A Visitor from the Past, Part 1 by Ice-Wizard@gmx.at PG 1. This is my very first try to write a fanfic, so don't expect too much. 2. I'm from Austria and my english isn't that good. If you find some serious misdages, please tell me. 3. Tell me what you think about it. I'd like to know if you didn't understand something or if I could improve something. If you don't tell me what's wrong I'll believe that everything is allright. 4. I have changed some details of the storyline. You'll notice the differences. A few explanations: " " Something is said ' ' Something is thought CAPITAL LETTERS Sailor Pluto talks or someone yells (You'll know the difference) Let's get it on When: end of the Silver Millennium Where: the Moon "ARE YOU READY?" "Yes, I am." "ARE YOU SURE?" "Absolutely." "THEN FOLLOW ME TO THE GATE OF TIME." "But..." "DO YOU WANT TO STAY?" "No, I just wonder why you chose me?" "THERE IS NO TIME TO EXPLAIN. IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW ME NOW, YOU HAVE TO STAY IN THIS TIME." "FOREVER." The voice of the guardian of time was powerful as always. But now, there was a difference. There was a hint of fear. I didn't know. Now the time has come to leave this world and I looked around. The Moon Kingdom has been attacked by the Dark Kingdom of earth and everything has been destroyed. I had to think about my family and my friends. Some tears escaped my eyes and I wiped them off. The wind ruffled my short black hair and sent a shiver through my body. This once has been my home. Now there weren't even any ruins left. I looked at the guardian and tried to say something, but when I saw her sad eyes, I realized that she already knew what was on my mind. She stepped back and touched my right shoulder with her Staff. For one second, I was able to see the world with her eyes. I saw the past, the present and the future. I learned about the Sailor Senshi of the 20th century and the Future King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo. When she removed the Staff, I tried to remember what I had seen. It was impossible for my mind to cope with all details of a whole universe, but I had a vague picture of the whole situation. The Guardian of Time was gone and a big glowing portal appeared. "THERE IS STILL SOME HOPE. YOU HAVE BUT SEEN ONE OM MANY POSSIBLE FUTURES. YOU, THE LAST SURVIVOR OF THE SILVER MILLENIUM, CAN MAKE SURE THAT THERE WILL NEVER BE SUCH TRAGEDY AGAIN." Now, a small piece of her calmness, her immense trust in fate was deeply imbedded within me. My doubts were gone and I nodded. There was still some hope. I touched the portal and with a bright flash of light I was gone. When: The Present Where: Tokyo, A Park (Sorry for the vague description, but I've never been there) "Hold it right there! How dare you disturb the peace of this place?" Now, that sounded familiar to me. My head was hurting like hell - a side effect of my transfer to this world - but I knew that voice. It was the Moon Princess. "I am Sailor Moon. And in the name of the Moon..." "...Mercury..." "...Mars..." "...Jupiter...!" "...and Venus..." "...WE ARE GOING TO PUNISH YOU!" There was no doubt, I've arrived. When the world stopped spinning around my head, I got a pretty clear view of my surrounding. I have managed to land on top of a quite high tree in the park. Right below me, the Sailor Senshi battled a strange shadowlike creature and two Youma. The Youma looked quite normal (for monsters from a different dimension). One of them was some sort of crossover of a fish and a woman and the second reminded me of an eagle. I couldn't catch any details of the shadow. Somehow it changed when I looked at it. Suddenly, the branch I was sitting at began cracking. Did I mention my fear of heights? Well, it's not the height itself that scares me. It's the idea of falling. I kept telling myself to calm down. There was nothing to be afraid of. Nothing but a 7 meter fall and a nasty looking rock right below me. "HELP ME!!! I DON'T WANNA DIE!!!!" Everybody - even the enemies - stopped their attack and stared at me in astonishment. Slowly, I lost my hold and finally I came down. Some branches slowed my fall but I was still pretty fast when I missed the rock and managed to hit one of the Youma. I fainted. When: Present Where: Hikawa Shrine "Can you hear me? Are you awake?" In drowse I muttered: "No, mommy. I wanna sleep some more." I heard someone talking but I couldn't understand it. Suddenly I could feel a gentle hand on my forehead. I could hear another voice: "His temperature seems normal to me." Again the first voice: "Wake up!" Someone was grabbing my shoulders and shook me like a doll. "OK, OK, I'm awake. I had some weird dream. I was falling from a tree and I hit a Monster and there were the Senshi and..." Finally my brain decided to wake up too. I opened my eyes and when the world stopped spinning - again - I saw the senshi, standing around me. One of them, Mercury, was sitting next to me, scanning me with her computer. "Besides a light concussion he is relatively uninjured." I remembered her voice. She is the one that felt my temperature. A rather tall girl, Jupiter, was standing on the other side and smiled at me apologetic. "Sorry for waking you in such a rough way." I managed to mumble something like "No problem." I tried to get up from wherever I was right now, but I was to weak. I heard a third voice: "Are you sure he's alright? That was quite a nasty fall." Mercury didn't say a word and just stared at the blonde girl, Venus. "Sorry, I believe you. Well, the Youma wasn't as lucky." She turned to me grinning. "How does it feel, I mean having killed your first Youma?" I wanted to give some sarcastic response when I noticed the wary look of the Senshi of Fire, Sailor Mars. I wasn't sure how to react. They looked like the Senshi from my time, but they acted quite different. "Fine, I guess." I tried to sit and this time I succeeded. Well, this was not the park. It looked like some kind of temple. I was resting on a quite comfortable bed. I wanted to tell the Senshi who I was when I heard a voice in my head. 'DON'T TELL THEM! THEY MUST NOT KNOW THEIR FUTURE' 'Oh, Pluto...can't you just go away?' Here I was, surrounded by people I had to help but I wasn't allowed to tell them. I needed a story. A good story. "My name is George Sugam." I started. "I was just hanging around in the park, when this Monster showed up. Well, I kinda forgot about my fear of heights and so I climbed up that tree. Then you came to the park. You know the rest. By the way, thank you for saving me out there and carrying me here." Oh, my! They were never going to believe me. Hell, I didn't believe it myself. Sailor Moon smiled at me: "You're welcome." Her smile faded: "You know, this is the most stupid story I've ever heard." Mars gave me a close look. "Besides: Who would *hang around* in a park wearing a dress?" Now I was quite offended. "That's no dress. It's a wizards robe." They glared at me even more suspiciously. 'Now that was a smart move.' 'YOU COULD SAY THAT AGAIN.' 'Well, I'm sorry Pluto. I have to tell them.' 'NO!' 'Calm down. I tell them about the Past. I am a survivor of the Silver Millennium. I have been sent here by the guardian of time. I don't know why I am here.' 'THEY DON'T KNOW ME ... YET.' 'Hmmm. I say, that Queen Serenity sent me here.' Sailor Pluto thought about that for a brief moment. 'THIS MIGHT WORK. BUT DON'T FORGET: NO WORD ABOUT THE FUTURE.' 'Hey, don't you trust me?' 'IN YOUR DREAMS!' I broke the contact and told the girls my story. To say that they were surprised would be an understatement. They were shocked. The royal advisor, Luna, was the first to speak up. "So, you are from the Moon." She stalked around me and eyed me very carefully. "Why should we believe you?" I've been waiting for that. I concentrated on my power and let it flow through my body. Suddenly, a blue crescent moon appeared on my forehead. The Senshi let out a gasp of surprise, just Luna and Artemis stayed calm. "That proofs that you are a Wizard. It doesn't tell us if you are on our side." Luna approached me: "There is a way to see if you are honest." With that, Luna touched my right hand with her paw and closed her eyes. Her own crescent Moon was glowing now. I knew what she was up to. She wanted to read my thoughts. 'Pluto, help me!' Suddenly, a strange power surrounded me. Luna's expression softened and she opened her eyes. "He's telling the truth." She said, addressing the girls. "I read his mind." She sighted: "It's just a pity that he has the same lack of memories that we have. He knows about the Moon Princess, but he doesn't know her present name or appearance. Neither does he know anything about this tuxedo clad guy that has been helping us." Tuxedo clad guy? They hadn't found out yet that he was Prince Endymion. They also didn't seem to know that the Moon Princess was sitting right next to them. Well, that was for me to know and for them to find out. 'THAT'S THE SPIRIT.' 'Shut up.' They didn't really trust me yet, but they told me about the current situation. Sailor Moon, Mercury and Mars have been fighting the Dark Kingdom. They have defeated Jadeite. Then Sailor Jupiter and Venus have joined the group and they have defeated Nephrite. For their failures the two generals have been imprisoned by Queen Beryl. Right now the Senshi were fighting Zoisite. The main goal was finding the Silver Crystal which would appear when 7 Rainbow Crystals were united. The Crystals were imbedded in the bodies of 7 humans. Whenever a Crystal was separated from its host, the human would be transformed into some sort of Shadow demon. Even Sailor Moon wasn't able to transform them back, that would just be possible by using the Silver Crystal. So far, 6 shards were discovered. 2 were in the possession of the Senshi, 2 were held by Tuxedo Mask and 2 were stolen by Zoisite. The fourth general, Kunzite had shown up sometimes but hadn't interfered directly. Well, this wasn't exactly what Sailor Pluto had shown me but it came quite close. I decided to tell them (almost) the truth. My real Name was Mentus, I was a Mage in training during the Silver Millennium and I was on a visit at Pluto when the attack of the Dark Kingdom began. I came back as soon as I could but it was too late. Queen Serenity has used the last bit of her power to send me here. That's when they attacked me with questions. "You're a Mage?" "You knew Serenity?" "What happened during the war?" "What did you do on Pluto?" "Why did the queen send you here?" I turned to Artemis and whispered: "Are they always like that?" Artemis facefaulted. "You don't want to know. You REALLY don't want to know." This left me but one choice. I fainted - again - but this time intentional. At least, it stopped their questions. After another scan Mercury decided to give me some rest. Thanks to a little spell I've cast, even the Mercury computer couldn't look through my illusion and so I could hear every word they were going to say. The group started a discussion about what to do with their new information. Suddenly, Mars watched me very accurately, as if she was suspecting something. She sighed and started "Luna, Artemis, you believe him?" The cats exchanged uncertain looks and Luna answered "Well, his story matches our memories in every detail. But you have to remember, that our memories aren't the best." Everybody nodded. "Nobody of us knows *exactly* what happened during the Silver Millennium" Jupiter added. Mars looked through the window. "We shouldn't transform back before we know if we can trust him." "Good idea." Artemis watched me as if he tried to remember my face. "He does look familiar but I can't place him. He could be an enemy." Minako frowned. "I thought Luna read his mind and found out that he isn't evil." Luna answered: "That's true, but I have not much experience doing that." Mercury looked up from her laptop. "I've just evaluated the data I've gathered about him. When you read his mind, Luna, my sensors detected a strange energy around him. This might have altered your information." "That's a possibility," Luna had to agree. That caught Mars' attention. "It's more than just possible. I could sense something strange when we first met him. It wasn't really evil and the feeling lasted only for some seconds, so I ignored it." Moon started laughing. "Maybe you've lost your spiritualistic sense." That hit Mars unprepared. Her face flared with anger. "I could sense an evil spirit even if he was on the other end of Tokyo!" Moon grinned mockingly. "You couldn't sense something evil if you would step in it." That didn't help to calm Mars down. "I can!" "Can not!" "CAN TOO!" "CAN NOT!" "CAN TOO!" "CAN NOT!" "CAN TOO!" "CAN NOT!" "CAN TOO!" "CAN NOT!" "CAN TOO!" "CAN NOT!" That was too much for me to take. "SHUT UP!" I yelled and sat up. On the one hand, that silenced them. On the other hand, it gave me their full attention. "Finally, you're awake." Moon looked at me quite embarrassed and sat down next to me while Mars chose to ignore me. "I can't sleep the whole day, now can I?" The following laughter sounded quite forced. I decided to dare an advance: "Did you already decide what to do with me?" They exchanged looks. Just when Mars was about to say something, the 'dead' Youma jumped through the window and headed for Sailor Moon. I barely managed to grab her and pull her with me, when I rolled off the bed. Suddenly my clumsiness decided to pay a visit. What was supposed to be an elegant move ended up with 4 Senshi and me tolling over the floor. When we got up, the Youma was ready to attack again. Before anybody could react Mercury froze the monster. Now it was easy for Sailor Moon to 'moondust' it. If that didn't help my reputation than I didn't know what would. Sailor Moon giggled happily: "See? I told you he was nice." "He has to prove that yet." Mars hissed, but she couldn't completely hide a little smile. That's when I noticed the worried expression in Sailor Mercury's face. "Something wrong, doc?" "I've been thinking. It's late. Where are you going to stay? I mean you'll need a place to stay and an employment." That was Sailor Mercury, attentive as ever. But this really was a good question. I was going to need a Job. "I don't think that there are a lot of people who are in need of a Magician, now are there?" "I guess, you're right. What did you do, I mean besides learning Magic?" "Hmm. I've been working in a Library on Mercury for some time to pay for my studies. Do you have Libraries here?" "Off course! And as far as I know, the librarian of our school is looking for an assistant. I'd have done it myself but I don't have time and I don't really need the money. "What, you've got time to go to school go to school AND save the world?" That statement made Mercury blush. Sailor Moon was bouncing up and down the room with joy while calling out: "Mentus loves Ami! Mentus loves Ami!" Now it was my turn to blush. Then it hit me. "So, that's your real name. Ami. I like it." As soon as I said that, Sailor Moon realized her mistake. "OH NO! SORRYAMIIDIDN'TPAYATTENTION" "Now what's new about that?" Sailor Jupiter added. Moon started wailing. "Oh, Makoto! You are as MEAN as Rei!" I had to laugh. "Let's add this up," I said, pointing at each of them. "Rei, Makoto and Ami. Very interesting" Luna sweatdroped. "Great! I wonder how we could ever defeat Jadeite and Nephrite!" Moon stopped her tears for a second: "Luna, that's not fair. I didn't tell him everything." Venus tried to help poor Sailor Moon. "That's right, Luna. Usagi didn't tell him that I'm Minako." Suddenly everybody became quiet. Rei was the first one to speak up. "Well, so much for introduction." Now that has been a day. The destruction of the Moon Kingdom, a travel through space and time, falling from a tree, killing a Youma, meeting the Sailor Senshi and finding out their real live identities, ... Not so bad after all. I wondered, what Pluto was up to. It didn't seem like the Senshi would need my help. They had taken care of the situation pretty well. I did learn some spells of destruction but that was nothing compared to their powers. The only thing I could do to help them was telling them about the future I had seen. But I wasn't allowed to do so. Pluto didn't send me here for nothing. Everything the Guardian of Time does has a reason. But why didn't she help the other Senshi. 'DON'T WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT THAT.' 'Hi, Pluto. You like sneaking around other people's mind?' 'OF COURSE, WHY DO YOU ASK?' I could have sworn that this statement was followed by a slight chuckle. Sailor Pluto laughing? That was something rare. 'What's so funny?' 'NOTHING, REALLY. I'M JUST GLAD THAT EVERYTHING FELL IN PLACE AS I HAVE PLANNED.' I snorted. 'Fell in place? You mean fell down a tree.' This time the laughing was unmistakable. 'YOU ARE STILL ALIVE AND YOU ARE NOW A MEMBER OF THE SAILOR SENSHI.' 'They don't trust me. They told me. Why should they think of me as a member of their team?' 'YOU ARE A PART OF THEIR PAST.' 'A Past that they have forgotten.' 'A PAST THAT THEY ARE ABOUT TO REMEMBER.' 'I cannot win this argument, now can I?' 'NO WAY, BUSTER.' The connection was cut. That was strange. I remembered the Guardian of Time. Everybody who met her described her as earnest, formal and sometimes even harsh. And now she was laughing at me and joking? Something was definitely wrong here... Well, I had no choice but to accept my fate. Whatever it would look like. Until I found a place I was allowed to stay at the shrine. The Job at the Library wasn't going to pay off that well, but it would be enough to survive. Since it would take Ami some time to make some fake ID for me I had enough time to help at the shrine. It wasn't bad after all. Rei's grandfather and Yuuichiro seemed a little bit strange to me, but I never trusted in the first impression of a person. First rule of Magic: Never believe what you see. Your senses can and will fool you. Whenever I worked at the shrine I could wear my old robe. It looked quite like the ones used by the priests, except that mine was grey. It was the one I normally just used for training exercises. I've had a more expensive one for formal occasions and a comfortable one for longer travels, but I didn't really have time to pack my things before I came here. As long as I couldn't afford to buy my own cloth I had to borrow some of Yuuuichiro's old stuff. It wasn't exactly my size but it fit good enough. I finished my chores, changed into something more comfortable and decided to have some fun. Usagi had told me about something called 'Video Games'. She invited me to meet her in front of school so she could show me around here. I was early, so I had to wait for Usagi. Of all the Senshi she had changed the most. She seemed to be a carefree young girl, just interested in food and Manga. She was clumsy and cried a lot. But even I, who knew her just for 3 days, couldn't resist her innocent charm. On the other hand, she WAS the princess of the Moon. I had to get used to the fact that I wasn't allowed to show that. More than one time I nearly bowed before her and once I almost called her 'Your Highness'. The school bell rang and the students went home. All of them except Usagi. When she didn't come after 20 minutes I became worried. Had there been a Youma-Attack? I had to investigate that. Carefully I opened the door and entered. Usagi had told me where her class was so I had no trouble finding it. (not much -_-;) Suddenly I heard someone scream: "NO! PLEASE, LET ME GO!!!" No time to lose. I swung the classroom door open and jumped in, ready for everything. A red-haired women stared at me in shock. "Who are you?" Before I could say a word Usagi answered: "Excuse me, Ms. Haruna. That's Ment... I mean George Sugam. I was supposed to meet him after school and" Ms. rose her hand and Usagi stopped. "I wasn't asking you." She gave me a sharp look. "So, you are George? Shouldn't you be working in the Library?" "Oh, not until next week. You see, there are some problems concerning my papers." I gave her my very best smile but that didn't seem to be of any use. "Could you tell me the reason for your ... dramatic entrance?" Right now I was looking for a corner to hide, but there was no way out. I decided to try telling the truth again. "I heard someone scream and got worried." "What did you expect? A Monster that's eating students?" I had to grin about that comment. "Actually, yes, I did." Usagi giggled. "Ms. Haruna was just going to give me detention. I overreacted a little bit. Sorry." That made me laugh too, while Ms. Haruna just sighed and said some something like "Oh my, how will I survive another one of this sort?" She thought about spending another hour with Usagi and decided against it. "OK, I let you go. But don't get used to it!" Usagi grabbed my hand and dragged me outside before her teacher could change her mind. She smiled at me happily. "Thank you for saving my live. I owe you two now." I couldn't help but to smile back. "Is all your teachers like her?" "No. She's not always that mean." Usagi lowered her voice. "She was supposed to be on a date today but her friend had other plans" When we reached the Game-Centre a blonde man greeted Usagi. "How are you?" Little Hearts appeared in Usagi's eyes and she forgot me immediately "Hi, Motoki! I'm fine, now that school's over." Before that Motoki-guy could say anything another person appeared. "Hallo, Motoki. Say what's that thing hanging on your arm?" I turned around and nearly lost it. Prince Endymion, future King of the Earth was standing right in front of me, wearing Jeans and a black jacket. He removed his shades and grinned at Usagi. "Oh it's you, Meatball head." I have never seen Usagi getting angry, even when she was fighting Youma. Or Rei. Now she seemed to explode. "DON'T CALL ME MEATBALL HEAD!" She relaxed a bit and added: "I'm Usagi Tsukino. Use my name when you talk to me or SHUT UP!" If looks could kill we'd have a dead prince now. Usagi's shouting amused Endymion even more. "As you wish, Meatball Head. I won't call you Usagi any more." Motoki tried to stop the conflict by drawing the attention to me. "Say, Usagi, who is the boy that came with you?" Usagi seemed to remember me and even Endymion looked at me. Usagi drew me out of the corner where I had tried to hide and introduced me. "That's George Sugam. He's new in town and he's going to work at the library. The nice guy here is Motoki. He owns this place." Her smile disappeared. "That ugly jerk is Mr. 'I'm so funny I could explode' Mamoru Chiba" I bowed. "Mamoru ... Nice to meet you." Endymion, I mean Mamoru, nodded. I couldn't say anything else because Usagi started pulling me towards one of the Video Games. "Just ignore him. Now, I'll teach you anything you have to know about having fun here. She spent the next hour explaining the newest Sailor V Games. I didn't pay a lot of attention. I had to think about this Mamoru Chiba. After some time I got used to this games. They were quite difficult but I liked them. "Usagi?" "Hm?" She didn't even look away from the monitor. "What about you and Mamoru?" That caught her attention. "There is nothing like 'me and Mamoru'. I hate that guy." She got angry again. "He doesn't stop teasing me." Usagi paled and got a somewhat shocked expression. "What's the matter?" I asked. "WAAAAAAAAH!!! I FORGOT THAT THERE IS A MEETING AT THE SHRINE!" "When does it start?" "AN HOUR AGO!!!" Before I could react she waved a goodbye to Motoki and me, pushed Mamoru out of her way and was gone. Mamoru could barely avoid kissing the floor. "That Meatball Head! Some day I'll either kill her or marry her!" I had to grin at that comment. 'How true, my dear Endymion.' 'THEY ARE A CUTE CUPLE, AREN'T THEY?' 'Pluto! I started missing you.' 'HONEY, I'M HOME. IS DINNER READY?' 'Funny one. I thought about Endymion and Serenity.' 'I KNOW. THIS IS GOING TO BE THE FIRST PART OF YOUR DUTY.' 'My what??' 'YOUR DUTY IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PRINCE AND THE PRINCESS FALL IN LOVE.' 'Sure, no problem. And horses fly.' 'THEY DO IF YOU ARE SEARCHING IN THE RIGHT PLACES.' 'But they hate each other.' 'THEY ARE BOND BY DESTINY.' 'Didn't you tell me that we can change our fate?' 'THAT'S WHY YOU ARE HERE.' The conversation ended as fast as it has started. I realised that Mamoru was staring at me. "Something wrong?" I asked curiously. He came closer. "I'm not sure. I swear I have met you before." He looked at me for a last time and decided to leave. "Bye, Motoki. Bye Mentus." Then he left. Now that was a surprise. 'Pluto, does he remember me?' There was no answer. Mamoru was right. We have already met. It was a long time ago. Not even that far away. When: Silver Millennium Where: Great Library of Mercury "Mentus! You aren't paying attention. You get an hour detention." "Now that was an beautiful rhyme." I regretted saying that as soon as I fully woke up. "OH! I'm sorry! I mean, I didn't mean that and" The teacher interrupted me. "Two hours, that is." I relaxed. It could have come worse. "During this time you'll write an 20 page essay about the current constellation of the planets and the reaction of the planet's vegetation." Kunzite looked at me with a sly grin. He seemed to enjoy my shocked expression. "But...But..." "Stop butting and start working." "That's impossible! It would take hours just to collect the astrophysical data and there are" I was interrupted again. "You think my punishment is too much for you? You need your time for something better, don't you?" Kunzites smile vanished. "You'll do the task as I told you ... but you've got just one hour." I was about to give up when someone appeared behind me. "A little harsh, don't you think so, old friend?" I turned around and met the gaze of Prince Endymion of Earth. I bowed quickly. "Your Highness." Endymion smiled at me. "You lost something? Get up." I blushed and the rest of the class laughed at me. Kunzite and Endymion bowed formally but then they embraced shortly. "I'm just glad that I'm not your pupil." Endymion said. "When I arrived yesterday evening I saw him and some of his fellow students doing some research of the planetary storms. They seemed rather busy." Kunzite thought about that. "All right. Why didn't you say that earlier, Mentus? You don't have to write the essay." I sighed with relief. But Kunzite wasn't finished. "The next time when you watch a movie with some friends, make sure to get back earlier." Endymion and I facefaulted. "How do you know?" the prince asked. "Sometimes, even the four guardians have some spare time. Besides, it would be a crime not to visit the 'Crystal Movie Centre' when you are on Mercury. It has the best illusion projector of the whole solar system." Endymion and I smiled at each other. "Well, it was worth a try." we both said in union. When: Present Where: Back at the Hikawa-Shrine Endymion didn't know his own identity. Why should he remember something like that? It is something special for a simple Mage in training to be allowed to talk to the Prince of Earth, but for Endymion it was just a little joke he had tried to play on Kunzite. Now, first things first. The Senshi-Meeting had already begun and with some short distance teleports I was able to arrive even before Usagi. All the other Senshi were there. Strangely they were all transformed and seemed to be ready for a fight. When they saw me they shot strange looks at me. Mars was quite angry: "What have you done to Usagi? Where is she?" I wasn't sure how to react. "She was quite fine when I saw her last time. Why?" Before Mars' fiery temper could get out of control Ami spoke up. "She has never been that late before and we are worried about her. What happened?" I explained everything to them about our short meeting with Mamoru. "What did you think? That I have kidnapped Usagi and then I'd just waltz in here as if nothing had happened? I'm not that stupid." Rei just stared at me and said nothing. This wasn't going to be easy. "You don't trust me." They were about to say something but I spoke first. "I understand that. You don't know a lot about me and I don't know a lot about you." "I trust you." We all turned towards the door where Usagi was standing. "I didn't know anything about you when you became Sailor Senshi. But I knew that I could rely on you. I knew that you would be there when I would need your help." Usagi paused and looked at each of the girls. "I can't order you, as your leader, to trust Mentus. But I ask you to give him a chance. A chance to prove that he's not an enemy. To prove that he's on our side. A chance for him to become our friend. If he really is what he seems to be then we've found a new ally. If he is an enemy we will deal with him as usual." This was the Princess I remembered from the Silver Millennium. Maybe she hadn't changed so much after all... After Things were settled the meeting could begin. It was the first time I was allowed to stay so I was quite curious. I was disappointed when the girls started talking about their day at school and started doing their homework. I had thought they would discuss the tactic of the enemy or at least do some training exercises. Now, that reminded me of something. Since I have come to this place I haven't used my Magic very often. This lack of training could be very dangerous if I would face a Youma on my own. "Excuse me, Rei..." She looked up from her book. "What's up?" Her gaze made me feel like an annoying bug that dared to disturb her. "I was just wondering ... is there some quiet place where I could do some training? I've been quite lazy lately." She thought about that for a while and got up. "Follow me." We went to a big room where a big fire was burning. Rei looked at the fire and seemed to forget me. I tried to read her aura. Now that was a surprise. Never before had I felt something like that. She seemed to burn from within her soul. But that wasn't just her Senshi Power. It was something stronger. Older. And very dangerous. But the feeling was gone as fast as it came. I was wondering what Rei had seen in the flame. About five minutes later she recovered. She seemed to be very sad when she looked at me. The angry warrior was gone and there was just a young women that was afraid of the power that slept within her. "We all have demons that we try to hide." Rei closed her eyes and continued. "If you really want me to trust you, you have to do me a favour." I got worried about that wish. I knew what she was going to ask. "I won't tell the others." Her expression relaxed but I continued. "They are going to find out by themselves. You can't hide it forever, you know?" Rei could barely hold back her tears and shouted: "What do you know? Nothing at all! You don't understand what I'm going through." I smiled at her. "I know. I have felt something similar." Rei grabbed my shoulders and hissed: "Then tell me what it is. More important, tell me how to stop it." I shook my head. "What you feel is the Mana of your soul. The Magic of Fire is awakening in you and if you don't learn to control it, it will destroy you." She didn't believe me. "I am the Senshi of Fire. My power has woken up and I'm still alive." "I don't talk about your Senshi abilities. Magic is different. Less powerful but more dangerous. You had certain ... abilities, even before you became Sailor Mars?" Rei was quiet. "That's why you left your home and moved to your grandfathers shrine?" She just nodded. "There are but two possibilities. The first is the best. You learn to control the Flame in you." "What's the second?" I didn't have to tell her. She knew the alternatives. As priestess in training she was familiar with people being possessed by evil spirits. She would go crazy. And when she would have killed everyone near her she would be going go explode in a nova of pure energy, destroying a big part of the city. Before Rei could panic I tried to calm her down. "Your choice to go to the temple was good. The meditation techniques you learned can be used to focus the Mana." Rei sat down in front of the flame. "Go." "I could help you." She didn't move. "I could also tell your friends about..." The young priestess jumped up at that. "NO!" Now she was really crying. "They aren't going to understand. They will be afraid of me. Avoid me. Hate me." I was about to embrace her but the look she gave me made me decide against it. "Ok. I won't tell them. IF you let me help you." Before she could say something I continued. "Just let me show you a different meditation technique that will be more effective. Whenever you decide that I'm no enemy I can teach you more. And if you should ever come to see me as a friend, I'll be able to complete your training. But this is going to take a lot of time." She sighed. "I understand. Let's start." We kneeled in front of the fire and I started my first lesson. We forgot space and time when we let our minds flow. I didn't have to tell Rei what to do, she already had some experience doing that. I just had to show her the right direction. She was a very fast learner and she already began to understand how to dim the fire that burned in her soul. The fire that WAS her soul. A draft of air, barely noticeable, was caused by an opening door. I opened my eyes and sent a silent message: 'Rei! The girls are here.' She was quite surprised that she could read my mind. 'You are in a deep trance now. You are able to communicate with me by just thinking what you want to say. Do you understand?' She nodded. I could feel her thoughts, trying to tell me something, but it wasn't focused enough. 'Don't try too hard. You will learn it soon enough. Wake up now, your friends are here.' She turned around and watched me. There was still some distrust in her eyes but no more hatred. "What were you doing here?" Makoto asked. Usagi grinned evilly "Mentus and Rei, sittin on a tree..." That was as far as she came. "SHUT UP, MEATBALL BRAIN!" Usagi was about to start sobbing when Ami interfered. "You know that you shouldn't tease Rei when she did her meditations." Usagi relaxed a little bit. "I know, but I didn't mean any harm. She shouldn't always shout at me." Ami put her hand on Usagi's shoulder. "Rei isn't mad at you. She's just a little bit tired, aren't you, Rei?" When Rei didn't react I tried to help. "That's right. She has tried to show me some of her meditation techniques and now she's quite exhausted. Just give her some time to recover. "OK" Usagi agreed and the Senshi and I were about to go. I winked at Usagi and she came back. "Yes?" I told her to talk to Rei. "She needs a friend right now." Usagi just nodded: "I can feel that she has a problem. I don't understand why she doesn't tell me." I sighed. "She will tell you. Some day, when she is ready she will tell you everything." I left the two and got to bed. It was late and I was very tired. 'GOOD WORK.' 'Pluto, let me sleep.' 'FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TODAY, I WILL GRANT YOU THAT WISH. SOME TIME AGO, YOU ASKED ME WHY I CHOSE YOU. I COULDN'T TELL YOU BECAUSE I WASN'T SURE MYSELF. NOW I AM.' 'Thank you.' Sailor Pluto. Guardian of Time. The more often her mood changed the more worried I got. Maybe it was her loneliness. You cannot live just for yourself for thousands of years without changing. I tried to remember what she had shown me when our souls had united before my transfer to this time. I have seen an eternity in a second. I have been sent directly to this point of time but she had to wait until now. It was something I couldn't imagine. Not being able to talk to a human being for such a long time... Finally I fell asleep. 'DO NOT WORRY ABOUT ME. SOME PEOPLE'S FATE WAS EVEN MORE PAINFUL. OR SHOULD I SAY: IT WILL BE?' When I woke up I felt great. "Good Morning World! It's my first day at work!" I got up, ate some breakfast and changed into a pair of black trousers and a white shirt. I said good morning to Rei and Yuuichiro and went to school. It was about 7:30 when I arrived there. Strangely enough, no one was there. Nobody except Ami who was sitting under a tree before the building. I waved at her but she was busy reading something. "Hi, Ami. How are you?" She was quite surprised to see me. "Good Morning, Mentus. I'm fine, but what are you doing here at this time?" "What do you mean, 'this time'? School starts at 8:00, doesn't it?" "That's right. But usually the students come at 7:50." I thought about that. "Then tell me why you are here." "I usually come 40 minutes early so I can prepare for the lessons." I nodded and Ami returned to her reading. Some minutes later she looked up from her book. "Why did you come here?" I sat next to her. "I work here." "No, I mean why you came to our time." Now what should I tell her? "I came to help you. At least I will try to." That didn't seem to satisfy her. "I appreciate that. Do you think we have a chance? That we can beat the Dark Kingdom?" I could have said: Yes, you will. You will die doing it but you will succeed. I just shrugged. "Who knows that? I am just here for about a week. I don't really know the current situation and need more information." Ami looked away. "I wish the others would be more like you." "Hm?" "They don't realize the danger we are in. Whenever I try to analyse the enemies attacks Makoto says: 'That's not necessary, Let's just beat them up.' When I try to tell them to be more careful Minako just means: 'You have to take risks if you want to reach your goals.' We have beaten two generals but what about the third, the fourth, the fifth and the next twenty of them? We can't have luck all the time." I waited but Ami didn't continue. "You like them very much, don't you?" "Yes. They are the best friends I've ever had. The only ones." Suddenly an idea hit me. "Know what? I need someone who can fill me in on the details of your previous battles. How about some tactical conference and analytical planning ... and some ice-cream?" I could see that Ami was about to say yes, but somehow she didn't dare to do so. "I'm not sure if this is a good idea. I have to study very hard to become a doctor and there are tests coming up and" I didn't let her finish. "Nonsense. Say, how many chapters are you ahead of the rest of the class?" She smiled. "Just 4." "You see? Now say yes. Please?" Ami shook her head. I tried my best lonely-puppy-look. "Pretty please?" That made her laugh. "Yes, all right. When shall we meet?" I bowed before her and said: "Lady Mercury, I would be honoured if you could come to the library after school. The choice of location is yours." Now I made her laugh the third time. I just couldn't resist. "You should smile more often. It makes you even more beautiful." Ami jumped up, blushing a deep shade of red. She was about to say something but I was already gone. Couldn't be late on my first day. That's it. Like it? Hate it? Just tell me.