Author's Notes ------------------------------ After five months, at long last, here is Chapter 4 of SME. I can't believe it took so long for me to finish this chapter! I was sitting on half of it for most of that time, but then my life went crazy. I graduated from college, moved to a new city, started a new job, became a godmother...and that's not even half of it! ~_~;; But finally, here it is, the resolution to Chapter 3's cliffhanger and the beginning of the drama that will finish Book One. Hopefully the length of this chapter will make up for the long delay! It looks like I'll be completing a new chapter once a month for the next few months, because I am splitting my time between SME and a new story that I've just begun. The new story is a Silver Millennium romance story focusing on Serenity and Endymion, and will be my first true romance tale, so I'm kind of nervous about it! ^.^;; I'll be posting the beginning in two weeks, so keep an eye out for that if you're a Sere/Endy fan! Don't worry, I won't be neglecting SME, I'll still update this story regularly once a month. ^.^ Now, the thanks to all my readers and reviewers! - On Aria's Ink - Loki: Thank you for your overabundance of flattering comments! I'm thrilled that you're enjoying the story so far and that I'm managing to bring the characters to life. I'm glad to know my original character has touched you. It's praise like yours that can sometimes be the best motivator to continue writing. ^.^ Ailowyn: I'm both honored and relieved to gain the approval of an accomplished fanfiction author such as yourself. ^.^;; Hopefully I'll manage to capture your interest anew with this chapter! It's great to have reassurance that I've created an original Senshi who doesn't fall into the "Mary-Sue" trap. That pitfall has captured a lot of authors over the years, and I'm doing everything I can to avoid tripping into it. Thanks for the support! ^.~ - On Fanfiction.Net - Karla: At last, my first review on ff.net! Thank you so much! I was beginning to feel really unloved there. ;_; Thank you for your comments! Mamoru will finally be making an appearance in this chapter...at least, his voice will... Well, you'll see. ^.~ Mai: Here's another long chapter for you! If you're into long fanfics, I can guarantee SME will be in-progress for quite a long time. ^.~ I have lots of events and subplots in mind before this story is over! And by the way, although Mamoru will have an active role in this fanfic eventually, it will be a relatively small one. ^.~ MoonGirl5657: Wow, a reader interested enough to ask to be notified of updates! I'm honored. I'm sorry it took so long! ^.^;; - On ASMR - Starsea: Thank you for your comprehensive and helpful critique. Reviews like yours are why I love ASMR so much. ^.^ I'm glad I'm doing a good job on the emotions; I fall flat sometimes with physical description, so at least I have that. ~_~;; I'm also thrilled to hear my backstory for my original character is believable, as well as my characterizations; those are two areas I often worry about. I know what you mean about the believability of Amaranth's first plot against the Senshi, unfortunately I'm slightly restricted by trying to follow the basics of my extremely horrible first version of SME. Fortunately, I only have about three chapters of the original version left to "rewrite" (more like completely redo) and then I'm free to work in whatever direction I choose. ^.^ Don't worry about the villains, I have a detailed backstory in mind for them, which will be revealed gradually over the course of the entire fanfiction. I hope you're interested enough to keep reading! ^.^ - To Everyone - A canned statement from the previous chapter, but it's still true: Please remember to submit a review or send me an email with any comments you might have on SME, whether positive or negative! This fanfiction is going to be quite long and I want to make it as good as possible. Also, if you have ideas, feel free to send me those too! I have the main plot of the entire epic outlined, but there's plenty of room for me to work in subplots and details galore! So send in your ideas, who knows, I might like them and use them! ^.~ Also as an FYI, I'm still looking for a second beta-reader, if anyone's interested. I thought I had found someone, but we lost touch. ;_; I'd prefer a beta with good knowledge of Japanese culture and the manga storyline, to supplement the excellent grammar, character, and plot feedback I'm getting from the Lurker. (Thanks be to The Perpetual Lurker, as always, for the stellar beta-reading work! ::sends jewelry:: ^.~) As a standard bathroom-sink plug, you can employ the top-quality beta- reading skills of editors like the Lurker by requesting assistance from the ASMR Beta-Readers. They're a friendly bunch and always happy to help! ^.^ Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy my work. -Dejana 04/09/2003 (GEEZ! I still can't believe it's been this long since I updated! O.o;;) ------------------------------ Sailormoon Eternity Book 1 - The Poison of Amaranth Chapter 4: Relapse ------------------------------ "These enemies are different. Hiding will not keep us safe from them." ------------------------------ In the empty halls of Starlight Palace a lone figure moved; the keeper, caretaker, and eternal resident of Starlight Palace, tall and covered head to toe in a cloak as dark as midnight. Slowly he glided into the main chamber where the Space Portal stood on its dais against the wall, window and mirror to the cosmos. It showed, as it had for the past few weeks, the living image of Talis Dejana. The spectre raised his hooded face to the crystal-clear surface of the Portal and its liquid reflection of the fugitive from Starlight Palace. At that moment, Dejana was standing at the edge of a cliff overlooking the tumbling waters of the ocean. The Space Portal was hidden in the shadows beneath some nearby trees. The cloaked figure watched the image motionlessly as his pupil threw the icon of her office into the sea. He stood as stone while Dejana suffered her emotional turmoil. When she pulled off the Ring of Infinite Serenity, however, then there was a change. The night-robed figure rushed toward the Portal, raising one cloaked arm toward the image as if to snatch the silver ring from Dejana's grasp. When the indigo-haired Lunarian hesitated, then returned the precious item to its place on her hand, the cloaked being shuddered visibly and let his arm drop to his side. Something like a sigh of relief issued from the depths of his hood. Dejana's sensei was clearly agitated now as he watched her in her misery. He glided back and forth beside the Space Portal, his black cloak whispering as it slid across the smooth floor. He stopped and stared as his pupil rose to her feet and turned her back to the cliff, her heels against its edge, her face filled with an empty, lifeless expression. She tilted her head back and swayed, for a long moment hovering between earth, sky, and sea. Slowly, her body sagging beneath the weight of the world, Dejana tilted backwards and started to fall. ~No.~ The robed figure thrust out both arms and concentrated, commanding the Portal with his will. The sun would be rising soon, and the sky was already becoming lighter, shrinking the shadows into hiding, but he had no choice. Acting swiftly, the cloaked being shifted the open Portal into position. He faced the altered image and extended his arms. If anyone happened to be watching that particular cliff that day before dawn, they saw a young woman falling, tumbling toward the rocks and the rolling waves, hair and dress streaming above her as she plummeted through the early morning air. She lay as if floating on the breeze, arms limp in the wind, head tilted back, eyes closed. Beneath her, the universe opened. A pitch-black tear in the sky was rent across reality, widening into a large circle, a black hole in midair. It was pure void, a gap that consumed all light surrounding it. It hovered for a moment. The indigo-haired girl fell directly into the gap, vanishing from the world soundlessly. As quickly as it had appeared, the hole sealed itself and was wiped away. A strange shift in gravity interrupted the rush of freefall. Dejana violently slammed into something soft, which seemed to be below her one moment and beside her the next. Together, both she and the soft something dropped a short distance further before landing sharply on a hard surface. Half-conscious, confused, and disoriented, a pair of violet- sapphire eyes blinked open and Dejana found herself staring at a familiar domed ceiling. She blinked again, trying to get her mind back on track. ~I was falling,~ she remembered, ~and then...~ There was soft, silky cloth surrounding her, and warmth against her back and around her waist. As her mind sharpened, Dejana realized there were warm arms around her, holding her. With a shiver of fear, she jerked her head downward to see who it was. A pair of black-robed arms were encircling her, the flowing fabric spreading over her torso. More of the familiar midnight cloak was crushed beneath her body, and there were legs beneath it, beside hers. Dejana sucked in her breath sharply. ~Sensei,~ she realized. ~He saved me.~ Her eyes widened as the situation sank in. Through all the centuries, the two inhabitants of Starlight Palace had never touched. ~He...he has real arms and legs, a real body under that robe. Warm arms...~ Darkness flooded in from the edges of the Lunarian's vision, and once again she slipped into unconsciousness. For a while there was peace, blissful darkness, perfect nothingness. Dejana floated within the abyss, hovering in emptiness. She wanted nothing more than the void and its safety from any struggle, any pain. Despite her subconscious wishes, faint light crept into the nothingness, bringing life to death. The light shifted, glowed, moved and condensed into vague shapes. There was the faint outline of an elegant railing on a white balcony. "Dejana... What is your greatest desire?" "To faithfully serve and protect the Moon Kingdom, the Royal Family, and the Princesses of this system." The indistinct scene dissolved, shifted, the light moved again. "Dejana... What have you done?" Suddenly she was there. Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium, shining in all the glory of the Moon, as solid and real as life. She towered overhead, her gaze reproachful. "You told me you loved them all, that your heart's desire was to protect them," the white-robed Queen said, her gentle eyes filled with sadness. "Why have you abandoned them?" "I...I can't protect them. They are so much, so strong and shining, and I...I am nothing." "I selected you for a reason," the beautiful ghost with lavender hair replied, her light banishing the darkness. "You are the only one who can fulfill your destiny. I entrusted you with the Ring of Infinite Serenity, to keep it safe for this fate." "Why? Why me?" At this question the glowing image smiled gently, fondly. "Because you are their friend," she replied, "and you would do anything to defend them. Because you are-" The perfect image of Queen Serenity evaporated into nothingness in a sudden blast of frigid cold. Dejana's eyes opened wide as she was shocked awake by a powerful wave of icy seawater, its salty scent filling her nostrils as she bolted upright to avoid being submerged. She found herself sitting in rolling waters, her dress soaked and clinging to her body. Dejana was still in Starlight Palace, still in the main chamber with its domed ceiling and the odd symbol engraved in the center of the floor, but its marble surface was covered with seawater. As she blinked her eyes, confused, the water settled around Dejana's shoulders, the slight buoyancy it offered adding to her disorientation. Her sensei stood on the dais beside the Space Portal, which was now sealed against the ocean-floor scene it was showing. Fish drifted past Starlight Palace's strange window, and plants waved among the rocks. The cloaked figure was dry, protected from the previous cascade of liquid by the invisible shield that always surrounded him, and his faceless hood stared down at the drenched Lunarian sitting confused in the rippling waters. ~No other way to get it back,~ the black-robed spectre said in response to Dejana's questioning gaze. He extended one arm to gesture toward a tall, black rod that was just visible beneath the salty waters in the room. The Palace's caretaker began to glide down the stairs of the dais toward Dejana. ~Pick it up.~ "Why?" the ancient girl muttered bitterly, looking away. "It's useless. I'm useless. They don't need me." ~You are a Sailor Senshi. You can not refuse your destiny.~ The cloaked spectre continued forward. As his robe reached the marble floor, the waters drew aside, repelled by the shield surrounding him. "Destiny again?" Dejana complained, struggling to her feet. She stood knee-deep in the chilly water, her damp dress weighing her down. "Always this mysterious destiny. I don't want anything to do with it. I'm done, do you hear me? I've had enough. It's over." Her voice broke, and tears began to fill her dark eyes. A chill wave rolled outward from the recesses of the dark robe. ~Dejana.~ The voice was cold, and it sent shivers up the Lunarian's spine as she stared up at the shadows beneath her sensei's hood. ~There is no place for you here in Starlight Palace if you refuse your duty.~ Dejana forced herself to ignore the nausea settling in the pit of her stomach. She had nowhere else to go. Thinking about that reminded her of the previous night's events, and why she was here in this room. "Then...why did you save me?" she asked, turning away from the eternal darkness that enveloped her sensei's face. "Why didn't you just let me fall?" Standing there, Dejana was acutely aware of her own existence; the cloaked figure's empty stare, the cold water rising to her knees, the cold, clammy dress sticking to her body, and how close she had come to the peace of nothingness. ~Stupid girl!~ There was anger in the Palace caretaker's leaden tones now, an anger Dejana had never heard from him before. She stared up at him again, her eyes wide. ~I have not spent thousands of years training you just to see you throw it away! Queen Serenity certainly did not raise you for that end!~ He was quite close to Dejana now, his tall cloaked outline towering over the Moon Kingdom's last citizen. ~Do you question the Queen's judgement in trusting you with the lives of the Princesses?~ The familiar bane of shame was beginning to seep through Dejana's depression, but she still had questions that she needed answered. "I can't protect them," she replied, her hands beginning to shake at her sides. "My power...is...nothing," she choked, tears gathering in her eyes again. "They are like goddesses, all of them, and I am..." The indigo-haired girl sank into a crouch in the standing seawater, gentle waves lapping around her shoulders. "Why am I so weak?" she wailed, burying her face in her knees. "I wanted to be a Sailor Senshi, but...if I can't fight with them..." Something like a sigh emanated from Dejana's mysterious sensei. ~For that, I am truly sorry,~ he said, the echoing tones softer with an unusual hint of sympathy. ~I had hope...and so, I never told you.~ Wrapping her arms around her knees, Dejana tilted her head to look up at her sensei curiously. Tears dripped off her pale cheeks and splashed gently into the waters below. "Told me what?" ~The power of the Ring of Infinite Serenity comes from the rest of the set,~ the cloaked figure replied. ~Without them, your strength as a Sailor Senshi is limited.~ As the words sank in, Dejana let her head tilt forward until her forehead struck her knees. The chill of the seawater surrounding her soaked in to her bones. ~I will never be as powerful as the others,~ she realized. She shuddered as she recalled the events of the battle with Mestophan. ~It will always be that way.~ As the caretaker of Starlight Palace continued speaking, his voice was more gentle than it had ever been. ~That is why I held you here, Dejana,~ he told her. ~It seemed best for you to step in only in emergencies, when you were desperately needed and had the element of surprise on your side.~ Dejana was silent and motionless for a long moment, her damp hair trailing in the water as she remained huddled up on the floor. "All right," she said at last, nearly in a whisper. "I understand. I'll stay here from now on." ~It is too late for that. Now that Princess Serenity knows you exist, she will not permit you to quietly disappear. You can not stay here.~ "I can't go back there!" the Lunarian cried, staring up into the depths of her sensei's hood. "They...they hate me." ~They do not know you.~ "I know that!" Dejana wailed. "They've all forgotten, except Setsuna, and she's so different now." She rocked back and forth where she sat, palms pressed against her head, tears rolling down her face. "I've tried to remind them, but they won't listen." ~Dejana...who are you?~ The hooded spectre had not moved throughout their conversation. His nonexistant face stared down at his charge's shivering form. "I...what? I don't understand." ~Who are you?~ the mysterious entity repeated. "I... I am Lady Dejana Talis, of Queen Serenity's Silver Millennium," Dejana recited hesitantly. ~The Moon Kingdom is dead, buried, dust,~ her sensei replied impatiently. ~Those titles have no meaning.~ As a native of a class system, the Lunarian automatically searched for another label to define her. "I am the Guardian of the Sailor Senshi, Sailor Infinity," she tried. ~No,~ was the response. ~That is WHAT you are, not who. The others have been reborn, not only in body, but in mind. They have all grown on Earth into the people they are today. Thus they are humans first, and Sailor Senshi second. Even Princess Setsuna has given up the past and embraced the present. You, too, must do this before you can be accepted as an equal. When you return to Earth, you must be ready to show them who you are.~ "I think I understand," Dejana said slowly, thoughtfully. Her eyes took on a distant look as she dived into her own mind. ~I do not expect you to find the answer right away,~ the cloaked figure assured her. ~There are other matters to consider at the moment, such as, how you intend to explain your departure to the Princesses. Unless, of course, you wish to tell them the truth?~ Dejana shuddered violently and vigorously shook her head. "I've already done enough damage to their opinion of me," she said in a shaky voice. "They can never know that I...let myself fall," she finished. Dejana could almost see the faces of Haruka and Michiru if they found out she had tried to give up. Just imagining it, along with an image of Usagi's pained face, was enough to make her blood run cold. "They can never know," she repeated. ~With that issue,~ the robed caretaker responded in his heavy telepathic tones, ~I am prepared to help you.~ Turning around, he moved smoothly across the floor, the standing seawater barely rippling around the energy shield that surrounded him. To Dejana's surprise, he approached the enormous set of crystalline doors that she had never seen open in all the millennia she had spent in Starlight Palace. Eager to see what lay beyond the sealed gateway, Dejana struggled to her feet and waded toward her sensei, the soaked lavender dress dragging in the water. When she reached his towering, imposing form, his hooded head slowly turned to look back across the room, toward a thin black rod that lay beneath the knee-deep liquid. Gathering her skirt in her hands, Dejana splashed back to the item that her sensei had flooded the chamber to retrieve. Without a moment's hesitation she plunged her arms into the waters and lifted the Shadow Staff from their grasp. The familiar purple crystal sparkled through the clinging droplets of liquid as its mistress returned to her sensei's side. After a slow nod of satisfaction, the cloaked spectre raised one arm toward the smooth, faceted set of heavy double doors. Without a sound, they swung open. Beyond lay a long, wide corridor with a high arched ceiling. Thick pillars lined both walls of the passage, tapering into points near the apex of the arch. The cloaked figure glided through the doorway and Dejana stumbled after him, on to a dry floor of crystal threaded with marble. Stunned, Dejana turned around and looked back at the home of the Space Portal. The seawater stopped abruptly at the doorway, as if held back by an invisible threshold. Drawn by the faint swishing of her sensei's robe as he moved down the corridor, Dejana dragged her eyes away from the strange phenomenon and hurried after him, clutching the Shadow Staff as if it were a lifeline. She had not imagined that Starlight Palace could be this large. At the far end of the passageway sat a gigantic set of ornate doors made of opaque crystal. They dwarfed the gateway that Dejana and her sensei had just passed through, and were highlighted with jewels of every color and covered in carvings. Dejana gazed at the distant entrance in wonder, but after walking only a short distance toward it, the cloaked caretaker turned aside. They approached a smaller pair of doors set in the side of the corridor. On these were inscribed two symbols: the sigil of Mercury, and the crest of Serenity. These doors and their marks were very familiar to Dejana. "It can't be," she breathed. The robed spectre raised one cloaked arm toward the doors. There was a faint click, and then they swung open. Overwhelmed and shaking, Dejana stepped across the threshold and entered the Library of the Silver Millennium. It was exactly as she remembered it. Bookcases lined every wall, from the white marble floor to the high domed ceiling far above. Rows and rows of endless volumes of text formed a forest of knowledge, a gift to the Moon Kingdom from the Royal Family of Mercury. There were sweeping staircases, scale models of the Solar System, and study areas. There were also several floor-to-ceiling windows, but these were covered by heavy drapes. Wide-eyed and open-mouthed, Dejana gaped at the scene surrounding her before slowly turning to face her sensei, as if she feared it would all vanish if she looked away. "How is this possible?" she asked in a whisper. ~It was arranged long before the End,~ the cloaked figure replied, ~to preserve the knowledge of the ages here in case of a tragedy.~ Dejana stared at him incredulously, as if she could not comprehend an action of that magnitude. ~The Silver Crystal created an atmosphere on a dead rock,~ her sensei reminded her. ~It created life on a world of death. Preserving a few books is quite within the limits of its power.~ Dejana took a few steps into the wonderous cavern of books, tablets, and scrolls, the treasure trove of a civilization. "Why are you showing me this now?" ~You will help me with my research,~ the cloaked figure replied, moving to her side. ~Princess Ami is not the only one interested in gathering information about your enemy. The resources of Earth are limited. When you return to the Sailor Senshi, you will be armed with all the knowledge the Silver Millennium has to offer.~ Usagi set her jaw, rolled her shoulders back, and rang the doorbell. It had taken half her allowance to get here, but after several useless phone calls she was determined to get some answers. She didn't know who would answer the door, but her resolve was strong. The door opened slowly at first, then was flung wide. "Usagi-chan!" Hotaru's youthful face beamed at the odango-headed girl from the doorway. The two young women were nearly the same height now. "What a surprise! How are you?" "I'm fine, Hotaru-chan," Usagi replied with a warm smile. The steel resolve had melted from the golden-haired girl's body at the appearance of the innocent, friendly Hotaru. Now Usagi tried to summon her strength again. ~It's now or never,~ she reminded herself. "Anno... I need to speak to Setsuna-san." Hotaru bit her lip and her eyes dropped from Usagi's face. She leaned uneasily against the doorframe. "She doesn't want to talk to anyone," she said softly, nearly in a whisper. Swiftly the short-haired girl whisked her head around to glance back into the house before continuing. "Setsuna-mama's barely said two words to any of us since Dejana-chan disappeared. I'm not even supposed to tell you she's here," Hotaru admitted. A stricken look invaded Hotaru's youthful face. "I shouldn't do this, but this silence can't go on," she said decisively. "I can't stand this separation. If anyone can break the ice, it's you, Usagi- chan. Please come in." She stood aside to let Usagi enter the house. "Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama aren't home right now," Hotaru informed her guest as she removed her shoes. The house was deathly quiet. Usagi could hear the ticking of every clock as Hotaru led her to Setsuna's room. The house seemed dead, devoid of energy. Hotaru tapped lightly on the closed door. "Setsuna-mama?" "Hai," came a muffled voice from within. The dark-haired girl took a deep breath and pushed the door open. "You have a visitor," she announced. "I'm busy right now, Hotaru. Maybe later." Setsuna was seated at her desk, waves of pine-green hair flowing over the back of the chair. She was dressed and looked as healthy as usual, but she did not look up as Usagi quietly entered the room. Stacks of drawings and designs were piled up on the desk, and a few had slipped to the floor. Setsuna's tanned hand was smoothly sketching out another outfit. The curtains were open and bright sunshine flowed into the room, but there was no joy or cheer in the space it filled. Usagi stepped forward softly and picked up one of the drawings that had fallen on the carpet. It was half-finished. "Setsuna-san, it's me. Usagi." The pencil stopped its busy sketching, but Setsuna did not respond. She remained motionless, leaning over her desk. "Setsuna-san, onegai. I came all the way out here to see you. Look at me while I'm talking to you." For a moment Setsuna's body quivered as she suffered an internal argument. Eventually her loyalty to the future Queen outweighed her desire to avoid the inevitable conversation. With a sigh, the green- haired woman pushed herself away from the desk and turned in her chair to face Usagi. "What is it, Princess?" The golden-haired angel's eyes were calm and sad. Her face was weary, as if she hadn't slept well for some time, and she gazed at Setsuna with an anguished expression. Usagi was startled to see how cold the Time Guardian's eyes were. The garnet pools were dark and empty, more so than Usagi had ever seen them. She looked almost as Uranus and Neptune had when they blocked Eternal Sailormoon from reaching Infinity. The memory of what had happened after that battle reminded Usagi of why she was there, abruptly jolting her out of her startled state. Usagi steeled her resolve once more, clenching her fists to prevent her hands from shaking in her nervousness. "Setsuna-san, how could you?" The blonde girl's voice came out in a hoarse whisper, which solidified with confidence as she released the tension that had plagued her heart. "How could you just stand there and let Haruka-san and Michiru-san say such terrible things about Dejana- chan?" As she said these words Usagi caught a flicker of softness as it flashed through Setsuna's eyes, but the tanned woman did not speak. "You're more important to her than anyone! Why didn't you say something? Why didn't you support her so she wouldn't have to leave? You're her friend!" Setsuna could not withstand the innocent, pained gaze of the girl whose heart held nothing but love, and her own glance slipped to the floor. She wanted to hold her tongue, but she could not refuse to answer her Princess. "Sometimes there are more important concerns than friendship," she said. Usagi dropped to her knees, golden hair pooling on the carpet, and forced herself back into the older woman's line of sight. "Nonsense." Eyes of the purest blue bored into Setsuna's own, singing of crystal clear waters and life and love and light. In that moment, the Guardian of Time wondered if Usagi would ever realize that her greatest power had nothing to do with the Silver Crystal. "How can you say that?" Usagi demanded. "Nothing is more important than friendship, nothing." Her tone was filled with frustration, adding a look of anguish to her youthful face. "After all we've been through together, I thought everyone understood that. The future is meaningless without important people to share it with. I would give up anything to keep them safe, everything if I knew it would protect them." ~I know, Princess. For you, love knows no bounds. For others, it is not always that way.~ Setsuna wanted to say those words, but faltered in the earnest glow of Usagi's warm heart. "Nothing is worth sacrificing important people," the young woman continued. "Dejana-chan is your friend. She's known you longer than anyone. If it had been you who needed help, she would have been there for you, and I can't understand why you wouldn't do the same! She loves you, and I know you love-" "I know!" Setsuna burst out suddenly, bolting to her feet. "That's exactly the problem!" Usagi leaned back on her knees, startled. "Gomen nasai, Setsuna- san, I didn't mean..." "I spent millennia building up an immunity to emotional attachment," Setsuna said bitterly, as if she hadn't heard Usagi's apology. She started pacing the room, long hair streaming behind her, brow furrowed in concentration. "I did it for a reason, a good reason: so I'd never feel lonely again. My fate is to fill a solitary duty, to be alone, but loneliness is...so painful..." Setsuna stopped in the middle of the room and hovered there, a cloud of turmoil surrounding her. "Demo... Wouldn't that make Dejana coming back a good thing?" Usagi asked, getting to her feet. "All that loneliness is in the past now, ne? From now on, your best friend will be with you!" Slowly, Setsuna's head turned until her crimson eyes met Usagi's gently smiling face. The smile faded quickly as Usagi noticed the older woman's eyes were shining with barely-restrained tears. "Iie," Setsuna whispered, "she won't." "What...what do you mean?" Usagi stammered, caught off-guard by the pain in her reserved friend's face. "We'll get her back! I'll never stop searching! I-" "Iie," the ages-old woman repeated. "I'm not speaking as Meiou Setsuna, Princess. I'm speaking as the Guardian of Time." Usagi's expression took on a hint of dread, but she still looked puzzled. "When Dejana-chan first arrived, I thought like you do," Setsuna continued. "I was willing to relax a bit, to let myself truly feel again. With Dejana back from the dead, I would not have to fear loneliness anymore. Then, a few weeks later, I remembered." The tanned woman took a deep breath. "Dejana-chan's appearance was a complete surprise to me...because she will not be with us in Crystal Tokyo." Usagi's eyes widened, and all the color drained out of her face. "What happens to her?" she whispered after a moment. "I don't know," Setsuna admitted. "As Sailor Pluto, I'm not supposed to exist in Time. My presence in this world distorts the flow of Time, making the near-future unclear. Whatever happens to Dejana will happen while I'm living in Time, so I can't see it. I only know that she will not be part of the court of Neo-Queen Serenity." "Then, already, she could be..." Usagi stopped. "Iie. I won't believe it. It doesn't have to be that way." Her eyes focused in detemination. "I won't give up! I'll find her, and bring her back! So, don't you give up either, Setsuna-san!" With this declaration the golden-haired girl turned and strolled purposefully toward the door. In the doorway, she hesitated and turned back toward Setsuna, a warm smile once again on her face. "I've always believed," she said gently, the sunlight shining in a halo of gold around her odangoed head, "that one perfect day with a good friend would be worth an eternity of hoping for their return." Usagi disappeared around the corner. Left alone in the room, Setsuna felt the lingering warmth of her Princess' presence. ~With every passing day, she becomes more like the Queen she will someday be,~ the ancient woman thought fondly. "Let's see... The park, the arcade, the train station..." Usagi added more locations to her list. "Usagi-chan, don't you have an essay due tomorrow?" Luna called up from the bedroom floor. The black cat gathered herself up and leaped into the air, landing lightly on the smooth surface of the desktop. Stepping forward, Luna peered down at the list Usagi was making. The heading read "Places to Look for Dejana." Luna let out a soft sigh. "I know you want to help," she said gently, "but there isn't much you can do. I'm sure she'll come back on her own," she tried. "Come on, Luna," Usagi replied, still bent over her list. "I know you're as worried as I am. What if something happened to her? We can't just give up!" Luna sat down on the desk, her tail swishing back and forth across its surface. "What if she's back in Starlight Palace?" she wondered aloud. "We don't even know where that is!" "She'd never go back there," Usagi said firmly. "She..." The young girl stopped abruptly as both she and the cat heard footsteps climbing the stairs. Thumping, running footsteps. The footsteps of a pesky little brother. Usagi snatched a slipper off one foot and readied herself to throw it as the door opened and Shingo's head appeared around its edge. "Usagi, telephone!" he yelled unceremoniously, pulling his head back and slamming the door behind him. She threw the slipper anyway, only to collect it again before heading downstairs. Thinking ahead as Shingo followed her to the telephone, Usagi selected the cordless receiver and was already on her way back up the stairs when she put it to her ear. "Moshi-moshi?" She tripped on the staircase and nearly fell flat on her face as the most beautiful voice in the Universe flowed out of the device and into her ear, filling her head with air and making her heart flutter within her chest. Hurriedly she rushed into her room and closed the door firmly in Shingo's face. "Mamo-chan!" Overwhelmed with joy at hearing the smooth tones of her soulmate, it took a moment for Usagi to realize that she couldn't understand a word Mamoru was saying. Her mind reeled under the assault of foreign words until she managed to interrupt her enthusiastic lover. "In Japanese, Mamo-chan, Japanese!" "Uh? Oh, gomen," Mamoru replied after a moment of disorientation. "Usako, how are you? Is everything all right?" "Nani? Anno..." Images of recent events whirled through Usagi's memory. The ShapeShifter. Dejana. Mestophan. The changes that were happening in her world. "Of course everything's all right, Mamo-chan," she lied. "I'm just fine. Everything's normal," she babbled, laughing nervously. "Why do you ask?" "The truth, Usako," Mamoru muttered impatiently. "I'm making a long-distance international call here. I know there's a new enemy. It's all over the tabloids in America." "It is?" Usagi breathed, sinking down on to her bed. Luna leaped up beside her, waiting patiently for her friend to fill her in. "Of course. 'Aliens Invade Tokyo'," Mamoru quoted. The rustle of newsprint crackled on the other end of the line. "Bad computer- generated photos, as usual, but there's enough here to tell me something real is happening over there." "Is there...is there anything about..." "Iie. No mention of schoolgirls in short skirts." Mamoru's warm voice became clear and serious. "Listen, Usako... If you need Tuxedo Kamen, all you have to do is say the word. You know that, ne?" "Hai, I know." Usagi bit her lip. She should have expected this. Listening to the melted-chocolate tone of her distant beloved, her heart screamed only one answer: ~Come home, Mamo-chan, come back to me! I miss you, I need you by my side. I can't do this alone!~ Against her will, her mouth opened and her lungs prepared to say the words she really wanted to say. With great effort, Usagi bit the words back. Even as she thought them she knew they weren't true. She was not alone, and even if she were, she had learned by this time that she COULD do it alone. There were more important things to consider than her own desires. "We'll be fine, Mamo-chan," she forced herself to say. "We can handle it. Don't let the enemy ruin your dreams. Keep working hard; that's what will make me happiest." Usagi's hands were trembling, and she tightened her grip on the telephone. Mamoru caught the slight shake in his betrothed's voice. Are you sure?" he asked warily. "Hai." Usagi squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that were threatening to gather there. "Really. In fact, we have a new soldier to help us," she added, desperate to turn the conversation away from the fact that she was turning down a chance to bring Mamoru home. "Nani? Another one?" Mamoru asked, worry in his tone. "Not one of Galaxia's, I hope!" "Oh, no, Dejana-chan's one of ours," Usagi explained quickly. "We just found her, actually, she found us. She's a good person with a pure heart," she assured her absent protector. "Really." Mamoru sounded unconvinced. "I'd like to speak to this Dejana." "Oh." Usagi lay back on the bed, brushing her long pigtails aside. "Anno...she's, she's not, well, she sort of disappeared," the golden-haired girl stammered. "What do you mean? What is going on there, Usako?" her long- distance boyfriend demanded. Usagi felt tears welling up in her eyes again as she thought about the girl with indigo hair and violet-sapphire eyes, the missing Sailor Senshi. "We have everything under control," she nearly croaked. "Enough about me, Mamo-chan. How are things going for you in America? Have you found an American girlfriend yet?" The teasing question brought a smile to Usagi's lips, helping her sound less upset. "Don't be silly. Have you and Motoki eloped yet?" Mamoru shot back. "Seriously, Mamo-chan, it's been so long since I heard your voice," Usagi pleaded. "Let me just listen to you for a while. How are your studies going?" A sigh issued from the other end of the line. "Well, I just started this interesting project..." Usagi closed her eyes and relaxed, letting the silky warmth of her soulmate's voice flow out of the telephone and into her heart. She could not understand much of what Mamoru was saying, filled as it was with technical terms and scientific concepts, but she was content simply to listen. The love in her beloved's tone warmed her from head to toe, and Usagi could almost imagine that her lover was there beside her, holding her. Aliens, battles, worries, the very fact that she was a soldier detached from Usagi's mind and floated away, carried into oblivion by the comforting voice of the man who loved her. General Jameton shuffled through the papers and miniscreens on his desk for the fifth time, repeating his futile search through the various reports for a shred of good news. ~Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'm dead. I'm worse than dead. I'm...~ A knock on the door interrupted Jameton's miserable thoughts. Quickly he straightened up and adjusted his uniform before reaching over to press a button on the desk's keypad. With a slight creak, the door slid open. Jameton's mood did not improve; the two beings he least wanted to see entered his office. "General." "What do you want?" Jameton replied irritably, searching through his papers yet again. "Oh, come now. Is that any way to speak to an ally?" Jameton raised his head and glared at the ShapeShifter. It took all the effort he could muster to prevent himself from shuddering. Looking at the ShapeShifter's natural form, pale and featureless, half smoke, half matter, like barely-restrained liquid, sent shivers up Jameton's spine. "We are not allies," Jameton hissed through his teeth. "You work for the Queen. That is all." "I think we have more in common than that," the ShapeShifter replied, casually leaning against the General's polished black desk with one gelatinous hand. ~We are both after the same thing, a thing that has disappeared: Sailor Infinity.~ The harsh whisper of the ShapeShifter's partner made Jameton's skin crawl. He kept his eyes firmly locked on the indistinct mask of the humanoid partner's face instead of turning toward the new speaker. Repulsive as it was, at least the ShapeShifter had a body. "What about her?" Jameton began to shuffle his papers again, feigning disinterested self-confidence. The ShapeShifter dropped his casual air and leaned forward across the desk. "Oh, come on!" he growled. "She's disappeared from your view as well, admit it!" ~Amaranth does not tolerate those who fail her,~ his formless partner reminded Jameton. ~Soon, General, it will not matter which of us are true subjects of her kingdom.~ Jameton paused in his nervous rustling of reports and useless data. With a sigh, he realized that he knew the alien duo was right. He would be punished if he did not provide Amaranth with results soon, and he had nothing to offer her. His entire well-trained, experienced staff could not provide him with the slightest hint of where Sailor Infinity had come from or where she had gone. He was out of options. Barely believing the words as they fell from his own lips, Jameton asked, "What did you have in mind?" The ShapeShifter's watery lips curved into a twisted, triumphant smirk. Jameton's heart sank. He knew he had shown a crucial weakness to the aliens. "Well," the ShapeShifter began, "Infinity appeared when the Sailor Senshi faced an inescapable crisis. We believe that if one of the other Senshi is threatened, she will return to protect her. We have designed a perfect trap for Infinity's precious friends." Against his better judgement, Jameton found himself nodding at the ShapeShifter's words. He hated to admit it, but the theory made a lot of sense. ~We have seen that outright assassins do not work against them,~ the ShapeShifter's partner added. ~Besides, our methods are not so overt. Brute strength is not within our arsenal. For that, we must turn to you, General.~ Jameton understood the situation perfectly. The partners did not want their mission to be given to any other aliens. If Jameton provided the manpower for the plan, the pair would earn their freedom and he would gain enough information to protect himself from Amaranth's wrath. "Very well," Jameton said after a moment. "I'm listening." Alone in the training arena within Starlight Palace, Sailor Infinity secured the last weight around her wrist. She moved around experimentally. The heavy metal parcels around her wrists, ankles, and waist provided a reasonable imitation of the Earth's gravity. ~Not perfect,~ Infinity thought with a sigh, ~but it'll have to do.~ Gathering her strength, the black-suited soldier bunched her muscles and sprang into the air. For a moment she soared, her indigo hair flying behind her, reaching out for the ledge that was her target. Then the weights around her body took hold of her inertia, and she began to fall. Infinity extended her arms, but her white-gloved fingers missed the ledge and she crashed to the floor below, landing hard and tumbling into a clumsy roll. With a determined look on her pale face, Sailor Infinity pulled her heavy body to its feet and readied herself to try again. ~I won't give up. I have thousands of years of training in the wrong environment to make up for.~ In a moment fit for the history books, both Tsukino Usagi and Aino Minako arrived at their meeting place on time, each of them accompanied by her feline advisor. All four were exhausted from running, but they were there. "Any sign of her?" Luna panted, her whiskers and tail drooping. "Iie." Artemis looked just as discouraged as his black-haired counterpart. "I'm getting worried," Usagi admitted. "I was sure Dejana-chan would be hiding somewhere in the city. She wouldn't have gone back to Starlight Palace." She seemed preoccupied with her thoughts, her face sad. "Maybe she was taken back against her will," Minako said. "She might have fallen into one of those trap doors or something." "Hai! Maybe that's what happened!" Usagi exclaimed, relieved, her mood brightening considerably. Luna looked up at her friend, puzzled. "What was your theory, Usagi-chan?" The odango-headed girl quickly averted her eyes. "Nani? Oh, nothing," she muttered. "Well, she could still be in Tokyo somewhere." Minako pulled out her own list of possible locations, crinkled and messy from being modified and folded many times. "There are still the museums, the airport, the library..." "It's getting late," Usagi broke in. "Let's get together again after school tomorrow and search some more." "Artemis and I are going to the old command center tonight," Luna informed the girls. "We're going to search the Moon's main computer for information on the enemy." "You worry too much!" Minako scolded the cats. "There hasn't been any enemy activity since Mestophan, and he was nothing we couldn't handle." "We can't relax too much," Artemis replied. "The enemy is still out there. Dejana wouldn't want any of you to put yourselves at risk because of her," he added. "I suppose you're right," Minako admitted. "All right, I'll see you all tomorrow, then!" "Ja ne!" Usagi said. The two blonde girls took off toward their respective homes. Side by side, the cats headed toward the Crown game center. Later that night, Luna and Artemis lay together beneath the flickering main monitor, their bodies intertwined. Sleepily, Artemis raised his white head to blink and squint at the computer screen above. The search was still running. Even though much of the data contained in the central computer had deteriorated over the millennia, the cats would have plenty of material to sift through in the morning. The white cat yawned an enormous yawn and turned to settle his head beside Luna's again, but when his gaze fell on the black-haired feline he discovered her eyes were wide open. "Luna?" he asked, curling up next to the warmth of her body. "Is something wrong?" "I'm really worried, Artemis," Luna replied, her amber eyes filled with concern. "After all these years, the girls were finally all together again. I thought Dejana-chan was starting to fit in, and now she's vanished without a trace. She's all alone out there, in a strange world. What if something happened to her? What if she's in trouble?" Artemis sighed, his whiskers quivering. "There isn't much we can do, unfortunately," he reminded Luna. "Dejana wasn't a Sailor Senshi during the Silver Millennium, so our powers can't track her." "Usagi-chan knows something," Luna added, winding her black tail around Artemis' white one. "I'm sure of it." Artemis gently bumped his head against Luna's. "She will tell you when she's ready," he assured her. "Our little rabbit is finally growing up into a Queen. She'll have secrets sometimes." Both cats were silent for a moment, pondering this. "Artemis," Luna spoke up again, "do you think the girls will ever be the team they were on the Moon?" The white cat responded with a deep sigh. "Someday, Luna," he replied. "At least, I hope so." The cloaked caretaker glided through the doorway and into the Library of the Silver Millennium, where Dejana sat at a table surrounded with books and scrolls. She looked up as he approached. "All the library has about shapechanging," Dejana said, waving one arm to indicate the volumes of text surrounding her. "I'm learning all I can. Something doesn't make sense, though... None of the known shapeshifting societies in the Galaxy possess the technology to travel to Earth." ~The material here is thousands of years old,~ Dejana's sensei reminded her. ~However, that same thought had occurred to me as well.~ He moved to stand beside his pupil, staring down at her from the mysterious depths of his hood. ~The enemy must have the ability to reach both this rural system and the home system of the ShapeShifter.~ "Also, that other creature, Mestophan..." Dejana looked thoughtful. "That's quite a distance." The indigo-haired girl pushed her chair back from the table, rose to her feet, and moved to the nearby catelog station. When she stepped up to the pillar, it automatically illuminated itself with a soft glow that shone from within the crystalline structure. Dejana placed both hands flat against the plates on either side of the viewscreen within the pillar's alcove. Electric blue lines sprouted from beneath her palms, snaking outward within the crystal pillar to connect to the library's central computer. Dejana's eyes slid closed and she concentrated on her search. After a long moment, a list of results scrolled on to the horizontal viewscreen. Most of the records were books or other documents on certain worlds, species, and technologies, each with a unique number to identify its location within the vast collection of the library. At the top, however, a blinking red item immediately caught Dejana's attention. It was a Level One Security Awareness file, direct from the records of the long-dead planetary alliance. The Lunarian's cloaked sensei approached to peer over her shoulder as she began to read. "This is it," Dejana whispered as she absorbed the official data. "This must be our enemy." "Now we add the eggs." Makoto held out her hand for the bowl of beaten egg whites. There was a pause. "The eggs, Usagi-chan!" "Nani? Oh." Usagi hurried over to the table and pushed the bowl into the brunette's hand. "Arigato - ne, Usagi-chan, I thought I told you to beat these!" Makoto scolded when she saw the untouched egg whites. "Gomen, Mako-chan," the blonde muttered, taking the bowl back. "You're more absentminded than usual today," Rei teased, playfully elbowing her friend in the ribs. "Is something wrong, Usagi-chan?" Ami asked more kindly than the violet-haired girl, setting aside the cookbook she had been leafing through. "I'm worried about Dejana-chan," Usagi admitted. She stirred the eggs mechanically, her face solemn. "We've searched everywhere," Minako agreed. She, too, wore a melancholy expression, and her blue eyes were downcast. "I'm sure she'll turn up," Makoto said gently, smiling at her two blonde friends. "She probably just went home for a while." "Starlight Palace is not her home!" Usagi cried, more loudly than she meant to. Abruptly she slammed the bowl of half-beaten eggs down on the countertop, still gripping the wire wisk in her hand with whitened fingers. "Her home is here, with us!" "Usagi-chan..." Rei moved to her friend's side and lay both her hands on Usagi's shoulders, in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. The other three girls were too stunned by their kind, loving friend's outburst to act. "Why aren't you guys worried about her?" Usagi asked, her voice choked with tears. "I thought we were all becoming friends... Don't you care at all?" Rei reached out, gently pried the whisk out of Usagi's hand, and took the bowl from her, handing both to Makoto. "Dejana-chan's a nice person," she said carefully, "but...how much do we really know about her?" "What do you mean?" Minako asked, confused. "We've been tricked in the past," Ami replied thoughtfully. "Not that I have anything against Dejana-chan, you understand, but it is a risk to let someone into our confidence so quickly when there's an enemy to be fought." "We've all had other friends," Rei added, "but when it comes down to it, we've given our hearts to each other, as soldiers." "Dejana-chan's a soldier too!" Usagi protested. "Oh. Hai, she is, isn't she." The other four looked strangely surprised to remember that fact, even Minako. "It is strange," Minako admitted, her face unusually serious and pensive. "She doesn't exactly feel like a soldier at all." "With every planetary Sailor Senshi we've met, even Neptune and Uranus, there's been a feeling of kinship," Ami agreed. "Sailor Infinity... It just doesn't feel like she belongs." "That's because she wasn't a Sailor Senshi on the Moon. In your memories as soldiers, there were only eight." A pair of sleek, short- haired cats leapt up on the tabletop. "Luna! Artemis!" Makoto exclaimed in surprise. "How did you get in here?" "Open window," Artemis replied with a wink. "Demo-" "Anyway," Luna interrupted, "if you focus on your soldier memories instead of your human ones, I'm certain you'll discover that Sailor Moon doesn't feel like a soldier either." "Well, that's a relief!" Minako exclaimed. "I was starting to worry. How's the research going?" "Slow," Artemis admitted, his white tail twitching back and forth on the surface of the table. "We've narrowed the search down to about seven hundred results." "Seven hundred!" the girls exclaimed. "Well, so much of it has degraded over time that a lot of the files are corrupted," Luna added. "Very few of the results will actually be useful." "Wait," Makoto broke in. "If Dejana wasn't a soldier on the Moon, and she wasn't reincarnated, how did she become a Sailor Senshi?" "I'm not sure," Luna confessed, "but that really is the Ring of Infinite Serenity that she has, given to her by the Queen herself. Queen Serenity must have had this destiny in mind." "Still, how can we be sure that she's truly an ally?" Ami wondered aloud. "Stop that!" Usagi cried, twisting her apron in her hands. "Dejana-chan's our friend! She's not an enemy!" "I really think you guys are overreacting," Minako agreed. "We haven't seen any evidence that she might be against us." "I'm not saying we shouldn't be friends with her," Ami clarified, a blush rising to her face. "I just think we should keep a safe distance for a while." "So do I," Makoto muttered, beating the eggs briskly with the whisk. "I say, better safe than sorry. These enemies are very mysterious, and we still don't understand them. The five of us have been through so much together. She's just so new and different." Luna listened to the discussion silently, her own private turmoil burning in her heart. Like Usagi, Luna hated to hear the girls speaking that way about someone they had once adored. However, Luna had to admit that they were all showing the caution and sensibility of true soldiers, and she could not in good conscience object to that. Biting her tongue, Luna twined her tail around Artemis' for comfort. "Why can't you trust me on this?" Usagi whimpered, facing Makoto. The brunette would not meet her eyes. "All of you," Minako argued, "were new and different at one time. Where would you be now if Usagi hadn't been willing to become your friend?" This statement hit home. Ami, Rei, and Makoto stared at each other for a moment. They did not speak, but they were all thinking the same response. ~Alone.~ "Think about that for a moment," Minako continued, knowing what the unspoken answer was. "Do you really wish that loneliness on Dejana- chan?" "Iie," Makoto replied, hanging her head. "We don't wish that on anyone." "Have we really become the very people that used to hurt us?" Ami wondered aloud. "Ah, Usagi-chan, you've spoiled us with your friendship," Rei teased lightly, but there was a touch of guilt in her eyes. "Onegai, minna," Usagi pleaded, "trust me on this. I know Dejana- chan is our friend. I feel it. Onegai, for my sake, trust me!" There was a collective sigh. "All right, Usagi-chan," Makoto replied. "I trust your judgement. If you say Dejana-chan is safe, I'll believe you." The sun was shining brightly, but there was no warmth in the air. Makoto tugged her coat more securely around herself as she walked toward the Shinto shrine that Rei called home. Beside her, Ami shifted an armful of books against her chest. "Thank you again for helping with my research, Mako-chan," Ami said. "Save it for when we reach the temple," Makoto replied with a smile. "Rei-chan will want to hear it after we're done searching through all those old tomes." "It won't take long with all of us sharing the work," Ami commented as they walked. "Ne, Ami-chan, why didn't you tell us about your research earlier?" Makoto questioned. "We could've helped you." "Well, everyone seemed so busy, with...one thing and another," Ami replied, looking at the ground. The same unspoken name rose to the front of both girls' minds. ~Dejana.~ ~What progress, Dejana?~ The Lunarian sighed and pushed aside the scroll she had been studying. "Something just doesn't add up," she muttered, running her fingers through her thick indigo hair in frustration. "I can't find any mention of shapechanging abilities in any of the records of our target." Her sensei glided forward to lean his hooded face over the scraps of parchment that were scattered across the table. ~Perhaps,~ he intoned slowly, ~we are studying the wrong suspect.~ Dejana slapped one palm against the tabletop. "No, no, this is our enemy," she insisted. "I'm sure of it. There must be a connection." Dejana slid her chair back from the table, got to her feet, and headed back to the catalog station for what seemed like the hundredth time. Thrusting her hands against the metal plates, she ran yet another mental search. The viewscreen lit up in a map of the Library, with the target locations marked in a lattice of glowing blue and red. With an agitated sigh, Dejana headed into the depths of the extensive collection once again. "So, I heard you've been asked to take a part-time job as a tutor," Makoto commented as they walked. "Hai, demo, I think I'm going to turn it down," Ami replied. "I'm not sure I can spare the time." "Oh, come on, Ami-chan! High school exams are over!" "College is just around the corner," the blue-haired girl argued. "Also, I-" Ami was interrupted by the sudden screeching of tires. A dusty black SUV pulled up beside the girls and stopped abruptly, rocking on its wheels. Immediately, three large, muscular men in strange uniforms leapt out of the vehicle and dashed toward the pair. Ami dropped her books and prepared to defend herself as well as she could under the circumstances, but all three men surrounded Makoto. As the first man seized the brunette's arm, Makoto automatically whirled away to flip her attacker over her shoulder. She pulled, but the man didn't budge. He was surprisingly strong. Left unassaulted, Ami's mind worked furiously to determine what she could do with her limited strength. As it turned out, it all happened so fast that even the legendary genius couldn't plan quickly enough. As Makoto shifted her feet to try another tactic, the second man snagged her other arm. His grip was tight, painfully crushing her muscles beneath thick fingers. The brunette hissed between her teeth and leapt up to kick out at the assailants, but the third man trapped her feet within his arms as securely as a vice. Now a touch of panic entered Makoto's mind. These were no ordinary men. Although her hand was growing numb as the grip on her arm tightened, her fingers extended gracefully to summon her henshin stick. Makoto's sharp eyes scanned the area. Fate was not on her side today. The street was nearly empty - save for a young couple running in their direction. They were too far away to help, yet close enough to see too much. With a growl of frustration Makoto closed her fingers against the energy that was gathering there. Kino Makoto could only struggle like a normal human as the three men wrestled her toward the open door of the SUV. Out of time, Ami desperately flung herself at the nearest attacker and beat at him with her fists, but with a casual arm he shoved her back and Ami fell sprawling across the sidewalk. The blue-haired girl could see no other options. She raised her hand and opened her fingers. As Makoto fought her would-be attackers, she caught sight of the familiar gesture. "Iie!" the brunette cried. "Ami-chan, it's okay," Makoto called out even as she tried to throw off her captors. "They won't be able to hold me for long," she added, sending a small smile in Ami's direction. Ami hesitated a moment, then understood. As soon as she was out of the view of ordinary citizens, Makoto would transform into Sailor Jupiter and escape. "Go ahead to Rei-chan's!" Makoto called as one of the men locked a set of odd-looking handcuffs around her wrists and climbed backwards into the rear seat of the SUV, pulling Makoto after him. "I won't be long!" After these last few words, she was gone, her body vanishing into the shadows of the SUV's interior. The other two attackers leaped in after her and the vehicle roared to life, tearing up the pavement with a burst of burning rubber. It had no license plates. Before Ami could blink, the black SUV and its precious cargo had disappeared around the corner. ~Dejana.~ "Hmm?" The dark-eyed girl looked up from the book she had been paging through. ~I wondered if you had given any thought to your other challenge,~ her sensei said. ~The time is coming when you must return to Earth.~ Dejana hung her head and clenched her fists on the table. "I'm doing my best," she said in a small voice. "I learned everything in the wrong environment...and I have no way to practice fighting an enemy's energy." ~Yes, the training room is lacking in that respect,~ the cloaked figure admitted. ~I can not provide you with a realistic opponent.~ "I've been practicing with weights to simulate the Earth's gravity," Dejana added in a slightly brighter tone. "I think I'm improving." ~Show me.~ "I should have done something. I should have found some help, or fought harder, or..." "Don't blame yourself, Ami-chan." Minako sat down beside her friend, who was wringing her hands in her lap. "There was nothing more you could have done." "She should have escaped by now!" Ami protested. "Mako-chan's strong... If she's not here by now, she..." Curling up on the floor, Ami buried her face in her knees. "Don't worry," Minako said in a soothing voice. "We'll get her back." "Mako-chan..." Usagi was standing off by herself at the side of the room, one hand raised to trace an imaginary image on the paper wall. Slowly, her fingertips outlined the shape of a rose blossom. "Iie!" the young soldier cried out suddenly, clenching her fists. She whirled around to face the group, blonde pigtails swinging in golden arcs. "We'll find her, and rescue her! We have to!" she burst out, sapphire eyes blazing with inner light. An exasperated growl rose from the figure seated in front of the sacred fire at the center of the room. Rei lowered her clasped hands and pounded both fists into the mats below her. "Well, we'll never find her with all this noise!" she snapped, glaring over her shoulder at the others. "I'm trying to concentrate! Out, all of you, get out of here!" A white glove rested gently on the artificially rough terrain of the training room floor. Knees bent, and the soft midnight waves of a skirt fluttered down to settle at the heels of a pair of flexible black boots. Muscles bunched, and energy was concentrated. With a small grunt of effort, Sailor Infinity launched herself into the air. She soared lightly to an impossible height, then curved smoothly downward. A soft click was the only aural evidence of her landing on a high ledge. In an instant, Infinity had returned to her original pose, crouched upon the ledge with the Shadow Staff tucked neatly against her side. ~Again.~ The fragrant wood popped and crackled as it was slowly consumed by the blessed flame. Waves of gentle warmth rolled forth from the sacred fire, embracing the young priestess who prayed to it for wisdom. Hino Rei was a pillar of serenity, seated unmoving before the element that was her soul's eternal friend. Rei let out a soft sigh of peace. Here under the protection of the sacred fire, all stress and worry was consumed. As a pattern of orange and red danced across her skin, the violet-haired girl bowed her head and let the agitation of her concern for Makoto's welfare slip away. Meditating before the flames was like coming home to a mother's embrace. The fire gathered Rei in and cradled her, protecting her from the uncertainty of the outside world. At the same time Rei felt a growing connection to something much larger, a vast, omniscient presence, a trove of wisdom greater than she could imagine. At last, her mind was clear. Respecfully, but with a firey intensity, Rei raised her inner voice to ask her question. ~Where is Kino Makoto?~ In her mind an image materialized, a tall strong figure standing astride the cosmos, shining with kindness and justice and crowned with lightning. ~Hai. I seek that one.~ The answer was there, held within the fire, offered to Rei as a gift. The priestess reached out for it, focusing her concentration. The fire seemed strangely clouded for some reason. Something was wrong. Her connection with the flames was growing wild, resisting her control. The fire's embrace grew cold, unwelcoming. A distance was growing between Rei and the wildly dancing flames. Confused, Rei pushed out with her mind, reaching for the answers she was seeking. The fire pushed back, fierce, cruel, roaring like a torrent in Rei's mind. In desperation Rei struggled to control the flames, evoking every shred of power she possessed in her human form, trying to prevent the fire from becoming an inferno. She could almost literally hear the crackling, spitting fire howl in rage, resisting her control, rebelling, expelling her. Rei's vision was filled with red and orange. The crackle and sharp popping of the flames rushed into her ears in a tidal wave of conscious sound as she came roughly back to reality. A smooth surface felt hard and stiff against her cheek. The connection to the sacred fire was cold, sealed, revoked. Why, then, did Rei feel so warm? No, not warm. Hot. Scalded. Searing. Hino Rei was burning. After a series of near-perfect, graceful jumps, Sailor Infinity stumbled. The black-suited Senshi pressed one gloved hand to her forehead. "Suddenly I feel so warm..." she mumbled. Infinity swayed for a moment, and then she dropped to her knees on the training room floor. She felt overwhelmed by heat. Waves of boiling pain rolled across her skin. She was hot, hot as fire. "I'm burning," Infinity gasped, clutching at her own body, trying to rub out invisible flame. "I'm burning, sensei!" The cloaked spectre took one look at the suffering soldier, on fire without flame, whirled around and headed for the door. ~Come, quickly!~ Sailor Infinity stumbled after her mentor, trying to see clearly through a haze of red. Through the pain that enveloped her body she didn't think much of the cloaked figure's strange gait. In his haste, the caretaker of Starlight Palace did not glide smoothly across the floor but bounced in an even stride, like a normal mortal being. The doors to the main chamber burst open before their master and the cloaked figure dashed inside, thrusting out one robed arm to command the waiting Space Portal. Infinity forced her eyes to focus on the horrific scene that swam into existence on its shimmering surface. Rei was lying in an inferno. The room the Portal showed was dark with thick smoke despite the blazing flames. The walls were crawling with cracking tongues of flame. Rei's clothes were alight, and the violet-haired girl wasn't moving. "Rei-chan!" Sailor Infinity cried out in alarm, forcing her reflection of the girl's pain to the back of her consciousness. Without waiting for instructions from her sensei, Infinity lifted the Shadow Staff in her roasting hands. "Infinite Power! Teleport!" Cloaked in the eternally dark power of shadows of the past, Sailor Infinity descended into Hell. As the shield of her own teleportation energy dissipated, she was assaulted by a wave of boiling heat and an atmosphere filled with smoke. The air burned, and when Infinity tried to breathe, it choked her. She coughed painfully and doubled over, her eyes stinging and filling with tears. Ashes and coals drifted around the room, singeing her skin and the cloth of her Sailor fuku. Leaning heavily on the Shadow Staff, Sailor Infinity forced herself to stand upright. The Talisman of Eternity felt heavy around her neck, and she stood hunched over like an old woman as she struggled to clear the tears from her eyes. "Rei-chan?" Infinity called, knowing it was a futile cry. There was no response. Her face and legs stung in the heat, assailed from every direction by crackling flames. Even the floor was beginning to burn, and the soldier could feel the heat through the soles of her black boots. Infinity stumbled forward, squinting, searching through the billowing black smoke and the blinding light of the flames for her missing friend. As she leaned on her staff, she drove the bottom of the thin pole through the weakening wood of the floor. Waves of heat rolled over the struggling Senshi. She felt as if she would burst into flames herself at any moment. An intense pain suddenly bit into Infinity's thigh. Crying out in agony, she frantically slapped out a small tongue of flame that had caught there. Her cry of pain was automatically followed by a deep breath, and Sailor Infinity dropped to her knees in a fit of hacking coughs as the ash- filled burning air rushed into her lungs. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't see. She clutched at her staff as if it were a lifeline with shaking hands. The room seemed to be growing darker. Suddenly, something deep inside the core of Sailor Infinity's being cracked. A bright, strong power flowed outward from what felt like the center of her soul, cooling the burning fire that seemed to be consuming every cell. Her spasming lungs calmed, and fresh strength filled her muscles. Infinity opened her eyes, and they were clear. Amazed and curious, Sailor Infinity tried to examine the sudden rush of power with every sense she possessed, but in another instant, the gate sealed closed within her. The lightness in her soul darkened, and the pain and heat returned. Infinity was once again a victim of the inferno's attack, but she felt as if she had taken a breath of fresh air. In that temporary respite, she found the strength to rise. Sailor Infinity pushed herself off the floor onto her hands and knees, trying to stay below the smoke. She crawled forward, breathing lightly to prevent too much heat and smoke from entering her lungs. Her bare knees burned against the hot wood floor, but she gritted her teeth and ignored the pain as much as she could. Slowly, Infinity swung the Shadow Staff back and forth across the floor in front of her and to both sides. Before long, the violet orb touched something soft. Determination focusing her eyes, the black-suited soldier crawled to Rei's side in a burst of energy. Without taking the time to examine the unconscious girl's injuries, Infinity hauled herself to her feet and pulled Rei up into a seated position, propping the priestess against her legs. Sailor Infinity hefted her staff once more and summoned all the energy and breath she dared. There was no time to deeply consider their destination. Infinity quickly focused on the first location to enter her mind. "Infinite Power! Teleport!" There was a rush of blessedly cool air. As Sailor Infinity materialized in the house, she took a few huge breaths of pure, delicious oxygen and let her arms drop to her sides. "What the hell?!" Haruka leapt up from where she had been sitting in a nearby armchair, dropping her racing magazine to the floor. Michiru's book was lying forgotten in her lap, and she was staring at Sailor Infinity, openmouthed. "What is it?" Setsuna's voice called from the kitchen. Emboldened by her narrow brush with disaster and the strange surge of power from her inner being, Sailor Infinity ignored them all. She bent down, and with the strength only a Senshi could muster, lifted the burned and scarred form of Hino Rei in her arms. Infinity stared straight ahead as the other two women gasped in shock, knowing that she would completely break down if she looked at Rei's injuries. Without a word, Infinity strolled to Haruka and Michiru's bedroom, which was closest, kicked the door open with one booted foot and carried Rei inside. Raising her eyes to the ceiling and fighting her mind's struggle to imagine what she wasn't seeing, the soldier laid Rei down on the bed. She turned around and walked out of the room as Setsuna and Hotaru rushed in. "What happened?" Haruka demanded, still frozen to her spot in the living room. Sailor Infinity did not reply. As she bent down to pick up the Shadow Staff, she was faintly puzzled by the fact that her arms and legs were not nearly as burned as she had expected. "Watch out!" Michiru cried in alarm. Following her outburst came the dull subspace thumps of two henshin sticks appearing out of nowhere. Half-dazed, as if in a dream, Sailor Infinity raised her head. An area of air in the middle of the room was darkening, spreading, widening into a large circle. Haruka and Michiru stood facing the growing hole in the air with focused expressions, their henshin sticks gripped tightly in their hands, ready to challenge whatever came through. Infinity watched apathetically, caught up in the strange numbness that had followed her rescue mission. As the portal darkened and became more precise, a figure swam into focus. Infinity snapped to attention when she finally recognized the image of her guardian, the caretaker of Starlight Palace. "Sensei!" The cloaked figure ignored the other women in the room. True to life, his faceless image stared directly at Sailor Infinity. ~Dejana. The other girls are at the temple. They think Rei is still there. If they aren't informed of the truth soon, things will become...complicated.~ "I'm on it." Before Haruka or Michiru could ask any questions, Sailor Infinity had vanished once again. The cloaked figure's image disappeared, and the Space Portal faded and closed. Outside the temple, the late autumn air was filled with the clicking sound of incessant typing. "I'll find Mako-chan," Ami muttered as she worked feverishly at her palmtop computer, searching through the wide array of ancient applications. "There has to be something in this system that can help!" The girls had settled down beneath some trees at the edge of the temple grounds. Usagi was huddled up in the dried leaves, her knees drawn up to her forehead. "It's getting too cold to sit on the ground," the odango-headed girl mumbled, staring into the fabric of her skirt so the others couldn't see her tears. "Ami-chan, it's okay," Minako said quietly, trying to calm the frantic search of her blue-haired friend. "Rei-chan will find her, I'm sure of it." Ami did not look up, or even pause in her work. Minako took a deep breath, intending to let out a long sigh, but halted suddenly. "Ne... Do you guys smell smoke?" As one, the three girls raised their heads and looked back toward the temple. A thin column of smoke was rising from one of the rear buildings, carried toward them by the breeze. As they stared for a moment, startled, the column grew thicker. Usagi was on her feet in a flash, dashing toward the billowing smoke with Minako and Ami on her heels. Her heart pounded in her ears as her shoes smacked rapidly against the smooth stones of the courtyard, her breath harsh in her throat, streams of hair rippling in the wind. As they drew closer, Usagi's unspoken fear was confirmed. The small building near the center of the temple, which orange and yellow tongues of flame were now devouring in earnest, was indeed the very one where Rei had been performing her fire reading. Workers and students of the temple were already on the scene, hurriedly dashing to the afflicted structure with buckets from a nearby well. "They don't know Rei-chan's in there!" Ami gasped as they ran. Rushing past a storage shed, the girls nearly ran headlong into a thin black pole that was extended horizontally across their path. Usagi, in an uncharacteristic moment of grace, stopped so suddenly that Minako crashed into her from behind, causing all three of them to collapse in a tangle. Pulling her head free, Usagi glanced upward at the indigo-haired head that leaned out of the shed's doorway. "Dejana-chan!" "Shh," Sailor Infinity scolded the girls as they untangled themselves. "Come with me, quickly!" "Demo, the fire!" Minako protested, climbing to her feet. "Rei- chan...is..." The blonde girl trailed off as she took a good look at Sailor Infinity, half-concealed in the storage shed. Infinity looked exhausted. Her eyes were half closed and she was breathing heavily. The white of her Sailor fuku was tainted with a grayness that had nothing to do with the shadows the soldier was standing in. Her black skirt and bow were tattered, and a few fierce red burns were visible on her skin. "Rei-chan is safe," Sailor Infinity assured the trio as they stared at her. "I will take you to her. Come." Glancing back toward the smoldering building, Usagi noticed that several bystanders and temple visitors had formed a bucket chain. The flames were well away from any neighboring structures, and in the distance a wailing siren was growing louder. Satisfied that the temple would be safe, Ami, Minako, and Usagi gathered around Sailor Infinity. As she spoke the key words to focus her power, the black-suited Senshi held the base of the Shadow Staff above her head and swung the crystal orb at its top wide around herself and the three girls clustered around her, drawing the curtain of power over all four of them. The lattice of energy was stretched to its limit, but it held, and the group vanished from Sendai Hill. Tenderly, as slowly as she dared, Setsuna peeled the shreds of burned, tattered cloth off Rei's blistered skin. The priestess' clothing had taken the brunt of the onslaught of flame, but there wasn't much left. Hotaru lay on the bed beside Rei's nude, unconscious form. Closing her eyes, the mistress of rebirth let her fingers seek out the most serious injuries. Soft violet energy flowed from the firefly's pale hands, smoothing out blisters and returning life to the burned patches of skin. When Hotaru had done as much as she could without draining herself to the point of unconsciousness, Setsuna bandaged Rei's remaining wounds and dressed her in a soft aqua bathrobe taken from Michiru's closet. Rei lay deep in a deathlike sleep throughout the entire process, without a single hint of movement. Exhausted, Hoatru remained motionless beside her atop the blankets. Setsuna rose to her feet. "All right, we're finished," she announced as she opened the door. The tanned woman got more than she bargained for; Usagi, Ami, and Minako piled into the room before Haruka and Michiru had even risen from their seats. The girls slowed down when they beheld Rei and Hotaru lying together on Haruka and Michiru's bed. Hotaru was awake, but her violet eyes were dull, their light faint. Her head was turned so that her worried gaze fell on Rei's pale face. The priestess lay as if dead, with only the slightest movement of her chest as evidence that she still drew breath. A thin cloud of violet strands hovered on the pillow beneath her; a full three feet of Rei's thick hair had been burned away. "Rei-chan?" Ami's voice came out as a half squeak, half whisper. "I think she's in a coma," Setsuna said softly. Lowering her gaze, the green-haired woman moved to a corner to pack up what remained of the household's first aid kit. Her face a mirror to the memory of Rei's pain, Minako timidly approached the bedside. Gently, she lowered herself into a seated position on the bed and took one of Rei's hands in her own. "It's all right, Rei-chan," the blonde whispered, her blue eyes brimming with tears. "You're safe now." "Probably a stress response," Ami announced nervously, wringing her hands as she stepped up to the foot of the bed. "A reaction to trauma," she babbled. "What is the name of that syndrome again...?" A timid pair of dark eyes beneath a gold tiara appeared in the doorway behind Haruka and Michiru. Rising on her toes, Sailor Infinity peered into the room over the women's shoulders. Noticing the movement, Hotaru turned her head, and her eyes widened as she took in the unkempt state of the Senshi's hair and the angry red burn that blazed on one cheek. "Infinity, you're hurt too!" Hotaru pushed herself up on her elbows, but her head swam and she fell back on the bed again. "It's nothing," Infinity assured her under Haruka's icy green glare. "You're exhausted, Hotaru." Michiru sat down on the bed by the healer's side and lifted one hand to tenderly sweep a few stray strands of hair out of Hotaru's eyes. "You need to rest." "You should rest, too." From across the room Setsuna gave Infinity a small smile. "Welcome back. You did well. You can drop your transformation now." The black-suited Senshi slowly shook her head. "Iie. I can't." Infinity stepped forward into the room, the Shadow Staff gripped in both gloved hands. At this point she could not hide her weariness; she leaned heavily on the black rod and was limping slightly. "Mako-chan is a captive of the enemy. I can not rest until she is rescued," she declared, trying to keep her voice steady. "Who's going to rescue her? You?" Haruka scoffed. The tall woman turned her usual condescending glance on Sailor Infinity, and was momentarily caught off guard. There was fierce intensity and conviction in the indigo-haired soldier's eyes that had not been there before. For Sailor Infinity, the brief pause seemed to last forever. She swallowed hard, staring back into the cold emerald eyes of the taller, stronger woman. For a moment, Infinity hovered on a razor-sharp edge of decision. Her heart wailed with the pain of being treated so cruelly by someone she loved so dearly, but at the same time, her mind rebelled. Something hardened within her soul as she finally realized that submission would get her nowhere. She could not win Haruka's love with clumsy, begging kindness. A decision became clear in her mind: Infinity had to choose whether to continue to knuckle under for the sake of peace and flimsy hopes, or to stand up for herself and actually get something accomplished in her life. In an instant the decision was made. "I don't have time for this ," Sailor Infinity spat out in a chilling voice, lifting her chin. In the corner, Setsuna choked as if someone had punched her in the stomach. The first aid kit slipped from her shocked fingers and plummeted to the floor, bursting open. In the crisp snap of plastic cracking, Infinity could almost hear the fragile possibility of friendship with Haruka and Michiru shatter into a million shards of emptiness. In that moment, she didn't care. "Dejana!" Setsuna exclaimed in a horrified tone when she had regained her breath. "What did she say?" Haruka demanded, fire and lightning in her eyes. "It was Lunarian," Setsuna explained shortly. "It's...not a very nice expression." Setsuna blushed slightly and averted her eyes, to the surprise of everyone except Infinity, who had known Setsuna would never speak such a vulgar word, let alone translate it. Seeing that Setsuna was not about to offer any further information, Haruka rounded on Infinity again. "So, you went away for a while and now you're some strong soldier?" she jeered. "What do you expect us to do, go charging off blindly to our deaths? We need time to plan!" "Haruka-san." The quiet interruption somehow carried more power than a high-pitched scream. All eyes turned to the speaker, Usagi. Since her first glimpse of Rei's lifeless form, the odango-headed girl had been standing motionless by the doorway, head bowed, eyelids lowered. She spoke softly, but with a barely-restrained intensity. "Now," Usagi declared. "We must go now." "Demo-" Usagi silenced Minako with a sharp wave of her hand. "I have always been the one to resist taking action," Usagi admitted, her eyes still focused on the floor. "I always believed that if we kept to ourselves, we would be safe. Demo..." The blonde young woman raised her sad eyes to gaze on her unconscious friend. "These enemies have no respect for our normal lives, or for our loved ones. They have attacked the peace of our private lives. They have burned a shrine. They have destroyed the sanctity of one of our friends' most precious places. These enemies are different. Hiding will not keep us safe from them." Usagi clenched her fists at her sides. "This time, I say we must go to them and rescue Mako-chan, now!" In the stunned silence that followed Usagi's uncharacteristic speech, Michiru was the first to find her voice. "Princess," she began in her most authoritative tone, "it is unwise to risk all of our lives to save only one person. Makoto is a soldier. She understands that." "It doesn't matter." Being unusually bold herself, Ami had turned to face Michiru. "Mako-chan is our friend. We can't abandon her. Demo... We don't even know where to start looking!" "I do." Sailor Infinity's face was like stone, set as she was on her mission. "I can sense the lives of every one of you." For a moment, a shadow of remembered anguish flickered through Infinity's expression as her eyes fell on Rei. "I can even feel your pain. If I concentrate on Mako-chan, I can use the Infinite Power Teleport to bring us to her." That was all Usagi needed to hear. "Moon Eternal!" she called out, pulling her henshin locket free of her clothes. "Make Up!" The rest of the girls shielded their eyes as the Silver Crystal filled the room with brilliant light. Ribbons of energy coated Usagi's body, forming her Sailor fuku and white wings. In a few moments, Eternal Sailormoon was standing at Infinity's side. "Sailor Moon, wait a moment," Michiru protested in a soothing voice, getting to her feet to approach the soldiers. "Let's think about-" "Saturn Planet Power!" a voice interrupted. Everyone turned to stare at Hotaru, who had scrambled off the bed and was holding her henshin stick over her head. "Make Up!" Purple light flowed from the ringed orb atop Hotaru's henshin stick, coating her body in a warm embrace. Energy turned to fabric, and soon Sailor Saturn's presence tainted the air with the subconscious scent of the life cycle. "Hotaru, stop!" Haruka ordered firmly, extending one arm between the approaching Senshi and the other two transformed soldiers. "You should stay and recover your strength," Michiru added, more gently. The determination in Saturn's eyes softened slightly, but did not die. "Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama," she said, nodding her head at each of them. "I am no longer a child. I will make my own decisions about how I will use my power, and I choose to use it in the defense of my friends. All my friends," she added, glancing at Sailor Infinity. "This is foolishness," Haruka muttered, studying her adopted daughter. Something hardened in Saturn's gaze, and she drew herself up. "Do you wish to challenge me?" she asked quietly. The strength and power of the distant ringed planet whose name she shared coursed through her veins, and Saturn's gloved hands tightened on the slender body of the Silence Glaive. Very slightly, almost imperceptibly, she angled the curved silver blade toward the wheat-blonde woman. Haruka's eyes widened as she found only deadly seriousness in her beloved Hotaru's amethyst eyes. "Of course not," she replied in a hoarse voice. Her arm dropped limply to one side. "Then do not question my judgement." Sailor Saturn strode past her stunned guardian to stand with Infinity and Moon. "Hotaru... You nearly exhausted yourself," Michiru reminded the dark-haired girl in an eerily weak voice. "Are you sure...?" There was no reply. The two lovers looked at each other. It was one of those moments when Setsuna made a mental note to later examine the flow of spacetime around the couple, as time seemed to slow around them. For only moments, a storm of sea and wind raged in a tempest between the pairs of blue and green eyes, yet a world of communication was exchanged. Haruka and Michiru gave one another a sharp nod. "Uranus Planet Power!" "Neptune Planet Power!" Bursts of aqua and golden light accompanied the materialization of a pair of henshin sticks as the salty scent of a fresh sea breeze filled the air. "Make Up!" In another burst of powerful energy, two more Sailor Senshi stood in the room. As one, they turned to face Sailor Saturn. "Uranus. Neptune." Saturn nodded to them, slowly, as one would nod to an equal. "We will go with you," Uranus replied. "I suppose, sometimes, an individual is worth the efforts of a group," Neptune added with a slight smile. From her corner of the room, Setsuna watched, listened, and knew it was a lie. Uranus and Neptune were joining the mission, not because they wished to rescue Makoto, but because they did not trust Sailor Infinity to be alone with their Princess and their daughter. For her own part, Setsuna did not trust Uranus and Neptune to be alone with Infinity either. "Pluto Planet Power! Make Up!" Minako had merely been waiting for her turn to transform. Her Princess would go nowhere without the leader of her guardians. Letting go of Rei's limp hand, she rose from the bed. "Venus Crystal Power! Make Up!" Ami's lingering guilt over Makoto's capture only reinforced her own commitment to Usagi. "Mercury Crystal Power! Make Up!" When they had all transformed, Sailor Saturn looked to Infinity. "The next step is yours." Sailor Infinity bit her lip. "I think I can only teleport three of you at a time," she said hesitantly. "My power felt stretched to its limit when I brought the girls from Sendai Hill." Immediately, Saturn and Eternal Sailormoon drew closer to the black-suited soldier. "Iie," Sailor Uranus protested. "Princess, you should let your soldiers go first, in case there's trouble." "I won't wait," Moon replied solemnly, "and I won't send any of you to face danger for me." "Then, as your guardians, we should be the ones to go with you," Venus broke in, moving toward the nervous Sailor Infinity with Mercury at her side. "Saturn...?" "I won't stay behind," was the response from the dark-haired soldier of revolution. "One of us will be the third member of the party, then," Uranus said, indicating herself and Neptune. Sailor Mercury frowned. "Demo-" "I will go," Pluto interrupted. Edging through the crowd, she moved to stand beside Sailor Infinity. With the Garnet Rod, the Silence Glaive, and the Shadow Staff, the trio truly looked like armed soldiers ready for battle. "Mercury, Venus, you will trust me to protect your Princess until you arrive, won't you?" The two soldiers of the innermost planets looked at each other, then nodded. Sailor Pluto turned to Neptune and Uranus, challenging them with her eyes to object to her watching over Sailor Saturn. Neither one spoke. "So, it's settled," Infinity clarified with a nervous laugh. "There's no need to worry, I'll be back for the rest of you within seconds anyway..." The indigo-haired soldier tried to grin in a nonchalant manner, but the dark seriousness of the atmosphere quickly stifled her halfhearted levity. Infinity cleared her throat awkwardly. "All right, then." Closing her eyes, Sailor Infinity drew all the thoughts of her mind inward, focusing on the connections that illuminated the center of her being. In her mind's eye she could see them all, bright points blazing with new brilliance now that most of the Sailor Senshi had transformed. Closest to her she could feel the adrenaline-fueled anticipation of Sailor Saturn, the chilled dark serenity of Sailor Pluto, and the eternally warm light of Eternal Sailormoon. ~So like her mother's light,~ Infinity reminisced briefly. Two points of energy were dimmer, fainter than the others. One, separated by mental trauma: Hino Rei. The other, separated by physical distance: Kino Makoto. Sailor Infinity focused on the second connection, tracing it to its source. The distance was great, and the far end of the link seemed blurred, undefined. After a moment Infinity grasped onto a location with a reasonable degree of certainty. Holding her friend Makoto and that location firmly in her mind, the black- suited Sailor Infinity steadied her stance and raised the Shadow Staff. "Infinite Power!" Sparkling drops of obsidian energy rained down around her three passengers. "Teleport!" A blast of wind, a rush of cold, a moment of disorientation. Eternal Sailormoon gasped for air with lungs that momentarily did not exist. Suddenly, fresh oxygen filled her body with its blessed cool flow. Moon dropped to her knees on the ground, trying to organize her disarrayed thoughts. The other three soldiers stumbled, but steadied themselves with their tools. The four Sailor Senshi found themselves in a small circular intersection among a maze of passageways. The floor, walls, and ceiling all seemed to be made of a strange gray-white metal. Here and there, bolts and weld marks were visible. The passages were dim, poorly lit by faint lights set into the walls at erratic intervals. Sailor Infinity's vision blurred, and she leaned heavily on the Shadow Staff. "I need a moment to recover before I can go back for the others," she told the rest of the group. Taking deep breaths, she shook her head to clear it and blinked her eyes several times until her head stopped spinning. "The Shinmosei starship," Infinity breathed then, as her vision cleared and she was able to take a good look at their surroundings. "Nani?" Pluto inquired, fixing a puzzled expression on her face that did not quite hide the sudden flash of alarm that crossed her eyes. Saturn waited for Infinity's response with a truly confused look, while Moon peered into the gloom around them, seemingly oblivious. "I've been doing some reading-" Infinity began before she was interrupted by Eternal Sailormoon's cry. "Mako-chan!" Gold hair flying, Moon dashed over to a pillar half- hidden in shadow. "Sailor Moon! Wait!" The other three soldiers hastened after the retreating pair of snow-white wings. At the foot of the thin metallic column they found the limp, unconscious form of Kino Makoto. She was crumpled up on the smooth floor, slumped against the pillar, still wearing the clothes she had been kidnapped in. Her eyes were firmly closed and her head lolled to one side, loose strands of brunette hair dark against her skin. There were no visible signs of injury, but she did not stir when Eternal Sailormoon gently shook her. "Mako-chan! Are you all right? Speak to me, Mako-chan! Onegai!" Kneeling in front of her unconscious friend, Moon tried to pull her forward, but Makoto stuck fast to the pillar. Moving around behind the pole to investigate, Sailor Saturn found that the girl was tied securely to the column with knotted ropes. "I'll get her loose, and we can all get out of here. You might be able to save your energy, Infinity." Saturn brought the silver blade of the Silence Glaive forward, but the ropes that bound Makoto were knotted closely to her wrists, too closely for Saturn to risk using her deadly weapon to cut them. With a sigh, the violet-suited Senshi laid her Glaive on the floor as she knelt beside Makoto, and began working at the knots with her fingers. "Keep an eye out for anyone coming," Saturn advised Pluto and Infinity. The two ancient soldiers nodded and spread out slightly, keeping watch over different passageways in the gloom. "Wake up, Mako-chan," Eternal Sailormoon pleaded, her pure blue eyes filling with tears of worry. Tenderly Moon lifted her friend's chin in one of her hands, searching for signs of life. "You're safe now," the blonde whispered. "We'll get you out of here, don't worry." Eternal Sailormoon jumped and dropped Makoto's head abruptly as a shrill scream sliced through the silence that had surrounded them. Automatically she and Saturn both leapt to their feet and turned in the direction of the sound. There was a clatter, and the crystal-topped Shadow Staff came rolling across the floor. At the mouth of a passageway across the intersection, a shadowy figure loomed behind Sailor Infinity, holding both of her arms tight behind her back. The indigo-haired soldier grunted and struggled against the vicelike grip that had taken her by surprise, but in her weakened state the assailant's hold was too strong for her. The chill of metal clinked closed around her wrists, and Infinity knew how Makoto had been overpowered. The instant the shackles were sealed, what little energy she still possessed began to drain from Infinity's body, and she was overcome by a rising tide of weakness. A blast of feathers filled the air, rippled by a sudden distortion of time. "Silver Moon..." "Dead..." Quick as a flash, a long silvery knife appeared against the alabaster of Sailor Infinity's throat. Through the shadows, the other soldiers caught a brief glimpse of a uniformed arm gripping the handle. The captive Senshi sucked in her breath, trying to draw her flesh away from the sharp edge of the blade. Eternal Sailormoon and Sailor Pluto froze, letting the gathering energy of their attacks fade away as Sailor Infinity gasped repeatedly in tense fear. Before any of the soldiers had a chance to think of a new course of action, their enemy tugged his captive backward - and through a nearby wall. Without as much as a ripple in the metal, Sailor Infinity and her attacker vanished. Sailor Pluto's arms went limp, and her own Garnet Rod slipped to the floor with a dull clunk. Crimson eyes wide, lips parted slightly in disbelief, the Guardian of Time stared at the blank wall through which Sailor Infinity had disappeared with an empty expression. All the feeling went out of her legs, and she staggered on her feet. "Iie..." Sailor Saturn whispered. "Dejana-chan..." With a strangled cry, Eternal Sailormoon rushed across the space and threw herself against the wall, beating it unceasingly with her fists. "Dejana-chan!" she wailed, tears welling up in her eyes. "Bring her back! Onegai..." Shaking, Moon dropped to her knees on the floor, pressing weakly against the wall with her gloved hands. "No more... Don't take away any more important people..." Saturn shook herself back to reality, and hung her head with a sigh. "Don't worry, Usagi-chan," she said in what she hoped was a soothing voice. "We'll get her back. At least we've found Mako-chan." The violet-suited soldier turned around to return to her task of untying the brunette's bonds. Makoto was gone. The pillar to which she had been tied was empty. Not even the ropes remained. Without Sailor Infinity, the three Sailor Senshi were stranded, unable to teleport back to their waiting friends. ------------------------------ End of Book One, Part Four To Be Continued in Book One, Part Five: Shadow ------------------------------ 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! ^.^