Andrallia

"Hello?" Trina peered through the foglike substance. The others stood behind her nervously.

"Hey, Andrallia, are you in there?" Trina shouted.

Faintly they heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and an instant later, a tall, pale woman appeared. Her silver eyes twinkled behind her glasses as she spoke. "Of course I am, Setsuna. Where else would I be?"

"Y’know, it’s still strange hearing Trina’s real name," whispered Lida.

"I know," replied Rei.

Andrallia surveyed the group. "Well, don’t just stand there! Come on in."

"Uhh . . ." Serena began.

Andrallia turned and began to walk through the fog. Trina followed.

"Hey, wait up!" cried Serena, scrambling after them.

The others looked at each other, shrugged, and followed. After about three meters, the fog dissipated, revealing an enormous crystalline structure that glinted with every color imaginable. As they watched, a door appeared. Andrallia waved them in.

"Welcome to my home," she said with a smile.

The group stood in a room with high walls of sheer crystal. A benchlike ledge ran around the lower part of the room. As the door disappeared, Andrallia motioned for them to sit.

Trina, perched on the ledge, began to speak, recounting the events of the previous night. As she finished, a small smile crossed Andrallia’s face.

"Well, the girl Mina saw is undoubtedly Alanna Eaves, the new exchange student from England. This ‘princess of Saturn’ is Suzanne Azemuyzhsta, that redhead most recently from Germany. The Queen of Uranus is Mariah Liv, the French girl in Ami’s class. The princess of Neptune is Nara Nichols, the young black girl who moved to Tokyo from America last year." Andrallia paused.

"Okay, that’s four of the six," said Ami, plugging the last name into her computer. "Only two more left. Do you know them too, Miss Andrallia?"

Andrallia sighed. "You know, most people find it much easier to call me Lauren."

"Lauren?"

"Yes. It’s an Anglicized version of my middle name."

"Oh."

"And as to whether or not I know the identity of the last two, one I do, the other I don’t. But I have some clues."

"Which one do you know?"

Lauren sighed again. "I was the last Chancellor of Pluto before it was destroyed by the Negaverse."

They stared at her. Lauren stared back.

Renie jumped to her feet. "You’re Sailor Pluto?!" she exclaimed.

Lauren nodded, hiding a smile. "Now that we know who I am, let’s go round up the others, shall we?"

Lauren rose, and the other scouts followed her down a long crystal corridor to another room. In this one, there was a panel of small colored crystals, and a raised circular disk in the center of the floor.

Lauren crossed to the panel. "We can bring them straight here," she said, tapping crystals. "That is, if you want to." She looked at the others.

"We don’t mind," Rei began.

"Wait!" hollered Mel. "How do we know they’re not enemies?"

Andrallia began to laugh. "You still think that? After all this time?" She turned back to the panel and began to enter a series of symbols.

The panel chimed faintly, and the circle on the floor began to pulsate with a deep blue light. A figure appeared, glowing the same deep blue as the circle. The light faded, leaving a surprised girl covered in paint standing on the platform.