Author's Note: I know. It's been aaaages. I haven't actually written for SM fanfiction in a while, but I had chapters 7 and 8 completed on my laptop, waiting to be edited. Since I've been focusing on original fiction more these days, I decided to take a break from it and come check out FC. I hope you will all forgive me for being so late in uploading this chapter. I may or may not continue writing here, but I'd love to hear what you have to say about my writing either way.

Also, most of you guys freaked out over the ReixMamo kiss. XD Maybe you'll get some better insight into what all that was about when I've updated up to chapter nine.

Anyway, enjoy!

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First Circle: Chapter o7

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Serena woke from what could only be termed as one of her biggest fears. The tendrils of hair around her face were slick with sweat as she combed trembling hands through them. For a few nights now, she'd been having a recurring dream where the youma attacked en force in Japan and it had left the city devastated and in shambles. Not only was that a point of worry, but in the nightmare, her friends had ended up either dead or with severe injuries.

Oh, Goddess.

Mako-chan had been pierced through the abdomen, pinned against a building like a butterfly on display.

Blinking back tears, she tried to rid herself of the terrible feeling it left her with. Somehow, she just couldn't shake the emotion of impending danger she felt was looming over them. The days were passing and the danger was becoming more imminent, more real, and ultimately inevitable.

Using the comforters, she wiped a trickle of sweat from her forehead. Her cheeks felt flushed, and her heart wouldn't slow its pace.

She needed to contact the Senshi, but her pride as their leader and princess left her feeling as though she shouldn't be making contact with them until she had fully matured or at least grown as a leader worthy of leading them. Her shoulders slumped in distress.

Serena didn't want to communicate with them if all she could talk about were her own problems. She wanted to portray a confident, independent version of herself; she didn't want them to see that she was still just as problematic, clingy, and whiny as before.

Serena Tsukino and Sailor Moon. Right. How was she supposed to be their pillar of support and strength? Serena realized better now how her choices could impact the Senshi, and she could never go back to them while still making as many mistakes as before.

Her Senshi were irreplaceable, and they were most certainly not expendable. No one should be risked for peace; if the Dark Kingdom and its peons were to go against the girls in Japan, she needed to be there to help them. She needed… She needed to be so many things, and with the way her nightmare had been going, she felt as though there just wasn't enough time to grow in all those ways.

Serena glanced at her alarm clock, noting that she had risen almost an hour earlier than usual. If she called, they would be able to talk to her. To hear one of their voices… She smiled and shook off the effects of the dream, excited to talk to one of her Senshi.

Hauling herself out of the warmth of her bed, she went over to her desk and pulled open one of the drawers. She sifted through the loose sheets of papers, looking for her communicator. As she pulled out the watch, she flipped open the face of it, staring down at the screen and the buttons that would end up dialing one of the Senshi.

She paused for only a second before moving quickly so that she wouldn't change her mind. As her index finger made contact with one of the protruding buttons on the side of the watch, she waited for Rei to pick up the call.

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Rei sat before the blazing fire in the fire prayer room of the Hikawa Shrine, sweat beading on her forehead as she stared intently into the roaring flames – a reflection of her own emotions. As soon as the kiss had ended and Mamoru had pulled away, guilt crashed down on her, leaving her feeling as though she had not only scorned the trust Usagi had in her, but herself. She knew that Mamoru's feelings for her could never grow to the kind of love that he felt for Usagi, but she couldn't help wishing for that kind of love.

Sighing, the priestess unbound her tied hair, letting it fall forward in front of her face like a veil between her and the rest of the world and her imprints upon it.

She gnawed on her lower lip, unsure if she would ever be able to face Usagi knowing what she had done. She'd had difficulty facing Luna without blushing the shade of her crimson skirt in Senshi form. If Luna had bothered to censure her disapproving thoughts, she most definitely did not bother to censure her disapproving expressions. The moon cat was most definitely not happy with the fire Senshi at the moment, and Rei could not blame her.

Rei's wristwatch communicator went off. Sighing, she lifted her wrist.

Oh.

She was not ready for this at all. Staring down into Usagi's worried face on the screen, too many thoughts ran rampant in her head.

It was just the timing.

We didn't mean it. He just fell on my face, you meatball brain. What'd you get so worked up for?

No, no, there was nothing. Nothing happened. Nothing!

Damn it! Luna had probably spilled the beans to Usagi before Rei could even figure out what to do about the situation.

How could she ever begin to explain what had gone through her mind to the naïve girl? Usagi probably could never even imagine her best friend kissing the love of her life!

Guilt enveloped Rei as she masked her own confusion and attempted to put on a smile for her best friend. Surely she couldn't tell Usagi about what had conspired between the two closest people to her. She would be beyond devastated.

She being herself, or Usagi?

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Usagi was hit with a wave of nostalgia when she saw Rei's face come onto the screen of the communicator.

Wow. Rei's eyes had bags, making them look bruised. Concerned, Usagi hoped the apparent lack of sleep had nothing to do with the monsters of her dreams.

"Hi," Usagi greeted, feeling shy. She had missed Rei, she mused as the epiphany hit her. With the busy schedule Keira and Kyle had put together for her while they had been on the last two weeks of break, and then the first day of classes, Serena had had little time to feel nostalgic for her friends back home. She had been busy from the time she woke to the time she fell asleep almost instantly as she hit the sheets. Part of her was thankful for that; she didn't have to spend time pondering on her misgivings or her failures that were eminent within her. Nor did she have to think about the people she had left behind at home.

Rei wanted to convince the blonde to come home to Japan. But, she had no idea where to even begin.

"Usagi," Rei greeted. Her eyes began to water as she wondered how the meatball-head would take the passionate kiss if she were to tell her. Flashes of rumpled clothes and lips against lips filled her mind as she thought of the pressure that had pushed against her stomach while she'd been with Mamoru. It felt like her disloyalty was being written across her face, and so she quickly averted her gaze to the side to look into the flames of the fire.

"How are you? I miss you," the silvery-blonde said simply.

Bitterness filled Rei at hearing those words. If she missed them, surely she would have returned by now, right?

"Things are as usual, although it would be nice if you came back to fulfill your duty and responsibility."

The harshness of those words had Usagi flinching almost visibly, but if there was one thing she had learned while away, it was that she needed to stand up for herself and for the reasons why she did things.

"I-I want to," Usagi said. "But, please, understand that this is something I need to do. I can't come home yet, and… you would be surprised to know that the Dark Kingdom is also in this area."

Shocked, Rei turned her gaze swiftly back to the communicator. "What do you mean the Dark Kingdom is there? Have they attacked people in that city you're in?" Her voice came out sharp.

"No…well, that is to say that they have attacked the civilians in search of fresh energy, but the Dark Kingdom here is a different one from the one at home, I think. We haven't had much contact with any of the generals the way we did at home, and I can't tell that the one who is in charge of the Darkness here is looking for me or the Silver Imperium Crystal. There was only this one attack a week or so ago." Usagi debated briefing Rei on the attack that had happened on the ice rink a week and a half ago. That made it seem like such a short time ago, even though she had felt as though she had grown so much.

"Since then there haven't been any other attacks, but I feel as though there will be one soon," Usagi murmured. Her eyebrows came together in a frown as she thought about the situation with the Dark Kingdom. She had tried to glean as much information as she could from the Circle, but they had not known much about the pattern or the tactics of the Dark Kingdom. They had only come together about two years ago, which was actually about the same time the Senshi in Japan had begun joining together.

It was usually in these moments that Usagi wished Ami were with her to help better analyze the situation. Heck, she'd give up a day's munchies if Luna could show up to lend her inquisitive mind to the Circle. That was one cat who was able to narrow down the objectives that the Dark Kingdom might have.

"I believe that right now the Dark Kingdom is still just picking up energy from the people here. They have yet to show themselves in force, and have only been sending out their pawns rather than their knights." By this point, Usagi was just thinking aloud, trying to voice her thought process as she tried to reach the conclusion that would tell her what it was that the Darkness wanted with the west coast of America.

Rei was startled at how much consideration Usagi seemed to be giving her current situation. The Usagi the raven-haired priestess knew tended to be more abject to reading manga during their Senshi meetings, letting the other girls harrow out the details and the why's of the Dark Kingdom. It was a rare thing for Usagi to actually participate in the conversations, and when she did it was usually only when the situation was extremely dire and lives were at stake.

If this was really evidence of her stay in another country, then Rei could almost see why Usagi had left. Unable to admit that maybe Usagi had reasons to go, or that the visit was doing the meatball-head some good, she turned the conversation to the youma.

"What was the youma like? How strong was it? How were you able to defeat it by yourself?" Rei barreled questions at the other girl, worried that one day a youma would be there and be too strong for only one Senshi to handle. Couldn't she see that she needed the Senshi? Couldn't Usagi see that they needed her?

Rei halted her questions as Usagi's words sunk in. We?

Usagi stopped herself short from telling Rei about the Circle. The Senshi back home knew nothing of the Circle. Certainly, the girls didn't know that Usagi was training to use her Senshi powers without the need to transform. She still wasn't able to do it, but sometimes there were bursts of power and she was able to obtain her moon scepter from its subspace pocket and use it.

She knew exactly what Rei would say when she explained to them about how the Circle knew about Serena's powers. However, maybe they would understand. After all, the Circle was just like the Sailor Senshi, but in California.

"Aahh… it was actually pretty edgy. It was when we were at an ice-skating rink, and it came out of nowhere, really. I was just about to loop around the rink again when this icy-looking youma shimmered onto the ice with the rest of the people. A lot of the people panicked and left, and I had to transform into Sailor Moon to get away because I got stuck under the ice, and then these really nice people helped me get away along with the other unconscious civilians. I made friends with those people, and I sort of told them about me, but I didn't tell them about you, and later on one of the guys of the group killed off the youma, I think, because the memories of that day at the rink faded from the people who were unconscious and they woke up."

Serena was babbling, hoping that if she spoke fast enough, she could delay the moment that was coming when Rei realized what she had said. Serena just knew the fiery Shinto priestess wouldn't understand, nor would she try to. She would simply be enraged. Their secret identities had always been an unspoken agreement amongst the girls, and to tell the Circle willingly? That was most definitely taboo.

Sputtering, Rei exploded with, "Are you crazy? You told some foreigners that we exist? Have you gone insane, Usagi?" Rei's face reddened and Serena was sure that the other girl's blood pressure must be sky-rocketing. Looking down guiltily, Serena tried to explain.

"You have to understand that the host's family I'm staying with has two children: a son and a daughter. They're like us, Rei. They fight the Dark Kingdom also, and they have powers just like us. When they shared their secrets and recognized my power, I couldn't keep hiding my own powers from them, especially when we're fighting for the same cause."

The look on the blonde's face could only be described as imploring, and all Rei could do was sigh. She had just known something like this might happen. Maybe not exactly like this, but Rei definitely could see this kind of thing happening. Usagi was far too trusting, and it was so hard to believe in her judgment when Usagi was the type of person who wanted to believe in the goodness of others rather than face the reality of the situation – which was to say that most people are good, yes, but they could also have evil in them.

Rei should know all about that. Her anger dissipated with the memory of her kiss. Shaking the images that seemed to flood unwanted into her mind, she considered the situation Usagi was in.

"Usagi, you have to realize that we can't always trust in others… That sometimes even if they mean us well, what they do can lead us to harm. Who knows what sacrifices might be made because of this," she berated the other girl gently.

Rebuked, Usagi tried not to fight for her own reasons. Rei never understood her perspective.

"You don't understand, Rei. It's my opinion – it has always been my opinion – that if we could only have everyone work together, then the losses we would eventually suffer would be far less than what it might have been." The way the fiery girl disagreed with her, had Usagi slipping back into her past self. She was becoming hesitant again and unsure of her own stance on the subject.

Shaking her head, Usagi looked into the communicator sadly.

"There's a lot that they don't know about, and that includes the truth about you guys. They know I've trained in the past with others, but I'll be sure to keep you girls safe. So, please trust me. I need that, okay?" Her voice was soft, her expression yearning for acceptance.

Rei let out a loud sigh, trying to expel her frustrations.

"I've missed you, Usagi." Surprised with even herself, Rei let the words slip before she could take them back. Coloring slightly from the tenderness that filled her voice, Rei was about to say she was just kidding and that the blonde needed to hurry up and resume her position in Tokyo when another tinny masculine voice sounded out over the communicator, breathless and frantic.

"Sere, come on! We've got to run! Aaron's in trouble! Hurry, let's go!"

Before Rei could say anything else, Usagi had looked down quickly at the communicator, mumbled a sorry and quickly disengaged their connection.

After dropping the communicator onto her bed, Serena rushed out of the room alongside Kyle who had obviously dressed haphazardly in his panicked state. She wondered where Keira was and briefly hoped the other girl was okay as she did her best to keep pace with the track star.

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"Jesus, what the hell is that?" Nelle swore when she finally reached the site where the youma had laid its destruction. She glanced all around her, seeing the bodies that littered the park. The people had been sucked dry to the point of near-death, and they had been scattered in a wide fashion that made it seem as though they had been flung about. They were amidst trees that were charred and still smoking from what must have been heated energy blasts.

Nelle's light brown hair whipped about her face as the wind picked up and she shivered, rubbing her arms where goose bumps had raised on her skin. After doing a quick mental count of the number of bodies on the ground, she shifted her gaze up and finally noticed what seemed to be the message behind the ruined park.

A hoarse scream cut through the air, picking up on volume. Nelle raised a hand to her mouth, trying to both quell the scream when she realized it had been her own and to keep herself from throwing up. Her breath was ragged as she threw herself forward, stumbling blindly towards the grotesque message, pleading silently with whomever was listening for everything to be okay.

In the center of all the unconscious people was a black pole made of some kind of dark granite-looking stone. It had been thrust into the malleable dirt, and on top of the pole was Aaron, but he was neither standing nor conscious. Instead, he had been impaled, and Nelle had only just noticed that there was a gleam to the black stone that must have been his blood as it slid its way down the pole slowly.

Choking back sobs, Nelle staggered forward towards the pole, calling out Aaron's name over and over in a mindless chant.

Please. Please, be all right.

As soon as she reached out towards the black stone, it crumbled into dust, and Aaron's body fell as if in slow motion. Nelle reached out her arms towards the blonde boy, taking his weight against her, trying to soften his fall. Her second caste was that of a Healer, but her powers as a Healer weren't at all strong enough to heal all this damage. There was no possibility of reaching a hospital in time. Not with the baseball-sized hole in his midsection.

She forced her breakfast back down, tears sliding hot and fast down ashen cheeks.

"Aaron, Aaron, Aaron," she cried against his shoulder. He was deathly pale, and the pole had been speared through one side of his waist. Thankfully the pole had been wider at the base and more of a point towards the top, but still there was so much blood and damage, and she needed to staunch the flow of blood.

She needed more help. More help. She fumbled clumsily for the cell phone in her back pocket and speed dialed one of the boys, babbling hysterically and telling them to rush over – hurry! She knew the rest of the group would come together in time, but all she could do was wait helplessly until then.

Nelle knelt on the dirt, laid him gently with his head in her lap and stripped off her shirt so she could tear it into strips and begin wrapping it around his lower right abdomen. Her eyes watered when they saw the blood starting to seep through her makeshift bandages. The red was so bright as it stained her hands.

Closing her eyes, she spun a small healing spell. She couldn't do much, but she could stem the flow of his blood, just a bit.

Her teardrops splashed against his cold cheeks, and she tried to tell herself that things would be okay. The hold she had on her hysteria was slipping.

"Please, Aaron, wake up." Her muscles were tense, but she kept her hands gentle as she held one of his hands and patted his cheek with the other. "Aaron, baby, wake up. Don't do this to me; don't do this to the Circle. Oh God, Aaron, please."

Pale blue eyes fluttered open with a groan, staring blankly upwards and Nelle's breath caught as they finally focused on her own dark brown eyes.

"Thank you, thank you," she murmured softly, a sense of calm slowly coming over her as she knew for sure that as long as he was awake, he would be okay. "Aaron stay with me, okay?" she implored the boy who had to be in obvious pain as he shifted weakly.

"N-Nelle," the boy grimaced as he struggled to get the one word out. Each time he breathed, more blood seemed to trickle out.

Worried about the inability to stop the flow of blood, she tried to tell him to save his breath, but he jerked suddenly within the circle of her arms.

"Nelle!" he cried in a panic, and she finally tore her eyes away from his wound to his stricken gaze that were staring with a sliver of fear at something past her shoulder.

A shriek was ripped from her lips as her eyes widened and went blank before fluttering shut.

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Author's Note: Lalala, this was painful for me to reread and edit. x.x So many things I wanted to change. Remind me never to speed write during Nano. It burns a person out, lol. Anyway, I hope that was satisfactory in some sense. Enjoy. Review if you care to! :D Forgive me for not replying to all your reviews. I have a website on my profile where I will go ahead and do that sometime this weekend. :) Just look for it. Thank you to all those who have supported me thus far with this fic. :)