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Chapter 1
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"Oh, Nokaru... how I miss you." A tear fell silently from her eye. She was used to it by now. Many years were spent in isolation in this place, and many tears have filled her eyes over that time. It was much too long a period of time for any person. This was a punishment she no longer thought she deserved yet continued to obey.
She was the guardian of destiny now. She had to protect the destiny of all those on Earth, many of whom she once new and loved deeply. No, she lied to herself. There was still one person she could not forget nor stop thinking about even for a minute. Not even after 6000 years.
They had been madly and deeply in love, until the enemy
attacked. She knew she was never to use the power of the crystal to change destiny, but the thought of losing him and everyone else dear to her heart was more terrible then the punishment she knew would be
inflicted upon her. She had to save them, to send them to the future so that they could live their lives, hopefully in peace. She watched all those she cared about live out life after life, knowing that she
would never be able to speak with them again, to be part of their lives once more. She craved that more then anything, to be a part of real life once more. To be surrounded by those you cared about, and those that cared about you.
The only visitor she has had in all this time was the guardian of time, Sailor Pluto. The two shared much in common both stayed at their posts alone. At least they could see and talk to one
another from time to time. But Pluto had more freedom allotted to her. Queen Serenity allowed Pluto to leave her station, though not often. Her superiors on the other hand would never allow her to leave, not without further punishment.
She walked over to one of the fountains that surrounded the garden that was here domain. From them, she could view anyone or any place on Earth. One in particular allowed her to gaze into the
future, to help divert anything that could disrupt the destiny of those she watched over. There was an alarm built into this, to locate any disturbance so she could stop it before any damage was done. She gazed into this fountain, as so often she has done before
to see what laid in store for her beloved.
She knew already that his ultimate destiny would finally be fulfilled in this life. It had taken several lives to lead him to this destiny, but she was happy that things were finally coming together for him. He was happy, in love, and successful. It warmed
her heart that he was truly happy. This was what she had wished for him those many years ago.
Suddenly she could see that something had managed to break through and cause a disturbance in the continuum. The future she looked at faltered, and was replaced with death and destruction. She
couldn't tell where the disturbance was coming from, but she could see when it would strike. She felt a long remembered presence from long ago. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "No... It just can't be... I... I defeated it... I had to have." Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks now. She knew it was true. The enemy she had fought so long had returned. But how could this have happen? How could it have gotten to this time, and why hadn't she been able to
sense that it still existed?
Suddenly Pluto appeared beside her. She was battered and bloody. She helped her over to a bench near one of the fountains and dampened a piece of cloth she tore from her clothing and started to clean some of Pluto's wounds. "What happened, are you ok?" She
looked at her friend with concern and tears in her eyes. (Whatever got her had to be enormously strong to inflict this much damage) she thought to herself.
"NO… We… we …… must hurry… Something broke through the time gate. I …… wasn't… strong enough to… to stop it Nanako… I… I'm so sorry… It's… it's…"
Pluto could barely talk. She winced with pain at each word. She didn't have to finish what she was trying to say. " I know Pluto. I sensed it only a minute ago. It was the enemy I fought, wasn't it?" Pluto nodded weakly, and winced as Nanako continued to
clean her wounds.
"It's ok Pluto. You couldn't stand up to it. I understand. I was barely able to defeat it the last time, and I had the help of the full crystal force and much of our solar system." She smirked, and gave an ironic chuckle. "I guess I didn't defeat it at all. If I had, it wouldn't be back now." Sadness was evident all over her face.
"We must go to Earth and warn its guardians. They'll need my help Pluto." Pluto looked at her with shock and concern. "You must not return to the Earth. It will… cause to much disturbance in time. You mustn't, or you'll change the future. He'll remember you. And you'll have to meet up with him to gain the full power of the crystal, or else the crystal will not be whole. Nanako… YOU CANT GO!!!!" Pluto, weak as she was, she was screaming at her now, and trying to get up.
Nanako gently pushed her back down… "You know that without my help the future will be destroyed for everyone in the system, and perhaps even the universe. This enemy will not stop until all life
is extinguished. You know that." Tears were running down her face. She had wanted to return to earth and see him so badly, but she knew that this could ruin everything for him, and that she may die as a
result of disobeying her pledge of duty… But what else was she to do. She knew that the Senshi would not be able to defeat this enemy on their own. They wouldn't even stand a chance. Their combined
strength was not enough, but perhaps with her help, and the reuniting of the ancient crystal they would together be able to save the future. The chances were grim though. Last time, the entire solar
system had united to try and defeat this enemy. Millions had died, sacrificing their lives for the cause, and clearly they were still unable to defeat it. Would they even be able t!o do anything against it now?
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