12/31AM Wrong Side of the Bed (Luna/Usagi/Lucan)

[Luna]

Luna nodded and murmured, “If you mention it to Usagi then, I’m sure that she will agree at least I can’t really see any reason that she wouldn’t. It makes sense I suppose, if you give them a clear idea of what you want then they will more easily follow it.”

She listened carefully to everything Lucan was saying. She respected his knowledge, especially about these things since she had no real idea how the media worked. Luna had never really bothered to think about them much until recently after all. She didn’t like them, but she figured it might be a good idea to know what you could about how they worked. She frowned and nodded when Lucan began talking about how dangerously pushy they could get. “I remember the death of Diana ...” She shook her head in frustration before adding, “but we do take precautions don’t we? At least with Usagi right?”

Luna flicked her tail in annoyance and dryly replied, “Lucan, you know very well that I was only kidding. I’m not going to suggest to the senshi that they should do anything to harm the general public and even if did they would refuse. The senshi protect the innocent remember? The paparazzi still technically fall under that category, even if they are far from innocent at times.”

She listened quietly as Lucan continued before asking, “Why on earth would someone want to attract the paparazzi? Aren’t they bad enough without asking for their attention?” Luna twitched her whiskers in obvious disdain for the entire thing. She actually did know why a pop star would want to attract the attention of the paparazzi, it had to be just to get their picture in the paper ... more fame and glory to their names. She briefly wondered if Minako had ever pulled a stunt like that, but then decided that she really didn’t want to know. “I should hope that we are all smart enough not to pull something like that off now Lucan.”

[Luna]

Luna frowned in sympathy when she heard that Lucan had actually known the Princess of Wales, that had to have made her death that much harder. She was glad to hear that they did indeed take precautions, Luna didn’t ever want anything like that to happen to Usagi.” She blinked in surprise when Lucan mentioned that it was the senshi he was more worried about. Luna couldn’t understand that, the senshi were all very capable of protecting themselves. There were a few of them that were a bit more high strung, but over all she had complete faith in their abilities to stay safe. “Why are you worried about the senshi Lucan?”

She continued to flick her tail in annoyance for a few moments, but then she forgave him for his comments, after all he hadn’t really said anything wrong. She was also glad to know that he didn’t think that they would be stupid enough to do some of the tricks that a pop star might attempt, not to mention that if for some reason Usagi ever did think to do something like that he would refuse her.

Luna had just glanced toward Usagi’s door wondering how long she was actually going to take when Lucan then went on to mention how easy it would be to turn a camera into a gun. It had never once occurred to her, even after everything that she had seen since the creation of Crystal Tokyo that someone might attempt to shoot one of her charges. She hadn’t really paid that much attention to much of what Lucan had ever said simply because she believed in the ability of the senshi to protect themselves. They always been perfectly capable even while facing off with some of the worst evils that they had encountered, though even that wasn’t entirely true. There had been those times that even the senshi’s best hadn’t been good enough, but she didn’t like to think of things like that ... but now? Could the senshi protect themselves against a gun or some of the other horrible things that the ‘innocent man’ could create? She had no idea and that scared her more then she liked.

“Cameras into guns ...”, she murmured slowly, “how can you defend against something like that?”

[Luna]

Luna listened quietly, trying to comprehend everything that Lucan was saying. Everything he said made sense in a way, they were creating a new world wide government. A government that was taking away everything that everyone had known for centuries and it was bound to make people upset. However, she still had trouble thinking along those terms. To her everything was being made better, why couldn’t people see this?

People were happy during the Silver Millennium, at least to the best of her knowledge they had been. Luna knew that it was possible she wasn’t remembering everything correctly, only remembering things how she wanted them to be ... but she couldn’t remember the queen having to be worried just walking out her front door. It had been a happy and peaceful time, but then she didn’t know how things were way back when everything of the Silver Millennium had been created.

It was difficult to take it all in, it frightened her far more then she wanted to be frightened. She had always just assumed that things would be easy once they had attained Crystal Tokyo, at least until the Black Moon attacked. Now she was being asked to think about ordinary men and women attacking with bullets and other things the senshi might not be able to handle just because they didn’t like what Usagi was attempting to do.

Luna shook her head quickly and mumbled, “I don’t want to see those reports ... I’m happy enough to take your word on things.”

This was far too much information for her to take in. She’d probably be having nightmares days to come, nightmares of any one of the horrible things Lucan spoke of. Luna glanced up miserably and said, “but Lucan ... all of these things, the girls they were all just ordinary girls and now you are asking them to take precautions just to run to the store. It’s not fair ... they didn’t ask for any of this, it was just handed to them. Are they really that unsafe? All of the girls have been outside on their own for various reasons since the creation of Crystal Tokyo, even Mamoru has been out there and nothing like any of that has ever happened to them. Usagi snuck out to the store just the other day and she was safe ...”

[Neo Queen Serenity]

Luna looked so doleful heading out that Usagi felt a bit sad about dismissing her. But she felt like she couldn't just leave, not today... and Luna didn't have to be so mean about it.

Once the feline was out, Usagi shut the door, sinking to the floor again and burying her head into some of the dresses in the closet, not caring if she got tears or snot on them, just sobbing. She wasn't sure how long she cried, only that eventually it stopped, and she felt better. She sat, still determined to stay in the closet, but began to wonder about what was happening outside the doors. What was the Minister of Justice doing about the suitors outside? What was in her morning brief? There would be phone calls... She couldn't exactly pull a phone in here. There were lots of preparations to be made for the ball. And, actually, it was kind of boring to sit in a closet and sulk.

She just needed a good cry, that was all. Sighing softly, Usagi got to her feet, pulling on her nylons and attaching the garters, then the skirt, blouse and blazer. She reclaimed the shoes from where she had thrown them, and slipped them on, taking time to wash her face in the bathroom. She carefully did her odangos-- her hair hadn't tangled all that much the night before and so only needed a few strokes with the brush, and after years of wearing the hairstyle, her center part was perfect even after sleeping with her hair down. Her head ached from the long crying jag, and the tight hairstyle, so she took two Excedrin, taking the bottle with her as she headed out.

Reaching the door to the room, Usagi hesitated, still feeling rather embarrassed about her behavior, and the rumor... Squaring her shoulders, she decided she had to push through it. This wouldn't be the last time a rumor would go around, nor would it be the first that she had made a fool of herself in front of other people. She couldn't forgive herself if something went awry, because she was hiding out for an entire day.

Taking a big breath, Usagi opened the door and stepped out, a little surprised to see Lucan and Luna in such deep conversation. She focused in on the words the moment she heard her name mentioned, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Tell her what?" Usagi blurted out, flushing a little as she realized she had just interrupted. Still, they were talking about her!

[Luna]

Luna shook her head and murmured, “It isn’t your fault Lucan. I know you aren’t deliberately trying to scare me, but it’s a lot to take in. If anything, it’s my fault for just assuming things would be ok and that people would just take to what we were wanting to do. Unrealistic I suppose, but nevertheless that is how I had thought things would go.”

She sighed softly before adding, “I’m certain that if you were to explain all of this to the senshi they might be more inclined to believe you when you told them they need protection. They are all sensible most of the time, it’s just that like me they aren’t use to thinking along these lines.”

Luna knew that reality was rarely ever fair. Technically speaking it hadn’t been fair to ask five teenage girls to fight against the evils of the world, putting their lives on the line time and time again. Yet, she had done it because it was needed and it was their destiny ... this wasn’t really any different. The senshi would get use to it just like they had gotten use to everything else.

She flattened her ears in annoyance when Luna noticed Lucan shaking his head incredulously and snapped, “Figured what out exactly, what are you talking about?”

Shaking her head in denial, her tail flicking uneasily, Luna murmured, “No, I didn’t know anything about that ...” after Lucan had described the incident with the car. She vaguely recalled Usagi saying something about having car trouble once around that time, but Luna was quite certain that there had never been a mention of a bomb during that explanation. That would have been something that she wouldn’t have been able to forget.

Luna fell silent as she listened to the rest of Lucan’s words, her eyes wide with horror and her claws digging into the carpet under her feet. She hadn’t heard any of this, not a word about any of the dangers that Usagi had lived through. She hadn’t even known that there had been designs on Usagi and the senshi, much less that the people responsible had been caught before they could carry out her plans.

Before she could respond to Lucan’s question, she heard Usagi blurt out ‘Tell her what’ and her nerves hit the roof. It was unthinkable that Usagi had been in such danger all those times and not one of them had known because she was fairly certain that the senshi weren’t aware of this knowledge either.

Luna whirled to face Usagi, her ears pinned back against her head and her tail lashing angrily. She stalked a few paces closer to where Usagi stood, her claws still very much unsheathed as she hissed, “The many times your life has been in danger Usagi, the fact that you’ve been shot at and thrown into trunks! Let’s not forget about the car bomb on your car when you let me believe that it was just simple car trouble that had you running late that day! Didn’t you think we would need to know? How do you think the senshi are going to feel once they find out that you have been in danger and they didn’t even know about it? Didn’t you think that they deserved to know that people had designs on their lives? Secrets Usagi, why are you keeping secrets? Weren’t you the one that was just telling me that you wouldn’t keep secrets that affected the lives of other people no matter how hard it was to tell them? No amount of personal feelings is an excuse to make their decisions for them, to keep secrets from the people I love. Wasn’t that what you said? You would have told because it was the right thing to do ... what makes this situation any different?!”

[Neo Queen Serenity]

Usagi's eyes widened in surprise as Luna turned to face her, overwhelmed by the fury that was rolling off of the feline in rage. Her ears were pinned down, and Usagi was sure if she wasn't yelling at her, she would have been hissing and spitting in rage. What was worse was the subject matter. All she could do was stand there and blink stupidly as Luna raged on. She didn't get it. The bomb, that's what Luna was angry about? It had seemed so ordinary to her now...

She reeled back under the weight of such accusations, her head clouded. Her, she had sucked it up enough to emerge as Luna had wanted her to do, only to face an even bigger disaster. Maybe sulking in closets wasn't so boring after all. She felt stunned by reality.

"Luna..." Usagi uttered, just blinking at the cat. She didn't know what to say, and could only vaguely focus on Lucan's words before she was finally able to put it together.

"Yes, that's just it, Luna... I thought you knew! I thought everyone knew! Not about the bomb-- I didn't tell you about that, that's true, but... I gave you all unlimited access to files, in the beginning when we set up the Secret Service we offered protection to the senshi and their families-- to my family! I gave you all access precisely because I don't feel comfortable keeping secrets from you! Even government information! I trust you all and I want you to know it! Don't you read that?! Of course I want the girls to know when they're lives are at stake, don't they read theirs too? Or am I the only person who actually reads her daily briefs?!"

Usagi couldn't believe this. It was like a cosmic joke! She wondered if this was how Ami or Rei had felt in the past when she didn't have any clue about some important event, or spaced out during senshi meetings. And now she was the only one during her government homework daily and nobody else bothered to read what she had made available? "Luna, he's right, this stuff happens everyday... I thought that's why you were mad at me for sneaking out of the Palace, because you did know the risks, what's going on... And I was stupid, incredibly stupid when I was Queen-elect about security, incredibly naive, but I knew, even working as an intern, some of what would happen-- I guess I assumed everyone else would be tapped into it to. I never mandated the senshi reading things because I didn't want to tell them what to do... But... even if they never picked up a brief this past year they should know some of what could happen!" Had her experiences really been so different that what she thought would be common knowledge, wasn't?

It was so hard to even remember some of those times. Usagi was busy enough that she had trouble remembering what she did an hour ago, much less months, even if those times had included brushes with death. Luna wouldn't be so angry if she wasn't hurt, and Usagi looked at her with concern. She never meant to hurt Luna, and never meant to keep things from her-- at least, most of what she was referring to.

Letting out a shaky sigh, she took a seat, running her hand through her bangs. "Like I said, it's true I didn't mention the car bomb to you," she said slowly. "I did purposefully keep that from you, and that was wrong of me. I'm sorry. Luna... I was terrified. Because of what happened, and... Well, it became apparent very quickly that I was under a lot of surveillance, especially at the apartment... The day it happened I couldn't have told you even if I wanted to. And right then, I didn't want to, because I didn't want to worry you. I was so confused about things... And when it would have been safe to inform you, I... Well, God forgive me, I... forgot. With everything that was happening, I forgot..." She rubbed her temples, wondering when that Excedrin was going to kick in.

"That's my explanation. It's not an excuse. I should have told you, if not the same day, then the next time I knew it was safe, and I should have made plans to remember to tell you. That was a mistake on my part, and I apologize. You're right. When it comes to that, I am a hypocrite. But the rest-- I honestly did think you were aware of it, you and the senshi. And I honestly did my best to make sure that it wasn't a secret. I tried actively to make sure I'm not keeping secrets from all of you, by making sure you have the highest clearances available."

Usagi closed her eyes for a moment, inhaled a shaking breath, and then let it out. "So, the car bomb... Well, it's coming out now. And... Well, we still have the recording of that phone call, don't we?" she glanced at Lucan. "It was in the records we picked up when we finally did take over all of the intelligence agencies of Middle Earth." It was amazing to look at the files they had on her.

Standing up, she went over to the cabinet that was under the mounted plasma screen, pulling out a wireless keyboard and balancing it on her lap, typing in the search for the old material. She didn't think she could speak clearly enough for a voice search right now. Her voice was ragged and shaking from crying, and knowing that now Luna was extremely angry with her.

This one incident, Usagi was clear-headed enough to remember the date and time. She limited the search to signals intelligence legacy records, specified the call as originating for herself, and the result was found easily enough. "So, here it is," she said nervously, pulling up the file on screen.

More than just an audio recording, it was the process of the agency picking up the call. The screen filled with the interface of tracking and listening software. On the bottom right corner was her phone number. Lucan's box appeared blank. As soon as the phone started ringing in the recording, a picture of her popped up, and a satellite photo was zooming in, pixels smoothing out as her location was being triangulated. It made goosebumps rise up on her arms. Lucan's signal just bounced around. They couldn't seem to get a fix on him, even though she had known he was in London at the time. Finally, Lucan picked up in the recording.

"Felix."

"Uh, hello, Mr. Felix. This is... Tsukino Usagi. Um, I interviewed you, and..."

"Hello, your Majesty. Of course I remember the Queen-elect." A woman's voice murmurs in the background. "Go back to sleep, Felicia. I just have to take this call. Just a moment, please." There was rustling, and then finally Lucan came back on. "Alright, I can talk now."

"Is that your fiancé? Mac mentioned her."

"So I heard. How can I help you?"

"Well, I know it's kind of early over there, and you were obviously asleep, and this is a really dumb question, but you said if I ever had any questions to call, and you gave me that good talk about security, and I just have... a question.

"The only dumb question is the one not asked. Is this line secure? It's sounds like you're outdoors."

"Um, well... I'm sort of outside, calling from my cell..."

"Your cellular phone is anything but secure. But, I suppose that can't be helped now. What's your question?"

"Well, I thought I had a flat so I pulled over to the side of the road, and I was getting out the car jack, and then I noticed this thing that's stuck to the underside of the car--"

"Run."

"I'm sorry?"

"Run away from the car."

"But I haven't even finished telling you about it yet! I think it's a practical joke, because it looks like a big block of cake icing held up by a magnet, and it smells like marzipan, too. So I figured I'd call you because it could be poisoned or something, right?"

"Run now."

"--Like Halloween candy. But someone's probably just having a laugh at my expense. I should have called Mako-chan, she knows all about icing and cakes and yummy stuff. She's the best cook I know, and you should try her food sometime when you're back in Tokyo! Here, maybe I had better pull this off and have a better look--"

"DON'T TOUCH IT!!"

"Okay, okay! I won't. So, my question is... do you know what it is?"

"Sounds like a kilo of C4 used in an UVIED. Now, RUN."

"A what?"

"A bomb. Now just run!"

"Oh my God! For real?! You're not kidding?! OK, you gotta tell me how to diffuse it or something!"

"This is not a movie, that's a real--"

"--because, this is my car, and I need it to get back home, but you say it could be a bomb--"

"TSUKINO USAGI!! Get the fuck out of there! Run as fast and as hard and as far away from your vehicle as possible, right the fuck now! Run for your life! Go, go, go, go, GO!"

"I'm going!!" The sound of her heavy breathing came over the phone.

"You can't outrun a blast, you need to be out of the area before it goes off! Get at least a hundred meters away and then find cover! Don't argue, just do it--"

There was a sudden rushing of wind and the sound of shattered glass, a deep boom and shrieks came over the line. There were screaming, screeching brakes, car doors slamming.

"Your majesty?! Are you there? Can you hear me?"

"Oh... my God... Oh, God..."

"Are you alright?"

"It just... exploded..."

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm-- well, I... My eyebrows got singed off! I'm shaking, I... Dear God... What about the other people....? I'm about a hundred meters away and I can still feel the heat! There was a fireball. A fireball! It's still burning, everyone's windows are blown out-- oh God, he's going to--" There was a sound of a collision. "Oh, sir... sir?! Are you alright?!"

"Usagi! Focus. Listen to me. Listen to me very carefully. There must have been a lot of shrapnel. Did you get hit in the head?"

"I... no, no I didn't..."

"Can you walk?"

"I... my legs feel weak, but I can..."

"Then keep walking."

"Shouldn't I wait for the ambulances? What about the other people?" Sirens were going in the background, a woman was crying somewhere.

"I know that you want to help those people, and I know you have just witnessed something very frightening, but I need you to take a deep breath and listen very, very carefully to what I am about to tell you. First of all, your flat may not have been an accident. With these types of attacks, there is often a secondary explosion. So you need to immediately evacuate. You need to let these professionals do their jobs, but right now the best thing you can do is to get out of way, especially if there are more traffic accidents."

"I see..."

"Now I'm sorry I had to swear at you, but you weren't exactly listening to me, Your Majesty..."

"No! Don't be sorry, thank God you swore then because another second-- God, I almost died!"

"Take a deep breath. You have to remain calm."

"Please, stay with me, I don't know what to do!" It was rather unsettling to listen to this phone call again, Usagi could hear herself crying.

"Listen to me, I am right here with you, and I am not going to leave you. Try to remain calm and focus on what I'm saying. Do you know where you are?"

"Yes... I'm--"

"Well wherever you are, don't tell me over the phone! Every signals intelligence agency in the Northern Hemisphere is listening in on this phone call."

"I... what?! But... they're not supposed to right now, before we can take over them..."

"Your Majesty, not every organization is going to stop collecting intelligence just because you told them to!"

"Call me Usagi, you just saved my life, after all..."

"Usagi. Do you know where the nearest police station is?"

"I... yes. Yeah, I do."

"Then go there. Make a phone call-- on a landline-- to someone you trust. Don't be alone."

"You think someone might actually come after me again?!"

"Of course they will! Didn't you listen to me during that initial interview?"

"Well, I did, but... Well I figured most of that stuff would be relevant once I was coronated. I mean, I'm not Queen just yet, so I can't be important enough to put all that trouble to kill off. I figured I would worry about all that security stuff once I was actually acting as Queen..."

"So you've been doing government business on your cell phone?"

"Yes..."

"And staying in your apartment alone? Which probably has every square inch wired by now."

"Well, there's Luna, my cat, but yes..."

"And leaving your car overnight in a parking garage?"

"Yes..."

"And not searching it thoroughly before you drive?"

"Yes..."

"My God. Do you have any idea of the danger you're in?!"

"Well considering that I almost got blown up a few minutes ago, I would say I'm starting to get an idea! You say they have my apartment wired?!"

"Oh, it's definitely bugged. I was serious when I said you needed to have it sweeped. You must understand, this is precisely the time when they will strike! This is not the first time they have tried to assasinate you, it's just the first time you've probably noticed! And it won't be the last. The governments of Middle Earth have crumbled, and that has left an immense power vacuum of which you are on the cusp of filling. Every single despot and power player in the entire world is seeing their greatest ambition being taken from them by you. If they can kill you now, before the coronation, they have a chance at ruling the world."

"I... didn't think of it... like that... Fuck..."

"Your location is probably being tracked as we speak." In the background was typing.

"What? How? And what are... what are you doing over there?"

"Your cellular phone is like a homing device. It's easy to triangulate your location based on latency between you and cellular towers. In a place with the urban density of Tokyo, that means a locational precision of meters. And I am now printing my boarding pass." It was eerie to watch her location tracked on the screen at the same time that Lucan was talking about it.

"And they're tracking me now?! Wait, boarding pass... where are you going?"

"I am going to you."

"What? But I haven't made my hiring decision yet! We're not even at the second round of interviews! Besides, it's the middle of the night for you!"

"That's fine, but until you do make that hiring decision, someone has to take care you. And so what? I'll take a red-eye."

"But... why are you doing this? I haven't done anything for you, I'm not paying you to come to me... You're really going to protect me? God, I can't believe this is happening... I have to call Mamo-chan, find Luna..."

"Don't call anyone else on this phone. In fact, once I hang up, take the battery out and destroy it. Look around for a drop, some water, something to crush it with. You could put whoever else you call in great danger."

"Including you?"

"Including me, but that's alright."

"But... I like my phone! I need it! Can't I just turn it off when I'm not making a call?"

There was a long sigh over the phone. "Your cellular phone has what is called a soft power down. The CPU is still active even when turned off, and sometimes even with the battery out there are still processes running. You need to destroy it. Promise me you won't make any more calls from this phone?"

"I promise... But... why are you doing all this for me?"

"As philosophically riveting as that question is, I'd rather discuss it when we're not being monitored. Now, repeat back to me: what are you going to do?"

"Take the battery out of my phone, destroy it, go to a police station, and call someone I trust... on a landline."

"And, make sure you are looked over. You say you're not hurt, but that could be the adrenaline."

"And get looked over. Got it."

"Now I need you to promise me that is exactly what you will do, no deviations, no getting distracted by shiny things, or food, or you think you might be able to solve such and such problem because you saw it in a movie... Do everything as I've told you, without changes, and you'll be alright."

"I promise! No changes, no distractions..."

"I should be in Tokyo around 2300 hours. I will contact you then."

"Lucan, than--"

"Don't thank me. Just get off this phone, it's too dangerous."

The recording clicked off, and the screen went back to what it had been before, which Usagi noticed was FNN news.

[Luna]

Luna glanced over at Lucan when he spoke up, anger still very much evident in her posture. She didn’t want to listen to what he had to say, especially because he was making a lot of sense. She didn’t want to calm down simply because it was so much easier to be angry then frightened over all the times she could have lost Usagi. It wasn’t fair though, after all she knew perfectly well she had access to those briefs. If all of this was indeed written in them and she really couldn’t believe that it wasn’t then it wouldn’t be fair to be angry at Usagi for something that was entirely her fault.

She relaxed a little when she turned back to face Usagi. She was still upset, but it was probably more worry then real anger that she was feeling right now. She shifted a little uncomfortably when Usagi asked if she was the only one that read the briefs. Luna did have access to those briefs and she did glance over them from time to time. She really couldn’t say why she hadn’t noticed these things. It was hard to know someone you cared about was in so much danger and so perhaps she had neglected to notice these things simply because on some internal level she didn’t want to see them. A really bad reason, but nevertheless that was all she had. Luna glared at the floor and muttered, “I .. I read them at least enough to know what was going on around here. I just ...”

Luna was feeling just the slightest bit humiliated over her reaction of moments before, especially since Lucan was sitting there witness to everything. She really should have known most of this stuff, probably even the things that Lucan was talking about before. She did watch the news and she actually did realize that a lot of the world was having a difficult time merging into this new government. She even knew that some of those people were making things difficult for the rest of the world, such as the riot Usagi had been dealing with only days before. Luna knew all of this and yet somehow she had failed to realize that it would directly affect them. Perhaps it was as simple as she hadn’t wanted to realize it and so she ignored the facts. Although somewhere inside of her she must have realized the dangers, after all she really had been furious at Usagi sneaking out alone simply because she had been worried about her. She just hadn’t been aware of how much she actually had been in danger all the time.

The more Usagi talked, the more horrible Luna felt. She really shouldn’t have yelled, but reality checks were hard and it had all taken her by surprise. From now on she would make doubly certain that she was up to date with everything going on around the world, especially those things that dealt with Usagi and the senshi. How could she possibly be a good advisor if both Lucan and her charge knew more things then she did?

When Usagi took a seat and ran her hand through her bangs, Luna watched her sadly and murmured, “I’m sorry Usagi. I shouldn’t have yelled and I did know some of what was happening ... I guess I just refused to really accept it.”

She watched curiously as Usagi got up and went to find the recording of the call, though she wasn’t entirely certain she wanted to actually hear it. Moments later she found that she was right, listening to the call and the actual explosion made her mouth run dry with fear. To think Usagi had been in so much danger, had very nearly died, while she had been at home innocently believing that her charge was just late coming home.

The moment the recording clicked off, Luna darted across to where Usagi was standing with a cry. She pressed close to Usagi’s leg in an attempt to both comfort Usagi and reassure herself that Usagi was indeed ok. The incident might not have just happened, but to Luna who had just listened to it for the first time it felt as if it had just happened.

“I shouldn’t have reacted like I did Usagi, I really shouldn’t have been angry. It was just too much information far too quickly. There just had been so many incidents that we could have lost you and I should have been aware of them, but I wasn’t. I did read the briefs and I watched the news, but maybe I just refused to accept them or never believed anything bad could happen to you. I’m sorry ...”

She glanced up sorrowfully and added, “I should have been paying better attention, should have been there to help you shoulder some of these burdens. You’ve had so much on your shoulders for so long that I wasn’t even aware of simply because I refused to see them. I haven’t been the best advisor or friend in the last few years. I just saw what I wanted to see, but that’s going to change ...”

[Neo Queen Serenity]

Usagi could feel tears pricking her eyes as Luna darted over and pressed up against her, obviously upset by these revelations. She bent over and picked Luna up, hugging her close and kissing the top of her head, fresh tears running down her face and into Luna's fur. "No, Luna, don't be sorry... I know sometimes when I read things that it just doesn't seem real, it doesn't quite sink in... You didn't do anything wrong, and you have every right to be angry with me... I should have communicated better about the briefings, and I certainly should have told you about the car bomb." She hated that Luna would feel guilty when the fault was clearly hers, and couldn't beg for forgiveness fast enough.

"I'm sorry! Please don't be angry at yourself... You've been so helpful to me, just by being here and listening to what I have to say, and helping me get through things... I don't expect you to know everything. If anything really big happens to me, I promise I'll tell you directly now, instead of just assuming... I'm so sorry you had to find out this way. But, it's really not as bad as it sounds... as you heard, I had Lucan to take care of me, and you and the senshi have been so much help to me, even if you didn't know about all of this stuff, it doesn't matter... I need you all and I always have."

She let Luna go, reaching for a tissue and blowing her nose loudly. Her headache was going full force again, but she knew she couldn't take any more pills for another few hours. Lucan seemed to have brought her tray in, and she stood up, setting down the bottle of Excedrin. "Sorry about that... I took two of those," she indicated. Usagi always had to let people know when she took any medication, even over the counter meds (any prescriptions she would go to Ami for, anyway), just in case something happened to her and they needed to know what was in her system.

"I'm sorry I was so late in coming out, Luna... I was being immature, I just needed some time and good cry. What did Minister Sawyer have to say?" Usagi asked, trying to calm down. "There seems to be a lot of coverage on FNN," she gestured, glad that the mute was off. The scenes playing out on the screen were bad enough. "How did you two get into a discussion about those incidents, anyway?"

[Luna]

Luna leaned into Usagi as she was hugged, purring softly. She was glad that she knew about these things now, hard as they were to take and she intended to make certain to always read those briefs from now on. The important thing was that Usagi was ok and that Lucan was so experienced in what he did.

“Don’t be sorry Usagi, it was just a mistake on both our parts. What’s done is done and as long as I read those reports better and you make certain to point out the really big things that we might miss everything will be ok.”

She leaped to the ground when Usagi let her go and watched Usagi set down the bottle of Excedrin. Luna hadn’t actually noticed Lucan bring in the breakfast tray, but she had been otherwise occupied at the time.

“Enough with the apologies Usagi, you were just upset. I understood that at the time, even if I did snap at you.”

Luna glanced at the tv distastefully when Usagi mentioned the FNN. “There is a lot of coverage, they are doing interviews with that awful crowd outside. Apparently some of them are here to court the senshi as well as you, which is what started the whole conversation to begin with. I had said that it was bad enough that they wanted to harass you, but did they have to court the senshi as well. Lucan was explaining that it was more about them and the attention. It led to a discussion of the paparazzi and from there to whether or not the girls should have protection just like do.”

She paused for a moment before adding, “I was inclined to believe that the senshi could protect themselves, but after talking with Lucan I’m not so certain anymore."

Luna glanced over at Lucan and murmured, "Isn't that how the conversation came about?"

[Neo Queen Serenity]

Usagi relaxed at Luna's words, enough to stop tearing up and give the cat a shaky smile. She was lucky that Luna was so forgiving. "Alright, Luna, if you say so. God, what a morning," she muttered to herself, buttering a blueberry muffin and eating as she listened to Luna explain the conversation, frowning towards the end. "They're coming after then senshi too?" Usagi groaned. "Geez, these people have no shame, do they? I'm not even going to ask that rhetorical question about the paparazzi," she grumbled, shoving the muffin into her mouth. She raised her eyebrows as Luna expressed doubt about the senshi protecting themselves, and quickly swallowed.

"Of course they can protect themselves... I mean... Well, I've worried about some of the things that happened to me, happening to them, but... Luna, they're smarter than me, they have much more common sense, more street smarts. They're capable, and they know it. Honestly I can't even see them listening to me or Lucan even if we pushed it..."

Usagi pulled her face into a cloudy little moue at the news of what Sawyer had said. She supposed the Minister was right, but it didn't feel right that she couldn't kick people off her home property without going through a legal roundabout. Then again, her home was also home to the government. She couldn't separate her life from legalities anymore. "Yeah, I'll have to talk to him," she sighed, but sat up straighter as Lucan confronted her with this issue. She glanced at the television again and back at him and Luna.

He might be willing to piss off the senshi, but Usagi wasn't so sure she was. They had to live their own lives, make their own decisions in that area, even if it meant they chose danger. It did frighten her, what could happen, but she was the stupid one of the group. They had to be smarter than her, had to know more about this, how to stay safer... right?

Or maybe she had just been seeing what she wanted to? If suitors and the press really were going to come after the senshi, then there would be others who would follow-- terrorists, professionals, spies... She repressed a shudder. And now she was delegating things, pulling them even further into the operations of the government of New Earth. When she refused Lucan's request earlier, several times, it was when she was had been waiting for them to make their 'choice'-- though as Rei pointed out, followed by the rest of the senshi, they already had, they wanted to be involved. Minako was hooked up with security now, but for the rest... You're an idiot, Usagi, you didn't want to piss them off, but one of things that comes with being at high levels of government is security. All the minister have it, and some committee heads, and cabinet members... You should have said something when they explained to you they wanted to do this...

She groaned, glancing at Luna. "What do you think, Luna? They are going to be involved, and that... That, plus this," she gestured to the news. "I don't know. I haven't handled this correctly, obviously. Their safety is more important than their good opinion of both of us, Lucan is correct. But... I don't know, Luna, maybe I'm really struggling on having to force this, even just a required security brief. Doing what needs to be done for the benefit of those involved as well as the government is what is required of a Queen. But I'm their friend, too, and friends don't meddle and boss around like that..."

[Luna]

Luna glanced at the television momentarily before turning back to Usagi and saying, “The senshi are capable of protecting themselves and you in a great many things. I don’t know about snipers, cameras turned into guns, or even car bombs. Do they search their cars before going out and driving? I doubt it and I seriously doubt that they spend their time searching the roof and windows of whatever buildings they are around while they are out. It is because they have that common sense that you were speaking of that I think they would listen ...”

She frowned at the mention of Sawyer and the fact that they couldn’t really get rid of the crowd right outside their very gates. It seemed to her it wasn’t very fair, but then she was coming to realize that a great many things weren’t going to be fair in running a world wide government.

Luna flicked her tail thoughtfully before responding to both Lucan and Usagi. “First of all Usagi, the senshi’s good opinion of you is never going to change simply because you are worried about them. You really ought to know that by now. I don’t think that anyone would be angry if you allowed Lucan to explain everything to them, especially if you are there as well. As you said they are all very smart girls, if they are allowed to see the situation clearly and especially if you tell them everything that has happened to you I can’t see them getting angry. Explaining things to them isn’t forcing them to do anything. It is just telling them what is going on and letting them decide for themselves what to do.”

She paused briefly before glancing over at Lucan and adding, “ I certainly can’t promise that they will agree to anything, but I think that they would at least be receptive to the idea. Especially if you make sure that you aren’t restricting their movements too much, I mean they have to be able to live their lives however they see fit to do so. I really don’t think they would mind working with you.”

[Neo Queen Serenity]

Usagi's eyes widened as Luna began to speak, and now she found herself looking from Luna to Lucan and back again. "Good grief, Luna, I leave you two alone together for fifteen minutes and look what I come back to! You're already sounding like him... I thought I had my hands full enough before you two started sharing information," Usagi joked. Luna already kept her in line in most areas, Lucan when it came to security... Now that they were combining their powers of persuasion, she would be at even less of an advantage.

"You really think I have to be there, too?" Usagi whined. Luna may have thought that explaining everything that had happened to her wouldn't make them angry, but she wasn't entirely sure. "You know, I never told them about that first car bomb, either. I'm sure they'll be angry about that, after all, you were... Especially Rei..." Usagi cringed, hearing Rei's shrill tones berating her for that particular admission. "Eh, I suppose on that I deserve it, too. Besides, it'd be mean to send Lucan all alone and have him tell..."

She frowned as Lucan reminded her of the innocents that were affected by their personal security. That always got to her, and she was sure that he knew it. "Luna, it's one thing to explain things to them, and ask them to reevaluate their decisions... But, he has a point. One of the requirements of being a Minister or cabinet member is the acceptance of some level of security, for precisely those reasons... In a way I've been showing favoritism..." It was easier to require something like that of someone she only knew as a subordinate, at least at first. Usagi had grown quite close to most of her cabinet. It was, however, quite another to approach her friends with it. She shook her head, not wanting to go there, but realizing that procrastinating on this had made it an even bigger issue.

"Alright," Usagi relented. "Luna's right, it's not forcing their hand to give them more information, especially if it will keep them safer. Forty-five minutes of our time isn't that much to ask for, but today, I don't think an extra forty-five will be found with them, though I'm sure you already know that. Maybe tomorrow." Her face broke into a smile, losing its serious expression. "You better sell it, though," she teased Lucan. "Bring the good stuff. Now, Minako doesn't need to be there, she's already up to speed on things, just Ami, Makoto, Rei, and myself." Glancing at Luna, she added, "and you too, right? After all, you along with him talked me into this," she teased again. "And anyway, Luna, I'm sure the girls put as much value on your opinion as I do."

[Luna]

Luna grinned at Usagi’s joke about her sounding like Lucan, after all she could take it as a compliment now. She had learned so much just over the last hour or so and she wasn’t likely to forget it. The information she had learned might have made her a touch more wary about trusting people, but not so much that it would affect how she would deal with them upon meeting anyone. It would just make her more aware of why protection was needed for everyone she cared about.

She twitched her tail in annoyance at Usagi’s whine before patiently saying, “Yes, you have to be there Usagi. I am certain that Rei and the others will indeed be angry about not being told about that car bomb, just like I was. However, it will only be because we care about you Usagi. The idea that you were in danger and we didn’t even know about it ... that’s just hard to take.” Luna paused before adding sternly, “It would not only be mean to send Lucan all alone, it would be irresponsible and only serve to make everyone more annoyed at you. It wouldn’t be a good idea.”

Luna nodded in Lucan’s direction when he said that they would fit security to the senshi’s lives. If that were true then she really didn’t think it would be a problem to convince the senshi to adjust to having protection. As she had said they were smart girls and would understand that it was in their best interest, at least after having listened to everything Lucan had to tell them.

She frowned just a little at Lucan’s use of innocent lives to persuade Usagi, but she didn’t say anything. After all it convinced Usagi to at least talk to the senshi. She didn’t exactly think it was fair to use one of Usagi’s weaknesses against her, but then he was right in what he was saying.

Luna glanced back at Usagi and murmured, “I don’t really think you were showing favoritism Usagi. For one thing, the senshi only just recently became a part of the government at least in your eyes. Remember, you wanted them to come to you and say they wanted to be a part of it?”

It didn’t matter that the senshi had always been there whether Usagi had seen it or not. Usagi hadn’t accepted the senshi as part of the government until each of the girls had said they wanted to be a part of it and therefore she hadn’t been showing favoritism. She had only been waiting until everything was settled.

“At any rate, I really don’t think you will have to give them an order if you just explain the situations to them.”

Luna blinked in surprise when Usagi insisted that she be there as well but eventually just shrugged and murmured, “I will be there as well, but I will not explain the car incident.”

[Neo Queen Serenity]

"That's what I was saying, that it was a bad idea and I decided against it! Sheesh, lectured for thinking aloud," Usagi grumbled, again realizing she had to learn to curb that habit. It seemed to get her into lots of trouble this morning alone, from her previous remark to Luna to blurting out about sex to Lucan. This was not a good day for mindless ramblings. It was practically dangerous!

"Yeah, I remember, Luna. I was just thinking to myself that I should be more explicit upfront about what that would entail, though to be honest security was the last thing on my mind when they did makes their 'choices.' I've just been really irresponsible about this issue. Oh, well, at least I learned something."

She nearly threw up her hands as Luna said she wouldn't explain the car. "I said they value your opinion, not saying I want you there to air my dirty laundry! Good grief! I can't even compliment you," Usagi scowled, but giggled at Lucan's mention of Powerpoint and the possible search of vehicles. "Yay! A field trip!" Even if it was just out to where the cars were parked, it would still be out of a meeting room.

Usagi finished the apple that had been cut on her plate, and swallowed another mouthful of orange juice before standing up. She was already behind schedule and eager to put the drama of the morning behind her. She had a very thick morning brief to read, as well as discussions with the Department of the Treasury and the Minister of Finance. "Well! I had better get into the office and finish this briefing before things really get busy, plus I had better call Minister Sawyer. Besides, Luna, your words earlier made me think of a very important policy... the policy of an elegant maiden!" she winked, referring to Luna's encouragement on love and pushing forward earlier. Even with suitors on her front lawn that she couldn't get rid of, the chaos of the day, and all the drama, Usagi was beginning to feel happy and willing to take things on.

"So, come on, we have work to do!" she gestured to Luna and grabbed Lucan's sleeve, heading out the door, singing. "No matter what pinch I find myself in, I'll never give up! That's right, that's the policy of an elegant maiden! Someday I will meet that special guy, I'll lift my face up high and take the plunge! With a sharp pain, love will awaken deep inside my heart! There is nothing I'm afraid of, even with a pounding heart, because I have big dreams! That's why I go on bravely... I wait expectantly for more terrible things to happen, I just know they'll be my chance to spread my wings and fly!" she stepped daintily over the shattered door, and skipped out into the hall ahead, not caring if the staff heard her sing. "Keeping faith in myself, I'll go clear the hurdles ahead! The unknown power that rests in me now will someday overflow. I will be who I want to be, those who preserve are great. I may shed tears at times, but I will still go on bravely...!"<sup>1


1</sup>Lyrics to Otome no Policy, the R ending song ~_^