Chapter 15:

Rhyolite snapped his fingers and Quartz and Crystal walked towards him.
Without hesitation, Crystal handed the brooch to him.

"Humans, so weakwilled, don't you think?" he said conversationally to
the shocked Scouts.  "So easily brainwashed."  He turned to the twins.
"Kill them," he said, pointing to the Scouts.  "But first, Crystal, kill
Travis."

"Yes, Master," they said in a flat voice, turning to obey.  No trace of
emotion remained in their eyes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"NO!" Serena screamed as Crystal went towards the still unconscious
Travis with her knife out.  She dove and managed to tackle Crystal to
the ground.  "What are you doing?" she cried.  "You can't hurt Travis!"

"Beg and plead all you wish," Rhyolite said, smiling, "You won't get
through to them."

"How could you do this to your own daughters?" Reenie asked, moving
quickly away from the still advancing Quartz and ducking behind her
father.  "They love you!"

"My own daughters?  Whatever gave you that idea?" Rhyolite answered.

"But... they said..." Serena was so surprised that her hands lightened
up and Crystal was able to throw her off.

"And you believed them?" Rhyolite was amused.

"They lied to us?" Tuxedo Mask asked quietly.

"No, not at all.  Everything they told you was the truth as far as
`they' knew.  They just didn't know everything.  Actually they didn't
know anything, and that's just the way I liked it.  It was very easy,
you know.  Taking the two girls from Earth when we first attacked and
changing them into soldiers totally loyal to me."

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted them," Raye muttered.

Lita was thinking of something else.  "Are you saying they're human?!?"

"Totally," Rhyolite agreed.  "I just took their memories of home and
family, replaced their father with me, replaced their world with the
Negaverse, and kept all those silly ideas of honor and loyalty.  They're
quite useful you know.  Add a suggestion that would twist anything they
saw or heard about me into something that fit their notions of me and I
have two totally loyal slaves that still have free will."

"Emperor," Spessarite said, "Don't you think we should just kill them?"

"Not just yet, Spessarite," Rhyolite replied.  "I want them to
understand what has happened, and why two people they trust betrayed
them.  Because," he continued as Spessarite started to speak, "I want
them to know how they were beaten."

"In other words, you want to gloat," Lita remarked.

The tableau held.  Quartz and Crystal had both stopped moving soon after
Rhyolite started to talk.  Serena had thought for a moment they were
getting their minds back, but it soon became obvious that they had
stopped because Rhyolite wished to talk.  Travis groaned lowly as he
started to regain consciousness, and Serena started to run towards him,
only to be stopped by Crystal standing in front of her with a knife.

Rhyolite's expression flashed with anger, and Quartz started moving
towards Lita immediately.  However, Rhyolite got himself under control
and Quartz stopped as he smiled.

"You could say that," he said.  "It's not often that a plan as
complicated as this one comes to fruition, so I have the right to gloat.
Besides, I would think you would want for me to gloat, after all, it
gives you several more minutes to live."

"Let's see, several more minutes to live, but we have to listen to him,
or fight immediately," Mina mused.  "I choose..."

"Hold on," Amy interrupted quietly.  "I have some questions."

"Ask," Rhyolite said lightly, "Since I'm about to destroy the Sailor
Scouts, I can afford to be magnanimous."

"How did you know that Crystal would become a friend of the Scouts? The
probability of us ever meeting her in a city the size of Tokyo is
extremely low."

"I didn't," Rhyolite said.  "The girls had total freewill when it came
to their plans for Earth.  I just made sure they were loyal and
honorable, thus they wouldn't turn on me, and let them plan it for
themselves.  Crystal, answer her question."

Crystal turned, her voice a monotone, "We did not plan on meeting the
Sailor Scouts in our civilian identities.  Our plan was to find new ways
to gather energy and to scout for places that should be taken
immediately if we ever did attack the Earth.  A junior high school
student was the best disguise."

"They came up with some good plans," Rhyolite reflected.  "Ways to
gather energy that worked, and they even figured out how to steal your
pens."

Serena wasn't paying attention.  "She remembers," she said softly to
herself.  "They still remember what happened before.  Maybe..."

"But now we have the Silver Imperium Crystal, and the Sun Stone, `and'
the Earth Gem, so we really don't need you anymore," Rhyolite said
thoughtfully.  "And gloating is really bad manners... Finish it." His
voice was suddenly the snap of an order and Quartz and Crystal broke out
of their immobility.

"Wait a minute!" Amy said.  "One more question, please!"

"All right, but this is the last one," Rhyolite said, waving the twins
to a stop.

"This whole, you were brainwashed thing.  Why?  It doesn't make any
sense."

"But of course it does," Rhyolite exclaimed.  "What better way to
motivate them?  They never would have gone after the Scouts on their
own!  Now, that's your last question.  Quartz, Crystal, I think you know
what you should do."  Once more the two girls started forward, Quartz
towards the Scouts and Crystal towards Travis.

Travis groaned again and shook his head.  "Wha?" he started looking
around carefully.  "Crystal?" he said, staring at the girl coming toward
him with blank eyes.

Crystal sprang forward, keeping her eyes on her target in front of her
while keeping part of her attention focused on the girl to her right.
The body coming at her from the left was a total surprise.

Tuxedo Mask wrestled with Crystal, trying to get the knife away from
her, only to be hit in the side by shards of crystal.  As he cried out,
Serena looked up from where she was working on her brother's ropes.
"Tuxedo Mask!" she screamed and started to move towards him before
remembering her helpless brother.  She looked down in indecision.

"Go check on him," he ordered, looking up at her.  She hesitated a
moment, but the sight of her love on the ground with Crystal standing
over him, sent her towards them quickly.

As she reached him he was getting painfully to his feet and Crystal had
already moved away.  He was not her first target.  "Are you all right?"
she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," he answered, carefully holding his side.  "How about
Travis?"

"Travis!" she gasped, turning back around to see Crystal once more
bearing down on him, and he still tied to the chair.

Meanwhile, the others were busy with Quartz.  Normally, four against
one, even one with a knife and the power to shoot out shards of crystal
would be no contest, but they were hampered by the fact that they didn't
want to hurt her.  This wasn't like when a person was possessed by a
youma and you could kill the youma without hurting the person, this was
a human being they were fighting.  Lita and Mina were throwing punches
and kicks, trying to get the knife away from her.

Raye darted towards her.  "Got her!" she cried, throwing a spirit ward
on her forehead.  She stopped, paralyzed.

As Serena and Tuxedo Mask watched helplessly, Crystal reached downward.
She stopped with a gasp as the link between herself and her sister
activated and the power of the spirit ward impacted her as well.  Travis
came back to his senses, tipping back the chair he was tied to and
trying to wiggle away.

"Crystal," Serena cried as Crystal shook herself free of the spillover
from Quartz's being paralyzed.  "Crystal, please, listen to me.  That's
Travis, Crystal.  You remember Travis, right?  He's the boy you like,
the one who's always been nice to you, the one you study with, and go on
dates with, the one who helped you with my hair."  Serena got to her
feet and started walking towards her.  "Remember when you first came to
school and Travis was your guide?  Remember when he taught you how to
swim?  When he told you about our family?  Do you remember, Crystal?  I
know you're in there. I know you can hear me! Please Crystal!  Listen!"

Travis' voice joined his sister's.  "Do you remember the ice cream soda
we shared that first day?" he asked softly.  He had stopped moving and
was just looking up at Crystal.  "The ice cream shop was so busy that
they had run out of cups and we had to share, and I said I guess that
made you my girlfriend?  I thought you'd laughingly disagree, but
instead you seemed surprised, but very happy.  And I realized I wouldn't
mind at all if it was really true.  And that surprised me, I didn't
think I even wanted a girlfriend.  Besides, I figured that a girl as
pretty as you wouldn't want anything to do with me."

"Why not?" Crystal's voice was so low that even Travis, just below her,
almost missed it.

He looked up quickly, but her eyes were still blank.  If it wasn't for
the fact that she wasn't moving, he would have thought he'd imagined it.

"Why would you?" he tried to shrug but was unable to.  "I mean, besides
the fact that I'm rich, what do I have that any girl would like?"

Crystal opened her mouth to answer, but Rhyolite beat her to it.
"Enough of this," he snarled, angry that the girls had not managed to do
any damage. "Garnite!  Finish them!"

Garnite had been in the room the whole time, though no one had been
paying any attention to him.  It was obvious from his expression that he
had no idea what was going on.  He had thought that Spessarite was
holding Rhyolite prisoner, but now Rhyolite was giving orders and
Spessarite not only let him, but obeyed.  He didn't know if he was now
supposed to obey Rhyolite or not.  He turned to look at Spessarite and
caught his glare.  *I guess so,* he thought to himself, as he called a
group of youmas from the edges of the room.

As soon as Quartz had been paralyzed, Mina had grabbed her arm and
twisted the knife from it.  Lita quickly grabbed her other arm and they
held on tight as the paralysis wore off and she started to struggle
again.

"I think they're getting through to Crystal," Amy said quietly.  "If you
can, hold Quartz for a little longer.  I believe that if they are able
to break the conditioning on Crystal, Quartz's will be broken as well."

The others nodded.  Even struggling as she was, they could hold her.  It
was then they heard Rhyolite's order.  A rush of youmas headed towards
the girls as Garnite and several others headed towards the other group.

Lita and Mina tried to fight the youmas and hold on to Quartz but found
themselves unable to.  Reluctantly, they let go and then had to deal
with fighting her as well.  Still, they managed to mostly avoid her as
they hit, kicked and threw youmas they `could' use all their strength
against without worry.

Amy was dodging a tentacle when she saw Reenie.  Several youmas were
going after the defenseless girl.  Luna, Artemis, Apollo, and even Diana
were using teeth, talon, and claw against the encroaching youma, but it
did little good.

"Reenie!" Amy cried.  Then her face grew determined.  *There's only one
way,* she thought desperately.  "MERCURY POWER!" she cried.

Everything stopped.  Everyone stared, except the other Scouts, as her
transformation covered her.  Sailor Mercury looked around for a second.
"MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" she yelled, covering her side of the cavern
with a blanket of fog.  Her transformation faded almost immediately, but
by then she couldn't be seen.  She ran towards Reenie's last
coordinates, and managed to dodge between two of the youmas, pick up the
little girl, and run away.

Meanwhile, the other Scouts had managed to take out several of the
youmas while they were distracted by Mercury's transformation.  The
cloud of fog helped for a little while, until they couldn't tell if they
were fighting friend or foe.

Rhyolite was incensed.  "I thought they couldn't transform without their
pens!" he roared.  He turned his glare on Spessarite.  "And they `don't'
have their pens, do they?" he said in a calmer but ice filled voice.

"No, Emperor," Spessarite almost gulped.  "Their pens are right here,"
he said as he pulled the four pens out of his pocket.  "That `was'
Sailor Mercury.  Perhaps she managed to build something that would work
like a pen, but if so, she obviously didn't have time to build more than
one, since the others haven't transformed," he finished quickly, his
words almost tripping over each other in his haste not to be blamed.

Rhyolite considered his words for a moment before nodding his head.
"Perhaps, you're right," he agreed.  Spessarite sighed in relief.

Their eyes turned to the part of the fight that could still be seen.
Serena and Tuxedo Mask were fighting the youmas that Garnite had brought
with him, while Crystal was still standing there, her eyes still blank.
Travis was still on his back, tied to the chair.  He had tried wiggling
loose, but the ropes were too tight.

Garnite moved quickly behind the fighters.  It was not his way to attack
openly and from the front unless he had an overwhelming advantage.
Instead, he attacked as he usually did.  From behind.

Serena and Tuxedo Mask screamed as the fire from Garnite's attack hit
their unprotected backs.  He turned to Travis and attacked.

Suddenly, as she watched, Crystal's eyes lost their blank look.  "NO!"
she screamed, throwing herself in between Garnite and Travis.  The
attack took her in the stomach, sending her backwards into the wall.

From inside of the rapidly dissipating fog bank, Quartz screamed as
well.  The pain was transmitted from Crystal to Quartz, breaking the
compulsion on her as well.  She headed towards Garnite with murder in
her eyes, as did the rest of the Scouts.  They were too late.

As Reenie watched Garnite take down her parents, for the second time,
she screamed as well.  Jerking herself from Amy's arms as the girl tried
to keep her safe, she ran towards him.  "You killed Sammy, and Mika, and
hurt Mommy and Daddy!  I won't forgive you!  I won't let you hurt anyone
else!"  Her anger, fear, and pain combined and without thought, she did
the same thing she had done in that strange future.  The crescent moon
showed on her forehead as her moonbeam formed around her.  She threw
herself at the one who had caused her and her family so much pain.

He screamed as the moonbeam and moon child hit him together.  She
grabbed him around the waist and he tried desperately to push her away
as the moonbeam burned him.  

"Help me!" Reenie sobbed as she felt her moonbeam collapsing around her 
and knew it had not been enough.

Serena and Tuxedo Mask struggled to their feet.  "Garnite!" Serena 
called even as she raised her hand.  "MOON POWER!" she called 
transforming once more into Sailor Moon.  "You should not have 
messed with my family!  MOON TIARA MAGIC!"

Tuxedo Mask was silent, letting his roses speak for him. 

As the tiara and roses flew towards the doomed Captain, Reenie struggled 
to hold the moonbeam together until they got there.  She was determined 
to have a part in Garnite's destruction.  The three attacks combined 
even as they hit and Garnite turned to dust.

Sailor Moon lost her transformation and collapsed.  Reenie also 
collapsed, sobbing.

Serena groaned as she pushed herself slowly to her feet.  The pain in
her back was added to the half healed cuts already there, but she
desperately tried to push it to the back of her mind.  Her daughter was
crying and she hobbled as fast as she could towards her.  Tuxedo Mask
was just a step behind.

Quickly but painfully, Serena sat down next to her daughter.  She
reached out carefully and put her hand on her shoulder.  Reenie turned
around and threw herself at her mother, sobbing desperately.  Serena
caught her and rocked her, not saying a word as she let her cry herself
out.  The two of them sat there for a long moment, the only sound
Reenie's low sobs.

The others stood gathered around, facing outward, their expressions
daring anyone or anything to try to break up the touching scene.

"Thank you, Reenie," Serena whispered as the sobs turned into hiccups.
"Thank you for saving me."

"He's dead, right?" Reenie asked with her head still buried in Serena's
shoulder.  "He's not going to hurt anyone ever again, right?"

"Right," Serena agreed.  "Never again.  He'll never be able to hurt
anyone ever again."

"I'm glad," Reenie whispered.  "I hated him, Mommy.  I don't think I've
ever hated anyone before."

"Don't hate him, honey," Serena answered.  "He's not worth it.  He
isn't."

Rhyolite's expression was hard and angry.  One of his Captains taken
down by a little girl!  His expression just got angrier as he saw
Crystal, one of his greatest creations, setting Travis free.  He turned
to Spessarite.  "Kill them all," he ordered.  "Even my `daughters'.
It's obvious their brainwashing is failing.  They're of no use to me
now."

Spessarite stepped forward with a grin.  They were going to pay for
calling him Spaghetti!  If he managed to kill the Sailor Scouts as well,
he'd be a hero, and one step closer to his own plans for stealing the
Throne.

Crystal and Quartz joined the line of determined Scouts.  "Come on,
Spessarite," Crystal said.  "Let our father go."

The Scouts threw confused glances at each other at those words.  "I
thought the brainwashing had been broken," Lita hissed.

"Apparently only the top level was," Amy replied quietly.  "It was
fairly new, so it was easy to break, but the compulsion that their
father is a good person is too strong to break like that."

Spessarite stepped forward.  "Do you really think you can stop me?  A
person in a tuxedo and a group of junior high school girls with no
powers whatsoever?  This shouldn't take more than a minute or so."

"That's what all your youmas thought," Mina said defiantly.  "Even
without our powers, we're a match for an annoying creep like you."

"Oh, I'm so scared," Spessarite smiled evilly.

"Blow it out your ear," Lita said snidely.

"No," he disagreed, "Out yours!"  He raised his hands and winds started
gathering around them.

"Uh oh," Serena whispered.

The wind exploded off of his hands in a wall, hitting the line of Scouts
before they could move.  The wall of wind threw all nine into the back
wall of the room and held them there.  Serena had still been holding
Reenie tightly as the wall of wind hit them and managed to keep her grip
as they were thrown into the back wall.  She gasped for air as the extra
weight on her stomach made it hard for her to breathe.

"I told you," Spessarite said, smiling still, "It wouldn't take more
than a minute or two."

The wind held them on there easily.  No matter how they struggled, they
couldn't get away from the wall behind them.  Tuxedo Mask tried to throw
a rose, but the wind caught it and sent it arrowing back towards him,
just missing his head.

Amy slowly turned her head to look at Raye.  "Wind flames fire!" she
called intently.

Raye understood and nodded as best she could, then closed her eyes.
Taking several deep breaths, she sent herself into a trance state and
searched for the fire within her.  "MARS POWER!" she cried.  Flames
whipped over her and Sailor Mars stared down at the flummoxed General.
"MARS FIRE IGNITE!" she called.

The wind fanned the flames, making her attack even bigger as it headed
towards the General.  Panicked, he threw more wind at it, with the same
result.  The fire raced in and burned his hands, causing him to drop the
wall of wind.  The Scouts dropped to the floor, more or less intact,
even though Serena managed to land on her bottom.  She still held Reenie
carefully.  Raye was once more detransformed.

With the wall down, Tuxedo Mask's roses, and the crystal shards of the
twins were doing a lot of damage to the General.  Slowly, however, he
was pushing them back.  Small twisters and little wind walls were
holding off the attacks, while blasts of air were hitting the others.

::How did she do that?:: Travis asked telepathically.  He had been a 
little too busy to see the earlier transformations.

::Why are you asking me?  You're the one that came up with the idea.
You were right, we can transform on our own, though we're back to first
generation powers,:: Serena returned absently as she put Reenie down and
ordered her away from the fight.  Reenie seemed about to debate it for a
moment, then nodded and ran towards where the guardians were holed up.

::Can all of you?:: Travis asked as a plan came to him.

::Yes,:: Serena answered, ::But it's hard, and it's not for long.::

::Maybe it will be for long enough,:: Travis answered.

Travis explained his plan and Serena agreed.  As Tuxedo Mask and the
twins kept Spessarite busy, Serena and Travis explained to the others
what they were going to do and everyone spread out.

Travis took a deep breath and felt it echoed in his sister across from
him.  With her permission, he listened in to her thoughts.  *I believe I
can do this.  I can do this because I must.  I must for my friends, for
my family.*  Travis' thoughts echoed hers as he let his thoughts become
consumed with keeping the people he loved safe.  He didn't even realize
he was speaking with her as they both raised their heads and said, "I
believe I can!"

"MOON POWER!" Serena called.

"SUN POWER!" Travis said at the same time.  When his transformation was
complete, Sailor Sol stood there.  He looked down at himself.  *Where's
my sword?* he wondered for a second before turning towards Spessarite.

"VENUS POWER!" Mina's voice was loud and confident, almost as if she was
trying to convince herself.

"MARS POWER!" Raye's voice was calm, her priestess training shining
through.

"JUPITER POWER!" Lita put all her power behind it, determined to
transform.

Light flared from all sides of Spessarite as Tuxedo Mask, Crystal and
Quartz stepped back into the places that had been left open for them in
the circle surrounding the General.

"NOW!" Sailor Moon and Sailor Sol called together.  Quickly before they
detransformed, they attacked.  "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" "SOLAR FLARE!" "MARS
FIRE IGNITE!" "VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!" "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!" even
as they spoke the words, Venus and Jupiter was detransforming, but it
was enough.  The attacks, crystal shards, and roses all hit at the same
time.  They came from so many directions at once that Spessarite
couldn't use his winds to block them all.

Quartz's crystal shards got through and Spessarite grabbed his arm as
they hit.  The distraction was just enough time for Jupiter's lightning
to help light up his life, and Lita cheered.  He had managed to actually
deflect Sailor Mars fire, being most worried about it after it burned
his hands, but only deflected it to the floor by his feet.  Sailor
Moon's tiara had been blown out of the way but she managed to stay in
control for long enough for it to come back around and pick up some of
Sailor Sol's fire.  The doubled attack hit Spessarite in the back even
as they detransformed.

"YES!" Crystal and Quartz screamed as the monster who had brainwashed
their father was turned into dust.  "You did it!  You did it!  Thank
you!  Thank you!"  The Scouts were excited as well.  There, in the dust,
were their pens.

Without waiting for anyone else to say anything, the two girls ran to
Rhyolite.  He reached out and hugged them.  "I'm so glad you're all
right!" he said.  "I was so worried about you."  He looked over the
twins heads and smiled at the Scouts.  It was not a nice smile.

"See Father?  The Scouts saved us, and Spessarite is dead, and now we
can start making the Negaverse good again," Crystal said, smiling up at
her father.

"Indeed we can," he said, hugging her again.

Reenie came up to Serena as Amy reached down for her pen.  "Mommy, what
are we going to do?  They won't let us hurt their father.  But... but
it's not going to be over until he's gone."

"I know, sweetheart, I know," Serena said absently.

"I wouldn't let anyone hurt my father," Reenie whispered.  "I'd do
everything I could to keep him safe."

"That's what families are for," Tuxedo Mask said, swinging his daughter
up into his arms.  "To take care of each other, no matter what."

"But will we have to fight them?" Reenie asked in a small voice.

"I hope not, Reenie," Travis was the one to answer, his face despairing
as he looked at a happy Crystal.

"Why don't you go see if there was any damage done to the communications
room while I see about getting our guests back to Earth, okay?" Rhyolite
asked with a smile.

Quartz and Crystal nodded and turned to leave.  Crystal then turned
around and ran back.  She ran up to Travis.  "I wish I really was your
girlfriend," she whispered, reaching up and brushing a kiss across his
cheek.  "I'll try to come back to Earth to see you, okay?"  Before
Travis could answer Rhyolite cleared his throat.  Crystal started
guiltily and turned to run after her sister.

As soon as they left the room the Scouts turned back to Rhyolite and
raised their pens.  "Let's get this started, shall we?" Mina asked in a
hard voice.

"Let's," Rhyolite agreed with a smile.  That smile made the others
nervous.  He was planning something.

Raye suddenly threw her head up.  "There's something here," she said
quietly.  "It almost feels like... whatever stole our pens last time,"
she told the others.

"The Lunar Space pickpocket?" Mina asked, receiving a nod from the
priestess.

"Oh, great," Lita muttered.  "Now what do we do?"

Amy raised her pen into the air.  "MERCURY STAR POWER!" she called.  As
the others watched breathlessly, they remembered the last time they
thought they had the pens.  Surrounded by bubbles and ice she
transformed.  Still holding her pen, she tucked it behind the brooch on
her front bow.  "If you want to keep it away from a pickpocket, don't
put it in your pocket," Sailor Mercury said logically.

Rhyolite glowered.  With a nod, he called the rest of the youmas forth
from the side of the room.  From the way they rushed forward, it was
obvious that they were hoping to get to the Scouts before they could
transform.  They were too late.

"MARS STAR POWER!" "VENUS STAR POWER!" "JUPITER STAR POWER!" as the
power surged through them, they transformed.  By their grins, it was
obvious that the girls were enjoying the return of their full power.

"This is more like it," Sailor Jupiter grinned.  She moved forward
eagerly towards the advancing youma.

With a shout, the Scouts exploded into action.  Although they had
learned to fight without their powers, they were still infinitely better
with them, and they knew it.  Knowing how much damage they had managed
to cause unpowered, they couldn't wait to take on the youmas as they
were.

Sailor Mercury was the first to attack.  She, more than any of the
others had been forced to hold back, out of the way.  Her knowledge was
invaluable, but her fighting prowess without her power was too little,
even Serena fought better than her in hand to hand combat.  She knew it
was her job to stand back and analyze, but every once in a while, it
felt good to be able to take out her frustrations on handy youmas.
"MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!" she yelled, sending forward a devastating
wall of ice and snow.  She turned to the others with a grin as her
attack took out several of the youmas, and partially froze several more.

"Are we going to let her have all the fun?" Venus asked.  The answer
seemed to be a resounding "NO" as the others attacked as well.  "VENUS
LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE
SURROUND!"

The first line of youmas went down easily under the combined attacks 
of the four girls.  Mercury and Venus teamed up, Venus' chain 
breaking youmas as fast as Mercury froze them.  Sailor Mars had 
found a new appreciation for her spirit wards and almost gleefully 
fired them out.  "MARS FIREBALL CHARGE!" became one of the youmas 
worst nightmares.  Sailor Jupiter was the other, using her electricity 
and enhanced strength almost indiscriminately against the youmas 
ranked against her.  Tuxedo Mask, Serena and Travis stayed back, 
protecting Reenie, and allowing the Scouts free rein.

Suddenly a scream sounded from the air around them.  Serena jumped up
and down in delight.  "It worked!  It worked!" she yelled.  As the
others stared at her, she explained, "I decided to be ready if that
thieving youma put his hand in my pocket again, so I put a mousetrap in
there, and it worked!  It got him!"

"What if you'd put your own hand in there?" Mars asked.

Serena looked stunned.  "I didn't think about that," she muttered.  "But
it worked, so it doesn't really matter, does it?"  And she stuck her
tongue out at Mars before remembering where they were and blushing under
the exasperated stares of the others.

"Charming," Rhyolite said snidely.  "One of my General's was taken out 
by an immature brat.  I'll enjoy teaching you some manners."

"You're not going to get the chance," Sailor Jupiter said intently.
"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"

Rhyolite just stood there as the lightning headed toward him.  Then he
held up his hand.  The lightning hit it and was absorbed.

"What?!?" Jupiter exclaimed in disbelief.

He held up his hand again and lightning could be seen crackling about
it.  The ball of lightning was then sent towards the Scouts.

Tuxedo Mask pushed Serena and Travis down and covered them as the others
dodged out of the way.  The ball of lightning hit the back wall and blew
a hole in it.

"He can't do that!" Jupiter said in frustration.

"Hate to tell you this, girlfriend," Venus spoke up, "But he just did."

"My turn," Sailor Mars said, readying herself.  "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE
SURROUND!"

The fire headed towards Rhyolite, but again he held up his hand and
absorbed the power.  He let the power burn on his hand for a long moment
before sending it out again.  Again, everyone was able to dodge,
although Mercury's skirt got slightly singed.

"Hey, guys, remember that youma that would reflect any energy attacks
that we could throw at her?" Travis asked as he moved out of a direct
line with Rhyolite.  "Maybe he's the same way."

"Then transform into Sailor Sol and use your sword!" Mars called back in
exasperation.

"I don't think I can do that," Travis shook his head.  "When I
transformed before, the sword wasn't with me, maybe it needs the Sun
Stone to work.  And my Solar Flare wouldn't be any more helpful than
anything else."

"Well, if it's physical that's needed, I guess it's up to me to save the
day, right?" Sailor Venus asked.  "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" she
called.

A flash of worry crossed Rhyolite's face to be immediately replaced with
confidence as he reached out and grabbed the chain coming towards him.
"Even this is energy," he remarked, turning the whip around and grabbing
Sailor Venus with it.  He turned and flung her into the throne behind
him.

"I'm going to go help," Apollo muttered, taking wing from where he'd
been waiting with Reenie and the other guardians.

The other four were still watching worriedly when Diana's eyes were
caught by something near the throne that had just been knocked over.
"What's that?" she wondered absently, barely even noticing that she had
started walking towards it.

"What's what?" Luna asked, not taking her eyes off the battle raging in
front of her, as the only person who seemed to be able to do any good
was fighting.

Tuxedo Mask was in it now, using his cane to try to keep Rhyolite's
hands busy as Mercury and Jupiter ganged up against him.  "MERCURY ICE
STORM BLAST!" "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" they yelled in concert, only to
have Rhyolite absorb the energy as it impacted him.  He gathered it
together into his hands and grabbed the cane, sending the power through
it and into the man in front of him.

"Tuxedo Mask!" Serena yelled, running towards him.  "Mercury, look after
him," she asked, once she assured himself that he was mostly okay.  She
glared at Rhyolite and rushed toward him, throwing several punches and
kicks at the Emperor.

"Don't forget everything we've learned lately, just because we got our
pens back!" Mercury called to the others.  They looked up and grinned in
understanding.

Rhyolite was soon on the defensive against five determined teenagers and
a falcon as Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Travis, Serena, and Apollo attacked
with punches, kicks, strikes, and occasionally even throws.  Rhyolite
started slowly backing up.  He managed to deflect many of the blows, but
couldn't totally defend himself against all six of his attackers.  He
was favoring his side, but it had taken four strikes in that section
before he started to do so.  He also had a talon mark on his head.

He backed up until he reached the throne that was still on its back from
where Venus had been thrown into it.  He looked down quickly, then
reached out and grabbed the sword that was hooked to its side.

With the addition of his sword, the tide of battle turned.  Although he
still could not defend himself against all six, the sword made him a lot
more dangerous and with a longer reach.  Venus was the first to go down,
with a slash across her midsection.  Mercury immediately moved towards
her to bandage it up.

Tuxedo Mask got to his feet and entered the fight.  He was still
slightly shaky, but managed to use his cane to fence against Rhyolite's
sword, and keep it busy while the others attacked.  Suddenly, Rhyolite
disengaged and spun in a circle, his sword out before him.  It missed
most of the fighters, but managed to give Jupiter a cut in the arm and
Serena a deep gash in the shoulder.

Mercury moved towards the two girls as they moved away from Rhyolite.
The others gathered in a circle around the Emperor, just out of reach of
his sword.

"I think you should stay out of the fight for a while," Mercury told
Serena.  "You're not going to be able to use this arm much."

"Then I'll kick," Serena said.  "I'm not going to stop fighting now."

"Don't even try it with me," Jupiter spoke up.  "I'm going back."

"We've got to think this through," Sailor Mercury said as she finished
bandaging Serena and moved to Jupiter.  "Physical attacks seem to be the
only ones that work, but he's too tough for punches and kicks to take
down."

"Which leaves Tuxedo Mask as the only person with a physical attack,"
Serena said with a sigh, turning and looking at her love who was still
fighting.

"What about Sailor Moon's tiara?" Jupiter asked.

"It's mainly energy as well," Mercury explained.

"Besides," Serena said, "I don't have enough power to do much damage
with one shot.  Not without the Crystal, anyway."

"We'll figure something out," Jupiter said quietly, laying a hand on
Serena's uninjured shoulder.  Then she turned and walked back to the
circle around Rhyolite.  Venus had already gotten back on her feet and
joined up.

"Maybe I should..." Sailor Mercury started.

"No," Serena shook her head, "You're needed out here, to take care of
the wounded and watch over my daughter.   You're a lot more useful than
anyone else you know."

Before Mercury could respond they were interrupted by Artemis' panicked
yell.  "Diana!"

Diana had noticed something when the Emperor's throne had been tipped
over.  Without thinking about it, she started stalking towards it,
taking care to avoid the fight so she wouldn't be trampled.  Her parents
and Reenie were worriedly watching the fight and never noticed when she
left.  At her father's yell, she turned around, to see a very large rat
standing in back of her.  She squeaked in fright and cowered down.  The
rat was almost twice the size of the kitten.

Luna, Artemis, and Reenie raced towards the frightened kitten.  Artemis
and Luna soon outdistanced the little girl.  With growls of rage, the
two older cats attacked the surprised rat.  Their claws and teeth made
short work of the offender.

"Are you all right?" Luna asked worriedly, nosing Diana over carefully.

"I'm fine, Mama," Diana mewed softly.

"Well, then, what were you doing all the way over here?!" Luna's voice
was almost a shout as she let her worry out.

"I saw something over there I wanted to look at, but you were busy,"
Diana said quietly.  "I was being careful, and keeping out of the
human's way."

"It looks like it wasn't the humans you had to worry about," Artemis
said.  "You scared ten years off my life, little cat.  If my fur wasn't
already white, it would have been after this!"

"You were worried?" Diana asked, enjoying the tongue bath her mother was
giving her to help comfort them both.

"Of course I was worried!" Artemis said in surprise.  "You're my
daughter and I love you!"

Diana put her head down.  "You've never said that before," she said
softly.

"I... I..." Artemis stammered.  Then he calmed down.  "Maybe I've never
said it," he said quietly, going over and taking over the bath, "but
I've always meant it.  I love you, kitten, don't you ever forget it."

Diana purred contentedly.  "I love you too, Papa."

"What were you looking at, Diana?" Reenie asked.  "I can't see anything
that would cause you to come over here."

Diana suddenly remembered why she was here.  She turned and nuzzled her
father on the jaw before heading back in the direction she had been
going.  This time, she didn't bother to be careful, trusting her parents
to take care of her.

She ran up to the tipped over throne and stared into a small hole in the
bottom.  Carefully, she reached her paw in.  Several times she tried
while the others watched intently.  Finally, she drew it out and batted
out a fairly large, yellow topaz.

"The Sun Stone," the others breathed in disbelief.

"I saw it glinting in there when the throne tipped," Diana explained.
"I just wondered what it might be."  She looked around, Travis was
fighting with Rhyolite on the other side of the fight.  "Uncle Apollo!"
she called.

The falcon had seen the group gathered on the opposite side of the room
from where they should be and flown towards them to see what was up.
That was the only reason he was able to hear the kitten's call.
"`Uncle' Apollo?" the falcon asked humorously.  "Since when?"

Diana's head and tail drooped.  "I'm sorry," she said.  "I wasn't
thinking."

"Oh, it's all right, kitten," the falcon said quickly.  "I don't mind at
all.  It just surprised me.  Now," he continued as Diana perked up.
"Why did you call..." his voice trailed off  as his sharp eyes caught
the glint of light off of the Sun Stone.  "How?" he breathed.

"I found it," Diana said proudly.  "In the chair, it had fallen through
the crack I think."

"Diana, you are the greatest," Apollo exclaimed, running his beak through
the fur on top of her head before grabbing the stone in his talons and
throwing himself into the air.  He arrowed towards Travis and hovered
over him.  When Travis looked up, Apollo dropped the stone.

In disbelief, unthinkingly, Travis held up his hand.  The Stone landed
there and he stared at it.  Rhyolite noticed what he held and started to
get worried.  He sprang forward, heading for Travis, determined to get
the Sun Stone back, or at least out of his hands.  The others ran
forward, blocking him off.

"So you've got one of your toys back," Rhyolite sneered.  "Do you really
think one more Scout is going to help?"

Travis ignored him.  "Serena!" he yelled.

Serena ran forward even as he pulled a necklace from around his neck.
With bated breath, he placed the too large stone onto the pommel of the
miniature sword.  It shrank drastically, until the pommel stone was in
perfect proportion to the sword.  Serena and Travis gazed at each other
in disbelief until they noticed Rhyolite's attempts to get to them.
Travis raised the sword over his head, and Serena reached up to touch
it.  She hissed in pain, and quickly lowered her arm, having forgotten
her injury for a moment.  She raised her other hand and touched the
sword.  "SUN STONE POWER DUO!" they yelled together.

Everyone except for Rhyolite quickly closed their eyes and missed the
bright lights as they transformed.  When they opened their eyes again,
Sailor Sol and Sailor Sun stood side by side, the Sun Sword prominent on
Sailor Sol's hip.
Rhyolite was shaking his head, trying to get his eyes working again, and
was sure he hadn't managed it when he saw a Scout he had never seen
before.  Only the bandage on her shoulder showed him that it was still
the girl who had transformed into Sailor Moon earlier.

Sailor Sol pulled his sword as the other girls pulled back towards
Sailor Sun.  "Sure you're up to this, Sailor Sun?" he called out.

"I'm fine," she grinned back.  "Let's do it!"

Sailor Sol's sword was almost a blur as he attacked Rhyolite.  For
several minutes he held his own, sword to sword, until the Emperor's
years of training showed above his own three months or so.  It was then
that the others attacked.  "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" "MERCURY ICE
STORM SPLASH!" "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"

It was all Rhyolite could do to absorb the power coming in to him while
still keeping both Sailor Sol and Tuxedo Mask off of him.  He gathered
the power and threw it back out at the two young men.  They ducked, and
the power headed straight at the Scouts.  Sailor Sun, however, was
ready.  With teeth gritted against the pain, she raised her arms to 
the sides.  "SOLAR CORONA WALL!" she called, a wall of fire exploding 
from her in both directions and destroying the attack before it could 
get to the other girls.

Crystal and Quartz reentered the room and looked around in shock.  "What
is going on here?!?" Quartz asked in disbelief.

Crystal had eyes only for the fight between Rhyolite and Sailor Sol.
"Why are they fighting, Quartz?" she asked in a dazed voice.

"You know we have to help Father," Quartz said softly.

"Against Travis?" Crystal said in a small voice.

Quartz nodded slowly.  "Even against Travis."

"I don't know if I can," Crystal admitted.  "But I guess I don't have a
choice."  She sighed.  "I really like Travis a lot, Quartz, I could
easily fall in love with him."

"I know, Sister," Quartz agreed, "I know."

Reluctantly, the two girls headed into the fray.

Reenie was the first to notice them.  "Sailor Sun!" she cried.  "Behind
you!"

Sailor Sun turned around quickly and noticed the two girls heading
towards them with determination in their eyes.  She stepped forward.  "I
can't let you do that," she said quietly.

"We're going to help our father," Quartz said strongly.

"No, you're not," Sailor Sun disagreed.  She turned to the others.
"Don't attack, or if you do, get behind the wall immediately."  Before
they could ask what she had planned she turned back to the twins.
Almost crying with pain, she raised her arms above her head and clasped
them.  "SOLAR CORONA WALL!" she cried, the wall forming around the three
girls.  The wall of fire withstood every attack Crystal and Quartz could
throw at it, atomizing their crystal shards when they hit.  They turned
to the girl in there with them.

"Who are you?" Crystal asked.

"I'm Sailor Sun," she answered through gritted teeth.  "I'm Sailor Sol's
twin sister."

"Serena?" Quartz asked in disbelief.

She nodded shortly.

"We've got to help our father," Quartz said slowly.

"Then you'll have to get through me to do it," Sailor Sun said.  Her
face was a mask of pain and tears were seeping down her face, but she
stood defiant in front of them.  As Crystal watched, blood soaked
through the bandage around her shoulder wound and started heading down
her side.  Still, Sailor Sun held her position.  "Rhyolite's not your
father!" she said desperately.  "Remember!  Please, remember before.
Remember your real parents, your real life, not this artificial one that
he stuffed your head with."

"Don't talk about our father like that!" Quartz said, suddenly shooting
her crystal shards at the Scout.

Sailor Sun cried out at the new pain.  She was swaying as pain and blood
loss made her dizzy.  As the twins watched, she sank to her knees, but
still she held the wall.  "I won't let you out," she whispered.  "I
won't let you do something you'll regret with all your being, and I
won't make Travis do something that will hurt him like that either.  I
won't let you out until you remember, or Rhyolite is dead!  I won't!"

By now tears were running full fledged down her face and she was swaying
dangerously.  But still her hands stayed clasped above her head, and
still the wall stayed up.

"I didn't realize the Scouts were so evil," Crystal said slowly.

"They're not," Quartz said in confusion.  "You know that."

"Then why are they fighting so hard, Quartz?" Crystal asked.  "Why are
they fighting so hard against Father, he's not evil either."

"I... I don't know, but..." Quartz trailed off.

Crystal was focused on Sailor Sun.  She suddenly moved forward as Sailor
Sun almost fell to the floor in a faint.  Although she tried to hold it,
the wall went down.  Instead of leaving, Crystal gently gathered Sailor
Sun up.  "We're the ones that are evil, aren't we?" she said softly,
almost to herself.  "We're the ones that steal energy, that send down
youmas, that steal pens."

"We did it for the good of the realm," Quartz reminded her.

"Is `that' for the good of the realm?" Crystal's voice had such a bite
to it that it even shocked Sailor Sun awake.  Quartz and Sailor Sun
looked at where Crystal was staring.

"NO!" Sailor Sun shouted, surging forward.  "Reenie!"

Rhyolite had been forced backwards again.  Looking back he had seen the
girl and cats sitting there out of the way.  With an unexpected move, he
disengaged, ran back, and picked up the little girl.  He was now holding
her with his sword against her neck.

"Detransform!" he ordered.  "Detransform and put down your pens, all of
you, or this little girl dies."

Diana tried to save her mistress.  She threw herself at Rhyolite's legs,
biting and scratching.  He kicked out at her and sent her tumbling into 
a nearby wall.

Slowly, the Scouts and Tuxedo Mask detransformed.

"Let her go, Rhyolite," Travis said in a steady voice.

Serena had detransformed but was still in Crystal's arms.  "No, no, 
no," she was chanting under her breath.  "Please, let Reenie be all 
right, please, please, please."

Quartz and Crystal exchanged a long, long look.  Then Crystal slowly
disengaged herself from Serena and stood up.  The two girls were the
only things moving as they walked towards their father.  Serena caught
her breath in hope, a hope that was dashed as they just bowed to him and
took their places on either side of him.

"Very good, girls," Rhyolite purred.  "I'm glad to see you're so loyal.
Crystal, why don't you go pick up the pens, while Quartz gets the Sun
Stone back."

"Yes, Father," they said together.  They started to move forward when
Crystal moved.  In a flash of movement, she grabbed her father's hand
and twisted it, causing him to drop the sword before it could do any
damage to the child in his arms.  In a continuation of the same move,
Quartz grabbed Reenie, and moved away.

"You dare?!" he yelled.

"You're not Rhyolite," Crystal shrugged.  "Our father wouldn't do such a
thing.  Why don't you just drop the illusion?  Let us see who you really
are.  Or are you afraid?"

"I always thought that Spessarite didn't have the brains for a plan like
that," Quartz added, holding Reenie gently.  "So who are you?  And why
are you pretending to be our father?"

Amy shook her head even as she gathered up her pen.  "His own
brainwashing worked against him," she muttered.  "They can't believe
their father would do something like this, so obviously he is not their
father.  It's the only way they can keep the two ideas consistent."

Quartz put Reenie down and the two girls attacked.  With his sword gone,
the two girls were having an effect.  Their crystal shard attack was
physical, not energy, and it was doing damage.

Travis moved toward Serena, Darien had gone to protect Reenie once
Quartz had set her down.  "Serena," Travis said, wincing as he noticed
how much damage his sister had sustained.  "We're the only ones that can
finish this, you know that, right?"

Serena nodded her head wearily.  "I can do it," she answered.  She stood
up shakily and held up her uninjured arm to the sword pendant he was
holding up.  "SUN STONE POWER DUO!" they cried.  The twins moved
forwards towards the other set of twins.  With the Scouts help, they had
Rhyolite down, and kept ordering him to drop the illusion, not believing
him when he said there wasn't one.  Sailor Sun sank to her knees in
front of him as the others moved off.

"Oh?  Are you surrendering?" he asked in a tired voice.

"No," she answered simply, in a voice that miraculously did not waver at
all.  She held her arms up above her head, refusing to wince at the
biting pain.  "SUPER!" she cried.  Yellow flames gathered on her palms.

"NOVA!" Sailor Sol yelled as well, flames dancing on his hands as he
stood behind his sister.

Their palms came together, flame to flame.  They stared at Rhyolite for
a long moment as their hands seemed to combust.  "ANNIHILATION!!" they
called out together, power flowing from them in seemingly unending waves
of flame and light.

For a minute, it looked as though it wouldn't be enough.  Rhyolite was
catching it.  He was absorbing everything they were sending at him.
Then the others moved.

"MERCURY ICE STORM SPLASH!" "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" "JUPITER
THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"  The four attacks,
Tuxedo Mask's roses, and the twin's crystal shards impacted the Emperor.
As the physical attacks broke his concentration, the full fury of a
solar nova, wrapped around with fire, ice, electricity and light
impacted him.  When the light died, he was nothing but dust.

Serena collapsed.  On top of everything else, that last blast had taken
more from her than she had to give.  She lost her transformation and
collapsed into unconsciousness.  Travis as well, lost his
transformation, but he was in better shape, and managed to stay awake.

Reenie ran to her mother.  "Is it over?  Did we do it?  Are you okay?"
she asked even as she reassured herself that Serena wasn't seriously
hurt.

"I don't know, and I'm fine." Serena answered softly, looking at the
others to see if they could answer.  It was obvious that they couldn't.
She sat up slowly and drew Reenie into a hug.  Tuxedo Mask detransformed
and added himself into the hug.

"Something should be happening," Diana said, almost in a whisper.  "We
won, there should be fireworks or something."

The others laughed at that.  "It seems like it, doesn't it?" Travis
asked with a tired grin.

"I would be dancing with joy," Serena agreed.  "If I had the energy to
get up that is."

A soft sobbing reached Luna's ears.  "What's that?" she asked, turning
to look for the source of the crying.

"Crystal," Travis whispered as he noticed where it was coming from.

Crystal and Quartz were curled up on the ground, holding each other as
if they were the only solid things in the world.  For them, they were.
With the death of Rhyolite, his brainwashing was broken, and the two
girls were faced with the memory of their true life and the life they
had been living for the past year.

Travis moved forward and stood looking down at them, unsure of what to
do.  He threw an anguished look back over his shoulder at his sister.

"They do remember," Amy said quietly.  "I had hoped they would not.  It
would have been so much easier and safer."

"Why?" Mina asked.

"Did you forget?" Luna spoke up.  "They know who you are.  That makes
them dangerous, and it makes it dangerous for them."

Serena looked up with wide eyes.  "That reminds me," she said urgently.
"Where's `the' Crystal?!?"

"The..." the others started, looking around frantically.

"'O 'ou 'ean 'is?" Artemis said.  The slurred speech was a byproduct of
the brooch he held in his mouth.

"My brooch!" Serena cried, reaching for it.  She held it lovingly as she
opened it to see the Moon Crystal shining softly inside.  "Thank you,
Artemis!  Thank you, thank you!"  He blushed brightly as she kissed him
on top of his head.

"It was nothing," he said in embarrassment.  "It was lying in almost
plain sight among Rhyolite's ashes."

"And where's mine?" Darien asked with a smile.

"Mama will find it!" Diana said with complete confidence.  "I found one,
Papa found one, so Mama will find the other, right?"

Everyone turned with lifted eyebrows to the disconcerted cat.  She was
about to say she didn't have a clue, but a look in her kitten's eyes
made her change her mind and head out without a word, to look.

Crystal flinched as Travis came up behind her and laid a hand on her
shoulder.  Travis looked sad as he crouched down beside her and Quartz.

"What's the matter?" he asked gently.

"How can you ask that?" Crystal said, almost hysterically.  "We've done
awful things!"

"You were brainwashed," he reminded them.

"So?" Quartz asked bitterly.  "You think that excuses us?"

"Yes," Travis said simply.  There was no hesitation or doubt in his
voice.

"It's not that easy!" Crystal shouted, getting the attention of the
others in the room.  "You don't understand!  You `can't' understand!"

"I do," another voice spoke up quietly.  The three had been so caught up
with each other that they hadn't noticed the others gathering around
them.  Darien looked down at them with a pained expression on his face.

"I spent two months brainwashed by Queen Beryl, fighting against Sailor
Moon and the Sailor Scouts.  In the end, I almost killed Serena.  If she
hadn't been able to bring back my memories, I `would' have killed her.
The most important person in my life, and I hurt her.  Believe me, I
`do' understand."

"It wasn't your fault," Serena said, taking his hand.  She turned to the
girls.  "And it's not yours either.  Don't accept the guilt for
something you have no control over."

"We should have been able to do `something'!" Quartz retorted, unwilling
to be reassured.

"I thought that, too, when it happened to me" Reenie said, sitting 
down and taking the twin's hands before they could pull back.  "After 
all, I'm Sailor Crescent Moon, I should be strong enough not to be 
brainwashed.  But I couldn't stop it either.  You're human, no matter 
what's been done to you and you would have had to be even more 
superhuman than Tuxedo Mask to fight off a brainwashing."

"Are we?" Quartz looked up.  "Are we even human anymore?  I mean, I can
throw out shards of crystal, I don't think that's something that a
normal `human' being could do."  Crystal nodded her head in agreement.

"Only one way to find out," Mina said with a grin.  "Amy?"

Amy nodded and quickly transformed back into Sailor Mercury.  Crystal
and Quartz watched with awe as the transformation took place.  Mercury
lowered her visor and looked at the two girls.  "I see trace amounts of
dark energy, but they are completely human," she said in a tone of voice
that brooked no arguments.

"We can take care of the dark energy right now," Serena said with a
smile, jumping up and pulling out her brooch.  She seemed to have gotten
her energy back and was bubbling with it though still being careful of
her injuries.

"What are you going to do?" Quartz asked worriedly as the others moved
out of the way, Reenie giving the two girls a squeeze on the hands while
Travis patted Crystal on the shoulder.

"I'm going to heal you," Serena said transforming into Sailor Moon.
"The Moon Crystal can take all of the dark energy from you."

"Are you going to take our memories of who you are from us as well?"
Crystal asked.

Sailor Moon blinked.  "Can I do that?" she asked Luna who was still
searching for the Earth Gem, and not having any luck.

Luna thought for a long moment.  "Theoretically, yes," she finally
answered.  "If you wish for it hard enough when you're using the Crystal
to heal them, yes, you can."

"Should I?" she asked next.  She looked to her Scouts for an answer, but
it came from a different direction.

"Yes, you should," Quartz answered calmly.  "If anyone from the
Negaverse comes after us and takes us again, it would be too risky for
us to know who you are."

Crystal nodded slowly, with a sad look in her eye.  "I agree," she said.
"You've managed to kill all of the youmas that knew about you, it's
better that we don't know either."

Travis seemed about to contradict them, but held his peace.  Sailor Moon
saw though.  "You don't agree, Travis?" she asked.

Travis shrugged.  "I can understand why they think that way, and it's
really their decision.  But... even after all that's happened, I trust
Crystal.  And after all, the Four Sisters know about us, and they didn't
even start out human.  I don't think it's necessary, but it's not my
choice."

Crystal's eyes had gone misty as he said he trusted her.  Looking into
his eyes, she saw sincerity shining through.  With a low cry she threw
herself into his arms and sobbed.  He held her gently, letting her cry
herself out.  Quartz looked on with quiet envy.

"Don't worry," Mina said, going over to stand on one side of her.
"You'll get a boyfriend sooner or later."

"Yeah," Lita agreed with a grin, "and if you don't, you'll just have to
go boy trolling with us one day."

Quartz blinked and then smiled at them.  "I'd like that," she said
softly.

"I can't believe you still trust me," Crystal whispered into Travis'
chest.  "I betrayed you!"

"I told you it wasn't your fault," Travis said, rubbing her back
soothingly.  "And you broke through that other brainwashing all by
yourself, just because you were afraid I was going to get hurt.  You
saved Reenie, even though it meant fighting your father.  I do trust
you, and I've trusted very few people in my life."

"I don't deserve it," she whispered.

"I think you do," he whispered back.  "And I think in this case, you
should trust my judgment of the matter."

She grinned slightly at that.  "I do trust your judgement," she told 
him softly, "but I still don't think we should keep our memories.  
It's too dangerous, and..." she broke off.

Quartz continued for her.  "I don't know if I really want to remember 
right now," she said quietly, obviously speaking for her sister as 
well.  "The things we've done, the things we've seen and the things we 
know...  I'd like to forget, if I can."  She ended up whispering. 

Crystal's look was scared as she raised her eyes to Travis'.  "I 
don't want to forget you," she said, "but..."

"I found it!" Luna finally yelled in relief breaking the tension.  
Diana rushed over to congratulate her mother as she took the newly 
discovered Earth Gem back to Darien.  Luna exchanged a look with 
Sailor Mercury as she unobtrusively put away her computer and 
retracted her visor.  Luna winked back.

"I understand," Travis whispered, kissing her gently.  "And if it's 
truly what you want, we'll do it that way."  Serena nodded to him to 
show she agreed.

"But if you happened to show up around the house, or we met 
somewhere..." Crystal hinted with a grin.  Travis grinned back.

"Guys," Serena finally said as Darien replaced the Earth Gem in its
setting, "I don't know about you, but I want to go home!"

"Yeah!" Everyone answered at once.

"Umm..." Quartz started.

"I don't want to do it here," Serena told her.  "Once we get out of 
the Negaverse, I'll use the Crystal, okay?"

Quartz and Crystal nodded, then watched in awe as Serena and Reenie 
duod and Travis transformed.

"You know, we don't know your names," Crescent Moon said after everyone
had transformed.  Crystal and Quartz had warned them that there might be
more youma around so they decided to be prepared.

Crystal and Quartz looked at her in surprise.  "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're not really named Crystal and Quartz are you?" she asked,
surprised.

"Not exactly," Quartz grinned.  "But close, at least on my part."

"I `am' Crystal," Crystal said with a smile.  "Crystal Ann Reynolds."

"And I," said Quartz, "Am Rose Marie Reynolds.  However, father thought
our names should be more alike, considering he couldn't tell us apart
for the longest time, and started calling me Rose Quartz.  Eventually,
it became just Quartz.  I never minded, it was different, even if people
do look at you funny when you introduce yourself as Quartz."

The others laughed lightly at that.  "So," Tuxedo Mask asked, stepping
in front of Sailor Moon as they left the cavern of the fight.  "Do you
think that they chose you to kidnap because they didn't want to have to
brainwash someone into thinking they had a different name?"

"Oh, that's a comforting thought," Crystal said sarcastically from her
spot behind Sailor Sol.

"Well," Sailor Mars said comfortingly.  "I'm glad they chose people with
such a good code of honor.  I don't think we could have won if it wasn't
for you."

"Thank our parents," Quartz said smiling muzzily.  "You know, it just
hit me, we're going to see them again for the first time in a year.
What are we going to tell them?  How are we going to explain it?  How
are we going to keep from hugging them to death?"

"Home," Crystal whispered.  Sailor Sol stepped back so he could put his
arm around her shoulders comfortingly.

"Well, I guess you'll be telling them the truth, you don't remember 
what happened during the last year," he said sadly.  "Which reminds 
me," he said to his sister.  "Considering the way we left, what are 
we going to tell 'our' parents?"

Sailor Moon stopped dead.  "Um..."

By now they had reached the portal chamber.  Crystal and Quartz moved
towards different panels and started to input information.

"Okay, I've got a self-destruct on this room set for five minutes,"
Quartz announced.

"And I've got the portal set for our entrance site," Crystal said.
"Let's go."

Without hesitation, the thirteen tired heroes stepped through the portal
and onto their own world once more.

"I wonder if we changed it back?" Crescent Moon asked worriedly once
they were on solid ground.

The twins looked at Crescent Moon.  "Changed what back?" Crystal asked.

"The future," she said.  "I came back in time to change the future back
to the way it's supposed to be.  Did we?"

"Small Lady," a voice said from behind them.  "What have I said about
telling the future?"

The Sailor Scouts gasped as they recognized the voice.  Whirling around,
they confronted another Sailor Scout, with long green hair and a large
key.

"Puu!" Crescent Moon yelled, running forward.  "Does that mean we did
it?"

"Yes, Small Lady, that's exactly what it means," Sailor Pluto answered,
hugging the child tightly.

Sailor Sol whooped and swung Crystal around in a circle before setting
her down and kissing her with all his might.  Sailor Moon and Tuxedo 
Mask were wrapped in an embrace of their own.  Sailor Venus was 
hugging Artemis so tight he was turning green from lack of oxygen, 
and the others were showing equal signs of celebration.