Sailor Pluto watched as Neo-Queen Serenity, Neo-King Endymion, the Sailor Scouts and their spouses were reunited with their children. She did not join them in their joyous greetings of each other, but watched the scene in a detached, emotionless manner. The scene took place in the large, ornate throne room of the Crystal Palace.
The Guardian of the Time Gate glanced briefly at the cathedral ceiling towering above her.
Sailor Pluto glanced at the scene directly bove her head. There is a scene depicting the happenings of a thousand years ago.
In this room, Sailor Pluto watched as the past, the present and the future blurred as parents and children were reunited. Neo-Princess Serenity walked up to her parents. She hugged her father fiercely, and laughed as her father proceeded to call her his Pointy Meatball Head. She turned to her mother, and laid her pink haired head down on her mother's left shoulder, as she had done many times before. The Queen was speechless and could only wipe away her tears with the back of her hand.
Skye, as she preferred to float in the air telekinetically instead of walking, floated ever so gracefully into Michiru's open arms. Haruka stood next to them and ruffled the little girl's green hair. Sailor Pluto smiled as Skye began to demand another training lesson and asked when the next battle would take place. Haruka laughed and Michiru glared at her. Haruka then took on a look of seriousness and ordered their child to bed.
Rei and Chad walked up to their son. Rei hugged his fiercely, which betrayed her emotional state and would not let Lyn go. Chad laughed and thumped his son on the back. Rhetta walked up to her mother. Amy and her daughter hugged and kissed briefly, then both
proceeded to scan each other, with identical wrist computers, for signs of ill health. Pluto shook her head. Those two will never change. Amy's husband interrupted the scans and hugged his daughter, who
proceeded to scan him in turn.
Mina ran up to Amber and tearfully took her daughter in her arms. Amber accepted this show of emotion briefly, but soon rolled her eyes heavenwards. She pushed her mother away, and exclaimed in a teenage way that her show of emotions was about to cause the short haired teenager to gag. Hotaru and Hannah met each other in the center
of the throne room. They stood silently for a few moment, their only movements being the tears streaming down their delicate faces. Hotaru cupped her child's face in her hands and kissed her daughter gently on
the forehead. Sailor Pluto shook her head in disapproval.
Sailor Pluto watched the group as they made their way, out of the throne room, to their private quarters.
As the King, Queen, and Princess slowly exited the room, Neo-Queen Serenity stopped to address Sailor Pluto from across the room. She gave the Guardian of Time a gentle smile, and asked, "Would you like to join us, Setsuna, we are going to have a mini-feast before going to bed. We're all very hungry after the day's events." She gave her friend a brilliant smile. Setsuna shook her head.
"I cannot, My Queen I am afraid I have tired and must now retire." Neo-Queen Serenity nodded in understanding, and watched as the ageless Scout reversed her transformation and exited through the door behind the thrones.
Endymion shook his head. "Be patient, Meatball Head. She will, in her own time." The trio made their way to their quarters.
Setsuna could not sleep. She tossed and turned in her bed in futile attempts to find a comfortable position. Finally, she relaxed enough to promote comfort and fell into a restless sleep. During sleep, Setsuna dreamed, a familiar dream, one she had had for over two thousand years.....
She stood alone, in the center of a clearing in a forest. It was nighttime, and she could hear the sounds of the animals and insects as they roamed at night. Setsuna could hear a voice, a deep masculine voice calling out her name... over and over again. "Setsuna....Setsuna..." the voice cried out breathlessly. She felt strong hands sensuously caress her shoulders, then felt the same strong hands grasp her, from behind, by the waist. Warm lips kissed her shoulders, slowly, and moving up her neck. The lips stopped, just behind her ear and Setsuna felt warm, moist air tickle behind her ears as a deep voice began to whisper.
"Remember, Setsuna, remember...." Setsuna awoke suddenly, tears streaming down her face. She was breathless and could almost feel the warmth of those delicate kissed on her neck. She rolled onto her stomach, and buried her tearful face in her pillow.
Michiru crawled into bed, snuggled up next to her partner and sighed, "When will that child learn to go to sleep?" she whispered to Haruka.
"I don't know. All she wants to do is fight," Haruka responded with amusement. Michiru eyed the blond woman next to her through the darkness.
"I wonder where she gets that from, hummm?" Haruka tried not to laugh, so that she would not wake their child up.
"It feels like.." said the blond woman, "that we haven't had a good night's sleep since she was born." The green haired woman next to her yawned in agreement....
She remembered that day well. They had all been gathered in the meeting room for their morning briefing. Neo-King Endymion, Neo-Queen Serenity and all of the Sailor Scouts were there to share information and plan the day's activities. All of their children played noisily in the background, but no one minded. Haruka did not notice the children
very much, but Michiru did, and watched them closely. she thought,
Haruka looked to Michiru suddenly and nodded in understanding.
Neo-Queen Serenity glanced from Michiru to Haruka, then to all of the children playing around the large, square, meeting table. She saw Reenie, now twelve, as she chased Lyn around the room. I wish I could grant them their fondest wish. Suddenly, the Silver Imperium Crystal began to glow brightly. The Queen stood up and held out her hands, expecting the crystal to float between them. The light became brighter, blinding them all. Her hands fell to the table, as a weight settle in her hands. When the light disappeared, everyone in the room gasped. Cradled in her hands was a tiny baby. She had little green curls on her head and immediately began to scream lustily.
Neo-Queen Serenity stood up and cradled the baby in her arms. While barely able to see through her tears, she walked over to Haruka, who sat with a comforting arm around Michiru. She looked to the two, looked down for a moment and then handed the child to Michiru.
"Here she is, Michiru, your fondest wish come true." Michiru held the baby close to herself. She looked to Haruka, and saw her smiling through her own tears. Haruka leaned over and kissed the baby on her head.
"We'll call her Skye," Whispered Michiru emotionally, "for the color of her eyes." The rest of the Scouts, Endymion and the children all gathered around to welcome the newest member of their family.
Michiru smiled to herself as she remembered that happy day. She rolled over and flung a tired arm over Haruka's waist. But before they could fall asleep, the sound of a door closing woke them up. The two women jumped out of bed and quickly put on their robes. Haruka sighed.
"Like usual, we'll split up and meet back here in a half an hour," she stated dryly.
"Okay, but I have a good idea where she's going," replied her partner.
Amber rolled over on her side to avoid the laser burn on the other side.
"Skye, what are you doing here?" The little girl crawled up the bed to sit next to Amber.
"Come on Amber, let's go practice." Amber shook her head in response. I really need to know where she gets her energy levels.
"Sorry sweetie, it's night time. It's time to go to bed and sleep." The little girl's face contorted into an unhappy pout.
"But I'm not sleepy," she whined.
"But I am," replied Amber. She rose, but on a blue robe over her red and green pajamas.
"Come on Skye, time for you to go back to bed. I promise, we'll practice in the morning after the meeting." Your parents are probably searching all of the Crystal Palace for you, you little stinker. She took the little girl by the hand, and led her little floating friend down the corridors of the Palace. She quietly opened the door to the quarters of Michiru and Haruka. Upon entering, the two were faced with two very unhappy, tired looking women.
"Skye, how many times have I told you to stay in your bed at night?" asked Haruka.
"Plus, you can't keep waking Amber up every night, she'll never get any sleep," reminded Michiru.
"I know..." began their little girl. "But I'm not sleepy and want to practice."
Michiru looked over to her blond partner and mouthed, "She is definitely you child." She picked up the child out of midair and placed her on her hip.
"Time for bed young lady, for the night." And brought her into her bedroom.
Haruka shook her head in exasperation and Amber tried not to laugh.
"Thanks Amber, once again we owe you one." Amber only smiled.
"Don't worry, I'm used to her midnight visits." She left Haruka and Michiru so that they could attempt to put the child to bed.
Her scream was muffled by her fluffy pillow. Still shaking in fear, Rhetta threw a blue robe over her short, white nightshirt and quietly left the quarters she shared with her parents. She ran to Lyn's quarters and insistently knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal a groggy Lyn, wearing only pajama bottoms.
"What's the matter, Rhetta?" he asked in concern. She grabbed her tall boyfriend by the arm and dragged him into the hall.
"I must speak with you." She pulled him down the corridors, to the exit that led to the gardens. "But not here, too many people could hear us." Lyn silently followed his girlfriend, and wondered what had gone so incredibly wrong.
Hotaru and her daughter sat on their comfortable pink couch, each reading a book. Hannah suddenly looked up from her reading.
"Something is amiss, child?" asked Hotaru. Hannah nodded slowly, her eyes narrowing in her effort to ascertain the situation.
"Something is definitely amiss. There will be a robot on the way soon." She turned her head sideways, as if to better see the situation in her mind. "But more importantly, there is trouble with the Princess." Hotaru nodded in agreement.
"This has been a long time in coming, Hannah, guard your Princess well." Hannah got up from the couch and headed for the door to their quarters.
"I will ensure that no harm will come to the Princess. Do not worry about the robot, I will take care of it."
Amber made her way quietly through the halls of the Palace, trying hard not to let the sounds of her footsteps echo off of the high, cathedral ceilings. She made her way quietly through the dark, with
only her outstretched fingers following along the wall for guidance.
A sound interrupted her thoughts. She looked down the hall to see two figures approaching the balcony doors at the end of the hall. Now who in the name of anything would be up at this time of night, except for me of course. She hurried up the hall to investigate.
Eden dreamed... In her dream, Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon and the Jewel Wielders were in a clearing, surrounded by dense forest. They battled a strong robot, larger and more powerful than anything they had fought before. One by one, each person attacked. Amber used a strong spiral, but it was easily repulsed and she was thrown many feet away and collided with the thick trunk of an old tree. Lyn sent a series of sharp rectangles towards the robot, but they were reflected back at him. The explosion threw him backwards and he lay unconscious and unmoving. Eden ran towards the robot and sent three strong blasts of purple energy towards the robot's head. The energy blasts had no effect and the robot targeted a large metallic hand towards her. The hand swatted at her and sent her body flying. She landed in the brush, far away from the clearing and could only barely look up to see the battle. Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon raised her scepter and yelled, "Crystal Tokyo Princess Attack!" Large amounts of fuchsia colored energy gathered atop her scepter and she leveled it at the robot. But before she could launch it, the energy disappeared in a brilliant flash, leaving Sailor Moon defenseless. She raised her scepter again, but her transformation reversed itself. The robot blasted her with laser fire. Hannah ran to shield her and Rhetta sent a large sphere of ruby energy towards the robot. Eden's eyes opened in fear and she screamed, "NO, SAILOR MOON!!!!"
Eden sat up in her bed, crying. She wiped the tears from her face, a took a sip of water from the glass on the night table next to her bed. She walked into the living room of the quarters she shared
with her family, careful not to wake anyone. She sat on the couch and ran a hand through her now fuzzy purple curls.
"Hannah.." whispered Amber urgently, "What the heck is going on?" Hannah did not look away from the Princess who was headed towards the balcony.
"Neo-Princess Serenity is sleepwalking," Hannah answered in a casual tone, as if this situation was a frequent occurrence.
"Why don't you just wake her up?" asked the short haired teenager with great frustration.
"I have tried.." sighed Hannah.. "But she is not ready to wake up." Amber heard a door close behind her. She turned quickly to see Eden, looking tired and disheveled, clad only in a night shirt.
"I heard voices," said Eden. "What is happening?"
"Reenie is sleepwalking and Hannah can't wake her up," answered Amber.
"Then what do we do?" asked the purple haired teenager.
"I guess we make sure she doesn't take a tumble off the balcony." Hannah approached the Princess and put a handon her shoulder.
"Princess Serenity, it is time to wake." Neo-Princess Serenity did not look at her dark haired friend and stared at the Moonlight that shined through the patio doors at the end of the long corridor.
"I must go now," she whispered so quietly Hannah had to strain to hear her. "It is my destiny that I must meet now." Hannah put a hand on Serenity's shoulders.
"The time to meet your destiny is not quite at hand. You must be patient."
"What is she talking about?" asked Amber.
"You will all know in time," replied Hannah.
Suddenly Neo-Princess Serenity stopped walking. A look of confusion came upon her face as she looked down at herself, then around to study her surroundings. She turned to see Hannah, Amber and Eden gathered behind her. Hannah looked calm, but Amber and Eden looked frightened and just as confused. The corridor was dark, except for the pale light of the Moon. Serenity looked at her friends and asked, "What am I doing here?"
"You were sleepwalking and we were trying to wake you up," Answered Amber.
"What do you remember?" asked Hannah. The Princess thought about it for a few moments.
"I remember having a huge meal with my mom and dad, then going to bed because I was so exhausted. I think I dreamed, but I don't remember the dream. Then I woke up and I was here, in my pajamas, with the three of you in the main hall of the Palace." Hannah wrapped her arms around the shoulders of the tall pinked haired teenager and hugged her.
"Everything will be well, I promise." Suddenly they heard the explosion of laser blasts hitting the Palace. The four girls flung open the door to the balcony and looked down to see a large robot.
"No rest for the weary," stated Amber in her displeasure.
"Let's take care of this so we can get some sleep," said the Princess.
Rhetta pulled Lyn into a small clearing in the gardens where they always liked to sit and enjoy the view. By the night's full moon, it would have been a perfect night to do so, but Rhetta had no regard
for the Moonlight's beauty surrounding them both. Lyn was confused and frightened.
Rhetta took both of his hands in hers, suddenly and looked into his eyes. Her eyes reflected the paranoid fear that had overtaken her.
"How much do you love me, Lyn?" Lyn's eyes widened in surprise and irritation.
"Rhett, you know I love you, what kind of a question is that in the middle of the night?" She held onto his hands, and maintained her intense gaze.
"Do you love me enough to marry me?
"Of course, you know I will," he replied.
"Great we than we will be married in the morning." Lyn almost fell over from shock when he heard her words.
"What??? I didn't say now." He cupped her small face in his hands. "Rhetta you know I'll marry you, but not now." Tears welled up in her eyes. Her disappointment was clear. He didn't understand it, but it broke his heart anyway. "You're barely fifteen years old. You're too young, never mind, I'm too young. We've got all the time in the world," he explained gently, careful not to hurt her more. Rhetta shook her head in disagreement and the tears fell down her cheeks.
Suddenly angry, she pushed him violently away from her.
"No, I don't have all the time in the world. I don't have much time left. Do you not understand that if we do not marry now, we may never marry?!" She began to pace back and forth on a small patch of smooth stone. "Something will happen to me?"
"Rhett, what's going to happen to you? You can tell me, you know that?"
"I do not know what will happen or when." She shook her head vehemently. "But it will happen soon. And I do not wish to have any regrets or waste any time." Lyn grabbed her to him and hugged her fiercely.
"Rhetta, I won't let anything happen to you, and neither will anyone else. You're safe with me nothing will happen." Rhetta closed her eyes.
They broke from their embrace when Rhetta's wrist computer beeped insistently.
"There is a robot is close proximity to the Palace," she reported.
"Let's go," replied Lyn.
Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon, Amber, Eden, and Hannah stared at the robot in the courtyard. They stood still in amazement.
"Exactly what is that?" asked Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon.
"I think it is an octopus," replied Eden. Amber shook her head.
"Whatever it is, Yargus is getting awfully creative. The maniac has too much free time on his hands." Eden was correct in her assumption. The robot was indeed the mechanical representation of an octopus. It propelled itself using four or five of its tentacles, while the others aimed directly at its enemies. Where its eyes should have been, two deadly looking lasers were perched, ready to fire.
"I think we can dispense with the customary introductions," stated Hannah. Before they could agree, the tentacles fired bright yellow laser shots at them. They jumped out of the path of the blasts. Rhetta and Lyn ran up and attacked the robot from behind. Small red spheres of ruby energy and larger green squares of energy sheered two of the metal octopus' tentacles. Two smaller, but deadly looking tentacles emerged soon after. Amber shook her head. This is gonna take a while. So much for my idea of actually sleeping tonight.
"Cover me!" yelled Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon. She raised her scepter in the air. "Starlight, Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" Meanwhile, her protectors flung various blasts of multicolored energy at the robot. Tentacles instantaneously duplicated themselves upon explosion.
Sailor Moon aimed her scepter at the octopus and released her attacked. Four of the octopus' tentacles were sheared off and bursts of fire escaped from the damaged areas. Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon fell to
her knees.
Suddenly, they noticed a figure in the shadows, cradling Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon in his arms. A black cape covered her, as to protect her from the blasts. He stood up, revealing his appearance. He wore a black tuxedo, complete with a top hat and bow tie. His face was disguised by a white mask. They all stared in shock. Sailor Moon saw her friends freeze and looked up at the person who saved her, and half expected to see a familiar face. The person was not familiar. He gently put her back onto her feet and she looked up into the most beautiful brown eyes she had ever seen. She could not see his hair, except from the wisps that escaped from his top hat.
"Tuxedo Mask?" she asked, even though she knew the answer.
"Yes Sailor Moon, I saved you. I will always protect you."
Hannah tired of this scenario quickly.
"Then you may wish to do so again." Before anyone could reply, she aimed her staff at the immobile robot and fired a blast of angry energy at the robot. A great burst of heat ensued, but there was no explosion. Only dust remained where the robot stood. They all stared at what was left of the robot. Amber, Eden, Rhetta, and Lyn looked at a visibly annoyed Hannah then to a stunned Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon who continued to stare at the pile of dust. She turned to talk to the young man who had saved her, but he had disappeared.
"He certainly made a quick exit," commented Amber.
"We could not even ask his name," said Eden.
"I did not have the time to scan him," commented Rhetta, as if in a daze.
"It doesn't matter," sighed Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon, who yawned in exhaustion suddenly. "He'll be back again." She smiled mischievously. Rhetta began to look agitated. Amber looked to her best friend.
"Rhetta, you okay?" Rhetta shook her head.
"No, I am not." She turned from the group without explanation and walked away. They looked to Lyn, who glared angrily in the direction his girlfriend went.
"What is happening to upset Rhetta so?" asked Eden.
"I have no clue," replied the tall man. "She won't tell me. I don't know what to do with her. I'm going to bed. Maybe she'll calm down in the morning." He turned from his friends and made his way back to the Palace.
The group was silent after that. Sailor Moon's eyes suddenly rolled back in their sockets and she slumped to the ground. Hannah cradled her Princess' head in her lap and they all watched her transformation reverse itself.
"What is wrong with her tonight?" asked Eden. "Her attack should have destroyed the monster.
"I know," agreed Amber. "That thing should've been toast."
"I think her use of the Crystal Tokyo Princess attack has tired her powers," answered Hannah.
"Let's get you back to bed," said Amber.
"What are thinking?" asked Eden.
"I'm thinking that I can't wait to meet Tuxedo Mask again."
"Why?" asked Amber.
"He is sooo good looking."
"Uhh," exclaimed Amber, as she pretended to gag. "Not you too?"
"That is enough!" Hannah exclaimed suddenly. "She needs to rest." They helped the weak Princess to her feet and began to lead her to her quarters. "We will talk after the meeting tomorrow."
Setsuna looked down from her balcony into the courtyard. She watched as Hannah, Amber, and Eden led Neo-Princess Serenity back to her quarters. She sighed in dismay.
Rhetta sat on her bed and stared into space. A portable scanner lay on her bed, its lights partially illuminated the dark bedroom with an
eerie blue glow. She looked to it absentmindedly, and picked it up again. Numerous calculations comparing the statistics of the last three robots the group had encountered covered the square screen. As if in
disgust of the information it presented, she threw the scanner to the ground. Its landing created little noise, as the floor was covered with a thick, plush carpet.
The dream returned.....
She was trapped, that she knew. The darkness of the room was dreadful, as if threatening to suffocate her. Movement was impossible, as was speech. She tried to scream, but no sound escaped her mouth. Tears of frustration ran down her face. She could not call for help. She had been bound to a cold wall; she could not escape. Her wrist computer had been removed, she could not have sent a plea for help even if her arms had been free. They will save me. They will come for me. That I am certain of. But do they know where I am? Do they understand the peril that surrounds me. She heard footsteps coming down the corridor. In the darkness, nothing could be seen. Cold air rushed into the small room that had become her prison as the metallic door opened. She could not see the figure, but she was certain of its presence. Each of its footsteps could be heard in the small room. She felt its breath on her face as it came close to her. A cold hand caressed her face, feigning affection.
"Do not fret," the dark voice said aloud, with great pleasure. "Your agony will soon be over."
Rhetta gave a shrill scream of terror. The noise echoed endlessly through the small, cold room as the voice laughed in delight....
"Rhetta.." she heard a voice call. "Rhetta, it's time to wake up." She opened her eyes to see her mother sitting on the edge of her bed.
"I know you haven't had much sleep, but the meeting will be starting soon and you shouldn't be late," said Amy, looking down at her daughter.
Amy smiled and tried to caress her daughter's cheek as she had done so many times when she was a child. The teenager flinched from her touch and jumped quickly out of her bed.
"Are you all right, Rhetta?" asked Amy, shocked at her daughter's reaction. Rhetta nervously ran a trembling hand through her messy hair, and tried to smile.
"I am fine. I simply had quite a nightmare."
"Okay," Amy replied, uncertain of how to react. "I'll leave you to get dressed now." She watched her mother close the door to her bedroom. She rubbed her hand along her right cheek, the cheek it caressed in her dream.
Setsuna tossed and turned as her mind tried to avoid the dream. Her mind failed.....
Sailor Pluto was in the time portal, and stood before the door of time. A figure walked up to her. She turned to try and avoid the tall man before her but could not. He pulled her to him and hugged her fiercely. Warm lips found hers and they kissed passionately for a time. Pluto pulled away from him and looked up into his dark eyes as tears streaked her face. She lifter her staff, the Key of Time, and activated a time portal. More tears rolled down her cheeks as she watched the man enter the portal. She watched him for a time and then used the Key of Time to close the door. As the Door of Time closed, she heard the man's deep voice.
"I wish there could be another way, my love, but there isn't."
"I know," she whispered in response.
"We are but small figures in the grand scheme of this universe. For its continuance, we must sacrifice everything." The Door of Time closed and she could no longer hear him. Sailor Pluto turned from the Door. I understand my duty. It is ultimately to guard the Door of Time. Your duty is harsh and complicated in comparison.
"Be well, my love," she whispered and allowed the tears to fall once again.
Setsuna opened her eyes and sighed. She sat up in her bed, and pulled the hair out of her eyes.
Amber yawned as she walked out of her bedroom. She found her mother and her little brother sitting as the breakfast table. She greeted the little boy as he sat and loudly ate a bowl of mushy cereal.
"Yuck! How can you eat that every morning?" she exclaimed in disgust. He spooned up a lump of milky mush and aimed it her way.
"Bite?" he asked. The horrified face he received from his big sister in response was great. He laughed in delight and proceeded to shovel the spoonful into him mouth.
Mina looked up from the book she was reading and said, "Really Amber, must you? He likes his cereal. I'm not asking you to eat it. So leave him be."
"Good," replied her daughter. "I'd have to be sick to my stomach."
"Besides," continued Mina, as if she didn't hear her daughter, "He's leaving in a minute. Sophie's coming to pick him up any minute." Sophie was a woman that Amber liked a great deal. She worked in the daycare, where Amber frequently visited to help with lessons and to frequently occupy a restless Skye.
There was soon a knock at the door and the little boy ran and flung the door open. He jumped into the arms of the waiting woman and said, "Bye Mommy".
He waived in Amber's direction. "Bye-bye, scary."
Amber didn't look up from the toast she was buttering and waved over her shoulder. "See-ya later, cretin."
Mina waived good-bye to her son and shot Amber an annoyed glance. "Cretin? What's that all about?" Amber rolled her eyes.
"Remember last week. I told the little ones a scary story?"
"Yes," Interrupted Mina, "Skye kept crawling into bed with you complaining of nightmares if I remember correctly."
"Anyway, the kid has called me Scary since then, so I decided to call him Cretin until he stops."
"I swear you're as bad as he is," said Mina, suddenly remembering the way Serena and Reenie carried on in Old Tokyo. She smiled, despite herself.
Amber ate her toast in silence and soon became lost in her thoughts. She did not even notice her mother talking to her. "Amber, hey space cadet, are you listening to me?" called Mina. Amber looked up to see her mom waiving her hands in the air to grab her attention in a very animated way. She hesitated for a moment and decided to ask her mom the dreaded question.
"Mom, did you really get engaged to Jadeite?"
Mina looked at her daughter, not surprised at her question. "Well," she said, "that was two thousand years ago...."
"Come on Mom, don't beat around the bush. Were you or not?"
Mina sighed. "I was, but Amber that was two thousand years ago and a different lifetime."
"Did you actually love him?" Amber's face contorted into a scowl.
Mina rolled her eyes. "What kind of a question is that? Of course I did; he was actually a nice guy then."
Amber was silent for a moment. "When you were purified by the Silver Crystal and got back your memories, did you feel sad for Jadeite or angry because he worked for the Dark Forces?"
Mina shook her head. "No, I didn't. It's hard to explain. To me Jadeite the Guard of Endymion and Jadeite the General of the Dark Forces are two different people. It's like Serena and Neo-Queen Serenity, they're the same person, but so different."
Amber could relate to that. "Serena looked and sounded like the Queen, but you didn't bow to her. She was a little clumsy and so funny. She talked like she was sooo..." she couldn't find the words.
But her mother could predict them. "Like she was young. It's true. She was only twenty or so when you met her. Just remember, a thousand years tends to change people."
Amber became silent at that.
Mina studied her daughter's face, seeing the conflict. "Amber, what are you thinking?"
Amber shook her head. "You were different in the Moon Kingdom. You looked the same and even sounded almost the same. But...." Mina looked at her daughter expectantly. "You were so happy then."
Mina was surprised. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I haven't seen you that happy since Dad was alive."
"Amber, I'm happy now. I know it took me a while to grieve, but that's not unusual. Your father was a wonderful, kind, and gentle man. He was such an important part of my life. But I am happy now, I want you to know that. I have so much to make me happy. I have you and your brother, you both make me so proud. I have a wonderful career as an artist and I'm a Sailor Scout. It would be perfect if your dad was alive, but he's not."
Amber agreed, "It would be perfect." Mina walked up to her daughter and hugged her. This time, Amber accepted her mother's show of affection gladly.
"Amber I love you and I'm proud of you and you do make me happy. Don't forget that okay?" whispered Mina.
"I won't," replied her daughter.
Lyn walked into his parent's quarters and sat at the breakfast table. He hadn't eaten with them in a long time and for that reason hadn't refused when he was asked. That he regretted now. he thought,
Chad sat down at the breakfast table, already dressed for the day. He noticed his son's unshaven face and angry disposition.
Lyn noticed his father's insistent gaze and finally looked up.
Chad nodded, in a thousand years he had lost his clumsy, goofy mannerisms and speech, "I remembered that battle this morning. You know the one where you all battle that huge robot?" Lyn nodded, and tried hard to be patient. "I saw the whole battle, from behind a tree. You were magnificent, all of you. But I mostly watched your mother and you. You fight the same way, you know, both with bravery, with determination and with such a fierceness...I'll never forget that battle. I was so proud." He shook his head and chuckled. "I know that was a thousand years ago, and I didn't even know you then, but I was impressed then and I'm proud now." He got up to find himself a cup of coffee and continued from the kitchen, "Plus, it's not just anyone who can survive taking your mom shopping..."
A sharp voice interrupted from the bedroom, "I heard that Chad." Chad nodded in the direction of his wife and smiled. Despite his awful mood Lyn smiled.
Eden walked out of her bedroom and was confronted by her parents chasing a naked two year old out of the room. Her little sister, squealed in delight as she successfully avoided her parents. But she did not notice her sister who leaned down and caught the little naked girl in her arms. "Where do you think you are going, Leah?" The little girl shook her auburn hair, her curls flying widely around her head. She pointed a chubby finger towards Eden's feet and said, "I down." Eden laughed and handed the kid to her father.
Kevin thanked his eldest daughter, "I'll get this little imp dressed," he said, heading towards the bedroom. Lita agreed and returned to the kitchen to finish breakfast.
Eden walked into the kitchen and began to dig in the crowded fridge for a glass of milk. Lita, cooking omelets as only she could, looked at her daughter. "You look like hell," she commented, "Long night?"
Eden nodded. "Serenity was sleepwalking last night. I went to help wake her up. Then, this robot appeared, shaped like an octopus." Lita raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Hannah destroyed it, but not before this Tuxedo Mask appeared to save her."
Lita was shocked, he hadn't become Tuxedo Mask since he had married Serenity. Eden saw her mother's surprise and shook her head.
"No mother, it was not Endymion. He was a teenage boy with green hair. I have never seen him before."
Lita placed her beautiful omelet on a plate. "So, a new Tuxedo Mask had appeared." She smiled and remembered how they had once felt about Tuxedo Mask. "He said that he would always be there to protect Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon. The Princess cannot wait to meet her again. She thinks he is handsome and Amber decided that the whole situation was enough to make her sick."
Lita nodded, amused.
"Rhetta was very distraught last night and stormed off, and Lyn did not go after her."
"I wouldn't worry about that," answered her mother, "Maybe they had an argument. Lyn is hot headed like his mother and Rhetta is so analytical. They've been together for about a year now, they're bound to fight." Eden hoped her mother was right.
Lita handed her daughter her breakfast. "Sounds like you had quite the night. Get used to it, things can get hectic protecting princesses." Eden smiled in agreement. She took her plate of food and her milk and sat at the kitchen table. Lita studied her daughter and watched as her daughter's usually calm face began to show signs of fear and stress. "So," began her mother, "are you going to tell me what's really bothering you?"
Eden looked up at her mother and sighed. "I cannot hide anything from you, can I?"
Her mother shook her head. "No you can't. Why would you? I'm here to help you."
Eden thought back to her dream she had had the night before. "I had a terrible nightmare, one where Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon's transformation failed. She was about to be killed and there was nothing we could do but watch as it happened. We were all helpless, then the Princess screamed, in a shilling, haunting manner," she shuddered as she remembered.
Lita understood. She took her daughter's hand and squeezed in gently. "Eden, I used to have dreams like that all the time. I have had so many dreams where the Scouts couldn't get to Sailor Moon in time and we had to watch her die agonizing deaths. I've had dreams where Tuxedo Mask has blamed me and tried to kill me, and I've had dreams where everyone died except for me, and it was solely my fault." She stopped, and remembered the nights she woke up screaming and in tears. "But Eden, they were just dreams; dreams that mirrored my worries and fears."
"So you do not believe that dreams are real then?" asked her daughter.
"Rei believes that dreams can remind us of the past or foretell the future. But I don't. That's just never happened to me."
Eden nodded in agreement. "I hope you are right," she said.
Neo-Queen Serenity watched her daughter as she stared out the window at the morning sun.
Reenie came out of her daze and looked at her mother. "Space cadet, me?" They both laughed. "I'm sorry, Mother, I was thinking about something that happened last night."
Her father walked into the living room. "So is that before or after you were sleepwalking?"
Neo-Princess Serenity blushed. "Oh after." She sat down on the couch with her mother and tried not to smile again.
"So, Small Lady, what's on your mind?" asked her father.
"A guy I met last night," she said and sighed at the memory. Endymion's eyes became wide with shock and he looked at his wife in horror. She smiled at them both.
Neo-Queen Serenity was baffled.
She watched as her daughter continued, "We were fighting that robot, the one that was octopus shaped, I told you that right?" They both nodded, engrossed in her story already. "It was about to blast me, when I was rescued."
The Queen's eyebrows raised in surprise. She looked at her husband accusingly, she thought. Serenity caught her mother's accusatory look and laughed.
"No, Mother, Dad wasn't out last night. It was Tuxedo Mask though."
"How could that be?" wondered Neo-King Endymion.
"I don't know," replied his daughter, "but he had green hair and looked totally cool in his outfit. He said he'd always protect me." She smiled dreamily again and her parents could almost see hearts shining from her eyes. She suddenly jumped up and headed for her bedroom. "Anyway, I have to get dressed for the meeting."
Neo-King Endymion looked at his wife helplessly. "He'll always protect her? What is THAT supposed to mean?" He began to pace the floor in front of the couch.
The Queen looked up at her husband and laughed.
He looked down at her, horrified. "NO, I'm not forgetting. Actually I remember all too well. If he so much as touches her..." began the King. Serenity laughed, fully amused. He noticed her laughter and calmed down. "Another Tuxedo Mask?" he asked. "How can that be?"
"Well, I'm no longer Sailor Moon nor are you Tuxedo Mask. I guess it's only natural that a new Tuxedo Mask appears."
"I guess you're right, Meatball Head, but how do we find out who he is?"
Hotaru and her daughter sat on their couch, each were eating fruit salad. There was a knock at the door. Hannah put her bowl on the coffee table and went to greet their visitor. She opened the door and Setsuna entered. "Hello Aunt Setsuna, how are you today?"
"I am well, she answered, and smiled in affection. "But I have come to ask the same of you." Hannah returned to the couch and Setsuna seated herself in a comfortable cream colored armchair across from them.
Hannah's good humor faded into a determined seriousness. "I am well, but I fear Neo-Princess Serenity is not. She dreams of her destiny now, I know this because I experienced the same dream last night. But her dreams are unclear and confusing. She knows that something must be done, but does not understand what actions should be taken."
"There is little time left," began Hotaru, "Serenity's abilities as Sailor Moon have begun to fail her. Hannah told me that last night Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon's Crystal Tokyo Princess Attack failed her."
Setsuna nodded, understanding all too well the dilemma. "Small Lady has not been properly trained to interpret her dreams. It will take some time for her to understand them. But we cannot interfere, she must face her destiny on her own. Hannah, I would like you to be with her, support her but do not instruct her. When the time comes, she will fully understand what must be done."
"Oh, Aunt Setsuna, I must tell you of another development. A new Tuxedo Mask has appeared. He is young and has pledged to her his protection."
She shook her head in irritation.
Setsuna shook her head. "No I do not." she lied. she thought,
"We have to get ready for the meeting," Hotaru reminded them. Setsuna left their quarters and Hannah went to her room to change.
Setsuna walked into the gardens. There she found Lyn, sitting on a bench. He looked worried. She stood in front of him and he looked up to her. "I have come to warn you, Lyn. While I cannot tell you what will happen, or change the course or events, I can give you some advice."
Lyn nodded gratefully. "I need it, I don't know what to do."
"You must remember, Lyn, that Rhetta is not prone to acting impulsively or to taking risks."
"I know that, Setsuna. She is analytical and logical and doesn't do anything without first thinking it through. But this is so unlike her. I have never seen her that scared or desperate."
Setsuna nodded in understanding. "What she wants may be strange, but I want you to understand her fear and try to help her as much as you can."
He nodded and stood up to go find her. "Thank-you, Setsuna."
She nodded in response and waited for him to be out of sight. When he was finally gone, she sighed.
Rhetta sat on the smooth marble bench in the center of the gardens. Until her brief visit to the Silver Millennium, she had never fully appreciated Neo-Queen Serenity's gardens. She had slipped out of her quarters this morning to avoid further contact with her family. Until she had seated herself on the bench, quarters she had never fully realized the significance of the this place. Rhetta sat and enjoyed a brief moment of pleasure. She cool feel the dew between her toes, as she had taken off her shoes and the coolness from the bench relaxed her. The gardens of Crystal Tokyo were an exact replica of the gardens of the Moon Kingdom. Rhetta smiled to herself as she remembered her mother's words, long ago when she was a child....
That day, her mother had given her a little minicomputer that was small enough to fit in her little hands. They had sat on the marble bench in the corner of the gardens. Ami had put her arms around her daughter and had shown her how to manipulate the computer. They analyzed the gardens, and Rhetta discovered a world she had never dreamed possible. There, on that tiny screen was so much information, more than she could possibly understand at once.
"Mommy," she had said in amazement, "it's like magic." Her mother had shaken her blue haired head and chuckled in amusement.
"No, it's not magic, Rhetta, it's nature." She took her daughter's hand and led her over to a cluster of colorful flowers. "See these flowers. Neo-Queen Serenity picked out each plant and flower that was to be planted in her gardens. She came out here and planted them with her own hands and she watered them every day. To her, the gardens represent Crystal Tokyo and she was determined to work hard and take good care of everything."
She had seated her daughter on the bench again and had begun to show her how to analyze the flowers.
"With this computer, you can scan everything around you. You can study everything, from the ground to the sky. Then you can learn why the flowers grow and what you need to do to take care of them."
Rhetta had smiled in delight.
"Then Mommy, I can learn lots of things and I can be a doctor just like you."
"Yes, you can do that," replied her mother. "But that's not for a long time. Right now, you can just be my little girl." She nodded in agreement and picked up her new minicomputer. "But can we go see how the flowers grow now?" They had ventured into the gardens together to begin their explorations...
Pluto watched from the rose bushes that hid her a few feet away. Lyn approached Rhetta who was seated on a marble bench in the middle of the gardens. He sat down next to her and she leaned her head down on his chest and began to sob. Lyn hugged his girlfriend tightly, and tried hard not to let his emotions be unleashed. She quieted down after a few moment and looked up at him with red, tear-filled eyes. He wiped the tears away from her face carefully with one hand, and moved away the stray strands of hair that were clinging to her face.
The tenderness in his movement made Pluto angry. "Rhetta, I just want you to know that I love you and even if I don't understand what's going on I'll be there with you, always." The two kissed for a long moment then made their way out of the gardens. Pluto watched them leave and wiped away a single tear that trickled down her cheeks. she wished them silently. Neo-Queen Serenity was ready to leave for the meeting. She went out on her balcony overlooking her gardens to relax for a moment. The balcony was high enough that she could see the entire splendor of the
gardens. She looked down casually and something caught her eye. She saw Sailor Pluto standing behind some roses watching as Lyn and Rhetta left the meeting hand in hand. She saw Pluto wipe her hand over her face and her eyes widened in surprise. Neo-Queen Serenity sighed in dismay. Up until this moment the meeting had been relatively uneventful, but productive. They had reviewed in detail the events that had taken place when the Jewel Wielders had been plummeted throughout the past. They had even reviewed
the events of the evening before. All had proceeded in a orderly, organized fashion. They had agreed that Yargus was now on the offensive. They had agreed that the Jewel Wielders' ability to control their respective jewel's had improved dramatically. Skye had burst into the meeting and demanded not to be excluded. No one had argued. In fact, no one had disagreed about anything that had been said about
anyone...Until now. Neo-Queen Serenity watched as Super Sailor Pluto slowly, purposefully stood up. She placed both her hands on the table and leaned forward to add meaning to the words they had all hoped to avoid. "Now," she said with determination, "your attempts at avoiding this discussion are over." She watched as the younger members of the meeting began to squirm and the elder members tried not to groan. "We are going to discuss what COULD have taken place is the balance of time had been disrupted." Neo-Queen Serenity and Neo-King Endymion stole a glance at each other. Neither said a word. They had learned a thousand years ago that when Pluto lectured, it was quicker not to argue. Their daughter sat in
her chair and paled a bit. Super Sailor Saturn smiled to herself. The Sailor Scouts prepared themselves for the coming verbal onslaught. Super Sailor Mercury tried to look interested, but did not succeed. Venus tried not to twirl a long piece of straight blond hair around her finger. That was a well known sign that
she was bored. Jupiter's face remained blank. Amber ran a hand slowly through her hair and began to wind a strand around her index finger. She stifled a yawn with the other hand and fidgeted in her seat. Lyn began to tap his fingers angrily against the table top. Eden worried that perhaps the Jewel Wielders had revealed too much in the past. Skye floated over to her parents and landed easily in her mother's lap. Pluto, satisfied that in the moments of her brief pause that she had tortured her unwilling audience enough began. "Considering the tension of the last few days, I will be brief." "While some of your interactions in the past were critical, you all did well." Jaws dropped in shock and both Mercury and Rhetta began to scan Pluto for signs of illness. "Very little of the timeline was
changed, but that was due to the unforeseen actions of Yargus and his newfound ability to change the timestream himself." Her audience recovered and nodded. "Up until now, we have simply defended the Kingdom against his attacks. While we have been repelling them successfully, it is now time to take the offensive." All at once, the group began to discuss amongst themselves this idea. "While I agree with you that the time has come to do more than defend ourselves," began Uranus, "we have been unable to pinpoint any activity from him in the outer solar system. Checkpoints on Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn have been unable to pick up anything. How can we attack an enemy we can't find?" "Is it possible," countered Saturn, "that Yargus and his forces are not situated in the outer solar system? Perhaps he has hidden himself closer to us?" Jupiter became irritated. She was in command of the manned outposts on all of the planets in the inner solar system. "That's impossible," she stated sharply and banged her fist on the table. "All outposts within the inner solar system have been working day and night to detect any signs of Yargus in the solar system and haven't found anything. Are you saying I'm not properly doing my job?" Saturn shook her head. "No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm trying to explain that maybe he had successfully hidden himself from us." Mercury began to calculate the possibilities on her computer and looked over to her daughter, expecting Rhetta to be doing the same. Instead, Rhetta hadn't paid attention to the situation and was staring
blankly into space. Mercury looked over to Lyn and found him carefully studying his girlfriend. Amber what unimpressed with this idea. "So you're saying Yargus has been under our noses all this time and we haven't kicked his butt out of here?" Mars was undaunted by the notion. "My psychic abilities have increased over the last thousand years and I can only sense an approaching robot when its almost here. Yargus has to be somewhere close by." Hannah nodded in agreement. Mars' eyes narrowed in her
direction. "If I remember correctly, when you showed up at my temple a thousand years ago, you told me that you were not a psychic." Hannah returned her stare with an equally intense gaze. "I am not. I simply can detect when harm will come to the Princess." Eden, Amber, and Neo-Princess Serenity nodded in agreement. "She's really good at it," added the Princess. Skye nodded in agreement and clapped her hands for emphasis. They looked down at the girl and smiled in amusement. "Nevertheless," began King Endymion, "we still need to find the source of his offensives." Neo-Queen Serenity looked directly at Pluto.
"I am afraid I do not." "We were successful in stopping Yargus in the past," reminded Eden. "Yes, but that doesn't mean he won't try again," said Venus. "Pluto, you have no way of preventing Yargus from corrupting the timestream?" asked Neptune. Pluto shook her head in dismay. Mars was surprised. "That's a first." Pluto was stung by this comment and sat down in her chair. Neo-Queen Serenity had enough. She looked at Mars. "That was uncalled for. We don't have the time for this. How are we going to attack an enemy we can't find?" Mars quieted immediately. Eden cleared her throat to gain attention. All eyes turned to her. "I have a suggestion. The next time we fight a robot, instead of obliterating it, maybe we should capture it." Eden wondered if her suggestion was too simplistic. Mercury began to punch away at her computer again. She stole another look at her daughter, whose attention had drifted again. Neo-King Endymion chuckled. "I guess there's no sense bringing it home and watching it level the Palace." Everyone in the room also chuckled. Rhetta, who finally had been able to concentrate a bit on the discussion, decided to add her thoughts. "Perhaps a robot will contain a transmitter of a sort that we could use to trace its origins." Amber liked this idea. "Cool, then we can follow it home and do some serious damage to Yargus." Many in the meeting room chuckled and agreed. Pluto did not agree. "While I appreciate your enthusiasm..." she suddenly stopped in midsentence. A look of shock came over her face. She rose, produced the Time Key and said, "A situation has arisen, I
must leave." She had barely said these words when the time portal that she had so quickly created closed behind her. The group simply stared at the area where the time portal had briefly existed. "What was that all about?" asked Sailor Venus. No one had a respectable answer. Neo-Queen Serenity looked at her husband. He was not surprised at her hasty dismissal and simply raised an eyebrow. "There is much we do not know about the Guardian of Time." Mars looked at the King and
shook her head. Super Sailor Pluto slammed the end of her staff onto the ground in frustration. "Damn it!" she cursed out loud. "Who the hell does Yargus think he is, tramping through MY time portals just like that?!"
she snapped her fingers in emphasis. When she had arrived before the Door of Time, a group of drones was about to follow a large robot into the timestream. Super Sailor Pluto had lifted her staff and whispered, "Dead scream." The attack had
simply caused the drones to gather more tightly around the robot. Using the Key of Time, she had tried to command the time portal to dissipate. Nothing had happened. She had tried to close the Door of Time, but nothing happened. She had then gathered all of the energy she
could and sent a breathtaking version of her Dead Scream attack towards the robot. In response, a ring of energy had pulsed from the robot. The energy had rushed under her feet and she had fallen to her knees.
When she had looked up, the time portal was no more and the Door of Time had closed. Now she stood in front of the Door of Time and watched as the events unfolded in front of her. "There is nothing I can do?" she shouted in anger. "Why must I watch this take place again? Must time be so cruel?" She could not interfere. The balance of time in the universe had not been compromised. She raised the Time Key high in the air, so that it was held horizontally above her head. "I swear to you, Yargus," she vowed, "I WILL find you. And when I do, I will make you SUFFER for the torment you have caused those I love." She wiped the tears away that had fallen down her cheeks. Before anyone could further comment on the swift disappearance of Pluto, an alarm sounded on the computer console before the King and Queen. Neo-King Endymion leaned over and pressed a button that blinked
insistently before him. His face quickly distorted into a look of concern. "There is a group of drones that has gathered in front of the Palace in the gardens." The Sailor Scouts jumped up almost simultaneously to face the challenge. The King lifted his hand. "Wait, another group of drones has gathered in a commercial area of the city." "That's our first concern," stated Jupiter. "Let's do it," said Uranus. The King nodded to his daughter. "I expect you can handled the drones here," he stated in amusement. Neo-Princess Serenity, who had not transformed for the meeting, raised her transformation broach in
response. "Not a problem!" she said with a smile. "Moon Eternal Make Up!" By the time her brief transformation had taken place, Neo-Queen Serenity, Neo-King Endymion, and the Sailor Scouts had left to fight the
drones. Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon nodded to her friends. A rainbow of light shone briefly in the room as each of the Jewel Wielders summoned their powers. They ran from the room to the gardens. Skye trailed behind them.
"What, I want to fight!" Skye pleaded with wide, imploring eyes.
"Not likely, sweetie. Your mom would kill me if you got hurt." She turned the girl gently toward the inside of the Palace and have her a little shove. "I'll tell you all about it later!"
Skye floated towards the door and watched her companions run towards the gardens.
A group of drones floated in the sky above the center of the gardens. They were like nothing Sailor Moon or the Jewel Wielders had ever seen before. They were shaped in various geometrical shapes, with a single area in their middle from which a laser shot. Rhetta began to punch away at her wrist computer. "They are weak," she asserted, "We should be able to easily destroy them!"
"But there are so many. Can we handle them?" asked Eden.
"No problem, let's just kick some butt!" responded Amber.
They gathered in a circle, with their backs facing inward. Neo- Eternal Sailor Moon raised her scepter and commanded, "Starlight, Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!" The attack obliterated a large amount of drones. Lyn gathered a few small rectangles of emerald energy in his hand and launched them into the air. The rectangles logged themselves in the center of the drones and they exploded. Hannah raised her staff
and fired a strong stream of energy at the drones gathered above her head. They were destroyed easily and she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
Amber, who enjoyed the practice, launched small spirals of yellow orange energy to her enemies.
Eden blasted a few drones easily, but drew no satisfaction.
Rhetta simply stared up at the quickly dwindling number of drones.
As the last of the drones were destroyed, Rhetta left the circle they had gathered in. She walked towards a path that led to the part of the gardens that were furthest from the Palace. Her eyes widened in horror and she screamed in alarm as a nightmarish vision appeared before her. The others heard her scream and ran towards her. They looked up to see it too.
"Holy shit!" swore Amber.
"What the hell is that?" asked Lyn.
Eden breathed in ragged gasps. She looked up at the evil before her.
"I know what that is.... It's my nightmare... It's my dream come true!"
The drones had been easily destroyed.
"This was too easy," stated Uranus flatly. Neptune nodded in silent agreement.
Jupiter looked up at the King and Queen. She clenched her fists in rage. "Damn it! We are just as stupid as we were a thousand years ago!"
"Then we took the bait?" asked Venus.
"Essentially yes," began Mercury, scanning the view of the Palace threw her visor. "There is a surge of activity near the Palace."
Saturn turned to the King and Queen. "You should see to the defenses of the Crystal Palace." A brilliant light flashed for a moment as the two monarchs teleported to their destinations. The others looked at each other, gathered hands and began to teleport.
Just before the teleport took effect, Saturn shook her head.
It was the most terrifying robot they had ever seen. The shape of the robot itself was humanoid. It had a head, two arms, and two legs. That was the end of its similarities to humans. The were no facial features and no apparent weapons. The entire surface of the robot's body was covered with small, pointy spikes, except for its hands.
The sight before her eyes disgusted Amber. "Yuck! This sucker is butt ugly. Someone has to send Yargus a few art mags." She looked over to her best friend, and expected an amused response. Rhetta only stood immobile in shock. Amber looked at her friend in horror.
Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon and the Jewel Wielders were trapped in the clearing, surrounded by the dense vegetation and trees of the Royal Gardens. The enemy they began to battle was a strong robot, larger and more powerful than anything they had fought before. Rhetta stood and watched in horror as, one by one, each person attacked.
Amber used a strong spiral, but it was easily repulsed as an energy field gathered around the robot and pulsed outwards in all directions. She was thrown many feet away and collided with the thick trunk of an old tree. "Amber!!!!!" yelled Rhetta, but could not seem to move to help her friend. The short haired fighter shook her head and tried to get back up. Her limbs gave out and she collapsed in pain.
Rhetta turned and saw that Lyn had sent a series of sharp rectangles towards the robot. With another powerful energy pulse they were reflected back at him. The impact of his own attack as it hit his
body and the ensuing explosion threw him backwards and he lay unconscious and unmoving. "No!!" screamed Rhetta.
thought Eden. Eden ran towards the robot and sent three strong blasts of purple energy towards the robot's
head. The energy blasts had no effect and the robot targeted a large metallic hand towards her. The hand swatted at her and sent her body flying. She landed in the brush, far away from the clearing and could
only barely look up to see the battle. Tears of pain and frustration rolled down her face.
Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon raised her scepter and yelled, "Crystal Tokyo Princess Attack!"
"No Sailor Moon, you cannot," warned Hannah, "You are not yet strong enough."
Sailor Moon did not listen. she thought. Large amounts of fuchsia colored energy gathered atop her scepter
and she leveled it at the robot. But before she could launch it, the energy disappeared in a brilliant flash, leaving Sailor Moon defenseless. She looked down at her scepter and panicked.
Rhetta watched this with a detachment that she could not understand. It was as if she was not in the midst of the battle, as if she was watching a movie with a battle scene. Suddenly, she saw the
robot as it began to send an energy pulse out again. Clarity suddenly came upon her.
Hannah ran to shield her and Rhetta sent a large sphere of ruby energy towards the robot. "Over here!" she yelled and sent another powerful sphere at the robot. The robot turned towards her. The energy pulsed from the robot anyway. Eden saw the energy surge towards the Princess. Her eyes opened in fear and she screamed, "NO, SAILOR MOON!!!!"
Rhetta noticed this and aimed a strong blast directly at the robot's head, as Eden had done. The robot's hand opened and its body stooped towards Rhetta.
Hannah erected a shield to cover Neo-Princess Serenity from the energy pulse. Before the pulse reached its target, Tuxedo Mask appeared and swept the Princess out of its path. Hannah, distracted by this, was hit by the energy pulse and fell to her knees. Her legs weak beneath her, she raised her weapon and aimed it at the robot. The staff fell from her hands and she gasped in shock at what she saw.
The robot had picked up Rhetta in one metallic hand. Amber saw this. "Rhetta.... No Rhetta!!" she yelled.
A time portal suddenly opened and the robot, with Rhetta still captured in its fist, disappeared within it.
The teleport transported the Sailor Scouts directly to the clearing in the middle of the Royal Gardens. They found an unconscious Neo-Princess Serenity in the arms of a young, green haired Tuxedo Mask.
The Scouts ran to their different children. Saturn found Hannah on her knees near the center of the clearing. Mars found her son unconscious and badly injured. Venus helped her daughter to her feet and pulled the teenager into her arms as she was wracked with sobs. Jupiter ran to Eden who lay immobile on the ground and whispered, "It's my dream, it came true..."
Mercury used her visor to scan for Rhetta. She found no trace of the girl. She ran towards Hannah. "Where is she??? Where is Rhetta? What has happened to my daughter?" she said, the panic evident in her voice.
Hannah stood up and looked to Mercury with guilty eyes. "I couldn't save them both... I tried, I'm sorry?" Mercury grabbed Hannah by her shoulders and began to shake the teenager.
"What happened to her, tell me!"
Hannah looked at the ground. She could not let Mercury see her shame. She watched as the tears formed a puddle near her toes.
"The robot took her through a time portal. Yargus has her now." Mercury screamed in shock and sank to the ground, unconscious.
She was trapped, that she knew. The darkness of the room was dreadful, as if threatening to suffocate her. Movement was impossible, as was speech. She tried to scream, but no sound escaped her mouth.
Tears of frustration ran down her face. She could not call for help. She had been bound to a cold wall; she could not escape. Her wrist computer had been removed, she could not have sent a plea for help even
if her arms had been free.
Cold air rushed into the small room that had become her prison as the metallic door opened. She could not see the figure, but she was certain of its presence. Each of its footsteps could be heard in the small room. She felt its breath on her face as it came close to her. A cold hand caressed her face, feigning affection.
"Do not fret," the dark voice said aloud, with great pleasure, "Your agony will soon be over."
Rhetta turned her face away from the hand and tried to scream again. No sound emerged from her mouth. Tears ran down her face.
Amy walked solemnly to her quarters. Her husband would have dinner waiting for her.
"I guess I heard correctly then...She is gone."
Amy nodded. He always kept the military communication link open when she went into battle. "Uranus, Neptune, Jupiter, and Venus are in the meeting room trying to find any trace of Yargus, his robot, or Rhetta."
She looked her husband straight in the eyes. "She distracted the robot to save Small Lady." She watched the feelings of rage and sorrow as they swept through her husband. "She did her duty." Such a statement, though true, would never dispel the pain or anguish at the loss of a loved one. "It's my fault. I did not get there in time."
She sat on the couch, leaned over and rubbed her hands through her blue hair. "We were fooled. We went into Crystal Tokyo the same as flies to honey..."
Her husband sat next to her. Tears welled up in his eyes. "Do you think she's dead?" he uttered. He watched his wife pale considerably...
"I don't know," she answered. She turned to him with the look of a doctor giving deadly news to a patient. "She could be well, she could be injured, she could be dead." A look of sorrow flashed over her face for a moment. Then it was gone, replaced by a solemn look of determination.
She watched the tears slide down her husband's face.
Her husband looked up at her and she gently wiped the tears away. "I am going to find her," she promised him, in an attempt to convince herself.
He pulled away from his beautiful wife.
She stood up and picked up her medical kit. "First, I have to help Small Lady."
Hannah sat on the couch in her living room and contemplated her next course of action. The battle was over. Neo-Princess Serenity was unconscious, the Wielders injured, and Rhetta kidnapped.
Eden was the easiest to heal. While her injuries had been serious, she had not resisted her friend's ministrations. Hannah healed her friend's physical injuries, but was unable to do any more. Eden simply let the tears stream down her face. "It was my fault. I should have saved her...I saw what was coming...I dreamt about it." Hannah sat next to her on the double bed.
"You must remember that the Jewel Wielders' duty is to Neo-Princess Serenity. Rhetta knew this, and chose to distract the robot. There was nothing you could have done to prevent her capture; you were injured."
Amber adamantly refused to be healed. In her anger, she pushed Hannah away. "I'm fine, now LEAVE ME ALONE!" Hannah could understand her anger but insisted that Amber be healed. "I don't have time for this..." Amber tried to pull herself out of her bed. She groaned, doubled over, and clutched at the laser wound she had sustained in the Moon Kingdom. Her head began to spin and Hannah had lowered her back into her bed.
"I am sorry, but you need to be healed, Amber." Blue-black energy had glowed from her hands, which were positioned on Amber's shoulder's and glowed around her small, strong friend. Amber fell quietly asleep. Satisfied that Amber was well again, Hannah retreated from the room and prepared for the worst.
The worst would be Lyn. Hannah would have like to simply avoid him, she knew what his reaction would be. She made her way to Lyn's quarters, and tried not to succumb to the fatigue that was ailing her.
His parents had brought him to his quarters had left him only for a moment when he had somehow succeeded to lock his door despite his injuries.
The door lock did not present a problem. She lifted her staff and tried to aim a small stream of energy towards the doorknob. She was a might overzealous and had blown a whole in the door. Hannah grimaced at the results of her efforts.
She found Lyn unconscious on his bed.
Lyn suddenly sprang from the bed and slammed Hannah into the wall. A look of rage twisted his reddened face and for the first time Hannah was scared. He slammed her against the wall violently, again and again... "You, it's all your fault! You could have saved her...You could have save her! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HER!!!!"
Hannah could do nothing. She felt her blood drip down the wall as her head cracked off the hard surface behind her.
A blinding blast of energy through Lyn violently against the back wall of his bedroom. Super Sailor Saturn, her staff raised in her left hand, caught the unconscious form of her daughter in her right as she slumped to the ground.
Chad burst into the room and tackled his son as he began to lunge forward again. "Stop it, Lyn!!! It's not her fault." The last of Lyn's strength finally escaped him and he dropped to his knees. Saturn brought her daughter into the hall, kneeled down next to her and quickly healed her battered daughter.
Hannah opened her eyes. She looked up at her mother in disbelief. "He was going to kill me."
Saturn sent an accusing look in the direction of Chad and Lyn. "Yes." Her features softened as she looked down at her daughter. "Child, you have to rest now."
"I can't," insisted Hannah, as she struggled to a standing position. "I must wait with Serenity. She will need me."
"She will need you strong and well," reminded her mother.
"I will be fine," insisted Hannah, and she began to make her way to the Royal Quarters...
Amy sat in front of the console in her office. The long day began to take its toll and she could barely concentrate. She rubbed her eyes to clear away a stray tear that had escaped. She wiped another tear from her face.
She pushed herself away from her desk and absentmindedly rubbed the ache that had afflicted the back of her neck.
Earlier in the afternoon she had helped bring the children back to the Crystal Palace. Hotaru and Hannah had taken care of Amber, Eden, and Lyn. After those brief, painful moments with her husband, Amy had helped transport the Princess to the Royal Chambers and had immediately examined her. All she had wanted to do was leave to find Rhetta, but the situation would not permit such emotional abandon. she thought to herself, again and again, as if repeating it would eventually leave her to believe that.
Neo-Queen Serenity, Neo-King Endymion, Diana, Luna, and Artemis had all gathered around to find out her condition. Amy had scanned her again and again, forgetting her pain, her anguish, her worry... she had told herself.
When her scan had been finished, she had looked up to those gathered around the bed where they had carefully brought the unconscious Princess. "Neo-Princess Serenity is in a comatose state." She had waited with all the patience her tired, worried mind could muster. Neo-Queen Serenity leaned into the arms of her husband and began to quietly cry. Hannah entered the room at that moment and asked to try to wake her.
Amy scanned the teenager and shook her head. "I am sorry Hannah, you are too weak. You have healed too much already." Normally Hannah would have erupted into a litany of rage, expressing her sense of need and duty to help the Princess even at the cost of herself. But she had done nothing. Too much had already happened; too many people had already been healed. She had nodded silently, walked to an area near the entrance to the Princess' bedroom, crossed her arms and prepared herself to wait as long as necessary.
Luna, ever thoughtful and logical had been the next to speak. "What is wrong with her?" To Luna, sometimes explaining a dilemma could clarify a situation immensely.
Amy had turned to Luna and Artemis, who had both stood at attention on a soft chair. "Nothing. Except for a few minor lacerations, nothing is wrong with her. I can only surmise that the last time she fought as Sailor Moon drained her. Perhaps this is her body's mechanism to recover."
Amy silently began to wonder what injuries Rhetta would have.
Before any more questions could take place, she had taken a blood sample from the Princess and said, "I will do further tests to try and determine the cause of her coma."
Amy had been studying the Princess' blood sample for more than an hour, but nothing had been accomplished. An image of Rhetta, lying in torment on a cold prison floor formed in her mind, her daughter lying limply in her own blood... She wanted to scream in rage..in terror..in sorrow... A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and she turned to see one of the guards in her lab.
He cleared his throat discretely. "Excuse me, Ma'am, you have been summoned by Neo-Queen Serenity to her private quarters."
She nodded in response and the young man turned an left the laboratory. She stood up, wiped away any stray tears from her face and tried to dispel that dreadful image of her injured daughter from her
thoughts. She gathered a few portable display screens.
Super Sailor Pluto watched as time unfolded before her. She shook her head.
The class wars had just taken place on Pluto. She remembered them well. The upper classes had been attacked by the masses of poor, underfed people who's only motivation had been desperation. The floods of the year before had left little in the way of crops. Food was scarce, a year later, as well as safe drinking water. The monarchy and nobility had hoarded all the food and clean water they could find. They had spent most of their prize possessions: money, jewels, and even fine clothes to accumulate a sufficient store. When crops failed and drinking water had been depleted, the masses became violent and desperate.
Her family had been slain in the attack. She had tried to help them, but to no avail. She had been saved only by the emergence of her abilities as Sailor Pluto. Elder Pluto had found her and taken her away from the battle. She had refused and had even attacked her future mentor. Pluto had only taken the brunt of her useless attack and had sighed. "There is nothing more you can do here. You must live to fulfill your destiny." She had complied with the older woman and had returned to her family's estate only when the battles had ceased.
Setsuna had buried her slain family members. Pluto returned to find her as she finished burying her mother. Setsuna knelt next to the grave and cried. She turned to see Pluto, as she stood behind her, and looked up into the grave expression of the woman she would soon come to know.
"What do I do now? I am alone now." She stood up and turned to face the older woman.
"You are destined to be alone, since you will be the next Guardian of Time. For now, you will not be alone."
"You won't be with me always?" The woman smiled, as if remembering a time when she had asked her own mentor a similar question.
"The Guardian of Time is a solitary responsibility. You will exist outside of time, as I have for five thousand years. You will learn to see the balance of time in the universe and will strive, as I have, to maintain it."
"But I am not strong enough... I'm just a girl." The older woman smiled affectionately.
"Setsuna, you will learn to be strong and to do anything necessary to fulfill your duty. You will be feared by the masses, kings, queens, and emperors will fall to their knees and obey you. The duty to maintain the integrity of time will be all consuming." She paused for a moment, her face had become sullen. "You will become a slave to that duty, all else in your life will be pushed aside."
Pluto watched as Setsuna's face paled. "You may be hated for you'll be safe, at least for a short time. Decisions, to those within the timestream they may seem cold and unfeeling. But you will take satisfaction in knowing that they will."
"Why would I willingly submit myself to such a fate? I want a husband, family."
Pluto smiled.
Setsuna nodded, she had always felt such a detachment. Pluto held out her hand, palm facing the sky and with a glow of dark green energy, a transformation pen appeared. She handed it to Setsuna.
"Now Setsuna, take this transformation pen and accept your destiny." Setsuna, with nervous, shaking hands took the pen into her hands. "Raise it above you and say `Pluto Planet Power Make-up.'"
Setsuna had done as she was bidden. She transformed herself into Sailor Pluto, the student. From that day she had learned about her duty and the price of it...
Now, three thousand years later, she remembered the words of her mentor.
Super Sailors Jupiter, Mars, and Uranus were bent over the main display console in the main meeting room. Neptune and Venus sat at a far end of the table discussing options. They were all tired, hungry, and frustrated. Few options existed and they had been unable to find any trace of Rhetta or the robot that had taken her.
"That's it! There's no trace of either of them!" said Uranus in an angry tone. She slammed her fist down on the console as if new information would suddenly appear.
"I can't believe this. We're going to have to tell Amy that we can't find her kid?" spat Mars in disgust.
"I'll do it," said Jupiter, guilt finally showed on her face. "I am the Head of Defense, I should have known what was coming. It's my responsibility."
They reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Then we should wait until morning to work again. Nothing will be gained without food and rest." Neptune and Venus stood up and they all headed for the door.
"Plus, we all have personal matters to attend to," reminded Sailor Venus.
The lights automatically dimmed as they exited the meeting room as if in reflection of Jupiter's sense of hope.
Amy walked slowly down the hall that led to the Royal Quarters. Despite her resolve, her mind began to torture her anew. In her thoughts, she saw her daughter take her last dying breaths. A thin trickled of blood ran from her cracked lips. Rhetta raised her head, her tired, black rimmed eyes trying to look around her. She raised shaking arms for a moment in an attempt to find something... someone... She looked wildly around and whispered, "Mother, where are you? Why haven't you found me?" Her head fell to the ground, she took two more ragged breath and died there, in the dark, alone...
Amy could not help but gasp at this horrid image.
Just before the door to the Royal Quarters, a hand grabbed her elbow. She spun quickly around to find a disheveled Super Sailor Jupiter standing before her.
For a brief moment, Amy allowed herself to forget her duty and to feel hope at her daughter's return. "Have you found her? Is there any news?" Her face illuminated in hope for a brief moment.
Jupiter saw this and it almost broke her heart. She avoided her friend's eyes for a moment and tried to stare at the floor. Amy saw this look of avoidance and her face whittled into a worried frown.
She grabbed Jupiter's arm and tugged it to gain her friend's attention. "What has happened? You have to tell me!" she insisted. Jupiter met her gaze and she continued, "What have you heard, Jupiter? I have to know!"
The guilty look on Jupiter's face returned. "We did everything we could, Amy. Really, we've been going over every nook and cranny of the solar system. We can't find a thing." She ran her hand through her hair and sighed. "We've turned in for the night to rest and to take care of our families, I hope you do the same."
Amy, stubbornly, kept her guard up. "I understand," she said and entered the quarters belonging to the King, Queen, and Princess. Jupiter shook her head. She felt as if she had single-handedly stabbed her friend directly in her heart with a jagged knife.
Mina came down the hall leading to her quarters. She could hear soft music and was sure it emanated from her daughter's bedroom.
She opened the door and was attacked by a speedy five year old boy who decided to leap into her arms with little agility. Mina almost fell over from the impact of the little boy's pudgy body as it slammed
into hers, but she only smiled.
"Hi guy, how are you?"
The little boy smiled gleefully and wrapped his chubby arms around his mother's neck. "I'm fine..." he answered automatically. He pulled himself up, pointed to Amber's bedroom door and made a face. "Scary's not, she's weird."
Mina smiled.
Amy entered Princess Serenity's bedroom. It was as if no time had passed. The King sat silently on the bed next to his daughter while Neo-Queen Serenity passed the floor, back and forth. Luna, Artemis, and Diana sat on a pillow in the far corner of the room, and quietly talked amongst themselves. Hannah stood next to the door, jewel glowing faintly on her forehead, her staff ready for anything.
All eyes turned to Amy as she walked to the bed. Neo-Queen Serenity walked up to her. She seemed to expect Amy to provide all the answers as she usually had done in the past. "So, do you know what's wrong with my daughter?"
"I could not find anything physically wrong with Small Lady," whispered Amy in a monotone voice.
"Then why won't she wake up?" asked the King.
"I do not have an answer," whispered Amy.
Luna stood up and walked over to the two women. "Do you know why her transformation reversed itself and why her attack failed?"
Amy was frustrated. "I could find no reason for that either."
"What are we supposed to do now?" Neo-Queen Serenity started to cry. "I can't help her, I tried. She won't respond to the Crystal and she won't transform into Sailor Moon... How do I help my daughter, Amy? What do you know?"
Amy flinched as if she had been hit. Her face hardened as if it had turned to stone. "I do know..." she said calmly, without a hint of emotion, "that a man named Yargus is running around doing whatever he wants. I know that we can't stop him. And I know he had my Rhetta, and there's nothing I can do about it."
She looked at the King and asked, "May I be dismissed?" He only nodded his consent. Without a further word, she turned and left the bedroom.
Hannah watched this display and sighed.
The last few hours had been long for her. She had helped the Scouts and the King and Queen bring the Jewel Wielders back to their respective quarters. She had taken it upon herself to heal them. She had tried to comfort Eden and Amber, to no avail. She had even tried to help Lyn. She tried not to shudder at the memory of her body being slammed against the wall.
Hannah walked back to her position near the room's entrance.
Mina walked into her daughter's room and stopped for a moment as she listened for a moment to the words.
"Remember everything I told you, keep it in your heart, like a stone. And when the winds have blown things round and back again what was once your pain will be your home..." Mina raised her eyes in surprise. "That's not your usual sort of thing," she commented to her daughter.
Amber sat up on her bed and looked at her mother. "I found it in the archives. It seemed appropriate." Mina sat down next to her daughter. "How are you doing?" The teenager tried to act nonchalant.
"I'm fine." She leaned over and programmed the computer to play the song at a certain point. "This is a sample of what is called `contemporary folk' from the late twentieth century. I'm surprised you haven't heard of this group. Don't you remember it? You were THERE!"
Mina's eyes narrowed in annoyance.
Amber leaned over and began to play the section of the song. "Listen to this and you'll understand why I've been listening to this over and over again." Mina nodded and the song suddenly continued...
"I can see why you picked this song," commented Mina. "It's oddly comforting, considering what's happened."
Amber stiffened. "What's happened? Did you find anything?"
Mina shook her head. "No, we couldn't find a thing. Jupiter and Uranus went over everything a million times. There's no trace of Yargus, his robot, or of Rhetta."
Amber's eyes filled with tears. "Do you think she's okay?" Mina only shrugged her shoulders.
Amber stood up and flipped her hair out of her face. "Rhetta was so stupid," she began softly. "She should've stayed out of the way. That new Tuxedo Mask would have saved her. I know he would have." She let the tears fall down her face and they landed in the carpet.
Mina stood up and hugged her daughter. Amber did not usually allow herself to be so easily consoled. "She was only protecting Small Lady; you would have done the same." Amber nodded her agreement. "That doesn't mean I like what happened."
"Neither do I," replied Mina.
Amber suddenly pulled away and held up her index finger to tell her mother to wait a second. She programmed the song again and smiled. "Pluto would like this part."
She stopped to program the computer again. The song began to play again, this time the end of the song:
Minna smiled in amusement. "Yes Amber, Pluto would love that part."
Neo-Princess Serenity awoke and found herself in her civilian form, lying on the cold muddy ground. "Yuck," she exclaimed out loud. "Where the hell am I?" She stood up and looked around. The area was dark, so that she could barely see the her outstretched hand before her. She found her way to the wall and touched it.
She heard a voice as it called to her. "Princess, Small Lady, you must follow my voice. You must come to me. It is your destiny."
Serenity recognized this dream. She had had it before. Both times, she had woken up after sleepwalking. The strong male voice began to call to her again. She turned to her left and began to walk towards it. Haruka and Michiru walked into their quarters and watched as Skye buzzed around the room, making buzzing sounds. "Bzzz... Look Mama, Mommy, I'm a bee..." Michiru and Haruka smiled to each other. Michiru
nodded to her partner. Haruka hopped into the air and expertly caught her flying daughter. "That's enough for you, bumble bee..." she said with a laugh. "It's time for us to have a talk." They all sat on the couch, Skye between both her mothers. Haruka nodded and Michiru began. "Something bad happened today..." began Skye's mommy. Skye looked from one mother to another and nodded. "I know." The two women almost jumped in surprise. "What do you know happened?" asked Michiru. "A big robot came and took Rhetta." Both their jobs dropped in shock. "Who told you that?" asked Haruka as she contemplated how she would harm the person who told her daughter unpleasant things. Skye scrunched her face up as she carefully remembered something. "A big man with brown hair in my dreams when I was sleeping." The two women looked at each other, perplexed. Skye couldn't understand why both Mama and Mommy didn't believe her. "He did, really. He was way tall like you," she pointed to Haruka, "and had a big stick in his hand." Haruka's eyes narrowed in suspicion. She looked at Michiru who nodded and mouthed, "Pluto." "What else did the man tell you?" asked Michiru. Skye thought about this carefully. She couldn't figure what the big deal was. "He told me that bad things gonna happen. Lots of things..." She looked up at Michiru. "I don't know what bad things... Scary things..." Michiru pulled her little daughter to her and hugged her. "Nothing is going to happen to you." Michiru consoled her daughter. "Yeah," Haruka added softly, rubbing her daughter's back affectionately. "We will always be here to protect you." Skye nodded, suddenly happy again. "I know, that's what HE told me." Michiru pulled her daughter onto her hip and headed for her bedroom. "Time for bed, young lady..." Skye objected, wanting instead to go visit Amber for practice. "You can practice tomorrow...." she
responded as she entered the small girl's bedroom. Haruka was unamused. Lita walked into her quarters to find a tearful Eden sitting on the couch. Her daughter looked up to her and said, "Dad, put Leah down for the night. He's with her right now..." her voice broke as she began
to cry harder. Lita walked up to her daughter, knelt down before her and wrapped her arms protectively around her. Her sobs did not subside and Lita found herself crying too. "I couldn't stop it... I couldn't move... I should've stopped it... I knew.." "How could you have known, Eden?" Lita tried to soothe her daughter despite her own distress. "No one could have predicted that." Eden looked up at her mother, her lips trembled as she tried to form her words. "But I knew that battle would happen... I thought the Princess was the target... Or I would have stayed closer to Rhetta..."
She buried her face in her mother's shoulder and cried harder. "Remember I asked you about dream? I had a dream," said Eden. She pushed herself out of her mother's arms and reached for a tissue. "I dreamed, the other night, that large robot would attack. We would all be injured and Sailor Moon's transformation would fail. She'd be defenseless and the robot would kill her." Lita did not know what to say. She watched her daughter's features crumple into tears once again. "I couldn't stop it... I couldn't move... I tried..." "I know you did, Eden, I know you always do your best..." She pulled her daughter to her again. "It'll be all right, I promise." Eden's father came out of Leah's room and noticed the emotional scene. He walked up to them, knelt next to his wife and hugged them both. "I'm here now..." he said in a soothing tone. "Everything is going to be fine..." Amy sat on her couch. Her husband had gone to bed, in an attempt to sleep. She could not. Every time she closed her eyes a vision of Rhetta being tortured killed filled her mind. Amy heard a knock on the door. She opened it to see an exhausted Neo-Queen Serenity before her. Amy motioned for the Queen to come in. Amy's face became emotionless again. "I assigned Dr. Nathania and Dr. Kingsley to monitor Small Lady's condition." Serenity nodded, her guilt clear on her face. "Oh Amy, I'm sorry, it was very selfish of me to insist you care for Small Lady." Amy struggled to keep her composure. "My duty is to you first and to the Princess." She faced her friend with a serious, almost cold expression. "No," said Serenity. "You needed to be with your family, to help find Rhetta. All I wanted you to do was to fix Reenie." Tears streamed down her face. "I'm so sorry, Amy, can you ever forgive me? Please say you can." Amy began to tremble. It was enough that she could barely contain her grief over her daughter's capture, but now the most important woman in her life was begging her forgiveness? Her resolve broke and she hid her sobs in her hands. "They can't find her... They don't know where she is... They don't even know if she's okay, if she's alive..." Her small, usually strong frame shook harder with the force of her sobs. "What am I going to do?" cried Amy. "What if she's dead? She could be injured, lying there alone... I keep seeing her like that in my mind, being tortured, left to die. She keeps calling to me to help
her..." Amy's distress intensified. Her breathing came out in ragged gasps, her wide, bloodshot eyes, darting around the room in a wild fashion. "I have to look for her... I have to find her!!" She pushed
Serenity away, and began to pace the room. "I can't help her... I can't do ANYTHING..." She turned to her friend, choking now on her sobs. "I'm helpless. I can't do anything! I CAN'T FIX THIS!" Neo-Queen Serenity cried with her friend. She grabbed her gently by the arm and led her to the couch. Pulling out a clean handkerchief, she wiped the tears slowly from Amy's face. "Amy, you're my friend and I love you... You're not alone and you're not helpless." She put her arm around Amy's shoulder and pulled so that she rested on the Queen's shoulder. "We're going to find her Amy. You have to imagine her safe and strong. You have to believe that we'll find her and bring her home safe and sound." Amy cried harder and Serenity put her other arm comfortingly around her friend. Lyn sat in the gardens where he had found Rhetta a few hours before. He looked around himself, at the gardens. He had spent so many evenings with Rhetta; he had watched her study the gardens with the happiness of a child... A year and a half before, on the night of her birthday, he had finally gathered enough courage to tell her that he loved her. The large party they had thrown for her birthday had been a success and the
entire crowd was busy as they danced and sang. He had tried, in vain, for more than an hour to find her. She was nowhere to be found. Amy, who had watched his search for some time with amusement, smiled to her husband. He nodded and walked over to the young man. "You know, you're never going to find Rhetta in here," he said with a stern expression on his face. Lyn looked at the tall man. Rhetta's father watched Lyn squirm and tried not to laugh. With great effort, he kept his stern expression. "She doesn't like to stay in big crowds. She likes to go outside and explore." Lyn prepared himself for the worst. Finally, Amy's husband could not take it any longer. He burst out laughing, holding his midriff as if it would shake in response. "Aren't you going to ask me where the heck my daughter is hiding... Come
on, we're not blind you know." Lyn almost fell over in shock and he blushed in embarrassment. "Lyn, she's at the center of the gardens, probably analyzing one of the new breeds of roses that were just introduced. Go find her, and for Pete's sake, tell her how you feel. We're really tired of her
mopping around our quarters like she's been doing." He had thanked Amy's father and had run out into the garden, heedless of the crowds enthusiastic cheer of encouragement. He had found her directly where her father said she would be. He stopped for a moment breathless... She was wearing a beautiful white dress, with thin straps at the shoulder that curved in the front into the shape of a heart. The silky material clung to her, in a way that accentuated her beautiful figure, yet revealed nothing. Her hair was pulled on top of her head in a loose bun and was adorned with a ring of delicate yellow miniature roses. She was holding in her hands a large pink rose that she had somehow managed to pick without pricking her fingers. She smiled at Lyn, not at all surprised that he had come. He opened his jacket and revealed a package covered loosely in a soft material. He handed it to her and said, "This is your birthday gift. I hope you like it." She handed him the pink rose and opened up her gift. She gasped as she realized what she held in her hands and smiled in absolute delight. "It's a rose bush!" She ran over to him and hugged him. As
she pulled away, she smiled up at him. He didn't let go of her, and held her gently at her waist. "I'm not sure what kind it is, but I know the roses bloom a dark ruby red color." Rhetta smiled in delight. "And you know that is my favorite color." She pulled away and began surveying the ground around her. "And where will we plant this?" They found a small area of dirt, a little away from the rest of the roses. They both bent down, and with their hands, dug a whole in which to place the gift. After they placed it there, they covered it with soft, cool dirt. Their hands touched briefly and Rhetta smiled. Lyn leaned down and kissed Rhetta softly. She pulled away and smiled, this time he returned the smile. She lead him to the marble bench and they sat close together. He began to speak, but she silenced him with one slightly dirty finger. "You do not have to say a thing, Lyn, I already know." They had sat on
that bench, in the middle of the gardens for the rest of the evening... Lyn walked up to that rose bush they had planted so long ago. This summer it had grown tall and had bloomed, gigantic, beautiful ruby red roses. He plucked one off the vine, not caring as a thorn pierced
his finger. He sat himself on the bench again and absentmindedly smelled the rose.
He looked down at the rose and whispered softly, "I love you, Rhetta..." Neo-Princess Serenity walked steadily through the darkness. Occasionally she heard a voice as it called, "Come this way, Princess of the Moon..." She saw light ahead and walked into a cave. In the center burned a small campfire. Serenity could see the figure of a small child. She looked to be about five with cute little blond pigtails and huge blue eyes. She wore small blue overalls. The child looked at Serenity and whispered in a quiet, sweet voice, "You should not be here, little girl." Serenity gasped. "What are you talking about?" she gasped again in disbelief. The voice she heard, was not her own, but was that of a child. She looked down at herself to see the body of a child, a seven
year old child to be exact. Her hands were short and chubby, as they had been many years before. She was wearing the dark blue school uniform she had always worn the first time she had gone to old Tokyo. She felt her hair and was surprised that she did not feel, the long, sleek ponytails that she was now accustomed to. Instead they were short and thick. "Oh no!" Reenie cried in panic, "I'm a kid again!!" Reenie watched as the little blond girl's face contorted into an evil looking grimace. She opened her mouth to speak, but it was not the same sweet voice that Reenie had heard. "I told you that you shouldn't be in here." Her voice was raspy and old sounding. Reenie backed away in shock as black energy began to emanate from the blond girl before her. The now shadowed figure began to grow until it was six feet tall. She saw a gray clock, reminiscent of Wiseman, with scraggly, long gray hair that hung from a tangled mess from the hood. Its hands were long, knarled, with pointed black and green sharp-looking nails. Reenie reached for the center of the bow on her outfit expecting to find her all too familiar transformation brooch. Instead she found nothing. She screamed in horror as the cloak exploded and thousands of gray tentacles burst towards her. She turned to run but she was caught by the ankle. "Someone help me!!!" she screamed and as her face contorted in her fear, her crescent moon sigil appeared on her forehead. The room exploded in light as Reenie's energy discharged from her small, seven
year old body. She was suddenly released and she guarded her face with her arms to break her fall. But she never hit the ground. She was swept out of harm's way. She looked up to see familiar eyes looking at her in concern. "Don't be scared, Reenie," said Tuxedo Mask, with his familiar smile, "I've got you." She heard a voice began her customary speech, "I am Sailor Moon, Champion of Justice..." and she looked from the protection of Tuxedo Mask's cloak to see Sailor Moon, not Super Sailor Moon, not Eternal
Sailor Moon, but HER Sailor Moon, her mother, the first Sailor Moon, with Mercury and Mars on her left and Venus and Jupiter on her right. "I will right wrongs and triumph over evil..." Sailor Moon looked behind her, at Reenie and smiled. "Don't be afraid, Reenie, you know we'll always protect you." She smiled again and turned towards the enemy. "And you are the WORST kind of evil." She produced the Moon Scepter aimed it at the Negaverse monster and asserted, "Prepare to be Moon Dusted." Reenie cowered in Tuxedo Mask's arms as Venus shouted, "Venus crescent beam smash!" The tentacles that were quickly extending towards the Scouts were severed by her attack. Mars shouted, "Mars fire ignite!" and the tentacles that began to grow back were scorched. Mercury used her attack to fill the room with a thick white mist. Jupiter shouted, in a loud, deep voice, "Jupiter Thunder Crash!" and with an explosion of thunder and lighting the monster fell to the ground. "Sailor Moon, finish it off NOW!" shouted Jupiter. Sailor Moon raised the Moon Scepter and shouted, "Moon Scepter Elimination!" Her attack hit the monster with such a force that it disintegrated. "Dusted!!" she shouted in triumph. To Reenie's disbelief, Sailor Moon and the Scouts began to fade. "No, don't go..." she shouted in anguish, "What am I going to do? I need you!" Tuxedo Mask put her small form down and caressed her cheek affectionately. Suddenly, she was eye to eye with the man that would be and was her father. "See, Reenie, you don't have to be worried. We always were and always will be with you..." and he faded before her eyes. Serenity reached out for him and screamed, "No, don't leave me alone!!!!" Hotaru walked into Princess Serenity's room. The King and Queen were busy in discussion with three doctors. Luna, Artemis, and Diana sat near the Princess' bed, deep in discussion themselves. She found her daughter as she stood barely towards the door. Her worry of the Princess' condition did not cloud her judgment. "Hannah," she said to her daughter. "You need rest. I will stay here." Hannah opened her mouth to protest but said nothing. She turned and left the room. She walked to the Princess' bed and looked down at her unconscious friend. Neo-Queen Serenity walked over to her daughter's bed. "They can't find anything wrong with her. Other than a slightly high epinephrine level, there's nothing wrong." She watched her daughter for
a moment, as if willing her daughter to wake up. "I want to try and heal her," began Hotaru. Neo-Queen Serenity shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with her, Hotaru," she began. "I want her to be well as much as you do." "But she is my friend," explained Hotaru, "I have to at least try. She means so much to me..." She looked down at her friend. In the more recent past, Serenity had become close friends with Hannah. She
had never begrudged her daughter that special friendship, but wished only that hers could be the same again. She looked up at the Queen, her eyes pleading. "I want you to try, Hotaru," said the Queen, placing her hands on the other woman's shoulders. "I want you to be successful so badly. Please try." Hotaru nodded. With a serious look on her face, she placed her hand on Serenity's hand and began... Rei and Chad found their son sitting quietly on a bench at the center of the Royal Gardens. He looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot, an angry bruise had spread over the left side of his face. Lyn stared down at a rose with a large red bloom. They watched for a moment as he lifted up to his eye level, stared at it for a brief time and then sighed in anguish. "Poor guy," whispered Chad, "He's taking this really hard." "At least he's not on a rampage," she commented. Chad shot her a dirty look. He was not amused, but he had to agree. They walked up to where Lyn was seated. He saw them and made to stand up and leave. He was stopped by Chad who stood before him and pushed him firmly back onto the bench. Lyn was surprised. His Dad,
normally cheerful and mellow looked tense and unhappy. He looked to his Mom and found her in a comparative state. Rei was the first to speak. It had been a long day, with the meeting, the battle and the ensuing search for Yargus and Rhetta. The meeting had been serious, the battle intense and the search frustrating
and futile. Rei was not in a good mood. Chad had told her of Lyn's attack on Hannah. She understood his anger and why he could feel so. Still she was not amused. "You know beating Hannah up is not going to bring Rhetta back," she commented dryly. Chad groaned. This was not the way he had wanted to talk to his son. A comparable look overcame Lyn's face. "Leave it to you to start a pleasant conversation." Both of their faces became red with anger. Chad was sure one of them would soon explode. "I'm not the one who decided to try and beat Hannah to a pulp!" she shouted. Lyn stood up and leaned down close to her. Eye to eye, his rage was a match for hers. Chad sighed. "She deserves it!" he yelled back. "It's her fault Rhetta's gone." Rei pointed one finger straight into his face. "I really don't care what she did," she said in a murderous tone. "You don't try and kill people." Her eyes began to flame with her anger. "WE RAISED YOU
BETTER THAN THAT!!" she yelled as loud as she could. Chad was sure that if he didn't intervene the two would end up trying to annihilate each other. He moved in between his wife and son and pushed the two apart. "Sit down, both of you. This isn't going to
solve anything." Rei quieted immediately and grudgingly nodded in agreement. Lyn glared into space. He knelt in front of the bench and placed a hand in his wife's. "Chad, we really didn't come here to argue with you." He
shot his wife a look that said `thanks a lot.' "We understand that you're upset..." Lyn looked at him in anger. "Upset?! You think I'm just upset?" Rei rolled her eyes in annoyance. "NO, we don't just think you're upset. We think you feel like your heart's been ripped viciously out of your chest because the one you love has been cruelly taken from
you." Lyn looked at his mother in shock at her accuracy. Rei was not finished. "We THINK that you want to find her and protect her forever. We THINK that you want to go find you took her and make her pay in the most painful way possible for what he did to her." Lyn stared open mouthed at his mother and so did Chad. In a thousand years she had rarely admitted to such feelings. "And we know that somewhere inside you feel responsible for her kidnapping." She grabbed her son's hand. The angry look faded from her face and her
voice became gentle. "But Lyn, blaming Hannah is not going to bring Rhetta back." "Now this may seem heartless but it's true," she began. Chad braced himself for another violent outburst from his son. "When you became a Jewel Wielder, you swore, all of you, to protect the Princess. That means you swore to protect her at any cost." "I know what I promised, Mother," he shot back. Rei had anticipated this reaction. But she knew, she had to say what was to come. "And so did Rhetta. She could have let the robot take Small Lady, but she didn't. She did her duty." "Are we so much slaves to our duty that we have to sacrifice everything, even our lives?" Rei nodded. She had had over a thousand years to deal with her duty and its pitfalls. Lyn was young, and had
never before had to face the price of his duty. "That's not fair!" he said, his grief suddenly surfacing. "No, it's not fair," agreed his mother. "But that's the way it is." "You can't go around hurting everything and everyone in anger," added Chad. "You also have a duty to the other Jewel Wielders. That means, you have to do everything in your power to find Rhetta and to
support the others. You're not the only one that's been affected." Lyn nodded and stood up. "Where are you going?" asked Chad. "I'm going to apologize to Hannah." Chad and Rei watched as their son walked away. "That wasn't so bad," said Rei. "You're right. I think he actually listened to us." He was silent for a moment and then smiled. His wife had entertained a similar thought. "I wouldn't want to be him," she said with smile. "He'll be lucky if Hannah doesn't beat the stuffing out of him." They both chuckled. Princess Serenity was confused. She walked down a barely lit corridor. The walls were made out of a smooth gray stone, parts of which had been chipped away with age. At the end of corridor she saw a light. She ran quickly to the light, not watching where she was going. She collided with something hard. Landing on her backside she looked up to see Electrolus. "This can't be!" she shouted. "Eden finished you off in old Tokyo." Electrolus began to advance towards her and Serenity crawled backward, in a crab-like manner, and tried to get away from it. Electrolus sent a burst of laser fire towards her. Serenity knew, that without her Sailor Moon powers she had no escape. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable. After a second, she noticed nothing happened. She opened an eye and found that she was encased in a blue-black energy shield. She looked up to see Hannah standing above her. Hannah lowered her hand and helped her Princess to
her feet. Once standing, she noticed that Eden, Rhetta, Lyn, and Amber stood before her, protecting her from the robot. Eden looked over her shoulder at Serenity. "Did you think you were all alone?" "We would not let you battle Electrolus by yourself," reminded Rhetta. "Plus," added Amber with her brilliant smile, "You can't hog all the fun of kicking some metal butt!" Hannah stood besides Serenity and continued to shield her from any possible harm. The others began their attack. Their actions were unspoken, as if they had battle the same robot over a thousand times. Rhetta and Amber advanced first. Amber surrounded a powerful spiral of yellow-orange light around the robot. Rhetta followed with three bursts of small red spheres. They all shielded themselves from the ensuing explosion. Without hesitation Lyn sent a group of emerald green rectangles at Electrolus. Eden gathered a powerful blast of purple energy in her hands and sent it reeling towards Electrolus' head. The blast sheared
the robot's head from its body and it exploded in a colorful display of fire and smoke. When all was quiet again, they lowered their shields. Before she could say anything, Serenity watched in shock as Amber, Rhetta, Lyn, and Eden faded before her eyes. She turned to Hannah, "I don't understand, why is this happening." Hannah only shook her head. "It is not for me to explain. You must continue your journey. It is your destiny." Serenity watched as Hannah began to fade. Just as her friend disappeared, she heard her voice one last time, "Remember, you were and never will be alone." Super Sailor Pluto sighed. She walked down the corridor leading to the throne room of the Crystal Palace. She had been summoned by Neo-Queen Serenity and Neo-King Endymion. She had no choice but to
appear. That was her duty. Pluto knew what was to come. She entered the Throne Room to find Queen Serenity pacing the floor in front of the throne in an impatient manner. She stopped her pacing when she noticed the Guardian of Time and the King stood up and
walked towards her. "Thank you for coming so quickly, Setsuna," said the King. She only nodded. The Queen stalked towards the two with an air of determination. "Pluto, I need to ask you a few questions." "I will answer if I can," replied the Guardian of Time. Neo-Queen Serenity took a deep breath and began, "Do you know where Yargus' forces are coming from?" "No," the tall green haired woman simply answered. "But you left the meeting directly before the attack," countered the Queen in an accusatory tone. "Are you accusing me of deceitfulness?" Pluto was not amused. The Queen backed away a bit. "No, it's just that..." Super Sailor Pluto nodded. "I left the meeting abruptly and at the same moment, the drones and the robot attacked." "Do you know where Rhetta has been taken?" asked the King. "Do you know what has happened to her?" Pluto simply shook her head. "I do not know where she is." "I think you do," Serenity bluntly stated. "And if I order you to tell me?" she asked grimly. "I will not," Pluto responded dryly. "I'm not asking you to tell me every small detail of my life, or how the future is going to go. I'm asking you to tell me where Yargus is coming from. There is so much at stake here..." She looked at her
husband and tears welled up in her large blue eyes. "Including the lives of our children and their futures..." Pluto sighed. Her mother had said something similar just before facing Queen Beryl. She had not understood her desperation then, but she did now. "I know what is at stake..." she began. "But my duty comes before my oath to serve you, Queen Serenity. I am the Guardian of Time. I must answer to that duty always." Serenity's eyes widened, tears streamed slowly down her face. Kind Endymion looked intently at Pluto and put a comforting arm around his wife's shoulders. Pluto calmly watched her, expecting a formidable
show of rage and indignation. Instead, Neo-Queen Serenity broke down in tears. As she leaned on her husband for support, Pluto could hear her mutter, "Then we're doomed to watch Yargus appear whenever he wants to take our children." Neo-King Endymion silently dismissed Super Sailor Pluto with a nod. He held his wife gently and led her out of the throne room. Pluto watched them exit the room. She decided then that she would pay a visit to the ailing Princess to check
on her progress. "And then Yargus..." she vowed aloud, "I am coming for you. You will never again abuse the Door of Time again!" Hotaru's brow was knitted in concern. Luna, Artemis, and Diana stood near her, waiting for her to speak. "She is not in pain." She looked down at the cats who all sighed in relief. "I can't find any sign
of injury." She paused a moment, and tilted her head a bit as if listening to something. "But she is in conflict; she is experiencing a great deal of stress." "What from?" asked Luna. She jumped on the bed and studied the Princess, as if she would be able to find signs of stress herself. Hotaru shook her head, "I am not sure..." As Pluto made her way to the royal quarters, she was suddenly confronted by a very livid Haruka. Haruka stalked angrily up to her and pushed her against the wall. "Who the hell do you think you are, playing with MY DAUGHTER's dreams like that?" she yelled. She did not lose her grip on the Guardian of Time. "What are you talking about? I haven't done anything to anyone's dreams." she thought. "Don't lie to me. I know you did. Skye told me." Pluto was confused. "Until I was summoned to the Throne Room, I was guarding the Door of Time." She pushed Haruka away with a surprising amount of strength. "What makes you think that?" Haruka looked like she was going to start punching any second. She pointed an accusatory finger straight into Pluto's face. "When we went to explain to Skye that Rhetta had been taken, she said she already
knew, that a man, with a staff, had told her in her dreams." "What?" shouted Pluto. "Are you sure?" Haruka's eyes narrowed. "Do you think MY DAUGHTER would make something like that up?" "Of course not," replied the green haired woman. She had a strange, look on her face, as if her thoughts were far away. "Children tend to have vivid imaginations." Haruka was clearly unhappy. "Yeah, she said it was a tall man with brown hair with a big stick." "No..." Pluto said in shock. "It can't be..." "Wait!" yelled Haruka. "I'm not finished with you!" "Sorry!" Pluto responded over her shoulder. "I must check on the Princess' condition." Pluto tried hard not to run down the corridor. She suddenly stopped, turned towards Haruka, with a dangerous look on her face, the Time Key ready in her hands. "And if ever you attack me again, you will live to regret it!" Finished with her warning, she threw the Time Key quickly into its subspace pocket and began to make her way, again, to the Princess' quarters. While finding her way to her quarters, Hannah's mind began to wander. She began to remember the events of the day. She became saddened as she remembered Rhetta's capture and shuddered as she
suddenly remembered Lyn's hateful eyes as he had accused her of being responsible. Lyn found Hannah as she was about to enter her quarters. "Hannah!" he called to her. She swung quickly around, her staff in trembling hands, ready to be attacked again. "Are you here to try and annihilate me again?" She put her staff away and her whole body began to tremble. "I cannot fight
you anymore..." He held his hands up in front of himself, in surrender. "No, I'm not going to attack you..." "Why? Do you not consider me responsible for Rhetta's capture?" She crossed her arms in an attempt to stop them from shaking more. "I don't blame you if you do..." Her eyes filled with tears. She looked
down guiltily. "I am responsible." Lyn gasped in utter shock. His dark eyes widened and his mouth hung open for the moment it took him to recover. He was expecting Hannah to be angry with him, to hastily assert her responsibility for
the Princess, or even try to beat the living tar out of him. He had never ever seen her like this before. "What?" He walked up to her and she shrank away from his touch as he gently laid his hands on her elbows to steady her. "I didn't come here to blame you... I came here to apologize to you." Tears began to roll down her face and she sniffled as she talked... "But... I could have stopped... her... I should..." She shook her head as if to try and clear her mind. "I sh-should have... trusted
him..." Lyn raised an eyebrow in question. "Who's him?" She looked up at him in anguish. "Tuxedo Mask!" she exclaimed and began to sob..
"Hannah," he began, pushing the dampened hair out of her face. "You had no reason to trust him. He only showed up once before. We don't even know who he is." "But it was my choice..." she argued, and covered her face in her hands to hide her shame. Lyn pulled Hannah to him and hugged her. He was relieved when she did not pull away or cower. "Hannah, there was NO choice," he began in a gentle whisper. "You had a job to do and you did it. I know Rhetta would understand that. And SHE would never blame you." She looked up at him but did not pull away. "Some job I did... Princess Serenity is in a coma now... that I didn't even do right..." She finally leaned against him and began to cry in earnest. Lyn held her for a few minutes wishing he could take back his words and actions from before. She finally composed herself a little and pushed away, embarrassed by her actions. "I am sorry, Lyn..." "No Hannah, I'm sorry. I'll never try to hurt you again, that was unfair of me." She nodded. "Good, I'm too tired to fight." She didn't threaten to beat him severely if he tried it again, she made no curt remarks, she didn't even make a face. "I need to rest now. The day has been long." He watched her enter her quarters and shut the door behind her. "I'm sorry, Hannah," he whispered as he walked solemnly away. Neo-Princess Serenity heard the voice again, "Come to me, Princess of the Moon, your destiny awaits you." She, still a seven year old child, walked through a series of rooms. One large room was filled with dungeon-like cells. It was a large passage way with heavy, stained, wooden doors. Serenity covered
her nose at the stench and tried not to gag. The walls were covered with a thick layer of mildew and mold and the floor were covered in dirt and debris. She stopped at the sight of a pile of what seemed to be bones at her feet. She backed away and screamed when a large cat-sized rat exploded from the pile and scurried over her feet. "I have to get out of here..." "Do not run away..." commanded the deep male voice. "Soon, your questions will be answered." She hurried through the malodorous room and tried not to look at the floor or into any of the cells that had been left open. After leaving that room, she took a deep breath of air. She wandered for a time, down several corridor, always following the beckoning voice. She opened a set of double wooden doors, with ornate carvings and gasped as she entered the room. The gigantic room was almost bare, except for a demonic looking throne at the end of the room. "Where am I?" she whispered. For some reason the room was familiar to her, vaguely and she searched her memories for the answer. A shiver ran down her back as she realized the answer. "This reminds me of the throne room my mother described to me... when she battled Dad when he was brainwashed by the Nega..." She stopped and looked around the room. "Am I in the old Arctic outpost of the Negaverse?" She made past the throne and shivered again. "This must be it... This place gives me the creeps." Behind the throne room she found another set of heavy, wooden doors. As if in response, she heard the voice again, "There will be a door at the end of the hall, directly in front of you. Open it and your questions will be answered, Princess of the Moon." The hall was long. Serenity thought it was endless. She walked up to the door and turned its ornate knob. It turned but the door would not open. She put her shoulder against it, thankful that it was not covered in slime like the walls. She gave it one shove, but nothing happened. She moved away and slammed her body into the door. The door opened so suddenly, with such easy that she fell into the room. Serenity landed on her side. She pushed herself up on both hands and looked around. The room was illuminated brightly by a series
of burning torches hanging securely on the walls. She stood up and began to walk around the room. Three large dark crystals were in the room. She put hand on one, surprised by its smoothness and warmth. Serenity walked over to the wall and grabbed a burning torch. She held it over the largest crystal and gasped. "Someone is in there!" As if summoned, a figure appeared before her. He was tall, taller than even Setsuna and Haruka, she noted. His hair, parted at the center, was brown and hung in small waves down to the middle of his
back. He wore black pants, a dark green shirt, and a matching green cape. His image was slightly transparent. She could not see the color of his eyes. In his left hand he held a large staff, made out of a raven black substance, a large jewel was embedded in what looked to be like two cupped hands a the top of the staff. The jewel was rainbow colored, with black lines dispersed throughout. Serenity retreated a few paces. The man walked toward Serenity and extended his arm in welcome. "My greetings to you, Princess of the Moon. I am Obsidian. Welcome to the Dreamscape." Pluto entered Neo-Princess Serenity's room. The King and Queen had retired to their chambers for a much needed rest. Artemis and Diana stood on the floor next to the bed. Luna sat on the bed and watched as Hotaru tried to heal Serenity. "How is she, Hotaru?" asked Pluto. Hotaru looked up at Pluto. "There's nothing wrong with her... except for a good deal of stress, I sense nothing..." She leaned her head down for a moment, as if listening to Serenity once again. "I think she's dreaming." Pluto's eyes widened. Hotaru suddenly wrenched her hand away from the Princess and backed away. A chair was brought to her and she sat down in it, tired. "What is it, Hotaru? What's wrong?" "Nothing is wrong, Pluto. She is definitely dreaming." She ran a hand through her hair and yawned. "I sensed something from her dream, a
word, whispered in my mind, so softly I could barely hear it..." The cats leaned closer to hear her. "What is it?" asked Artemis. Pluto's eyes widened, almost in fear. Hotaru looked up at Pluto. "I heard the word `obsidian'." Super Sailor Pluto backed away as if she had been stung and gasped. Before anyone could react, she slumped to the ground. Amber ran quickly through the dark corridor. She ran for her life. Careful to make the next corner, she peeked quickly over her shoulder. The jewel on her forehead illuminated the scene behind her. she thought. Laser fire struck near her feet. She stopped, turned, and faced her enemy. Before her appeared a group of drones surrounding a thin robot made of a shiny, smooth looking metal. It was so smooth, Amber
could see her reflection in its torso. "That's it!" the short warrior decided. "I've had it with you!" Oddly enough, the drones and the robot stopped for a moment, as if to listen. "I am Amber, keeper of the sacred amber jewel." She raised her
right palm towards her pursuers, a small swirl of yellow-orange energy materialized. "Consider yourselves toast." As if in response, the robot began to fire and the droids began to attack. Amber backed up a bit, pointed both of her hands in front of her, and shot a strong spiral of energy towards them. Her attack made
contact with the laser fire and exploded taking most of the droids with it. The robot did not wait for the explosion to subside and began to fire a lethal round of shots towards her. She ran around the corner, all the while shielding herself from the blasts, and found herself face to face with another robot, identical except for the larger laser riffle it wielded. She looked quickly behind her and was faced with the first robot. "Shit!" she swore out loud. "I'm cornered!" Wide hazel eyes looked first to one robot then the next. Suddenly, she felt a tug at her pant legs. Amber looked down to see Skye standing next to her, in identical clothes. "What the hell are you doing here?! You're going to get yourself killed!" she explained, as she tried to shield the child with her body. Skye floated up to her eye level and simply laughed. "I can't get killed here, silly," she responded with a smile. "This is a dream, remember?" She looked to one robot then the other and smiled. "I came to help you fight 'cause you're going to have to wake up soon." Amber looked around her. It was as if time had stopped, everything was still, including laser fire, suspended in midair. Skye looked to the second robot. "I get to kill the one with the big gun, okay?" Before Amber could answer, she raised her right hand. A gleaming white arrow shot from her bracelet and split the robot
down the middle. The entire robot rusted into a pile of reddish dust on the ground. The little girl floating casually in midair smiled proudly as Amber gawked in shock. "How the heck did you do that?" she gasped. Her little green haired companion giggled in pleasure. "Come on Amber, that one's for you to shoot!" "Oh all right, then can you tell me what's going on?" Skye nodded and clapped her hands enthusiastically as Amber began her attack. Amber, who's mood was quickly souring, rolled her eyes for a moment. To Amber's utter amazement, the flames from the explosion stopped a centimeter before it touched the two Jewel Wielders. She looked up at Skye who still floated in midair. "Did you do that?" she asked the child. Skye smiled with pride. "The big man showed me how to do that," she said pointing at all the objects stationary in midair. "He said that in dreams, I can do whatever I want." With these words, her arms
motioned in animated gestures. "But this is MY dream," reminded Amber. Skye nodded solemnly. "I know. But you're looking for Rhetta and I know where she is." Amber raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Uh huh," replied the girl as she vigorously nodded her agreement. The girl tugged her along a corridor. Everything remained frozen in time. "Come on, you have to wake up soon, hurry!" A large, heavy, metal door painted in red suddenly appeared before the two. Skye floated up to a small touch pad in the wall. "Three, P, four, G, two." She looked to Amber and smiled. "That's how the door goes open." The door suddenly opened. The room was barely lit except for the small light at the back of the room. Amber gasped at the sight. There, she saw Rhetta. The girl hung from the metal bands around her wrist. Her hair was loose and knotted. Her face was bruised, battered, and bloody. The normally beautiful blue alert eyes stared blindly into nothing, dark shadows surrounding them. "Oh my god..." uttered Amber in shock. Tears rolled down her face. "Oh my god, Rhetta, what have they done to you?"
Her slender body was naked. Wires and metal instruments pierced her body in several places. Blood oozed slowly from a gash on her left thigh. As if in response, she blinked and looked directly at Amber.
Bruised lips began to move... slowly, and her face cringed with pain... "Sa... Saave me..." her words came out as a raspy plea. "RHETTA!!!! NO! RHETTA!" yelled Amber. She sat up in her bed sobbing. Hotaru gasped as she watched the tall Guardian of Time slump limply to the floor. "Oh my god, Setsuna!" she cried as she ran to her friend. She cradled the green haired woman's head in her lap as she began to probe in search of the problem. Luna and Artemis ran up to the two. "Hotaru, do you know what's wrong?" "I've never seen her do that before," wondered Artemis. Before they could answer, Super Sailor Pluto opened her eyes. A viscous look came over her face and she growled. In one graceful, fluid motion, she jumped to her feet. Turning to the stunned onlookers, she
simply stated, "I am needed elsewhere," and disappeared through a brief time portal. "What was that all about?" asked one of the doctors assigned to care for the Princess. "I don't know," said Hotaru. "Hopefully, we'll find out soon," added Luna. Eden awoke suddenly, surprised to find herself asleep on the couch. She heard the screams of her little sister and burst quickly into the room. The little girl sat cringing in her bed, broken glass
all around her. Smooth metal drones, with small, round lasers attached swarmed into the room. The pointed in all directions and began to fire. Leah screamed in fear, hiding her head under a pillow. Eden dove for the bed and shielded her with her power. The purple jewel filled the dark room, not already illuminated by the laser fire. "Monsters!!!" cried Leah in her distress. Eden clutched the child to her, laser blasts simply bouncing off her purple energy shield. "It's okay, I've got you," she crooned to her crying sister. "The monsters won't get you, I promise." "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" she heard Super Sailor Jupiter cry. A large explosion ensued as most of the drones in the living room exploded. Eden let the girl go and with both hands sent a series of powerful blasts out the window to stop the next swarm of drones from entering. Leah sat suddenly quiet, as she watched her big sister in fascination. After watching the explosion as her blasts connected with their targets, she turned to her sister and smiled. "See, no more monster." Leah smiled and laughed in glee, clapping her little chubby hands in enthusiasm. "All gone!" She declared happily. Super Sailor Jupiter burst wildly into the room, followed by her husband. "Mama,
Daddy, hi!" she said with a smile. Jupiter's features softened and she scooped up her little girl off the bed. "Are you okay, little one?" she asked. Leah nodded and pointed to Eden, once again firing at another group of drones that approached. "Monsters go boom!" she said energetically, waving her arms around for emphasis. Jupiter smiled broadly. "I can see that," she answered. Her husband chuckled in amusement. To Eden she said, "I'm going to take Leah somewhere safe downstairs. Can you find out where these things are
coming from?" "I will," answered Eden. She backed quickly away from the window and they all quickly ran from their quarters. Hannah suddenly burst form her quarters, shaking of the feelings drowsiness still clinging to her mind. She was confronted by a cloud of drones that charged at her from every direction. Unimpressed, she shut
the door to her quarters, plucked her staff quickly from its subspace pocket and stated, "Fine." Easily clutching her weapon with both hands, she began to fire at the swarm surrounding her. They exploded, one by one, as her blue-black energy made contact with them. But more continued towards
her. "This is not amusing," she muttered as she continued her attack. She began to make her way down the corridor annihilating drones as she tried to run. She thought. Lyn walked slowly down the hall. Hannah's anguished face echoed in his mind. He turned a corner absentmindedly and did not
notice a swarm of drones easily surrounding him. Hannah had noticed his appearance and what surprised when he did not begin to defend himself. "Pay attention, you idiot!" the dark haired girl growled. Lyn, startled by the commotion around him, looked at an angry, fuming Hannah sitting on his chest. With one arm, her staff was raised shielding them successfully from harm. With the other, she grabbed a handful of his brown hair. She tugged it as she continued, "There is a swarm of drones flying through Crystal Palace and you are too busy worrying about Rhetta to notice!!" she shouted this in frustration as more drones began to surround them. Lyn cringed in pain as Hannah tugged harder on her fistful of his hair. He pushed her off his chest and sat up. "All right, enough already, Hannah, I get it," he said in an irritated tone. He stood up,
helped up his friend, and watched the drones swarm towards them. He opened his mouth to explain, but stopped and shook his head. "First things first!" He raised his hands high above his head, then quickly flung a series of tiny emerald powered squares at the drones. Drones began to explode around him. Hannah joined in and began to blast whole groups of
drones in one blast. They waited as their mechanized enemies exploded. Hannah grabbed Lyn by the arm. "This way," she said as she began to run in the direction of the Meeting Room. Lyn followed quietly for a moment. He suddenly stopped her in mid-stride, turned her around and said. "Just to let you know, I was worried about you." Hannah looked up into his eyes. A brief moment of guilt flickered over her face. She nodded wordlessly to him, turned, and continued down the corridor. Lyn followed behind her. Hotaru, the two cats and the doctors had not had the time to discuss Pluto's hasty exit when a swarm of drones made it through the balcony doors. They all protected themselves from the shattered glass
flying towards them. The doctors dove for cover. Luna and Artemis headed under the bed. "Serenity!" they cried in unison. Hotaru quickly transformed. Sailor Saturn began to attack. "Princess!" she cried as she looked back to check on the Princess. Instead of finding the Princess of Crystal Tokyo covered in shards of glass, she found her covered by the protective cape of a young green haired Tuxedo Mask. "You!" she cried. He simply nodded for her to continue her attack. he thought, Super Sailor Saturn raised her staff and began to annihilate the hoards of drones flying continuously into the room. Pluto appeared in front of the Gate of Time just as the largest robot she had ever seen was entering a time portal. Rage flowed from within her, consuming her with a need for vengeance she had never before
known... She plucked her staff quickly from its subspace pocket. Rage from two thousand years ago, towards a Queen that had, in one attack, obliterated those that belonged to her... She pointed her weapon
directly at the robot... Rage for the loss that had burned within her for too long... She felt the power burn within her, straining to be realized. Rage for the control Yargus had claimed over HER Door of
Time... She began to control the power, channeling it..." Rage for the damage Yargus had inflicted... The power grew in its intensity, fueled by her emotions. She gripped her staff tighter in her hands. Rage for
the two thousand years that she had waited to hear that name again. Suddenly, despite her emotions, her whole being calmed. She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed deeply. "Dead scream," she whispered, aiming her staff at the enemy. The power burst violently from within her as her momentary calmness dissipated. It blasted through her staff and hurled itself towards the gigantic robot that dwarfed her. She screamed her rage to it, watching the burst of blinding light as her attack contacted with its recipient. Super Sailor Pluto stood before the open Door of Time. She held her staff in her right hand. Her breaths came in ragged gasps as she surveyed the damage she had inflicted on her enemy with dark, fierce
eyes. She clenched her other hand tightly, controlling her emotions once again. The portal that had been opened closed upon her command. Where the robot had stood, there was nothing but a black, charred spot on the ground. A determined look came upon her face. She raised her staff in the air, and in a cruel, husky voice, she said, "Now Yargus, I am in control..." Amber's thoughts of revenge were interrupted by the shouts of her brother. "SCARRYYYY!!" he cried. "Get in here! NOW!" She flipped the hair out of her face and wiped the tears away. The wall in front of her suddenly exploded and she could see directly into the living room. Super Sailor Venus stood at the back of the room, with her little brother huddled behind her. She had just used her Crescent Beam attack to annihilate a large group of drones. "What's going on here?" asked Amber. She watched as another swarm of drones filed in from her brother's room. "Where are they coming from?" she asked before her mother could answer her. Venus only shook her head. "I don't have any idea, Amber. You mind helping us out here?" "Sure!" replied her short daughter in an emotionless tone of voice. Amber colored energy began to swirl around her, almost like a tornado. She lifted her towards the regrouped enemy and fired tiny
lethal blasts of swirled yellow orange energy towards them. Adam peaked from behind his mother's legs to get a better look at the drones' destruction, but was pushed safely back again by his mother's firm hand. "Oh no you don't..." she warned. "Leave the fighting to the experts, young man." Super Sailor Venus watched as her young daughter stared with intense hatred at the drones and laughed in a creepy satisfaction at their destruction. Before Amber could prepare for another attack, more drones swooped quickly into the room. "Amber, get back!" shouted Venus. She put her fingers to her lip and yelled, "Venus, Love and Beauty Shock!" and made a gesture as if she was blowing her enemies a kiss. The next explosion pushed the Sailor Scout and her son against hard against the wall. But it did not harm Amber. She stood there, fully shielded from it all, chuckling in amusement. "First, we kill your
drones, Yargus," she muttered. "And then I'm coming for you..." Venus checked to make sure her son was all right. "You okay, Adam?" she asked. He nodded absently, staring in fascination at his crazy sister. She began to lead him by the hand out of the room,
saying, "Amber, I'm going to bring Adam downstairs to safety..." She stopped when she noticed that her daughter wasn't listening. "Amber!" she said, in her motherly, you'd better be paying attention tone of
voice. Amber snapped suddenly to attention and looked towards her mom. "I'm going to bring him downstairs to safety. Get to the Meeting Room!" Amber only nodded and didn't move for a moment. Mother and son began make their way down a slightly smoky hall. "Know what, Mum?" he asked, smiling up at her. She looked down at her son and smiled. "She's not Scary any more." He paused as his blond mother raised her eyebrows in surprise. she thought. "Naw, she's `Crazy' now." Venus shot her son an unamused look. Haruka arrived at her quarters to find her daughter safely in her bed and Michiru also taking a nap. She crawled under the covers and settled down next to her. But she found that she could not sleep. Her confrontation with Pluto had unsettled her. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of an explosion and the smell of smoke and melting metal coming from the living room. Both women bolted out of bed. They ran into the living room to find their
daughter surrounded by smoke and fire. She floated gracefully in the middle of the room. She was dressed in a pair of cotton pants and a T-shirt. Her diamond gleamed brightly from her delicate bracelet,
shielding her from harm. She laughed at the explosion and her parents gasped as drones began to fill the room. "Neptune Crystal Power Make-Up!" "Uranus Crystal Power Make-Up!" the two women shouted in unison. Skye began to shoot arrows at drones, laughing in glee as they exploded. She waved contentedly to Super Sailor Uranus and Super Sailor Neptune and smiled. "I'm practicing," she said as she blasted another drone. Distracted, she missed a couple of drones as they began to shoot at her with colorful beams of laser fire. "Skye!!" shouted both women instantly. Skye moved quickly out of the way, barely missing the laser fire. One blast knicked her T-shirt, leaving a black, shared whole. "Damn, I can't fire on them with her there!" swore Uranus. Neptune nodded in agreement. The two Outer Scouts knew instantly what to do. They both ran towards the door, Uranus plucking her daughter out of midair on her way passed. Skye wailed in protest. "Mommy, I was practicing," she said in an evil tone. Uranus just kept running with a firm hold on her daughter. "You can practice later." Neptune stopped, turned towards a swarm or drones and shouted "Deep Submerge!" Her attack hit the drones and they exploded. Suddenly a large group of drones burst through the floor in front of Uranus. She pitched her girl into midair, raised a powerful arm and shouted, "World Shaking!" A round sphere of energy blasted to
the drones. They exploded with a crash that collapsed more of the floor ahead of them. "That should hold them for now!" said Uranus. The green haired Sailor Scout nodded in reply. Neptune plucked the girl out of the air and began to run in the other direction, sure that Uranus followed. Amber heard the scream of a woman, and veered into one of the dining halls used to entertain important guests. She found a young kitchen girl, cowering in fear on the balcony as a hoard of drones blew
past above her. Amber ran into the room and yelled, "Watch out!" She raised her hands and sent a rapid spiral of yellow orange energy towards the swarm. Amber dove for the girl and shielded her as the drones exploded above them. The girl continued to scream in fear, panicked by the danger she was in. Amber pulled the girl to her and hugged her. she thought. "Can you get downstairs?" she asked her. The girl nodded, still afraid but more calm. "Good, you do that. I'll take care of our metal guests." She started to fire at oncoming drones as the girl ran from the room. "I'll nail everything you can throw at me, Yargus!" she swore. "And then I'm coming for you!" The sky seemed to darken before her and Amber looked up to see a huge, metallic object floating in the sky. Small hatches opened and large groups of drones, filed out, one by one. "So that's where they're
coming from." Glad that the balcony was only six feet down, Amber launched herself over the rail of the balcony. She landed on her feet easily, unconcerned for her personal safety. Her jewel began to glow in soft,
timed pulses. Skye screamed as Super Sailor Uranus continued to carry her down the hall. Her small bracelet shined with soft, intermittent bursts of energy. "I have to go Mommy, Mama. Tell her I have to go. They need me!
I have to help." "Sorry Skye, you're just too young," answered Neptune. "When you're older, it'll be no problem," Uranus assured her daughter. "But I'm good at fighting!" wailed the little girl. "I can help!!" Uranus, Neptune, and Skye rounded a corner only to meet Eden, Lyn, and Hannah running towards a nearby exit. Eden had encountered Hannah and Lyn in the last corridor. They stopped for a moment when they heard the girl screaming, "I want to help! I'm good at shooting arrows!" Hannah ran up to Uranus and nodded. "She is correct. We will need her help." "Sorry Hannah," said Uranus, shooting her the look of death for encouraging the girl. "She's too young." "She fought in the past," said Eden. "She did well," added Lyn. Neptune looked at Uranus and nodded silently. Uranus handed over her little girl to Eden and opened her mouth for a warning.
Hannah waived a small hand in the air, unconcerned and said, "Yes I know, if anything happens to her, there will be things far worse than death done to us." Super Sailor Neptune giggled as she watched the group dash towards the exit leading to the gardens. Uranus shot her an annoyed look. "When did she start talking to us that way?" The two began to make their way towards the Meeting Room. "When she stopped being scared of you," added her partner with a snicker. Neo-Queen Serenity and Neo-King Endymion burst into their daughter's bedroom. Chaos had erupted not a moment before. They found Super Sailor Saturn near the balcony door destroying most of the drones
as they entered the room. The doctors were huddled under a table at the far corner of the room. They stopped as they noticed a figure in front of the Princess' bed. He was young, dressed in a tuxedo complete with top hat and cane. His short hair, which could be seen from under the hat, was a mint green
color. With one arm, he protected the Princess' unconscious form from any stray laser blasts. With the other he used his canes to fight any drones that came this way. Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion both gasped in shock. Serenity looked towards her husband, back at the young man and then back at her husband. "Tuxedo Mask?" they managed to gasp at the same time. He looked their way and nodded. Endymion looked at his wife in alarm. "We can't just leave her with HIM!" he growled. "He's fine. He's doing a good job. We have to stop those drones," she assured her husband. "But we don't even know WHO he is," he insisted. "Oh and we knew who you were?" she reminded the "former" Tuxedo Mask. He nodded, and resigned himself to agree with her. She was right. They ran towards Saturn, who allowed them to pass. At the same time, both the King and Queen jumped off the balcony, as if they could fly. Neo-Queen Serenity's gown flowed gracefully around her as she became suspended in midair by the power of
the Silver Crystal. She raised her hands in front of her and began to blast at the cloud of drones that surrounded them. Endymion landed on the roof of the garden gazebo. He began to destroy drones, one by one, with his powerful strokes of his sword. He looked down to see a large, metallic object hovering above Amber.
Drones seemed to be coming from it. All at once he saw the Jewel Wielders surround it. Amber, Eden, Lyn, Skye, and Hannah surrounded the metallic object that was spewing drones. "How do we defeat this?" asked Eden. A wave of drones came towards them and they began to defend themselves. "Some of us should concentrate on the drones while the others can take care of this metal monstrosity," said Eden. Skye began to shoot drones, one by one, laughing as each exploded. Amber smiled at her young friend. "Sounds like fun to me," she told her. To the others, she said, "I'll cover the kid. We'll take
care of the pets. You guys can take care of the freak show here." They all nodded in agreement and set out to do their jobs. Hannah eyed the metal object in front of her with tired eyes. The object responded with a new surge of drones. Eden destroyed the drones blazing towards Hannah and Lyn responded with a wave of green rectangles towards the metal foe. The explosion that followed sent the Wielders to the ground. Lyn, Eden and Hannah landed near each other. Amber held Skye close to her as she wailed in surprise. "Don't worry, Sweetie, I've got you."
The short haired Jewel Wielder said to soothe the child. Super Sailor Uranus and Neptune ran into the Meeting Room and found Sailor Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus already performing a scan of Crystal Tokyo. "Where are the drones coming from?" asked Uranus. Venus moved aside for her to view the data on the screen in front of her. "They are coming from three metallic objects," began Jupiter, "One in the center of the industrial district of the city, one near the front gates of Crystal Palace, and the largest one, here..." she said as she pointed to the spot on the view screen. "In the gardens. As we speak the Jewel Wielders have begun their attack." She smiled toward Uranus and Neptune suddenly. "Looks like Skye is doing a good job pegging off the drones with Amber." Neptune smiled with pride. Uranus was still not amused. "Also," continued Jupiter, "Neo-Queen Serenity and Neo-King Endymion are in the gardens, near the Princess' chambers, fighting drones." "They seem to have the situation under control there," remarked Mercury. "Who's defending the Princess?" asked Venus. As if in response, Uranus hit a button that activated a communications channel within the Palace. "Uranus to Saturn, what is your position?" Saturn responded quickly. "I with the Princess, everyone is okay here. I'm near the balcony stopping the drones." "Who is with the Princess directly?" asked Jupiter, wondering if one of them shouldn't teleport over to help. "It seems Tuxedo Mask is here to help," she responded, an explosion was heard as Saturn destroyed a new group of drones. Neptune shook her head. "I know they said that he had appeared before, but we know now that Endymion is in the gardens." "See for yourself," said Saturn breathlessly. "I really don't have time to argue right now." With the touch of a crystal button, Uranus activated the viewer. Super Sailor Saturn stood near the door leading to the balcony, sending a powerful attack to a small group of drones. She moved the viewer towards the Princess' bed and saw a young Tuxedo Mask loyally protecting the Princess. "She's right!" gasped Mercury. She made a few calculations and shook her head. "He is real all right." "Mercury, are you up for a fight?" Jupiter asked her tired looking friend. "Sure," she replied, though the others were doubtful. "Fine," said Jupiter. "Mercury, Venus, Mars, get the object in the industrial sector. Uranus, Neptune, get the one at the gates." She began to punch at specific buttons. "I'll make sure all the people who
were evacuated to the basement remain safe. "Let's do it," said Venus and they all teleported away to fight. More and more drones began to exit from the metallic object. There were suddenly so many drones, they seemed to block the light of the sun. Neo-Queen Serenity and Neo-King Endymion began to fight harder
as the drones surrounded them at a quicker pace. Amber's eyes began to narrow in her impatience. "Any time now, guys!" She looked over to Skye, who hadn't stopped laughing in her pleasure. Her arrows came smoothly from her bracelet now and she fired them with fatal accuracy. "We need a distraction!" called Eden. "You got it!" said Amber, "Distractions are my specialty." She let her power flow around her. The swirl around her became so powerful, she began to levitate in the air.
"Skye, get out of the way!" she called. Skye, decided to ignore Amber's warning. She was having too much fun and didn't want to stop. Not paying attention, she found herself suddenly surrounded by a lot more drones than she cared to see.
"I want you to stay close to me," warned Hannah. "I promised your mother you would be fine." She looked over to Amber. "Amber will be busy for now." Hannah moved out of the way quickly, pulling a hesitant little girl behind her, who was suddenly startled by her friend's powerful display. She did so just in time. Amber floated up so high, she was at
the same level as the object. Drones began to surround her like a swarm of hornets, but Amber didn't care. Her eyes began to glow with yellow orange energy. She focused her thoughts on Rhetta. The Wielders shielded themselves from their friend's powerful display, stunned at her power. Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion did the same. The Queen shot her husband a worried look, knowing that the
display was proof of the girl's intense grief at the capture of her friend. When the explosion had subsided, Amber began to fall towards the ground, unconscious. Skye used her telekinetic abilities to cushion her friend's fall. The other's began their attack. Hannah's staff suddenly appeared and she sent a breathtaking sphere of energy towards her enemy. Lyn added his attack not a moment later. Just as the two Jewel Wielder's attacks impacted, Eden sent a
strong blast of purple energy towards the object and Skye sent an amazing succession of brilliant, white, arrows towards her target. They ran towards Amber and shielded themselves from the explosions that
continued. Amber began to stir. Eden got to her first and helped her sit up. "Are you okay, Amber?" she asked. Amber shook her head and smiled weakly at her friends surrounding her. "Sure, did we destroy that thing." They looked up to see what was left of the object. To their surprise, the object was unharmed. "We have that thing everything we've got," said Lyn in anger. "So what are we going to do now?" asked Amber is disappointment.> "We do it again?" said Skye with a questioning tone of voice. They all smiled at this. "Leave it to the kid to be the only rational one here," chuckled Amber. "I have the feeling that she spends too much time with you," said Hannah with a grin. "Maybe," replied the short haired girl, "But she's right." The object began to spin rapidly. All of the sudden, a compartment opened at the top of the metallic and so did another at the bottom. To the amazement of the Jewel Wielders and the King and Queen,
the object transformed itself into a large, smooth, robot, shaped as a phoenix. "Great," muttered Amber. She was highly unimpressed. "Yargus is getting smart." Neo-Princess Serenity looked up to the figure before her. "So you led me here, through this Dreamscape?" she asked Obsidian. "Yes," he replied, his deep voice echoing through the room. "But why?" she answered, as she shook her head. "To free me," he added simply. "Why not bring someone stronger?" Asked Serenity. "My mother would be a better choice." "The Queen is needed elsewhere," Obsidian answered easily. Serenity began to bombard him with questions. "So who exactly are you? And what is this Dreamscape? How were you able to lead me here? And how do you know me?" She was interrupted by the tall man before her who pointed his staff directly at her. "There is no time now. You must come here and free me. Then all will be revealed to you," he said forcefully. Serenity packed away a few step. "But I can't fight," she whispered in defeat. "I lost my transformation last time I was Sailor Moon and I almost got myself killed." Obsidian looked down and smiled at her gently. "The self doubt within you is what prevents you from fighting." He put a hand on her head, as if she were a small child. "You must believe in yourself,
Princess. The power is within you; as it always has been." Super Sailor Uranus and Neptune encountered the same opposition. A smooth, robotic phoenix flew above them, poised to attack at any moment. Uranus was thankful that they had been able to destroy the
drones and clear most of the civilians from the area. "Once again he has divided us," Uranus complained to the green haired Sailor Scout standing next to her. "I know," Neptune replied softly. "But what choice did we have, we must protect the people of Crystal Tokyo." "True, but we will never defeat Yargus this way," Uranus concluded. "Somehow, Uranus, we have a more pressing matter at hand." She dove to the ground, as the mechanized phoenix swooped down and shot a blast of fire towards her. Uranus dodged the next blast as it came her way. "Agreed. But let's hurry. I want to get back to Skye." Mercury scanned the robotic bird flying in the air with her visor. "Watch out, Sailor Scouts. This one can spew fire as well as laser blasts." "Fine," said Mars. "Then I'll fight fire with fire," she said with determination. "Mars Fire Sniper!" Super Sailor Mars shot a strong arrow made of fire at the robot. The bird was damaged a little, but
swooped towards its prey, spraying fire from its mechanical beak. Mercury reacted instantly. "Shining Aqua Illusion!" she shouted, sending a dangerous blast of water towards her opponent. This stopped the burst of fire towards Mars, but did not damage it in the
least. Venus watched the bird for a moment. "Mercury, can you estimate when it will swoop next?" Mercury activated her visor and scanned their opponent for a moment. "Now!" she warned. Venus began her attack. "Venus Love Chain Encircle!" She used the length of chain as a whip to ensnare the phoenix and pull it to the ground. Mercury smiled and without hesitation shouted: "Mercury Ice Storm Freeze!" Her attack left the bird a frozen, lifeless mass that clanked as it hit the ground. Mars shouted with pleasure, "My turn!" she said with a vicious smile. "Mars Celestial Fire Surround!" As her brutal attack hit their opponent it shattered into a million small pieces and then burst into
flame. Mercury scanned the debris and sighed. She looked to Mars who nodded in agreement. "I am tired of being toyed with," said the blue haired Sailor Scout. "Then it's time we take control of the game," said Venus. Quickly they teleported back to the Palace. Serenity and Endymion watched the bird swoop towards the Jewel Wielders. Super Sailor Saturn had obliterated the last of the drones that had tried to enter her daughter's bedroom, Endymion had destroyed
the last of them that had attacked outdoors. All that was left was this phoenix. The phoenix was huge, with a wing span of about ten feet. Despite its size it was very fast and the Jewel Wielders, despite their strength and growing control were having trouble attacking it. "That's it," she said suddenly, with a very queenly attitude. "I'm ending this now." Uranus and Pluto dodged another attack. The bird was small, but very fast. Despite their continued warnings, a crowd had formed to watch the display. The phoenix suddenly swooped towards a group of boys, who stood huddled near the fence. Neptune ran towards the boys and shouted, "Deep Submerge!" The powerful sphere of water hit the phoenix and sent it crashing into the fence. The boys screamed and ran and the phoenix began to swoop again. A small girl had pushed her way through the crowd. She was about five years old, with small green eyes and a little blue ponytail. The phoenix set its targets on her and began an attack of lethal laser
fire. "NO!!" yelled Uranus. She launched herself towards the girl, knocking her down. She pulled the crying child towards her with powerful arms, rolled with her to avoid the laser fire. She jumped to her feet, and thrust the terrified girl into the crowd. "This is no place for gawking. The danger is real. This isn't a movie!" she yelled at the onlookers angrily. "Why don't we take this problem closer to home?" asked her partner, smiling mischievously. "Good idea, there we would be more in control," replied Uranus. "The gardens should be clear by now," she said. Neptune nodded. Just as the small bird swooped to attack with a wall of fire, the two Outer Scouts joined their hands and shouted, "Sailor Teleport!" The mechanical phoenix was caught in the teleport and the three disappeared with cry of disappointment from the crowd that had circled them. Neo-Queen Serenity floated towards the phoenix who attacked its enemies with ease. "I'm going to finish this thing off!" she yelled down to the Jewel Wielders. "The phoenix is no match for the Silver
Crystal." The Silver Crystal appeared between her hands. Amber and Skye reacted simultaneously, both firing at the phoenix. It took the bait and swooped towards them. "Oh no you don't," the said the Queen of Crystal Tokyo with calm certainty. She fired a single blast of white energy towards the mechanical bird. The phoenix erupted into a ball of flames and then crashed to the ground. Neo-Queen Serenity landed in front of its charred remains, smiled and said triumphantly, "Dusted!!" She looked around and smiled
as the teenagers around her began to cheer and the little girl began to clap her hands in glee. Neo-Princess Serenity opened her eyes. She sat up and tried to focus them. She found herself being protected by her young Tuxedo Mask. "Sorry, no time to chat," she said as she pushed him out of the way and
leaped out of bed. Super Sailor Saturn gasped in shock. "Small Lady, you're awake!" she said with pleasure. She ran up to hug the Princess, but she was quickly shoved aside. "I don't have time for this, Saturn." She walked quickly towards the open balcony doors. "I have to save my mother." Neo-Princess Serenity paused for a moment. She jumped over the balcony rails and shouted, "Neo-Eternal Moon Make-Up!" Just as the Queen shouted, "Dusted!" Super Sailor Uranus and Neptune appeared with their flying enemy still swooping towards them. The two nimble Outer Scouts avoided the bird, but could not stop it as
it aimed directly for Neo-Queen Serenity, who stood triumphantly over the ruin remains of her enemy. "Serenity watch out!" called King Endymion as he jumped from his perch on the roof to save his wife. "Damn!" swore Uranus. Neo-Queen Serenity, reacted with a swiftness born of great experience. She raised her left hand, twisted towards the oncoming phoenix and sent a single, powerful blast of energy towards it. It exploded quickly and the Queen used the crystal to shield herself from its burning remains. Neo-King Endymion ran to his wife as she descended to the ground and hugged her fiercely. "I'm fine," she whispered to him. She was accustomed to his need to protect her, and understood it even more with their daughter lying unconscious in her bed. "Where did that come from?" asked Amber. All the Jewel Wielders looked up and began to cheer. Super Sailor Mars, Mercury, and Venus appeared next to the Jewel Wielders. Just at the same moment, Jupiter ran from the Palace, hungry to fight. Suddenly the sky darkened above them. They all looked up to see a strange, bird-like ship hovering above the Crystal Palace. The spacecraft was huge and built out of a black, smooth metal. A round hatch opened up, and with a flash of brilliant orange light, fired directly at the King and Queen. The Scouts reacted at once. They summoned the power of their respective planets to shield their monarchs from the blast. The Jewel Wielders followed suit by firing at the blast with all their might. The blast did not let up. It continued its assault on the King and Queen despite the Scouts' shield. Smaller bird like robots flew from the drones and began to fire at the Jewel Wielders. In response the Jewel Wielders began to fire upon them. "What are we going to do?" asked Eden. She fired at a small bird screeching rapidly towards her. "We can't help them this way!" growled Amber. "This is intolerable!" spat Hannah, as she destroyed two robots in front of her. Suddenly a powerful blast of fuchsia colored energy hit the orange laser beam. Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon flew closer to the beam, despite the danger to herself. she thought
as she gritted her teeth and continued her attack. Super Sailor Saturn appeared in front of the King and Queen. She raised her staff high into the air with both hands sent a powerful blast of energy towards the beam attacking the King and Queen. Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon renewed her efforts. She looked up towards the ship and yelled, "Crystal Tokyo Princess Attack!" The pink haired Sailor Moon sent a more powerful blast of fuchsia energy towards the enemy's attack. She heard the explosions below as her friends finished off the small robots. With the help of Sailor Saturn below, the beam suddenly bounced off the shields made of planetary power and only nearly missed the ship. The alien ship floated upwards a ways and did not attack again. The Wielders shouted in pride, at the success of their combined attacks. The Scouts gathered around Neo-King Endymion and Neo-Queen Serenity. Both rulers hugged their friends, thankful for their protection. Neo-Queen Serenity looked up into the sky, unsure of what she expected to see. To her great surprise and happiness, she saw the most beautiful
sight she had ever seen. Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon easily landed in front of her mother. "Looks like I got here just in time," she said with a smile. "Reenie!" gasped the King and Queen. "Small Lady!" gasped the Sailor Scouts, at such an exact moment, Princess Serenity wondered briefly if they practiced these things. "Princess!" gasped Hannah. "Yippee!" shouted Skye. She looked to Amber who smiled broadly at her friend and to Eden and Lyn who nodded their approval with equally brilliant smiles. "Sailor Moon is here!!" Neo-Queen Serenity cupped her beautiful daughter's face in trembling hands. She smiled through her tears, staring deeply into the teenagers large, red eyes. "You're awake..." she said in wonder. Sailor Moon felt the tears begin to spill from her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. Instead, she threw herself into her mother's arms with a sob. They hugged for what seemed to both of them an eternity, both crying and clinging to each other. Neo-Queen Serenity finally pulled away from her daughter, quite reluctantly, to allow her friends and family to greet her also. The King and Queen stood side by side and watched as the Jewel Wielders, and the Sailor Scouts gathered around their daughter. Neo-Queen Serenity smiled at her husband in pleasure. But the smile quickly faded as she noticed Mercury, standing to the side, as she tried to hide her tears. Neo-Queen Serenity walked over to her old friend and hugged her fiercely. "Don't worry, Amy, we'll get her back. I promise." "What the hell is that thing?" asked Uranus, grabbing her daughter to protectively. "That," said the Queen, "Is Yargus playing his next hand." "He won't win this time!" swore Mercury. "No he won't," said Neo-Eternal Sailor Moon with determination, "This time he'll pay."
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