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[Hey, now we can't make it THAT easy to beat the bad guy! lol]

The arrow managed to make it through the shield, which then shattered. But the shield slowed down the momentum of the arrow. The man caught it in his hands.

"You think you can defeat me with one of these toys?" The man laughed. Although the shield had failed, he still had several tricks up his sleeve. He sprinted towards the Hunter, kicking out a leg and knocking him down to the ground. "Allow me to introduce myself." He grinned in the Hunter's face as he pinned him down. "My name is Jax. You probably don't remember me, but that's ok. All you need to know is that I'm the one who will be killing your girl and all her friends soon."

Makoto was coming to. "Get up Youma Hunter!" She weakly called. She saw all of her friends up in the cages above them and began to weep. "Sailor Moon! Wake up!" She called. "Look at what they're doing to you all! You have to wake up!"

Her starseed began to shine bright green. Her emotions built up inside of her, she pushed them out, blowing Jax across the room and off of the Youma Hunter. The shields around the others broke and the monsters that were all over them evaporated away. But the girls remained out of it.

Makoto found herself on the floor. She didn't know how she broke through the shackles, but she did. She was weak, but not so weak that she couldn't get up and fight, too. She transformed as Jax was getting up. Her eyes filled with rage as she thought about all the things he did to her while he had her chained up. She wanted to kick the s**t out of him. Not just for tieing her down and beating her up, but for what he had done to her friends, just to get to her beloved.

"JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!" She cried sending her attack at him with fury.

The attack left Jax so stunned that he hesitated to get back up.

"Get him, Ite." She growled.

[I agree, but it was too fitting not to have the Action Hero moment there with the set up you left there.]

"I don't remember you... but it matters not... once you're dead, I won't ever have to think of you again!" The Hunter drew and slashed hard with this heavy blade. Moving with the Slash to create some distance between the two of them. This one moved faster than he expected and he couldn't make that mistake twice.

"For what you have done to my beloved, let alone the Princesses means that your life is forfeit fool!" Charging forward he slashed more with his blade trying to overwhelm Jax with a series of hard attacks.

Jupiter watched as her man went to town on Jax. Blood went everywhere as the blade went into the dude over and over. Eventually, his body was unrecognizable and Jupiter noticed his head rolling over the floor.

As the man finally died, the room lit up. All the monsters disappeared. The shields fell. The cages that the girls were in dropped slowly to the floor before disappearing. They each passed out on the floor. She ran to Sailor Moon and pulled her brooch off. Then gestured to the Hunter to do so with the rest before they started to come to.

The Hunter's cape had been ripped off of Mercury and had fallen to the floor. Jupiter picked it up and handed it to him. Then, she collapsed into his arms, as she began to sob.

"Forgive you? You saved me. There is nothing to forgive."

Each of the girls started to sit up, delirious from the events that had taken place. "What happened?" Rei asked.

"You don't remember anything?" Jupiter said.

They all shook their heads. "No, but I feel like I just went on a hot date with the sexiest guy around. We had so much fun!" Minako said.

"Yeah that's... not what happened..." Makoto trailed off. "Should we tell them?" She whispered quietly to the Hunter. With everything gone, that meant there would be nothing that could potentially get them pregnant.

If they thought they were in a dream the entire time, perhaps it was best that they didn't tell them?

"I think that everyone is probably going to be too weak to go back home tonight. How about we stay here? We can rest up and go back home in the morning?" In retrospect, they had only been there for a couple of hours. Jax was smart and knew how to trap them all, but he, by far, was probably one of the weakest enemies they had faced.

Makoto had no way of knowing if they were penetrated or not. She called Makoto over. "Hey, can you tell me what that hot date you dreamed about was like? How far did you go with the dream guy?"

"Aww man, it was so intense! It was the best makeout session ever! We were just getting ready to get naked when I woke up!"

"You're not... sore anywhere... like you did anything, are you?"

Minako shook her head. "No, nothing like that. Why?" Makoto sighed. Perhaps she should say.

"That guy that's chopped up on the floor... He tried to take advantage of you all with his... creatures..." She disgustingly said.

"What!? Eww! I don't feel like anything happened, though. It was like I just had a really intense makeout session with Mamo-Chan. Just as Minako did. We didn't go all the way. Damn, though. I'm so wet! I wish Mamo-Chan was here. I want him so bad right now!" Usagi drooled.

"Well, at least they don't seem phased by it." Makoto heaves a sigh of relief. Her ordeal was quite the opposite. Jax had told her that he would not violate her until The Hunter had arrived. But he spared no time in assaulting her in other ways. She was sore and tired from trying to fight her way out of the shackles.

She thought about where everyone could potentially go. "I get the feeling that the coast is clear now. I will show the girls around while you scout. On the off chance that anything is lingering, I can defend us and call for you."

Minako asked Jupiter to fill them in on what had happened after the hall. She took time to explain everything to them as they walked through the palace to find the DV guest quarters. She remembered that each had their own rooms reserved for whenever they visited. Serenity's being the most prestigious guest room they had. As they found Serenity's room, the inners all decided to have a sleepover in there. Haruka and Michiru wanted their own space. Pluto and Hotaru opted to join the inners.

'I'm hungry!" Usagi stated. "Do you think there's any food, Mako Chan?"

Jupiter shrugged. "Well, Jax had food while he was here. So that means there should be some somewhere. Let me go check the kitchens..."

[Ok that's weird, because I actually DID write a reply to this one. Dangit! Also, no. Makoto isn't sharing!]

There had been quite a bit of food stocked in the palace. This didn't surprise Makoto, since it had been occupied. But one thing that bothered her was what was going to happen to it all when they left?

She had changed back to herself as she started cooking something tasty for the girls in the kitchen. Chicken coconut curry with sausage and rice. There was only one person missing. Where had Ite gone?

She excused herself from all of her friends and sought out to find him. It was no surprised that he had chosen to isolate himself in the throne room. She quietly entered the room, sat next to him, and handed him a plate.

"You know, you don't have to separate yourself from everyone else." She lovingly scolded. "You're not alone anymore." She looked around the room. The only thing lighting it was the fire that Ite had started. That, and something on top of the mantel. It was very light, and was flashing.

Makoto picked it up. It was small stick that looked similarly to her first transformation pen. Except at the top, there was a round, metallic disc. As soon as she picked it up, a projected figure appeared. A beautiful woman resembling Makoto appeared in front of her. She wore a long green and pink flowy gown that went to the floor and draped behind her in a small train.

"Mother?" Makoto gasped, a tear unwillingly filling up her eye.

"My dear sweet princess, my have I missed holding you in my arms and rocking you to sleep each night. I'm sure its been at least a millinea since you last saw me, but to me, it was just like yesterday.

"If you're seeing this, then you know that our kingdom is long gone, with no insights on what the future might bring. Yesterday, Queen Serenity mentioned sending you all to the future. I am so scared, because I know I can no longer guide you. But I know its for the best.

"My dear Mako, I want to tell you about our Kingdom's history. Because our heritage is strong and you need to know where you came from. You see, millennia ago, our solar system was not as united as we are now. We coexisted peacefully, but we were never as allied as we are now. Especially not to the moon.

"Don't get me wrong, I love Queen Serenity dearly. She is a strong woman, and our alliance with the Moon Kingdom is a necessary one. But we once were able to sustain ourselves without the help of the Moon Kingdom. It was the Silver Crystal that started to bring in evil. Each and every last person who came attacked the planets outside of the moon first, attempting to enslave us into their armies in order to possess and rule with it.

"That crystal, with its power, has been nothing but a nuisance to our system. When we allied with the Moon Kingdom, we promised to protect Queen Serenity and her kingdom in trade for protection from her. This we had no choice in. Sure, we could leave the system and find a home elsewhere, but what good could come from that? If Serenity has nobody to protect her, than the entire galaxy is at risk from those who would have it. So it makes no sense to leave.

"This is why we have stayed in every war. To protect the Queen that protects us. But the Kingdom of Jupiter is still mighty. We need to regrow our kingdom and be strong so that if forces such as Metalia come back, we can defeat them more easily.

"You are the key that protects Jupiter and the Moon, but you cannot do it alone. You have a lover in this life, Makoto. I acted like I did not approve of your relationship because he is not of royal blood. The truth is that I love the Youma Hunter like a son. Although his methods are somewhat unorthodox and not quite in line with ours, he has always put protecting you and our Kingdom over everything.

"When Serenity sent you to Earth in the Future, she sent several warriors with you, including the Youma Hunter. In doing so, we both gave him additional powers to help you once you find him. I do hope you have found one another. He will make a strong king.

"Now is the time to start rebuilding. To make everything as it was. Help Queen Serenity defeat the evil that threatens us and restore the Kingdom of Jupiter to her former glory. Start a family. Rule with your mind and your heart. But most of all, Makoto, I want you to be happy. Find happiness in all you do, my child. Have fun, and live life. This is the sacrifice I have made for you.

"I love you."

Makoto was now shaking, tears streaming down her face. Oh, how she had missed having a mother to care for her. She could not recall what her mother had looked like in any of her memories. Now, she knew. "I love you too, Mother. I miss you!" she managed to choke out.

Makoto sat there quietly crying for several minutes as Ite quietly held her. His kiss to the forehead warmed her heart. When she finally settled down she looked at Ite. "I'm so glad I have you. I just wish we could have found one another sooner." She sniffled. She had every desire to fulfill her mom's wish to grow her life together with Ite. She knew that it was about time for Usagi to start building the Moon Kingdom. Though she had no idea what that entailed.

She picked up her chopsticks and started to eat her curry. "What do you think... About my mother saying that we should rebuild our kingdom together?" She asked.