Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Different Story ❯ Chapter 03...The Barazuishou ( Chapter 6 )

he comes from far away. from the depth of the darkness, he continues to wander…

soon, the void of the darkness is interrupted by something.

the darkness is shone upon by the light. the light covers the darkness, and the darkness is no more.

then, the light and the darkness are one. the light makes light and the dark makes darkness. i seek the darkness…and before long…

he and i will become one.

 

 

 

A Different Story

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

….Chapter 3 : The Barazuishou

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Weird” can very quickly be relative when you're a time traveler. Especially when you're not only a time traveler, but a princess of a kingdom ruled by a queen who was reborn from a princess from countless centuries prior, who would have ruled a kingdom on an entirely different chunk of rock, had she not committed suicide. As she witnessed the battles and events that had played a part in shaping her mother's teenage years, Usagi Small Lady Serenity was rapidly realizing that “weird” was just part and parcel of her family.

It was also smothering, which was unusual for her to deal with. At home, she was shown affection and concern, but there was really nothing to hide from her, a fact she had also realized fairly quickly after coming back to the past. As the princess, she was given reasonably free reign; she just hadn't used it. She had been terribly alone because of the children treating her like the undersides of their shoes, and she had cloistered herself in the palace almost entirely by her own choice. The only real smothering had come when she had taken the others to the future, when they had all decided she should have been kept under surveillance - rightly, of course, but she hadn't realized it until later. It had been irritating to her, though it had only gotten worse since she had agreed to go back to the backwater 21st century.

Usagi was both annoying and kind, in unequal measure; sometimes, she couldn't understand how in the name of the kami her mother had turned out so warmly logical. They fought like dogs over stupid things; Usagi was clearly not very intelligent, and Chibi-Usa found herself wanting to smack her sometimes with her notebook. The idea that she had received her brains from her father was fairly obvious. But the odango-haired blonde also cared about her, fighting to protect her - even if she, in her own obtuseness, didn't figure it out until later - as well as supporting her.

Not this time.

After the incident at the school, Chibi-Usa had been effectively tucked away. Once the decision to send the four guardian soldiers away had been made, and they had gone on their merry way, Usagi had closeted herself back in the bedroom, while Haruka and Michiru had taken up positions in the living room. Neither looked ready to move; both looked prepared to sit out their vigil until Usagi told them otherwise, or a bomb dropped. And she knew without having to ask that they wouldn't let her leave; she was their princess's princess. She had gotten hurt under their watch before, and all of the shades in jigoku wouldn't hold them back from making sure it didn't happen again. Several times she had wandered by, unconsciously pacing and missing the comforting beep of Luna-P by her head, and had seen two sets of eyes following her around. The tension was obvious.

Thinking of her mechanical guardian made her simultaneously sad and angry; the pony tailed girl, Sin, had done an admirably job of separating them. Usually Luna-P's homing device would have kicked in and sent it flying back to her, making those particular irate noises. Hours had gone by, and she had yet to see it. Sin may have hit it harder than she had been dreading, which meant the peculiar toy could have been lying anywhere for someone to pick up and steal. If that were the case, she would be planting her pink boot in Sin's face.

She also knew asking to be allowed to find it would be a big resounding “Not a chance, are you mad?”

It had taken Usagi's sudden howl, a poignant, ear-splitting cry that had even Chibi-Usa cringing in sympathy, which had given her the opportunity to flee. She didn't even stop to ask what was wrong; the moment she saw Haruka and Michiru dart up from their places and disappear into the bedroom she was running for the front door. Pulling on her shoes, she reflected on the fact that she was doing something rash - that, after this, the two elder soldiers would most likely chain her to a wall somewhere just to keep an eye on her - but she didn't care. She hated being useless after finally finding herself in a position of worth, and she hated even more the sense that, despite her powers, she was supposed to be treated like glass.

“Chibi-Usa!”

Fingers tangled in her shoelaces, Chibi-Usa had looked up glumly to see Alex, or the younger version of her at any rate; the one Usagi had called “Moriya.” She looked as if she'd been thrown out of the bedroom; her face was red with embarrassment. “Chibi-Usa,” she repeated, glancing over her shoulder furtively. “Where are you going? You know Haruka-san and Michiru-san don't want you running away.”

“They're not the boss of me. I'm Princess Usagi Small Lady Serenity, and I can go where I want to!” she'd snapped back, though she dropped her eyes immediately once she'd said it. Why did Moriya have to remind her that the two were concerned for her? It made the entire act of rebellion feel useless. “I'm just going to the ice cream parlor. I want to get out. Mamo-chan isn't…..isn't going to wake up, until Venus and Mars and Mercury and Jupiter are back.”

Ready for a fight, or at least an argument, she'd been surprised to stand up and find a mobile phone thrust into her face. Basic and black, just like the woman - or, currently, girl - herself. Not even so much as a strap. “Then take this with you. Call us after you've escaped, or Haruka-san might just chase you down.”

She made it to the parlor without a hitch. Ordered a triple banana sundae with extra marshmallow sauce. Eating it, she toyed with the phone in her pocket, the desire for freedom warring with the need to let Haruka and the others know she was safe. Once she called, the sandy blonde would probably be in front of the parlor within three minutes, looking fit to kill and taking her back to her comfortable prison.

Putting her spoon down, she watched the 21st century walk by. The city was so crammed with people, so very different from her own time, that she often found herself stopping to watch everyone hurry past, intent on their dramas and tasks in a way no one from her childhood was. Then, everyone was working to survive and rebuild; woolgathering was a luxury only she and her family really had, and even then, she seemed to have been the only one taking advantage of it. She still didn't completely understand why everyone was in such a constant hurry in a century that seemed full of endless opportunities that wouldn't disappear overnight. Most of them knew where their next meal came from, and didn't have to work so very had - to her mind - to get it.

“Chibi-Usa-cha-a-an, how cruel of you!” A small hand snaked past her shoulder to grab her spoon, waving it in her face. “First you don't show up for our project, then I find you eating ice cream like there's not a care in the world! How rude of you to not invite me!”

“Momo-chan, gomen, gome-e-en!” she pleaded, clapping her hands together in supplication. “It wasn't my fault! I was kidna—“ Cutting herself off, she realized how amazingly stupid that sounded. “Ano, I mean, I was napping! Hai, napping! And then, baka Usagi wanted to go shopping, so Ikuko-mama told her to take me with—“

The spoon slapped down into the melted puddle of ice cream left in the bottom of her cup. She flinched as it splattered her hands, though it was nothing compared to the angry look her friend gave her as she sat down at the table. Momohara Momoko might have looked cute and petite, but she was fiercely protective and quicker to anger than anyone Chibi-Usa had met in the 21st century. She reminded her a lot of Makoto. Her first day of school in an unfamiliar world, Momoko had been the one to stand up for her before they'd even really met.

Now, with those angry eyes focused on her, she felt horrible for lying, even more than she did when she lied to Usagi or the girls. With them, she was used to lying; she'd done it in the future to weasel out of a lesson, or to get an extra snack, or to avoid punishment. But Momoko was a friend she had managed to make all on her own, with no blue blood or pre-established relationships between them. It hurt to lie to her first true friend.

But what was she supposed to do? Hold out her brooch and tell her that she was in fact a princess from the future, a sailor soldier in training? Tell her that an enemy from her own time was wreaking havoc in the present, and had kidnapped her as part of their plot? Shoujo television might have no problem using it as a credible plot, but telling Momoko the same thing sounded ludicrous.

“Chibi-Usa-chan,” Momoko said warningly, crossing her arms. “You're lying to me.”

“A-ano….”

“Something's wrong. You never even called me to tell me you weren't going to make it. You never did that before! Even if Ikuko-mama won't give you a mobile, you can always call me from your house. And now you're lying to me. I don't want a friend who lies to me.”

Chibi-Usa shut her mouth, turning redder by the second. She unconsciously touched her brooch, not in the least reassured by its warmth. At that very moment, she wished she could just throw it in the trash and forget that she was anything other than a young girl enjoying a dying autumn day.

But then, would it matter if she told her friend the truth? In a few years, she was going back home. Whatever story Usagi made up to tell everyone would probably be swallowed by everyone but Momoko. And she would be beyond hurt to realize that her friend was gone. If she told her now…..

“Momo-chan, you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not even Kyusuke.” The words fell out of her mouth before she even really thought about what she was going to say. She glanced around quickly, though not very stealthily; the parlor was practically empty. A group of schoolgirls sat in a booth near the door, completely absorbed in their books, and the cashier was wiping down the countertop. Feeling relieved that she'd chosen a booth near the farthest window from everyone, she put on a bright smile. “Momo-chan, I'm from the future.”

Her friend's face altered completely. But before she could say anything, Chibi-Usa cut her off hurriedly, saying, “I know you probably think I'm crazy, ne? But it's true! I'm from the 30th century, and I'm a princess. Mama is the queen of Crystal Tokyo and the whole planet. And because the future is still cold and no one's nice to me, she sent me back here to train to become a sailor soldier and have friends, like you, Momo-chan. But a bunch of mean girls came just now came from the future as well, and want to change everything, and they kidnapped me so Us—Sailor Moon would give them the Ginzuishou, which is why I didn't show up. And now Mamo-chan is hurt, and we need a special stone to make him better.”

It all came out in a clumsy rush of words, not entirely well thought out. She gasped for a breath, staring at her friend as she seemed to simply blink. No surprise; she'd mostly likely ruined their friendship by proving herself to be completely mad.

Then: “Kakkoi-i! Chibi-Usa-chan, are you really a sailor soldier? That makes sense! No wonder you and Usagi-san have the same names!” Clapping her hands together, Momoko practically danced in her seat. “I'm best friends with a senshi! Can I have an autograph? Ne, ne, which one are you? Not Sailor Moon, you're too short.”

“M-Momo-chan?”

“This is so great! I want to hear all of your stories! Is the future really great? Can I visit it sometime with you? I promise not to break anything!”

“Momo-chan!”

“But which sailor soldier are you? I want to know, I promise I won't tell anyone. You have a secret identity, just like the shoujo shows! That must be amazing!”

She had made a monster. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. “I'm Sailor Chibi-Moon. But I'm not chibi at all,” she stressed, it still being a sore point with her. She tolerated it as a nickname to differentiate her from the elder, but it still rankled to be effectively designated a midget. “But you can't tell anyone, Momo-chan!”

“I said I wouldn't! Usagi-san must be a sailor soldier too, ne? That must be difficult. She's not always very smart.” Absently spooning up the melted sludge in the cup, Momoko ate it with a grimace. “But you mentioned an enemy? And Mamo-chan, he's hurt?”

Miserably, Chibi-Usa nodded. Pulling her hand out of her pocket, she leaned forward against the table. “Mamo-chan was hurt by a beam of power after they rescued me. Mars and Mercury and Jupiter and Venus have gone to find some stones to create a powerful stone to cleanse Mamo-chan of the negative energy that's hurting him. At least,” she mumbled, “that's what the ghosts told us.”

“Ghosts?”

“Hai. That's what they looked like. It sounded like they knew Mamo-chan during the past life, but no one would tell me. No one tells me anything important,” she grumbled, slouching down petulantly. “I had to sneak away to get here. I hate feeling so useless while Mamo-chan is hurting.”

She touched her brooch again, briefly remembering when she'd gotten it. After Pluto had died, she had shaken off Wiseman's powers to gain her own transformation, becoming a sailor soldier. But she had no brooch, no jeweled accessory, until her mother had taken her up to her bedroom after she had come back home. There, she had been given the round brooch to place her own crystal into, to teach her focus and control. Her mother had been strict on the rules of keeping it safe within the brooch, telling her that even though she had been born to use the power, such raw force was simply beyond her ability to cope with right away. In her hands, the brooch - a gold locket with four stripes and four differently coloured jewels - had changed into a heart, unique to her alone. But the words were old, the very same her mother had used: Moon Prism Power.

Inside of her brooch was a crystal with power beyond her reckoning. She knew through observation that it was possible that she would grow to be even more powerful than her mother, having gained the blood and power of her father, who was strong in his own right. With so much power, she should have been able to help cleanse Mamoru, even though the ghosts said the Ginzuishou - and that included its future imperfect counterpart - couldn't do it. Why couldn't she have tried anyway? Her power was not her mother's. Surely, she could have done it.

“Mamo-chan needs a cure,” she whispered faintly, lifting her head. “He needs that powerful stone.”

Suddenly, it was as if a hook had caught her breast and tugged, insistent and demanding; she jerked at the sensation, knocking over her finished ice cream and nearly hitting Momoko. “Chibi-Usa-chan!”

“I feel something….I don't understand what's happening, but I feel something! Maybe….maybe it's the stone we need to heal Mamo-chan! Maybe it's already here!” She wriggled out of the booth with Momoko hot on her heels, flinging the parlor door wide to race down the street. It was only later that she realized she was running in the wrong direction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Kami-sama….this can't be right. Everything was destroyed!”

“Did you do that? The news said it was gas lines exploding. But Professor Tomoe was mad, or so I've heard.” Momoko seemed less bothered by the unexplained appearance of the rising towers in front of them than her friend, who was belatedly realizing the obvious.

“Hai. We had to stop Master Pharaoh 90 from entering our world. But everything was destroyed in the end, and now it's….back.” And it was causing her crystal some serious distress; every second they stood in the courtyard she felt more and more anxious. She lifted her eyes up, staring up into the rebuilt skyline of the triple towers surrounding the cursed school. “Mugen Gakuen.”

Momoko looked around herself, impressed at the wealth obvious in every brick and post. Tomoe had spared no expense when it came to having the place built, and it showed. Above it all, however, the equally magnificent towers of Meiou, Kaiou, and Ten'nou were eerily empty of their former occupants, their perfect windows dark and lifeless. It gave the impression of a movie set instead of a residence where people had once lived and learned. But it was far from frightening. “Well, let's go! You say you felt something here? Let's check it out! No one could be here to bother us anyway.”

“But, Momo-chan, why would the stone be here? And, besides….”

She never finished her sentence as the gate came to life behind them. Stunned, they watched as it slid shut on oiled tracks, taking the work of seconds to securely lock them within the courtyard. They both gulped. “A-ano,” Momoko mumbled, suddenly feeling a lot less sure of herself than she had a minute ago. “Are we locked in?”

“Maybe it was a mistake. Like on television, where wires go bad?” Chibi-Usa offered lamely, looking up at the walls. Far too tall to climb. “But maybe we can find another exit. There has to be one. A crazy scientist was in charge after all, they always have more than one exit.” She took her friend's hand, leading her into the front foyer of Mugen. “Daijoubu, Momo-chan; Sailor Chibi-Moon won't let anything happen!”

Momoko just smiled weakly at her, casting one last glance back at the gate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anshar worried his lower lip as he watched them disappear beneath him, into the resurrected building. Behind him, Kishar was sprawled comfortably across what had once been Kuromine Kaoli's desk, though the woman in question was not as dead as she had been a day ago. However, her current state left her in little position to come stomping up and arguing with the pet shedding white fur all over the oak. Anshar had met her as his sister had told her what had happened, and what they expected of her, and he had disliked her immensely.

He pressed his forehead against the glass, closing his eyes. Despite being a young boy on the teetering edge of puberty and adulthood, he felt very old at the moment. When Sin had taken Apsu-sama's offer of power and revenge, he had come along for the ride; his onee-chan wasn't going anywhere without him. The power he had been given was heady, their plans far-reaching and possible. But for some reason, his power was different than the others, giving him a slight edge that they respected; at times, they had looked up to him before his sister. He was thrust into a simultaneous role of leader and follower, when at the moment, all he wanted to do was stop.

And the reason why was walking right into the trap.

“Why is she even here, Kishar?” he queried, though his pet simply panted and cocked his head at his tone. “The princess Small Lady, and her friend….she's brought her into danger without realizing it. I can't let either of them be hurt by our plans!”

“Otouto-chan, what are you talking about? You know she's our enemy. Don't be fooled by her kindness.” Sin materialized behind him, sitting in the fine leather chair as if she belonged there. Her fingers caressed the leather gently as she smiled at him indulgently. But he wasn't fooled; though his sister would never hurt him, she would most definitely stop him if he was a threat to their plans. She'd place him somewhere far away, at the very least. “If Small Lady has walked into our trap, then she's ours again. And it's far easier to deal with children than adults; killing them in this time is what makes our plans work.”

He stiffened. Behind her, Kishar noticed his sudden tension and began to growl low in his throat, ready to protect him. Sin waved a hand dismissively at the pet, standing up. “Don't do this to yourself, Anshar. She'd never show you mercy after what we've done. They're at your mercy now; kill them quickly and mercifully. I'll let you do this.” Leaning down, she kissed his forehead affectionately. “And afterwards, we can go home.”

“Hai, onee-chan,” he muttered, averting his eyes. A bit louder he said, “Kishar, let's go. Come on, boy.” He whistled as he walked past her, and his pet shook himself vigorously before leaping off the desk to follow. Once they were together, Anshar teleported them away. Presumably, to kill the princess and her clueless friend.

But Sin doubted it. She loved her little brother, but she knew he'd face them all before hurting Small Lady. “She's no good for him,” she sneered, the glass showing a cold, cruel reflection. “No one is, except me. I've taken care of him, and I always will.” Turning away from the window and its darkening, picturesque skyline, she snapped, “Youma! From the past, I call you; come forth to Mugen Gakuen, and destroy the bearer of the Ginzuishou, and her friend!” She felt time shift to follow her directive, and she smiled indulgently, though it never quite reached her eyes. “No one's good enough.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chibi-Usa and Momoko had been quite surprised to find that the power was still on. They had also spent several loud minutes gushing over the ridiculous expanse of the foyer, which was so opulent it made their teeth hurt. The fountain had also been splashed in, and they were both a bit soaked as a result, and much more cheerful over their situation.

“There are so many floors!” Momoko gasped as they stood and looked up, watching the floors spiral up into what seemed oblivion. “I wonder what their classrooms look like. It's too bad the school was destroyed, I'd love to go here!”

“Not when an evil professor is sucking your soul,” Chibi-Usa countered, suppressing a shiver. “Tomoe-san only allowed the top students to enter, and then, he used their souls to feed his evil machine!”

“He did not!”

“Hai, hai! That's what Usagi and Alex onee-chan told me!”

Momoko shook her head. “That seems unreal, Chibi-Usa-chan. But now what do we do? Is there a back door?”

“Of course there is! But why not look around? I always wanted to see the school where Hotaru-chan went. Besides, I still feel something. Maybe the stone is here, because those evil Oppositio Soldiers have it!” Grabbing Momoko's hand again, she ran for the nearby stairs, pulling her friend with her. “Come on!”

“Chibi-Usa-cha-a-an!” Momoko squealed, running to keep up.

They ran up three flights before they were both too tired to keep up their pace. Stopping in front of a classroom, they decided to take a quick peek inside. It was neat and orderly, not much different from their own classroom, although the desks were of finer quality and the carpet sank beneath their shoes sinfully. The moment they did sink, however, they looked at each other guiltily for committing a serious breach of etiquette, through the kami knew no one was alive to get pissed at them.

Sitting down on the teacher's dais, Momoko blew out a breath. “We've seen the school, now can we look for an exit? Or do you still feel something?”

“I do, but it's different now. It feels like….”

“Death,” something hissed.

Momoko screamed. Chibi-Usa stumbled back as a cold wind hit her, falling on her ass. Two robed creatures appeared beside her friend, skeletal hands reaching for her. She screamed louder, her voice shrill as Chibi-Usa threw herself at the closest, pummeling it with her fists, knowing her transformation would waste precious seconds. “Momo-chan, RUN!” she cried, kicking and punching what felt like robes laid over sticks. Her friend darted under the other creature's arm at that, running around the rows of desks to get away.

With a jerk, the creature grabbed Chibi-Usa by the collar and peeled her off like an irritating bug. She was thrown aside like a sack of potatoes, her head bouncing painfully off the edge of the dais. Her vision spinning, it was all she could do not to throw up. “Momo-chan,” she groaned, rolling like a frantic bug on her back, trying to make it onto her feet.

“Chibi-Usa-cha—“ Momoko was cut off suddenly, just as she made it up. Her friend sagged in the grip of one of the creatures, her eyes closed and features peaceful; she looked to be asleep on her feet. Lost in a dream, just like Chibi-Usa had been.

Furious, she lifted her hand, shouting, “Moon Prism Powe—“

“Wait! You can't do this alone!”

She staggered, the rush of power dropping her like a rock as she stopped the words. The boy who had appeared looked harassed and angry, and his strange furry pet seemed just as agitated. “I knew she would do this. Youma! Begone to your time! I release you from your time chains.” He ran to touch them both on their cloaks, fearless despite their nature, and they vanished. He then caught Momoko as she dropped bonelessly to the ground, no longer supported by the youma. But she was still asleep. “I was too late,” he murmured.

Grabbing the fire extinguisher from next to the door, Chibi-Usa brandished it at him menacingly. She was angry and shaky from her disrupted transformation, and thought she was pulling off a convincing act rather well; she didn't even know how to use the thing. “Or maybe you're early! Who are you to banish those….those youma so easily? Tell me who you are!”

“My name is Anshar. This is Kishar.” He indicated his pet, who seemed most inclined to sniff her shoe. “I'm sorry I was too late to stop them. But I think she's waking up.”

In his lap, Momoko groaned, opening an eye to see all three of them leaning over her. “Chibi-Usa-chan? Why am I on the floor?”

“Momo-chan, daijoubu? You were attacked! I'll never forgive myself!” Chibi-Usa took her hand, looking concerned as her friend simply yawned.

“Ara ara, I'm just….just fine….little sleepy, that's all….just….sleepy….” Her words trailed off into a snore as she went back to sleep, rolling onto her side and into Anshar's knee. He blinked, looking helplessly up at Chibi-Usa. What was he going to do?

For her part, she seemed to be in a helpless daze of her own as she dropped the extinguisher. If Momoko died, she didn't know what she'd do. It would have been her own fault for getting her killed. She wouldn't be able to live with the memory of her first true friend dying, with her unable to do anything. “Momo-chan,” she moaned, dropping her head into her hands.

Anshar watched her, touched a hand discreetly to Momoko's forehead. She was in a sleep similar to the ones his sister had inflicted on the four guardian soldiers. He could lift the spell easily, but it was clear Chibi-Usa didn't consider him a real enemy, and using his power would most likely induce her to think so and attack. It never crossed his mind that she had more pressing matters in her head at the moment than his sudden appearance, and was thus not considering him as ally or enemy or much of anything.

He recalled the nurse's station on the second floor suddenly; a room full of medicines and relatively secure, as Sin never bothered with it. Neither of them honestly did; sickrooms and hospitals reminded them too much of their parents' deaths. There was a certain odour that exactly matched the thick miasma that had hung over the city as they had first woken up, huddled in the arms of their parents' rotting corpses. He was loathe to enter it again, but for Small Lady's sake….. “A-ano…I think I can help Momo-chan.”

Chibi-Usa lifted her head, regarding him warily. “Can you? Momo-chan is important to me. And it's my fault she's sick.”

“She's very sick. I think she's been poisoned. Slowly, her energy will drop, until she's dead. They put her to sleep for this to happen. But in the nurse's station downstairs, I can find some medicine to make her better. I promise.” His stomach flip-flopped as she gave him a watery-eyed look of pleading.

“Can you? I was thinking….I could try and give her some of my energy. I could make her better.”

“Iie! Then you might fall asleep too!” The lie came to his lips easily as he stood up, holding Momoko in his arms. “Come on. The nurse's station is just a floor down.”

They trooped downstairs, a harder task than he had expected - Momoko was small, but the muscle on her weighed more than fat - and made it to the nurse's station, only to find it locked. “Shimatta,” he swore under his breath. “The electronic locks have been engaged.”

“The door's locked? But why….? Is the enemy trying to trap us?” Chibi-Usa murmured, staring worriedly at the door. There wasn't even so much as a normal keyhole. “How can we get in?”

“The control room on the first floor. All we have to do is shut off the power; it would take too long to find the lock for this room.” Anshar shifted his feet, beginning to sag visibly beneath Momoko's weight. He was hesitant to use his power in front of the princess for fear of her fleeing; the attack on her friend had blinded her thus far to his possible involvement. Once she got her wits about her, he had no doubt she'd be questioning him. Or at the worst, completing her glorious transformation and attacking him.

On the first floor, he led her slowly to the control room, Kishar running ahead like the loyal guardian he was. When he yapped, coming to a halt in front of the door, Anshar let out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding. His sister had so far merely sent her minions instead of coming herself, or Kishar would have sensed her presence. Chibi-Usa, for her part, merely looked curiously at the fluffy white creature and smiled as he turned in a circle and sat down proudly. “What is your pet? Is he a dog?”

“Iie. He's a special creature. A....friend....gave him to me.” Anshar was glad she didn't see his face; the word 'friend' hung on his lips like a bad taste as he thought of the woman who had so completely ensnared his sister. Kishar had been a creature from another world, or so she claimed, and he had attached himself almost instantly to the young boy. He was loyal to his sister and to his pet, but his loyalty to Apsu-sama lately....he shook his head. Did it matter what he thought?

Chibi-Usa opened the door as he woolgathered, staring into a murky blackness that showed rows of lights illuminating a small room. “It's unlocked. I'll hit the switch, ne? And then we can go back upstairs.” She was confident she could figure this out; after all, 21st century technology was far less advanced than the sensors and crystals of the palace. Everything tended to be labeled anyway.

“I don't know if that's a wise decision--” he started, rather awkwardly setting Momoko on her feet; despite her charmed sleep, she stood upright instead of collapsing again.

If she heard him, he didn't know; before he could follow her, the door slammed shut on her heels with a loud, amplified click. Chibi-Usa's startled face was visible in the small window as she turned, the door rattling as she tried to yank it open. Anshar tried from his end, to no avail. Kicking it only produced a sore foot, and he swore rather rudely for his age, hopping around in pain as Kishar began to bark.

Inside the control room, Chibi-Usa grabbed her brooch. “Baka, baka, baka!” she snapped, flinching as the lights in the room suddenly turned on, blinding her with their brightness. She may have gotten her intelligence from her father, but she was feeling very much the fool like her mother right about then; she should have realized Mugen Gakuen would have been rife with security. And she was proven right as the simulated, eerie voice of Professor Tomoe, long dead these past months, stated calmly,” A password has not been given. You are an intruder, or a forgetful employee. I will ask this last time for a password.”

“Password? A-a-ano, I don't....that is, to say....”

“A password has not been given. Mugen Gakuen is private property, and you have no authorization to intrude. I'm sure you understand that the creatures that will appear momentarily to subdue you are merely a cursory detail.”

“Nani?!”

The man was crazier than she thought. No wonder Hotaru had been such a tragic, sad figure; if her father had been a complete and utter nutcase, she might have gladly tried to destroy the planet too.

A set of doors opened behind the generator as the lights went out, throwing blocks of rectangular yellow light across the floor. The creatures that stepped out were familiar, and just as ugly; daimon. She felt panic seize her as she stepped back, hitting the door; what could she possibly do against daimon? It had taken more power than she currently knew how to use to defeat them before, and she doubted that had changed, even if their keeper was dead. Nonetheless, she cried, “Moon Prism Power, Make Up!” and dropped to the floor in a burst of pink energy as the two creatures dove over her to slam into the door. She frantically somersaulted forward, feeling her fuku take shape around her body as she rolled and then crawled behind the generator.

Calling forth her weapon, she tried to formulate a plan to her strengths, something Alex had been trying to drill into her for weeks since she'd received her attack. Since all she had were pink hearts that caused more annoyance than real damage, she had yet to come up with a decent idea. Today was no different, except that the stakes were dramatically upped. This was no test where she'd be safe; this was a matter of life and death.

She bit back a scream as a daimon suddenly leered at her from around the generator. “Pink Sugar Heart Attack!” she screamed instead, pointing her rod at its face. The pink hearts hit what she assumed was an eye by the howl it released, and she scrambled away, cursory training and instinct dropping her again as the second creature swung over her head. Up close and personal to it, she could smell something antiseptic and unpleasant, and she tried not to think too hard on what it could have come from as she dodged another swipe. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the first one getting up, its eye now gone under a welling mass of puss.

“What would everyone do?” she mused out loud as she ran away, though it was a useless gesture inside such a small room. Against the wall was propped a heavy metal ladder, which, with her amplified strength, she just managed to heave around at them. It bounced off the first creature, only for the second to grab it and throw it right back at her. “Not throw ladders!” she squeaked as she ran away again, hearing the spark and snap of electricity as it hit a breaker. Not that it opened the door of course; Tomoe-san was smarter - and more perverse - than that.

Through the window she could see Anshar staring in helplessly, his eyes wide with fear. She smiled brightly for his benefit, though she still had no idea how to stop the two and get out alive. How had they been defeated last time? By being powerfully attacked. Though from what she heard from Usagi later on, they had had to be extremely careful, as the daimon were all still attached to their victims, and separating them before the creature was destroyed had killed them. Chibi-Moon spared a glance down as she warily circled them; no one was attached to them. Which either meant they were fully functional, or some kinds of rejects. Neither option worked well for her.

It crossed her mind to lure them towards the door in an attempt to break it down with the obvious weight of their bodies, but, knowing Tomoe-san, he'd have triple strengthened the doors. Why allow a trespasser to escape when his disturbing creatures could dispose of the evidence? Twirling her rod nervously in her hand, she reflected again on how much better she felt knowing she'd never really met the man; that seeing him so briefly at the gallery had been disturbing enough. The sight of his sole eye staring at her impassively, mentally dismantling her like some sort of science project, still gave her nightmares. Seeing the evidence of his psychosis up close and personal now only verified that she had been very lucky indeed to not have fallen into his hands.

Again, her eyes darted around the room. The ladder, wrecked and useless, lay on the floor. A tool box sat on a shelf near the main electrical panel. The generator continued to block her line of vision, quietly humming as it ran. If she destroyed it, perhaps…

Iie. She couldn't allow the daimon to run free. The possibility of them running amok in the city again was intolerable. As a sailor soldier - if in training - she couldn't allow it. She had to find a way to destroy the creatures before turning the electricity off, and from the number of switches, dials, and levers on the walls around them, finding the main controls for the entire building would take far too long to dance around them if she didn't. Momoko's life was on the line.

She shifted against the wall, watching the two daimon watch her in turn. The one with a damaged eye continued to bleed its puss onto the floor, completely unaware or uncaring of the severity of its injury. Feeling a distinct need to be sick, she inched further around the length of the room, pausing as her eye caught a strange glittering light in the farthest shelving niche from her, a sparkle that had, to her soldiers' eye, an unmistakable gleam of power. Craning her head further, she stared at the two glass vessels sitting on a high shelf, completely unremarkable save for the way their contents shimmered and spun.

A rather royal snort twitched at her lips. It couldn't be that easy. Tomoe-san had been an egotistical madman, not an idiot.

Then again, would any intruder save a sailor soldier who had battled the creatures beforehand know what the glasses contained?

Finally chalking it up to the dead man's sense of irony - obviously he'd had some - she calculated quickly in her head a reasonable plan. The room was just about the same size as the Tsukino kitchen, a good twelve mats large, and she knew from a few late mornings that it took her exactly seven seconds to cross it, skirting the dinner table on the way. Ikuko-mama often intercepted her midway to hand her some toast and her bento box, which took about three seconds for her to do. The creatures were standing in just about the same position.

Her hand twitched around her rod as she considered what she was about to do. If she failed, there would be a horrible mess to clean up, and no one would know what happened to her. Her parents would grieve, everyone would grieve, and she would be taking Momoko into the pit with her. No, there was no room for error.

Before she could stop and talk herself out of it, she pushed off of the wall, running with a burst of adrenaline across the room. As she reached the generator, seeing the daimon run to intercept her, she called power to her rod and swung her arm up, shouting “Pink Sugar Heart Attack!” putting as much force as possible behind her words, pushing her power to its limits. At her breast, her brooch burned as she drew on its sources, and she staggered slightly as she continued to run. She didn't even turn her head to watch the energy slam into the two creatures with a sickening sound of tearing flesh; knowing that her meager power could so terribly wound seemed less interesting when it was actually happening. Her legs almost gave out on her.

Feeling a swipe of air past her back, she finally turned her head to see the daimon missing an eye trying to grab her. Its side was bleeding, an arm gone, but it had still leapt at her, was still reaching for her, and she felt its claws sink into the decorative bow at her back. She jerked to a stop, falling back onto its arm, and flung herself sideways as hard as she could. It seemed like a good idea, and it did work - the weight of her body tore the ribbon away from her fuku, freeing her from its grasp - but she was unprepared for the landing and smacked her head on the floor. Stars flashed in front of her eyes as she cried, sounding like the scared little girl she was, instead of the brave soldier she was trying to be.

The daimon was digging its claws into her leg instead, dragging her towards its maw. She screamed in true terror finally, kicking her good leg into its one good eye as she twisted around, aiming her rod at the glass containers in one last ditch idea to destroy them - but when she said the words, called up the power, she realized she had almost none left. Her gloved arm trembled in her line of sight, the fabric looking dim and hazy as her brooch fought to keep her transformation. Despite the crystal's near unlimited sums of power, she was not yet adept at using it, and she apparently had misused it badly this time.

So she threw the rod instead.

As the glass containers fell, the daimon hoisted her up blindly by her leg, dangling her upside down like a fish for the sharks. Helpless, she stared deep into what she assumed was a throat and stomach, unprepared for the relatively quiet shattering of the glass and the sudden screaming howls of the creatures. She was dropped like a stone, landing no better than the last time, to see the wisps of their trapped souls disappear from their confinement. Behind her, the two daimon dropped to the floor, exploding upon contact into thick, soupy messes.

It took Chibi-Moon several minutes to finally stand up and prove to herself that they were dead. She released her transformation rather shakily, sinking onto her knees as she drew in several deep breaths. Behind her, she heard the door unlock and open, and Anshar was at her side in a second, staring at her with unfamiliar, concerned eyes. “Pri—Ch-Chibi-Usa-chan,” he stuttered, not realizing she was so tired she didn't catch his slip, “daijoubu desu ka? Those horrible creatures….how did you defeat them?” He hoped he had phrased it ambiguously enough; letting on that he knew she was the princess of the future, as well as a sailor soldier, could bring his plan of getting her out safely down around his ears.

She stared at him blankly for a minute before blinking. Then she glanced around. “Momo-chan…?”

“Outside. Kishar is watching her. But are you all right?” he pressed, catching her attention again. Kami-sama, she was pale. The realization that she had pushed herself too far crossed his mind, though he would have thought it impossible; the Ginzuishou was limitless and marvelous. How could she have done such a thing?

“Hai, hai,” she said warily, standing up. Looking stronger than she felt, she crossed the room to survey the switches. Finding what she needed in less time than she expected, she flipped the main breaker and sighed audibly as the generator behind her lowered its hum, then went silent. The school was darker than she imagined, until she realized dumbly that it was late; the sun had long since set. Usagi had called Ikuko-mama hours ago to make up excuses for the night, saying they were staying over at Rei's, but she hadn't even taken into consideration how late the hour had been when she'd fled the apartment.

Emergency lights clicked on, giving everything a ghoulish, pale glow. Sighing in relief, Chibi-Usa was nonplussed to see Anshar holding his hand out. When she took it, he pulled her smoothly to her feet, saying, “A lady always needs a hand. Your leg is also hurt. Are you sure you're all right?”

“I will be. After all, we have to go back to the nurse's station for Momo-chan, ne?” She flashed him a bright, if pained, smile, limping her way towards the door. He stared at her back, dazed - her smile had been just like her mother's - before he ran forward to offer her his arm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several floors above, in the undisputed crown of the building, Sin put her fist through Kaoli's desk. Her face registered little emotion as she reduced the impressive piece of furniture to uneven matchsticks, though a flash of anger finally showed as she took to stomping the pieces like an irate child. Finally, however, she calmed enough to turn her back on her satisfying destruction to begin pacing across the office.

Her loving if damnably naïve brother was ruining their mission and fouling up their plans with his ridiculous obsession with the princess. The girl was an annoyance - Sin still hadn't forgiven her for being clever enough to destroy her nightmare - and she needed to be dealt with properly. Now she had her chance, and Anshar was throwing a giant wrench into the works, as the phrase went. It was making her wish she hadn't allowed his inclusion into her and Apsu-sama's plans, that she'd left him with friends while they went ahead to create their new world.

Ah, well. It was too late to ruminate on such problems. At least they were still inside the building; she could salvage this. Perhaps if she kidnapped the annoying brat's friend, held her as a bargaining chip…

 

 

 

 

 

 

The so-dubbed `annoying brat' was shuffling from foot to foot as Sin smiled into the darkness, totally unaware of the danger. She had too much on her mind; Momoko's health, Mamoru's health; her subsequent `outing' as Sailor Chibi-Moon, though that wasn't exactly her fault. If she hadn't transformed, she would probably be a very unremarkable smear on the floor right about then. But knowing that Anshar, a strange boy she had far too many doubts about, had seen her transform weighed heavy on her shoulders. His attempts at being subtle were wasted when she knew he had to have seen her change.

She looked him over again as he tucked the sheets in around Momoko's limp body, either unconcerned or unaware of her appraisal. For all that he had done to help, he was a questionable ally; why the hell was he even at Mugen to begin with? The school had been destroyed and forgotten for months, re-appearing like a bad dream in the last day. Police officers would have been understandable, but a lone boy and his….dog…creature? Something didn't add up, and in the calm of the nurse's station, she was finding the time to mull it over.

“Will she be all right?” she finally queried instead, mustering her sternest face; her father had often laughed at her and called her “his little grown-up” whenever she gave him the look. For a princess, it would do when dealing with the strange boy who insisted on helping them.

Anshar looked up, startled. He nervously toyed with the edge of the sheet, dropping his gaze back down; she felt selfishly better because of it. “She will be, pr—Chibi-Usa-chan,” he replied, his tongue stumbling again over her unfamiliar name. He didn't like it. It didn't benefit her, as far as he was concerned, but calling her `Small Lady' or even `Usagi' was bound to get him into trouble. “For now, she needs to rest.”

Her eyes flickered from him to Momoko, then back, narrowing quickly. Anshar was reminded of his sister's mocking laughter days before they left for the past, as she openly contemplated the relationship between the king and queen. Knowledge of their 21st century identities was commonplace, as the two had never bothered to hide their old civilian lives, and in fact seemed to present themselves as royalty who had once been `one of them.' Not everyone was fooled, but it gave Sin the fodder to criticize the queen's generally lacking intelligence, wondering how a man who had gone through medical college could even stand talking to her. The girls had laughed themselves silly; Nabu suggested that Endymion merely had her trained to parrot most of her speeches, and used her as a pillow at night.

The princess quite obviously took after her father in intelligence. He had seen that look in the king's eyes from afar. And she was staring at him in a way that suggested he was going to have a lot of explaining to do, or he had better get a head start running. “Hasn't Momo-chan been `resting' enough? After all, all this time she's been asleep. Surely a nurse's station can't heal a magical sleep, ne?”

“Ano, that's true, but that is….I mean, she….this is still a room of healing,” he stammered, gesturing at the cabinets and first-aid kit prominent behind the desk. “This was the best place to bring her.”

“But what will reverse the magic? All you did is tuck her into bed. Momo-chan has to be woken up. If I use my own power—“

“Iie!” He startled them both with his vehemence, but he cut her angry retort off with a swipe of his hand. “Don't, please. Your special power could hurt her worse. This was a spell meant for you, Chibi-Usa-chan!”

“But no one knew we were coming,” she whispered, twisting the hem of her skirt between her hands. Her face fell as she stared at Momoko as she lay asleep beneath the sheets. She wondered if she dreamt, the same way she had when Sin had shown her the destruction of her home. If nothing else, she hoped she had no dreams at all instead of such twisted images. “This isn't right at all.”

“Of course it isn't. You're an evil girl, after all.”

Anshar's head whipped around as Chibi-Usa's cry strangled in her throat. They stared in unified horror as Momoko sat up, as jerky and uncontrolled in her movements as a puppet, her eyes still closed in sleep. Her lips moved again, her voice monotone and eerie, as she said, “That's right. You're trying to steal someone precious. It's to be expected after all. But Anshar is important to someone, not just you.”

“Nani? I'm not trying to steal him! And who are you to speak through Momo-chan? Show yourself, evil creature!” Chibi-Usa raised her fists, though one hovered in readiness over the brooch at her breast. She was in no shape to fight again - her leg still ached, even though she had clumsily washed and bandaged it, and her power was still abysmally drained - but she would. It might have been foolhardy and suicidal, but being brave was part of the package.

“Nee-chan, what are you doing? Stop this! Release that innocent girl from your power!” Anshar demanded, though he looked away in mid-sentence to focus on a spot near the back of the room. The power that animated Momoko came from there, and he shifted without regard for subtlety to stand in between Chibi-Usa and his sister. “The girl has nothing to do with this, or us.”

Behind him, he heard Chibi-Usa's sharply drawn breath, but he focused instead on the shape of Sin appearing right where he thought she would. She didn't look angry - her expression was one of sorrow - but he knew how adept she was at being emotionally manipulative. It had been a quickly learned skill once Apsu-sama had taken them in, and Anshar had questioned their motives more than a few times. As his big sister, she merely figured out the quickest way to work around his stubbornness by appealing to blood. “Anshar, be reasonable about this. Don't waste your affection on our common enemy.”

She sniffed dismissively in Chibi-Usa's direction, and the pink-haired girl snapped back, “Nani yo?! How dare you call me names! You're the evil person who attacked Tuxedo Kamen and showed me such a horrible dream! The sailor soldiers won't hesitate to defeat you, and I won't forgive you!”

“Yare yare, do you really think so? Anshar, think about this. As your onee-chan, I can say these things. Our mission is bigger than your misguided affection. The flow of time will be changed by our plans, and then you'll no longer be beneath her eyes. Your situations will be reversed!” Smiling, she came forward to touch his hair with an affectionate rake of her fingers, kissing his cheek. “Believe your onee-chan.”

Her eyes trailed up over his eyes to see Chibi-Usa speechless, though her cheeks were red with anger. Apparently, she was putting two and two together, and as she watched, the girl's small fingers closed around her brooch. Sin smiled; it was all the excuse she needed. It took the barest gesture to open Momoko's eyes, and move her limbs again to slide her from the bed and start menacingly towards Chibi-Usa. Anshar didn't expect it, she could tell; it was obvious from the look in his eyes that he had innocently believed his sister wouldn't put Momoko in real danger.

Pulling away, he threw a desperate glance at Chibi-Usa as she stared in horror at her friend, her arms limp at her sides. “Run!” he shouted, ignoring Sin's disapproving frown. “I'll stop her, but you have to run, you have to get out of here!”

“Without Momo-chan?! Iie! I won't leave her here, or you! Not at that evil woman's mercy!” So saying, she lifted her hand again to grab her brooch, staring straight at Sin with anger in her eyes as she began to snap, “Moon Prism Power—“

“You little bitch! How dare you threaten me again! Die, and may the rest of your unnatural family die with you!” Sin shrieked, raising her hand to strike her down before she finished the transformation. This time, she wasn't going to hesitate. She didn't care if the others were pissed at her, and she felt absurdly pleased as the power left her hand.

The slap of Anshar's hand knocking hers aside was a blow to her spirit as well as a bad bruise; she fell back, gaping at him, as he stood angrily between them. He hadn't been quick enough however, as Chibi-Usa crumpled to the floor, and half of the nurse's desk fell off, cleanly sliced. All he had done was lessened the severity of her blow. “Don't you hurt her,” he said quietly, his eyes blazing at her. “I won't let you do this to her. It isn't her fault that everyone died, it wasn't her fault the Black Moon made us suffer so much.”

He turned away as she closed her mouth, staring at him as if he had grown a second head. Momoko stood passively immobile as Anshar touched her forehead, and she disappeared to the apartment he saw in her mind. That taken care of, he reached to take Chibi-Usa's hand, to send her home as well, but when he looked into her mind to see her 21st century dwelling, all he could sense was a pressing desire to find a stone. A particular stone to help someone get better - possibly, a stone that he had once touched and handled himself in a past life. The shitennou had not been so very specific, and so Chibi-Usa had made up her own theories, her own guesses as to what it was; she had even nicknamed it the Barazuishou. A rose crystal for a man who never failed to buy his girlfriend and daughter a long-stemmed rose each whenever they passed the flower shop.

There was a glimmer of light that her power recognized, somewhere far away. Deciding it was safer than being in the same room as his selfish sister, Anshar teleported.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Chibi-Usa opened her eyes, she was aware of three things:

Her leg still hurt.

Her arm now hurt, where Sin's power had struck her.

She was lying on a patch of particularly damp grass.

As she shifted to sit up, she almost bit her tongue to keep from crying out at the one big bruise she seemed to have become. When Sin had knocked her down, she had really hit the floor hard. And her head had finally stopped aching, too; now it felt as if that loudly obnoxious visual kei band had taken up residence again.

Wincing, she looked around to find herself surrounded by tall trees that filtered strong sunlight from the sky, grass as far as her eye could see, and the limp figure of Anshar some metres away next to Kishar. “Anshar!” Ooh, that was too loud for her head, and she sorely regretted it. In a quieter voice, she said again, “Anshar? Daijoubu?”

“…..hai….”

Crawling on hands and knees - since the moment she tried to stand, vertigo tried to bring her back down - she made it to his side, frowning at how he rested, curled into himself like a bug. He didn't look injured, but his skin was deathly pale, and his breathing was shallow. “Anshar? Where are we?”

“….dun' know…saw…felt it….in your mind,” he slurred, managing to open an eye. It blinked confusedly before rolling to look up at her. “…s'ok….your friend is….issafe….sent her ho….ho….home.” Exhaling, he made no protest as she touched his neck, searching for a pulse as her teacher had taught them. It was a little rapid, but steady.

She rocked back onto her heels, swallowing the lump that was gathering in her throat. She would be strong. She would save them both from this strange place. Anshar could possibly be the enemy by association, but he had protected her, and she had to return the favour.

Too bad she didn't know where they were.

The lump threatened to become a boulder as her courage finally fled and she realized how very alone she was, and how she had never been so very lost before. Even her first steps through 21st century Tokyo had been less frightening than this.

Scanning the thickly forested walls around them, she patted her pockets frantically as she remembered - mentally cursing herself for being so foolish - that she still had Alex's phone. Pulling it out proved to be a mistake; once she saw the lack of bars, the obnoxiously happy “Gomen Nasai! You're Out Of Our Service Area!” scrolling across the screen, she felt the entirety of her situation drop onto her shoulders. She was nowhere close to Japan; the tall red-head had once told her that the near-impossibility of losing service anywhere in the country was so close to unbelievable that it made the US look like a backwater hick town. Chibi-Usa had merely looked at her funny, not knowing what a `backwater' was, nor, as she had only been in the 21st century a month, what a `keitai' was - or what Alex kept doggedly calling a `cell phone.' She knew now, and she knew with a growing horror that she should have called Haruka right away. She had gambled on her intelligence and independence and lost.

“Usagi…mama…kami-sama, I'm scared, and I'm so lost…Anshar! Wake up! Onegai, Anshar! Don't leave me alone like this!” She shook as she looked around, hearing nothing familiar, seeing nothing but forest around them, and she wanted so very badly to cry. “Usagi! Iie, Sailor Moon, please find us soon!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Sailor Moon….onegai…..!”

“Maaahhh….? Chibi-Usa…..Chibi….Usa….” Her fingers dug deeper into worn and familiar covers, twisting cheerful rabbits into creatures unrecognizable. Sleep, still tugging at her consciousness, kept her from recognizing the fact that she was indeed in her own bed until her eyes slowly opened. She stared at the poster hanging next to her bed - the current idol of the month, whose name she still couldn't read for its unfamiliar kanji - and blinked, a line of worry creasing her brow. Why was she in her own room when she remembered quite precisely snuggling in next to Mamoru's comatose body and crying?

“Usagi-chan, you're finally awake,” a voice perked up nearby, so achingly familiar in its tone and lilt that she wanted to cry again. But she didn't; instead, she slowly rolled over, staring through her pigtails at Moriya as she sat at her tiny little desk. “You still sleep like the dead. I guess today I'll excuse it, considering what's going on.”

Usagi's face twisted at that statement; the redhead may have looked like her dead friend, but the words had been completely reminiscent of Alex. She was trying her best to handle the warring emotions that gripped her heart every time she spoke, or even stood within eyesight, but it was hard, very hard. Moriya had been her best friend for so long, her death had taken a small piece of her innocence and happiness with her. Accepting Alex had not come easy to her. Now, she was faced with the twin specters of both of them, and while it wasn't her fault, Usagi couldn't help but feel the old resentment and pain again. “Gomen nasai,” she finally muttered, rubbing at her eyes. Out of habit, her hands then went to her hair buns, feeling them squashed from having been slept on. She pulled the pins out and re-wound them, her motions precise and automatic. “Why am I home? I was next to Mamo-chan…”

“Haruka-san and Michiru-san went to the hospital to check on Hotaru. We didn't think it wise of you to be left alone, so we brought you back home. They told Ikuko-mama that you'd fallen asleep at Rei-san's house. I crawled in through the window.” She shrugged as if it were no big deal, but Usagi's fingers stilled as she realized that her mother would of course be unable to see Moriya either. She knew the girl was dead, had been at the funeral. “Chibi-Usa snuck out some time ago. We're hoping she just went for a walk, but she hasn't come home yet.”

“She…she left? Baka! What is she thinking! With the enemy around, she's wandering carelessly?”

“She told me she was going to the ice cream parlor. I gave her my keitai to call us, but she never did.” Moriya shook her head, tapping one of Usagi's pencils against the desk. The expression on her face was a bit hard to tell, as Moriya had not bothered to turn on the lights, and the only illumination came from the moonlight streaming through the windows.

Usagi's mouth dropped open. “You….you….you let her leave? How could you do such a thing? You always yell at us for being thoughtless, and here you…”

“I thought it would do her good to get out of the apartment and away from someone's self-loathing and anger! Usagi-chan, all you've done is make everyone miserable, and you seem to have completely forgotten that he's also Chibi-Usa's father and that she might be hurting too. She needed to get out and away from you, from Haruka-san's overbearing tendencies, from Michiru-san's smothering, and from the whole damn situation. And the parlor isn't too far away. It's quite possible she lied and went somewhere else.” Moriya jabbed the pencil in her friend's direction, scowling at her. “I can't continue to watch you all as if I'm your mother, or you'll never become independent. Chibi-Usa needs that more than any of you.”

Instead of answering, Usagi looked deliberately away and finished pinning up her hair. Though Chibi-Usa didn't speak of the future - Setsuna had told her flatly not to do so - it wasn't difficult to realize that she had to have lived a sheltered life. As the princess, her movements outside of the palace would have been monitored, and the soldiers and the king and queen would have most likely dictated much of her life. It was an uncomfortable feeling to realize she was responsible for the girl's very nature, and the reasoning behind Moriya allowing her to leave. She had sworn upon their return to the past to not become that beautiful but somewhat chilly woman, and it was days like this one that had her wondering if she wasn't fated to fail.

How battles would she face in the coming years that would whittle down her innocence and her sense of fairness? How long had it taken that lovely lady to become a stern leader, espousing the ends justifying the means instead of allowing everyone a second chance? Of course, she could be wrong in her assessment; the queen had obviously allowed the Death Phantom a second chance by not destroying it immediately. But she had a feeling even that didn't show a clear picture of her future self.

Picking up her brush, she queried, “Are you my friend still, Moriya-chan? Before, you died before you told me all your secrets. Can you tell me now, with this second chance?”

“You know what I've told you, tsukimidango,” Moriya replied archly.

“But I don't understand everything. Why did you….exist? How? Why were you my friend? And are you still the same?”

“Of course I'm the same, baka Usagi. I just have a different body. I can even tell you that Ikuko-mama's supper of shabu-shabu last Friday was delicious.” She watched Usagi flinch and glance towards the door, as if the mention of her mother's name would bring her running up with snacks for them both. As she used to do, when they had collapsed onto her bed after running home from school, both of them promising her they would do their homework.

As Moriya stared at her in the murky darkness, an undeniable flicker of pain across her face that would have gone unnoticed by anyone else made Usagi's throat tighten. There were so many memories of them together that she had simply pushed to the back of her mind, to deal with the older version with a clean slate and a clear eye. In the beginning, it had simply been too difficult; Alex would make gestures Moriya had tossed off so easily, speak colloquial Japanese as if she were their age, and toss off her suffixes as if she'd been born to the system.

But time had passed, and Usagi realized now that it had been something of a…of a sickness, really. She had gotten her body back, along with the Moriya and Sakkaku viruses, and she had to build up immunity to them. Go back to being who she really was, LeBeau Alex, with two other lives inside of her, both of whom had been merely pale shades of herself. And she had; only a few weeks later had seen her Japanese still perfect, but completely lacking in the suffixes all of them used, unless the situation truly demanded it. She peppered her speech with English and French. She used her Japanese to speak as straight-forward and to the point as possible, eschewing the respectful vagueness built into their language and being blunt.

Kami-sama, she was so stupid.

She felt so terrible for being so cruel to her friend since her return - and it wasn't as if she had asked to be split into three people again, rendered all but useless. Remembering what Alex had told them that night in Crystal Tokyo, so completely ironic about a life that was, to a girl who had both her parents and brother, rather terrible, she blurted, “That's why you were my friend, Alex-chan, wasn't it? You didn't have friends….you didn't get to have fun and be a real kid.”

A pale red eyebrow rose fractionally as Moriya stared at her, unblinking. Then, she said mildly, “And everyone says you're completely oblivious, Usagi-chan.'”

“But I'm right, ne? You wanted to be friends. And, because I was the princess, you could protect me. Even if you're not a sailor soldier, you had powers—“

“No I didn't. Not as Chouno Moriyakumi.” She held out her hands as if to push something away, and flames sparked to life around the tips of her fingers. “I would have…shown signs of them. I gained my powers when I was twelve. But the body of Moriya wasn't my body, not really. It was a magical construct, as real as I could make it. And I did have parents, in a sense; two silly people who fancied themselves sneak thieves and who wanted a child. All I did was `convince' them I was theirs. In a way, they didn't exist. And I grew up for several years in their company, with information and memories in my head that explained my bilingualism, all of my skills as a thief in kind.”

Sighing, she dropped her hands, shaking her head. “I had what was closer to a normal childhood than my first for a few good years until they managed to get themselves killed. Then I had to make plans - had to create Sakakku's identity - and managed to put myself in Mamoru's confidences. He was the only one who I could get close to, until I could figure out how to put myself into public school; into Juuban.” She flashed a brief smile. “And I did it. And I had you as my friend again, not just as my princess. You were my best friend.”

“Moriya-chan….Alex-chan….”

“Don't worry about it, tsukimidango. So what if my life wasn't as good as I hoped? It doesn't matter. If I worried about how terribly cliché it all was, I'd go crazy, ne? Besides, once you've beaten the Oppositio Soldiers, I can go back to being myself again.”

Usagi frowned at her, before tossing her brush aside and smiling wickedly. Before Moriya could tell her to not even think about it, she pounced. She tackled her off the chair and onto the floor, laughing like a lunatic, as she madly tickled her best friend.

“U-sa-GI!” Moriya shrieked, neither of them caring if the other three in the house heard them, and proceeded to attack her back. They tumbled across the floor, knocking stuffed animals off their perches and books off the shelves. Finally, they flopped apart, gasping for air and red-faced, giggling madly as they learned how to breathe again. “Baka Usagi!”

“Gomeeen, I had to do it!”

“You did not!”

“Usagi, what's going on up there?”

They both froze. Scuttling backwards like a crab, Moriya yanked open the balcony doors and flung herself outside as Ikuko's footsteps came down the hall. Usagi pulled the curtains shut and catapulted herself across the room and onto her bed, sitting on the edge with a sleepy, confused look on her face as her mother opened her door and turned on the lights. “Tsukino Usagi, what on earth is happening up here? You come home asleep on your feet, your friends won't tell me what's wrong with you - and I can clearly see it! Don't lie to me, young lady!”

Usagi bit her lip. When she was really down in the dumps, Ikuko had a bad habit of catching on and mercilessly hounding her to tell her what was wrong, though severe cases were usually treated with kind words and fresh baked cookies. Apparently, she didn't look worried enough to warrant lemon drops tonight. So she decided honesty was a good enough policy. “Ano….Mamo-chan is sick. Very very sick. And I was….I was taking care of him, when I fell asleep, I guess. I didn't realize it until I woke up, and I panicked. I fell out of bed,” she said sheepishly.

“Mamo-chan is sick? With what?” Ikuko came closer, sitting next to her daughter on the bed, an arm going around her shoulders.

Absently, Usagi wondered if Queen Serenity had done the same thing for her in the past life; acting like a clucking hen, constantly on alert for even the slightest problem that needed her attention. It was strange to think of a royal queen getting up at three in the morning to hold her daughter as she cried from an earache, or going to the twenty four hour market to buy some sweet bean buns for her daughter's first menstrual cravings. Put in that context, Usagi couldn't imagine Serenity doing anything but allowing servants to do all of the doting.

But Serenity had also committed passive genocide out of love for her. Maybe it was the difference in dosage.

She snuggled in against her mother's shoulder, sighing. “We don't know. He has a fever, and he's been asleep most of the day. It just seemed to happen, and the doctors don't know what it is, and it isn't flu.” Definitely true, except they hadn't taken him to the doctors. No doctor alive would have been able to pinpoint the effects of negative energy. “Now that I'm awake, I'm going to go back to see him.”

“Usagi, you shouldn't be staying out so late, you have school to consider! Now, I'm perfectly pleased with the boy, he's quite a gentleman - and don't tell your father I think he's a handsome one! - but don't obsess. Not every young man can be a wonderful prince. You two may not be destined for marriage and eternity together. Always prepare for disappointment until he gives you his promise.”

Ikuko would never understand the sudden muffled snort her daughter gave her, or the look of utter irony on her face. And Usagi wasn't going to tell her. Instead, she plastered on a smile and nodded, saying, “I know, mama, but I'm still worried. Even so, I don't want him sick. I feel better knowing that he's doing well. It's not too late.”

Her mother sighed, giving her one last squeeze of the shoulders. “Yare, yare….you really are in love, aren't you? Your father will huff and stomp about over this.” Releasing her to stand up, Ikuko admonished her firmly, “But don't stay out too late! You're not missing a day of school for this, Tsukino Usagi. As well…..” She stared at her daughter quizzically, hands on her hips. “Was that really Ten'ou Haruka, the famous driver, and Kaiou Michiru, the world-class violinist, who brought you home?”

“Hai, hai. We've become friends. We met at the Crown.”

“Sugoi! You know I'm a fan of Kaiou-san! For your mother, get an autograph; iie, make that an autograph for me, and for your father, Ten'ou-san's!” Ikuko kissed her forehead, making a rapid retreat, no doubt to spread the gossip to Kenji.

The balcony doors opened as Ikuko's steps faded down the stairs, and Moriya snorted. “You would think the crown prince brought you home. `Oh, Kaiou-san!'” she mimicked, not quite getting Ikuko's voice; Usagi threw a pillow at her. Then she hopped off the bed and went into her closet, discarding clothes in a quest to find something to wear.

As she pulled on a sweater and skirt, she said, “Moriya-chan, I thought I heard Chibi-Usa call to me in my dream. Just before I woke up, I heard her voice.”

“You didn't say that.”

“I just remembered it now, after you told me Chibi-Usa had disappeared!”

“Typical Usagi-chan,” Moriya sighed, tugging at her hair. Usagi blinked at her, noticing for the first time that her hair was as long as Alex's had been, not the short cut she had died with. This time, she was in her own body, instead of a borrowed one. “What did she say?”

“Ano….she called me Sailor Moon. She was pleading with me, but I don't know what for—Luna, where have you been?” she said abruptly, as the black cat strode briskly through the open balcony door. She sat on her haunches and gave her a look that quite plainly told her she was dense to be asking.

“With Haruka-san and Michiru-san, mostly. That's why I've come straight here; Hotaru is gone.”

“Nani? I thought she was at the hospital!” Moriya interjected, watching Usagi hop around her room as she pulled her pantyhose on under her skirt, trying not to snag.

“Well, she was, but when we went in to check on her, the window was open and she was gone. Plus, with Chibi-Usa missing….” Luna shook her head, wincing as Usagi finally lost her balance and fell headlong into a pile of toys. “Anyway, we need to find them both. Al—M—Moriya-san, please follow me out of the window. Diana is waiting for us. Usagi-chan, meet us downstairs.”

After the two went out onto the balcony and down, Usagi exhaled noisily. “When will the enemy stop attacking us? Never? I don't always want this life of constant battles,” she grumbled to herself as she finished getting dressed and hurried downstairs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luna and Moriya stood outside of the gate, out of sight in case Usagi's parents happened to look outside, in an uneasy silence. Diana sat next to her mother, curiously eyeing the two of them, the look on her face clearly puzzled. So intent were the two on looking anywhere but each other that they both spotted the small figure running towards them at the same time, hair ribbons flying wild, a frantic, ghostly pale face contorted by crying. “Momoko, that's Chibi-Usa's friend Momoko!” Moriya said first, Diana propelled up onto her paws.

“Hai, the girl she was supposed to visit tonight. But why does she look so upset? This can't be good,” Luna argued in a hissing whisper as Momoko almost tripped over her feet, flinging herself into the red-head's arms and almost throwing her ass over teakettle.

“Alex-san, Alex-san, Chibi-Usa-chan is…..oh, Chibi-Usa-chan, gomen!” she bawled into Moriya's shirt as she looked down at her, vaguely uncomfortable at the girl's death grip.

“Momoko? What's wrong? What about Chibi-Usa?”

Sniffling, Momoko peeled her face away to look up…and froze, her fists still entangled in Moriya's shirt. “You…you're not Alex-san,” she said slowly, eyes narrowing as Moriya stiffened.

“Second cousin twice removed. Now, what about Chibi-Usa?”

“Hai, what about Chibi-Usa, Momo-chan?” Usagi was still pulling on a light coat as she came out of the gate, staring at the young girl with a worried look on her face. Momoko released Moriya, giving her one last queer glance, before turning to face Usagi.

“Chibi-Usa-chan and I were looking for a…a stone to heal Mamo-chan. We went to Mugen Gakuen, because Chibi-Usa-chan said it was somewhere near there. But there were these weird monsters, and Chibi-Usa-chan is….I mean….what I last remember is….”

Luna frowned behind her, twitching her whiskers. If Momoko couldn't remember, yet was free to come and tell them Chibi-Usa was in danger, either she had been captured and released by the enemy, or was being used to lure them into trap. But the black feline didn't sense any evil energy around the girl, nothing to suspect the latter at all. Had Sin and her cohorts honestly let Momoko go?

Momoko gave an anguished cry and rubbed her palms into her eyes. “I don't remember! I was with Chibi-Usa-chan, and then, I was home; she's still there, I know she is!” She stared up at Usagi beseechingly, clasping her hands. “Onegai, Usagi-chan, you have to save her! She told me she's a sailor soldier, and so you must be one too. You can help her!”

“Momo-chan, I—what?” Usagi stammered. “What did she tell you?”

“That's she Sailor Chibi-Moon. Which means you're a senshi too, ne? Usagi-chan, you must be.”

Diana was practically dancing around by this point, giving her mother beseeching looks of utter despair and impatience. All she recognized of Momoko's lament was `Chibi-Usa-chan,' and `save her' and putting those two together made for a foreboding conclusion. She was already disappointed in herself for letting the princess sneak away while they were keeping watch over the king, and if she had been hurt, Diana would claw out the eyes of whoever did it. Even though she was just a kitten, she had some wickedly sharp claws.

She tipped her head as Usagi continued to sputter, trying to think of a response. If the princess had taken Momoko into her confidence, then Usagi should have simply agreed so they could leave. Honestly, the future queen really wasn't so bright in the 21st century. She twitched her whiskers anxiously as Usagi finally babbled, “Well, maybe, I could be. But, Mugen Gakuen you said? Then, Michiru-san was correct….”

“Mugen Gakuen has re-appeared,” Moriya stated quietly. “Which means that we could find more than just Chibi-Usa there.”

“Hotaru-chan,” Usagi breathed, touching a hand to her breast.

The two girls exchanged a look of resolution. Moriya crouched down to look straight into Momoko's face, saying, “Go home, Momoko. We'll save Chibi-Usa. Don't worry about it. Usagi-chan would never let anyone hurt her.”

Momoko sniffled, wiping at her eyes once again. “Promise?”

“Hai, hai! Usagi to the rescue, ne? Be brave, Momo-chan. Be brave. Now, go on home, and be careful.” She smiled reassuringly in response to Momoko's trembling grin, holding it as the younger girl ran back the way she came. Once the streamers of her hair ribbons disappeared around the corner, the smile dropped into a fierce frown as she looked down at Luna. “What shall we do?”

Luna nodded her head resolutely. “We should go to Mugen Gakuen. I have a feeling Chibi-Usa may not be the only one there; with Hotaru suddenly missing, I don't doubt she could be there as well. The possibility of the Death Busters and the Witches 5 being alive….”

That wasn't a pleasant thought. The vicious girls who had antagonized them had not been missed for a reason. And they had already been brought back once before, ghostly shades resurrected to kill them during their last - and final - visit to the school.

But it wasn't very much of a surprise. They had been encountering youma and droids. If such menial creatures could be brought back to roam the streets, it was hardly impossible to bring back the enemies who had originally created them. And if that were the case, the twisted magicians of the academy wouldn't be the worst to be brought back.

Usagi shivered at the memories of the freezing snow and maniacal laughter.

Diana did another impatient dance from paw to paw, circling around. “Come on, come on, Usagi-sama! We have to hurry! Small Lady could be in terrible danger!”

“We're going, we're going,” Usagi muttered, digging into her pockets. She pulled them inside out rather comically and her face dropped like a stone. “M-masaka…”

“Did you already spend your allowance?!” Luna groaned, covering her face with a paw.

“Ano….that is….I've been on buses all day today! I've been involved in lots of serious business, Luna, and I wasn't expecting it! After all, I did buy the new manga Friday…”

“Yare, yare….don't worry, tsukimidango, I'll pay for us. Didn't I tell you to make sure you kept spare change on you all the time?” Moriya sighed, taking the lead as she scooped up the impatient kitten.

 

 

 

 

 

The bus ride was mostly uneventful, save for the manhandling they had to do on Usagi to get her on the bus; the stop was right in front of Mamoru's apartment building. She kept arguing that it `wouldn't hurt' to check up on him, necessitating in her being bodily lifted off her feet and carried up the steps, much to the shock of the driver. The two cats following them to their seat as if they belonged there didn't help matters much.

When they got off, they stood in front of the gates of the resurrected building and stared up….and up…at the triple towers that encircled Mugen Gakuen like protective angels. “The Ten'nou, the Kaiou, the Meiou towers,” Moriya murmured.

“They look so….so dark,” Usagi sighed, turning in space. “And lifeless. Like ghosts come back to life.”

Diana frowned, pawing her nose. “They are, Usagi-sama. The buildings were destroyed and cleansed from this space by your power. To have brought them back is to have such enormous strength….”

“Or an enormous amount of deviance. Aren't they trying to change our destinies? Changing time is as simple as the flutter of a butterfly's winds.” Moriya rubbed at her face, a grimace crossing it beneath her hand. Her eyes lifted and she said, quizzically, “Usagi-chan?”

She was staring at the far building of the Tomoe lab, almost unassuming past the high wall. Of course, it had come back as well. All of the damage wrought by Mistress 9's awakening, and the battle beneath it in Tomoe-san's lab, was gone, leaving behind the smooth brick. In the faint light from the street, it looked almost innocent. “I can sense an evil coming from the Tomoe labs,” she said slowly, touching her brooch. The others turned to look, then glanced back at her.

“Usagi-chan, are you sure? At the labs?” Luna queried, sounding dubious. After all, Momoko had clearly specified the school itself.

“I'm sure. Perhaps it's a trap, but it's surely evil. And it could be a danger to Chibi-Usa if we don't destroy it first.”

Moriya sighed, picking the two cats back up and slinging them over her shoulders. They grappled with her coat and held on tight as she muttered, “I hate it when she makes sense,” and followed Usagi around the wall towards the labs. The odango-haired blonde was walking at a quick, stilted pace as they rounded the corner and faced the front of the house through the open gates. She then stopped dead, causing Moriya to smack right into her.

A set of wind chimes hanging by the front door tickled musically from the light breeze. In front of the door was a reed mat woven with “Welcome” in black, almost completely clean; the Tomoe family had never had very many visitors after Tomoe Keiko's death. “Hotaru-chan should have been happy here,” Usagi whispered, rubbing her arms. “Her papa should have been wonderful to her, instead of a crazy man. And now, has she been returned to this destiny of pain? Is this what Sin wants? Sadness and unhappiness?”

She reached up to touch her brooch, saying, “Moon Cosmic Power, Make Up!” and began to run as she transformed, leaving them behind.

Luna and Diana squalled in annoyance as Moriya set them down, waggling a finger at them. “Now, now, you two can wait here. It's better if I go in alone for back-up. Don't worry; we'll come back soon.” Turning around, she called out, “Tsukimidango, wait!” and ran after her, following her into the labs.

Sailor Moon was waiting for her near the stairs to the basement. Her face was set in a grim expression as she called forth the heart moon rod and held it tight, glancing down into the darkness. Moriya looked down, but saw nothing; she merely looked back to the soldier next to her. “Ready?”

“Steady?”

They both smiled and looked back down the stairwell. “Go!”

Both of them bounded down the steps side by side, Sailor Moon with her rod held out and ready. The closed door gave them no pause; all it took was one swift kick to slam it open, and they tumbled out into the odiferous and bright laboratory, the site of which had nearly been Sailor Moon's death. It was where she seen Alex appear in a writhing, living flame, helping to destroy Professor Tomoe's daimon, Germatoid. Now, in the creature's place, stood the affably smiling - and certainly mad - professor himself.

Stopping dead, they stared at him, heart moon rod pointed steady. “Professor Tomoe,” she said quietly, her voice wobbling only slightly.

His smile broadened, though it was hardly kind. “Sailor Moon. You, I don't easily recognize, but…perhaps, the girl in the Master's chamber….LeBeau-san. Yes, I think so. Your hair is so interesting a colour, and your powers…ara, ara, I was so hoping to have my fun with you.” Moriya scowled at him, and the rod shifted subtly to guard her from the mad man pointedly.

“Too bad for me, I get to kill you again, ne?” the red-head shot back, palming an empty beaker off the nearest table, as she slowly smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile, and Tomoe actually dropped his own in response, beginning to frown.

“How crude. But, it doesn't matter. You don't believe I was entirely destroyed, do you? I've escaped death! My mission in science will be fulfilled, and I will be the Master and as God. Witness the magnificence of my experiment: Mistress 9, come out, come out, wherever you are! Show this girl your power!”

The lights dimmed and flickered as a shape took form next to the professor, a blot of darkness next to the clean whiteness of his coat. Long hair spilled across the floor, pale skin almost luminous in the dark. The shape of a star glowed brilliant against a white forehead before fading, and purple eyes glinted with the unkindest of intentions as the lights came back on, fluorescence starkly revealing. “Konban wa, Sailor Moon. LeBeau-san. It's been so long.”

“Mistress 9,” Moriya responded lightly, looking her up and down slowly. “For some reason, you seem…” She gestured vaguely with her empty hand. “Smaller, than I remember.”

Sailor Moon choked back a giggle as Mistress 9 scowled, lips pursing at the insult. “How interesting that you are, as well. The Alex I remember was much taller. But it seems to be how you cope, by your witticisms. Unfortunately,” she said airily, smiling sweetly at the complacent figure of her father and mad scientist maker next to her, “this time, you won't walk away alive.”

The lights blew out above them with the shrieking sound of breaking glass. Tomoe's laughter followed them as they fled away, diving behind a table as a blast of energy crackled over their heads. Mistress 9 sneered as she stepped forward, a dim shape in the darkness. “Are you afraid of me, little sailor soldier? Is your brilliant star unable to face me again? After all, it wasn't your power that ultimately stopped Master Pharaoh 90. The one who wielded that magic is trapped within a prison of my making.”

“It doesn't matter; this time, I'll be stronger. Moon Spiral Heart Attack!” The power slammed into Mistress 9 and threw her back; she hit the wall with a howl of pain, glass beakers breaking in the darkness. “You were destroyed. No matter what Sin may claim, your destiny is not to return, but to go back to the darkness.”

“But the darkness rejected me, Sailor Moon! And here I am, back again! Not even my master can claim resurrection; only his worthy daimon have returned. Nothing and no one will take this from me; especially not you!”

Tables smashed as candles sprang to life all around them, illuminating the room with a dim, smoky light. Sailor Moon stood in front of Moriya again, a cut bleeding lightly across her forehead, staring across the room at Mistress 9 and her smiling, silent fellow daimon. “I will be the one to do it,” Sailor Moon said steadily, staring her down along the length of the heart moon rod as if sighting a gun. “For Hotaru-chan. I will be the one to stop you.”

“And if she doesn't do it, well, there's always the back-up,” Moriya added, flicking her fingers in what was assumedly a wave. But in the next second, she was dragging Sailor Moon down, all but tackling her to the ground as Mistress 9 tilted her head forward, and her hair, writhing like the Medusa locks, snatched at the air where they had been standing. They flung aside cabinets and instruments, groping in the murky darkness as the two girls slid and crawled across the floor to get away.

At the first sink of her hand into broken glass, Sailor Moon keened, barely able to keep from howling in pain. She stopped dead as Moriya pushed her, trying to get her to move, staring at the blood seeping through her glove; what was the wetness she felt on the floor beneath her knees? The entire lab was a chamber of horrors, and she remembered all too well what had been writhing within the glass beakers during her last fight. Was she currently kneeling in daimon fluids? The thought was too disgusting to contemplate.

She peeled off her glove and tossed it aside, effectively removing the glass, but not stopping the bleeding; she closed her fist, cradling it to her chest, as she said, sotto voce, “Moriya-chan, I can't go any further, there's glass everywhere!”

“Well, if you want to stand up and call that crazy woman's attention, be my guest! We can—shimatta!” Fingernails scratched into the linoleum behind her, and Sailor Moon rolled over to see her friend yanked backward and up, hoisted into the air by a tight tendril of hair. Her hands flailed for purchase, fingers seeking to grab onto something, anything, until another twining of hair pulled them tight. “Ittaaaaiii… Let go of me, or I'll….do…something! I'll blow up your house!”

“How very difficult to do so, when your hands are tied, LeBeau-san,” Tomoe purred, adjusting his glasses. The crystal eye gleamed in the candlelight as he surveyed the room, waiting for the inevitable appearance of blonde hair and furious eyes, but nothing happened. He pursed his lips as Mistress 9 continued to dangle Moriya upside down like the proverbial bait for the fish, watching her face turning slowly red. “Come out, Sailor Moon. We have your….'backup'….and surely, you don't think we'll hesitate to destroy her? You are powerful with your shining star and fierce convictions, but without the carriers of the three lights of foreboding, you're merely a vessel pretending to be a warrior.”

Below the table, Sailor Moon stared helplessly as Moriya groaned, beginning to struggle with urgency as her face turned darker than her hair with the rush of blood, trying to lift herself partially upright to relieve the pressure. “Don't….don't even think of it, Sailor Moon!” she spat, gasping with the effort of rising. “I'm not helpless. Destroy them both! Use your power!”

“I can't!” she whispered, twisting the hilt of the rod between her hands. “I didn't even…those times, it wasn't me! Not my power! Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, you….Saturn….all of you destroyed these two for me! My power wasn't enough!” she realized, shaking her head. It had only been a few months ago, but the memories were fresh in her mind. She had been immensely foolhardy to consider doing this alone; she should have called Haruka and Michiru, asked them to come with them.

Mistress 9 bobbed Moriya suddenly, dropping her and pulling her up, shaking her with no real concern for her health - she was making pained noises that didn't bode well - as she crooned, “U-sa-gi-sa-a-n, come on out! Come out, come out, wherever you are. Or I'll very happily rip this girl to pieces. I have no constraints upon me now, no Master to stop my hand. Sin has given us this second chance, and I will enjoy it. Even more so once I rip that light similar to the source of our life from your breast!”

Unconsciously, she touched the brooch at those words, a shiver running through her at the memory of Germatoid's hands grabbing it, pulling it from her. It had been the most intense pain, feeling the crystal being forcibly ripped from her body as if it were nothing more than a piece of useless jewelry.

Again, she heard her name being called, this time with an underlying tinge of impatience. She thought of Hotaru, lying in Neptune's arms as an innocent little baby, given her second chance at life. She thought of Saturn, finally sacrificing herself to spare the world instead of destroying it; staring through the portal at them all as she lowered the glaive to destroy Master Pharaoh 90's pathway.

Mistress 9 held them both captive so long as she existed; the demon within the woman's body, smiling all the while. Was Hotaru staring out through the eyes of her prison, screaming? Was Saturn there, calmly accepting it all as fate? She herself wanted to curse Sin for meddling with time, for destroying their peaceful life for her own selfish needs. And yet, it was borne out of a despair of her own; to reconcile the deaths of her parents with a solution to everyone's sadness and pain.

She stood up, opening her hand to wipe the blood off on her skirt. Resolutely, she gripped the heart moon rod and lifted it up, even though she knew she'd likely accomplish nothing with it against the two daimon. Moriya had stopped struggling; she hung upside down, staring mutely at Sailor Moon as she glared fiercely. “Put Moriya-chan down.”

“Of course…as soon as you release your weapon, and surrender that pretty bauble. Then we'll let her go. We'll let both of you go!” Mistress 9 laughed, though there was no kindness in her voice. “It will hardly matter if we killed you anyway. Without the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou, you'll be a perfectly ordinary girl. No more trouble. And perhaps, isn't that what you've desired for a long time? Your true heart's desire.”

“I….” The rod wavered as she stared at the elder Hotaru, wondering where she had heard that before. A cold smile came to mind, and a head of blonde hair similar to her own: Sin. Mocking her and the others as they came to rescue her friends. She had said that: `They may be happier with their heart's desires than with your bloody wars.'

But they had fought to wake up. No matter what happened, they always continued on their mission. Without peace, they would never have their happiness. Sin was wrong. Mistress 9 was wrong, even if her words touched a tiny chord within her soul.

“Moon Spiral Heart Attack!”

She put all of her conviction and power behind the attack, staggering as leaned forward, willing the energy to grow stronger, to beat Mistress 9 and Professor Tomoe back. Instead, they retreated a few steps, with Mistress 9 taking much of the blow, and a whipping tendril of hair came out of nowhere to catch her wrists, lifting her up and throwing her across the room as if she weighed nothing. The heart moon rod disappeared as she hit the wall, sinking into it by a centimetre or so, before dropping heavily onto a wheeled cart and toppling it over with her to the floor. Glass spun, shattered; she was splashed with substances she didn't dare think about. Even less did she want to think about how she would have fared in her ordinary form: the blow could have killed her. The magic had protected her, but she was so badly bruised and aching that she didn't want to get up.

Footsteps came clicking across the linoleum towards her, coupled with the slow swish and slide of hair and the rustle of fabric. Wrapping around her neck and shoulders, the hair lifted her up to see the professor smiling calmly at her, reminded her absurdly of her father. His hand was reaching for the brooch hanging from her bow as she dangled, in too much pain to struggle, her eyes drifting to see Moriya lifting her head with a supreme amount of effort to catch hers.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” she whispered hoarsely, and Tomoe stilled. He turned his head to clinically stare at the dangling girl as Mistress 9 sneered, jerking her again.

“Be silent. You're not at all the strong one I remember. Once this is over with, I may simply kill you and release Usagi-san to cry in horror at her memory. I'm not sure yet.”

“You've never played chess, I assume.” Moriya managed to smile, even though upside down and close to passing out. “I can't get down, but I can sure as hell kill you from here.”

Mistress 9 stared at her, recognition sparking in her eyes.

Something else sparked as well; fire, leaping from the wicks of the candles, spinning around the room in a whirlwind of heat and flame. The smell of burning hair was rank as Moriya dropped to the ground, gesturing with a shaky arm to direct the fire towards Tomoe, who stared at her with fascination even as he crab-walked out of the way to avoid being burnt. Sailor Moon felt her own bonds loosen, and she dropped gratefully to the cool floor.

Hands pushed at her to roll her onto her back. Moriya hovered above her, reaching to touch the brooch as she muttered something Sailor Moon didn't catch - what she did hear was completely behind the realm of her understanding. The crystal appeared, a shining lotus in a nimbus of light, and Moriya smiled sweetly at Mistress 9 as she cringed away, trapped by a cage of Moriya's making. “Hotaru wants her body back, bitch.” She pointed a finger straight up to the ceiling, and a shaft of fire burned a neat hole through the paint and wood, up through the first floor, the second floor, and the roof. Through the hole shone the bright light of the moon, bathing both girls with its silvery hue.

The light intensified as the woman shrieked, clawing at her eyes. “Cleanse the negative energy,” Moriya said loudly, gently and awkwardly lifting Sailor Moon up against her hips. “Be gone, foul daimon, from that innocent body. In the name of the Moon, I cast you out!”

“Release Hotaru-chan,” Sailor Moon whispered, lifting a hand to touch her brooch. She could feel Moriya struggling to hold her, and she rolled forward onto her protesting knees, fighting her own urge to lie back down to stand up. “Evil spirit, your time was passed! Go join your Master and leave Hotaru-chan alone!”

Mistress 9 shrieked long and loud as she began to melt. Or so it seemed; the effect of shrinking was similar to a candle burning itself down. Her face changed shape, became slightly chubbier with baby fat; her hair broke off and hung neatly back to her shoulders; her body compacted, her legs shrinking, her hips losing their womanly curve. The scandalous dress disassembled itself into a hospital gown; pure white bled through the darkness. She looked as though she were smoking for a moment as the spirit of the daimon wafted away, howling into the night sky, and then it was over: Hotaru laid crumpled on the floor, a young girl again. Not the baby, but the teenager.

Sailor Moon sagged back onto the floor with relief. “Hotaru-chan.”

“Professor Tomoe made a break for it,” Moriya muttered behind her, and she turned her head to see her friend's blushing face, her hair tangled and slightly wild. “We have to go after him.”

“Hai. But, how did you do that? You called forth the Ginzuishou. I thought I was the only one….”

Moriya blinked at her, then smiled charmingly. “Maybe not. It saved us, so let's make the best of it, ne? Let's go wake Hotaru up.”

They crawled over to the huddled girl and gently shook her shoulder. Her head rolled on her neck as she moaned, amethyst eyes peeking out from slitted eyelids, but she didn't move to get up. Finally, they shook her one last time, and Sailor Moon whispered, “Hotaru-chan? Daijoubu? You can wake up now.”

“Usagi-san…Sailor Moon? Where am I? My head hurt so much…” she moaned, opening her eyes entirely to look around the darkened room. Without the candlelight, the moonlight did very little to illuminate; she could have been anywhere. She looked down at herself, clad in the flimsy hospital gown, then up at them. Her face did a double-take at the sight of Moriya, and her mouth hung slightly open. “A-Alex-s-san? But you look…masaka! Was your destiny changed just like mine?”

“Hai, hai. And it's no fun being a kid again. I think I like being an adult.” Moriya shrugged, unconcerned. “How are you feeling?”

“Very strange. My head isn't hurting anymore. I feel as if I could do anything.” She stood up, staring at her hands as if she hadn't seen them before. Holding one up to the moonlight, she visibly trembled at the sight, and neither girl had to ask why at the vision of the wires crisscrossing beneath her pale skin like delicate veins. It was monstrous to look at. She rather guiltily put her hand down, taking a deep breath before she flung it high. “Saturn Planet Power, Make Up!”

Both girls rocked back as the power spun around her in a dizzying spiral of purple; the colour of royalty. They saw the glaive first, a wickedly sharp blade catching the moonlight; it almost dwarfed the diminutive girl who held it, clad in the purple fuku of Saturn. But instead of the solemn, contemplative stare of her counterpart, this Saturn gave them both a confident smile. “I'm ready to fight. The enemy has a lot to answer for.”

“Saturn,” Moriya said slowly, “you don't have to help us just us. We can handle this.”

“Neither of you look strong enough just now. You need my help. And I'm determined to prove myself as Saturn, instead of the god of ruin.” She lifted her chin, staring at them with a mixture of defiance and hesitation: despite her second chance, she was again the shy and quiet girl who never quite fit in. Even as Saturn, she was unsure of herself. “I've already fought alongside you properly. Let me have this chance!”

Sailor Moon lowered her eyes, knowing she couldn't rightly deny Saturn the chance to fight. Yet, the girl didn't know their enemy was her father - or rather, the vessel for the daimon who had once been her loving father. Could she let her run headlong into the battle without telling her? Or was ignorance preferable?

The chance was lost as they heard the slam of a door, and they looked around to see the entrance to the tunnel wide open. Inviting them. Laughter ghosted on the air as Saturn determinedly started walking towards it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She waited in the shadows of her scrying pool, stirring the waters with the tip of her finger. Tomoe was hiding, appropriately, just like the mouse he was; when had he ever truly placed himself within direct confrontation? He was an annoying bastard who seemed to think of the world as pieces to his own personal puzzle, instead of the Master's prize.

Though now, she had no inclination towards the Master. She had no loyalty to anyone or anything. Sin had woken her up with a smile and a promise, but she couldn't care a whit for a girl who stole her power like a child in the candy store. Her own power had been thrust upon her, promises made and broken, by a greater source. Sin's promise of creating a new destiny for her that she honestly wanted was silly. The destiny of Kuromine Kaoli and the Magus Kaolinite were two very different realities, and neither the twain would meet.

The sound of footsteps grew louder, and she slowly picked up her staff.

She allowed them to enter the chamber first, noting that one girl held a tall staff that would most likely need to be taken away before she could destroy them; a girl who looked suspiciously like the professor's little brat, the one who had been the vessel for the Master's second. A wave of her own staff slammed the door shut, and it completely faded from view as all three jumped at the noise. Then, she lit the candles.

The brat child was the first to react, spinning her deadly weapon around to point its keen edge towards her throat. “Kaoli-kun! You should be dead and gone with your Master!”

“You are the professor's child, are you not? Tomoe Hotaru. Dressing up in a sailor soldier's clothing, and yet, I sense the light of a star from you as well. What an interesting secret you kept from me.” Her eyes drifted over the other two, and her brow furrowed at the sight of the younger red-head. But she looked back to the brat child first, noting, “You aren't whom I was expecting. Mistress 9 was awakened. That would mean, your body should be host to the daimon, the Master's second. Yet, you stand there in the guise of a soldier.”

“I was saved by Sailor Moon. Now, I am the soldier of Saturn, Sailor Saturn. In this form, I destroyed your Master. This time, I can destroy you.”

Kaolinite visibly shuddered at those words, clutching her staff for support. She had been killed before she had a chance to witness Pharaoh 90's release, and so she had no idea how they had been truly defeated. To know that the brat child was responsible…! She would have strangled the little bitch in bed, had she known ahead of time. It would have been easy.

Instead of giving up, she marshaled her courage. She had a second chance; she would make the best of it. No promises of a happy destiny mattered, as long as she merely survived. “You won't destroy me, Sailor Saturn. And even if you did, I'll have my revenge, in the form of your next fight!” Touching the sigil atop her staff, she whispered a hasty spell, gathering water vapour from the air to fling icicles at them, sharp as daggers.

A spate of fire licked the space between them, melting the ice back to water. Kaolinite fumed, glaring through the flames at the red-head, remembering her trick from the last time they had met. Another spell, and she laughed, calling up thick tendrils of grass from the earth that wound around their legs to hold tight. They snapped the glaive out of Saturn's hand, swallowing it into the dirt; several more grabbed their arms, even as they struggled to get free.

“Witch!” Sailor Moon cried, wincing in agony as she tried to pull her arm loose. Her injuries were healing, but slowly; if she used her attack, they would heal slower still. But she continued to try and pull out her arm, calling up the image of the heart moon rod in her mind to summon it back to her hand.

Next to her, Moriya and Saturn were nearly immobile, as the grass fought to encase them in a solid layer of living green. Kaolinite's pleased smile spoke volumes; she had hated Hotaru the child, and Mistress 9 the adult; she had hated Alex for hurting her. Both of them were now being punished for being the sources of her ire, even though Saturn's enhanced strength was making it difficult for the grass to keep holding her still. “Use your power, Sailor Moon! Don't worry about us!” Saturn choked, after biting at the tendrils around her mouth and spitting it aside.

“You can do it this time, tsukimidango, you've beaten her before!” Moriya's voice was almost completely muffled, but the words were clear enough. Even the top of her head had disappeared.

“Don't bother struggling, Sailor Moon. Unlike my former Master and his second, I'm not stupid enough to allow you respite. Once you stop breathing, I'll merely slit your throats and leave you here. I can begin a new life, free of the burden of everything that bound me to this chamber of secrets.” Kaolinite twirled her staff between her fingers, smiling wider as the grass tightened, choking off Saturn's sputtered rebuttal. Sailor Moon was still able to see everything, watching her friends choke to death as she continued to struggle.

“Aren't you being presumptuous, Kaolinite?” Tomoe murmured behind her, and she turned to see him watching the proceedings with a look of disinterest. Dead bodies would be of no use to him, not with his mad intentions. “After all, they disposed of Mistress 9 far easier than my expectations allowed. And this Sin person…perhaps she's returned the Master as well.”

The witch rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to smash him like a china figurine. Maybe she would, after this was all over with. “Sin is a silly child, but she's not quite as stupid as some of those girls were. She wouldn't bring back a force capable of destroying her. As it stands, she thinks of us as merely loyal servants. I'm killing these people because I desire to do so, not because some blonde bitch told me to.”

Tomoe reached up to push his glasses higher onto his nose, nodding his head towards her three captives pointedly. Puzzled, she turned back around to see them still struggling, though Saturn and Moriya seemed to be slowing their movements. Sailor Moon was, however, now almost frantic in her efforts to get free.

Then, she did something curious. As Kaolinite watched, she flung her head forward sharply. She did it again, this time dislodging the silly tiara around her head. Catching it with her teeth, she glared at the witch as it began to melt into a golden discus, a small focal point of power to Kaolinite's vision. Tilting her head, she dropped it.

It dropped like a stone, cutting her bonds like the sharpest knife. As it reached the ground, she caught it with her foot, and gave it a good kick. The last Kaolinite saw of it was a blur heading straight for her, and as she raised her staff to deal with it, the discus smacked it away, snapping it in half. “You…you little bitch!” she shrieked, spinning back to face her…

…only to find herself staring down the hilt of the heart moon rod.

Mentally cursing little blonde girls with a tendency to give her trouble, she closed her eyes as she heard her speak the words.

The grass went limp as Kaolinite disappeared in a blast of dust, and Moriya and Saturn dropped like rocks onto the ground. “Saturn! Moriya-chan!”

“Don't bother with them, Sailor Moon.” Tomoe's crystalline eye sparkled through the shadows as he stood deep within them, unconcerned with coming out. “This is a grand project I'm imagining, a marvelous new experiment. The creation of a superhuman is useless; you are proof that such beings exist. But to augment those abilities to create something completely amazing, to make of you a being that you never dreamed…yes, that is my dream! Sin has given me a new chance to prove all of them wrong!”

Saturn stirred, lifting her head as Tomoe trailed off, staring into the shadows where he stood, an indistinct blob of white lab coat and silver hair. Next to her, Moriya groaned, rolling onto her side in an attempt to get to her feet. But Saturn didn't notice, and she got up without bothering to offer her hand as she stared towards the figure she had dreamt of since her rebirth as being a happy, smiling man, instead of the callous and cruel individual he had become. Her voice shook as she queried, “Papa?”

There was an uneasy silence, broken only by the sound of breathing, and of water droplets trickling down the walls. Sailor Moon retrieved her tiara and slipped it on, though she continued to hold the rod at the ready, in case Tomoe came out ready to fight. However, all she heard was the sound of his soft and steady breath, and the softest rustle of his coat.

“Papa?” Saturn repeated, a bit louder and stronger, taking a step forward.

“Saturn, don't be fooled,” Moriya said under her breath. “The man is a vessel for a daimon. He won't hesitate to kill you.”

Saturn swiveled in her steps, staring with pain at Moriya's unflinching face. “But…despite everything, he didn't…he wouldn't hurt me,” she moaned. “He's my papa!”

“Don't be so sure of your assumptions. In every matter, you should be aware of every possible outcome before you come up with the answer. Running into your problems without a clear plan is sloppy work.” Tomoe leaned out of the darkness, stepping forward once he caught their attention. To Sailor Moon and her weapon, he gave not a second look. It was Saturn he stared at. “And you are Sailor Saturn? How interesting. I chose you well for the Master's second. You were perfect indeed to house a daimon, Hotaru.”

She shuddered violently at his words, shaking her head. “I was a child! You forgot the loving papa you once were to become something cold. I thought, with this second chance…”

“That I would become a nice man? Ignoring the purpose I was surely put upon this earth to achieve? I think not! Tomoe Souichi is merely a vessel. I am in control of it. Even if the Master and his plans are long gone, I will survive and become as a god!”

Sailor Moon had seen this transformation once before. The other two had not. But none of them flinched as Germatoid emerged from the body of Tomoe Souichi, rending it apart and discarding it like a coat. Laughing, the daimon said, “And what will you do now? Continue to talk to me as if I can be persuaded? Fools! I am a superior being!”

The sound of dirt being thrown was quiet beneath his laughter, and Sailor Moon was stunned as she was shoved aside violently. Saturn swung the silence glaive with the ease of a master, cutting off the daimon's laughter in mid-shriek; her eyes were blazing within the pale starkness of her face, but she otherwise looked calm and in control as she swung again, slicing him into quarters. One nebulous eye stared at her, whole and intact, before disappearing into the air.

Dropping the silence glaive, Saturn began to cry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some time later, she woke up from a hazy dream where she could distinctly remember being picked up by warm hands, and a familiar, kind voice saying, “Ho-ta-ru. It's time to wake up.” Rolling over, she recognized the lamp next to the bed as being one of her favourites. It had been destroyed with the rest of the labs, and all of her worldly possessions from another life. The realization that she was in her childhood bedroom, securely snuggled under the covers, didn't give her the sense of peace she would have expected.

It was compounded by the ghostly apparition standing next to her bedside table, arms slack at her sides. “Should I apologize for my actions, Tomoe Hotaru?” she asked.

“Would you, Sailor Saturn? After all, it was for the mission, ne? To protect this world, my father…p-papa…he had to die.” Hotaru sat up, rubbing at her eyes, feeling the burn behind them that spoke of her bone-deep weariness. Last night, she had gone to sleep innocently, knowing only that her bed was warm, her mama and mama and papa loved her, and that she was happy. A child who barely knew anything past the four walls of her large house.

Now, she was back at the cusp of adulthood, her limbs heavy and cumbersome, unnatural; nestled between sheets that had been destroyed. She wanted to close her eyes and imagine herself as that child again, watching the stars and moons of her mobile slowly sway and circle above her crib. A slow burning hatred was growing for the idiot girl who had taken her destiny into her hands and decided to callously destroy it.

When she had faced her father beneath the school, she had been torn. Knowing that he was the evil Germatoid, and thus destined to die again, only went so far as an argument within her head. No matter what, he was still Tomoe Souichi, her father. Her protector.

But then Saturn had taken over. Within the shared space of their mind, she had closed her hands over Hotaru's smaller grip. Then, she had eased the glaive away, taking the responsibility as she thrust their body forward, swinging the staff with perfect precision to dissect the good scientist as easily as he had his experiments. As he had Hotaru herself.

Now, Saturn's ghostly head tilted a fraction as she regarded their body. “You feel sadness. I miss my father too. But my father was a king, and a good man. Tomoe-san, he was an evil creature, with the spirit of a daimon. This world and you are better off without him.”

“Hai, sou desu…but, I still miss him. I miss him, and my mama. Before the daimon came and turned him into such an evil man. Is it wrong to dream of his happy face?” Hotaru whispered, twisting the covers between her fingers. “Is it wrong to feel as if I've come home, being in this bed, beneath these sheets?”

Translucent fingers slid across the covers, though they couldn't feel the quality, nor the satiny finish. Instead, she remarked with an air of knowing, “You can't always go home again, Tomoe Hotaru.”

Hotaru lowered her eyes at that, chastened.

Saturn's head shifted with the softest sigh, staring towards the closed door. After a moment, Hotaru, too, lifted her head, cocking it as a curious dog might as she heard the sounds of a discussion from the other side. “I don't know what you expect to find, Luna. If Sin brought the Witches Five back to life, wouldn't they have attacked by now?”

“I don't know, Moriya-san. We don't know what the enemy is planning by bringing these dead spirits back. We should investigate the school and the labs. Chibi-Usa may still be here.”

“Hai, hai, she may be. But should we waste time chasing after ghosts? If they want to face us, they'll find us. Ne, Usagi-chan?”

There was tense quiet as Usagi considered their words, and Hotaru frowned. As she threw off the covers and swung her body around, she winced, feeling the old familiar ache of her metal joints and mended muscles. It was a slow silent burn she never expected to feel again, and if memory served her correctly, she felt even worse for having been blasted by Sin and her cohorts earlier in the day. Becoming Mistress 9 had merely been icing on the cake. She stood up, catching a glimpse of herself reflected in the clear glass pane of her lamp - she had always eschewed mirrors in her room - and frowned at her dirty, tangled hair and smeared hospital gown. It resembled far too closely the flimsy sheaths her father had paraded her around his lab in, pricking her veins and testing her reflexes. She wanted it off immediately.

She could sense Saturn's eyes on her back as she stripped the gown off, dropping it on the carpet as she walked to her dresser. In her old body, she felt naked without the layers and length she had always worn, so she pulled on her underclothes and black tights, covering up the scars on her legs. A black turtleneck and calf-length navy blue skirt from her closet covered the rest. She knew it was a waste of effort, as she would most likely be in uniform until the enemy was defeated, and Usagi and her friends knew of her father's experiments on her. But it was a familiar ritual; her suit of armor against the world. And she absolutely hated that gown.

Lifting the brush from her bedside table, she worked out the knots in her hair as Saturn continued to watch her in silence. The dirt and oil she could do nothing about, and it was making her inwardly cringe. Her father had been obsessively neat and a cleanliness freak, and while she was not obsessive herself, she had grown up hating the feel of excessive dirt on her body. If only she could take a shower; she'd feel infinitely better.

As she set the brush down, Saturn said, “Are you making the most of your time, Tomoe Hotaru? This primping and preening is useless against the coming battle.”

“I can't help it. Those clothes….iie, never again. I know it's silly, but to continue wearing such a memory of my old life hurts me. Even if I may transform the moment I leave this room, I can't stand that white wrapping. I am not on my way to a funeral.” Hotaru shook her head, tugging at her sleeves to pull them further down over her wrists.

“Curious, those words. Do you understand what your rebirth at this place meant? What this Sin has done was to merely turn back the sands of time. You and I are ghosts the same as your father. Once time has returned to normal, the Tomoe Hotaru who was a sad, sickly child with a mad father will be no more than a shade within the mind of a Tomoe Hotaru reborn with three loving parents. You will live in the house of a child's mind with me.” Saturn was, as before, speaking in a tone that could have been describing the weather. Apparently her change of mind on the battlefield and her decision of suicide along with Hotaru had not done much for her disposition.

But her words still had Hotaru growing colder. She had not thought of that. Her memories of herself as the baby girl were more secondhand than immediate, if she thought about it carefully. As if she were merely watching herself crawl through the house, instead of doing it herself. “We'll be….we'll be visitors inside of her mind, won't we?” she whispered, rubbing her palms together though she knew from long experience that it was a useless gesture. “Just ghosts. And she'll have that happy life.”

Saturn inclined her head, and for a moment, Hotaru wanted to slap her for being so complacent. She wanted to do something to make her finally show some kind of emotion outside of her calm exterior, to prove that Usagi-san's words had left some effect. And she didn't want to be the only one scared and angry that she didn't get a second chance, that she had been shed from her own life like a dead skin cell.

She felt her anger leak away as she wilted onto her bed, head in her hands. The girl who had once been the princess of her planet had been living for untold years in a prison of her own making before she had been trapped within Hotaru's head. She had long ago accepted her fate. Now, Hotaru merely had to do the same; and though it had not been her choice to come back, it gave her a sense of peace just knowing that Usagi-san had thought well of her to do it.

And didn't she have this chance now to repay them back?

Looking up, she realized Saturn had stepped closer to her. She knew, of course, and as she held out her hand for Hotaru to take, she realized it might not be so bad after all to spend a lifetime with her. Maybe they would even become friends.

The door opened as their hands closed, and a lovely warm wash of light dazzled Hotaru's eyes. When she opened them, Saturn was gone, and Moriya was standing there, looking down at her curiously. “Hotaru?”

“Alex-san. What is the plan?” She stood up, wincing again at her protesting body. Even with her unnatural height, she didn't quite meet the redhead's chin. “Are we going to search for Chibi-Usa-chan? I could hear your words through the door.”

“Hai. For her, and the Witches Five. Though I think we're wasting our time with them. If Sin wanted them to destroy us, we would be fighting them right now.”

Hotaru nodded curtly, remembering the self-satisfied blonde as she mocked them at the school. Her methods of trickery seemed rather straight-forward and simplistic; Hotaru had no doubt that if she had the witches at her disposal, she would have sent them already. “Perhaps Sin has lost control of them?” she suggested.

Moriya smirked. “Wouldn't that be icing? I don't think Magus Kaolinite had an easy time of controlling them; why would a younger brat who thinks too much of herself, ne?”

She motioned Hotaru out before her, and as she stepped out into the darkness of the hallway, she could see Usagi and Luna standing near the window, bathed in light from the street. They both turned at the sound of footsteps, and Usagi looked surprised to see Hotaru awake. “Hotaru-chan? You should be resting. It's too soon for you to be awake.”

“Iie, Usagi-san. This is my place, fighting alongside you. I am a sailor soldier as well. Please don't belittle me by pushing me away.” Blinking slowly, she glanced down at Luna, standing at Usagi's feet. Her eyes had been replaced years ago with enhanced ocular implants, which meant she had slightly enhanced night vision. She was fairly sure her father had done it simply because it had been an interesting piece of technology when he had gotten it, because all it gave her was the ability to see her way to the kitchen when the lights were out. And, at the moment, it meant she could see Luna's concerned frown and wary stare.

It stung, quite more than she expected. Perhaps she was still hurt from Mars's reaction to her at the school. She hunched her shoulders, folding her arms protectively across her chest as she added, “And if it concerns Chibi-Usa-chan, it concerns me as well. I can't allow such blatant disrespect for my friends.”

“But are you strong enough, Hotaru? You've been through a lot today. And, as well, in that peculiar body again…can you honestly fight?” Moriya queried from behind her. “If you can't, don't waste our time. We have to find Chibi-Usa, and we can't be slowed down.”

“Moriya-chan, don't be so cruel!” Usagi cried, but Hotaru waved a hand at her, and she closed her mouth. In a way, her bluntness had been refreshing; everyone seemed to be coddling her. Even as a young girl, she acted the same.

“I'll be strong for Chibi-Usa-chan, and our future.” She didn't tell them what Saturn had said; she didn't want to admit that she was doing this as well for one last chance to be with her friend.

In the darkness, Usagi nodded. “Okay.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They went through the lab with flashlights they found in the kitchen, as the fixtures had been completely blown. In the wreckage from the fight, they found nothing but garbage; the buildings and their contents had been brought back, but the alien material Tomoe had been playing with had not. They had however found reams of paper detailing everything he had done to Hotaru in clinical, precise descriptions, including diagrams of her skeletal replacements, vein maps, and suggestions as to how she could be `fixed.' Hotaru told Moriya to simply burn it all; she wouldn't touch them.

Underground, in the caverns where Kaolinite had worked her devious magic, they found the same amount of nothing. Usagi couldn't sense Chibi-Usa anywhere, not even the lingering presence of their crystal. “Perhaps Sin took her somewhere else,” Moriya offered as Usagi slumped onto the ground, uncaring of the dirt and slimy wetness.

“That was our theory as well.” A flashlight turned on from the entrance to the cave from the lab, swinging up to illuminate the face of Uranus. Next to her, a second light turned on to show Neptune. “There you are, Hotaru. What happened to you?”

“Sin changed her destiny. She became Mistress 9 again,” Luna said, sounding angry. It took a moment for Hotaru to realize it wasn't directed at her, but at Sin; it felt strange to know the black cat was protective of her. “Somehow, Usagi-chan and Moriya-san woke her up. Then, they defeated Professor Tomoe and Kaolinite.”

“Kaolinite! Professor Tomoe? Is Sin awakening all of our enemies?” Neptune queried, her flashlight swinging around to check behind her. “What about—“

“So far, they haven't shown up,” Moriya smoothly interrupted her. “My theory is that Sin couldn't control them, but it doesn't seem to be very popular.”

Usagi stuck out her tongue as Luna frowned. Hotaru covered her mouth to stifle a giggle at their actions. “We shouldn't be so hasty as to contemplate the actions of a group of mad girls,” Luna argued, stamping her paw on the ground. “Those girls were wild. Perhaps they're hiding in the shadows, waiting for us to lower our guard.”

“Or they could be in the spirit realm, because Sin has not called them yet. I think Alex is right; they would have attacked you by now. They have no discipline, and surely no patience. And Small Lady is our priority right now.” Neptune gestured with her flashlight at Hotaru and Usagi, a frown marring her face. “And why haven't you transformed? If the enemy had been here, you might not have had the time.”

“Because Usagi-chan was badly injured, and I told her remain this way until absolutely necessary. Hotaru was resting as well. Do you have a plan that requires them to transform?” Moriya queried.

“We believe so. Come out to the courtyard of Mugen Gakuen. We'll be waiting there for you. If we're correct, we can find Small Lady easily.” Uranus clicked off her flashlight, and Neptune did the same. They disappeared back up the path as Usagi groaned.

“Yare yare, not more fighting already! I feel so old and tired. I wish the others were back now.” She groaned, stretching her arms out, and nearly whacked Hotaru in the head as she swung them back and forth. “I wonder what their plan is. After all, I can't sense Chibi-Usa with the Ginzuishou.”

“Perhaps they have their own methods,” Luna suggested, though she sounded doubtful.

Usagi touched her brooch and whispered the words, transforming in a burst of light that was only slightly dimmer than usual. Hotaru did the same, feeling the strangest surge of power as she did so; she staggered as the energy of her planet wrapped around her, and she realized that she couldn't hear Saturn within her head as she had the first time. Had she given up complete control of their power to her?

She had no time to think on the implications as they headed for the surface, flashlights bobbing in the darkness ahead of them. As they went through the lab, however, she was the last one out; she sliced a large and heavy metal cabinet in half just before closing the door. She heard the satisfying crash it made against the wood and continued up, pleased that no one could come snooping around into her father's madness.

At the top of the stairs, Sailor Moon gave her a comforting smile. She seemed to understand exactly what she had done. Squeezing her hand, she led Saturn back to Moriya and Luna as they waited by the front door, where Diana had been standing guard. “Are we ready to go?” Moriya asked.

“Hai, hai,” Sailor Moon responded, giving Saturn's hand one more squeeze. “Ne, Saturn?”

“Hai. Let's find Chibi-Usa.”

The courtyard of Mugen Gakuen was ghostly in the moonlight. As they walked through the gates, they could see Uranus and Neptune waiting in front of the foyer doors, watching them arrive as if nothing else mattered. Their level of focus was rather creepy in Sailor Moon's opinion, but she couldn't argue with them; to them, she was their princess. She technically was everyone's princess, but only the soldiers of the outer solar system treated her like it. If she commented on their intensity, they would probably tell her that she was stuck with it.

“Sailor Moon, can you sense Small Lady with the Ginzuishou?” Neptune called out as they came closer. The blonde shook her head in the negative, unconsciously touching her brooch. “How far are you searching?”

“How….how far? Ano…the city, I guess. Momo-chan told us they came here, to Mugen Gakuen, so I was trying to find her here. Do you think….?”

Uranus nodded curtly. “That she may be somewhere far away? Perhaps. Sin isn't limited to where she can go, in time or space. And as Pluto is still gone, we can't ask her if Small Lady traveled in time.”

There was a collective shudder at the thought. If Chibi-Usa had been taken through time, they couldn't follow without Pluto there to give them access to the door. But Sailor Moon was sure she would have sensed that, even if she didn't know where the girl was. When she pointed this out, the others reluctantly nodded, conceding the point. It still left them with an entire planet to search, a thought that had the odango-haired blonde cringing; she was still so sore and tired from being thoroughly trounced by Mistress 9 that the thought of using the Ginzuishou to scour Earth was tiring in itself.

But, for Chibi-Usa….

“Is that the plan? Just turn the stone on High, hope it finds something, and we teleport there?” Moriya asked slowly, an eyebrow arching up. “We could have thought of that one.”

Neptune smiled coyly, waving a finger. “Ara ara, do you have so little faith? We also have an idea. Do you remember when I gave Small Lady my mirror?”

“Hai. But I hope you don't expect her to be carrying it.”

Shaking her head, Neptune reached out to take Sailor Moon's hand. “Iie. But when she took it, the mirror would have recognized her, so I've decided. My idea is to search not only with the Ginzuishou, but the lingering mark of my mirror on her. If it's possible, we may find her easily.”

“If it's possible, ne? Let's do it.” Sailor Moon smiled, though her eyes crinkled with the aches and pains of her body. Her power was still working to heal her, and her downtime had helped, but she was simply tired. It was also past her usual bedtime, which meant she was also getting sleepy. She had gotten lazy in the past few months with no enemies to wake her up or keep her awake late.

They stood together in the courtyard as the others loosely circled around them. Touching her brooch, Sailor Moon took a deep breath; she heard Neptune do the same. Then, she released her power and her awareness to the sky, taking her fellow soldier with her.

Neptune laughed in delight as they rose above the clouds, ephemeral spirits with no boundaries save for the tether anchoring them back to their bodies. The world below them glowed with life and luster, gentle to the eyes. “This is beautiful, hime-sama,” Neptune sighed as they floated on the breeze.

“Hai. This is the first time I've done this,” she admitted, earning a suddenly sharp look from her fellow soldier. “I thought it would be easier.”

“As lovely as this is, I would suggest you practice doing such things with your power before simply trying it. We don't want you hurt, hime-sama.” Neptune looked away as Sailor Moon flushed, embarrassment warring with anger - why did they always seem to think she couldn't handle herself? - and gave a sudden cry. “Hime-sama! Do you see it? The power of my mirror leaves its mark on everyone who touches it.”

“Nani?”

She followed the line of her finger to see a faint, familiar glow at the top of the world. Jubilation at the realization her idea had worked was quickly followed a leaden sensation in her stomach; as Neptune turned to face her, she had begun to shake her head in negation, wishing the possibility away. “Iie…not there, not at that place…that cold wasteland…”

“Hime-sama, what is it?”

“The Dark Kingdom,” Sailor Moon whispered, hugging herself tightly. “D Point. Where Queen Beryl and her evil lord, Metallia, awoke in this time.” She closed her eyes against the sight, seeing the memory of snow and dark shadows against the back of her eyelids. Though destroying the living darkness had not been the first time she had willfully killed an enemy, it had been a fresh horror each time she had done so. Metallia had not been as morally difficult, but the very mention of the Arctic gave her a silent spasm of fear. No matter that the snows may have covered everything; the place was a forgotten graveyard.

Neptune was frowning at her. “Queen Beryl? Metallia?” The words sounded even more foreign on her tongue, roundly enunciated and hesitant. Caribbean blue had narrowed suspiciously, though the older soldier wouldn't know either name well; in another lifetime, she had arrived too late to see or greet either of them. She wouldn't know why her princess had gone pale and quiet, her spirit form almost completely translucent. “Who are these people? Enemies?”

The blonde nodded her head, forcing herself to relax, to breathe a little deeper the air that did her no good but smelled clean and fresh. Those villains were dead and dust, no longer able to hurt her. And she was no longer a scared fourteen-year-old girl who didn't understand why a talking cat was telling her she had a mission. They were gone; she had survived. “Queen Beryl was the witch who led the army to destroy the Moon Kingdom,” she said quietly, seeing the flash of understanding and disgust in her companion's eyes. “Metallia was the evil spirit who was truly in control of everyone. Because of them, our previous lives were shattered.”

“But you stopped them.” It wasn't a question. Sailor Moon nodded again, watching the play of light across the curve of the Earth as the sun peeked over the edge. It was later than she realized if dawn was approaching.

“Hai. Venus struck down Beryl at the Crown. I destroyed Metallia after…after everyone else had failed.” She didn't want to think of those bodies in the snow or the pain of the sword as it sank into her belly. Youth and stupidity it had been, even though it had worked. She could have continued fighting against Endymion instead of killing him, or dropped the sword afterward and destroyed Metallia right then and there. Instead, she had given in to the whim of a heartsick soul and committed suicide, leaving more than her own blood on her hands. “It's over, now. I don't like to think about it.”

Neptune touched her shoulder, though she felt nothing. All she saw was the movement of her hand and she turned her head accordingly. “You should think about it, hime-sama. To destroy an enemy that shed the blood of our kingdom…you truly proved yourself to be our future queen. A queen must not hesitate for the good of everyone. Nor must she allow those who would torment us to live. Kindness and courage, hai, you must have these things, but the knowledge of when to strike your enemies down is to be admired.”

She almost opened her mouth to argue. But she realized that it was an argument she might never win against the older soldiers. They trusted her and would move the heavens on her command, but they would never back down from their convictions. Even if she personally thought their way was wrong.

Though the softest voice in the back of her head laughed at her and said, “Is it really?”

Instead, she merely smiled. “Let's go find Chibi-Usa, ne?”

Neptune slanted a smile back at her, and Sailor Moon was positive she knew the change of subject was intentional. “Hai.”

They descended quickly, holding hands as the wind sliced through their forms and cloud vapour scattered in their wake. After such a weightless sensation, the heaviness of their bodies was almost disconcerting; they wobbled as if drunk as they sank back completely into their skins, opening their eyes to see the world just a bit less bright and clean. Uranus steadied Neptune as she swayed; Moriya did the same for their princess, though she was even less steady on her feet from the night's events. “Did you find Small Lady, Usagi-sama?” Diana queried impatiently though unfailingly polite as always.

“At D Point. She's at the top of the world, at D Point.” Sailor Moon said the words flatly, not missing Luna's wide eyes and Moriya's look of….confusion? She couldn't tell. “We have to teleport.”

“Immediately! We have to save Small Lady from the enemy before it's too late,” Diana agreed, scaling Moriya like a mountain to crawl onto her shoulder. “Anything could have happened to her, and with Mamoru-sama sick…”

“We know, we know; the enemy could be taking advantage of this opportunity. Let's hurry, before anything else happens.” Uranus sounded properly amused at Diana's outburst, and the lavender kitten stuck her tongue out in retaliation as they formed a circle around them.

Unlike the trip to the Moon, this teleport was in the blink of an eye. One moment, they were still standing in the courtyard of Mugen Gakuen, looking rather silly as they held hands and concentrated, the chill wind of winter blowing. The next, they were stumbling apart to stare rather dumbfounded at the tall trees arcing overhead, their shoes sinking into damp green grass. Bushes formed obvious paths; they appeared to be standing in what was merely another arm of the trail. The temperature was pleasant and warm and completely startling against their skin. “What in the name of the kami and all their shades…?” Saturn gasped, turning around and around in place, circling like a confused animal.

“This can't be right! We should be knee-deep in snow, not in grass!” Uranus snapped as she called power to her hand, likely expecting an ambush. Almost immediately Neptune moved to Sailor Moon's side opposite her, doing the same.

Sailor Moon was staring wide-eyed at the fauna surrounding them, almost entirely unaware of the two outer soldiers' protective stances around her. Her brain was working hard to process what was going on, and how a small glade of trees and grass could have sprung up from the snow, let alone survive in the cold. She didn't know that the Ginzuishou had called forth flowers for her coffin after she had died beside her prince. All she knew was that this was entirely impossible to her knowledge.

Moriya dropped the two cats and walked away, coming up to the furthest wall of trees. As they watched, she parted the leaves and smaller trunks and pushed her way out, disappearing outside of their green world - only to appear again a few feet away. “I don't think this is a widespread phenomenon,” she said, shaking a thick coating of snow off her hair and shoulders. “You step outside of the outermost trees, you're in snow. This is like a strange oasis.”

“But why is it here?” Neptune stressed, gesturing with her free hand. “These types of trees and shrubs should not be able to grow in the cold conditions of the Arctic region.”

Moriya shook off the last of the snow and gave them a lopsided smile. “I think I can answer that.” She rocked back and forth on her heels as she said, “This was the location of the Castle of the Golden Kingdom. If I'm not mistaken, this is part of their old garden. They kept it all growing under a magical dome and sectioned it into plots showing off the world's varied plants. It was really impressive.”

Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn were staring at her as if she had grown not one, but two extra heads and had begun singing in Greek. Luna looked to be working hard trying to remember and verify what she had said as truth; Diana didn't look surprised at all, though she was giving everyone rather worried looks.

And Sailor Moon was…gaping. Mouth open, eyes wide, flies could have rested comfortably on her tongue. After a minute, she finally managed to shut it with an audible click of her teeth, and said hoarsely, “Are you seriously, Moriya-chan? Here?”

“Hai, hai. Here. Though with the melting icebergs and glacial drift over the centuries, it might not be exactly here. If the garden is here, I think the castle was back that way somewhere,” she replied, waving her hand in the general direction. Then she paused, quirking a brow at her friend's pale face. “Ne, tsukimidango, what's wrong?”

“What's wrong? This is D Point! This is where Queen Beryl and the Dark Kingdom worked their evil magic! To say that the Golden Kingdom was here…” Luna drifted off, staring up at the trees as they swayed overhead. “How terrible of her to misuse their power.”

Moriya frowned, shoving her hands into her pockets. “Why would this surprise you? Beryl was one of the court seers; if gossip was right, she was one of the highest. She invaded the Moon to proclaim the superiority of her kingdom. It makes sense she would have come back here to begin her campaign in the 21st century.”

“But this was Mamo-chan's…Endymion's…home,” Sailor Moon whispered, sinking down into the grass. “To be used so horribly….for so much death to occur here, in her name!”

Uranus tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Is it possible then, that Small Lady awoke this place with her power? After all, she is the child of not only the Moon, but of Earth. Maybe this is because of her.”

At that, they all looked around; no bright pink hair was visible in the grass, nor was there any bodies lying nearby. Neptune suggested they follow the trail to see where it led, and they started off, walking quietly, with Sailor Moon sandwiched in the middle. No amount of argument let her take the lead, even when she tried to invoke her rights as princess. Finally, she simply gave up and took a deep, calming breath as they walked, letting her eyes drift over the green leaves.

It was a terrible realization to find out the epicenter of Beryl's wickedness was her prince's castle, long lost in the snow and in time. But she didn't remember coming to such a place; she remembered long green plains of grass and wildflowers. “Ne, Moriya-chan?”

“Hai, Usagi-chan?”

“If this is the place where the Golden Kingdom ruled, why don't I remember it?”

Moriya glanced over her shoulder at her, the smirk on her face more reminiscent of the elder Alex than of the younger teenager who wore it. “Ara ara, tsukimidango, are you admitting to your secret meetings?” When Sailor Moon began to sputter, she just laughed. “Calm down, Usagi-chan, I always knew about them. I didn't know why everyone should be upset over it; Endymion-sama was a prince, of course, and next in line to the throne. He was perfect for you.” Her mouth twisted slightly. “Except for the fact he was Earth-born.”

She ran a hand through her hair as she spoke, sounding faintly bitter despite the years separating her from the memories. “Everyone from Earth was thought to be faintly stupid. Even me. The kings and high generals of the planets of the Silver Millennium thought I was nothing more than an exotic pet of the queen, and they would have treated Endymion-sama the same way.” Gesturing vaguely, she seemed to brush her words away as her tone changed to mildly amused, and she said, “Though I think the royal family of Mars would have appreciated Endymion-sama's ancestors being smart enough to keep their seat of power separate from their personal home. They began as feudal lords in Japan, and took over the planet's ruling authority so long ago I don't think your prince could remember. After that, they chose a safe, inhospitable, and out-of-the-way location for the seat of power: D Point.

“Magic kept it reasonable within its boundary, and created the gardens we're walking through. The king sat on the throne most of the year, going back to Japan when the sun disappeared from the sky.”

“You know quite a lot about the Golden Kingdom,” Uranus commented blandly from the very front, not bothering to turn her head. Moriya snorted at her.

“I was the Guardian. I made it my business to know a lot of things. Like how the ancient kingdom of Uranus used to strip the children naked in front of the entire court once they reached puberty, wash them down with sponges, and clothe them in the `proper attire' of adults,” she shot back calmly, watching how the tall sandy blonde's shoulders tightened. “It must have been embarrassing, ne?”

“Stop teasing her, Alex,” Neptune chided from the rear. Uranus turned her head, looking angry; the day was wearing on her considerably, and her nerves were that close to snapping. Being defended by her lover was a blow to her ego that on a normal day would have been a mere prickle. Saturn, noticing her tension, reached out to touch her surrogate father's arm, only to be shrugged off.

Luna cut off what could have been an interesting argument as she shouted, “I think I see her! Chibi-Usa-a!” and ran ahead, Diana hot on her heels. In the distance, the others could see a flash of pink move at the shout, and took off running, with Moriya not even bothering to attempt to keep up with the four soldiers.

“Chibi-Usa! You're all right!” Sailor Moon almost pounced on the girl. Instead, she dropped to her knees and hugged the girl tight to her chest, refusing to cry. Sin was mucking around with time. The possibility of her losing the little girl who was such a pain and joy in her life had crossed her mind more than a few times since they found her to be missing. To see her alive and well was marvelous. “What happened to you?”

She released her, and Diana immediately leapt into the girl's lap. Chibi-Usa snuggled the kitten to her cheek as she said, “I went to Mugen Gakuen to find a stone to heal Mamo-chan. But Sin attacked us, and Anshar protected me. Then, I woke up here, with Anshar and Kishar.”

They didn't need to ask who she meant: Uranus and Neptune were already prowling around the unconscious boy and his pet, suspicion etched in every line of their faces. As Moriya finally caught up to them, Anshar moaned and rolled onto his back, opening his eyes. He blinked slowly at the two soldiers hovering over him, looking quite unpleasant. “Ano….?”

“Hajimemashite. Your name is Anshar, ne?” At his nod, Uranus smiled unpleasantly. “My name is Sailor Uranus. I am the soldier of Uranus.”

“And I am the soldier of Neptune, Sailor Neptune,” her partner added smoothly, smiling at Anshar's suddenly pale face.

He looked back and forth between the two of them, snapping his mouth shut as Moriya came into view, staring at him. “Who is this kid, Chibi-Usa?” she queried as Anshar went an interesting shade of green. “He looks sick.”

“You're all scaring him!” Chibi-Usa snapped, giving Uranus and Neptune an angry glare. “I know he looks suspicious, but he helped me. He sent Momo-chan home to safety. And he protected me from Sin!”

Moriya grunted. “How very convenient of him. Chibi-Usa, do you trust every stranger who arrives in the nick of time to save you?”

“He protected me from Sin!” she repeated, leaping onto her feet.

“And what was he doing at a school that hasn't existed up until today?” Moriya countered, her face drawing into a frown as Anshar slowly slid away from her. “How do you know this isn't a plan to trap us?”

Diana didn't have time to yelp as she was dropped in mid-stride as Chibi-Usa rushed to stand in-between Anshar and Moriya. “I don't! But I trust him! I…my heart is telling me he wouldn't hurt me. That he wouldn't lie to me.” Hands on hips, she stared the taller girl down. “Or doesn't anyone trust my judgment?”

Uranus and Sailor Moon both opened their mouths to speak, but Moriya raised a hand to stop them both. She was shaking her head in a slightly patronizing way. “I don't know, imouto-chan. Should I? I let you leave the apartment to get some space, and instead, you ran away to Mugen Gakuen. Not only did you break faith with me, but you put Momoko in danger by taking her with you. You didn't call us, when I gave you the means. That isn't the action of a trustworthy person, let alone a commendable attribute for a future queen.”

Chibi-Usa's face underwent several changes of emotion during the speech; by the end of it, she looked ready to cry, but was able to hold it back. She was right, of course. Not only had she foolishly run off, thinking to prove herself, but she had taken her best friend with her - a girl who had no defenses of her own save for her sharp tongue. She could have gotten Momoko killed, not to mention herself. Even being captured by the enemy had its consequences. In hindsight, it would have been easy as curry for Anshar to trick her at her emotional low.

But as she lowered her head, she caught sight of his face. It wasn't terrified, as she would expect from someone who possibly knew what the redhead was capable of; it was defeated. He didn't look to have any expectations to survive this encounter. Quite frankly, he did know them, and he was affiliated with Sin, so he knew what to expect when caught, but her gut feeling was still telling her that he didn't desire to hurt her. That perhaps he was involved, but not of his own will.

“Moriya-chan, don't be so cruel,” Sailor Moon murmured. “Chibi-Usa didn't mean to do those things.”

“So we should just let it go? Pat her on the head and forget about it? Tsukimidango, need I remind you of what her carelessness did in the 30th century? She's grown up since then. All of us should expect better of her.” Chibi-Usa's flinch was obvious, but as she lifted her head, her face was composed. Alex had never bothered to mince words since they had met. And it was, in a painful way, refreshing to hear someone not constrained by a lifelong habit of being oblique and considerate. The girls needed that, and so did she.

“Gomen nasai, Guardian-sama. You're right; I broke your trust. But I say he doesn't wish me harm. And, can we so cruelly leave him here? Alone, in this green wilderness?” She glanced at Uranus and Neptune, who were listening with identical neutral expressions. But she was willing to bet the slight narrowing of their eyes marked their displeasure, even though she couldn't say she knew them very well. “Uranus and Neptune, he can walk between you. If he does honestly want to attack us, I know you can stop him, ne?”

Neptune's mouth quirked up into a smile. “Are you appealing to our egos, Small Lady? Of course we can stop him, but should we take the risk? If he is truly one of Sin's Oppositio Soldiers, he can leave of his own will.”

“I don't see why we would allow him to leave at all,” Saturn said dispassionately, tapping a finger against the handle of the glaive. “If he is such a person, we should take the appropriate response.”

“I won't let us leave him. Even if he's an enemy, leaving him here is cruel. And if he isn't, how would he return?” Sailor Moon frowned at all of them, folding her arms. “He can come with us. And I won't let you say no or threaten his life.”

Moriya made a displeased sound in the back of her throat, but made no move to interfere. Instead, she sighed and asked, “So do you know how you got here, Chibi-Usa? Because the Arctic is a strange place to be running off to.”

Chibi-Usa blinked. Then she made a show of looking around at the grass and trees, scuffing her feet in the green grass. “The Arctic? Ne, isn't it supposed to be all snowy?”

“Perhaps there's a reason you arrived here. Alex-san said this used to be the Golden Kingdom. Did something call to you?” Saturn queried.

Anshar, huddled around his unconscious pet, looked up sharply. The Golden Kingdom? They were standing on the hallowed ground of the lost civilization of their king? That was bad news for his sister's hasty new plan to destroy Endymion. If they could find a quicker way to heal him in the ruins of his home, Sin would be furious.

The younger princess picked up Diana again, soothing her ruffled fur with a brisk scratch behind her collar. “When I went to Mugen Gakuen, I thought I felt something. Something that could heal Mamo-chan. Maybe…if this is the Golden Kingdom…it's here instead.” She touched her hand to her brooch, cradling the kitten in her arm. The reassuring warmth of the crystal was throbbing with an extra level of awareness, as if it sensed they were standing in the lands of her ancestral kingdom.

When the memory of her father's sick face crossed her mind, the hook was back in her breast, insistently tugging at her heart. She whirled around, staring towards the wall of trees. “I…I can feel it here! That insistent pull of energy…minna! It might be here! A stone to heal Mamo-chan!”

“But the shitennou said—“

“I know, but I can feel it! Perhaps, it's something else that could heal him. We have to find out! Ne, Sailor Moon, we have to!” she begged, turning to face the blonde. “If it can help Mamo-chan….”

Sailor Moon looked troubled at the thought. With so many bad memories out there, she was loathe to re-live them. But Chibi-Usa's begging face was hard to argue with, considering her reasons. If something existed in the ruins that could heal Mamoru without having to wait for the others to return, it would be worth it.

Luna said decisively, “We should check out the ruins anyway. There's no telling what damage Sin has done to them with her irresponsible actions.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They left the copse of trees once Chibi-Usa transformed and walked, single-file, into a world of snow. Uranus was again leading them, though Chibi-Moon was second behind her. Saturn walked behind her, her fingers tight around the glaive as Moriya carried an unconscious Anshar on her back, Kishar under an arm. The boy had passed out at the first blast of cold - his powers had already been taxed when he had transported them, and he had none to spare to protect himself against the blustery winds - and his pet had yet to wake up. Sailor Moon and Neptune took up the rear, with Luna and Diana huddling in the blonde's protective arms.

At Chibi-Moon's directions, they approached the place where the castle had once stood. As they crested the hill, they found themselves looking down into the epicenter of Metallia's awakening; at a ruined, collapsed castle that had looked to be a nightmare. Now, Sailor Moon imagined that it had once been sparkling and white, pure as the snow around them, rising from a gentle slope to look out over its magical gardens. Metallia's presence had tainted it, turned it twisted and sour, ultimately destroying it. Most of the rooms lay open to the sky, their floors covered in ice and layered in snow.

“Is this the place, Chibi-Moon?” Uranus queried, turning her head slightly. At her definitive nod, she sighed, surveying the slope. “And me without my skis.”

Sliding down was definitely an art form. Uranus ended up on her ass, cursing a blue streak as she went. Chibi-Moon did the same, but on her stomach. Saturn just barely managed to stand upright, though she cheated and used the glaive to keep her balance. Moriya cheated as well; she floated down, melting snow in her wake, on which Sailor Moon slipped and took Neptune with her. Luna and Diana went flying and tumbled down after them.

Inside the crater, it was even harder to see. With the sun down below the horizon for winter, they had been walking by starlight. Now, it was almost impossible, with the shadows cast by the curve of the walls and the rising ruins. As their eyes adjusted, a soft, feminine laughter echoed around them. “An enemy!?” Diana gasped.

Snow crunched underfoot as a woman walked out of the ruins, a cruel smile on her face. A youma most definitely, as multiple tentacles writhed at her sides in place of arms, and her skin was a pale purple in contrast to her yellow hair. Insect wings rose above her head, and her bulbous eyes were flat matte black. “Ara ara, the legendary sailor soldiers,” she cooed. “Once before, I was created to defend this castle from you, when you came to fight my queen. But you destroyed our world without facing me. Now, Sin-sama has given me a second chance to destroy you as I was meant to.”

“You can try, creature, but you'll merely fail,” Neptune said.

The youma didn't bother to respond as she leapt into the air, her multiple appendages lashing out like whips as they lengthened to reach. Saturn lifted the glaive to block and found a tentacle wrapped around the hilt, trying to wrestle the weapon away from her. Uranus wasted no time in unsheathing the space sword and slashing two of them into pieces as they tried to grab her. Chibi-Moon ducked and dodged out of the way, though she was still slow after fighting the daimon, and landed up on her back in the snow; Diana leapt to defend her, claws out and slashing as the youma pressed her advantage.

Neptune and Moriya reacted together and threw separate attacks: spheres of water and fire that circled one another playfully as they flew through the air, only to combine in front of the creature with an explosion of steam. Screaming, she withdrew her tentacles, retreating from the cloud and back towards the castle. “Don't let her escape!” Moriya snapped, hoisting Anshar higher onto her back.

“Perhaps we can simply bring the entire structure down on her from out here,” Luna suggested, looking as opposed to the idea of following the youma as Sailor Moon did. Uranus shook her head.

“Though my power is great, I doubt I'm up to such a task. It would drain me to try. And what else can we do to bring a castle tumbling down? Iie, we have to chase her.”

“Into darkness, my old friend,” Saturn whispered faintly; only Sailor Moon heard her, shooting her a worried look.

A small twisting ball of fire lit their way as they ran into the ruins, showing no footprints in front of them; the creature had taken to the air instead of the ground. But the snow still showed slight swirls from the speed of her flight overhead, leading off towards what Moriya recalled to be the dining hall. A partial chunk of the high roof remained over the hall, and halfway through they lost the trail, heels clicking on stone.

“Do we keep going straight, Alex?” Uranus queried as they came to a second hallway leading to the right. Someone giggled from the darkness.

“Lost your way, sailor soldiers? Ara, ara. Too bad for you!” Another youma flew out of the first hallway, colliding with Uranus and slamming her into the wall. Though this one had the same kind of insect wings, her skin was a sickly shade of gold, her hair grey; the arms that caught Uranus were normal, though her fingernails were sharp enough to draw blood when she slashed the sandy-blonde in the face.

“Hai, too bad for you, but excellent for us!” the first youma laughed as she spiraled out of the side hallway, head butting Sailor Moon in the stomach and slapping her down onto the cold stone floor. Her laughter turned into a howl as Chibi-Moon and Saturn grabbed hold of a tentacle and used her momentum to swing her around into the corner of the wall. The sound of breaking bones was rather sickening.

“You seem to think we're novice amateurs at this, evil creatures. Deep Submerge!” Neptune threw the attack at the youma still attacking her partner, hitting her square in the back. She bowed backwards, shrieking in pain, and Uranus sent her flying with a kick to the ribs.

The first youma shoved herself upright, her wings buzzing frantically behind her head, despite one being bent and ripped. “Urusai! We were created specifically to defeat you! No matter how strong you appear to be, this is our task! The bodies of the guardian sailor soldiers will be left as gifts in this graveyard to our queen!”

Saturn sneered, spinning the glaive around to aim its wicked blade at the youma's throat. “Unfortunately for you, foul creature, I am not Mercury, nor Mars, nor Jupiter, nor Venus. I am Sailor Saturn. And I will do what it takes to destroy you and your kind.”

Wiping away the blood, Uranus smiled darkly, calling power to her hand. “And nor am I Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, or Venus. I am Sailor Uranus. And I doubt you have any idea of my power to sufficiently defeat me.”

As Chibi-Moon helped Sailor Moon stand, still rubbing her stomach, Neptune moved to stand in front of them, calling power to her hand as well. “I am none of those girls. I am Sailor Neptune. Sworn to defeat any enemy who threatens the future of our kingdom. You may have a difficult time trying to destroy me.”

The two youma seemed puzzled by this, and with good reason; when they had been created, the soldiers of the outer planets were known, at best, as myth. Undeterred, they turned to look at Moriya as she struggled to keep Anshar on her back, Kishar still a limp bundle of fur beneath her arm. She rolled her eyes at them, saying, “If I wanted you to know who I am, I would be wearing a nametag.”

“Fair enough, nameless child. You will die anyway,” the first youma laughed, apparently having regained her fearlessness. She listed off to her left as she hovered on her broken wing, her torso oddly shaped from busted ribs. Her comrade merely looked bruised as she buzzed high past the broken ceiling and lifted her hands, shaping a spinning fireball between them.

“Perhaps you'll be merely lucky and die in fire, instead of ice, ne?” she sneered, throwing it down.

Neptune ran forward, lifting her hand as she started to shout “Deep Sub—“

“Iie! Neptune, iie!” Moriya shouted, tackling her down. “If you do that, the steam will kill us!” They rolled apart as she reached up, a look of concentration on her face as she slowed the sphere down amidst the youma's shouts. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Sailor Moon brandishing the heart moon rod, though she was struggling to free her wrist from the first youma's tentacles.

“Another one!” Uranus brought the space sword up to block as a third youma dropped from the darkness of the ceiling, a green-skinned, blue-haired and horned, sneering creature. Her nails were just as deadly as the second's, and they created sparks as they impacted on the blade of the sword. “Masaka…you should have lost your fingers!” she hissed, shifting her torso to fling the youma away.

Saturn swung the glaive to slice through the tentacle holding Sailor Moon's wrist, swinging rapidly as she blocked and dodged more of the slithery appendages, keeping both lunar soldiers at her back. “Chibi-Moon, Sailor Moon, are you all right?”

“Hai, just short of breath still,” Sailor Moon responded as Chibi-Moon just nodded her head, both of them wielding their colourful respective rods. “Saturn! Perhaps, if I use my attack, it can destroy them all at once?”

“But you might hurt the stray Chibi-Moon picked up!” Moriya shouted from high above them; they looked up to see her ducking a swing from the golden-skinned youma, who now looked completely furious. She clenched her fist, shooting a fireball that was sent back with a flick of Moriya's wrist. “Just keep attacking them separately!”

Neptune laughed, dodging the third youma's talons in a practiced spin that had her scooping up both cats and sending them flying out of the way to land next to Anshar and Kishar in the snow. “Aren't we doing that now?” She caught the creature's wrist as she swung again, flinging her towards Uranus. “This one appears to be defective, ne, Uranus?”

“How rude of them to create such stupid creatures. This fight is easy!” the sandy-blonde agreed, thrusting the space sword easily into the youma's breast. She howled before disintegrating, echoed by the scream of the first youma as Sailor Moon swung around Saturn's protection to hit the creature with her attack.

When they looked up to check on Moriya and the second youma, they found nothing. Luna frowned, twitching her whiskers as the ashes brushed past her nose. “Perhaps they've merely moved further into the castle with their fight,” she suggested. Neptune shook her head, glancing at Uranus, who smirked.

“I doubt it, Luna. Moving further into this destroyed, unholy place could bring it down upon their heads, as well as ours. It's not worth the chances of any advantage it could give her. Most likely, Alex drove the youma back outside for safety.”

The walls around them shivered just as she said `safety,' a few pieces of ceiling and ice falling onto their heads. She rolled her eyes, brushing at her hair, though if she were lucky, a few bits of masonry and frozen tundra were all she would have to worry about before the fight was over. Already she knew she looked rather worn at the edges, as did they all. Both of their young princesses wore the constant glaze of worry in their eyes, though Chibi-Moon's was darkened by a stronger sense of responsibility than her elder; she constantly kept striving to prove herself, as evidenced by her foolhardy adventure at the school.

Again, the walls shook, though it was a stronger seizure than before. Moving in an unconscious response to the other's actions, Neptune and Uranus worked in concert to grab Anshar and Kishar and Luna and Diana, scooping them rather carelessly out of the snow as Saturn took the lead in running back the way they had come. They didn't get very far, however, before the raven-haired soldier slid to a stop, turning her body to slam into a solid sheet of ice blocking their way. It wasn't thick enough to prevent them from seeing, blurry and questionable, Moriya frantically dodging two youma and their outstretched claws. Both of them were summoning spirals of fire, trying to fricassee the redhead in what looked to be a rather deft grasp of partnership.

“Stand back.” Uranus dropped Kishar and Anshar again - though no one recognized the faint, wary glint of eyes as the boy lay in the snow - and lifted her hands. “World Shaking!”

Golden energy spun and coalesced, hitting the ice with an almost musical smash, sending shards sharp as glass every which way. Little cuts, inconsequential, blossomed on almost everyone's skin, and were easily ignored. The two youma paused in their maniacal dance, Moriya trapped between them with both hands held up to fend them off. She huffed, sounding as if she had run a marathon, but still glib as she said, “Yare, yare, what took you so long?”

Saturn moved faster than the rest, pushing the glaive into the snow to vault her heels into the second youma's golden face, driving her into the snowy hill. The fourth, with her pink skin and horned head, snarled with a mouthful of sharp teeth and leapt to attack her. Moriya tackled her, using her momentum to shove the youma forward towards the others as she herself belly flopped into the snow. Saturn swung above her head, the glaive whistling as it sliced through the air and the creature's neck; a golden head went airborne, trailing dust before it too disintegrated.

Though she caught herself and took to the air on her insect wings, the pink creature shrieked as the space sword slid along her calf, opening her skin in a neat vertical line. She flew up higher, out of reach, and sneered down at them all. “Do you dare to profane this castle and these lands of our queen? Continue to do so, sailor soldiers, at your peril. I was—“

“Made to destroy us, but you didn't get the chance,” Sailor Moon said, nearly yelling into the wind. “Because we came directly to this horrible world of snow and ice, and I destroyed Queen Metallia with my power! With my newest memories and growing powers, I finally lay that demon to rest.” Spinning the heart moon rod around, she pointed its gaudy head towards the faltering creature. “I did that, and I did it alone. I am the Princess Serenity no Sailor Moon, and my power has become greater since that day of reckoning.”

Everyone was staring at her. Uranus had an expression of adoration layered beneath the shock of hearing such mature words from her mouth. But they were true. Even though the end result had been of three people living in the same body, she was stronger now. Strong enough to face those demons again, even though the gentle girl of Tokyo had been hesitant to do it. But now, nearly knee-deep in the snow, the three of them were in agreement as crystal blue eyes stared down the hilt of the rod, which held steady. Daring the youma to try her.

In desperation, she did, summoning a focused blast of heat aimed for the blonde soldier's head. She merely moved aside in a graceful move that seemed more pirouette than dodge, and leveled the heart moon rod again. “Moon Spiral Heart Attack!”

The winds carried the dust up and away, to scatter across the snow high above their heads. Even before they were gone, Sailor Moon was slogging through the snow towards the smear of copper fallen near the slanting hill, crying her friend's name. She dropped to her knees, reaching down to lift her out of the snow, and was surprised beyond belief to find her fingers sinking into slush. “Moriya-chan…!” she breathed.

Moriya rolled over slowly as if it pained her to do so, smirking up at the sky. “What can I say? I'm hot-blooded. Remember, tsukimidango? I never needed a spare blanket when I slept over.”

“But melting the snow….?” Sailor Moon helped her sit up, holding her upright, though she was rather impatiently waved away.

“I've been heating the air around me to keep warm. How else can a puny normal person like me keep up with you Amazon girls? Baka Sailor Moon, I'd freeze to death!” she laughed, though it quickly dissolved into a cough. “Maaahh, I'm so out of shape in this body! It feels like I haven't used these muscles in years.”

Neptune's laugh carried across the snow. Moriya rolled her eyes skyward before rather awkwardly climbing up to her feet, waving away her friend's offer of help. “If I can't stand on my own, I'm of no use to you anyway. I'm mostly just out of breath. Those two youma were really trying to kill me.”

“Hai, they really did try,” Sailor Moon agreed, looking back towards the castle. “Chibi-Moon! Do we continue into the castle? Or can we go home and wait for Venus-tachi to arrive?”

The younger soldier had been bent over Anshar, trying to shake him awake - and by the look on Uranus's face, she wasn't very pleased by it. Chibi-Moon stood back up, touching her brooch and resolutely shaking her head. She pointed a gloved finger back at the castle. “We have to continue! For Mamo-chan's sake, we have to try!”

“And it wouldn't hurt to check it out for any further enemies, ne, Sailor Moon?” Saturn queried, though she could afford to look unconcerned about danger when she wielded a deadly weapon taller than she was. “If these four creatures were awake…”

“Hai, hai,” Luna agreed, a disembodied head in the snow. Next to her was a pair of wandering ears as Diana paced around her, so small she couldn't see over the drifting powder. “It is a risk we have to take, Sailor Moon. Especially because of the spirits that could haunt this castle.”

Anshar stared into the snow as he listened, unable to move only partly due to terror; most of it was due to the fact he was so bitterly cold. It served to keep him still and playing dead as he eavesdropped, feeling the breath still in his throat as he considered Luna's words. Would his sister have resurrected the great enemy of the past, the magician Beryl? Quite possibly, if she knew that the woman's presence could determine their battle. Even though the tales of her viper's smile and subservience to an even greater evil had survived into the 30th century as bogeymen's fright to young children, he knew Sin could do it. If even just to prove the witch's mettle, to see if she was truly as evil and wicked as the stories said.

He, personally, didn't have to see her to believe her. Before their parents had been killed in the Black Moon attack, they had rather effectively scared him silly with stories of Beryl arriving in the night to steal his soul if he didn't go to bed. Eigakusha-san who kept the books had given him one that had been full of Russian fairy tales, in which he had found the story of Baba Yaga and her wicked theft of children to eat. Beryl and Baba Yaga had become one and the same in his head, and even though he was older now and knew better, he was still scared of what the woman could do. Being fattened up and cooked was the least of his concerns.

Realizing he had been daydreaming, he closed his eyes tight as Uranus hoisted him back up rather roughly, throwing him over her shoulder. Though it gave him a very nice view he didn't properly appreciate at his age, he was feeling rather churlish at how he was being treated like a sack of rice. He hoped Kishar wasn't dealing with the same or was at least still unconscious; his pet had a tendency to react violently at the first sign of danger to himself or to his master. Staring down at the shadowed ground however revealed three sets of footprints going in opposite directions; they were walking back into the castle.

The next half hour was quiet, though uncomfortable due to the blood rushing to his head. Despite being destroyed and on the verge of collapse, its hallways seemed to be a maze, and Chibi-Moon kept constantly leading them into dead ends and empty rooms. At one point a fifth youma appeared, but after defeating four of them and expecting more, Anshar never even had the chance to see it before it was destroyed by Neptune and Saturn. He doubted they even broke a sweat; rather disappointing, really. Even though the creatures were nasty, evil things, it was still interesting to see them in a rather detached manner.

Finally, the floor beneath his head began to change: instead of snow, he saw cold stone instead, which meant they were in a part of the castle that had not lost the roof. “Was this the throne room?” he heard Saturn query, to which he heard Moriya confirm.

“Hai, but it used to be a lot nicer. And warmer. Chibi-Moon, is whatever you sense in here somewhere?”

“I…I think so! My crystal is hot beneath my fingers.”

“That may not be merely because of your search, hime-sama,” Neptune said quietly, her heels clicking as she walked. “I sense a strong evil here.”

Anshar barely kept himself from crying out in pain as he was dropped onto the stones, Kishar beside him. Flopping onto his side, he felt his body seize in fear as a woman began to laugh. It was a cruel sound, though once, he imagined it had been kind. He stared into the shadows surrounding the dais where a tumbled-down throne stood, where two pinpoints of golden yellow gleamed out of the darkness. For all of his powers and maturity, he felt like pissing himself; he took the gentler option and passed out instead.

No one else noticed as they watched the shadows gather, taking on shape. “Time passes strangely when you are no longer living,” the shadows sighed, yellow eyes losing their focus. “When I found his castle again, my queen Metallia had turned it to cold, dripping stone to preserve it from the elements that buried it over these long years. It had become a putrid, twisting thing of beauty, benefiting its fall from grace; from the death of its proud prince. Now, it shows its age, stripped of its stone shield.”

A pale hand snaked out of the darkness, gesturing to light the sconces in the walls; and though they were past ancient, no longer able to hold a flame, they lit and burned. The same fingers then curled around the globe-topped staff that appeared at her side. Her smile was not warm, nor inviting, except perhaps to one's death. “Princess Serenity. My rival in all things. My kingdom is as great, forever and always. Do you like this new destiny of ours? A world where I was not defeated by your Venus and her poison sword.”

Sailor Moon was swallowing convulsively, but stood defiant as she stared at the woman sitting in the throne. “That throne is not yours. This is not your kingdom,” she said, gripping the rod tight at her side. “This is the Golden Kingdom of the Earth, and it will never be yours. You betrayed it when you accepted Metallia's promises of glory.”

Beryl laughed, running her hand over the top of the globe. “Ara ara, so naïve as always! I betrayed no one when I came to your kingdom. Earth needed to be released from the shackles of your world's mastery. And if I was to become truly great in the process, why, it was merely payment. Prince Endymion would have been pleased to marry me instead of a blonde, weak little child such as you! A true warrior and witch, and a beautiful queen.” She smiled indulgently, running her eyes over the rest of them slowly. But almost immediately the smile left her face as she stared at the girls clad in unfamiliar colours. “I'm surprised at you, Serenity. Did you not protect your precious guardians from harm? Are these the girls you've brought in their stead, the next sacrificial lambs?”

Saturn stepped forward, coolly eyeing the queen in return. “We are the soldiers of the outer planets of this solar system. Unlike the four guardians of the princess, we were born for the purpose of defending this solar system from far greater threats than you. I am the soldier of Saturn, Sailor Saturn. The god of ruin, I have been called.”

The queen sneered at her, running her eyes over Neptune arrogantly as the aqua-haired beauty settled her hands on her hips. “Unfortunately for you, we know your name, and we know of your defeat. You hold no mystery for us except that of how you will die in this world. I am the soldier of Neptune, Sailor Neptune. You cannot hide within this castle and your dreams from us.”

“You dare to say such things to me?” Beryl snapped, thrusting herself up out of the throne, pointing her staff towards the aloof soldier. “But for an accident of birth, I could have been Endymion's promised, instead of his true intended! I am still royal in stock, if not in acceptance, and you will take no such tone with me!”

“A bastard is still a bastard,” Uranus said flatly, folding her arms as she stood next to her parent. “And a witch who betrayed her king is the worst kind of all. I am the soldier of Uranus, Sailor Uranus. Before my planet became a spinning tomb, my people were the fleetest warriors, incapable of cowardice or fear. So it is now. You are less than nothing.”

“You hold yourself to a higher standard than you are allowed, Beryl,” Moriya said as she stepped forward; and though she was dressed in her black clothes and coat, Beryl's eyes widened comically in recognition. “Even the castle maids laughed at you behind your back. True, you were given high responsibility as a court seer, but it was your cousin's favour that kept you from being thrown back into the wilderness. You would have lived in her shadow until the end of your days. Glory for the Golden Kingdom? What else would you have desired but glory for yourself and more power?”

“What do you know! You, you copper-haired bitch, flaunting your own benefactor and your powers as you danced in careless abandon on the Moon! You were Earth-born! And yet you followed that bitch queen at the crook of her finger, ignoring the world of your birth because we weren't good enough for you!” Beryl howled, swinging her staff. “Do not tell me of my lies! Of my lower status! You were a whore to the silver queen, and you would have given us scraps had we asked for your hand!”

Moriya pointed back at her, yelling, “I did what I could! I tried to convince the kingdom that you weren't all mongrel idiots, that you were capable and ready of being acknowledged! But whenever I tried to visit and talk to your king, to even just walk on the planet and smell the air, I was treated like shit. I was slapped in the face with courtesy and false promises, just the same as you. Neither of us could do a damned thing to change the minds of our respective prison wardens, but you took matters into your own hands and destroyed everything instead of having something! You proved your enemies right when you reacted in violence!”

The piss-eyed queen shrieked her anger. “I was promised glory! I was promised the world and all of its riches! I would have had my beautiful life!”

“And now look where you are: a resurrected shade, sitting in a fallen palace. Is this what Metallia promised you when the shadows whispered into your ear? Were the sacrifices of everyone you took with you into battle worth it?”

“YES! A thousand, million times, yes, yes, yes!”

The staff lifted, and the room began to go fuzzy. Heat blasted across their faces as Beryl started to grow, laughing hysterically as her body expanded and lengthened, soon towering over them some fifteen metres above their heads and still growing. Just like Mistress Nine, her hair writhed around her head, a sickly green bleeding into the auburn red as her skin paled. They snatched Moriya up before she could shout, shaking her like a rag doll and finally, horribly, dashing her head against the wall before dropping her.

Neptune screamed. Uranus staggered forward as if she meant to run to the redhead's side, but just as quickly spun around to face the story-high witch, pulling the space sword out as she ran towards her instead. Saturn was at her side, glaive poised to strike, and they leapt in unison to attack Beryl's breast, obviously reasoning that she had a heart they could pierce and still. Whether or not she did was left up to debate as the witch merely lifted her hands and caught them in mid-leap, focusing her power through her palms. Both soldiers screamed, but had no chance to struggle before she opened her fingers and sifted dust into the air.

“Kami-sama, kami-sama,” Chibi-Moon keened, grasping Sailor Moon's arm so tightly she was raising bruises beneath her glove. Neptune staggered forward, a wild look in her eyes, her hands rising as she began to scream out her attack. Both girls screamed as the aqua-haired soldier was grabbed by the whipping hair and flung up and down into the ceiling and floor like a flyswatter. When she was finally dropped, neither could recognize her.

Beryl was still laughing as she advanced on the two, the room swimming in hazy, surreal waves of heat. Sailor Moon was gasping for breath as she thrust Chibi-Moon behind her and held the heart moon rod out in front of her, trying hard to focus her power even as the gruesome deaths of her friends kept playing out in front of her eyes. “Ara ara, is the princess running scared?” Beryl mocked her, continuing to come closer. “Your friends were not as tough as they thought, ne? But there's still one more crutch to get rid of.”

“Chibi-Moon, run!” Sailor Moon screamed, shoving the girl away as hard as she could before she turned back to call out “Moon Spiral Heart Attack!”

The power didn't come. She stared disbelievingly at the rod in her hands before Beryl slapped her aside, throwing her across the floor, and grabbed Chibi-Moon. The younger soldier didn't scream as she was lifted up in a pair of pale hands, though when Beryl began to slowly pull her by the arms, stretching her as one might a doll, she began to in earnest. She struggled furiously as the witch pulled her arms out of their sockets, screaming piteously until she was simply turned to a crisp and released into the air.

Sailor Moon was sick onto the stones several times, and wished she would at least faint. Beryl had killed them all as easily as flies, and here they had taunted her, thinking they could easily defeat her. Now they were dead, and she was the only one left.

Rolling onto her side to see Beryl grinning maniacally at her, she felt a sudden stabbing pain in her calf. Shrieking at the sensation of claws in her leg, she twisted around to find herself standing upright in a perfectly normal room, with everyone standing around her looking woozy and confused. Looking down, she saw Luna at her foot, nearly frantic. “Sailor Moon, don't let yourself fall for her tricks! You were collapsing into a magical sleep!”

“We all were!” Neptune gasped, touching her forehead. “And it was terrible…!”

“Merely a preview of what I can do,” Beryl purred, once again sitting in the throne. “You are right to fear my magic, sailor soldiers of myth. I can twist your mind. I can convince you of pain and suffering.”

“But it's still only an illusion,” Moriya snapped, waving a hand to waft away the presence of her magic. ”An illusion that can be beaten again. Sailor Moon! Use your power!”

“Sou yo, princess, use the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou! I have escaped from my destiny of being defeated by your golden soldier, but can your magical crystal do the same? Can it stop me when fate itself has been circumvented?”

Saturn brought the glaive around as Beryl laughed, staring stonily at the witch. After a moment, even the laughter ceased at the look the soldier wore. “Fate plays a role in the lives of all individuals. Fate is also interpreted differently for the individual. It is destiny, and it is ruin.”

“I've heard those words before,” Sailor Moon whispered. She touched her brooch, turning back to face Beryl. “It doesn't matter. In this lifetime, in any lifetime, I will stop you. You were the bringer of evil to our kingdom and to your own. Queen Beryl! This time, it will be me dealing the fatal blow!”

But instead of bringing forth the crystal, she held out her hands. A nimbus of light formed, took shape; it lengthened and grew solid, gently dropping into her grasp. “The holy sword,” she said in a dreamy voice. “Venus used this to defeat you twice. Now, I will wield it to defeat you this last time.”

Sneering, Beryl lifted the staff. “You can try, princess.”

“Deep Submerge!”

“Pink Sugar Heart Attack!”

The two attacks - one weak, one powerful - spun together in a clashing mix of aqua and pink, only to be batted aside by Beryl's staff. She stroked her fingers over the globe, murmuring inaudibly, and sent back lightning. The floor exploded beneath their feet, sending them all back through the chamber.

“We have to keep her busy until Sailor Moon strikes!” Moriya hissed from the floor. “Chibi-Moon, you stay here. You're not powerful enough yet to fight someone like Beryl properly. Uranus, take the right. Saturn, you go with me to the left. Neptune, a frontal assault.”

“But I want to fight too! I'm not a child!” Chibi-Moon whined, only to be pinned in place by a glare. “I have my own power!”

“I'm not arguing that, imouto-chan, but it's not enough. Stop acting like a brat and use the brain I know you have, and stay here! Prove I can trust you again.” With that, the four of them ran to attack, sending power and fire at the laughing queen.

Chibi-Moon was furious, even though she knew Moriya was right. But as she looked up at Sailor Moon, who had an almost serene look on her face as she fingered the hilt of her strange sword, she realized she might still be in the position of defense after all. The girl next to her wasn't acting like the clumsy Usagi-in-a-suit she knew; she was acting different indeed. Almost like the woman she knew in the future as her strong and perfect mother, who was able to face any challenge. But even her daughter knew that fearless assaults weren't always safe. Sailor Moon was starting to experience tunnel vision.

She turned her head to see Neptune go flying, Saturn a close second. Uranus had apparently sliced Beryl's face at some point, because the witch was bleeding, but she seemed unconcerned about it as she blocked the blade with the handle of her staff. A net of lightning enclosed them, keeping Moriya from getting too close, and the redhead was obviously irate though she was standing almost inhumanly still. In her hand was a chunk of the floor, glowing a bright pink.

“I hope they can wear her down,” Luna murmured from Anshar's side, where she and Diana had taken refuge. “Venus struck her down so quickly, we never knew just how powerful she could be. If only we had the element of surprise…”

Uranus howled as she was blasted backwards, a black shadow crawling over her face, trying to smother her. Leaping back in, Saturn was swinging the glaive, chopping the throne even further to bits as Beryl ducked behind it, blasting at the purple-suited soldier with her staff. An explosion at her feet had her screaming in rage, and she flung her arms out to throw up a protective shield that expanded to squash them both into the walls.

A blast of icy water doused the shield and it sputtered away, leaving Beryl unprotected again. Instead, she touched her fingers to the globe, whispering quickly, and spun it a quarter turn. All four staggered as she laughed, saying, “Look through another's eyes, sailor soldiers! See how it feels to be a stranger!”

“Too bad we're not strangers particularly,” Saturn replied glibly, and though she handled the glaive a bit less deftly than before, she was competent enough to drive Beryl back as the witch faltered, obviously taken aback by her failure.

“That's the beauty of training, to know your teammates,” Uranus said, though by the ironic tone in her voice, it was fairly obvious who had been thrust into her body as she spun, kicking the staff out of Beryl's hands as she tried to dodge Saturn. The witch watched it fly away, fingers desperately reaching through the air for it. Though she had her own spells, none of her magic was as effective when it was not channeled through the wood and crystal. And the sudden flash of despair across her face proved it.

Moriya smiled at that, leaping to catch the staff. “And we do know our teammates well.”

“You two are horrible, even in different bodies!” Neptune groaned, ducking low as she thrust her shoulder into Beryl's back, throwing her forward. “And this witch is not as strong as she tries to be.”

Sailor Moon stood up as Beryl tumbled towards her, gasping. Falling onto her knees, the queen looked more like the peasant witch she had once been, not even the court seer she had become before her fall from grace. She lifted her head as the princess of the Silver Millennium stood in front of her, the holy sword at her side. “Iie…not again,” Beryl moaned. “Not in this time.”

“Hai. This is destiny and this is fate.” Sailor Moon's eyes were pitiless as she stared down at the fallen queen, her hands clenched against the stones.

“Iie…I will not submit to that destiny again! I will not fail! Princess Serenity, I curse you to the end of the world for everything you've done to me!” she shrieked, throwing herself up to claw at the odango-haired blonde's face in a spate of anger. No other words came to mind; no whispered magic came to her lips. All she could do in her rage was attack with the fury of her own hands.

Sailor Moon's arm moved smoothly as Beryl came close. Her eyes closed as the witch shuddered, falling limp against her, chin on her head. Beryl's mouth went slack; blood slowly trickled past her lips. She didn't struggle as Sailor Moon withdrew her arm, the blade of her sword now scarlet with blood, instead allowing gravity to push her down. “Endymion…” she sighed as she sank onto the stones, staring back at the throne. “Ah, Endymion…my strong…p….ce….” Her eyes froze on a point somewhere past the ruins of her kingdom as one last breath rattled out of her throat. Queen Beryl was once again dead.

With the witch's death, all four of the girls staggered; the magic of her spell swapped their perceptions back, connecting their hearts with strings of bright colour. The stale air of gloom around them lifted and left them breathing easier.

Moriya said quietly, “That was rather anti-climactic.” She touched her face and torso, as if making sure it was her own body again, and sighed. “She destroyed our world out of desire for a man who would never have even spoken to her. Honestly, she had some strange priorities.”

Luna sniffed at the corpse and nodded, pronouncing it dead: a small fireball set it alight. Saturn frowned as she watched the flames. “But was it worth it to her, all of this suffering?”

“It must have been. To destroy our world and my happiness…she did it twice, trying to take Mamo-chan away from me,” Sailor Moon whispered, sagging onto the ground. Dropping the sword with an ear-piercing crash onto the stones, she visibly relaxed. “And Sin brought her back to this for her own wicked purposes. Was it any surprise that she would have wanted this? To win just once?”

“But, Sailor Moon-sama, you can't justify an evil woman's deeds!” Diana protested. She was hardly mollified when a gloved hand came down to scratch between her ears. Neptune sighed, folding her arms across her chest protectively.

“I agree, koneko, but it doesn't matter now. The woman is dead, and her kingdom with her. We live, and we have a job to do.”

“Hai; the power I've been sensing,” Chibi-Moon said. “I've been thinking. If it can be used to heal Mamo-chan, would it maybe be in this room? A throne room for a king?”

It took them over an hour to search through what rubble had fallen. The layout of the room had been effectively destroyed by a wall falling down, the ceiling decorations tumbling to the ground, and yards of tapestry clothing turning into unrecognizable sludge over much of everything. When they finally found the box, hidden beneath the seat of the throne, Uranus cursed long and loudly at the predictability of kings and their own obtuseness at not looking in the obvious spot first.

Chibi-Moon opened the box gently, exclaiming at what was inside. “Ara, look, look! It's beautiful!” she sighed, lifting the carved crystal out. Made out of rose quartz, it had - not surprisingly - been carved into the likeness of a rose in bloom, complete with two leaves accenting it. It gently glowed in her hands as she held it.

“What in the name of the kami are we to do with it, anyway?” Uranus queried as Chibi-Moon tilted it this way and that. “The four guardian soldiers are supposed to find some stones to heal Mamoru-san. Honestly. This may have been a waste of time for a trinket.”

“But it could still help him,” Anshar said sadly. No one had noticed him wake up again; his teleport had been soundless, and he now stood over Chibi-Moon. He deftly plucked the crystal out of her hands as she gaped at him. “This rose crystal could help him wake up, and I can't allow that. If he wakes up…we'll be enemies. And I don't want that. I don't want that at all. So I'm taking this powerful talisman.”

“Anshar,” she gasped. He backed away from her even as the others slowly stood up in menacing fashion, retreating towards Kishar.

“Don't be angry at me, Small Lady. I just don't want us to fight.”

“Ara ara, Anshar, have you finally come to your senses? It's about time!” Sin's voice was clear and mocking from the darkness. She stepped out next to Kishar, tapping a finger against her lips. “Now you go on. I'll have no problem at all dealing with them myself.”

“Onee-chan, don't do this. Don't fight them now!” he pleaded, even as he stared down the approaching soldiers. “I'm doing this to avoid a fight. To not fight Small Lady…”

She huffed, reaching out to grasp his shoulder. “You always get your way. It's because I love you that I'll let it pass this time. Now come on, Anshar! Don't dawdle anymore.”

The three of them vanished, along with the crystal, as Chibi-Moon cried out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Weird” can very quickly be relative when you're a time traveler. Especially when you're not only a time traveler, but a princess of a kingdom ruled by a queen who was reborn from a princess from countless centuries prior, who would have ruled a kingdom on an entirely different chunk of rock, had she not committed suicide. As she witnessed the battles and events that had played a part in shaping her mother's teenage years, Usagi Small Lady Serenity was rapidly realizing that “weird” was just part and parcel of her family.

As she stood in the snow, watching the clouds as they slowly moved across the night sky at the top of the world, she realized she had been taking the weirdness of her new life for granted, that what was strange and unusual was not always good; and, vice versa, was not always evil. She still had the feeling Anshar had wanted to protect her, even as he hurt her. Even as he snatched a possible cure for her father out of her hands, he had wanted her to be safe.

But she could not continue to be naïve. Not next time. She might have been a time traveler, unaccustomed to the strangeness of a century that still thought digital watches were a pretty neat idea, but she had to be stronger. More sure of herself. She was Usagi Small Lady Serenity, and she was the heir to a kingdom reborn.

She started at the touch of a glove against her cold skin, and she looked up to see Sailor Moon smiling at her. “Let's go home, Chibi-Moon,” she said. “Mamo-chan is waiting for us.”

“Hai,” she replied. It wasn't Sailor Moon's imagination that she sounded stronger.