She stumbled over her clothes to the wall and flicked on the light switch, surveying the bedroom and deeming it her own and not an unknown area she sighed heavily. Drenched in a cold sweat, she exhaled a relieved breath, and slid to the floor.

"Firefly?"

-----

Spikes legs dangled over the edge of the couch, hunched over in his signature position, lips wrapped around a cigarette, taking a pull before he dropped his head to his chest, silently thinking, silently musing.

"Well…what the heck is wrong with you?" Jet asked, crossing his arms over his chest and growing impatient.

"Huh? You saying something?" Spike's eye rolled lazily over Jet's own and he tilted his head to the side. He hadn't really been paying attention to his friend; instead his mind had belonged to the night that he and Usagi had shared, the night before.

That same night that had ended with him waking up to an empty bed and a small note, scribbled in sweet handwriting.

Spike—

I am sorry you didn't wake up next to me, but you looked so peaceful. I'll be back later.

All my Love

—Usagi

"Spike!" Jet yelled, "What's wrong you? I asked you where Usagi was last night? Her mono-fighter was here, but now it's not and I haven't seen her since yesterday. And when I was looking for you, I couldn't find you either."

Jet, although disappointed in her somewhat, still loved Usagi. He couldn't deny it, not for a second. That woman had taken a piece of that not he or anyone else could reclaim. From the top of her blonde head to the soles of her little pink feet, it was impossible to deny. After they'd acted so foolishly towards her, he was now regretting his unkind looks and words.

He was keen on acting like none of this had happened, considering that it would have made her uncomfortable. They had spent so many nights, so many weeks, talking, and the real reason Jet was mad because to him, she was his confidant and he had silently hoped that she also felt that way about him. Apparently it wasn't that way. He was intent on regaining her trust, and keeping it.

"I don't know…" Spike trailed, shaking his head. He was quite aware of Jet's feeling but he could no sooner throw himself at Vicious' feet than give up Usagi, to any man, best friend or not. "I got an early start on the day. I went to bed. Where's Faye?"

Jet noted that Spike had tried to change the subject, and instead of going along with him, he sat down, staring across the table and at his longtime friend and fellow cowboy. "You were with her last night, weren't you Spike?" His voice held no emotion, but floated out of his mouth as if it traveled on a gust of strong wind.

Spike stared at Jet as well, he was going to have to get used to the idea. "Yeah."

"So what about this dream girl, Julia? The one you've been chasing all over the damned solar system. All of a sudden she doesn't matter to you? That's just like you Spike. Selfish. Always selfish. Always only looking out for number one." His voice rose decibels, steadily until he was shouting, shouting on the top of his lungs with tears welling in the back of his throat for the broken heart he had to endure once again.

"You are not. I repeat. Not. Just because you're a young guy hurt Usagi. I see you. I see you, you may not say it all the time but you're still in love with this other woman and whether or not Usagi knows that, it ain't right. It just ain't right!"

Spike looked to the floor; he had spent almost the entire year searching for Julia, had it all been for nothing? He looked up now, again, at Jet and stood. "You're right. It's not."

And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away, Jet still calling after him, "If you leave now, YOU WON'T HAVE A PLACE ON THIS SHIP!"

Spike stopped, looking back at Jet.

-----

"Donnelly." Usagi greeted, extending an arm and with a firm grip shook the digits that were placed in her own.

"Lilith, now I don't have conformation on this now, but I think we've found Selene, and, something else I'm not all too sure about." He admitted. They stood in the lab office of the ISSP headquarters, a large white room, completely tiled, scattered desks occupied the room and a wall cut through the middle of it horizontally, complete with a door leading to the other half and a large view glass window, meant for identifying murder victims she assumed.

"Something else?" Usagi's eyes flew open, was she sick? Was there something wrong, "Something else? Like what?"

"Well…" Donnelly wracked him brain trying to find the technical term for it, to sound more official. "I'll show you… hopefully you can identify her. And it."

Donnelly moved towards the window, Usagi stopped him, clutching his arm. "Please, let me go in the room." Donnelly sighed.

"This way." With a small key, he opened to the door to the room, inside lay a woman, long pink hair flowed gently around her shoulders, curling delicately at the ends. Her skin was fair, perfect, like glossed marble, stretching taunt around a delicate neckline and brow.

A small towel covered her torso and left nothing to imagination, as her long, porcelain legs lay without covering and without censor.

Usagi could feel her legs buckling beneath her, but somehow, someway, she pressed forward, one in front of the other, forcing herself to continue until she stood, looking down at her from above the stretcher. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She tried again, but closed it again. Her throat was shaking, the tears prickling the corners of her eyes she could feel it. She could feel the hot tears ready to spill out of her throat if she spoke. So, she forced her words through.

"Is she…?"

Donnelly looked on, a smile on his face, "No, just in a cryogenic sleep due to the containment in the satellite we found her in. She should be waking up."

Usagi nodded, and slowly the tears fell, one by one, rolling off of her face and down her chin. A trembling hand reached out to stroke the woman's face. Her cries were coming out steadily now, mouth making small noises, but slowly, slowly they turned into laughter.

"Chibi-Usa…Chibi-Usagi…" She pressed her face into her daughter's own and let the tears roll from her face in pearl like amounts until she felt the batting of eyelashes against her flesh. Usagi looked down at those large, innocent red eyes that stared back at her.

"…Ma…ma…?"

-----

Faye walked into the living room, she had heard the ruckus from her own bedroom and upon getting dress she had found Spike and Jet in a showdown of some sorts, each man glaring angrily at each other in the living room, making no attempt to move or even breathe, and none whatsoever to acknowledge her.

"Well boys, don't fall over yourselves saying hello to a sweet young lady such as myself." Faye said, sauntering in, when she wasn't met with her usual gruff hello at the point, she stopped.

"What the matter with you two dopes? Don't you see me standing here?" She was again, greeted by silence in all its levels. Her anger faded now; still they stood staring at one another.

"Don't punish me because she doesn't love you." Spike retaliated, taking one step forward.

"Oh yeah? Well, sneaky tactics wise guys seducing someone, I'd think it was love too." Jet said, taking two large steps forward, clenching his fists.

"Please Jet, I wouldn't give you the time of day. And besides, I'm not into old guys." Spike quipped, now they were almost nose to nose.

"Boys, boys, this is plenty of me to go around, please, don't fight, everyone will be served in due time." She joked uneasily, trying to make light of a very serious situation, "Now you two calm down, I am not playing Florence Nightingale to anyone with a fat lip and big mouth."

"Whatever." Spike spat, turning on his heel and leaving the room.

-----

Usagi sat, arms wrapped around Chibi-Usagi, who herself was wrapped in a long terry cloth robe, standard ISSP issue.

"I've been looking for you for decades Chibi-Usagi…decades…" Usagi whispered into her daughter's hair, gently stroked the pink curls that cascaded down her back. "I love you so much.. and no one, no one will ever hurt you again."

"Mommy, I thought you were dead. I stopped looking.. I didn't know that you were alive. I swear!" She said, pulling her mother close to her body.

"It's alright, darling. Mommy is here now and she isn't going anywhere, anymore, everything will be restored.." Usagi sat silently, thinking of a plan of action, lips pursed in soundless concern.

Donnelly walked in the room, still smiling, more than anything, what he wanted for his top ex-investigator was her to be happy. She'd worked with the bureau for more than…

How many years has it been? She's like a common day Winona Ryder, she doesn't age a bit.

In his hands, he held a small brown cardboard box, on the sides, it was evident that holes were cut in the side, and something was sitting, something living, was sitting very quietly inside the box, and unlike other animals would do, like a small statue of whatever it was.

"We also found this; normally cryogenic sleep doesn't work for animals for some reason this little lady survived…" Said Donnelly pulling the animal from the confines of the cardboard box, Usagi's eyes widened, approaching Donnelly hesitantly, carefully as if what she was seeing were a dream.

"Luna!" The cat had pounced from Donnelly's grip and was now firmly placed in her owner's arms, and from Donnelly's view point it almost looked as if her small kitty arms were wrapped around Usagi's neck.

"Luna!" Usagi said, holding the cat at arm's length to take in the very unique breed, dark blue fur, large red eyes and the unique and distinguishable golden crescent moon on her forehead. "Luna, how are you? Where have you been?"

Donnelly eyed Usagi questionably, "She was like part of the family, we just got used to talking to her like this, I suppose." Explained Usagi sheepishly, smiling crookedly.

Donnelly nodded, "It's alright, I have a dog, my wife once said, don't fight in front of Buster!" He laughed at his own joke, "I understand."

Usagi and Chibi-Usa laughed, to diffuse the situation. "I'll give you all a few more minutes, then I'll come in, I have to ask a few more questions." Donnelly back out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Luna…have you been with Chibi-Usagi all this time? All this time, I've missed you Luna-chan!" Usagi said, embracing the cat once more.

"You have grown, Usagi, are a beautiful woman, and are a beautiful Queen, I am very proud of you, and so is your mother." Luna said, bowing respectfully.

"Please, Luna don't. I'm the Queen of a planet of rocks. A planet of rocks and desert. That is no Queen at all."

Luna's eyebrows knotted, "Don't you say that, Usagi! You are the Queen of Earth, and you are head and commander of the Silver Alliance. Everything will be restored."

"But how Luna-chan? So many lives were given to a mistake, and now I am supposed to regain control of Earth and right all the wrongs? It's impossible!"

"It is your destiny!"

"I am TIRED of destiny. Am I destined to forever live and die? Am I destined to live on for thousands of years while people I love drop like flies?"

"It is better to love and lost than to never love at all Usagi." Luna preached eyes ablaze and set on her princess.

"No Luna, not when you loose so much, you become numb, and you don't feel, you can't feel because if you do life again is crumbling, like all the prophecies like all the destinies, Luna! You become so numb, all you can feel are the tears running down your cheeks. You become so numb you might as well be dead." Usagi yelled. Chibi-Usagi stared on with wide eyes at the scene unfolding before her.

Her mother, Queen of crystal Tokyo had been different, unlike this woman, her mother was put together, compassionate and a lady. Never yelling, never screaming always gentle. This was her mother, but almost a different person entirely.

"Usagi… I am sorry about the King, but you have a job to do. You have life to look forward to, and you have an obligation to Earth, and much as you hate this, you'll love bringing peace back to mankind when you do, and you will. The crystal can restore Earth to its former glory. It won't be easy, without the senshi its up to you, me, and Chibi-Usagi."

"The crystal? The crystal could be anywhere in the solar system right now! And it probably is laying somewhere, in a junkyard inside of a milk carton or something!" Usagi sat, holding her forehead. "There is no hope."

"Well then we'll find it Tsukino Usagi! We will find the crystal! Inside the junkyard. It cannot be destroyed. Only abused. I am very glad that Chibi-Usagi is back, but that does not mean that you can forget about that Crystal. It is your mother, it is your senshi, it is everything, and if it falls into the wrong hands it CAN and WILL be disastrous. If Vicious finds it, he could conquer the world."

"He wouldn't even know what to do with it!" Usagi countered, honestly, what could a simple man do with a crystal? Put it on a ring and give it to his fiancée?

"In the cryogenic sleep, your mother came to me. Vicious although is but a man, an evil, twisted conniving one, he can use your crystal to power any machine, and bomb, use it to make any weapon a thousand times stronger and power it for ten thousand years…and not only that, but, Usagi…"

"What is it Luna?"

"Vicious is the reincarnation of Mamoru…"

-----

Spike floated, the Swordfish II floated idly through space, Faye had called him countless times,

pleading, in her own Faye manner.

"HEY SPIEGAL, GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!"

"All this for some girl." Spike said, lighting a cigarette and blowing it out, clouding the pod of

his mono-fighter. "Some girl…" His mind drifted to Usagi.

"Usagi, am I hurting you…?"

Spike shook his head free of his thoughts from the previous night, rightly because seconds later, a small mono-fighter came zooming past him, barely missing his own ship.

"HEY!" He yelled, slamming down on his control board, "WATCH IT BUDDY!" Behind the cloud of smoke that surrounded him now in his, he could faintly make out the flickering of lights.

'Stars don't move that fast…'

"SHIT!" Spike said, turning on his engines and made a quick lazy eight, pressing full force, accelerating quickly, and maneuvering fluidly around the lasers that shot out at him.

"I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS…" Spike yelled, noticing the compact orange mono-fighter that zoomed past him before, and then back at the four black mono-fighters that came at him with unexplainable speed. "I'm not with him!"

"Hey, I may be a lot of things, but him isn't one of them!" The woman who zoomed away from him yelled into his two way intercom, "and, if you don't want your ass chewed out, I suggest that you move it or loose it buddy!"

Spike hardly had a chance to look to the intercom and visual transmitter, "Gah, why do I always get caught in these messes?" Spike turned Swordfish II towards the black mono-fighters that not only pursued the woman, but he as well. "Hrm…bounty hunters I assume. Well, I always love a good challenge, next time, do your research guys."

With those words, Spike let out a barrage of rounds, dropping his own mono-fighter low to dodge the oncoming array of ammunition that no doubt would have met him head on. "Don't underestimate me."

One of the four mono-fighters was hit, but kept coming despite the obvious damage, two of the four dropped, nose-diving towards him in hot pursuit. Spinning the Swordfish II onto a barrel roll he dodged their attacks skillfully.

"My turn." Spike ran a hand through his green mass of hair, before pressing forward and plunging through a small opening through the two mono-fighters. They had not realized the error of their ways until the two ships that had been facing each other, collided head on, and exploded in a large blast.

"Inexperienced cowboys, zip, Spike, one." He cocked his finger in a gun position, "bang."

"A little help, 'Spike'!" He hadn't even realized that the connection wasn't lost, and adjusting the ship, he noticed that the orange mono fighter was being barraged by the lasers from the remaining two mono-fighters.

"Do you have a bounty on your head, young lady?" Spike asked, pressing forward on the steering wheel to accelerate again, "Is that why these big bad men are chasing you?"

"Well, what if I do?" She said, voice desperate now.

"Well then, I'll get rid of them, just to cash you in. That'll give you an extra fifteen minutes of freedom. See? I'm a nice guy."

Aiming carefully, the young man of twenty-seven set forth a spray of weaponry, hitting one mono-fighter, knocking out the wing, it smoked and fizzled, thrown off of its own axis and into the other mono-fighter.

BOOM

The explosion light up the starry sky and then it was gone again, just as fast as it had come.

"So, missy, what's your name, I need to know what to tell the ISSP when I get your money."

The girl with large blue eyes, not quite like Usagi's but not far from the innocent and beautiful quality of them either. "My name?" She flicked a lock of blonde hair over her should. "Aino Minako."

-----

"Thanks for wasting our time, Spike. She's worth a lousy hundred thousand wuulongs. Didn't even break a million." Jet said, crossing his arms over his chest as they sat in the living room of the Bebop.

"Well if we had a hundred thousand, then maybe you could buy some beef to go with those bell peppers…" Spike mumbled under his breath, getting fed up with Jet's crabby attitude that had lasted all day.

"Who you needed to find, was this Art guy." Faye pointed out, standing behind Jet and observing the screen of the computer, "He's worth 25 million wuulongs, whoa, if I had that kind of money, what I wouldn't do…" She whistled looking up into the air.

She smiled, thinking of the family she had now, if no one else, she had her mother. If she had 25 million wuulongs, she'd buy her own ship, and her and Usagi would just, live, so comfortably and easily they'd turn into liquid. She giggled at the thought, and her face turned red, noticing the perplexed look on Jet and Spike's face.

"Faye, giggling?" Edward came bouncing up, and took a large bite out of Faye's leg.

"OUCH! WHAT THE HELL YOU DO THAT FOR YOU LITTLE CREEP!" Faye yelled angrily quickly bounding away from the thirteen year old.

Ed smacked her lips, then licked them, then smacked them again, "It is still Faye-Faye, but…why is Faye-Faye giggling?" She asked scratching her head. Ein came barking up, "Ein! Maybe you should take a bite out of Faye-Faye too, just to make sure she isn't an evil alien posing as Faye-Faye! OOOoooOOO!"

"Get that mutt away from me you little weirdo!"

As Faye fought off Edward and Ein, Jet leaned forward, "You should have gotten Art. He's much more valuable, and this says that Aino and Art always travel together. Damn it, Spike, you should have kept your eyes open."

Spike let his fist slam against the table, "Keep my eyes open before or after I was attacked by a herd of renegade bounty hunters, Jet!"

"Well then don't keep your eyes open, keep your EYE open!" Jet said, taking a cheap shot at the fact one of Spike's eyes were glass, poking Spike in the eye, "Did you even feel that?"

"Oh, no you don't wanna get into with me! At least with all my natural body parts, I can swim in a direction other than a circle!" Spike said, poking Jet in the chest and slapping him on the wrist of his bionic arm. "I bet you didn't even feel that!"

"Why I outta—"

"What's all this?" Usagi's voice broke through the yelling, like a horn.

Usagi had been out all morning and instead of returning to a quiet ship, Jet and Spike were pointing out artificial body parts, Ed and Ein had converted to cannibalism, the ship was a mess and everyone was making it their own duty to kill one another.

"Why is everyone fighting..?" Usagi eyed the inhabitants of the room. "I've never seen you all like this…well…" Usagi thought, correcting herself, "not all at once! Stop it, all of you."

Faye scrambled over to Usagi, and ducked behind her, peeking from behind her at a ravenous looking Ein and Edward. "I'm not scared; I just…don't want to be associated with these…these… heathens." Faye lied.

Jet stopped, straightening himself upon seeing Usagi. 'Damn that Spike, making me look bad in front of her.' But then, he stopped, observing someone standing next to Usagi that he hadn't noticed before, someone wearing a long white hooded terry cloth robe.

"Who's that?" Spike asked, beating Jet to the question. Jet eyed him and clearing his throat.

"Ahem." Jet shot Spike a dirty look. "Who's that?"

Usagi turned, "C'mon, don't be scared…don't be frightened…come on out…" Usagi beckoned, and wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder when she stepped forward. She pulled the robe off her head, and from the pink hair that cascaded around her knees in waves to the large red eyes, she was breathtaking. "Everyone, this is my daughter, Chibi-Usagi."

Jets eyebrows knotted, now taking in the resemblance, he had hardly noticed their striking similarities when he was trying to show off to Usagi, "Your daughter…?"

"..Chibi-Usagi…?" Faye asked, slowly coming out from behind Usagi, eyes squinted, really trying to recognize the girl, who was no longer her small playmate but grown sister, she reached out, gently cupping her face and still silently staring…

"Faye-Faye?" It had been almost a century since she saw her, almost; she embraced her sister in a hug. "Mommy, you didn't tell me you found Faye-Faye…" she whispered in Faye's shoulder. "Oh…Faye… what are you wearing?" She asked, noticing the yellow outfit.

"What's wrong with my outfit, its nothing special!" Faye thought aloud, looking down at herself.

"That's what it looks like, nothing, you mean!" Chibi-Usagi laughed said, Luna bounding upwards and Chibi-Usagi's shoulders.

"Luna?" Faye asked, "Luna. So cats really do have nine lives, huh?"

'Always the smart mouth, Faye.' Luna thought said, not amused and only in reply giving a small, "meow".

Chibi-Usagi giggled, and so did Faye. None of the crew had seen Faye like this, giggling, laughing, happy. Jet had ruled out any other emotion from her slate other than PMSing.

-----

Spike placed a gentle kiss atop Usagi's forehead, drawing her close to him and wrapping both of his arms around her small frame.

"I'm so scared…" She mumbled into his chest, as they stood in the control room. She pressed her face deeper into his warm muscles, "Having so much to loose, when for a long time, all you had to loose was your mind."

Spike nodded but stayed silent. "Do you know what I mean?" Usagi asked, looking up at him, tears shining in her eyes.

Spike nodded, pressing his lips firmly against her own for a moment before nodding, "Yeah… I know what you mean."

"OWE, STOP SCRATCHING ME! ITS NOT MY FAULT YOU DUMB KITTY!" The yell came from the hangar.

"Oh my God." Usagi said, startled, clutching Spike, "What was that?"

"SHUT UP BACK THERE, WILL YA?" Spike yelled, and again, the hangar was quiet.

"Who is that?" Usagi tore away from his arms quickly, that voice sounded so oddly familiar, it was like something possessed her feet to move. Something possessed her feet to keep going, walking, one step in front of the other. Something that was not just curiosity but an instinct.

"Usagi, hey! Slow down, you can't just go rushing into things!" Spike said.

"I'm not the one for cautious and delicate controls it seems." Usagi said, giving some sort of light explanation. When she reached the hangar door, she could hear a man whispering.

"Shh…Minako…someone is coming."

Usagi pulled the hangar open, looking in, she was met with a pair of blue eyes, the color clashed with her only, varying slightly from that of hers, but other than that, the pair could have been identical to each other.

"Who are you talking to?" Usagi asked, surveying the room, it seemed quite, shadows obscured her view of many places, but she was certain that someone else was with her. For some reason, she just got the feeling that this girl was tricky.

Minako stared at Usagi, and she spoke slowly, as if she were thinking and speaking simultaneously, in her head trying to figure out why Usagi's face made her feel so 'different'. Protective even.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Spike said, reaching down and grabbing the white blur that had tried to scamper away in the shadows, with one strong arm, he scooped up the animal.

"What's that?" From where she stood she could faintly see the glitter of something gold in Spike's hand, and when the large eyes of a white cat peered back at her with that similar crescent moon on it's own forehead.

"Princess…" Minako whispered, finally recognizing her, staring in the back of her head. "Princess Serenity."

It was like a movie, something Spike had seen in a feature film, not something in real life, something tangible, and something actual. Usagi turn and lowered to her knees, slowly kneeling, eyes wide, mouth half open.

"Venus…?"

"It's me, girl." Minako affirmed swinging that arm that was not chained to the hangar wall around Usagi. "It's me…"

"Mina-chan!" Usagi was slowly remembering things, nicknames, birthdays, memories even.

Spike looked at the two giggling women, basically unaware to his presence now, but chatting like schoolgirls, while he stood. Holding a cat.

"Ahem."

Usagi's head snapped up, remember she had entered the hangar with someone else, "Oh! Spike…" She stood, gently taking the cat from his fingers. "I'll catch up with you…" She nodded to him.

-----

"So wait, let me get this straight…" Jet said, pacing the living room. Usagi sat, rounded face smiling up at him, innocently.

"Stop me if I get it wrong, you released the bounty?"

Usagi nodded.

"And you also found her partner, Art, who you call Artemis, the one responsible for 300 cases of fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement and evading police. And you let him go too?"

Usagi thought for a moment, and nodded again.

"And you gave them Uzume?" Jet asked, rubbing his temples.

Usagi nodded. "You got it."

Spike sat down in a far corner, lips wrapped around a cigarette, giving it a pull and speaking from around it, "It wasn't your bounty to give."

Usagi smiled, recalling the story Spike had told her earlier, "Well, Spike, as I recall it, it wasn't your bounty to take."

"Hn." Spike glared at the floor, letting the feeling of being out a hundred thousand wuulongs, "Right."

Jet, at first being peeved that Usagi had let the bounties get away, now seemed satiated at her actions because one thing they had accomplished was to piss off Spike.

"Good job Usagi." Jet said, throwing Spike a large, sarcastic smile.

----

"I know you."

The hangar doors were open, Spike sweat rolled off his body, toned muscles aching for released as he practiced his Jeet Kune Do. The beads rolled of his chest and back, the aggression he had pent up inside of him.

His head raised to the voice that sounded like Usagi's but instead only belonged to her daughter, Chibi-Usa.

"You do, huh?" Spike said, his concentration broken, he sat down on the floor, exhaling. "And what do you know about me?"

"I know lots of things. I know that you're madly in love with your ex-girlfriend Julia. I know you were basically raised with Vicious. I knew he used to be your best friend. I know that you spent most of your time alone. Annie and Mao Yenrai of the Red Dragon Syndicate. And I know you disappointed that same man, Mao Yenrai when you left without so much as a goodbye instead of taking over the Syndicate like he had hoped."

Spike's eyes widened with each of her words, her stood, walking over to her. He didn't need anymore crooked members of the ship, anymore moles for Vicious, he didn't need anymore trouble. "Who the hell told you that? Who were you speaking to huh?" For the first time in a long time, Spike felt tears pricking the sides of his eyes. He hadn't cried over Mao's death, Mao who had treated him like a son throughout the greater part of his life.

"Mao." Chibi-Usagi eyes softened, "I spoke to Mao…"

"Mao is dead!" Spike yelled in fury, if he found out that she had anything to do with his murder, Usagi's daughter or not. "What did you and Vicious do to him?"

Chibi-Usagi's eyes darkened, "How dare you, Vicious had had me enslaved, using me as collateral to get the Silver Crystal out of my own mother. He ruined my life!" She countered.

"Then how do you know Mao, he was killed months ago by Vicious, sliced in the throat by a katana, almost decapitated." Spike said, winching even as he said it.

Faye came into the hangar at that moment; Chibi-Usagi stared at Spike with wide eyes as Faye's voice broke through the momentary silence that fell over the man and woman, "There you are, Usa-chan, I've been looking all over for you…" She noticed the uneasy silence and stopped. "Why am I always walking into these things today?" She whispered, rubbing her forehead.

"What's going on?" Usagi's voice brought them both out of their staring contest. She stood in the hangar door, casting a long shadow over the three of them. "Is everything okay?"

Chibi-Usagi broke away from the trio and pushed past Usagi and back into the main part of the ship. Usagi looked questioningly at Spike and Faye before turning on her heel and following Chibi-Usagi.

Faye looked around, dumbstruck, "What'd I do?" Spike shook his head, picking the white shirt from off the floor and slinging it over his shoulder, and walked through the hangar doors.

Faye stood for a few more seconds, her mouth hanging open in disbelief, "What'd I do?"

-----

"I can't think of it, mother." Chibi-Usagi admitted, screwing her eyes shut at the image that now lived behind her eyelids. "But I can think of nothing else…nothing." Petal light fingertips pressed against her mouth as she thought.

It had been ransacked, turned upside down, that had to be the perfect world to describe her parlor. The cabinets had been torn inside out, her pictures, everything she owned, flipped inside outside and backwards.

Lowering slowly to her knees, she looked upon the pictures that lay strewn about the room. They were private pictures. She had realized early on in her days that if she were captured on film throughout years, it would become more and more evident that she hadn't aged a day.

"Mao…" She spoke quietly, she spoke carefully. She had known who had done this. Her lips pursed, forming a hard, thin line. He had become more shifty than normal lately, and whenever she was around him, the ginzuishou throbbed against her chest uncontrollably. She wore it as a brooch, like her mother had done.

"Mao!" She yelled, standing, dusting herself off and running towards the door, before she stopped. 'Oh no.'

Stop stopped, deadly silent, and turned, from where she stood, it was obvious the floorboards had been up turned, her heels clacked against the floor in urgency, she reached her arm, deep into the floor, to her dismay, feeling only air.

"My journals… my journals…" She whisperer steadily, as if she concentrated on them hard enough they'd slither from underneath the couch and back into her arms, and the most precious pieces of information hadn't been in the arms of Vicious.

"Mao!" She'd retreated backwards into the hallway that she had came from, only to find it deathly empty and cold, the shiver that was sent up her spine could have caused hell to freeze over. It was 2:45. The meeting between Mao and the leader of the White Dragon Syndicate should have been finished fifteen minutes ago, and she had been awaiting the news of the alliance. He never came.

The scream tore throughout the building; her entire body trembled as she watched him fall, his eyes never leaving her own until he lay limp and lifeless on the floor in the pool of his own blood. It leaked out against the marble floor, forever tainted. She crumbled to the ground, eyes wide, mouth hanging open, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh my God…" Selene whispered, trembling. Above his fallen body stood Vicious, the blade of his katana dripping, it had sliced through his neck like butter, as if Mao has been made soft and pliable. His skin was so easy to maneuver through.

"Mao…" She whispered, looking up towards Vicious who advanced on her, now, katana drawn.

"Crystal, please protect me!" She screamed as the entire room was engulfed in a white light.

"I can't escape the scene, every time I close my eyes, its there. If I would have stayed one more day in the cryogenic sleep, watching him die, over and over again, I don't know what I would have done." Chibi-Usagi explained. "He did that for me you know? I wanted to have children so bad, mother, but he didn't want to have children in a world that wasn't totally peaceful. That's why he decided to end the feud between the Red and White dragons. So we could concentrate on making raising the baby…"

Usagi nodded, she knew what it was like to loose a love, despite how many blows he had dealt her in the past she couldn't deny the fact that he was her first love. Which presented the new and unique problem, if Vicious remembered his past life, would it be possible for him to change? And if he couldn't, could Usagi destroy him before he destroyed her?

"What was your relationship to Mao?" They both hadn't even noticed him come in, respectively wrapped up in their own thoughts. Spike approached the girl, his voice much softer than it had been before. He knelt in front of her, both of his ghostly eyes staring deep within her.

"He was my husband."

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I'd like to apologize to my reviewers if I have any left after my super power trip. Its not right to threaten you like that, making it seem like my story is all that a bag of chips. I'd appreciate if you did review if you think you have something to say. Positive or negative.

Thanks for all who stuck with me through this major diva-stage of mine.