Mamoru and Usagi sat on their couch in stunned silence. Usagi stared at the girl who claimed to be her daughter from the future. She didn’t know how to react to her story. The girl…Chibiusa…had left her speechless.

  Mamoru cleared his throat, and Usagi glanced at him. The blood on his head had dried, at least, but he looked terrible. All three of them smelled putrid from their brief trip through the Tokyo sewer system.

  “Your mother…did you know she had powers?”

  Chibiusa shook her head. Usagi wasn’t sure how far her husband would get with his questions. The girl looked like she was about to melt into tears again.

  “And the Sailor Guardians? You said you thought they were just stories.”

  Chibiusa nodded.

  “Mama used to make up stories about the Guardians for me when I was little. Later on, she started writing a manga…”

  Usagi’s eyes widened. Mamoru pressed on.

  “And your father. When you left, was he…?”

  Chibiusa had reached her limit. She burst into tears.

  “I don’t know!”

  She stood there, her hands tangled in her skirt as tears streamed down her face. She didn’t know what to do with herself.

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  Mamoru stood and approached her. He dropped to one knee and opened his arms to her. She rushed forward and embraced him.

  “Daddy…”

  He held her for a long time and waited out her sobs. Usagi felt a pang of jealousy, but pushed it aside. That girl could be her daughter. Even if she wasn’t, she had been through a lot.

  After some time, Mamoru gently squirmed out of Chibiusa’s embrace.

  “It’s late. We all could use some rest. Why don’t you go to the bathroom and clean up a bit? Usagi will be there in a moment with a nightshirt for you.”

  Chibiusa wiped the tears from her face and nodded.

  “Okay.”

  She slowly, sadly, walked toward the bathroom.

  Mamoru returned to the couch and sat down next to Usagi with a groan.

  “And to think, you said kids don’t fall from the sky.”

  Usagi punched him in the shoulder.

  “Not funny, Mamoru.” She hesitated. “Do you believe her?”

  Mamoru looked straight ahead, lost in thought.

  “I don’t know. We’ve seen impossible things before, but this? It is a bit much.”

  He looked at Usagi.

  “There is something, though. I feel a connection. It’s strong.”

  He waited for her to answer his implicit question. When she didn’t, he made it explicit.

  “Do you feel it, too?”

  Usagi thought about it for a moment. She had felt something when they were trying to escape from that creature in the clothing store. Did that make the girl her daughter?

  She shook her head.

  “No.”

  He cleared his throat.

  “There’s something else.” He hesitated. “Crimson Rubeus.”

  Usagi met his gaze.

  “I don’t know who that is. If he is somebody I knew as Serenity, those memories are gone.”

  The silence that followed seemed to stretch out for an eternity. Finally, Mamoru spoke.

  “No matter who she is, Chibiusa is in danger. We need to keep her hidden while we try to figure out if her story is true.”

  Usagi snorted.

  “How do we do that?”

  Mamoru smiled a thin smile.

  “If she’s our daughter, she should know things. About us. About our friends. We need to test her.”

  Usagi nodded. It sounded reasonable.

  There was a knock at their apartment door, and Usagi nearly jumped out of her skin. Who would visit them at such a late hour?