Defying Destiny "I can do nothing" her voice rang coldly through the room. "I am prohibited from interfering with anyone's fate." "You just don't want to do anything!" the small girl accused the woman. "You are supposed to protect them and you are letting them die!" turning the girl ran away. "Small Lady!" The woman reached after the girl. Soon even the sound of her retreating footsteps faded away. Looking down next to her she felt a tear slide along her cheek and land on the black collar of her uniform. "I am sorry your Majesty." ignoring her surroundings she knelt next to the still body. Once luminous eyes had dimmed with death and her skin seemed to be transparent. Her long golden hair spilled across the floor. Next to her was a distinguished man wearing a purple tuxedo. The assasin had done his job well. Both were obivously dead from the wounds the small throwing knives had caused. She only did her duty, as did every other scout. "Your next life will be calmer." "Thought I would find you here." a bitter voice commented from the door. "Hello Mars." She straightened. "Why didn't you warn us?" she demanded. Turning she faced the other scout. "I gave you what warning I could. I am bound by laws I can not ignore, unlike you and the other scouts. I can not reveal anyone's future." Behind Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury appeared. "I don't know why but the Queen declared if anything happened to her and Darien you were to be Small Lady's guardian." Sailor Mercury informed her coldly. She only nodded. "If you'll excuse me I must find the Princess." She could hear the first signs of the attack outside even though the four gathered before her did not. "Why were you declared her guardian and not us?" Jupiter asked. "What can you teach her of monarchy? What can you do to teach her her powers? Nothing, I can." She made a small bow of respect and faded from sight. Slowly she reappeared in a cave. The rough walls arched and met just over her head. Turning she walked away from the light and further into the cave, slowly the ceiling rose and the walls widened until she stood in a cave. The roof of the cave was of white quartz that reflected a sourceless light. She placed the tall silver staff against the wall and walked further into the cave. "Rini? I know you are here, would you please come out?" She asked softly. Soft sobs told her the girl was behind one of the boulders that littered the cave. "Will I die too?" came the soft question. "No Rini, you will live a long life surrounded by people who love you." She crossed the cave to the boulder and sat next to her ward. "Your mother asked that in anything happen to her and your dad that I take care of you." "I know." Rini sniffed back a tear. "Silence?" "Yes?" "Did you come to warn the other scouts that something was about to happen?" Rini asked. "Is your coming here the warning?" "Yes." "So you did try to save them." Rini laid her head on her knees. Silence gently brushed the girl's hair reassuringly. Looking back at the door of the cave she came to a decision. "Rini, I shouldn't do this, I will try to save your parents. But you most help me though." The girl looked up at her. "They're dead, what can you do?" "Remember, I am Pluto's sister." she gestured and the staff flew to her hand. At the top of the staff was a four spoke wheel with a green gem at the center, the eye of Fate. Rini scrambled to her feet. "What do I have to do?" she nearly begged. "I can't bring them back as they were but I can put your mother into a deep slumber and your father severely injured. This means that they will still be unable to defend Crystal Tokyo, it will be up to you to find new warriors." "What of the Sailor Scouts?" "They will be guarding the palace by making a shield, they will be unable to help." "I will find them!" Rini exclaimed. "Hold on to me then, I need you to remember this so you have to come with me. Also, you most never speak of this to anyone." "I will never tell anyone." Rini promised solemnly. Silence ruffled Rini's mane of pink hair. "Let's go then. May Fate Be Denied!" with the last words they vanished in a flare of light. A small dark room formed around them. Rini released her grip on Silence's hand and looked around. "Why are we in the attic?" "The assisin hid in here. Kitten, go down stairs and to the Crystal, use Luna ball to open it case and pick it up. Then run as fast as you can away from the palace, I will find you." Rini nodded and slipped down the stairs. Silence waited patiently. She heard the up roar in the palace as the search for Rini started. Slowly she noticed a shadow slip away from the corner where a secret passage opened. "Stop." She pointed her long staff at the shadow. Its eerie light lit up his features. "SailorPluto!" he gasped and tried to scurry backwards. "Wrong. I am SailorFate. Guardian of Destiny. Pluto has a bun, I don't." she smiled slightly amused, the down side of being a twin was you were never mistaken for yourself. The man backed away from her. "Destiny Flame!" Flame spewed from the gem on her staff and engulfed the assissin leaving only ashes. A sensation almost like having a dislocated limb snapped back into place told her Fate had completely realigned along its new path. No life was untouched by this change. Turning away from the ashes she closed her eyes. She knew he had no family but it still did not sit well with her to kill him. The sounds of screams outside told her the attack had started early because of the search. Silently she slipped down the stairs and arrived on the stairs to the palace in time to see the four scouts shield their Queen from the attack. Inside an explosion told her that the king had received the foretold injuries. She slipped out past the scouts and, dodging bolts of black light, traced the path of the princess. She found her looking back at her home as the strange black ships filled the air around it. Tears trickled down her cheeks. "Kitten?" she asked as she approached. "The crystal vanished..." she murmured and looked at her feet as if she expected to be blamed for its disappearance. "Then you'll just have to back in time to get it back." another voice reassured her. Rini turned and found a woman nearly identical to SailorFate, the only difference between the two scouts was Fate's hair hung free. Even their uniforms were identical. "Puu!" she smiled up at her other close friend. "Here." a golden key dangled from her fingers by a golden chain. "Do you remember how to use it?" Rini nodded as she gratefully accepted it. "How far should I go back?" "Serena and Darien's reunion should be about right." Pluto answered. "That would be rather tasteless. As it was, it was nearly ruined by the young scouts. I think I know a good time." Silence offered her hand to Rini. Pluto nodded and opened the gates of time allowing the three of them to disappear inside. "I'll take her to the past, you better stay at your post." Silence remarked as they started on the the trek back in time. Pluto grimaced. "To true. But why now of all times are you saying I must stay, what do you know that I don't?" "The Black Moon family will follow us." Silence answered as they were hidden in the mists. Violent winds whiped about them the further back they went. Silence's staff shed only enough light for them to see a few feet ahead of them as they forced their way along. Finally Silence stopped and knelt next to Rini. The wind stoped and it was perfectly still. "Kitten, don't be afraid to call me or Puu if you need to talk, and remember that the Time Key should only be used in emergencies, using it too much is dangerous and you will affect fate more than I can I fix." Rini nodded solemnly. "You will land near the crystal and I am pretty sure you will have something soft to land on." She embraced the girl in a hug then let her go. Rini pulled out the key. A spark of pink light grew till it eclipsed her completely then shrunk revealing only air where Rini had been standing. Fate walked back throught the stillness towards her sister. "Hey, Seta." she called as she saw her sister's dim form through the mist. "Just how much trouble are you going to get into for that stunt?" Pluto asked. "Alot most likely. But what else is new. I got in trouble for knocking over a cake." "That just happened to cause the third Anti-Christ to slip and break his neck there by averting World War III. This time you had Rini inadvertantly steal the Crystal when you could of made everything fine with out such an elaborate plan." "But this way Kitten will learn her strengths, something she would never of learned until too late in Crystal Tokyo. And it was the only way that Nemisis truly dies." Silence set her staff against the gates. "You would of stopped me if you thought I was making a mistake. And the Fates would not of chosen me if they did not want me to meddle." "True." Pluto admitted. "Or it could be that if they hadn't there would of been a war among the Gods." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rini sat in her room looking down at the time key Pluto let her keep. She found herself staring at it more and more. She missed the younger scouts and Serena and wished could go back. Here there was few children her age and she was always treated special. There she had been just another girl. Even though Silence, now called Moirae, had moved to court to teach her, she was still lonely. "Hey Kitten. did your mouse get away?" Silence asked. "Moirae, can I go back to the old scouts?" Rini asked shyly. "Of course, if that is what you want. Do you want to go for just a visit or to stay for a while?" Moirae sat down next to Rini on the bed. Rini looked up at her eagerly, "Could I stay for a while?" "Let's talk to your mother first." Moirae led the eager princess from the room and down the hall towards her mother's solarium where she often spent a few minutes a day with the scouts. "Rini! Moirae! I am so glad to see you." Neo-Queen Serenity greeted them with a weary smile. "Hello Serenity. Is it possible for Rini to go study with the scouts in Ancient Tokyo?" Moirae asked politely. "You know that answer as well as I, Moirae. Yes you may Rini." Serenity produced a small broach similar to the ones she wore as SailorMoon. "You'll need this." "Thank you Mom!" running to her mother she took the broach and gave her mother a hug. Moirae smiled at the mother and daughter. She didn't regret the hell she had to take for saving them at moments like this. But then again they had forgoten her lineage when then had literally sent her to hell.