Note: I have nothing to do with Sailor Moon and its characters except to be a fan who enjoys the series and the movies very much. This story is my extrapolation of the storylines as received in North America. I apologize if this story doesn't quite fit into the Japanese series.

Darian set the plate of chocolate donuts amid a hexagon of napkins on the table, then dropped down into his seat. He waited until everyone had taken his or her refreshments before grabbing a donut of his own.

"So, did you have any trouble getting here?" he asked, looking at Lita and Mina.

Mina shook her head. "Rei was a little miffed when I told her we were busy, but Amy was already headed off to her computer class."

Darian nodded. "And Serena?"

Lita and Mina looked at each other, then sighed and looked away. "Miss Haruna gave her detention again," Lita said.

Darian sighed. "What did she do this time?"

"Fell asleep in class again," Luna mumbled around a mouthful of donut. She swallowed. "Apparently she was giggling while she dozed, which got Miss Haruna angry. She actually gave her double detention this time."

Darian shook his head. "Well, at least we know the other Scouts are all occupied and won't be barging in on us here," he said. "Now, we need to think of some way to break the news that Jed's here to them."

Jed looked up. "Is there some reason why we can't simply tell them the truth?"

Mina cocked her head. "Well, Jed, there's this teensy problem with you once being Jedite and a sworn enemy of the Sailor Scouts. Your minions threatened the lives of some of Sailor Moon's friends, some of Sailor Mercury's classmates, slandered the good name of Sailor Mars' temple, risked drowning dozens of couples with your romance cruise scheme, and nearly killed Darian here." She shook her head. "They probably won't take the news of your return very well."

Jed sighed. "I'm not the same person I was," he said softly. "Surely they'll be able to see that."

Darian reached out and clapped his hand on Jed's shoulder. "I'm able to see that, and I'm the one you nearly drowned. I'm sure they'll be able to as well, but it might take them some time to understand that." He glanced at the others. "Especially Rei."

Jed frowned. "Who's Rei?"

"Are you sure we should tell him?" Lita asked.

Mina shrugged. "Why not? It's not like he isn't already aware who some of us are," she said. "And we haven't exactly kept the fact that we're Sailor Scouts an absolute secret. I mean, Catsy and Bertie know the truth--which means Prisma and Avery probably do, too--and Jed already knows we're Venus and Jupiter and that Darian's Tuxedo Mask. What harm can it do if he knows the rest?"

"It makes sense," Artemis said. "From what I understand, he's already seen Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Mars as they really were, so he could probably identify them on the street if he saw them. He might as well know their names."

Luna nodded. "It will make things easier in the long run."

Darian frowned. "And the short run?"

Luna only shook her head. "You know Rei."

Darian grimaced. "Right." He turned to Jed. "Okay, Sailor Moon's real name is Serena. She's also the Princess of the Moon, Princess Serenity, just as I'm Prince Darian of Earth. Sailor Mercury's real name is Amy. She's very smart, and she almost left Japan awhile back to study medicine abroad, even though she's no older than Mina, Lita, or the other Sailor Scouts." He paused, not quite sure how to continue.

Luna swallowed the last of her donut and jumped over to the couch. She padded over to Darian and settled herself on his lap. He automatically began scratching behind her ears. She purred loudly, then shook her head.

"Sailor Mars," she said, "is Rei Hino. She lives with her grandfather and his apprentice at a temple on top of Cherry Hill." She gazed steadily at Jed. "It's the same temple you set up your magic-charm scheme at."

Jed's eyes widened. "Rei! Now I remember! She has two crows, doesn't she?"

"That's her," Artemis said. He jumped down from the table, then leaped up into Mina's lap.

"Why are you worried that she'll have a hard time accepting that I've changed?" Jed asked.

"Rei is--" Darian trailed off, unable to continue.

"She's--" Mina began, but she, too, stopped.

"You see, she--" Lita tried, but hesitated as well.

Luna sighed. "Rei is a girl with strong passions," she said, shaking her head. "It's probably not a coincidence that she's Sailor Mars. Moreover, she also has some strong spiritual and strong psychic powers. I think she'd be able to sense that you're different from what you were, except that she'd react before giving you a chance."

"Now, Luna," Artemis chided, "she's not really that bad. I mean, it was Rei who knocked Catsy out of the way and took Jupiter's blow herself. She's the one who felt the good in Catsy."

Luna shook her head. "But that was only because she'd seen how hurt Catsy was by Rubeus rejection. If he hadn't interrupted, they probably would have clawed each other's eyes out."

"Regardless," Darian said loudly, "she's still the most likely to react negatively. We have to think of a way to present Jed to the others that won't have them transforming and trying to destroy him."

"Well, you don't have to worry about Serena," Lita said. "Once she sees him, she'll forget all about how much she disliked him. She'll be mooning over him in an instant."

"Oh, like you weren't?" Mina muttered.

"You're one to talk!" Lita snapped.

Darian started to interrupt, but Luna dug her claws into his thigh, just enough to get his attention. "What is it Luna?"

"Let Artemis and Jedite break them up," she said. "I need to talk to you privately."

Darian nodded, then hooked an arm under Luna and rose. The others scarcely noticed. Darian walked down the hallway to his--now Jed's--room and closed the door. "Okay, Luna," he asked, sitting on the bed, "what did you want to talk to me about?"

She jumped onto the bed. "Well, for starters, Serena misses you. You haven't been around lately, and she's starting to wonder if she's done something to upset you."

Darian shook his head. "No, I'm not angry with her. It's just that I was a little reluctant to leave Jed all alone. I mean, first he was deeply asleep for two days, then we went out yesterday with Andrew and Rita." He sighed. "And besides, it isn't as though I could visit Serena myself." Luna nodded.

Darian knew Luna understood the situation. Serena's father was so protective of her that the only boy he trusted around Serena was Melvin, Serena's nerdy classmate. Part of it was the fact that he himself was already in college while Serena was still in junior high school, but mostly it was overprotectiveness on Serena's father's part. Unfortunately, it meant that he couldn't call Serena, couldn't visit her, and couldn't write notes or letters to her. Whenever they went out somewhere together they usually met there instead of him picking her up. If they wanted to get messages to each other, one of the other Scouts or Luna served as go-betweens. The only chance he had of seeing her regularly would be if he waited for her at her school, but that was always a risky proposition, seeing as how she as often as not ended up in detention.

"I'd like to see her, Luna," he said softly, "but I can't just abandon Jed right now."

"I understand," Luna said. "But now I have to ask you something else. What does Jedite mean to you?"

Darian blinked. "What? What's that supposed to mean?"

Luna started pacing. "Darian, when we arrived, you and Jedite were just coming back from shopping. I know Jedite doesn't have any money, which means you paid for everything. And I've noticed that you seem to be very solicitous of his needs. Why is that?"

Darian shook his head, a little angry. "Well, of course I paid for everything. Like you said, Jed doesn't have any money. And I try to take care of his needs because he's my guest. Any good host would do the same."

"But you seem to be going beyond what is really necessary," Luna pointed out. "It's like you're preparing to have Jedite move in with you permanently."

Darian stood up and started pacing. "Well, I can't just throw him out on the street, can I?" he demanded. "I mean, I'm the one responsible for releasing him from his prison! And it's not as if he could find a place of his own right away. He doesn't have any money, and I can't just give him the rent for another apartment. And I don't mind having him here with me."

"And later?"

Darian sighed. "Well, first we have to see if he has any job skills." His lip twitched. "I don't think he could list energy draining or world conquering on a job application."

Luna smiled. "I guess you're right."

"Maybe once he has a job he can move out." He stopped, remembering what he'd thought about the night before. "But I don't mind having him here with me. It's less lonely, for one thing. And if we're going to continue passing him off as my cousin, it's just as well that we become closer, so that we can really act like relatives."

Luna sat on her haunches. "You like him, don't you?"

Darian nodded. "I don't know what Mina and Lita told you about him, but I trust him. He's a good person. Andrew and Rita like him, too. Maybe I'm prejudiced by knowing that we're going to be good friends in the future--good enough, at least, that he'll sacrifice himself to save me and I'll seal him in crystal to save him--or by the fact that we both served the Negaverse for a time." He sighed. "But you know, Luna, last night he asked me to describe some of the battles the Scouts and I had with the Negaverse. While we were talking, I started to realize that while I did some evil during my time serving Queen Beryl, I also did a lot of good, before Beryl brainwashed me and even during that time." He smiled, remembering how he'd felt then. "Jed's the one who helped me realize that."

Luna gazed steadily back at him, then nodded slowly. "I understand. And for what it's worth, he seems to be a good person. Lita and Mina certainly like him, even knowing what he was before." She sighed. "But I'm not entirely certain I trust him."

Darian frowned. "Why not? Is it because he served the Negaverse? If that's the case, then how can you trust me? Or Greg, Amy's friend? Or Catsy and her sisters?"

Luna shook her head. "I trust them all because I know the Silver Crystal purged all the negative energy from all of you. Jedite hasn't been cleansed by the Crystal. There's no way of knowing if he might someday go back to serving the Negaverse."

Darian glared at her. "The Negaverse is gone," he said coldly. "It died with Queen Beryl. And Jed doesn't need healing by the Silver Crystal. He doesn't have any negative energy in him."

"Are you sure?"

Darian crossed his arms. "Are you sure?" he countered. Then he sighed. "Okay, you and Artemis can sense the influence of the Negaverse, right? Well, why don't you see if you can sense it around him. If you can, then I'll apologize and insist on Serena using the Crystal on him. If you can't, though, I expect you to apologize to both of us."

"I don't think I'm wrong, Darian," the cat said calmly.

Unable to restrain himself, he voiced one last counter argument. "Like you were right about Amy?" he snapped, referring to Sailor Mercury's debut. He had the pleasure of seeing the cat flush.

"All right, I was wrong about Amy," Luna conceded. "And I admit, I may be wrong about Jedite as well."

"And another thing," Darian said, turning and opening the door. "If you're wrong, you'll stop calling him Jedite and start calling him 'Jed.' It's what he wants to be called now."

"It's a deal," Luna said. She jumped down from the bed and padded calmly out the door into the hallway.

Darian followed her, feeling slightly ashamed of himself for attacking Luna with the barb about Amy. Still, he knew Jed was free from the Negaverse's influence. He couldn't help being angry about Luna's lack of faith in his judgment. He had a right to be upset.

The sight that met their eyes when they rejoined the others, however, was enough to startle him out of his resentment.

Mina and Lita were still arguing. Artemis, in the meantime, had left Mina's lap and was now firmly ensconced in Jed's. Jed had wrapped his hands around Artemis' head, using his thumbs to rub behind the white cat's ears and his index fingers to scratch under his chin. Artemis was purring up a storm.

Darian, hiding a smile, scooped Luna into his arms and settled her in his elbow the way he'd seen Serena and Amy do. "Do you really think Artemis would be enduring Jed's ministrations if there was any remnant of negative energy left in him?" he asked.

Luna glared up at him. "I'll judge that for myself, thank you," she snapped, jumping down.

She crossed over to her guardian partner. "Artemis! What do you think you're doing?"

Artemis opened one eye and gazed at her. "What does it look like? I'm getting my chin rubbed and my ears scratched."

"You're acting like a cat, you furball!"

"Well, duh!" the white cat growled. "Newsflash, Luna. I am a cat."

"You're supposed to be a guardian!" Luna snapped, putting her paws on Jed's leg and trying to shove Artemis away.

"Hey, quit it!" Artemis snapped, batting at Luna's head. "I was here first! Go find your own lap to sit on."

"Take it easy, Artemis," Jed said. "You, too, Luna." He gently shifted Artemis so that there was space on his lap for both cats. "There's enough of me to go around." He took turns scratching behind their ears.

Darian watched as Luna's eyes suddenly narrowed. In a moment she was shoving her head insistently into Jed's hand, glaring jealously at the other cat when he transferred his attentions.

Darian hid a smile. If Luna still doubted now, then she wasn't human. Well, cat.

* * *

"I don't understand," Jed said. "You thought I was lying all this time?"

Luna hung her head sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I was only worried that you weren't entirely free of the Negaverse's influence. I was wrong, though, and I apologize."

Jed nodded. "I guess it would be natural to be suspicious of me. I mean, you were there when I was fighting Sailors Moon, Mercury, and Mars. Artemis, Mina, and Lita weren't."

"It was still wrong of me to jump to conclusions," the cat said. "You'd think I'd have learned from what happened with Sailor Mercury."

"Well, I accept your apology," Jed said. "But like I said, it was only natural."

He felt that Luna was justified in her concerns and had acted accordingly. He'd breathed a sigh of relief when, after admitting what she'd been doing, she had stated firmly that there was no taint of the Negaverse left in him. He still had his memories, of course, as Darian did, but nothing else. He had no powers left, for which he was very glad, as they'd caused him enough problems already.

But despite himself, he couldn't help feeling a little worried. What would have happened if Luna had sensed Negaverse energy in him? It had been a possibility, of course. Supposedly if all of the Negaverse energy had dissipated with Queen Beryl's death, then he should automatically have returned to Earth free from the punishment she'd inflicted on him. And even if that did happen--as it hadn't--then his crystal prison might have trapped the negative energy within him, preventing it from dissipating with the rest. Darian had just now explained how Sailor Moon had used the Imperium Silver Crystal to transform possessed humans back to normal and rid them of negative energy. Would it have hurt?

It was a real consolation to know that Darian hadn't doubted him for an instant. He was glad he had at least one true friend and champion among the humans.

"What I can't accept is why you doubted my judgment," Artemis muttered angrily. "Did you really think me so numb that I wouldn't detect any residual Negaverse energy in Jed?"

"Well, you aren't the most observant of cats, you know," Luna said, tossing her head.

Artemis' fur bristled, but Jed dropped his hand on the cat's back and began stroking it gently. "Please, Luna, Artemis," he said, "enough." He turned to Darian. "Thanks for believing in me," he said softly.

Darian smiled gently at him. "Hey, you're my friend," he said. "You're a good person and I trust you."

Jed started to respond, but Darian shook his head. "Now that we're all through apologizing and everything," he said, "we have to get down to business."

"Right," Mina said, leaning forward to scoop Luna into her arms. The cat fought for a moment, then sighed and relaxed. "I don't think we'll have any problem telling Amy about you," Mina continued, looking at him, "but Serena and Rei might be difficult about it."

Lita nodded. "If anything, Amy will be more understanding." She wagged a finger in Luna's direction. "Especially since she'll have something in common with Jed."

Luna glowered at her. "I said I was sorry! Give it a rest, will you?"

Mina shook her head. "Amy's also more rational than Rei or Serena. I think we should tell her first, and tell her separately. Then she can help us reason with Rei."

Jed nodded. He couldn't remember Sailor Mercury very well, but now that he'd been reminded about her, he could recall exactly how powerful and how dangerous Sailor Mars could be when she was angry. It would take a great deal of planning and careful preparation.

"What about Serena?" Darian asked.

Mina looked a little uncomfortable. "No offense, Darian, but I think Lita's original assessment earlier was dead on. Serena will probably be stunned for a few moments after we tell her, then she'll come racing over here to goggle at Jed."

Jed felt uncomfortable for his friend's sake, but Darian seemed to be taking the whole thing in stride.

"Well, that's Serena," Darian said.

"She does love you, you know," Luna said. "Even though she moons over other boys, her heart belongs to you."

"And mine to her," Darian said calmly.

Jed suddenly felt a surge of admiration for his friend. No wonder Queen Beryl had wanted him for her consort so badly. He was nobility incarnate. He doubted he could ever reach that level of true nobility of spirit that Darian seemed to exist at. But it made a good goal to strive for.

"Well," Artemis said, "that takes care of Amy and Serena. Now, what are we going to do about Rei?"

"Good question," Mina said. "We could try--" She trailed off, shaking her head. "No, that wouldn't work, would it?"

"What?" Lita demanded.

"I was going to say we could all meet up at the temple and introduce Jed after we prepared her for the shock, but we'd have to tie her down first. The temple is much too isolated. She could go on the rampage and only we'd know about it."

Lita shook her head. "I doubt we'd be able to control her anywhere we introduced them."

"And I don't think we could just tell her the truth and introduce them later," Darian added. "She's liable to come storming over here the moment she knows."

"How in the world do you reason with someone fully capable of starting fires with her mind?" Artemis asked.

Jed sighed. "Maybe you should just introduce us and let what happens happen."

Everyone stared at him. "You can't be serious!" Mina gasped. "Rei would burn you to a crisp!"

Jed shook his head. "Could you blame her for hating me?" he asked. "After what I did to them all, I'm surprised you could imagine Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury being so forgiving." He sighed. "I don't know how much they've told you about our fights, but they weren't pretty. Trying to run them over with jumbo jets or endangering them by tricking them onto a rusty, leaky ship--not to mention the threat of tetanus--is hardly something that would endear me to them." He sighed again. "Maybe I deserve to be punished by Sailor Mars."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Lita shouted.

"That's insane!" Mina said.

"Rei wouldn't do that," Luna said.

"Yes, she would," Artemis countered.

Jed listened to the babble, but the voice he wanted most to hear remained silent. He heard no calm reassurances, no loud denials from Darian. He closed his eyes, unwilling to believe that Darian thought his plan was the right one to follow.

"No."

Jed opened his eyes as everyone else fell silent.

Darian glared at him. "I won't let you throw your life away like that," he said sternly. "I don't care if I have to become Prince Darian to stop her or not, Rei is not going to lay one finger on you, and she isn't even going to get soot on your clothes. And don't you dare suggest anything so stupid again!"

"Darian," Jed whispered.

"Look, Jed," Darian said in a more normal tone. "Last night, talking to you about Nephlyte, Zoisite, and Malachite helped me to realize that while I did some evil things fighting for the Negaverse, I also did a lot of good, both before Beryl brainwashed me and even after she did. And since then, I've been able to do a lot more to atone for those wrongs. Now it's your turn."

"Darian's right, Jed," Mina said softly. "Throughout the time Beryl had him under her spell, Darian still sought to protect ordinary humans from Malachite's schemes. He came to Sailor Moon's rescue several times, even though it set him squarely at odds with Malachite. And he even enabled Sailor Moon to free a girl transformed into a monster by her jealousy."

"That doesn't count," Darian objected. "I'd summoned her up to use her against you."

"It doesn't matter," Lita said firmly. "Jed, the truth is that Darian's never been completely evil, and I don't think you ever were yourself. Not if you could appreciate everything you saw yesterday the way you did."

Jed nodded slowly, then sighed and shook his head. "But what is worse? Being so totally evil that you can't appreciate beautiful things, or being able to appreciate beautiful things but still deciding to destroy them?"

"Jed," Artemis said, looking up at him from his lap, "let your guilt go. You have a new chance at life, and a chance to make a difference in the world."

"Artemis is right," Luna said. "As Jedite you tried to make a negative difference, bringing the world into Queen Beryl's grasp. Now look for ways to make a positive difference."

"Jed," Darian said softly. "We're here for you if you need our help. And you're welcome to stay here for as long as you like."

To Jed's surprise and embarrassment, Darian started to blush. "As a matter of fact," he said, "I like having you here, and I want you to stay." He sighed. "I never realized how lonely it got living here all by myself. Then I freed you from Beryl's prison, and had a guest staying with me. It's different, but I like it."

Jed felt himself flushing himself, but he looked Darian straight in the eye. "Thanks," he said softly. "I like it here."

"Well, I'm glad that's settled, at least," Luna commented. She got up from Mina's lap and jumped onto the table. "We still haven't figured out how to break the news to Rei, but that can wait until we've discussed the whole thing with Amy. She'll be able to come up with a good plan."

"Yeah," Artemis said, also jumping to the table. He settled himself on his haunches. "And I think it's a good idea for Jed to stay here for a while," he added. "This way he and Darian will become used to each other and more knowledgeable of each other's habits."

"Yes," Luna said, "and they'll be doing what people like Andrew and Rita expect them to. Getting to know each other."

Darian nodded, smiling. "Which makes sense, since we're supposed to be cousins."

Jed felt himself smiling.

"It makes sense," Lita said. "Since Jed has practically no history to speak of--at least nothing that we'd want to share with the general public--passing him off as Darian's cousin is a reasonable story, especially since people who know Darian well like Andrew and Rita have already accepted it." She turned and winked at Darian. "So, Darian, how does it feel to have a family again?"

Darian grinned. "It feels great." He turned to Jed. "Doesn't it, cousin?"

Jed smiled back. "It sure does," he said softly, "cousin."

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