GOM: Chain of Hearts: CHAPTER FOUR by Alina GOM: Chain of Hearts Chapter Four: Girl's Night Out Theme Song: "Route Venus" Song by Naoko Takeuchi, translated by Alex Glover The Morning is beginning People are starting to move It may be a little scary but start walking forth Do not forget about me The one I love the most Even though it hurts >From here I look out And see the desert daybreak **************** Silver Millennium: Past ***************** Queen Selenity watched as Pluto disappeared into the timestream, carefully tending the moonbeams and time capsules. Neither noticed the tiny bubble that slipped in uninvited, as Selenity held the door open herself. She paused, staring at the ruins of her kingdom and her life, alone with the quiet aftermath of the battle. A voice, disembodied and echoing across the barren lunar landscape broke into her silent torture of self-recrimination. She turned around, but saw nothing at first but a hazy from. At last the white mist coalesced into a recognizable face. "Rory!?" She asked surprised. "Only part of me...." He grinned as only a ghost can, in a ironic happy-to-be-around even if not alive way. "I suppose that's what happens when you trap a shadow inside the power crystal you're using to replace you're heart crystal." "But, you're crystal was already strained!" "I know. So I used my star-seed linked to... This sounds strange, but I borrowed my cat's heart crystal actually. Between those two, I could cover two of the seven points myself. The result was perhaps not as strong to create a permanent seal of the shadows as if I'd used my own, but enough to shut them down. So instead of being reborn, I'm still here." He shrugged. "I can't explain it. We thought..." "That I would be the only one left behind here, frozen. I sent you forward!" "Yes. Do you mind the company?" He said "Not that I'm much company like this because you did send my star-seed and power-crystals forward." "You are reborn, and yet your ghost lingers?" She asked. "Quite a paradox you've generated Gregory." "Selenity, there is no paradox. When an immortal chooses to become mortal, we separate out the pieces of ourselves. If you like, imagine I'm preserved like a computer program here with you, trapped in the silver crystal. We are on the moon only because we imagine ourselves there. Neither one of us exists in ordinary phases of space anymore. I knew what you were going to do Selene. How could I let you do it alone?" "Gregory...I was prepared to spend eternity like this, for their happiness. Why did you do this to yourself?" "I didn't exactly. In order to stop the shadows, we needed enough energy and force to link with the rainbow crystals I created. We needed my powers. And I couldn't take the risk that I wouldn't remember my research when I was reborn with a new heart crystal." "So you became a ghost!?" "If you want to call it that. Perhaps I will disappear when my future self remembers everything I know, and when there is no need for me. I suspect that will happen when the Princess builds her new kingdom." He paused. "Which will not occur for awhile." Without a break he continued. " Selene, let me wait with you until then. Let me help you guide them to a better life. You cannot do it alone. You've sent them into the future with power, but no knowledge of how to really use this power, to enhance it and increase it. If I had died completely, the knowledge of our technology might have vanished with me, Selene." "They are better without the temptation. The more we use this power the more it attracts the dark forces. I lost my innocence and my kingdom from my arrogance in my use of that knowledge! Just look what I've done to Saturn! Or to Pluto....I don't want my little Serenity to know how to do those things! She will be stronger, happier that way. I want her to have a normal life, to have what I never had." "Lack of knowledge is not strength Selene. She needs to look into the darkest forces and still find the light, not ignore them and their existence. Because of who she is, she cannot have a normal life, not forever. None of them can." "Perhaps. And you think by staying with me that you can help teach them? Give them the knowledge to handle what they are?" "Selene, everything becomes easier when you have help. So yes, I think I know better than you how to help them fight the evil that will inevitably follow them to the next world. Our seal was not that strong or indestructible. If Metallia returns, it could subvert the rainbow crystals to create hybrid human/shadow monsters. Even if it does not get free, other evils could come. And the children of the moon, and those they love, must be ready. Let me give them the tools to aid their fight." * * * Artemis awoke from the time capsule, stiff and as easily startled as a chick newly hatched. Without a clear sense of his own identity, he wandered for awhile down streets and sidewalks. Until one night, staring at the moon he heard a voice. Instinct as his only guide, Artemis felt his muscles coil and tense and then explode into the motion of a backwards flip. The movement took him through time and space into a small sub-pocket of space. Inside, he hovered for barely a second. Enough time to trap a small pen between his paws and bring the item with him as he fell. "The peace of the Moon be with you." the pen said. If he hadn't already dropped the item, he would have then. Instead his mouth fell open and his eyes blinked wide. "The time has come Artemis, for the Dark Forces are reviving. You must find the leader of the inner guard, and train her. She must be ready to protect the Princess when the time comes. In the meantime, she will distract the feelers the Dark Forces send and keep them away from the Princess until we can find her and awaken her." "Who are you? What are you? What kind of pen talks!? How do you know my name!?"He mumbled. "This from a talking cat? Artemis you may not recall for you've been asleep so long your memory has degraded. We feared this might happen. Remember." The voice commanded as a beam of yellowish light pulsed through the pen. And he did, though without perfect clarity. Images streamed through his mind, returning his purpose and powers. Everything centered around the face of a young girl, blonde hair long and free. She winked covering one silvery-Blue eye. "She's the chosen one. Find her." The voice ordered from the fancy pen. The next morning, Artemis slinked about the school yards, scanning for the blonde in his dreams. She wasn't hard to spot, a splash of gold among predominantly black tresses. Even without her different looks, her boisterousness would demand attention. Concentrating on the gymnastics, she leapt gracefully into the air, and not-so-gracefully crashed into Artemis. "Hey, who put that cat right where I was going to land!?" She complained, as she rubbed her bruised posterior. As the teacher began to yell, Artemis slipped away. From the high branch of a tree, under a desk, behind a door or through a window he watched her. Watched as she failed a test, rudely yelled at a smart cheeky boy, or boldly chased after another. "It can't be her." He said for the first time, a sentiment he would repeat frequently as he got to know her. Inside the school window, Mina sat stuffing a burger and fries into her face as fast as they could go. He couldn't hear what the teacher said when she arrived, but the look on the girl's face indicated it wasn't nice. "Just look at her." "It is." The pen said firmly. "If you say so Boss." Artemis whispered, cringing as Mina beat up a boy for something. "But she's got a lot of problems." "You'll have to deal with them." The voice replied. * * * Artemis flinched, covering his eyes with a paw, as Mina screamed and slammed the door, her towel slipping a little. Through the door he could hear her yell something about a "Peeping Tom Cat!" Maybe approaching her in the bath wasn't such a good idea. "This isn't going well, Boss." He sighed and leapt outside to the tree and prepared to go into her bedroom window. "I have something that may help." The Boss commented. Artemis obligingly flipped into the dimensional space finding a compact that surely hadn't been there the first time he'd travelled through there. "What's this!?" He asked, grabbing it in his mouth. "Just give her the compact." the voice explained unhelpfully. Artemis sighed, and tried approaching Mina again and explaining. She didn't seem prepared to accept he really could talk. She fired a barrage of questions at him. "Jeez, Artemis, the compact!" The pen ordered quietly. "Fine Boss," He muttered, picking it up and tossing it to Mina who caught it handily. She stared transfixed at her image in the mirror of the crescent compact. She saw herself and yet not herself. Silvery Blue eyes peeked out from behind a red mask, which did not cover the symbol of the crescent moon on her forehead. The same symbol she'd seen on the cat's forehead? "Activate her memories, Artemis" The Boss ordered, as a three-dimensional hologram surrounded them of the Earth and Venus as viewed from the Moon. She saw her castle, and the voice lectured her. After a few minutes Mina collapsed, and Artemis gently nudged her onto her bed. "Boss, I think she didn't understand all that. I know I didn't. What's this about her star-seed, and the rotational energy of Venus's orbit?" "The source of her powers as Sailor Venus come from her sailor-crystal, formed from--" Artemis started to glaze over. After a second he interrupted. " I thought she uses that compact for powers?!" "Yes. But even it needs to draw energy from somewhere to transform her and create those weapons. It uses moonlight to recharge, but her Venus powers come directly from the kinetic energy of her planet's rotation around the Sun." "UH?" Artemis said, looking very confused. "Forget the rest, then. For now, that's all you need to know. We don't need to complicate this for you, Artemis. She can learn about her true form later, when she's ready to deal with the true enemy." "So this is a disguise for her!?" " We don't want the enemy to recognize her. Surprise will be our advantage." "That's fair, since you don't tell us too much about them." Artemis mumbled. "You know what to look for. That's enough." The voice said. "When she uses that compact, she'll know who she is." "Boss, what is this stuff? Where do you get it from?" He heard the smile he couldn't see. "If you thought my previous speech too complicated Artemis, then you had better not ask. If you need help with her, just ask, I can engineer anything you'll need to train her." Artemis nodded. "With that one, I'll need all the stuff you can give me!" Later the voice would provide him with all the information necessary to alter a video game machine room into a control room. New objects would appear, as new enemies attacked. While Selenity watched over her daughter and Luna, The Master Engineer watched over Sailor V's progress with Artemis as she fought the footholds of the Dark Agency all over the world. Watching over their charges, they waited until the Princess was ready to evolve to her next form, when she created her own kingdom of Crystal Tokyo. *********** PRESENT ************ The girl's night out was not going too smoothly, Amy noted wishing she had just stayed home. The argument that swept from side to side made her want to grab a book. If only Serena could just make up her mind. For some reason, it never occurred to Amy not to follow Serena's lead. Serena planned the social events. "I don't know Molly, this club seems so weird..and it's weird that you broke up with Melvin!" Serena said. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?! You don't' seem normal anymore...you've changed!" Molly mentally wondered how *Serena* of all people could accuse *her* of changing? Serena was the one always with her new friends or her boyfriend!? It was a wonder they were still friends, as their lives had been pushed in such different directions. Still, Molly couldn't just abandon a friend, and she wanted Serena to share the benefits of Sisterhood. "You don't understand Serena." She said, the words triggering a memory of another time she'd tried to make Serena understand something she felt. Ironically, that happened over a man. The memory shimmered in the back of her mind, transparent and yet noticeable by its very vagueness. She recalled how Serena had tried to tell her he was evil, and how they'd fought, how he'd died, how sad she'd been. All that over a man! If only she'd been a Sister then, she would have known better. She may have fought with Serena over other things, but this came to mind, perhaps because she thought she'd seen that man recently. More than anything, that had induced her to get more involved in the club. A way to reclaim her sanity, and escape Melvin's increasing demands. Amy, Lita, and Raye merely watched as Molly pulled Serena's arm harder. They weren't sure how to interceded in this debate, but merely waited for Serena to make the decision. "They have food catered by that hotel!!" Molly added in that strangely accented voice of hers. This was her trump card to convince her friend. Since she'd been so instrumental in organizing for the event, she'd gotten a few extra tickets. Nervously, she waited to see if she'd won. "Food!?" Serena's eyes finally had a glint of interest, but it quieted quickly. She could eat anywhere...but then again "Which hotel!?" "It's the Tokyo Tower View Hotel...it's real fancy, Serena." Molly pleaded. "It'd mean so much to me, if we could go!" Raye and Lita gave each other looks. They sincerely hoped that Molly wouldn't win the argument about what they were supposed to be doing on this "girls night out". "I could be home with Field!" Lita complained under her breath. Raye didn't say anything about Jed, but expressed irritation as well. "I don't have time for *this*. I have a lot of stuff to do at the temple, if we're just going to some club I don't want to join." Amy nodded. "I would like to get started studying for finals." When everyone gave her a weird look, she blushed. Lita laughed and teased that she probably thought Greg might call. Unconsciously, the three friends moved to one side of Serena while Molly stood on the other. Serena looked at her oldest friend in this lifetime and her oldest friends from another, feeling pulled by two different directions. Guilt that she hardly ever spent time with Molly warred with the temptation of calling it a night and seeing Darien. Food pushed her one way, the creepiness of this "club" the other. "I don't know Molly..I don't---TOKYO TOWER VIEW!!!" Suddenly the bells went off in Serena's head, and she smiled, but in a very sneaky way. "Hey everyone, guess who's meeting who there!" Amy paled and said "No Serena, you wouldn't." Raye looked annoyed. "Stop being mysterious Serena, get to the point. I don't have all night." Lita nodded. "Calm down Raye, you do have all night. Darien, Jed and Field are having a guy's night out... But what do you mean Serena? Who?" "Our new lovebirds: EZ & Mina...Oooh, this should be good. Let's go!" Serena said, deciding finally. Molly beamed, Amy looked as if she would sink into the floor, Lita and Raye both looked confused. "You guys are gonna love this club!" Molly said happily. * * * * * Like a ray of sunshine through the cracks of the curtains, Mina slipped into the Sisters of the Millennium Meeting without much notice. She was still in the dress she'd had on earlier, but kept Katarina's coat on. Pinned to the coat was an imitation "dragon" pin, which concealed a tiny microphone. They'd kept their plan simple. Mina would simply observe what was going on in this experiment, and then try to find out if she could catch the group redhanded in something illegal or planning a new crime. Police work tends to be slow, building on little pieces to create a full picture of someone's activities. As such, Mina didn't really expect there to be any trouble that evening. So it didn't occur to her to check for her missing transformation pen. Between occasionally thinking about EZ, and the excitement of planning her infiltration of the SOM meeting, the thought never entered her mind. "Sure are a lot of women here." Mina thought to herself with some surprise. The afternoon meeting hadn't been empty, but this was overcrowded. The large ballroom simply teemed with women all sporting the dragon symbol. The symbol even decorated the chairs in which everyone sat. A stage at the other end held a podium, and a large cloth covered object. The curtain was drawn over a doorway. To her surprise she thought she saw Serena, but the swarming crowd prevented her from being sure. She didn't get a chance to look again, because the meeting began. Dressed in a slinky black evening gown, that revealed a model's fashionably thin, almost androgenous frame, Lia La Met appeared, her hair a red blonde halo of light that spilled over one shoulder in a loose pony tail. "Welcome My Sisters" She said, as the crowd snapped their approval. "There's that snapping thing again." Mina thought as she stared up at Lia La Met. "Why does she look so familiar?? I should know that face, but I don't." "You've all come tonight to witness the crowning achievement of our society! The unveiling of our salvation." She continued above the roar of the crowd. "I've worked for years to create our society, but even harder I have struggled to work for a world in which women remain supreme! Not just *in* our society, but everywhere. But I realized that superiority would not be enough! No! We must rid ourselves of men forever--" She snapped her hand, and an assistant moved the shade for a slide show. "Our recently acquired cloning technology will allow us to escape the pitiful limits of biology--the human race no longer need have men!" A murmur of worry began to crawl through the crowd. Mina heard Molly ask "But what are you gonna do with the ones we have!?" as she stood. Other more militant ones shouted "Eradicate them!" "NO! Would you sink to their level!? Unlike the male, the creative female chooses to build, to mature, to grow rather than trash, use or destroy. We will not harm them--we will improve them--BEHOLD" The cloth came of the device which looked rather like a large tube. Inside were four men, bound, gagged, and just wearily starting to wake. "This device will alter their genetic structures...The technology is so complex it is like magic--and they will become women!" She began to laugh a sick cackling sound that resonated through the microphone. Mina was too far from the stage to make out the faces, but the white-green-hair of one caught her eye. EZ. Who else but him had hair like that!? Suddenly she felt something scratch her ankle, and she looked down to see a very battered Artemis. Immediately, she crouched, unnoticed by the women around her who stared transfixed at the stage. Quietly, she whispered "Artemis? What are you doing here!? What happened!? Let's go somewhere we can talk!" Somehow she wormed through the crowd to the hallway outside, and into a private corner hidden from view. "No time--Trouble--they kidnapped EZ, Chad, Joe and Ken and Melvin... Gotta help 'em, gonna turn 'em into women!" He gasped. "Mina transform! I'll call Luna and the others...there's some serious black magic here." "I can't--my pen!" She said as she suddenly realized she'd lost it along with her purse. "I don't have it!" She cringed awaiting the inevitable flood of words on her incompetence, irresponsibility and irritating habits. Instead, he winked. "Don't worry--I still have your compact" With a back flip no ordinary cat could do, he produced the small device. "Get going, Mina!" He sunk, exhausted by the dimensional flip, onto the ground. "Right!" She said, eyes shining with excitement, holding the compact up. "Moon Power Transform" She said, the old ribbons wrapping along with a waive of nostalgia. Being Sailor V felt different than Venus, though she couldn't have explained in words how. The feeling also felt good--she'd tried this a few weeks ago in England, but somehow hadn't gotten the desire to do so again out of her system. "All right, let's shut down this male-bashing scheme! It's hard enough to get a boyfriend as it is, without these Sisters making all the men into women! And especially not my man!" Artemis managed a smile, and barely hit the activation button on his scout alert. He collapsed before he could say anything. A small pen fell to the ground beside him. "Artemis!? Why has Venus reverted to V? What's going on?" * * * Lia La Met finished her speech, and tossed her long ponytail of hair. "Sadly, this process I've discovered takes a lot of energy. We don't have enough without your help." She stretched her arms to the women. Serena and Raye, oblivious to the event around them, continued their argument. "I didn't want to come, this is so boring." "You're being rude if you leave too early." Serena said between mouthfuls of food. "Early? We've been here forever...and you've been eating the food forever. You're such a pig Serena." "I was hungry...and it's so good!" "You're always hungry! You have no brain, you're just a walking stomach." "So...I ...I.." "What, are you going to do stick your tongue at me now? Can't you act your age?' Raye snapped. Lita, to escape the argument had started doodling wedding pictures. Amy pulled out her book. As a result, they were completely oblivious to the speech Lia La Met made. "I will need to take a bit of your psychic energy. That is why I called all of you here tonight--to participate in this endeavor!. You won't feel a thing. Soon we will have five new recruits! Imagine the good you do these men" She spat the last word as if it were a bug in her mouth. All the women assisting her, stood transfixed, and nodded. What was a little more energy or less?! "If it serves the cause." They chanted in unison. A few weaker women collapsed onto the floor, like the manga artist Kaona. "Yes, give me your psychic energy!" Chanting this phrase, Lia stepping down into the crowd, somehow pulling their energy into the black crystal dragon pin she wore. The backs of the chairs began to glow, the symbol sucking the energy in and channeling it back to Lia la Met. "The activation switch won't turn..."The hench woman said. "Then I must need more energy!" She raised her hands higher. While this happened, Joe kept fighting the hangover induced headache, which hovered like a helicopter in his head. Desperately he concentrated on pushing the switch of the device to off. Luckily, his telekinetic powers functioned despite his weariness. He hoped someone would save him because he didn't want to be a girl. Why did bad things always happen to him!? It was bad enough he got dumped by Lita, but now, to be morphed into a woman!? He didn't question it could happen--not when he had telekinetic powers. Where were the Sailor Scouts? Didn't they owe him one!? Unfortunately, Molly had chosen seats right on top of a large floor decoration of the dragon, another power draining device. The four girls were thus standing in the center of the attack. Molly luckily slumped first, and off the center pattern, or else she might not have lived. Serena and the others, having more energy than normal humans were merely rendered unconscious. "What's going on!? I'm getting so sleepy!" Serena complained as she faded out, ignoring the beeping of her inner scout communicator. Even though they'd refused to wear the pins, they'd all worn the nametags with the symbol, which also drained them. All four hit the ground. "Need to be Sailor Moon...." She mumbled. "But gotta sleep now." She passed out, her hand on her transformation device. Joe frowned, as he felt the switch push against him--so much energy was filling the switch, he felt as if he could barely hold on any longer. Where were they? He needed help! As if on cue, a sailor-suited girl appeared from the balcony room overlooking the ballroom. She announced herself as Sailor V, posed briefly and said "Capturing innocent men, and planning to make them women! Rabid feminists like...I can't think of one..well, *they* may forgive you, but I won't! Release those men immediately!" Two henchwomen ran up the inner ballroom stairs to the balcony. "Who let you in?" They asked. "It's Sailor V" They hesitated briefly, recognizing her uniform. "No! She's not one of us. She's an imposter." Lia called. "Remember Sisters, V is no longer a Sailor-Suited bimbo like this one....Do not let her interfere!" The burly, goon like women nodded and attempted to grab Sailor V. Sailor V jumped down lightly to the ground, landing in a crouch. "IMPOSTOR! I am the *original* defender of love and justice in a sailor suit--and I defend all love, including that of a woman for her man! Especially mine!" "Heresy!!! GET HER!!!" Screamed La Met. The few women who weren't collapsed tried to hold Sailor V down, but Sailor V easily jumped around them over the chairs. One woman got close enough to square off against her for a fight, but with a call of "Sailor V Chop" The woman crashed to the ground "Sailor V Kick" in a roundhouse to her rear brought down another two who'd attempted to sneak up on her. Sailor V leapt onto the stage and looked at the strange device, her hands at the controls. She couldn't figure it out, and didn't want to accidently do something wrong. She grabbed La Met. "Turn it off *now*." She ordered. "Oh no...You can't stop it...not now." La Met smirked to the shorter girl. "You're lying." Sailor V returned, shoving La Met off the stage, as She bent to open the door to the glass tubes. She couldn't get it open, so she held up the compact, and said "Crescent Beam"--and two crescent shaped beams of light appeared, merged and rushed together towards the glass. It shattered, it's occupants looking a little dazed. "Get out of there--fast!" She ordered, quickly noting that they were uninjured but all unconscious except for EZ. They were still bound, though. She kneeled and began to untie EZ so he could help her with the others. She'd barely gotten his gag off when he said "Ok, this time I'm grateful ...thanks for not letting them get me" His eyes narrowed, and suddenly she felt him throw his body into hers, the impact sending them rolling across the stage into the wall. His body covered hers, their faces a heartbeat apart. Sailor V blushed, wondering if he was always this aggressive. "You could thank me later, this really isn't comfortable..." She said, suddenly noticing he'd shut his eyes. She felt something warm trickle through her glove. Her hand rested on his shoulder felt something cold and sharp. She looked up, staring at the red stain . "You're hurt!?" "I'm ok!" He said quickly. Sailor V looked up, just as a black shard of crystal similar to what had lodged in EZ's arm headed straight towards them. "Crescent Boomerang" She called, as the shards were smashed away. She gently laid his head on the ground, and stood up, covering him. In front of her, Lia had recovered and was now attired in a loose grey uniform, trimmed in black with a dragon pin. Her face was framed by a large black mask, in which her green eyes flickered with contempt. "So Sailor "v", are you ready to face the real Sailor V?" (e)V(il). challenged. "V--" She called, as more dark crystals spun in her hand. Sailor V leapt up to the balcony stairs that curved towards the stage. "You can't dodge forever!" (e)V(il) screamed. Sailor V groaned as she tried to complete the small dance like pattern necessary to call up her crescent shower. "The problem with being V after being Venus for so long," she thought, "Is I'm no longer used to doing the proper moves to launch her attacks. I'm rusty and that's throwing my reaction times off." She slid face first down the bannister, straight into (e)V(il)." Rolling Screw Sailor V Punch" She called, as she smacked La Met into the wall and off the stage again. Gracefully, Sailor V somersaulted and caught the stage curtain rod, and did a half pike flip to the ground. "Stop twirling around! All that dancing won't help..I'm filled with all their energy!" screamed (e)V(il). "You're no match for me!" Sailor V dodged repeatedly, suddenly wishing she had her team to back her up...she felt better fighting as a group. How had she ever done this alone!? Where was everybody--and that's when she noticed her friends slumped on the ground. Her heart slumped down, while a huge lump made it hard for her to swallow. "Uh oh." She muttered, without much eloquence. "Sisterhood is wonderful when used to support a woman's dreams but not when it drains them of their senses!" Tuxedo Mask said with all the drama and style he typically gave his pithy comments. Without observing what he did, Sailor V automatically moved to help Serena, the weariness growing with her every step. She must be out of shape, for how else could she be so fatigued so early in a battle? She heard the crisp sound of cloth tossed, as a cape billowed around her, and she felt herself carried to the balcony. "Tuxedo Mask!?" She asked, he didn't say a word, but jumped back down to grab Amy. Serena already lay on the balcony. Neflite appeared, holding Lita in his arms. "Don't touch the center of the room--it's an energy draining field of some sort. " Jaedite nodded. "One more step and you'd have taken a little nap. We felt the Princess' calls at the right time, any later and..." He swore, lightly stroking the hair away from Raye's face. "Watch them, we'll get the enemy" Neflite straightened as well. "Let's go take that witch down." He said grimly. Below, Tux dodged crystal shards, throwing roses. He couldn't engage in an all out attack, not with so many innocent people in the way. His cane whirled as he parried away many a shard, lodging them into the walls. He tried to get close to Molly, but (e)V(il) was too quick, she pinned his cape to the dragon symbol. Trapped to the energy drain he slumped to the ground unconscious. "Take *that* cape boy!" (e)V(il) called with a flourish. "Now I have another inferior being to convert!" She stood, triumphantly on the stage, almost in a pose fit for a poster. "Show off" Mumbled Sailor V angrily. "TUX!" Jaedite shouted rushing forward, and leaping with a teleport to stand right in front of (e)V(il). Neflite jumped, not far behind. She dodged easily, managing to chide Sailor V. "Sailor V see how weak you are--you depend on these Men to save you!" (e)V(il) accused as she shot shards at Jaedite. "But they can't." Jaedite weaved his way through the attacks with the lithe grace of a seasoned warrior. She found herself pressed against the wall, near EZ, unable to back up any more in the face of his onslaught. He prepared to throw his attack. Instead of surrendering, flinching or backing down, (e)V(il) only laughed. Nonchalantly, she announced "No Matter-- surrender now, or I'll kill your boyfriend here." She turned, grabbing the slumped body of EZ into her arms for cover. She addressed her threat to Sailor V, not even deigning to look at the more immediate threat in front of her. Neflite and Jaedite looked at each other, from where they stood to either side of their enemy. The length of the stage separated them, a small distance but long enough for her to carry out her threat. Sailor V jumped down to join them, standing a few feet back. "We can't attack, or we'll hit him." Neflite warned. Jaedite nodded. "Fight like a ...fight honestly, don't be a coward!" He yelled. "Oh!? Coward? Me?" (e)V(il) laughed. "Bravery belongs to the winner, boy. V--" She called releasing a greenish crystal. "Anyone with XY Chromosomes will be rendered unconscious by this smoke" She laughed as the smoke smashed around them, knocking Neflite unconscious. Jaedite had transported away the second he saw her throw something. "Unfortunately, the range isn't very large." (e)V(il) complained, as she launched another set at Jaedite. Not even pausing to wonder or swear at his disappearing trick, she ran up the stairs to where he crouched by Raye. "IF you move, I'll hit her--" She threatened throwing the green crystals--Jaedite dove and covered Raye, feeling the sharp pain score his back. Mercifully he faded out quickly. "You think you've ruined my plans...but you haven't..."(e)V(il) laughed, as she slowly descended the stairs like a beauty pageant contestant."Now, where was I!?" Delicately she trod on Melvin's prone body with her booted foot. "Not this one" She mumbled, and then her eyes alighted on EZ."There he is. This one I"ll make a woman first, he'd be such a pretty woman. Maybe I'd let him be my lover." She laughed then, fingering EZ's silvery-mint hair. Sailor V continued to stand transfixed, as if she were a mountain unable to move. (e)V)il) shoved EZ into a second, smaller tube which had previously been hidden behind the curtain. Sailor V's tugging had dislodged that and revealed this one. "If you try smashing the glass now, Sailor girl, you'll likely kill him. You're too late. Sailor V, face, it you're no match for me. Stop fighting and join me! You're a woman...surely you can see the rightness of what I do." "Yeah, I see that like a deaf man! What you're doing is wrong. And I won't forgive you for it!" "And in the name of the moon you'll--yadda yahda yahda yahda, yes, get on with it." (e)V(il) said. "I don't have all day, Sailor V. I don't want to waste any more energy attacking you, but if you make me, then you asked for it." Suddenly Sailor V saw it--lying there, on the floor where EZ had been, her transformation pen....how had he gotten it?! But it didn't matter, she thought as she launched herself in a gigantic leap onto the stage. With a light backflip onto her hands, she landed so her feet caught the pen, tossed it up, her momentum carrying her up the curve of the balcony stairs to land with the pen in her up stretched hand. "Venus Crystal Power!" She cried and felt even stronger bands of energy wrap around her as she landed in battle pose. "It's time for the big kiss off!" Without further ceremony, she began the moves necessary for her strongest attack. "VENUS." She raised her hand up as if to blow a kiss "LOVE AND BEAUTY." The symbol of venus formed in her hand,as she turned half away, peeling the heart off and hurling it to where it slapped into (e)V(il). "SHOCK. "Feel the power of love!" She cried as (e)V(il) staggered, but prepared to throw another attack. Sailor V stumbled then, slipping on one of the green crystals that she'd used on the men. The crystal vial (for it contained a fluid that became gaseous upon contact with oxygen) smashed releasing a cloud of gas. (e)V(il) crashed to the ground. "That's the power of love!" A freshly recovered Sailor Moon blinked "and Justice! Guess there's nothing left for me to do!" She stopped midtwirl. The non-superheroes still lay collapsed on the ground, but slowly, Neflite, Tux, Jaedite and all the Scouts rose to their feet. Neflite and Jaedite each grabbed (e)V(il), holding her unconscious form. "Who is she?" They asked, stripping off the mask. "It can't be!?" They whispered in unison. Venus meanwhile hurried to the machine that lay whirling-- "OH, please don't let me be too late...no, please..." She whispered, her hands flew at the machine, and seconds later, it exploded in her face. A very rumpled Venus laughed "Uh, guess that was the wrong one." "It's off though." Jupiter commented. Venus knelt, and gently raised EZ out of the machine. "Are you ok?"She asked. "Is your arm ok?!" She asked petting and inadvertently lodging the crystals a bit deeper. "Do you need anything!? You're not...a " She blushed as she looked at his body. "They didn't convert you?" Her face got a curious expression as she tried to gauge this for herself. "I'm still a man." He winced, and then stared at the strange but familiar woman who held him. Was she trying to help or hurt him? Maybe the other crazy woman would be better! "Just leave me alone!" He growled, and immediately she dropped him so his head hit the floor again. "Venus, Look at this!" Mercury said over EZ's inventive flood of curse words, as she analyzed the fallen (e)V(il). "Her body pattern and genetic makeup is extraordinarily similar to..." "She looks....looks like Zoycite!!!" Venus said incredulously, as they all stared at the collapsed enemy. "Well, I'd say more like Sineheart..." Jaedite added "Because the Zoycite I remembered wasn't this old." "Or this feminine." Neflite added. "Genetically, they are identical...including their chromosomes." Mercury added. "Chroma whats?" Moon asked. "She's a he. Genetically speaking." Mercury explained. "My computer is pulling up Sineheart's birth records now--apparently, he was born as twins. But an accident in delivery caused the doctors to use a surgical procedure to make one of the twins a woman..." "Lia Sineheart?" Neflite said, looking at the woman/man on the floor. "She grew up in Canada, apparently, a great rival to her brother... His death must have signalled her to move into Japan." Mercury added looking up from her computer. "How can they both be Zoycite!? I don't understand this." Venus complained. "Rebirth is not easy." Pluto said appearing. "The lines that draw a person's essence across bodies in different times do not always work smoothly." "Hey, where were you guys earlier?" Venus challenged looking at the three other Outer Scouts who posed behind Pluto. Uranus and Michiru back to back, with Saturn holding her glaive down to the ground. "We told you, we only handle stuff from another dimension." Uranus explained with a shrug. "This was your department." "I wonder how that machine works? Does it go the other way?" Neptune said, then blushed as Saturn asked why she wanted to know. "So explain this!" Moon said, pointing to Zoycite/(e)V(il). "When I became the Moonlight Knight, my consciousness divided partially." Tuxedo Mask offered. "But we're speaking here of a physical division as well." Pluto nodded. "Something mixed the translation of his past life's soul to the present. A division of spirit, that resulted in the two sides of his self being split. This happened because I did not oversee his rebirth." "So what do we do with her,er, him now?" Venus asked. Pluto nodded. "That's why I came. She is an accident of time travel and reincarnation, for a person's essence should not exist in divided forms almost identical to the original. Either a person's essence divides completely to create new beings, or they return virtually identically to the way they were. He's in between." "How do you join a person--they're separate people now, aren't they?" "Yes, they are." Pluto lowered the heavy garnet rod. "And they both tried to open a gate for Metallia, without realizing what they were doing." Jaedite hesitated. "Would she remember, if I..." Mars placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please, don't do that again." Pluto knelt by Zoycite/La Met's body. "When we found Zoycite before, I realized that his soul had divided. I decided to wait to see if I could locate the other part, and only just found her tonight. She's kept a very low profile." "So?" Moon asked "I can't heal her?" "In merging them together, we will create a new person, destroying their separate identities. This process both heals and destroys them." Pluto moved forward, eyes lowered. "This is the only way." In a more gentle tone she added "We are special in that we've preserved our essences, and have eternal life. When we die, our essence returns to its original form...Not everyone does, Princess. Death and destruction are necessary for construction and creation." She bent, whispered for the doors of time to open, and stood before it. Pluto took the prone body of her captive awkwardly under one arm since they were almost the same size. She looked up, the strange winds catching her hair. "I suppose this is my signal to return to the gates." She hesitated, the tears held back beneath her green lashes. Her face averted, she added "I will miss you all." She stepped in "until I see you again." She whispered as she and her captive disappeared. Everyone stared at the space where she'd vanished. They stood so still that they could hear the soft padding of Luna's feet on the plush carpet as she entered the room. They hadn't expected Pluto to leave them, not now, not when they'd all been living so peacefully (relatively) here and now. Finally their normal lives were just beginning, their recent adventures aside. Her departure grimly reminded them that they travelled along a road of destiny to their future in Crystal Tokyo. That the recent events were not aberrations but simply in keeping with the adventures ahead. "How could she do that!?" Jupiter snapped in shock. "All this time and she still never tells us anything!" Neptune felt her hand gripped by Saturn. She put an arm around the younger girl. "Oh Setsuna..." Sailor Moon whispered, her eyes tearing up. "Does your duty ever end?" Molly began to stir. "What's goin' on?" She asked. "You better do some damage control." Uranus said finally, her voice edged with her anger at Pluto's sudden disappearance. She and the other two vannished, as Neptune placed her arms around both of them. Somehow their withdrawal indicated silently that the three felt this loss more keenly, and wanted to be alone with that feeling. * * * * The night had proved very inexplicable, and much as EZ hated that, he felt glad to be alive. Ez winced as he put the shirt on over the bandages on his shoulder and back. The nurse had offered to help him dress, but out of pride he refused. He wasn't a child, and the wound wasn't that severe. She'd smiled and had said "Your fiance should be back soon if you'd rather wait for her. Remember, take it easy." He'd given her his best "Are you crazy?" Expression, but before he could ask what she meant, she left. He focussed on dressing rather than puzzling over the weirdness of his situation. Just a few pieces of the oddest crystalline substance he'd ever seen had been lodged in his arm and shoulder producing deep cuts and enough of a loss of blood to require a transfusion. He'd kept the shards, intending to analyze them later. He smiled and reached for the pen to see if they had the same reaction his crystals had to the pen--he couldn't find it. He swore, wondering when he'd dropped it? He didn't even remember how he got to the hospital the night before. Perhaps during that weird attack. He'd lost his cat then, too. "Not his", he amended mentally "Her cat." The purse lay next to his clothes, an incongruous accessory to the grey suit. They weren't the clothes he'd worn before, but they were his. He wondered momentarily who'd brought them? He stepped out into the hall, just as a dark haired girl tugged a blonde man with bandages inexpertly wrapped around his upper body. "You idiot!" She swore at the man. "We should have brought you here *last* night. Why didn't you tell me!" She continued her tirade long after they were ought of earshot. Walking the other direction, they passed another couple. "Are you sure you're ok?" The pretty red head with the strange accent asked the nerdy guy EZ remembered seeing at the bar. "As long as you're with me I am." The nerdy guy replied. "My angel, my love--I'm so glad you've come back to me!" She smiled happily up at him. "So am I." She said sweetly. "I think it was just a phase Chad." A beautiful girl with long tawny brown hair and dewy doe eyes said to a man with a bandage on his head. "Just a little rebellion. I don't want a divorce. I love you." EZ walked past them, not hearing the rest. "Kerri, of course I forgive you. Sounds like they brainwashed you or something. I'm just happy we're together again, though I wished I weren't in the hospital." A man with reddish brown hair said to a woman just beyond his peripheral vision. Bitterly, EZ reflected that he had no one to worry about him like that. He didn't need it, he told himself. Then he returned to the thought of who'd picked out his clothes? And he all but ran into the answer. Blasting a smile at him as wide as her eyes she chirped "Oh good! They said you were released...they wouldn't let me see you before! Some stupid rules! So finally I said I was your fianc?! I hope the clothes are ok...I got them from your apartment this morning. Hope you didn't mind." She blushed a little at the thought of rummaging through his clothing drawers. She smiled. "And don't worry I'll clean up later." "Why are you here?" He asked finally getting a chance to speak. " I'm going to take care of you. You'll be weakened for a couple of days." The thought made his stomach flip queasily. "How did you know I was here?" He asked suspiciously. She flushed, and said "Coincidence. I was at the TTV Hotel last night, and was the one that found you after that Sisters of the Millennium meeting got out of control. I brought you in here. But what happened to you?" He could tell she was deliberately concealing something. He tried to read the secrets dancing in those not-so-innocent blue eyes. "I don't know. One minute I'm in a bar, the next I'm attacked by some kind of freak...and saved by another." She seemed personally offended by that comment. "A freak!? You're ungrateful!" She said before she thought. He gave her an odd look. "I didn't mean *you*" He said. Or did he? He stared at her,faint images (memories?) teasing his mind. "It's good of you to offer to take care of me, Mina. But I'll be fine." He said after a minute of staring into her eyes. He moved to open the door and winced at the pain in his right shoulder. "See?"She said steadying him. "You're too weak to do this on your own. Let me take care of you." She placed his good arm around her shoulder and began to open the door. She stopped as he placed his weight on her. She heard him breathe in sharply. Turning to him, she realized the movement had brought her face very close to his. "Why? Why are you doing this for me?" He asked his eyes meeting hers. She didn't answer, but lowered her gaze from his all-too-perceptive lavender-grey eyes. Her eyes skimmed the outline of his lips as he spoke again. His voice slipped to a low rumble deep in his throat. "You barely know me." He felt so warm being with her. "I don't deserve this." But he wanted it. The realization struck him as he inhaled the faint perfume of dahlias in her hair, holding that scent as close as he wanted to hold her. "Then you'll make it up to me later..."She whispered as a slow blush spread across her face. She started moving through the door. "I'd like that." He said, as everything became clear in his mind. He would like it. Why had he felt he couldn't be with her? Some ancient cobweb of memory had prevented him from letting himself see her for who she really was. As the mid-morning sun streamed through the polished glass of the double-doors, he swept the doubts away. "In fact, I have a lot to thank you for already, don't I? I'm sorry I was so rude the other day...Perhaps I'd better start apologizing now." He leaned down and slowly kissed her. They stood in the doorway like that for a second, locked in that embrace and the mid-morning sunshine, til a guy with a baseball hat worn low over his face coughed. He mumbled something about "Couples & Lita" and pushed past them when they didn't move right away. They stepped back and the door swung shut. Mina barely noticed, her face flushed and almost orange-gold in the light of the sun. The wind gently waved her hair covering her eyes and smile. Gently he pushed them aside. "I'm not doing so well taking care of you am I?" She said at last to break the hold of the moment. "Let's get out of trafic." She smiled, bumping into the door. "Whoops, forgot to open the door." She grabbed it again. Did this kiss mean!? The glow clouded her thoughts with a gentle peacefulness and contentment. She didn't care what it meant. She just wanted to enjoy that feeling of his face against hers and the soft rhythym of his heart against her ear. "You don't have to take care of me."He repeated then, as she opened the door with a powerful tug. Was it too soon to speak of love!? He wondered, deciding he'd wait before exploring that thought. How many times had she thought she was in love before? Artemis always joked he couldn't count that high. She didn't care... Maybe he wasn't her first love but he would be her last. She looked up at him,stopping in the door frame, her hand on the glass door pushed outward. He wasn't just a conquest, a target to get. This was something else. "MINA!" a familiar voice screamed as Serena bounded up the stairs to her. "Why didn't you tell me! ENGAGED!?" She had that strange look on her face that she tended to get when trying to set couples up. She knew perfectly well that had been a cover story. Mina tried to hush her friend up before she embarrased her. "Uh, never mind Serena. She's a little crazy." To Serena she said "I'm just helping EZ out. That's all. Don't you have to find Darien?" "No. That's all really!?" Serena cooed. She'd seen that kiss through the glass door, and was enjoying every second of teasing her friend. Payback was nice, she thought, for all the times they'd spied on her and Darien. "Looks like you're giving him better nursing than you gave me!" She said, and yelped as Lita grabbed her arm from behind. "Come on, let's go see how Jed's doing, ok?" Lita tugged her through the other door. Briefly EZ met the eyes of Field Stanton over the tops of the girls' heads, as he pushed the door on the right in. "Job offer is sill open, anytime." Stanton said quietly as the trio left, the door swinging behind him before settling into place. "I don't need it." EZ replied over his good shoulder. But as he looked at Mina, he called after Stanton"but I'll think about it." The drawback to being a professor, EZ decided, was that it would make it awkward for him to see Mina. Something he planned to do. "Are we ever going to get out of this doorway?" He asked her, as she still held the door. "I'm getting tired of standing like this." Not that he didn't mind being close to her, but he was a lot taller, and leaning down was awkward. "OH Yeah." She smiled. "Don't worry I'll take care of everything." "No, just keep me company. You don't have to go out of your way." He said,even though he smiled at her reassurance. "I did last night, and just look what happened to me..." She didnt' understand his private joke, but said "How could you say that? I want to, and our paths are the same...you'll never be out of my way. Besides who will take care of you if I don't?" She shoved the door hard out of their way as they moved forward. The door hit the wall, and snapped back slamming into his injured arm. "Yeah, but who'll take care of me if you do?" He mumbled as she bent full of concern and worry. The pain blotted out everything in his conciousness, except what would stop it. "Do we need to go back in!?" He managed to shake his head. "That wasn't so bad. I can nurse you when we're at your place then." She tugged him down to the car, the pain increasing with every step. His tolerance began to shrink, he had to do something. "I'm sorry!" She said again, as he shrugged not hearing her. "I'll be right back, I'll just go get some painkillers!" Instinctively he put his good hand up to his sore shoulder, and whispered something the sound of the door closing caried away. Somehow,no one, not even Mina saw the car fill with a strange golden glow as she walked away. He spread one hand over the other shoulder, a soft golden glow knitting the skin back over the ruptured stitches. His clothes changed again, with a flash of gold as his head lolled down with his sleep, just as Mina slipped inside. "Oh you're asleep. They wouldn't give me anything, can you believe that!? I hope you have asprin. Wow, you're still out. You must be tired." She drove automatically, singing to the radio as he dozed. A few minutes later she touched his good shoulder lightly as she parked. "We're here. Do I need to carry you--" "I doubt you could. I'm fine. " He said smiling. "Besides, I've never been more...whole." He handed her a small golden key. "Here." He said unceremoniously, folding her hands over it. "OH...I uh, already got the spare key to your place this morning, from your superintendant." She blushed, thinking of how she'd used the fianc? cover story there as well. She hoped he didn't get too annoyed when he found out *how* widely she'd used that story. "I should give it back to you." "Keep it. This key is something else." He said as unhooked their seatbelts and pulled her closer. "Something I promised a long time ago to return to you." ************* (LONG) CLOSING NOTES: ODDS & ENDS & CREDITS & INFLUENCES: Hm...I'm not sure that's where I should end the whole story...but..that's it...maybe a few odds and ends lying about (What happened to Pluto? Zoycite's two reincarnations?) So, these are the answers to things you might have missed, my explanations, and a "what was I thinking" kind of thing:: 1) Someone asked how would I handle Zoy's and Mal's relationship... I didn't want to ignore it any more than I ignored the Molly thing with Neflite (even if the charactes do). So I created a a very messy love pyramid between Amy, Greg, Mina, Zoycite and Malachite. In Pyaramids of Ice, Greg is looking at the picture and sees EZ b/c he's Malachite. I dont' actually say EZ is choking Mercury...because that's Zoycite/Sineheart of course. Go back and read it. I wrote that carefully. That's why I had EZ dye his hair...it's to throw you off who he is. 2) Greg is the Master Engineer. Who else would it be!? He's also Mina's "boss" when she's V. After reading the translations (done by Alex Glover) I wondered how one could bridge the various versions...and the things the "pen" says just didn't seem as if they'd come out of Queen Selenity's mouth (complaining about making new devices, swearing lightly, etc). Also the frequency with which Sailor V gets new objects is entirely different than for the rest of the Senshi. So those scenes of Sailor V's first days are closely based on Glover's translations, but I basically rewrote the scenes more from Artemis's p.o.v. These translations are also where I get some of the ideas/references about Mina's past love life. Like way back in Destined for Love, Mina almost meets a guy named Adonis...in the Sailor V manga, he ends up being a major enemy, a lower general under the four kings. That's what inspired the whole playing card suit powers for the four...SO I didn't make him up. He's not my character, but it was a token reference...Anyway, the pyramid is complete, because Greg's other self is of course close to Mina as her "boss." 3)Oh yeah, each general has the powers developed from the suit of a card. Malachite's spades, Neflite's diamonds, Jaedites Clubs and Zoy was hearts. So that was another clue that EZ Spade was Malachite...;). My imagination again, running rampant. 4) The whole kinetic force of planet energy is an idea I'd wanted to develop more, but it doesn't really fit into a story. I try to mention people when I know they've strongly influenced me and I didn't independantly come up with the idea. credits--> 5) The heart crystal or star-seed as specific objects from specific people (Amy's computer, or Mina's compact) is *my* own weird idea...please don't borrow the concept without at least mentioning me. Granted, the heart crystal thing is in the original Sailor Moon, so I can't claim that, but my derivative idea is mine. 6) The star-seed/alien thing is influenced by the original story in Sailor Moon Stars, but the Metallia as the Dragon thing is influenced by an old Japanese legend about the Goddess of the Moon. I've seen a few fics use that legend, but myths and legends dont' require credit so I won't list them (and I don't remember 'em anyway). Besides, they usualy use it for Serena, and that means its different than how I did...and they dont' include the dragon. But the original myth is that a godess from the moon came to stay with a poor woodcutter's family, and all thse men tried to win her heart. She gave them tasks to do, and one was to kill a dragon. The guy did it--but it fell on him and killed him. ;) Not your usual fairy tale ending no? 6)Yes, the Assitant/Malder are spoofs (??) or inspried by the X-files. Use them if you want as characters, they're not really mine. I love Mulder. 4) Kerri, Sora/Sarah (Dubbing my own characters names!? Awful ain't it?)are *my* own characters. Use them if you want, but why *would* you? 5) Lia is of course Zoycite, after D.I.C. Got through with him ;). Dunno what inspired me to do that, but I needed a new villian, and to somehow bridge the versions I've seen and give a nod to all of them. 6)Kanona the manga artist--spoof of who else? Naoka...the things she says in my story are pretty much *out of context* perhaps, but word for word what Naoka says in some interview I read with her about Sailor Moon. I didn't even use the "I save my love for my girls." thing she says to explain why she kills all the pretty boys off so quickly. {What I could have done with that!) As someone said, our one complaint with the whole Sailor Moon thing is--Why is Usagi/Serena the only one with a boyfriend!? 7) Freddy being Neflite is *my* idea. I don't think anyone else has been whacked enough to try it yet...and I hope they don't. I'd like to have that be truly original. So I hope you'll undersand if I claim the combo as my character (though the parts Freddy or Neflite, are obviously open domain) 8) What happens next!? Should I sequel the sequels!? I don't know. 9) I've mentioned similar themes before--> But the pairing thing I think started for me with (in order read, they're all awesome) Lady-- Soulmates (not done, but check out her homepage in the meantime) Fushigi Kismet-- Past Loves (Heard there's a sequel, can't wait) Ninx-- Four Lovers (huge series, worth every word) ABOUT THE AUTHOR: (can't resist) as of 5/3/98: I've enjoyed writing this, as a good cheap form of procastination. But exams loom now, I'll get my own place soon, my own tv, and will actually have to enter the real world! (3 weeks!) I spent so much time writing this as a form of therapy in a way, a pleasant escape from some people I live with that I can't stand. The saddest thing is, we used to be friends, or maybe we still are. I imagine its a feeling of distance that I might write a good Molly/Serena thing about. *Shrug* I don't know. So I wrote...and wrote. (I only have two classes),bop around, see my other friends (who all work real jobs and only have time on weekends) and mostly, just have loads of time to waste in a city with bad weather. Hm...maybe I'm a bit self-concious of having devoted so much of my time to this at my age...the point is, I'm not sure whether I'll still feel like doing all this when I move to a new city. Unless I"m begged ;). If I feel like people *want* more then I might. And I do have some ideas that I'd hate to scrap (you'll see them on my page). Thanks so much for reading...all your comments really do mean so much to me! If you're reading this, you're probably at my homepage so look around and enjoy...I would like to at least get that up and running before I abbandon SM for new interests. Hey, there's a whole world out there of things to enjoy! --------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: This story just got away from me. I intended it to be a long prologue rather than to be what it is. This is Pluto's tale. Maybe its cause I now live somewhere shrouded in mist/fog most days, or maybe it is because I've always favored Pluto despite her mysteriousness. I don't know-- or maybe its cause a very nice friend of mine gave me a chibi-pluto doll. ;) Inspiration exists where you find it right? To Roofshadow: Thanks for the inspirational words, but I'm afraid Zoy and Amy's resolution will wait yet another story or two! But at least this will explain what happened to Pluto in GOM:COH. ;). So the order is now: Guardians of the Millenium: Destined for Love GOM: Into the Fire GOM: Storm of the Stars GOM: Pyramids of Ice GOM: Chain of Hearts GOM: Bridges of Time (To be finnished by August's end) GOM: Ribbons of Silence Guardians of the Millenium: End of the Millenium (????) *********** Perhaps it looked odd, the solitary soldier of time carrying the large slumbering form in her arms. Luckily, Zoicite had never been a large individual whatever her/his mutations. Still her gait lost some of its smooth precision, as she struggled into the hallway. She did not have to walk far, for there in the corridors dimensions whirled at will. Pluto had the strength to control how long the journey seemed to her. So quickly enough for her, she found her way into the large crystal palace. Even though only the inner Senshi called it home, she found a surprising sense of warm nostaliga ease a bit of the constriction in her throat. This too, if she thought about it, had been her home. Though not for a long long time. "Venus." She said as the surprised eyes of the leader of the inner guard met her eyes. "Why aren't you at the Gate? Did you know we're under attack? Who's--"It took Venus a second to realize the difference in uniforms, to take in the slight age difference, to realize the Pluto she saw could not be the one she'd grown used to in recent years. "Setsuna!?" So stunned was Venus that she didn't know whether to hug the long lost woman, or demand an explanation. She never called the Sailor Pluto who guarded the gates Setsuna, but the name hurled out involuntarily. She shifted her gaze to the man/woman in Pluto's arms. And before Pluto could say anything, the memories returned to Venus. So much time had passed, but she could remember the night she'd fought Lia La Met (Zoicite) with perfect clarity. That had been the last time Venus had fought as Sailor V. That night had ended with Pluto taking the defeated Zoicite and dissappearing without explanation. They had not seen her again, until the building of Crystal Tokyo. Yet then, it had been a different Pluto, a slightly younger version than the one who stood before them. One who did not remember having met them in the twenthieth century, had not powered up as they had. She wasn't their friend, and somehow, they'd not been able to accept her on quite the same terms...the decision had not been a collective one, but certainly seemed a mutual decision. The younger Pluto kept to the Gates, and never really appeared at the castle. The only one who visited her there was Neo-Queen Serenity. In the Neo-Queen's state though, it was about the only trip she could manage. A smile passed Venus' face at the image of the pregnant Queen, waddling about, as the King hovered anxiously behind her. Venus collected her thoughts, and forced herself to deal with the present situation. "I'll take you to him." She said. "Mercury and Malachite are with him....We wondered if the attack awakened him, do you know--" "No. Here." With that Pluto tossedthe man to Venus. Venus awkardly caught Zoicite's prone form in her arms. "Hey!?" She yelped. Utter confusion swelled her eyes as she stared at Pluto's retreating form. "What the?" Venus knew she should feel more in control. Where were the words to command Pluto to stop? She was the Captain of the Royal Eternal Guard, after all. And they'd waited for years, a century really, for Pluto to reappear. Why was she so stunned? How could she just let Pluto walk away without any sort of explanation. Was the waking of Zoycite just a coincidence? "He woke this morning. What am I supposed to do with her!?" She indicated the woman in her arms. "I see." Pluto replied. "I hoped to come before he awoke, and the attack started...it doesn't matter. I must return to the gate." "You just got here!" Venus argued. "Don't leave! Everyone will want to see you!" Pluto smiled, but her eyes remained sad. "I love you all, but I cannot." And with that, she raised her staff , whispered some words, and dissappeared. Struggling under the weight a bit, Venus pushed a square and moved into the hallway that led to where Zoycite's other self waited. "Fine. Leave us again, and don't tell me what's going on. " The rest of her grumbling stopped under her struggles to navigate the corridors. As she caught her breath she added "Why do you do this? How can you say you love us, when you don't trust us to help? What is going on with you? It's so simple for you--you just disappear...but what am I supposed to do with her!?" >From the mist of the gate, shrouded from any sense of her other selves who may or may not have been near her, Pluto watched Venus wobble with Zoycite. "No, my friend, it is not so simple." For the first time in centuries, she realized that it was finally over. All traces of the tear in Time would heal now, and she could return to the Gate permanently. She was home, her mission finnished. She sunk to the ground and let the tears slide down her face. ---------------------------------------------------------------------