"Blood Moon- Part 12"





Blood Moon- Part 12
by becca-oneechan
4/2/97

This is so close to done, it's scary. Just one more Part after this one, people, 
I promise! Sort of a depressing thought... to me anyway....
"Sailor Moon" is the property of Takeuchi Naoko. 



--Blood Moon--

"Pt 12- Changes"
*becca-oneechan*



Death wasn't so bad, Kunzite decided. After a brief moment of intense agony and 
fear, there was a calm, soothing warmth. He felt as though he was simply lying 
in his bed, slightly more than half asleep and completely contented. He relaxed, 
wondering if anything else would happen, and hoping it wouldn't.
Slowly, foggy images played themselves across the surface of his mind, washed in 
a golden glow, and without the power to move him, although he knew somehow that 
they should.
... his lifeless body, the spear driven through his chest with such force that 
it was embedded in the stone floor of the cavern...
... Queen Metallia, in Rei-chan's body, laughing wickedly, as sight slipped 
away... not his sight, he knew, but someone else's...
... Mako-chan leaping forward to grasp the Night Saber from where it had 
dropped... the blade flaming and flaring in her hands, burning her... but, 
beyond pain, she was launching herself at Metallia, her pleasant young features 
twisting in hatred and fury... no longer caring that the evil queen inhabited 
her friend's body... only wanting to kill...
... Jadeite right behind her, pistol drawn...
... Minako sobbing, dashing toward the fallen, crystal clear tears streaking her 
white cheeks, her eyes filled with anguish enough to break the hardest heart...
...Artemis, calm and expressionless, rising and walking slowly behind Minako, 
leaving Ami-chan and Luna where they lay, only just beginning to regain 
consciousness...
... Queen Metallia, being no fool, warping away in a fiery flash just before 
Mako and Jadeite could reach her, still laughing uproariously...
... Minako cradling a limp body in her lap, shedding bitter salt tears upon the 
beloved face...
Suddenly Kunzite realized whose mind he was seeing through. It was Usagi's. And 
he wasn't dead... yet. He knew that now. There was almost a sense of 
disappointment, but then he rallied enough to be glad. He was held somewhere... 
strange. It was as though he was in two places at once. Or... not quite. He was 
being held within Usagi's soul, kept safe from the grasping hands of Death, and 
Usagi, in turn, was bolstered, sheltered, surrounded by a greater power. Its 
source, he finally realized, was the ginzuishou. Usagi kept him from being 
dragged away into death, and the ginzuishou held her to the mortal realm.
Minako and the others, however, did not understand this. 
...Mako, weeping bitterly, threw herself down next to Usagi, where Kunzite's 
body had been moments before... it had faded and misted away, as Nephrite's had 
done... Mako's hands were badly burned, but she was too consumed by the pain in 
her heart to notice...
...Jadeite cursed roundly, shoving his pistol in the holster so violently he 
nearly shot himself in the leg... then wrenched the spear from the floor and in 
a sudden burst, broke it over his knee... the two pieces sparked and fazed out 
of existence...
...Ami and Luna crouched on the floor, huddled together, weeping painfully...
...Artemis... 
Artemis knew what to do.
* * *
Minako clutched Usagi's limp body close, unable to cease sobbing long enough to 
check and see whether the girl still lived. She was certain that her friend, 
sister, would follow Kunzite into death, if she hadn't already. And there was 
nothing anyone could do.
Mako grasped one of Usagi's hands -- the left one -- and was startled to find 
that although the small girl was white and bloodless, as boneless as Kunzite had 
been in death, her fingers were clasped tightly about the moon stick. And the 
ginzuishou was still glowing. A warmth radiated from it, and the power-burns 
from the saber that scarred raw and red across Mako's palms were healed 
painlessly over before her eyes. She gasped, slowly coming to realize....
"Move," Artemis ground tightly, shoving Mako unceremoniously aside and pulling 
Usagi's body forcibly from Minako's embrace. The blonde cried out in shock and 
anger, but Jadeite held her back when she would have lit into Artemis.
"Wait, Minako. I think-- I think Art knows what he's doing..." Mako faltered, 
grasping one of Minako's hands in her own and turning on her heel to watch as 
the pale man lifted Usagi's body into his arms, and took a step or two away from 
the group. Kneeling, he placed her gently on the floor, then, clasping his slim 
fingers about her left hand, he closed his eyes and frowned in concentration a 
moment. 
There was a quick flash of gold light from the ginzuishou. Usagi seemed to 
revive at least partially from her stupor. Her limp limbs stiffened and a slight 
hint of awareness shaded her waxen features. She shifted, eyes still closed, 
then sat up, moving to her knees before Artemis. They knelt, facing each other, 
the moon stick held between them.
Artemis opened his eyes briefly, glancing over at the silent, watching group. 
They could see the tears streaking his pale cheeks, but his eyes were calm and 
tranquil. "Forgive me, Minako-chan," he said softly.
"Wha--"
"Artemis, no!" Luna cried.
But he had already closed his eyes again, and there was a glow growing in 
strength about he and Usagi, haloing their kneeling bodies, but concentrated on 
the ginzuishou. Then the gem gave forth a sudden burst of pure white light, 
causing everyone to turn their heads away in pain. 
They looked back, blinking dazzled eyes, to see....
* * *
Kunzite groaned and shifted. A sharp stab of pain shot through his head, but it 
was overwhelmed by the shock of realizing he *had* a head to ache.
"Wha--" He bolted upright, then the agony caught up with him, and he collapsed 
with a moan back into the ready arms that he now knew so well. "Ouch."
There was something strange about his voice... something different about the way 
Usagi's embrace felt. He blinked open his eyes, squinting up at her. Her face 
was tear stained, but serene. She looked down at him with a small smile. "Just 
lie still a moment, loveling," she murmured, stroking his brow.
He was glad enough to comply. There was something dreadfully wrong, besides the 
fact that he should be dead, and wasn't. He felt strange inside himself... 
just.. wrong somehow. His mind was too blurry to tell him why at the moment, so 
he lay quietly, enjoying the warmth of Usagi's embrace, and slowly taking in his 
surroundings.
The first thing he noticed was the sound of weeping. It seemed to him the girls 
did nothing *but* cry. He shifted his protesting head the tiniest fraction, and 
turned his eyes to see who it was this time. The move felt so very wrong, but he 
still couldn't figure out why.
It was Minako crying, again She was collapsed in Jadeite's lap, her shoulders 
heaving as harsh sobs wracked her slim body. She cried as though she had lost 
her best friend.
"*She has, in a way,*" Usagi's soft voice brushed into his mind. 
Luna was weeping also, held tightly in Ami's arms, although her tears were more 
tempered.
"*What do you mean?*" Kunzite queried, discovering it was easier to speak this 
way. There was nothing strange in the touch of his mind with Usagi's, and it 
spared his aching temples as speaking aloud would not have done. Besides, he was 
afraid to speak again. Afraid to know....
But he had asked, and Usagi looked back down at him, a small line etching itself 
between her slim brows. He felt her worry. Not for herself, but for him. Then, 
almost reluctantly, she sent him an image of what she was seeing at that exact 
moment.
Kunzite stiffened involuntarily, although he had been more than half expecting 
it, really. Usagi was looking down into Artemis's sharp, pale face... only it 
wasn't Artemis behind the features. Kunzite squeezed his eyes tightly shut, not 
denying, but for the moment unable to cope.
Usagi looked up, giving him time to himself. "Minako-chan... Luna..." she said 
softly, sorrowfully.
"Why-- Why did he--" Minako jerked out, raising red, swollen eyes. 
Usagi shook her head. "You know why. Without the Star Sword and the Night Saber 
we could not hope to defeat Metallia."
Minako's face crumpled again, and Jadeite gathered her close. The man scowled at 
Usagi. "But, still, he didn't have to go and do himself in--"
Usagi cursed suddenly, startling the others. "Shit! Is that what you think? Oh! 
Gomen nasai, friends! I didn't realize you didn't know!!"
"What are you talking about?" Mako asked, frowning in confusion. Her cheeks were 
raw and tear stained also, but she had herself well under control.
Usagi took a deep breath and raised the moon stick. "He's in here," she replied 
gently, gazing at the glowing ginzuishou. 
"What?"
Usagi's blue eyes grew misty, and a small smile curved her pink lips, even while 
a single tear tracked down her cheek. "When Kunzite was killed, I nearly 
followed. The power of the ginzuishou caught and held us both. But we were 
helpless. There was nothing for Kunzite to return to, and without him, I could 
not go on. Then Artemis came and offered his body. So when he and Kunzite 
transferred, the ginzuishou embraced Artemis. It will hold him until a new body 
is found, or his next one is born."
"N-Next one?" Ami stuttered. 
Luna, who still looked grief-stricken but less so than earlier, turned to quirk 
a tiny smile at the wide-eyed girl. "Reincarnation, Ami-chan. Remember? That's 
why you're here."
"Well, yes, I know you said that, but...."
"But you can't believe in something so mystical?" Mako asked. Her voice was a 
bit sardonic, but she did not mean it unkindly. She was just a little on edge, 
as were they all.
Ami frowned at her. "All right. I guess I knew Luna was telling the truth about 
our previous lives... in my heart... but I never allowed my head to take in the 
fact. It'll just... just take me a little while to get used to the idea."
"And in the meantime, Artemis is as good as dead, and Metallia knows we're here, 
and we've got to get our friggin' act together!" Jadeite, as usual, was the only 
focused member of the group. He was also pretty pissed off, for reasons that 
were mostly unclear. Perhaps Kunzite could have guessed them, but he was a 
little out of it at the moment.
"*Loveling?*" Usagi queried anxiously, looking down at her bonded, trying to get 
over the confusion of seeing Artemis's sharp face where her mind touched 
Kunzite's mind.
Kunzite squeezed his eyes more tightly shut, wishing everything would just go 
away. 
"Is he gonna be okay?" Mako asked, suddenly realizing there was another aspect 
to this than merely Artemis's sacrifice. "I mean, if I just had my body get 
killed, taken away from me for all time, and got stuck inside, say, Luna's or 
something...." She let that thought trail away and shuddered. The others in the 
group shivered as well, jolted by her words into an awareness of what Kunzite 
had truly lost. Mako felt like punching something, and she jumped to her feet, 
pacing restlessly. She couldn't stop imagining what it would be like, and she 
had to struggle not to start weeping openly in sympathy for the transplanted 
king. 
Usagi bit her lip sharply, hot tears flowing down her cheeks as she felt 
Kunzite's anguished confusion, and sense of loss and fear. "Oh, love--" she 
choked, hugging him close, struggling to overcome his painful, tangled emotions 
with a blanket of her love and concern.
Mako grimaced. But, strangely, she suddenly knew what to do. She stopped pacing, 
planted her fists on her hips, then-- 
"All right, Kunzite! Enough wallowing in self pity! On your feet! We've got an 
evil bitch-queen to defeat, and a kingdom to destroy! Get it together!"
Luna, Ami, and Jadeite looked at the girl as though she had lost her mind. 
Minako was startled from her prolonged bout of weeping and blinked up with much 
the same expression. 
However, it worked. Kunzite pulled out of Usagi's embrace and leapt to his feet, 
glaring at Mako. Usagi grinned widely.
"Don't you try giving me orders, bitch!" Kunzite snapped with Artemis's voice.
Mako chuckled. "That's more like it." She cocked her head. "All right. No more 
orders. But now that you're on your feet, I'll *ask* -- are you ready to go get 
the baddies?"
Kunzite wrinkled Artemis's face into a peevish expression. "Of course. I must 
revenge myself on Metallia! And--" He broke off, seemingly startled, perhaps by 
what he had been about to say. "Um...." 
"I don't think so, loveling." Usagi rose to her feet, her face sober again. "It 
wouldn't do any good in the end, and it wouldn't change anything."
Kunzite scowled. Mako looked curious, but knew better than to ask. She crossed 
to haul Luna and Ami to their feet. Jadeite stood as well, his movement hampered 
a little by the fact that Minako was hanging from his belt.
Usagi tucked her hand through Kunzite's arm, then turned to the others. "We have 
very little time left. We must strike while Metallia still thinks Kunzite is 
gone."
"Hai!" Kunzite raised his head. It was beyond strange to see him in Artemis's 
body. It was the same face and form as previously, but Kunzite stood more on his 
heels, his shoulders firmer, his chin held more proudly. And the large crystal 
eyes were slightly narrowed, the fire burning behind them at odds with the 
youthful innocence of the rest of his features. "Metallia thinks I'm dead, and 
she will half expect Usagi-chan to have followed me." He placed his hand over 
Usagi's as she moved closer, smiling up at him. He winced at seeing his slim, 
pale fingers, but smiled weakly back. "So she thinks the Night Saber is useless, 
and the Star Sword greatly reduced in power."
Luna was frowning in thought. "I know the Star Sword can be used by almost 
anyone once it is called into being, but the saber--"
"The saber is... different." Kunzite started as Luna handed him the Star Sword, 
which Artemis had dropped earlier. He nodded his thanks as he strapped it about 
his waist, which was suddenly several inches slimmer. "You see... the saber must 
be.... Well, it...."
Usagi looked soberly up at him. Mako blinked. She could have sworn that a second 
ago the blade under discussion had lain where she herself had dropped it, but 
now it was held lightly in the hand Usagi did not have wrapped about Kunzite's 
waist. 
"Let me, loveling."
Kunzite discovered a disadvantage to this new body. With Artemis's pale flesh, 
it was easy to tell when he blushed. "Uh... yeah, g-go ahead."
Mako bit back a grin. Well, at least things seemed back to normal -- or as 
normal as they could be when Usagi was acting like a responsible adult, and her 
soul-bonded, who was a Dark Kingdom king and a former enemy, was wearing the 
body of a man who until a few hours ago had been a cat.... 
"Eep!" Mako suddenly clapped her hands tightly over her mouth, her eyes huge and 
shining over her fingers. Distracted, the others turned to her.
Jadeite cocked a brow. "What's your problem?"
Mako let out another strangled squeak, struggling to keep from bursting into 
hysterical laughter. And there stood Minako with another king and former enemy, 
who had been her lover, even though she was still a virgin, and there was Luna, 
good old Luna, in a human body, and- -
"N-nothing!" she choked out, slowly regaining control of herself. They looked at 
her curiously as two huge tears rolled down her flushed cheeks, but no one said 
anything. Jadeite shook his head and turned to Usagi. 
"You were saying?"
She shot Mako an amused, sympathetic glance. "It's simple. Or, rather, it's far 
from simple, but a simple explanation is all we have time for. We really have to 
get going." She frowned, collecting her thoughts. 
"Did it have anything to do with those wings you sprouted?" Mako suddenly asked, 
her voice shaking slightly, her green eyes still too bright.
Usagi sent her a sharp glance. "No, not really. That was... a side effect, if 
you like."
"That was *you*, Usagi-chan," Kunzite said softly, his new voice a low purr in 
her ears.
She blushed in her turn. "Yes, well.... At any rate, the Night Saber is a 
magical blade older than most any others, and certain... tests had to be passed 
to receive it. I... passed."
"With flying colors, no doubt," Luna said, affection clear to read in her voice. 
She gave Usagi a long, measuring look. "I wondered what had happened. Oh, 
dearheart...."
"Enough with the love-fest." Jadeite dragged a hand through his hair. "Now we 
all know little bits and pieces of the story, and I doubt anyone knows the whole 
thing! If any of us survive this, we'll have to have a nice little get-together 
to try and sort everything out, but right now it doesn't matter *why* the Night 
Saber works, or *how*! All that matters is that it *does*!!"
"You're right, of course." Usagi nodded briskly. "No more dithering about. We 
must do what needs to be done!"
The others nodded, some fervently, and some reluctantly. Both Minako and Kunzite 
seemed to be nearly over their shock and grief, although in Kunzite's case it 
was just a matter of delayed reaction. He simply didn't have time to throw a fit 
about losing his true body just now.
"All right. Let's go see about bringing down the Dark Kingdom!"
* * *
Endymion started in fear as Queen Metallia flashed back into the center of camp. 
Fortunately she was too busy laughing to notice. It was not pleasant laughter.
Endymion drew a deep breath, trying to still the pounding of his heart. If what 
Rei-chan had said was true, he needed to do something about it. But what?
"My queen," he stepped forward and bowed deeply as she lowered herself grandly 
onto her throne, a wicked smile still curving her lips. 
"Report."
"Uh... I... I regret to inform your majesty that more than ninety nine percent 
of the youma ranks have been decimated. They were... uh... they were dissolved 
by some--"
Metallia waved a hand, cutting him off. "It doesn't matter. The traitorous king 
is dead, and the little Sailor bitch will soon follow, if she isn't dead 
already! We need fear nothing. Take a few of the youma we have remaining and go 
wipe out the remnants of the pitiful little band."
Endymion felt something inside him break as he heard her words. Sailor Moon... 
dead? It wasn't possible! It just wasn't--
"Endymion?!"
He straightened at her sharp tone. "Hai! How--" he broke off and licked his dry 
lips nervously. "H-how many youma, majesty? The Sailor Venus is a formidable 
foe, and--"
She glared. "I know that!" she snapped. Her crimson eyes flared. "I don't care 
how many you take! Take all that's left! Just do what needs to be done!"
"Hai, majesty!" Endymion bowed low and hurried away, his black cape flaring 
behind him. He had to do something, but in the meantime, he couldn't keep 
showing weakness before the queen. He'd have to pull himself together, and 
quickly, or else he'd be too dead to do anything!
*** 
"I'm telling you, Mako, I will not give you the blade!"
"But why not?" she demanded, glaring at Kunzite. 
He glared back, disconcertingly, with Artemis's clear blue eyes and pleasant 
face. Mako felt a bit shaken, but she did not back down. "After all, you have 
the Star Sword now--"
"That doesn't come into it. The blade is--"
"Mako-chan," Usagi's calm tones cut through Kunzite's new voice, raised though 
it was. "You saw what the knife made me do, back in the throne room. And that 
was back when I was still...."
Mako cocked a brow as Usagi trailed off, looking somewhat confused. But she 
could understand why that was. Usagi had changed so much in the past day or 
night, or whatever it was here, and yet, at the heart of it, the heart of her 
*self*, she was still the same person she had always been. 
"All right," Mako sighed, shrugging. "I'll concede."
"Whoa, that was a big word," Jadeite jeered. "Did you hurt your brain? You wanna 
lay down for a moment?"
Mako growled and raised a fist, but at that moment Kunzite expostulated;
"Holy SHIT!!"
"What is it?"
The others stared at Kunzite in shock as he froze, his eyes wide. 
"Here! To me! Quickly!" 
He swept Usagi into one arm, Mako into the other, and as the rest pulled closer, 
compelled by the urgency in his voice, he whipped them all away in a large group 
warp.
* * *
Prince Endymion stepped from the warp hole he had created, followed by about 
seventy youma -- all that were left -- and looked around in surprise. This was 
where the senshi had been, he was sure of it. As distracted as he was, he 
couldn't have gotten it wrong. 
Yet, there was no one here.... the plain was empty of all but himself and the 
youma warriors.
* * *
There was no time for explanations. Kunzite drew the Star Sword as he closed his 
warp. 
Queen Metallia looked up in surprise from where she sat on her throne. The 
others in the group cried out in shock, but then moved to cover Kunzite and 
Usagi, protect them from....
From nothing. There were no youma, no guards, not even Prince Endymion. Nothing.
The queen rose, narrowing Rei's eyes. "So!" she snarled, those burning eyes 
fixed on Kunzite. "You survived after all!"
"Never underestimate the power of purity!" he snarled back.
"Hah!" She raised her hands, readying a blast. "I'm almost glad you survived! 
Now I have the pleasure of killing you twice! But before I do, I think I will 
destroy your little bitch! You'll see how little 'purity' is actually worth as 
you listen to her dying screams!"
"I think not," Usagi said calmly, stepping forward and clasping Kunzite's hand. 
As Queen Metallia furiously sent a blast of bael fire at them, she and Kunzite 
crossed their blades before them. There was a quick flash, then nothing. No 
flames. The blades looked unchanged. But the color drained from Queen Metallia's 
borrowed face. 
"The circle is complete," Kunzite said quietly, but with a profound sense of 
finality in his low voice. "And you stand outside the balance. We are here to 
remove your blighting presence, cleanse the pocket world you have twisted to 
your own desires, and return it as a healthy part of the whole."
* * *
Prince Endymion had decided. With a grim expression, he sent a storm of spikes 
through the youma battalion that had followed him. They shrieked and died, with 
no time to fight back. He swallowed his bile as the stench of blood filled his 
nostrils, and a wash of scarlet broke over his heavy boots.
Drawing his sword, he warped back to the queen's throne. 
* * *
"You shall not defeat me!" Queen Metallia screeched, as panic- stricken as she 
was angry. Then her eyes suddenly flickered, and the fire died. A new expression 
came over her face, the fear and fury dying, to be replaced with a familiar look 
of resolute stubbornness.
"Rei-chan!" Usagi cried out. Rei's dark eyes fixed on her.
"Usagi-chan! Quickly! Kill me, now!"
"No! I-- I can't--" Usagi choked, losing much of her new confidence and 
self-assurance.
"Damn it, odango-atama! I can't hold her back forever!" Anguished tears burned 
down Rei's pale cheeks, but Usagi still hesitated.
There was a blast of air and suddenly Prince Endymion stood beside the girl. He 
took one look at her face, ignoring the shocked group standing before the 
throne.
"Rei-chan!"
"Mamo-chan!" She grasped his sword hand. "Hurry! Do it!"
"No!" he cried, sweat beading his pale brow. "There's got to be some other way!"
"You're all a pack of damned cowards!!" Rei sounded sorrowful, rather than 
scornful. In a sudden move, she grabbed the knife from Endymion's belt and 
before anyone could act, plunged it deeply into the left side of her chest, 
where the breastplate did not cover her flesh.
"NO!" Usagi and Endymion screamed in an anguished chorus.
Endymion caught the girl as she fell. There was a momentary flash of anger and 
hatred across her face, then a thick red mist rose from her body. It hesitated a 
moment, before streaking away.
"No!" Endymion sobbed, feeling Rei's life pour hot and quick over his hand as he 
sought ineffectually to close her wound. His cheeks were awash with searing 
tears, yet he was cold through. "No, Rei-chan! Don't you dare die on me!"
He remembered now, remembered everything, but it was of little help. Knowing who 
he was wouldn't stop Rei from dying in his arms.
She smiled painfully up at him, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. 
"G-gomen--" she choked, but was unable to say anything further. Slowly the light 
began to fade from her dark eyes. They slipped closed, her face going slack.
"No!" Endymion cried, holding her close. Then he started as he felt a warm hand 
on his arm. He looked up in surprise to see Sailor Moon, looking very unlike 
herself, gazing at him soberly. There were tears on her pale face as well, but 
her eyes were warm and steady.
"Mamo-chan. I can save her, if you're willing to share your own life- force with 
her."
His dark eyes grew huge. He couldn't speak past the lump in his throat, but he 
nodded fervently.
Usagi gave him an angelic smile, then raised one of Rei's limp hands and clasped 
it about the moon stick. She took one of Endymion's hands in turn and pressed it 
about Rei's, over the handle, her own covering both of theirs.
"You are prepared?"
He nodded . 
* * *
On the plain where Endymion had slaughtered the last of the youma, something 
stirred. It was one of the youma, who had been more hardy and heavily armored 
than the rest. And so she had held onto her life longer than the others had. She 
looked almost human, except for the razor sharp blades springing from her elbows 
and shoulderblades, and the metallic shimmer of her long silver-gold hair.
She stood, eyes glowing crimson, a mere youma no longer. She grew several feet 
in height, her flesh pale, her clothing reconfiguring from heavy armor to a 
skimpy black leotard, and thigh high boots. The long, gleaming hair she kept, as 
well as the pointed ears standing out from her head. An intricate black and 
crimson helm was the closest thing to armor she now wore, but the power lancing 
about her lean limbs and slender hands was worth more than any physical armor 
ever made, in myth or reality. She resembled nothing so much as a grand and 
ancient warrioress of the sidhe, but there was no one here to make this 
observation. She stretched, feeling her power grow. She had been wrong to think 
that the youma were unsuitable. In this body, formed of evil, by evil, she had a 
strength she had not previously felt. She tossed back her head and belted out a 
long, hideous laugh.
Queen Metallia was back in business, and this time she wasn't going to let any 
stupid little girl stop her.
* * *
Mako watched, her tears drying forgotten on her cheeks, as a golden glow 
surrounded Usagi, Endymion, and Rei. It looked almost like when Artemis had 
given up his body, only there was no flash of white light. The gold glow grew 
brighter, but it wasn't painful to look at.
She moved to stand beside Kunzite, who was holding the Star Sword in his right 
hand and the Night Saber in his left. She noticed a little resentfully that it 
wasn't burning *him*, but that was no doubt due to his bond with Usagi. However, 
she had more important things on her mind.
"What's she doing?" she asked Kunzite, still not able to get over the feeling 
that she was talking to the wrong person. She thought she was pretty sure she 
knew what Usagi was doing, but she wanted to hear it from the next closest 
source to the girl herself. She needed the reassurance.
Kunzite shook back his white hair, not taking his large crystal blue eyes from 
the small group crouched on the dais. "She's... bonding the two, so that they 
can share their strength." He licked his lips. "That means that Rei will live, 
but both she and Endymion will be greatly weakened."
"A bond?" Luna chimed in, her brow furrowing. "Like yours and Usagi's?"
Kunzite cocked his head, thoughtful. "Well... no, not really. Similar, but 
different. It won't be as close, or extend beyond death. They won't be able to 
speak mind to mind, or share thoughts and memories, but they'll have a better 
understanding of what the other is feeling than unbonded mortals. And I think it 
unlikely either will choose another for a life partner."
Mako had to stifle a grin at the satisfied tone of this last observation. She 
didn't think Kunzite was even aware of it himself.
"But what's taking so long?" she asked. Just then the glow faded and died, and 
Rei stirred, but Kunzite answered anyway.
"Well, think about it, Mako-chan. Rei nearly died. That's not something you can 
fix with a snap of your fingers."
Mako stuck her tongue out as Usagi stood and stepped off the dais rejoined 
Kunzite. She looked weary but contented. Endymion collapsed against the throne 
arm, Rei still cradled in his lap. He was too weakened to support both Rei and 
himself, but he wasn't about to let go of her.
"You're... you're not jealous?" Minako queried, peering at her friend. Usagi 
giggled slightly, taking her saber back from Kunzite and leaning against his 
side, resting her head on his shoulder. "Silly," she said softly.
"Minako, you're not still gonna try to kill Endymion, are you?" Mako asked, 
suddenly anxious.
Minako turned and glared at the tall girl. "Makoto no baka! What do you think of 
me?"
"Okay, okay. Gomen."
"Kunzite, Rei-chan and Endymion are too weak to help us any." Usagi glanced over 
at where the two were immersed in each other, huddled closely, gazing into each 
other's eyes and speaking softly. She smiled a little sadly. "Rei would cream me 
if she heard this, but I think you'd better send them back to Earth, before the 
battle truly begins."
"Nanii?" Mako blurted, as Kunzite nodded and turned to the two on the dais. In a 
blink, energy swirled around them, and then they were gone. "Battle?" Mako 
continued, her eyes wide. "What do you mean? Rei-chan--"
"Rei got Metallia out of her own body, but she certainly didn't destroy her," 
Jadeite answered grimly. "It's not that easy to kill a parasite."
"Funny! I was thinking the same thing!" spoke a strange new voice. The air about 
the throne swirled, blackness and flames mingled in equal parts. "I see now I 
have been too easy on you. I shall not make the same mistake again!"
A woman stood in the pool of Rei's spilt blood, tall, eight feet at the least, 
with a face lovely and entirely evil. Her eyes gleamed fierce scarlet, and she 
held power in her hands.
"Now, I shall squash you like the insects you are!"
End Part 12