Let’s try this again….

Welcome back to the new and revised version of “The Quest”.  This is
the last book in a trilogy that started with “Fatal Exposure” and 
continued into “Full Circle”.  Although it would be nice if you’ve 
read those two stories, it isn’t totally necessary.  That Crystal 
Tokyo will be founded by the end of this book is a given.  What I’m 
also doing is setting up my next series of stories that will deal 
with the Black Moon Clan.  I’ve always wondered just how and why 
Demando became so totally obsessed with Neo-Queen Serenity and this
should provide those details.  The White Prince of Nemesis is a 
fascinating character as he was done in the anime.  Demando is an 
odd mixture of both villain and hero, a man who has the capability 
to be noble and ignoble at the same time.  What can I say?  I’m a 
sucker for tortured, angsty men!

Many and effusive thanks go out to Donnar-I for her insights, pithy
remarks and willingness to show me where I left a few plot holes 
big enough to drive a truck through.  Everyone needs a good beta-
reader and I am grateful that she took the time out her incredibly 
busy life to be mine.  Mile buiochas leat go brach (A thousand thanks
to you forever)!

Standard Disclaimer: I don’t own “Sailor Moon” or any of the 
attendant characters to which valid copyright laws apply.  I also 
don’t own “Doctor Who” so please don’t send stray Galifreans knocking
on my door to extract compensation (and get that Tardis off my lawn, 
for pity’s sake.  You’ll kill the grass!).  The Sons of the Golden
Kingdom and the S’Eyre are products of my warped and twisted little
mind, so please ask permission if you’d like to borrow them for a 
story of your own.  


***************************************

“The Quest”

 By Meara

 Chapter One 

“King Endymion was saying that from now on we will face the real 
test.”   Tuxedo Kamen, episode 83.

***************************************

Elysion was a sacred, secret place that existed outside the 
boundaries of the normal world.  Although Earth’s hidden shrine had
always mimicked the pattern of night and day, the seasons had never
changed in Elysion.  It was always summer there, and the most perfect
of summer days at that.  Since the beginning of time it had never 
known a frost until the spell of crystal sleep was cast, and winter
came to paradise.  Elysion and those in it were locked in a frozen 
slumber that was the only hope of mankind.

In a grove at the very center of the hidden shrine, Usagi and Mamoru
stood together.  Like everyone and everything else, they were encased
inside a crystalline cocoon that suspended time.   Their arms 
entwined about each other they used the powers of the Earth and the
Moon in perfect harmony.  The ultimate power of two-as-one came 
together to heal a world mortally wounded by the greatest cataclysm
it had ever suffered.  

No winter, not even one engendered by magic, can last forever.  There
were signs that spring was finally ready to return to both Earth and 
Elysion.  Pulses of silver and golden light would surround the 
slumbering bodies of the last Crown Prince of Earth and his beloved
Princess with increasing frequency.  That light was refracted by the
crystal that enshrouded them, casting rainbows that danced around the
frozen garden.  It was a beacon of hope, a ray of light for a world 
that had endured winter for a thousand years.  

There were only two ways into this mystic realm.  One was through a 
portal controlled by the Guardian Priest of Elysion, Helios.  The 
other was by a device that was a curious blending of science and the
arcane called, prosaically enough, a “Gate”.  This piece of 
technology was controlled by an alien race known as the S’Eyre and
they zealously guarded the secret of making and holding a Gate.  

The power of the S’Eyre Imperium was such that very few people were
willing to take the risk of ticking them off.  However, in every 
generation there will always be those people who figure that they 
have found a foolproof way to beat the odds.  Happily, most of the 
time these people tend to die by their own misadventures before they
can do any lasting damage either to the gene pool or those around 
them.  

Most of the time – but not always.

A weak glow started in one corner of Elysion.  Slowly, the feeble
flicker of light grew.  A blazing hole in the fabric of reality 
grudgingly formed and the shimmering veil of light pulled back.  Two
men stepped through the hole, the stamp of their mutual heritage 
evident on their faces.  They were followed by a half dozen round, 
floating machines.  

“Yes,” Rory, a small, thin man hissed in triumph.  He brushed his 
unruly chestnut hair out of his eyes.  “I knew this would work, 
brother!  My star is definitely on the rise!”  He slipped the proto-
gate control onto a hook on his belt.

“You and your damned ‘stars’,” The second man, Dirk, was taller.  He
was lean with a face that had a perpetually nervous look about it.  
“How many years have I listened to you whine,” he mimicked the smaller
man, “’the stars control everything’.  What a pile of crap!”  A 
misstep on the slick crystalline surface under his feet nearly made 
him fall.  

Rory was nearly giddy with a joy that was a complete mystery to the 
taller man.  “Elysion, at last. I told you I could get us into here 
without any trouble, Dirk.”  He walked carefully around, “This is 
just the way the stories tell of it. ‘A paradise sheltered from the
winds of time’.”

“I’ve got news for you.  Your ‘paradise’ is a graveyard,” Dirk 
mumbled, looking at how everything was covered by a layer of 
impossibly thin crystal.  “We stole the proto-gate, then spent three
years avoiding the agents of the High King while you learned to use 
the damnable thing.  I spent every last coin I ever saved to buy 
mining drones.  All of that time, effort and expense just to come to
this tomb?!  How are we supposed to mine the crystal?  It’s too damn
thin!  I’m ruined – ruined and it’s all your fault!   Mother told me
that I should have stayed an accountant instead of becoming an 
adventurer, but did I listen to her?”

Rory waved away his concerns.  He closed his dark eyes for a moment.
“The size of the crystals isn’t as important as the kind of energy 
they hold and the mystic energy here is incredible!  If we can 
harvest only a small fraction of it we’ll be set for life.”

Dirk reached for the pack on his back and knelt down, rummaging 
through it.  “Extract,” he said to the hovering drones, one hand 
waving at the ground.  

“Extract, extract, extract,” the beach ball sized robots whirred and
clicked as the command was processed.  A light in the center of the
machines flashed red and slender appendages came from the metallic 
bodies, giving them the look of mechanical spiders.  Mining tools were
attached to the multiple arms, a high pitched whine filling the air as
they all started up at once.  Moving as one, the drones skimmed along
the ground, trying to do as they were bid.

Dirk, meanwhile, had pulled out several hammers and chisels.  Cursing
under his breath he started to chip away at the crystal that was 
everywhere.  The ground was hard enough to make Dirk’s knees ache and 
it only added to his foul temper.  

“Don’t just stand there,” he growled at his brother, “Pick up a chisel
and get to work.”

“In a minute.”  His eyes still closed, Rory suddenly cocked his head 
to one side as if listening to something only he could hear.  He was 
a minor mage but, frustratingly enough, he could sense the major 
magics that his body was incapable of handling.  That skill was what
allowed him to “see” just where the wards that protected Elysion were
the weakest.  His gift of magic was very limited, but even a diamond
could be broken if pressure was applied to the correct spot.

The sense was fairly screaming at the skinny, little man right now 
and he let the pull of it guide him.   He rounded a corner into a 
sheltered glen and gave a gasp.  Arrayed in a circle were a series 
of what looked like crystal statues.  At the center of the circle 
were two figures, holding each other close.  Calling on the part 
of himself that could “see” magic, Rory perceived the ribbons of 
brightly colored power that flowed into the pair, like the spokes of
a wheel.  He spared only a furtive glance to the other crystalline 
figures that adorned the grove.  There was power in one or two of the
“statues”, but it didn’t compare to what was before him.  They could 
wait for later, Rory decided.  An interesting theory was formenting 
in his mind and all of his limited intellect was focused on it.

There were shouts of outrage and anger behind him, but Rory ignored 
them.  Every fiber of his being was focused on the man and woman who 
held each other in a loving embrace.  A tentative hand caressed the 
crystal.  “Master of Life have mercy,” he whispered, “Could this be 
Serenity and Endymion?”

***************************************

When Dirk had purchased the mining drones, he’d been told that they 
were speedy, efficient and user friendly.  The speedy part was evident
as the busy little machines skimmed along the surface of Elysion, 
tools whirring away.  The one word commands they were programmed to 
obey actually suited Dirk quite well.  He’d never been the most 
technically adept man in the S’Eyre Imperium.  As for efficient, 
well, that was another matter Dirk decided.  For all the multitude of
high tech tools the drones were equipped with, they was very little 
to show for it; nothing, to be exact.  With mechanical precision they 
chipped, hacked and drilled away at the crystal that refused to be so
much as scratched.

The tall lean man was hunched over, hammer and chisel in hand.  When 
gentle taps produced no results, the vigor of his efforts increased in
direct proportion to how quickly his frustration level was rising.   
In a very short time he was pounding away the crystalline ground of 
Elysion, muttering darkly.  A slip of the hand caused him to bring the
thin hammer down smartly on his thumb.  He bellowed out a curse that
echoed across the still landscape.

The cry had not even finished dying away when there was another flash
of light, this time almost on top of the small band of drones.  Dirk automatically brought one hand up to cover his eyes, whacking himself 
on the head with his tiny hammer.  The light died away as quickly as 
it had appeared.  The stars in Dirk’s head took a moment longer, but 
when they, too, finally faded what he saw made him gasp.

Two women in odd uniforms stood in front of him.  They seemed as 
surprised to see him as he was to see them.  The one with the aqua 
hair shook her head almost regretfully.

“You are trespassing but I’m willing to give you the benefit of the 
doubt and assume that you didn’t know that,” Michiru said in a 
civilized fashion.  “So if you take your toys and leave now then 
things won’t have to get rough.”

“Who, by the freezing pits of hell, are you?” Dirk shouted on his 
knees, trying his best to sound tough.  His day just kept getting 
worse.  Going back to a career in accounting was sounding better by 
the moment.

Neptune glanced briefly at her lifemate and partner.  “Invited by the
new age, I am Sailor Neptune, acting gracefully!”

“Also invited by the new age I am Sailor Uranus, entering elegantly!”

“I am Dirk, in charge of this expedition and I am not having a good 
day,” Dirk shouted, grasping his pickaxe in one hand, “Don’t just 
stand there you mechanical morons,” he shouted at the drones who were
busily ignoring his plight, “Defend!” 

The command was processed and the buzzing, little beach-balls all 
chattered away at the same time, “Defend, defend, defend!”  In a 
flash they zipped around Uranus and Neptune, forming a circle with 
the two Senshi at the center.  There was a high pitched whine as 
energy weapons charged.  Long cylinders were speedily deployed, the
tools neatly retracted to the chant of “Defend, defend, defend.”  
They quivered with martial excitement when their charges built to
maximum but nothing more than a puff of smoke came from them.  

“Conventional energy weapons don’t work within the confines of 
Elysion,” Neptune gave Dirk a look of utter scorn.  She sighed 
dramatically, glancing at Uranus.  “The caliber of our foes seems to
 have gone straight down hill.  No one does their homework anymore.”

In reply Uranus called on her talisman.  It came to her hand and she 
gave the now profusely sweating Dirk a wolfish smile.  “Conventional
energy weapons may not work here, but magical ones will.  Want to see
what I can do with this one?”

All the one word commands in the drones very limited vocabulary ran 
through Dirk’s mind.  Usually used in deep mining, they did have one
capability that just might prove useful.  Various rodents and other
pests loved to try and take over the neatly dug holes that the mining
drones made. These robots had been built with pest control as one of 
their back-up functions.  Desperate, Dirk used that function now.

“Exterminate!” he shouted, pointing again at Uranus and Neptune.  

“Exterminate,” the command was repeated by all six.  “Exterminate, 
exterminate.”  The instruction processed, the hovering drones quickly
redeployed their multiple appendages.  All of the very sharp tools whirred to life at the same time.  

Uranus snorted disdainfully.  “Exterminate?  What are these things 
supposed to be – Daleks?”

Back to back, Neptune began to power up her own attack, “Excuse me 
Doctor Who, but we have a slightly more pressing matter at hand.”

The curved blade held by the Soldier of the Sky glowed.  “Then let me 
take the first shot, ne?  Space sword – blaster!”

The sight of the energy from the curved blade plowing into the mining 
robot snapped Dirk out the stupor he’d been falling into.  The drone 
exploded into a million very small bits of shrapnel that whistled by 
his head.  Ever mindful of his own personal security, Dirk bolted in 
the general direction in which he’d seen Rory head off.  With the rate 
at which his drones were falling, he had less than a minute to get out 
of here before the two Senshi finished blasting their way through the 
remaining machines and came looking for him.  Sliding on the slick 
crystalline surface, Dirk rounded the corner to see Rory running his 
hands over some kind of statue.

“Open the Gate,” Dirk shrieked with undisguised panic.  “Open the 
Gate!  We’ve got to go!”

“Go?” Rory repeated dully, never even turning to look at his brother.
“We can’t go now.  Do you know who this is?”

“I don’t care if it’s the High King of the S’Eyre Imperium,” Dirk 
retorted heading for Rory.  “This place isn’t deserted.  If we don’t 
leave right now, we’ll be spending the next twenty years in a penal 
colony so remote that they have to pipe in sunlight.”

“This could be Serenity and Endymion!”  Rory knew what this discovery 
meant.  Before him might be the holders of the legendary Silver and 
Golden Crystals.  The fable of those stones of power had been told and 
retold by every mage and mystic for a thousand years.
The version of the tale of Elysion that he knew said that the 
Princess would bestow one wish to the person who could awaken her. 
Whether or not that was true, Rory could sense the incredible energies
that flowed from and through the man and woman in the shining 
chrysalis.  If he could access that power and control it…

Rory channeled every ounce of power he had into his hands, pushing 
them against the crystalline barrier that encased the lovers.  “This 
is my chance to shine, Dirk.  Once I have the power here I’ll be the 
biggest star this galaxy has ever seen.  I can’t let this chance pass 
me by!”

“What are you doing, you idiot,” Dirk made a grab for proto-gate’s key
where it lay hooked on the smaller man’s belt.  “Open the damned Gate!”

He didn’t have enough power to break the spell, Rory knew in a moment 
of maddening frustration.   There was only a millimeter thin layer of 
crystal separating him from gaining the means to the power and respect 
he had craved all his life.  Avarice and desperation made him throw 
caution to the wind and Rory grabbed greedily at the forces he could 
sense, but had never been able to control.  

He could “see” that the flow of power into the center of the wheel was fluctuating because of his interference, but Rory misinterpreted that 
as a good sign.  If he could affect the power, he reasoned, he could 
channel it into himself.  That mistake was a small one, but like a 
single snowflake, it started to roll together a series of events that 
would cause an avalanche.

The pain began as a slight twinge, then quickly started to mount.  
Rory knew that pain was the body’s way of saying, “don’t do that!” 
but like most warnings that had come his way, Rory found an excuse to
ignore it.  The healing properties of both crystals were well known.
If he could manage to survive long enough to take one, he’d be able 
to reverse whatever damage was done.

Dirk had the key and with the flick of a switch, opened the portal of
the proto-gate.  The doorway seemed unstable, snapping open and closed
in a pulsing beat that the tall, wiry man could feel echo through his 
body.  He took the key and began to bang it against one hand.  

“Come on, come on – work!”  The small war was now spilling ever 
closer.  Desperation crept into Dirk’s voice. “What’s wrong with this
thing, Rory?”

Rory was beyond hearing his partner’s frantic cries.  A mystic wild
fire filled Rory and any attempt at control was lost in a fraction of
a second.  His body was unable to handle the forces he had tapped into
and they began to take control of him, instead.  The Proto-gate’s 
portal shuddered and convulsed.  Tendrils of wild energy snaked out 
to strike at the spot where Mamoru and Usagi were cocooned together.  
The added power made the air around them shriek in a tone that caused 
the faceted chrysalis to vibrate. 

The small, thin man started to glow.  His hands merged with the 
crystal encasing Mamoru and Usagi.  Acting as a conduit for the power 
raging through him, Rory was able to touch them.  A third party 
abruptly intruding on the endless circle of power between the two 
soul-mates ruptured the delicate balance maintained for a thousand 
years.  For a brief nano-second Rory’s dream was realized.

He became a star that outshone all others - just before he and those
around him vanished in a blazing pillar of light.  


***************************************


It was the sound of a heart rending wailing that made Uranus crack 
open her eyes.  Confused, Haruka slowly brought a hand to her forehead
and took a slow, deep breath.  She remembered fighting, then a bright 
flash that hit her like a cement truck.  Uranus shook her head, trying
to clear the fog out of her mind.  She got to her hands and knees 
looking around her.  Neptune was down but moving, Haruka saw to her
great relief, attempting to roll over onto her back.  

The wordless wailing behind her changed in tone, anger flaring hotly.
Haruka knew that voice and her head snapped around to see Mamoru in 
the black armor of the last Prince of Earth.  He had his sword out 
and was advancing on the last of the mining drones.  

The floating beach ball of death, the very last of the half dozen 
mining drones Haruka noted, made a wide swipe at Mamoru with a buzzing
saw-like tool.  For all his manic state, the armor clad man was still 
remarkably agile.  He danced out of the way of the blade attempting to
gut him.  Mamoru used the momentum he had built.  In a graceful arc he
spun and the blade neatly sliced through the machine at an angle.  The
two separate and now smoking pieces fell back to the ground in a 
shower of sparks.

“Mamoru,” Haruka began getting to her feet.  She used the Space Sword 
as a crutch to help her up and grimaced at the undignified use of the
sacred talisman.  

He swung his whole body towards her and Haruka got her first good 
look at him.  Mamoru’s eyes were wild and the light of insanity in 
them gave even the Soldier of the Sky pause.  He brought his broad 
sword up, taking on a classic posture of aggression.

“Mamoru, it’s okay.  It’s us,” Uranus said, beginning to wonder if he
could even hear her.  “Where’s Usagi?”

The sound of his beloved’s name had an effect on the Prince of Earth
all right, but not the one Haruka had been going for.  His breath 
came in loud, ragged gasps and a look of intense pain flickered 
across his face.  Mamoru staggered for an instant as if he’d been 
struck.  An animal moan of despair ripped out of him.  Gripping the 
deadly blade tighter, he launched himself at Uranus.  

“Uranus, drop the sword!” Michiru shouted.

“Drop the sword?” Uranus called out as she barely managed to deflect
a blow intended to cut her in half.  “Are you crazy?!  He’ll kill me!”

“Take a good look at him, Haruka.  The lights are on but nobody’s home.
Mamoru is acting on instinct right now,” Neptune said, getting to her 
feet.

“And his instincts, which are pretty damn good I might add, seems to
be to hack me into Senshi-kabobs!” She cursed loudly, bringing up her 
talisman in an attempt to ward off the death that was coming at her.  
The savage fury of Mamoru’s attack knocked both of them to the ground.  
Pushing with all the strength she had, Uranus managed to shove Mamoru 
away, rolling to her feet.

Neptune was back on her feet.  A gesture called her talisman, the aqua
mirror to her hand.  “Mamoru’s first instinct is to protect.  If you 
get rid of the sword you won’t be a threat anymore and I think he’ll 
stop attacking you.”

“You think?” Haruka spared Michiru a glance of pure annoyance.  “I am
not about to put this sword down until you’re a bit more sure that 
Mamoru won’t slice me into julienne fries !”

A slip on the crystalline grass took Haruka’s feet out from under her
and she went down hard.  Mamoru brought his long sword over his head,
the arc of descent plain to see.  Neptune screamed her lifemate’s 
name, and raised the Mirror to attack, but knew with sick certainty 
that she’d never be able to stop Mamoru in time.

“Endymion, stop!”  The voice was hoarse, but there was an undeniable
authority to it.  

Out of the corner of her eye, Neptune saw a young man with shoulder 
length hair the color of moonlight, trying to come up beside her.  
He was shaking badly, each small step harder for him than the last.  
Helios, guardian priest of Elysion, ignored the fact that his legs 
wanted to buckle and thrust a hand at the man in the black armor.

“Endymion, you don’t want to hurt her,” he coaxed gently.  “This is 
one of the Soldier’s of the White Moon Kingdom, remember?  This is 
Sailor Uranus of the Outer Senshi.” 

He paused, arms still shaking with pent up rage and terror.  
S…senshi?”  The wild eyes blinked, as if trying to wake from a 
nightmare.  He took a deep, shuddering breath and there was a flicker 
of recognition in Mamoru’s eyes.  The blade was slowly lowered, then 
finally dropped altogether.  Black armor melted away, a tuxedo 
replacing it.  

The insane light in his eyes faded thought and will returning to 
them.  “Usako,” he moaned, the desperation in his voice breaking 
Neptune’s heart.  Mamoru’s knees buckled and he started to fall.   
Uranus lurched forward to try and catch him when he toppled to the 
ground. 

The Prince was shaking violently, shock taking over.  “Usako,” he 
rasped, eyes rolling up into the back of his head, “Usako…”

“Please, help me,” Helios staggered, nearly falling himself, “I have
to get to Endymion.” His face was bleak and haggard, and he swayed on
his feet as though totally exhausted.  “Please, if I don’t help him, 
he could die.”  

Neptune quickly slipped a supportive arm around Helios and nearly 
dragged him to where Mamoru lay on the ground.  The last Crown Prince
of Earth was in deep shock, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his 
body starting to convulse.  Helios fell to his knees and, his own 
hands shaking badly, reached out for his prince.  Eyes closed in 
concentration and a warm, golden glow filled him.  Placing a gentle 
hand on Mamoru, he let the aura flow into the prince.  

The convulsive shaking slowed, then finally stopped.  Midnight blue 
eyes cracked open for an instant, terrible loss in them.  “Usako,” 
Mamoru called softly.  His eyes slid shut once more and he lost 
consciousness.

“He’s in a healing trance right now,” Helios said.  He still seemed 
somewhat dazed himself and slowly shook his head back and forth in an
effort to clear it.  “The Prince and Princess were in deep rapport. 
The shock of the sudden separation…” 

“Separation?”  Neptune said, trepidation creeping into her voice.

Uranus caught her eye as they both had the same thought at the same
instant.  “Where’s Usagi?”  She started to turn, preparing to make
a mad dash for the grove where they had last seen Usagi and Mamoru 
cocooned together.  

Helios reached out and grabbed her by the arm, stopping her.  “She’s
gone,” he said sadly.  “The Princess is gone and so are most of the 
Senshi.”

***************************************

Rory wasn’t exactly sure just where it had all gone wrong.  Dirk, he
was quite certain, would be more than happy to explore that particular
topic with him at length.  That would have to wait, however, as they
were both rather busy at the moment.  The two dozen well armed men 
around them seemed to be equally as unhappy as the two would-be 
crystal miners on the floor.

“Have we come at a bad time?” Rory said in his most polite voice.  
It was never a good idea to be rude to burly men who looked as if 
they wanted to use you for target practice.

Dirk slapped his hand to his forehead at Rory’s remark.  “This is 
another fine mess you’ve gotten us into!” he hissed at his partner.  

“Well, what do we have here?” came a voice from in back of the large,
well armed guards.  The soldiers parted ranks and a young man walked 
towards them, arrogance written in every line of his body.  From his 
blazing red hair to his cold eyes, he gave the overall impression of 
a man who enjoyed pulling the wings off of flies.  

“We get so few visitors here on our little world,” he said, staring 
down at the hapless pair.  I am Crimson Rubeus.  Welcome to Nemesis.”

***************************************

“Usagi and the others are alive.  They’ve been scattered across time
and space by the Proto-Gate,” Setsuna said looking at Mamoru.  The 
future Pluto’s body kept fading in and out like a candle in a breeze.
She held her staff in both hands, a soft ruby glow encasing her.  

“What do you mean, ‘scattered across time and space’?” Mamoru asked, 
trying not to let the desperation creep into his voice.  He looked 
only marginally better, pale and haggard.

“When the proto-gate those fools were trying to use overloaded, it 
grabbed at a superior power source; Usagi and the Ginzuishou.  My own
Gate was partially formed by the power of the silver crystal and it 
started to react to those energies.  The resulting release of wild 
power damaged the fabric of the fourth dimension around Elysion.  
That’s why I had Small Lady find Uranus and Neptune and drop them
here.  With the way things are now, I don’t want to chance having 
both my past and future selves in anything remotely close to the 
same moment in time,” she paused, trying to find a way to explain the complicated temporal physics.  “Bad things can happen when two Gates 
try to occupy the same space at the same time – really bad things.”

“Is that what happened?” Mamoru asked.  There were too many questions 
and not enough answers.

“You were lucky in that the two Gates tried, but failed, to open in 
the same place at the same time.  It was a close enough call that the
temporal matrix of the proto-gate was shattered.” Pluto replied, 
strain evident on her face.  “The other Senshi were sharing 
their power with Usagi as they’ve done in the past and they ended up 
being sucked in as well.  By all rights they should be dead, but the 
Ginzuishou kept the proto-gate operating long enough to deposit the 
Inner Senshi in their own pasts. ”

Uranus had her chin on her folded hands, trying to make sense of the
situation.  “Mamoru and Usagi are linked.  Why wasn’t he taken with 
her as well?”

Helios spoke up from where he sat on one side of Mamoru.  “The Prince
is bound to the Earth as the Princess is to the Moon.  Here in Elysion
that bond is at its strongest.”

“And it’s because his power is strongest here that you may be able to 
break the spell of crystal sleep for those within Elysion.  Please,” 
Pluto said, her eyes closing in concentration.  “Neptune, Uranus, you 
were brought forward to help awaken Sailor Pluto of this time.  My 
talisman will act in concert with yours.  By accessing that power, 
it’ll awaken me.  Once awake, I should be able to use the Timegate to
track down the others.”

Mamoru narrowed his eyes at the tone of Setsuna’s voice.  “Wait a 
minute, ‘should’?  Don’t you know?”

Her body was becoming less tangible with each passing second.  “No,
I don’t.  None of us do.  We’ve all suffered various amounts of damage
to our memories due to the spell of crystal sleep.  Some of those 
missing memories eventually returned and some didn’t, but none of us
have any recollection of waking in Elysion as you just have.  With 
the current chaos in the fabric of the fourth dimension, I fear a warp 
in the timeline is trying to occur.”

Her body was fading out again, the look of strain on Setsuna’s face 
becoming one of pain.  “I can’t stay here long, even in this astral 
form.  This whole area…dangerously unstable…because of the proto-
gate accident.  You must find Usagi and the Inner Senshi or Earth…
never awaken…!  Usagi holds the key to that awakening 
within her.”  Pluto was losing the battle to stay connected to 
Elysion.  “Only when …all eight soldiers together…the seal be broken!”

“I don’t understand,” Neptune asked, her voice growing louder as 
Pluto’s shadowy body was being pulled apart by the temporal winds.  
“Pluto – what seal!”

“…to keep it safe…the nine soldiers hold the key…” Setsuna was 
almost gone, but with a last flicker of ruby power, her voice rang 
true, even as she disappeared.  

“Only when the nine act with one heart can the Seal be broken and 
the world awakened!”


***************************************

He was called the “White Prince” for many reasons.  His fine hair was
more silver than white, positively glowing where it fell against the 
shoulders of the white outfits he favored.  He was also the direct 
opposite of his father, who had come to be known as the “Black Prince”.  

Groomed for his position since birth, Demando knew what was expected of
him.  He was the last, true prince; the ultimate product of a thousand 
years of waiting and planning.  His step-father had been regent for 
him until the day Demando turned sixteen.  The regent had been a good 
leader but the years took their toll on the man.  In the end he’d become
as dark and cold as the planet he presided over.  After a decade long 
descent into madness, his step-father had finally died by his own hand
six years ago.  The White Prince then ascended the throne and became 
Demando, Prince of Nemesis and absolute ruler of the Black Moon Clan.  

With the regal disdain that was one of his trademarks, Demando sipped
slowly on a snifter of a blood red wine that he favored and watched 
the drama that played out for his benefit.  His younger brother, 
Saffir, was a capable man, but he had no interest in political power.  Sensitive, with a keen and inquisitive mind, Saffir was well suited to
his role as chief advisor.   He was the conscience that Demando was no
longer allowed the luxury of having, the voice of reason in an 
unreasoning universe.  

“No, no, no,” Saffir said to Rubeus as if talking to a mentally 
deficient child, “We shouldn’t just kill them.”

Demando sat quietly on his carved throne, watching Rubeus.  He knew
that the man was ambitious, but had always had lingering doubts about 
the extent of his talents.  Casual ruthlessness was an admirable 
quality in a warrior.  It was less so in a man who wished to command
others.

Rubeus glanced at Saffir, but could sense that he was being sized up 
by his Prince.  This was his chance to impress Demando and, perhaps, 
acquire more power for himself.  “These two are most likely spies; 
perhaps even from Earth.  Dead men tell no tales,” Rubeus quoted with
a bit too much glee.

A long suffering sigh came from Saffir.  “And dead men will give you 
no information either.”

Folding his arms across his chest, Rubeus struggled to keep his 
temper under control.  He couldn’t quite understand all the fuss.  
“If it’ll make you happy I’ll be glad to torture them first.  That 
should get you all the information you could possibly want.  Then 
I’ll kill them.”

Bringing his hand to his mouth the White Prince managed to keep from 
laughing out loud at the expression on his brother’s face.  “Rubeus, 
I commend your quick action in capturing the two intruders.  Keep 
them under close guard for now.  I’ll decide their fate later.”

Knowing a dismissal when he heard it, Rubeus gave his Prince a bow of
proper respect.  Saffir was graced with a look that plainly indicated
that Rubeus thought himself the victor in the small conflict.  The 
large double doors to the great hall had barely closed, the sharp 
sound of the jackboots the redhead liked to wear receding quickly 
when Saffir moaned, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

“Moron,” Saffir sighed, rolling his eyes again.  “That man’s solution
to every problem is force.”

“That’s not a bad thing in a soldier, Saffir,” Demando responded, but
not harshly.  “If I want someone dead, then Crimson Rubeus is the 
right man for the job.”  

The White Prince finished his drink and stood, turning to contemplate
the dark inferno that raged behind his throne.  He closed his eyes 
for a moment, feeling the power of the Jakozusho echo inside him.  He
wondered, and not for the first time, if it was the power of this 
Black Crystal that had drawn his people to Nemesis. To be honest,
Demando had always had doubts about the tale of the “voice” that 
called to the refugees from across time and space.  Still, the White
Prince mused, the myth of a voice calling them to their special 
destiny was very popular among the common people.  There were times 
when he could swear that there was a sentience to the giant crystal.
He could sense that strange intelligence stirring, struggling to 
awaken and it called to him.

Saffir watched his brother place a tentative hand on the column of 
dark energy.  Once again Demando seemed to be lost in the spell of 
the Jakozusho and that was more than a little troubling.  Demando 
was supposed to control the power, not the other way around.  

“Demando…” Saffir started, worried.

Pulling himself away from the alluring song of the Black Crystal, 
the White Prince smiled at Saffir.  “I know that look, little brother.
What is it?” he asked in a surprisingly gentle voice.

“As you know, the power of the Jakozusho tends to distort the space 
around us,” Saffir began.  He started to pace restlessly back and 
forth as he spoke.  “That distortion is the reason we’ve been 
effectively trapped here on Nemesis since our parents’ exile about a
quarter of a century ago.  The power of the Jakozusho allows us to 
survive on this inhospitable world, but it’s also our jailor.”

“True enough,” Demando allowed.  A grim smile came to his lips.  “But
our generation has adapted, learned to use the power of the Black 
Crystal.”  He opened himself to the dark mystic energies, enjoying the
sensual thrill that always came with the power. “I’m more attuned to 
the Jakozusho than any other of our Clan.  I will be the one to find 
a way to free our people.  And when I do we will have vengeance for
all our ancestors suffered.”

For a moment Saffir looked like a child, his hands rubbing together
in an unsettled yet excited manner.  “Do you realize what the 
appearance of those two strangers means?”  He nervously brushed a 
lock of his raven hair from his eyes.  “That device the two intruders
used to get here may be the way to that freedom.”    

That got the attention of the White Prince.  “How so?”

Looking around to make sure they were quite alone, Saffir moved 
close enough so that his words were soft, almost whispered.  “It’s 
very similar to the machine that brought our people here in the first
place.  With some tinkering, I think I may be able to adapt it for 
our use.  I suspect it uses a path of travel through the fourth 
dimension – outside the boundaries
of space and time as we know it.  Think about it!  We could go any
where we chose to, get through any defenses without detection.”

“We would be unstoppable,” The implications were not lost on Demando.
“Have you told anyone else about this?”

“Of course not,” Saffir snorted.  “Do I look like an idiot?  Do you 
know what this power could do in the hands of our enemies?”

That made Demando smile.  “Or in the hands of people like Rubeus?” he 
teased.   “Do what you have to but very quietly.  When you are ready, 
come to me and we’ll test this interesting theory of yours, brother.”


***************************************

Helios remembered the first time he’d come face to face with his Prince.
It was during the struggle to save Elysion and Earth from the insane 
greed of Nephelenia, Queen of the Dead Moon.  Suffering the pain of 
this world’s invasion, Mamoru had, nevertheless, tried to console 
Helios when the Guardian had despaired of defeating such a powerful 
enemy.  There had been the promise of greatness in the young Prince, 
a promise that Helios now saw fulfilled.  There had been few physical 
changes over the handful of years.  Mamoru’s profile was more finely 
chiseled now, and there was more muscle on the lean body. But it was 
the quiet strength he unconsciously radiated that showed that Chiba 
Mamoru had finally come into the heritage that had waited a thousand 
years for him to claim.  He was Endymion, Master of the Golden Crystal 
and the True King of Earth. There was a look of intense concentration 
on Mamoru’s face and Helios found himself wondering just what the man 
was thinking.   

The future Pluto was very right when she’d commented that their 
memories were “damaged”.  Mamoru knew what the power of the Golden 
Crystal was, but couldn’t remember just how he’d discovered that 
little secret.  Things were jumbled in his mind and he wasn’t at all
sure of just how they’d come to be here in Elysion.  The one thing he
was very sure of was that they’d had no choice.  If Earth hadn’t gone
into suspension, mankind would have become extinct.  

Those questions would have to wait and Mamoru pushed them aside with
iron discipline.  Neptune and Uranus had their talismans out.  They 
stood at attention, eyes closed.  The Deep Aqua Mirror and the Space
Sword glowed, a thin line of fire dancing between the two.  Opening 
themselves, Uranus and Neptune gathered their power and called for 
the third mystic tool.  That line headed unerringly for the last 
sacred object in the triumvirate that was the base of their power as
Outer Senshi

From within the faceted crystal that held Setsuna, Sailor Pluto and 
her twin, Lorilei cocooned a ruby light sparked.  It was small, at 
first, a dim glow from the garnet orb on the Timestaff.  That flicker 
grew quickly, a burst of crimson fire exploding brightly enough to make
Mamoru want to shield his eyes.  He called on the power of Earth and 
the Golden Crystal came to his cupped hands.  It floated between them 
like a small sun, and a ray of that power shot towards the now shining chrysalis.  It shattered in a heartbeat sending rainbow shards in all directions.

The stone between Mamoru’s hands still glowed as he tried to mold the 
power generated by the talismans.  He only caught hold of a fragment 
of it, but it would be enough for the purpose he intended.  A wave of 
golden light filled the dark haired prince of Earth, then moved 
outwards.  In its wake the crystal cocoons that covered those still 
sleeping began to fracture.  

Sweat ran down Mamoru’s face, but he pushed on.  Behind him Helios 
bent his head and added his fervent prayers.  Prince, priest and 
planet acted as one, and in a burst of power that drove Mamoru to his
knees, he broke the spell that held Elysion in suspension.  

A breeze sprang up, the sweet smell of sun warmed grass and flowers 
carried on it.  Life was returning to Earth’s hidden shrine.  With an
eerie harmony the twins fell to their knees in perfect synch, hands 
still touching and fingers entwined.  All around them people tumbled 
to the lush earth.  Luna and Artemis, Rei’s grandfather, Yuuichirou, 
Dr. Mizuno and even Goruden Kobushi stirred and slowly began to rise.  

Setsuna was blinking owlishly, trying to clear her mind of the chaotic
jumble of thoughts and images that made no sense to her.  She gently 
disengaged her hand from Lorilei’s, letting the fingertips brush 
against her twin’s in a gesture of silent comfort.

“Lady Pluto, are you all right?” Helios put healing hands on the 
Senshi of Time, helping her to shake off the effects of suspension.

The voice caused Setsuna’s head to snap up and her eyes widened in 
shocked recognition.  “Helios?”  She shook her head as the warm, 
healing light filled her and memory started to return.  “Elysion, 
we’re in Elysion…”   

Pluto glanced quickly around and took in the fact that the grove was
not the pastoral and eminently tidy place she remembered.  The 
ground was torn up in places and bits of crystal lay all around her.
All in all, it looked like someone had fought a war in here – and 
lost.  Pluto quickly spotted Luna and Artemis shaking bits of crystal
from their coats.  She just as quickly noticed that still others 
seemed to be missing.

“What happened here?  Where is everyone?” Setsuna asked cautiously.  

“We don’t know,” Mamoru said.  Setsuna almost flinched at the look 
of pain that haunted his eyes.  “But we’re hoping that you can help
us change that.”

***************************************

While Demando was the absolute ruler of Nemesis, there was one place 
where even his authority had no influence whatsoever.  Saffir’s 
private sanctuary was a combination of things; library, workshop and 
ad hoc laboratory.  The White Prince stood quietly in one corner of 
the room, a small smile on his face as he watched his brother tinker
carefully with the alien device the two strangers had brought.  

“You shouldn’t be here, onii-san,” Saffir glanced at Demando once 
while he scrutinized the control box.  “I think I’ve figured out how 
to trigger the portal.  If something goes wrong when I activate it…”

“If something goes wrong then I definitely should be here.  I’m the 
only one with enough power to contain an ‘accident’.” Demando replied
amused by his brother’s concern for him.  

“You are much too confident for your own good,” Saffir sighed.  This
was a never ending topic between the two.  “That’s going to get you 
in serious trouble someday.”

“But I have you to keep me humble, Saffir,” Demando laughed softly.

“As if anything could,” grumbled the younger man.  He picked up a 
small scanner and ran it over the device.  It began to vibrate in his 
hand.  The vibration became a humming that rapidly grew louder.  “Got 
it.  I’m going to try and open the portal.”

The control panel nearly leapt out of Saffir’s hands.  A brilliant, 
silver light filled the room accompanied by a burst of melodic sound.  
A shining, silver arch formed, rainbow light swirling across its 
surface.

“Yes!” Saffir hissed in triumph.  “It works! It really…” he stopped 
when the control panel beeped at him.  A puzzled look came over the 
young man’s face.  “That’s strange.  The power source for the portal 
is coming from inside the fourth dimension.”

“And it’s not supposed to?” Demando enjoyed seeing Saffir so excited 
when one of his pet projects worked the way it was intended to.

A lock of raven hair fell into Saffir’s eyes, and he pushed it away 
irritably.  He fiddled with the control panel.  “Let me see if I can 
get a picture of where the power is coming from.”

Slowly, very slowly, the multi-colored mists pulled back.  On the 
other side of the portal was a roiling mass of darkness.  In the 
center of the storm of shadows was a single point of light.  
There was a figure in the light, Saffir saw, and it moved closer.

“Demando, something’s coming through,” Saffir called out.  “It 
could be an attack.  Teleport out of here!”

“Not without you!” the White Prince called back.  

He reached for his brother just as the portal seemed to explode.  The
hastily erected shield of dark energy kept the two from being 
seriously hurt, but both were caught up in the wake of the blast and
tossed across the large room.  

The White Prince shook his head, rising to his knees.  Saffir was in 
back of him, moaning softly, dazed but relatively unscathed.  Stars, 
the stunned Demando thought, why is the room filled with stars?  

And then he saw her.  

The angel floated in the light, great, silver wings extended.  She 
rode the wave of power that flowed around and through her as if she 
had been born to do it.  The gown of stardust the woman in the light 
wore moved in response to the unseen mystic winds.  Between cupped 
hands was a tiny crystal and even though her face looked only at the 
stone that shone so brightly, Demando could see that there was the 
sigil of a crescent moon on her forehead.  It burned with the same 
light that came from the crystal. 

“So beautiful,” Demando murmured.  When his eye fell on the crescent 
moon that adorned her brow and he inhaled sharply.  “Could it be…?” 

All other thoughts were banished when that silver energy lapped at 
the edges of the dark shield he’d erected.  The part of Demando 
irrevocably linked to the Black Poison Crystal awakened inside of 
him, reacting to the eldritch energies of that now filled the room. 
The mystic wildfire unleashed around him was day to the night of the 
great power of Nemesis, the light that gave the shadows life.  The 
beast that was the Black Poison Crystal inside him howled greedily.  
The ravening hunger, the need to possess and consume that silver 
light hit him with a strength and will the likes of which Demando 
never felt from the crystal before.   

Wings, such a brilliant and pure silver that they actually appeared 
to have a blue tinge to them, cupped Usagi’s body for an instant 
before snapping open.  She threw her arms wide open, as if to embrace
the power around her.  With one last flash so dazzling that everyone 
and everything in the room was washed by it, Usagi was gone.  The 
portal collapsed in on itself with a rush until the only sound left 
in the laboratory was the pounding of the White Prince’s heart.

“Onii-san,” Saffir anxious voice cut through the fog in his mind.  
“Are you all right?”

Demando was still staring at the place where Usagi had appeared.  
“Get her back.”

“Get her back?” Saffir stumbled over the words.  “She nearly blew 
you, me and the workroom to bits and you want me to get her back?”

“She also has the power we need to control this device,” Demando
snapped at his younger brother more sharply than he’d intended to.
“We have to have that power,” he said in a more even tone.  “And that
means we need to find her again.”


A part of the White Prince could still feel the rush that went through
him as the silver light touched him.  The memory of the exquisite 
woman with the golden crescent moon riding the power around her was 
sweet beyond measure.  There was something about her that was eerily,
impossibly familiar.  Could the Angel in the light possibly be who he
thought she was?  That idea, and the thought of controlling the power
the woman had, was irresistible.

“Find her Saffir,” Demando still stared at the spot where Usagi had 
disappeared from.  “Use whatever resources you have to, but find her.” 

***************************************

Elysion, its guardian priest and prince were all connected.  That’s 
why Helios had been freed from suspension at the same instant as 
Mamoru.  Those in the world above still slept on, oblivious to the 
fact that their only hope of ever awakening had vanished.  Without 
Usagi and the power of the Ginzuishou, the spell of crystal sleep 
could not be broken on a planetary scale.

Although Elysion was a place between places, some of the patterns of 
life that ruled Earth also held sway here.  There was day and night,
sun and moon, but no change of seasons. It was always summer in 
Elysion and the most perfect of summer days at that.  As night drew 
near, the sound of birdsong slowed and gave way to the nocturnal 
chorus of insects.  

Utterly exhausted by the day’s events, Mamoru had still wanted to 
press on and attempt to find Usagi.  It was Setsuna who at last 
convinced him that they couldn’t just open her Gate and pop off after
the missing Senshi.  It was true that the Timegate should be able to 
follow the trail left by the proto-gate, Setsuna had said, but that 
didn’t mean it was an easy task.  The Keeper of the Timegate needed 
time to sort it all out.

The bedroom Mamoru was in seemed vaguely familiar to him.  Helios had 
explained that it was his back when his family had lived in Elysion.  
He stretched out on the large bed, staring at the ceiling.  His last, 
clear, linear memory was being at the hospital.  It was the end of his 
shift and he was looking forward to the evening he had planned. 
Tonight he was taking Usagi to one of Tokyo’s finest restaurants and 
there he was going to suggest that they finally set a date for their 
wedding.  After that everything was a jumble of maddeningly sharp 
images mixed in with feelings and words that made no sense to him.

He could see Usagi, radiant with the light of the Ginzuishou that 
transfigured her into an angel.  Mamoru knew she was fighting and 
that the battle was going to probably cost both of them their lives.
But who they were fighting and, most importantly, why was a complete
mystery.  He could hear his own voice saying a phrase that made a 
multitude of conflicting emotions surge through him.

“Together,” he mumbled aloud, the sound of the words giving him a 
strange comfort, “together whatever happens.”

There was a gentle bump on his leg and he almost jumped in surprise.
Lifting his head from the pillow Mamoru saw two round blue eyes 
staring at him.  It was a small gray and white rabbit, looking at 
Mamoru as if he owned the place and the Prince was the intruder.

“What the hell…? Wait a minute, I know you,” Mamoru started slowly.  

The gray and white creature with the long, floppy ears sat up on his 
hind legs, looking around the room.  He tilted his head up, the large
ears threatening to pull him over backwards for an instant.  The
mini-lop settled back down on all four feet, then moved up the bed 
until he was face to face with Mamoru.  

Mamoru looked at the rabbit and the rabbit, unimpressed with the 
Prince of Earth, looked back at Mamoru.

Disjointed images flooded Mamoru’s mind.  He saw Usagi giving a 
squeal of delight as she picked up a tiny, baby rabbit.  He saw 
himself scolding both Usagi and her pet as the smug, little beast 
cuddled in bed with his beloved.  He could hear her voice telling him
not to tease…not to tease…

“Moochi,” Mamoru whispered.  “I gave you to Usako.  Your name is 
Moochi.”

The ears rotated slightly forward as the little lop heard his name 
called.  

“And I don’t think I like you very much,” Mamoru added.  He had the 
distinct impression that he regarded Moochi as six and a half pounds 
of furry annoyance.  

The look Moochi gave him said that the feeling was mutual.  He pushed 
at Mamoru with his head, then under a pillow, trying to see if perhaps 
his rival was hiding Usagi there.  Not finding her, he turned his 
attentions once more to Mamoru, moving closer until he was only inches 
from the Prince’s face.  

I want Usagi, the blue eyes glared reproachfully at him, where is she?

Without quite knowing why, Mamoru reached out and stroked Moochi’s 
head, letting his hand run down the rabbit’s back.  “I want her too,” 
he said.  “Setsuna said she’s alive wherever she is.  I have to 
believe that.”  

It was oddly comforting for Mamoru to talk to the creature.  Moochi 
settled down next to him.  The tiny nose twitched as he picked up 
lingering traces of Usagi’s scent on the Prince.  It would have to do
for now.

“I’ll find her, I promise,” Mamoru said more to himself than the 
rabbit.  “Wherever she is, I’ll find her.”

***************************************

Next – Usagi is lost and alone in Tokyo of the past.  Two sets of 
travelers are looking for her, but who will find her first?  Mamoru 
learns more about the Sons of the Golden Kingdom, while Goruden 
Kobushi learns the uncomfortable lesson that “history” can be a 
matter of perspective.  All this and Sailor Pluto explains why time
travel is like “Star Wars”.  Be here in three weeks for chapter two.