Saitoku had begun to tell the Sailor Senshi's story, but it was not long before she realized that her speech was going unheard. She could tell by Kairiki's eye movements and facial expressions that the memories of Makoto and Sailor Jupiter were returning on their own.
It was not until almost half-an-hour later that Kairiki moved again. Kairiki, like Saitoku had, let out a long, tortured scream. Saitoku was not surprised to see the familiar symbol of Jupiter on Kairiki's forehead.
"Makoto?" Saitoku whispered, hoping to calm her friend down.
Kairiki stopped screaming, opened her eyes, and looked at Saitoku.
"Ami!" Kairiki said as she launched herself towards Saitoku and enveloped her in a tight hug, which she returned immediately.
Soon the two old friends were sitting across from each other, knee-to-knee.
"Exactly how long has it been since the Fall, Ami?"
Saitoku computed the information out loud.
"Well, Crystal Tokyo fell in 4259, and since it's 7989... it's been 3730 years since the fall."
"Wow." Was all that Kairiki could say.
"Yes, it has been a long time. It really is not a surprise that the Crystal Millennium became a fairy tale."
"Yes, you're right, of course. I just wish that people would face the facts and realize that the Crystal Millennium isn't a fairy tale. To refuse to believe in the Sailor Senshi is saying that we never lived, nor did Minako, Usagi, Rei, Serenity, Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, Mamoru, and Setsuna."
"True, but remember that before you regained your memories, you did not believe that the Crystal Millennium really existed." Saitoku pointed out.
Kairiki blushed. "Yes, well..."
"Oh, it's all right, I'm sure the rest will probably be nonbelievers also."
"The rest? You mean we're the first?"
"Yes. We are the only two to regain our memories so far."
"So I guess we'll have to be on the look out for the rest from now on, huh?"
"Yup, that's how I found you. I was on the look out for my friends."
"I was wondering why you were staring at everyone today!" Kairiki confessed.
Saitoku blushed. "You noticed?"
"Everyone did!"
Saitoku turned an impossible shade of red.
"Oh, it's all right! I'm sure no one will remember it tomorrow."
"Good."
There was a moment of silence, and then Kairiki asked, "Do you remember dying?"
"Yes."
"Could you tell me about it?"
"I was the last to go, besides Serenity. I remember that the sun was just beginning to come up over the horizon, and the sky was full of colors. It was the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen, and I was glad that I was to die on such a beautiful morning.
"My energy was almost all gone, and I was struggling to shoot off Shabon Sprays. I finally gathered all of my remaining energy and pooled it into one last Aqua Rhapsody. The attack worked, but it was pretty weak. After that last Aqua Rhapsody, I was too weak to do anything but fight hand-to-hand. I held out for maybe five minutes, but then an acidic blast hit me. I can still recall the pain that I felt, but the pain only lasted for a few seconds, and I was gone."
Kairiki let her friends' words seep in for a minute, and then she spoke up.
"I remember that I was very weak, and the only thing that kept me going was my anger. My anger managed to fuel me, give me enough strength to continue fighting. I don't even know how I was able to keep my Oak Evolutions up for so long, but I did it somehow. But by the time I was too weak for Oak Evolutions, the only thing I could pull off was an extremely low powered Supreme Thunder. For some reason, it never occurred to me that Supreme Thunder was lightning, and that lightning would ignite everything around me, including me."
Kairiki paused for a moment, remembering.
"I remember the feeling of panic, but only for a moment, as the flames that my attack had created began to move towards me. My panic soon turned to satisfaction as I saw so many Possesseds dying. I gathered up the strength for one more Supreme Thunder. The last thing I remember was letting the attack go, and then... nothing. I guess that is when I died."
Saitoku let her friend cry into her shoulder for a few minutes, and then she spoke up.
"That last attack you did, it helped a lot."
"Did it?"
"Yes. It had to have taken out at least one hundred Possesseds."
"Good!"
Saitoku laughed.
"What?"
"It's nice to hear that edge in your voice again. Strangely enough, I missed it."
Kairiki mulled this over for a moment.
"You know what, so have I!"
The two girls laughed for a good long time.
An hour later, the girls were still in the mausoleum, talking of old times, and just enjoying each other's company.
Kairiki finally decided to ask that all important question.
"So, Ames... did anyone survive from the Crystal Millennium?"
"As a matter of fact, yes."
"Who?"
"Us." Luna, Artemis, and Diana said in unison.
"Luna! Artemis! Diana!" Kairiki said with joy.
"It's good to see you, Makoto." Luna said.
"Yes, very good." Artemis added. Diana just smiled.
The five old friends talked pleasantries for a while, until, once again, Kairiki asked a pressing question.
"Why were we reborn so long after Crystal Tokyo?"
"We think that a new evil might be nearby." Luna explained.
"Actually, it is an old evil." Saitoku said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Artemis asked.
Saitoku blushed a deep red. "I fought a black mist."
"When?!" Four voices shouted at her.
"Before I met up with Makoto at the cemetery gates. The mist was floating in an alley way, and I took it upon myself to destroy it before it could possess anyone."
"Good work, Ami." Luna said.
"Yes, good work." Artemis said.
"But doesn't this mean that it is going to happen all over again?" Diana asked.
"Yes, I suppose so." Artemis answered.
"But didn't Serenity kill all of the Possesseds?" Diana asked.
"Yes she did." Luna answered.
"Then why are they back?" Kairiki questioned.
"If they are returning, that must mean that there is something behind all of this. Those mists had to come from somewhere, and we made the mistake, in the past, of not finding out where." Saitoku said. "This time around, we must correct our old mistakes, and we must kill the source of the problem."
"But how will we find the source?" Kairiki asked.
"Well, if Luna would be so kind as to give my back my computer..." The words had barely left Saitoku's mouth before the computer was landing in front of her. "Thank you Luna. As I was saying... now that I have my computer back, next time a black mist pops up, I'll scan it and use the information it gives me to scan for the 'parent' mist. Once we locate where that mist is, we will be able to get rid of it, and therefore we will be rid of all of the black mists."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Kairiki said.
The cats nodded in agreement.
Maybe it was the thousands of years of dormancy that fogged the memories of the cats and the two Senshi, but they seemed to have forgotten that in the world of the Sailor Senshi, nothing was that easy.
It felt a twinge of pain as a small part of Itself died. It could easily bare the pain, for nothing could compare to the pain it had felt that dreadful day thousands of years ago. On that day, It had been reduced to nothing but a speck of blackness. But It had survived, and It was determined to continue to survive.
It was confused, though, to how the black mist had been killed. Only a blast of pure positive energy could kill a black mist, and no one could create that much energy, unless...
Then It knew, they were coming back. If the mist could grin, It would have been grinning quite evilly. Its' enemies were finally returning, and It could finally have Its' revenge!
The next day, Kairiki and Saitoku sat together at lunch, which drew some curious stares from classmates.
"Why are they staring at us?" Saitoku asked no one in particular.
"Think about it. Two of the shyest people in school have finally become friends. People are probably just wondering what took us so long."
"Oh, makes sense."
The two girls ate quietly side-by-side, both too busy eating to talk.
When the meal was finally gone, Saitoku said, "I didn't know I missed hamburgers and fries so much!"
"Me neither." Then Kairiki broke out laughing.
"What?"
"You should have seen my mom's face when she saw me cooking these! She though I was nuts! But then she tried some, and agreed it was excellent. Unfortunately, now she thinks I invented it!"
Saitoku could not help but to laugh along, until she got sight of a very angry Saka storming towards her.
"Uh oh. Wonder what I did now?"
"Why, what's wrong."
Before Saitoku could answer, Saka was there.
"Hello, Blueberry Head."
"Uh, hello, Saka."
"Do you know that it took me three hours to do the homework last night, because you, once again, opened your big mouth in class and made Mr. Gishi mad?"
"Umm, no, I didn't know."
"Well, it did, and now I'm mad, and now, you're going to pay!"
Saka made to reach for Saitoku, but Kairiki stopped her by placing herself between the two girls.
"Stay away from her." Kairiki said with an edge on her voice.
"What?"
"I said, stay away from her!"
"You can't scare me, Kairiki, you're too weak!"
Saka realized right away that she probably should not have said that, because a fiery hatred erupted in Kairiki's eyes. Before Saka could take a breath, Kairiki had her by her collar, and made to punch her, but stopped before she reached her nose.
"Don't ever call me weak again. You got that?"
Saka managed to nod.
"Good, now get out of here, and I'd better not catch you bother A-, Saitoku again, you got that?"
"Yes." Saka said, but secretly not meaning it.
"Good." Kairiki said, releasing Saka, and grinning bemusedly as she tried to make a dignified walk away.
"That felt really good!" Kairiki said.
Saitoku started laughing, and found that she just could not stop. That was all right though, for Kairiki soon joined in the laughter.
Back to Chapter Four
Chapter Six
