Many and humble thanks go out to Donnar-I for her skills as a beta- reader and for taking time out of her incredibly busy day to look this chapter over for me. She has a keen eye and an even keener wit! Be nice to your editors, people. They’re the ones who keep you from making a total fool yourself in public. Oh my public gratitude goes to Aniah, who pointed out that it’s spelled “Jakozuishou”, not “Jakozusho”, as I referred to it in chapter one. She was right and I was wrong! Standard Disclaimer – I don’t own Sailor Moon or Star Wars, nor any of the attendant characters to which valid copyright laws apply. They are used here with out any expectations of reward beyond a few e-mails. The Sons of the Golden Kingdom are the creation of my warped and twisted little mind, though. Please write to me at Mearari@aol.com and let me know if you’re reading my work. The only “payment” any fanfics author ever gets is in mail. As Yoda might say, “Write to her, you should! Grateful she will be!” ************************ “The Quest” By Meara Chapter Two “Without a deep and true love, you cannot over come the obstacles that you face.” Neo-King Endymion, episode 83 ************************ She was alone; utterly, totally and agonizingly alone. Confused and lost, Usagi sat on the bench located in a quiet corner of the Juban park. Her legs were tucked up under the long, white gown she wore. The dress had seen better days and it was torn in places, testament to the struggles she’d been through to get to here. She was shivering as the autumn night came on, the shock at the traumatic way her rapport with Mamoru was severed and the cold wind taking its toll on her. The full moon caught and held her attention. The soft silver light was the only thing that seemed to help make the pain, the agony of being alone, bearable. Lost in her own little world, all Usagi could do was wrap her arms around herself and continue gazing at the moon in an attempt to find some kind of comfort. With the falling of night, the foot traffic in this corner of Juban Park dwindled away quickly. Save for the occasional jogger, there seemed to be no one to disturb her melancholy. So Usagi sat under the light of the full moon attempting every now and then to figure out where she was and more importantly, who she was. There were so many voices in her head and they all called her by different names. The voices only served to remind her that she was alone, so Usagi kept trying to shut them out. Curled up on the bench she looked lost and vulnerable, like a little girl who didn’t know the way home. And in a city the size of Tokyo, there are those who prey on lost children. *************************************** The nights sleep had been a restless one for Mamoru. He’d been haunted by the image of Usagi calling for him. The trauma of the ruptured rapport had almost killed him, Mamoru knew. If not for the timely intervention of Helios, he could very well have died. Setsuna, he knew, was doing her best to find Usagi and he had to be patient. Mamoru’s mind was too eager to conjure up the worst case scenario and that only made the waiting all the harder. With discipline he turned his attention to Goruden Kobushi. The handsome young man with the golden eyes was proudly recounting the storied history of his people. It was still hard for Mamoru to get his mind around the idea that these so-called “Sons of the Golden Kingdom”, had spent a thousand years waiting for him to be reborn. Their misguided idea that the Moon Kingdom was the font of all known evil was only slightly harder to stomach than the fact that Endymion had been all but deified by the Sons. They were going to be very disappointed to find out that he was as imperfectly human as the next man. “The sacred texts were passed down from father to son in an unbroken line for a thousand years. We’d always thought that we’d kept our knowledge of the past perfect and unchanged. But,” Goruden glanced at Helios, “it seems we got a few things wrong. Our stories say that Beryl was chosen by the angel Metallia to lead a crusade against the evil of the Moon Kingdom.” Helios sighed and put a hand to his forehead. “That’s not quite the way it happened.” The young guardian could hear Haruka behind him, snorting derisively. “Metallia, now there was real evil. Your ‘angel’ was a demon whose major joy was snuffing out anything that lived. As for Beryl,” Haruka put in sarcastically. “Her main motivation was to get her claws into Endymion’s mind and her hands on his princely body.” “And power,” Michiru added, watching Mamoru blush at the comment. “She also wanted to rule the world. You know, I’ve noticed that all of these insane megalomaniacs want to start at the top. They might have more success if they started smaller, say ruling Luxemburg first, then working their way up to taking over the world.” The two Outers Senshi were enjoying this way too much, Mamoru decided. “Tell me more about this ‘Circle of The Chosen’, Kobushi.” Happy to move on, Goruden smiled at his Prince. “The legends say that some of us are descended from the Princes of the Golden Kingdom. Those of us within the Circle of The Chosen are all channelers to one degree or another. When the Golden Crystal reappeared, one of us was supposed to be able to use the power and restore the Kingdom.” He glanced at Helios who sighed yet again. “I guess that’s not right, either, is it?” “Yes and no,” Helios was looking at Goruden, an embarrassed smile creeping across his face. “Endymion was the only child of the King and Queen. The King did, however, have a cousin who was…” he paused trying to find a way to say it diplomatically. “…A very loving man.” Nearly exploding with laughter, Haruka let only a short, cynical bark of it out. “This is too good. The Sons really are a bunch of bastards.” A stern look from Mamoru made Haruka rein in her amusement. “Would you mind telling me about the stories of why you had to leave Elysion again? I want to go over a few points of it with you,” Mamoru said. Poor Goruden looked astonished and embarrassed by turns. All his life he’d waited and prayed to be able to find, then serve Endymion, the True Prince of Earth. He’d found the man, but now Kobushi felt like a fool as one by one, the stories the Sons held as truth were pulled apart. “Of course, but why bother? It’s becoming painfully apparent that our grand and glorious history is nothing more than a collection of distortions and myths.” “Most of the stories the Sons hold dear are true – to a point.” Mamoru replied reasonably. “It’s the little facts that have been lost or changed that make all the difference. We need to find a way to let the Sons know that. Unless those misguided ideas are corrected, they’ll never be able to live along side the reborn citizens of the Moon Kingdom.” Helios nodded in agreement. “Fear and envy, that’s what really started the war between the Earth and the Moon. That blind hatred led to the downfall of two kingdoms. Unless that can be corrected, the war from our past will continue in the future.” “The sins of the father…” Michiru quoted softly “Exactly.” The Earth beneath Mamoru’s feet hummed, but not unpleasantly. He could sense the energies of the Timegate being used. He hoped that it meant that Setsuna was making progress. “We have to make sure that the errors of the past don’t have the chance to destroy the future. *************************************** A single feather, so dazzlingly white it was almost silver, was in his hand. Demando considered it carefully, letting a finger run up and down the shaft, enjoying the feel of the soft, downy tufts. The thought of the woman it had come from made the White Prince smile. The memory of that woman, shining with a power that called to him, burned as brightly as the stone between her hands had. Demando had his suspicions about who she might be, based on the stories that he’d heard over and over since he was an infant. If he was right, then the Angel in the light held a power that might even rival that of the Jakozuishou. The thought of what he could do with that kind of power was quite pleasing. Demando was aware of the two men who fidgeted nervously before him. With Crimson Rubeus standing in back of them, and the White Prince before them, the two had plenty to be worried about. Demando let them kneel there for a long moment before deigning to speak. He needed information and the White Prince had found that fear was an excellent tool in cases like these. “I require answers.” Demando didn’t bother to look at the two men. He continued to idly play with the feather. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is that you tell me exactly what I wish to know now. The hard way is that I let Rubeus have you for a while first. You’ll still tell me what I wish to know, but it could be days before you’re recovered enough to speak and, frankly, I don’t want to wait that long. So what will it be?” Dirk licked his very dry lips and glanced over his shoulder at Rubeus. The feral smile on the lips of Crimson Rubeus plainly said that he was hoping that Dirk would pick the hard way. “It’s always been my policy to try to be helpful whenever possible, your Highness.” Especially, Dirk thought, when you’re facing the possibility of torture by nasty boyos like that guy with the red hair. “The woman who was traveling with you, who is she?” the purple eyes were hard as amethysts. “Woman?” Dirk stuttered the reply. “What woman?” Shaking his head, Demando gave an inarticulate sigh. He toyed idly with the feather in his hand, gesturing with it as he spoke. “The one with the golden hair and crescent moon on her forehead, of course. Don’t try to deny that you know her. I’ve seen her.” Rory was still suffering the after effects of the power overload. He seemed a little drunk and definitely not aware of just how precarious their situation was. He smiled up at the White Prince. “Oh, you must mean the sleeping Princess. Well, what do you know? I did wake her.” Rory stopped and gave a sound of annoyance. “And I never got to ask her to grant my wish. The stories all say that if you woke the Princess then she’d grant you one wish. This doesn’t seem fair at all. We went to all that trouble and I never even got my wish.” The color had drained from Dirk’s lean face. He used his elbow to hit his brother in the ribs. “His Highness doesn’t want to hear about that fairy-tale, you idiot,” he hissed. Leaning back on his ornate throne, the White Prince raised an eyebrow. “Oh, but on the contrary, I would very much like to hear the story. Now, tell me all about this sleeping Princess.” *************************************** It was a sight to inspire awe and fear. Setsuna held her Gate open, the winds of time caressing her lithe body. The rainbow light from the portal haloed her, making Pluto look so much more than human as she sifted through what had been and what might be. The energy trail left by the Ginzuishou was distinct, but hard to follow the further it went. The task, under the best of circumstances, would have been difficult. “Have you found her yet?” And Luna was not making it any easier, Setsuna decided. “No,” Pluto replied, trying to concentrate on the job at hand. She didn’t bother to open her eyes, just kept trying to follow the trail the Ginzuishou had left. “Well, when do you think you will find Usagi?” Luna replied in a tone that suggested she was being very reasonable. “Luna…” Artemis began, mortified that she was asking that question for the fifth time in less than an hour. “Pluto is doing the best she can.” The black cat shot her snowy partner a withering look that clearly told him to butt out. “And there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. When Earth went into suspension, why did you bother to sleep with us? Couldn’t you have just gone to the future and been here waiting for Uranus and Neptune?” There was a tug at her through the tides of time that was the fourth dimension. The harmonic resonance signature was very familiar to Setsuna. “No. There are too many possible futures to even try to attempt that. If you’ll remember correctly, it was only when Small Lady was there to guide you that you were able to go to Crystal Tokyo. Our future is her present. Besides, since the Timegate is bonded to me, the best way to keep it safe was for me to go into suspension. If I’m not there to activate it, it can’t be misused now can it?” “I guess not…” Luna still sounded unconvinced. Perhaps this was why time travel was forbidden. Trying to make sense of it all made Luna feel as if her head could explode. “Why do I still have the feeling that there are things you’re not telling us?” It was the Ginzuishou, all right, Setsuna decided. Her head tilted at an odd angle while she tested the psychic “feel” of the energy. Something was…different…about the trail it left. “Is this how you get Usagi to do what you want, nag at her?” Ebony ears flattened against the feline head. “I do not nag!” Luna sounded outraged. “I’m just persistent.” The energy scattered in an odd direction, doubling back on itself. Pluto almost concluded that this was just another echo from a possible timeline, when at last the sweet, silver song that was the power of the Ginzuishou moved in a straight and true line – to the past. Although this was what she’d been working so hard towards, Setsuna sighed. A raised hand brought her staff to her and let it float for an instant before grasping it firmly. The garnet orb in the crown of the staff glowed brightly when Pluto accessed her talisman. “It’s Usagi,” Setsuna said with a nod at the orb. She glanced briefly at Luna. “You do, of course, realize that my finding Usagi right after you asked about her is just a coincidence?” There was a smug smile on the cat’s face. “Of course,” she replied, not managing to keep the satisfaction out of her voice. Her tail flagged straight over her back as Luna moved off. No matter what Setsuna said, the cat was quite sure that her “persistence” had gotten her what she wanted once more. “I’ll just let Mamoru and the others know.” *************************************** Although she was shivering in the cool night air, Usagi’s mind was divorced enough from her body that she couldn’t feel it very much. She sat, as in a dream, and simply let the world pass her by. The moon was full and heavy above the Tokyo skyline. Usagi found that as long as she continued to stare at it, nothing else seemed to matter. She let herself be wrapped inside the comfort of the pale moonlight, basking in the soft, silver glow. Here she was able to hide from the physical pain her body was in and, more importantly, from the crushing loneliness. The cold suddenly returned in force, piercing her skin with icy needles. She whimpered slightly, confused and frightened by the unexpected sensations. Usagi blinked, trying to force her mind to make sense of what was happening to her. It took several long moments, but at last she realized that the moonlight was being blocked by two men. “Hello, pretty lady,” one of them said. He gave Usagi a malicious smile and reached out for her. “Are you all alone?” *************************************** “Saffir-chan, you are a genius,” Demando smiled broadly at the open portal. “That may be true enough,” Saffir pushed a strand of raven hair from in front of his eyes. “But I had very little to do with this.” “Don’t sell yourself short, little brother. You managed to not only get the machine up and running, but you’ve found my Angel.” Demando’s mind was all ready running at full speed, making plans. An unhappy snort came from Saffir. “All I did was replace a couple of fried components. That woman, the one who nearly blew you, me and the workshop to bits is there all right,” he gestured to the park on the other side of the doorway, “but I didn’t have to go looking for her location. This machine has somehow locked onto the energy she produces. I‘m not sure we could go anywhere else but where she is.” The smile on the face of the White Prince became sly, “Yes, but once I control that power, we can go anywhere we choose to. Come on,” he started to move for the glowing portal. “Wait a minute!” Saffir grabbed Demando by the arm. “How do we know it’s safe? I’ve never tried to move anything living through this thing. You should let me run a few tests before you try going through it.” Demando glanced around, his gaze coming to rest on a cage that contained several, small rodents. He reached out and with a quick flip opened the door and grabbed one the squealing creatures. Before Saffir had time to do little more than wonder what his brother was doing, the White Prince casually tossed the lab rat through the glowing doorway. Within seconds it appeared on the other side, falling to the wet grass with an outraged squeak. “It works just fine. Now come on,” Demando walked into the glowing doorway. “Demando, wait!” Saffir was both frantic and angry at the same time. Demando was much too impetuous for his own good. “Veniti, Aquatiki,” he called out. Two droids, creatures that like the proto-gate were a mixture of magic and mechanics, appeared at his summons. “Yes, Lord Saffir?” “Follow,” Saffir grabbed the small control box and clipped it onto his belt and he, too, disappeared into the portal. There was the strange sensation of falling for a moment before Saffir was spilled out of the portal and onto the ground. The two droids were right behind him, but Saffir barely noticed them. On his hands and knees, he could only stare in wonder at the green grass beneath him. He took a single, deep breath, savoring the lush, earthy scent all around him. “Amazing, isn’t it?” Demando asked, a few feet away from his brother. The White Prince was running his hands gently over the bark of a large tree. The canopy of the old maple had finished its autumnal change and a few of the flame colored leaves fell from it. Demando caught one in his hand, smiling with child-like wonder. Demando sighed and looked around the park, “So, this is earth. Could this be Crystal Tokyo? It’s not at all as Mother used to describe it. Where’s the shining palace, the floating gardens, the happy sheep-like population?” “This is Earth. That much I’m very sure of, but this could be another city. Saffir had a single blade of grass between his fingers and he studied it carefully. “This is incredible. It’s so alive here, so vibrant.” He looked around him, almost in shock at the baffling array of sights and scents. “I never dreamed that it could be like this.” After a life time of living on the sparse and barren moon of Nemesis, the simple beauty of Juban Park was overwhelming. “We’ll live here again, Saffir, I promise. Our parents were driven into exile from this beautiful planet but we will take it back. The key to that is learning the secrets of this travel device. Once we’ve done that I can lead the Black Moon Clan on its great quest. I will take the birthright that Endymion stole from me and do to him what he did to us.” Demando looked once more at the pastoral beauty of the garden. “I’ll take everything he has and leave him with nothing.” *************************************** The portal to the Timegate had been summoned, but the great double doors were closed. Pluto stood in front of them, her staff in hand. For over a thousand years Setsuna had kept the Timegate a closely guarded secret. Now she was preparing to lead a band of four people through it. The idea of having so many random elements mucking around in the past didn’t sit all that well with her. If one lesson had come out of their struggle with Kunshin Tetsu, it was that no one, not even Setsuna, really knew what all the ramifications of introducing new temporal elements into the time- stream could mean. It might be that the future could be changed by the smallest action. It might also be that nothing could change the future short of killing one of the major players. “Time travel is like ‘the Force’ from Star Wars,” Setsuna started out, trying to simplify the possible problems. “It’s big, powerful and has the potential to change the course of destiny. Best of all, no one really understands all of it. This is why adventures in the past have always been frowned upon.” Haruka smiled. “Adventure, excitement; a Jedi craves these things not,” she said in her best Yoda voice. Pluto raised an eyebrow at Uranus while she continued. “We want to find Usagi and get her back here with as little disruption as possible.” “Do you know where, or rather, when Usagi is?” Mamoru asked, eyeing the Gate. Waiting was something he had never done particularly well. Pluto nodded slowly. She had the unhappy feeling that she was about to make Mamoru’s day even worse. “Yes. Usagi seems to be back in the days when the Black Moon Family was active in the past.” “Oh dear,” Luna sighed. “Demando,” Mamoru said softly. Usagi was in the past, most likely hurt, and so were the forces of the man who had kidnapped and then tried to force himself on her. He wondered how much worse things could possibly get. Even though the portal had not been fully opened, Artemis could sense it’s power and he looked at it while he spoke. “If the way Mamoru reacted to the shattered rapport is any indication, then Usagi could be anything from comatose to combative. When you do locate her, it’s extremely important that you do nothing to startle or frighten her.” “Most of the time, using the power you all hold as Senshi requires concentration, but Usagi’s power derives from the Ginzuishou,” Luna’s tail was twitching back and forth in nervous agitation. Mamoru saw where this was going. “The Silver Crystal reacts as much to what’s in Usako’s heart as what’s in her mind.” Artemis nodded, letting his tail run down Luna’s back in a gesture of comfort. “Exactly. If Usagi feels threatened, then it’s possible that she’ll lash out with the Ginzuishou. So try to find her quietly and for the love of Selene, try to avoid a confrontation with the Black Moon Clan that could provoke Usagi into action.” “The one word I want all of you to remember,” she favored Haruka with a direct look, “is ‘subtle’. While Tuxedo Kamen looks almost the same as he did back then…” “The Outer Senshi haven’t arrived in Tokyo yet,” Neptune finished. “If we have to fight them won’t these creatures realize that we’re not the same Sailor Soldiers they’ve faced before?” “That’s the whole idea of ‘subtle’. We don’t henshin unless there are no other options.” Pluto said. Luna stepped up beside Pluto. “Prince Demando and his associates were clever enough, but the droids collectively tended to be dumber than a sack of door knobs. It’s more than likely that they wouldn’t be able to tell one Senshi from another, anyway.” “It’s not them we have to worry about,” Mamoru said. “The only real problem will be if we encounter Prince Demando. He’s a formidable opponent,” And Mamoru though to himself, he’s obsessed with getting his hands on Usako. Mamoru’s fist clenched and unclenched at his side. Compulsive, driven foes, he had learned, were the most unpredictable and the most dangerous. Giving a nod, Pluto raised her staff and the great double doors began to open. “Let’s not borrow trouble, ne? With any luck Usagi is somewhere nice, quiet and very far away from the eyes of the Black Moon.” *************************************** Usagi could only stare, utterly bewildered, at the man who hauled her roughly to her feet. He had a hand locked tightly over her wrist and the pain it caused cut through the haze she was in. Usagi looked down at her wrist, then up at the man who held her. He grabbed her other arm. “Look, pearls; she’s wearing real pearls,” he said, ripping the bracelet off Usagi. The hand clamped on her arm hurt, the pain increasing sharply as he twisted it, pulling Usagi closer to him. Usagi whimpered in pain and growing fear. The man only laughed. “You shouldn’t be out all alone at this time of night. Don’t you know what can happen to pretty, little things like you? “She’s got more of them in her hair!” the other man said. “Get them.” The man holding her reached for the pearls in her golden hair, but Usagi shook her head back and forth, not wanting him to touch her. “N…no…” she moaned, beginning to struggle harder. “No!” A hand was clamped over her mouth, “Shut up! Just shut up and you won’t get hurt!” The hand clamped onto her throat, trying to force Usagi to keep her head still. The feeling of it, cold and hard, made her struggle all the more. Images and jumbled memories exploded in her mind. She remembered the sensation of a cold hand locked on her throat while her life energy was ripped from her. And the pain… She could suddenly remember the terrible, searing pain that went with the cold hand. Usagi stiffened, her eyes going wide with a fear that made her blood run cold. The words tore from her in an anguished scream. “LET ME GO!” Light, so blindingly pure that for a moment it washed out everyone and everything else in the immediate area burst from Usagi. The man who held her and his partner in crime were caught up in it. The two were lifted into the air by the mystic wildfire and tossed around like leaves in a gale. They were punted roughly away, landing in the small ornamental pond with a splash that sent water in all directions. Sodden and bedecked in the lilies that grew there, the two floundered their way to the shore and ran as if they were being pursued by the devil himself. At the very edges of the eldritch inferno, Demando stood. He could feel the part of him that was linked to the Black Poison Crystal awaken as a small part of the Ginzuishou’s power touched him. The dark energies absorbed the bright power, consuming and channeling it into itself. “Magnificent,” he murmured, enjoying the display of raw power that Usagi was putting on. Usagi was keening out her anguish and pain. The terrible ache of loss cutting her anew, she went to her knees. The light that haloed Usagi crested and pulled back into her body. For an instant there was the ghostly suggestion of great wings of silver fire that cupped her body, as if to shield her from the cruelty of the cold and lonely world around her. The light dwindled away as did Usagi’s screams of fear and pain. She wrapped her arms around herself with a whimper, lost once more in her own world of misery. The White Prince took a step to go to her, when he felt Saffir’s arm on his. “I’m not so sure this is a good idea,” the blue eyes were locked on the shivering form of the woman in the white dress. “Something’s wrong with that woman. Look at her eyes. It’s like she’s sleep walking or,” he added with growing apprehension, “as if she’s been through a war.” A confident smile came to Demando’s lips. The pleasure from absorbing the silver crystal’s power still echoing inside him. “If she’s been in some kind of struggle, then she’ll welcome my help, ne?” He pushed away both his brother’s concerns and his restraining arm. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” Saffir knew the look on Demando’s face. That supreme confidence was going to get him seriously hurt some day. “Be careful! And for crystal’s sake, don’t frighten her,” he hissed a last warning. Taking measured steps, Demando moved into Usagi’s line of sight. He could see that her dress was torn in places, her whole body posture that of someone who’d been through a terrible ordeal. Almost against his will, Demando felt a surge of compassion for her. Who could treat such a beautiful woman so badly as to leave her like this? She was crying now, trembling with cold and shock. Getting within a few feet of her, Demando went to one knee, “Hello, Angel,” he said softly to catch her attention. He slowly reached up and removed his cape. “You look cold. Here,” he said, slipping it around her shoulder, “let me help you.” Whether it was the sound of his voice or the feeling of the unexpectedly soft and warm fabric against her skin, Usagi looked up. She blinked owlishly, tears still running down her face. There seemed to be a flicker of recognition in the crystal blue eyes for an instant before she withdrew back into herself and away from the pain memory brought. “Alone, alone, alone” Usagi whimpered, drawing the edges of the cape closed around herself. “Hurts so bad…” “It’s all right. I’ll make sure they can’t hurt you anymore,” the White Prince stood up and held out a hand to Usagi. She looked at it and then up at Demando. “Come with me, Angel. Let me take you some place where you can rest, ne?” *************************************** True to her word, Setsuna opened the portal in the corner of Juban park that was least likely to attract any attention. The light from the Gate died quickly away, leaving the four people to assess where they were. In the distance were the sounds of traffic and the occasional siren. “Tokyo. God, but I’ve missed this city,” Haruka took a deep breath, smiling broadly. “There was no other place on Earth quite like it.” “I’ll second that,” Michiru watched as two figures ran at full speed by them. The men were soaking wet and strewn with aquatic vegetation, their shoes making a damp squish as they passed. “This is a big park,” Mamoru said. There was the oddest feeling in the back of his mind. He pushed it aside, thinking it was nothing more than his own nervousness. “Why don’t we split up into two teams? Setsuna, you’re with me.” “That makes sense,” the woman with the long, green hair agreed. She looked at Michiru and Haruka. “Remember what I said about being subtle. Try to keep a low profile and let us know right away if you find Usagi.” She hadn’t even finished the sentence, when Mamoru suddenly took a deep, gasping breath. He staggered, his hands going to his head in pain. Above the tree line in back of the four, silver light reached for the night sky, in a brief, but memorable display. Haruka looked up at the column of silver fire in the night sky. “I think I found Usagi.” “Usako,” Mamoru moaned. Her fear and pain hit him like a sledge hammer and he began to transform before the light died away. “She’s in trouble!” Instinct took over and Tuxedo Kamen bounded off into the darkness of the park. “Mamoru-san, wait!” Setsuna called out after him. Michiru had her henshin wand in hand. “So much for the subtle approach.” Uranus also had her wand out and Setsuna reluctantly called up her own. She could feel her back teeth grinding together in frustration and allowed herself a moment to wallow in it before transforming. The words weren’t what she usually said just before Sailor Pluto arrived, but they summed up her feelings quite well for all their brevity. “Oh, pooh…” *************************************** Usagi looked up at the hand that was offered to her and then up at the handsome man with the silver hair. Her eyes were looking at the black crescent moon on his brow. Usagi blinked, confused but drawn to the sigil. “Black Moon?” she mumbled. “So, you know the name we go by now?” Demando gave a low laugh. “That’s fair enough, I suppose, since I think I know who you really are. Don’t worry, Serenity, everything is going to be all right once you come with me.” Saffir was standing only yards away and he gasped when he heard Demando speak the name. “Serenity?” His clever mind turned over rapidly, taking in the woman’s golden hair and, as Usagi lifted her eyes to look at the White Prince, Saffir saw the crescent moon that adorned her forehead. “Wait a minute. You think that this woman is…” Demando gave a curt wave at Saffir to silence him. He continued to speak in a gentle, soothing voice. “You don’t have to be afraid or alone anymore. I’m not going to hurt you,” Demando sighed unhappily at the fear he saw in her eyes. Come with me Angel, I’ll take care of you,” he held out his hand once more. The moment of lucidity faded quickly and Usagi once again retreated into herself. She gave a single low moan, “Alone…” and rocked back and forth like a child. Demando gave a sigh, trying to catch her interest once more. After a moment, he shook his head and reached for the woman in the white gown. Just before the White Prince touched Usagi, a blur of motion crossed his field of vision. Something sharp sliced into the back of his hand and he pulled it back with a hiss of surprise and pain. There, impaled into the ground by a long stem was a single, white rose. “Demando, we have company,” Saffir said in a voice that reflected the unpleasant surprise he was feeling. Standing at the place where the trees melted away into the meadow was Tuxedo Kamen, another rose in his hand, ready to thrown. “Get away from her,” Mamoru growled. “Get away from her, now.” Not a man to be easily intimidated, the White Prince snorted at Mamoru with disdain. “I give orders. I don’t take them and certainly not from you. Veniti, Aquatiki, remove this fool from my sight.” The two droids appeared out of thin air and leapt to do as they were bid. Hands morphed into claws as they launched themselves at Mamoru with a shriek. They never got within ten feet of him. “World Shaking!” “Deep Submerge!” “Dead Scream!” The three attacks merged into a single force. It plowed into the twin constructs, reducing them to dust in a burst of light. Even before that dust was carried away on the night breeze, the three Outer Senshi lined up on either side of Tuxedo Kamen. “Invited by the new age,” Uranus began, “I am Sailor…” “Senshi!” Pluto hurriedly shouted. “We are Sailor Senshi and a force,” she leaned on the word in an effort to get Uranus to remember her time-is-like-Star-Wars speech, “to be reckoned with.” Demando let a surge of energy from the Black Poison Crystal run along his body in his own display of power. “As impressed as you are with yourselves, I seriously doubt if any of you could pose a real threat to me.” Unable to resist the urge, Haruka grinned wolfishly. “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” “We have to retreat,” Saffir’s soft voice came to the ears of the White Prince. “There are four of them and two of us. If those are Senshi, if the stories we’ve heard are true, we’re not prepared right now to deal with the kind of power they can unleash. We have to retreat.” He could see Demando chafing at the truth of his words. “There will be other days and other battles.” Unable to deny the wisdom in Saffir’s words, the White Prince couldn’t go without a final gesture. Keeping his gaze on Mamoru, Demando let a hand reach out of stroke Usagi’s cheek. “Keep the cloak for now, Angel. I’ll get it from you another time.” The two princes stared at each other for a long and very uncomfortable moment. Finally, turning his back on Mamoru in a gesture of contempt, Demando started to walk away. Saffir joined him and the two melted into the night. Mamoru resisted the urge to run for Usagi, remembering Luna’s warning about startling her. He slowly walked towards where Usagi was kneeling on the ground and removing the white domino mask, went down on one knee. Rocking back and forth, Usagi clutched at the cape, keeping it tightly pulled around her body as if it could shelter her from the pain that was eating her alive. Gently, slowly, Mamoru’s hand cupped Usagi’s cheek. The touch let some of what she was feeling flood into him and Mamoru gasped. Usagi was broken inside. The rapport shared to heal the planet, once a source of strength and joy, was now a bottomless canyon of jagged crystal that cut at her each time she tried to climb out of it. “Oh no, Usako,” he whispered. She was retreating further and further into herself with each passing minute. The desperate, instinctive need to run from what was hurt her was pushing Usagi into a catatonic state. “Don’t do this. Come back to me, please come back to me.” A thought opened his link to the Golden Crystal and Mamoru leaned forward, gently letting it flow into her while he murmured her name over and over. The magic that lived in Usagi reacted to the warm, sweet power of Earth. A subtle glow encased the two, small golden and silver stars appeared first where Mamoru touched Usagi, then spreading to cover them in a shimmering veil. “Mamo-chan?” she whispered weakly. The cape, clutched so tightly, now slipped from her grasp, falling to the ground. He held her tightly, “I’m here now, Usako. I’m here and everything’s going to be all right.” “Mamo-chan!” She sobbed his name in a whisper. Usagi fell against Mamoru, the pain at last fading away in his embrace. Crystal blue eyes closed in relief, the joy of being whole once more filling her. The light that suffused the two pulsed brighter as they melted into each other’s arms. The three Outer Senshi watched in awe as the wave of magic engulfed them for an instant. It crested, bursting apart into a joyous fall of mystic stardust. “It’s so beautiful,” Michiru whispered, reaching for her Lifemate’s hand. Beside them, Pluto’s eyes went wide as the light faded enough for Mamoru and Usagi to be visible again. “Look!” Mamoru was still dressed in the tuxedo, but it was no longer black. A cloak the soft lavender of the sky just before sunrise flared in the mystic winds that surrounded the two. Usagi’s dress was still white, but the ornate decorations that had adorned her arms were gone. A flowing array of silk on her back gave the subtle impression of wings. “Well I’ll be damned,” Uranus had a large smile on her face. She went to one knee, Michiru and Setsuna following suit. Her talisman, the Space Sword came to her hand and she raised it in salute, the dancing magics causing rainbows to come from the blade. “All hail Serenity and Endymion – King and Queen of Earth!” The magic of the moment was not lost on any of those who watched; not the three Outer Senshi or the two who hid in the shadows. Although they were well away, sheltering in the place where the trees met the long, sloping lawns of the park, Demando and Saffir were able to see all that occurred. “Crystal,” Saffir swore, glancing at his brother. “That’s Endymion! You were right; that woman is Serenity. How did you know?” Arms folded across his chest, Demando’s gaze was riveted on the King of Earth. “Considering who I am, how could I not? I always knew that destiny had something special planned for me, Saffir. Our Clan’s dream, our great quest will be accomplished through me,” he raised a hand clenching it into a fist. “We will reclaim the Earth for our people. We will take back what is ours by right and nothing will stop us.” Demando let some of the hatred he felt power the ebony energies that sang inside him, ““I will have everything that Endymion possesses; his throne, his world, his very life.” The White Prince’s gaze was drawn to Usagi. “Everything.” *************************************** In three weeks – Ami is dazed, lost and wandering around Tokyo during the time that the Dark Kingdom was active – not a good combination! It seems that Naru isn’t the only Youma magnet in the city. Saffir is on the verge of a discovery that will forever change the Black Moon Clan. All this and you get to find out why time travel is like “Star Trek”!