Part three, peoples! It’s a long one! Friday, before school “Usagi-chan! You’re early!” exclaimed a red-haired girl whom Erizabefu had never met before as she and Usagi entered the school grounds. Usagi made a face. “Yeah, I know I am, but it’s all Befu-chan’s fault! She came to my house early this morning and threatened to pour ice on me if I didn’t get up on time since I have to cook dinner this evening and can’t have detention.” Usagi pouted at Erizabefu. “Don’t look at me. It was your mother’s idea about the ice. I just came to walk to school together. By the way, I’m Rachiru Erizabefu.” She smiled at the girl. “Hi Erizabefu-san. I’m Osaka Naru.” Naru smiled back. “It’s nice to meet you, Naru-san. Usa-chan has mentioned you before, when she was telling me about Mamoru-san.” That insued a conversation of the three that was soon joined by the rest of the girls that Erizabefu ate with at lunch, plus a guy who was introduced as Umino-san. Lunch-time “Ooooooo! My substitute teacher was in a bad mood!” complained Erizabefu as she sat down at lunch. “What’s up, Befu-chan?” asked Minako. “I’ve got the stupidest poem that I was supposed to translate into English for next week. I finished halfway through the class, so the teacher told me I have to translate into German! I’ve only been studying German for two years and I’m nowhere near fluent enough to translate more than little words, like I and stuff.” Erizabefu wailed. Seiya made a stage-whispered comment on how much Usagi and Erizabefu were alike. That earned him a glare from Usagi and a slap across the arm from Erizabefu. “Don’t worry, just read us the poem. Maybe we can help a little.” Usagi patted her on the back. “Okay. It’s called The Prophecy of Sailor and Soldier Universe.” She dug it out of her bag, cleared her throat, and read the poem. “I am the descendant of Sun and Stars, cousin of Moon and Earth. I slept through the destruction of my family, and will awaken when they’ve had rebirth.” She sighed. “That is by far the dumbest poem in the world, and the author is only initials. S.P.” “Well, that is rather stupid,” Ami said. “Ow! Hey, Luna! Watch what you do with your claws!” yelled Usagi. “Uh, Usa-chan? What’s your cat doing here?” Erizabefu stared at the little black thing of Usagi’s shoulders. “Uh, it likes to follow me, that’s all.” With that, Usagi returned to her lunch. Everyone else followed suit. After school “Usa-chan? Wanna walk with me to the college?” Erizabefu asked hopefully. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I, uh, have to go to Rei’s for study session with Ami and the girls. Maybe another day.” Usagi shrugged apologetically, then left, running. “Hey! Wait! Usa-chan, you have my calculator!” Erizabefu called, but Usagi was gone already. She sighed, then headed for the college. Picking up Derienu, she told him that they had to go to Rei’s first, so she could get her calculator back. He agreed and they started for Hikawa Jinga. “So, who’s Rei?” he asked as they walked. “She’s one of Usagi’s friends. She’s nice, but has a temper. So watch out for her while you’re there. Don’t speak to her unless you’re spoken to. That sounds dumb, but it’s sound advice for dealing with Rei.” They neared the temple and heard shrieks and shouts. “That would be Rei shouting and Usagi shrieking. They must be fighting again. And I thought that Usagi and Rei had grown up some.” Derienu rolled his eyes. “Usagi! Grow up already! We need to get down to business, so stop talking about how Erizabefu is so-o-o-o in love with Derienu. Enough gossip! Grandpa’s going to be back soon and we haven’t even discussed the Sailor business!” they heard Rei scream at Usagi. “A little louder. I don’t think that China heard you yet, Rei!” Usagi said as Erizabefu climbed the stairs. Derienu had chosen to stay at the bottom of the stairs. “Uh, Usa-chan? I hate to interrupt your fight with Rei, but can I have my calculator back?” She had reached the top and saw Rei waving a broom at Usagi. The broom dropped, and 14 pairs of eyes stared at her. “Did I come at a bad time?” Erizabefu asked weakly. “How much did you hear?” hissed Haruka. “What?” Erizabefu stepped back in fear. “How much of Rei and Usagi’s fight did you hear?” Haruka was closing the gap between them. “Uh, enough to know that you guys aren’t having a study session?” Erizabefu took another step back. Michiru grabbed Haruka’s arm, Hotaru grabbed the other, and together, pulled Haruka away from the frightened girl. “Erizabefu-san? I think you better come inside,” said a woman she didn’t know. With Haruka restrained, and Rei and the guys too shocked to do anything, Erizabefu nodded and quickly followed her inside, calling to Derienu that she would be back later and to go home. He shouted his okay, but, unbeknownst to anyone, slowly walked up the steps. Inside the temple, 15 min. later The woman had been introduced as Setsuna, Hotaru’s aunt. Haruka had calmed down some, so Usagi took over and asked what she had heard. “Well, I heard shouts and shrieks at first, but as I climbed up here, I heard Rei-san yelling at you to grow up, stop gossiping, and that her Grandpa would be home soon and you hadn’t started Sailor business. Then you said that you didn’t think China could hear her yet.” Erizabefu stated it carefully. “Do you have any idea what Rei-chan meant when she said Sailor business?” asked Setsuna. “Yes.” “What?” Everyone leaned in. “Well, you guys are the Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Mask, and you needed to talk about what happened Tuesday night.” Hotaru fainted, along with Ami, Michiru, Minako, Usagi, Yaten, and Taiki. Mamoru, Seiya, Haruka, Rei and Makoto stared in shock. Setsuna smiled. “It’s about time you showed up, Universe. I’ve been waiting.” With a wave of her hand, two pens appeared. One was more girlish than the other. “For you and Soldier Universe.” She handed them to the shocked girl. “Uh, I think you have the wrong person. I’m just a kid.” “Come now, Princess of the Stars and Sun. I know who you are. And Derienu knows too.” Setsuna put the pens in Erizabefu’s palm and closed her fingers around them. Mamoru and the others still not unconscious fainted then as well. “Uh, I know that Sailor Pluto is supposed to be all knowing, but you didn’t even know that Sailor Moon was the Moon Princess, or that Usa-chan was Sailor Moon. You probably have the wrong girl.” “No she doesn’t, Lynn,” came a voice from the doorway. “Dee? You know what’s going on?” she asked in shock. “Yes. I’ll take my transformation pen, if you don’t mind.” He took the boyish pen. “Pluto, you didn’t need to break it to her like this. You should have had Sol or Taurus have her transform like Luna and Artemis did for the inner senshi.” “I’m sorry my Prince, but this was the only appropriate way. I had hoped that poem from her class would give her a hint. You certainly didn’t help much, telling her we were a T.V. show in America.” “Please don’t call me Prince. You know that I’m only a prince through marriage.” “WHAT?!?!?!?” Erizabefu broke in. “You’re married?!?!?!?!?” “Yes, in my past life I was, and it was to the Princess of the Stars and Sun. You. Your cousins seemed to like me very much, even if I annoyed you at first. And I only said that for two reasons. One, you guys are a T.V. show in America, and, two, I like seeing Lynn normal.” “Huh?” Erizabefu sat back even further into her chair as the others regained consciousness. “What happened?” asked Usagi, dazed. “Good question,” retorted Erizabefu. She stood up, pen in hand, glared at Setsuna and Derienu, and stormed out of the room. “As if I didn’t have enough surprises this week,” she muttered as she left. “I told you so, Pluto.” Derienu grabbed two cats that had been sitting under the chair Erizabefu had just exited, one a purple-blue color, the other an orange-gold, and followed Erizabefu out of the room. “Oh boy. I really doubt that I want to know what just happened here,” remarked Usagi. Mamoru and the others nodded in agreement. “Princess, I have to attend to, er, certain things now. I’ll take my leave.” With that, Setsuna transformed and disappeared in a cloud of purple-black smoke. (AN- Isn’t it gettin’ good now?) “I say we all go home and sleep on this,” stated Ami. Everyone quickly agreed and the meeting dispersed. Meanwhile.......... ‘Where’d that princess go?’ thought Derienu. He looked to the left. ‘Ah-ha! She probably went to the park. She likes parks. Then again, so do I.’ He rushed off, hopefully in the right direction. He was in luck. Erizabefu had just entered the park, walking slowly, lost in thought. “Sol, Taurus, you guys go talk to her. She won’t freak out, at least, not too much.” Derienu placed the two cats on the side walk and shooed them toward their princess. They left with an indignant look on their faces, accompanied by worried looks as well. Derienu sighed, ran his hand through his hair, and sat down on a bench. Pluto appeared right after. “Come, we have much to do.” She grabbed his hand and they disappeared. Soon, the two were in a chamber that had the symbols of many different things. There were 16 chairs around a large round table, each with a symbol engraved in the back and on the table in front of them. There was a symbol and chair for each of the planets, including Earth (A silver circle divided into four parts), the planet’s color, of course, the Moon (Obviously, the gold crescent moon), the Stars (That symbol does not look like the Starlights symbols. It’s a bronze star with silver dots on each of the five points.), the Sun (A gold circle with ten rays coming out, each capped with a different color that matches the nine planets of the system, the Moon not included, and the last one was bronze, to show the marriage of the Sun and Stars. More about that later.), and four for the Starlights, one for each senshi and their princess. “Pluto, what are we doing here? This room hasn’t been in use for thousands of years, not since the right before the battle with the Negaverse.” Derienu plopped into his chair of the Stars, where he had been appointed to sit at since his marriage to the Princess of the Sun and Stars. (Again, more later. Probably in flashbacks. Don’t you hate me?) “I know that, Prince Tranquility. Soon, this room will be in use once again.” “Yeah, when Sere and Endy ascend to the throne.” Derienu stood up and started pacing for no reason at all. “I think not. This new enemy was not predicted in the original time-stream. I do not know enough about them to do anything to help but fight.” “And you can’t exactly leave your post, can you?” Pluto shook her head. “Well, what about that Chibi-Usa girl? Sere and Endy’s future daughter? She won’t be allowed to fight, I know that for a fact, so why not have her guard the Time Gate? She knows how to use it, and I’m sure that she’s ascended into her Sailor Moon powers by now.” Derienu continued pacing. “That is the only choice I see as well. The enemy doesn’t know anything about the Time Gate, so I don’t think I have to worry too much about Small Lady.” “Okay, now that we have that problem solved, I have a question for you, Lady of the Time Stream.” He sat down in his chair once again. “What was the purpose of having Lynn and Sere be twins in this life time?” “Well,” Pluto shrugged, “the Queens had wanted the two princesses to be closer than they were in the Silver Millennium, so-” “Hold it! How could they be any closer. I swear, if me and Lynn, excuse me, Andi weren’t in love, I would never have been able to pull her away from Sere when they were visiting, unless of course, Endymion was there.” “Okay, I’ll fix it.” Pluto grabbed her staff, closed her eyes, and concentrated. A brief glow of purple-black emanated from her before she opened her eyes. “Okay, now Princess Andromeda, I mean, Erizabefu, is Usagi’s cousin on her mother’s side, and Mamoru’s cousin on her father’s side, and she isn’t adopted. Motoki and Naru are her parents, and she is now Usagi’s English tutor. They know that Usagi and Erizabefu are cousins, and they will soon find out that Mamoru is her cousin on his mother’s side. Are you happy, Tranquility?” She glared at the smirking prince. “Yep. Now I don’t have to worry too much about Andi. She got real upset when she found out that she was Usagi’s twin. Good of you to fix it.” He stood. “Well, Erizabefu will remember it both ways now. I couldn’t do anything about her memories, just give her the different ones, like you.” “Why?” “Because, Sailor and Soldier Universe are like me. They can have the knowledge of the different time streams, but, unlike me, only if they’ve happened to them.” “Okay. Should we go now, and open an easy entrance into here?” He walked over to Pluto. “You’re the only one who can do that, so let’s get moving.” Back on Earth............ Two cats slowly approached Erizabefu, worried about her. Finally, the orange-gold one with the funny sun on its head went up to her and purred, twisting around her ankles. “Hello, kitty. Where’s your own- Hey! You’ve got one of them symbols!” Erizabefu bent down and looked at the cat. “Can you talk?” “Of course I can talk!” said the cat, in an indignant, British, female voice. “And my name is Sol, not kitty.” “Well excuse me, Talking Cat named Sol of the Sun, if I hurt your feelings! I didn’t know your name, and it’s customary to call unknown cats ‘kitty’. At least it is in America. Now where’s the other cat that Dee was talking about, uh, Torose?” “Actually, it’s Taurus, and I’m behind you,” came a male, British voice. A purple-blue cat with a bronze star with silver dots at the points walked from behind Erizabefu and sat next to Sol. “Are you guys my guardians? Of some sort at least?” Erizabefu scratched both of them around their ears. “Yes, we are. Although Taurus is closer to Prince Tranquility, and me to you, yes.” Sol explained between purrs. Erizabefu picked both of them up, explaining where they were going. Just as they reached their destination, a purple-black glow hit Erizabefu. She tipped a bit, but regained her balance quickly. “Andromeda?” questioned Sol. “I’m okay, but who’s Andromeda. And why do I have two past memories of the last couple days?” “Andromeda is you, at least, your past self, and the two memory thing is not our department.” Taurus wiggled a bit, but Erizabefu kept a tight hold on both cats and brought them inside her house. “Mom! Dad! I’m home!” she called. Both called hello from wherever they were in the large house they owned. “Wait a minute.” Erizabefu whispered to herself. “Since when did I call them mom and dad? Not since I was too little to understand what adopted meant.” She shook her head and brought the cats upstairs to her room. “Now, can you explain to me what Pluto meant by me being Sailor Universe and the Princess of the Sun and Stars? It’s obvious by your foreheads that you’re the two guardians from both places, but who was I? Was I Sailor Universe back then? What about Dee? Who was he? Was he Soldier Universe then too?” “Whoa, whoa, whoa! We’ll take this one step at a time.” Sol started pacing on the bed. “First of all, we’re going to change your hair. Second, are you still mad at Pluto and Tranquility?” “My hair? Uh, no, I guess not. Just still a little shocked. Now what’s this about my hair?” Erizabefu looked in the mirror. “What’s wrong with it?” “Nothing. We’re going to change your hair style. The one you have in now, held back with the two clips is your style when you were at the Stars with me, but you’re missing bangs. The other style is a bit more complicated, and for that, we need to change.” Taurus and Sol leaped off the bed, a gold surrounding Sol, bronze surrounding Taurus. When they landed they were humans, but the symbols were still there. Each had a necklace with the symbol on it as well. Taurus snapped his fingers and a pair of scissors and a water bottle appeared in his hands. Sol snapped her fingers and a brush, comb, and hair things appeared on the dresser next to her. Taurus went to work first, a chair appearing in front of the large mirror. He guided his princess to the chair and sat her down in it. Ten minutes later, Erizabefu had bangs that were curled nicely. The clips were taken out, and Sol started in on her hair. (AN-Okay, here’s the hard part. I don’t really know how to describe it. Have you seen I Dream of Jeannie? The hair style the genie has is the one I want for Princess Andromeda of the Sun. If you haven’t seen, sorry. I can’t describe it for the life of me.) She showed Erizabefu how to do it step by step. “Wow!” breathed Erizabefu. “It’s so pretty! Did I do this on my own?” “Yes, you did. Your mother insisted you learn it by yourself.” Sol smiled proudly. “My mother was of the Sun? So my father was from the Stars then, right?” Both people nodded. “Erizabefu?” called her mom. Sol and Taurus became cats and hid under the bed. “What is it?” she called back. “Derienu-san is here to see you!” “Tell him to come up! I’m doing something right now!” “Okay.” A little while later, Derienu walked into the room. “Hey, Lynn! Whatcha doing?” “Oh, getting a new hair-style, visiting with my guardians from a thousand years ago, same old, same old. Where’d you go? You look a little, um, tired?” “Yeah, uh, Pluto brought me to a room that will be soon in use. I have two memories of the past couple days. You too, right?” “Yeah. What’s up with that any way?” “Pluto screwed up. You were supposed to be born to you parents that your have now, and you’re cousins with Usagi, which you’ll soon find out. And you’re also Mamoru’s cousin on your dad’s, his mom’s, side. No one but you knows that. Me too, obviously, but your parents know as well. Soon, they’ll be asking you if you know-” “Erizabefu! Can you come here for a minute?” called Motoki. “Sure Dad!” Erizabefu pulled the cats from under the bed, grabbed Derienu’s hand, and brought them all out of her room to the den where she assumed her father was. “Hi Dad! What’s up?” Erizabefu breezed into the room, Derienu close behind. “Well, I was wondering if you remembered my sister, your aunt? Chiba Momoko?” He was looking at a picture. “Uh, I’ve heard the name, but I think I remember her. Uh, green eyes, black hair, semi-tall?” Erizabefu thought hard. “Yeah that’s her. You remember she had a son?” “Really?” “Yeah. Here’s a picture of her and her family.” Motoki handed her a picture. It was of her aunt, a tall man with dark hair and blue eyes, and a little boy with black hair and blue eyes. She gasped. It looked like Mamoru as a three-year-old kid! “Can we go visit them?” Erizabefu asked hopefully. “No. Momoko and her husband died in a car crash. Their son, Mamoru, lost his memory in the crash and was sent to an orphanage. We were in America when that happened, so I just found out about it yesterday.” “Mamoru? How old is he?” “Well, he’d be a senior in high school, I think. You’re a sophomore, right?” She nodded. “Then he’s a senior.” “School?” “Azabu. You know him?” “Actually, he’s our cousin’s boyfriend. Tsukino Usagi.” “What? Really? You know him?” “Yeah, Usa-chan and I are, like, best friends now. And Mamoru and I’ve met each other. Derienu and him go to the same campus too.” Motoki looked up. “Oh, I’m sorry for not saying hi, Derienu. I’ve had things on my mind. Uh, Erizabefu, where’d you get the cats?” “Well, I was hoping we could keep them? Their names are Sol and Taurus. Please can we keep them?” Erizabefu begged. Motoki nodded. “Only if you can Mamoru here tonight for dinner. The Tsukinos too.” “Uh, sir? It wouldn’t be wise to have all the Tsukinos here. Mr. Tsukino still gets upset when Usagi is with Mamoru.” Derienu explained. “Oh well. Naru will want to see them.” “Okay, Dad, I’ll do it. But, Usagi was supposed to cook dinner tonight at her house for her family and Mamoru though. I’ll figure something out.” Erizabefu grabbed Derienu’s hand and brought them all back up to her room. “Okay, here’s the plan. We’ll call the Tsukinos and invite them over, because they know we’re related, right?” She looked to Derienu for confirmation. He nodded. “Well, then we’ll have Usagi relocate her cooking project here, and she and my mom can work in the kitchen. Then we’ll have Mamoru come over earlier so we can talk to him about this whole family thing. Sound okay?” “How do we get Mamoru over here?” asked Taurus. “That’s where you two come in. Go ask Luna where he lives, then get him over here with any means. Tell him you know where you can find his family or something. Oh, and tell him that Usagi is cooking dinner at my house too.” She opened the window. “Go you guys!” The two cats left by means of a tree. Then Erizabefu dived onto her bed and grabbed her phone. She dialed a number and waited. “Hi, Aunt Ikuko? Yeah, this is Erizabefu. My mom and dad want you guys to come over for dinner. I know that Usagi is cooking, but she can do it here. Don’t worry about Mamoru. We’ll get him here for dinner. Yes, I realize that Uncle Kenjo won’t appreciate it, but it needs to be done. You see, Mamoru is my cousin on Dad’s side, but he doesn’t really remember much about us. Yes I know that Usagi and Mamoru are dating, but Usagi’s my cousin on Mom’s side, remember? So it’s okay? Great! Come over around 6:30. Bye!” Erizabefu hung up. “I did it! It’s four now, so we’ve got about two hours before they come to get Mamoru to remember and stuff.” “Yeah, if Mamoru gets here.” “Which he will,” said Sol as the cats entered through the window. “When?” asked Derienu. The doorbell rang. “Now,” both replied. The four raced down the stairs and answered the door. Mamoru was there. “Uh, Erizabefu-san, these two cats came to my apartment and told me to come here for something.......” He trailed off. “Yeah, dinner got changed, since my mom and dad had already invited them over for dinner tonight. They’ll be here at 6:30. For now, though, my dad wants to meet you. C’mon in.” She led Mamoru, Derienu, and the cats to the den. “Dad? Mamoru’s here. Should I leave?” Motoki looked up from the picture in his hands. “Uh, no. It’s important for you to stay too.” He motioned for them to sit down. “Chiba Mamoru?” he asked. Mamoru nodded. “Do you recognize this picture?” Motoki handed it to him. Mamoru studied it. “It’s me when I was three. Those people are my parents. Why..........?” Mamoru looked at Motoki quizzically. “I had a sister, Momoko Rachiru,” he handed another picture to Mamoru, one of him and his sister, “who married a man, Chiba-san. I never did learn his name. They had a son, and when he was six, they died in a car crash, and their son had no memories. His name was Chiba Mamoru.” Mamoru stared at the two pictures. “If you’re my mom’s brother, then I’m your nephew, right? And that makes you my uncle, and Erizabefu-san my cousin. But, isn’t Usako your niece?” “On Mom’s side. Don’t worry. You guys are really related, so there’s no problem,” broke in Erizabefu. “I’m going to go in the kitchen and help Mom Usagi-proof the kitchen. See ya!” Erizabefu the room. Derienu looked at the two guys, then followed Erizabefu. The cats did as well. Until 6:30, Mamoru and Motoki talked about his past. At six, Usagi showed up to get dinner ready. Naru stayed in the kitchen to help. Luna and Artemis had also come along. “Usa-chan? Why’s Artemis here?” Erizabefu asked. “Oh, he’s decided that he would be staying with me now, since Minako can’t have pets in her house. Her dad is allergic to pet hair.” “Oh. C’mon, you two. Sol and Taurus are upstairs.” Erizabefu and the two cats went to her room, where Derienu was conversing with Sol and Taurus. Immediately, the four cats went into discussion under the bed. “So, I see you’ve got your old hairstyle back, huh?” asked Derienu. “Yeah. Sol and Taurus did a good job. So, were we Universe in the Silver Millennium? I still don’t remember anything, but I’ll have to take your word for it.” “Well, when we were both born, we had the symbol of Universe on our foreheads, so they knew we would be Universe someday. But, Universe is even more forbidden then Saturn, so they made a prophecy. We wouldn’t be awakened until the Princess Serenity and her court had had three rebirths. One was the end of the Silver Millennium, which we were also reborn, another was the fight against Beryl, and the third was the battle against Galaxia,” Derienu said. “But Serenity didn’t die against Galaxia,” protested Erizabefu. “Wrong. She did, but only for a minute or two. After she revived everyone from losing their star seeds, she died from the power of the silver crystal. Endymion brought her back with the power of the gold crystal and the scouts. Now that a new evil has appeared, the Starlights, who weren’t originally part of Sere’s court, are back with their leader, now Sailor Starkiller, (AN-Don’t ask.) and Pluto has reopened the war council room, I’d say that it’s time for us to awaken.” “Why are we forbidden? And who’s Sailor Starkiller?” “Because, together, we hold a force more powerful than the scouts, the gold crystal, and the silver crystal all together. Not to mention you can use the silver crystal, the gold crystal, and the crystals of the Sun and Stars. Sailor Starkiller was the Starlights’ princess. Now she’s just a princess of a star, under your rule.” “What war room? And why do you know all this stuff?” “The war room hasn’t been used since the Silver Millennium, and it needs to be now, since it has a way to combine the strength of everyone who is part of it. I know all this stuff, because I was reborn in a different way than everyone else, except you, but something weird happened to you. We weren’t dead when the Silver Crystal brought us into the future to be reborn. So, we were reborn with the symbol again on our foreheads. No one but someone from the Silver Millennium would know this, and Pluto had been following all of our spirits, so she was there when I was born. She saw the symbol, and let me be. She must have done something to you, otherwise you remember everything too. We can ask her about it next time we can talk to her.” Erizabefu sighed. She knew that something weird had to have happened to her, otherwise she would remember too. “Andromeda, we have something to give you,” said Taurus as the four cats exited from under the bed. “You too, Tranq.” Sol and Taurus both produced multi-colored watches and gave them to their charges. Artemis and Luna both exited from under the bed too. “Uh, Artemis, you have different symbol on your forehead,” said Erizabefu. “I know,” he said in a disgusted voice. “I’m actually a cat from Earth, not the Moon. Queen Serenity changed it when you were reborn.” “Awh! Is Arty angry that he’s from Earth?” Erizabefu teased. “What’s there to be angry about? More like I’m embarrassed.” “Why?” “Because, Beryl’s from Earth, and I spent a lot of time around her and I didn’t know that Metallia was working through her. You’d think that the years I spent training would have helped me get a clue at least.” “Artemis, you know that no one, even the most experienced, could have guessed. Metallia worked through her, but Beryl didn’t actually become part of Metallia until much later. Everyone knows that.” Luna rubbed heads with the white cat. “Are you two finally together?” asked Derienu. “Yes,” both murmured, totally into each other. Sol and Taurus lay down next to each other, happily watching their friends. “Okay, this is a stupid question, but, Sol, what are these things?” Erizabefu asked. “Communicators.” Sol and Taurus dropped off to sleep. Luna and Artemis did the same. “Dinner!” rang out Usagi’s voice. Derienu opened the door and the two walked down slowly, Erizabefu lost in thought, Derienu just to match her pace. “Hi everyone! What’s for dinner?” she asked as she walked into the dining room. “Usagi made chicken curry.” Mamoru smiled at a memory. Kenjo glared at his daughter’s boyfriend. “Now, Uncle Kenjo, there will be no glares or death stares at Cousin Mamoru tonight,” Erizabefu teased. Kenjo stared at her, while everyone else laughed. Usagi brought in the food, and according to Mamoru, it looked a lot better than the last time he had eaten her curry. Usagi swatted his arm in mock fury. Erizabefu giggled. Dinner went better than Erizabefu expected it to go. Kenjo didn’t threaten anyone, and was very civil toward Mamoru, though it was probably more for his brother-in-law’s sake than Usagi’s. Afterwards, the four parents went into the living room to talk, while Erizabefu brought her friends up to her room, where the sleeping kitties were. “Well, let’s say that after getting over the fact that Pluto dropped a bombshell on me, things went very well. Taurus and Sol explained some to me and retaught me to do my hair. They also cut me some bangs. Tranq over here explained some more, but I still don’t remember anything. Apparently, Pluto did something to me at birth that blocked my memories, unlike Tranq.” Erizabefu plopped down on her bed, startling the cats. “What do you mean, blocked your memories?” asked Mamoru. “Well, me and Tranq weren’t dead yet when the Silver Crystal pulled us in, so we were born with our memories intact. Pluto did something to me at birth I guess, other wise I would remember the Silver Millennium, like Tranq.” “Who’s Tranq?” asked Usagi. “Me,” answered Derienu. “I was Prince Tranquility, but only because I married Andi. Otherwise, I would have been just some peasant in the Star Kingdom. And, unlike you two lovers, we were married long before the Negaverse attack, since we were prophesied to be Sailor and Soldier Universe. I surprised that Serenity didn’t let you become Soldier Earth, although you’ll probably have a son in the future for that title. Oh yeah, Pluto will be dropping another bomb shell very soon.” Derienu was sitting in one of the many recliners in Erizabefu’s huge room. He leaned back and fell asleep. “That’s our hint to leave him alone. He probably doesn’t want to discuss the Silver Millennium too much. Pluto would get on his case if he told us too much.” Erizabefu flopped on her back. Mamoru and Usagi had taken other chairs. “Hey, Arty! You should show Usagi and Mamoru your new tatoo!” called Erizabefu to the cat on her pillow. “What new tatoo?” asked Usagi. “You’ll see.” Erizabefu held up the twisting cat to reveal the symbol of Earth on his head. “Where’s the crescent moon go?” asked Mamoru. “He’s actually a cat of the Earth. He’s majorly embarrassed about, since Beryl was from Earth, or something like that, and he hid it for as long as he could. Isn’t that right, Arty?” The cat yowled. “Andi, stop torturing that poor cat.” called Derienu. “Who should I torture then?” She snuck up to him. “You?” She jumped on him in the chair and started tickling him. Derienu was howling in seconds. Usagi giggled, then started tickling her own boyfriend. “Kids? What’s going on up there?” called Naru. “Nothing Mom!” called back Erizabefu. The girls stopped torturing the guys, but Erizabefu’s hair had gotten messed up. “Oh! And I’m not sure how to fix it yet. Sol! Can you help here?” Erizabefu scratched the cat’s ears. She purred, then leaped off the bed. In a flash of gold and swirling colors, Lady Sol appeared. “Andromeda, you shouldn’t have been fooling around so much,” scolded the woman. “Uh, Befu-chan? Did you know your cat could turn into a human?” Usagi asked. “Yeah. So can Taurus and Luna and Artemis, if they want to.” Erizabefu sat down on the chair near the mirror. Sol fixed her hair, showng Erizabefu the steps again. “You get to try in the morning.” The lady became a cat again, then snuggled down next to the sleeping Taurus and followed suit. “You guys better not wake me up in the middle of the night,” muttered Erizabefu. “Usagi!” called Ikuko. “It’s time to go, dear!” “Okay Mom!” She picked up her cats. “Luna, Artemis, time to go. Bye, Befu-chan, Derienu-san, Mamo-chan!” Usagi ran out the door. “I should be going too. I’ll see you guys.........whenever.” Mamoru stood and followed his fast-moving girlfriend. “Bye, Cuz!” he called back. Erizabefu giggled. Derienu opened one eye. “Are they gone yet?” he asked.