Sailormoon Eternity
Lesson One: Space Portal
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"This Portal... Can it transport people to the places it shows?"
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	It was quiet, with a silence that was completely devoid of sound.
It was always quiet here. At first, Dejana had found the silence to be
deafening, and had sometimes screamed at the top of her lungs for no
other reason than to hear some sign of life in this tomb.
	At times she just sat in the middle of one of the bedrooms,
rocking back and forth with her knees tucked up to her chest, sobbing
into her dress. Sometimes she wandered aimlessly in the halls, her eyes
dead, her expression emotionless. Other times she slept for days,
oblivious to the universe outside Starlight Palace. She was alone,
completely and utterly alone. She existed numbly in this empty life 
for a long time, her mind a dead blank, as the shockwaves of the 
Moon's destruction settled and the civilizations of the Earth began 
to recover.
	One day, Dejana's zombie-like steps took her back to the main
room, a place she had apathetically staggered through many times before.
Slowly she stepped into the center of the room, crossing the strange
convoluted emblem set into the marble. Today, she was slightly more
conscious than usual, and through the haze of boredom that had dulled
her mind she raised her violet-sapphire eyes to gaze upon the strange
black disc that hung on the wall. A flicker of curiosity fluttered
through her empty eyes.
	Numbly her slender fingers curved to lift the hem of her dress 
as Dejana gently placed one foot on the first of alabaster steps that
ascended the dais. The strange glow that filled the dome-ceilinged room
sent erratic light patterns across the surface of the hole in the night
that adorned the wall. Her curiosity growing, Dejana climbed the remaining 
steps and approached the disc, peering at it through narrowed eyes.
	The disc was as smooth and shiny as polished obsidian, and it
glittered with stars. For a painting, it was incredibly real. Dejana
felt as if she could lean right into the painting and look at the stars
that lay beyond the silver scrollwork of the circular frame. Almost in
a daze, she raised her right hand and brushed the inky surface with her
fingertips.
	The cold blackness rippled beneath her touch. Dejana gasped and
took a step back, her mind awakening at this startling discovery.
Tentatively she touched the disc again, and felt it yield to her
fingers as if it were liquid. It seemed that if she pressed hard
enough, she would fall through into a sea of darkness and stars.
	Testing the limits of the disc, Dejana pressed harder, extending
her arm in front of her. At first the obsidian surface bent easily
under her hand. As she increased pressure it began to resist, and when
she let go it bounced back as if it were elastic, rippling for a moment
and then returning to perfect smoothness.
	"What is this?" Dejana asked herself aloud. 
	Her ears were startled by the sudden sound in the silence of 
Starlight Palace, and it brought Dejana's mind back to the reality of 
her situation. She let out a wail, clasping her hands to her head. 
Dejana had been burying herself in one of her silent moods for a few 
weeks before this point, and her ears protested the abrupt change in 
volume. 
	"Curse this place!!" Dejana cried, sinking to her knees on the
dais, her white dress crumpling around her slender form. "Curse this
loneliness...why do I have to be alone...alone..."
	She was rocking back and forth on her knees again, her hands
still pressed to her head.
	~Out of all of us, only I remain...only I am still
alive...alone...~ she thought, once again drowning in her misery.
	~No. I am not the only one,~ she remembered suddenly. ~Setsuna.~
	Wistfully Dejana summoned her memories of her dear friend the
Time Guardian, closing her eyes as the tears began to rise within her.
They had had some great times together. Dejana recalled hours spent
walking through the palace, the gardens, just talking endlessly with
the older Princess of Pluto. A slight smile managed to curve her lips
as she remembered some of the jokes they had shared, the amusing
moments spent with their other friends. When duty confined Setsuna to
the Time Door, Dejana had often gone to visit her, faithfully keeping
their friendship alive and preventing Setsuna from killing her emotions
in self-defense.
	Sadness choking her throat, tears stinging her eyes, Dejana sent
her mind reaching within herself to clutch the precious spark she held
within her soul, the sign that Sailor Pluto still lived. The burgundy
flame shone brightly in the empty void that should have been filled by
the lives of her other friends, comforting Dejana in her loneliness.
	~If only I could see her.~
	A faint liquid sound beside Dejana attracted her attention, and
she opened her eyes to see the void-black starscape on the wall
rippling gently. The ripples became waves that burst from the center of
the disc, carving into the depths of what should have been the solid
wall and rising into the air on Dejana's side. The stars shimmered, the
surface stilled - and there was Sailor Pluto.
	The image was as real as life. Sailor Pluto, in full uniform,
standing in the mists of Time beside the Time Door. Her cheeks
glistening with tears, Dejana turned on her knees to stare at the 
image in disbelief. Pluto's face was turned to her feet, and she was
leaning slightly on her staff, her appearance less proud than it had
been the last time Dejana had visited her there. The Senshi's chest
heaved in a great shuddering breath, and the soft sound of crying
reached Dejana's ears.
	"Setsuna!" Dejana exclaimed aloud, leaning forward to place
her hands against the coldness of the liquid surface. Eagerly she
pressed against the disc again, willing herself to break through, 
but it held firm. Defeated, Dejana sat back on her knees, her eyes
glued to the image of her beloved friend.
	"How...how is this possible?" she whispered.
	~It is the power of the Space Portal.~
	Dejana whirled around. Her captor had appeared in the center 
of the room, once again covered completely in a cloak as black as 
an overcast midnight. His presence did not alter the silence, as he
spoke directly into Dejana's mind. The hem of the cloak slid gently
across the floor as he glided slowly forward, approaching the base of
the dais.
	~The Space Portal will show you anything you wish to see, if you
know its location,~ the dark figure informed her. ~It connects with
shadows and darkness, hiding itself from the view of anyone at the
other end of the connection.~ Dejana fought the urge to cringe as the
empty, leaden tones formed themselves within her mind, and she glared
at the darkness beneath the hood of her abductor. This was the first
time he had appeared since the day she first arrived at Starlight 
Palace, and she was bitterly angry at him for leaving her in solitude 
for such a long time.
	~The Portal's function is for surveillance of this Solar System,~
the cloaked spectre continued. ~Its sight will not extend past those
boundaries. That realm, however, is vast; the Portal works best when it
has a target to search for.~
	A cloth-draped arm rose to point at Dejana. ~Within your soul you
carry echoes of the essences of those Senshi who are currently living,~
he intoned. ~When you stand beside the Space Portal and concentrate on
one of those lives, it will show her to you.~
	Breathing more rapidly as she absorbed this revelation, Dejana
turned her head to look at her mourning friend in the shining surface
of the disc.
	"This Portal..." she began quietly. "Can it...transport people to
the places it shows?"
	For a moment, the cloaked figure was silent, and Dejana turned to
face him again, afraid he had once again vanished. When the voice
reentered her head, the tone sounded different, almost apologetic.
	~Yes, it can,~ came the response. ~That is how I brought you 
to Starlight Palace.~ Dejana recalled falling into the chasm that 
had opened in the surface of the moon, tumbling into the darkness that
she now knew had contained one end of the Space Portal, waiting to
swallow her. 
	~But it will not take you to Setsuna.~
	A flame erupted within Dejana's dark eyes as her heart beat
crazily in her chest. She rose to her feet and clenched her fists at
her sides, a cold anger rising. At last she had been able to see her
last remaining friend, to know she was alive, and her chance to end her
loneliness was being denied to her.
	"Why not?" she demanded, barely restraining herself from shouting.
	~Only I can activate the Space Portal's ability to move matter
from source to destination,~ he replied.
	"Well then, why don't you!?" Dejana cried, her voice rising. "She
needs me! Please, let me go to her!"
	~I can not do that, Dejana,~ the spectre said, the voice now
emotionless. ~You must remain here until the time is right.~
	Her chest heaving, her heart pounding, Dejana's lips released a
pleading "Why?"
	Without giving an answer, the cloaked figure dissolved into
nothingness.

	Dejana's life nearly returned to the same monotony it had been
before, with a few differences. She now had the Space Portal to
distract her from her loneliness, wherein she was able to watch the
redevelopment of the human race. And, her heart now burned with bitter
anger, a barely-restrained cold fury toward the being who had brought
her here.


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End of Lesson One
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Sailormoon: Eternity copyright 2003 by dejanatalis@aol.com
Original version copyright 1997 by dejanatalis@aol.com
Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and its associated characters and canon 
belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha. Sailor Infinity/Dejana Talis was
created by dejanatalis@aol.com and is her exclusive property, and may
not be used without permission.  Sailor Moon Says: Don't steal! ^.^