Une stood over a grave, snow falling gently through the smoky air. She held withered roses in her hands, some dried, some dying, some shot. She looked at the grave, willing herself to cry, then realized she felt nothing. The snow started to fall harder, she heard a little girl scream in the background and then the snow began to change. It became warm and hard, like burning hail and instantly the whole sky was ablaze. Debris rained down, the Earth ignited and shook, and a huge chunk of metal seared through the heavens, crashing into Earth and smashing the planet into pieces. The whole world died in an instant, leaving only Une floating on an asteroid, the grave still with her. Just when she knew her life to be over, a body, done up in ancient armor, emerged from the ground and carried Une away to a kingdom that shone like the full moon on a pitch black night.
The dream suddenly vanished and Une slid one eye open, still feeling ghostly arms around her body. She tried not to move, wanting to stay in the dream, willing her dead lover to come and carry her away to safety, to somewhere where they could raise Merimeia and live a happy life.
Merimeia… I hope I can raise you as His Excellency would have wanted. Une looked around her room, the dream having faded completely. What does this mean? It’s like I know where he’s taking me. Is it some kind of sign? Une looked around the blackness of her room again, then decided she would try to go back to sleep.
* * *
Relena watched Setsuna disdainfully as she spoke to the little child on the viewphone. Relena was sick of not knowing what was going on. Setsuna was hiding something, that was for sure, and Relena was even more upset that she was sure she KNEW it somewhere in her mind, yet couldn’t find it. And to top it all off, Setsuna knew but wouldn’t say a thing. It was not going well for Queen Relena right now.
“So you’re okay? Things have been well for you?” Setsuna asked Merimeia brightly. Relena didn’t understand their whole secret either, but she was sure it had something to do with the big picture.
“Yes Setsuna. I’m well. Aside from the obvious,” Merimeia said, looking sadly down at her legs. “Une has been acting strangely lately tough,” she noted, quickly changing the subject. “She misses His Excellency,” she whispered.
Setsuna bowed her head and sighed. “Yes, that is to be expected.” Setsuna looked up again and smiled. “I need to talk to Lady Une actually. Is she there?”
Merimeia looked questioningly at Setsuna, then nodded. “Yeah, hold on.” Merimeia turned away from the phone and shouted, “UNE! PHONE!!”
The sound of footsteps echoed through the small house as Une made her way to the viewphone. “Hello?” she asked. Suddenly seeing Setsuna, her expression changed to one of shock. “It’s you…”
Setsuna smiled at Une slyly. “Yes, it’s me. We need to meet. How soon can you be at the Sanc Kingdom?” Setsuna asked, quite serious suddenly.
“Three days,” Une replied, still dumbfounded at seeing the woman she was so sure she recognized.
“Good. We’ll pick you up. See you then.” Setsuna hung up the phone and turned to a scowling Relena. “Yes, I know you’re mad at me.”
Relena continued to glare at Setsuna. “Why won’t you tell me what’s happening?”
Setsuna walked to Relena and addressed her very sternly. “Right now, you know all you need to know. If you know anything more, it could be VERY dangerous to you. There are a great many things we must do in the immediate future, and the less you know, the better.” Setsuna turned and began to leave the office.
“Setsuna, how will I know what to do?” Relena asked, a crack forming in her mask of anger.
“Instinct will guide you. You will know.”
* * *
Heero turned off the lights and shut his door tightly. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself by waking anyone with his late-night phone call. Deftly he turned on the viewphone and dialed a number. After a few seconds, a tired face popped up on the screen.
“Who is it? You better have a damn good reason for calling,” the other person said groggily.
“It’s me,” Heero replied.
“Heero? Where have you been? I was starting to get worried when you didn’t call after your trip to Relena’s,” the other said excitedly.
“I’m sorry, but something came up. I’m still at Sanc Kingdom.”
“Why? Is there an emergency of some kind?”
Heero paused a moment, not sure how to respond. “You could say that.” Before the other could respond, Heero said, “Listen, I need you to come here. I can’t say why, but I want to see you right now.”
“Oh ho! So the great Heero Yui calls, begging for…” Heero cut them off.
“No, it’s not that. Something has happened and for security reasons, I can’t tell you now. Just come here so I can see you face to face.”
“Heero? Heero, what’s wrong?” the other asked, suddenly very worried.
“Please, just come. Promise,” Heero demanded.
“Alright Heero, I promise.”
“Thank you Duo.” Heero ended the call and quickly padded into bed.
* * *
Une wheeled Merimeia off the plane and into the busy main terminal, looking for Relena and Setsuna in the large herd of people. “Do you see them?” she asked Merimeia.
“No, I don’t,” Merimeia said, scanning the terminal. “I wonder where, oh wait! There they are!” she said excitedly. She waved at Relena through the mob.
“I see them!” Une said brightly. She pushed Merimeia carefully through the terminal over to Relena and her attendant.
“Lady Une, so good to see you again!” Relena said, shaking Une’s hand.
“At last we meet face to face.” Setsuna looked Une in the eye, then smiled and bowed. “I have been waiting for this. Come.” Setsuna indicated for Une to follow her. “You’re bags are waiting.”
“But we don’t know which claim…” Une began, looking confused at Setsuna.
“I know. They’re just now arriving.” Setsuna grinned at Une’s confusion as Merimeia giggled and the four went to retrieve the traveler’s bags. Once the bags were taken care of, they continued out of the spaceport to one of Relena’s private limos and drove off to the main palace.
“Was your flight well?” Relena asked politely.
“Yeah, but they didn’t serve us anything to eat. I’m hungry!” Merimeia said.
“We’ll eat as soon as we get back to the palace. I’ve requested that lunch be waiting. You’ll get to see the others as well,” Relena told Merimeia.
After a few moments of silence, Une brought up the main concern of the group. “Why are we here?”
Relena looked at Setsuna, silently asking for permission to tell her. Setsuna nodded and Relena began. “You are one of the ancient warriors, the Sailor Senshi. You, like the rest of us, were born to protect not only the Earth, but all of existence as we know it. When certain events arise as they have now, you and the rest of us must come together and fight it off. I know that this is difficult to understand, but give it time and you will know what I mean.”
Une looked at Relena in shock, not sure if she should laugh or get Relena medical attention.
“Believe her Lady Une. You know what she says is the truth,” Setsuna said firmly.
“I do, do I? What’s your proof?” Une challenged.
Oooo, wrong question… Relena thought, grimacing.
Setsuna looked at Une, seeming to stare right through her. She looked into her mind, trying to find the most solid proof she could, until finally deciding on the best piece of information. “You’ve been having certain dreams lately. They are more vivid and realistic than any others you’ve had in your life, so real that it seems at times your can’t wake up from them. Most of these dreams have taken place in either 20th century Tokyo or in a huge palace made of white sandstone in a time that has been forgotten by every race on Earth. In both places, you serve a girl, a princess, who you know will effect the future of the entire world. A princess of your own nation, you have great strength and ability. You are known as Tenoh Haruka, Sailor Uranus.”
Une stared at Setsuna in disbelief. “How? How did you know that?” Une was dumbfounded.
“Because it is your destiny. You are a key person in shaping this planet’s future,” Setsuna told her.
“What about my other dream though? The one I’ve been having since the wars ended?”
Setsuna looked into Une again, finding the dream in question. Instantly, Setsuna knew what it meant. “The one you see in your dreams, he is the same as Treize Khushrenada, yes?”
“Yes,” Une whispered quietly.
“And he always emerges from his grave to rescue you?”
Une’s eyes began to tear as she nodded.
“This is because Treize was your protector, the Knight of Uranus…” Setsuna looked at Relena, worried.
“But if Treize is deceased, how can he…?” Relena began to wonder what would happen because of this.
“Well, for now, think of other things.” Setsuna spoke as the limo pulled into the drivecircle in front of the Sanc Palace and came to a stop. “We are here.”
* * *
“Drakala! Malore! Come here!” Validaria ordered.
“Yes my Queen?” they asked as they appeared.
“You have failed again! Even with my great plan, you two manage to foul it up!” Validaria was clearly not in a mood to be told her ‘great plan’ was full of holes.
“Of course my Queen, we’re sorry,” Malore groveled.
“Well? Any news on the last two Senshi?” Validaria demanded.
Drakala looked up with a sly look in her eye and spoke. “Although we’ve had no luck tracking Sailor Saturn, we’ve found something quite interesting about Uranus. It appears that the Knight of Uranus is already dead in this lifetime! If we get the Star Seed now, nothing can stop us from claiming it!”
“This is good news! Do you know who Sailor Uranus is? Has she been awakened yet?” Validaria asked.
“We know who she is, but the enemy is very close to her already. We must act quickly,” Malore replied.
“Make it so. Go after her and get me that Star Seed!” Validaria dismissed her two minions and they vanished to find the target.
* * *
As soon as Une walked into the dinning hall and laid eyes on Sally, something came over them both and they ran to embrace each other. Suddenly shaking from their enchantment, they paused and sheepishly walked to opposite sides of the room. An odd still fell over the room as everyone stared at each other, not sure what to do until Setsuna broke out laughing.
“Even without your memories you truly recognize each other!” she laughed.
“You wanna explain what just happened?” Sally asked nervously.
“No.” Setsuna returned to a soft snicker and seated herself at the table.
“Everyone, we are almost complete now. We have found Sailor Uranus!” Relena said proudly, indicating for Une to stand. “According to our advisor, Setsuna, this should mean we are closing in on the end of this fight, correct?”
“That’s what I originally thought, but there is a problem now.” Setsuna took on a very solemn look. “The Knight of Uranus was Treize Khushrenada. As you all know, he is dead.” An audible groan could be heard through the assembly.
“Tell us you have an idea,” Cathrine said exasperated.
“Perhaps. But it is dangerous. There is only one thing I can think of, and it will require lots of energy and time we might not have. But for now, relax. Things will be alright.” Setsuna smiled. “So, what’s on the menu for lunch?”
A kind of make-shift calm fell on the group as food was served. The group began to chatter and laugh as the meal went on. Lunch was mostly sandwiches, but it was a big event indeed. It wasn’t until the end that things got awkward again.
“Oh Relena, I’m having a visitor in a few days. I hope you don’t mind,” Heero said very nonchalantly.
“Really Heero? Do you think now is a good time?”
She’s like a mother hen sometimes. “Whether or not it’s convenient for us or not, I will be having a visitor.”
“Who is it?” Relena asked, getting a strange feeling in her gut.
“Duo.” The conversation was quiet enough that no one else was really paying attention, but the mention of Duo seemed to strike fear into Relena’s heart.
Why of all times does he want to see him NOW? Men are so damn difficult! Relena fumed. But she put on her best face and sweetly answered, “That’s a great idea. I know you don’t get to see each other much and with things the way they are right now, it’s almost like the more the merrier!” Too much sentiment Relena, he’ll see right through you! she warned herself. Luckily, Heero didn’t seem to notice.
“Thank you,” Heero replied, knowing that she didn’t really mean the line of senseless drivel she had just spouted out.
“May I ask why Duo is coming?”
“I just need to see him. Excuse me.” Heero pushed in his chair and left the room quickly, clearly agitated.
* * *
“Well Lady Une, are you ready to remember the truth?” Setsuna asked, closing the door behind her.
Knowing she didn’t have a choice, Une sat down on Setsuna’s bed and nodded her head. “Let’s go.”
Setsuna raised her hand into the air and transformed into Sailor Pluto, shocking Une yet reminding her of something familiar as well. Removing the Garnet Orb from her staff, Setsuna held the ball in front of Une and closed her eyes. “Look into this orb, my talisman. You will remember your true past.”
The ball began to glow as Une peered into it, slowing being pulled in, the real world vanishing around her until she couldn’t tell the physical from the mental. Suddenly, image after image pounded her mind, floods of battles and wars, sweet victories and crushing defeats. Then the events began to turn into days and days into years, years in lifetimes, and on and on until finally there was only one thing left; her purpose to protect all that she had seen, and then, a voice called to her.
*Sailor Uranus…*
Who’s there? she called out.
*I am everyone and no one. I am part of you as you are part of me. When the time comes, you shall know me as you need to,* the voice told her.
How will I find you again?
*With your talisman and your planet blessing. Receive them now!*
A wave of power washed over Une as words began to float into her head. Suddenly, she found herself back in Setsuna’s chamber, staring into a swirling vortex where the Garnet Orb had been. Inside she saw a beautiful amber heart set into a small broach. She reached forward and as soon as he hand touched the glittering gem, the world shattered and Une was back fully, the magic of the Orb gone. But in her hand, she held the small amber broach and flowing through her she could feel a strong new power, similar to the power rush she felt when piloting a mobile suit.
Une held the broach in both hands and then raised them into the air, shouting, “URANUS CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE-UP!!!” Something seemed to grab her raised hands and pull her up with her feet sank into the ground and pull the other way, painlessly ripping her outer identity in two, leaving behind only that power she had felt within her, the power of Uranus.
“Sailor Uranus is reborn!” Pluto proclaimed.
“Now, let me here this idea that you have about ‘fixing’ the situation with Treize,” Uranus said forcefully.
Pluto looked at Uranus for a moment, trying to find exactly what Uranus’s intentions were. “I propose that we use the abilities we have on hand and resurrect him.”
Uranus’s heart nearly stopped. “You can do that?”
Instantly, Pluto became aware of what Uranus truly wanted from this. “You must know that if this is done, he will not be Treize Khushrenada as you knew him. He will not be the man you loved, I’m sorry. If we do this, it will bring back the Knight, his soul and ALL of his lives, not just Treize.”
Again, Uranus’s heart froze. She tried to fight back tears, hoping that what she was hearing wasn’t true. “Then why bring him back at all?” she asked bitterly.
“I propose this for the greater good, not for your own desires. Besides, if this ends like it must, you will find a great love than you ever had with Treize. Just remember that.”
Uranus nodded, trying to see what Pluto meant. “Fine. What do we have to do?”
* * *
The Senshi were cleaning dishes and utensils in the huge palace kitchen, already having sent the wait staff home for the day saying they would clean up.
“Great lunch Relena!” Yuuichirou said, trying to bend over as much as he could.
“You eat like a pig,” Hirde teased.
“I’m glad you liked it.” You ate most of it, you hog, Relena cursed to herself.
“Yeah! Thanks Relena!” Dorothy said, smiling. She went back to washing the glasses she was working on when a sound from the dinning hall caught her attention. She put down the glass and peaked her head out the door and saw Malore standing on the table, looking angrily around. Oh crap! “Relena! Relena, come here!” she whispered.
“Dorothy, what is it?” she asked, sounding somewhat annoyed.
“Shhhhh!” *Malore is out there!* she mouthed, pointed at the door.
Relena’s eyes grew wide, not knowing what to do. “Transform!” she hissed at everyone else.
“Huh? Why?” Noin asked.
“Malore is here!” Dorothy whispered.
The look of terror in the others was enough. They whipped out their planet crystals and the Scouts transformed, triggering the change in their Knight counterparts.
Trowa moved to the front and threw open the door, swinging his axe at Malore, missing him by inches. “Get lost!” he shouted.
“Speak for yourself!” Malore hit Trowa with a bolt of lightening, sending him flying into the wall. He prepared to attack again.
“CUPID’S STING!” An arrow of silver light struck Malore in the shoulder and stopped him from hitting Trowa.
“Get Merimeia out of here!” Wu Fei ordered, holding the front with Quatre as Dorothy grabbed the girl and ran off.
“Darklings, get her!” Malore ordered. I hope Drakala knows what she’s doing…
* * *
A sudden pounding on Setsuna’s door followed by shouting pulled Uranus and Pluto to attention. “VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!!!” A loud squeal was heard and then Venus came charging through the door, Merimeia in her arms. “The enemy is here! Malore is demanding that Uranus be brought to him!” she cried as she set Merimeia down on the bed.
Uranus and Pluto nodded to each other. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Malore stood in the middle of the dinning hall table, blasting each Senshi with bolts of dark lightening. The defending warriors tried their best to fight off their enemy, but Darkling after Darkling appeared and kept them at bay.
“SILVER MOON CRYSTAL POWER KISS!!” Sailor Moon let loose a huge wave of light, obliterating several Darklings. “Fall back!” She slowly began retreating from the dinning hall, hoping to draw Malore and his hoard into the open like last time.
“We won’t fall for that again!” Malore cackled. “Bring us Uranus!”
“Never! I will NOT let you get your hands on ANY of us!” Moon shouted defiantly.
“That’s what you think!” Drakala suddenly materialized behind Moon, trapping the group in the dinning hall. She indicated the group of warriors with her fingers and another set of Darklings fell on them. Drakala laughed maniacally and joined Malore in attacking the Senshi.
“SUBMARINE VIOLIN TIDE!!” Neptune let loose a flood of sparkling water, knocking back many of the Darklings, clearing more space to move through. She and Wu Fei stood back to back, Wu Fei spearing the occasional unlucky Darkling that got in his way.
“JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!” Bundles of razor leaves tore through the room, slicing up several enemies but not taking down enough of them to make a difference. “There are too many of them! We can’t fight them off!” Jupiter stood over a badly injured Trowa who was being covered by Quatre.
“You’ll be okay… Just hang on!” Quatre whispered to Trowa.
Suddenly, another powerful attack ripped through the room. “WORLD SHAKING!!!” The ground rumbled and shook, emitting waves of violent energies, destroying most of the Darklings, sending Drakala flying and knocking Malore off the table. “Looks like you guys could use some help!” Uranus charged into the battle, pushing the enemy back.
“Uranus! You’re here!” Neptune cheered.
“Couldn’t let the team down now could I?” Uranus said proudly. “SPACE TURBULANCE!” A shower of burning stars ripped through the remaining monsters, but barely effecting Drakala and Malore. Shit, I need more power! I can’t hold this down!
*Your talisman Uranus… Use it!*
Uranus looked around, trying to find where the voice was coming from. Then she recognized it as the voice from her meditation. Closing her eyes, she raised her arm into the air and drew the energy from her body up, forcing it to take form. A curved sword formed in her fist, sheathed in a jeweled case. Uranus lowered the sword in front of her and menacingly pulled the blade out of the sheath. Holding the glowing blade in front of her, she pointed it at Malore. “You want me, come get me!”
“Die!” Malore summoned his staff and sent an enormous plume of flame flying at Uranus.
“SPACE SWORD BLASTER!” Uranus cried. She arc the blade and sent a wave of energy tearing across the room. The two attacked countered each other, both dissipating on impact. Suddenly, a second ball of fire slammed into Uranus from behind and a little amber colored gem popped out of her forehead.
“GOT HER!” Drakala cheered. Drakala rushed forward to grab the Star Seed, but a hard blow from behind knocked her out cold. Pluto ran for the Star Seed, trying to beat Malore, who was running from the other direction.
“Sailor Moon!” Pluto cried. Moon tackled Malore and sent him sprawling, Pluto grabbing the Star Seed and clutching it to her chest. She reached down and grabbed Uranus by the arm and began to drag her away. “Quickly! Everyone, come with me!” Pluto held the Garnet Rod in the air and a huge ethereal gate appeared before her. The large gate slowly swung open, strongly pulling at everyone in the room except Malore. Setsuna lowered her staff and continued to drag Uranus through the Time Gate into a blinding white light, the others following closely behind. The large gate swung shut behind the Senshi and disappeared before Malore could give chase.
“DAMN IT!!” He picked up Drakala and teleported away with whatever Darklings remained.
* * *
When the light faded and the world came back into focus, the group found themselves in an unending plane covered in mist so thick they could barely see each other. A dim light from some unseen source lit the area and gave them some idea of where they could go. Before them stood a huge door, exactly like the one Pluto had summoned.
“Where are we?” Mars asked bewildered.
“My home. This is the entrance to the Time Gate,” Pluto said quietly. “We are everywhere and we are no where.”
“Why here?” Venus asked.
“This is the place where we will resurrect the Knight of Uranus,” Pluto said plainly.
“WHAT?!” The entire team seemed shocked by the announcement.
“Eternal Sailor Moon has two things in her possession that will allow us to do this. If she uses the purity of the Holy Grail and the energy from the Silver Moon Crystal, combined with my powers of Time and the blessing of the planet Uranus, we can bring back the Knight.” Pluto looked at Moon, hoping that she would give permission. “This can only be done with your permission, Princess.”
Moon thought about it for a moment. “Are you sure nothing else can be done to remedy this situation?”
“Yes. I understand that this is a very dangerous process, but it is the only way I know of,” Pluto told her.
“Then we shall do it. What do I have to do?” Moon decided.
“You have to bring forth the Holy Grail. Charged with the power of the planets, it is what allows you to become Eternal Sailor Moon. Then you must use it as a conduit to amplify the power of the Silver Moon Crystal.”
Sailor Moon nodded. She closed her eyes and held her hands in front of her, feeling for the power Pluto had talked about. Slowly, wisp after wisp of white energy began to flow around Sailor Moon’s body towards her hands. Sailor Moon opened her eyes, totally blank, the energy pooling and forming a shining chalice. She raised the Grail into the air, suspending it as she summoned the Silver Crystal. The strobe-like light from the crystal brightened with each pulse as it traveled up and merged with the Holy Grail. The flash of light emitted from the contact of the two objects blinded everyone, but when the light faded, the Moon Princess held the shining Holy Grail firmly in her hands.
“Uranus, when I open the infinite channels of Time, you send your energy into the Gate to pull the Knight to us.” Pluto held the Garnet Rod up and opened the Time Gate, bright light spreading the mist and clearing a path from her to the Gate. Uranus took her sword and pointed it at the Gate, letting the power of Uranus flow into the gate and signal for the soul of the Knight to join them. After a moment, a dark shadow appeared in the light of the gate, human in shape. Next to it, a translucent figure stood, looking calmly at Uranus. “Princess! Use your power to fuse the soul to the body and give him life!”
Please Silver Crystal, lend me your power! The Grail flashed and twin beams of light hit the two figures in the gate and then pulled them together. After a few seconds, the light vanished and Treize was kneeling before Uranus. His armor was a pale amber color, a cape draped characteristically over his left shoulder. In his right hand, he had a long spear, made of a dark wood and studded with amber. The point was gold, the symbol of Uranus engraved into it.
“Hello, Lady Uranus.”
“Treize?”
“I have been. I am only in this body because you can recognize me this way. I am honored to be serving you.” He bowed his head and then stood.
“There is one more task we must accomplish, then I will explain everything to all of you,” Pluto said. “I am sending all of you back except Uranus and Neptune. We will do this last thing.” Pluto ushered the others into the Gate and then closed the door. Turning to her two teammates, she removed the Garnet Orb from her staff. “Do you remember the Saturn incantation?”
“I think I can do it. I remember… something, deep inside,” Neptune said.
“Me too. I think I remember this…” Uranus agreed. The three raised their talismans into the air, forming a triangle in front of the Time Gate.
“The three phases of womanhood and the three faces of the Eternal Creator,” they chanted. The stillness of the void seemed to increase as the three Senshi spoke, as if it could hear the invocation.
“The Maiden,” Neptune said, the Aqua Mirror beginning to shine.
“The Mother,” Uranus chanted, the Space Sword starting to vibrate.
“The Crone,” Pluto whispered, the Garnet Org steadily glowing.
“Gather yourselves and bring her, the Senshi of Life and Death.” The three woman slowly took on the forms of their stages, Neptune becoming a young maiden, Uranus transforming into a maternal mother and Pluto aging into an old yet darkly beautiful crone. Their fukus melted into flowing robes, Neptune in white with an aqua sash, Uranus in red with a large amber belt and Pluto in black, garnished with a blood red cord about her waist.
“From your dwelling in the heavens to the earth, reveal yourself to us.” The three women turned their faces to the sky, each feeling lost in a whirlwind of power as the energy of the three combined to form a ball of swirling colors in the sky before them.
“For the good of mankind, please help us make extinct every kind of evil. By using your divine planet powers, protect us. We ask only this… grant this request. Sailor Saturn, descend from the heavens and stand before us!!” With the cry of the final line, the three talismans bursted into sparks, the ball of color taking form and floating to the ground. A young girl with raven-black hair stood before them, holding a spear that was nearly a foot taller than she was. The child bowed gracefully to the three Senshi.
“Are you…?” Neptune asked softly.
The girl nodded. “I am Sailor Saturn.”
