For the One I Love

Chapter Nineteen: Endymion

"I'm sorry, what?!" Maker exclaimed. "Mind control?"

"And you've known about this for how long without mentioning a word to us?!" Healer added.

The Starlights were soaking in the giant bath that overlooked the walkways leading out to a frozen Mare Serenities. After confirming the princess was securely in the possession of the other Senshi, Maker suggested they go have a discussion in the form of a long soak. Maker and Healer were leaning against the warm rocks that made the ledge of the bath, listening to Fighter retell her encounter with Demande from a few hours before. Fighter kept her body low, letting the steam consume her.

"I saw him do something similar in Crystal Tokyo. He lifted me from the ground with his third eye."

"Damnit Fighter." Maker growled. "This would have been a good piece of information to know ahead of time."

"Hey, I didn't know the full extent of it alright?"

"Do you know how many times we've left him alone with the queen, thinking there wasn't any immediate danger?"

"Healer's right." Maker dropped her arms back into the water to warm them. "Luckily, in the time I've spent with her she's shown no signs of not being in control of herself, and Demande would have what he wanted by now. For some reason he either hasn't tried it on Queen Serenity yet, or he has and failed. I'm guessing the later. I can't see a man like him not using an ability like that to his advantage."

"So now he's going after the princess because he failed with the queen? What was he saying to her again?" Healer turned to Fighter. "When you arrived?" Fighter scowled.

"From the sound of it he was trying to get her to agree to the marriage," Fighter flicked at the water with her fingers. "among other things..." She flicked at the water again, harder this time. "She thinks I attacked him for no reason." She added gloomily. "When I asked her about it, she couldn't remember anything he did to her, only my attacking... who knows what she thinks of me now."

"You shouldn't have attacked him like you did." Maker replied. "You weren't thinking rationally."

"What was I supposed to do?" Fighter perked up from the steam. "Let him crawl all over her?! When I got there, he was-"

"Of course not!" Maker sat up a little too, shifting her weight away from the ledge. "But push him aside and be done with it. There will be a time, Fighter." She cut her off before she could retort. "There will be a time when we can finally take that bastard out and go home, but for now all you did was create a divide between you and the Usagi here. You forget she doesn't know us, she doesn't know him, she isn't Sailor Moon. This Usagi has never experienced hostility in any form, these are still peaceful times. You have to be careful how you handle things."

"Oh, stop pouting already." Healer rolled her eyes as Fighter sank back into the hot water, bitterly blowing bubbles as she did so. "It'll take more than that for you to push that girl away from you."

"It's not just that, is it?" Maker eyed her suspiciously.

"...She saw him..." Fighter murmured. "...for the first time...Ma- Endymion. You gave her that picture." It wasn't a question; it was an accusation. Aimed directly at Maker.

"I did." She replied. "I scoured their databases to find more photos of Earth, since you mentioned before she only had the same few and none of him. Don't forget our mission."

"I know, but- she just, looked right through me... all she saw was him."

"Seeing as that's one of the main reasons we're here, good." Healer urged as she placed her towel on the ledge, before kicking off to float nearer the center.