Naru was tired of being confined to the hotel room. She still didn't feel like it would be safe to go out and walk around the streets, but the hotel had a small outdoor cafe behind it, set in a nice little garden. In the middle of the day she went down to the cafe to have lunch. As always, it was a clear, sunny day; rain showers in Crystal Tokyo were frequent but brief, and mostly occurred between dusk and dawn. The air was cool in the shade of the garden, but not as cold as she would have expected for this time of year, unless her calculation of what day and month it should be was way off. The trees were still mostly green, except for a few changed leaves here and there, and flowers still bloomed in the neatly-kept flower beds and pots. A waiter brought Naru a menu, and she studied it. The variety of choices was almost overwhelming, after months of being limited to whatever was being served at the Institute.

A sudden percussion of noise and air pressure threw her from her chair to the paving stones. Glass shattered in the hotel windows. Her ears hurt; for a moment, the world was completely silent. Then sound started to come back: Staff and guests shouting questions and crying out in fear; one man moaning loudly, hunched over on the ground, head gripped between his hands. His pain reminded Naru of when Zoisite's purification had come undone. "Mumeishi," she whispered.

She got to her feet. The hip she had landed on felt bruised, but she was able to walk. Inside the glass-littered lobby, a desk clerk, his face bleeding from half a dozen cuts, grabbed her arm as she walked towards the shattered street door. "You shouldn't go outside! It's dangerous!"

Naru removed his hand from her arm. "I need to find out what happened."

In the street, people were running in all directions and shouting and gesturing. Several people were collapsed on the ground, clutching their heads, crying in pain. Had the shock and noise of the explosion somehow broken the purification on these people? "What happened?" Naru asked a man who had just been shouting into his cell phone.

"The Institute for Wellness and Joy just...exploded. Disintegrated. It isn't there any more."

The thought of the large hospital building being destroyed left Naru stunned for a moment. "What happened to the people in it?"

"I don't know. I have to hurry home." The man she'd been talking to rushed away, but another man nearby said, "They're saying that everyone escaped alive from the explosion, and there's a mob moving towards the Palace." He and his female companion hurried off.

"Mumeishi," Naru said again. He had launched his rebellion. She began running in the direction of the Institute.

* * * * * * * *

Sailor Jupiter, in full battle transformation, accompanied by Nephrite's personal guard, appeared in the doorway to the terrace. "You're wanted in Endymion and Serenity's quarters, all four of you. Please." Though phrased as a polite request, there was no mistaking that her words were actually an order, to be obeyed immediately and without question. If there had ever been any doubt as to the Guardians' status relative to the Senshi, this settled the matter. The four of them rose from their interrupted meal and followed Jupiter through the halls, stairways, and elevators of the Palace to Endymion and Serenity's private chambers. They walked in silence, Jupiter not elaborating on why they were wanted, though Nephrite was certain it had to do with the disaster at the Institute. If Mumeishi had launched his plan, it wasn't going to look good that the Guardians had not yet alerted the King and Queen to the threat.

Endymion and Serenity stood waiting in their private reception room. They both looked pale and shaken, and Nephrite was reminded of how young they were; Serenity only twenty-three in her actual waking years of this life, and Endymion not yet thirty. But they had more than one lifetime of memories and experience to draw on as they carried out the responsibilities that had descended on them; Nephrite hoped it would be enough.

"The Institute for Wellness and Joy has been destroyed," Endymion said without greeting or preamble. "Miraculously, it appears that none of the residents there were killed. However, there are reports that an angry mob of the unpurified residents, including a number of criminals, are headed this way. There are also reports that a number of citizens are experiencing a reversal of their purification, and many of them are also joining in the rioting and violence."

Rioting and violence, and Naru was out there..."Naru-chan," Nephrite said. He turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Endymion called after him. "What do you know about this?"

"Naru's out there, and she's alone. I need to find her."

Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars moved to block his way, but Serenity's voice came from behind him. "Let him go." There was an air of defeat in her voice. The Senshi stepped aside and let Nephrite run from the room.

* * * * * * * *

Serenity looked at the three Guardians who remained with them. There was something different about Zoisite and Kunzite--a hard, sorrowful, defiant look to their faces. She knew what had changed. "You remembered," she said.

"You had no right to strip us of part of ourselves," Kunzite said. "I would have served you loyally, without question, without being forced to forget that I ever had any other loyalties. You should have trusted us."

"How did we know we could trust you?" Endymion demanded. "We had no idea how much hold the Dark Kingdom would still have on your minds and hearts. You betrayed me once; I needed my Guardians and I needed to know I could rely on them."

"Do you really think we went with Beryl entirely of our own free will? Do you really think that little of us?" Zoisite asked in response. "In spite of the promises she made to us, in the end she still had to force us by altering our minds. How is what you've done any different from that?"

His question hit her like a stab to the heart, but Serenity forced herself to face him without flinching. "We did what we thought was necessary."

"You ask some good questions, and you deserve answers," Endymion said. "In the meantime, though, Crystal Tokyo is in a crisis. Are you going to stand with us or not?"

"Do you know what is at the root of the crisis?" Kunzite asked.

"No," Serenity answered.

"The people who are confined in the Institute because they refused to be purified are unhappy. They feel they've been treated unjustly. Some of these people may indeed be dangerous. Others simply couldn't bear to allow you to take away memories and emotions that were important to them." He looked directly at Serenity. "Your friend, for example."

"Naru-chan," Serenity murmured. "Yes, I regret what I had to do to her." And it was true, though she couldn't allow herself to show it or to allow her regret to drive her decisions. "Is she involved in this?"

"No. She escaped from the Institute to bring warning of what was about to happen."

"Why weren't we or the Senshi informed of this warning?" the King asked.

"We didn't expect anything to happen so soon," Jadeite said.

"We were thinking about where we stand on the matter of the purifications," Kunzite added. "You are our King and Queen; we are sworn to protect you and the city you rule. But we cannot ignore an unjust law and the abuse of power."

The accusation stung. "Abuse of power?" Serenity said. "You don't know what we've seen, what will happen if we can't prevent it."

Sailor Jupiter, who had been speaking into a communicator, lowered her handset. "Your Majesties, parts of Crystal Tokyo are burning."

Serenity's indignation was replaced by horror. "It's happening, Endymion. I thought I could prevent it, but it's happening anyway. I was wrong." All her plans, her hopes, were in ruins.

Endymion faced the three Guardians. "Well? Where do you stand? With us, or with those who wish to destroy the peace and happiness of this city?"

"I will stand with the King and Queen I'm sworn to serve, and with the people I'm sworn to protect," Kunzite said. "But I will not fight for a law that I think is unjust." The other two Guardians added their agreement.

"And Nephrite?" Endymion asked. "Where does he stand?"

"His first loyalty should be obvious," Jadeite said. "The woman he loves. After that...I believe he agrees with the three of us. If he comes back, you'll know it's because he chooses to, and not because you left him with no other options."

Serenity struggled to collect herself. She had tried to spare her city and her future daughter the horrors she had seen that were to come, but it seemed that all paths would eventually lead to the same place. "Very well," she said. "Let us restore peace to Crystal Tokyo, and then we can discuss alternatives to the universal purification law."