Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Crystal Trials ❯ The Beginning of the End ( Chapter 6 )

BlueDolphin

Michiru felt bruised and bloodied, but she felt an odd sense of being reborn again. She felt-clean. The pain she felt assured her that she was indeed alive, so she slowly opened her eyes. It was dark all around her, but she saw strange gaps in the darkness she couldn't explain. After careful thought and adjusting her eyes to the dim light around her, she realized she was under bricks, remembering then the wall falling around her. She listened carefully around her and heard nothing that would account for life. Desolation welled up deep within her as she stared out the gaps in the rubble at the sky above. The sky reminded her of the sky from her painting.

She tried to move after a time, and found not bricks above her, but a person.

"Michiru?" a strained voice asked. It was Haruka above her. Michiru couldn't surpress a sigh of relief.

"Bruised and cut. Nothing more," she replied. "Can you move?"

"I think..." Pebbles skittered down from the rocks above as Haruka shifted slowly. As the bricks rolled away, arctic breezes swept into their crevasse. It took the work of several minutes until Haruka finally straightened. She looked as battered as Michiru felt, but otherwise unhurt.

Michiru pulled herself up, then stared with wide eyes at the destruction around her. Tokyo as she knew it was gone; the only remains were scattered bits of dirty concrete jutting up from the ground that reminded Michiru eerily of broken bones. A gust of wind howled past the pair, a wind that felt as if it came direct from the Arctic Circle itself. It swirled up the snow on the ground as it passed, settling it elsewhere in large drifts that rested against the remaining walls. The sky roiled angrily red and black, occasionally scattering snow across the landscape as it rolled by. It wasn't fully dark, but instead a sort of dim dusk, a dusk tinted the color of blood. Yes, it was her painting all over again.

So caught up in looking at the horrific landscape around her that she momentarily forgot about Setsuna. Remembering all at once, she dug frantically through the rubble until she uncovered the guardian of Time. Dried blood caked Setsuna's face from a wound on her forehead, but her face held color and her breathing was regular. Michiru cleared the rest of the rubble away from the fallen senshi slowly and methodically, her eyes darting up from her task occasionally to look at the land around.

"We're no longer transformed, Michiru," Haruka said suddenly.

Michiru looked down and realized she was indeed in the clothes she had been wearing before transforming in search of Sailorsaturn and the crystal. How long ago had the world been normal? Aloud, she absently replied, "Extreme strain caused us to revert back, I'm sure." She didn't notice the short, concise way she spoke these words, so uncharacteristic of her, but Haruka did.

Haruka watched Michiru work for a bit longer before saying, "I'm going to look around." Michiru nodded wordlessly from where she was crouched by Setsuna's side, absently wiping clean the unconscious woman's face as best she could with a torn scrap of fabric. So deep in thought, she didn't notice Haruka's worried frown before she moved carefully away through the remains. What would happen to them now?

Setsuna stirred then, opening her blood-gummed eyes and looking around blearily. Seeing the destruction, her garnet eyes grew somber. "We were too late?" she asked of Michiru.

"I don't know," Michiru replied. "Haruka went to look around."

Setsuna got to her feet just as the blonde returned. "The palace is here," Haruka said at once, gesturing beyond the remains of the building behind them that blocked their view. "And there's something else...something you should see."

"Show us," Setsuna said, falling into the role of leader. Michiru nodded.

Haruka led them away from where they had hid to a spot not far away. The wind was stronger out here, taking their breath away with its biting cold. "How is it so cold?" Michiru asked, rubbing her arms.

"It must be the object out there," Setsuna ventured slowly, looking up at the dense clouds that obscured their view of the sky. "The climate has changed."

"So soon?"

Setsuna was silent for a moment. "Perhaps we were unconscious longer than we think," she said at last.

"Here," Haruka said abruptly, stopping in the middle of the street. The palace loomed large over them, glittering so brightly that Michiru's eyes watered after staring at it. She turned her attention instead to the object in the street.

At first it looked like nothing more than an overly large, lumpy piece of ice, but, at Haruka's urging, Michiru rubbed at the surface and gasped. There was indeed a thin layer of ice covering it, but underneath was clear crystal. Frozen inside the crystal was a face of a person. Struck with a morbid fascination, she rubbed more away and saw that the person was curled up into a ball, knees tucked under their chin.

"They're all like that," Haruka said, pointing out other lumps of frosted-over crystal. Now that she knew what to look for, Michiru found numerous others littering the area. "Alive as far as I can tell...alive, but asleep."

The three of them stood there for long moments as the wind whistled around, whipping up eddies of snow in its wake. Looking at it's passing, a thought rose unbidden in Michiru's mind. (...just like when I visited Uranus...we would sit in the solarium with the fireplace and watch the storms...the lightning was always the most extraordinary shade of blue...) Where had that come from? That had been an entire lifetime ago, when she and Sailoruranus fought off potential threats to the Moon Kingdom, not as senshi, but as the rulers of their planets. She shouldn't be having these thoughts...

"We should go to the palace," Setsuna said, interrupting Michiru's thoughts. Without waiting to see if they followed, she set off for the palace. Haruka and Michiru followed.

Haruka dropped back to where Michiru walked and fell into step beside her. "Are you alright?" she asked quietly.

"Fine...I'm just thinking," Michiru replied. What would happen to them? What did that thought mean?

Haruka regarded her silently for a moment as they walked. "Whatever happens to me because of my Trial, the Princess must be protected," she said at last.

"I know," Michiru said, faltering in her steps for a moment. She lapsed into silence again as they neared the crystal face of the palace. Haruka took her hand.

Before them, a doorway opened out of the smooth, seamless crystal. One by one they slowly entered the palace and paused hesitantly inside. Warmth washed over them and chased away the chill of the outside as light, several degrees gentler than that of the glittering outside of the palace, illuminated the whole of the inside. They stood at the start of a long, wide corridor that ended at a set of intricate double doors done in creamy ivory. Running both sides of the corridor at regular intervals were doorways, all closed.

Wordlessly, the trio made their way down the corridor towards the set of double doors. Haruka glanced backwards once and noticed without any real surprise that the doorway outside was gone. They reached the doors and stopped, looking for a way to open it. Haruka solved this problem after she placed her hand against the door and attempted to shove it open. Soundlessly, on its own power, the doors swung inward to reveal what was so obviously the throne room. Columns extending along either side of the vast room drew the eyes to the trio of thrones on the dais. None were occupied, and the room was vacant.

"It doesn't look like anybody's here...or still awake," Michiru commented quietly.

"There's still the upper levels," Setsuna replied neutrally. "We will look up there before we come to any conclusions." She led the way to the back of the vast central room, where a curtain hung. Pushing it aside, she followed the small crystal corridor to the very end where a series of ramps led both upwards and downwards.

Haruka followed Setsuna as she led the way up, but asked, "How is it you know this so well?"

Never pausing in her climb up the curving ramp, Setsuna responded, "The time may be different but the palace remains the same."

They proceeded upward, passing many floors in their trek, until they couldn't go any further. Strangely enough, though they had been climbing for a quarter hour or more, none of them felt the least bit winded. They followed another narrow corridor to a point where it opened up into a garden. Looking up, they saw the ceiling high above slope inward to meet at a point somewhere over the center of the vast area. They were at the very top of the palace. Trees and bushes and plants of every imaginable size, shape, and color lined and screened in the cobbled crystal path they stood upon. Somewhere close they heard water running, and the fragrant smell of apple and cherry blossoms assailed their noses. "These are the Queen's gardens. If Usagi is in the palace, she will be here," Setsuna said.

They walked along the shaded path until it opened out onto a grassy hill. Atop the rise was the far wall of the palace. Looking out the crystal, perfectly clear in that one section, was Usagi-no, Neo-Queen Serenity. Her twin golden pigtails almost reached her feet, where her flowing white dress pooled. Atop her head was the intricate golden crown they all recognized.

"Usagi?" Haruka ventured.

The queen turned away from the window with a startled gasp and a fearful look in her clear blue eyes. Her arms were curled protectively over her stomach-was it their imagination or had it grown noticeably? "Who...? Oh...yes...It is good to see you alive. When you didn't appear with the others...well...I feared the worst."

Michiru tried not to gape at how changed Usagi was. "Has it really been that long?"

The woman turned back to the window. "A month, at least. It's hard to say with no day or night," she responded tonelessly. "Ami, Rei, Minako, and Makoto arrived a week or so ago. They're...resting...right now."

"A month?" Haruka burst out incredulously. "How?"

"Just before...before the palace created itself and the world was destroyed, I told everyone to sleep. To keep them safe," she related distantly. "They weren't unmade like everything else."

"And Sailorsaturn?" Setsuna asked, not missing the fact Usagi didn't mention her. "What of her?"

Usagi affected not to hear. "Mamoru is out there somewhere..." she said softly. "The Earth is in upheaval, and I pray he's alright."

Mamoru-Tuxedo Kamen-was connected to the planet in ways they could only imagine. What happens to the planet affects Mamoru. "We can go look for him if you'd like, Usagi," Michiru offered, feeling awkward at referring to her as Usagi.

The queen turned away from the window at last. "No," she said. "I want you to go rest with the others."

"You want us to go back to sleep, is what you mean," Setsuna stated.

"Yes," she said with a nod. "I've been fighting off sleep until you three appeared again. We have to sleep until the planet is ready again. We cannot possibly live normally for as long as it requires."

Setsuna nodded after a moment. "I agree."

She pointed down a path branching off from the one they stood on. "Follow this path. It will bring you to your rooms," she said. The queen glanced at Haruka and Michiru and looked like she was going to say more, but decided better of it. "Take care," she said instead, looking at Haruka.

Haruka felt a chill pass over her. Suddenly, she knew deep inside that something was going to happen, something inevitable. "Come on, Michiru," she said roughly. "I'm tired."

Michiru hesitated, wanting to ask more about what had happened and what will happen in the future. The queen saw this and said, "Go to sleep, Michiru. You can ask when you wake."

Usagi watched the pair go with a heavy heart. With the crown on her head came knowledge, knowledge of the Trials the outers had undergone, and of the outcomes. And the fate of the ones who failed. She looked out over the sleeping city. Her sleeping city. Her sleeping world.

"How many did you save, my Queen?" Setsuna asked softly. The time had come to give the girl she had known the respect she deserved.

The response was a long time in coming, and when it did, Setsuna felt chilled. "Japan," she replied harshly. "And part of China. That is all. I wasn't strong enough for more."

"And Hotaru?" Setsuna pressed.

"Gone."

Setsuna stiffened. "Gone? She escaped?"

"No. Taken. I tried to save her, but she was taken before I could." Usagi sighed. "I slept a little after the battle. In my dreams, I was contacted by...someone...from far into the future. I was told that the Sailorsaturn of their time embraced the darkness and turned on them, and that they were fighting a losing battle against her. In desperation, the queen is trying to change the past so Sailorsaturn never turns evil, and in turn give them a future. But the Sailorsaturn of her time knows this and is trying to do the opposite. She has taken our Sailorsaturn from us to bring the evil out inside her, and plans to release her upon us, perpetuating her power."

"Manipulating time?" Setsuna asked. "That goes against everything I was taught. Doesn't their Sailorpluto know this?"

"She is dead. Along with all the other senshi except Sailoruranus and Sailorneptune who have been missing for weeks. I saw the tombs. And visions of how some of them ended." Usagi's voice grated harshly in her throat.

Setsuna's mind whirled. Was this right, given the circumstances? According to the oaths she swore after accepting the Staff, there was never adequate reason to play with time. Yet, she couldn't help but think back to when she stopped time to save Sailoruranus and Sailorneptune's lives. She had felt justified doing what she did, because she was saving the lives of the ones who would keep the future safe.

"You must sleep, Setsuna," Usagi gently said then, seeing the indecision on her face.

Setsuna shook her head. "I will wait at the Gates."

"The Gates are inaccessible here at the moment," Usagi said. "The links between here and there are severed until this planet in this time is ready. That is why you could never determine how the End would come about, or the aftermath. It is impossible to view."

Setsuna looked at Usagi sharply. "How did you know that?"

She shrugged like it wasn't important. "Go sleep, Setsuna."

The Keeper of Time suddenly felt drained, as if simply mentioning the word 'sleep' triggered something. Wearily she nodded and moved down the path Haruka and Michiru had taken, knowing that, somehow, Usagi had done this to her.

The new queen cradled her growing stomach. "Be safe, Endymion. Come back and help me cope with everything that's going to happen."

Just before Haruka fell asleep on the strangely comfortable padded crystal slabs, she looked across at Michiru. She was deeply asleep, so deep that Haruka had to watch carefully to see her lover's chest rise and fall. Haruka stared at her for long moments, until sleep dulled her mind and swept her away. Her last conscious thought was the certainty that she wouldn't be there when Michiru woke.

She waited until she was sure the last few souls on the planet were fast asleep before she appeared. She already had one of her prizes, and now it was time to claim the last. With these two in hand, the others would bow before her. There would be no way to alter the future. She could have easily taken the one she sought from her own time, but there was another reason why she ventured from her conquered land. She was playing the part of bait.

The staccato rhythm of her boots on the crystal floors echoed around her as she approached the rooms where she would find the sleeping senshi of this time. As she walked, she again thought of how she would use the Sailorsaturn she had captured against these fools. She permitted herself a low chuckle as she thought of the girl, locked away and screaming for mercy, no doubt. She had taken steps to ensure that the captured senshi wouldn't think of escaping anytime soon.

She turned her head, glancing from side to side as she walked, and sending her black hair swinging. She had let it grow out from the time she had fought on the side of good, simply because she wanted a change. She glanced behind her. Would she take the bait?

Methodically, she searched the rooms on this, the highest level of the palace. Minako and Rei. Ami and Makoto. Setsuna. Usagi. She paused outside Usagi's room, her face twisted in fury. If she killed the queen now, she would already be ruler in the future. However, though her power was immense, she still had yet to master the flow of Time. She could affect only one person here, the one person she sought. Still furious at the ultimate solution to the battle she waged being out of her grasp, she stalked onward down the corridor.

She stopped at the next door. Michiru. And Haruka. The pair was deep asleep on their backs, their faces almost a mirror of each other as they slept. Smiling, she entered the room and moved around the crystal slabs that they slept upon until she stood next to Haruka. These two caused her no end of trouble in her time, always eluding even her best-laid traps to capture and kill them once and for all. But, it was no matter; the queen thought them dead anyway, and that worked just as well.

Bending over the sleeping blonde, she stretched her hands over Haruka and concentrated. Darkness welled from deep within, spilling out onto Haruka and rendering her immobile. Haruka's eyes shot open then, looking first startled, then furious as she struggled to move. Her eyes caught sight of who held her, and Haruka paused. She tried to talk, but the darkness muffled her words as well. Haruka settled on a cold, furious glare as she thrashed within the darkness. Smiling at the blonde's futile efforts, she gathered Haruka up in her arms. Any moment now...

She was not disappointed. "Put her down, Sailorsaturn," a voice ordered. "She isn't yours."

Sailorsaturn turned. "She is mine, Hoshi, and you know that. Your mother sent you here to protect them, didn't she? It doesn't look like you've done a very good job," she commented with a sly smile. "What will you tell Chibiusa now?"

"Don't call Mother that, Sailorsaturn. You lost your right to call her that when you made the choice to become our enemy," Hoshi spat. "You were once her friend."

"Once. No longer." Sailorsaturn turned away from the glaring redhead and threw a free hand out. A portal opened before her. In her arms, Haruka tossed her head from side to side, frantically trying to free herself from the trap.

"Dispel!" Hoshi shrieked, throwing her hands out at the portal in desperation.

The portal remained. Sailorsaturn laughed. "I'm disappointed, Hoshi. You used to be capable of so much more. Is it because I hold the ginzuishou that you're reduced to such tricks?" Then, Sailorsaturn looked at her shrewdly. "Or is it because you're trying to mask who you really are, I wonder?"

Hoshi stilled. "How could you have known? Mother suspects...but I never told her..."

Laughing, Sailorsaturn said, "I didn't, but you just confirmed it for me! But, I have already taken you into consideration for my plans...you will never see your mother, never see your future again, Hoshi." Calmly, Sailorsaturn turned from the portal. Tendrils of dark energy formed around her, reaching out for Hoshi.

"No...! You can't trap me here!" Hoshi exclaimed, throwing up her hands as a silvery dome appeared around her. The tendrils ignored the shield. Gaping, she reached up a hand. Power of her own formed around her hand in a silvery globe, but the tendrils reached her before she could act. A bright flash of light and a dull boom resounded around the room. When her vision cleared, Sailorsaturn saw Hoshi crumpled on the floor.

"You didn't use your full power. Why?" Sailorsaturn asked of the unmoving form. "Could it be that you still are reluctant to fight me because of who I once was?" She laughed. "Weak, to the end. You cannot stop me now, Hoshi. Not if you're marooned here!" Still laughing, she took the weakly thrashing Haruka into the portal. Haruka threw her head up and stared at Michiru before the portal whisked them away.

Just before she was totally gone from their time, Sailorsaturn took a brief trip out above the planet. With her back to the planet in upheaval, she faced the silent black orb that hung there in space. Maintaining this object drained her somewhat, and as its usefulness had worn out, she saw no reason for it to remain. It had effectively frozen the planet (though she still cursed Sailormoon for saving that group of humans, however small and insignificant the amount was), and keeping it around would do nothing more than tap her reserves.

She willed herself closer, the unmoving form of Haruka still in her arms. The object was immense, but as Sailorsaturn appeared on its surface, she lay Haruka on the hard black obsidian surface and knelt. With both her palms flat against the icy cold surface, she bowed her head and concentrated. Almost as soon as she did this, the ground beneath her feet shivered almost imperceptibly. The tremors grew in intensity until it was difficult to remain on her feet. Taking Haruka back, she opened another vortex, this one breaching Time itself, and took her prize back to her time.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the orb started shrinking...

Hoshi groaned as she sat up. Her head ached worse than anything she had felt before, and it took her a few muddled looks around before she remembered what had transpired. Frantically, she reached deep inside for the core of power that marked her who she really was, and found it...blocked. She could not use power. Could not traverse Time. Could not return to her place in the future. With a mere gesture, the Sailorsaturn of her time had effectively stranded her where she would cause the least amount of trouble. She moaned low in her throat at her plight, and at how easily she had been caught. Hadn't her mother explained to her repeatedly how dangerous Sailorsaturn had become? And she had disregarded all of her cautions, arrogantly trusting in her own power to save her. In the end it hadn't been her power that had failed her, but herself. Had she struck when she had the chance...

Hoshi shook her head. She could think on this at another time; right now, she had to decide what to do. Slowly, with help from one of the walls, she unsteadily got to her feet. Glancing at the bed, she saw Michiru still asleep, looking strangely alone on the crystal slab meant for two. Hoshi felt a brief pang of sympathy for the aqua-haired woman, but brief was all it was. Of all the senshi in the future, Hoshi trusted this pair the least. How dedicated could they be to the queen if they escaped out on their own when the fighting got too intense?

She assessed her situation then. They-all of the senshi-were deep asleep while the planet righted itself on its own accord. Nothing short of strong, concentrated power would wake them, as Sailorsaturn demonstrated earlier. And Hoshi was powerless. Would she be forced to wait indefinitely for the senshi to reawaken, wait all alone for untold years? The thought filled her with despair, but it seemed like the only choice open to her. Despondently, she left Michiru's room, and headed for the gardens.

Hoshi gaped out one of the crystal windows in the garden. There was no snow. Crystal buildings caught the rays of the bright sun overhead and reflected them in brilliant rainbows of color. She saw grass growing on the rocky ridges that had sprung up around the city, in small patches, but growing nonetheless. It was not a city in the grips of unnatural winter it had been before. It was not the war-ravaged land she had left behind. This was Crystal Tokyo as it had been, before her time. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes as she stared wonderingly up at a brilliant blue sky. She had been born into a world that had known nothing but war. She had grown up, not around other children her age playing outdoors, but inside the dim corridors of the Palace learning her history. The history she was viewing this same moment.

It was a matter of several minutes before coherant thought found Hoshi again. Still staring wonderingly at the beautiful panorama spread out below her, her mind worked furiously at digesting what she was seeing. Sailorsaturn had messed up, somehow. Instead of marooning her, awake, for a matter of years, somehow Hoshi had remained asleep just as the senshi of this time had. This realization had two sides; on one hand, she wouldn't have to endure the hardships of remaining awake waiting for the others to wake themselves, but on the other, Sailorsaturn had had an unknown length of time to plan and strategize while she slept. For all she knew, when she found her way back to her time, she would find, not her mother, but Sailorsaturn the unquestioned ruler of all. This thought chilled her, but she forced it away. Even if this were so, she now had a way back to the future when the senshi of this time woke. And she would end the life of Sailorsaturn by her own hand, despite what her Mother wanted.

Usagi stretched and woke, feeling momentarily disoriented as she saw, not the familiar walls of her own room, but walls of brightly-glittering crystal. She sat up at once, panic-stricken, as thoughts of being kidnapped-or worse-flitted through her mind. But even as she did so and looked down at herself, the realization of what had happened hit her, causing her to tear up. She had been weak; the vast majority of the planet had died because she hadn't been strong enough to save them. How could she go on with that weighing on her conscience?

This line of thought persisted only briefly, for even as she thought that, she steeled herself with the thought that she was queen. She had to lead the ones that had survived to a time of peace, with the help of her friends.

Her friends...

With a pang of grief, she remembered in particular the outers that had straggled in at last from the cold outside. She hadn't had a clue of what had been going on in their lives until that brief but powerful moment she had accepted the crown on her head. In that moment, she learned of the Trials, tasks given to the outer senshi to prove to the testers their worth. She was even given knowledge of the purpose of the Trials, however with the condition that she would not pass this on. The future queen (she was never told who the future queen was) looked for help in them, but her subjects had grown suspicious and suspecting of anybody other than themselves due to their battle with Sailorsaturn. As a compromise, she had proposed the Trials to test a small group of the senshi, one at a time, and prove their capacity to help. The people approved, and the queen delegated this task to her daughter. Her daughter orchestrated the Trials, however never kept the queen posted on the successes and failures. Two of the senshi tested failed. The queen never found out.

But now, in Usagi's time, they were short, not only Sailorsaturn who had been snatched by the evil Sailorsaturn of the future, but also Sailoruranus. Michiru would be devastated. Usagi prayed that whoever came to claim Sailoruranus would arrive after the two woke, so they could at least spend some time together.

Slowly, she pulled herself off of the flat crystal slab she rested upon, knowing that as soon as she stepped through the door of her room, she would be in charge of the remaining people-refugees of the world they had left behind. Though daunted by the burden on her shoulders, she nevertheless passed unhesitatingly through the door. She wanted some time to assess the new land around them before pressing matters were thrust upon her.

Michiru woke with a start, feeling as if something were out of place. She stared hard at the glowing ceiling above her, ordering her scattered thoughts before she moved. Everything that had happened caught up with her then, and she immediately turned her head to look for Haruka and reassurance. She found neither; the crystal bed was vacant.

In that instant, through some brief flash of insight brought on by the circumstances, she knew what was out of place. She no longer felt the ever-present comfort of the other's lifeforce in the deep recesses of her mind. Haruka was gone. She went very still inside at this revelation, and it was the span of several heartbeats before the meaning hit home. -thump-
(...her trial...)
-thump-
(...Haruka is gone...)
-thump-
(...I am alone...)
-thump- There were no tears. No hysterics. No emotions. She was dead inside. Resolutely, she rose from the crystal bed, only vaguely aware that sometime during her sleep she had acquired a flowing aquamarine dress. Passing through the door without so much as a cursory glance around the room, she turned down the hallway and, glancing into the rooms she passed, sought out Setsuna.

The Keeper of Time was just waking when Michiru strode in. Rubbing the remnants of sleep from her eyes, Setsuna regarded Michiru with some degree of startlement. "What is it?" she asked.

"Haruka is gone," she said flatly.

"Perhaps she woke before you and is wandering the-"

"No," Michiru interjected sharply. "She is gone. I don't feel her presence." Michiru didn't mention the Trials-not that she had to.

Setsuna searched for words of comfort, but found whatever she came up with severely lacking. She recalled then Usagi's words to her before she slept, about how Sailorsaturn had been abducted by the Sailorsaturn of the future. Hotaru had also failed her Trial, and was taken from them. "Gone...from this Time, maybe," Setsuna mused aloud.

Michiru looked at Setsuna closely. "What?" she asked warily.

"Hotaru is gone as well. Usagi told me after you departed," Setsuna replied.

The two stood there in silence for a long moment, thinking their own private thoughts as they looked at each other. Finally, though, Setsuna said softly, "We are the only two outers remaining. We have to protect the Queen. Neo-Queen Serenity. You know this."

"I do," Michiru said with a short nod. "I won't forget."

Setsuna's heart ached for the aqua-haired woman, but lacked the words to comfort her. Instead, she suggested the next best thing. "We should go find Usagi. No doubt she's already awake." When Michiru nodded her agreement, Setsuna led the way from her room.

Setsuna glanced at Michiru as they walked, but her face never altered. It was still the calm, unruffled, unreadable face Setsuna noticed when she had entered. Setsuna knew she was grieving deeply somewhere inside, but the emotionless eyes told just how deep the feeling-any feeling-was buried.

"She's changed," Rei said abruptly. Minako, who had only just woken up, looked up from rubbing her eyes, startled.

"How do you know?" she asked. "We haven't even seen her yet."

Rei shrugged. "You saw how she acted when we finally arrived at the palace. She looked...lost. Usagi wasn't herself," she said.

"She is the Queen now," Minako said gently. "You knew she had to grow up eventually-we all did. It just...happened all at once." The blonde watched Rei for a moment to see if her words were having an impact. When she realized they weren't sinking in, she fell silent. She knew Rei would eventually accept the fact that Usagi wasn't the klutz they knew anymore, but until then...

Rei glowered at Minako. "How can you be taking this so calmly?"

Minako just laughed and shook her head.

Michiru honestly couldn't remember passing through so many doors and corridors, and was secretly glad Setsuna was guiding her. Without warning, another memory surfaced lazily in her mind. (...do you remember when you first met?...) She tossed her head uneasily. No. And she didn't want to. Why was she all of a sudden remembering these memories? (...you weren't very old...perhaps twelve or thirteen...but Haruka snuck away from her parents during a visit to your parents...she found you practicing...) Suddenly, she did remember. She remembered it like it were yesterday-when it had been a thousand years. She loved practicing in the round auditorium-like room with the rows of sea-green marble benches. She loved the way the empty benches swept upwards around the stage on all sides. She loved the noise the water made as it flowed down the curved walls in the silence, loved the perfume of the flowers that grew. She never practiced with people around her, for she valued the time she spent alone. Her parents just didn't understand that she much preferred being left alone to her own devices than having her life run by others.

She was playing, lost in the music, lost in the world of her mind. She drew out the last note, remotely satisfied at the way she had played, then looked up and locked eyes with a gangly girl standing at the top of the gently sloping floor. Her short blonde hair was shaggy and unkept, and she was dressed in a cobalt blue robe that hung oddly on the youth's bony arms and legs. Still, the girl radiated an air of confidence and grace, Michiru could tell from where she stood staring. The two regarded each other.

She was startled. Unknowingly, her violin slipped from her fingers and fell with a loud clatter that seemed to break the spell. The girl bounded down the stairs leading down with amazing speed and agility, until she came to a standstill before Michiru.

"You should be more careful," the girl chided sternly, stooping down and retrieving the instrument.

Michiru accepted the violin after recovering her lost dignity, and said aloofly, "You shouldn't be here. If my parents found a stranger here with the Princess of Neptune..." She deliberately left the threat unfinished after stressing who it was this impertinant girl had stumbled upon.

The girl sized Michiru up, as the aqua-haired girl stood looking at her disapprovingly. Then, with a sweeping bow and an impish smile, she had said, "Then I am in the right place. The Princess of Uranus greets the Princess of Neptune..." Michiru blinked rapidly as the walls of the crystal palace returned to view, Setsuna walking just ahead. She almost fancied she could hear the dull boom of the present catching up with her, the dull boom of a prison door shutting. She surreptuously scrubbed sudden wetness from her eyes. She must guard the Queen. (...do you remember...) Michiru stopped her mind before it could start again, and forced it down to where her feelings were caught. She didn't understand what was going on in her mind, but it was just making things worse.

Thankfully, they entered the gardens then, and her mind was blissfully diverted. Neo-Queen Serenity stood on the same rise they had found her on initially, however she was turned away from the clear crystal window and was talking earnestly with a strange woman. Dressed in snow-white robes accented with silver trim, she stood shorter than Serenity, yet carried herself with an air of defiance. Her single red ponytail jerked as she shook her head slowly to what Serenity was saying. Michiru looked beyond the strange pair for a moment, and saw clear, blue sky through the window. She never thought she'd be so grateful to see such a mundane sight.

"You...!" Setsuna exclaimed in some startlement, jerking Michiru back to what was going on.

The two broke off their conversation and regarded the newcomers carefully. Serenity seemed to regard Michiru in particular, and it was all she could do not to squirm under the clear blue eyes that seemed to peel her skin away and see what was beneath.

The girl inclined her head in greeting to Setsuna, who stared stonily back. "Hello, Keeper of Time," she said, total unconcern in her voice.

The group was silent as they sized each other up. "This is Hoshi," Serenity said at last, clearly uncomfortable with the silence. "Do you know her already?"

"We've met," Setsuna replied shortly, ignoring their pleasantries. "What are you doing here?"

Hoshi shook her head. "I will answer your question when everyone else is present. I don't want to have to repeat myself several times."

"Setsuna, how do you know her?" Michiru asked then, looking from Setsuna to Hoshi and back again.

Before Setsuna could respond, Serenity firmly interjected, "We will wait in the throne room. The others will be awake shortly." Michiru looked about to argue, but Serenity's calm blue stare caused her to nod reluctantly. Serenity breathed an inward sigh of relief-when Michiru discovered the role Hoshi played in their Trials, she wanted as many people there to restrain the woman as possible.

Surprisingly enough, the four inner senshi were just entering as Serenity breezed through the tall doorway, flanked by Setsuna and Michiru, and trailed by Hoshi. They looked respectfully, if a little uneasily, at Serenity, who calmly and aloofly settled herself on one of the three thrones placed on the low dais. "Are you alright, Usagi?" Rei asked at last, looking at her anxiously.

"Yes, Rei," Serenity said with a smile and a fair degree of reassurance.

"And Mamoru?" Makoto pressed. "Has he returned?"

Serenity looked away, and the four senshi looked at each other sorrowfully. "Not...as yet, Makoto. He will return, however," Serenity quietly replied at last. When the silence reached an uncomfortable level, Serenity roused herself and said, "I think Hoshi has a story to tell, and you would do well to listen." The four inner senshi exchanged uncertain looks, but nevertheless nodded for the redhead to continue.

"Before I tell my story, I think Sailorneptune and Sailorpluto should tell theirs," Hoshi said. "What has befallen them before your world was destroyed plays a part in why I'm here."

Setsuna looked at Michiru, who nodded for Setsuna to do the honors. Briefly, in as few words as possible, she told of their Trials, how two had passed and two had failed. She told of discovering that Hoshi had been the one giving the Trials during hers. Michiru stiffened at this, staring at Hoshi in open anger. When Setsuna had finished, the four inners looked shocked and confused, turning to Hoshi for answers.

"I come from the future," Hoshi said into the silence. "I am Usagi's daughter-the Usagi of my time." She looked pointedly at Serenity's round stomach.

"Chibiusa?" Ami asked. "Your mother is Chibiusa?"

Hoshi nodded. "She has done away with that nickname of hers, but she is-was-Chibiusa. Crystal Tokyo is under seige by an enemy we can't see to fight. They fight from afar, using magic to strike at us from the skies. The people have taken shelter underground, but still the attacks come, slowly destroying everything still standing above ground. We are under attack-by Sailorsaturn." Here Hoshi paused as the senshi gasped in astonishment, then relentlessly continued, raising her voice to be heard above them as they tried to talk at once. "The senshi of my time are dead, save Sailorneptune and Sailoruranus who have been missing for countless days. My mother and I...we assume the worst.

"At the very beginning of the attacks, when we didn't know the identity of the one we fought against, Sailorsaturn revealed herself and raided the palace. That assault was our costliest, and ruined our chances at fighting back. In her time inside the palace, Sailorsaturn managed to kill both my father, Helios, and my grandmother...your Usagi. The senshi guarding my grandmother were all badly wounded, allowing Sailorsaturn to gain possession of the ginzuishou. Our people lost hope after this raid. My mother ascended the throne in my grandmother's place and proposed that we bring in help from other times. Sailorpluto counseled against this, but she was killed shortly after, and her loss spurred the people to agree, on the condition that we test the ones who whould help. The loss of Sailorsaturn to the darkness made them suspicious of even their own senshi." Here Hoshi paused to collect herself. She had almost lost herself to the grief she had felt when her father had been killed. She had been there when he had died. She remembered the look of determination Helios had worn until the death, remembered Sailorsaturn laughing cruelly as she sliced him in half. Unconsciously, she clenched her fists at her side.

The others were listening to her tale in horrific fascination, and waited for her to continue. "So, I sent the call through time. Only one responded, that of Sailorneptune," Hoshi continued, glancing at Michiru who unconsciously rubbed at her scarred forehead. Her Trial had almost cost her her life. "She passed, and it opened the way to the minds of the other outers. Sailorpluto passed as well, but Sailoruranus and the Sailorsaturn of your time failed. I...couldn't tell Mother because she had been resting all her hopes on the help of you four. But then Mother discovered that your Sailorsaturn was caving and beginning to turn evil, so she sent me back to salvage things. I was almost too late, but I was in time to save your lives.

"The Sailorsaturn of my time felt me go back in time and followed. She snatched your Sailorsaturn before I could react. I swore to myself that I would stop her the next time, but..." Here, she paused again and looked Michiru up and down. "...but she trapped me here, in this time, and made off with Sailoruranus as well."

Michiru stiffened. (...Haruka is gone...)
(...I am alone...)
(...NO!...) She wasn't aware she had cried this last thought aloud until she found herself grappling with the inner senshi in an attempt to lunge at Hoshi. "I don't believe you!" she hissed, making one last futile attempt against the powerful Makoto. "How can you prove this? For all we know, it could be you that has Haruka!"

Hoshi's eyes blazed at this accusation Michiru had flung at her.

"You gave us those Trials. You planted doubt of ourselves in our minds! And now you expect me-us!-to follow you blindly, when it might be that you are the one holding Haruka!" Michiru continued relentlessly. Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to cry. She glared at Hoshi. "Well?" she demanded.

"I never trusted you, Sailorneptune," Hoshi said, her voice low in anger. "Ever since you and your precious Sailoruranus left the Palace to go on your own against Sailorsaturn and turned your backs on your duty, I distrusted you. Your loyalties are questionable. You should have protected the Queen at all costs, but instead, you left the Palace right when the attacks started, left both the Palace and the Queen defenseless. Your presence during the raid might have made all the difference!" Hoshi voice rose steadily as she spoke, until she was all but yelling at the aqua-haired woman, who glared defiantly back. Realizing she had an audience, Hoshi visibly collected herself. "I have nothing to do with Sailoruranus' disappearance," she said when she had achieved some semblance of calmness. "But I can help you get her back. The only way you can is to travel to the future and help us. We desperately need your help-all of you, now that your outers are divided. Please...will you help?" This last statement was directed at Serenity, who had watched and listened carefully.

"Why the outers only?" Minako spoke up. "Why not us too?"

Hoshi looked visibly uncomfortable. "The inners were the first senshi to fall. Don't take this the wrong way, but we determined early on that the outers ability to work singly was more powerful than the inners dependance on attacking as a group."

"Oh," Minako said faintly, no doubt imagining how she might have died. The other inners wore similar sick looks, and looked at anything but each other.

"I...want to help, but what about this time? What about the fact that Mamoru is still missing? What about my people? I should be here to guide them..." Serenity said, looking more lost than she had at any other time since they had awakened. "I can only imagine how your mother is suffering, knowing that the friends she loved were all dead, knowing that her husband and mother were also dead, and then sending her only living flesh and blood away...I want to help...desperately." Serenity sighed then. "But what about here and now? I just don't know what to do..."

Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako saw then that the Usagi they knew was still alive and well underneath the thin shell that was their Queen. Right now, Usagi was lost in a world she hadn't the faintest idea of how to deal with-and was expected to rule it. They gathered around Serenity and hugged her for still being Usagi, hugged each other for still being alive. Serenity smiled the old Usagi smile they knew and loved, the smile that reassured everyone that everything was going to be fine, then pulled away from the hug gently. "Setsuna? What should we do?" she asked, turning her eyes on Setsuna. "The Timestream is under your rule. If I said we were going to help them, would you agree to bring us to the future?"

Setsuna's reply was a long time in coming, mostly due to the fact that she had been asking herself this very same question since Hoshi's plea.

"I don't like it," Michiru spoke up then, giving Setsuna time to debate with herself.

"Do you want to get Sailoruranus back?" Hoshi asked mildly. Michiru frowned, but lapsed into silence.

Serenity saw the growing animosity between Hoshi and Michiru, saw the obvious struggle Setsuna was having with herself, and did the wisest thing she could think of. Before Michiru could start in again on Hoshi, she rose from her throne and grabbed everyone's attention. "Perhaps we should make this decision at another time," she said firmly.

"But Queen Serenity, if we don't act now-" Hoshi began, but Serenity interjected.

"The problem can wait," she said. "If I decide in favor, it is just a matter of going to the correct time, right?"

"It isn't that simple. It's more of a rough guess, and even then you may be years off," Hoshi protested.

Serenity looked to Setsuna for confirmation, and the Keeper of Time nodded slightly in agreement.

"But we must act now!" Hoshi went on, her voice rising and filled with emotion. "You couldn't begin to imagine-"

"Our Queen has made her decision," Michiru broke in cooly, smiling an equally cool smile. To be able to say this to Hoshi gave her a sense of pleasure. "You will respect it as you would a decision from your own Queen."

It was Hoshi's turn to scowl, but, aware she had overstepped certain boundaries, wisely fell silent.

"I must see to my people," Serenity said then, with a finality that wasn't to be argued. Nobody knew what to say to the other as Serenity left the room. Setsuna, acting on a subtle gesture by the Queen followed her out. Hoshi made a noise in her throat that sounded half like a snort of derision and half like the cry of a wounded animal, and left all at once through a smaller door.

Michiru looked briefly at the four inners still clustered together and felt something needed to be said. "I trust you will protect the Queen," she said shortly, not a question or a request but a statement of fact. She didn't say who from, but she had half a mind to name Hoshi. Let them name their own names.

"Of course," Rei said irritably. "How could we do otherwise?"

Michiru hesitated before speaking, unwilling to bring to light the truth of the situation. "Things will be different now. Our roles will change," she said, choosing her words carefully. "Usagi won't look at us the same."

"What do you mean?" Minako questioned.

"Just this: why did she ask for Setsuna's company just now and not yours?" Michiru asked bluntly. "She will come to rely on us more for helping with the kingdom. You will become her guardians-much like we were, once." Michiru almost choked on the last phrase as thoughts of fighting beside Haruka assaulted her. But there it was, the bitter truth.

She watched as fearful comprehension dawned on their faces as they pondered this new line of thought. "Don't be afraid," Michiru said at last. "It's all part of our Destiny; accept it, as Setsuna and I already have." With this, she started to leave.

Ami caught her arm as Michiru passed. Compassion shone in the eyes of the blue-haired woman as she said, "Michiru, about Haruka..."

"Don't talk to me about Haruka," Michiru said lowly, jerking her arm away. "You couldn't understand...don't even try." She wheeled abruptly and stalked out of the room.

"Was what she said true?" Makoto asked into the silence Michiru left in her wake.

"Usagi wouldn't forget us," Minako said with confidence. "We all know that."

"Michiru didn't say anything about her forgetting us," Ami said slowly. "Just that we become her protectors like they were when we fought the Death Busters and Chaos."

They were silent. Would their Destiny lead them to become as calloused and distant as the outers had been during those troubled times? The thought was chilling.

"What do we believe?" Rei asked then. "About Hoshi, that is. Michiru had a point when she said that none of us know what role she played in Haruka's abduction."

"We believe what Serenity believes, Rei," Minako said. "As long as Hoshi doesn't threaten Serenity, we have no reason to distrust her as Michiru does."

"But she was ther for Haruka's abduction. She doesn't deny it," Makoto said slowly. "Michiru has reason to distrust her."

They met eyes then, united by one question. Do we?

Serenity walked in silence for a time, Setsuna on her right. She thought about nothing in particular as they walked, because she needed this time to order her scattered thoughts. She knew what she was about to ask was unfair for the Keeper of Time, but it had to be asked. "What do I do?"

"I can't tell you what to do," Setsuna responded. "You must decide."

"This lies in your field, Setsuna. I know nothing of the workings of Time. All I know comes from you, and I remember you saying on many occasions that you can't play around," Serenity said, looking sideways at Setsuna. "Without punishment."

Setsuna sighed quietly to herself. "By being put into this situation, I have to make a decision," she responded. "Either I advise against traversing time and uphold everything I had been taught while giving up on Haruka and Hotaru, or I agree and risk being punished."

"Would you really be punished, given the circumstances?" Serenity asked gently.

Setsuna was silent for a moment as the pair entered the gardens. "I don't think so," she said at last. "The Sailorsaturn of the future is threatening the Timestream, if Hoshi is to be believed. I believe this is grounds to investigate."

"And we can rescue Haruka and Hotaru while-"

"No," Setsuna interrupted Serenity sharply. When Serenity looked at her in some confusion, Setsuna continued, "If we go, our objective would be to end the threat. Haruka and Hotaru are of no consequence. If we came across them we may rescue them, but we can't seek them out. If they live." It made Setsuna sick to say this, but it was the truth. The only way they could go to the future was if they kept their priorities straight. If they went solely as a rescue attempt, their reason for traversing time wouldn't be justified.

Serenity looked pained at this frank explanation. "We can't just give up on them," she said anxiously. "It can't be wrong to want to save them!"

"The rules of Time are strict, Serenity. I cannot just turn my back on what I was taught to save friends. Being the Keeper of Time is an enormous responsibility, and the punishment for irresponsibility is swift and harsh," Setsuna said grimly. She paused, then added, "And it may very well be that there's nothing to save. You heard Hoshi say that the Sailorsaturn of her time killed all her senshi without a thought."

Serenity shuddered; she couldn't help it. They stood before one of the windows overlooking the city, the buildings glittering harshly in the sunlight. Nothing stirred. "Where is everyone?" Serenity asked all at once. "Shouldn't they be awake?"

"You saved them by making them sleep. You must wake them," Setsuna said.

Serenity was silent for long moments, and Setsuna knew intuitively that she was in the process of making an important decision. Serenity's face was still and calm, and her blue eyes seemed fixed on a point somewhere in the city as she stood unmoving. Her hands were laid gently on her growing stomach, her arms curled protectively around it. Finally, just as Setsuna was about to question the Queen, Serenity turned abruptly away. "I cannot wake them yet. Not until I resolve the problems at hand. It would be unfair to them if they did not have my undivided attention," she said. The way she looked, however, told Setsuna that there was more that the Queen wasn't telling her. "You may go," she continued, her voice sounding suddenly weary. "I have...much to think about."

"Yes," Setsuna said at once, without offense. She turned and made her way out of the gardens, leaving Serenity to stare wistfully out at the city.

Their first day awake in a new world was spent avoiding each other. Nobody was sure of what to say to the other, and so they kept to themselves.

The inners stuck together. The four of them roamed the palace to familiarize themselves with the layout. From the gardens at the very top to the catecombs that riddle the ground beneath, they traversed together, speculating on the purpose of some of the other rooms but otherwise subdued in their actions. They avoided talking about Hoshi.

Setsuna visited the Gates, now that the pathways were open again. She didn't stay long, however, for the Gate was still and dark. This made her uneasy, but after she tried several times without success to make the Gate respond, she left.

Hoshi wanted no contact with anyone, least of all Michiru. She was no different than her future self-untrustworthy. Hoshi stalked through the hallways thinking dark thoughts, as she unconsciously glowered at the walls. Her only hope to get help to the future (and to get herself rescued) rested on Serenity, but she knew Michiru's argument had set more than one to thinking. If Serenity denied her request, what then? She would be stranded here. And all because lovesick Michiru wanted someone to blame. Hoshi felt like screaming her frustrations. Damn that woman.

Michiru was in her room. She lay on the crystal slab of a bed for long moments without moving, without thinking. Eventually, though, the mask she wore before the others wore off and her mind started churning again. Hoshi was responsible; she had to be. Her story of Sailorsaturn turning evil and killing the other senshi so effortlessly was nonsense. Sailorneptune and Sailoruranus fled for their lives? More nonsense. They weren't cowards. Serenity seemed to want to believe her, however, and her first duty was to her Queen. Somehow, she would have to stand with Hoshi if Serenity decided in her favor. She would always have her eye on the woman, however, and always be close enough to strike at the first sign of more betrayal and deception.

Serenity was awake much longer than the rest. She watched as the sun slowly set, watched as the final rays stained the crystal buildings a fiery orange before the sky deepened into a dark purple. She watched as the stars came out, one by one, and were reflected against the perfect crystal city. As full night descended, it seemed to Serenity that, with the stars above her and the reflections below her, she was among them. She stood there wondering, not about who to favor in the decision she was being forced to make, but about whether her mother, the Queen of the Moon, had looked out from her own palace and found herself among the stars.

In the morning they all gathered in the throne room again. Nobody had summoned them; they just knew to be there. Silently, one by one or in pairs, they filed in, exchanged a few words of mundane conversation with Serenity, and stood uncomfortably before her. The inners were clustered together on Serenity's left, Hoshi on Serenity's right, and Michiru between them with her arms crossed and defensive stance. Setsuna was close to Serenity, the only one out of the group of eight who looked thoroughly calm and impassive.

Serenity rose when everyone was present. "I have made my decision," she stated. The women before her stirred in anticipation. "I have decided that we will do all we can to help Hoshi."

"Thank you, Serenity," Hoshi breathed in relief.

Rei, Ami, Minako, and Makoto all exchanged looks, but otherwise nodded in acceptance.

Michiru stiffened, and her distrustful eyes flicked over to Hoshi, but all she said was, "As you wish."

"I have not wakened the people for this reason," Serenity went on. "It wouldn't be right to wake them and leave them just when they need me most."

Setsuna, who had been waiting for the right moment to speak, stepped forward. "You are correct, Serenity. But you cannot leave the people frozen asleep either. What would happen to them if something happened to you?" Setsuna asked. When Serenity didn't respond right away, she went on. "You carry the future Queen after you in your stomach. Should anything happen to you, the future would be over. This is why you must stay behind, my Queen."

"Stay behind?" Serenity repeated uncomprehendingly. "But I can't do that! If anything happened to you...if Saturn is as powerful as Hoshi says...if you..." Serenity trailed off, looking and sounding more like Usagi than the Queen she was.

"It's the only way, Serenity," Setsuna said. "We must preserve the future. You must wake the people and rule while we are gone."

Indecision shone in her blue eyes as she debated her choices. "Who would protect her?" Makoto demanded then. "Something may happen to her while we are away, and what then?"

"What could happen on a dead planet?" Michiru spoke up wryly. "Setsuna is right. Serenity would be safer here." In her mind, Michiru added, safer here than with Hoshi.

"Endymion would be awakened as well," Setsuna reminded gently. "He would protect the Queen."

Serenity's eyes lit up then. Mamoru, Endymion, he was one and the same to the Queen. Still, she looked torn. "I can't just walk out on my duty..."

"Your duty is to your people now, Usagi," Rei said then, unconsciously using the Queen's name. "You aren't Sailormoon any longer. You have to rely on us to fight. Don't worry; we'll come back to you."

It was half a minute before Serenity responded slowly, "I will stay. But please, be safe." This last was said with such pleading and love that none of them could think of doing otherwise.

"Will we be leaving now?" Hoshi asked, not keeping the eagerness entirely out of her voice.

Setsuna turned expressionless eyes on Hoshi. "Yes," she said after a deliberate pause. Hoshi attempted to meet her stare for expressionless stare, but it was she who averted her eyes first.

As the inner senshi clustered around Serenity, Setsuna drew Michiru aside. "We cannot go looking for Haruka or Hotaru," she said lowly. "You know that."

"I do," Michiru replied with a short nod. "We go to stop Sailorsaturn. Not to rescue. But that doesn't mean we can't save them if we find them."

"If."

"Right."

"You will be alright?" Serenity asked anxiously of the senshi clustered around her.

"Relax, Usagi. I'll take care of them," Minako said with a wink and a victory sign.

"We'll be alright, Usagi," Ami said with reassurance. The blue-haired woman radiated confidence, and it was hard not to believe her.

"Try not to worry," Makoto said with a motherly smile. "You'll get wrinkles." This last made Serenity smile, if only a little.

"Over here, everyone," Setsuna said loudly. The four inners started to follow.

"Rei," Serenity said, calling the raven-haired woman. "Be careful."

"I couldn't do otherwise. I have to come back to fix everything you screw up on," she said with mock sternness. "Watch yourself, Usagi."

Serenity nodded in acknowledgement. "Will you do your best to make sure nobody's distrust turns into violence?" she asked.

Rei nodded, a shadow passing over her face. "I will." No names were needed.

"Alright."

The two broke apart. Rei went to stand among the group of senshi. Serenity remained where she was. It was as if the two groups stood on opposite sides of a wide gulf. "Act as if I were there with you," Serenity said, addressing them all, silently pleading, please don't kill her....

They knew what it was she didn't say. After a moment's silence, Setsuna said, "Transform, everyone."

They stood in silence for a moment, struck with a sense of déjà vu as they recalled the events that had taken place last time they transformed. The last time they fought, there was a world left to fight for. Finally though, Setsuna broke the silence. "Pluto Planet Power...Make-Up!"

This roused the rest.

"Mercury Crystal Power..."

"Mars Crystal Power..."

"Jupiter Crystal Power..."

"Venus Crystal Power..."

"MAKE-UP!" As always, the four inners transformed together.

"Neptune Planet Power...Make-Up!" Michiru attempted to force herself not to listen for the transformation of Sailoruranus that wasn't coming. Still, the silence after she transformed was deep and unnatural.

Sailorpluto, Time Staff in hand, stood in the middle of the rough circle and concentrated. The Garnet Orb glowed a deep reddish purple as the seconds ticked by, and the form of Sailorpluto grew blurry. The senshi felt a great pulling sensation as the throne room seemed to elongate, then flatten, then vanish altogether. After what seemed like an eternity or simply seconds, they were standing before a doorway. They walked on a smooth, black surface, and all around them, red swirled against a deep, fathomless black.

"Hoshi, come here," Sailorpluto said. It wasn't a request.

They all jumped at the sound of a voice here, but Hoshi came forward as she was told. "Yes?"

"I need you to show me your time, as close to it as you can manage." Sailorpluto spoke in crisp, businesslike tones.

Hoshi nodded and moved over to the open doorway. Hesitantly she reached out her hands and gingerly touched the surface. The Gate flashed wildly, but calmed after Sailorpluto merely touched it. Images flashed by almost too quickly to input, but eventually the images slowed, then stopped altogether. "Here," she said, speaking in something close to a whisper. Sailorpluto paled as she beheld the image captured within the Gate, but nodded. The others tried looking through as the other two had, but they saw nothing.

"Step through," Sailorpluto commanded, stepping aside to let the others pass. Hoshi did as she was told immediately. The others watched as the Gate swallowed her up, then looked to each other to see who would be next. Sailormars followed closely behind Hoshi, and the other three inners followed more hesitantly than the bold priestess.

Sailorneptune stepped in. Stepping through the Gate was like stepping forward into water, an icy cold water that seemed to permeate into her very being. Then, all at once, it was like fire burning through her so that she gasped aloud in pain. A crushing sensation. A weightlessness sensation. A sensation of no sound. No touch. No taste. No smell. Then, with the abruptness of slamming into a wall, she stepped out and onto solid ground.

Serenity watched the senshi go with a heavy heart. She still couldn't dispel the feeling that she was letting her dear friends march into their own deaths. But even as she thought this, she knew Setsuna was right. She rose from her throne, unconsciously cradling her stomach, and moved out of the throne room. Her first task? To wake the people.

A sharp sense of knowing jarred her body. She looked up and sent her mind out over the land she had conquered. There were minds here that shouldn't be here. Minds that she thought she had killed long ago. And a mind that she had banished many, many years ago.

Sailorsaturn bared her teeth in furious anger. So...Hoshi has returned... she thought. I should have killed her when I had the chance. But then, unexpectedly, she began to laugh. She laughed for many minutes, until her side ached and her breath came fast. Hoshi has brought me more senshi. I will kill them as well. Now she, and all the rest, will see that it is useless to fight me.

In the darkness behind her, a small girl with ragged, short, black hair whimpered. Whimpered, and half-laughed.