Third Time's the Charm

By Bashfulglowfly

Chapter One

"You look…terrible."

Mamoru gave a baleful look at his best friend. Motoki just looked concerned but poured the cup of coffee anyway and handed it over. Which was probably a good thing since Mamoru seriously needed a caffeine jolt. It had been a week after the earthquake and tsunami that had destroyed Iwate Prefecture, Sendai and the surrounding areas. Then there was the Fukushima Nuclear Power plant and the heroes who were staying there to prevent a meltdown. Those brave men were risking their lives every minute they stayed there.

Mamoru didn't have any way of getting anywhere near the devastation so he went to the park across from his apartment every day and put as much of his power he could into the earth and "push" it in the right direction. But it was exhausting. He knew that he wasn't looking well. He was still feeling sick and figured he would feel that way for a while. He looked over his should to the four girls sitting at the booth not far from him. He knew if he asked, they would lend him power but he didn't know if he could actually use theirs.

"Mamoru-san doesn't look so hot." Said Makoto.

Rei sighed. "He's the Prince of Earth. What happened last week is probably making him sick."

"No, what's making him sick is the fact that he's trying to Heal the Earth." Said Minako. "He goes to the park across from his apartment and injects as much as he can into the earth. That's why he looks so bad."

"How do you know he's doing that?" asked Makoto.

Minako shrugged and took a sip of her soda. "Artemis saw him. Told me. I went and watched."

"Why didn't you tell us?!" Rei asked angrily. "We can probably help him!"

"We can't." The fourth member of the group spoke almost absently while she gazed at her computer. "Our Gifts are not from the Earth. So there's no chance that they can combine or work with his."

"Oh." Makoto laid her head down on her crossed arms. "Do you think that the person who calls herself "Sailor Moon" over in Sendai survived?"

The girls thought briefly about the mysterious Sailor Moon. She had appeared in Sendai about the same time they had in Tokyo. She also fought against evil. They had even made a special trip to Sendai to see if they could find her. They wanted to know if she knew where the princess was. Even after a year of searching, neither they nor Tuxedo Mask were any closer to finding her, despite the best efforts of Luna, Artemis and Sailor Mercury.

Ami continued to tap on her computer. Then she gasped.

"What is it?" asked Minako.

Ami looked up. Her face was paler then normal. "Look at this picture!" She turned her computer around so they could see.

It was a picture from Sendai after the tsunami. Four men carrying a girl and a boy and two bodies. According to the caption, the girl and the boy were the younger siblings of one of the men and the bodies were their parents. They had all survived the earthquake but were unable to get to higher ground to escape the tsunami.

"That's sad." Said Makoto, wiping away a tear. "It's going to be hard not having their parents."

Ami bit her lip; she didn't want to snap at her friend because she knew that Makoto was thinking about her own parents. She took a breath. "No, it's not about the loss of their parents. The men. Look at their faces."

The other three girls stared at the photo. Rei looked up at Ami with puzzled eyes. "Sorry, I'm not seeing what you're seeing."

Ami hissed angrily and grabbed her computer back, tapping hard upon the keys. The other girls looked at each other in surprise, this was not normal behavior for the serious Senshi of Water. Ami spun her computer back around. "How about now!"

On the screen were close-ups of the four men. Rei jerked back in her chair, Makoto covered her mouth with one hand and Minako pulled the computer closer. Minako looked up at Ami, eyes dilated so much you could barely see the blue. "But they're supposed to be…"

The bell over the door gave its usual cheerful ring. Many years later, Mamoru thought that is was ironic that something so mundane signaled such a radical change in their lives.

Mamoru was pounced on by a whirlwind.

A strawberry blond whirlwind.

A strawberry blond whirlwind that should be dead.

"Good, you're here!" Zoicite grabbed him by his jacket and shirt, dragged him off the stool and towards the girls.

Makoto jumped to her feet, fists up and ready. Rei and Minako quickly followed her. Ami could only sit and stare.

"Hi! Good to see you again! We've got to go! We've got to go now! She needs us! She needs all of us! Grab your stuff!" The four girls could only stare as one of their greatest nemesis started to walk away, dragging Mamoru behind him.

"Z…Zoicite." came Ami's voice, trembling at first but became steady.

Zoicite turned around still holding onto Mamoru, who was trying to get the shorter man to release him…and failing. This was a Zoicite they hadn't seen before. His hair was partially out of its usual ponytail and looked like it hadn't been brushed for a few days. Zoicite's face was also drawn, as if he hadn't slept or eaten properly. "Yes, Mercury?" Zoicite's tone was almost worshipful.

Ami swallowed and stood up. "Zoicite, stop. Sit down."

Zoicite shook his head rapidly, strawberry blond hair flying. "No, I can't. We can't we don't have time. We have to go!" His eyes were pleading.

Ami bravely walked up to him and placed a hand on his arm. The other girls gaped as Zoicite visibly trembled at her touch. "Zoicite, please, sit down. Let go of Mamoru-san and sit down for a moment." She looked up at Motoki, "A cup of coffee please."

Zoicite opened his mouth to speak but then closed it. He released Mamoru and allowed Ami to push him into a chair. Motoki quietly brought the cup of coffee and handed it to Zoicite who drank half of it without even checking to see if it was too hot. Ami pulled another chair close and sat down so that she was in front of him, almost knee to knee.

Zoicite reached out and stroked her cheek. "I've missed you, my Nymph."

Ami blushed and smiled warily. "Thank you. Zoicite, who needs us?"

Zoicite blinked. "Serenity."

"Serenity?"

"The princess, your princess. Oh Blessed Goddess! I forgot that you don't have all your memories back!" Zoicite was horrified, Ami could see it written across his face.

"Alright. Serenity needs us. Of course we'll go to her. Where is she?"

"At the hospital." Came the obedient reply.

"Which hospital?"

Zoicite looked confused for a moment, then his face cleared and he smiled brilliantly. "Your mother's hospital."

"Juuban Second General Hospital?"

Zoicite nodded. He jumped back to his feet. "Yes, that hospital. We have to go! She's dying!"

"Dying? Are you sure?"

Zoicite sat back down, placing his head in his hands. When he looked back up, his green eyes were filled with tears. "Well, not yet. But she will die. We think that she's trying."

"Why?"

Tears ran down his cheeks. "Because she couldn't save her parents. You see, they lived in Sendai. Usagi, that's her name here and now, and her parents and her little brother survived the earthquake but then the tsunami hit. She transformed into Sailor Moon…" The others gasped at that. "…but she wasn't able to save her parents, only Shingo. We went and got them…"

Minako gasped "The photo!"

Zoicite looked at her, puzzled. "What photo?"

Ami grabbed her computer and show him the photo that was still on it. Tears fell down his cheeks as he looked at it. He gently touched the figures shown. "Kazuya is carrying Usagi, I'm carrying Shingo, Neph is carrying Uncle Kenji and Jade is carrying Aunt Ikuko." His hands started to shake and Ami took the computer away from him, placing it back on the table. Zoicite threw himself to his knees in front of her, wrapped his arms around her and sobbed into her lap.

Mamoru, Motoki and the other girls moved restlessly, uncomfortable with such a display. Ami, with tears in her own eyes, bent over him and ran her hands across his hair and back. Whispering quiet words the others couldn't hear.

Motoki looked at Mamoru. "You need to go with him. Lord Zoicite has never lied to you about something this important before. The princess needs you."

Even Ami stared at Motoki. He wasn't the cheerful, happy-go-lucky arcade manager that they were used to. The Motoki they were staring at seemed almost…warrior-like. Motoki smiled a small smile. "Yes, I know who you are. I have for a long time. I'm from the Moon myself." He laughed a little. "When you regain your memories, you'll probably remember who I am."

Makoto looked at Motoki then at Zoicite. She walked to the counter then came back carrying a clean towel that she'd dampened. She handed it to Ami, who tilted Zoicite's face up and gently cleaned it off. Zoicite laughed softly. "I cried like that when I regained my memories seven years ago. Haven't since then. But Uncle Kenji and Aunt Ikuko are worth it."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Asked Ami.

"Yes. Sort of." Zoicite kissed the palm of Ami's hand and stood up, still holding it. He looked at everyone standing around him. "Will you come with me? Please? Serenity does need you. We think that she blames herself for not saving them. That's why we think she wants to die."

Ami stood up. "We will come."