[PG-13]

The following story might or might not have taken place 
approximately two months after the end of "The Weakest Link,"
(after the completion of S) . . . during a quiet time.


                          * * * * * * *


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

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world 
       the master calls a butterfly."
                                                Richard Bach

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










[ An Age Ago ]










       Go ahead and touch it -- no one's looking.  You'll know what
to do.

       She had found it on a bed of flowers, dew-covered and blessed by
a pure sunrise.  It was, of course, something totally out of their
experience -- a gift from beyond the unknown clouds above.  This key was
their birthright, given solid form -- lest they squander it.

       <*Know that in the day ye eat thereof . . .*>

       Go ahead and take it.  You'll know what to do.  After all, it is
the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.  Or was it the Tree of Life?  To
them, the difference was in words that had not yet been created.

       <*then your eyes shall be opened . . .*>

       Go ahead and touch it -- no one's looking.  You'll know what 
to do.

       <*and ye shall be as gods . . .*>

       The touch -- and the world begins.

       It's warm.

       * * * * *

[ Three Years Ago ]

       The cat closed his eyes as the clock struck four.  It would
only be a matter of moments now, he thought.  All the time, all the
pain he had endured, was now about to pay off.

       And he hated himself for it.  She didn't deserve this.  She's
just an innocent, and I'm about to drag her into a life that she won't
understand.  I don't even understand it.  I feel sorry for her.

       Ever the planner, he had long considered what his first words
to her would be.  Nothing too shocking of course -- at least, as 
minimally shocking as hearing a cat talk for the first time could be.
Would it be the formal greeting of the royal court?  That didn't seem
quite right.  He still hadn't decided when he heard her approaching 
the front door.

       His heart quickened.  Still time to back out, he thought.  She
can learn the truth some other day.  Give her one more day of childhood.
Just one more day.  She deserves that much.

       No, it has to be today.

       The cat watched as the blonde girl opened the door, entered, and
slumped to the nearest chair.  Her hand covered her eyes.  With her
other hand she quickly undid her red hair ribbon and threw it to the
floor.  The cat approached carefully, momentarily pausing at the scarlet
fragment, now crumpled at his feet, and then to its owner.

       She was crying.  She tried to hold it in, but it was futile.
The sobbing pained the cat, but he remembered that this was not the
first time he had seen this sight.  Her weeping intensified as she
began to address the cat.  He responded with as sympathetic a look as
an ordinary feline could produce.

       "Oh, kitty, why do I have to be who I am?  I try, I really do,
but they all made fun of me again.  Everybody must hate me, only a few
people will talk to me.  Every boyfriend I've ever had thinks I'm just
a stupid ditz.  I'm useless."  He noticed she held her hands together
as if trying to contain her despair.  "Useless.  You're my only friend."
He unconsciously rubbed against her leg and purred to offer some measure 
of comfort.  He noticed, small, almost indiscernible nervous movements
in her musculature.

       "Thanks, kitty.  I guess it's not really that bad.  I just wish
sometimes I was someone . . . *anyone* else."

       And then it hit him.  It was all so clear.  He quickly jumped to
the table in front of her and assumed an upright position.  She was 
still looking down, her hands now cradling her face, when he decided to 
take their lives back.

       "Well," he began slowly and deliberately in his best voice, 
"I guess today's your lucky day."

       The crying stopped.  She slowly raised her head and looked into
the cat's eyes.  She silently stared for a moment, and then, an almost
familiar, naughty smile spread over her face, a smile that was returned
by the white cat.

       And as they quietly looked at each other, they both knew that
everything was all right.

       * * * * *

[ An Age Ahead ]

       She stared across the Kanto Plain, marveling in its purity.
Just an endless horizon of flowers now, as far as the eye could see.  
There was a herd of deer grazing silently in the distance and if she 
had listened closely, she would have heard the family of pandas behind
her.

       She smiled the last smile.  Job done.







*********************
Midnight Pirouette

by

+Gradient
*********************






                                * * *
                     ---------------------------
                     The Dawn Crossing - Akherôn
                     ---------------------------
                                * * *


[ Silver Millennium ]

       A moment to decide.

       "Blasphemy," she whispered.

       The figure draped in shadows across the table allowed the
slightest sarcastic, condescending smile upon hearing this and before
making his own measured response:

       "Such indignation . . . you remember as well as I a time when 
that word did not exist.  In the past, the ebb and flow of life was a
much simpler, much purer form of play."

       She could only let forward a disgusted laugh at that statement:
"Play.  That is all it is to you, isn't it?  What *are* you?  You
certainly are not the person you appear to be.  No person could tell
another one to do what you have told me and retain any bit of humanity.
What *are* you?"

       "Immortal.  Like you, but not like you.  I thought by now you
would have finally stopped thinking in human terms.  Although you are
my sister, we seem to have very little in common."  He rather
unconvincingly feigned an expression of consternation.

       "Sister?  I thought you would not lower yourself to *using*
human terms, and an interesting and rather convenient choice of terms 
it is.  You could have just as easily chosen daughter, mother . . ."
she trailed off into silent thought.

       "Wife," he intoned as he slowly reached down for his wine.  He
kept one eye on her to gauge her reaction to that disdainfully true
provocation.  He did not have to wait long:

       "Whatever link we once had, however, I will stop at nothing to
destroy this monstrous plan of yours.  You have stained the path of
angels.  Such blasphemy cannot succeed."

       The smile from across the table was quicker in coming this time.

       * * * * *

[ Twenty Months Ago ]

       <*Who are you?*>

       <*Aino Minako.*>

       <*Who else?*>

       <*Another.*>

       <*Why are you?*>

       <*To help to save the world.*>

       <*A noble purpose?*>

       <*Sometimes.*>

       <*The alternative?*>

       <*The end.*>

       <*The end of the world?*>

       <*The end of *my* world.*>

       <*A noble purpose?*>

       <*Yes.*>

       <*Can you save the world?*>

       <*Yes.*>

       <*Will you save the world?*>

       <*Yes.*>

       <*Why?*>

       <*Because that is what I am.*>

              -----

       The cat stirred lazily in the bed, looking over to the
equally restless figure beside him.  He sighed before reassuming his
sleeping position, lightly calling to the girl.

       "Minako, wake up.  You're talking in your sleep again."


       * * * * *


[ The Present ]

       Usagi penciled in a "87" after the equal sign.  Two of the three
girls present held their breath upon asking the next question.

       "All right, Luna, tell us if we got this one right."

       The cat peered into the answer booklet and then cast an eye to
the schoolwork.  She checked twice to make sure.

       "I'm sorry . . ."

       "Dammit!  We've been working on this problem for thirty minutes!
We can't do anything right!"

       "Makoto!  That was uncalled for!"  Luna did not remember ever
having to discipline Makoto before, although incidents like this seemed
to be more common recently.

       "Sorry -- it's just . . ." she looked down before casting her
eyes to Usagi once more.  "Nothing.  Sorry."

       Luna sighed in quiet resignation:  "Look, we've been working a
while on this.  Why don't we stop for the evening and get a fresh
start tomorrow?  We're not making any progress.  We'll have another
study meeting tomorrow evening, and things will get back on track."

	Back on track, indeed, Makoto thought to herself.  Right.

       Normally Usagi would have been surprised at Luna's tacit
admission of their utter failure.  It wasn't like her to give up so 
easily.  The group's listlessness had transferred itself to Usagi,
however, and what the usually bright and energetic young girl could
produce was quite subdued:

       "Yeah.  Sure.  What do you think Rei-chan?"  She looked over
the girl, who was staring silently out of the room's corner toward 
unknown things on the opposite wall.

       "Rei-chan?"

       Still nothing.

       "Rei-chan agrees with us," Usagi interpreted her silence.  "I'm
so tired.  I just want to sleep for a while.  I'm just so tired."  She
shook her head and rubbed her eyes.

       The events of the past few months had been trying.  As if saving
the world from the Death Busters and the discovery of Sailors Uranus
and Neptune had not added to their collective strain enough, tomorrow
was the day that Makoto's crystal, or "detransformation anomaly number
five", as Ami had so soulfully named it, was scheduled to appear.  Plus,
the continued absence of Ami and Minako from their meetings did little
to boost their waning camaraderie.

	"What is this, the fourth meeting that Ami-chan has missed?  The
fifth for Minako and Artemis?" Usagi noted as she yawned deeply.  "Even
Ami-chan has a better social life than we do."

       "Luna, why don't you take Usagi-chan home?  She's not feeling
well -- none of us are."  Makoto was cleaning the paper clutter around
her by habit.

       "That's probably a good idea.  Well, thanks everyone for coming.
Maybe we'll have a little more success tomorrow.  Come on Usagi, let's
go."  As they left, it almost seemed as if the cat were leading the
girl out by a leash.  It was not a pretty sight.

       After they were gone, Makoto looked at Rei's back, as she had
walked to the window to watch Usagi and Luna leave.  She had not detected
Rei's motion; the shrine maiden could be quite subtle when she needed
to be.  Makoto sighed.

       "Rei, we can't keep doing this.  It's slowly killing her.  Damn, 
it's killing *us.*  How could we let this go this far?  That business 
with the crystals was nearly two months ago now.  But she knows.  I 
don't know how, but she knows.  She can sense these things.  We've got 
to . . . I don't know, we've just got to do *something.*" 

       "Rei-chan, did you hear me?"

       "Rei-chan?"

       The shrine maiden stared blankly out the window into the night.
Perhaps she was watching Usagi and Luna slowly saunter down the street.
Perhaps what her attention was currently focused upon was not outside
the window at all.

       "Rei-chan?"

       <*The end of youth . . . *>

       * * * * *

       "It has been hard, has it not?"

       The reaction was instantaneous.  The young girl had obviously
neither heard nor otherwise detected the entrance of the stranger into
her room, her fortress.  To suddenly hear a voice where there should be
none is perhaps among the most disturbing sensations of youth.

       The girl held her breath as she turned, instinctively
jerking toward the earliest phase of her henshin pose.  Upon reaching
the apex of the movement, however, another instinct superseded:  her
eyes widened at the sight before her.  The next words that would slip
from her quivering lips were naturally preordained:

       "I . . . I thought you were dead."

       "You are not the only one to make that mista--assumption."
She smiled an entirely all-too-ancient smile.

       The visitor then casually and uninvitedly walked toward the 
corner of the room to examine something that had caught her eye.  The
painting was several months old, but the colors were as vivid as if it
had been created moments earlier, with the oils glistening almost 
deliciously.  She stared at it silently for several moments, letting
the natural tension of the room build to a wondrous crescendo.  And 
then it was broken:

       "The main spire on the Royal Moon Palace was actually a little
shorter than this.  Overall, the technique is quite impressive though,
and I like to fancy myself a discriminating collector, of sorts.  Still,
you might want to remember that next time." 

       The girl was incredulous.  "You mean that you were alive all of
this time, and you didn't lift a finger to tell us where you were?  This
is unbelievable."

       "Not really.  When I slowed time to save Uranus and Neptune I
temporarily lost my . . . what's a good word, ah yes -- *anchor* to the
present time.  Call it an occupational hazard."

       The girl pondered the significance of the word that had been 
stressed.  "I believe that's something of an understatement."

       The woman let forth a slight laugh.  "Perhaps.  But I didn't
come to talk of my difficulties of late.  It has been, what now, two
months, since I visited you here last?  How are *you* doing?"

       The pause was tangible.  "Fine, okay.  The same as always.  Why?"

	The visitor looked around the room to notice its increasingly
disheveled state, compared to two months earlier.

       "Because I know otherwise."  It's amazing how easy it is to pick
up on the subtle difference between an amused smile and a knowing smile
with practice, the younger girl thought.

       "Er, what do you mean?  I've been feeling great lately."  A
nervous chuckle from the young girl ensued.

       "Then we have a difference of opinion, but I won't press you on
it.  However, I do have one question that I would ask of you."  She
slowly stroked the top of the canvas that held the image from earlier.

       "Fine.  Then ask it."  The tone was somehow not as inviting as
before.

       "Why are you protecting her?  The memory crystals whose secrets
you hide only hold a past that cannot be changed, and a future that
is as adamantine as well.  When I made my earlier request, it was only
to stall until we defeated the Silence and uncovered Saturn.  The others
should, and will know, eventually.  They must know."  She stopped
momentarily to let her words sink in.

       "Why are you protecting her?"

       A silence.  A ponderance.  A realization.

       "She's my sister.  Perhaps not by blood, but in every real sense
of the word, she is."  The young girl found a new measure of resolution.
"It looks like as long as you have been alive you would have come to some
realization of what we do for our siblings.  At any cost."

       The unknowing yet cold irony of the young girl's words slipped
into the Guardian's soul to rest for a moment, dredging unpleasant 
memories forward into the light.  Since the girl mentioned the matter 
no more, the Guardian decided to proceed with her business:

       "The reason why I came is because I need a favor.  I need for you
to convey a message for me.  I would deliver it myself, but it's very
important that the recipients hear it from someone . . . sincere."

       The girl expressed a slight but nonchalant grunt of surprise.
"I've heard of spirits appearing from beyond the grave to deliver a 
message, but I've never heard of someone actually returning *from* the
dead in order to make someone else their messenger."

       "I guess you can say these are interesting times, as the Chinese
say."

       "Where's the message?"

       "I've already seen that all the relevant data has been uploaded
into this.  It's looking a little ragged though, better start taking
better care of it."  She ran her finger through the layer of dust that
had settled on the small instrument through weeks of neglect and
disuse.  She then handed it to the girl.  "There's also a special
message in there for you, and instructions on what to bring to the
meeting.  It will be difficult, but you have to follow the instructions
within precisely, if you value those around you."  The young girl's
anxiety level increased slightly upon hearing that last clause.  The
visitor continued:

       "I'll be in touch, but for now, I'll need to take my leave of
you as I have a prior appointment with one of our other associates. 
And don't blame yourself.  Sometimes it is possible to have personal
tragedies with no one to blame, especially when viewing from hindsight.
And if there's one curse that I've been shackled with, it is that one."

       "It's beginning, isn't it?  What I saw in my vision."

       She didn't even have to turn around to see the visitor away.
Seeing the green glow of the portal envelop the room was sign enough.
As the remaining light and sound subsided, she looked downward to the
small blue minicomputer, the Mercury symbol now visible through the
dust.

       * * * * *

       The girl slept in agony, as she had for months.  She had long
since healed the slight physical wounds inflicted months ago.  But now,
as had been the case since that time, the wounds that could not be seen
were reopening.  The dreams would see to that.  She was unique in the 
sense that her waking world was one of dreams as well.  Or were they
dreams?  Visions, revelations, readings.  They went by different names
but they all had the same origin.  And now, it seemed, the well was
poisoned.

       The visitor realized that she could have none of that.  Not at
this important time.  She needed this dreamer to lead the other dreamers
into the past dream soon.  Time was short, and the wounds therefore 
needed to be dressed temporarily.  And besides, of all of them, the
young shrine girl was the only one among them who had been cursed with
these visions.  Surely the visitor could do something to soothe them,
if only until the sun rose.

       To pry open the door of her mind and step into her world like 
she was about to do, was a disgusting invasion, she realized.  But if 
it would ease her pain in preparation for their upcoming pilgrimage, 
surely it would be just.

       And if it was not, she had prepared the remnants of her 
conscience for that eventuality as well.  She stood over the dark-haired
girl, the moonlight from outside the shrine flowing in to bathe them in
a nonjudgmental aura.

       "Just for this one night . . . accept this gift.  Dream as a
youth one more time.  And pity that you awake."

       And for the rest of the night, the girl dreamt of nothing but
dandelions and sand castles and teddy bears and winter's first snow.

       And she smiled in her dreams.

       * * * * *

[ Silver Millennium ]

       "Report."

       "Your Highness, phase one has been completed successfully.  All
subjects have been located and tested for compatibility.  Of the nine,
one was orphaned, two sets of parents were convinced to transfer the
subject material to us, and four sets of parents refused to release the
children to us."

       "Their current disposition?"

       "Liquidated.  And, of course, subjects One-A and One-B being
close within the royal household considerably eased matters."

       "Have you selected the subject to serve as the receptacle in
One-B's alteration?"

       "Yes.  Preliminary testing indicates that Six will serve as the
most stable proxy for Saturn.  We are still uncertain how long such an,
ahem, arrangement, will last."

       "Ensure that any possible reincarnation will proceed smoothly.
Is it physically safe for her to undergo these treatments at such a 
young age?"

       "Your Highness, I assure that your concern for your niec---"

       "No.  You misunderstand me.  We cannot afford the time to find
a suitable replacement at this point.  She herself is expendable.  Her
role is not."

       "Yes, forgive me.  The chemical and other physiological changes
we are prompting in her are not the area of concern.  It is the
psychological barriers and timed blocks that our magicians are inserting.
They fear that her young mind might not be able to retain them fully."

       "Meaning?"

       "It is possible that the barriers that we are creating might
crumble gradually rather than at a particular moment, as we had planned."

       "Instability."

       "A likely outcome.  If she is reincarnated, the addition of a
third personality will undoubtedly exacerbate the effect.  And if there
is further reincarnation . . ."

       "Our programming might become so diluted as to become useless.
Yes, I read the original proposals.  It remains a necessary risk.
The memory crystals my sister provided millennia ago are our best hope.
And the contingency plan?"

       "A more subtle procedure, but it also seems to be working.  Your
orders, Majesty?"

       He gazed inward for a moment, watching the babies sleep
restlessly within their cribs.  "Do you think we did the right thing?"

       "Majesty?"

       "Not our plan, Vizier -- our plan must come to fruition.  Just
looking at them, though . . ," said as he began a motion to reach out
and touch the transparent wall shielding them, but decided better of it
at the last moment and lowered his hand to his side.  "To make them 
like this, to control and program them as infants to serve our purpose,
the price was high."

       "Your Highness, the elder Senshi would have never cooperated 
with us in our plan to reclaim what is ours.  They would have fought 
us, Majesty.  This is precisely what they were created to stop. 
Eliminating them and harvesting their reincarnated forms like this was
the only way.  The only way."

       "I suppose you are correct."

       "Your orders, Majesty?"

       "Proceed as planned."

       "Yes, Your Highness.  There is one other matter, however.  The
mages and priests are both insisting that before they infuse the full
powers of the respective guardian planets into the recipients, that you
signal which planet you wish assigned to which child."

       "Does it matter?"  He threw a glace to the side.  "I was unaware
that the mages were so easily frightened by the prattlings of the 
priestly caste."

       "They seem quite adamant on this issue.  They believe that the
personality will be influenced to a great extent by the planet 
selection.  Each of them already has an inner power as a Senshi.  The
planned ceremony will only set the path that each will develop."

       "Very well," he sighed, looking at the reflection of his 
curiously sad visage in the observation glass of the nursery.

       "From left to right:  Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and
Neptune."  He looked deeper into the glass, perhaps seeing beyond a
mere reflection.

       And unbeknownst to those few present in the room, a small band 
of pilgrims from times yet to come, whose job was to watch, watched.

       * * * * *

       The splash of disturbed water echoed through the empty hall.
The sleek figure who had just emerged from the pool moved gracefully
to the edge so that she could view the other figure, who was cutting
a sharp line along the bottom.  The hall's fine acoustics allowed the
viewer to pick up an unexpected sound from the balcony above.

       "Michiru, we have a visitor."

       Her companion, who surfaced three seconds afterward went directly
toward her towel with a slight smile.  "Hmmm?  I'm surprised it took you
that long to notice, Haruka.  You're slowing a bit in your old age."
As she wrapped it around herself she looked toward the figure watching
from above:  "Wouldn't you agree, Mercury?"

       The young girl walked down the steps carefully, subconsciously
attempting to occupy as little space as possible.  It was almost
embarrassing for the pair to see the girl approach so awkwardly.

       "Forgive me, I didn't mean to intrude.  My computer showed that
you were in the area and I needed to talk with you for a moment."  Eye
contact, Ami, you've got to give us eye contact, Haruka mused to
herself.

       "You do know that none of you are supposed to know that we are
around, don't you?  We *do* try to maintain our privacy to some degree,"
the taller of the two said with a glare.

       "Er . . . um, again I'm sorry.  I assure you that no one will
find out that you're still in the city."

       "Oh, we already know that," the green-haired figure continued.
"So, Mercury, why do you honor us with your presence?"

       "Please, just Ami," the girl hesitated.

       She raised a disaffected eyebrow.  "Hmmm, as you wish," Michiru
purred, sending a knowing glance to her companion.  She silently
indicated the small drop of nervous sweat descending from Ami's left
temple.  Haruka smiled as she sat down on the side of the pool with
her back toward the couple.

       "The reason why I'm here . . ."

       "Excuse me for a moment, *Mercury*," Michiru began.  "I seem to
have caused a little moisture on your brow, although I don't remember
being close enough to splash this on you.  Perhaps it's the humidity.
Let me take care of it for you . . ."  She tightened her eyes as she 
took her towel and began to move it toward Ami's head.  She moved 
without thought to her target.

       Which is why it came as a particular shock when the towel was
angrily slapped out of her hand by the young girl before her.

       "Who do you think you are?  If either of you think you can
intimidate me by this little game of yours, you're wrong!"

       The interior of the hall then happened upon one of those 
moments -- one of those moments of absolute silence and infinite 
possibilities, for the next sound made had the ability to rend a 
friendship, or perhaps save one.

       The knowing chuckling from the side of the pool signaled that
it was the latter possibility that was being played out.  Haruka turned
her head slightly as she addressed the visitor:

       "We're sorry, Ami-chan.  I suppose that's just one of our many
personality quirks.  We like to tease you like a little sister
occasionally, but we're well aware of the respect that we should pay
you.  So I apologize, and I believe you want to as well, don't you,
Michiru?"  She turned an evil grin to her companion.

       The green-haired girl stood silent, well aware that Haruka had
naughtily switched their mutual roles, daring to lecture *her* on 
etiquette after she had been embarrassed by finally having her bluff
called.  This is intolerable.

       "*Don't you, Michiru?*"

       A painfully artificial smile:  "Yes, of course."  And that was it.

       "Thank you, *Neptune*.  I appreciate the sentiment."  The visitor
folded her arms and walked away, ignoring the next subtle look of
surprise to overtake the girl's face, which was showing an increasingly
unprecedented amount of red.

       "I'll make this short, I've come to deliver a message.  We --
all of us -- are to meet at this address and at this time on Saturday.
More detailed instructions are in each of these envelopes."  As she
handed both of the items to green-haired girl, the recipient's attention
was immediately drawn to the ornate calligraphy in the characters of her
name.  Each stroke was flawless and professional, bearing a style that
had not been actively practiced in the islands in over a century.

       "If you need me before then, I'll be at home or school.  Under
no circumstances are you to contact Usagi or any of the other senshi 
directly until that time.  That's all I was given.  Now if you'll excuse
me, I have a tutoring session in twenty minutes, and I need to leave
now to catch the bus."

       "Rather mysterious about this, aren't you, Ami?" the girl beside
the pool chuckled.  "I'm starting to wonder whether Minako's the real
field leader of the group or if there's someone behind the scen---"

       "Good God, Haruka -- look at this."  The blonde sighed as she
responded to the call of her companion to her side.  She had opened her
invitation and examined the contents.  Getting her first look at the
beautiful script, Haruka scanned the contents until noticing the key
feature.  Her pulse quickened at the mere sight.

       "Who gave this to you?!"  A rhetorical question, of course, since
the young girl was already ascending the stairs to leave.  I can play
games too.  "Do you realize whose address this is?!  Answer me!  Who
gave this to you?!"

       I'm sorry.  Is someone trying to get my attention?  I'm not
certain.  My hearing is a little bad sometimes.

       Must be the humidity.

       * * * * *

       The only sound in the room was that of air being sliced
mercilessly.  She was exerting herself far past her limit, but she would
not let the world have the satisfaction of hearing her gasp.

       The neuvieme parry was successful as she elegantly slung the
blade behind her back to block the swift approach of the opponent's
formidable weapon, but the opponent was now at an angle and she had to
assume a more advantageous position.  Or at least that is what she 
wanted her opponent to believe.  He was totally unprepared for the
passata-sotto which she snapped to.  Since she was fighting in what the
modern recreationists call Florentine style, with the stiletto dagger 
in the off-hand, such a move was ill-advised.  She at least had the 
good sense to toss the dagger into the air, distracting and confusing 
the opponent, before she herself dropped to the piste surface and lunged 
low, supported with her now free hand.  Her blade met his chest at the 
precise instant the dagger reached the zenith of its flight, before 
falling harmlessly back to embed itself into the cold floor behind.

       She finally released her breath and let the ebbing adrenaline rush
titillate her senses.  An irreplaceable feeling, regardless of whether
she had been fighting her own shadow for practice, as she just had, or
not.  Her move had been illegal, but it had won the match.  And since
it was she alone in the practice room, assuming the role of judge,
audience, and opponent, she allowed it to pass without a black card.

       A hand reached down to pull the dagger from the floor behind her.

       The duelist's spinning action was faster than the eye could 
follow, even that of the uninvited visitor.  The tip of the epee blade
now rested a mere centimeter from the intruder's throat.

       The intruder looked down the length of the blade to its hilt,
also of an elaborate and strikingly beautiful Florentine design,
encrusted with rubies, matching the brilliant beauty of its wielder.
She did not move, except for the slightest hint of a raised eyebrow.
It was clear the swordsman was not going to speak, so she decided to
break the tension.

       "Was a passata-sotto the best move you could manage under the
circumstances, especially when fighting in this particular style?  I
have a feeling old Angelo Viggiani would be quite disappointed."

       The distance between the blade tip and the intruder's neck
halved as soon as she finished her observation.

       "I was under the impression that when I gave you this matching
Florentine epee and dagger set that you would treat them better.  You
know there are only three sets like them in the world; they were far
ahead of their time."  The intruder still smiled as she said this, 
running her finger seductively along the dagger's sharp edge.

       "Give me one reason why I shouldn't run you through."  The tip
of the blade, which can naturally amplify any nervous movements or
jerking by the holder, was perfectly still.  The eyes did not blink.

       "This is not the reception that I had exp ---"

       "Shut up.  Just shut up.  You're supposed to be dead and I don't
think anyone will notice if you stay that way.  So I'll repeat myself.
Why shouldn't I kill you right now?"

       "Because you *have* to know."

       "You're damn right!  Normally I'm more hospitable to spectres
from beyond, but with you, I'll make an exception.  Now, in lieu of
my previous question, I'll just ask you why you are here."

       "To pay my respects."

       She raised the blade slightly so that it now rested against
the intruder's lower jaw.  Any movement at this point would now draw
blood.  Wrong answer.

       "I didn't say anything to you over the last months because I
honestly thought that you didn't know anything about what has been
going on with us and the memory crystals.  About my living *hell* for
the past couple of months."  The swordsman's eyes narrowed.  "But the 
more and more I thought about it, especially after you disappeared, I 
came to the conclusion that you had to know more than you let on, since
your memories of the Silver Millennium are so much clearer than ours.
You deceived us, you deceived *me*, the entire time.  The only question
in my mind is how much more.  So I'll ask you again, why are you here
Setsuna?  Or should I say Pluto, since you obviously are much less human
than you passed yourself off to be earlier."

       "I came because I thought that all of you needed to know."

       "Know what?"

       "Truth."

       "Don't get philosophical with me."

       "What is so philosophical about wanting to know what *really*
happened one thousand years ago in a place that currently exists only
in bad dreams and empty, lonely eyes?"

       The girl flinched.  It was, of course, what had been driving her
through the previous months.  Underneath the quest to find the Messiah,
below the dream to save Saturn and the world, there was the wish.  The
wish to know.

       And with the flinch the Guardian took her opportunity.  Faster
than even the imperceptible movements of moments earlier, she quickly
jerked her arm and took full hold of the blade in the middle of its
length, moving it to one side so that she could get closer to the
swordsman's ear.

       "There is a truth, but it's not the one you selfishly clawed for
before.  It is one much larger than you can imagine."  Her tone was now
one far, far more intense than the girl was used to.  It almost appeared
that the Guardian was actually squeezing the blade.  Squeezing it.  But
not bleeding.

       "Larger than you."

       Bleed.

       "Larger than your friends."

       Bleed.

       "Larger even than I."

       Please bleed . . .

       "*Pay attention!*  Are you going to dance on the edge of this
blade when the world ends, Minako, or are you going to do something
about it?  Usagi might be their queen but you are their leader.  I
suggest you start acting the part."

       The blonde stumbled back, speechless.

       "We meet Saturday.  My address is in the envelope you'll
find on your bureau at home.  Do *not* be late."  Her long, dark hair
flew against the girl's face as she quickly turned to leave, with no
more words.

       She was then alone again, with her broken thoughts, her silent 
audience, and an unstained blade.

       * * * * *

       "Meow?"

       "Pardon me?"

       "Well, you've been so silent lately that I thought perhaps you
were trying to get in touch with your feline side, which *I* happen to
know is considerably more finicky than mine."  Luna chuckled as she
stretched while positioning herself beside the white cat.  "Honestly,
I never understood how you were so at ease with heights.  You know that
I can't stomach climbing trees.  Or more precisely, descending from
them."

       The branch of the old maple tree was approximately thirty feet
above the ground.  It offered a fabulous view of the school grounds
below.  Students and teachers whizzing back and forth amid a myriad of
conversations taking place.  For a cat with exemplary eyesight and
hearing of equal calibre, this little loft provided an excellent day of
entertainment.

       "Then why are you here?  Nothing is wrong with Usagi or anything,
is it?"

       "Hmmmm?  No, no more than usual.  She *does* worry me sometimes,
though.  I made some sort of silly offhand remark yesterday about her
being so clumsy that she could trip over her own shadow -- and she
actually had to stop and think about it for a moment.  Not exactly the
kind of situations you find in the royal princess finishing school
handbook."  She sighed her usual sigh.

       "No," he laughed slightly, "I suppose not."  Luna smiled to
herself as she finally felt some progress cracking the white monolith
before her.  She then joined in his view of the comings and goings of
innocent children below.

       "Does she know that you come here to watch her?"  Luna slightly
nodded her head toward the building that the girl in question currently
occupied.

       "No, I don't think so.  Well, she knows that I do *coincidentally*
happen upon her school sometimes in my daily walks, but she doesn't
have any clue about my little observation post here."

       "You're afraid that if she found out that you liked to monitor
her, she would go out of her way to avoid being seen."

       "Actually, that's not it at all.  Knowing her, she would probably
come by here *more* often.  She would call 'Hey, Artemis, how ya doin''
up into the tree and make everybody look at the handsome white cat that
follows her to school every day.  I think she would get a kick out of
it."

       "Handsome?"  Luna inhaled in playful disapproval.

       "Sorry -- I misspoke:  The *exceedingly* handsome white cat that
follows her to school every day.  Speaking of which, you haven't been
following *me* have you?"

       "Hmmph . . . don't flatter yourself, Artemis!" she turned her
head upward in her most naughtily aristocratic gesture.  "But if I
*was* to be worried about a friend, who could blame me for a little
surreptitious detective work?  Hypothetically speaking, of course."

       "Well then," he sighed, "hypothetically speaking, what did the
detective detect, concerning this friend?"

       "Sources tell me that my friend has been sullen and withdrawn 
for the last two months or so.  They also tell me that he's been
reluctant to talk to anybody about it.  Not even his ward.  And he's
not the only one that being affected by this, according to my sources."

       "Maybe he just needs a vacation."

       "Maybe he just needs to---"

       "No, Luna.  He's fine.  Just thinking about the past has gotten
to him as of late.  Made him a little depressed.  He'll come around,
though, and he'll talk to you about it.  Just doesn't want to bother
you with wisps of long-forgotten memories."

       "Artemis, if we're not careful, memories are all were going to
have left.  Please, why don't you tell---"

       "Hold it, Luna --- here she comes into the courtyard.  Does that
look like a full bookbag from here?  I'm not certain.  There's that 
Kurosawa guy, watching her as usual.  I doubt Minako would give him the
time of day, though.  And even if she did, it would likely be wrong.
What is she meandering around for?  She's got science class next, and
she needs all the help she can get in that.  Sometimes I wonder if . . ."

       The black cat stared at the white one.  She strained to remember
a time when he had been so deliberately oblique.  Such exercises were
pointless, however, as in all of her intact memories she could not
locate such an instance from the normally unabashedly direct colleague
stretched beside her on the branch.  

       She looked down in despair, and then quickly looked up again,
after seeing how far removed from blessed solid ground she was.
       
       * * * * *

       The smaller tree was more to his liking, Artemis thought to 
himself.  It offered a better exposure to the warm sun and likewise
an excellent view into Minako's room.  Artemis continually reminded
himself that the weeks of observation he had made through this
particular window before concluding Minako was Venus years ago was
good detective work rather than base voyeurism.  Besides, he was a cat.
He was supposed to be curious, as the saying went.

       And, he mused to himself, how can one be a good advisor is all
one ever does is talk and never watch?  It obviously can't be done.

       "What are you smiling at, you little white devil?"  Knowing she
was watching, he closed his eyes, but maintained the smile.

       "Welcome home, Minako."

       She leaned against the tree with her hands behind her back and
looked in a similar direction as Artemis.  As she felt the sun on her
face and the wind blow against her hair, she envied the life of her
mentor, for just the slightest moment.  "You know, every time I see
you like this, I half-expect you to disappear into nothing but a smile
full of teeth."

       He slowly descended the trunk of the tree, making a point to rub
against her shoulder on the way down.  "Hmmm, my girl doesn't read her
schoolbooks too much, but at least she *reads*.  So tell me, Alice, do
we really live in Wonderland?"

       "Sometimes it seems that way, doesn't it?  Just yesterday
I had a visit from the Queen of Hearts."

       "I was wondering was on your mind this week.  But I thought
*you* were the Queen of Hearts."

       Artemis looked up as no answer was forthcoming.  He, of course,
had not realized what he had said until it was already out.  Her sad
stare to the side reminded the cat that even a senshi of love is not
without regrets.

       "I'm sorry - I wasn't thinking.  Don't worry, Minako.  It 
*will* come."

       He always could mine that elusive smile out of me, she thought.
She extended her arm downward, inviting him to rest on her shoulder.
He promptly accepted.

       "Thanks kitty.  Sometimes I think you know me better than I know
myself."  She traced the outline of his ears while he settled into
position.

       "You'd be surprised.  Now, you said you had a visitor."  He
stretched in anticipation of a long story.  The forthcoming explanation
was quite concise, however:

       "It was Pluto."

       Not a reaction.  Not even an elevated heartbeat, Minako thought
to herself as she gauged the cat's response.  Artemis really could be
cool under pressure, she noted.  She wondered how many years of shocks
and disappointments had molded this ability.

       "I see . . . and how do you feel about this?"

       "What?  Aren't you surprised?"

       "Not really.  Well, perhaps on the timing.  This is earlier than
I had expected her to reappear."  Artemis glanced around to observe
Minako's consternation at his own lack of astonishment.  "One thing
about the outers that you learn over time, Minako, is that while on the
surface they are utterly unpredictable, at their core they are rather
simple.  They do their duty, not letting trivialities like death get
in their way.  And when it does, well, they find a way around it."

       Minako's silence told Artemis that she was pondering over his
statement.  Or perhaps on something slightly more basic, he thought . . .

       "It was something of a shock, wasn't it?  Seeing someone you
thought was dead reappear like you had shared tea with them yesterday.
Being a creature of the Silver Millennium is not an easy life, you
have to adjust to these turns of events that are, for lack of a better
term, inhuman.  And, of course, it sort of reminds you what you really
are."

       "And just what am I?" Minako whispered.

       Artemis's eyes narrowed and peered over to Minako with his most
serious look, prompting her to hold her breath.  And then, his evil
little grin:

       "My favorite, of course."

       He got my smile again, she thought.  "Thanks, Artemis."

       "You're very welcome.  Now, what did she want?"

       "She invited me to a dinner at her place on Saturday.  I think
Rei, Ami, Makoto, and Usagi are going to be there as well, but
she didn't leave instructions to bring them.  I presume they'll get
their own invitations."

       "I presume so.  And what about . . ."

       "Sorry, Artemis.  You weren't invited.  The instructions were
pretty explicit about that."

       "Hmmph!  How rude!" he playfully moaned.  "Guess it's the canned
tuna for me that day, then."

       "Don't give me that, Artemis.  You know that you'll follow me
there just like you did to school today."

       The cat smiled at his pupil.  He knew that he hadn't been seen
from his perch.  She was craftily trying to get him to confirm her
suspicions.  A year ago, she wouldn't have thought to do that.  Good 
job, Minako.

       "Don't be paranoid.  Not everybody's watching you *all* the
time.  Besides, I was out with Luna today.  Now, if I *happen* to find
myself playing with a ball of string outside of Pluto's home, well,
coincidences *do* happen."

       "Yeah, I'm sure they do, Artemis.  Just watch yourself.  I don't
trust her."

       "You're not alone there.  Did she say anything else?"

       'No' would have been the easiest and most convenient answer, she
thought to herself as she measured her response.  But then, she knew
that she could never hide such a lie from Artemis.

       "She said there was a truth, a truth that I had grasped for, 
but not the one I thought it was.  Frankly, I don't know what to make
of it, but I'm worried."

       Artemis used his muscles to tighten the grip on her neck
slightly, perhaps to give her some subconscious reassurance and 
security.  "She's a tough nut to crack, that Pluto.  But I don't think
you really have anything to worry about from her.  She's very, very
powerful and oozes bravado, but I suspect she's basically harmless in
the final analysis.  Still, I wouldn't turn my back on her."

       "I won't.  By the way, are you ready to go see Makoto's crystal
formed?  I think they said they were going to go through with it tomorrow 
at seven o'clock."

       "Let's postpone thinking of that until a little later," Artemis
suggested.  "Dinner first?"

       "Tuna or pizza?"

       "Don't hold out on me, Miss Aino."

       "I'm not holding out!  I'm just having trouble explaining
to mom and dad why I'm feeding all of our swordfish to the family cat.
It doesn't come cheap, you know."

       "But I'm so useful around the house.  I scare mice away, I find
keys that are dropped behind the sofa, I make sure their daughter stays
on the straight and narrow.  I'm *indispensable*."  The cat yawned and
stretched, still on her neck.  "Indispensabuuuuuuule," he repeated
sleepily.

       "You're *incorrigible* is what you are," she laughed as she
scratched his head.  "Come on -- let's get you some swordfish."
       
       * * * * *

	The park was always beautiful this time of day.  He didn't know
how, but he knew that his daughter loved it deeply.  Whether it was
the bright sunlight, the fresh air, or the colorful flowers mattered
little.  The baby cooed from her carriage, seeming to sense her
surroundings.  It was his greatest pleasure simply to sit on the park
bench and watch her happiness.  He felt that it was long overdue to
her, but he could not remember why.

	As he turned around he wondered how long the person sitting
beside him on the park bench had been there without his notice.

	"A beautiful daughter you have there, Professor Tomoe."

	"Thank you," he replied in a light voice.  "Thank you very
much.  I'm sorry, have we met before?"

	She extended her hand:  "Meiou.  Meiou Setsuna.  I attended one
of your lectures several years ago."

	"Oh," he accepted her handshake.  "I'm afraid some recent
medical problems have caused me to lose quite a bit of my memory from
that time frame.  I apologize for not recognizing you."

	"No apology necessary," she smiled as she rose and peered into
the carriage at the baby, who seemed to be occupying herself by making
new shapes from the clouds above.  "What is her name?"

	"Hotaru.  Her mother Keiko named her."

	"What an exquisite name," the woman brought her head closer
to the child.  "Well then little Hotaru-chan, I wish you nothing but
peace and happiness in the future."  She leaned down to kiss the baby
on the forehead as a blessing, at the same time quietly whispering 
into her ear: "And try to live a good life this time.  You deserve it,
little one."

	Tomoe looked up from the bench.  "She likes you.  You can tell
by the way she is cooing."  He walked over to pick her up from the
carriage and place her over his shoulder so that she might have a
better view of her surroundings.  "You mentioned that you saw one of
my lectures years ago, which one wa---"

	When he looked back to where the woman had been standing he
found nothing but blowing leaves.

	The baby laughed anyway.

       * * * * *

	[Ring]

	"Hello, Rei?  It's Minako."

	"Hello."

	"Makoto's transformation is tomorrow.  That will be the last
crystal."

	"Yes.  I know."

	"We're not going to do anything, are we?"

	"There's nothing we can do."

	"No, I suppose there's not.  She'll have all five then."

	"I know."

	Minako paused for several seconds as she thought what to say
next.  She considered that she had best use her time well, as this was
the most talkative Rei had been in weeks.

	"Rei-chan, please cheer up.  Usagi needs you."

	"I kn--"

	"I need you too.  We all do."

	There was another pause.  Minako didn't know whether Rei was
lost in thought again, or simply gauging what she was going to say
next.

	"Usagi might be our moral center, Rei, but you're our spiritual
heart.  Don't forget that."

	Rei began almost instantly:  "Minako, do you know what happened
to me last night?  I slept like a baby.  For the first time in months,
since that entire crystal incident, I slept.  And do you know what I
dreamed of?  I dreamed we were all at a party for you.  We were all
smiling and laughing and crying at the same time, and I don't have a
clue why.  And it felt so good.  And I so badly want that, so badly."

	She didn't know quite what to say.  The next words flowed out
almost instinctively:

	"Then you'll get it, if it's within my power.  Sisters look out
for each other don't they?"

	"I suppose they do," Rei said, ending in a sound which Minako
hoped might have been a giggle.

	"And Rei," Minako began slowly, "all those things I said . . .
I mean, I didn't . . . I really didn't . . . ."

	"I *know*."  She said it in such a way that it lifted the
weight from Minako's heart, a weight that had pressed for weeks that
seemed like years.

	"I know."  Rei burst into laughter this time, and contagiously
it spread across the telephone line to Minako, who began to laugh
uncontrollably as well:

	"I know too!"

	Not sailors.  Not soldiers.  Two teen girls.  On the phone.

	But in the laughter, Minako briefly remembered that their visit
to Pluto would take place two days hence.  Likely mirth was not on the
agenda for Setsuna, Minako thought.  But that's Saturday.  Right now,
time to talk with your sister.

	* * * * *

       She thought of what to say.  She wasn't the best with words,
but she managed.  Really, she thought, words were overrated.  What
battle had they won in the previous two years on words alone?  She
wasn't nervous because of what was about to happen, was she?  Surely
not, she assured herself.  If *Usagi* can do it without crying, anyone
can.  I'm not really nervous.

       Still, Makoto didn't want to offend her friends, so she pondered 
for a moment before speaking:

       "Really, I don't see why all of you had to come.  I mean, we've
seen before that this is a pretty simple procedure."

       "Famous last words," Ami answered Makoto's embarrassed concerns
from the side.  "When you're dealing with the level of magic that we
all saw earlier, it's always better to be on the safe side."  She then
unexpectedly smiled to the girl, "But I don't foresee any complications
in retrieving your crystal."

       Makoto glanced to Ami's smile, momentarily expecting her teeth
to have appeared somehow sharper after hearing the word "retrieving."
But they weren't.

	Everyone had noticed that Rei had become somewhat more talkative
since they had seen her last, and of course this pleased everyone.  Rei
herself felt more at ease, although as Ami unpacked the last of her
equipment, recent memories shifted Rei toward the pensive once again.

       Ami still brought the machines, in her apparent attempt to
continue the charade of gathering empirical information, Minako
noted silently.  Minako did not say anything because, at this point, 
she really didn't care.  The blonde simply knocked on the top of one 
of them twice, producing an odd metallic ring.  "Is it true what they 
say, Ami-chan?"

       "What's that?"

       "That any significantly advanced technology is indistinguishable 
from magic."

       "Clarke's Third Law -- impressive," Ami smiled while twisting
an anonymous knob.  "You know, we throw that word, magic, around like
it was something tangible, like something you could store in your
pocket."  She momentarily glanced down to her own pocket where her
transformation wand was 'stored'.  "And we don't really have the 
slightest idea what we're talking about.  In the end, regarding your 
question, my logical mind says it is true, but everything I've seen 
since I've joined the Senshi says otherwise."

       "So which one has final say, Ami?  Your mind or your heart?"
Minako bent down to put herself on eye level with Ami.

       "My stomach!" Usagi suddenly whined, oblivious to the ongoing
conversation.  She rubbed it as it started to call to her, "I haven't
eaten in hours!  How much longer, Rei-chan?"

       Rei, increasingly silent, preoccupied, and to the side, looking 
toward the sunset, would have normally chastised the young princess 
greatly at this point.  Normally.

       "Not much longer now."

       "Actually, I'm ready anytime Makoto is," Ami interjected.

       "Let's get this show on the road!" the girl in question grunted
as she summoned her transformation wand and began the process.  It would
be a matter of mere moments before the detransformation would also be
complete and the final crystal would be manifest.

       Artemis ground his teeth as the tiny electrical discharges in
the room literally made his fur stand on end.  "I hate this part."

       "Baby," Luna chided him.

       * * * * *

	Ami sat in her room quietly looking at her minicomputer.  The
readout displayed Makoto's vital signs throughout all stages of the
transformation and detransformation.  All normal.  Not that she was
really concerned that Makoto couldn't have handled it.  After all,
Ami herself had, and, as she reminded herself, she was likely the
weakest physically of the group.  A small glint of light from the
side drew her attention.

	Makoto's crystal lie on the table before her.  Minako had not
tried to take it from her.  Neither had Rei.  Of course, Ami did not
have the slightest idea that this notion had even crossed their minds
and then been summarily dismissed.

	Beside Makoto's crystal she had placed Minako's, Usagi's, Rei's,
and her own in a line.  As she looked at them, she noticed that she
had unwittingly placed them in prismatic order -- blue, green, clear,
yellow, and red.  Actually, the pure, clear one could have been placed
in any position, the young scientist noted.  But it was Usagi's, she
reminded herself.  It had to be the center.

	She tapped her finger on the table nervously.  It wasn't that 
she was actually worried about seeing Pluto in person again, was it?
Of course not, she reassured herself.  It's just that she didn't like
lying to Usagi and the others.  I mean, to get Usagi to a specific 
place on a Saturday evening, she had to bait her with the promise of 
free food.  She won't be pleased.  And what of those others?  Minako, 
Makoto, and Rei?  Makoto and Rei had taken some convincing, but Minako
just agreed with an unusual sigh.  That in itself was odd, Ami pondered.

	Or maybe it *was* the prospect of seeing Pluto.  Of leading 
Usagi into the lion's den.  As she rolled the crystals around until 
they took on a circular formation she considered the possibilities that
might come to pass tomorrow.  Naturally, it was those possibilities 
that she could not envision that unnerved her the most.

	"Such beautiful little pieces of hell, you are," she whispered
as she finished rolling the crystals into position, and then grabbed 
them up in a handful and placed them into a small, silken bag that had
been to the side.  "How I wish you had never come into our lives."

	She looked at the clock.  Eight hours until the meeting.

	I need some sleep.

       * * * * *

[ The Past ]

	The young prince looked skyward.  He closed his eyes as 
instructed.

	"You have to let your eyes adjust.  You have been in the city 
too long to fully appreciate the sight you are about to see.  Now, be 
patient."  The elder gazed toward the horizon at the shimmering lights
of the capital city, where they had been mere hours before.  And then,
once again, to the silver disc above.

	"It is a realm of immortals.  Blessed to live forever in the 
absolute purity of the void that is above the clouds."  His eyes 
wandered down toward the prince, who had not broken his view of the 
heavens, "Or perhaps cursed -- Who is to say?  It is supposed to be a 
paradise beyond the reaches of our dreams.  But no living earthling has 
seen it and returned, and fate has decreed that we may not speak with
them officially, so it might just be a fairy tale of sorts.  Now go
ahead and open your eyes."

	And when he did, he saw something that amazed him.

	"There are colors other than the white.  I see blue, green, red,
and golden flashes.  It is on the line between day and night!"  The
prince suddenly become excited.

	"Impressive eyes.  I believe you are witnessing the celebration
of a new birth on the moon.  Our sources have told us that the White
Moon King and his Queen have birthed a daughter, a new princess of the
serene moon.  That is what I wanted you to see this evening."  The
boy's father had placed him in charge of the prince's education, and
there was indeed much learning to be done from this spectacle.  "Look
well, for no one alive has seen such a sight before this night."

	"I believe I would like to visit this White Moon Kingdom 
someday."  He paused to consider his own proposal for a moment.  "Yes,
I think I would like to do so."

	"Would you now, young Prince Endymion?" the old man laughed.
"Would you too like to find the secret of immortality?"

	"No," he replied humbly.  "I merely want to know if, when I 
look up to their heaven above the clouds, if there is someone up there
looking down on me at the same time."

	The elder placed his hand on his young companion's head and
unexpectedly ruffled his dark hair without saying any further words as
they continued to watch the festivities of a world removed.

       * * * * *

       "This doesn't look like any ice cream parlor *I've* ever seen,"
Usagi eyed the ivy-covered mansion distrustfully.  It was not
particularly large, nor did the Western style imply age, however it
was, in Usagi's mind at least, quite imposing.

       "The world's leading authority has just spoken . . ."

       "Shut up, Rei-chan.  It's not my fault that I happen to be a
connoisseur of the finer things in life," she smiled upward, singing
the last part of her response.

       "Connoi----what manga did you read that word in?" Rei snapped.

       "Ribon--er--I mean, none of your business!"  Everyone laughed
at that.  Everyone.  A piece of the old, good times wedged within
today's troubles.  This was a good feeling sorely missed.

       "I'm sorry Usagi-chan, I misled you slightly," Ami began while
finishing her laugh in the rays of the rapidly falling sun.  Minako 
suddenly realized all of the different ways that Ami could finish that
statement.  "It actually belongs to a friend of the family who 
requested our presence at dinner this evening.  She, ah . . . she has
quite an interesting story to tell us, if I'm not mistaken."

       You would know about those wouldn't you Ami?  Minako slowly
slid to the side, to better observe their interactions.

       "When you say 'a friend of the family,' Ami-chan, whose family
do you mean?  Your mother's or . . ."  Makoto approached the door while
listening closely to Usagi's question.  It would not be finished:

       "Ours.  The Senshi."

       She knows.  She knows why we're really here.  Minako strained
to keep silent.

       By this time, Makoto had made her way over to a small statue
that rested nestled among the shrubbery covering the side of the house.
She stooped down to peer into its face, or more properly, its *faces*,
before making her conclusion:

       "Ugly fellow, isn't he?  Two faces and all."

       "I think he's supposed to be like that, Mako-chan.  After all,
it is Janus," Ami approached the small figure to get a better look at
it.

       "Who?"  Makoto became slightly annoyed as she asked the
question, realizing that Ami had *made* her ask by not volunteering the
information to begin with.

       "Janus, the ancient Roman god of doors and gateways."  She moved
the ivy that had slowly engulfed the artwork for an even closer
examination.  "This is old.  Very old.  It could be an original.
Usually it's only the older pieces that show Janus holding a staff and
keys like this one.  God of gateways.  No doubt whoever placed him here
at the entrance to the house had that in mind, perhaps to honor him."

       "Or honor themselves." The voice from the green-haired girl
behind caused Usagi to spin around in a burst of energy.  The other one
present sufficed herself with a simple greeting: "Hello, Odango."

       "Michiru!  Haruka!  What are you doing here?  Where have you
been for the last few months?  We've been looking everywhere for you!"
Usagi ran forward to greet the couple but decided at the last moment to
embrace the taller of the two, a move that brought about a gasp in the
taller one, but only a chuckle in her companion.

       "We were so worried!  We just didn't know what happened to you!"

       "Don't worry Usagi-chan.  We were okay, we just needed a break.
Searching nonstop for pure hearts tends to take the wind out of your
sails.  And it's good to see you too."

       The remainder of the group gathered around the duo, exchanging
their greetings and their pleasantries.  

       Except for one young senshi who had seen the two earlier in the
week and was understandably underwhelmed with their appearance.  Michiru
casually walked over to the girl, who was still studying the statue. She
spoke low, as to not draw attention.

       "You know as well as I do that this is an original, and is
probably more of a nameplate than a guardian deity of any sort.  They
don't have any clue why they're here, do they, Ami?"

       "I don't think they do.  It's just easier if we let her explain
whatever's going on to them personally."

       Michiru touched each face of the statue sequentially, as if by
ritual, and then turned to the girl.  "Janus was also the god of the
beginning of things.  The originator.  The manipulator.  I'm not sure 
if we're going to like what we're going to find on the other side of 
that door."  She motioned slightly with her head toward the ominous
wooden portal.

       "I think it's a chance we have to take."  She backed away from
the alcove.

       "Very well then, but just remember one thing Ami-chan: do you
know the difference between all of those villains you have faced in the
past and the person who owns this statue?"

       She stood, knowing the probable answer, but not letting the girl
opposite see that her innocent, trusting public facade, which had been so 
carefully cultivated, had been corrupted by raging waves of suspicion.

       Michiru closed, lowering her voice to the threshold of
inaudibility.  "Their agenda was transparent.  As Leonidas so fittingly
told his Spartans before Thermopylae, 'Sisters, be of good cheer, this 
night we shall sup with Pluto.'"  And then, without permission or 
prompting the others, she turned and pushed the small doorbell button.
"Let's end this charade."

       Silence answered.



                                    * * *
                    ------------------------------------
                    The Midday Crossing - Pyriphlegethôn
                    ------------------------------------
                                    * * *


       His disciples said unto him, "When will the rest for the dead 
take place, and when will the new world come?"

       He said unto them, "What you are looking forward to has come, 
but only that you do not know it."

       * * * * *


       "Maybe no one's home," Makoto suggested with a raised eyebrow.

       "Somehow I doubt it," Haruka gruffly snorted with an
accompanying glance over her shoulder to ensure that they were not being
monitored.  At least monitored overtly.  The whole complex was probably
riddled with videocameras, probably one trained on each of them at any
time, if she knew the occupant correctly.

       "Well, why would someone invite us all the way across town and
then forg---"

       "The door's open," Minako said in a low voice.  "Must have wanted
us to come in."  All eyes turned to the girl, except Makoto's, which
had been already been on the blonde, after she noticed the shiny,
metallic glare of a tiny set of tools that Minako had hurriedly stuffed
into her pocket moments before she had made her "discovery."  She 
decided to say no more.  The door was open.  That was all that mattered
at the moment as the group invited itself within.

	Rei instantly paused as she crossed the door's threshhold.
Ami looked back to see the priestess stopped, looking around in random
directions, almost confusedly.

	"What's wrong, Rei-chan?"

	"Did you feel that?"

	"Feel what?"

	She continued her quick assessment of the area before shrugging
it off and moving into the darkened passageway.  "Nothing.  It's
just . . . no, nevermind, nothing."

       The smell of the place was like that of a museum, Usagi mused.
Much like the ones that she had been forced to attend on school trips.
This was somehow different, however.  She didn't know how, but she knew
that the smell was . . . sophisticated, as well.  Yes, that's it.
Sophisticated.

       "If I know our friend, she'll probably want us in the dining
room, just down the hall and to the right."  Michiru glanced around
more than slightly nervously as she made her prediction.

       "So, you've met this 'friend' before," Makoto noted, 
subconsciously recognizing Michiru's slight unease and transferring it
to a more alert stance of her own.

       The group slowly proceeded down the darkened, totally quiet hall,
stopping periodically to examine items of interest, Rei futilely hoping
that she would gain some clue as to why they were in a stranger's house.
Suits of armor.  Sculpture.  An almost alarming lack of dust.

       "Your father is an artist of sorts, right Ami?"  Again, Michiru
asked without making eye contact.

       "Yes, although I don't remember mentioning that before."

       "Well then, what would the daughter of an artist call this?"  She
pointed to a medium-sized painting hung at the very end of the hall, 
illuminated by an unseen source.  The scene within the large wooden
frame was somewhat unsettling: a barren landscape composed of cold 
grays and dead trees.  Still, there was some color there, just outside
of the range of her perception.  A strong color; as soon as she caught
its feeling for a moment, however, it disappeared just as quickly.
An elusive flavor, she thought, this arbitrary and subtle trick of light
that the artist had played on the viewer.

       The same ethereal lack of color manifested itself in the four
rivers running through the landscape.  Four rivers that never touched
yet appeared strangely intertwined.

       "This is an Impressionist piece, although the subject matter
seems somewhat uncharacteristic for that school."  Ami nodded her head
in the negative as she answered.

       "Look a little closer," Michiru smiled.  "Does the artist view
himself as an Impressionist?"  Ami locked on her analytic glare again.

       "No," she leaned forward, as if in a moment of illumination.
"No.  This painter is clearly influenced by them, but is trying to 
strike back toward a form of Realism."

       The green-haired girl laughed.  "Yes, Degas was always like that."

       "This is a Degas?  No, it can't be, the subject matter . . ."

       "An artist in a pinch will paint whatever his patron asks him
to, Ami-chan.  And I guarantee that you won't find this particular
painting on any register of Degas' official works."

       "You mean . . ."

       <*A collector, of sorts.*>

       She chuckled.  "That's right.  I certainly would not wanted
to have been the artist when *she* started to critique it."

       Never one to appreciate the finer, non-culinary things in life,
Usagi had already begun to probe her surroundings and promptly noticed
a dimly lit opening that seemed to invite them forward in a way that
Usagi felt was not at all uncomfortable.

       "I believe *this* is the dining room," Usagi pointed to the
sizable passage.  "And yes, Rei-chan, I spotted it first because
I've had experience in such things."

       "I never insinuated any such thing."

       "Of course you didn't.  That's not the style of your particularly
pleasant disposition.  You just say things straight out without any 
tact."

       "Tact!?!  First of all, I wish you'd stop using your shoujo
manga as your main source of new vocabulary, and second, if you 
want to talk about tact--"
       
       "Is it possible, just remotely possible, that I could enjoy one
meal in this lifetime without this starting?"  Minako looked downward
as she groaned.

       "Welcome to the Sailor Senshi, Minako-chan.  Enjoy the stay."

       * * * * *

	"Did they see us?"

	"I don't think so."

	He paused.  "Are you sure you're ready to do this?"

	She grimaced.  "You didn't give me much of a choice, you know."

	"No, I suppose I didn't.  Remember, her security system cycles
every seventeen minutes and four seconds so if we don't hit this just
right, we'll either have to wait a bit or she'll send the dogs out on
us."
	
	"You think she really has dogs?" she asked, trying not to betray
nervousness.

	He thought for a moment before deciding to pretend he hadn't
heard her question.

	They leapt into the darkness together.

       * * * * *

       From the other side of the table Michiru slowly slid the wine
and its holder closer to herself.  She then, almost artfully, removed
the bottle and held it to the light to examine its coloration.  The
girl beside her smiled as she placed her face in her hands, awaiting
the sculpted analysis which was to come.

       "So, what's the verdict?"

       "Chateau Petrus Pomerol.  1945 vintage, one of the better ones.
It's supposedly exquisitely dry, for a red wine."

       "I would have thought that *you* would have been the one to know
about these things, Minako-chan," Usagi giggled under her breath.

       "Really?  As I recall, *you* were the one who got plastered at
that party a couple of months ago."

       Hmmmm . . . so this is what Rei feels like when she scolds Usagi.
Not a bad feeling.

       "Minako-chan!  You know that I didn't know that---"

       "How much?" Haruka, perhaps noticing the spat developing across
the table, perhaps not, interrupted.

       "Oh, I'd guess around half a million yen, give or take a hundred
thousand or so, depending upon whether it was auctioned in New York or
Paris."

       "And that's probably from the low end of her private stock."

       "H-h-half a million!" Usagi ripped the spotlight back to herself.
"Who *is* this 'friend of the family' anyway?  Whose house is this?"

       "And why, when we came in, Minako-chan, did you move Usagi's
seating card down two spaces, away from the head of the table?  Do you
know why we're here?"

       Makoto regretted it as soon as she said it.  It was one of those
instinctual things, she thought to herself.  Couldn't be helped.  But
now it was out and had to be dealt with.

       "Is that true, Minako-chan?" Usagi asked, seeming more confused
than hurt.  "Why did you move my card away from the head of the table?"

       "Because she was afraid to have you too close to me."  Everyone
turned to see the tall, slender figure in civilian clothing emerge from
the adjacent hallway.  Of those that were not prepared to see their
old friend in person again, all gasped a silent gasp and felt a cold
grip surround their hearts.

       "Hello everyone."

       "I'll be damned," Makoto whispered under her breath.

       To that, the Guardian simply smiled and gave her most honest
response to the girl:

       "Only if you are lucky, my friend.  *Only if you are lucky.*"

       * * * * *

[ Two Months Ago ]

       "All right, Artemis," he spoke to himself.  "You're the
strategist.  So think it out.  Let's play a little thought game."

	He rolled on his back so that he was now facing the ceiling
with Minako's bed underneath.  "What could be the possible reason for
sending memory crystals a thousand years into the future?  Assuming
they were 'sent' in the first place?"

	"Okay, Option one.  Random chance.  No reason for the crystals
at all.  They just 'happened'."  He entertained this thought for a
fraction of a second before dismissing it.  His years had taught him
well that things usually do in fact happen for a reason.

	"Option two," he purred. "Benevolent purposes.  Give them their
memories back.  Make them happier people."  He thought for a moment
before continuing.  "Option two-A.  Benevolent purposes, but
unintentionally causes grief.  They aren't ready for their memories.
Or maybe they don't want them."  Artemis thought to Ami's activities
over the past month as a possible proof to this option.

	"Option three," he continued. "Malevolent purposes."  Although
this was the possibility he disliked thinking about the most, it was
also ironically the one that intrigued him the most as a strategist
and also the one he could most competently comment upon.  "Malevolence
implies disruption.  Disruption requires power."  He decided to further
expand his little mental exercise:

       "Liabilities:  at least one thousand years in the future, won't
be able to see it through."

       "Assets:  nearly infinite Silver Millennium magical abilities
at your disposal, the knowledge that whatever memories remained of the
Silver Millennium would be muddled and therefore your plan could
remain in the shadows."

       "You'd have to have a power that would cause damage.  Cause
sorrow.  But since it has to last for a thousand years, it is
vulnerable.  It needs to be hidden.  It's got to be someplace where no
one would ever think to look."

	He shook his head, snapping out of that self-conversational 
state in which he had found Minako so often.  So which one was it?  
Option one, two, or three?

       The cat grunted in frustration.  This was not the type of 
planning he had anticipated for himself.  He slowly stretched on 
Minako's bed, extending his tense muscles.

       As he lie there, he caught a glimpse of one of the pictures that
Minako had kept from her Sailor V days.  He knew few girls who actually
kept pictures of herself displayed so prominently in her own room.

       That wasn't so long ago, he sighed.  It was a good time to be
alive.  Girl and her cat keeping the streets safe for the ordinary
person.  Not exactly how I saw myself after I finished the Academy,
but, on the whole, the most rewarding time of my life, he reminded
himself.

       He stared at the image of the girl in the mask with the cat
resting on her shoulder.  

       Wait a minute . . .

       * * * * *

[ Three Years Ago ] 

       "Who are you?"

       "Aino Minako."

       "Who else?"

       "Another."

       * * * * *

       All those present at the long table ate quietly and tentatively,
much like soldiers of old did in preparations for large battles in
which they would most likely die.  That is, all save one.

       The person at the head of the table sat with a smile, sipping
her wine and tacitly daring the first person to speak.  Not knowing such
a challenge had been extended, the first to take it up was, of course,
Usagi.

       "This is really tasty, Setsuna!  Did you prepare it yourself?"

       "Not as such.  I had it flown in from Zurich.  But thank you,
regardless."

       "Zurich, eh?" Michiru commented while looking down at her
pheasant.

       "One of the places I have . . . interests," she took another
contemplative sip.  "One of the places."

       "So, um, Setsuna, so where have you been lately?"  Makoto
awkwardly seized the momentum of the moment to open the door to the
answer of why they were really there.  The awkwardness was such that
Minako did, indeed, flinch.

       "Around.  Here and there.  Closer than you might think."

       "Can't pull our strings from too far, can you?" Rei took a 
defiantly calculated sip of her own wine to match her host.

       "Rei.  Now's not the time." Minako, occupying a position between
Setsuna and Rei felt obligated to interfere.  Their host did not make
matters any better by her response to Rei's question:

       "It makes it more difficult.  But not excessively so."

       "All right!  That's it!" Haruka angrily rose, throwing down her
napkin.  "Enough theatrics.  Enough manipulation.  Enough playing. 
Either tell me right now why I'm here or I'll be walking through that
door in ten seconds."

       "If I told you, you would not believe me."

       Haruka's eyes narrowed.  "Try me."

       Setsuna smiled at the challenge.  "Very well then, I will.  But
not until after the main course -- at least allow me that much privilege
as a proper host."  She waited as Haruka reseated herself.  "All of your
questions will be answered.  To your satisfaction?  Who is to say?  But
nonetheless, they *will* be answered -- eight o'clock sharp."  She
slightly nodded toward the antique grandfather clock at the opposite
end of the grand table.

       Twenty more minutes, Haruka thought to herself.  Twenty more.
At that point, something was going to shatter.  Perhaps a friendship,
perhaps a life.  As their host had so aptly put it, who was to say?
For now, however, there was only the long wait.

       Second by second.

       "May I recommend the flambé?  It really is quite superb."

       * * * * *

       The king slowly approached his queen on the balcony.  She was
staring wistfully off to the west, lost in the thought of another
night.  He took her hand and joined her view.

       "Why does such loveliness look outward for inspiration?"  He
stared forward as she did, realizing that she would offer no answer,
instead fixated on the blue-green giant rising on the horizon.

       "It will once again be ours, my dear," he coaxed into her ear,
"and we shall end our long, voluntary exile here.  They shall be a
race of immortals as we are now.  There can be only one perfect
existence."

       For the slightest of moments, she pulled away for the man,
before realizing that such overtures were, for the moment, futile and
void of meaning.

       "I will kill you," she whispered.  "For what you have done,
you will surely die by my own hand."

       He held her gently from behind.  "The earthrise always brings
out the beauty of your eyes, my dear.  A delicate jewel indeed."

       * * * * *

       Everyone waited in uneasy silence as the clock began to chime 
off the hours.  The host found it within herself to ease their 
respective tensions.  Or, as they would surely say, exacerbate them.

       "Time is an elaborate dance.  We think we know its myriad forms
and styles.  We can practice in our mind how it will proceed.  But like
a dance, until the very moment that it is formed, we really can only 
guess.  It truly forms itself on the spur of the moment and we are left
to follow the flow, as a leaf in a rushing stream."  She sighed as the
old piece began to count the hours.  "The last few months should
serve as perfect testament to that."

       One o'clock.

       "Usagi, the carefree innocent."

       Two.

       "Rei, who wishes to forget."

       Three.

       "Minako, sacrificing all for truth."

       Four.

       "Makoto, trying to hold the center."

       Five.

       "Haruka, skeptical of that which she cannot see."

       Six.

       "Michiru, skeptical of that which she *can* see."

       Seven.

       "Your humble host, who knows that silence is bliss."

       Eight.

       Another entirely new and uneasy silence settled upon the room.
Setsuna smiled as she looked into her glass:

       "And Ami."  She took one last sip before setting it down for the
duration.  "Why don't you tell us why we are here, Ami?"

       "That's the last straw!" Haruka flung her glass to the floor in
a furious rage.  "Unless the next word out of your mouth is a straight
answer ---"

       "Wait."

       Despite the incredulous nature of Setsuna's statement, all eyes
turned to the girl who had just made this strained but weak 
interjection.  Looking down ashamedly toward her right hand, she slowly
raised a closed fist to the table and rested it there.  Opening it,
three small glassy spheres fell and rolled on the surface, each vaguely
resembling a toy marble.  They were gold, clear, and blue.

       The first one to recognize them was Rei, who responded quite
predictably, at least in the eyes of the other two senshi who remembered
them shortly thereafter.

       * * * * *

	The watcher in the shadows did not like what he was seeing,
however, he knew that the events transpiring before him must be watched 
silently.

	Shadows were kind to this individual.  He liked to muse to
himself that they were perhaps the greatest weapon in his arsenal.
Besides his appearance, of course.  Most people didn't suspect when
they looked at him and saw his unassuming appearance that they were
dealing with one of the finer tactical minds ever produced by the
various Silver Millennium academies.  One does not generally get that
particular impression when your opponent contents himself with playing
with a ball of yarn.

	But this time was different.  He had a companion watching as
well.  And she was not particularly pleased either.

       * * * * *

       "Damn you, Setsuna!  Damn you!  You knew the whole time!  The
whole time!"

       Usagi flinched like a scared puppy at Rei's outburst, rapidly
looking to each senshi in succession, and then asking no one in
particular, "What's wrong?"

       A series of side glances and nonverbal cues across the table
between Haruka and Michiru made it evident that they had decided
between themselves to stay silent until invited to speak again.

       "What's wrong, Usagi, is that our supposed 'friend' here has been
manipulating us for the last few months.  It didn't become clear until
just now."  Rei finally sat back into her seat after lunging forward
with her threat.  "Don't you recognize those -- those *things* -- that
Ami-chan just laid out?"

       Usagi turned her attention to them, resting in a neat triangle
formed under the girl, who had resumed looking downward.  "Wait a
minute -- aren't those the crystals that were destroyed in that
explosion at Ami-chan's office?"

       Ami felt that it was her time to step in.  "They are, but they
were never in that accident, Usagi-chan.  I switched them beforehand."

       "I don't understand, Ami-chan.  You said you wanted to learn
what the crystals were.  Why did you, I mean, why did you . . ." she
felt it increasingly difficult to form coherent sentences.

       "Why did I do this rather that just telling you?" Ami had still
not moved her eyes from her own lap, searching for an answer.

       "Yes."

       "Because I told her to do so."  Setsuna had just finished pouring
herself a glass of claret from an even older bottle that had been 
produced from the side.  With that, there was another round of stunned
silence.

       Except for her laughing.  Minako had a habit of laughing at the
most inappropriate of times, each of the senshi had noted in the past,
but the current instance took the proverbial cake.  Minako had indeed
thrown her head back and begun laughing in such a fashion that Usagi
found herself unconsciously backing away from her, even though Rei was
between them.

       "I should have known.  I should have known it was something like
this.  I suspected that you probably knew what was going on with the
crystals, but who would have damn thought that you were running the
show?"  She shook her head and threw up her hands in disgusted 
disbelief.  "Do you . . . do you have any idea what pain you've caused 
over the last two months?  Do you?"  Rei moved her hand to Minako's 
forearm:

       "Minako, wait."

       "No, I don't think so.  I'm going to get this off my chest, off
my heart, right now.  Two months ago, I told one of my sisters, in
essence, to go to hell.  And you know what?  At the time, *I meant it.*
That's right, I meant it more seriously than anything I've ever said.
The weeks after that, it was pure torture.  Do you know what it's like
to forsake your own?  Do you?"

	Pluto stared.  The answer might have surprised all present.

       "Minako-chan, you don't have to--" Rei attempted to renew her
efforts.

       "You listen to me, Pluto," she pointed at their host.  "I was 
that close.  *That* close.  If Rei-chan and Artemis hadn't come to me 
at the end and saved me, I . . . I . . ."

       "You would have done nothing.  If the situation had become that
hopeless for you, I would have stepped in.  Sometimes in circumstances
like these, it is best to let you heal yourself, making the cure that
much more permanent.  But do not think for a moment that I would not
have stepped in.  Would you expect any less from your sister?"  Pluto's
stare was very level.  "For any of you.  For all of you."

       "Usagi-chan, I'm so sorry, I really wanted to tell . . ," Ami
shook her head in a mix of embarrassment and denial.

       "Then allow me.  The entire time I was something of a bystander
but still privy to certain events, so let me relate them in such a way
that it explains our current mission."  Ami was quite dumbfounded at
Setsuna's unexpected interruption of her belated confession.

       "Mission?"  Haruka suddenly decided to break her silence.

       "Mission?"  It was almost mocking the way she said it, Minako
thought.  "Well, I prefer to think of it as a quest, but yes, we
do have a mission, a duty to perform shortly.  But before we do, we need
to be in possession of certain facts.  Now, I assume that Haruka and
Michiru have brought their crystals, as well as Ami, who currently has
in her possession those of Rei and Makoto, who only came into possession
of her crystal this past week?  If so I would ask you to place them in
the cistern in the center of the table to accompany those that Ami has
already produced."

       Each did so sequentially, with Makoto's being last.  As Ami
slowly dropped the item in with the others, the brunette came to a
realization.  "You were waiting on all of them to form, weren't you?
The timing of this meeting isn't random.  You were waiting on the last
one, mine, to appear."

       Setsuna smiled.  "Correct.  Very insightful Makoto, your skills
of observation have honed considerably since we last dined.  But you
are somewhat misstating the case when you imply that *I* need them.
It is, rather, you who will need them for where we will go.  It is
better that we go as a group than go individually, which is the reason
why I requested this delay from Ami."

       "And where is that?" Rei crossed her arms.

       "Shortly, but first, let me summarize the story of these
beautiful trinkets.  Each of you have no doubt discovered that these
crystals were formed exactly one year after you first reassumed your
senshi forms.  This timing was no coincidence.  When they were first
designed, it was decided that when you were reincarnated, it would be
too much of a burden on your young minds to regrant your full memories
without the benefit of an . . . adjustment period.  So it was set at
an earth year, quite arbitrarily actually."

       "Our memories?" Usagi was already becoming hopelessly confused.
"I'm . . . I'm already lost, Setsuna."

       "Don't worry, there's no reason why you should know.  But, for
now, just allow me to continue.  So each of you know that the crystals
did indeed form, Minako's first, while she was England, with Haruka 
and Michiru's in isolation, shortly before they began their search for
the talismans.  In any event, if things had gone according to plan,
then your past memories would have been unlocked gradually."

       "So the memories were not in the crystals themselves . . ."
Makoto noted.

       "No.  Your memories are still here," Setsuna pointed to her own
head, "always were.  But repressed.  These crystals were the key to
opening them."

       "Until I messed up the plan." Ami still looked downward
regretfully.

       "No, not 'messed up,' as you say, Ami, but rather, accelerated.
You see, Usagi, their Silver Millennium designer had no idea that
someone with as much persistence and ingenuity as Ami here would keep
prodding and poking at these crystals until they laid their secrets
bare.  And when she did, at that point I decided I needed to step in
and prevent things from careening out of control."

       "What?  Was it really that bad?  Ami-chan?"  Usagi looked to
her friend for comfort as the Guardian continued.

       "The memories those crystals would unleash were not meant to
be experienced without . . . context."  Pluto put her finger to her lip,
"Yes, that is a good term.  Context.  In any event, when we are
manifested in the Silver Millennium---"

       "Wait!  We're going there?"  Haruka seemed to be quite disturbed
at having her own travel plans set without her permission.

       "In a sense.  Yes and no.  The crystals, in conjunction with my
own power, will be able to put us there.  Merely as observers, however.
If I understand how the crystals work, then any interaction we will have
will be minimal.  In order to complete our mission, there is something
that you need to see, need to understand, before we return."

       "And what was that mission again?" the ever-persistent Rei
leaned backward in her seat.

       Setsuna stared at her directly.  "To save the future."

       "You mean to save Crystal Tokyo?"

       "To save . . ." Setsuna trailed off in thought, "the people of
Crystal Tokyo, yes."

       "That's not what I asked, Setsuna."

       "You are correct, but for now, that is your answer."  As Setsuna
finished her assertion, Rei noted a slight motion in her host's left 
hand, against which her head rested.  As Rei peered deeper, she indeed
discerned a small trinket with several buttons, a device which Setsuna
had obviously placed in Rei's line of view by design.  The motion of
her middle finger to press one of these tiny controls embedded upon its
dark, spherical form instantly placed Rei at unease, affirming her 
worst fears that they had walked into a trap.

       "Hey!  The doorbell!"  Usagi seemed to derive enjoyment at even
the slightest stimulus.  "Are we expecting anyone else?"

       "Just the deliveryman from a local restaurant, Usagi.  I believe
that's our dessert arriving.  Would you be a friend and go pay him for
me?  All of the currency you'll need is resting beside the door."

       "Sure, Setsuna . . . that is if I can find my way back to the
door!"  She laughed as she ran out of the room to claim her
confectionery prize.  Her laughing only highlighted the silence that
she left in her void.  Setsuna would not allow it to linger.

       "Now that she is gone, some things can be said, but we must be
quick.  We all know by now that Ami used the crystals to unlock
memories of the Silver Millennium, disturbing memories.  Haruka and
Michiru, this was detailed in the letter that I sent to you.  To put
it bluntly, the vision of the Silver Millennium shown to you by
Serenity's spirit several months ago was . . . misleading, in several
respects.  The Silver Millennium did not end the way you think it did."

       "Yes, Setsuna, we're painfully aware of that," Minako began.
"We all know that the secret that you and Ami are hiding was that the 
Gate protecting the Moon Kingdom from the dark forces was opened by---"

       "Wait," Setsuna interjected tersely.  "Ami, quickly.  How, 
according to the crystals, did the Silver Millennium really end?"

       Rei cut in as well upon hearing this request.  "No, Setsuna.
Don't force her to answer this.  We know she's been through enough
pain already."

       "There's no pain, Rei-chan," Ami whispered.  "I don't know,
Setsuna.  About the end, that is.  That part was never shown to me.
You know that already, you've asked me that before."

       "*What?*" Minako shot forward.  "Did I hear that right?  Are you
saying that you have *no* memories of how the Silver Millennium ended?
Of the night when Beryl's forces invaded?  No memories of who opened 
that Gate?  None at all?"

       Ami turned to her left to address the blonde.  "Gate?  No I don't
know what you're talking about Minako-chan.  Even though I gained
quite a bit of memories, they were random, and the end was not one of
them.  What I have is far from complete.  And a lot of it was just
utter nonsense."

       Minako sank into realization of the implications of that fact.
"Then everything we did . . . everything we suspected . . ."

       "Puts things into a new perspective, doesn't it, Minako?"
Setsuna knowingly stared at her, although some might have said
gloatingly.

       "But . . . but, if you didn't see the end, if you didn't see
that horrible scene at the end, then what were you trying to hide?
Who were you trying to protect, Ami-chan?" Makoto finally lent
a voice to her concerns.

       "I honestly thought--" she had broken eye contact again when she
began her explanation.  It was, of course, untimely cut short.

       "Baaaaad news!" Usagi ran back into the room.  "No one at the
door.  Must have just been a kid or something playing a prank on you,
Setsuna!"  Immediately after she finished she reconsidered her
hypothesis, noting the likelihood that someone would dare to play a
sophomoric trick on this particular homeowner.  "Er, maybe not.  I
guess you don't get that many brave pranksters at your door."

       Setsuna laughed, "No I suppose not."  Rei watched as Setsuna
placed the tiny black orb out of view, its task finished.  "No, nobody
likes to be deceived.  This means, of course, that we'll have to skip
the dessert course tonight.  Perhaps I can find something in my pantry."
She stood up to make the short walk there, but paused as she passed
behind a certain girl who had just retaken her seat after having her
hopes deflated.

       "A question, Princess."

       Pluto asking a question.  Her questions were never of the kind
you could just answer, Ami mused to herself.  She was about to witness
the Socratic method of teaching in a very subtle way.  It was naturally
no surprise that thoughts of a young Socrates being verbally prodded by
an exotic priestess with an unusually long garnet staff passed through
her mind.

       "I'll do my best, Setsuna."  Usagi gave the teacher her full
attention, a coveted item that had eluded many of the girl's past
instructors.

       "Do you know how life on this world, on any world, works?"

       "You don't mean the stuff I've been learning in science class,
do you?"

       "Not quite.  What I'm really asking is, when we look at all of
the multitude of life that has existed, that ever will exist, is it
not clear that, to be poetic for a moment, that a grand balance, an
invisible equilibrium, is at play?"

       "Um, I suppose so.  A balance."

       "And do you know what that most basic balance in the universe is,
Usagi?  What one rule supersedes all others despite our best efforts to
overcome it?"

       "I . . . I don't know."

       "The rule is simple.  There is no life without death.  A thing
cannot live unless something, somewhere else, dies.  We all exist at the
expense of others until that day when we are pushed aside to provide a
new place for those who will follow."

       "Just a moment, Setsuna.  I don't think I like where this is
going."  Rei leaned forward to add to her disapproval.  The speaker,
however, did not take posturing like that into account, after having to
endure countless instances of such bravado.

       "I imagine you wouldn't, Mars.  The truth is not always pretty 
or palatable, a belief that your young girl side likes to cling to.
I wish I could leave you like that, but for you to make your decision,
I need you to be able to see the larger picture, so to speak."

       "But what does this 'balance' have to do with us?"  That the
question came from Makoto turned several heads.

       "A good question.  But first, let me ask the Princess one more
of my own.  She doesn't have to answer this, but she should be prepared,
so please do not interrupt.  Princess, if what I just said was true and
the balance needed to be maintained . . ."

       "Yes?"

       "Do you know what the worst thing in the world is?"

       The girl gasped, as did those around her.

       "The answer is cruelly simple, Usagi.  To be alone and yet not
be alone.  That is the worst of all things.  In the past, such has been
my fate."  She looked down remorsefully at her food, now chilling to an
imperceptible degree.  "So in that sense, we are not that different at
all."  She continued after a moment:

       "Before we do this thing, I must ask you all one further
question."  She extended the pause until she made certain that all
those present stared at her sombre face.  All but one.  And then she 
waited a bit more just to imbue the moment with its needed gravity.

       "Do you trust me?"

       The next pause was awkward.  Would a nod be enough?  No one in
this group believed the woman before them in an implicit sense -- not
in the same way that they would believe something that Usagi would say.
Still, few could deny the feeling that something larger than themselves
was about to happen.  And for that, they needed a guide.

       "I'll take your silence as answer enough.  Does anybody else
have anything to say?"

       "Me vestigia terrent, omnia te adversum spectantia, nulla 
retrorsum."  The shrine maiden finally looked up as she stared the
Guardian straight into the eye with her accusation.  Normally such a
dramatic moment called for the obligatory theatrical pause.  The 
Guardian would have none of that:

       "Dignum laude virum Musa vetat mori; Coelo Musa beat."

       "What's going on?" Usagi whispered to the blue-haired girl
sitting beside her, innocently believing that she would draw no attention
to themselves.  Ami, caught herself in the sheer surreality of the 
moment moved her mouth toward Usagi's ear while keeping her eye on the
two senshi at the head of the table, to see who would be the first to
flinch.  At this point Usagi noticed that Ami's minicomputer had been
resting in the young girl's lap, surely recording the conversation and
translating what had just been spoken.

       "I think they're quoting Horace.  Rei just said something to the
effect of 'The footprints frighten me; they all lead to you, but none
lead back.'  If I remember correctly, it's the story of the fox and the
sick lion.  All of the animals had visited the sick lion except the fox.  
When the lion asked the fox why, that's what he said."

       "Oh."  Her mind futilely raced to comprehend hidden meanings.
"And Setsuna?"

       "You don't want to know."

	"Let's go get that dessert," Setsuna chuckled.

       * * * * *

	As Usagi slurped her sugary treat down with Ami watching in
astonishment, Haruka, Michiru, Makoto, Rei, and Minako had pulled 
Setsuna aside for some private time.

       "So, when do we leave?"  Makoto's inquiry echoed across the
room.  It was something, of course, that everyone there had wondered,
but had, until now, deferred asking about.

       "It does not have to be tonight," Setsuna began, "but it does
need to take place soon.  When we do go, I can guarantee you that I will
have you back in time for curfew.  It will not take very much time,
at least on this end."

       "Then let's do it tonight.  Get this over with."  Haruka crossed
her arms and added a scowl.  "*Some* of us have an active social
calendar to keep up with."  Michiru merely sighed at Haruka's theatrics
before adding her own opinion.

	"I agree.  Waiting can serve no purpose."

       "Yes.  Best to get this, whatever this is, done now rather than
later," Rei replied with certainty.

       "If Usagi wants to go, I go," Minako said with a fair amount of
assertion.  "I believe I speak for the rest of us when I say that."

       "Tell us," Neptune sternly said with the most convincing air
of authority that she could muster in the presence of the figure before
her.

       "Tell you whaaaat . . .?" Pluto naughtily replied with the 
slightest hint of an upturned eyebrow.

       <Oh God, she's gone insane.  We're all dead.>

	"How deep is this?  This obviously isn't a normal mission.
How deep does this go?" 

	The Guardian placed her finger to her lip and looked upward,
apparently in mild contemplation.  "How deep?  Hmmmmm . . . ."  She
suddenly stood up straight and snapped her fingers, as if a revelation
had suddenly hit.

       "When you children are old enough, perhaps you'll understand.
Of the birth and death of worlds, the music of souls, the Cottleston
Pie Principle."

       "Wh..," the first consonant had hardly emerged before Haruka was
interrupted by perhaps the oddest sight she had ever seen as the Guardian
began her recitation:

             "Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie,
              A fly can't bird, but a bird can fly.
              Ask me a riddle and I reply:
              Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie.

	That was the first verse. When she had finished it, Haruka didn't 
actually say that she didn't like it, so Puu very kindly sang the second 
verse to her:

              Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie,
              A fish can't whistle and neither can I.
              Ask me a riddle and I reply:
              Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie.

	Haruka still said nothing at all, so Puu hummed the third verse 
quietly to herself:

              Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie,
              Why does a chicken, I don't know why.
              Ask me a riddle and I reply:
              Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie."

       "What did you mean when you said we were going to save the 
*people* of Crystal Tokyo, Setsuna?"  Haruka stepped forward.

             "Ask me a riddle and I reply:
              Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie.
              You may ask one question.  Make it a good one."

       "Are you the Pluto from the present, or are you one from a
different time?  From elsewhere."  Minako began to have doubts, and
asked the question in a manner one might address a possible stranger.

       "I believe you mean 'elsewhen', my dear."

       "Quit stalling.  Answer her question." Haruka abandoned
niceties.

       "Both.  The vocabulary of this age has not advanced to such a
stage as to precisely answer that question."

       "Then expedite it the best you can," Rei's temper was shortening
as well.

       "You know, of course that I am not allowed to directly change
past timelines.  For example, I cannot go back to 1952 Paris to tell
myself not to buy that bottle of Chateau Petrus Pomerol because I just
found out it was a little on the flat side.  It just is not within my
particular power.  *If*, however, I had a feeling right before I was
going to buy it, in that split second of choice where I decided buy or
pass, then perhaps the future, that is to say the present, could have
been changed.  But how, you ask?  You are familiar with the concept
of 'Deja Vu'?"

       "Yes, the feeling that you've done something before," Makoto
volunteered.

       "In simplest terms, yes.  Time has a funny effect upon sentient
minds as they wind themselves through its currents.  One of these unusual
events is the Deja Vu phenomenon.  Perhaps you are familiar with the
near-death experiences that the parapsychologists describe?  Many, many
of them mention some sort of 'future memory,' where the dying person
actually sees and lives part of their future lives.  Not mystical
clairvoyance in the sense that our friend Rei uses it, but rather an
innate understanding of things yet to come.  An understanding that
each of us has by our very nature.  I have it.  You have it.  A baby
in a cradle has it.  It is who we are.  Immanuel Kant once said with
certainty that we can only perceive time in a linear fashion because
that is the way that our minds are designed, although he also pointed
out that the objective reality of our world may not reflect that at all.
Kant was at least correct on the latter part, but the interesting thing
is that our minds *are* designed for this, or more precisely, they
were designed to *eventually* be like this.  A caterpillar is not designed
to ride the wind, but its ultimate form is made to do just that.  Time
is a temporary trick played on us from above.  We all see a little light
peeking from behind their curtain.  All we have to do is look.  One day
we too shall ride the wind."

       "Are you saying that you have acquired some of these, for lack
of a better term, 'abilities'?"  Rei attempted to follow Pluto's line
of reasoning.

       "I have learned a few tricks in my days.  I have a . . . 'strong
feeling' that we need to go tonight.  To fix things."

       "Things yet to come?"

       "Hopefully not.  Come, that is."

       "I'm glad I get by on brute force and good looks.  All this
metaphysical mumbo-jumbo just isn't my forte."  Haruka gave a little
laugh to break the tension.

	"It never ends," Michiru sighed in a fit of vexation.  "It just
never ends with you, does it?"

       "If you wish to do this, be back tonight at eleven forty-five.
We go at midnight.  Use the time until then to make sure you are ready."
Pluto turned back to Ami and Usagi, who was gorging herself at the table
and then back to the group.  "Make sure the Princess is in good spirits.
This will not be easy for her."  Setsuna then looked upward into the 
rafters toward a very dark corner of the room.  She kept her gaze locked 
on one particular spot shrouded by shadows.

	Minako strained to see what had caught Setsuna's attention, but 
all she was able to discern was a tiny glint of what might have been a 
sapphire from the corner as the candles flickered below.  Or was that 
two sapphires?  No wait, two sapphires and two topazes.  No way.

	"You and Luna can attend as well to witness, Artemis, but since 
you don't have a crystal, you can't actually follow us into the past.  
I hope you understand."

	After a short silence the voice from the darkness replied:

	"Of course."

       * * * * *

[ Silver Millennium ]

	"Was that it?"

	"No, wait just a moment."

	She kept her hand in place and concentrated, focusing on any
movement.

	"There?"

	"Do not worry -- when she kicks, you will most certainly feel it."

	And when the tiny being within the womb *did* kick, she did feel
it as she was told she would.  One tiny motion, almost as if trying to
free herself into this world as soon as she could.

	"Astounding!"  She had, of course, felt this before, but just the
idea of a new life being so close still seemed to amaze her in some
small way.  "Truly astounding.  I have to admit that I am the slightest
bit jealous, Serenity.  Do you know the gender of the child?"

	"Well, my husband, of course, would prefer a son.  Someone to
carry on his line.  But I think I would like a daughter instead," she
seemed somewhat pensive at this point.  "Somehow I know that is what
I shall receive.  Somehow."

	"Indeed?" her companion's eyebrow elevated slightly.

	The queen reclined backward with a complacent look upon her
face.  "Perhaps you should have one of your own?"

	The Guardian laughed, knowing better.  "I am not certain that
a child of mine would long endure my particular lifestyle.  Besides,
I do not think I am the motherly type.  Perhaps at one time in my past,
but not now."  She looked down at the place where the new life now
resided.  "Opportunities lost."

	"It is the only true immortality, you know," the queen shifted
slightly as to produce a better view from the palace's balcony.
Overlooking a lunar orchard of heavenly delights, it was truly the
best view on that world.  "We, the people of the White Moon, like to
remind ourselves that we are immortal, but it is nothing really more
than a trick of words.  This," she motioned toward the tiny crystalline
flower at her chest, "enables us to live profoundly elongated lives, 
and pass on our essence between the wall of life and that which lies 
beyond, but in the end, it can only postpone Death's cool touch, not 
stop it.  This, on the other hand," she moved her hand further to her 
child, "this truly does allow you to live forever."

	The Guardian nodded.  "Quite enlightened.  I did not expect to
hear such frankness from the queen of an immortal realm."  She took
her gaze away from the queen for a moment.  "I wish your husband was
as sensible."

	The queen simply nodded and kept her gaze upon the field of
flowers below.
	
	"Why are you hiding at the time gate?"

	The mere utterance itself seemed to stop time in the room
somehow.  The question was not one the Guardian could answer easily, so
the queen decided to elaborate:

	"It is not as if you are there by force or necessity.  You chose
to be there, to isolate yourself from both Earth and the Moon.  As one
of your oldest friends, I thought that I should at least ask you this
question."

	The Guardian turned.  "I doubt you would believe me if I said
that I had forgotten the true motive I had when I assumed stewardship 
of the time gate so long ago, so please let us leave it at 'personal 
reasons'.

	"As you wish," the Queen of the White Moon sighed, "but remember,
that gate cannot change the past, as much as all of us would wish it to
do so.  It is a flower that has already wilted, a page forever turned."

	The Guardian shifted her eyes.

	"Who said it was the past I was trying to change?"

       * * * * *

	The young lady seated on the elevated restaurant veranda looked
off the edge to see the traffic below.  More than one patron who
walked by noted that she was forsaking the view in favor of talking on
her cell phone.  A conversation which seemed quite intense, for the 
casual observer.

	Despite the fact that the cell phone wasn't actually *on*.

	"You could have told me you were going to come," Minako spoke
into the phone.  The object of her admonition simply sat curled up
on the table before her.

	"No point.  What would you have done differently?"

	"Well, nothing, Artemis," she seemed somewhat annoyed, "it's 
just that I need to know these things.  So I don't get surprised."

	"If that's the case, you must not have been very pleased
with the course of the evening so far," he sighed.  "Drama abounds."

	"Be serious, Artemis."  She could hardly believe *she* was
the one saying that to *him*.  "I can't believe you're using levity."

	<Good girl.  You've grown so much.>

	"Hmmmmm . . ," he pondered, "that might be all we have left
going for us at this point."

	Minako paused for a moment before asking the next question:
"What did Luna say when you told her?"

	Artemis answered unexpectedly quickly, Minako noted.  "She
wasn't very pleased that I had held information back from her.  Not
at all."  He slowed somewhat.  "But she took it pretty well, and was
surprisingly sympathetic of my situation.  Especially after she saw
that Pluto was likely the one behind the scenes.  Of course, she doesn't
know everything yet.  She just knows that Ami stole the crystals
and that they unlock Silver Millennium memories.  I didn't tell her
that we actually used them to get a glimpse of the past.  And what
happened . . . " he trailed off, "with the Gate."

	Minako noticed that Artemis appeared to be drifting away in
thought, perhaps back to the events of the previous two months.  She
decided to snap him back the fastest way she knew how:

	"You know you and Luna really go well with each other.  Very
cute couple."  She took a large drink of her soda through her straw
upon making that last observation.

	"What?!" he shot back.  "Hmmph . . . mind your own business!
And remember, you're Venus, not Cupid."

	That did the job, she thought to herself with satisfaction.
	
	"So, what do you think is going to happen tonight?" Artemis
asked, knowing that Minako had no better answer than he.

	"Who knows?  I just hope we can finally get some closure
to all of this.  I have to admit, these last few months have been
trying on me."

	"Me too."

	"Me three." Makoto sighed as she sat down beside them. "And
here comes four, five, six, and seven."  Rei, Ami, Usagi, and Luna
slowly made their way to the table, Usagi carrying a teetering
concoction of something that, while it could have been technically
labeled a 'sundae', was likely more accurately described as a
patchwork assemblage of her favored confectionery vices for the day.

	As they sat down, Minako and Artemis looked at Usagi, who
appeared to be quite satisfied with her masterpiece of sugar
artistry, and then glanced over to Ami, who had contented herself
with just a diet drink.  "All right, Ami, I need to know," Minako
began, storing the cell phone which was no longer needed for the 
illusion of talking to someone. "Just how does that thing stand up?" 
The sundae, easily ten inches tall, seemed to be on the verge of a 
collapse, but Usagi, with nothing more than hand motions, seemed to be 
willing it to stay erect.

	"When you're dealing with Usagi and food, Minako-chan," Ami 
looked up, "the laws of physics go right out the window."

	"You're all just jealous," Usagi grunted, still keeping her eye 
on her beloved tower.

	"Setsuna fed you not more than an hour ago," Artemis noted,
and you're still hungry?"

	"That was a whole *hour* ago, Artemis," Usagi said almost 
condescendingly as she gave a glance to the setting sun beginning to 
melt her architecture.  "Now someone hand me a spoon, I think I'm going
to have to hurry and finish this off."

	"In other words," Luna interjected, "the usual."  The friends 
laughed as they shared their moment of good cheer again before 
addressing the topic that resided at the back of the mind of each 
person there.  One might, of course, assume that it would have been 
Artemis or Luna or perhaps even Minako or Ami to take the lead in 
breaking the ice on the topic.  Usagi surprised them once again:

	"So let me get this straight, Ami-chan," she began while still
digging into her treat.  "Pluto told you to hide the crystals so
you rigged an explosion to make it look like they were destroyed.
And the crystals help unlock our Silver Millennium memories.  And
we're thinking about going back tonight to get those memories back."

	"That's about it," Ami answered.  "Usagi-chan, everyone else,
I'm sorry I lied to you.  I thought I was helping."  Rei noticed Ami
was staring at Minako when she said this.

	"No biggie," Usagi noted with a chocolate-covered smile.  "All 
of this stuff about crystals and secret memories is sort of spooky, 
though."  She stopped eating for a moment as something occurred to
her:  "Do you think I'll be able to see Mamo-chan in his Silver
Millennium form?  Sweeeet . . . ." she drifted off right as the sugar
high was hitting.

	"Did anybody here notice that Setsuna didn't have a crystal?"
Makoto slipped in, remembering the moment that she dropped her own
into the cistern.

	"I did," Ami replied.  "I'm not sure what that means, if it
means anything at all.  You would think hers would have been the
first one to form."

	"In case you all haven't figured it out yet," Minako began
with just the slightest tinge of frustration in her voice, "Pluto
is not and has never been completely open and forthcoming toward
us.  Getting a straight answer from her is like squeezing water from
a carrot."

	"Blood from a turnip," Artemis chimed in, almost automatically.

	Minako continued, unabated, "Yes, like I said, blood from a
turnip.  I mean, I trust her, but only to an extent.  That might be
wrong of me, but I like to know exactly what's going on."

	"Something's missing here . . ," Usagi looked intently at her
meal.

	"Good point, Usagi-chan," Minako added, without realizing the 
precise context of the princess's words.  "Something *is* missing here.
One way or the other, we're going to have to deal with it.  I just
wish there was some other way than what Pluto is suggesting."

	"Like we have a choice," Rei half-sighed.  "Our only other choice 
is not to go back to her house tonight.  Have we even decided if we're
going through with this?  To go back into the past, so to speak?  To
finally unlock our memories?  It might not be pleasant."  Minako knew 
that Rei spoke from experience.

	"I say we go," Makoto said resolutely.  "What could we have
to fear by just looking at some memories?  It's like being afraid of
a scrapbook.  Ami?"

	"I vote go.  Pluto might be our only chance to know what
happened."

	"Go."  Minako was quite matter-of-fact.

	"Artemis and I can't go," Luna began, "so it's not really
appropriate for us to make this decision for you.  But we think that
you might regret it if you do not finally get your answers.  I'm sure
that Haruka and Michiru would agree if they were here.  They'll likely
go back tonight regardless of what we decide to do."

	"I tend to agree, although hesitantly," Rei concluded.  "I
suspect there will be some bumps along the road, however."  Rei turned
to the girl wolfing down her tasty treat.  "Usagi, you're the only
one who hasn't voiced her opinion."  The girl continued eating for a
moment before noticing the spotlight was now turned upon her:

	"We *have* to go . . ," Usagi said without hesitation, "back
to the counter and get some more chocolate sprinkles for this! *That's*
what was missing!"

	Makoto felt the table shake as Rei began the preliminary
motions to lunge at Usagi.  "Haven't you been listening to anything
we've been saying?!"  The priestess was not pleased.

	"I suppose she has to make this meal special," Luna groaned.

	"Last meal?" Artemis chided.

	"You can't be serious.  This won't even be her last meal before
we leave here," Minako stroked the cat's ears.  "And somebody remember
to tip the guy here extra.  He deserves it."

       * * * * *

[ 11:55 p.m. ]

       "Would you children like to hear a fairy tale?"

       The eight senshi were seated in a circle, with their respective
crystals placed before them.  Pluto occupied the apex.  There was
an anxious pause; no one knew what was to come next.

	Luna and Artemis watched cautiously from the side.  Each had
placed themselves in a position from which it would be easy to spring
into action if circumstances required it.  Of course, they knew that
they had no idea what they could possibly be preparing for.

	Pluto began:

       "A flower that is deprived of light will never grow.  The same
can be said of the races of man.  We, the Senshi, were lucky enough
to come from what we thought was an enlightened culture."

       "In the beginning, so to speak, there was a garden of such
beauty to defy description.  There lived a man and woman who were happy
to go about their business without concern.  In fact, they had no
concerns, really just whether to go left or right in their journeys
through the garden together."

       "And then one day, that all changed.  The beings above who sent
the gift down to them probably thought that they were doing them a
favor, but they were not.  She, being the curious and inquisitive sort,
was the first to find it.  It was so pure, so clean, like nothing her 
kind had ever seen before.  Her small mind really couldn't even guess
what was to come.  All that she knew was that the voice whispering to
her told her to take it, and that it was hers.  Being also the trusting
and naive sort, she took it without thought."

       "And the next time she opened her eyes, she saw color in the
world for the first time."

       "Remembering her companion, she offered it to him.  He was far
more hesitant than she, but eventually he took the gift, and the color,
as well."

       "The problem, of course, is that no two people see color the same
way.  One day both of them came upon a fruit hanging from a tree.  The
woman said, 'This fruit is surely white,' while the man said in anger
that 'This fruit is surely black.'"

       "Not being able to reconcile their differences, they both went
their separate ways.  She was given the earth and he was given the moon.
The garden was now split asunder and made a mocking memorial to their
petty vanities.  The gift from above was divided as well.  He took
life eternal while she spirited away the bright inner soul."

       "They each went their own way, taking their piece of our
inheritance.  They each naively thought they could create heaven.  But
life without soul, soul without life . . ."

       "They made a perfect hell."

       "Each of them therefore built their beautiful yet accursed
prisons over the long years, knowing that if they had not let a fruit
dangling from a tree come between them, they could have been whole."

       "Of the two, however, it seemed that she and her people ended
with the more favorable position, if you can call it that, of the two.
To live a short life with soul can be said to make us human.  To live
an eternal one with no soul makes us less than nothing."

       "The man eventually recognized this and attempted to take this
half of their inheritance back by force, sacrificing the very soul that
he was attempting to gain.  In the end, ruin was brought to all.  All
that was left for those who remained was to forget the curses that had
been placed upon them and start over."

       "The forgetting was the most benevolent thing ever done to them."

	The story settled among them for a few moments before one of the
listeners spoke:

       "These crystals, they're dangerous.  We do know that.  What makes
you think that you can control them?"  Rei looked directly at her.

       "You do not control them as much as you coax them.  You can
fault the designer for that.  I believe our ride will not be too
bumpy, as they say."

       "If we are going to the Silver Millennium, Pluto, why do we even
need these crystals?  Why can't you just send us back in time yourself?"
Michiru showed a distinctly logical mind at work.

       "I believe you have misunderstood my powers.  Although I stand
guard by the time gate, I am not a gatekeeper in the truest sense of the
word.  My ability to materially travel through time is actually no 
greater than any of your own respective abilities to do so.  It is just
that I have had the benefit of many years to teach me a few tricks, so
to speak.  The vows that I took concerning time apply only to misuse of
the powers of the time gate specifically.  I do not intend to break
those promises this evening.  If I can find another way, however . . .
well, at that point I am on my own."  She liked the thought of being
independent and savored the sensation for a moment.  "But not 'on my
own', correct?  I have all of your trust giving me support."

       "We *do* trust you, Pluto.  It's just that we don't understand
how we are all supposed to go back and reexperience all of this.  How
do we get there?"  When Usagi asked this, it was not without the
slightest bit of trepidation in her voice.

       Pluto laughed slightly in the rapidly increasing glow of the
memory crystals, as they slowly rose from the ground and began to
encircle the senshi in a fearful dance, their light escalating to a
blinding pace in a torrent of unknown colors.

       "The funny thing is, Princess, that, in a sense, you 
never left . . ."
       



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



       "It is said that the Silver Millennium began in much the same
way that it ended.  With a dance."  The Guardian spoke to wake them
from their slumber.

       As Usagi opened her eyes, she was quite shocked by the utter
purity of the darkness around her.  It was very clean, she thought
to herself.  Very clean, indeed.

       "Welcome home, Princess."

	They found themselves in a world of only white, being the 
bright land below, and black, being the dark sky above.  And along
the lunar horizon, there was no place where they gradually blended to
gray, but only a sharp demarcation between the depths and the heavens.

       "It's beautiful, more beautiful than I could have imagined."

       Deserts often bring about paradoxical reactions within people.
They are at once horrified by its utter desolation, yet, as just
demonstrated, fascinated by its purity, a purity that, for lack of a
better term, is unearthly.

       Being on the surface of the moon, looking back at your home
ferociously hanging in the sky above adds a new dimension to this
experience.  Previously, only a handful of men had ever witnessed this
scene that for millennia had been denied to human eyes.  This day a new
set of visitors had arrived.

	"Setsuna, I think you can say we're pretty much speechless at
this point," Haruka noted.

	"Don't worry," the Guardian noted, "this is something you *never*
entirely get used to."

       Makoto was the first to look down from the wondrous sights around
her and note the obvious.  "Hey!  We're in our senshi fuku.  I don't 
remember transforming."

       "You didn't.  This is how your crystal remembers you.  Notice
that your uniforms are slightly different?  This is how they looked
when the crystal last saw you.  There's one other thing you've probably
overlooked, Makoto.  Do you see anything different about the rest of
the senshi?"  Setsuna extended her hand as if to demonstrate.

       Makoto looked at Rei since she was the closest.  She peered into
her deep eyes before coming to a realization.  "You look older!  Two
or three years older!"

       "Your Silver Millennium forms.  I suppose this confirms my
suspicions.  We are not really here.  The crystals are working in
unison to create this from our shared, suppressed memories."  She looked
troubled for a moment.  "Not exactly what I had expected.  I believe
the previous owner might have done some modifications."

       "Then if we're not on the moon, where are we Setsuna?" Minako
asked while still taking in the view.  "I mean, where are we *really*?"

       "Probably still in my Meditation Room.  You didn't really think
we were on the moon did you?  Exactly how would you be breathing right
now if we were *really* there?"  Minako felt somewhat embarrassed that
she asked such an obvious question.

       "So this is all an illusion?" Michiru reached out to touch
something that was not there.

       "The term is meaningless.  We are here.  That is all that
matters.  But we still need to be cautious."

       "Why?  If this is all a dream . . ."

       Setsuna slowly lowered herself to the ground to pick up one of
the colorless pebbles that littered the lunar surface.  As she rose,
her tone became somewhat lighter.  "Do you remember this rock?  Do you
have any reason to remember this particular rock from your past lives? 
Of course not, yet here it is.  Ami, look at the skies."

       As she did so, she began to fathom Setsuna's request.  This was
not the type of logic in which she had been trained at school.

       "You'll notice that the stars and constellations are all in the
correct position.  Even the faint ones that you know are there but
could never reproduce from your own memories.  This is more than a
dream.  The crystals are drawing upon reality as well.  This *is* the
Silver Millennium.  It is a de facto reality.  If you are struck, you
will most likely hurt.  Your mind will convince yourself of that.  So 
for now, just watch, learn, and remember."

       "Setsuna, exactly how far back have we traveled?  We know the
Silver Millennium fell a thousand years ago . . ." Ami began her line
of questioning.

       "No you don't.  Know, that is.  Another lie, I'm afraid.  We've
actually traveled back about fifteen thousand years."

       "Fifteen thousand?  Fifteen thousand.  I can't believe it.  This
is just too much for one day," Haruka exhaled in disbelief.

       "And traveling *just* one thousand would not have been?"
Setsuna laughed while shaking her head slightly.  "You children vex me 
sometimes."

       "Well, I'm glad we could amuse you," Rei had her back turned as
she responded.  "But just answer me one thing, if we're fifteen 
thousand years in the past, then what exactly is *that*?"  She had 
already raised her finger to point at her home, that is to say, the 
only home she had known.  The earth was in a crescent phase, similar 
to a four-day-old moon.  The night side was, of course, completely dark
at this stage of history of mankind.  Except, of course, that it was not.

       Minako saw it right away.  From her limited studies of geography
and world travel, she realized that it should not have been there,
surely not in Northern Africa, which she caught the outline of via the
oblique sunlight and something else brightly defining the coastline.  

       "Lights!  There are lights on the surface!" Michiru was the
next to realize that they had entered into a strange anachronism
indeed.

       "This is impossible," Ami finally stuttered.  "Those lights are
brighter than the ones I've seen taken in orbit of Japan at night.  
There's no record---"

       "You won't find this one in the history books, Ami," Setsuna
whispered as she shared the view.  "At least, not the 'respectable'
ones."

       "What is it?"

       "A lost, faded wisp of a dream.  You look upon the Republic of 
Dhghemion, home of the Gigeneis, the first real civilization of that 
world.  You'll notice where it is situated, in Africa, almost in the 
center of where the Sahara Desert lies in our present time.  Crossroads
of the world, really.  The kingdom stretches for many, many leagues, 
and is lush and green beyond anyone's dreams.  After it was destroyed
and erased from history, the savages on the exterior who had heard its
rumors took its name and modeled a reli---"

       The senshi had learned to detect these moments, these moments
when Pluto had finally said more than she had intended.  Of course,
to those present of a more cynical core, the thought that such a slip
was altogether intentional was not absent.

       "No, that is not important.  But I will say that those who 
heard the scraps of legend and sheer lies about it can never imagine 
its absolute splendor.  Even though they never saw it, the Egyptians 
called it 'Manu,' the mystical mountain on which the sun set,
which held up the western portion of the skies.  One of the oldest
words in the Indo-European tongues, 'dhghem', meaning 'earth' or 
'person from the earth', comes from its name.  People speaking such 
languages today as English, Russian, Greek, Latin, Persian, even
Chinese and Japanese via early migrants -- they all pay tribute to 
them in a small way when they say their word for 'human' and 'earth',
though they do not know it.  Plato even called it 'Atlantis', based on
the sheer number of bedtime stories he had heard.  Ironic that the 
modern believers should be searching for it under the waters when now
nothing remains of it but the sand of the hourglass.  Luckily we'll 
make our little visit there before it is swallowed whole by time."

	"We're going there too?" Michiru prodded.

	"If possible, yes.  Only half of the story is here," she
indicated her surroundings.

       "Something tells me the itinerary you have planned for us is
considerably more detailed than you had first let on."  Uranus peered
deeply into distant space.

       "There are some . . . things you need to see, yes.  You have to
see them in order to understand what you must do later."  Pluto mirrored
Uranus's gaze.

       "You really can see forever up here, can't you?" the girl noted
innocently.

       "More than you might suspect, Makoto.  Oh, I forgot to mention
it, but since you are named after them, you might find it of interest.
Almost all of the planets are visible now.  Not really an alignment or
anything like that, just something I noticed when we arrived.  I'm
sorry, but Neptune is too dim to be seen even through this rarified
atmosphere, Michiru.  On the other hand, Jupiter is directly above your
head, Makoto.  It is currently the brightest object in the sky, save
for Earth and Sun, of course."

	The girl scanned the sky as instructed and within a few short
seconds something near the zenith drew her attention:
       
       "Look, there it is, just like you said!"

       "I'm afraid that Venus is on the other side of the sun right
now, Minako.  If it were rising, however, then it would be the
brightest."

       Minako released a slight sigh.  "Thanks anyway.  I did sort of
want to see it though.  After all, it is my guardian planet."

       "Well, it doesn't really matter that much, does it Minako-chan?
After all, you've said that you're named after the Goddess of Love,
not the planet, right?"

       "Yes, that's what Artemis has told me, although I couldn't begin
to guess why.  Well, I mean other than the fact that I'm obviously
blessed with almost-divine beaut---"

       "Don't say it, Minako-chan.  Just don't say it.  Well, how about
it, Pluto.  Do you know why?" Usagi turned toward their guide.

       "Her name is that of the Goddess of Love and Beauty," she peered
across the barren vista, "but she was really named after her guardian 
planet, the one that lies on the far side of the sun and brings light
to the morning."

       "Well, what's the difference?  They're both the same, aren't
they?"  Usagi looked somewhat puzzled.

       Pluto did not respond.  "The White Moon Kingdom is just across 
that rise.  Be swift, as I do not wish to be late for the dance."

	The group began their pilgrimage across a sea of white.

       * * * * *

[ Silver Millennium ]

	The White Moon King stared at the tiny object in his hand,
holding it to the window and shaking it slightly to see the sun reflect 
from it in different fashions.  The colors were quite striking.

	"A fascinating little toy you have crafted here, my sister." He
continued to look.  "What, precisely, does it do?"

	"It is a memory crystal," the Guardian began.  "This is the
culmination of over a thousand years and dozens of lifetimes of my
work.  It is finally viable."

	"Indeed?" the king intoned.

	"For beings who undergo reincarnation, such as yourselves, it 
can ease the process of regaining memories of their past existences.
It will coax the mind into freeing its secrets.  It is nothing more and 
nothing less than a key."

	"And how does one gain this key -- especially if they do not
know who they are, or more precisely, who they *were*?"  The king
began to walk closer to the window.

	"That is interesting part."  The Guardian smiled.  "We have
the ability to 'implant' it in such a way that it survives the
transfiguration process.  It acts almost as a subliminal suggestion
that is able to slip under the reincarnation barrier.  We can make
it so that the crystal, and therefore their past memories, can
appear almost any time after the subject is reincarnated.  Months, 
years, or not at all."

	"Fascinating," his eyes narrowed as his interest seemed to
increase with the previous revelation.  "So many uses.  But why are
you giving it to me?  And why now?  You have not graced the moon with
your presence for millennia.  What has so suddenly prompted your 
return?"

	"Consider it a gift from us, the people of the earth, to our
long lost brothers and sisters, on the moon and beyond.  Since the
people of earth are not immortal as you and your kind are, we have no 
need for these trinkets."  She said it with an overwhelming sincerity
that the astute king easily pierced.

	"Then we accept your gift with gratitude," he bowed slightly
with a hint of regal graciousness.  "But one thing vexes me, sister,"
he noted as he placed the tiny, clear sphere into his vest pocket.
"You can fool whatever Ministry back on Earth gave you permission to
go through with this," he began, "but you cannot deceive me.  Why did
you *really* make these crystals?"

	"I am sure that I have no idea what you speak of."  The way
she said it was somewhat disinviting.

	"So be it.  But I will tell you what *I* think these are,"
he started pacing around the woman, who stood her ground motionlessly.
"I think these are your greatest failure.  These did not give you
your memories back as you so wished.  You so deeply wish to have
those returned to you, do you not?  Ever since you touched the gift
from above so long ago, the apple, the flower, your curse has endured.
Why are those memories so important to you?  You have died and been 
reborn over a hundred times since that day!  You are immortal!"

	"They were mine." She suddenly became much colder, and 
considerably more spiteful.  "They were mine and they were stolen by
that *thing* hanging from your wife's neck.  I *will* get them back one 
day.  It is not fair that every immortal other than myself can carry 
their memories with them while mine are denied."

	"Of course it is not fair!" the king bellowed.  "It is the
curse of the person who first touched the gift from above!"  He suddenly
became somewhat more conciliatory:  "Sister, why do you not return
to your rightful place among us?  You hide among the mortals of Earth,
but you are not *one* of them.  They do not know who you are.  You
stroll down their grand avenues and they walk by, not knowing that *you* 
were the one who essentially *created* their civilization.  The gift
of the White Moon is free to them.  We can grant to them that which we
already have -- life eternal.  All they need is but to ask."

	"I was one of them before I touched it . . ," she trailed off,
sadly.  "I cannot leave them.  Immortality is a sin, a blasphemy.  It
*destroys* the soul.  I would not force it upon the people of Earth
at any cost, nor would I let them blindly grab at it.  Look at 
yourselves.  You have been locked in an endless loop of birth and 
rebirth for millennia, and what progress have you made?  You, and your
kingdom, are exactly the same as when I visited ages ago.  Earth is 
progressing and-----"

	She stopped.  It all became clear, as if a mist being burned
from the moors by the midmorning sun.

	"That is it.  Earth is progressing and you are standing still.
Soon a race of mortals will overtake a race of immortals."  She looked
up to stare at him eye-to-eye.  "And you cannot have that."

	"Sister . . ." he interjected.  But she continued:

	"You cannot have a perfect society bested by an imperfect one,
because that would mean the first society is not *perfect* at all.
Why did I not see this before?" she asked herself incredulously.

	"You delude yourself," he said sternly.  "Look around you.
Any mortal would surely consider this perfection."

	She looked at him distrustingly.  "What are your intentions?
Toward Earth?"

	"We have none.  We would not force a gift upon the Earth which
would not be freely taken."

	"And if the Earth ever does become a more serene, perfect
place than the White Moon's Silver Millennium?"

	The White Moon King's thunderous laughter echoed down the hall
as eight invisible watchers watched.

       * * * * *

       Pluto removed her garnet staff and with a flurry of spins 
pointed it toward the imposing crater before them.  The walk toward it
had taken slightly less than an hour, during which time there were
few words.  The chore of creating interesting topics of conversation
while trekking across the barren lunar surface seemed somewhat petty.

	"I don't get it," Makoto whispered.  "This place doesn't look
any different than where we were an hour ago."

	Rei moved her head into position to return the whisper: "If I
were you, I don't think I'd trust *anything* I see while we're here.
Just a thought."  She assumed an upright position as Pluto prepared to
speak:

       "This is the point of no return.  If we enter here, we enter a
world that was once yours, but one you might not want again.  If I open 
the Gate and we enter, then your worlds will most definitely change.
I await your order, Princess."

       Usagi, without hesitation:  "We go."  The rest nodded in unison.

       "Very well," Pluto raised her staff to its highest point and
shouted into the darkness.  "Greetings to the most serene eternal
kingdom!  I am the Sailor Senshi of Pluto, and I beg entrance for myself
and my companions to the Imperial City of the White Moon Kingdom's 
Silver Millennium!"

       And then there was silence in the darkness.  Nothing.  The
Guardian did not move -- she waited.  Minako somewhat nervously looked
around to see what would happen next.  What her eyes found were Usagi's
eyes, locked on a point ahead of Pluto.  Locked and with total calm.
Minako watched as Usagi's lips moved.

       "It is here."

       The blast of light was overpowering -- it nearly felled all
present save Pluto and Usagi.  It was so pure, Neptune thought as she 
covered her eyes.  It was so warm, Jupiter thought.  It was so familiar,
Venus thought.

       As they looked before them, where had once been a rugged crater
was now a city of dreams, gate open.  

       * * * * *

[ Silver Millennium ]

	The White Moon arose from his throne in utter anger.

	"What is this?!  What is the meaning of this treachery?!"

	The Guardian glared at him coldly.  The group had entered
into the throne room without invitation or announcement, marching to
a position before the King and his Queen and assuming a line formation.
The soldiers, all seemingly young girls and clad in uniforms none within
the Kingdom had before seen, said no words and looked ahead with 
resolution.

	"Explain yourself, sister," he slowly lowered himself to his
seat as the Queen watched silently.

	The other onlookers in the court looked on in absolute fear.
Although they loved their king with their entire existence, they also
knew that there were no people in existence who were potentially more
fearful than their monarch, save one.  And at this moment, both of them 
were staring each other down before their very eyes.

	"This is not a coup, if that is what you fear," the Guardian
began.  "Rather, precisely the opposite."

	"Elaborate," tersely said.

	"You said years ago that you wished to have a guard.  A force
of soldiers so formidable that if ever a threat arose from outside
we would be prepared to defend not just the Moon and the Earth, but
our entire system."

	"Yes, I remember."  His interest began to be piqued as he saw
where this conversation was headed.

	"This is that force," she declared, almost proudly.  "These are
the elite of the system, named after their guardian planets, and, under
my training and the assistance of the mages, they are ready to
assume their duties.  And with these," she produced from aside one of 
the memory crystals presented to the King over a century ago for all to
see, "we truly have eternal guardians." 

	"Interesting," he almost purred.  "Most interesting.  But one
thing, sister.  You are wearing one of their uniforms as well.  Whatever
could this mean?"  That last part was almost asked just a little too 
facetiously for the Guardian's tastes.  "Just what could those bows
and ribbons mean?"

	"I feel a need to do this myself.  Life on Earth has become
quite tiresome and my sojourns to the time gate are no more interesting.
I see this as my opportunity to serve, as you serve your people by
imparting your wisdom upon them."

	"I see," he nodded as he examined the faces of each of these
soldiers.  Each of them obviously quite young and bearing the mark
of their respective planet on their forehead.  "And what do you call
this force?"

	She stepped forward to answer this particular question.  "We
have decided to revive a military rank abandoned long ago for this
group.  It was the rank of the protectors, the rank of the soldiers
who were willing to sacrifice all to ensure the safety of our worlds.
And only members of this group shall have that rank."

	She made one further step before making her declaration.  "These
are Sailors."

	There were gasps throughout the hall as he repeated that to 
himself quietly, and then more voluminously as he made his realization.
"Sailors.  Sailors.  Senshi.  Sailor Senshi."  He became quite excited
and clapped as he continued:  "Splendid!  Splendid!  Come!  Let us 
speak of this and other matters more outside the court.  All of these
prying eyes become bothersome!  Let us move to more a more private 
setting."  He quickly arose and paced beside his wife's throne to a 
small alcove and disappeared.

	As the Guardian walked near the throne to exit to the
consultation room behind, a hand grabbed her arm, allowing her to move
no further.  She was quite surprised to see who it was.

	"Congratulations, old *friend*.  You have managed to place your
personal security force within striking distance of the King.  What
are your orders to them if he ever moves against Earth?  Hmmmmmm?"

	Pluto pulled away, almost hatefully.

	"Nothing you would not do, Serenity.  Nothing you should not 
have done already."

	She then walked into the conference room as a group of pilgrim
watchers watched.

       * * * * *

	As they walked in they tried to find the words.  There were 
none.

	They tread on a path of gold.  Wait, now it's silver, Rei
noticed.  Or is it a mirror?  It shifted throughout an elaborate
dance of iridescence.   At waist level was a sea of flowers seemingly
extending to the horizon.  Ami tried her best to mentally categorize
at least a small sampling of them, but was frustrated by their sheer
variety.  They *did* look familiar -- like ones she had seen on Earth,
but different at the same time.

	The buildings were of the cleanest stone, Haruka noticed.  
Strong, piercing the heavens.  The overall design seemed to be some 
composite of all of the fairy tale castles in all of the civilizations
of earth.  Yet here it was, real.

	And in the center was a magnificent spire rising above it all
capped by an all-seeing crescent moon.  Pluto surreptitiously found
her way to Ami and playfully elbowed her in the stomach to get her
attention:

	"What did I tell you?  Spire isn't as tall as you thought."
Both were able to let forth a little laugh.

	"This is breathtaking, Setsuna," Michiru gasped.  "No, I take
that back.  This is *beyond* breathtaking."  She looked around to see
what the person who this might effect the most was reacting to it.

	Usagi was strangely quiet, Michiru noticed.  The princess
gently glided as she seemed drawn by the castle ahead.  She said
nothing, but rather was absorbing as much as she could, not unlike
a person with amnesia finding their own photo album.

	"We've come at a fortuitous time," Pluto began.  "Tonight is
the Royal State Dance for the Formal Coronation of the Princess.
I'm afraid you won't actually get to dance with anybody, but at least
you can look."

	"Dance?"  That got Usagi's attention.  "Lead us in, Setsuna!"

	"Okay," Setsuna slyly said.  "But it won't be *me* leading us 
in."

	They passed elaborately dressed people on their way to the
ballroom, each of them wearing the finest formalwear each senshi had
ever seen.  Since Michiru and Haruka were included in the group, this
was quite the achievement.  The commonality among all of them, of
course, was that they were all smiling.  Makoto stopped in front of
one of them, an attractive young man who could not have been much older
than herself, and slowly waved her hand in front of his face.

	"They really can't see us, can they?"

	"No," Setsuna answered.  "Like I said before, this is not really
an interactive experience.  It's best for us just to watch."  She was
about to walk on before she decided to stop and add one more comment.
"Interesting you should pick him, Makoto.  He's from Jupiter, you know.
You can tell by the jewel on his collar."

	"Oh."  The young lady backed away from him slightly at the
exact instant her cheeks produced a flash of red.

	"Usagi?" Setsuna looked to the side.  "Ready to lead us to the 
dance?"

	"I can do this," the young girl stated with a smile and nodding
that was becoming more and more certain by the moment, as a flood of
memories were sorted to uncover the particular one she needed at this
moment.  "I can do this."

	And the princess did, taking them, without err, to the edge of
the great ballroom.  Of course, all she had needed to do was follow
the line of dignitaries headed in that direction, but all present knew
that Usagi had, in fact, remembered her way.

	Minako gasped as she made a realization:  "It's a masquerade
ball!  They're all wearing masks!"

	Michiru came to a dead stop as she entered the room.  It was 
not the sights that stopped her but something else.

	"Beautiful seems like such an inadequate word, doesn't it
Michiru?" Haruka asked, knowing what had caused the green-haired
beauty to pause.  The royal musicians were, without a doubt, the best 
in existence, and they were displaying their art for all to hear.  The
tones and melodies she heard were unearthly, but directly touched that
part of her that produced her own music.

	She nodded her head.  "But that's what it is.  Beautiful.  I
don't know any other word to describe it."  She finally resumed her
walk inside.

	"Go and enjoy yourselves, everyone.  We have one hour," Pluto
warned.

	"Why an hour?  What happens in an hour?" Rei couldn't help but
glance at her surroundings as she asked her question.

	"We have to leave then.  Let's meet by that ice sculpture at
that time."  She indicated an amazingly intricate and large 
crystalline structure nearby.  It was, in fact, an exact replica of
the palace in which they currently walked.

	"That's going to be tough, Setsuna -- in case you haven't
noticed, there are no clocks here and our wristwatches are back in
your meditation room in Tokyo," Rei continued.

	"No clocks in paradise -- just like she said," Minako whispered
to herself.

	"Best guess then.  Everyone understand?"  After a collective
nod to Pluto they went their separate ways.

	Each of them strolled around the large hall for the better part
of the hour, marveling in the sights.  Each of them, of course, *had*
to find the past versions of themselves, who were entertaining dance
requests left and right.  Rei had seen this before, and was somewhat
less impressed than the others, although she too wandered around as
a child in a candy store would.  It was, of course, Minako's idea to 
keep count and see which past princess would emerge with the most dance
requests.  Surprisingly enough, they all finished with the same amount,
save one, who had accumulated two more dances over the course of the 
hour than any of the other princesses present.

	"I *knew* it!" Minako cackled.  "Ami-chan, *you* are the life of
the party!"

	"*First* of all," the obviously embarrassed girl began, "that
is Princess Mercury, not me.  And *second*," she held her head up high
and looked down her nose at all those present, "it was *eleven* dances,
not ten."

	Makoto giggled and hugged Ami from behind upon hearing that.
"It's hard to believe this was once ours, isn't it?"  They both looked
toward the elaborate paintings on the domed ceiling.

	"It's becoming easier and easier to believe each moment we're
here," Ami whispered.  "It's probably good we're only staying an hour.
If we stay much longer, I'm afraid I might not want to go back."

	Haruka and Michiru had found their way to a corner of the
ball room that was somewhat more sparsely occupied to make their
observations.

	"Would the pretty young Princess care for a dance?  Once in a
millennium chance!"

	"There you go again, getting all romantic and misty-eyed," 
Michiru naughtily threw back at Haruka.  "But you're right, we don't 
get many chances like this, and since most everyone else here is a 
ghost," she extended her hand forward, "I believe you can lead."

	As their dance within a dream in the past began, they noticed
someone watching over them.

	"You're not getting away without giving me one, Haruka!" Usagi
giggled from behind.

	"Wait your turn, odango!" Michiru laughed as she was lowered
into a dip.  "This could take a little while!"

	The hour passed as nothing as all, which, of course, was the 
way of the immortal Silver Millennium.

	"Well, I don't know about you, but *I've* had an interesting
evening," Minako touted as the group reformed near the entrance.

	"Ami's right," Rei said with raised eyebrows.  "If we stay here
much longer, I might just want to stay forever."

	"I lost track of Princess Serenity -- where did she go?" Haruka
half-asked.  "For someone who is having a ball in her honor, she 
certainly doesn't seem to be enjoying it too much."

	"There she is, at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the 
balcony where the Queen is at," Michiru pointed to the Princess, who
by this time was already making a dash to the exit.

	"Why is she running outside?" Makoto asked.  "That's odd."

	"Look, Ami-chan," Haruka chuckled as she pointed across the
hall.  "There you go after her.  You didn't have any peace here either."

	Rei watched the events before them unfolding and after a few
brief seconds realized what was happening.

	"Pluto.  We need to go.  Now."  At the same moment, she gave a
glance to Minako, a glance which needed no interpretation.

	"Why?" Usagi asked with frustration in her voice.  "We just got
here!"

	"Because this is the end, Usagi.  This dance that you see before
you at this moment will be the last dance of the Silver Millennium."
Pluto looked off into the distance toward hands approaching midnight on
a clock that did not exist.

	Makoto involuntarily took a step backwards as she too understood
that this was the scene Rei had shared with them months ago.  She tried
to recall exactly what the shrine maiden had said on that night.

	"*This* was the last night?" Usagi asked almost helplessly.  She
scanned the crowd, not looking for anyone in particular.  "All these
people."  Her eyes then drifted upward to the Queen occupying the
balcony above, her benevolent gaze covering all.  And from the entrance
there was a commotion which quickly caught the notice of the crowd.

	The dance floor cleared to allow the two tiny cats running at
their top speed from outside to address the Queen on the balcony above.
They caught their breaths as they slid to a stop on the marble floor.
It was the white one who made the horrible declaration:

	"The barrier has been breached!  We're under attack!"

	Pluto raised her staff and the light emitted from it almost
prevented the Senshi from seeing the horrible sight of the ballroom's
exterior wall, easily fifty meters tall and two hundred meters long,
being blown in and completely pulverized by the concussive blast from
outside.

	Almost.

	* * * * *

	The room they found themselves in was both large and comforting
at the same time.  It was warmly lit by an unseen source.  As Usagi
looked around, she noticed the perimeter of the room was surrounded
by immense stone sculptures.  Each figure held a different object.
One, a sword, another, a scroll, and another, a crystalline flower very
similar to the one that Usagi herself possessed.  She gazed at the
multiple others that were slightly out of her range of focus.  She
recognized all of them despite the fact that they each had four heads
and six wings:

	"Angels."

	"Seraphim," Pluto nodded.  "Beings of pure light.  Resonators
of the fire of God's love."  She pointed to an alcove slightly below
these massive figures and indicated a section which had escaped the
princess's view.  "Below them are the Cherubim."  Usagi looked more
carefully to see the multi-eyed creatures in the shadows below.  "With
their Everturning Sword are the Cherubim stationed East of Eden,
guarding the Path to the Tree of Life."

	Each person present took in the sight for a few moments before
allowing Pluto to continue:

	"Do not let the scene you just witnessed on the moon trouble you
too deeply.  Remember, that was the past.  It had already happened;
you just had not known about it."  She tried to change the demeanor
by raising the tone of her voice:

       "Find yourself a leaning post.  Like before, the people present
will not be able to see you.  The meeting will not begin until their
shadows cast by the sun while standing are their own height.  Part of
the qualifications of being an enlightened civilization is knowing how
to peacefully enjoy a morning without business interrupting."  Pluto
raised her hand somewhat and pointed upward with her index finger in
a very Minako-esque fashion in order to emphasize the point.

       "We're back on Earth, the Dhghemion you mentioned earlier."  
Neptune was the first to apprise their situation.  The windows
surrounding them with their views of a green horizon assisted in this.

       "Yes.  This is the meeting room of the Consulate, who will be
arriving shortly to discuss matters of great urgency.  It would seem
that their paradise is about to be lost.  It is one day earlier than
where we visited last, at the end of the Silver Millennium."

       "I don't understand why you showed us the very end of the Moon
Kingdom again, Pluto.  With the exception of yourself, Uranus, and
Neptune, we all saw basically the same thing when Queen Serenity showed
us her version of the end last year.  This had more detail, but it was
basically the same."  Rei was somewhat surprised by Usagi's insightful
question. 

       "You mentioned that this kingdom was the most enlightened and
peaceful place to ever exist on earth.  What happens so that Beryl can
come and destroy it?  *This* place, that is, instead of the Moon." 
Minako examined the contents of the grand meeting hall in which they 
had arrived as she made her inquiry.

	The long table before her seemed to have been sculpted from
one solid piece of very dark stone interlaced with veins of silver.  
She tried to estimate its immense length by guessing how many seconds 
it would take to run its full length.  Several, she concluded.

       "The first count on which you are wrong is that this is a
republic, not a kingdom.  It is actually closer to a plebescite in most
ways, but that is more than you asked.  No, these people have not known
a king or queen for ages, although some vestiges of the old royal houses
remain, including one with whom I believe you are familiar.  As for 
the second count on which you are incorrect . . . I will let you see 
that for yourself."  Her hand raised upward, motioning toward a group
of people entering from the opposite doorway.  A long line of elders
dressed in august robes passed through the entrance.

       "These are the leaders of Dhghemion, right?  You can just tell,
they look so dignified."  Jupiter observed them closely.

       "Yes.  The Consulate.  Among the finest philosophical, literary,
scientific, and altogether humanitarian minds to ever exist.  They
would normally be smiling at this time of day, but they currently face
their proverbial darkest hour, so you'll excuse them for being slightly
less than accommodating."

       There was a pause as the leaders of this world entered and sat
rather anxiously.  And then the last group in the entourage emerged
into to the room from the shadows.  The senshi reacted to this group
in various ways.  Uranus and Jupiter tensed toward a battle position.
Neptune and Mercury's senses honed in.  Venus and Mars turned their
heads toward Pluto in anger.  All then looked over to Usagi to see how
she would react.

       The woman who had just entered the room was different than she
had remembered.  Her looks had somehow softened.  Her walk, her entire
gait seemed more gentle, more refined.  But what caught her most were
her eyes.  The eyes were completely changed.  Perhaps the eyes *are*
the windows to the soul, but even with these different portals, Usagi
knew exactly whom she was looking at through the veil of ten thousand 
years.

       "Beryl," said with less emotion that Usagi had ever imagined.
"It's Beryl and the Generals."

       "Not a word now children, just listen."

       "Proconsul Beryl . . ." the seeming leader among the elders
began.

       "I am sorry.  The White Moon Kingdom would not listen to our
pleas.  They intend to continue their onslaught until we are broken."
The woman before them spoke in a voice that was nothing like that any
of the senshi had remembered.  It was only that moment of shock that
delayed the gravity of what the woman had just proclaimed.

       "The emissary from the King would not even listen to me.  He
laughed in my face.  He said that there was no need for negotiation
because our defenses had already been penetrated beyond hope."

       "General Kunzite, is this true?" the leader turned to the man
at Beryl's side.

       "It is.  I am afraid that only our two innermost perimeters have
not been compromised as yet.  Three quarters of the planetary surface
has already been occupied.  Total collapse should occur within
one or two days.  Generals Zoicite, Nephrite, and Jadeite concur with
this assessment."

       "No . . . it can't be.  This . . . this can't be."  Pluto
thought for a moment to silence Usagi, but decided against it.

       "And the capital city itself?"  The elder already knew the
answer, however.

       "I am sorry.  Our military was not built to deal with war, but
rather with natural disasters and civil matters, we were just not
prepared . . ."

       "That is no need to apologize, General Kunzite.  We are a
peaceful people.  We naively fool ourselves into thinking that others
must hold the same view.  There is no way that we could have known this
would happen."

       "What have we done to deserve this?  What possible sin could
we have committed?!  They are the ones with the secret of immortality!
We should be the ones attacking them!  What could they have to gain by
taking over our republic and the rest of our world?"  The young council
member, who wore a beautiful, flowing red robe, was visibly shaking.

       "I do not know.  The King's twisted reasons are his own."  Beryl
herself swallowed after her response.

       "Beryl, did the emissary say anything else?"

       "He said . . ," she finally broke her glance by looking down
at the dark reflective surface of the table.  She struggled to form the
sentence that she had heard hours earlier.

       "He said that if we surrender now the Consulate's families may
be spared."

       The gasp in the room was as emphatic as it was pathetic.  There
was, of course little that could be said after that.  Each member of
the Consulate subconsciously looked in the direction of their own home.

       "Then it is over.  Our paradise will be no more  It is at its
twilight."  The leader said it with surprisingly little emotion.

       "No.  There is one final option."

       "Proconsul Beryl, we cannot allow---"

       "He will not stop at the gates, he will march in and destroy
everything in his path to find whatever it is he is looking for.  And
then he will leave the rest for the vultures.  And then he will pour
salt over our land just to spite the memories of our existence."

       "Your plan is not a significant improvement, Beryl.  If the
priests are correct--"

       "If the priests are correct, then we have a *possible* chance to
contain the power of Metallia.  True, I do not sleep easy knowing that
our last hopes rest on making a deal with the devil itself, but it does
not change the fact that it is still our only hope."

       "This is insanity, Beryl.  Summoning Metallia as a last resort.
There was a very good reason why the people of the Moon banished that
monster to the depths of our earth.  She holds the key to the
destruction of both our worlds."  He shook his head.  "But I can think
of no other way.  Have the priests located a vessel?"

       "Yes.  I will serve as avatar."  Beryl took one step forward.

       "No, there must be someone else.  If we do win, we will need
someone to lead in the rebuilding process."

       "My family, descended from the first rulers of this land, have
served the Republic from its foundation.  I can expect no less from
myself.  I and the Generals shall harness this power and save our
land."

       "And if Metallia is able to break free?"

       "Then at least the White Moon King will not have had the
pleasure of destroying us," the proud woman said defiantly.

       "Not the alternative that we had wished for, Beryl.  So, which
do you choose death by?  A demon or a devil?"

       "Everything we know, everyone we have ever known, gone," another
member whispered from the side.

       "No.  Not all of us shall perish.  I have made arrangements that
a few of us shall escape, to make sure that, even if we do fail in our
undertaking, that we to not fade into oblivion.  They will be stationed
on the various planets, disguised by our friends there.  Perhaps to
make new lives.  Perhaps one day to return and reestablish civilization
here.  But perish?  No, never.  That is not the fate of mortal man."
Beryl's determination was holding their spirits up by a thread.

       "And Prince Endymion?"

       "They will be looking for him.  I will send him to where they
least suspect.  Into the snake's lair itself."

       "Surely you do not mean . . ."

       "Prince Endymion has already been operating on the Moon without
detection for some time.  Believe it or not, the Prince is also quite 
wily, and is not easily found unless he wishes to be.  I will see 
that he is nowhere near Earth when Metallia is summoned.  He is
the best of us.  He will live on."  After a short pause to consider
the weight of her previous words, the Proconsul continued:

       "Also, unless I am mistaken, I believe that the Prince has placed
his eye upon the young Princess of the Moon.  From what I have heard,
she is nothing like her father," Beryl noted with a mixture of hope,
regret, and envy.

       "If it is true, then it merely adds one further dimension to
this tragedy.  If her father would listen to her, then perhaps we could
use her as an intercessor, but as it stands . . ." the head elder
drifted in thought.

       "As it stands, the ceremony to summon Metallia takes place
tomorrow night."  Beryl stood while still observing the children's
playground located immediately outside the great meeting hall. "We 
have received a coded message from our contact within the Palace.
It indicates that the White Moon King himself will finally leave
the safe confines of his palace to actually supervise the final
conquest here, on our world.  On the Moon itself, the Kingdom will be
celebrating the young princess's coronation ball.  This will be the 
perfect opportunity for us to strike.  What happens next we place in 
the Provenance of the stars above."

       As the meeting adjourned and each member filed out until only
Beryl remained, gazing out the window to the direction of her house
and her family, the invisible watchers could say nothing.  Usagi
slowly approached the dignified woman, looking for a moment at the 
reflection of her deep blue eyes in the window, and then suddenly
realized that the Proconsul's eyes, in their original form, were
very similar to her own.

       She reached out to touch her and receive her pain, but by the
time her hand approached Beryl's cheek, the light had enveloped the
travelers and they were gone.

       * * * * *

[ Eleven years ago ]

	She had never seen so many colors.  Of course, she was only
five years old, so perhaps her experience in this was a little
lacking.

	"Minako, I'm going into the next aisle for just a moment.
You stay there and look at the ribbons.  Don't move.  I'll be right 
back."

	"Yes, mama," she said above the creaking of the store's
wooden floor.  "I'll be right here."  And she meant it.  There was
no way she was not going to look at these beautiful items.

	Stores like this were an increasingly rare sight in Tokyo.
Tucked away in the old section of the shopping district, it offered
fabrics and clothing of a quality that was of a totally different
nature than the contemporary mass-produced items.  The craftsmanship
showed.

	But it too would soon be gone.  Already scheduled for
demolition so that a more impersonal chain store could be built in
its place.  This would likely be the last time Minako could wondrously
look upon this rainbow of colors in the ribbons.  No, it wasn't the
rainbow, it was *more* than the rainbow.

	As she stood there, peering up at them, she wondered if one
day she too could wear one.

	She was so deeply transfixed by them that she almost didn't
notice the figure beside of her, also looking at the ribbons.

	Her glance was now aimed at him.  He was thin and quite tall,
at least from her perspective, with sleek, white hair that fell
below his shoulders, and dressed in a style which she had never seen,
at least outside of her fairy tale books.  He was quite strikingly
handsome himself she noticed, although the young girl was several
years away from being preoccupied by such pursuits.  He too seemed to 
be drawn in by the prismatic charms of the tiny pieces of fabric.

	Normally she would have been scared by the appearance of such
a stranger.  But something told her that there was no need.  Something
deep.

	"Do you like the ribbons too, Mister?"  She looked up to ask
him rather innocently."

	Looking down, he bestowed her with a gentle smile and replied:
"Oh, yes.  I do.  They're beautiful through these eyes."

	"Which color do you like the best?"

	"I think," he began, as he reached forward to pick one of them
from the rack, "I like this one the most."  He showed her one of almost
pure white, with silver trim.  It shimmered in the sunlight filtering
though the store's windows.

	"Wow," she said in amazement.  She followed its arc as he 
replaced it on the rack and kept her eyes locked on it for several 
seconds afterward.

	"And what about you -- Which one is your favorite?" he asked with
a smile.

	"I don't know.  I like them all!"

	"Really?" he chuckled.  "Well, how about this one?  I think it
would suit you."  His hand once again went up to the rack, but moving
quickly so that she couldn't see exactly where he was reaching.

	When he brought his hand down, cradled in it was a red bow.
The color wasn't just red, it was both the brightest and deepest red
that Minako had ever seen.  And in the center of the bow, covering the
knot, was a flawless golden heart, with a reflection that was so pure
it could almost shine the light of her soul back at her.

	"It's . . . so . . . pretty . . ."  She strained with words.
This was, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing she had ever seen
in her short life.  "Can I touch it?" she asked, almost as if it were
a living thing.

	"It is yours.  All you have to do is take it," he slowly
whispered.

	Her tiny hand slowly reached forward, about to grasp the object, 
when, only a fingertip away, her progress was stopped by a voice around
the corner.

	"Minako!  Minako, who are you taking to?"  Her mother came around
the corner, not precisely rushing, so as not to worry her daughter, but
not precisely at a leisurely pace either.

	The girl turned around to see her mother and answer her.

	"A man, mama.  He is going to give me a rib--" she turned around
to her benefactor, but there was nothing there, except the air into 
which her hand extended, "--bon."

	"A man?" her mother asked, in confusion.

	"Mama, there was a man, and he was going to give me a pretty red
ribbon with a gold heart from up there!"  She struggled to point to the
location where she remembered him taking it from.

	By this time, the storekeeper had been drawn to the commotion,
and hearing the last part of the girl's story, felt compelled to note:
"Red ribbon with golden heart?  I'm sorry, we don't carry anything like
that here.  No one has come into the store since you and your mother."

	"Minako, we'd best go home.  Come on."  She took the girl's arm
and led her toward the exit, almost on the verge of crying.

	"But mama, he was there!  The ribbon was real!  It was real!"

	She looked backward one more time of the rack of colors and 
burned the image of the red ribbon with the gold heart into her memory.
She would not forget it.

       * * * * *

       The first thing Jupiter noticed was the lush greenness 
surrounding her.  She was the Senshi of the Forest, and the forest that
she and the others presently found themselves in was magnificent beyond
compare.  The trees were taller than anything she had seen in Japan.
The air was pure.  The underbrush echoing the cacophonic sounds of
nature, and *only* the sounds of nature, was at once reassuring and
unsettling.

       "Hmmm, looks like we're finally going camping, Haruka," a voice
purred from the rear.

       The "not now" whispered angrily to the green-haired girl was
quickly followed by a stern question to draw attention away from the
playful exchange:

       "Where are we, Pluto?" Haruka demanded.

       "Wrong question," she smiled at the ground while reminding
herself that their inexperienced minds would never implicitly ask the
correct question.  Rather than sounding too aloof, however, she did
begrudge an answer to her:  "Siberia."

       Well, how do you respond to something like that, Minako privately
fumed to herself.  You can't.  It's just too ludicrous.  Siberia.  
Middle of nowhere.  Probably not a soul within a hundred miles.  And of
course, there was no good reason.

       "Ami-chan, do any of these trees have any fruit on them?  I'm
getting a little hungry."

       "I'm afraid not, Usagi.  All of these are conif ---- um ---- pine
trees and don't really bear any fruit.  I suppose we'll just have to
wait."

       "And these berries?"

       "Poisonous."

       "Are you sure?"

       "Yes."

       "Are you really sure?"

       "I'm *pretty* sure."

       "Well, I'm *pretty* hungry, but if you say so, Ami-chan, 'cause
I sure don't want to---"

       "How the hell can you think about eating after what we just saw?
Are you that thick-skinned?"  Rei threw her face in front of Usagi's.

       There was a pause, a very long uncomfortable pause while each
member pondered what next to say.

       "What would you have me say, Rei?  We were wrong?  We were
wrong about everything?  Okay, then -- we were wrong!  WE WERE WRONG!
Satisfied!?!"  As she pulled away, a look formed on her face which
Minako recognized as the grimace of the last seconds before tears
were to form.

       "There's nothing you could have done." Haruka approached and
unexpectedly put a hand on Usagi's shoulder.  "You were the victim in
this.  We all were victims.  We could have had no idea that the Moon
Kingdom attacked the Earth first.  We don't even know the reason why --
maybe they had a reason!"

       "Thanks, Haruka," Usagi reached back to touch the hand.  
"Thanks."

       "Whatever the reason, that was not only chilling but completely
inconsistent with what we have been told," Ami looked upward into the
taiga surrounding them.  "Pluto, could you shed some light on this?"
Neither Ami, nor the rest of the group, had noticed that Pluto had 
strayed into a small clearing, ten meters distant.  "Pluto?"

       "I am afraid I cannot allow any of you to interfere.  Please,
just watch.  I guarantee it will be quite the show."

       When the time key hit the ground, there was little sound and
no other indication that something had indeed formed near the
remaining senshi.  Several of the senshi instinctively moved toward
the Guardian's position.

       "I would not move any further if I were you."

       "Usagi, stop!"  Ami grabbed her arm fiercely and wrestled her
to the ground.  Everyone gasped at the totally unexpected action by
the normally passive girl.

       "Ami!  What are you doing?!"  By the time Rei finished her
question, however, Ami had already pointed to a spot on the ground
roughly a meter from where she had tackled Usagi.

       Michiru peered at the place and then looked upward, where her
suspicions were confirmed.  "Damn!  Nobody move!  Stand your ground!"

       On the covering of lush foliage underfoot, there was not merely
that spot of dead grass that Ami had indicated, but an arc of ravaged
plant life circling them at a radius of five meters.  And, five meters
above them, the effects of the upper part of this one-inch thick sphere
could be seen in the brownness of the parts of the conifer.

       "She's surrounded us with some sort of time bubble.  Time within
the bubble's walls must be moving faster.  If you try to go through it,
you'll get brain damage, or worse."  Ami assisted Usagi to her feet as
she explained what Michiru had feared.

       "A trap," Minako muttered in anger as she looked upward.

       "But why?  Why here?  If she was trying to trap us, why didn't
she just do it at her house?"  Makoto noted with anxiety that her own
ponytail was probably inches away from being singed by the perimeter.

       "Because I am not trying to trap you, children," she said with
her back turned, "but rather protect you.  The bubble around you, the
layer in which time moves faster that you can perceive by its effects,
and the one you have not perceived on the outer surface where it moves
almost infinitesimally, will not allow anything to touch you."

       "Protect us?  From what?"  By the time Minako had finished her
question, however, the answer was already painfully becoming obvious.

       "I need to take a little exit for now, since I can't allow me
to see me here, even though I do not think I will look like myself.
It would just cause too many problems.  I do not think I will be able
to see you when I arrive shortly, since I don't remember seeing you
before, but in case I do, be sure not to tell me anything.  And whatever
you do, do not interfere, although I do not think it will make much
of a difference.  Just pay careful attention.  I think you will find
it quite interesting."  With that Pluto rounded a rather large spruce
tree.  Her last instruction was almost an afterthought:  "Oh, and don't
forget to look up.  The comet will be hitting in a few minutes."

       "Senshi of Time?  Senshi of Time!  How about Senshi of Ambiguity!
That makes a lot more damn sense!  Get back here, Setsuna!"  Michiru
rolled her eyes as she realized slightly before Haruka that Haruka's
shouts were now directed at empty space.  Michiru's response was
actually somewhat predictable:

       "Now that could have gone better . . ."

       "Do *not* start . . . just don't.  I am in *no* mood for this.  
Would someone explain to me exactly what just happened?"

       "Did she just say a comet was about to hit here?"

	"When it rains, it pours," Rei sighed.

	"Tunguska," Ami muttered to anyone who would listen.  "This must
be near the Tunguska River where there was a comet or asteroid impact 
in 1908."  Ami studied the readout on her visor for a few moment more.
"Correction.  It's going to explode above the surface.  No impact."

	"Oh, well that's finally some good news!" Usagi chirped.

	"It's going to release more energy than a hydrogen bomb."

	"New plan: Let's get out of here," Usagi continued.  "Anybody 
got any ideas?"

	"Great," Minako groaned.  "Great. 1908. But why here?  Why now?"

       "I think your answer just stepped into that clearing over there."

       A young woman, apparently in her early twenties, strolled into
the field, holding something wrapped in a small blanket to her chest.
The face was totally unfamiliar, but the clothing was not.

       "Pluto," Neptune nodded, "or at least an earlier incarnation of
her.  That's Sailor Pluto alright."  There were some slight cosmetic
differences which let her doubt linger momentarily longer, but not that
much longer.  "It's her."

       "I don't like this," Uranus grumbled.  "This is *not* good."

       "It could be worse," Mars snipped.

       "Oh, *really*?"  That it came from Usagi surprised more than
one of them.  The princess made her way over to her traveling
companion and continued:

       "I'm trapped in a time bubble in the middle of Siberia by two 
Plutos with a comet about to hit us and the deliveryman didn't bring
dessert!"  Usagi suddenly lost her cool as she confronted Rei.  "Calm 
down?!?  You just tell me, Hino Rei, how could this *possibly* get any 
worse?"

       The Guardian turned, cradling pure innocence.  The infant she
held surely had little thought as to her surroundings, as evidenced
by the soothing cooing sound she made.  Sometimes the sounds babies
make are deceptive of their true state, but for this one moment, the
infant Pluto held in her arms was seemingly the most content being
on the face of the earth.

       "Saturn.  By the power of the talismans, I summon thee, once 
again."

       And the seven hearts within the dome fell silent.

       * * * * *

[ Silver Millennium ]

       "I'm afraid that I came prepared for a diplomatic function 
rather than a coronation celebration, Princess.  As such, I am 
embarrassed to say that I have no gift to offer."

       "Endymion, the only gift that I would require of you is your
hand at the first dance of this evening.  But, of course, while you
are given limited freedom on the Moon as a visitor from Earth, I fear
that being with you at the dance would be a scandal indeed."

       "Do not fret, Princess.  I will be there even if I have to wear
a thousand masks.  Still, I regret that there is not something that
I might offer to you."

       "There is . . . perhaps one thing . . ."

       "You have but to give it a name, Princess."

       "There is a beautiful flower that blooms on your world.  We have
tried to make it grow in our gardens, but it seems to know that it
has been removed from its home and wilts away at the slightest touch.
Its delicacy is surpassed only by its dignity.  I have seen only one
but I have yet to taste its sweet aroma.  I so wish that I might have 
the fragrance brighten this evening of all evenings."

       "I know of the bloom of which you speak, my Princess.  By my
honor, you will have it to place upon your chest this very night, 
although you beauty will only be enhanced by the relative unsightliness
of the flower."  Her face blushed at his flattery, looking down to 
innocently avoid his direct glare.

       "And then, one day, my Princess," he voice became ever so
sincere, "I will bring you a rose every day, so that you might remember
this night."

       As they touched hands in the earthlight, a solemn figure above
cried a mother's tears.

       * * * * *

       The baby looked up quizzically before the purple glow enveloped
her.

       "Why am I summoned from my rest?" the girl, dressed in a purple
sailor uniform looking vaguely like their friend Hotaru, who had somehow
taken the baby's place, intoned.  Usagi strained to understand how.

       "Do you not remember this world?" the woman before her asked.

       "Yes."

       "Do you not remember that it needs purification?"

       "As is my duty."

       "Are you prepared to perform this task once again?"

       "Yes."

       "Then do so, and we will disturb your sleep no longer."

	The young senshi nodded.  "Then it shall come as a whisper."

       "Pluto!  What are you doing!  You just asked her to destroy
the world!"  Uranus was incensed at the possibility of her day ending
like this.

       "Saturn!  Can you hear me?  Listen, you've got to fight it!
You can't let this happen!"  Like a good leader, Minako was scanning 
for a possible escape route even as she barked her plea.  Then she
noticed it.  "Ami, is that . . ."

	Ami's eyes turned upward to see it as well.  Among the clouds
there was another white mass.  Bright, and growing larger.  Quickly.

	Makoto was the first capable of speaking after seeing its
immense size:  "We're gonna need a bigger boat."

	"It's the comet!"  Ami snapped into motion.  "We have less than
twenty seconds before it hits!"  This set the rest of them into a
flurry of action.

       "There's not enough time!  We've got to teleport out of this
thing right now!  Everyone form, now!"  Minako did a quick estimation
on how quickly the action could be performed.  All her estimations
came up short.

       "Wait, wait!"  Neptune had not broken her view of the youngest
outer senshi.  "We have to stop Saturn!"  She continued her shouts to 
no avail, the same result of the final scurrying of the senshi within
the time bubble. 

	It is unlikely the incarnation of Saturn standing among the
taiga bothered to look up at the huge mass about to hit from above as
she raised the glaive for its final descent.  She equally would have 
been unimpressed at the coincidence of the two objects releasing their
fearsome energy at precisely the same moment.

	The combination of unparalleled noise and ultimate silence was
surprisingly pleasant.       

       * * * * *

[ Nine Weeks Ago ]

	"You know . . ."

	Come on, say it.

	" . . . if, if you were ever able to meet Sailor Venus somewhere,
could you tell her thanks for saving me?"

	Oh well.

	"What's that?  Well, if I see her, I'll make sure to tell her."

	"Yeah . . . see ya!"  And the young man left.  Not alone, and not
with Minako.

	She began on her walk home.  No bother checking the time she
thought to herself.  Nothing happening tonight, nothing at all.  In
other words, the usual.

	"Young lady!"

	Now what?  She slowly stopped.  That's odd.  Not from ground 
level.  She looked up cautiously.

	"Will you spend an evening together with me?" said the rose
bouquet on the tree's branch.

	Well, obviously it *couldn't* be the rose bouquet, Minako 
pondered.  They are not usually so talkative.  And it couldn't be a 
daimon, since we've already taken care of our monster of the day.  So
there must be something else behind it.  It's only logical.  Why yes,
I do believe that's just the way Ami would deduce this.  Of course, she
already knew the answer.

	What was behind it didn't stay behind for long as it stuck its
tiny white head out, bit down on the bouquet, and threw it down to 
Minako, who almost surprisedly caught the gift from above.

	She looked at it for a moment.  Truly a gift of gifts.

	"Well, I'll consider that offer," the blonde smugly responded
upward.

	"Oh, man . . ," the cat winced.

	"Come on down, Artemis.  I won't have any date who doesn't
escort his companion home."

	Taking three swift motions, he propelled himself down the
tree until he struck the ground at her feet.  "Ow.  You know, it
wouldn't kill you to catch me one of these days."

	"Age starting to show, old man?" Minako teased.

	"I'll have you know that I am not *that* much older than you
are, Minako," Artemis let forth in a huff as they began to walk away.

	"Yeah, riiiiiight," the blonde laughed.  "Say which one of you
is older -- you or Luna?"

	"Luna by a little, but she'll kill both of us if that gets out,"
he snickered.  "She's somewhat sensitive about that fact."

	"You know, you *should* be having a date with *her* right now, 
Artemis," Minako noted, again teasingly.  "You should watch her reactions
around you sometime.  All the tell-tale signs are there . . . "

	"A date here, a date there," he mused.  "Quite a sad life being
a kitty in such high demand."  He gave a little sob. "Tragic, really."

	"Brilliant.  Usagi gets Mary Poppins for a guardian," Minako 
sighed, "I get Casanova.  Or, in your case, Catsanova.  Just brilliant."

	"Hmmph . . . Maybe you wouldn't be laughing so hard if you saw 
me in my human form," the cat haughtily replied.

	Which brought Minako to a dead stop.  She turned around slowly
and looked down directly into the feline's eyes.

	"*You* have a *human* form?!"

	"Of course," he answered.  "All magical cats do.  It's not
something I can bring forth at will without special circumstances or 
anything like that, but we all have them."

	"Uh, don't you think you maybe could have mentioned that before
you started sleeping in my bed, Artemis?" the girl asked with just the
slightest bit of agitation.

	The cat shrugged.  "Never occurred to me.  After all, I've only
been in human form once since the end of the Silver Millennium.  And
besides, I hate those little kitty beds -- too lumpy."

	As they began to walk again, Minako remained silent as different
images flashed through her mind of how Artemis might look as a human.
College professor.  Army general.  Heart surgeon.

	"Minako."

	Mad scientist.

	"Minako."

	Rock star.

	"Minako!  Are you listening to me?"

	"Uh, yeah, Artemis."  She snapped out of it.  "Just trying to
picture you as a human."

	He grunted.  "Shouldn't be too hard, if you would just think
a little and remember past yesterday."

	"What?  I don't get it."

	He shook his head.  "Nothing.  Now, let's get you to your date."
Minako noticed that they had come to a stop in front of her favorite
fast food restaurant.

	"Artemis, we can't stop here today.  I didn't bring any money
with me."

	"What kind of date do you take me for?" he replied indignantly.
"Here.  Knock yourself out."  Minako watched as the cat unfastened the 
tiny pouch that had been hanging around his neck, let it fall to the 
ground, and then slid it over to her with a tiny paw.  She picked it 
up and looked inside.

	"Artemis!  There's like 3000 yen in here!"  She almost
instinctively closed the bag quickly and rapidly looked around to see
if anyone was watching.  "Where did you get this?"

	"When you're at my level," he raised his paw to his eyes, "you'd
be quite surprised at the things people drop on a regular basis."  He 
grinned. "It took me only two weeks to collect that much just walking 
around the streets."

	She looked at the little smiling cat and realized something.

	"You know, Artemis, I think I chose my date very well today."

	"Naturally," he purred, "that's what they *all* say."

	"Get in here," she giggled, as he jumped into her purse so that
she could slip him into the restaurant undetected.

       * * * * *

	When they opened their eyes they were surrounded by flowers, 
many of which they had never seen on earth.  Directly above them was
a glorious fountain, made of the purest white marble.  Or at least it
*looked* like marble.  The streams of water flowing from it, easily
numbering in the dozens, seemed to intertwine and dance around each
other, almost as if alive.  It was a pleasant awakening.

	"Welcome to the Royal Gardens.  We're in a sort of remote
corner, however, mainly so we won't be interrupted.  I believe this
was one of your favorite places, Princess."

	"Wha---what happened?" Usagi mouthed, almost simultaneously 
with the other sailor soldiers.  She sat up as she asked.  The figure
who was already standing answered her.

	"First of all, you were not really in danger," Pluto began,
"either from the meteor impact or the release of Saturn's power.
Wasn't really real, remember?"

	"Felt real enough to me," Makoto rubbed her shoulder, which
apparently had been impacted during their trip to past Siberia.
Then she remembered this shoulder was really just an "astral" form
or whatever term Rei liked to use.  Her real form was asleep in
Setsuna's mansion.

	"Let me ask this as directly as possible," Minako walked 
confidently to Pluto.  "Why did you take us there?"

       "I first realized that something was wrong when I asked Saturn
to destroy the remnants of the Imperial City at the close of the
Silver Millennium.  Though her power was indeed impressive, and the
last pieces of the old age were swept away by it, it was nowhere near
as powerful or fearful as it should have been.  There were still ruins
of the kingdom after we were done.  Saturn's real power should have
been much more effective than what I saw."  She paused in thought
before continuing:

	"What you saw in Siberia was me testing Saturn.  I knew from
the historical accounts that area was going to be wiped off the
map anyway, so that provided me a good opportunity to release a little
of Saturn's power to gauge it.  It came up considerably short, even
as destructive as it was."

	"That's how we were able to go there," Ami came to life with
her realization.  "Even though 1908 Siberia wasn't in our memories,
or in our crystals', it was in *yours*!  That's how we were able to go
there!"

	"That's right," Pluto said.  She held out her hand and in a 
burst of light, Saturn's glaive formed in her grasp.  "This assists in
focusing her power.  It is not truly necessary, but it helps immensely."

	Michiru raised an eyebrow suspiciously, "How did you do that?"

	She looked toward the weapon.  "This?  One of the incarnations
of Saturn asked me to hold onto it for a few years once upon a time.
Whenever I need to borrow it, I just pull it out of storage from then.
All I have to do is remember to put it back when I'm done so that I
can give it back to her in the past."

	Rei said the next words extremely slowly, as someone who didn't
quite believe what she was saying herself would say:

	"You use the time gate . . . to borrow things . . . you've
already returned."

       "Crazy, isn't it?  In any event, all of these occurrences forced
me to come to but one conclusion.  Namely, that while the modern 
incarnation of Saturn did in fact hold the glaive, that there was 
actually someone else in possession of the bulk of Saturn's destructive
and purifying power."  At this point Pluto placed the glaive in midair
before her, where it hovered as if suspended by wires, and glowed with
a faint black aura.  "And that this person was in fact the true owner,
in this timeline's present era."

       "Someone else has the power of the Silence?  But why?"  Usagi
began to analyze.

       "It was the perfect strategy -- how could the White Moon King
resist?  He knew that had the Silver Millennium Sailor Senshi died in
the battle against Earth, which they eventually did, that they would
be reincarnated.  And he could use their reincarnated forms in his plan.
It's the ideal failsafe.  But by themselves, they do not have the power
to take revenge and destroy the Earth.  There was only one who could do
that -- Saturn.  But he also knew that using Saturn in the open was 
pointless.  I could get to her first, 'intercept' her, so to speak, if
I could identify her.  If that had been his only plan then I could have
easily thwarted it."

       "I take it there was more," Minako prodded.

       "Unfortunately correct.  As I said before, the power, the *true*
power of Saturn, is vast."

       "*How* vast?"

       "Enough to annihilate this solar system in an instant."

	She allowed that to sink in for an instant.

       "As I said, by unleashing a fragment of her power before the 
meteor hit, I was able to estimate her full power.  And while great, 
easily enough to wipe this planet clean and silent if channeled 
properly, which it thankfully wasn't that day, it was nowhere near the
fearful level it should have been.  And then it occurred to me."

       "This is the part where the bottom falls out . . ." Rei
whimpered.

       "Power like that just does not *disappear*.  It goes somewhere.
In this instance, it was deliberately hidden.  Hidden by a king wishing
to keep it hidden, from both me and you, until it was too late.  It
was put in the place that even I never thought to look."  She panned
her view across each of them before revealing her discovery:

       "It was in you."

       "What?"

       "It was split up, divided, and infused into each one of you
during the Silver Millennium, without your knowledge of course.  It
must have been a supreme achievement of those evil mages to cut up
the holy purifying power like so much cake.  Unfortunately, one of
you received a somewhat larger slice than any of the others.

       "Wait, are you saying that *we*, us, the Senshi, have Saturn's
power?  Her real power?"  Haruka's bad day continued.

       "With the exception of myself and Usagi, everyone here has some
of it.  I do not have it because I predated the King's plan.  Usagi
does not because, the King, as inhuman at times as he was, could not
bring himself to use his own daughter as a living time-bomb.  Another
blood relative, one close to the royal household, however -- well, that
was a completely different matter."  Pluto looked across at the two
blondes standing next to each other, each displaying a remarkably 
similar posture.

	"Then who was that who went into Pharaoh 90's dimension and
destroyed it?  I saw Sailor Saturn go in, Pluto," Haruka pointed out.

	"That was indeed the true Saturn . . . at a fraction of her
true power and potential."

	"Fraction . . . that's hard to believe," Usagi said lightly.

       "There was still one thing I could not discern, however,"
Pluto continued.  After testing Saturn herself, I discovered the
amount of power present less than expected.  More than enough to
lay waste to this planet, but still less than expected.  If it
had been divided into seven equal pieces, then Saturn should have
still been much more powerful than she demonstrated herself to be.
This meant but one thing -- the power was distributed unequally."

	"And it is taking every bit of my strength now to restrain
this glaive from returning to the source of its power.  To the
one of you who holds the largest piece."  She visibly strained to
hold the staff back from seeking its target.

	"You see, he knew that if I discovered his plans, I would
try to intercept this vessel of the silence.  He knew that I would
assume Saturn would be that vessel, so he decided to place the 
purifying power, the silence that could lay waste to the planet of
the mortals, in a person whom I would not so easily suspect.
Someone who had a pure heart, someone who would sacrifice all for
the welfare of her friends and family, someone, who, for the lack
of a better term, combined the best aspects of all of us."

	"And that way, when we found out who would trigger the silence,
it would be too late.  Altogether, an inspired scheme."  She began
to loosen her grip on the weapon.

       "Wouldn't you agree, Lucifer, light of the morning?"

       And with that word, the glaive shot across the garden into the
waiting hand of its owner.

   



                                 * * *
                     ---------------------------
                     The Dusk Crossing - Kôkytos
                     ---------------------------
                                 * * *



<*Your punishment, my child*>
          <*for soiling the apple, your gift*>
                   <*will be to bring it back pure*>
                              <*making the garden whole, once again.*>


       "But we can give it back now."

                                             <*No.  Time it takes*>
                                   <*to erase such a stain*>
                        <*until that day neither die nor sleep*>
              <*until it shines as a star.*>


       "We did not know."

       <*Children never do*>
                 <*but when you do*>
                           <*place it in the flowers*>
                                   <*and take a walk in the clouds.*>

       * * * * *

[ Three Years Ago ]

       "The Romans called it Lucifer, the bringer of light.  Brightest
of all of God's Archangels.  The brightest, yet with a seed of darkness
within that brought the very downfall of such holy light.  It is the
morning star and it heralds the coming of the bright day.  But it is 
also the evening star that ushers in coldest, most silent night."

       "But when first came to me last week you said my name was Sailor 
Venus."

       The white cat shifted forward to clarify his earlier statement:

       "That is true.  You are Sailor Venus, but the name 'Venus'
refers to a later name given to the planet by the Romans, in homage to
their goddess of love and beauty.  In all of the literature, however,
the original name is listed at that which translates to "light bearer."

	He saw the girl was somewhat troubled by this so he offered his
advice once more:

	"Don't be too troubled by it.  It's just a legend."

       * * * * *

       The glaive was lighter than she thought it would be.  Lighter
than that part of her remembered it.  Lighter, but not unwelcome.

       "Quite a rush, is it not?" Pluto whispered into her ear.  "The
ability to rend a world asunder resting between your fingers.  Should
you use it -- maybe just a little?  Would you lose control?"  Somehow
she found her way to the other ear, "Or would it feel as a cool stream
flowing over you, purifying you?"

	Was the serpent like this, she wondered.

	"This isn't good," Haruka instinctively backed away.  Michiru
noticed this uncharacteristic timidity with some surprise and moved
herself forward to compensate.

	"Maybe this isn't the best idea, Setsuna . . ." Michiru warned,
as a parent might warn a child playing with fire.

	"Oh, we're safe," Pluto said in a way that was less reassuring
than any of them cared to admit.  "We're in a dream, remember?  Besides,
if she *does* try anything I have a pretty fast reaction speed."

	"Minako-chan, are you okay?" Usagi began to approach her, but 
stopped five paces short.

	"I think so.  It's odd.  I have these memories that seem like
they've always been there but I know that they haven't."  With her
free hand she reached toward her temple, as if to nurse a headache.
"And there's something else, I hear something else."

	<Do your duty.>

	"Did you hear that?"

	"Hear what?" Makoto replied.

	<It is time.>

	Minako frantically looked over to the group. "Can't you hear
it?!"

	<Cleanse this world.>

	"Tell me you can hear it!"

	All looked on, stunned, not knowing what to do.

	"Oh, dear," Pluto uttered.  "The programming's a little deeper
than I suspected.  Minako, why don't you put that down now?"

	<She's trying to trick you.>

	"What?" she recoiled, agony on her face.  "No, you're trying
to trick me!"

	<You must do it now.>

	"Can't anybody else hear it?!" she now cupped her ear with her
remaining free hand in a futile attempt to block the pervasive voice.

	Each of the senshi moved toward her slightly, not knowing
exactly what should be done.  Rei was the first to call out:  "Pluto,
help her!"

	<Do it now.>

	The Senshi of Time looked back to her young companion with
confusion.  "I don't know how to -- this isn't my doing."

	"*Somebody make it stop*!" Minako screamed, simultaneously
dropping to her knees, supported only by the weapon in her hand.  If 
asked about what happened at that moment, those present would perhaps
later agree that there was a pulse of golden and purple light enveloping
the girl as she hit the surface.

	"Minako-chan!" Usagi ran forward to grasp her.  "Minako,"
but when the princess looked into the eyes of her friend, she did not
find the eyes of a friend.  They were instead hollow, empty.  Pure.
The princess moved backward in shock as the thing that was now 
occupying their friend's heart arose.

	"Move back, Usagi," Pluto sternly commanded, to which the young
girl obliged, still not looking away from their friend, who now seemed
so deeply in need.

	<You must do it now.>

	Pluto studied the creature before her.  She honestly did not 
know what to expect next and approached cautiously.  Which therefore
made it quite a shock to her and her companions when the blonde in
one swift motion raised the glaive to the highest point above her head
and swung it down towards the ground with three simple words: 

	"Death Reborn Revolution."

	.

	.

	.

	.

	.

	When Usagi opened her eyes, the sight she saw would have made a
marvelous sculpture by the ancient Greek masters.  Before her was
a young lady, swinging down her weapon with full might, blocked by
a woman, who had grasped the glaive mid-shaft with one hand, preventing
it from descending further.  Billows of purplish-golden energy
radiated from it.

	"See?  Quick reaction time." Pluto smiled.  Usagi swore that
the sound she heard coming from the point where the hand intersected
the weapon was a sizzling.  And if she had been more observant, as
several of the others were at this point, she would have also noticed
the odd scent of a mixture of flesh and the material that made up
their gloves burning.  Pluto grimaced in pain while looking at Minako.
"This is the second time I've done this with you this week -- once was
quite enough."  She turned back to the Princess:

	"Usagi, come here.  I need you to do something for me," Pluto
said, her voice strained.  "Quickly now.  Slap her."

	"What?" the girl retorted.

	"Slap her.  Right on the face.  Don't be shy about it.  And 
you'd better hurry," her arm now visibly shaking under the strength of
the descending glaive, "I don't know how much longer I can hold this 
thing."

	"But Setsuna---" she didn't get to complete her objection:

	"Any time now, Princess," she laughed nervously.  "Or else we'll
be cutting off our little trip prematurely."

	Usagi walked to the young girl and also with a smoothness of
motion coiled her hand back to strike.  "Aino Minako, you wake up right
now!"

	<Slap>

	Minako's eyes came back into focus without ever actually having
been closed.  She released her grip on her weapon at the same time.

	As Pluto backed away, she threw the glaive over to the side,
it dematerializing before it hit the ground, and quickly blew her hand
to give it some relief.  "Ow!  Good heavens, that was hot!"  She looked 
at her charred flesh and continued.  "It's a good thing this is just 
my astral form -- this is one of my favorite hands!"
 
	"Would somebody care to tell me what just happened?" Minako,
no worse for the wear, asked from the side.  And then she felt the
sting of pain on her cheek -- "What the . . . who did this?!"  Minako
was too mad to ask Usagi why she was awkwardly trying to hide behind 
Pluto.

	"Oh, lord, we live outrageously complicated lives," Haruka 
lamented to anyone who would hear.
       
       * * * * *

[ Earth - An Age Ago ]

	They sat, outside their dwelling, which with its animal skins
and wooden pole construction looked surprisingly like the yurts that
would litter the Asiatic steppe in the millennia to come.  Their fire
was blazing, but it was only for purpose of defense, as the temperate
breeze from the great sea to their west would warm them for the night.

	The tiny crystal flower sat between them, the woman and the man.
The woman bathed in the light of the fire had found it, but who would 
now possess it?

	She had told her tribe how she had seen things by touching it.
And how she had heard a voice from the nothingness that told her to take
the fruit as her own.  But she would share with her tribe.  That was
her way.  She would hold it close to her heart and give the gifts.

	But the one man became jealous.  This gift was surely meant for
him alone.  And so he took it, and the woman who found it said no words,
because how can you claim ownership on a gift from the heavens?

	But which would he take?  The knowledge of the soul, or
life eternal?  The choice to him was simple.

	But where can we spirit it away to?  Where best to live forever
with its gift?

	To the heavens.  The moon above and the stars beyond, so that
we may be closer to that which sent the flower to us.

	The children of Lilith gathered around her to watch as the 
man and his followers left the garden forever.

	Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of 
it all the days of thy life.

       * * * * *

       "We are in a dilemma," Pluto said with her pervasive touch for
the dramatic.  "Each of you has been 'programmed' by Silver Millennium
magicians to, one day, destroy the earth using the piece of Saturn's
power that was infused into you."

	"No, no, that's impossible," Makoto interjected.  "We saw it, we
saw it.  We saw the future.  Crystal Tokyo.  Neo-Queen Serenity, a
paradise, a utopia.  That's the future.  Are you saying that's a lie?"
She became somewhat more muted as she finished, knowing the response
would probably not be to her liking.  "We saw it."

	"Yes you did," Pluto agreed.  "That was indeed the future.
The paradise that you saw is what will come to pass if we do nothing.
If we go back and go about our business, Crystal Tokyo will indeed
exist, a millennium into the future.  And everything that you saw
will come true."

	"Well, if that's the case, why---" Minako did not get a chance
to finish her question.

	"Did you ever stop to think how precisely that would come about?
I mean, did you seriously think what it would take to bring something
like that to fruition?"  Pluto's tone became noticeably more . . . would
agitated be the correct word, Rei wondered to herself.

	"*That* is not the natural end result of human development.
*That* is interference of the highest order."  It was definitely 
agitation now.

	And then she said it.  Words to shatter dreams.

	"It is a blasphemy.  Planned from the beginning."

	They didn't know what to say.  What could you say?  Their dreams,
their aspirations, their destiny, all wrapped in a flawless crystal
palace in the future -- was a sin?  If there was indeed a gasp when it
was said, no one cared enough at this point to notice.

	"Time to lay our cards on the table, so to speak."  Pluto's
composure seemed to steadily return.  "Ami, tell them your final vision.
The one that the crystals gave you just before you decided to destroy
them for real."

	"Destroy them for real?  You mean, you were going to . . ."

	Ami had been unusually quiet for the previous minutes.  She had
finally put all the pieces together, ever the scientist.  Hearing this,
it brought forward mixed feelings.  Horror in that her worst fears
were now coming to pass.

	"Off the face of the earth.  Completely," Ami said with resolution.

	"We thought . . ." Minako trailed off into thought.

	"And your vision, Ami?" Pluto continued.

	"I saw the end of the world, much like Rei saw before the incident
with the Death Busters.  But it wasn't some villain that was doing it."

	Michiru, standing closest to Ami, noted the telltale line of
tears that was forming below her eyes.

	"It was you Minako.  It was Venus.  You were standing on top
of a mountain, with the most vacant look in your eyes.  It was that look
you had in your eyes a few minutes ago.  We were trying to stop you but
we couldn't.  It was all Usagi could do to use the power of the 
Ginzuishou to lock us into a protective sleep.  I suppose that's where
we would wait until Crystal Tokyo could be formed."

	Minako felt the world go out of focus.  "Then . . . then the
person you were trying to protect by hiding the crystals in the
beginning wasn't Usagi . . . ."

	"It was you," Ami looked at her through tears.  "I'm sorry.
I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."  It was at this point that she
finally did break down and fall into the blonde's arms, sobbing.  "I'm
so sorry . . . so sorry . . . ."

	Minako gripped the girl tightly, feeling the very world that
she knew to be true quickly slipping away.  Rei, Makoto, and Usagi
looked on, not knowing what to do.

	"Wait, wait," Haruka objected.  "Setsuna, you said these
things were *memory* crystals.  How can they tell what's going to
happen in the future if they're *memory* crystals?"

	Pluto raised an eyebrow.  "Remember that whole speech I gave
you about 'deja vu' and 'future memory'?  I suppose this is a practical
application of that."  Haruka looked more than a little annoyed as
Pluto continued:

	"Crystal Toyko was formed after a thousand years of Silence and
ice.  Earth, swept clean, to start anew.  *You* . . ." she pointed to 
Usagi, "will save the world from this state and start a new world, one
of peace and prosperity under your rule.  It's in your nature.  And 
*you* . . ." she looked at Minako, almost sternly, "will be the one to
put it in that state." Rei noticed that Minako looked more distraught
than surprised as she was pointed out. "Or perhaps *you*," she pointed
to Makoto, "or maybe *you*," to Michiru.  "Could even be you or you,"
to Haruka and Ami in turn.  "The fact is, I don't know who triggers the
Silence.  The time gate was unable to help me out there.  And even if
one failed, there are five others who are capable of doing the job.
So really, Ami's vision was just one of potential.  *Any* one of you
could unknowingly bring about the calamity which would trigger the 
creation of Crystal Tokyo."

	"You see, that was the White Moon King's plan.  He could not
endure having a realm of mortals surpass him, as the earth was soon to
do with the moon.  He tried the easy way, to invade it by force.  But
that failed as well after the earthlings unexpectedly summoned
Metallia."  She raised her finger in an explanatory gesture.  "But he 
knew that, because he had planted in each one of you the ability and 
the hidden intent to bring Silence upon the earth, that he would 
eventually win.  Because he also knew that with his daughter, in 
possession of the Ginzuishou and her memories afforded by her memory
crystal, she would remake the Silver Millennium in her own image after
this disaster.  Regardless of what happened, the race of immortals 
would triumph and his legacy and lineage would prevail.  Final victory
to the White Moon Kingdom.  This was his master plan.  Checkmate."

	She allowed them to consider the gravity of her remarks before
continuing:

	"You each have that power," she went on.  "Minako is the 
primary weapon . . ." she became quieter as she realized what she was
going to say next could very well determine the course of a thousand 
years:

	"You were his contingency plan."

	Each person present looked at each other, not knowing what would
be appropriate to say.  Not knowing what properly could be said.  The
Guardian filled the silence:

       "I was not in town at the time, of course, but sometimes I
wonder what that Roman soldier thought.  The soldier that was stationed
above the gates of Rome and saw the wave after wave of barbarians
advancing upon the city for the final time, knowing that there was
not one thing he could done about it.  Knowing that in five minutes,
all that you love and care for would be all that ash.  Should he tell
those within, or should he just remain silent and let them live their
lives for five more minutes?"

       "But that is one of our burdens as soldiers, is it not?  And
there are more of us than you might suspect, Princess."

       "Crystal Tokyo was never meant to be.  A race of immortals
cannot ensure the upkeep of humanity."  Pluto closed on her, not
threatening in the least.  "You mean well, you all do.  It's just that
it is in the very nature of life that humans must find their own way
through the dark night.  If you lead them, then they have lost
something very precious."

	"The programming that the White Moon has placed in you is
quite intricate.  You cannot, in the end, defy it.  You *will* follow
your instructions whether you wish to or not, just as Minako temporarily
yielded control when she held the glaive.  This 'programming' cannot 
simply be removed.  It must be . . . covered."  She closed her eyes as 
she delivered news that more than one of the remaining senshi had
anticipated with tears.  

	"I'm sorry.  You must have your memories erased."

	All were stunned.  None could talk.  Several needed to sit.

       "Similar to what happened after you defeated the Dark Kingdom
the first time.  You must have all of your memories related to being a
Senshi and the Silver Millennium erased.  The guardian cats can do
this."  She stopped because she somehow couldn't find the heart to go
on at that particular moment.

	"To save the people of Crystal Tokyo," Rei lightly said.
"That's what you meant.  Not to save Crystal Tokyo, but its people."
Pluto nodded once in the affirmative at this assessment.

	"So, it's not everything, right?  Just our Senshi memories that
have to go?" Minako suddenly seemed quite concerned.

	"Right."  Setsuna herself was seemingly becoming disgusted at
her own words by this point.  "Right."

	It came to Usagi in a flash.  "Chibiusa -- What about Chibiusa?
And Mamoru?"

	Setsuna couldn't look at the girl directly.  She thought about
using the term "silver lining" in this case, but decided against it.
"Mamoru may retain his memories, as he is no threat since he has no
portion of Saturn's powers.  Only the Senshi besides Usagi and myself
have that.  And Small Lady," Pluto continued, "Well, you still plan on
having a child with Mamoru, right?  She'll be around, soon enough."
She managed to pull a smile in through all of this bad news, more than
one noted.  "And trust me, she'll enjoy growing up in this age more
than being in that crystal palace in the future."

	Pluto walked around slowly as to further emphasize her point:

	"Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
As Sailors, you can be no more.  You and I, Princess, will be the only
ones of our entire group to retain our memories of being . . ." she 
strained for the right word.

       "More than human?" Usagi whispered.

       "Oh, no.  Far from it.  If anything, immortals are *less* than
humans.  That is what your father learned at such a terrible price."

       "Are you immortal?"  The child-like quality of Usagi's question
somewhat took Pluto aback.

       "Oh, heavens no!" Pluto laughed.  "Or at least I hope not!  I 
*have* been around a while though, but not long enough that I've 
forgotten the faces of my mother and father, and my dear little 
brothers and sisters."  Usagi's eyes widened as Pluto continued on, 
almost in a relaxed manner.  And then she saw it.  Something Usagi 
hadn't seen in all of the time she had known Pluto.  The flash of 
emotion as she suddenly inhaled to prevent herself from crying.  The 
look in her eyes changed, Usagi noted.  There was no longer the stolid, 
stoic Guardian of the Eternal Time Gate standing before them.  It was 
instead someone more like them.  They all saw it.

	"No, that's a lie too.  I don't remember them at all.  Their 
faces, their voices, their laughter.  I know it existed, I just know,
but I simply can't picture or hear it.  You see, that's one of the
drawbacks of being in my particular position.  My mind, my human mind,
couldn't handle all of the years of information, input, stimuli,
whatever.  That is the true face of an imperfect immortality in our 
present forms.  So the only way to function was to have my memory erased
periodically.  Reincarnation did the job most of the time.  Sometimes
I had to take matters into my own hands."  No one dared ask for
clarification on her last statement.

	"I'm being punished, you know.  Punished because I was too 
accursedly curious and too prone to listen to the voices inside my head.
If I hadn't decided to pick *it* up from underneath that tree, then all
of this would be much simpler.  But it was all shiny and round and 
glowing -- I just couldn't help myself! Curiosity really did kill the 
cat!"  Pluto glanced around to apologize to Luna or Artemis before 
realizing that neither was present.

       "Twenty-seven thousand, four hundred and eleven years ago," she
suddenly seemed somewhat more sedate.  "That's how long it has been.
Ten million, eleven thousand, nine hundred sixty-nine days.  Four
hundred and forty-one incarnations, counting the one you see before you
right now."  She smiled and nodded, trying to regain composure without
crying.  "Personally, I think I've aged rather well."

	They had all complained at one time or the other.  Complained
about being a Sailor Senshi.  How they had to cancel a date, or
postpone shopping.  How the scary monster had really gotten to them
this time.  How much being agents of love and justice was just so
*inconvenient* at times.  How they didn't ask for any of this.

	It all suddenly seemed very small.

	"They are the souls who are destined for Reincarnation; and now
at Lêthê's stream they are drinking the waters that quench man's 
troubles, the deep draught of oblivion . . . They come in crowds to the
river Lêthê, so that you see, with memory washed out they may revisit 
the earth above."  Pluto nodded, finally allowing her hand to touch her
cheek to wipe a tear.  "Aeneid.  Good book.  Little flashy and prone
to hyperbole, but a good book."  She turned to face them fully:

	"Before we go, I want to show you something.  Consider it a
parting gift."  Pluto raised her staff slightly.

	The Garnet Orb began to glow as they were transported within.

       * * * * *

	Mars spoke up first:  "We're back at the coronation ball."

	Indeed they were.  The festivities continued unabated around
them, continuing as they had for hours.  But *outside* the voluminous
hall would have actually been more accurate, as they currently found
themselves in a small garden to the side, with a good view of
the main courtyard below.

	"I will tell you now, you will soon bear witness the final 
moments of the White Moon Kingdom's Silver Millennium.  You do not 
*have* to see this, although it might give you a better perspective on
who you were before you took your current forms.

	"We've seen this much, Pluto," Ami volunteered.  "We probably
should see the rest."  Rei was much more hesitant, knowing what was to
come, but kept her silence.

	"Very well," she continued.  "I should also probably tell you
that this will be your last stop on our little voyage.  After this
is over, you should find yourself back in Tokyo."

	"How are we leaving, Setsuna?  That way?"  Haruka pointed her
thumb backwards over her shoulder to the massive gate across the sea
of flowers which permitted their entrance to the kingdom.   For such 
an impressive and important part of the Kingdom's defenses, it was 
strangely unguarded, Minako noted.

	"No, you all will be taking a more direct route," she looked
toward the object that Haruka had indicated moments earlier.  "Did you
know that Gate is made of the strongest substances known to either
men or immortals?  There is nothing that could forcefully penetrate
that gate.  Nothing in this universe."

	Michiru and Haruka resisted the urge to ask her to explain this
when faced with the obvious fact that the Moon Kingdom did in fact
fall.

	"Until then," she moved toward Usagi, "the reflection garden is 
at your disposal.  Usagi, if you would follow me for just a moment, 
there is something unique that I would like to show you."

	"More tears?" she asked from her seated position.

	"The good kind, I assure you," Pluto turned as if to lead her.
"Come."  And with that, Usagi rose and followed while the others
absorbed the surrounding atmosphere.

       * * * * *

[ Silver Millennium ]

	The dance continued beneath her.  Did the Queen know that this
would be the last dance that the Silver Millennium would ever see?
Her solemn gaze betrayed no answer.  It hinted at no break in her
solitude as her advisors approached her.

	"Your Highness, there is an urgent message."

	Her eyes shifted to them.  This was their sign to proceed.

	"Our forces have established communication from Earth.  We
received notification that the final assault upon their capital city
began a short while ago."

	"My husband must be very proud."  She reestablished her view
of the dance.

	"There were complications, Highness.  The earthlings unleashed 
something.  We are not sure what it is yet.  It was very powerful."

	"*How* powerful?"

	"Our King and forces are in full retreat.  The enemy is in
close pursuit.  Your husband has ordered that we open the defensive 
Gate for when he arrives."

	"And how long will that be, Vizier?"

	"At their current speed, five minutes.  The enemy will arrive
*very* shortly afterwards.  From our limited communication, it seems
it is taking everything within their power just to maintain a distance
ahead of them."

	"Your orders, my queen?"

	By this time the Queen had noticed the young Princess, who had
wandered up from her dance below to speak with her mother during her
brightest hour, was in the doorway listening with wide eyes.  Eyes that
were met by her mother's.  And at the same time, the Queen heard a 
voice from a ghost of the past.

	<*"Nothing you would not do, Serenity.  Nothing you should not 
have done already."*>

	"Secure the Gate."

	"Your Highness?"

	"You heard me.  Secure the Gate.  Do not open it under any
circumstances.  Any."

	"The King . . . and our army . . . will not survive if we do
not open the Gate," the first advisor pleaded.  "There is no way."

	"There are civilians on leave outside the barrier," added the
second.  "Prince Endymion left moments ago -- we might need him as a 
bargaining chip.  You are sentencing all of them to death."

	She neither blinked nor exhaled.

	"My order stands."

	When the Queen looked over to explain herself to her daughter
she saw no daughter there.  She was already running across an
iridescent pathway of light across a sea of flowers to her destiny.

       * * * * *

	"What now?" Minako asked, reading the concern on her friend's
face.

	"This is familiar," Rei fretted as she looked around herself.
The garden.  The view around.  The air.  "I've been here before."

	"Of course, Rei," Minako sighed.  "Remember?  Silver Millennium?
We were all alive here?  You should remember it."

	"No, that's not what I mean," the priestess continued.  "I've
seen this place more recently."  When she realized what was happening
and sprung from her seat, events were already in motion.

	"Hey look," Haruka noted by pointing while still seated.  "There
goes Princess Serenity."  She noticed her from above, since the
elevated garden was almost directly above the beginning of the golden
path to the gate.  Of course, by the time Haruka said it, the path was
silver.

	"Well then you should be going by any minute now, Mercury,"
Michiru added.  "See, there you are now."  The girl, also wearing a
princess dress ran after the Princess of the Moon.

	"This is it!" Rei was almost frantic.  "Usagi!  We can't let 
her see this! Where is she?!"

	"Oh, damn," Minako similarly took to her feet.  "This isn't the
way I wanted it to happen.  This isn't the way!"

	Haruka gave a worried look.  "She went off with Pluto, remember?
Over there," she pointed toward a corner of the garden.  "She's safe.
No need to worry."

	"What's going . . ." Michiru slowed as everyone's attention
quickly recentered on the young princess and her companion running
toward the Gate, "on?"

	There were guards present, of course.  But the young princess
had learned at least a few tricks from her mother.  As she ran down
the columns of the Imperial Guard, who had just executed their orders
to secure the Gate, she produced a small wand with a moon at the apex,
not unlike that wielded by her mother.  A simple wave was all it took
to put them to sleep, falling to the ground so gently.  It was 
perhaps fortuitous that what would become the last few moments of 
their lives would be spent in merciful slumber.

	She arrived at the Gate and began the secret motions with her
wand that would turn it into a key.  Ami flinched as she watched her
past incarnation hurl herself into the princess, trying to stop her
from completing her spell.  But she was unsuccessful.

	And there was a great silence as the massive doors of the Gate 
slowly opened and the Princess of the Moon looked outward for the space
of five seconds.

	A savage, remorseless, sadistic blast brighter than the sun 
responded.

       * * * * *

[ Two Months Ago ]

	 <"The last one out is Pluto, always alone,
	  thank you for listening to my little planet song.">

	She didn't wait for a response:  "So, how did I do?  Did I get
them all?"

	The companion gave her gentle smile and answered:  "You did
great."  There was no way that she was going to let her fail this
science test, especially on this subject.  If it took a song, she
would write a song.

	"Ami-chan, what would I do without you?"

	"Well, I suspect. . ," she began speaking without thinking, and 
then looked up to see the childlike expectation in her friend's eyes.  
Forming that delicate smile again, she responded with the only answer 
that she could give to this person:

	"You would do just fine, Usagi-chan.  Just fine."

	Usagi jumped over to hug the girl opposite from her.  "Thank
you sooooooooo much Ami-chan!  If I pass this, it's all thanks to you!"

	"Not me," Ami lightly said.  "But if you can, try to get a
perfect score -- that would be the icing on the cake."

	Usagi confidently pointed at her blue-haired study partner and
nodded.  "I'll do it!  You'll see!"  She smiled widely, before
something occurred to her.  "Icing on the cake!  Cake!  I made a cake
last night!  Let me get you a slice!  Correction -- let me get *us* a
few slices!"

	Ami placed her hand to her chin in consideration.  "Hmmmm . . .
that *does* sound like a good idea.  Let's let that be my payment for
tonight!"

	"Deal!  I'll be right back!" Usagi giggled as she jumped up and
ran toward the kitchen.

	Ami leaned backward as her friend left.  Long day, she mused.
Her eyes drifted across the contents of Usagi's bedroom.  Dolls.
Pictures of Mamoru.  Pictures of each of the Senshi.  Emergency junk
food.  All present and accounted for.

	Her eyes drifted downward to something she hadn't noticed 
earlier.  A tiny red object slightly protruding from underneath Usagi's
bed.  Could it be?  No, surely not.  And of course she was quite
surprised when she slid it out and it *did* say "Diary" on the cover.

	The young girl shifted her head so she could see out the door
and into the kitchen, with Usagi obviously preparing a much larger
feast than a few simple slices of cake. Whatever sense of uneasiness 
she had was quickly pushed out of the way by curiosity.  Perfect time 
to take a peek, she mused.  Just a little one.  Won't hurt anyone.

	As she opened it up she saw a tangled mess of hiragana with
almost no kanji to be seen.  This, of course, was what she expected,
although it was still somewhat sadly amusing to see it so graphically
displayed.  The rabbit doodles in the margin only accentuated it.

	She flipped from page to page, utilizing her speed reading
skills to a most unexpected end.  Date with Mamoru, shopping with
Minako and Naru, helped Rei at the shrine, surprise birthday party
for Makoto -- oh, almost forgot about that one.

	When she saw it, she almost did not know what she was looking
at.  She needed to reread it to grasp what she saw.

	"What do you want to drink, Ami-chan?" Usagi called from the
kitchen.
	
	"Surprise me!" she called back.  It didn't hit Ami until much
later that this is just what the girl had done.

	"Okay, I'll be there in a few seconds!"

	Knowing that her time was running out, she made a quick
decision.  She carefully tore the page from the diary in such a way
that it appeared that no page had existed at that spot.  Since Usagi
only occasionally dated her entries, it was unlikely that she would
notice this single page missing.  She folded the tiny piece of paper
and stuffed it in her pocket.  She was sliding the diary to its
previous position under the bed just as its owner returned.

	"I hope you like cake, because I've got plenty of it!"  Usagi
entered with food stacked to almost her eye level.

	"I'm going to have to eat my way out of here tonight, aren't I?"
she laughed.

	"If you have to leave, leave in *style*, never forget that, 
Ami-chan!"  She raised her fork to the heavens as if to validate her
point, "Never forget that!"

       * * * * *

	"We've got to get out of here!" Ami shouted.  "The castle is 
collapsing!" This was no brazen statement of hyperbole.  It was 
literally being reduced to its component parts before their very eyes.
Their way into the palace was blocked by a gigantic fallen column.  
Their best way out faced a similar obstruction.

       "Pluto!  We really need to leave now!  The palace is falling 
down on top of us!"  Uranus seemed somewhat more rushed than usual, 
Makoto noted to herself, although she fully agreed with the sentiment.
Haruka ran over to the corner into which she saw Pluto and Usagi 
disappear mere minutes ago.  Mere minutes that now seemed like eons.
There was no one there, only an exit which had eluded observation 
earlier.

       "Pluto!  Where are you, dammit!" shouting down the newly found
corridor at no one in particular.  Uranus finally realized that 
their guide had decided to embark on an unannounced side excursion.

       "Where's Usagi?" Mars shouted in semidesperation, beginning to
lose sight of her comrades through the dust and smoke, which rapidly
began to fill the air before them.

       "She's gone off with Pluto!  Fall back to get her, Rei!"  Minako
called, leading them from the front.  Leading them into a smothering
pall of smoke, but leading them nonetheless.  "Ami!  You're going to
have to take the point!  Your visor's the only thing that can see 
through this mess!"

	"We're cut off!"  Ami studied an unseen map as Minako looked
on concernedly.  "I don't see any easy way out!  We're going to have 
to take a longer route!  The way Usagi and Pluto went is our only 
choice!  Let's go!"  Minako followed Ami into the fearful cloud, with
the remainder close behind.  But just as Minako left, she looked down
to the cloud of debris where the explosion originated from moments ago.
And when she looked carefully, she saw them.  The Sailor Venus of the
Silver Millennium carrying the limp form of the young Princess of the
Moon away from the gate.  This was, of course, the sight that Minako
had, in a sense, longed to see for the past few months.

	She found it strangely unsatisfying.

       "Uranus, can't you blow us an exit out of here or something?"
Makoto, of course, knew the answer to this question.  She just wanted
to see if the girl beside her did.

       The din around them was increasing unimpeded.  It would only
be a short time before the main support structure of the palace snapped,
leaving nothing but a shell behind. 

       "Oh, so you think the mouse is fast enough to take the cheese
and escape in one motion?  No thanks.  Besides, we've got plenty of
time before this castle falls down on us.  At least fifteen minutes."
Uranus nodded smugly as she reevaluated her estimate.  "At least."

       "Four minutes twenty seconds!" Mercury yelled after consulting
her visor-linked minicomputer.  "We've got to find a shorter way out!
My readings say to go straight ahead for about 300 meters and there will
be an exit gate on the right!  I can't make anything out through all
this smoke, though!"  She covered her mouth by habit as she was forced
to finally cough.  "Switching to infrared."  Her eyeball motion 
activated the filters within her visor that allowed her to see the
world through the smoke and dust.  She was wholly unprepared for what
she saw next.

       "Ami!  Don't stop!  You're blocking the path!" the blonde pushed
her.  "We've got to move it!  It doesn't matter if we're going out the
shortest route -- we've just got to move!"

       "There's heat signatures under the rubble."

       <Oh, no.>

       "Some are smaller than the others.  God, they're children and
they're still alive.  We've got four minutes if we can . . ."

       Minako instinctively grabbed for Mercury's fuku and spun her
around pulling her close to her own face.  It was particularly fierce
even in this arena of savagery.  This was in direct contrast to the 
utter calmness by which she addressed the girl, from whom she now felt
the nervous trembling.

       "No.  They are ghosts, gone forever, as are everyone who knew
who they were.  The only thing that matters right now is you, Ami-chan.
They forgive you.  I forgive you.  Forgive yourself and move on."

	And she did.

	Somewhere else in the castle, amid the symphony of destruction,
a young princess was trying to find her way.

       "Left, right, left, right, it looks like I would remember this 
place better than I do."  Usagi was correct, of course.  It *was* her 
own palace, after all.  Despite having a vague feeling of familiarity
with her surroundings, however, she was completely lost.

	Normally, anybody on the palace grounds would have known that
something very bad was happening around them.  The young princess
skipping her way down the path was experiencing irregular circumstances
however.  Namely, as she moved, she was unaware of the thin time bubble
that had formed around her.  Unaware how the noise from the outside
did not penetrate the bubble as the vibrations literally came to a
stop as they ran into a zone of decelerated time.  Unaware how the
pieces of debris falling from above could not penetrate, because the
top layer of atoms literally came to a stop as it hit the barrier,
blocking the vast bulk of the mass from falling further.  Unaware that
her kingdom was unraveling around her.  Unaware that the person who 
protected her was now out of view.

       "Usagi! Where are you?!  We have to go! We've got less than
four minutes!"  The voice echoing down the long hallway was Rei, 
naturally.  Neither Usagi nor Rei would ever know how tricky it was
for the Guardian to allow that shout to pass through the barrier while
still maintaining Usagi's protection.

       "Okay, I'm on my way, Rei-chan!  It's just hard to find my way
through this maze!  Four minutes until what?  Where are you at, anyway?
I can hear you, but can't see you!"

       <*Over here, Princess.*>

       "Through that door?  Are you sure, Rei-chan?  That doesn't look
like the fastest way out!"

       <*Trust me.*>

       "Okay!"

       Unflinchingly she followed her friend's voice.  It could have
been no other way.

       "Usagi!  What's taking so long?"  Rei pushed herself backward
through the increasing piles of rubble.  From the top of one, she had
a vantage point that allowed her to see a young, blonde girl running
blindly through an imposing doorway that she would later reassure
herself had *not* been there earlier.

       It is often said that the perception of time slows in situations
such as this.  It probably wouldn't have eased the girl's mind to know
that the scene she witnessed actually took place nearly a minute
earlier, as the light moving through the time barrier had been delayed
for that period.  For the girl looking on from above, time was not the
only thing that slowed.

       "Usagi!  No!"

       The sound of the gateway to the inner sanctum of the palace
closing violently drew the attention of those left within the main hall.
The door's clap was thunderous, commensurate with its great mass.

       No time to cry, Rei.  Daylight's calling.

       Maybe just a moment.

       * * * * *

       On the other side of the door there was no sound save for the
tired panting of one young blonde girl witnessing her nightmares spring
viciously to life.  Although she was not prone to thinking analytically,
she immediately recognized that it was too quiet for her surroundings,
with no motion save her own.  This must be what happens when she stops
time.  She filed the eerie sensation away for future reference, although
it was not something to be easily forgotten.  And then for the first 
time, she finally discarded her naivety and realized that the utter 
fear that she felt for being in the large, darkened room alone with 
Pluto was now well-placed.

       "You tricked me," Usagi looked directly at the Guardian with
stern eyes.

       "In a manner of speaking, yes.  Beryl's attack has occurred. 
The palace is collapsing.  Everyone is in danger.  We must be swift."

       "What?!" she quickly recoiled from Pluto.  "They're in danger?
Why are you doing this?  We have to get out of here!"

       "We are the Sailor Senshi, but do you know how many rivers you
have crossed this day, my Princess?"

       "Pluto, why are you doing this?"

       "In the days of long ago, they used to say that four rivers ran
though Hades, old Pluto's domain, feeding the all-encompassing Styx."

       "Please, the others are . . ."

       "Acheron, the river of eternal woe; a cursed river which had
neither beginning nor end."

       "They are in danger . . ."

       "Pyriplegethon, the stream of fire; the consumer of men's souls."

       "The palace is falling apart . . ."

       "Kokytos, the river of weeping and wailing; made of all the tears
from the very beginning."

       "They're not going to make it unless . . ."

       "Lethe, the river of forgetfulness and the return to innocence."

       "Pluto, they are going to die!"  The young girl opened her teary 
eyes and found herself gripping the front of Pluto's uniform.  She hadn't
even known that she had committed this horrendous breach of etiquette.
She quickly released her hold from the lapel and backed away in shock.

       "Yes, they will.  We all do eventually.  The only question is
whether we leave this world ever having lived a day as a real person
rather than as a marionette having their strings clipped.  You,
Princess, have already crossed two rivers this day.  One will be
mercifully, or perhaps cruelly, denied to you.  But yet still one
remains.  Are you prepared?"

       The princess sank to her knees, sobbing lightly.  "I don't
understand, I just don't understand."

	Pluto kneeled down to her and gently touched the Ginzuishou
at Usagi's chest.  It let forth a slight glow as her finger brushed
it.

	"Your father, mother, and I were among the first ones.  When I 
took hold of the gift from above, we began a slow dance that would make
us enemies.  He was not an evil man, Usagi.  And yes, what he attempted
to do was blasphemy.  Your mother and I told him as much.  But he was
afraid.  Just afraid to be alone.  Can you see it from his point of 
view?  He viewed immortality as a gift that had to be given or else
he would be forever in solitude.  That is what I meant earlier when I
said the worst thing is to be alone but to not be alone.  An immortal,
no matter how many mortals he is surrounded by, will always be alone as
those around him he loves die.  The White Moon was given immortality,
and the Golden Earth was granted the soul, but ever the twain shall
meet?"

	Pluto watched as Usagi's mind tried so sincerely to comprehend
what she had said.  She felt assurance that someone so genuine was
the key to a new future.  She then looked down to the Ginzuishou and
whispered to the tiny crystal, almost inaudible to Usagi:

	"You owe me little flower.  One day you'll return my precious
thing to me.  And then I'll be whole again.  Until then, you take care
of her."  She took Usagi's hand and placed it in hers.  The child
trembled, as the senshi of time suddenly seemed so motherly, or perhaps
it was that she seemed so human.

	"I'm sorry, but this is where my journey ends and our paths
diverge.  I cannot go back to the present with you.  The Gate beckons."

	The blonde arose with a start.  "No!  We need you to . . ." she
searched for the proper conclusion to her plea, but could not.  "We
need you."

	"Princess, you and the senshi already know what to do, you do not
need my guidance anymore.  I should have said this earlier, but you
are now truly the princess that we all hoped, all dreamed, you would 
be.  And to that end . . ."

       The Guardian formed a subtle yet entirely loving smile as she
took the young girl's hand and assisted her to her feet.  When she
opened her eyes once more, she was in her princess gowns, more
specifically, the gowns that had been selected for her coronation ball
so long ago.  They almost produced a glow of their own.  Or was it the
wearer?  She felt them as they flowed all around her in a gentle dance.

       "In a kingdom of dreams, wishes become very important.  In fact,
some would say that they are the most important thing."

       Usagi noticed that the room had changed as well.  It was now
white on all sides except the top, which was partially blue.  Wait,
now she could see -- the top was the sky with large white clouds,
just out of focus enough to cause confusion.  It stood in
stark contrast to the white nothingness around and below her.

       "This is the Room of the Soul's Wish.  It is the one room in
the castle that was forbidden to all, even the King and Queen.  Those
who enter this room are permitted one wish."

       "What do you---"

       "You see the trick is, however," the Guardian raised her index 
finger, "that you don't say your wish.  The room knows.  It just knows.
And I don't mean one of these 'everybody is happy' wishes.  This wish
is just for you.  Just for you and no one else.  You were supposed to
get your wish on that one night, so long ago, but you didn't."

	"But I don't . . ." Usagi began, "I never made a wish."

       "Don't you remember?" the Guardian laughed with gaiety.  "This 
party was held just for you!  It's wish time!"

              ***

              <Serenity?>

              <Yes, mama?>

              <You know that it is tradition that on the
               Princess' formal coronation day that she is
               granted one wish that the Moon Kingdom is
               required to grant?  The Soul's Wish?>

              <Yes, mama.>

              <Have you come to your decision?>

              <Yes, mama.>

              <And?>

              <I wish he was here, with us.>

              The Queen's eyes close with the weight of
                unfulfilled children's dreams.

              <Someday, my daughter.  Someday.>
                
              ***

       "Princess," the Guardian began slowly, "there is someone
here who would like to see you."

       "What are you talking abo---"

       Stepping from the shadows, the man's regality was evident.  She
was not sure how she had missed his billowing robes earlier.  But the
longer she looked, the man took on the tangibility of a lost memory.
Perhaps real, perhaps not.  He was real to *her*.  He always had been.
And so, for now, they just looked.

       And remembered.

       * * * * *

	When Venus found her, she was kneeling at the door in utter
despair, the flames literally licking her from the side.

       "Rei!  Rei!  Where's Usagi?  We've got to get out of here
right now!"  Minako nearly had to shake the priestess to her senses.
"This place is about to collapse!"

	"She's in there."  Mars pointed to the imposing gateway before
them.  "Pluto took her in there, I'm sure of it.  There's no way
through.  I've tried.  We can't get in."

	Minako quickly looked around to assess the situation.  Her
quick decision was one that her mentor would have been proud of.

	"Come on, Mars, help me" she called downward to her friend, who
looked upward to see a girl already forming a chain of golden hearts
with one hand and holding an imposing stone sword in the other.
"Time for the pretty soldiers to do some damage."

       * * * * *

       They stared at each other across a room and across a millennium,
waiting to see who would speak first.  Waiting to see who could speak.
The palace was disintegrating around them, but it didn't matter.
Nothing else but the cautious smile on the man's face did.

       "I am . . . I am so sorry I missed your party."

       It's him.

       "You are the image of your mother.  She would have been so proud
of you, Serenity."

       Her mind raced futilely with a million things to say.

       "If I were in your position I would have many questions, but our
time is short, and I know for you, at least, there is only one question
that matters right now."

       "Do I even have to ask?  Are you my father?"

	He gave an odd look as he replied.  Almost ashamed, the girl
noticed.

       "If you mean whether I was a person who loved you for what you
were and devoted my entire existence to making yours a little better,
then no, I never was your father.  But we both know that the river of
time can neither be reversed nor altered without eroding the banks as
well.  I so wish I could, but it was never in our stars."

       "You're dead.  You've been dead a thousand years.  Ten thousand
years."

       He gave a slight laugh to her observation.  "You are still so
young, still so much to understand.  In the simplest of terms . . ,"
he moved forward and placed his ethereal hand on her chest, on her
heart.  "If one person carries you here, then you truly do live forever.
I sacrificed all and did not learn that simple truth until the very
end, until it was too late.  My little Serenity, you were carrying me
the entire time, and for that I thank you."

       He moved back, looking upward.  Not at any particular part of
the room, but rather as if reminiscing over past events. 

       "The day that you were born I ordered the grandest celebration
in the history of our kingdom.  The lights were so bright that they 
could be seen from Earth even in daylight.  It was the happiest day 
that I could remember of all those seemingly infinite ones I could 
choose from.  At that moment, I really wanted nothing more than for 
you to live your life out as your name implied, as serene as you lying
within your crib."

	He looked off into the featureless void around them.

       "But I let darkness dwell within me, and spread to those around
me.  Your mother saw what I had become, and attempted to stop me and
protect you, but to no avail.  My foolishness had already doomed
everyone in the paradise around us and the Earth below.  In the end it 
had cost me my own life.  But worse than that, I had placed a curse on 
you, one that might have sacrificed your own beautiful soul for the sake 
of my own base ambitions.  A curse that still lies upon you and those 
around you.  By the time I finally saw the error of my ways, it was too 
late, and our paradise was broken like a reed in the wind."

	She subconsciously moved forward slightly as he drew nearer.

       "Our time here together is short.  The key to freeing yourself
lies within, although it too is laced with a pain that shames me.
But it *is* within you, in a place so bright and so pure that I was
blessed to touch it for just an instant.  Please remember that, Serenity.
Please remember that you never had a father.  Now hurry, precious.  You
are needed elsewhere."

       As she instinctively turned around and allowed her mind to process
the events and words and images racing through it, it is quite
extraordinary that she even felt the hands upon her shoulders.  Through
the dust in her dream, she almost thought she could see the two figures
standing above her on either side.  On one side was the man with whom
she had just spoken, and beside him was someone else.

	She reached up to touch the face of the ghostly figure above her.

	"Mother . . . ."

       * * * * *

	The hand touched Rei's face with a gentleness that could not be
fully explained by the girl's silken gloves.  Rei involuntarily paused
for a moment to experience it.

	"Usagi.  We have to go."  Rei didn't yell, didn't scream, didn't
chastise.  Only allowed the young princess to enjoy the afterglow of
whatever moment she and Minako had just interrupted.

	Minako stood in the ruins of the vast door coughing, and 
surveying the debris which surrounded the rather imposing hole she and
Rei had just created, as well as her own uniform, which was now tattered.
"I guess Artemis was right."  She viewed the sword in her right hand,
itself a relic of the Silver Millennium and reputed to be able to cleave
through the purest diamond.  "You just need the right key."  She further
peered in to see the magnificent room she had just desecrated and
sighed a bit of relief.  "I'm glad this is just a dream.  I don't think
I could pay for this."

	"Let's go, Usagi-chan."  Rei slowly assisted the girl to her 
feet.  "It's time to go.  Let's go."

	The Princess of the Moon's arms were draped across her friends'
shoulders in support as they left.

       * * * * *

	"Ami!  Where are they?  Where are they?"  Makoto had been the
first to partially emerge from the cauldron that was the White Moon 
Kingdom about to implode upon itself.

	"I can't get any readings!  It's no good!" Ami became ever more
distressed at the possibility that her technology was failing her at the
worst possible moment.  Even in this state, however, her mind was still
acute enough to notice the curiosity of a mechanical failure in a *dream*.
Quite inconvenient indeed.

	Haruka and Michiru had contented themselves with searching for a
quicker route of egress, to no success.  "Ami, I think it's time to make
our graceful exit, so if you could simply point us in the right 
direction, that would make you just about our favorite person."  Haruka
even managed to get a little laugh in after saying that, Michiru noted.
She's progressing nicely.

	Ami studied her readout carefully, and then forcefully extended
her arm in the direction of two large columns that appeared to be
sculpted to resemble two classical goddesses.  If Michiru and Haruka
had stopped to notice the fine details, they would have been somewhat
surprised to note the noncoincidental similarity to the two of them.
They quickly leapt in that direction before Ami even called out the 
distance.

	"15 meters!  We're almost clear!"  It was at this point that
Ami noticed that only half of the group was present.   She turned
around to look back into the destruction only to see that Makoto
had already done the same.

	"They're back there, aren't they?"  Makoto already knew the
answer to this question, however.

	"I'm not getting any readings.  They could be anywhere.
Anywhere."

	Makoto looked for one more moment into the storm of falling
pieces from all sides, toward a point which she judged to be where
they had just escaped from.  The explosions in the background were
building to a crescendo.  No more than one minute left.

	"Are you ready?" Makoto looked over to Ami.

	"Yes.  Yes, I am."

	Ami looked into the destruction.  So this is what a dream
unraveling looks like.  She filed the image away so that she
could use it for future artistic inspiration.  Assuming they had a
future.
	
	"Hurry!  What's taking so long?" Michiru yelled from the space
outside the opening.   The opening itself was much smaller than
Ami had let on, only large enough for two or three people to exit at
once.  Michiru allowed a moment of amazement that Ami was able to
find such a tiny one-note portal in the surrounding symphony of 
destruction.  "The whole palace is about to collapse!"

	Haruka was even more surprised as she whipped around to
look back down through the opening with wide eyes.  "What's going on?
Hurry up!"  Her eyes expected to find a stream of her friends
emerging from a rapidly dying nightmare.  What her eyes found instead
was something totally different.

	On a platform twenty feet below, were two young girls, one 
dressed in blue, one dressed in green, holding hands, looking back 
into the fire.  They both were perfectly calm, almost serenely calm.
And somehow their faint voices were able to be heard above the
deafening din surrounding them.

	"We have to go now."

	"There's someone who needs us."

	Uranus was not so easily convinced.  "Michiru!  Hold on --
we're going bac----"

	The explosion which interrupted her sentence threw her and her
companion back at least ten meters.  Upon regaining adequate use
of their senses, they found that the exit had been sealed by
rubble, and worse, the eruption was so intense that neither were able
to ascertain where the opening had actually been.

	"What do we do, Michiru?  What do we do?!"

	As her eyes scanned back and forth across the rubble for any
sign of life, she suddenly felt her rapidly materializing fears hitting
her as a physical blow.

	"I don't know."

       * * * * *

[ Crystal Tokyo ]

       Today's Growing-Up Day.

       The Guardian opened her eyes and looked upon Crystal Tokyo.
The spires around her were calling to the heavens, challenging nature,
appearing almost living themselves.  Were they moving?  Difficult to
guess.  Almost like a painting in motion.

	It was a world of perfect clarity that she had seen built with
her own eyes.

       Built with love so long ago.  So cold.

       They chimed in unison.  Sympathetic vibration or magic?  It
mattered little at this point, for she knew what they were *really*
doing:  they were singing -- singing an announcement to the world in
their own ancient verse and song.

       A new birth within the Royal Palace.  A new mother to her people.
The people are happy; the people cheer. She would rule until there was
another birth.

       And then another.  The people would be happy; the people would
cheer.

       The *children* would be happy.  They will never grow up.  They
will never be given a chance.  A flower doesn't know it's in a pot,
instead of free in the wild.  Nor will these children know.

       Living in a utopia was never free and never will be, she
thought to herself.  Oh, the price was very subtle indeed, and probably
mattered little to the current generation, having been forgotten ages
before.  But a very real price, nonetheless.

	A bitter curse, this immortality.

       Certain types of fish must keep swimming continuously in order
to survive.  Humanity, in this way, is not that much different.  If
it does not keep moving forward, it dies, if only in spirit, which is
the only real death that matters.  But why should a race that already
has all, that ostensibly is smothered with love and needs nothing, why
should it want more?  Her answer to herself was quick.

       Because that is who we are, the philosophers would have said.
To take away our passion, by force or by utopian seduction, would be
our undoing.  An evolutionary dead-end, the ancient biologists and
sociologists would have called it.  A sterile term for a sterile
reality.

       "Nothing vast enters the world of mortals without a curse," 
Sophocles had told her in a drunken stupor.

       The result of the curse upon Serenity and her heirs?
Immortality lacking soul.  So they quest to find the soul, never
understanding that the true discovery is in the journey itself.  

       But the children would be happy.  And they would never know
otherwise.

       Unless . . .

       If I do go back and change the past, then they will blossom.

	Yes, that's it.  If I go back and prevent this from happening
in the first place.  Prevent the White Moon King's plan from coming
to fruition.  Prevent those girls from so long ago doing what they
*thought* was right.

       And I won't even have remembered this timeline.  A paradox.
What a silly word.  Didn't those physicists and philosophers have any
rudimentary concept of infinite divergent realities?  What utter
contemptuousness of the majesty of the universe to insist that a
timeline could not accommodate a simple . . . alteration.  It would be
no problem at all.

       And to do it, she thought, all I need to is go back -- in a
sense.

       Why not now?  At this very moment?

       Indeed, why not?

	I will.

       She could feel the crystal civilization around her dissipate
and fall off into a single memory.  To watch a time line shift is not
a sight for mortal eyes.  To watch a paradise fade into wisps is not
suited for the human heart.  To know that it is your own doing breaks
the fragile soul, no matter how old.

       The Guardian opened her eyes and viewed the wilderness.  Crystal
Tokyo gone -- no -- never been.  It's all just flowers now.  Now the
children can finally get about to their business.

       Today's Growing-Up Day.

       * * * * *

       The cracking sound of the royal palace's falling buttresses in
the distance raced past the duo standing on the edge of the lunar
landscape, looking in at the small piece of heaven bounded on all sides
by an eternally silent hell as it crumbled into memories.  Michiru, who 
had long since closed her eyes, looked outward still.

	"They will emerge.  I'm sure of it."

	"I'm sure of it too."

	Michiru studied the scene deeply, trying to compare the
horrific sight before her to anything she had seen in the entire body
of western and eastern art with which she was so familiar.  It was a
quick conclusion that there was no parallel.

	And out of the dust, they saw something.  At first, it was a
speck of light in the dark cloud, a brilliant speck that gradually
resolved into five of the same.  And as their eyes focused, they
were witness to a most remarkable sight.

	And before them were five young ladies in a line, holding hands
and walking out of the fire.  And they were all dressed as princesses.

	"Fairy tale ending?" Michiru chuckled as she looked up to Haruka.

	"Silly.  You know I don't believe in fairy tales."  She laughed
in return.  "Or maybe that's just because I'm not well-read enough,
unlike my study companion.  I'm a very simple person, you know."

	"Oh, spare me."  The green-haired beauty put her hand to her
brow in a pleasant mix of joy, amusement, and exasperation.  "Here,"
she extended her other hand toward Haruka, "help me up.  They'll be 
here in a couple of minutes and I certainly can't be seen sitting 
down on the job."

	The larger of the two was happy to oblige.  "You know, Michiru,
if you had brought your violin, you could have fiddled while Rome
burned, just like Nero."

	She grunted slightly as she regained her full posture. "Never
happened.  Common mistake.  And besides, in the end it was probably a
good thing because a new city was built upon the ashes of the old."

	They both watched as their Princess neared.  Michiru became
somewhat more placid and introspective at the sight.

       "Before Pluto left, she mentioned the colors that she spoke of 
earlier, the argument between the black and white fruit.  You do realize
now that she was talking about good and evil, don't you?"

       All too well.  All too late.

       "They did not know.  They were just children in any sense of the
word.  Black, white.  Good, evil.  They did not know the difference.
For all their good intentions, whoever gave us the gift forgot to give
us the most important gift of all, for they probably intended us to
discover it ourselves, to make us more human."

       "And what gift was that?" Haruka pondered aloud.

       "The gift of gray."

	Michiru peered one more time at the rapidly fading city of
dreams, and then downward to the princesses, who were rapidly
making their way up the embankment to reach them.

       "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning.
For thou has said in thine heart, I will ascend to heaven, I will exalt 
my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the 
congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights 
of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought 
down...."

	Here she is.  Let's welcome her back.



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


	"Usagi!  Usagi, wake up!"

	<What?  Is that Luna's voice?  No.  Can't be.  Back to sleepytime
dreamland.  Come here bunnies.  Oh, is that giant lollypop for me?  Why
thank you, yes I will have some!  Seconds, as a matter of fact!>

	"Usagi!  Wake up!  You overslept!  You're late for school!"

	<Oh, that's odd.  I could have sworn I heard Luna say . . .>

	.

	.

	.

	.

	"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"  The young blonde snapped awake in an instant.
"I'm late!  Late, late, late!"

	When she finally opened her eyes she noticed something that
really should not have been in her bedroom.  Namely, the faces of
six girls and two cats, all huddled around her.

	"Er, hello?"  She let a little, nervous giggle escape.  "Uh, 
what's up?"

	"See, I *told* you that would get her up.  *You* owe me *two* 
fish dinners, Artemis.  Two!  One for her being the last one to awaken, 
and one for me being able to get her up."  Luna laughed in ultimate 
satisfaction.

	"Peh," the white cat growled.  "A heavier sleeper than Minako.
Absolutely unbelievable."

	"You watch it, fuzzball!" Minako slapped him on his hindquarters.
"I've got stuff on you -- and don't you forget it!"

	"I don't mean to interrupt or anything, but where am I?" Usagi
still had no clue.  Back to normality.

	"You mean you don't remember?" Rei helped her to a sitting
position.

       * * * * *

	By the time Mercury and Jupiter finally found Mars, Venus, and
the Princess huddling in a crevice formed by a newly fallen column, 
their moods were already deteriorating.

	"That was the last exit.  It's blocked," Ami announced after
studying the visor connected to her minicomputer.

	"Looks like there's no way out now," Makoto viewed the palace,
entering its final death throws.  She turned to her junior standing
beside.  "So, Ami-chan, what's the worst that can happen?"

	"Remember how Pluto said we were never in any real danger when
we were dealing with Saturn and that comet?  My guess is after this 
castle falls down on top of us, we'll wake up with a really bad 
headache."  She struggled to regain her balance as a large explosion
in the distance shook their position.  "Hopefully."  Makoto didn't 
like that last qualification.  She also didn't like the sight of Ami
finally deactivating her visor, a sign that her friend was now resigned
to her fate.

	"Yeah, we're in a pinch," Minako grunted as she threw a medium-
sized rock to the side that was obstructing the access route allowing
the Senshi to rejoin.  "But we've been in worse."  She didn't like to
believe in the possibility of a hopeless battle or an inescapable
situation, yet that is precisely what she now faced.  "Not much worse,
but still . . . "

	Rei draped her arm around the Princess, still dazed by her
experience moments earlier, to calm her.  "Don't worry Usagi-chan -- 
we're with you.  It will all be over soon now.  Just close your eyes."
She stroked her hair gently as her friends gathered around her.  "Just
close your eyes."

	<*Now hurry, precious.  You are needed elsewhere.*>

	As the ceiling finally fell, they all flinched and awaited the
end.  What they heard instead was the sound of a huge mass hitting
a protective barrier.  And when they opened their eyes they saw a
Princess, in the middle of her own Kingdom, holding her hand against
a crystalline flower near her heart that was now glowing with a light
each of them had seen previously, with her other hand outstretched to
them and a profoundly determined look on her face:

	"I don't care if we're in a dream or not . . . we're walking
out of here together.  That I promise.  Let's go."

       * * * * *

	"You mean you really don't remember?" Rei reiterated her question
to her friend.

	"Afraid not!" Usagi's spirits raised as she adjusted her
odango into place.

	"We're in Pluto's house," Minako noted.  "We never left."

	"Oh yeah," she suddenly became more solemn.  "Then all of 
that -- all of what we saw ---"

	"Real." Ami noted.  "As real as any dream is, at least."

	As she finally rose to a standing position, she did a quick
count.  One, two, three, four, five, six, wait a minute.

	"Where's Setsuna?"  She scanned further, to no avail.

	"We don't know," Michiru replied.  "When we all woke up, she
was gone."

	"And all the crystals were like this," Artemis pointed to a
representative one on the floor -- cracked in half and darkened, not
unlike a lightbulb that had reached the end of its lifespan.  "I guess
that's the end of them."

	"Good," Minako said with satisfaction.  "I'll enjoy tossing
those things in the trash.  They've been nothing but trouble."  She
then tensed somewhat surprisedly as she felt Ami lay her head on
Minako's shoulder from behind:

	"That," she sighed, "is an understatement for the ages."

	"You were only out for a few seconds," Luna observed from
below.  There was a bright flash, and you were on the floor.  
Artemis and I didn't notice it at first, but when we looked again,
Pluto was . . . not here.  Everybody started waking up within a
minute.  Of course, you've been asleep for the past five minutes, 
Usagi."

	"Oh," she answered in a somewhat embarrassed tone. "Sorry."
She then looked over to the shrine maiden propping her up and
reassumed a serious demeanor:

	"Rei-chan, I just have one question.  One burning question
that I *have* to know.  Before all of this is over.  One thing I 
just don't understand."

	"Yes, Usagi-chan?" She looked over with her gentlest gaze.

	"Am I going to get to go to the ice cream parlor today or not?
'Cause I've been waiting alllllll day long!"

	"What?!  We took you earlier this evening!  Are you telling
me you remember all of that Silver Millennium stuff, but you don't
remember that?!  That monstrosity of an ice cream sundae you ate?!"
Rei's facial color was rapidly beginning to match that once displayed
by her tiny red crystal.  "You big, whiny, crybaby liar!"

	"I'll take that as a 'yes'!  Let's go!"

	


                                 * * *
                     -----------------------------
                     The Midnight Crossing - Lêthê
                     -----------------------------
                                 * * *

[ One week later ]


       [ . . . although Shitozume denied further allegations of
insider trading.  And finally, repeating the top story in Metropolitan
news today, the giving season started early as a series of anonymous 
donations totaling *125 billion yen* were registered at Tokyo
area charities since early this week. If this indeed came from one 
person, it would officially set a new record for philanthropy in this 
country.  Reports have also been coming in from around the globe of 
unusual giving within the last few days.  Sources within the United 
Nations who speak on assurance on anonymity have unofficially estimated
a net transfer of 4.7 trillion yen from multiple anonymous accounts to
the coffers of a variety of agencies, including the U.N. itself.  When
asked about the donations earlier today in New York, the Secretary
General had little to say other than that he needed to be fully briefed 
upon the situation.  When asked about the rumor that the main U.N. 
donation to UNICEF came with a note stating that the gift was "for the 
children of a new age," the Secretary-General had no comment.  That's
all for tonight, but be sure to tune in to our morning newscast for 
video from today's Ginza bank robbery attempt that was stopped by the 
amazing reappearance of Sailor V.  Good night everybody.]


       As she walked down the street, she didn't look where she was
going.  She didn't care.  Her walking companion was considerably less
preoccupied: 

       "You know, as many times as I have seen it, I will never tire
of a walk through the city like this.  You always see something new.
Perhaps it's an old friend, or their offspring ten generations down.
In the end, their names change, but the looks on their faces as they
live their lives, they're still the same as in the beginning."  Her
eyes knowingly shifted over to the young girl beside her.  "Remember
that, Ami."

	She was about to begin her self-imposed exile, but there was
one final conversation that she needed to have.

       "What is it like for you, Setsuna?  I mean, what is it *really*
like?  Living essentially forever, seeing everything you know, 
everything you love, die and be reborn again, countless times?"

       "Hmmmmm. . . ," the Guardian gazed upward in genuine puzzlement.
"Well, it's not heaven," she looked around with a naughty smile,
"but it's not hell, either."

       "From what we saw, Crystal Tokyo seemed to be a paradise on
earth, Setsuna.  It's hard to believe that it would be better for
humanity in some abstract sense for it all to pass away and never be 
born.  That humans are better off on their own."

       "I once read that immortality is not a gift. Rather, immortality 
is an achievement and only those who strive mightily shall possess it."

	Ami nodded as Setsuna proceeded:

       "The gift of the White Moon was immortality.  That is nothing
to be laughed at.  Serenity -- Usagi, with her heart would have given
it to them, the people of this world, without hesitation.  But in a
way it wouldn't be a gift at all.  You could give a bunny rabbit one of
the paintings from my study, but neither she nor her descendants for
millions of years would truly appreciate it and see it for what it is.
Maybe if we were really lucky she would use it as a wall or something to
store her supply of carrots in or whatever, but appreciate?  I think not.  
It is not enough to give a gift, but rather to give an appropriate gift."

	"But then again," she continued, "I seem to have a bad habit of
underestimating rabbits, especially when they're from the moon."  The
smile that coincided between Ami and Setsuna was rare and refreshing.  
"Mankind will receive this particular gift when it is time.  Just keep
your eyes on Usagi.  She's carrying it with her, you know."

       "It's true what they say about time devouring its own children,
isn't it?"  Ami avoided eye contact on this question.

       "I am sorry you had to see it firsthand."  She let forth an
almost inaudible sigh before placing her hand upon Ami's shoulder:

       "I am afraid this will be the last time I'll be privileged to
call upon you for a while, Ami-chan.  Please keep out little
conversation today secret.  It is best if they think that I am really
dead this time.  For all intents and purposes, I suppose I will be.
Preparation.  For that day I spoke of.  In case something happens that
I won't be able to be on the other side with you, let me just say that,
even though I'm not a Sailor Senshi in the truest sense of the word, I
do consider you to be my dear little sister."

       "Thank you, Setsuna.  I feel the same way.  But there's one thing
I need to ask you."

       "Please.  From the beginning of time to the end, you have but
to ask."

       "Why did you tell them that you instructed me to pretend to 
destroy the crystals and hide all the information surrounding them?
The only time you came to visit me, it was for tea, *after* I had
supposedly destroyed the crystals, right before I was about to break
down and tell them.  *That's* when you asked me to delay for a little
while.  You know that I saw everything that took place in the Silver 
Millennium through my visions.  And that I saw something of the future
as well.  And you know that I was doing it all to protect Usagi from 
her past as well as Minako from her future, as sisters do."

       "Ami-chan?"

       "Yes?"

       "I think you just answered your own question."

       She finally joined in her elder's smile.  She trembled as she
realized that this was the first *real* smile she had formed since the
troubles began.

       "Yes," she giggled, "I suppose I did."

       "That's the spirit.  Keep that smile up, for we are about to
take a walk in the clouds."

       * * * * *

	"More please!"  The blonde reached forward her empty bowl in
an expectant fashion.

	Shingo just stared incredulously.  He had seen the sight
countless times before, but it was just not one of those things
you easily accustomed yourself to seeing on a daily basis.

	"Geez, sis," he started, "you should just tattoo that on your
forehead for identification or something:  'More Please -- The Human 
Garbage Disposal!'"

	Usagi just peered over with a disaffected look.  "Perhaps when
you are older, you will learn to enjoy the finer things in life --
like this third bowl of rice!" which she so happily received from her
mother.

	"Yeah, right.  Why don't you at least try to show a little
more tact?  Why can't you be cool like Sailor Moon?  It wouldn't
hurt you to at least *try*," the boy shifted backwards in his seat,
frustrated.

	Shingo knew he was in trouble when he saw her going through
the trouble of actually putting down her chopsticks to address him:

	"First of all," she began, "I am cooler than Sailor Moon
ever *thought* about being, and second," she leaned across the
table toward him and her eyes narrowed to slits, "you should
really stop getting your new vocabulary from shoujo manga.  It's 
really quite childish."

	Busted.  Usagi returned to her seat with an evil smile as
she watched her little brother squirm.

	Of course, this is what Tsukino Ikuko and Tsukino Kenji were
used to on a regular basis at the Tsukino family dinner table, and 
they wouldn't have it any other way.  They really were proud of their 
children, on many different levels.

	"Mom, would you mind if asked you a question?  Dad too.  I'll
warn you in advance it's a little on the strange side, but I'm
doing a little research for a school paper." Usagi asked it somewhat
cautiously, as if testing the waters.

	While her father just nodded in the affirmative, her mother
replied with a hum as she placed the remainder of the day's rice in
storage.

	"Say, if you found out that there was a mixup at the hospital
when I was born, and it turned out I wasn't your real daughter.
Would you still love me?"

	"That's unlikely," Kenji laughed.  "The mixup, that is.  When 
you were born, I didn't take my eyes off you, from the moment the 
doctors slapped the life into you, to the moment the nurses dropped you
on your head, to the moment they placed you in the nursery.  My eyes 
were always on you.  You couldn't have been switched at birth."

	Usagi stared for a moment, uncertain what to say.  She looked
at her father with the most serious face she could give:  "They dropped 
me on my head?"

	Shingo chimed in, "That explains a lot, don't it?"

	Ikuko gently interjected, "They didn't drop your big sister on
her head, Shingo.  Your father's having a little bit of fun at her
expense."  His poker face had broken and he had already started
chuckling at this point.

	"Usagi," she continued, "even though that's a very odd question,
you should already know the answer.  It wouldn't change one thing.
Not one.  We'd still love you, or Shingo, just the same.  Now I think
the important question would be, if that did happen, and you found out
you had another set of parents out there, would you love *us* any less?"

	"Of course not," her answer was instant.  "But could I love those
other parents, the ones I didn't know, the ones I only just met?"

	Ikuko gradually worked her way behind her husband and placed her
arms around his neck to hug him as she answered:  "You see, Usagi, that's 
the funny thing about love.  It's not like money, or air, or water.  With
love, there can be an infinite amount.  You can make it up out of thin
air if it needs be.  You can still love us the same amount, but then
create a new love for someone else, and the love you have for your parents
doesn't go down -- it's just added on to what you already have.  It's
only limited by how big your heart is.  And that's why it's so special.  
Right, darling?" she whispered into her husband's ear.

	"It's the truth.  That's for sure," he began to answer.
"Hopefully someday you'll meet someone special so you can see how
love can be created from nothing.  It's really quite a miracle."

	"I understand," she began to smile widely in realization.  "I 
understand completely!"

	"That's great," her father praised her, "but there's one other
thing you need to understand, Usagi."

	"What's that?"

	"You're late for the party at Minako's house.  You told us you
needed to be there by six, and it's already five-fifty."

	"AAAHHHHHHH . . . I'm late!" said for the second time in as many
days. See you mom -- dad -- Shingo!" and in a blinding whirlwind of 
motion, she gathered her purse, her gift for Minako, and somehow 
managed to stuff the last piece of food remaining into her mouth before
shooting out the door with a semi-understandable "See ya later!"

	Shingo looked ahead in awe.  "What . . . just . . . happened?"

	"The six o'clock train just left the station, Shingo," his father
grinned.  "Do try to pay attention."  He then thought for an instant and
continued.  "Why don't you compliment your sister sometimes?  You know,
she might surprise you."

	"Usagi?" he looked almost shocked at the suggestion.  "Well,
I suppose she *does* have *some* good points.  She manages to keep that
cat of hers alive, and somehow she keeps those odango in place all day."

	"Shin-goooo . . ." Ikuko pushed, knowing that his true feelings
were a little more complex.

	"Well, alright," he continued.  "She *can* be cool sometimes,"
he took another large bite of rice to seemingly remedy the blasphemy
he had just spoken and then crossed his arms in defiance.  "But she's 
no Sailor Moon, that's for sure."

       * * * * *

	Usagi arrived at Minako's house, somehow, on time.  It truly
was a festive mood.

	"Might as well have a good time," Minako laughed.  "I don't
usually have going away parties that aren't really going away."

	And, of course, she wouldn't really be 'going away'.  Minako,
that is.  Sailor Venus would be leaving them, they reminded themselves,
and there was a huge difference there.

	Rei handed Usagi a tube of icing and ushered her over to the
table, where a blank cake awaited.  "It's your job, Usagi," she began,
"to put a message on there from all of us.  Think well on this one.
We'll be going to the back for just a moment so try to have it done
when we return."

	"Understood, sir!" she gave a little military salute, which
almost prompted Rei to thumb her nose at the princess.  But again,
she controlled her demeanor, partly upon remembering that her personal
relationship with Usagi was one of those things that would *not* change
after their memories were taken.

	As Rei moved back to Minako's bedroom, she already had an
inkling of what the topic to be discussed within was.  The click of
the door closing behind her was Ami's cue to begin.

       "What is said here today never goes beyond these walls."  The 
other three girls present nodded in agreement to Ami's preface.

       "Since we'll all have our memories of the Senshi erased in the
next few weeks, I think that the problem will take care of itself,"
Makoto noted with an amused sigh.

       "No, this is too delicate.  If Usagi found out that we know
what we do, it would kill her.  Literally."

	From her pocket she withdrew a small piece of paper which she
proceeded to unfold and view with a pained look.  "This is what I told
you about.  It didn't make any sense until we went back and saw . . . "
she tried to avoid saying the word directly, "*it*."  She didn't really
have to -- the nods of the other girls indicated that they all knew
to the experience they had shared a week previously.

	"Everyone listen closely, I don't think I can repeat it."  Ami
spoke softly as she began her recitation of the page:

             "Diary -- the same dream again.  I am crying
              as I open the doors.  My friend pulls at my
              side but I do not hear her voice, only the
              muffled voice on the other side.  When I do
              open the doors, he is there smiling, but it
              is not who I expected.  As the advancing
              forces strike from behind, the last thing
              he sees before the end was my disappointed
              face, and the last thing that I see is his
              tear from seeing my face, which he so loved
              yet was betrayed by in the end.  Despite that
              he is . . . he is . . ."

       "Ami-chan, you don't have to . . ."

       "No, let me finish."

             "Despite that, he is a man I still love."

       "We don't know who it was, either the Prince she loved or the
father she never knew.  But whoever it was, when Princess Serenity
opened that gate expecting one person, and finding the other, that 
look of disappointment on her face was the last thing that he ever
saw in that life.  And her last sight was his realization of that fact.
And then the Silver Millennium ended."  Ami finally looked up, choosing
Makoto's eyes to lock onto.  "That is a tragedy beyond tragedy."

       All eyes drifted to the closed door, knowing the pure heart that
was on the other side was doing her best to place decorations on Minako's
cake.  More than one present had already begun silent sobbing.  As Ami
folded the paper, she looked over to Rei, whose fingers were cradling
her closed eyes.  The miko kept those eyes, that had already revealed
too much pain, closed, as she made her final statement.

       "Let this be the end of it.  Forever."

       "Ami?"  Minako continued to look downward.

       "Yes?"

       "You know, you never told me that day which one you trusted
more -- your mind or your heart."

       The demure young lady in one motion rose, walked over to her
friend, and placed her own mouth to the blonde's ear, touching cheeks
in the process, and whispered her secret.

       Minako finally laughed.  It was one of those laughs that express
sadness and joy all at once.  She kept laughing and she raised a finger
to her eye to wipe away the first tear that she had actually welcomed in
a long, long time.

       "I never thought otherwise."

       * * * * *

       "It's like a temporary goodbye, right?" Usagi asked with
innocent expectation.

       Luna stared back, pained that Usagi had not yet realized what
the others had.  Usagi had excused herself from the party activities
to reassure herself to Luna.  I shouldn't tell her, she thought, but
I will.  She deserves that much.

       "For you four, yes.  We already know that the memory erasure can
be selective.  Just to remove those parts that deal with the Sailor
Senshi.  That will not be difficult at all.  Minako will still remember
each of you since you were deep friends outside the Senshi sense, but,
for example, ask her how she met you and she won't be able to tell you.
Knowing her, however, she'll just laugh it off and forget about it.
Other than her memories of the Silver Millennium and of our lives as the
Sailor Senshi, everything else will be just like it always has."

       "Well then, what's the problem?"

       "When the memories are erased, there are other certain . . .
things . . . that must go too."

       "Artemis . . ." Usagi's eyes widened as she said it.

       "Well, me too for that matter.  It's too dangerous for her to
retain memories of us -- they might unlock the rest.  It's fine that
he and I can talk to you.  But in order to protect us, this will be the
last time that Minako will ever see him as he really is."

	Usagi ate her cake over the next ten minutes with this thought
bearing deeply upon her.  Her eyes shifted between Minako and Artemis,
each seeming to be having the time of their lives.  She still had
the fork in her mouth as the two cats walked by, the white one wearing
a little conical party hat:

	"I don't think I've ever had a party before!  This is
outstanding!"

	Luna playfully bumped him from the side for his remark.  "It's 
not for *you*, Artemis.  It's for Minako."

	"Beggars can't be choosers," he laughed as they passed the girl
and something occurred to him.  "Luna, go on ahead.  I'll be there in
a minute."  Artemis pulled himself up to the girl, who somewhat
cautiously watched him approach.  But before he did, he announced to
those assembled that it would be a matter of minutes before Minako's
parents arrived home and therefore the real reason why they were here
needed to proceed.

	"It's time."

       "Usagi, may I speak with you for a moment?"  Artemis was speaking
more softly than she could remember him ever doing so before.  She left
the group to converse with him in private.  While they did, Minako
exchanged hugs with each one present, restraining tears, sobs, and
whatever else emotion brought.

       "Usagi, I was wondering if you would do something for me.  If
you can't, I'll ask one of the others, but I thought that you would be
best for this.  And I've already asked Ami for one big favor today."

       "Anything."  She meant it as literally as she had ever 
remembered.

       "It's nothing big, I just wanted you to tell her something after
this is all over, when she's forgotten who she is.  There's something
I wanted her to know."

       She nodded her head.  He slowly whispered his request and her
heart broke instantly.  She didn't know what to say.  She simply leaned
forward and hugged the small animal.

       Artemis rose and began his long walk to her bedroom, where she
was waiting.  Usagi began to follow, but was blocked by the arm of a
friend.  Rei didn't say anything, but rather sadly shook her head
in the negative, indicating to Usagi that this moment was not for them.

       Instead, she slowly stepped to Ami, who was sitting by herself
on an adjacent sofa, lost in her own thoughts.  Sitting down beside of
her finally broke her sad concentration.

       "Ami-chan?  You know what you told me a couple of months ago,
about the past, future, and present?"

       "Yeah?"

       "I think I finally understand now."

       The door made a slight sound as it closed.

       * * * * *

       "Michiru."

       "Mmmmmmm?"

       "Have you thought about the possibility that Pluto is wrong?"

       "Oh, I'm sure she's wrong a lot.  For example, that ensemble she
wore to dinner that night was ghastly."

       "You know . . . what if--"

       "It won't happen, Haruka.  Pluto said that only memories relating
to our time in the Senshi will be erased.  What's left over --- what we
have together will remain untouched.  Not like any magic could affect
that anyway . . ."

       "Why, Michiru!  Are you going soft on me in your old age?"

       "Most certainly not!  Sometimes I think you like to pick on
*me*, Haruka."

       "Excuse me?  I think you've got your roles reversed.  Your mind
*is* getting addled by old age."

       "Ah, lovely, silken denial.  The last refuge of teenage
decadence."

       "I thought I told you once that I'd never listen to that kind
of talk outside the bedro-----," Haruka gently whined for a moment
before coming to realization of her current surroundings and the utter
mootness of her point.  "Never mind."

       "Besides, since I go first, even if I do lose my memories of
you, you'll have a couple of weeks to introduce yourself to me and
display your feminine charm.  Better pay attention to that last part,
when we meet for the first time again," Michiru sighed.

       "Do you think we should have gone to Minako's party?"

       "We've already said what we wanted to say to her.  We've only
known her a little while, at least in this lifetime.  It's best that
this time be spent with her closest friends."

       "You're probably right.  You know, of all of us, I think she's
the only one who really, I mean really, enjoys being a Sailor Senshi.
She was a hero by herself, on her own, before any of us even discovered
what we really were," Haruka noted with detectable admiration.

       "And now, she'll lead us across Lethe.  A quite remarkable girl."

       "Did you listen to the tape I made for you?" Michiru shifted.

       "Gounod and Bach's 'Ave Maria'.  I've never heard it played so
elegantly on the violin.  You know that's one of my favorites, so why did
you wait until now to play it for me?  And why did you write 'Notice -
To be used in practice' on it?"

       "Well, I happen to know that you practice that piece fairly
often on the piano and it just occurred to me that if . . . if what you
said earlier was true -- just in case she was wrong or lying to us,
then when you practiced and I wasn't there, then . . . then at least 
our music would be together."

	They both stared off silently for a moment.

       "I think it would be fitting to create some music right now."

       "But Michiru, our instruments are at the other place."

       "Mmmmmm?  Who said anything about instruments?"

       "Remind me someday never to wake up from all of this."

       * * * * *

[ An Age Ahead ]

       She stared across the Kanto Plain in the moments before dawn, 
marveling in its purity.  Just an endless horizon of flowers now, as
far as the eye could see.  There was a herd of deer grazing silently
in the distance and, if she had listened closely, she would have heard
the family of pandas behind her.

       She smiled the last smile.  Job done.

       All the children have moved on into the light.  All that's left
are the birds and puppies and trees and fish, forever free at last.

       She sighed.  It's more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed.
This was the way it was meant to be.  Our last fleeting stains upon 
this world, this garden, have been removed and it begins its renewal in
a few moments.  I believe it has been worth the time.

       As she levitated above the ground, careful not to be the last
of our kind to violate it, she thought of the last one to leave, a mere
matter of moments earlier.  The child had just finished a final romp
in the fields with her friends, who had since departed.  She lingered
behind, taking a last look, as children often do when they eventually
leave their home.

       She too had been breathless at this sight.  We say breathless
although that would not be the technically correct term.  The current
race had gone beyond such trivialities.  Breathing, eating, speaking.
All that was left was being and love, which was really all they needed
in the first place.

       Their golden language was as a painting brought to life:

       "You knew my family, untold generations ago," she thought.

       "Yes, Queen Serenity."

       "No, not Queen.  We are all the same now."

       "Yes, I can see that now."

       "We are leaving now.  Are you staying behind as caretaker?"

       "No, I believe this earth has a unique talent of tending to
itself."

       "Do you think they will remember us?  The wind and rain and
plants and animals?"

       "Hopefully not.  No more than our own primal memories of the 
titans before us."

       Both stood silent for a moment.  A small glow materialized 
between them and slowly moved toward the older of the two.

       The young child, perhaps ten thousand years old, looked at it
while she spoke:  "It has been in our possession forever, but where
we go, we will not need it.  It has been passed down through my family
for countless millennia with the legend that you would know what to do 
with it when the time came."

       "Yes."  She held her hand forward and took it into her 
possession.  They both stared at the minuscule item as its gentle glow
subsided.

       "The apple.  We reach for it do we not?  We have reached for it
from the very beginning."

       "Every moment of every day of our lives.  And it was only this
morning that we realized that we never really hungered at all."

       "Will they be there when we go?"  For the briefest of moments,
the reminiscent signs of innocent emotion echoed on the being's face,
a look that her companion recognized as being the same which she saw
so, so long ago on another young girl.  Even time is powerless in the
face of some things, she thought.

       "I believe they will.  They always were."

       The young girl gave one last glance to the colorful meadows, 
knowing that she would be the last generation to call this "home."  
She leaned forward, to pick one more flower and breathe it into her.
And then she paused at the last moment, having finally learned the 
lesson that had eluded her forbearers since the beginning:

       If it is a sin for men to taste the fruit of the angels, is it
any less a sin for angels to smell the flowers meant only for man?  Some 
things would they lose, but others would they gain.  Such is the way 
of children.

       "Oh, and by the way.  They also said there was a gift inside
for you."  She smiled that mischievous smile from a princess so long
ago.

       "Goodbye," she said to the companion and to creation around,
before fading into a shimmering veil.

       The companion held the memento she had grasped moments earlier,
lovingly looking at it for an instant, perhaps seeing something that 
was gone, or yet to come.  The same, tiny little flower that she had 
picked so long ago.  She betrayed no emotion as she held it close to 
her heart for a moment.

       And the faces of those she held dear, the faces that had been
forgotten, were returned to her.

	And, after such a long day, she was made whole again.

       <Go ahead and touch it.  You'll know what to do . . . >

       She sang an ancient song to herself as she took the tiny object
and respectfully placed it within a bed of dew-covered, newly-bloomed 
flowers, letting it wait patiently for the first rays of the rapidly
approaching sunrise.

       The last look was not one of sorrow nor one of joy, but rather
one of serene contentment, as she held the Garnet Rod close and 
forever disappeared into a melodic history of histories.

       * * * * *

	"One more time?"

	"Go ahead," he laughed.  "Knock yourself out."

	She used another transformation pen this time.  And when the
light settled and the cat looked forward, he saw not Sailor Venus, but
rather Sailor V.

	She chuckled as she carefully studied her own form in the 
full-length mirror before her.  "You know, the funny thing is, I'll 
probably idolize Sailor V after all of this is over and hope to meet 
her someday."

	He nodded.  "Sailor V will be a popular legend in the community
for years to come.  You did good."

	"*We* did good," she prodded as she waved the pen again,
detransformed and made her way over to her bed to sit down beside him.
She moved the piece of the Usagi-decorated cake she had brought with 
her to the side, the remnant to her lettering still visible: 'Thank
you for teaching us how to be heroes.'

       "It all started in here, didn't it?  That day after I got
dumped and the kids at school made fun of me."

                                     *

                     <"A princess?  You say I was a
                        princess in another life?">

                     <"Correction.  *Are.*  You mean you
                        really couldn't feel it within
                        yourself?">

                     <"Well, no -- I mean, I mean I just
                        don't know what all of this means.">

                     <"Let's find out together, Aino Minako.
                        Let's find out together.">

                                     *

       "You were always too hard on yourself.  One thing about being
a guardian cat is that you spend a great deal of time watching your
charge.  You were never as alone as you thought you were.  And you
never will be.  I hope, if you can take one thing away from all of this,
that will be it."

       "You really did notice, didn't you?  You were always there."

       "It didn't seem so long.  Really.  It's been three years, and
a thousand before that, but it's almost like it was just the turning
of a season.  And, of course, for you, you've got a season to look
forward to, a brand new life.  A second chance -- that's something
special."

       "Yeah, I suppose you're right, like always.  I just wish you
could figure out someway that . . . you know."

       "Well, the only thing that I could think of was that after your
memories are suppressed, I could come out and tell you that you were a
witch and I was your familiar.  Luna would never let me do that, though.  
Plus I still can't quite figure out how to pull that broom trick off.
It's probably best this way."
                                     *

                     <"How do I look? Does the sailor fuku
                        look right?">

                     <"Just like in my memories.  You
                        really are Sailor Venus now.>

                     <"Do you think we'll find them,
                        Artemis, the other Sailor Senshi?">

                     <"A star's brilliance always stands
                        out against the veil of night. How
                        do you think I found you?">

                                     *
       "They never came out and said it, of course, but I think you'll
be there when I'm older, waiting for me.  Didn't I hear something
about cats having nine lives?"

       He laughed gently.  "You probably shouldn't believe everything
you hear.  Even if I'm not, though, I'll be there, somehow.  I've
already asked Ami to help me start a diary that you'll get someday."

       "I've almost forgotten what it was like to be a normal teenager.
Do you think I'll be able to adjust?  I mean, do you think that . . ."

       "Of that," he gently interrupted, "I have no doubt."

	He then looked over with a half-grin on his face and asked,
"Now . . . do you want your gift?  The one from me?"

	She laughed tenderly with her reply:  "Sure.  This should be 
good."

	He quickly jumped off the bed, scampered to Minako's closet, and
retrieved a small box approximately half the size of the cat who carried
it back to her.  He then laid it before her.

	"Let me warn you, before you open it, that I've had it for a 
while.  Just haven't been able to give it to you properly."

	"Artemis," she sighed, "don't be silly.  You know that, as long
as it's from you, there's nothing tha-----" her voice stopped as she 
opened the lid of the box.  So did her heart.

                                     *

                     <"You knew that Usagi was the Moon
                        Princess, even before the Ginzuishou
                        formed today?">

                     <"It was like you said Artemis, I could
                        just *feel* it.  Like she was a part
                        of me.">

                     <"Congratulations; you've just made one
                        of your biggest steps into a far larger
                        world.">
                       
                                     *

	Inside the box, cradled on a cushion of the finest silk, was a 
red bow.  The color wasn't just red, it was both the brightest and 
deepest red that Minako had ever seen.  And in the center of the bow, 
covering the knot, was a flawless golden heart, with a reflection that 
was so pure it could almost shine the light of her soul back at her.

	"It was you . . . it was you all along."  She struggled with her
words as she stared at the bow before looking upward toward her
benefactor.  "You really *were* there with me the whole time!"

	"Ever since," he smiled with satisfaction.  "Now why don't you
put that pretty bow on?  I think you've waited long enough for that."

       The cat looked down as he half-watched Minako don the bow:  "You 
remember what I told you a few months ago, about, if given the chance, 
that I wouldn't have returned your memories?"

       "Yeah?"

                                     *

                     <"And why did Oedipus tear out his own
                        eyes, Minako?">

                     <"Uh, because he was silly?">

                     <"Okay, but what else?  What was
                        Sophocles trying to tell us?">

                     <"Well, maybe he was in a frenzy and
                        couldn't bear to look upon the world
                        anymore.">

                     <"That's good!  You understood that part
                        well!">

                     <"Artemis, if any of the others find out
                        that you're helping me with this, I'll
                        be sooooooo embarrassed . . .">

                     <"Don't worry.  It's our little secret.">

                                     *

       "I lied.  Every time I look in the mirror I'm reminded that I'm
just a cat, albeit one that can occasionally take a human form for 
convenience, but you never ever made me feel that way.  You always made
me feel like a real person.  I'll never forget that gift."  He suddenly
straightened his posture:

       "I am First Advisory Chamberlain of the White Moon Kingdom's 
Silver Millennium.  In my own land, I was considered royalty.  I have
been a scholar, a diplomat, and a teacher for years."  He trailed off.
"But if I could have the last three years back, I would gladly give
it all up."

       "Silly kitty," she laughed.  "Yeah, I guess I would too."  She
paused.  "Artemis?"

       "Yes?"

       "Thank you for finding me."

       He looked slightly surprised.  "Well, I was just lucky to run
across your window . . ."

                                     *

                     <"I'm sorry I messed up, Artemis.  I
                        should have listened to you.  I'm just
                        so stup--">

                     <"No!  Don't you ever say that!  Listen
                        to me, Minako.  I'm just a stray cat
                        that turned up at your door one rainy
                        afternoon.  No magic to that.  The
                        real magic is right here -- in your
                        heart -- where it's always been, where
                        it always will be.">

                                     *

       She shook her head gently:  "No, that's not what I mean.  When
I was lost you found me and showed me what I could be.  You didn't just
give me my life back, you taught me how precious it was.  And whatever
I forget today, by the heavens above, I'll carry that with me forever."

       The little cat stopped in mid-thought.  That his protege could
speak such articulate and sincere words told him that his long and
sacred task was now complete.  He was so proud, but he could think of
nothing to say.  And then it hit him.  It was all so clear:

       "Well," he choked back the emotion, "I guess today's your lucky
day."

       She began to sob slightly as he jumped into her lap.  She held
him close.  The magic, she could feel it as it began to form within
him.  It was so beautiful.  It was like a sort of vaporous music, music 
that she could touch and breathe in.   She didn't know how she could 
tell that by just a feeling, but she could.

       And then, at the last fleeting moment, she felt something.  It 
was as real and pure as anything that she had ever felt.  She knew the
small cat would have never said it directly, but it didn't matter.  He
had said it with every smile, every lesson, every tear that he had 
hidden from her, every tear that he had wiped from her, every minute 
that he had spent worrying about her, and every instant that he had 
just been *there*.  Cats aren't supposed to talk, but at this moment,
this one didn't have to.  The bond was as such, to the very end.

                                     *

                     <"Kitty, is all of this a fairy tale
                        dream?">

                     <"In the end, Minako, they probably
                        all are.">

                                     *

       "Thank you."

       * * * * *

       Everyone stood as the door opened.  The expectant glares inward
were rewarded with a strikingly normal sight:  a blonde-haired girl 
emerging, wearing a beautiful red bow and holding a sleeping white cat 
in her arms, slowly stroking its fur as it purred softly.  Her look was 
slightly confused, but as warm as it as always had been.

       "I'm sorry everyone, I must have fallen asleep.  Were we studying
or something, Ami-chan?"

       "Um, we were, but we can do that later.  Let's just sit around
and talk for a while."  She was barely able to finish the sentence.
She had to walk behind Makoto to hide herself and stop her voice from
breaking.

       "Fine with me, I'm feeling sort of tired anyway.  Sort of like
kitty here.  Normally I don't let cats in the house; he must have 
sneaked in.  He was right beside me when I woke up.  Like he was
watching over me or something."

       Usagi looked at the cat, and then to Minako, and chose to fulfil
her promise immediately.  She had to; she didn't know if she could bear
to do it later.  She felt herself unconsciously reaching for the nearest
hand; Rei was happy to provide it.

       "Minako-chan . . ." she began.

       "Yes?"

                   ¤  ¤  ¤  ¤  ¤  ¤  ¤

               Kokoro ni mo | Though I do not want
             Arade ukiyo ni | To live on in this floating world,
                  Nagaraeba | If I remain here,
            Koishikaru beki | Let me remember only
         Yowa no tsuki kana | This midnight and this moonrise.

                   ¤  ¤  ¤  ¤  ¤  ¤  ¤


       "His name is Artemis," she smiled the first smile.

       "His name is Artemis."

       * * * * *

       The Ginzuishou shone like a star in the sunlight of a new day 
that would never end.


                        - - - - x - - - -






 

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

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters 
       compared to what lives within us."
                                          -Henry David Thoreau

Author's Notes:

	Sailor Moon and associated characters are the intellectual 
property of Takeuchi Naoko and/or Toei, DiC, Bandai, Kodansha, and a 
host of other ethereal corporate entities.

	Musical accompaniment:  "Watashitachi ni Naritakute (Celeste)"
Sailor Moon SuperS Orgel Fantasia   Columbia COCC-12882

	Remaining attributions (there are several), notes, translations,
and explanations at website below.

	Thank you for your time.

gradient1@thedoghousemail.com     http://gradient.tripod.com

"Midnight Pirouette"   Red-3   +Gradient  March 1999
****************************************************